Anonymous meets, and cares for, a homeless Sunset Shimmer
When the rebellious and power-hungry Sunset Shimmer steps through Canterlot's magic mirror, she enters a world that is more... unforgiving than the EQG-verse we are used to. One completely devoid of magic. Very quickly, she is humbled by force, and eventually finds herself living on the streets, begging for scraps from unkind strangers, just as winter is around the corner. That is, until she meets Anon.
Giving another shiver, you get yourself more snug into your jacket as you walk down the familiar, poorly-lit sidewalk. There isn't any snow yet, but it was certainly cold enough. It only added to the somber feel of this part of town. It was a hole in the world, like a great black pit, and it was filled with people who were filled with shit. The vermin of the world inhabit it...
In a place like this, being edgy and angry was always preferable to being depressed and suicidal. It kept you focused. Luckily, your old pal Sweeny Todd helped you put words to those thoughts.
Making a right, you head down the worst part of your walk home. Your apartment was on the other side of the riskiest street in town to walk through. You called it "The Gauntlet", because it was filled with hobos and criminals who looked like they could snap at any moment, and you had to walk through it. They weren't the humble, down-on-their-luck, war veteran type of hobos, these ones had other problems. You, quite literally, live in the worst part of town.
Putting on your best "Don't fuck with me" face, you proceed down the street towards your apartment. Staring straight ahead, you continue walking to your destination, doing your best to ignore the smell, quiet mutterings and occasional laughter from those around the various trash fires around you.
Probably talking about how many people they've stabbed, or how many children they've raped or something... You'd rather not know the details.
Approaching the final stretch on your way home, something in the alleyway on your left catches your attention.
No, not something... Someone.
You look down the alleyway and you see a girl sitting next to a dumpster beneath a streetlight. Her head is resting in her arms, and she's rocking back and forth. She's clearly living in the same conditions as the rest of the scum on this street, but there's something... different about her...
You don't know why, but you start walking towards her. She hasn't noticed you yet. You take another few steps towards her. Your curiosity is piqued.
"S'cuse me-" Your foot bumps against a glass bottle and it rolls along the ground, breaking the silence.
The girl, startled, looks up at you with tear-stained eyes. That, in itself, startled you as well. She's absolutely beautiful. Albeit, she clearly hasn't bathed in a while, and she's covered in dirt, but there's something about her... You don't know how, but you can see that she isn't like the rest of the homeless people that live around here.
She whimpers lightly and cowers back against her dumpster. "P-p-please... P-please d-don't..."
You quickly hold up your hands. "Woah, woah, woah, hey, calm down. It's alright... I'm not going to hurt you."
She stays where she's at. She's way too scared to trust you right now. You keep your hands raised and slowly step closer, her eyes are filled with terror as they meet yours.
In the dim lighting, you notice through the holes in her tattered jacket that she is covered in bruises, and she has a slight black eye.
You crouch down to her level and look into her eyes. "I won't hurt you. I promise."
If saying that helped, it was only slightly. Her arms lowered a bit and her eyes were now searching yours to see if you were telling the truth. In an effort to help her see your sincerity, you give her a small smile.
You both just sit there, staring into each other's eyes for a few minutes, saying nothing.
"Wh... Why h-haven't you h-hit me or... or... anything y-yet?" She weakly stammers.
What the hell?
"Uh... I wasn't planning on hitting you or anything at all."
She looks at you with shock and wonder, almost like she physically can't understand what you're saying. "Wh... Why?"
She seriously doesn't know why you're not hitting her. It's like she's from another planet, and her first interaction with humanity was one where they beat the hell out of her. She must've gone through all kinds of hell lately.
"Well... Uh... I guess it's because... that's kind of rude?" You shrug. "I don't particularly like being rude."
You swear you see her smile, just a little bit before she looks down to the ground, her mouth open slightly as the gears in her head turn. She's trying to grasp the reality of what's happening right now. She wants to say something else, but she doesn't know what.
A gust of icy wind blows through the alleyway and you both shiver. Her shiver is noticeably more violent though.
Hugging yourself, you look at her as she shakes uncontrollably, and tries in vain to warm herself. You can hear her teeth chattering through the wind.
You take a few steps to the side, trying to block the wind from hitting her as best you can. If it helps her at all, it isn't noticeable. When the wind dies down some, you do the first thing that comes to your mind: you take your jacket off and set it on her shoulders.
The very second you make physical contact with her, she gasps and tenses up, her eyes shoot open, her pupils are reduced to pinpricks, and she is overcome by a look of terror. You gently set your jacket on her and step backwards, your arms folded tight. She slowly looks at your jacket on her shoulders and feels it with her fingers, almost like she can't believe it's real.
She looks up at you with uncertainty in her eyes. "Wh-Why are you being so nice to me? What do you want?"
Why is she so surprised by kindness?
"Are you expecting me to be mean?" You ask.
"Y-Yes." She
Oh, your heart. It's now filled with sorrow.
You look at her sadly. "Why would you assume that?"
She pauses and looks down to the ground, sinking into your jacket. "Because... Everyone else here I've met has been..."
You just stare at her in shocked silence. She rubs the sleeves on your jacket as she tries to get warm. You can't take the sight of this anymore.
You need to hear her story, but you can't let her sit out here in the freezing cold.
"Look, uh..." You begin. "I can't just leave you out here to freeze to death... How about you come inside and warm up?"
She looks up at you, again, with uncertainty. "Wh- What do you mean?"
"I mean, I want you to come up to my apartment. Warm up, take a shower, and I'll make you some hot chocolate."
She looks hesitant. "I don't know..."
You don't want to force her to come upstairs, but at the same time, you know she probably won't survive the night out here in the cold.
"I know you probably don't trust me, or anyone else, for that matter... Your bruises suggest you've been through your fair share of hell lately."
She shamefully looks down and tries to hide them.
Shit. Damage control.
You clear your throat. "What I mean is, I feel bad for you... Seriously, I do... I want to help you. You look like you could use it."
She still doesn't look up at you.
"I promise you, cross my heart, that I'm not going to hurt you or do anything to you." You say. "All I want is warm you up, get you clean, get you fed, and give you a decent place to sleep... No funny business."
When food was brought up, she looked at you solemnly. "H-Hot food?"
You nod at her.
"A-And sleep?" She asks. "Like, in a bed?"
You shrug. "Well, I'm sure as hell that it beats what you're sleeping in now."
You motion towards the dumpster behind her and she gives a slight giggle. "Yeah, I bet it does..."
You smile at her as she starts to open up a bit.
You look into her eyes and extend your open palm to her. "Come with me, and I'll help you... I promise."
She looks at your hand for a moment before looking up at you again. You smile at her reassuringly.
Finally, she moves her freezing hand into yours and squeezes it. "A- Alright..."
You smile wide at her and help her to her feet. She trembles some as she stands up next to you.
"Okay then. Follow me." You walk out of the alleyway with the girl behind you.
Oh, that's right. You haven't even introduced yourself yet.
"I'm Anonymous, by the way. But everyone calls me Anon."
"Anon?" She repeats.
You nod and hum at her.
She rubs your jacket and smiles as she walks behind you. "N- Nice to meet you, Anon... I'm Sunset. Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset Shimmer. That's a beautiful name.
"It's nice to meet you too, Sunset Shimmer."
She smiles again and you turn the corner. Walking upstairs, you get to your apartment and insert your key into the lock. You open the door and usher her inside.
Upon entering, her eyes brighten up like a kid at Disney World. There were stains on the carpet, a few old pizza boxes piled in the corner, it was cluttered and messy, and the walls were gross and faded. This place was a shithole to you, but it must've seemed like a five-star hotel to her.
"Well Sunset, please, make yourself at home. Sorry about the mess."
"No... No, it's... it's wonderful!" She smiles.
You cock an eyebrow at her as she continues staring at your apartment. Five-star, indeed.
You walk into the kitchen and open your freezer. You pull out a couple of pizza flavored Hot Pockets and put them in the microwave before filling up two glasses with water. Two minutes later, you take the Hot Pockets and water out into the living room. Sunset is laying on your couch with a huge smile on her face. She quickly sits up as you enter.
"Alrighty then, here's some dinner."
Almost immediately after setting the plate down on the coffee table, she snatches both of them up and starts messily devouring them, like a bloodthirsty animal. You yank your hand away quickly as she eats the Hot Pockets without restraint. You set the glass of water down next to the plate and inch it towards her with your fingertips. Seeing it, she grabs it and gulps it all down within seconds.
When she's done, she exhales loudly and wipes her mouth, burping once. She then realizes the display she just showed to you and looks at you sheepishly.
"A bit hungry, were ya?" You say with a laugh.
She gulps and smiles at you nervously, and you think you can see her blush under that dirt on her face.
You just laugh and take the empty plate. "Don't be ashamed, I understand. I'm just glad you've been fed." You walk into the kitchen and put the plate in the sink.
"Thank you, Anon..."
You turn around and see Sunset standing there. She looks embarrassed, sad, and grateful all at the same time.
You smile at her. "You're welcome, Sunset."
You glance at the clock real quick. It's 10:37. You're tired, and you're willing to bet that she is too.
"So, there's a bit of an issue we have here. I only have one bed." She immediately looks worried about where this might lead. "So, I'm gonna give it to you. I've got the couch. Okay?"
She breathes a sigh of relief and smiles at you. "Okay."
Poor thing.
You walk past her and lead her down the hallway. Trying your best to be fun, you give her a little tour of your place. "Here to the right is the bathroom. In it, you'll find bathroom stuff. Here to the left is the office room, which I just use as a storage room. It has just a bunch of crap in it, and nothing else. Down at the end of the hall is my room."
You turn on your light and she looks around your room. It's nothing flashy. You got a few old posters on the wall, a decent-sized bed, an old dresser, and a small tv.
"Here you go." You say. "You can shower in the morning, if you want."
She looks at your bed and pauses before turning back to you. "But...these are the only clothes I have."
Her "clothes" consisted of an old jacket that was filled with holes over a grey, ratty sweater, a black beanie cap, and a pair of blue jeans.
Well, they used to be blue.
Snapping your fingers, you go to your closet and dig through the contents on one of the shelves. You pull out a magenta t-shirt, a pair of clean jeans, and some women's panties. You also pull out a pair of short shorts and an oversized AC/DC t-shirt. Turns out, ex-girlfriends are good for something.
You turn to Sunset. "Here. Now you have another outfit to wear tomorrow, and you have some sleeping-in clothes."
She takes them in her arms and looks at you.
You smile at her. "Go on, take 'em. I have no use for them, and the girl who owned them before probably won't care. So, they're yours now."
She looks at her new clothes and gives a small laugh. "I just... I am at a loss for words, Anon. I have no idea what to say."
You set your hands on her shoulders and look into her eyes. "You don't need to say anything. I couldn't just let you freeze to death, Sunset. That goes against everything I stand for."
With tears beginning to form, she closes her eyes and slowly hugs you. You smile and wrap your arms around her, rubbing her back and patting her head.
She sniffs and starts to cry. The best thing you can do now is just make sure she's comforted and feeling cared for. You don't stop the hug, you let it run its entire course.
It didn't sound like she cried for long, but she hugged you for an eternity. It was a very sweet and tender moment. You're glad you got to share with her.
It unfortunately had to end though.
You pull yourself out of the hug and look at her. She looks really tired all of the sudden. Crying takes a lot out of you.
She looks up at you with a tired smile on her face.
You smile back at her. "Well missy, I think it's time for bed."
She rubbed her arms and looked at your bed. "It's been so long since I slept in a warm bed..."
You smile at her and back up out of the room. "Well, you're in for a treat tonight then." She looks at you, her smile fading as you leave. "Don't worry, I'll be right out here on the couch. If you need me for anything, don't hesitate to wake me up, okay?"
She looks around the room a bit, still standing there before looking back at the bed. "Well... M- Maybe... Y- You c- *mumble*."
You lean forward. "Say again?"
She looks back at you and snaps herself out of it. "N... Nothing. Never mind... Thank you so much, Anon. For all of this, I just... I don't know what else to say..."
You smile at her. "You're welcome, Sunset."
She smiles back and hugs you again, sighing happily.
You both stand in the hug for a while before you break it. "Okay then. Goodnight, Sunset."
"G... Goodnight, Anon."
You both smile at each other and she shuts the door. You feel good.
Taking off your shirt, you plop on the couch and take a deep breath. Sunset's a good girl. You like seeing her happy. Tomorrow, hopefully, you'll get to do it more.
Waking up a few hours later, you stretch and sit up on the couch. It was a very old and uncomfortable couch that belonged to your grandma or something, you can't remember. All you know is that it's older than your parents.
That's right. A run-down apartment filled with crappy, hand-me-down furniture. Not that you're complaining. At least you've got a place of your own, and it's warm. Count your blessings, Anon.
Remembering the events from last night, you pop your back and get to your feet. Your brain isn’t completely awake yet as you shuffle to your room.
Quietly opening the door, you look on your bed and smile. Sunset is curled up in a little ball, cuddling underneath a big blanket.
And she's snoring. Loudly.
The sight makes you chuckle under your breath.
However, the chuckle ends abruptly when a very unpleasant aroma reaches your nostrils. It smells like a combination of garbage, cat piss, and shame.
"Oh man..." You whisper to yourself and cover your nose.
The cold last night probably dulled your senses, which is likely why it wasn't noticeable. Now that she's been here for a while, it's much more apparent than before, and it's probably going to linger for a bit.
Oh, well. You're helping someone in need. She can shower and you can clean up. It's all good.
You head into the bathroom. After performing your sacred morning ritual of shitting, showering, and shaving, you head back to your door to check on Sunset, about twenty minutes later.
Opening the door, you see that she's still dead asleep, and still snoring loudly. It's probably the best sleep she's had in a while. You're glad she's enjoying it.
You hold your breath and tiptoe over to your dresser to grab a black t-shirt and your jeans from the previous night before stepping back out to your living area to clothe.
Well, you wouldn't call it a "living area", per se. "Habitat" seemed more appropriate.
You look around at your apartment. Good hell, you're a slob.
Old pizza boxes are stacked in the corner, your garbage can is overflowing, you've got a ton of dishes in your sink that aren't clean, and there's a musky smell you can't quite put your finger on.
What the hell, Anon? You call this place a suitable living situation? You've got a very pretty, albeit smelly, and very destitute roommate now! Where is your pride? Where is your integrity? Clean this shit up.
You step into the kitchen to grab a big black garbage bag and quickly start picking up the clutter around your living room and throwing them away. Picking up the clutter is your main objective right now.
You don't have proper cleaning supplies like windex or anything, so you add that to your mental checklist of stuff to buy today. You're planning on taking Sunset shopping.
You'll help her get on her feet, get her some clothes, maybe find her a job...
Woah! Slow down there, Anon!
It's only her first day of not being homeless. Let's just take this one step at a time. You're willing to let her stay with you as long as she needs to. No need to rush.
Although, it does give you an idea.
You could clean your "office", and make it her room. Get her some furniture, a bed, a TV, maybe a laptop, it would be fun.
You smile at the thought and keep picking up the garbage around your apartment. After a couple of minutes of brainstorming and tidying up to the best of your ability, your door opens and a very tired, very satisfied looking Sunset comes walking out. That old AC/DC shirt looks fantastic on her.
She rubs her eyes and smiles at you. "Good morning, Anon."
You smile back at her. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty! How was your night?"
She giggles and moves some of her hair out of her face. "I think that was the best night's sleep I've ever had in my life."
You smile and tie up the now full garbage bag. "Well I'm just pleased as punch to hear that."
She smiles and stands there awkwardly, looking around the apartment.
"Looks like you've been cleaning." She comments.
You laugh as you get another garbage bag. "Yeah, it was getting a little out of control. I’m not used to having guests, so I wasn't really ready, you know?"
"Oh... I'm sorry." She says.
You walk back out and look at her. "Why? It's not your fault. I invited you up, remember?"
She looks to the ground and rubs her arms. "Y- Yeah, but still..."
Your smile fades as she rubs her arms. It was here and now that you first notice the extent of her bruises.
"Oh my gosh..." You breathe.
There were only one or two cuts on her arms, but they were almost covered with numerous dark bruises. It looks like she had the hell beat out of her.
You can't help but stare at them in a horrified trance. Now you're really worried about her.
She obviously notices you staring and quickly turns around, shamefully hugging her chest to keep them out of your sight.
"No, let me see. Are you okay?" You approach her, and gently set your hand on her shoulder.
She flinches and shields herself on contact. "No!"
You quickly remove your hand. Message received. No touchy.
You wait a minute and calmly reply. "Sunset, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise..."
She shakily stands up straight and turns around, looking at you with tears forming in her eyes. "Just, p- please don't touch me."
You nod slowly and she brings her arms back into view. She doesn't show them off to you, exactly, but she does allow you to look at them.
You've seen tragedy and horror before on a TV screen, but seeing the effects of it in person... This is a different kind of disturbing.
You study every part of her arms making sure to burn this image into your head. You can't believe that this happened to such a pretty young girl like her.
"Oh Sunset... Do you... need to go to the doctor?" You ask.
She silently shakes her head and whispers, "No..."
You meet her gaze. "Now you listen to me, okay? You don't ever have to worry about anything like this ever again. I'll make sure you're taken care of and that you're safe. For as long as you need... I promise you that."
As you speak, her expression melts from fear into just plain sadness. She shuts her eyes and lets new tears fall down her cheeks.
Without warning, she buries her face into your shoulder and hugs you tightly. She's full-on sobbing now.
"Anon, I... I c-can't even begin to tell you... Tell you how th-thankful I am!" She says between sobs. "I didn't know selflessness like this existed in this world!"
You embrace her and just let her cry.
"I... I seriously thought I wouldn't last another night!" She says. "It's been d-days since I last ate, I-I can't remember when I slept in a bed, or... or even when I took a shower! I owe you my life!"
"You don't owe me anything, Sunset." You reply.
You stay there together for another few minutes as she cries in your arms. She doesn't let you go until she calms down a little.
When she's breathing normally again, she breaks the hug and looks up at you with a small, quaking smile. "You're such a good person, Anon..."
You smile back at her. "I try my best to be."
She sniffs again and giggles.
You stay silent a minute longer before shifting gears. "Well, let's brighten things up a bit now, shall we?" You head back into the kitchen and start looking through the fridge. "I'm willing to bet that you're still pretty hungry. So, why don't you go take a shower, get nice and clean, then when you're done, I'll have a nice, big breakfast ready for you. Then afterwards, I'm thinking we go shopping. I'll get you the start of your stuff."
You turn and face her with a smirk.
She looks surprised. "S-Stuff? What stuff?" She asks with another sniff.
"Just, stuff!" You say. "People need stuff. I have stuff, and I love my stuff. It's only fair that you have some stuff too. I'll get you some clothes, toiletries, and a few other necessities."
"Oh!" She sniffs again. "Well... Thank you! Thank you very much!"
"Hey, you're worth it, Sunny." You give her a wink.
She giggles again.
You wave her away with your hand, making sure she knows you're playing. "Now go! The sooner you get ready, the sooner I can spoil you!"
She smiles and walks toward the bathroom. "Alright!" You turn back into the kitchen and pull out some eggs. "And... Thank you so much again, Anon."
She's poking her head out from behind the wall and smiling at you.
You smile back at her. "You're welcome so much again, Sunset. Take as much time as you need in there. If you need anything, just holler."
She smiles and heads into the bathroom while you take a deep breath of fresh air and start thinking again.
You feel terrible for admitting it, but she just smells so horrible. She's such a sweet girl and she's so pretty, even with all the dirt and crap on her, but you couldn't take her smell much longer. Luckily, she's not homeless anymore, so this won't be an issue again.
You head back into the kitchen and start getting the necessities for breakfast. You want to make this one REALLY good, so you brace yourself and get started.
You had forgotten that the only good food you can make is a mean bowl of cold cereal. Anything more advanced than that, and you're running the risk of burning the whole building down.
Which is exactly what you're doing right now.
You had planned on making pancakes with toast and scrambled eggs, but instead, you overcooked the eggs, the pancakes were boiling and overflowing over the edge of the pan, and your toaster was on fire. You didn't even know pancakes could boil. The flames have spread from the toaster onto the stove and it was getting bigger.
So now you're armed with a cooking towel, and a pair of oven mitts, and you're swatting at the flames. You take one more swipe at the flames with the towel, but it catches fire in the process. Now you have that to worry about too. The blaring smoke detector isn't helping calm your nerves either.
So you were caught off-guard when Sunset came running up behind you.
"Anon! What's happen- OH MY GOODNESS!!" She shouts.
You throw the flaming towel on the ground and start jumping on it. Turning around, you see a soaking-wet Sunset wrapped in just a towel and covering her mouth.
"Oh, hey Sunset!" You say with a nervous smile. "I'm, uh, kinda in the middle of a situation here, but don't worry! I've got it under control!"
Hopefully...
You manage to put the flames out on the towel, but it's too burnt to serve any practical purpose now. So now what?
You face the flames, trying to think of what to do.
"Anon! Use the fire extinguisher!"
You turn around to see Sunset handing you the small fire extinguisher.
“Where did you find this?!” You ask.
”It was beside your fridge!"
Oh. You thought it was under the flame-covered sink. That's where it's supposed to be, anyway. Being messy just saved your life.
Grabbing the fire extinguisher, you address the flames in your best Scarface accent. "Oh, you wanna play rough?! Okay!" You take out the pin and aim at the base of the flames. "Say hello to my little friend!"
You squeeze the trigger and cover the flames in a glorious cloud of white smoke, laughing like a madman the whole time. The flames swirl around and get smaller and smaller, which only makes you laugh harder. You're having way too much fun making the best of this bad situation.
Finally, all the flames are gone.
Bringing the nozzle up to your mouth, you blow the imaginary smoke away from your pretend gun. "Oh yeah... Hehe..."
You're such a badass, putting out fires and shit.
You jump up to the smoke detector and hit the button to turn it off before facing Sunset with a smile. "Whew! Thanks for grabbing that for me. I didn't know it was there."
You set the fire extinguisher down and she takes a deep breath as a wave of relief visibly washes over her. "Are you okay? I just heard this really loud beeping and you screaming! So I grabbed a towel and ran out to see what was happening!"
You shrug it off. "I'm fine! Don't you worry! All that suffered was my kitchen!"
Oh yeah, your kitchen.
Your smile quickly vanishes as you turn around and take another look at your destroyed kitchen. Your Scarface-tier euphoria was replaced by devastation once you really looked at it. Your toaster was now toast, the eggs you had began to cook were reduced to charred coals, and your pancakes has spilled over the side and made a nasty black mess.
Just when you thought your apartment couldn't look any worse.
Yes, its a piece of shit apartment, but its YOUR piece of shit apartment.
"Oh man..." You rub your temples and sigh.
Backing up, you sit at a table and rest your head in your hands, just trying to grasp the reality of the situation you are now in.
"Anon? Are you okay?" A hand gently touches your shoulder.
You just stay silent for a few moments before answering. "Yeah... I'm okay... I just didn't really need this to happen right now, you know?"
She rubs your shoulder reassuringly. "Yeah, I understand..."
You stay there and just breathe for a few moments while Sunset rubs your shoulder, trying to comfort you as best she can. Just her being there works wonders.
