Chapter 1
"You don't understand, Applejack!"
The orange earth pony smiled in a bittersweet sort of way, ruffling the filly's candy-apple red mane with one hoof. "Ah think Ah understand just fine. You had a difficult day at school. It happens to the best of ponies. Be brave and strong and get through it, Apple Bloom, and you'll do just fine."
Apple Bloom pushed her sister's playful hoof off of her head and stomped her front leg down, amber eyes narrowed in anger. "But Applejack!" she whined in such a loud and troubled voice Applejack had to flatten her ears against her head to block out the volume. "You don't get it! She called me ugly, an ugly pony who lives in a mucky old farm! She called mah bow 'horrid' an' mah mane 'yucky,' an'...an'..."
Her voice lowered at this, almost to an inaudible squeak. "...is she right, Applejack? Am Ah...ugly?"
Of all the questions in the world, Applejack hadn't expected this one.
It had started out as a pretty normal day.
Applejack had been minding her own business, trying to figure out when the next apple harvest should be, when all of a sudden there had been a sound like thunder; this had actually been Apple Bloom, arriving home from school, slamming the door open, and cantering upstairs as fast as her little legs could carry her to collapse into her bed and cry her eyes out. Applejack had put the schedule to the side and had gone to tend to her little sis...
...and now this was happening. A talk was coming that could never have been avoided. Applejack had just hoped it would have come later rather than sooner. But it was inevitable.
"Apple Bloom, sweetie," Applejack cooed, taking her place in the bed by her sister's side. "Which filly's gone an' done this to ya?"
The reply was muffled; Apple Bloom's head was buried in a pillow. "Diamfond Fifarfa."
"You mean Filthy Rich's gal?" The mare squinted into the distance, as if trying to remember a far gone memory. "Shoot, she's always seemed like such a nice little filly."
"She's not," Apple Bloom replied sulkily, before her body shuddered again with silent sobs. "She's ruinin' my life, an' Ah'm not even sure if she's telling the truth or not!"
As she continued to speak, her voice rose higher and higher until it was nothing but a squeal; once again, Applejack covered her ears, trying to drone it all out. "Apple Bloom, she's tellin' you a lie, an' that's the honest truth."
Rolling over, the filly stared up at the ceiling, amber eyes avoiding contact with her sister's concerned green. Her next words were slow and thoughtful, as if she had considered saying them for a very long time. "But what she said...wasn't it true? We do live on a dirty old farm… and mah mane is a little bit messy…and mah bow is just the littlest bit torn up..." She sniffled pitifully, as if afraid to go on.
Applejack sighed and lay down next to her sister, so they were staring up at the ceiling together, like both were looking for Luna's constellations somehow hidden in the plaster and wood, dancing mischievously among the brightly colored paint. Slowly she reached one orange foreleg around the filly and drew her close, rolling her over just a little bit so that she could whisper in her ear.
"Now listen here, Apple Bloom. What Ah'm about to tell y'all is common knowledge, somethin' everypony should listen to and keep close to their hearts, ya hear?"
Clearly trying hard to suppress her tears, Applejack felt a tidal wave of relief wash over her as Apple Bloom nodded, amber eyes conveying more emotion than she could ever speak in words.
It wasn’t easy to find the right words. All their life, the parent figure in a family dreaded having this talk with their child. In this case, there were no parents, Celestia and Luna bless their souls, so Applejack was the closest thing Apple Bloom had. Though it felt as if she had been preparing for this moment her whole life, at the single moment in time she actually needed to speak them, Applejack was horrified to find that words failed her.
Apple Bloom simply waited, as if challenging her.
An intake of breath. Then Applejack spoke.
“It’s true that some ponies are very beautiful. They have pretty manes, or pretty eyes, or silky coats, or gorgeous wings, or some other fancy word that Ah don’t bother myself with.”
“Like Rarity?” Apple Bloom asked quietly, hardly a peep.
“Yes. Like Rarity.” Applejack smiled before continuing. “However, even if a pony is very, very pretty on the outside, that doesn’t always make them very, very pretty on the inside.” She watched for Apple Bloom’s expression to make sure her sister was following and stopped when it seemed the filly was drawing a blank; it could be seen in her eyes - the plain confusion. “You got it, sis?”
“Ah’m not sure,” Apple Bloom replied tentatively. “Snips says Diamond Tiara is very pretty. But even if she’s pretty, she’s..." Her face scrunched up as she tried to interpret what her sister had told her. "...not always pretty?”
Applejack nodded encouragingly. “Even if Snips thinks Diamond Tiara is pretty, that may be true. But what about her heart?”
Apple Bloom stared blankly.
