Chapter Thirty-Three
Of Carols and Tissues

⠀
Christmas gatherings were never Sunset’s favorite. She wasn’t crazy about any holiday, really, but there was something about Christmas that she particularly disliked. And as the Apple family broke into another rendition of Auld Lang Syne, it wasn’t hard to pin exactly what that something was.

It was enough to make Sunset wonder if she should have just stayed home. Sure, the temperature had dropped in the past few days, she still had no heat, and she was warm and toasty in Applejack’s living room with a nice hot mug of herbal tea. But they’d already sung that song like three times, and she wasn’t sure how much more she could take.

As they finished the song, Sunset raised her mug in cheers. And despite her feelings towards Christmas carols, she didn’t dare tell them she was tired of hearing it.

Applejack took a break from caroling to come check on her. “How ya holding up?”

Sunset smiled from her place on the couch. “I’m doing a lot better, thanks.”

Applejack looked unsure. “I dunno. You still look a bit under the weather if you ask me.”

Apple Bloom hopped over the back of the couch, landing next to Sunset. “Aww, she’s just jealous she can’t join in singing Christmas carols with us.”

“Yup. You got me,” Sunset said, rolling her eyes. Not that she wanted to, but It was true she couldn’t really sing, at least not well and not without further irritating her already sore throat.

Over the past few days, Sunset had developed a cold, and it was only getting worse. She had almost used it as an excuse to stay home in bed and avoid the festivities, but missing a chance to spend time with Fluttershy after they had been so long apart was not something she was about to do.

Besides, it was their first Christmas together, and she’d already promised to take care of Fluttershy in return for Hearth’s Warming, and Christmas Eve counted as part of that.

“Now you just keep drinking that there tea,” Granny Smith called from the kitchen, where she was busy making dinner. “Why, you’ll be fit as a fiddle in no time.”

Sunset had come early so she could help set everything up, but as soon as they saw her, they set her up on the couch and wouldn’t let her do anything. Big Mac felt more at home in the kitchen than he did as a caretaker for a sick friend, so he left Sunset’s care to the others while giving Granny Smith a hand with the cooking.

“Yeah, we’ll have you singing along by the end of the night,” Applejack added with a wink.

“Trust me,” Applejack said. “I’ve been drinking Granny’s special pick me up tea my whole life. Kicks the cold right out of ya.”

Sunset chuckled. “Oh, I don’t doubt that part. But you getting me to sing? Not happening.”

“The Rainbooms didn’t play Christmas music,” Sunset said with a shrug. She arched an eyebrow at Apple Bloom. “And you know, you probably shouldn’t sit right next to me.”

Apple Bloom casually leaned back and propped her feet up on the coffee table in front of them. Sunset was sure she wouldn’t dare if Granny Smith was in the room with them. “Aw phooey. Apples don’t get sick!”

“Suit yourself.” Sunset shrugged and leaned back. It proved a mistake as she felt mucus draining down her throat, making her immediately sit back up and blow her nose. Apple Bloom looked like she was reconsidering her seat, but remained in it.

“What’s so bad about Christmas carols anyway?” Applejack asked. “I know ya never really celebrated it before, but there’s nothin’ wrong with singing songs about spending time with your loved ones.”

Maybe it was because she’d spent most of her life without really having loved ones, maybe it was a holdover from coming from a world where Christmas didn’t exist. Either way, that wasn’t going to be a fun conversation to have even if it wasn’t for the fact she was sick. Not to mention she couldn’t bring up anything about Equestria; Granny Smith and Big Mac didn’t know she used to be a pony.

So she defaulted to an easier answer. “They’re just kinda… cheesy. Besides, I have to listen to them for eight hours a day when I’m at work.”

Sunset stared into her tea. “You know, I’m not so sure I want to finish this. Suddenly being too sick to sing doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Don’t be like that. It’s your first Christmas together!” Applejack reminded her as if she could have forgotten. She also apparently believed Apples were immune to disease, because she sat down on Sunset’s other side.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll sing the dumb songs,” Sunset said. She drank more of the tea, which really did ease the pain in her throat.

