Apple Maretini

Twilight Sparkle pushed open the wooden doors of the Ponyville bar, the door chimes singing with a clear, tingling jingle. She walked past the empty tables and seats towards the counter, where a plum-colored bartender was snoring the night away.

Twilight clambered onto the stool and leaned onto the counter, her face a foot away from her snoozing muzzle. She brought her forehoof up and knocked on the counter thrice.

“Gah! Welcome to— Woah!” Berry Punch shouted as she jolted awake, trying to get off her stool and welcome her guest at the same time. Twilight winced as Berry fell onto the wooden floor with an audible thud, followed by a painful groan.

Twilight peered over the counter down at the crumpled bartender. “Sorry. Are you alright?”

“Yeah… just… give me a second…,” Berry groaned as she pulled herself off the floorboards and stood up. A look of recognition dawned on her face as she got a good look at Twilight’s face for the first time. “Princess! I didn’t expect to have you here tonight!”

“Please, Berry, you know I don’t like such formalities. Just Twilight is fine.”

“Yeah, but still, you’re now the official ruler of Equestria, with your coronation last year and everything. Gotta get used to the titles, right?” Berry Punch winked. Twilight merely gave her a small smile. “So, what can I get for you? I’m assuming the same drink you order everytime you come here.”

Twilight chuckled. “You know me too well. I’ll have a glass of apple maretini, please.”

“One apple maretini, coming right up!” Berry shouted as she began fumbling around behind the counter. As Berry prepared her drink, Twilight looked around the bar, at the wooden counter and walls, the numerous bottles and containers of recipes for beverages neatly lined up on cabinets, and the stools that littered the floor along with their tables.

Twilight let a smile float up to her muzzle as she took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the bar around her. She had missed being able to sit in a bar and relax while waiting for her drink. She had missed the mixed scent of ponies, wood, and liquor wafting through the air. She had missed talking to the bartender and fellow ponies as she drank.

“Here you go, Twilight! One cup of Berry Punch’s top-class apple maretini!” Berry called out as she slid the glass over the counter, breaking Twilight’s chain of thought.

“Thanks, Berry,” said Twilight as she grabbed the glass in her magic. She took a deep sip and closed her eyes, letting the cool liquor spread over her tongue, feeling the tingling sensation inside her mouth before swallowing it. “Yup, tastes better than any other cocktail I’ve had, as always.”

“See, you can always count on Berry Punch to make the best beverages!” Berry Punch grinned smugly. Then she leaned on the counter, getting closer to the alicorn sitting in front of her. “So, what brings you here this time, Twilight? You haven’t been in Ponyville for quite some time now, so I assume it’s something special.”

As Twilight opened her mouth to respond, the doorbell chimed. Both Twilight and Berry Punch turned their heads to see the newcomer.

A turquoise-green unicorn mare with a light green mane wearing a saddlebag made her way down the rows of tables and towards the counter. As the mare neared the counter, her brilliant violet irises, the same hue as Twilight’s, met her own, and for a split second, Twilight felt like she was staring into a mirror, looking at her reflection like she did every morning.

“Hello, welcome to Berry Punch’s Ponyville Bar! I don’t think I’ve seen you here before!” Berry Punch greeted the new guest, breaking Twilight out of her reverie.

“Yeah, I’m just passing by, traveling through Equestria. Happened to pass through Ponyville tonight and decided to visit the local bar since I heard this place has some exquisite drinks,” the turquoise unicorn replied as she pulled herself onto a stool and set her saddlebag on the floor.

Then she turned to Twilight. “Princess Twilight! It’s a pleasure to meet you here.”

“The pleasure is mine, Miss…?”

“Oh, where are my manners? Please, call me Everlight.”

“Ah. Pleased to meet you, Everlight. Also, just Twilight is fine; I don’t like all those formalities.”

Everlight quietly hummed as she nodded.

“So, Everlight, may I ask you what drink you’ll be having?”

“Do you serve apple maretini here? I would like to have a glass if it’s available.”

