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.”
Twilight left Sweet Apple Acres with her head held high. As she passed through Ponyville, the setting sun at her back, her gait was confident but reserved. Even at her doorstep, she exuded all the certainty she had presented with Granny Smith.
The moment the door of her library closed behind her, that visage faded. Twilight hung her head and crept back to her couch.
“First Rarity, and now Granny Smith.” She squeezed her eyes shut with sadness and frustration.
It had never been her intention to own half of Ponyville, as her allegorical boast to Granny Smith had hinted. But if things like this kept happening, she might just. It seemed now that she looked somewhat like an alicorn, everypony wanted her to solve their problems. Twilight didn't feel like an alicorn then, and she certainly didn't feel like a princess.
Twilight didn't want a princess's problems or responsibilities, like a government. Particularly the governmental prerogative of welfare, something she feared she might become. In fact, she wanted nothing more than to lay on that couch and read her book.
Twilight looked at the book. It made her sad. Why couldn't ponies have the kind of social mobility of cutie markless species. That way, Applejack could pursue some other business when her farm failed, like painting. That way, Rarity wouldn't feel compelled to work herself half to death, and need a friend to cover for her when a fashion line flopped.
Twilight sighed. She knew her thoughts where just the frustration taking. There was no escaping responsibility, so she would do her best to work within it. She didn't want Sweet Apple Acres, but what other choice would she have? Nopony with the money to help would be as kind to the Apple family.
But Twilight felt trapped. She had been lenient on the points of the contract she had proposed, kinder than she had been with Rarity. When it came time to write the thing she would probably be more lenient still. But even the smallest stipulation pained Twilight's heart.
It was easy to be authoritative and demanding when you had the upperhoof. It was difficult to be reserved and courteous. It was easy to give things away, to let things go without a care for where they might be used. It was hard to care, to place limits, to follow things through. It didn't feel right to hold her friends and their relatives to the words, but it was necessary.
She didn't want to just give away money that wasn't hers, even if it was for a good cause. That would invite an unending horde of sweet and greedy ponies, hoping for grants and loans. And Twilight knew how quickly a free ride turned a pony's heart to sloth and arrogance.
Twilight buried her head in hooves. There was no magic which would wash all these problems away. It was time to be a big girl and face the worst part of this whole debacle.
“Spike!” She called out. “I need to send another letter to Celestia about research money.”
-
Several days later.
“Heya Twilight.” Applejack was pulling bags of seeds out of the barn when she saw her purple friend approach.
“Hello Applejack.” Twilight said lamely. “Have you seen Granny Smith?”
Applejack pulled the last bag from the barn, and began to pile them into a wheelbarrow. “She went inta town to buy a coupla things.”
“That's what I was afraid of.” Twilight whispered to herself. Granny Smith had been quick to use the extra money from selling the farm. One could only hope it was for something important.
“Hmm?” Applejack paused her work.
“Oh, nothing.” Twilight quickly responded. She was not very good with secrets. “I'll, uh, wait for her here. Mind if I walk around a bit?”
Applejack laughed. “Nopony needs permission to look around Sweet Apple Acres. Say, what'dya need Granny Smith for. Maybe I can help.”
Twilight gulped. “I, uh, bought some apples earlier and she, uh, was hoping to, uh, get some feedback.”
Applejack cocked her head. “So?”
Twilight began to sweat. “So, what?”
“So how were they? The apples?”
Twilight hated everything about keeping the truth from Applejack, not least of all the stress that went along with it. Granny might have had a reasonable reason, not wanting to worry her granddaughter. Twilight didn't want Applejack to worry either, but not because she was ignorant of the situation, but content with it.. Perhaps content was not the right word, Twilight did not want her friend to be complacent. Trusting perhaps, trust in Twilight. Still, Granny Smith had insisted that Twilight wait until the time was right. Twilight had grit her teeth. She did not want her friend laboring under the delusion everything was fine, when they where not. Not to say things where bad, just not fine.
“I'll let you know when I try them.” Twilight finally responded, immediately regretting it.
