Loose Ends
Chapter 43
Loose Ends
Applejack lay in her comfortable warm bed staring at the ceiling. Her eyes were wide open and the sound of the old grandfather clock downstairs echoed in her ears. She didn’t know how long she had spent trying to get comfortable, or even how long she had been laying there staring at her ceiling, but the thoughts of what her cousin had said kept ringing through her ears.
“She’s a far better influence than you are right now!”
She grimaced and rolled to her side, eyes tightly clenched to keep from letting those words bring any tears to them. But it was to almost no avail, she turned over once again.
Those words stung more than anything right now. Crab Apple might not have been the most liked among all the Apple clan- He was argumentative, sometimes difficult to calm down, had some really odd behavior, strange obsessions, and not to mention a dislike for the family business. But he was still an Apple. Those words of his cut deeper than anything right now.
“Dern-it! Ah’m the one in the right here.”she thought, more to herself than anypony else, “It was irresponsible for her ta go leavin’ him alone fer that long! An ah told her the consequences of what would happen if she ignored me!” She sighed and looked to her right. In her dresser mirror she spied a pony that she didn’t recognize. Her mane was a frazzled mess and she wore worry-lines under her sad eyes. “Ah’m in the right here...aren’t ah?” She let out a long sigh. “Ya get yerself flustered over this choice any more, an it’s gonna set off Rarity’s fashion senses.” She rubbed her eyes and looked at the pony in the mirror. It pained her to see herself like this.
“Dern it! Ah. Am. In. The. Right!” Staring at the pony in the mirror was almost as bad as the look on Heartbreak’s face when she brought up what happened on the train. The feeling was becoming too much. “Look at yerself, A.J. Here ya are, actin’ all high and mighty like Crab Apple was accusin’ ya of being, while at the same time ya tell-” Applejack paused as she caught herself on the pony’s name. She shook her head. “-H.B. ta be more honest, when ya can’t even do it yerself.”
She tried to pull her blanket closer to herself, as if the truth of the words were some bitter chill. Raising her head, she looked out the window at the dimly lit barn. She was angry with that pony and yet at the same time, she was just so sad looking that not wanting to help her was sending her into a downward spiral of guilt. Applejack glared at herself. “An’ yer settin’ a wonderful example fer her ta get better by actin’ exactly like her. Wallowin’ in yer own self pity. If Granny Smith could see ya now, A.J...”
“Ffffffetlocks!” She grumbled as she threw the blanket off herself and rolled out of bed. She covered her mouth and looked worried. “Dern it, now she’s got me doing it too.” She looked back out the window and sighed. “Ah could have been nicer about this. Ah should’a been nicer about this. But like Granny Smith says, ‘Would’a, could’a and should’a haven’t done anythin’ fer anypony. It’s Do, Can and Will that get the job done.” She walked out of her room and down the stairs. “What ya gonna do, A.J.? Apologize fer being so harsh and hope that she accepts it.” She stepped outside into the cool night air. “What can ya do about what happened taday? Talk things over and learn everythin’ that happened.” She walked towards the barn. “Now what will ya do once that is all over there, A.J.?” She paused as she heard the hushed sounds of muffled voices. One was definitely Heartbreak, but the other?
“Crab Apple?” She said in a hushed voice as a spike of anger hit her core. “No. What will ya do about all this? That all depends on what ya find out here and how them two react.” She crept closer to the barn and edged near the door, careful not to make a single sound. She peered carefully near the frame.
There was Heartbreak backed into the hay, her cousin was standing in front of her with what looked like a rubber chicken in his mouth. She looked terrified. Her cousin was pointing his hoof at her and appeared to just have finished saying something that she couldn’t quite make out. Then, almost if by magic, Heartbreak appeared to be calming down.
Applejack strained her ears to hear exactly what she was saying. “Please Dib, put down the rubber chicken, and I’ll explain with a story that Minneighsotans tell.”
“Ah could come in there an’ demand ta know what’s going on...but,” Applejack swallowed hard. “That just might cause the both of them ta shut down an’ make things worse. Alright...H.B., let’s see what ya got.”
“But I need you to put the rubber chicken down,” Heartbreak said, her voice shaky.
