Another quiet day upon another quiet day rolled over Twilight's life, forming a blanket-like haze of time that, for the most part, she didn't remember. After all the emotions were done pouring through her uncontrolled, her anger being kept down and silenced after a couple of weeks, life was simply....bland.

Everything she enjoyed, she hated now. She couldn't stand a book for more than half an hour at a time, even a recreational one, the very thought of reading usually turning her away from the task, yet she kept coming back to it because it was her favorite hobby at the same time, and she couldn't change that. She was like an abused mare, coming back to her violent coltfriend only to get another beating for even thinking of trying to get away from him.

Even her research was a disgusting topic in her mind. Where she would normally delight in studying what exactly had happened to her, she for the most part didn't want to think about it or recall that horrible, horrible night. She knew she wasn't herself then, and she still didn't feel like herself now. However, at least she had some kind of emotional drive before; this felt like emptiness and nothing but.

She felt shiftless, thoughtless and entirely lacking in any emotions, aside from the occasional burst of rage and brief, weak bits of happiness drawn out by a silly moment from Pinkie Pie or a genuinely endearing moment of care shown by her friends going the extra mile for her, in her current condition. Almost every smile was forced otherwise, mainly to make ponies stop being so nervous in her presence. Even if the feelings were false, at least smiling brought some semblance of normalcy to her daily routine.

The only time she'd really, honestly smiled was during a few times spent with Fluttershy, who seemed to understand her situation better than any of her other friends. Well, her and Pinkie Pie. We're talking about Pinkie Pie here, after all. It's hard to NOT get an honest laugh and smile around her zany behavior. At least, even in this situation, Pinkie had enough sense not to throw Twilight a party, because there was little worth celebrating about her current affairs, aside from her finally being back from her studies.

That single swing she'd taken at Fluttershy had made her eternally sorry for what she had done, believing that her friend would be afraid to actually be around her after thinking about what happened, but....that hug she gave to Twilight, it had Twilight's insides twisting, and her thoughts turning this way and that the more they spent time together.

She felt guilty and hated herself for hurting her friend, even slightly, but she was also elated and happy that she was still willing to hang around. Without her interest in her books (what little was left of it) keeping her occupied enough, Twilight found herself spending a fairly decent amount of time with Fluttershy, going to the spa with her and Rarity every week.

"Oh, I'm so glad you could join us again this week darling, I see so little of you lately!" Rarity could be heard saying from behind her own mud mask, her eyes covered up by cucumber slices.

She was currently shoulder-deep in a nice, warm spa with Fluttershy and Twilight, each having similar treatments given. Fluttershy just let out a happy sigh as the water bubbled around them with who-knows-what added to it to rejuvenate their flesh and fur.

"The Carousel Boutique's been very busy lately, so many orders this time of year you know. Dresses, jewelry, hats, and apparently shoes are in this season, so I of course have been working on my own designs!" she said while sinking just a little lower into the bubbling water.

"Ooh, really? Maybe I should get a new hat...." Fluttershy began to say, the normally shy pegasus apparently capable of relaxing with this kind of conversation just as well as she could relax around any of her animal friends. Rarity was probably her closest friend out of their entire group, and she knew the fashionista best, so if there was a style worth having in your wardrobe, it was definitely at least one of Rarity's items.

Twilight just couldn't get into it, but she could definitely get into this jacuzzi. She didn't often treat herself to something like this because it actually cost a pretty penny, but she could see why Rarity and Fluttershy put forth the effort to make this a weekly thing for both of them. THIS was nice.

She sunk down into the heated waters until she was up to her chin, and let the heat take her away for now, listening to her friends continue on about the latest fashion trends, the styles featured by others in various magazines, the sorts of things she didn't really read herself. Of course, she only spoke up when someone spoke her name.

"Twilight, what about you? Do you have time tomorrow? I could really use your help with a design I'm working on, and your figure is absolutely perfect for it!" Rarity stated in her usual, theatrical way, flourishing her words as if she were on a stage; truly, Trixie would've been proud. "I really would appreciate it, sometimes those model stands just can't give me the kind of feedback I need for some of the more tricky designs I make up."

