//------------------------------// // Sleep // Story: What A Long Strange Trip // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer shivered as she walked down the sidewalk. Her jacket and shirt did next to nothing against the fall evening, as the cold wind at her back entered through the two tears where her wings had sprouted during her transformation hours before. She traced her path home through the overhead street lamps. A half mile down the road, she saw a glimmer of green among the dots of amber as the traffic light went from yellow to red. No doubt the nightlife in downtown Canterlot was just getting started, but out here in the suburbs, traffic was light, and in a couple hours, would probably be non-existent. But she was a block from the school, and had two more miles to go. She brought her arms up to her chest to try and stave off the cold of the night a little longer. She heard an approaching engine behind her as her shadow on the walk in front of her became elongated from the headlights closing in. But they didn't pass as quickly as they others had on her walk so far, and sure enough, a moment later, the vehicle let out a pair of short honks as it continued to slow and came to a stop as it pulled off into the emergency lane. With the glare of the headlights no longer obstructing her vision, she saw Applejack lean out of the farm truck's driver side window. "Hey there Sunset. Sorry I missed you at the school. Hop in, I'll take you the rest of the way." Sunset looked to her left and right, confirmed there was no other traffic nearby, and crossed the street, walking around the rear of the truck, came over to the passenger side door, and climbed inside. "Sorry I took so long. Took a bit longer than I thought for the limo to get everybody home." "Applejack... You don't have to keep apologizing, it's more than I deserve, which is like, nothing." Sunset said, feeling a small weight in her stomach as she closed the door, noticing how much more comfortable it was in here compared to outside. "I just didn't want you to think I deliberately left you there is all. Where are we headed?" Applejack asked. "Just straight down a few more blocks. My complex is on the corner of Edgewater Street." Sunset answered. Applejack grabbed the gear stick and put the truck back into drive, checking her side mirror to make sure the road was clear before pulling back out into the right lane. "Speaking of apologizing, I do think some of the other girls are expecting an apology of some sort. For everything that happened last year. Just... Well, just saying that you might want to start thinking about that." "Clearly I've got quite a bit to think about right now. I'm just trying to take things one hour at a time right now." "Well, at least you've got the weekend to get some things sorted in your head. We all gave you our phone numbers, so let us know if you need anything." She had no idea what she needed right now, other than sleep. As she was content to sit in the warm interior of the truck, she dug her phone out of her pocket and confirmed that all five of them had sent their contact info to her phone, which brought her Contacts list total to nine. Before those five, it was just Snips, Snails, Flash, and her apartment's management office. They caught the next light green, so the drive up to the corner of Edgewater just took three minutes, a walk that would have taken at least another ten minutes. Applejack made a left at the next light, and the entrance to the Edgewater Meadows apartment complex was almost immediately after that. "Nice enough place." Applejack commented. "Which building?" "Building C. I'm all the way at the top." Applejack saw that each building was three stories tall. Must have been quite the ordeal with groceries, but she probably couldn't argue with the view all the way on the third floor. She watched for the letters above each front door, and came to a stop outside C. "Alright. Have a good night, Sunset. We'll see you on Monday?" "Yep, thanks again, Applejack." Sunset answered, opening the door and stepping out into the chilly night air. She closed the door and walked around behind the truck as Applejack drove on and turned back out at the other end of the lot. Sunset walked through the front door into C building's main hall, and began her trek up the stairs, some of them creaking underneath the carpet as she stepped up and up. Finishing her climb, she walked down the short hallway to the door at the end, digging her key out of her left pocket, slid it into the doorknob, and turned, pushing the door open. Stepping into her small studio apartment, she closed the door and dropped her keys on the table. The street lamps down in the parking lot provided just enough ambient illumination that she didn't have to turn the lights on as she let her torn leather jacket slide off of her back and drop to the floor. She came to her bed in the back left corner, sat down, pulled her boots off, and slid out of her skirt, letting it fall to the floor. Her upper back felt like a sunburn that hadn't started to peel, so she opted to sleep with her shirt on, rather than risk the friction that the sheets might bring through the night. She hadn't said anything to Applejack, or the others, but the prospect of Monday terrified her, and she had two days to figure out how to deal with it. She fell over onto her side, curling up as her head sunk into her pillow. She reached behind her and pulled the blanket up and over her, wishing for the longest weekend ever as she went to sleep.