The Adventures of the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!

SWEET APPLE ACRES

I had never actually been too Sweet Apple Acres, which is shocking given my extended time here in this world. The Apples were kind of a big deal here in Canterlot, as the name itself carried great weight. Even back in Equestria most ponies knew about the Apple family, even if you weren't well versed in earth pony history. You see, I know compared to this shithole of a world, Equestria seems like paradise, but, that’s not entirely true, and this isn’t just my own screwed- up skewed experiences that are formulating this opinion of mine. No, Equestria does have its own shitty history and shitty attributes. One of those are the prejudices that all three ponies have for one another. But the traits of racism were more prevalent amongst Unicorns, even up to the point I had left.

Unicorns had a certain...well...for lack of better words, arrogance to them. Being the only wielders of pure magic, we carried ourselves with very high self-esteem. There’s no easy way to say this, but the perceptions that we had towards the other two ponies were pretty nefarious. Unicorns, especially the snotnosed pricks in Canterlot, viewed Pegasi as barbaric brutes that were violent. For earth ponies, unicorns saw them as stupid, unsophisticated and worthless creatures. Mud ponies is what they liked to call them. Now, I personally never shared these views. In my mind, everyone was beneath me, egotistical of me I know.

But, even despite all of that, lots of ponies all throughout the land knew about the Apple family. I mean, how could you not? They dominated vast amounts of Equestria’s lands, farming all kinds of shit. If I’m being completely honest, I think a lot of Equestria would have died to famine if it weren't for those farm ponies. That little theory of mine was already kind of proven during the first major Equestrian civil war between the earth, pegasi and unicorns. I learned that years before my bitch ass was born, some of the Apples had set up a small town just below the mountain that Canterlot was rested on. A town called Ponyville, just next to the Everfree forest. From what I heard of the place; it was one of the first communities that really united ponies from all kind. Well, before Manehattan and Phillydelphia became major metropolitan areas of course. I never bothered reading anymore of the Apple’s history or what became of Ponyville. I guess at that point my mother...well...let’s just say at that point I was hellbent on power.

My point with all of this shit is, I understood how tough those Apples were. So, when I came to this world for the first time, I was shocked to know that there was an Apple right there in the high school. Damn me...but Applejack alone was one of the reasons why I targeted her group of friends.......anyways, the farm was quite magnificent. It was vast and expansive as it rested on the edge of the countryside bordering the outskirts of Canterlot. You could see the edge of another neighborhood in the horizon. On the farm itself, the trees were each equally separated in distance, and I could see their freshly grown leaves spotted with red juicy apples. I’ve heard that AJ’s farm produced some of the finest apples in the United States, but I’ve just never tried one. When I was a raging bitch, we hated each other so much that whenever she brought food for parties or events, I never got any, nor did I want any. After the Fall Formal I just didn’t feel like I deserved any of her treats. A notion I still feel to this day.

As I walked down the dirt path to her house, I twiddled my fingers around in the pockets of my jacket while kicking up dirt in the air, causing my boots to get all dirty. I don’t know why I was so nervous, but I just was. I’ve talked to Applejack loads of times before, granted they were pretty one sided, but I was still able to carry a conversation with her without tensing up. But something about going to her house just rubbed me the wrong way. Going to the place she called home, where her family lives and a vessel that was only opened to her closest friends. I guess I just didn’t feel worthy coming over. I mean I didn’t even feel like I was worthy to just walk on this dirt. I could have stood there all day contemplating my life's actions that led me to believe this, but I snapped back to reality when I saw myself standing on her drive way. Looking up, I was facing a red two-story house with a barn right next to it. Obviously, it wasn’t as grand as the ones I’ve seen in the pictures back in Equestria, but it was still a very nice and cozy house.

I took a deep breath, listening to the chirping of birds and howl of light wind. I don’t know why the hell I was freaking out so much. I mean, all week I've been in fights with sick killers, lost in a dark maze from hell and almost got killed in some underground shit stain fighting ring. Yet, this moment is what made my stomach turn to knots. With one final deep breath, I decided I had spent enough time pussying around this, so I walked up the drive way, up the steps and to the door. With shaking hands, I took my right hand out of my pocket and proceeded to knock on the door. Seconds felt like hours as I waited patiently for someone to answer. After what had seemed like an eternity, I began to get cold feet, and seconds later I found myself turning around and walking off the porch. That’s when the door behind me opened.

