Continued from Chapter 32 of What They Expect to Give.

They call it ‘stormy Monday’...

But in her opinion? Tuesday was just as bad.

Applejack sat at the usual lunch table behind the Automotive Center, clad in the same faded blue jeans as yesterday. She’d picked a new shirt, of course, but it was a musty, wrinkled, army green t-shirt from the rodeo four years ago. She had a dark gray long-sleeved button-up pulled over it. Hot as this made her, she couldn’t risk showing the wounds on her arm, so she settled for leaving it unfastened.

These particular clothes she only wore because, apparently, no one else in the house could be bothered to do laundry now that Granny was more or less relieved of chore duty. After three weeks of this, Applejack was discovering clothing that had long been lost at the back of the closet or buried deep in the drawers.

She took a long drag of her morning cigarette as she glowered at her boots.

At least Apple Bloom’s suspension was good for something. Applejack tasked her younger sister with remedying the laundry problem for the day. Not that it would be easy.

Granny Smith nearly burned the house down when she left the stove on around dawn. Apple Bloom heard the smoke detector first and put the flames out. Applejack nearly tumbled down the stairs in her rush to help. She threw a pan of smoking black bacon to the farm cats while Granny complained that the stove ran too hot.

Big Mac, still hungover from the night before, didn’t even get out of bed.

Applejack had originally wanted Apple Bloom to help out in the orchard, but given that morning’s fiasco, she figured catching up on house chores was safer. That way her little sister could keep an eye on Granny.

The cowgirl slumped a little on the bench, exhaling a harsh rush of smoke from her nostrils as she stretched her legs out over the grass and propped her elbows behind her on the table.

They needed to get the house in order before social services came for their inspection.

Wait... No.

Who was she kidding?

She needed to get the house in order.

More and more, Applejack was feeling the pressure to stay home. The problem was that taking a break from school put her scholarship at risk. She wasn’t a fool. Leaving college could extend well past the remaining semester. They’d just give the money to someone else. Then where would that put her?

Sweet Apple Acres needed a leg up. They were a small, independent farm. She had every intention of trying to keep their traditions alive, but her experiences with her friends had taught her that, sometimes, innovation was necessary. She couldn’t do that without good schooling.

Applejack watched as a car slowly drove by. She tracked it with her eyes, feeling a spark of envy at the driver’s carefree laughter with her fellow passenger.

Why did it feel like everyone else had it figured out, but her?

She ashed her cigarette with a little sneer, before placing it between her lips and leaving it there.

She’d be done with school for the day a little after one. Plenty of time to head home and resume work in the orchards.

Until her next class, all Applejack wanted to do was sit, enjoy this cigarette, and not be bothered--

“Good morning,” she heard Sunset say nearby.

Applejack bolted upright, ash fluttering from her cigarette tip as she snapped her head toward the elm on the left.

Sunset stood eyeing her in the shade of the tree, hugging a textbook to her chest. She wore a pleasant smile on her face.

“Er, g’mornin’,” Applejack mumbled around her cigarette filter, expression still stretched in surprise. She quickly removed the cig from her mouth and chuckled uncertainly. “You plum scared the life outta me! I didn’t hear you coming!”

Sunset winced apologetically as she ventured closer, but her grin persisted. “Sorry about that. Maybe I should have hummed or scuffed my boots in the grass more. You looked pretty spaced out.”

The redhead stopped near Applejack but didn’t sit down. Her eyes searched the blonde’s face, and her grin lessened. “Rough morning?”

Applejack chewed the corner of her lip for a critical second before looking away with a shrug of a single shoulder. She didn’t really feel like sharing.

“Mm,” Sunset said in response.

The seconds ticked by. When she didn’t say anything else or move to sit down, Applejack felt her curiosity get the better of her. She peeked sideways at her friend.

Sunset was gazing across the street, a pensive look on her face. She was dressed in a ripped, dark denim skirt whose length certainly pushed the limit of the campus dress code and a tight wine-red scoop-neck tank. The fabric glittered a little. Over this, she had on her trademark leather jacket, but it had slipped off one of her dark sun-kissed shoulders.

Applejack’s mouth pressed thin as she looked down at herself. She suddenly felt grubby.

When the other girl sat down next to her, the cowgirl fussed with her clothes a little, trying to straighten out the wrinkles. She was dismayed when she discovered a grease stain near the hem of her t-shirt.

“Sorry if I kept you up late,” Sunset said as she set her book bag down on the grass. Her expression was sheepish.

Applejack shook her head. “Naw, don’t apologize. I’m the one who texted first, remember? I enjoyed our chat last night.”

“Still, you look pretty tired.” As she said this, Sunset reached over and rubbed Applejack’s back.

The cowgirl waved the concern away, her eyes returning to the view before them. She leaned back against the picnic table, into Sunset’s touch. It felt nice. “I’m all right. A good night’s rest wouldn’ta prepared me for Granny nearly burning the house down.”

The words came on their own, and she was surprised she’d let them.

Sunset’s eyes popped and her mouth fell open. “She what?!”

“Eyup,” Applejack nodded solemnly.

Sunset placed her textbook on the table as she turned fully to her friend. It looked like a math book. “Holy cow, AJ! Is everyone okay??”

Applejack couldn’t contain the snicker fast enough and let her head drop to her chest.

Sunset’s eyebrows rose high as her lips tentatively pulled upwards. “Lemme guess... The damage was minimal?”

Applejack raised her head and winked. “Eyup.”

This earned her a punch on the shoulder that made her laugh outright.

Sunset pressed a hand to her chest. “Ugh! You scared me half to death!”

The cowgirl held her hands up, still chuckling. “Sorry! M’sorry, sugarcube. I guess I’m as mischievous as a monkey when I’m this tired.”

She crossed her arms and shrugged. “Me and my family are used to feelin’ tired as all get out. Ma and Pa taught us that there ain’t no use in being crabby. Sometimes it’s just better to crack a joke n’ keep going.”

Sunset leaned on the table and smiled warmly. “Sounds like great advice.”

“They was good people.”

"I wish my parents had been as helpful."

Now Applejack's eyes brightened with interest. "Yeah? What were they like?"

Sunset chuckled. She fiddled with her textbook, one manicured finger digging into the closed book's pages.

Eventually, she said, "My mother, Stellar Flare, was determined to make me a powerful pony. She sent me to Celestia's School for Magic the second my unicorn horn flickered with energy."

Sunset tossed her hair back with a little quirk of her lips. "She always believed in progress and growth. It's why she became the head of Sire Hollow's Development Committee."

Applejack's mouth skewed to the side and her eyes squinted. "She was pushy, huh?"

Sunset tilted her head back and groaned. "You have no idea!"

She threw up a hand, the other gripping her book tightly. "I mean, I absolutely inherited her unhealthy ambition, but half the reason I even vied for Celestia's private tutelage was to get away from my mother!"