“One glass of apple maretini, coming right up!” Berry Punch replied as she set to work once again.

“You like apple maretini too?” Twilight asked, delighted to hear that her new friend happened to like her favorite drink as well. Everlight nodded, prompting Twilight to go on proudly. “Well, you’ve certainly made the right choice. Berry Punch’s apple maretini refuses to let any other beverages challenge its flavor.”

“I always strive to make the best drinks,” Berry proudly added as she poured the ingredients into the readied cup and stirred them with a spoon.

“She has a lot of pride in her drinks, by the way. But no one complains about that, because her drinks are indeed the best for miles around.”

“As if that weren’t the truth, dear.”

Everlight silently nodded, holding a serene smile on her muzzle as she did so. A few moments passed in relative silence as she waited for her maretini to be ready. “And here it is, Berry Punch’s best glass of apple maretini!” Berry shouted, passing the glass to Everlight.

“Thank you, Berry,” said Everlight, taking the glass in her purple-hued magic. She took a deep sip, savoring the taste of the liquor spreading over her tongue. Then she swallowed, shuddering at the sensational tastes dancing upon her tongue, before opening her eyes. “Well, that was certainly the best apple maretini I’ve had in years,” she exclaimed as she stared at the remaining contents in the glass in awe.

“I told you that I always strive to be the best,” Berry Punch smugly replied.

“Indeed,” Everlight replied, humming a lovely tune. Twilight watched her for a few seconds, then returned her gaze to her glass, a content sigh escaping from her lips. Or what would seem, at least to many, a content sigh.

“Twilight? Are you okay?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah! I’m fine! Totally! There’s no reason I would not be okay! Yeah!” Twilight nodded frantically. Then her eyes met with Everlight’s. There were those violet eyes again, the feeling that she was looking into her reflection like she was talking to herself and not a unicorn she had met for the first time. So she hung her head and muttered, “…No, I’m not okay.”

Everlight nodded, shifting on the stool so she could face Twilight better. “Care to talk about it?”

After a second’s deliberation, Twilight nodded. “How did you know, anyway?”

“I saw the signs. The way your eyes glazed over, seemingly looking at your glass but seeing something much, much farther away, for one. The way the corners of your lips twitched, threatening to drop into a frown at any moment was another indicator. Then there was the way your ears shivered like they were struggling to stay perked up, as if they were about to droop onto your head any moment.”

Twilight bitterly chuckled. “It was that obvious, wasn’t it?”

Everlight shook her head. “You had a pretty solid mask on your face. Solid enough to fool most creatures, I would say. I only noticed because I knew where to look; something I learned from my travels and meeting many others.” She placed a hoof on Twilight’s and peered into her eyes. “But you don’t have to struggle to keep up that facade. Rest assured that there will be others around you who will be ready to accept you for who you truly are.”

“But… I’m the Princess of Friendship, of Equestria. It’s expected of me to smile at the ponies around me all the time.”

Everlight nodded. “Sometimes we need to conceal our true emotions, for the betterment of others and to uphold the social status we have. But it is also not wrong to confide in somecreature around you when something is eating away from the inside.”

“Twilight, dearie, it’s okay to talk to someone around you. You don’t have to be smiling all the time; like you tell me every time you visit, you’re a pony before you’re a princess, just like us,” Berry Punch interjected.

“Exactly what Berry said. I don’t exactly know what’s on your mind, and I can’t insist that you tell me, but I want to help you in any way I can,” Everlight said as she met eyes with Twilight once again.

Twilight lowered her head. “This is going to sound stupid….”

Everlight gently lifted Twilight’s head with her magic. “No concern is. Everycreature has their own reason to be worried about one thing or another, big or small.”

“Well…,” Twilight deliberated as she straightened up away from her companion. “Alright. But I think it’ll be better if we talked about it while drinking.”

“Fair point,” Everlight replied as she, too, straightened up to return to her glass. She took a sip, shivering as the alcohol and apple cider slid down her throat and warmed her insides. “So, what’s ailing you?”

