Drinks Are On Us

Things moved quickly after that. When the sun dawned the next day, there were a line of ponies lined up outside the crystal castle, all of them previous employees of Taps. There were even loads of passengers disembarking from trains from Canterlot, all making a pilgrimage to the small palace.

The word had got out. Taps was no more. Roughly the same time that Twilight had led the local police onto the establishment, the locations in Canterlot had all come under siege as well, one led by Rainbow Dash, another by Pinkie Pie, and the third by both Rarity and Fluttershy.

Each raid had revealed basements under each club, filled with mares being restrained and pumped for their produce, many of them having been under for years. Now freed, many of them had gone and rejoined their families again, while others yet worried that they were broken for the rest of their lives...

And then, Twilight had reached out to them, revealing that she had on her person, a way to undo the Taps augments. Hence the reason why ponies were lining up outside her door now.

Applejack, stiff, sore, and freshly drained, sat outside across the street from the castle, a towel over her shoulders, and a warm coffee in her hands. On either side of her, Berry and Lemon Hearts sat, each one leaning back and nursing drinks of their own.

"Guh... what a night." the yellow unicorn stated, rubbing her eyes.

"You're one to talk." the purple pony replied. "You didn't spend hours tied up with a pair of wine barrels hanging from your chest." A hand went up to massage the side of her much-reduced, but still-sore bust. "I think I gained a cup or two from that little adventure. Emptied but good, but I'm still feeling weighty. Might just be sensitive. What about you, Applejack?"

She declined to comment, instead lifting to take another sip from her mug. "... look at all those mares. Ah had no idea..."

"Heh... Toldja they'd be found, Ayjay. Pretty sure some of those in that group are floor-ponies too, wanting the last of that witch's magic gone... Hey, what happened to Miss vodka-tits anyway?"

"Far as ah know," AJ drawled, "Both she an' her cronies are all shipped back t' Canterlot, to await trial. Twi was tellin' me earlier, they found a buncha incriminating things. Like... y'all noticed that she didn't even try t' teleport?"

"... you're right, she didn't." Lemon remarked. "Like... besides basic levitation, and the spells she put us under... I don't think I ever saw her doing much of anything else."

"As Twi put it... she's a washout." She looked deep into her coffee. "Tried out fer th' same school she an' you went to... and never got in. She just was never good at magic. That's when Twi thinks it all began..."

In a dusty alley in Canterlot many years ago, a rail-thin pale blue mare staggered, eyes bleary and bloodshot, an empty bottle in her hands. She shook the bottle, willing the last drop of alcohol to fall out onto her tongue, but it was completely dry.

At the end of the ally, sandwiched between the back ends of stores and restaurants, among the dumpsters and trash cans, she weaved her way. At length, she fell to her knees, leaning upon a great pile of stones in a clearing in the alley... a pile that on second glance, revealed itself to be a well.

Drunk, frustrated, angry at the world and at her failures, she fished in her pocket for a bit. Finding one, she grasped it as she stared down into its depths. "Listen here you pile of dragon droppings... I want vodka. I want enough vodka to be able to drink away the rest of my stupid, miserable days. Enough to make me forget about that stupid magic school, forever."

The coin was thrown rather than tossed. She stared down at the well hard, in an accusatory fashion... and then shrieked, as her previously-flat chest suddenly began to balloon upwards and outwards. She stared in disbelief, watching her suddenly swelling gift of cleavage, accompanied by a single beauty mark on the left side. At length, she would squeal again, when she finally felt her nipples spurting, the air suddenly becoming rich with the aroma of vanilla...

"...she thinks that from there, she must have studied herself, and copied down what it was the well did to her. After a while, once she'd learned enough, she decided to take what she had, and rolled with it. And that was with th' first establishment of Taps."

"A vulture, is what she is." Berry opinioned. "Taking advantage of any opportunity she saw, no matter how small or wrong it might be. For their sake," she motioned towards the line of mares still shuffling inside. "I hope she gets what's coming to her."

