Denial?  Denial?  As today’s story is happy to inform you, that’s nothin’ but a river in Saddle Arabia.

Bitter Harvest
[Romance] [Comedy] [Slice-of-Life] • 17,919 words

Golden Harvest is not jealous. Sure, her neighbor Applejack has a life of adventure and glamor, friends who are national heroes and princesses, an appallingly lucrative share in the local fruit market, and firm, toned flanks. And sure, by contrast, Golden Harvest has been stuck with her snout in the same old muddy patch of carrots pretty much every day since she earned her cutie mark, her best friend is a dentist, and her idea for a ‘Carrot Juice Season’ never really gained much ground for some reason. But Golden Harvest is not jealous.

Not jealous at all.

She just wishes Applejack would stop being so distracting.

FROM THE CURATORS: “I just read the whole thing in one sitting,” Chris said when introducing the story to us, “and my expert analysis would be ‘this was really funny, guys!'”

This was an easy choice for a feature — we unanimously agreed on the story’s hilarity.  “I can’t remember the last time I was so consistently delighted by a long-form comedy,” Horizon said. But it had other strengths to appreciate as well, including its approach to the unrequited sexual tension that drives the plot.  “There’s way more to this story than I ever anticipated,” Present Perfect said. “Sexuality-based stories are both common and poor in this fandom, and it’s nice to finally see one that’s both funny and well thought out.  Esle has a gift for understatement and showing, and that’s where the strengths of this piece lie.”

“I also love the way the ending recontextualizes the unreliable narration,” Horizon added.

Read on for our author interview, in which Esle Ynopemos discusses clingy carrots, nuanced denial, and bitter tops.
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