"And your dad?" Applejack asked.

"Sunspot was a non-entity most of the time. He just put his head down and remodeled houses." Sunset grimaced and shut her eyes. "When I think about what my little brother had to put up with, I feel like a real jerk. I could have come home and helped him. Instead, I was busy being evil."

Applejack shifted on her seat, her expression one of discomfort. She hadn't meant to make Sunset feel down with past failures. But if she were being honest, she'd been deathly curious.

"Sorry. I shoulda dropped the subject, but I just ain't never heard you talk about your family before," she admitted with a hangdog look. She ashed her cigarette, then rested her wrist on her thigh. She toyed with the filter nervously with her thumb.

Sunset squinted her eyes as her smile pursed and she shook her head. "Why are you apologizing? If I didn't want to answer, I wouldn't have."

Applejack eyed Sunset sideways. After a short moment, she smirked and lifted her cigarette for another drag. "Fair enough," she said.

They sat in companionable silence for a short time…

Then Applejack worked up the nerve to ask, “Do you keep in touch with your brother?”

Yeah, curiosity may have killed the cat, but she’d heard tell that satisfaction brought it back.

Sunset bit her lip and brushed her hair back, even though not much of it had been forward to begin with. “I’ve visited Sunburst once since I got rainbow beamed,” she eventually said. “It was… super awkward. Let’s just say, I have a lot of work to rebuild that bridge.”

Applejack nudged her. “Well, keep at ‘im. If there’s one thing I can tell ya, it’s that investing in family always bears fruit.”

“Spoken like a true Apple!” Sunset chuckled. She stood. "Well, I gotta get to class. Catch you later at lunch?"

Applejack smiled broadly. She suddenly didn't mind sticking around the school for a while longer. "Looking forward to it, sugarcube."

They waved to each other, then Sunset began walking away. Applejack watched her friend go. She watched her go till she was out of sight, even.

"Hmm," she bounced a knee, her teeth running over her bottom lip. She looked at her cigarette. It had almost burned down to the filter in her distraction, the ash tip long and wilting.

"Someone's looking nice today," she murmured, glancing back the way Sunset had gone.

Sunset was beyond relieved when lunch came around and she was freed from Applied Linear Algebra. She liked math as much as the next nerd, but these days, crunching numbers tended to remind her of overdue bill payments.

The second she was the required distance from non-smoking areas, she lit up a stick. Her eyes slipped closed as the smoke filled her lungs and the nicotine hit soon after.

Now that’s much better…

Sunset exhaled toward the sky and watched the whorls of smoke rise until they dissipated into a weak fog, then nothing.

It was scary how quickly she’d gotten addicted again. It hadn’t even been a day, and she was already craving more. What she hadn’t disclosed to AJ was that she used to be a chain smoker. Just one, after the other… Nearly the entire day.

Quitting hadn’t been easy. Even after leaving the streets behind and trying to convince all the adults at Canterlot High that she was a star student, the most she could bring herself to do was cut back a little. It wasn’t until she’d become friends with Rainbow and the others that she finally committed to really quitting for good.

I’m gonna need serious help getting off of this stuff again, she thought with a little smoky sigh. I hear there are pills to help you quit. If only I had actual health insurance.

Sunset took a long drag at the thought and continued on her way to meet with AJ and her friends at the lunch spot.

Damn it, now I’ve managed to depress myself.

She spied them already seated and puffing away like she was. When Applejack laid eyes on her, she sat up and waved. Sunset forced a grin as she waved back.

Perk up, Sun! You can’t cheer up your friend if you’re acting gloomy.

“Hey, AJ! Hey guys!” She said as she slipped off her book bag and took a seat next to AJ.

She pointed delicately at AJ’s friends with one eye squinted. “Let me see if I remember… Torque and Chassis?”

Chassis nodded with a pleased smile. “Yep! You got it in one.”

Sunset returned the smile, feeling some of her gloom leave her. It was always nice to make new friends. “Cool.”

Applejack suddenly slid over a plastic container. A big one. Sitting on top of it was a spoon. Sunset stared at the items. She looked at AJ sidelong. “Uh, what’s this?”

The cowgirl just looked at her archly as she opened up her own container. “Your lunch.”

“My lunch?”

“Sure is.”

Sunset started pushing it back the other way. “AJ, you don’t have to–”

“You got your own lunch?”

“No, but–”

Applejack dropped a heavy elbow on the table and leaned over to Sunset, her lip curling up in a smirk as her green eyes flashed brightly from under the wide brim of her hat.

“Darlin’, you know I won’t take no for an answer. I can tell you’re hungry, so if you ain’t fixin’ to get put over a knee,” and here she arched a golden brow, “you’ll eat that there meal like I know ya want to!” Her smirk transformed into a broad and blinding smile.

She even winked!

Sunset had to take three whole seconds to process what she’d just seen and heard, and even upon comprehension she still needed to fathom the existence of it.

Did Applejack just threaten to spank her?

Before Sunset could take her mind off the fact that a mere joke was creating heat in sensitive areas, Applejack had sat back and was already starting her own meal.

With her cheeks burning, Sunset set aside the spoon and opened the container in front her.

“Is this…?” Sunset leaned in toward the container with a deep inhale. “Gumbo?”

“Vegan Gumbo,” Applejack said with her mouth askew. “It somewhat resembles the real thing thanks to the Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke.”

“Whatever!” Torque exclaimed, looking at AJ as if she were crazy. “That sounds like ass!”

Applejack had gone still as a dangerous smile spread across her face. Through her teeth, she hissed, “Torque thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crow.” She looked up at him slowly, the smile still fixed on her face. “If he ain’t careful, he’s about to lose his fool head!”

“I’m not saying you’re a bad cook!” Torque said with some alarm. “I just meant that, uh, y’know! It don’t sound, like… appetizing.”

“Keep digging, we can still see you!” Chassis called through her cupped hands. She leaned over the table and whispered to Sunset, “AJ’s beat Torque at arm wrestling a hundred times. He’s secretly terrified of her!”

“I am not!” Torque said, throwing Chassis a dirty look.

Applejack narrowed her eyes and dropped her voice a pitch. “Sugarcube, when I get my hands on you, you’ll be wishin’ you’d been wiser.” It made her sound like some grizzled sheriff from an old western film, the breathy quality of each word making one think she was murmuring this personally into their ear.

Torque covered his face with both hands and leaned heavily on the table. “Dude, I’ma need you to stop immediately. You sound good and all, except you also just gave me a boner–”

Chassis quickly leaned back and peeked under the table, only to cringe and cackle. “Fuck! Can confirm!”

There were immediate cries of disgust from the rest of the table.

Applejack threw some rice from her container at him. When she aimed for another shot, Torque opened his mouth and leaned forward.

