Apple Brandy

by Alaborn

Rating: everyone
Tags: Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Granny Smith, Romance, Applejack, Apple Bloom
Length: 5903

Some things take time to mature. Like a good apple brandy.

Some things take time to mature.  Like a good apple brandy.

Written for Amore's DiamondBloom Shipping Contest

Published 2017-09-30 13:40:05 UTC
Last updated 2017-09-30 13:40:05 UTC

The Past

Apple Brandy

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

The Past

“I thought you said you were going to teach me a secret about our family business,” Diamond Tiara said to her father.

“Yes. And that is exactly what we’re doing,” Filthy Rich replied.

“Then why are we in this dirty, filthy place?”

When her father had said she was ready to learn what it meant to run Barnyard Bargains, Diamond Tiara jumped at the opportunity. She happily trotted after her father as they headed downtown, only to frown as her father led her past the building that housed the corporate offices of Barnyard Bargains. He brushed aside her complaints, saying that all would be explained when they reached their destination. She just wasn’t expecting their destination to be an old warehouse by the railroad tracks.

Tall stacks of crates and barrels cast long shadows in the dim light that filtered into the warehouse. The musty smell of a hundred dirty basements assaulted the filly’s nose, and she wrinkled her muzzle.

“To answer your question, my precious Diamond, we are taking delivery of a very special item, gifted to our family from one of our oldest business partners. And there it is!”

Filthy Rich walked over to... whatever it was, Diamond Tiara didn’t know. The mystery package was around the size of the filly, but wrapped in canvas and secured with twine. Filthy Rich checked the paperwork, tucked the documents safely in his collar, and then went to work.

Diamond Tiara recoiled at the sight of her father, cutting twine and tugging at the canvas like some common laborer. “Can’t you get, like, other ponies to do that?” she asked.

Filthy Rich spat out the canvas in his mouth and turned to his daughter. “Diamond Dazzle Tiara Rich, you’ve spent the last six months begging me to teach you more about running Barnyard Bargains. You wanted to know how to be the boss? Well, this is what being the boss means. It means knowing every facet of the business, even the ones that ‘other ponies’ can do. It means being the first to go to work, and the last to be paid. It means that everything you do is focused on the success of Barnyard Bargains. Come the Hearth’s Warming season, I am there on the floor first thing in the morning, stocking the shelves for our customers, and late at night, after everypony has gone home, I make sure the store is clean and orderly, ready for the next day’s customers.” He turned and finished pulling the canvas from the package. “So let’s start training you to be the boss.”

Diamond Tiara looked at what was under the canvas, an old cask. “We came all the way here for that? But we don’t even sell dirty old barrels!”

“That is true, Diamond. But what this old cask represents is something very important to Barnyard Bargains, and most important of all to those who run the business. This cask represents a relationship. Pink Muscat runs her family’s vineyard north of Applewood, and her family has supplied Barnyard Bargains with grapes and grape juice for more than fifty years.” He motioned to the cask with a hoof. “This here is one of the barrels used by the vineyard to age their award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon. And Pink Muscat has gifted us with this barrel, as a token of our long-standing business relationship.”

Diamond Tiara approached the barrel cautiously, as if it were going to jump up and attack her. “It smells all... ew!” She tapped it with a hoof, confirming the barrel was empty. “What are we going to do with this?”

“This, my little Diamond, is a Hearth’s Warming gift for another family, one with an even older relationship with the Rich family. Relationships, my dear!”

Filthy Rich picked up the cask and placed it on his daughter’s back. Diamond Tiara flinched under the weight; even empty, the cask was heavy. But her earth pony magic kicked in; she drew strength from the earth to support the weight and keep the cask steady on her back.

Diamond Tiara wanted to scowl, but a Rich should not show weakness. She put on a determined expression and followed her father. Once he met with the stallion running the warehouse and passed over the paperwork, they departed.

Father and daughter walked together under the setting sun. She thought they were returning home, but when they passed the main road and continued to the edge of town, Diamond Tiara was quick to realize their ultimate destination.

“Apple Bloom! Don’t dilly-dally!” Granny Smith shouted from outside.

“Coming, Granny,” Apple Bloom responded. The filly ran out the door and searched for her grandmother.

