The blaring of an alarm clock launched Applejack forward. Her heart was hammering in her chest and thumping dully in her ears as she sputtered for breath. The world didn't exist beyond that clock and the drumming. With a breath, it came back to her, and she rose to sit on the side of the bed, cold sweat running across her back from the sheets. This wasn’t a surprise to her, and she’d come to expect it in the week following the fire. What was a surprise is that she managed to sleep through the whole night without jolting awake sporadically.
Sunlight streamed in from the window beside her. She had missed the sunrise, something the rooster used to wake her up for. Outside was a view of a quiet city just waking up, as seen from the fourth floor. Applejack rubbed her puffy eyes and silently noted as the bits of nothing in her eyes scraped across her eyelids. Twilight called it rheum, but Apple Bloom always called it dream dust. The blonde’s lip quivered when she thought of her sister, but stabilized once she put her fingers around the ring Rainbow Dash had given her. The thought of her wife always grounded her, and this ring was that thinking objectified.
“Babe, would you shut that thing off before I smash it?” Dash’s voice caught her off guard. One of the only things to survive the fire was the ring she’d given AJ, along with the clothes on her back. Besides that, the only thing she had left of her farm, and who made it home, was the memory.
Applejack paused as she turned her head to oblige her wife, staring down at the wooden floorboards beneath her. They were only a few feet from where she sat on the bed, but they felt miles away. And there, at the bottom of it all, tucked away in the corner was…
Dash’s fist slammed on the beeping box, and she eyed Applejack with an accusing glare, ready to scold her for intruding on her sleep. It fell when she saw the burns engulfing the left side of her body, and her breath was lost when she saw her glassy green eyes. “Woah there, AJ. Pack it in,” Dash cooed, as she pulled Applejack into an embrace.
Applejack didn’t hesitate to bury herself in Rainbow’s chest, and Rainbow didn’t flinch as she stroked her hair and whispered encouragement in her ear. This was life for the couple, and, though the pain would dull eventually, but right now, it was fresh and stinging. The wound needed attention, as much as Dash could provide when she wasn’t working. The life of a reserve Wonderbolt most of the week took a lot of her time, and the volunteer firefighting on the weekends swallowed up even more. But in those moments she could spare, she did so for Applejack.
The Applejack that Dash knew didn’t die in that fire, but she was encircled in those flames. She often needed to be reminded to eat, to shower, to brush her teeth, and even to get out of bed. It wasn’t that Dash wanted to pretend like nothing was wrong, or that she was rushing her into recovery. Just that she recognized things would get worse if the farmer neglected to take care of herself.
They had said vows of ‘for better or worse, in sickness or in health, and for richer or for poorer.’ A bond forged in love, and even though things were worse, AJ was much poorer, and her health was deteriorating, that love remained. As Rainbow stewed in her thoughts, a flash of motivation struck Applejack. “Dash,” Applejack sniffled, “How did you become a firefighter?” The source of her misery was a fire, and her closure may lie in their extinguishment, or so was her thought.
The rainbow-haired tomboy was taken aback. The look in her wife’s eyes was of steely resolve and determination among a field of reddened irritation. She started before clearing her throat, “Look AJ, it’ isn’t as simple as -”
Applejack’s grip around her tightened, pulling her closer in. “I mean it, Rainbow. Show me the ropes.”
Dash shook her head, sitting upright and taking her wife along. “Pump the brakes there, cowgirl. I’m all for you getting back out there in the world, but are you sure you wanna start so soon? The training and fire academy take a really long time, and then that’s not even counting getting hired.”
AJ’s fingernails buried into Dash’s backside, and she meekly whispered. “I don’t wanna hurt anymore, Dash.” Tears formed in her eyes as her voice cracked. “And I don’t want anyone to hurt like me.” Among all the emotions noticeable, hesitation was not one of them.
“Okay, okay. I don’t want to discourage you or anything. But are you really sure that firefighting is what you want to do after…?” She let the question hang. It didn’t need to be completed, nor did she want to finish it. “Not that I’m doubting you either, it’s just…” She let that hang too.
“I know you ain’t, and I know why you would if you did. But Dash…” She closed her eyes, water streaking down her cheek. “I’m tired of feelin’ sorry for myself. I’m tired of just sittin’ here stewin’ when I could be out there helpin’ people. You’ve seen it, you’re probably tired of it too. I don’t like needin’ help takin’ care of myself any more than you do takin’ all your spare time to help me. It ain’t fair, and it ain’t right!” Her embrace tightened, and she rested her head on her wife’s shoulder.
