A crashing noise made Dylan jolt from his bed, scaring him half to death. He turned his head to the left to look out the window to find the sun had just barely poked above the horizon. "What's going on?" he muttered as he heard hammers and power drills outside. Hopping out of bed, he went over to his window and looked outside to see what the ruckus was.

The first thing that caught his eye were carts being pulled by bulky ponies down the road leading to the farm. "What in the..." He squinted his eyes and leaned further out the window, trying to get a better look. Was that... Quick Stacks? He could see the white unicorn shouting at the bulky ponies from the sidelines.

Dylan's concentration was then interrupted as his hoof slipped, making him almost fall out of the window. Luckily, he still had his other three hooves inside. He carefully pulled himself back inside his room and exited the house the RIGHT way: through the door. As he walked out into the sunlight, he had a clearer view of the situation. In front of the barn was a large cart with chopped down apple trees!

Dylan opened his mouth to protest. This wasn't what they were promised! However, before he could speak, he was cut off by a very cranky Granny behind him. "WHAT IN TARNATION IS GOIN' ON HERE?!"

"Granny Smith!" Quick Stacks said as he approached, looking nervous. "I thought you were," he cleared his throat, "no longer with us."

"You! I know who you are!" Granny yelled angrily, shaking her hoof in the air. "Yer that snake in the grass! I knew you were up to no good the minute I first saw you!" Dylan slowly took a few steps back until he was behind Granny Smith.

"Oh, come on now! You've simply misjudged me! It was only a few coincidences!" Stacks said in an attempt to defend himself.

"Granny? You know him?" Dylan asked, confused. What did Granny know that he and Applejack didn't?

"I know him all too well!" she replied. "And I want him off muh farm!"

Quick Stacks grinned. "I'm sorry, Granny, but Applejack signed a contract. I'm just going to take a few trees from your farm. Not too many, and I'm going to sell them in Fillydelphia.

"But the contract said you'd only be taking the apples, not the trees!" Dylan argued. He had read over the contract from earlier. He didn't see too much of it, but that much he did see. It had specifically mentioned bringing apples to Fillydelphia.

"Why, we still ARE taking the apples. The trees are just for good measure. See, if we can grow them in Fillydelphia, then it'll be easier instead of having to come here and back." After he finished speaking, he pulled out the contract from under his cloak. "Ith all right here," he said through clenched teeth.

Granny squinted and looked at the contract closely. Dylan shuffled nervously in the background, worried about what might happen if Quick Stacks had his way. Dylan knew something was wrong, but he let it happen anyway.

Granny smiled and chuckled. "Nice try, Mr. Stacks, but this here contract says the owner of the farm has to sign over the rights. I'M the owner of this here farm, and I want ya off muh land before I get muh broom!"

Quick Stacks' eyes widened as he was caught in his lie. "Why, Granny! Surely we can reach some kind of agreement? Just think of how happy the folks of Fillydelphia would be!"

"I know you care more about the bits than ya do about the commonpony!" she scowled. "Now git! Git! Winona!" She brought a hoof to her mouth and whistled loudly. All of a sudden, on cue, the family dog rushed out of the home and growled at the sleazy unicorn.

Stacks took a few steps back before turning his head and calling to his workers. "You heard her! Let's get out of here!" All the workers looked at each other and simply shrugged. They dumped the trees from the large carts and started their way off the property. Quick Stacks then looked back at Granny and Dylan. "It's a shame, really. We could have been such great partners."

Granny simply snorted and turned away from him. Dylan looked back at Quick Stacks, and was puzzled to see that the unicorn's eyes seemed different. They were green. Weren't they yellow before? Dylan opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. It was as if those eyes were forcing him to keep quiet.

Quick Stacks soon took his leave, and after all the workers had left, Granny looked to Dylan. "Where's Applejack?" she asked, her eyes full of anger.

"Right here, Granny. What was all the commotion?" a sleepy Applejack said as she approached.

"How could you, Applejack?!" Granny asked, a hurt look on her face. Dylan slinked back a bit, frowning. Applejack looked back at Granny all confused.

"What are ya talkin' about?" Applejack asked.

"Ya hurt me," Granny answered. "Ya tried signing over the rights to our apples to some con artist!"

Applejack's eyes widened and she argued back. "I was not signin' over full rights to our apples. Don't you remember who he is, Granny? Both our parents tried doing business together! This was their dream!"

"THEIR dream, not his!" Granny countered. "You may not understand it right now, but Quick Stacks is a rotton apple! I met him when he was just a youngin', and he's no good! I can feel it in muh bones, and muh bones don't lie!"

"Yer bein' paranoid, Granny!" Applejack stepped forward to look Granny Smith in the eyes. "He only wanted to help!"

"He wanted the trees, just like his pa! And you almost let him take them!" Granny looked as furious as a disturbed hornet nest.

"What's a few trees, Granny? It's only so they don't have to come here so often. It's just common sense!"

"Them trees are Apple family trees! They're special and they shouldn't be in the hooves of outsiders!" Granny shouted.

"I just want my parents' dreams to come true!" Applejack's eyes welled up with tears. "Why are you denying them this?"

"They didn't want this!" Granny said. "They knew the trees were special, and they knew something was wrong when they was doin' business with Full Stacks! That's when they disappeared!"

Applejack shook her head. "Not this again... Granny, he didn't do anything! It was a snow storm!"

Dylan, attempting to piece things together, asked, "So... Full Stacks is Quick Stacks' father? And you think they had something to do with the Bright Mac and Pear Butter's disappearance?"

"Ah don't think so," Granny replied. "I KNOW so!"

Applejack facehoofed right then and there. "Granny, we've been over this... It's just not possible."

"I don't understand," Dylan said. "I thought you said they vanished in the snow storm, Granny."

