Apple Family Business

The sun was high in the sky, the line was long, and the cider was pouring. To most of the ponies at Sweet Apple Acres, it was another pleasant day. The Apples, however, were tense and wary.

Applejack paced a steady circle around the farm. Occasionally she'd see Granny Smith peek out one of the farmhouse windows, where she was keeping watch. She sighed, remembering the criticism Granny had given her last night.

"Ya mean ta say ya didn't even bother ta learn anything about this outfit before ya riled 'em up?"

Applejack shook her head. That's how its been ever since she handed the business over to me. Never tells me what Ah should do, but always let me know when I'm doing it wrong. Hell, we had ta let 'em know we meant business. If they're smart, those brothers will clear on outta here.

"Applejack!"

Her brother's shout pulled her out of her thoughts, and she hurried over to the cider booth. Big Mac said nothing, merely waving his muzzle down the road as he helped Apple Bloom.

Several figures were heading around the hill. It was a bit too far to see who it was, but Applejack had little doubt it was their rivals. Ain't nobody else who'd be coming to see us. She slid her stetson forward, her expression hardening.

"Don't fret none," she calmly said to her siblings. "They won't try nuthin' with all these witnesses around." With that, she stepped out into the road to wait for the newcomers.

As they drew closer, she saw two pale yellow unicorns leading the crew. They wore dark suit jackets and their red-and-white striped manes were slicked back; a common style among Manehattan toughs. The resemblance was obvious; the main distinguishing marks being the one on the left was bit taller and had a mustache. Behind them followed six other ponies; she could see Hank Ketchup and the red-vested pony among them.

Applejack locked eyes with the taller unicorn as they walked up. The ponies in line or enjoying their cider glanced between them nervously. A tension was building in the air like a minotaur wringing a dishcloth. A few who had brought their foals along started quietly hustling them away.

"They're just gonna have a pow-wow," Big mac announced to the disquieted crowd. "Drink yer cider and mind yer business."

The group stopped in front of Applejack, both unicorns staring flatly at Applejack. "Who runs the operation?" asked the mustached one. Despite being dressed as a tough, his voice had the quick, smooth quality of someone educated out East.

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "You know damn well Ah run it. Yer mule..." She nodded her head towards Hank. "...Woulda told ya that. Name's Applejack. And Ah know you're the Flim Flam Brothers. So what do ya want?"

"For starters," replied the younger brother evenly, "How about you return our take, as a sign of your good intentions?" Like Applejack and his brother, he spoke quietly, to keep the townies from overhearing.

"Good intentions?" Applejack looked aside thoughtfully. "Don't recall having none of those towards y'all."

"So much for Ponyville hospitality, eh Flim?" said the older brother. "We just arrived in town and she's all set to hit the mattresses. Without so much as a neighborly 'Hello'".

Flim snorted and turned to their rival. "Fortunately for you, Applejack, Flam and I are willing to overlook this rude behavior, if you simply return our earnings. Once we're on more friendly terms, we can offer you a little business arrangement."

"Yeah? What kind of deal were ya thinkin'?" Applejack heard hoofsteps behind her, but kept her eyes on the brothers.

"Well, I see your crops are rather plentiful." said Flam. As he spoke, his brother magically pulled an apple from a nearby tree and took a bite. "And our operation could use a supplier. You fill that role, and we can split the profits, twenty eighty."

"We get the eighty, right?" Applejack squinted at the smiling brothers.

Flam chuckled while Flim grinned around a mouthful of apple. "Whatever you say."

Applejack snorted, half-turning from the brothers. "If that's yer offer, y'all can shove it. Ponyville is Apple territory; nopony moves cider 'round here unless they're working for us! Y'all best get out of my town."

The sibling unicorns looked sideways at each other, then bust out laughing. "She thinks she can run us out, eh Flam?" Flim asked with a slick grin.

"I wonder how she'll do that, Flim. See what she has for a crew?" Flam pointed a hoof behind Applejack.

Looking behind her, she saw that her brother and sister had left the booth to join her, and that Granny had come down as well. The locals were half-circled around them at a respectful distance, too nervous to enjoy the cider, but too curious to leave.

"Indeed I do, Flam. One enforcer," He pointed at Big Mac. "One associate-in-training," He pointed at Apple Bloom. "And one old nag to do the cooking." The last he directed at Granny Smith.

"Sonny, Ah think yer brain needs to throw a lasso around yer mouth." Granny calmly said.

Flam leaned in close to her, brandishing a big, toothy smile. "What's the matter, granny? Feeling threatened? I would be too, if I were in a faded, old operation when some heavy players come to play."

"Hmph. Not really, sonny. I got chunks of ponies like you in my stool." Granny gazed levelly at the offending unicorn.

"It doesn't look like we can come to an understanding, brother of mine." Flam said, turning to his brother.

"That's too bad, brother of mine. I guess we'll just have to run them out of business and have Ponyville to ourselves."

The brothers shucked off their jackets and passed them over to Hank. Both were now clad in blue and white striped shirts and black bow ties. With big salespony smiles, they approached and addressed the gathered ponies.

