Rotten Apples

by Visual Spectrum

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Applejack, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Flim and Flam, Braeburn
Length: 3905

Applejack and Corn Maize enter the Apple Pie Contest together.

A few of Applejack's cousins visit for the Apple Pie Contest. She enters with Corn Maize hoping to win. The Flim Flam brothers have also entered. Applejack focusing more on them than the contest which worries Corn Maize. He notices the Flim Flam Brothers have gotten to his cousin.

Published 2014-05-19 23:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-19 23:20:02 UTC

Chapter 1

Princess Celestia brought out the sun, and the Apple family woke up to do their morning chores. Applejack and Apple Bloom bucked apples while Big Mac carried them to the house. The cart was far too heavy for Apple Bloom or even Applejack to pull once it got filled.

Granny Smith watched her three grandchildren working when she got a letter. She read it and dropped it in surprise. Flabbergasted by the news, she walked out and stopped the three working ponies, "I got a letter! Y'all will want ta see it!"

Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac, stopped what they were doing to see what Granny Smith was talking about. The elder pony handed the letter to Applejack who read aloud, "Dear Apples, I've heard of the competition that will take place in Ponyville, so I will be visiting. From, Corn Maize."

"Corn Maize is comin' here?" Asked Apple Bloom in shock. She then realized, "Wait! Who's Corn Maize?"

Applejack laughed, "Corn Maize is a distant cousin of ours."

Apple Bloom was annoyed that she never heard of him, "Do we have any other cousins I don't know about?"

"There is also Source Code, but he ain't like most Apples. Technically, he and Corn Maize ain't Apples. They are just part of the family tree, just like Aunt and Uncle Orange," Explained Applejack.

"Eeyup," Big Mac commented.

Applejack asked Granny Smith, "Is Source Code comin', too?"

Granny Smith shook her head, "I don't know. He never visited, so I can't imagine. I've heard from Braeburn that he's stayin' in Appleloosa right now. If Braeburn visits, I reckon Source Code will be with him. That's enough of this now. Get back to the chores, y'all!"

The Apples returned to their chores and worked until they were finished. When they walked into the house, they noticed that Granny Smith baked an apple pie for them. The four Earth Ponies sat at the table and enjoyed their pie.

After Apple Bloom finished eating, she felt that she had to tell her two friends. She galloped to the park where she noticed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle playing. She galloped faster and ran into Scootaloo knocking her into the ground, "I'm sorry, y'all. I'm just very excited!"

Scootaloo laughed, "It's no problem. What's going on?"

"Do you have a plan for getting our cutie marks?" Asked Sweetie Belle happily.

"Not quite," Apple Bloom replied. The other two frowned. Apple Bloom continued, "Corn Maize and maybe Source Code are visitin'!"

"Who?" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle asked in unison.

"They're my cousins," explained Apple Bloom, "Corn Maize is definitely comin' for the Apple Pie Contest, and Granny Smith reckons that if Braeburn comes, he's taken' Source Code with him."

"Why haven't you mentioned them before?" Asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom shrugged, "I never met 'em,"

"Not even at the last reunion when all the Apples were there?" Asked Scootaloo.

"They ain't Apples technically. They are distant cousins of mine," Apple Bloom answered. She looked at the clock, "I need to get home. I don't wanna be late!" She ran back home before her two friends had a chance to say something.

"Ya need to get ready, Apple Bloom," Applejack instructed. Apple Bloom ran to her room and got ready quickly. After the four of them were ready, they trotted to the train station to wait for Corn Maize.

"Do y'all think Braeburn is comin'?" Asked Apple Bloom while they were waiting, "Granny Smith said he'll bring Source Code with him. I get to meet two more members of ma family!"

"I don't know," Replied Applejack. She wanted to meet both Corn Maize and Source Code, but there is no telling if Braeburn and Source Code were coming.

A few minutes later, a train appeared in front of the station. Several ponies got off including young stallion with a hat similar to Applejack's and a corn on his flank. Apple Bloom was the first to notice him, "Granny Smith, is that Corn Maize?"

Granny Smith looked at the stallion the young filly was pointing at and replied, "Sure is!"

