//------------------------------// // BONUS CHAPTER – APPLEJACK’S PERPECTIVE // Story: Diamonds Are for Apples // by sonicfan05 //------------------------------// One hour ago... It was a busy late afternoon on the roads of Canterlot City. Everyone was driving their cars to their own destinations; probably to their homes, to visit their friend or family, or going out for an errand, including shopping. That is what the teens in a beat-up red pickup truck were doing, hoping to find a good store for them to stop and buy something they're looking for. With Applejack taking the wheel while Big Mac was sitting on a passenger's seat, silently listening to his sister's ramble. “Thanks again for comin’ with me today Big Mac," said Applejack as her eyes were set on the road. "Ah know ah was stubborn but ah appreciate that you’re helpin’ me, even though I refused to for a while.” “Eeyup,” Big Mac said simply. “I mean, it was hard enough that ah had a second job as a security guard for awhile at that creepy pizza place for two weeks. Glad that ah made enough money before ah quit, that place gave me the creeps, especially those whatever-ma-tronics things in that buildin'. Ah swear, someone was tryin’ to pull a prank or something. Said somethin' about those things 'moved randomly' from room to room like they were alive or somethin’. And then when yer at least expect it, they'll get you and stuffed you into their costumes made of metal and wires." Applejack then chuckled. "Sounds ridiculous, wasn’t it Mac?” “Um…eeyup.” Big Mac said with a gulp. When he found out where his sister was going for her second job, he had a bad feeling about that place. So just to be safe, he secretly hid within the restaurant to watch over his sister. Imagine his surprise when he saw those things walking on their own. But what really terrified him, were their soulless eyes. Their eyes looked like they have been possessed by angry spirits, seeking for revenge. Worse was they were after his sister. So for the past two weeks during Applejack's night shift, he protected his sister by keeping those blood hungry robots away from her. How she did not notice them coming to her despite a huge number of monitors in front of her was beyond him. He was relieved when Applejack decided to quit after her big payday (after Big Mac's secretly convinced the higher ups that his sister deserved more pay) and then left the restaurant without looking back. Big Macintosh made a mental note to file a report to Shinning Armor about that restaurant. “Anyways, Ah’m gettin’ myself off topic," Applejack continued. "It was also time consuming to go store to store to find the perfect gift for granny.” Big Mac gave Applejack his stern look which Applejack noticed. “Aww don’t give me that look Mac. Ah know Ah shouldn’t go overboard, but Granny deserved a great gift from us. After all, it’s not everyday she'll be turning eighty now wasn’t it?” Big Mac shook his head. “Nnope.” Applejack nodded. “That’s’ why Ah finally agreed to let ya help me because you’re a wiz when it comes to pickin’ out great gifts!" Applejack then gave Big Mac her teasing side grin. "Especially pickin’ out gifts for Miss Cheerilee you been secretly seein.’” “N…nnope.” Big Mac denied with pink tinted cheeks. Applejack smirked further. “Suuuure you weren't.” “What about Apple Bloom?" Big Mac asked, desperately changing the subject. "Ah still don’t understand why we’re not lettin’ her in on this. Shouldn’t we let her be part of this too?” Applejack sighed. “Now listen Big Mac, Ah think it would be best if we don’t include her just yet. ‘Sides, she’s not very good at keeping secrets. Remember that time when she accidently told you that we got you a special edition of Smarty Pants doll for yer birthday last year?” “Ee…yup.” Big Mac uttered, now more red in embarrassment. It was planned by the Apple sisters to surprise him for that doll he was seeking for awhile, except they were supposed to do that after he came home from his 'friendly outing' with Cheerilee. Unfortunately, due to Apple Bloom's excitement, she accidentally blurted out the surprise in front of him. He would've been fine and excited that they got him that gift for him prematurely, except for the fact that Miss Cheerilee was there with him when Apple Bloom spilled the beans. Needless to say, it was awkward for him and Cheerilee for the rest of the evening. “Ya see!" Applejack quipped. "This is a big thing for Granny so we’re gonna make sure we’ll get this right! Once we got this settled, we’ll tell her on the day of Granny’s birthday before we give Granny her gift. Everything is goin’ to plan!” Big Mac gave Applejack his skeptical look. “We still need to find her a gift,” he pointed out. “And we will!" Applejack reassured. "That’s why we’re givin’ that jewery