"Sorry I didn't get you your big breakfast..." You apologize.
She gives you a little giggle, which makes you smile. "It's okay, Anon. Don't you worry about it."
Despite what she said, the audible rumbling heard from her stomach makes you worry even more.
You sit up and look at her, putting on the best smile you can muster up. "Oh, no. I promised you a big breakfast, and you're going to get a big breakfast." A small smile grows on her face as you speak. "We're going out to eat. There's an IHOP about two blocks away from here. We'll go there, we'll have breakfast, and I'll get you anything and everything your little heart wants. Well... What your stomach wants."
She laughs and stands straight up. "Sounds good... Thanks again, Anon."
"You're welcome, Sunny." You reply.
She blushes a little. "Sunny..." She repeats softly.
She gives you another smile as she goes back into the bathroom to finish her shower, leaving you sitting there to look at your burnt kitchen. It's a disaster.
You decide to get up and start cleaning up the charred remains of your would-be breakfast. Gotta try and stay positive, Anon. Sure, your apartment almost burnt to the ground and you'll probably have to order take-out for a few days, but at least you and Sunset are okay, right?
Sunset. Sunset Shimmer.
Just thinking of her beautiful name makes you smile. She's a sweetheart.
Hopefully, she'll open up a bit on your day together today. You're really interested in her backstory and how a girl like her got to be in a situation that made her homeless. Not to mention all those bruises on her arms...
You just can't figure out who would do something like that to her, or anyone else for that matter. But maybe asking about that would just make her uncomfortable right now.
You'll just hold off on the sad stuff, and just talk about her, and what makes her happy. What she likes, what she's interested in, stuff that she wants to do...
...what her lips feel like on yours...
...
"What the..?"
Where did that come from?
Do you have a crush on the once-homeless girl that is now living with you?
She is beautiful, you'll admit, and it did feel nice when you hugged, and you can't stop thinking about her, but do you "like-like" her?
Your cheeks get warm and you smile.
...So what if you do?
---
You are Sunset Shimmer.
After that fire scare in Anon's kitchen, you try to relax and enjoy the rest of what feels like the best shower you've ever had.
You just lay down in the tub and close your eyes, just letting the warm water fall onto your body. Being clean feels SO good.
You managed to clean your hair and get it completely untangled. Thankfully, it hadn't been too bad. You were worried you'd have to cut some of it off to get all the knots out of it. You chalk that up to one of the good things that's happened to you lately.
After being almost raped and beaten by a bunch of hobos a few days ago, you're more thankful than ever to be sitting all alone in a nice warm shower.
Your thoughts drift to Anon.
He is such a nice guy. He didn't even know who you were, he just gave you a jacket and invited you up to his apartment.
He may say that it's a piece of shit, but he doesn't know how good he's got it. He's got a soft bed, a warm place to live, and a good supply of food. He's living the dream.
Well, you are too now, you guess.
Sure, this place is no Canterlot Castle, but it's also no dumpster.
You do wish that your plan for coming to the human world had gone better. You really regret saying all those horrible things you said to Princess Celestia in Equestria. You had it all: money, power, prestige, unrestricted access to every corner of the castle, you even had magic.
Here, magic either doesn't exist, or it's just a huge scam that people use at birthday parties. What's even more depressing is that people here actually pay money to see that fake magic. With the magic you had access to, you would blow them all away. You'd be able to rule this entire world.
You'd love a bit of that magic right now, but there's no way that Celestia would take you back. She probably had the mirror destroyed so that you could never return to Equestria. You don't blame her. After the way you acted, you would have made sure you couldn't go back too.
You sigh and hug your legs close to your body as the warm water continues falling on you.
You miss your parents. You miss Princess Celestia. You miss everypony in Equestria. You didn't have many friends there, but you did have ponies to talk to. You were part of society. Others noticed you, and were probably jealous of what you took for granted in many respects.
In this world though, you're completely alone.
...
Well... That's not entirely true anymore, you suppose...
...You do have Anon now.
After a few minutes of just thinking to yourself, you shut off the water and grab the towel. You feel 200% better now that you're clean. You still feel down, but you're going to try and be more positive like Anon. Even his kitchen almost burning to the ground didn't put him down for long. He was smiling like he always is.
You decide right then and there that you're going to change your attitude from now on. Anon selflessly invited you into his home and let you sleep, eat, and shower. It's only fair that you be as happy as you can so you aren't a burden.
With a confident smile on your face, you step out and dry yourself off.
You look at yourself in the mirror. You can actually see your face!
You touch your cheek and give a giggle. You're clean! You can't believe it, but you're clean!
"This is the greatest day ever!" You say happily.
You get up close to the mirror and inspect yourself, making sure nothing is amiss anymore. You check your hair, your eyes, your nose, your teeth-
"Holy hell..."
Your teeth are absolutely disgusting. Which is weird, because you haven't eaten much lately. You could've just eaten a whole box of Oreos and no one would notice the difference. You need to fix that, and you need to fix it now.
"Hey Anon!" You call out.
"Yes?" He replies from the other side of the door.
"Do you have a toothbrush I can use?"
"Yeah, I keep a few spares under the sink." He says. "There should be at least one left. You can have it."
You open the cupboard under the sink and dig around the various toiletries until you find a red toothbrush, still in its packaging.
"Found it! Thanks!" You say.
You open it, spread the toothpaste on it, and spend the next five minutes brushing your teeth. Any longer and you would probably make your gums bleed.
Feeling the sensation after so long makes you laugh. It almost tickles.
You finish up, lick your silky smooth teeth, and fix your hair as best you can. You finish your hair, put on the new clothes that Anon gave to you, and stand in front of the mirror, looking confident.
"Alright, Sunset." You whisper to your reflection. "It's a new day, and you've got a new start at life. Make it count..."
You smile, take a deep breath and step outside. Lookout, world. Here comes a new Sunset Shimmer. You feel confident, happy, and ready for anything.
You have a teeny crush on Sunset, and right now, you're happier than a tornado in a trailer park. So you just had to turn on the happiest song you could think of and groove out.
You're interrupted when you hear laughing.
Whipping around you see Sunset, doubled over with tears in her eyes, laughing as hard as she can. You're a horrible dancer.
You feel yourself turn red with embarrassment.
No, don't be a pussy, Anon! Own it!
You laugh with her and make your way over to her, singing along. "If you believe in maaagiic, come along with me! We'll dance until morning 'till there's just you and me, and maaaybe, if the music is right, I'll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night!"
You wink at her and usher her to dance. She keeps laughing before giving a little shrug and taking your hands.
You spend the remainder of the song holding each others hands and jumping around in a circle. Luckily, she isn't a good dancer either. Which is just fine. You're both having fun, so you don't care. You're both laughing as hard as you can.
As the song fades out, you, being unaware of your surroundings, trip and fall backwards over your two left feet, pulling your dance partner on top of you. You both scream as you fall on your back, and Sunset lands on top of you.
You were too happy to feel any pain. So you laugh even harder at how clumsy you are.
You open your eyes to see Sunset laughing too. Good. You hated seeing her sad.
After you both catch your breath, you meet each other's eyes and smile. "Hi."
She giggles. "Hi."
You give another laugh. "You okay?"
She smiles at you and giggles again. "Never better."
You hold open the front door to your place. "After you, my dear!"
Sunset steps outside with a big smile on her face. "Why, thank you, kind sir!"
You step out and shut the door behind you. "You're very welcome, madam!"
You're both doing terrible impressions of fancy, rich-people accents as you talk to each other. The only things you need now is a monocle, some free parking, and then you're set to pass "Go" and collect your $200.
You lock the door and turn to see Sunset rocking back and forth on her feet with her arms behind her back and she's smiling widely at you. It's so damn cute.
You chuckle and smile back. "What?"
She giggles back at you, blushing some. "Nothin'..."
She slowly spins around on her heel and walks down the concrete stairs, humming "Do You Believe in Magic?" as she does so.
You follow her down the steps and walk behind her. She's got a wiggle in her walk, and a giggle in her talk. It damn-near gives you a heart attack.
Then...
She looks to her right and stops.
Just the view of her alley beside your apartment causes a noticeable change in her countenance. Her humming gets slower and her smile starts to fade as she just stares down The Gauntlet. You imagine that vivid memories of terrible times have made themselves known to her, by just the sight of the alley where you found her last night.
Come on, Anon. Step up.
"Uh, Sunny?" She doesn't respond. "Sunset?"
She blinks and snaps out of her trance before looking at you. "Huh?"
"IHOP is this way." You point in the opposite direction.
She looks to where you're pointing and her smile returns, though not as real as before. "O-Oh... Okay!"
She walks over to you and you both head off. This other side of your apartment building had a lot fewer messed-up drug addicts loitering around, but it was too out of the way. Work was in the other direction. If it wasn't, then you would go this way every time. You hate, hate, HATE going through The Gauntlet.
Then again, you never would've met Sunset if you walked this way all the time, so you can't complain too much. Everything happens for a reason.
You look over to her. It was now, in the outside light, that you first noticed how much prettier she looked now that she was all cleaned up. You thought she was pretty before, but damn. It's almost hypnotizing.
Unfortunately, her smile is now gone and she's being silent as she blankly stares ahead. The Gauntlet must've got to her.
No. No sadness. That won't do any good at all.
"So, Miss Shimmer..." You decide to try and brighten the mood. "...tell me a bit more about yourself."
She looks at you. "Like, what about me?"
"Just stuff you like, where you're from, things like that." You smile. "I want to know more about you."
She turns her head and looks forward again. "...Where I'm from, huh?"
---
You are now Sunset Shimmer.
And you're worried. Anon just asked the question you were dreading he'd ask.
If you tell him that you're from a world of talking ponies who can fly and use magic, he'll probably think you're insane and kick you back out on the street.
...
Would he really kick you out though?
He's a really nice guy and you're really grateful for his selflessness. He wouldn't really kick you out if you told him the truth, would he? It goes against everything you know about him so far.
"I'm not quite sure how to begin..." You say.
"Well, how about you start with the beginning?" He says with a chuckle.
You stop walking and he turns to you, now looking slightly worried.
You gulp and look at him nervously. "...You really want to know the truth, Anon?" He stays silent, but his eyes stay on you.
You take his hands in yours and sound as serious as you can.
Here we go.
"I'm from a... faraway land. A place called Equestria..." He just stares at you. "In this land of Equestria, every resident is a... talking pony. And these ponies go about their day doing things like you humans do here."
His mouth opens a bit as he searches for what to say. He stays quiet for a few long moments.
"Okaaay..." He says slowly. "Um... What, uh... What kind of things are different in Equestria other than everyone being a pony?"
You're so nervous. You're expecting him to just walk away any moment now.
You clear your throat. "Well, we have three types of ponies. We have the earth ponies, the unicorns, and the pegasi. I'm actually a unicorn, so that meant I could use magic."
His eyebrows shoot up. "And what kind of things are used with magic?"
"Oh, we use magic for just about everything..." You say. "Our ruler, Princess Celestia, uses magic to raise and lower the sun and moon every single day."
"My goodness! She sounds very magical!" He exclaims.
You nod and look down to the ground again. Saying that out loud sounded so ridiculous. It makes a goofy little smile start to slowly creep onto your face.
You look back at Anon, who's smiling wide at you before he starts laughing hard. It doesn't sound like he's mocking you though.
"There is a little child inside of you, Sunset Shimmer, and I love it!" He says happily.
You give a little laugh with him. "I know. The doctors say if it's removed, I'll die."
Anon laughs even louder at that. "Well then! It's probably a good idea to keep it around! I would just hate it if something bad happened to you."
That makes you feel special.
You both start walking again, side-by-side. "Awe, really?"
"Oh, of course! I wouldn't joke about something like that..." He puts his arm around you and pulls you both close together in a half-hug. "...I like you too much."
You feel your face get hot and you smile. Anon's being way too sweet to you.
You wrap your arm around his waist and half-hug him back. "I like you too, Anon."
---
You are Anon again.
This girl... This absolutely adorable girl...
She is just melting your heart right now. Its apparent that she's starting to feel comfortable enough to open up a bit, even if it is a small amount. That story about her pony world was so cute.
You'll get to know her a bit more later. Building trust takes time in some cases.
The rest of the walk, you just talked about other silly stuff. You had asked her what her favorite movies were, but she said she hadn't gotten around to seeing many movies lately. You asked her if she'd be interested in seeing one today after your shopping got done, and she said she didn't mind.
So you, being the closet nerd you are, decided to show your power level just a little bit and suggested Guardians of the Galaxy. She didn't seem overly thrilled about that one, mostly because she hadn't seen any superhero movies before. At all. It's like she didn't even know who they were.
Shock and awe is what you felt.
So you tried to recap the gist of what happened so far in the MCU without sounding like too much of a loser. With her imagination full of magic ponies, it shouldn't be too difficult. You talk all the way to IHOP.
"...So, this guys, Thanos, wants to collect these all-powerful rocks and destroy the universe?" She asks.
"Half of the universe, but yes. Because he thinks there are not enough resources in the universe to feed everyone." You reply.
She thinks to herself for a moment. "That makes no sense. Why doesn't he just use them to create infinite resources for everyone? They're called 'Infinity' Stones, right?"
You just laugh and shrug. "Honestly, I have no idea. I thought of that too. We need a token bad guy though, so for the sake of the story, we can allow it."
She chuckles and rolls her eyes. "I get that."
You smile and look ahead at the restaurant. You've arrived. You open the doors and step inside with Sunset.
The lady behind the counter greets you and sits you both down at a nearby table.
You grab your menu and start looking at it, trying to decide what you want. You're looking at the pancakes section when a loud rumbling from across the table interrupts your train of thought. You look past your menu and see a very red, very embarrassed Sunset, looking down at her stomach with wide eyes.
She looks up at you before giving an embarrassed grin and hides her face behind her menu.
You smile at her. "Don't worry. I didn't hear a thing."
"...Thanks." She doesn't come out from behind her menu. Poor thing.
You look back at your menu, pondering the culinary options. "Any idea what you're in the mood for?"
She hums for a few seconds. "I'm not sure... Everything looks so good."
"Well, don't you worry about quantity." You say. "If you want it, you've got it, and you can have as much as you want. It's on me."
She stays quiet for a second longer, still pondering. "I'll think of something..."
A minute or two goes by when the waitress comes to your table. "How are you two doing today?"
You smile at the waitress. "We're just peachy! Thanks for asking!"
She smiles back and takes a pen out of her apron. "What can I get started for you two?"
Sunset points out something on the menu to her. "These 'endless pancakes' you've got here. When you say 'endless', do you mean 'without end', or do you mean 'about 20 or so'?"
You and the waitress chuckle at her question. "We mean endless. If you want 'em, you got 'em."
Sunset slams her menu down on the table, staring at her with pinpricks for eyes. "I... want... them..."
She laughs again and writes it down. "Got an appetite today, huh?"
You look up at the waitress. "Ma'am, you have no idea..."
She writes down your orders and takes off.
Sunset's starting to look a little more crazed with food being so close. She isn't twitching, but she's probably on the verge.
A few minutes later, the waitress brings back your food. You had just ordered some scrambled eggs and some sausage. Sunsets eyes turn into diamonds as the big plate of pancakes is set in front of her.
She gets an evil grin as she grabs a knife and fork.
"Game... on..." She growls before digging in.
---
20 minutes later, you are at a loss for words.
You just stare at Sunset as she mercilessly finishes her 7th round of endless pancakes. One round is five pancakes. She's inhaled 35 pancakes in 20 minutes. You've never seen anything like it before in your life. It's like she's got the appetite of a horse.
The waitress, now just as stunned as you are, brings her another plate, and she gets to work.
Other people in the restaurant have gathered around to watch. A few teenage skanks are taking selfies with her in the background. You're afraid you're gonna end up on the news or some shit.
Another waitress comes along with the 9th round of pancakes. Then the unimaginable happens as it's set on the table: Sunset stops eating for a moment.
"Here's number 9!" She announces loudly.
People in the restaurant cheer and start to chant.
She looks over at you. "We're gonna go for 10!"
You don't know how to reply, so you just give a nervous laugh. You don't feel good about this at all. No way in hell is she still hungry at this point. She's trying to prove something now.
Just as she starts on the new plate, you notice some movement in the corner of your eye. The manager has stepped out of his office and is looking over at your table. He is extremely large in stature, and he looks angry.
People are starting to chant even louder. She's totally fixed on her task. This isn't good. She could get really sick and in tons of trouble.
"Sunset."
She isn't listening to you.
The manager begins walking over to you. If looks could kill, then you'd be dead right now.
"Sunset. Stop."
She manages a sharp, yet muffled roar at you before continuing. "No!"
You're taken back a little. She sounded fierce. Angry, even. That's unexpected.
Your shock is cut short when a pair of huge hairy hands slam on the table, scaring the hell out of you.
"Alright, you two. You've had your fun, now it's time for you to leave." The manager says.
Sunset swallows her mouthful of pancakes and slams her hands on the table also, pointing her sticky finger at him. "I don't think so, asswipe!"
...What the hell is going on with her?!
---
5 seconds later, and Sunset are flying out the door of the IHOP. Literally, you both are simultaneously flying through the air. It was apparent that the 6'8", 280 lbs manager lifts in his spare time.
You land on your face in the grass beside Sunset.
"If you ever set foot in here again, I'm going to report you little shits for trespassing!" The behemoth manager shouts.
The door to the restaurant slams behind you hard.
You groan and get to your hands and knees. Holy hell, do you hurt.
Looking over to Sunset, you see her holding her stomach and groaning. "Oooohh... Anon, I don't feel good..."
No shit. She just started a pancake shortage throughout the world.
"I think... I think I'm gonna puke..." She moans.
You groan and sit up, rolling her over on her back and setting her head on your knees. "Here. Just lay still and take deep breaths."
She winces as she slowly breathes in and out. You stay there like that for a few minutes until her breathing gets smoother. She's still giving a few light groans, so you keep her there on her back.
"Feeling better?" You ask.
She barely opens her eyes up at you and nods. "Y- Yeah... A little..."
"Good. Just stay there for a bit."
You don't smile at her this time. You're a little disappointed in her, to say the least. She just got you kicked out of one of your favorite restaurants in town.
"Sunset?" She just breathes for a moment before looking up at you, pain present in her eyes. "You wanna explain your behavior in there for me, please?"
---
You are now Sunset, and damn it, you messed up again.
This is exactly the same thing that happened in Canterlot. You let your pride and arrogance get the better of you. Now you look like a big, fat jerk.
You probably are big and fat now too. You sure feel like it.
Any sign of happiness from Anon's face is gone. "Well?" He demands.
Oh no...
You take another breath. "Are... Are you mad?"
"A little bit, yeah." He replies, almost immediately.
Of course he's mad, stupid. Why wouldn't he be?
You whimper again. "I'm so sorry, Anon... I-I don't know what came over me..."
Anon exhales and shuts his eyes.
Shit.
"I'm sorry, Anon." You say again.
He stays silent for a few moments.
He takes a deep breath and exhales. "It's okay..."
You both just stay silent for a few minutes, before Anon takes off his jacket and lifts your head up. He puts it underneath you and lays you back down on the grass again.
"Wait here. I'll be right back." He says.
You nod as he takes out his wallet and walks back toward the entrance to IHOP. You see him wave to whoever's inside, holding some cash in his hand.
The manager comes back out and they exchange a few words before taking the money in Anon's hand. You can't hear much from here. The only thing you could make out is Anon saying "I'm sorry".
They say more things to one another before parting ways.
Anon comes walking back to you. "Feeling any better?"
You nod slowly. "Kinda..."
He sighs and stands there a moment longer. "Can you walk?"
---
You're now in Anon's arms and he's carrying you down the sidewalk back toward his apartment. You didn't trust yourself not to puke or anything on your feet.
You felt bad too. And not just physically. You're pretty sure you hurt Anon too, so you're also feeling guilty.
You rest your head against his chest as he carries you home. The journey wasn't eventful or exciting this time. Not like last time.
You look up at him. He's still not happy.
Figures...
Within a few minutes, you're heading up the stairs leading to the apartment. He sets you down on your feet for a moment to unlock and open the door. You slowly shuffle inside.
"Head to bed and lay down." He says. "Let those pancakes digest for a bit."
You nod slowly. "Okay..."
You walk into Anon's room and kick your shoes off. Climbing into his bed, you pull up the covers and snuggle under them.
You feel awful in more ways than one. Your stomach hurts, you're pretty sure Anon's feelings are hurt, and you're guilty. You promised yourself this morning that you were going to change, Sunset. What's the matter with you?
Your stomach is too sore to deal with this right now. You're just going to go back to sleep right now. Hopefully, you can come up with a solution when you wake up.
Taking a deep breath, you shut your eyes and slowly drift off to sleep.
---
You are Anon again, and boy, are you confused.
You don't know what was up with Sunset, but you didn't like it one bit. The manager thanked you for paying for all the food Sunset ate, but he still didn't want you to come back for a while. It was a bad image for his place. Which, you understand. You're not happy about that, but you understand.
Either way, you plan on having a serious talk with Sunset when she wakes up from her nap. As disappointed as you are with her behavior earlier, you still can't get over how pretty she is.
You could tell she was truly sorry for what she did when you carried her home. Even though she didn't say much, she just had that look in her eye. You've already decided that you're going to forgive her, you just want to know her motive behind her actions.
It can wait though.
You smile as you watch her sleep soundly in your bed. She looks so peaceful.
You quietly step toward her and lean over her. Brushing a little hair away, you softly kiss her forehead. "Sleep tight, Sunny..."
You smile and step out of the room, quietly shutting your door behind you.
---
Sunset quietly looked toward the door after you left. She touches her forehead where you kissed her just seconds earlier and smiled.
"Thank you, Anon."
Her cheeks bright red, she turns away and falls back to sleep.
You're sitting down on your couch, just pondering to yourself about the days events.
The TV is on, but you're not paying attention to anything that's happening. Family Guy is on, so it's not like you're missing anything funny or worth watching.
You're feeling down about this whole thing that happened today with Sunset. You just don't know what to think. You sincerely hope it was just a spur of the moment where Sunset just kind of lost it for no real reason. She was probably just so glad to finally get food in her after so long that she just let herself keep going and lost control.
Understandable, but that doesn't make it okay.
She really made you feel off, which, in turn, made you feel kind of down. The fact that you almost burned down your kitchen earlier only exacerbated those feelings. You hate feeling like this. You don't want to do anything at all right now.
Your thoughts are cut short when you hear your door creak open. Looking up, you see Sunset rubbing her eyes as she walks out.
She gives you a little smile, her cheeks a rosy color as she does so.
"Hi Anon." She says.
You give her a fake grin. "Hey Sunny... Sleep well?"
She nods at you, her tiny grin still on her face.
"Good... Can we talk for a bit, please?" You ask.
Her smile fades and she nods again. You pat the couch beside you and scoot over, turning off the TV. She slowly sits down beside you, looking like she's ready for a lecture.
You ease her fears right off the bat. "Sunset, I'm not mad. Don't worry."
She looks up at you, a little surprised. "You're not?"
You shake your head at her. "I was at first, a little. I'm not anymore though. In case you're thinking that I am mad, or if I'm going to kick you out, don't worry. Neither of those things are going to happen."
She looks back down for a moment and exhales, clearly feeling much better.
