//------------------------------//
// 2- Tiny Spark 
// Story: Cold 
// by NightCoreMoon 
//------------------------------//

Applejack blinks. “What.”

Sunset pulls back and strips off her jacket, now wet and spotted dark along the sleeves. Applejack blinks again and averts her eyes. She seems about to say something before a sea of red fills her peripheral vision, and all coherent thoughts left her.

“Sweet Faust...”

True to her words earlier, several trickles of fresh blood were dripping down Sunset’s arms. A good dozen and a half lined her left wrist, a dozen on her right. The left ones were neat, clean, organized, evenly spaced. The same could not be said about the right ones.

“You know how humans have right handed or left handed?” Sunset asks, completely unaffected. “Higher level unicorns tend to be either right or left hooved. Earth ponies, pegasi, and lower level uni’s are usually what you girls would call ambidextrous, because they use both their hooves for all sorts of stuff. But unicorns at my level of magical prowess, well, we usually use our magic for everything we can get our hooves on. Er, hands on. So I'm a righty.”

“Quit ramblin’ and get up,” Applejack commands, pulling the two of them standing. “Tell me you got a first aid kit in the bathroom.”

Sunset shrugs. “I got a half full box of bandaids and a roll of gauze. Maybe a couple drops of whiskey somewhere. It’s no big deal, just a little blood. I think you warmed me up just enough for the skin to open beneath the scabs. In any other circumstances I'd think that was cool from a scientific perspective but judging by the panicky look on your face you don't share the same sentiment.”

“Well I can't fault ya for your observation skills,” Applejack huffs, dragging her charge to the bathroom. “Let’s at least get the dry blood washed off so I can see whether I have to take you to the hospital or not... what's that look for?”

Sunset, who had winced from the time her southern bred friend said ‘washed’, takes a sharp inhale. “Yeah, um. They kinda shut my water off. A week ago. It’ll dry and flake off eventually, I just...” she sighs. “I should be freaking out right now, shouldn't I...”

Applejack pushes back the bile rising into her throat. “Freakin’ out is the normal reaction, yeah, but you're long past that. Which is good, y'all can think logical and rational. It’s probably best in this situation. How much gauze?”

Sunset shrugs again. “About half a roll. Probably enough to wrap my arms once.”

Applejack nods and pushes the door open, bringing the two inside the cramped bathroom. She turns the light on, revealing the tacky red wallpaper. The left corner of the room has a tiny sink, the far corner a toilet, and the right corner has a shower with barely enough room to stand in. A plain brown shelf sits above the toilet.

She reaches in and finds the aforementioned supplies- or, supply- pulling out the roll. She turns and carefully takes Sunset’s wrist, pulling the girl’s arm straight. “I'm gonna wrap this up and take ya to Fluttershy’s apartment, since it's the closest trustworthy place to us.”

Sunset complies but squints suspiciously. “I'm sorry, but did you just say the words ‘Fluttershy’ and ‘trustworthy’ in the same sentence in regards to me? You know she hates my guts for the drunk singing video and the hair extensions, right? Not to mention all the other shit I did-”

“That wasn't you.” Applejack chides, pulling the fabric firmly- but gently- over the blood-mottled skin. “And she doesn't hate you. You'd have to torture a bunny or somethin’ to make her hate ya. Plus, think about it. Once I explain that it was my sister she’s sure to be on good terms with you again.”

“Oh yeah... that reminds me.” Sunset winces slightly as the gauze tugs at her scabs a little. “I wasn't really thinking clearly earlier, on account of blind fury. You said earlier she saw me jump in front of a car. You sure she wouldn't just, I don't know, take the fall because she didn't want me to die?”

Applejack nods. “I know my sister better than anyone else. I'm the closest thing to a mom she’s got. And I can tell when she's lying by intuition. But also she's a really bad liar. Really really bad.” She winces and apologizes for accidentally pulling off yet another scab. “She was upset, too. More upset than you were when you learned I put down horses before.”

“Alright...” Sunset replies, not quite convinced. “But that doesn't really make sense. The day you all yelled at me and accused me and abandoned me, it was because of the pictures of the costumes. Did Applebloom, what, hack my phone via radio and download its wifi and copy the pictures through the, uh... the firewall? Help me out here.”

Applejack finishes the left arm and pauses for a moment, pondering this.