store in Canterlot a shot that Rarity recommended. We'll pick out what we want, then bring it home and have it wrap up for Granny’s birthday which is two days from now and we’re all set. What can go wrong?” Big Mac frowned. He can actually think of a few things that can go wrong, but he decided not to comment on that. Applejack and Big Mac walked into Canterlot's Jewelry Store and their eyes widened in sight. Inside of the jewelry store was fairly big, but they make up for it for their huge line of jewelry that anyone can use from the top of your head, to the bottom of your foot. There were lots display cases everywhere around the room. There was also a countertop with watches around the counter in their own cases with a register on the top. The interesting part of the store was that there were also an escalator leading to a second floor, probably leading to another floor with more jewelry. Applejack whistled. “Hoo-wee! When Rarity said they have a lot of jewelry, she wasn’t kiddin!’” “Eeyup.” said Big Mac. Applejack frowned. “The only thing is, Ah don’t know where to start!” “Well, well, well. If it isn’t my favorite Apple siblings!” Someone said suddenly from behind them. The siblings turned and were surprised to see it was none other than Filthy Rich, their vendor and friend. Applejack smiled and tipped her hat. “Well howdy Filthy Rich!” “Please, just Rich Applejack," said Rich with a smile. "Nice to see you two!” “Nice to see ya too Fil- I mean, Rich!" said Applejack. "What brings ya here?” Rich smirked. “Isn’t it obvious? I own this store.” The Apple siblings eyes widened in surprise. “You own this store?” Applejack asked in awe. Rich chuckled. “Yep. I recently bought this store a few weeks back! Got to make sure that the business here runs smoothly.” Applejack looked around and noticed there were barely any customers in the store except for themselves and that strange person browsing around the diamond section while wearing a black hoodie with lightgreen locks hanging out. “Seems like we arrived here on a slow day.” Applejack commented. Rich sighed with a frown on his face. "I wish that was the case. Right now, between the three of us, this jewelry store is in a bit of a…pickle, so to speak.” Applejack rubbed her chin in thought until she remembered the news she picked from her radio of her truck earlier today. “You mean from that diamond burglar we’ve been hearing this morning?” asked Applejack. Rich sighed again. “Yes. I’m ashamed to say that we let this happened right under our noses for the past couple of weeks. As soon as I heard of this, I immediately requested for an upgrade for our security.” Applejack raised her eyebrow. “Upgrade?” “Yes," Rich whispered. "We're replacing all of the old equipment for new and better ones for better security, like our surveillance cameras. We’ll be using the state of the art cameras that can capture footage on high speed and better quality of the footage. The ones we had before was horrible!” Applejack titled her head. “Ah don’t understand equipment much but Ah take it they are very important?” "Very!" he stated. "I’m surprised these didn’t get replaced after we bought this place. It would’ve made things easier if they did, otherwise we could’ve prevented all those thefts weeks ago. But in a few days with replaced cameras and more security, we’ll make sure that this won’t happen again!” “The police are still lookin’ for this thief right?” asked Applejack. “Yes, but so far no such luck." said Rich. "I was hoping that using one of those crime shows would help us find this perpetrator. Turns out, it did more harm to our business than good.” Apple gave Rich her sympathetic smile. “Don’t you fret Rich! Ah’m sure things will pick up again faster than a bare foot jack rabbit on a hot greasy griddle in the middle of August!” “Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed. Rich smiled. “Thanks you two, I appreciate your kind words." He then leaned towards the Apple siblings. "Just keep our security upgrade under wraps for the time being. We don’t want anyone to know that security’s shut down temporary,” Rich whispered. “Don’t worry, we won’t say a word,” Applejack reassured. Rich nodded. “Good. So, is Granny doing well?” Applejack smiled. “She was doin' fine. In fact, her birthday’s coming up in a couple of days.” “Oh how nice!" Rich said cheerfully. "Did you two get something nice for her?” “Well that is why we’re here." said Applejack. "See, this year will be her eightieth and we were tryin’ to find a special gift for her! We were thinkin’ of maybe one of those fancy jewelry you have here.” “Well Applejack, you and your brother have come to the right place!" Rich said with confidence. "I’ll be more than happy to help you pick out a jewelry for your Granny! In fact, I