Double Injury: Guilt

by Player 4

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Chapter 1 Author's Note

Welcome! This is my very first story!

Chapter 1

“Ya got basket #2 filled up, pardner?”

“I do!”, you say with passion and excitement.

“Good work, sugarcube! Let’s take a break.”

You are a human who found a way to get into Equestria; you did it by making a portal. However, you were unable to choose where you landed; you just had to put in the portal’s hand. You ended up landing in Sweet Apple Acres, and you had been taken in by the Apple family while you looked for your own place. While you were there, you were helping Applejack and Big Mac with farm chores, determined to ease off some of their stress. Having only two ponies doing the physical work was no cakewalk.

It had been going great. Even if it was only temporary, seeing at least one day where those two could do other things for a while was enough for you. And at this point, you had provided them with several weeks of that. The glee that you felt was in the ponies as well. Plenty of times, they had rewarded you with delicious apple treats, and used the extra free time to do fun things with you; it feels like a new friendship is commencing!

While you and Applejack were on break, she let out a very heartwarming sentence:

“Ah may have only known ya for a short time, but what you’ve done for us means so much to me that ah’d be distraught to the core if anything bad happened to ya.”

You smile at her with this caring comment, but unfortunately, that would end up being the last smile for quite some time. Because Applejack’s statement is about to become very relevant, and not in a good way.

Before she returned to bucking trees, Applejack did a few exercise routines to keep her legs strong. You started hauling the apple baskets you filled over to their respective destinations; they were numbered because each set of apples had a different fate. Basket #1 had apples that were going to remain as they were and be placed on the Apple family’s stand in downtown Ponyville. Given that Sweet Apple Acres was far away in the city’s outskirts, having a stand in the downtown area helped business a lot.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Basket #2 was going into the juice barn, so that its apples could be turned into such.

You hauled Basket #1 over to Big Mac’s cart, so he could head to the stand. It was scheduled to open in just two hours.

No incident there.

But for Basket #2, suddenly everything is about to get turned on its head in a split-second.

You, without thinking about it, walk very close to Applejack, who is still doing her leg exercises. She is bucking into the air at this point. But all you could think about was how heavy this basket is.

While you were strolling by, Applejack, without noticing, turns her back legs right towards your legs, and… bucks.

You then fly a long distance across the farm and hit the grass (thankfully nothing else), but you can feel yourself dozing off. You, through very blurry vision, see Applejack run to you, but then, everything goes dark.

Chapter 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3 Author's Note

Finally, here it is! This chapter was quite the task to write; I hope you appreciate my efforts!

I left the human name and gender pronouns ambiguous so that you can insert yourself into the story properly! Use your name and pronouns!

Chapter 3

It's the next day.

By the time Applejack had left your hospital room, she wasn't getting the bed wet with tears anymore, but she still walked out re-asserting her self-punishment plans, in a very serious tone. Your concern that she was being for-real only seemed even more correct; you knew you could not just say "It will run its course" and not do anything.

You had decided the best way to get Applejack help was to reach out to her friends and ask them to confront her. You want to quickly send out a message, but you ran into a rut: they don't have Internet in Equestria. Heck, they don't even have landline telephones! The only way to send a message to somepony who isn't physically with you is to send them mail. And by the time Applejack left, it was getting late, meaning mail delivery was done for the day. You were also really tired; you didn't have enough energy to write a letter.

Hopefully, if she was really going to do all that crazy stuff she talked about, at least she would wait until tomorrow.

Luckily, she did. Upon getting back to Sweet Apple Acres, she decided to get a regularly scheduled night's rest before proceeding with anything. She even decided not to tell her family right away, as she didn't want them to spend the night worrying. But of course, you had no way of knowing this.

You had somehow fallen asleep, despite the agonizing pain in your leg and the anxiety about what Applejack was saying. When you woke up, you immediately remembered what you needed to do.

You reached over and pressed your red "I need something" button, and when the nurse arrived, you requested to write a letter. It's a customary practice in Equestria to have blank letters in hospitals for bound patients to use, given how it's the only form of outside communication.

The nurse brings up the white paper, and you start writing.

Dear Twilight,

I'm sure you've heard the news. Don't worry; I harbor no ill will towards Applejack. I'm very forgiving when it comes to accidents.

However, she does not feel the same way towards herself.

She literally told me that she thinks she deserves to go to prison, and that she would ostracize herself from society. Like, completely. I want to think that it's a knee-jerk reaction that she'll quickly retract, but she left the room still saying those things, several hours later. So I can't help but think she is serious.

So can I ask, would you call a meeting in the castle to talk to Applejack about this? You and the others are her best friends; I believe you can help her.

Sincerely, Your Resident Human

Unlike your good-old friends text messaging and e-mail, physical mail is obviously not instant, so it would take a bit for Twilight to receive this letter. You pray that Applejack won't do anything in the meantime.

But it's now morning, right? She must be awake right now, so isn't she going to start getting things moving?

There's no way to know. All you can do is hope for the best.

Luckily, the letter didn't take long to get to the Castle of Friendship. But wait; there's another thing to worry about! Twilight reads everything she receives, but before reading anything, she sorts out each letter by its importance factor. At first, it seems like your letter would be at the top of the list no doubt, but this is the Princess of Friendship, after all. You just never know what kind of things would get sent to her. Even though you had been in Equestria for only three weeks, you had heard about things that are practically unthinkable in your old home.

Speaking of that, what if, indeed, something more important needs to be tended to? That would give Applejack more time to proceed with her plans. Well, you're hospital-bound, so there's no way to know. All you can do is hope with all your heart that nothing bigger than this is happening right now.

You continue to be on a lucky streak; there isn't. As Twilight sorts, your letter sticks out like a green apple in a pile of red ones. Everything else was the usual; bills and fan mail.

Twilight, unsurprisingly, panics as she reads the letter, starting to pace around the castle.

"What's the matter, Twilight?", Spike asked.

She struggles to get the words out.

"Oh Spike, it's (heavy breath), terrible! (Heavy breath) Applejack wants to... (heavy breath)... ostracize herself from society!"

"Uh, what's that?", Spike asked. He doesn't know what that word means.

Twilight tries to calm down. She needs to explain this properly.

"It means she wants to stop doing everything! Not work at the farm! Not see anypony... anypony! Completely, totally, remove herself from everything!", Twilight said, struggling to keep her heavy breathing under control.

"Is it because of the broken leg? I don't get it; that was an accident! Why does Applejack want to punish herself like that?", Spike said.

"She does have a hard time letting go of guilt. But I've never seen anything like this before!", said Twilight.

"Well, should we talk to her about it?", Spike asked.

"That's what the human asked for," Twilight said. "Go Spike, send out the signal!"

Thanks to magic, Twilight and Spike don't need to send out a whole bunch of individual letters to call a meeting. Thank goodness, right?

The fortunate streak continues: Applejack was still in Ponyville, and she accepted the call.

The meeting starts.

"Look Applejack, this is a huge decision for a short-term problem. You won't feel like this forever," Twilight said to the heartbroken pony.

"Yeah AJ, sudden, rash decisions are inaccurate and quickly regretted!", Rainbow Dash added.

"No! Ah can ever forgive myself for this! Ah was bein' reckless and shattered the poor human's leg! Major damage to their well-being! Ah know leaving is a good decision!", Applejack said, still feeling the same as yesterday.

"You're saying that now, but like I said, wait. There will come a day when you don't feel that way.", Twilight responded.

"How can ya prove that?", Applejack asked.

"Well, remember the time you got the juice numbers wrong? You felt awful about it then, but now, you don't still think about it a lot, do you?", Twilight responded.

"Ah guess that's true, but breakin' someone's leg is a hundred times worse! A thousand times worse!", Applejack said with tears.

The other ponies go silent for a moment, noticing that what they were saying wasn't helping. They needed to think of something different.

