Author's Note

Ah yes, I've been expected y'all readers to find yet another new chapter of Ocular Spectral Therapy, the one story out of many of my craft to go above and beyond the oneshots since the inception of my presence read at once; suffice to say, some of the past chapters from before were by far a strong note for you all which had given a taste of what had came earlier on as well as what will come later onward.

Aside from disclaimers long ago, I want to take the time to say thank you for never pulling out too early since we're now in the the new year and a new month with a new hope to have and hold with tender loving care rather than yet a totally lost cause and the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for the future that is the now; in addition, I would also like to apologize for not doing so in time as usual since this chapter here was hard enough to write down given the whole turn of events I had made: I believe at this rate, everything will still make sense soon enough as we all float onward.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you can find some strength in reading this chapter now more than in the others before them enough and to continue onward in staying tuned though the passing times before it because this serve as the reason why it is the hardest; henceforth, I will leave you with much to say simply: once again, I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting.

Dacryocystitis

At the very point onward, darkness had already settled itself in while surrounding every single thing and being whatsoever dwelling inside the pitch blackness of such the deepest of shades altogether belonging to befit an abyss that no one would ever find the bottom of to say the least. Within it all were but both nothingness and obscurity in their entirety remaining static and dynamic interchangeably and respectively as if they were doing a dance that not keen observer whosoever if at all would be able to even see to begin with even the most special equipment. Already a shattered dimension so out of this world, even the most basic of concepts such as shadow, substance, sight, sound, and mind were all camouflaged so deeply inside the very scenery at hand they were as if none of them were perhaps real to the naked eye in any form.

Then, all of the sudden, every inch of it all had disappeared in an instant; in place were many things that had now taken up residence so quickly: it was as if the very light had come on and shown the way. The cool breeze floating above the ground gave way to a sight that one could have never seen before: the big blue sky was as clear as crystal with only the golden sun itself residing in there all lonesome. There were also birds flying in the sky, coming in all sorts of functions and fashions whatsoever: colors, shapes, sizes, speech, and species united and divided in the same atmosphere altogether no less. A clutter of leaves were also dancing in the winds without a care in the whole wide world they were dwelling in, all of them practically devoid of the brilliant green that had matching the grass of origin. Joining them all were a few insects of some sorts: butterflies and bumblebees bursting throughout with their own sense of direction as they flew alongside one another within the vicinity at the very moment. Even so, the rays of sunlight were beaming down upon the lands from all possible angles whatsoever, providing both heat and light to all those inhabitants residing below it suffice to say nonetheless.

Of course, the very scenery was turned away by the sight of clothing being worn on the owner’s body, possessing a color cooled down to the rightest shade much closest to the very light in itself. A long flowing blue dress had made its way down past the kneecaps and into depths of darkness with light lavender trims standing together on endwise and hearts painted above them all no less. The shoulders had bubbly padding in which the trims were colored as white as the ash like snow, the same whiteness that’d already ran down to the abdomen and rested over the colored ones. The dress had a neckline in two different layers with a pair of differences in color and length: one was a thick deep purple and the other was a thin shallow white, all circling around themselves. Even so, there were ribbons resting around the wrists as the hands that rocked the cradles to the grave lain on their side to little end in sight, fluttering about by the gentle breeze of the world. Despite the bared forearms exposed to the crisp cold air, the terracotta skin provided liveliness of its wearer, free of scars, scabs, and all sorts of imperfections normally hidden away by the cloth.

“Applejack looks so peaceful even though that she is dead...” a nearby voice was heard as the wearer felt her ears now perking up to that very statement thereof.

She then turned to find herself in an enclosed space where only the scenery was provided by the door itself on the left side of vision, prompted a confused reply, “wait, how in thunderation am Ah even dead?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today in great sadness to give a fallen fellow a final farewell…” another voice was also heard within the distance, this one in a deeper tone, “Applejack was known to this community as a hard worker who had refused to give up even in the face of adversity when it had seems like that all was lost and where the odds were stacked up. Her abilities had helped provided the Smith family and the town they had lived in bountiful harvests over the past seasons along with the strength through joy and sustainability through relationships. These relationships between both friends and family had given the bonds strong enough to endure any and all challenges that had came our way at many separate occasions whatsoever. Sadly, it had seemed that despite the resolve which had remained inside the woman and the peace that had returned to our humble hearty homes, yet another life had been tragically cut short not by explosions or by gunfire but rather the sickness unto death. Nevertheless, Applejack will live on in the hearts and minds of others who had been inspired by her ideals: friends, family, neighbors and even acquaintances alike shall not let this tragedy hinder us the same way as it had struck her before. As such, we will now pause for a moment of silence to reflect this turn of events both past and present…”

“Wait just a consarned minute: there’s no way that Ah could be dead; Ah gotta tell ‘em the truth!” the occupant muttered as she attempted to rise from her station, only to find nothing but stillness. Accompanying the numbness which she’d felt so instantaneously were the rising choir of melancholy emanating from beyond her current location already apparent of the very situation. Amongst the many, it’d sounded like to Applejack that they were a bit easy to recognize at once, albeit faintly and for some strange reason or another so far away from where she had remained.