Crab Apple paused for a moment and lowered his head. “Alright,” he pauses. “Let’s hear it.”
Applejack was taken back. “Ah can’t believe it. He almost never caves like that.” Heartbreak’s voice dropped to a low tone as she started her story. Applejack leaned against the door frame, but try as she might, she just couldn’t quite make out the words. “Dern it! Ah’m missin’ out!” Applejack crept as quickly as she could to the side of the barn. There was a knot hole in one of the boards near the ground. “Heh, Crab Apple ain’t the only sneaky one in this here family!” She thought, laying down near the hole to listen.
==============================================================
I find myself studying Dib’s...Crab Apple’s reactions here. Which compared to humans? Is a lot easier. No offense to my former species, but faces sometimes just don’t convey enough emotion for me to register sometimes.
His head tilts in wonder at this sudden turn. “So, the statue that he worked on, came to life?” Good, he’s asking questions. It’s time to wrap this up and bring it home with a hard hitting lesson. Thinking about what I am about to do pains me. Cause it looks like I am going to have to do what the Counsel said I do.
I’m going to have to break his heart.
I nod my head. “She stood there in the kitchen and she was as beautiful as he had imagined her to be. And more. ‘My name is, ‘Ruby Cobblestone,’ she said breaking the silence that had grown between them. He sat down at the table and she served him his breakfast. ‘How is this even possible?’ he asked her. She simply tilted her head and smiled before kissing him on the cheek.”
He gives me a grossed out look of sorts. I snirk and roll my eyes, he is after all still just a kid.
“The two of them were, happy,” I hesitate, “For a time. But Stone Heart wasn’t satisfied with the answer his new bride gave him. And as time progressed, he found himself less and less satisfied with her too.”
Crab Apple is giving me the ‘What a Jerk!’ face. Fuck. Bring it home already! “Weeks passed, and the secret of what had brought her to life started to grate on his nerves. Why had she come to life? He wanted to understand, he needed to understand. Before long, he found himself watching her. Studying her. Digging up old tomes of knowledge just to see if he could find anything that had allowed him to bring his dream-mare to life. But it was to no avail.
“Soon it became too much for him. ‘The Gem!’ he thought to himself. It has to be the gem! One night he snuck into their bedroom where she lay sleeping. Quietly, methodically, he crept to where she lay on their bed. She was on her back, her chest rising and falling. Almost as she was actually alive. The ruby crystal was still embedded right where her heart should be...” I look up at him with a dead seriousness. He’s frightened. I guess Ruby here is a more likeable character than Stone. “And then he quickly plucked the gemstone from her barrel and glared at it between his hooves. ‘Why!? Why did you bring her to life?!’ She shouted at the top of his lungs. That’s when he heard Ruby gasping. He looked over at her, her eyes were filled with clay tears, they no longer looked real, but like chiseled crystal. Her mane was wooden and a gaping hole was in her chest. ‘It...was...your...dream...your...love...’ she gasped. Stone Heart only then realized too late his mistake. His hooves trembled in horror and the gem that had been tenuously balancing on them fell to the ground, shattering to a million pieces.” Crab Apple is looking at me, horrified. “The End.”
He shakes his head vigorously and blinks several times.. “I...” He doesn’t know what to think of this story. I kind of don’t either. I am finding myself feeling more for Ruby than I am for Stone. He looks at me with sad confusion in his eyes. “Why would anypony tell that sort of story? What does that have to do with-”
“We Minneighsotans tell this story for a historical reason. So that we don’t forget what’s happened.” Alright, that part is bullshit, but I need some reason as to why I am telling this crapfest of a story. I put my hoof up to interrupt him. “Because you have a dream, C-crab Apple. A dream that you want so badly. So badly that you would do anything to see it through.” He stares at the ground. I really hope that I have achieved what I wanted with this thing. I raise my hoof to his chin and have him look me in the eye. “But you have to ask yourself: Do I want to catch my dream, or do you want to crush your dream? Because despite the fact that I’m not what you think I am, even if I was, is this how you want your first contact to be? Do you want it to be a thing of wonder, enchantment and understanding? Or do you want it to be a thing of fear, terror and misunderstanding? Because if I was this thing that you were talking about, I would most likely react in a terrified way to what you were just doing.”