Apple Bloom trotted up to Corn Maize, "Howdy! I'm Apple Bloom, your cousin," She greeted.

"Howdy there, Apple Bloom," Corn Maize replied, "Where's the rest of the family?"

Apple Bloom led Corn Maize towards her family. Granny Smith hugged him almost instantly and introduced him to the family, "This is my grandson, Big Macintosh, and this is one of my granddaughters, Applejack," she introduced pointed at the respective pony when doing their names, "I see you've met Apple Bloom."

Applejack shook her cousin's hoof, "Howdy! Welcome to Ponyville! We'll sure make your visit somethin' to remember."

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh agreed.

"What do ya do?" Applejack asked.

Corn Maize shrugged, "Nothin' much, really. I grow corn then harvest it. Sometimes I'd chase critters and help ma with the cookin'."

"We here do that, too, but with apples," Applejack explained.

Corn Maize laughed. Just as they were about to head back to Sweet Apple Acres, a stallion shouts, "Howdy!"The ponies turned around and saw two stallions. The one who said "howdy" was Braeburn. The one next to him was Source Code.

"Hello," Source Code greeted. He didn't have the typical country accent of an Apple.

"He ain't like most Apples," Braeburn explained.

Without another word, everyone trotted back to Sweet Apple Acres. The journey was uneventful.

"I reckon y'all came here for the Apple Pie Contest, too," Corn Maize figured.

"Sure did! Braeburn answered, "It took lotta convincin' ta get Source Code to come, though."

"Actually, he convinced me to participate in the contest. I was going to come, anyways,"Source Code corrected.

"I wanna participate, but I have no pony to enter with. I was gonna enter with someone, but I know she wouldn't accept. It ain't somethin' she'd do,"Applejack admitted.

Corn Maize thought for a moment then replied, "Perhaps you can enter with me. I wasn't expectin' to enter."

"Ya weren't?" Apple Bloom asked surprised.

"'Course not," Corn Maize replied, "I came to watch the competition, but I'll enter so Applejack can enter."

The entries didn't open until tomorrow, so the ponies had nothing else to say about the contest. They ate supper then went to bed. Corn Maize, Source Code, and Braeburn slept in the guest room.

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony. Hasbro does.
Source Code belongs to ZekeOfTheFreaks http://www.fimfiction.net/user/ZekeOfTheFreaks

Chapter 2

The Apple family finished their chores early because Corn Maize and Braeburn helped. Source Code was from the city, so he never learned how to. Braeburn knew he didn't stand a chance, but he wanted his city cousin to understand what it means to be an Apple.

Big Mac was going to compete with Apple Bloom, but he found out that she was too young. He knew Apple Bloom was disappointed, and so was he.

Applejack was considering pairing with Rarity if Corn Maize didn't enter, but she didn't think she could convince a pony like Rarity to participate even if she represented the element of generosity. 'Maybe I'll get Rares outta her comfort zone another time,' she thought.

Corn Maize had his doubts. He may be related to the Apples, but he is not one. He was part of the Corn family. There were no trees to buck, and corn was easy to peel. He started feeling that his job was easy compared to what she was doing now.

A couple hours later, a train arrived and let out a large crowd of ponies. Applejack looked through the crowd to see if she recognized any of them. Several members of the Apple family were seen, but she saw two ponies she wished she would never see again. The Flim Flam brothers.

"I hope they ain't tryin' nothin' fishy," she said to Corn Maize.

"Who are they?" He asked confused.

"The Flim Flam Brothers," Applejack explained, "they ain't fair. We met 'em twice. First time, we almost lost the farm, second, Granny Smith almost lost her life,"

"That's terrible," said Corn Maize in shock, "How did Granny Smith almost die?"

"They sold her a tonic and convinced her she could dive and encouraged her," Applejack explained coldly, "They told her she could make it. If I hadn't stopped her... I don't know."

"I'm sure she's proud to have a granddaughter like you," Corn Maize complimented.

"It was nothin' really. I just did what I had to," Applejack admitted.

"My family said I was modest," Corn Maize commented laughing.

"I'm just bein' honest," Applejack replied.

"Honesty is always good," Corn Maize stated smiling.

