I awoke with a cold sweat. Under the covers, I could feel my hooves shaking. The feeling I was greeted with was absolutely dreadful. I felt deeply anxious with depression tagging along. I was definitely not in a state to try to get back to sleep. I could tell it was still late into the night, and I was stuck feeling a feeling that something absolutely awful was going to happen.

To try to get my mind off it, I raced over to the bathroom, accidentally making some loud noises in the silence of the room on my way. I tried to close the door as quietly as I could, but my shaking hooves made that hard to happen. Nevertheless, I hurried to the shower and turned the knob. A stream of more than average pressured water shot out.

As I entered into the tub, I immediately felt shivers all around. The water was freezing. But I remained there and took it until it warmed up. I didn't even know what I was trying to do at that point. It took me a while to remember I was trying to get my mind off of what was bugging me. Even though I forced myself to not think about it, it still remained strictly attached to my mind. It was almost kind of like a leech that was glued right on my mind.

Either way, I wasn't sure if the shower made it worse. I began feeling heavily emotional as I stared at the wall across the shower. I felt my energy slowly fade away as I slid towards the side of the bathtub. There, I rested my forelegs and buried my head in them. Remembering the partially loud sound of the running water, I felt myself begin to sob.

Did it still really bug me so much? It did… I just couldn't get it out of my head. How was I supposed to forget the sight of it? How could I forget and ignore something like that. Even though I shouldn't have, I continued thinking into it. And the more I thought about it, the more it affected me. I couldn't stop crying in the shower, and I even wanted all these stinging emotions to stop. But I just felt so alone and cold. I needed someone...someone to help me through this…

"Mind if I join you…?" I heard nearby. I was sort of startled, but the dismay of my thoughts covered the expression of that surprise. I looked up and noticed the source of the voice was Twilight. She was standing there in front of me looking completely worried. I supposed I had woken her up with all the loud noises I caused. Nevertheless, she was exactly what I wanted…what I needed. I looked back at my resting forelegs, breaking our eye contact. I answered with a shaking head, notifying her that her company didn't bother me.

Without saying another word, she cautiously stepped to the bathtub. As soon as she got in, her mane and tail immediately became drenched. The sight of this unfortunately made me feel worse, as if I began feeling fault for little things that probably weren't even a big deal. I felt my head fall back inside my forelegs as the emotions kicked into effect once again.

However, I began feeling a small warmth of hope inside me when I felt Twilight's coat press against me. I wasn't sure if she knew what exactly my issue was, but it sure seemed like she completely understood. Under the running warm water, she brought me her warmth as she kept direct contact with her body in comfort. The running water began feeling like outside rain. And as she remained comforting me by my side, I felt myself secretly hoping for her to save me.

---

Tomorrow didn't feel any different. In fact, as soon as I woke up, it felt as if there were chains wrapped around me along with a weight to keep me still. The intervention last night comforted me, but it wasn't anything close to a cure. In the morning, she seemed to notice my behavior that even I knew clearly stood out.

She had asked me how I was doing, but I couldn't give a straight reply. Hardly changing the expression on my face, I responded with a modest short mumble. Seeming to not know what exactly to follow up with, she then asked if Spirit had come around to see me, but I couldn't really think and answer to that either. Why did I suddenly feel…unconcerned of others? I answered with a short and a bit stiff "no" to Twilight. I hadn't seen her at all, especially ever since I started feeling this way. And for some reason…it didn't seem to bother me as it should had.

---

I swear, the majority of the day seemed…uninteresting. I mean, things like…walking outside in town. It was weird but…somehow familiar at the same time. Everything seemed to have turned…monotone. There could have been a big parade in the middle of town and I would have just easily walked by it like nothing. And this didn't bug me. It almost felt…normal to me.

Referring to what I meant to by "interesting things", nothing big happened until I was having tea at Fluttershy's. I'm not even counting to how I greeted her when I arrived at her cottage. She had tried to show her affection by at the least embracing me, but I didn't return the favor the slightest. I stood there and took it, but it was more like I was just waiting for it to be over with.

