//------------------------------//
// Aftermath 
// Story: Aftermath 
// by badassgrunt 
//------------------------------//

	
SNAP!


Applejack stood in shock at the limp body, slowly swaying. The thing had just killed herself. Right in front of her. She couldn't believe it. Suicide was unthinkable in Equestria. And Applejack just saw something commit it. Applejack shook her head. No, that can't have happened. He had to be alive. She moved to the front of him.

He wasn't alive. His eyes were already starting to glaze over, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. Applejack opened and closed her mouth. His last words ran through her mind. What he said...that hadn't happened to him, right? He...he couldn't have been resorted to eating from the trash. Ponies couldn't be that cruel. He had to be lying.

She stared at his grimy, unkempt beard. At his horribly skinny body. At the hair that had started to fall out. Applejack put a hoof to her mouth, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. He didn't lie. She...she had to get him down. She reared up on her hind legs, struggling to undo the knot. She eventually succeeded, and the body fell limply to the ground with a disheartening thud.

She could still save him. She could still fix this. All she had to do was get him breathing again. She turned the cooling body over onto its back. She struggled to remember how to do CPR. She pressed on his chest, "C-c'mon. D-don't do this..."

She stopped her compressions and looked to the human's face. His neck was tilted at an unnatural angle. She couldn't save him. And it all was her fault. She let out shuddering sobs as she realized that they did this to him. Ponies made him kill himself. 

She...she had to get out of here. Before anyone saw. She got up and started to trot away. She looked back at the deceased human. She couldn't just leave him there. That was horrible. How could she think of just running away, leaving him to rot?

She went back. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she struggled to lift him up over onto her back. She managed to succeed, but it was awful to feel someone's dead weight on their back. His legs dragged on the ground. She had to get him to the hospital. They would knew what to do with the body. 

Her body felt numb. She just made someone kill themselves. The human's last words kept bouncing around her head. Why? Why didn't they be friendly? What had been so bad about him? The more she thought back, she couldn't think of a single reason why they acted that way. He didn't do a single thing that was hostile to them. She remembered the first time she saw. Applejack stumbled to her knees and let out another sob. She said such horrible things to him for no good reason. They all treated him like an animal.

She struggled to get back up. She went out of the farm, thankful that she didn't see her family. She didn't, no couldn't, deal with them now. She reached town, and tried to ignore the whispers and pointing as she walked to the hospital. She passed the door. She collapsed in the waiting room, more out of sheer sadness than exhaustion. 

Applejack looked up at a nurse that was nervously approaching, "P-please do somethin' wit' him..."

"We...don't put animals in the morgue."

Something sparked in Applejack. Rage, "HE'S NOT AN ANIMAL!" she screamed at the nurse, cowing her. Applejack put her head back down on the floor, crying, "He's not an animal..."

The nurse reluctantly took the human's body in her magic and went away. Applejack didn't know how long she laid there, crying. She was thankful nopony tried to talk to her. She didn't think she could. She eventually found that she couldn't cry anymore. She got up and numbly walked back to her farm. She needed to do something. Anything. So she did what she did best, besides making someone kill themselves: buck apples. 

Her mind wasn't really there as she robotically did the motions. That's why she didn't hear Twilight Sparkle speaking to her, "Applejack!"

Applejack shook and looked at her. She was too tired to be angry, "Whut?"

"Are...you alright? You've been bucking the same tree for the past minute," Twilight looked at her worriedly. That ticked Applejack off to no end. She was worried about her friends but couldn't worry about what possibly could be the loneliest thing in Equestria. Was.

"Ah'm fine."

Twilight stared at her for a few moments, "Celestia is coming to Ponyville today to visit. Remember?"

Applejack remembered. And she wondered what their ruler would say at the human's death. "Ya want meh ta come?"

"Of course. She likes you. She likes all of us,"

Again Applejack wondered if Celestia would if she learned of the human's death. Would she execute them? That was unheard of. Then again, so was suicide, "'kay."

Applejack followed Twilight. They followed her to the library. She saw the others were already there. Applejack noted that they were oblivious as to what Applejack saw. Applejack sat down and quietly waited. Rarity noticed this, "What ever is the matter, dear?"

"Nothin'," Applejack couldn't help but snap at Rarity. 

Rarity was about to open her mouth again when the door knocked. Twilight rushed to let Celestia in. Celestia smiled warmly at them all, "It's good to see you all again."

