“Simplicity of character is no hinderance to subtlety of intellect.”

John, Viscount Morley of Blackburn

Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres™®©!

Sweet Apple Acres™®© (hereby referred to as “S.A.A.”) is a privately owned subsidiary of Sweet Apple Acres Equestria™®© (hereby referred to as “S.A.A.E.”), in accordance with section 34 article 26.8 of the Royal Commerce Securities Act, section 12 article 74.3 of the Agricultural and Environmental Protection Act, and section 12 subsection 46 of the Canterlot Fair Trade Statute.

Heavy Equipment Warning: Construction on premises. S.A.A. cannot be held responsible for any property damage or personal injury to non-employees. Hard hats, steel boots and hearing protection are mandatory for all visitors at all times. Do not leave the clearly marked visitor’s area without official escort.

Restricted Property Warning: No solicitors, sales representatives or unauthorized ponies are allowed on the premises. Trespassers face a maximum fine of one thousand bits and a maximum jail term of six months. S.A.A. employees and shareholders cannot be held responsible for any personal injury caused by unlawful entry.

Allergen and Contamination Warning: S.A.A. products may contain apples, and may have come into contact with apples, apple pollen, environmentally friendly organic fertilizer, or environmentally friendly organic pesticide. Water used for irrigation and product rinsing has been chlorinated and fluoridated for your health and safety.

Biohazard Warning: Apple seeds (and the pits of cherries, peaches and apricots) contain amygdalin: a cyanide and sugar compound that degrades into hydrogen cyanide when metabolized. Various S.A.A. brand products, including (but not limited to) “Sweet Apples,™” “Sweet Apple Snack Slices,™” “Sweet Apple Flavoured Cinnamon Cider Fruit Beverage,™” “Sweet Apple Flavoured Fruit Spread Preservatives,™” and “Sweet Apple Applesauce Flavoured Processed Simulated Food Product™” are not appropriate for foals less than six months of age or for pregnant or nursing mares. Sweet Apple Acres brand “Red Delicious™” products may contain cochineal (E20) red coloured “food” dye to enhance peel color, which studies have linked to high rates of heterotropia and heterochromia. “Sweet Apple Zap Apple™” apple food products may contain electrochemical residue: excessive or long-term consumption may cause swelling, itching, rashes, sneezing, high cholesterol, depression, hallucination, low cholesterol, irreversible nerve and kidney damage, halitosis, and death. Please consult your doctor before deciding if Sweet Apple Acres™®© brand “Sweet Apples”™ apples are right for you.

Please enjoy your visit to Sweet Apple Acres™®© and remember that your thoughts and opinions are important to us. Leave comments or complaints at the front desk. Visitors may be eligible for a free sample of apple products, or for various coupons and special discounts.

Twilight and her friends stared up at the new sign that had been fixed to the archway over the road to Sweet Apple Acres. The old sign had been been there for as long as any of them could remember: it had been carved by hoof and painted with green and red apples. This new sign was made of sheet metal and was embossed with a sleek, trendy, professionally designed logo that looked almost, but not quite, entirely unlike a pair of apples.

After several minutes of quiet reading, Pinkie Pie broke the silence. “They still grow apples here, right?”

Twilight tilted her head and adjusted her stylish—and sparkly clean—eyeglasses. “I used to know what those words meant.”

“I know what they mean,” Rainbow Dash said, “but when you put them all together like that it just turns into gobbledygook.”

Rarity looked further down the road at the lush green orchards and rustic wooden farmhouses in the distance. “It doesn’t seem particularly different.”

“Maybe it’s just a new sign?” Pinkie Pie said. “Maybe, on the inside, it’s still the same ol’ Sweet Apple Acres Trademark Registered Copyright we all know and love?”

Twilight clenched her jaw. “There’s only one way to find out.”

She marched through the archway and down the dirt road. Her friends followed after her, gazing apprehensively at their surroundings. The same old trees and parks. The same old dirt roads and wooden signposts. The same chirping birds and scampering squirrels. The journey to the farmhouse was completely uneventful.

Twilight went to the front door and rang the bell: an actual metal bell with a braided cord hanging from the clapper. “Hello? Anypony home?”

