Applejack was swept backward from the shock of it, stumbling into the door as Claudia cowered against her. The girl's face clenched into her shoulder, both arms pressing around her waist. Afraid to reach out, afraid the girl might flinch away from her touch, she simply stood there, a passive recipient to the girl's terror, still and silent as dawn in the near-darkness. They were standing so close she could feel her bare knees brush the thin fabric of Claudia's jeans, the girl's breath wisping off the edge of her throat. A cold frission shot up her spine. "Hey, everythin's gonna be fine," she said, smiling in spite of herself as her hand sorted through darkness and bright green feathers to rub gently at Claudia's back.
Vertigo stole over her as the door behind them shifted away. She slipped halfway to the floor, caught from …show more content…
Awkwardly swaying back and forth on the balls of her feet, Applejack cleared her throat, her hand flaring out toward the closet door. She felt ecstatically vindicated, remembering Apple Bloom's shrill protests when she had been left behind at the farmhouse earlier in the evening--one of her hard-edged decisions was finally justified, not that her sister could ever know, given the context. An accusatory tone rose in Applejack's voice, "Sigrid, what in the heck... It's like 15 shades of gray in there!"
Sigrid looked back at her. "50. There are 50 shades of gray."
Her face began to grow hot and her gaze flicked nervously to Claudia, gauging the girl's reaction. Desperate to preserve her artistic credibility, she stumbled through a lie, "I... I knew that! Yeah, all them... shades of gray... My favorite one is, uh, cyan?" She could practically hear the element of honesty shattering into a million disappointed shards. With more humility, she asked, "Are you sure, though? That sounds like an awful lot..."
Vertigo stole over her as the door behind them shifted away. She slipped halfway to the floor, caught from …show more content…
Awkwardly swaying back and forth on the balls of her feet, Applejack cleared her throat, her hand flaring out toward the closet door. She felt ecstatically vindicated, remembering Apple Bloom's shrill protests when she had been left behind at the farmhouse earlier in the evening--one of her hard-edged decisions was finally justified, not that her sister could ever know, given the context. An accusatory tone rose in Applejack's voice, "Sigrid, what in the heck... It's like 15 shades of gray in there!"
Sigrid looked back at her. "50. There are 50 shades of gray."
Her face began to grow hot and her gaze flicked nervously to Claudia, gauging the girl's reaction. Desperate to preserve her artistic credibility, she stumbled through a lie, "I... I knew that! Yeah, all them... shades of gray... My favorite one is, uh, cyan?" She could practically hear the element of honesty shattering into a million disappointed shards. With more humility, she asked, "Are you sure, though? That sounds like an awful lot..."