This wasn't me. But why did I still not notice it? Fluttershy sure did.

"What's the matter?" She asked as she pulled away and looked at me with uneasy eyes.

"Just tired…" I answered, not even making eye contact with her as I mentioned in a restless and bored tone.

I'm sure she thought having her tea would brightened up my spirits, but even I, at the time, seemed to know that wouldn't be so, despite having no thoughts.

I still hardly made contact as we sat across each other with two small cups and a tea kettle sitting between us. I vaguely remember her saying something about her day and Angel as she poured the two of us a cup of tea, but I continued staring at the table cloth the materials rested on. Usually, I would be lost in thought while unintentionally staring so intently at some random thing. But this time, I had nothing to think. I just felt…like a zombie to put it in the best way.

Sure, Fluttershy was probably concerned the whole time, but she was probably waiting to see a reaction when I finally took a sip from the cup that laid in front of me. But I never did. I continued staring off in my perception of a long distance while I was stranded in the ghost-town of the mind I wore.

I could hear faint words from Fluttershy, but I never really paid attention to them. All of a sudden, for some strange reason my mood almost violently swung. I suddenly felt a strong urge to be angry. My hooves raised on their own and slammed against the table.

Everything fell silent in a flash. Ironically, this silence brought me to reality for the time being. The pictured presented clearly in front of me was Fluttershy's shocked face. Her pupils had dilated as she held the both of her hooves to her mouth. Most of the top portion of the tea from my cup had spilt out due to the violent vibration I caused. Resulting from another mood swing, I rested my head on my hoof and felt deeply ashamed.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, feeling as if I had just ruined a life.

Fluttershy was able to recover from her shock and tried to carefully hold out a hoof to help, but I soon began slipping away from reality again and the mental picture I saw was the depths of an endless ocean.

Fluttershy then seemed to take me on a journey that I didn't want to participate in. Once she was absolutely sure I wasn't right, she started by taking me to Sugarcube Corner. Once there, Pinkie Pie got a scoop of the news and quickly offered me sweets.

I wasn't interested in them. Another scenario almost practically ensued just like with Fluttershy and her tea. While Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie tried chugging up ideas on what to do, I remained at the table staring out the window with my hoof to my lifeless cheek.

I could see the two taking glances at me from the corner of my eye, but they were the least of my thoughts if anything. I still find it funny now. At such times, I felt as if I had something completely stressful or intensive to think about, but I really didn't have anything. I just stared blankly without purpose. And I still hardly cared about what others thought of me, whether if it was for the good or bad.

Pinkie Pie even decided to bring herself over to me in my point of view and hold up a cake. She was saying words, but they seemed to fade right through me. It wasn't that I wasn't listening. It was just…well…I heard them and paid them no more mind.

The next thing I remember was her stuffing her face into the cake forcefully and pulling it back out to reveal the facial she received from it. As pieces of frosting and filling fell from her face back onto the cake, I only stared blankly at her and seemed more interested at my absent thoughts.

I didn't know what they thought, but they probably felt they'd have more luck with someone more…energetic and powerful? They took me to Rainbow Dash, who worked athletics into the equation. However, as obvious as it was, it wasn't a good mixture to me. I was already deprived of any energy to participate in society.

Either way, she actually ended up having the generosity to purposely "accidentally" lose to some sporty games for me. If I wasn't how I was, I'd most likely be surprised at her behavior…but maybe it was because she really didn't like seeing me like that…

For one instance, she gripped my lifeless hoof and held it up on a hard surface. She started her countdown without any notification of preparation from me and began her pretend work. She acted as if she was having a hard time keeping my hoof from defeating hers when I really wasn't doing anything at all. When she allowed my hoof to "win", she proceeded to try to encourage positivity from me. As much as their and especially her behavior should be appreciated, it was all unfortunately just a waste of time for me. I admit it. I felt no progress whatsoever.

