Midnight

I teleported to the outer edges of Sweet Apple Acres and looked around for Applejack and Big Mac. I knew that they would be together doing chores and it didn’t taken take long to find them… all I had to do was follow the sounds of arguing.

Big Mac was standing his ground and was being uncharacteristically talkative. “As ah said. The plow is broken again, and ah can’t plow the fields for the summer crop without it.”

Applejack practically screamed in frustration. “Why does the plow keep breaking?”

Big Mac raised an eyebrow and snorted. “That plow is older than we are. Ah think ah’ve replaced every part on it at least once and now those parts are starting to wear out again. Ah know ah gave you control of the farm when we were younger since you seemed to have more business sense than ah do, but as the pony actually using the tools, ah would venture to say that it would be cheaper to replace the plow than to keep fixing it… which is somethin’ ah suggested five years ago when you took out the original loan from the Ponyville Bank to expand the orchard onto land the that we weren’t using at the time. It was hard ta expand the farm without a new plow and even harder ta maintain it. Ah know ya work hard, sis, but ya don’t pull the plow. Ah do!”

Applejack glared at her brother. “A new plow was too expensive back then an' it ain’t no cheaper now… no matter how much cheaper it might have been ta replace it in the long run. Ya know that ah would do anything for the farm, but what more am ah supposed ta do? Put my head down and my plot up, swinging my tail wildly trying ta attract attention, and hope that the stallion that notices is willing ta buy us a plow if ah buck him good enough?”

To the unamused look of her brother, Applejack lowered her head to the ground and raised her plot into the air, swinging her flanks and tail in a wild demonstration followed by flagging… it was very sultry.

In a pitiful yet sultry voice, she taunted her brother. “Oh mister… would ya be willing ta plow me for a plow? My farm needs a new plow soooo badly…”

I cleared my throat. “Oh my, Applejack. I’m more than willing to help you with that… but at least let me buy you dinner first. By the full moon… to buck on the first date though? Scandalous.”

Applejack stopped cold, going pale in the face, and lowered her tail. She stood up quick and turned to face me, a very tight smile on her face with a bead of sweat rolling down her brow.

“Howdy, Lord Midnight. What can ah do ya for?”

I raised an eyebrow. “I came to discuss your missed payment on the loan you took out from my bank… but from the sounds of it, you can do me for a new plow. The only ponies in all of Ponyville that could afford that type of arrangement is myself and Filthy Rich… and his wife would kill you if you tried to seduce her husband. I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

Applejack’s eyes went wide with the implication while Big Mac smiled and eyed Applejack.

“In that case, ah’ll go buck some apples since Applejack has something better ta buck. We need something better than a basic plow so put your back into it and make your plot worth every bit.”

Applejack opened her mouth wordlessly as she seemed to have no retort.

I smirked and replied to Big Mac. “Something more expensive than a basic plow may require more than one midnight rendezvous. Maybe we can work something out?”

Instead of a response, Applejack fainted. Big Mac and I both snorted at the same time.

I looked at him with sincerity. “Big Mac… I may can stall having to foreclose on your farm, but I need information. Why are you unable to repay the loan? What went wrong?”

He sighed. “In years past, we had a spring, summer and fall harvest and used Apple Preserves and Apple Cider ta get us through the winter. AJ used the loan ta buy saplings of a winter apple tree that would give us a fresh winter apple harvest. But three things went wrong. First. Even with magical growth enhancement, these trees take eight years ta reach full maturely compared ta four years fer normal apple trees, so we still ain’t getting a full winter harvest. Second. The presence of fresh apples in winter has been cutting into the apple preserve sales, most ponies preferring fresh apples over the jams. And finally, the Apple family prides itself on not selling bad apples. With a 15% increase in apple production, which will become a 25% increase within the next 4 years… we have been throwing away more apples than we used ta, and the townsfolk noticed. As a result… we had ao lower prices ta sell more apples faster, avoiding waste. We’re working 15% harder and only making maybe 5% more profit. On a good month, we could make the note with bits left over. On a bad month… we barely break even, even without paying the note.”

I nodded slowly. “What can I do to help?”

Big Mac eyed me warily. “Ya really should be speaking to AJ about this as ah don’t want to step on her hooves. However… ah would say that we need a new loan for a new plow and a deferment on the old loan ta account for the new trees not being fully mature. If it’s possible.”

I nodded to myself and frowned, deep in thought.

His request is reasonable but is it legal? Even I have to obey the bank’s bylaws and not give favoritism.

I pulled out the loan bylaws from my magical storage, reviewed a few pages, and then smiled.

“I can defer the loan payments for another 4 years to account for the new trees not being mature yet given the specialized nature of the crop, however, I would recommend you try to make payments anyways to pay the loan off before interest is applied. Also… I just so happen to have a new plow for you… and I’m willing to give it to you for free… if you’re willing to earn it in an unconventional fashion.”

I pulled out the Super-Plow 5000 from my magical storage and placed it near us. Big Mac was practically drooling over the plow that he had clearly wanted.

“What do ya need me ta do?”

My eyes glinted in the sun. “Help me play a prank on Applejack.”

Big Mac nodded eagerly. “Yup.”

* * *

Applejack awoke with a start. She was somehow in her bed in her room. She yawned and wiped the sleep from her eyes.

“Merciful Celestia… how did ah end up in my room?”

