A picture can show a single instant in time, but what about the events leading up to it? What about after? What has happened to make the scene in a picture exist?
A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. But perhaps they are not the same words for everyone. This is a collection of the words I see when looking at certain pictures from the fandom.
If you have a picture you want to see written a small scene about, feel free to comment or message me! No guarantees, but if it tickles my fancy, or if a lot of people suggest the same pic, then I'll write it. Please remember to include a source!
Sweetie Belle sat on the floor of the clubhouse in a huff. Apple Bloom was busy helping her family harvest apples and Scootaloo was hanging out with Rainbow Dash. This meant she was all alone with nopony to have fun with.
"Boooored…" Sweetie groaned, rolling over onto her back.
All her homework was done, she couldn’t crusade by herself, and she couldn’t plan any future crusades because Scootaloo usually didn’t like her ideas. Even though blanket weaving and flower arrangement could be their special talent, Scoots was always dead set on something like fire-spitting or sword juggling or something really dangerous.
Looking over in the corner, she sees some blank sheets of paper along with some crayons. She could try drawing something, she figured. Dragging herself over, she takes a piece of paper and selects a red crayon. She hummed a tune while staring at the page, expect some idea to come out from her head and onto the paper.
5 minutes pass.
10 minutes.
15 minutes pass and the page is still blank. The tune she was humming had long trailed off as she balanced the crayon on top of her hoof. She sighed.
"If only somepony would play with me…" she grumbled.
Then, she got an idea. There was somepony who could probably help her. The being who taught friendship itself to the ponies in town. Surely she could help with her friendless dilemma!
She began writing on the paper. Within moments, she had finished and rolled it up, taking it with her into town to find a certain little dragon who could deliver her message.
~~~~~~~~~~
Princess Celestia sat in her throne room, a stack of documents floating in front of her awaiting her signature. It was standard budget allocation for palace staff and she preferred that her guards and servants were able to provide for their families. Mostly involved filling in the numbers from last year,adding a bit more for those who have hit certain milestones in their time of employment.
Still, it was rather dull work. While she appreciated being informed of everything going on in her palace, she still sometimes wished to delegate some of these more menial tasks to her specialized bookkeepers.
But if she did, what would she do then? There was nothing that needed her immediate attention, no meeting with foreign ambassadors, no royal council today. It was a slow day, and while she was thankful for these kinds of days when she needed to relax, now she just found her eyelids beginning to droop. The words on the page blurring together.
However, a small little dancing green flame came in through the window. Celestia’s spirits rose immediately at the sight. Was this a letter from her star pupil? Or perhaps a report from one of her friends? Setting down the stack of papers, she took the scroll in her magic, deciding to take a little time to satisfy her curiosity.
Unrolling it, she read:
DEAR PRINCESS CELL CELESTIA,
MY NAME IS SWEETIE BELLE, AND I’M RARITY’S LITTLE SISTER.
NORMALLY I’D BE PLAYING WITH MY FRIENDS TODAY, BUT ALL OF MY FRIENDS ARE BUSY AND I’M ALL ALONE WITH NOTHING TO DO. IT’S SOOOO BORING!
SINCE YOU’RE THE PRINCESS WHO KNOWS ALL ABOUT FRIENDS AND FRIENDSHIP, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD HELP ME?
THANK YOU!
The princess rolled the scroll back up. She contemplated the letter’s contents carefully. Without a word, she stood up off her throne and descended the stairs down towards the massive doors.
"Princess? Where are you going?" asked one of her guards.
"I’m afraid something very important has just come up," the princess replied. "I shall be back before sundown. Hold your post until then."
"Yes, your highness!" the guard replied, snapping into his normal statue-like position while the princess walked past the throne room doors.
Applejack lay sleeping in her bed, nice and exhausted after a busy day. The fence got repaired, a nice harvest of apples were brought in, the farm critters were all nice and happy, plus she even found some time to visit her friends in town.
With her eyes closed, she giggles to herself, thinking about the little trick she pulled on Rainbow Dash. For as brash and boastful as that pony was, she still shakes like an autumn leaf at the idea of revealing their secret to their friends. Naturally, Applejack teases the subject every now and again, just to make Dash blush.
