//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: What Dreams May Take Shape // by ThatHandsomeDevil //------------------------------// -”There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it.” -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Everfree Forest, Ponyville’s own natural anomaly, was no easier to brave the depths of in the evening than it was any other time of the day. Especially if you were all alone, and a filly to boot. The sun had yet to go down, but the thick treetops blocked out much of the vital sunlight little fillies like Apple Bloom needed to not be scared senseless. Shadows were thrown in the worst possible ways across tangled vegetation, their appearance made threatening by nothing more than the placement of light. Animals with no caretakers whatsoever hooted and hollered in the depths of the trees, and, worst of all, terrible monsters that could only exist in such a strange place lay in wait, ready to strike at the first scent of fresh meat. Apple Bloom was scared, sure, but she had something to prove. She was a brave little filly, consarn it, and she would collect those ingredients for Zecora! As she trotted through the unkempt grass, her muzzle lowered to the ground to look closely for a particular flower, she recalled what the Zebra had told her. “Alrighty, Miss Zecora, ah reckon this potion is close to bein’ done, right?” The enthusiastic little filly exclaimed, eyeing the bright purple glowing potion as it bubbled in Zecora’s cauldron, splashing the walls with neon colors. As Zecora had earlier explained, the potion was a happiness potion, meant to lift a poor depressed pony out of the dumps. A pleasant fragrance, tinged with notes of lavender and berry, wafted up from the mixture. Apple Bloom couldn’t help but let out a sound of approval as she breathed in the amiable scent. Zecora, turning back from her recipe book, chuckled in a knowing way at the filly. “Ah yes, my dear little Apple Bloom, this mixture can also be a special perfume! With just the right ingredients, it makes some very special scents!” “Ah can tell! This smells better than Granny Smiths old fashioned Apple Spice cake, and that there’s some mighty good eatin’!” “Of this, little filly, I have no doubt but of one ingredient, I am all out! The last ingredient that I require, is one you know, Heart’s Desire!” “You talkin’ about that flower that made me get all them crazy cutie marks?” Apple Bloom asked, unable to resist turning her head to look at the spot where a cutie mark would rest, were she not still a blank flank. “Ah know it’s out there in the forest... Could I get you some more?” “Indeed, that is the very one and we need more for my potion.” Can I trust you, little Apple Bloom to get this flower in the forest’s gloom?” “‘Course you can, Zecora! I’ll getcha that flower lickety split! The sound of a twig snapping under Apple Bloom’s hoof yanked her back into the present faster than apples falling off an Applejack-bucked tree. She nearly leapt out of her fur, looking all around wildly for a sinister creature that might have been lying in wait. Spying no Tartarus-esque creature that aimed to snack on her innards, she continued along the grassy path, shivering as though there were Windigo’s nipping at her hooves. In Applebloom’s fright, she barely noticed the quiet crunching sound of a healthy flower beneath her hooves. Looking down, she noticed she had trotted right over a flower of Heart’s Desire! Wayta go, AB, ya silly little filly, the frightened pony thought to herself as she haphazardly plucked the flower from the ground with her teeth and turned in the direction she had came, galloping as fast as her little legs could take her back to the sanctuary of Zecora’s hut. After delivering the flower to a very pleased Zecora, Apple Bloom made an excuse about needing to get back to Sweet Apple Acres before Applejack began to worry, and ran out of the Everfree Forest at a speed that would make even Rainbow Dash envious. Making it back to Sweet Apple Acres in record time, Apple Bloom spied her older sister working the South field, digging up a plot of earth to plant another apple tree. The location was strange, though; It was in the center of a clear patch of earth, free from the crowding of the hundreds of other trees that occupied the fertile land. “Heya, sis! Whatcha doin out here so late in the day? The sun’s gonna be down soon!” Apple Bloom asked as she trotted up to her sister. “Hey there, lil’ filly. Shucks, the mailmare just came by with a special gift from Braeburn. It’s a seed from Bloomberg! “Oh... Bloomberg, huh?” Applebloom felt a little uneasy now, knowing that, however clear-headed her sister may usually be, she seemed to have an unnatural amount of affection for that particular tree. “Darn tootin’! So ah’m plantin’ this here little seed so that it can grow up to be a big strong apple tree jus’ like Bloomberg!” Applejack said, smiling just a little too brightly. “Can ah help?” Apple Bloom asked, always excited to give her big sis a helping hand. “Heh. Well, the job is already half finished, slowpoke. But ah’ll tell ya what. You can put the seed in the ground and cover it up, okay?” Apple Bloom did as she was instructed, taking the delicate seed and dropping it into the patch of dirt Applejack had dug, pushing the pile of dirt back into position. As she did so, a single petal of Heart’s Desire that had clung to her hoof when she tread on the flower was rubbed off, and mixed in with the dirt. As the dirt filled the hole again, the seed touched the petal, and the magic in the petal began to imbue the seed. Neither of the Apple sister’s noticed, and they began to walk back towards the farmhouse to eat their supper. Behind them, a green sapling slowly wormed its way out from under the dirt.