The seed to an orphan tree. The tiny little thing that Pando Everfree demended to have returned to him. After so long, Apple Bloom was able to find it.
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With the seed at last in her possession, Apple Bloom ran to the Everfree Forest with haste. As she ran through Ponyville, she saw the damage the timberwolves caused just by entering town, as they smashed through every food cart and small house that got in between them and the scent they were following. No pony in Ponyville had any idea as to why they came in the first place. To this day, they still don't.
This is because Apple Bloom didn't want any other pony to get involved with Pando and because everything that went on was started by the Apple Family, my family, but with the orphan tree seed in her saddlebag, she wouldn't need any help anyway. Or at least that's what she thought.
Back in the Everfree Forest...
"I've been giving you children your chances." Pando said to Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and the unconscious Diamond Tiara. "If none of you tell me where the seed is, I'll start ripping you apart one by one!"
"Let them...go..." Applejack said quietly, as she was still being crushed Pando's roots.
"I swear we don't know!" Sweetie Belle said. "We don't even know what you're talking about!"
"RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH, HEL-" Scootaloo screamed, but then another root grew from the roots used to hold her in the air, then wrapped itself around Scootaloo's neck, keeping her from screaming.
"Of course. Signal for help." Pando said sarcastically, yet with a more angry tone then before. "Let more of your kind barge into my forest and force me to stain the trees with their blood."
Poor Scootaloo would've just screamed louder, but having that root wrapped around her neck made it too hard for her to scream at all. Sweetie Belle started to scream too, only for Pando to grow another root around her neck as well. As Pando grew more and more impatient, the last thing he wanted was to hear the screams of children.
"I guess I'm left with no choice. I'll start with the pink one since she wouldn't tell me anything."
Through with giving the fillies a chance to speak up, he summoned up a bed of wooden spikes directly below Diamond Tiara. He planned to make a very thorough examination of each of the girl's bodies to see if any of them really did eat the seed to Limproot, and with no regard for their lives, it would've been an easy task.
"Hey, let my friends go!"
To the surprise of Pando, the voice of the filly he was looking for screamed out from the forest. Apple Bloom had managed to arrive to save her friends before they got executed. At that moment, Apple Bloom also saw her older sister being crushed by Pando's roots, but alive nonetheless. That gave her one less thing to worry about.
"APPLE BLOOM!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said together.
"Yellow one! I've been looking for you!" Pando said.
"What are you doing with my friends? They've done nothing wrong!" Apple Bloom asked.
"I still have reason to believe that Limproot's seed is still around. I suspect that it was you or your friends who has eaten it, and I plan on getting back what is mine." Pando answered.
"Well, I'm afraid you've been looking in the wrong places, because I have your apple seed."
"WHAT!?"
"Yeah, I have it right-"
It was then that Apple Bloom felt the ground vibrating. A second later, she jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a large wooden spike from impaling her. She realized that Pando was not in the mood for talking and wanted his apple seed back. Ironically, he could've gotten it back much faster if he was a bit more patient.
"So you admit that you have Limproot's seed?" Pando asked.
"Yes, and if you could let my friends and sister-"
Before she could get a word out edgewise, she felt more of Pando's spikes underground and started to run out of their way, but unlike the last time, Pando wasn't stopping after one pillar. He was going for the kill and continuously tried to strike down Apple Bloom. One spike even came and grazed her side, ripping her saddlebag off of her side. Pando didn't wait to let Apple Bloom finish, and because of that, he didn't really that she meant she had the seed in her bag and not in her stomach.
"Mr. Everfree! If you you will just give me a moment, I can..." That's when Apple Bloom realized her saddlebag was gone. When she reached for it to get the apple seed out for Pando, she felt nothing. She then saw that her bag was knocked near Pando himself, being directly below from where he stood. It was ironic how the one thing Pando wanted was directly below him at that moment.
"Apple Bloom...run!" Applejack said weakly as she struggled to breath.