Today, her shenanigans nearly caused Dash to reveal everything. However, she took off muttering about some Wonderbolts weather storm, what have you, before her performance got too incriminating. It was more than Applejack intended, to be honest. As much as she would like to tell all of Ponyville, she does have to respect Rainbow’s feelings first. Still her friends didn’t suspect anything, so Rainbow Dash would be sure to cool down by tomorrow and everything would be hunky-dory.
’Oh, Rainbow… Y’all talk big, but yer so darn cute when yer nervous,’ Applejack thinks to herself.
A big wooshing noise comes against the side of her house making a creaking noise through the window. AJ peers one eye open at it, but pays it no mind. The old house always creaks and groans in the wind. Closing her eye again, she settles back down against her pillow.
However, a hard yank pulls the blanket off of Applejack. Surprised, she rolls over to lean up, but before she can, somepony lands on the bed on top of her, keeping her from getting up.
"Do you think this is funny?"
"Wha-what?" AJ asks, still not sure what’s going on.
"All this teasing? All those times you put me on the spot?"
"B-But… Rainbow…"
"Quiet!" Dash barks in a harsh whisper.
The surprise and the tone causes Applejack to recoil back. So many questions fly through her head. What is Dash doing here? Why is she so angry? Uncertainty in her mind, seeing her closest friend on top of her with her piercing magenta eyes, soon gives way to fear.
"You know what’ll happen. You know what they think about ponies like us!’ Dash says, still in whisper but the ire in her voice coming out very clearly. "You see the way they look at Lyra and Bon-Bon. Is that what you want?"
"D-Dash-"
"Is that what you want for us?"
"I- No!"
"Then why!? Why do you do this to me!?"
"I-I…" AJ starts. Her words get caught in her throat.
Apple Bloom quietly sneaks down the hallway. She was supposed to be asleep, but she started to hear noises and voices coming from her big sister’s room. Did somepony break in? Surely AJ could handle it, but she just wanted to be sure.
Slowly, she creaked open the door.
’Rainbow Dash?’ she thinks to herself.
"Well?" Rainbow hisses, demanding an answer.
"I just thought it… I didn’t mean anythin’ by it!" Applejack pleads.
"Tell me why!" Dash says.
Apple Bloom watches in horror. What was Dash doing here? What was Dash doing to her sister?
"I j-just… liked how nervous you would act…" Applejack admits.
Rainbow stands above her, silent.
"We’re always gettin’ into our little competitions and games," Applejack continues. "So, I guess when I can make you blush like that, I…" She gulps and licks her lips. "…win?"
Rainbow slowly shows her grit teeth as her brow furrows. AJ could only shrink back to the growing anger of the mare on top of her.
"You think it’s a game? You think we’re a game!?" she asks.
"No, Dash-!" Applejack tries to protest, but a light blue hoof over her lips silences her.
"Well then," Dash says, her frown growing into a smirk. "Seems I have the advantage tonight."
Removing her hoof, she leans down and forcibly presses her lips into AJ’s. Applejack tenses up in surprise, but allows Rainbow to continue. It was an odd comfort. She still feels her anger, but this tells her she didn’t ruin their relationship. When Dash pulls back, AJ gasps in a breath of air.
Apple Bloom’s jaw drops. Did she just see what she thinks she did?
"Rainbow…" Applejack breathes out.
"I’m still upset with what you do to me," Dash explains. "But tonight… I think it’s time to show you what it feels like." She slowly leans down and drags her muzzle up and down AJ’s neck. Applejack shivers and moans slightly at the contact. "Don’t you think that’s fair?" Dash asks.
Applejack, in a mix of confusion, fear, and growing arousal, could only nod. It was enough to show Rainbow to see.
"Well, let’s get started," Dash says, planting a kiss on AJ’s jawline. "And then we’ll see who wins tonight."
As Dash continues to kiss up to AJ’s cheek, Apple Bloom steps away from the door. Applejack? And Rainbow Dash?
’But… that’s wrong. That’s wrong, it’s wrong!’ Apple Bloom thinks to herself.
She wants to charge in. To save her sister from the sinful behavior as explained to her by their own Granny Smith. But should couldn’t. Her own sister was… Tears forming and beginning to stream down her cheeks, she could only move back to her bedroom and bury her face in her pillow.