“Were you gunna tell her they were good without tryin them?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“Well, they where brown and mushy in some places.” Twilight supplied weakly, her evasion falling apart.
“But you didn't try them?” Applejack looked as if she wasn't sure how to feel.
“I'm sorry.” Twilight said, talking several steps away. “I'm really sorry.” She turned tail and launched herself into the air, flying away from the confused farm mare.
“What they hay?” Applejack watched the retreating alicorn. “Somthin's eatin her.” She turned back to the task at hand, heaving the next seed bag onto the wheelbarrow.
Twilight flew until she was out of sight, then doubled back. She settled on a cloud, watching her friend carry out her chores. She kicked herself for her graceless departure, but felt that if she had stayed any longer she would have revealed Granny Smith's secret. How long would it be, she wondered, before Applejack started seeing the signs of Twilight's ownership over the farm. Hopefully never; Twilight would give up her wings before she would accept any kind of symbology on Sweet Apple Acres.
Would Applejack even care? The family farm had been the life's work of five generations of Apples. If she misunderstood the nature of Twilight's ownership, she was likely to do something foolish. Then again, Twilight did not want to sell her friend short, as Applejack was nothing if not understanding.
Twilight sighed and rolled off the cloud, snapping her wings open to glide to Ponyville. Why, oh why did Granny Smith want to make things difficult?
There might be some element she was not suppling, something which Applejack knew.
The more she thought about it, the more Twilight became sure of it. Granny Smith had been willing to take the hit to her pride save the farm. The truth delayed promised no less disaster for the Apple family. If Granny guarded a secret, it was not not for the sake of pride or image.
Twilight did not think it right that she was deceiving her own friend for the sake of a secret she did not know. Secrets within secrets. For the burden of the lie, Twilight felt she deserved to know what it was she was protecting.
Twilight mentally rearranged her schedule as she flew. Her followup chat with Granny Smith could wait until she confirmed or cleared the suspicion. Her magical research could also be paused until this intrigue cleared. Consequently, her research progress demonstrations with Celestia needed to be pushed back. Twilight actually hadn't made any discoveries since the last one; The time consuming business with Rarity and now Granny Smith had seen to that. Celestia would be expecting a significant breakthrough considering how much money she thought she was investing.
Curiously, Twilight did not consider her lies to Celestia to be so important. Even as her stomach clenched at the thought of lying to Applejack or that Granny Smith might be lying to her, she was incurious to how Celestia may feel about the misappropriated funds, to say nothing of the lie itself.
For Twilight, it was time now to devise a strategy, to see what Applejack (and perhaps Big Macintosh as well) could knew that Granny Smith did not want coming to light.
Twilight could not believe it. Literally, her mind could not reconcile what she thought she knew with the damning evidence before her.
Granny Smith was seeing a suitor.
Twilight had gone to each shop in Ponyville and asked for a record of Granny Smith’s purchases. They’d supplied it cheerfully, acting as though it were perfectly within the realm of normalcy for an alicorn princess to be stalking the financial habits of a wizened grandmother. On the list were was roses, chocolates, silver rings (in matching boxes and wrapping), and several evenings worth of fancy diners.
Twilight put the list down and put her head in her hooves. How was it possible?! Granny Smith had to be smarter than to spend money on trinkets and expensive meals. After all, she had gotten the damn money by selling her farm!
“This has got to stop.” Twilight decided.
-
As fortune and fate would have it Twilight met Granny Smith on the road out of town, Twilight outbound, Smith inbound.
“Good evening.” Twilight smiled hollowly. Best to start off cheerful before the dirtiness came out.
“Evenin, Twilight.” Granny Smith beamed. “How’s y’all doin nowadays?”
“Just the same as last week.” Twilight said. She bit down on her lip, resolving not to dance around the issue. “I’m concerned that you are going through the sale money rather quickly.”
“What do you mean?” Granny Smith’s brow knitted.
