The Thirty Minute Dash

by Esle Ynopemos

22: Good to the Last Drop [Comedy]

((Prompt: Scraping the bottom of the barrel.))

Two mares sat across from one another at a table made out of an overturned crate inside the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. Sunlight filtered through the slats, casting bright lines over the heaps of hay and empty barrels.

“Ya sure 'bout this, sugarcube?” Applejack held the mug reluctantly in her hooves. She frowned deeply at its contents.

Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof impatiently. “You said it was free. Yeah, I'm sure about this. It's cider!”

Applejack shook the mug, sloshing its contents around a bit. “It really ain't,” she said, scowling at the mug. “More like applesauce an' sawdust. I meant it more as a joke when I said it was free; we don't ever sell the stuff that's left in the bottom.”

“Are you saying I can't have it?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack sighed and, with a moment's hesitation, pushed the mug across to Rainbow. “If ya get sick, do it outside, okay? I don't wanna have to clean it up.”

Rainbow grinned as she picked the mug up with both hooves. “Awesome!” She held the mug up, watching a moist drop on the rim glisten in a ray of sunlight.

Applejack raised her hoof. “Now, jus' take a sip first, okay? To make sure it's all right. Don't—”

Rainbow tipped her head back and emptied the whole vessel into her mouth.

“—down it in one go,” Applejack said, burying her face in her fetlocks.

The cider became a spray of mist as Dash sputtered and hacked. She spat little chips of wood and bark out as she fell back on her haunches, wheezing. Her blue cheeks turned two shades closer to green, and her eyes bulged.

Applejack rose to her hooves, knocking the makeshift table over. “Outside! If yer gonna heave, get outside!” She tugged on Dash's hoof, dragging her toward the door.

Rainbow Dash pressed a hoof over her mouth. Her eyes crossed for a moment, then she swallowed. She took a few deep breaths. Color slowly returned to her cheeks.

Sensing that vomit was no longer imminent, Applejack stopped pulling on Rainbow's hoof, and put a foreleg on her back. “Are ya alright, sugarcube?”

Rainbow wiped her muzzle and grinned. “Wow, that's got some kick to it!” Her voice was hoarse. She glanced at the empty mug lying on a pile of hay. “You got any more?”

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