Dear Diary...

by Brony4L1fe90

The Whole Truth (Entry #5)

Dear Diary,

I hate to put you through so much drama ever since I met you…I feel like all you ever had to listen to was me complaining about all that I’ve stressed myself out about, or all those sappy feelings I’ve had for my friend, Applejack. It must be tiring, isn’t it? I know you’re always okay with listening to me…not like you have a choice in the matter…but I thought maybe I’d start with some facts that I learned today in some of the new chemistry books I got ahold of instead. For example, did you know that hot water actually freezes faster than cold water? Amazing, isn’t it?! And how about the fact that helium can’t solidify? You see, I always thought that any element could solidify if it was under the right temperature and pressure, but…

…I’m boring you, aren’t I? Alright, well…let me just get to today. Yes, I was very stressed about the whole ordeal with Applejack’s hat, but lucky for me I realized something very important today, and, well…it all started when I ended up seeing my friends today, when a couple of them were playing this odd card game…

* * * * *

“…but you have to wait until your next turn before you can attack. That’s because they all have ‘summoning sickness’.” Rainbow Dash explained.

Twilight nodded in response. She was partially understanding this foreign card game that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were starting to play with each other, the three of them sitting at a table by Sugarcube Corner.

“Oh! Unless it’s hasty!” Pinkie Pie commented.

“She means it ‘has haste’, Twilight. It’ll say so on the card,” Rainbow Dash clarified, then showing a card to Twilight as an example. It was a red card that had a picture of a goblin on it, the word “Haste” being the first word in its text box.

“I don’t understand, the whole game is all about trying to attack each other with monsters? Why would do you such a thing?” Twilight asked, her ears lowering from the idea.

Rainbow Dash planted a hoof into her face, groaning. “Twilight, that’s just part of the game! You’re not actually hurting anypony in real life, you just win the game by doing enough points of damage to the opponent. I thought you might have liked the game, considering it’s called MAGIC,” she said, emphasizing that last word, as well as flipping over the card to show its back and pointing out the large letters on the card.

Twilight sighed in frustration. “Never mind. Anyway, what plans did you two have for today?”

“Well…we were just hanging here and having some cupcakes when Lyra came by and showed us this card game,” Rainbow Dash said, “and she gave each of us a deck to play with, so we’ve been doing that the past hour or so. As for later, we will be meeting with the rest of the group for a picnic again since you missed the last one. Didn’t you know about today?”

“No?” Twilight Sparkle responded in confusion. It was then she realized somepony did in fact stop by her house yesterday, but she had been too busy writing in her diary to respond to whoever was at the door. Whoever had knocked must have been the one that was trying to give the invitation.

“Well everypony should be here in the next twenty minutes or so, so just hang here until they show up, okay?” Rainbow Dash said, then taking her turn in her game against Pinkie Pie.

“Uh…’everypony’? Who does that include?” Twilight Sparkle asked nervously.

Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof down on the table, quickly placing all the cards she held in her hand down with it. “Are you serious? The whole group! Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack!”

“Oh…” Twilight said nervously, really not wanting to see Applejack in fear of what she might do. “Listen, Rainbow, I don’t think today would be a good day for me to go to the picnic, so I’ll just—“

“Nonsense!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she grabbed Twilight around her neck, hugging her and keeping her in place. “Everypony missed you, so there’s no way you’re leaving us now!”

“You’re right, Pinkie, but…” Twilight struggled for a second, trying to think of a perfect excuse. “I, uh…should…get…some food, for the picnic! Yeah! So, I’ll just go to my place and—“

“Nope! I got ya covered, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie assured her as she showed her a basket filled with sandwiches and treats. “No need for you to bring anything!”

Twilight Sparkle lowered her ears in defeat. She could easily teleport away back home and avoid everything altogether, but Twilight wasn’t sure what Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie would think from such a reaction, and the other three would hear it from them as well, and eventually all five of them would possibly be upset with Twilight Sparkle.

“…okay, Pinkie. I’ll stick around,” Twilight said, then sitting back down to watch their game, her nerves firing off as she waited for Applejack’s arrival. In the meantime, she did her best to come up with some excuse she could use for the hat.

* * * * *

And just for the record…I HATE lying! I hate it so much! But…I just get too nervous when it comes to matters that could hurt a friend. You know I’m not the social type, after all. I just wanted to make up a small excuse that I could use to buy myself some time. At least until I learned some sort of spell that could completely restore torn articles of clothing without leaving any signs of damage. Or some spell of the sort anyway that’d help bring everything back to normal.

If only I could make that hat regenerate like those creatures in that card game could…

* * * * *

It was about fifteen minutes later before Fluttershy and Rarity arrived, both carrying their own hoof-made treats.

“Greetings, darlings!” Rarity said to everypony at the table.

“Hello…” Fluttershy greeted quietly.

Twilight greeted them back, but Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were so involved in their game that they hadn’t responded right away, mostly because Rainbow Dash was upset about Pinkie Pie playing a card that stopped Rainbow from playing one of her more powerful cards. Twilight giggled from the two of them and turned to Rarity and Fluttershy. “Nice to see you all again, how have you been?”

