Pictures and Memories

by Plaguemouse

(ch 1) Unfathomable Boredom

Applebloom was bored. Not regular after-school-before-supper bored either. That was quick enough to dissapate as soon as the hayfries hit the table. No, this was serious. This was snowed-in-for-a-week-in-the-off-season-with-no-cmc bored. In short, possibly fatally bored.

The lemon yellow filly let out an exasperated sigh and surveyed the room. Shoved in the corner on a well scrubbed game table sat her big sister and Granny, the later cackling manically as she claimed yet another pot from her aggravated granddaughter. Applebloom wasn't so certain poker was the best game choice for the Element of Honesty.

On the other side of the room, curled comfortably in a patched and well loved arm chair was the stallion of the house, her brother Big Mac, looking the paragon of manliness peering over a pair of borrowed horn rimmed reading glasses needle in hoof, fussing clumsily over a pair of socks so holey they were were up for popehood at the next conclave.

At the foot of his armchair stood a precarious stack of coloring books, puzzle books, adventure books, even a few beginner how to books Granny Smith had given her on making birdhouses, each one filled in, solved, read, and absorbed. Applebloom was at a loss. Gown ups were boring. Inside was boring. Snow was boring. Every corner of this boring house was boring! By now she should have gotten her cutie mark in BOREDOM. Even WINONA wasn't doing anything, just sleeping under the chair.

Again Applebloom sighed. Louder. When that got noponies' attention she scooted towards her brother. For a few fleeting seconds, she became interested in what he was doing. Then she wasn't.

Pulling herself dramatically over the arm of the chair, she collapsed onto her brother's lap, sighing and groaning all the way as if boredom was literally killing her. (it totally was). Big Mac held his tatting job above the wayward filly and rolled his eyes.

"That's a good way to get pricked with a needle, I'm thinking." he belched in a slow, even monotone.

Over at the table Granny Smith was counting her last winnings (12 nails, 6 horseshoes and to AJ's endless annoyance, her precious hat) as AppleJack cut the cards for another game. "What's the commotion over yonder?" she huffed, her jaw set in frustration as Granny fitted her brand spanking new hat onto her head (backwards).

Applebloom slid down her brother's lap and lay on the floor like some kind of a limp yellow sponge. The only recognizable difference was that sponges are generally incapable of whining.

Applebloom let out a groan usually reserved for ponies passing kidney stones, all the while dragging herself to her sister's hooves. "I'M BOOOOOOORED."

"Read them books you got here." AJ said, without taking her eyes off the deck of cards in her hooves. She would beat that old green mare honest-like if it killed her.

Applebloom pounded her little hooves against her head in incompetent rage. "I reaaaad them aaaaaaaaall. Plaaaaay something with meeeeee."

Apple Jack peered at her impish grandmother with vengeance. Granny Smith had now righted the hat, and tipped it at a jaunty angle like a cowpony from the movies. Such villany could not be ignored.

"I'm a mite busy here, sis. Ask yer brother to play." AJ said, finishing dealing lifting up her new hand. "Celestia Dangit!" she said, stomping a hoof. Granny giggled like a filly.

Apple Bloom flopped back impotently to her brother, who was busy very much pretending that he was deaf and did not hear a word of the previous exchange. Brothers. Apple Bloom let out a noise somewhere in between a goat dying and a tea kettle whistling, and slowly Big Mac folded his still ragged socks, put down his needle, and folded his spectacles. Raising an eyebrow he cast his youngest sister a look.

Apple Bloom puckered out her lower lip. "Will you play with me, Big Mac?" she asked.
Big Mac scratched his chin as if in consideration. Applebloom leaned in close in anticipation. Big Mac takes a breath to reply and....

"Nope."

....And Apple Bloom wilted.

"Y'all are the BORINGIST family EVER!" she shouted before flumping onto the floor once more.

