//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Cider and Friends // Story: The Descendants // by Gherkin //------------------------------// Good times don’t last long sometimes ~ Levon Helm Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville, Equestria 24th May 1002 C.R. 12:06PM "Goddamnit, how do you do this?" Applejack looked over her shoulder and groaned. Her usual workload had been severely lessened for today, thanks to the help of her friends and guests, of which she was incredibly grateful for. Unfortunately, one such guest apparently couldn't quite grasp the delicate art of apple bucking. "Are y'all still having trouble over there, Nate?" she called out to the pegasus behind her, who snorted in frustration. "Lemme guess, your leg giving you trouble?" "It ain't exactly helping!" Nate moaned. When Princess Celestia told them that they would need to make friends with the ponies in order to make allies, he didn't expect for it to involve picking fruit. Maybe the loyalty of the Apple Family was worth it, but right now he was just too annoyed to care. "How can you kick an apple tree and expect them all to just fall out?" Applejack sighed and shook her head. "If you're having problems, just rear up and give her a good shake. Should get those apples out in no time." Heeding her advice, Nate reared on his hind legs and grasped his front hooves around the tree, giving it a firm shake. To his surprise, it worked, to a degree. Most of the tree's contents fell from their branches, conveniently landing inside all of the baskets placed beneath. "Don't need to take a breath there, do ya, partner?" Applejack joked, chuckling slightly as Nate hopped down, satisfied with his work. "Apple bucking is tiring work, after all." "No, do you?" Nate snapped back, with a more hostile tone than he meant. Applejack stopped chuckling, and looked over at him, a concerned look on her face. "You okay, Nate?" she asked, simply yet honestly. "What's up?" "Maybe it's the leg," he pondered. "Or maybe it's because I don't think what I'm doing here is gonna help when ancient space aliens start invading properly." He glared at the floor, averting her gaze. There were a few moments of awkward silence, the only sounds being that of the others continuing their work. "If you ask me, I think it's the leg," Applejack told him flatly. "Look, sugarcube, you're just nervous, and I understand. Don't worry, what you're doing here is a great help, and the Apple Family always looks out for a friend." "So we help you out with your chores, and you, in turn, risk your lives to help us later on?" Drake joked, giving the mare a slight smirk. "Well it ain't like we were just gonna roll over and take it anyway," she told him, before crouching and bucking another tree. "Besides, y'all told us just exactly what was coming, and we all know what you four can do. I think, with you and the rest of our friends, we'll do just fine." Nate's smile faltered, but only slightly and for a brief second. Honestly, he didn't quite share her bright, defiant enthusiasm. "Yeah, I'm sure we will," he managed to say quietly, rearing up and shaking another tree. Applejack looked at him solemnly for a moment, before getting back to work. "Stand back, I'm gonna try something," the both of them heard a gruff voice call. They looked over their shoulders to see Cole, who, after making sure everypony was a relatively safe distance away, reared onto his hind legs before slamming his hooves into the ground. The earth shook, and a small electrical explosion emanated from the point of impact. The trees shuddered violently, dropping all of their contents to the ground. “Boy howdy!” Applejack exclaimed. “Nice work, Cole! I can’t believe none of us thought of that sooner!” She trotted over to him as he circled the tree, collecting any apples that had fallen stray from the baskets. “Them powers of yours sure are useful!” “Yeah, thanks,” Cole said to her, moving towards another group of trees. “Everything going okay with you and Nate?” She glanced back at the pegasus, who was keeping himself busy by shaking down another tree. “Yeah, I think he’s fine. Seems a bit on edge though.” “That’s understandable,” he replied, taking the opportunity to get some rest. “Anyone else would be freaking out like crazy. Looks like he’s taking most of it in his stride, honestly.” "Believe me, I think it's taking it's toll," Applejack commented, before sighing. "Poor fella, getting all worked up over this. Say, you know anything about what he did back in your world, Cole?" "Not much," he answered, shrugging. "He mentioned something about finding some sort of lost treasure, but, honestly, I wasn't paying much attention." "Fortune hunter, huh? I might have guessed." Applejack glanced over her shoulder again to look at Drake. "I s'pose he seems like the type." She continued to talk as she made her way towards another tree, getting ready to buck it. "Either way, I reckon y'all need to take a load off, to help you relax. And I mean all of you," she added, looking towards MacGrath. "Me?" Cole scoffed. