Applejack staggered off the train, just to collapse at her cousin's hooves.

Braeburn blinked in surprise, looking down at his downed kin. "Welcome to Appleloosa?" It lacked some bit of his usual exuberance. "Are y'all alright?"

The three seaponies disembarked after her. Indigo waved at Braeburn enthusiastically. "Hello! Are you Applejack's friend?"

"Her cousin, to be specific." His eyes moved over the three. "Are y'all the sea ponies she was all in a tizzy about?"

Applejack suddenly made an attempt to find her hooves. "Ah'm fine!"

Berry put a hoof on one of Applejack's shoulders. "She drank too much cider."

Braeburn's eyes widened with understanding. "Shoot cous', if'n ya were going to throw that kinda party, shoulda warned me." He threw a leg over her midsection and helped support her. "This way."

"Ah don't need... help." Applejack's weak complaints did little to dissuade Braeburn and she was led away from the train with the seaponies trailing behind them.

Cherry glanced at the others. "Did you see her?"

Berry nodded softly. "I think I will avoid the fire water if it makes you act quite that way."

Indigo tilted his head a little. "What we had tasted alright."

Cherry waved a hoof. "But we barely got to drink any at all! Applejack kept it!"

Indigo's head sank. "I thought getting her to drink a little would make her relax and share."

Berry patted Indigo on the pack supportively. "A clever idea, but predicting dry ponies is perilous work at the best of times."

Braeburn looked back at his new, if temporary, wards. "Sorry fer welcomin' y'all this way. Appleloosa has a lot more to offer than just cider on the ride over."

Cherry smiled brightly. "We look forward to seeing it all." Her eyes wandered across the... dry... Was there a word for more dry than dry? It was as if The Dry had focused its power there. It was warm and there wasn't even any humidity in the air. It was dry. "How do you survive in this?"

"Ah shoot, it ain't too bad. Let's get Applejack to someplace safe and ah can show y'all around." Braeburn led Applejack and the others to his modest abode and soon had the cranky Applejack tucked into a bed with a bucket set beside her, just in case. "Now, you drink up plenty of this here water, or yer gonna regret it when you wake up."

The seaponies were baffled even as Applejack accepted the drink. Berry rolled a hoof. "Why does she need more water?"

Braeburn looked uncertain a moment. "Well, um, when a pony goes drinkin' down the sauce, they need water, or they'll get a mighty powerful headache for the trouble. The more water, the better."

Indigo gasped loudly. "It really is fire water! It's drying her out from the inside!"

The other two sea mares looking disturbed at the idea. Cherry shook her head. "Nope, joining Berry. No more fire water for me. I don't want to be dry, inside or out, but especially inside."

Braeburn tilted his head a little. "Well, ah ain't gonna encourage it, but drinkin' in moderation ain't dangerous." He stuck his tongue out at the slumbering Applejack. "The key is moderation... Now, let's see the sights!" He trotted right past them, eager to lead the way.

The seaponies fell in behind him. Cherry approached closest. "Why'd you make a town here, where it's so dry?"

"Well, some come fer the challenge of it." He nodded as he spoke, "others just like gettin' far away from it all. An' others? Well, there just wasn't enough room, so they came out to the frontier, and here we are!" He pointed out across the town. "We got all the comforts right here. Sure it can get powerful hot and dry at times, but ya get used to it."

Indigo raised a brow at the claim. "I doubt that..."

Berry nodded. "Perhaps a dry pony... What did you want to show Applejack?"

"Huh? Oh!" He turned towards the orchard and started trotting towards it. "Well she's in no shape t' see it, but ah suppose showing ya three won't hurt nothin'. Ya ready to be amazed?" He gestured with great dramatic flare at a lever. "Ta daaa!"

Cherry tilted her head faintly. "It's a very nice... what does it do?" It looked like one of the many control levers for her train, but there it was, in the ground. Surely there were no trains nearby, unless... "Is there a machine underground?"

Braeburn smiled brightly. "Guessed it in one. This'll let us water the trees even more effective than before. Watch!" He pulled the lever and metal snakes burst up through the dry coral reef before they began to wave back and forth, splashing water everywhere with their gyrations as if they were made of water.

