Hippo

Remington filed in towards the back of the crowd of students. Orientation was chaotic and energetic. So many young ponies and creatures in one place, some returning but also some new students, like himself, mingled with each and meeting old and new friends and teachers. Unfortunately for him, Remington's parents could not be present for the orientation, but he was very good at finding his way around a new place, an instinct anypony could pick up having lived in Manehatten for several years. As Remington looked around at all the experienced-looking sophomores with their creature cliques and local residents grouping together with one another, it was as though he felt he could know several of them already, but in reality he didn't know anypony by name. If there was anyone here he did know, their colors were lost among the array of creatures from all over Equestria.

He stepped over to what looked like a scheduling table and quickly searched for a form or card with his name on it. "Ah-ha, here it is. First one is Loyalty 101, Professor Rainbow Dash. Loyalty, huh? Guess they want to make sure I don't skip class," he said jokingly to no one in particular. Remington was a well-mannered colt, for the most part. He was born in Cloudsdale but spent most of his time in Manehatten where his father worked as an executive for a marketing firm. When he had the choice to continue trade school in the city or go somewhere else, his parents suggested he should attend the school of friendship in Ponyville. They mostly liked the idea of getting their son involved with the Princess of Friendship's academy, but he had his own reasons for wanting to attend. The years of Manehatten grew sourly on him. He didn't mind the big city, but he constantly found himself gravitating towards exploring other parts of the country. And once he found his special talent in dream interpreting, he felt his future might more involve venturing to the places where dreamscape spell casting and dreamwalking occurred. But since he's not a unicorn, and not best friends with Princess Luna (yet), getting in line to earn a degree in friendship might be the best next step. What was he stepping into, however, would be a mystery soon to reveal itself.

Thread: Again, For the First Time

Applejack wasn't exactly expecting her friend that invited her to turn in so soon. It felt like the sun had just set. Did she always sleep this early? "Ok, I'll go to bed soon then. See ya in the studio first thing in the morning!" Applejack carefully put a few things away in the kitchen and even cleaned some dishes that she felt responsible for, and even some she wasn't. Once everything was clean and presentable, she started back up the stairs and softly walked into her bedroom. Before she closed the bedroom door, she peered across the hall at the studio doorway. "Hmm." She pondered out loud as she let her imagination wander. But a few moments later, she would hang her hat at the foot of her guest bed, untie her mane and tail, and wrap herself in the soft covers of the bed that felt like it had only been used by a hooffull of ponies, maybe other famous musicians. Or maybe Svengallop. A short moment of curiosity, and Applejack fell asleep.

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The cabin door was slammed open. Applejack walked in soaking wet. Her uniform was dripping of lakewater. Just moments ago, Her friend and her just took a cleansing dive into the lake after they had lost a furious battle in tug-o-war and fell into the mud. It was a quick and courageous attempt at quickly washing all the dirt and grime from their uniforms, although they were too wet to continue with them on for the rest of the day. Luckily, each camper was equipped with a few sets of their gear.

Applejack pulled off her uniform, which was stuck to her sides on account of it being wet. "Wooooweee. That there was fun, dippin' in the lake like that. I didn't think you'd do it, but then we did it together!" Applejack's filly voice squeaked. She carefully took a spare towel and dried herself of any unnecessary moisture and then tossed the towel to Coloratura. Before getting dressed in a new dry outfit, she looked at the camp schedule on her bed. "So, Rara, what else do we have for the rest of the day now that we're out of the physical challenge competition? We have the eatin' contest, oh but that's already started. There's an arts and crafts lesson for birdhouses, too. Oh! There's a talent show! Rara, we should do that so we can show everyone how awesome you are at singin'!"

Once Gallus had caught up to Silverstream, she was impressed by his ability to keep cool. However, it was all in the context of knowing how to move across a current, which was not too disimilar from flying. This might just be the moment Gallus was most comfortable with under the waves. Silverstream gigglesnorted. "I know right. I'm not the best swimmer, but this ride always made me feel like I could be."
 

"Hmhmm." Silverstread nodded to her brother's recollection of their younger days. "I remember I would try to do tricks in the current before I tried them in normal waters. You should try some, Gallus, it'll probably be just like flying. You should try spinning, that's a cool trick!" Silverstream spun in place while facing the same direction. As she stopped her spin she continued in a faux backstroke while swimming underneath the seagriffon.

