Applejack and her sister were marching down mane street on a very busy weekend, their heavy carts squeaking behind them as they narrowly avoided smacking ponies left and right.
“Excuse me!” Apple Bloom shouted worryingly.
“Land sakes…these dumb tourists better get out of our way,” Applejack added, her brow folded in annoyance.
“We’ll get there, sis. Wasn’t it our idea to come to this convention?” Apple Bloom asked.
“It was Twilight’s idea to do the convention. I agreed to add to it and make it more than just her book report.”
“I think a whole lecture on how different pony groups behave is more than just a report,” Apple Bloom said.
“Well, you’re the book learner in the family.” Applejack settled down the cart and flashed a badge to the convention security who ushered the two down into the private lane quickly.
“So much technology involved. It’s amazing.” Apple bloom’s cheeks swelled with excitement not so much at their farming technology exhibits but at the other sections filled with gyrocopters operated by hoof, metal detectors and other super advanced machines that Twilight would know about for sure.
“When did you get so much into all that tech business?” Applejack inquired. She arrived at the booth and spread out the blanket for her pamphlets. Apple bloom began to help by unpacking the large boxes which bore specialized apple equipment.
“Twilight taught me,” she said with her mouth nearly full of rope.
“Well, just concentrate on this for now, you hear? You’ll have plenty of time for gawking when Big Mac shows up.”
Apple bloom nodded and helped unpack. Ponies would be coming far and wide for a look at a variety of technology that existed in Equestria. It was their town’s first such event and many hoped it would bring in tons of bits into the local town’s struggling economy. Because of this, tourists and the press were everywhere. The Apple family in particular weren’t used to that but they agreed to it, if only for the town’s benefit.
The first few hours were spent at the table, with ponies looking at wheat threshers, water systems and apple cider pressers. Apple bloom nearly fell asleep but was woken by Applejack’s firm hoof.
“I’m awake!” She wiped drool off her hoof then looked at her sister. “What’s the time?”
Applejack had a laser focused glare over at a table on the other side of the agriculture exhibits. Apple bloom followed her sister’s gaze to see what the trouble was, only to rest her eyes on none other than the horrid pair of Flim and Flam. They were showing off their antique of a machine that nearly cost them their farm for some reason.
“What are those two doing here? I thought the message was clear by now.”
“Uh, message?” Apple bloom said hesitantly.
“To stay out of here!” Applejack said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “They tried to run us out of business then their ridiculous scam with Granny…now they’re trying to ruin the convention by making their stupid contraption look good.”
“Maybe they just want to contribute?” Apple bloom replied, her innate skepticism showing. “And it is technology after all.”
Applejack snorted. “Yeah…well, I still don’t like them. They’re just going to ruin the exhibit.”
Apple bloom folded her hooves and sighed. “Rivalries are stupid.”
“That’s because you’re young and don’t get it. You’ll find out that rivalries are always going to exist. It’s how it has always been.”
“But, there’s no need for them. How many have we had so far? Even Spike couldn’t count them all,” Apple bloom said exasperatingly as if trying to get through to a young child. “I bet that if you guys talked, you could actually get past things for once.”
Applejack folded her ears. “Forget it. I don’t want anything to do with the Flim/Flam brothers. Let’s just focus on the event.” She was utterly firm on the matter so Apple Bloom stayed quiet. Soon, the hands on the clock dragged to noon when she was finally free from that booth.
“I guess I better loosen the rope,” Applejack said, chuckling. “Go have fun, now.”
“Sure thing!” Apple bloom hurried towards the exit but noticed the brothers standing by their machine, sipping coffee. Ponies gathered around, taking a look at their machine, its metal parts gleaming in the light. Apple bloom approached calmly like she often did towards somepony without a cutie mark. The two noticed and amused grins crossed their faces.
“Hey, there. I heard you two met my sister again not long ago. Heard she helped you two out,” Apple bloom said. She expected the two to be guarded but they looked relaxed, fully within their element.
“Don’t be modest, filly. She and her little friend sure saved our hides,” Flim said. “We underestimated her abilities.”
“Before that day, we wouldn’t have ever asked an Earth pony, but especially an Apple, for help,’ Flam added. The brothers laughed.