think I know just the thing!” He beckoned the Apple siblings to follow him up the stairs to the second floor. Then they entered the room with another display cases and a center counter with a register. This room looks exactly the same as the one downstairs but the only big deference was this huge walk-in safe from the far left side of the center counter. Rich entered the center counter and digged into the hidden compartment of the back part of the display case. He kept digging into his inventory until he found what he was looking for. He took out a small black velvet bag and placed it on the counter to present it to the Apple siblings. “Here you are!” Rich proclaimed as he opened up the bag. Inside of the bag reveled to be a few samples of small clear blue diamonds. The lights that reflected off of the shining surface, empathizing the beauty of these tiny rocks. Both Applejack and Big Mac were stunned as they stared at the diamonds in awe. “Wow…these are beautiful!” Applejack breathed. “Eeyup!” Big Mac breathed in agreement. Rich chuckled at their reactions. “I’m glad that caught your interests. These are apple-shaped cut 2.02 carat loose diamonds. These are genuine and can made into a necklace! And their even apple scented!” Applejack whistled. “Golly, these are perfect for Granny, but...we couldn’t afford these diamonds.” Big Mac sighed sadly. “Nnope.” Even with all the money Applejack made from her second job weren't enough to get those diamonds. They were so close to finding the perfect gift for their grandmother. Rich, noticed their friend's dispair, decided to give them his offer. “Tell you what, since we’ve been friends and we made good business with your family for years, I’ll give you a discount!” Both of the Apple siblings eyes widened from Rich's offer. “Oh no Mr. Rich!" Applejack exclaimed as she was shaking her head. "You don’t have to do that fer -” “I insist" Rich said firmly. "Your family did a lot for us, it’s at least we can do!” Applejack was hesitant. She normally doesn't want help or offers from others, but because she finally found the right gift for Granny Smith, she decided to shallow her pride for once. “Well alright," Applejack said reluctantly. "But Ah still don’t have the money yet. My paycheck from my second job won’t come in 'til next week, but her birthday is this Saturday.” “Tell you what Applejack," said Rich. "You give me half of the amount now and we’ll give you the diamonds and then pay us the other half when your check arrived so we can make a necklace out of those diamonds. Sounds fair?” “Alright Mr. Rich, it’s a deal!” said Applejack as she shook Rich's hand. “Splendid!" Rich proclaimed. "I will pack the rest of these diamonds into their pouch now.” Applejack smiled as she tipped her hat. “Thank ya kindly Mr. Rich! We appreciate your help!” “Eeyup,” said Big Mac with a smile. Rich smiled back. “Anytime Applejack and pleasure doing business with you two!” As the Apple siblings were paying their purchase, the same black hooded figure who was spying on them, quietly turned to head downstairs and then left the store. It was an hour later when the front door of the Apple family's home opened silently. Big Mac stucked his head in to see if there's anyone in the living room. “Is the coast is clear?” Applejack whispered. “Eeyup,” Big Mac answered quietly. “Okay...” They quietly opened the front door all the way and then tiptoed into the house. After they closed the door as silently as possible, they scooped the living room around to hide their gift. Before they could start, they heard their Grandmother calling out to them. “Applejack? Big Mac? Is that you?” “Shoot!” Applejack said quietly. Applejack turned to her brother. “Big Mac, go upstairs and distract Granny for a moment," Applejack whispered. "Ah’ll hide the diamonds!” With a nod, Big Mac headed upstairs to keep his Grandmother busy. Applejack hurried around the room to find a good hiding spot for the gift until the day of Granny’s birthday. She couldn't hide her gift in the cabinets because they could easily be found. She couldn't hide them in the flower pot because she didn't want her gift to be dirty. She couldn't hide them in their coat closet because she'll easily forget that it's hidden there like the last time when she hid Apple Bloom birthday gift and couldn't find it until the last minute. Applejack was running out of options fast. “Applejack!” Granny called again. As her last resort, she lifted the cushion from the couch, placed a medium size black velvet bag in its place and then placed the cushion back where it belongs. Satisfied that her item was well hidden, Applejack then casually went up the stairs. Everything was in place and nothing can go wrong. “Comin’ Granny!” Applejack hollered as she was ascending up the stairs.