Apple Family Business

Applejack nodded to herself as she watched the cider sales running smoothly. Apple Bloom kept the line moving, and Big Mac kept the cider flowing. She eyed the remaining barrels, then looked at the line of ponies stretching off behind the hills.

Figure we'll be out in under an hour. She rubbed a hoof on her chin while she mentally tallied the day's take. The cider profits were steady as always. Demand always outstripped the supply, so there was no waste. It also allowed the Apples to keep the price high. All in all, it was a tidy racket.

A sharp whistle from Big Mac pulled her from her calculations. He jerked his head towards the road to the farm. Applejack looked over to see two town guards heading towards the stand. She nodded to her brother, then went to greet the officers. They both wore the traditional mail shirts and blue-painted helmets, along with the usual well-groomed mustaches.

"Something Ah can help ya with, Copper?" Applejack said to the senior of the pair.

"Just making sure you're not selling any hard cider here, AJ." Copper Shield replied, giving a smile with no warmth to it. "Need to see your license and tax forms, too."

Applejack looked from one to the other, her face neutral and guarded. "Right this way, officers." she said, then lead them up to the farmhouse.

"You're a little earlier than Ah expected." she said, looking back at them.

Copper's partner tilted his head in a pony shrug. "We just figured we'd come today."

"Is that so?"

They followed her into the house, then up to her office. Both stood silently and waited while she opened her safe, filled a small sack with bits, and placed it on her desk.

The younger partner, Strifeguard, did a quick count of the bag's contents, and nodded to his companion.

"Your paperwork looks to be in order, Applejack." said Copper. "Be seeing you."

"You boys look thirsty. Why doncha both have a mug on me?"

They both nodded their heads in thanks, neither smiling, then took the sack and left. Applejack frowned, heading over to the window. She watched the guards get their freebie from the stand, then head back down the road towards town.

Usually, the guards were friendly and chatty, but today they were giving her the stoneface routine. Applejack hated it when somepony acted funny. If they changed, it means something else has changed, and change is never good. She made her way out of the house and back to the booth, keeping a sharp eye out for anything else unusual.

The cider and the coin were still flowing smoothly; everypony was eagerly waiting in line for their chance to buy a mug. Applejack walked down the line, putting a smile on her face and cheerfully greeting the occasional townie. Everypony in line had the familiar expressions of thirst and desire.

Applejack's smile faded when she noticed the line didn't stretch out as far as usual. It wasn't anything to worry about profit-wise; by her estimate, the cider would still run out long before the line did. It was, though, another sign of unwelcome change. She continued going down the line to chat up the locals, hoping one would drop a rumor or bit of news that would put a name to her fear.

Eventually, Applejack heard her little sister call out: "That's all for today, everypony! We'll have more tomorrow!" She started walking back to the booth, smiling tightly to hide her frustration. The ponies had been chatty enough, but hadn't offered up anything more than the usual scuttlebutt. Slowly, she began to notice something else unusual.

Normally, when the cider ran out, the ponies in line would groan and complain; this time, there was only a scattered grumble or hissing sigh. A quick scan of their faces showed annoyance rather than the usual frustration. The locals calmly turned around and started heading back to town.

As she headed back up the road, her ears caught somepony saying "Oh well. Guess we'll try the other place." Her eyes narrowed as she approached the booth, where Mac and Apple Bloom were bagging up the coin.

"Say Apple Bloom," Applejack began, take a small hoof-full of bits and sliding them to her little sister, "Why doncha play with yer friends today? Me and Big Mac will handle the cider making."

"Why thanks, sis!" The filly took the bits and stashed them in her bag.

"And while yer out, see if ya can find another place out there selling cider."

Apple Bloom's face turned serious. "Another cider outfit?" She nodded with all the grimness the cute little filly could muster. "Don't you worry, sis. I'll find them poachers!" She gave both her brother and sister a hug before trotting off to find her fellow Crusaders.

Big Mac started tying sacs of coin together, and slinging them across his back. "Competition, eh?"

"Looks like." replied Applejack. She slung a pair of bags behind her neck. "I know what you're gonna say, and I don't wanna hear it." She started for the house, not looking back. "Now come on; we got cider to squeeze."

Her brother sighed and followed. "Eeyup."

It was near supper time when Apple Bloom finally made it back to the farm.

"Found 'em!" she announced with a big, proud smile as she walked in the door. "Just outside of town, on that road that goes by Cranky Doodle's place."

