Granny Smith was pretty excited as she skipped down the street with a basket in her mouth. She wanted to surprise her youngest granddaughter with something special for lunch. She baked a few small apple pies, and though she's made hundreds if not thousands of them since getting into her golden years. This was the first time she baked food in her new body. It felt pretty good to make one without hobbling about finding ingredients or hearing her forehooves crack while stirring them together or having her back pop pouring the batter into the baking pan. The mare eventually came over to Apple Bloom, who was sitting with her friends, and all the school foals around them looked over in surprise. They gaped in awe at the strange green-coated mare, who strutted over with a smile as she greeted them, "Hello, I came to drop off a package for Apple Bloom!"
Granny saw how the foals were all gaping at her, slack-jawed and wide-eyed; she gave them all a smug grin as she waved a hoof, "Oh, stop all that starin' I'm just giving Apple Bloom some lunch."
She then handed Apple Bloom the basket and unveiled the cloth on top, and underneath was a fresh apple pie and three pints of apple cider. Apple Bloom gasped in surprise, seeing the meal, and squealed, "Wow, thanks! This looks amazing!"
She and her friends took a piece of the pie and a cup of apple cider as they all began eating and drinking to their heart's content. The sweet scents caught the attention of the other foals, who were all drooling, watching the three fillies eat their meal.
Diamond Tiara came over with a smirk, "Um, Granny Smith? Is that you?"
The old mare glared at the young filly; she remembered how the little filly insulted her a year ago and decided to play a little prank on her. "Oh, yes, it is! And I just wanted to give Apple Bloom and her friend apple pie and some cider…" She looked down at the filly as she had made an extra small pie, bringing it out right in front of Diamond Tiara, and then watched her eyes grow big at the pie coming close to her face. She was growing more tempted to take it, but that was when Granny pulled the rug under her, saying, "But ya gotta apologize for calling me old and how Apple Bloom should be embarrassed about my silly ways."
Diamond paused and then looked around at the other foals; they were all now paying attention to her; she started to quiver, wanting to take the pie but at the same time would be forced to apologize to Granny Smith! She growled and turned her back, "As I would ever eat pie baked by crazy Granny Smith!"
Granny snickered as she shrugged, "Eh, more for me then." She then took the pie and was going to chomp it down when Diamond Tiara shouted, "Fine! I'm sorry for calling you silly ways and stuff; give me the pie!"
"Ok," Granny chirped as she hoofed her the pie; Diamond then ran off with her prize while the foals around her snickered.
Apple Bloom just clapped her hooves and cheered, "That was awesome! She's not gonna be able to live that down for a while!"
"It's no problem, but now I gotta go to check on your older sister; Celestia knows she needs help with the apple buckin'." Granny chirped as many of the foals came forward, whispering if she was Apple Bloom's grandmother; she couldn't help but burst into laughter. The former old mare waved a hoof as she jumped up and proclaimed, "That's right! I'm Apple Bloom's grandma, and don't you forget it!" She then ran off as the foals clapped and cheered; she knew deep down her odd behavior may have led to her granddaughter being bullied; maybe now she can try fixing her image. And also giving her an apple pie or two.
After giving her granddaughter and her friends their little treat, Granny Smith headed over to Sweet Apple Acres. She saw Big Mac and Applejack were already bucking the apple trees surrounding them. She just decided to stroll over to the apple orchard and looked around, enjoying the view. She longed to return and buck apples again, and now she finally has the chance. Granny then went over to some of the trees; she took a deep breath smelling the fresh scent of the apples that permeated the orchard. She then started to buck some trees with her back hooves. Granny Smith could feel her strength once more in how her body could slam into each tree, hearing that satisfying crunch of the bark beneath her hooves and the satisfying plopping of apples in buckets. The former old mare missed this feeling and wished this could last forever. Granny stopped in her tracks when she saw Applejack just glaring at her and snapped, "Seriously? What are you doing?"
Granny Smith turned her attention to her granddaughter and scoffed, "I'm apple-bucking, obviously; what does it look like?"
Big Mac snickered as Applejack rolled her eyes and replied, "You shouldn't be overexerting yourself. We don't know how that tonic may have affected you."
"Come now; you're just scared that I can buck apples more than you." Granny joked with a smirk on her face; she wanted to do this for a long time and show her granddaughter how she was in her prime.
Big Mac eyed his sister, who snickered as she just stood there with her hooves crossed over her chest and asked, "Uh-huh…sure… wanna bet?"
Granny Smith wanted to prove she didn't need to be patronized. On top of that, she would prove she is better at apple-bucking than her granddaughter and agreed with Applejack's bet, "Sure, if I buck more apples than you, then you need to stop trying to get me to turn back to normal?"
