Apple Bloom's pillow was growing wetter and wetter as she sobbed endlessly. It seemed to Applejack and family to be a lost cause to try to console her because she refused to listen to reason. At first Applejack had tried to get answers, but whatever she did get was muffled in crying and sobs. The filly finally exhausted herself a little past noon and fell asleep to nightmares of rejection and loneliness.
Sweet Apple Acres was silent that day despite the thriving sale that morning. Big Mac had been observing the blossoms as they bore the fruit when he'd heard his youngest sister's sobbing. Granny Smith had been startled to see Apple Bloom barging into the house, rushing up the stairs and finally slamming the door to her bedroom. None of them knew what was wrong with her, but all the same it was heartbreaking.
Applejack had decided to whip up a fresh batch of chocolate fritters in the hopes that it would cheer her filly up. She opened the door quietly with the plate of treats balanced on her back and whispered, “AB?” Apple Bloom was asleep in her bed, sweating and looking troubled. Applejack set the plate gently on the table beside the bed. She could find them in the morning. “I'm not sure what's got ya in this mood, I just wan'cha ta know your family loves ya and ya could always come to one of us for help.” Applejack kissed the filly gently on the cheek, her eyes shimmering with love. “Love ya, little sis.” The orange mare left the room quietly.
Apple Bloom was no longer in her room, but standing in the middle of a road flanked by leafless trees. The full moon loomed high in the sky and the cold made Apple Bloom shiver.
“Hello?” Apple Bloom called but was greeted only by her own echo. Her eyes caught a shadow slink from the trees on one side. Fear was overruled by curiosity as Apple Bloom ran down the road, chasing the shadow. “Hay, wait!” she called. She was running so fast she failed to look where she was going and skidded to a halt when she saw a cliff. The skid wasn't fast enough and she gave a yell as she fell off. Her head hurt as she got back up. Thankfully the fall hadn't been more than a few yards.
Apple Bloom was now in the middle of a mass of black with long, white fangs. Thousands of bright blue eyes opened in an instant and Apple Bloom started breathing hard. Changelings; she remembered them from the wedding in Canterlot. Soon, the creatures took the forms of three ponies she knew very well. Applejack, Big Mac and Granny Smith.
Apple Bloom couldn't think as she ran from the images of the ponies who loved her but wanted to hurt her. Finally she came to a sunny clearing where Twist, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were talking, all with their cutie marks.
“Twist!” Apple Bloom called as she reached them. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle! Ya have ta help! There's changelings lose, n' they're comin' this way!” Apple Bloom was shocked when none of them so much as flinched. In fact, they didn't seem to see or hear her at all. “Hello?”
The changelings reappeared as her former friends disappeared. Apple Bloom clinched her eyes tight as the hoard of family-lookalikes overcame her.
Apple Bloom woke with a start. It was a warm night but her body was chilled with a layer of sweat. Her heart raced as she registered where she was; in her room in the middle of the night. Thunder spooked her and she brought her covers up to her chin, terrified. She heard the rain as it beat the roof and saw it soaking her window.
Twist, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had all ignored her. Did that mean that they saw her as nothing, fit for only changeling fodder? By the hours end, her pillow was again soaked with tears. She wasn't about to let that happen. She had to get away, find a new home with new friends. Friends who loved her and wouldn't leave her.
Quite as a mouse, Apple Bloom tiptoed to her closet and grabbed a few things, after which she irritably trotted to and out the window and into the warm but harsh rain, praying to the Princesses that no one would spot her.
The next morning was a sunny one. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle raced through the dewy grass, soaking their legs and underbellies. They both knocked hard on the door to the Apple's house until Big Mac appeared in the doorway and looked that the two fillies. “Hi Big Mac! Is Apple Bloom home?” Scootaloo asked with a wide, toothy grin.
Big Mac returned with a small smile. “Eyep!” Without another word he opened the door to allow the pair in as Applejack entered the room holding a letter. She walked over to the table and began to read it.
