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// 9 – A Life Left Behind 
// Story: Playing House 
// by Krickis 
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Chapter Nine
A Life Left Behind

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Sunset wondered if she was making another mistake. If she thought about it too much, she knew she probably was. For once, she found she was able to get around this detail in the simplest way possible – she didn’t think about it.

Sunset opened the wine bottle and began pouring. She thought of very little as she watched the red wine leave the bottle.

All night long, Sunset had been thinking. It was what she was good at, or so she told herself. During her time thinking, she had reached several realizations, and no conclusions. She gathered information and learned a great deal of things that she would need to know, but she found that she was no closer to knowing how to proceed.

It had been very late at night by the time Sunset’s body gave out from exhaustion, more mental than physical. Or it had been very early in the morning, depending on how one were to look at it. What was certain was that her sleep was not comforting, and the rising of the sun woke her only an hour later.

Despite the stress from the night before mixing into the haze of only having an hour of restless sleep, or perhaps because of it, Sunset found she was no longer in a state of mind to be hung up on thoughts.

And so, Sunset didn’t think. She rose from the couch, went into the kitchen, and pulled a bottle of wine from the fridge.

“Sunset?”

Fluttershy’s voice was barely audible. Sunset turned to see her standing in the doorway to the kitchen, her meek posture suggesting she might flee at any second.

“Good morning, Fluttershy,” Sunset said gently, as if afraid she’d scare her away. Perhaps she was, just a little.

“What are you doing?”

Sunset watched as the last of the wine poured into the sink, then set the bottle down beside it. There were several other bottles next to the sink by that point, all of which were recently emptied. She rinsed the sink to get the last of the wine down the drain, then turned around in order to face Fluttershy properly. “You can’t drink, Shy. Not for another eight months.”

Fluttershy looked between Sunset and the bottles in confusion, never moving from where she stood. “I don’t understand.”

Sunset wanted to move closer, but wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. She wound up shifting in place restlessly. “Well, I figure… If you can’t drink, then I’m not going to either, you know?”

“But… why?”

It was easy to see what Fluttershy was obviously getting at, and dancing around it wasn’t going to avoid the topic. It really wasn’t a topic that could be avoided, anyway.

“Because… I’m sorry.” Sunset took a deep breath. “Last night, I was… scared. And I’m still scared. This is a terrifying decision. But it’s your decision, and mine is whether I want to support you in it, and that’s a much easier one.”

Fluttershy took a single step forward, then stopped. She looked like she might smile or cry at any moment. “You mean…?”

Sunset stepped forward as well, walking most of the way across the room. She stopped short of actually reaching Fluttershy, however. “I’m with you, no matter what you choose.”

Fluttershy finally decided on crying as she stepped closer, closing the rest of the distance between herself and Sunset. She didn’t do anything but stand before her, however, so it was Sunset who eventually pulled her into a hug.

At least Fluttershy didn’t seem to be too bad this time. Just some light crying, then she’d probably be okay. Still, it had only been the night before that Sunset had last comforted Fluttershy while she cried, and she was sure that there was going to be a lot more of that as they moved forward.

They were in over their heads, and there was no way that Fluttershy didn’t know it. All the same, it was something they needed to talk about.

“You know this is going to be hard, right?” Sunset asked as Fluttershy wiped her tears.

“I know.”

This had to be worded very carefully, so Sunset took her time and spoke slowly. “I won’t keep pushing this, but I do want to say it at least once without fighting. I think it would be better if you didn’t keep the baby.”

Fluttershy held Sunset tighter and kept her head facing away. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be. But… well, there’s a lot to think about. You have school, which is going to be a lot harder with a kid. I… I really can’t afford this by myself, so you’d have to find a job before the baby’s born. Neither of us have family to ask for help or parents to get advice from. There’s carrying a baby for nine months, doctor’s visits, all the effects of pregnancy, then having our lives revolve around a kid for years.”

With each point, Fluttershy’s head seemed to sink a little lower. “I’m sorry… It’s too much to ask from you…”

Sunset kissed Fluttershy’s head, which caused her to look up into Sunset’s face. “That’s my decision, remember? And I’m choosing to stick with you. I just need to know that if you’re choosing this, you know exactly what it is you’re choosing.”

