After Twilight had run off, the rest of her friends decided that maybe it would be best to try and get their minds off the last few days as best they could. Applejack still had a farm that needed tending to, and Big Mac would be waiting for her. Whether or not he had done much work remained to be seen. Rarity had some orders that still needed to be filled and a snooty cat that needed care. Fluttershy still had her animals to look after, and Rainbow had her duties on the weather team. A short while later, they said their goodbyes to the Cakes and went on their respective ways.

Applejack replayed the experience in her mind most of the day as she fed her livestock and bucked what trees should could. Her unending stream of tears sapped much of her strength and a lot of the work she had wanted to do simply didn't get done. She couldn't even muster the will to remove the new stump the day after the accident like she said she and Big Mac were going to.

At the end of the day when all the tools had been put away and baskets unloaded, she found herself almost unconsciously walking toward where it all happened. Upon finding the grim reminder, she sat down brokenhearted in front of the ground that had been damaged by the impact.

She sat there silently for almost twenty minutes when she heard footsteps approaching. She saw a familiar red stallion beside her in the corner of her bloodshot eye. Her big brother sat down and put a leg around her shoulders, pulling her in close.

"How'd ya know where to find me?" she asked.

"Wasn't too hard to figure out."

A moment passed before either said anything else. "It's my fault, Big Mac," she cried into her hooves, "it's all my fault! It was my tree, my orchard. Ah shoulda just pulled the dern thing down and that woulda been it, but my stupid pride got in the way. Ah wanted to get every apple down so bad that.. that.. "

Her big brother gently rubbed her shoulder, trying his best to comfort her. "T'was an accident, A.J. Nopony's fault." She buried her face into his chest, and he let her cry as long as she wanted.

Applejack didn't say much after dinner that night. Granny Smith knew what she was going through and left her alone for the most part, as did Big Mac once they had returned home. She hadn't felt this horrible since her parents died and it took a while for her to move on after it initially happened. Even to this day, Granny would find her alone from time to time, crying over what seemed to be nothing, even on good days. But Granny knew what was going through her mind then, and it was happening all over again.

Apple Bloom had tried to cheer Applejack up by asking for help with her homework. Her big sister was generally happy to spend time with the filly, hearing about what she learned that day in school or what shenanigans the Crusaders were up to. Despite putting on a smile for Apple Bloom and trying to be gracious, her honesty betrayed her. Realizing that it wasn't helping like she had hoped, Apple Bloom decided it was best to let her big sister be. Applejack gave the filly a kiss on her forehead and headed upstairs to bed.

Applejack laid on her bed for a few hours, clutching one of her pillows. She took turns staring at the ceiling and out the window at the clear night sky. The clock by her bed said 10:20. Apple Bloom and Granny Smith were likely already in bed for a little while. Big Mac would probably be getting ready about this time himself. The silence was broken by her bedroom door creaking open. Her big brother took a step inside.

"How ya doin', A.J.?"

She sighed heavily. "A bit better Ah guess. Still hurts though."

He nodded his understanding. "We're here for ya. Ya know that."

She took a minute to collect herself. Nopony would have ever claimed Applejack was emotional, but after the past weekend, her heart had broken into a thousand pieces. "Big Mac, Ah.. Ah know Ah don't say it very often, but.. Ah just wanted ya to know that Ah love you. You 'n Apple Bloom 'n Granny Smith. Ah love you all," she said with tears building.

The big stallion smiled, "Ah love ya too, sis. Try 'n get some sleep, OK?"

"Ah'll try. G'night, Big Mac."

"G'night." He closed the door quietly and headed to his room.

A couple hours later, Applejack was finally fast asleep. The lock on the door to her bedroom suddenly, slowly, turned itself, preventing any outside access.

Applejack had been dead to the world for a few hours when she heard a sharp tap at the window. It jolted her awake. Another sharp tap grabbed her attention and she got up to see what was going on. She rubbed her half-closed eyes and looked outside. On the ground outside the house, she saw her pink friend. She closed her eyes and shook herself fully awake in disbelief. She looked again and saw nothing.

"Pinkie? Was..?"

Words escaped her and she burst open her bedroom door and almost tripped down the stairs. Did she really just see Pinkie Pie or was her grief-filled mind starting to crack? She galloped up to the front door, threw it open and gasped as she came to a sudden stop.

The pink party animal was standing right there. Her normally poofy hair hung lifelessly on the right side of her face. She wore a disturbing grin and was staring into the distance. Applejack tried to speak but nothing came. She jumped when Pinkie quickly fixed her dead stare on her.

"Heya Applejack! May I come in?" she asked with the same deranged smile, twisting her head slowly.

The orange pony mentally slapped herself out of her stupor. "Sure. Please come in, Pinkie." She trotted inside and Applejack closed the door behind her. She followed a step behind her pink friend and put a hoof on her midsection. Pinkie stopped and turned to Applejack.

"Listen, Pinkie.. Ah can't tell you how sorry Ah am for what happened. Heck, for anythin' Ah might have ever done to hurt ya."

Pinkie brushed away her apology, "Aw, nothing to worry about, A.J.! Water under the bridge now, right?"

