Choosing Fate

by Livi-Love

Chapter 3

Applebloom wondered whether she could get away before they reached her but quickly dismissed the idea. Scootaloo was faster and her brief spell of surprise disabled the use of her legs. She hadn’t noticed their presence until Scootaloo called her name, and Applebloom silently chastised herself for her lack of attentiveness.

By the time Applebloom recovered, they were directly in front of her. Scootaloo’s eyebrows lowered, a playful smirk on her face.

“You found her!” said Sweetie Belle. “Good job, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo tossed her head back and a wave surged through her short pink mane, flicking the spiked tip at the front. She positioned her head forward and widened her smirk into a full fledged grin. “Told you we’d find her! Applebloom, we’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Nearly everywhere,” piped up Sweetie Belle. “I mean, we didn’t look at the bottom of a river and some other places.”

Scootaloo glared at her. Rolling her eyes, she said, “Moving on. That sleepover was mega awesome and all, but we lost daylight so we’re gonna have to be like twenty per cent more efficient.”

“Twenty percent?” said Sweetie Belle, furrowing her brow. “How do you measure efficiency?”

Scootaloo glared at her again but concluded that it was something not worth bothering about. It was Sweetie Belle after all.

“So, Applebloom, what were you doing at the library?” Scootaloo peered over Applebloom as if that would answer her question. Applebloom shifted slightly and chanced a glance at her flank, which to her relief was fully covered. “We weren’t going to look for you here and were only passing...” Scootaloo paused. “What’s up with the cape?”

“Cape? What cape?” Applebloom looked at it and snorted. “Oh, that cape! Well, see... ah, uh...” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. Sweetie Belle leaned forward with wide eyes. Applebloom hesitated, trying to make her voice less shrill. “Ah know! Ah thought that we could try and be superheroes! They do lots of fun stuff we could be good at.”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. Applebloom bared her teeth into an extremely toothy smile.. Sweetie Belle was cross-eyed.

“Hey, yeah!” said Scootaloo, bouncing like a pogo stick. “That’s an awesome idea, Applebloom! Me and Sweetie Belle need to get a cape too then, just like yours. I can’t believe we didn’t think of this sooner! Superheroes are only like the second coolest thing ever. Hey, Sweetie Belle, you can get us some capes, right? Your sister must have some.”

“Yeah, my sister has everything when it comes to clothes,” Sweetie Belle said. “But... don’t we need superpowers?”

“Not all superheroes have superpowers.”

“Then wouldn’t they just be heroes?”

“Batcolt doesn’t have superpowers and he’s a superhero.”

Applebloom left them to their bickering. Normally, she would have joined in, but now wasn’t the time to invite the possibility of a tussle. She needed to keep her new cutie mark as secret as possible. She needed to wait until... something. She wasn’t sure what something was, but Applebloom could figure that out later.

“Hey, Applebloom!”

Applebloom looked up. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were a few feet away. Scootaloo’s tiny wings trembled whilst Sweetie Belle merely stared at her. It was a blank sort of stare that made Applebloom feel uncomfortable. It had too many interpretations, rendering it unreadable and inconclusive. Applebloom settled on the much more readable eyes of Scootaloo.

“Crime never rests,” Scootaloo remarked, “so we shouldn’t either.”

“Ah’m comin’!” Applebloom scurried over and the three friends made their way to the Carousel Boutique.

“Your head is higher in the clouds than Sweetie Belle’s today,” commented Scootaloo, giving Applebloom a sideways glance. It was said casually, further proven by her upbeat expression, but Applebloom didn’t want to let her guard down.

She chuckled. “Ah’m just in a thoughtful mood, that’s all.”

It seemed to satisfy Scootaloo, who raced ahead and invoked the other two to try and catch up. The lack of conversation on this occasion pleased Applebloom, who overtook Sweetie Belle instead of keeping her company. By the time she dashed around Sugarcube Corner, Scootaloo was at the beginning of the bridge near Carousel Boutique. Applebloom ducked her head and charged.

“Ooh, your cape looks like wings, Applebloom!” complimented Sweetie Belle.

Applebloom skidded to a halt and her cape descended. Sweetie Belle overtook her, skipping. Applebloom watched her, heart thudding, expecting Sweetie Belle to comment on her cutie mark. The white pony didn’t say anything else, only giving her a cheerful backwards glance. Applebloom pretended that her cape unravelled at the front and adjusted it, taking the string bow below her neck and shaking it.

