Granny Smith was chugging down the whiskey bottle for some time, mulling things over as she snickered, watching her grandkids, who could barely keep up with her. The former old mare continued to drink down the bottle of whiskey while pondering her plan and how to explain everything to her grandkids and said, "I'm just gonna explain this the best way I possibly can, but I want to make this clear, what I'm going to do is a gamble."
Big Mac and Applejack looked somewhat concerned as her granddaughter replied, "Alright, please continue; I hope you're not going to try doing anything too dangerous."
Granny Smith shook her head as the entire process wasn't as complicated as her grandkids were thinking and explained, "Well, I need to make sure that Flim and Flam don't abuse the magic of the Everfree Forest, and the only way to do that is to make them see that the water doesn't work, and I'm turned back into an old mare."
Applejack and Big Mac were both wholly baffled and concerned even more so. However, the orange-coated mare got angry, slammed her hooves on the ground, and snapped, "what did you do to the Flim and Flam brothers!?"
Granny Smith gulped; she knew Applejack would be rather angry with her, but she should tell them the truth, "I turned them into foals using a much more subtle version of the water that turned me younger. Zecora blended the poison joke with a lighter form of the magic pool water. She designed the formula to regress folks much faster than it normally would."
Applejack eyed her grandmother and asked, "So, how are you going to trick them, and you are going to turn them back to their original forms?"
The former old mare took a sip from her bottle of whiskey and continued, "Zecora found a cure as well; she called it a "reverse agent." to change my age back to a cranky old granny once again. That's how I'll show them, brothers, that the pool is not only volatile, but the effects aren't permanent, so it's not worth the investment in taking it."
Applejack eyed her, seeming to not trust in taking Granny Smith at her word, and asked, "So you're gonna turn back to our old normal Granny Smith, right?"
She took another swig of the whiskey bottle and then looked up as she continued to explain, "Yes, but this could go bad; I'll be the first test in using the reverse agent, and you two don't need to be involved. This may be deceitful, but I ain't allowin' the magic of the Everfree Forest to be abused on my watch."
Applejack shook her head and looked rather gloomy as she grumbled, "This is wrong; I don't like this one bit; we're messing with Poison Joke and lying to ponies."
Granny Smith shook her head; this may be the only way to protect the Everfree Forest, but she wasn't going to drag her grandkids down with her as she continued, "as much as I agree, there are more important things at stake, once I do this and take the experimental "reverse agent" or whatever Zecora was yammerin' about, anything could happen."
Big Mac seemed to think the plan over, and he shook his head "no" before responding, "I agree with Applejack. This is a bad idea."
The green-coated mare gave a sigh as she replied, "Alright, but this ain't a vote; I'm sorry, but I'm going through with this if you like it or not."
The two ponies were stunned as they looked rather drunk, and they were all just unsure of what to say, seeing they weren't going to be able to change Granny Smith's mind.
Despite the risks involved, Granny Smith wanted to reassure her grandchildren she will be alright. The former old mare threw a hoof and replied, "Oh, please, the worst that'll happen is the reverse agent backfires, and I turn into a school foal for a few hours, and that's it. Either way, those two dimwits ain't gonna be too keen on suddenly risking a bunch of ponies turning old or young."
Applejack hesitated before asking again, "So, does that mean this is the last night you will look like this?"
Granny Smith looked up, reflecting on her decision, wishing she could remain young. But she already made up her mind and continued in a disgruntled tone, "Yes, by tomorrow morning, I will be old once more."
Big Mac bent his head into his drink, seeming to look somewhat disappointed as Applejack was rather shocked, "Ya serious? But why don't ya want to stay like this? Let's say we trick the Flim and Flam brothers, and they leave town. Why don't ya take another dip in that magic pool and turn younger again?"
Granny Smith took another swig of the bottle before slamming it down. She then turned right at her granddaughter and explained, "I am, look...Applejack, ya should know by now that the Everfree Forest ain't natural, and there's stuff in it that ain't meant for us normal folk. I know for a fact that if ponies abuse the magic in there, it will only cause more harm than good. Me tricking the Flim Flam brothers tomorrow and ensuring that the secret of the pool that turned me younger dies is all that matters. For that to happen, I have to go back to being a cranky old granny."
Big Mac started to tear up and wiped his face with a hoof, "T...this is so sudden…."
Granny Smith smiled at her grandson and smiled at him, "Hey, cheer up, it was fun being young again, and I loved being a mother to you."
Big Mac looked up with his big adorable puppy eyes filled with tears as he asked, "Is there anything else you would look to do before you turned back to normal?"
Granny Smith looked upwards. She did want to do something: seeing Grandpear and trying to repair the damages from their feud. The young farm mare took in the silence of the night, and when she felt ready, she turned her attention to her grandkids and replied, "I would like to make amends with your mom's side of the family before I let my old age take over once again. But maybe that's somthin' that'll have to wait."
Applejack took another gulp of her whiskey and then asked, "Ya talkin' about the Pears, right?"
Granny Smith looked down at the bottom of the whiskey jug, watching the alcohol swish about. She didn't have the stomach to look her grandchildren in the eyes. "There's something you should know about your parents and how I helped spurred the ruining of the relationship with the Pears. It's not something I'm proud of, and I honestly would rather not talk about it."
Big Mac was balling his eyes out, seeming to be getting rather emotional, while Applejack was somewhat surprised, "What do you mean by that!? Are you gonna elaborate? I mean, we've been asking about our mom for years, and every time we try bringing up the subject, ya get snippy and clam up."
"Right...well, this ain't easy to talk about, and it's a hard story to tell, ok," Granny grumbled before taking another swig and then continuing. "After I make amends with Grand Pear, I'll explain everything; I promise, ok? For now, let's finish up this whiskey. I ain't letting a single drop go to waste."