"Sometimes?" Fluttershy asked, smiling with only a slight smugness, looking as thought she knew something that the other two did not. "So does that mean that they talk to you?" she asked, giggling quietly and gently rolling her head on her shoulders, to help the muscles stretch out after they got so relaxed thus far, in this delightfully hot water. "I've heard they've got medication for that kind of crazy."

Twilight just laughed a little and interrupted them, her voice floating along with the bubbling water, as if she were one with it, she was so relaxed right now. "Hmm, sure, I can come over and help you out if you really need the help, Rarity...." she muttered over them. She couldn't really tell if they were looking at her, but considering they all had mud masks on and cucumber slices over their eyes, she didn't really think it would matter. "Not like I have anything better to do."

Rarity lightly quirked a brow, but quickly relaxed her head back so that the cucumber slices didn't didn't fall out after that. "Are you sure about that, Twilight? I wouldn't want to impose. I haven't heard much about your studies lately either, what do you usually do with your time nowaday-hm?"

A slosh of water and a firm shake of her shoulder drew her attention, confusing her. What was with the sudden interruption? She wasn't sure what all of that was about, but given her friend's delicate state of mind lately, she just stayed quiet about it, not that she'd been silenced fast enough.

Twilight's thoughts darkened a little, and her light smile had faded into something of a frown. "I don't....I don't really do much of my studies anymore, Rarity," she said, letting out a small breath. "I haven't touched a book since I got back, they just don't appeal to me as much as they used to. Same goes for my studies."

She sat up straighter, turning her head this way and that as one of the attendants came over to remove the little slices from over their eyes. A few blinks of her eyes cleared her vision up once more, and she gave a faint smile to her concerned friends.

Rarity tilted her head a little and looked her friend over. She knew a fake smile when she saw it, especially on one so untrained as Twilight Sparkle. She wasn't even trying to make it convincing!

"But darling....reading is your bread and butter, studying even! Why would you ever stop?"

"I just....I don't know," Twilight muttered, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. "I just feel so....tired, all the time! The moment I open a book, I just start thinking about Canterlot, and I feel totally worn out. I want to do something else, but I don't know what. Everything I've tried gets the same response out of me, it becomes nothing more than an exercise in wasting time!"

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged concerned looks before glancing over at their frustrated friend, unsure of what to say. Twilight picked up on their worries just by meeting their gazes, and tried to muster up a proper smile this time.

"I'm alright though, I'm sure it, uh....just takes time, right?" she stated as reassuringly as she could.

Fluttershy stared just a bit longer, then smiled and nodded in agreement. Rarity wasn't sure what she could possibly say about the situation, so she simply went along with her friends and began to make small-talk once more. At least it seemed to lighten the mood.

A brown-furred pegasus flew low over one of the main streets of Ponyville, making a beeline for Sugarcube Corner. Strider doubted he'd beaten the rush, but compared to Canterlot's population, he figured that the 'rush' in Ponyville was probably not even close to being as bad as he was used to.

Oh, how wrong he wished he wasn't.

Pinkie Pie was crazy-busy, but that didn't stop the energetic pony from serving around three people at a time, thanks to her abundant stamina and joyful personality. As customers left, she always said her goodbyes with her usual Pinkie Pie flair and joviality, her happy demeanor seeming to always infect her treats and give everyone a little smile-on-the-go effect the moment they bit into one of her delicious cup-sized baked goods. He walked up to the counter and got a similar greeting as most of the previous, but she seemed to, somehow, put forth more effort because she hadn't seen him before.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! Where the fun is free, and everything's Pinkie-keen!" she said while stepping in from the back room once more.

In all honesty, Pinkie Pie's personality creeped him out. Her endless joy, the all-smiles behavior and being able to pop up seemingly out of nowhere....on more than one occasion, he had the feeling that she'd seen him and Dash spending more time together lately. He didn't mind it so much if she stayed quiet about it.