There was a knock on the door. Sunset panicked and began doing her best to fix her appearance, which had become very disheveled over the day. “How do I look?”

“You, uh…” Applejack’s face scrunched up as she tried to think of how to answer that delicately.

“Sunset, relax. I don’t think Fluttershy will care what you look like,” Apple Bloom said. “Besides, ya really don’t look all that bad, all things considered.”

Saved from answering, Applejack got up and answered the door before she could be expected to give a second opinion.

“Hello, Applejack. Merry Christmas!” Fluttershy said cheerfully. Rainbow echoed the greeting and they walked inside, carrying presents. Applejack shut the door against the cold while they set them down on a table with the others. Fluttershy smiled at everyone, but her face truly lit up when she saw Sunset.

As everyone wished each other a Merry Christmas, Sunset stood up to greet Fluttershy. Standing made her nauseous, but she ignored that. She walked closer to Fluttershy, but she made sure to keep some distance between them. “Hey, Shy, Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Sunny,” Fluttershy said. Her smile faltered as she got a better look at Sunset. “Are you feeling okay?”

Before Sunset could answer Rainbow walked up to them. “Yeah, you look like crap.”

“Nah, she’s right,” Sunset said. She knew Rainbow had jumped at the chance to take a shot at her, but Sunset had given her word to try and get along with Fluttershy’s surrogate sister. “I feel miserable and probably look even worse. Merry Christmas, Rainbow.”

Ignoring the space Sunset had intentionally left between them, Fluttershy walked over and hugged Sunset. “You poor thing. I knew staying in that freezing house was going to get you sick.”

“I’ll be fine,” Fluttershy insisted. “I’m not going to get sick from hugging you, we just won’t share drinks or anything like that.”

“I don’t even know what I have, and there’s plenty of diseases you can catch just by being close to someone,” Sunset said, trying and failing to extract herself.

Fluttershy glanced around at what everyone was doing. Applejack had managed to draw Rainbow away from the couple, Granny Smith and Big Mac were still in the kitchen, and Apple Bloom was focused on texting someone.

“Sunset, if you keep saying things to try and keep me away, I’ll just have to make sure your mouth’s too preoccupied to say anything at all.” She leaned in and kissed Sunset’s cheek. “So if you really don’t want me to get sick, then be quiet and accept the hug.”

“Fine,” Sunset said, hugging her back. “And I’m not sick because of my house. I probably just caught something at work. Catching a cold from being cold is just a myth.”

Fluttershy looked doubtful, but couldn’t dispute Sunset’s knowledge. Still, Sunset knew she was going to try and use the cold as a reason to fix the heater, and suspected she wasn’t going to drop it so easily.

“Regardless of why you’re sick, you need to take it easy,” Fluttershy said. She guided Sunset back to the couch and sat down next to her, taking the seat Applejack had been in.

“Well, I don’t need anyone taking care of me right now,” Fluttershy said. Once she saw how serious Sunset looked she added, “But I’ll be sure to let you know if I need anything. Okay?”

Fluttershy turned to Apple Bloom, who was still sitting on Sunset’s other side. “Hello, Apple Bloom. Are Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle coming tonight?”

“No, they’re both with their own families tonight,” Apple Bloom said, sounding a little disappointed.

“Aw, it ain’t like that. I love spending time with my family! And it’s always nice to see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash too.” Apple Bloom grinned.

“That so? I didn’t realize I was already part of the family,” Sunset said.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I guess you bein’ around is okay too, Sunset.” Apple Bloom ducked out of the way as Sunset threw the box of tissues at her.

Realizing if Apple Bloom ran off she’d never be able to chase her down, Sunset opted for a different approach. “You know, Shy, there’s actually someone else Apple Bloom probably wishes she was spending the holiday with.”