“Sunset Shimmer?” the voice of a little girl called out as I was facing away from the door. Turning around, I grimaced when I saw Applebloom standing at the doorway. She was still in her normal clothes, meaning she probably just arrived from school.

“Yeah....hey. Is your sister home?” I asked, averting eye contact with the girl. Damnit, I felt so intimidated by her, and I don’t know why. For Celestia sakes Sunset, you’re the damn Mare-Do-Well, stop being such a pussy, I thought to myself.

“Um...yeah, she’s upstairs taking a shower right now. We barely got home from school,” said Applebloom. She too was avoiding eye contact with me as she rubbed her arm awkwardly. Taking this as my cue to piss off, I sighed, put my hands back in my pockets and began to walk down the steps.

“I see...well don’t worry about it. Sorry to bother you.” But as I was walking away, Applebloom spoke up quietly. Not Fluttershy quietly, but quietly enough to hint that she wasn’t too confident in what she was asking.

“Hey...do you wanna come in? You know...just to wait for her?” I turned back around to look at her with my mouth hanging wide open. Out of everything she could have possibly said, that wasn’t something I expected to hear from her.

“I don’t know Applebloom. I don’t think that’s such a good -”

“Please?” I looked at her again, into her pleading eyes. She was pretty adamant about me coming into her house. As much as I wanted to just piss right off, the way she spoke restricted me from doing such an action. Taking a deep sigh, I looked down at the floor, contemplating what I should do for a moment. Eventually I just nodded my head and followed her through the door.

The interior of the house was just as cozy as its exterior. Smooth wooden walls with an almost pristine like carpet really added to the whole old school cottage feeling the place had. It really was a very nice house. I followed Applebloom through the main hallway and down to the kitchen which was in the back. Just like the living room, the kitchen was equally as cozy.

“Can I get you something to drink?” asked Applebloom. I leaned against one of the cabinets with my arms crossed, and just stared out the window that led out to the backyard. Sitting on a rocking chair was Granny Smith taking a nap, and from the distance, I could see Big Mac picking apples off one of the many trees and throwing them into a large basket.

“No... I’m okay.” Applebloom tilted her head, looking at me with a light smile and a raised eyebrow.

“You sure? We have a fresh supply of apple cider, even you have to admit how delicious it is,” she exclaimed proudly. I kept looking out the window, watching Big Mac continue his work.

“I wouldn’t know, I've never had it.” I could almost hear Appleblooms jaw drop at this revelation.

“You serious? You’ve never had our cider? But we bring it to school all the time!” I looked over to her with a small smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Are you really that surprised?” Applebloom closed her mouth and sighed.

“Nah... I guess not. Well here, let me get you a bottle,” she said while digging into the fridge.

“Applebloom I’m serious, I don’t want any -”

“Here ya go!” The kid practically shoved the bottle into my arms, refusing to have any sort of argument on this. I looked down at the bottle in my hand, it’s cold glass practically freezing my palm. The green label with the words Apple Family's fresh apple cider wrapped around the bottle.

“We also have an alcohol version...but it’s down in the cellar,” said Applebloom sheepily. Alcohol did sound really good right now. Especially since Red didn’t allow me to have any whiskey when she was over.

“It’s fine.” Applebloom watched me excitedly, waiting to see my reaction to her family's beverage. This wasn’t the first time I had been offered it of course. Applejack did offer me some when I first arrived, but eventually stopped once it was apparent that we were never going to be on the best of terms. During this year's Fall Formal, I had practically outlawed it. I really did have a stick up my ass this year. After realizing this girl was not going to stop staring at me until I drank the damn thing, I sighed in defeat and held the bottle up.

“Lemme grab you a bottle open-” she stopped mid-sentence as I raised the top of the bottle to my mouth, clutching the cap in between my teeth. Applebloom looked at me with concern when I did this, probably because of the lack of a tooth. With no real effort, I yanked the cap off with my teeth and spit it out into a nearby trash can.