“I had a look through your spending, to see where I could cut costs, and I noticed some curious expenditures.” Twilight partially lied. “What, for example, do expensive meals and designer cut flowers provide that Apple Family home cocking and wildflowers don’t. Businesses wise, its a bit decadent.”
“Why would y’all think it’s for business?” Granny Smith arched a brow. “And I don’t rightly understand why it’s important in anycase. It’s my money and I can spend it how I like.”
“Yes it most certainly is yours, but I feel like we had an understanding.” Twilight said, getting slightly frustrated. “You were to hold on to the extra bits from the sale and use them on a rainy day.”
“But the worst is over, thanks to you Twilight.” Granny Smith didn’t seem to get the point.
“The worst maybe, but I strongly advise you NOT immediately blow everything on frivolous purposes!” Twilight spat, then seeing Granny Smiths shocked expression, followed up. “I’m sorry, but you need to understand. That’s not to even begin to say the ramifications of the relationship itself.”
Granny Smith turned angry. Not having any good argument against the first of Twilight’s points, she latch on to the second. “You don’t think there’s true love at mah age?! You can’t understand it till you’ve had it!”
Love. Twilight’s stomach sank, not for her own sake of course, but for Granny Smith’s. “Think about the farm! If he has children of his own-”
“He do.” Granny interrupted haughtily.
“Well then his children might try to push something against Applejack and Big Mac. If you marry, then the issue of inheritance, and primacy inheritance in particular, is going to become muddied. Need I say you don’t want that?”
“Why would they do somethin like that?! They ain’t crooks. Besides, you can give the farm to whoever when I’m gone. I jes don’t understand why you’d try to keep me from being happy now!”
“I’m sure they aren’t crooks, but the contract is written in such a way that the succession is all on your end. If you aren’t careful, Applejack and Big Mac could lose it all.” Twilight repeated. Repetition engendered understanding. “As long as we’re clear on no marriage, I have no desire to keep you from being happy. But back to the issue of the money, you should limit your luxury expenditures to no more than-”
Granny Smith brushed past Twilight, continuing down the path to Ponyville. Twilight was dumbfounded. Granny Smith had blown her off after all she’d done for her!
The message was clear: Granny Smith could no longer be relied upon to hold responsible commitment to the contract. Twilight, in her shrewdness, had built a clause into the fine print for such a circumstance.
-
Applejack trotted down the path to her southernmost field, where a forest of apples awaited her bucks. It was a sunny and beautiful day, one that made her happy to be a farmer. The smell of the earth, her earth, made her feel alive like nothing else.
“Applejack!” Twilight’s call came. The purple alicorn came galloping up from the direction of Ponyville. “Applejack we need to talk!”
Applejack turned and smiled. “I always have time for talkin to you, Twilight.”
“Okay, maybe not talk, as much as I talk and you listen very carefully.” Twilight seemed seriously concerned. “Can you please do that for me?”
What in the hay was Twilight on about, Applejack wondered. It must have been the same silliness that made her hurry off earlier. Still, she signaled her agreement with a curt nod.
Twilight took a deep breath. “It’s about Granny Smith. Five days ago, she approached with a proposition. She herself and the farm were in serious debt, and the only way to keep all the property within family hooves was...”
Applejack felt herself detach from the conversation, as her innermost thoughts revolted. The farm was in trouble? Why hadn’t anypony told her?! She saw Twilight’s mouth move, but her heard heard no voice. She read her lips: ‘Sale’ , ‘Contract’ , ‘Marriage’ , ‘Assignee’.
Her legs failed. More and more of her vision was filled by the earth that did not belong to her, until her head smacked into it with a thunk and everything went dark.
When Applejack regained consciousness, she was on a bed. Not her bed, nor any in the farmhouse, no, because she knew what they felt like and this bed was none of those. It was framed by cold metal , uncomfortable, and insufficiently padded. There usually wasn’t an alicorn hovering over her at home either.
“Twilight?” Applejack twisted into a sitting position. “Where am I?”
“The hospital. You fainted.” Twilight said simply. “I’m sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have been so brash. I was frustrated and didn’t work my way up to the revelation.”
