Karyn had had all she could take. Derpy wasn’t there yet, and she had already showered and dressed. The heat from the shower had worn off, her coffee wasn’t ready yet, and outside the wind whipped away any heat that tried to cling to the windows.

“I’m sorry, Gayle,” she said, and notched the thermostat up. Of course, she felt no immediate relief, but she did hear the hiss of the steam, so that was something. But then the hiss turned into the sound of Derpy arriving, and she forgot about the cold for a moment.

“Good morning,” Derpy said, and Karyn was a little envious of how Derpy could go around without a thick sweater on. If anything, it seemed like Derpy was warmer and more relaxed than Karyn was all bundled up. Without comment on Karyn’s outfit, Derpy took her seat at the breakfast table and spread out. “Need any help?”

“No, I’d prefer to move around and generate heat.”

“Are you cold? Didn’t you have coffee yet?”

Karyn turned the heat on the oven and waved her hands over it. “I did, but it’s still too cold for me. It’s probably just how I’m feeling. Missing some iron or magnesium or something.”

“Too bad.”

“You, on the other hand, seem quite warm.”

“Yeah, it always does that.” Derpy said, leaning back and letting her head loll off the back of the chair.

“What’s that?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, you weren’t there. I got up early and got some cider from Sweet Apple Acres.”

Karyn nodded. “I see. So you’re tired because you got up early.”

“I could probably go to sleep, but not really. I’ve just got the warmth of the cider in me and it’s such a nice feeling.”

“Is this the season for it? I guess I always figured it would have been in autumn.”

Derpy’s voice became clearer as she picked her head up. “The Apples have gotten good at rotating their crops so that there’s not a big rush and then none at all for the rest of the year. But there’s still some times when they do the first pressing of apples and everypony who wants some lines up. Some are regulars who hit every one, but there’s plenty like me who just go when they feel like it, and usually we get some on the first day.”

“Is the first pressing better?”

“Yes!” For the first time, Derpy’s voice lost her even tone. “You can go and get it later, but it tastes more watery. If you get a mug on the first day, though, it tastes almost like biting into an apple, but with none of the flesh or seeds or skin. That’s not to say that the later cider is bad, but there’s just less of it. I also think it has something to do with how they store it. There’s flavor in the barrels too, and when the early cider comes out, you get the taste of the wood and whatever they treat it with.”

“So, answer me this. Is the cider they sell there alcoholic? See, the word ‘cider’ can mean one of two drinks here. One is basically just apple juice, maybe with some sediments in it, but the other is a liquor.”

“I’m not sure. What do you mean by liquor?”

Karyn didn’t know where the confusion lay, unless ponies didn’t really understand alcoholic beverages. “Does it make you drunk?”

“I don’t get drunk, the cider gets drunk by me.”

“No, what I mean is, does it make you tipsy? Does it mess with your head?”

“Not me! I still don’t think I get it.”

Karyn waved her hand. “Never mind. I think that it can’t be, or you’d know. In any case, maybe some time you can bring me a bottle. I could sample it and then I’d be certain”

“A bottle?! I don’t even think they put the cider in bottles. No, it would never do for anyone to drink it that way. You should come with me and get a fresh mug today.”

“Well, I’m not sure that I’m thirsty right now...”

Derpy was already getting prepared. “You will be when you get near the apple orchards. Come on.”

“I dunno. I mean, you make it sound great, but I’ve never been a big fan of apple juice to begin with.”

Now Derpy stopped and looked at her. “I keep forgetting, sometimes, that you’re not a pony. Nopony doesn’t like apples and juice. I think you would, but I don’t want to force you.”

“Come on. I’ll do anything if it gets me out of this cold universe. I hope the weather is nicer in Equestria.”

“You know it can be.”

Derpy used her spell, but it was one of the rare occasions where she had to make a u-turn as soon as she arrived. Whether out of rule or habit, Derpy didn’t fly into Sweet Apple Acres, but landed early and walked toward the farm. Karyn had feared a big line for cider, and she wasn’t in the mood to stand around for an hour. But while a few ponies were milling around, the line was no worse than one she would face in a grocery store.

Up at the head of the line serving the ponies were Applejack and Big Macintosh. They were being friendly with each one as they poured the drink, but it was more listening to what they had to say than saying anything. Karyn and Derpy got on line, and Karyn began to worry about what to say when they got up there. She had never been comfortable around the Apples, with the possible exception of Apple Bloom. Their family dynamic struck her as being somewhat insular, as though they took particular pride in being part of that family. She knew that ponies wouldn’t take it that way, but for a human it was difficult to see it as something other than snobbery, looking down on anyone who wasn’t an Apple.