The other two made noises of agreement, though they all lapsed into another silence, watching the ponies milling about. Out of the corner of her eye, AJ thought she saw something. A pink mare, with a strawberry red mane, clinging tight to a stallion as if he wasn't real. He was holding her tightly in turn, the two taking comfort in each other's presence...

"... ah think, that's what ah wanted t' see."

"Hmmm?"

"Nothin'. Just thinkin' out loud... so." She looked at the both of them. "Twilight can undo the spell now. both those made by Vanilla, and those cast by th' well.... what do you say, Berry? Ah noticed yer not standin' in line."

The wine mare shook her head. "You'd think I'd be traumatized by now... but the truth is, I've been doing this for seven years." She looked down at herself, regarding her bust with a fond smile. "If I suddenly stopped now, I don't think I'd know where to put my head. I think, just this once, I'm going to have to turn down the offer."

A wry grin spread across AJ's face. "Somehow, ah think ah saw that comin'. Well... what about you, Lemony?"

The unicorn dipped her head. "I've got the version that was cast by Miss Vodka. I've managed to keep a clear head still. But... I really do like it. Though I don't know if that's the spell talking or not..." she gave a sigh, resting her head back. "I guess I won't be able to tell unless I get it removed, will I?"

She got nods of agreement. Another beat followed, as Berry looked up at the farmmare. "... what about you, AJ?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she stood up, took a long drink from her coffee, and then simply stated. "I've got a long day ahead of me... tomorrow, is Cider Day."

And with that, she ambled away, the two mares watching as she proceeded to join up into the line.

A supersonic shriek blurred across the skies. It sailed over and across a sleeping tent city that had sprung up outside the white fences of Sweet Apple Acres. It whistled, then slowed, and then at last, glided to a stop.

Landing on her feet, Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes as she looked out over the camping line that had formed. "Same as last year." she groused to herself. "Well... at least I made it back in time before Pinkie did."

"Yeah, I'm glad that you did too."

"Heh, glad you agree... WHOAWAITWHAT"

"I saaaaiiid" Pinkie Pie started again, as Dash whirled in place to face her. "That I'm glad you got here before I did!"

"B-but I-... when DID you get here?"

"Just now!"

"B-but I just got here!"

"I know!"

"How'd you get here so fast?"

"Well, I walked, silly!"

"B-b-but that's not possi-"

"Ssshhhhh Dashie, you silly-filly~" the party mare suddenly scooted up and cradled the pegasus's head, looking into her eyes with a half-lidded stare. "Since when did I need to explain anything~?"

And with that, she proceeded to skip away with a song on her tongue, leaving a very confused pony following in her wake.

The hours passed. Ponies emerged, packed up tents, and began to queue up. In front of the Acres, a familiar stall and sign had been erected. Applebloom was pulling out box after box of steins, stuffing them under the booth, and it wasn't long before Big Macintosh appeared, a barrel in each arm. A cheer was raised amongst the crowd... and the cheer redoubled when Applejack herself appeared right behind him, barrels of her own perched upon each shoulder.

The stallion sat a barrel upon the stand. The yellow filly installed the tap spout, and gave a test pour. And then finally, the mare stepped up behind the stall, tall and proud. "Good morning Ponyville! It is mah pleasure to announce, that Cider Season is officially OPEN!"

The crowd roared... and then, it began to chant. "Cider! Cider! Cider! Cider! Cider!-..."

AJ remained however, a smile upon her face. "Ah hear yah, ah hear yah. Step right on up! We've plenty to go around this year. Ah promise."

There was never a dull moment. Like years in the past, the line of ponies stretched far into the hillsides, winding down the path that led from Ponyville to the acres. Even with the turnover rate, the line never seemed to shorten.

Bloom, operating the tap, eventually found it in her to ask. "So... y' got yerself all fixed up?"