She jogged the rest of the way. When Applebloom reached the bridge, she looked at her reflection. “It’ll be alright,” she told it and it smiled back.

“That wasn’t even a challenge,” complained Scootaloo as Applebloom stopped in front of her. “Applebloom, you so went easy on me. I mean, you didn’t even run most of the way.”

“Ah was, uh, enjoyin’ the view. The sky is so nice today.”

Scootaloo searched the sky before dropping her head, eyebrow raised. Sweetie Belle’s head remained tilted upwards and she burst out laughing.

“That cloud looks like a marshmallow!” said Sweetie Belle, pointing. “And... ooh, that one looks like a sheep.”

“Applebloom, when I said your head was higher in the clouds than Sweetie Belle’s...” Scootaloo headed over to the entrance of the Carousel Boutique, Applebloom beside her. “... Scratch that.”

“And that one looks like Rarity... no, wait, that’s the marshmallow one. But that one does! Hey!” Sweetie Belle chased after them, slipping through the open door behind them. “Wait for me!”

Scootaloo and Applebloom squinted at the sheer pinkness that greeted them. Soon afterwards, different colours entered their vision: vibrant costumes with differing shades of blue and green and purple and red and many others. There were also the beige gaps where bits of the mannequins could be seen where dresses ended before the hooves as well as glimpses of empty faces that hats and wigs didn’t obscure. To the left were mirrors that showed the fillies how they contrasted with their surroundings, with Applebloom’s simple bow and Scootaloo’s messy mane. The smell of roses wafted in their direction, enticing them to stay with its fragrance.

Ahead of them, with a hot pink curtain nearly going all the way around her, was Rarity. She had her back to them, preoccupied with sticking pins into her latest creation. It was a pale blue dress with darker blue seashell shapes decorating the edges, and Applebloom didn’t care to give it any more thought.

“She looks like she’s working,” whispered Scootaloo loudly.

Rarity somehow didn’t hear, humming under her breath as she adjusted her glasses.

“I’ll get her attention,” offered Sweetie Belle.

“No, that’s not what I-”

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle bounded towards her sister. She tripped and toppled onto Rarity, who shrieked and automatically reached for something that would stop her fall. A loud rip greeted their ears as Rarity fell flat on her face. Scootaloo and Applebloom winced.

Sweetie Belle swiftly got up and waited patiently for her sister to follow suit. Rarity, however, chose to remain on her front and stare at the piece of material in her hooves. The rest of the dress clung crookedly to the now horizontal mannequin.

“My... My...” Rarity went. Her teeth ground together.

“Oops,” said Sweetie Belle. “Sorry, Sis.”

Rarity rose and towered over Sweetie Belle. Lightning struck behind her and Rarity twisted her head around, expression calmer. “I really need to fix that light bulb.”

“Will you be able to fix it?” said Sweetie Belle anxiously.

“Well, no, but I am sure I can get somepony to fix it. It’s only a light bulb.”

“I meant the dress. It was so pretty and I spoiled it!”

Rarity’s ears pricked up at the growing, mournful edge to Sweetie Belle’s voice. “No! It’s not spoiled! It’s nothing some stitching can’t fix. Besides, the ragged look is... in... this season. It gives it more of a castaway princess feel, you know?”

Sweetie Belle sniffed. “Really?”

“Yes? Why, darling, I think you’ve made it even better.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Really really?”

“Yes.”

“Really really really really?”

Rarity’s smiled dimmed. “Yes, now, do you need something? I apologize for being rash but I have to finish this by tomorrow.”

“Um...”

“The capes,” hissed Scootaloo.

“I knew that! Can we have some capes?” asked Sweetie Belle. “We’re going to be superheroes!”

“Superheroes!” Rarity pointed her horn at a nearby rail and extracted a blue cape from it with her magic. It floated over to Sweetie Belle, landing on her back. “Why, how quaint!” A green cape emerged from the same rail and came to rest on Scootaloo. Rarity made to get another one but stopped after glancing at Applebloom. “I see you already have one. And here I was, going to get you a lovely pink one!”

“I appreciate it, but ah’m gonna stick to this one.” Applebloom twirled, careful to make sure her cape didn’t rise up. “It’s... uh, been in the Apple family for years! Family tradition and all.”

It was hard to imagine that her sister embodied the element of honesty.