“Okay first off, ouch. Second off, that ain't how phones work. Like. At all. You can't... you can't download wifi. And a fire wall is... its for viruses. I think. And it's only for on a computer. You'd have to ask Micro about how that works. Anyway, while that is a good point, it don't mean you did it. She could’ve had help... wait. What about Sweetie Belle.”

Sunset blinks. “No.”

“...yeah.”

“NO.” Sunset barks, gritting her teeth. “No way.”

Applejack purses her lips.

Sunset adamantly nods. “No, she wouldn't... do that...” she processes the notion for a second, and then sighs. “Okay, yeah, no, she absolutely would, I was fucking horrible to her. She was a good way to get Rarity riled up. I guess I never really did apologize to her directly for anything that I did to her. But even still, I can't believe either of them would hurt their older sisters just to get to me, let alone hurt the whole entire rest of the school.”

She readies her other arm, pre-emptively preparing for the pain. Though there were less wounds in number, they were a fair bit rougher to look at.

“I don't wanna get in the middle of family, ever...” a melancholy look crosses Applejack’s face, before being replaced by a resolute gaze. “But Rarity’s gotta know this too. I can only imagine what those sisters are gonna go through when-”

“Wait. You're telling Rarity?” Sunset asks, bewildered. “You... you can't do that.”

“I gotta!” Applejack says, taken aback. “Why wouldn't you want Rarity to know that it wasn't you who posted those pictures?”

Sunset looks down, hair covering her face. When she speaks, it's only a mumble. “She’ll just call us liars. She’ll never believe Sweetie Belle would do that to her.”

“Do what?” Applejack asked. “They're just costume pictures-”

“Did you even look?”

“Look at what?”

Sunset huffs. “At Anon-a-Miss’ blog. Did you notice anything suspicious?”

“Suspicious how?”

“The M switch.”

Applejack blinks.

“Your MyStable account has age restricted turned on. Anon... she kinda...” Sunset frowns. “Okay, you have got to keep a secret.”

“I'm better than most at that.”

“Rarity and I... oh boy. We haven't done anything sexual or romantic or whatever and we’re not gonna, but I have- or had- some photos of Rarity in her underwear.”

“You WHAT?”

Sunset presses her free palm into her eye. “Okay so Rarity and I went shopping for human clothes a little after the Fall Formal because I had no idea what I was doing and, well, I'd apparently been wearing men’s underwear and no bra the entire time I'd been a human. So Rarity taught me how to check my bra size and stuff and I took a few pictures of hers as reference material because she told me to. And I mean at the time I was like, Rarity I can't do that, that'd be an invasion of your privacy, and she was like ‘no no darling we’re both girls here and I trust you’ and I was like oh okay when you put it that way, click. Plus I'm a pony and human bodies are shaped weird. And, eh... those pictures showed up on the blog.”

Applejack pulls out her phone and scrolls through it. She taps and swipes a few things. “Okay I hit the gear thing, and the three lines. Uh... view adult content.” She waits a moment, scrolls and swipes, and her face blanches. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“No wonder she started only wearing turtlenecks and long skirts.”

“She's going to literally fucking murder Sweetie Belle if she finds out that she’s the one who posted those.”

Applejack sighs and continues wrapping. “Well if I had any naked pics of myself and Bloom posted them on the internet I might murder her too. Not that I’d have any in the first place. But regardless, Rarity thinks you did that. She needs to know the truth... it'll lessen the blow if she sees it as her sister being nosy and downloading stuff from your phone rather than you betraying her trust like that. That's worse than anything you did to her the entire campaign last year.”

Sunset cocks her head to the side, pondering acquiescence. “You know, when you put it that way, I guess I do want Rarity to feel less violated... I know earlier I sounded like I hated you all for what you did to me, but I do still love all of you. It was just... lashing out because it hurt.” She looks down. “I'm sorry I cussed at you so much.”

Applejack holds her place on the gauze and reaches an arm over for a hug. “That wasn't you speaking. That was a month of loneliness and abandonment manifested as a torrent of profanity. And anyway it coulda been a lot worse. Besides, Rainbow says worse to me when I make her bench more than forty pounds.”

In spite of herself, Sunset laughs at this. “You mean she doesn't love all exercise equally?”

“Heck no! She’ll play soccer all day long and then go run a marathon, but the girl’s got noodle arms.”

The two chuckle before the mood turned melancholy. “I miss Rainbow...” Sunset murmurs.

Applejack squeezes for a moment before letting go and finishing the gauze. “You'll see her soon, and make amends. I'm gonna text everyone and say friendship emergency at Fluttershy’s, which will give everyone enough time to show up by the time I get you clean.”