Apple bloom stared at them quizzically, her cheeks flushed. “Hold it. What’s wrong with us Earth ponies?”
“Let’s just say that they wouldn’t get much of a grasp of our technology,” Flim said. “And I don’t mean their hooves.”
“To an Earth pony, technology is an acquired taste. It’s mostly our thing. But then and again, some of us unicorns like the simple life. We built this machine to run an apple farm. It’s a shame we couldn’t get the machine up and running in ponyville.”
Apple bloom was disappointed by the level of spite shared by her sister and those stallions, even after the story she heard about what happened with that tycoon a while ago.
“This is ridiculous. You two better grow up before you’re old and grey and it’s too late to do anything about it,” the filly said bluntly. It was even hostile but the brothers didn’t continue to engage her. They instead turned their attention away. Fine enough as Apple bloom left the agricultural room and went down the hall. Taking a sip of water, she overheard where the bigger events were happening including a couple guests of honor. She was lucky that she didn’t have to stand in line with her preferred pass around her neck. She could go anywhere she wanted.
In the main hall, Twilight met her. It was going to be used for the next tech show but earlier, Twilight had done a presentation on genetics. The hall was modeled after the kind that were popular at universities. It was exactly the kind of place where challenging ideas came into being. A clipboard floated in the air while she checked things off one by one.
“Twilight. I’m here. You need anything?”
Twilight smiled cheerfully. “There’s nothing at the moment. Things are actually running smoothly which is rare at such events as this…or so I heard.”
“Are our guests ready?”
“Sure are. Want a sneak peek?”
“Of what?”
Twilight grinned widely. “Their exhibit of course. The general public aren’t allowed anywhere near something like this. It rarely leaves the laboratory.” She was gleeful about that particular fact.
“It’s not dangerous, is it?” Apple Bloom asked nervously.
“Of course not.” She hesitated for a moment as if internally reading some safety manual saved in her head. “It’s perfectly safe. Come and see it.”
There was a huge device being wheeled in. A white sheet covered it, making it look more dramatic like a magician’s prop.
“Is it a computer? I heard that the guest likes computers.”
“Computers are getting smaller, not bigger,” Twilight pointed out. “This is a highly advanced technology only starting to catch up with could only be done with magic before…such as mine for instance.”
Apple Bloom got a brief five minute look at the machine. She gawked at its wavy shiny exterior, the arcs of wires and the arches of metal that looked like a palace. The bundles of cords made it clear that this machine soaked up energy like a sponge.
Of course it couldn’t be demonstrated yet. In fifteen minutes, ponies were let in and Twilight left the stage. Apple Bloom sat in front and chatted with a couple ponies who sat next to her. The crowd got excited when Twilight returned, armed with notecards. She mentioned the many contributions to tech that the guest of honor had earned over her lifetime. Lastly, the royal connection that bound them, a shared title of princess, more specifically the princess of technology. The guest appeared, a pony even taller than the Flim/Flam brothers. Her regal white body flowed across the stage elegantly, mutually bowing with the host princess to each other. Her electric blue hair was like water save for the fact that it didn’t literally flow like the mane of Princess Celestia.
“Thank you, Princess Twilight. As many of you know, I’m Princess Pixel.” She let the audience applause and bowed gracefully to them. “I was invited as a guest speaker today on technology that will greatly benefit our knowledge of the past and how it might one day tell us of our future.” She continued, gleaning over what Twilight already mentioned, a tech that can push a pony back in time. She didn’t understand that much of the tech stuff unlike Twilight who listened in awe, but it all sounded so awesome that any of it existed at all.
“Let’s have a warm welcome for my lovely assistant, Buffy.” Her peppy friend slid onto stage, giving Twilight a hug. She grabbed the microphone from Pixel.
“How is everypony doing?” She got a noisy reaction, being that she was involved with Pixel’s mass fanbase, her mascot and her friend. She was practically the face of Pixel’s online presence.
Pixel took back the microphone. “Thank you, buffy. Now, I hope everypony is excited for what we’re about to reveal for it may never be shown again. Princess Twilight was especially gracious to invite us here and we won’t take advantage.”
The two started up the machine. It buzzed then whirred until electricity shot from one end to the other. It was tantalizing, even pretty, like an electric apple.
