The world awoke with beauty.
The rising sun brightened the fields with its bright oranges, yellows, and reds; Shadows danced across the ground with mischief and laughter.
It was another day for Applebloom.
Her hooves pushed the blanket off her pale yellowish body--grayish olive, actually. Her older sister Applejack, who was a fully grown mare now, had told her it reminded her of vanilla while being exposed to the sunlight.
Applejack... Applebloom loved her sister dearly, no doubt. They went on so many adventures together that were unforgettable...especially the seemingly never-ending Cutie Pox experience. From then on she learned to never lie and be honest, like her sister who she was so proud of--being the element of Honesty and saving Ponyville and Equestria more than once! 'Course it was something she wanted to show off. With Applejack's strong hooves and hard-working, down-to-earth, dependable attitude, and no mention her carefulness, patience, and reliable personality which made room for everypony, she was everything Applebloom wanted in a sister.
She heard a soft creak. A glow of light entered her room, as did a familiar shadow.
"Wakey, wakey, Applebloom..." a gentle voice spoke. Of course she remembered that twang and accent.
"Oh, hey, Applejack..."
Applebloom uncomfortably shifted her laying position in bed. Glancing at the clock, she read the small, glowing red numbers. Because of her work, she earned enough bits to get a small, digital clock.
"It's 4:30, Applejack," Applebloom groaned, "It's too early to get up. Isn't there 30 more minutes to sleep?"
Applejack thought for a minute. Then she nodded.
"Exactly, Applebloom!" Applejack laughed warmly, "But now that you're fully awake, you can't sleep, can ya?"
"Um..." Applebloom began.
"Never mind that," Applejack said, "That's not the real reason ah woke ya up. Big Macintosh told me that there's ah big order of apples coming and we need ta get up early and buck some apples."
"How can I help, exactly?"
Her special talent wasn't baking or bucking, nothing like that. It was art; any kind...actually. From paintings to sketches to doodles to posters to play scenery to illustrations to fashion to toys to interior design...her specialties was architecture and carpentry, though she was still extremely talented at everything else to do with art--she just favorited them above others because they had some sort of special feeling.
She smiled as she glanced at her cutie mark: an apple-shaped palette, covered with different neon colors.
Applebloom still had strong earth pony strength, and that was what helped her do all those things, even if she didn't have the carefulness of magic to help her; she either used her mouth with some time, or attempted to grip on to a pencil or paintbrush with her hooves and failing.
She still helped with the farm, though, and used her best skills to make Sweet Apple Acres look perfect.
"Oh, that," Applejack said, "Big Mac also told me ya was goin' to Manehatten for some building design thing..."
"...Architecture..." Applebloom corrected.
"...and ya need to pack ya'll bags for the trip, dontcha?" Applejack answered.
"Isn't that like...a week from now?"
"Preparation is important, Applebloom. You don't know...maybe it'll be moved up and you would have to quicken your packing. It's going to take time, and I want you to think about what ya pack, alright?"
"Also, sis," Applebloom said, "You've been to Manehatten. What's it like?"
Applejack was about to speak, but she shivered. "Well...you'll know when you get there," she smiled. "After all, you'll fit in better than ah did when ah was a little filly."
"Aw, sis," Applebloom responded, "But how will I know?"
"You'll know," Applejack said, stepping parshally out of the room, then faced her little sister, "And don't be scared, Applebloom. I know...I just know that you'll be alright. After all, you don't really belong here. You need ta travel!"
"Don't say that," Applebloom scolded, "Ya know I'll miss ya and Big Mac as much as I will Sweet Apple Acres. Okay?"
"Okay," Applejack confirmed, "Just come to breakfast in a few minutes, 'Kay? It's 4:39 now, so I'd think ya better hurry."
"So do you," Applebloom laughed, just as her sister left her room.
Applebloom thought for a while. Applejack did go to Manehatten, at the time her friend Rainbow Dash preformed a sonic rainboom and Applejack realized that Sweet Apple Acres was were she truly belonged. Rainbow's Sonic Boom also did a lot of things more than that, too--it helped the rest of the Mane Six, what the six pony friends called themselves, earn their cutie marks too. She loved her sister. A lot.
In no more than a few minutes she was in the kitchen eating up apple pie with apple cider and apple dumplings: a little Apple Family favorite. The kitchen table was covered with a Granny Smith-sown checkered light green-and-white blanket with little pictures of apple cutie marks on the green squares.
As Applebloom looked at the tablecloth, she noticed tears forming in her eyes. Granny Smith's funeral was roughly a year ago, and the Apple family was mourning for her. She died from old, old age, because unlike Princess Celestia, she was not immortal. Thankfully she wrote every Apple secret down day by day in her family journal named The Applebook, and Applejack remembered every last rule to the family Zap Apple Jam recipe.
"Mmm..." Applebloom complimented, licking her lips, finishing off an apple dumpling, "Yum, yum, yum!"
Applejack laughed. "Thank ya, Applebloom!" she said, satisfied.
Since Granny Smith died, Applejack had been the cook; she was a good cook, of course, sometimes even better than Granny, so it was obvious she should have had the responsibility of being the 'mother' of the family when Granny passed away.
Applebloom burped.
"Pardon, Applebloom!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Eeyup."
They turned to Big Macintosh, who had finished all his cider and food. He smiled. All he seemed to say was that...and the disagreeing version of it, even with his family. But he also said a few things else, and he didn't really like attention.