"Sure, it's a deal," The farm mare snapped back in retort; they glared at each other, then they simultaneously started running off and buck apple trees all over, slamming their back hooves into tree after tree. They were head-to-head, bucking the hundreds of apple trees covering Sweet Apple Acres. But after a few hours of apple bucking, it became clear that Granny Smith was bucking more than her granddaughter as she looked back with sweat dripping from her brow. The former old mare covered almost half the orchard when Applejack got through bucking a few dozen trees. She forgot they continued their contest for some time for what felt like hours; she was hot and sweaty from the work, but it felt so good being back in action. The mare raised her head high, feeling proud, and that was when she saw Applejack stomp over. The farm mare looked rather angry and snapped, "Seriously, you bucked half the entire orchard by yourself?"
Granny Smith rolled her eyes; she's been bucking apples her entire life and grumbled, "So what? I used to buck this entire orchard by myself for years before your dad was even born."
"That's not the point! We don't know what's happening with your body; you shouldn't be straining yourself so much." Applejack snapped back.
Granny Smith rolled her eyes as she crossed her hooves and scoffed, "Oh, please? You're just jealous that I bucked all these apples by myself! Don't even try to deny it."
"You just shut it, that's not at all what I'm talking about, and you know it!" Applejack roared.
The former old mare wasn't going to be patronized by her granddaughter and had enough of this argument; she then responded, "Forget it, you made a bet and lost, so ya need to stop your patronizing. Why don't we go get Apple Bloom and Big Mac and head to the swimming hole?"
"Fine, I guess we can go swimming, but we're not done talkin' about this." Applejack snapped as they went off. Granny Smith knew it might take time to have her granddaughter used to the new body, but she was willing to wait.
Later that evening, they were all splashing about in the swimming hole like the day prior. Still, this time Granny Smith had joined in with her family as they were swimming about having a great time together. The former old mare was throwing a beach ball back and forth between her and her grandkids. Big Mac and Apple Bloom were laughing and enjoying themselves; even Applejack seemed to be enjoying herself too, but she was keeping an eye on her. Granny, however, turned her attention to the tree overlooking the swimming hole. She scratched her chin, wondering if she should show Apple Bloom a taste of her high-diving routine.
The young filly looked over with a nervous look and whispered, "Hey, ya gonna do it, right?"
"Just watch and learn," Granny Smith replied with a smirk; she swam over to the tree and slowly climbed up it while her family just watched in anticipation. The former old mare laughed happily as she climbed the tree; she finally reached the highest branches. She readied herself, looking down at the water below; the exhilaration was swelling inside her as she prepared her high dive. Granny Smith took a deep breath and was preparing to jump, but that was when Applejack started to get angry and shouted, "Hey, stop that and get your butt down here before you go on and hurt yourself."
"How about you come up here and make me!" Granny shouted; she raised her hooves in the air and looked into the sky, taking one final breath before she jumped and plunged into the water below. Everypony gasped and watched the ripples on the surface of the water where Granny plunged in. But they all gave sighs of relief, seeing Granny raise her head with a proud smile on her face. "See, told ya I can do it!"
"That was awesome!" Apple Bloom squealed as she swam over and threw herself into Granny Smith's hooves. She laughed and ruffled her granddaughter's mane. All the while, Big Mac just chuckled, and Applejack mumbled angrily about how she should be more careful. Granny Smith groaned, hearing her bones creak from the rough landing, and decided it was probably best she didn't try that again anyways. The Apples then swam for the rest of the day into the evening.
After the sun went down and the moon rose overhead, the Apples were returned home with towels wrapped around their bodies, laughing with each other. They eventually came upon their house, where she ruffled Apple Bloom's mane. Then she thought that she wanted to do something she hasn't done since the foal was in preschool and suggested, "Hey…would you mind if I tucked ya in?"
"Oh, that's a great idea!" Apple Bloom chirped without hesitation.
Granny Smith laughed as she took the little filly and escorted her to bed; once they got to her room, she placed her under the sheets and tucked them under her granddaughter's chin. "Oh, you're so adorable."
"Don't call me that!" She cried out and hid her face behind her hooves, looking somewhat embarrassed. Granny couldn't help but draw as she kissed her on the forehead. "Oh, don't be shy; embrace being so young and cute, trust me."
"Right…and, um, thanks for earlier. Would you mind making me my friends and apple pie again?" Apple Bloom asked with her cheeks flushing pink.
"Sure, and I would love a chance to soften up Diamond Tiara too," Granny added; she then kissed her on the forehead once more before leaving the bedroom. She then came out to see Big Mac standing outside, looking downward, scraping the ground with a hoof.
She eyed her grandson; he looked like he needed something and asked, "What's wrong?"
"N…nothing…" The stallion whispered, looking away; he seemed to want to say something but was too embarrassed. Granny knew the stallion had issues with his childhood ending faster than most after their parents died. She might be bringing up old memories of his mother, and for herself, she sees a lot of her late son in him.
"Do…do you want me to tuck you in bed?" Granny Smith asked with a motherly smile.
