[Sweet Apple Acres, Open-PM, Invite, Friends, Family] Apple Bloom's Big Day!

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]As Applejack passed around the cider to the ponies, she was a little nervous as to what they would say about it. Ingrid was the first to speak up. Applejack smiled, but her grin fell a bit when the confidence from the unicorn Apple seemed to become indifferent against the taste.[/colour]

[colour=#ff0000]"Rarity?"[/colour][colour=#000000] As Rarity tasted, her mouth immediately warmed to the great taste that was the cider, but again, her expression fell off just a bit. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Is there something wrong with it?"[/colour][colour=#000000] Cheerilee had yet the same reaction. It tasted good, but it just didn't show the kick in their faces like Applejack thought it would.

As Rarity took another sip, Rainbow Dash excitedly took a drink of the cider, and said with all confidence that it was "amazingly delicious." Applejack smiled again. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Ha! See, I told ya. It's great isn't it?" [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack could have been sticky with a few indifferent taste tests, but one sip from a gal like Rainbow Dash was enough to prove Applejack had succeeded. Rainbow knew what she wanted.

But Rarity wouldn't lay down. She continued to say that the cider didn't taste that much different and that it wasn't fermented. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"What!? That's crazy. Are you sure?" [/colour][colour=#000000] And then she proceeded to suggest that maybe she opened the wrong barrel. Applejack poured herself a mug of cider in frustration of non-satisfaction from Rarity. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Lemme see." [/colour][colour=#000000] Taking a drink, once the sweet apple crispy flavor touched her tongue, her mouth swooned with excitement, at the same time her brain fell to thoughts of failure. It was just regular sweet cider.

Applejack thought about it. And then gave in to her blunder. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Heh heh. Maybe I did get the wrong barrel. You know what, I bet I mixed it up with the other barrel of cider I had. Heh heh." [/colour][colour=#000000] Within a half-second, Applejack's pupils shrank. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"The other barrel!" [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack dropped her mug full of cider and ran to the backbarn, where everypony, the foals, and Apple Strudel were enjoying themselves a little too much. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Land sakes! The youngin's are drinkin' the hard cider!"[/colour]

​

[brianblackberry]

[colour=#ff8c00]Carrot Fields[/colour]

Carrot Fields wasn't sure if Purple was going to be horrified at the ruined food, or giddy with opportunity to save the day with her carrot recipes. Maybe a bit of both? Whatever the case, he hoped his sister wouldn't take too long getting all the food out of the wagon and set up; not that it was difficult to prop up the wagon with his hind hoof, just really boring.

As Carrot stood there contemplating how he would fix the wagon without getting his nice kilt dirty, his mind inevitably wandered towards all the cute mares at the party; he'd only gotten a quick glance around, but they'd seemed nice. [colour=#ff8c00]Oi wonder what they think a me kilt ... An' what Applejack thinks. They cannae really think its a dress... Can they? [/colour] He should have just gone sans clothes, at least that way he'd have had to do something klutzy before embarrassing himself. [colour=#ff8c00]Wonder if Purple'd mind if'n Oi took it off?[/colour]

His train of thought was broken when the birthday filly herself came out towards the wagon in an oddly wobbly gait. He could hear her, just in earshot, asking if she could help, which was wonderfully sweet given that this was her party and all, but why was Abby's speech so slurred? Maybe he just wasn't hearing it right from this distance.

[colour=#800080]Cheerilee[/colour]

Cheerilee felt a little uncomfortable, the subject clearly made the beige unicorn mare uneasy; all the signs were there and so obvious that one didn't need to be a teacher to recognize them. [colour=#800080]"Oh umm, that's perfectly fine. Not everypony is interested in that sort of thing anyway"[/colour] Not too surprising the question was turned back at Cheerilee and her own eyes darted about at the ground for a moment as she tried to think up some answer without sounding too pathetic. [colour=#800080] "Well, actually, I am single and live alone. Had a date or two here and there over the last year or two, but nothing serious, not since college."[/colour] Cheerilee shrugged. She needed a save. [colour=#800080] "Of course, you know how it is, with career mares like us, especially with dealing with a bunch of foals and all, who really has the time?"[/colour] Cheerilee let out an awkward laugh. Truth was, her life wasn't that busy.

