Applebloom's pictures were hanging on the fridge. One was a hoof painting of an apple tree. The other was a crayon drawing of a chicken. One of Applejack bucking apples with a poor doodle of their dog. Applejack stood in front of the fridge, looking at the pictures. Applebloom was a terrible drawer, you could hardly make out any of them. With a sigh, Applejack started to take them down. One by one, biting the bottom and putting them in the tiny cardboard box next to her.
"Takin' them there pictures down?" Granny Smith's voice made Applejack jump a little, she turned around seeing her grandmother. Applejack nodded and said with a bit of a single laugh, "Heck…Why not?" she turned back around and took a few more off. One after the other, and the fridge was bare, only a few magnets and a note saying, "Buy milk, cheese, something for supper"
Applejack looked down at the box. The pile of messy papers, piled in an even messier pile. Applejack reached up and fixed her hat to fit better on her head. She continued to stare down onto the box as she spoke, "Give me some help with this here, Granny?" Granny Smith walked over very slowly, like most old ponies do. Once she was over to the box, which seemed to take forever, she lifted it up with her mouth and placed it on AJ's back. "Thanks, Granny" she said as she turned around.
She walked upstairs, balancing the box on her back as if it was a pile of priceless vases. Granny Smith was walking behind her, walking equally as slow it seemed. When they got to the attic, Applejack placed the box in the corner of the room next to Applebloom's toys and knick knacks. The attic was dusty and stuffy. The single tiny window was caked in dust, the floorboards creaked and seemed as if they'd break any moment. Applejack stood back and looked at the pile of semi-useless junk in the corner. She saw Granny Smith standing by her looking at it.
"Does it ever get easier?" asked Applejack to Granny Smith as she stood there, staring at Applebloom's things. Granny Smith looked with her. Not speaking for a long, long time. She slowly raised her head and replied, "Does the uh what get easier, now?" Applejack pulled her hat down over her face and muttered, "I dunno…The pain the-…the weight on my chest?"
Granny Smith kept her eyes on the pile. She could pick out a few shoes and a dress from the whole mess. She sighed, "Without the pain and that there weight you feel…Ya wouldn't have anythin' left tuh remember…" Applejack looked over at Granny with a few tears in her eyes, Granny Smith continued, "But…it gets easier, yes sir. A few pounds'll come off or…yer head wont hang so much, heh heh" she put her hoof on Applejacks chin and lifted her head. Granny Smith had a tiny smile on her face.
"And this here, bloodshot look of yers..." she wiped the tiny tears from Applejacks eyes, "It starts tuh go away…" She then put her hoofs on Applejacks messy mane, "Then you'll…start tuh look after yerself too…honestly Applejack ya look like yer mane was dipped in a vat of grease" Applejack couldn't help but let out a tiny laugh. Granny Smith grinned a bit wider, hearing that she got at least a chuckle from her granddaughter.
The two mares turned and stared to walk down the mucky stares, as they reached the bottom, Applejack slowly stopped walking and turned her head towards the entrance of the attic. She blinked twice, eyes fixed on the entrance, "And…does it stop to linger all the time?" she asked, looking over at Granny Smith. "Unfortunately, yes." She replied as she slowly closed the door to the attic.