//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: But Applejack! 
// by Drizzle Quill 
//------------------------------//

		"You don't understand, Applejack!"

The orange earth pony smiled in a bittersweet sort of way, ruffling the filly's candy-apple red mane with one hoof. "Ah think Ah understand just fine. You had a difficult day at school. It happens to the best of ponies. Be brave and strong and get through it, Apple Bloom, and you'll do just fine."

Apple Bloom pushed her sister's playful hoof off of her head and stomped her front leg down, amber eyes narrowed in anger. "But Applejack!" she whined in such a loud and troubled voice Applejack had to flatten her ears against her head to block out the volume. "You don't get it! She called me ugly, an ugly pony who lives in a mucky old farm! She called mah bow 'horrid' an' mah mane 'yucky,' an'...an'..."

Her voice lowered at this, almost to an inaudible squeak. "...is she right, Applejack? Am Ah...ugly?"

Of all the questions in the world, Applejack hadn't expected this one.

It had started out as a pretty normal day.

Applejack had been minding her own business, trying to figure out when the next apple harvest should be, when all of a sudden there had been a sound like thunder; this had actually been Apple Bloom, arriving home from school, slamming the door open, and cantering upstairs as fast as her little legs could carry her to collapse into her bed and cry her eyes out. Applejack had put the schedule to the side and had gone to tend to her little sis...

...and now this was happening. A talk was coming that could never have been avoided. Applejack had just hoped it would have come later rather than sooner. But it was inevitable.

"Apple Bloom, sweetie," Applejack cooed, taking her place in the bed by her sister's side. "Which filly's gone an' done this to ya?"

The reply was muffled; Apple Bloom's head was buried in a pillow. "Diamfond Fifarfa." 

"You mean Filthy Rich's gal?" The mare squinted into the distance, as if trying to remember a far gone memory. "Shoot, she's always seemed like such a nice little filly."

"She's not," Apple Bloom replied sulkily, before her body shuddered again with silent sobs. "She's ruinin' my life, an' Ah'm not even sure if she's telling the truth or not!" 

As she continued to speak, her voice rose higher and higher until it was nothing but a squeal; once again, Applejack covered her ears, trying to drone it all out. "Apple Bloom, she's tellin' you a lie, an' that's the honest truth."

Rolling over, the filly stared up at the ceiling, amber eyes avoiding contact with her sister's concerned green. Her next words were slow and thoughtful, as if she had considered saying them for a very long time. "But what she said...wasn't it true? We do live on a dirty old farm… and mah mane is a little bit messy…and mah bow is just the littlest bit torn up..." She sniffled pitifully, as if afraid to go on.

Applejack sighed and lay down next to her sister, so they were staring up at the ceiling together, like both were looking for Luna's constellations somehow hidden in the plaster and wood, dancing mischievously among the brightly colored paint. Slowly she reached one orange foreleg around the filly and drew her close, rolling her over just a little bit so that she could whisper in her ear. 

"Now listen here, Apple Bloom. What Ah'm about to tell y'all is common knowledge, somethin' everypony should listen to and keep close to their hearts, ya hear?"

Clearly trying hard to suppress her tears, Applejack felt a tidal wave of relief wash over her as Apple Bloom nodded, amber eyes conveying more emotion than she could ever speak in words.

It wasn’t easy to find the right words. All their life, the parent figure in a family dreaded having this talk with their child. In this case, there were no parents, Celestia and Luna bless their souls, so Applejack was the closest thing Apple Bloom had. Though it felt as if she had been preparing for this moment her whole life, at the single moment in time she actually needed to speak them, Applejack was horrified to find that words failed her.

Apple Bloom simply waited, as if challenging her.

An intake of breath. Then Applejack spoke.

“It’s true that some ponies are very beautiful. They have pretty manes, or pretty eyes, or silky coats, or gorgeous wings, or some other fancy word that Ah don’t bother myself with.”