“Easy there, babe. I don’t mind taking care of you, you’d do the same for me and more.” Rainbow rubbed her back with tattooed arms, lightly scratching as she traced a path up and down. “You’re being too hard on yourself. No one is expecting you to make such a big choice in your life like that.” She picked up her fingers to quickly snap for emphasis.
Applejack pulled from the hug, looking into her wife’s magenta eyes. “Granny used to…” She slammed her eyes painfully shut and her mouth flattened into a line. “Granny used to say that pressure made diamonds.” Her tone wavered, but that look of determination never left. “I can sit here for two more months and feel the same as I do now. And how many people do you think will…” She fell back into Rainbow’s chest.
Dash felt Applejack’s chest heave, each sob a hot breath sinking into her, and every tear a warm liquid impact just above that. It hurt to see the love of her life so pained, but it was on a completely different level to actually feel the sadness on her physically.
“I don’t know, AJ. I know I save people too, but I know that’s not the answer you want.” She felt a tear grace her own face. “If this is really what you want, I’ll see about getting you into the fire academy. If you decide that you don’t want to do that, there’ll be no -” A kiss interrupted her.
“I won’t let you down.” A warm smile spread across AJ’s face, accompanied by happy tears. “I’ll never let anyone down!”
“Oh yeah?” The saltiness from Dash’s own tear sunk into her smirk. “Well you’re gonna have to kiss better than that to get into the academy.” She was promptly tackled into the bed.
***
Applejack looked at herself in the mirror in the bathroom of the fire station. The past months had been an obstacle course of emotions she’d successfully cleared, and a trial by fire that she’d passed through unscathed. In the reflection was a firefighter, dressed in a plain white top and fire suit pants. Pride overcame the former-farmer in the form of a tender smile. It was a new place in life that she carved out of ash and scars and rubble for herself that she proudly stood atop of.
On her feet were weighty boots issued by the department, a weight that she carried not just on her feet. For in that pair of footwear, much like the firesuit and breathing unit that came with it, was the burden of the city. More than that, it was the pressure of honoring her family’s name and using their memory for something beyond herself. It was a pressure she put squarely on her own shoulders.
A blink turned the girl in the mirror from tough and determined into scared and burned. Soot and dried blood caked her face like a cruel abstract painting. Her clothes were in scorched tatters and when she raised her left hand, it was hideously burned. Behind stood all of her family, watching on through singed, eyeless sockets. The heartbeat in her ears started up again, and the room closed in on her as her breath fell short and labored. Dread washed over and tears rushed to her eyes. She clasped her hands around her head in a desperate panic, just a moment away from letting out a shriek when there was a knock at the door.
“Hey, Applejack, the hamburgers are done. I left the cheese off yours cause you’re weird like that. How are you holding up? You’ve, uh, been in there a while.” Another blink dispelled the terrorizing illusion, and only she remained.
“I,” The blonde cleared her throat and straightened her shirt out in a futile attempt to forget what she saw. “I’m doin’ fine, Dash. Just a bit of nerves, that’s all.” If she told Rainbow about what she saw, all of what she’d worked for would be for nothing. Beyond that, the self-imposed responsibility to rescue anyone she could wouldn’t dissipate even when she took off the uniform, or gave up the profession. It would only increase, like a boulder falling deeper towards the bottom of the ocean.
“It is only your second day, so that’s normal. But hey, I won’t be here tomorrow with you. You think you can handle it by yourself?” Her voice was faintly muffled by the door, but it sounded like it was on another planet.
Applejack struggled to keep her breathing steady as she continued staring into the mirror, heart still pounding away and hands trembling on the side of the porcelain sink. Her wife’s voice barely registered and her lips quaked, as she searched for an answer. Somewhere in those emerald eyes must lie her confidence, some point on her shriveled left hand a solution, or in the pitfalls of her gut some courage. Something, anything, to help her.
“Ah, who am I kidding? You’re a freakin’ inspiration. You’ll be fine!” There it was, the thing she needed to find. The trembling in her hands ceased, her lips stilled, and her pulse leveled off. The relief didn’t come from this one phrase, but rather from who spoke it. Dash had always been the one to fish the stone from the bottom of whatever lake it threw itself in. In that moment, Applejack went from a submarine trench to a beach and had been taken there not from that solitary comment. Rather, the months of comments that her wife had come to uplift her with.
