The Royal Apfelbaums (Family Appreciation Day)
“Ah got a pretty bad case of old.”
The squeaking of the old matron’s rocking chair was like a language unto itself—right now, it was agreeing with her emphatically.
“Naw, Granny,” said Applejack, seated on the couch with her siblings. “Yer as spry as ah’ve ever known ya. What’dya mean?”
A long, ragged intake of breath into nostrils sagging with age. “Ah mean ah ain’t got so long afore ah’ll be too far gone t’ do mah part with the Zap Apples. But somepony’s gotta.”
Apple Bloom looked up to her left, at her big brother. They needed Mac to handle the harvest itself—that was a sure thing every year. She looked up to her right, at her big sister. AJ was never one for stuperst… supidsit… the hokey stuff. Granny’s crazy Zap Apple rituals never sat right with AJ, so she wouldn’t be the one, either.
Did that mean… it was time?
“Apple Bloom,” rasped Granny Smith, “think that smart li’l unicorn friend ‘a yers would be up fer makin’ some Zap Apple jam?”
“An’ she told me there’d be no way ah’d remember all the steps!” Apple Bloom, trying her best to ignore all of the damnable happy shouts of the fillies and colts out on such a beautiful day, tossed the ball to Scootaloo.
“Well,” said Scoots, “she’s got a point, doesn’t she? You’re dumber than a pile of morons.” She bounced the ball in Sweetie Belle’s direction with a heady sproing.
Sweetie frowned. “Go easy, Scoots.” She gave the ball a light push back to Apple Bloom. “This ball’s pretty old.”
Eyes cast down to the ground, Apple Bloom said, “Look, ah get how this goes. Y’all get yer shots in whenever ah say somethin’ stupid, and we move right past it. An’ that’s fine.” She rested her head on the ball. “Ah just need a little more than that today. It ain’t usually mah own family thinkin’ ah’m dumb.”
“Right,” said Scootaloo, motioning for Apple Bloom to pass the ball, “ ‘cause you’re all at about the same level.”
The oft rumored indestructability of a red rubber ball accepted the challenge that was Scootaloo’s head, and it passed with flying colors—the color red, specifically, flying far out of the recess area. The never rumored indestructibility of Scootaloo’s head, feeling its reputation might not recover from this defeat, took on a challenge of its own: the rock jutting up from the ground behind the filly. Scootaloo’s head was clearly past its prime—two crushing losses in a row.
“Oops,” said Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle cringed for a moment, but settled back down when she saw Apple Bloom’s head nod back towards the ground. “Don’t worry about it, Bloom. She was asking for it today. And…” Sweetie rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “I guess I wasn’t the most supportive friend there, either. Still want some help?”
Holding back a sniffle, Apple Bloom nodded, smiling.
A bright voice called from the schoolhouse doorway, “Recess is over, children! Let’s all get back inside for the second half, now.”
Sweetie turned to the schoolhouse. “Miss Cheerilee, it happened again!”
“What happ—” Cheerilee fixed her eyes on the mess. “Right, it. That’s okay, dears, but please tell her the next time you see her that she’s running out of sick days.”
“Family Appreciation Day, though, huh?” said Apple Bloom. “That’s an idea. Ah could get Granny to come ‘n tell one ‘a the family stories.”
The afternoon sun hung above, dappling the ground with the shadows of the apple trees. The pair were just now coming up to the greatest planning spot in the world: the clubhouse.
Sweetie Belle set hoof on the ramp up. “Well, what exactly is your goal here?”
“Ah think ah just want a little more respect, t’ be honest.”
Lips curled down guility, Sweetie said, “But from whom?”
Apple Bloom turned her gaze up, towards the sky and the approaching clubhouse door. “Anypony, really. Even if it ain’t from Granny. Even if it’s just from some ‘a the other kids.”
Sweetie nodded, opening the door.
“Ta-dah!” yelled Scootaloo.
The inside the clubhouse was a giant, quivering glob of newness. There was a giant banner hanging from the ceiling that read, in bold comic sans, “I’M SORRY I LET ON THAT I THINK YOU’RE DUMB!” There was a newly installed chalkboard on the back wall, upon which the phrase “I’ll be subtler next time!” had been scrawled and re-scrawled until every inch of the board was full. A red carpet had been rolled out—the kindergarten sort, covered in numbers and the alphabet. Even the hatrack by the door was now stocked with dunce caps that had been painted black, with little tassels affixed to the points. Truly, no expense had been spared.
