An Apple Sleep Experiment

“My my my… that IS mighty impressive young filly!” Filthy rich exclaimed. He watched in delight as his staff loaded the jars of jam into his cart. “It’s nice to see a little hustle these days.”

“And the debt?” Applejack asked, finding it difficult to remain still as she stood beside Filthy Rich.

“Repaid in full ‘s far as I’m concerned.” Filthy Rich replied.

“Good.” Applejack said, rubbing her right front leg with her left. She could feel the tremor in her body and was aching to get some more work done. “400 jars of jam for a debt repaid.”

“Pardon?” Filthy Rich asked.

“400 jars… that was the deal. Twice your order from last year?” Applejack said cautiously.

“I believe I said EVERY jar of jam young filly.” Filthy Rich said with narrowed eyes.

“Now you’re a reasonable pony ‘n all… you know if we don’t get the sales from the zap apples, we’ll be hurtin’ again in the winter months. Ah figured since yer gettin’ yer order so quickly, you wouldn’t mind us holdin’ onto a few jars…” Applejack said, trailing off.

“I appreciate your business sense Applejack but a deal’s a deal. Even with the extra jam that debt would still be technically underpaid. I’m doing you a favor, and all I ask is for the jars I was promised.”

Applejack’s heart was racing and her blood pressure was increasing rapidly.

“Now hold on just a minute! That ain’t fair and you know it!”

“Ain’t about being fair. It’s about knowing how to conduct business.” Filthy Rich said, cutting her off.

Applejack stamped her hoof in frustration but Filthy Rich held out a hoof to stop her before she could say anything else.

“Tell you what, I’ll let you buy back some of your jam - half price. For personal use of course. And if you’re hurtin’ for funds by the winter months, then y’all know you can come to ole Filthy Rich.”

Applejack snorted angrily; her legs began to quake and her eyes narrowed. Though she would have liked nothing more than to cuss Filthy Rich out, she clenched her teeth shut instead. Without another word, she stomped towards the orchard, each hoofstep beating against the ground in anger.

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle remained hidden behind a bush nearby, trying to understand what they’d just seen.

“It can’t be true… it just can’t.” Apple Bloom said, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. Sweetie Belle threw her hooves around her friend in a hug until Scootaloo interrupted them.

“Um… guys? I think there’s something off about Applejack.”

“Whaddya mean?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well… she seems kinda… mad.” Scootaloo said warily.

“Of course she’s mad! That greedy stallion won’t even let us keep a single jar! And after she worked so hard too…” Apple Bloom said trailing off.

“Yeah but--“ Scootaloo started

“I’d be mad too! I can’t believe Diamond Tiara is gonna have this to hold over our heads. Reformed or not, she’ll never let you live this down Apple Bloom.” Sweetie Belle pointed out sadly.

“Guys--“ Scootaloo said, her eyes growing wide.

“Ah ain’t gonna give her the satisfaction! Ah say we grab us a couple jars and hide ‘em before Mister Rich can get ‘em all from the house.” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle replied happily.

“GUYS!” Scootaloo shouted.

“What is it Scoot--“ Apple Bloom started but was cut off when she followed Scootaloo’s gaze. Applejack was bucking an old apple tree angrily; kicking it so fiercely that it was beginning to weaken. The three fillies could hear the unmistakable sound of the trunk cracking, so they raced from their hiding place to call out a warning.

Applejack couldn’t hear the fillies’ cries. She was lost in her rage, imagining that instead of bucking a tree, she was bucking the tar out of a certain greedy business pony. She could see his smug grin and the selfish gleam in his eye reflected in the tree trunk. She panted and sweated as she bucked, so focused on getting out her frustrations that she didn’t realize the tree was falling apart. Branches cascaded down and left little cuts in her fur as they fell. However, Applejack remained unphased; unable to feel the slightest bit of pain. Soonafter, the image of Filthy Rich on the tree began to laugh as if to mock her efforts to take out her anger. Although her back hooves were physically unable to handle the amount of stress she was making them perform, she didn’t care; all she could think of was bucking the smile right of that pony’s face.

Apple Bloom and the other crusaders were only a few yards away when they heard a terrifying crunch. At first they believed that Applejack had actually managed to buck down an entire apple tree but upon closer inspection they realized the sickening truth: it wasn’t the tree that had cracked, but the bones in Applejack’s back legs. They were unmistakably visible under Applejack’s skin, jetting out to the side and causing her hooves to turn the wrong way. Sweetie Belle screamed in surprise and Scootaloo lost all the color in her cheeks. Apple Bloom was frozen in place, horrified at what she’d witnessed.

Meanwhile, Applejack’s ears were ringing and she felt a wave of nausea as she attempted to buck at the tree again. This time, however, she felt a tremor in her body when her hooves made contact with the bark. She didn’t recognize the feeling as pain and it only served to confuse and anger her more. When she tried bucking again the ringing in her ears got louder and her vision blurred. Contact with the tree sent a wave of shock through her body and she felt her muscles tense and freeze. Applejack stumbled to the ground still oblivious to the broken bones. She looked up at the tree but no longer recognized it to be anything other than Filthy Rich towering above her and delighting in her defeat.

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom cried, averting her gaze from her sister’s back hooves. “Applejack!” she screamed again. Applejack was unresponsive; still staring intently at the apple tree. Apple Bloom caught the look of fear and anger in her sister’s eye and looked at the tree in confusion.

“Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Somewhere behind her she could hear Sweetie Belle throwing up.

“I’ll get help!” Scootaloo offered, taking the first opportunity to get as far away from that place as possible.

“Quit yer laughin’!” Applejack gasped, her voice cracked as she spoke. She attempted getting back up, but each time she tried she faced a new wave of nausea and unresponsiveness.

Applejack felt some pony tugging at her front hoof and turned to see Apple Bloom hovering over her. Apple Bloom was saying something to her but all she heard was muffled shouts with no meaning and a loud unyielding ringing in her ears.She tried once more to get up but Apple Bloom protested, pointing to her back hooves. Applejack propped herself up to see what all the fuss was about and realized what had happened. She tilted her head to the side, wondering why she hadn’t feel any pain. Even now she failed to see the marred state of her fur caused by the fallen branches and debri. Apple Bloom shouted something incoherent again and ran away. As soon as she left, the ringing in Applejack’s ears waned. With what conscious thought she had left, she pulled a few branches within reach closer looking for a few thick and sturdy ones. Her head was swimming and she felt wave after wave of nausea but wasn’t deterred from her task. Once she’d found what she needed, she pulled her useless back legs in front of her and laid them out as straight as she could manage. Her heart was still pounding rapidly in her chest as she calmly searched for some rope from her saddlebag. She’d never set a bone before, but she wasn’t willing to wait useless on the ground until some pony found her. She positioned her front hooves over the leg and applied pressure. When she heard a snap she winced in anticipation and felt a shiver run up her spine, but pain didn’t follow. The second leg was even less of a shock, despite the multiple snapping sounds she heard. Once she’d properly tied her make-shift splints to her legs she pulled herself up using the strength in her front hooves. Now she just needed to figure out a way to make it to Ponyville hospital across town…