“I don't want you to have to lie on my behalf,” Sunset mutters.

“It ain't lyin’, sugar. You tried to kill yourself today. That's an emergency if I ever heard one.”

Sunset solemnly nods. “Right. I forgot about that. It's weird, it just... completely slipped my mind. I've been thinking about suicide so often it's almost as normal as brushing my teeth: I forget if I did it or not.”

Applejack finishes wrapping and stands up. “Okay, no offense, but you forgot to today. And probably yesterday too. I suggest givin’ it a quick once-over before we leave. How's your movin’ range?”

Sunset slowly bends her elbows a bit, and the fabric holds. “Stings a lot, but it works.”

“Okay. good. Brush your teeth and I'll brush your hair. It looks like it ain't been washed in a week or more...” Sniff sniff. “Smells like it too.”

“Sorry...”

Applejack pulls her up and flashes a reassuring smile. “I don't blame you for slippin’ on hygiene. I can't imagine the state your mind’s in if you wanna die so bad. But you gotta at least do the basics, at least now. Teeth, hair, CPB. Or at least the CP.”

“CPB?” Sunset asks, reaching for the toothbrush and paste on the sink. “What's that?”

“Chest pits butt. Otherwise known as, I only have 30 seconds to not smell like something died.”

“Oh, you mean TPA.”

Applejack narrows her eyes, but her smile doesn't change. “If ya wanna be crass about it then yeah. I swear, you n’ Rainbow are gonna be the death of me.”

Sunset winks mischievously before reaching her hand to her mouth. She encounters a problem.

“AJ. I can't bend my arm enough.”

Applejack sighs. “Alright. I'll get your teeth for you. And... I guess everything else.”

“I hate to be a burden-”

“Ain't a burden sug. You got bad breath n’ BO. It's as much for my benefit as it is yours. I'm gonna help you clean this apartment next week too, it’s... bad. Like a dairy farm up n’ died.”

Sunset nods in understanding, her eyes expressing equal parts offense taken and vicarious agreement. She then opens her mouth and experiences two very uncomfortable, very awkward, and very weird minutes that can only be described by someone else who experienced the sensation of another person brushing your teeth for you. Especially with a dry toothbrush.

“And spit.”

Sunset does as she is told, before moaning.

“That was so weeeeeeird!”

“Ah, it wasn't that weird ya big baby. I did that for Big Mac when he broke both his arms a few years ago. You want weird, help your brother use the bathroom when he ain't got use of his hands.”

“Oh Creator...” Sunset shudders. “Alright. I feel less bad. Although this next bit might be weird.”

Applejack shrugs as she grabs a washcloth and squeezes a little bit of soap into it. “More for you than me, I’m afraid.” She then spits onto the soap.

/x/ One CPB Later… /x/

As Applejack pats Sunset’s armpit dry, she fights the urge to shudder again.

“That's the worst thing I've ever experienced in my entire life.”

“Again,” Applejack says, setting the cloth over the sink’s edge. “It wasn't that bad, ya big baby. Now, this was just a quick little let’s make you not smell bad.” Sniff. “Well. As bad. We’re still gonna give you a proper bath when we get to Fluttershy’s.”

“I feel like we should’ve cleaned me and then put the gauze on afterwards.”

“Oh yeah, and get fresh blood all over your body. By the looks of it, it would've been a lot of it.”

“Eh, point taken.” Sunset follows Applejack out of the bathroom and over to the giant pile of clothes in the kitchen.

“Is this dirty or clean?” Applejack asks.

“... Yes.”

“Got it, I'm also helpin’ you do laundry next week. Alright, we can't have you walking around in just boyshorts all day, much as lots of people might want you to. Because face it, girl, you’re one tall drink o’ water. But we’re goin’ out in public and it’s cold outside, so you gotta put some clothes on.”

Sunset shrugs yet again. “I appreciate the compliment but to be honest I really don't care too much about clothes. I don't care who sees me. I never wore clothes in Equestria. But, you know, social norms. I might also need help with this part too.”

She is presented with a plain black t-shirt, plain black leggings, and a black faux-leather skirt.

“You're goin’ goth today because black holds heat better. Now here, step in.”

The clothing process isn’t too arduous, and after an only slightly awkward adjustment around the hips and groin, Sunset appears presentable. Like a goth mummy.

“I feel like Hot Topic…” Sunset darkly mutters.