Rarity comes up with a suggestion. "We need to tell Applejack how special she is! How much she means to us, her family, and the city! How terrible it would be to lose her!", she said.

Twilight loved this. "That's a great idea, Rarity! Let's show Applejack love!", she said.

"She's not just important to Ponyville, but all of Equestria! Think of the cider! The lesson of honesty! The work ethic! She's given value to many outside of Ponyville!", Rainbow Dash added.

"Yeah!", Twilight said excitedly. "You hear that, Applejack?"

"Ah should stay because of the good that ah've done?", she asked.

"Oh, of course!", Fluttershy said, speaking for the first time in this meeting. "Sweet Apple Acres may not be only you, but think of how it would be without you! Your cutie mark is apples for a reason!", she said.

"Apples would still exist, but it wouldn't be the same!", Twilight added.

"And remember your element! We can't lose the ultimate honesty pony either!", Rainbow Dash said.

"Remember when you told me to let go and fall off the cliff?", Twilight said. "That was at the very beginning, but it made me see you as a great friend! Didn't take long at all!"

"And remember when you taught me about being a good sister?", Rarity said. "My relationship with Sweetie Belle wouldn't be nearly as good if not for you, AJ!"

"Everything they're saying!, Pinkie Pie added. "We need you here, Applejack! We love you!"

The other five ponies smile at Applejack. She starts to feel their words, and smiles too. For the first time in a while.

"Thanks, y'all. Yer really sweet.", she says. "But ah can't stop feelin' rotten 'bout what ah did!"

"Did our human friend tell you anything about that?", Twilight asked.

"Yup, he has already forgiven me, and he told me that sometimes, this is just a thing that happens. Accidents will always happen, no matter how much ya try to avoid them."

"Well, that's a really good point! I would know something about that!", Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, just look at me! I'm without a doubt an awesome flyer, but... I mess up occasionally! Look at the times I've gotten hurt!"

"Yeah!", Twilight said. "Does that resonate with you?"

At this moment, a bomb went off in Applejack's mind. She remembered when you said that to her, and immediately thought about how much you meant to her. You not only helped with work, but were super kind and did fun activities with her and her family! Things that a friend would do!

Then the explosion in Applejack's head got even bigger. She remembered how she had never called you a friend before the accident happened! The first time she made mention of it was when she said that you should end the friendship! A friendship she didn't consciously know had even started!

"Applejack?", Twilight said.

"Huh, what?"

"I asked you a question."

"Oh, sorry about that. Mah answer is yes, that does resonate with me, and it was at this moment that ah just realized that before ah told the human we should end our friendship because of the accident, ah had never called them a friend! That was the first time!"

"Wow, Applejack! That's awesome; you found out you made a new friend!", Twilight said.

"Indeed!", Fluttershy added. "Maybe this accident, while terrible and frightening, opened up your complete feelings! You realized because you hurt a friend how much they mean to you!"

"Whoa there, Fluttershy! Let's not go that far! I could have found out those feelings another way; we can't make light of breakin' someone's bones!"

"That's not making light of it! We're not dismissing the severity of the situation; we're just saying that good things can come out of bad things! In fact, it's important to find that!", Twilight said.

"Think of the time where I hurt my wing and then discovered Daring Do! Perfect example!", Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah, but you only hurt yourself there, not nopony else!", Applejack responded.

The ponies felt somewhat defeated. After they had seemingly struck a chord within Applejack and she seemed to be getting better, she suddenly fell back into how she was acting before. It seemed like all their progress had been lost. After getting ready to ask her "So you'll stay?", Applejack's friends started to worry again that she would end up leaving.

Twilight spoke up. "Applejack, how about you spend some time with the human? I think seeing them would really help you."

Fluttershy interjected. "Yes! Go see them! You know they're a friend now; they will help!"

Pinkie Pie went up and hugged Applejack with tears coming from her eyes. "Please don't leave us!", she cried.

A silence ensues.

Then Applejack speaks. "Okay, y'all. Ah'll go see my human friend. And ah want to thank y'all for talkin' to me here. Y'all were really nice and helpful. But please note; ah have not made a decision yet. Ah may or may not stay.

"No! You must decide! Please stay!", Pinkie Pie said, crying harder.

Applejack tries to think of a more optimistic statement. "Pinkie, ya were part of this! You made it more likely that ah'll stay!"

"Really? Well then, I must do more!", Pinkie said.

"Ya absolutely can do more! Later, though. Ah'm goin' to see the human."

"Please have a good time!", Pinkie said.

"Ah will!", Applejack said as she walked out the door.

So, here we are. Her pony friends had helped Applejack feel a bit better, and helped her realize that you were, indeed, a friend. But it is not yet enough to ensure she will not go off the grid.

She is about to see you, so now, it all comes down to you. Will you be able to, with the boost of the other Mane Six, push Applejack over the positive edge, or at least push her further, for more progress later?

Or, will she succumb and pack her bags?

We shall find out in the next chapter.

Chapter 4

It's still the same day.

While Applejack was talking with her pony friends, you remained in the hospital; it doesn't seem like you'll be getting out for quite some time.

Even though you successfully fell asleep the previous night, you were finding it difficult to do anything with the excruciating pain in your bucked leg. That was all you could think about. But it still didn't translate to any hard feelings. If Applejack were to come in, you'd welcome her with open arms. Not only was she your closest pony friend by far, but having a visitor would be the ultimate solution to your boredom; after all, the only activity you could really do in the hospital was read. Nothing wrong with reading, of course, but given that you came from a world full of TV, video games, and the Internet to one without any of those things, it was jarring and unsettling to have nothing but books.

In that time, though, you did manage to do something you hope will turn out great; you prepared for your talk with Applejack. You went over what techniques you would use to try and comfort her. Determined to push her further down the path to recovery, you are eager to carry your techniques out.

Meanwhile, Applejack, on her way to the hospital, was feeling both good and bad at the same time. The talk she had with the other Mane Six really helped; they got her to smile again. And she was excited to see you.

However, she still had a bad taste in her mouth doing so, because of the accident. She knew this was the right decision, but was feeling pretty confident that she'd start crying again after directly seeing the result of what she had done.

Your nurse comes up to your room, opens your door, and lets out a sentence you've been waiting to hear.

"Applejack is back. Would you like to see her?"

"Oh yes!", you say. "Please, let her in!"

The nurse goes back downstairs to notify Applejack of your invitation. You wait excitedly.

Your friend comes through your door. Still feeling guilty, she lets out a sad-sounding greeting.

"Howdy, pardner", she says with a voice that indeed displayed Applejack's difficult situation.

But your mind had glossed over that for now. You were thrilled to see your buddy.

"Hi, Applejack! So good to see you!", you say.

Applejack smiles a bit, clearly hearing from your response that you weren't upset with her. She already knew that, but it takes more than one reassurance to really soothe her.

After a brief silence, you speak again.

"How are you feeling?"

Applejack responds. "A bit better, but still, not very good. Especially after seein'... your leg there." She sadly sighs.

"It's all good," you say. "Even if I tried, I could not bring myself to have any negativity towards you. What happened here was nothing more than an accident. And furthermore, the good things you've done negate this."

"Yeah, the girls were tellin' me about that, but ah just... can't. The tears start up.

"Come here, Applejack. I'll pet you, and we'll talk."

No way was she going to refuse this; you are a friend now, and she can't resist a good petting. She hops on.

You show your affection, running your hand through Applejack's mane and across her back, with a bit of scratching too. She is unable to not react to this, letting out a soft "hmm."

Having kept your friend calm, you start speaking.

"Okay. So, remember what I said earlier about this being something that just happens sometimes, because the world is not perfect?", you say.

"Yeah. That resonated with me.", Applejack says. "Ah liked that point a lot."

"Good!", you respond. "You're taking things others say into account, which I know is hard. You're doing well, AJ."

Heart-touched by this statement, Applejack sinks deeper into your love, reaching her legs out to hug you. Incapable of not reciprocating this, you tighten your comfort program while continuing the petting.