Applejack still obliged him, throwing it straight into his mouth.

“Mmm!” Torque said with great exaggeration. He wagged his eyebrows and gave a cheesy thumbs-up. “Good stuff, chef!”

The cowgirl tried but failed at keeping a straight face. She chuckled and just shook her head, picking up her fork to resume eating.

Seeing her chance to speak, Sunset asked Applejack, “You made this gumbo just for me?”

Applejack chuckled and glanced at her as she stirred her food with her fork. “Sugarcube, you oughta know by now that with all the chorin’ I get up to if I’d have any spare time to squander on your pretty self…would I do it?”

Sunset smirked. “Yes?”

Applejack tipped her hat as she turned back to her food. “And how! Because what kinda friend leaves their buddy in the lurch like that, hmm?”

“Not a friend like you,” Chassis said with a toast of her canned soda. “That’s for sure!”

Torque raised his drink too. “Hear, hear!”

Applejack smiled crookedly as she raised her plastic water bottle, and they all knocked drinks.

Without a drink to join in on the toast, Sunset stared at the food in front of her.

I really can’t believe she went and did this for me!

She raised her eyes and looked over at her friend. With a pursed smile, she reached a hand up and gave Applejack a small shove on the shoulder. The blonde was rocked to the side, halted mid-bite. She pouted at Sunset.

“Thanks, AJ. This was very kind of you,” Sunset said with an earnest flirt of her eyelashes.

Applejack’s cheeks tinged a light pink, bringing out her freckles even more. She waved a hand. “Don’t even mention it.”

“Right, sure. You know what I’m gonna mention?” Chassis chimed in.

She looked between them all, a wide smile on her face. “So today, a classmate of ours left a socket wrench attached to the crankshaft, forgot about it, and shut the hood. They go and start up the car to the sound of a wrench spinning like nuts, then a loud bang!”

“What happened to the shaft?” Applejack asked.

Chassis lit up another cigarette and smirked. “Totally stripped the end of it! Lucky for them it wasn’t set for torque, or it coulda been a mondo disaster.”

Sunset took a bite of her food. She hummed happily as the conversation carried on without her. Applejack really was a good cook.

Lunch was done.

Applejack and Sunset said goodbye to Torque and Chassis. After they had left, AJ turned to her friend.

“You got class?” she asked, picking up her bag.

Sunset grinned and shook her head. “Nope. All done. Actually…” She clasped her hands in front of her, pressed her knees together, and leaned toward Applejack. “Would it be all right if I came by this afternoon to help at the farm?” Sunset asked.

Applejack looked at her with surprise. “Uhh… Come again?”

Sunset crossed her arms. “You forgot? I told you I’d probably try and come help, didn’t I? So that you can go with me to blues night? It’d be a little inconvenient for me to do it the day of, but I can try if I have to!”

Applejack tilted her hat back enough to scratch just past her hairline. She found it hard to believe Sunset Shimmer had abundant enough free time to come and do this sorta work. She must really want her to go to this show.

“I mean, all right. I suppose,” she said with a frown.

Sunset did a little hop whilst pointing finger guns at Applejack. “Awesome.” With a flip of her hair, she turned and started in the direction of her dorm. “I’m gonna get changed. Meet you there in about 40?”

Applejack blinked and waved, watching Sunset as she went.

When she made it back to her truck, she was still bemused by it all. Sunset didn’t really strike her as the outdoorsy type. Tough, certainly. And a hard worker. But up for workin’ a sweat in the rough and tumble country?

Nah.

More like… More like a really cool, hip, biker chick with a penchant for flame motifs. If she was being fair, though, bikers were like modern-day outlaws, and they could rough it when necessary.

Applejack’s eyebrows lifted high as she turned on the ignition.

Actually, she kicked serious tail at Camp Everfree. She handled the outdoors just fine.

She put her truck in reverse and looked back.

I should be less skeptical. Shucks. It ain’t like it's Rarity gonna be haulin’ hay!

When Applejack arrived at her farm, Sunset arrived just ten minutes after her. The farm girl was further assured when she saw that her friend had put on very practical clothing. In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Sunset in such clothing.

Durable camo pants that looked like it easily could have come from a military surplus store. A grey tank top, and a thick button-up black and red plaid shirt. Black boots, but not the usual heeled ones that made her slightly taller than Applejack. The boots she marched toward her friend in almost looked like combat boots. Maybe not as ideal as muck boots, but they’d do.

After she’d removed her helmet, Sunset even put her long curly hair up in a messy french twist with a hair clip.

Applejack whistled as the redhead stopped in front of her. “Hoo–ee! Sunset Shimmer, you sure look the part! Why if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were raised in a barn.”

Sunset met her eyes and smirked at her. “I know I look like it, but I’m not just some city girl.”

Applejack’s brow tensed just a tad as she shifted her weight to one foot. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but this vibe felt…different. What was that look in Sunset’s eye? Come to think of it, she’d been looking at Applejack that way every time they’d talked today. At first, she’d thought it was an appraising look. But the way it lingered, locking their eyes still…

No, it was more like Sunset was self-assured about something. And somehow that something had to do with Applejack.

If that were true, then she didn’t know what in tarnation Sunset could possibly be so certain of, especially with this depressed ugly country hick.

Her own self-loathing rose up like a wall. Applejack turned away, pulling her hat down. “Not a city girl, huh? Yeah, we’ll see…”

This wasn’t the first time her friends had come to help on the farm. Almost everyone had come at some point or other, with the exception of Sunset. They had all been helpful, though some were more so than others.

The ones who struggled, Pinkie and Rarity, didn’t help with farm work as much over the years. The others fared better. The only one who seemed to really love being out there the same way Applejack did was…

Fluttershy.

She squeezed her eyes shut, teeth clenching.

Applejack doubled her pace and barked, “All right! Let’s get ‘er done.”

Sunset kept pace with Applejack, but of the two she was definitely tiring faster.

The redhead exercised, sure. She jogged on a frequent (if chaotic) basis, and she even tried to squeeze in some resistance training at least once a week. But this?

Oh, there was no question she’d be feeling this in the morning.

“Is that all of them?” Sunset gasped as she dumped another bushel of apples into the loader, a fat sweat drop scurrying past her ear to tickle along her jawline.

“For now, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a knowing grin. “Don’t wanna scare ya off now, do we?”

Sunset laughed as she went to her bottle of water, nestled in the exposed roots of an old apple tree. “No way! It’ll take more than this to get me to tap.”

“Shoot! We ain’t even halfway done! You may be singing a new tune before long.”

After a long, satisfying drink from her water bottle, Sunset wiped at her mouth and smirked at her friend. “I’m keeping up, aren’t I?”

