Apples and Sunsetsby VitalSparkChaptersJune / ApplejackAugust / Sunset ShimmerSeptember / ApplejackJune / ApplejackApplejack looked at her reflection in the glass pane of the door. Of all the days to get a spot, why today? Why not last week, or tomorrow? Why today of all days? Her reflection suddenly disappeared as the door swung open and a customer emerged from the shop. Applejack stood to the side to let the irritated-looking man past, before going back to studying herself in the glass. She fixed up her hair and straightened her hat. Where was Sunset? Applejack looked at her watch; Sunset was only running three minutes late, so she supposed she shouldn't be so impatient. Applejack looked back at her reflection. She wondered why she was making such an effort. She wouldn't normally wear an outfit like this. It wasn't like she had to impress Sunset — they were just friends after all. Perhaps it was because Sunset looked so… beautiful, that Applejack felt she needed to look good beside her. "Hey!" came a voice from behind her. Applejack turned around. "Sunset! You're here!" She smiled. Sunset hugged Applejack briefly. "Sorry, I'm late." Applejack returned the greeting, putting her arms around Sunset's back. "Were you? I hadn't noticed." "Too busy staring at your own reflection?" Sunset chuckled, breaking away from the hug. Applejack scowled. Sunset smiled. "I'm just kidding!" She looked around. "Are we waiting for anybody else?" Applejack shook her head. "No, it's just the two of us again. Come on… we'll be late for the film." * * * "Are you kidding me?! That was awesome!" Sunset gushed, depositing her empty popcorn container into the waste recepticle. Applejack followed her out of the theatre, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light of the cinema's brightly illuminated lobby. "I just… I just didn't get it. Was it a dream in the end or not?" Sunset sighed. "That's the whole point. It was supposed to be ambiguous." "Gah! I was staring at that darned spinning top, trying to figure it out, and now you're telling me there was no answer?!" Applejack clenched her fists. Sunset laughed and put her arm around Applejack's shoulders. "That's life though, right? There aren't always easy answers." Applejack finally relaxed. She glanced at her watch. "Hey, it's still pretty early. Fancy going for a coffee or something before we head back home?" "Sure." Sunset took her arm back to hold the door open for Applejack. "Do you know a good place near here?" * * * Sunset sat down and placed two mugs of steaming coffee on the table. Applejack picked one up and blew on it before taking a tentative sip. Sunset gulped her coffee casually. "You're right. This is good coffee." Applejack raised her eyebrows at Sunset's ability to drink such hot liquid. But she was a magical unicorn from another dimension, so maybe it made sense. "Yeah, I've been here a few times before with… with Caramel." "How are things with him? Had much chance to see each other?" Sunset enquired, drinking some more. Applejack shook her head. "I know it's crazy, him living next door to me. But our farms are both so big, we actually live pretty far apart. We really don't get much of a chance to see each other." Sunset drained the last of her coffee. "But you talk online still?" "Of course. We spoke… let me think… on Wednesday? Wednesday… has it really been three days? We used to talk all the… no, I shouldn't bother you with this." Sunset put her cup down. "No, it's okay. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? You know you can trust me now, don't you?" She rested her hand on Applejack's. Applejack enjoyed the feeling of Sunset's warm hand on hers, but pulled away. "I know… it's not that… it's just… it feels like a… I don't know. Can we talk about something else?" Sunset shrugged. "Sure. Have you heard Rainbow's talking about starting a band?" "You should join," Applejack said, smiling. "I've listened to that recording of you on guitar so… many… times. You're so good." "Oh, I'm not really all that good." Sunset blushed slightly. She certainly didn't think herself good enough for Applejack to have listened to more than once — she was sure that Applejack must just be saying that to make her feel better. "And, after everything that's happened, I don't know if I want to draw that much attention to myself anyway." Applejack looked at Sunset sympathetically. "You know, everybody's forgiven you for… the incident." "I'm not so sure." Sunset leaned back in her chair. "Not everybody's quite as understanding as you and the girls." * * * Applejack sighed as she closed the door behind her and put her keys on the small side table in the hall. She could hear Apple Bloom singing along to her karaoke game in the next room, and smell Granny's cooking coming from the kitchen. Her phone beeped as it connected to the farm house's WiFi, and she took it out of her pocket, scrolling through the notifications. There were a few unread messages from Caramel dated a couple of hours ago. She should probably reply, but she didn't feel like it right now. It could wait until after she'd eaten. She followed her nose and found a plate of food on the big kitchen table. Three other empty plates were arranged around the table. "Hmph," Applejack said to nobody in particular, "seems I'm late home for dinner." "Eeyup," came a voice from behind her. Applejack looked around to see her big brother in the doorway. "Big Mac, didn't see you there. Sorry, I just… we went out for a coffee after the cinema, and I kinda lost track of the time." "That's okay." Big Mac pulled out Applejack's chair. She sat down and he sat in a chair beside her. "So, how was the film?" "I don't know," Applejack said, stuffing a potato into her mouth. "Sunset liked it," she mumbled with her mouth full. "Mmhmm." Big Mac nodded. He paused a moment. "And… errr… how's Fluttershy?" Applejack looked at her brother. "She's fine as far as I know, but she didn't come today. Busy with her animals, I think." "Oh." Big Mac looked away. "Not going to ask about Rainbow, or Rarity, or Pinkie? Just Fluttershy?" Applejack asked, watching for his reaction. A slight blush came to his freckled cheeks. She chuckled. "I'm just messin' with ya." Big Mac rolled his eyes. "Anyway, they didn't come either. It was just me and Sunset." "Okay." Big Mac started to stand up but then stopped. "Wait… you mean Sunset Shimmer?!" "Eeyup!" Applejack answered, imitating her brother's tone teasingly. Big Mac furrowed his eyebrows. "Sunset almost-destroyed-the-school Shimmer?" Applejack put on a less playful tone. "Yeah." "Sunset tried-to-mind-control-the-entire-student-body Shimmer?" Applejack put down her knife and fork. "She's not like that anymore. She's changed." "Nope!" Big Mac said, standing up. "Someone like that doesn't change." "But…" Applejack started. "Nope! You're not seeing her again." Applejack stood up and looked him in the eye. "Hold on a minute, Mackintosh. Since when do you get to make these kind of decisions for me?" "Fine!" Big Mac said. "I'll talk to Granny." But Applejack didn't wait for that. She ran out of the room and up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. She dived onto her bed, tears welling in her eyes. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She put the device and its unanswered messages on her bedside table and buried her head in her pillow. August / Sunset ShimmerSunset Shimmer knocked on the door and waited. She could hear music and talking coming from inside. Though starting to get dark, it was still warm, and she could hear the sound of crickets in the evening air. The door opened and Sunset was greeted by a familiar smiling face. "Hi, Sunset! Come in!" "Hi, Pinkie," Sunset said, smiling broadly. "Everyone's through in my bedroom — it's just up the stairs on the left." Sunset walked past Pinkie and looked for somewhere to put her overnight bag. "Just take it up with you," Pinkie said, anticipating Sunset's question. "Thanks, Pinkie," Sunset responded, "and thanks for inviting me. You don't know how much it means." Pinkie shut the door and twirled to face her guest. "Don't be silly, Sunset! Thank you for coming!" Sunset went upstairs, taking the steps two at a time with Pinkie not far behind, and quickly found the room she'd been directed to. Rainbow Dash was there, playing a video game, while Rarity gave Fluttershy a manicure. Sunset was unsurprised to see that Applejack was absent. "Hi, girls," Sunset called, waving briefly to everyone. "Hi, Sunset", Fluttershy said, quietly but with warmth. Rarity looked up quickly and smiled before returning her concentration to Fluttershy's hands. Rainbow Dash didn't take her eyes off her game but grunted a greeting. Sunset put her backpack in the corner where the other girls had put their things. She sat down beside Rainbow and picked up a spare controller for the games console. "So what are you playing?" "Single player mode," came the abrupt answer. "Okay," Sunset said, shrugging. She stood up and walked to the bed, sitting beside Rarity and Fluttershy. "I do apologise for Rainbow's behaviour," Rarity sighed, painting Fluttershy's nails a shade of pink to match her hair. "No!" Rainbow stood up, jabbing the pause button on her controller and flinging it to the ground. "No, don't apologise. She deserves it." Rarity raised her eyebrows. "Rainbow, darling, I thought we were all agreed. Whatever Sunset has done in the past, she's moved on from that now, and we've forgiven her. The whole school has forgiven her." "Oh, this isn't about that. Why do you think Applejack isn't here? Do you think Pinkie didn't invite her? Of course she did. Applejack didn't come because she did." Rainbow pointed a finger accusingly at Sunset. "What?" Rarity asked, taken aback. Sunset sighed. "It's true. It's Applejack's family… they… I think they hate me. Or they hate the idea of me. They won't let her see me." "You should have stayed away." Rainbow flopped back on the floor and returned to her game. Sunset stood up. "Do you all feel that way?" "Oh no, darling…" Rarity stood up and put an arm around Sunset's shoulder. "Of course we don't. I… I had no idea about this." "No. No idea," Fluttershy added. "I had kinda an idea," Pinkie chimed in from the doorway. Everybody looked at her. "Well, Applejack only turned down my invitation after I'd told her who else was coming." Rainbow dropped the controller again and confronted Sunset Shimmer. "Do you have any idea the number of late night phone calls I've had from her these last few weeks? How heartbroken she's been? She needs her friends around her. She needs to be here with us, but instead we have you. You know that first night… she cried herself to sleep. She doesn't have anyone else — not her family of course, and not Caramel — she feels like she's betraying him, having feel—" Rainbow stopped. "What?" Sunset asked. "Forget about it," Rainbow said, backtracking. "All I'm saying is that Applejack and Caramel have been dating since they were twelve, and she feels like she can't even talk to him about this." Sunset felt sure that Rainbow had been saying something else, but didn't want to press her, as Rainbow was clearly upset. An awkward silence settled on the room. "Who wants to watch a movie?" Pinkie always knew what to say to cheer everybody up. She pulled open her DVD draw and slid one into the player. * * * "Don't you totally ship Beca with Kommissar?" Rainbow asked from her position on the floor as the credits started to roll. She rolled onto her back to face the other girls. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Beca is with Jesse. It's canon." "Pffft!" Rainbow poked her tongue out, her previous bad mood seemingly forgotten. "Canon schmanon. They're perfect for each other." Sunset stood up and stretched her limbs. She'd been sharing a large-but-not-really-big-enough-for-two armchair with Fluttershy. "So, Rainbow, how's your band idea coming along?" "AJ's going to be on bass, Rarity's going to play piano, Pinkie's doing drums, Fluttershy… well she's agreed to join… I'll find something for her to do." "And I guess you're the singer," Sunset said. Rainbow grinned. "And the awesome lead guitarist, and song writer. Say, do you want to join?" Sunset smiled warmly before remembering. "I… if Applejack's in the band, I don't think I can be." Rainbow hung her head. "Yeah. I forgot. Sorry." "How about another movie?" Pinkie said, dashing to the DVD drawer. She held up a DVD case that said Inception on the front. Rarity's eyes lit up. "Oh, yes, I've heard good things about that film." "I've… I've already seen it," Sunset said, remembering the film. Pinkie put the DVD case down. "Okay, I'll find something else." Sunset went to the door. "No… no… you