Apple Bloom’s scowl was almost a challenge, her expression reading ‘You wouldn’t dare.’ Sunset just grinned in response.

“Hey! Have I told you how glad I am to get to spend Christmas Eve with you, Sunset?” Apple Bloom said, grinning nervously and making sure Applejack was nowhere around.

Apple Bloom stood up and started backing away. “I, uh… I think I’ll go see if Granny Smith needs any help in the kitchen.” She turned around and ran off, leaving Fluttershy looking guilty at making her run away.

Sunset laughed until she started coughing. Judging by Fluttershy’s look, she was trying not to be sympathetic, but she caved in before too long. “Hold on, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

Sunset tried to stop her, but Fluttershy had already left by the time she caught her breath. Despite her teasing, she hoped Fluttershy wouldn’t actually press Apple Bloom to talk about it, especially around Granny Smith or any of the other Apples. Although they had agreed to let Trail Blazer keep working for them, it was still a highly sensitive topic in the household.

With the couch otherwise empty, Rainbow took a seat next to Sunset. “So. You and Fluttershy.”

“Yup. Me and Fluttershy.” Sunset smiled casually, although she knew this conversation was about to become anything but casual. At least Rainbow probably wouldn’t start a full-blown argument in Applejack’s house.

She looked around and saw Applejack had also left the room, leaving the two of them alone. She just hoped the open door with Fluttershy and the Apples on the other side would still discourage her from causing a scene.

“She was fine you know,” Rainbow said casually. “The past few months she’s been doing better than ever.” She narrowed her eyes. “Without you.”

“Look, I know I fucked up. A lot.” Sunset frowned. “And I’m not trying to make excuses for that, but it was a really difficult time for me too. I love her, Rainbow. I’ve got a second chance, and maybe I don’t deserve that, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to fuck this one up too.”

Rainbow clearly wasn’t impressed. “Yeah, it’s easy to talk big when you’re sober. And don’t try to sell me some story about not drinking anymore, I know you were already drinking when Fluttershy went over the other day.”

“She didn’t have to. Every time I’ve seen you for in the past few months, you’ve been drinking.” Rainbow scowled. “So are you going to deny it?”

As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t. She couldn’t change who she was if she kept pretending she didn’t need to change. “No. You’re right, I was already drinking. But now I have a reason to get it under control.”

Rainbow scoffed at Sunset’s determination. “You say that like I haven’t heard it before.”

As much as she didn’t want to, Sunset was beginning to lose her patience. She wasn’t even sure if she was angry at Rainbow or herself. “What do you want me to say, Rainbow? That I’ll leave her alone, never speak to her again? Because that’s not happening. Unless Fluttershy tells me she doesn’t want me around anymore, I’m not going anywhere.”

Judging by her expression Rainbow might have started a full-blown argument after all. Sunset never found out what she was going to say though, because before she said it she noticed something that made her return to a cocky grin. “Yeah, we’re pretty much the best band in the area right now.”

Catching on to what was happening, Sunset quickly fixed her expression to a friendly smile. “Naturally. Anything ever happen with that rhythm guitarist?” She turned to see Fluttershy beaming at the fact that they were having a perfectly friendly conversation.

She sat down and handed Sunset a cup of water. “Are you talking about Rainbow’s band? They’re getting really good.”

“Yeah, everything’s really coming together,” Rainbow said. “We had to fire our old guitarist, he kept ditching practice and was bringing us down. New guy’s much better.”

“His name’s Windfall,” Fluttershy explained. “He went to middle school with me and Dash."

With Fluttershy looking so happy to see the two of them talking again, it was much easier for Sunset to play nice. “Cool. It’s been a while since I saw you guys play. I’ll have to come by to see you some time.”

“We’re playing a New Year’s party, if you’re feeling up to it by then,” Rainbow said. Sunset had to hand it to her, it sounded like an authentic invitation. Of course, she knew Rainbow would probably rather she stay away, and had even spelled out an excuse for her.