On one hand, she was relieved that she genuinely felt better, even if it was only for the remainder of the shift. On the other, this comfort was perched at the peak of a mountain and threatened to careen down. She couldn’t be seen carrying her trauma, lest she lose her job. It was terrifying to know that she was at the top of an emotional summit because the fall down would kill her before she reached the bottom.
Steps started clicking away from the door, but AJ stopped them. “Hey, Dash.” She drew a breath in, her chest swelling with air and spirit.
“Yeah? Don’t tell me you can’t do it. C'mon! You went through training without me, and that meant going into buildings that were actually on fire.” Applejack could practically feel the pride ooze from her every word. “You can do it, it’s no different than your- “
“It ain’t nothin like that.” Applejack opened the door and held the identically dressed Rainbow in a loose embrace so that she could still see her face. “I just don’t think I told you how much I love you.”
“Uh, yeah you do, every hour of every day.” A smug grin flashed across her face.
“And you know I’m always sayin’ there ain’t enough hours in the day.” She leaned in, but a voice called from across the room. There, standing in one of the two open sheet metal garage doors pushing around a broom under humming overhead lights was Second Wind, the Engineer of the station.
“You two mind getting a room? Preferably after your shift ends and in your own house.” He ran a hand through his spiky orange hair, wearing a smirk only youthful arrogance could provide. “It’s only an hour from now, anyway.”
Dash responded by pulling Applejack tighter towards her. “Is that any way to treat the grillmaster?”
“Sure is when she’s pulling a PDA in front of me.”
Applejack laughed, “Oh yeah? Look Dash, Judge Wind’s gonna throw the book at somethin’ he’s pretendin’ not to like.”
He chuckled, leaning into the handle. “Now I didn’t say that. I just outrank you two and I just wanna follow the rules on the clock. Off the clock, though…”
“Dash, would you get him?” Applejack grinned, breaking the embrace.
“Sure thing, I’ll get him while he’s eating, won’t see a thing.” She drew a line on her neck with her hand. Before any assassination plot could be carried out, the siren blared out from all corners of the station and interrupted her.
Applejack’s fragile confidence shattered as her stomach fell through the concrete flattop beneath her. Her first day on the job was nothing except cleaning and the occasional exercise, and kitten rescue. Not that she didn’t mind playing the local cat fetcher, but it wasn’t exactly fighting fires. Applejack’s second day would have been the same if not for the current call to action. Rainbow was right that she had faced actual fire, and trained under realistic conditions, but that was always with a team ready to pull her out or otherwise remove any danger from the scene. There was no one there to do the same thi-
A hand smacked down on her shoulder. “C’mon babe, let’s go to work.” That’s right, it wasn’t just her. She’d be right beside the love of her life, and an entire crew of veteran firemen. This wasn’t the time to be doubting herself. This was the time to swallow the uncertainty and replace it with guts and grit.
It was time to be the hero she signed up to be.
***
The engine’s siren drowned out reality, and the only things that existed were what the lights touched. Applejack would’ve forgotten her own existence were it not for the weight of her firesuit. Each breath drew fresh air from a tank on her back, and the flashes above her reflected off her closed helmet.
Applejack clutched the side of the truck as though it grounded her to the world. A million emotions swam through her, flowing over each other and reaching boiling points in one patch, only to freeze on the opposite end. Bravery and doubt clashed in a bout of sparks on the battlefield at the bottom of her stomach.
Standing out among the blanket of darkness the night provided was a beacon of fire. Among this backdrop of black and orange stood three figures, one smaller than the others. Sorrow joined the clash. Among that portrait of an inferno was a fourth figure: Applejack herself. It wasn’t long ago that she was standing where they were, watching as her home and her family disintegrated before her eyes.
The engine came to a sudden stop, causing the blonde to lurch forward before instinct and training took over. She leaped from the side, axe in tow. The call had detailed that a little girl was still trapped inside, a call that Applejack answered. Her legs felt like they were made of concrete and lead, her breath was short, and her vision tunneled. Only the door was in sight as she soldiered past the family calling to her. A tug at the bottom of her suit caught her before she entered.