"Hi there! I'm here for the, uh...oh, what were they, the....oh!" he said, pointing to a set of what looked like VERY fresh, apple-sized cupcakes with a blue coloring and rainbow frosting on them, a little candy cherry atop each one.

Pinkie turned her head and looked to them, then grinned back at him. "Oh! You're the one that ordered Rainbow Dash's favorites, the order that came in from Canterlot? That's odd that you have the exact same tastes as my bestest-best friend Rainbow Dash,-" she said, leaning in towards him and giving him a knowing grin. "-y'knoooooow what I mean?"

He cringed inwardly and shook the insinuation off. A quick mental check of his facial expression and what he wanted to say next streamlined his thought process, and he canted his head to one side just ever-so-slightly. The inflection had to be just right....

"I'm sorry, I...don't understand?"

Pinkie got to work packing up the order properly while she spoke to him, that infectious smile never leaving her. "Well see, Rainbow's the only one that ever orders this and she's never talked about having any brothers or sisters and we never really see her parents around, so I thought 'Hey, maybe Rainbow has a coltfriend she's never told any of us about!', and maybe he knows exactly what she likes and maybe he's not around much because I've never seen him before-"

"I...get it, miss. I think," he said quickly and loudly enough to hopefully cut her off, looking to the box of cupcakes she'd placed before him on the counter. He quickly fished some bits out. "But I'm afraid you're mistaken. I'm just a friend visiting, she told me where she got these from, so I thought I'd surprise her!"

Pinkie leaned forward over the counter some, her eyes closing to slits as she stared into his own, then looked him over for a moment. He grew nervous as she leaned in closer and closer...then just as suddenly backed away and became all smiles again.

"Wwweeeeelll...okay then!"

He blinked. "Uh? Okay?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Nothing!"

He blinked a few times, then shook his head and smiled. "Wow....ah, okay then, miss Pie...that's your name, right?"

"Pinkie Pie~!"

He nodded once and moved to leave, the box of cupcakes sitting on his back, wrapped up in a bag. He didn't recall the moment when he'd put them on his back, but he wasn't complaining. He needed to get away from Pinkie.

Now he was a bit more clear on why she freaked him out. Before now, he'd only observed from a distance whenever he came to Ponyville, and heard things here and there from Rainbow Dash. Well, that and dossiers given to him by the Princess, but that was another matter entirely.

No, if anything, his fear came from her perceptiveness. He knew those eyes. Pinkie knew, but she was choosing to say nothing on the matter. That was his assumption anyways, she didn't seem like the kind of mare to just up and spout everyone's business unless she genuinely thought it would help matters. With that said, he wasn't sure whether or not she'd stay silent about it.

"Bye-bye, pony-I-don't-know-but-probably-will-sometime-soon!"

He smiled a little at that and waved to her once while stepping out the front door. Well, perhaps she would keep it quiet. If not for his sake then for Rainbow's. If anyone knew Rainbow better than him, it would be her closest friends.

It wasn't exactly a long flight to Dash's house from Sugarcube Corner, but it still gave him enough time to snack on one of the cupcakes on the way there. He'd just gotten way too curious about what they tasted like, all rainbow-colored and semi-tangy and sweet...or so the Cakes had said when he'd placed the order, anyways.

He'd certainly not been disappointed!

The moment his hooves touched down outside of her home, Rainbow took notice; cloud homes weren't all that good at keeping noise out unless you insulated them on the inside, which she had foregone. She was in her kitchen at the moment, whipping up a little something for a late breakfast before her usual morning routine of work and flight training. She'd already gone out first thing to confirm her orders for the weather team, so she had the advantage of being able to do her job however she wished as long as it got done. Being the boss had its perks!

Of course, she'd already given out her orders and she was only expecting one pony today, so it was either him, or one of her employees needed some clarification. "Door's open, c'mon in!" she called out to whoever it was.

