//------------------------------// // Repeat // Story: Therapist Visit // by ABagOVicodin //------------------------------// Last, but not least, I have the Element of Honesty, Applejack. Is that who ah think it is? Well howdy there Luna! How are you doing this fine mornin? Hello there Applejack. I am doing just fine. I see you wasted no time with the farm. Looks like you already harvested a decent amount of it. Heh... well ah actually harvested all those trees yesterday. Ah usually start off with the livestock, making sure that they are all ready for the day before ah start my applebucking. The apples can wait for a while. The animals, not so much. Ah just started applebucking. Big Macintosh is off on the other side of the field. We make it a contest. Whoever bucked the bigger half of Sweet Apple Acres usually wins and gives the other a chore to do. Would you like me to help, Applejack? Well... if you helped, then ah would have to call off the contest for today. That’s fine though. Ah gotta go to the other side of the farm and tell Big Mac. Ah’ll be right back. Very well. I’ll be here. … Thank you for waiting Luna. If ah may ask, what do ah owe the pleasure of your visit? Well... I came because I wanted to talk to you about Twilight Sparkle. Ah yes, my alicorn sugarcube. Ah’m so happy for her. And I am as well. I can’t think of anypony else to be a new alicorn princess. … Ouch. Perhaps it would be best if ya skipped on the applebucking, Luna. I’m fine, Applejack. I’ll just stick to using magic. Note to self... start exercising again. I haven’t grown fatter, but I’ve sure gotten weaker... in more ways than one. Thank you for helping me with my applebucking Luna. Ah thought you were too busy to visit me. Twilight has been for the past few days, ah’ve been giving her space so she can get used to being a princess. Ah yes, that is very nice of you Applejack. Hmm... to be perfectly honest with you, I came to visit because there is something that I need your help with. I’ve already asked everypony else and they agreed to it. And what would ah be agreeing to? My sister and I are putting together a surprise dinner for Twilight Sparkle to celebrate her coronation. My sister put me in charge of assigning the ponies to cater and provide the entertainment. I would be honored if you could help Pinkie Pie cater for it. Ah would love to! How many ponies are going? Well we are bringing in leaders from the Griffin and Zebra countries, along with most of the Canterlot elite. So it’s going to have at least a hundred guests. Do you think you can cater for that many? Of course ah can. The only problem is... ah’m not sure the folks in Canterlot like mah baking. Everypony in Canterlot is all hoity toity and fancy. None of them are gonna like the stuff ah bake. I’m sure Hoity Toity would like your baking. Heheh. Ah see what you did there. Do you know when the dinner is going to be? Ah have plans for next month, so ah need to know if it’s soon. Gotta get all these apples bucked and out of the way if it is. Well, the dinner is in three weeks. Do you have any plans in three weeks? Ah... ah do... what day will it be? Probably Sunday. Will you be gone for the entire week? No. Ah’ll only be gone for a day. Ah guess ah can move some of my plans around. This is for Twilight after all. I think she would like that. … If you don’t mind me asking Applejack, what are your plans? Ah... ah’d rather not talk about it... I’m sorry Applejack. I won’t bring it up again. It’s obviously something that’s hurting her. I’ve never seen Applejack make a face like that. Then again... I’ve only seen her a few times. Princess Luna! Hello there Applebloom. You remembered mah name? Yes of course. The Princess of the Night remembers all of her subjects. That’s so cool! Scootaloo told me that you went into her dream and talked to her. Is that true? Yes it is. Can you come into mah dream? When you need me to, I will come into your dreams. I promise. Thanks Luna! Oh ah can’t wait! Ah’ll make sure to have the best dream ever so that you have a whole lot of fun when you come in! Applejack! How are you Sister!? Good mornin’ Applebloom! Ah’m doing well. Just got all the chickens and pigs fed, so you don’t have to worry about that. How are ya doin today? Oh ah’m doin just fine! Last night was so much fun! We built another floor to the treehouse! Ah’m not sure ah want you three adding any more to that thing... It’s okay Applejack! We made sure that it was all safe and stable before we went to paint it! It took the whole day and I was so tired when we finished. Sweetie Belle’s new coltfriend helped us build it, and he asked if he could become part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Yesterday was the best! Ah’m gonna go hang out with them, ah’ll see you later! Wait just a minute Applebloom. Aww... what? Ah swear ah didn’t do it. Winona did it! Ah didn’t even accuse