“Like Rarity?” Apple Bloom asked quietly, hardly a peep.

“Yes. Like Rarity.” Applejack smiled before continuing. “However, even if a pony is very, very pretty on the outside, that doesn’t always make them very, very pretty on the inside.” She watched for Apple Bloom’s expression to make sure her sister was following and stopped when it seemed the filly was drawing a blank; it could be seen in her eyes - the plain confusion. “You got it, sis?”

“Ah’m not sure,” Apple Bloom replied tentatively. “Snips says Diamond Tiara is very pretty. But even if she’s pretty, she’s..." Her face scrunched up as she tried to interpret what her sister had told her. "...not always pretty?”

Applejack nodded encouragingly. “Even if Snips thinks Diamond Tiara is pretty, that may be true. But what about her heart?” 

Apple Bloom stared blankly.

“Ah’ll try this a different way.” Applejack thought for a second, and then her green eyes lit up. “Got it! Alright, Apple Bloom. Say you were lookin’ at Diamond Tiara’s heart. Would you imagine it bein’ pretty, like the outside of her, or ugly, like how she acts to you?”

The answer seemed to come on instinct. “Ugly, o’ course! Hairy, with lots and lots of worms in it to show that she's rotten inside.” The idea made Apple Bloom giggle, even through her tears.

Applejack smiled. "Do yah see now? Even if a pony is pretty, she might have an ugly heart."

Apple Bloom stared off into the distance, considering this, before turning back with yet another question, which Applejack welcomed gratefully, feeling like she was really helping her sister out in this scenario. "But what if a pony is pretty and has a pretty heart? Like Rarity? Is that possible?"

"O' course!" The mare snorted. "There are plenty of combinations o' pretty an' ugly, an' they all can work. Even a pony who might think that she's ugly, even if she is the prettiest little sister in the world," she poked Apple Bloom playfully in the chest, causing her to snort excitedly, "can have the most beautiful heart anypony did see." 

The tears had finally stopped, and Applejack exhaled. All that talking had tired her out; but that currently wasn't important. The important thing was: had she done her job? Had she succeeded in that task that all parents dreaded until it came? 

Had she done alright?

And judging by the way Apple Bloom flew at her in a warm embrace which was heartily received, yes, she had. 

"Aww, come 'ere, sis," Applejack whispered into her sister's ear, feeling the warm touch of skin on skin and the cold touch of wet tears on her fur. "It's alright. It's okay. To me, you're beautiful with a beautiful heart, and," she said, honesty ringing clear as a bell through her tone, "that's the best you can be."

Silence for a few seconds; then Apple Bloom looked up, teary-eyed, a grin on her face. "Thank you, Applejack."

"No problem. Ah'm just callin' it how Ah see it." And she meant it, too. She really meant it, from the bottom of her heart. Something told her Apple Bloom knew that, and she was grateful.

There was silence for a moment; silence that Applejack welcomed. It was just her and Apple Bloom and nopony else, tightly locked in an embrace that seemed to last a lifetime, before Apple Bloom burst out giggling.

Applejack looked down, confused. "What is it?"

Apple Bloom snorted through her tears. "Ah'm just imaginin' a heart with a bunch of worms in it." She burst into a fit of giggles again, causing her whole figure to shake up and down against Applejack's body.

Her sister grinned. "Maggots," she teased; this caused the filly to squeal with laughter.

"Beetles!"

"Spiders!"

"Wasps!"

"Honeybees!"

"Snakes!"

"Flies!"

By the time they had finished, both sisters were lying on the bed, exhausted from laughing so hard, and completely out of breath. They stared up at the ceiling, at the constellations hidden in the plaster and the paint, and once more there was silence. A good kind of silence. A satisfying, Applejack-you've-done-your-job kind of silence. Said pony closed her eyes in relief, relishing the clearness of it all. 

It was broken by a single word, spoken by a snickering little filly.

"Mold!"