Strength of an Apple Tree
The opening day of cider season was always a cause for a celebration at Sweet Apple Acres. It marked the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the fall planting season. And of course, it was also the biggest sales day of the year for Sweet Apple Acres as ponies came from all over Equestria to buy the first run of the season’s production. To cap the off the day, the Apples always hosted a big shindig in the barn, setting up a stage for live music and a bar where they had tapped a few barrels of their special reserve cider.
A black pegasus with an unkempt brown mane sat at the end of the makeshift bar, keeping mostly to himself. He used his forelegs to prop him up, for he had lost his balance long ago thanks to too many drinks. Staring down into his mug, he felt his mind reel, making him sit back and blink several times. As his head cleared he lifted his mug to drink, but before it touched his lips, somepony bumped into his chair and made him spill his precious drink all over his legs. He slammed his drink back down on the bar angrily and looked around, fully intent on wanting to smack the crap out of whoever slighted him.
He quickly spotted a young earth pony standing behind him, a large bow in her mane. He glared at her, watching her try to place too many empty mugs on her back. Several of them lay at her hooves, scattered about all over the place. He cleared his throat, getting her attention.
Apple Bloom looked up and smiled apologetically. She flicked her ears down and wiped her brow. “Heh, sorry about that, mister. It’s kinda hard balancing all of these here empty mugs, ya know?” She kept gathering the dropped mugs.
The pegasus bit his lip and frowned. If she had been a stallion, he would have already been nose to nose with them. “Yeah, well... Watch where yer goin’ next time, lass,” he said, his voice gruff and slightly rude. He turned back around and shook his head. “Buncha freakin’ mud ponies!” he said to no one in particular.
Apple Bloom’s eyes went wide. There were some things that were simply off limits no matter how despicable a pony was. As much as she hated Diamond Tiara, she still would have never dreamed of calling her a mud pony. She watched with bated breath as Big Mac walked up behind the stallion, sure that her older brother was about to dish out a fierce beating in defense of the family's honor.
He lifted a foreleg up only to place it on the pegasus’ shoulder. “Okay friend, we’re glad you could make it but why don’t you head on home, eh? Maybe get some rest?’ Big Mac asked with a friendly smile. His tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.
“I ain’t finished with my cider yet,” the black stallion drunkenly snarled, staring straight ahead. He didn’t know who he was talking to, and he wasn’t about to take something from a stranger. Taking a deep breath, and preparing for a fight, he turned around in his seat to find a red stallion much larger than him. His eyes going wide, he lowered his hoof and relaxed as he recognized Big Mac. He shot him a nervous smile, hoping that he’d let him be.
Big Mac didn’t return the expression. Instead he just helped the stallion to his feet and pressed the half filled mug into his hoof. “Here, it’s on the house. Get home safe,” he said as he ushered the pony out the door.
“For a mud pony, you ain’t half bad,” he muttered stumbling out of the barn. Big Mac stood at the door watching him walk off. He watched the drunk stallion finish the mug, toss it on the ground, and spread his wings. He lifted off for a few seconds, and just as it looked like he was about to fly away into the night sky, he fell to the ground in a heap. Big Mac chuckled to himself as he watched the pegasus pull himself up off the ground, only turning away when he saw him walk away towards the farm’s exit.
The bar was almost empty, the last few patrons making preparations to continue their evening elsewhere. Apple Bloom set the last batch of mugs down and trotted over to Big Mac who had begun wiping down the bar.
“Hey Mac?”
“Little Bloom.”
“That stallion, the one who said those things, why didn’t you wallop him? I reckon you coulda laid him out!”
“Eeyup, I reckon I could’ve too.”
“So why didn’t you? He was saying all that stuff about about our family!”
Big Macintosh shrugged, the gesture serving to emphasize just how broad his shoulders really were. “Pa always said it don’t take real strength to knock a pony down; it takes real strength to help them up. ‘Sides, he wasn’t talking about us, specifically.”
“That don’t make sense, he was trashin’ our farm and our apples and you gave him free cider!” Apple Bloom said stomping her hoof in protest.
“That wasn’t about us Apple Bloom, that was about whatever else he’s got goin’ on in his life that he don’t want to deal with,” Big Mac said with another shrug. “If you don’t know somepony personally, then don’t take it personally.”
Apple Bloom would have kept pestering her brother but Applejack trotted over. “C’mon Bloom, it’s getting to be ‘round yer bedtime. You can finish up round here, right Mac?”
“Eeyup,” the stallion responded with his usual carefree grin.
The two mares trotted to the main house in silence. It wasn’t until Applejack had tucked Apple Bloom in that the younger apple said anything.