"Eeeyup" Applejack replied, handing off another mug. "Twi got me fixed up good an' proper. Took long enough, but t'was just in time."

Her sister glanced up at her, grinning just a little. "Yer still lookin' a bit 'full' t' me sis."

"She does, doesn't she?" said the next pony in line. Both fillies jumped a little, then regained their heads when they saw that it was Rarity standing before them, purse at the ready. "Two mugs please, Applejack, my dear."

While they were being poured up, the orange mare glanced a bit from side to side. "You, er, ain't never asked, y'know..."

"It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots AJ." the white mare replied, tossing her mane behind her, before fixing her friend's outfit with a critical eye. "Now is not the time for such talk, though I do extend an invitation to you to join me for some adjustments. A hardworking mare like you deserves some comfort after all, especially after what you've been through!"

AJ smiled a little, and looked down at herself. Whereas she had begun as a simple D-cup, a pair of outright honeydews now pushed her shirt out in front of her. They never swelled, never leaked, the effects of the well's wish magic now completely flushed from her system. But they were much larger than they had been before, she knew.

"Eh, ah'll get used to it." was her reply. "But ah'll drop by when ah have th' time, Rares, promise. Here's yer cider."

She cooed as she accepted both mugs, lifting one to her lips and taking a sip, a thin mustache of foam marring her otherwise-perfect muzzle. "Mmmm... astounding as always, Applejack." she breathed, before casting one more critical glance, staring, muttering. "J-cups, have to be. I'll see you later, my dear!"

They waved her off, though Applejack found herself blushing at the unicorn's words.

Business boomed. They managed to continue selling long past the previous cutoff point of cider in years past. Rainbow Dash finally got her turn, as did Pinkie right behind her.

"YES!" the pegasus crowed, taking her stein and floating away, quaffing the drink as she did so. "Finally! Oh man, I'm definitely coming back tomorrow!"

They had a laugh at that, as Pinkie stepped up with her usual bag of bits, signifying a large order. As Bloom poured up, the pink mare gave AJ her own critical glance, before her ears drooped. "Awwwww, you got rid of it."

"Ah still don't know how you know. What was it, some sort o' Pinkie Sense?"

"In a way~" she replied. "It just made sense. I'm still totally jelly though. Twilight wouldn't cast anything on me, even after I offered her a lifetime supply of double-chocolate cakes. And you know how she loves her double-chocolate cakes."

AJ gave a wry grin, as she passed her friend mug after mug of amber beverage, waving her off at the end. A pony or two down the line however, she found an unexpected surprise.

"Oh! Sweetie Sunrise! Howdy, how you doin'?"

"I-I'm... I'm fine." the short mare stammered, arms folded around herself. It was hard to see, but she could tell she had gained significant increases of her own. "I-I... I wanted to thank you. F-for helping break me out, I mean. I... I-I just..."

There was a gentle smile. "Ah ain't th' one y'all should be thankin' sugarcube. It's Berry an' Lemony what deserve all th' credit. Ah just went chargin' in like a right fool without any backup."

"And you kicked ass doing it, too!" said the mare in line behind Sweetie, who turned out to be none other than Berry. "She's been apologizing and thanking up a storm to me and the other girls ever since we queued up. Looks like you're real popular this year. Word gets around." she looked behind herself. "A lot of ponies wanna say their thanks too."

The apple mare stretched her neck to see. The mares in line were in fact the waitresses from the now-defunct Taps. They waved at her, and she saw that yet more mares behind them waved as well, ponies she didn't even recognize from Ponyville. The mares from Canterlot.

"A-ah..." she suddenly found herself feeling bashful, tilting her hat low over her eyes. "A-ah don't even know what t' say..."

"Well, you don't have to say anything if you don't want. What you do have to do, is serve that cider! Now c'mon Sweetie, order something, the rest of us are thirsty too!" Berry gave the pegasus a playful shove.

