//------------------------------// // Every Mare Meets Her Mill // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// With a tiny, rusted squeak, Applejack pushed open a metal side door the rest of the way. She trotted through to the central chamber of the immense concrete structure. Almost immediately, she tilted her head up, muzzle agape as an awestruck expression rippled across her freckled face. She pushed the brim of her hat way back in order to better see the sights looming above her. "Goll-ll-lly..." The mare cooed, her open mouth slowly morphing into a beaming smile. "Will ya look at that?" She whistled. By this time, Stu Leaves and Rainbow Dash had also stepped through. Stu Leaves immediately jolted to a stop, gawking. Rainbow Dash, however, hovered above the other two with a neutral, squinting expression. At the far end of the concrete chamber stood an immense array of copper tanks and bronze tubes. The cider mill was beyond elaborate, with countless pipes and valves and pressure guages glinting in the morning light. Along the very top of the steep concrete walls, several long slitted windows allowed the sun to beam through, giving the massive empty interior a stale gray haze. Along the opposite walls, a huge set of sliding iron doors loomed, bolted in place in the middle and further reinforced by a trio of thick padlocks. Behind the three ponies—next to the tiny door they had just entered through—were two slatted metal gates, presumably meant for unloading barrels of freshly squeezed and processed cider. The gates were closed for the time being, and a series of metal carts rested against one another on dormant wheels. Applejack and Stu Leaves trotted forward, approaching the huge complex cider-making machinery. "That's about the biggest darn cider squeezer I ever did see," Applejack murmured. "I mean... shoot... I've read about contraptions this big, but never before have I seen any with my own naked eyes!" "It's almost like the rain-making machines at Cloudsdale." Stu Leaves chuckled. "I mean, personally, I find the resemblance uncanny. Don't you think so, Rainbow Dash?" Silence. "Rainbow?" Stu glanced up. "Hmmmm..." Rainbow hovered before the large iron doors opposite of the sunlit windows. "What's beyond these locked doors?" "Maybe that's where Shindig keeps her freshly squeezed cider?" Stu remarked. Rainbow glanced down, squinting. "Wouldn't she use the storehouses we saw outside for that?" "Beats me." Stu shrugged, then looked over his shoulder. "Applejack?" The mare was too busy examining a tiny table and a pair of chairs that had been erected in the middle of the room, just beneath the shadow of the looming cider mill. "Lookie here." She pointed at a pitcher of bubbly yellow juice and a chalice resting in the center of the table. "This must have been what she meant when she wrote about 'refreshments.'" "Oh?" Stu craned his neck to see. "Is that some of her cider?" "Reckon so." Applejack trotted around the table, plucking up a half-folded sheet of paper. "'Have yourself a taste of my field's finest while you wait. It's on the house!'" She placed the note back down, then chuckled as she tapped the chalice, which was ornamented around its lid and handle with little winged equines. "She certainly picked a funny-lookin' mug." "I guess you gotta be eccentric to run a farm in Central Fillyda these days," Stu said. "Too bad I ain't all that thirsty." Applejack trotted back towards the mill. "I'll give it a taste once she arrives." "Then she can sample some of your stuff!" Stu said. "Exactly." Applejack nodded. "Best way to know another farmer is to get a taste for their produce." The mare shrugged. "At least, that's always been my philosophy." "Yeah, well, keep being philosophical. I'm parched." Then, with a silly smirk, Stu plucked the pitcher from the table and poured some of the cider down his gullet. "Unngh..." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Straight from the pitcher, Stu? Ain't that a bit rude, ya think?" The stallion gulped and slapped the pitcher back down. After exhaling, he wiped his muzzle and smirked. "Oh, relax, AJ! I didn't let the thing touch my lips!" "Sure thang." Applejack peered curiously at him. "So? How was it?" Stu smirked coyly. "I thought you wanted to wait until she showed up." "It dun hurt to get a second opinion." "Well, if you must know..." He tongued the inside of his mouth, blinking in thought. "...it's kinda tangy." "Pfft." Applejack rolled her eyes again, smirking. "Jee, that's really helpful there, partner." "No! For real! It's... sweeter then your stuff, but... I dunno. Doesn't feel quite so satisfying on the way down." "Now yer just sayin' that..." "I think it needs more foam..." "Shoot, now yer makin' me darn curious." "Heheh... guilty as charged." In the meantime, Rainbow Dash's ear twitched. She spun towards the large iron doors once again, blinking curiously. She flapped her wings and hovered right up against it, craning her head at an angle. "Funny..." "What's that, Rainbow?" "I dunno, but for a moment there, I swear I could have heard... like... a buzzing sound." Applejack blinked. "A buzzing sound?" "Yeah. Like... static electricity or something." Stu glanced at Applejack. "You don't suppose Shindig is in the business of making zap apples too, do you?" "Pffft. Please..." Applejack smirked as she once again trotted close to the elaborate pipeworks. "Dun strip me of all the Apple Family's dignity!" "Who's stripping who?" Stu shrugged with a smirk. "I know you've gotta have an edge somehow!" "Doubt she'd understand the finer workings of zap apple harvestin' anyway," Applejack said, staring up close at a pressure guage. She smiled. "Still, would make for quite the set of anecdotes." "You betcha." Rainbow Dash stared down at the table and its pitcher of cider from where she hovered. She turned once more towards the iron door. Her eyes narrowed as she hovered there in sullen silence. "... ... ..." The petite pegasus spun around. "Hey, guys. I'm... uh..." She flitted sideways, descending as she made her way through the tiny door through which they all entered. "I'm going to go outside," she said. "Go get some air." "Sure thing, Rainbow," Stu said, waving her off. "Just be sure you get some air, Rainbow, and nothin' else," Applejack said, her voice suddenly turning stern and edgy. "Shindig won't like it if any of us snoop around where we ain't invited." "Hey, just who do you take me for?" Rainbow Dash smirked across the room. Then, when nopony was looking, she clenched her jaw tight and speedily flew her way out of the building altogether.