"Thank ya kindly, Noteworthy."

"No problem, Applejack. Your apples are definitely something to get out of the house for! Have a great day!"

"You too, Noteworthy!" Applejack called, waving the stallion off with a hoof. Raising the appendage to the side of her mouth, she added, "Say 'hi' to Octavia fer me!"

Noteworthy looked back for a second, a wide grin on his face as he shouted back, "I will!"

Watching Noteworthy leave, Applejack smiled, placing the collected bits into the bin next to her, counting them in silence before turning to her left and grabbing her notepad. Quickly looking over the list, she hummed and put it back in its previous position, awaiting her next customer.

The sun in the sky was now halfway down to its nighttime position behind the Macintosh Mountains, an orange haze slowly growing brighter as the celestial object continued its daily descent. Though there were less ponies still lingering around the marketplace than there were in the daytime, a substantial amount still remained, intent on gathering what was left of the day's wares before heading off to home for the night.

Applejack had decided to remain there out of the kindness of her heart. Besides, there was always somepony to buy around there. But even she, the stubborn, workhorse Applejack had to admit that she was tired. And this admission was confirmed by the small bags nestled under her eyes, the mare's upbeat behavior as she grinned and looked for customers betraying it entirely.

Adjusting the Stetson atop her head, Applejack scanned the marketplace for any potential buyers, only being interrupted by the sound of a low, almost absent and unnoticeable sigh next to her. Glancing over to the source, Applejack found a masked blue Pegasus, head on the wooden counter-top of the apple stand and sitting on his haunches, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, as if doing so was honestly the only thing he had to do.

Applejack frowned.

A bit at him, but mostly at herself.

She wanted nothing more than to talk to him, to help him in what was bothering him.

Poor guy had remained quiet the entire time the two had been there, not saying a single word. She wanted to help, but she didn't want to push anything. If he didn't want to talk about it, that was fine by her.

But at the same time, she wasn't necessarily okay with it.

Applejack suddenly grew aware of the fact that she had been staring at him the whole time, and immediately turned back to the rest of the area, coughing into a hoof involuntarily. She decided to ignore her inner thoughts. Sitting on her haunches, a white apron strapped to her, Applejack looked straight ahead for what seemed like hours, the sun growing dimmer and dimmer as both ponies sat in complete silence.

The heat of Celestia's sun gave way to the slight chill of Luna's moon as day turned to night. Applejack sighed, craning her neck to take her apron off. The day was done, and all the mare had to do was pack up the accumulated bits of the day, strap herself to the apple cart, and head home. Placing the apron onto the stand, Applejack turned to her right to retrieve the bits. Hoof poised to grab the box, she stopped.

The hoof shook.

And felt for a hooful of bits. Applejack turned tail, walking over to the stallion still sitting next to her. Standing still for two silent heartbeats, she placed the bits onto the counter-top, sliding them over to him with a drag of her hoof. Nudging his shoulder, she spoke, "There ya go, Delirious. Yer pay for the day-"

"But I didn't do shit."

She raised a brow slightly, but replied, "Sure ya did. Ya came out here with me, didn't ya? Ya stayed by my side for five hours, didn't ya? That's the longest Ah've ever seen ya stand still, and Ah think that deserves a pay-"

"But I didn't work. I don't deserve your fucking pity."

"Now look-"

Delirious remained in his position, but ultimately lifted his head off the wooden counter-top, still facing forward. "Don't give me that shit. Keep your money, no reason to waste it giving it to me. I'll probably go off and buy myself some fucking hookers and food." Allowing his head to collapse back onto the stand, he added, "Always do."

"Delirious, Ah ain't havin' none o' this, alright? Quit mopin' around and tell me what's the matter!"

Delirious shifted.

Breathing heavily, Applejack continued, "Look, Sugarcube, when Ah found you overlookin' that there bridge, Ah knew right then and there that you were upset about somethin'. You didn't tell me what it was, so I let it slide, ya obviously didn't wanna talk about it. But seein' you stop talkin' for five hours? Definitely somethin' ta raise a fuss over. Now, will ya tell me what's the matter, or do Ah gotta leave yer plot here for the night and get ya in the mornin'? Ah sure as hay am alright with both."

