//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Applejack Balances Her Books // by sparklepeep //------------------------------// "Applejack, may we come in?" "Hel-lo? Aaaaaaplejack? It's me, Rarity!" No response. "And Twilight Sparkle, of course." "We just want to know if you're okay. Big---" Thud. At the sound of something falling, Twilight opened the door to the attic slightly and peeked into the room. She could see papers on the floor everywhere. A cold breeze blew through the room. In the center, half-propped up by a backless chair that was better described as a small bench, Applejack laid on the floor, sound asleep. Next to her, a book that recently dropped onto the floor. Slowly and carefully, not wanting to wake their friend, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity climbed into the attic. It was larger than they expected, easily fitting all three ponies along with all the tomes and furniture it held. Instinctively, Rarity closed the window and Twilight placed the fallen book back on the desk with her magic. They relit the candles and lone torch in the back of the room, giving the attic a small bit of warmth again. Rarity, seeing Applejack shivering on the floor, removed her cloak and placed it gently on her friend who instantly curled inside it. The two unicorns started exploring the room. They had never seen this room before. In fact, none of Applejack's friends have. It was plain, with a few bookcases lining the room. The most prominent bookcase sat next to the lone desk where Applejack worked. In the back of the room the single torch continued to warm up the room. Next to it was a map of Sweet Apple Acres, though it was outdated and discolored with age. In the back corner sat an empty rocking chair. "Look at these books!" Twilight Sparkle began examining the bookcases, taking down an old book gently with her magic. "A bit plain, just like the rest of the farm," Rarity said as she sat down in the rocking chair, "though a lot less dusty than I expect from a farmhouse attic." As Rarity started rocking in her chair, Twilight flipped through the volume that she held in front of her. Startled, she shoved it in front of Rarity's face. "Rarity! Look at this!" In front of the slightly-off-white unicorn's face was a list of numbers and names, arranged neatly in five columns. "What? It's just---wait, wait. Is that---" "Yes! These are records from---" "No! I mean, that's the Goldenoak Five Column Accounting System---" Twilight Sparkle could hear Rarity capitalizing every word "---that all the elite shops of Canterlot uses!" "Wait, what?" "The Goldenoak System! It's simply a fabulous way of accounting for shops. It's so elegant it turns jumbles and mumbles of numbers into pretty, beautiful columns. And it makes the math sooooo simple! It's been the de facto standard of bookkeeping in the fashion industry for the last three years! I didn't know that Sweet Apple---" "Rarity." "What? Can't you see I'm in the middle of a monologue?" "These records are from twenty-six years ago." "Whaaaaaaaaaa?" Rarity held her neck back in shock. "But how can it be! Nopony's heard of the Goldenoak System until three years ago! I haven't even figured it out myself yet!" "Well if maybe y'all stop screamin' in mah attic maybe ah I can teach ya. Now we ain't got no fancy name for it, but it's been how we did them books on th' farm for fifty years." The unicorns, surprised, turned to face a rather grumpy Applejack in a somewhat odd position, having just woke up from a nap taken half on the floor and half on a chair and tangled in a fabulous fur cloak. "Applejack! Darling! You're awake!" Rarity said while getting up from an old rickety rocking chair as elegantly as possibly, which is to say, she was glad that neither of her friends were looking at her at the moment. "Would somepony mind tellin' me what tha hay's goin' on?" "I'm sorry for sneaking in like this, Applejack, but we just wanted to make sure you're all right," Twilight Sparkle said half-sheepishly, "we haven't seen you for two days!" "Well somepony's gotta work all them numbers out." Rarity and Twilight, now no longer distracted by the bookshelves, saw the work that Applejack was doing on her desk. She was filling out page six of the two-hundred-page stack of forms before falling asleep---and falling over. "Applejack! You were balancing books and filing taxes these two whole days?" Twilight said, barely believing what she saw with her own eyes. "That's right, ma'am!" "Well why didn't you ask us for help?!" Rarity said, with a slight tinge of complaint in her voice. "Well---" "I completely understand if you didn't want Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash to help, but what about us?" Rarity insisted, "I'm perfectly generous and Twilight just positively loooooves books!" Twilight, taking that as a compliment, smiled and nodded eagerly. "Ah mean, Rarity, thanks, and all that, but this ain't somethin' ah can ask y'all to do. It's an Apple Family thing---" "And as I recall, weren't we honorary members of the Apple Family?" Rarity batted her eyelashes a little. "Ah know, but this ain't like applebuckin'," Applejack bushed a little, "it's, well, it ain't no proper farm work s'all. Ah mean, it ain't no side of me y'all ever seen. Applejack, addin' up numbers! Who would've thought!" "I was a little surprised," Twilight admitted, "okay, moderately surprised." "Oh, Applejack," Rarity went on, placing an extra emphasis on "ap", "we all sometimes do things that are a little out of character." "That's right! Remember how Rainbow Dash started reading?" "Or how Fluttershy can get angry and get so positively scary? Even I get dirty! Well, sometimes. Under special conditions." "It’s okay, Applejack, doing math is nothing to be ashamed of, no matter how out of character it may seem for a simple farmpony," Twilight nodded sagely, eager to teach one of her best friends another lesson about the magic of friendship. "Well ah ain't shamed of it, just kinda---" "And don't worry about us stealing your company secrets," Twilight placed her hooves on her chest, "cross my heart and hope to fly---" "---stick a cupcake in my eye," Rarity finished, "now Applejack, will you pleeeeeeeease teach me how to make my numbers faaaabulous?" "Eh, sure Rarity, but it ain't nothin' fancy---" "Well good! Plain dresses are in this winter!" "And Applejack, once we're done can you show me some of the other books in your library?" Twilight asked like a curious filly. "Ah dunno, Twi, this ain't no proper library. 'Sides, these books ain't that interesting…" "Not interesting?" Twilight started shaking Applejack, "These are the most interesting history books in Ponyville! They're about ponies! Real ponies! And how they lived and worked and ate and had babies! These are amazing! In fact---" "Ah get it! Ah get it!" Twilight gave an awkward grin, a small squee, and let go of her friend. "Ah guess we better get started, doin' fancy mathematics and all, if we wanna finish in time for Granny Smith's annual 'yee-haw we did 'em taxes' ce-le-bra-tory apple pies!" "You got it, partner," Rarity beamed. Twilight, with a gleam in her eye, looked into the pile of receipts lying on the table. Her OCD flaring up to unsafe levels, she stood up and declared, "ladies, let's get algebraic!" "Um, sugarcube, ah don't think there's much algebra in---" "Oh, Applejack, don't you interrupt her when she's trying to be dramatic," Rarity interjected. "it's all right, Rarity. I guess the tax forms were kind of engineered specifically to eliminate the need of algebraic knowledge so that---" "Um, beg your pardon, Twi? We got work to do." And so the three friends worked all night long, getting absolutely nothing and everything accomplished.