Dear Princess Celestia,
I am sending you this letter because of my friend Applejack.
A few weeks ago her barn burned down and the fire in one way or another claimed the lives of her family.
At this point the authorities believe that the fire was a result of arson, but no one knows for certain who was responsible.
Unfortunately the rest of us girls were too busy to help Applejack out. Rainbow Dash was in Cloudsdale training for the Wonderbolts. Rarity was in Manehatten trying to sell more of her dresses to one of her patrons.
Then the mouse family got sick and Fluttershy had to take care of them.
Well, I guess the point I am trying to make is that we weren’t there for her when she needed us most. So the other day I decided to go visit her at the farm.
When I arrived I found her talking to a scarecrow. When I tried to talk to her, she started talking about getting revenge against those who harmed her family, but she wouldn’t say who she thought were responsible.
Then I ran. I should have stayed and tried to talk to her and help her cope with this crisis, but instead I ran away.
I feel awful. I really let my friend down.
What should I do Celestia? What should I do?
Filthy Rich sat in his recliner thinking about business transactions and deals that he would need to perform later in the week. It was a habit the stallion performed late at night in order to help him sleep, something that was hard for him to do after his wife died years ago.
Recently Rich had received news of the Flim Flam brother’s death. Apparently there had been a gas leak and one of them had tried to use a lighter to see.
Filthy Rich was somewhat saddened by the news. Not because he liked those twins or anything, but because he had invested a large sum of money into their work in the past. One of the schemes the brothers had suggested to Filthy Rich was to make some robots for entertainment purposes.
At first the idea sounded ridiculous, but after a few prototypes were made the Flim Flam brothers said that such robots could be used in television shows or theme parks. Also, if crafted right the robots could look like fun friendly characters making them look more appealing to young foals.
Seeing the various money making opportunities this could have, Filthy Rich agreed to fund the project. A few days later the brothers' house went up in an inferno.
It was then that something struck Rich as bizarre. The fire had happened one month after the Apple family’s barn burned down.
Sorrow crept into Rich’s heart as he remembered that a large portion of the family had also died because of that fire. While he wasn’t terribly close to the Apple family, his family had been purchasing zap-apple jam from the Apple family and reselling it for a profit for generations.
Now that the farm was in shambles, it was highly unlikely that there would be any zap-apple jam for sale next year.
Filthy wasn’t sure why, but it wasn’t just the lack of zap-apple jam that stirred his heart strings. Perhaps he should try to talk to Applejack about the farm. If she could just get back on her feet, she could restore the barn to its original status, perhaps even better.
Perhaps if Rich provided the farm mare with a large amount of funds she could start over.
Rich walked over to his desk and started writing a letter.
Applejack awoke to hear somepony knocking on her door.
“I wonder who that might be?” Applejack said as she slowly pulled herself out of bed.
Reaching the front door, the farm mare opened it to see a gray Pegasus with crossed yellow eyes standing there nervously.
Derpy gave Applejack her mail and flew off. Sitting down at the dining room table, Applejack picked through the mail, which mostly consisted of bills and ads.
The farm mare noticed a letter among the mail. It was from Filthy Rich. Applejack opened the envelope and read the letter:
“Dear Applejack,
I have noticed that after the death of your family, the farm has slowly been wasting away.
Seeing as I have supported your family in the past, I thought I might supply you with some funds to rebuild the farm. Of course, these funds will be exclusively used for the restoration of the farm.
If you are interested, please come and met me at my estate. We could have a meal and discuss business. Wear something nice.
I hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rich”
Now, any rational pony would have been happy to read such a letter. However, after losing her family in a fire, Applejack wasn’t exactly rational.
The fact that she was responsible for the demise of the Flim Flam brothers was a testament to that.
There had to be a particular reason why Filthy Rich wanted to see her. Perhaps he sought to take advantage of her in her depressed state. Or perhaps he was ONE OF THEM.
Applejack remembered what her scarecrow Brimstone had told her. There were four ponies who watched the barn burn to the ground. What if Filthy Rich was one of them?
Sure, he had done business with the Apple family in the past, but perhaps that was why he did it. By taking out the Apple family this would allow him to put some factories on the farm and take out the middle mare (so to speak).
Maybe that was why this meeting was being arranged, so that he could dispose of her and take over. Yes, this made plenty of sense.
Applejack looked at the corner of the room to see a ghostly Applebloom looking back at her. The filly’s eyes were gone and had been replaced by rotting holes.