He stepped into the house without even having to knock, finding it particularly odd compared to what he was used to. Ponyville didn't have a lot of pegasi burglars, he supposed.

"Hey Rainbow! Where ya at?" he called out to her.

"In the kitchen!"

He walked over and pushed the kitchen door open just in time to hear her pop one of her wings right at the primary joint while stretching herself out. He moved over to the table and picked up the bagged box on his back and set it down on the table, grinning over at her. "Gotcha something special! I put in the order last week, I wasn't sure if I'd actually get them on time or not, but your friend must put all that energy of hers to excessive use."

"Ooh! Are those what I think they are?" she asked, staring through the plastic cover on the front of the tote.

He licked his lips and nodded. "Uh-huh! Though I had one on the way here. Sooo, not exactly a dozen left."

"Rainbow Cupcakes....hah," she said, flipping the top open and pulling one out with her mouth, catching it in her hoof. "Thanks!"

She held the cupcake in her hoof and took a bite, mmm'ing with almost orgasmic satisfaction as the sweet and tart flavor spread over her palate. Then a thought hit her.

"Wait, you put this order in last week? How'd you do that?"

He smirked a little at her. "There is such a thing as mail orders, you know."

She swallowed what she'd already chewed up, then opened her mouth to question him further. A memory of his last visit, before Twilight returned to Ponyville, made her come to a realization before she said anything. "Oh! Oh right, I had some of these last time you were here, that's how you know. Okay, that makes sense."

He nodded and picked one up from the box, his eyes flashing over the cupcakes quickly and taking stock of how many were left. Nine. "Yup! Couldn't think of anything else outside of Wonderbolts stuff. You're a hard mare to buy gifts for."

Rainbow just grinned and took another bite of her cupcake while he did the same. "Yeah well, if it ain't Wonderbolts, I'm usually not interested!"

"Pff, don't I know it....anyways," he said, taking a bite and swallowing before continuing. "What're your plans today?"

She finished off her cupcake quickly and flexed her wings upwards again, the feathers trembling as she pushed them as far out as she could before tucking them back in. "Eh, probably gonna get my work done, then after that it's nothing but speed exercises! I need to get fast enough to pull off the Sonic Rainboom again."

"I thought you managed it because your friend was going to die if you didn't reach her?"

She shrugged it off, but the light smirk in the corner of her mouth said everything he needed to know.

"Ah, it was nothin'! I mean, I thought the Wonderbolts had her, but...yyyeah," she muttered, glancing out her nearby window. "Not their finest moment. B-but hey, I'm sure not everyone can be cool at all times, right?"

He rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Right."

"Besides, it's not like I can just throw one of my friends off of a cloud and then chase after them whenever I want to pull of a Rainboom! Well," she said, grinning a little. "Not if I want to have any friends left at the end of the day."

He couldn't help but laugh at that, shaking his head. "I dunno, Pinkie would probably think it was fun!"

"You kiddin' me?! Clearly you've never seen her Pinkie Copter," she said, shaking her head in amusement. "Only Pinkie would own her own personal hoof-powered helicopter."

He blinked a few times at that, then shrugged it off and looked down to the cupcakes. Eh, he didn't want another one, they weren't meant for him anyways.

Rainbow rolled her head this way and that, then started to stretch her neck out as well. "So, you gonna come and practice with me? You know me, always looking for an audience! Maybe a flying buddy too."

He shook his head. "Not right away, unfortunately. I only got this week off because I have some things I have to take care of here and there, but it should only be a few hours."

She wilted a little. "O-oh," she muttered, then nodded to him, her smile seeming rather forced compared to before. "Alright then. I'll see you for lunch then?"

He sighed and smiled a little, walking up to her and nuzzling her cheek with his own again. "Yeah, I might be done by then...sorry."

"S'fine," she said, blushing from the show of affection. "I know your job keeps you busy."

"Yeah, and I know it bothers you. I really am working on it."