you of anything yet. Oh... right. Did you do the dishes last night like ah told you to? Yep! Did you make sure that your room is clean? Yep! Oh really? If ah go up to your room right now, ah’m not going to trip over something and sprain my hoof again? Ah said ah was sorry Sis! How many times do ah have to tell ya!? Ah’m just joshing you Applebloom. Come here and give your sister a hug. Mmm... ah love you Applejack. Ah love you too Sis. Go talk to Big Mac and see if he has anything else for you to do. If he doesn’t, you can go play. While you do that, ah’m going to go check your room. Wait! What is it Sis? Uh... heh... I think I left something in my room. I’ll get it, and then talk to Big Mac. That’s what I thought. See ya later Applebloom. You too Sis! Sorry about that Luna. It is quite alright Applejack. I’m surprised that you two are so nice to each other. I would think the two of you would butt heads over everything. We used to. Ah used to fight with her nearly every day. She went through this period where she was more obsessed with getting her cutie mark than she is right now. She tried nearly everything, to the point where she was almost severely injured. She climbed up a ladder and told me that she was going to get a cutie mark in parkour. Ah got my rope and right as she jumped off, ah caught her in midair and pulled her towards me. Ah took most of the impact. She broke two of my ribs and ah had to stay in the hospital for a little while, but Applebloom learned her lesson. I’m sorry Applejack. Are you okay now? How long ago was this? Back when she first learned about cutie marks. So... a few years. Ah’m fine now. Nothing can keep me down, heh. Ah have to be strong for Applebloom... for Big Mac... for everypony. There it is again... that look. She has her back to me, but I’m not an idiot. Slouched shoulders, slightly bowed head. I’ve seen that before. Are you Applebloom’s primary caretaker? … Yeah. Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and ah take care of her. Are your parents out of town? … You could say that. Where are they... oh. … … … I’m sorry Applejack. I didn’t mean to bring it up. Good job Luna. Keep depressing the mare that is going to provide the backbone for the catering at the dinner. Keep it up. Ah raised her ever since she was born. Mah mother... didn’t survive labor. They weren’t sure if the baby was going to live either, so they had to operate on mah mother prematurely. They saved Applebloom, but they couldn’t save Mom... I’m... sorry Applejack... Stop saying that. It sounds empty when you say it too many times. What about your f-? Ran off. He couldn’t handle it. Whether it was guilt, sadness, or him being a deadbeat... ah don’t know. The three of us, Granny Smith, Big Mac, and ah all raised her to where she is now. She has mah mother’s brain and my father’s looks. Better than the other way around. Heh... And you stepped up to the plate and took the reins... how old were you? A few years after ah got my cutie mark. Big Macintosh was already able to buck the trees with one leg when Applebloom was born. He knows how to take care of a child more than ah can. Ah don’t know how. It’s like he was ready for it. Mmm. I bet my sister would love to talk to you about parenting methods. What’s that mean? I was raised without a mother as well. … Oh. Ah thought the legends said that the Alabaster Queen gave birth to you two? Indeed she did. My sister was born a few decades before I was. It’s safe to say that she wasn’t ready for me. She was still a teenager in Alicorn years, so she had to grow up quickly in order to take care of me. The Queen didn’t take care of you? She couldn’t. Nopony knows why, but the point is that she couldn’t. I can’t remember those years... but my sister told me it was the hardest point in her life. I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world Luna. … Ah still miss her... oh... ah didn’t even realize that ah was talking this much. Sorry Luna. Ah’m probably making you sad. It’s okay Applejack. Continue. I’d rather you get out these feelings than hold them in. If you say so. You came here to ask me to cater after all, and ah agreed. Don’t you want to leave? You look plum tuckered out. I’m helping you harvest apples. I don’t mind. If you say so. ... Tell me more about your mother. Mah mother was the best. She was smart, athletic, and patient. Ah don’t know how she did it, but Granny Smith told me stories about mah mother and Big Macintosh. He used to be a silent and defiant brat while ah was a filly. Imagine that... my brother... not listening to my mother. Ah never would have thought of that. But every time, she talked with him and got him to agree with her, even though he was a teenager at the time and more stubborn than a mule. Nothing ever upset her. Even when she was in her hospital bed, in pain from labor, she kept a smile on her face. I’ll never forget