My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship

by Danieru

39. Quality vs Quantity

It was still morning in Ponyville and Star Twinkle was fully asleep at that time.
However, somepony was knocking on his door, causing him to awake.
Being grumpy as always when he is thrown out of his bed, Star Twinkle was walking towards his door in order to open it.
The knocking continued, starting to annoy Star Twinkle a little,

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" He said half-asleep, walking to his door.

When he opened the door, Rainbow Dash was standing in front of him with an overly excited expression on her face.

"Come on, Star Twinkle!
Cider season's about to start!" She said excitedly.

But Star Twinkle didn't show the same excitement than her.
Right now, all he wanted was to continue his nap.

"So?" Star Twinkle replied with his eyes half-open.

This caused Rainbow Dash to gasp in shock.

"What do you mean, “so”?
We have to go to Sweet Apple Acres to get our cider before Pinkie Pie grabs most of them!
This year I'm gonna get there before sunrise, so I can drink all the cider I want and laugh when she doesn't get any!
It's the perfect plan. Y'know, I might even buy some cider and hold onto it for a while, drinking it drop by drop in front of her–" She said in a more malicious tone.
"So are you coming or not?" Rainbow Dash asked waiting for Star Twinkle's answer.

But he just stood there and smashed the door shut in front of her after a while, leaving her confused outside.
He wasted no time, sliding inside of his bed again and covering himself with his bed sheets.
But he noticed some weight above him and opened his eyes, only to see Rainbow Dash above her.

"Aren't you excited for Cider Season at all?" She asked lowering her head to be on eye to eye with Star Twinkle.

"Not really...
I don't understand why you get so excited by some cider," he said covering his head with his bed sheet.

"Some cider?
You are talking about it like it is any normal cider!
As if you never tasted it at all!"

"Yeah...
That is the case," Star Twinkle mumbled.

This caused Rainbow Dash to widen her eyes in shock.

"What!?" Rainbow dash exclaimed shocked, making Star Twinkle jump.
"You never tasted Apple cider!?"

"No, I haven't.
Now can you please go and lea-"

But he was suddenly lifted by Rainbow Dash above her head.
Something that Star Twinkle didn't approve at all.

"We have to change that!
I can't let one soul miss out of the most fantastic drink that was ever made in Equestria!" She said full of determination.

She then flew in the direction to Sweet Apple Acres with Star Twinkle on her back.
Flying with this speed this early in the morning while still being half-asleep was definitely not something that Star Twinkle wanted right now.
But the farther they got away from his house, the more he gave in.

At Sweet Apple Acres...

When they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres both of them were surprised by how many ponies were already there.
However, Rainbow Dash was more shocked than surprised.
In front of the line were multiple tents.
All these tents meant that somepony was inside of them and that meant that there were many ponies in front of them.
All this excitement quickly vanished from Rainbow Dash as she realized that she was too late.

As expected, Pinkie Pie stepped out of the first tent with her mane all messed up indicating that she spent the whole night inside of the tent.

"Who are all these ponies?!" Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie Pie worriedly.

"Isn't this great?” She exclaimed, mysteriously changing her mane back to her usual self.
“I couldn't sleep last night 'cause I was so excited about cider season,
and I had this brilliant idea to come down here and camp out, so I told a few others about it,
and they all thought it was a great idea too, and now it's just a big old cider party!" Pinkie Pie explained, causing Rainbow Dash to growl angrily.

"Oh, gosh, that's a lot of ponies. Hope they don't run out before you get any," Pinkie Pie added, making Rainbow Dash growl once more.

Star Twinkle felt out of place.
He was dragged by Rainbow Dash to get a taste of this cider.
But from the looks of it, even if he wanted some, it seemed like they would run out of cider before he even gets a chance to taste some.
He rather wanted to go back in his bed right now.

"Seriously, who spends the whole night in a tent just to get some cider?" Star Twinkle said annoyed.

Suddenly, the tent behind Pinkie Pie's tent zipped open, followed by a shocked scream from inside.

"What do you mean with, just to get some cider?"