Out the few that the very occupant had attempted to recognize were one of the voices wailing, “OH APPLEJACK, OH WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE SO SOON BEFORE US…?! YOUR LIFE DIDN’T HAVE TO BE TAKEN AWAY; YOU DIDN’T EVEN DERSERVE THIS…!”

“Oh dear goodness, is that Pinkie Pie already…?” Applejack whispered as she struggled to fight off whatever forces that were keeping her inside, “maybe she can know that Ah am still alive…!”

“PLEASE, GALS… JUST LET ME GO SEE HER FACE AGAIN FOR ONE LAST TIME…!” another wail escaped from the attendants outside the occupant’s place as it had then grew loud.

Applejack caught a glimpse of one of the people she had heard so recently upon making contact: it then became a visage that now started to scratch away the surface of her determined resolve. The voice that’d now made its approach then revealed its true identity to the occupant at once: a bright skinned female with flat pink hair and face wet with sadness running throughout the pores. Dressed up in the height of fashion, the occupant had found the attendant all covered in darkness: a beret, a blouse, and a pair of gloves that were given out as a signal of such very feelings overall. The only exception that was not even stained by the pitch blackness of such very attire in question was but a tender rose red as the madder sky that wasn’t hanging directly above them. Even so, Applejack felt a deluge of tears falling from the bright skinned female’s contorted face as they started drench the attire that which the former was already found to be dressed into. Staring into such a melancholic sapphire gaze had found that there was even makeup running about and amok as the smooth natural skin became stained alongside such a strong emotion.

The occupant then stopped cold in her hot pursuit to regain control of herself as she choked out, “Pinkie…?”

“APPLEJACK, PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR NOT BEING THERE TO HELP YOU OUT…!” Pinkie cried out so profusely it had even made Applejack’s pupils shrink into the green instantly, “IT’S ALL MY FAULT THAT THIS HAD HAPPENED; I’M SUCH A HORRIBLE PERSON!”

“Pinkie, please stop this; you’re starting to upset me already…” the occupant whimpered as hot tears fell from the viewer’s eyes, drenching the skin and fabric.

Pinkie pulled out a paper cloth from her pocket and placed them over her eyes, wiping away these tears while she had sniffled, “IF ONLY IF THIS WAR HADN’T EVEN HAPPENED THEN WE WOULD BE ABLE TO AWAKE FROM A MADMAN’S DREAM; I’LL NEVER FORGET THE FRIENDSHIP WE HAD WITH YOU, APPLEJACK…!”

“Now I see then: that’s what it is, a bad dream; all Ah gotta do here’s just wake up from all this…” Applejack had quickly thought to herself as she shut away her jade orbs at once; after a short moment of time, she opened them back up to find something different but also the same: the big blue sky remaining caused a shudder, “why isn’t it working…”

“Goodbye, Applejack…” the mourner sighed, causing the occupant to tense up a bit during the struggle.

Applejack then felt her eyelids become moistened as she heard another voice from beyond her line of sight and station; it was feminine like Pinkie herself but rather more collectively stable, “let me start off by saying that as a neighbor and a fellow farmer myself I had barely known much about the Smith family aside from the fact that they were large and the choice of location. Nevertheless, we had remained on standard terms with one another to the point of them letting me use a piece of their land to help provide my crops to help them; for what it was worth, they even shared some similarities that my family had: a grandmother looking after us and siblings to look up to. As a matter of fact, I can even remember those who were once with me right now as I stand up to speak already: my grandmother, Amber Waves, once gave me a special trick on how to create the right kind of scarecrow; my sister, Noi, even managed to make bond with one of their neighboring young at the schoolhouse. Yet, even my family had not been so fortunate to escape the effects of the war unscathed no less: my grandmother fought bravely to protect our home from the warring forces altogether while I had watched my sister fell ill. At separate times apart, they too had lost their lives and our of them, even Noi’s passing has haunted me to this day as I stand alone; now, even I feel what Applejack had felt before now: the pain of losing someone so near and dear. Even now, I am relieved that with this conflict finally at an end, their spirits will be able to find peace as the town recovers from the tragedy that had torn it all apart and asunder with the help of its people. All that we should do now is not let their deaths be in vain nor should they be forgotten by those who were close them and are alive; instead, they should be remembered for the lives that they had inspired and their legacy as well.”

“Wait, now even Carrot Top thinks that Ah am dead; no, no, no, how is that even possible…?!” the occupant choked out, a stream of tears forming underneath while squirming about within, “there has to be a way to get them to know the truth somehow…!”

