Finally! It's now Saturday, one week after the accident, and you are about to be discharged from the hospital!
Had it really only been a week? It felt like almost a month!
You had been screaming for this day. Being in the hospital was so boring. You were not only stuck in one building and one room, but also in one place! You were unable to leave the bed, and boy, did that suck! Laying in one and only one place for seven straight days; couldn't go out and see a bunch of ponies; couldn't work, no Internet! You couldn't do anything except read, sleep, and wallow in pain.
It didn't really matter to you that you'd still have a broken leg and have to ride in a wheelchair. You were just desperate to be anywhere other than that bed. Even with a major handicap, going back out into the world was going to be such a relief. Such a perk-up.
A perk-up that you would experience in just a bit! With more, too!
Yesterday, Twilight had sent you a letter letting you know she and Pinkie Pie were going to surprise you and Applejack outside the hospital, and that she had told the staff Applejack would be coming to walk out with you. Sounds great!
Per Twilight's recommendation, Applejack's next thing to do with you was not talk about the accident or the surrounding guilt. What you were going to do was play. Have fun. It's important to feel your sadness when a sad thing happens, but you have to let happiness in too. Today, you were trying to dedicate to happiness. It was unclear if Twilight and Pinkie Pie, or anypony else, would tag along for your first activities outside the hospital, but no matter who else was involved, there would be no sad talk today.
What was that first activity going to be, though? Neither Applejack nor you had thought about it.
However, you'd have time to think about it. Applejack has arrived at the hospital, to wait for Twilight and Pinkie with you.
"Howdy, pardner! Today's the day!"
"Good morning, Applejack! Yes, today is the day!"
"What do ya wanna do first?"
"Well, given that I'll be in a wheelchair, things like going around town or attending a festival, I think will be too hard to do. I'd like to start with something stationary, like a restaurant or a play."
"Since it's mornin', how about we go out for breakfast?"
"Sounds great!"
Well, looks like your work was paying off. Applejack came into the room happy! She greeted you with excitement, and was eager to know what you'd be doing today!
Before you went to breakfast, Twilight and Pinkie were waiting to surprise you with something.
Your nurse comes up to your room and announces your release. "Alright, Twilight and Pinkie are here! It's time!"
You squeal in excitement, although successfully keeping it quiet.
Your leg has gotten better enough that you can put a little bit of pressure on it, but the hospital staff are still trying to not have that, so there's a bit of operation with regards to getting on the wheelchair. You slide from the side of your bed onto the seat, with your nurse carefully holding the broken leg as you slide it onto the board that will hold it up.
Boy, did it feel great to finally be out of that bed! But it also felt a bit weird; since you had been there for so long, you more or less lost your touch with the outer world. It felt strange to be in transportation; it's like you were having to re-establish the feeling of it to your mind. You anticipated having to re-establish other things too, even though it had only been a week.
How could you possibly describe the feeling as you were being driven through the hospital, getting closer and closer to the front door? Honestly, you felt like two swirls going in the opposite direction.
As you were sent out the front door, your time in the hospital having turned its last page, there are Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike too, whom you didn't know was joining, in front of you. "Surprise!", they say in unison as Pinkie Pie's signature cannon makes its signature noise and shoots out confetti. But it wasn't rainbow confetti like usual. Instead, it was all red and pink. Why? It wasn't Hearts and Hooves Day...
That question is quickly answered when the trio open a box and reveal a cake. The cake was pink, with red icing-drawn hearts, red petal drapes, and... an icing decoration of you and Applejack hugging!
"This is a friendship cake! I made it to celebrate the bond between the two of you! I noticed in the talk at the castle how Applejack reacted when she found out you were a friend, and I had been told about how great you two had been doing! And all that happened in spite of this hurty-hurt terrible accident! You two are amazing together!", Pinkie exclaims.
"Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, declares that you are not only good friends, but great friends!", she adds.
Oh boy, you were not prepared for this! You knew these two were sweet, but how can you describe this level of sweetness?!
Your eyes are watering, and you look over and notice that Applejack's eyes are doing the same. The two of you quickly pull each other into a cake-sized hug.
The other three react with emotion.
These feels are great, but you eventually have to come out of them. As you do so, you remember that you're pretty confused about why you had received this cake.
"Twilight, Pinkie, Spike, why this? Like, I'm grateful, this is awesome, but... I didn't expect something on this level!", you say.
"Simple! This accident, as bad as it was, has a good side! It has made your friendship stronger!", Twilight responds.
You get this, but Applejack does not.
"How so?", she asks.
"Well, look back to the beginning! You realized upon causing your friend injury how much you cared about them! Isn't that right?", Twilight says.