Fluttershy nodded and placed her head on Sunset’s shoulder. “I know. I’ve been thinking of it for a while now. It’s… it’s been pretty much all I’ve been able to think about for weeks.”

Right, of course. This was only news to Sunset. “Okay.”

“You’ll really be there?”

“Yeah. I promise, I’m with you for everything that comes.”

Once again, Fluttershy was crying. “Thank you so much… I was so scared that… that I’d be all alone again…”

“Never.” Sunset started walking towards the living room, gently guiding Fluttershy as she did. “Let’s go sit down somewhere a little more comfortable, though.”

Sunset led them to the living room, where they sat down together on the couch. Fluttershy’s earlier hesitation towards affection seemed to have passed, as she cuddled up close to Sunset, wrapping her arms around the other girl and resting her head against her chest. Meanwhile, Sunset wrapped an arm around Fluttershy, her hand coming to rest against her midsection.

Although she knew there was so much left to talk about, Sunset didn’t bring any of it up. The night before had left her a frantic mess of anxiety, and that paled in comparison to how she felt when she thought about the future. But for at least one moment, the important stuff had been said and she could enjoy simply being with Fluttershy.

There was at least something she should say, though. Even if she held off on talking about the future, one more thing did need to be said. “I’m really sorry I yelled at you last night. That was the last thing you needed.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said. “It was a lot to bring up all at once. I… actually expected a lot worse.”

Sunset frowned. She was pretty ashamed of what had happened, and she didn’t like the idea that Fluttershy had expected worse from her. “I still could’ve handled it better. I know it must’ve been hard to tell me everything, and then finding out the test results… You needed me to help you more than ever.”

Fluttershy was quiet for a moment. Sunset was enjoying the calm until she spoke. “I don’t deserve you. You’ve been so wonderful to me, and I’m… I…”

“You’re amazing is what you are.” Sunset smiled, although inside it tore her up to realize how much Fluttershy seemed to have internalized everything that happened to her.

Well, that just meant Sunset would have to remind her how good she was. “You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met, you put others first, you’re on track for a good career after school, your cooking is amazing, you’re easy to talk to, you’re incredibly pretty… Should I go on?”

Fluttershy blushed, but she still smiled as she looked into Sunset’s face. “You’re too sweet. Thank you for being here for me.”

“Of course.” Sunset leaned in and kissed Fluttershy. She hardly thought anything of it after the past week, but Fluttershy broke into a grin. “Plus I mean, when you react like that to getting kissed? How could I not love you?”

The words left her mouth before Sunset even had the chance to think about them. And judging by the surprised look Fluttershy was giving her, it was safe to say she caught the significance.

In just a moment, however, Fluttershy’s surprise melted into a smile that radiated warmth. “I love you too, Sunny.”

There was no taking it back, and honestly? Sunset didn’t think she wanted to. Instead, she just leaned in and kissed Fluttershy once more, savoring the kiss a little longer the second time.

When they pulled apart, they just smiled at each other for a moment, then Fluttershy went back to resting her head against Sunset. While it still couldn’t be said that Sunset wasn’t stressed about the thought of things to come, she felt much more calm than could have expected.

If nothing else, she was at least sure of this. Sure that she was happy with Fluttershy beside her, sure that whether they’d planned it or not, she wanted to continue what they’d begun building together.

Sunset closed her eyes and let the feeling wash over her. When she was in doubt, as she certainly would be in the months to come, this was what she needed to remember.

At least, until Fluttershy brought up something she didn’t need to remember. “You should probably start getting ready for work.”

But despite her hatred for work, for once that caused her to smile as well. “Not going today. I called out.”

“What?” Fluttershy sat up and gave Sunset a concerned look. “Are you not feeling well?”

Sunset chuckled. “No, I’m not sick or anything. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but something big kinda came up the other night.”

Fluttershy frowned. “You called out because of me?”

Sunset pulled her hand from around Fluttershy’s back so she could take both of the other girl’s hands in her own. “I called out because of us. We still have some stuff to figure out together, you know.”

Fluttershy bowed her head. “Yeah…”

“Plus… I kinda stayed up all night, so I’m not sure I’m really in the best condition to work anyway.”