Applejack placed her gloved hands on her hips, her own smile tilting. “Sure you are. In fact, I’m real impressed! It’s almost like you've done this before!”

“Not this exactly.” Sunset wiggled a hand in the air. “I sorta did stuff like this though. Back in Equestria. I’d pick up freelance work here and there. Sometimes it was on farms like this!”

“What were you doing freelance work for?”

“Oh. Y’know, when I was hustling to keep Grogar happy. He always demanded more gold bits than I actually had, so…” She let herself trail off.

Sunset looked away, her smile gone. She hadn’t meant to bring up her problems. She wasn’t really interested in thinking about them.

She heard Applejack step closer. It was just the two of them in this section. The other workers had already moved on to another part of the orchard.

“How are things with that, anyhow? He ain’t hassled ya or nothing, right?” Applejack asked.

Sunset shook her head quickly. She took another swallow from her bottle.

“Sun, you promised you’d clue me in if you needed help,” Applejack murmured. “Don’t tell me too late, y’hear? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Sunset’s jaw clenched. Her water bottle crinkled in her tightened grip. She looked at Applejack’s worried face and tried for a charming smile. “Hey, no worries, AJ. I know you’ve got my back. I’ll try and tell you in time, ‘kay? Everything’s good right now.”

Applejack pouted her lip a little as she considered this promise. A smile slowly unfurled across her freckled face. “Okay.”

Sunset inwardly sighed in relief. “So, what’s next?”

Applejack gestured for Sunset to follow. “While the workers and Big Mac wrap up today’s harvest, we’re going to take care of the critters.”

“No rest for the wicked, huh?”

Sunset grinned crookedly as Applejack threw her head back and laughed. “Aw, darling, if you only knew!”

She slowed down so that she and Sunset fell into step with one another, then she put an arm over Sunset’s shoulders. Applejack definitely had a mild musk going on, what with her skin slick with perspiration from a hard day’s work. It wasn’t unpleasant.

The country girl didn’t take it easy on the job, that was for sure. It was no wonder she was so fit. Sunset couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate the apparent strength just in Applejack’s forearm. How many times had Rainbow or Pinkie Pie ended up trapped in a headlock by this powerful limb?

Fortunately, Applejack only seemed interested in some simple banter.

"A blind horse doesn’t fall when he follows the bit," she said with a winning smile.

Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “So just… follow your instructions?”

“And I’ll see you through the remainder of the chores,” Applejack said with a pleased nod. She’d always appreciated those who didn’t need her southernisms translated. Sunset wondered with a mild panic if she needed to start looking those up just in case.

“First up, we’ll gather the hens into the hen house. Then we’ll feed and milk the goat and the cow, then muck the stalls and check on the horses.”

“You name your critters, don’t you?” Sunset asked lightly. It had been a while since she’d been on the farm. After Granny had received her dementia diagnosis, Applejack wasn’t as eager to invite people over.

Applejack answered just as they reached the hen house. “Sure! We got four hens named Amelia, Lana, Dixie, and Myrtle,” she pointed at them over the fence. “And the rooster is named Eggbert.”

She held up a hand and ticked off her fingers, “Umm… Lessee, then there’s our cow, Moomy, and our goat, Clover. We have two horses right now. A stallion and a mare. The mare is called Brooke, the stallion is called Bob.”

Sunset leaned on the fence and gave her friend a pursed smile. “Wouldn’t have taken you for a made-up name kinda person, even for pets!”

Applejack’s smile turned sheepish. She fidgeted on the spot as she adjusted her hat. “Shoot, it was just something my mama started. She always thought it was funny to name things like ‘Bob’ or ‘Frank’.”

“It’s nice,” Sunset said in a rush. “I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise! I really think it’s sweet.”

Applejack nodded, her discomfort already gone. She gestured at the chickens. “Shall we?”

An hour and a half later, the sun was getting closer to the horizon. With the two of them working at it, the animals were cared for. The last task had been checking on the horses.

In the horse barn, Sunset leaned on a stall post. “A shower will feel so nice tonight!”

“I hear that,” Applejack said as she gave her tan Quarter horse a pat on the head. “Night, Brooke.”

Sunset felt a large nose exhale on her ear, and she moved away with a small yelp. Looking, she saw the speckled dark face of Bob, an Appaloosa, turned her way. The horse’s warm eyes blinked slowly at her. Releasing the last of her nerves in a big shaky exhale, Sunset chortled and patted the horse’s head.

“Nice meeting you, big guy,” she murmured to him.

“It ain’t weird?” Applejack asked haltingly as if she wasn’t even sure she should finish what she was saying.

Sunset looked at her shrewdly. “Why, cuz their horses?”

Applejack blushed and looked away. “Well…”

Sunset giggled. “It’s fine. They’re completely different from Equestrian ponies. I see similarities, but at the end of the day, we’re not the same.”

Applejack let out a breath. “Phew! Good. Y’know, I think I’ve avoided bringing you round to this part o’ the farm for that particular reason! Just didn’t want to offend.”

“Why would I be? You take good care of them.”

“Heck, I better! These two are prize-winning steeds!”

Sunset lifted her eyebrows. “Really?”

Applejack pointed over the stall where many blue ribbons had been nailed to the wood. “As sure as sin exists, these two horses are champions of the craft.”

“That’s really cool!” Sunset narrowed her eyes at Applejack. “And how many of these did you earn?”

Applejack smirked as she stooped to pick up a bucket filled with grooming supplies. “Half. My mama won the rest of ‘em.”

Sunset’s eyes went wide as she whistled. She trailed after her friend, hands clasped behind her back. “You must really be something at the rodeo! Maybe I gotta come to your next competition.”

Applejack quickly shook her head as she dropped the bucket into the tack room. “Nah. I didn’t compete the last two years. Been too busy.”

Sunset pouted. “Aww… It’d be awesome to see you just out there having fun!”

Applejack flashed her a muted smile as she proceeded to leave the barn. “Fun? That ain’t the journey, sugarcube. That’s the dream.”

“We could still have fun tonight, though!” Sunset said eagerly, hurrying to join Applejack at her side. “I mean, we’re done, right? Let’s relax and do something fun!”

“Like what?” Applejack eyed her with an expression steeped in skepticism.

Sunset suddenly felt immense pressure to show her friend that not only was it worth it to spend more time with her, but that fun was absolutely still possible, even given her circumstances.

“Cider and music. Stat,” Sunset said authoritatively. “I can tell it’s been a looong time since you’ve played your standing bass!”

Applejack gave her a scandalized look. “Shucks, not that long!”

“Does Big Mac still have that acoustic guitar lying around?”

“Sure he does.”

Sunset grinned wickedly. She clapped her hands together and rubbed them. “Then let us play,” she said in her best voice impression of Principal Cinch.