She broke away from him a little, smiling weakly. "Yeah, yeah, just get to work so you can come fly with me!"

He nodded quickly and leaned in, his head tilting to one side to plant a more meaningful, warm kiss on her lips. Her eyes shot wide open for a moment before drifting shut again and returning it. Her wings flapped reflexively a few times before she settled down enough to fold them in again, her breath caught in her chest and a delightful tingle burning in her chest, making her feel warm and happy.

Just like that, it was over when he pulled away. She took a deep breath and let it out, leaning back away from him with a little bashful nibble on her lower lip. She could feel the heat in her cheeks, the distinct blush burning right through her fur and making her embarrassment all too obvious to him, much to his amusement.

"That....was a cheap trick."

He grinned a bit. "And yet, you didn't stop me."

"Pff, whatever. You just did that so I wouldn't be so upset with you."

"Guilty as charged!" he stated smugly, trotting over towards the kitchen door. "I'll try my best to be back by noon, I swear. See you later, Rainbow!"

She wanted to ask him if maybe whatever he had to do could wait 'til later, but whatever it was, he seemed to be rushing to get it done. Well, maybe that would be good enough, she supposed.

Rainbow lingered in her kitchen for a while longer, getting herself some juice and enjoying another one of her cupcakes before heading out herself, her thoughts lingering on that kiss. She normally didn't like distractions during her training, but just being around him made her feel oddly invigorated. The fact that he really knew how to treat a mare, even a more tomcoltish one like her, helped too. Well, when he was around anyways, which was a rarity at best.

It left a bittersweet tinge to every visit he managed to make. She didn't feel incomplete without him around, but when he was around, it instantly reminded her of what she was missing. That bothered her a lot.

She shook off her thoughts and finished stretching herself out before taking off from her front stoop, her powerful wings rapidly propelling her high into the sky, far above the clouds. She immediately went to work, doing her best to work the distracting thoughts out of her head.

"Better not keep me waiting Strider," she mumbled to herself while bucking a cloud into nothingness. "It's really uncool."

Applejack's hooves could be heard tapping against the floor, likely in frustration since the sound had increased in volume over the course of an hour or two. On the table were several sheets of paper, a multitude of documents not limited to but including just about all of the farm's finances, as well as personal finances. She had already subtracted a LOT of luxuries from her own part of the bills, but this season still wasn't adding up, not at all, and it was getting on her nerves.

It all started with the Parasprite swarm that put a dent in the boost they got from the bumper crop earlier last year. Every extra bit they earned was wasted rebuilding the house, and she couldn't even really blame anypony for what happened because one, nobody expected such a creature to be capable of that kind of damage, and two, even if Twilight's spell hadn't changed their eating habits, they would've just consumed all of the apples, and likely the trees as well! THAT would've been infinitely more devastating than losing the house, at least with the apples and the trees still around they can re-grow and re-plant seeds, as well as harvest seeds.

That would have been an easy loss to deal with, everything would have simply been the same status quo as it was every year, Ponyville's finances rarely experiencing a drastic enough shift and a lack of love for apples enough to have the Apple Family losing money instead of at least breaking even. They grew some of the best apples around and everyone knew it, it was the main reason their business thrived. That, and Applejack was more savvy to the world of business than most would expect from such a small-town pony with a Southern drawl.

That said, other issues began to crop up, and they couldn't have all come at a worse time. Spread out it would've still been easy to work through them, but it was just one thing after another. First, a few stray Parasprites randomly raided a section of the farm in the middle of the night and ate up a large portion of the late Summer crop before she could get Pinkie to take them somewhere further away.

On top of that, smaller thieves continued to wander in and raid their stores here and there before they could ship the apples out, and that wasn't even counting what parts of the crop were normally lost to lack of watering, rotting over time, falling off the trees and bruising before they can be bucked off into the buckets...a multitude of issues, all of them cropping up at the same time and causing a big problem that AJ was having serious trouble finding a way to handle.

