Timed Ramblings

by Midnight herald

Heavy

Apple Bloom sat hunched at her desk, staring blankly at her math assignment. The numbers wavered as she blinked, wincing as her dry eyes burned. She’d forgotten again. She huffed and picked up her pencil and slogged through another trigonometry problem, dutifully writing every step. Soon enough it was done, and she dropped the pencil, fidgeting. She knew what was happening tonight, and she could hardly wait for the worst part of the night to be over and done with.

Three problems later, Apple Bloom heard a firm knock on her doorframe. She sighed with relief, let her pencil fall, and worked her aching jaw. “Come in,” she called.

Steady, slow steps clacked on the hardwood floor as Apple Bloom fixated her eyes onto another mystery triangle. “Apple Bloom, I just got back from talking with Cheerilee,” Applejack sighed from somewhere behind her. “She says you haven’t turned in a single assignment this semester.” Apple Bloom shrugged, reaching for her pencil. “You told me they made it onto her desk,” Applejack accused, gently. “Did you even do any of them?”

“More or less,” Apple Bloom mumbled.

“‘More or less’ as in you didn’t finish all the assignments or ‘more or less’ as in you didn’t complete them?” Applejack asked, taking another heavy step forward.

“Some of each,” Apple Bloom mumbled again, hunching over herself a little more. The dull burn of shame and guilt fired up in her cheeks and stomach, and tiny shivers ran through her hooves.

“Apple Bloom, please look at me,” Applejack demanded. Any louder and it could have been yelling. Somehow the gentler tone made everything worse. Apple Bloom shoved away from her desk and spun around, staring at her sister’s broad chest, at how it twitched and rippled with muted tension.

“Why didn’t you turn them in?” Applejack continued. “Even an incomplete’s better than a zero, you know that.” Apple Bloom swallowed and shrugged. She’d thought about that herself, late at night. All that ever came from it were strange loops of logic, debating with herself on how terrible a pony she was.

Applejack sighed, a heavy sound that nearly threw Apple Bloom to the floor in hysterics. “But you still do all your chores?” Apple Bloom nodded. “So what’s different ‘bout chores, then?”

Apple Bloom licked her lips and stared at the floor. “Well, the chores affect everypony,” she choked out, “And also you check ‘em to see if they’ve been done right.” If she traced the grain of the wood between her hooves, she could almost make out the shape of a scooter. Maybe if she squinted right....

“Apple Bloom, you look me in the eyes,” Applejack snapped. She twitched her head up and met her sister’s steady gaze, so full of concern and love. Apple Bloom felt bile rising in her throat, but she couldn’t dare to move her eyes away. Why was Applejack so worried? Why did Applejack look so sad? Why did Applejack look like she still loved her? Apple Bloom whimpered slightly and shifted as the weight of the trouble she was causing closed tight around her chest.

“Bloom, darlin’, I’m not always gonna be there to look over your shoulder to see if things are done,” Applejack said, her face creased in a vague grimace. “You gotta learn to do that yourself.” Apple Bloom nodded. “But I’m also worried ‘bout how you lied to me, Bloom,” Applejack continued, her face darkening further. “How can I know it won’t happen again?” Apple Bloom filnched. “How can I trust you?” Applejack’s voice cracked, and Apple Bloom bit her cheek so hard she could taste coppery blood oozing through her teeth. Anything to feel even a bit of pain, anything to atone for her terrible actions. How could she be trusted? How could she ever look at Applejack again? Apple Bloom shrugged, finally looking away from Applejack’s damning, loving eyes.

Applejack sighed again, and took another slow step forward, as if Apple Bloom were some wild animal. “Where’d you keep the homeworks?” She asked, drilling Apple Bloom with those green, honest eyes of hers. Apple Bloom opened the lowest drawer in her desk and yanked the papers out, nudging them across the small distance between them. Applejack looked through them as quickly as she could, a single eyebrow raising and lowering as her eyes darted across each page.