She was startled to find that it was now evening and walked down the stairs and was equally surprised to see Midnight Stalker eating dinner with her family. Apple Bloom saw her first and smiled wide.

“Applejack! I’m so happy your awake. Did you rest well?”

Applejack rubbed the back of her neck nervously. “Well enough, ah guess. What did ah miss?”

Midnight smiled at her. “I was just finishing explaining our plan to save the farm from a bank foreclosure. I can explain it for you if you don’t remember what we discussed earlier?”

Applejack nodded and sat down, a little flustered. “Ah would appreciate it… Ah can’t seem to remember much… it must have been… too excitin' for me.”

Midnight continued. “We are going to repackage the Sweet Apple Acres Apple Preserves as a breakfast item to spread on toast and pancakes and sell it year-round at Barnyard Bargains. Plus, we are going to make a Sweet Apple Acres Hard Apple Cider Ale and a Granny Smith Apple Pie Moonshine that is different from your normal non-alcoholic Winter Apple Cider and also sell both the ale and the moonshine at local cider houses and Barnyard Bargains. With the use of apples in making all of these products, there should be zero waste and no apples being thrown out from simply not being sold in time which should allow you to raise the price of apples back to what it was before the perception of you producing too many to sell in a timely fashion. All of your work should make a profit going forward. And more profit than you were getting previously… at that.”

Applejack was pleased but hedged cautiously. “Why moonshine and not some other apple based liquor?”

Midnight cleared his throat. “Moonshine doesn’t need to age to taste as it’s supposed to. Rum, Whiskey, and most other liquors do need to age for a better taste. However… the farm needs more profit now. I won’t go against Granny’s stance on not selling the Apple family non-alcoholic ‘Winter Apple Cider’ at Barnyard Bargains, but an alcoholic Hard Apple Cider Ale and Apple Pie Moonshine are fair game. It’ll sell for a great price and won’t cost much to package and get ready to sell. We can use the same mason jars you use for the apple preserves and zap apple jam for the moonshine and getting ale bottles shouldn’t cost you much more because of the existing mason jar contract that you already have.”

Applejack actually smiled. “Great. When can we get it started?”

Big Mac cleared his throat. “Ah’ve already started the process. Ah got all three summer fields plowed today. That new plow is a wonder. Ah swear that ah did three times the work in half the time.”

Applejack frowned. “What new plow?”

Apple Bloom beamed at her. “The plow that Midnight got us after ya married him. Ya don’t remember?”

Applejack froze. “Say what, now?”

Apple Bloom bounced up and down in her chair, very excited. “Married!!! Ya fainted earlier after some scare and Midnight carried ya ta yar room like a knight in shining armor. He cared for ya until ya woke up and it was like love at first sight when ya saw him in a new light. Ya went into town and got married at the mayor’s office, got Big Mac his new plow and came home. Ya both locked yerself in yer room for a while, which upset me some because ah wanted to spend some time with my new brother-in-law too… but after yer moaning and his grunting stopped, he came out and said that ya were going ta rest until dinner. I’ve been wanting to see yer ring…”

Applejack went a little pale as she tugged on a cord around her neck that she hadn’t noticed she had been wearing until that moment… that also seemed to have a wedding ring attached to it.

Apple Bloom cooed. “Oh… It’s pretty…”

Applejack looked at Midnight. “Married?”

Midnight nodded with a smile. “Yup.”

Applejack fainted again and fell out of her chair.

Midnight snorted. “I guess we can tell her tomorrow that it was a joke.”

Midnight used his magic to carry her upstairs and tucked her back into bed and came back downstairs. He looked at Big Mac and smiled a wide grin.

“This was the most fun I’ve had in ages. You certainly earned that plow. If you will excuse me, I have someone in town that I need to check up on.”

Big Mac bowed his head. “Thank ya fer allowing us the opportunity ta earn such kindness. Ah hope that you’ll pay us a visit again soon, my lord.”

Midnight grinned. “Are you kidding? I’ll probably buy more ale and moonshine than the alehouses do. Let me know when the first batch is ready.”

Big Mac nodded as Midnight trotted out the door.

Apple Bloom frowned. “It was a fun joke, kinda, but ah’ll admit that ah didn’t understand much of what ah was supposed ta say. Can anypony explain it ta me?”

Big Mac winced but Granny Smith sighed. “Ah guess that yer old enough. Ya see… when two ponies love each other…”

Anon

The day had been hard but rewarding. The spa was busy all day and she had earned her fair share of bits even without a lot of training. By the time the spa was closing, Midnight had trotted up.

“How was your day, dear?”

Anon smiled and held up a huge bag. “I made a lot today. Do you want to go a date with me? My treat.”

Midnight smiled warmly. “I have a feeling that you’re not going to be able to eat a hayburger, so I need to pick the restaurant with care. All restaurants carry fruits and vegetables but only one place in town has a carnivore menu for the more exotic creatures of Equestria. I can tell from your features that you can eat meat.”

Anon’s face fell a little. “Oh, umm. Does me eating meat bother you?”

He shook his head. “Ponies do sometimes eat fish and I while I lack typical pony friends, I do have a few dragon friends. I promise that it won’t bother me.”

Anon smiled and followed me to the restaurant.

* * *

Author's Note

Chapter edited to reflect more southern twang in the Apple Family manner of speech now that I've gotten better at writing it (Edit was April 1, 2024)