“Well, whatdaya know?” she said with a smile as she read the letter. “Babs got her cutie mark.”
“Really?” Sweetie Belle smiled. “What is it?”
“Three seeds. Turns out she had a gift for breeden' em this whole time, of all things. Says she got it when she realized how natural it felt to be tryin' it with her fellow crusaders in Manehatten. Also says that she's commin' to town to celebrate with you three in a few weeks, and she's bringin' a whole lot of fancy new fruits with her so ya'll had better have empty stomachs!” Applejack grinned.
“Cool!” Scootaloo said. “We can't wait to see it!”
“Speaken'a cutie marks, ya girls here for Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah, we have lots of ideas to get our cutie marks and just three months to do it!” Sweetie Belle said.
“And after our day off yesterday, we feel rested and ready to go!” Scootaloo beamed as she fluttered in excitement.
Applejack looked overwhelmed for a moment, but that turned to mild aggravation as she rose her head to the ceiling. “What in Equestria is taken' that filly so long? It's nearen' noon, how long's she gonna sleep?” The mare disappeared from the room and headed up the stairs.
“I-is Apple Bloom okay?” Sweetie Belle asked. She and Scootaloo were worried now. That worry become fear as they watched Big Mac slump down.
“Nope.” he said depressingly.
“Apple Bloom? You up yet?” Applejack called, knocking on the door. “Sweetie Belle n' Scootaloo are here for ya.” When she didn't get an answer, she opened the door and her heart skipped a beat. The first thing she noticed was that Apple Bloom was neither in her bed or in the room. The plate of chocolate fritters was still on the table, completely untouched. “Apple Bloom?” she asked, looking around the room, under the bed, in the closet, in the toy-chest. Apple Bloom was nowhere to be found.
Applejack started to tear as she panicked. “Apple Bloom?” Applejack's heart plummeted when she felt a cool breeze that drew her attention to the open window and her eyes widened. “Big Mac, Granny Smith!”
Within the hour, the whole town was in a frenzy. Ponyville was usually very tight-neat and the idea of a foal-napper lurking around town scared everypony out of their wits. Shops were shut down, jobs went undone, and the streets were empty of anyone who wasn't part of a search party.
Families who had young foals were shut up in their tightly locked houses, parents peering from the windows eying everyone that passed by with suspicion. Only a few foals, with their parents' permission and under the strict supervision of search parties, were allowed out of their houses.
“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo called from the skies. She was riding on Rainbow Dash's back, who was keenly scouting the land from above along with countless other pegasai. Her parents had been reluctant to allow her to aid in the search party, but they knew that Apple Bloom was one of their daughter’s dearest friends and that Rainbow Dash, who they knew was like an older sister to her, would never see her put in any real danger. Though they both knew that they could and did trust Rainbow Dash fully, neither of them still liked their only child being outside with a foal-napper on the loose.
“Apple Bloom?” Twilight asked, moving bushes up with her magic to check under them. She was leading a search party made up of Rarity, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle and Zacora. Knowing that Rarity grew fiercely protective of Sweetie Belle whenever it really counted, their parents had been far easier to convince when it came to allowing her to be in the search party.
Applejack ran frantically through the streets, panting and blinking furiously. “Apple Bloom! Where are ya!” she hollered.
“P-Printheth?” Everyone stopped as a little white filly with curly red hair and a candy cane cutie mark shyly approached the princess. The Shakes looked on with expressions that seemed to run the spectrum from terror to fury. They had clearly forbidden her from from leaving the house, getting Bon Bon to watch them which she apparently did a poor job of. Twist had sneaked away when her sister had been tending to Swirl. She could imagine Bon Bon being trapped in the house with their brother and irritably cursing her name right now.
“Yes, Twist?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“I...I talked to Apple Bloob yethserday.” Twist said, not making eye contact with Twilight. “I thik she wath sthad we didn'd hag out like we uthe to.”