guys watch it. I'll go take a walk… clear my head." Pinkie looked concerned. "Are you okay? I can come with you if you like." "I… I just want to be alone." * * * Sunset walked along the road. The night air was growing cooler — far cooler than you'd expect at this time of year. She didn't really know where she was, but she had an excellent sense of direction and was confident she could find her way back to Pinkie's when she wanted to. She thought about what Rainbow had said earlier. Applejack has feelings for me? Sunset had always assumed her little crush on her friend had been one-sided, but now it seemed that Applejack might just feel the same way. But even if she did, what did that mean? Applejack was with Caramel, and Sunset couldn't see that changing. She sighed and pulled her leather jacket around her as she felt a few drops of rain fall on her. I should go back — get out of the rain. She felt her feet carrying her forwards anyway. Applejack cried herself to sleep? Sunset thought she was the only one that had been affected by their separation like that. She'd never meant for this to happen. They were just supposed to be friends. It had been Twilight's idea… for Sunset to start making friends at school. She'd never asked to fall in love. She felt pain in her chest when she thought about Applejack crying, and not being able to comfort her. She'd never wanted to hurt Applejack like this. She stumbled on a rock and nearly fell over. She looked up to see where she was. Sweet Apple Acres. Somehow her feet had known where to take her. The rain was becoming heavy, and strong winds were whipping it sideways. She looked at the farm house. It looked warm, inviting. I could go up to the door and knock. They wouldn't leave me out here in weather like this, would they? But something stopped her. She needed some way to keep dry though, and saw a small shed at the side of the house. It had no door, but a decent looking roof, so Sunset took shelter in it, sitting on a pile of firewood. She gazed at the farmhouse opposite. Through a dust-covered window she spotted a familiar hat hanging on a bed post. Ignoring the rain, she crept up and peered though the window into the dimly lit room. It must have been Applejack's bedroom, but nobody seemed to be in there. It wasn't really that late though. Seeing Applejack's hat and all her stuff overwhelmed Sunset. Her heart ached for some kind of contact with her again. She reached out and touched the window pane. Her finger drew an outline on the window leaving a heart shape on the dusty glass. A pair of big green eyes suddenly appeared on the inside of the window. Applejack! Sunset gulped. She hadn't realized Applejack was in the room. For a few seconds their eyes locked on each other. A rush of emotions swept Sunset — happiness to see Applejack, sadness at all the time together they'd missed, longing to be with her, and despair when she realized that she could not. Applejack reached out a hand and touched the window pane. Sunset flattened her hand against it too, their hands separated by just a thin layer of glass. For a second, Sunset felt connected. But then she turned. And ran. September / ApplejackApplejack stood at the door and braced herself for a moment. She pushed the door open and stepped into the corridor. It was the first day back at school after the summer holidays, and she was feeling apprehensive about seeing Sunset again. She hadn't heard from the girl since that night a few weeks ago when she'd seen her outside her window. Big Mac and Granny had at least been reasonable and acknowledged that Applejack would have to see Sunset within school, but they'd maintained that Applejack must have no contact with her outside school hours. She's downloaded her schedules a week ago, so already knew where she had to go, and headed straight for her maths class, eager to avoid running into someone on the way. She was in the middle class for maths, and Sunset was in the top class for — well — almost everything, so Applejack should at least be able to avoid Sunset for their first class of the day. But why do I want to avoid her? Applejack asked herself. She was my best friend — no, is my best friend — and I've barely seen her in weeks. The classroom was empty and she chose a seat at the far end, away from the door and waited for the other students and the teacher to arrive. * * * Applejack emerged from the classroom an hour later, irritated by the amount of homework Mr Smooze had set for them. It's only our first day back. Couldn't he go easy on us? She took her phone out of her pocket and started thumbing through her messages as she walked along. There were a couple from Caramel. I can read them later. Not watching where she was going, she walked straight into someone. "Ow!" came a familiar voice. Applejack looked up and saw she'd smacked into Sunset Shimmer. "Oh… umm… sorry, Sunset," she said nervously. "I… I didn't see you there." Sunset smiled slightly. "It's okay, AJ. It's… it's nice to see you. I've missed you." Applejack put her phone away in her pocket. "I've missed you too." She thought for a moment. Should I ask her about the thing with the heart? "I… I better get to my next class." "It's good to see you again." Applejack nodded and hurried down the corridor, making an effort to appear to be in more of a rush than she really was. * * * "Pass the apple sauce," Applejack said. Pinkie slid the jar along the cafeteria table. "Who eats apple sauce on hotdogs?" she asked. "I quite agree," Rarity added, cutting her hotdog with a knife and fork. "I don't quite understand why the school even provides it." Applejack smiled. "Because we give them a gosh darn decent price." She moved her sausage to one side and spooned a big dollop into her bun, spreading it with the back of the spoon. She replaced the sausage and lifted the hotdog to her mouth to take a bite. "I… I suppose if apple sauce goes with pork chops, then it should go well with other pork products, like sausages," Fluttershy suggested. "Pfft! What would you know… you're a vegan!" Rainbow scoffed, biting into her own hotdog. She stopped chewing half-way through her mouthful and used the hotdog to gesture behind Applejack. Applejack turned around and saw her: Sunset Shimmer. She'd just paid for her lunch and was carrying her lunch towards their table. She stopped suddenly, looking at Applejack, then