A little boy stood there on the sidewalk leading into the home. Tears streamed down his soot-covered face from swollen, pained eyes. Indeed, he was staring at Applejack, but Applejack was staring down into an ocean of despair that reflected her face. It was a familiar look, the one Applejack had given the firefighter she stopped in her own doorway months ago. A swallow drowned every emotion warring within her, all except bravery. That’s what this family needed, but more than that, it’s what Applejack needed. Applejack nodded to the boy and took her first step into her real career.
The instructions were simple: She was in her room, the second door on the left. The execution was textbook: she didn’t need to ventilate, as the front door was doing just that, and she likely wouldn’t need to break down the door. As simple as opening the door and escorting the girl outside.
Her boot stepped through the doorway of the burning house but landed in the memory of the farm. Among the fog of smoke taking up all the air was the fires that made it, and the fires that were eating away everything. It crawled across the wooden floorboards, up the hallway walls, atop each stair, and every picture and possession. There are no words for the emotions that swam through Applejack. Much like her reflection, a blink cleared away the mirage. “Second door on the left.” She colorlessly commanded herself.
Instinct took over her body as she pulled herself to the left, ignoring the smoldering carpet beneath her, and the furniture eroding away in flame beside her. The fire on the carpet in the hallway she ducked into were like ravenous snakes, consuming all in their path. Passing the first door, she could hear the yelps of a dog being incinerated. There was no mention of any pet in the call, and it sounded terrifyingly like Winona. The dog was an afterthought when she exited her home. It occurred to her the next day that she’d forgotten about her, and that if the canine wasn’t with her then, she must’ve not made it.
“Second door on the left!” The end of the hallway came crashing down, she had to hurry.
Applejack could feel the sweat on her shaking palms as she stood before the plain white door. It was a towering alabaster monolith that mocked her as flaming tendrils carved out sections of the floral wallpaper alongside it. Terror consumed her, but her reflexes remained as she reached for the knob. It didn’t turn. The flames were now licking at the bottom of her boots, the tongues of destruction threatening to engulf her whole.
Once again, training took the reins of her, this time her voice. “Alright, sugarcube.” Grief washed over her from the lips down. “I need you t’ stand away from the door. I’m here to get you out of there, but I don’t wanna hurt you, ok?” No response but her pulse accelerating. She gulped, her mouth dry. She swung her axe at the handle, and as it connected with wood chips flying from it her heart panged.
“Why was it you?” Whispered Granny Smith in her ear, contempt dripping from each word. Another axe blow, another set of splinters sent hurling from the impact.
“Nope. It don’t seem right, Applejack. Why’d you get to live?” Accused Big Mac, from her other ear. Applejack shrieked as her tool connected again, nearly clearing through. Electricity surged through her muscles, and the serpents were now sinking their fangs into the legs in her uniform.
Applejack heaved her axe up and threw her full strength into the now dented steel knob. With a cruel clang, it shot towards the burning carcass of the carpet, and with a kick, the door blasted open to reveal a little girl, standing in a small clearing of a bedroom with fire on either side. It was a layer of smoky mist that obscured her, but even through the helmet and breathing apparatus, Applejack could hear her wails as she approached.
There, sitting beneath the haze and sniveling, was Apple Bloom’s corpse limply staring back at her. There were no eyes, only sunken in char where they should be. No skin, only blackened reminders of a tragedy. In her jaw hung gruesome charred teeth, at least to the top half that did remain. The only indicator it was her sister was the red that was her bow fused into the scorched remnants of hair atop a singed head.
Applejack slammed her eyes shut, propelling her arm forward, reaching out for whatever may be in front of her, and when she opened them, a little girl in a white dress stared back. She was clutching a teddy bear as though it was the only thing keeping her alive. The girl’s eyes pleaded to get her out, and Applejack was more than ready to oblige. Applejack blinked, and the girl became her sister.
As she walked through the door, the room behind her now consumed in the blaze, Apple Bloom regained features. First, her bow reshaped itself on her decaying face, then her skin came back out of the hallway, but her shriveled sockets remained. Then, once she crossed the doorway, to the outside, there was Apple Bloom, beaming and healthy. Applejack smiled back, tears forming in her eyes.
Her sister ran to join the family on the curb, who readily accepted her with open arms. Applejack turned around to see the rest of her family in the farmhouse window: Granny in her rocking chair with Winona sitting just in front of her feet, and Big Mac smiling and waving. Another blink transformed it back into a smoking building being bombarded by water. With each drop of pressured water hitting the fire, she felt lighter.