“Bottoms up,” I said before taking a sip of the drink. I couldn’t lie, it was probably the best beverage I had ever had. Its creamy fizzy taste sent my mouth into heaven. My eyes widened as the cold refreshing liquid poured down my throat. As dramatic as it sounds, I was ready to tear up because the drink was so damn good. After a second or two of drinking, I lowered the bottle from my mouth while smacking my lips together and taking a deep sigh of satisfaction.

“Wow, that’s actually really good. You weren't kidding.” It still didn’t feel right consuming Applejacks homemade foods, but damn was that amazing. My smile quickly faded however when I looked up at Applebloom. She looked as if she were about to cry. “Hey what’s wrong kid?”

“Sunset...are you alright? Your tooth is gone, and your face is covered in bruises and scratches...I didn’t wanna say nothin’...but It’s really noticeable now that I’m looking at you.” The genuine concern in her voice took me a little by surprise. I smirked, and just shrugged nonchalantly.

“Hey, trust me, I’m the last person you should be concerned about. I’m fine,” I said. She looked down at her feet, twirling her fingers around as if she had something else on her mind. I continued to sip the tasty beverage, letting the silence between us linger. Eventually she looked back up to me with a frown.

“I... Sunset...why did you do what you did back at the gym?” And just like that, she asked the question I was really hoping we’d avoid. The main reason why I didn’t want to come into this house. Sighing, I placed the bottle down on the counter beside me and crossed my arms again.

“No particular reason. I just did what I did. Is that a problem?” I asked.

“Well...yeah, I do have a problem with that. That wasn’t none of your concern. You didn’t even know what was going on,” she huffed. I smiled and took the bottle from the counter.

“Well, I don’t really give a damn kid. You looked like you were having a panic attack in the gym, so it was obvious that you were Gabby Gums, and after the experience you had the day prior, whatever it was, it seemed like the last thing you needed was to be public enemy number one in the school. That’s my job after all,” I said while taking a sip from the bottle.

“But...but...I didn’t ask you to!”

“And like I just said, I don’t give a damn if you did or didn’t. I already told your sister, what I do is my business. If I felt like taking the blame for your little debacle, then that’s my business, not yours. Besides, there’s no point in getting upset about it, it’s already done. Besides, if you were really upset about it, you would’ve came forward anyways.” I looked at her intently, curious if she would challenge my presumption. It was probably an unfair statement sure, but I didn’t feel like having this discussion. She averted her eyes from mine while rubbing her arm sheepily as she wasn’t sure what to say next. I smiled and took one final sip from the bottle before throwing it into the trash can.

“Relax kid, I’m just messing with you, trust me, I get it. Don’t worry about it, just don’t do it again,” I said. She looked back up at me and smiled shyly.

“I’m really sorry about how I treated -”

“Stop,” I interrupted. My smile vanished and I looked at her with a dead serious expression. “Don’t ever apologize or thank me. Ever.” She stammered on her words, clearly unnerved with the shift in my demeanor. I didn’t want to scare the shit out of her of course, but people apologizing to me, especially an Apple was out of the question. After not being able to say the words she wanted to say, the silence between us returned like some kind of omen. But eventually she broke that omen and decided to change the conversation to another topic I wanted all but piss to do with.

“Why did you bully my older sister Sunset?” To say the question took me by surprise would be the understatement of the century. I had to give the kid credit for having the guts to just confront me like that...no one's ever asked me this question before...and to be frank, I didn’t have a good answer.

“Because I’m not a good person. Because I’m stupid and selfish. That’s it Applebloom,” I couldn’t even look at her in the eye. Not for this answer. Not when knowing my answer was probably not what she wanted to hear as the reason for all the pain I’ve caused to her older sister. But there was no other way I could have put it without morphing it into a lie. But, as it seems to be the trajectory of this out of the bloom conversation, the little girl yet again subverted my expectations in the most unpredictable ways.

“I don’t believe that...not anymore,” she said. This time, I looked back up to her, shocked at what she just said. Unlike before, Applebloom wasn’t looking at me with uncertainty. No, this time she was staring at me with confidence. “I think you’re just spouting nonsense Sunset. I mean, there’s no other reason why you would have taken the blame for me if you were a bad person...and I guess I just never gave you a fair shot at proving it.” I looked at her with my mouth a gaped. A part of me wanted to yell at her, tell her how wrong she was. Or maybe I was just trying to convince myself? No, that’s not it. She was wrong, she had to be. I wanted to tell her that, but as she stared at me with such certainty, it was hard to argue with her. But there was no way I would ever accept that. Hell no.