“Av…eng…e…usssss!” The apparition spoke, “Dis…po…se…o…of…hi…him!”
Perhaps Applejack should attend this dinner. After all, it might provide her with the opportunity she needed.
“But daaaaaaaaad, do I have to?” Diamond Tiara whined.
“Yes, dear, I want you to attend this dinner with me.” Rich replied, “It is very important, and it will provide you with some business experience.”
Despite her father’s explanation, the young filly really didn’t want to go. After Applebloom’s death, Diamond Tiara had stopped harassing the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sure, she had harassed the blank flank in the past, but that was just so she could lift herself up.
The filly knew that the death of a friend or family member wasn’t something to be made fun of. After all, she had lost her own mother at a young age.
However, that wasn’t the reason why she didn’t wish to attend this meeting. Ever since Applejack had lost her family in the fire, the orange mare had been acting strangely. Diamond Tiara just didn’t feel comfortable around her anymore.
“Fine.” Diamond Tiara muttered.
“Good.”
Just then, the doorbell rang. Their guest must have arrived.
Applejack was escorted by the butler to the dining room, where she saw Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara sitting down at the table. The orange mare wore a blue dress and had her mane tied back.
Within minutes, another butler came out and served the three ponies a bowl of soup flavored with sweet potatoes, milk, chives and basil. Some tea was also brought out for them to drink.
The farm mare sniffed at the soup, trying to detect any potential poisons. When she was satisfied, Applejack started to eat the sweet potato soup.
“Now, let us get down to business.” Filthy Rich said after the three of them had spent a few minutes silently eating, “I set up this meeting to discuss the Apple family farm.”
“What of it?” Applejack asked in a slightly harsher tone.
“I have noticed that your farm is in disrepair,” Rich answered, “and I wish to supply you with the funds to restore it.”
“I don’t take charity.” Applejack answered. Diamond Tiara gave the farm mare an angry look.
“Oh, it isn’t charity,” Filthy Rich replied, “I am merely investing in your farm. As usual, I expect my company to be the first to receive apples from your farm, as well as the first one hundred crates of your Zap-Apple Jam when it becomes available.”
Applejack pondered this.
“How much money are we talking?” the orange farm mare asked.
“I was thinking that five thousand bits would be good.” Mr. Rich answered.
Interesting. With that money Applejack could restart the farm and still have some left over. Was this a trick? Perhaps this was something he was trying to use as leverage to manipulate her.
Still, that money could serve multiple purposes, and perhaps even help find those responsible for hurting her family. The voice of her sister rang through her head.
Avenge us!
“It is an interesting proposition.” Applejack said, “I will have to think it over for a little bit.”
“Very well, but I would prefer if you took up my proposition soon.” Filthy Rich answered.
Applejack finished her meal and was escorted out of the mansion. Right now wasn’t the most opportune time, but she had learned some important information that might be useful later.
Filthy Rich awoke to what he thought was a sound further down the hallway. At first he thought it might have been Tiara, but when he checked in on her room she was still there, snoring like a little angel.
Still looking for the source of the sound he heard, Rich continued down the hall to his study.
“Is anypony in here?” Filthy Rich called into the room. There was no response.
Mr. Rich was about to leave the room when suddenly something caught his eye. Something in the darkness had glimmered from the light emanating from the doorway.
The stallion walked over to take a look at the object and sighed when he realized it was just a pen.
Then the door slammed shut. Filthy turned around to see Applejack holding the door shut.
“Hello there, Mr. Rich.” The farm mare said as she walked over to the stallion.
“What are you doing here?” Filthy Rich asked, “How did you get into my house?”
“Oh, I have my ways.” Applejack said as she walked towards Rich, “It isn’t hard when most of the citizens of Ponyville leave their doors unlocked.”
This was true. Ponyville was a pretty safe town, so most of the citizens generally left their doors unlocked, with the exception being those who lived close to the Everfree forest. However, while Filthy Rich did live close to the forest, the high walls and gates for the most part ensured that creatures from the forest could not intrude.
“What do you want?” Mr. Rich asked. If Applejack had wanted to talk to him about his previous offer, this was a bizarre way of doing it.
Applejack gave the stallion an insulted look as she stepped closer.
“Earlier today you were making me an offer,” Applejack spoke, “and after thinking over it for a while—it was a good offer, after all—I thought of something that would serve my plans much better.”
“Plans?” Filthy asked. The orange farm mare chuckled at his question.
“Yes.” Applejack said, “You see, the fire that killed my family wasn’t an accident. Four ponies were responsible for their deaths and I am looking to avenge them. Such a task could take a lot of money.”
