Spangle: "This is one of our new guys in the Literature Division here at the FOB. He can be a bit... harsh, but I think he's fair. Anyway, I'll let you read his first review."
So another Applejack’s parents fic… is it any good? No, I'm not going to tell you here.
Author: Pascoite
"Strong" is definitely a word that describes the Apples, and their family bonds are one of their biggest strengths. But Applejack will need to show her vulnerable side to get the most out of this day.
With her friends' help and a few cracks in her armor, Applejack is going to make this Mother's Day the best one yet.
How will this one stack up against the rest? Seriously, do you think I’m going to tell you before the break?
There are a lot of fics out there that can pull off Applejack’s southern drawl perfectly, and there are fics that avoid it completely. This one falls in the middle... and no, it does not feel right. I get the air that the author is trying, but when only one word in a sentence fits with Applejack’s cadence and speaking style, it… just stands out.
So this story is a dime a dozen: ‘Applejack doing something for her parents, becoming distant in the process.’ And of course this comes stock with things setting her off easily and the standby of denouncing anything being wrong. Oh, did I mention that this also comes with a good bit of bi-polar mood swings? So there is that. And ya know how sometimes Twilight can be oblivious to a cement truck crashing through a nitroglycerin plant? This is one of those times. After many carefully placed hints, Twilight remains almost stupid to what is happening. Now this usually ends with some horrible cliché, ending in a lot of shouting, followed by sorrowful regret. HOWEVER, this is not one of those cases. Pinkie pulls her aside before she can do something stupid.
Fast forward, apple family picnic, they're sitting on a hill, telling stories to one another. Now this is a redeeming part of this story. It does not sit there groveling over Applejack’s sadness for her lost mother. It shows how she indeed feels bad, but she is not dwelling on how bad she feels. Applejack has accepted her mother’s passing and has taken it in stride... well, all except for when she explodes on some store clerk.
The very end is a huge gamble on the part of the author. As Applejack is wiping away the tears caused by her mother’s headstone, she turns calmly and says “I didn’t forget about you, dad. It’s only another month ’til Father’s Day.” Now I can see what they were going for here, inciting the idea for a possible Applejack’s dad scene. Instead of inciting feelings of sadness, I get an overwhelming feeling of ‘wow….really?’ as in Applejack is just emotionally dead most of the time, not caring about her parents... OK, that is a bit reaching, but still why did she not even acknowledge her father’s grave until all the others were gone? Or how about none of the others even paid respects to their father?
Overall these fics are overly done, and are just ploys on the heartstrings. Granted this one shot took a slightly new look on the whole take, it is still nothing special. So do I recommend it? This might be good, if you are stuck on the toilet for awhile and have nothing better to do, but overall no. The fact that the very premise of this story is just so over-used, combined with the bad Applejack dialogue, just makes it a hard play through.
SEMPER FILLY!
SEMPER FILLY!
