Why

by CCC

Why are the Apples unable to keep their farm without cider sales?

“Applejack?”

The orange farmpony glanced around, taking off her hat and wiping the sweat from her brow.

“Twilight!” she said. “Good t'see you. What brings you round to Sweet Apple Acres?”

“I, um, I was a bit worried.” admitted Twilight.

“Worried?” asked Applejack, raising her eyebrows. “And why would that be, sugarcube?”

“Well...” said Twilight nervously. “You remember when Flim and Flam came here?”

Applejack nodded. “Eeyup.”

“And you said that if you didn't sell enough cider, you were at risk of losing the farm?”

“Eeyup.”

“Well... Applejack... that doesn't make sense. The farm's been in your family for generations, you sell the best apples from just about anywhere... you should surely have paid off the land by now...”

“Actually, Celestia gave the farm t' Granny Smith's pa.” pointed out Applejack. “But Ah see what y'mean. Given all the far income, an' reasonable farm costs, we oughta be able t'manage the entire year even without cider sales, right?”

“That's right.” said Twilight. “So I'm a bit worried, that maybe something's wrong, or...”

“Ah, shucks, sugarcube, there's no secret about it. Come ta think o' it, you're one o' the only ponies not renting land from us.”

“...renting?” asked Twilight.

“Sure.” said Applejack. “Few years after Sweet Apple Acres started, Celestia came back t'see how ma ancestors were doin', an' they were doin' right well. So she made a gift of a large piece o' land to Granny Smith, with the intention of it bein' a place t' build a town. Every building in Ponyville is on Apple land – well, 'cept Dash's place – though for government buildings, we gave the land back to Celestia, so she don't have to pay rent.”

“So, Town Hall, the schoolhouse, and the library? But what's the trouble with that? Surely the rent income is enough to cover any associated costs?”

“Most o' the time, sugarcube.” sighed Applejack. “Most o' the time. But these last couple'a years... the parasprites, that Ursa Major, Spike's little... incident... well, part o' the duties of a landlord is t'keep the buildings in good condition. An' every time Ponyville gets flattened, the repair bill ends up on Big Mac's desk.”

Twilight winced slightly at the reminder of her failed anti-parasprite spell. “Couldn't you have sold some of the other parts of Ponyville to the ponies who live there, then?” she asked.

Applejack shook her head. “Celestia' gifts come with a couple o' conditions.” she said. “Y'can't just sell off land she gives you. In short, y'can only transfer ownership in one o' two ways; y'can give it back to Celestia, or y'can let y'next of kin inherit it. Once it's inherited, o'course, then it can be bought an' sold an' overall treated like any other land. The farm was given t' Granny's pa; when he died, Granny inherited it, an' passed it on t' her son; an' then Big Mac inherited that. So that can be sold.”

“I see.” said Twilight, nodding along.

“Now, Ah'll admit things were kinda tight last cider season,” continued Applejack, “but the profits from that were enough t'see us through that spot. An' we've had a good harvest since then, an' of course everyone's rents are almost due, so unless something flattens the entire town before... um... next week Wednesday, we should be just peachy.”

Comments

[garfan]

I like it, but it might just be simpler to say that while they wouldn't be in danger of losing the land they couldn't afford the cost of doing business

[Talon and Thorn]

so unless something flattens the entire town before... um... next week Wednesday, we should be just peachy.”

You just had to go jinx it didn't you?

Although if they have regular income from the whole town any bank would be happy to lend them what they need.

[CCC]

4117457

I'm pretty sure the episode said specifically that they were worried about losing the farm.

4117466

Alternatively, they could get a loan from Filthy Rich. I'm pretty sure he'd give them a good deal (perhaps in exchange for adding another twenty jars of zap apple jam every year, instead of asking for interest). Or they could just mention the problem in Princess Celestia's hearing, and all of Ponyville's remaining repair bills might just end up suddenly paid...

But that would involve admitting that they need help. And I think all of the Apples still have a lot of trouble doing that. (Though Applejack's been getting better at it; at least now she'll accept help when it's offered).

[strangephantasm]

“Sure.” said Applejack. “Few years after Sweet Apple Acres started, Celestia came back t'see how ma descendants were doin', ”

Shouldn't that be ancestors?