“Luckily I’m not sick,” Rarity said in a lower tone, glaring at Twilight. Her tone then returned to normal, continuing on, “but I’m doing just swell. I think it’s lovely that we all finally get to enjoy a picnic together. Applejack should be here any minute, I assume?”

“Yeah…I think I saw her in the apple orchard on my way here…just finishing up I believe,” Fluttershy answered.

“Great,” Twilight mumbled to herself, thankfully with no pony hearing her remark.

About ten more minutes had passed, while Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle each watched Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie play their game. Rarity had then noticed Applejack walking towards the table to meet up with them at last.

“Howdy,” Applejack greeted as she arrived.

“Oh, fabulous, everypony is here!” Rarity exclaimed, grabbing her basket. “Everypony ready to go?”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie cleaned up their cards, while everypony else carried some of the picnic goods as the six of them walked toward the park. Twilight Sparkle did her best to keep her position in the group behind that of Applejack. If she was careful enough, Applejack wouldn’t even have to get much sight of Twilight, and in that case she just might forget about the hat. Or so Twilight had thought. As she tried to stay quiet and mind her distance in order to refrain from being noticed too much, the other five chatted about various events that were occurring in the near future in Equestria, such as a carnival that would be taking place in a couple of weeks.

The six ponies soon arrived to the park, which was crowded with other ponies. This was no surprise to Twilight, as it was a really nice day after all, and everypony was taking advantage of it.

“Hm, this looks like a nice spot,” Rarity suggested, placing the square picnic blanket that was nearby a small lake, giving a nice sight of the body of water. Pinkie Pie opened up her basket to take out a bunch of sandwiches, each one filled with various cheeses and greens, then handing one to each of them. Twilight held onto her sandwich, then looking up towards Applejack, who she tried to avoid all day. Seeing her blond mane completely, free of any brown hat, filled her body with feelings of guilt.

While Applejack was chewing a bite of her sandwich, she had caught sight of Twilight Sparkle looking back at her. “So Twiligh’, how’ve ya been since ya made it back home?” she asked.

“Oh, just fine,” Twilight tried to respond as casually as possible, even though the answer seemed to come out a bit quickly.

“That’s good…hey, uh, mind if Ah ask ya somethin’ in private? Nothin’ crazy, just don’t think it’d be nice of me to blurt it out.”

Twilight Sparkle looked at the other ponies who seemed to already be caught up in their own conversation. “Sure, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle responded, her heart beating quickly, getting more nervous by the second as Applejack scooted her body closer to Twilight.

“Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but uh…Ah was just wondering why y’all didn’t show up with my hat?”

Twilight Sparkle’s heart dropped. She could have easily said she didn’t want to wear it, but was too afraid to offend her friend. Applejack was a nice pony though, she thought, and she had a feeling she would accept such a response, but was way too nervous of what might happen.

* * * * *

Now, like I said, I know I’ve been going through so much over this, but it was at that moment that everything hit me at once. It was as if I had this sudden revelation, and this rush of bravery that told me, “Twilight, just do it. Just tell her. None of your lame excuses. Impress the element of honesty with YOUR honesty.”

And so…

* * * * *

“Applejack…I…,” Twilight began, her eyes and ears lowering.

“What is it, Twi?” Applejack asked, starting to look a little worried.

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath and exhaled, pushing out all of her worries with it at last.
“I ripped your hat on accident. I’m sorry,” she then blurted out. Right at that moment, Twilight felt a rush of relief filling her body, feeling herself being cleansed of every inch of stress and worry. She had told the truth, and felt so much better because of it. However, it didn’t last too long.

“You…what?” Applejack asked, her mouth remaining slightly open.

“I’m really sorry…I just woke up the morning after you gave it to me, and when you came by…I felt the back of it, and…I noticed there was this long rip on the back of it.” Twilight then realized, telling Applejack how much damage was actually done to the hat was probably not the best of an idea. She could feel her body starting to tense up a little, her eyes closing as she finished her explanation, waiting to feel the scorn from Applejack.

“…it’s okay, Twiligh’.”

Twilight’s eyes re-opened, to see Applejack looking toward the ground. “Applejack…are you sure?”

“Ya said it’s an accident, right? Ya cain’t predict accidents, so…it ain’t your fault.”

“Yeah, it was an accident, but…I feel bad, you gave it to me to wear, just for while I was at the hospital I assume, but I never thought—“

“Don’t y’all worry about it, Twi,” Applejack interrupted, standing up and then walking towards the lake all six of them were sitting by, sitting close to the lake and looking out into the distance past the water. Twilight could see Applejack’s head drop, then looking at the ground in front of where she sat. She could easily tell that Applejack was sad about her hat, and knew the only thing she could do was try to help her.

Twilight Sparkle quietly walked up behind Applejack, to hear a couple of sniffles from the orange pony. Twilight’s heart felt like it could shatter at that moment, hearing her friend cry. “Applejack…” she whispered, then taking a seat next to her, seeing the tears dripping down towards her nose while it was pointed at the ground.

