• Published 16th Feb 2018
  • 3,966 Views, 28 Comments

A Rose By Any Other Name - TheNewYorkBrony



Applejack and Sunset get stuck doing Romeo and Juliet to pass theater class.

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Act II: Applejack Thinks The Sunset Doth Protest Too Much

The next few weeks were filled with rehearsal after rehearsal which were unsuccessful with getting Sunset to kiss Applejack. The more it continued to happen, the more Mr. Magnet was getting upset.

It started to perplex the rest of Sunset’s friends too, including Applejack. She wasn’t too fond of the kiss either, but was still curious.

So, after lunch one afternoon, Applejack approached her friend at her locker. “There a reason why you won’t kiss me?” she asked, startling the fiery haired guitarist.

“Excuse me?” Sunset squeaked.

“The play. You do fine every time up until you gotta kiss me, and then you either come up with some excuse or just skip it all together. Why?” Applejack asked, eyebrow raised.

Sunset knew that this confrontation would come sooner or later. She had hoped it hadn’t come at all. “Uh....” the bell rung and she thanked her lucky stars that she had a way out of this conversation. “Oh look, there’s the bell! I must be going now—Hey!”

“Nuh uh, you ain’t goin’ nowhere missy,” Applejack told her, pulling her along towards the library. “Our grades depend on this play and I ain’t gonna let both of us go down without knowing what the hay is wrong with you.”

Sunset tried to pull herself out of Applejack’s grip but to no avail, groaning as she let the farm girl continue to drag her to the library.

Ms. Cheerilee was nowhere to be found which probably meant she was on lunch. That was probably a good thing, since they were supposed to be in class.

“Now,” Applejack said, turning to face Sunset. “What's gotten into you?”

Sunset couldn't seem to look her in the eye.

“Sunset...” Applejack pressed. “I ain't letting you go until you tell me what's wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong,” Sunset insisted, stepping out of Applejack’s glare. “It's just nerves you know? It's like you said, this does count for a lot of our grade,” she chuckled nervously.

“I would believe you, sugarcube, if it weren't for the fact that this ain't your first rodeo, and that you don't seem to be nervous around me during the other scenes. It just seems like...like you really don't want to kiss me. Even if it is for pretend.” Applejack frowned, crossing her arms.

“No!” Sunset blurted, eyes widening. “No. That's not it! It's just, complicated, you know? I promise I'll tell you after the play is done it's just, I can't tell you right now, okay?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Can't, or won't?”

Sunset pursed her lips. “I'm sorry, Applejack. I can't answer that question.”

Applejack sighed. “Well, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink,” she said, putting a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Er, no offense.” she added, realizing her mistake.

Sunset smiled. “None taken. I know what you meant.” she grabbed Applejack’s hand. “Now come on, I'm sure Mr. Cranky wouldn't be too happy about us skipping class.”

“When is that man ever happy?” Applejack asked.

Sunset laughed.


Despite the fact that Sunset still couldn't kiss Applejack, the next few rehearsals went off without a hitch.

The sets that Pinkie, Fluttershy, (and a reluctant Rainbow Dash) had put together over the course of a few weekends seemed to do the play justice.

Though it didn't stop Pinkie from sprinkling in a few splotches of pink here and there where she thought no one would see.

Of course, everyone did see, but didn't really care as long as it wasn't the giant eye sore it was before.

Rarity had managed to sew all the costumes together by herself. Her friends said that it was ridiculous that she hadn't asked them for their help but she waved them off.

Once she had gotten into her ‘zone’, most of the costumes had been done in one week. Though the noticeable bags under her eyes couldn’t be hidden. And the bedazzled travel mug that everyone assumed was full of coffee she had in hand all day said that she had pushed herself too hard.

Today’s rehearsal was the last one before the show. Mr. Magnet had told Sunset and Applejack before the start of it that they had to kiss in order for it to look natural on stage during the actual show.

Applejack had nodded, agreeing.

Sunset couldn’t seem to look either of them in the eye.

It seemed that Sunset was experiencing a sense of Deja vu, because just like she had been a few times over the past few weeks, she was laying in her so called coffin, the itchy, almost torturing blanket making her twitch.

And just like before, Applejack was knelt beside her. But something about this instance was different. It seemed like Applejack was the nervous one, and couldn’t seem to get her next line out.

“Applejack, dear, is everything alright?” Sunset heard Mr. Magnet call over from side stage.

“Uh huh,” Applejack responded hoarsely, audibly gulping. “Just...give me a minute.”

“Is she alright?” Sunset heard Fluttershy whisper to someone.

“Poor dear looks as pale as a sheet,” Rarity responded. “Whatever could have gotten into her?”

Me, probably. Sunset thought, wincing as she heard Applejack’s breathing quicken. Could this kiss have been freaking out Applejack too? Could she have been holding in everything, just to not appear nervous to Sunset?