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon hid behind a house. Like Twist, neither of their parents knew they were out here, and unlike Twist they left not because of worry for Apple Bloom or wanting to help, but because they had found the sudden lack of freedom infuriating and unacceptable. Diamond Tiara had a deep, hate-filled scowl on her face as she stared down the group of ponies who were unaware of her.
“That makes sense!” Applejack said frantically. “Apple Bloom ran home right after her visit with Twist. Haven’t seen her with a dry eye since.”
“I didn'd bean to!” Twist shook her head, her eyes starting to water half out of sheer guilt and half in fear of being punished. To her own surprise, though, Twilight simply looked at her sympathetically for a moment, then conjured up a handkerchief to whip Twists streaming eyes with. The little filly could only force herself to sob a very shaky thank you.
“What?” Tiara asked. She was dumbfounded that Twist hadn't mentioned their own parts in this; Surely she'd heard the teasing yesterday. After all, they had been right outside her door and weren't exactly being discreet about it. “Why didn't she rat us out?”
“Do you think Apple Bloom really ran off?” Silver Spoon asked, now feeling rather worried. Although Diamond Tiara had never been fond of Apple Bloom, there wasn't really that much, if any, bad blood between her and Silver Spoon. The gray filly had merely been following her best friend in the teasing for years, though she herself never really had a problem with Apple Bloom.
“Nopony cares.” Tiara's voice was dry and uncaring.
Silver Spoon stared at her in suprise. Apple Bloom could be hurt or scared or worse. She knew Tiara didn't like Apple Bloom, but didn't she care if the girl was alive?
An outraged courage built up in the filly's heart that she'd never known before. Silver Spoon had always been far more empathetic then her so-called friend, and for the first few times it happened she had felt awful bullying her peers like she did. For years she had wished she hadn't had such a conscience, but now she was glad about it, because she could do something. With or without Tiara, she had to.
“If you won't do anything, I will.” Silver Spoon muttered. Tiara looked on in shock as her friend abandoned their hiding place and ran up to the princess.
“Princess! Princess!” Silver Spoon called. Twilight looked her way for a second before turning to the sky when her name was called. Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo in tow, was back with three others. The first, Twilight instantly recognized as Princess Luna.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna spoke in a soft voice, a far cry from the awkward shouting from years ago. “I hear Ponyville has lost a foal. I've come to aid in your search.”
“Thank you so much, Luna.” Twilight sighed. “Are the others on their way?”
“My sister has more important duties to attend to in Canterlot, and Cadance is...” Luna's cheeks turned a bright purple. “shall we say, in delicate condition. Shining Armor refuses to leave her side, and so he sent two of their guards to assist you.” She gestured to two pegasus castle guards, one clearly a Canterlot guard and the other a crystal guard.
“Princess?” At last, Twilight noticed Silver Spoon, who now had her full attention.
“Silver Spoon, no!” Diamond Tiara rushed from their hiding place and tried to tackle the gray filly but was stopped by a small barricade made by the remaining cutie mark crusaders. Weather it was out of sheer dislike for Diamond Tiara or if they somehow sensed that she had something to do with this, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo glared at her accusingly.
“It was us – me and Diamond Tiara.” Silver Spoon explained, tears welling up in her eyes. They blurred her glasses. “We were teasing Apple Bloom about how her friends would leave her once they got their cutie marks. Than she ran home crying.”
“Yes, I entered her dream last night.” Luna said, “She had a nightmare about being chased by changelings in the form of her family. When she came upon her friends, all baring cutie marks, she could not get their attention.”
“What?” Scootaloo stamped a hoof in defiance. “We'd never do that, even if we did have cutie marks!”
“Apple Bloom has been known to run off before.” Zacora said. “Perhaps she left in search for more.”
“What 'more'?” Applejack challenged, angry tears now flowing freely from her eyes. “Apple Bloom's got all she ever wanted here at home!”
“But if she felt her friends didn't really care about her...Well, she is just a filly.” Twilight said. Despite knowing without a doubt that they would never abandon Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hung their heads.