"Here's another thing that should help. The fact that you're feeling guilty means you're a good pony. You're going through this precisely because you did not want to hurt me. What a bad pony would do is intentionally do something like this and not apologize. You were the complete opposite.", you say.

Applejack stays silent for a while, thinking about your statement.

"Well... okay, ah guess ah'm not a bad pony... but still, what ah did was a bad thing! Very bad!" She lays her head into your body, starting to cry more.

You feel like you've lost progress here.

"I thought you said my statement about things like this happening resonated with you."

"Yeah."

"So, why do you still feel bad?"

A pause ensues. Then Applejack lets out a full description.

"It's just that, the severity of this, and the fact that ah'm responsible. Ah caused you extremely intense pain like no tomorrow. Ah could see ya reactin' to it yesterday. It was way too easy to tell how bad it hurt ya. And ah caused you that pain. Furthermore, you're immobile. Ya can't live your life like you're supposed to. Ya can't do your daily activities. All ya can do is lay here in this hospital bed. Your life is severely upended... all because of me!"

It now feels like the previous day all over again; a blue stream rolls from her eyes and onto your bed.

You continue with your trusty method of silent hugging and petting, keeping your mouth quiet before you find a response to Applejack's statement.

After you help her gain enough composure, you come up with something.

"Let me tell you this, AJ. I have a habit of taking good from the bad. Whenever something negative happens to me, I stop and think for a second, about a lot of things. For one, I think about what I take for granted. And this definitely applies here. You were talking about my mobility; well, that's something pretty much all of us who have working limbs take for granted. We don't really stop to think about how lucky we are to be able to walk. It's possible to have your legs paralyzed, or lose them all together. This experience has helped me realize that. When my leg is healed, I'll now know to pay attention to my leg abilities, and be grateful that I have them."

"Yeah, Fluttershy told me somethin' about that, takin' good from the bad, but that sounds... wrong to me! It feels like we're tryin' to downplay or make light of a very serious situation!", Applejack says.

"I understand that. It does seem wrong at first. But hear this out: finding the good in the bad is important, because dwelling on the bad makes us feel bad! Looking only at darkness will not help you find a light. And that damages our lives! We're not supposed to constantly be sad!"

"You talked about how you damaged my life with this accident, but in order to go back to my normal life that you also talked about, I cannot allow this to take over."

"I would not be able to get my proper life back if I was drenched with anger and resentment. Likewise, you cannot get your proper life back while being riddled with shame, guilt, and regret."

"That's not to say we shouldn't feel bad feelings; it's important to do so, but they have to leave at some point."

"It's perfectly fine for you to be sad about what happened. But you can't let it demonize your life, and that seems to be the path you're heading down, with the going to jail and ostracizing from society."

You've spoken to Applejack very well here. You were afraid you had been too harsh on her with the last comment, but she is not bothered. She is taking your words to heart, giving them a good listen and think-out, after which she is unable to form a counter-point.

"Ah like that. That makes sense to me."

"Okay, good! Now here's this. Did any of the girls tell you that this would pass eventually?"

"Yeah, but ah don't believe it. Breakin' someone's bones is not somethin' I can recover from doin'."

"I know it's hard to grasp. But you must believe that it's true, because it is. No matter how bad a situation is, you always get out of it. That's the way the world works. While it is true that all good things must come to an end, the same is true for all bad things."

"Think of any other distressing situation in your life. Like, look to the time you didn't win the rodeo competition and went through that period of not wanting to tell anypony, and then the aftermath. That was a long event that I'm sure felt inescapable when it happened. But you did escape from it. The nightmare ended, and you recovered."

"The same will happen here. Everything passes eventually."

Applejack goes silent for a bit. She understands what you said and believes it, but has now realized she's lost her routine.

"Well, what do ah do to pass the time?"

"Try to get back into your normal life. Not all at once, but gradually. Part of recovering from a traumatic event is to slowly reopen yourself. Try doing small tasks on the farm, or going out to eat with one of your other friends, or something like that. Start small, but do something."

Applejack likes this idea, and all the others. She's very happy with you.

"Well, thanks for the nice talk, pardner. Ah know ah should take your advice to heart and use it, but it's just... so hard to let go of the guilt!"

"I know it's hard. And it's okay to feel it for a while. Recovery can't be rushed, and that's why I'll lend you a shoulder to cry on, just as I was doing today and yesterday."

"But I couldn't let you drown yourself in guilt so much that you'd kill your livelihood. I needed to put a stop to those big plans you talked about yesterday, so I felt like I needed to be a little pushy. But I'm sorry if I was too much."

"Nah, it's okay, pardner. Ah understand; you were scared. And ah am now too, ah know that leavin' society would be way too much. The thought of that really frightens me."

"But ah still feel like ah need to be punished in some way."

Here was something you were not prepared for. Somehow, it had alluded you during your preparation that Applejack might still have a desire for punishment.

You couldn't bring yourself to tell her that, though. You had spent the entire day reassuring her, and it was clearly working. You couldn't let her down now.

The room falls quiet for a fairly long time, but Applejack doesn't say anything. She is being very patient with you; she knows it's not easy to help a pony suffering from this much guilt.

At last, you come up with something.

"Here's the thing, AJ. You see here how forgiving yourself is harder than forgiving someone else, right?"

"Yeah."

"That will spill over into punishment. We are our own worst critics, and that messes up our judgement as to how badly we should be punished, or whether we should be at all."

"Because we are overly harsh on ourselves, it takes an outside influence to know that. And your outside influence says no. The other Mane Six are not upset with you, nor am I. And I'm sure that everypony else you know won't be upset either."

"I don't really know how to explain why, but we just don't have the ability to correctly give ourselves retribution."

"Okay, ah guess ah'll try not to punish mahself. Ah've been listening to you on every point you've made; ah'll listen to you on this one. But ah don't quite get it as to how self-punishment apparently doesn't work and how we're our own worst critics."

"Well, I don't either. There's a lot of science behind it that I didn't have time to look at before you got here."

"Ah'd appreciate it if ya'd research that science for me, but don't feel like you have to. You're stuck in the hospital with a broken leg; you deserve to relax."

"I like to pass hospital time by learning, so I'd definitely do it, but I still feel like you should go see Twilight. She may not be a scientist, but she's the master of research, and she's bound to have a book on this. Plus, spending time with multiple different friends will help you get back to normal."

"Okay, ah'll go see Twilight tomorrow."

"Do ya have anything else to say to me?"

"Only one more thing. Remember what I said about everything passing eventually?"

"Under the same light, just because this accident happened doesn't mean we don't have a great future together as friends."

"This accident did not change my view of you or our friendship whatsoever. You have so many great qualities that make you a great pony. You're hard-working, determined, easy-going, and super hospitable. And you displayed all that to me right from the get-go! Remember when I first arrived here in Equestria? Despite having the intent to do it, I got scared, because I was put into an unfamiliar and uncertain situation. I had no idea how you and other ponies would react to seeing my species. I had no place to stay. I didn't know what to do with my career and overall life; how it would change. I was anticipating the culture shock. Also, I had no way of returning home. I still don't."

"But you melted all that away, Applejack. You were super calm. You lended a listening ear to my worries and helped me feel better. Then you and the others graciously offered to let me stay at Sweet Apple Acres, where you then gave me a job."

"Honestly, you gave me the best treatment I could have possibly asked for."

"But you didn't stop there! You guided me through Ponyville, its inhabitants and its culture. You helped me settle into the city. You and the others then started letting me into your family activities; I felt like I was being treated like I was a part of the family!"

"There is just too much good about you, Applejack, for this to ruin our bond, or that of your other companions. An accident does not override the amazing things you do on purpose, no matter how bad the injury is or how much it disrupts one's life. Those things are less important to me than keeping a wonderful pony around. I would rather be like this, hospital-bound with an intensely painful bone break, than have you in jail or out of society. Really; I would rather have this."