“Howdy, Derpy!” Applejack said when it was their time. “Come for another?”

“Actually, I was hoping to get Karyn a mug. She’s never had your cider, and since everypony knows how good it is, I wanted to share it.”

“Well, ain’t that just peachy.”

Derpy picked up her head. “No. It’s apple-y. I hope.”

Applejack had a good laugh at that. “Go on, Big Mac, pull Karyn a good one, so’s she’ll be able to tell all the humans how good we make this.”

“Yep,” the staillion said as he opened the tap on the bung and let the cider flow into a mug. He was well practiced, as the cider developed a head that stayed on top. It reminded Derpy of one of the clouds she occasionally had to deal with.

Karyn didn’t know how to attack it, though, without getting a face full of froth, so she let the head dissolve and chatted with the ponies. “How do you get it out this time of year anyway?” she asked. “If you need the apples fresh, isn’t it too cold now?”

“We pick some apples before they’re ripe, and slowly ripen them over the course of a couple months.”

“Clever. I was wondering if you didn’t freeze them.”

Big Macintosh and Applejack stared blankly. “Huh?” said Big Mac.

“I mean, freeze the cider. I don’t know what that would do to the taste, but it might work.”

“Hm,” said Applejack. “Never thought of that. Don’t know what it’ll do myself, but might be worth tryin’.”

“You have a way to freeze things? Probably magic, right?”

“Yep.” Big Macintosh didn’t go into further detail, but as Derpy went to give him a bit for the cider, he said, “No charge. It’s a good idea.”

Karyn was skeptical, wondering if he wasn’t giving them the free drink as an incentive to buy more. But since the head had cleared enough to sip, she forgot about it and put the mug to her lips.

She breathed in to sample the scent, still trying to figure out if it was a harsh alcoholic drink, but couldn’t detect any vapors. Karyn didn’t drink much herself, but knew what beer and wine tasted like. The mug reminded her most of beer, but since it was a fruit drink instead of grain, it smelled much sweeter. Experimentally, she took her first sip.

Immediately, she no longer felt cold. But Karyn was more focused on the taste. It almost made her cough, but she held together and swallowed, clearing her throat. The flavor was far more intense than any juice she had had on Earth, and it had a bite that stung her tongue. “Whoa, that’s intense,” she said. “How many apples do you use in this?”

“Per mug?” Big Mac looked up in thought. “Not sure exactly.”

“Go on with ya,” Applejack said. “As if we don’t all know exactly how much goes into every barrel. As I got it figured it’s about a dozen in each mug of cider. Now you know why sometimes we run out.”

“Yes, and I can see why the ponies line up to get this.” Karyn took another big draft. “I’m not even equine, and given how much more you guys like apples, I can only imagine how it is for you.”

“Glad you like it.”

“Actually, you know what would be good? If you warmed this up. I bet this would taste really good as a hot drink.”

“There are some ponies who have it that way,” said Derpy. To Karyn it looked like she was thinking about getting another one herself.

Applejack poured out another drink for the next pony, but kept talking to Karyn and Derpy. “Haven’t had any today, but if you really want some, I can make a fire.”

“No, don’t go to all the trouble. I was just happy to get one today. I liked the way you...”

Derpy and Applejack started talking in detail about the cider. Karyn hadn’t realized that they were such good friends, or maybe they just had a temporary bond over their mutual love of cider. She tuned out and stopped paying attention, just enjoying the aftertaste of the cider and the warmth it gave her. She leaned on the wooden table where they had mounted the cask. Big Macintosh was there, ready to give out more cider and, as usual, not saying much. Karyn thought that his silence fit the occasion, so he and she just watched the other two chat.

She drummed her fingers on the table, and it made her wonder. Even this felt good. Maybe the cider was alcoholic, or had some Equestrian equivalent chemical that would mellow her out. Thinking this, though, had the opposite effect, making her worried about side effects.

During a lull in the conversation, Big Macintosh showed himself to have some of the salespony’s instincts, as he said, “Y’all want another drink?” There was no line at just that time, so for the first time both the Apples were idle.

“I think I might like that,” said Derpy. “The one this morning has just about worn off my tongue, and I could go for tasting it again for a few hours. How about you, Karyn?”

“I don’t know.” She was starting to feel woozy.