After a moment, Big Macintosh opened the door. “Eyup?”

“Good morning. Do you know where we can find Applejack?”

He pointed across the clearing. “Mah little sister’s in the north field. Says she’s got some kind of special project in th’ works.”

“A project?” Twilight said. “Do you know what she’s doing?”

“Nope.”

“Why didn’t she tell you about it?”

Big Mac shrugged. “Didn’t ask. She always takes care of the plan-makin’ anyhow. I just do the heavy lifting.”

Rarity stepped forward. “How has she been acting lately? Any odd behavior?”

He paused to think. “Well, there was the west field. She had me plough the whole thing even though it’s been fallow for years.”

“Fallow?” Rarity said, “What does that mean?”

“It’s when a field just ain’t no good for growin’ no more. We use the same fields every year, and after awhile they just give up the ghost. Nopony knows why. They get better, sometimes, after five or ten years.” He pointed west. “I tried to tell her ain’t nothin’ gonna grow there, but she told me to plough ’em anyways.”

“Doesn’t that seem suspicious?” said Twilight.

Big Macintosh shrugged again. “What’s the worst she could do? Make ’em even more fallow?”

“I guess not,” Twilight said. “We really need to talk to her, though. It’s important.”

“She said she was too busy for ‘solicitors’—whatever those are—but I’m sure she’ll be happy to see her friends. Take the north road and go all the way to the end. You’ll find her eventually.”

“Thanks.”

They turned to go, but Dash paused to look back.

“Hey, Big Mac?”

“Eyup?”

“What’s with that freaky new sign out front?”

“What sign?”

“The metal one, with all the funny writing. Didn’t you put that up?”

Big Macintosh shook his head. “News to me.”

They rushed along the north path and reached the fallow fields. Sweet Apple Acres had been operating for generations, and almost a third of its lands were empty and barren. Most of the unusable areas had been converted into sporting fields or campgrounds. Others were being reclaimed by the wilderness around them.

Rainbow Dash did a quick sweep of the area, then led the others to a particular field. Applejack was dressed in her usual work duds and was busy digging at the ground with a spade.

Twilight approached her, warily. “Good morning, Applejack.”

“Hm?” She looked up and her face brightened. “Mornin’ y’all! My, but you’re up awful early. Somethin’ I can do for you?”

Rarity squinted at her. “How’s the suit? I see you’re not wearing it.”

“The suit is just dandy, Rarity. It just seemed a mite silly to wear it for field work. Dry clean only, you know.”

“Of course.”

Dash hovered nearby. “What’s with the new sign?”

Applejack winced. “Yeah... it’s a real eyesore, ain’t it? I think it’s ugly as a pig in mud, but the lawyers insisted.”

“The lawyers?” Dash said. “You have lawyers?”

“Sure do. As of yesterday, Sweet Apple Acres is a global business. We needed a few extra precautions.” Applejack dug a small hole next to a boulder, planted a small round stone, and buried it. “It’s jes the standard boilerplate to keep all them highfalutin’ city lawyers from suing us for no good reason.”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit much?” Dash said. “That sign reads like a nightmare! Trespassers will be prosecuted? Personal Injury!?”

“Dash. You ever been to the weather factory in Cloudesdale?”

“Well, duh. We all visited it together.”

“What do you think would happen if we snuck in without permission? If we didn’t have a professional weather-pony to guide us and we weren’t wearing any safety gear?”

“Now that’s just asking for trouble. There could be all kinds of... oh. Right.”

“What about the fields?” Fluttershy said. “Big Mac mentioned—”

“Don’t call him that!” Applejack barked.

Fluttershy recoiled. “Wh-what?”

“Sorry to snap at you, Flutter. That was uncalled for.” Applejack took a deep breath. “I don’t want anypony referring to my brother as ‘Big Mac’ anymore. We’re tryin’ to avoid lawsuits from more established franchises, so from now on he’s Big Macintosh, Macintosh, or jes plain ol’ Mac.”

“Um... sorry,” Fluttershy said. “But he said you’ve decided to use some of your old fields again.”