"I'm super happy to be with you right now, and I look forward to doing more things with you, both with and without the broken leg."

"I love you, Applejack."

This immensely touches the hearts of both Applejack and you. Both of you have watering eyes, which then leads to a beautiful hug. It was unlike any other hug you had received.

"Thank ya, pardner. Ah feel so much better now. Still got a long way to go with forgivin' myself, but ah don't feel like leavin' Ponyville no more!"

"Step by step. That's the way to go."

She tightens the hug more. With all four of her legs wrapped around your upper body, tenderness washes over you. A hug from a strong pony like Applejack fell nowhere short of satisfyingly secure. You enjoy the heavy weight.

Meanwhile, Applejack is feeling the labels that you lovingly assigned to her. Providing you something you love, and remembering what she had done for you before the accident, she feels like a good pony again!

With both of you really feeling it, the hug goes on for a good long time.

It's getting dark out, so it's time for Applejack to return to Sweet Apple Acres. But she's not leaving without a heartwarmer.

"Ya said ya love me. Well, ah love ya too, pardner. Platonically, for clarification, but in that way, ah love ya. And that, plus mah other friends, there's no way ah'm leavin."

"There you go! This is a step forward!", you say as you pull her into another hug. The previous one, despite all its mighty power, was not quite enough.

The two of you share a finale hug before Applejack has to leave.

As she walks out the door, Applejack finishes off the day with gratefulness.

"Thank you so much for today, pardner. Ah couldn't have gotten to this 'ere point without ya."

"You're so welcome, Applejack. It was my mission today to get you to this point. And thank you for hearing me out. I know what I was saying sounded ridiculous, but you listened, and took it to heart."

"It doesn't sound so ridiculous now! You've really got a way with words, pardner!"

You have no response to this. But she doesn't mind.

"Well, see you later, AJ!"

"See ya later, new friend!"

Well, this day went great! You successfully convinced Applejack not to leave Ponyville, even with you never mentioning that directly! She hadn't fully forgiven herself yet, but the scary part was over with. And the next step will come and pass as well!

Applejack still needs help, though, so what is the next step?

Chapter 5

It's three days later.

Applejack could feel she was getting better. The things you had said to her in the last hospital visit; she couldn't stop feeling great from them. She thought your words had a magic touch. That, plus the words of the other Mane Six, had pushed her into the next stage of recovery. She no longer wished to be imprisoned or be removed from society. While she was still wanting to be punished in a different way, she decided to hold off on that, waiting to see Twilight for the research on why self-punishment is not a good idea.

Heading your advice, she tried to slowly get back to her normal life. The day after your talk, she started working on the farm again. Not nearly as much as before, but that's part of the process. And luckily, Big Mac and Applebloom had graciously offered to handle the work during the time Applejack was not ready. That led to her doing another normal thing again: cooking. After all, Applebloom isn't big enough to do all of the available work. Tree-bucking and pulling of heavy carts was still a long way off for the filly. Plus, she wasn't exactly used to working on the farm all day; most of her time is dedicated to school and crusading. Because of this, Big Mac had to take on a pretty large extra workload. Applejack could not let this deed go unrewarded.

Furthermore, Applejack's family was just like every other pony, and you, in their view of the accident. No hard feelings whatsoever. They had found out during the double talk day (Sunday), but decided to wait for Applejack to come to them, rather than going after her. When Applejack did come home that day, all she received was love. The same thing she had received from you and her pony friends.

The second day since the big talk with you (Tuesday), Applejack decided to go out places again, realizing she had yet to reintroduce herself to the public, if you will. As expected, nothing but smiles from the residents of Ponyville. Applejack didn't go further than walking through town and stopping at some stands; she wasn't ready for restaurants or the like yet. But she would get there eventually.

So, it's all going great, right? Recovery in action!

Not so fast. The path to recovery is not a straight line.

As previously mentioned, Applejack still wanted punishment, and she was not really that close to fully forgiving herself. While she now rejected the "bad pony" label that she had assigned to herself back at the first hospital visit, she continued to beat herself up over the accident. "Ah can't believe ah didn't see them walking by!", she said to herself; yep, this guilt episode is still in progress.

Plus, she did not understand why she should forgive herself at all. She had the impression that suffering from guilt will make her a better pony, because apparently, it increases accountability.

Twilight was prepared for that. The day after your talk with Applejack, you had sent Twilight a letter asking her to do research on guilt and self-punishment, and then have a talk with Applejack about it. Twilight accepted your request, and had been doing the work. As you expected, she had plenty of books on the topic.

But the fact that Twilight needed to do the research first, plus her other duties as the Princess of Friendship, made it so that the meeting would not happen until a few days later. Seeing the meeting as the main catalyst to her recovery, Applejack was a bit sad at this. But she understood.

In the meantime, she was trying to keep her guilt under control with distractions. Noticing that she did not feel bad unless she was directly thinking about what happened, she tried to do other things, such as the aforementioned.

You, meanwhile, are also making a recovery; you were getting closer to your release from the hospital. The day you got injured was Friday, the tear-filled, scary-punishment-plan day was Saturday, and the talk day was Sunday. Today was Wednesday, and you were scheduled for discharge on Saturday, exactly a week after the injury.

But it felt like more than that. It already seemed like a week at this point. When you've lost the ability to do most of your activities, time passes by slower. Especially with Equestria's complete lack of video media. Outside of sending letters, the only contact you had with the outside world was the newspaper, which you ended up finding quite enjoyable to read. Ponyville's newspaper had especially interesting issues the past two days. On Monday, it had been reported that a new student had joined Ponyville Elementary, which is where the Cutie Mark Crusaders go. You learned that the other students had set up a "welcome party" for her at recess. How sweet! Then on Tuesday, it got reported that the Wonderbolts, which Rainbow Dash was now a part of, were due to unleash a brand new flight pattern during their show, which was on that day. While happy to read the news, you were sad that you couldn't go.

Not to mention the pain in your leg. It was better than at first, but it was still worse than any pain you remember experiencing. After all, you never had a broken leg prior to this. You still needed pain medication and had periods of high distress, where you felt like the pain was dominating. In those moments, you could not do anything except lay there and suffer.

But you were keeping your head up, following your "this too shall pass" reassurance that you had given to Applejack. While your leg would still be very much broken, and you'd have to use a wheelchair, at least you'd be able to go back into society. You'd have restaurants, Wonderbolt shows, and the like back. Ponyville was also very good at accommodating this kind of situation. Just like back at home, they had handicap spaces. And given that the ponies of this town are who they are, you can bet they'd be patient with you. Give you more room, and not rush you to move faster. You were quite surprised at how communal this place is, in fact.

"This will pass." That was what you had been telling your guilt-ridden friend, and what you needed to tell yourself as well.

It's now Friday, and time for Twilight's meeting with Applejack. She had gotten the research done, had her notes of what she would say, and was ready to bring this on.

While needing this meeting for large progress, Applejack was able to stay sane during the wait time with the help of activities she enjoys, and the support and comfort of her family and friends.

But she was still waiting anxiously, and the day was finally here.

You, still in the hospital but scheduled for release tomorrow, were very excited. Twilight told you that both she and Applejack would tell you the results of their meeting on Saturday, so that it would coincide with your release from the hospital. Double release; sounds good!

Applejack knocks on the doors of the Castle of Friendship. Twilight arrives.

"Ready, Applejack?"

"Yup. I'm gettin' better, but ah still need help."

"I will give you just that! Let's head to the library."

The two ponies go into the library.

"Okay, Applejack. Let me just say right off the bat, I have determined through research that massive guilt is not the answer to the problem. What you need to do to completely get through this is forgive yourself."

"But why? Won't havin' no feelings 'bout what ah did make me worse?! The human said that the fact that ah'm feeling guilty means ah'm a good pony!"