"I only want to know your reason behind acting that way." You say. "Not to criticize or scold you at all, but so I can understand."
She doesn't answer right away. She just continues to stare at the ground. Its okay. You've got time. She shuts her eyes and puts her head in one hand.
You reach over and rub her back softly. "Take all the time you need to answer."
She just stays there, slightly leaning toward you as you rub her back.
She stays quiet for a few minutes before finally speaking up. "I'm not sure exactly... I just... lost control."
You stay silent for a moment. "Has this been an issue before?"
She nods. "When I was younger, I was always like that. I was just a mean, selfish little bratty girl who wanted to be a princess."
You listen to her intently, and remain silent.
"I was spoiled and I felt like I deserved to be a princess, even though I hadn't done any real work to deserve any kind of special treatment... Eventually my teach-" She cuts herself off and pauses for a moment, clearing her throat. "Erm... My parents... kicked me out of the house. So I, uh, I stayed with this other girl for a while..."
You keep rubbing her back softly.
"Pretty soon though, I ended up on the streets. Homeless... They kicked me out too... I didn't have a job or anywhere else to go, so I... I tried my hand at petty theft to get money for a while...
"Sunset..." You stop rubbing her back, feeling a little appalled.
She gets a little defensive. "Look, I know! I was stupid and selfish. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and there was no way I was going to 'stoop low enough to get a job', so I figured, why not?"
You take a deep breath and shut your eyes.
"Like I said, I was a spoiled little brat back then..." She says.
Obviously...
She crosses her legs on your couch and continues to pout sadly. "If it makes you feel better, I only did it once..."
It doesn't, but you're glad she isn't a "serial thief" in hiding.
She continues. "I stole a few hundred dollars from a small store and lived on the streets... I would travel from place-to-place, looking for someone to give me what I thought I deserved just by existing... It never worked and eventually, I ended up in this town..." Her countenance becomes dark and she closes her eyes. "...Which is where stuff got bad..."
She stays silent for another long moment. She's being extremely vague, which means she has secrets she does not want to divulge right now.
"I'm not going to judge. I promise." You say.
She remains silent. She doesn't seem convinced right away.
"I'm glad that you trust me enough to share all this with me..." You tell her. "It makes me feel special."
You reach over and grab her hand in yours. She looks down at it and gives a little squeeze back.
"When, uh, when I got here, lots of the others living on this street took an interest in me almost immediately... I admit, it felt good being the center of attention at first, but pretty soon I found out why..." Her grip on your hand slowly begins to tighten. "Turns out, I was the only homeless girl lots of those guys had probably seen in a while... I was definitely the youngest and smallest they'd seen too... Lots of those guys have drug problems and were really old and gross... Eventually, they got me into a corner one day..."
You know what this is leading up to, but you don't want it to lead up to it...
She slowly curls herself into a ball on your couch, not making any eye contact with you. "There was three of them... All of them were old and disgusting old men... They tried... They almost..."
She doesn't say the word, but you know exactly what she's getting at.
Your eyes are glued to her. This poor girl.
"D... Did they...?" You ask softly.
She shook her head. "No... I never gave them a chance."
A huge sense of relief washes over you.
"Still, they got close though..." She says. "I started pushing and yelling and kicking as hard as I could. I even bit one of them a few times..."
Good. No such thing as fighting dirty in a situation like that.
"But they didn't appreciate me fighting back..." She continues. "Pretty soon, their... uh, lust I guess, turned into frustration, and they started to... beat me..."
You can just imagine a group of three scraggly old guys punching and kicking a girl under a bridge somewhere for defending herself. It makes your blood boil.
She continues. "I shielded myself as best I could with my arms and legs... One of them got me just under my eye... Pretty soon though, they were too tired to try and rape me and so I took off running as best I could... One of them grabbed me by my arm and tried to pull me back, but he just had me by my coat. So I took it off and ran down the road as fast as I could... Eventually, I ended up on this street... I stayed hidden in that dumpster for days, eating rotten food scraps and crying a lot..."
She shuts her eyes and a single tear falls down her cheek.
"I spent those days hiding and thinking to myself about everything... I had a chance to think my life over and really look at what I had done to everyp-... everybody I've ever known... I felt incredibly guilty and wanted to just do everything over again..." She looks up at you, tears brimming in her eyes. "That's where you showed up, Anon..."
You watch her slowly sit up and leans towards you, not taking her eyes off of yours for a second.
"I was the problem... I was in the wrong... I acted like a horrible person... I finally saw that, and I was begging, pleading, praying for a second chance..." She places her hand on your shoulder and pulls herself closer to you, a grateful smile creeping to her face. "...And you gave it to me."
Your heart pumps fast and you feel your face get hot.
You gulp once. "Sunset... I j-"
"Shhh..." She places her finger on your mouth, shutting you up before taking it away.
Both your eyes automatically close as your lips eventually meet each others. Her hand moves from your shoulder to the back of your head and holds you there. Your hands find their way down either side of her body until they reach her waist.
You pull her towards you and lie back with her on top of you as the kiss continues. You move one hand up to stroke her beautiful hair as both of your breathing intensifies. Her tongue make its way into your mouth some as she lays on top of you. You return the feeling by feeling every part of it with yours, eventually entering her mouth.
You run along the front of her teeth, feeling every one before retreating into your own mouth. In turn, her tongue moves deeper into your mouth. You close your jaw on her tongue very gently, grazing it a bit before opening up again. Her tongue retreats back a bit to lick yours once more before kissing you again.
The kiss ends and you both slowly look at each other. Her cheeks are bright red and she looks at you with half-lidded eyes.
She smiles at you and leans forward to hug you gently, yet firmly. "You saved me, Anonymous... And I can't thank you enough..."
You hug her back and smile. "You're welcome, Sunset Shimmer."
You kiss her cheek and shut your eyes, enjoying each others' embrace. You stay still for a few moments before she turns her head to adjust on your chest. She's asleep again.
You smile and kiss her nose.
Sleep finds you also and you drift off with her in your arms.
---
You take in a breath as you wake up a couple hours later. You reach up to rub your eyes and let out a yawn. Your stirring causes Sunset to wake up also.
She gives a yawn before opening her eyes and looking up at you. You both smile at each other.
"Hi." She whispers.
"Hey." You reply.
You lean forward and kiss each other for a moment. Man, her lips feel nice.
You separate and she sets her chin on your chest, staring at you with a smile. "How was your nap?"
You grin back at her. "Oh, it was nice. Probably one of the best naps I've had in a while."
She gives her cute little giggle that makes you almost have a heart attack. "That's good to hear."
You smile wider at her. "How was yours?"
She shrugs. "Same deal here. Can't complain too much."
You chuckle and lean forward to boop her nose with yours. "Fantastic."
She gives another small giggle and kisses you real quick. "So... I guess we're a thing now, right?"
You give a sarcastic shrug before smiling at her. "Meh. Sure. Why not?"
She smiles and makes this adorable squeaking sound that can only be described as "squee" before jumping up and kissing you hard. "Yay!"
You laugh and kiss each other playfully on your couch for a little bit before you both stand up.
Sunset walks over to the window and gasps. "Anon! Anon, look!"
You walk over to the window and stand next to her, smiling. "Well look at that..."
"I know!" She grabs you in a hug and keeps looking outside. "I love snow."
You hug her back and the two of you stand there, watching the snow fall. It's early November, so its a little soon this year, but you don't mind. You love the snow too.
You notice it was starting to get dark outside. It's already about 4pm. Other than going to IHOP, you and Sunset had done nothing all day today.
You got to spend all day together doing nothing. You aren't complaining one bit.
As you're thinking back over the past 24 hours, you remember something you had told to her the night before.
You turn to her. "In the mood for some hot chocolate?"
Her eyes light up and she turns to you with a smile. "Oooh! That would be great!"
You kiss her once more and head into your burnt kitchen. You open a few blackened cupboards and find two mugs.
"But, uh, don't bother making me any food." She says sheepishly. "I'm not hungry."
That makes you laugh. "Shit, I sure hope not!"
As you're filling the mugs up with water, you feel her arms wrap around your waist from behind. "Sorry again about that."
You grab one of her hands and give it a squeeze. "Its okay, Sunny. I forgive you. Don't you worry about it."
She hugs you tight once more before walking back into the living room. "Can we put in a movie or watch TV together or something?"
"Of course." You reply. "Turn on whatever you're in the mood for."
She walks out of the kitchen and you put the mugs in the microwave. No working stove to properly make hot cocoa. Once they're warmed up, you grab the mix and pour them in the mugs, stirring them up.
As you walk into the living room, you see Sunset is crouched over, looking in your movie case that chuck-full of DVDs.
"Find anything good?" You set the mugs on the coffee table and walk over to her side.
"Maaaybe..." She looks on the bottom shelf and pulls one out. "Oh, this one has a dog on it!"
You look at the title and quickly snatch it from her hands. "Oh, no. No way are you going to see the movie Cujo."
She cocks her head. "Why not?"
"Because its about this dog who gets rabies and he goes around killing all these people."
She covers her mouth with her hands. "Oh, that sounds horrible!"
You shrug. "Yeah, well, that's Stephen King for you."
You set it back on the shelf and she keeps looking. "Well then, what do you think we should watch?" She asks.
You think for a moment. "Well, The Princess Bride is always a good one."
She takes it off the shelf and looks at it. "Sounds like a kissing movie, but alright."
You cock an eyebrow as you take it from her. "Okay, first of all, this movie is so good because it's hilarious, not because its 'kissy'. Second of all, what's wrong with kissing? You don't seem to mind kissing me."
She giggles and plops on the couch, crossing her legs in the process like an excited kid. "Well, of course kissing you is awesome! It's just not as fun watching other people kiss."
You think that over for a moment before nodding. "Fair enough. Kissing IS more fun than watching other people kiss."
You pop the movie in and sit back on the couch next to Sunset. You both cuddle up together nice and warm and push play.
She looks up at you. "Could you get us a blanket to cuddle under or something? I'm kinda cold."
You grin at her before answering. "As you wish."
---
You both sat on the couch watching movies, drinking cocoa, laughing and cuddling together all night. Neither of you were tired so you stayed there for hours. It was so much fun. Being with her made it even better.
Eventually, 2AM rolled around, and that's when you both got tired.
You turn off the TV and sit up and stretch. "Welp... Time for bed."
She gives you a tired smile followed by a hug. You then walk her to your bed and she crawls under the covers.
"Goodnight, Sunny."
You give her another kiss and try to walk out, but she doesn't let go of your hand.
"Anon?" You turn back to her. "D-Do you want to sleep in here? With me?"
You smile at her and approach her side. "Sure. I'd love to."
She smiles and scoots over. You take off your shoes and get under the covers with her. It feels nice to be back in your own bed.
You lay back against the pillow and Sunset cuddles up next to you. You wrap your arm around her in a hug and she nuzzles into your chest.
"Goodnight, Nonny." She says.
If your heart wasn't warm before, it sure as hell is now.
You kiss her head with a smile and stroke her hair. "Goodnight, Sunny."
You shut your eyes and quickly fall asleep with her in your arms.
You take a deep breath as you walk up the concrete stairs leading to your apartment. The smell of the pizza in your hands was heavenly, and you're glad you're finally home. Work was crazy busy tonight, and you had to stay a few minutes late, but it always gets this busy around this time of year.
The holidays are comin' to town, and they're bringing turkey, Santa Claus, and huge sales on presents. Coming soon, very soon, to a retail store near you.
You aren't complaining though. Life is good, you make enough to meet your needs, and you've got a roof over your head.
You pop your neck and unlock the door to your apartment.
"HOOO boy, what a day!" Stepping inside, you see your adorable, formerly homeless girlfriend, Sunset Shimmer, sitting on the couch watching tv.
She turns to you and smiles. "Anon! You're home!"
"Yes! And I come bearing gifts!" You walk over to the coffee table and set the pizza down.
You bend down to give her a kiss.
"Rough day, huh?" She asks with a smile.
You groan and plop on the couch next to her. "Oh, you have no idea..."
You work in a warehouse shipping out miscellaneous stuff, varying from toys to office supplies and furniture to different stores all over the country. It's like a cheap knockoff of Amazon. They're finally doing their end-of-year sales, and so orders for stuff were coming in from left to right.
You give a quick recap of the day as she massages your shoulders. Her fingers are like magic on your trapezius muscles.
"Oh Anon, I'm sorry." She says.
"Eh, it's okay. It's worth it." You reply. "It's decent pay, a good workout, and I feel accomplished. Plus, it makes the time I spend with you even more valuable."
She blushes and gives a little giggle. "Oh now you're just saying things..."
"Only because it's true!" You smirk at her and give her another quick kiss.
You stand up and stretch and walk into your kitchen. It's been cleaned up from the fire incident a couple weeks ago, but lots of your stuff is still broken. You've been getting take-out for the past couple of days. Tonight was Monday, so you got pizza.
You look in the fridge for something to drink. "So what did you do today while I was gone?" You ask.
"Well, I watched Batman Begins and I'm partway through The Dark Knight." She replies from the living room.
You shut the door with a couple of sodas in your hands and peek around the corner, feigning a look of offense. "Without... Me?"
She shrugs at you. "I'm sorry, but you got me all excited about superheroes! It looked good!"
"And it is good! Batman is the best." You walk back over to her and sit on the couch next to her.
"How about we finish the rest of this one, then we watch the third one all the way through together?" She asks.
You put your finger up to your chin, pretending to think about it. "Alright, you've got a deal. Forgiven!"
"Yay!" She hugs you excitedly.
"Now..." You grab the remote and look her in the eyes. "...Let's put a smile on that face."
You do your best Joker impression as you say it.
She just cocks her head at you. "What?"
...
"Oh, you haven't got to that part yet... Never mind!"
You snuggle together on the couch and press play.
---
"If I take off that mask, will you die?" You ask.
"It would be very painful... For you." Sunset replies.
The Batman marathon is over, and now, you're both sitting on the couch doing your best Bane impression to each other. She's cupping her hands over her mouth while she does it, and it sounds good. She even got the wheezy breathing down.
It's impressive. You might lose this contest.
She giggles and puts her hands down. "Okay, now you!"
"Okay!" You clear your throat and cup your mouth. "Speak of the devil... And he shall appear."
It sucked.
She laughs and sets her drink on the table. Suddenly, the drink falls to the ground and spills on the ground, causing her to give a little shriek.
Golden opportunity.
"Ah yes! I was wondering what would break first!" You say in your Bane voice.
She's torn between wanting to beg for forgiveness and laughing harder. "Anon, I'm sorry! I'll clean it up!"
"No! Your punishment must be more severe!" You reach forward and poke her sides.
"No! NoaaaAAAHAHAHAHA!!!" She squirms wildly and laughs as you tickle her.
You laugh with her as she tries to fight you, but you hold her down. You ease up after a little bit, and she gets her arms out of your grasp.
Then, she reaches down and starts tickling you! You let out a Ron Swanson giggle as you both squirm around, tickling the hell out of each other. You're both laughing and wrestling with each other to try and out tickle the other.
After a couple of minutes of fun tickling, you both stop. You lay on the couch with Sunset on you. Both of your sides hurt and you're both out of breath.
She looks into your eyes with that adorable smile of hers and boops your nose with hers. She's so silly.
You give her a quick peck and she giggles.
She sits up and stretches. "Thanks for watching Batman with me."
"Thanks for letting me watch Batman with you." You reply.
She walks into the kitchen. It's getting late, so you sit up and start gathering the leftover food up. Sunset comes back with a paper towel and cleans up her spilled beverage off the carpet. You take them from her and throw them away.
"I'm gonna take a shower then go to bed." She says.
You nod. "Alright. I might stay up a bit."
She smiles and gives you a hug, followed by a quick kiss before she goes into the bathroom.
You turn on your Switch and scroll through your collection of games until you reach Wind Waker. It loads up and you relax on the couch again. You love watching movies with Sunset after a hard days work, but now she's occupied. Which means it's 'you' time for a little bit now.
You're living in a decent apartment with one of the nicest guys, if not the nicest guy, you've ever met.
Anon is a wonderful boyfriend, and an even more wonderful person. He willingly took you in, fed you, gave you a place to sleep, and clothed you. Even when he had almost nothing himself. You just couldn't be more grateful for his selflessness.
You yawn as you step out of the shower. It's been a long, but good day.
You've been getting caught up on a few popular things that Anon likes. Ever since you arrived in this world, you never had the chance to get into pop culture or fun stuff before. It was just about surviving another day. Thankfully, those days are over now.
You grab a towel and dry yourself off. You wonder if Anon is still awake.
Sure, he said he would be, but you took a really long shower. It was almost an hour. You took showers for granted back in Equestria, but here, now, you really take the time to enjoy them.
Putting on your oversized t-shirt, you step out into the living room. As you thought, the place is dark.
You walk into the bedroom to find Anon sound asleep. You smile and get under the covers with him. He wakes up for a moment and shifts as he lifts up his arms so you can cuddle up close to him.
You take a deep breath and smile. You're so glad Anon came into your life. You were so close to giving up, so close to the end, you were sure of it.
Until he came along.
Your loverboy.
...
Love...
...
Is this what love is? Do you love Anon?
You look up to his face in the dark, thinking about it. You've put your trust in him with your life, and he hasn't betrayed that trust. Not even once. He's given you everything he could to make sure you were safe and looked after.
You just felt so special when he was around. The way he looks at you, talks, laughs, it all just makes any cares in your head disappear completely.
Thinking about it makes your eyes tear up and you smile.
You rest your head on his chest and close your eyes, whispering to him. "I love you, Anonymous..."
You smile and let yourself drift off to sleep in his embrace.
---
You stir as you slowly wake up. Opening your eyes, the room is still dark, just as you left it when you went to sleep.
Something was wrong though.
As your brain slowly wakes up, a smell hits your nose. Smoke.
You sit up and hit a cloud of smoke with your face. It surprises you.
You cough and turn to Anon, who's still asleep. "Anon."
He doesn't respond.
You shake him and try to wake him up. "Anon, wake up. Something's wrong."
He groans and yawns. "Mmmfff.... What... What's wrong?" Taking a tired deep breath, he freezes as the smell hits his nose as well. "What is that?"
He sits up and swings out of bed, walking to the door. When he opens it, an orange light illuminates the room.
His eyes widen immediately and he runs out the door. "Shit! SHIT SHIT SHIT!" He screams.
"Anon?! What is it?!" You jump out of bed and run after him.
When you leave the room, you see the apartment almost completely engulfed in flames. The kitchen, the living room, almost everything is covered in fire.
Anon is standing there, grabbing his head and looking around at it all, horrified.
You shriek and run up to him. "Anon, what do we do?!" He just stares at the scene in shock. "ANON!"
He turns to you and grabs your shoulders. "Sunset, listen to me! Grab my phone and dial 911! Get your shoes on and get outside as fast as you can! GO NOW!" He commands.
"Okay!" You run back to the bedroom and turn on the light.
You quickly grab Anon's phone and dial 911. Spotting your shoes, you grab them and put them on as fast as you can.
The woman on the phone answers. "911, what is your emergency?"
You frantically bring the phone to your mouth. "HELLO! Hello! Please help! Our apartment is on fire!"
"Okay. Miss, please calm down, and get outside if you can. We'll send the Fire Department there as fast as possible." She says.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! Please hurry!" You shakily finish putting your shoes on and run back outside.
You're on the verge of tears, you're panicking so much. The living room is completely ablaze. The couch, the coffee table, the TV, everything. The kitchen is on fire even more; you can't see anything except fire.
Anon grabs a large blanket from behind the burning couch and looks at you. "Get outside! Hurry! I'll be right behind you!"
Before you can reply, he covers himself with the blanket and runs into the burning kitchen.
"Anon, no!!" You try to stop him, but you're too late.
You look inside the flames, trying to spot him, but the brightness, smoke, and tears flowing from your eyes aren't helping.
"Anon!!! Oh Celestia, please!! Anon! ANOOON!!" You shout.
You stand there, horrified and sobbing as you wait for some kind of sign that he heard you. What was he thinking?! He must be insane!
You're thinking about running in after him. It might be a deathwish, but he has to get out of there! You have to do something!
Before making any movements, he comes bolting out of the inferno. The blanket over his head is completely covered in flames. In one fluid motion, he throws it onto the ground, grabs your wrist, and pulls you toward the door.
You almost trip and fall to the ground, but manage to catch yourself. He charges the front door and slams into it, frantically turning the doorknob and opening it.
He shoves you out the door first before flying out himself. You nearly fall down the stairs and trip over the edge at the bottom to the snow-covered ground. Anon lands right beside you, coughing out of control.
"Anon! Oh Celestia, Anon! Are you okay?!" You shout.
He keeps coughing, but nods. You just look at him as he wheezes for air.
"I'm...*cough cough* I-I'm okay..." He replies.
You pant and sniff, just relieved that he's alright. You look back at the burning apartment building and start crying again. You were inside there just a few seconds ago.
Suddenly, a metallic clanking noise gets your attention. Anon dropped a small black box he was carrying. Is that what he got from the kitchen?
A fire engine siren cuts off your thoughts. Looking to your right, you see red flashing lights approach your location. The fire engine screeches to a stop in front of you and a few firefighters get out and grab their tools.
One of them looks over at you. "Hey! How many people are still inside?!"
Anon wheezes and coughs another time. "No one! It's totally vacant except for us!"
He nods and helps the rest of the firefighters do their thing.
Anon turns and sits down in the snow, facing the burning building. He grabs the black box and stares at it for a long moment.
"Anon?" You ask.
He doesn't reply.
"Anon, what is this?"
You reach out and barely touch the box. It's freezing.
He covers it with his hands and looks down at it. He still doesn't reply. He doesn't even look at you.
You frown and scoot over to him, putting your arm around him and watch the firefighters scramble to extinguish the flames.
Now you're both homeless...
---
You are Anon, and right now, you're at a new low.
You can't believe what's happening right now. Your crappy apartment that you worked so hard to get on your own, all your stuff you paid for with your hard-earned money, its all up in flames now. Everything.
You and Sunset made it out in one piece, thankfully. A part of you wishes you didn't make it out though...
"Anon?"
You blink, snapping yourself out of your trance.
You look over at Sunset, she's looking at you, worried.
"Are you okay?" She asks.
No. Not even a little bit.
You look back toward your apartment and nod slowly. "Y... Yep... 'mfine..."
The flames are out and the firefighters are walking in and out of your front door. Sunset cuddles against you under a blanket.
...
Wait...
"Where... Where did this come from?" You feel the blanket in your hands.
"Uh, one of the firemen gave it to us... Remember?" She asks.
You rub it between your fingers.
"No..."
Damn, you're out of it.
"Hey..." Sunset reaches up and touches your cheek, forcing you to look at her. "...everything will be okay, okay?"
She tries to smile as best she can, but you can tell right off the bat that it's fake.
"I know..." You look down at the box in your hands and rub it. "...I just wish that it didn't have to come to this."
Spinning to the correct numbers on the dial in front, you unlock and open the box. You show it to Sunset, and her eyes go wide when she sees it's contents.
"Oh my gosh..." She breathes.
Inside lay a clear envelope containing $5,000 in cash.
The fire had been put out, and the Fire Department was now cleaning up. The chief had said its cause was a faulty wire that had sparked and set your microwave on fire. It was a really old microwave, so it wasn't much of a surprise.