“I still don’t get it, Applejack. Doesn’t Big Mac care if ponies go ‘round saying mean things about us?”
“Maybe Mac didn’t want ponies goin ‘round sayin the Apples go round hittin ponies just cause they said some words.”
“But what if they deserve it?”
Applejack didn’t answer the question, instead she just smiled. “You’re an Apple, which means when you get older you’re gonna be buckin’ trees and haulin’ carts. Now I reckon you ain’t gonna be quite as big as your big bro, but you do take after him, so that means ya gonna be plenty strong enough to cause some real damage if ya want.”
“If I wasn’t just a filly I would laid a hoof upside that jerk’s head,” Apple Bloom said, all nestled snugly under the covers.
Apple Bloom’s threat elicited a chuckle from her older sister. “Like I said, when you get older it ain’t gonna be a question of if you could teach some mouthy stallion a lesson; it’s gonna be on you to decide if that’s really the best way to handle it. Mac decided there was a better way.”
“But shouldn’t we stand up for ourselves? Ponies shouldn’t call us…well, what he did.”
“No they shouldn’t, but mean as they may be, they’re still just words.”
Apple Bloom paused to consider that fact but remained unconvinced. “I don’t know, I still kinda think he deserved it.”
“Well I s’pose that’s your call. But either way, ain’t nothing to do about it tonight.”
“I guess not. Night, Applejack,” Apple Bloom said with a yawn.
“Night, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said before blowing out the candle on her nightstand.
The weekend passed uneventfully. Some ponies from town helped them take down the bar for most of the day, and Apple Bloom went and played with her friends for the rest of it.
The next day went like any other. She went to school, and though the lesson in mathematics bored the living hay out of her, she still did her best to pay attention. She watched the clock, praying that school would end soon. Thankfully for her, Miss Cheerilee ended the lesson sooner than normal.
“Alright everypony, I think that’s enough for the day!” Miss Cheerilee said with a smile. “I’ll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning!”
Apple Bloom perked up. Done? Already? Awesome! she thought as she threw everything into her saddlebag. She stood up, threw her bag across her back, then trotted outside. Her friends had already left so they could get their homework out of the way so that they could hang out later, but she stuck around, simply enjoying the weather.
It was already rather late into fall, and the leaves were already turning colors. Apple Bloom decided to take the long way back to the farm, so instead of turning right down the path leading back home, she kept going straight, right down the path that led into town.
Everything was going great until she heard that familiar voice of her bully, Diamond Tiara. She didn’t catch what she said, but she was sure that it was hurtful. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and faced her foe. She wasn’t surprised to find Silver Spoon standing beside her, either. “What do you want?” she asked, forcing her tone dull.
“Oh, nothing. I just wanted to hear how badly your cider event went this past weekend,” Diamond Tiara said sweetly, batting her eyelashes at her. “I heard about that little... problem you guys had with that drunk pegasus.”
Apple Bloom remembered what the pegasus said at the event this past weekend. All of her previous feelings bubbled up inside of her, and she had a feeling that Diamond Tiara was going to poke fun at her because of it. “It went we—”
“Ha! I knew it went terrible!” Diamond said with a laugh. “You know, I had thought that a stupid bunch of mud po—” She was cut off by Apple Bloom’s hoof connecting with the side of her jaw. Diamond Tiara slumped to the ground, mumbling something incoherently.
Apple Bloom stared at Diamond, breathing heavily. She remembered Big Mac’s words in her head, but hearing the word ‘mud pony’ had simply driven her so far up the wall that she couldn’t take it. She watched as Silver Spoon rushed to Diamond’s side, her chest heaving up and down. Her mind felt clouded, and she felt nothing but anger. Thought most of it was focused on Diamond Tiara, some of it stemmed from what that pegasus had said the other night.
Nopony was going to talk like that in front of her.
Her hoof hurt from hitting Diamond more than she had thought it would, but she didn’t care. She thought it was well worth it, but as she thought on about it, she knew in her heart that her siblings would disagree with her.
“Don’t ever let me catch you talkin’ like that again, ya hear?” Apple Bloom said with a small snort. She turned around back down the path and made a beeline for the farm, her mind a whirlwind of conflicting feelings.
Apple Bloom ran straight to her room and slammed the door shut. She jumped on her bed and lay down, burying herself in her pillows; the past events playing themselves over and over in her mind. A little while later, as the sun began to set, she heard the familiar voice of Filthy Rich, consequences for what she did were imminent, but she still couldn’t make herself regret her actions.
It wasn’t long before she heard hoofsteps from down the hallway. They stopped just outside of her bedroom door. Several seconds passed before somepony knocked, and when she didn’t respond, she heard the door open.
