//------------------------------// // The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 or An Apple A Day // Story: Permanent Vacation // by Apple_Crack //------------------------------// “Permanent Vacation” The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 or An Apple A Day         Judging by how excited everyone is for cider season, I figured the best way to prepare for it was to treat the entire thing like it was a convention. Which, in my mind at least, meant camping outside the place like I had nothing better to do till the day finally arrived. Thankfully, it was only in two days anyway, but still, that’s a long time to be sitting outside an orchard with nothing to do. But I wasn’t the only one with this brilliant idea, since tents are already lined up outside Sweet Apple Acres, and who else but Pinkie would be the first one in line. From our spot in line, I can just barely make out the crest of the main entrance to Sweet Apple Acres.         And thankfully it was the weekend, which means Scootaloo could come with me. And of course I wasn’t leaving Sonja behind either. During the mornings, we spent time enjoying the shining sun and warm weather. At nights, we spent time around a little campfire I had built and roasted marshmallows, telling stories or just listening to me strum my guitar, which somehow generated an impromptu concert right there. And to top it all off, everyone else camping out was incredibly friendly and polite. I had no worries of walking away from our tent, not like back home.         I feel my iPod vibrate, the alarm I had set going off. Groggily opening my eyes, I sit up and stretch. I nudge Scootaloo’s sleeping form to my right. “Hey, rise and shine, sleepyhead.”         She moans. “Five more minutes…”         I smirk. “Well, I guess that means no cider for you then.”         She bolts straight up. “I’m up, I’m up!”         I chuckle, slowly petting Sonja’s prone form to my left. “That’s my girl. Now hurry up and get ready, we don’t want to miss out on this famed cider.” Sonja sits up, her ears perked. She lets out a bark. “What is it girl?” A second later, I hear a whooshing sound from outside, followed by our tent being ruffled by a breeze. Ah, it would seem our chromatic friend has arrived late.         Already dressed for today, I crawl out from my sleeping bag and open the tent flap. Stepping outside with Sonja darting out right behind me, I zip the flap back up so Scootaloo can get dressed. Turning around, I take a deep breath of the air and smile. It’s going to be a great day in Equestria. I wonder how soon this thing is gonna start.         “Blake?”         I look to my left to see Rainbow standing there. “Oh hey, Rainbow. Got here a bit late, did ya?”         Her mouth opens and closes a few times. “But… I… You…”         I shrug my shoulders. “You snooze, ya lose. I’ve been camping here since two days ago.”         “Is that Rainbow Dash?” I hear the tent flap zip open. “Are you here for the cider too?”         “Hey, she must be your kid! She asks the obvious questions just like you!”         I roll my eyes. “Why else would she be here?”         Scootaloo looks at the line of ponies behind us. I steal a glance as well, raising an eyebrow at it cresting over the distance hill. Heh, looks like she’s gonna be waiting a while. “Wow, the line got really long!” Rainbow mumbles under her breath and flies away. Scootaloo watches her before turning to me. “Was it something I said?”         I smirk. “Nah, she’s just a little upset she didn’t get here fast enough to be first in line.”         She smiles. “Good, because I don’t want her upset at me.”         That would be the least of Rainbow’s worries at this point. I shake my head. “She’ll get over it at some point. For now,” I jerk my head towards our stuff, “Let’s pack up our stuff before the line starts moving.”         She rolls her eyes. “Fine, I’ll get started on the tent.”         I don’t know what she was complaining about, things went by fast enough that we were able to finish in time. And… My brilliant plan missed one important part. Now we gotta lug everything with us. And Scootaloo didn’t let me hear the end of it, not that I could blame her. But the reminder that it will be worth it in the end does stem her a bit, let alone keep me calm.         “Greetings ya’ll!” Oh good, it must be starting if Applejack is yelling. Presumably from a megaphone since I can’t see her. “Welcome to the annual Apple family cider sale!” A rousing throng of cheers and clapping come from all present. “As usual, we sell as long as the barrels survive! Now let’s get this train ah rolling!”  Eh, I could care less if I get some cider today. After all, I already have a barrel reserved, so it’s not like I’m gonna miss out. Slowly but surely, the line moves forward. Ponies walk back towards town with varied looks of pure bliss plastered across their face. Okay, maybe I lied. I really, really want some of that cider right now. I’m only slightly aware of the drool pooling in the mouth at this point. With a gulp, I swallow. “Oh man, if this is what I have to look forward to, then this will really be worth it.”         “You won’t believe how amazing it is!” Scootaloo’s wings buzz, lifting her off the ground slightly, even with all’s carrying. Which I should point out is just a sleeping bag and a backpack, but it’s understandable considering her strength and size.         I smile. “Well, considering what I have worked out already with Applejack, we’ll be able to enjoy it longer.”         She tilts her head. “What do you mean?”         I glance around, already noticing a couple of eyes turning my way. I lean in close to her. “I reserved a barrel just for us, but don’t say anything,” I whisper.         Her eyes widen. “All for us? Awesome!”         I whistle for Sonja. “Go find Winona, girl. Go and play with her.” Instead of having her sit around here, I figure she should at least go and enjoy herself. With a bark, she races off toward the front of the line. I can only assume she’s gonna find Applejack first, and then pick up Winona’s scent from her. With a shrug, I adjust my grip on the mini cooler I brought and keep moving forward. Time seems to drag on, but eventually I catch sight of a stand set up that the Apples are manning. By the time we reach the stand, the succulent smell of fresh cider has fully assaulted my nostrils. “Howdy there, Blake and Scootaloo.” I set down the cooler. “Morning, Apple’s.” I look at the elderly mare standing there, back hunched and carrying a walking stick. “Ah, and you must be the famed Granny Smith.” I take her hand and kiss the back of it. “A pleasure to finally meet you.” “You really flatter these older mares, don’t ya? You looking to get into those bloomers?” I nearly gag. “As if I wasn’t scarred enough.” “Well, ain’t you just the handsome charmer.” I smile. “What can I say, I was raised to be a gentleman to all.” She nudges Applejack. “This one’s a keeper, young’un. Ah can see why ya talk about him so much.” Applejack blushes profusely. “Granny!” The rest of us laugh. “Alright, I think we’ve tormented Applejack enough. So far today, has business been treating ya good?” Big Mac smirks. “Eeyup.” He motions to behind the stand. I lean over and look. Two massive sacks of bits sit there, eliciting a whistle from me. “Man, you aren’t kidding.” I lean back and smirk. “You sure you need my business?” “Well, we ain’t gonna turn you away,” Applejack says. “Ugh, can we get some cider already?!” I chuckle and rub Scootaloo’s head. “Alright, alright. How much for some cider?” “Five bits!” I reach into my pocket and pull the bits out, handing them off to Apple Bloom. I then lean on the counter while she gets a mug ready for Scoots. “Let’s get this business out of the way too, how much for the barrel I reserved?” Applejack, Mac, and Granny glance at each other. “Give us a moment.” They step away from the stand and huddle up. I hear a content moan come from Scootaloo. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this day!” “Did ya talk with Miss Cheerilee about what she wanted?” I raise an eyebrow. “About what?” Apple Bloom shrugs her shoulders. “Ah don’t know. Scoots was supposed to tell ya.” I look at Scootaloo to see her avoiding eye contact. “Heh, I guess I forgot to.” “Eh, don’t worry about it. I’ll find her later today and ask her.” “Alright,” I turn my attention back to Applejack, “We decided that the price is sixty bits.” I shrug my shoulders. I reach into my backpack and pull out sixty-five bits. “Here ya go, plus an extra five for a mug right now.” Mac takes the bits. “You gonna come back later for it?” I nod my head. “Yeah.” Apple Bloom hands me a mug. I smile, finally able to taste this famed… I pause, raising an eyebrow. “Anybody else hear that big band music?” “What’s that?” I look towards where Scootaloo is pointing to see a massive wagon chugging towards us, bouncing merrily along to the tune of the music coming from it while plumes of smoke rise out of its two smoke stacks on its sides. Overall, the entire design of the thing reminds me of something from a steampunk universe. It slowly chugs to a halt before us with a low, grinding hiss. All around me, ponies actually get out of line to surround this contraption. With a shrug, I go raise the mug of cider back towards my lips, ready to— “Stop right there, good sir!” I don’t know what compels me to actually listen, but I do. “I say brother, it looks as if this fine gentlecolt was about to try some cider.” From around the back of the machine, two stallions identical in almost every way, except for the one with a moustache, saunter out from behind the machine. From the way they’re dressed in those pinstripe vests with black bowties and white pants, one could assume they’re part of a barbershop quartet. “Right you are, my brother!” They both sidle up to me, leaning on a shoulder. One of them slowly pushes my arm holding the mug down till it hits the table. “I