Twilight drank from her cup, then leaned on the counter as she gazed off into the glass. “Okay, where do I start….” She took in a deep breath, then let it out, sinking into the stool as she did so. “Ten years ago, I came to Ponyville for the first time in my life. Here, I met five wonderful friends. Five very special friends that I wouldn’t give up for anything in the world. Together we defeated Nightmare Moon and rediscovered the Elements of Harmony. In fact, tonight’s the tenth anniversary of the six of us becoming friends.”

“Really? My, how time flies! Truly, that’s a wonderful occasion, Twilight!” Berry exclaimed as Everlight nodded in agreement.

“It is! In fact, it’s why I came here tonight; we promised to meet here so we can chat, have fun, and just enjoy each other’s presence in general, just like old times. Speaking of which…,” Twilight trailed off. “Those times were the best I had. More than once we set off to save Equestria from some other danger looming on the horizon, or go on an adventure into unknown lands, but most of the time we would hang out with each other, having a tea party or visiting the spa.” A faint smile graced her lips as the warm, nostalgic memories surfaced up to her mind. “They stuck by my side every time I felt lost, every time when I felt I was going to fall. We were just like a family, ponies whose lives would be incomplete without each other’s presence.”

Twilight paused for a moment, reminiscing, a thoughtful expression on her face. In her eyes, Everlight could see the many thoughts flashing through her head and contemplating the next words she would say. Twilight then turned to the bartender. “Berry, do you remember the first time I visited this bar?”

“Of course! You came here for the first time exactly ten years ago, on the night after Princess Luna’s return. Why, I even remember the drink you ordered that night: it’s the one you’re drinking right now.”

“Yup, that’s right. In fact, that was the night I first learned about this drink when Applejack and Rainbow Dash insisted that I try it out. It’s been my favorite drink ever since.” She turned to Everlight. “Every time I visited this bar and drank Berry’s apple maretini, the taste of it kept reminding me of the group my friends and I made, a group of six completely different mares coming together.” Noticing Everlight’s curious gaze, she elaborated. “Okay, so, cocktails. They’re a bunch of ingredients mixed to create the flavor the drinker wants, right? So, every time I take a sip, I feel dozens of different tastes before I swallow. The sting of tonic water, the sweet yet sour taste of apples, and the burning sensation of alcohol as it goes down. Being with my friends is just like that.” A deep smile was etched onto her muzzle.

“Sounds like you truly love your friends,” Everlight commented.

Twilight looked into Everlight’s eyes, passion and pure content shining in her purple irises. “I do! Like I said, the six of us are basically like family to each other. At this point, it’s honestly hard to imagine our friendship without even one of my friends. And yet…” Her smile faltered.

A moment passed in silence. “And yet?”

“And yet I can’t help but think that our friendship might be coming to an end,” Twilight whispered, her voice trembling. Everlight noticed both her forehooves were wrapped around her drink, clutching it as if she were holding it for support.

“When I finished my coronation as the official princess of Equestria a year ago, my friends and I promised that we would meet once a month for a friendship council meeting so we wouldn’t drift apart. I hoped that through our council meetings, we would be able to keep our friendship. But then, four months ago, Rarity couldn’t make it to our meeting. Next month, Applejack. Then, Rainbow Dash.

“I can’t blame them for not making it to our monthly meeting. Rarity had unexpectedly gotten a pile of orders that she had to finish in two days, while Applejack had to tend to her farm for two whole weeks when a hailstorm from the Everfree Forest destroyed half her crops. As for Rainbow….” Twilight took in a deep breath to steady herself. “Two weeks before our scheduled meeting, she was showing the new Wonderbolt recruits her Sonic Rainboom. After pulling off her stunt, she should have pulled up, and I think she meant to do so. What she did instead was plummet into the ground and grind herself against it until she came to a stop several hundred feet away. She had to stay in the hospital for a month and half. She insisted that she was okay despite having broken a dozen bones and bandages covering half her body.”

“Ever the prideful one, she was,” Everlight murmured.

“What was that?”

“Nevermind. Just something I thought to myself.”