Staring at the Pegasus, Applejack waited for his answer. After about a minute, she huffed, adjusted her hat, and simply said, "Fine," and turned toward the saddle of her apple cart. Placing a hoof on it, she heard a voice speak up from behind her.

"You want the fuckin' truth? My friend fucking abandoned me."

Applejack turned back to Delirious, finding the white mask frowning at her.

"Vanoss just up and left ya?"

Blue eyes glancing down to the wooden counter, Delirious solemnly recounted, "I don't blame him. I was outta fuckin' line. Threw a fit over some stupid mask, left the banana stand-"

"Is that where ya two went after Ah left ya? Workin' for Banana Split of all ponies?"

"Yeah. Thought selling bananas would be our best way to get some money." Delirious chuckled, "Be our best chance at chanting Banana Bus all day long, too."

Applejack walked over to her friend, standing next to him, "Ah take it didn't go over too well-"

"Yeah, no shit. Fucking bitch wanted me to put on a mask so I didn't scare people."

"Ah can see that bein' a problem-"

"Yeah, I fuckin' filled the piece of shit with lead. Vanoss called me out on my shit. I thought he'd have sided with me on it, but, well, he didn't, so I left."

Applejack frowned, hanging her head low, "Ah'm mighty sorry, Delirious-"

"Don't be. It was my fuckin' fault. I'd have done it too."

"That still doesn't give Vanoss the right to just abandon his best friend for money-"

Delirious suddenly turned toward her, brow furrowed in anger, "That's not the fucking point!" He pointed a hoof toward himself, "I would've done it to him in a fuckin' heartbeat! I'm a fucking asshole, alright?"

Applejack glared at his insulting of himself, opening her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted.

"Look." Delirious said with a sigh, pushing the air in front of him lightly, eyes shut, "I'm me. Alright? I'm H2O Delirious. I enjoy blowing things up, and killing my friends. It's fun as shit. I insult them, they insult me, we all insult each other. It's what friends do, all the time. But we're all still friends, no matter what, at the end of the day. We'll take each other's side if need be." Collapsing onto his haunches, he looked down at the grass under him, "But this time, my friend didn't back me up. And, in the long run, I wouldn't have done it either. I don't know whether ta... fuckin' hate myself, or, y'know, hate Vanoss. I can't really hate Vanoss though, 'cause that's just fuckin' unfair. We need money, and money is practically everything. It's like, magic, basically."

Applejack stared at Delirious in silence, stunned by the very idea of the pony she saw take explosions and bullets hurt.

"I dunno if you're just okay with me because Twilight wants you to be, or if you're just taking pity on me being such a loudmouth asshole, but-"

"Ah think it's mah turn to talk, Delirious."

The Pegasus looked at her in silence, but perked his ears up.

"Just because ya hate yourself don't mean it's justified, or right. Ah know ya don't think too highly of yourself, sayin' you'd do the same, but that doesn't matter, alright? Ya say money is magic, but, honestly, Sugarcube?"

"Yeah?"

"Friendship is the real magic, in the end. Without friendship, what's the point in doin' much of anything?"

Delirious looked at Applejack in silence, still sitting on the floor. Glancing down to the floor, he remained this way for awhile, not a single word escaping his mouth. Applejack stood like a statue, intent on listening to what her friend was going to say next. Blinking, she peered up at the sky, watching as Luna's white moon rose in the starry night. A few clouds dotted the air, but there were sparse enough to allow Applejack the full view of the stars. Watching them as she waited, she suddenly heard a voice speak up back on Earth.

"Y'know, Applejack," Delirious said, startling the mare. He had never used her actual name before.

"What's that, Delirious?"

"That might be the gayest shit I've ever heard in my entire fuckin' life-"

Delirious was interrupted as a hoof was thrown into his arm, the Pegasus rubbing the affected appendage immediately as he turned to Applejack, her hoof in the air post-slap. Giggling, Delirious asked, "What the fuck?!"

"Watch yer tongue, Sugarcube. Mare's 'round here don't take too kindly to all that nonsense and homophobia-"

"Well, I'm not a fuckin' homophobe, I'm just sayin'. Jesus, you've got a fuckin' arm on you."

Shaking the appendage with a smile on her lips, she remarked, "Yeah... Ah am known to have a good swing on me. Just ask Rainbow Dash."

"Who?"

