Truth
In a cellar, where all the Apple family cider is kept, one of the invited family members is keeping the books. Her name is Rainbow Dash, a foreigner who recently moved to Ponyville to find a new life for herself in hopes of escaping the poverty of her homeland. Two months ago, around the same time Rainbow joined the family, the Apples were met with a string of unfortunate incidents.
The current head, since Don Smith stepped down, is Jaquline Apple, but the family and everyone else calls her Applejack. She has some suspicions to test. She makes her way down to the cellar where Rainbow is hard at work and decides to see what she's up to.
"Ya know, Ah always had a feelin' it'd be you, Rainbow." She said. Startled, Rainbow dropped her clipboard and turned to face Her Don.
"W-what? I... I don't know what you mean Applejack." She replied, nervously. Applejack took off her hat and set it down on one of the cider barrels. She took a testing glass from near by and poured herself a cup of the illicit beverage. She took a sip and set the glass back down.
"Sure ya don't. Ya don't know why we've lost ten percent of our profits, and ya also haven't been workin' fer the cops. Ya don't know where our cider went missin' ta, and Ya don't know what happened ta Macintosh, Celestia rest his soul." She said, her eyes cold and distant, yet sharp and clear. Rainbow was taken aback.
"Are you accusing me of killing Macintosh!?" She said as if she'd been struck. Applejack shook her head and poured another glass.
"That's not what Ah said at all. Why don't ya have a drink, Miss Dash? Ya seem a little jittery fer someone who's just takin' down records." She said, her southern drawl as smooth as syrup. Rainbow took a breath and took the frothy drink from her Don.
"If that's not what you're saying, then what are you saying ma'am?" Rainbow asked after a sip of the golden liquid.
"Ah'm simply statin' thin's. Some of 'em might be true, and others might not. Take that there drink in yer hand fer example. In the records, which you take by the way, it doesn't exist. A whole barrel of cider. It's sittin' right there, as we can plainly see, but the record say it ain't. Now how would ya explain that, Miss Dash?" She asked. Rainbow nearly dropped her glass, but fumbled it in time to keep from spilling it. A glass this size was worth almost five bits on it's own.
"I..." She began, but then the Don started again.
"And then, there's that whole profits thin'. Somehow, we're losin' right now, and we were in an uptick only a couple months ago. Ah can only wonder how that happened, because sales have increased and our prices have yet ta change. So it don't make sense that we're losin' more than we projected, does it? Oh, but ya know what? Ah started ta notice this little 'dip' about a week after you showed up. It wasn't ten percent at first of course, it was only a little drop. But then it was two percent. Then three, then five, then seven, and now, it's ten. It's almost as if... somebody is takin' money outta the profits before they make it here. Now, a reasonable person such as yerself, would first suspect those who handle the money first right?" Applejack asked. Rainbow nodded and took a gulp of her cider.
"See, Ah knew ya were reasonable. So, if that's the case... who outta our staff handles the money? Applebloom hasn't been doin' it fer about a month because we hired a book keeper. Oh wait a minute, it coulda been the driver but... then again, he up and got shot a few weeks back, so we had ta relegate that task... ta the book keeper. So from point A ta point B... there's really only one person who coulda done that. But Ah'm not makin' any accusations here. I'm just havin' a drink with my pal, ain't that right?" The don said, giving her book keeper a smile a wink and a nudge.
"R-right." Rainbow stuttered as she took another swig.
"So, now that we've established that, Ah'd like ta ask ya somethin', if Ah may." She said. Rainbow tried in vain to steady her breath.
"S-sure, ma'am, go right ahead." She offered. Applejack put her hand on Rainbow's leg and leaned in right next to her face.
"If ya knew all that, what would ya do ta the book keeper?" She asked, her voice like a dagger, every word piercing Rainbow's skull.
"I... I... I don't know. I... I don't think I would ever be in that situation." She responded. She could smell the don's breath, she was practically touching noses with her. Applejack took the empty glass from Rainbow and set it aside. She put a hand on her chest and pushed her down against the barrels they were sitting on.
"Ya know, Ah really did like ya Rainbow. Fer a while there, Ah really thought Ah'd found somebody special. But as it turns out, that just wasn't the case, now was it? Why don't ya tell me the truth. Just tell me what happened. Tell me everythin' ya know. Somebody as smart as y'all outta figure that they ain't got much room left ta run ta. Do ya remember when we first met, and Ah gave ya my speech about what bein' a part of the family means?" She asked. The room was spinning and the weight of the Don on top of her was making Rainbow's head fog up. She tried to calm down, her heart beating a mile a minute.
"You... you said that you just wanted honesty! The most important part of being in the family is being honest with everyone in the family!" She stated, the memory being forced from her head. Applejack grabbed Rainbows chin and forced her to look her in the eyes.
"That's right Rainbow. That's exactly right. Now tell me, my dear, sugracube, Rainbow Dash... Have you been Honest with me?" The Don asked. Rainbow couldn't keep her eyes open as tears started to well up. However, the don was stronger than she was, so she couldn't move an inch from where she lay.
"No! I'm so sorry, I haven't been honest! I stole! I've been skimming from the profits and I sold a barrel on the side! But I never snitched, and I didn't kill Macintosh, I swear! Nobody should've caught him, and that fire fight never should've happened! Ya gotta believe me ma'am, I was just desperate for the money! My sister was gonna get jailed for taking food just to survive! Please, forgive me!" She begged. Rainbow, a twenty two year old grown woman, felt like she was a child, being scolded by her mother again. And when she looked back up to the eyes mere inches from hers, she saw genuine disappointment. Applejack shook her head, and then fell in to hug Rainbow.
"Oh, Rainbow, this is all Ah ever wanted from ya. If ya needed the money, then why didn't ya just ask? If ya knew that ya could sell the product ta someone else, all ya had ta do was tell me ya wanted ta try it. Rainbow, my dear, Sugarcube. Ah've got one more question, and then we can put all this behind us and move on. After ya tell me the truth, this will all be over, and you'll never have ta hear about it again." She leaned back up, only slightly relieving the pressure from Rainbow's body and whispered in her ear.
"Do ya know where Scootaloo is right now?" Rainbow's eyes went wide and she turned her head to look at her Don's smiling face with horrifyed eyes.
"H-how did you-" Applejack shushed Rainbow.
"Sugarcube, ya've got ta know by now that Ah have got information networks that even Granny doesn't know about. Now about my answer... Where. Is. Your. Sister. Rainbow?" She asked, pronouncing every syllable.
"A-At home?" Rainbow said. Applejack shook her head. She stood up and she pointed at the barrel they both took a drink from.
"Why don't ya look in side that there barrel and tell me if yer right, huh?" Applejack said with a smile that could put a jester to shame. Rainbow stood and reached for the barrel. The last thing she ever heard was a gunshot from behind her back. Applejack blew the smoke from her revolver and put it back in her holster in her suit jacket.
"What's real sad about all this... is that ya were right. She's at home, and she's just fine. Even got a doc ta get her a wheel chair. But, that don't matter. You betrayed the family. You betrayed my trust. But what's worse than that, is that ya lied ta me. No one, lies ta me."