Doesn't make it okay though.
You and Sunset were sitting on the curb. You were clutching the black box in your hands.
When he left, Sunset turned to you. "Anon, where were you keeping all that money?"
"I was storing it in the freezer.” You reply.
She doesn't say anything. She just looks at you like you’re insane.
"I keep stuff in the freezer I want to keep safe. If you're robbing a house, you don't look in the freezer for valuables." You tell her.
She still looks a bit confused, but she shakes her head, putting what you said behind her. "Where did you get all of it? Did you steal it?"
You shake your head. "No, I didn't steal it. It's a contingency plan I never wanted to use..."
She still looks confused. Looks like it's time to spill your guts.
"My family is kind of, uh... Rich.... Like, millionaires..." You say.
Sunsets eyebrows shoot up and she stares at you. There was a few moments of silence as she tried to process what you said.
"How... How did your family become millionaires?" She asks.
"Well, you know that little plastic part that's at the end of a shoelace? Yeah, my great grandpa invented that." You say.
She blew out a puff of air in stunned surprise. "Then... What in the world are you doing here? Why are you living in a place like this? What happened?"
You stay there, looking at the remains of your apartment. "Nothing happened. I chose to live in a place like this instead."
Sunset leans in slightly, her curiosity piqued.
You clear your throat. "People look at you differently when you have money. You're viewed as something more than human. And at the same time, when a person with that much money often thinks they're more than human, but they act like a complete prick... Not always, of course, but often. You see it almost all the time in Hollywood. They're under the impression that having manners and being decent doesn't apply to them because they have money..."
She looks to her feet as you talk, almost like she's thinking.
You keep on talking. "I didn't want to end up like that. I probably would have, if it wasn't for a great friend that I had."
She looks up at you. "What was his name?"
You smile a little. "Her name is Applejack. She was a great girl. She was like the sister that I never had, but I always wanted."
The crunching of footsteps on snow interrupts you.
The fire chief comes walking up to you two. "Well, we're sorry that this happened. We're in the process of cleaning everything up and working on the legal issues of everything. You got a place to go for the night?"
You look down at the box in your hands. "Yeah, we can rent a room..."
He cocks his head at you. "Son, it's almost Thanksgiving. Don't you have a family to stay with or something?"
You shake your head. "They don't live in town."
He looks to Sunset. "What about you?"
She looks down at the ground. "N- No... I don't have anyone..."
You wrap your arm around her shoulder, giving her a hug. "Not true. She's got me."
She looks up at you and smiles. Really smiles.
The chief grins. "Well, alright. You need a ride?"
Oh yeah, you have no vehicle.
"You wouldn't mind giving us one?" You ask.
"I'll call a cab for you." He replies.
You thank him and he walks away, talking on his radio. Sunset hugs you back and sighs. She's tired. So are you.
You rest your head on hers and stroke her hair. You feel like sleeping right here, but your thoughts and the cold keep you awake.
You're going to have to go back home. The little secluded district of big houses where rich pricks live that you hate. It's a few hundred miles away though, so you'd need to fly there. You've got an emergency $5000 for clothes, food, and a plane ticket back home.
No doubt Sunset had more questions, but you'll answer them tomorrow.
---
You are Sunset.
So many things are going through your head right now. You're stressed, cold, tired, and sad. And confused. Why on earth would Anon choose to live in a place like this when his family has all kinds of money?
Sure, he says he hates rich peoples' attitudes, but there's always something with every situation that people don't like. Surely, this was no exception.
And who was this 'Applejack' that he's so fond of? Not that you're jealous, or anything.
You take a deep breath. All the adrenaline from the fire had worn out, and you're far too tired to ride this train of thought right now. Your eyelids are heavy and your vision blurs. You shut your eyes for a moment while you wait for the cab.
After a minute or two, you're on your back, looking up at Anon... He's in a car... You both are... Interesting.
You close your eyes again and open them a second later to see that you're in a bed. It has a musky smell to it. It almost smells like old people.
You sit up and see Anon sitting on the edge of the bed, on his phone. He looks up at you for a second and continues playing on his phone. No clear sign of happiness is present on his face.
"Mmmnn... When did we get here?" You groggily ask.
"About 30 minutes ago." He replies.
You slept through the whole cab ride here.
You sit up and yawn. "What are you doing?"
"I'm booking us a flight." He says. "We're going to my hometown for a bit."
You pause a moment at that. You've seen those airplane things flying around in the sky before, but you've never ridden in one. The closest thing they have to one of those in Equestria are zeppelins, or hot air balloons. The thought of riding in one of those makes you nervous.
"An airplane, huh?" You say.
He nods, not looking up from his phone. "Yep... Tomorrow at 3... Plenty of time to get some more clothes, some lunch, and a cab."
You take a deep breath and look down at the floor. He sounds like he's lost all the joy he had in him before, and it breaks your heart.
You look back up at him. He turns his phone off and sets his head in his hands. He's really upset about all of this.
You get out of bed and sit next to him. "Anon..."
He doesn't acknowledge you.
You place your hand under his chin and force him to look at you. "Anon, listen to me, okay?"
He stares at you with a somber look on his face.
"I don't know what's going on inside that head of yours, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I don't know if you think you're a failure or something for doing this, but listen when I tell you that you aren't a failure. Everything will be okay."
He scoffs and closes his eyes. "Yeah right... I'm a total failure... My place burned down, the only place I could afford on my own, and I couldn't even do that right... Now, I'm having to rely on someone else for my basic needs... I'm pathetic...."
Okay, that offended you a little.
"Well what about me then? Am I a stupid failure too? Am I pathetic? I've been relying on you for weeks now."
He stayed quiet, but you could see that got him thinking.
You put your hand on his leg. "There's nothing wrong with others helping you out. If I've learned anything since meeting you, it's that everyone needs help sometimes."
He still stays quiet for another moment.
"Well, yeah, but... I just feel like I'm being a moocher asking for help..." He says.
You make him look at you again. "Have I come off as a moocher to you?"
He stares at you silently. "No... No, you haven't..."
You smile some and huff out a small laugh. "Do you think you're the only one who feels good about helping someone just because?"
He doesn't reply.
"Anon, you've helped me get back on my feet. You've given me a second chance at life and I couldn't be more grateful for your kindness and selflessness. I owe you a debt that I won't ever be able to fully repay." You smile at him. "You're worrying about this whole thing way too much. Like I said, everything will be okay. You aren't a failure or a loser or a moocher because you need help from someone else."
You kiss him softly and hold it for a few minutes.
You break it and look in his eyes. "You'll never be a loser or a failure to me..."
He stares back at you.
...
Come on, Sunset. Tell him you love him. He needs to hear it. It will be perfect.
---
Come on, Anon. Tell her you love her.
She's the most wonderful, most beautiful girl you've ever met, and she's just helped you out more than words can define. She's not a burden to you. Never has been, never will be.
You've known you love her for a while now. She deserves to know it too.
---
It's just three little words. Three little words that he needs to hear.
Why are you waiting? Tell him!
---
Come on, Anon. Do it! Do it now! Tell her!
"I... I'm..."
You're so close!
"Th... Thank you, Sunset..."
---
You waited too long in the silence. It's far too awkward to say it now.
You smile at him as best you can. "Y... You're... Welcome..."
Yeah he is... Too bad he heard it from a scared little girl...
---
'Thanks for still liking me even though I'm a huge pussy, Sunset.' You think to yourself.
You return her smile with a fake one and the both of you go in for a hug and hold each other. Your smile vanishes and you rub her hair.
She probably really needed to hear that you love her. She deserves it, after saying everything she did to you...
---
You sit there in sadness as Anon rubs your hair. He probably doesn't feel any better. He doesn't know that he's loved. You should've told him.
He needed to hear that you love him. He deserves it, after everything he's done for you...
You wake up the next morning on the old motel bed with Sunset in your arms.
You gently kiss her forehead. "Good morning, love." You whisper.
You sigh and slowly stand up, hating yourself for not telling her that last night.
Not much to do this morning. You have no spare clothes, so you can't shower. Everything you had was probably burnt to a crisp. Thankfully, there was a Walmart just across the street. You'll go there with Sunset to get supplies.
Sunset shifts positions behind you in bed. She's still asleep, so you decide to head to the lobby for something hot. This particular motel offers free hot chocolate for about an hour in the mornings.
You open the door and step outside into the cold. You only have a pair of jeans and a white tank top on.
You hate fires.
You walk to the lobby, stepping carefully on the cold pavement so your feet don't get punctured by a rock or something. Stepping inside, you walk over to the counter and pour two cups of hot chocolate for you and your lovely Sunset Shimmer. In and out, two minutes.
You walk back to your room and step inside. Sunset is awake now, but she's still laying in bed.
Poor girl, she looks so sad. You should've said you loved her last night, she probably really needed to hear that.
"Hey, Sunny." You say.
She looks up at you and gives a weak smile. "Hey, Nonny."
You smile back at her and set her cup down on the nightstand. "I got you some hot chocolate."
She glances at it and sadly looks down again. "Thanks."
Your smile fades and you sigh. You sit down next to her, setting your cup next to hers, and rub her hair. There's nothing that can really be said at the moment. You're both homeless now, and you're too much of a wimp to tell her how much you love her. You're just as sad as she is, if not more so.
You both stay there in silence for a couple of minutes. Neither of you does anything.
Finally she sits up and stretches. She takes a sip of her hot chocolate and sets it back down.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." She walks in and shuts the door, leaving you alone.
"Love you..." You say softly.
...
After she comes back out, you figure it's time to get moving and start doing what you're supposed to do today. You've got a plane to catch.
Once you both finish with your personal matters, you head outside and head across the street to the Walmart. Sunset covers herself in the blanket she got last night and shivers violently the whole way. The cold doesn't bother you as much as it does her, but it is coming early this year, and she isn't wearing much. Just those shorts and that AC/DC shirt.
Stupid fire.
You both walk inside the nice, warm store and immediately head to the clothing department. You walk past some heavy winter coats and pick a black one out for yourself.
"You're going to need a coat. We're heading up north." You tell her.
"What's up north?" She asks.
"In November? There's snow and ice up north. Lots of it." You say.
"Oh..." She doesn't sound too enthusiastic.
She picks a big green ski coat. You both head out to the rest of the clothes and pick out a few shirts, pants, underwear, socks, and shoes you both like. You also pick up a big backpack for yourself and Sunset to put all your stuff in. After that, you both make your way to the toiletries section and grab toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, and other things you'll need. That should be everything.
As you both head toward the checkout, you pass the pink toy aisle. You see a bunch of fat guys in fedoras and other geeks are crowded around the "Pretty, Pretty Pegasus" section, and it looks like a few of them are fighting over a stuffed horse.
What a bunch of losers.
You and Sunset make your purchases then head into the store bathrooms to change and brush your teeth. After a few minutes, you come back out in a regular black t-shirt, a coat, new jeans, and shoes. Everything you had before was now packed in your bag.
Sunset hadn't come out yet, so you call the taxi company and tell them where to pick you up. Once you hang up, Sunset comes walking out.
You smile at her. "You look good."
She gives a little giggle and smiles at you. "Thanks."
She's wearing a dark pink hoodie under her coat, and with some new jeans, and violet shoes. She looks adorable.
You take her stuff and put it in your bag, then you both head outside, your fingers locked between each others as you wait for your ride to pick you up.
---
You are now Sunset Shimmer, and your heart is threatening to burst from your chest.
After a long, hectic taxi ride through traffic, and an hour of waiting in line to get through security at the airport, you finally make it aboard the airplane. Since this holiday, Thanksgiving was coming up quick, nearly all the flights were booked, but incredibly, Anon was able to find a pair of first-class seats for you both.
You had just barely gotten used to poverty, so not only do you feel extremely out of place by being in first-class, but you're also sitting inside an airplane. That's a vehicle that can fly, and you've never flown before. At all. Ever. Not even when you were in Equestria.
If you needed to get somewhere fast, you either magic'd your way around, or you rode the train. You didn't need to fly. That bullshit was reserved for Pegasus ponies.
You grip latch onto the armrests with an iron grip, turning your knuckles white. Anon is reading a magazine next to you. He joked around about it earlier. Apparently, this "Sky Mall" magazine sold some of the most expensive, and at the same time, useless things ever thought up. He never wanted to actually buy them, but they were still cool to look at.
Regardless, you can't imagine how he could read at a time like this.
Looking to the seat behind you, you see some old man sleeping. Sleeping! He's about to fly thousands of feet in the air and travel hundreds of miles per hour, and he's sleeping! He's insane!
You face forward again and take another deep breath. "Anon?"
"Hmmm?"
"These things are safe, right?"
He looks at you. "What, airplanes?"
You nod. "Y- Yeah."
He shrugs. "Of course they are. Statistically, it's the safest way to travel."
You gulp and take another deep breath.
Anon sets his hand on top of yours and rubs it gently. "Hey. We're going to be fine. Don't worry, okay?"
You look at him and he smiles at you.
You smile back and hold his hand. He's right, you need to calm down. You trust him. If he says you're going to be okay, then you're going to be okay.
The engine revs up and the plane jolts suddenly.
"GHAAAAAA, FUCK!!" You screech.
You breathe in and out hard and grip your armrest again. You take a quick look out the window and see you're slowly moving backwards away from the terminal.
Anon is staring at you, shocked. You turn around and see that every other passenger is looking at you the same way.
You just said a bad word, and you said it loudly.
Anon gives a nervous chuckle beside you. "Sorry, everyone! It's her first time flying, and she's a little nervous."
Everyone slowly returns to their own business and you face forward again, absolutely mortified and scared beyond reason.
"Sunset." You take another gulp but don't face Anon. "Sunset- Ow! Ease up a bit."
You look back at him. He's wincing in pain. You look down at your hands and realize you're holding his in an iron grip. You're crushing him.
You let it go. "S-Sorry! Sorry, Anon!"
He rubs his hand and nods. "Its okay, it's fine. Look, you really need to calm down."
You take another breath and shut your eyes tight. "I know, I know, it's just..." You breathe out and laugh nervously. "I've never done this before. It's just new and scary, you know? People aren't supposed to fly."
Anon chuckles and wraps his arm around you. "Yeah, I know it's scary... Tell you what, once we get in the air, we can trade seats and you can look out the window."
You aren't sure about that. You don't want to see how far up you will be, it would just terrify you more.
He continues. "Don't worry, Earth looks awesome from that high up. Kind of like a mini toy set. It's almost unreal."
You think about it for a moment. "Well, I'll think about it and let you know later. I'm too nervous to agree to that right now."
He shrugs. "Alright."
As you continue down the pavement towards the runway, the flight attendant stands at the front of the aisle and makes all sorts of gestures and explains the safety features. You follow along in the instruction booklet, and pay attention to every single word she says. You want to be sure you won't die if the plane crashes.
Finally, the pilot comes on and says something garbled you can't understand. All you caught from her was that this flight would last a few hours.
You feel the plane come to a stop, and you tense up.
Anon holds your hand and bounces in his seat a little. "Oooh, this is the best part! Here we go, Sunset!"
You gulp and take a few deep breaths. "Okay... Okay, okay, okay, okay..."
You feel the seat vibrate as the engines roar to life. You grab Anon's hand and hold it tight. Outside, you see the world whoosh by as the plane accelerates. You sink back into your seat a little bit.
"Anon?!" He doesn't respond, he just gets a big smile on his face and starts laughing. "Anon, this isn't funny!"
He sinks back in his seats and laughs louder. You feel yourself sink back in the seat more and your stomach start to move around inside you. You shut your eyes as the shaking intensifies and the engines get louder. You're trying so hard not to scream right now.
Suddenly, you feel yourself lean backwards. Not just your back, your entire body; the seat you're in, everything.
"Alright, we're airborne!" Anon announces.
"What?!" You open your eyes and look around.
It wasn't just you in your seat that leaned back, the entire plane leaned back. You look out the window and see as the streets, cars, buildings and people get smaller and further away.
It's... exhilarating.
"Woah..." You breathe.
You lean across Anon's lap and stare out the window. The plane gets higher and higher in the air and everything below gets smaller and smaller. You can see everything from up here! The city, the mountains off in the distance, the streets, cars, everything!
"This is..." You chuckle and a huge smile spreads across your face. "This is awesome!! Haha! We're flying!"
You just keep laughing like a little kid as you look around at everything. You can see for miles! You try counting all the houses you can see, but too many keep coming into view and they get too small.
Suddenly, the plane banks right and you can see the ground directly below. It stays on its side for a few seconds before leveling out again. You just keep staring outside at everything. It's amazing.
"See? Told you it wasn't so bad!" Anon says.
You laugh and look back at Anon with a huge smile on your face. "Yeah, you were right! This is so cool!"
He laughs and you turn back to look outside, taking in the view of this little patch of Earth.
---
You are Anon again.
Three hours, one bag of peanuts, and an in-flight meal later, you're sitting in your seat and Sunset is asleep on your shoulder. After staring out the window for about 45 minutes, you got above the clouds and there wasn't anything else to see, so she got bored. By then, it was time for the meal anyway.
After eating and chatting for a bit, she decided to take a nap. The stewardess brought you a blanket and Sunset threw it over you both.
Which leads to where you are now. She's softly snoring in your ear and holding you like a teddy bear.
All you can do is just smile at her. She's so beautiful.
You lean back and try to get some sleep too. Lord knows you need it. Other than Sunset being here with you, these past few days have been pretty awful. But, at least you have a plan.
Last night, you told your work of your situation, and they reluctantly agreed to let you go. You feel kind of bad for leaving them suddenly just before the busy season, but what choice did you have? You're going to go home, just settle down for a bit, and maybe look around for a new place here. Hell, you might just start your life over again.
Wouldn't be so bad. You'd be closer to all your old friends. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight. A bunch of good girls, they were. You've known them since high school.
The intercom comes on and interrupts your train of thought. You were beginning your descent.
You take a look outside and see the clouds gradually get closer. It was also getting dark. You look under the blanket and make sure Sunset still has her seatbelt on.
You gently nudge her shoulder. "Sunset. Sunset, hey." She groans a little and looks up at you. "We're starting our descent. You need to be awake for this."
She groans a little again and closes her eyes. "Mmmhh... Okay..."
She slowly wakes up and yawns. She looks out the window again at the view of the upcoming clouds. A few minutes and a little turbulence passes by and you finally get below them. If it weren't for the lights in the buildings, you wouldn't be able to see anything due to the darkness, snow and fog. The sun had already gone down, but it was nowhere near time to go to sleep yet.
You both stare out the window until you reach the runway. Sunset had a lot more fun this time around. You probably got her hooked on flying with this little trip.
The plane touches down and you slow decelerate as you head to the terminal. The captain tells you all that the temperature outside is a balmy -6 degrees Fahrenheit outside. As soon as the seatbelt sign goes off, you quickly grab your bag and get ready to deplane, thanking the flight attendants for the service.
The door opens and a gust of icy wind hits you both.
You both shiver and fold your arms. "Ah, home sweet home." You say.
"Jeez, Anon, how did you survive up here?!" Sunset asks.
You both laugh and you wrap your arm around her. "Don't worry, Sunny. You'll get used to it." You step into the warm terminal and head toward the exit. "Now, we should have a ride waiting for us."
"Like a limo?" She asks.
"Maybe."
"Hmm." She says. "Never rode in a limo before."
"Well, there's a first time for everything."
You head toward the escalators and head down to the lower level. A couple of drivers are holding signs out in the cold. You're looking around for the sign that says "Ymous", when suddenly...
"Well, well! If it isn't Anonymous!"
You stop dead in your tracks as that voice hits your ears. "Oh hell no..."
Not now, not her. Anyone, just please not her.
Sunset looks behind you. You slowly turn around to scowl at the supermodel, trophy woman you once called your girlfriend standing behind you, with a shit-eating grin spread across her plastic face, looking just as expensive as ever.
This is the girl you now hate more than anyone or anything else in the world.
With her arms folded across her chest, Fleur Dis Lee smirks at you in her usual snobby, bitchy way. Man, she makes your blood boil.
Back when you were okay with being rich, she was nice to you. She likes guys with expensive tastes. But ever since you willingly gave up your life of luxury, she thought of you like she would a pile of dog shit. Occasionally, she liked to 'check in' on you, just to see how you were doing. If you were doing well, she would try to fuck everything up, just for the sake of being mean.
"I didn't expect to see you here..." You say.
She steps towards you, still grinning her smug smile. "Well I didn't want to miss your little homecoming! How have you been since leaving civilized society?"
You continue to glare at her. "Fine."
"Really? Last I heard, you were picking up garbage for a living!" She takes a quick glance at Sunset, looking her up and down, unimpressed. "Hmm... Looks like you still are..."
Oh, that was low. Even for her.
Sunset recoils slightly, looking offended, which makes Fleur grin again. You clench your fists and grit your teeth.
Never hit a woman, Anon... Never hit a woman.
"That was extremely uncalled for, Fleur." You growl.
She gives a playful little chuckle. "Oh, Anon! You know I'm just teasing!"
No she's not. You know her too well.
Almost like she knew you knew she was lying, she extends her hand out to Sunset with a sly smile. "Fleur Dis Lee. A pleasure to meet you."
Sunset looks at her hand and then to you. You shake your head a little, trying to tell her not to play along as subtly as possible.
Sunset hesitates for a moment before smiling back at her. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. Happy to meet you too." She takes her hand and shakes it.
Dammit, Sunset, don’t believe her lies.
Sunset continues. "By the way, thanks for not minding all the poor person germs on my hands, since I can't afford soap. It means a lot. Especially, since I used to live in a dumpster."
Oh snaps. Sunset, what are you doing?
Fleur's smile vanishes. Sunset's doesn't. In fact, Sunset places her other hand on top of Fleur's and shakes harder. She doesn't let go.
Holy shit, Sunset is making Fleur visibly uncomfortable. She's no longer the dominant female in this situation. That's never happened before.
Fleur is now straining to yank her hand away.
"Okay... Ew... Let go. Now." Fleur says.
Sunset eventually releases her grip. Fleur looks at her hand nervously for a moment before looking back at Sunset, who's still grinning.
"Well Fleur, I'd love to stick around and get to know you more, but Anon and I have trashcan fires to huddle around, and used food to steal." Sunset walks over and locks arms with you. "Shall we?"
You smile back at her. Damn, you love this girl.
"Let's!" You say happily.
Turning toward the exit, Sunset looks back at Fleur, who is still just standing there. "Ta-Ta, darling!"
Now she's mocking her with a bad posh accent.
Sunset laughs and faces forward once again, walking with you and leaving Fleur behind. She doesn't move. She just looks at you two as you walk away.
You've seen that look on her face before. She knows what Sunset was doing, and she's mad about it. Now she has beef with both of you. It's totally worth it though.
She finally turns back and briskly walks into the bathroom. Probably to wash the 'poor person' germs off. You both walk outside into the cold.
As soon as you're outside, you both burst out laughing.
You grab Sunset and pick her up, spinning around. "Sunset, that was incredible! I've never seen Fleur at a loss for words like that before!"
You both laugh some more and you set her down.
"Well I had to do something! You looked like you were about to explode!" She says.
You laugh. "I WAS about to explode! Believe me!"
She laughs and hugs you. "Well, I'm always happy to help out my Nonny."