Fortunately, the awkward silence that started to grow was quickly interrupted by Rainbow Dash's antics. Cheerilee didn't actually know Dash at all; unlike her two friends in the room, Rarity and Applejack, Cheerilee didn't grow up with the rainbow maned pegasus, nor did Dash have any small siblings attending the school. Sure Cheerilee knew of her but never really talked to her before. Cheerilee was about to make a joke about Rarity’s new mane fashion when Applejack had her revelation about the cider. It didn’t take Cheerilee any time to realize the implications. Her mug dropped to the ground, cider splashing everywhere, as she darted out of the room after the orange mare. [colour=#800080]“The foals!”[/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#008000][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]

[/colour][/colour][/colour]

[colour=#008000][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]"What in tarnation??" [/colour][/colour][/colour]Granny Smith shouted in disbelief. The gray maned mare had hearing problems from time to time, but every word AppleJack said rung in her aging ears clear as a bell. [colour=#00FF00]"We gotta do somethin' about this, PRONTO!"[/colour]

Granny Smith 'ran' into action. Of course, at her rate of 'running' it would take her a long time to reach any of the affected foals. Uncle Apple Strudel was already 'three sheets to the wind' having discovered the kiddie's cider supply himself. By now, the bearded stallion was playing "OM-PAH-PAH" WITHOUT his tuba and yodeling even MORE offkey than ever. Lucky for Haywire she'd been too busy cleaning up the haybales and serving party guests to take a swig of the 'potent' kiddie cider. Though the rust colored filly turned to watch the drunken antics of Apple Strudel for a moment, her attention went straight back to the birthday girl. When she heard AppleJack's startling announcement, Haywire dropped the tray of cider mugs she was holding immediately.

[colour=#B22222]"So THAT'S what's wrong with AppleBloom!" [/colour]the blonde blank flank shouted. [colour=#B22222]"Applebloom, ya gotta stay right here while I russle up some help fer ya!"[/colour]

Haywire was smart enough to know she was going to need grown-up help to handle Applebloom, so she ran across the floor, shouting at nearly every adult she could.

[colour=#B22222]"Cheerilee! Ingrid Marie! Rarity! Rainbow Dash! Applejack! HELP! APPLEBLOOM'S tipsy! COME QUICK!"[/colour]

[Lux]

Upon asking about how she was, Guiding was presented with a mug of cider. In his mind, if she was well enough to give him that then she should be fine. Before the colt could think, Apple Bloom force fed him the whole glass. whatever kind of cider it was, it burned down his throat something fierce!

At first he was ok, but then after several minutes something happened. Everything seemed happier! True he was at a birthday party which was a place for joy, but this went beyond that level of happy. This was like ice cream on a hot summer day happy, or getting all the presents he wanted on Hearth's Warming Day happy.

Everything else around him seemed to just fade away. All the voices of the ponies around him blurred into an incoherant sound. It was then that he saw Apple Bloom standing there with a smile as wide as a mile. To him every move she made seemed slower to him and there was almost a glow to the filly like some pony was shinig a lamp over her.

[colour=#DAA520]"Apple Bloom... I ... I just wanted to say that this was the best party ever! And I just... I just wanted to say that you're... you're a cute filly. Yeah, that's what I would say. And I love you too! So...that's all I have to say, and I can't say no more!"[/colour]

After saying that to her, Guiding Light turned and suddenly tripped over a hay bale and fell on the ground.

[colour=#DAA520]"Did you see that? That hay bale just tripped me! I'm going to tell it's mum." [/colour]

[RarityDash]

[colour=#0000CD]"Wow, Rarity, what happened to you? [/colour][colour=#0000CD]You're all spiky-furred! It's actually kinda rad, sorta punkish, but I don't usually see you looking so cool!"[/colour]

A deep glare quickly appeared on Rarity's face. She rather cared for Dash as a friend, but she really could push things sometimes. Here she was, having popped back up at the cider table, making light of Rarity's distressing situation. That she would have the gall to even reshape her sullied mane in such a silly fashion so as it came to a point on her head like some kind of clown... Rarity just couldn't believe it. Rainbow Dash had to realize how serious this was. Making her look even more ridiculous was not going to assuage her troubled heart.

​

[colour=#0000CD]"Oh, that is *awesome*! You are *stylin'*! And you smell *delicious!* [/colour][colour=#0000CD]Apple-y! Is this a new fashion?"[/colour]

The scow on Rarity's face vanished in an instant, replaced by complete disbelief. She blushed deeply and looked away. Had Dash just done that? Licked her on the face? Did she not understand the social connotation to such an act? What if it was deliberate? The Hearts and Hooves incident replayed itself in her head; was it possible that though her conclusion then wasn't quite relevant to what actually happened that perhaps it was still accurate? it was so very hard to tell with Dash. All the same, it had her head spinning.

​

[colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#FF0000]"Heh heh. Maybe I did get the wrong barrel. You know what, I bet I mixed it up with the other barrel of cider I had. Heh heh. [/colour][colour=#FF0000]The other barrel! [/colour][colour=#FF0000]Land sakes! The youngin's are drinkin' the hard cider!"[/colour]

Applejack's exclamations brought the mare momentarily back to reality. What was that? Barrel? Cider? It was kind of hard for the still largely distracted mare to comprehend. As the apple farmer galloped off to the foals, Rarity stood in place, not really sure what to do. She opted just to continue drinking her cider and make occasional glances toward Dash, still feeling the moistness on her cheek more than any of the mess anywhere else. Eventually, Dash moved toward her again and leaned onto her shoulder. Rarity gulped and then took a large sip of cider.