“Kiss her already!” Rainbow shouted, somewhere from behind them.

Applejack gulped again. “I uh...Thus with a kiss I die.” she said, bending down to kiss Sunset.

Just as Sunset sat up in frustration.

“Ow!”

“Gosh Darnit!”

“Cut, cut, cut!” Mr Magnet commanded, clapping his hands. “Take five everyone. You two! I don’t need my stars with welts on their foreheads. To Nurse Redheart’s office! The both of you!”

Sunset groaned as she rolled out of the box and stood up, rubbing her forehead. At least they didn’t have to perform the kiss. She was happy about that.

In the nurse’s office, neither girl could look each other in the face as they held ice packs. The silence between them was unbearable, and the fact that the nurse had stepped out made it even worse.

“Talk about putting our heads together, am I right?” Applejack joked, making Sunset giggle. “You okay, sugarcube?”

“Besides probably having to take an aspirin when I get home? Yeah,” Sunset responded, smiling. Her smile fell, and she turned away from the other girl.

“See, there you go again,” Applejack sighed exasperatedly. “Every time we get a little moment to ourselves, or we get close to kissin’ for the play, you shut down. Did I do something wrong?”

“No! No, Applejack, you didn’t. It’s me. Like I said before. I’ve got...a lot going on.” Sunset responded, running a hand through her hair.

“You know if there’s something going on that you can talk to us, right?” Applejack asked, looking at Sunset concerned.

Sunset sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just wish I could talk to you guys about it.”

“What says you can’t?” Applejack asked, making Sunset look at her.

Sunset bit her lip. “I...I can’t tell you.” she repeated. “I really want to it’s just, I can’t—”

“Sunset, I want you to kiss me.”

Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Sunset Shimmer, I want you to kiss me. If kissing me in front of everyone is that much of an issue for you, then you should have no problem if it’s just us.” Applejack told her folding her arms.

Sunset’s face became flushed. “I-I don’t think—”

Sunset gasped in surprise as Applejack’s lips met hers. It was a brief, short kiss, that only lasted for a short second, but to Sunset it felt like it had lasted for a lifetime.

Sunset opened her eyes as Applejack pulled away, and covered her face in her hands. “How long did you know?”

Applejack chuckled deeply. “Sugarcube, you wear your heart on your sleeve more than you think. You’re more obvious than a duck at a goose family reunion.”

“Applejack—”

Suddenly the door to the nurses office opened and in stepped the greatest and powerfulest interruption to their conversation.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie demands to see Nurse Redheart. She has a papercut.” Trixie said, holding up her finger. It seemed she just now realized the other girls in the room and acted accordingly. “Oh. Hey Sunset. Do you know where Nurse Redheart is?”

Sunset giggled. “She left to take Derpy back to class. She’ll be back soon.”

Trixie nodded. “Well, when she comes back, tell her The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a bandaid!” and with that, she threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared—to just behind the door. “Yes!” she cried triumphantly. “It worked again!”

Sunset and Applejack couldn’t help but giggle.


Opening night came faster than anyone could have ever anticipated. It hadn’t really dawned on Sunset that this was the real deal until Rarity had helped her into her gown.

“You seem a lot more happier than you’ve been, darling. Did something change?” Rarity asked, pulling Sunset’s hair out from under her dress.

Sunset glanced over at Applejack who looked like a prince out of a fairytale in her costume. She and Rainbow Dash were currently having a fake sword fight as they waited for the play to start.

“Oh my word!” Rarity gasped from behind her. “Did you two—?”

“Absolutely not!” Sunset told her. “We just...kissed.”

“You ki—”

Sunset clasped a hand over Rarity’s mouth. “Please, don’t announce it to everyone that’s backstage,” she looked around to make sure no one had heard Rarity.

Rarity let out a squeal that was probably high enough to crack glass. “Oh! I knew you two would end up together! This is wonderful!”

“Rarity!” Sunset whined, stomping her foot. “Nothing has happened yet. Like I said, we just kissed. Nothing else.”

“Not yet at least,” Rarity giggled, zipping up Sunset’s dress. “Now go out there and put all my hard work to use!” she added, giving Sunset a playful push.

The play had started off well, with everything going smoothly, much to Mr. Magnet’s delight. Rainbow had stumbled over her lines a bit, but with help from Twilight, she was able to pull through in all of her scenes.

Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie were busied with changing sets in between scenes and barely had any time to say hi to any of their friends, but did give silent thumbs ups from side stage and whispered “You’re doing great!” when they would pass Sunset or one of the other actors on stage.

Sunset’s heart skipped a beat when Pinkie and Fluttershy dragged in the dreaded coffin. Had the whole play gone by that fast? She had remembered acting, saying her lines, and taking swigs of water in between scenes, but hadn’t been paying attention to much else.

Her eyes met Applejack’s from across stage, and she blushed when she saw the wolfish grin that the farm girl was giving her.