Grannie smith removed her prize hat from her head to scratch her head. AppleJack cringed as stray white hairs clung to the delicately woven surface. "Mercy child. When I was a filly, I was just glad not to be a Pony-cicle for the Timber Wolves this tima year."

"But Graaaaanny-"

"Don't Granny me none, youngin. Now if you are just dying for something to do, I got a scrap book upstairs that broke it's binding, and all them pages need putting back in order."

Apple Bloom sighed, but deciding a slightly boring activity was better than dying of ultimately boring nothingness, hauled her flank up the stairs to Granny's room. It smelled like Jelly and mothballs, and Applebloom crinkled her nose. Luckily it didn't take long to find the aforementioned pages; they were all piled haphazardly into a cardboard box beside the dresser. Apple Bloom grabbed it by the teeth and drug it back downstairs to be with the family. Without a flourish, she dumped it on the floor.

Pictures and pages came tumbling out. Young faces old faces, familiar and foreign assaulted her vision. One in particular caught her eye.

"Hay. Who are these two ponies with you guys?"

The picture showed in fading color a group of smiling ponies in their best finery standing starched, pressed, but very happy in front of a fountain. Three of them Applebloom could recognize. To the far right was Grannie in a lace collared dress and a pretty red bonnet. Down in the front was a lanky, skinny, colt Big Mac in a bow-tie and what had to be a filly Apple Jack, no older than Apple Bloom, hair in a top do, stuffed in a horrible pink dress, and smiling the biggest, fakest smile ever seen on Celestia's Blessed Earth, with her two front teeth missing to boot. That alone was worth a thousand years of teasing, but something bothered AppleBloom. Who were the rest of these ponies?

To the left were a blushing bride and her groom, looking absolutely darling in what had to have been a very expensive gown and tux. The bride was laughing open mouthed in a smile that could have burst her orange cheeks. The leg that was not draped around her groom was hugging tight to a beautiful light pink mare, her straw colored hair tied in a long braid and her belly swollen slightly with a gently showing foal bump. Beside her was a handsome, tall, freckled stallion smiling quietly, one hoof on Big Mac's shoulder.

"Lets see, kiddo." said the now grown up Big Mac. Apple Bloom passed the picture. Big Mac cracked a smile and chuckled. "Eeeyup. Thats us." he said, passing the picture to Apple Jack, who had put down her cards.

"But who are those other ponies?" Apple Bloom asked again.

Apple Jack, who now had the photo smiled. "Why, that'd be your Aunt and Uncle Orange and all of us on their wedding day. That was some reception, let me tell ya. That's who I went to stay with in Manehatten before I got my Cutie Mark. You remember that story, dontcha?"

Grannie Smith was smiling knowingly. "We got to remember to send them some Zap Apple Jam for Hearth's Warming Eve this year. For a high falootin lady that little Miss Orange Slice sure can put away some Jelly!"

The two older sibling snorted a laugh in reply, and Apple Bloom pouted. She hated to be left out of a joke, so she hijacked the conversation.

"Ok, but who are those other two ponies?" she asked.

The grown ups looked like they had been slapped.

Apple Bloom thought she needed to clarify. "The uh...the pink one with the foal bump, and the stallion with his hoof on Big Mac?"

Dead Pan silence.

Apple Jack was the first one to speak. "Apple Bloom, ya mean ya don't recognize them?" the filly shook her head. AJ looked pained. "That's Mom and Dad."

Author's Note:

So there is the first chapter. I am going to try to keep it as lighthearted as possible. This is only my second fic, so anything worth pointing out to make it better please do :p

Comments

[xd77]

Hey Applebloom, turn on your tv and watch CMT

[firestripe]

Who be deleting comments?

[Plaguemouse]

2845909

Not I

[Triago]

Wow, this was great! The writing is just right, the pacing, the jokes, the words choice.
You just got yourself a new fan, upvoting and faving.

[Plaguemouse]

2846265