Ode to Joy. Just two guitar strings to sound like a mighty good musician at Christmas time.
Applejack loved it since she was a kid. The first song she ever learned, and the first one she belted out to the family. She even loved the name. “Ode to Joy” – singing out just for the sheer joy of it. Plucking those old, familiar notes never failed to pick her out of a funk. Especially at this time of the year, with Christmas just ten days away.
“Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away...”
There was a first day for everything. Three times through the song and she capped it with a long, glum sigh.
Fourth time’s the charm. Sitting propped on her bed, Applejack’s hands went through the lazy motions on her guitar. It wasn’t even memorization. That took thought and focus. Her fingers knew what to do, leaving her mind free to watch the darkened sky.
Clouds and snow. Cold and unfriendly.
“Joyful music leads us onward in the triumph song of life...”
She mouthed the words. Never sang. That was Rainbow’s jam. If Applejack ever sang they’d have to rename into the Frogbooms.
“Frogbooms.” Applejack smiled. She read once that even fake smiles made you feel better.
...Horseapples. The smile fell. She called out, “You gonna hide up there forever?”
Sunset’s grumbling voice gave no hint of surprise. “How’d you know I was here?”
The fingers never stopped moving. “Hearts unfold like flowers before thee...”
“I heard you open the window. Besides, this is an old house. Y’all could sit still as a dead tree and there’d be this little noise from wherever you were. Made for some fun hide and seek back in the day.”
Sunset was in no mood for story-time. She all but barked, “Stop the music.”
Applejack placed her palm on the strings, silencing them.
No word of thanks. No apology for sneaking in. It was almost needless when Sunset said, “I’m still mad.”
Applejack laid the instrument aside. “That’s your right.”
Sunset went off. Healthier for the girl than keeping it in. “I’m going to be honest with you, I do not know if I’m ever going to be un-mad from this. You all absolutely crushed me when I needed you most. You threw me in the ditch to die ‘Anon-a-Miss-ly,’ and I’m really not big on reconnecting with my so-called friends after they put me through that.”
“It’s okay to be angry,” Applejack said calmly.
This would be tricky.
Sunset spat. “Don’t give me the ‘Big Sis’ routine, I don’t want to hear it. I know it’s okay to be angry. I am very okay with being angry with you. What I do want to hear is, why?”
“Why,” Applejack repeated.
“Yes,” Sunset said. “Why my so-called friends found it so believable that I’d stab them in the back like that.”
Applejack had asked herself the same question. It didn’t take her long to find the truth, and after a brief moment of consideration she offered it up. Better a hard answer than a lost question.
“It was.”
Sunset missed it. “It was what?”
“Believable.” Applejack settled the old guitar back on her lap. Music or no, the weight was comforting. “Hacked or anonymous account. Online. No trail. Embarrassing, discrediting, mean-spirited attacks right where it hurts. Sounds mighty familiar, don’t it?”
Logic was a start, not a finish. Sunset just growled. “You should have trusted me.”
Should have, yeah. “Sorry.”
A chuckle bubbled from above, more stress than humor. But there was a little humor, and that was something.
“Look, I’m not going to say, ‘sorry isn’t good enough,’ and become the biggest hypocrite in the world. I’m not going to pretend everything’s fine, either. You? I can forgive you. You forgave me for the dumb-ass funeral stunt, I can forgive you for anything. But how do I forgive the rest of them?”
“Same way I forgave you, sugar.” Applejack ran her hand down the guitar’s neck. “Just do it.”
Another chuckle, this one bitter. “I’m not as good as you.”
“You’re as good as you choose to be,” Applejack said. One of Granny’s sayings.
“I don’t believe that.”
Applejack eased herself into a lying position, the guitar still on her lap. “That’s your right. And it’s mine to believe you can do it.”
Anger didn’t die easily. Some was gone, the rest lingered in Sunset’s wit. “Like how you didn’t believe me back then?”
“Pretty much.” Applejack let the barb slide over her. “Except the other way around.”
Silence answered. Applejack mimed the motions of the guitar, waiting for the response. Watching the snow outside… too much dang snow this year. At least Sunset had a place to stay.
Words came from above. “I’ll try.”
Freckles creased themselves around a smile. “Glad to hear.”
That seemed like the end, but Sunset went on. “Weird to say, but I kind of see how Applebloom thought I was stealing you away. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have called you ‘Big Sis’ all the time.”
Applejack grimaced. “In hindsight, I should have stopped you.”
Another laugh, with bitter humor. “In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been the kind of girl who pulled Anon-a-Miss stunts in the past.”
Applejack ran with the joke. “In hindsight, I should have known it wasn’t you.”
“In hindsight, I shouldn’t have broken you up freshman year.”
“Sure, but in hindsight, us five shouldn’t have let ourselves get broken.”
“Son of a bitch!” Sunset called out, breaking the tone with a wry grumble. “I wonder if there’s a spell to go back in time and fix it all.”
“So you can make new mistakes?” Applejack quipped.
“Har-dee-har.” It was a chuckling sort of groan this time. “But see, then I could go back again and fix those ones and–”
Thunder and a flash outside drowned out her words. Sunset went on when she could. “Thunder with snow? This world’s weather sucks.”
“Heh. Sometimes.” Applejack’s smile faded as fat snowflakes began dropping once more. “I’m not sure you should be going home in this. Does your mom know where you are?”
Sunset’s wince was audible. “Miss Celestia… isn’t my mom. She made that pretty clear.”
“Oh.” Applejack blinked. “Sorry girl, I–”
“No-no, it’s cool. And yeah, I, uh, told her I was sleeping over. I, uh...” The words took a soft, bashful tone as Sunset finished. “I knew you wouldn’t throw me out. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Applejack. You’re a rock.”
Best damn compliment Applejack ever received. “Right you are, sugar. At least, whenever my head’s screwed on right. But this rock’s got school tomorrow. Y’all ready to pack in?”
An embarrassed laugh led the answer. “I’m already in my pajamas. Hit the lights, and I’ll… I’ll talk to the others tomorrow. Be there when I do, okay?”
Applejack set her guitar by the bed and stretched. “Sure as sure, ‘Little Sis.’”
“Stop that.”
They shared a last, dark chuckle and Applejack flicked off the lights.