“Twiligh’…I told y’all already, it ain’t your fault.”

“It’s not that, Applejack…that hat meant a lot to you, didn’t it?” Twilight heard her friend sniff again, only to then respond with a nod of the head.

“It was mah pa’s hat, passed down to me. It always gave me a sense of comfort and bravery…and that’s why Ah never leave home without it.”

Twilight then looked away from her friend, now realizing the extent of the pain her friend felt. Twilight Sparkle had never seen Applejack’s parents, nor ever heard anything about them. She could only infer that the worst had happened to the two of them, leaving her with only her grandmother and siblings.

“Applejack…I see why you really care about that hat, but…why would you give it to me then?”

Applejack wiped her eyes and responded, “When Ah saw ya cryin’ that day the way Ah am now, Ah could tell ya had a lot on your mind…that and well, honestly Ah think Ah may have gotten a bit too rough on ya. Ah didn’t mean to make ya cry like that…but Ah could tell Ah hit a soft spot, and Ah felt really bad. Plus Ah know you don’t quite have much of a way with words, so Ah wasn’t expecting ya to tell me everything. So…Ah did what Ah felt was right. That’s why Ah put my hat on you, to give you the same feeling Ah get from wearing it. A feeling of protection, like Ah’d be watching over ya.”

“Oh, that was so nice of you, Applejack…I really wish I would have realized it sooner…” she responded. Twilight felt so bad to think that her good friend would ever hate her, or would ever want to stop being her friend. Yet at the same time, Twilight felt so good inside, to know that Applejack had given up one of her most prized possessions to give Twilight the same strength and comfort that she felt everyday by wearing the hat. To know that her friend had wanted to look out for her those past couple of days, and even take the time to go to the emergency room just to check up on her, gave Twilight such a warm feeling inside that it soon erased any doubt she had in mind, restoring all of her lost hope. But yet, the issue still remained about Applejack’s hat being ruined.

“Your father…he was the one that gave you that hat…I’m sorry, but, how come I’ve never met your father?” Twilight knew it was the wrong time to ask such a thing, but Applejack had given her the response she wanted to find out for a long time. Applejack’s eyes closed at that moment, her teeth clenched together.

“Mah pa…he…passed away when Ah was young.”

Twilight’s hooves instantly slapped to her mouth, realizing her worst fears about Applejack’s father were true. “Applejack, I…I’m so sorry…” Twilight once again wanted to cry, confirming that the hat she ripped came from a very special family member of Applejack’s. She did her best to stay strong though, holding back each tear she felt coming in at that moment. “I’ve never seen any pictures of him, though…so that hat…is your only remaining memory of him, isn’t it?”

Applejack simply nodded her head, then looking away from Twilight to hide her tears. At that moment, Twilight tried to do what felt right, and was the only idea she had left. Twilight Sparkle raised her hooves and wrapped them around her friend’s neck, giving her a comforting hug. Twilight was partially expecting Applejack to back off a little, or possibly get frustrated in reaction. She had never expected, however, to feel the embrace being returned by her friend. In her hooves, she could feel Applejack’s shaking as she let out a couple of tears.

It was completely the wrong time to think of her feelings again, since Applejack was dealing with something very personal, but Twilight enjoyed feeling her friend in her arms. She was so soft and warm, and Twilight felt so comfortable being so close to her. She didn’t want that moment to end, as it had felt so right to her.

“It’s okay, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle whispered to her as she hugged her softly. “I promise you, it’s okay.”

Applejack never spoke back; she continued to hug Twilight until she felt comfortable enough to break the embrace. Applejack’s tears soon ended, as she wiped away the rest of them. “Thanks, Twi,” she said quietly, then getting up and walking towards the blanket where everypony else sat. Twilight could see Applejack walk up to the other four, say something to them, and then starting to walk away from the park as the four others waved goodbye to her.

* * * * *

And that was the last time I had seen her that day. I was so crushed, to know that the hat I had worn and accidentally ripped in my sleep, which I’m sure could be easily replaceable, had invaluable worth to it as it once belonged to a past family member of Applejack’s. And not just any family member, but her own father, who I’m sure meant so much to her. But today was the first day I got to hug Applejack, properly anyway, for such a length of time. It felt so nice to hold her and comfort her, the way she tried to do for me by giving me the hat in the first place. I just hope that she’s not having too much of a hard time at home though…but this will be on her mind as much as it has been for me.

That’s it. I’m going to do something about this. Once I’m finished writing this entry, I’m going through every book I have to find some sort of spell I can use in fixing Applejack’s hat. And by fix, I mean repairing it as if it never ripped. Though, even if I can’t find anything about such a spell, I’m still going to do what I can. Even if I have to spend all of my spare time making my own spell to do such repairs. There is no way I’ll let her hat be scarred like this, mark my words. Until then…take care, as I may not write until I get this done.

Until then,
Twilight Sparkle

Comments

[Gritsaw]

This chapter gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. Especially when applejack and Twi hugged. <3

[Cherry Frosting]

Da' fluffs