​

[colour=#0000CD]"So, w[/colour][colour=#0000CD]hat sorta adult stuff should we talk about?"[/colour]

Taken quite aback with the question, the unicorn spat out the cider in her mouth. Adult things? Dash couldn't mean...! Rarity gave an awkward laugh and looked downward. [colour=#663399]"I'm really not sure this is quite the place to discuss that manner of things, Rainbow..."[/colour] she said in a quiet voice.

​

[Bellosh]

Ingrid Marie gave a forced laugh of her own as Cheerilee finished recounting her own lack of a love life. The earth pony fortunately also saw fit to use her career as an excuse for remaining single. Trying to take her mind off the last conversation, Ingrid focused her attention on the cyan-colored pegasus (named Rainbow Dash if she remembered correctly). A few moments later, the unicorn snapped out of her stupor when Applejack shouted something about how the foals got the experimental cider barrels instead.

Before Ms Marie could respond to the commotion however, Cheerilee spilled her cider mug, spraying much of its contents on the unicorn’s clothing. Ingrid almost freaked out over the spill, but she mentally shrugged it off after a brief second; there was a crisis to respond to! Absentmindedly tossing her empty mug in the direction of Rarity’s cider, Ingrid heard Granny Smith’s distress cries and galloped after Cheerilee.

[SteelEagle]

Guiding Light was the silliest of colts nowadays. He used to be one of the shyest, most reclusive classmates she had. Now he was one of the more outgoing colts in class, though that had more to do with the lack of active colts more than it had to do with him, but none of that affected the fact he was really, truly silly. he had said silly things like how much he loved her before, one time in class and now here. He should become a stand-up comedian.

Apple Bloom threw both of her front legs around him and embraced Guiding Light with a hug five times too tight for comfort. And she had another mug of cider.

[colour=#ff0000]"Yer a silly colt! ya said that'n class tha' one time ta, ya'need some new material though. Ya-*HICCUP*-can't be funneh with the same shtuff," [/colour]Apple Bloom finished with a peckish tap of the hoof on his cheek, unaware of Haywire's outburst. Her head was on a swivel but she couldn't find the filly; oh well.

[colour=#ff0000]"Well, ah guessh she'll hafta find 'er gift when Ah'm playin' wit' it," [/colour]Apple Bloom finished with a laugh while she approached the gifts, refilling the mug along the way.

[colour=#ff0000]"Hay Shweetie Belle, how'bout we open yers?"[/colour]

[Lux]

Guiding Light was totally unaware of the sudden outburst. It appeared that the liquid courage of the cider eliminated his shyness. It also as a consequence ended up removing any and all inhibitaions. Otherwise, Light would never blurt out such a statement in public, especially in front of other classmates.

Before he could say anything else, Apple Bloom gave him a hug that took the wind out of the colt's body. It was like a boa constrictor was wrapping around his body. As he was kept in her death grasp, the filly responded that he found him silly. While normally this would be something that Light would dislike being called silly to something he was taken so seriously, in his fuzzy state his mind thought otherwise. In fact to him, Apple Bloom thought he was funny, a good trait for a pony. The hug was just an added bonus.

At last Apple Bloom let go of the confused colt, who now was smiling from the warm embrace. He then in his state began to totter over and then just fell over.

[SteelEagle]

Sweetie Belle didn't respond, but Apple Bloom wasn't mad or nothin'. They were still friends to the end and then some in her book. But that didn't stop her from wanting to open a cotton pickin' present right that moment. She turned her head to Scootaloo, remembering that her plan a long time ago, in the far far away, was to open HER present.

[colour=#ff0000]"A'ight, Scoots, Ah'ma ghoina open yer present,"[/colour] Apple Bloom proceeded to trot over to Scootaloo's present. There was no subtlety to how it was wrapped and at that moment in her life Apple Bloom wasn't willing to deal with it anyway, so it was a win all around. She tore through the packaging to reveal a really pretty light blue bow.

[colour=#ff0000]"Awww, shanks ya Scoots! Why, it's such a pretteh bow!" [/colour]Apple Bloom continued to slur, trotting over to an open table and laying the bow down with Scootaloo's wrapping draped all over it. She had to keep it safe somehow.

[colour=#ff0000]"Now, Ah need more ci- ohh, Ah still have a cup,"[/colour] Apple Bloom downed the whole mug once more, lines of cider moving away from her lips and dripping down her chin. Stumbling, she put the mug on the ground(dropped it), and pulled closer to the pile of presents.

[colour=#ff0000]"For mah next trick- GABAAAAAAAAA" [/colour]Apple Bloom burped with such extreme force that she was lifted off the ground and stars took to her vision,[colour=#ff0000] "Well hooooooooowwwwww-DEE!"[/colour]

[SonicRainboomGirl]

Scootaloo giggled, taking another sip of her cider. It was so delicious, and she felt so...bubbly all the sudden. She wanted to be silly, goof off with her friends! As Apple Bloom opened the filly's present and showed her appreciation, Scootaloo gave Apple Bloom a tight hug.