Then, the electricity got bigger, too big for the metal to contain it. It flew outwards like arcs of fire from the sun, threatening to catch the place on fire. The two ponies were furiously dealing with the problem until something exploded in a shower of sparks. Some ponies began leaving the room when the energy began to moan like something ready to collapse.
“Ponies! Leave in single file!” Twilight implored. While she tried to usher the audience outside, the core of energy finally imploded then released energy which knocked Pixel off the stage. Apple Bloom jumped at her side but the large mare was knocked out cold.
“You better get out of here!” Apple bloom demanded of Buffy. She had to near scream it.
“No! I have to stop the energy output! You get Pixel out!”
“Are you kidding? She’s like ten times bigger than me!”
Buffy grimaced. “Then just get out!”
“No way!” Apple bloom snatched a nearby rope used to cordon off the front rows and lassoed up Buffy to pull her to safety.
It was no use. The vortex which was created had overpowered the filly and they both tumbled back, grabbing onto whatever they could. She feel back much further. Apple Bloom’s hooves hurt. She couldn’t hold on. She was sucked into it and she immediately lost consciousness.
When she was abruptly woken, she was lying in town with ponies bustling every which way. She was soaked with water with a glaring shopkeeper standing over her.
“Get lost, vagabond.”
Apple bloom got to her hooves and shook herself dry. “Hey, don’t be mean!”
“Then don’t just lie there.” She sneered. “Even if you’re an apple.” She went back inside her shop. Apple Bloom rubbed her head, amazed that the time machine actually worked but she was unsure how far back she was. A hundred moons? A thousand?
She was amazed by every little sight, being that it was definitely older than what she was used to. She saw no sight of modern technology and everything shone, yet, to her, had pristine age. Then her truly first familiar sight, a young green mare trotting down main street, pulling a load of apples. Her hair was in a bun so she wasn’t a very young filly but young enough to have not suffered much loss yet.
The mare, Granny Smith, passed out the fruit to the construction workers who were either building or renovating town hall. Some looked at it hesitantly but a young stallion bit into his. The unicorn spat it out and almost shoved it in Granny’s face. As Apple bloom approached, she could hear them.
“It’s rotting, Granny! Just like your farm!” he shouted. The other unicorns nodded in agreement but the earth ponies were showing sympathy for the confused mare.
Granny was disturbed but tried to defend the family the best she could. “We’re doing our best out there! I reckon it’s sabotage. The family would never let this happen,” she said.
Despite her adamant explanation, the unicorns didn’t believe her, walking away and making jokes at her expense. Granny began to fume and turn back home but then she saw something off in the distance which made her take off her harness and run away. Apple bloom gave chase until she saw that Granny was arguing with two tall and familiar looking ponies. From the back, they were so similar to the two stallion con ponies who gave the Apples such grief, yet their long hair and lacy blue shirts were different and this had to be decades in the past. Surely, it couldn’t be them…
“Listen here! You two better hit the road before I get the princess involved!” Granny threatened. Her targets laughed it off and it was the airy tone of two lanky mares.
“The princess has nothing to do with it, at least right now,” one said confidently. “We’re appealing to the mayor who will surely side with you of course. We know you two are close. When we appeal, then the princess will get involved and then, we reveal the corruption that has taken place here.”
The other mare held up one of the decaying apples. “This is the best of the Apples? What a farce. What a joke! Are the Apples just not up to snuff? What about Earth ponies altogether?”
Many earth ponies who were standing seemed unsure but since nopony stood up for Granny, many must be holding back issues with her products. Apple Bloom remembers that Zap Apple Jam had often gotten the family out of a tight spot but perhaps the harvest went bad that year. That had sometimes happened.
“Listen, Canary. I know your plot and I won’t let you get away, even if you get the whole town against me,” Granny declared. She huffed away and the two ponies, who introduced themselves as Chi and Canary, began a long spiel about the uselessness of an Earth pony town.
Apple Bloom avoided Granny, thinking it would be weird to meet her relative at such a young age. The mare may or may not remember her at all later on, but she wouldn’t risk something getting weird sometime down the line. Apple Bloom instead listened to the unicorn rally.
“This will be a unicorn town for unicorns! We were promised this land once and the Earth ponies swooped in and stole it from us!” They blasted slogans from megaphones at the crowd and the unicorns who stood around them nodded and agreed.