“Is there anyone else who would like to say anything about the dearly departed before the end?” the same masculine voice from before asked solemnly as she started to sniffle silently about.

For a moment, it’d seemed that the melancholy expressed by the likes of Pinkie and Carrot almost subsided soon enough; however, this was not the case as another rose up all at once: “well, can I say something to her please…?”

“Oh no, it can’t be even possible; there’s no way that she could be even in this madness…” uttered Applejack as she felt her eyes becoming wide as they caught a glimpse of a new sight, “Apple Bloom…!” The occupant took some time in recognizing another fresh new face whom was all too familiar: it was another bright skinned female with only a pink bow resting about the crimson tresses upon her weary head. The young one was also dressed in the height of fashion, very simplistic but brighter by comparison: in contrast to the atmosphere that they were found in, a white dress with blue trims was worn over her body. However, there was but only one piece of fabric that was standing out from Applejack’s perspective: wrapped underneath Apple Bloom’s short sleeve was a jet black armband around the latter’s left upper limb. Unlike the mourner from before, the young girl kept a composed visage that was devoid of moisture ready to pool down onto the occupant’s attire; nevertheless, a solemn look was incapable of keeping a promise. The orange eyes that circled around Apple Bloom’s widening pupils was now giving Applejack quite a shock already; after all, this sudden attendance even showed signs of what Pinkie had done before to repeat itself.

“Go on ahead, little one; the function is about done…” a deep cryptic tone was then heard by the two females and out of them, only the youngest thereof was the most aware of its origin.

Applejack tried to turn her sights away from Apple Bloom but felt nothing but stiffness in the process; to make matters worse, not even the tearstained eyes were to be closed as the latter began to speak, “Ah am going to say that for the moment, it is and will be the hardest thing that Ah had to say: growing up without parents was something that had defined the three of us. Granny Smith said that passing away is something that happens to all of us at some point in our lives; even so, she added that her time would come soon enough someday. Ah never thought that it would be that day when that had happened and in front of mah eyes no less; as a matter of fact, all that Ah had hoped was that Applejack would not have to die too. During that time that Ah had spent away from the farm during the war, there had been times that Ah had wished for someone to save me from the horrible things that had happened: mah brother, Big Mac, was even one of those people dwelling in mah mind. Ah never thought that one of her friends would come up to do so for me and for that Ah was grateful for it; unfortunately, Ah wasn’t prepared for the time when that man had tried to kill her and then me on the same day. As mah sight had gone dark from the poison that was inside of me, Ah could recall hearing a tender voice trying to comfort even though Ah had felt mah neck being tightened up a bit: that voice had turned out to be none other than Applejack herself; although, Ah never figured why would she do that. All the pain that Ah had gone through between then and there had made me aware of how Ah was vulnerable and alone: mah sister’s passing had made me realize this in due time; nevertheless, it has also reminded me of the pain that she had endured. Even though that Applejack ended up being the one person who tried to kill me in the end, Ah can not find the strength to forget all the things that she had taught me nor would Ah allow myself to bear a grudge for the one thing in particular; as such, this is why Ah should leave her a memento from mahself: it’s a Zap Apple that Zecora helped me pick back. Goodbye, sister; Ah will always remember you as you were, a big sister and not a murderer.”

At this very point, the occupant then found something fall into her grasp immediately all at once: it was a large fruit which was like an apple except that instead of just possessing a coat of red, there were also stripes of orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple following after the red as well. The sight of such a strange fruit no less brought nothing but tears to Applejack as she’d watched Apple Bloom departing from the former very slowly, now completely left alone suffice to say. The occupant then shut away her eyes and sniffled to herself as the loneliness returned once again.

“Apple Bloom… Ah am sorry that you had to see me like this…” Applejack sniffled softly as she stared back at the Zap Apple, “if only if Ah hadn’t gone and jumped to conclusions like this…”

“This will now conclude the service at once: from the land where many have been born and to the land where many have now return; may her soul be able to find mercy and rest in peace…” the same masculine voice from before spoke up once again this time with feeling to say the least.

By then, the occupant watched all so suddenly the big blue sky obscured by the pitch blackness; before then, she heard a faint feminine voice within her range saying tepidly, “bye Applejack…”

“NO WAIT, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS; AH AM NOT DEAD AT ALL AND AH CAN PROVE IT TO Y’ALL ALREADY…!” Applejack then wailed loudly as she became freed from the numbness that plagued her body; as a result, loud banging was heard in the darkness that she was in, “JUST PLEASE OPEN THE COFFIN ALREADY AND YOU WILL SEE IT AT ONCE…!”

“Goodbye…” was all that the trembling occupant heard as she kept shuffling about in the enclosed space she was in to say the very least whatsoever.

Applejack ignored it and screamed out all at once, “NO PLEASE, DON’T DO THIS; NO… NO… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!!”