“But it looks so new!” Rarity stepped towards her, eyeing it. “It doesn’t look old at all.”

“Applejack takes good care of it.”

“Oh, really?” Rarity didn’t look like she believed her, but then she sighed. “I suppose if it’s a family tradition than Applejack would keep it nice and clean. Oh well. Goodbye! I hope you have fun!”

“Yeah, bye! Let’s go!” shouted Scootaloo as the three stormed outside. “Cutie Mark Crusaders, Protectors of Justice!”

***

“That cloud looks like a taco,” said Sweetie Belle, pointing up at the sky.

The other two sighed, repositioning their heads and feeling the grass tickle them. What part of the sky that wasn’t hidden by the clock tower contained a couple of clouds, none resembling anything like a taco.

“You’re right, Scootaloo. Crime doesn’t wait.” Applebloom exhaled. “It’s already gone without us.”

“We’re just looking hard enough,” snapped Scootaloo, getting off her back and looking around. “Come on, we can cloudgaze later. We’ve got ponies to save and baddies to stop.”

“Aw.” Sweetie Belle stood up shortly before Applebloom. “Can we get something to eat first? All those clouds are making me hungry.”

Scootaloo gritted her teeth. “No. No food. We spent the last half hour looking at dumb boring old clouds. Now I get to choose what we do and I say we go and find someone who needs our help.” She raised her hoof to her forehead and surveyed the area. Her eyes immediately fell on a cream pony who was shuffling along, grounded by two heavy brown sacks. “Cutie Mark Crusaders: Protectors of Justice! Move out!” Scootaloo hurried over to her with the others at her tail.

The pony stopped when they stood in front of her, taken aback by their eager expressions. “Um... hello?” she said.

“I like your mane,” commented Sweetie Belle.

“Why... thank you... I think.”

“I see you’re struggling with your bags,” said Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle blinked at her and the pony searched for a possible escape route. Applebloom drifted towards her bags. “We would be happy to assist you with your dilemma.”

“Well, that’s awfully sweet-”

The pony jerked her head towards Applebloom and widened her eyes. Applebloom’s face crinkled in confusion at the fear and rage on the pony’s face.

“It’s you!” She gasped, backing away with her eyes on Applebloom. “Stay away from my bags! Don’t... Don’t go near them!”

She hurried away. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle went either side of Applebloom, who stared at where her cutie mark was hidden. That pony... why had she...? Was it because...?

No. Applebloom averted her gaze.

“What’s her problem?” asked Scootaloo. “Do you know her?”

“She seemed awfully scared of you,” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

“Uh... Ah think ah talked to her once, but ah’m sure ah didn’t do anythin’ wron’,” said Applebloom. “Let’s find somepony else.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, we don’t need her to help us have somepony to need our help! There has to be somepony that needs our assistance. What about Rainbow Dash? I’m sure she has some chores that need doing.”

“What about her?” Sweetie Belle pointed at the blueish grey pegasus situated several feet away.

“What? Derpy?” Scootaloo groaned, pulling her hoof over her face. “Seriously?”

“Superheroes don’t get to pick and choose,” said Sweetie Belle. “And Rarity says it’s not nice to call her that. Her name is Ditzy Doo Hooves.”

Scootaloo sniffed. “Rainbow Dash calls her Derpy.”

“If Rainbow Dash jumped off a cliff, would you?” asked Applebloom.

“... Rainbow Dash can fly.”

“Come on, girls!” said Sweetie Belle. The other two jumped and saw that Sweetie Belle was right in front of Ditzy Doo. They sauntered over. Ditzy Doo peered down at them and smiled in a friendly manner.

“Hello,” said Ditzy Doo.

The three fillies hesitated. Sweetie Belle whispered, “Is she talking to you or me?”

“I don’t know, her eyes are looking at both of us,” replied Applebloom. She raised her voice. “Uh... can we help you at all?”

“Nope, I’m absolutely fine!” said Ditzy Doo. “Thanks for asking!“

The Cutie Mark Crusaders sighed.

“Well...”

They leaned towards her. “Well?”

Ditzy Doo began treading on the spot lightly, head down. “There is maybe... one thing...”

“We’d be happy to help you with your problem,” Applebloom said before Scootaloo could come up with an excuse to leave. Anything that involved Rainbow Dash involved moving around, and Applebloom wanted to remain as still as possible. “What could we do for you?”