Zap held himself in place while his mother fixed his hastily fastened pair of goggles from catching his mane. Once she let him go, he looked around with his goggles, observing everything he could, trying to see things in a new perspective. She was right, everything was basically the same, but it made you feel a little more ready to take on the air at the expense of a little peripheral vision.

He stepped around a little and accidentally tapped his head and his hooves on a few benches and lockers. The depth perception he was used to was a little modified by the goggle's shape, but he would get used to it with little effort. Knowing that goggles were a tool used by fast fliers to not get the high speed watery eye, something Zap could only accomplish while sitting still and being upset, he was more ready than ever to attempt to fly faster than he had ever before. He was already motivated by the visit, and now that he felt he had a piece of the action strapped to his head, he could actually take the test to not just see if he could go fast, but exactly what level of fast he could accomplish. Was today the day he would follow in his mother's hoofsteps and make his first ever rainboom?

"Yes!" Zap scampered out of the locker room and back down the long hall they came from and raced towards the front door in front of everypony.

The wailing continued. Gallus had made an try at verbally illustrating his awful ability to discern colors while also attempting to tap into Zap's ego. It worked, but only slightly. Zap simmered down to a heavy inhale, perhaps a rest from his lament, to hear the words coming from the griffon that he would attempt to draw the colt. Pink. "Wwhaaaaaaa...," Zap continued, not necessarily offended by the color choice, but perhaps using it as an excuse to ramp up his ability to pitch a fit into several long minutes. Maybe he could get close to his personal record.

Zap ran over to the door to try and open it, and failed again. Once realizing the door was a futile attempt at finding solace, he scampered up the marble stairs and looked out a window that was on the front face of the cloudominium. He tapped softly on the colt-proof glass, crying more as he caught his breath from the short run. He could have hovered up to the second level of the foyer, but he kept his wings tucked in order to reserve energy for more important things, like crying.

Zap continued to cry. His life story was based on early learning experiences and acting on young pony instincts, one of which was crying until one of his mothers, possibly both, rushed to his side to see what was the matter when he felt stressed or bored. In reality, the stress of Zap being their first foal gave Applejack and Rainbow Dash the proactive attitude towards coddling the young pegasus, but to him it was simply a matter of his reality in those situations, which was that he was very important and possibly the center of the universe.

His egocentricity flooded his eyes with tears and gave him the extra adrenaline needed to keep inhaling such loud cries. Was he too old for this? Maybe. But this environment had never been battle-tested. He had never been left alone for so long, except for maybe in his dreams. And now was the moment he would find out what it all meant when his natural reaction to be left at home without his parents would drive him to complete lack of composure, something Applejack would most likely instill in him eventually with her curriculum of farm-natured hard work and tough love combination.

Zap mostly ignored what Gallus was pleaing with. But it was a plea. A plea to stop crying, a plea for attention and order, a plea to spare his raptor ears of the insufferable noise coming from the tiny pony. Even by foal standards, this was quite the outburst. He did notice some crafting supplies spilled on the living room table, and he also saw Gallus eager to avert attention to pleasing his mothers, but it mostly fell on deaf ears, one of which Gallus may soon become.

Zap's eyes wandered around as his mother led him into the locker room. He could tell this was very much a privilege most ponies never got to experience. Only those who earned the right to wear the blue and yellow streaks could enter such a sacred place, save for a few media personnel and family members. He could tell he didn't belong here, at least not yet. Despite the friendly gestures from his mother's teammates, he felt a sense of earned respect and accomplishment that made Zap feel inferior to the program, and he was lucky to get a peek.

When Rainbow Dash showed him her folded suit ready for her next session, she also hinted towards an extra pair of goggles. But something was off about them. "Um, these are too small for you, Mommy." He picked up the goggles and attempted to wear them. When the elastic band snapped the back of his head and cowlicked his mane, he winced out in minor pain at the pressure the sensation of wearing something that actually fit him had. The feeling of having something tied to your head like this was something he had never had with goggles that were far too big for him.

"Hu! Are these my goggles!?" He asked as he looked at his mother, his eyes plenty enlarged and glossy.

