Dear Babs Seed, will ya come back for the holidays?

by Fluttercheer

Chapter 1

Dear Babs Seed,

It's been a while, ain't it? Ah figured it's finally time to write you a letter again, after the last one from a month ago.
How are you doing, Babs? I'm doing fine, ah guess... Helping out on the farm has gotten harder lately what with helping other foals to get their cutie marks, and all. Ah, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are so busy with it, there are more and more foals with cutie mark problems these days. We have our hooves full with helping ponies realize who they are, so ah can't help with the harvests much anymore.
Ah feel bad for it... Mah sister and mah brother, even Granny, work so hard and now, they have to do even more because ah can barely help them anymore. It makes me think if Applejack is disappointed of me or, even hates me... She always expected mah cutie mark would be in apple farming or something similar... Now it ain't and ah think she doesn't like that.
She used to say how ah will run the farm one day, but now it looks like that ain't possible anymore and mah sister is bothered by it... What do you think, Babs? Ah bet ya cutie mark isn't what Aunt and Uncle Orange expected it to be, either. Were they ever disappointed of ya because they wanted ya to be something else than a mane stylist, Babs? Do they still love ya as much as they did before? Or has something changed about it?
I'm having a lot of bad dreams lately. Sweet Apple Acres ain't doing good in them... Sometimes, the farm is rotting away because I'm not there to help. Or ah try, but ah make everything worse when ah attempt to buck apples while helping a filly with a cutie mark problem at the same time. The nightmares aren't as worse as the ones ah had after ah heard about ya own cutie mark. No creepy shadow talking to me and nothing. But just a few nights ago, there was that dream with that giant apple...
Ah was just helping a blank flank and, somehow, ah thought her special talent could be apple bucking... So ah went to the farm with 'er and we started bucking. It went fine for a while but when she was lifting up one of the apples we brought down from the trees, it suddenly grew! It became bigger than a pony, almost as big as mah brother, and it had a mouth with sharp teeth! Then the blank flank turned into me, with cutie mark and everything, and she just disappeared. And the apple started to chase mah family, trying to eat them! Ah was waking up all soaked from that nightmare and ah couldn't sleep anymore until morning. I'm shaking just by thinking about it...
Anyway, don't worry too much about me, Babs. Princess Luna is helping with the nightmares, so I'm fine. She says ah need to talk with mah family about everything. Which... is really easier said than done. Ah didn't dare to bring it up yet... What if Applejack will be even more disappointed of me if ah do? Oh, no... I'm just worrying ya more, ain't ah? I'm sorry... Ah know ya have stuff to deal with, too, Babs. I'm not wanting to burden ya, ah bet ya just as busy with ya special talent as ah am with mine. Ah still hope ya can answer mah questions, though.
Anyway, Babs... I'm not just writing to vent about mah concerns and mah trouble to ya. Actually, something really important is happening soon! It's awesome and great and ya totally need to hear it!
Ya see, it's only a few weeks until Hearth's Warming Eve anymore now and we're getting ready for a good ol' celebration on Sweet Apple Acres. But this year...

–That's a pause for dramatic effect.–

…we'll be celebrating together with the Pies!

