Chapter 2
Blue sky, Bright sun. Singing birds. And the occasion ‘moo,’ or ‘oink.’ Sometimes both.
Nobody passing by could ever tell the explosive screams and curses that racked Sweet Apple Acres, and threw very sharp, pointy rocks into that blanket of peace. There was also crying. That was important.
But, like every disturbance, it faded like the tide. The flesh-melting energy blasting out of a certain red barn had calmed, and receded back inside. To the source. And there, in the hay, Sunset Shimmer sat with a dead, thousand-yard stare. The only thing that confirmed any life signs were slow, infrequent breaths.
The truth hurts. A lot.
Like the dull pain in her chest from where Applejack had pushed her. The sore throat from all the scream-crying. The stinging eyes from every shed tear. There was far too much of that for either party’s liking, really.
But, at least the pain reminded Sunset Shimmer she was still alive.
Or still breathing, anyway… Sunset thought with her best empty, crumbling, husk of a smile.
The color was gone. The red wood barn faded and dulled. The hay, once glorious and temping, lay well and truly dead--bold yellow now splattered with gray. The thin cracks of sunlight bleeding through the barn did little for Sunset. For all she cared, the light was dead.
The Magic was dead.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Magic didn’t belong in this world. In this world, Magic never stayed the same, or safe, or stable, or kept her friends together. It turned Twilight into a aether-raving nutjob. It made Fluttershy hypersensitive to all manner of sentient and non-sentient life. Rainbow Dash’s knowledge of the human body and all it limits became… disturbingly accurate. Pinkie Pie actually went mad with omniscience. Probably. Rarity’s augmented attention to detail could instantly tell her if two cockroaches mated behind her refrigerator within a three-day timespan.
Then there was Applejack.
Sunset glance down at the powerful arms squeezing around her own. A second glance confirmed the muscled legs lain on either of her sides. She knew what Magic had done to Applejack too. Not that she was certain. It wasn’t like Applejack would let Sunset touch her anyway.
Sunset used to think best friends did that sort of thing: touch, feel and understand one another. If she was honest with herself, she still believed that.
Which only meant one thing.
“We’re still friends, Sunset”
Liar. No they weren’t. Sunset now understood full well what Applejack truly thought of her. Applejack thought she was weak. Applejack thought she was better and stronger than her. Applejack…!
Applejack was right.
“I was wrong… and I’m so sorry.”
Never. She would never forgive Applejack. Not because she was leaving them, or even because she was wrong.
But because Applejack was right.
Sunset Shimmer was weak. The filly who couldn’t cauterize her father’s Ursa wound in time--weak. The snide rebel who got herself expelled from a school made for unicorns just like her--weak. The sniveling worm that accepted a friendly hand and took refuge in this very barn for twenty-three days--weak.
The arrogant snake who turned Applejack’s friends against each other. That was the weakest of them all.
“I forgive you.” That deep, quiet voice began to shake. “God, knows I do.”
But Sunset didn’t deserve forgiveness. Not from Princess Twilight. Not from Princess Celestia. And least of all from Applejack. They were… perfect. Applejack was perfect. She didn’t need some weakling telling her how to handle her issues. Applejack could have ruled Manehatten if she actually tried. She was independent, self-sufficient, adaptable, charismatic--all the qualities Sunset once believed they shared.
Like being honest with oneself.
Sunset sealed her lips shut. She couldn’t afford to speak, or risk actually saying that.
There was a beat of silence where Sunset didn’t think. A rarity not often enjoyed by active minds. But peaceful silence didn’t come to her. One snort from behind later, Sunset noticed the cheek resting against her bare neck.
Such a small, unnoticeable thing.
Another snort, followed by soft laughter. “‘Perfect?’ You gettin’ sweet on me, Pony Girl?”
Sunset stopped breathing.
Several knots that unraveled from this altercation tied themselves back up. Her half-shocked, half-dead eyes brush over the strong arms holding her still. A tiny grunt. A feather-light struggle in the farmer’s grip. Then, merciful release.
Sunset leaned forward, then turned and swiveled to face the larger girl. One gazing up. One blushing down. Sunset stared for a while longer, respecting AJ’s wishes not to be touched.