"Ya still have no idea how happy Ah am to see ya right now," Applejack said, giving her friend a bear hug. Pinkie's hooves stayed on the floor. Her grin stayed as well. "Want somethin' ta eat? Ah'm a little hungry myself. Ah didn't eat much at dinner tonight."

"Okey dokey lokey! I am in the mood for something applicious!"

Applejack chuckled, "Well, ya came to right place, that's for sure." They headed into the kitchen together.

"Did ya have anythin' in mind that ya wanted?"

"I have something in mind, but it's a surprise! You know how fun surprises are!" Pinkie said with a bounce. "Oh! Let me get the oven. The recipe calls for a very specific temperature." She leaned over and turned the dial to 666°.

"Uh, isn't that a little high, Pinkie? Come ta think of it, Ah didn't know it could go that high."

Pinkie ignored the question and reached into the fridge. She pulled out various fruits and vegetables and tossed them unceremoniously onto the counter. Reaching into one of the drawers, she pulled out a knife and held it up for Applejack to see. The cowpony recoiled nervously. Pinkie hadn't let up with her unusual smile, and having a knife added to the mix made Applejack incredibly uneasy.

"I'll chop up the veggies too!" she said with glee. She turned to the food and aimlessly slammed the knife down over and over again, not even bothering to hold things in place. She barely managed to slice up the apples, carrots or anything else in front of her, other than the counter top.

"Uh, well, thank ya, Pinkie, but Ah don't mind doing it myself, bein' the host 'n all," Applejack said.

Pinkie slapped herself on the head, "A.J., would you do me a favor? I forgot the butter. Could you grab it for me?" She turned her empty gaze to Applejack. The orange mare scrunched back again upon seeing Pinkie's eyes. She didn't think the party pony had stopped smiling or staring and she was starting to feel creeped out.

"Sure, Pinkie," Applejack said. She stuck her head in the fridge and pulled out a fresh stick of butter between her teeth. She turned around to put it on the counter and bumped into a wall, falling onto her rump. She rubbed her nose and shook her head. The wall was white and glossy, quite smooth to the touch.

"Huh?"

She looked up and saw a familiar ceiling. It looked like the kitchen's. She stood up and looked behind her. The floor of this place was just like the wall, white and shiny. Wherever she was, there didn't seem to be any corners anywhere. Suddenly, a bunch of enormous chunks of fruits and vegetables started raining down on top of her. Applejack eventually got buried under a few layers and clawed herself out. She stood clumsily on top of the oversized bits of food. A large slice of butter landed on her head and slid off.

"Surprise!" Pinkie yelled from overhead. Applejack snapped her attention skyward and saw her friend, suddenly extremely large, staring down at her.

"Gah! Pinkie! What's goin' on, sug?"

"You're in a crock, silly!"

"Uh.. heh.. th-that was a good one, Pinkie. Ya really got me! You and those crazy pranks o' yours!" Applejack said with a fearful laugh.

Pinkie's abnormal smile slowly turned into an angry sneer. "Yes. Prank. Look at me laugh. Ha. Ha. Ha." She put the glass lid on top of the crock with her last sarcastic 'ha', opened the oven door, and slid the crock in.

"Pinkie! Pinkie!" Applejack yelled frantically. She climbed over the diced up fruits and vegetables to the wall and tried desperately to climb up. The smooth wall gave her nothing. She spun around and bucked as hard as she could repeatedly, but to no avail. She began to panic.

"Help! Help! Somepony!"

The food started to bubble and pop as the temperature began to climb. The butter leftover on Applejack's face and head started to cook as she tried futilely to scrape it off. Every new piece of food she'd land on as she ran back and forth trying to find some way out made her hooves sizzle, making her jump in pain. Any juices that squirted out and landed on her singed and burned her coat. She spun around, scared out of her mind, and realized there was no place to go.

"HELP!"

Apple Bloom stirred when she thought she heard something coming from her sister's room. She stretched, climbed out of bed, and headed into the hallway. She instantly heard her Applejack screaming from her room and raced the few feet it was to her door. She tried opening it, but it was locked.

"Applejack! What's wrong?!"

The screams continued without a response.

"Help! Help! Big Mac!"

Her brother came from his room and galloped up to Apple Bloom. Granny Smith slowly followed, complaining about the ruckus the little filly was making. Big Mac heard the screams and tried to open the locked door. When the knob wouldn't budge, he spun around quickly and bucked it off one of its hinges. He grabbed the fallen door and ripped it off the frame, throwing it to the side. Apple Bloom and Big Mac froze in shock at what they saw. Granny Smith finally heard the screams with the door off and came up to her family.

"Oh my gosh.. " the elderly pony said, seeing what was going on.

Applejack was rolling in bed screaming, clawing at the air, burning from head to hoof. She rolled onto the floor, the fire seemingly not lighting anything else.

"Do something!" Apple Bloom yelled.

Big Mac dashed back to his room and returned with a large blanket. He threw it over his sister to smother the flames. She finally stopped screaming. She had stopped moving as well.

"Applejack! Applejack!" the filly screamed, her eyes beginning to water.

Big Mac pulled the blanket off his sister. His mouth hung open at the sight. Apple Bloom and Granny covered theirs in horror. All of her coat and hair was gone, and what remained of her skin was charred and blackened.

The filly cheeks were stained by the river of tears that she let fall. "Applejack, no!"