Apple Bloom found Granny Smith outside the barn, fiddling with some metal contraption she’d remembered seeing collecting dirt and cobwebs in the corner of the barn. But now, it had been cleaned and polished, and its copper surface gleamed in the afternoon sun. She inspected the device with curiosity. Something like a metal dome with a pipe coming off of it, its shape reminded Apple Bloom of an onion poking out of the ground. Granny Smith had raised it off the ground, and was stacking kindling under it.

“What’s all this for?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I’ll tell you everything in good time, young’un, but for now, I need you to get the barrel of cider from the cellar.”

“What barrel of cider? We sold out every day!”

“There was one barrel set aside, for just this reason. Best apples of the season. Now git!”

Apple Bloom trotted quickly to the cellar, and sure enough, found one barrel of cider, seemingly forgotten. It was a larger barrel than their normal cider barrels, and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember seeing one like it before. Granted, that whole ruckus with those unicorn conponies made a right mess of cider season, but Apple Bloom was certain she hadn’t seen anypony fill this barrel.

Apple Bloom knew that if she wanted her questions to be answered, she’d best not delay, lest Granny Smith harangue her for her tardiness. The filly tipped the barrel and rolled it onto her back, settling it just past her withers, and headed out of the cellar. Even through the barrel, her muzzle wrinkled at the off scent of this cider.

By the time Apple Bloom returned, Granny Smith had the fire started, low flames just beginning to lick the larger logs. She lowered her body and rolled the barrel off her back. “How come we didn’t sell this cider? And why does it smell funny?” Apple Bloom asked.

“This, Apple Bloom, was cider made from the first apples harvested this season. They weren’t for our normal cider, but something special. We do this every year.”

“Then how come I’ve never seen this special cider?”

“Because little apple seeds shouldn’t drink it. But now you’re—”

“I’m old enough to drink it?” Apple Bloom interrupted.

“Yes, but we’re not drinking it this year,” Granny Smith said.

“Awww,” the filly pouted. “Wait, is that what this funny contraption is for?” Apple Bloom asked.

“That it is. We’re going to be making something extra special from this here cider, and you’re old enough to learn how.” Seeing Apple Bloom frown, Granny Smith continued. “Maybe you’ll even get your cutie mark!”

Apple Bloom’s expression brightened at hearing those magic words. “What do I do?” she asked eagerly.

“First, we need to tap this barrel.”

That was something Apple Bloom had plenty of experience doing. In addition to the contraption, Granny Smith had brought out a bunch of other supplies, including a pair of pails and a bunch of clay jugs. Apple Bloom found the tap resting in one of the buckets, and picked it up. With a swift kick from a hoof, she pushed the tap into the barrel.

Granny Smith took one of the pails and started to dispense the cider. Now out of the barrel, the off smell was overpowering. “What’s wrong with the cider?” Apple Bloom asked.

“This is hard cider that’s been fermenting in the cellar,” Granny Smith explained. “Most years, we share it with friends and family after little fillies have gone to bed.”

The smell still wasn’t pleasant. Maybe it was okay that she didn’t get to drink it, Apple Bloom mused.

Once the pail was full, Granny Smith motioned to the contraption. “Now, this here is your grandpappy’s still. We use it every few years to make apple brandy, and today I’m going to show you how.” She opened the top of the still. “Help me get the cider in there.”

Together, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith filled the still with the cider. Once that was done, Granny Smith poked at the fire. “Bring your hoof near,” she told Apple Bloom. “Feel the heat.”

“It feels like a fire,” Apple Bloom said.

“It’s a low fire. You want it not hot enough for a tea kettle.”

“Not hot enough? But why?”

“You don’t want to boil the cider. But with just enough heat, you’ll get the best part of the cider to steam up. It goes up, into the tube, and the cool air turns it back into liquid.” Granny Smith took one of the jugs and placed it under the open end of the tube. “Wait for it....”

Apple Bloom waited. And waited. It took a while, but finally, the first drop of distilled cider dripped from the spout into the jug.

“We did it!” Apple Bloom said.

“Now, the first part isn’t good. And the last part isn’t good either. But the middle, that’s liquid apple gold.”

“How do you know what’s what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You need to pay attention. It’s the smell, and the sound. You need to listen to the apples.”

Granny Smith monitored the still closely as Apple Bloom watched. She switched out the jug when it was full. Midway through filling the second jug, Granny Smith picked up an empty jug and hovered near the spout. “Now!” she suddenly shouted, and pushed the fresh jug under the spout.