She just… needed to be close. She sat upon her knees, between Applejacks legs. Every breath wafting down her nose and mouth confirmed the distance.
Sunset whispered… “How did you know what I was feeling?”
Green eyes slowly brightened. Applejack waded through her hesitation. “Hard not to hear you talkin’ about it. Considerin’, you know… how close we are. Right now. I think.” Her already prominent blush darkened.
“Applejack…” Sunset slowly breathed. “I didn’t say anything.”
Applejack fell silent. Sunset fell silent. They both raised a hand and glanced at them. Then at each other’s. Their eyes met again.
“How much… how much did you hear?” Sunset whispered again.
Applejack blinked again, still processing all this.
“I… You really said nothin’ the last few minutes?” Applejack questioned, an errant sweat bead rolling down her neck.
Sunset slowly shook her head, eyes never leaving the fargirl’s. “Not a word.”
“But… what does that mean? I-I heard everything and… Sugar, you ain’t weak. Please know I didn’t mean it. I didn’t…”
Sunset’s eyes lidded. She wasn’t sure she believed that. But…
“I need to be sure,” Sunset murmured. “But… I won’t do anything you don’t allow me to. I’m… I’m sorry I tried to force it.”
Applejack’s face fell, if only a little. “Oh, sugar… It’s okay.”
“Can I? You’ll… let me?”
It felt strange asking permission for something like this, but Sunset deemed it necessary. Rightfully so, as Applejack seemed to hesitate again. But like before, the blond farmgirl waded through it--this time, with a smile.
Sunset brushed a feathery touch along Applejack’s muscled forearm.
A golden shock flashed in her eyes. She pulled away, and gawked at Applejack, who gawked right back.
“What in tarnation was that?” Applejack asked in wonder.
“I think… I think…”
Sunset let her impulses slip for just a second. She took her friend’s hand into two of her own, and placed that large, calloused palm unto her cheek.
“My magic… this is amazing...” Sunset smiled. “Tell me exactly what I’m thinking.”
Sunset had to admit; It felt good to give Applejack orders.
“Oh, yeah? Well don’t you go gettin’ used to it, missy,” Applejack said with a wry smirk.
Sunset’s eyes widened. She didn’t want Applejack to catch that.
“Is that right? And what did y’all want me to catch?”
Sunset lightly threw the palm back to its owner’s lap. “Okay, not fair.”
Applejack snorted. “Howdy, Pot. Y’all met Kettle? Great friend o’ mine--we go way back.”
The barn gently echoed of laughter for short, precious moments. Then it stopped, and the two girls resumed staring at one another.
“How…?” Applejack asked, the wonderment returned to her voice.
“I don’t know, but…” Sunset tucked her own hair behind an ear, “this is the first time I’ve used my power since the change.”
Applejack’s eyes flickered, and she leaned forward, only a little. “Are you afraid?”
Sunset didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then she smiled ruefully.
“Terrified…” Applejack smiled back as Sunset’s eyes fell to her own hands. “Even before the change--when I first learned how to control it--I never touched anypon… anybody for more than a few seconds.”
Sunset raised her eyes up to Applejack’s. She met that freckled blush with a microscopic smile.
“Must’ve ate at ya somethin’ fierce... Layers, covers, all sorts o’ shades. So much to see… but ya just couldn’t. There are some things you know you ain’t meant to see...”
Sunset’s eyes softened as she leaned forward as well. “Applejack? How… how much of me did you…?”
Applejack offered her own sad smile. “Enough to know I was wrong. So wrong… Green eyes were gently cast groundward. “Sugar, I’m so sorry for what I said.” Sunset’s smile returned. “The magic you brought here: it gave me somethin’ to fight for, somethin’ else to live for. Findin’ you that rainy night was the best thing I ever did… I-I didn’t mean to push you away. Figuratively and… literally.”
Sunset blushed. It was stupid to blush, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.
“And I’m sorry I called you a coward. Every challenge and change? Taking it all head-on, with that smile of yours? Not that ‘roughing it’ at Camp Everfree was intelligent, by any stretch, but you make it work, somehow.”
