"Now, why are you making such a fuss about this? I thought we had made it clear that we were going to participate in this contest. I really don't see why this is such a problem, Green."
"I don't understand you, Seed, I really don't. Why are you holding onto that silly farm? Your trees are failing, nopony ever comes around anymore, and your profits are dwindling. Why, face it: you barely have enough bits to keep food on the table!" Appleseed didn't waver, however- he kept a straight face and simply replied,
"We make do."
"See? There it is! You're a selfish pony, Seed- you have two growing boys to look after, and you make them suffer, all because you don't want to let go. Now, my offer still stands, and I really think you should take it while you still have the chance- get rid of the farm, and put something else in it's place! Perhaps a burger and hayfries eatery, or even a movie theater! You could finally... erm, take it easy, and watch the money roll in!" Appleseed stayed strong, though. He knew what Green thought of him, and the fact that the farm was failing now that his wife was gone made it difficult to have Green see it another way.
"I'm the selfish pony? You don't want me to "take it easy", I know what you think of me, Green. What you want is for our profits to be as high as they can be!"
"H-how dare you! Not only are you selfish, you're also blind! Can't you see all I care about is your family? They've already suffered enough!"
"Oh, please! All you really care about is money! In fact, if you would just help out, you'd see the potential in the farm! But, since you only want more bits in your bag, you want to tear down the farm without a second thought, and put some ridiculous burger stand there instead! Where are the family values? Wheres the good, wholesome family fun? Where are the delicious, farm-fresh baked goods? You don't have those things with a burger place, and there are plenty of them around as it is! What would Heart Chart say if she knew what you were trying to do?"
Green froze, and a pained look came across his face when he heard his daughters name. Then, his face began to burn with rage.
"Don't... don't you EVER mention my daughter! You didn't deserve somepony like her! Besides, she's gone now, you hear!? Gone! She no longer has a say with what goes on with the farm! You know what? Fine! Enter the contest! When you lose, though... well, you better just remember your promise- that you WILL sell the farm to me!"
Appleseed sighed, and after a long while, responded,
"don't worry, I.. I haven't forgotten my promise. Now, I suggest you leave me be- I have much preparing to do!" Green, however, simply laughed and said,
"sure, sure- go about your 'preparations'. I'm sure they'll really, really help!" As he walked away, he muttered to himself- although he still said it loud enough for Seed to hear- "silly last-ditch effort to save the farm... what a waste of time!"
Appleseed glared at him as he walked away, but as soon as he couldn't see him anymore, his face fell and his ears drooped. Before he could start thinking about how he would fail, however, Buck was coming back with his friend. He then smiled and walked over to them.
"Hi, Buck! And hi... oh, my apologies! I suppose I never did get your name!"
"Name's Applejack, but you can just call me A.J., if you like!" Applejack told him.
"Hey... how come you never said I could call you A.J.?" cried Buck.
"Aw, what's the matter, jealous?" quipped A.J., and Buck's pupils shrunk, and he blushed a bit. A.J laughed and said,
"Aw, come on, it's a joke! Ha, lighten up a bit! You can call me A.J., though." Soon, all three of them burst out laughing. Seed took his glasses off and wiped his eyes, then said,
"S-so Applejack... d- (whoo!) did you enjoy the tour?"
"Ha... well, to be honest, we didn't actually take a tour... Buck told me a bit of your family situation. I want to say that I'm sorry about it, and I'm also sorry about your loss." Suddenly, the recent memory of his argument with his father-in-law came to his mind, and he frowned- but only for a second. His smile quickly returned, and he said quietly,
"thank you." Buck looked around nervously, then said,
"He.. he's gone, right? And what about the contest? We can still do it, right?" Seed smiled at his son, and replied,
"Yes, Buck, he's gone. And we're still going to be in the contest." Buck grinned widely, hoof-pumped the air, and shouted,
"Whoo-hoo! I knew you could do it, dad!"
"Yes, but we have to work extra hard to win this contest! You understand, son?" Applebuck put on a serious face, stood up straight, and snapped into a salute, and responded,
"sir, yes sir!" Seed's smile returned, and he said,
"good! Well, we should probably get back to work...A.J.? would you like to help us?" A.J., however, shook her head and told him,
"sorry, but I should probably get back to my Granny, and help her out some more... she's probably wonderin' where the hay I am!"
"understandable- after all, family is important! Well, it was really nice meeting you, Applejack!" said Seed. A.J. smiled and responded,
"Nice meeting you, too! And I'll see you tomorrow, Buck!" and with that, she waved and went to find her grandmother. Seed looked at his son, raised an eyebrow, and asked,
"see you tomorrow? What does she mean by that?"
"Oh, well, I sort of invited her over to the farm... I hope that's okay?"
"well, I suppose so... there isn't much to see, however."
"The special patch is worth seeing, though! Right?" Seed, however, stared at his son in shock.
"T-the special patch? Buck! You can't just show everypony and their sister that patch! That grove is our only chance to win this contest! If something ever happened to it..."
"dad, I promise the grove will be safe. And I wouldn't have told her about it if I didn't trust her! She even has an apple orchard of her own!"
"Okay, Buck, but your responsible for what goes on while you're there!... you know, there's something strangely familiar about that pony..." said Seed as his words trailed off. Buck smirked and said,
"well, maybe it's because of the apple cutie mark? Apple cutie marks do kind of run in our family, after all!" Seed, however, continued to stare at her as she walked away, trying to put a hoof on where he had seen her before- but the memory was lost at the moment.
"Hmm... eh, you're probably right, son! Well, we better get back to work!" Buck snapped into a salute once again and responded again,
"sir, yes sir!" and with that, they continued with their preparations for the festival.
"Where have y'all been!? I've been waitin' forever for you to come back!" shouted Granny as A.J. walked up to her.
"Sorry, Granny... I guess I kind of lost track of time," A.J. admitted sheepishly.
"Well, I've never known anypony to take that long in the restroom! Well, except for your unc-
"Granny! I wasn't in the restroom, for Pete's sake- I was with my friend!" 'If her memory is this bad the whole time here-'
"Oh, that's right! Well, how is he? wait- where is he? Do I get to meet him oh, and please tell me you got his name?" she asked.
"Sure did! His name is Applebuck! And, uh... well, you won't meet him now- but tomorrow you will, I promise! In fact, he's coming to the hotel to pick me up and take me to his apple orchard! I can't wait to see it!"
"Oh, that's nice! Well, I hope you have a good time, A.J.! Right now, though, I'm gonna need your help settin' up our booth!"
"Oh, of course! Well, what's first?" As she and Granny continued to work, A.J. told Granny about her visit with Buck.
"Sounds like your friend is havin' a rough time. I do hope things will get better for him soon," Granny Smith said softly.
"So do I- he seems really nice, I wish his family wasn't so split up." as Applejack said this, she realized how lucky she was that her own family was so close.
"Well, it's their family, not ours, so I don't think that we should be interferin' much, I'm afraid. Oh, can you hoof me a nail, please?" asked Granny Smith. A.J. answered,
"oh, here you go! And I suppose you're right...hmm... well, I think we should finish up, it's getting kind of late." Celestia's sun was setting now, and some ponies were starting to leave.
"Okay- we're almost done here!" And with that, the two mares made their final adjustments to their festival preparations.