This Isn't a Sad Letter

by not plu

Dear Princess Celestia

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m sorry I haven’t written in a while. I guess I don’t exactly learn anything Princess-worthy every day. I don’t really think the others do either -write letters that is- but I haven’t exactly talked to them in a while. You can understand why.
I... don’t want this to be a sad letter. I don’t think you need any more sadness in your life, and I’m good too. So this is just a normal letter. I was actually reading some of my old ones a little while ago- when I was cleaning out the attic, and my favorite one is still what I wrote to you after those stupid Cider-making phonies came to town. Gosh, I sure was feisty back then, wasn't I? Reading that reminded me what it felt like to be young again. How amazing that was. To walk down the street and know everypony. To fight over trivial, stupid things with Dash. I really miss that. Sure, we had our grand adventures and learned lots along the way. But somehow fighting those monsters feels easier than everyday life sometimes.

Applebloom got her cutie mark yesterday. I guess that’s why I’m writing you. I thought you’d want to know that. You liked her, right? I can’t even remember, funny. Well, you’d definitely like her now, anyway. Everypony does. She’s so kind and is always looking for anypony to help. And she’s so pretty. Any new pony coming into Ponyville would think she'd come straight out of Manehattan. She’s a lot like her mother. Our mother. I‘ll have her write you the whole story about it. The little blossom made me promise not to tell you, and I can’t exactly break a Pinkie promise.

Winter’s come a bit early here. Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement. We completely skipped fall! I guess the weather ponies weren’t on top of their game. They haven’t really been since Rainbow left. Anyway, there were still apples on the trees when the blizzard came. Well, it wouldn’t be the Apple family way to let all those apples wither up all sad on the trees, so we had to pick them all before the snow got too bad. We were running around like madponies picking the apples and getting them inside. And of course, Granny Smith immediately wanted to make a pie, so Applebloom and her got to work, but I just sat at the window and stared at the snow and breathed in the cinnamon.
I’ve been... remembering a lot lately. There’s a word for that, isn’t there? Twilight would know. How’s she been doing, up there in Canterlot?
Actually, I don’t want to know.

I’ve been trying to forget, I really have. Like you said I should. Everypony else did, but it’s hard. It’s hard, Princess. It’s hard when falling leaves remind you of races and storms remind you of sleepovers and pie reminds you of... well, her. And it was easier, like you said it’d be. But then I started remembering. I can’t even control it, like flashbacks or something. Before I met everypony on that fateful night, I had no idea how hard it must’ve been for you for all those years. I didn’t really get it until recently, really. It’s hard. I can’t think of any other words for it.

I’m also writing you because I have nopony else. Everyone else is gone. Nopony understands how hard it is, except for you. I thought you’d understand. Even with all my family around and plenty of work, it’s still lonely. I can’t exactly forget the best years of my life. Not on my own at least. And that’s why I need your help. You see, I’ve been dancing around the issue, but-

No. I don’t want this to be a sad letter. But it’s hard to write a happy letter when everything seems exactly the opposite. I'm sorry.

Last night, after we were finished celebrating Applebloom's cutie mark, I went upstairs to go to bed as usual. It was especially cold, so I decided to get an extra

Buck it, enough complaining. I’ll finish what I started saying up there. I'll just cut straight to the point.

Applebloom had to do a project on magic for school a little while ago. She chose to focus on new spells and such, and she gave her presentation to me as a test. It was a very interesting project, but one thing that stood out to me was a new memory spell that’s just been stabilized. Apparently only very powerful unicorns can perform it, and... you see where I’m going with this.

I really hate that it has to end up like this. I thought I’d be okay. That I’d be able to forget. I was wrong. Every single day is a struggle to get through without an emotional breakdown. And I know that I’ll miss all the good times, but right now, it’s mostly pain that comes with those memories. The bad ones and the good ones. I admit that I’m not sure if you’ll agree to this, but you have to understand that I don’t have any other options. I’m all alone.

So I’m pleading, for me and my family and the others, to help me. You're all I have. They won’t care. They all got out, they all forgot. It’s just me. Please, Celestia. For everything I’ve done for Equestria. You owe it to me, sort of. But really, you have to understand, Princess, I need this.

I just wish there was a time spell.

Your faithful student,
Applejack

Author's Note:

I don't think I can write anything happy (:

This story now has a prequel (ish), which you can read here.

Comments

[IwuvWoona]

Subtle, I enjoy subtle. The end was great! Keep writing!

[FruitMaster]

This. This. This is THE BEST 1-1.5 K story, err, letter I've ever Read on this site. Ever. And I've read a lot. This was brilliantly executed and felt like I had somehow gotten this letter from Celestia and was reading it. The only part I didn't quite understand was Apple Bloom and that memory spell. Help? Anyway. Never leave your keyboard, because I will always need more from a writer of your prowess. *bows*

[not plu]

3619165
Oh my goodness, thank you. This honestly the nicest comment I've ever received! Don't worry, I won't stop!
The only clue I'll give you is that Applebloom and the memory spell are in no way connected. I like being enigmatic.