“Well, I don’t know about that kid.” I looked up to the ceiling, hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching the stairs. Applebloom looked behind her out into the hall, and soon Applejack came walking down the stairs and into the living room. She wasn’t wearing her signature hat nor her normal outfit. Instead, she was wearing her blue CHS sweater and a pair of grey sweat pants. Her hair was let loose and flew over her shoulder while she rubbed the back of her head with a towel. Much to my relief, it seemed like the bruises on her face were fading. I didn’t say shit like this often, but AJ really was one of the prettiest girls at the school. Hell, maybe even in all of Canterlot.

“Hey Applebloom, could you tell Bic Mac if he can-” She stopped mid-sentence as she entered the kitchen, eyes widened as she looked at me.

“Oh, hey sis. I hope you don’t mind, but Sunset came over so I treated her to some of our cider until you got out of the shower,” said Applebloom. Applejack looked at her little sister, the look of shock was almost amusing to an extent. Though, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous.

“Really? No, it’s alright Applebloom,” responded Applejack. The older sister looked back up to me, her expression of shock was slowly fading and being replaced by a look of horror.

“Oh my...” she muttered. I just hugged myself and smiled, which probably wasn’t the brightest idea considering I was missing a tooth.

“Hey Applebloom, you think you can go help Big Mac for a bit? I just have to talk to Sunset.” Applebloom looked at her sister, then back to me. She didn’t look too pleased with the request, but she smiled and nodded her head anyways, grabbing another bottle of cider from the fridge and turning to face the kitchen door that led out to the backyard. But before she left, she did something that yet again, took me by surprise. The little girl looked up at me and smiled, raising her fist up at me and letting it hang there in the air.

“Well, you believe whatever you wanna believe Sunset...but I guess you’re okay in my book now,” she said. Now although I refused to accept that, the second I opened my mouth to protest, Applebloom shook her head and stared at me with a stern cold expression. “I don’t wanna hear that nonsense outta you Sunset. I do what I wanna do too, just like you.” She held her gaze at me defiantly, refusing to back down from this. All I could do was stare at her with my mouth hanging open like some kind of dumbass. I vividly remembered harsh words of detest she had towards me just two weeks ago, and now it seemed like a completely different person had been talking to me...admittedly, I didn’t know how to feel about this.

“Sure, whatever you say kid,” I responded, raising my fist up to give her a light fist bump. AJ looked even more concerned when she saw the bandages around my knuckles, but returned her smile when Appleblooms face beamed with joy. Satisfied, she walked out the door and out to the backyard, leaving just me and Applejack in the room. AJ crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, watching out the window as her little sister ran across the land to where her big brother was. The warm smile on her face was enough to fool me for a moment that everything was okay.

“Looks like y’all two finally made peace,” she said. I rolled my eyes and leaned back onto the counter, putting my hands in my jacket pockets.

“If you say so,” I said dismissively.

“No, seriously Sunset, you have no idea how much that girls been thinking about you ever since that stunt you pulled in the auditorium.” My eyes looked over to her, and I could feel my cheeks turn red.

“She...she’s been thinking about me? What for?” I asked, genuinely surprised at the idea of Applebloom of all people having me on her mind.

“She’s, well, I don’t know. I just think you may have shattered some of her views on you after that,” said Applejack, still staring out the window with a smile. But a few seconds later, the smile vanished entirely, and her warm expression was replaced with a disapproving look as she turned to face me. “I reckon you’re not going to tell me about all of this?” she asked, looking me up and down.

“Tell you about what?” I asked a little agitatedly.

“Stop. Just stop. Stop talking to me like I’m some kind of fool. Those are fresh new injuries, and they look worst then before.”

“Oh for the love of, that’s none of your-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence! You do not get to say that after everything we’ve been through. Especially not after getting yourself suspended over my sister without any of our input. You don’t get to just enter my life and then disappear out of nowhere.” Applejack took a deep breath, regaining her nerves and softening her tone. “Sunset, for a while after the Fall Formal, it felt like at least you and I were slowly making amends. Then out of nowhere you just decide to run away. You’ve gotten more hostile in your voice, more isolated and you’re getting more injuries every time I see you. For crying out loud Sunset, you’re missing a tooth!”