Anyway, MOM-LESTIA IS BEST-IA AND DON'T YOU FORGET-STIA!

[CCC]

4257510

Shouldn't that be ancestors?

Ooops. Fixed, thanks.

[FanOfMostEverything]

I can't believe I forgot to favorite this last time. Sorry about that. Looking forward to more, especially now that I'll be alerted to it.

[FancyFan]

Huh.
That's surprisingly simple. Nice.

[CCC]

5387651
5387665

Simplicity is definitely the way tohandle these questions.

[Lancerlot]

Next week: Flim and Flam go into the insurance business, sell a policy to the Apple family, and lose their shirts.

[CCC]

5496635

I'm sure they'd include a No-Payout clause hidden in the small print on the contract ("under absolutely no circumstances shall Flim or Flam ever be required to pay out this policy for any reason whatsoever") just to cover that eventuality

Of course, they'd still end up running from town with nothing but their cart and their clothes...

[Sigmacipher]

This is a real good set of stories...I want to see more...MOAR

[CCC]

6189525

Do you have any good "Why" questions that need addressing?

[Sigmacipher]

6192895 Hmmm...Why does fluttershy have the stare, Why did Celestia (or for that matter Shining Armor) not suspect Cadance was replaced when there was a threat against Canterlot, Why did Celestia only send Twilight and a few others against Sombra instead of the army or something, Why were twilights friends at least evacuated when Tirek struck, Why is Pinkie's Pinkie Sense so hard to describe when Pinkie can understand what the individual sensations mean, Why does Fluttershy like Spike when she's scared of dragons, Why didn't Dash try to patch things with Gilda earlier (before season 5), How did Zecora do that thing with the tea (you know where she refilled it by tracing her hoof around the edges), you know basic questions that everyone has.

[AcademicPony]

6192895
I'm a bit late to this, but I'll add a few from early seasons:

- Why didn't Celestia take action to save Rarity when she was falling to her death in "Sonic Rainboom"? She fell by at close enough range for alicorn-telekinesis, and other options existed as well.
- Why did Celestia authorize building a settlement on sacred land owned by the Buffalo in "Over a Barrel"?
- Why are sapient cattle kept as, well, cattle? We've actually seen conflicting depictions of this (Pinkie said hi to one in town at least once if memory serves, but the "magic milking" scene from "Boast Busters" didn't have them living like ponies).
- Why did Twilight breathe not a word of the existence of her brother for two years, to her closest friends? And describe herself as being "too busy to have any friends" in the extended version of the theme song, when she had a "best friend forever"?
- How did Chrysalis's plan make any kind of sense in the wedding invasion? Terrifying everyone doesn't seem to be a good long-term strategy if the drones need to stealthily integrate to harvest love over the long haul.

One of the more entertaining takes I've seen on a few of these comes from "Time and Time Again", which through convoluted but well-thought-out shenanigans gives her about a day or so of foreknowledge.

[MustacheMerlin]

Oh, poor Applejack! Tuesday and Saturday come before Wednesday!

[shumpy]

Here's a few:
Why was Discord out in full display when he was a statue? Why do ponies keep bursting out in choreographed music (even when half the song is going on elsewhere like when Chrysalis and Candace did the Wedding Duet)? Why was the original Castle of the Two Sisters in the Middle of the Everfree Forest (and what happened to move it to Canterlot instead of fixing it?)? Actually, the Everfree is a good question on its own, including what the hell happened to make Zap Apples, Timber Wolves, Poison Joke, and the Tree of Harmony... we should also ask why in the World Zecora chooses to LIVE there, instead of just visiting when she needs to.
Also, why did the Talented Unicorn's School have a Dragon Egg (or did Twilight turn what they had INTO a dragon egg)? Is Spike Twilight's son, or just her responsible assistant (and where did that become Spike's job)? Why does Twilight need to learn magic spells when the Cakes' unicorn baby can reverse gravity and walk through walls on a whim?

[Raichu]

WILL THIS NEVER BE CONTINUED???

[Mossy Pages]

To quote a Bronx on this story:

Oh no, SHE'S DEAD.