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." "Trust me, Cole, I know when somepony's hiding something. You'll say that now, but you'll feel it later on." She grunted as she gave the tree behind her a powerful buck. "Listen, me and the girls were gonna have a night out later. Just some drinks, you know? I don't s'pose the four of y'all would like to join us?" Cole eyed her for a moment, an eyebrow raised. "Ah, sure, why not?" he relented. "I'll probably need a drink later anyway, and it'll be good to catch up with Ezio, see what he's been up to." Applejack smiled warmly. "Well, that's great. It's a date then!" "Oh, is it?" he asked playfully, smirking. She chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Boy, I guess I trotted right into that one, didn't I? You know what I meant." Cole laughed and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Don’t think we have much left to anyway, do we?” “You’re right there. We’re almost done for today.” Applejack sighed and wiped her brow. “Sure works up a sweat, don’t it?” “For some, maybe.” The conduit glanced to his right, where Pinkie Pie was busy shaking down another tree. “Pinkie hasn’t even stopped to take a breath for the last hour or two.” The farmer giggled slightly. “Well, she’s just being Pinkie Pie, isn’t she? Nothing new there.” “You should have seen here yesterday. She didn’t stop all day.” “Yeah, I’ll bet.” Applejack stared at her pink friend for a moment, before turning back to Cole. “Come on, let’s get this finished up, shall we? Then we’ll be able to properly relax.” *** Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville Meanwhile... “Va bene, there you go.” Ezio Auditore smiled and nodded, carefully writing the name of the mare in front of him on a scroll. She grinned and thanked him, before exiting the library. Ezio sighed, sinking back into his chair, just as Twilight appeared from behind a bookshelf. “Thanks, Ezio, you’re being a great help!” She beamed at him, trotting closer. “Though I wish people didn’t knock every time they wanted to borrow a book. This is a public library, after all.” “It’s your house and home as well,” he noted. “For all they know, you might not want to be disturbed.” “Hence why I have the ‘open’ sign out front.” The mare rolled her eyes and smirked. “Oh well.” “Any news?” the assassin asked, reaching for his mug and taking a sip of coffee. This stuff is quite good when you get used to it, he thought to himself. "Unfortunately, no," she answered. "Not from the princess, and not from Orion either. Still, you're doing a great job here, and you're getting to know some more ponies." Ezio sighed. No leads or answers, yet again. "Well, every little bit helps, I suppose." Twilight went to go and tend to some other business, but stopped mid-turn and looked back at him. "Oh, I almost forgot! There is one thing." "Yes?" He sat up straight in his seat. "Me and the girls are going out for some drinks tonight," she told him. Ezio's expectant demeanour vanished near instantly, and he slouched back in his chair. "From what I hear, John, Cole and Nate are going too. Would you like to come as well?" The assassin shrugged and smiled. "Eh, why not? It'll help to unwind anyway." She beamed at him again, and her horn lighted up, levitating a scroll towards her. “Great! I’ll send word to Applejack that you’re coming along as well.” She used her magic to scribble down a note on the scroll, before giving it to Spike. “Spike, can you send this to Applejack?” “Right away!” the baby dragon exclaimed, giving a mock salute before sending the scroll away in a puff of magic fire. Twilight looked back to Ezio and smiled. “Looks like tonight’s going to be fun, right Ezio?” “Drinks and friends,” he said, “We’ll have un grande momento.” *** Ponyville Town Centre Later that evening... The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully. After the apple harvest, everypony down at Sweet Apple Acres had no more work to do, so they simply passed the time by talking and even a bit of friendly competition. Namely, a game of horseshoes. It seemed that Marston was an absolute natural, easily getting ringers every round and even beating Applejack, who accepted her defeat gracefully. Marston himself had to admit that he