The Apple family farm was comfortingly familiar. The barn on the hill, the great red farmhouse, it was all exactly as she remembered, right down to the last apple. Inside, too, was similar: the rich, earthen browns and wooden planking seemingly untouched by time, as if it had been frozen at the moment of its creation. As Applejack welcomed her into the home with a brawny hug, Sunset couldn’t wipe the relieved smile off her face. This, then, would always be the same.
“Great to see you, Sunset,” Applejack said as she led her through to the living room. “The spare room’s all made up, we usually keep it pretty ready. Here we go!”
The hall opened up into a large room hung with pictures: family photos, showing a red-faced boy and hat-covered girl slowly sprouting in fits and starts between frames. An ancient rocking chair, likely built around the same time as the house, sat beside the couch, knitting needles placed carefully on the table to its left. The floor below was unpolished wood, covered in the most-needed spots by various and varied rugs.
“Hey, Sunset,” said a voice from the patched sofa, a pale hand rising in greeting from its depths.
“Fluttershy?” Sunset's voice was full of surprise. The girl rose from the sofa gracefully, a quiet smile on her face as she waved Sunset over.
“We need to keep it a little quiet cause Granny’s sleeping upstairs,” said Applejack as she plonked herself down on the couch next to Fluttershy, snaking her arm round the other girl’s shoulder, “but she’s mostly deaf now, so we should be good.”
“Huh,” Sunset sat down on Fluttershy’s other side, and promptly almost disappeared into the padding. “So, um,” she said, when she’d regained her perch, “Do you guys live together, now?”
“Mmm...” Fluttershy pursed her lips, “not really,” as at the same time Applejack said, “Pretty much.” They looked at each other, laughed, and then Fluttershy continued, “I stay over quite a lot. Applejack needs help with the farm, so I come over when I can.”
“Fluttershy,” Sunset couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I gotta admit, I’m struggling to imagine you doing farm work.”
She blushed. “Mostly I just help with the animals.”
“I don’t really know what I’d do without her,” said Applejack, giving Fluttershy’s shoulder an affectionate rub. “Y’know, with Big Mac away for the bit, well, it’s a lot of work.”
“I like it though,” said Fluttershy with a small smile. She’d snuggled up against Applejack’s arm, pulling her knees up to her chin.
Sunset couldn’t help but melt at the two of them. It was impossible not to, with the almost visible glow of warmth that came off them. A thought struck her. “Hey, do you guys have a date night?”
“A what now?” said Applejack, as Fluttershy shook her head.
“Not really. We mostly just hang out around the farm...”
“And in bed,” grinned Applejack. Fluttershy lowered her eyes, unable to hide her blush.
“Um...did Rarity tell you to try them?” asked Fluttershy.
Sunset nodded. “Yeah, she said it might help.”
“She told me to, too.”
“Whenabouts was this?”
“When we first started, um, getting serious.”
“Huh.” Applejack shrugged, then turned back to Sunset. “So did she just bring it up out of the blue, or?”
“Not exactly.” Sunset chewed her lip. “I kinda asked her first.”
“For you and Twilight?” Applejack raised her eyebrows. “You two okay?”
“Yeah, uh, yes, we’re fine.” For some reason, it was harder to admit to these two than it had been to Rarity, or even Rainbow. “I was just asking generally.” Maybe it was seeing them so close, so happy, that made her unwilling to confess her own failure, what things were really like. Fluttershy looked at Applejack, and it was almost as if they didn’t need to speak, as if, if she weren’t there, they would be able to communicate purely through loving glances. It was ridiculous, but somehow, at the same time, true. It put her own small talk with Twilight to shame, made her want to scream, to throw up, to protest that even though their relationship was nothing compared to this that it was equally valid, that they were fine, doing good, just great thank you.
“Good to hear,” said Applejack. “D’ya want a drink?”
“Nah,” Sunset shrugged. “I think I’m just gonna head to bed. I had to sit and pose for Rarity for a couple years today, so I’m a bit tired.”
Fluttershy smiled, and a moment later it was immediately swallowed by a yawn. She looked so startled at the sound that Sunset couldn’t help but laugh.
“How long you been holding that in?” Applejack asked with a grin.
“I-I swear I didn’t do that on purpose!” Fluttershy protested, but Applejack only laughed.
“Looks like we need to be heading to bed, too.”
“Hope the walls aren’t too thin,” joked Sunset, and Applejack gasped theatrically.
“These are sturdy Apple family walls, ya heathen.”
“We re-plastered them two weeks ago,” whispered Fluttershy.
Sunset bid the couple goodnight amid the laughter, and settled into the spare room quickly. The walls did indeed smell faintly of fresh paint, and the old duvet, much like the couch, was constructed almost entirely of sewn-on fixes and patches. Sunset wondered idly how old the sheets actually were, and if any of the original fabric still remained. That was that philosophy thing Twilight had told her about once, like the ship that was slowly replaced by repairs until it was all gone. She suddenly missed Twi terribly. How long had it been since she’d ‘uh-huh’ and ‘hmm’d her way through one of Twi’s explanations? She didn’t dare to work it out.
A cool breeze floated in from the window, and through it Sunset could just make out the moon, pale and graceful, hanging in the night sky almost as bright as the sun, like God had flipped the coin and shown the world its other side.