When Zap started overhearing his mother give Gallus cues, he wasn't particularly interested in whatever the blue bird had to show. Whatever it was, it couldn't possibly be more amazing than anything Rainbow Dash does normally during Wonderbolt airshows. But when Gallus hinted at Zap not being afraid, his sense of pride he got from both of his mothers started to distract his attention away from the door and from Rainbow.

He made a few steps over to where Gallus was presenting, his head tilted and eyes half engaged, one eyebrow raised and touching his yellow and orange bangs. "I'm not a chicken." Zap responded to the dense griffon. When he performed his magic trick, Zap was genuinely astonished and tried to get a better look by standing on the couch that was next to Gallus. By looking down, he hoped he could see more of what was going on. But when Gallus reconnected his talon by slight of claw, Zap was unable to investigate properly. When Gallus moved his claws away, Zap jumped up to him and tried reaching for his claws to inspect. When he grabbed a claw with his hoof, he was first amazed at the shape of such a device on a creature, it was far different than his own hooves. But then he couldn't understand the trick, but make no mistake, he new it was a trick. "It's a trick. You didn't really remove your hoof claw thing." He turned towards the door. "Mom, how did he do it?"

When Zap looked at the door, it was firmly closed with nopony around it. Rainbow Dash had left. He looked out of the window and didn't even see her rainbow trail. She left very quickly while Gallus was doing his trick and it left Zap feeling left out and with a stranger griffon he only now knew as a trickster. He reached for the doorknob but failed to twist it. The door had some kind of lock that he had not been able to figure out yet.

After a short fit at the door, Zap turned around and looked at Gallus with a very upset and pouty face. A few breaths later, he started to tear up and before long, busted out a large cry that filled the cloudominium. He spent almost every living minute with at least one of his mothers. This might be the first time he has ever spent time without either of them, and the feeling of detachment left him with only one emotion, uncomfortable insecurity.

Applejack felt embarrassed but was eased by Coloratura's sense of kindness and humor. As she paced Applejack back to her room to help in directions, Appplejack couldn't help but consider how useful she might able to be on her visit if she helped redesign the hallway structures in the house. These walls can't be that hard to redirect. If only she had a hammer.

Coloratura mentioned musical work starting tomorrow. Oh yeah, right. You're not here to use a nail gun, you're here to play some music. Coloratura invited her to eat and explore, and Applejack would oblige. So once her friend left her room and went down the stairs, Applejack began organizing the things in her suitcase and even made use of the shelves and drawers in her guest room. Might as well insist on living here for a while.

Applejack walked down the stairs with her plate of toast once she completed her unpacking as much as she could tolerate and followed Coloratura into the eating space. Now that Applejack had more of a sense of living space, she felt more comfortable about dwelling and having more meaningful conversations with those around her, just like at home. Applejack took a small bite of the toast. "So what kind of toast is this?" But not exactly like home. "Hmm. It needs something." Applejack helped herself into the kitchen and opened the door of the icebox. Luckily, she found some butter, grabbed a knife with her mouth and scooped a shaving of butter onto the knife and began spreading it on the toast. She took another bite. "Now that's much butter. Or better." Applejack giggled as she sat across from Coloratura at the dinning table. After she swallowed the slice of toast, she threw up the other slice of toast and caught it with one full bite, chewed for a few seconds, and swallowed again. "All these extra bits and you don't have yerself a private chef?" Applejack joked, but she didn't mean to impose on the musical mare's success rate as being a waste of fortune.

Today was going to perfect. The conditions were perfect. The zipper on the tent was not jammed. The conditions were perfect. Silverstream was determined to not let herself sleep in. In fact, she stayed up all night in order to make sure that didn't happen. When she started hearing the rooster's crow, she unzipped herself out of her tent and grabbed Gallus. "It's morning!" Silverstream, despite being up all night, did not show any signs of being fatigued or non-cognitive. Silverstream would sleep well eventually, but her young hippogriff energy was bolstered to regular excited levels.