"Mail's here," he said, trying to get the attention away from him, the full-grown stallion.
"Oh, yeah, mail!" Applejack said, and she went out the door, obviously to the mailbox.
A few seconds later, she entered, with a couple of envelopes in her mouth. She didn't have anywhere else to put them, and it wasn't as gross as it was thought to be. She sputtered them on the table, then sort them out.
"Two for me..." she said, taking two envelopes, one that read 'bills' and another reading 'from Pinkie Pie'. "Probably another party invitation," she muttered, though there was much happiness in her voice, when she realized who it was from. "Three for Big Mac," she said, pushing three to him, which could be anything really--invitations to dates, one thing. Lots of mares wanted him as their groom, smooth, mysterious, hard-working and handsome. But he wasn't much on Romance, he knew how to be romantic but he really didn't like to all that much.
"And, one for Applebloom," she smiled, and pushed the last one to her.
"Huh?" Applebloom wondered. She really didn't get much mail, and she didn't like to. Like Big Mac, she didn't enjoy too much attention.
She flipped it over to the stamp side...but there was no stamp where it was supposed to be. Just some careful cursive handwriting that read To: Applebloom.
"That's odd and mysterious," she said with a twang. She gotten that from her family, of course.
"What's odd and mysterious?" Applejack asked, peeking over at the mail.
"Never mind," Applebloom muttered, ripping the envelope away from her sister's eyes. She wouldn't understand.
"Oh, alright, little Miss Independent," she said laughing warmly.
Applebloom smiled, and opened the envelope. Applebloom heard another sound, but soon realized it was her sister opening up the newspaper. 'There is always something to learn,' she said, 'Either that or some interesting gossip being spread 'round'.
Applebloom was about to read the parchment inside of the envelope when her sister interrupted the silence and her reading.
"Ah, lookie here, Applebloom! Says the Wonderbolts Another Successful Show an article written by Letter Spark! Scootaloo's doin' well, huh?"
Applebloom thought for a second, then she grimaced. Scootaloo never messaged when she promised she would, and never told her anything. Applebloom almost forgot about her but then remembered their promise Scootaloo broke in the treehouse...
"Okay, now that we're going our own separate ways, I think we'll have to contact." Applebloom said, smiling with glee.
It was right after they had gotten their cutie marks. Scootaloo was quickly admitted to the Wonderbolts, Sweetie Belle found an agent and was going to do singing and acting, and Applebloom was working for a company called Fruit Art.
"How about we promise each other?" Scootaloo asked. "It is what best friends do, anyway, and we're basically best friends."
"Yeah, great idea!" Sweetie Belle agreed, "I have another idea, too!"
She put her hoof in the middle. The rest all followed, putting their hooves on top of Sweetie Belle's.
"Tomorrow is a new day,
Let us never forget,
That we used to play,
Or it makes us regret."
Sweetie Belle tilted her horn forward and it glowed a bit, then stopped. When she was done, she was sweating a bit.
"Huh?" Applebloom asked. "What did that do? Did you just make it up?"
"It's supposed to bond our hearts, and yes, yes I did. I know it's stupid, but..."
"It's awesome, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo said, but when she lifted her head Sweetie Belle was crying.
"What's wrong, Sweetie Belle?" Applebloom asked, "That was good. Really good. Nothing to cry about!"
"That's not why I'm crying, Applebloom," she said, looking in her eyes with a smile on her face, tears soaking her cheeks, "It's just that I'm so sad, and kind of happy, that we've grown up, and achieved what we wanted to...our cutie marks, our life..."
Applebloom smiled in respond...
And Scootaloo broke their promise--their bond--and forgot about them; how could she? She was the one who helped her get her cutie mark, and help her be part of the Wonderbolts...
Well, that made it seem like she was the one who made Scootaloo forget...
"Applebloom," Applejack said, lifting up her head with a hoof, "What's wrong? Why're cryin' all of a sudden?"
Applebloom realized that she was crying. She wiped her tears away.
"Nothin', Applejack, nothin' at all," Applebloom responded, "I just...got 'little carried away about somethin'."
"You're hidin' things from me, Applebloom," Applejack said worriedly, "Whats is it?"
"Nothin...I don't want to talk bout it."
"Alright..." Applejack said, "Alright."
Applebloom had a mental sigh of relief. She needed to be more careful of her actions. She knew that her sister was trustworthy, and that was a good thing and all, but she couldn't bare to tell her her problems. It was going to lead to something...she knew...and that something ain't pretty.
She pushed the memory out of the way, and opened the note she seemed to have forgotten while reliving her memories. Inside was the same cursive handwriting on the envelope, so it wasn't very hard to read. But when she finished she jumped up, then raced out the door. Before Applejack could call her back to the table, she slammed the door with odd excitement and mystery. Odd.
Applejack did not know what had caused this. It was just something weird, everything happening after she read her mail.
The mail that she didn't fold down all the way, with ink peeking out:
Dear Applebloom,
I am an old friend. I am sorry to say that I have done something horribly. I hope you haven't forgotten me.
I just want to say I'm so very sorry for what I did. This seems like my first letter to you since I left Ponyville. I hope you forgive me. That's all I'm hoping.
If you want to know who I am, please go to the tree house that I remember so clearly now at midnight.
I just can't bear to tell you in a letter my sorrow and hope for remembrance all in a letter. It'd be painful for me to not express my true feelings and wait for you to forgive me. This is too much.
Hope You Have Hope For Me,
Anonymous