Granny Smith looked at Dylan with sad eyes. "I only told you what is widely believed. Eventually I started believing it myself... but when I saw that scoundral again, my suspicions returned! Quick Stacks and Full Stacks were part of the search party. Quick Stacks was a younger colt back then, but I saw the look in his eyes. They did this after Bright Mac and Pear Butter refused to transport the trees!"

"Granny, it doesn't make sense," Applejack said. "They're just trees. We've even taken one of our trees to Appleloosa."

"That was for another Apple family member," Granny replied. "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have approved it!"

"I... What's so special about the trees?" Dylan asked.

"Don't get her started," Applejack warned.

"Shush, you!" Granny said to her. "The youngin' wants to know, so I'mma tell 'em!" She looked Dylan in the eyes. "Have ya ever heard the story of the very first apple seed?"

"No, ma'am, I haven't," Dylan replied, now a bit curious.

Applejack shook her head. "I'm headed inside. We can talk about this later, Granny. Just go ahead and tell yer story."

As Applejack left, Granny continued. "Long ago, before even Celestia and Luna were born, when the three pony tribes were still against each other, there was a young earth pony named Apple Seed who wanted nuthin' more than to grow something unique. See, apples didn't exist back then, and Apple Seed was so tired of the other fruits and veggies. He wished on the stars every night to grow something new. Then, one night, his wish came true.

"A mysterious unicorn came up to him and told him, 'I heard you've been looking for something new. I have a special seed made by the strongest of unicorn magic, and only an earth pony such as yourself can plant it. You can even name whatever comes out after you.' The unicorn also told him that only he and his descendants could grow these special trees, and if anyone else tried, they would fail.

"Now, Apple Seed's name had always been a bit odd to many ponies, considerin' apples weren't even around yet. Some say his folks got it from a fever dream. Regardless, Apple Seed quickly agreed, and he planted that sucker in his garden. He waited years, waterin' it every day, makin' sure it was nice and healthy. Why, he even read it stories at night out of the love he had fer it."

"After many years, the tree had grown, and it beared the fruit we all know and love. He started to give away the fruit to other ponies, and he instantly became popular! Apples were soon known far and wide, both in and out of Equestria! He had even gotten himself a mare from all his success and popularity!"

Dylan had looked at Granny in wonderment throughout the entire story, and he had to say, it was pretty captivating. "So... only Apple family members can grow these trees?"

"You bet yer saddle, sonny!" she replied. "Now, I know that seems like it would make apples rare, but there's a lot of us out there, and every so often we come together for a reunion. We all live by a rule: Never give away our trees. They're our pride and joy."

"So... I'm guessing I could never grow one of these trees?" Dylan asked, frowning a bit. "Since I'm not really blood related?"

Granny put a hoof up to her chin and looked to the sky, thinking for a moment. "Ya never know, Dylan. Maybe. We consider ya to be our kin."

Dylan smiled, but behind his facade, he knew it couldn't be true. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but wonder one thing...

"Why does he want these trees so badly? Why not just the apples?"

Meanwhile...

He didn't expect this to happen. All those years of waiting for that old mare to pass on, and he wasn't patient enough. Quick Stacks sat upon his chair at his office desk and pressed the button on his microphone. "Blossom, please send in my advisor."

A mare's voice emitted from the speaker. "Right away, Mr. Stacks."

After a few minutes, a pale gray earth pony stepped in through the large double doors. "Y-Yes, Sir?"

Quick Stacks smiled and motioned to the chair with a hoof. "Sit down, Data Analysis. Please, I insist!"

The earth pony walked over and sat down in the chair at the other end of the desk. "Y-You wanted to see me?"

Quick Stacks opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a photo of a middle-aged mare in black and white colors. He tossed it onto the desk in front of his advisor. "Can you tell me who this is?"

"G-Granny Smith, Sir," the shaking pony answered.

"You told me she had passed on, didn't you?" Quick Stacks asked, still smiling.

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Data answered, his voice reaching a higher pitch out of fear.

"Then why is it," Quick Stacks queried as his voice became more tense, "that when I went to the Apple barn, THE OLD BROAD WAS STILL STANDING?!"

"It's h-hard to get information, Sir! We've got so many ponies and it's hard to sort fact from fable!" Data tried to justify.

"You bucking worthless earth pony!" Quick Stacks jumped atop his desk and looked down upon Data Analysis. "Do you know how long I've waited?! How long I've planned?! It was perfect! And you bucked it up! You're lucky I'm not throwing your flank out onto the streets!"

"Please, Sir! I'm sorry! Forgive me! It was an error on my end!"

Quick Stacks stared at the earth pony with pure hatred in his eyes. He then shook his head clear of anger and let out a sigh. "Who... whose paycheck do we have to cut? This operation wasted so many bits. We have to pay the ponies who showed up at the barn."

"The one with the largest paycheck is Filthy Rich's family," Data answered quickly, already having calculated the bits.

"It's a shame," Stacks said. "Filthy Rich is a good stallion. I hate that wife of his, though. In fact... cut her check, too. She can live without it for a while. I think I'll use that money for bowling and drinks tonight..."

"Sir? If I may ask... w-why don't we just take the apples? We don't really need the trees, do we?"

Quick Stacks looked to his advisor and hopped off his desk. "I forgot, you're new here. How long has it been? Three weeks?"

"Th-Three months, Sir," Data meekly replied.

"Close enough. Have I told you about the very first apple tree?" Quick Stacks wrapped a foreleg around Data. "It's a story that's been passed down my family for generations..."

Author's Note

How do ya like THEM apples?

Don't worry, we'll see more suffering from Spoiled Rich in the next chapter.

In the meantime... why do you think he wants those trees?