“You look like Hot Topic,” Applejack responds, not quite catching the subtext. “Alright Suns, let’s go.”

Her face blanches. “Like... right now right now?”

“No, next week. Yes now!”

Sunset takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. “Alright. Lemme just steel myself.”

“It's only Fluttershy,” Applejack murmurs, sending out the friendship emergency text to everyone but Fluttershy, and they ‘hey I'm on my way’ text to Fluttershy. “Honestly she’s probably gonna be more stressed to see us on short notice than you will be to see her. Everything’s gonna be alright, okay Suns?”

She nods and opens her eyes. “If not now then I have a little bit in the car to get to being okay. Oh, uh. Before we go, can you please send a message to Twilight for me?”

“Can do.” Applejack strolls over to the book, while Sunset grabs her phone. Applejack picks it up and sets it on the nearby counter, and readies a pen, turning to the most recent page. “Ready,” she says, eyes scanning the most recent messages. Concern crawls across her face as she sees that Twilight had been asking more and more desperate questions in more and more frantic handwriting before she just wrote in simple small manuscript ‘please answer soon. please tell me you're ok.’

Sunset sees that she has a message on MyStable. “Tell her that it’s you writing, and that I’m okay, and getting better. And that I'm sorry for worrying her. And, if you wanna say anything to her you can. I'll let you know what she says back.” It's from Applebloom and it just says ‘I didn't mean to hurt you that bad’.

That bad?

“THAT BAD?”

“What's bad?” Applejack asks, in the midst of relaying the message.

“Your sister...” Sunset huffs and glares at the screen. “Didn't mean to hurt me THAT BAD.”

Applejack pauses for a moment before continuing. “That girl knows when she's grounded she ain't allowed to have her phone.”

Blip!

“...and it was wrong of me to hurt you in the first place.”

“Ah. Mac must be makin’ her apologize.”

Sunset clicks her phone off and stomps towards the door.

“And, done.” Applejack blows on the ink before flipping the book closed. “Can't imagine that non apology makes you feel any better.”

“You're right. It makes me feel worse. You know what would've been better is literally just saying sorry. Lowercase with no period, just five letters. Faust, just... not that bad. Not that bad, I'll kick her ass but not that bad.”

“Please don't threaten my sister,” Applejack says, without condescension or sarcasm. “I know you're mad and you have every right to be, but beating her up ain't gonna make you feel better in the long run. Two wrongs don't make a right.”

Sunset huffs. “Alright. I know. I won't hurt her or anything. But I won't accept her apology unless it's sincere. I know that's a lot to expect from a twelve year old but... but that just makes it worse. She's just a kid, and she managed to fuck me over so hard I...” she swallows. “What if the car hit me...”

Applejack hugs her from behind. “I wanna choose to believe that the car missing you was the Creator’s way of saying it just wasn’t your time, and that only happened the way it did so that Applebloom would see the consequences of her actions.”

Sunset turns and cradles her head in the farmer’s shoulder.

“I... I...” she shudders. “Can we go to Fluttershy’s now?”

“Mhmm. Let’s go.”

They then head out the door and towards the elevator. They take it down to the sub-basement level into the parking garage. A rusty red pickup truck sits parked haphazardly across two spaces.

Applejack grins sheepishly. “I was worried.”

Sunset pulls herself up into the passenger seat and pulls the door shut before waiting. On the other side, Applejack does the same, and buckles in. A moment passes where she freezes in place, then she unbuckles herself and leans over to buckle Sunset in.

“Almost forgot.”

After that, she puts the keys into the ignition, and the engine screams at them. She backs out and zooms off, and in no time at all they're on the road.

“So, uh… what do you listen to?” The driver asks, shifting into third. “I only really listen to country and rock but there’s also stations for pop, r&b, rap, and uuuhhh... classical I think. There’s talk radio, but that’s boring.”

Sunset sighs in relief, leaning back into her seat as the heater bathes her. “Whatever you want.”

“Okay.” Applejack turns it on, and crunchy guitar punctuated by sharp snare is accompanied by a man singing.

~You are the antidote that got me by, something strong like a drug that got me~

“Boring!” Applejack yells, changing the station.

~How'd you get so high, why you're keeping me low, you don't know, you don't know~

“Nope.” Click!

~With every breath you breathe, I see there's something going on, I don't understand why you're so~

“Ugh.” Click!

~Show me how defenseless you really aaaare~

“Eh.” Click!

The next station features a man going absolutely ham on a fiddle, and Applejack breaks out into a huge smile.

