One Shot per Page

by Apocalyptic Fries

The Hanging-Out

Twilight busily swept the broom back and forth across the library floor. The girls would be here any minute. They hadn’t had the opportunity to simply hang-out together in too long; their lives had taken them into too many different directions.

At around the time she expected, she heard someone knock on the door. She opened it to reveal Fluttershy.

“Oh hello, Fluttershy!” Twilight beamed. “Glad you could make it! Please, come in, make yourself at home, the others will be here soon.”

Not one to dispute or even give the appearance of disputing, Fluttershy entered and sat on the couch without a word. Before long, the two heard another series of knocks at the door, which turned out to be both Rainbow Dash and Applejack arriving simultaneously, the latter towing a cart on which she stowed a cooler loaded with apple cider.

As usual, Twilight greeted them both cordially and invited them in to sit down. Applejack left her hitched load at the door and had Rainbow’s help bringing it in; the duo set it down on the floor next to the couch.

For a time, the four did nothing beyond listening to Twilight sweep the floor, a task she may have ordinarily reserved for her adoptive little brother Spike who was in Canterlot visiting her family. Her own reason for not going was that she had just been there the week prior; her responsibilities as a princess kept her busy and forced her to schedule her use of time differently from Spike’s, and she needed him for simple caretaking responsibilities for any time she wasn’t there, which caused their schedules to drift apart.

Finally, both Rarity and Pinkie Pie showed-up, arriving together much as Rainbow and Applejack had, and now with everyone there Twilight served the tea and cookies she had made (or in the case of the tea been making) in anticipation of seeing the other five.

Recently turned into an action bookworm, Rainbow Dash scanned the shelves in search of the latest Daring Do novel. Finding it, she opened to the first page, squeeing like a six-year-old fangirl inside, and settled down onto the couch. Rarity and Pinkie Pie engaged in a quiet game of cards using the coffee table, while Applejack and Twilight also found books of their own to read. Fluttershy simply watched Rarity and Pinkie play.

Everything was going as planned. From here, the six simply basked rather silently in each other’s company, the only noises to be heard coming from pages being turned, cards being used, drinks being sipped or cookies being eaten.

Eventually, Twilight excused herself to the restroom, and half an hour later Rainbow followed suit. Fluttershy apparently did so without anyone knowing she had, which explained why she seemed to be holding it in for the whole evening.

As the time passed, the six munched on their cookies and drank from their cups. Each mare alternately drank tea (chamomile) or the cider Applejack had brought for the occasion, neither exclusively. Much of it was consumed before anyone realized it.

Rainbow was already on Chapter Six when she realized her own mug of cider was empty as she went to take a sip. She couldn’t quite see the cooler from where and how she sat, so she elbowed Applejack and asked, “Hey, we got any more cider?”