“Ah’ll try this a different way.” Applejack thought for a second, and then her green eyes lit up. “Got it! Alright, Apple Bloom. Say you were lookin’ at Diamond Tiara’s heart. Would you imagine it bein’ pretty, like the outside of her, or ugly, like how she acts to you?”
The answer seemed to come on instinct. “Ugly, o’ course! Hairy, with lots and lots of worms in it to show that she's rotten inside.” The idea made Apple Bloom giggle, even through her tears.
Applejack smiled. "Do yah see now? Even if a pony is pretty, she might have an ugly heart."
Apple Bloom stared off into the distance, considering this, before turning back with yet another question, which Applejack welcomed gratefully, feeling like she was really helping her sister out in this scenario. "But what if a pony is pretty and has a pretty heart? Like Rarity? Is that possible?"
"O' course!" The mare snorted. "There are plenty of combinations o' pretty an' ugly, an' they all can work. Even a pony who might think that she's ugly, even if she is the prettiest little sister in the world," she poked Apple Bloom playfully in the chest, causing her to snort excitedly, "can have the most beautiful heart anypony did see."
The tears had finally stopped, and Applejack exhaled. All that talking had tired her out; but that currently wasn't important. The important thing was: had she done her job? Had she succeeded in that task that all parents dreaded until it came?
Had she done alright?
And judging by the way Apple Bloom flew at her in a warm embrace which was heartily received, yes, she had.
"Aww, come 'ere, sis," Applejack whispered into her sister's ear, feeling the warm touch of skin on skin and the cold touch of wet tears on her fur. "It's alright. It's okay. To me, you're beautiful with a beautiful heart, and," she said, honesty ringing clear as a bell through her tone, "that's the best you can be."
Silence for a few seconds; then Apple Bloom looked up, teary-eyed, a grin on her face. "Thank you, Applejack."
"No problem. Ah'm just callin' it how Ah see it." And she meant it, too. She really meant it, from the bottom of her heart. Something told her Apple Bloom knew that, and she was grateful.
There was silence for a moment; silence that Applejack welcomed. It was just her and Apple Bloom and nopony else, tightly locked in an embrace that seemed to last a lifetime, before Apple Bloom burst out giggling.
Applejack looked down, confused. "What is it?"
Apple Bloom snorted through her tears. "Ah'm just imaginin' a heart with a bunch of worms in it." She burst into a fit of giggles again, causing her whole figure to shake up and down against Applejack's body.
Her sister grinned. "Maggots," she teased; this caused the filly to squeal with laughter.
"Beetles!"
"Spiders!"
"Wasps!"
"Honeybees!"
"Snakes!"
"Flies!"
By the time they had finished, both sisters were lying on the bed, exhausted from laughing so hard, and completely out of breath. They stared up at the ceiling, at the constellations hidden in the plaster and the paint, and once more there was silence. A good kind of silence. A satisfying, Applejack-you've-done-your-job kind of silence. Said pony closed her eyes in relief, relishing the clearness of it all.
It was broken by a single word, spoken by a snickering little filly.
"Mold!"
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This was an adorable little one shot. Just the sort of feel good I needed right now. Well done.
Say...am I first comment?
3322134
(OoC: 'Nuff said)
Eeeeh... I don't find it funny for some reason... Nevertheless, have an upvote.
3322149
Raven: Is snickering 'Course it's funny! C'mon, imagine Diamond Tiara's heart!
Raven: Snickers Fleas!
Dr. X: Chuckles What do you think of hornets?
Raven: How 'bout some roaches?!
And then Apple Bloom snuck around and waited for Diamond Tiara to be alone, and she beat her to a pulp.
Wow, short but beautiful. Something similar to this could even be an episode. I enjoyed this a lot.
Very sweet.
This is a slice of life that rings true. It was so touching I believe I have made liquid pride
Aw... That was so cute!
Diamond Tierra sucks
So, there was no reason what so ever to break from the established norm of minimal technology. The entire phone conversation wasn't important to the story and only serves to break canon. Just toss that part and slot in something better.
Saw the description and I'm like: WHAT? BUT APPLEBLOOM IS SO FREAKIN ADORABLE!
Have homework, so read this later
How dare you only put this story in one group? This needs to be shared!
tinyurl.com/mbho6go
Short and cute. I liked it.
Cute story. Very wuv.
I always love reading cute stories like this. You got the character's accents down, Applejack and Apple Bloom are in character the whole way through, and it's very nicely written.
The only thing I didn't like was when Applejack is mentioned talking on the phone. It's a minor thing, but it just seemed awkward in the context of the rest of the story, considering I could easily see a scenario like this being in an actual episode of the show. Phones, since they aren't canon, just seemed out of place as a result. But that's just a minor quibble.
Really nice fic.
How DARE Diamond Tiara speak to my favorite CMC that way?! Oh, she's gonna PAY for it later!