Today was going to be perfect. The conditions were perfect. The dirt on the path was not muddy. The conditions were perfect. Granola had been trying to conquer the simple task of talking to Applejack in an attempt to introduce a new breed of apple. Why she decided to keep on trying during cider week's insanity was a question for another day. She took a deep breath and exhaled in confidence. "It's morning." She trekked up to the path and decided to play the safe and fair route. She waited at the end of the line, where several ponies who elected not to sleep on the farm path were filing in as the sun peaked over the hills.

When Zap entered the barracks with his mother he thought of many questions to ask, but the curious mind was too observant to speak. He let his eyes wander around the rooms and hallways, looking at all the memorial figures and trophy cases adorned with hundreds of shiny objects. When they approached a pair of old goggles in a display case, Zap ho-hummed the device. They looked rusted and too big for his head, so he couldn't see himself wearing them. He also had no clue who General Freezing Feathers was. "Where are your goggles, Dashie?" Zap had seen his mothers goggles before and played with them, but his head was always too small to hold the goggles up by themselves, so he would always have to hold them up to his face with one hoof.

Once Fluttershy was done singing, she blushed without knowing what next to say. But then she realized Rarity was tagging in to keep the flow of kindness going, and it kept Fluttershy from being too embarrassed. "Oh, thank you!" Fluttershy said receptively to the surprised of hot cocoa. She sat on her haunches briefly as she sipped the hot cocoa with her front hooves holding the mug. "It's just us for now." She took another sip. Fluttershy could sense in the stallion's tone and posture that he was more interested than thankful at the presence of the carol group, and considered he might be interested in joining. "Did... you want to join us? Aren't you having a family meal inside or something? Oh dear, we didn't interrupt did we?"

Boulder Dash greeted the fillies and turned a shy complexion. Fluttershy only responded with a smile, looked at the girls and then turned back towards Boulder and his family to begin singing. The company of Rarity and now a filly who might be shy herself encouraged her to not be overly nervous, and her joy of the season once again countered her fear of attention. As she sang, a squirrel that was digging for nuts that it had saved in the fall noticed the pegasus' charm and scampered to her side to join in enjoying the ensemble.

♫

Silent night, starry night
All is calm, all is bright
'Round the forest,
Parents and young
Gentle creatures everyone
Home in burrows deep
Home in burrows deep

♫

Silent night, starry night                                (Oooooo....)
Snowfall makes the meadows white           (Oooooo....)
Ponies, pegasi, unicorns                               (Oooooo....)
Circle 'round a hearth that is warm              (Oooooo....)
Now the day is done                                       (Oooooo....)
Now that the day is done                               (Oooooo....)

♫

Silent night, starry night                                (Silent night, starry night)
Leaves are still and the moon's in sight      (Ahhhh...mmmmm)
Dreams are born as their eyes fall closed   (Ahhhh...mmmmm)
Tomorrow's gift is that nobody knows        (Ahhhh...mmmmm)
Sleep in beautiful peace                                (Sleep... beautiful peace)
                                    Sleep in beautiful peace

♫

Oh-whoa                                                           (Sleep in beautiful peace)
Oh-whoa-oh-oh                                              (Sleep in beautiful peace)
Oh-whoa-oh-oh                                              (Sleep in beautiful peace)
Oh-whoa                                                           (Sleep in beautiful peace)

                                    Sleep in beautiful peace

♫
Sleep in beautiful peace
♫

"Oh yes. If you've ever had a tomato or anything from a tomato, chances are it came from the Boulder family farm." Fluttershy started leading the way to the small path that led to the edge of Ponyville. Now that Fluttershy got a song under her belt for the night, and it didn't go horribly, she felt a little more confident in singing again. But like all things that Fluttershy had to improve in, it was at the pace of tiny baby bunny steps.

"So I have a song booklet with me, but me and Rarity already know most of the songs by hearts. So, if you would like to follow along a song you don't know well, you can still sing it with us." Fluttershy slipped to Diamond Tiara a small paper booklet with several holiday songs and Hearth's Warming hymns. "I know you're a great singer, too. I remember when you sang in the Kirin of the Opera musical play the school put on. You were wonderful!" Fluttershy paused though when she wondered about which song to sing. "I'm not sure which song we should sing next. Let me think while we walk to the farm."

