Chapters From Full Plate to No Plate
"COME ON IN EVERYPONY! SOUP'S ON!" Applejack shouted from the window. Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom rushed into the house hungry as hay after their morning chores, and joined Granny Smith at the table.
"Mmm, smells great sis, what's cookin'?" asked Apple Bloom with a grin. Applejack circled around the table and generously gave everypony and herself an extra-hefty ladleful of chowder from her crock pot, placing it on the trivet in the middle before taking a seat herself.
"It's a recipe Rarity taught me that I added some apples and jicama to for extra flavor. I call it Applejack's Apple and Jicama Vee-schwaz!" She beamed, spoon already in hand and loaded with creamy potato goodness.
"Um, what's a vee…vee-shwhut now?" Apple Bloom stared at her sister, confusion wracking her brow. She wanted to eat it right away, it did smell amazing, but she had to know what she was getting into first.
"Well don't you worry none 'bout that now, it's just fancy-talk for chowder. You know Rarity, always so high-minded with whatever she does, from dresses right down to dinner," Applejack intoned, digging into her meal with gusto.
Apple Bloom timidly lifted a spoonful to her lips and was surprised by what she tasted. "This is the best chowder ever, sis!" She ate greedily, her hunger winning out over her momentary wariness at trying something unfamiliar. In no time at all she and Big Macintosh were serving themselves second helpings.
"Yep, this sure will put some meat on your bones by gum," Granny Smith said with a wink to the young filly. "Back when I was your age all we had to make soup with was rocks! And not the good-tasting rocks neither, these rocks were the ones that didn't soften no matter how long you boiled them, but we were grateful for what we had and a hot meal beat going without any day of the week!" She continued telling her bizarre inaccurate story as the other three ponies slowly toned her out as respectfully as possible.
"Hmm, so you're sayin' that if I eat enough of this…I could grow up to be as big and strong as Applejack?" Apple Bloom gasped as she made the connection, her smile stretching from ear to ear as she started eating twice as fast as before.
Big as Applejack big big big big big BIG AS APPLEJACK BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG
Applejack stared blankly at the wall, then blinked rapidly as she realized Apple Bloom was asking her something. "Say whut now?"
"I said, something the matter?" Apple Bloom stared at her doe-eyed, jaw agape.
"Uh, not sure, but I reckon it was nothin' at all," Applejack started, "I think maybe my eyes were hungrier than my gut," she nodded, pushing her half-eaten soup away and sitting back in her chair.
"More for me then!" Apple Bloom reached over and dragged the bowl over to her placemat. "Wouldn't want to let any go to waste now, would we?"
"Eeeyup," Big Macintosh agreed, reaching over to serve himself still more of the delicious chowder, already on his fifth helping.
Applejack still felt hungry but she couldn't bring herself to eat another bite.
A week later, Applejack and all her friends were having a picnic near the lake. The six of them sat in a circle on a huge plaid blanket with a picnic basket set in the middle, loaded up with bread, fruits, vegetables, and assorted pastries. About twenty feet away, Spike was tending a small campfire, boiling pot after pot of water as needed to brew more fresh tea.
"Say, Applejack, have you lost weight?" Her friend Twilight Sparkle smiled and levitated her teacup and took a sip.
"Why, no Twi, actually I've put on a few pounds," Applejack frowned, loathe at being reminded of her extra chubbiness.
"Well, I for one thing you're looking perfectly fine darling," Rarity added cheerily. "But, if you're in a sour mood maybe I could interest you in a visit to the spa with me later today? A bit of pampering always makes me feel ever so much better," she giggled haughtily and levitated another strawberry over to eat. Applejack just sighed dejectedly, but nodded her consent just the same, and tried to muster a weak smile.
"Oh, I guess it's okay if you joined us, usually Rarity and I do this together but, I suppose it's alright to bring another friend along…that is, if you really want to, Applejack?" Fluttershy timidly interjected, but again Applejack merely nodded. It was rare that anypony spoke less than Fluttershy, yet today Applejack had hardly said—or in fact, eaten—a thing.
The picnic continued unabated into the late afternoon, till finally Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight helped Spike pack up all the supplies before heading off back to Ponyville. Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack headed in a slightly different direction, two of the three ponies very eager to return to the spa.
"We should treat Applejack to the best the spa has to offer," Fluttershy smiled demurely, "What do you think she'd enjoy first?" Rarity became lost in thought, mumbling to herself in an internal argument on what would best get Applejack back into good spirits.