When it came to Rarity, she seemed to feel an optimistic yearning for the spa. She led me to bath where she worked on lathering up my mane and such and just wanting to me relax. I suppose she believed I was stressed or worked up about something big, but I just don't know…

---

"I think I was still able to feel it. I believe I was able to feel their love wanting to comfort me. But I rejected it… I didn't know why. I just didn't feel the same. And it was around that time that you came for me. That you wanted this…'appointment' with me."

"I see…" Twilight answered as she scribbled onto her clipboard. It seemed she physically prepared herself for this "session" as she had wrapped the back part of her mane into a bun and wore glasses that resembled Rarity's but ran a different color. "I guess that explains why they were so eager to stay with you when I came to get you." Twilight tried smiling a bit humorously in order to get one back from me. However, it seemed she finally understood how hard it was for the others in the first place when my expression didn't change an inch. She gave up on her smile and sighed a bit. Using her magic, she gently removed the glasses from her face and brought it to the table near her along with her clipboard and pencil. "You know… You and I don't exactly see it right now…but…I think I have a good idea why this is happening. Why all this suddenly came upon you." I lightly raised an eyebrow. "When I was at Canterlot this morning… I decided to visit the Princesses because I was worried about you. But then I overheard them talking about you to my surprise. They think…" She paused, as if the next thing she was about to say was going to be hard to swallow for the both of us. "They think…the passing of…you know who…was too much for you."

My eyes wanted to widen, but they only seemed to scrunch together a little as I stared downwards.

"They know you've never really done something like that before, and for it to be your own…" She coughed lightly, obviously revealing the hardship with bringing up references that would hurt me. "They were…deeply concerned about you. They were even considering hiring specialists to talk to you about it…but I volunteered."

"…volunteered…?" I asked.

"Yes." She leaned from her seat towards me. "What better way to help you manage than to get this help directly from your closest friend?" She laid a hoof on mine. "We already know each other so much. We can skip the introductions and just get straight to the problem. From what you've told me, it seems you yourself don't even know what's going on with you. But I believe that this entire tragedy you just had to go through recently is the issue, because none of this has happened until now… I mean…not before we all grew acquainted at least…"

"So…" I responded. "You say the reason why I'm like this is because of my dad, huh…?" I seemed to be able to say it a lot easier than Twilight was able to. I scoffed a bit. "Do I even have a reason to feel like this? I hardly even knew him. Why should I be feeling like such a stick in the mud for someone I hardly even knew?" Before I knew it, I could feel my anger rise. "What I only knew about him the entire time I was aware was that he was some evil psychopath! Why should I be so down about that?!"

"That's exactly it, isn't it?" Twilight seemed to understand easily.

"What?" I asked.

"You never really knew him. That's why you're so angry right now." She explained, causing me to think back as I threw my eyes away from Twilight. "And the reason you're so sad…is because you had to extinguish the only chance you had to actually get to know him."

I remained silent. I believed I was just given the answer to something that seemed to make more sense if I knew myself. It felt like I didn't even need to think about it. As soon as she said that, it felt like it just clicked.

"…do you…really think that?" I asked.

"It seems like it makes the most sense." Twilight responded while resting her chin on her hoof. "Unless…there's something else we don't know about…"

I turned my head down and thought silently about it. "You're probably right…" I almost shamefully admitted, as if it was really all my fault and that I should feel bad for it. "I still…don't really understand, but you're probably right. You're smarter than me after all. Maybe I'm just being a kid. Maybe I'm just throwing an immature tantrum because of my daddy issues. You know? Having to have lived with a bad one almost my whole life, even when I found out about my real one. The only time I found that I could have a real connection with my dad, the one time, was pretty much when I saw him leave before my eyes. It's not fair. Why did I have to go through that? Why not let him leave a bad guy so I wouldn't have to feel this way?" I turned to Twilight, beginning to feel sick about my words. "…am I selfish for saying that?"