"Look at these poor, thirsty souls, Flim!" said Flam with a theatrical flair. "I see a town of sad, deprived faces."

"Why, I'd be sad too, Flam, if I waited in line for hours and ended up not getting any cider!" He took a mare's face in his hooves and turned her towards his brother. "See, these poor ponies are dying of thirst! Simply because this mill can't keep up with the demand!"

Many of the ponies were nodding, and a buzz went through the crowd as they grumbled, sounding like annoyed hornets working their way up to being angry.

"Well, suffer no more, Ponyville!" the brothers exclaimed in unison. They stood side by side, each raising a hoof in the air.

"We have three cider stands, each located on the outskirts of town!" proclaimed Flim.

"All fully stocked with all the cider you can drink!" added Flam.

Applejack blinked. "Three stands!?" She watched the locals' faces brighten at the prospect of gorging on their favorite beverage. Some were even licking their lips.

"Three stands?" echoed Apple Bloom. "Golly! Maybe... Maybe we should take their offer..."

"Hang on, y'all" Drawing her family into a huddle, Applejack spoke quietly to them. "Ever since Ol' Sunbutt cracked down on the smuggling in and out of Canterlot, the mill's been our main racket. If we took that deal, we wouldn't be makin' enough to even keep our operation afloat!"

"Well, Applejack's right about that." chimed in Granny. "Ah should know; Ah been going over the books mahself."

"Right, so we got ta send these colts packin'." Applejack punctuated her words with a determined nod.

"But, three stands!" protested Apple Bloom.

Applejack affectionately tousled the filly's mane. "Don't fret, lil' sister. They're bluffin'. They'd need a crew three times that size ta run and supply those stands. Ah bet they're just running off a stockpile."

"Well, if yer set ta run 'em off, better act fast." Granny pointed her muzzle at the locals. "Them brothers are gettin' the crowd worked up."

Applejack hurried over from the family meeting, seeing that the brothers were about to begin a song and dance routine.

"He's Flim!"

"He's Fla-"

"Hold on, everypony," Applejack said to the crowd. There was a sound of a record needle being dragged. "Apple Family cider is the boss cider in town, and y'all know it! Who knows what kind of drink these bunko artists are sellin'?"

"Well... Beg your pardon, Applejack," a blue pegasus stallion said from the edge of the crowd. "But it don't really matter how good the cider is if we don't get to drink it." A chorus of "Yeah!" erupted behind him.

"Cerulean Skies, you been comin' to this here stand for years." Applejack replied, looking him in the eye.

"Right, and I don't make it to the stand even half the time!"

Applejack blinked as she and her family were surrounded by grumbling, unhappy ponies.

"Well, if the Apples can't meet your demands, then stop on by our stands, Ponyville!" shouted Flam. "We'll be waiting!"

The brothers made to leave, their crew ready to fall in behind them. As they passed by the Apples, Flam shrugged and said, "Sorry Applejack; that's business."

Applejack said nothing; she simply watched them leave, a deep frown on her face. Once they rounded the hill, she looked back at her family.

"Alright y'all, back to sellin' cider." Her gut tightened when she saw the crowd had diminished by half.

Just business, eh? Fine. When Ah send you both home in a box, well... That will be just business, too.

Thump! Applejack's hooves slammed into the tree, knocking the apples from their branches and into Apple Bloom's bin. The filly, bin balanced on her head, brought it to Granny, who sorted out the bad apples, and tossed the rest into Big Mac's cider press.

Her body moved merely by habit; Applejack's mind was busy reviewing what happened earlier. After the brothers left, the Apples went back to business. The line wasn't nearly so long, however, and it ended with one whole barrel still left. Some of the locals came back for more, and the last barrel was eventually sold. It was the first time she ever saw any cider left over for seconds.

She kicked another tree, much harder than she needed to. Apple Bloom weaved and swayed, trying to catch all the scattered apples. Sighing, Applejack helped gather up the ones her sister missed. Apple Bloom said nothing, accepting the help silently, and trying to not catch her sister's eye.

On the next tree, Applejack made sure to pull back on her buck. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the sting in her pride that Mac had inflicted after they closed the stall...

"Ah don't wanna hear it, Big Mac."

"Too bad; you're gonna hear it."

Applejack paused setting empty barrels on the cart, and turned to glare at him. "Ya tell me the same thing every dang year!"

"Eeyup, and Ah was right. It was yer idea to keep the operation small. 'Low overhead, low cost, and demand will keep the price high', ya said. And Ah done told ya keeping demand that high will bring in competition. And here we are."

She paused a moment at the next tree, fighting an urge to buck it right out of the ground. Finally, she kicked, managing to get all the apples into the bin. She took her hat off and wiped her forehead, then looked at the sun hanging low in the sky. It'll be time to stop, soon. She looked over at the barrel stacks, trying to estimate how much they'd made, and blinked.

Hank Ketchup was leaning on one of the stacks of empties.

"Apple Bloom, you and Granny get in the house." she said firmly, not taking her eyes off Hank. The soft tread of her sister's hooves quickly retreated, while the heavier tread of her brother came up beside her.