Thankfully, my favorite of the six is there to help.
Loved this, by the way, along with pretty much everything else you write.
You characterized them well- at least what I know of.
The Apple Family has always been very intriguing to me, and when I get to see more slices of this apple pie (even if it's just mere fanfiction) I simply eat it up!
Thanks so much for writing it! I await more one-shots of you!
3324642>>3323571
Sorry about the whole phone tidbit, I'm going to take that out. It was originally there because I was going to have an alternate ending where Rarity ends up coming over after Applejack called her and contributed to the conversation, but deleted it at the last second.
Other than that, I'm glad you enjoyed!
AWWWWW! That was so sweet!
No, jk!
Really, who would think AB as ugly? Let's all kill diamond tiara!
Sequel: Apple Bloom does need a new bow, and now Rarity is on the case!
or not. This was cute though.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and some people aren't fit to behold anything.
Death to Diamond Tirar that is all
Applejack you may not be Rarity but you do seem to know about the true meaning of Beauty..and that I salute you
And you dear Author, have now a million moustaches in honour for Apple Bloom and Applejack, good show
That cover pic is gonna make me CRY!
3326844 i finished a fanfic chapter of my yu-gi-oh fic.
"SPOILERS" Diamond Tiara gets her ass handed to her by Fluttershy
Okay So: Honest Review Coming up:
So where to start...at the beggining I guess. The story itself is VERY good. It is a short nice and heartwarming tale. The characters act really the way they should. The conflict itself is just plain great. To me this fic was an aftermath of Applebloom's first confrontation with Diamond Tiara (when Applebloom still didn't know any better). The way everything is written is REALLY good so as the whole fic.
Overall I enjoyed it Liked, favorited it and followed you. I would give it an 8/10 (Great). You really did a great work. Keep it up.
Best Wishes, Zelos.
3323645
No. You are wrong.
Clearly, the correct course of action is to read this first, then do your homework.
Homework is always the last thing you do, of course.
And that, folks, is what families are for
AJ got off lightly there. I suppose it helps that she's known for her honesty and that Bloom trusts her completely, but I'm willing to bet all my bits that talk doesn't go as smoothly in every instance. Good job, AJ, good job. Very well handled. It's a small thing in the long run, but I think Apple Bloom's learned a good lesson from this.
This is what I call "pure fanfiction". It doesn't expand the FiMverse, it doesn't try to tell some grand tale forgotten by The Show, it shows us a little snippet that might have fallen on the cutting room floor. This story is extremely believable, from the comic actions of the characters to the well-written accents. It fits right into The Show without any suspension of disbelief at all. It is purely a fanwork designed to glorify The Show and its wonderful characters, and it has done so very well.
Have a mustache and a like, good author!
Sweet!
3367491 I agree. While most Fanfiction goes and takes a whole new direction of story this is far more believable and doesn't tell a lost tale, like you mentioned this is also very real unlike other fictions
Nice! Let AppleBloom talk her heart out about that horrible Diamond Tiara! Go AppleBloom! Go AppleBloom! Go AppleBloom!
And just why is it so important to you to know what Snips considers pretty, hmmm Apple Bloom, wink wink?
This made me wish I had a sibling
3322149 If heartworms are an issue, take new and improved Heartgard Plus for ponies!
sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=H.4915466752688328&pid=15.1
*Alondro gets big bag of money from manufacturer*
So sweet.
I like the fact that there's still some acknowledgement that looking good on the outside and on the inside are just different, so one can be one without the other, or both. A lot of stories (cliché cartoons) would omit that. The laughing at the bully thing with the heart ridden with maggots is a little bit awkward, but mostly because it's a familiar and very real-sounding scene, so kudos for that.
Not entirely sold on the 'I' being replaced by 'Ah', but that's a personal taste and not a dealbreaker when the story's short enough. The same can be said for some of the style in it, especially when Applejack's wondering what to say and if it had an effect. I'm personally not a fan of how that was written, but again that's not a dealbreaker. It really depends, and it does work here, that's all that matters. Upvoted for good feels and balanced message.
The majority of the story was cheezy as hell, but its all good... got into my favorites list with a thumbs up.
Really, this was an lovely story! There are never enough fics about applejack and apple bloom. Really sweet fic.
Pfffft ahaha!!!
mold!!
such a cute fic
so loving so loving so loving so loving so loving
One of the many reason why aj is worst pony
Adorable.
6616518 If you hate AJ so much why did you click on the story?
Hey I just did a fanfic reading of this https://youtu.be/IhbCGHsDsfA
This was cute, and so very, very truthful. Well done. I felt privileged to read it.
I DESPISE Diamond Tiara for this, Applebloom's design is the best out of the CMCs, she's the leader and has confidence that i could never have...
We're going to gang up on Diamond.