"I know, it sure seems that way. And yes, a little bit of guilt is fine, but too much is bad. Life-disrupting, unending guilt will not make things better. And the reason why is because guilt will block out your ability to be the best you can be. It might seem like guilt makes you better, but no, it's actually forgiveness. It's a long explanation, so I hope you're good with that."

"Take as much time as ya need, Twalight. Ah need all the help I can get.

Twilight smiles. Having her note page of what order she would go in, she begins the lecture.

"Let me start, Applejack, by saying that everypony makes mistakes. And it doesn't matter how bad the mistake is; they are going to happen. I know the human said this to you; you can talk all day about how you could have been watching out more or whatever, but things like this simply will happen sometimes, because that's the way the world works. And, I can actually give you a defense for why you were not watching out.

"And what's that?"

"You didn't expect it! Your family members know about your leg exercises and when you do them, so they know not to walk close to you when you were doing them. The human, on the other hand, did not know that. They were new to the farm, and had no idea you even did those exercises. And then, because you were not used to having someone on the farm who did not know, you did not get the idea to calm down the exercises. That is another reason why we are not faulting you! You simply didn't know!"

"But, why didn't ah tell 'em?"

"Because we can't always remember everything. It's just another product of how the world works. You did not think about your leg exercises and the possible danger of them in that moment and decide not to tell your friend; it just never crossed your mind! And that's okay!"

"You should not feel guilty for forgetting, Applejack. It's a natural part of life."

This statement hits her home. Now she is starting to see it!

"Nor should you feel guilty for anything that was a mistake! Everypony makes mistakes!", Twilight adds.

"Now here's the big thing."

"Remember when the five of us told you back on the third day how you should be forgiven because of the good that you've done?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I'd like to expand on that."

"Because of the fact that the broken bone was an accident, and accidents simply happen on occasion, we cannot 100% prevent them, the good things you do on purpose truly override this."

"But with you now being in this negative emotional state, you haven't been doing those things, right?"

"Nope. Ah took time off from the farm after ah caused the broken leg."

"Exactly!", Twilight says.

"It's a roadblock. You being drenched with guilt is preventing you from doing the activities that make you so great! As I said before, the great things are much more important than this one bad thing! But ruminating on the bad thing blocks out the good things!"

"In summary, you are not your actions. You are responsible, but one accident does not define who you are. Yet your guilt wants you to feel that way. You're being tricked into thinking you have to never, ever do anything bad in order to be a good pony, which is impossible to do, and then, because of that, are prevented from doing the good things that do define you!"

Applejack understands this, but the guilt caused her to have a blackout on her positive qualities, so she needed a refresher.

"Can ya run through the list on what makes me great?"

"Oh, yes! To start off, the strong work ethic! Even my determination to finish 12 books in one weekend can't be compared to your motivation with... everything that you do! The tree-bucking, keeping farm animals happy, determination to help us when we feel bad, the list goes on and on!"

"If you do not do those good things, which you will not do if the guilt stays bad, then what will you have to give to us? See? It's a paradox!"

"Applejack, you are a light in our lives! And excessive guilt will prevent that light from shining!"

Applejack could not argue with this, not one bit. Twilight was clearly correct, and Applejack was stunned at how well she did with this conversation.

"Twalight, such powerful words! Ya really do know how to do research!"

Twilight waves a hoof, saying "That's just what I do!"

"Now ah see. Ah see why ah should forgive mahself. But ah can't just say that and be done, what do ah do to forgive mahself?"

"Well, for starters, you just have to wait. I know this is cliche, but time heals all wounds. It really does.

"But there are definitely things you can do that will help! For one, take the guilt and reverse it. Do good things! You'll feel like you're making it up! You'll feel like a good pony again, proving that you don't need to be rained on with guilt everywhere you walk."

"Yeah. When ah gave a hug to mah human friend last time ah saw them, I felt like that. They loved the hug, and it helped me to do that. To do somethin' good."

"Yeah, there you go! That's a great step forward! Now, do more of that!", Twilight says. "One reason you love working on the farm is because the foods you provide bring happiness to ponies, right?"

"Yeah. It feels really good to do that."

"Then, get back at it! You don't have to go all at once, but keep going at it with getting back on your hooves at Sweet Apple Acres. Selling apples will make you feel better!"

"Oh, and do more hugging! There are plenty of ponies who I'm sure could use a hug right now, even if they're not feeling bad!"

Applejack nods yes.

"Now, let me ask you to do this. Go see the human again, but this time, don't talk about the situation! Instead, do the things you used to do! They'll be out of the hospital tomorrow, and I want the two of you to celebrate that by doing fun things!"

"Maybe go eat at a restaurant! Or watch a play! Or whatever else! And when you get home, have another photo album session! It's important to get back to normal!"

"Will do, Twalight!"

Twilight smiles.

"Also", Twilight says, "Tomorrow, I want you to walk out of the hospital with the human after they are discharged, because Pinkie Pie and I have a surprise for the two of you outside the doors!"

"Alright, a surprise sounds fun. Ah'll walk out with 'em."

"Good.", Twilight says.

Applejack is happy with the results of this talk as well.

"Thanks so much, Twalight. Your research helped a ton. The biggest question holdin' me back was why forgivin' myself was even something ah should do, but now ah know ah should do it, and why!"

"Indeed! It is absolutely important to forgive ourselves for what we did wrong, because all of us do wrong things sometimes, and it doesn't negate the right things! Being excessively guilty will block out the right things, leaving you without anything to give!"

"Yup.", Applejack says, realizing the effect Twilight's words had on her. Then she gets the idea to do what she had been doing for you and her family.

"Twalight, ah'm gonna give ya a reward for doing this. You can either come to Sweet Apple Acres, or have me bring it here!"

"Oh, Applejack, please. I don't need a reward; this is just something that friends do!"

Applejack walks up and puts her hoof on Twilight's leg.

"Ah insist, Twalight. Prior to the accident, ah had been rewardin' the human for helpin' me and mah family with farm work. This is part of mah DNA."

Remembering what she had just told Applejack about doing good deeds to override the guilt, Twilight accepted the reward.

"Okay. I'll take it. I'll go down to the farm; I haven't been there in a while and I'd like to see your family again. Spike might come too!"

"Okay, Twalight!" Whenever you're ready, ah'll see ya there!"

They waved goodbye.

Upon walking out the door, Applejack realized that she was about to do something good! As Twilight told her, this proved she was a good pony! Feeling heart-touched by Twilight's statements, just as she had with yours, Applejack walked home with a smile on her face, and excitement for your release from the hospital tomorrow!

Twilight is the master of research; although, she didn't carry out this conversation in a very research-like way. She did that on purpose; she felt that saying "this study shows..." and all that would make things too complicated. Whatever the method, though, she answered Applejack's burning question. But the problem isn't over yet. As Twilight said, it will take time. Applejack is going to start passing that time by holding a photo album session with her family in the barn; the first one she would participate in for a while! And then the next day, here comes playtime!

Chapter 6

Finally! It's now Saturday, one week after the accident, and you are about to be discharged from the hospital!

Had it really only been a week? It felt like almost a month!

You had been screaming for this day. Being in the hospital was so boring. You were not only stuck in one building and one room, but also in one place! You were unable to leave the bed, and boy, did that suck! Laying in one and only one place for seven straight days; couldn't go out and see a bunch of ponies; couldn't work, no Internet! You couldn't do anything except read, sleep, and wallow in pain.

It didn't really matter to you that you'd still have a broken leg and have to ride in a wheelchair. You were just desperate to be anywhere other than that bed. Even with a major handicap, going back out into the world was going to be such a relief. Such a perk-up.

A perk-up that you would experience in just a bit! With more, too!

Yesterday, Twilight had sent you a letter letting you know she and Pinkie Pie were going to surprise you and Applejack outside the hospital, and that she had told the staff Applejack would be coming to walk out with you. Sounds great!