changed direction, sitting down beside Trixie. Applejack watched for a moment before turning back to the other girls. "Well, that was awkward," Rainbow said, having finally finished chewing her food. "I hope Sunset makes friends with Trixie," Rarity said. "She's not so bad, really. A trifle over-dramatic perhaps." Four pairs of eyes looked at Rarity. "What?" Applejack took another bite of her hotdog, and turned around to look at Sunset again. She seemed to be chatting to Trixie. Applejack wondered what they were talking about. "Applejack? Applejack?! Earth to Applejack! Come in!" Applejack heard the voice and turned back around. "What, Rainbow?!" She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting staring at Sunset, tuned out of whatever conversation the girls had been having. "Sheesh, AJ," Rainbow sighed, "I was asking if you were still up for playing bass in the band." "Yeah, sure. Bass." Applejack turned around, her eyes seeking out the table where Sunset had been sitting with Trixie, but their seats were empty now. She mentally cursed Rainbow Dash for making her take her eyes off Sunset. She scanned the room, and caught her leaving the room with Trixie. Should I go after her? Applejack put her hotdog down on her plate and stood up. Almost in a trance, she headed towards the door. Pinkie's voice came over her shoulder. "Hey, if you're not eating that, can I have it? … Applejack? Applejack?! … I'm having it." Applejack pushed past Cloudy Kicks and some of Rainbow's other friends from the soccer team and hurried through the cafeteria door and out into the hallway. She spotted Sunset not too far ahead waving goodbye to Trixie. She rushed to catch up. "Sunset!" she called, skidding on the floor. Sunset spun around. Her face instantly lit up when she saw Applejack. "AJ!" she said happily, but just a moment later she took on a more serious demeanour. "What is it, Applejack?" "I… I just… you know, you don't have to sit at another table, you know. At lunch. You can sit with us if you want. I… I won't try to talk to you if you don't want me to." Sunset looked at the floor and kicked her heels. "Of course I want to talk to you, but I… I just… can't. I don't want to get you in trouble." "They won't find out though… my family. And even if they did… well, we go to the same school, don't we? We're bound to run into each other from time to time. They have to accept that," Applejack pleaded, her eyes wide open. "Of course, but there's a difference between running into you in a class, and choosing to sit together at lunch, isn't there?" "I understand," Applejack sighed, closing her eyes. The pair stood in silence for a few moments before Applejack looked back towards Sunset. "You know this whole situation is completely fucked up." Sunset laughed, the smile returning to her face. "That it is, AJ. That it is." Applejack shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other. "So…" "So…" I love you. "I guess I'll see you around… when I run into you from time to time." Sunset nodded. "From time to time. I guess." I love you too. * * * Applejack pulled another sheet of toilet paper from the dispenser and used it to wipe her eyes. She heard a door swing open. "AJ?" came the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash. Applejack said nothing. "AJ? Are you in here?" Applejack's eyes shot to the lock on the door. I remembered. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. BANG! Suddenly there was a pounding on the door to her stall. "Applejack, I know you're in there. Open up!" Applejack stiffened up. "But… how? How did you know?" "Open up and I'll tell you," Rainbow bargained. "Fine!" Applejack stood up and unlocked the door, stepping out of the stall. "You know, people in the bathroom sometimes want a bit of privacy." Rainbow dismissed the notion. "Pfft! Whatever." "So how did you know I was in here?" Applejack asked. "Boots." Rainbow pointed at Applejack's boots. "Nobody else in school wears boots like that. I saw 'em under the stall door." Applejack rolled her eyes. She'd made a rookie mistake. "So, why are you determined to harass me in the bathroom?" "Because I'm worried about you, AJ. We're all worried. The way you ran off at lunch. And you've clearly been in here crying." Applejack wiped her eyes again, but said nothing. "You're crying over her again, aren't you? Shimmer." Applejack looked away. "I thought… I thought I'd got over her. But now I realize how stupid that idea was. I could put her out of my mind when she wasn't around, but now she's around again, isn't she? And I can't stop thinking about her." Rainbow nodded. "I'm going to see her every day, aren't I?" Applejack turned back to Rainbow. "Yeah." "I don't know how I'm going to deal with that. Tell me, Rainbow, how am I going to deal with that? How am I going to be able to see her every day but not be able to… to… to just talk to her… like friends?" "I don't know," Rainbow answered honestly, "but I know with your friends around you, you'll make it somehow." * * * "Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution," Rainbow Dash sang. "Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be." She stopped playing her guitar. "No… no… that wasn't right. You're being too loud on the backing vocals, Fluttershy… they're supposed to be… you know… backing, not lead… you know, the clue really is in the name; and AJ, you really screwed up th—" Rainbow Dash's head turned when she heard the squeaky door open. "Hi guys," Sunset said from the doorway. "Mind if I sit in?" "You want to join the band?" Rainbow asked. She looked uneasily towards Applejack. "No, I didn't say that," Sunset asked. "But I can sit in with you, maybe help out a little, without being in the band, right?" "I guess." Rainbow shrugged. "But what I mean is," Sunset continued, walking over to stand by the piano, "if anybody asked you whether I was in your band, you could honestly say 'no', couldn't you. Because I'm not in your band. I'm just sitting… in this room… while your band happens to be here." Rainbow's eyebrows narrowed. "Yeah…?" Applejack understood what Sunset was trying to say. "Sounds good enough for me." Sunset turned to Applejack. "AJ, I didn't see you there. But it's always nice to run into you." She paused. "From time to time." The band's latest non-member hopped up to sit on the edge of Rarity's baby grand piano. The smile returned to Applejack's face. "From time to time."