It was Steel Hammer, who also seemed to spend the night inside of a tent.
Needless to say, Star Twinkle shook his head after seeing Steel Hammer, walking outside of the tent.

"You are talking about it like it is any normal cider!
As if you never tasted it at all!" Steel Hammer said, using the exact same words, Rainbow Dash said before.

"He hasn't!" Rainbow Dash informed Steel Hammer who could only reply with a huge gasp.

“We have to change that!” He exclaimed determent.

“You know, if you want that cider so badly, you should probably get in line now, Rainbow Dash...” Star Twinkle said, somehow changing the subject away from him.

“Oh! Right!” She replied dashing to the end of the line in hope to get some cider.

Star Twinkle assured Steel Hammer that he shouldn't worry about him and went off in direction home.

Every other pony behind Pinkie Pie and Steel Hammer were also coming out of their tents.
There were probably hundreds of them waiting to get some cider.
It was ridiculous, thought Star Twinkle.

When he walked back he noticed how even Twilight, Spike, and Rarity were in line for the cider.
They greeted him on his way back.

“Are you waiting for some cider too?” Twilight asked.

“No. I was just heading back home,” Star Twinkle replied disinterestedly.

“I heard the cider from Sweet Apple Acres is the best in all of Equestria so I just had to come here after Pinkie Pie informed me abut it,” Twilight explained.

“Oh, it is, darling!” Rarity informed.
“Just wait until you tasted it,”

They were clearly more interested in the cider than Star Twinkle.
He couldn't understand why they spent so much time, waiting for some drink.
After they drink it, the taste will be gone.
That means that they waited all night for just a minute.
Star Twinkle's mind couldn't even begin to understand this logic.

Suddenly Applejack said something through a megaphone to all the ponies in line.

“Attention, everypony! Cider season is now officially open!”

And just after that, the apples began to give out the cider to everypony.
The line began to move after a while and as expected Pinkie Pie walked back satisfied after getting like ten or twenty cups of cider.

“I really hope they don't run out of cider until we get some,” Spike said worriedly.

“There you are!” Said Steel Hammer approaching Star Twinkle with a cup of cider in one of his hooves.

“What is it?” Star Twinkle asked.

But Steel Hammer only offered his cup to Star Twinkle with a smile on his face.
Apparently, he bought one for Star Twinkle so that he could taste one.

“I told you I'm not interested in that cider.
If you really like this cider that much then you should drink it yourself...” Star Twinkle advised, refusing Steel Hammer's cup.

“You will stop saying this nonsense if you just tasted one!
So here you go!” Steel Hammer said, almost forcing Star Twinkle to take it.

Star Twinkle knew that a discussion like that would lead to nowhere with Steel Hammer so he just accepted it.
But as soon as he took the cup, he immediately noticed that it was much lighter than he expected.
When he looked into the jar he found out that it was empty.

“Um...Steel Hammer...” Star Twinkle said, showing Steel Hammer the empty cup.

“Oops...looks like I drank it on the way back...” he replied followed by an embarrassed laugh.

Star Twinkle could only give him a strange look as if he was expecting some explanation.

“I'm sorry Star Twinkle!
But the cider just tasted so good!
I just took a sip from that cup in hope that you wouldn't notice a difference but then I took another and another and another...” Steel Hammer explained in a rush until Star Twinkle stopped him.

“Yes, yes I get it!
Don't worry about it!” Star Twinkle replied, not wanting to hear some unnecessary excuses from Steel Hammer.

The line was still moving at a really fast pace, considering that there were so many ponies waiting.
Star Twinkle waited nearby for some reason.
He wanted to leave but he thought that it wouldn't be right until all of his friends got their share of the cider.
He had the feeling that this is what friends do but if it was true was another question.

He saw how Fluttershy managed to get one jar but Rainbow Dash, who was right behind her had a mixed expression of sadness and anger on her face.

He couldn't make out what that was about at first but he quickly figured what happened and Applejack's words after that only confirmed it.

“Sorry, everypony! That's it for today!”

And as expected not everypony was happy after hearing that.
Especially Rainbow Dash, who was probably the most excited one in the line.
She blamed Applejack and her family for not making enough cider and many ponies agreed with her.