She poured some more of the whiskey into the mugs of her grandchildren, then took her bottle and held it up. "To Bright Mac and Pear Butter! May they rest in peace!"
Applejack and Big Mac held their mugs up as well and shouted, "To mom and dad!"
The three drained the rest of the strong drink down their gullets. Granny Smith then slammed the mug down on the table and gave a loud burp. She snickered and looked up to see Applejack and Big Mac both looking rather drunk, with her grandson still weeping and Applejack wobbling back and forth.
Granny Smith shook her head, seeing her strong tolerance to alcohol didn't run in the family. She got up and stretched her hooves before commenting, "Alright, we're all pretty drunk; why don't we hit the hay."
Her grandkids were drunk as Big Mac got up and started to stumble about as he gave a simple "Eyup."
Applejack was throwing a hoof and snapped, "Oh, shut up and give me another round! I ain't no lightweight!"
Granny Smith walked over and hoisted her granddaughter over her back. "Ya stop being stubborn, and let's get ya to bed, come on, Big Mac."
Applejack tried protesting, waving her hooves about, while Big Mac stumbled behind her doing his best not to fall over or trip on the steps. She first went to her granddaughter's bedroom and helped tuck her under the covers. Then followed Big Mac to his bed, gave him the smarty-pants doll he's kept, tucked the ragdoll into his hooves, and tucked him under the sheets. After slowly closing the door to her grandson's room, she slowly took off down the hall and headed down the stairs. She was alone, and the only pony she wanted to see was Zecora. She walked out of the house and towards the Everfree forest.
Granny Smith took some time as she walked up to Zecora's hut and knocked on the door; she waited patiently, feeling nervous as the zebra opened the door and smiled at her. "Hello, Granny Smith; it's nice to see you came; I was waiting for you just the same."
The green-coated mare snickered behind a hoof, "Ya sounding like we're going to do somethin' nefarious."
The zebra shook her head, "In this case, I may agree this entire plan is rather risky. I cannot reassure you that the brew I cooked will not be a cure."
"Eh, it's fine, your plan is almost flawless, and we ain't gonna be doing anything too crazy." Granny Smith replied rather nonchalantly as she walked into the rustic-looking hut.
The two didn't talk much as they stood apart before Granny Smith gave the zebra bedroom eyes, admiring Zecora’s body. She’s never seen a mare so well built and who was so intelligent and wise to boot. The only thing that was going through her mind was that she wanted to be with her one last time and whispered, "this may be the last night I'm this young and sexy wanna…."
Zecora didn't need any more pillow talk to land a kiss on her lips; the two started making out before they trotted back into the hut, where they had one last night of passion with the sounds of cracking bottles and bangs of a cauldron being knocked over.
A few hours later, the two mares finished their night of passion once more; they were both lying down in the hut, with the entire place being trashed once more.
Granny Smith just sighed as she looked up at the ceiling, now deep in thought about how. "Ya know somethin' In truth, I don't wanna go back to my old cranky form; being old sucks, and I want more than anything to try to relive my life.."
Zecora turned her attention to her lover and added, "I can tell; however, you are not the only one. I felt the same temptations as well."
Granny Smith looked over at Zecora and asked, "Then why don't ya!? Don't tell me ya scared of the side effects; ya know better than me, the water doesn't have any. You don't have any obligations to this forest? Heck, you have done a lot in helpin' us already; if it weren't for you, Trixie would have enslaved all of us."
The zebra got up and helped Granny Smith onto her hooves; she seemed deep in thought before she replied, "I have grown attached to the ponies in Ponyville, and I do not wish to see the abuse of magic turn against them still."
Granny Smith nodded; she felt that the zebra must be one of the strongest and most resistant ponies she's ever met. Despite that, she is willing to put aside her wants and needs to help others. The least she could do was turn herself back to her old cranky granny self once more to keep the residents of Ponyville from drinking it and abusing it. She then walked over to Zecora and kissed her on the lips one last time. They held the embrace for a moment, and after they broke off, Granny Smith then looked down and said, "Yeah, you're right, this isn't about us; gotta remind me of that."
The two mares then headed out of the hut and walked down to the pool together. It didn't take long until they came upon the pond the two made, and Granny Smith was now standing over the edge of a pool of water, gazing down at her reflection. She rubbed a hoof over her face looking at her young body, and just stood there admiring it for a while, her big orange eyes, tight curly white mane, smooth coat, and sturdy build. Zecora came over with a flask of clear liquid and then looked over at the former old mare and asked, "Are there any last requests? I hope you don't have any regrets."
"No, I'm ready; it's time for old Granny Smith to come back." Granny Smith growled as she swallowed down the contents. The potion was sour tasting, but it wasn't like she had just drank half a bottle of whiskey by herself. The green-coated mare then felt her body slowly transform back into an old mare; she could feel her resilient young body degrading in the water. She could feel her muscles atrophied and her bones degrade; she could feel her smooth coat and skin wrinkle and degrade. When she exited the water, she looked down at her old wrinkly body and face and how any trace of her youth was gone.
Granny Smith looked down into the pool of water and saw her reflection again. She saw her old wrinkly body, tired-looking eyes, her stocky legs, and thinner frame and grumbled angrily, "Well, looks like I'm back to being an old mare again," But Zecora came over and whispered, "Please don't regret your decision; you're beautiful even now despite you age's revision."
"It's fine; I'm just gonna go to bed," Granny Smith grumbled irritably as she walked off. She knew that Zecora was trying to be nice, but nothing anypony would say right now would cheer her up. She continued to walk off to the house. She then collapses on the couch, hoping that tomorrow she can convince the Flim Flam brothers to leave the Everfree forest alone, then this entire ordeal will finally be over.