“Revelation…” Applejack repeated. She began to remember the immediate lead up to her loss of consciousness.
“The revelation that I own your farm.” Twilight cleared her throat nervously. “And yes, that sounds very bad on its own, but Granny Smith and I created a rigorous contract that protects both of us from mistakes and bad intentions.”
Applejack scooted back in the bed so she could lean against it. She felt a stab of anxiety in her heart. “Sorry sugarcube but I’m gunna have to parse that one bit at a time.” She said quietly. “Why do you own mah farm?”
“Your grandmother sold it to me, basically. Your family has made a lot of bad financial decisions over the years. Her choices were either to sell or lose the farm anyway.” Twilight explained.
Applejack averted her eyes to try to keep her scowl from settling on Twilight. “That don’t sound fair. Who made them ‘bad financial decisions’.”
“Your grandmother reverse-mortgaged some plots to pay for various things, and some of the loans are older government subsidized loans and deferments, from around the time of Sweet Apple Acre’s founding. But the lion’s share was signed by your mother and father.” Twilight recounted. “I even uncovered that some of the neighboring farms are your family’s land, but are currently under lien by banks. Well, not any more, but it’s convoluted, and some of the lending was outright unethical. I think the banks took advantage of Granny Smith.”
Applejack latched onto the last part of that. “So what can I do to shake them off?”
“What do you mean? I payed everything when I took possession of the farm.” Twilight cocked her head.
“But ya said they did it unethical! They took advantage of Granny!”
“But none of it was illegal. Yes, it was unfair to convince a mildly demented senior to a reverse-mortgage, but there’s no consumer protection laws for that. Not yet anyway.”
“Demented?” Applejack felt bombarded. Every tidbit she learned led to more questions.
“Err...” Twilight shifted on her hooves uneasily. “See, that was another thing I should have eased into. You see, Granny Smith has been acting very erratically since we made the contract. She’s been avoiding me and her obligations. That’s why I came to you.”
Applejack couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed off the stiff hospital bed sheet covers and rolled off the bed onto her hooves.
“Applejack, what are you doing?” Twilight took a step back from her. “You need to be examined to make sure there’s no permanent damage from your faint.”
“I’m not rightly sure I care.” Applejack said emptily. “Twi, I’m goin back to the farm. Talk with me on the way there, won’t ya?”
The walk from the hospital to Sweet Apple Acres was long enough for Twilight to explain all the little details of the day Granny Smith had approached her, everything she’d learned about the debts, about the contract, and finally about Granny Smith’s odd behavior.
Applejack listened silently. She didn’t know what to think. All she could feel was confusion. Twilight seemed to be glossing over the fact that she owned the ground under which they were trotting, which until that day Applejack had thought had been her own. Without owning a farm, what kind of security did her family have as farmers. If there was no security, there was uncertainty, and from uncertainty came doubt and fear.
Applejack knew with all her heart that Twilight Sparkle was a good pony and the best organizer she’d ever met. But she wasn’t a farmer. Applejack’s mind went to stories she’d heard from relatives around Appaloosa, where city slickers were buying farmland and embarrassing themselves frying to make profitable farms. Twilight wasn’t a fool, but would she know the right thing for the farm?
“I just want things to remain the same.” Applejack finally spoke up as they came within line-of-sight of the farmhouse.
“That’s what we all want, Applejack. That’s why Granny Smith asked me not to tell you or Macintosh.” Twilight said, but with a slight frown she continued. “But I’m not sure she’s doing the right thing. She’s wasting money and refusing to communicate. It’s like she’s pretending that everything’s okay, when that’s the very reason the farm was in such dire straights to begin with.”
“Granny’s stubborn alright.” Applejack nodded.
“As I said, I’m afraid that she’s demented.” Twilight said sadly. “Applejack, are you able to step forward and be the Apple Family’s agent to act towards the fulfillment of the contract?”
Applejack scrunched her nose. “Stop sayin that. Granny ain’t demented. She’s always good for her word so there ain’t no need for me to get involved.”