"Yeah. That is right.", Applejack responds.
"The excessive guilt is not a good path, and we're working on that, but a bit of remorse is good, because it shows that you're a great pony and you love the one you hurt! One bad thing doesn't negate the good things!", Twilight says.
"Indeed!", Spike adds.
"How many times before the injury happened did you guys say "I love you" to each other, or hug, or have close, one-on-one moments together? I certainly don't recall any!", Pinkie Pie says.
"From what I can remember, none!", you say.
"Ah think that's correct! Ah just realized; the time ah first came into the hospital after ah hurt ya; that was the first time ya ever pet me. Even if ah was cryin' mah eyes out, ah could still tell it felt good.", Applejack says.
"And then we did it more!", you add.
"Yup."
"As Pinkie said, I also don't recall a time you ever had close, heart-to-heart talk before.", Twilight says.
"Well", you respond, "there was this one time where Applejack told me on a work break that she would feel distraught if anything bad happened to me. Which is very ironic, given that she said that literally minutes before the accident. But aside from that, yeah, that was really the first heart-touching thing any of us ever said to each other. We said "thank you" and "great work" before then, but we never really spent time one-on-one outside of work during that period, no."
"No, we really didn't!", Applejack says.
"And then the hugging! You said that you never pet Applejack before the injury, so I'm guessing you didn't hug either?", Spike says.
"No, we never hugged before either! I mean, we sometimes did a few small things, like after we finished a task we would hoof-bump, or hoof-and-fist-bump in this case, since I'm a human, but nothing more than that!"
Twilight smiles.
"Do you see what we're getting at here?", she asks.
You and Applejack look at each other again, with more watering eyes.
"Yeah! The accident revealed our feelings for each other!", you exclaim.
"It really did!", Applejack says.
"And that's what this cake is for," Pinkie Pie says.
Applejack steps onto your lap and pulls into a giant hug. This hug is even better than the one you had at the end of the big talk last Sunday, because you two have fully realized how great of friends you are! You can feel each other. Your hearts are smiling. This is an unexplainably tender hug.
...Until it gets interrupted by a growling stomach. You couldn't tell whose it was, but that doesn't matter, as it occurs to you that you still haven't had breakfast yet.
Twilight giggles. "How about we go to Sugarcube Corner? Spike and I will come too; we also haven't eaten yet."
"Sounds good!", you say. "Let's go!"
What an event that was! A cake, out of all things, led to a talk that caused you and Applejack to accurately record your friendship thermometer! The things you had been doing with each other because of the accident were displays that the scale was rising! And you hadn't realized it before! Indeed, the injury had led to a good thing! And you made sure to tell that to Applejack, as she didn't believe it before. She had brushed off this kind of thinking as "making light of a bad situation." You had agreed not to talk about the accident earlier today, but it seems like that rule has been nullified now. Thanks to Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike, any talk about it now only led to more love. So you let it go.
"Now do you see it, Applejack? Bad things do lead to good things, and it's not downplaying to say so!"
As you hoped, she now agrees.
"Yeah, ah do see it now", she says. "Seeing the bad in the good... leads to more friendship!", she says as she rubs her face into yours.
"Aww...", you say, petting the back of her neck.
This day was already so thrilling! But you weren't stopping there, oh no! You were now at Sugarcube Corner, with a breakfast that consisted of the friendship cake, pudding with sprinkles, and a cereal called Strawberry Surprise. The cereal looks ordinary at first; just a bunch of pink balls. But when you bite into it, a splash of very strongly flavored strawberry cream lands on your tongue. It lives up to its name!
This was not the kind of breakfast you were used to; you were more of a fruit, toast, and grain cereal eater at this time of day. But you were at Sugarcube Corner after all, and you easily considered today special! If what just happened wasn't special, then what is?
This kind of sweet treat easily added more joy to the day. Plus the fact that you had interesting conversations with the other three. Pinkie Pie was sharing some new recipes she and the Cakes were trying out. Spike told a story about mistakenly spicy tacos that caused an... interesting dinnertime. He had unknowingly put hot salsa on them, rather than medium. Oof.
Then, Twilight revealed the results of the talk she had with Applejack yesterday. The two of you had given her the go to talk about it, saying the "no sadness" rule had been deactivated. Twilight had nothing but positives! She had answered AJ's main question of why forgiving herself was important, and it worked. Applejack walked out ready to do happy things, which is what you were doing today.
"I always knew you were the master of research, Twilight!", you say.
Twilight has trouble accepting compliments; she daintily waves a hoof at you. But you understood.
It's now the end of breakfast. This was all you had in mind to do with Applejack. But the day was far from over; you couldn't stop here.