“Yay!”

Sunset grins as she absorbs the ride, and as AJ dances in place to the song. As it eventually fades out, a mellow blues-y tunes starts to play.

“This is nice,” Sunset murmurs.

“Y'all like blues?”

“No... I mean, well yeah I like the way that these chords sound, but that's not what I mean. I mean, like. Being around another person. It's nice... it's not so lonely when someone’s sitting next to you, even if you're just driving around and listening to music. I really missed this.”

Applejack sets a comforting hand on Sunset’s leg. “If I'm bein’ completely honest, Suns, I’ve missed you too. We all have. It’s like we’re hexagon but with a side missing.”

“You guys are a pentagon?”

AJ chuckles. “I can't do perfect similes every time. Anyway, we’re here.”

~Once was a sweet thang baby, held out her lovin' in our hands~

She turns the music down before settling into a parking space. She turns the car off and wastes no time popping out, running around, and helping Sunset leave the vehicle. They didn't have any trouble with ice, as Applejack’s boots had a lot of grip.

The trip into the building and up the elevator was an uneventful one, and after they got off, it was only a matter of moments before Applejack knocked on Fluttershy’s door.

“One second!” They hear, muffled behind the door. It then opens, revealing Fluttershy.

“Hi Applejack!” She greets, exuberant though quiet. “It's really good to see you. I'm glad I was looking for something to do when you texted me, and-” her smile disappears instantly as she spots her second visitor. “What… is SHE doing here?”

Sunset sighs and looks away, as Fluttershy pulls the door mostly closed, showing only her face.

Applejack pulls Sunset closer to her side. “Look, I’m sorry I didn't give ya the full truth when I sent you that text, but this is why I’m here. Sunset ain’t Anon-a-Miss. My sister is.”

Fluttershy gapes. “Applebloom? But she couldn't be... what about the pictures at Rarity’s? And Rainbow Dash’s grades?” Beat. She gasps. “Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!”

Within the same split second she rips the door open, bursts into tears, and comes as close to tackling Sunset as, well, a Fluttershy was physically capable of doing.

The words “I'm so so sorry Sunset I can't believe I ever doubted you I know you must hate me now but I swear I'll do whatever I can to help make you feel better in any way I can!” all came out in a blur.

Sunset gingerly pats the sobbing girl’s shoulders, heaving a sigh in relief. “You could start by getting some peroxide, some clean gauze, some aged Hanoverian whiskey, and a towel for me to bite on.”

“Okay, but wh-” Fluttershy nearly asks as she looks down at the crimson stains on Sunset’s arms and immediately passes out.

Applejack and Sunset share a bemused glance before the two manage to pull her over and set her gently on the couch. Fluttershy would be out for several minutes, which is more than enough time to get Sunset patched up before anyone else shows up. AJ’s phone buzzes.

Rainbow sent a text indicating that she borrowed her dad’s car to pick up Rarity and Pinkie, and extraneously mentions that Pinkie lives on the outskirts of town, so the journey in all would be about half an hour for now. She also said she’d have Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in tow as per the request, but was curious as to why they were also needed.

Applejack grimaced, thinking about having told anyone that Sunset would be there too, but the guilt over not telling Sunset that Sweetie Belle was coming overpowered her subconscious. Still, it was for everyone’s own good to clear the air, so to speak. There was a significant difference between secrets, lies, and technical truths. after all

“Is Rainbow on her way?”

AJ nods. “Yeah. Now, uh. If you want good whiskey that’ll kill the pain, you don't want Hanoverian. You want Neighponeese. Rainbow don’t know what she’s talkin’ about. She thinks everything it or Konik is the best on account of it bein’ her bloodline, but I actually brew whiskey myself on occasion, so I know a bit about the process.”

“Don’t you distill whiskey?”

“Ah, whatever. Potato potahto. Either way, Neighpon brews it best.”

“Neighpon... huh. There's a Neighpon back in Equestria too, way east. Must be a coincidence. Never had it before, just what Rainbow showed me. That was mostly a joke though, Fluttershy told me her dad doesn't drink.”

“No.” Applejack reaches under the pantry and pulls out a dusty bottle. “But Zephyr does.”

There are some crossed squiggly lines on the label, over a washed out map of a group of four islands.

“That's weird...” Sunset murmurs. “I mean, of course Zeph would have the dumbest hiding place, but those islands look just like what I remember maps of Neighpon to look like.”