“Eyup. I’ve got a few bright ideas, and not much time to get ’em done. Gotta be quick as a whip!”

“But there’s so many animals who live there. If you decide to use those fields again, they’ll have to move somewhere else!”

Applejack sighed. “That’s unfortunate, I know, but it was a voluntary act of charity. It’s still my property, and I’m perfectly within my rights to evict them.”

Fluttersh’s eyes widened. “Evict?”

“Don’t fear, now. I won’t leave your little friends out in the rain. I’m relocating all resident wildlife to an internment camp in the west field. They can stay there until they find new homes of their own.”

“Internment Camp!?”

“They’ll be perfectly comfortable, I assure you.”

“But what happens when you need that field too? Where will they go?”

“That’s their problem.” Applejack dug a hole between the roots of an old tree stump and buried another small stone. “I gave them two months to find new homes. That’s more than generous.”

Fluttershy stared at her, aghast.

Twilight Sparkle stepped forward. “I want answers! Big Mac said you—”

“Macintosh.” Applejack stamped a hoof. “It’s Big Macintosh.”

“Fine. Big Macintosh said he ploughed a whole field even though it wasn’t good for growing. I want to know what you’re planting there.”

“It’s harmless. And I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“If it’s harmless, then surely you’ve got nothing to hide.”

Applejack clenched her jaw. “Clover. Ya happy? I planted fifteen acres of clover seed.”

“Clover?” Pinkie Pie said. “That’s not a crop. It’s a garnish. They grow it in greenhouses.”

“That’s for special breeds of gourmet clover. This is just plain old wild clover. And it’s not for sale.”

“Then why are you growing it?” Pinkie Pie said. “Are you going to use it for something? Are you gonna make some new kind of clover snack? Can you make stuff out of it, like arts and crafts? Does it look good in flower arrangements? Clover smells really sweet, doesn't it? Are you going to make perfume, or scented shampoo, or air fresheners or something? What about—”

“Nothing, all right!?” Applejack stabbed her spade into the dirt. “Ah’m gonna let it grow for a month, then I’m gonna plough it all up, and then I’m gonna let it rot! There! Now ya know my dastardly plan. Are ya happy?”

Everypony stared at her in shock.

Twilight pointed a hoof in her face. “You’re not going to harvest it at all? That’s the most irresponsible thing I’ve ever—”

“It’s my land!” Applejack said and shoved Twilight back. “I can do whatever I please with it, so butt out!”

Rarity ran between them and held them apart. “Applejack, see reason! Sweet Apple Acres is your home and birthright! Haven’t you thought about what these plans of yours will lead to? Haven't you thought about the future?”

Applejack glared at her. “I am thinking about the future. Right now, it’s all I can think about. And that’s surely more than she can say for herself!” She pointed at Twilight.

Dash shoved her face up against Applejack’s. “Hey, don’t pick on her!”

“I’m not pickin’ on anypony. I just calls it like ah sees it.” Applejack took up her spade and walked towards a nearby shed.

Twilight chased after her. “We need to go back to the library. All of us.”

Applejack continued her hole-digging. “Oh? And why is that?”

“Something’s happened to us. Both of us. I don’t understand exactly what, but we need to reverse it.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “And how do you expect to fix somethin’ you know nothin’ about? You need to see the problem before you can find the solution.”

“We have to try! And you need to put a stop to this!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Nothing I’m doing is illegal. Not one thing!”

“Do you have any idea how serious this is?”

Applejack locked eyes with her and spoke very calmly. “Did you know you can make saltpeter using only straw, wood-ash and urine?”

“Huh?”

“And if you heat up animal manure whilst keeping the oxygen levels down, you get charcoal.” Applejack took out a strange red box with a metal T-handle plunger on top. “After that, all ya need is sulfur. Easy enough to purchase on the open market.”

Dash tilted her head. “Sulfur? What does that have to do with—”

“Wait-wait-wait,” Twilight said. “Saltpeter. That’s... potassium nitrate, isn’t it? Where have I heard of that before? It does something, I’m sure of it.”