say good sir, I say, how would you like to try some of the most mouthwatering, delicious, one of a kind, top notch, grade A cider right now?” I glance between the two. “Depends. Tell me who you are first.” “He’s Flim,” The one with the mustache points to the other. “He’s Flam,” Flim points out. They both push off of my shoulder and stand in front of their machine. “And we’re the world famous Flim-Flam brothers, travelling salesponies nonpareil!” “Non what now?” Apple Bloom voices my exact thoughts. From nowhere, music starts playing, which the brothers sing along to, describing the plight of how Ponyville has to wait a full year for cider again, that some won’t get any this year, blah, blah, blah. Around me, ponies are getting more and more excited over the prospect of having cider whenever they want thanks to the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. As this song and dance rolls along, I can see the Apples slowly becoming upset over the brothers turning the town against them. Alright, I’ve had enough of this. I raise the Ambassador in the air and fire. The music comes to a grinding halt as everyone stops and looks at me. “Alright, we get it. Your machine will give us constant cider year round. But,” I point to the Apples, “They own the orchards around here.” The brothers nod their heads. “And right you are sir, which is why we’re willing to enter into a partnership with this fine family. Our cider machine for production, their apples for use,” Flim says. They both sidle to Applejack. “Let’s say… A seventy-five twenty-five spilt, wherein you will supply the apples, while we shall produce and label the cider under our name. What say you, my dear?” I can see Applejack running the numbers in her head. “At that rate, we ain’t gonna have enough money to maintain the farm during the winter months. No deal.” Um... What about the money that Mac earns from being in the band? Eh, not my business what he does with it. “And ya’ll can’t make cider like that! It needs to be made with love and care, not some automated doohickey!” Granny says. I glance between the two groups, a smirk forming on my face. “Alright, it seems we are at an impasse. So, I would like to propose an idea.” Everyone turns to me. “If ya suggest we take the deal—” I shake my head. “Let me finish. You are both confident in your cider production processes, correct?” “Nothing beats our cider!” Apple Bloom yells. Flam pats their machine. “I can assure you, nothing, and I say nothing, can beat the quality of our cider!” “Then I propose a contest. Using whatever process, each of you will see who can produce the most barrels in an hour. I’ll be the judge since I’m the one who came up with this idea. Winner gets the farm and rights to cider production in the area. Do both parties agree?” “Now listen here. We don’t need no contest to prove our cider is the best!” Flim and Flam huddle up for a couple of seconds. “We would very much like to prove our superior cider quality and production, but it would seem the Apples are too chicken for such a contest.” Flim sighs and shakes his head. “Such a shame, dear brother.” “A truly shameful thing indeed.” Granny rounds on the brothers, eyes narrowed. “Nopony calls the Apples chickens. We accept the challenge.” I look up. “Rainbow, pass the word along down the line.” I let a smile cross my face. “There’s gonna be a challenge for cider production in Ponyville.”         While the Apples went to fetch their supplies and drag them out, the crowd around us started finding places with a good view of the impromptu showdown. Pretty sure I also saw a couple of bets taking place too, but that’s not my problem. As for me, well, I have no doubts about the Apple’s winning, but I gotta make everything look professional to keep everything fair. So once the Apple’s came back with all their gear, I stood up from my seat at the cider stand which had been converted into the judging table.         I let out a long, shrill whistle. “Alright! Before we begin, I will inspect both parties’ supplies to make sure no unfair advantages are found, okay?”         “Blake, ya know we are—”         I hold up a hand. “I know your values and how much pride you take in your work, Applejack, but I gotta keep this professional and civil.” I turn to the brothers. “Brothers? May I?” I motion towards the Cider Squeezy 6000.         “By all means, go right ahead,” Flim says.         “We can assure you that you will find nothing to grant such an unfair advantage to us in this fair and honest contest.”         With a shrug of my shoulders, I slowly walk around the machine, inspecting every detail visible to my eye if it so much as looked important or moved in any way. I took extra note of a lever on the side detailing the different speed settings and a quality control switch. As much as I wanted to tamper with them, I couldn’t without getting caught or potentially ruining this contest.         