Twilight found it hard to answer that. "…you're going through a lot right now… I can't tell you if it's selfish or not… But…I believe I remember you saying at one point in time that 'everything happens for a reason', right?"

"I say a lot of things that I can't even believe myself…" I confessed.

"You just find it hard to believe in when you're in pressure." Twilight advised. "A good way to probably describe it is forgetting something important when you're between a rock and hard place. It's natural. No one is perfect. No one."

"Hm." I only returned.

Twilight managed to smile lightly. "Maybe we should take a little break. After all, there's so many ponies that have been wanting to know how you're doing."

"Huh?" I questioned.

We had been stuck in a fairly small, quiet, and most likely sound-proof room. Outside led to the main area of the castle where must have been the location where the others have been waiting. Twilight stood up and walked to the door. As she opened it, she received a fair surprise. It seemed somepony she did not expect to see, at least right out the door, had been waiting both calmly but impatiently at the same time.

"Oh, hello, Twilight. I was wondering…if I might be able to…see him for a while?"

"We kind of just started having a break…" Twilight mentioned.

"I don't want to put any pressure on him." The voice assured. "In fact, I think I might be beneficial to his break…if you'll let me."

Twilight remained quiet for a moment before I saw her turn towards me at the door. "Are you alright with a visitor at the moment?"

"Yeah, I guess…" I answered, sounding possibly like I could care less.

Twilight nodded and motioned her head towards the room, allowing this "visitor" inside. I wasn't sure if it was because of my mental state, but it wasn't much of a surprise when I saw that it was Octavia. She was equipped with what appeared to be two cases for the same instrument. She was allowed to carry them as if they were saddlebags, due to their similar design.

"Hello, Alex." She offered a small but uncertain smile.

Twilight seemed to smile a bit as well, probably thinking that Octavia will be a step towards progress. "I'll be back." Afterwards, she walked out and gently shut the door.

Octavia watched the door closed and then almost hesitantly looked back at me.

"Octavia? What are you doing here?" I asked, despite showing no real interest to knowing the answer to that question.

Octavia kept her composure, but I somehow sensed that she might have been hurt by that statement somehow. Nevertheless, she seemed real subtle about that. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe that's the first time you greeted me by that name instead of 'Tavi' ever since we both called each other friends…" She chuckled a little, as if to make it humorous and opposite of what she felt. I didn't laugh with her, so it created a sort of awkward silence which she had to correct by getting to the point of her visit. "You know…" She began sadly. "I…I saw you in town today. I tried to call you and say hi…but you didn't bother looking my way." She walked towards me and brought down the cases she brought to the floor. "I was a little hurt…but then I heard what had been going on and…I got the short story about what recently happened with you." She began talking as she prepared the items she had brought in. "I can't imagine having to go through something like that." She shook her head in emphasis and then stared at what laid inside her cases. "I'm not sure if this'll help…but I wanted to show you something I do when I'm feeling…down…" She pulled out a violin that I seemed to have seen her have not too long ago. "Do you understand how powerful music can be, Alex?" She asked.

"…Y-yeah, I guess." I wasn't sure how to answer. Even though I was unsure about anything with myself, I didn't really know much about music. Wait a minute…what am I saying? Did I already forget? All those times we all sang together? Jeez…it's like how I used to be all over again…

"When words fail to come out…" She began positioning herself to play the violin. "And movements are all you can do to keep yourself from breaking down…" She attached her bow to her strings and began to play a soft yet strong note. "You play." She answered briefly as she stared straight at me with not glaring or stern eyes, but empathetic ones.

"…play…?" I questioned a little ignorantly.

"Concentrate on your feelings." She advised as she had placed down her violin to pick up the other one she brought from the case. "When you feel them swell up inside you…" She pushed the delicate set of objects towards me and even took the liberty of setting it up for me. "You connect those emotions through your body to your instrument and just play. Don't think about what you want to play. Don't think at all. Just play. Anything. Your emotions will take over for you. And soon, you'll realize how much of the pain you've expressed out from inside you. Try it."