“Hey, lil’ sis’... ya alright in here?” Big Mac asked, sticking his snout through the opening.
Apple Bloom sat on her bed, staring out of the window with her back to the door. Tears welled up in her eyes; she had not expected to deal with her big brother. She never liked hiding things from any members of her family, but all the same she would have rather talked to Applejack about this.
Big Mac walked inside and closed the door. The bed sank under his weight as he sat next to her. After taking a deep breath, he said, “So... Diamond Tiara’s father came by, he told me what happened.”
Tears flowed freely down Apple Bloom’s face. “I’m so sorry, Mac! I just couldn’t help myself! She called us mud ponies and was making fun of our event, and I... I couldn’t stop myself.” Apple Bloom buried her face into her brother’s side. “I didn’t want to,” she muttered after a few seconds. She sat back and looked into Big Mac’s eyes. “I know what you said yesterday, but... I wasn’t strong enough. Does that make me a bad pony?”
Big Mac took a deep breath before he laid a reassuring hoof across her back. “Come walk with me.” It was phrased as though it was a suggestion, but Apple Bloom knew that it wasn’t.
The pair walked through the main house, past the south orchard toward the property line, where the Apple family had planted a new grove of apple trees last winter. The saplings were coming in nicely, but Apple Bloom knew that it would still be several years before the trees bore any fruit. Big Mac stopped in the middle of a row, a content look on his face as he inspected the new additions. “What do you see?” he asked gently.
“A bunch of little apple trees,” Apple Bloom guessed.
“Eeyup. They’re not as strong as the trees in the other orchards, are they?”
“Well of course not, they ain’t nothing but sap-oh,” Apple Bloom said as Big Mac’s lesson became readily apparent.
“Strength for handling situations like that takes time, little one. As you grow older, you’ll see what I mean.” He stood up to leave, but he felt Apple Bloom tug on his tail.
“So does that mean I’m not in trouble?” Apple Bloom asked hopefully. She gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster and stuck out her lower lip.
Big Mac laughed. “Not by a longshot! Yer grounded for a week.”
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Um... why would Diamond Tiara, an earth pony, say a racial slur against earth ponies to another earth pony? I mean, I know she's a bully, but it seems a little silly. Probably could have used any of the other students.
Still, really good story.
Unless she's been eating worms, Apple Bloom watched with bated breath.
6470316 I would argue it's similar to why some black people use the n word, or some women use misogynist terms: they're creating an implied distinction between the slur and all members of the group.
6470321 thanks
6470331 fixed
6470352
6470316
One could also argue that Diamond Tiara was making fun of Apple Bloom because she's a farm pony.
A very sweet story I liked it,
Seems strange that DT would use "mud pony", seeing she is one herself. Maybe if she called them "hicks"?
And I don't see why she was grounded. DT more than deserved getting her teeth blasted out of her skull.
6470872 See my comment here: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/291529/strength-of-an-apple-tree#comment/6470443
6470872 As for being grounded, she hit someone else. Even if she was provoked, it was still the wrong thing to do.
6470872
I do not think Diamond Tiara understood what she said. She often has her mouth running and I bet her brain missed that one. Hopefully she does get told what she said and it is corrected fast.
One of the best stories I've ever read. Great job!
6470316
6470352
6470443
Alternatively, you could go by the interpretation that Diamond Tiara hasn't thought about whether the term applies to her because she's just really stupid.
That's my headcanon, at least.
6472225 Pfft yeah haha, that works too.
Such a great, heart-warming story. Nice job.
Short and sweet. Very nice!
6470316 My guess is, in this story, Diamond Tiara has a secret horn hidden under that Tiara. Or bully casting call in Ponyville failed to turn up any non-earth ponies, take your pick.
Well, to be honest, I'd punch Diamond Tiara too.
It's like Hermione punching Malfoy.
I'm pretty sure we all inwardly cheered.
Sometimes, a good smack is what it takes to grind the lesson in. Not always, but I've known a few people who needed it.
6473524 Possibly the best scene in the series.
frankly. Diamond Tiara should be plumbed. I personally would have claimed child abuse by spoiling way before. I hate the brat. So GO APPLEBLOOM!
6474863 Filthy Rich is by far the worst parent for spoiling his little hell hound and letting her get away with bullying and most likely bad grades.
6473223 I think the term means earth ponies with farm work.
6474968 In the 50 other times I've seen that term used in stories, its a racial slur that applies to all earth ponies.
6474972 Okay then.. Thanks for informing me.
6474978 No problem, the author could be trying to take the term in a new direction here, it's just a deviation from most other stories,
6474863 What do you mean by 'plumbed'?
A collaboration between two of my favorite authors? oh yeah I'm reading this!