Surprisingly, Fluttershy smiled a little at that. “You were up all night too?”

“Too? I should’ve known you were awake.”

“Yeah, I…” Fluttershy looked off to the side. “When you didn’t come to bed, I thought… I thought it was because you didn’t want to be around me…”

Sunset frowned. “I’m sorry… I guess I just figured you probably wanted some time to yourself.”

“Aww, I wish you would’ve just come to bed…”

“Me too. But there was another reason I was up.” Sunset shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t looking forward to the rest of this conversation, but it was time to start discussing things again. “I was researching things that’ll be important for us. Like about what’s going to happen with you during pregnancy, and what we need to do about going to see a doctor.”

Fluttershy was visibly uncomfortable at the mention that she was pregnant, but chose to focus on something else. “You did that even though you don’t, uhm… think I should keep the baby?”

Sunset nodded. “I… also looked into the other side of things, in case you changed your mind. I wanted to know what to do either way, so that I could support you no matter what. Looking into things helped me feel a little less panicked about it.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you.” She looked up into Sunset’s face, leaned forward just a bit, then seemed to change her mind.

Sunset smirked and closed the distance for another kiss herself, which left Fluttershy smiling even more. That was good, because she suspected she was about to bring those good feelings crashing down.

“I also looked into something else. About Stormy Skies.”

As expected, Fluttershy winced at the name. “Oh.”

“Have you thought about pressing charges?”

“I… I don’t know. I just… wish I could never think of him again.”

It was easy to see why Fluttershy would think that, but Sunset was sure that would never be an option. “I think you should. He shouldn’t get away with what he did. And… don’t you think you might feel better if you knew he wasn’t still out there?”

“I… I guess…”

“It’s your decision.” Sunset did think this was worth pressing, but she was eager to avoid making the same mistake as she had the night before. To show that she wouldn’t get angry this time, Sunset gently brushed Fluttershy’s hair out of her face and smiled. “But you should know I’ll be there to help. You wouldn’t have to face him alone.”

Fluttershy looked lost for words, so Sunset pulled her back into another hug. Eventually Fluttershy sighed and spoke. “I don’t even know if I can do anything. What if no one believes me?”

“Cases like this are hard… But you do have some evidence. A paternity test will prove that he’s the father.”

Fluttershy pulled away and her voice became stern. “I never want this child to know him.”

“And they won’t,” Sunset answered quickly. “They don’t even need to wait until the baby’s born to test for that. By the time a court hearing rolls around, you’ll probably be far along enough to have the test.”

“And you think that’ll be enough?”

Sunset hesitated for a moment. “It’ll make it so his only argument would be that the sex was consensual. That’ll be unlikely to win over any judge or jury since he was your step-father and had been your legal guardian.”

“But… that wouldn’t be illegal…”

Sunset wanted to assure Fluttershy that the court proceedings would definitely go in her favor, but she knew she couldn’t. Not without lying and possibly getting her hopes up. Still, there was a middle ground they could move towards. “We don’t need to jump into this. The best thing we could do would be to contact a lawyer. They’d be able to tell us what our chances are, and what the best thing to do would be.”

Fluttershy slowly moved her hand to her stomach, an action that made her wince. But she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she opened them, she looked more determined. “Okay. I’ll do it. I want to make sure he’s gone by the time this child is born.”

“I think you’re making the right call.”

Some of Fluttershy’s fire died down as she looked up at Sunset. “And… you’ll be there for everything?”

“I will. I promise.”

Fluttershy smiled and wrapped her arms around Sunset’s neck. Very slowly, she brought her face to Sunset’s and kissed her. It was rare for Fluttershy to be the one to initiate a kiss, so Sunset enjoyed it even more than usual.

Fluttershy was blushing as she pulled away, somehow still embarrassed by kissing even after a week of sleeping together. She pointedly turned away and tried to sound casual as she talked. “So, uhm, what do we do next?”

Sunset thought for a minute. “Hospital first. It’s not, like, super urgent or anything, but the sooner we go the better. We should consider your health and the baby before anything else.”

