Making Lemonade
Set after Party Of One
A knocking came at the farm house door. Apple Bloom rushed to answer it before anypony else that was in the house could. She opened the door to reveal a grinning pink earth pony carrying a basket in her mouth.
"Applejack?" she yelled. "It's yer friend Pinkie Pie!"
Applejack trotted down the stairs cautiously as Apple Bloom headed up them. Pinkie had gone party crazy- and she literally meant crazy- these last few weeks and Applejack really didn't want to be invited to another party.
"What can I do ya for, Pinkie?" she smiled.
"Mmmph mmmph mmph mm!" Pinkie exclaimed, the basket distorting her words. She hopped through the door and into the kitchen, Applejack following with a confused look on her face.
Pinkie Pie placed the basket down on one of the workplaces and grinned at the confused orange mare.
"I want to make lemonade!"
By now Applejack was really confused. "Any ... particular reason you wanna make lemonade?" she asked.
Pinkie shook her head. "No," she said, "I only know that I wanna make it with you. My Pinkie Sense told me to do something special with a close friend today."
Applejack blushed. "Then why aren't you and Rainbow Dash making it together then?"
"I don't know, why do you only farm apples and not pears?"
Applejack was left silent for a few seconds, then shook her head and smiled. "Let's make some lemonade then."
Pinkie Pie set out the ingredients she had brought in the basket and Applejack stared at them.
Lemons and sugar.
"Are you sure ya know how to make lemonade?" Applejack asked uncertainly.
"Uh-huh! All you do is squeeze out the lemon juice," Pinkie made her eyes go big for emphasis- AJ had no idea how a seemingly normal earth pony could conjure up such fantastic feats, but Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie, "and then you add sugar and water! Ta-da! Lemonade!"
Applejack still wasn't convinced. "Do you actually have a recipe for this, Sugarcube?"
Pinkie faltered a bit, but smiled contently. "Nuh-uh."
"No recipe."
"Nope."
"Guidelines?"
"Uh-uh."
"A rulebook?"
"Don't think so!"
"Anything!?"
Pinkie Pie giggled. "Applejack, you need to loosen up- have some fun! You remember what fun is, right, you silly pony?"
Applejack scoffed. "I ain't Twilight, Pinkie. I know what fun is."
"I never said you didn't." Pinkie Pie winked. "Now, get squeezing!"
"What are you going to-"
"Squeeze!"
"Pinkie Pie-"
"Squeeze the lemons, Applejack."
There was a silence for a bit.
Applejack weighed out her options then sighed in defeat.
Time to squeeze some lemons.
Applejack dutifully squeezed the lemons carefully, then poured in a respectable amount of water. Pinkie Pie pouted at her.
"That's boring, AJ! There's nothing funny about perfect lemonade."
"I don't see anything funny about lemonade in the first place." Applejack argued. Arguing with Pinkie Pie was different than arguing with Rainbow Dash or Rarity. With Pinkie there was always something different, you never knew what she was going to come out with and when she did eventually speak it could disrupt the whole argument or be incredibly sensible while making as little sense as possible.
As if that made sense.
"Then you're obviously not looking hard enough." Pinkie Pie sang, and Applejack grinned despite herself.
"Let's add the sugar now."
Pinkie Pie smiled so widely her face practically stretched permanently. "Yay!"
She grabbed the sugar bag, and before AJ could protest poured a load of sugar in, much more than the recommended amount, Applejack thought. It went all over the table, and since Applejack had bent her head to see the jug better, all in AJ's mane.
"Sweet Celestia, you got sugar all in the nooks and crannies of me!" AJ exclaimed, partly in annoyance and partly in shock.
Pinkie giggled, and reached her hooves up to brush the sugar off. She ruffled Applejack's hair, and then paused as if thinking of something to say. Applejack felt a blush creep up on her, and then Pinkie Pie stole her hat and placed it on her head.
"Now that," she winked, "is how you make lemonade."