Apple Bloom shoved her way to the front. “That’s a load of nonsense! The princess gave it to us fair and square.” Her interruption bothered the ponies around her, who gave her looks telling her to buzz off.
“I thought I knew all the Apples but I guess not,” the mare on the right said. She wore glasses unlike her near identical sister, Chi. On the other hoof, Canary looked smart, educated and had the air of a very boastful pony. Her cutie mark was of a Canary in a cage. She didn’t sound prideful like how Applejack could get but arrogant, like her future descendants most likely.
Apple bloom gulped down air nervously. “Well, never mind that. We have a million ponies you don’t know about. You should read the founding document. This is an Earth pony town. Time you dealt with that.” What she said gained some approval from the Earth ponies around her but the unicorns looked down at her like a pest.
“I have documents of my own, little filly,” Chi boasted with a wicked smile. “Princess Celestia originally had granted this land to be unicorn run for the sake of producing agriculture and to aid in weather production and maintenance with the Pegasus ponies. What I want is that original agreement to be fulfilled. What’s going on now is a travesty.”
“An agreement with whom, exactly?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Our mother,” Canary replied. She pulled out a poster of a unicorn mare standing in front of a large steam machine. “She was an inventor, you see? She had this whole place in mind when she petitioned Princess Celestia. But Granny Smith’s parents swooped in and charmed the princess into giving into their sweet words and empty promises.”
“Don’t listen to these two. That document probably isn’t even real,” Apple bloom said.
“Oh, who’s the little expert in forgery, now?” Canary chided. “Where’s your degree, may I ask?”
Apple Bloom frowned and looked downcast. “That’s not fair.”
Both mares rose their hooves as if finding a revelation. “Of course! Nothing’s fair. Not to us or you or any of you fine ponies!” Chi pulled out a rotting apple from her bag like a piece of evidence in court. “I’m afraid this is your future if you stick with the work of Earth ponies over that of us. Please think it over, ponies. City hall is just that way. Our petition papers are waiting.” They walked away confidently, leaving the crowd to talk amongst themselves.
Apple Bloom didn’t bother to try and convince anypony. She remembered the last time with the cider…now future time she supposed…and how easily manipulated ponies could get. If an idea got in their head, it stuck badly.
She kept a close trail on those two until she was outside of town opposite of Sweet Apple Acres. The two mares entered a dark log cabin and shut their door. Apple Bloom shimmied up the side and looked through a crack in the wall. From the lights inside, she could discern an entire operation. A whole lab was set up on tables with tubes, glass test tubes and more importantly, magical ingredients. A bushel of apples sat below a table and each mare prodded and poked them, turning them an ugly brown, mushy and, worst of all, wormy.
Apple Bloom wanted to kick in the door and ruin their operation right then but she was able to stop herself from giving in. In front of her was all the evidence she needed to prove a terrible scam had been committed against the Apples. She instead took photographs using her convention camera and rushed back to town. She got them printed out magically and quickly distributed them amongst the ponies at town hall. Moments later, there was an angry mob ready to throw those two out of town for good.
Apple Bloom felt proud from doing something about it all on her own. She wanted to go and see the farm and what it used to look like when her parents were still alive but unfortunately, the same time energy that sent her to the past pulled her forward. In no time at all, she was left back on the stage as if nothing happened save for a queasy stomach.
After being looked at by a doctor, Apple Bloom’s friends came to talk about her ordeal. They looked more excited than worried.
“Did you see us as babies? What about Big Mac…or even Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo inquired, her eyes suddenly sparkling.
“No, it was too long ago for any of that,” Apple Bloom replied.
“It must have been exciting though,” Sweetie Belle said.
“It was cool and all, but I got the feeling that things are more complicated than we know when it comes to the past.”
“Even I never heard of that story about those two unicorn mares and all that business…although if what you say is true, it’s going to make a mess of things,” Applejack said. She had a determined look. “Let’s get to the bottom of this, y’all.”
Applejack rounded up those two stallions, who were sort of taken against their will, and everypony went to Sweet Apple Acres where Granny Smith was slowly feeding the chickens out in the yard.
“Granny! We got visitors!” Applejack announced.
Granny had a half daze that afternoon but her whole body stood on edge as she saw Flim and Flam. She stomped her old hooves over.