“I had something that needed doing but I can’t remember what it is,” Ditzy Doo explained. “It is something really important but my head doesn’t want to cooperate.”

“Argh! We don’t have time for this!” yelled Scootaloo. “We need to find somepony who needs real help.”

“It is real help!” piped up Ditzy Doo indignantly. “If it wasn’t then I wouldn’t have it.”

“She has a point,” Sweetie Belle added seriously.

Scootaloo groaned but Applebloom said, “We’d be happy to help you as protectors of justice and all that need helping.”

“Come on, Applebloom.” Scootaloo boggled her eyes and nudged her. “Superheroes don’t do this kind of thing.”

“I think we should help her,” said Sweetie Belle. “It’s really annoying when I forget things.”

“... Fine.” Scootaloo pouted. Emotionlessly, she said, “Did you lose a muffin?”

“I don’t think so,” said Ditzy Doo.

“Is it to do with Dinky?” asked Applebloom.

“Nope.”

“Did you lose a muffin?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I already said that,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Oh. Did you lose two muffins?”

“Nope.”

“Have you delivered all your mail?” said Scootaloo.

“Did you lose three muffins?”

“Yep and nope. Wait.” Ditzy Doo widened her eyes. “I just remembered.”

The three fillies jumped up. Scootaloo was an inch away from her face. “Yes?”

Ditzy Doo slapped herself on the forehead and stuck out her tongue. “I have to remember something important! Wow, how could I forget to do that? Thanks, girls! You really are superheroes!”

As Ditzy Doo skipped away, Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at her and they burst out laughing at the same time.

“Okay... Okay...” Scootaloo wiped a tear from her eye with one hoof while the other clutched her stomach. “Now.” She straightened up and said earnestly, “Let’s go and find Rainbow Dash.”

Applebloom hurriedly scanned the area for a distraction. It came in the shape of a lime green pony with a straggly white mane.

“Hey, look! It’s Granny Smith!” Applebloom rushed over. “Hey, Granny Smith!”

Scootaloo moaned. Sweetie Belle patted her on the head.

Granny Smith plodded along, legs quaking and head downcast. When Applebloom stopped beside her, she ignored her and walked straight past. Applebloom didn’t say anything for a moment, but seeing that her grandmother was going to continue on her way, she jumped in front of her.

“Granny Smith!”

The pony in question squinted at Applebloom, frowning.

“It’s me, Applebloom!”

“Applebloom!” Granny Smith exclaimed, life coming into her eyes. She cracked a smile and laughed. “I thought you were with your little friends, getting up to mischief and whatnot.”

“Nope, we’re superheroes now! Do you need help with anything?”

Granny Smith closed her eyes. “Oh, I just want you to keep an ol’ pony company while she’s goin’ wherever her legs take her. It gets awfully lonely on my long, time consuming walks.”

“Uh...” went Applebloom. She could feel Scootaloo’s eyes shooting daggers into the back of her head. “Ah’d love to, really, but ah have thin’s that need doin’. See you later!”

“Wait!”

For such a slow pony, Granny Smith’s hooves moved fast. Applebloom had lurched away when she felt a tug on her cape. Her grandmother let go nearly instantly, causing Applebloom to roll forward and across the ground. She came to a stop several feet away, face downwards. She spat out earth that her mouth scooped up and lifted her head. Everything remained dark, much to the filly’s confusion. For a terrible moment, she thought she had gone blind and threw her head to the right in a poor attempt to regain her vision.

Then, in a more terrible moment, smooth material brushed against her cheek. Applebloom shrieked and quickly pulled the cape backwards before standing up.

“Applebloom, what was-?” started Sweetie Belle, but Scootaloo interrupted with a loud, ‘are you okay?’ that drowned out the rest of her sentence.

“Ah’m fine.” Applebloom shook her head, dizzy. The world stopped spinning. She gave them a determined look. The last thing she needed was them checking her for injuries. Nearby, upon seeing that she was alright, Granny Smith waved and resumed her stroll. Slowly. “Ah can handle a bit of tumblin’. Ah mean, ah’m a superhero! So, how about we go see Rainbow Dash and-?”

“HELP!”

The voice made the fillies’ eyes twitch and Scootaloo said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The owner of the voice was a nearly-in-tears Silver Spoon, whose emotional state was enough to diminish the grimace on Scootaloo’s face. She emerged from behind Sugar Cube Corner, a hoof over her eyes. When she reached them, she looked up and wailed, “You have to help. It’s Diamond Tiara! She went into Everfree Forest all by herself. I tried to tell her not to but she didn’t listen... she never listens to me!”

