Cider
Cider was a good business, one that brought in a lot of bits. All of it, quality service. She was mighty proud of it too. Friends told her about it. Thought she should start a whole business around it. So here she was, in the building that Applebloom had fixed up for her in a jiffy. Fine job that her sister had done. Ain’t seen anything like it. Who knew?
It was almost time for the grand opening, and boy was she nervous. If cider season was anything to go by, she would soon be swamped. Of course she made sure that they were well stocked with fine apple cider, all fresh squeezed, and all taste checked. Each barrel was then carefully sealed, just like Granny Smith did, and every Apple before her. And then she felt it, that faint rumbling in the distance that reminded her of a great stampede. Nervous, that was the feeling except...
Dust, streaming from the ceiling, right into her eyes made her blink. Just what was going on out there that shook the dust loose from the rafters? Quickly, she made her way right back up the stairs and towards the windows. As she peered out, she saw the crowd, lining up. It stretched back for miles and miles. Naw just kidding.
She woke up gasping for breath, chest heaving at the image before her. She hadn’t wanted to lie, but that kind of crowd, she couldn’t have served, especially since it wasn’t cider season. So she had to check on the reserves, just one last time. Throwing the covers quickly over to the side, she rushed down the stairs, and out the barn towards the building that Applebloom had fixed up for her in a jiffy. As she began to round the corner, a lone trail of sweat floated off her into the distance, marking the way she had come for those who instinctively sought the cider.
To her relief, it wasn’t as bad as she had dreamed it to be. Pushing her way through the steading throng of people who had apparently decided to camp outside the establishment, she reached for the door with one hoof, then stopped. Turning around, Applejack discovered a pair of eyes staring expectantly at her. Then the pair doubled and doubled again. Realization began to dawn upon her. They were waiting for the grand opening. Once she opened the floodgates, they would not be closed.
So she gave the crowd one last eye, before shoving the door open and screaming, “Yee-haw!”
Her muscles tensed, and then she leapt, riding the wave of motion. Deftly she landed in the booth she had constructed herself, and tapped open the first barrel. The first cup was quickly filled and handed to the first customer, already in line. One by one, the barrels were rolled out and exhausted. And then she went back to sleep.
Next day she wakes up and does the same thing, mindlessly filling cups till the onslaught of dusk. 'Course ponies start to realize that it ain’t easy getting into the bar, and sometimes, that it’s not worth it. Gradually, as days pass, the crowd thins out a little. She don’t notice it though, not yet. She’s just handing out the cups still, but she’s getting better and faster. Much faster.
It all starts to break down after a while though. Soon, there are lulls in her work. Lulls, where she can listen in to the conversations the folks are having. Some of it is true. She knows that. Some of it ain’t so true. She knows that too. The only difference is, she’s the Element of Honesty, and wants to correct the lies. Because to her, the lies ain’t just soft, white, puffy lies, but monsters, threatening to gobble her up. But she doesn’t, because to interrupt them would be rude, and a disservice to the Apple Family name.
Day after day, everything begins to fall apart around her. Colors once vibrant turn dull, and she begins to tell a few lies of her own, just to be friendly. What she eats don’t taste as good no more, and everything looks like it’s about to collapse. That’s not jus’ it though, because the conversation continues in the bustling tavern. Business is stable, and she begins to hear, as she gets less busy, and begins to zone out what’s going on around her.
When everything’s become gray, so gray that she can’t tell what from what anymore, she collapses, and the world around her, the blocks that have been carefully constructed to keep her up fall away. Then there’s nothing she can do. Because she too is falling, falling so fast that she wonders what will become of her. All she can do is begin to pick up the pieces that stream down with her.
Each piece reminds her of something. As she collects the pieces, she starts to slow, even if she doesn’t realize it. Below her, the self defense mechanisms begins to form, constructed by the many pieces she has collected on instinct. It’s a living thing, shifting and moving on it’s own. But it’s not solid yet. She keeps on picking up pieces, and soon it materializes. When she comes to a full stop the feeling of vertigo passes, and she tries sitting up. Succeeds too, by the look of it.
Her name, well she’s forgotten. It’s lost in one of the many pieces that are floating around. She tries reaching for one, way off into the distance. In the end she falls short, and begins to fall again. This time, she tries to look down, but before she can, everything turns to black.
She wakes up on the island again. It’s smaller this time, and she gets a bad feeling. Not going to try jumping off again. Going to reach for the easier ones this time. Once again, the island begins to grow, stretching out so she can reach new pieces. Then buildings begin to rise from the ground, one by one.