He blinks. There are disappointed tears in his eyes. “I-I,” he pushes my hoof away. “I thought I was helping.” He looks down at the ground, ashamed. “I feel like such an idiot now.”
Crap, now we’re going to have to have a touchy-feely moment. “You aren’t an idiot, Cra-”
He looks at me. “Call me, ‘Dib,’ please.” He says quietly.
“Ok, Dib,” I reply as calmly and collectedly as possible. Which of course isn’t how I am really feeling. Inside I am freaking out.
He sniffs hard. “You hate me now don’t you?”
Fuck, I really hope that my mopiness isn’t like a contagion or something. “No Dib, I don’t hate you. I mean how could I? You’re, uhm, an interesting young p-p-pony. You’re kinda like me. You’re smart, inquisitive and, uhm, passionate about your hobbies. But sometimes you need to be a little more rational about things.” Good grief. It feels like I am destroying his innocence in all this. I mean, maybe I’m not, but still. “If you remember to keep a cool head about things, who knows what you can do?”
He nods. “H.B.?” I look at him. “I didn’t mean for you to get sent to the barn. I should have come with you when you asked me to.” He sniffs.
There is a well of emotion that kinda creeps up on me. Fuck, come on, not right now. “Come on now, it’s not totally your fault. What’s done is done. I broke the one rule your cousin gave me.” I sigh. “She was a bit harsh dishing said punishment, but...” Mentally I roll my eyes at myself. “She does love and care about you, Dib. And the last thing I want to do is to cause problems between family members.” I give him a half cocked grin. “So you ought to get out of here before she comes out here and finds the two of us here in the barn together. We’ll talk more tomorrow, right?”
He rolls his eyes at me. “I’m not sure if she’ll let us talk again. What’s more, I’m leaving tomorrow...”
“I’ll talk to Applejack then, explain the situation better. She’s sure to have cooled down after a night’s sleep. Don’t worry, things will be fine,” I reply.
He looks at me all hopeful like. “I’m really sorry about this, H.B. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
I roll my eyes. “We’ve been over this, Dib. You weren’t thinking. Things between us are O.K. And we’ll talk more tomorrow. Now get out of here before I start thinking that you’re just stalling.”
He bites his lower lip and nods, before trotting towards the barn door. “Alright.” He turns briefly before exiting. “Good night, H.B.”
I nod and smile a bit at him. “Good night, Dib.”
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Good god, just when i was thinking fim fiction was dying (almost a week with no good updates on my favs) you hit me with two chapters of awesome, thank you kindly sir. And H.B. really showed tact in this one.
Oh... that's where it was going. Okay then color me impressed; HB making a story like that off the top of h..is head.
Wait double update?! Where's my mallet?
This series continues to be one of my favorites, and I really hope you can continue for the rest of H.B.'s year. Unfortunately this story doesn't live up to Creativi-tea. The last story had such a clear arc to its story and each chapter moved things along at just the right pace, but there seems to be a real lack of focus to this one's plot. Love the interactions with Dib and he was such a nifty cross-over that I couldn't stand it. But I'm can't tell where the climax was supposed to be and things just seam to be meandering to a conclusion with no real high point.
I also really hope HB has a little more real honesty for Applejack, and not another heartfelt lie.
I found no technical errors and there were cumbersome sentences.
Other than that can't wait for more.
Double post? You spoil us
Huh... I think I just figured out the lesson in this story.
"While it is important to be honest, a heartfelt lie can do more good than any truth."
Or something like that, probable change the wording a little bit.
2115150 If you've had no good updates then you're tracking the wrong fics, the last 36 hours have given me golden updates.
Nice take on the story of Pygmalion and Galatea, there.
I can't wait to see how Applejack reacts to it.
*looks around frantically*
I miss the climax somewhere?
The first two stories were great. This one... it's failed to deliver beyond buildup. I didn't see any defining moment that caused me to go 'oh, look! It's the climatic point, let me hold onto my seat, don't want to miss this!' This one just fell flat.