Celestia sat down with them and they started to have tea. Applejack took a swig from her cup, not really caring at how hot it was going down her throat. It needed alcohol. Celestia looked around, "Where's Jason? Will he not be joining us?"

The ponies looked at each other, "Who's Jason?" asked Pinkie.

Applejack grew cold. Jason. That was the human's name. She didn't even bother to get his name before his death. It made Applejack sick to her stomach.

"The big tall thing? Why would you want a monster at tea?" asked Rainbow.

Celestia blinked at the sudden hostility directed at the human. She was about to ask to clarify when Applejack spoke, "He's dead."

Celestia slowly turned her head to Applejack, "What?"

"He killed himself," Applejack replied in a hollow tone.

Celestia blinked at her disbelievingly, "Why-"

"'cuz o' us," Applejack didn't care if she was killing herself. As long as she took her so called friends down with her, "He killed himself 'cuz o' us."

Celestia shook her head, "This is not a very funny joke, Apple-"

"Ah ain't jokin'. He's in th' hospital morgue. Hopefully."

Celestia stared at her before suddenly standing up, "Come with me. All of you." 

The ponies looked at each other before hesitantly following. Applejack was right behind Celestia. They reached the hospital quickly because of Celestia's pace. She went to the front desk, "I need to see Jason Wright's body."

"Who?"

"Th' human," said Applejack. The mare blinked, still understanding. Applejack huffed, feeling anger, "Th' 'animal' Ah brought in last night."

"Oh. That thing," the mare said before motioning them to follow. They reached the morgue and the mare showed them Jason's body, which was in the middle of the room. His legs hung over the edge because of his size, "We were about to bury him because he was too big.

"Leave us," said Celestia as she looked at the covered human. The mare flinched at the cold tone and quickly did what she was told. Celestia lit her horn and removed the covers on Jason's face. He was pale, lips blue. Celestia stared at him for what seemed like hours before finally speaking, "Why?"

"Wh-why what?" stammered Twilight.

"Why is Jason Wright dead?"

Rainbow Dash leaned towards Applejack, "That thing has a name?" 

Applejack had to restrain herself from caving Rainbow's face in. Instead she spoke, "Like Ah said: 'cuz o' us."

"That's preposterous. While as...horrible as this thing's death is, I fail to see how we are responsible," said Rarity.

Applejack gritted her teeth, "That's 'cuz we treated him horribly. We made him kill himself."

A shocked silence ran through the ponies. Fluttershy, amazingly, was the first to recover, "Wh-what?"

"Ya'll heard meh. Ah watched him die. An' Ah didn't do a buckin' thang."

Celestia stared at Jason's body while this conversation occurred. Once Applejack was done speaking, she herself spoke, "I need to Applejack to come with me."

Celestia strode out of the room, Applejack following. They walked down the hallway for a few feet before Celestia suddenly stopped, "You saw this happen?"

"Eyup."

"Then you seem to be the best pony for me to tell this. I am beyond disappointed. I sent Jason to Ponyville to have you all make friends with him. And what did you do?"

When Celestia didn't continue, Applejack answered, "We alienated him."

"This was beyond alienation, Applejack. This was hatred, pure and simple. Are you happy with how things turned out?"

Applejack started to cry, "N-no..."

"Really? With how you treated him, I'm surprised to see you say otherwise. Did you know he couldn't go back to his home? He left his friends and family for what he thought was a better life. They had a show about us, the humans. It was about you girls and all your adventures. Understandably Luna and I didn't believe him at first. But then he told us about your adventures, adventures he couldn't possibly have known about. He was so eager to be your friends. And you turned him away in the worst way possible."

Celestia stiffened before sighing, "I don't want to hear from you or your friends ever again. Don't try to contact me or my sister; I'm cutting off all ties to you girls. Don't worry about your reputation, I won't say anything. It'll be like Jason never came here. You can tell your friends, " Celestia spat that last word, "of my judgement. If any of you try to come to Canterlot, you will be arrested and sent back home. Goodbye, Applejack."

With that Celestia left. Applejack stared blankly ahead, mulling over the conversation. Applejack heard Twilight's voice behind her, "Applejack? What did Celestia want to talk to you about? Where is she?"

"She don't want ta see us none," Applejack slowly said, "An' neither do Ah."

Applejack walked out, leaving her friends confused. Maybe they would understand what they did. Maybe not. Applejack didn't care either way. She went home and did what she did best: buck apples.