//------------------------------// // August / Sunset Shimmer // Story: Apples and Sunsets // by VitalSpark //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer knocked on the door and waited. She could hear music and talking coming from inside. Though starting to get dark, it was still warm, and she could hear the sound of crickets in the evening air. The door opened and Sunset was greeted by a familiar smiling face. "Hi, Sunset! Come in!" "Hi, Pinkie," Sunset said, smiling broadly. "Everyone's through in my bedroom — it's just up the stairs on the left." Sunset walked past Pinkie and looked for somewhere to put her overnight bag. "Just take it up with you," Pinkie said, anticipating Sunset's question. "Thanks, Pinkie," Sunset responded, "and thanks for inviting me. You don't know how much it means." Pinkie shut the door and twirled to face her guest. "Don't be silly, Sunset! Thank you for coming!" Sunset went upstairs, taking the steps two at a time with Pinkie not far behind, and quickly found the room she'd been directed to. Rainbow Dash was there, playing a video game, while Rarity gave Fluttershy a manicure. Sunset was unsurprised to see that Applejack was absent. "Hi, girls," Sunset called, waving briefly to everyone. "Hi, Sunset", Fluttershy said, quietly but with warmth. Rarity looked up quickly and smiled before returning her concentration to Fluttershy's hands. Rainbow Dash didn't take her eyes off her game but grunted a greeting. Sunset put her backpack in the corner where the other girls had put their things. She sat down beside Rainbow and picked up a spare controller for the games console. "So what are you playing?" "Single player mode," came the abrupt answer. "Okay," Sunset said, shrugging. She stood up and walked to the bed, sitting beside Rarity and Fluttershy. "I do apologise for Rainbow's behaviour," Rarity sighed, painting Fluttershy's nails a shade of pink to match her hair. "No!" Rainbow stood up, jabbing the pause button on her controller and flinging it to the ground. "No, don't apologise. She deserves it." Rarity raised her eyebrows. "Rainbow, darling, I thought we were all agreed. Whatever Sunset has done in the past, she's moved on from that now, and we've forgiven her. The whole school has forgiven her." "Oh, this isn't about that. Why do you think Applejack isn't here? Do you think Pinkie didn't invite her? Of course she did. Applejack didn't come because she did." Rainbow pointed a finger accusingly at Sunset. "What?" Rarity asked, taken aback. Sunset sighed. "It's true. It's Applejack's family… they… I think they hate me. Or they hate the idea of me. They won't let her see me." "You should have stayed away." Rainbow flopped back on the floor and returned to her game. Sunset stood up. "Do you all feel that way?" "Oh no, darling…" Rarity stood up and put an arm around Sunset's shoulder. "Of course we don't. I… I had no idea about this." "No. No idea," Fluttershy added. "I had kinda an idea," Pinkie chimed in from the doorway. Everybody looked at her. "Well, Applejack only turned down my invitation after I'd told her who else was coming." Rainbow dropped the controller again and confronted Sunset Shimmer. "Do you have any idea the number of late night phone calls I've had from her these last few weeks? How heartbroken she's been? She needs her friends around her. She needs to be here with us, but instead we have you. You know that first night… she cried herself to sleep. She doesn't have anyone else — not her family of course, and not Caramel — she feels like she's betraying him, having feel—" Rainbow stopped. "What?" Sunset asked. "Forget about it," Rainbow said, backtracking. "All I'm saying is that Applejack and Caramel have been dating since they were twelve, and she feels like she can't even talk to him about this." Sunset felt sure that Rainbow had been saying something else, but didn't want to press her, as Rainbow was clearly upset. An awkward silence settled on the room. "Who wants to watch a movie?" Pinkie always knew what to say to cheer everybody up. She pulled open her DVD draw and slid one into the player. * * * "Don't you totally ship Beca with Kommissar?" Rainbow asked from her position on the floor as the credits started to roll. She rolled onto her back to face the other girls. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Beca is with Jesse. It's canon." "Pffft!" Rainbow poked her tongue out, her previous bad mood seemingly forgotten. "Canon schmanon. They're perfect for each other." Sunset stood up and stretched her limbs. She'd been sharing a large-but-not-really-big-enough-for-two armchair with Fluttershy. "So, Rainbow, how's your band idea coming along?" "AJ's going to be on bass, Rarity's going to play piano, Pinkie's doing drums, Fluttershy… well she's agreed to join… I'll find something for her to do." "And I guess you're the singer," Sunset said. Rainbow grinned. "And the awesome lead guitarist, and song writer. Say, do you want to join?" Sunset smiled warmly before remembering. "I… if Applejack's in the band, I don't think I can be." Rainbow hung her head. "Yeah. I forgot. Sorry." "How about another movie?" Pinkie said, dashing to the DVD drawer. She held up a DVD case that said Inception on the front. Rarity's eyes lit up. "Oh, yes, I've heard good things about that film." "I've… I've already seen it," Sunset said, remembering the film. Pinkie put the DVD case down. "Okay, I'll find something else." Sunset went to the door. "No… no… you guys watch it. I'll go take a walk… clear my head." Pinkie looked concerned. "Are you okay? I can come with you if you like." "I… I just want to be alone." * * * Sunset walked along the road. The night air was growing cooler — far cooler than you'd expect at this time of year. She didn't really know where she was, but she had an excellent sense of direction and was confident she could find her way back to Pinkie's when she wanted to. She thought about what Rainbow had said earlier. Applejack has feelings for me? Sunset had always assumed her little crush on her friend had been one-sided, but now it seemed that Applejack might just feel the same way. But even if she did, what did that mean? Applejack was with Caramel, and Sunset couldn't see that changing. She sighed and pulled her leather jacket around her as she felt a few drops of rain fall on her. I should go back — get out of the rain. She felt her feet carrying her forwards anyway. Applejack cried herself to sleep? Sunset thought she was the only one that had been affected by their separation like that. She'd never meant for this to happen. They were just supposed to be friends. It had been Twilight's idea… for Sunset to start making friends at school. She'd never asked to fall in love. She felt pain in her chest when she thought about Applejack crying, and not being able to comfort her. She'd never wanted to hurt Applejack like this. She stumbled on a rock and nearly fell over. She looked up to see where she was. Sweet Apple Acres. Somehow her feet had known where to take her. The rain was becoming heavy, and strong winds were whipping it sideways. She looked at the farm house. It looked warm, inviting. I could go up to the door and knock. They wouldn't leave me out here in weather like this, would they? But something stopped her. She needed some way to keep dry though, and saw a small shed at the side of the house. It had no door, but a decent looking roof, so Sunset took shelter in it, sitting on a pile of firewood. She gazed at the farmhouse opposite. Through a dust-covered window she spotted a familiar hat hanging on a bed post. Ignoring the rain, she crept up and peered though the window into the dimly lit room. It must have been Applejack's bedroom, but nobody seemed to be in there. It wasn't really that late though. Seeing Applejack's hat and all her stuff overwhelmed Sunset. Her heart ached for some kind of contact with her again. She reached out and touched the window pane. Her finger drew an outline on the window leaving a heart shape on the dusty glass. A pair of big green eyes suddenly appeared on the inside of the window. Applejack! Sunset gulped. She hadn't realized Applejack was in the room. For a few seconds their eyes locked on each other. A rush of emotions swept Sunset — happiness to see Applejack, sadness at all the time together they'd missed, longing to be with her, and despair when she realized that she could not. Applejack reached out a hand and touched the window pane. Sunset flattened her hand against it too, their hands separated by just a thin layer of glass. For a second, Sunset felt connected. But then she turned. And ran.