As I held the prepared violin she generously set for me, I felt a very strong doubt of playing. "But…" I released a short grunt of disbelief. "You know I can't play…"

"What did I say?" She almost angrily reminded. "Don't think. Just play."

I released a drawn out sigh and decided to do it anyway. Of course, I let out a screeching note. I already began feeling frustrated. "See?" I said, feeling like I just wanted to drop the violin to the ground. But Octavia didn't care. She didn't care about how it sounded. She seemed to want progress.

"No. Keep going." She pursued.

Feeling anger rise, I clenched my hoof on the neck and began to play once more. However, knowing she'd still want me to play after just one note, I continued even after hearing terrible notes. In fact, having to deal with these notes caused me to play as if I was trying to tear apart every string on the violin. I was surprised it lasted. After I felt almost breathless from that expression of frustration, I lowered the violin and took a look at it. Then, I began to think over what I had just done. I immediately felt guilty. I mean…I was sort of relieved that I hadn't ruined the violin, but the fact that I could have actually done that bothered me. "I'm sorry…" I apologized.

"No." She rejected. "That was it. You let out your anger. Your frustration. Maybe not all of it, but at least for the time being. You feel better now, don't you?"

"I don't know… Maybe…" I still didn't know what to think.

She picked up her violin and set it properly with her body. "Let's play together… But follow me. I'll play a note, and then you play it. Then, we'll go on from there."

"…okay…" I decided to agree.

---

I had hardly realized how much I had gotten into the sound of playing the violin. It wasn't that I was playing well. In fact, I believed I had been ignoring all the sour notes that came out from mine. At some point, I closed my eyes and just…let my feelings out…I think. It felt somewhat…relieving…and I just lost track of what was going on. It wasn't until one point when I felt myself slowing down, unguided, and opened my eyes. I realized Octavia was sitting in front of me, watching me. In the background, Twilight seemed to be at the door, waiting as if she didn't want to bother me. I actually felt a little embarrassed, but I decided to put the violin back down and not talk about it.

"Better?" Octavia asked.

"…I think so…" I answered softly.

She smiled lightly. She turned back to Twilight and then to me. "I suppose…I should start going now." She began setting back her violin in her case.

Since she was getting ready to leave, I decided to place back the violin I had been using in her other case to give to her. As I closed and locked it, I offered it to her. She oddly stared at for it a moment and didn't accept it for the time being. "What?" I asked.

She grabbed ahold of it, but didn't put it around her to carry. Instead, she placed it by my side. "No…" She mentioned softly. "You keep it."

"But…this is yours…" I pointed out.

"I think you need it more than I do…" She responded. "Besides, I already have this one." She turned her head to the violin she carried. "That…" She looked back at the violin she was apparently giving to me. "…is from me to you. Think of it…as a 'get well' present."

"…I don't know what to say…" I replied, really unable to think much about it.

"You don't have to say anything…" She brought herself closer to me, looking over me briefly. "Just…make sure you feel better very soon, okay?" She requested worriedly. I didn't answer, but I only held my gaze. She sighed after receiving nothing from me and then embraced me. I could feel how tense she was and felt a little bad for not being able to relieve her worries. "Vinyl wishes you well…" She mentioned. "I'll see you soon, okay?" She tightened her grip on me for a moment and then turned away as soon as she brought back her hooves. She quickly walked towards the door and expressed her thanks as she walked past Twilight and left the room.

"Music, huh?" Twilight offered a little light-heartedly. "I didn't really think of that. I was in total counsel mood." She tried to act somewhat humorously again, but now my mind was on the thought of Octavia suddenly giving me one of her most valued possessions. There's no way it was that easy to leave…was it?

"Where were we?" I asked, sparing not a second on the issue at hoof. "Something about my daddy issues right?"

"…if you want to say it like that…" Twilight responded a little hesitant.