If the apples said anything, Apple Bloom sure didn’t hear them speak.

Apple Bloom stayed with Granny Smith all afternoon as they distilled the cider. It wasn’t hard work, but the still required constant attention to ensure the temperature was right. The huge barrel ended up creating enough alcohol to fill dozens of jugs, though together they were nowhere near the volume of the big barrel. Finally, Granny Smith again hovered near the still, and pulled away the last jug at just the right time.

Apple Bloom sniffed the jug. “Whoo-ey! That’s strong stuff!”

“That it is, young’un,” Granny Smith said.

“Uh, now what do we do? Drink it?”

“Not a chance! Apple brandy needs time to age. The best things in life take time to mature.”

“Time? Like, a few months?”

Granny Smith chuckled. “Well, let’s just put it this way. By the time this batch is mature, you’ll be mature enough to have more than a sip.”

“Hey! I’m plenty mature.”

“Hey, I’m plenty mature!” Diamond Tiara heard a familiar voice say as they came around the side of the Apple family barn.

“Yeah, plenty mature, for a blank flank,” Diamond Tiara taunted.

“Oh, like you’re so big, Miss Can Barely Hold A Barrel.”

Diamond Tiara was feeling the effects of carrying the heavy wine cask across town. Her legs quivered under the weight. But a Rich does not show weakness, especially to a blank flank hick. Defiantly, she set the cask down, and thumped it with a hoof, before staring at Apple Bloom. “Like you’ve ever carried a cask as high quality as this one.”

“Diamond,” Filthy Rich interrupted.

Apple Bloom returned Diamond Tiara’s stare. “Then that cask’s the only high quality thing I see here,” she retorted.

“Apple Bloom, come here. Now!” Granny Smith demanded.

Diamond Tiara leaned in, pressing her muzzle to Apple Bloom’s. “Stupid dirty rotten apple!”

Apple Bloom snarled. “Weak lazy princess wannabe!”

“Enough!” both Filthy Rich and Granny Smith shouted. They picked up their charges by the napes of their necks and physically separated the fighting fillies.

Filthy Rich set his daughter down, near the side of the barn. “Diamond Dazzle Tiara Rich. This is not how the aspiring head of Barnyard Bargains maintains a business relationship,” he stated.

“But Daddy...”

“Don’t But Daddy me,” he continued. “Apple Bloom is a good filly, your classmate, and the heir to her family, just as you are to yours. You will treat her with the respect she’s earned. We are not leaving until the two of you have a civil conversation, and you learn something from her.” With that, he walked away.

Meanwhile, some distance away, Granny Smith set down her youngest granddaughter and gave her a withering stare. “Apple Bloom, if I’ve taught you anything, it’s that you never treat anypony bad. Harsh words make for sour apples,” Granny Smith said.

“But I...” Apple Bloom started.

“No buts! You’re going to be nice to that filly, and that’s that.” Granny Smith started to walk away, but then turned her head. “And don’t think I won’t know! I can always hear when apples are bad.”

Apple Bloom scowled and walked away, hooves pounding the earth with more force than strictly necessary. She wandered back to the still, sitting on her haunches near the still-burning fire. She noticed the jug collecting the tails from the still; Granny Smith must have put it there while Apple Bloom was distracted by the arrival of her least favorite classmate. She focused on the drips, rather than on the filly approaching her.

“Apple Bloom,” Diamond Tiara said flatly.

“Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom responded in kind, without making eye contact.

“Look, Apple Bloom, I...”

“Just because I have to be nice to you, doesn’t mean I have to care,” Apple Bloom said.

“Like I want to be here either.” Diamond Tiara scraped her hoof along the ground. “I guess we have that in common.”

“Guess so,” Apple Bloom said, still staring at the jug.

For a while, there was no sound other than the cracking of fire and the dripping of liquid into the jug. Finally, Diamond Tiara broke the silence. “What is this?” she asked.

“Why would you care what a stupid dirty rotten apple is doing?” Apple Bloom spat.

“Okay, fine, I really don’t care. But Daddy says I have to learn something, and well, this looks interesting. A little interesting. So what is this?”

Apple Bloom finally looked up, needing to meet Diamond Tiara’s gaze to confirm what she was asking about. She was looking at the still. The anger was gone from her expression, and she was looking a little curious, an expression Apple Bloom noticed on Diamond Tiara only rarely during Miss Cheerilee’s class.