Oh, your heart. It's too much.
"Thank you, Sunny. You're wonderful." You stay there a moment longer. "Listen, Sunset."
You break the hug and look into her eyes. You've got to tell her you love her now, Anon. There's no way you can hold it in after this. What she did was amazing.
"I need to tell you something important. I wanted to tell you this the other night, but I just couldn't bring myself to for some reason." She blinks and continues looking at you.
Come on, Anon. You've got this.
"I, uh, I just... I need to tell you this now... Sunset..."She keeps staring at you, her beautiful eyes wide with anticipation and curiosity. "I'm... I'm in l-"
"ANOOOONYMOUUUUUS!!!" A cheery voice from behind cuts you off.
...It's Pinkie Pie.
You shut your eyes and sigh. "...One sec. I think our ride is here."
You turn around and, sure enough, you see your hyperactive pink-haired friend running up to you with a huge smile on her face and her arms outstretched. You only get a glimpse of her before she slams into you like a freight train and begins her usual hug that could suffocate a bear.
"You're back to see us!" Pinkie shouts. "This is wonderful! We need to have a super duper funerrific awesome party to celebrate! Ooh! There can be balloons and cake and confetti and..."
Despite being very happy to see Pinkie as well, she's hugging you too hard. You can't breathe.
"*Pinkie!*" You wheeze.
"...and a clown that does magic tricks and then I'll come in on a unicycle! Anon! Did you know that I got a unicycle?! Its so much-"
"*Pinkie! I can't breathe!*"
Her eyes shoot open and she quickly lets you go. "Oops! Sorry Anon! I'm just so excited to see you again!"
You gasp and wheeze for air for a second and start laughing with her. "It's okay, Pinkie. I'm happy to see you too. We were-"
"ANON, I GOT YOU A PRESENT!!" She reaches into her hair and pulls out a big stuffed moose that was somehow stored in there.
There was a tag on its ear that read "To: Anon. Love: Pinkie".
"Isn't he cute?!" She says. "I named him 'Anonymoose!' Heehee! Get it?! Because he's a moose!"
You laugh and take the moose from her. "I love it, Pinkie. Thank you very much!"
She smiles and looks over at Sunset, who is standing there with an awkward half-smile on her face.
"Hi!" Pinkie looks her up and down real quick. "You're pretty!"
Aww.
Sunset smiles and gives a little giggle. "Thank you, miss..."
Pinkie grabs Sunset's hand and shakes it hard and fast. "I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm one of Anon's bestest best friend in the whole world!"
You smile and pick up on the introductions, wrapping your arm around Sunset. "Pinkie Pie, this is Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset waves at her. "Nice to meet you, Pinkie Pie."
Pinkie stares at you two and the gears turn in her head. She gasps and covers her mouth a second later.
"Anon! Is she your girlfriend?!" She asks.
You and Sunset look at each other.
You smile and give her a little squeeze. "Pretty much."
Pinkie squees and jumps up and down in place. "Oh that's so cuuute!!! Oh my gosh, everyone else will be sooooo happy to meet you, Sunset! EEEEE I cant wait!! Lets get going!"
Pinkie grabs you and Sunset's hands and pulls you both hard. You both nearly lose balance and trip as you are forced to follow Pinkie across the street into the airport's parking garage.
"Is everyone else here too?" You ask.
Pinkie smiles. "Nope! They're all at Applejack's! She sent me to come pick you up!"
"Just you?"
"Eeyup!" Pinkie giggles. "Applejack said I was doing such a good job helping get everything ready for you when you came home that she said I could be the one to see you first! Which is weird, because all I did was sing 'I Will Survive' in the helium voice for a couple of hours, so I don't see how I helped. But it must've helped out in some way because I'm here now!"
You laugh and shake your head. Oh, Pinkie. So wonderfully carefree. You've missed her.
You quickly make your way past an assortment of cars until you reach a big bright pink jeep. It has balloons taped to the back, colorful stickers everywhere, and poka-dots painted all over it. It's an eyesore.
"You got yourself a car, huh?" You smirk.
"Yep yep yep! Hop in!" Pinkie pushes a button on her remote and it makes a clown horn sound.
"Oh, this'll be fun." You chuckle.
Pinkie skips happily over to the driver side while you walk Sunset over to the passenger side.
Sunset turns to you. "Anon? Is she... always like this?"
"What, crazy? Childish? Over-the-top weird?" You ask. "Yep. That's Pinkie." She looks way confused, and a little worried. You give her a reassuring smile. "You'll get used to it. Pinkie is, well... Pinkie, but she's really nice and cares a lot about her friends."
Sunset looks at the car again for a moment. "She doesn't even know me though. Are you sure she'll be nice to me too?"
You give her a hug and look down at her. "I'm positive that all of my friends will be. Trust me. I've known these girls for a long time. Any friend of mine is a friend of theirs."
She smiles back and nods. "Okay. I believe you."
You reach the passenger side and open the door for her, letting her ride shotgun.
"I still don't know if I feel really comfortable in the front seat of her car though..." Sunset says. "Especially if she's driving."
You just give a small chuckle as she climbs in. You don't want to tell her that you're feeling the same way.
You shut the door and climb in the back seat.
Pinkie looks at you both. "Alright, you two cuties.~ Ready to go?!"
"Ready as we'll ever be, Pinkie." You reply.
You quickly buckle your seat belt and look up to the dash. There's a note taped next to the radio. Sunset notices it too.
She grabs it. "What is this... 'Brake left, gas right'?"
Pinkie looks over and giggles. "Oh yeah! That's my cheat sheet!"
You and Sunset exchange worried looks. You lean up to look at her feet on the pedals.
"Okay, first of all, Pinkie, you have six pedals down there. How can you tell which one is left and which one is right? And second of all, why in the blue hell do you have six pedals when there's only four directions?" You ask.
Pinkie cocks an eyebrow and looks back at you with a grin. "Anon, sometimes you just have to go for style points!"
As Sunset almost frantically buckles her seat belt, Pinkie inserts the key into the ignition and the jeep loudly roars to life.
Pinkie throws the jeep into drive and you hold on for dear life as she presses the accelerator and practically flies out of the parking garage.
---
You are now Sunset Shimmer, and you're clinging to your seat for dear life and screaming at the top of your lungs with your eyes closed.
Anon's friend is insane! She keeps screaming stuff like "Wheeee!!" and "I've never gone this fast before!" It is making you scared out of your freakin' mind.
On top of dealing with her reckless driving in bad weather, and the accordion music blaring on the radio, she hasn't kept her eyes on the road for more than a few seconds before turning to you and Anon and telling you about something like parties or pet alligators or whatever.
Anon has been screaming and yelling at her to pay attention and slow down too. Apparently, this is also his first time riding in Pinkie Pie's car.
As the music ends, so does the violent movement of the car.
"You can open your eyes now!" Pinkie says.
"Are we off the bridge?!" You scream.
"Yes!"
"Is the old man with the walker still alive?!" You scream again.
"Yeah! He got right back up!"
You shakily open your eyes and see you're in a driveway in front of a huge red house.
"See?! Got you here safe and sound!" She smiles wide at you both.
You just stare at her, dumbstruck.
Anon is panting hard behind you. "Pinkie.... What... the hell... was that?"
"Those were my driving skills!" She says. "Pretty good, huh?" Anon takes a few more deep breaths, but Pinkie interrupts him before he can answer. "Oooh! I'll go inside and let everyone know you're here!"
She exits the car and runs up the snowy steps to the front door, leaving you and Anon in the car. You both sit in your respective seats, not moving, still trying to catch your breath from the ride. You still haven't let go of your seat.
Anon takes a deep breath behind you. "We, uh... *ahem* We better get inside."
You gulp. "Oh- Okay..."
"You alright?" He asks.
"Y- Yeah... I'm fine now." You sigh and release your seat.
It hurts to move your fingers, you were gripping it so hard. You bend your fingers back and pop a few joints in them.
The rear door opens and Anon walks over to your door. You get outside and take a step in some fluffy white snow. Sweet Celestia, it's cold.
You shiver a little and zip up your coat. "Brrr! Its freezing out here!"
Anon smiles and shuts the door behind you. "Yep, it sure is."
Ooh! Perfect opportunity to be cute!
You put on your best puppy-dog eyes and look at Anon with a small smile. "...Keep me warm, Nonny?"
He gets an "aww" look on his face right when you said that. You're getting good at this, Shimmer.
"Oh, of course I will, Sunny Bunny!" He smiles.
Sunny Bunny? Oh shoot! That's a new nickname, and you love it! Looks like he won this round of "who's cuter?". You'll get him next time though.
You blush and leap into his arms. "Yay!"
You hug each other tight. He's such a sweetheart. You can't believe how much you love him.
He rubs your hair and you look up at him with a smile. He smiles back and moves some of your hair out of your face. You get on your tippy toes and close your eyes as your lips meet.
You move your arms around his waist and pull yourself closer to him as you kiss. He places a hand behind your head and gently strokes your hair.
You both slowly end the kiss and look into each others' eyes after a few long moments. Everything is calm; silent. The snow falling around you makes the world seem like its standing still. Frozen.
It's almost surreal how much you can't hear right now. Nothing else exists right now. Nothing, except you and Anon.
Anon...
The one who's done everything for you. He took you in, clothed you, fed you, kept you warm, and showed you compassion. He didn't have to, he chose to. He makes you feel happy. Loved.
He's your new dream come true. He's your everything.
---
She's so beautiful. Especially right now. This is probably the most beautiful you've ever seen her since you've known her. Nothing could take her away from you.
You don't say anything to each other. You just stare at her beautiful face.
In spite of everything bad that's happened lately, like losing your home and your job, none of it matters now.
Because now, you have her to help you. With her, you can make it through anything.
She's your everything.
---
Now, Sunset. Tell him now.
---
Now, Anon. Tell her now.
---
You slowly wrap your arms around his neck and rest your chin on his shoulder.
---
You take her in your arms and cradle her head softly.
"I love you." "I love you."
You shut your eyes and smile. She said it too, right when you did. At the same exact time.
You continue to stroke her beautiful hair and softly kiss her cheek. "I love you, Sunset Shimmer."
You feel her squeeze you tighter. "And... I love you."
She pulls away and looks at you. She's crying, but it's a happy cry this time.
She smiles and lets out a small laugh. "I love you so much, Anonymous."
She comes in for another kiss, and you immediately return it. You're on the verge of tears yourself. You hold each other in your arms and lovingly kiss each other right there in the snow. You're both cold, but neither of you care.
After a few minutes of kissing, you break away and look at each other. A few tears did manage to escape, and you wipe them off your cheek. She smiles and does the same.
You spend another few moments just looking at each other silently.
You sniff and give a small chuckle. "Thank you, Sunset."
She smiles and hugs you again. "Thank you, Anon." You hug for a few more moments before she releases one arm and goes to your side. "Lets go inside, love."
You smile at her and give her another kiss. "Alright, love."
You both start walking toward the Apples' front door. Upon reaching it, you look at Sunset's beautiful face one more time and smile.
You hold the door open for Sunset and you both head inside the Apple's home. Christmas music plays from a stereo and you see the whole gang is busy with different tasks around the house. Granny Smith and Applejack are in the kitchen, Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy are putting up some Christmas decorations, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac are playing video games, while Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo watch from the couch. Pinkie joins Rarity and Twilight in putting up decorations on the tree.
Time to make yourself known.
"How's it going, Apples?!" You announce.
Multiple eyes turn to you and light up immediately. "ANON!!"
The three kids run up to you and dog pile you in a big hug. They land on you hard and you fall on your butt as they begin talking all at once about how excited they are to see you, and what they want to do with you while you're here, and stuff like that. You laugh and return their hugs as best as you can.
Mac comes over to you pulls them off. "Alright, give him some air."
"Heh. Thanks, Big Mac." You smile.
He nods and grins. "No problem, Anon."
Mac is a bit quiet, but he's your bro. He helps you to your feet and you give each other a brohug before turning to everyone else.
Applejack comes up to you with a big smile on her face as well. Her cheeks are a little rosy as she looks at you. "Good to see ya again, sugarcube!"
"Good to see you too, Applejack." You give your old friend a hug and smile.
Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight all give you hugs as well while Rainbow greets you from a distance. There was a bit of a crowd around you now.
You mingle with everyone else for a second or two before Rarity gets your attention. "Excuse me, Anonymous, but who is this lovely thing you've brought with you?"
You look back at Sunset, who's standing there awkwardly with a small grin on her face.
"Oh! Where are my manners?!" You walk back to her and hold her hand. "Everyone, this little drop of sunshine is Sunset Shimmer."
She steps forward and gives a small wave. "Hi everyone. It's nice to meet you all."
The whole group collectively smiles and waves back.
"Well shoot! It's a pleasure to meet ya too, Sunset! Any friend of Anon's is a friend of ours!" Applejack grabs Sunset's hand and shakes it happily. "Name's Applejack!"
Sunset grunts a little as Applejack roughly shakes her hand. It makes you laugh a little bit.
As everyone else makes their introductions, you follow Applejack into the kitchen. "So, there's turkey and decorations and everyone's here now, but what's the occasion? Thanksgiving is tomorrow."
Applejack chuckles. "Well, we heard you were comin' back to town, so we decided to have a little pre-Thanksgiving dinner for friends tonight!"
Pinkie pokes her head in the kitchen. "Isn't it a great idea, Anon?! Two thanksgivings in one year! That's double the food and fun!"
Applejack points her turkey fork at her. "More importantly Pinkie, it's double the opportunity to give thanks for what we got. Now what did I say to you about settin' foot in my kitchen?"
Pinkie just giggles at her. "Silly Applejack! Only my head is inside the kitchen right now! I haven't set one foot in here!"
She's technically right. The whole "Not touching! Cant get mad!" approach.
It makes Applejack visibly frustrated.
You just smile and laugh. "Ah, I've missed you guys. It's great to see you again."
---
You are now Sunset Shimmer.
You're sitting on the Apple's couch while Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy talk with you. The big guy, Mac you think his name is, is sitting next to the rainbow-haired girl and they're playing a video game. Anon went into the kitchen with Applejack and Pinkie followed them.
You don't know why, but... you don't like Applejack.
She's so nice and really friendly, but there's something about her that you just don't like. It makes you feel bad, because you really have no genuine reason to not like her, but you just don't. She's putting off a bit of a vibe. But she's Anon's best friend, so of course you'll be pleasant for him.
Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy seem nice enough though. The rainbow-haired girl didn't even get up to introduce herself to you. She just said "Sup?" and went back to her game. It must be a good one. Oh well. You'll talk with her more later.
Rarity smiles at you. "So, Miss Sunset Shimmer, you and Anonymous are an item?!"
You grin and nod at Rarity. "Yup. We sure are."
She's bouncing with giddiness. "EEEEE! That's so adorable!!!"
It makes you laugh.
Twilight smiles at you. "We're really happy for you! Anon's such a great guy. You're very lucky!"
You take a quick glance at Twilight. "Yeah..." You smile and look over at Anon talking to Applejack. "...I sure am."
A collective "Aww" comes from the three girls around you. You feel yourself blush, but you don't do anything to hide it. You turn back to the girls and rub your arms sheepishly. You're just so happy right now.
"So?" Rarity scoots toward you. "Tell us all how you two met!"
Your smile fades and you look up at Rarity. "H- How we met?" She nods, her smile never fading. "Um..."
Twilight and Fluttershy are just as expectant as she is. You aren't sure how to start out. You don't really know how they'll react to you being a formerly homeless girl. You're sure they'll think wonders about Anon selflessly helping you, but it's too soon to tell if these girls will think highly of you as well. You did just meet them after all...
Still, you've gotta tell them something.
You clear your throat. "Well... We, uh... I was-"
A loud metallic clanging from the kitchen cuts you off. "SOUP'S ON, EVERYBODY!!!"
Applejack comes strolling out of the kitchen with a big turkey in her hands. She sets it on the table while Anon, Granny Smith, and Pinkie come out with the rest of the fixin's.
Rarity sets her hand on yours. "We'll just have to hear it after dinner, alright darling?"
She winks at you and stands up. You follow her and go next to Anon.
He sets everything he's carrying down and faces you. "Everything okay?"
You play with your hair a little. "Eh, kinda... Can we talk for a second?"
He looks a bit worried, but he nods. "Sure."
You both walk into the other room by yourselves.
You turn and look at Anon. "Rarity wanted me to tell her how we met."
Anon just looks at you. "Okay? What's the issue?"
"I just..." You sigh. "I don't know how comfortable I am with telling a bunch of strangers about me being homeless... I'm a bit worried."
Anon nods slowly as the realization hits him.
He gently grabs you by the shoulders and looks in your eyes. "You don't have anything to worry about, Sunset. These girls are some of my very best friends in the world. They aren't judgmental or anything, they're all very kind and will not think less of you at all."
You look back up at his smiling face and sigh. He's right. You need to calm down and stop worrying.
He pulls you into a hug and you hold each other. "Don't worry, I understand. If you want, we can tell them together at dinner. It's definitely gonna come up."
It would make it a lot more comfortable if he also told the story.
You take a deep breath. "Okay. Thank you."
He kisses your head. "I love you."
You smile. Oh, how good it feels to hear him say that.
"I love you too, Anon."
It feels even better to say it.
"Now, let's get back in there. We both know how much you love food." He releases you and winks playfully.
"Oh, please don't bring IHOP up." You say.
He giggles and you give him a playful smack on the arm as you both head back into the dining room. Everyone is gathered around the table. A few people are already sitting down.
Anon stops you and whispers in your ear. "Just a heads up, the only one you need to look out for is Rainbow Dash. She may give you trouble or poke fun, but she doesn't mean it. She's a big softie inside."
You eye Rainbow Dash sitting next to Pinkie Pie and Mac, laughing at something Pinkie said.
You nod and follow him to your seat. You sit down with Fluttershy on your left, Anon on your right, and Applejack sitting across from you. In front of you is a huge bowl of mashed potatoes.
The heavenly mixed aroma of turkey, gravy and stuffing fills the air. You now feel the realization of your hunger as a whole as you look up and down the table. Everything looks so good.
Granny Smith stands up and clears her throat. "Now listen here, young'uns. I'm mighty happy to have y'all here with us at this here Thanksgiving dinner. And it's good to have Anon back here with us so we can get to know his pretty little girlfriend he's got there too."
She smiles and points at you, making you blush and bashfully look up at Anon.
Anon smiles at you and wraps his arm around you. "Trust me, Granny Smith. No one is happier than me that she's here, I promise you."
You blush harder as a collective "Aww" comes from almost everyone at the table.
Granny Smith nudges Mac with her elbow. "You know Mac, you should see if Anon can show you how to get a girl like that. Lord knows you could use some lessons."
"Granny!" He shouts.
Everyone except Mac laughs.
Granny Smith sits down and rubs her hands together. "Now, lets say us a quick prayer an' get to eatin'!"
You all hold hands with each other and bow your heads. Applejack removes her hat and starts giving thanks for everything they've been blessed with.
As she prays, you are amazed that people who live this lavish and are this wealthy can still be so humble. If what Anon's feelings on how rich people act are true, then the Apple family must be an exception. They had to be one.
The Apples' home is enormous, and they live on a massive plot of farmland. Outside, you saw they have a huge garage that's probably filled with trucks of all sizes. There was an extreme amount of detail on every part of the house, both inside and outside. It was very clear that they were wealthy. Despite that, they're humble. You've never seen people like this.
These past few weeks have been very humbling for you as well. Maybe you could grow to like Applejack. You have no reason to not like her, so it shouldn't be too hard. If Anon trusts her, then you can too.
Applejack finishes the prayer and you all dive in.
The nice music comes back on and you all socialize with one another. You learn a lot about Anon's friends.
Fluttershy is really sweet and had a thing for animals. Applejack loved talking about her job on the farm, and had tons of stories about her brother and sister. Twilight loves reading and science, and was hoping to become a chemist. Rainbow loves sports of all kinds. She's hoping to get a soccer scholarship. Rarity is a total girly-girl who was into fashion and boys and all that. Pinkie is... well, you don't think you need to learn anymore about her. That car ride here gave you a good idea of what she's like.
Applejack's little sister Applebloom eventually asked about you and how you and Anon met. You got nervous again, but Anon grabbed your hand and squeezed it gently. You looked up at his eyes and smiled.
You trust him.
You both recounted your adventure of being on the streets for a while and about Anon selflessly taking you in, followed by him making you happy with your movies, your dancing to "Do You Believe in Magic?", and your overall positive attitude.
Everyone was listening closely as you both recounted your apartment catching fire and forcing you to get out of there.
"...until we both landed here a few hours ago." You conclude.
Anon nods. "But you know, despite all that, everything that happened..." He holds your hand and smiles. "...none of it matters. Because I have her to keep me happy and staying positive."
You blush again and cuddle up against him. "And I have him too."
There's another "Aww".
Rarity is practically in tears. "Oh, sweetie, you are so, so lucky to have found a man like Anonymous!!" She reaches over the table and grabs both your hands. "Promise me that you won't ever let each other go! You're too cute a couple to be apart now!"
Anon laughs and uses his free hand to cross his heart and cover one of his eyes.
"Ooooh! He Pinkie-promised!" Pinkie somehow pops up behind you two and whispers in your ear. "That means he's gonna keep his promise FOREVERRRR!!!" She smiles and stands back up. "He must really like you to Pinkie-promise something like that to you, Sunset!"
Anon perks up. "Pinkie, the word you're looking for is 'love'. Not 'like', 'love'."
"Oh, I see!" Pinkie stands there a moment longer before gasping. "Wait, LOVE?!?!"
You both nod.
"Yes, Pinkie. I love him too." You say with a smile.
Pinkie jumps up and down in place. "OOOOH I HAVE TO THROW A PARTY FOR YOU TWO!! I'll get a heart-shaped cake, some heart-shaped balloons, some cute lovey-dovey music for the dance floor, maybe a-"
"Pinkie!" Anon speaks up and somehow manages to make her stop talking. "How about we wait until after Thanksgiving and Christmas are done before we plan any more parties, okay?"
Pinkie nods. "Okie dokie lokie! That's probably a good idea! Too many parties at one time isn't very good!" She goes to sit back down. "Well, not to ME, but, only I'm me, so that doesn't count. I can party every day and rock 'n roll all night!"
You giggle and look at the scene around you. It's been a pretty perfect day, and you couldn't be more happy right now.
You resume eating your Thanksgiving turkey in front of you.
After what was probably the best pre-thanksgiving dinner you've ever had, followed by the best pre-thanksgiving party you've ever been to, everything began to die down and people are starting to leave.
You insist to stay behind to help clean up, even after Applejack and Granny Smith insisted you go. They eventually relented though, because you're holding open a garbage bag while Sunset is gathering some garbage and throwing them into it.
She insisted to help clean up, even after you insisted she let you do the work.
You eventually relented though...
Once it's full, you head outside into the snow to throw it into the dumpster. You head back inside and plop on the couch.
You're tired. Turkey does that to you.
Luckily, you managed to play a few rounds of Smash Bros with Big Mac, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo. Your boy Kirby managed to hold his own against Big Mac's Donkey Kong for a little bit, but Rainbow came in with Captain Falcon and tore it up. Scootaloo was right behind her double-teaming you with Toon Link.