[colour=#ff8c00]"GLAD YOU LIKE IT!"[/colour]

Scootaloo shouted, burping herself. Burps were so funny, especially right now. Maybe there really was something in that cider...

[brianblackberry]

[colour=#800080]Cheerilee[/colour]

Cheerilee ran into the main room of the barn with a look of concerned panic on her face; she couldn’t tell at first which foal had the cider or had too much but she did spot Scootaloo holding a cup. [colour=#800080] “Scootaloo, no!”[/colour] Cheerilee ran up to the little orange pegasus and swiped the cider mug from her little hooves, holding it in both of her’s with a momentarily look of panic that quickly dissolved into an embarrassed, awkward smile. [colour=#800080]“I mean, uhh, this cider is bad! I mean, it’s bad for foals, its adult cider, sorry about that, heh.”[/colour] Cheerilee put the mug calmly on the floor and before looking back at the no doubt confused filly. [colour=#800080] “It isn’t anything you did wrong, Scootaloo, we just gave you all the wrong cider. It just has an extra kick that is just too strong for little ponies like yourself, you understand, right?” [/colour]Cheerilee just hoped the orange filly accepted that although she, like many of the students, often protested about being treated like “little foals”.

Cheerilee looked about to see if any other foals was drinking a cup, hoping that it wasn’t too late for any of them, then she heard it, an enormous burp. It was Applebloom who wobbled around on all four of her hooves in a haphazard, uncoordinated way. Cheerilee facehoofed, she was inebriated! She ran up to the tipsy filly and held her to balance her as she looked into Abby's eyes to see how bloodshot there were; it wasn’t too bad, but still…[colour=#800080] “how many mugs of cider did you have, Abby?!”[/colour]

[Lux]

Giuding Light got up after his second fall and looked around. Apple Bloom was proceeding to open more presents.

[colour=#DAA520]"That's a nice bow you got for Apple Bloom, Scootaloo. Maybe next year we should all get different colored bows for her so that she'll have a different colour everyday. It'll be a rainbow bow!"[/colour]

With that Light started laughing at his own joke, clearly not caring how other ponies liked it. He then saw his teacher, Cheerilee walk in. She seemed upset for some reason. Maybe she was missing the opening of the presents.

[colour=#DAA520]"Oh hi there Miss Cheerilee! Don't worry, Apple Bloom didn't open your gift yet. Oh, you have to try this cider! It'll make you really happy!"[/colour]

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Applejack was freaking the hay out. She galloped briskly towards the barn, and immediately saw a bunch of foals enjoying the cider. Her new cider was really good, apparently. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Apple Bloom, no!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Apple Bloom was all the way across the barn from Applejack, and along her hurried trot over to her sister, she grabbed a spare bucket of water that was resting on the floor and brought it with her. When she got to Apple Bloom, she emptied the bucket in a throw at her. Then, she knocked away the mug she had in her hoof. She then picked Apple Bloom up by the tail, put her on a picnic table. She needed her sister to rest on a table while she made sure she was alright.[/colour]

[colour=#ff0000]"Apple Bloom!? Speak to me!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack shook her sister on the table, trying to get her to be cognitive. She shook her for about ten seconds before giving her a full forced slap across the face with her hoof. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Snap out of it! I'm sorry sister! You shouldn't have been able to drink that cider, and that much of it!"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Applejack looked around at everypony, who was looking at her thanks to her scene starting. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"W-what should we do y'all!?"[/colour]

​

[SteelEagle]

Counting was a hard thing, Apple Bloom thought to herself. Well, tried to think. Tried to count. Her mind was swimming in a sea of stuff and things that she didn't really know a lick about but was having a good time anyway. You didn't need to count, right? But here was Miss Cheerilee asking a little filly on her birthday to count. Well, she might as well make the effort since she thought that Miss Cheerilee was one swell teacher and if you didn't make an effort to make ponies you liked happy, then you were a bad pony and she wasn't a bad pony.

[colour=#ff0000]"Well let's sheee! Usm, one, two, one, two, five...se...four! Ah hash four-" [/colour]Apple Bloom finished triumphantly, her eyes glittering with a sense of achievement just as a rush of cold water ambushed her from out of her narrowing field of view. It was a shocking development to be sure which was only compounded by her inebriated sensibilities. Applejack dangled the filly by her tail and started running about, and finally the sheer joy and silliness that had been the hallmark of Apple Bloom's current condition started to fade. Instead, as her head swung to and fro and her body refused to orient itself properly, pressure mounted on her head. Then Applejack slammed her down on a table, her hindlegs taking the brunt of the damage as her head started to swirl. Colors, faces, images, they all came together in a horrible collage as her mind could hardly gather who was in front of her. She felt sick, every part of her revolting as her body absorbed more and more of the cider. All she could make out that it was Applejack who was currently treating her like Winona treated a chew toy when she had a gum disease and it hurt to chew.