"So, what do you wanna do next, pardner? Ah'm looking forward to rest of this day!"
She's looking forward to it, and talking like that? Oh, you definitely couldn't stop here! You think it over for a while, eventually coming up with something. But you want to be sure if Applejack is okay with the circumstances.
"Well, first, I'd like to ask, would you prefer to do things one-on-one with me, or can we invite others into more activities?"
"Ah'd like to spend time with just you at some point, but there's plenty more time in this day. We can do another activity with somepony else for now; why do you ask?"
"Because I was thinking of doing something with Applebloom. I haven't seen her in a while, and I think spending time with your sister would be good for you."
"That's a great idea, pardner! Ah'd like to do somethin' with my little sis too! It is a weekend, but... she might be crusadin' right now."
"The CMCs leave a note on their clubhouse door if they've gone out; we'll just have to go back to Sweet Apple Acres and check."
"Okay, let's go there and see!"
You were willing to do this, however it was a bit of an annoyance, having to go all the way back out to the farm. You'd be taking a carriage, which does have handicap commodities, but still. If this place had Internet, all you'd have to do was send Applebloom a text.
On the other hand, there's a possibility that her phone would be dead, or she wouldn't notice. Or maybe she would have forgotten to bring the phone.
Maybe there was some beauty in living in a place without Internet, after all. You came to the thinking that paper is probably more reliable than screens, even if it is slower.
Anyway, you said goodbye to Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, and the Cakes, thanking them for the amazing breakfast, and hop on the carriage to go back to the farm.
Applejack remembered on the way that you indeed hadn't seen her sister in a while. With Applebloom often being at school or out on a crusading mission, she was at the farm the least out of the four Apples. Not to mention that she didn't do a whole lot of farm work, so you never really saw each other at that time. Back when you were working, you only saw the filly during dinner, really. Then came the week-long hospital stint that Applebloom never visited. She knew about what had happened, but you were guessing she was a bit scared to see someone in such condition; it would be distressing, and she wouldn't know what to say. In fact, you were thinking that's why other ponies didn't visit either, which you understood. They also were probably busy; they were still doing their jobs.
But that was whatever right now. You didn't want to think about that hospital stay you had just gotten out of. What mattered now was seeing if Applebloom was available.
Upon arriving at the apple farm, you and Applejack don't have to check on the clubhouse door. There's the yellow filly right there! Out in the grass by herself, playing with balls. She explained that Sweetie Belle was visiting Rarity, and Scootaloo was bungee jumping. So there was no crusading today.
And she agreed to join the two of you on your outing. On to more fun!
Here you were. You and Applejack, with Applebloom, had decided to go out to the playground. You couldn't play, of course, with the broken leg. But what mattered to you today was seeing Applejack in a positive state. That was your "mission" to be "accomplished": making sure the pony who drowned herself in guilt has a good day.
It turned out great! Applejack had joined her sister on the playground at certain times, bringing back the lighthearted side of their sister love. The past week, it had only shown its deep side, which was important, but starting to overtake. Upon the dawn of this severe guilt period, Applejack could not play. Not one bit. And Applebloom missed that. As much as she took pride in comforting Applejack; she missed the old days. She missed her smiling, giggling, playful sister. But here was that version of Applejack now! Playing games with Applebloom led to nothing short of that.
After the games ended and Applebloom went off to play on her own, Applejack also showed progress by socializing with ponies outside her circle again. This benefited you as well; seeing as how you were stuck in the hospital for a week. And you loved it as expected! Ponies were telling stories, talking about what they've been working on; pretty much anything that wasn't about guilt and trying to rid somepony of it, which you were happy to take a break from talking about.
What you found interesting, however, was that very fact. Nopony was bothering to talk about the accident. And since your situation is clearly visible, with you being in a wheelchair and having a cast on, they must know what had happened if they were going to not talk about it.
You ask if the news of the accident got out to the public, and a yellow and green-maned mare named Raindrops said yes. But she told you not to worry; the news was reported by Big Mac, with permission from Applejack. Nopony was doing the Gabby Gums style of sneaking around looking for "juicy" stories and irresponsibly spilling them out. Those days were long gone.
With all else that was going on, Applejack had forgotten to tell you this. But here she was to explain it now. She said she decided to let the news go public because of how much Ponyville has changed for the better when it comes to this. Not only did the city residents no longer enjoy gossip, but they also had stopped creating "news frenzies" where they swarm around a subject and bombard them with questions. Applejack was confident that ponies would be sweet and caring, which they were. You asked Raindrops why you never received any hospital visits other than the ones from Applejack, and she said:
"We didn't want to overwhelm you. We thought that too many visits would be stressful, especially with the fact that it would all have to be scheduled and timed. We wanted to keep you as comfortable as possible."
