Rise of the Moon

by Scribblestick

Gift

Gift

It was only after Ponyville had disappeared into the distance that the truth began to sink into Apple Bloom’s mind and eat her heart.

It started with the silence. Zecora insisted the filly make no noise as they walked along a road that was beginning to disappear beneath the snow. Apple Bloom had assumed at first the zebra was still worried about the Shadowbolts, but as they drew farther from Ponyville and Canterlot, she began to realize this was something else entirely. Zecora, while reserved, was not one to reject a conversation, and in the quiet sounds of crunching snow, Apple Bloom began to wonder what was really on Zecora’s mind.

Apple Bloom’s thoughts soon drifted back to the ruins, beginning with the one that had buried Applejack. As she dwelt on her sister, she suddenly realized she hadn’t located Big Mac or Granny Smith. She started to open her mouth to tell Zecora, but the zebra’s past rebuffs made her shut it again.

That’s okay, she told herself, taking a few deep breaths. When I go back for Applejack, I can look for them.

In that moment, it hit her.

“Applejack,” she whispered, so softly that the sound went unnoticed by Zecora. “Big Mac. Granny.”

The sound of crunching snow suddenly ceased. Apple Bloom looked up to see Zecora staring back at her. “Come along, we must be gone,” Zecora said, jerking her head down the road. Apple Bloom nodded and picked up her pace, but her head was reeling with one realization.

I’ll never see any of them again. And not just them, but Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and…

The weight of a list of names descended on her tired mind like apples falling one by one from a tree. With every step, another face flashed in her memory, and by the time she and Zecora reached Trottingham, she noticed neither the cold nor her aching hooves over the empty terror within.

The sound of other ponies brought her out of her reverie, and soon she found herself being ushered inside a building and down a long flight of stairs. The stairs ended at an earthen tunnel lit by torchlight. Her escorts took her to a room occupied by a few ponies she didn’t recognize. “You’ll stay here, for now,” one of the ponies said.

“Where’s Zecora?” Apple Bloom asked.

“She’ll be along soon,” the pony replied. Without another word, he and his companion turned and walked away.

Apple Bloom drifted to a wall and sat with her back against the cold stone. Her eyes drifted around the stony hollow, examining the faces around her for any sign of welcome. A green mare stared at some pebbles. A blue stallion ate some hay in silence. A white mare looked away when Apple Bloom’s gaze fell on her. Apple Bloom curled her legs under her and sighed, squeezing her eyes shut and praying that Zecora would come back soon.

Some time later, the filly felt a hoof on her shoulder. Her eyes shot open, but the face that greeted her was not that of her companion but that of the white mare. “Hush,” the smiling mare whispered. Strands of her maroon mane fell across her face. “What’s your name?”

“A-Apple Bloom.”

“You arrived with the zebra?”

“Yes.”

The mare’s gaze darted to the filly’s flank. “I see you’ve yet to discover your cutie mark.”

Something about the mare made Apple Bloom want to curl up tighter. “Y-Yes.”

The mare smiled. “My name’s Flora. Why don’t you come with me?”

Apple Bloom scooted farther back against the cave wall. “Um, they said I should wait here for Zecora.”

“Oh, we won’t be gone long,” Flora replied. “I just wanted to show you some of my plants. I thought it might cheer you up, seeing as you look like the farming type.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “I think I should wait here.”

Flora’s smile waned as her eyes darted around. “Oh, come now. We’re all friends here. There’s no place for trouble with everypony crammed into these caverns. Besides…” Flora leaned closer and lowered her voice. “You’ve lost everything. I can help you get it back, but you have to come with me now.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “How did you—”

“Too many ears,” Flora hissed. “Either come with me now, or live the rest of your life in exile.”

Apple Bloom glanced at the cave’s other two occupants, who looked just as indifferent as before. Flora’s yellow eyes bored into hers, making her wish she could burrow into the ground. “Okay,” she gasped, slowly getting to her hooves despite her pounding heart.