Twilight shied away slightly. “Umm, maybe I’m being a bit to hasty… But you can understand my concerns, right? Granny Smith is, ahem, not very good with money obviously. Sure she’s a mean haggler but business finance is a whole different animal, so to speak.”
They reached the front porch and stayed by the threshold. Applejack let Twilight continue.
“Applejack, you’re my friend. I know I should be able to trust my friend’s grandmother implicitly but I just can’t. We don’t have the same connection that, you know, you and I do.” Twilight took a step closer and lay a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. “I know you won’t avoid me or refuse to communicate.”
“Money stuff makes me uncomfortable.” Applejack mumbled.
“You won’t have to anything except talk to me, Applejack. The money stuff is my problem now. You’ll come to me with the list of requirements, I make disbursements, and you return the receipts. I mean really, it’s more like I’m your accountant than anything else.” Twilight giggled. “It’s all in the contract.”
Applejack didn’t find it as funny. Wasn’t there a saying about friends and money? “So, um, where does Granny keep her copy of the contract. I think I’ll be havin a look at it, and see what I can make of it.”
“I wouldn’t know, but that does prompt a point I’ve been dancing around.” Twilight fidgeted. “Could you be the one who tells your grandmother about this change? I’m afraid she might get upset and blow up at me when I tell her about this.”
“Well it don’t strike me as proper goin behind her back like this either.” Applejack rubbed her chin. “Twilight, Y’all know I trust ya with my life, but I wanna get Granny’s side of the story before I go rushin into anything. So as much as I’d like to, I can’t agree to nuthin right now.”
Twilight was quiet for a while. “That’s for the best. I’m just anxious for the sake of the contract. If nopony steps up to keep to one side’s responsibilities, the whole thing could be at risk. That would be…” She shivered. “I don’t want to put you through that.”
“Uh… What?” Applejack squinted at her alicorn friend. “You mean like some kinda penalty? There’d be some penalty against us?”
Twilight glanced around evasively. “That’s a big part of contracts you know. Keeping both sides on the same page isn’t possible without teeth to the agreement, metaphorically speaking.” She hopped off the porch. “I encourage you to read it through, thoroughly. I’m not trying to trick anypony. Just… Find Granny Smith and encourage her to transfer to you willingly. There are mechanisms for me to force it but I don’t want to.”
Applejack was simultaneously impressed and unnerved by how thorough this contract sounded. She would be happier with Twilight never thinking about the farm again if she analyzed and deconstructed it the way she had. The land was a thing to cherish and understand, not tabulate and nitpick over. “Sure thing Twi. I’ll get a straight answer about what she’s done. Trust me.”
Twilight nodded. “I’ll try to be back tomorrow. I have some paperwork from Princess Celestia to work through in the meantime.”
“See ya.” Applejack watched her leave for a few moments, but the discomfort became too great and she turned her back on her friend. Applejack pried open the screen door to the house and was surprised to see Big Macintosh reposed at the dining table, not out in the orchards like she’d assumed he would be. “Uh, hey Big Mac. Ya hear much of anya that?”
Macintosh shrugged. “Eeenope.”
Whether he really hadn’t heard, or like everypony else was pretending for the sake of continuity, it didn’t matter much. “Never mind then. I dunno what I’m talking about.” Applejack shuffled off to her room, where she could recover from the shock of the day in earnest.
Twilight reluctantly opened her eyes. “Urgh, what time is it?”
*tap tap tap* Somepony was forcefully banging on one of the downstairs windows.
Grumbling to herself, Twilight descended to the first floor. The sun was just cresting the horizon, which gave her an idea about the identity her unexpected visitor.
Indeed, Granny Smith was standing outside the kitchen window, looking very upset.
“Oh. Great.” Twilight scrunched her nose. “This is when we do this then.” She unlatched and opened the window.
“ ‘Bout time.” Granny Smith said at a hiss.
“I have a door.” Twilight pointed out.
“Shame ta say, I prefer this between us.” Granny Smith tapped the window frame. “You’ve done me wrong, Twilight.”