“That makes sense, but uhm…” Fluttershy folded her hands in her lap. “Won’t that be expensive? I, uhm, I don’t have insurance…”

“To be honest I’m not even sure you’d still have it if you did before, unless it was something you got on your own. But that’s another thing I’ve been looking into. I have a low-income insurance that you should qualify for now, and there are other programs that can help. So I guess that’s actually our first step.”

“I guess we’ll be pretty busy for a while.”

“Yeah, we will.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ve made everything so much more complicated…”

Truth be told, Sunset was dreading dealing with all that as well. She suspected the bulk of the planning and organizing would fall on her, and she was fine with that, but it would be a lot of extra work.

Of course, none of that was Fluttershy’s fault. “Don’t be sorry. Things are going to be complicated, but we’ll get through it together.”

“Thanks, Sunny. I don’t think I could do this without you.”

“There’s just one more thing to figure out.”

Fluttershy frowned. “What’s that?”

“What are we telling our friends?”

Fluttershy’s mouth fell open, then she closed it. She shook her head and looked to Sunset for an answer.

“Obviously they’re going to find out.”

“Yeah…”

Sunset really wanted to not tell anyone for as long as possible, but she didn’t think that would help them. “I think… it would be better to get that out of the way. Then while we’re doing everything, we’ll know we have their support.”

Fluttershy nodded, although she looked as unhappy with that decision as Sunset felt. “You’re right…”

“So… should we tell them one at a time, or all at once?”

Fluttershy thought for a moment. “I could tell Rainbow. She’ll be so angry, but I know she’ll come around. I don’t know about the others.”

“I’ll tell Applejack. Pinkie too, if you want me too. And you know everyone will be behind you.”

“Do you… think they’ll be upset that I want to keep the baby?”

“Of course not,” Sunset said, then she rethought her answer. “Well, I think upset might be the wrong word. I don’t think they’ll all agree. But I think they’ll know it’s your choice, and if not, I’ll be the first to remind them.”

“Thank you again, Sunny.”

“No problem, Shy.”

Fluttershy thought for a moment, and the uncertainty on her face as she spoke suggested she doubted the conclusion she’d reached. “I think… I think I’d rather tell everyone at once. If, uhm, if you think that’d be okay.”

“Sure. I think that’ll be best, actually. Since we both have the day off now, what do you say we invite the others over tonight? Then we can tell them all in private.”

“I think that sounds good. But, uhm…” Fluttershy looked at the clock. “Do you think we should start now? Or do we have time to take a nap first?”

Sunset grinned. For the first time in the conversation, that was unquestionably what she wanted to hear. “I think a nap sounds perfect. They’re probably busy until later, and besides, it snowed too much last night to ask anyone to come over now anyway.”

Fluttershy stood up, and Sunset was quick to follow as she led them into the bedroom. It only struck Sunset exactly how tired she was when she finally saw the bed. The longing only increased as Fluttershy jumped onto it.

Since Sunset had never changed out of her clothes the night before, she couldn’t get right into bed with Fluttershy. She had to smile as Fluttershy bashfully turned away while she stripped, as if Sunset’s body wasn’t something she had become intimately familiar with.

Although she didn’t mind the idea of being naked around Fluttershy at all, Sunset was still quick to change. It was far too cold to go without clothes unless Fluttershy was dressed to match. Once she was in pajamas of her own, she climbed into bed and quickly found her way under the blanket.

Fluttershy was already holding onto her before she had even managed to lie down completely. It made getting comfortable a little more difficult, but Sunset didn’t mind. They became tangled up in each other as they settled down to sleep, and Sunset felt it again. That same peace from earlier, the certainty that if nothing else was, this was good.

Sleep found both of them with smiles on their faces.






The worst part was waiting for Pinkie to show up. She had to finish her shift at Sugarcube Corner before she was able to head over, which left Sunset and Fluttershy to host Applejack and Rainbow Dash as their anxiety continued to grow.

To make matters worse, both of their guests had been told that there was something big everyone needed to be told, but nothing more than that. So the whole time that they were waiting on Pinkie, everyone was waiting for the big announcement. It was almost bad enough to want to get things out of the way with just the two of them, then fill Pinkie in later.

But they still waited, as difficult as it was. By the time Pinkie knocked on the door, Sunset was practically running over to answer it.

“Pinkie! Glad you made it.”

