A/N- Still working on Chapter 7 (slowly but surely), but this silly little idea came up and I had to run with it because it fuckin' tickled me haha. This may be one of the shortest things I've ever written... haha. Inspired by an idea from The Person Who Reads Bad Blood for me... (even though they didn't read this cause I have to be mysterious sometimes). So all mistakes are my own. Takes place in the Western AU world, in case that's not clear... hope you enjoy... :)

INTERLUDE- A Girl and Her Horse

Nicky Nichols fucking hated horses. Her fucking loss of a mother had started her on riding lessons when she was five and given up four months later when Nicky fell off the horse for the sixth time, dislocated her left shoulder and had punched the instructor in the face with her right fist when he'd insisted she "toughen up" and get back on the cursed beast. From that moment on, the four legged bastards were her mortal enemy.

So obviously it made perfect sense that she would run off to a place where the primary mode of transport was riding the fucking temperamental beasts. In New York, she could get away with only traveling in carriages and traps, but out West.. riding a horse at least on occasion seemed unavoidable. Somehow she'd managed to skirt the problem for all these years. When she'd first arrived in Haven she had steadfastly refused to ride, and fortunately for her there was no reason. The town was tiny and if she ever felt like visiting New Litchfield she would just tag along in the wagon with Max or Sergei or whichever of the boys was going down. The fact that the girl who eventually became her best friend lived two miles away from town was a little problematic (especially for someone as pathologically opposed to "taking in the air" and walking as Nicky was), but generally if they spent time together, Alex rode her horse up to town on some flimsy pretext because she liked to find ways to avoid working.

It wasn't until after Alex had returned to town from her time with fucking Balik and started running the Chapman ranch with Blondie that Nicky felt the need for a horse. Her friend had managed to fall in love with the kind of girl who (though she integrated nicely into the town) was the type who liked a good Sunday dinner with friends. And so by extension, Alex had rather suddenly become the kind of person who invited her best friend down to Sunday dinner, even if the invitation wasn't exactly engraved and delivered by private courier like it would've been back in New York ("Want to come down t'supper Sunday? Piper slaughtered that fat fuckin' hog yesterday..." "Yup..."). Sometimes she was accompanied by Lorna, but if Lorna was off with Rosa's people or just couldn't make it then Nicky had to go alone. And if it was just Nicky coming then there was no excuse to take the wagon (which she couldn't really drive anyway... because of the fucking horse problem).

Alex had always given her unrelenting shit for her dislike of the damned creatures ("They're fuckin' horses, Nick... ain't like you're gonna be climbin' up on top of a goddamn lion or something..." "Fuckers don't like me, I don't like them") so she was entirely tickled when Nicky had come to her and asked her help choosing one. The glare Nicky threw her was doleful enough that even Alex backed off a little, though the shit eating grin didn't disappear, and Nicky was sure she heard the brunette chuckling more than once...

Miss Berdie presented Nicky with the quietest, most peaceful creature Alex had ever seen (and she had been around horses all her life, riding since she was four). The mare was full grown, but not monstrously large like Hades, small enough that Alex figured Nicky could make it on the thing herself given proper motivation.

The horse looked at Nicky with its peaceful, guileless dark eyes and Nicky glared back at it. She leaned up and said, "It's lookin' at me funny, Vause..."

"How in the fuck is it lookin' at you funny, Nick? I mean, I ain't gonna say there ain't horses that have a little personality, but this one... she's about as docile as I've ever seen."

"I don't care how much you like the bitch, she's lookin' at me... I'm tellin' ya, I feel like she wants to do me some sort of harm..."

"You ain't on the drugs anymore, are ya?" Alex asked, tipping her hat back, adjusting her glasses, and pretending to scrutinize Nicky's face carefully, that damned sardonic grin seemingly carved into her face now, "That'd be the last time you were this paranoid..."

"Vause..."

"Less you wanna walk two miles to the ranch for Sunday dinner, which I sure as shit ain't lettin' you do with your heart the way it is, you're gonna buy this fuckin' horse."

Nicky glared at her, then back at the horse. Which was still giving her the evil god damn eye...

