Applejack was lying on her bed. She'd been lying there for the past three days. She just stared at the ceiling, without really seeing anything. The rare times she looked away was to look at the tattered hat across the room.
Her Pa had left it to her. But she couldn't bring herself to put it atop her head. It felt...
wrong.
Her Ma had died a few years ago, giving birth to Apple Bloom. She'd been sad then, too. But there was someone there to tell her not to cry, and would proceed to tell of her Ma in heaven.
But there was no such pony now.
It was sudden. He'd been bucking trees, when all of a sudden he collapsed. He had always said, that when he died, Applejack could have his hat.
Funny. Now she positively hated the thing.
She felt totally alone in the world. Big Mac had stopped speaking quite so much after their Ma died, and she didn't really like her Granny. She looked like an old, shriveled up pea.
Applejack hated peas.
"Applejack?"
That was the unmistakable voice of the living pea.
"You got guests."
Applejack would have told her to tell them to go back to where they came from, but she didn't want to talk to the pea.
A pink filly walked- no, i]bounced, into Applejack's room, with the biggest smile on her face.
She sat next to Applejack's bed, looking at her.
"Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie!"
No answer.
"My sister's said that your Pa died. I got really sad about that. I really liked him! He always called me Bouncy whenever he came to visit my Pa."
"And your Granny told me that you were really sad, too. And that's why I'm here!"
The pink pony looked at Applejack expectantly.
"I want to cheer you up! I know that your Pa always like to see you smile. And now it shouldn't be any different!"
The Pink One cocked her head at Applejack.
"Hm, still no smile. That won't make your Pa very happy!"
Applejack couldn't contain it this time.
"Pinkie, mah Pa isdead." her voice was dry and croaky from lack of use. "He ain't ever gon' see anythin' again."
"But he will, Applejack! Didn't your Pa always say that he would be watching from heaven?"
"PINKIE! MAH PA IS DEAD. STOP MAKIN' IT YOUR PROBLEM!"
Tears poured down Applejack's heartbroken face as she yelled at Pinkie.
Surprisingly enough, Pinkie barely batted an eyelid.
"Tell me about the good times with your Pa, Applejack."
"Why would ah do that? You invaded mah private life, an' ah don't want ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU!"
More tears stained her young cheeks
"Please, Applejack. I want to know."
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"If ah tell you 'bout mah Pa, will ya go away?"
"If that's what you want."
Applejack sighed.
"Fine. Ah can remember when ah bucked mah first tree. I was barely outta mah foal years. Pa told me 'actly how to do it. Course, ah was so excited ah barely heard a word he said. Soon as he said go, ah bucked the very bottom of the tree. No apples, jus' a very sore leg. He said it was all 'bout technique. Every apple had a different way of doin' it."
"How do you do it now, Applejack? Do you still hit the bottom?"
This was Applejack's favorite subject.
"No, ah never did that again. You gotta hit the tree right in the middle, but not too hard. Tha' way, the apples come righ' of the tree."
Suddenly, Applejack realized what Pinkie was doing.
"An' instead of buckin' the bottom o' the tree, an' hurtin' everyone an' not accomplishin' anythin', ah gotta hit the sweet spot, an' let all of mah hurt fall away like the apples on a tree. Ah'm still gon' be sad, no doubt abou' it, but ah can't make everyone else sad as well."
She sat up and threw her arms around pinkie's neck.
"Thank-you, Pinkie. Hey, were ya goin'?"
She turned around and smiled.
"I made a promise, didn't I? I've got to go now."
"No, stay! You made everythin' better! Why don't ya stay for dinner?"
"Well, if you really want that more than me going..."
"Ah do, ah do!"
~*~
"Thanks for bringin' back Applejack, darlin'. I never thought that she would leave that room o' hers!" Said Granny Smith, coming into the sitting room with more cookies.
"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Smith! It's my job to cheer other ponies up!" She replied, as her and Applejack played with Apple Bloom.
"Well, you must know that you're always welcome, Pinkie."
"Thank you, Mrs. Smith! But I think I'd better go back home now."
"Well, make sure you visit often, Sugarcube."
"Oh, I will!" Said Pinkie, and with that, left the house.
Then, it dawned on Applejack.
"PINKIE!!" She yelled, running across the orchard.
"Yep?" She said, happy as ever.
"How did ya know exactly what to do? Ah can't imagine a pony like you workin' with death on a daily basis."
She looked at Applejack, a sad smile on her face.
"A few years ago, my Ma was going to have a foal. We were all super excited! But then, the foal died inside her. I was really sad, just like you were earlier. But I realized that me being sad was making everyone else sad. I had to cheer up, and be the big sister role model that my Ma had wanted me to be before the foal died. I soon realized that by making other ponies happy, I was making myself happy, which would have made the foal happy."
"Well, thank you, Pinkie."
"Any time, Applejack."