Applejack snorted. “Yeah. Say… I ever tell you when I wrestled a bear away from one of my campfires?”
Sunset’s eyes widened then flattened with a knowing smirk. “You totally just made that up.”
Applejack’s own smirk appeared, an eyebrow raising.
“No…”
“Mm-hm.”
“You didn’t…”
“I sure did.”
“A bear?”
“It wanted the berries I spent three hours pickin’. What would you have done?”
Sunset thought for a minute. Then they both answered simultaneously, “Ran like a bitch.”
More laughter echoed from the barn. Sunset recovered first, and took the liberty of doing something dumb. She raked her eyes roughly, clinically and shamelessly over the entwined coils of muscle before her, stopping at those head-turning abs.
Now, Sunset couldn’t get Applejack bear-wrestling as a profession out of her head.
“You may be pushy, aggressive and mean, but you sure as Hell are no coward.”
“You know? I can’t tell if that’s a compliment,” Applejack grinned.
“It isn’t… It’s a cold, hard fact.”
The two remained silent for minutes after that, just staring. Sunset regained enough sense to correct herself; she wasn’t looking above the nose. At all.
“Quit it.” Applejack teased.
“S-sorry…” Sunset blushed, hands now resting on her own bare thighs. “Truth is, I’ve never really seen… anyone look this way in person. I didn’t know I’d tolerate it so much.”
Applejack snorted again. “Tolerate… So that’s what we’re callin’ it now.”
Sunset shook her head with her own grin, glanced one last time at her new obsession then reconnected eyes with her friend.
“I’m glad you found me that day, Applejack.” The farmgirl smiled. “It was so cold. And I was so angry. And you… You stood over me, soaked with just as much rain, and just lifted me to my feet and smiled. You taught me how to walk on two legs. Caught me whenever I stumbled. I… I hated that.”
Applejack just listened.
“I hated that I didn’t know anything anymore. That I needed to relearn an entire world again. And that I had to learn all of it from someone who didn’t even know magic, and… I hated you so much.
Applejack said nothing.
“I stayed in the barn--away from the actual house--because I couldn’t stand the sight of you. Your family, your work. How you just… did it with no complaints. You’d visit me every morning and every night just to say hello. Sometimes with breakfast or dinner. I… hated that you were so nice to me when I didn’t even deserve it.”
Sunset noticed Applejack’s hands reach forward, but they stopped and remained on the farmer’s own slightly parted thighs.
“Still can’t believe it took me four days to notice how ya survived.”
Sunset smiled and said, “In your defense, humans don’t really eat hay. Totally fooled you into thinking I was a normal teenage girl.” Her brow flattened. “Until you saw me eating it.”
Applejack closed her eyes at the memory. “Always jumpy when the horses neighed. Always eatin’ hay. Always on all fours. Always runnin into doors… Huh. Would make one catchy tune.”
A fire started in Sunset’s face, brow furrowing. “First off, that wasn’t my fault. I’m a unicorn. I was born to run into doors--I--er--what the--TO OPEN DOORS WITH MAGIC! I… I wasn’t used to a lot without it.”
The Element of Empathy rolled her eyes at her comrad’s hearty laughter, a deeper red staining her face.
Sunset cleared her throat. “Second, that would make a horrible song. Unlike… one song I can recall.”
Green eyes gaped wide. Amber lips curled sharply.
“And you know what song I’m talking about. Don’t you, Applejack.” In truth, not even Sunset could remember hearing her own voice that low.
Applejack jerked back in horror. “Don’t you dare!”
Sunset’s torso fell into a rhythmic series of bounces, and she sang,
“Who’s a silly pony?
“You’re a silly pony.
“Who is?
“You is, Applejack!
“Bumpin’ into gates
“And knockin’ over fences.
“Who is?
“You is, Applejack!”
Sunset crumbled into uncontrollable laughter as Applejack sputtered apart.
“Ah, come on, now--I, that is--Pa sang it ‘fore I could crawl--and.. And--!”
Applejack slumped with a narrow frown as Sunset laughed and laughed. “And it stuck with the family ever since. Priceless.”