They got good since the last time you played against them. You're a little jealous.
You laugh as you lose another match and look over at Sunset, Rarity and Fluttershy. Sunset's smiling and laughing with Rarity as she's about to leave. You can tell they're gonna be good friends.
She waves goodbye to you, ushers Sweetie Belle along, and they both leave. Fluttershy grabs her coat and exchanges a few more words with Sunset before giving her a hug and leaving as well.
Sunset comes skipping over to you and plops down beside you. "Hey there, loverboy!"
You chuckle and wrap your arm around her. "Hi, gorgeous!" She giggles and you kiss each other. "Making friends, huh?"
Sunset nods happily. "Oh yeah! Rarity's really fun. Fluttershy is too. All of your friends are!"
You smile and give a victory laugh. "See? I told you so!"
She giggles and nuzzles you. "Yeah, you did. You were right. I just needed to calm down."
You chuckle and cuddle with each other for a little while longer in front of the television. Applejack comes walking out of the kitchen and looks at you two.
A smile comes to her face. "Aww, ain't that the sweetest thing you ever did see?"
You both give a little laugh. "Well, we try our best to be sweet." You pretend to block out Sunset and loudly whisper to Applejack. "But she doesn't have to try as hard to be sweet."
Sunset playfully smacks your arm and smiles. "Oh stop it, you!"
"No! You cant make me!" You smile.
You both giggle and start poking and tickling each other.
Applejack just stands there and laughs a little as she watches you. "You two are just too cute."
You both stop and look at her with smiles on your faces. "Thanks, AJ."
She nods. "No problem."
You sit up a little. "Need anymore help?"
She shakes her head. "Nah, we've got it under control. Just was curious about your sleepin' situation though."
You cock your head a little. "Sleeping situation?"
She nods. "Yeah, like, where are ya gonna stay for the next little bit with your place... unavailable."
"Oh." You reply. "Well, I just figured we'd go to my parents' place and crash there."
A look of concern comes across her face. "Did your parents not tell you? They're outta town."
Your smile fades. "They are?"
Applejack nods. "Yeah, they're on a cruise or somethin'. They're gonna spend the whole holiday season in the Caribbean, I think."
"And they didn't tell me..." You sigh and rub a hand down your face. "Typical..."
It's like you don't exist to them anymore since you disowned your fancy-shmancy rich lifestyle. Just one more thing to add to your list of burdens.
"Well then..." You stand up and look at Applejack. "...in that case, we have no sleeping situation."
She holds up a hand and cuts you off. "Yeah you do, Anon. We've got more than a few spare rooms for you to stay in and you're more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need."
Oh, Applejack. She's saved your ass so many times before, you've lost count. You'd probably be dead if it wasn't for her. On the inside, that is. Humility has taught you much.
You sigh. "Applejack, if there was any other option, I'd take it. I owe you so much already."
She holds her hand up again. "Anon, I insist. You've been the greatest... my closest friend since we met, and I'm more than willing to help y'all out as much as I can."
"I j... I'm just..." You stammer.
You can't think of what to say. Applejack is just too sweet, you love her.
You smile. "Thank you, Applejack."
"Anything for you, Sugarcube." She smiles and you hug each other real quick. She squeezes you tight before releasing you. "Alright then! I'll get Applebloom to show y'all to where you're gonna be stayin', then I suggest y'all go to bed. We've got us another thanksgiving tomorrow!"
You smile at her. "Oh I can hardly wait!"
She chuckles and heads into the kitchen.
Sunset stands up next to you. "That was really nice of her."
"Yeah, it really was." You hold her hand and smile.
Applebloom comes out of the kitchen. "Alright, you two! Follow me!"
You both follow the little girl through the house, going upstairs and down a hallway. You ask her about what's been going on with her and her life recently. She's in middle school now with her two friends, but none of them know what they want to do when they grow up. She's searching high and low for her calling in life with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but none of them have found one that clicks yet.
Kids are so silly.
You reach the second to last door on the right and Applebloom opens it. "Alright y'all! Here we are!"
You usher Sunset inside before you, because you're a gentleman, and follow behind Applebloom. Inside the room, you see a large queen-sized bed with a comfy-looking knit quilt spread on top. Granny Smith must've knit it herself.
Looking around, you also notice a bathroom, a couch in front of the bed, a closet, a large TV, and a large windowsill looking outside to the beautiful snowy world. It looks better than any hotel you've ever seen in your life.
As expected, everything has an apple-theme to it. The quilt, pillows, wallpaper, everything in the room has something to do with apples.
You and Sunset stand next to each other, admiring your new living space.
Applebloom steps in front of you, looking at you both and smiling. "So? What do y'all think?"
"Not bad at all." You nod. "I like it."
"Good!" She smiles again and walks over to the closet. "Now, there're towels and extra blankets 'n stuff in here. There should be some spare toothbrushes in the bathroom too if you need 'em."
You nod. "We've got some, but thanks."
"Well okay then!" She says. "If you guys need anythin' else, let any of us know, okay?"
You follow her as she heads to the door and steps into the hallway. "You got it. Thank you so much again, Applebloom."
"No problem, Anon! You're family! Applejack says that family always needs to look out for each other!"
You smile at her. "You've got a good sister, Bloom."
She grins and scuffs at the floor with her shoe. "Yeah, I know I do."
You chuckle and bend down to give her a hug. "Alright, kiddo. We're gonna get some shuteye."
"Yeah, me too. Goodnight, Anon!" She releases you and looks past you. "Goodnight, Sunset!"
Sunset grins and waves at her. "Goodnight, Applebloom. It was nice to meet you."
"You too!" She smiles and happily walks back down the hallway.
You shut the door and turn around. Sunset surprises you and lightly presses you against the door, kissing you. She wraps her arms around your waist and pulls herself closer to you, deepening the kiss.
You close your eyes and place your hand on her waist, running your fingers through her hair. The two of you slowly move away from the door and eventually make your way to the bed. You let yourselves fall on top of the bed, still in each others' arms, and still kissing. You're on your side, holding the girl you love and kissing her lovingly.
She stops and slowly opens her eyes. Those gorgeous, big, cyan eyes. The both of you just stare at each other for the longest time.
You move a strand of her hair out of her face and give her a small smile. She smiles back at you.
"I love you, Sunset." You say softly.
Her cheeks get a little red. "I love you too, Anon."
You can't bring yourself to do anything else except just stare at her. She's so beautiful. You can't even imagine how she ever wound up homeless, alone, and unloved. Your mind refuses to believe that she was as bad as she said she was.
This girl, right here, is the sweetest thing you've ever had the privilege to know, and your heart belongs to her. No way it could ever belong to anyone else. You are completely and totally in love with her.
Your Sunset Shimmer.
She leans forward and rests her head on your chest. You take her in your arms and hug her tight, letting her know that she's safe. You don't ever want this moment to end.
She moves her legs a little and kick off her shoes. She curls up in a ball in your arms and takes a deep breath.
"I love you... Anon..." She whispers again.
It's your favorite thing that she has ever said to you.
You rub her hair and kiss her on the head, "I love you too... Sunset."
You stay there, silently rubbing her gorgeous hair. Your eyelids get heavier and heavier until finally, they shut over your eyes.
You drift off to sleep with your love cradled in your arms.
---
The next morning, you groan softly as you awaken. You're in the Apples' guest bedroom, alone. The shower in the bathroom is running, so Anon must be in there.
You yawn and rub your eyes as you look around the room. Now that the sun is up, you can get a better look at just how cute it is. There's a big, fluffy rug in the shape of a red apple on the light hardwood floor at the foot of the bed. The walls are made of wood too. It reminds you of a cabin in the forest.
On the bed beside you is a folded red shirt and some blue jeans. You pick them up to inspect them and find out they're your size. Where did they come from though?
You set them back down and sit there in bed, giving a content sigh. It's officially Thanksgiving. Your first Thanksgiving with Anon.
Technically, it's your first Thanksgiving ever. Equestria doesn't have a Thanksgiving. Even if it did though, you wouldn't be very good at celebrating it. You were way too selfish and arrogant to give thanks for anything. You took everything for granted when you were in Equestria.
You sigh again and lay back down, looking up at the ceiling. Thank Heaven that part of your life is behind you. Nothing like being homeless and completely on your own to humble you out, Sunset. You've changed since being here, and it has been for the better.
The bathroom door opens and Anon steps out. He's only wearing a towel around his waist. It is now that you get your first real look at him.
Some of the water left from the shower makes him look shiny. His arms are bulky too, and he's in good shape. It's apparent that he works out. He isn't shredded, by any means, but he still looks good. Really good.
...Is it getting hot in here?
"Sunset?"
You shake your head and snap yourself out of your trance.
You look up at him and smile. "Uh... Hehe... Good morning."
He smirks. "You okay?"
Never been better...
"Y- Yeah, I'm fine..." You give him a fake yawn and stretch. "Just not awake yet."
You give a little giggle.
He grins and grabs some clothes on the table next to him. "Applejack came by this morning and brought us some extra clothes they had. Yours are on the bed there."
You look at the clothes you picked up earlier. "Where did they get them?"
"I assume that they're either hand-me-downs, or you and Applejack are the same size." He holds up a plaid-red button down collared shirt. "I'm pretty sure I got Mac's hand-me-downs. They're kind of big."
You grin at him, still checking him out from afar. "Well that's awful nice of her."
"Yeah, the Apples are good people. Very hospitable." He says.
Damn he's hot.
"You gonna shower now?" He turns back to you.
You quickly meet his eyes. "Sure."
He stays still, the gears turning in his head as he looks at you. You look at him back, your blush intensifying.
He slowly grins at you. "What?"
He either knows exactly what he's doing and he's just playing dumb, or he actually is too dumb to realize what he's doing. Either way, you think it would be fun to help him out.
You stand up as you look at him. "Well, honestly, I'm a little bummed..."
He faces you completely. "How come?"
You slowly walk towards him. "I was... kind of hoping that... maybe... we could shower... together."
---
Sunset stops right in front of you and stares up at your eyes. Her cheeks are turning red as you look back at her.
You're an idiot, Anon. Why didn't you wait? Why did you already take a shower?
You look her up and down once before reaching out and gently taking her hand in yours.
"We can do that..." You reply. "Nothing wrong with... showering twice."
Her breathing is now audible as she stares up at you. "Okay." She says.
Holy shit, this is about to happen...
You both stare at each other for a long moment before she abruptly grabs your hands and leads you into the bathroom, breathing hard already, and almost seeming desperate. You follow right behind her without a moment's hesitation and close the door. As you turn the shower back on again, you both melt into each other's arms as you passionately kiss each other...
You and Sunset walk out into the hallway, holding hands with each other and smiling.
After your lovemaking session in the shower, you both moved to the bed, where you made love again. They were both absolutely incredible. Afterwards, you figured it was time to face the public again though, so you both got dressed, fixed yourselves up, and got ready.
The day has only just begun, and already, you're tired. Both of you are. The fact that the Thanksgiving turkey is already cooking isn't helping with that either. It smells amazing in the house.
You yawn and head downstairs to the living room with Sunset. Applejack is sitting on a chair watching the Thanksgiving football game. Or maybe it's the pre-game. Whatever. Teams are playing sports.
"Hey, AJ." You greet.
She looks over to you and smiles. "Hey, you two. 'Bout time y'all got up."
You and Sunset look at each other and grin. "We were... Talking... About stuff." Sunset says.
You nod. "Yeah... Talking."
Applejack scoffs and looks back at the tv. "Sounded pretty loud for talkin'."
You both freeze and look at each other. Your smiles fade and you feel yourself turning red with embarrassment.
You look at Applejack, who isn't looking directly at you, but you can see she's got a little shit-eating grin on her face.
"Heh... I forgot you're good at detecting bullshit..." You chuckle nervously.
She laughs and looks back at you. "Well, its pretty easy when y'all make it that obvious."
Oh, shit. Sunset was being kinda loud in there. You have only yourself to blame, you dog.
Applejack looks at her and winks. "Glad to know he's treatin' you right, Sugarcube."
Sunset gets a nervous grin and looks up at her, blushing hard and looking mortified. "Heheh... Thanks... Sorry about that..."
Applejack waves her hand nonchalantly. "Don't you worry none. Luckily, Applebloom left with Mac well before it happened, so she didn't hear anything. They should be back soon though."
You decide to go along with the change in the topic. Anything to try and get Sunset more comfortable.
You walk over to the couch and sit down. "Where did they go?"
"They went to pick up cousin Braeburn and put signs up showing directions to our house." She says. "The rest of the Apples are comin' here for our annual Thanksgiving hoedown, so we needed to make sure they could find the place."
Oh yeah, you forgot about that little tradition.
"Hoedown?" Sunset asks.
Applejack looks over at her. "Every year, we have a huge Thanksgiving hoedown at one of the relatives' place. This year, it's our turn. We've got a huge openin' out back with big lights and heated pavement, so we won't have to worry about slippin' on ice or gettin' too cold."
You nod in agreement. "They've got dancing, tons of food, a band, it's really fun. I've been to only one before, and I had a blast."
She looks to you and smiles. "Well okay. I've always wanted to try dancing."
Applejack smiles. "Well, you picked the perfect time to try it out then, Sugarcube."
You smile and give Sunset a quick kiss on the head. "Applejack doesn't lie, Sunny."
She smiles and looks to Applejack again. "Thank you again for letting us stay here, Applejack."
Applejack waves her hand, like it's nothing and smiles. "Hey, that's what family's for! Think nothin' of it, darlin'."
She turns back to the tv for a bit and there's a silence among you all for a few more moments.
"Oh by the way Anon..." Applejack turns back and looks at you. "Soon as Big Mac, Applebloom and Braeburn get back, would you mind helpin' us get everything set up out back?"
"Oh, of course. I'd love to help." You say.
Sunset perks up. "Anything I can do to help out too?"
Applejack shakes her head. "Nah, don't you worry about helpin'. As a matter of fact, Rarity texted earlier and said she wanted to come by and talk to you a bit."
She looks a bit nervous at that. "About what?"
"Knowin' her? Probably girl stuff." Applejack says. "I bet she just wants to get to know you a bit more. No need to be nervous."
She nods and leans on you, looking down. "Okay."
Applejack turns back to the tv.
"Hey." You put a finger under Sunset's chin and make her look up at you. "You okay?"
She grins. "Yeah. I'm just tired."
You smile back at her and give her a quick kiss before relaxing on the couch together and watching TV with Applejack.
After a few more minutes, the front door opens and Applebloom walks inside.
She shakes her head and rubs some snow out of her hair. "Hey Anon!"
"Hey Applebloom." You reply. She walks over to you and gives you a hug.
"Applebloom, where're Big Mac and Braeburn?" Applejack asks.
"They already went out back." Applebloom replies.
Applejack nods and gets up before grabbing her coat. Looks like that's your cue.
You get up and stretch a little before turning back to face Sunset. "Alright, you. Have a good time with Rarity, okay?"
She smiles and nods. "Alright, be careful."
"I will." You give each other a kiss and hug. "Love you."
---
"Love you too." You reply.
You release the hug and Anon goes outside with Applejack, leaving you on the couch. You sit there awkwardly while Applebloom stares at you.
She clears her throat. "So, I'm sorry I forgot, what was your name again?"
You smile. "Sunset. Sunset Shimmer."
She nods. "So you and Anon, huh?"
You smile and give a little giggle. "Yep."
She scoffs and crosses her arms. "Lucky..."
You raise your eyebrows. "You like Anon?"
She widens her eyes and blushes. "W- Well, no! N- Not like that, I mean... I was just-" She sighs and slumps her shoulders. "Alright, you got me... He's cute, okay?"
You giggle again. "He sure is."
She slouches and sits down on a chair. "It just ain't fair... He's way older than me, I know, but still. You're just so lucky that you're as old as he is and you can kiss him and stuff."
You grin at her. That's cute.
"Well I'm sorry, Applebloom... I wasn't trying to make you jealous or anything." You say.
She nods. "I know. It's okay."
You hate to admit it, but this is kind of funny. You've got to tell her something, though.
"Crazy crushes happen with everyone, Applebloom. It's just a little phase we all go through." You say. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone your own age someday."
"That's what Applejack says. 'It's just a phase! You'll get over it someday!'" She says.
You smile. "Well, she's right. It is just a phase."
"I'm not sure if I believe her on that one though." She says. "Applejack has had a crush on him too ever since she's known him! What kind of phase runs that long?!"
Your smile vanishes immediately. "...What?"
Applebloom's eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her hands as fast as possible. She looks like she knows she's in trouble.
You scoot closer to her. "Applebloom, what did you just say?"
She slowly removes her hands from across her mouth. "Uh..."
She's trying to think of something, anything than what you thought you just heard, when suddenly, the doorbell rings.
"I'LL GET IT! I'LL GET IT!" Applebloom scrambles up from the chair and runs to the front door as fast as she can.
Saved by the bell...
She opens the door and Rarity greets her. "Hello, Applebloom! Is Sunse-"
Applebloom yanks Rarity inside. "WELL SHOOT, IF IT AIN'T RARITY! HI RARITY! WHAT'S THAT GRANNY?! YOU NEED ME?! OKAY! I'M GONNA GO HELP HER OUT! YOU TWO HAVE FUN! BYE!" She runs out of the room in a yellow blur.
Granny Smith didn't say anything from the other room...
Rarity stares after her after straightening herself out.
She looks at you. "What was that about?"
You stare after Applebloom. "I'm not sure... But I don't like it."
You stay there for a moment longer, unmoving. You knew there was something you didn't like about Applejack from the moment you first saw her. You just knew it.
According to her sister, she likes Anon, and has liked him for years. You don't blame her by any means, but you aren't too comfortable with leaving her here with him. He's yours.
"Darling?" You snap out of it and turn to Rarity. She looks a bit worried. "Are you alright?"
You look down at your feet and contemplate a moment. "I don't know..."
Rarity stays there a moment longer and straightens up. "Well, go on and grab your coat and let's have us a little 'girl talk', alright? You can tell me all about your issues."
You nod, grab your coat and walk outside with Rarity.
As you leave, you look back at the Apples' home with worry. You have a really bad feeling about leaving Anon alone with Applejack. You trust Anon with all your heart, but you don't trust her.
You look to your feet and continue down the driveway next to Rarity.
"So? What's on your mind? You seem down." Rarity asks.
You sigh. "I'm not sure, really... Applebloom just accidentally told me that Applejack has a crush on Anon, and I'm just a little paranoid, I guess..."
"Oh dear. Still?" Rarity asks.
You look at her. "Still?"
Rarity nods. "Applejack and Anonymous grew up together. Ever since I first met them, they were the best of friends, but Applejack has always liked him a little bit more."
You blink. "And you knew about this? The whole time?"
She laughs. "Well of course, darling! We all did! It was just so obvious! Applejack is not the best liar, mind you, so she was never too good at hiding her feelings."
That doesn't help ease your worries.
"Then how does Anon not know about this?" You ask.
Rarity shakes her head. "I have absolutely no idea. Applejack has always gone the extra mile for him, and it is painfully obvious that she has feelings for him, but for some reason, he refuses to see it. He always thought of her as a sister. Maybe the idea of them being anything more than just friends is just absurd to him. Whatever the reason, as far as I know, he has not reciprocated any of her romantic feelings."
Well, that helps a little, you suppose.
She gives you a half-hug and pats your back. "Sunset, you have nothing to worry about. Applejack would never try to take him from you. She may be a tad stubborn, but she isn't selfish, by any means. It's clear that you love him and he loves you. She won't do anything to jeopardize your relationship with him."
You smile and blush at her words. You really do love Anon.
"Thanks Rarity." You say. "I do feel a lot better now that I know that."
Rarity smiles. "That's what friends are for, darling! I'm happy to help you out if I can."
You both round the corner and continue down the sidewalk.
You sigh. "I guess I just didn't know how to deal with it all at once. Applejack was very nice to let us stay with her for a while, and I do want to like her, but... I don't know... Everything happened pretty fast this morning..." You smirk. "Well...heh... More like, after we left our room this morning is when things got hectic..."
Rarity cocks her head at you.
You grin and blush again and start twirling your hair nervously. "Anon and I, uh, heh... We consummated... our physical relationship this morning..."
She gasps. "Oh goodness! Sunset, look at you! How was he?! How did it start?! Tell me absolutely everything!"
You giggle happily. "Ooh he was wonderful! I've never felt like that before in my whole life. I just wanted to kiss him, and hold him, and have him never let me go for as long as I lived. It was like being in a dream..."
"Awwww, that's so sweet!" She whips out her phone and starts tapping on the screen. "We must let the rest of the girls know! Don't say anything else until they're all on the line!"
You let out another girly giggle and continue down the sidewalk with her.
She speaks into her phone a moment later, smiling wide. "Twilight! It's Rarity! Get Rainbow and Pinkie on! I'll get Fluttershy! Sunset has some big news!"
You giggle again and the rest of the girls eventually get on the phone, except for Applejack, of course. Rarity didn't include her, which makes sense. She probably didn't want to twist the knife of you and Anon in her stomach any more.
Twilight's voice comes on the speaker. "Okay we're all here! Now what's the big news, Sunset?"
You smile and proceed to tell all the girls all about your first time making love with your man.
---
You, Mac, and Braeburn are in the backyard, silently drinking some apple cider while taking a break from setting up for the hoedown.
You turn to them all. "Oh, guess what guys? Sunset and I had shower sex this morning."
Braeburn and Mac look at you and nod, impressed.
"Nice." Braeburn comments.
"Eeyup." Mac adds with a grin.
You smirk and take another swig of cider before returning your attention to the silence of the outdoors.
You and Braeburn set down the huge barrel of cider you were carrying on the ground next to the snack table. "Alrighty then. That was the last one, right?"
"I think there was one more that Mac was gettin'." Braeburn replies.
You're about to turn back to help him, but he's already on his way over with it. Those barrels are huge, and he's using his massive Hulk hands to carry it all by himself.
He sets it down with a grunt next to yours.
"Was that the last one?" You ask.
"Eeyup." He nods.
"Thank God." You wince as you stretch and your back pops in a few places.
You turn around to check out the backyard. It kind of reminds you of a high school dance on an outdoor basketball court. The heated pavement has melted away any of the snow that was present, and the lights surrounding the dance floor make it nice and warm out here. You feel totally fine. All you really think you'd need is a jacket.
At one end was a stage that was set up with a few musical instruments, all ready to go. A couple guitars and a drum kit. Lots of members of the Apple family are musicians, and they're planning to play some music for everyone. Along the perimeter of the pavement was a row of tables. The only thing that was missing was the food at this point, but judging by the smell in the air, it wasn't too far behind.
You look back at the house to see more Apple family members inside. You don't recognize any of them.
"Looks like the rest of the family's starting to arrive." Braeburn says.
"Eeyup." Big Mac nods.
You look back at them as they start walking out the front gate. "Anything else we need?"
Mac looks back. "Nnope. It's Applejack's shindig now."
Bitchin'.
You nod and turn around to head back inside, but instead, you bump right into Applejack, literally knocking your heads together.
You fall back and grab your now throbbing head. "Ow!"
Applejack grunts as well. "Ah! You okay Anon?! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it!"
You open an eye to see Applejack rubbing her head and looking at you with a worried expression. It knocked her hat off.