Applejack didn’t know how she ended up here. It was the middle of the week. Ordinarily, by this time she’d be hurrying to whip up a decent dinner for her family before winding down in the solitude of her attic bedroom.

Instead, she was being practically shoved out the front door by Big Mac.

“But shouldn’t I cook first?” she sputtered. “Mac, I know you’re hungry!”

“Nope,” he said firmly. He had dug out his acoustic guitar and was gripping the case handle in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other.

Her eyes widened and she dug her heels into the porch’s floorboards. “What about Granny?? She still needs to–!”

“Get the hell outta this house, that’s what,” Granny snapped from behind Big Mac.

Applejack twisted to see around her brother’s hulk. Granny Smith followed them through the front door with Apple Bloom’s help. Her little sister winked at her. “Shucks, this house has been so gloomy, us Apples really could use a night of fun! Right, Granny?”

“Darn tootin’!” the older woman said with a firm nod.

“Shoot, but I’m hungry!” Applejack griped, still being jostled forward by Big Mac.

When her brother’s boots kicked the backs of hers once again, Applejack turned swiftly and swatted at him. He curled a little, but chuckled, skirting around her, confirming her suspicion that he’d been doing it on purpose. She glared at him as he passed down the steps before falling into step alongside her grandmother and helping her sister stabilize her.

“I’ll put together some cold-cut sandwiches. I think we still got some leftover salad and mashed taters from the other night, too,” Apple Bloom offered eagerly.

“We just got a’ answer for everything tonight, don’t we?” Applejack sighed.

Apple Bloom clicked her tongue at her. “AJ, when’s the last time one o’ your friends stopped by? We can’t just act like it’s any other night!”

“Yeah, yeah… I suppose.” Applejack turned her face away, suddenly ashamed.

Her friends had stopped coming because she’d stopped inviting them. Worse, she’d kept them all at bay by making excuses. She never lied about the situation. Omitted some details, maybe, but…the presentation she gave communicated something unspoken.

It’s not a good time.

We’re really busy.

I’m too tired.

I’ve got classwork.

Granny Smith isn’t doing so well…

Over time, her friends mostly stopped asking to come over. College life had a way of swallowing up their lives, anyway. But had she used her grandmother’s declining health as a deterrent? Yes.

She never lied. She didn’t. If she ever brought up Granny Smith’s health issues, it usually was because it was bad. There were weeks when Granny was so confused and frustrated she’d throw tantrums like she was a youngster again. But Applejack knew that wasn’t what ultimately dissuaded her friends. It was her vibe when she offered excuses. The look in her eye forbade any pressing of the matter.

All those things she said? It really boiled down to–

Please, leave me alone.

And her friends, bless them… they did. It was no one’s fault but her own.

As the three of them made it to the old barn, she wondered to herself if the tension on the farm and in the house was all her fault. Maybe she needed to let her friends in more. With Sunset’s help, they’d completed the work a whole hour earlier than usual. Now here her family was, excited and jovial like she hadn’t seen them in so long.

In the old barn where they kept the cider still and the aging barrels, Sunset was sweeping debris out of the way with an old broom. Applejack and Apple Bloom set their granny on a rocking chair Sunset had found in a corner and wiped clear of cobwebs.

Applejack’s little sister turned to her as they straightened. “I’m going to grab my fiddle!” she said. She bound away, beaming.

“She seems excited,” Sunset remarked with a smirk as she side-eyed Applejack.

“She’s just glad she got an excuse to avoid doing any more chores,” Applejack groused.

Granny Smith whacked her thigh, making her yelp. “Now where’s your sense o’ fun?” she snapped at her granddaughter. “Shoot, it’s like someone licked the red off your candy!”

With shoulders curving, Applejack went over to the old fridge against the north wall. This one they had plugged in and it housed their own personal stash of her family’s prize-winning hard apple cider. Opening it, she reached in, but paused and looked back.

“Granny? Sunset? Either of you want one?” she asked. She shot Big Mac a look as he pulled over a stack of dusty plastic lawn chairs. “I know you’re good.”

He screwed his mouth to one side and shrugged at her.

Sunset grinned as she leaned the broom back against the wall. “Sure!” She pulled her hair out of its tie, letting her wavy two-toned curls cascade down her shoulders again. If Applejack didn’t know otherwise, she’d say her friend hadn’t worked a solitary minute on the farm today. Her hair looked that nice.

“I’ll take one,” Granny said, her eyes lighting up as she smacked her lips like a kid anticipating ice cream.

Applejack grabbed three bottles and carried one to Sunset and Granny Smith. For Granny, she took a moment to twist off the cap, before plopping heavily on a turned-over wooden milk crate near her. She gripped the chilled neck of the bottle, staring at it for a moment before finally twisting the cap off with far more force than was necessary and tossing it onto the dirt floor.

She hated being a downer.

Big Mac set down the lawn chairs starting on Applejack’s left so they formed a kind of sloppy circle. Standing, he went to a large stack of wooden crates covered by a dusty tarp near the rear of the barn where he’d leaned Applejack’s standing bass, their father’s old banjo, and the acoustic guitar, all still in their hard cases.

He grabbed the acoustic guitar and brought it to Sunset as she went to take a seat next to Applejack. Then he went back and brought the standing bass and the banjo. The former he laid on the ground behind Applejack’s spot, and the latter he brought with him to his seat.

“Now you be careful with your Pa’s banjo, Big Mac,” Granny warned, cider still glistening on her lips from her latest messy swallow. “You know he likes to play when he’s done in the orchard! You put it right back where you found it so he don’t get cross with you again!”

Big Mac didn’t slow down, even as Applejack let her head drop with weariness. He just looked at his elder, smiled, and nodded with a wink.

Applejack felt a hand on her wrist and looked up. Sunset, the acoustic guitar already in her lap, was looking at her with a soft gaze. Was that pity? Her friend leaned forward to look at Granny Smith. She kept her hand in place on Applejack’s arm. The skin ached beneath the sleeve.

“Do you know how to play an instrument, Granny?” she asked the older woman brightly.

“Shucks, I never had the patience,” Granny admitted, her shoulders hunching up toward her ears. She leaned over and wagged a gnarled finger. “But I could sing the roof off a building in my day!” she said with a laugh.

“You’ll have to sing for us!”

The woman grinned, looking pleased. “Well, I aim’ta! Don’t you worry missy! I aim’ta!”

Sunset sat back and met Applejack’s astonished eyes. Her smile broadened and she squeezed Applejack’s wrist.

Stinging pain flared across her skin.

Applejack couldn’t help it. She winced.

It was lightning quick, but it was enough.

Sunset released her swiftly, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

Applejack shook her arm out. “Ah, nothing.” She tried her hardest to affect a tone of nonchalance. “Just got a burn there.”

Sunset’s eyes went wide. “A burn?”