Twilight gazed at Everlight for a few more seconds before returning to her glass. “That day was one of the most terrifying moments I had in my life. Seeing her lying in the ER with bandages cast all over her body and her vital monitors beeping next to her….” She shuddered. Her voice was barely louder than a whisper now, her hooves gripping the glass harder than ever. “That was the day I realized that my friends wouldn’t be here forever. That one day they would all leave my side, one by one, until I was left alone and forced to carry on all by myself. That one day, we won’t be having any tea parties or spa visits or any way to spend time with each other. And that scares me to my core.”

She took another deep, shaky breath, the words tumbling out of her mouth. “They say I’m the Princess of Friendship, but in reality, I only came this far because my friends were there to push me along. The countless times I felt like giving up, they were there for me. From Nightmare Moon to Discord and from Sombra to Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow, they stuck by my side until the end. I wouldn’t even be here sitting in this bar if it weren’t for them! A-and now I have to do it all alone?”

Tears spilled over from her eyes, running down her cheeks and staining her fur. “It’s-it just isn’t fair! Why did I become an alicorn and gain immortality but not them? My friends did so much more than I did for friendship; if anything they should have become alicorns! How will I c-carry on when I’m nothing without my friends?”

Everlight silently shifted towards Twilight, holding the shivering alicorn in her forelegs and hugging her tight. Berry brought a box of tissues, and Everlight took a piece and gently wiped at Twilight’s tears. “Shh…,” she cooed softly as she patted Twilight’s back, “it’s okay, Twilight, it’s going to be okay….”

“I’m just… I’m so scared, Everlight… I’m so scared of what I’ll have to face when the time comes…,” Twilight murmured as she buried her face in Everlight’s chest.

Everlight silently rocked her back and forth in her grasp, letting her spill her emotions out through her tears and mumbles. Gradually the quiet sobs simmered down to sniffles, then finally shivers and deep breaths.

As Twilight raised her head and sat up, Everlight peered into her eyes once again. “Do you feel better now?”

Twilight mutely nodded, grabbing another tissue and wiping her eyes and nose. “S-sorry. I usually don’t get this emotional. I kind of lost control there.” She gave a shaky laugh as she wiped away the last of her tears.

“Like we said, it’s okay to cry once in a while. We’ll be here to listen to you,” Berry spoke as she reached out to stroke Twilight’s hoof.

Before she could put her hoof on Twilight’s, however, she shrunk away. “Not forever…,” she quietly murmured as she averted Berry’s eyes.

A heavy silence filled the void, the forced tranquility seeming to devastate all possibility of a continued conversation.

A minute passed, then another, the distant sounds of a clock ticking away somewhere deep within the bar being the only sound filling the void. Then, Everlight stood up from her stool and walked towards the counter, where Berry stood. As she neared her, she asked, “May I?”

Berry wordlessly stepped aside as Everlight set to work, grabbing glasses and other ingredients in her magic. Twilight looked up and stared as Everlight poured the ingredients one by one into the cups. Noticing Twilight’s gaze upon her, Everlight gave her a small smile as she continued to prepare her drinks.

Soon, the cups were ready, and Everlight put them on the counter before lifting her glass and putting it next to the two glasses.

Twilight’s eyes widened in recognition as she saw the newly prepared liquor. “These are…”

“Sangria and tequila sunrise. I also wanted to get sake, but I couldn’t find it anywhere—”

“Oh, sake! Here, I’ll grab it for you,” Berry said as she stood up and ducked beneath the counter. She brought up a clear bottle, which Everlight took in her magic and poured into a ceramic cup.

“Thanks, Berry. Now, Twilight, what do you see in common about these four glasses?”

“These four glasses? They don’t have anything in common except they’re filled with drinks—”

“Precisely. They’re all containers bringing the ingredients of the drinks together,” Everlight tapped at the cups with her hoof, creating a clear ting as she did so. “What use is having the best apple cider, or the best wine, if you don’t have a glass to pour and mix the ingredients in? In that aspect, yes, Twilight, your friends may have done just as much as you did for friendship, but that does not mean you’ve done any less; after all, it was you who brought those five mares together all those years ago.