Big Macintosh was in the kitchen cleaning up dinner when he heard his sister grunt in frustration. They'd both been at it all day long, nothing particularly new for them, but having to come in from work, take a shower and then sit right down and work on finances would sour anyone's mood.

"Dang it!" she growled at no one in particular, the tired mare slumping in her seat and laying her chin on the table, glaring at the papers to the left of her head. "This year just ain't addin' up!"

He grabbed a dessert plate he'd set out ahead of time, when he realized she was skipping a full dinner in favor of getting the farm's paperwork sorted out, and plopped the last caramel apple they had from dinner down on it. At the very least, she'd probably appreciate dessert after getting little more than a sandwich.

Big Mac stepped up next to his sister, setting the plate with the caramel apple down next to her head, the caramel still nice and hot, filling her nostrils with a delicious candied scent that tantalized her tastebuds with the memory of one of her favorite after-dinner treats.

"Still not findin' ways to save what we managed t'keep, huh?" he asked in that usual slow, methodical tone, standing tall and gazing down at her.

She sighed in frustration, lifting her head and nodding to him, glaring daggers at the papers as if they offended her very being. She may have had to learn more advanced mathematics to figure out taxes and the farm's expenses, but that didn't mean she was great at it. Still, she was sure that even if she was a master mathematician or Twilight Sparkle, there still wouldn't be anything she could do aside from working especially hard to make up for the lost finances.

She picked up the apple and took a big bite out of it, letting her tongue roll over the sweet and tart treat while slowly chewing it up. She had a certain appreciation for caramel apples, especially freshly-made ones like this, the delicious melted caramel making such a simple thing her favorite dessert treat.

"Mmm....! Thanks, Big Mac. For th' apple, I mean," she said, smiling a little just from the small satisfaction the caramel apple gave her. "But no, ah haven't. This last year's been downright brutal n' harsh on us."

"Don't I know it. I was hopin' maybe you'd see somethin' ah didn't, but I guess I was wrong."

She huffed and let her eyes slide shut for a moment, running a hoof through her mane and pulling her hat off in the process, setting it aside on the table. "Yeah...we've never been in this much trouble before."

"Eeyup...hm," he mused, looking away in thought for a moment. "Ya know, ya got that friend o' yers, Twilight Sparkle. Why not ask her if there's anything the Princesses can do?"

AJ quickly shook her head, sitting up a bit straighter. "Nah, that's a bit much. Twi's mah friend and all, but she's kinda goin' through a rough patch. I don't wanna trouble 'er."

"Ya sure? I'd think she'd be more than willin' t'help out a friend, 'specially when it comes to the well-bein' of our farm."

AJ sat there for a moment, her hooves twiddling the wooden stick the caramel apple was speared on, turning it around in front of herself before taking a bite of it. She glanced over to her brother as he took a seat next to her, the light creak of the chair next to her the only sound in the otherwise silent house aside from her chewing.

Granny Smith and Apple Bloom were asleep upstairs, the quiet chirp of the crickets outside easily heard coming through their open windows, the magic-based cooling system left off tonight since it was so nice outside, given it was the beginning of Summer, or close enough to it.

She stared down at the papers for a minute, then slouched in her seat and shook her head. "That don't sound, well...desperate, t'you?"

Big Mac tilted his head a bit, turning in his seat to face her better. "Whatcha mean?"

"Well, runnin' to the Princess, askin' Twilight ta use her connections to royalty...that don't sound kinda wrong of me to ask her to do?" AJ asked, frowning a little at the thought of it.

The big stallion shrugged a little and gave her a nudge with a hoof. "Last I checked lil' sis, that's kinda the point of havin' ponies you can rely on, because ya can count on 'em to help ya when it really matters."

She picked up one of the papers and did some quick calculations in her head, some part of her hoping that maybe five minutes earlier she was just magically incompetent and couldn't figure something out because of it. Maybe if that were the case, an answer would be much easier for her to find now, but alas, everything still came out the same. They were just far too deep in the red.