June / ApplejackApplejack looked at her reflection in the glass pane of the door. Of all the days to get a spot, why today? Why not last week, or tomorrow? Why today of all days? Her reflection suddenly disappeared as the door swung open and a customer emerged from the shop. Applejack stood to the side to let the irritated-looking man past, before going back to studying herself in the glass. She fixed up her hair and straightened her hat. Where was Sunset? Applejack looked at her watch; Sunset was only running three minutes late, so she supposed she shouldn't be so impatient. Applejack looked back at her reflection. She wondered why she was making such an effort. She wouldn't normally wear an outfit like this. It wasn't like she had to impress Sunset — they were just friends after all. Perhaps it was because Sunset looked so… beautiful, that Applejack felt she needed to look good beside her. "Hey!" came a voice from behind her. Applejack turned around. "Sunset! You're here!" She smiled. Sunset hugged Applejack briefly. "Sorry, I'm late." Applejack returned the greeting, putting her arms around Sunset's back. "Were you? I hadn't noticed." "Too busy staring at your own reflection?" Sunset chuckled, breaking away from the hug. Applejack scowled. Sunset smiled. "I'm just kidding!" She looked around. "Are we waiting for anybody else?" Applejack shook her head. "No, it's just the two of us again. Come on… we'll be late for the film." * * * "Are you kidding me?! That was awesome!" Sunset gushed, depositing her empty popcorn container into the waste recepticle. Applejack followed her out of the theatre, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light of the cinema's brightly illuminated lobby. "I just… I just didn't get it. Was it a dream in the end or not?" Sunset sighed. "That's the whole point. It was supposed to be ambiguous." "Gah! I was staring at that darned spinning top, trying to figure it out, and now you're telling me there was no answer?!" Applejack clenched her fists. Sunset laughed and put her arm around Applejack's shoulders. "That's life though, right? There aren't always easy answers." Applejack finally relaxed. She glanced at her watch. "Hey, it's still pretty early. Fancy going for a coffee or something before we head back home?" "Sure." Sunset took her arm back to hold the door open for Applejack. "Do you know a good place near here?" * * * Sunset sat down and placed two mugs of steaming coffee on the table. Applejack picked one up and blew on it before taking a tentative sip. Sunset gulped her coffee casually. "You're right. This is good coffee." Applejack raised her eyebrows at Sunset's ability to drink such hot liquid. But she was a magical unicorn from another dimension, so maybe it made sense. "Yeah, I've been here a few times before with… with Caramel." "How are things with him? Had much chance to see each other?" Sunset enquired, drinking some more. Applejack shook her head. "I know it's crazy, him living next door to me. But our farms are both so big, we actually live pretty far apart. We really don't get much of a chance to see each other." Sunset drained the last of her coffee. "But you talk online still?" "Of course. We spoke… let me think… on Wednesday? Wednesday… has it really been three days? We used to talk all the… no, I shouldn't bother you with this." Sunset put her cup down. "No, it's okay. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? You know you can trust me now, don't you?" She rested her hand on Applejack's. Applejack enjoyed the feeling of Sunset's warm hand on hers, but pulled away. "I know… it's not that… it's just… it feels like a… I don't know. Can we talk about something else?" Sunset shrugged. "Sure. Have you heard Rainbow's talking about starting a band?" "You should join," Applejack said, smiling. "I've listened to that recording of you on guitar so… many… times. You're so good." "Oh, I'm not really all that good." Sunset blushed slightly. She certainly didn't think herself good enough for Applejack to have listened to more than once — she was sure that Applejack must just be saying that to make her feel better. "And, after everything that's happened, I don't know if I want to draw that much attention to myself anyway." Applejack looked at Sunset sympathetically. "You know, everybody's forgiven you for… the incident." "I'm not so sure." Sunset leaned back in her chair. "Not everybody's quite as understanding as you and the girls." * * * Applejack sighed as she closed the door behind her and put her keys on the small side table in the hall. She could hear Apple Bloom singing along to her karaoke game in the next room, and smell Granny's cooking coming from the kitchen. Her phone beeped as it connected to the farm house's WiFi, and she took it out of her pocket, scrolling through the notifications. There were a few unread messages from Caramel dated a couple of hours ago. She should probably reply, but she didn't feel like it right now. It could wait until after she'd eaten. She followed her nose and found a plate of food on the big kitchen table. Three other empty plates were arranged around the table. "Hmph," Applejack said to nobody in particular, "seems I'm late home for dinner." "Eeyup," came a voice from behind her. Applejack looked around to see her big brother in the doorway. "Big Mac, didn't see you there. Sorry, I just… we went out for a coffee after the cinema, and I kinda lost track of the time." "That's okay." Big Mac pulled out Applejack's chair. She sat down and he sat in a chair beside her. "So, how was the film?" "I don't know," Applejack said, stuffing a potato into her mouth. "Sunset liked it," she mumbled with her mouth full. "Mmhmm." Big Mac nodded. He paused a moment. "And… errr… how's Fluttershy?" Applejack looked at her brother. "She's fine as far as I know, but she didn't come today. Busy with her animals, I think." "Oh." Big Mac looked away. "Not going to ask about Rainbow, or Rarity, or Pinkie? Just Fluttershy?" Applejack asked, watching for his reaction. A slight blush came to his freckled cheeks. She chuckled. "I'm just messin' with ya." Big Mac rolled his eyes. "Anyway, they didn't come either. It was just me and Sunset." "Okay." Big Mac started to stand up but then stopped. "Wait… you mean Sunset Shimmer?!" "Eeyup!" Applejack answered, imitating her brother's tone teasingly. Big Mac furrowed his eyebrows. "Sunset almost-destroyed-the-school Shimmer?" Applejack put on a less playful tone. "Yeah." "Sunset tried-to-mind-control-the-entire-student-body Shimmer?" Applejack put down her knife and fork. "She's not like that anymore. She's changed." "Nope!" Big Mac said, standing up. "Someone like that doesn't change." "But…" Applejack started. "Nope! You're not seeing her again." Applejack stood up and looked him in the eye. "Hold on a minute, Mackintosh. Since when do you get to make these kind of decisions for me?" "Fine!" Big Mac said. "I'll talk to Granny." But Applejack didn't wait for that. She ran out of the room and up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. She dived onto her bed, tears welling in her eyes. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She put the device and its unanswered messages on her bedside table and buried her head in her pillow.
August / Sunset ShimmerSunset Shimmer knocked on the door and waited. She could hear music and talking coming from inside. Though starting to get dark, it was still warm, and she could hear the sound of crickets in the evening air. The door opened and Sunset was greeted by a familiar smiling face. "Hi, Sunset! Come in!" "Hi, Pinkie," Sunset said, smiling broadly. "Everyone's through in my bedroom — it's just up the stairs on the left." Sunset walked past Pinkie and looked for somewhere to put her overnight bag. "Just take it up with you," Pinkie said, anticipating Sunset's question. "Thanks, Pinkie," Sunset responded, "and thanks for inviting me. You don't know how much it means." Pinkie shut the door and twirled to face her guest. "Don't be silly, Sunset! Thank you for coming!" Sunset went upstairs, taking the steps two at a time with Pinkie not far behind, and quickly found the room she'd been directed to. Rainbow Dash was there, playing a video game, while Rarity gave Fluttershy a manicure. Sunset was unsurprised to see that Applejack was absent. "Hi, girls," Sunset called, waving briefly to everyone. "Hi, Sunset", Fluttershy said, quietly but with warmth. Rarity looked up quickly and smiled before returning her concentration to Fluttershy's hands. Rainbow Dash didn't take her eyes off her game but grunted a greeting. Sunset put her backpack in the corner where the other girls had put their things. She sat down beside Rainbow and picked up a spare controller for the games console. "So what are you playing?" "Single player mode," came the abrupt answer. "Okay," Sunset said, shrugging. She stood up and walked to the bed, sitting beside Rarity and Fluttershy. "I do apologise for Rainbow's behaviour," Rarity sighed, painting Fluttershy's nails a shade of pink to match her hair. "No!" Rainbow stood up, jabbing the pause button on her controller and flinging it to the ground. "No, don't apologise. She deserves it." Rarity raised her eyebrows. "Rainbow, darling, I thought we were all agreed. Whatever Sunset has done in the past, she's moved on from that now, and we've forgiven her. The whole school has forgiven her." "Oh, this isn't about that. Why do you think Applejack isn't here? Do you think Pinkie didn't invite her? Of course she did. Applejack didn't come because she did." Rainbow pointed a finger accusingly at Sunset. "What?" Rarity asked, taken aback. Sunset sighed. "It's true. It's Applejack's family… they… I think they hate me. Or they hate the idea of me. They won't let her see me." "You should have stayed away." Rainbow flopped back on the floor and returned to her game. Sunset stood up. "Do you all feel that way?" "Oh no, darling…" Rarity stood up and put an arm around Sunset's shoulder. "Of course we don't. I… I had no idea about this." "No. No idea," Fluttershy added. "I had kinda an idea," Pinkie chimed in from the doorway. Everybody looked at her. "Well, Applejack only turned down my invitation after I'd told her who else was coming." Rainbow dropped the controller again and confronted Sunset Shimmer. "Do you have any idea the number of late night phone calls I've had from her these last few weeks? How heartbroken she's been? She needs her friends around her. She needs to be here with us, but instead we have you. You know that first night… she cried herself to sleep. She doesn't have anyone else — not her family of course, and not Caramel — she feels like she's betraying him, having feel—" Rainbow stopped. "What?" Sunset asked. "Forget about it," Rainbow said, backtracking. "All I'm saying is that Applejack and Caramel have been dating since they were twelve, and she feels like she can't even talk to him about this." Sunset felt sure that Rainbow had been saying something else, but didn't want to press her, as Rainbow was clearly upset. An awkward silence settled on the room. "Who wants to watch a movie?" Pinkie always knew what to say to cheer everybody up. She pulled open her DVD draw and slid one into the player. * * * "Don't you totally ship Beca with Kommissar?" Rainbow asked from her position on the floor as the credits started to roll. She rolled onto her back to face the other girls. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Beca is with Jesse. It's canon." "Pffft!" Rainbow poked her tongue out, her previous bad mood seemingly forgotten. "Canon schmanon. They're perfect for each other." Sunset stood up and stretched her limbs. She'd been sharing a large-but-not-really-big-enough-for-two armchair with Fluttershy. "So, Rainbow, how's your band idea coming along?" "AJ's going to be on bass, Rarity's going to play piano, Pinkie's doing drums, Fluttershy… well she's agreed to join… I'll find something for her to do." "And I guess you're the singer," Sunset said. Rainbow grinned. "And the awesome lead guitarist, and song writer. Say, do you want to join?" Sunset smiled warmly before remembering. "I… if Applejack's in the band, I don't think I can be." Rainbow hung her head. "Yeah. I forgot. Sorry." "How about another movie?" Pinkie said, dashing to the DVD drawer. She held up a DVD case that said Inception on the front. Rarity's eyes lit up. "Oh, yes, I've heard good things about that film." "I've… I've already seen it," Sunset said, remembering the film. Pinkie put the DVD case down. "Okay, I'll find something else." Sunset went to the door. "No… no… you guys watch it. I'll go take a