Per Twilight's recommendation, Applejack's next thing to do with you was not talk about the accident or the surrounding guilt. What you were going to do was play. Have fun. It's important to feel your sadness when a sad thing happens, but you have to let happiness in too. Today, you were trying to dedicate to happiness. It was unclear if Twilight and Pinkie Pie, or anypony else, would tag along for your first activities outside the hospital, but no matter who else was involved, there would be no sad talk today.

What was that first activity going to be, though? Neither Applejack nor you had thought about it.

However, you'd have time to think about it. Applejack has arrived at the hospital, to wait for Twilight and Pinkie with you.

"Howdy, pardner! Today's the day!"

"Good morning, Applejack! Yes, today is the day!"

"What do ya wanna do first?"

"Well, given that I'll be in a wheelchair, things like going around town or attending a festival, I think will be too hard to do. I'd like to start with something stationary, like a restaurant or a play."

"Since it's mornin', how about we go out for breakfast?"

"Sounds great!"

Well, looks like your work was paying off. Applejack came into the room happy! She greeted you with excitement, and was eager to know what you'd be doing today!

Before you went to breakfast, Twilight and Pinkie were waiting to surprise you with something.

Your nurse comes up to your room and announces your release. "Alright, Twilight and Pinkie are here! It's time!"

You squeal in excitement, although successfully keeping it quiet.

Your leg has gotten better enough that you can put a little bit of pressure on it, but the hospital staff are still trying to not have that, so there's a bit of operation with regards to getting on the wheelchair. You slide from the side of your bed onto the seat, with your nurse carefully holding the broken leg as you slide it onto the board that will hold it up.

Boy, did it feel great to finally be out of that bed! But it also felt a bit weird; since you had been there for so long, you more or less lost your touch with the outer world. It felt strange to be in transportation; it's like you were having to re-establish the feeling of it to your mind. You anticipated having to re-establish other things too, even though it had only been a week.

How could you possibly describe the feeling as you were being driven through the hospital, getting closer and closer to the front door? Honestly, you felt like two swirls going in the opposite direction.

As you were sent out the front door, your time in the hospital having turned its last page, there are Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike too, whom you didn't know was joining, in front of you. "Surprise!", they say in unison as Pinkie Pie's signature cannon makes its signature noise and shoots out confetti. But it wasn't rainbow confetti like usual. Instead, it was all red and pink. Why? It wasn't Hearts and Hooves Day...

That question is quickly answered when the trio open a box and reveal a cake. The cake was pink, with red icing-drawn hearts, red petal drapes, and... an icing decoration of you and Applejack hugging!

"This is a friendship cake! I made it to celebrate the bond between the two of you! I noticed in the talk at the castle how Applejack reacted when she found out you were a friend, and I had been told about how great you two had been doing! And all that happened in spite of this hurty-hurt terrible accident! You two are amazing together!", Pinkie exclaims.

"Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, declares that you are not only good friends, but great friends!", she adds.

Oh boy, you were not prepared for this! You knew these two were sweet, but how can you describe this level of sweetness?!

Your eyes are watering, and you look over and notice that Applejack's eyes are doing the same. The two of you quickly pull each other into a cake-sized hug.

The other three react with emotion.

These feels are great, but you eventually have to come out of them. As you do so, you remember that you're pretty confused about why you had received this cake.

"Twilight, Pinkie, Spike, why this? Like, I'm grateful, this is awesome, but... I didn't expect something on this level!", you say.

"Simple! This accident, as bad as it was, has a good side! It has made your friendship stronger!", Twilight responds.

You get this, but Applejack does not.

"How so?", she asks.

"Well, look back to the beginning! You realized upon causing your friend injury how much you cared about them! Isn't that right?", Twilight says.

"Yeah. That is right.", Applejack responds.

"The excessive guilt is not a good path, and we're working on that, but a bit of remorse is good, because it shows that you're a great pony and you love the one you hurt! One bad thing doesn't negate the good things!", Twilight says.

"Indeed!", Spike adds.

"How many times before the injury happened did you guys say "I love you" to each other, or hug, or have close, one-on-one moments together? I certainly don't recall any!", Pinkie Pie says.

"From what I can remember, none!", you say.

"Ah think that's correct! Ah just realized; the time ah first came into the hospital after ah hurt ya; that was the first time ya ever pet me. Even if ah was cryin' mah eyes out, ah could still tell it felt good.", Applejack says.

"And then we did it more!", you add.

"Yup."

"As Pinkie said, I also don't recall a time you ever had close, heart-to-heart talk before.", Twilight says.

"Well", you respond, "there was this one time where Applejack told me on a work break that she would feel distraught if anything bad happened to me. Which is very ironic, given that she said that literally minutes before the accident. But aside from that, yeah, that was really the first heart-touching thing any of us ever said to each other. We said "thank you" and "great work" before then, but we never really spent time one-on-one outside of work during that period, no."

"No, we really didn't!", Applejack says.

"And then the hugging! You said that you never pet Applejack before the injury, so I'm guessing you didn't hug either?", Spike says.

"No, we never hugged before either! I mean, we sometimes did a few small things, like after we finished a task we would hoof-bump, or hoof-and-fist-bump in this case, since I'm a human, but nothing more than that!"

Twilight smiles.

"Do you see what we're getting at here?", she asks.

You and Applejack look at each other again, with more watering eyes.

"Yeah! The accident revealed our feelings for each other!", you exclaim.

"It really did!", Applejack says.

"And that's what this cake is for," Pinkie Pie says.

Applejack steps onto your lap and pulls into a giant hug. This hug is even better than the one you had at the end of the big talk last Sunday, because you two have fully realized how great of friends you are! You can feel each other. Your hearts are smiling. This is an unexplainably tender hug.

...Until it gets interrupted by a growling stomach. You couldn't tell whose it was, but that doesn't matter, as it occurs to you that you still haven't had breakfast yet.

Twilight giggles. "How about we go to Sugarcube Corner? Spike and I will come too; we also haven't eaten yet."

"Sounds good!", you say. "Let's go!"

What an event that was! A cake, out of all things, led to a talk that caused you and Applejack to accurately record your friendship thermometer! The things you had been doing with each other because of the accident were displays that the scale was rising! And you hadn't realized it before! Indeed, the injury had led to a good thing! And you made sure to tell that to Applejack, as she didn't believe it before. She had brushed off this kind of thinking as "making light of a bad situation." You had agreed not to talk about the accident earlier today, but it seems like that rule has been nullified now. Thanks to Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike, any talk about it now only led to more love. So you let it go.

"Now do you see it, Applejack? Bad things do lead to good things, and it's not downplaying to say so!"

As you hoped, she now agrees.

"Yeah, ah do see it now", she says. "Seeing the bad in the good... leads to more friendship!", she says as she rubs her face into yours.

"Aww...", you say, petting the back of her neck.

This day was already so thrilling! But you weren't stopping there, oh no! You were now at Sugarcube Corner, with a breakfast that consisted of the friendship cake, pudding with sprinkles, and a cereal called Strawberry Surprise. The cereal looks ordinary at first; just a bunch of pink balls. But when you bite into it, a splash of very strongly flavored strawberry cream lands on your tongue. It lives up to its name!

This was not the kind of breakfast you were used to; you were more of a fruit, toast, and grain cereal eater at this time of day. But you were at Sugarcube Corner after all, and you easily considered today special! If what just happened wasn't special, then what is?

This kind of sweet treat easily added more joy to the day. Plus the fact that you had interesting conversations with the other three. Pinkie Pie was sharing some new recipes she and the Cakes were trying out. Spike told a story about mistakenly spicy tacos that caused an... interesting dinnertime. He had unknowingly put hot salsa on them, rather than medium. Oof.

Then, Twilight revealed the results of the talk she had with Applejack yesterday. The two of you had given her the go to talk about it, saying the "no sadness" rule had been deactivated. Twilight had nothing but positives! She had answered AJ's main question of why forgiving herself was important, and it worked. Applejack walked out ready to do happy things, which is what you were doing today.