“This is my grandpappy’s still. We were using it to make apple brandy from apple cider.”

“Oh,” Diamond Tiara said. “Does that cask have something to do with it?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “I don’t know. I have a feeling Granny was going to say, before you, uh, I mean we, you know....”

Diamond Tiara glanced over at her father, who was in conversation with Granny Smith while still keeping an eye on the two fillies. “We could go ask. Together.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“That’s a mighty fine Hearth’s Warming gift, Filthy,” Granny Smith said.

“I prefer Mr. Rich, Granny Smith,” Filthy Rich replied.

“Mr. Rich was your grandpappy. You’ll always be little Filthy to me.” She sighed. “I don’t know what’s gone wrong. I’ve taught Apple Bloom better than that.”

“As have I, Granny Smith, but I’m afraid I do know what’s gone wrong.” He looked away, in the direction of his home.

“You’re a good stallion, Filthy. You’re providing a good example for your filly.”

“I’m trying to teach her how to be a good businesspony, but at the same time, Spoiled is filling her head with ideas of how she should act, just because our family has money.”

“She’ll learn what’s important, just like Apple Bloom will,” Granny Smith said confidently. “Like a good apple brandy, they just needs time to mature.”

“What’s that about brandy needing to mature?” Apple Bloom asked as she approached.

“Like, is that what the cask is for?” Diamond Tiara added.

“That’s exactly right,” Granny Smith said. She mussed Apple Bloom’s mane, and then Diamond Tiara’s. Diamond Tiara grimaced, but forced a smile after noticing her father looking at her.

“How does it work?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Well, we put the brandy in that there barrel, and let it sit. The oak of the barrel and the old wine in the wood will blend with the brandy and create the smoothest apple drink you’ll ever taste.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve learned something,” Filthy Rich said. “This is a product that can only be made because of the relationship our families have cultivated. And in eight years, we can taste the results.”

“Eight years?” Diamond Tiara said. “That’s, like, forever!”

The Present

Apple Brandy

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

The Present

“I do believe I hear your train arriving, darling,” Crystal Song said to Diamond Tiara.

Diamond Tiara nodded and looked down the tracks, even though the train wasn’t close enough to see. She didn’t tell her unicorn friend that she first sensed the train arriving five minutes earlier, feeling the vibrations of the rumbling train through her hooves.

Canterlot Station was crowded, as Hearth’s Warming was only three days away. Guardsponies on leave to visit their home towns and families traveling to the homes of distant relatives combined with the everyday traffic that brought ponies to and from Equestria’s capital. For Diamond Tiara, she was ready to return home from her boarding school. A mere two weeks separated the fall semester’s final exams and the start of the spring term.

The hiss of steam and squealing of brakes announced the arrival of the train bound for Ponyville. Around the station, many ponies got to their hooves, ready to move.

“Don’t be a stranger, Diamond,” Crystal Song said. The mare said her goodbyes with a kiss on each cheek, in the style of the unicorn nobility.

Diamond Tiara returned the gesture. “Before we know it, we’ll be back in school,” she said.

“Oh, please, darling, don’t remind me,” Crystal Song said. “Ta ta!”

Diamond Tiara waved goodbye, and then joined the crowd surging onto the train. The attendant punched her ticket, and showed her to her private cabin.

The door to her cabin closed behind her. Diamond Tiara sat on the narrow bed and sighed. She looked up, catching her reflection in the mirror hanging on the door. There she was, a mare wearing a dress in the latest Canterlot style. The tailors at Rarity’s boutique do an excellent job, but they couldn’t conceal that popular fashion was designed with a unicorn’s body in mind. The latest styles never made her happy, not like wearing a sharp business collar, or even nothing at all.

Her dress came off, and she safely stored it in the trunk. Diamond Tiara noticed an old scarf tucked into one corner of the trunk, magenta and violet, the perfect complements for her coat and mane. It was a gift from Sweetie Belle, if she remembered correctly, from some time after she and her friends had helped her see how her mother’s lessons had poisoned her. Those were a good few years. Then came the boarding school.

Ponyville may have had its own palace, but what it didn’t have was a secondary school, not one appropriate for a filly ultimately preparing for a university education at Royal Canterlot University. Thus came the move to Canterlot and the prestigious Starshine School. And all of a sudden, her mother’s lessons came back to her. Everything was about relationships, but not the honest relationships her father cultivated with his business partners. Rather, everypony looked at everypony else as somepony who could help their own status.

