Apple Bloom knows that it won't matter what cutie mark she gets, as long as it represents who she is. Still, deep down inside, she desperately wants it. One seemingly perfect morning, she gets to school only to find that one of her closest friends has received a cutie mark. Unfortunately, the yellow filly has no idea that this one event will trigger a chain reaction that will eventually lead her to make a devastating decision.
*Update: Alternate Universe tag has been added due to the events of episode 518.
Some constructive criticism: maybe use their names/pronouns more? You wrote "the young filly" like three times in the beginning.
Edit: realising this fic was written in 2015