6475503 beaten black and blue.
beaten into a bloody pulp.
punched repeatedly and kicked over and over till she looks like a puddle on the floor?
xD I don't like her. I've had problems with bullies all my life so yeah.
6475628 Ah, okay.
6475633 lol. not expecting such agressive response hu?
That was a really mature way of discussing racism. Very nice job. =) About the only complaint I could find was it was odd to see Big Mac talking so much, but overall, it's really refreshing to see such a mature take on a serious subject.
Great story! It is a lot harder to just send some offender on their way rather than confronting them forcefully but it sometimes works out better. I enjoyed Mac being the strong yet compassionate pony. Good work.
6471484
Yeah, that's what it looked like to me. Or maybe for whatever reason (too sheltered, never bothered to think about it, etc) didn't think of it in racial (tribal?) terms, but simply as a way to get Apple Bloom's goat. She either doesn't know or didn't really think about it. The idea that the term doesn't apply to her works just as well, but judging from her age and...Diamond's general lack of foresight, I'd bet on the former.
Either way, I doubt it's a term reserved solely for farm ponies, since it's stated early on that Apple Bloom would never call Diamond Tiara a mud pony (nice foreshadowing, by the way).
Meanwhile, Big Macintosh is wonderful in this.
Sweet story!
6470316
My impression was that she'd discovered that Applebloom was bothered by it. The specific choice meant nothing to her. She simply wanted to say whatever it was that she knew would bother Applebloom.
Kind of dislike the premise of this story. Sure, it's well written and Macintosh's characterization is likable. But basically this story is about projecting human insecurities onto ponies for whom obviously different rules apply.
The distinctions between the various pony races are clear, definite, and unquestionably have meaningful consequence. For example, if you have a human who refuses to date outside their race, a lot of people will look down on that. But imagine a pegasus who refuses to date non-pegasi. Because...you know, they can't fly. That's a real and meaningful thing. It means she can't stay over at his house in the clouds. In means visiting her on the ground. It means she can't personally relate to the thing he does every day. It means they can't share it together. Or consider a hiring discrimination scenario. Again, if a human refuses to hire someone based on race, humans tend to look down on that. But consider an earth pony heavy freight company, say...house movers, that refuses to hire pegasi. Again, because they can't do that.
It's not difficult to come up with scenarios where what we might from a human point of view call "pony racism" is probably a pretty reasonable thing if you're a pony.
Granted this story isn't going deep into that error. The pegasus in the beginning is tossing out insults for no reason that's stated. But in a world where Fantastic Racism has basically reasonable justification, I have to wonder how and why Applebloom came to have the deep emotional reaction to it that you're giving her.
Compare:
"Hi! I'm a black man and I would like to apply for this postal delivery job!"
"No. You're black. On the basis of your race, I choose to not hire you, because that's the sort of person I am."
...to:
"Hi! I'm an earth pony and I would like to apply for this postal delivery job!"
"No. You're an earth pony. On the basis of your race, I choose to not hire you, because you can't fly the delivery route."
See how these are different?
A world with such a reasonable and justifiable basis for treating people differently seems ill-suited for aesops about the human flavor of racism.
6479443 You kinda lost me.
We agree that racism is bad.
It sounds like you're saying that pony racism isn't really racism because there are actually non cosmetic differences between the ponies of equestria, whereas in humans skin color is a superficial trait.
and you might have a point, if the story was about something to the effect of
"I'd like a job on the weather team,"
"Sorry you're an earth pony and we need someone who can fly"
BUT
the story isn't about that. If we assume that members of one tribe might look down on the members of another tribe, for no other reason then they are different, then ponies can be racist and that racism would be unjustified in every way. (Also seems like a Pegasus could still be a house mover. Bulk Biceps is a Pegasus and I'd bet he'd be great at it.)
The nameless Pegasus in our story wasn't criticizing the practical effects of earth ponies lack of flight, he was calling them a slur that implied they were inherently inferior. THAT IS RACISM AND IT IS BAD!
tl;dr Don't project your own views onto other people's stories without the textual evidence to make a good point, it makes authors annoyed
6479521
Ok, let me try rephrasing this.
