> Soda Pop
>  by The 8-Bit Flame Princess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Making Lemonade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


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."
> As Sweet As A Song
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


As Sweet As A Song
The end of the beginning

The young orange filly was wandering around Ponyville, having finished picking up the groceries her grandma instructed her to get and Applejack was now heading on her way home. She glanced down at the saddlebags to check her food was still there, and then cast an appreciative glance at her Cutie Mark. It represented Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh, she reckoned. They had to be strong and be together, just like family, and Applejack had to protect them because it was her family. And family was everything. 
Turning the corner lost in thought, naturally she couldn't see that anyone was coming towards her. They crashed into each other and Applejack rose quickly to her feet. She checked to see if the other pony was okay and discovered it was a tiny pink earth pony filly with a pink mane so curly it looked like it could explode. It had obviously been tamed though.
"I'm awfully sorry. I don't know what happened. I just had mah head in the clouds." she apologized. The earth pony nodded and then her eyes grew wide as she spotted Applejack's flank. 
"You've got your Cutie Mark? Cool! Look, I got mine last Wednesday!" she turned slightly so Applejack could see the three balloons decorating her flank- kind of like the three apples on her own.
"Wednesday was when I got mine too!" Applejack exclaims. The pink pony started to jump up and down.
"That must mean something. Ooh, it makes me feel all tingly talking about destiny- maybe it's like a premonition?" the filly's fast chatter was making AJ's head spin.
"I'm Applejack." she finally introduced herself.
"My name's Pinkamena Diane Pie." she said and frowned. "Well, it was. Now it's Pinkie Pie. That's so much easier to say."
Applejack smiled. "Well, Pinkie Pie, I have to get going now and take these groceries back, but you're welcome at Sweet Apple Acres any time you ant."
Pinkie Pie grinned. "I bet we're going to be great friends, Applejack. See you later!"
Applejack turned to head off then turned back again to Pinkie Pie, to ask her where she was staying in Ponyville. 
But the filly was gone.
> Dancing Lessons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dancing Lessons
Set immediately after The Best Night Ever

"Well, that was a disaster." Applejack sighed, taking off her hat for a minute to brush a few stray strands of hair out of her face. "I ain't never going to another fancy-shmancy party as long as I live."
"No parties?" cried a voice, and Applejack jumped, shocked to see Pinkie Pie standing behind her with a disappointed look on her face. "What about no parties?"
"Pinkie, did you  ... follow me home?" asked a concerned Applejack. Ponies that followed you home were definitely bad news- but this was Pinkie Pie, so it couldn't be that bad ... Right?
"Well, not exactly." admitted Pinkie Pie. "I was going to go to Sugarcube Corner to go to bed but then I saw you walking home, so I thought I'd go round to Sweet Apple Acres because I wasn't really tired and so I technically didn't follow you, because I already know the way here, and if you already know the way then you wouldn't need to follow someone. So I saw you go into this barn and I came in here and found you talking to yourself, and I heard this bit about 'no parties' and I was really confused so I started talking and now we're having this conversation." Pinkie Pie smiled proudly.
Applejack's head was reeling from keeping up with Pinkie Pie, but she was a little less disturbed now.
"I ain't talkin' about never having any parties again, so you can calm down. What I meant was, those posh-people parties just aren't my type of party, and to avoid any more discomfort I plan to never attend one again."
"Well, you could try dancing? Dancing always makes parties better!"
Applejack placed her hat back on her head sheepishly. "Uh ... Actually, Pinkie Pie, Ah can't dance. At all."
"Oh, that's okay- I can teach you!" the pink earth pony grinned. Applejack smiled back nervously. From what she'd heard about Pinkie Pie's gala experience, the kind of dancing Pinkie did wasn't what went on at parties.
"Um ..."
"It'll be fun, trust me. We can start now! Just put your hoof here." Pinkie Pie indicated to the spot just above her Cutie Mark, and Applejack felt an easy blush rising to her face.
"Uh ... What?" she stammered out, and Pinkie giggled.
"Just here," she said slowly, as she grabbed Applejack's hoof in her own and placed it on her back. Applejack was sure her face was positively crimson by now.
"And I put my hoof here."  she put her other hoof around Applejack's neck, and grabbed Applejack's other hoof with her spare one. 
"And now, we begin!!" Pinkie Pie said theatrically.
Applejack smiled uneasily back at her.



After a few hours of practice and footwork and posture, they were ready.
"Okay, let's practice this one more time." Pinkie Pie said. Applejack rolled her eyes playfully. It was unbelievable how much of a dictator Pinkie could be when she felt like it.
Applejack lead, guiding Pinkie around the barn, just like they'd practiced, remembering where to place her feet and how far away her leg should be from Pinkie's, and how they had to keep uncomfortably close.
She span Pinkie round and then gracefully dipped her. Pinkie closed her eyes and grinned in bliss. They held their position for a bit, staring into each other's eyes. 
Applejack suddenly felt uncomfortable- what if Big Macintosh came in this barn, looking for her, and saw what position they were in? He'd think the worst, and she'd be so embarrassed.
"Well, that was fun!" Pinkie Pie said suddenly, breaking the awkward silence and slipping out of the position they were in. Applejack sighed in relief, but a part of her felt empty now that Pinkie Pie was no longer in her arms.
"See you tomorrow, Applejack!"
Pinkie disappeared into the night, and Applejack sighed.
"Yeah ... See ya tomorrow."