"....I just don't like the thought of abusing her friendship like that, is all," she muttered, stamping the paper back down on the table with a sigh. "Feels so wrong."

He rolled his eyes and smirked a little. "Explain the situation to 'er, sis. I'm sure she'll understand, so will the rest o' yer friends!"

She just stayed quiet and nodded a little. "Yeah, they would...really embarrassing to run to mah friends because th' farm's goin' under otherwise."

"Well, there's always the other option of makin' a deal with Razor Witty."

Applejack froze at that thought, before a menacing scowl replaced her previously relaxed features. Her entire body was tense just from the mention of him, the very thought of him making her feel dirty all over.

She looked over to her brother, sitting scarily still in her seat, like she was preparing to make a move. "You saw that contract he tried to get me to sign, right?"

Big Mac nodded once. "Eeyup."

She leaned over and threw a foreleg around her brother's withers, pulling him closer and holding up her other forehoof, as if she were about to take a swing. "Then ya understand why I will geld you if you ever seriously suggest that I make a deal with that low-down, snobby, snake-in-the-grass stallion?"

He smirked and nodded once more. "Eeyup!"

She grinned and patted his cheek with that striking hoof. "Glad ta hear it! Ugh, what time is it...?" she said cheerily, releasing her brother and settling back in her seat again, forehooves rubbing over her tired eyes. "Kinda lost track o' time."

"Gettin' close to eleven, sis. You alright?"

She snorted and shook her head. "No...no, not really."

She was scared. She didn't want to admit it, but she very much was. The farm had never been in so much trouble before, and she could honestly say that there wasn't much she could've done to prevent the current predicament outside of having the ability to see the future!

He stared over at her for a moment, then smiled and got up from his seat, stepping around behind hers and pulling her away from the table, causing her to jolt in surprise from the unexpected feeling of being moved backwards. He said nothing as he moved to embrace her from one side, a single large foreleg wrapping around her withers to give her a firm hug.

"Hey. It's gonna be alright, sis. We're Apples, we always pull through!"

She wasn't used to this kind of affection from her family, unless you counted Apple Bloom. Being the big sister and pseudo-Mother figure to a young filly could be rewarding, she'd found.

She put her forelegs around her brother and hugged him in return, nodding a little. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, ah ain't givin' up that easily!"

"That's mah sis. Now then," he said, letting her go and patting her on her wither, nodding towards the kitchen door. "Head on into the kitchen. Ah got a plate set aside for ya, just gotta heat it up. Get some food in ya, get away from all this paperwork, and git yerself a good night's rest. No point in lingerin' around here."

"Well, I can help ya with the dishes, if ya like-"

He held up a hoof and shook his head. "No need fer that! You been drivin' yerself up a wall with all this and with the harvest. Just go get some rest, ya deserve it."

She glanced back to the table, then nodded to him and stood up, heading to the kitchen. No matter how she looked at it, the result was the same: they were in trouble. She didn't know what she'd have to do to save the farm, but she was sure that she'd work herself to a bloody mess before she'd ever give up!

Big Mac glanced back to the table and gave the papers a once-over, his own calculations written alongside his sister's. They'd both gotten the same answers separately. He just shook his head and tucked the papers away in the folder that'd been set aside for them, wishing he could just toss them into a volcano and have all their financial problems disappear in the process. Oh, if only life were that easy.

He tossed the folder on his back and grabbed the plate with the half-eaten caramel apple in his mouth, heading off into the kitchen after his sister, returning to cleaning the dishes while she enjoyed a very late dinner. The issue with the farm made both of them remain quiet, the two ponies feeling morose instead of talkative.

They headed to bed with little more than a 'good night', Applejack's night plagued by the terrifying prospect of losing her land, and ultimately, her farm. It was her livelihood, a symbol of everything she'd worked for all her life. It had belonged to her late parents, it was an heirloom all its own...they couldn't lose their farm. They just couldn't!

She didn't get much restful sleep that night.