“Why would she go into Everfree Forest?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Everyone knows that it’s really spooky in there.”

Silver Spoon sniffed, taking her glasses off and dabbing her eyes with a frilly handkerchief. “She... She wanted to get some poison joke for you three. I told her it wasn’t worth it but you know what she’s like.”

“She went in there so she could prank us,” stated Scootaloo. She cocked an eyebrow. “And you expect us to go get her?”

“Come on, we’re superheroes!” Applebloom reminded her. “We have to help everypony who needs us.”

“Remember the last time we went there? There was that cockatrice and we’d have been goners if it weren’t for Fluttershy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in a forest doing nothing all day. Our superhero days are up.”

Applebloom couldn’t believe it. Scootaloo enjoyed going on adventures, particularly the scary kind, the most. Now wasn’t the time for her to suddenly decide they should weigh up the risks and benefits of quests. Most important of all, retiring from being superheroes meant that Applebloom would have no reason to wear a cape. Then it was only a matter of time before they realised something was amiss.

“Of course we’re superheroes!” Applebloom rolled her eyes, trying to keep her voice light and casual. “Cutie Mark Crusaders: Protectors of Justice! We have capes.”

Scootaloo looked her in the eye and for once, Applebloom had no idea what was going through her friend’s mind. Whatever it was, though, it made something unpleasant stir inside of her. Scootaloo, not taking her gaze off Applebloom, bit the string bow against her neck and pulled. It unravelled and with a shake of her flank, the cape slid off her and landed at her hooves. “Aren’t you the responsible one, Applebloom? This is serious.” There was a glint in her eyes. “Take it off.”

Sweetie Belle started to take her cape off. Applebloom glared and stomped her hooves.

“Ah say we are superheroes. Sweetie Belle, keep it on.”

Sweetie Belle shifted it to its original position.

“Off!” snarled Scootaloo.

“On!”

“Off!”

“On!”

Sweetie Belle, who had been fiddling with it, left it undone at the front but kept the cape on her body. She watched the exchange, frowning. Silver Spoon smirked but it went unnoticed.

“Why are you so intent on being a superhero, Applebloom?” asked Scootaloo coldly. “That is, unless you just want to wear the cape.”

Applebloom blinked. “What? Of course not...”

“It’s to hide her cutie mark,” interjected Silver Spoon.

Applebloom stared at her. “How’d you-?”

“I knew it!” shouted Scootaloo. “When you fell over, I thought I saw something on your flank. And Sweetie Belle told me she saw something while we were racing to Rarity’s. Show me.”

“But-!”

Scootaloo lifted Applebloom’s cape, dropping it shortly after. She backed away, head down. Applebloom gulped, raising a hoof.

“Ah... Ah don’t-”

“And you didn’t tell us,” said Scootaloo. “Your best friends. Why, Applebloom?”

Applebloom’s bottom lip trembled. “Ah, ah wanted to stay a Cutie Mark Crusader.”

“Well,” said Silver Spoon, “if you want my opinion, you can’t be a Cutie Mark Crusader if you’ve got a cutie mark. It kind of defeats the purpose, you know?”

“When did you plan on telling us?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Did you plan on telling us?” added Scootaloo.

“Yeah!” said Applebloom. They looked at her. “Honest.”

“When?”

Applebloom opened her mouth but only silence came out. She closed it again and threw her head to the side, unable to look them in the eye. “Soon.”

“More like never. Argh.” Scootaloo turned around.

“Ah thought we couldn’t be friends anymore.”

Scootaloo didn’t reply, trudging away.

“Where are you goin’? We’ve got to find Diamond Tiara! Sweetie Belle, you still want to be friends, right?”

Sweetie Belle looked between the two of them, uncomfortable. She smiled at Applebloom and Applebloom smiled back. Sweetie Belle sighed and ran after Scootaloo.

Silver Spoon sidled up to a downcast Applebloom. “Aw, don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll come around.”

Applebloom stepped away and growled. “How did you know about ma cutie mark?”

“Diamond Tiara told me. I have no idea how she knew.”

“It doesn’t matter. Ah’ll find out when ah find her.”

“Then what?”

