After breakfast was over, the concept of cooking Spike gems had sunken in to the girl's minds, and Rarity undressing Spike, it was time for the moment everything these last 3 days has led up to. Granny smiled at the satisfied look on everyone's faces. "Well, there's no time to waste girls, let me show you all how to make the jam." Said Granny.
AJ gasped as she picked up Spike from his highchair and smiled at him. She placed him on her back and ran outside, leaving Granny and the others. Granny chuckled. "Come on girls, we'll head to the cooking stations." Said Granny as she followed the excited filly and her son. All the girls followed, they were excited to learn this, but clearly not as much as AJ.
When they arrived at the designated cooking area, they noticed that the whole of the family was already at work. Some were peeling the apples, some were coring them and lastly some were crushing them with a large grinding wheel or chopping them into pieces. But everything was covered in polka dots. From the tables to the grass, everything was covered. "Alright girls, making the jam is very simple once all the preparations have been done. Peeling them takes time, because, if even a single skin makes it through, the jam will give a shock when it's eaten. Coring them is easy, but make sure to get all the seeds out, if you don't somepony could choke. Then we split the apples into two groups, one is for the jam, the other group is crushed into a liquid and stored in barrels to be aged for a few months to make our family's Zapple Cider."
"Granny Smith, what's cider?" Asked Rainbow.
Granny hummed as she thought about how to describe it. "Well, it's like aged apple juice, but with apple pulp mixed in. I'll let you all have a little taste right now, but it won't be as flavorful." Said Granny. She motioned for the girls to the large grinder. Bright Mac and Mosely were running on it. "Mac, Mosely do we have any of the cider ready?" Asked Granny.
Mac nodded. "Yes Ma, the first few barrels are about to be sealed."
Granny smiled. "Good, keep it up or I'll show you how to run." Said Granny. Mac rolled his eyes as the girls and Mosely laughed. Granny walked over to one of the barrels and looked at the amber liquid inside. Technically it was incomplete, they still needed to split the barrels up, where half of them will be made into the Hard Zapple Cider, but right now everything was still perfectly safe for a filly to drink. Granny retrieved 4 mugs for the girls and filled them up. "Here you go girls, have a taste." Said Granny.
All the girls smiled as they took a sip of the drink. Fluttershy licked her lips. "This is very refreshing, perfect for an hot summer day."
Rarity smiled as she did like the taste of cider. "It's great as always, but somethings a little different."
Granny nodded. "Rarity, your used to normal cider from normal apples, Zap apples give it a little more flavor."
Rarity hummed. "Yes, that is it, it has a more pronounced taste."
Pinkie looked at her empty mug. "Wow, that was delicious, I just might camp out for another one in a few years." Said Pinkie.
Granny looked at Pinkie. "Um... Ok Pinkie."
Lastly Rainbow was looking at her empty mug, but unlike the girls she looked like she just found the true meaning of life. "More." Said Rainbow in a whisper.
Granny looked at Dash. "Come again Rainbow?"
"More." Said Rainbow louder.
"One more time?" Asked Granny.
"More." Said Rainbow as she flew straight for the cider. But unfortunately for her, the barrel was closed before she could dive in. "No no no no no, please don't leave me, I can't live without you in my life." Rainbow looked at Granny. "Granny Smith, can I have some more?" Asked Rainbow.
Granny shook her head. "Sorry Rainbow, this is for cider season after Heartswarming, we need as much as we can make, so we can sell it to keep the farm running."
The moment Rainbow heard this, she felt like her world was destroyed, she slumped to the ground and started to cry.
"And this is where we make our special Zapple Cider, Spike." Said AJ as she finished showing Spike the cooking stations.
"Ma, what's cider?" Asked Spike.
"Well, it's just crushed apples with juice." Said AJ.
Spike nodded. "Oh, can I have some?" Asked Spike.
AJ hummed as she thought about it. She knew about the hard cider but straight from the press was perfectly fine. "Sure, why not." Said AJ. She walked over to Granny. "Granny, can Spike have some cider?" Asked AJ.
Granny hummed. "Well, it'll take some time for Mac and Mosely to get the next barrel ready. So, we'll need to wait for a little while."
AJ frowned. "Oh." She looked at Spike. "Sorry Spike, can you wait for it?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah, but Ma, what's wrong with Mom?" Asked Spike. He had noticed Rainbows saddened mood.
AJ hummed. "I don't know, but she looks sad."
Spike frowned. "But why is she sad?"
AJ shrugged. "I don't know, but maybe you can find out." Said AJ as she put Spike down on the ground. She knew that no matter what, Spike had some effect on the girls that always made them happy. They're really going to miss spending time with him when school starts next week.
Spike walked over to Rainbow. "Mom, are you ok?" Asked Spike.
Rainbow wiped her eyes with her wings and put up her usual persona. "Yeah, of course Spike. Why wouldn't I be?" Asked Rainbow.
Spike walked over to Rainbow and gave her a hug. "You looked sad."
Rainbow hugged Spike back. "Yeah, I was, but now I'm happy, because your here with me Spike."
Spike smiled. "Do you want some of my cider? Ma is going to give me some later."
Rainbow shook her head. "No, I'll be fine, Spike. But thank you for offering." She picked up Spike and nuzzled his head. "I love you Spike."
Spike smiled as he hugged Rainbows neck. "I love you too, Mom."
Granny smiled. "Well, let’s get ready to start the jam." Said Granny.
Rainbow smiled. "Yeah, I can't wait." Said Rainbow as she rejoined the group with Spike.
The jam process was easy: peel, core, and chop into pieces. Then toss them into a pot with water and start cooking. While cooking, add spices and other flavors if desired (lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg) and stir completely. Bring to a boil and add sugar and honey while stirring to make sure everything is combined. Then add butter and skim off the foam. Once all foam is removed, let it sit until it reaches the correct consistency, then store it in a sanitized jar. Once it's done, you should have a jar of rainbow-colored jam, ready for a baby dragons first taste of Zap Apple Jam.