“What in Equestria possessed you to bring them here?”
“Sorry to fluster you, Granny, but we heard about some troubles we had with the family of those two many moons ago. We would like you to tell us more about it.”
“I guess the chickens can wait…”
Big Mac brought a rocking chair for Granny, who sat down as she often did when recounting her past.
“Truth be told, I knew who those two ponies were the second I laid eyes on them. But, I didn’t know their names. There was the same look about them, an ugliness that comes from avarice. But, age always dulls the senses and I was nearly convinced that I should give them a chance, with that contraption, their singing and dancing and all this and that being nonpareil…”
“We still are,” Flam interrupted.
“Granny, can you skip ahead?” Applejack urged.
“I guess that story’s all well and good by now…but back then, fewer ponies believed that ponies like that were out there. Those two mares were old relatives of those two except they were worse. They were the ones who started all that business with wanting to take our farm in the first place. They tried for many moons. They were the worst tricksters.”
Applejack looked worried. “Is any of that actually true? About their claim?”
“Well, there was this here deed long ago. I never read it as ma forbade it,” she said evasively. Apple Bloom thought it sounded weird because her Granny never behaved like that before unless she had something to hide.
“I don’t believe it. Let’s go, Apple Bloom.”
“What? Where?”
“I think I know where to start looking.”
The two went to the attic of their house and rummaged through to an old safe which belonged to their great-grandparents. The combination was still great-grandmother’s birthday. Inside, files were stuffed tightly inside, having been untouched for generations. The only exception was a very thin folder at the right. Apple Bloom removed the folder and a picture fell out. She had a moment to look at an old picture of their parents, something long forgotten.
She returned the picture as Applejack opened the oldest file in the safe. It was cracked and creased at the edges and every word was written in old black print.
“This is just impossible.” She closed the file. “Nothing’s the same anymore. Everything’s changed.”
According to the file, Chi and Canary were right the whole time. Princess Celestia once had the town for unicorns in mind until she met the Apples, who were in dire need, as it was recorded. None were more pleased to hear that than Flim and Flam.
“So this land really is ours!” the calculating Flim said. They were practically celebrating already when Applejack whistled sharply.
“Nothing’s changing, you two. Better get whatever ideas are in your heads, plum out of there!”
“Perhaps this is just desserts for you rejecting our fine offer all those years ago,” Flam added, obviously vindicated. “Our aunts recounted the same story to us and told us that we could eventually buy our way into this town. If only we believed them about that royal promise.”
“Didn’t you hear me a second ago? What happened was a long time ago. Go find some other land,” Applejack said unsympathetically.
“This is why I hid them papers away…” Granny said sadly.
“I also saw a file on our parents. I guess you forgot about that too,” Apple Bloom mentioned. The old mare sighed and nodded.
“Oh, the Pears. I heard they were driven off. I guess nopony’s allowed to live side by side with the Apple family,” Flam said amusingly.
Applejack snorted and dug her hoof into the ground. “We don’t do that! Only you ponies are so deceitful!”
The brothers backed off. “Easy there…don’t blow a gasket on our account.”
Suddenly, Twilight intervened. “Listen, everypony. From what I heard, both families have some stake in the land around here. It’s a complicated affair and Celestia should know that a rivalry had been building up here. She probably isn’t aware because nopony has actually gone to speak to her, am I wrong?”
Both families look awkwardly around. Apple Bloom could tell that Twilight was right as usual. Both were just too deep in their own righteousness to try and get help. And worst of all, she was just as guilty of it.
“Twilight, I might have tried to alter history…just a bit,” Apple Bloom admitted.
The princess rubbed her eyes in frustration but Granny walked over and patted the filly’s head.
“We all make mistakes, dear.”
“Thanks, granny…”
“Tell me very slowly what you did,” Twilight said.
After a brief recount from Apple Bloom, Twilight had it all written down.
“I’m going to have to make sure nothing was altered in our time line. This is going to blow my entire day. Thanks for that.” She stuffed her notebook in her saddle bag.
“What does it matter what Apple Bloom did?” Applejack said defensively.