Applebloom shuffled away, hoofs too heavy to lift off the ground. “Ah’ll work that out later.” She looked up and glared at the ponies dotted around the square, staring at them. “What are you all lookin’ at?”

They coughed and continued their daily businesses.

Silver Spoon called after her, “You can’t go by yourself! Everfree Forest is full of monsters.”

Applebloom glowered. “Ah don’t need no pony but myself.”

Silver Spoon watched her go. She frowned. The prank had sounded far better in her head. Heck, it sounded better when Diamond Tiara described it to her. It actually sounded fun then, the thought of those blank flanks falling out because of a drawing Diamond Tiara made on Applebloom’s flank. She liked to think of herself as a smart pony, but beyond that she hadn’t given it much thought. She hadn’t thought to... or wanted to.

She didn’t notice Diamond Tiara come out from behind a nearby stall, but she heard Diamond Tiara’s fit of cackles.The pink pony appeared to have no worries or doubts like her friend, and Silver Spoon interpreted this as herself missing something rather than a fault on Diamond Tiara’s behalf. After all, it was Diamond Tiara. The funniest, prettiest, most popular filly in their class. If she had been none of these things then surely no pony would like her. There had to be a good pony beneath her surface for Diamond Tiara to have so many friends- far more than Silver Spoon.

Silver Spoon looked into Diamond Tiara’s wide, glittering eyes and wavered. Diamond Tiara closed the rest of the space between them with a jig.

“Did you see that?” Diamond Tiara wore a Cheshire Cat smile, rubbing her cheek against Silver Spoon’s. “It went perfectly! I was totally expecting them to fight but Scootaloo... ha! She nearly cried.”

Silver Spoon looked at the corner Applebloom had disappeared around. It felt like something was crushing her vocal cords, trying to stop her from saying anything, but Silver Spoon took a deep breath and forced her mouth to oblige. “Diamond Tiara, do you think that maybe we went a little too far? They were best friends... and they all seem really upset...”

“Oh, they’ll get over it... and even if they don’t, who cares? Don’t tell me you’re getting soft, Silver Spoon! It was only a bit of fun.” Diamond Tiara giggled. She nudged Silver Spoon and demanded, “Laugh! It’s funny.”

Silver Spoon joined in and the two strutted away.

***

The difference between the outskirts of Ponyville and the beginning of Everfree Forest was stark. One moment, Applebloom ran across a dirt path, bushes and azure flowers either side of her. The clouds above swirled and poorly veiled the brilliant blue sky, reaching to the filly with its warmth and gentle breath. Distinct voices of birds sang with a bug chorus and everything hummed with life.

Then it changed. The fluffy bright trees darkened and became gnarled, with scarred faces and arms that hung like vines. Saturated the grass became, merging with the shadows. There were still flowers, but they didn’t smile like Ponyville’s ones did. They sneered and stuck up their noses, thorned arms crossed. Applebloom ignored them and carried on. She had been in Everfree Forest enough to not be intimidated by its unkempt wilderness.

“Diamond Tiara?” called Applebloom. She slowed her jogging to a trot, peering either side of her. The trees grew closer and the light from above struggled to find gaps between the leaves and web of branches. The song of nature from Ponyville was no more; the bugs were silent and the birds didn’t sing. The only thing that resembled a bird that Applebloom knew to inhabit the forest was a cockatrice and she certainly didn’t want to meet one.

Applebloom bowed her head and sighed at the lack of response. She could visualise Diamond Tiara cowering amongst snaky grass, shaking as she invited predators with her fear. It was enough to make the filly carry on.

“Diamond Tiara? This ain’t funny.” She looked around upon hearing a twig snap. Applebloom waited for something to emerge, a hysteric Diamond Tiara perhaps, before rubbing her chin. “Maybe Zecora found her.”

Why are you so intent on finding her?

She shook her head, disposing the seemingly random thought. It was because she was a good pony. Diamond Tiara was a spoiled brat, but she couldn’t help but be stupid and reckless.

Applebloom arrived at a clearing. She jumped through the bushes in front of her that acted as a fence around the hut. The hut was actually a tree, and coloured bottles attached to black string hung from one of its bulky branches. They didn’t move in the still air, and the mask above the door stared at her with hollow eyes. Applebloom ignored it and knocked on the door.

She waited a few seconds before heading to the window.

“Applebloom!”

Applebloom whipped around and saw Zecora appear from between two nearby trees. Her satchel beat in time with her footsteps, rapping against her grey body until she halted. The zebra blinked a few times as Applebloom greeted her and her mouth fell slightly ajar.