[colour=#ff0000]"Ahhpal-jake, wha-" [/colour]She began before her sister started to shake her violently. Apple Bloom could almost feel her brain ricocheting around her skull like an out of control pinball, though the only high score Applejack was achieving was making her sister increasingly queasy Her entire body started to feel like it was thick with slime and her insides felt like they were starting to burst in fire. A certain bile started to accumulate and as Applejack stopped shaking her sister, the continued swirling of Apple Bloom's head in motion sent it up her throat.

Then Applejack slapped the crud out of Apple Bloom, sending a stream of snot, saliva, and even some of the bile flying out of her right side. Through sheer force of motion this sent Apple Bloom's face into the table. It took a few seconds for her to register the waves of pain, and any and all thoughts of slightly drunk happy pony ended.

[colour=#ff0000]"Uhh...waa...waa..."[/colour] She blubbered, trying to pull herself up. In her state, however, she had next to no coordination and fell off the table, landing with a thud.

[colour=#ff0000]"Unff...wargle..." [/colour]She moaned, a headache the size of Canterlot rooting out any other noise.

[Bellosh]

Ingrid Marie couldn’t believe her eyes as she witnessed many of the foals stumbling around the barn, having drunk from the wrong cider barrel. Apple Bloom appeared to have been the most heavily inebriated of them all, and it appeared that Applejack didn’t know just what to do as she shook and slapped her little sister to little avail.

Unfortunately, Ingrid was standing to Apple Bloom’s right side as AJ gave her a slap; this gave the unicorn the misfortune of experiencing first-hoof the filly’s torrent of dribble and other more nasty things. [colour=#008080]“Gaaaaahhhhh!!!!”[/colour] Ingrid screamed in revulsion as the horrid contents of Apple Bloom’s throat and mouth landed all over the unicorn’s face and clothing. Swiftly wiping some of the mess off her face, Ingrid knew something needed to be done quickly… but what?

[colour=#008080]“Uhhh… Applejack... honey?”[/colour] Ingrid calmly spluttered; [colour=#008080]“I think Apple Bloom needs medical attention ASAP. A small filly can’t handle all of the cider she’s drank so far.”[/colour] Normally, Ingrid would have tried casting some sort of spell by now to fix things. However, since she didn’t know all the scientific processes behind what the filly was going through (along with the other children), she didn’t know if she could magically cleanse the foals without magically backfiring.....

[Bramble Rose]

Purple Haze

After a long time staring in horror at the food, Purple's eyes narrowed determinedly. [colour=#ff8c00]"Comon, Big Brae!"[/colour] she said firmly, and marched forward. [colour=#ff8c00]"Time tae set this tae rights!"[/colour] She walked across the room, avoiding tumbling foals, to where all the tumbled hay bales were piled up all over. She turned around, the food still balancing on her back, and gave several decisive kicks to those hay bales, sending them scudding across the room. A few more kicks brought them together into one long, low rectangle.

She looked around the room, then nodded. She crouched down and bounced, sending all the carrot-tastic treats flying up into the air, reached out with her teeth and grabbed the tumbled mess of the tablecloth from the ruined and destroyed snack table, and sent it flicking through the air, upside down, to settle over the hay bales. It was a bit patchy and discolored, but better than dusty hay. The bowls and plates and platters all fell down with a series of thumps onto the soft hay, pinning down the tablecloth, and Purple spent a few moments nudging them and putting them in place. She nodded in satisfaction and hurried back out to the wagon for more treats!

​

Rainbow Dash

Dash jumped in surprise as the atomized cider went spraying across the kitchen, and stared, dumbstruck, at Rarity. She carefully put down her own mug of cider and lifted her hoof to touch at Rarity's forehead, then cheeks. [colour=#0000cd]"Are you all right?"[/colour] she asked, concerned. [colour=#0000cd] "Everypony's acting so strangely today! Are you drunk? I mean, this seems like awesome hard cider, I can't even taste the alcohol, but I don't know what your tolerance levels are ... "[/colour] The pegasus pondered for a moment. What would Fluttershy do? Tuck her in and feed her soup! [colour=#0000cd]"Do you need to lay down for a bit? I can get you something warm ..."[/colour]

​

Sweetie Belle

Sweetie Belle stared around in utter confusion as Apple Bloom seemed to develop the short-term memory of a goldfish, foals stumbled around goofily, adults screamed, AJ acted crazy, Apple Bloom got sick, small, strangled screams happened, and all in the span of minutes. Her eyes were wide and confused, and a faint, confused noise came from her as she just gaped, holding the mug of spoiled cider and staring around. What ... what had just happened? She just stood there, a tiny spot of silence in the middle of the disaster that Apple Bloom's party was turning into.

She took a deep breath, nervousness rising in her. She was Apple Bloom's friend! It was up to her to make the party fun for her friend! This was Apple Bloom's birthday, after all! How horrible if it was a catastrophe?! This called for drastic measures! This called for something amazing! Something daring! Something that required immense courage!