Applejack pushed the plunger down, and the field erupted in cataclysm of sound and soil. The cluster of explosions deafened them and knocked them to the ground. When they looked up, over a hundred plumes of thick dust hung in the air over the field. Every single boulder and tree stump had been shattered.

Rainbow Dash shot to her feet and flew to each of her friends in turn. They were dazed and covered in dirt, but unharmed. She saw Applejack walking away: the only one who hadn’t been knocked flat.

“Woulda taken us two months to clear that field the usual way. Not bad for an hour’s work.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Dash zoomed over and grabbed her shoulder. “Are you crazy? You could’ve hurt somepony!”

Applejack glared back. Her eyes were cold and hard as iron.

“Ah gave ya fair warnin’, girl. Or can’t ya read?”

Dash watched as she jogged down the road.

The five of them walked back to the archway over the road and it’s large metal sign. Everypony watched Twilight as she stumbled to a halt. She closed her eyes and tapped the side of her head.

“Are you all right?” Fluttershy said.

“Sulfur... charcoal... and saltpeter. I’ve heard of that before. I know it.”

“Are they special ingredients for magic spells?” Pinkie Pie said.

“No. Nothing like that.”

“Alchemy, perhaps?” Said Rarity.

“It’s not alchemy. It’s just regular chemistry. I think.”

“What kind of chemistry?” Said Dash. “Did it have something to do with that huge explosion back there?”

“Everypony quiet!” Twilight shouted and scrunched her eyes tighter. “Please, just... don’t everypony talk to me at once.”

“Let’s get you back to the library,” Rarity said. “You can do your thinking there.”

“What about the rest of us?” said Rainbow Dash. “We gotta do something!”

Everypony looked at Twilight.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “We need information. Everypony split up and ask around town. Find out what Applejack has been doing, who she’s been talking to—”

“Her letters!” said Rainbow Dash. “She’s been writing lots of letters. I can visit the post office and find out where they’re going.”

“Good,” Rarity said. “Get on that. What about the train? She bought an entire freight train on a whim. Somepony find out why.”

Pinkie Pie hopped in place. “Ooh! Ooh! I’ll check it out! I’m pretty good with crazy contraptions. Even if a train isn’t really that crazy, it’s still a contraption.”

“Perfect,” Rarity said. “Fluttershy. You interview the animals that were forced off of Applejack’s lands. Maybe they can tell us what’s going on there.”

“Sulfur,” Twilight whispered. “Sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. Where have I heard of those before?”

Rarity nodded to the others. “Everypony meet back at the library in one hour. We’ll share our results there.”

The others scattered off.

“Don’t stress yourself,” Rarity said. “It’ll come to you. Just give it time.”

“Time,” Twilight said. “She said something about the future... about not having much time left. She must be getting desperate.”

Rarity went to Twilight’s side and gave her a gentle hug.

Rainbow Dash burst into the post office and rushed to the front desk. She rang the service bell as rapidly as she could.

“All right already!” Ditzy Doo said as she came out of the back room. “Rainbow Dash? What can I do for you?”

“It’s Applejack!” Rainbow Dash said. “She’s up to something, and you’re gonna tell me what! I need to know how many letters she’s written, and who she’s sent them to.”

“I can’t do that. It’s against the law to divulge private information. I’d lose my job and face serious criminal charges.”

Dash rummaged in her saddlebag and held up a shiny silver badge. “I am Ponyville’s chief weatherpony, and an officer of the law! I am ordering you to co-operate with this totally not-made-up investigation!”

Ditzy stared at the silver badge. “But you’re a weather pony! Can you even do that?”

“I have full authority over this city’s airspace. If I say it isn’t safe to fly, then every single set of wings within a hundred miles is grounded. And they’ll stay grounded until I decide the danger is over. I can bring this postal service to a screeching halt if I have to!”

Ditzy Doo’s uneven eyes flicked between Dash’s face and the silver badge.

Dash leaned over the counter and lowered her voice. “Listen... Applejack really is up to something. Something big. Let me look through the records. I won’t open any letters or packages or anything, I swear. Whatever happens, I’ll take the heat for it. I promise you won’t lose your job.”