“Places everyone!” Mr. Magnet called. “Final scene of the show! We’ve made it this far! We can finish this, people!” he clapped his hands, and shooed Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity off stage.

Though not before Rarity could squeeze Sunset's arm in silent support. Sunset was thankful for it, but it did nothing to still the hard thump in her chest as she laid in the coffin.

Kissing Applejack in the nurse’s office was definitely something she’d never forget. It kept playing in her mind in the following weeks leading up to the play. And every time she looked at Applejack, she couldn’t help but let her eyes wander to her lips. Those soft, kissable lips, that were about to meet hers in front of the entire school.

Sunset honestly couldn’t wait.

She had zoned out again, and the only thing that had brought her back was Applejack’s line preceding the kiss: “Thus with a kiss, I die.”

Sunset cracked an eye open to see Applejack was leaning down to kiss her. She leaned up just a bit to meet her lips, but not enough that it ruined the illusion of her being ‘dead’.

It was just supposed to be just a peck, but it seemed like neither girl wanted to stop, the kiss lasting a bit longer than it was supposed to.

Mr. Magnet coughed and the girls broke apart, blushing.

Applejack stood there, dumbfounded.

“Finish the scene, you useless lesbian!” Rainbow Dash whispered harshly from side stage.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity chided her, appalled.

“Uh,” Applejack said turning to the audience. “Thus with a kiss I die?”


Despite the minor hiccup, the ending of the play received a standing ovation. Everyone said it was probably one of the best plays in CHS history. It was so good in fact, that Mr. Magnet passed Sunset and Applejack immediately after the play.

There was a cast party at Sugarcube Corner, and afterwards, Applejack had offered to drive Sunset home. Their drive had been quiet for the most part, except for the few mentions of things that happened during the party.
When they reached Sunset’s door, neither girl seemed to want to leave.

“So...” Sunset started.

“So...” Applejack repeated. “Ya’ll good?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for driving me home.”

“No problem, sugarcube.” Applejack responded.

There was a beat of awkward silence before both girls tried to talk.

At the same time.

“I just—”

“Wait, you go first,” Applejack told her.
Sunset took a deep breath. “Applejack...I’ve liked you for a while now. Rarity was the one who pointed it out to me honestly...And I think she has a small obsession with romance and setting up her friends.”

Applejack chuckled. “You know how much she loves a good love story.”

“Are we?” Sunset asked, staring at her.

Applejack seemed confused. “Are we what?”

“Are we a good love story?” Sunset asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Applejack shrugged. “We could be. We’re not exactly the most compatible out of the group.”

“A rose by any other name is just as sweet,” Sunset responded, smirking.

Applejack smirked back. “And yet you failed the mid-term,” she teased.

Sunset giggled. “You did too. But I guess we did alright, huh?” she teased back.

“Yeah, guess we did.” Applejack agreed. “So what do you say? Ya’ll wanna give us a shot?” she asked, leaning in and kissing Sunset.

“You kiss by the book,” Sunset said, grinning.

“Har, har.” Applejack said dryly before pressing their lips together again.

Author's Note:

Hey ya'll! I finally finished the second chapter! I hope you guys liked it!

Comments ( 5 )

“When is that man ever happy?” Applejack asked.

When he's not in school?

Trixie nodded. “Well, when she comes back, tell her The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a bandaid!” and with that, she threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared—to just behind the door. “Yes!” she cried triumphantly. “It worked again!”

Happy Trixie is adorable

“Finish the scene, you useless lesbian!” Rainbow Dash whispered harshly from side stage.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! I love Rainbow Dash.

Whoo! Well done! Any time anyone can add Shakespeare to fanfiction is okay by me.

I really love that flutterdash reference

Once she had gotten into her ‘zone’, most of the costumes had been done in one week. Though the noticeable bags under her eyes couldn’t be hidden. And the bedazzled travel mug that everyone assumed was full of coffee she had in hand all day said that she had pushed herself too hard.

And I suddenly imagine a coffee mug with the Dazzlings band logo on it, since no true lady of refinment would ever stoop to petty displays of superiority (and the red gemstone shards on the transparent base certainly were never part of a magic necklace).. :duck:

“When is that man ever happy?” Applejack asked.

Your question is as good as mine applejack. 😒

Just as Sunset sat up in frustration.

Ouch! :fluttershyouch:

Trixie nodded. “Well, when she comes back, tell her The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a bandaid!” and with that, she threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared—to just behind the door. “Yes!” she cried triumphantly. “It worked again!”

There's a thing called walking you know. :ajbemused:

Despite the minor hiccup, the ending of the play received a standing ovation. Everyone said it was probably one of the best plays in CHS history. It was so good in fact, that Mr. Magnet passed Sunset and Applejack immediately after the play.

Congratulations you two! :pinkiehappy:

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