“Well, according to Granny Smith, this event with Chi and Canary happened at the same time the Apples came up with a new recipe for cider which happened to taste different. They could then tell the difference between their apples and apples that were magically altered to look like their own. That’s how the two mares were really supposed to be evicted from town. But, thanks to Apple Bloom’s, “intervention”, that didn’t happen. Celestia help us if Rainbow Dash finds out.” She turned around and left the farm.
“Sorry guys…I guess we could end up losing the farm to the Rich family for all I know without our special cider…” Apple Bloom said.
Applejack comforted her sister. “Don’t worry. Twilight has cleaned up worse time related messes than this. I’m sure nothing will change.”
“Don’t be so hasty there. Once the princess hears of this, she’ll have no choice but to undo her “mistakes,” Flam declared greedily.
“You’re just wasting your time. I personally know the princess. She’ll never give you our land because she made that deed on purpose. Maybe that’s unfair but continuing a feud for decades long after you’ve lost is just stupid.”
“What do we have to lose?”
“That contraption of yours is collecting dust in a museum instead of doing its job.”
“Thanks to you Apples.”
“Because you wanted our farm!”
“That was our Aunts. We didn’t care about the land even if we were told again and again that we deserved it more than you. We were perfectly content with a share of your profits.”
Apple Bloom nudged her sister. “My, that sounds almost reasonable.”
Applejack was still having none of it. “Nothing these kinds of ponies ever say is reasonable,” she said, throwing her sister’s words back.
Apple Bloom was too frustrated to do anything except walk away from the situation, leaving behind her stubborn sister who would grow up just like Granny Smith, unable to budge even a little. She walked to her treehouse for some privacy, thinking once again how stupid family rivalries were the whole way. If it wasn’t for what some old ponies did a long time ago, none of this would have even happened. She sat on a stool and wished that the adults would actually come to their senses.
As she began to write the schedule for the week to distribute it to her friends, she heard a knock on the door. She called for the pony to enter and it was her sister.
“It’s me.”
“I know your style of knocking, Applejack.”
Applejack looked at her regretfully, her hoof rubbing the back of her mane. “Yeah, well, I was thinking about things and maybe you’re right.”
That piqued Apple Bloom’s interest. “Is that so?”
Applejack sat down. “I mean, I don’t even remember exactly why my generation is continuing to get bothered with the Flim/Flam brothers and their family. I don’t think they know why either. These mistakes are things our ancestors did, not us.”
“Yes, but sooner or later, we got to face the facts. The past is all muddy,” Apple Bloom said firmly.
“Muddled,” Applejack corrected.
“Muddy. It’s because we don’t see things clearly like at the mud pond. Who knows what our ancestors did to gain favor with Celestia. Our own stories could be made up for all we know. Maybe that other family was right all along.”
“What do you mean? Do you think they should get compensated?” The words seemed like poison in her throat.
“We don’t have to but wouldn’t it be better to work together with other ponies rather than to make life difficult for everypony?”
Applejack was still tempted to say no, but it was plain to her when somepony else knew better. Her sister was pretty wise for her age.
She tilted her hat back. “Your generation is going to be different. You’re going to change things.”
“How’s that?”
Apple Bloom followed her sister outside as the sun was setting. “All this land here belongs to us but we don’t live in a bubble like we wish we could. If only it could be that easy,” Applejack said.
“Our land is beautiful,” Apple Bloom said with admiration and a fair bit of love.
“Yes, it’s easy enough to think only the here and now matters but the past was just as beautiful and equally uncertain.”
“Because we could have ended up somewhere else?”
“That’s part of it, sugarcube. Where one ends up can be a roll of the dice. The unicorns could have built this place instead…but that’s not what happened. The problem is that I never knew about that past between our families. I’m too honest to have slept at night if I knew the truth.”
“You’re not a bad pony. That’s what matters.”
That raised her sister’s spirits after that moody reflection. “Thanks, Apple Bloom. Now, if only there was a solution just as available to us.”
Apple Bloom looked towards the west beyond her treehouse at the expanse of land barely kept in check from overgrowth and bat infestations.
“There’s still land left over from the Pears when they used to live here. Perhaps we can sell some of that? It’s been too long since we’ve lived side by side with another family anyways,” Apple Bloom suggested earnestly.
The two sisters shared a warm hug. “That’s as good a suggestion as any,” Applejack said happily.