"Got a bad feelin' about this, Mac."

Mac nodded. "Eeyup."

The siblings made their way over to intruder, who calmly watched them with a grin on his face.

"Howdy, neighbors!" Hank said in greeting. "Fine day for pressing cider."

"What are you doin' here, Hank?" demanded Applejack.

"Oh, just thought I'd see if you reconsidered the FlimFlam Brother's offer. Seein' as your outfit is out-numbered and out-produced." Hank grinned wider, and spat a wad of chaw off to the side.

"See, the brothers got themselves a new-fangled cider press the likes of which I never seen." he continued. "Just the two of them can make more cider than the four of y'all."

"Is that so?" Applejack stared in his eyes. "Well, we still ain't interested."

Big Mac looked Hank up and down. "You ain't dumb or brave enough to come alone. Where's the rest of yer gang?"

"Breathin' down yer neck!" a new voice shouted. There was a hollow clatter as the barrel stack toppled onto the Apple siblings.

Applejack reared, trying to get above the pile. As she got out from under the barrels, she was shoved and pummeled by two pairs of hooves. She swung blindly at her attackers, but the constant assault kept her off-balance. Shouting and hollering like a pack of wild animals, the ponies gripped her in their forelegs and dragged her over in sight of the press. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Mac was in a similar jam.

Granny turned from the second story window of the farmhouse. "Apple Bloom, lock yer door and don't come out til Ah say!" She hurried over to a trunk, kicking it open.

Glad Ah been keepin' you top shape, ol' friend. Had a feeling Ah'd be needin' ya soon. She leaned in a pulled out a metal tube attached to a wooden stock.

"Alright colts, let her have it!" Hank yelled out, as he and his velvet-vested friend restrained Applejack.

Two more earth ponies let out feral shouts as they began bucking the press. The vat and axle splintered and snapped under the pounding.

"Reckon we coulda ran you out of business the clean way." Hank rasped in Applejack's ear gleefully. "This way's a lot more fast, though."

The two ponies went to work on the big stone wheel, which was much more resistant to their hooves.

Granny lit the slow-burning cord with the match in her muzzle, then spit it away. The cord was secured on one end of a lever in the middle of the device, the other end sticking out the bottom to make a trigger. She balanced the tube on the window sill, then looked down it's length, seeking a target.

"Don't tucker yourselves on that wheel, colts!" Hank shouted. "This here mare would be awful disappointed if y'all didn't give her your best!" Hank licked the side of Applejack's face with a big grin. The other ponies laughed as she craned her neck and tried to bite his muzzle. "Guess she wants it rough!"

Granny's hoof slowly moved the lever, bringing the burning cord down to the black powder. She hardly breathed, fighting back an urge to pull faster; the weapon wasn't made for ponies, and it would be too easy to spoil her aim.

There was a sharp noise, like someone breaking a rock in a canyon. Hank heard a brief whistle, and a noisy splatter.

"What in tarnation was that, Velvet?" he asked his fellow crook.

The vest-wearing pony turned to his partner and his eyes were wide and white. He had a hoof pressed to his neck, trying to cover a hole just as big. The blood was spurting out in a steady beat, and the edges of the hole were ragged and torn.

"Sniper." he said, his voice gargled. Then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed.

"Aw shit!"

"Ah heeeheeheeheeheeheeheeHAW!" Granny cackled, as she reloaded.

Applejack slammed her head against Hank's while while he was distracted. With a grunt he rolled away, freeing her.

Big Mac shrugged off one of his captors, then swung his foreleg back at the one holding down his rear limbs. Hoof slammed into muzzle, knocking a tooth free. Blood arched from the pony's mouth like a sanguine rainbow.

"They got a sniper!" Hank shouted. "Run for it!"

The ponies assaulting the press gave it a few final kicks before joining their crew in retreat. Mac and Applejack ran after them as far as the fence, then stopped.

"Ah catch you here again, Ah run yer dicks through mah cider press!" Applejack yelled after them.

Both siblings walked back to asses the damage to the mill. Applejack was shaking with anger and fading adrenaline; Mac had the intense calm of dynamite waiting to explode.

Granny was waiting for them, tube and a satchel strapped to her body. "Nothin' like killin' a punk to make an old gal feel young again!" She kicked up her hind legs and clicked her hooves together.

"Damnation, Granny!" exclaimed Applejack. "You know you can get a dime in the hole just for havin' one o' them minotaur rifles?"

Big Mac looked up from examining the press in the last rays of daylight. "Wheel's still good. Fixin' the rest will set us back at least a day, Ah reckon."

Applejack took a deep breath. Don't fret: think! "Alright. We got cider for tomorrow. I'll get the parts we need while y'all sell it. Ah need to head into town anyway." She looked over at the dead pony. There was hardly any blood under him; the ground had eagerly drunk it up. "Mac, help me get him in one of the barrels. Ah'll take care of it while Ah'm out."

"What're we gonna do about the rest of 'em?" Mac asked.

"Ah dunno yet." She looked at Velvet's glassy, dead eyes. "But I can tell ya, this'll end in flames."