Lost at Home

Lost at Home: A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfic by the *Secondbestscribe*

Chapter Five: Rough Patches

It was the third week of the holidays, and Applejack, the loyalest and most dependable of all ponies, was beginning to worry.

Normally, business was booming. Well, figuratively, at least. And not so much booming as it was gently pulsating. But at least it was moving.

Now, however, business was going along at a snail's pace. No, that was a lie. Even Snails could have beaten business in a race. It was getting to that point.

Applejack sighed and fanned herself with her hat. Celestia's sun was being particularly harsh this summer, and that was probably one of the reasons that the trees weren't giving them as much fruit as usual. AJ remembered, with a slight shudder, how she had harvested the apples a week or so ago, and had been met with a mere two-and-a-half cartfuls.

Two and a half! Normally, the family raked in five... at least. During Zap Apple season, it was even better, and the money really did spike up around there. This time of year was the flattest for the family, but they had far more up for sale regardless.

But this year...

AJ sighed again and replaced her hat on top of her mop of blonde hair. The apples weren't even that crunchy. Or sweet. In fact, she had checked one of the bigger trees this morning, and had been met with a WORM!

A worm, out of all things! Well, it was a good thing that Apple Bloom didn't know, at least. Big Mac knew just how to deal with this kind of stuff, being on the farm and taught in its ways for his entire life, and Granny was... well, she was Granny. AJ was confident that the old mare, bless her heart, could have stared at the apples with an angry look in order to make them grow better, never mind hoofwork and harvesting and applebucking and the like.

Another sigh escaped the lips of the mare. AJ knew that, regardless of the heat and the steady stream of hope leaking out of her, she had to keep up a jaunty personality for the customers. Even these were sparse, which really took the morale out of a pony, but AJ had learned how to deal with this kind of thing.

Raising her voice above the cacophony of the other marketers, she bellowed, "Getcha lovely apples right here! C'mon everpony, getcha apples, lovely apples, farm-fresh! Getcha apples...!"

As she advertised for her stall, AJ reflected on the morning's bearings (no pun intended). Waking up, showering and brushing her teeth had not been much of a stray off the beaten path; no, it was breakfast that had surprised Applejack. After listening to the obligatory Apple-Bloom-and-the-CMC chatters, the cowpony had turned her attention to Big Mac, who had some very surprising news. When Apple Bloom had left, the Crusaders having been waiting politely for her outside, the crimson stallion had turned to his sister and delivered the news.

"Yer WHAT NOW?" Applejack had spluttered, after rejecting the milk she had had in her mouth and spraying it out onto the table.

"Applejack!" Granny had scolded her. "Don' spray all over the table, now! That's bad manners, that is!"

"But... but... but..." AJ had gestured helplessly with her hooves, then had burst out, very loudly, "But she's Apple Bloom's teacher!"

"At least it ain't that little librarian with that dolly he's taken a fancy to," smirked Granny, nudging her grandson slyly.

"Granny!" Mac had exclaimed, jumping backwards. He was more talkative in the morning, if "talkative" was the right word.

"And ah can't believe that yah didn't tell us before!" AJ had muttered, shaking her head. "Well, ah wouldn't have guessed it. Hah! Cheerilee 'n' Big Mac, eh?"

Big Mac had said nothing.

"Well, at least ya've got somepony, now," AJ had remarked, mopping up her milk-spray and nodding slightly suggestively at her brother.

"Is she good?" Granny had asked, earning a blush from her grandson that showed up on his crimson coat.

"How much would this be?"

"Hmm?" said Applejack, coming out of her reverie and nearly biting on her tongue as she forced herself to stop advertising for her goods. "Oh, hang on jes' a sec, an' ah'll weigh that for yah..."

Applejack took the bag of apples from the pony and plopped it on the scale. The numbers came up, and she did the calculations, and she offered up the price, and without any haggling or negotiating, the money was handed over.

The cowpony looked at the amount of money in her hoof in surprise. These days, nopony would willingly pay the right amount for anything. It made her angry, watching ponies haggling in the streets over petty items, but even she had started doing it. It was infectious, and had become a habit, and now here was this pony giving this money to her without so much as a tut of complaint.

Applejack, not even bothering to look up at her client, tipped her hat apprehensively and said, "Erm... thanks, partner."

"No problem!" the pony grinned, and trotted away with the bag of apples in her mouth.

Applejack frowned after the pony, then looked back down at the bits in her hoof and counted them. Then she did so again. And again. Then, for good measure, she bit down on them just to make sure that they were genuine, which they were. AJ hated ponies who did this, but times were desperate, and this weird mystery pony had just given her...

...twenty-five genuine bits...

"But ah only asked fer five..." she muttered.