012 Bushels ❦ [Action for Cianwood/Video]

[buckyouup]

[AJ has been doing a lot of thinking lately. Being stuck in the Cianwood Inn nursing an injured leg for the last three weeks, thinking is all you really can do. She's managed to get out of bed enough to start exercising again, but she's still not able to keep up with training her pokemon just yet. Still, she's spent most of today resting in bed, a Togetic curled in her lap. The little fairy has never left her side since the injury, tending to every need she is capable of handling. Part of her is thankful, but part of her is sad. The caring, the dedication. It reminds her all to much of...

She huffs, reaching down and stroking the tiny creature's crest, who coos in response. Why is it that she can show so much affection to a pokemon, but she could only freeze up attempting the same to its former trainer? She couldn't give her the one thing that would make her truly happy in the last weeks of her being in this world? Her hand balls into a fist.

Damnit.]

What... do y'all do when you feel like you let somepony down?

[When you can't seem to forgive yourself, no matter how much you try.]

Comments

[Video]

[foolishwren]

_{[... Aw, AJ.]}

... Honestly, I usually just try to get over it and do better. S'not always easy, and I'm not exactly the getting-over-things champion... but it's all you can really do.

Can't change the past and stuff.

[Video]

[buckyouup]

Maybe not, but you can make up for it. I just... ain't sure how, yet.

[Video]

[foolishwren]

Well, yeah... I mean, hopefully there's ways to make up for something like that...

_{[She pauses. AJ had questioned HER wellbeing recently-- and even if Heather hadn't been forthcoming with information, the fact that Applejack had cared at all was touching.]}

... AJ, what happened, exactly?

[buckyouup]

I'm just... wonderin' if I went the right way on some decisions.

[And that is the most basic way of describing what is wrong.]

[foolishwren]

What kinds of decisions are we talking about?

_{[She pauses a moment, before adding--]}

That matters, you know. Hard to give advice when the question's so vague.

[buckyouup]

...Relationship decisions.

[Like pulling teeth, this one.]

[foolishwren]

.... Oh.

_{[So THAT'S it.]}


... I wish I knew what to say that would solve all of that for you, but man, you are miles ahead of me in that department, soooo...

_{[SHE IS NOT EQUIPPED TO GIVE ADVICE, IN OTHER WORDS.]}

[buckyouup]

I-I don't really think I know that much...

[Really, she's clueless. This isn't good.]

[foolishwren]

Well, enough to be IN one, anyway.

What happened?

I mean, I wasn't exactly paying much attention, I admit, but... you guys always seemed, y'know, sweet.

_{[DID THEY HAVE SOME KIND OF NASTY BREAKUP WHILE HEATHER WASN'T LOOKING OR WHAT]}

[buckyouup]

Oh...

[So you knew about that?]

So we were a good couple? I'm relieved t'hear that.

[foolishwren]

_{[SHE'S PRETTY SURE IT CAME OUT AT SOME POINT. She wasn't OVERLY aware of it, but at some point she found out they were an item.]}

Well, YEAH.

Why wouldn't you be?

_{[They were both nice and down to earth, although she'd always known AJ better than Fluttershy-- both now and from before, when she'd been in Johto the first time.]}

... I mean... was there something wrong?

[buckyouup]

Well... when I came back t'Johto, it took a while for some of my memories t'come back.

...I'm still waitin' on our memories together.

[foolishwren]

... Oh.

_{[Oh, that... explains a lot.]}

... That's rough, buddy.

[buckyouup]

...Yeah.

[She... isn't sure what else to say. It breaks her heart that she wasn't able to provide for her, but at the same time, she doesn't remember dating her. She just... doesn't know what to do.]

[foolishwren]

_{[There's a sort of awkward pause, because what DO you say? But after a moment or so, Heather pipes up again.]}

Well... for what it's worth, you guys usually seemed happy, from what I could see.

Were you... worried that you weren't?

[buckyouup]

N-not exactly. I'm just real glad t'know I was less awkward about it then than I am now.

[foolishwren]

... HEH. Well, to be fair, I don't think anyone WOULDN'T be awkward upon being told they were in a relationship they didn't remember...

<sub>[If HEATHER had been told upon arrival that she'd been somebody's girlfriend without having any memory of it, she'd have freaked out.]

[Although possibly that was because she'd had someone consider her their lover-- without ever once previously meeting her in person-- back home. And that had been one of the most terrifying situations she'd ever been in.]

[At least Applejack and Fluttershy had been near-lifelong friends.]

[... And neither of them was, you know, a psychopath.]</sub>

You guys seemed happy. I didn't know either of you well enough to like-- know what the circumstances were, but just from what I DO know about you, I'm sure you were doing fine.

... So... don't worry, okay?

I mean, hell, if someone was like, 'HEATHER! QUICK! I NEED A GIRLFRIEND!' and I had to pick out someone guaranteed to be a nice, sane person who you'd never need to worry about being trouble to get close to, you'd be right up there.

_{[She wouldn't include herself on that list, but that's a different story entirely.]}

[buckyouup]

[She can't help but giggle at that last comment.]

Y'really think that, Heather? I never even considered myself the datin' type.

[foolishwren]

Well, I might not be the best judge.

I was never really much of a dater, myself.

But for whatever my opinion's worth, you did fine.

You're nice, you're down to earth, you care about people.

Makes you a HELL of a lot more 'dateworthy' than like... 75% of the people I've ever met.

[buckyouup]

Yeah... I reckon I've come across my share of undesirables durin' my time, too.

[foolishwren]

Yeah.

I bet every girl has.

_{[Undesirables are universal. EVEN IN THE LAND OF PONIES.]}

[buckyouup]

[People being scumbags and jerks transcends even species.]

S'why us gals need t'stick together.

[foolishwren]

Heh, yeah. Girls don't let girls deal with creeps, right?

[buckyouup]

There's power in numbers, Sugarcube. Don't you forget it.

[foolishwren]

I guess I'll have to try not to.

That's probably the biggest difference between here and home. There's people here who've got my back.

_{[... :I Although that's probably not true for AJ now that she thinks of it, oops. FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC IN EQUESTRIA. NOT SO MUCH IN SILENT HILL.]}