“Probably a coincidence,” Applejack supplied. “Maybe not, either way it ain't important right now. So come on, take a drink if you need. Peroxide stings like a mother.”

Sunset eyes the bottle as Applejack holds it in her palm and swirls the dark brown liquid inside. “Okay, well... bottoms up I guess.”

AJ unscrews the cap and manages to get some in Sunset’s mouth. About a shot or two’s worth makes it in before she pulls away.

“Oh man,” Sunset rasps, coughing. “That burns so good. Gimme a minute and you could punch me in the face without it hurting.”

“As long as you ain't gonna be as big a baby about this as you were when I brushed your teeth.”

“Ha!”

The two head into Fluttershy’s bathroom. This one is a lot more well stocked than Sunset’s own, and roomier too. There are also plenty of first aid supplies. Q tips, peroxide, bandaids, saline solutions, antiseptics, ointments and creams for every ailment, even medicine for animals that obviously weren't inside of the apartment but honestly very well could have.

They settle down and get to work. The gauze is soaked with crimson and therefore useless, and is dumped in the garbage. Sunset had stopped bleeding for the most part, but her skin was still bound to be sensitive, and there was very little space between the cuts proper. It will take a while.

Sunset bites a towel as Applejack gets to work. Time passes in silence until the whiskey sets in proper, and the towel becomes unnecessary.

“It's a good thing winter break is goin’ on,” the makeshift doctor mutters as she tosses the 27th scarlet-tipped Qtip into the trash. “Although that just means y'all have been havin’ even less time socializin’.”

“Well, I- ow- wouldn't call it social- ow- izing if I'm- ow- ostracized from liter-ow-ally everyone, and they- OW, FUCK! Hate me.”

“Sorry darlin’, this one’s a little bit deeper than the rest of ‘em. Ya know, forgive me for askin’ this, but what in tarnation were ya’ thinkin’ carvin’ yourself up like a jack o lantern?”

Sunset shrugs. “I was thinking, ow heart hurts, make wrist hurt instead, ooga ooga eat another chocky bar me hungee. I haven't exactly been a paragon of good decisions lately. Guess I'm just lucky that I never learned how to sharpen knives without magic.”

Applejack sighs. “I still can't believe I believed you were her, when all along it was my sister... I shoulda known right from the start. She showed it to me, and then she told me she thought it was you.”

“She did?”

“Mmhmm. I mean for Faust’s sake, the colors were your hair. Only a twelve year old would think that was a clever idea. You’re one of the smartest and most intelligent unicorns in all of Equestria, I... looking back, all of this smelled funnier than a dead clown.”

“PFFFT!” Sunset cackles.

Applejack smiles in spite of herself. This is the Sunset she missed. The Sunset who was in the dark apartment, cursing up a storm and insulting her and being rude, that wasn't Sunset. That was severe clinical depression running unchecked. Speaking of which...

“Hey Suns.”

“Yeah AJ?”

“...how’s your mental health doin’?”

Sunset’s mood dims slightly. “You mean right now or in general? Because if you mean right now then I'm great, but if you mean in general, well... I did try to kill myself earlier today.”

“I don't know. Both, I guess. You already seemed real down when you told me about bein’ alone for the holidays all these years. And now what with the cuts and the, uh... suicide attempt. And with your living situation being what it is, both your apartment and your hygiene, I'm worried that maybe there's more to the story.”

Sunset shrugs, wincing as the peroxide stings her arms. “Could be. I don't know much about human psychology. It interests me though. Maybe after I get better I can look at some psych textbooks other than, what, how to manipulate people for dummies?”

“Heh...” Applejack frowns. “Get better how?”

“I mean like. My arms. I can't exactly do books well. Why do you think I haven't talked much to Twilight?” She sighs. “Feeling like sh... like crap is only part of it, I just can't really read books well right now. In fact I'm pretty sure picking it up earlier might actually be what tore these open again. I know I've probably had some mental issues going on before all this Anon-a-Miss stuff happened, and this just made it worse. So it's definitely up there on the to-do list. I just hope you'll be able to help me if I need it.”

“Of course.” Applejack smiles again. “Always.”

The moment is interrupted by the apartment door being thrown open.

“Fluttershy!?” Rainbow Dash cries from the other room. “AJ!”

She then appears at the bathroom doorway.

“Dude, AJ, is Fluttershy oka-” her eyes zero in on Sunset. She cracks her knuckles and takes a threatening step forward. “Shimmer? You’re dead.”

/x/x/x/