Crystal Song was about as nice as the students came; they bonded over their shared passion for business, albeit in Crystal Song’s case, the music business. Their friendship was as genuine as possible, but ultimately shallow; it would never be as strong as her friendships from Ponyville.

Plus, she knew Crystal Song didn’t swing that way. Which was the shame, as the mare was quite a looker, for a unicorn.

Diamond Tiara wrapped the old scarf around her neck and watched out the window. As the train started moving, the oppressive weight of Canterlot society lifted from her withers. She was looking forward to decompressing. Compared to school, being at home would be utterly relaxing, even with the strained relationship with her mother.

Diamond Tiara must have dozed off, as the next thing she remembered was stirring as the train slowed to a stop. She gave her mane a quick brush and opened the door to her cabin once the train stopped. The porter was quick to collect her trunk.

Stepping out of the train, Diamond Tiara felt the snow crunch under her hooves. She tugged her scarf tighter against the cold. Out on the platform, Diamond Tiara spotted her father and their butler waiting for her. She ran forward and embraced her father.

“My precious Diamond,” Filthy Rich said. “You’re looking more mature every time I see you.”

“I swear I’m already getting age lines. I blame Canterlot society,” Diamond Tiara replied.

“We’ll have time to commiserate later, Diamond. Let Randolph take your trunk.”

The porter passed off the trunk, and Randolph started to leave.

“We’re not going home?”

“We’ve been invited over by the Apples,” Filthy Rich said.

“Mother’s not coming.” It was a statement, not a question.

“She’s too busy assisting with the celebrations at Princess Twilight’s castle. She doesn’t see the importance in maintaining this relationship,” Filthy Rich stated flatly.

So the relationship between her father and mother remained as strained as ever.

“Let Mother do her thing, Daddy. After four months in Canterlot, I’m looking for a simple and honest gathering.”

“It has been a while,” Filthy Rich said. “You barely spent any time home last summer before going off to that internship in Manehattan.”

“But the good thing about Ponyville is it doesn’t change.” They passed Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle. “Much, at least.”

The Apples’ farm was one part of Ponyville that certainly didn’t change. The white painted fence and gate, the groves of apple trees stretching as far as the eye could see, the old barn and farmhouse—they all looked the same to Diamond Tiara. There were probably repairs made, and maybe the barn itself was replaced during some past Apple family gathering, but its form was unchanged.

They were greeted at the door of the farmhouse by Granny Smith. The matriarch of the Apple family showed the passage of time, but remained as feisty as ever. “Filthy! Get over here!”

“Actually, Granny Smith, I prefer—”

“You think I don’t remember? My mind’s not gone yet!” Granny Smith turned to Diamond Tiara. “Lovely to see you too, dear.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” Diamond Tiara responded.

“Our home is always open to good friends like you.”

Another thing that didn’t change in Ponyville was the inviting warmth of the Apple home, and the tantalizing smells coming from the kitchen. They headed straight there, where Applejack and Big McIntosh were filling the table and counters with enough food to feed dozens of ponies, or maybe six Apples. Diamond Tiara knew from the grapevine that the two elder Apple siblings were still single; they were both stubborn and would always be tied to the farm. The only one who might end up elsewhere was the one who wasn’t present.

“Where is Apple Bloom?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Cutie mark emergency,” McIntosh said.

“Some filly having a crisis about the meaning of her snow cutie mark or some such,” Applejack added.

“Oh,” she said.

“Don’t just stand there, get something to eat!” Granny Smith said.

Soon, Diamond Tiara had a plate filled with hearty stew and warm bread. It was nice to have real food again, not like the portions served at her school. She didn’t even mind the way the Apples put apples in foods that didn’t need them, like the stew.

They talked only a little as they ate; she knew the Apples took their meals seriously. But once the apple pie was put away, their words would flow as freely as the cider.

Big McIntosh excepted, of course.

And so it happened this evening. Applejack and Granny Smith retired to the living room with Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara, where a roaring fire waited, while Big McIntosh headed into the cellar. When he returned, it wasn’t with mugs of cider. Instead, he brought a tray of snifter glasses and two bottles of amber liquid.