“It’s not that it’s illegal,” Ditzy Doo said, “it’s just wrong.”

Rainbow Dash stared at her googly eyes for a moment.

“You’re right... it is. But just a minute ago, I saw Applejack blow up an entire field. Kaboom. Nothing left but dirt. We don’t have a clue what she’s doing, but she told us it wasn’t illegal.” Dash leaned closer. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t wrong.”

Ditzy Doo swallowed and nodded to the back. “I’ll have to make a note of this in the records. Just so there's no confusion about accountability.”

“You do that,” Dash said. “I’d expect nothing less of Equestria’s finest.”

Pinkie Pie hopped along the train station’s loading platform. The giant steam engine was sitting idle, and workers were climbing all over it. There were open panels everywhere, and machinery was being removed and arranged in an orderly fashion.

This doesn’t look like routine maintenance. Not at all.

She brightened up as she caught sight of a light-grey stallion poring over a large scroll.

“Hey, Gear Box!” She said and rushed over. “I didn’t know you were working here!”

Her looked up and smiled at her. “Pinkie Pie! It has been awhile, hasn’t it? You want a quick tour?”

“That would be so cool!” She looked back at the steam engine. “What are ya doing, anyways? Is it broken or something?”

“Nope. The old girl works just fine. The owner just wanted us to do some modifications. No idea where she got them, but they’re very exciting.”

“Exciting?” Pinkie Pie said. “How exciting?”

“Extremely. It could change the whole future of locomotive engineering.” He led her to the engine and pointed at the cabin. “You know how a steam engine works, don’t you?”

“Well, duh!” Pinkie Pie said. “I lived in one for a year before I came to Ponyville. I could fix one up blindfolded!”

“Well what do you make of those pipes there?”

Pinkie Pie peered into the cab of the steam engine. The opening of the coal furnace had been bolted shut, and a series of pipes fed into it.

“Why’d you cover up the furnace? How are you supposed to shovel coal into it?”

Gearbox grinned at her. “You don’t. It’s all automatic. The pipes move fuel from the coal cab directly into the furnace. All the stoker has to do is move the throttle and keep an eye on the gages.”

Pinkie Pie frowned at him. “But that’s not going to work at all. Coal doesn’t flow. It’ll get all clogged up.”

“Yeah, I know... ponies have been trying to invent an automatic system for years. They always turn out to be less reliable, less efficient, or more expensive than a stallion with a plain ol’ shovel.” He tapped the pipe. “But this isn’t the important part... the owner’s got something else up her sleeves.”

“Really? What is it, then? What, huh?”

“Easy there, filly. Can’t talk about it. The owner wants to keep things hush-hush.”

Pinkie Pie’s lower lip trembled. Her eyes glistened.

“The modifications will be done in a few days, you know. You’ll hear all about it soon enough. You can wait just a little while, can’t you?”

Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened further. Tears bulged along her lower eyelids, threatening to spill over at any moment.

“Oh, fine then!” Gearbox grinned at her. “I’ll give you a quick peek at the refineries... but don’t breathe a word of it to anypony. Pinkie promise?”

“You got it!” she said. “I hereby plinkie promise not to breathe a word of it to anypony!”

“That’s all I need to hear! It’s over here in the machine shop. And don’t touch  anything... some of this stuff is dangerous.”

“I’m so glad you could see me on such short notice, Mister Moneybags.”

“I assure you, Miss Rarity, it’s our pleasure.” The distinguished, elderly stallion opened the door to his luxuriously furnished office. “Your Carousel Boutique has always been one of our bank’s most reliable investments.”

Rarity stepped inside and tossed her fuzzy scarf around her neck. She went to the large oak desk, waited as Mr. Moneybags pulled a chair back for her, and sat down with a smile.

“Now then,” Mr. Moneybags said as he sat behind his desk. “How can we be of assistance?”

“Actually, I’m here to discuss a fellow business-pony. A friend of mine.”

“This is about Applejack, isn’t it?” Moneybags rolled his eyes and leaned back in his executive chair. “We’ve been receiving complaints about her since yesterday. I suppose it was only a matter of time until she locked horns with you. Er... so to speak.”