She took a deep breath, and tried to start singing, all by herself, her voice a little wavery and scared. [colour=#800080]o/` Happy Birthday ... to you! Happy Birthday ... to you! o/`[/colour]

​

[SteelEagle]

Apple Bloom's head felt like it was a drum being beaten by the most excitable of ancient buffalo war chieftains, and with every crashing boom, her eyes saw different colored stores and everything else lost focus. Just a few moments ago she had been the picture of absurdly happy feelings. Now she had a headache the likes of which no filly, living or legend, could ever have claimed to have had. Her eyes tried to close tight but that made her eyelids sore and throb with displeasure, but the bright lights didn't treat her any better. To top it off, she felt betrayed by Applejack- she still didn't know what she had done to deserve getting swiped alongside the head like that and in all honesty she doubted she deserved it. Other ponies spoke but between her inebriated state, her position laying on the barn floor, and her angry at Applejack state, she didn't hear a lick of it.

She rolled on her side, feeling like she was a giant jug of water being tipped over slowly, stretching haphazardly out with abandon as she sniffed in the smells of the messy, messy floor. Normally the smells of smashed up cake and candy would be a delight, but in her state it only served to illustrate how poorly a filly in her condition took almost any sensory input. She scrunched up her nose in an effort to stop it all but that failed. She was resigned to a painful hour or seven on the floor.

Luckily, things perked up, Sweetie Belle singing a hearty tune. It was worse than her usual performance and it definitely didn't bring her up by itself, but with a few blinks of her eyes, Apple Bloom saw the room seemingly morph from a mess to a reasonably well set up birthday party set-up complete with food. Food. Food would be good. Apple Bloom pulled herself up groggily and started to stagger towards the food like a zombie pony in one of them fancy Canterlot universities, licking her chops and thinking about the delicious...food. In this superior frame of mind, Sweetie's song played well.

[colour=#ff0000]"Ghuud shinging, Sweetie Belle," [/colour]Apple Bloom mumbled with some joy, though the beating of the drum continued.

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Applejack looked at Ingrid and thought about her suggestion. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Right!" [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack grabbed Apple Bloom by the tail and swung her onto her back and started galloping out of the barn. But then stopped. [/colour] [colour=#ff0000]"Wait. Ah can't bring her to the hospital, they'll know ah gave her big pony cider! Besides, what's a hospital gonna provide for mah little sister that I can't?"[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack set her sister down at a picnic table that was setup in the barn, holding to the pride that this was a problem she could solve.

Sweetie Belle started singing Happy Birthday. Applejack joined her. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"..to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Apple Bloom. Happy Birthday to you!" [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack smiled as she sung. She had to sing. Once someone starts the song there's no stopping it. And only Apple Bloom herself is excused from having to sing it. Once she was done singing, she went over to the desert table and brought over one of the several apple cakes. She cut a piece of cake off, and the took the rest of the cake, leaving one piece on the table. She set the cake missing a slice in front of Apple Bloom. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Dig in, Apple Bloom!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack had heard that cake was a good counter against the effects of hard cider. Although she wasn't really sure it would work. It was worth a try.[/colour]

​

[Mojo]

[colour=#008000][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]

[/colour][/colour][/colour]

[colour=#008000][colour=#00FF00][colour=#00FF00]"We gotta do somethin' about this here situation fast!" [/colour][/colour][/colour]Granny Smith shouted as she was still 'running' towards the first cider barrel. Quickly taking a cup and tasting it, she discovered THIS one was the weaker one. [colour=#00FF00]"So, this is the safe one! Then we gotta git rid of the other one. HEY STRUDEL! HELP ME GIT THAT THAR OTHER BARREL AWAY FROM THE YOUNGIN'S! STRUDEL! WHERE ARE YA?"[/colour]

Uncle Apple Strudel was now swinging on a rope hanging down from the hayloft.

[colour=#006400]"Dis is a VONDERBA party! Vee should have birthday parties twice a year!" [/colour]the bearded stallion shouted as he swung from one side of the barn to the other on the rope. Meanwhile, Haywire was still frantically trying to get ANYPONY'S attention about the problem, but many of her classmates were already 'buzzed' while the grownups seemed to be ignoring her.

[colour=#B22222]"I gotta do somethin' to save mah friends!" [/colour]the rust colored blank flank said outloud. [colour=#B22222]"Well, if'n I can't git a grownup to help out, I'm gonna have ta do it on my own!"[/colour]

With that pronouncement, Haywire grabbed a stray rope that was lying on the barn floor, lassoed the 'tipsy' barrel of cider and started to drag it away until Apple Strudel dropped down and held the barrel in place with his front hooves.

