“Nopony could remember a time when it had rained so hard.”
The words hung in the gloom of the library’s basement.
“Ah, that’s horse apples.”
“No, the statement is accurate, if misleading.”
Twilight Sparkle looked at her friends with a smile. Applejack had evaluated the statement in terms of its honesty, but Rarity generously found something positive to say about it.
“Eh, kinda. But not the way I’d describe week three of a dry spell,” Applejack replied.
“Well, they should have the cloud machines in Cloudsdale fixed soon,” Twilight added. “And Princess Celesita’s fever broke, so she should be able to control the sun again soon.”
“While I’m glad Princess Luna could help, I’m afraid she doesn’t have her sister’s finesse with the sun,” Rarity added.
Applejack nodded. “And until we get more rainclouds, we all need to keep cool to save on water we drink.”
As if on cue, the alarm clock next to Twilight went off. The unicorn silenced it, saying, “But we still need to drink.” She and Applejack each took a mouthful of water from the bottles next to them. Room temperature, but so good.
Rarity shrugged, saying, “I’ll drink if I’m thirsty.” While she had intended to share her water ration, this statement earned her a hot glare from Applejack.
“Sugarcube, you can’t depend on that. Drink. Now. I tried that once when I was younger and woke up in the barn, having fainted from dehydration.”
Rarity seemed a bit taken back by Applejack’s vehemence, but drank a mouthful from her own bottle.
Twilight smiled to herself. The exchange had gotten Applejack off worrying about her farm, and worrying about Rarity. Applejack couldn’t do much for her farm right now, except stand out in the orchard and sweat.