“So, where do you want to go for lunch?” Sunset asked as she drove down the road. She had only eaten half of a sandwich before accidentally knocking it to the ground during her crying fit.
While Applejack wasn’t hungry herself, she was just happy to be spending some time with Sunset after so long. She was surprised when Sunset invited her out; perhaps she wanted to test the waters and see how comfortable she was with Applejack, or perhaps she wanted to discuss things further. Or perhaps Sunset was lonely and wanted to get out of her house for a while. Either way, Applejack wasn’t complaining. “Ah’m not too hungry, maybe Sugarcube Corner?”
Sunset stiffened at that. “I… I don’t think I can.”
Applejack looked at her curiously. “Why not? Were you banned or something?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just that yesterday I went out with Lyra and Bon-Bon at Sugarcube Corner and…” Sunset blushed. “Uh, I may have… broken down in front of the whole cafe.”
“What?” Applejacks face hardened. “Why? Did those two girls insult you somehow? If so, Ah’m gonna give them a piece of my mi-”
“Hold on there cowboy, they didn’t insult me. They just started asking about me forgiving everyone.” She said with a huff. “I got angry, then me and Lyra started arguing, then I broke down. I only realized everyone was staring at us after the fact… including the Cakes.”
“Ah see.” Applejack nodded in understanding. “Why did yah go with them in the first place?”
“Twilights been encouraging me to get out more, part of the reason I agreed to help out today. I figured I might as well after Lyra invited me, I knew it was a bad idea. I still can’t believe I broke down publicly like that..”
“Hey, they were being pushy. Having treats with yah is as far as it should’ve gone, they knew yah were touchy about the subject.” Applejack placed a hand on Sunset's shoulders, testing the limits of what Sunset was comfortable with. “It’s natural yah’d be upset with them.”
“They meant well… I guess. But you’re right.” Sunset let out a small huff. “I’m emotionally volatile right now and I don’t need to have a conversation like that when I’m just trying to drink a milkshake.”
An awkward silence reigned over the car for a few awkward minutes, Applejack not sure what to say in response and Sunset focusing on the road.
“Saddest part is I had been planning to invite them out before Anon.” Sunset finally said.
“Really?” Applejack lifted an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
“Well, I felt secure about my place in the school and my friends, and while I loved being friends with you girls, I kinda wanted to branch out and make more friends.” Sunset explained in a tired tone. “Seemed like something Twilight would approve of. Plus it’d help my standing in school, give me people to hang out with if all of you were busy, and you girls have your own friends outside of the group.”
“Why did yah choose Lyra and Bon-Bon to be yer first friends outside of us?” Applejack questioned. “Ah’m not judging, just curious.”
“They were grateful after I made that fake Fall Formal for them, thought it’d give me an edge. That, and I felt like they owed me after all that work. Just a bit.” She laughed bitterly. “Wanna know the saddest part? The day I was going to invite them was the same day you girls accused me of being Anon-A-Miss.”
“Ah imagine that killed your plans?” Applejack said with a frown.
“Yeah.” Sunset replied quietly. “Then they thought I was Anon-A-Miss and that was the end of making friends outside you four girls.”
Applejack gave Sunset a strange look. Four girls? What could that mean? ‘Perhaps it was a mistake. Maybe she meant to say ‘you five girls’ instead.’ Applejack tried reasoning with herself. ‘Or perhaps she and Rainbow…’ Applejack shook her head. It was probably just a mistake, it wasn’t worth fretting over.
“Is that why yah still considered me yer friend? Didn’t have anybody else?” Applejacks asked nervously. “Cause if it is, Ah don’t want you to feel like yah have to settle because we’re yer only friends.”
“I’m not settling.” Sunset grumbled. “I would never settle. You’re still my friend because I care for you, and it’d be hypocritical to not give you a second chance after you gave me one… still angry with you though, so just keep that in mind.”
Applejack couldn’t help but feel a little happy with Sunset's words, even with the somewhat bashful declaration at the end. “Well, what about the people yah still talk to? Surely someone thought yah were innocent.”
“Yeah, Derpy and Vinyl.” Sunset shifted awkwardly. “I’m… not sure I want to be friends with Derpy. Not because of her disability or anything, it’s just… I treated her terribly during my reign of terror. She was one of my top victims, I tormented her relentlessly for years.” Sunset's face fell. “Then not only does she think I’m innocent, but she defends me, which caused a rift with her and her friends. Now her and Vinyl are the only people I talk to.”
“And yah feel guilty.” Applejack guessed.
Sunset nodded. “All she had to do was tell me she knew I was innocent and that’d be enough, but then she goes around defending me to the school. I caught her crying her ass off after her friends (coincidentally consisting of Lyra and Bon-Bon) kicked her out because they didn’t like her defending me, do you know how that felt?”