Her laughter stopped. Applejack stared at her like she’d grown an extra set of eyebrows.
“W-what?” Sunset meeped.
“I… never told ya that,” Applejack said--to Sunset’s relief--without anger; more with surprise than anything else. “I never told anyone that.”
Sunset paused. Then she looked down, and saw her very ungloved hand over Applejack’s. Sunset gently pulled away, averting her gaze for only a second or two. Eyes locked once more.
“Reckon ya still got some questions,” Applejack murmured.
Turquoise eyes were piercing, searching those emerald gems for her own answer.
“I don’t know.”
Applejack was silent.
“This change. This… thing that happening to us. I think I really am afraid of it.”
Applejack smirked. “Well, you were awful assertive about the matter before.”
Sunset averted her eyes and said, “That was before I knew the sakes.” She looked back up at her now-concerned friend. “Before I knew what the magic did to you.”
Applejack gulped when Sunset placed both her hands on Applejack’s, and--subsequently--her thighs.
“The second I stepped in this barn today, I felt it. It was so gentle at first but, like… Okay, imagine your lungs in a blender, but with blades made of cotton--”
“--It’s already too late.”
Sunset smiled as she stuffed a chuckle. “It scared me to death. Every time I spoke to you… I was strong. Like I could do anything, and I guess my mouth agreed. I spoke everything I thought, and… and I knew I’d hurt you too.”
Applejack offered a sad smile.
“I was scared, Applejack, because I don’t like to lose. I hate it when I don’t get my way. And you denied me. Over and over again. I thought I was being strong by pushing back at you. But I was so caught up, I got angry and just blew up. With every horrible thing I thought of you. Because I thought… you didn’t wanna be with me anymore… Us. Anymore. I meant...”
Sunset didn’t notice the stray lock of fiery hair before Applejack tucked it back behind her ear.
“Do you have any idea… what you do to me, Applejack?” the former pupil asked.
Applejack simply stared, mouth dry and slightly hung open. Sunset smiled, voice lowered to a whisper.
“Embrace it. Own what you are--what you can do. You can bring out the truest part of people. The truest part of me. All while wholly accepting who you are.” Sunset blushed when she didn’t allow it. “I… I love that about you.”
“And I think I understand yours too.” Applejack said. Sunset brightened with surprise. “You touch people, ya get it. Now they can do the same with you. Neat.”
The farmer’s eyes narrowed with amusement at Sunset’s lidded glare. Applejack deserved that glare for killing the moment. But the glare receded to a fond grin.
“Sweet Celestia, that’s what I hate about you. You’re just... so simple.”
A short, deep chuckle. Then Applejack’s face dimpled as it spread into the farthest, widest grin Sunset had ever seen on her. “Born and raised, hon.”
Sunset sighed at the pleasant wave a images dunking passed one another in her mind. Born and raised… She certainly was.
A loving mother and father, taken before their time. A supportive grandmother, the living breathing history book of the once-small town of Canterlot City. A brother and sister who’d pull mountains over rivers for her. All for nothing in return. But Applejack returned anyway. She always did.
She always gave before she took. Worked before she rested, assuming the latter ever came. She loved before she hated. Everything Sunset wished she could do--wished she could be. Perhaps… she was already there.
If Applejack was with her.. Sunset could be strong. And so could every single one of their friends.
They needed Applejack.
Sunset needed Applejack.
She’s so darn cute… Ugh! Come on, AJ. Think o’ Rarity.
Sunset once again suffered the paradoxical sensation of stopping while she wasn’t moving. Wide eyes looked up. The eyes looking down widened soon after.
“Did… I just think that out loud?”
Sunset responded with a nervous giggle, fingers twiddling with a bacon-colored lock of hair.
“You… think I’m cute?”
A sudden cold bit at Sunset when Applejack shot herself a full arm’s length back, hands on her friend’s slender shoulders.
“Whoa, nelly…”
An odd silence filled the barn. Different. Not bad. Not awkward. Not even good, really. Just different. Sunset’s eyes trailed from Applejack’s wrists all the way to her powerful shoulders. Then her modest bust. Then, at last, above the nose.
“I had no idea…” Sunset whispered. “Wow… It’s like I’m meeting you for the first time. So many surprises.”
