The Sweet Scent of Success
“Please don’t be where babies come from. Please don’t be where babies come from,” Applejack thought.
Applejack braced herself for the incoming question. Apple Bloom had confronted her as soon as she arrived home from school. Applejack knew the day would come when Apple Bloom would get curious about it, and she had always dreaded it. The thought had sat in the back of Applejack’s mind for years, and every time she thought about it she could not think of a satisfactory way of explaining it to her sister.
Applejack looked down at Apple Bloom as they stood in the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. The sun cast its warmth down through the western windows, flooding the large area with light.
Apple Bloom looked up at her elder sister. Applejack tensed as the filly opened her mouth.
“What exactly is earth pony magic?”
Applejack nearly collapsed as she let out a sight of relief. Then the comprehension of what Apple Bloom had just said set in. Applejack blinked. That was the second hardest question she could have asked.
“Well, Apple Bloom,” Applejack struggled for words, “what, what brought this up?”
Apple Bloom cocked her head and her bow flopped to one side. “Well, we were talkin’ about the different kinds of magic in class today, and I got to thinkin’. The pegasi have their wings, and the unicorns have their horns, but earth ponies don’t have anything special physically about us. I know that everypony says earth pony magic comes from our hooves, but it seems strange that we don’t got anything really special about us. And having magic in hooves doesn’t explain how earth ponies are so good at farming.”
Applejack thought about what Apple Bloom said. She was growing up. The old ‘you’ll learn when you’re older’ trick probably would not help now. And Apple Bloom could handle a lot of things. She could handle learning about it now.
“Aw, Apple Bloom. I guess you’re mature enough to hear about what really sets us earth ponies apart.” Applejack smiled and tousled her sisters mane with a hoof.
“So what is it?” Apple Bloom said before Applejack could go any further. She could see Applejack was only trying to delay the answer.
“Oh, it’s pretty simple. The source of earth pony magic,” Applejack sat down on a hay bale, “is poop!” She grinned.
It was Apple Bloom’s turn to blink as an awkward silence came over the barn. “What.” It was the only response the filly could muster.
“That’s right. You see, Apple Bloom, earth pony magic doesn’t come from our hooves. It comes from in here,” Applejack patted her belly with a hoof.
“It… comes from our hearts?” Apple Bloom contorted her face in frustration. “I’m even more lost than I was before. Are you trying to spring some silly lesson on me?”
Applejack chuckled. “Oh Apple Bloom, no. The magic doesn’t come from our hearts. Earth ponies do have a special part of our bodies just like unicorns and pegasi. It’s just inside of us.”
Applejack patted the hay bale next to her and Apple Bloom hopped up and sat down on it.
“Us earth ponies have a unique organ in our digestive tracts. You know how dragons like Spike have a sort of extra stomach that help them grind up the rocks and gems that they eat?”
“You mean like birds?” Apple Bloom said after some thought.
“Yes, exactly. Well, earth ponies have a similar sac in our digestive tract called a gigerium. After the food is digested in the stomach, it goes into the gigerium. It’s lined with tiny little tube-shaped things called villi. They’re made of alicorn, just like a unicorn’s horn and pegasi wing bones. Just like the alicorn anatomy gives unicorns and pegasi their abilities, the villi in the earth pony gigerium do for us. They create a super nutritious substance that goes into what we digest and makes earth pony manure one of the more efficient fertilizers there is! It’s what makes earth ponies so good at growing food.”
“So you mean we fertilize our fields with our own manure?”
“Yup!” Applejack grinned. “The cycle’s completely natural. What we take from the earth we put back in.”
“That is kind of disgusting.” Apple Bloom said, staring at her sister. The satisfaction Applejack was showing was a little unnerving to the filly after that explanation.
“Yeah, that’s why the school doesn’t explain it to you for another few years. And even after that most ponies just use the hooves reasonin’ so we don’t have to talk about it. Somethin’ about the unicorns findin’ anything dealin’ with manure unclean. Never understood all the fuss about it myself.”
The two sisters sat in silence as the minutes passed. Applejack was just happy she was able to explain it. Apple Bloom, meanwhile, let the thought stir. After a few minutes, Apple Bloom turned back to her sister and piped up again.
“So does that mean that every farm in Equestria uses earth pony manure as its fertilizer?”
“Eeyup, at least durn near every farm.” Applejack nodded. “Even down to Pinkie Pie’s family rock farm. You ever wonder how ya can farm rocks? Well it’s the magic of that manure.” Applejack winked at her sister.
“But, if that’s true, then why does Sweet Apple Acres stay so successful? We’ve got a huge orchard and all, but it seems like whenever we go visit Braeburn and all the other Apples across Equestria, their orchards are always smaller than ours.”
Applejack beamed down at her sister again. Apple Bloom’s inquisitive mind reminded Applejack of when she was a filly, and always wanting to know more about the world.
“I had wondered about that too, sugarcube. I can’t say for sure, but I reckon it’s Ponyville’s location that’s got to do with it. With Sweet Apple Acres nestled right up next to the Everfree Forest, I figure some of that residual wild magic from the forest seeps over into the soil of the orchard and mixes with that manure to make our apples the juiciest and best in all of Equestria.”
Apple Bloom considered what Applejack said. “That makes sense. Thanks fer answerin’ all my questions, Applejack. Hope I wasn’t too much of a bother.”
“Aw, nonsense Apple Bloom. A growing mind, just like a growing tree, needs to suck up as much food as it can get so it can grow big and strong.”
Apple Bloom thought for a second. “Ewww,” she said and giggled. Applejack realized why her sister had done that and giggled too.
“Now if that’s all you’ve got, I gotta get to makin’ supper for tonight. You run along to your clubhouse an’ I’ll get you when it’s ready.”
“Alright. Thanks again sis.” Apple Bloom hopped down from the hay bale and galloped out of the barn slaloming between the neat rows of trees as she ran through the orchard. Applejack watched her run off and smiled. Apple Bloom had handled the explanation just fine.
And so had she. Applejack got up and slowly walked the other direction out of the barn toward the farmhouse.