Applejack and Big Mac looked up from their card game. "Good work there, little sister." said the older sister. "Who was running it?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. She joined her siblings at the table and replied, "I dunno. It was a couple earth ponies. They didn't look like locals. Kinda sounded like Appleloosans."

"Fold." Big Mac tossed his cards on the table, then looked at Apple Bloom. "Ya see their set up? They got a cider press n' all?"

"Nah, just a booth, a wagon, and a buncha barrels. Supper gonna be ready soon?"

"Its coming, don't get fussy!" Granny Smith yelled from the kitchen.

Applejack looked to her brother. "They must press it somewhere else, then. How about we pay them a visit tomorrow, give 'em a Ponyville welcome?"

"Eeyup."

"That's it for today, ponies! We'll have more tomorrow, so y'all come back, ya hear?"

The ponies left in line sighed and grumbled, then quietly shuffled back towards town. Applejack and her brother quickly bagged up the gold and hauled it to the safe.

"Apple Bloom, you mind yer Granny for a spell. Me and Big Mac are taking a walk."

"Ok, sis!"

Applejack eyed her brother. "Ready?"

Big Mac slipped his collar off and set it by the door, then took a grey derby off the hat rack, brushed off the dust that sprinkled it, and put it on. "Eeyup."

They followed a road that circled around the town instead of going straight through, just in case the other crew had spotters out. Neither sibling spoke; each was steeling themselves for the confrontation ahead.

Some time later, they were peering over a clump of bushes at a cider stand. The booth itself was a slapdash affair; some planks nailed together and slathered with red paint. Nearby was a much sturdier wagon and a pile of barrels. Two stallions were running the business: a light green earth pony with three red tomatoes on his flank, and an orange pony wearing a red velvet vest. Plenty of ponies were lined up buying mugs; many of them had been waiting at Sweet Apple Acres only hours before.

Big Mac and Applejack waited for the stand to close. They could hear the ponies happily carousing around the stand, guzzling down mug after mug of cider. Another hour crawled by as the pair waited, and even their well-exercised muscles were strained from sitting so long.

Finally, the crowd was dispersing. The vendors began loading the barrels back onto the wagon, calling out friendly farewells to the leaving customers. After the last barrel was loaded, the green pony closed the gate and checked the wagon, while his partner packed up the money.

The green stallion was looking over the harness when he heard a commotion, like someone was trying to kick down the booth. He hurried around the wagon and saw a large red stallion, with his forelimbs wrapped around his partner's neck. The red-vested pony was flailing around in a panic, trying to free himself and hitting the stand in the process.

"Why you cotton pickin'..." The stallion charged at Big Mac, but met the wrong end of Applejack, a pair of limbs that had been bucking trees for a decade. She kicked him from her hiding spot behind the wagon, pulling her blow so that it sent him tumbling into a nearby tree, instead of shattering his bones.

The pony in Mac's grip fell limp, and Mac lowered him to the ground. He took a moment to check the stallion's breathing, then nodded to his sister. They both calmly walked over to where the green pony lay, clutching his shoulder in pain.

"You both plumb loco!?" he yelled at them. "The brothers are going to clean your plows!"

Applejack narrowed her eyes and glared down at him. "The heck are these brothers doing moving cider in Ponyville? You even know who yer messing with?" She looked to her brother and nodded her head at their captive. "Big Mac, tell 'im who he's messing with."

Mac put a hoof on the injured shoulder, pressing his weight on it till the green pony yelped in agony. He leaned his head down, calmly speaking to the sweaty, shivering cider salesman. "We're the Apple Family; that's Family with a capital 'F'. You mess with the Apples, you're Fucked; that's also with a capital 'F'." The derby shifted forward, hooding his eyes.

"Apple Family, yeah." The injured pony caught his breath once Big Mac removed his hoof. "You're that small time outfit. Heh heh heh. Best you pull your horns in and go home. The Flim Fam Brothers will stomp you flatter than flapjacks."

Applejack went over to the booth and snagged several of the bags of coin that had been dropped by the vested pony. She put the sacks in her saddlebag and looked back at her competitor. "Never heard of 'em. Don't know you, either."

"Hank. Hank Ketchup."

"Well Hank, you mosey on back to those two mudsills and tell them nopony runs a cider operation 'round here but the Apples! C'mon, Big Mac." With that, Applejack turned and walked away.

"Eeyup." Mac casually kicked the injured shoulder, tearing a pained cry from its owner, before following his sister.