The Secret Success Of Sweet Apple Acres

At the crack of dawn

At a chickens call

A cowgirl arises

Ready for all

A farmer at heart

An apple to the core

Applejack the honest

Reliable, hard-working, and more

Ready to go

Raring to go

But breakfast comes first

It’s healthy you know

After she starts her day

With a plate of oats and hay

She gets herself going

With work and not play

Tending the farm

Working the fields

Fixing the barn

Seeing what the crop yields

Gathering lots of apples

Apple tree bucking

All this work she tackles

And she keeps on trucking

A figure crests the hill

And heads deeper into the farm

But the farmer smiles

For the figure means no harm

She intercepts the figure

And looks him up and down

And just by looking at him

She knows he’s from out of town

“Howdy there, partner!

Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres.

Best apples in Equestria,

And we ain’t no fakers!”

The cowgirl smiles pleasantly

The stranger smiles back

They shake hooves

And he answers with tact

“So I’ve heard,

And I was hoping to buy.

But it’d be just great,

If I could give your wares a try?”

“Well, sure Sugarcube.

Come and follow me.

I’ve got fresh produce,

Straight from the tree.”

And so the farmpony led

Deeper in they tred

The stranger unknowing

And the cowgirl carefully goading

They reached the barn

And the cowgirl swung around

Picking a tree and bucking

Then picking the apple that fell from the ground

The stranger takes it

Being sure to wipe any dust away

He bites into the succulent fruit

And swallows to say:

“These are great, as always.

Though one things not clear,

How do you make them so good?

That’s what I’d like to hear.”

The farm pony chuckles

The question is asked countless amounts

And each time presents an opportunity

And she takes this opportunity into account

“That right there is a secret

And well kept one to be honest,

But I’m feeling generous

So I’ll show you what makes our apples the best.”

And so she leads him into the barn

The stranger follows behind her

The door shuts and locks

Leaving them stuck in there

Neither of the two panic

For the stranger assumes it was meant

And it very much was

He just didn’t know the intent

“This here’s where the magic happens

We make our own fertilizer right there

And it sure does stink

But I’m sure you can bear.”

“The fertilizer certainly smells

As I’m sure you can tell.

But it smells like something dead

Or is that all in my head?”

The cowgirl chuckles darkly

Pulling a hidden object out of the hay

She makes sure it’s clean

Before turning to him to say:

“I apologize for that

I really do

But this fertilizer

Is not merely poo.”

“A body contains all the nutrients we need

And we’ve realized something wonderful.

If we put that in when we plant the seed

It greatly improves the crop and makes it tasteful.”

“That must be the smell

But don’t pay it any heed

You won’t have to worry anymore

Once I’ve done the deed.”

The stranger trembles in fear at her speech

For she had since revealed her object

A knife that had been cleaned with bleach

Making it clean and letting light reflect

He wanted to cry out

He wanted some help

But it mattered naught

If he uttered a single yelp

For they were deep in the orchard

And the barn muffled all sound

And no matter if he tried hard

His cries would be bound

The cowgirl lunged and he squealed

The knife plunging into his stomach and up

The body slumped and the knife clattered

The cowgirl left the body to cleanup

Washing her hooves in a nearby trough

And cleaning the knife in kind

She grins down at the body

Thanking chance for her lucky find

With her hooves cleaned of all trace

And the stranger dealt with easily

She leaves the barn at a quick pace

Getting back to her chores giddily

Moments later, she’s joined by a sound

The sound of joyful laughter

She looks up and around

Looking for the source to the noise

The owner makes themselves known

They come up on her and she pauses

They smile kindly at each other

The newcomer speaks up

“Hey Applejack! How’s work?”

Asks a pink party pony

Hopping in place giddily

Her eagerness definitely isn’t phony

“We just met our quota

Thanks to the latest resource we’ve earned.”

Applejack thinks back fondly

While her friend smiles, unconcerned

“That’s great to hear!

Say, you wouldn’t have seen my new friend?

He was headed here

But I don’t know where he went.”

“He arrived a while back

But he’s not with us anymore.

He departed in fact

If only you’d stopped by before.”

Her friend only frowned slightly

Then she returned to regular

Not sensing anything shady

Smiling and none the wiser

“Okay, I’ll keep looking

He couldn’t have got far.

Good luck with your working,

I’ve got a pony to search for.”

As her friend hopped off, aloof

And she returned to the task at hoof

She couldn’t help but feel satisfied

About the stallion that died

A twisted grin

And a merry tune

And Applejack keeps bucking

Long into the afternoon

She made sure to lock the barn

So no ponies will go wandering where they shouldn’t

And now she must wait

Though she almost feels like she couldn’t

At a giddy pace

The work speeds up greatly

The time is never a waste

And the work is done enthusiasticly

The day continues without interruption

And her work is finished with gumption

As she retires to bed after the days ordeal

She thinks on it’s mundane feel

It was just work as usual

And every weeks the same old routine

Eat, work, sleep, repeat

Even if she harbors a secret noponies seen

There at Sweet Apple Acres

With the best apples in Equestria

And Applejack will do whatever it takes her

To keep it that way