“Of course I made it, silly!” Pinkie stepped in as Sunset held the door for her. She took off her heavy outer jacket to reveal she was still in her work uniform. “I couldn’t just not show up after you said there was something important to talk about. What if it’s really important, like you discovered a hidden underground city or adopted a dog!?”

Sunset closed the door behind Pinkie and returned to the couch, where she and Fluttershy were sitting. “Those are, uh… good guesses, but not quite what we wanted to talk about.”

“Alright, so what is the secret announcement?” Rainbow asked from the computer desk where she sat.

“Oh, I reckon I’ve got an idea,” Applejack said. She grinned at Sunset, who was pretty sure she knew what Applejack’s idea was.

Rather than sit on the empty seat next to Applejack, Pinkie hung over the back of the couch and popped up between Sunset and Fluttershy. “You two went camping in Everfree National Park, found some magic geodes, and wound up with superpowers!”

“Again, no,” Sunset said as she wondered where Pinkie came up with these outlandish ideas. She turned to Applejack. “And that isn’t why we called everyone here either.”

Applejack smirked knowingly. “Mhm.”

Sunset turned to Fluttershy, who looked confused. They hadn’t really talked about what to tell their friends about the two of them, but there was no way it wouldn’t be coming out soon. Sunset could only hope she was making the right move she took Fluttershy by the hand.

“Although since we’re all here… Yes, Fluttershy and I are kind of a thing now.”

“Oh. Em. Gee!” Pinkie wrapped an arm around each of them, pulling them together so she could hug them both at the same time. “This is the best news ever!”

“Ha! I knew it,” Rainbow announced.

“Congratulations,” Applejack said warmly.

Fluttershy blushed and squeaked out a small “Thank you.”

Sunset tried to enjoy this one nice moment before she had to tear it down. She tried, but she was already too nervous to feel any excitement, and a look at Fluttershy proved she wasn’t the only one.

“Thanks, everyone.” Sunset took a deep breath. “But that really isn’t what we wanted to tell you all today. The real news is, well… it’s not really a good surprise.”

Pinkie eased off of them but remained on the back of the couch. Applejack and Rainbow both just waited with concerned expressions. Fluttershy met Sunset’s eyes and gave a nod.

“Before Fluttershy came to live with me, Stormy Skies, her stepfather, raped her.”

Applejack and Pinkie both gasped, while Rainbow just looked on in dumbfounded disbelief. Fluttershy sat silently, staring down at her hands in her lap.

Pinkie was the first to react. She gingerly placed a hand on Fluttershy’s arm, then wrapped both arms around her in a hug from behind.

Rainbow and Applejack stood at the same time, but Rainbow made it to Fluttershy’s side first. She took a seat on the armrest of the couch and, after looking unsure of what to do for a moment, placed one hand around Fluttershy’s shoulder and the other on her hands.

Applejack kneeled in front of the couch, bowing her head and placing her hands with Rainbow’s and Fluttershy’s.

Although there was hardly any room among the others, Sunset still scooted closer so she and Fluttershy were directly side by side.

“Thank you, everyone,” Fluttershy said meekly. “But, uhm… there’s more.”

Everyone looked at Fluttershy, and when she didn’t continue, they looked to Sunset. She bowed her head, unwilling to see their reactions to her next statement. “Shy’s pregnant.”

“Oh fuck…” Rainbow muttered. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said before Sunset could answer. “And, uhm, I want to keep the baby.”

The room went quiet as the words and what they meant sunk into everyone. Sunset willed herself to say something in support of Fluttershy’s decision, to instill confidence in their ability to take care of this child. But she couldn’t. Those words just weren’t in her, not in that moment.

Once again, it was Rainbow who reacted first. “Are you… sure that’s a good idea, Shy?”

“I, uhm…”

“Of course it is,” Pinkie said. “If that’s what Fluttershy wants, then how could it be a bad idea?”

“Thank you, Pinkie.” Fluttershy’s voice sounded thin, but she tempered it as she continued. “I understand why you think it’s not a good idea, Dashie. But I’ve thought about it a lot, and this is what I really want.”