walk… clear my head." Pinkie looked concerned. "Are you okay? I can come with you if you like." "I… I just want to be alone." * * * Sunset walked along the road. The night air was growing cooler — far cooler than you'd expect at this time of year. She didn't really know where she was, but she had an excellent sense of direction and was confident she could find her way back to Pinkie's when she wanted to. She thought about what Rainbow had said earlier. Applejack has feelings for me? Sunset had always assumed her little crush on her friend had been one-sided, but now it seemed that Applejack might just feel the same way. But even if she did, what did that mean? Applejack was with Caramel, and Sunset couldn't see that changing. She sighed and pulled her leather jacket around her as she felt a few drops of rain fall on her. I should go back — get out of the rain. She felt her feet carrying her forwards anyway. Applejack cried herself to sleep? Sunset thought she was the only one that had been affected by their separation like that. She'd never meant for this to happen. They were just supposed to be friends. It had been Twilight's idea… for Sunset to start making friends at school. She'd never asked to fall in love. She felt pain in her chest when she thought about Applejack crying, and not being able to comfort her. She'd never wanted to hurt Applejack like this. She stumbled on a rock and nearly fell over. She looked up to see where she was. Sweet Apple Acres. Somehow her feet had known where to take her. The rain was becoming heavy, and strong winds were whipping it sideways. She looked at the farm house. It looked warm, inviting. I could go up to the door and knock. They wouldn't leave me out here in weather like this, would they? But something stopped her. She needed some way to keep dry though, and saw a small shed at the side of the house. It had no door, but a decent looking roof, so Sunset took shelter in it, sitting on a pile of firewood. She gazed at the farmhouse opposite. Through a dust-covered window she spotted a familiar hat hanging on a bed post. Ignoring the rain, she crept up and peered though the window into the dimly lit room. It must have been Applejack's bedroom, but nobody seemed to be in there. It wasn't really that late though. Seeing Applejack's hat and all her stuff overwhelmed Sunset. Her heart ached for some kind of contact with her again. She reached out and touched the window pane. Her finger drew an outline on the window leaving a heart shape on the dusty glass. A pair of big green eyes suddenly appeared on the inside of the window. Applejack! Sunset gulped. She hadn't realized Applejack was in the room. For a few seconds their eyes locked on each other. A rush of emotions swept Sunset — happiness to see Applejack, sadness at all the time together they'd missed, longing to be with her, and despair when she realized that she could not. Applejack reached out a hand and touched the window pane. Sunset flattened her hand against it too, their hands separated by just a thin layer of glass. For a second, Sunset felt connected. But then she turned. And ran.
September / ApplejackApplejack stood at the door and braced herself for a moment. She pushed the door open and stepped into the corridor. It was the first day back at school after the summer holidays, and she was feeling apprehensive about seeing Sunset again. She hadn't heard from the girl since that night a few weeks ago when she'd seen her outside her window. Big Mac and Granny had at least been reasonable and acknowledged that Applejack would have to see Sunset within school, but they'd maintained that Applejack must have no contact with her outside school hours. She's downloaded her schedules a week ago, so already knew where she had to go, and headed straight for her maths class, eager to avoid running into someone on the way. She was in the middle class for maths, and Sunset was in the top class for — well — almost everything, so Applejack should at least be able to avoid Sunset for their first class of the day. But why do I want to avoid her? Applejack asked herself. She was my best friend — no, is my best friend — and I've barely seen her in weeks. The classroom was empty and she chose a seat at the far end, away from the door and waited for the other students and the teacher to arrive. * * * Applejack emerged from the classroom an hour later, irritated by the amount of homework Mr Smooze had set for them. It's only our first day back. Couldn't he go easy on us? She took her phone out of her pocket and started thumbing through her messages as she walked along. There were a couple from Caramel. I can read them later. Not watching where she was going, she walked straight into someone. "Ow!" came a familiar voice. Applejack looked up and saw she'd smacked into Sunset Shimmer. "Oh… umm… sorry, Sunset," she said nervously. "I… I didn't see you there." Sunset smiled slightly. "It's okay, AJ. It's… it's nice to see you. I've missed you." Applejack put her phone away in her pocket. "I've missed you too." She thought for a moment. Should I ask her about the thing with the heart? "I… I better get to my next class." "It's good to see you again." Applejack nodded and hurried down the corridor, making an effort to appear to be in more of a rush than she really was. * * * "Pass the apple sauce," Applejack said. Pinkie slid the jar along the cafeteria table. "Who eats apple sauce on hotdogs?" she asked. "I quite agree," Rarity added, cutting her hotdog with a knife and fork. "I don't quite understand why the school even provides it." Applejack smiled. "Because we give them a gosh darn decent price." She moved her sausage to one side and spooned a big dollop into her bun, spreading it with the back of the spoon. She replaced the sausage and lifted the hotdog to her mouth to take a bite. "I… I suppose if apple sauce goes with pork chops, then it should go well with other pork products, like sausages," Fluttershy suggested. "Pfft! What would you know… you're a vegan!" Rainbow scoffed, biting into her own hotdog. She stopped chewing half-way through her mouthful and used the hotdog to gesture behind Applejack. Applejack turned around and saw her: Sunset Shimmer. She'd just paid for her lunch and was carrying her lunch towards their table. She stopped suddenly, looking at Applejack, then changed direction, sitting