But before Applejack could answer, Apple Bloom came jogging into the barn, breathless, her ponytail askew. Hefting up her fiddle case, she said with a massive grin, “I found it!”

Never had Applejack been more pleased for her sister’s interruptions than right then.

“Great!” She said, popping to her feet and stepping behind her sitting-crate to crouch and retrieve her bass from its case on the ground.

She could still feel Sunset’s eyes on her. As she opened the case, she dared to glance over at her friend.

The happy light that had been in those shiny cyan eyes just a moment ago had dulled under the shadow of a worried brow.

Applejack looked away quickly, feeling ashamed.

Only, Sunset couldn’t know about her burning herself with cigarettes.

…Could she?

She’d only been doing it a few months, and she’d been so careful to keep it secret–always wearing long sleeves, keeping any weeping wounds bandaged, and never engaging in any attention-seeking behavior. How could she possibly have any idea?

“Hoo-eey!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she sat in the last remaining chair. “My poor fiddle had gathered a big ol’ layer of dust, that’s how long since I even saw this thing!”

“Well, we all been busy as of late,” Applejack muttered. She wished Sunset would quit eyeing her like that.

“Ah, shoot, I think it’s out of tune,” Apple Bloom sighed as she pulled her instrument out of the case. She looked over at Big Mac. “How’s Pa’s banjo?”

Big Mac did a deft series of melodious plucks on the instrument, then gave a silent thumbs up.

“Hell n’ tarnation,” grumped Granny Smith. “Get ‘er tuned up then, Apple Bloom. I’m chomping at the bit to hear our family song!”

Sunset snapped a finger, “Apples to the Core? The one AJ, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac sung at the talent show our junior year?”

“Just the one,” Applejack said, standing her bass upright. While she still continued to practice with her electric bass from time to time, it had been sometime since she’d plucked the Big ‘Un, as she fondly called it. Though her electric bass and upright bass were technically played the same, the latter required considerably more force to pluck the strings in order to produce the proper sound it was meant for. You didn’t accomplish that with your hands, but with your back and shoulders. She wasn’t worried about damaging her fingers, she still had callouses from working on the farm. But looking like a fool? Well, for that, she worried.

A few test plucks confirmed her other concern. “Looks like Big ‘Un is outta tune, too.” She raised an eyebrow at Sunset. “We might need a second. But I believe that there guitar should be ready to go. Got anything to serenade us with while we sip and twist?”

Sunset thought for a moment, not at all shying from the prospect of performing without notice. Applejack smirked. After Rainbow, she was the most accomplished musician of the Sonic Rainbooms.

It didn’t even take her a minute.

“I have something,” Sunset said with a little fidget. She smiled and gave the guitar strings a single harmonious strum. “It’s something I wrote a few years ago. I never brought it to the Rainbooms because it didn’t really fit our sound. You guys might like it, though! It’s called ‘Embrace the Magic’.”

“Now ain’t that nice? Go on then, dearie! Play for us!” Granny Smith said with a small toast of her cider. She’d already worked through half the bottle. Applejack frowned and resolved not to give her anymore.

Sunset stooped down to pick up her cider from where she’d placed it on the floor and took a quick swig. After setting it back down, she nudged Big Mac, who spilled a little of the whiskey he’d been gulping down. “This one’s not too complicated,” she said, apparently not in the least bit bothered by his choice of swill. “Key signature is in E flat major if you wanna follow along!”

He nodded, a blush on his cheeks as he tried to wipe the liquor from his chin and shirt.

Applejack rolled her eyes at him.

Sunset settled into her seat, tapped a rhythm on the body of the guitar, and began strumming.

“So you have magic
And it's not that great
But when it found you
You know it was fate
And it might seem scary now
But it can be wonderful, too
So how about we embrace the magic
And make the magic part of you?”

Applejack’s hand stilled on the tuner, her gaze becoming more focused on her friend. From the corner of her eye, she could see Apple Bloom lower the neck of her fiddle.

Sunset’s eyes fell closed as her boot tapped on the dirt floor.

“You take a little dash of magic
And you let it ignite
Mix things up a little bit
And it might start to go right
In just five seconds flat
How the story has changed
All 'cause now you've embraced the magic
And it just got better in every way
I say embrace the magic
No more holding back, just let it out
If you can take the magic
And learn a little more what it can do
Once the magic is part of you”

Applejack’s eyebrows lifted. She tilted her hat back on her head with a single finger and leaned on her bass. Glancing over at Granny, she saw the woman happily swaying.

Big Mac finally set the whiskey bottle down, and with a bobbing head, he plucked along on the banjo a simple accompaniment.

“What's standing in your way
That you can't move today?
You've got the strength in you
To make your dreams come true
No need to shield yourself
From the magic that can help
Protect from any harm that might come
So you have magic
And it's not that great
But when it found you
You know it was fate”

Sunset’s eyes opened a sliver, and Applejack felt the hairs on her neck raise to see her friend’s eyes glowing slightly. More than that, her hair gained a noticeable sheen and even her skin seemed more vibrant and rich. The magic within her was responding to the music, and it was rushing just beneath the surface.

If it had been Applejack, she’d have sprouted pony ears by now. Of their group, the only other one who could have the magic surging without succumbing to a full transformation was Twilight Sparkle.

“So if you listen close
You might make a new friend
And together we can make it!
I say embrace the magic
No more holding back, just let it out
If you can take the magic
And learn a little more what it can do”

Sometimes, the magic of Harmony that thrived within them manifested because they lived harmoniously with the world. Most times, it was because they were embodying the spirit of their virtues. In this latter fashion, they had all found a way to call on the magic whenever they wanted it.

For a while, Sunset had struggled. Everyone else more or less understood what their virtue was because Princess Twilight had explained it to them. Not so, for Sun. Applejack could still remember her spending long hours at the school library just trying to figure it out. She pored over books and tried activating her transformation in the privacy of the study rooms.

Sunset met her eyes, and Applejack’s breath caught. The magic inside of the cowgirl pulsed, like it was trying to answer some silent call.

“Once the magic is part of you…” Sunset sang, repeating the line until the song’s completion.

Sweat was on Applejack’s skin.

Sunset had long ago figured out what her virtue was.

Empathy.

She didn’t just sympathize with someone else’s suffering. She felt it. And that brought on a whole level of understanding that not many could achieve.

As the last chords of Sunset’s song faded away, Applejack could feel clarity settle on her.

Sunset understood. She didn’t pity her. She understood.

Her bristling pride eased. The shame of her secret still lingered, but it was weaker now. Whatever Sunset knew or didn’t know about what Applejack had been doing to herself seemed irrelevant. Her friend had just communicated something Applejack had lost sight of.

Harmony had chosen her for her honesty. She’d been shying away from this, trying to find workarounds, speaking only half-truths for so long that she’d started to lie to herself and hadn’t even realized it.