"Hmm, maybe…no. Or how about…? Eh, she wouldn't. Ooh, I think I know just what she needs!" She gasped, "I know what you will absolutely just LOVE," she spouted, launching into an extended endorsement of all the different mud baths and mud facials that the spa offered, each with their own unique mineral contents of course. Applejack listened intently, nodding occasionally.
They soon found themselves walking through the ornate doors of the spa, where Rarity and Fluttershy were greeted with such an outpouring of warmth it gave Applejack the impression that they must be related. Aloe and Lotus were positively giddy to welcome their two favorite clientele back to the spa.
"Oh, it's been ages since we've had you in, we were beginning to worry!" Aloe fawned and started leading Rarity to the hooficure room.
"Simply too long darling! What has it been now, five days? Ugh, my hooves are in such a dreadful condition, simply dreadful!" Rarity moaned melodramatically, following her to the back.
"Um, Lotus, if it's not too much trouble, is there somepony who can help my friend Applejack? She's feeling down and I thought, um, she might like a little spa treatment," Fluttershy said quietly, "Something maybe a little less elaborate than my usual? On my tab, of course," she said with a smile. "Oh, not that I meant that it should be cheaper, just that um, she's new to the whole spa treatment and I wouldn't want her to be intimidated, because that wouldn't be relaxing at all, and that would defeat the entire purpose of going to the spa in the first place."
"Sugarcube I'm fine with whatever they got for me, and I'm certainly not picky," Applejack stepped in, glad to see her friend's demeanor improve visibly once she was properly reassured.
Lotus started leading Fluttershy off to another wing of the spa, then turned and addressed Applejack, "Excuse me please, I'll go inform my cousin that she has a client. She's new here, but I assure you she is as highly-trained and enthusiastic as both my sister and myself."
Applejack and Fluttershy waved as they parted, and she took a seat, waiting for another spa pony to show up. The place was quite fancy, certainly not somewhere she would normally visit. She usually didn't have the time to indulge these kinds of whims, but before she could get too deep in her thoughts she saw another pony with the spa headband approach her.
"Hello there, my name is Anna, I'll be attending to you today," she smiled. Her eyes were green and her coat and mane were a bright canary yellow.
Applejack stared in awe, "I've never seen such a thin pony before! You're…you're beautiful!" She shook her head in disbelief.
"Why thank you, I work very hard on my figure, and I'm glad to hear somepony—" she was cut off mid-sentence when Applejack threw herself at the spa pony's hooves and started begging.
"Please teach me, teach me how to be thin like you," Applejack pleaded desperately, "I'm so fat, so ugly and obese and my sister looks up to me as a role model. She told me last week she wanted to be big like me! I have to get thin before she ends up as fat as I am!" She wailed and grasped at the spa pony's legs pathetically.
"Oh my, please compose yourself," she helped Applejack up, but then her face softened. "Yes, I will help you. Come with me and while I give you a nice mud bath, we can talk more in depth. In no time at all, you'll see the pounds melting away!" She declared confidently, and Applejack's eyes lit up with hope.
Something's Wrong with Applejack
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.
Rainbow Dash Saves the Day
Weeks later, Applejack found herself strangely alone. Anna had gone to Manehattan on a supply run, leaving her to go about her old routine in a stupor. Was bucking apples always so hard? She had to kick the trees so many times now to get any apples to fall, and it just left her feeling tired.
"Sup Applejack?" Rainbow Dash glided in and landed next to her friend.
"Go away," Applejack sighed, "I'm not in the mood to do anything but get these chores done." She wiped her brow with the back of her hoof and stared out at all the trees she still had to buck, and it was getting late into the afternoon already. She spied Big Macintosh out of the corner of her eye, and was suddenly struck by two conflicting emotions; relief that he was helping her, and a pang of indignation that he was helping her at all, as though she couldn't do this on her own.
"Are you sure you don't have time for a race?" Rainbow Dash smirked and raised her eyebrows, knowing exactly what would goad her friend into getting her mind off of work.
Glad to not have another awkward conversation with one of her friends, Applejack was suddenly invigorated. "Well partner, you are on. I'm a little surprised you still keep this up when we both know nopony's faster on hoof than me," she said with a look of pure determination.
The two of them lined up on the road and Rainbow Dash pointed off into the distance. "First one to that bend in the road over there wins. Really think you can beat me in an all-out sprint?" She chuckled and estimated the distance to herself at around 800 meters. Maybe Applejack had her beat on long-distance running, but in a short distance full-burn? It was anypony's race.
"Well, so long as you don't cheat somehow," Applejack scowled for emphasis, "I think that yes, I can beat you. And I will, too."