Wish I could say I liked it, but... it was okay, at best. I stuck with it simply because of the previous two, however, if the last chap doesn't do much, and the 4th story falls flat as well, I might have to walk away.
Probably did this plenty of times before, so I'm not sure why I didn't notice, but O.K. is never okay. Also, if you are using it like that, then you would need a second period following the K.'s, because the abbreviation's period does not count for punctuation.
Now, on to the rest. So, the 'encounter' was quite disappointing. All that tension built up for a grand 'revealing' of HB's 'true form' and he just sits back and listens to a story. Was expecting something amazing, but at least she gets a lesson out of this. Hopefully....
2115385 That's a lesson that I hadn't thought of. Huh.
2115421 ^.^ I'll miss you Spacecowboy.
2115461 You were expecting a grand relieving?
Who need's a climax when you can have a drawn out story full of wisdom and morals instead?
</sarcasm>
I'll admit it the story was appropriate and well thought out/written, but I doubt I was the only one expecting something more... exciting.
2115485 Revealing? Yes. With all of that build up you did. Literal chapters of conversation between Crab and Lyra, all of Lyra's planning, and the unease HB felt? It should have been grand, dramatic, and 'explosive' (not literally, but metaphorically), but it wasn't. He swung a chicken around, HB had a weak-ass, totally out-of-character reaction (seriously? Started crying because he was flapping a chicken at her? This is the cynical pony we've seen all across the story?), and then she told him a story. Sure, it got the message across, but all of that tension built up just fizzled out like a dud firecracker on the fourth of July.
Also, please, for the love of Celestia, read the previous comment as well.
2115494 Oh, you certainly aren't the only one.
2115479
That's not quite what I said, unless you're confirming that story 4 will be much of the same, nothing but build up, then when the climax is supposed to come, all that potential fizzles out instead of going out with a bang.
2115494
Concurred. Was expecting some big action to put all of the build up to use.
2115509 You have heard of acting right? Dib is exceptionally close to the truth and she doesn't know what else to do.
2115517 There is going to be 13+ stories. ^.^
2115509 Also, when is it out of character for HB to cry? She's practically been doing that from day one.
2115509 I visited your page. Suddenly. I don't feel bad about your commentary anymore. ^.^
2115509
The way I see it, the thing with Lyra is going to be a overarching plot point that we will see over the rest of the story, I see no point to resolve it now. Plus, Anthony now knows without a doubt that Lyra thinks s/he is a human, I can't wait to see where that leads to.
And I think s/he was in character with the rubber-chicken thing. Dib did something really unexpected, plus he was calling him out on being a human... I would freak the buck out too if the penalty of somepony finding that out was more or less death (if I remember the first story right).
Lastly, while this story wasn't as... catching as the the other two, it did sent up a lot of other stuff for future additions to this story and I for one am looking forward to it.
2115554 Wasn't tryna make you feel bad, just pointing out stuff that jumped out at me. As I said, the first two books were pretty awesome.
2115549 She has been crying, but this situation was so outrageous that it would have warranted sarcasm or something similar.
2115595 Ya know, maybe, just Maybe, she just doesn't want to hurt Dib's feelings. Maybe she feels a slight bit of friendship to him. But then again, what would I the author know?
2115602 Didn't mean hurtful sarcasm (it can be used to lighten a situation, after all).
2115603 She's not in the right mindset for that type of sarcastic commentary.
HB's acting more and more adorable; by the time she gets to Rarity's turn she might even be...tolerant of the idea of being put in a dress!
I've mentioned I love this story, right? Cause I seriously love this story.
2115681 HB "FEEEEET THAT. GIVEMEPANTS NOW."
She should just constantly tell stories... she seems more mature after telling them.
Dawww that was touching, going to be a good few chapters left though!
Halfway through that story I realised what H.B was aiming for.
This series deserves more recognition.
11055266
I... don't know how to say how awesome it is that you've done so much proofreading on my stories... practically chapter by chapter!
I apologize that book five is ...still ongoing... My actual job takes up a great deal of my time, but rest assured, I've drawn up some chapter art for the current chapter I'm hammering out, and trying to figure out how the rest of these chapters are going to go forth.
I really hope that your continued reading and corrections means that you're enjoying the stories...