You were touched by this display of care, but more visits would have been good. You wonder why you never invited anypony else. But whatever; your time in the hospital was over, and you were seeing other ponies in the present. That is what mattered. You tell Raindrops this, but assured her not to feel bad, saying the above.
In other news (no pun intended), you even got to meet a new pony: a lavender and blue-maned mare with dolphins for a cutie mark. This is Sea Swirl. Applejack had met her before, but never really mingled. So there was another addition to this great day! You even invited Sea Swirl to join you at lunch, loving the way she spoke and what she would speak about. A marine biologist, she talked about the residents of the sea in a way that could be made into a book. Who else talked about the sea like that?
As for the meal itself, it was nothing short of delightful. Looking back, you did not find the hospital food to be very good; it always lacked in flavor, or was way too slimy, or just wasn't a food you enjoyed, or whatever combination.
You picked out a cheese and lettuce sandwich; Ponyville sure knew its stuff when it came to this food! Coming out of what you got in the hospital; it felt surreal to eat something like this. You had also picked the right cafe; you were at the one with the mushroom seats, which is the most recognizable cafe in the city for a reason! You could taste why it was so popular!
Applejack also seemed really satisfied at lunch. You weren't sure if she had tried to punish herself by reducing consumption of foods she enjoyed during the early days of this whole thing, but it sure seemed like she had, given how much she was loving this.
Which adds on to her growing pile of positives that have been happening.
Applejack, having gotten to play with her sister, meet a new pony, have a great lunch, and be with you, was having a wonderful day. The damaging distress of the previous days was nowhere to be seen at this moment.
The other two eventually went off and left you and Applejack to be one-on-one. You decide to go back home, running out of ideas on what to do out in the city.
You arrive back at Sweet Apple Acres, still unsure of what your next activity is.
"What should we do now?", Applejack asks.
You come up with something.
"How about you do some exercises, like say, track and field? Exercising releases feel-good chemicals in the body, and I'd love to watch you run and jump. Applebloom seems to have a lot of fun watching it."
Applejack likes this idea.
"Sure. Ah'll do some of that."
Applejack went back to exercising after a week-long hiatus. Probably one of the longest hiatuses she's ever taken from exercise. She was slightly out of practice, hitting the wood and stumbling a few times, but it was still a spectacle. Seeing this farm pony run and jump made you admire her even more, as you loved seeing athleticism.
Afterwards, Applejack sure did feel the endorphins.
"Wow! Thanks for the suggestion, pardner! That felt outstandin'!"
"Way to go, AJ! I had fun watching that!"
You hoof + fist bump her.
Then a bell rings.
"Ah think it's time for dinner now. Come on in."
"Oh yes!", you respond.
As if breakfast and lunch today weren't great enough, you got to finally have another dinner with the Apple family. You didn't realize until now how much you missed those while you were in the hospital. Dinners at Sweet Apple Acres were what Applejack said to describe how her exercises felt: outstanding.
The dinner only served to make the fact that Applejack was doing great today even more true. She laughed hard at a funny story that Applebloom told. She was talking about apples and food in the way she used to. There were no tears. No "I can't let go of this" statements. No self-punishment.
Applejack was happy.
Everything today... was amazing. You had been released from the hospital, received a delectable cake that then led you and Applejack to finding out the extent of your friendship, went out to go socialize with ponies, and got to experience delectable, satisfying meals again.
But most of all, Applejack was better. She was no longer producing tear waterfalls. Nor was she ready to go off the grid. She was not sad. Today, she was great. Your mission had 100% been accomplished.
However, we must sadly cover the sunshine now and break some bad news: "today" must be recognized as the key word of that sentence.
"What?! It's not over yet?!"
Unfortunately, no. As previously mentioned, the path to recovery is not a straight, consistent-speed line. It is a bumpy road. By the time you had left for your bedroom, leaving Applejack by herself, she started to replay the injury scene in her mind. That caused the guilt to start creeping back up. And sadly, Applejack does not yet realize that this is normal. Nobody had mentioned to her that a path to recovery will have waves of sadness and happiness.
But on the bright side, the guilt wasn't nearly as bad as before, and she knew what to do. If she was still feeling like this tomorrow, she would go and talk with her friends. And she was able to calm herself to sleep by replaying the powerful words told by you and the ponies already.
And today's result shouldn't be downplayed at all. Recovery going well; No doubt about it. But unlike your hospital stay, Applejack's guilt term has not quite seen its end yet. There is still work that needs to be done.
Tomorrow, who will do that work, and what will it be?