"We run when this apple hits the ground," Rainbow Dash said, chucking a red delicious high in the air. The two ponies got ready and set, their eyes fixed on the apple. As soon as it smashed into the ground, they were off, their legs pounding the dirt, hooves a blur of motion. Applejack loved it, the wind through her mane, racing with a friend, but then she noticed Rainbow Dash was way out in front of her. She was getting further and further ahead, how was this possible? She was running as fast as she could. She saw Rainbow Dash glance behind her, and instead of a cocky grin, her face sported a look of amazement, and then grave concern. She saw Rainbow Dash slow down to a canter, and she quickly caught up with her.
"How…are you…so…bucking fast?" Applejack wheezed, gasping between each word as the two of them trotted to a stop. "You…cheat me?" She was shaking mad, or shaking from something. Her legs were definitely burning and screaming for rest, her heart was pounding in her chest so hard she could hear it in her ears.
"No, Applejack, I didn't get any faster," Rainbow shook her head sadly, "I didn't cheat at all. You got slow."
"That's…whew…no, no, you're wrong. I am…huff…still as fast…as I ever was!" She finished, her breathing ragged. "I'm just plum exhausted…from all the bucking I was doing…before you interrupted me. Whew, think I need to lay down for a spell," she panted, stepping over to the shade of a nearby tree. "I will find out how you cheated, just as soon as…woo…soon as I get up," she said dizzily as she fell on her side and promptly fainted.
"Yup, that's about what I thought would happen. You just can't ever make it easy for anypony to help you, can you?" Rainbow let out an annoyed groan and then craned her neck down, getting under her gaunt frame, and lifted her friend up onto her back. "Wow, you know you weigh less than Scootaloo right now? I'm taking you to a hospital," she said, Applejack protesting unintelligibly under her breath.
Applejack awoke in a bed not her own, surrounded by white curtains and all her friends. "Where the hay am I?" She looked up at Twilight.
Rainbow Dash volunteered, "I took you to the hospital yesterday after you passed out. Applejack, you need help, you're sick. You could have really hurt yourself if you kept this up," she said, placing her hoof on her friend's shoulder.
"The doctor said that it looked as though you'd been engaging in some self-starvation and possibly self-induced vomiting, is that correct?" Twilight looked knowingly at her friend, and Applejack was distraught, because it was the truth.
"I'm sorry everypony, I don't know what came over me," she started. Fluttershy interjected that it's a condition known as anorexia nervosa, and started to tell them about a similar experience she had back when she was a photo model, but then trailed off sheepishly once she realized she was out of turn. Applejack cleared her throat and then continued, "I don't know why but, I just had this horrible thought one day that I was fat, and that my sister was going to become fat, too, to be like me. And that thought buzzed around in my brain like a bee, keepin' me up nights, makin' me stop eating even when I was still hungry. It just made me go a little crazy and I couldn't see for myself that I was never overweight to begin with. I just wanted to be a good role model for Apple Bloom."
"Aw, but you are a great role model," Apple Bloom piped up, trying to be seen over the railing of the hospital bed. "I'm sorry sis, I didn't mean it like that, you know I'd never say something hurtful about you. It's all my fault, I just meant I was so proud of you and wanted to be strong like you."
"That's alright sugarcube, no harm done," Applejack smiled softly, reaching out to stroke her sister's mane.
Twilight raised her hoof and said, "Actually, the doctor put it rather bluntly that you did quite a lot of harm to yourself, and that you'd have to be slowly re-introduced to increasing amounts of food so as not to shock your system, and even then that while you may be able to make a modest recovery, it won't be a full recovery to the strength you had a month ago. At least not without months and months of long hours of physical therapy, and weight resistance training, in addition to whatever you can still do around the farm."
"Twi…you're kinda ruinin' the moment," Applejack snickered, and slowly the seven of them all started laughing, louder and louder, until a nurse had to come in and tell them to quiet down. They all smiled bashfully and then Pinkie Pie yelled for a group hug, earning another glare from the nurse.
Months of physical therapy later, Applejack wiped her brow with the back of her hoof and looked out over all the trees she'd bucked that day. Not as many as she'd hoped, but still a great haul. Big Macintosh joined her up on the hill and she smiled at him, "Well, I'm definitely not back up to a hundred percent, but I'm gettin' there," she nodded, satisfaction of a hard day's work filling her with warmth.
"Eeeyup," Big Macintosh concurred, and they loaded up the cart with a few more bushels before walking it down the hill.