“Yeah, we’ll see. Hopefully I’ll be over whatever this is.” Sunset was tempted to go. She was at least a little curious to see if they’d improved as much as everyone said they did, but mostly she wanted to go because she knew Rainbow didn’t want her there. Unaware of their subtext, Fluttershy just smiled happily.

Applejack walked back into the room and noticed Rainbow sitting next to Sunset and smiled apologetically. “Pinkie just called. Said she’ll be tied up with her family for a while and that she’ll try to swing by later if we’re all still here, but it don’t look likely.”

Sunset pulled out her phone to check the time. “Think Rarity’s up now? We could give her a call at least.”

After checking her own phone, Fluttershy shook her head. “It’s the middle of the night over there. Twilight should still be up though.”

Sunset rarely kept in touch with Twilight these days, although occasionally Fluttershy did. However, she decided the holidays seemed designed to force people into having awkward conversations, so they might as well make a thing of it. “Sure, give her a call, Shy.”

Fluttershy nodded and pulled out her phone. She dialed the number, and soon she was wishing Twilight a merry Christmas. “Hold on, I’m going to put you on speakerphone so everyone can say hi.” She tapped on her screen a few times and Applejack kneeled on the ground next to the couch so she was close enough to be in on the conversation. “Twilight?”

“Pretty much the same as always,” Applejack said. “How’s life in the big city?”

“Well, I don’t really see too much of the city, but I couldn’t be happier at my university. I don’t have a whole group of close friends here, but my studies are going great!”

“What are you studying now?” Fluttershy asked. It seemed every time someone talked to her, she was studying a new field. It was a running joke that rather than adding to her studies, she was actually finishing every course the college had to offer.

“Engineering at the moment. I think I might go into nanotechnology as a career.” Twilight often changed her mind on what career she was planning to go into based on whatever courses she was taking.

Unsurprisingly, Rainbow didn’t seem to think nanotechnology was a good conversation. “Hey, my band’s been talking about maybe going on tour once we start getting some shows in! We could stop in your town, you should totally see us play!”

“Yeah, of course,” Twilight said. Sunset had a hard time imagining Twilight at a punk concert. Then again, Fluttershy seemed to genuinely like them, so there might be a better chance for Twilight than she thought.

“I don’t know. I was planning on coming back for Christmas, but wound up taking on a private study with a partner of mine.”

“Good. Not having to worry about regular classes lets me get so much more done,” Twilight said. Sunset wondered if she imagined it, or if Twilight’s tone actually got colder when she heard Sunset’s voice.

“Hey, Twilight,” Fluttershy said. She grinned at Sunset. “Is it true that you can catch a cold if you don’t keep warm enough?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, that’s just a myth,” Twilight said. “You can only get sick from being exposed to some sort of contaminant.” Sunset grinned victoriously. “Although it’s a reasonable misunderstanding. Humans need a certain amount of warmth to function properly, and if you’re stuck in a cold environment for too long it weakens your immune system. So in a roundabout way, it is more likely to get sick if you don’t keep warm.”

“No, but Sunset is. And she’s going to let me fix her heater so she can get better.” Fluttershy winked.

“Criminy, Sunset, I didn’t know your heater was out! It’s ten degrees out there!” Applejack said. “Ya ain’t going back to that house tonight, and tomorrow we’ll see about fixing that heater.”

“What? Seriously, I’m fine. It’s just a little cold.” Dammit, why did Twilight have to be so thorough in her explanation?

“Sunset, if you’re sick, you’ve got to take care of it before it gets worse,” Twilight said. “I shouldn’t need to tell you of all people, but even if it’s just a cold it can become a sinus infection, or even pneumonia pretty easily.”

“Pretty sure I know the difference between a cold and pneumonia, thanks Twi.”

“That’s gross, I’m not checking in the middle of – Fluttershy, put that down!”