He gave a slight nervous nod; she then took Big Mac's hoof and led him to his room; on the way there, she saw the big red stallion was rather tired; she knew he worked all day bucking apples and then sorting apples in the cellar. She knew he works a lot with little to no downtime; if the least she can be a surrogate mother to him was the least she could. The mare then assisted the giant stallion, whose cheeks flushed pink seeing how strong she was, "You can pick me up?"
"Trust me, your father was much bigger, and I could hold him with one hoof." The former old mare proclaimed proudly. She then placed the giant stallion under the covers and tucked him under the covers, and covered the sheets to his neck.
She then bent over and kissed him on the forehead. "They're all tucked in for the night."
He nuzzled under the sheets clutching some old-looking rag doll in his hooves. It was rather adorable and sweet. She then slowly crept out of the room to not wake him up. The mare then went downstairs and saw Applejack just standing at the foot of the stairs glaring at her. "You’re pushing my buttons; ya know that? You would have broken some bones pulling that stunt at the swimmin' hole."
Granny Smith had enough of this and shouted, "Alright, that's enough! We're gonna get ya to relax and have a good time!"
"What do ya mean?" Applejack asked, looking somewhat confused.
"We're going out drinking!" Granny Smith shouted; she took Applejack by the hoof and led her out.
At the bar the two were drinking beer together at all the small bars in Ponyville. It wasn't a prominent place, and not many ponies were there, mostly older ponies giving the two newcomers odd looks. Granny Smith was putting away drink after drink at the bar; Applejack just sat back as she nursed a beer herself. Granny smiled at her granddaughter, "So ya wanna talk about why you have a problem with me being young again?"
She raised her head and snapped, "First off, I don't think there's anything wrong in particular, it's just we don't even know what made you like this, and you've been pushing your body way too hard."
The former old mare shook her head and continued, "I don't either; that's why we gave the tonic to Zecora to test it; if it isn't that, then it was most definitely the hot spring I found in the Everfree Forest. Then, maybe we can test the water, and we can then see what happened to me. So, until then, relax; and let's have fun."
Applejack drank down another bottle and replied, "All right then, so what are you suggesting, a drinking contest?"
Granny Smith couldn't help but burst into laughter; she helped up a tankard of Ale in the air and proclaimed, "Oh, I don't think you're ready for that!? Back in my day, I could drink any stallion under the table, so ya better get ready."
They both got up and headed to a table in the center of the bar, where they sat across from each other. They were both glaring at each other as a rather portly stallion, who was the bartender, came by. "All right, we don't get many drinking contests here, so I'll be paying for the drinks, alright?"
"Thanks, Ale, keep them comin', " Granny snickered as she turned to face her granddaughter. They both now were staring across the table right at each other as the bartender raised a hoof, "Alright, start as soon as I say go ya start drinking. The first one to quit or collapses loses, deal?"
"Deal!" The two both shouted then Ale raised a hoof. "On your marks…get set…go!"
The two mares then began to drain bottles of beer together, chugging bottle after bottle by the time Applejack was on her twentieth beer. Granny, however, was hitting fortieth. Not even feeling drunk in the slightest, the former old mare took the time to pause to see Applejack was already stumbling about. She was drunk then joked, "so you think you're beating me?"
"Buck, yeah! I have drunk like si..six hundred beers," The farm mare stammered as she chugged another bottle down.
Granny laughed as she just sat back and watched her granddaughter keep chugging a few more beers with a smile, and she continued to nurse her next bottle alongside her. It was funny to see Applejack getting drunker over time. But she saw her granddaughter was clearly at her limit and wouldn't admit defeat until she was under the table. "Alright, I think this little competition is over."
"Oh, you s...stop! you want to stop because I'm winnin'!" Applejack roared as she squeaked and almost stumbled back in her chair. Luckily for her, Granny, she came up right behind her and kept the chair from falling. Granny shook her head under her breath as she took her hoof and whispered, "I think your pretty drunk; let's get you home."
She took Applejack by the hoof and led her home along the way; her granddaughter kept mumbling under her breath. "Hey, mom… It's not time for bed…."
Granny Smith paused for a second. Did she remind Applejack of her daughter-in-law? The way Big Mac probably sensed her to be…she shook her head right now; she had to get her granddaughter home; she can't have any pony seeing her like this.
She carried her granddaughter to their house, climbed up the stairs, and then led up the stairs and right to Applejack's bedroom, where she took the sheets and tucked the mare in her bed just like she did with Big Mac. Applejack held the bedsheets close to her as she murmured, "Hmm, thanks, mom."
Granny Smith paused once more, feeling so odd the mare was touched; she reminded her granddaughter of her daughter-in-law, but at the same time, again, the former old mare wasn't sure how to take these feelings. Maybe they can have this fantasy just for a little while. She kissed Applejack on the forehead and then left her room. Granny Smith then went to her bedroom and stretched her hooves in the air before lying down. It was a rather exciting day, and she did enjoy herself despite Applejack's constant patronizing. Granny knew this might not last, but she wished it did, and she would enjoy her new body as long as she possibly could.