What if instead of earth ponies and pegasi, it was elves and dwarvesl? What if a dwarf called elf an a dirty, stunking pointy eared treehugger? It doesn't carry the same weight. Look at the Lord of the Rings movies. Watch the antagonism between Gimli and Legolas. Yes, clearly that's racism. But it doesn't carry the same stigma as if it were humans. Or, even better example: Elrond's disapproval of Aragorn's relationship with his daughter, because he was human and she was an elf. Yes, again that's definitely racism, but Elrond was clearly portrayed as a good guy in that story, he was not villified for it and everyone was basically ok with it. I don't remember anyone saying that the Lord of the Rings was a despicable tale depicting racism as acceptable and therefore bad. What if it were Kilngons vs Vulcans? What it were Star Wars droids? Remember that scene in Episode IV where the bartender says that R2D2 and C3PO have to wait outside, so they do, and that's just how it is and everybody is ok with it?
Fictional racism when non-humans are involved doesn't always carry the same weight that it seems to with humans. It can, if delivered properly. But to deliver it properly requires that the weight be properly established. Otherwise it can come across as empty.
This story is well written. I'm not complaining about that. And Macintosh is portrayed very well, and very likably. I have no complaints there.
But I come away from this story not reacting the way that I think you, the author, intended me, the reader, to react. Because the severity of the situation has not been sufficiently established. Rationale for the depth of Applebloom's reaction has not been sufficiently established. That Diamond Tiara "got what she deserved" is most definitely not sufficiently established.
You appear to be depending on "racism between humans is bad" to translate in your reader's mind that "racism between ponies is bad." And like all of the examples above, that doesn't necessarily happen on its own.
In fact, you've taken great pains to write contrary to that assumption. Mac takes what happens completely in stride. Just like Luke Skywalker asking his droids to stand outside, he's clearly not bothered by what happened. You have Mac explaining to Applebloom that "they're just words." Ok, well, of everybody in the story, Mac is the best and most likable character. if he says they're just words and they don't matter, I'm inclined to believe him. And Diamond Tiara is an earth pony too and it obviously doesn't bother her either.
Yet for reasons that are never established, for reasons that are contrary to the views of other characters in the story...you have Applebloom being horribly offended to the point of violence. "Because for humans racism is bad" is not sufficient to convey emotionally that "for ponies racism is bad" when you have everypony in the story except Applebloom acting like it's ok. Again, just like Lord of the Rings. Elrond did things that had it been humans doing them, would have been wholly acceptable. But because it was elves, it was ok. And everyone was ok with it. Even Aragorn was ok with it.
Why does Applebloom have this reaction? You haven't established that racism is bad when its ponies.
6479770 we may just fundamentally disagree.
I'm relying on the fanon trait that mud pony is a derogatory slur to establish why AB recacted the way she did, thus I don't think I need to establish its weight independently of that.
6479443
Except this story isn't about those situations at all.
This is about someone using a derogatory term to describe a group. It's not like choosing not to hire someone, it's like calling people "nigger," "spic," "chink," etc. because of their ethnicity. It's about using offensive language because of something over which the targets of such slurs have absolutely no control.
It's not an employer saying, "Sorry, I can't hire you for this job because you don't fulfill the qualifications." It's a racist jackass being a racist jackass for no reason, with no provocation, aside from a waitress spilling a drink.
6499717
I simply suggesting that the weight of racial slurs would probably not be equivalent in a world where racial dynamics are so different than they are here.
For example, imagine that somebody sneered at you and called you a 'ground pounder' referencing the fact that you can't fly. Would you be very offended by that? I'm guessing you wouldn't. But now, imagine if you called a pegasus a ground pounder. Do you see how they might be more offended?
6500888
To your first question, no, I would not be offended, but that's due to the kind of person I am. It no longer matters what someone else calls me, because it's either true and I own it, or it's false and I don't care. Kinda how desensitization works.
To your second question, the only reason a rational pegasus would take that as an insult would be if they were either too young to fly or grounded; the rest can fly, so it's a pointless and false remark.
And the idea that racist comments might not carry the same relevance in a world where there actually are multiple sapient races instead of one with a vast spectrum of colors is hilarious. The only thing that would change is which race is elite and what they call the other races. The very concept of racism is "I'm better than you because you're different."
6500888
There's a difference between referring to Apple Bloom as an Earth Pony or as a 'mud pony', or whatever other term you come up with.
One is a factual statement, derived from her actual existence.
One is a hateful slur meant to emotionally injure.
You can't get much more different.
Also, a world where there are such distinct differences between the races actually makes it more likely that there would be such hate, and such terms. Remember the stories of the pre-unification era? I could easily imagine Hurricane throwing such an insult at Puddinghead, which would probably result in a war.
Big Mac at his most sage-est. Faved.
6473524 not me. I outwardly cheered when she punched him.
I guess N word privileges don't exist in Equestria.
This is the first Fimfic I ever read, before I'd even made an account on the site. I just happened to think of it, and came here to tell you that I really liked it.
7596980 thank you