Filthy Rich was puzzled by this discussion. While he had heard rumors and speculations that the fire at the Apple family farm was arson, no evidence had been presented to him. And if Applejack had wanted to avenge her family and needed funds to do so, why hadn’t she confided in him about it earlier? Unless…
Did she think he was responsible?
“Now I have taken care of two of the culprits.” Applejack spoke; bringing Rich back to the situation at hand, “They suffered a fate similar to that of my siblings.”
“Are you speaking of the Flim Flam twins?” Filthy Rich asked in shock. Applejack’s smile widened and she nodded.
“Yes,” The farm mare answered, “and much like you they left their doors unlocked at night too. It made it much easier for me to set things up to look like an accident.”
Rich tried to run past the crazy farm mare to the door but the orange pony stuck a hoof out and tripped the stallion.
“Now hold it right there.” Applejack spoke, “You don’t want to get me mad, sugarcube. It could have serious repercussions for your daughter.”
She was threatening his daughter’s life. What was Filthy Rich to do?
“What do you want me to do?” Rich asked.
“Well, after doing a lot of thinking on the subject, I thought it would be good if you signed your company over to me in your will.” Applejack said, “That way if something were to happen to you, I would be able to take over. It is the least I can do for one of my family’s best customers.”
The farm mare gave the will over to the stallion. Was Applejack planning to off him and take over his company? All Filthy could do was sign the will and hope that he could stop her before she killed him. Taking the quill, Mr. Rich dipped the tip into the inkwell and signed the paper.
“So do you feel I was responsible for the fire?” Filthy asked.
“No.” Applejack answered, “However, with your money it will be a whole lot easier to find them.”
Reluctantly, Mr. Rich finished signing the will and handed the document over to the farm mare.
“Thank you very much.” Applejack said, “You have been very helpful. Now it is time to clean up the mess.”
Filthy Rich’s vision went blurry as a heavy wooden object slammed hard into the side of his head. As he began to lose consciousness, Rich could see the large wooden mallet in Applejack’s hooves, stained with his blood.
What would happen to Diamond Tiara? Would she be safe? Please Celestia, keep her safe!
Applejack dropped the bag onto the ground and wiped some sweat off her forehead with her hoof. Before the farm mare left the mansion she had made sure to remove any evidence she had left behind, as well as any signs that there had been a struggle.
For her plan to work, it needed to look like Filthy Rich had suffered an accident and had written up the will willingly.
Not too far away a timberwolf howled to the moon.
The orange mare opened the bag and pulled it away from the body within. The brown stallion was still alive, but unconscious.
Applejack pulled out a jar of honey and started to place some on Filthy Rich’s face. Her hopes were that some wild animal would come by and take a bite out of the stallion’s face.
They were close enough to the mansion that the authorities would believe that the stallion had gone out for an evening stroll while close enough to the forest that the idea of him being attacked by an animal wouldn’t be too unusual.
Another howl sounded out closer this time. Applejack liberally lathered some more honey on the spot where she had hit the stallion with the wooden mallet.
Putting away the honey and the bag in her saddle, the farm mare began to walk away. It was time for nature to take its course.
She would make them pay for what they did to her family, and then she would make Celestia pay for letting such a thing happen. The farm mare couldn’t harm an immortal entity, but she could harm those she loved.
Applejack began to chuckle as she heard the sounds of wolves nearing their meal.
The Equestrian Express
The body of Filthy Rich was found this morning near the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. It appears that some wild creature has mutilated and devoured a majority of the stallion’s body. Experts suspect Timberwolves to be responsible.
At this point we still don’t know why Mr. Rich was out by the Everfree forest. The police believe that Mr. Rich had gone out for an evening stroll and had been attacked on his way home.
Aside from that, it should be noted that Mr. Rich’s will stated Applejack to be his sole heir until his daughter Diamond Tiara is of age to inherit. This includes the rights to Rich’s Barnyard Bargains and any projects his company may have been working on.
Her handy work is quite nice. I just wish she was a little blunter with her work. There would be more fear that way. There is always fear when ponies don’t know if they are safe in their beds or not.
-From a Smiling Admirer
Author's Note
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this part of the story so far.
Also yes, the part at the end is a reference to the fanfic I am working on right now called, The Smiling Stallion.
As stated in the story description there will be more parts in the future it is just that I am really busy with a lot of other projects right now (at the time I wrote this) so it may be a while before part 3 comes out.