Indigo swept from left to right before he charged ahead, right into the path of the sprinkling water. He began to laugh and call out with joy as he played in the plentiful water.

At least until Braeburn turned it off. "We can water the entire orchard at once, and keep the water from--"

"Turn it back on!" Indigo bounced up and down.

Braeburn shook his head. "No can do. We save water not having it come above ground until the watering happens, but that doesn't mean we can just go and waste it all."

"It isn't wasting it..." murmured Indigo defeatedly.

Braeburn reached out to pat the sea stallion on the head. "Don't you worry, when Applejack's woke up and it's waterin' time, we'll be sure yer there t' enjoy the whole thing."

Berry cleared her throat softly. "I'm not going to be... as excited, but if you wouldn't mind?"

"Ah'll be sure yer all there t' enjoy the water," he assured. "Now let's see the rest of the town. Ah imagine y'want to see more than a fancy sprinkler."

Cherry stepped forward slowly. "Actually... I want to get a closer look at it. Is it alright if I take it apart?"

Braeburn's eyes widen. "What? Why... No! We paid no few bits t' get this here equipment."

Berry slid in against the stallion. "She may not look it, but my rival's a real pro when it comes to mechanical things."

"Yeah?"

Indigo nodded quickly. "If you let her look at it, she'll find anything wrong with it really fast."

Cherry smiled brightly as she pointed to the spot under the lever. "I'll throw in a free oiling while I'm in there. Machines like to be freshly oiled and greased. Please... It'll work at least as good as when you got it, promise."

Berry thumped her chest. "If she doesn't put it together right, I will. Together, there's no way we can fail."

Brae looked ready to continue the arguing then Indigo slid up against his side. "Besides, we don't want to waste time arguing when you could be showing us your nice city."

"C-city? It's not quite that big. Come this way." He was distracted, enough to not say no again, which sounded like a yes to their devious ears. All three followed him with happy smiles while the mares considered how exactly they would access the guts of the vast machine instead of listening much to what Braeburn was saying about their pony-drawn carriages or even their watering holes, especially since the latter seemed to serve fire water from the look of it.

It all sounded interesting in a vague and detached way, but they had already set their hearts on another pursuit. It wasn't until the tour was over and they were released to Applejack's care, snoozing as she was, that he finally gave them a moment alone.

Cherry looked over at the sleeping Applejack. "Think she'll be alright?"

Berry pointed at Cherry. "After you make her water machine even better before she even sets eyes on it? She'll be happier than she even knows what to do with."

Indigo approached the unconscious farmer and looked her over. "She's just sleeping." He spied the half-full pitcher of water and nodded. "She must have woke up. Dry ponies don't drink in their sleep, right?"

Confident that their friend was well on the way to recovery, they spilled free of the house and made their way ever-so-stealthily towards the apple orchard.

Dry ponies may have noticed them going, with their attempt to be stealthy just drawing more attention to their unusual appearances, but they didn't stop them from creeping from building to building or making mad dashes for cover. Maybe it was just a sea critter game of some sort?

They approached the orchard, cresting the small hill that barred the way with three revealed smiles. That day they would do mechanics! With a giddy little giggle, Cherry was first there to arrive at the lever. "Let's see where this connects and that should lead to the main body of this machine."

Berry nodded in agreement. "It has to, or it wouldn't control it."

Lacking a shovel, all three got to pawing at the earth with their hooves and digging under the lever carefully. Slowly they unearthed along the pipe that ran downwards, seeking the rest of the strange machine and its water controlling parts.

What could go wrong?

"Found it!" proclaimed Berry proudly as she started digging to the side, slowly revealing a large tank, dozens on dozens of spreading tubes, and the main body of the mechanism that brought it all together.

All three gave an appreciative and collective Ooo at the machinery at work. It was no train, but it was worthy of consideration. Cherry only looked more eager to begin. "I can work with this..." It wasn't a train. If she could figure out a train, the water machine would be easy by comparison.

Author's Notes:

What could possibly go wrong as they dig up the sprinkler system and give it a thorough looking-over and casual dismantling.

They even promised a free greasing, and that was no typo!