Along the way to the next door, Fluttershy couldn't help but look at all the places in the field around the grass now covered in snow where she knew were sleeping animals keeping warm for the winter. One small hill in particular, she remembered helping the same porcupine family set up their winter burrow a few years ago, and they still use the same one today. She loved her animal friends and would miss the ones that hibernate until they return for the spring, but always felt good about being able to help them cope with the harsher temperatures the wind and snow brought. For now, her winter-adapted critters would keep her company on the long nights of Ponyville winter. Also, ponies.

"I can't believe how much it snowed earlier. I can barely see any patches of dirt or grass. But even though it's so cold and snowy, I just know my little cute animal friends are all tucked away warm in their cozy homes." Fluttershy squeaked with the excitement in her nurturing attitude. "I know what song we should sing. We should sing 'Silent Night'. I can sing the main parts, and you two can sing the backup vocals. This song is so lovely when it has a choir, even a small one, to back it up." Fluttershy smiled at Rarity and Diamond. "Do you know that one, Diamond Tiara?"

Fluttershy had a short moment looking at Rarity when the filly asked to join, and when Filthy asked for the mare's permission for turning the duo into a trio. And she would agree with Rarity. "Oh, of course! The more the merrier. We will need to go soon so we can visit as many houses before it gets too late. So grab your most comfy jacket and we'll be going."

The short wait for Diamond to get her clothes gave Fluttershy a minute to think about where to go to next. They could go next door, but it occurred to her that some of the outskirts of Ponyville would be too far out of the way to save for last, so it would be best to attempt to visit some of the farmlands first. "Hey, Rarity, let's go to Boulder Tomato Ranch next. I bet them wont be expecting us out there."

Fluttershy sung the last few notes while closing her eyes, and she kept them closed as the rhythm of the song ended. Afraid to open them for fear of embarrassment, she ended the streak once a few seconds of awkward silence promoted her to speak. "Oh, um. Happy Hearth's Warming! We wish you, your friends, and your family all the joy and love the holiday brings. May your fireplace, and our friendship, keep you forever warm." Fluttershy smiled at Filthy with glee. Her kind instinct was overwhelming her flaw of fret from showing for the time being.

Fluttershy's good friend did the best she could diverting attention away from the kind pony's fears to the chic fashion choices of the unicorn. "Oh, it looks lovely." Fluttershy said thoughtfully. "I think others will love how you look, it certainly will put on a good impression to the ponies we surprise." Fluttershy was a little dressed down from Rarity, but she never considered it an issue with how it made her feel about her own attire. Rarity was likely going to be more fabulous no matter what. And besides, this was Fluttershy's favorite holiday sweater, ever since Angel ripped a whole in her old one.

The two approached Filthy Rich's house and with a slight hesitation, Fluttershy raised her hoof to attempt the knock. She winced and looked away, but caught the eye of Rarity's supportive nod. "Okay." She whispered. "Here we go."

*Knock*Knock*Knock*

@Bellosh @RainbowFoxxy

Fluttershy and Rarity had been out of the singing game for quite some time. Though Rarity would continue to exercise her hobby of being a talented soprano for the Ponytones, Fluttershy would usually only sing to her animal friends, and once at a private show for her friends to see. She wanted to do something nice for the citizens of her town but was persuaded by Rarity to do the traditional thing during Hearth's Warming Fluttershy never looked forward to doing.

Sure, Fluttershy could sing songs casually in public, but the moment she took notice that others took notice of her, it struck irrational fear in the yellow pegasus' spine. It was too bad, too. She was a very talented singer in her own right who did it for the right reasons. She enjoyed it. But deciding to go with Rarity on a carolling trip with just the two of them ended up being something she would agree to attempt. And maybe after one slightly uncomfortable holiday evening bellowing out her songs in the first snowfalls of winter in Ponyville, she would be closer to be less afraid of being heard singing.

"Thanks for suggesting this idea to go carolling throughout Ponyville, Rarity. It was a good idea." Fluttershy hesitated. "Even though I may not be too excited about singing in front of other ponies." She smirked a nervous smile. Fluttershy was walking away with Rarity from the unicorn's boutique and into the direction of the residential zones of Ponyville proper. The sun had already set and Ponyville's street lamps speckled a friendly constellation along the pathways. Fluttershy was wearing a cozy sweater and a pair of earmuffs with pink flower designs on them. If the paths were clear of the light snow that fell earlier in the day, she would have no problem keeping warm through the evening.