Of course, Applejack assured that the Apple family cider is made with much love and care and that only the best apples will be used for the recipe, which in turn takes more time.

But that didn't help to cheer up the angry crowd of ponies who waited for their cider.
All Applejack could do now was telling everypony that they should come back tomorrow.

Rainbow Dash's anger could be felt from a mile away.
She was slowly walking towards Star Twinkle, who watched the whole scene.

“Okay...as a friend, I should say something to cheer her up...to make her feel better,” Star Twinkle thought as he prepared to choose some encouraging words.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Pinkie Pie walked between them.

“She's right, y'know! You can't rush perfection! And this year's batch was perfection!” Pinkie Pie said, only igniting Rainbow Dash's anger even more.

“Uh...Pinkie Pie...” Star Twinkle said, trying to stop Pinkie Pie for saying something really stupid in a situation like that.

“I'll never forget the cider I just drank! It was a moment in time that will never exist again,” she said making a really satisfied face.

“Yep! Surely a piece of equestrian heaven!” Steel Hammer added, who just had to join in, with the same expression on his face.

Star Twinkle felt that he should get out of there until Rainbow Dash decided to let out her anger at somepony and knowing his luck, Star Twinkle would probably get caught up in that somehow.

But before it could come to this, a far away honk noise caught everyponies attention.
When everypony decided to check from where it was coming from, some strange mechanical vehicle came closer to the crowd of ponies.

“What in Equestria is that?” Applejack wondered, like everypony else.

Even thought it came close enough to inspect it, nopony could make out what exactly it was supposed to be.
The vehicle had two wooden wheels, a podium on the front side, some kind of funnel, a barrel and much more strange stuff on it.

Whatever it was everypony quickly walked up to the vehicle after it stopped next to the stall, where the Apple's sold their cider.
Two unicorns stepped out of it, both of them having a yellow coat, a red mane with white stripes, green eyes and a blue and white striped shirts, as well as a straw hat.
The only difference between them was their Cutie Marks and one of them having a mustache.
The one with the mustache had an apple, with a piece cut out of it and the other had a piece of an apple as Cutie Marks.

Judging from their appearance they were clearly related, probably even twins.
Whatever they were, the wasted no time to enlighten everypony.
The one without a mustache started to sing to the crowd while introducing himself and his brother.

“Well, lookie what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town
Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found
Maybe they're not aware that there's really no need for this teary despair,”

His brother quickly joined in.

“That the key that they need to solve this sad cider shortage, you and I will share,”

Then they both sang along.

“Well you've got opportunity
In this very community,”

“He's Flim,” the one with the mustache introduced his brother.

“He's Flam,” the other one introduced.

And again they sang in unison.

“We're the world famous Flim Flam Brothers
Traveling salesponies nonpareil,”

Everypony seemed to quickly get into the song and bumped up and down in excitement.
Star Twinkle, would lie if said that the song wasn't catchy but he felt that this was the perfect opportunity to leave the scene.
After all, he was not interested in any cider, no matter which pony made it.

But when he decided to sneak away, Steel Hammer popped up in front of him, inviting him into the song, which was still sung in the background.

“Did you hear that, Star Twinkle?
They're going to use that machine to create more cider for us!” Steel Hammer said excitedly.

“That's wonderful.
Can I leave now?” Star Twinkle asked out of frustration.

“Leave?
Weren't you listening?
They're gonna make enough cider for everypony!” Steel Hammer exclaimed.

This got Star Twinkle thinking.
He started to listen to the song more closely.
There were some things that he noticed after listening closely.
Some things that he didn't like after he analyzed them.

“If they really want to make enough cider for everypony, then they would need enough apples...
Like the ones from Sweet Apple Acres?
But what happens to the Apple family if that happens?
Don't they need the money earned from the cider to make a living?
And more importantly...
Why did they appear right now?
It's as if they knew that the Apple family would run out of cider...”

“I think I know what's going on here...”

