Apples and Cherries….
“”Wow, this is amazing!” Lickety Split whispered in disbelief, looking around at all the ponies crowded into the Satin Slipper at lunchtime. “I can’t believe we have so many customers here!”
It had been a week since the little incident between Truly and Fizzy, and both Lickety and Scoops had been certain that word would quickly spread about how the influential mare had been treated. But even before her boss could decide wither or not to let go of Fizzy, something totally unusual happened. A few days after the accident, the Satin Slipper had suddenly found itself packed with even more customers! Scoops, who had been utterly dismayed upon Lickety telling her about the mishap, was totally overjoyed at the surprising turn of events.
“See, I told you there would be a lot of nice customers, Lickety!” Fizzy smiled, levitating a malt milkshake out to a waiting customer. “Telling that old meanie Truly off didn’t hurt us in the least!”
“I’ll say it didn’t hurt you! All of Dream Castle is abuzz with how you showed that snooty earth pony up!” A green unicorn with jeweled eyes exclaimed, trotting up and sitting down at one of the stools at the counter. “It’s about time somebody put that snobbish little southern belle in her place!”
“Hey, I know you!” Fizzy exclaimed, noticing the parrot cutie mark on the mare with the multicolored mane’s flank. “You’re Mimic, Queen Majesty’s royal court mage!”
“That’s me, all right!” The mare replied proudly. “And you must be Fizzy, the brave little soda jerkette who stood up to miss stuck up!”
“Well, I’d hardly call myself brave…” The blue bubble head replied bashfully.
“Anyway, what can we get for you, miss Mimic?” Lickety Split asked with a smile, happy to have a member of the Royal Court in the shop. “We have many different flavors of ice cream and sodas to choose from.”
“Sure!” The mare replied with a smile. “Give me a dish of tuti fruity ice cream, and a glass of tropical punch soda!”
“Coming right up!” The two mares replied in unison, before each galloping over to their respective stations.
But while the mares were busy serving their latest customer, two more angry ponies came tromping and stomping through the turnstile at the entrance, snarling and growling at each other all the way, all of the other equines in the Satin Slipper turned to stare at the unruly pair.
“I say my apple cider is their most popular product!” An orange mare with a yellow mane snarled, shaking her hoof at the other pony. “Miss Scoops always orders twenty-two barrels of the stuff from my apple orchard every season!”
“Oh yeah? Well, she always orders two hundred pounds of cherries from my Cherry orchard every season, to top off her ice cream sundaes!” An orange mare with a cherries cutie mark snapped back. “So my fruit is the move highly prized at this shoppe!”
“Who the heck are those two?” Fizzy whispered, staring at the two orange equines, who were now arguing in the middle of the dining room.
“Oh dear, that Cherries Jubilee and Applejack.” Mimic replied with a sigh. “One runs the Dream Valley’s apple orchard, the other runs the cherry orchard.”
“So why are they fighting?” Fizzy asked, puzzled. “It sounds like they’re arguing over wither apples or cherries are better.”
“That’s pretty much it, Fizz. Cherries’s family used to run the only orchard here at Dream Castle, until Twilight brought A.J. to live here a few years back.” Lickety replied with a sigh. “The two started fighting right after Applejack planted her first tree. Some kinda grudge between the two families, I guess.”
“Gee, maybe we could talk to them, a get em’ to be friends.” Fizzy said thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t that be nice?’
“I dunno Fizz, best not to poke your muzzle into other ponies’ business.” Lickety warned. “Besides, the two usually work it out between themselves.”
But Fizzy being Fizzy, she ignored the good advice, and trotted over to the arguing equines.
“Excuse me, you two.” Fizzy called out, as she stepped in between them. “But is there anything I can help you with?”
“Ah, the Satin Slipper’s newest soda jerkette. Maybe she can settle this.” Cherries snorted. “Tell me, my good pony, which is the more popular fruit here at your establishment; apples, or cherries?”