had grown to like the humble family. They were almost like the MacFarlanes, in a way. They looked out for each other, but they were still kind and helpful to strangers. He had to admire them for that. He had, surprisingly, managed to get into a conversation with the oldest sibling of the family, Big Macintosh, who, despite his quiet and humble demeanor, was interesting to talk with. Now all ten of them were trotting through evening Ponyville, the setting sun providing ample lighting for them to easily make their way through town. Most major stores and market stalls had already closed for the day, but restaurants, bars, and other establishments were getting prepared for the evening rush. It was a Friday, after all, so there were going to be more patrons than usual, as everypony were going to be relaxing after a long week of work. “Here we are!” Applejack announced, stopping in front of a brightly lit building. “Flashy place,” Drake commented, staring up at the storefront. “So we’re eating here?” “You betcha!” the farm mare exclaimed. “Why, the grub here is hoof-lickin’ good!” “Did she really just say that?” Cole whispered into Nate’s ear. The pegasus looked at him and shrugged. The conduit just shook his head and chuckled. “You never know, we might be running into a pony version of Colonel Sanderson next.” “Funny,” Nathan replied jokingly, lightly punching Cole in the shoulder as they stepped inside the restaurant. The bright and lively atmosphere hit them as soon as they entered. The place was full of happy and cheerful ponies, talking, eating, drinking, and even dancing to a tune that a group of musicians were playing on the other side of the room. This wasn’t some seedy low-life bar like the kinds that Nathan or John had seen, far from it. This was one classy place. “First round’s on me!” Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted as they found a table. “Cider for everypony, same as usual, right?” She bounced up and down as the rest of them nodded, before hopping off towards the bar. “I’ll order some food, too!” she called back to them. “Fancy place,” Marston commented once everyone had settled down. “Nice and relaxing in here though.” He sighed in contentment, slouching back in his seat and tipping his hat back. “What are we all having to eat? That cider’s gotta be washing something down now, ain’t it?” “I thought we could all share a few bowls of different foods,” Twilight suggested. “Like hay fries, salad, stuff like that.” “That sounds good,” Ezio told her. “Indeed,” Rarity, who had been sitting next to him, added. “I must say, I feel absolutely famished. I don’t think I've eaten since this morning. It seems I've been caught up with work and simply forgotten.” “Speaking of which,” Cole spoke up as Pinkie returned with the drinks. “What has everyone else been up to today?” “I heard you, John and Nathan helped Applejack up at Sweet Apple Acres along with Pinkie and Dash,” Fluttershy said to him. “How was that?” “It was pretty fun, actually,” Cole told her. “More so than I expected.” “Oh yeah, ton of fun,” Nate scoffed. “Y’know, with me spraining my leg and everything.” Cole shot him a look. “Calm down, I’m just kidding around.” “You sprained your leg?” Fluttershy’s expression suddenly changed from interested to concerned. “Oh, is it alright?” Nate chuckled and smiled. “Don’t worry Flutters, it’s fine. Tried to kick a tree a bit too hard, that’s all.” He chuckled again and stretched his forelegs, before picking up his cider and taking a gulp. “You know, this whole place takes me back.” Jesus, I’m starting to sound like Sully. “I already told you three about my cousin Desmond, the bartender up in New York, right?” The three of them nodded, while the girls listened in intently. “Yeah, he was real popular up at that bar. The Bad Weather, I think the place was called.” He took another sip, reminiscing. “I used to go there with Sully a lot of the time when I was up there. Always ordered Desmond’s speciality. The Shirley Templar, he called it. Not sure why, but, anyway, it was a regular Shirley Temple mixed with some gin.” He smiled at the memory. “Yeah, they were good times. He sure could pour a drink, that’s for sure.” “Did you two ever talk much?” Ezio asked. Drake shrugged. “Eh, a bit. Didn’t even know he was my cousin ‘till he told me. From what I heard, his family was pretty secretive.” “So, we reminiscing about the old days now, or something?” Cole chuckled and took a sip of his drink as the rest of them listened in. “Yeah, me and my friend Zeke used to hang around places like these all the time, before the blast at least.” “Zeke? I don’t think you’ve mentioned him,” Pinkie said