Fluttershy had grabbed Sunset’s most recently discarded tissue and was unfolding it for a better look. “It’s kinda yellowish.”

“I’ll be fine! I’m fine!” Nobody really seemed to pay Sunset much attention.

“Well, make sure she stays warm and drinks plenty of fluids,” Twilight said. “But if she gets worse, then she might have to go to a doctor for antibiotics."

“Don’t worry about her none, we’ll make she gets better,” Applejack said.

Sunset gave up and fell back against the couch. She looked to her side and saw Rainbow looked just as unhappy with how the conversation turned as she was.

“For whatever it’s worth, I’m fine with letting you go back to your house tonight,” Rainbow said, smirking.

“Gee, thanks.” Sunset stopped bothering to weigh in on the conversation and let them make whatever plans they wanted about her. She still fully intended to spend the night in her own house.

She tuned out the rest of the conversation, since it was either argue about her well being or try to avoid arguing with Rainbow.

Once everyone was done talking Fluttershy leaned back, resting her head against Sunset. “I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t really mean to make a big thing of you being sick,” Fluttershy said. “I just worry about you."

“I know, it’s fine,” Sunset said. She wrapped an arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Really though, I’m okay Shy. I’m pretty good at taking care of myself.”

“No one doubts ya there,” Applejack said. “But you could stand to be a bit better at letting other people take care of you. We’re only tryin’ to help.”

“It’s okay, Applejack,” Fluttershy said. “Let’s just drop it for now.” Sunset didn’t like the sound of ‘for now,’ but she welcomed it all the same.

It wasn’t long before Granny Smith announced that dinner was ready, so they all made their way to the kitchen. To the surprise of no one, there was an amazing spread of food. They’d even accounted for Sunset and Fluttershy being vegetarians, giving everyone a wealth of dishes and sides to choose from.

“Dig in, everyone!” Granny Smith said. She pointed a spoon at Sunset. “Especially you. I’m gonna get some meat on those bones if it’s the last thing I do.”

Sunset grinned sheepishly and grabbed a plate. Being sick was no excuse to go light on dinner when Granny Smith was the cook.

“I hope no one needs me after this,” Rainbow said as she piled her plate high. “I’m going into a food coma for sure.”

“You won’t be the only one,” Applejack said. “Big Mac barely lasts half an hour after a meal like this.”

“Nope,” Big Mac said. “She’s with her folks tonight. She’ll be ‘round tomorrow.”

The friendly conversation continued as everyone got what they wanted and sat down. Sunset felt briefly foolish when she started eating before they said grace, but no one seemed to mind, and the rest of dinner went by without incident.

Once dinner was over, everyone moved back to the living room. As predicted, both Big Mac and Rainbow looked ready to pass out at any moment, though everyone else seemed to still have some life in them.

“I guess Pinkie isn’t gonna make it,” Applejack said, “What do y’all say to opening presents?”

“I know, I know. Spending time with family and friends and all that.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t make the presents any less awesome though!”

Taking her cue, Apple Bloom ran over to the table and handed out everyone’s presents. At first, Sunset ignored her own in favor of watching everyone else open their gifts. That came to an end when Apple Bloom noticed she hadn’t opened any and made a point to suggest Sunset open the one she’d given her. It was a homemade picture frame to liven up her house a bit, since it was well known Sunset hadn’t ever gotten around to doing much decorating.

Sunset eventually began enjoying the gift exchange, though she still felt more comfortable watching other people open their presents. Her favorite part was either the look of guilt on Rainbow’s face when she realized that Sunset had gotten her a gift despite everything, or the look of surprise she wore when Fluttershy made a point of announcing one of Sunset’s gifts came from Rainbow. Of course, there was no doubt it was really from Fluttershy.

Eventually, the table was emptied. The fact that one gift in particular seemed to be missing didn’t escape Rainbow’s attention.