She was told to run, but Apple Bloom knew that everything would've turned out alright if she got to her bag in time. It was by no means an easy task though, as Pando's anger made his actions reckless and dangerous. Simply telling him where the seed went was no longer an option.
Pando continued to summon more and more pillars of wood to skewer Apple Bloom, but she was able to outrun the assault. The attacks got more tactical after a short while as some were summoned far ahead of Apple Bloom, blocking off the exit to the rest of the forest. It didn't bother Apple Bloom much though since she didn't want to leave.
"Hold still, child!" Pando ordered. "You're making it very difficult for me!"
As Pando focused more and more on trying to strike Apple Bloom down, he began to lose his attention on the trapped Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. The vines holding the two fillies in the air lost much of their grip. The girls noticed the lighter grip and took the chance to pull themselves free. Using the vines, they safely slid down to the ground where they could assist Apple Bloom, and let me tell you, Apple Bloom needed the help.
"GIRLS!" Apple Bloom shouted. "GET MY BAG!"
Pando heard Apple Bloom and realized that the other two had freed themselves, raising his anger even further.
"ENOUGH!" Pando shouted. "I'M TIRED OF THIS NONSENSE! IT'S TIME I SEND YOU ALL TO TARTARUS"
Having reached his maximum anger, pillars of wooden spikes began to rise from everywhere without aim. Apple bloom couldn't even sense when they were coming anymore. Each pillar would rise up and barely gave the fillies a chance to avoid them. Pando was going all out and was ready to kill everypony at any moment.
"Pando! You want your seed back? You're gonna get it back!" Apple Bloom said, despite Pando not listening. "GIRLS! PASS ME MY BAG!"
Hearing their friend, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran toward the saddlebag lying by Pando. Scootaloo quickly got close to the bag, as well as being dangerously close to Pando himself, and snatched the bag. She then tossed the bag to Sweetie Belle, who then tossed it to Apple Bloom, reuniting its contents to her. She then reached into her bag and pulled out Limproot's seed.
"Pando! Pando Everfree!" Apple Bloom called out as held the seed into the air! "Here's your apple seed back!"
Although Pando looked as if he was ready to bring the entire forest down, that completely changed when he saw what Apple Bloom was holding. Suddenly, all of the pillars stopped rising, right when one was about to impale Apple Bloom from below her. Pando froze completely from what he saw in front of him. At long last, his fatherly search was over. His first act afterwards was to bring all of his pillars back underground. He also called back the trap holding Applejack in place back to the earth, freeing my granddaughter.
Lowering the still unconscious Diamond Tiara with the vines holding her up, he gently placed her back. Then, he used to vines to reach for the seed, which Apple Bloom allowed him to do. The giant tree could've believe that he was seeing his child back in his possession. All of the anger that had been tormenting him and my girls, all of that desire for justice and revenge, it was gone. He saw no reason to attack my little ponies anymore. The only desire he had left was to enjoy his reunion.
"Limproot..." He said with a calm voice. "I won't let you leave my side again."
Paying no attention to the fillies, forgetting that they even exist, Pando used the vines to dig a small hole nearby the other Orphan Trees, and planted the seed inside. Applejack felt offended that she was being ignored after all that had happened, but Apple Bloom knew very well that all was right.
"Hey! Are you forgetting somepony?" Applejack asked.
"Sis! Please! We should probably be heading home. I'm sure Granny Smith is worried about all of us." Apple Bloom said.
"What? But...I...he..." Then, after thinking what her sister said, she realized that Apple Bloom was right. "Come on girls. You've all been through a lot.
After tossing Diamond Tiara's still unconscious body over her back, Applejack led Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle out of the forest, knowing that they had no more reason of being in Pando Everfree's presence.
On their way home, Applejack realized just how much Apple Bloom had grown. She made a mistake and took responsibility for it, helped her friends and family out of a life threatening situation, and settled an issue that nopony in the Apple Family had ever done, which was preventing Pando from taking the lives of anypony. That's a lot to expect from a young filly. Apple Bloom may not of realized this, but she did her family proud that day. She did the entire Apple Family proud.