It's been such a long time already since Pinkie Pie found out she's an Apple... And so far, the Pies never came to celebrate with all of us here at Sweet Apple Acres. But this year, they're finally doing it! Marble, Limestone, Pinkie's parents and Maud... They're all coming to Ponyville, can ya imagine, Babs?!
Oh, ah can't wait to see Maud again! We have so much in common; she really likes apples, we dream about the same weird things and ya can have such deep conversations with her for hours! And just wait until ya hear her rock poems, they are so... uh, but ya know all of this, don't ya, Babs? Ah know ah already told ya about her in a letter a long time ago, but I'm just SO excited to spend time with Maud again!
Anyway, Babs, what I'm going for here is... well, ya see, ah want ya to come this year, too. After all, ya an Apple just as we are and ya still haven't met anypony from the Pie Family yet... Marble is really sweet. She reminds me a lot on ya, when we met for the first time here in Ponyville...
And then there's Limestone. She... also reminds me on that time, just, ya know... she can be a bit aggressive sometimes. Gee, now I'm sounding like I'm blaming ya for being a bully once... I'm sorry, Babs. Ah think ya would get along with them really well, is what ah want to say.
Marble's shy, so she might be scared of ya a little, she has a hard time getting to know to new ponies. But when she warmed up, she's being real chatty! And Limestone too, even though she's a bit harder to crack... Ya remember when ah told ya how she gets if somepony touches Holder's Boulder? Don't worry, she won't be bringing that huge thing all the way over to Ponyville, but she does have a bit of a short temper, ya know. But once ya got used to that, you'll see she can be a real softie! And she's very wise, she can explain anything with a metaphor, and ah bet she could help ya with any kind of problem ya have!
Doesn't that sound great?! I'd really love for ya to meet all of them! And also... Ya see, Babs, I... I'm really missing ya.
It's been so long since we've seen each other... I'll never forget how ah, Scoots and Sweetie visited ya in Manehattan just a month after we got our cutie marks. “The Great Cutie Quartet Celebration” is what we called the party, remember? Gosh, we were celebrating for almost three days straight without interruption! We did so many awesome things during that party, ah keep thinking about them! Even about those things Applejack shouldn't find out about... She still wouldn't like hearing about the firework accident in the second night. It took us almost the entire night to remove all those cake bits from the backyard, but it was the most fun ah ever had!
Ah would like to do this again, but now it's all just letters anymore... Ah can't believe we haven't seen each other for years now, Babs... Why do ya not come to Ponyville anymore?
Ever since the Apple Family Reunion, it's like ya avoid visiting like the plague. Ya were invited to come to the next reunion, too, but ya didn't. Why, Babs? It's almost like ya aren't allowed to come anymore... Do ya parents suddenly hate the Apple Family? If that's what it is, me and Applejack will give 'em a good ol' talking to until they let you come back. We ain't a bad family and we'll show 'em if they forbid ya to come!
But, if that isn't the reason... then... please come back for Hearth's Warming Eve, Babs. Ah don't know what's keeping ya from coming... but if ya still can, please do, Babs.
Ya know, ah often have to think about the last words we talked here on Sweet Apple Acres when ya left for Manehattan after the reunion. “Ah can't wait for the next reunion.”, “Me neither.”, “Ah mean, obviously we have to get together before then.”, “Obviously.” we said.
Ya said it's obvious... But it ain't so obvious for ya, right, Babs?
When ah think about these words, ah sometimes have to cry... It's so hard to imagine that ya have only been on Sweet Apple Acres twice, Babs.
Maybe it's because of me? Maybe ah never showed enough that ah care for ya, Babs? I'm not sure... But if ah didn't, I'm sorry. I love ya, Babs, ya mah favourite cousin and ya'll always stay mah favourite cousin, for all time. Ah hope ya know all that but, in case ya don't, ah wanted to make sure ya do, Babs.
Now, ah... ah don't know what else to say here anymore. Sure has been enough begging and crying for one letter, ain't it? And Applejack's probably going to call me for mah chores soon. But ah have to ask ya one more time before I'm ending this letter...

We have a big family celebration on Hearth's Warming Eve, the Apples and the Pies together on Sweet Apple Acres for the first time ever. And ya officially invited to come, Babs, because ya a member of the Apple Family. Applejack, Big Mac, Granny Smith and ah, we look forward to seeing you again so much. And ah know that the Pies will love ya just as much as we all do.
It's been a very long time and everypony is sad that we don't see ya anymore. So, please, Babs... come back for Hearth's Warming Eve, will ya? We're all waiting for ya.

In love,

Your cousin Apple Bloom

Comments

[The Blue EM2]

Adorable. Exactly what I needed on Christmas Eve.

[The Blue EM2]

Besides, Babs NEEDS to come back.

[Bronycommander]

Beautiful!

[leifj2009]

Hope she'll tell babs about her auntie buttercup.

[Fluttercheer]

9364428

It delights me to read this, good sir train! And thank you very much for joining my follower squad and for favouriting the story! This is exactly what I needed on Hearth's Warming Eve.

Besides, Babs NEEDS to come back.

She needs to. I had hopes to see her in "Best Gift Ever" when I thought on it that the Apples and the Pies have a big family get-together for Hearth's Warming Eve. It was an occasion she would likely come and visit for, but alas, she didn't come. I got overwhelmed by my emotions, so I wrote this.

[Fluttercheer]

9364520

Thank you! I am happy you enjoyed it.

[Fluttercheer]

9364560

I'm sure she did already. It's one of these moments I would like to see, how Apple Bloom told Babs about her parents.....

Thank you for reading and for becoming my follower!