Applejack was thinking about telling him that she represented the element of honesty, but she felt that she would be boasting, so she held her tongue. She admired that her cousin was similar to her.

The ponies made their way to a booth with a piece of paper and wrote down their names to participate. After they did so, the stallion behind the both handed each pair another piece of paper.When Applejack and Corn Maize got theirs, they read over it.

Apple Pie Contest

The Apple Pie Contest was created to help ponies who couldn't afford food. To encourage a larger number of pies, we decided to create a contest.

Rules
Magic is forbidden
Do not spy on other contestants
Only use the tools that are provided.
Do not start a new round early. The host will tell you when you may start the new round
Once the host declares "Stop" you must stop.
Cheating of any form of prohibited
Both members of each pair must participate
Anyone caught breaking the rules will be disqualified.

Contests
Apple bucking: This round is timed. Each apple is a point.
Apple peeling: Each team will be given 100 apples to peel. The round ends when the first pair peels all of their apples. Each apple peeled is a point.
Pie making: The round ends after every team makes an apple pie. The judges will taste test. The pair with the best apple pie wins one hundred points. The second best pie earns the pair fifty points, and third earns 25 points.
Winning
The pair with the most points are the winners and will be given 50,000 bits as prize money. Second place will get 25,000, and third place will get 10,000.

“Some of the rules seem a bit odd don’t ya think?” Corn Maize asked, “No spyin’? What the hay is up with that?”

“That rule was placed there to make cheating more difficult,” Explained Applejack.

"Whoo wee!" Corn Maize exclaimed looking at the sky, "Today sure went by rather quickly!"

Applejack looked at the sky and noticed that Princess Luna already brought out the moon, "We should get to sleep. Tonight ain't one of those nights for stayin' up late."

The ponies headed to bed to go to sleep. The night was quiet, but Applejack's mind was teaching. She was very nervous and had trouble sleeping, but she ended up falling into slumber.

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony. Hasbro does.
Source Code belongs to ZekeOfTheFreaks http://www.fimfiction.net/user/ZekeOfTheFreaks

Chapter 4

The bells rang signaling the contest was about to start. The contestants were led to different areas of the orchard. Applejack and Corn Maize were ready to buck some trees.
A loud stallion voice was heard by every pony, "You have one hour to buck as many trees as you can! Ready! Set! Go!"

As soon as the last word was spoken, the contestants bucked as many trees as they could. Source Code knew he was being watched, and he started to feel nervous.

Braeburn saw that his brother wasn't doing anything, so he told him, "Ya need to quit worryin' and get buckin'! I know you have strong legs. I've seen ya buck before."

Source Code tried to buck a tree, but his nerves got the best of him. "I'm sorry. I wasn't in a competition when you saw me buck trees. I get nervous when I'm competing."

"Everyone does. Doesn't mean ya should give up," Braeburn told him.

Source Code bucked trees even though they weren't as good as when he was back in Appleoosa. Braeburn didn't mind and continued working as well.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Corn Maize continued bucking. Applejack was tempted to go check on what the Flim Flam Brothers were doing, but she thought better of it. Corn Maize was glad that his cousin wasn't worrying too much.

Without warning, the bell rang signalling that the first round was over. The contestants stopped what they were doing, and other ponies went by to pick up the baskets of apples.

Applejack glanced at the Flim Flam brothers and noticed they weren't sweating, "Look at them. They ain't even exhausted!"

Corn Maize looked over at the unicorn brothers as well, "They do seem awfully suspicious, but we have no evidence that they cheated."

Applejack nodded in agreement. The two of them drank a cup of cider before going to the stand where the second round was to take place.

Each pair sat in front of a basket of one hundred apples ready to start peeling. The bell rang signalling the start of the second round.

Applejack and Corn Maize worked together peeling apples. They worked as fast as they could. The apples were ready to peel, so they felt that they were in luck. That was until Corn Maize was about to peel his sixth Apple. The bell rang signalling the end.

"What the hay?" Corn Maize asked irritated. "There was no way anyone could've peeled that many apples without magic!"

Applejack sighed and whispered so only Corn Maize could hear, "Now do ya see why I'm nervous?"