"I always knew you were the master of research, Twilight!", you say.

Twilight has trouble accepting compliments; she daintily waves a hoof at you. But you understood.

It's now the end of breakfast. This was all you had in mind to do with Applejack. But the day was far from over; you couldn't stop here.

"So, what do you wanna do next, pardner? Ah'm looking forward to rest of this day!"

She's looking forward to it, and talking like that? Oh, you definitely couldn't stop here! You think it over for a while, eventually coming up with something. But you want to be sure if Applejack is okay with the circumstances.

"Well, first, I'd like to ask, would you prefer to do things one-on-one with me, or can we invite others into more activities?"

"Ah'd like to spend time with just you at some point, but there's plenty more time in this day. We can do another activity with somepony else for now; why do you ask?"

"Because I was thinking of doing something with Applebloom. I haven't seen her in a while, and I think spending time with your sister would be good for you."

"That's a great idea, pardner! Ah'd like to do somethin' with my little sis too! It is a weekend, but... she might be crusadin' right now."

"The CMCs leave a note on their clubhouse door if they've gone out; we'll just have to go back to Sweet Apple Acres and check."

"Okay, let's go there and see!"

You were willing to do this, however it was a bit of an annoyance, having to go all the way back out to the farm. You'd be taking a carriage, which does have handicap commodities, but still. If this place had Internet, all you'd have to do was send Applebloom a text.

On the other hand, there's a possibility that her phone would be dead, or she wouldn't notice. Or maybe she would have forgotten to bring the phone.

Maybe there was some beauty in living in a place without Internet, after all. You came to the thinking that paper is probably more reliable than screens, even if it is slower.

Anyway, you said goodbye to Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, and the Cakes, thanking them for the amazing breakfast, and hop on the carriage to go back to the farm.

Applejack remembered on the way that you indeed hadn't seen her sister in a while. With Applebloom often being at school or out on a crusading mission, she was at the farm the least out of the four Apples. Not to mention that she didn't do a whole lot of farm work, so you never really saw each other at that time. Back when you were working, you only saw the filly during dinner, really. Then came the week-long hospital stint that Applebloom never visited. She knew about what had happened, but you were guessing she was a bit scared to see someone in such condition; it would be distressing, and she wouldn't know what to say. In fact, you were thinking that's why other ponies didn't visit either, which you understood. They also were probably busy; they were still doing their jobs.

But that was whatever right now. You didn't want to think about that hospital stay you had just gotten out of. What mattered now was seeing if Applebloom was available.

Upon arriving at the apple farm, you and Applejack don't have to check on the clubhouse door. There's the yellow filly right there! Out in the grass by herself, playing with balls. She explained that Sweetie Belle was visiting Rarity, and Scootaloo was bungee jumping. So there was no crusading today.

And she agreed to join the two of you on your outing. On to more fun!

Here you were. You and Applejack, with Applebloom, had decided to go out to the playground. You couldn't play, of course, with the broken leg. But what mattered to you today was seeing Applejack in a positive state. That was your "mission" to be "accomplished": making sure the pony who drowned herself in guilt has a good day.

It turned out great! Applejack had joined her sister on the playground at certain times, bringing back the lighthearted side of their sister love. The past week, it had only shown its deep side, which was important, but starting to overtake. Upon the dawn of this severe guilt period, Applejack could not play. Not one bit. And Applebloom missed that. As much as she took pride in comforting Applejack; she missed the old days. She missed her smiling, giggling, playful sister. But here was that version of Applejack now! Playing games with Applebloom led to nothing short of that.

After the games ended and Applebloom went off to play on her own, Applejack also showed progress by socializing with ponies outside her circle again. This benefited you as well; seeing as how you were stuck in the hospital for a week. And you loved it as expected! Ponies were telling stories, talking about what they've been working on; pretty much anything that wasn't about guilt and trying to rid somepony of it, which you were happy to take a break from talking about.

What you found interesting, however, was that very fact. Nopony was bothering to talk about the accident. And since your situation is clearly visible, with you being in a wheelchair and having a cast on, they must know what had happened if they were going to not talk about it.

You ask if the news of the accident got out to the public, and a yellow and green-maned mare named Raindrops said yes. But she told you not to worry; the news was reported by Big Mac, with permission from Applejack. Nopony was doing the Gabby Gums style of sneaking around looking for "juicy" stories and irresponsibly spilling them out. Those days were long gone.

With all else that was going on, Applejack had forgotten to tell you this. But here she was to explain it now. She said she decided to let the news go public because of how much Ponyville has changed for the better when it comes to this. Not only did the city residents no longer enjoy gossip, but they also had stopped creating "news frenzies" where they swarm around a subject and bombard them with questions. Applejack was confident that ponies would be sweet and caring, which they were. You asked Raindrops why you never received any hospital visits other than the ones from Applejack, and she said:

"We didn't want to overwhelm you. We thought that too many visits would be stressful, especially with the fact that it would all have to be scheduled and timed. We wanted to keep you as comfortable as possible."

You were touched by this display of care, but more visits would have been good. You wonder why you never invited anypony else. But whatever; your time in the hospital was over, and you were seeing other ponies in the present. That is what mattered. You tell Raindrops this, but assured her not to feel bad, saying the above.

In other news (no pun intended), you even got to meet a new pony: a lavender and blue-maned mare with dolphins for a cutie mark. This is Sea Swirl. Applejack had met her before, but never really mingled. So there was another addition to this great day! You even invited Sea Swirl to join you at lunch, loving the way she spoke and what she would speak about. A marine biologist, she talked about the residents of the sea in a way that could be made into a book. Who else talked about the sea like that?

As for the meal itself, it was nothing short of delightful. Looking back, you did not find the hospital food to be very good; it always lacked in flavor, or was way too slimy, or just wasn't a food you enjoyed, or whatever combination.

You picked out a cheese and lettuce sandwich; Ponyville sure knew its stuff when it came to this food! Coming out of what you got in the hospital; it felt surreal to eat something like this. You had also picked the right cafe; you were at the one with the mushroom seats, which is the most recognizable cafe in the city for a reason! You could taste why it was so popular!

Applejack also seemed really satisfied at lunch. You weren't sure if she had tried to punish herself by reducing consumption of foods she enjoyed during the early days of this whole thing, but it sure seemed like she had, given how much she was loving this.

Which adds on to her growing pile of positives that have been happening.

Applejack, having gotten to play with her sister, meet a new pony, have a great lunch, and be with you, was having a wonderful day. The damaging distress of the previous days was nowhere to be seen at this moment.

The other two eventually went off and left you and Applejack to be one-on-one. You decide to go back home, running out of ideas on what to do out in the city.

You arrive back at Sweet Apple Acres, still unsure of what your next activity is.

"What should we do now?", Applejack asks.

You come up with something.

"How about you do some exercises, like say, track and field? Exercising releases feel-good chemicals in the body, and I'd love to watch you run and jump. Applebloom seems to have a lot of fun watching it."

Applejack likes this idea.

"Sure. Ah'll do some of that."

Applejack went back to exercising after a week-long hiatus. Probably one of the longest hiatuses she's ever taken from exercise. She was slightly out of practice, hitting the wood and stumbling a few times, but it was still a spectacle. Seeing this farm pony run and jump made you admire her even more, as you loved seeing athleticism.

Afterwards, Applejack sure did feel the endorphins.

"Wow! Thanks for the suggestion, pardner! That felt outstandin'!"

"Way to go, AJ! I had fun watching that!"

You hoof + fist bump her.

Then a bell rings.

"Ah think it's time for dinner now. Come on in."

"Oh yes!", you respond.

As if breakfast and lunch today weren't great enough, you got to finally have another dinner with the Apple family. You didn't realize until now how much you missed those while you were in the hospital. Dinners at Sweet Apple Acres were what Applejack said to describe how her exercises felt: outstanding.