Pulling it up over her ears, she tries to block out to noise from the next room as she quietly sobs.
The cereal makes a distinct tinkling noise as it falls and clinks against the hard plastic sides of the bowl. As the opaque white waterfall of milk falls upon the bowl of sugary loops, Princess Celestia smiles upon her breakfast. Folding the milk carton back closed, her magic lifts it back into the refrigerator and closes the door. Lifting the spoon with her hoof, she prepares to dine.
A spoonful of the newly milked cereal rises towards her. Opening her mouth to permit the spoons entry, she wraps her lips around it and pulls back to deposit the food onto her tongue. The sweet taste along with the cool temperature of the milk flows overs her tastebuds as she shifts her mouth’s contents into one cheek and begins to chew, finding satisfaction in the delightful crunch.
Lifting up another spoonful, her eyes drift onto the cereal box. Or rather, the back of it where a number of brainteaser puzzles are printed such as word searches, mazes, a couple spot-the-difference pictures, and a cut-out folding project. She contemplates and decides a few early morning mental exercises wouldn’t be a bad way to start the day.
With no scissors readily available, she starts with the maze. Beginning where the box says to start, her eyes enter the labyrinth of colorful walls. Following the paths, she runs into a couple deadends which she backtracks with her sights and follows another way. After a final couple twists and turns, her gaze is led out to the finish.
Crunching another mouthful of cereal, she begins on the wordsearch. Only eight words in total, all fairly short in only a six by seven space of letters. Word one: Dog. Her eyes begin scanning each letter, looking for a D. As soon as she sees one, she looks at each of its surrounding letters, looking for the next letter in sequence. After the third letter, she finds the O in front of it and the G thereafter.
Next word: Cat. Beginning again, she searches for a C. The second one she finds also has an A next to it, but no T. However, she notices something about the A. There is an N below it and a K above. On either sides of that column of letters is also S and E. She looks to the list of words she was supposed to find, and sure enough, Snake is listed as one of the last ones. She grins to herself in a bit of self-satisfaction, having found one she wasn’t even trying for.
A few more moments and bites of cereal later, she has found all the words within the jungle of letters and starts on the the two pictures with very minor differences. Can you find five different things about these pictures? it asks above the pair. Her eyes scan over one, and then the other. A couple are obvious: one is missing the cat sitting on the fence and the color of the flower in the other is purple instead of pink. The rest take her some time to find, even making her pause in her eating. She’s able to see a pony that has their eyes closed instead of open and a snake that has its tongue out in one, but not the other. However, as many times as she goes back and forth between the two pictures, she cannot find the fifth and final difference.
She brings the bowl, now devoid of cereal, up to her lips. The milk is now as sugary sweet as the contents that once floated in it. As it pours down her throat, she sets it back down, wipes the leftover milk mustache off with a hoof, and turns back towards the pictures. If she didn’t defeat this challenge, then she knew it would only be on her mind later.
A couple more minutes pass and she still could not find the last difference between the two. Looking up at the clock, she notices the time. She had some noble representatives meeting with her soon so she had to prepare. With a sigh, she admits defeat and turns the box to its side where all the answers to the puzzles are printed. There was the maze she completed with ease, the word search that posed no challenge, but there was the puzzle that had bested her. She read off the answers, each one she recognized as have founding, but was confused when only four were listed. A little message was printed underneath:
These are all the differences between them. The question was ’Could you find five differences?’ The answer is NO!
"Oh, pfft!" Celestia vocalizes, dumbfounded. Her eyes narrow upon the cardboard box that dare fool her, albeit with a smirk. At first she thought is was mean for a foal’s cereal to have such a mean trick printed on the box, but as she ponders it, she begins to nod. A bit crude, but it shows a child to look past the question initially asked. It employs an outside-the-box tactic and teaches a lesson in critical thinking that Celestia can agree being important to developing young minds.
Lifting the cereal box up with her magic, she places on the shelf in the cabinet. Such a reliable early morning friend, it would sure to be pulled out again, same time tomorrow.