“Applejack must have told you last night.” Twilight rubbed her chin. There was a courteous way to go about this, and a blunt way. The former seemed to bounce right off the old mare. The latter made her upset and only made her more sure in her stubbornness. “I don’t know how to put this, but I hope this comes as something of a reality check for you. I really didn’t want to go behind your back, but you went behind mine with this suiter business.”
Granny Smith’s frown deepened.
“Ultimately, I decided this would be best for both of us. If you turn over responsibility to Applejack, you can be free from worrying about the contract and our obligations to each other. We can talk with Applejack about budgeting out a reasonable allowance for your romance, and the family funds will continue to grow.”
“I already done it. Y’all’re in business with Applejack now.” Granny Smith said quietly. It was the kind of quiet that held back a lot of anger.
Twilight hummed in appreciation. “Thank you. That’s very reasonable of you.”
“Not ‘cause I wanted to.” Granny continued. “No, I done it because you ain’t been fair to me, and I won’t do business with with a cheat.”
“A cheat?” Twilight was starting to get annoyed herself. “That word has a definition and I don’t fit it. I’ve been very fair.”
“The contract gave me the choice for what to do the the money. And I chose. That was my privilege.” Granny said. “But y’all saw an old mare tryin ta find happiness for her last few years and thought it were wrong. How can ya sleep knowin ya used legal trickery ta steal a gal’s happiness?”
“Nothing you said is technically wrong except the last part. There are plenty of cheap dates in Ponyville.” Twilight said with a hint of sass. “I am not trying to torpedo your romance, but I suppose I’m trying to reduce its cost, in more ways than one. It’s unreasonable to use money intended for your whole family only on yourself.”
“I seen the new accounting! Black as can be!”
“Those are forecasted profits. Even without the interest it will take years to make up the cost of the debts I erased.” Twilight sighed. She humored the idea of adding clauses about the Apple family taking financial literacy classes to the contract.
Granny huffed. “And ya don’t think makin y’all’s money back can wait?”
“Hey, I’m accounted for! It’s your family that’s going to suffer for your reckless spending.” Twilight glared.
“How many year do ya think I’ve got left? Applejack and Mac have years and years ta make and spend money.” Granny croaked. “As if money really mattered.”
“It did for you.” Twilight frowned. “Don’t try anything foalish. Be frugal, and we can forgive each other. We start with the allowance.”
“And I refuse ta have any part of that. You and Applejack decide between y’all.” Granny Smith turned and trotted off. “Good mornin.”
“Yeah, good morning.” Twilight closed the window. “Geez.”
Twilight went about her morning routine with a lot on her mind. The initial flurry of accounting and such from the Sweet Apple Acres acquisition had died down, so all Twilight had ahead of her was regular budgeting stuff. That gave her time to think.
When evening came, Applejack was pleased yet uncustomarily anxious to come back from the fields to find Twilight Sparkle on her porch.
Applejack was sickened to have to wonder if that kind of question was Twilight being polite and interested in her friend’s success, or just interested in her investment. “Yup.”
Twilight arched a brow like she had been expecting more. “Good to hear.” She cleared her throat. “You read over the contract?”
“With Granny before she signed it over ta me.” Applejack sighed. “She wasn’t happy.”
“I got a taste this morning.” Twilight agreed. “What did you think?”
“Think?” Applejack repeated. Twilight was acting like she was asking her opinion on some hobby craft, not a life-altering contract. “It’s comprehensive.”
“That it is.”
“And pretty fair.”
“I thought so.” Twilight nodded. “More than pretty fair.”
“Uh, sure.” Applejack cleared her throat again. Why did she feel so nervous? It was just Twilight. “Granny thought you’d use our friendship ta take advantage of me. I don’t think ya can, thankfully, with how ya wrote it.”
Twilight blinked.
Applejack gulped, knowing how badly she’d phrased that. “I mean ta say I feel safe about it, ya know? I really do trust ya.”
“I didn’t know that was an issue.” Twilight said.