[colour=#006400]"Bad bad little fraulein! You vill not be taking dis vonderba nectar avay from me!" [/colour]

[colour=#B22222]"But ya don't understand! All the fillies and colts have been drinkin' this stuff and gitt'n tipsy! I gotta git rid of it!"[/colour]

[colour=#006400]"NEIN! You vill drop dat rope at VONCE or else!"[/colour]

[colour=#B22222]"Or else WHAT?"[/colour]

[colour=#006400]"Give me a minute, I vill tink of someting!"[/colour]

[colour=#B22222]"Stop it! Git away so I kin save mah friends!" [/colour]Haywire pleaded while still yanking on the rope.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#0000CD]"Are you all right? [/colour][colour=#0000CD]Everypony's acting so strangely today! Are you drunk? I mean, this seems like awesome hard cider, I can't even taste the alcohol, but I don't know what your tolerance levels are ... "[/colour]

As Dash spoke these words to her and an empty mug collided with her cider, throwing it from her grip and causing the contents to splash all over her, Rarity came to the staggering realization that she no longer had any clue what was happening around her. There was singing, there was shouting, there were abundantly drunk foals all over the place, but little of it made any coherent sense to the mare. Dash asked if she was drunk, and while she had imbibed not a drop of alcohol she somehow wondered if in fact she was. It kind of felt like it. The severe lack of comprehension gripping her sure mirrored the effects of inebriation at the very least.

Just a moment ago, she had been standing about normally, accepting a slice of cake from the birthday filly. Then there had been the mess... and the Dash... and more mess... and more Dash and now she was covered in cider too. Her mind felt like it was tied in knots and her body just felt moist and sticky. She just didn't know what to make of it all, and it proved increasingly hard to figure out how to even try and make sense of the situation or comes to terms with it. Instead, she focused in on Dash.

[colour=#663399]"I'm fine, thank you, Rainbow. I just... feel kind of dizzy... and... [/colour]" she said, looking around at the chaos about.

​

[colour=#0000CD]"Do you need to lay down for a bit? I can get you something warm ..."[/colour]

[colour=#663399]"Lay down?"[/colour] Rarity questioned at once, her eyes going wide. Just what was Dash trying to get from her anyway, and what warmth did she hope to provide. She wasn't...! No, she really probably wasn't. Rarity was just confused... so she was confused. At least that was probably it. She couldn't be sure. Nothing made especially good sense at the moment. Maybe Dash really was making advances? It was possible... er... wasn't it? Her mind was failing her in regards to what to think of this. After repeated failing to piece it together she decided that saybe she'd be better off if she really did start drinking something harder at this point.

[colour=#663399]"I do think I will be fine, Rainbow... I just need another towel... and maybe a mug of the cider the foals have been having..." [/colour]she started, averting her eyes a little as she spoke and ending with a nervous laugh.

​

[SteelEagle]

Suddenly, cake. She was still a bit on the grumpy side on account of having her head whipped around like she was some sort of ragdoll and Winona had found her and she was starting to think a bajillion rounds of cider weren't sitting well with her tummy(and probably every other part of her). But there was cake. And singing. Cake and singing at a filly's birthday party always did the trick. Well, usually. Often. Nothing was going to magically cure a migraine the size of Canterlot and her jaw felt swollen, but cake was cake. Delicious apple cake was delicious apple cake no matter the outside influence.

Besides, there was other sources of entertainment going on. Uncle Strudel and Haywire were playing keep away or somesuch, not that Apple Bloom could really readily identify what the hay was going on. The cider was still being absorbed after all. But the image of Haywire and her Great Uncle arguing and Strudel stopping the filly from pulling the cider away seemed so awfully unusual that all she could do was giggle. Giggle some more. Then laugh and then get seized up in a fit of laughter.

[colour=#ff0000]"Y'wall luk liek a buncha grasshoppas fightin' over a leaf!" [/colour]She chattered about excitedly, taking the cake off the plate and in one drunk motion shoving it down her throat, hoof and all. She bit her hoof and it took a few seconds for her to register the cause of the pain but that went away quickly as she messily chewed her cake.

[colour=#ff0000]"Hes cuhk ish sho 'ood,[/colour]" She smiled and continued chewing, crumbs dribbling about her chin without the filly noticing or caring.

[Bellosh]

A barf-covered Ingrid Marie just stood there dumbfounded as Applejack opted not to take Apple Bloom to the hospital. By all accounts, this birthday party had been an absolute disaster. Hay dropping from the ceiling, food sent flying, foals getting nauseous enough to throw up on Ingrid… the unicorn sincerely hoped that things weren’t always this bad here at Sweet Apple Acres. As Sweetie Belle roused everypony to sing a birthday song, Ingrid only had the spirit to join in half-heartedly; [colour=#008080]“…to you. Happy Birthday dear Apple Bloom. Happy Birthday to you....”[/colour]

Once the song ended, Ingrid Marie pondered her next course of action. Against all logic, Applejack had opted to give her little sister apple cake rather than seek proper assistance. Trying to find an adult figure with the authority to knock some sense into Applejack, all that the unicorn could find was Granny Smith wailing about while Strudel and the troublemaking filly from earlier duking it out over what presumably was the hard cider barrel. As much as the unicorn liked Cheerilee from earlier, Ingrid questioned that the schoolteacher alone could bring a handle on this situation.