The dinner only served to make the fact that Applejack was doing great today even more true. She laughed hard at a funny story that Applebloom told. She was talking about apples and food in the way she used to. There were no tears. No "I can't let go of this" statements. No self-punishment.

Applejack was happy.

Everything today... was amazing. You had been released from the hospital, received a delectable cake that then led you and Applejack to finding out the extent of your friendship, went out to go socialize with ponies, and got to experience delectable, satisfying meals again.

But most of all, Applejack was better. She was no longer producing tear waterfalls. Nor was she ready to go off the grid. She was not sad. Today, she was great. Your mission had 100% been accomplished.

However, we must sadly cover the sunshine now and break some bad news: "today" must be recognized as the key word of that sentence.

"What?! It's not over yet?!"

Unfortunately, no. As previously mentioned, the path to recovery is not a straight, consistent-speed line. It is a bumpy road. By the time you had left for your bedroom, leaving Applejack by herself, she started to replay the injury scene in her mind. That caused the guilt to start creeping back up. And sadly, Applejack does not yet realize that this is normal. Nobody had mentioned to her that a path to recovery will have waves of sadness and happiness.

But on the bright side, the guilt wasn't nearly as bad as before, and she knew what to do. If she was still feeling like this tomorrow, she would go and talk with her friends. And she was able to calm herself to sleep by replaying the powerful words told by you and the ponies already.

And today's result shouldn't be downplayed at all. Recovery going well; No doubt about it. But unlike your hospital stay, Applejack's guilt term has not quite seen its end yet. There is still work that needs to be done.

Tomorrow, who will do that work, and what will it be?

Chapter 7

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 8

...you reach it.

At last, here you are. On the other side of the mountain. On the shore of an ocean that took forever to swim across.

You are at the end of the journey.

All of Applejack's guilt is gone. No matter how much she tries to replay the accident in her head and make herself feel bad, she doesn't feel it. She just can't have any negativity towards herself anymore. It's been exhausted. It's over.

Per Rainbow Dash's words, the progress just kept building up. As time passed, Applejack got better and better. After seriously wanting to go to prison or leave society, she turned against those plans. Then, she was successfully told why guilt is unhealthy and forgiveness is the correct path forward. She was hesitant to believe that at first, but she eventually did. Then she had a great day. She started working again.

One week into the story, things were clearly better than before. Then by the two-week milestone, the previous week seemed bad by comparison. The same was true for the three-week mark compared to the two-week mark, and further along from there. As Rainbow said, it just kept piling up!

Because it had to. It was destined to happen. As you said to Applejack, everything does pass.

And she is able to feel that now. Upon reaching this point, Applejack took a look back on this whole thing and thought "Wow! Ah actually got through that! Ah thought ah was trapped and would never get better, but... ah did!"

Exactly! You did get through it, Applejack!

After you and the other Apples share an amazing dinner together, Applejack calls you outside.

"Pardner, can ya come out to the field? Ah'd like to have a moment with ya."

"Of course, Applejack! Let's go!"

As if you were going to turn that down...

It's sunset time, and you think that Applejack must have waited until now for that reason.

She leads you to the top of a hill, further fueling that speculation.

The two of you sit down upon the horizon, then Applejack starts speaking.

"Pardner, ah just wanted to thank ya for everything that you've done. From helpin' with farm work to playin' with us, you were a sweet one from the start."

"Then when the accident period started, you did nothin' but show love. You helped me calm down with the pettin', and said such powerful words. Ah don't know what ah would've done without ya."

"Aww, you're so nice, Applejack. Come here."

You two hug again, with Applejack stepping onto the wheelchair. Your leg is still broken; it was a pretty major impact, so the doctor expected a healing time of 10 to 12 weeks. At this point, it had been 6 weeks since the accident.

But you didn't care about that right now. There is something else that has come to an end, and that thing is more important to you. The story of the guilt. The final page of the book has been turned and the back cover has been shut. Finally.

That is what you were here for.

You and Applejack have another hug; it was a different feeling given that Applejack's healing period is now over, but it still felt like one of your signature hugs. You held each other so tight that it felt like you were sharing one body, and your hearts were definitely in communication.

After the hug, Applejack decides to surprise you.

"Pardner, ah have a present for ya. It's in this box."

"Aww, thanks Applejack."

"Open it up!"

It's a medium-sized box with orange wrapping and a pale-golden bow. Applejack's colors.

You undo the bow and take off the wrapping, revealing a plain brown box with a lid on top of it.

You open the lid up. Inside, there's a hat that looks similar to AJ's, an orange T-shirt, and another box.

"Look closer at those last two.", Applejack says.

You open the box inside the box; it turns out to be a ring case. Inside, there's a golden ring with a red apple decoration on it.

You then look at the t-shirt: the front of it reads in red letters "Welcome to the family."

"As thanks for your generous services and overall love to us, by decision of me and many others, we declare you a member of the Apple family! This is what you can wear to show that!"

Oh my goodness. This is sweet.

"Wow, AJ! Thank you so much for the gift! I love these!

"And you... you're really calling me a family member?"

"Yup. That's the label ya need. You have done way too much for us Apples to simply be considered a friend anymore. You are part of our world."

"Your farm work isn't just benefiting us here at Sweet Apple Acres; when one orchard has increasing sales, other orchards do too. Ah don't know why, but that's what happens. And with you bein' here, there was faster harvestin', and that meant more sales!"

"You deserve this. What you've done has had such a great impact on us that it makes you one of us now."

You can't do anything but pull Applejack into a big hug. This was sweeter than sweet.

All you can say is the three big words.

"I love you, Applejack."

"I love you too, pardner.", she says as you hug more.

During the hug, you remember that before the accident, you were planning to leave Sweet Apple Acres at some point and find a career of your own at. But now, you have changed your mind on that. Your passion for working on apple farms has only gotten bigger with time. You love it, and can't see yourself doing anything else now. Plus, the Apples considered you a part of their family now! How could you possibly leave?

You say this to Applejack.

"AJ, remember how before the injury happened, I called this a temporary stay?"

"Yeah. Is that still true?", she asks with a sad tone. "Because ah can't bear the thought of losing ya. Ah love you so much, mah friend."

You are heart-touched by this statement.

And with you deciding to stay in the apple business, you're going to melt away that worry!

"Well, AJ, it isn't true! I don't know where I'll be living in two or three months time, or whatever time down the road, but today, I declare working on apple orchards my full-time job."

Applejack is clearly very happy at this. She smiles and hugs you tighter.

"Even if I do end up moving out, I will find a way to incorporate you into my career. I can't lose you either.", you say.

"Thanks, pardner. Ah'd love that."

"I would too, Applejack. No matter how far away I am, we'll always be with each other."

So beautiful.

What a great day this was! In addition to the feelings from the guilt episode having come to an end, Applejack declared you an Apple, and you realized this was your career!

But most of all, you had made a best friend. Not good or great anymore. Best.

"Hey Applejack, I have one more thing to say."

"Yes?"

"You remember how after I got out of the hospital, Twilight declared that we were great friends? Well, I think we have now moved up to best friends."

Applejack smiles.

"Yes. Ah agree."

"Best friends forever?"

"Best friends forever, pardner!"

You and Applejack share a long sunset hug. Granny Smith, Applebloom, and Big Mac look out the window and see this; you two appear in black shadow form right in front of the sun. Absolutely perfect.

The End

Author's Note

And that's the story! Thank you so much for reading; I had an incredible time writing this story, and your viewership and positive feedback has only made the experience even better.

I have to say, I'm pretty sad to have gotten to the end. I had such a fun time writing this story; I don't want to see it go!

But it must. As the story says, all things, good and bad, must come to an end.

However, this is definitely not the end of me writing on this site! This story may be over, but I have plenty more coming! In fact, my next one should be out soon, as it's likely only a one-shot. See you then!

Player 4