The entire time I wasn’t looking at her, typical of me. No matter how much I wanted to deny everything she just said, I knew there was some truth to it. Perhaps it’s just my fault for talking to her after the Fall Formal incident. Maybe I should have just pissed off after Twilight defeated me. I’ve had multiple opportunities to do so, so why the hell have I not? Why do I keep sticking on to these girls when I tell myself multiple times that I want nothing to do with them? What the actual hell is wrong with me? I wanted to argue with her so much on this, to just storm out of here and be done with this shit, but the little moments of joy I had with her were probably the only times in my life I was truly happy...at least after I was a filly. I suddenly remember what Rainbow told me at the gym about a week back, and what Rarity had told me on the phone prior to my fight with the changelings. The thought that I could have some hope at making amends with my actions crossed my mind, and the urge to just piss off suddenly vanished...should I just tell Applejack the truth? With how I feel about all of this? About how much I despise myself? About the Mare-Do-Well? About how I wish she treated me like shit.... or should I just tell her I was sorry for everything? I was able to apologize to Red, so why could I not with her or any of the girls? I stood there with my arms crossed, refusing to look up at her and debating what I should say next. But my mouth started moving, and the predictability of my own stupid nature took charge.

“Why do you even care about me?” AJ stood there in silence, clearly thrown off by my selfish question. Regardless of the nature of the question, I wasn’t asking it to run away from a chance to be happy, nor to punish myself. I genuinely wanted to know. I got an answer with Rarity and Dash, two people I’m going to have to follow that conversation up with eventually no matter how much I wanted to run away from it. But I haven’t heard a reason from Applejack. I knew all the girls had their own reasons for going along with Twilight’s wishes, I still haven’t had any kind of serious discussion with Pinkie on it and I’m terrified of talking to Fluttershy the most out of anyone. But Rainbow told me that AJ felt the same as Twilight in regards to second chances. Still, I wanted to hear it from her mouth. She shifted around for a bit, loosening her stern expression and averting eye contact with me almost as if she didn’t really want to have this discussion either.

“I guess...I don’t know Sunset...I just don’t think you’re an awful person.” I nearly scoffed at this, and agitation began to build back up.

“Are you serious? Applejack, I tore apart your friendship. Ridiculed and humiliated you and your friends' multiple times! I tried to brainwash the school, including your sister, so that I could use them to start an army, and on top of all of that, I tried to kill you and your friends that same night!” I could feel tears begin to roll down my face as I thought just how awful of a creature I really was. “How could you possibly think that there’s any good in me? That I deserve any chance at being your friend? Why do you care about me? Why do you care if I’m injured? Why can’t you accept that I’m evil and to just make this easier for us and to just forget about me?”

“Because if you really were an evil person, why are you crying right now? I just watched my little sister forgive you after you stood up for her. I’m still mighty upset about that, but you just didn’t do that for no reason. I think there’s goodness in you wanting to get out. I’ve even thought about it since you first arrived.” I backed down after hearing this, astounded at what she just said.

“Since I first arrived?” I repeated. Applejack wiped away a single tear from her cheek, regaining her stern confidence as she looked me in the eyes again.

“Yeah...you and I had a lot of anger for one another, and I was angry at you for so long. I detested you...but, deep down inside, I felt sort of conflicted. I don’t believe people are just bad for the sake of being bad. I’ve always wanted to ask you why you were so angry? What caused you to have such a hatred for everything, and after Twilight had revealed that you and her came from another world...well, I wanted to know why you felt so much hatred for our world? I don’t think it’s because you're evil Sunset, your willingness to accept defeat at the Formal kinda proved it to me. I think you’re just angry...and I think you just need friends. Sending you off on your lonesome with that kinda weight wouldn’t do you any good. I don’t want to hate you Sunset...I just want to start over, and I think deep down inside, you do too.” I stared at her speechless. I couldn’t even tell just how much I’d been crying. The words to respond to this were caught in my throat, begging to be released. But that little part of me, that pit of blackness wouldn’t allow me to just reciprocate those feelings. I guess she could see the internal conflict I had going because she decided to speak for both of us.