“Yeah, which is more important to your products,” AJ snorted. “Sweet delicious red and golden apples, or those shriveled little wannabe fruits called cherries?”
“Uh… I… well.. that is…” The flummoxed Fizzy replied, looking back and forth between the two mares. “Well, the cherries are really yummy on the top of sundaes with whip cream, but the apple cider and apple cobbler is really good, too! Ohhh, It’s so hard to decide, their both sooo good!”
“How can you even compare my delectable cherries to this… low class tramp of a mare’s rotten fruit?” Cherries snorted indignantly. “The Apple family just can’t stand the competition, that’s why they sabotaged great-great-great-great-great-great-grandma Cherry’s factory in old Equestria!”
“Is that what this is all about? That was generations ago!” AJ sorted in surprise. “Besides, old Applejack didn’t wreck your family’s stupid factory on purpose, it was an accident!”
“Liar!”
“Tramp!”
“hussy!”
“The two mares glared at each other- snarling and stamping their hooves- while everyone else in the Satin Slipper looked on.
“Come on you two, stop it! You’re making a scene!” Fizzy pleaded, putting her hoof up. “If you’re going to have a disagreement, please take it outside!”
“You stay out of this, bubblehead!” Cherries snorted, shoving the unicorn away. “This is between me and this old nag here!”
“Old nag?!” Applejack growled. “You’ve got now room to talk, little girl. Now you run on home, and play with your little cherry trees!”
“Little girl?!? Well ,at least I’ve been on a date in the past month!” Cherries snapped back. “When was the last time you went out with a stallion, grandma, the paleopony period?”
"Why you-!" The two lunged at each other, only to suddenly caught in two large magic bubbles. Fizzy suddenly levitated the two apart, scowling at the both of them.
"How dare you, both coming in here and acting like children!" The mare snorted scowling at the two of them. "You two are grown ponies, and here you are fighting in public as if you were two snorting stallions! A mare should know better!"
"She's right." Cherries whinnied sadly, looking over at Applejack. "I shouldn't have said those things about your family."
"And I shouldn't have insulted your hard work on raising your fruit." AJ replied apologetically. "I was in the wrong, too.".
"We're sorry." Both mares sighed, looking down as they were trapped in the bubbles.
"Wait a minute now, Fizzy." Mimic said with a smirk. "If these two are so determined to come in here and give you trouble, well don't you think we should reward them for their efforts?"
"Yeah, I think you're right, Miss Mimic." The blue unicorn replied,. "If they want to entertain the ponies in the Satin Slipper with their antics- well, let's let them!"
Fizzy trotted over, and whispered something into Mimic's ear. The unicorn enchantress smiled and nodded, turning her glowing horn towards the two mares.
"Wait..." AJ asked nervously. "What are you going to-"
POOF! There was a sudden flash of light, then the bubbles around the two mares suddenly popped. Their bodies began to glow and shift.
"Wh-hooaaaa!"Within a few minutes, the two ponies were standing upright, dressed like Carmen Miranda dancers with fruit on their heads. The transformed mares looked at each other, then smiled.
"Everybody Carnivale!" Cheeries Jubilee exclaimed, and every pony started dancing as confetti dropped from the ceiling and the sound of a samba band band started playing out of nowhere.
"Wow Fizzy, that was a really clever spell!" Lickety Split giggled. "Did the spell make them dance, too?"
"No, they are doing that of their own free will." Mimic laughed. "Probably partly as an apology to Fizzy, and probably just to have some fun!"
"Everybody samba!" Applejack cried, as the two ponies kicked high into the air, the splits in their dresses revealing their skimpy glittering golden undergarments.
"Awwww, come on, Lickety!" Fizzy exclaimed, as she joined a pony conga line. "Let's have some fun."
"Only a mare like you could cause craziness like this, Fizzy." The earth mare giggled, rolling her eyes, and jumping in line behind the other two friends.
The music and lights played in the Satin Slipper, as the ponies danced on all throughout the night.