You smile and chuckle a little as you stand up. "Yeah, I'm fine... Just a knock on the head. You okay?"
You extend a hand to her. She looks at it a moment and back up to you before taking it.
She stands up slowly and grins at you. "I-I'm fine. Thanks, Sugarcube..."
She stuttered. Her cheeks are red.
...
She must be embarrassed about what just happened.
You laugh and rub your head. "Glad to hear it, Applejack. What's life without a little bump on the head every now and then, huh?"
She chuckles and sets her hands down to her sides. "Y-Yeah, I guess you're right."
She smiles and twists her leg around on her toes.
You clear your throat. "Well, I'm gonna go detox for a bit. My back is killing me." You turn back to the house.
"W-Wait! Anon!" She grabs your hand, making you turn back to her.
"Yeah?"
"Uh..." She stands there for a moment like she's got something on her mind. After a pause, she sighs and smiles. "I just... I wanted to say thanks... for helpin' get stuff ready... I really appreciate it. Really... It's so good to have you back home with me... With us! All of us."
You smile at her again. "No problem, Applejack. That's what friends are for. It's good to be back here too." You wink at her and slide your hand out of hers.
You walk back to the house, groaning and popping your neck. It makes a few good pops as you open the door to the kitchen. Granny Smith is adding a few touch ups on the food in the kitchen with a couple other Apple family members. The smell of turkey and various other foods hits you like a freight train.
"My goodness. Granny Smith, you make 'em like no other. It smells fantastic in here." You say.
Granny Smith turns to you and smiles. "Well shucks, Anon! Ya know I didn't make it fer smellin'! I made it fer eatin'!"
You cock an eyebrow and move closer to the cut up turkey she's working on. "Well then in that case..."
You reach for the dark meat until she smacks your hand. "Now don't y'all be gettin' a taste 'fore its been served, ya hear?!"
You playfully roll your eyes as you near the door. "Ugh, fiiiine. I'll just have to enjoy the SMELL of it..."
She chuckles and smacks you in the back of the head again. "Go on, now! Git!"
You skip out of the kitchen, giggling like a little girl. Granny Smith is so silly. You love her. She's a bit strange and cooky at times, but it's nice to humor her antics every now and then. She appreciates you having a little fun with her.
You take out your phone and text Rarity as you walk back to your room.
You guys having fun?<
You put it back in your pocket and enter your room. You collapse onto the bed and groan.
A few seconds later, your phone vibrates. It's a message from Rarity.
>Yes we did!! :D She'll be back in a few minutes so just wait a bit loverboy ;3 hehe
You chuckle. Sunset must've told her all about the magic you two made this morning with each other.
---
You approach the Apple home with Rarity and turn back to her. "Thanks so much, Rarity! I had a great time talking with you!"
"Why of course, darling! I enjoyed it as well! We simply must do it again, and soon! We'll be great friends, I can already tell!" She replies.
You giggle and nod. "I think so too!"
She smiles and gives you a hug. "Now, tell your boyfriend I said hello, and you two have a happy Thanksgiving, alright?"
"Will do."
You smile and release the hug with her before waving goodbye and heading inside the house.
Rarity is such a nice girl. It was great to get to know her and her friends a bit more. As soon as the holidays were over, you'd have to hang out with them more often. This could be the start of a great friendship.
You step inside the house only to be greeted with the heavenly smell of all kinds of food. It makes you give a happy sigh.
However, on your left, in the living room, you see Applejack sitting on the couch with her head lowered and her arms folded. It immediately makes you feel a little concerned for her. Maybe even a little sorry. She looks so sad. You can only imagine what she's feeling right now. You don't like her for it, sure, but at the same time you don't blame her for liking Anon either. He is a great guy.
You step inside more and clear your throat. "Uh... Hi, Applejack."
She doesn't move for a while. She takes a deep breath and exhales. "Hi Sunset..."
She didn't even look at you.
Your grin fades and you slowly walk down the hall to your and Anon's room, leaving her alone on the couch. You aren't sure why, but you do feel really bad for her. Seeing her like that made you feel... sad. Not guilty, by any means, but you feel like you should do something. She's hardly competition against you for Anon's love, but she is his best friend.
In Equestria, you imagine that you would have felt superior, or even happy at a situation like this. You win and someone else loses. That would please you. But, seeing Applejack like this now? You don't feel good at all.
It might be a good idea to talk to Anon about this. He needs to be made aware of this whole situation.
You rub your neck and open the door to your room. Anon is laying on the bed, looking exhausted.
He smiles up at you. "Hey there, Sunny. How was your chat with Rarity?"
You grin at him and shut the door. "It was fun, Nonny. How was... um, lifting stuff?"
He chuckles. "It was great. Heavy lifting is always rewarding."
You smile and sit down next to him, giving him a quick kiss. "Anon? Can we talk for a little bit?"
He sits up a little. "Sure. What's up?"
You rub your neck nervously and cross your legs. "Well, uh... You know Applejack?"
"My best friend? Of course I do." He replies.
You lick your lips nervously. "Well, do you know about her feelings?"
He scrunched his eyes a bit. "Her feelings?"
You sigh and shut your eyes. Anon is so clueless. Might as well come right out with it.
"Applejack likes you." You say.
He just blinks. "...Say again?"
You clear your throat. "Applejack likes you... Like, she like-likes you. A lot."
You can see his mind working hard to try and process what you just said. "She... Likes me?"
You nod.
"Like, as much as you like me?" He asks.
You grin. "Well, of course not. No one likes you as much as I like you."
He breathes out a tiny chuckle at that. Good job, Sunset. Break up the tension with a little laugh.
"Uh..." He shuts his eyes. "Who... Who told you that Applejack like-likes me?"
"Rarity did." You reply. "She said it was obvious from the way she behaves around you. I can see it too... She is head-over-heels crazy for you. In fact, she's out on the couch right now, and she looks like she's about to cry."
"Obvious..." He breathes out and pauses for a long moment, visibly trying to think.
Then, his eyes start to widen a bit.
---
Holy shit Anon, you're so stupid.
How did you manage to get dressed by yourself all this time? It was all so obvious.
The way she gets all shy and awkward around you, they way her cheeks were always red when she looked at you, how she always went out of her way for you, everything. No one else acts like that around you. How did you not see this before?
"Damn." You barely huff out a chuckle and shake your head. "I'm so stupid..."
Sunset sets her hand on your leg and rubs a little. "Anon..."
"No, I am." You say, staring off into space. "It was right there in front of me. It has been for years, and I just- I still didn't see it."
You think back through the years of growing up with her. All those times you'd been around her and spent time together. All those times you hung out and talked and everything.
You thought of her as a sister. You'd been friendzoning her for years. It must have been killing her.
And this morning?
"Oh no..." You gasp.
She heard you and Sunset having sex. You can't imagine how she must have felt.
You groan and put your head in your hands. You feel terrible.
"Oh, Applejack..." You whisper.
You stay silent as you try to come to terms with what Sunset just told you. The emotional toll you must have been putting on poor Applejack after all this time.
Sunset sets a hand on your shoulder. "Anon?"
You slowly look at her. She looks worried.
You reach up to touch her hand. "I'm fine, Sunset. It's just-" You sigh and shut your eyes. "She's my best friend... And to realize that I was causing her this much sadness over the years... It's gut wrenching..."
She doesn't move her hand from your shoulder.
You think for a bit and look at her again. "Don't worry. I love you, and only you."
She visibly relaxes and smiles a little. "Okay, good. Honestly, I was a little scared."
"Don't be... Applejack is a friend. My greatest friend in the world, but still just a friend. That's all I'll ever see her as." You sigh again and lean over on her shoulder. "I just don't know what to do now that I know about this... Apparently, she's wanted to be more than a friend to me for a while... I see that now. Thinking back on my whole life with her, it is so incredibly obvious... I hate to think that I've been breaking her heart over and over again without knowing all this time."
Sunset softly rubs your hair like a dog as you lean on her. "You didn't mean to, though."
"I know... But I still did it..." You reply.
You both stay there together for a while, saying nothing to each other.
You know that have to talk to Applejack about this, but you're so afraid that you'll make her cry. You can't stand seeing her cry. Especially if she's out on the couch right now all sad. It's Thanksgiving! She deserves to be happy today. She's way too important to you to make her sad.
Being friends with her, it's like...
"Magic..." You whisper.
Sunset stops rubbing your head. "Hmm?"
The song "Do You Believe in Magic?" is playing through your head right now. It's one of your favorites. The one you and Sunset danced to. It's your feelgood song.
"My friendship with Applejack is like magic... We worked so well together growing up. There was nothing we couldn't do. Magic, that's... that's the only thing that comes to mind. The only way I can describe it." You say.
Holy shit, that was lame.
"Friendship... is magic..." Sunset repeats softly.
You nod slowly and stay leaning up against her for a long moment.
There's a pause between you two before Sunset looks down at you. "Go talk to her."
You look back at her. "Now?"
She nods. "Yes. Right now.... If you're being honest with me, then she shouldn't have to wait any longer for closure from you. Even if it hurts right now, she'll keep hurting even more if you say nothing."
You stay silent as you look at her.
"Friends like her don't come around too often, Anon. You can work through this with her together, you just need to be honest with each other. Give her the chance to be open with you. All those feelings she's had have probably been eating away at her for a long time, and they've probably been killing her. She needs closure."
You nod slowly. "Yeah... You're right..."
She smiles. "I've only seen a friendship like one you have with her once before, in my life..." She looks away and mumbles under her breath. "Maybe that's what she was trying to teach me..."
You didn't catch that.
"What?" You say.
She shakes her head and looks back at you. "Never mind. Just go. Talk to her, Anon. She's your friend. Be there for her."
You nod and slowly sit up. "Okay... Okay, I will." You hug Sunset tightly and smile. "Thank you so much, Sunset."
She hugs you back. "You're welcome."
You release her a moment later and stand up. You head out the door and make your way down the hall, your heart thumping hard in nervousness.
You proceed down the hallway and turn the corner into the living room. There's Applejack sitting all alone on the couch, looking sad. She hasn't noticed you yet.
Poor thing.
You take a deep breath and clear your throat. "Applejack?"
She turns to you and immediately puts on the best fake smile she can muster up. "Howdy, Anon!"
You'll give her an "A" for effort, but you can see right through that fake smile.
"Can we talk for a sec?" You ask.
"Sure thing! Pop a squat!" She pats the available space on the couch next to her. You smile at her and sit down. "What's up, Sugarcube?"
You exhale and look at her. "Well, um... Sunset and I were talking just now, and apparently, she heard some stuff today... About you."
Her fake smile fades a bit. "...Like, what kind of stuff? What did Rarity tell her?"
Oh, this is so awkward.
You try to think of the best way to put it, but then you remember who you're dealing with. Just be honest. Come right out and tell the truth.
You take a deep breath. "I know about your feelings for me."
Her eyes widen and her cheeks go bright red. "Uh..."
She twiddles her thumbs and looks down. You can almost see the gears in her mind turn as she desperately tries to search for something to say. Anything to get her out of this.
She gives a nervous laugh and covers her mouth. "I- I don't know wh- what you're talkin' about... Ha! That Rarity! Such a kidder, am I right?!"
Bullshit.
"Applejack, you're not a good liar." You reply.
She forces herself to laugh harder and stands up. "Lie?! What?! Haha! Anon, come on! I- I ain't lyin'! I'm j- just-"
"Applejack..." You calmly interrupt.
She stammers for a few more seconds before sighing and sitting back down next to you. Her fake smile vanishes altogether. "Alright, fine... You got me... Yes... I... I like you, Sugarcube... A lot..."
She takes her hat off and slouches down, resting her head in her hands. Saying that looks like it took a huge weight off her shoulders. She takes a shaky breath and accidentally drops her hat at her feet, but makes no attempt to pick it back up.
Now you feel really bad for her.
You stay there quietly and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I have for years... Ever since I met you, pretty much... But I was too shy to say anythin'..." She chuckles a little. "Imagine that... Me, good ol' Applejack, bein' all shy 'n stuff..."
You rub her shoulder. "Why didn't you try and get over me?"
She doesn't say anything for a long time.
"I, uh... I guess I just... Hoped that... One day... Maybe... We could..." You hear her sniff.
Oh, this is killing you.
You put your arm around her and she leans against you. She sniffs again. "I just... I love you, Anon... I always have... But... But now you're with Sunset and you're so happy with her, and I want to be happy for you too, I really do, but at the same time it hurts so much seeing her with you, and... and..." She trails off as she starts crying more.
"Oh, Applejack..." You rock her back and forth in your arms as she cries.
Neither of you say anything for a long time. There's nothing you can say to her, really. You just hold your best friend close to you and let her cry. It's all you can do.
"I'm so sorry..." She says.
"No, I'm sorry." You say She sniffs again and looks up at you. Her eyes are red and her cheeks are wet with her tears. "I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner... Looking back, it was all so obvious... I should've known, or at least had a hunch, but I didn't..."
Her lip quivers and she looks down sadly, sniffing once again.
"Believe me, if I had known sooner, I would've said something... I hate seeing you like this..." You stay silent another moment and raise her chin up, making her look at you again. "You mean too damn much to me, Applejack. You've been the greatest friend anyone could ever ask for. You're like a sister to me! I don't want this friendship we have to be ruined because I can't return your feelings."
She sniffs again and nods. "Right... Y- You've got Sunset now..." She cries again and hugs you. "It hurts, Anon... It hurts so much seein' her with you... She kisses you and hugs you and everythin' and I just... Just-"
She's now sobbing openly. You feel your shirt get wet from her tears, but you don't do anything. You softly rub her hair and try to comfort her as best as you can.
"Sh- She has n- no idea... How lucky she is..." She says between sobs.
You gently rock her back and forth and let her get it all out. Nothing can be said right now, all you do is sit and be there for her. You both stay there for a long time, just the two of you.
After a few good minutes, she finally starts breathing slowly again. Her sobs have been reduced to sniffles.
She slowly sits up and wipes some tears away. "S- Sorry... About your shirt..."
You chuckle and shake your head. "It's okay."
She smiles a little and sniffs again.
"I'm sorry I can't say that I'm in love with you too." You say. She nods slowly, still looking sad. "But I still love and cherish you as my greatest friend in the whole world... Nothing and no one will ever change that."
She stays silent for another moment. "O- Okay... I still have that then, I guess..."
You grin. "And you always will."
You reach down and pick up her hat at her feet and hand it to her. She looks at it for a moment before taking it from you, but she doesn't put it on.
She smiles and hugs you again. "Thank you so much, Anon."
You hug her back tight. "You're more than welcome."
You stay there for a while, just hugging her tight.
From the hallway, you see Sunset tentatively look around the corner at you. The look on her face is asking if everything is okay.
You smile and nod at her slowly. She smiles back and gives you a thumbs up before walking back behind the corner towards your room.
Applejack sniffs and sits up again. "I just... Need to be strong, I guess..."
You nod at her. "You'll always be my greatest friend, I hope you know. I'll always be there for you."
She smiles. "Thank you, Anon."
You smile back. "You're welcome."
You stand up and take a deep breath. It's now that you hear the muffled sound of people talking and country music being played.
Right, the Apple Family Thanksgiving hoedown.
"Are you going outside?" You ask.
She shakes her head and wipes her nose, sniffling. "No... Not yet, anyway... I kinda... need to be alone for a little while."
"Okay." You smile and start to walk backwards. "So, I guess I'll see you later then?"
She smiles and nods. "Eeyup... See ya later, Sugarcube."
You smile again and head back down the hallway. You take a deep breath and run a hand through your hair. You're tired, but you feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders as well. It feels good.
---
You're pacing back and forth in your room and chewing on your thumbnail nervously. Anon's been talking to Applejack for a long time. It looked like everything was going okay though, so you aren't worried. You're just anxious. You need to know what's going on.
The door clicks and you turn around to see Anon walk inside.
You smile at each other and he shuts the door behind him. "Oh man..."
He sighs and leans back against the door before sinking down to sit on the floor.
You walk over and sit down in front of him, resting your chin on his knees. "Everything okay?"
He nods. "Yeah, all is well. We're still friends, and she'll be fine."
"Good." You smile and scoot over to sit right next to him.
You rest your head on his shoulder and he kisses it before resting his head on yours. You grab his hand and hold it tight. The both of you stay quiet as he rubs your hand with his thumb.
"Sorry this all happened..." He says. "Here and now."
You smile and squeeze his hand. "It's okay."
You keep yourself against him for another long moment, saying nothing.
"Are you going to the dance thingy?" You ask.
He sighs. "I don't really want to now. This whole thing kinda killed my mood, you know?"
You nod. "Mmhmm."
"Did you want to go?" He asks.
"Well, I was planning on it earlier, but then this whole thing happened..." You reply.
"We can still go if you want." He says.
"No that's okay." You smile at him and give him a kiss. "I'd rather stay here and snuggle with you, anyway."
"Aww." He smiles and kisses you back. "Thanks, Sunny."
"You're welcome, Nonny." You cuddle against him again.
...
"I am kinda hungry though." You admit.
He nods. "Me too."
"Wanna just make an appearance?" You ask. "Go grab some food then come back up here and watch a movie or something?"
He smiles softly. "That sounds like a great idea."
You grin at him and the both of you stand up. You walk out into the hallway with his hand in yours and head downstairs.
Passing through the kitchen, you both walk outside to see the backyard flooded with people dancing with their respective partners. The girl onstage finishes a song and the rest of the people cheer and applaud.
"Thanks! Thank y'all very very much!" She says.
Anon gives you a little tug and points to the big table of food. "There's the good stuff."
You look at the food and smile. "Ooh! Pumpkin pie!"
He chuckles and you both head over there, grabbing a couple of plates and helping yourself to some food.
The girl onstage continues talking. "Now y'all, I know was well as you do that this wouldn't be no good shindig if'n we didn't have a slow song or two. So, how 'bout you grab that special someone, and let's get some mood lighting in here..."
The white lights fade into red, blue, and purple. You look around as dancers and people take their loved ones by the hand and spread out along the dance floor.
She motions to the band behind her and the music starts.
"...Here's one you might remember from The Cranberries." She says.
Anon stands next to you with a plate of food in his hands as the music begins to swell. You both look at each other and smile a little.
He shrugs and sets his plate down on a nearby table before extending an arm out to you. "May I have this dance?"
You smile wide and set your plate next to his before taking his arm. "It would be my pleasure."
The two of you walk onto the dance floor, hand-in-hand, among the crowd of people. Facing him, you put your right hand on his shoulder and take his hand with your left. He places his hand on your waist and you both begin to slowly sway to the music as the girl starts to sing.
This song is beautiful.
---
You just stare at Sunset and smile as you both dance together. She's so beautiful. You love her so much.
As you dance to the music, your eyes catch a glimpse of Applejack standing in the doorway to the house. You both lock eyes with each other for a moment. Just staring at each other.
Finally, she smiles at you. A real, genuine smile. She gives you a small thumbs up before putting her hands back together.
You smile back at her and nod in thanks.
She stands there for another moment, just watching you and Sunset dance together, before slowly turning around and heading back into the house.
You exhale and look back at Sunset. She smiles at you and you kiss her. While you do love her with all your heart, you do feel bad for Applejack. You just wish you could've known sooner so you didn't have to inadvertently drag her along all these years.
She'll be okay though. She's tough. This is just one of life's little speedbumps that she has to pass over. You're positive that she'll find a great guy someday. She'd be a great catch.
You and Sunset continue dancing with each other, just enjoying being with one another.
You still cannot believe how incredibly lucky you are to have found her. You just wanted to help out a poor, starving, homeless girl living in the dumpster next to your place. You never thought that she'd end up being the young woman you fell in love with. It's like she appeared out of thin air, just for you. It's unexplainable.
A part of you still can't believe she's real. Yet, here she is. In your arms, slow dancing with you to the song Linger. It's like something out of a fairy tail. If there's one thing in the world that you're thankful for this Thanksgiving, it's her.
As the song ends, you smile at her and slow your dancing.
"I love you, Sunset." You say.
Sunset smiles back at you. "I love you too, Anon."
You share a long, loving kiss as the song fades out.
"Let's see here... Hmm... Perfume... Would that be nice? Or maybe a candle or something?"
You are Anon.
Right now, you're at the mall with Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow, and the kids, and you're Christmas shopping for Sunset. It should be a fun time, but the problem you're having is you don't know what to get her. It's Christmas Eve, and you're a fool for waiting this long, you know, but with living arrangements being screwy, and you looking around for work, it's been difficult to find the time to go shopping.
Thankfully, Sunset was back at Pinkie's place and was busy making cookies with her and Applejack. She was smart and got her shopping done a few days ago. You're excited to see what she got you, but you're more excited to see the look on her face when you give her your present. However, you're missing one crucial factor in that equation: a good present.
Sure, it's the thought that counts and all, but it's fun to spoil girls on Christmas. You just don't know what to spoil them with! Especially this girl. Sunset is the love of your life, and you want your first Christmas together to really mean something special. Not just for you, but for her.
During the relatively short time you've been together, you've noticed that she's very out of touch with things. Movies, music, tv shows, just about everything. You've asked her how she hasn't caught on to the trends and stuff before, but she gets hesitant and distant and claims that she hasn't had a chance to get into anything. It's like she was living under a rock before she met you.
Or, rather, in a dumpster...
She obviously has some secrets that she hasn't told you. You don't even know where she's from. She told you that cute little story about the unicorns and the pony world and Princess Celeste or whatever, and while you loved her cute childlike attitude, that wasn't exactly the answer you were after. You would like to know where she really is from.
It's a good question for another time though. Now is the time for Christmas. As soon as you're done here, you're all going to go back to Pinkie's place, pick them up with some cookies, and go look at the Christmas lights they have set up at the town square. You're excited to see the look on her face when she sees all the lights too.
You look around at all the perfume options available to you in the store. There are just so many, you have no idea what to get her. You don't even know if perfume would be a great present. It's overwhelming.
You whine and hop up and down a little like a pouty child. "Rarityyyy! I neeeed yoooou!"
On your right, Rarity walks around the corner with tons of shopping bags in her hands. "Oh, stop whining, darling! I'm right here!"
Thank the Good Lord you brought her with you to the mall.
You sigh. "I need your help! I have no idea what to get Sunset for Christmas! I mean, I have an idea, maybe, but there are just so many options here and I doubt myself, because it has to be perfect for her, because I love her like crazy!"
She sets her bags down and grabs your shoulders, shaking you a little. "Anonymous, calm down! Everything will be alright!" You stop panicking and look her in the eyes. "I will help you pick out a present for Sunset, alright? Just stay calm and I'll walk you through it."
You take a deep breath and nod at her. "Okay."
She smiles and releases you. "Now, what idea for a present do you have so far?"
You take a deep breath and she releases you. "Well, there is this selection of perfumes." You take a big purple bottle off the shelf and handle it. "Maybe she would like one of them."
Before you even finished talking, Rarity is already shaking her head. "No. Don't get her perfume. Not for Christmas. That's not a good Christmas present. It would make a wonderful Valentine's present, but not Christmas."
You frown and put it back on the shelf. "Well, what about a candle? They're great around Christmas."
"True, darling, but they don't make the best presents by themselves. They're best as an accent to another Christmas present you've gotten." She says. "You want to look for something physical, but also meaningful or useful. Something that can last for a long time. Jewelry, or clothing, or even a new appliance, if she likes to cook or something."
