Hard Cider

Applejack sat on the outskirts of the Acres. Her glowing eyes put Celestia’s Sun to shame as she turned to stare up at the large apple tree she rested under. She frowned as she turned around to look at the rest of the land. Where was the farmhouse? She got to her hooves and walked down the path. Panic began to rise up in her chest.

Where was Ponyville?

Where the lively town once stood was a huge vast of bleak nothingness. The air seemed foggy, but it seemed to only be in the plain of where Ponyville once was. “I need to talk to Rainbow Dash about this fog…” She murmured as she peered up at the sky. She was surprised to see that there weren’t any rainbow streaks flying across the skies. In fact, there weren’t any Pegasi in the skies. She swallowed and looked around. There weren’t any Unicorns either. There were no Earth Ponies. There was no Alicorn. It was just her.

She let out a deep breath began walking toward the expanse of grass, away from the familiar warmth of the Acres. The second she left the dirt path, a wave of cold crashed over her like a wave. She looked behind her to see that while the orchards were healthy and green, the area ahead of her was grey, bleak, and cold. Very cold.

The grass felt like frost under her hooves and made a satisfying crunch as she walked. She stepped into the space where Town Hall once stood. Making a quick sweep of the area she continued her trek. There weren’t even any remnants of the town! No pieces of carpentry, no uncovered pipes, not even any plants other than dimly green grass. Not a tree in sight, not a pony, not a scrap of metal. Walking around the flat area, Applejack felt loneliness creep into her heart. She ignored the chill that ran up her spine as she sat on the grass.

She jumped right back to her hooves when she heard laughter. She squinted into the fog. “Hello?”

The laughter ceased to be replaced with whimpering and the bounce of rubber. Applejack stepped back as a red ball came rolling towards her. She balanced the ball on her left hoof and stepped forward. “Hello, there?”

A young filly crept into view. She was orange with a blonde mane. Ribbons held back her long hair and a brown Stetson sat on her…

Applejack gasped. She stared at the little copy of herself, her mouth agape. The younger version of her kicked her hoof at the grass awkwardly. “I-is this your ball?” she asked after finding her voice.

The filly bit her lip and nodded slowly. “Err, yeah. Can I have it back?”

Applejack nodded and rolled it back to her. It halted at the filly’s hooves. “Thanks.” She spoke gratefully.

Applejack did nothing more than nod again. The filly looked around and gave a small, sad smile to her older self. “It feels lonely here, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.”

The filly nodded idly rolled the ball back-and-forth with a small orange hoof. “It’s peaceful though. It’s the only place I can come to be alone, ya know? Ever since Mom died, Daddy’s been… well he drinks a lot.”

Applejack blinked in shock at the memory. Her father had taken to drinking about a week after her mother’s death.

Just like Applejack.

Applejack swallowed and tried to smile. “Tha-that’s rough.”

Filly Applejack shrugged. “Yeah. Well, bye!”

Applejack waved at the filly, but she had already vanished into the rapidly thickening fog. Applejack moved a hoof forward and grunted with the effort. The fog had gotten really thick. She coughed as the fog rose and thickened around her. It filled her mouth and nose, choking her. She wheezed as she struggled and fought to breathe. It felt as if she were trying to breathe underwater. Her lungs were beginning to burn. She tried to jump, but she felt as if she couldn’t move. Panic rose in her chest. She did the only thing she could do: scream.

“Why is she screaming?!” Rainbow yelled the question to her friends. Twilight rushed over to the sleeping Applejack, who was kicking and screaming.

“Applejack! Applejack, wake up!” She shook the orange mare violently. The mare’s eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, shoving Twilight off of her. Her chest heaved as she breathed in giant gulps of air. Twilight recovered from being tossed aside and studied Applejack. Her pupils were dilated; her mane was matted to her face from sweat. She looked positively traumatized.

“Applejack?” Fluttershy came over and kneeled down. She put a gentle hoof on Applejack’s back and looked at her face. “Breathe, just breathe.”

Applejack did exactly that. She closed her eyes and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder for support as she calmed her breathing. After a long moment she opened them again and patted the Pegasus’ shoulder in thanks. Fluttershy nodded with a small blush and a smile.

Rarity came over then. She and Pinkie Pie had stayed back, frozen in panic, when the Earth Pony’s blood-curdling scream had erupted from where she rested on the couch. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Applejack shook her head.

The six mares all frowned at each other. Applejack looked the most hopeless of all of them. Even she didn’t know what to do. She lowered her gaze and shuffled her hooves on one of the couch’s lush cushions. With a sigh she raised her gaze slowly. “I’m sorry, ya’ll. I’m so sorry.” She put a hoof to her temple and rubbed slowly, trying to relieve herself of the massive hangover she was having.

Twilight frowned while Pinkie stepped forward, the solemn look on her face looked completely off-putting considering her nature. She sat beside Fluttershy and frowned. “It’s not your fault, Applejack.”

“Yes it is,” She insisted. She clumsily got to her hooves, ignoring her friend’s coos of concern as they surrounded her and steadied her. “I’m repeatin’ history.”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes in confusion, but didn’t say anything. Rainbow, however, expressed her puzzlement. “What do you mean?”

Applejack stared at the Pegasus wide-eyes before answering. “After my mom died… my dad took to drinkin’. Some days he was normal and it seemed like he was gettin’ better. Other days I hardly saw at him at all.” Applejack broke through her friends ranks and turned her back on them. After taking a quick look around, she silently realized that she was in Rarity’s living room; only Rarity’s house would have such civilized and pretty décor.