In the center of it all was Scootaloo, beaming. “Pretty good for two hours of being alive, right?”
Apple Bloom, blank-faced, turned to Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle met her eyes, half hoping that Bloom would keep her cool and half hoping that Tartarus was about to be visited upon She Who Had Clearly Gone Too Far.
All at once, Apple Bloom smirked, turned, and dashed headlong at Scootaloo, hoof raised high.
Scootaloo shrieked pitifully and averted her eyes, waiting for it.
And kept waiting for it.
Apple Bloom giggled like the schoolfilly she was, and she turned back to Sweetie Belle. “Y’know,” she said, “in Scoots’ case, ah think ah can make do with fear.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
622 users online
992,288 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Wait... Scoot not dying at the end?
I guess that dying in the middle counts but still.
Aww. I respect you, Bloom
...provided you keep a respectable MSD* from me
*Minimal Safe Distance
4544106
The best part is that Scoots was probably taken out in left field.
Well Scoots has officially hit the point where no one seems to me phased anymore. Hell even she isn't phased by her death anymore. It's just kind of a part of her day now... Maybe that's a giveaway if she's ever replaced by a changeling, she makes it through the day alive.
Fear is the best kind of respect, just ask Sombra!
Now all we need is Scoots dying twice in one chapter and Scoots not dying at all in another.
4544559
You seem to be forgetting the earlier chapter I wrote wherein she dies four times.
4544608
Yes you're right.
Still don't have a chapter where she doesn't die.
4544045 unless it's possible to die from fear
4544768
Yes, it is possible to die of fright.
There at the end Scoots was so certain she was going to die that she froze, not realizing that Bloom didn't actually hit her.
Apparently, Applebloom is developing the idea that if she won't be respected then she can be feared. It she starts applying that idea to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon...
4544625 *cough*
not counting the a/n, anyway
I like this variation. Scootaloo dies, sure, but it's not the focus. I actually wanted this to be longer, to see if Apple Bloom could get the respect she desires.
In any case, couldn't Granny Smith just write the steps down? (Insert illiteracy joke here.)
Looking forward to more.
4545455
Gragh! Why must my memory of important Scootaloo deaths (and non-deaths) be so flawed?
Oh well, that case everything is covered. Carry on as you will everyone.
4545043 The sooner the better with those two!
Scootaloo's life was on the ball this time.
Heaven help us if Applebloom develops a love for ice cream...and super fighting robot powers.
I return, after another long break from reading these. I'm really not as much of a frequent commenter of this story as I should be. Most other stories that I comment on regularly, I manage a comment per new chapter. I feel like I'm failing to live up to some kind of duty, but I can't for the life of me figure out who would actually hold me to such an obligation other than myself. Hmm. Well then.
Bad chapters:
-I found the Lebowski reference more odd than funny, partially because it couldn't seem to decide if it was an actual reference to the movie like in the episode the chapter was based on, or if it just wanted to reference the Dude's line that everyone quotes without actually making him the Dude.
-Fourth wall humour continues to annoy me in the Secret of my Excess chapter, and I think the anticlimax death joke has been done by now. Possibly several times.
Good chapters:
-Scoots being a creepy fangirl in the MMDW chapter was inspired. Props to your guest writer for that.
-The Hearth's Warming chapter was also pretty chill.
-This most recent one, which while not hysterical, certainly did something unexpected by actually being almost touching at the end (kinda), and seemed to shed some more light on the exact mechanics of how Scootaloo's resurrections work. More of this would be nice.
The rest were mostly unremarkable, ranging from forgettable to basically okay. So far, I think you're still doing alright overall. I'd like a more consistent quality, but I'll take what I can get.
I'm still rooting for you, Alex.
Apple Bloom, the murderer. Shall we keep a count of how many times she kills Scoots?
It looks like Scootaloo caught a break this time when Apple Bloom dropped the ball.
I love the Simpsons reference when it came to the chalkboard.