“Sunset...please. As your friend, can you please tell me what’s going on? I know you’ve been lying about those injuries, and I’m really worried about you...please be honest with me. I think I have some ideas...but I want you to be honest with me.” She gave me a light smile as tears slowly began to pour from her eyes. “I promise whatever it is, we’ll work through it together, you don’t have to be alone anymore.”

“I- I” I was lost for words. The black pit in my heart was starting to waver, and the words were slowly beginning to make their way to my mouth. All I could focus on was her warm, friendly smile. “I’m...I’ve been,” I kept stuttering. I was ready to tell her the truth. The bullshit I had made up on my way over here was now lost, I didn’t feel the need to lie to her. She stood their patiently, never letting that smile escape her face. The more I stared at her, the more inclined I felt in accepting her friendship. In letting her into the shithole I’ve put myself into. “Okay...the truth is that I’m-”

“APPLEJACK! APPLEJACK!” Applebloom barged into the kitchen, interrupting the little moment we were having. Both me and AJ turned to look at her, startled by her sudden intrusion.

“Applebloom! What did I tell you about interrupting people?” she said, but concern grew on her face as Big Mac followed right behind her. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“They’re back! The two brothers are back!” Applebloom exclaimed. Her eyes almost looked glossy, and Big Mac looked a little rattled.

“Oh no... are they outside?” asked Applejack, the light fear in her voice was enough to concern me. Big Mac nodded his head and pointed out the window.

“Eyup.” Me and Applejack turned our attention to the backyard where we saw two men talking to Granny Smith. Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“Alright, let me go talk to them,” she said. I looked over at her with a confused face.

“Hey, what’s up? Everything alright?”

“Yeah...just...wait here, okay? This is some Apple business I need to handle.” She followed Applebloom and Big Mac out the door and to the back yard. I cracked the window open just a hair to see if I could hear the conversation. I know it's kind of messed up peeking into her business, but the looks on all of their faces was enough to pique my curiosity. When I looked outside, my sight was immediately attracted to the two men standing in front of the family. Both were very tall and lanky, and were wearing white slacks, white shirts with blue striped vests, and had the same red colored hair. They looked almost identical, except one had a well-kept mustache.

“What the hell?” I mumbled to myself.

“We already told you; the sales of this season's apple harvest won’t be in for another month. We’re barely getting our cider production going,” said Applejack. The one with the mustache leaned on his twin, with an unamused look plastered on his face.

“Oh Apples, please. You knew the conditions when you signed the contract,” said the one with the mustache.

“Yes, indeed, that you knew very well. It was laid quite clearly within the paper,” said the other. Applejack mumbled something to herself but I couldn’t hear what it was. The two just chuckled to themselves before continuing.

“Yes indeed, need we remind you of our agreement? You’re trees clearly couldn’t support themselves given the conditions they were in,” said the one with the mustache.

“Yes, quite so. Which you were able to confirm that it was the result of a new disease that effected the trees! All in documentation,” said the other.

“We were the only ones in Canterlot who had the means of curing the disease with our special tonic. Now your trees are bigger than ever! In exchange for the agreed upon price,” explained the one with the mustache. I could see Applejacks fist clench.

“Yes, I’m aware of that. But you have to understand that the product won’t come out for a while.” The two men laughed to themselves at this.

“Well, it seems you’re going to have to come up with the money somehow. Or else you wouldn’t want to lose the farm now, would you?” asked the one with the mustache.

“Yes, may we remind you what happened to Quills and Sofas?” my interest peaked at this comment.

“No...” said Applejack through gritted teeth.

“Excellent!” said the two in unison.

“We expect the payment by the end of the week,” they said as they began walking off. Applejack put her face in her hands, sobbing to herself lightly. Applebloom hugged her leg, and Big Mac wrapped his arm around her.

“Hey, it’s alright darling. We’ll figure something out,” assured Granny Smith. As I watched the family comfort each other, I could feel my fist clenching, and the rage inside of me building. Without saying anything, I ran out the kitchen and into the living room, bursting through the front door. In the driveway, I saw the two get into a van before speeding off.

“KRV-1978,” I read the license plate. Without saying goodbye to anyone, I exited off the property and began walking down the dirt path.

“Alright, let’s see what you two jackasses are up too.”