“Your visit to my home is a nice surprise,” said Zecora. She tilted her head to one side, her mouth closing briefly. Her earrings jingled. “But... I see worry in your eyes.”

Applebloom’s forehead creased.

“It’s Diamond Tiara... you know, that girl in ma class.” Applebloom started to pace. Zecora nodded. The two friends often drank tea together while Applebloom complained about the latest things the bullies had done. There was something relaxing about sitting at a small table drinking Zecora’s special tea, surrounded by sacks and decorations and various other things that would give most other ponies a fright. “She went in here and ah’m tryin’ to find her. Have you seen her anywhere?”

Zecora shook her head. “I’m afraid I have not seen her today, but I suspect that pony has not wandered too far away. In fact, I think she might have returned to Ponyville because this forest gives her a chill.”

“You know what? Ah think you’re right. I’ll catch you later!”

Zecora raised a hoof at Applebloom’s back.

“But wait... Applebloom.”

Applebloom hesitated. “Yeah?”

“Something does not feel right. Something.... changed, overnight.”

Applebloom gazed at her from over her shoulder. “Somethin’ changed? What?”

Zecora stuck out her neck, widening one eye. Applebloom cowered and Zecora lowered her voice. “Something about you, Applebloom...”

Applebloom lifted up the end of her cape, revealing her cutie mark. As secret as she wanted to keep it, she didn’t want Zecora to continue freaking her out. In any case, Zecora was smart. She wouldn’t tell anypony. She wouldn’t-

Zecora gasped, mouth twitching. She stepped away. “So that is causing this feeling of doom!”

“Doom?” Applebloom, who had dropped the cape back over her cutie mark, lifted it again. She peered down at it, something drumming in her head. Her eyes flickered between Zecora’s face and the mark on her flank. “It’s... It’s just a cutie mark!”

“Child, you speak those words without knowing the consequences consequently growing.”

“Consequences?” Applebloom paled.

Zecora sighed. “I have only seen a similar cutie mark once, long ago; and what happened because of it...” She lowered her eyelids. “... You don’t want to know.”

“Ah do want to know!” Applebloom begged. She slid forward on her stomach and pressed her front hooves together. She shook them. “Tell me, please!”

Zecora raised her chin and Applebloom stood up. Zecora shifted her head to the side, focusing on the trees around them. Her gaze washed over them, finishing on a gap between two of the trees.

“A pony was sent deep within this place, wishing to never again show her face.”

“A pony?” repeated Applebloom. “Why would somepony be sent here?”

Zecora didn’t say anything. She bowed her head, a shadow cast over her eyes.

“Zecora, why would somepony be sent here?”

“Everything was fine until she earned her cutie mark, then things became rather... dark.
One by one, her friends left her side, and soon her relationship with her home had died. They said she was a sneak, a liar and cheat, then they finally grew tired of her deceit.Their leader banished her and after journeying alone, she made this forest her new home.”

Applebloom looked at the trees and bit her lip. “Have... you ever seen her?”

“Only once when she shared her tale with me, when she told me how her new life came to be. Since then she has not come out, but she is still here that I do not doubt. The crack of a twig, the rustle of leaves, the ghouls of the forest in which someponies believe. The groan of the wind, the eyes just out of sight...”

Applebloom gulped. Zecora’s turquoise eyes burned like flames.

“If you think they are her, then you are right. Applebloom...”

“Y-Yeah?”

“I can tell that you want to meet her, and I am sure if you go then this will occur.”

“But you said that she hides from all the other ponies.”

“Because they are not like her and she is afraid, but finding a pony like her will make her easily swayed.”

Applebloom had never wandered far off the dirt path alone and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Yet... Temptation to run into the undergrowth burned inside of her. Something compelled her to.

“She will come for you as she did for I, and you will never know what will become of this if you never try. Go into the forest and walk about, and soon she will seek you out. There is nothing to fear, nothing to lose, the next thing that happens depends on what you choose.”

Applebloom shut her eyes. Then she darted between some trees and out of sight.

Zecora grinned.

“Yes, Applebloom, you don’t want to be late...”

She threw her head back and her eyes glowed white. Smoke erupted out of her body and when the air cleared, a pale pink pony was the only one there.

A smirk graced her lips.

“Because for what is to come, I can barely wait.”