‘Yeah right, because I remembered you and not Fluttershy,’ Sunset thought to herself. Remembering to be a good girl, she held her tongue.

“They probably just decided to exchange their gifts tomorrow.” Apple Bloom shrugged.

“Nope, you’re both wrong. Fluttershy already gave me my gift a few days ago.” Sunset gestured to her necklace.

Applejack facepalmed. “Oh man, I can’t believe I forgot about that. I’m sorry Sunset.”

“It’s fine. And anyway, I don’t have any complaints about my holiday.” Sunset smiled at Fluttershy. “And it’s… a tradition from when I was growing up.”

Although no one could talk about Hearth’s Warming openly in front of Granny Smith and Big Mac, it seemed Apple Bloom caught on it was an Equestrian thing. “Oh, no wonder you don’t like Christmas carols!”

Big Mac leaned in close to Applejack. “I didn’t know Sunset was Jewish…”

Although Sunset wasn’t Jewish, she couldn’t come up with a better explanation, so she let him believe that. “Anyway, my present for Fluttershy was kinda big, and a little obvious, so me and AJ put it in her truck.”

She started to get up but Applejack jumped up first. “Not happenin’, Sunset. You wait here and I’ll grab it.”

Sunset tried to protest, but Applejack was already heading out the door. She wasn’t sure why she was even trying anymore.

“Well that makes you wrong too,” Sunset said. “I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I figured you could use it tonight.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Alright, but now I’m really curious what it could be.”

“Well you won’t have to wait long,” Sunset said as Applejack walked back inside.

“Next time we’re hiding it in the house,” Applejack said. “It’s freezing out there.” She handed Fluttershy her present, which the wrapping did nothing to disguise.

“That’s a guitar,” Rainbow said, narrowing her eyes. “You can’t get her a guitar as a present!”

“Because Sunset broke her guitar!” Rainbow said. “That’s not a gift, it’s a replacement.”

Fluttershy had smiled when she first saw it, but when she finally unwrapped it, her smile grew large enough to light up the room all on its own. “Oh Sunset, it’s beautiful.”

“It actually is your guitar. I lied about breaking it, I just didn’t know how else to keep you from asking for it.” She hated pretending like she broke it, and she knew she hurt Fluttershy with the lie. But she couldn’t very well pretend that she’d misplaced something big like that, so it was the only way to keep it around until Christmas.

Fluttershy held it so everyone could see the front. The whole body had been painted yellow, with three pink butterflies on the lower bout. Even Rainbow looked impressed.

“I guess I could… What should I play?” Fluttershy asked. She strummed it to make sure it was in tune, which considering Sunset had tuned it earlier, it was.

Fluttershy nodded. She played a small fretting exercise to regain her feel for the instrument first, followed by Silent Night. At first she just played, but she soon started singing along. Before long everyone else joined in, even Sunset, although she wasn’t sure her voice did anything to make them sound better.

They sat up singing Christmas songs for a while. Despite her reservations, Sunset found she was enjoying herself. She attributed that entirely to Fluttershy’s presence though. It was hard not to enjoy herself when she seemed to be making Fluttershy so happy.

Eventually it grew late enough that Granny Smith decided to turn in for bed, followed by Big Mac not too long after.

“Yeah, I think it’s about time to head home,” Rainbow said. Sunset knew she would be up late into the night, but the Apples tended to go to sleep early. Applejack and Apple Bloom were already yawning and fighting to stay awake.

“You better just be gettin’ up to say goodbye, ‘cause I told ya already ya ain’t going home tonight,” Applejack said.

Sunset sighed. “Come on, are we seriously going back to this? I’m fine. I appreciate your concern and everything, but I’m definitely going home tonight.”

She shrugged. “Why not? The more the merrier. Course I don’t really have anywhere but the couch for y’all to sleep, and I can’t say how comfortable it’ll be with both of you on it.”

“I’m sure we’ll make do,” Fluttershy said. “Sunset can have the couch. I can always make a bed on the floor if you have some extra blankets.”