“I remember how alone and helpless I felt when he went to a bar. And now I—“ She stopped abruptly as she remembered the day of the funeral.

“Granny Smith hasn’t been payin’ much attention, since… ya know. And Applejack…”

“Applebloom…” Applejack whispered her sister’s name softly.

“What?” Rainbow asked.

“I felt alone when my dad started drinkin’.” Rainbow stepped back as Applejack’s voice gained volume. “Now I’m doin’ it too!” She groaned and turned to look at them, rage and shame filling the green depths of her eyes. “I’m supposed to be her sister, her role model! I’m supposed to be helpin’ her through this!” She stepped back and shook her head. “I’m so stupid!” She raised a hoof and swiped at an expensive looking vase beside the left-side of the couch. The vase wobbled a bit before falling and crashing into miniscule pieces on the linoleum floor.

The room fell into an awkward and shocked silence. Applejack looked down at the crushed piece of decoration with a confused look on her face. Had she done that? She looked up at Rarity. “Rarity, I—“

“Think nothing of it, darling.” Rarity said with a forced smile. She walked into the kitchen, her hoofsteps echoed in the almost soundless room. She emerged after a few moments carrying a broom and dust-pan in her levitation. She gave Applejack an assuring smile before sweeping up the remnants.

Applejack watched the Unicorn for a second before turning back to her other friends. “What do I do?”

Fluttershy frowned. “Just cutting you off from alcohol isn’t the answer. We need to figure out why you resorted to drinking at all.”

“Because, alcohol is a depressant. It numbs pain, that’s why parents give their foals rum while they’re teething.” Rainbow pointed out. She frowned. “It’s only natural to turn to the stuff when we aren’t feeling good.”

“Rainbow Dash is right,” Rarity stood upright and levitated the dustpan into a nearby trashcan. The little pieces of glass hitting the bottom made Applejack wince. “Alcohol helps, but too much of it does more harm than good.”

Applejack put a hoof to her forehead, trying to let the reasoning of her friends settle into her hung over mind. “So, what? I just stop drinkin’ cold turkey?”

Twilight sighed. “Like Fluttershy said, that’s not the answer. We need to wean you off of it. We need to find another, healthier way for you to cope.”

Pinkie smiled. “Try burying yourself in your work.”

Rarity perked up. “Yes! Whenever I’m having a bad day, I make non-stop dresses!” She put a hoof to her chest vainly and closed her eyes with a smirk. “I call them “stresses”. Some of them have even sold top dollar in auctions.”

Applejack grinned. “Great, so I should just work. I can do that.” She took a step toward them and wobbled a bit, the wobbling making her head swim with agony.

Rarity stared at her half-lidded with understanding. “Sit on the couch, dear. I have the perfect remedy for your hang over.” With that, she whisked off into the kitchen once more.

While the alabaster mare was out of the room, Rainbow moved to help AJ to the couch, but was waved away. “I got it, Rainbow.” She muttered.

Dash backed off, leaving Applejack to stumble over the couch, where she collapsed and closed her eyes, listening to the clinking of glasses coming from the kitchen. Her eyes opened wide when a she heard a crash come from the kitchen, followed by Rarity’s voice

“Oh, shi—oot!”

Rainbow snorted as she tried to hold back her laughter. “Nice save, Rares.”

Rarity pranced from the kitchen, paused to give Rainbow Dash a frustrated glare, and levitated a glass full of liquid to Applejack. “Drink this, dear. It’ll help.”

Applejack sniffed at it and leaned away. “What in the hay is it?”

“An old family recipe, now just drink it.”

Applejack reluctantly took the glass from Rarity and gave it another sniff before throwing it back. She coughed as soon as the vile stuff hit her tongue and swallowed only a little before spitting the rest back into the glass. “Bleh, that stuff is disgustin’!” She exclaimed. She smacked her lips and shuddered. It tasted like a mixture of swamp water, mayonnaise, and Tabasco sauce.

Rarity winced at the not-so-ladylike act. “Eww-he-hew! Ugh, Applejack, don’t be such a baby. Couldn’t you have just grinned and bore it instead of emptying it back into the glass? Drink. It.”

Applejack gave Rarity an unsure glance before sighing and lifting the glass to her muzzle once more. She tilted the glass downward and chugged it, trying not to let any of it touch her tongue. Once the glass was empty, she gave a dry heave and shuddered while spluttering uncontrollably. Rarity narrowed her eyes and sniffed.

“You can tell a pony doesn’t drink much if that’s how she acts over an old-fashioned Saki recipe.” She turned to go back into the kitchen, but was stopped when she saw Pinkie Pie bouncing in from that direction, a bowl of ice-cream balanced expertly on her nose.

“Here, AJ! Wash that nasty stuff down with some ice cream!” She licked her lips with an exaggerated slurp as she set it in Applejack’s hooves.

“Ice cream does sound a might good right now.” She said looking down at the bowl.

“Pinkie,” Rarity started with her eyes wide as Applejack began to spoon the dessert into her mouth. “Which ice cream did you use?”

“Um… the one labeled ‘stallion-getter-overer’ I think?”

“Pinkie!” Rarity gasped. She levitated the bowl from Applejack’s hooves. “Pinkie, this has rum in it!”

“So that’s what that was,” Applejack smacked her lips and grimaced. “I thought it was just that aftertaste of the Saki.”

Rarity frowned and turned back to Pinkie, giving her a disappointed look. Pinkie smiled sheepishly. “Oops!”