“Wow, Sunset! That was really good!” Apple Bloom said with awe as she and Granny clapped softly. She gave her brother a quick thumbs up. “And nice job jumpin’ in, Mac!”

“Yeah, Big Mac!” Sunset said, turning away from Applejack. “You made the song even better! Thank you!”

“Sunset Shimmer I think you could make a mighty fine country singer, if you had a mind to!” Granny chortled.

“Heck, she could take over the music business if she wasn’t so busy tryin’ta save the world!” Applejack chimed in. It took effort to keep her voice steady. She felt shook. When Sunset looked her way again, the magic was gone from her eyes… but the tenderness lingered.

Applejack smiled to see it. “Aint’cha, sugarcube?” she asked meaningfully.

Sunset returned the smile, but her lips pursed. “I’m trying to,” she said ruefully. “I’m a lousy superhero.”

Apple Bloom snickered, “Quick, somebody grab AJ’s tights! Sunset needs a sidekick!”

Applejack pretended to snarl. “I’ll tell you who needs their side kicked!”

“Now, now, girls!” Sunset said holding up a hand. “I thought you two were supposed to be tuning!”

“Shucks, ain’t nobody was gonna get nothin’ done with you serenading us like that!” Applejack replied.

“Preach, sis,” Apple Bloom said with a sassy snap of her fingers. “Some superhero! Look at her, distracting us common folk with her siren song. Sunset shoulda played something watered down!”

Sunset’s smile had turned crooked. “Oh yeah? Like…?”

Without hesitation, both Apple sisters said in unison, “Red Solo Cup.”

The family burst out laughing with Sunset staring at them all with a bemused grin. “I’m missing something, aren’t I…?”

“Now, red solo cup is the best receptical
For barbecues, tailgates, fairs, and festivals
And you, sir, do not have a pair of testicles
If you prefer drinkin' from glass,”

Sunset said flatly as she read the lyrics off of Applejack’s phone. She’d heard the song one time all the way through and had insisted on seeing the lyrics herself, just to confirm her ears weren’t playing tricks on her.

She looked over at her friend with a scandalized expression. “This is a real song?”

“Eyup!” Applejack said, barely able to keep the laughter from her voice. “If you like that, you should hear, She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy!”

“Hard pass.”

They shared a laugh.

They were alone in the barn. Granny Smith had grown tired, and Apple Bloom and Big Mac helped their grandmother back to their home. AJ’s sister had said over her shoulder as they went, “I’ll make dinner! Ya’ll take your time!”

So they did. They were sitting on the tarp covered crates smoking freshly lit cigarettes, another bottle of cider in their hands.

Now that Applejack had successfully tainted Sunset’s mind with one of the worst country hits in the last two decades, it was time to clear the air.

“Applejack…” Sunset handed her friend’s phone back. Their eyes met. “The burn on your arm, how’d it happen?”

Applejack set her phone at her side as she leaned forward onto her knees. She eyed Sunset sideways. “I got a feeling you have an idea.”

Sunset licked her lips as she looked away. She bent her leg up so that her boot rested on the edge of the large crate she sat on. She took a quick drag of her cigarette then rested her arm on her raised knee.

Outside, the sun was setting. The shadows of the outbuildings and surrounding trees stretched long through the open barn doors.

“You did it to yourself,” Sunset murmured smokily. “And it wasn’t the first time.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Applejack bob her head once, her cig pinched between her lips as the tip cherried. Snatching the stick from her mouth, she let her head hang, smoke billowing toward her cowboy boots and the dirt floor. “Eyup,” she grunted.

“How?” Sunset asked quietly.

“You really wanna know?”

“Yes.”

“Really, really?”

Applejack raised herself up, set her cider bottle aside, and stared hard at her friend. Sunset stared back.

Ponykind and this world’s horses were different, but they had key similarities. One of the less obvious was body language. Eye contact was vital in understanding another pony’s true intentions. During critical moments of interaction, it wasn’t unusual for two ponies to hold sustained eye contact. It established trust and understanding.

Sunset had found that as much as humans considered eye contact important, they interpreted this kind of intense stare intimidating. She’d mostly stopped doing it since learning the ways of this world. But every once in a while, usually when really stressed, she’d slip into old habits. She’d done it recently, in fact, when she’d come out to Fluttershy that she was bisexual.

Now, though… She knew what she was doing. Applejack was testing her resolve. Sunset wouldn’t back down.

The seconds ticked by.

She didn’t break eye contact when Applejack slowly began to unbutton her shirt sleeve. When her friend had finished rolling her sleeve up and saw her hold up her cigarette–not between her fingers with the filter palm-side, but rather, pinched between her thumb and index finger with the burning end turned toward her…

Sunset’s expression lengthened. She looked down at her friend’s arm and her breath caught. Applejack’s skin was covered in small angry red circles, some brighter than others. A few had bandages on them. Others still appeared swollen, perhaps because of how concentrated her friend’s self-harm had been in spots. Sunset’s brow tensed as tears pricked her eyes and her throat grew tight, but she fought to keep more from coming.

“Now you know,” Applejack breathed. “Still wanna spend your precious free time with this screwed-up country hick, Sunset Shimmer?”

She started to bring the cigarette toward her arm.

Sunset placed her hand on Applejack’s, stopping her. Her touch was soft. Gentle.

Unyielding.

“You’re forgetting who you’re talking to,” Sunset murmured, catching Applejack’s gaze again. Without removing her hand from AJ’s, she began to unfasten the cuff of her own sleeve. “And you’re not a screwed-up country hick.” In one quick pull, she pulled back the black and red plaid fabric to reveal her inner forearm.

Trailing her fingers over her skin with her other hand, she said quietly, “Hidden secret, pain congealed, magic reveal what I’ve concealed.”

There was a low, almost imperceptible hum as the concealment spell surrounding her arm dissipated, revealing a litany of scars across her skin. They were old and all healed, but they varied in size and shape. Some were straight and thin. Others were thick and curved.

Applejack’s mouth fell open when she saw it. “Saints alive!” she exclaimed softly.

Sunset leaned in, her head tilting so that she captured Applejack’s eye again. Their noses were just a few inches apart. “You see?” she murmured. “Now, can I please take a look at your arm? I think some of those are infected.”

Applejack blinked rapidly. After a moment, she gave one small nod.

From a nearby first aid box they kept stocked for the farm workers, Sunset fetched some supplies. They relocated to the lawn chairs they’d used earlier and used the over-turned milk crate as a makeshift side table.

Sunset tsked over Applejack’s arm as she dabbed at the angry red wounds with a wet cotton swab. “Using cigarettes probably had a high enough chance of infection without you leaving these dirty for so long,” Sunset muttered as she tried to wipe away ash residue. The swab was wet with water. She still remembered her first aid training from senior year: for burns, it was safer to use just water to clean the wounds.