“Or we can sleep in our own beds,” Sunset said. “Seriously, I don’t want to get you all sick.”

“I’m sure most of us will be fine,” Applejack said, smirking. “I know I ain’t planning on cuddling up with you in the middle of the night, at least.”

“Sunny, how many times did you take care of me when we first started dating?” Fluttershy said.

“That was different,” Sunset said, frowning at the memory. “You weren’t actually sick then.”

“Pretty sure being nauseous and throwing up all day counts. And you took care of me when I was ‘actually sick’ too.”

“Okay, but we don’t live together anymore. Back then if one of us got sick, so did the other one. Now you can go back home and not have to worry about that.”

Apple Bloom let out a yawn. “Ya know Sunset, ya might be the only person I know more stubborn than Applejack.”

“I…” Sunset looked at Fluttershy and had no doubt what she would do. “But it’s not.”

Fluttershy just smiled, knowing she’d won. She pulled Sunset into a hug and spoke quietly enough that the others politely pretended they didn’t hear. “Please, Sunny? This is our first Christmas together. We were supposed to be together for the whole thing…”

That was it. Fluttershy had pulled out the secret weapon, and there was nothing Sunset could do about it. “Fine. But you’re sleeping on the couch.”

Fluttershy kissed her on the cheek and walked over to hug a disgruntled Rainbow. “We’ll head over tomorrow morning for Christmas with your parents, okay?”

“Alright. If you get sick, it’s your own fault though. See you later, Shy.” Rainbow waved goodbye to everyone, put her jacket back on, and left the house.

“Alright, let’s get y’all set up for the night then,” Applejack said. She went upstairs for a minute, and when she came back down, her arms were full of pillows and blankets.

“Thank you, Applejack,” Fluttershy said. Noticing how tired Applejack looked she added, “I’ll take it from here.”

Once they both said goodnight to Applejack, they set up an impromptu bed on the floor. Before Sunset could begin attempting to convince Fluttershy to take the couch they heard a snore. They both laughed as they noticed Apple Bloom had fallen asleep on the couch.

“And steal her bed?” Sunset asked. Fluttershy laughed and hit her with a pillow. “Hey, I’m sick, you’re supposed to be nice to me.”

“Shush. And come cuddle me.” Fluttershy lay down in their bundle of blankets.

“If we’re gonna spend the night together we should at least try our best to keep you from getting sick,” Sunset said.

Sunset smiled. “I never could turn you down.” She lay down next to Fluttershy and pulled a blanket over them as she curled around her.

Sunset thought for a minute. “I guess I don’t really hate them, I just get tired of hearing them for months on end. But no, there aren’t any that I really like. I do like listening to you sing them though.”

“Nope. I like listening to you sing anything,” Sunset said. “Why do you ask?”

“Well… I guess I wanted to hear you sing one, but it’s okay. I mean, you’re not feeling well anyway.”

Sunset wondered if she would regret what she was considering. Probably. But aside from the odd snore coming from the couch, the house was so quiet, and holding on to Fluttershy left her feeling so peaceful. And really, she never could turn down Fluttershy.

“The fire of friendship lives in our hearts,
As long as it burns we cannot drift apart.
Though quarrels arise their numbers are few,
Laughter and singing will see us through.
We are a circle of pony friends,
A circle of friends we’ll be to the very end.”

She was glad Fluttershy was facing away from her so she couldn’t see her blush. “It’s really dumb.”

Fluttershy turned around which made Sunset blush more. “I liked it. We’ll have to come up with some music for it. You won’t get sick of that one.” Fluttershy smiled. Without giving Sunset a chance to stop her, she leaned in and kissed Sunset on the lips before turning around.

Despite the fact that she was sick and lying on the floor, Sunset couldn’t help but smile. “Goodnight, Shy.”

Playing House

by Krickis

33 – Of Carols and Tissues