Strangely, everypony didn't seem to notice anything and were way too excited about more cider.
After the song was over, Apple Bloom quickly agreed that they should use the so-called “Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000” to make more cider for everypony.
However, being the traditional ponies, Applejack, Big McIntosh and Granny Smith were not sure if it was okay to make apple-cider like that.

Flim and Flam responded to that by offering their machine as long as the Apple family offers their apples, with the profits split into seventy-five and twenty-five, obviously giving the brothers the bigger share.

“Cider sales keep our business afloat through the winter. We'd lose Sweet Apple Acres if we agreed to this,” Applejack pointed out, making it obvious that she and her family refuse the brothers offer.

But after hearing that, the brothers were not happy at all and decided that if the Apple's didn't want to cooperate, then they simply have to compete with them.
Applejack called a bluff but the brothers were absolutely serious and assured to make enough cider for everypony while driving Sweet Apple Acres out of business.

It's just like Star Twinkle imagined.
They were both classic business ponies, who prioritized their income, rather than satisfying their costumers.

After making this threat, the Flim Flam brothers left along with their machine to give the Apple family more time to think about their offer.

Since everypony was already upset that there was no more cider, as well as Rainbow Dash, who had no problems showing her frustration, they all left Sweet Apple Acres.

While Star Twinkle was glad to go home, he couldn't help but to worry about Applejack and her family.
Selling cider is one thing but ruining the life of the Apple family is another.
Because it worried him that much, he decided to go to Sweet Apple Acres again on the next day.

On the next day...

When Star Twinkle arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, there was again really long line of ponies waiting to get their hooves on the Apple Family cider.
Twilight, Spike, and Applejack were standing in nearby the stall where the cider was given out.
They all had worried expressions on their faces.
Probably because of the Flim Flam brothers, from yesterday.

After joining their conversation for a while, Apple Bloom announced that there was no more cider left again, much to everyponies dislike, especially Rainbow Dash who could be heard from afar complaining.

And again, almost on cue, the Flim Flam brothers appeared with their Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

“What seems to be the problem here?” Flim asked.

“Oh my, oh my, out of cider again?” Flam said, of course in a mocking tone in is voice.

Flim then quickly rushed to his machine and pulled out a barrel, which was filled with apple cider and offered it to the still thirsty crowd.
Coincidentally, Rainbow Dash was offered one cup.

But Applejack quickly figured what was happening and pulled out a rope to snatch the barrel away from the two business-ponies, accidentally knocking over Rainbow Dash's cup, who was so desperate to get some cider, that she began to chew down the dirt, where the cider spilled over.

“Is this some kind of cruel joke?” She said with teary eyes.

Applejack couldn't allow them to sell the cider because it was made out from the apples of Sweet Apple Acres.
Naturally, they can't just sell cider made out of Sweet Apple Acres apples.

“Don't worry, everypony, there are plenty of apples in Equestria. We'll find some others and make more cider than all of Ponyville can drink!” Flim announced to the crowd of ponies.

But Apple Bloom couldn't take those two anymore and announced that she and her family could make more cider than they could ever imagine.
This caused the crowd to gasp in excitement until Granny Smith pointed out that it wasn't about the speed but more about the quality, which again, turned the mood in the crowd down.

“Who cares how good the cider is if I never get to drink any?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed angrily.

“Wasn't that incredible taste, that this cider was supposedly had the reason why everypony is standing in this line?” Star Twinkle wondered.
For him, it felt like that everypony is losing sight of what's important right now.

“Ponyville is Sweet Apple Cider country!” Apple Bloom said.

“Our cider speaks for itself!” Applejack added.

The Apple's were trying to remind everypony about the facts but instead, it only gave Flim and Flam an idea.

“Let's put it to the test!” Flim suggested.

“With our machine, we can make enough cider in one hour to satisfy this entire town!” Flam added.

“We'll do it in 45 minutes!” Apple Bloom replied, who was falling for their bait.

The crowd easily got excited after hearing that, much like Star Twinkle predicted.

“Hold on, Apple Bloom!” Star Twinkle said as he couldn't watch any longer how she was digging her own grave.
“Don't you see what they are trying to do?
They want you to get down on their game.
You can't let them do that!” Star Twinkle explained.