Big McIntosh presented one of the bottles to Filthy Rich. “Mr. Rich, the Apples would like you to have this, as a token of our long relationship.”

Diamond Tiara looked at the bottle. The glass was uneven, and the bottle stoppered with a simple cork. It was unlabeled, the bottle decorated only by a pink ribbon. It reminded her of the ribbons that Apple Bloom always wore.

“I can think of no finer gift than a bottle of Apple family brandy,” Filthy Rich said. “How old is it again?”

“Been aging eight years,” McIntosh said.

“In that old cask you gave us,” Granny Smith added.

“Ah, I remember that evening. Diamond, you were there too. Do you remember it?”

Diamond Tiara nodded. She recalled the feeling of the heavy cask on her withers, but also her father’s lesson, that the one in charge will do anything for the business. And then she remembered fighting with Apple Bloom. She remembered the anger and the unkind words, how she was almost ready to fight.

What made her act that way back then?

It wasn’t just that day. There was the school paper, that first time her father tried to make her help with the zap apple jam, even her cuteceañera. Her mother’s influence was a major reason she acted like a spoiled princess, but why was she at her worst around Apple Bloom?

Diamond Tiara’s thoughts were interrupted by the popping of a cork. Big McIntosh had opened the second bottle of brandy, and started pouring glasses. She was surprised to see a glass pressed into her hooves by Applejack. “For me?” she said.

“Of course, sugarcube. You did help make it,” Applejack replied. “Just go easy on it. It’s got a kick.”

Filthy Rich raised his glass. “To another profitable year in business together and many more to come!”

“Hear, hear!” the Apples responded.

Everypony raised their glasses and sipped the apple brandy. Diamond Tiara nearly choked on her first sip; the brandy was far more potent than the ciders her fellow students shared. But once she got used to it, she savored the pure essence of apple, along with the notes of vanilla and cinnamon.

“So, Daddy, how successful was the zap apple business this year?” Diamond Tiara asked. While a broad education was important, she relished getting to talk business again.

“It was a bumper crop this year. Right, Granny Smith?”

“You betcha!” the elderly mare said. “Zap apples were a mite cantankerous this year, but we got ‘em all harvested.”

“And Barnyard Bargains introduced zap apple jam to the ponies of Seaddle and Vanhoover for the first time, thanks to our newest stores,” Filthy Rich added.

“Rest of the orchard did great, too,” Applejack noted.

“Enough that you could start making that apple juice we’ve always talked about?” Filthy Rich asked.

“With the trees we planted over the last two years, we sure will.”

“I look forward to tasting a sample in the spring,” Filthy Rich said.

They continued to talk business, Diamond Tiara mostly listening and asking questions. When she was younger, she didn’t think much of those apple farmers, but as time passed, she came to see just how complex their business really was, and admired their success. Their business didn’t rival Barnyard Bargains in complexity—nothing could, really—but they ran one of the most successful farms in Equestria, and without a staff of hundreds of ponies working for them.

The door to the farmhouse opened, admitting a frigid breeze, before quickly slamming shut. “Welcome home, Bloom,” Applejack said. “Did you help that filly?”

“Sure did!” she replied cheerily. “After getting her cutie mark playing in the snow last year, her parents pushed her to make snowflakes, but she was really bad at it. I said that maybe she couldn’t make snowflakes, but she could make snowponies, and snow forts, and snowballs!”

“Looks like she was really good at making snowballs,” McIntosh said with a chuckle.

“Tell me about it.” Apple Bloom removed her scarf, which had caught the brunt of several snowballs, but there was still plenty of snow clinging to her mane. She shook her head to free it from the snow.

Diamond Tiara could only stare as Apple Bloom’s mane moved, seemingly in slow motion. She no longer wore a bow, letting her mane, now wither length, flow free. She suddenly felt very warm.

It had to be the apple brandy.

“There’s stew simmering on the stove,” Granny Smith said.

“Great! I’m famished!” Apple Bloom replied.

Diamond Tiara rose. “I’ll go sit with her. You know, to keep her company.”

In the few moments since Apple Bloom went into the kitchen, she had somehow filled two plates with food, and was halfway through one of them. “Good to see you, Diamond,” she muttered around mouthfuls of food, in a display of manners that certainly wouldn’t be seen at the Starshine School.

Diamond Tiara took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say sorry,” she said.

Apple Bloom looked at her curiously. “You don’t need to apologize again. You’ve been a good pony for years, and that’s all anypony could ask.”

