Apple Jack stared off at the field. It was Apple Bucking season already and the trees were spotted with delicious looking apples. She watched Big Mac kick the trees and knock the apples into a basket.

Maybe Apple Bloom's cutie mark coulda be- she cut off her thought and shook her head. Come on now, Apple Jack, just let it go.

Apple Jack tipped her head down to let her hat cover her face. She tried to hold back her tears as she trembled slightly.

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"Dashie!" Pinkie Pie grinned as she set a cupcake in front of herself and Rainbow Dash. "Cheer up, we have delicious fooood!"

"Mhmm," Dash nodded and picked the cupcake up. Her pink eyes were dark as she stared down at the table with depression. She took an apathetic bite out of the pastry and set it back down.

Pinkie Pie stared sat Dash with wide, concerned eyes. "You still sad?"

"Pinkie, you didn't lose anypony. I lost a little sister, so did Rarity and Apple Jack. We all lost a friend when Twilight died. We are all depressed and sad and..." Rainbow Dash paused. Pinkie Pie saw tears welling in Dash's magenta eyes and whimpered.

"I'm sorry, Dashie. I'm just not very good at being serious or being in serious situations..." Pinkie Pie poked at her cupcake sadly. "I guess not everything can be solved by laughing." At that moment, Pinkie Pie's mane and tail deflated and straightened.

Rainbow Dash realized what she had done and fumbled her words when she tried to say something. "No-no-no, it's-uh fiiine! Laughter iz-da besttt medi-"

Pinkie Pie walked away from the table- walked. She didn't bounce or skip, she walked. Rainbow Dash looked down at her cupcake and whimpered quietly. I'm a terrible pony... I made my friend sad because I'm sad... I made the Element of Laughter frown... She put her head down with guilt and grief.

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Jay rolled over in his bed. He was twitching erratically as he forced his eyes closed. Stop thinking about it... You did nothing wrong... Nothing wrong... Nothing wrong... Everything is fine... Nothing wrong... He held his head with his hooves. Everything is wrong...

Jay paused when he heard crying coming from the living room. It was from one of his colts and, as a parent, he felt an urge to go and comfort them. He had to fight the urge as it would not be a good idea to let anypony see him right now. He only had two more hours to wallow in his own misery before Cotton got home and he wanted to do maximize his freak-out time.

Jay rolled onto his back again and looked up at the ceiling. The crying continued and got even louder. He was sure he should at least see what was causing the colt to cry. He quickly realized he couldn't move even if he wanted to. A sharp stabbing pain began in his chest and worked its way up into his throat and down to his stomach at the same time. He whimpered softly and slowly worked himself into a more comfortable position.

Once Cotton had gotten home and calmed the colts down, who were both crying by that point, she walked into her bedroom. Jay had already calmed himself down and was completely still on the bed.

"You doing okay?" Her voice was sweet and sympathetic as she sat down next to him and stroked his navy blue mane.

"Yeah," he rasped.

"Doctor says you need to give that wing a work out every day, honey." She pulled the blanket down, making Jay curl up. He was laying on his good wing with his prosthetic wing facing upwards. It was robotic-looking and made out of steel.

"I'm tiiiired..." he whined.

"So am I, Jay!" Cotton said sternly. "Sit up!"

Jay sat up slowly. He turned around so that he was facing away from Cotton. She slowly ran her hoof up and down the prosthetic wing almost as if she was in a trance. She quickly remembered what she needed to do and grabbed the tip of the wing.

"Try to lift it up," she commanded softly. Jay did so and attempted to lift the wing. It burnt slightly and he had no feeling in the wing, but it began to rise until it was parallel with his shoulders. "Is that feeling okay?"

"I only just got the thing. I have absolutely zero sensation in it." He said as he rolled his eyes.

"Try to flap your wings at the same time- gently." Cotton let go of the prosthetic wing.

Jay funneled his energy into lifting his wings- both the one that was healing from a stab wound and the one that was replaced with a hollow, metal shell. They began to rise from his flanks and then lowered back down. He repeated the draining process a few more times before whimpering, "Can I lay back down now?"

"Sure, honey." Cotton gave Jay a quick kiss on the cheek before leaping off of the bed and out the door.

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It was already a month after Scootaloo had been killed and Rarity was well aware. Her normally glamorous mane and tail with elegant curls were knotted and unkempt. She had unattractive bags under her eyes while she worked on sewing her new dress.

The dress was the perfect size for a filly to wear- a filly like Sweetie Belle. It had the same whites and purples as Sweetie Belle, as well. On the flanks of the dress were matching symbols, a sparkling angel-pony with a posh dress on.

"Rarity, maybe you shouldn't make this last dre-" Fluttershy's soft, sheepish voice suggested.

"No, Fluttershy!" Rarity interrupted with a maniacal tone. She sounded so paranoid; so different. "Why don't you just go home to take care of those animals of yours?"

"Because Pinkie Pie is with Rainbow Dash and she told me to make sure you were okay," Fluttershy explained in a voice as insistent as she could muster.

"Who cares about whatever Pinkie Pie says, anyways?" Rarity wanted to sound melodramatic but ended up sounding insane with accentuated sighs and giggles. "Angel must be absolutely staaarving by now!"

"Rarity, this isn't you. Maybe you need to see a therapist or-" Fluttershy was cut off by Rarity giving her a wide-eyed, slack-jawed look.

"You doubt me?! I'm the most fabulous pony in all of Equestria, darling!" The erratic unicorn turned back to the dress she was sewing. "That's why I must finish this. It will be the best piece of foals' designer clothing anypo-"

"Rarity, you're scaring me..." Fluttershy squeaked, taking a step back.

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Starlight stared upwards at the glittering castle's ceiling. She was too depressed, too stressed, to even imagine getting up.

Need to get Twilight back... she thought to herself. She's all that matters- her and spike.

Author's Note

replacing the word "fuck" with "buck" was a bad idea...
Apple Bucking Season...
Apple Fucking Season...

Sorry, this took SO incredibly long.