“Even after your friends have passed, you’ll still be here to carry on their legacy. Speaking of which…” Everlight lifted her glass, silently raised a toast, then downed the rest of her maretini in one go. “Just because you no longer have the apple maretini and drink other beverages instead doesn’t mean you don’t remember how it tastes, does it? Would drinking, say, orange juice or coffee or milk make you forget the taste of apple maretini?”

“I guess not….”

“The same goes for your friends. As long as you carry the memories the six of you had shared, and as long as you keep yourself steady on your path of friendship, they’ll continue to live as a part of you.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for several moments, with violet irises peering into violet eyes, letting the serene silence form a tranquil atmosphere between them—until a loud burp from Everlight broke the trance.

Twilight burst out laughing, and soon Berry joined the fray. “Sorry!” Everlight squeaked as her entire face turned beet red, right up to her ears. “I forgot the drink has carbonated water in it! I should have thought this through before downing it in one go—oh my gosh this is so embarrassing….”

“That was… that was the best burp I have ever heard in my years as a bartender!” Berry gasped through her laughter, which only served to further humiliate Everlight, whose head was sinking between her forelegs as she pinned her ears against her scalp.

“I think we should go easy on her, Berry. Her head might disappear into her chest soon at this rate!” Twilight commented. Everlight merely let out a groan as she thunked her head against the wooden counter, eliciting another set of laughter from the two mares. Eventually, however, she joined the others, too, laughing along with them in good spirits.

Finally, after a few minutes, the trio managed to calm themselves down, save for a few giggles and smirks and the last remnants of heat radiating off of Everlight’s face.

Everlight chuckled as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Oh, I forgot how much I missed this.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Hmm?”

“You said you forgot how much you missed this. What did you mean by that?”

“Oh, I used to have my own group of five very close friends, and we would laugh over trivial things like these all the time. This… this kind of reminded me of all that,” Everlight explained, vaguely gesturing with a hoof.

“I see… what were your friends like, if you don’t mind me asking?”

This time it was Everlight’s turn to gaze into the distance, a nostalgic smile on her face. “They were the best friends one could ever ask for. Ponies would wonder how such a diverse group like ours could ever become best friends, much less stay as friends. And to be honest, I have no idea how even to this day. The only thing I’m sure of is that we would make each other happy to the fullest extent, like we were filling up the things we lacked in our lives. Everyday I had with them was a gift, a blessing.”

Everlight turned to give Twilight a small smile. “It’s been years, no, decades since I last saw them. Time wasn’t too kind to us, and one by one, we fell away. But the times we had are memories that I wouldn’t exchange with anything in the world.”

Twilight gazed back at her for a few moments, then asked, “What was it like to let your friends go?”

Everlight grimaced. “Painful at first, but I knew that it was for the best, for both myself and my friends. I knew that holding onto them against their will would do us more harm than good in the long run, so I had learned to accept it. Even as they left they tried to console me to the best of their abilities, though. ‘Don’t be sad that we’re gone, for we’re happy that we were together in the first place, and we want you to be happy too’ is what they said, if I remember correctly.”

Her frown turned into a small smile, and Twilight could see the pride and sorrowful love shimmering through her gathered lips. “They were much, much wiser than I was, I’ll admit. Wiser than I currently am after all these years, even.”

Another moment passed in silence, the tacking of the clock filling the void once again. Then Everlight looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “Oh my, I didn’t realize it was getting late. I had better get going soon.”

“Already? It’s only ten minutes to ten,” said Berry.

“Well, I plan on waking up early and heading to my next destination in the morning. Can’t really afford to sleep late for that, can I?” Everlight replied as she made her way from behind the counter, picking up her saddlebag as she passed the row of stools and towards the doors.

“I was hoping that you’d stay a little bit longer so I could introduce you to my friends,” said Twilight.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Everlight paused in her tracks. Her expression shifted, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Twilight. Her warm, reassuring confidence suddenly disappeared, replaced by surprise and….