“I hadn’t heard,” Rarity said. “What manner of complaints? And from who?”

“It would be quicker to list the ponies who aren’t complaining. She’s throwing around a great deal of financial influence and taking a lot of liberties with her property. She purchased an entire steam train. It’s just sitting in the station. She refuses to run cargo shipments and the price of bulk export has doubled. She’s also closed down several plots of land that her family traditionally lends to the city for recreational purposes: a campground, two sporting fields, and a county fairground. And just today, the river that runs through Ponyville’s residential district has run completely dry. That river comes out of Sweet Apple Acres property and she claims to be using the water for irrigation. All of it.”

Rarity stared at the banker for a moment. “That’s rather a shock. Why didn’t anypony say anything?”

“It’s only been a day and a half! We didn’t even realize it was happening until it was too late.”

“But none of this makes any sense! Why would she purchase a freight train and not run freight? She could be shipping apples all the way to Canterlot to sell them at a premium. And those recreational fields have no financial value at all: they can’t be used to grow staple crops, and it costs her nothing to donate them to the city. And she’s always relied upon rain for hydration!”

“She’s flat out told the pegasus weather patrol that ‘their services are no longer required.’ In fact, she’s put up signs forbidding all unauthorized airspace traffic. Nopony is allowed into Sweet Apple Acres without written invitation!”  Mr. Moneybags threw up his hooves. “I didn’t say it made sense. Sweet Apple Acres is spending money at an unsustainable rate!”

“Unsustainable? It can’t be!” Rarity said. “How many years until they face bankruptcy?”

“Years?” He uttered a short, anxious laugh. “Weeks.”

Rarity sat in silence, eyes twitching with rapid thought.

“Impossible,” said Rarity. “Applejack is too sensible to do such a thing without some kind of backup plan. She must have a new source of income planned for the future.”

“If she does, she hasn’t shared it with us. And for her sake, it had better be a very high-return investment. The only thing I can think of is that clover field of hers.”

Rarity looked up. “You know about that?”

“All of Canterlot knows about it. She sent an agricultural report to the Canterlot commodities market—in the middle of the year, no less—and briefly mentioned she’d planted a truly enormous amount of clover. It took the market completely by surprise.”

“She advertised it? But that will only drive prices down! Why would she—”

Rarity’s throat locked up.

Mr. Moneybags adjusted his spectacles. “Miss Rarity?”

She isn’t going to sell it. She’s going to buy it.

Fluttershy drifted over Sweet Apple Acres’ northern fields, careful to stay low and out of sight. The fields weren’t squares anymore: the fences divided the freshly tilled soil into hexagons. In the center of each, there were huge spinning faucets that sprayed water all around. Each device was connected to a long, flexible hose that led to a nearby river.

Where are all the animals? They can’t all be gone! She wheeled around and went towards Ponyville. She mentioned moving them all to some sort of camp. Maybe I can find out where it is.

She heard a faint sound as she approached the outskirts. Off in the distance, she saw a crowd of ponies walking along the main road. She drew closer and heard angry shouting. Most of the ponies were carrying signs and placards. A few pegasi were holding banners aloft.

Fluttershy ducked down into the tree cover and continued on foot. She bolted out of the forest’s edge and joined the crowd. Everyone was angry and upset... her stomach felt queasy just listening to it.

She turned to the pony next to her. “Um... excuse me? What’s going on?”

Her voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd. All right... not much use in talking.

She looked at the signs and banners instead: We don’t want your money. Make Apple Acres sweet again. You don’t own us. The most important ingredients are love and care. Tax breaks and loopholes aren’t Illegal: they’re just wrong. Ponyville Steam engine workers, unite. Applejack needs the power of love: not love of power.

Fluttershy slowed to a halt and let the crowd flow around her.

Applejack did this? She made all these ponies angry in just one day?

She hovered over the crowd and flew to the front. “Please everypony, just stay calm! Whatever Applejack did, I’m sure we can talk it over!” The crowd didn’t even notice her. She took a deep breath and shouted and loud as she could. Still, the mob marched on.

“Now what’s this all about?”

