"Httt!" Applejack struck an apple tree in broad daylight. Apples fell into a basket. Wiping sweat from her brow, she turned to push the basket over towards a wagon.
She wasn't alone today. It was a bright, breezy afternoon. Big Macintosh worked on a row of trees nearby. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom hung out on the front porch to the farm house, working on a knitted quilt.
In the middle of shoving a basket, Applejack inexplicably stopped in place. She gazed far down the line of orchards... contemplatively.
Spike's words swirled in her mind from the day before... as did Rarity's words from days previous.
The farm was going down hill, and soon she and her family would either have to take extreme measures... or simply give up everything.
But was that any reason for turning her back on her friends? For living alone under the shadow of her own concerns?
Big Macintosh looked bright and healthy. No doubt the presence of Fluttershy in his life had made his daily existence a hundred times rosier. Granny Smith had her own inner peace that she channeled into the hardships of every day. Apple Bloom looked no worse for wear—savoring and celebrating the vigor of youth.
Every way Applejack looked at it, the only pony suffering was herself. There was a reason for this—she knew. Somepony made a promise long ago. A sacrament conjured in the dim shadow of granite. She had kept to her promise for so long, but how was that helping her? And if she lived up to that promise... would she be honoring them?
The feather in her hat practically stabbed at her by now. She felt like she was going to collapse under the weight of it. She needed release. She needed salvation. She needed...
"Folks...?" It was a whimper at first, foalish and desperate. It barely registered beneath the gusts of cool wind flowing over the farm. So, clearing her throat, she tried yet again to summon her family. "Folks—!"
"Hey! Sis!" Apple Bloom's voice suddenly echoed over the central front lawn of the farmstead. Applejack—in her self-imposed limbo—hadn't even noticed that she had scampered off. "Heeeeeey Applejack!"
Applejack blinked. She and Big Mac turned towards the country road leading up to the front of Sweet Aple Acres.
There—resting before the old gate—was an opulent stage coach with silver-studded wheels. Two stallion chauffers—both neatly groomed—stood within the reins of the vehicle. What's more, a finely-suited stallion with a briefcase balanced over his flank was trotting up towards the household, being escorted by a briskly-scampering Apple Bloom.
Applejack squinted in abject confusion. Granny Smith's random outburst shook her in her place.
"Who in tarnation is that? Filthy?"
Big Mac was studying the stallion from afar. "Eenope."
"Sis!" Apple Bloom wheezed, smiling jubilantly. She skidded to a stop and pointed behind her. "We've got a visitor! He says he's got good news for us!"
Applejack instantly shifted into "big sister" mode. "Apple Bloom. What've I told you time and time again about talkin' to strangers?"
The stallion spoke up in an eastern aristocratic accent. "Miss Applejack, I do apologize for the intrusion." He put on a dashing smile, bowed, and stood back up. "But your daughter is correct. I've come to speak to the Apple Family about a business prospect."
"Uhm..." Applejack cleared her throat above the chuckles of Big Mac and Granny Smith. "She ain't my daughter."
"Oh, my apologies. No offense intended, Miss Applejack."
"And none taken." Applejack squinted out one eye. "Wait. How come you don't know who Apple Bloom is and yet you know my name?"
"I was sent to speak to you specifically," the stallion explained. "My name is Winter Green, and I'm a messenger on behalf of the East Trottingham Company. I was sent personally by the head of the organization, Fancy Pants, to give you this." He produced an envelope and held it out.
"Uhm..." Applejack leaned back cautiously, eyeing the parchment. "I... I-I can't imagine what this could be about. Sweet Apple Acres hasn't done any business with no 'Fancy Pants.'"
The stallion merely smiled. "Well, you just might want to after reading this."
Suddenly, Granny Smith was standing right beside Applejack. "Just open it, darlin'."
Applejack protested: "But Granny—"
"Shhhh..." Granny calmly exhaled. "We talked about this, didn't we? Any opportunity is a good opportunity."
With a defeated sigh, Applejack took the envelope and briskly opened it. "Alright, then..."
Her grandmother and brother leaned in, squinting to read the contents. Apple Bloom hopped and hopped in place, desperate to see. "What's it say? What's it say?"
Applejack was in a numb state. Her mind had barely registered the ornately scribbled words on the page—aside from "business" and "purchase" and "apple supply." Her muzzle hung open more and more. "It... it..." Her eyes fell hard onto the bottom lines where a starting bid had been splayed out, bold and big. "It says..."
"My vision's all confoundedly blurry," Granny Smith stammered. Her pupils shook in place. "Is... that as many zeroes as I think it is?"
Big Mac was the first one to celebrate, barking jubilantly: "Eeyup Eeyup Eeeyup!"
"This... this c-can't be real..." Applejack felt trembles overwhelming her. She looked up at Winter Green. "He... he wants our apples?" A hard blink. "For the next twenty seasons?"
The stallion chuckled warmly. "If you show an interest in this venture, then Mr. Fancy Pants offers to meet with you to speak about it a week from now. Be it his mansion in Trottingham or here in Sweet Apple Acres, he's left the choice up to you—"
"Oh yes! Yes!" Applejack threw herself forward and drew the gasping stallion into a freckled bear hug. "Here! There! Anywhere!" She dropped him and spun to grin at her family. "Ya hear that?! We're back in business, y'all!"
"Woohooo!" Granny Smith waddled over and gave a random tree a huge, epic, geriatric kick. "Darn tootin'!"
"Eeeeyup!"
"Yeeehaaa! Ha ha ha ha!" Applejack scooped Apple Bloom in a hug—a hug that was eventually devoured by Big Mac's huge limbs. Soon Granny Smith joined in and the squeeing could not be dammed.
"Yaaay!" Apple Bloom squirmed in the middle of the family embrace. "Things are all happy n'stuff!"
"They sure are, Apple Bloom..." Applejack smiled at Granny Smith. She looked towards the hilltop, and the once-opaque stones blurred beyond earnest tears. "They sure are..."