"What is it that I really need?" I asked her but mostly myself. "I can't wish for things to change with him… What's done is done. And honestly… there's nothing new I really need…" I narrowed my eyes a bit and stared at Tavi's gift. "You all are there for me…and even though things are hard right now…I think that's enough. Maybe…what I really need is just time…let things fade off on their own."

Twilight seemed surprised at this sudden statement. Nonetheless, she appeared to be somewhat relieved and happy. "Come on, Alex… I'm supposed to be the one giving you the talk here…" She mentioned jokingly.

After thinking for a moment, I looked at her. "If my father…or well…fathers are such a big deal…then maybe I just need to rant…"

"Yes." Twilight agreed. "It does help a lot when you get heavy things off your chest."

"But…a different kind of rant…" I added, surprising her a little once again.

"Huh?" She questioned.

"I've told you girls all about the stupid stuff from the past…but there's still a lot of those who don't have the slightest clue. Especially those closest to me." I scoffed lightly. "Like my mom. She's my mom, and she doesn't even know everything that's happened. Maybe it's time to…stop keeping it a secret. I think I just need to get everything completely off and start new. After something like that…" I referred to the situation with the dad I hardly got to know. "I think it's for the best…and maybe then…maybe…I shouldn't really speak about him again…" I confessed. "…dwelling in the past has always just hurt me…and as much as I respect him, I think he'd agree that I should just let things go…completely."

I heard hooves clacking together in the brief silence. Twilight was sitting there in front of me, almost appearing teary-eyed as if she just saw me graduate school. Soon enough, I found her hugging me in delight. "I'm proud of you, Alex. Looks like you didn't really even need me to find the possible source of recovery for your wound. I think you'll do just fine, just like you said, with time…"

"What are you talking about?" I responded almost in soft anger. "I could never do anything like this on my own… Believe me… If I was on my own… I wouldn't bother even thinking about anything. As much as I don't really like to admit it…I need ponies like you to help me see a reason to keep going…"

Even though it wasn't exactly a thing to be happy about, Twilight's face beamed a little for the thought. "Heh." She briefly laughed with a soft yet bright smile. "Well, I'm glad we can be of service."

When we pulled away, Twilight continued observing me with a hopeful smile. I drifted my eyes towards the ground for what I was about to say next. "Can…can you bring the others in here?"

"You…you want them to come in right now?" Twilight asked, widening her eyes a bit.

"Yeah…I mean…I don't want to be like this anymore. I want to feel better…and the sooner I can get back in touch with you all…the sooner I can…feel…like me." I confided.

"Sure." Twilight nodded her head. "Sure, I understand. I'm all for getting you back on your hooves. That's why I'm here in the first place." She sent me an empathetic grin before she walked out.

As I stood there in silence, I felt my heartbeat increase. I was getting nervous. But why should I? I know all of these ponies close to the heart…but I still can't help but feel…I don't know…embarrassed. Either way, no matter how scared I am, I know they'll help me. Just like…back to that day…

My eyes were almost glued to the doorway. As soon as I heard a group of hooves, my eyes shot back and forth around the room other than the doorway, but I began forcing myself to keep them locked in. Despite my effort, as soon as I first saw the variety of colors almost swarming in, I felt my eyes drop back to the floor. The sound of hooves stopped, indicating all of them were inside. I already felt no one was going to initiate the first word, sentence, or whatever, so I sort of had to gain to courage to do it.

I cleared my throat, letting a little of my nerves reveal themselves. "I…" I tried pacing around a bit to get me going. "I'm sorry…to have you all see…this side of me…again." I felt them continue to watch me walk around the room. As much as I wanted the courage back, I still felt too comforted by the sight of the unjudging floor to look at anything else. "It's…been a really rough time for…well…not only me but all of us." I managed to say. "I just…I just want to say…that I'm sorry." My heart started pumping for what I was about to say next even though I know I've said it tons of times. "I love you all." I forced out, but truly meant it. "I want to get better, I really do…but…" I finally stopped and placed the effort to finally meet their eyes with mine. At that moment, I was suddenly welcomed with a bunch of friendly faces. I remembered the warmth they all embraced me with and I gradually felt a little more comfortable. "If you don't mind in taking the time, I really need you. I know I can't do this on my own."