With a nod to the brothers, I walk over to the Apples primitive setup. I raise an eyebrow at the lack of things for me to inspect. “Are you sure this is all you need? No going back after this starts to get extra gear.”         “Young’un, we’ve been making cider this way long before you were born, and we ain’t changing it now because of some fancy contraption.”         I shrug my shoulders. “Fair enough.” I inspect what they have, and can find nothing wrong with the setup. Taking my place back at the stand, I announce to everyone around, “After reviewing both parties, I can find nothing wrong with either process. So without further ado, I propose that the contest can officially begin. Get yourselves ready.”         The brothers casually take a seat on top of their machine while the Apples setup, with Applejack standing by the trees, Mac on a treadmill connected to a press with stacks of barrels nearby, Granny sitting by a chute that leads to the press, and Apple Bloom standing by a pile of baskets.         I snap my fingers. “Mayor, if you would be so kind as to provide me with the hourglass?” Ivory Scroll sets a miniature hourglass on the stand in front of me. Nodding my thanks to her, I place my hand on the top of the hourglass. “Are both parties ready?”         “The Apples are ready ta show these stallions how real is cider is made!” The Apples let out a rallying cry.         The brothers laugh. “We are ready to bring cider to these fine ponies of Ponyville!”         “Then I declare this contest,” I flip the hourglass over, “Underway! Begin!” Immediately, Applejack bucks a tree and moves on to another tree while Apple Bloom scrambles to catch the apples as they fall. Once her basket is full, she drops it off by Granny and grabs an empty basket. Granny adjusts her glasses and starts grabbing apples, tossing rotten ones off to the side and good ones into the chute. Mac starts running on the treadmill, pressing the apples into cider which runs out of a tap into an awaiting barrel. Once the barrel is full, Mac closes it and tosses it off to the side. Meanwhile, the brothers only have to push a button to start their process, which involves a long hose hovering over a tree, sucking the apples out of its branches, then filtering them through a quality control center housed within the machine. The finished barrel is then deposited out of a chute in the back. From the start, it seems like the Apples are gonna lose this contest. And Rarity voices my exact thoughts. “This is just dreadful. Even at top speed, the Apples are only producing one barrel to the brother’s three!” I lean back in my chair with my hands behind my head. I notice Twilight walking over to me. “Why’d you even propose this contest? She’s our friend, and this farm means everything to Applejack and her family! If they lose the farm, the Apples are going to lose everything!” I don’t take my eyes off the contest. I gotta pretend to be observant after all. “Have faith in them, Twilight. I know I do.” I hear her huff and walk away, thinking it’s the end of the discussion. Not moments later, Rainbow slams her hand on the table, causing me to jump. “Alright, bub, this is a contest against the Apples, and we want in!” She motions behind her to the rest of the girls. I raise an eyebrow. “Last time I checked, none of you are related to the Apples.” “Umm… But we’re honorary Apples.” I turn to Fluttershy. “Since when?” “It was way back when you first arrived in town during Applebuck season but you weren’t there and I don’t know why you weren’t there. Why weren’t you there anyway?” “Pinkie, please, we don’t have time for this. Applejack needs our help!” I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t see a reason why not, though both parties must agree.” I stand up and head over towards the brothers. “Brothers,” I motion to the girls, “These are honorary Apple family members, and they would like to help out their family. Is this acceptable?” Flim waves his hand. “Of course. It’s not like the outcome is going to change anyway, though they are welcome to try.” I nod my head and head over to Applejack. “Applejack, your honorary family would like to help you out.” Applejack wipes her brow, sweat dripping off her body. “Ah’d appreciate any help from all of my family.”  I motion for the girls to come over. “Alright ladies, you part of this contest now, and as such, I expect all rules to be abided, okay?” Rarity gasps. “Why, I don’t think we’d even consider it!” Applejack shakes her head. “If’n we’re gonna win, we’re gonna fair and honestly.” I nod my head. “I expect as much, but still needed to say it. Good luck.” I head back to the stand and sit back down, watching as Twilight quickly assigns the girls to a station. Rarity helps out Granny with the sorting, Fluttershy shakes the apples out of the trees, Pinkie helps out Apple Bloom with collecting duties, Rainbow runs alongside Mac on the treadmill, and Twilight caps the barrels and stacks them off to the side. From out of nowhere, I see a scroll and quill appear