“He's right!” Granny Smith said.
“We don't need to make more cider than they do,”

Thankfully, Granny Smith was not falling for their little game and kept her collected nature.

Until...

“What's the matter, Granny Smith? Chicken?” Flim said, easily grabbing Granny Smith's attention.

“What did you call me, sonny?” She replied turning from Apple Bloom to Flim

“If you're so confident in your cider, then what's the problem?” Flim said, only luring Granny Smith deeper into his trap.

“No, please not...” Star Twinkle thought worriedly.

“Tomorrow mornin', right here!” Granny Smith shouted at Flim's face.

But Flam pointed out that they don't have any apples to compete, to which Granny Smith offered the south field of Sweet Apple Acres for them.

“Excellent; we have a bet. Whoever produces the most barrels in one hour wins the exclusive right to sell cider in Ponyville,” Flim explained confidently.

It was exactly how Star Twinkle thought.
They were just waiting for an opportunity like that.
But now it was too late, Granny Smith was far to fired up to take back the bet.
This was no longer a competition but rather a gamble if the Apple's could keep their farm or not.

However, the result would have to wait till tomorrow...

On the next day...

Star Twinkle went to Sweet Apple Acres at the time where the competition was held.
The whole Apple family was warming up for the upcoming competition.

The only thing Star Twinkle could do was providing some mental support.
But Star Twinkle didn't seem to be the only one who had this idea.
Twilight was talking to Applejack, having a concerned look on her face.

“Applejack? Are you sure this is such a good idea?” She asked concerned.

But before Applejack could answer, Star Twinkle joined the conversation.

“Yeah, I have to agree with Twilight...You'll loose much more than just this competition,” he advised.

However, Applejack was confident in her and her families abilities.

“You don't have to prove that your cider is better!” Star Twinkle said.

“Star Twinkle, I know that you put your full trust as a fan of our cider but after coming so far, we just can't go back,” Applejack said determent.

“Actually, I never once tast-”

But the voice of the mayor interrupted the conversation.
She was signaling that the competition is about to start and Applejack went off to her family to face off against the Flim Flam brothers.

Star Twinkle and Twilight wished Applejack good luck, which she probably needed right now and walked back into the crowd to watch the competition.

The mayor once more reminded everypony about the rules of the competition.

“The teams have one hour to produce as much cider as they can, after which the barrels will be counted and the winner will be named the sole cider provider for all of Ponyville!”
“Are both teams ready?” The Mayor asked.

The Apple family was determent and didn't show any hesitance.
The Flim Flam brothers, however, were relaxed and full of themselves to win this with the help of their machine.
Both teams were ready and the Mayor could start the competition.

“Then let's... go!”

The Apple family quickly rushed to their side to start working on the cider.
Applejack, as expected, started to kick the trees in order to let the apples fall down, which were then caught by Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom gave the apples to Granny Smith, who was quality checking every single apple, before putting it into a little machine.
This machine was connected to a treadmill on which Big McIntosh was running on.
The machine was creating the cider out of the apples that Granny Smith put inside.

With this method they managed to fill a barrel almost no time, lifting up the motivation of the Apple family until they took a look at Flim and Flam's side for a moment, only to realize that they effortlessly filled six barrels at the same time.

“They already have six?
And they didn't even break a sweat,” Star Twinkle realized after taking a look at the brother's side as well.

In this moment, the Apple family realized that they outmatched in terms of creating more cider than the Flim Flam brothers.
But of course, they would never admit that and went on.
Even though they did their best to improve their speed, it was sadly not enough to keep up with the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

“This is just dreadful. Even at top speed, the Apples are only making one barrel to the twins' three!” Rarity said, which probably was clear to everypony at this point.

Twilight looked over to the brothers and prompted everypony to follow her to the mayor.
Star Twinkle did not know what she was planning but he followed her as well.

“Um, Miss Mayor! Are honorary family members allowed to help in the
competition?” She asked,

“Honorary Family member?
Does she mean us?” Star Twinkle wondered.

The Mayor thought about it for a minute but decided to ask the Flim Flam brothers.
Luckily, they were so full of themselves that they agreed to it.