"I have a special surprise for you, today!" Cheerilee says. Her classmates begin to chatter excitedly as Scootaloo stares out the window, as she often does during Family Appreciation Day. Normally she would have been scheduled to present today, but her mother was busy and her father was away. Same story, every single time. She gives a little sigh through her nose.
As the noise of the class dies down, a little time passes. Scootaloo notices that the teacher hasn't started talking again to explain the surprise. Looking up, she nearly jumps back when she notices the teacher standing right in front of her desk. She wears her special, genuine smile, looking down at her.
"Are you ready, Scootaloo?" Cheerilee asks.
"Uh..." Scootaloo looks around nervously, hoping that she didn't miss some important information as she was daydreaming.
However, instead of getting upset with her for not listening, Cheerilee giggles. She turns to the door and pounds her hoof on the ground twice.
That's when Scootaloo notices that somepony is standing just outside the classroom door. Slowly, the door opens, giving the creaking noise that it had become known for and the folly of her many attempts to sneak into class after the bell rang.
Behind the door is a well known sight to most ponies. A brilliant white fur underneath golden armor that belonged to no other than one of the royal guards.
Some of the children gasp, while a few others go 'Oooh...'. A little excitement even begins to build up in Scootaloo. Is the princess going to visit and give a talk?
But as the guard walks in, it's evident that he is here alone. After another exchange of whispers between foals, Cheerilee takes a couple steps back. The guard's stance is perfectly straight, his walk precise, and the wings at his sides unwavering until he comes to a stop. His head turns towards the class. He looks over each and every one of them before his eyes stop on the orange filly in the corner.
The two of the lock gazes. There is something in the back of Scootaloo's mind that starts to buzz. It's almost like the feeling she gets when she's about to make a leap off a particular big ramp on her scooter combined with the dread that she had forgotten a particularly important school project until the night before it was due.
After a couple seconds, the guard smiles at Scootaloo. A little slouch appears in his posture as he sits on his haunches. No longer, the formality in his form when he takes off the horseshoes on his front hooves, revealing a muddy brown underneath.
He reaches up to his helmet and lifts it off his head. Instead of the vibrant blue that was expected of a royal guard, the mane that spilled out is a disheveled and dull red. As he sets aside his discarded armor, he looks back at Scootaloo with a bigger smile than before.
Scootaloo just stares.
Her brain tries to process what's in front of her, but it cannot. It is seemingly impossible, like eating a thousand cupcakes in a row. So ridiculous that her mind rejects the possibility outright. Still, her breath becomes shaky as her little hooves begin to shake.
"Hey, Scoots," he says, his voice warm and inviting unlike the normal gruff guards are known for.
She begins breathing deeper and faster, her little wings starting to flutter. Her vision becomes blurry through the tears welling up in her eyes, making it easier to accept the reality in front of her.
"D... D-Dad...?" is all she can manage to say.
He nods. A simple up and down motion of the head that makes that buzzing in Scootaloo's mind to burst into a mix of elation flowing through down to the very tips of her hooves and feathers.
He stretches his forearms out towards her. Adrenaline makes Scootaloo's body move on its own, jumping from her seat and sprinting towards the stallion she hasn't seen for so long. Far too long.
Tears flow freely down her face as a few threaten to escape from her teacher and a few of her friends. She leaps into his arms, her hooves wrapping around his shoulders and squeezing as hard as she can. He returns the embrace as she puts her head in the crook of his neck.
Some classmates cheer. Some classmates clap.
The father and daughter don't notice. Right now, there is only each other, and the years of separation released as joyous laughter.
“YEE-HAW!” Applejack cries out over their most recent discovery. “This is great! We ain’t gonna die after all! Fluttershy, isn’t that-!” Her outbursts are silenced when she sees her friend flinching back. Probably out of the shock of her yelling, so she lowers her voice and approaches Fluttershy carefully.
“Y-Yay…” Fluttershy squeaks out as AJ’s gloved hoof softly grasps her shoulder.
“Come on now, sugarcube” AJ says, giving her a little pat on the shoulder. “We should tell the rest that it’s only bread that gets all tumory.”
“Uh… Maybe we shouldn’t,” Fluttershy whispers, just loud enough for AJ to hear.
