Flash forward two weeks after the disappearance of Applejack, Rarity was sitting down in a therapy session with Starlight Glimmer. Rarity was definitely nervous and weighed down by the recent event.
You see darling there's just something that I really need to get off my chest it's just that I can't tell Sweetie Belle about any of this and she's been asking me for the past week as to what happened to Applejack. I have no idea what I could tell her I really don't want to lie to her and I already feel like I have anyway even if I haven't said anything. And if that's not bad enough all of my dresses and creative ideas are suffering due to this heat which is positively unbearable if I didn't already mention that before. It's just been bugging me that I can't do anything about this and I'm not sure there's really anything I or anyone else could give Applejack to make her better.
"Besides the antidote that Twilight is going to give her... Or at least try to, anyways; but you mean after all of this is over, right?" Starlight commented.
Yes dear, you see the other day I was talking with water shy and she brought up a question of how applejack was going to accept the fact that she killed several creatures. I mean yes the obvious argument is that she was not in her right mind but I feel that argument can only go so far and Applejack would still be left with a guilty conscience. She still disobeyed Twilight's...Well actually she said to only use the potion as a last resort. I also wonder how in Equestria her sister is going to take this news without being left broken in a way that can't really be fixed, but I guess all of us will have to cope with this.
"You've told me before the you tend to struggle with criticism?"
I do, you see sometimes it can be hard for me to separate constructive criticism from non-constructive criticism, sometimes. If I could vent for a moment...
*Starlight nods*
You see a lot of artists, I know go through artistic despair and stagnation brought on by self-imposed impossible goals. This is particularly for those who do trades. We all have a "vision" for how something should be accomplished. However, depending on who you are doing a project for and/or with, the flexibility to compromise can be truly difficult. This typically leads to excessive/negative self-critique coupled with an implicit fear that what you do may never be enough to satisfy those you thought your talents were perfect for. What I took away from my talks with them was how truly important it is to be open and for continued communication, especially when one or more ponies are participating in any sort of project. The more artists/creatures positively involve themselves the better they are in position to give positive feedback that benefits everyone involved in bringing something together. This is why, when coping with my limitations, I try to do multiple iterations of my plans. The more involved I get, the more excited I am and the more criticism can hurt.
"I see, go on."
I just hope that AppleJack gets proper criticism and learns from it and does not act aggressively towards said critics and that I can be a good example of someone who is dedicated, but can take criticism about my work and give criticism as well. I hope what I said made sense and you got my point.
"I think that I do." Starlight said looking at her clipboard of many notes. She continued, "I recommend that you tell your sister about AppleJack and be as direct as possible with her and AppleJack. Please, let me know if want to schedule something next week."
I will.