beside Twilight. While she works, she glances between everybody else and writes on the scroll. First off, she must have some insane concentration to be able to keep up her pace and focus on an entirely different task. Second, I don’t know what she’s writing, but she says something that I can't hear that causes the brothers to freak out. They leap from their seats and race around the Cider Squeezy 6000 to where I can’t see them. The machine seems to shudder a bit before seemingly kicking into overdrive, its suction hose ripping entire trees out of the ground and barrels flying out the back. “You do realize that you’re hurting the Apple’s even more right now.” “How so?” “How about a little thing called property damage? It’s gonna take them a while to replant these trees, but hey, as long as you get some apple cider!” I sigh. Here I am thinking I’m doing the right thing by letting these events happen, but do some of them really need to? This could have been ended sooner, yet I chose to help things get this far. “What’s wrong, Blake?” I glance to the right, not realizing Sweetie and Scootaloo had snuck up beside me. I shake my head. “The Rejects are gonna have a tour soon, and I have got a lot of ideas and things I would like to happen, but I’m having some second thoughts.” I’m not lying to them. I truly am having some second thoughts. After all, this band is resting on my shoulders right now. “About what? You guys are an awesome band!” I smile. “I know that, Scoots. It’s just that some of my ideas might not be looked upon by the public that way.” “Like what? Rarity always tells me that talking with others can help you come up with something even better.” I hesitate. “I really don’t want to bore both of you with the details.” “Come on! You’re a Crusader! You should be able to talk with your fellow Crusaders!” Damn it. But I will applaud Scootaloo’s use of my ‘membership’ to the Crusaders. “Alright, alright.” I place my hands on my lap and look at them. “You know the type of music we’ve been doing so far?” “Yeah, what about it?” “I’m thinking of our future here, and I don’t want to tie us down to a specific genre. I want us to be able to branch out, reach all fans of music out there. But I don’t want to lose the fans we already have.” “Why would you lose them?” I tap my chin. How can I put this into terms they can understand? “Suppose that one day, the Cakes decide to change the recipe for your favorite thing there. You don’t like the recipe at all, so you stop getting it. Then the Cakes reintroduce the old recipe. Maybe you try it and it doesn’t taste the same as it did before, or maybe you don’t and the Cakes lose a customer.” Sweetie’s eyes widen. “Ohh, I get it now! You’re worried that if you change the type of music you play, then whenever you come back to it, all of your fans won’t like it anymore!” I pat her head. “Right on the nose.” Scootaloo rolls her eyes. “Then forget those ponies! If they don’t like it, they don’t have to listen to it! And if they keep complaining, I’ll give ‘em the old one-two!” She shadow boxes the air in front of her. I laugh. “I’ll be sure to send them your way if it comes to that.” “Umm… Blake? The time ran out on the hourglass.” I look at the hourglass, jumping up out of my seat at the sight of the sand at the bottom. How long has it been like that?! “Thanks for the talk you two, but I gonna finish this contest!” I run out towards the brothers and Apples, waving my hands like a madman while screaming that time is up. The Apples plus girls stagger over, sweat dripping from them and a haggard look in their eyes. The brothers got it easy, able to just flip a switch to stop their process. After the crowds cheering dies down, I announce, “Now comes the important part in this contest! Who made the most barrels of cider!” The brothers proudly stand in front of their stack, while the Apples and girls trudge over to their stack. From pure looks alone, the brothers made more barrels, and it’s clearly evident to everyone. I see Apple Bloom tear up and Granny going to comfort her, the girls comforting Applejack, and Mac never once taking his eyes off the brothers. I…I can’t do this. I should have stopped this from the start. Now… Now I’ve made a filly cry, all because my brain won out over my heart. I take a deep breath. “But first!” I pause as all eyes turn to me. “I think a taste test is in order!” The brothers balk at this. “But that wasn’t in the original rules!” Flim says, tugging at his bow tie. I turn to glare at them. “I have altered the rules. Pray that I don’t alter them any further.” The brothers huddle up for a moment, whispering to each other. Finally, they turn back. “We refuse to accept this change in rules.” Flam says. “The original challenge was set to only go by—” I had enough. I grab the side of their heads and smash them together. I grin as they clutch their heads. “Would you like to keep talking? I’m sure the rest of that sentence didn’t end with some variation of