An Apple Sleep Experiment

Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow as she and her brother, Big Macintosh, hauled their last cart of apples towards the barn. It had been an unbearably hot afternoon in Sweet Apple Acres and Applejack wished for nothing more than to put her hooves up and enjoy a cold mug of cider.

“Can ya get that last bushel to the other end of the barn, Big Mac?” Applejack asked. On any other day she might not have let on that she needed help, but she was far too hot and sore to worry about her pride.

“Eeeyup,” came his short reply. Big Mac was also drenched with sweat, but somehow maintained his grin and calm demeanor.

“Woo-eee, that’s some weather we’ve been having ain’t it? Ah sure hope it’s a might different when the zap-apples get here. Not sure they could stand this kinda heat.” Applejack said, breathing a sigh of relief when she was finally able to release the harness of the apple cart she was carrying.

“Eeeyup.” Big Mac replied.

“See you inside.” Applejack said, already out the barn door as she bade him farewell.

Applejack’s iconic hat seemed to offer no relief from the sunlight on her trek back to the house. Tired, sore, and irritable; her only solace for the day’s labor was the thought of refreshment and relaxation. However, when she rounded the corner she spied a familiar-looking carriage with an iconic dollar symbol on the side; the trademark of business tycoon Filthy Rich. Two earth ponies harnessed to the carriage nodded in her direction as an informal greeting and Applejack warily nodded in return. She wondered why Filthy Rich would be visiting the farm so soon, as he usually only appeared when the zap apple jam was prepared and ready for sale.

Applejack was surprised to see the front door open and peered inside suspiciously. She found Filthy Rich talking to Granny, who was sitting in the corner looking timid and frail, curled up on her rocker with a tremble in her hooves. It didn’t take long for Applejack to understand that this was not a pleasant visit.

“You owe a great deal more than that, Granny Smith, and I for one would hate to see you lose this farm.” Filthy Rich said; all manner of pleasantry gone from his tone. Granny Smith looked up at him with wide and pleading eyes, but before she could answer, Applejack came to the rescue.

“What in tarnation are ya goin’ on about?” Applejack asked sternly, she narrowed her eyes and glared at Filthy Rich, protective instincts taking priority over common sense.

“Your Granny here is in quite some debt with me, young filly, and it’s high time I’m paid my money.” Filthy demanded.

“The Apple family hasn’t borrowed money from you in ages!” Applejack protested, stomping towards him with a growl.

“Now hold on there, Applejack, that ain’t quite true youngin’.” Granny admitted softly.

Applejack broke her glare to look at Granny in confusion.

“Whaddya mean, Granny?”

“Well… Ah didn’t want to worry you none but this season hasn’t been too kind on Sweet Apple Acres and we’ve been needing an extra bit or two just to keep up with demand. It’s just a bad weather spell is all, it’ll pass.” Granny admitted.

“That may be so, but what HAS passed is my deadline. What with interest and everything I’d say you’d owe about a half of your farm’s worth by now.” Filthy said with no inclination of mercy in his tone.

“Half of the farm?! Granny why didn’t you tell me we were hurtin’ for money?!” Applejack asked in horror.

“Now now Applejack, this here is my business, don’t you worry none.” Granny said. “You’re a reasonable pony, Filthy, can’t we work something out?”

“I believe I may know just the thing.” Filthy said, calming his speech a little and straightening his necktie. “I think I could overlook this little debt of yours if you gave me twice the amount of zap-apple jam this year.”

“But you already take half.” Applejack pointed out.

“Precisely.” Filthy Rich said, smugly.

“Wait a minute, you want our entire supply of zap-apple jam this year?! We need that money along with the sales of cider just to keep this family going in the winter time!” Applejack protested.

“Well, the way I see it, you don’t have much of a choice now do ya missy?” Filthy Rich said, his patience growing thin.

“You can’t actually be considerin’ this, can ya Granny?” Applejack asked.

“Well…” Granny stammered.

“I’ll be by in two weeks for my product.” Filthy Rich said, having already considered this a done deal. “And I’ll be countin’ them jars too, don’t you go thinking you can hold out on ole Filthy Rich. I get every last jar or this farm goes into foreclosure, you hear?”

Applejack was stunned into silence. Filthy cleared his throat a couple times until she snapped out of her trance and realized she was blocking his exit. With his head held high, Filthy Rich left the farmhouse with a sarcastic ‘Good day.’ Applejack waited until he had gotten in his carriage and was out of hearing range before she confronted Granny again.

“What are we going to do if we don’t get those zap-apple jam earnings this year? We can’t pay off a debt if it means we’ll be hurtin’ for money again in the winter months.” Applejack said.

“Your Granny Smith always thinks of something, Applejack. You just worry about harvesting those zap-apples and leave the rest to me, ya hear?” Granny said, offering her an apologetic smile.

Applejack didn’t reply. Instead, she looked back outside the open door to see the sorry state of the apple trees, baking under the unforgiving heat of the sun. If the rain stalled much longer, she knew that her family’s troubles were only going to get worse.