“Wait, what? Shy, why wouldn’t we go an’ tell ‘em how they got years left after thinkin’ they were gonna keel over any moment?” Applejack asks.
Fluttershy’s ears flatten behind her head as she shrinks down. “W-Well… because Zecora had been going out a lot more. She’s seen so many exotic places that she’s been wanting to visit…”
Applejack raises an eyebrow.
“And Twilight finally learned how to play the saxophone, like she was always talking about,” Fluttershy continues. “And Rarity and Rainbow Dash have been spending more time than ever together. Have you noticed that, um, despite thinking that they were going to…” She shivers lightly. “That everypony is actually enjoying themselves more than ever?”
AJ’s foreleg hangs limp on Fluttershy’s shoulder as she listens.
Fluttershy knows she’s asking a tall order of the Element of Honesty. She reaches up and takes Applejack’s hoof in hers. “They’re spending their limited time really living,” she says. “They’re doing everything they’ve ever wanted to. With no fear or reluctance, because they thought they wouldn’t get another chance.”
“But, when about when their timers run out?” AJ asks.
“We know they’ll be fine when it happens,” Fluttershy meekly replies. “They would have had the time of their lives. And now, it will be a fantastic bunch of memories for them to carry forever.”
As the words fill her ears, Applejack slinks lower. She never thought about it like that. All of her friends are out living it up.
However, something else is tickling a nerve in her brain. Something that doesn’t quite seem right about this situation, as right as Fluttershy may be. She squints her eyes at her.
“Is there somethin’ yer not tellin’ me, sugarcube?” AJ inquires.
“W-What? No!” Fluttershy blurts out, letting go of Applejack’s hoof at holding them up defensively. “What makes you think that?”
Applejack purses her lips as she looks Fluttershy up and down. Something did make her say that, but she just couldn’t figure out what. Until realization dawns on her.
“Why aren’t you happy about this?” AJ asks. “Ponies out there livin’ what they think to be their last aside, you just learned that you’re not about ta’ die.”
“Yes, and that is wonderful news,” Fluttershy replies, not quite sure what AJ’s saying.
“So why haven’t you even cracked a smile?” Applejack accuses. “I was ready to bounce off th’ walls like Pinkie Pie, but you ain’t even shown a piece of relief. Tell me, what is wrong?”
“I…” Fluttershy vocalizes as she looks down.
AJ’s eyes opening wide. “Shy, please don’t tell me that you wanted to die, did you?” she asks in a grave tone.
“No!” Fluttershy says, her eyes going wide as well. “Absolutely not! Why would you think that?”
“Well, why else would you not be happy that we’re gonna keep livin’?” AJ demands.
“It’s just that, um…” Fluttershy bites her lip. “Since we started the timers, all you wanted to do was to keep experimenting.” She nervously rubs her hooves together. “Wasn’t there anything that you wanted to do before we discovered we were going to live?”
Applejack thinks for a moment. She puts a hoof to her chin. Slowly, she begins shaking her head. “No, I didn’t really think of anythin’,” she admits. “When I heard the news, all I could think about was tryin’ to find a way to fix everything. To save everypony.”
For the first time since the discovery, Fluttershy’s lips rise up into a small grin. “Applejack, that’s so remarkably selfless. To think of others in your final moments.”
AJ blushes a bit at her comments. “Yeah, but we woulda end up fine in the end. I guess I kinda wasted my ‘final moments’,” she says, chuckling while using her hooves for air quotes. Fluttershy chuckles as well until another realization begins to make Applejack’s heart feel like it’s freezing. “Fluttershy, did you have anything you wanted to do?” AJ asks while reaching out again. She reaches her hoof around Fluttershy’s shoulders.
“Oh, I um, was happy working with you,” she says.
“Nothin’ at all? Shy, I pulled you aside ta’ work with me soon as Rarity finished her speech,” Applejack recalls. “Please, tell me if there was anything.”
“You don’t have to worry, Applejack,” Fluttershy says, trying to back out of the hoof around her. “I-It wasn’t anything important…”
That statement is like a kick in the gut for AJ. Had she denied her friend her dying wish?
“Fluttershy,” she pleads, tightening her grip. “Please tell me if there was anything you wanted.”