“These are pretty well done,” Applejack remarked. “Why didn’t you jes’ turn them in?” Apple Bloom shrugged. Her own brain was pretty much a mystery right now. Applejack set them down and rubbed at her temples with her hooves. Apple Bloom could finally see how tired Applejack looked, with her frazzled mane and furrowed forehead. Apple Bloom tried to swallow the horrible guilt that crawled up her throat at that, and fixed her eyes back on the floorboards. That wood grain looked almost like a cirrus formation, now.

“I’ll call you down to supper,” Applejack said, clomping out of the room. Apple Bloom hugged herself tightly for a few minutes before slowly turning back to the desk and picking up her pencil. She slogged through another trigonometry problem, dutifully writing down every step. It was better than remembering the hurt on her sister’s face.

Author's Note:

Prompt 439: Parent-teacher conferences

Comments

[Midnight herald]

2995462 I am more than ok with this.

[Midnight herald]

3040633 Yeah, context was shaky, but I really just wanted freaky Twilight making everypony her friends. If I had more time, I woulda done a better worldbuild ... I hope...

[Loeden]

Magic is Friendship: One of us, one of us, one of us!

This one was really well done. My favorite kind of horror stories are the ones that paradigm shift ya at the end with that twist-- Did Twilight really become a princess, or is it all truly want-it-need-it zombies? We may never know. Maybe she never managed to make those friends from the very beginning, and instead went crazy, nuked Nightmare Moon, and then Celestia when she returned in favor of a world where she wasn't a failure.

Anyways, yeah, Twilight's one of those 'prone to driving herself insane' sorts. I could totally see this.

WTF?: At least it wasn't a cooking show. Applejack tartar served in a chafing dish with a side of steamed asparagus doesn't have the figure to pull off wearing a fancy necklace.

Does this mean Martha Stewart will be the Season Four villain?

Heavy: Is Bloom a bit older in this one? Not sure when they teach trig these days, hmm. Maybe it's her Apple family pride keeping her from turning in something less than perfect? As for me, I used to freak out about my written compositions and throw them out instead of turning them in. There's just something intensely personal about writing, if that makes sense?

As always, love seeing updates!

[Midnight herald]

3043834 Now, for the random insights portion of our evening:

Magic is Friendship: I didn't show this part clearly, but something I meant to show is that there is no ponyville. Ponyville is a figment of Twilight's imagination, the same imagination she's sharing with her new "friends". She's also totally not a Princess - that's part of the collective delusion as well. But Celestia did tell her to make some friends, so...

WTF? is total concentrated crackfic born from the recesses of emotional stress and sleeplessness... so now that I'm feeling vaguely normal and well-rested-ish, I can't stand what I barfed onto the keys. So it goes.

I see Bloom as being a few years older, yeah. Somewhere in her mid-teens, where all the confusion and change and awesome societal stress can do fun things with your brain. I've always been mildly fascinated with the conept of Apple Bloom becoming a compulsive liar and what that would do to her relationship with AJ. As for why Apple Bloom didn't hand in the assignments? Maybe it's the thrill of doing something bad and getting away with it for a little while. Maybe it's perfectionism, maybe it's knowing that her sister will find out and she'll get the punishment a part of her is looking for. Maybe it's all of those, some of those, or none of those. The point is, I guess, that Apple Bloom has no idea, and that bothers her.

Because speaking of intensely personal writing, Heavy is probably the most personal thing I've ever written in ponyfiction. It's, unfortunately, about how every conversation after parent/teacher conferences went between me and my mom through highschool. So I basically ran the substitution of [me=Apple Bloom] without really thinking about it, and when I read it over while submitting, I realized exactly how close it ran to my own life.
Good thing I use a weird screen handle, eh?

[Mermaid]

I didn't understand the why of Applebloom's actions until your comment. Yes, I can see this as a personal rebellion from her part. Interesting!