Silverstream was shocked at the spectacle that was Luna's magic emanating a bright flash everyone at the farm could see. Though harmless, Silverstream could see Gallus flinch at her magical beam that would result in only a simple sanitation spell. "Whoa." Silverstream stated. She hovered in place at the flash but then landed when Luna appeared clear of the pie debris with a bit of a smirk. "That was so awesome!"

At the treadmills, Applejack saw the shadows that the bright flash created and then stood up to look behind her to see what was going on. What she assumed was an amusement spell that didn't cause any damage or injuries, she could see the level of commotion increase among the impatient ponies. An empty pie tin rattled and rolled towards Applejack and stopped its aimless wheeling at her feet. "Alright ya'll. That's enough! We need everyone to please leave the front area of the farm and please mind your space. We're out of cider today, so take yer free samples and leave for the day. I don' want anypony gettin' hurt all because of the excitement. Tomorrow morning, same as before, we will have more cider." As Applejack stepped back towards the treadmills and continued sorting parts, many customers reluctantly dispersed the from the front of the cider stand, the cart with apples and pies completely emptied by the agitated patrons.

Distracted with royalty and Gallus' antics, Silverstream was just now realizing that cider was out again. "They're out again!? Gallus, lets get to where my tent is and make sure no one moves it." She flew quickly to where her tent was where it was dirty with dirt picked up from the road, but otherwise undamaged and unmoved. She was faced with the dilemma of packing up and giving up an early spot, or continuing to camp out yet again in order to try and guarantee Gallus and herself a spot at the theoretical front of the line. She would talk to Gallus about the possibilities as the day grew older.

__________________________________________________

Day 3

Third time's a charm. It was the morning of yet another day in the beautiful autumn sun, and another day of cider drinking. Everyone would have the pleasure of doing one of those things, but it was yet to be determined who would enjoy them both. Applejack had worked into the night working on the third treadmill that was not yet operational. With the help of Taira's continued pace, and the additional help of a pop star unknown to Applejack, cider production seemed promising for the next day's customers. It was clear that more cider than either of the first two days would be available for serving.

However, while filling the barrels, they encountered a small problem. Many of the barrels used for cider storage were not fit to contain the cider. Over the years, many of them had been reused as they were in good conditional to be used for many seasons. But some of them finally bit the dust, and no extra materials were had to create new barrels in time for morning. So, instead of stopping production, Applejack decided to store the surplus cider in a juice vat. It was cleaned and filled with cider, with a valve at the bottom giving flow to the next empty barrel available. As barrels are emptied, the vat will be used to fill the barrels and continue a hefty supply of cider. There was more cider, but it was harder to get an accurate estimate of how many barrels of cider were left.  It wasn't perfect, but the extra cider made Applejack rest a lot easier.

Except she didn't rest at all.

Applejack worked so late into the night trying to put together the third mill that she failed to use any of the night to get sleep. This was mostly evident by the massive bags under her eyes walking up to the cider stand as the sun rose. "hhhHHHHHaaaaaauuwww." She yawned and cracked a smile. "Today will be a good day, I just know it." She stepped up on top of the cider stand, but lost her footing and slipped off it. "Whoops." She carefully stood back on top of it and aimed herself at the line of patrons, who almost in the same color order as the day before had their tents lined up. "Today is the third day of cider season. It's gonna be a hhhhhhHHHHHaaaauuhhhuhhhwhh. Good day. We have more cider today than we did yesterday." She hesitated to speak. "That means more cider than yesterday, so." Applejack blinked hard and thought for a minute. "And more than the day before that." She jumped off the counter and in front of the line. "So let's get to it!" Applejack gave Apple Bloom the go-ahead nod, and then walked back to the treadmill which still had not been completely fixed and attempted to finish the assembly of the machine so that cider production could be optimal.