“It ain’t!” Applejack blurted out. “Maybe y’all can see I’m a bit fidgitty, but it ain’t your fault. Promise. I mean, obviously I’m real conflicted that it feels like I’m pickin sides between you and Granny. Obviously, I’m a hoot shaken about Granny not tellin me about some stallion she’s sweet on. And the debt…” She slumped. “I know she was tryin to protect us, but she ain’t, been, honest. That hurts.”
“I know.” Twilight said simply.
“I know she’s torn too. She can be a might impulsive, and I don’t know how ta talk reasonable-like with her about her beau. She won’t even say who he is. It’ll just have ta… run its course I suppose.”
Twilight nodded silently. “That is part of the reason why I’m here. I wanted to see how you’re doing, but also look into giving Granny Smith a controlled portion of the earnings to keep her happy.”
Applejack hesitated. “Uh, I don’t know if I feel comfortable with that.”
“Why not?” Twilight demanded.
“It don’t seem right. Like I said Twi, we let it run its course.”
“Applejack, that’s your money she’s throwing away. She’s taking the bread out of your mouth.” Twilight pursed her lips. “Then there’s the issue of inheritance, thankfully somewhat subverted with you taking on the contract. But what if she gets married, and by some slight oversight the new step-siblings are able to challenge you for control of the farm?”
“Twi that’s ridiculous.” Applejack scoffed.
“I agree, but it’s possible.”
“If somepony tries something like that you’ll stop ‘em.”
Twilight shook her head. “If they use the contract as cover, what can I do?”
“Huh?” Applejack was starting to get confused. “Don’t be silly Twi. Are ya really gunna stick to a dang piece of paper if it means I lose my farm?”
“The chance is very low.” Twilight admitted.
That didn’t satisfy Applejack one bit. “That don’t answer the question. Y’all sound like ya prefer tha letter of the law over helpin your friend.”
“Naturally it’s possible to change the contract to shore up holes like that, but we couldn’t alter it in the middle of litigation.” Twilight said, still evasive. “I’m just putting out hypotheticals.”
“And I’m asking you a direct question Twi! Do ya think our friendship or the dang contract is more important!” Applejack shouted.
The porch was silent for a few minutes. Applejack felt a gulf of regret form in her gut over her outburst. Twilight was just sitting there, blinking.
“Twi… I didn’t mean ta. I’m sorry.” Applejack offered.
“No, no, you were in the right. I wasn’t offering you a good answer.” Twilight said. “What you need to hear, and I was shamefully unable to say, is that I would choose you. Even if it meant breaking the law and going against my contract, friendship is more important.”
“I guess so. I wasn’t being fair though. The farm don’t equal friendship.” Applejack sat down next to her friend. “It’d change everything if we lost it, but…” She trailed off. “Shucks. We almost did lose the farm, before you stepped in.”
“Some ponies say the system is unfair. It almost crushed you. I want to make sure that never happens again.” Twilight promised. “And as long as we both do our jobs, it won’t.”
Applejack was little comforted by the clinical assessment. “Yup.”
Twilight stood up. “Does that mean you’ll think about an allowance for Granny Smith?’
“What I was tryin ta say before is I think y’all’re tryin ta wean her off her coltfriend. I don’t think that’s right.” Applejack paused. “But I’ll think about it. I want to help you and her patch up, eventually.”
“Thank you Applejack.” Twilight smiled. “Come by some time. We can walk around the market and talk.”
“Sure.” Applejack watched Twilight leave. She didn’t feel as off balance as she had the first day of learning about the contract, but she still did not feel quite right.
She pushed open the screen door and trotted into the kitchen. Big Macintosh was sitting in the living room, reading a little book.
“Weren’t you in the fields?” Applejack squinted at him. He would have been able to hear the shouting, but not understand it, unless he was closer to the door before she came in. She quickly dispelled such paranoid notions.
“Eeeyup.” Mac nodded without looking up from his book.
“Fair ‘nuf.” Applejack said. After a second or two she decided it would not be time for her brother to know about the contract for a while. She continued on to the kitchen and got started on dinner.