agreeing to the new rules.” Flim gulps. “Um, yes it did actually! Brother, be a gentlestallion and get this judge a fine mug of cider!” “Right away!” Flam rushes over, going to fill up the mug with cider from one of the barrels at the bottom of their stack. “Nope!” Flam looks at me. “From the last barrel you made, at the top.” “But—” I crack my knuckles, causing him to gulp. “O-Of course!” He levitates the barrel down to his level. Once he fills up the mug, he slowly walks back and hands it to me. I nearly gag at the putrid smell alone, not to mention the twigs, leaves, and dirt floating in it. I drop the mug to the ground, my glare never once leaving the brothers. “Inedible. No one on the planet would buy this garbage, and if they did, they’d be in the morgue in minutes. The Apples win by default,” I yell out, causing everyone to cheer. Flam glares and steps forward. “You can’t declare them the winner!” Apparently, someone grew their balls back. “You didn’t even try their cider!” Flim nods his head. “And you can’t judge an entire batch on one barrel!” I wait till the crowd dies down before responding. “Oh, but I can.” I step towards Flam, causing his eyes to widen and for him to start stepping back, Flim quickly joining him. “In all honesty, the contest was never gonna go your way in the first place. The cards were rigged from the start, boys.” “But that’s not fair!” Flim whines. “Life isn’t fair, get over it. Tell me though,” I’ve backed them up against their machine by now, “What made you look down at this place and try to take it over? The home of one of the Elements of Harmony? All it would take is for Celestia or Luna to find out that an Element has lost something so dear to them and they’d be here in a heartbeat.” The brothers gulp. “W-We didn’t know!” Flam stammers out. “Of course not, nobody ever knows of the fucking saviors of the land. I get that you’re salesmen and this is how you make your living, but sometimes you gotta cut your losses and walk away, like you should have today. That’s not what angers me though. These hardworking ponies depend on the trees around here, and for you to so blatantly rip them from the ground just to win a contest?! Do you know how hard it is for them to maintain this farm, to make a living just to survive?!” “They have plenty of trees here! Surely a few wouldn’t matter!” Flim says. Before I can say anything else, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I glance over to see Applejack standing there. “That’s enough, sugarcube.” I can’t just let them walk away, not without paying some kind of price. But this is Applejack’s fight to win, not mine. But I still caused this… I clench and unclench my fists a couple of times before relenting. Walking towards the rest of the girls, I take a few deep breaths just to calm my nerves. “Sorry about all that.” “What brought that on?” Twilight asks. I sigh. “I could have prevented all this from the start, instead of instigating it. Thanks to me, the Apples lost some trees,” I point at Apple Bloom, “You cried, and I put all of you through undue stress over a stupid contest that I could have stopped!” “Don’t worry ‘bout the trees much. We can always replant them.” “I don’t think there was much you could do, dearie. Those two seemed to know just what to say to rile up the Apples. Even if you didn’t say anything, I’m sure this still would have happened.” While I appreciate Rarity and Mac trying to reassure me, it doesn’t do much. Still, I’d rather this day just be over instead of dwelling on what ifs. “I suppose your right, Rarity, but I still don’t like it. I just hope Applejack treats them better than I would have.” “Um… She’s letting them go.” I turn and look. Sure enough, they climb onto the Cider Squeezy 6000 and drive away. Applejack watches them for a bit before coming towards us. “They’re more trouble than it’s worth.” I don’t take my eyes off the brothers. “They’ll be back. People like them, they don’t learn and they never will.” I shake my head and turn to Applejack. “Sorry for doing this to all of ya.” She rolls her eyes. “Tain’t nothing the Apples couldn’t handle. Nothing compares ta hard work!” “I told ya nothing compares to Apple Family Cider!” I smile. “I never had my doubts, Granny.” I notice Apple Bloom eyeing the stack of barrels. “So… How many barrels did we make?” I eye the stack as well. “Who cares? Judging by what’s here, and what you still have stashed back at the barn,” I turn to the crowd and spread my arms, “I’d say there’s enough for the whole town!” Everyone present cheers. I feel a tugging on my leg. Looking down, I see Apple Bloom holding a mug of cider. “Ya never did get ta drink your cider.” I smile. Grabbing the mug from her, I heft it up and down the thing. Within moments, my mouth is flooded with the crisp, cool taste of fresh apples with a natural sweetness one would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Okay, maybe everything today was totally worth it if this is the end result.