Applejack waved a hoof, brow raised in confusion, "Ya didn't meet her in the hospital?"

"Was she the blue one? I can't tell you all apart."

Applejack looked at him, unblinking, a blank look on her face, "Ah really hope y'all're jokin'."

"Nope."

Silence.

"Y'all colorblind or somethin'? Ah know Rainbow is-"

Delirious suddenly rose, looking toward the sky as his eyes began to shut. Unfolding his forelegs to his sides, he gazed at the moon and let out a huge sigh, keeling over and scratching his behind with a hoof as he commented, "I'm fuckin' tired." Walking past the mare, he cast a glance to his left and his right, before turning back to the mare as he scratched the back of his head.

The mare looked at him, an eyebrow to the sky.

"I, uh, I just realized I don't have a place to stay," Delirious started, bringing a hoof to his mouth as he coughed awkwardly, "you, uh, you don't have any place I could sleep tonight, do you? I've tried to sleep in a box before, shit's fucked. Then again, there was a train like a foot away from it, but-"

Applejack nodded, "Course we do, Sugarcube, y'all can sleep in the barn! Just lemme pack up here and we'll get goin'-"

She stopped in her tracks, finding Delirious already hooked up to the apple cart's harness, white mask frowning at her as he flicked his head up the road. "Let's fuckin' go already. Damn. I'm fucking tired."

Applejack gave a cocky grin, watching as Delirious clearly struggled against the harness' weight, not saying a word despite. His blue figure stood silently, his wings tucked against his sides and his mask glancing around their surroundings, legs wobbling slightly. His black tail swished back and forth rapidly, like a dog waiting for its owner. Careful to avoid his suspicion, Applejack strained her right eye and leaned the same way, intending to glance at his cutie mark, but found a blue wing in its way. Frowning, she looked back up to Delirious, who looked back at her and cocked his head.

Her cocky grin morphed into a genuine smile as she said finally, "Well, let's get goin' then, pardner."

Delirious nodded, and followed Applejack in the moonlight as they began to travel to Sweet Apple Acres.

Along the way, Luna's moon casting a white light upon the roadway, Applejack turned her head to find Delirious, a few paces away from her position. Raising her voice slightly, she said, "Y'all should probably get ahead o' me in case anythin' falls out."

Watching as he struggled to get past her, she added as he trotted up next to her, "Yer legs included."

"Oh fuck you. I can pull this shit, just... gimme a second."

Applejack gave an innocent look and chuckled, "If ya say so, Delirious."

Receiving nothing but a low growl in response, Applejack smirked as the Pegasus worked his way in front of the mare, the apple cart and its contents in full view of the orange mare hanging behind.

The two walked in silence the rest of the way, Delirious' pained pants of distress excluded, and soon found themselves walking past the white gate of Sweet Apple Acres. Holding the gateway open for him, Applejack trotted in after Delirious, who kept walking for two heartbeats until he halted a few feet away from Applejack, finally collapsing on the ground in a heap.

Galloping over to him, the mare cocked an eyebrow as she glanced down at the fallen Pegasus, who could only glare straight ahead as he gasped for air in the night.

Finally settling down, he sat for two second before commenting.

"Fuck this," and scrambling to his hooves, free from the harness. Looking up at Applejack, the mask frowned at her. "What's so funny?"

"Nothin' Sugarcube," she replied instantly, covering her mouth with a hoof, "y'all just... don't look in the apple cart, alright?"

His eyes narrowed as he betrayed her advice, walking over to the apple cart and peering inside.

An empty husk of refined, polished wood met his gaze, and Delirious' ears flattened against his head as he heard the unrestrained laughs from behind him. Turning around, he stalked past the giddy mare.

"And where are you goin', exactly?"

"The barn."

"It's mah barn," she said, watching as he turned his head her way. "Y'all've gotta get mah permission," she added with a hoof to her chest.

Delirious rolled his eyes and admitted, "I'm not even in the mood for this Applejack. I'm fucking tired, my legs are dead, and now I've got some horse keeping me from sleeping."

She grinned, "Are ya... are ya feelin' a little.... hoarse?"

Delirious looked at her in silence for one, two, and three seconds, before he turned back around and stalked off toward the barn, ignoring the laughter from the mare behind him.

"Hey."

He kept walking.