"That's what we've been out for the whole time, sugarcube." Applejack responded first. "We understand your pain, and we'll always be here to help you."

"Yes, don't ever think you'd have to handle this issue on your own." Rarity confirmed.

"We love you too, Alex." Fluttershy shared with a sweet smile.

"I'm not too good with this mushy stuff, but…" Rainbow Dash added. "Yeah…what she said." Rainbow asserted with Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie felt the comfort in smiling, possibly after learning that smiling during this kind of time wasn't really taken lightly. "I'll bake anything you want. You name it!" She grinned brightly.

"See?" Twilight referred to the others. "You don't need to isolate yourself from us. In fact, you're stuck with us."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Pinkie hopped up excitedly. "Like caramel on a candy apple!"

Twilight chuckled. "Yeah. Like that."

I weirdly began feeling pretty starved, probably because I was too distracted with stupid stuff. "I guess I am pretty hungry…"

"Perfect!" Pinkie cheered. "We can finally try out the kitchen and dining room in this new castle!"

"Hold on a second." I froze Pinkie just as she was about to dash off in mid-air. "I was talking to Twilight about getting all of this off my chest…"

"What d'ya mean?" Applejack asked a little puzzled.

"I feel like…it's time to stop hiding things from those that probably should know. Either way…I think…it's time I get a fresh start." I inhaled for a longer than usual moment and exhaled it out. "Now that I think of it, I never thought I'd say this…but…can anyone get in touch with Trenderhoof?"

"Ooh!" Rarity's hoof immediately shot up. "I can!"

"Bring him in…" I almost felt like not saying the words at all. "Tell him… Tell him I've got the story he might just have been looking for..."

---

It was sunset and hoof in hoof with nightfall. I felt like I needed to be outside, considering the time spent in that one on one session felt almost like forever. I needed a break, especially after…meeting up with him again. It's not that I don't like him or anything... He can just be…a little too much. I was helping bring the firewood for the bonfire I suggested, which was something that suddenly came to mind to positively and possibly even perfectly end the night. Applejack was the only one around as the others went out for supplies to bring. Even though I had offered to help her bring the large rolls of logs to sit down on, she insisted she bring them instead while I brought firewood. I guess she thought I should take it easy since I can effortlessly just group a whole bunch of dead sticks with my magic and bring them in one go.

Applejack had already brought several of the logs, so I decided to place the firewood down in the center and take a seat along with a hefty sigh. Of course, it wasn't long for Applejack to bring the last of the logs. She grunted as she rolled in the last one. "There. All finished."

"You sure are…really strong." I couldn't help but just point out.

"Yeah, thanks." Applejack chuckled lightly, but unexpectedly formed a serious tone in her voice. "But uh…there was…something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What?" I asked with widened eyes.

"Yeah…" She walked over to my side and sat right by me. "It's not something I like talking about. In fact, I never really talk about it at all. But seeing what you've been through and did today…I figured… I should…sort of get this off my chest…for the both of us." I wanted to know what she was talking about, but I didn't want to ask any unnecessary questions. "You see… Well…" She sighed, already showing how hard it was to get to it. "You've…you've probably noticed something…well…off about my family right?"

"Uhm…" I only expressed.

"Let's see…" Applejack thought for a bit. "Okay… Think about who I live with. There's my brother, Big Macintosh. Sister, Applebloom. And Granny Smith. Notice anything…different?"

As I was trying to figure her puzzle, I suddenly came across a clue. "Are you…talking about…" Then a connection clicked between my situation and hers. "Wait…you don't mean…"

"My parents." Applejack finished, giving me this…unique kind of feeling. It was a little…off…because I had never heard Applejack mention anything about her parents. "I…I…lost them…a pretty while back. I've…gone through most of my life without them…even when I was a filly."