She huffed a loud snort of frustration, "Fine... fuckin' fine... but I swear to Christ if that thing kills me, you're gonna be to blame! I hope you're ready to be responsible for my death by horse trampling... or maybe it'll throw me into a fuckin' pit of rattlers or over a cliff or into the fuckin' ravine or..."

"As long as you stay on the poor girl, I think you'll be fine..."

"Poor girl?!" Nicky's eyes got, if possible, even wider, "You're takin' her side?"

Alex couldn't stop her now, she barked out a guffaw. Even Miss Berdie, always kind and understanding, was hiding a smile behind her hand and coughing to conceal her laugh. Nicky crossed her arms over chest and sulked, mortally offended, while Alex sucked in a couple of deep breaths, trying to get her laughter under control.

Finally, she managed to calm down, then wiped the tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes. She turned to Miss Berdie, refusing to look at Nicky for fear the look of wounded indignation that was sure to be on her face would start her laughing again.

"I think you've got a sale, Miss Berdie... how much for Peaceful over there?" (behind her, Nicky snorted in a distinctly unladylike way, and from the look on Berdie's face, half shocked, half amused, Alex assumed the bartender was shooting her one of the many obscene gestures in her extensive arsenal.)

"I'll give her to you for five dollars."

Alex frowned, amusement vanishing, "That ain't enough... I ain't here t'cheat you out of anything, ma'am..."

"Oh no... I mean, we don't need her and we're doing really well right now..." she leaned forward slightly, grinning, "And I have a feeling that the amusement to be gained from teaching Miss Nichols to ride will be more than worth any money we would have charged you otherwise..."

Alex smiled at that, "How about I give you $10... and help ya teach her..."

Berdie nodded and took the money that Alex offered (Nicky had shoved some bills in her hand before they went over, refusing to be directly responsible for "buying the instrument of my own destruction" to which Alex had replied "Jesus you must be worried, you're usin' the fancy words..."). They both looked over at Nicky, who was grimacing and had gone slightly green as she stared at the animal that now belonged to her.

Alex felt the shit eating grin returning. This was going to be fun.

Two hours later, they had managed to get Nicky on the horse. Twice. Every other time, she'd gotten one leg over then slid off, or hadn't even managed to get that far. Alex was determined that she should do it without assistance, no box to step on, no hand up, just foot in stirrup and over... clearly not something Nicky was thrilled about. Half the time had been spent cajoling Nicky into doing it again after each failed try.

Finally, Alex relented and they left the livery, giving Miss Berdie a friendly wave. They left the horse there. That was where most of the town's horses were quartered anyway.

As they walked across the street (Nicky walking slowly, exaggerating every single one of her aches and pains), Alex glanced over at her, "You know you've gotta name her, right?"

"How about Devil Bitch...?"

Alex chuckled. "Y'know, Big Dan always used t'tell me that sometimes if you named a horse somethin', the personality would follow... at first I thought that was bullshit, but then I got to know a few horses and turns out he wasn't far wrong..."

Nicky frowned at that, something like real concern floating across her features. Then she said, "Bugsy."

Alex snorted again, this time so hard she almost choked.

Nicky turned the ever present glare on her, "What?"

"You're namin' the horse Bugsy?"

"Yeah! Why the fuck not? Fuck is wrong with Bugsy?

Alex took a deep breath, calming herself, "Nothin'... nothin'... it's fine..."

Nicky kicked at a rock in the road, glaring at it as though it had done something to her, "You're so goddamn convinced the bitch won't try to put a hoof through my fuckin' brain... why not give her an nice friendly goddamn name... and the fuckin' thing just looks like a Bugsy..." Alex was clearly trying to stop herself laughing again, grinning and huffing deep breaths to keep it suppressed. Nicky shook her head, "Ahh... fuck off and leave me alone ya fuckin' redwood!"

Alex slung an arm around the shorter woman's shoulders and gave her a reassuring shake, "Ah, don't be sore, Nick... you made progress today! How 'bout I buy you a whiskey to celebrate?"

Nicky sighed, "Fine... you owe me one anyway..."

Alex's laughter rang through the early evening as they walked into the saloon and went to take their usual seats at the bar. She couldn't wait to tell Piper about this...

A/N- hopefully chapter 7 will be coming soon... thanks for reading y'all... ;)