[Bronycommander]

9364678
You're welcome!

[The Blue EM2]

9364677
No problem. Babs is a classic example of Hasbro's approach; rather than use an old character like her, they introduce a new one for the sake of selling toys introducing a new character.

[NovemberDragon]

Nice story!

[Fluttercheer]

9365278

It's not because of toys. I see toy sales stated as reason for all sorts of things or ponies/creatures seen in the show by the fandom all the time and often, I find myself rolling my eyes at it, because something else is never even considered.

For Babs, the reason is simply that no writer has followed any ideas they pitched for her through, which was revealed by Big Jim Miller a few months ago:

https://twitter.com/TheBiggestJim/statuses/1018557828754112512

It should be obvious to everyone that it isn't Hasbro that denies certain ponies to return into the show, as pretty much all side characters that ever starred in MLP: FiM and who weren't seen again after their first appearance did not get any toys at all. Even the Student Six don't have any toys, safe for Sandbar and Silverstream. The others are ignored by Hasbro's toy department. Babs has, as far as I've seen, not gotten any toys either.
No, it's always DHX and creative decisions that lead to this. They want the cast of the show to be diverse, which is great because you get to know to a lot of inhabitants of Equestria (and lands beyond), something that also brings a lot of worldbuilding into the show, but it makes it hard if you have grown to love/like a certain pony.

Sadly, that isn't much better news in regards to Babs' absence. It seems that no writer is seriously interested in writing about her life, so she always ends up at the sidelines when plans for a new season are discussed. That is why we got so many Manehattan episodes since Season 4, but not a single one with Babs.
I've come to terms with it that we will probably not see Babs again in the show (or, all of G4, as the writers of the comics seem to be equally disinterested in her, for the most part) when "The Saddle Row Review" once again didn't give her a role, but it still stings from time to time to think about that..... Especially after the Hearth's Warming Eve special managed to raise some hopes she could be seen in it for me again.
I should write more about her.

[Fluttercheer]

9365332

Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed it!

[The Blue EM2]

9365337
A real shame, because they could have gotten A LOT of mileage out of the Manehattan CMC.

[The Forgotten Siren]

This touched my heart, you did beautiful

[leifj2009]

9364681
If there was a story about that, I wonder how will babs react?

[Fluttercheer]

9365529

They could have, yes. They got that mileage in different ways, but it would have been interesting to see, still. Mostly, though, I want to see Babs herself again. And would like to see how it happened when Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle got together with Babs to show their cutie marks to her (and vice versa) and to celebrate together.
It's something that lies in the past now, but if Applebloom ever reminisces on that, I would like to see it in a flashback, at least.

9365682

Thank you! Glad I could touch some hearts on Heart(h)'s Warming Eve.

9366113

I don't know right now, but it would be interesting to explore that in a story.

[The Blue EM2]

9366754
I hope so, friend. I hope so.

[MixMassBasher]

Sad but uplifting

[Fluttercheer]

9725268

Thanks!

[Maud of Sterner Stuff]

That was sweet! I like the idea of Apple Bloom and Babs Seed being pen pals, especially since we saw one of their letters once. It would have been nice to see Babs more often; at least we finally got to see her in Ponyville again in The Last Crusade. I also find it amusing that you made Apple Bloom write the letter in her accent. Maybe that's like a inside joke between the two.

[Fluttercheer]

10331352

It would have been nice to see Babs more often; at least we finally got to see her in Ponyville again in The Last Crusade.

It's a painful shame she was never given a role in the show again. Nor in the official comics after getting at least three issues there, that quickly left you craving for more after years passed without any new appearances of Babs in the comics.
She holds so much significance for Applebloom's life, as her cousin, and for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as well, because she became a Cutie Mark Crusader.... And yet, the show staff ignored her entirely after Season 3. It's a shame, it's unfair and it does not make sense..... No, it even goes against the very concept of sense that Babs never was in the show in a real role again.
I can't decide if seeing her one last time in "The Last Crusade" was a delight or just more pain. Seeing her there felt like we were being teased something and then didn't get it.
.

I also find it amusing that you made Apple Bloom write the letter in her accent. Maybe that's like a inside joke between the two.

That was an odd choice, in hindsight. Nopony writes like they talk. But I guess there was no way around it, in a written story inspired by an animated and voice-acted show, some adjustments are needed to get the same feeling across. But I like the inside joke idea. That gives my choice a sense and meaning.