Deciding that nopony else could control this birthday party and help the foals deal with their tipsiness, Ingrid Marie felt there was only one thing she could do. Namely, to leave the premises and seek out a doctor herself. The school counselor from Canterlot would undoubtedly suffer embarrassment having to explain why vomit covered her, but somepony… SOMEPONY, needed to think of the foals! Not thinking to say anything else, Ms. Marie attempted to make a beeline for the barn door.....

[Hippo]

[colour=#ff0000]"Mmmmm! That cake is yummy isn't it Sis?" [/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack tried to encourage her, maybe she could talk her out of her drunkenness. Or better yet, maybe all Apple Bloom needed was a shake of the flank, a little walk to get it through her system. Yeah! [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Hay! Who wants to play some games? Let's play Pin the Tail on the Pony!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack grabbed her sister and brought her to the end of the room where the pony poster was already set up. She attempted to give Apple Bloom the purple tail and pin, but she fell over first. Hoping no pony was looking, Applejack lifted her sister back up, and gave her the tail. She blind-folded Apple Bloom, spun her around and pushed her towards the poster. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Go ahead Abby, pin the tail on the pony!"[/colour][colour=#000000] She turned to everyone who was watching. She understood all the chaos, she was just trying to settle everything down by assuming party traditions. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Who wants to go after the birthday girl?"[/colour]

​

[SteelEagle]

The next ten or so seconds of her life after her sister picked her up were little more than a blur to the filly who only stopped herself from throwing up by focusing on the delicious cake that she was still chewing on in her mouth. She felt herself getting tugged up, plopped down, then she fell down, was pulled back up, blindfolded, spun around, and then given a sharp implement. She continued wobbling around and spinning for a few extra minutes, not having the capacity to stop until the inertia slowed down. Even as she came to a standstill however, her insides still moved. She didn't bother to even stop it as she turned her head and expelled some half-digested cake over a strategically placed hay bale. She stepped back as if she was about to collapse, then regained her footing. Her hoof pawed at the floor defiantly. She was gonna get this stinkin' pin in a stinkin' pony if it was the last stinkin' thing she ever did! Which, judging from her wobbles, wasn't a drastic leap in judgment.

[colour=#ff0000]"Ah'm gunna....beeeeeeeeeeeeeer...get this'ere pin on that thar...thingie...if it's tha las'...thing Ah do..."[/colour] She started staggering, but with no real direction as her body wasn't truly set to go anywhere but everywhere at once. She placed one sloppy hoof over another, stumbling over food and ponies alike in what was turning into a wide circle of a move. Eventually, she ran into a hay bale.

[colour=#ff0000]This must be the wooden support beam with tha pony on it![/colour] She thought to herself.

Apple Bloom didn't waste a second, immediately pitching her head forward with the pin in mouth. Instead of landing on wood, however, the pin was pushed deep into the flank of a specific party pony whose silence for some time had made many forget she was even there.

Well, until the yelp!

[brianblackberry]

[colour=#800080]Cheerilee[/colour]

Cheerilee couldn’t believe how utterly chaotic things had gotten. She was hoping to make sure Applebloom was alright, but her sister swooped her up and started to move the sick little filly around far too much, and to stuff her with rich food to boot! Cheerilee double facehoofed! What was Applejack thinking?! It was apparent the orange mare was trying her best, but had no experience with this situation. Cheerilee, on the other hoof, had dealt with drunken friends plenty in college.

It was time for the school teacher to go to work! Cheerilee ran over to the edge of the barn and grabbed a couple towels, soaking them in the apple bobbing tank and getting her head a bit soaked. She flung one into the kitchen to land on Rarity’s head, for the cider and cake, and tossed another on Ingrid on the way past, for the sick. Last stop was Guilding Light, who had the look of having some of the “special cider” himself. She quickly wrapped the cool towel around his head.[colour=#800080] “I’ll be back in a minute hon, and you’ll be fine, just umm.. sing along!”[/colour] She started to sing along herself, hoping to add to the illusion that everything was under control.

By the time she could get around to Applebloom again, AppleJack had her blindfolded and spun around. What was she thinking!? [colour=#800080] “Umm ... Applejack, perhaps we should let the other foals have their turns, first. In fact, could you help with them? I’ll make sure little Applebloom here isn’t too dizzy ... from all the excitement.”[/colour] She knew Applebloom just needed to get some cool water and someplace quiet - with luck it would look like she was just exhausted from the excitement.

[colour=#FF8C00]Carrot Fields[/colour]

Singing, excitement, nose, games, Carrot Fields couldn’t hear all the details from his outdoors vantage point but from what he could gleam together and it sure sounded like they were having a great time inside! Carrot really wanted to join in, but first thing was first; he had to fix the broken wagon!

It sounded silly to put such importance on a wagon over a friend’s party, especially one he was personally invite to and had so many gorgeous mares! This wasn’t just some wagon though, it was his little sister Purple Haze’s special wagon that she loved, the one that was his first gift to her as a colt that he made with his own hooves; how could he leave it broken now? Fortunately it was a simple fix, he just had to avoid getting the kilt dirty somehow…