More silence followed. A hand found Sunset’s, and when she looked down she was surprised to see it was orange, not yellow. Applejack had one hand on Fluttershy’s and the other on Sunset’s. The look she gave Sunset was hard to place, but Sunset understood. She was supposed to speak.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Sunset said finally, speaking with a confidence she didn’t feel. “But we can do this. I mean, who can name anyone that would make a better mom than Fluttershy? And if anyone’s stubborn enough to see everything through, well, it’d be Applejack, but I think I’m a pretty close second.”

Although the mood was far too tense for anyone to laugh at Sunset’s joke, at least Fluttershy smiled. That was what was important, after all. Sunset’s number one goal until this child was born had to be taking care of Fluttershy in whatever way she could.

“Well, it ain’t like y’all are doin’ this thing alone,” Applejack said. “You’ve got me and the whole Apple family with ya, you can count on that.”

“Me too!” Pinkie said. “I know all about taking care of babies from babysitting the Cake twins all the time! I’d love to help!”

Rainbow shifted nervously. “I guess I’ll have to learn about babies. But my schedule’s flexible, so I can drive you two around to appointments and stuff. Probably not a good idea to be on the motorcycle anymore.”

Fluttershy was clearly about to cry, so Sunset spoke for her again. “Thanks, everyone. It really means a lot to us.”

“So, uh…” Rainbow scowled. “What about, you know, Stormy Skies?”

“We’re bringing it to court,” Sunset answered. “We’ll know more once we talk to a lawyer, but we won’t let him get away with it.”

Rainbow nodded. “So if that doesn’t work out, arson?”

Sunset wasn’t sure if that joke was really appropriate, but Fluttershy laughed. An actual laugh, which managed to make the others smile as well.

After the reveal, Sunset and Fluttershy were forbidden from doing anything for the rest of the night. Rainbow ran to the store with a list of things to get for Applejack and Pinkie, who made dinner and dessert respectively.

No one talked about Stormy Skies for the rest of the night. Sunset would have thought that the baby wouldn’t come up either, but Pinkie talked excitedly with Fluttershy about her future as a mom. At first, Sunset wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but Fluttershy seemed to feel more and more comfortable as the night went on. Occasionally Applejack and Rainbow would even join in with the baby talk, even if they seemed less sure of it.

Sunset, however? She was much less excited. Sure, she was thrilled that their friends wanted to help them, but she couldn’t help but think about how quickly things were changing and how little she was prepared for it.

It was obvious when Applejack asked Sunset to walk her out to her truck at the end of the night that she had noticed. Of course, Sunset hadn’t exactly been trying to hide it from her. If there was one person Sunset would talk openly about her concerns with, it was Applejack.

“Lots of changes comin’,” Applejack said once they were alone outside.

Sunset shoved her hands in her jacket pocket to try and save them from the chill. It didn’t help much. “Yeah. Things are gonna get pretty interesting around here.”

They reached the truck, but Applejack just leaned against it. “Suppose it goes without saying ya tried to talk her out of it.”

“Yeah. We… actually got into an argument last night…”

Applejack nodded. “Can’t say I blame ya. So, whatcha think now that it’s had time to settle in?”

Sunset mirrored Applejack in leaning against the truck. At least it blocked the wind. “I don’t know. I guess… I’m scared.”

“Course ya are. You’d have to be a damn fool not to be.” Applejack placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “But it’s gonna be alright.”

“You know what the worst part is?” Sunset’s tone grew more bitter than she’d allowed it to be since the night before. “I did the math. Six weeks since her last period means it’s been about four weeks since she got pregnant. She’s been living here for four weeks.”

“So it happened right before she moved here.”

“Yeah. And when I first talked to her about it, she didn’t want to move in with me. She said she’d be fine living where she was. Then something happened that night and she changed her mind.”

Applejack was quiet for a moment, then spoke solemnly. “That was the night, then.”

“Probably. Without getting into a full biology lesson, it could’ve been anytime that week. And I mean, I’m not gonna ask her about it, you know? Not like it matters now anyway.”

“Yeah, ya can’t change what happened.”

“Right. But if I had just said or did something different. You know, convinced her to do this before it was too late.”

“Ya can’t beat yourself up over that.” Applejack looked back at the house. “Think about it another way; what if ya hadn’t found out at all? Imagine what he would do if this happened when she was still living with him.”