Sweetie laughed a little and nodded. From there, the pace continued, many of the mares stopping to shake her hand and thank her in various ways. Throughout it all, Applejack blushed, nodded, and served... and, as time went on, in the back of her mind, an indefinable sense began to echo, rattling about her head...

When evening rolled around, they finally closed for the night. Supper was had, baths were taken, and beds were slept. It had been a long and tiring, yet rewarding day. There was money in the safe. From that day alone, the farm made enough to stay safe over the winter. And there would be more tomorrow.

And yet, despite the ache in her bones, AJ found herself unable to sleep. She shifted in bed, rolling back and forth, at length sitting up and staring out into the darkness. She didn't feel right. Which was odd, as she was more normal now than she had been in the past three months.

She found her hands moving on their own. Unbuttoning her pajama top. Letting her heavy breasts fall out into the air. Staring at them at length, before gathering them up in her arms and burying her face into her own cleavage. She began to kiss their freckled surfaces, hands groping and massaging at the firm mounds, making love to them. Her lips even found a nipple, and she latched on, trying to suckle from herself. Nothing came out against her tongue.

She didn't know how she managed it exactly. She didn't fully remember getting up and walking. But the next thing she knew, she was out in the barn, staring at the pumping machine. It hadn't been disassembled yet, even though she knew she didn't need it anymore.

Almost as if on autopilot, she walked towards it, sat down next to it, and pressed the cups against her breasts. She flicked the device onto its lowest settling, and then let out a sigh as she felt the suction take hold. It didn't matter how long she sat there however. Nothing came out of those darkened nubs, no matter how much she wished something would.

... ah'm missin' it. Ah don't believe it. She slapped her own forehead at the realization, leaning back as she looked down at herself, at the cups sucking nothing but air. Ah'm damaged. Ah've been makin' cider fer so long... it's just like Berry said, ah don't... ah don't know... Ah ain't makin' it no more... but ah want to. Badly...

... Ah want mah cider back.

... welp... if that's th' case... what do ah do now?

It would be a week later, when the doors of the crystal castle rang again. Spike ran up and took a look outside, before opening it up fully. "Oh hey Applejack! What brings you here today?"

"Spike..." AJ started uneasily. "Is Twi anywhere abouts?"

"Yeah, she's in the library, working on somethin'. Won't tell me what it is though."

"Mmm, thanks sugarcube. Ah just need t' ask a favor, then ah'll be outta her hair."

The dragon nodded, and stepped aside to let her in. Hooves sounded softly through the halls as she made her way to the library, peering through the door, and then walking towards the center.

As advertised, Twilight Sparkle was standing there, magic displays on either side of her, the reading table piled high with books and pages. The alicorn herself was scribbling furiously upon a clipboard, obviously in the zone. She hated to interrupt, but at length, she knocked on a nearby bookshelf, causing her friend to look up.

"Oh! Hello Applejack!"

"Hey sugarcube. Listen, ah have a-"

"I heard that cider season was very successful~" the alicorn grinned, stepping up to her. "Despite all setbacks, you managed to pull it off again. Enough cider for all of Ponyville, and then some!"

The farm mare blushed. "Th-thank you, Twi. L-Listen, ah know that ah was all riled up when ah first came t' you with my condition-"

"I know. But then you turned it around, and made something of it. And it couldn't have been better timing too, all things considered. I heard back from the trial earlier today."

"O-oh? Vanilla Vodka's trial?"

"That's right. Turns out, the reason she expanded Taps into Ponyville, was because she was following the well itself. She had a spell she'd cobbled together, just to track it, but she never bothered to learn a basic thing like teleporting." Twi gave a laugh. "Priorities, right? She knew that wherever the well went, it was bound to leave behind ponies like you, endowed by wish magic. Wherever the well appeared next, she was going to set up another Taps branch, to capitalize off the results of its wake."

AJ grimaced. "Natural talents indeed. She wanted to find as many of us as she could, and hook us up t' drain, making herself gobs of money from selling the produce. Whether we liked it or not."