“C’mon, now… I feel foolish enough,” Applejack grumbled, a quick wince flitting across her face from the latest pass of the swab. “It’s not like I didn’t try and rinse them afterward! I just… didn’t always get to it right away.”

“Yeah, and from the looks of it, some of them not at all.”

“Like I said, I been busy!”

Sunset glanced at her and moved on to another wound. “Believe it or not, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I just want you to understand what you’ve been doing to yourself.”

“I had an idea.”

“Clearly you didn’t,” Sunset asserted with a piercing look at her friend. Pride be damned, this churlish refusal to see facts was going to bring lasting damage, and she wasn’t afraid to push the matter. “Applejack, don’t you get it? You’re going to have to get antibiotics. Some of these look pretty bad. How long have they hurt like this?”

Applejack shrugged, her lips pursed. “A day or two, maybe?”

Sunset sighed. “I’m serious. You’ve gotta get these looked at. What I’m doing here is minor.”

“I ain’t going to my doc with this. Word’ll spread.”

As if she’d expected her to say that, Sunset answered without skipping a beat, “There’s a clinic I can take you to. You pay cash. No paperwork or questions.”

Applejack tilted an eyebrow, obviously taken aback by the suggestion. “That sounds shady.”

“It’s because it is,” Sunset said, still unruffled. She glanced at Applejack again, her own eyebrow tilting. “But they do the work you pay for, and they do it well.”

“What is it, some chop shop in the back of a Chinese restaurant?”

“Not quite. Out of the back of a veterinary hospital off the interstate.”

“A vet?”

“They’ll help you,” Sunset insisted. “I know the guy. He’s helped me.”

“How?”

Now Sunset smirked. “You really wanna know?”

“Yes.”

A coy smile bloomed on her lips. “Really, really?”

Applejack sucked loudly at her teeth. “Sun,” she said, her voice low.

Sunset’s smile waned. “Bullet grazed me. I tried to steal from the wrong person.” She returned her gaze to her work. “It was before Canterlot High, when I was living on the street.”

After another moment, she sat back and sighed. “We should put some antibiotic ointment and fresh bandages to keep your wounds from getting worse until they can get looked at.”

Applejack said nothing as her friend proceeded to do just this.

She wanted to ask so badly…

What happened to you?

But instead, she asked, “You’re still staying for dinner, right?” Applejack smirked. “Apple Bloom will be mighty disappointed if you don’t have some of her cold-cut sandwiches.”

Sunset grinned playfully. “Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”

A few moments later, and the work was done.

As they cleaned up the first aid supplies, Applejack cleared her throat and said with a furtive glance, “Sunset, thanks for helping with the work today. And…” She gestured at the crumpled bandage wrappers in her hand, her neck and freckled cheeks heating up with chagrin. “For this.”

Sunset smiled at her and brushed her long hair back over her shoulder as she stood to her feet. “Of course. And I hope you can trust me when I say that I know what it’s like to suffer quietly.”

Applejack winced, her mind’s eye seeing the pale scars along Sunset’s soft almond brown skin. “Yeah, I suppose you do,” she acquiesced somberly.

“Hey.”

She looked up to see Sunset had taken a step toward her. They were so close now. Again. Applejack didn’t mind. She didn’t know why. She knew it wasn’t typical behavior from her friend, but something about it made her feel cared for. For so long, she’d been the one minding others that she’d forgotten what it was like to be minded.

It was…nice.

“Tomorrow, I have a class in the morning, but after that I’ll be free,” Sunset murmured. Her left hand came up to touch Applejack’s right wrist. Her fingers rested feather light, not so much holding, but just a comforting contact. “If you’re free in the afternoon, lemme take you to that place on the interstate.”

Applejack made a face. “The chop shop? You really think that’s necessary?”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “You’re damn right I do. If you think those infected wounds sting now, just wait till the infection worsens.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and looked around the barn as she thought, her shoulders bunching up. Wednesday was the one weekday she had free of school. She’d planned to do farm work and the usual studying.

Tonguing her cheek, she eyed Sunset sideways. “How much he charge?”

“A hundred, not including the meds. I’ll split it with you.”

Applejack waved her offer off before Sunset had even finished speaking. “No. I can afford it.” And you can’t, she thought. But immense affection bloomed in her chest that her friend would so readily try to help her, despite how hard that would be.

“Then lemme help another way. I figure that’ll cut into the time you usually spend on the farm. So, after we’re done, I’ll come and help again.”

Now Applejack looked at her aghast. “Again? Sunset, don’t you got to study?”

Now Sunset smirked. She leaned in even closer, and her hand, which had not moved from AJ’s wrist this entire time, slid down to grasp the cowgirl’s and give it a gentle squeeze. “Tomorrow night is blues night, remember? I really want your company.” She winked. “And I’m usually pretty good at getting what I want.”

Applejack could feel the heat crawl up her skin again, but a small smile was tugging at her lips. “I didn’t realize I was in such hot demand.”

Her heart hammered as sweat collected on her skin. Hell and tarnation, she hadn’t meant for her voice to drop that low! But the other girl had just been so close that the volume had seemed reasonable…

Sunset took a step back, releasing her friend to hold up both hands. “Hey, what can I say? You Apples are pretty special!” She thumbed for the barn doors. “We should head back to the house. I’m starving!”

Applejack let out a cross between a laugh and a hard exhale of relief. At least her friend hadn’t noticed how weird she was being.

She really didn’t know what was going on with herself. She gave herself a mental slap. Better stop acting goofy before you scare the girl off, Applejack.

Still, a part of her throbbed with disappointment that the moment had been so abruptly broken.

She crumpled up the last of the wrappers in her hand, then stooped and grabbed the first aid box. She watched as Sunset made her way outside.

The sun had fallen behind the horizon, and the sky was a deep lavender. The stars were in clear view, even from where she stood.

Sunset paused at the barn entryway, her eyebrows raising. “Applejack?”

Applejack looked her friend up and down. The shadows seemed to settle over her form with ease, muting her vibrant hair to a cooler shade. Just over the barn, the moonlight struck the side of Sunset’s face, illuminating one side and shading the other. Her expression held kindness and patience.

But what hid in the shadows of her friend?

Applejack pulled her hat forward and smiled. She tried to ignore the uneasiness in her gut. “I’m coming, sugarcube.”

Red Solo Cup and She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy are real songs.

Yes. Really.

Big huge thanks to Guy Incognito for encouraging me and helping with this chapter!

How are you guys enjoying this hurt/comfort side fic? If you need some help getting in the mood for this rare pair, try listening to my Spotify playlist for the story. It's got a lot of "life's hard, love's complicated, screw it baby let's cope together," vibes. I'm weirdly proud of it.