“I was going to buy you one anyway before they gave you one for free. So I was counting on losing this bit anyway. Go on, Karyn.”

Another mug of cider was poured, and she exchanged her empty tankard for a full one. She wondered briefly how they washed all of them, and then she thought that one bit was rather cheap for a drink that everypony loved so much, and that the Apples could probably charge more to deal with the supply and demand issue. But none of the thoughts she had seemed to want to stay in her head for very long.

She was relieved for the head on the drink that gave her time to wait before taking a sip. She decided to use a tactic that had gotten her through a couple of parties where everyone was expected to drink heavily, in which she nursed one drink through the evening. Mostly people didn’t notice, and the ones who did were going through their own drinks fast enough that, by the time she should have been asking for another, they were too drunk to care.

There at Sweet Apple Acres she put the mug to her mouth and strained some of the cider through her teeth. It coated her mouth but left her none to swallow.

She enjoyed the taste again, and wished she could drink more, but her dizziness was becoming a full-blown headache. The sun, which she’d wished so much to see, was too bright for her eyes and so she looked down into the mug. The effervescence was pleasant to look at, but the vapors of the apple drink were getting to her, so she moved it away and just looked at the grass.

“...Karyn? Karyn?”

“Huh? Derpy?”

“Are you all right?”

Karyn swallowed and took a breath. “I’m not sure. I think the cider is getting to me. Are you guys sure it’s not alcoholic?”

Big Macintosh and Applejack looked at each other. “Isn’t what now?” asked AJ.

“What’s in it?”

“Apples.”

Karyn wasn’t in the mood for that. “What else? Or do you treat it in any way? Let it sit to ferment?”

“It sits for a while, maybe a couple weeks.”

Big Mac rolled his eyes. “Again, you know that we hold it for exactly seventeen days in the charred barrels.”

“Yeah, we do.” Applejack couldn’t help showing her pride, leaning against the barrel. “And these aren’t cheap either. The cooper who makes ‘em has to get the wood from the Everfree, so he charges hazard fees.”

Derpy put a hoof around Karyn’s shoulders. “I bet that doesn’t help. Karyn can be awfully sensitive to magical stuff that she eats or drinks, all the more so now that she’s not a changeling anymore so has no magic of her own.”

The Apples were stunned momentarily. They didn’t spend much time with Karyn or Derpy and so didn’t know anything about changeling magic. There seemed to be a story in it, but it wasn’t the time.

“Guess she shouldn’t have any more.”

“No.” Derpy eyed the mug that Karyn put on the table, but she’d had enough as well. “You guys drink that one. I’m going to take Karyn home to rest.”

She nudged her head under Karyn’s shoulder to help her walk away from the orchard. Once out of earshot, Karyn said, “Thanks for getting me out of there.”

“No problem. You want to get on my back? I’ll carry you.”

Karyn threw her leg over, but said, “Doesn’t seem right. If you falter, I can’t carry you.”

“Sure you can. You have plenty of times, when I’m sad or afraid.”

“That’s different.”

“Yes, it is. All I need is a strong back. You need a strong heart.”

Karyn let her head fall near Derpy’s neck. “This is no time for sweet sentiments. Hey, where are we going?”

“Like I said, I’m taking you home.”

But they weren’t flying toward the transition point to Earth. “Oh, you mean your home? I thought...never mind.”

When they entered Derpy’s house, Karyn got off, but Derpy helped her up the stairs again and got her shoes off before putting her in bed. “I’ll check in on you in a while.”

“Before you go, could I have some water? If this is like a hangover, they say you should drink water a lot.”

Derpy brought a cup of her own, quite unlike the wooden tankard that the cider came in, and filled it from the upstairs tap. Karyn didn’t feel thirsty, and the water was cold, but she forced herself to drink it all before laying down.

It took a long time for her to go to sleep, and then it was a fitful rest. The bright sun didn’t help matters, and soon enough she was up and about. Her headache had faded, but she still felt lethargic and tasted cotton.

She walked down to the kitchen, hair tousled and still staggering, to find Derpy there. “I don’t know if you’re in the mood to eat.”

“Ugh, no. Don’t even mention food.”

“Mmhm. But you might want this. I went down to one of the public groves and picked some apples, then squeezed them through a strainer myself. It’s just pure apple juice, no magic or anything. I’ve got it chilling right now.”

“I think I might like that. Thank you.” Karyn found that she was drinking out of the same cup that she had taken the water in, and she thought idly that if it was another bad magical reaction, the fact that this drink came from the same fruit might mean that it would serve as a kind of “hair of the dog.”