Applejack cursed under her breath, and scrambled to her booted feet.
“Now I’ve gone and… Shucks!”
Sunset’s instincts began taking hold. Instincts that she thought would remain buried for a long time. Instincts that defied and shouted against human biology. Desires she’d forsaken until she’d found her first mutual friend in Princess Twilight Sparkle. To love and be loved. To be close. Praised and celebrated. All things humans could biologically survive without.
Things as important to a pony, as water to a fish.
She shot to her feet, a cold despair clawing at her with every step the farmgirl put between them.
“Applejack?”
“I screwed up, Sunset,” Applejack said quietly. “I… You weren’t supposed to know that.”
A terrible sense of deja vu made Sunset hesitate. But quickly found no more reason to hesitate.
“That’s what you were hiding?” Sunset already knew the answer. “Well… Yeah? Yeah. I know. It’s no big deal that I know, right?”
Sunset’s hands curled into fists against her chest. She wilted at her blonde comrade’s menacing glare.
“You know damn well the answer.”
Sunset flinched at the curse. Applejack almost never cursed. But the former unicorn didn’t deny she knew the answer. If only because she well and truly couldn’t.
“I... I don’t wanna get between you and Rarity. Please believe me. I just… want to know more? I guess?” Sunset smoothed another pesky bacon strip out from her eye. “I don’t know.”
Applejack searched the ground for a response, but conceded that with a tired huff.
“Ain’t nothin’ more to talk about, Sunset.”
“Please don’t do that,” Sunset pleaded, taking a bold step forward. “Don’t shut me out. Not again. Not now...”
Applejack stood her ground. “Gah, Sunset… We were rarin’ for than just ‘talkin.’ You know it, and I know it. Let’s just… forget this ever happened.”
“You mean forget we ever met?” Sunset’s voice stung with the tremble of oncoming sobs. “Because that’s honestly what you expect me to do, huh?”
Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, no… No, that ain’t--”
“Well, jokes on you! I can’t,” Sunset’s lips trembled and her slow-recovering will started to break again. “Hey, while we’re at it, how about we forget everything we learned today and get on with our lives. That what you want, Applejack?”
“Sugar, ya got it all wro--”
“Or maybe you just can’t stand being around us! Around ME! That’s why, isn’t it?!”
“Sunset--”
“Am I still too weak for you?!”
“No, that ain’t it!”
“WHAT IS IT, THEN?!”
“IT’S ALWAYS BEEN THERE!”
Both girls stumbled to a stop. Blinking eyes trapped by one another’s, the two heroes took a moment to gather the situation. Applejack caught her breath. A resigned sigh escaped her, eyes falling again.
“It’s… always been there,” Applejack repeated, her tone somber. “First time I saw you, I… Shoot, I just knew you were special. You were like a newborn baby. And I watched you grow up in a matter o’ days.”
Sunset barely recovered from her shock.
“First time I saw ya eat hay, I don’t even think y’all know how long just… sat there and watched.”
Sunset rolled her eyes, yet blushed all the same.
“Third day you were here--land sakes--I never heard anybody so interested in a farm. So many questions…”
Sunset smiled. “I still wonder how tractors work. It’s, like, so much for so little.”
Applejack smiled for a fraction of a second. “ Yeah…”
Sunset’s face fell, her heart aching with Applejack.
“You had ambition. I saw it. I knew you were never gonna stay. ‘Least… that’s what I reckoned at first.”
Sunset took a tentative step forward. They were so close now…
“When you first got down n’ dirty with us on the field, you were so earnest. I could tell ya hated it, but ya just… did it. Just like any Honest Apple. And it was all for… for… what was it again?”
Sunset pressed her fingers together. “Science.”
Applejack snorted with a slowly shaking head. “For science… Curse it all if I didn’t miss you to death when you left. I always meant to say what you do to me, girl. But I was just too late. It’s… too late.”
Sunset dared to touch her comrade’s hand. To her astonishment, Applejack didn’t pull away.
“When you first became Fall Formal Princess... somethin’ changed. And that’s when I knew for sure it couldn’t work... It’s too late for us, now. I got Rarity… Had Rarity.”