Fluttershy turned and saw Applejack by the front gate, dressed in her black suit and speaking through a conical loudspeaker. There were a pair of formally dressed stallions next to her, patiently holding clipboards. The crowd began yelling at her, inaudible.

“Now just calm down a minute there.” Applejack stepped forward, voice booming over the crowd. “If this is about the river, There’s a perfectly good explanation for it.”

Fluttershy heard a few voices cry out: something about a drought.

“Now, y’all keep in mind that that river originates on Sweet Apple acres property and—quite frankly—you don’t have any legal claim to it. We need that water for irrigation more than you need it for luxury boatin’ and beach parties. I’m gonna have to ask y’all to disperse in a prompt and orderly fashion.”

Fluttershy felt a tremble in her bones as the crowd lurched forward.

Please, no! Don’t get angry! Anger won’t help at all!

“Well that tears it, then. Sorry folks, but you don’t leave us much choice.”

Fluttershy watched as a pair of large sprinkler devices sprang to life. They were just like the ones she’d seen in the field... but they hadn’t looked so large from above. Two powerful jets of water sprayed the crowd from cross directions, and the angry shouting turned into panicked yelling. Fluttershy flew higher, avoiding the spray. The crowd below was swept away in the deluge, slipping and sliding down the muddy road. There were soapy suds everywhere and the protesters were unable to stay upright for more than a few seconds: those who did were quick to flee.

She can’t do this... she just can’t! I’ve got to stop her!

Fluttershy looked back at Applejack and saw the other  pegasi rushing towards her. She gasped as Applejack tilted the water sprayers up to the sky. Fluttershy ducked and dove away from the ropey columns of water. She and the others scattered in all directions, desperate to escape.

Twilight sat at one of the library’s recently repaired tables. She stared at the scroll in front of her, covered with scribbles. The writing was dense and uneven.... sloppy. Half of the text had been scratched out. She tapped her fountain pen against the paper.

Potassium Nitrate. Charcoal. Sulfur.

Twilight started a new line of text. She scribbled faster and faster, clenching her teeth. “Aaaargh!!” She scratched the quill across the entire page, covering it with jagged black zig-zags. The pen nib tore the paper apart and spilled ink over the table. She threw the fountain pen away and slammed her head against the table.

I could do this before. I know I could.

She flinched as she felt a gentle hoof on her back. She looked up and saw Rarity beside her.

“Sorry.” Twilight crumpled the ruined scroll and threw it away. “Did you learn anything?”

The door opened and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came in. “Bet our facts can beat your facts.”

Twilight sat up in her seat. “Let’s hear it then. We can fill Pinkie Pie in as soon as she gets here.”

Everypony sat at the table and Dash cleared her throat.

“She’s been sending hundreds of letters. She sent more in a day than Ponyville sends and receives in a month. She must be printing them out or something.” She set a hastily scrawled list on the table. “Half of them went all over Canterlot. Mostly to businesses, merchants and wealthy investors. The other half all went to a single address in Manehattan. And even weirder, she’s been getting responses from the same address. Every hour on the hour.”

“Regular correspondence?” Rarity said. “Doesn’t she have family in Manehattan?”

“The Orange family,” said Dash. “But there’s no way to be sure who’s getting them. Want me to go check it out? I can make a round trip in an hour, if I push it.”

Rarity shook her head. “We don’t have an hour. Applejack has already left us in the dust with this plan of hers.”

“Oh? How bad is it?”

“I suspect that she’s manipulating the stock market for personal gain. She sent a produce report to Canterlot six months early, and mentioned her enormous new clover fields. If she floods the market with that much product, prices will plunge to almost nothing.”

Dash’s right ear twitched up. “But she said she wasn’t even going to sell it.”

“She isn’t. But if the stock market believes she is, prices will hit rock bottom anyway. Gourmet clover farms will go bankrupt. Applejack could offer to purchase them for a pittance. Then, when it becomes clear that Applejack’s giant clover fields were nothing but rumors, prices will skyrocket. She would have a complete monopoly.”

Twilight stared at Rarity. “She’s going to destroy an entire industry... for profit?”