And as Applejack looked to the family on the edge of the lawn, she saw herself when Rainbow Dash came to comfort her on the lawn of her home. They were holding each other and crying, thanking whatever powers may be that they were still together, even when they’d lost it all. Applejack hadn’t lost all but the ring Dash gave her, because she hadn’t lost Dash. The same way this family hadn’t lost everything, because to them, each other was everything they needed.
Applejack couldn’t help but wave back.
***
“Hey AJ, you want yours nuked?” Called Rainbow from the kitchen, a tinge of frustration lacing her voice that she had to even microwave the burgers from earlier that night, and not eat them fresh off the grill.
“Uh, sure. I am a little hungry.” Applejack was reliving the memory of her first real night on the job, but somehow the replay was less painful. It was as though all fear and danger had been carved out the recollection, stretching as far back to her first encounter with fire. The last thing on her mind was food, but it was still there.
“Sure you are! You should’ve seen yourself come out of that house! It was awesome! Like something out of a movie.” Her voice was accompanied by the beeping of the appliance. It grew closer as she spoke again. “Anyone doing something as awesome as that’s gotta work up an appetite doing it.”
Applejack waved her hand at her wife as she came into the room, a plate in each hand. “It wasn’t that ‘awesome’, I was just doin’ my job.” The blonde wasn’t much for lying, but she was for modesty.
“Just doin’ your job?” Rainbow started, her mouth full of reheated beef. “Cmon, accountants ‘do their jobs,’” she air quoted with her free hand, “But you were a freakin’ hero!”
Applejack placed her hand in Rainbow’s. “Babe.” Her steely gaze made her wife pause. “You don’t have to compliment me to make me feel better. I am better.”
“Oh yeah? What’re you gonna do if I don’t stop?” Dash’s grip in AJ’s hand tightened. “You think I forgot that kissing requirement to get in?”
“Dash…”
“I’ll tell the chief tomorrow morning, I’ll do it!” She smirked, unaware of the temperature of the room that revealed the writing on the wall.
“Dash!” The air sucked itself from the room, letting only tensity remain. Rainbow gulped. “I know you want me to be brave and all, but don’t you think you’re makin’ my head too big?”
“Whaddya mean? I’m supposed to sit back and say nothing when my wife’s being incredible?” Her hand didn’t ease its grip.
“That ain’t it, sugar.” AJ’s gaze remained unbroken. “It’s just that… Well, you’ve been liftin’ me up for so long, that I’m too high up. I’m scared a’ fallin’.” A sniff tore through the silent apartment.
Dash interlocked her fingers with the blonde’s. “You know why I do that?” Another sniff was her answer. “Because I’m so damn proud of you, AJ. I didn’t know I was makin’ you scared to fail, I thought I was reminding you of your success.”
Applejack’s vision became glassy and cleared it as a warm droplet ran down her face. A droplet that Rainbow gingerly wiped from her face. “Rainbow, what if I froze up tonight? What if it was ‘cause of me that girl died?”
“Where’s this coming from, babe?” Rainbow took her turn in sniffing, a tear cascading down her face. “You saved her, and you’ll save other-”
“I saw Apple Bloom tonight.” Applejack’s voice was coarse.
“You saved Apple Bloom tonight. I saw you waving to the window.” Rainbow’s was coarser.
“What if she dies again!? That’s my point! That’s my whole point, Dash! You make me out to be some savior when they stressed it a thousand times in training that I can’t save ‘em all. I don’t,” She choked, “I don’t want to lose her again.”
Rainbow set the plate down with a quiet clatter and put her arms around the firefighter. They trembled in each other’s embrace. “You won’t lose her again, you know why?”
A shuddering, shaking sob was her answer.
“Because you’ve already lost her, AJ. She’s gone. And it wasn’t your fault.” A waterfall escaped from both eyes. “It wasn’t your fault, you hear me?”
Another set of tearful tremors.
“I won’t tell you to let go, cause it isn’t for me to order. You need to make that decision. But before you do, I need you to know, you prevented another Apple Bloom tonight. You saved a family from being torn apart.”
“What about their…” She wailed, head firmly in her shoulder. Rainbow could once again feel the familiar hot breath of her wife’s sobs. “What about their stress? Their trauma?”
“Out of your control, babe. You did all you could, and you know what? That’s all anyone asks of you, and you have the ability to go above and beyond even that!”
“I… I love you, Rainbow.”