Curious, she walks into one. It’s back when she tried to buck Sweet Apple Acres all by herself. She shakes her head at how stubborn she was. She could’ve done it though, if she hadn’t tried helping her friends. All at once, her friends show, all looking angry. She begins to back off, all nervous-like. It’s time to skedaddle, she thinks, but she can’t find the door that she entered through. The only way left is forward, so she charges right in. It takes a while, but she finally manages to wrestle her friends down.
When she does, a piece takes the place of the building, but it’s much bigger. When she picks it up, the earth starts to rumble, and she’s afraid it’s all going to be for naught, but instead she finds that the island is that much larger. And she remembers something too. She’s hardworking, and to a fault. Her friends are waiting for her, so she’s more determined than ever to get out of this strange world. The other buildings don’t look sturdy yet, but there’s more pieces in reach, so she goes out and gets those first.
Sure enough, the next building is ready, and looks mighty familiar. Yet she can’t quite place her hooves on it. She walks in, already prepared for the worst. After all, what could be worse than fighting with her friends. Then she sees Rainbow Dash, and the leaves, and realizes. This is the race she’s cheated in, and she tries to choke back the bile that is beginning to form. She knows what it is: a race.
So they run off, but Rainbow Dash ain’t playing no more. Rainbow’s wants to win. She can sense this, and things start to fly at her. Yet she endures, and even begins to pull ahead. It would only take a little effort on her part to tie Rainbow back, but she resists. Then she sees the finish line. It’s the final stretch and she really works it, her muscles. But Rainbow Dash is flying, and crosses first. She wants to give up then, throw down the towel. That cheating, no good, rotten pegasus, but she crosses anyway.
And then she realizes it wasn’t the real finish line because the piece is there waiting for her. She blinks again. Was it really so simple? But she takes the piece anyway, and the familiar rumbling is there, and the island is much bigger now. With hard work, comes integrity, and she remembers that of all ponies, she is the one with the integrity. If anyponies gonna get it done when it has to be, she’s the pony.
Rinse and repeat. She’s in the fourth room now. There, she watches Discord. Each one of the gals is being tricked. It takes all of her effort to stop herself from intervening, because she can’t bear to watch and do nothing. It’s part of the game she’s playing, and she doesn’t want to find out what happens if she doesn’t play by the rules. Besides, it would be dishonest, and she...
But the insults from the friends, they almost break her. The ground begins to buckle and she knows that the end is near, but she manages to stand. At first she tries to ignore it, but then she realises that what they’re saying is true. It’s not said nicely, but she learns to accept it. Everypony has faults, even if they don’t want to admit to them. Once she accepts, the whole building’s gone, and there’s the piece. She grabs it.
There’s one building left, and it’s the bar. The one thing that started it all. She’s a bit apprehensive, but starts to walk toward it. It’s the last hurdle and she can feel it. But she’s the Element of Honesty, and she has friends, so she knows it’ll be alright. They’ll be there for her, even when everything is dark and grim. And she’ll do any task, because she has integrity. Most of all, she’s going to make it out, because no matter what, she’ll keep on trying.
And then she enters. The monsters begin to converge on her, wave after wave. She defeats them all, even as they begin to swamp over her, trying to crush her anyway they can, underhoof or otherwise. With a final buck, the last piece is revealed. Yet she doesn’t take it right away, like she done with the others, but waits a bit, to think about what she’s learned. Then she’s ready. With the last piece, everything is normal again, and the world begins to close around her.
She blinks. It’s back in the bar, ponies lying left and right. Waiting there, is a pony that wants the next cup of cider. So she obliges, and hands over the mug. But instead of just letting it go, she gives the pony a little tidbit. A truth so to say, to fight back the tide of lies that go against her grain. Because even though she has to sit there and take it, sometimes, if her friends are there, and everything’s right, and even though she sometimes tries too hard, at the end of the day, she’s Applejack, the Element of Honesty who is proud to be an Apple.
Cider, she thinks. It would have been fun to start a bar with the cider. Yet it wouldn’t be right for her. So politely, before she takes on more than she can chew, as she has for so long, she declines her friends, especially Rainbow Dash. Even as they groan and aw and boo, she can see that it won’t change who she is, or the fact that they are her friends. And they begin to part in the sunset, the day coming to an end. Before she goes to sleep she smiles, because she’s got the best friends a pony could hope for. Because that day, she’s more than just learned a lesson.