"…what happened?" I asked, feeling cautious about asking.

"Dunno…" Applejack removed her hat and stared at it. "They just…disappeared. I can't even remember what went on around the last time I saw them. But as far as I know…they're gone… I wish I didn't have to say this…but I don't think I'll ever be seeing them again."

Honestly, I was curious to get more into this, but I already knew it was too much for Applejack to tell me this. "What about Applebloom…?"

"I don't think she really knows them… I guess…it wasn't as hard for her because of that. But…" Applejack sighed, almost as if she had been holding back emotions. "But…we've got to remember what is important is who we still have. And for one example…I'm glad I have you." Applejack grinned softly to the side.

"Yeah…" I felt a little bummed by her shared story, but I understood what she was trying to tell me. "It's the same way for me… And you're right. What matters now is that we all have each other…"

Applejack continued gracefully grinning at me and then turned her head to the firewood. "Let's get this fire started."

---

Even though she included me, she pretty much did the work, considering she's an expert when it comes to that kind of stuff. The others had just returned a little while after the fire was started up. They brought snacks, drinks, and even blankets. I guess we were going to stay a little longer than we thought.

One of the first things we did was roast a marshmallow on a stick. Each one of us had one at the end, but obviously and as expected, Pinkie had them all over.

"I have the graham crackers and the chocolate for those delicious hoof-crafted pastries." Rarity expressed with delight as she held the materials up with her magic.

"Ooh." The rest of them expressed with amazement.

I smiled a little just as I continuously was being reminded of why I loved them in the first place.

"Hey." We heard a familiar voice sound nearby, but it wasn't any pony joined around the fire. I turned around to see Spirit in the sort of dark and outskirt area. "Mind if I join every pony?" She asked. It almost looked and sounded as if she had just woken up or something.

"Of course." Rarity returned, but she was pretty surprised at her sudden appearance.

"Where've you been?" I asked as Spirit picked up one of the sticks with her mouth.

"I've just been…feeling sick." She said after she rested the stick near the bag of marshmallows. She grabbed one from the bag and poked the stick through it.

"Sick?" Fluttershy, whom was sitting beside me this time, asked.

"You know…" Spirit seemed to not want to remind anyone, including herself. "I…uh…Alex and I are sort of…"

"Right…" Rarity understood. "I suppose that's why your name is Spirit, correct?"

"Not exactly…" She returned, walking to the fire. "But…I guess you're right in a way." She was the only one standing as she held her marshmallow to the fire.

"Why don't you take a seat?" Twilight offered and made room for her, since Spike was sitting by her and smaller than the average pony. "Here." She pointed.

Spirit felt a little reluctant, but accepted. She walked over to her and sat down. "Thanks…Twilight…"

Nevertheless, I wanted her to feel appreciated before anything else. "I'm glad you're here, Spirit." I gained her attention. "Honestly…you belong here with us just as much as I do…in more ways than one."

The others decided to follow on and agreed in a sort of group chatter.

I supposed Spirit felt a little embarrassed as she looked down with a hint of red in her cheeks. "Th-thanks…"

I took in a breath and sighed, feeling like I need to share one last thing to everyone here. "I just want to let you all know…that I can't describe how much I appreciate every single one of you. I'm still a little…bothered by what happened…but I feel like I'm making progress to a sort of…new start. I know I'll get through this with your help… After all, you all can really put out some amazing miracles." They looked at each other and chuckled softly, which they couldn't help but realize it was true.

As they were distracted, I suddenly felt something lightly touch me. As I paid attention to this, I realized a dark blue feather landed by me. It wasn't exactly mine, so I looked up and noticed a heartwarming sight. My mother was up there looking back down at me with an earnest smile. She didn't have to say anything for me to get her message.

It was pretty recognizable to see she was there for me too, holding a great part to it all. Even if she couldn't be with me, she'd work to her best to make sure I'm as content as I can be, even if it means spoiling me in my dreams.