“I love you too, Applejack. You’re a hero now, ok?”
A tear dripped into the blonde’s smile. “I wouldn’t go that far.” A nervous chuckle escaped.
“Come here you! Now I’m serious about that kiss requirement!”
***
Applejack flinched as the mouthwash ran through her teeth and stinging pain flared across her gum line. It was a new brand that Rainbow Dash had gotten, quoting her dentist that it’d be better for her. Applejack hadn’t really paid attention to the specifics of it. The particular ingredients of mouthwash weren’t important to the blonde. As long as it worked.
It was part of a nightly ritual she’d become accustomed to. Brushing, flossing, washing her mouth out, and brushing her hair along with popping any stray pimples. Dash always called her an egghead for having them, but would always run away when Applejack aimed them at her.
AJ looked herself in the mirror before clicking the bathroom light off. Among the exhaustion, there was pride. A blink didn’t change the image, nor did it add any new faces. A smile flashed across her face as she left for the immediate bedroom.
The space was sparse with any decorations, save for a few posters for the Wonderbolts with Dash on them. No light shone anywhere, except the dingy glow of the small television Rainbow owned. Applejack had always slept in silence, but her wife always had to have some sound going in order to sleep.
Applejack slipped under the covers and cozied up to Dash, who instinctively put her arm around her. On the screen was a field of dirt festering with insects, not particularly a new sight to the once-farmer, but not exactly the most relaxing image. “What’s this now?”
“It’s a documentary. I think the title was like, ‘what lurks in your garden.’” She wore a cocky smirk as she glanced down to her wife. “Why? You afraid of bugs?”
“I ain’t scared of ‘em, I had to deal with critters like that every day, y’know?” Applejack stiffened and retched as she felt something crawling up her back. Upon looking back, it was only Rainbow’s hand using every finger to mimic a bug.
The smug grin only grew on the tomboy’s face as AJ grew squeamish. “Yeah? What about critters like me huh?”
“That’s different.” She playfully punched Dash’s shoulder. “I like dealin’ with you.”
“Well, bummer you don’t get to endure me tomorrow, huh?” Rainbow was really asking two questions. Given the emotions from earlier in the night, her worry was a moment like that happening without being able to help.
Applejack recognized the second question layered in that one. “Oh, I think I’ll be just fine, zap apple. What was it you called me? Hero?”
“Yeah, something like that. Don’t go getting a big head on me, the last thing I need is for you to float away.” She pulled AJ in for a kiss. “Now get to sleep, you have work tomorrow.”
Applejack settled beneath the covers, her eyes facing the window and the sleeping city outside. “Don’t you too?” She remarked, wearing an invisible smile.
“Yeah,” she replied facetiously, “But I can always sneak a nap in.” A quiet laugh broke between the two, ending in a yawn from either.
Within moments, Applejack drifted to sleep. The type of slumber that wouldn’t have any intruders, be them from her own memories or from any outside disturbance. The kind that Applejack hadn’t had in a long time. A full eight hours before she would have to face twelve of them on call tomorrow.
The firefighter had faced her demons on a field of hellfire and prevailed, and in doing so had prevented any such hauntings from invading the minds of someone else. Rainbow Dash had called her a hero, but it would be a while before Applejack accepted it herself. In her mind, a hero is as she does, and while she had done before, she had not done enough. There may come a day where she looks upon her actions with satisfaction, but until then, the word ‘hero’ will never be used in a self-diagnosed way. It will be a word found only in the mouths of those saved, and those remarking upon her deeds.
Author's Note
This was a piece I worked very hard on, and though it was from a speedwrite where I blew a mental gasket halfway through, I prevailed (even though it didn't place high) and remade it here. 
I hope the interactions came through for the better, even though the pacing was a touch off, and overall made a good piece! Even with flaws, I like this story. No story is flawless, and no person is flawless either. During the writing of this, I had to relearn that early lesson in writing, as I felt immense pressure to make it perfect in and out. Pressure may make diamonds, as the saying goes, but pressure can also make for collapse. I believe it was the stoic philosopher Epictetus who said that adversity brings strength, as the you after conquering or merely surviving the adversity is stronger for having beaten it. Or a more modern translation: "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." However, a counter to this is that too much adversity grinds you down, and what didn't kill me then, could soften me to be killed later.
Either way, getting off of my ramblings, I hope you enjoyed! And I want you to let me know that you did, and what you did! Thank you all, dear readers!