Corn Maize shook his head, "I understand why you don't trust 'em, but ya shouldn't be nervous 'cause of them. We ain't gonna have any chance of winning if you're worrying about them."

Applejack took her cousin's advice and grabbed a mug of apple cider to keep her mind off the two unicorns.

Corn Maize remembered Applejack mentioning that she was going to be with someone else but decided against it, "Where ya going to compete with Pinkie Pie? I heard she was the newest member of the family."

Applejack shook her head, "No. I was considerin' going with Rares. Pinkie's planning the party and couldn't attend."

"Rares?" Corn Maize asked confused.

"Rarity. She's one of my friends. We aren't anything alike, but we still get along," Applejack explained.

"She sounds mean," Corn Maize commented.

Applejack chuckled and shook her head, "Ya got it all wrong. She's very friendly. She's very generous and caring. She got me out of a tight spot."

"What do ya mean?" ask Corn Maize.

"I was makin' dresses," Applejack stated.

Corn Maize laughed at that then took a drink of his cider. The bell rang signalling the beginning of the final round. The ponies started doing the peeled apples without carrying about anything else.

Applejack saw a knife floating from the corner of her eye. She glanced for a second and saw that the Flim Flam brothers were using magic. She became angry, but she still continued making the pie.

When she was finished, she noticed that several teams, including the Flim Flam brothers, were finished. Braeburn and Source Code finished shortly after.

The bell rang, and the ponies stood up to stretch. The scores were still being figured, so Applejack took the chance to confront the Flim Flam brothers.

She walked up to them and told them, "Y'all were cheatin'!

The brothers laughed. Flim responded with, "Oh yeah? What proof do you have?"

"That you were spying on us?" Flam continued.

"Would you really throw away all your chances of winning just so we don't win? What would Rarity think?" Flim said mockingly.

"Y'all leave her out of this!" Applejack shouted in rage. She knew they had a point, though. She was being a bit selfish.

She trotted back to her cousin who was drinking his cider and told him, "I've been selfish tryin' ta bust them."

Corn Maize looked at Applejack in shock, "What do you mean?"

"If they win, I will be fine. I don't wanna do anything selfish. Rares would be mad," she explained.

"Is it really selfish ta want the prize to go to somepony who deserves it?" Corn Maize asked.

Applejack looked through the crowd and saw Rarity. ‘Corn has a point. I'm letting someone who deserves to win too get the prize,' she thought.

She got up and trotted to the judges' table and stated, " Ah saw the Flim Flam brothers use magic."

One of the judges replied with, "Thank you for bringing this to our notice, but we have to disqualify you. You were spying, and that is against the rules."

"I understand," Applejack said before she walked off. Secondly after, Source Code was seen walking to the judges and talking to them.

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony. Hasbro does.
Source Code belongs to ZekeOfTheFreaks http://www.fimfiction.net/user/ZekeOfTheFreaks

Chapter 5

Applejack broke the news to Corn Maize. The two cousins hugged each other and walked into the crowd. Applejack gestured Corn Maize to follow her and led him to Rarity.

"Rares, where the hay are the others?" Applejack asked confused.

Rarity replied, "You should know Pinkie Pie is planning the party, and Twilight has some risk business in Canterlot. Rainbow Dash had a mandatory Wonderbolts meeting. Fluttershy needs to take care of a stick animal."

Applejack stated at Rarity and bluntly stated, "you're lyin'. Pinkie is planning the party, but the others ain't doing anything."

"They didn't want to sit for hours watching ponies bake pie," Rarity answers truthfully.

Applejack sighed and said, "This here is ma cousin Corn Maize."

"Howdy, Miss," Corn Maize said shaking Rarity's good, "it's a pleasure meetin' ya."

Rarity smiled kindly and replied, "It's pleasure to meet you, too."

Corn Maize then said, "Applejack told me ya were gonna be her original choice."

Applejack glared at him, but to her luck, Rarity wasn't mad. Instead, she told him, "I would rather not get my hooves dirty, but it is for a good cause. I would have considered it if she asked."

Applejack was shocked about. Sure Rarity represented the element of generosity, but there were other ways to help the homeless ponies that she would rather do. She wouldn't get her hooves dirty unless it was absolutely necessary.