the words she told me before the doctors pulled me out of the room. “Applejack... you are growing up so fast, I don’t think I can keep up with you. You’re going to become a mother Applejack, and I know you are ready.” Ah told her that ah wasn’t ready to be a mother, that ah was scared and ah needed her. She smiled and told me that my brother and ah were strong enough to take care of her. She said the only thing that kept me from being a mare was my age. She loved me, and she gave me one last kiss on the cheek before I had to leave. Ah still remember that day... clear as crystal. She’s crying... Mah mother was right though... heh. She was always right. Ah just wish ah was as strong as her, as strong as she thought ah was going to be. Applejack, from what I’m hearing, you have shown the tenacity and passion that mimics and possibly surpasses my sister’s. Why would you say that you aren’t strong? Because ah can’t do everything that she can. My mother looked into mah eyes and told me that everything was going to be okay, that ah was ready to be a mother and a mare. She said it without a single tear... without a single crack in her voice. Ah can’t even face my own problems... especially one that is coming up in three weeks. Do you want to talk about it... Applejack? Mah apologies for saying so Princess... but there isn’t anything to say about mah problem. Ah can’t fix it, and neither can you. Ah just have to live with it... again... … Equestria has only gotten more beautiful since you have left Luna. It missed you, just like I have. I’m glad that Equestria was able to flourish without my night... I wouldn’t say it flourished Sister... but that it merely survived. We all missed you Luna... Go ahead and rest Sister, I’ll watch all the sleeping subjects that missed me. … Bye Sis! Ah got my room all clean! Have fun Applebloom. Be back by night time, okay? Alright! … Ah plan to visit a quill pal of mine in Vanhoover. We’ve been sending letters back and forth ever since elementary school. Ah could tell him everything, from what made me angry that day, to the day when ah switched cutie marks with Rarity. Ah wanted him to tell me everything as well, until he sent me a letter yesterday. He’s... not doing well. Is it... curable? … … He’s got Parasprite Fever. The doctors gave him a month... and he wants me to come down and visit him before he... Passes... Yeah... it’s been years since mah mother passed away. Ah’ve held in my feelings nearly every day, just waiting for the time when ah would get over it and grow up. Yet, whenever ah lay down in bed and think about mah mother, ah can’t help but cry. Ah should be over it... but ah’m not. The pain never goes away... it just becomes easier to deal with. Ah try my hardest to hold it in, and cry it out when Applebloom isn’t looking. Ah have to be strong for her, for everyone in mah family. Ah have to be the mare that my mother wants me to be... Ah have to go. Ah want to meet him and say my good-byes. But... ah can’t watch someone die... I’ve already done it once... through a glass window with seven doctors surrounding her... Bite your tongue Luna. … … … Heh... we got a lot of this bucked and out of the way. Yeah. … Luna, if you were in mah hooves, what would you do? What would I do? Yeah. Would you go? Heh. I can’t say that I know exactly how you feel. I’ve never... been through what you have. But I can understand the feeling of loss. I lose my temper, I lose my power, I lose my friends... I lose my therapist... And I lose my place in Equestria. Everything evaporated, before it could be touched. If I’m going to lose something... especially someone as close as a true friend... I’d rather be there for it. At least that way, I will know what I lost, rather than leaving it as an enigma... Uhh... AJ? You doin okay? Ah’m doin just fine Big Mac. Ah’m just thinking about... the future. It feels like merely yesterday I was chewing on apple fritter back at the family reunion. Eeeyup. You sure you don’t want to take a break? You and Princess Luna look tired. I’ll take the rest of the farm for today. Thank you Big Mac. I have a lot of thinking to do. I did what I could... Thank you for agreeing to the dinner Applejack. Have a good day. I’ll send you a letter tonight with more information. Alright. Thank you Luna, for everything. I'm gonna go lay down. … Luna. Hmm? Is mah sister okay? She will be, once you talk to her. … A family wired strong and strengthened from each other’s confidence and loyalty. Losses don’t mean everything, but merely something to build off of. A sister turned into a mother, a brother turned into a father, a sister turned daughter, and a grandmother that helps hold it all together. I couldn’t be happier for them. ~ Sister, are you there? Your door's unlocked. It always has been Luna. Please come in. ... I believe you have heard enough my therapist. Have a good night. … … ...