"That's about the size of it. Needless to say, she has a lot to answer for. All those mares she tricked and manipulated..." She tilted her head, looking back at the displays she'd left up. "And even then... you know, it's kinda funny."

"Hmm? What is?"

"The majority of ponies who came here last week, mostly needed to have Vanilla's spell removed from them. Some of them needed it more than others. And yet... well, you probably know. Berry's a natural talent, and she said she didn't want it removed from her. The other natural talents that I met, from Canterlot... most of them just wanted a checkup!"

The apple mare found herself gaping. "Yer kiddin', right?"

"No! I'm being completely serious, they just wanted me to make sure they were healthy. Apparently, since I now have a spell that can undo the effects of breast-directed wish magic, I am now Equestria's leading expert in alternative lactation." The mare shook her head. "I've prepared for a lot of things, but I wasn't quite expecting to be held in that role. Some of them even asked me to change their produce!"

"Goddess... ah cain't even... Y-you couldn't, right?"

"Well, I had my hands full with more important matters. They understood though, thankfully. Besides..." the purple pony lifted her clipboard, jotting on it again. "I told them that I'd get in touch with them later..."

Now that got Applejack's attention. "Later?... why?"

Twilight favored her with a smile, and led her over to one of the displays. Upon one was the soft, fuzzy edges of the wish magic's wave form, again overlaid with the sharp, jagged angles of the copied and altered spell. On the second display however, was a new waveform. One that followed the same basic shapes of the other two, but was composed of graceful curves and loops instead.

"It's not perfect yet." she confided. "But I figured, after having worked on the counterspell for three months, rebuilding and smoothing out the original spell itself would be a piece of cake. I can set produce, passive production, trigger phrase, and triggered surge amount. I'm also working on variations that have no passive productions, or trigger phrases. Just one, or the other." she turned to her friend again, beaming. "I think those mares who asked will be happy to see this. There is, admittedly, a lot of potential to be had..." she paused to rub the back of her neck. "I hope the well doesn't come calling to sue, at anyrate!"

The farm pony was boggled. "... Twi, yer not plannin' on somethin', are you?"

"What? No, of course not. Even if I was, I wouldn't go about it the way Miss Vodka did. This is just me, experimenting. I don't even think I'm going to be publishing most of this." A slight blush tinted her cheeks. "It wouldn't be the most flattering book in the world... and yet, I can't help but wonder. This is all kind of a hobby for me now, you know... maybe I could make it a hobby book? 'Sparkle's Spells for Making the Most of your Mammaries'. I dunno, I think I'd have to-"

She was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Applejack with a shy look upon her face, a blush on her cheeks, her body tensed, nervous. She glanced at her, then to the new and improved spell diagram, and then back again. "Twi... sugarcube... c-can ah ask... a favor?"

The alicorn blinked, looked to the diagram as well, and then back... before at length, a small smile came to her lips. "Somehow... I'm not in the least bit surprised."

"CHEERS!~"

The four ponies clanged their mugs together, before gulping them down in the cool evening air. The cafe was bustling, and these four mares had a table all to themselves, for their own private little celebration.

"To Applejack, and all the barrels she single-handedly filled." Berry Punch proposed, cheeks a merry red flush as she waved her beer about. "And for all the butts she kicked for the rights of all drinkmares! *hic*"

Lemon Hearts made a face. "That's what you're calling us? Drinkmares?"

"Hey, when you think of something better, I'm all ears." she replied, sitting back down. "And here's to the Princess Twilight Sparkle, who sorted out the entire mess, and in the end, granted a few small ponies' own small wishes!"

"Hear-hear!" Sweetie Sunrise joined in, raising her own glass. She took a sip, exhaled, and then asked the mares surrounding her. "Are we completely insane, or what?"

"Ah don't think any o' us are super-big on sanity t' begin with." Applejack answered, setting her mug on the table. "Least of all me. But... here we are. Lemon, Sweetie... are y'all sure 'bout this?"