As she sipped it she felt better, though it could have been the placebo effect for all she knew. It didn’t matter. “We should be more careful in the future,” said Derpy. “Since you’re not from around here stuff like that can really mess you up!”

“A little more careful, but don’t go crazy. I still want to try new things. But no more cider. There are some people on Earth who like to drink a lot, and get crazy drunk, but I’m not one of them.”

“Like Berry Punch?”

Karyn regretted the last thing she said. It was one of those unpleasant parts of human life that she preferred to not expose Derpy to. “Worse than that. There are people who drink so much that it messes up their livers and their social lives, and they get angry and hurt people. They tried to get rid of hard drinking, but people just did it anyway and broke the law. Even worse, since you had organized crime.”

“I’m sure Twilight Sparkle would say that if you have to have crime, better for it to be organized.”

“Yeah, no. It doesn’t work that way—hi, Dinky.”

Derpy’s daughter entered through the front door from some errand, and smiled when she saw Karyn. “I didn’t know you were coming here today!”

“Neither did I. I think I mussed your bed something awful. I’ll go fix it before I leave.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Telekinesis practice, remember?” She pointed to her horn. “What’s up?”

“Karyn got some bad cider,” said Derpy, “or else some good cider that treated her very badly.” She briefly told the story of what had happened at Sweet Apple Acres.

“Yeah, so then your mother brought me here to sleep it off.” Karyn got up. “I should really take care of that, it’s my fault.”

“No, you stay here. Please.” Dinky bounced up the stairs.

“How’s she doing?”

“Good. We’ve talked a little about what she’s going to do next, if she’s going to try to go back to school or not.”

Karyn sipped the apple juice some more, and it seemed like Dinky was taking a lot longer than needed to make a bed. By the time she finished the drink, Dinky came down with a proud look on her face. “I think I’ve got something!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I worked out a spell that might cure Karyn of the ill effects of the cider!”

Finally showing some energy, Karyn held up her hands and skidded out of the chair backwards. “I’m feeling a lot better actually.”

“You don’t want it?”

“It could be just as risky. If you work on it, and you’re sure it’s safe, then maybe I’ll come back and drink more cider. But for now, let’s just let my system clear itself of magic naturally, OK? But rather than that, I’m glad to see that you’re back to making magic.”

Dinky grinned. “Yeah, the old horn’s coming along. Might even get back to where I was.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m glad to see that you’re trying to study and create things again. You didn’t have to do that for me, but it’s a good exercise in problem solving and in volunteering to work when you don’t have to. It gives me confidence that you might come out of it OK. Irrespective of if your horn heals.”

“Whatever. I just want to see you not feel bad.”

“Actually, now that I had that juice I think I could eat something.”

Derpy got up and went to her pantry. “Let me see what we have.”

“Actually, could we go back to my place? I’m more in the mood for human food.”

“Of course.”

Karyn said good-bye to Dinky with a promise to visit soon, and Derpy took her home. Once there, Karyn went to her freezer. “I think what my body really needs is no more of this natural stuff, but lots of preservatives and chemicals that no one can pronounce.”

“Is that really good for you?”

“No, but I think it’s better to get something in me sooner rather than later.”

She put the plastic tray in the microwave and followed the directions. In a few minutes she was eating a good impression of a vegetable lasagna.

“How is it?”

“It’s food. You want some?”

Derpy shook her head. “Thanks anyway.”

“Thank you for introducing me to Sweet Apple Acres cider. Whatever it did to me, it sure tasted good, and I’m glad I drank it.” She finished the meal and tossed away the tray.

Author's Notes:

Next week should be an easier time for Karyn and Derpy! Here are some snippets of dialogue:

"In this day and age the class being canceled doesn’t mean that there’s no contact with the professors. They posted assignments on the class web pages and requested e-mails to say we got them.”

“That’s good. You know you’d have to do it eventually.”

“Yes, but when I was a kid a snow day was really a free day off. But at least I didn’t have to leave the house or spend any money.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No, it just struck me as funny. I used to go shopping with my mom when I was young. She would take care of everything and I...now I’m doing it for myself. It’s such a grown-up thing to do.”

“It’s just like shopping for clothes, though. It can be fun.”

“Yeah, but...it just feels different. Come on, let’s get inside.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So that will save you money.”

“How?”

“If you’re here, you’re not out spending.”

Come back next week for the context!