“No, it’s more than that. Seeing you just now, I think I realize why I treated you like I did. You’re everything I wasn’t, that I couldn’t be.”

“Huh?”

“You’re strong. You’re graceful. You’re good at both earth magic and potions. And you use your special talent to help other ponies. Look at me. I’m nothing compared to you!”

“Now wait just one minute,” Apple Bloom interjected. “Just because you ain’t strong doesn’t mean you ain’t worthwhile! You’re going to do good things, even if you can’t buck a tree.”

“I know! It’s just that, still, I mean... ugh!”

The two ponies were quiet for a moment, before Apple Bloom spoke again. “So what brought this on?” she asked.

“This,” Diamond Tiara said, motioning to her snifter of brandy. “It was made with a cask that Daddy gave your grandmother. But I almost ruined it by fighting with you.

Apple Bloom thought back to that day. Then she gasped. “I’m so sorry!”

“Why?”

“I called you weak, didn’t I? I never should have said something like that! I should have realized... I’m sorry!”

“You don’t need to apologize, not after all I did,” Diamond Tiara said.

“No, what I said wasn’t just trying to match insult for insult. I had other reasons for hating you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. I never saw you work with your legs, so I thought you didn’t do anything,” Apple Bloom said. “Two years ago, Applejack asked me to help your father with distributing the zap apple jam. I never knew what went into that. It was really hard, much harder than jumping around in a bunny suit!”

“It’s not that hard,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Yes it is! You have to be good with words, and figures, and that isn’t me. Never will be.”

“You mean we both wanted what we didn’t have?”

“Well, Granny always said the apple is plumper on the other side of the fence,” Apple Bloom said. “Good thing our neighbors grow carrots!”

Diamond Tiara laughed. “You know, there’s something we businessponies call ‘competitive advantage’. If I’m good at running Barnyard Bargains, and you’re good at making zap apple jam, we work together, and we both sell more than if we worked alone.”

“But you have Applejack and Big Mac for that. I might not even stay in Ponyville,” Apple Bloom said.

“It’s not just business. I’m a better pony for knowing you, and I don’t ever want to forget that. What my school in Canterlot has taught me most is I need somepony to ground me. Somepony honest, and strong, and beautiful.”

Diamond Tiara gasped, and covered her mouth with her hooves. That was definitely the apple brandy talking.

She dared a glance at Apple Bloom. To her surprise, she was staring at her hooves. “I’m not beautiful,” she muttered.

This would not do. She slammed her hooves on the table. “Apple Bloom. Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“I just see some pony with thick legs and big hooves.”

“Up in Canterlot, I’m surrounded by ponies that look like they’d blow away in a stiff breeze. The fashion magazines say that’s beauty. And maybe that is, to a Canterlot unicorn. But I’m a Ponyville native, through and through,” Diamond Tiara said. “Or course, I still have high standards, and look for the finest things in life. But you know that, right?”

“Yeah?”

“So keep that in mind when I do this.”

Diamond Tiara reached across the table and pulled Apple Bloom to her. She looked her in the eye, and then kissed her.

Apple Bloom, caught by surprise, took a moment to return the kiss. They both knew that each of them liked mares, but she thought Diamond Tiara to be way out of her league. She took the time to enjoy this first kiss, savoring the faint taste of apple brandy on Diamond Tiara’s lips.

After some time, they broke the kiss. Diamond Tiara noticed she had knocked over her brandy snifter, spilling the remaining liquor on the table, but she didn’t care. “Apple Bloom, you are a finer jewel than any in my tiara. All I want is to hear that I am the apple of your eye.”

“Well, you ain’t an Apple, not yet. But maybe one day. How long are you here for?”

“Only two weeks.”

“Then for two weeks, let’s have business together,” Apple Bloom said.

From the living room, four ponies watched the two younger mares in the kitchen admit their feelings for each other. “Took ‘em long enough,” Applejack said.

“You seem rather confident,” Filthy Rich said.

“I’m the element of honesty. I could see the fundamental dishonesty underlying their fighting,” she replied. “Course, I couldn’t tell back then if they’d end up as friends, or something more.”

Granny Smith sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. “It’s beautiful.”

“I think you said it best eight years ago, Granny Smith,” Filthy Rich said. “Like a good apple brandy, they just needed time to mature.”