“Are you kidding?” Flim said.

“We don't care if the whole kingdom of Canterlot helps. It's a lost cause,” Flam added.

The mayor also asked Applejack if she was okay with it.

“I think I'd love to have the rest of my family helpin' out,” she replied happily.

Twilight lost no time and gave everypony a fitting task to help the Apple's.

Fluttershy should help Applejack by shaking some apples from the trees.
Pinkie Pie was ordered to help Apple Bloom with the apple catching
Rarity's eye for detail will be perfect to help Granny Smith's quality control.
Rainbow Dash will help Big McIntosh on the treadmill.
And Star Twinkle will help by preparing the barrels.

“Aright, everypony, let's save Sweet Apple Acres!” Twilight said pumping up everypony in the process.

“All right!” Everypony replied in unison.

“For the cider!” Steel Hammer screamed, suddenly standing next to the six ponies and eager to help out too.

He was also armed with some tools and some other stuff in his hooves.
He began to build another treadmill right next to Big McIntosh in a few seconds and began to ran on it, causing more cider to come out of the machine.

Star Twinkle quickly replaced the barrels who were filled and prepared another on in its place.

With everypony helping out like that, the cider making went on even faster than before, hopefully being able to keep up with the brothers.

“Based on these figures, we're making five barrels for every three of theirs!” Twilight calculated, which lead the crowd of ponies who watched the competition to cheer.

However, the Flim Flam brothers did notice that too and began to increase their speed as well.
They began to focus more magic into their machine, forcing it to not only suck in apples but the whole tree as well.

Star Twinkle noticed that but he had no time to focus on that and kept going with his task.

Rainbow Dash noticed the sudden increase of cider production on the brother's side and suggested to skip the quality control in order to keep up with the brothers.
But Granny Smith insisted on continuing like before.

When Rainbow Dash wanted Applejack to help her to convince Granny Smith, Applejack backed up Granny Smith by saying that there would be no point to winning if they cheat.

Star Twinkle was not really agreeing with that since the task was to create the most cider but he couldn't get a free second while working on the barrels and concentrated on doing his work.

All they could do was to work even harder and hope that they somehow manage to fill more barrels than the twins.

Eventually, the one hour passed and the Mayor stopped the competition.
This caused everypony on the apple side to drop down to the ground in exhaustion.

The Mayor then counted every single barrel on both sides and everypony had to wait until the winner was declared.

The result was...

“Flim and Flam win!” The Mayor announced., much to the shock of everypony.

Applejack couldn't believe it.
After all their hard work, the Flim Flam brothers still managed to win by a long shot.
And of course, they didn't hold back boasting about it.

“Daww, too bad, Apples,” Flim said.

“Guess you'll just have to find a new line of work that doesn't match your names quite so... perfectly,” Flam said.

“Now should we tear down all these tacky old buildings and put up new ones, brother?” Flim suggested, pointing at the barns of Sweet Apple Acres.

“I don't see why not, brother. After all, this isn't Sweet Apple Acres anymore. How about 'Flim Flam Fields'?” Flam suggested.

Eventually, Rainbow Dash couldn't take it anymore and charged right at the two brothers but was stopped by Applejack in time, claiming that a deal is a deal.

“Congratulations to y'all. The cider business in Ponyville... is yours. C'mon, Apples. Let's go pack up our things,” Applejack said with a sad tone in her voice as she attempted to leave the farm with her family.

Everypony was cheering one moment ago but now everypony stood there in sadness and teary eyes.
And for what?
For cider...

“Cider...
All that for some cider...” Star Twinkle mumbled to himself.

“Come on, Star Twinkle...let's help Applejack and her family,” Twilight suggested.

“Help Applejack?
Are they really going to leave?
Just because they lost this stupid competition?” Star Twinkle thought to himself.

“...stupid...” he mumbled.

“Star Twinkle?” Twilight aid, wondering if he was listening at all.

“This is stupid!” He exclaimed angrily.
“All that for just some stupid cider?”

Applejack figured that Star Twinkle was not taking their loss to well and attempted to cheer him up.