"As sure as I think I can be." the unicorn replied, looking down again at her full, engorged bosom. She didn't even seem perturbed at the small damp spots that had appeared. "I spent a few days off without it to clear my head, then I went back to Twi, and asked her for it back. She didn't even bat an eye... think I have you to thank for that, AJ."

The orange mare rubbed her cheek, bashful. "Do anything different? She said she'd been experimentin' a little."

"Well, it doesn't make my brain go hazy, for one. Just to be sure, I asked her to take out the 'trigger'. Now you can shout lemonade at me all you want, and I won't start spurting like a firehose from it."

"Awww, well there goes some of that fun." Berry pouted playfully, before turning to the pegasus seated next to her. "What about you, Sweetie?"

The redhead looked down into her drink. "I'm... probably the most damaged of all us here... You all found me hooked up and everything, I've got the most to be traumatized about. But, I won't lie. I loved it. Maybe not the bondage so much, but definitely being full and productive. Though, that was the augment spell that made it... addictive, right?"

They all nodded. That seemed to give her courage to continue. "I went with Lemon to ask Princess Twilight as well. I was kinda afraid that she wouldn't agree to my request... but she did. She explained everything first, and this time, I did my best to listen!"

AJ regarded her, noticing again that the pegasus could now be fully considered a shortstack. Despite her small stature, her bosom was like a pair of cantaloupes, stretching out the fabric. "So, you're makin' that soda again?"

"Actually... I-I kinda decided on something else." Sweetie blushed, as she sat her drink down. "I thought I'd go for something a little more... grown-up. At least, I think Berry would approve. I had it changed from tropical soda, to Sangria-..." She had to pause, due her breasts suddenly swelling fuller within her shirt, a couple of spots of vibrant orange blossoming upon their peaks. Eyes lidded, she let out a hum. "Mmm... that still feels good."

Berry laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just don't let it go to your head, hon. *hic* Otherwise, I think you'll be fine." At last, she turned to Applejack herself, leveling a gaze at her. "And as for you, Ayjay?..."

The farmmare took another drink from her mug, forestalling her answer for a bit. At length, she spoke. "... Th' season's done fer this year. Ah did what ah set out t' do. But sure as shootin', next year, ah'm gonna haveta do it again... so..."

"... sooooo~?"

"... so... you were right, Berry. That's all ah'm gonna say. And that ah had them 'tuned down' a little too. Fer th' winter, y' know."

"Of course." was the punch pony's reply to that, a grin on her face. "Nothing like curling up in front of a fireplace with a nice warm mug of cider, am I right?"

Applejack didn't reply. Her eyes were shut, as below her, her own bust had begun swelling up once more, freckled flesh pillowing over the neckline of her shirt. Yet she did not fidget, or bite her lip against the sensation, instead smiling wide in blissful contentment. The expression remained even when the expansion stopped, and it wasn't until a few second's silence had passed that she opened her eyes, to see all three mares staring at her with curious gazes.

"Wow." Lemon finally said. "You really are into it, aren't you?"

"O-oh hush." she grumped, pulling her hat low, blush heavy on her cheeks.

Berry just broke out into a raucous laugh, lifting her mug into the air again. "Hah! To us merry band of drinkmares! Hey, you know what girls? We should go bar-hopping! Watch the looks on their faces as we out-serve them!"

"Berry, neither of the bars in town would even let us try."

"Then let's open our own! Taps isn't using theirs anyways. Damn pretentious art-deco and shit, let's rebuild the place, make it a real bar, do things right!"

"Berry, go home, you've gone gotten yerself sloshed."

"I have to be! I'm the town drunk!" She stood up and gathered all the mares together in a single hug, giddy grin stretching from ear to ear. It was an infectious one too, the three finding themselves grinning along in good humor as she continued. "Work with me girls, I've got a good feeling about this! And anyways, it's not like we're ever gonna run out!"

"After all, drinks are on us!"

FIN