No More Apples

Applejack spent nearly every waking minute she wasn't working the farm with her new friend and inseparable cohort Anna. Even when the spa was closed the two of them could be seen everywhere together, always doing what Anna wanted to do, with Applejack following behind devotedly. Some of Applejack's other friends began to notice, but they weren't quite sure what to say, or how to exactly define what it was that gave them such cause for concern. One thing they could say for certain was that Applejack had lost weight. She had lost a lot of weight.

Twilight Sparkle followed them one day to the spa, around opening time. Once Anna had gone in the back to open up for the day—always insisting that Applejack use the front door and pay like any other client—Twilight approached Applejack cautiously, reaching her just before she got to the entrance. "Hey there Applejack, can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked delicately, a nervous smile across her face.

"Why sure Twi, I always have time for you. But make it quick, because Anna and I have a lot to talk about today, you know time is money and her time is very precious," she said hurriedly, glancing through the front windows to see if Anna was there yet.

"Interesting you should bring that up, because she's exactly the pony I wanted to talk to you about," Twilight began, but paused when Applejack just gave her a baffled expression. "Um, I don't mean for this to come off as negative, but I think that the friendship between you two is a little toxic."

"Hold your horses there," Applejack exclaimed, "Just what in tarnation do you mean saying we're toxic?"

"Well, it's just that we've all seen you two around Ponyville and you're always doing things she must like, since I haven't seen the two of you do anything that you used to enjoy, Applejack," she said with genuine concern, "And I'm worried that you're spending all your time and, might I add savings, with somepony whose using you and doesn't really care about you. Don't you think if she was such a good friend that she would have talked to you by now about your sudden and dramatic weight loss? You're looking really thin Applejack, it can't be healthy. Are you getting enough to eat? You are still in fact eating, right?"

"Well for your information, she's the one whose been helping me all this time with my weight problem. I can't begin to thank her enough for all she's done for me, what with showing me what to eat and when, and how to purge if I go and eat too much accidentally," she explained, unable to recognize Twilight's horrified expression. "I know my weight is still unhealthy, but Anna's taught me so much and she says I've made great progress. Quite frankly, I could make even more progress if you'd just be a friend and support me instead of tryin' to hold me back. Do you want me to just be fat, is that it? Do you want Apple Bloom to grow up and be big and fat and ugly like me, Twilight?" Applejack voice rose steadily as she went on until she was yelling at Twilight, her face a mask of anger.

Just then, Anna opened up the doors and asked if everything was all right. Applejack stormed past her friend and into the spa, slamming the door behind her. Twilight stood dumbfounded, incapable of comprehending what just transpired. This wasn't Applejack being stubborn old Applejack. This was not normal at all for her, and every day she looked worse, more emaciated and skeletal than the next.

Twilight ran over to Rarity's boutique, bursting through the door. Inside were not only Rarity, but also Fluttershy. "I think there's something wrong with Applejack," she started, looking between her two friends, "Have either of you noticed her strange behavior and the fact that she looks like she's starving? I mean I don't know how you wouldn't have noticed, but still."

"No darling I honestly can't say that I've noticed anything out of the ordinary. Well, maybe she has been spending a lot more time at the spa. Admittedly I've seen her every day that I've been in, and heard as much from Aloe that she's been there all the other days as well, always with Anna," Rarity started to think, "And as for her weight, well I haven't seen her in a few days, is it getting bad? I thought she was looking quite svelte. I was thinking of inviting her over to take new measurements, in fact."

"Um, well, now that you mention it, I probably should have spoken to you about this earlier, but I didn't know if it'd be important, which it looks like it is," Fluttershy mumbled, Twilight giving her a raised eyebrow and gesturing to get to the point, "Oh, right, well you see, I did talk to Applejack yesterday. She was…nice. But then I mentioned that she looked very thin and sickly, and she just exploded at me, yelling and screaming. It was so scary I didn't know what to do, so I ran back to my house and hid for the rest of the day," she said sadly. "She still hasn't even so much as talked to me since then, let alone apologized, which, I think she would have in the past, if she yelled at me. And you know, she never yells at anypony, really. That's strange isn't it?"

The three of them let it sink in that something was very wrong with Applejack, and they had each failed to notice all the red flags that popped up during the past few weeks.

"This is a serious problem, I'm stumped on what to do here," Twilight shook her head. "I'm open to any and all suggestions that you two might have. Anything? Anything at all?" The three of them stood dismayed, each staring sadly at their hooves and hoping the answer would come to them.