After a few hours of mingling, a judge made an announcement, "Before we begin, I need to announce that two teams, the Flim Flam brothers as well as Applejack and Corn Maize are disqualified for the use of magic and spying, respectively. The Flim Flam brothers will no longer new permitted to compete in the Apple Pie Contest!"

Applejack looked down in shame and whispered, "sorry" to Rarity who replied with a hug.

The judge continued, "The judges have considered the results, and we came to an agreement. The first place winner is..." there was a pause, "Rose and Daisy!" The crowd cheered, and the judge named the other winners.

"I'm so proud of you," Rarity told Applejack.

"What do ya mean?" Applejack asked confused, "I broke one of the rules."

"You gave up your chance of winning to make sure that the winner is someone who played fair,"

Applejack stared at Corn Maize in shock, "Are ya psychic?"

Corn Maize shook his head and replied, "Honestly, it ain't hard to figure out. "

Rarity was confused, but she was able to figure out that she said something Corn Maize said earlier. She was impressed by that.

Pinkie Pie hopped in happily holding a megaphone and announced, "LET'S PARTY!!"

The contestants except the Flim Flam brothers and Applejack and Corn Maize followed Pinkie Pie. Miss Harshwhinney saw Applejack and Corn Maize and told them, "You were very noble, so you will still be allowed to attend the party."

Applejack and Corn Maize looked at each other in shock. Applejack hugged Rarity and promised to bring back some of the the food, then the two of them ran to other contestants.

The party was a blast, but that was expected for any party planned by Pinkie Pie. Applejack and Corn Maize chatted most of the time. Applejack even talked to Source Code who told her that he got last place in the apple bucking round. They all knew that once the party ended, they had to say their goodbyes.

A couple hours later, Corn Maize, Braeburn, and Source Code boarded the train. The three of them promised to visit soon before the train left.

Applejack went to the Carousel Boutique to give Rarity some food from the party just as she promised. She saw Rarity's diary and got an idea and left.

Once she got home, she opened her diary and wrote.

Dear diary,
The Apple Pie Contest was tons of fun. Even though I got disqualified, it was one of the greatest moments I have ever experienced. I also learned something. It is important to tell others when someone is cheating so that the winner is someone who deserves it, even if you have to make sacrifices. I also learned that Corn Maize was a great cousin that I wish I knew earlier One thing I noticed was that Braeburn and Source Code got along as if they were brothers.

Applejack.

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony. Hasbro does.
Source Code belongs to ZekeOfTheFreaks http://www.fimfiction.net/user/ZekeOfTheFreaks

Chapter 3

Today was the day of the contest. Every pair was preparing except for one: the Flim Flam brothers. Applejack has a feeling they were up to something and looked at them on occasion, but she focused on the contest for the most part.

Corn Maize's apple bucking has improved greatly since yesterday. He and Applejack were confident they would win. They knew that they couldn't guarantee that the Flim Flam brothers wouldn't win, but they wanted to make sure they don't take first. Cheaters never deserve to win.
The ponies continued to train. The contest was an hour and a half away. Every pair except the Flim Flam brothers were sweating.
Applejack looked over at the two unicorns having no reason to trust them. Corn Maize easily ignored them, but he couldn't ignore the fact that they were making his cousin so irritated that she stopped training.

"Don't let them get ta you," Corn Maize advised. "They ain't worth your worry."

"Granny Smith could've died 'cause of them," Applejack replied with tears in her eyes.

Corn Maize knew the Flim Flam brothers hit a nerve on his cousin when he noticed the tears. Granny Smith said AJ rarely cries. He couldn't blame her for crying.

Applejack looked over at the timer and noticed that it was almost time to end training. She let the Flim Flam brothers get in the way of her training without even trying.

"Applejack, why don't we get some cider?" Corn Maize suggested. Applejack nodded and walked with her cousin to the stand and grabbed a cup of apple cider.

The contest itself didn't start until an hour later, so the contestants waited. They were not allowed to train at the time.

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony. Hasbro does.
Source Code belongs to ZekeOfTheFreaks http://www.fimfiction.net/user/ZekeOfTheFreaks