Sweet, Solemn, Sad

by Shingo

Forbidden Fruit

Zecora’s hooves softly crunched against the dirt as she trekked through the Everfree Forest. She carried a pair of saddlebags with her as three sets of footsteps followed close behind her. Accompanying her were an orange pegasus, a white unicorn, and a yellow earth pony, all fillies and happily chatting with one another. Zecora smiled as she ducked under a branch.

“Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, I must thank you three for accompanying me,” she said.

“No problem, Zecora,” Apple Bloom said. “We’re always willing to help you.”

“Yeah, and besides.” An excited smile grew on Scootaloo’s muzzle. “We could get our cutie marks by the end of this. What reason would we have to say no?”

“How about the fact that we’re in a dangerous forest?” Sweetie Belle asked. “While having you as a guide does make this safer, I still feel uneasy.”

“I understand,” Zecora chuckled. “But with me here, you have nothing to fear.” The four passed through a series of bushes. “Speaking of here…” Zecora stopped in her place. The fillies stepped beside her, taking in their lack of surroundings. They had stopped in a perfectly circular open space with trees lining the edges. Save for a single stone podium the size of an average filly at the center of the space, nothing but grass could be seen. Zecora approached the podium while her companions looked around in confusion.

“Um, Zecora?” Apple Bloom asked as she followed after the zebra. “Where is here?”

“And where are the fruit that you said we’re going to pick?” Scootaloo added. “There’s nothing here but grass and that thing.” They stopped at the podium. There was writing in a language that was unrecognizable to them as well as an octagonal groove in the middle of the writing.

“They cannot be seen.” Zecora reached into her saddlebag. She pulled out a silver padlock half the size of her hoof. On top of the lock was a black circle with four white lines drawn down it. At the center of the pattern was writing spelling out ‘L.S-00’. “Without this. For we need it to go into the abyss.”

“Abyss?!” Sweetie Belle shrieked. “You’re leading us into an empty void where there’s only despair?!”

“Despair, no.” Zecora placed the lock in the groove. The writing glowed with a gentle white light. “There is something else though.”

“And that is?” Apple Bloom tilted her head.

Zecora placed her hoof on the side of the lock. “Fate.” She pressed a button and the lock opened up. A bright light appeared above them, slowly descending to the ground. As it moved down, the air opened up like a zipper. Along the edges of the space were teeth and at the bottom a zipper. Inside they could see a forest with distorted blues and purples lining the trees. Zecora headed towards the opening. “If you want to take a hold of the fruit of destiny, follow me.” She passed the threshold leaving the fillies alone.

“Well, what do we do?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We have two options,” Scootaloo said. “We could follow after her into some creepy forest.”

“We’re already in a creepy forest,” Sweetie Belle deadpanned.

“Fine, a creepier forest.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Or we could sit here and do nothing.” She walked towards the opening with determination burning in her eyes. “I don’t know about you two, but I want to see destiny’s fruit.” Scootaloo passed the threshold. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a quick glance at each other. They nodded in unison before following after their orange friend.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle found their friend gawking at her surroundings. They soon followed suit as they caught up to her. The air itself seemed to be distorted. Nothing was clear and to them, it was like looking through frosted glass. A countless number of trees towered over them. Vines were growing along them and a series of distorted cool colours hugged each plant. Fruits the size of apples were growing on each vine. They had a magenta colour at their tops that faded as it got lower on the fruit. At their bottoms were a series of blue strings forming what looked like veins.

“I see you decided to follow.” Zecora approached them with a smile on her face. “Now, as a general rule of thumb, do not pick any of the lower fruits. Understand?” The fillies nodded. “Good, now come.” They followed Zecora to a nearby tree. She reached up and pulled one of the fruits off. The top of the fruit had a series of vines growing on it. The vines looped around back to the top of the fruit creating a lock shape.

“Hey Zecora,” Apple Bloom said as she pulled a fruit off. “These fruits look like the lock you put in the podium. Only these don’t have a mechanical look to them. Is there any reason why?”

“Because rather than stand by and gawk, I choose to believe that destiny can be unlocked.” Zecora placed another fruit into her saddlebags.

“Deep,” Scootaloo said. She held a fruit in front of her. Her eyes widened and a small amount of drool fell from her lips. “These fruits look really really good.” Scootaloo opened her mouth, bringing the fruit to closer. Zecora slapped it out of her hoof. “Hey!”

“Be careful,” Zecora said in a cold voice. “A single bite will turn the tides of fate. There will be no turning back for you cannot wait. One bite and you must fight until the world is dyed in your colours. ”

“Well…that was ominous,” Sweetie Belle said smacking her lips. Zecora, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle. Around her were three cores of the fruits and another half-eaten fruit sat in her hoof. “What do you mean by dyed in your colours?”

Zecora stared at the unicorn in horror.

“Sweetie! You’re not supposed to eat the fruit!” Apple Bloom screamed. “Didn’t you hear what Zecora said?!”

“She said that one bite would turn the tides of fate,” Sweetie Belle said as took another bite. “But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The tides could turn in our favour.” She bit into the fruit. “Besides, these fruits taste really good.”

“Really?” Scootaloo picked up a fruit. Her eyes widened in surprise as she sunk her teeth into its flesh. “Wow! This is incredible! I’ve never tasted anything like it!”

“Should we be concerned about them?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Concerned is not the right word,” Zecora sighed. “Scared is, for they will now hear things that was once unheard.”

“And that’s even more ominous,” Sweetie Belle said.

“I’ll explain everything once we leave.” Zecora walked past Sweetie Belle. “You two have been given a terrible gift that I had hoped that none of you would receive. Follow my lead, for we have everything we need.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed after Zecora, each with a fruit in their hoof.

Apple Bloom lingered behind looking around at the trees. I wonder. She pulled a fruit off a vine. She held it up, examining every detail. It really does look good.

“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo yelled. “Coming?”

“Right behind you!” Apple Bloom took a bite. Her eyes widened as the fruit’s flavour danced on her tongue. She ran after her friends, occasionally taking a bite from the fruit. Unknown to her, each bite led her closer and closer to a destiny that wasn’t her own.

Author's Note:

One one hundredth of a bitcoin to whoever knows what I'm referencing.

Comments

[Yildun]

Oh, honey, these are so sweet. I haven't read them all yet, and it might be awhile before I finish, but the three chapters I ended up reading at random put a smile on my face. (I found the Gustave one through search, and selected two others after that, after I guessed that this was a collection of short stories.) Thank you for writing these!