You shake your head. "I like to cook, but I don't know if she likes to cook."
"Me, I hate cooking. It's messy, it's difficult, and frankly, I'm bad at it. I'm not losing any sleep over that fact, I'm just saying. It runs in the family, too. One morning, Sweetie Belle managed to burn orange juice." She says before waving her hand dismissively. "That's neither here nor there, though... My point is, for an ideal Christmas gift, you need to find something that she will like, she will use, and that will last for a while."
Something Sunset will like and use for a while, huh?
You cross your arms and think for a moment before looking back at her. "You mentioned jewelry... There's a jewelry store on the other side of the mall. Let's head there and see what they have."
Rarity smiles. "Sounds like a plan. We'll go as soon as I'm done here." She picks up her bags. "While you're waiting for my expert opinion, would you be a doll and go take the girls to go see Santa? They've been waiting long enough, I think."
"Yes, we have!" A frustrated Sweetie Belle shouts from the next aisle over.
From around the corner, she comes walking towards you with Applebloom and Scootaloo in tow.
Rarity smiles and walks away. You follow after her as she turns another corner. There, you're met with Fluttershy, who is carrying a SHITLOAD of shopping bags in her arms.
Rarity piles on some of her shopping bags onto Fluttershy's already massive load. "Come along, Fluttershy! We're not done here yet!"
Fluttershy grunts and her legs shake a little under all those presents. "Happy.... to.... help.... out...." She tries to smile.
You're about to offer your help, when suddenly, you get yanked out of the store by the three little girls you're with.
"Anon, come on!" Applebloom says with a smile.
"We have to go see Santa!" Scootaloo adds.
You chuckle as you're dragged out of the store by the three girls. Man, you love Christmastime.
---
You are Sunset Shimmer.
Right now, you're in Pinkie Pie's kitchen helping her and Applejack make Christmas sugar cookies. You've got little sugar cookie men, Christmas trees, stars, snowmen, and Pinkie wanted ones shaped like balloons, for some reason. This is her kitchen, so you obliged her.
Anon, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow and the girls went to the mall about two hours ago, and you three have been making cookies and stuff in the meantime. As soon as they get back, everyone was going to help wrap presents, and then you were going into town to see the Christmas lights.
You're so excited. Canterlot had lights set up during Hearth's Warming Eve that always looked so pretty every year, and you're looking forward to seeing the human world's equivalent. Anon has shown you videos and pictures of Christmas lights, but he says they don't do them justice, and that they're far better in person. Which makes sense. The Hearth's Warming lights were much better when you were seeing the real things too.
As you're spreading icing on a few of the finished cookies, the oven timer dings and Pinkie hops over to pull this new batch out. The smell of sugar cookies is absolutely heavenly.
Pinkie nods excitedly. "Yep! It's awesome, huh?! I haven't made this many cookies since I was in 8th grade!"
You lean against the counter, taking a little break. "Was it for a bake sale or something?"
She shrugs and takes a bite of a finished cookie. "No, it was just a Friday night, and I was bored."
You look at Applejack. She just chuckles and shrugs it off like she's used to it.
This chick is crazy. You will admit, you didn't much care for Pinkie when you first met her. Her wild car ride she took you and Anon on from the airport was enough to make you want to avoid her forever, but when she wouldn't go away, you figured you might as well try liking her.
She has now become one of your closest friends. She still surprises the hell out of you sometimes, though.
She bends down and grabs another tray full of regular circle sugar cookies. She puts them in the oven and sets the timer for... an hour?
"Pinkie, what are you doing?" You ask.
"This batch is Maud's!" She says. "She likes them really burnt and crunchy!"
Maud?
You cock your head. "Who's Maud?"
"...Hello."
You scream at the top of your lungs and bolt over to the other side of the kitchen. Holy shit, that was right in your ear.
You hyperventilate as you press yourself against the wall and stare at the girl who just entered the kitchen. She's wearing a bland, plain, dark purple dress and she's holding a little rock in her hand. Her hair is completely straight and her expression is completely neutral. Everything about her screams 'bored'.
You gasp and pant for air while Pinkie and Applejack start laughing at you.
"...Sorry." The girl says.
She even sounds like she's bored out of her mind.
Pinkie walks up to her and gives her a hug. "This is my big sister Maud! Maud, this is Sunset Shimmer!"
Maud gazes blankly at Pinkie before gazing back at you. "...Nice to meet you."
You take a deep breath and compose yourself. "Likewise, Maud."
She just slowly blinks. This girl is Pinkie's sister? Pinkie Pie's biological sister? That's hard to believe.
Pinkie turns to her. "Maud, I just put your batch of cookies in the oven! I'm making them just the way you like them!"
She just blinks again. "Thanks... Boulder is getting hungry."
Boulder? Does she mean... the rock?
Applejack hands her a couple cookies from batch 13 that were left in the oven a little too long. "Here you go, Maud. Think these'll tide him over 'till they're done?"
She takes them and inspects them. "Sure.... Thanks."
She crushes them in her hand and starts sprinkling the crumbs on top of the rock in her other hand. It's making a mess.
She walks out of the kitchen, still sprinkling the crumbs on top of the rock. You're speechless, but everything seems to be in its proper place now. Pinkie's weird, and so is Maud. She's just a different kind of weird. The Pies are just weird people in general.
But you aren't here to judge. You used to be a talking pony, after all.
You chuckle to yourself and resume spreading icing on some of the finished cookies.
---
This line to see Santa Claus is long. Very long. Thankfully, you and the three girls are almost to the front. You want to go to the jewelry store and pick out a present for Sunset. The mall won't be open forever, and it's packed with people. You're a little worried that all the good presents will be gone by the time you get out of this line.
You check the time on your phone. It's still pretty early in the afternoon, but it's already getting dark out. Winter totally messes up the natural day and night cycle. It feels like it's 8pm.
You put your phone down as the next kid leaves Santa's lap, and you're that much closer to the front of the line. There's nothing to worry about. You're going to get a great present for Sunset, and this Christmas will be perfect.
"You know what's incredible?" Sweetie Belle and Applebloom look at Scootaloo. "There are thousands of malls all over the country, and every single year, Santa comes to visit this one!"
"Yeah, that is weird!" Sweetie Belle says.
"Our town must be really nice!" Applebloom adds.
You smile and laugh to yourself. Kids at this age are so cute. It's wonderful.
You wait there a few moments with the girls, thinking about whatever pops into your head when suddenly, you feel your phone vibrate. You whip it out of your pocket again and answer it.
"Pretty good! Twilight and Rainbow left to go to the bookstore a little bit ago, and Rarity and Fluttershy are looking around at their favorite stores. They're all still shopping but I took a break with the kids. We're waiting in line to see Santa right now."
"Ooh sounds like fun!"
You chuckle a little. "How are the Christmas cookies coming? Did Pinkie eat them all?"
She giggles. "Oh no. We made 21 batches! The kitchen is a disaster!"
21 batches, good hell.
"I bet it is." You laugh again.
"I was just taking a little break from spreading on frosting and thought I'd call and ask when you'll be back." She says.
"We should be back soon." You reply. "Once the kids talk to Santa, I've got one more place I need to visit, then I'll let Rarity and Fluttershy know we're good to go."
"Okay, sounds good." She says. "See you when you get back! I love you!"
You smile. "Love you too, Sunny."
You hang up and sigh. You're just so happy. This is going to be the best Christmas ever, you can just tell.
"Awwww!!" The trio of young voices gets your attention.
The three girls are looking up at you with puppy-dog eyes and smiles on their faces.
You smirk. "What are you three looking at?"
They start laughing. "It's just cute, Anon!"
Scootaloo sighs. "I hope I can have a boyfriend that loves me as much as you love her someday!"
You smile and rustle Scootaloo's hair. "Don't worry, squirt. I'm sure you will. Enjoy being a kid while you can, though. Trust me."
The people ahead of you walk away from Santa, waving goodbye to the sweet old man, and you finally make it to the front of the line.
You text Rarity and let her know that you're done as the girls go one-by-one to sit on Santa's lap. She tells you to meet her and Fluttershy by the bookstore. When the girls finish, they wave goodbye to Santa as well, and you all make your way there.
At the entrance, you spot Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. They wave as you approach. Rarity seems to have taken a great deal of Fluttershy's bags from her as they all stand around and wait for you. She looks relieved.
"Hey girls." You say. "Where's Twilight?"
Rainbow rolls her eyes. "She's still in there, looking around. I was happy with my new Daring Do book, but she wanted to look at everything. I got sick of waiting. I want to go to the sports store, before all the good stuff is sold out."
Scootaloo smiles. "Ooh! I'll go with you, Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow grins. "Alright! Let's go."
Scootaloo runs over to Rainbow and the two of them walk away.
Rarity smiles. "Sweetie Belle. You and Applebloom go with Fluttershy to find Twilight in the bookstore. Anonymous, come with me."
"Right." You nod.
The girls go with Fluttershy. Rarity gives her back all her bags before she walks over to you. The both of you head through the mall and go to the jewelry store. As you walk inside, you look around at all the display cases. Each one is filled with all kinds of expensive jewelry.
You clear your throat. "Okay, Rarity. Let's look around."
She nods and the two of you wander through the store, looking through the display cases. Rings, necklaces, earrings, and even broaches of all kinds are in here. They're all so sparkly and nice. You feel like you're wasting a fortune just standing here, taking it all in.
You continue browsing the pieces of jewelry this store has to offer. Thankfully, it's located inside a mall, so many of them have relatively reasonable price tags. There are no Pink Panther diamonds here. Only a handful of jewelry items are in the thousands. Still, it's all jewelry, so nothing here is exactly cheap, but you don't care. It's for Sunset.
As you move to the next jewelry case, you stop as something catches your eye. Inside, you spot a red and yellow sun-shaped necklace on a small gold chain beside a pair of matching earrings. They even match the colors in her hair. They are absolutely beautiful.
"Rarity?" You breathe.
You keep staring at the necklace and earrings as Rarity comes up next to you to look inside.
She gasps softly. "Oh my goodness, it's dazzling."
"They're perfect for her." You say with a growing smile.
"There's a complimentary note you can have calligraphed with it by one of the associates here." Rarity says, pointing to a little notice beside the necklace.
You stare at the necklace for another long moment before knocking on the glass and standing up straight. "I'm getting it."
Rarity smiles at you. "She'll love it, darling. I approve."
You smile back at her and get the jewelry associate's attention. He comes over and you talk for a moment before settling on a price for them both. Not cheap, but not overly expensive either. You can afford it. He takes your money and begins taking the earrings out of the case to put in a nice box, along with the necklace in a separate box.
Before he closes the necklace box, he asks you what note you'd like him to write. You think for a moment before telling him. He nods and pulls out a nice looking pen with gold ink and expertly writes down what you requested. He hands it to you and you read it.
Rarity smiles at you when you finish. "That's so adorable, darling. Sunset will absolutely love it."
You smile back at her for a moment before giving the note one last look. Then, you slip it in with the necklace and close the box.
You thank the associate and leave the store with Rarity, smiling the whole way. You cannot wait to see the look on her face when you give these to her. You'll probably give the earrings to her when you give everyone else their presents too, but you want to have a moment with her when you give her the necklace. Just the two of you. It will be magical.
As you and Rarity reach the entrance, you spot the rest of the girls waiting for you.
Rarity waves when she sees them. "There you all are!"
They all wave at you and you catch up with them. Twilight is holding a few books, Rainbow has a new soccer ball, among other things, and the kids are holding a few bags of Rarity's stuff that Fluttershy was holding before. No one has any free hands. Fluttershy is holding the majority of the bags though. She looks like she's struggling to hold it all, despite giving a few of them to the kids.
"Uh, Fluttershy? Do you want some help?" You ask.
She grunts, obviously straining to keep herself in an upright position. "Um... if.... it's not... too... much trouble... I wouldn't... mind..."
You chuckle and take some of the load off of her hands. Rarity does as well.
She exhales and starts taking deep breaths. "Thank you..."
You grin and grunt as you lift your load. These bags are heavy, how much did Rarity buy? You're kind of scared to find out. It is Rarity, after all...
"Alright, everyone! Let's head out!" Rarity says.
She turns tail and you all follow her out the doors into the freezing cold weather together. As soon as you get to the parking lot, you see Fluttershy's van. She lucked out and managed to park close to the entrance.
"Shotgun!" Rainbow shouts.
"Dammit..." You curse, softly.
Applebloom slaps your wrist. "Anon! Watch your mouth!"
"Sorry."
The girls all laugh as Rainbow stands next to the passenger side, claiming her spot. You're getting coal from Santa this year, you bad boy.
After loading up the girls, putting all the presents in the back, and getting into your seats, Fluttershy carefully drives back to Pinkie's house. Now, all that's left is to wrap your presents and go see the Christmas lights.
---
You cough and sputter as Pinkie removes the charcoal cookies from the oven.
You're standing there next to her with the fire extinguisher at the ready. You've had too many bad experiences with fire, and you aren't about to have another one.
She hums happily as she sets the tray on the stove. "Perfect!"
Perfect? These aren't even cookies anymore!
She turns to you with a huge smile. "Maud likes them really, really crunchy! She asks me to make these for her every year! They're her favorite!"
You lower the fire extinguisher a little and stare at her. "No offense Pinkie, but your family is weird."
She just giggles again. "Well, duh! What fun is there in not being weird, silly?!"
You grin and roll your eyes.
Applejack claps her hands together, causing you and Pinkie to look at her. "Alright, y'all. They should be back home soon, so let's finish up our cleanin' real quick."
"Right." You turn around and grab a cloth and start wiping off the spilled icing and crumbs from where you were working.
You work as fast as you can so you can go upstairs real quick and make yourself look nice and cute for Anon. You don't look too messy, but your hands and arms are covered in flour and icing and stuff.
Times like this are when you miss having magic. You could just poof the mess away in half a second.
Ah well. You gave up magic, but you found true love in exchange. Not a bad trade in your head.
After a few minutes, your area looks pretty good. You wash your arms and hands, take off your apron and run upstairs into the bathroom.
You close the door and quickly inspect your hair in the mirror. You fix a few minor details and fluff it up a bit to make it perfect.
"Looking good, Sunset... Cute... Very cute... Super cute... Okay! I'm ready!" You smile.
Just then, you hear the door open downstairs, followed by footsteps.
"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!"
That's Anon's voice!
You open the door and look downstairs. Anon has Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hanging off his arms and Applebloom riding on his shoulders. Behind him, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow come inside with presents.
They're all laughing and smiling at Anon and the girls. It's such a cute sight to see.
You sigh. You love him so much.
He sets the girls down and they all laugh. You start descending the stairs, looking at him with a smile.
He finally turns to you and brightens up. "There's my girl!"
You smile wider and skip over to him. You jump into his arms and he catches you. You wrap your arms and legs around him and kiss him happily. It's like you haven't seen him in years, even though it's only been a few hours.
---
The kiss ends and you look her in those beautiful eyes of hers. "Hey gorgeous."
She giggles. "Hey babe."
She looks great.
You set her down and smile. "I'm famished. Let me taste one of your cookies."
"Okay!" She smiles.
You both giggle and she takes your hand, leading you into the kitchen.
You walk inside and greet Pinkie and Applejack. "Hey girls!"
"Howdy Anon!"
"Hi Anon!" Pinkie runs up to you holding a plate of, like, 20 cookies. "Here! These are for you!"
You hesitate. "All of them?"
Pinkie nods excitedly. "Yep! And they're all in everyone's favorite Christmas shapes! There's Santa, Rudolf, Frosty, and Baby Jesus!"
You laugh a little and look behind her to see hundreds of cookies stacked on top of each other. Sunset wasn't kidding on the phone.
You take the plate from her and smile. "Well... thanks, Pinkie!"
"Don't just thank me!" She smiles and points at Sunset. "She helped out a bunch too!"
Right.
You turn to her and smile. "Thanks, Sunny Bunny."
She smiles back and kisses you. "You're very welcome, Nonny."
You take a cookie and start eating it. It's really yummy. She did a great job.
From behind, Rarity knocks on the kitchen doorframe to get your attention. "Pinkie Pie, darling, where is your wrapping paper? We have presents to wrap for tomorrow before we go out to see the lights!"
Pinkie smiles. "I'll show you! I need to take Maud her cookies anyway!"
She grabs a tray of, what looks like lumps of coal, and heads out of the kitchen. How festive. Rarity follows her.
You and Sunset look at each other and smile. You put your hands in your jacket pockets, feeling the box that contains her sun necklace. Even though Christmas is tomorrow, you want to give it to her tonight. You can't wait that long. Once you get back home from seeing the lights, you'll give it to her. Then tomorrow, she can also get her earrings in front of everyone else.
She giggles. "Come on. Applejack said something about putting on a Christmas movie while we wait for it to get dark out."
"Sounds fun." You smile. "Just no peeking at your presents."
She smiles back at you and takes your hand as you go out into the living room. Applejack has turned on the TV and A Christmas Story starts playing. Rarity and Pinkie return a few moments later with the wrapping paper, and Rarity starts divvying up everyone's presents, according to who bought them.
You each segregate yourselves from each other and wrap your presents while also watching the movie. Pinkie is helping out as much as she can too. A party addict like her has wrapped so many presents in her life, she can literally do it blindfolded. It's incredible, and helpful, since that way, she can wrap a few presents, without being spoiled with knowing what she or anyone else got.
After a few minutes, all the presents are wrapped and put under Pinkie's tree. Hopefully, no one saw what you got them. You didn't see anything that anyone else got you. Now, you're all sitting there with each other watching the movie while you wait for it to get dark out. Once the movie is over, you'll head into town to look at the lights.
It's at the part where Flik sticks his tongue to the pole and gets stuck. You love this movie.
Finally, you all arrive at a good parking spot near the town center and step out of Fluttershy's van. It's dark out, cold, and snowing again. Just how you like it for Christmas.
You shake a little into your coat to get warmer as the snow crunches beneath your feet. You can see your breath. Sunset steps out of the van behind you and shivers a little bit, but smiles. She's clearly excited. You take each other's hands as you step onto the sidewalk with each other. Rainbow and Pinkie join you a moment later with the kids. Twilight and Applejack walk over with Rarity and Fluttershy. Everyone's here.
Even though you're not technically at the town square yet, you can already see lots of Christmas lights on the buildings around you. They're beautiful. Of all the wonderful things about Christmas, the lights are your absolute favorite.
You all begin walking down the sidewalk towards the town square, passing all the buildings with light displays on them. A few of the girls take their phones out to take pictures. Sunset is holding your hand, but she's looking up at everything in wonder.
As you round a corner, you reach the town square. A massive Christmas tree adorned with colorful ornaments, and white, red, and green lights stands in the center. A large star sits at its top, and a Nativity scene sits at its base. Around the square, a small train is set up for people to ride around in. The track goes through a little path that's filled with lights and signs telling the story "'Twas the Night Before Christmas'. Peaceful music is playing on speakers all over the place. People are standing around and talking, taking pictures, and waiting in line for the train.
"Oh my gosh..." Sunset gasps as she looks around at it all. You can see her eyes sparkling and twinkling as she smiles.
It makes you smile too. She's completely awestruck at all the lights and décor. You wrap your arm around her waist and hold her close. She smiles at you for a moment before returning her gaze to the lights all around.
"What do you think, Sunny?" You ask.
"It's beautiful." She breathes.
You give her another little squeeze as you look at the Christmas lights. With your other hand, you feel the box containing her necklace inside your coat pocket. You so badly want to give it to her now, but you decide to wait. It looks like your group is spreading out to do some other stuff.
"Oooh!" Pinkie exclaims. "There's a place to get some egg nog!"
"Egg nog?!" Rainbow gasps.
They both run past you all and head to a cute egg nog stand on the sidewalk.
Applebloom turns to her sister. "Applejack, can we ride the train?"
Applejack smiles. "Sure thing, Sugarcube! Let's get in line."
Twilight perks up. "I'll go too. 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' is one of my favorite stories."
Applejack smiles and leads Twilight and the kids to the end of the line. The rest of you walk down the street by a few of the lit shops that are open. Most of them are selling candy, cheap stuffed toys, and Christmas stuff. Nothing too extravagant, but still super cute.
From behind, Fluttershy gasps. "Oh, look! Reindeer!"
You all turn to where she's pointing. Behind the massive tree, you see a little animal pen with a few reindeer inside. Real reindeer. Caribou. That's impressive. Fluttershy smiles wide and runs over to them.
Rarity giggles behind you. "Well, I'm going to check out this store for a little while, darlings. You can join me if you'd like. If not, I'll catch up with you later."
You nod. "Sounds good, Rarity."
She smiles and turns around to enter one of the Christmas stores, leaving just you and Sunset behind.
You both turn to each other and smile. "Well Sunny, where do you want to go first?"
She smiles wide and looks around at the town square again, admiring the lights and overall ambiance for another moment.
"Anywhere. I really don't have a preference. It's all so pretty here, I'm really happy with wherever." She replies.
You grin and take her hand in yours again. "Alright. Let's just look around a bit for now."
She smiles and the two of you continue down the street together, looking at all the lights in the town square for a little while longer. This moment won't last forever, so you want to enjoy it and drag it out as much as you can with her.
This is your favorite time of year.
---
You and Sunset enter the Apple's house, being quiet as much as you can. Some of the Apples in here have already gone to bed. You both have your shares of sugar cookies as well.
"Did you have fun today?" You whisper to her.
She looks at you and smiles. "I had a great time, Anon. Thank you so much for taking me to see the lights."
"You're welcome, Sunny."
You kiss each other softly and tiptoe past the living room. The electric fireplace is still on, as well as the Christmas tree.
Now is the time.
"Hang on Sunset." You grab her arm and gently pull her back to you. "I've, uh, actually got something for you..."
She looks curious as you pull out the tiny black box in your pocket and hand it to her.
"I didn't want to wait until tomorrow."
She smiles and slowly opens it and her eyes widen. She covers her mouth as she reads the note inside. It says, 'To my one and only sunshine. -Yours forever, Anon.'
After a few seconds, her eyes start to water. She sniffs and pulls out the necklace, smiling the most beautiful smile.
"It's... It looks like... my..." She stammers.
She's totally speechless. She shakes her head some, almost in disbelief, before she looks to you with an enormous smile and hugs you tight.
"Thank you... Thank you so much, Anon... I... I can't even..."
She starts crying happy tears and you wrap your arms around her. You smile wide and rest your head on hers and stroke her hair, letting her know you're there and she's loved.
"This is... This is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me... In my life..."
You just smile and continue to comfort her. "Anything for you, Sunset."
She laughs and cries some more, clutching your back. "I love you... So much..."
"And I love you..." You reply. "More than words can say..."
After a few moments of hugging, you release her and stare into her beautiful eyes. You wipe some of her tears away and she smiles her beautiful smile at you once again.
"Merry Christmas, Sunset."
She giggles some and kisses you. "Merry Christmas, Anon." She looks down at the necklace again before closing the box and smiling. "I'll cherish this forever."
It feels so wonderful to hear her say that.
You hold her in a half-hug and continue towards your room. You will burn this memory into your soul as the best Christmas of all time. The first Christmas that you got to spend with the sunshine of your life; your light in the darkness.