"Hey, hey, hey now."

Applejack walked beside him.

"Ah was just jokin'. C'mon now, don't be like that-"

"I'm just fucking tired."

"Well.... alright. Barn's just up ahead, y'all can sleep next to the tools."

Delirious looked at her with a look of glee, to which she glared at him and added, "Don't get any ideas."

The Pegasus deflated, but kept pace with the mare as they found themselves in front of the barn. Walking ahead, she pushed the door open and heard it creak before turning her head to find Delirious, a blank look on his face as he surveyed the barn in utter silence. Blue eyes looking back at the mare, he said simply, "It's fucking dark as shit."

"Oh, don't be such a scaredy-cat. Ah'll get you a lantern or something."

Delirious groaned, but found himself walking past the mare and into the barn, continuing to do so until he found himself in the middle of the building, the moonlight peeking in through the windows and casting a concentrated light on him. Twirling around, he raised his forelegs and proclaimed, "I. Am. God."

Applejack looked at him with an incredulous look, before giggling and turning to her left. Walking toward the basket, she bent over, picking up an old knitted blanket and turning tail, trotting toward Delirious as he watched her every move. Throwing the blanket to him, she smirked, "There ya go, Sugarcube. Lantern's on the barrel next to the tools, oil's already in it so y'all don't need to refill it."

"Yeah, fuck that shit. It was hard in Amnesia."

"Excuse me?"

Delirious coughed out a quick, "Nothing," in response, before he about-faced, walking over to his resting place, blanket draped over his back. Leering at the large pile of hay, his expression softened as he proceeded to walk a circle around it, before simply collapsing onto his side and throwing the blanket over himself. Worming around on the stalks of hay, he twisted and turned before stopping altogether, suddenly looking up at the mare currently watching him with an amused expression on her face.

Frowning grumpily, he commented, "Enjoying the show?"

"Maybe a little." Turning to her right, she walked toward the lantern sitting on the barrel, fiddling with its casing until she finally got it to work, casting a yellow light upon Delirious' white mask, staring at her in the previously dark corner of the barn. The two stared at each other in silence, before Delirious raised a hoof to his mouth, yawning.

"I'm fuckin' tired."

"Alright. Ah'll let ya sleep then," Applejack said, turning to leave the barn. Reaching the door, she raised a hoof to push the entrance open, interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Hey, wait."

Frowning, she turned her head and asked, "Yeah, Sugarcube?"

The voice halted for what seemed like hours, before Delirious' head peered out from behind the lantern-bearing barrel.

The Pegasus called, simply.

"Thank you, Applejack."

The mare lidded her eyes, not expecting his gratitude. Smiling, she called back, "You're very welcome, Delirious. Now, y'all need yer sleep. Go to bed."

The stallion chuckled in response, "Yeah, alright. Night, Applejack."

"G'night, Delirious."

Applejack opened the door, and disappeared from sight.

Watching as the door closed, Delirious sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to nothing but the hooting of the owl outside and the wind whistling gently against the window next to him. Sniffing the air, he caught the whiff of apples and dirt, crinkling his nose at the latter but letting it go from the former. Staring into nothing, the stillness of the empty barn met him.

He was alone.

Glancing down then back up again, the white mask frowned.

Underneath the mask, however, a large smile had formed.

Tensing up as he wrapped the blanket around his body tightly, Delirious sat up in the lantern-lit interior of the Apple Family barn, feeling the chill of the night creeping against his body. Looking to his left, blue eyes scanned the various farm tools lining the shelf, a low whistle escaping Delirious' lips. Looking back to the middle of the barn, the Pegasus sat quietly.

He smiled softly, leaning toward the lantern.

Feeling sleep find its way into his system, he allowed his eyes to lid, casting one last glance around the barn.

Looking back to the lantern, the flame inside danced in his vision, casting a yellow light upon his mask and the area around him.

Sighing, he leaned forward, and blew out the candle.

Author's Notes:

If there's ever been a chapter I've hated, it's this one. God dammit. I hope you guys see it differently than I do. Writer's bias and all that. Hope you enjoyed. I didn't. Still don't. Keep in mind I wrote this when I was depressed. Fuck it. That's no excuse for utter shit.

I'm sorry. I promise the next chapter will be better. 1,000x better. Promise.