“She could,” Rarity said, “if she were so inclined.”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy. “I hope you’ve got some good news for us.”

“There was a riot,” Fluttershy whimpered. “A whole crowd of ponies marched over to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack is using some kind of giant water sprayer to water her fields. I think that’s where the river went. She... she turned the sprayers on the crowd.”

There was a moment of quiet.

“Was anypony hurt?” Rarity said.

“After it was over, I spoke with as many ponies as I could. They were all fine. There weren’t even any scrapes or bruises. There was something in the water that made it too slippery to stand, and it washed everypony away... but nopony was hurt.”

Dash shot out of her seat. “How could she do such a horrible thing!?”

Rarity shook her head. “There was an angry mob on her private property. She might have been within her rights.”

“But it was scary!” Fluttershy said.

“An angry mob is scary,” Rarity said. “I’m not saying it was right, but at least nopony was injured. The real Applejack would never cause any harm.”

Everypony at the table flinched as Pinkie Pie slammed a black, metal cannister on the table.

Twilight adjusted her glasses. “What’s that?”

“Liquidized coal,” Pinkie Pie said. “Applejack is modifying her steam engine to run on this instead of regular coal.”

“Liquidized? Twilight said. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It didn’t exist until yesterday. It’s coal, ground into such a fine powder that it behaves like a liquid. It’s three times as dense as regular coal, and it burns ten times as fast when it’s sprayed as a vapour.”

Twilight peered at the canister. “Ten times? That’s unbelievable!”

Pinkie Pie pulled up a chair and sat down. “I have no idea how she made this stuff. Nopony does. But if she can make more of it, she’ll turn the whole locomotive industry upside down overnight.”

“She’s gonna buy a lot more trains, isn’t she?”

“She doesn’t need to. She’ll give away the engine modification for free, and then sell the fuel. She can charge whatever she wants for it, too. She’s the only pony in Equestria who knows how to make it.”

Twilight looked at her. “How did you get this?”

“I know a pony who was working on Applejack’s engineering project. He only let me take a look at their machine shop because I plinkie promised not to breathe a word of it to anypony.”

“You promised? And you’re telling us?”

“Nuh-uh-uh!” Pinkie said. “I never pinkie promised. I plinkie promised. And as everypony knows, plinkie promises are notoriously unreliable.”

They stared at the canister for a minute.

“One and a half days,” Twilight said. “Applejack will have total control over two national commodities, and it only took her one and a half days to set in motion.”

“Three industries,” Rarity said. “She still sells apples, after all.”

“The future.” Twilight tapped the top of the canister. “This is about the future. She’s not doing this for the money... she can’t be. She knows something we don’t.”

Twilight shot out of her seat and ran to a nearby bookshelf, tossing encyclopedias and reference books over her shoulder as she searched. She ran back and slammed a book down on the table. “The spell I cast didn’t alter our intelligence. It altered our innate cognitive awareness! And what is Applejack’s essential quality?”

“Honesty?” Rarity said.

“Exactly. The spell amplified her ability to recognize the truth.” Twilight pointed at the book. “This can’t be the result of ordinary cognition. Applejack is experiencing precognition.”

Rainbow Dash leaned over and squinted at the passage Twilight was pointing at. “Futurists, or futurologists, are scientists and social scientists whose speciality is to attempt to systematically predict the future, whether that of pony society in particular or of life on Equestria in general.”

Twilight slammed the book shut. “She’s trying to solve a disaster that hasn't even happened yet. She’s trying to fight the future.”

The front door opened. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith stood in the doorway, looking dazed. Applebloom was resting on her big brother’s back, fast asleep.

“Mac? Granny?” Dash said. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

“It’s Applejack,” Big Macintosh said. “She made us all sign employee agreements.”

“And then she let us go,” Granny Smith said.

There was a long, awkward silence.

Bic Macintosh cleared his throat. “So, can we stay the night? Ya got a couch or somethin’?”

Twilight stood up. “This ends now. We’re going to Sweet Apple Acres. And this time, we’re not taking no for an answer.”

Next Chapter: %i%: Applejack runs out of time. Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 10 Minutes