Sunset didn’t bother holding her tears back. They flowed as freely as the anguish and torment she felt from Applejack.
“Manehatten is my next stop. I think it’s time I showed Aunt and Uncle Orange how sellin’ produce is really done.”
The fact that Applejack tried to smile only made this worse. And Sunset had suffered quite enough.
Something had to give. And so it did.
Sunset stood on her tiptoes, lifted slightly off Applejack’s shoulders and kissed her. A simple, unmoving, lip-to-lip kiss. Sunset pulled away with a light smack, breath shallow, eyes lidded. Tears falling down two gentle streams off her face.
“Don’t go…” It was merely a whisper. But those words punched the air like gunfire. “Don’t go…”
Eyes that simply couldn’t un-widen locked on Sunset’s. Applejack gave a single, strangled sputter. She looked as if she’d speak, but never did. Her head and body swayed, like her soul was pulled in three different directions.
Applejack blinked, and her lungs inflated to life.
“You kissed me…” Applejack muttered. “And… and I…”
“You liked it…” Sunset finished for her.
Sunset took a daring step, fully aware that her instincts had taken control: she placed her hands just below Applejack’s chest. Her fingers tingled with a numbing buzz, a pleasant combo to the smooth, hardened flesh kneaded between them.
Then she saw it.
At first, she wasn’t sure what to make of it. But when image after image bled in and out of existence, Sunset pieced it together very quickly. Perhaps too quickly. With tiny gasps, giggles and a blush so red it put the entire barn to shame, Sunset marveled at three-years-worth of unsatisfied fantasies. All involving her.
And she was quite sure her legs couldn’t bend that far back.
“Oh… Applejack,” Sunset cooed, a new type of boldness tearing through her chest. “I… I had no idea you felt this way.”
Applejack took both smaller hands into her own, holding them tightly. “This is why you shouldn’t have come. I… we can’t do this Sunset. What would I tell Rarity?”
Sunset simply throw herself forward, her slim waist pressing firm into Applejack’s skirted loins.
“You tell her the truth,” Sunset breathed, eyes capturing Applejack’s.
Sunset knew it wasn’t that simple, but she didn’t care.
“How?” Applejack whispered back. Her hips gave a soft, earnest buck.
Sunset huffed as her hips returned the gesture with a more insistant buck.
“We’ll figure it out.” It was a horrible answer. Sunset’s eyes widened as she felt Applejack start to pull away. “Nonononono. Don’t go. Please, don’t go.”
Sunset’s arms latched around Applejack’s waist, hips rocking smoothly against her.
A pitiful, breathless groan escaped the farmgirls lips. “Dagnabit, girl,” she huffed, hips now dancing with Sunset’s “You drive me crazy.”
Sunset’s fingers dug into the small of Applejack’s back, hips grinding harder. “You can hate me. I don’t care. I’m weak without you. Nothing without you. Please don’t leave me... Applejack, Don’t g--”
Applejack swooped down and kissed her.
For the longest three seconds of her entire life, Sunset couldn’t decide how to respond. Then her instincts reminded her who was in charge. So she kissed back. Vigorously.
It was an awkward, stumbling dance of rocking hips and smacking lips. Every buck steadily grew stronger, punctuated with a gasp or a groan. Even a growl or two made it in there.
Sunset felt a tug at her shirt, then a breezy chill on her sweat-covered belly. She broke the kiss with a light gasp and another wet smack.
“Holy horse-apples...”
In a heartbeat, Sunset was out of Applejack’s still-extended arms. The farmer’s eyes lifted with shock and trepidation.
“Sunset? Sugar, I’m… I’m sorry. That was too fast, wasn’t it?”
Sunset still faced her friend, still looked at her, even, but she didn’t answer. She turned around completely, thumb nibbled between her teeth.
“This was a mistake. We shouldn’t have… uh…”
Applejack completely stopped when Sunset slowly turned back to her. The pupils of her eyes her big and black as ever. But the fire in them?
That was another story entirely.