Flora nodded and turned toward the tunnel. “Just keep quiet and stay by me. Don’t look anypony in the eye.”

Apple Bloom kept her gaze fixed on the ground as she followed Flora through the tunnels. The two occasionally ducked out of the way of another pony coming toward them. Finally, Flora pushed open a small door and stepped to the side. “Inside, quickly.”

Apple Bloom entered the room and gasped. The cavern was much bigger than the little cave she’d been in before. At the top, a strange light glowed yellow, illuminating several tables laden with plants. “What is this?”

“It’s my herb garden,” Flora replied once the door was shut behind them. Apple Bloom saw a blue flower on her flank as she walked toward one end of the cavern. “The guards let me keep it because we need the medicine. Sometimes I think this room and my talent are the only things that keep me safe.”

“Safe?”

Flora sighed. “You know what it looks like out there, Apple Bloom. Dark. Cold. And it’s going to get worse. Rumor has spread that Celestia is dead and the sun will never rise again, and some ponies have decided to take advantage of the crisis.”

“What do you mean?”

Flora shook her head. “I don’t have time to explain.” The mare hurried across the room to a bookshelf. “I need you to do something for me.”

Apple Bloom looked around at the herbs. For a moment, she felt like she was in Zecora’s hut. In one corner, she could just make out a cauldron. “What’s that thing on the ceiling?”

“It’s a sunlamp,” Flora replied over the sound of rapidly turning pages. “Keeps the plants growing underground.”

“How’s it work?”

Flora grabbed a page in her mouth and pulled. The sound of tearing paper filled the room. “Come here,” she said as she turned to one of the herb-laden tables. “How much do you know about herbology?”

“Not much,” Apple Bloom replied as she walked over to Flora. “Just what Zecora’s told me.”

Flora grunted as she gripped a blue flower in her teeth and yanked it out of its soil. “Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose,” she muttered as she wrapped the flower in cloth.

“That plant,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s Poison Joke, isn’t it?”

Flora paused and looked at the filly, then gave her a smile. “You’re sharper than you give yourself credit.” Flora finished wrapping the flower before folding the page and stuffing both into Apple Bloom’s saddle bags.

“Hey! What’re you doing?” Apple Bloom asked as she jerked away.

A knocking sound echoed from the door. “Flora!” a voice called. “Get out here!”

Flora closed Apple Bloom’s bag. “I don’t have time to explain,” she hissed. “Keep that flower wrapped up until you find someplace warm. Then, show that paper to the zebra. She’ll understand.”

“Flora, open this door at once!”

“But why me?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Because I can’t,” Flora replied as she walked toward the door. When she opened it, Apple Bloom saw two stallions standing outside.

“Where is the filly?” one demanded.

“Over there, looking at my herbs,” Flora replied. “I thought it might cheer her up.”

“The filly was told to stay where she was,” the stallion snapped. He and his companion pushed past Flora into the room. “Come with us,” the stallion barked. “You and your companion are leaving.”

“Leaving?” Flora said. “You can’t be serious, not with the—”

“That’s enough from you,” the stallion interrupted. “We’ve let you keep your garden so long as you cooperate. Remember that.”

Flora bowed her head. “Yes, sir.”

The stallion nodded before turning his attention back to Apple Bloom. “Come on,” he said. “It’s time for you to go.”

Apple Bloom was careful to avoid making eye contact with them as she exited the room. As she followed them down the tunnel, she glanced back at Flora. The mare nodded toward her saddle bag with a wink. Apple Bloom quickly returned her gaze to the floor and didn’t look up until she and Zecora had left the town.

Comments

[Scribblestick]

3600633 Thanks for your comment. I put this story on hold to deal with real life stuff, and I just haven't gotten around to picking it back up. Now that life is settled and I'm finding some free time, I'll probably get back to this soon.