down beside Trixie. Applejack watched for a moment before turning back to the other girls. "Well, that was awkward," Rainbow said, having finally finished chewing her food. "I hope Sunset makes friends with Trixie," Rarity said. "She's not so bad, really. A trifle over-dramatic perhaps." Four pairs of eyes looked at Rarity. "What?" Applejack took another bite of her hotdog, and turned around to look at Sunset again. She seemed to be chatting to Trixie. Applejack wondered what they were talking about. "Applejack? Applejack?! Earth to Applejack! Come in!" Applejack heard the voice and turned back around. "What, Rainbow?!" She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting staring at Sunset, tuned out of whatever conversation the girls had been having. "Sheesh, AJ," Rainbow sighed, "I was asking if you were still up for playing bass in the band." "Yeah, sure. Bass." Applejack turned around, her eyes seeking out the table where Sunset had been sitting with Trixie, but their seats were empty now. She mentally cursed Rainbow Dash for making her take her eyes off Sunset. She scanned the room, and caught her leaving the room with Trixie. Should I go after her? Applejack put her hotdog down on her plate and stood up. Almost in a trance, she headed towards the door. Pinkie's voice came over her shoulder. "Hey, if you're not eating that, can I have it? … Applejack? Applejack?! … I'm having it." Applejack pushed past Cloudy Kicks and some of Rainbow's other friends from the soccer team and hurried through the cafeteria door and out into the hallway. She spotted Sunset not too far ahead waving goodbye to Trixie. She rushed to catch up. "Sunset!" she called, skidding on the floor. Sunset spun around. Her face instantly lit up when she saw Applejack. "AJ!" she said happily, but just a moment later she took on a more serious demeanour. "What is it, Applejack?" "I… I just… you know, you don't have to sit at another table, you know. At lunch. You can sit with us if you want. I… I won't try to talk to you if you don't want me to." Sunset looked at the floor and kicked her heels. "Of course I want to talk to you, but I… I just… can't. I don't want to get you in trouble." "They won't find out though… my family. And even if they did… well, we go to the same school, don't we? We're bound to run into each other from time to time. They have to accept that," Applejack pleaded, her eyes wide open. "Of course, but there's a difference between running into you in a class, and choosing to sit together at lunch, isn't there?" "I understand," Applejack sighed, closing her eyes. The pair stood in silence for a few moments before Applejack looked back towards Sunset. "You know this whole situation is completely fucked up." Sunset laughed, the smile returning to her face. "That it is, AJ. That it is." Applejack shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other. "So…" "So…" I love you. "I guess I'll see you around… when I run into you from time to time." Sunset nodded. "From time to time. I guess." I love you too. * * * Applejack pulled another sheet of toilet paper from the dispenser and used it to wipe her eyes. She heard a door swing open. "AJ?" came the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash. Applejack said nothing. "AJ? Are you in here?" Applejack's eyes shot to the lock on the door. I remembered. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. BANG! Suddenly there was a pounding on the door to her stall. "Applejack, I know you're in there. Open up!" Applejack stiffened up. "But… how? How did you know?" "Open up and I'll tell you," Rainbow bargained. "Fine!" Applejack stood up and unlocked the door, stepping out of the stall. "You know, people in the bathroom sometimes want a bit of privacy." Rainbow dismissed the notion. "Pfft! Whatever." "So how did you know I was in here?" Applejack asked. "Boots." Rainbow pointed at Applejack's boots. "Nobody else in school wears boots like that. I saw 'em under the stall door." Applejack rolled her eyes. She'd made a rookie mistake. "So, why are you determined to harass me in the bathroom?" "Because I'm worried about you, AJ. We're all worried. The way you ran off at lunch. And you've clearly been in here crying." Applejack wiped her eyes again, but said nothing. "You're crying over her again, aren't you? Shimmer." Applejack looked away. "I thought… I thought I'd got over her. But now I realize how stupid that idea was. I could put her out of my mind when she wasn't around, but now she's around again, isn't she? And I can't stop thinking about her." Rainbow nodded. "I'm going to see her every day, aren't I?" Applejack turned back to Rainbow. "Yeah." "I don't know how I'm going to deal with that. Tell me, Rainbow, how am I going to deal with that? How am I going to be able to see her every day but not be able to… to… to just talk to her… like friends?" "I don't know," Rainbow answered honestly, "but I know with your friends around you, you'll make it somehow." * * * "Yeah, I'm awesome, take caution," Rainbow Dash sang. "Watch out for me, I'm awesome as I wanna be." She stopped playing her guitar. "No… no… that wasn't right. You're being too loud on the backing vocals, Fluttershy… they're supposed to be… you know… backing, not lead… you know, the clue really is in the name; and AJ, you really screwed up th—" Rainbow Dash's head turned when she heard the squeaky door open. "Hi guys," Sunset said from the doorway. "Mind if I sit in?" "You want to join the band?" Rainbow asked. She looked uneasily towards Applejack. "No, I didn't say that," Sunset asked. "But I can sit in with you, maybe help out a little, without being in the band, right?" "I guess." Rainbow shrugged. "But what I mean is," Sunset continued, walking over to stand by the piano, "if anybody asked you whether I was in your band, you could honestly say 'no', couldn't you. Because I'm not in your band. I'm just sitting… in this room… while your band happens to be here." Rainbow's eyebrows narrowed. "Yeah…?" Applejack understood what Sunset was trying to say. "Sounds good enough for me." Sunset turned to Applejack. "AJ, I didn't see you there. But it's always nice to run into you." She paused. "From time to time." The band's latest non-member hopped up to sit on the edge of Rarity's baby grand piano. The smile returned to Applejack's face. "From time to time."