Sunset allow on her face, a razor-sharp, predatory grin. “I mean… Holy horse-apples…”
Applejack completely stopped moving. But only for a few seconds. Doubts melted away. Fears were shoved aside. And the pure, honest truth exploded from eyes of turquoise and emerald.
A smirk crept along Applejack’s lips. She raised her arms just a little, offering herself and all her muscled glory. “Alright... Come on, then.”
Sunset let her eyes wander and pillage like the shameless voyeur she was. She squared her feet, smile growing as her friend challenged her. Like always.
Sunset Shimmer sprinted back to Applejack and pounced.
The chaos that followed, rocked that little corner of Sweet Apple Acres to its core. Amber legs hoisted and slung around a waist. Sweat-dampened clothes pawed at, pulled and peeled off. Blonde and fiery hair squeezed and pulled by greedy fingers. Slender and robust muscle kneaded and caressed.
Tongues lashing for control.
A firm backside crashing against a wall. A neat stack of tools, oh so beautifully knock over. A handmade workbench thrown aside… likely destroyed on impact. And through it all, the raspy growls, grunts and shouts that could’ve painted a picture for any wandering bystander.
The only semblance of peace came when Applejack leaned her extended arms atop a haystack. She stared down at the sweating bare thighs hooked around her wrists. Spread as wide as those huge arms would keep them….
Applejack’s eyes wandered upward, passed the vulnerable, brown-clad loins, passed the slim belly that shivered and sweat at the attention, passed the plum-sized bust, cradled by a red, half-strapped bra.
And finally, to the lidded turquoise eyes that watch her the whole time.
Deep breaths intermingled as the two stared at each other.
“Yer gonna help me unpack.”
Sunset nodded.
“Yer gonna help me get my room back together.”
Another nod, this time with a growing smile.
“Yer gonna help me clean this barn after I’m finished doin’ everything to ya.”
Sunset nodded harder and whispered, “Yes…”
“And tomorrow mornin’, you,” Applejack captured those smiling lips into a quick kiss, “are gonna help me tell Rarity what’s about to happen. I won’t hide this from her. Understand?”
Sunset’s smile receded only a little. But she returned the kiss in kind.
“Yes, Applejack.”
Sunset shivered and huffed, staring at every suckling kiss that trailed down her body.
Her eyes slowly brightened. Breath quickened. Muscles tightened. And she pushed gently against the blonde head ready to eat her alive on that haystack.
“W-wait a minu… We have to… Applejack, I…”
Breathless, incoherent stutters met with hearty, teasing laughter.
“Still havin’ doubts?”
The question seemed like a platitude if anything else. At least, it seemed that way with the kisses peppered along Sunset’s inner thighs.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, but I ha-ha-ha-haow! Oh, my God… Quit it.” Sunset pushed harder against that naughty blonde head. “I have to say this.”
Applejack stopped and looked earnestly at Sunset.
“This… This is everything.” Sunset didn’t even know what those words meant. But she had to get them out. “My thoughts. My fears. My hopes. My present… My past. It’s all here. Everything you ever wanted to know.”
Applejack fell into a stare. Listening. Eyes flickering with empathy.
“The light. And the darkness. So much darkness,” Sunset paused, smoothing a blonde strand from the eyes clued up at her. “I always felt safe when I used my powers, Applejack. I could look at someone and actually see them, but…”
“But now I can see you.”
Sunset fell silent, eyes still lidded.
“Yes… This is everything, Applejack. Everything I never told you or anyone else. What I lost, how horrible I was afterward. How I saw the world. Everything.”
Applejack seemed to finally understand as her eyes brightened.
“And it’s yours. Are you sure you’re ready for me?”
If Sunset Shimmer was honest with herself, she’d believe she sounded very intimidating. The wrists keeping her legs pried open confirmed this when they tensed, never mind the very real doubts she felt from the contact alone.
But the unphased grin that followed sent that confidence into a tailspin.
“Depends on what’cha say next.”
With that, Applejack raised her hands, and placed them opposite of the still-very spread thighs. No more contact. No more empathy. It was just the barn, the heat, the sweat, the bodies so close yet so far.
And there was the hay, of course. Hay that was so symbolically offered to a shocked Sunset’s lips. Her eyes crossed to stare at it, then straightened to stare at Applejack.
