mooncider (Love is in Bloom)

>You sit with the Apple Family at the fire pit
>You have a whole log reserved for you and Bloom
>She sits close. You think she's trying to keep warm
>She warms your soul
>"Whatever" you think draping your arm over her shoulder, putting a smile on your face as you look into those large gamboge globes
>Big Mac sits on the other side of the fire, AppleJack to the right, and Granny Smith to your left
>The stars above are bright and in the hundreds of millions
>The Moon sticks out, almost as bright as Apple Bloom's spirit
>Idle sounds of guitars whisper through the night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeHgNqbdBKs
>You all exchange stories, jokes, play a few games
>Time passes, as the laughter dies down, you run out of stories, and the music becomes a soft crescendo into the silence
"Big Mac"
>Granny says gesturing Big Mac over to her
>She waves her hand again, and Big Mac leans closer, tilting is ear closer to Granny
>You can't make out what is being said, but you pay little attention to it, granting the privacy that they wished
>Big Mac stands straight again, nods, then heads in the direction of the barn, no haste, but not slow
>A few minutes later you see him approaching the campfire with a crate on his shoulder
>You can hear glass clinking, your stomach sinks a bit, not planning on drinking
>He sets it down, not a grunt, or a thump, as silent as a church mouse
>You can see five mason Jars in the aged wooden half crate, the pit grows a little larger, not wanting to get into anything you might regret
>AppleJack looks up from the fire then to Granny
"Is that MoonCider?"
"You betchyer bottom dollar it is"
"Hoo-wee, Anon you're infer a treat"
>You're anxious, but not terrified, you've drank before, but not Moonshine
"Granny says it's the strongest she ever brewed!"
>Apple Bloom chimed in
>You smile and turn to her
"I would know if she let me try some"
>She says under her breath, folding her arms, and almost speaking into them
>You can't help but chuckle
"Tonight y'can Apple Bloom, I made sure to make enough"
>Her face lights up, brighter than the stars and the moon combined
"Eeyup"
>Big Mac is smiling when he says that, it takes you by surprise
>He and Granny start handing out the "MoonCider"
>In no time everyone has a mason jar with the white whisky
>You can feel the raised designs on your hand as you hold the jar in cold feet
>You take some time admiring the design, admittedly stalling the imminent drink
>everyone else had taken the cap off already and took at least one sip
>All but you and Bloom
>She looks around nervously, biting her lip like she can't think of an answer on a test
>Then she looks at you. Big wide, eyes staring into yours,
"c'mon can't be that hard"
>You say then take a sip, more than you wanted
>The burn was harsh in the throat, but you feel manly, complete, and confident
>Bloom continues to look deep into you
"Ah don't know if ah should"
"Ah'll be more than happy to take it off your hands, Apple Bloom"
>Granny says, in an intimidating and humorous tone
>You look over to see about half left in her jar
>Lady can drink
"NO! ah can do it"
>She takes a sip, not too big and not too small
>You can see her hesitantly swallow it, then she starts coughing
"Wow"
>She manages to croak out before being engulfed in another coughing fit
>You started to miss the taste and take another swig, larger than last time
>Apple Bloom seems amazed that you can drink this with little to no effort
>You see her face come to reason, remembering you chugging the beer Scootaloo brought tubing
>She takes another sip, much bigger than her first one
>More coughs as you pat her on the back like you're burping a baby
>She's getting more confident in each sip
>Or she is trying to one-up you
>Putting it to the test, you take another sip, almost making you puff your cheeks like a squirrel
>You don't mind the burn anymore
>Apple Bloom sighs a short breath, like she's prepping herself to jump in cold water, then takes half of what you did, seeing her cheeks puff a bit
>Yeah, she's trying to one-up you
>One more coughing fit and more burping you decide to stop, save the girl's liver.
>You sit and watch the fire, as more stories and jokes are brought from the attics of the minds around the fire
>During this you hear a slight hiccup every once and a while
>Apple Bloom stumbles on a few words and sentences when she tells a joke
>In the orange light you can see a slight blush on her face
>You're hit with type two Diabetes as she finishes her story and she looks at you
>Big eyes, half-lidded, that blush, and a hiccup
>You let out a hardy chuckle and wrap your arm around her
>You can feel a buzz for sure, but you're still there
>She took a few more sips and her jar is at about the same level as yours
>Turning your head to Granny as she starts to tell a story you feel a mass on your arm
>Looking in the direction of the sudden warmth
>You see a big pink bow when you look down you see Bloom nuzzling into your bicep as she grips your forearm
>Her eyes are fluttering shut, and you rub her arm facing the cool summer night
>She has a thin hoodie on, but it's still chilly with a slowly dying fire and a cold drink
>You grip her tight like you don't want her to fall off the log and get hypothermia on the way down
>Granny finishes her story about rebuilding the farm with extended family, only to have the front of the barn fall off like a stage prop mid picture
>The chuckles and laughs fall to the silence of the night as the last flame is burning
>Bloom is still at your side, hiccuping and re-gripping your arm every 5 minutes or so
>She lets go of you and tries to sit up on her own to tell another story only to have her become gravity's little mistress as she falls over onto her side then roll off of the back of the log
>You're now a type 3
>The last flame burns out and left with a bed of coals
>With that everyone gets up to start the walk back to the house
>Almost everyone
>Apple Bloom is struggling to get to her knees and put the lid back on her empty mason jar
>You scoop her up and carry her like you're on your honeymoon resting the empty jars on her belly and start your walk back
>Everyone is well ahead, you take the opportunity to peck her on the lips then look up to the stars and the moon
>It's all in a different place, 2 hours must have gone by
>You enjoy the sights on the short walk back. You walked slower
>You don't want to drop Bloom, and can't give up the sky
>The city doesn't let you see the natural light
>Before you know it, you're at the front door, with no signs of the others
>As the last one in the house, you close the door and slip off your shoes and place the empty jars down on the table next to the door.
>Not to disrupt the Bloom slumber you head up the stairs without taking off her shoes to preserve the clean floor
>You get to her room and lower her to her bed
"nooo"
>She said in almost a whisper
"C'mon Bloom"
>You say putting her back on her bed, she clings to you harder
>You sigh in defeat with a tired smile on your face as fatigue as now overcome both of you
>You get to your room and Bloom comes out of her small coma to take her shoes off slowly and lazily
>They drop to the floor making a solid thump each threatening to wake the rest of the house up, but you're sure the moonshine made them good and tired, the rest of the house was silent with occasional snores
>In your tired and buzzed daze you try to figure out the proud owner of those snores, but you're too tired
>You saunter over to your bed and slowly lay down with a Bloom still in your arms, eyes open now, looking into yours
>You both have half lidded eyes and small, drunken smiles
>As you lay down she rolls to your right side pinning your arm under her head onto the bed
>You pull her head close and leave a long kiss on her forehead as she scoots closer to you
>You can feel the inviting grasp of sleep pull you into a slumber as Bloom holds your chest loosely slowly rubbing it
"I *hic* love you"
"Love you too, Bloomy"
>You return the favour by tracing circles, lines, and patterns on her back as you swiftly drift off to sleep in the moonlight drowned room accompanied by the soundtrack of the wind through the trees and soft crickets chirping