The aged matriarch of the Apple family paced unsteadily before the place of residence of her local monarch, the Ponyville Library. It was not for any physical reason she did not enter, for the door was unlocked and a welcome mat placed. It was not an issue of timing, as it was high noon and Granny Smith could hear pleasant voices from within.
It was a matter of pride.
The moment she walked through that door, Granny Smith would be acknowledging defeat. To seek out help, to beg for relief and the charity of others, would be an admission of personal failure. Only, Granny Smith knew she had failed, she had know for some time. Once she entered the library, it would be an admission, to herself.
The options weighed heavily on her head. She could go back to Sweet Apple Acres, and continue to pretend nothing was wrong. By her figures, she could stave off total collapse for at least a couple of months. It would be superficial, and only make things worse later. Granny imagined the stress tearing her apart, balancing the farm, the children, and the image that everything was fine. That kind of stress could kill a pony.
On the other hand, she could give in, and ask for help. She could not tell her grandchildren until it was absolutely necessary. So here she was, outside the home of Princess Twilight, the only pony Granny imagined would be both willing and able to help her, but also reliably confidential.
She could face eventual doom by her self, or she could swallow her pride and seek help. Either way, the Apple family would suffer.
-
Twilight Sparkle was enjoying a good book. It was some light reading, a triste the division of labor. It was a funny little book, talking all about how societies without cutie marks divided themselves into economic strata. Despite her open minded nature, Twilight had a difficult time imagining actual civilization without destined roles for every individual. What kept everypony from doing something fun but unproductive, or sleeping all day?
Her thoughts where interrupted by a soft knock at her door.
“Enter!” Twilight called out.
The door opened, and Granny Smith trotted slowly into the library.
“Hello Granny Smith! This is an unexpected pleasure.” Twilight slipped a bookmark into her book and put it down beside her. “To what do I owe this visit?”
The old earth pony seemed very reluctant to say, so Twilight waited patiently. She imagined it was some magical favor, or perhaps Granny needed help negotiating with her stubborn granddaughter Applejack.
“It's ah matter of business.” Granny Smith said finally.
“Business?” Twilight asked in surprise. That was about the last answer she expected.
“Ah was wonderin if you had any... Interest in apples.” Granny said curiously, as if she might give too much away.
“Well sure. I love apples. Especially Apple family apples.” Twilight said. “You know that.”
Granny shook her head. “What I mean ta say is, would you be interested in investin in apples.”
“Investing?” Twilight pondered. “Are you looking to expand Sweet Apple Acres?”
“Nope.”
Twilight was confused. “Are you asking me for a loan?”
“I suppose, ina way. But friends don't loan friends money.” Granny Smith said. “But I would like ta ask, if you where willin, how much could you lend.”
“Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but I'm pretty well off.” Twilight tapped her forehooves together nervously. “I could probably buy most of Ponyville, hypothetically.”
Granny Smith sighed in relief. “Than one little ol farm ain't no big deal to ya.”
Twilight balked. “I'm sorry what?”
“The farm.” Granny Smith affirmed. “It ain't lending if yer buyin, and I'm sellin Sweet Apple Acres.”
Twilight was horrified. Had Granny Smith gone soft minded with dementia? She had gotten much better recently, as when Twilight had first arrived in Ponyville Granny Smith had been very muddled.
“Are you sure you've giving this as much thought as it warrants? That farm has been in your family for five generations.”
“Believe me, comin to you was my last resort.”
“Do you really need money that badly?”
Granny nodded sadly. “I've made some terrible mistakes, and I'd lose the farm anyhow if I can't sell it to ya.”
Twilight was caught. Legally, Granny Smith could sell the farm, though it would deprive her grandchildren of its inheritance. She could only imagine what had pushed the elderly pony into this predicament.
“Let's go see what I'm getting into.” Twilight rose from the floor.
Granny's eyes watered. “Thank you, so much Twilight. Ah knew I can rely on you.”
Twilight walked to the door, and Granny Smith followed. “I'm going to look at your finances first, to see if there is anyway to avoid you having to sell the farm. If there's no alternative...” Twilight trailed off as they set out for Sweet Apple Acres.
-
The outlook was bleak. Awful in fact. Twilight was in the living room of the Apple family home, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of papers and bills.
The good sign was that Granny Smith did own the farm in its entirety. But over time, loans had been taken against the value of various portions of the estate. Somepony with very poor sense had taken loans which they should have know they would never be able to repay. Now, with the combined interest, the liquidity of Sweet Apple Acres was nearly nothing.
The other disturbing fact were the multiple lines of credit, which had been drawn to their fullest extent. It appeared the Granny Smith had borrowed from credit to pay the interest on the loans, but hadn't realized the interest for the credit was even higher.
The bottom line was that without help, Granny Smith would lose everything. She would lose the farm for defaulting on her reverse mortgages, and then still owe for the credit.
“The situation is less than ideal.” Twilight said, and she shuffled through the papers, adding together the sums of the debt.
“Ya see now the only way I can escape this is by selling the farm. Least if I do that I can start afresh.”
Twilight resisted the urge to scoff bitterly. At her age, Granny Smith would be lucky to start down the road. Besides, if she did buy the farm, Twilight did not want to relocate the Apple family. They were among her best friends.
“Don't be silly. You belong here. There is no way I could force you to leave.” Twilight said.
“Ya mean that?” Granny was getting teary eyed again.
“I do. We'll have to write a contract that outlines this relationship. One, I will pay for the farm's appraised value. That should cover every debt you have, and a little extra. Two, you can live here free of rent for as long as you live. If you decide to move out, I will pay you. Three, your family pays for all expenses but can keep all the profits from Sweet Apple Acres for as long as you live. You will also be responsible for maintenance, but I will contribute to its cost.”
“This is too good to be true.” Granny Smith whispered.
“Make no mistake Granny, the farm will belong to me. As much as I love them, I don't want Applejack or Big Macintosh cheating me out of this. Four. I can renegotiate this contact with whomever your primary heir is, for the continued occupation of Sweet Apple Acres by the Apple family. The eventual goal here is that your family buys the farm back.”
Twilight glanced over the paper piles once more. “I'm going to find a lawyer so this gets done right. In the mean time, why don't you tell Applejack and Big Mac.”
Granny's eyes widened in panic. “No. They can't know yet. Least ways not until I can find a way to break it to them.”
Twilight bit her lip in vexation. “They don't know about this trouble?”
“Nope.”
Twilight sighed. This could go badly if the proud farmers found out in the wrong way that their home no longer belonged to them.
“I'll be back in the morning with the contract and the money.”