to him. “No, I haven’t,” he replied. “He was a good guy. Hell, he was like a brother to me.” He smiled and took another swig of cider. Half as long, twice as bright. “We were always messing around, getting into trouble, stuff like that. Most of the time I’d be sitting at the bar while he tried some of his homebrew pickup lines on some of the girls there.” “They never worked, did they?” Rainbow Dash guessed. He tipped his glass towards her. “Damn right they didn’t. Didn’t phase him though. He always said something about how they ‘didn’t appreciate him for who he was’.” Their conversation was cut short by a unicorn stallion, the waiter, arriving at their table, along with multiple bowls of food levitating inside his magical aura. “There you are, everypony,” he said in a charming and upbeat tone. “Is there anything else you need tonight?” “No, thank you.” Twilight and the rest of her friends politely waved him away before resuming the conversation. They continued to talk, mostly about “the good old days”, as Drake put it. They all shared experiences, good times and bad, in an effort to get to know each other a little better. The six mares, while sometimes telling short stories of their own, mostly listened to the stallions tell tales about their previous lives back in their own world. The six of them were fascinated, Twilight especially, by the amount of things the four of them had all seen and done. Ezio told stories of Venezia, the city of love, while Drake recounted ancient historical myths and legends that he had come across in his travels. “You know,” Rarity spoke up, just as Nathan finished another of his stories. “I’m starting to feel a bit light-headed.” She turned to look at Pinkie Pie. “This is just regular cider, isn’t it dear?” Pinkie gulped and giggled nervously. “I think so. I mean, I just asked for cider. The stallion at the bar could have accidentally poured us hard cider.” The unicorn glared at her friend momentarily, before relinquishing. “Oh, let’s not worry about it, shall we? No harm in letting yourself go every once in awhile, is there?” “Here’s to that,” John agreed, raising his glass. “Sì,” Ezio held his cider up as well. “In fact, I propose a toast. To good friends, old and new.” “To friends,” the rest of them chorused, before downing whatever remained in their glasses. They smiled and laughed merrily, before the musicians in the corner of the room started to play a different tune. "Nice piece," Ezio commented, tapping his hoof to the beat. "Reminds me of Firenze." "It is rather catchy, isn't it?" Rarity added. "Makes you feel like getting up and dancing along." She paused for a second and stared at the stallion across from her for a second, contemplating. Loosen up a bit, Rarity, she thought to herself. You're allowed to have some fun, you know. She held out her hoof to him. "Speaking of which, would you, Signore Auditore?" Ezio stared at her for a moment, trying his best not to let his dumbfounded expression show. "Just a dance, right?" She nodded. "Just a dance." He paused for a second, before smiling gracefully. "Why not? We came here to have fun, after all." The pearly white mare tried, but failed, to suppress a flustered, and slightly tipsy, giggle as he took her hoof and stepped into the middle of the room, where a number of other couples were already dancing. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, taking up the proper position, before nodding to each other and beginning. Ezio led swiftly, guiding her as they twirled and twisted. Rarity laughed as they went, undoubtedly a bit drunk, but having fun nonetheless. Ezio chuckled and smiled as well, guiding her as the music went on in the background. Other patrons were took note of their performance, and began to clap as it went on. Meanwhile, the assassin just smiled and thought to himself. I don't think I've had this much fun in a long time. Unfortunately, fate would have it that the fun didn't last very long. Time seemed to slow down as their dance was interrupted by a large crashing sound, and the front window of the restuarant shattering into pieces. Ezio threw himself on top of Rarity instinctively, protecting her from any potential harm. Ponies screamed and ran as the room began to burst into flames. The assassin couldn't tell what was going on, but one thing was for certain: the night had been ruined. Groaning and getting to his hooves, he began to see the full extent of the damage. The entire frontage of the building was gone, completely. Smoke blinded his vision and filled his lungs, and he couldn't tell where the rest of his friends were. This was no accident, there was no doubt of that. "Oh, merda."