“What… what do you wanna hear?” Sunset cooed.
“The first thing that comes to your mind.”
Sunset honestly had thousands of things enter her mind. Not that she could focus on them. Because she couldn’t focus on anything… but Applejack. Applejack Apple. Her savior. Her keeper. Her best friend. Strength incarnate.
And Sunset loved strength.
“Thank you, Applejack. For taking care of me.”
The farmgirl’s lips slowly curled into a smile.
Sunset dunked forward, engulfing the entire blade of hay.
Emerald eyes twitched and widened, as an eager little mouth left her now-damp thumb with suckling pop. A few seconds of chewing. Then a loud gulp.
“Now shut up… and take what’s yours,” Sunset whispered.
Applejack tossed that restricting hand from her head, ripped those brown shorts apart and dived into a well earned feast.
Back arched and head thrown aside, Sunset Shimmer’s screams echoed throughout the entire orchard.
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This was deep, painful, and hugely impressive. Well done.
This had a good mixture of emotion, caring, and sensuality.
Well done.
Are you ever gonna write a sequel? I want to know how the other Rainbooms will be affected by the growing magic.
Holy shit that was a ride.
...Well, that was a ride. Heartbreaking, so sensual and so sweet.
Well done sir, well done.
That was an phenomenal way to end the story & to kick off Sunset & AJ's relationship!
P.S. Can you tell me who the artist is, who made the cover art please?
Holy cow, loving it and I can see potential for so much more!
9748743
Eeeeeyyyyyy.
9748960
Right?
9748979
I know. Isn't magic just wonderful?
9749513
Oddly, I hadn't planned on Sunset's 'Rarity jab' to highlight her manipulative side. A welcome accident, though.
9749790
9750930
Subversion is a powerful writing tool, I think. Though, I feel I've revealed that point a tad slowly here. Gotta crank out a few oneshots to get my flow back.
9751035
Your praise is very welcome. Glad you enjoyed it. I sure as Hell did.
9751048
Funny, that. I have a sequel outlined, but the manuscript is currently in limbo. Figured I should write a few oneshots until I'm ready for that. Getting back in the groove can be... challenging.
9751069 9751131
Best roller coaster in in town
9751336 9751402
Thank you, tons. I'm not sure if the argument seemed force. I'm also unsure if I added too much filler to compensate. Also, I found the pic on pintrest (the full pic is just wonderful).
9752380
Thanks. Sequel's in the oven. Just gonna write some oneshots to scrape off the rust.
Craine...
9753965
Okay, what did you type to find the photo?
Congratulations, this is the first Applejack pairing that I can truly get behind. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are 2 of the more difficult characters to work with when creating a shipfic in my opinion and this one was done masterfully.
9754845
Actually Appledash is something I see like this story's sunset in a way. RD being all brave bravado finally trusting AJ enough to open up. Cause RD can be written a few ways but my favorite for biased reasons in the Loyal to a fault character who would never betray her friends but is secretly terrified her friends aren't as loyal as she is. There was a line from Stardust that I really liked.
9754156
Artist is "invisibleone11"
9786036
Thx buddy, I found the link! Click here for the full pic!
I'm not normally one for breaking up canon couples (and let's face it, human Rarijack is a canon couple,) but this is still a fantastic piece. The unique circumstances of the evolving magic, the gripping back-and-forth, the oscillating power dynamics...
In all, an excellent read. Thank you for it. Though I do fear what's become of the other girls based on Sunset's summarized assessment. (I fully expect Pinkie to have already sent Rarity an apology text, cupcake basket, and invitation to the Sorry Applejack Broke up With You, but at Least She's Not Fleeing in Shame party.)
I must’ve missed it, what caused AJ to change?
I'm back again I've read this a couple of times since I last posted but holy hell if it still ain't a kick in the gut.
Just read this story...... Again....... And I still wish there was more to it.
10514611
img.wattpad.com/882466eb9329581e03e14cadd95843b11e80385a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5930664c55754f616f784a7969513d3d2d3930393731393238322e313631633437326162666237663862323538313839363334323131342e676966
And here I am again......