Current fresh cider supply: ???%

Cider press #3 repair: 78%

Zap uncomfortably picked himself up on the rugged landed surface. His breathing pattern indicated that he was favoring a part of himself, but once he stood up and corrected his posture, he seemed in good health and his breathing was normal. Foal bones sometimes seemed like they were made of jello. "I'm okay, Dashie." Zap's left front leg had several bruises, but was adorned with a pretty significant scrape that Zap didn't fuss about. The redness from the marks stuck out on his already fairly reddish hue. Instead of suggesting rest, Zap's mind was still filled with possibilities of what he could do at this giant adult playground, and he wanted to explore more. "Can I do some tricks or something. Is there an ob-obsta... obstagol course?"

"Dashieeeeeeeeeeeeeee..." Zap whined. He had learned that using exaggerated inflections on his mother's name was a good tactic in persuasion, but there was no telling how effective it would be today. Zap continued to pout, murmuring to himself but also out loud, displaying an outward emotion of feeling suppressed and being treated unfairly. Because it was unfair! His parents get to have fun all day doing Twilight-knows-what without him involved? No way! "It's not fair!" Zap stomped on the soft clouded floor towards the front door where Rainbow Dash was getting ready to leave. He started to reach for the door as if he had decided it was up to him that he would go with his mothers. As far as he was concerned, Gallus was the new housemaid his mother hired to clean up after them while the three of them had a fun day.

Noticing the chagrins coming from the magic ponies gifted with telekinesis and the like, Applejack could see these impromptu volunteers not appreciating the idea of not using magic. It would be like asking a pegasus to not use her wings, or an earth pony to not use her legs. But she had to reassure and convey her view of it, because since becoming friends with several magical creatures like a magical wolf, a student changeling, and a mood-swinging kirin, not to mention the bona fide princess of friendship alicorn, Applejack had come to terms with the idea of magic being a part of her life through many different ways, despite how stubborn she had been all the years before. During traditional events like the annual winter wrap up, or physical competitions like the running of the leaves or the iron pony, magic would of course be viewed as a disgrace, but Applejack no longer sticks her nose up at a friendly unicorn pony levitating an apple in front of her face. "Look, ya'll. I'm not saying you can't use magic. Just be moderate about it. If you have to glow your horn for more than a few seconds, then you're probably abusing your powers a lil' bit."

Applejack started reaching around the scatter parts of the treadmill on a clue for where to start. "Hey pass me that mallet over there in mah box," she said to no one in particular. "I may have to work a few hours to get this fixed, but just organizing all these parts by shape and size will probably save me the most amount of time." Applejack started separating the pieces into different piles. One pile had small wooden screws, another had large planks. Anything made of metal had it's own pile, and broken pieces were stashed out of the way.

Applejack chuckled at the idea of a batpony generation having a boom all because of the Princess Luna's reconciliation with her ruling sister. "Heh heh. The magic of friendship causes all sortsa ripples in everypony's lives, don't it?"

As the day grew longer, Applejack hoped to see many customers return again for a third day. With any luck and some hard work, cider production might be at its maximum. If Applejack gets a third treadmill to work, she might grind on it all night if her body allows.

Current fresh cider supply: 0%

((The day will reset in 2 days, on December 1st 12:00am UTC))

Zap took the mask and took a good look at it while holding it up. "Whoa!" After a few moments of trying to figure out how to put the thing on, he snapped the mask on around his neck and shimmied the eye holes to where his eyes are. His mane was not placed through the top correctly and was covering one of his eyes partially. "I'm a Wonderbolt now! Woooooooooo!" Zap took off running and started flapping his wings. He successfully flew at a relatively rapid pace for several strides before losing his wing balance and tumbling down onto the tarmac. He rolled several times before stopping, much like he did earlier on the ground. When he sat up, he was noticeably dizzy and disoriented.

Applejack was tinkering away at a broken hoof-powered cider press. This one was operational yesterday but had jammed up before they could get enough progress on pressing cider to make plenty of the raging crowds of ponies. She first looked at the large stone pressing wheel. Giving it a long reluctant look, she feared that if the stone press was damaged that it might be out of commission until she can get another fabricated stone wheel from the Pie rock farm. Taking her wrench in her mouth, she twisted a few different wooden bolts and slightly tapped different parts of the wheel. She sighed. After a slow examination of the stone wheel, she knew that it wasn't the culprit for the jam. She next looked inside the transfer cogs, seeing if any of the sister threads were stripped of their torque. Mostly being made of wood made it easy to fix but it failed often based on how worn out the soft wooden fixtures would be after a long season of pressing. And there it was. One of the wooden cogs was completely dislodged and dropped itself in the housing of the wheel. She wished she had looked at this last night, but when the sun set she didn't want to try and fix a broken piece of machinery in the dark without knowing how long it would take to fix. Applejack oiled up the cog and slipped it back in place where it belongs. A couple tightenings with her trusty wrench and once she pulled the safety lever, the treadmill was once again completely responsive to the wheel. "Whew!" Having fixed one of the two broken treadmills, she felt motivated to try and fix the one remaining idle and unworked.