That thought hadn’t occurred to Sunset. She pursed her lips and winced. “I’d rather not think about it.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Still, Sunset couldn’t stop the ‘what ifs’. “If it was that night and she just told me about it then… I know she doesn’t want an abortion, but the morning after pill isn’t an abortion, it stops the pregnancy from ever starting. An awkward late night trip to the drug store and fifty bucks could’ve been all it would have taken to keep this from happening.”

“I see what you mean, but you’re gonna tear yourself apart with this could of been stuff.”

Sunset scowled at the ground, as if she were as angry at it as she was at herself. “I feel awful for thinking that. I mean, fuck, she’s gone through so much already, she really doesn’t need me adding anything negative to that. I just…”

“You’re just upset at the way things turned out. Anyone would be.” How did Applejack say that so calmly, as if Sunset’s fire wasn’t turned in the worst possible direction?

When Sunset’s negativity didn’t relent, Applejack took another approach. “I ever tell you ‘bout when my parents died?”

Sunset looked up at Applejack. Her parents were a sensitive subject in any context, let alone their death. “No.”

“I was so angry. I was angry at them for leaving me. I was angry at Granny and Big Mac for not bein’ able to do anything about it. And I was angry at Apple Bloom for, well, just for existing, I guess. I was just a kid myself, and now suddenly I had to be there to help raise Apple Bloom. Then I had to start helpin’ on the farm. It was a lot to put on a nine-year-old girl who just wanted her parents back. And I know it was hard on everyone else too, and I know Granny and Big Mac did as much as they could to keep me from doin’ more than I had to, but I was still angry.”

Applejack turned to look at Sunset. Although Sunset knew this wasn’t a conversation Applejack would have with anyone else, she still seemed oddly calm. “I’m never gonna know what it would’ve been like to be a kid who didn’t have to grow up faster than she ought to of. And I’m never gonna know what my life would be like now if they were still here. Sure, AB don’t need me no more, least not like she used to, but I still got the farm to take care of. That wasn’t my choice.

“But the thing is, I love the farm. I didn’t at first, I was mad at that too, but now I want it to be my life. And I don’t need to tell you I love Apple Bloom much as anyone ever loved anything. Same for the rest of my family. It took a long time for all that anger to go away, but when it did, I realized that I can spend my life being mad at what could’ve been, or I can like the life I got.

“What I’m sayin’ is I know ya didn’t choose for all this to happen. I think you got every right to be angry about it. And if ya find ya need someone to talk to ‘bout all that anger, I’m always just a phone call away. But I also think once you move past the life you’re leaving behind, you’ll see that this could be the start of a different life worth living.”

Sunset thought about everything Applejack said. She knew it made sense, even if she wasn’t ready to let go of the life that could’ve been just yet. But if that came, it would only come with time. For now, she just had one more question on her mind. “Can I ask you something I already know the answer to?”

“Sure ya can.”

“You’re gonna be there to help me, right?”

Applejack grinned. “Didn’t I just say that inside?”

Sunset turned away. “Yeah, I’m just being dumb.”

Applejack slipped an arm around Sunset’s shoulders and pulled the two of them closer together. “I’m gonna be there for you. You know I will, no matter what.”

Sunset smiled. It was just what she needed to hear. “Thanks, AJ.”

“Shucks, askin’ me to not be there for you and this kid would be askin’ me not to be there for my family. And you know there ain’t no way I could ever leave my family behind.”

Sunset grinned. “Yeah, the world might stop turning.”

Applejack chuckled, then looked off to the side at the snow-covered road. “Well, reckon I should get back home. Think you’ll be okay now?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. I think I’ll manage for tonight at least.”

The two of them pulled apart, and Applejack opened the driver-side door as Sunset stepped backwards towards the house. “And Sunset?”

“Yeah?”

“I know ya won’t believe it, but I know you’ll be a damn good mom yourself.”

“You’re right,” Sunset said. “I don’t believe it.”

“You’ll see.” Applejack climbed into the truck. “Call me if ya need anything.”

“Will do. See you later.”

Sunset waved Applejack off as she drove away, then turned around. “Family…” she muttered to herself, then smiled as she walked into the house.


~ End Act I ~