“They really did that?” She knew friendships were torn apart by Anon-A-Miss, but it seemed worse that Derpy's friendships were ruined because she was defending Sunset. Applejack would have to have a nice long talk with Lyra and Bon-Bon later…
“It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t… if she didn’t...” Sunset sniffed, causing Applejack to look towards her. “If she didn’t… forgive me immediately after I apologized.”
Sunset began breaking down and Applejack noticed she was having trouble driving straight. “H-how about we pull over, discuss it while you’re not driving hm?”
Sunset weakly nodded and drove over to the right, pulling into a small parking lot where she turned off the car. “I was ready to move mountains for her, but when I went to her and apologized she just… forgave me right then and there. No strings attached. Hell, she even hugged me.”
“Didn’t Fluttershy forgive you without much hassle?” Applejack pointed out.
“Fluttershy still needed time to think it over and get used to me.” Sunset shook her head. “Not Derpy. She just stared at me for a few seconds then pulled me into a hug and said she forgave me.” Sunset wiped her eyes.
“But that’s a good thing isn’t it? One less person to worry about, you were already trying to make it up to a lot of people. Wasn’t it nice to have less work?”
“It was but… it felt unearned at the same time. I didn’t do anything to earn her forgiveness, but she gave it anyway. Add her defending me and I guess I feel too guilty to be her friend. I haven’t done jackshit to deserve it.” Sunset sighed.
“Sunset, Ah really think yah should try befriending her.” Applejack offered. “Yer too awkward and angry with me for us to hang out consistently, and Ah imagine yer pretty lonely. Derpy was on yer side during Anon, so you know you can trust and depend on her. Plus, she’s probably pretty lonely right now too, Ah doubt she and her friends have patched things up.”
“I-I don’t know. I’ve caused her enough trouble and I’m always going to feel guilty being her friend.” Sunset looked out the window. “I do trust her though… I guess.”
“Well, why don’t yah try talking to her? Tell her how yah feel, Ah’m sure she’ll think of something to make yah ‘atone’ so to speak.”
“That’s… actually not a bad idea.” Sunset looked back to Applejack. “I’ll have to be insistent, she’ll probably just shoot the idea down.”
“Speaking of which, there anything yah want me to do? Talkings nice and all, but yah probably want me to do something for yah.” Applejack offered with a shy smile. “Like Ah said, Ah’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to yah if Ah have to.”
Sunset hummed. “That’s a nice sentiment, but I doubt you’ll continue to try to make it up to me when you’re an ugly eighty year old maid. But it seems petty to hold a grudge for sixty years.”
“Ugly eighty year old maid?” Applejack's smile faded and she looked insulted. “Why do yah have such a specific, and rather insulting, vision for my future? And Ah am not a maid!”
“I was implying you weren’t married in the future.” Sunset smirked. “What do you mean you’re not a maid?”
Applejack turned beet red. “Y-Yah know, A-Ah’ve been with guys and… stuff.”
“‘Guys and stuff’, very descriptive.” Sunset's grin grew wider. “Were these guys from, say, Canada Perhaps?”
“T-they’re real!” Applejack cursed herself at how fake that sounded. “Ah‘ve been with dozens of guys!” She realized what she said and put a hand to her mouth, blushing furiously.
Sunset could barely hold in her laughter. “There’s no shame in being a virgin Applejack, you just have to wait for the right cousin.”
Applejack crossed her arms and looked away. “Here Ah am trying to be all sentimental and yah go off and call me an ugly maid and make country folk stereotypes.” She said with a playful humph.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. The cousin joke was pretty low hanging fruit anyway.” Sunset chuckled. “But to answer your question, no I don’t have anything I want you to do right now. Believe me, I’ll think of something.”
“That’s better.” Applejack looked back and uncrossed her arms. “Now, where do yah want to eat? That’s the whole point we left the farm.”
Sunset hummed and looked out the window, pointing after a few seconds. “What about there? We’re already parked in their drive way anyway.”
Applejack strained to look to where Sunset was pointing. “Mario and Luigi’s? That new Italian place? Well, alright, not sure how good their food is though.”
The two got out and Sunset locked the car. “Oh and, while I do appreciate the ‘I won’t lie to you again’ thing, there will be times I’d prefer you to lie. Like if I ask if I look fat in a dress.”
“What if yah look skinny in a dress? Should Ah call yah fat than?” Applejack said with her own grin, earning an unamused look from Sunset.
“You’re lucky I’m not holding you to that promise to the letter.” Sunset said with her own devilish grin. “Cause you just lied to me about your V card.”
Applejack's breath hitched and her grin faded, her face turning red again. She frowned and glared at the back of Sunsets head as they walked, knowing the red head was still grinning like a maniac.