But before she could carry her tools to it, she was interrupted by Princess Bluebelle and Bellissima. They wanted to help, indicating that magic would aid the attempt to fix the mechanical machines. She smiled, the oil and dirt on her face curving to the shape of her glee.  "You want to help?" Applejack was strangely hesitant at first, but remembering how successful cider seasons of the past had been if she allowed her friends to help would convince her quickly that she should accept the offer. "Huh, well, unicorn magic is a no go." She said plainly. "Magic on the farm ain't necessarily prohibited. But I can't accept the constant use of magic to help solve a problem we can solve with our hooves. The reason our cider is so special is because of the hard work that goes into it." In past years, the magic from Rarity and Twilight Sparkle helped in carry supplies and moving small materials around in order to complete the task, but the treadmill was always hoof-powered, and the apples were always physically removed from the trees. "But I tell ya what, I just fixed this here treadmill and it seems to be working just fine. Once we get her loaded up with good apples, I need somepony to power it with some good ol' fashioned trottin'." Applejack noticed how magnificent the Princess was looking today, so instead looked to her companion who Applejack had not met yet, a pink unicorn with a very stylish mane and a music-related cutie mark. "Would you like to run on it for me, miss? You don't need to go very fast, just keep a nice consistent pace. And no magic."

"Isn't that right, Taira!?" Applejack yelled back at her farm aide Taira who was still huffing and puffing on the treadmill that had been running all day. She hadn't forgotten about him, and he was doing good work. She would have to pay him a fair wage in due time.

"And the rest of you can maybe help me fix the other treadmill." Applejack walked over to the third treadmill, the one that still needed to be fixed. To put it lightly, the treadmill was in complete disarray. Pieces were missing, the stone wheel had a crack in it, and the belts that transferred energy to the wheel were twisted and jammed into the machinery. "To be honest, I don't think we've used this heap in a few moons. And unfortunately, it got neglected." Applejack put her tools down and looked around at the few ponies who seemed interested in the technological failure. "What do you guys think? Would you like to take this thing apart with me so we can try and fix it?" Applejack grabbed the wrench with her mouth and started loosening the few bolts on the treadmill that were still intact. One by one, parts of the treadmill came off and the broken treadmill turned into a large pile of individual parts.

She wiped the sweat off her brow, and looked around while taking a breather. She noticed something about her surroundings and failed to withhold her current thought. "Why in the hay are there so many bat ponies here?"

As the aerion Silverstream met yesterday passed both Luna and herself with a bow, Silverstream gave her patented goofy response. "I'm not a Princess, silly!"

When Luna graciously responded to Silverstream, she was elated to have finally had a conversation with one of the rulers of Equestria. But Gallus was missing, what horrible timing. She wondered where he was. He was missing this very rare occasion where he could converse with the legendary dreamscape protector herself. She began to nervously look around her. "Well, Princess Luna, you must have heard of Gallus, then. He was right around here a second ago." Silverstream looked puzzled and tried to discern where Gallus had gone to. "He's a griffin with so much spunk, you wont believe it!" And just as she was talking Gallus up, she finally got line of sight of the young blue griffon, but it was accompanied by two apple pies being accidentally hurled in their direction. Silverstream did not have enough time to react and one of the pies hit Silverstream squarely it the face, the weight of the pie and tin knocking her off her hooves and talons and falling back-first onto the ground.

Current fresh cider supply: 0%

((The day will reset in 5 days, on December 1st 12:00am UTC))

I would like to suggest a new reaction option from the 'like' menu.  I present to you hoofsies!

(This is a serious suggestion and not a joke.)