[FruitMaster]

3619240 The only advice I can give is to add a bit more to a story and don't just shoot for the 1K mark and call it done. I've seen too many brilliant plots fall to a lazy writer (no pun intended). This was great at exactly 1K, and if you write better that way, great! In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, it beautifully developed each character and made a plot arc smoother than a baby's bottom in only 29K words which can be read in three hours as I have proved. I hadn't seen a writer pull that off until I read this masterpiece. I'm still trying to get over this. I haven't read anything else you've written, but I will.

[GameHunter]

I'm confused...

[Queen Cookie]

LOVED IT!!!!

[not plu]

3619311
Can I help?
I will admit that it's designed to be rather confusing.

[GameHunter]

3619320

I loved the letter, it was awesome. But, I found myself trying to imagine the prior goings on that lead to this letter. I couldn't concentrate so well on the current events :P

I'm not criticizing, at all. It's just my silly brain

[not plu]

3619368
I'm glad. That was intentional. I was my intention to make the reader feel sort of like Applejack- dwelling on the past, and trying too hard not to.

[FruitMaster]

3619385 Absolutely brilliant.

[GameHunter]

3619385

I can honestly say that I've never read a story that's made me actually stop and try to figure out what had happened It's a nice change of pace from the normal set plot line.

[Ninjadash]

MOAR!!!!!

Please tell me there will be more!!

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!!!!

[not plu]

3619517
Probably not, sorry! I might be persuaded to change my mind eventually, though...

[Firewire]

Amazing!

[Ninjadash]

3619526
please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

[not plu]

3619804
Maybe. If you don't spam any more "please"

[Hot Dog Jones]

Man, some of the best writing I've read today. Love the reminiscing, the subtle hints, making you wonder what happened. It's stuff like that that makes you really think, and what makes a story different for pretty much every reader- and you executed it perfectly. Well done.

Favorite, upvoted, and watched. Keep up the good work.

[Eden]

... WTF?

It's so good... but I'm a little confused

[Nevel]

Ahh :( Poor Applejack. Can't imagine what went so wrong between her and her friends. Nice writing Plu, hope to see more from you :)

[Pen Brush]

maybe write a prequel to this explaining what happened and the reason she wants to forget Twilight?

[Infinite Carnage]

From the writing, my best guess is after they lost the elements, perhaps one of them died (Pinkie I bet) and they all just went their separate ways. Dash joins the Wonderbolts, Rarity's career takes off and she moves to Canterlot, Twilight takes over more responsibility in the monarchy etc. This is just a theory though, but I suppose her life has suddenly become so mundane that she simply can not cope with it anymore, and would rather just forget her glory days.

[wzium]

Poor Applejack It was absolutely beautiful. I think that you portrayed her character very well. She always care about her friends and couldn't just forget about them and their adventures, even if she should. She must be really desperate, if she writes a letter for Princess. Applejack isn't usually the one to ask for help.

(sorry for my english)

[Carbuncle]

This isn't a sad letter AJ? Then why am I close to tears?

[not plu]

3621695
That's along the lines of what I had in mind. I never actually decided on anything specific about what happened to anyone else, to prevent that from leaking into the writing too much. I love that people are coming up with their own theories!

[enamis]

Strange. Yet lovely... And I love how you made it exactly 1000 words

[Infinite Carnage]

3622240 I figured one of them would have to take a dirt nap to actually break them up.

[Sinful Pickle]

*gives you an enormous ice sculpture made of my tears* Good job, these were because of you.

[not plu]

3623965
Aww, thanks! Just curious, was it you who put this in the feels group?

[Sinful Pickle]

3624592 My feels. My feels made me do it.

[Lag Incarnate]

I think I'm broken, because this made me smile. Then again, this isn't a sad letter.

[Dark_Rosin]

Yay I'm the 50th like!

[BadTouch]

That was profound, plumander. You're really excellent at creating an entire narrative in a reader's head while leaving much of it unsaid. I tend towards the OCD end of the completionism spectrum so it's difficult for me to accept, but this is good.

So thanks for that.

[Selbi]

I don't get it. However, "Pinkie promise" had me gulping.

[Super Trampoline]

I don't see Applejack as being one to have her memory swiped. I think she's stronger than that, and a lot more honest with herself.

[bobbananaville]

4610242 Something happened that made Rainbow abandon Ponyville. That made Twilight leave her friends. Pinkie's name is crossed out, so she's gone too.
Something happened that was so bad that Applejack wants to forget.
I don't think it's that far reaching that she'd abandon her element.

[YoshiFawful64]

5147418
Your profile pic goes wonderfully with that comment.

[ShadowKing1992]

Honestly, I didn't understood anything.

And yet, it's so sad.

[ObabScribbler]

[not plu]

10836938
oh hey thanks for this!
...also props for finding a nearly decade-old story to read hahaha

[MixMassBasher]

How interesting! The sadness AJ feels of her friends drifting apart.

[LITHX]

Hey! I just want to say how much I enjoyed this fanfic. I want it to go into other languages too, so I made an Spanish Translation! I hope that's fine with you, I can remove it without trouble if not

https://www.wattpad.com/story/366758579-%C3%A9sta-no-es-una-carta-triste-this-isn%27t-a-sad