“It’s fine,” Fluttershy insists, trying to get away still. “Could you, um, please let me go?”
Upon the request, AJ has no choice but to take her hoof back with a sigh. However, Fluttershy is not expecting her to actually do so and topples over from the shift in weight.
“You alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asks, leaning over to make sure she’s okay.
“Yeah…” Fluttershy says, picking herself up. When she does so, a small notecard falls out of her pocket onto the floor. AJ sees it and notices Fluttershy’s name printed on it.
“That was supposed to go in Rarity’s bucket, wasn’t it?” Applejack asks.
“What was-? OH NO!”
They both reach for the card, but Applejack’s reaction is faster. She puts a hoof on it, holding it on the floor while Fluttershy tries to paw it back.
“Oh, please give it back!” Fluttershy begs as she tried to move it out from AJ’s hoof.
“Shy…” Applejack breathes out in a sigh. “I had taken your chance to live your one dream.”
“I-It’s not that big of a deal!” Fluttershy protests. “Especially now that we’re going to live. Please let go?”
AJ frowns. “But that’s the point you were making with the others, wasn’t it?” she asks. “They think they’re going to die an’ they do everything they want to. This was yer last wish an’ I took you away from it.” An anger boils in her heart as she glances at the timer that had counted down their previously thought demise. “Shy, we have seven hours. Seven hours, and I promise you; cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she says while following the motions with her other hoof, “that you are going to have your last request.”
“Please?” Fluttershy eeps out in one last plea.
Applejack pulls her hoof back with the card. Lifting it up, she prepares herself to see what her friend’s final wish is.
TELL APPLEJACK I LOVE HER
Her breath is caught in her throat as she reads the words. Fluttershy is now hiding her face under her mane and hooves. Slowly, AJ looks up at the now cowering pegasus.
“You… love me?” AJ asks.
Fluttershy shivers where she lies, but slowly she manages a nod.
The card drops from her hoof as she shoulders sag. “But… why me?”
A tiny sniffle comes up from the shivering pile.
“Fluttershy?” A small squeak is all she gets. Applejack leans closer. “What’d you say?”
A breath goes in and out of Fluttershy as she prepares to speak. “B-Because you make me feel safe…”
“Safe?” AJ scratches her head. “But I ain’t like Big Mac or Pinkie out there. I don’t have big guns that can protect ya’. All I got are sidearms for when my sentry’s not up.”
“They, um…” Fluttershy begins, a little louder. “T-They don’t always protect me. Sometimes they don’t hear me or there’s nothing they can do…” She sniffles again, looking up with tears in her eyes and cheeks red with blush. “When you’re there, with your sentry and dispenser, I don’t have to worry about that.”
“Don’t have to worry?” AJ inquires.
“Yes,” Fluttershy confirms with a nod. “Where you set up, I know a Spy isn’t going to pop out. I don’t have to worry about any roaming Scouts or Snipers I can’t see. You keep me safe from all of that…”
Applejack looks down. She had no idea she means so much to her friend. And to let her know was her final request in life. Just to say it.
...But now they have time.
There’s more than just a promise on the line for AJ. This is strictly for the sake of her friend. “Get up, Fluttershy,” AJ prompts.
Fluttershy slowly gets back up to her hooves. “Y-You don’t hate me, do you?” she asks.
“No. I could never do that,” Applejack responds flatly.
Even with her answer, Fluttershy turns away. She rests her hooves on the table with the teleporter and green-splotched bread. She tries to think of something to say, but can’t.
Applejack is lost in her own head as well. Fluttershy trusted her so much. Feels so safe around her. So much so that she’s developed such strong feelings. Slowly, she approaches her and wraps her hooves around her waist and Fluttershy freezes for a moment.
As much as nopony would probably admit it, Fluttershy is an incredibly brave pony when you get right down to it. She’ll always be behind her friends, cheering them on and lending her support, without fail. AJ tightens her grip around her and looks to the timer again.
“We have about six hours an’ fifty minutes left,” she states, leaning her head down Fluttershy’s neck. She leans back into AJ’s hug and a warmth begins to build in both of their chests. Familiar to Fluttershy when she ducks behind one of Applejack’s trusty dispensers, but new to AJ herself, but she can’t say she hates it.