Apprehension? Fear? Twilight pondered as she studied the twitch in Everlight’s lips and the tremor in her pupils. Then it struck her. Pain.

Before she could pry further, however, it vanished. Gone was the slightest hint of a perturbation ever existing on Everlight’s face, once again replaced by a calm, collected look.

“I would certainly love to, but I’m afraid that I can’t afford to stay much longer. However,” she smiled as she walked back to her seat, “I wouldn’t be particularly against sharing one last toast between us before I leave, though.”

Twilight nodded. “I can’t make you stay, if you insist on having to go so early. But yes, I would love to raise a toast with you.”

Everlight clapped her hooves, grinning widely. “Well then! Berry, could you get me another glass of apple maretini, please?”

“Right-o! One more glass of apple maretini coming right up!” Berry shouted as she grabbed Everlight’s empty glass and began pouring the ingredients into it.

Everlight gazed upon Berry’s movements with a smile on her muzzle, wordlessly watching her stir the beverage with a spoon. “Twilight?”

“Hmm?”

“I have a feeling that you’re going to have a wonderful future, both as the ruler of Equestria and, well… as Twilight Sparkle the pony. I just know it.”

Twilight looked at Everlight for a few seconds, a bemused expression on her face. Then she smiled. “Thanks, Everlight.”

“Don’t mention it,” Everlight said as she smiled back.

A few more minutes passed before Berry finished concocting the drink. “Here you go, Everlight! One more glass of Berry’s top-class apple maretini!”

“Thank you, Berry. So what shall we raise a toast to, Twilight? To friendship? To ten years since defeating Nightmare Moon?”

“To the future,” said Twilight, an air of finality in her words.

“Got it. So, bottoms-up, and… to the future!” shouted Everlight, raising her cup.

“To the future,” replied Twilight, raising her own.

The two glasses met, the clear sound reverberating throughout the bar. The two ponies brought their cups to their lips, Everlight downing her drink while Twilight took a long, deep sip. They both let out a content sigh as they felt the cool liquor swish around in their mouths, delivering pleasant tinges to their tongues before traveling down their throats.

“Yup, definitely the best drink I’ve had in ages,” Everlight said as she peered into the bottom of her glass. Then she slipped down from her stool. “Well, I best get going. It was good talking to you, Twilight, Berry.”

“It was my pleasure,” Berry replied, warmly smiling at her departing customer.

Everlight pulled out a bag of bits and put the coins on the counter. “Oh, I almost forgot: I’ll be paying for the drinks that haven’t been touched yet, too.”

Berry let out a hum as she counted the coins and gave Everlight the change. She put the bit bag into her saddlebag and headed towards the doors. As she neared the exit, she paused and turned to Twilight. “By the way, Twilight, consider those drinks as my gift to you; I think your friends will like them.”

Twilight stared at Everlight in surprise. “Wait, how did you—”

“I just know,” Everlight said, smiling at the shocked alicorn. Then she opened the doors and left, the bells chiming their tune.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted as she ran out the doors. “How did you know—”

The words died in her throat as she saw nothing but empty streets, quietly illuminated by street lamps and the full moon shining overhead.

Twilight stood there motionless for a few moments, then lowered her head and returned to her seat.

“So what was that about?” Berry asked, wiping a cup with a dishcloth.

“She knew my friends’ favorite drinks,” Twilight quietly responded as she sat back on her stool. “We rarely ever drank outside of Ponyville, much less in a bar, and yet she knew the exact type of drinks my friends would like.”

Berry paused for a few seconds, then shrugged as she resumed cleaning the glass. “Well, I wouldn’t give it too much mind, dear. Things like that do happen around here, you know.”

“I guess…” Twilight trailed off as she gazed at the doors.

A few more minutes passed in relative silence, Twilight occasionally sipping from her glass while Berry worked away behind the counter.

The doorbells sang once again, and Twilight heard hoofsteps she knew she would recognize anywhere. With a bright smile, she turned to face the door.

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