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!