“Hold on now, don't worry too much abou-”

“No!
Am I the only pony who realizes how stupid all of this is?” He exclaimed in anger.

He then walked up to one of the barrels of the brother's side.

“I mean, is it really that important which cider is better?
It's just some plain old cider!” He said angrily tapping on one of the barrels, which then opened up on accident, startling Star Twinkle in the process.

On closer inspection of the cider, he realized that it didn't even look tasty at all.
There were stones and branches inside of it.
It looked unfinished and disgusting.

“This is what you bet your farm on?” Star Twinkle asked, now more confused than ever.

“Hold on a minute!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed flying towards the barrels.

She kicked over some more barrels and revealed the cider inside of it.
Most of the barrels had unfinished rock and branched filled cider inside of it.

Sweat was beginning to build on the Flim Flam brothers faces as they realized how everypony was staring at them angrily.

Of course, they tried to haggle their way out of it, offering one cups at ridiculously low prices but nopony was willing to pay one cent for even a barrel.

“It looks like we've encountered a slight... problem here in Ponyville,” Flam said nervously

“Nopony wants our product,” Flim said nervously.
“Next town?” Flim suggested.

“Next town,” Flam agreed.

And thus, the Flim Flam brothers left Ponyville along with their Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

Applejack couldn't believe that they were gone and widened her eyes.
With the two brothers gone, Sweet Apple Acres was still in business.

Everypony was relieved to not only keep their high-quality cider but also the Apple family in Sweet Apple Acres.

“Well, looks like your love for a good cider helped us all!” Pinkie Pie said to Star Twinkle.

“My what?
I didn't even say anything like...ugh...whatever...” Star Twinkle replied, giving up to talk with Pinkie Pie.

Things calmed down after a while and the Apple family decided to continue their apple-cider business right away.
Thanks to that silly competition they had more than enough cider for all of Ponyville.

“So basically, everypony is waiting in line for more cider...again...” Star Twinkle mumbled to himself.

“You really don't like this apple cider?” Twilight asked.

“No...
I didn't say anything like that.
I can't say anything like that since I never tasted it...” Star Twinkle admitted.

“Well, now is your chance,” Twilight suggested as she levitated one cup to Star Twinkle.

He was actually really thirsty after working so hard in the competition so he gladly accepted every kind of drink that was presented to him at this point.
He took his cup and drank everything at once.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

His mind went blank.
It was an explosion of taste.
A rainbow of flavor.
As if everything that tasted good in this world was put into his mouth at once.
Nothing even compared.
The moment of this taste went away too far.
Not enough to satisfy his need for more cider.

“Star Twinkle?” Twilight asked.

“Huh?” Star Twinkle replied as he snapped out of wherever he was at that moment.

“And?
How was it?” She asked curiously.

“How it tasted? He asked confused as if he didn't know where he was right now.
Um...
It was...okay...” he replied while avoiding eye contact.

Obviously, he could not say the truth after making such deal out of it before.
It would be too embarrassing for him.

“You sure about that?
You looked a lot like Pinkie Pie after finishing your drink,” Twilight said teasingly.

“No, I didn't!” Star Twinkle protested.
“Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get in line for more cider!
Because...I'm still thirsty!” He added, somehow trying to hide that he liked it.

He then walked away to the end of the line but he could clearly hear the girls laughing at him.
But that didn't matter to him.

“Just let them laugh...” He mumbled to himself annoyed.
“But I think I need to go home...to get more bits...” He said as he walked in direction of the line that stood in front of the stall, where the apple-cider was sold at.

Author's Note:

I'm back!
Even if no one missed me!
And I brought a chapter with me!
So please read it and tell me what you think about it!
I would be glad to hear your opinion!

The baby cakes Episode was actually planned for this chapter but after writing like one fifth of the chapter, I realized that I had no idea what to do with it.
So I skipped it.
Hopefully for the best!

Hope to see you all in the next chapter!

Comments

[Light Flare]

Lol and star is now an addicted for sweet apple's cider.

[notabronyhorseman]

This is such a squid word and a krabby Patty situation