A few hours later, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Twists parents had a sort of mini-conference. Each of their mothers had soundly grounded them. Diamond Tiara got the worst of it, needless to say. She would be under constant supervision from now on (“If you wish to act like a baby, we'll treat you like one.” her father had said.) and was grounded indefinitely until they found Apple Bloom.
Twist and Silver Spoon, for at least owning up to their mistakes and honestly trying to repent, were given reduced sentences. In the light that Twist's contribution to this was purely accidental and that she was feeling bad enough already, was grounded for three days for disobeying Mr. and Mrs. Shakes clear orders to stay inside. Bon Bon was also apparently lectured for her negligence.
Silver Spoon's parents came up with a sort of compromise – for her courage and honesty their daughter wouldn’t be grounded – instead her punishment was to help look for Apple Bloom no matter what without the comforts of home, though they trusted the older ponies – the former bearers of the Elements Of Harmony, for pony's sake! - would keep their daughter safe while she did this. Silver Spoon was forbidden come home without Apple Bloom in tow, a punishment even she saw as fitting.
The crickets chirped loudly that night. After a long day of searching, they were all at Sweet Apple Acres for the night to come up with a game-plan. The unspoken lock down of Ponyville was lifted once it spread that Apple Bloom had not been foal-napped but instead had run away. All of their bags were stocked, ready for a long journey tomorrow. They would find Apple Bloom and bring her home no matter what or how long it took.
Spike, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were asleep. After practicably begging their parents and some heavy reassurance from Rarity and Rainbow, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had been once again permitted to help in the search. As mentioned before, Scootaloo's parents trusted Rainbow Dash with their daughter’s life, and there was still no way any harm would come to Sweetie Belle with Rarity around.
“Applejack's taking this real hard.” Rainbow Dash commented. Applejack hadn't said a word since hearing that she had run away, and she had just dragged herself upstairs. Her heart felt like a stone. If one listened very carefully, they could just hear her heartbroken sobbing.
“'Course she is.” Granny Smith said, “She's been raisin' that filly like her own up 'til now. Startin' round the time Applejack got her cutie mark, her ma and pa started gettin' sick an awful lot. My poor ol' boy got the worst of it, goin' before he even knew that a third foal was on the way.”
Twilight and her friends looked somewhere between entranced and sad; Applejack had never spoken of her parents before and they all knew far better than to ask. “Their ma hang on 'til the birth, but I reckon she was too weak by that time to be doin' that kind a' labor.”
Big Mac started to choke up thinking of his parents. He'd been just a colt when they went, having to take over the farm just after they lost his their father. He was surprised then, to feel the nuzzle of the small yellow pegasus beside him. Fluttershy's large blue-green eyes looked up at him, clearly wishing to comfort him. He couldn't help but smile and was rather thankful for his bright red coat at that moment. Granny Smith continued.
“Big Mac was already doin' all he could wokin' on the farm, and I was too old to take on another foal. That left Applejack, bless her heart, to raise our little Apple Bloom. Had to pull 'er outta school for it, too. Them two might be sisters by blood but in Applejack's mind, that's her filly. I reckon she'll go to the moon 'n back to find her if she has ta.”
Everyone was silent for a moment, perhaps in moaning for their friends' parents or contemplating this new-found importance to find the filly. “Luna,” Twilight said at last. “I need to go help my friends. I can't shake the feeling that we'll all be a part of this. Can I count on you to watch over things here for a while?”
“I'm afraid that would be quite impossible, Twilight Sparkle, as I fully intend on accompanying you.” Luna returned. “The guards will be able to manage in the meantime, I am sure.”
“Yes, Princess.” The white pegasus nodded, his expression one of determination and resolve.
The crystal pegasus nodded with the same expression. “I'll send a letter to the Crystal Empire at once explaining why I'll be staying in Ponyville for a while.”
“Spike'll help. If something happens out there I don't want him to get into any trouble.” Twilight reassured them. With that out of the way, they could focus on what mattered; they had to find Apple Bloom.