“How would you like to spend it?” Applejack whispers into Fluttershy’s neck.
To say that the day’s production was merely bountiful would’ve been an understatement. With the help of some good friends, Sweet Apple Acres was able to set a new record in total amount of cider made in a single afternoon. They could easily fill the orders of two days as opposed to the running out by 3 o’ clock that everypony was accustomed to.
However, with the day’s orders been filled, another day of production planned for tomorrow, and barrels upon barrels of extra cider, Applejack decided it was time for a little fun at the expense of her old friendly rival.
"How you holdin’ up, Dash?" she asks casually, setting aside her mug.
Rainbow Dash sits across from her, eying her fresh mug of chilled cider in a way she never expected. Normally, it would be perfect on a hot day such as today. She had looked to cider in many ways; in thirst, in desperation, and sometimes she’d even go so far as to say love. But now all those feelings are gone, replaced by a full, sloshy stomach of reluctance and dread.
Funnily enough, the only thing that keeps her going is the cider itself. Rather, the alcohol content there in, squashing what little Rainbow had of her ability to admit defeat. This is a competition and therefore there was only one reasonable (in her scrumpy soaked brain) expectation of what would happen next. She needs to drink the cider to win, therefore she’ll drink the cider.
"I’m fnn…" she mumbles out, finally realizing that she had been asked a question. Taking one last look at her reflection in the apple drink, she says, "Jus’ you w-watsh ’dis!" Breathing back in, she brings the cup up to her lips and begins chugging.
Her mistake was drinking before she finished inhaling. Just a drop or two of cider went down the wrong way, infiltrating the pipeline into the lungs and causing an immediate irritation. Dash’s eyes open wide in panic at the fluid finding an unwelcome path. However, she manages to control her spasms, for if she were to burst out coughing and spill her cider, that would mean forfeit.
Controlling her convulsions, Dash continued to drink the full mug of cider while the drops in her airway seem to almost claw against the walls for freedom like an angry cat. Worse yet, she still has half a mug of cider until she could forcibly eject that invading liquid.
She powers on what some may call it bravely and most would call stupidly. The irritation grows with each passing gulp, like a hive of hornets growing exponentially within her chest. Burning and stinging, a tear threatens to spring from her eye as she lifts her head and the cup higher to polish off every single bit of liquid.
As soon as the mug is empty, she slams in back down, shaking the fizzy beverage within her stomach and causing a reaction. She begins to cough. As the carbonation comes up, she begins to burp. A broken mixture of coughing and belching as Dash wrenches forward in pain makes AJ feel a little bad.
Only a little, though. Throughout the unpleasantness, Dash was still getting all the cider she could drink for free.
"Well, I am impressed," AJ admits with a tiny nod of her head. "Y’all drank much more than I expected. More than what most earth ponies could handle, too."
"Tol’ ya’…" Dash moans out between a cough and a burp. Applejack rolls her eyes as Dash finishes clearing her lungs and stomach. Eventually, she quiets down and sits back up with a swaying that had been noticeable three drinks ago. "I c’n drink any week a’ tha day!" Dash continues. "And n- And now I’mma gonna win that hat!"
All Applejack could do at this point was chuckle. "Well, that’s fair. Yer still in this. But if you want ta’ win…" she starts as she fills two more mugs from the barrel of cider beside them. With a sweep of the hoof, she knocks the two empty mugs into the growing pile they had accumulated over time of their competition. Placing one of the full mugs in front of Rainbow Dash, she explains, "Then y’all are gonna have to keep drinking."
In a fast and smooth motion, AJ brings the cup to her mouth and downs the whole thing in a few gulps. Such was life on the farm that you get a taste and tolerance for the potent beverage. Big McIntosh could put a few barrels away easily and she bet Apple Bloom would be stiff competition for Dash even if she isn’t of drinking age, yet. Still, Dash is facing Applejack currently, who slams her empty mug in front of her with a little sudsy residue lingering in the sides of her mouth.
"Yer turn, Dash," she states and she puts both hooves on the table.
"M-Motherbucker…" Dash sighs as she goes between the new drink in her hoof and the mare staring confidently at her.
