//------------------------------//
// Lost in Everfree 
// Story: Past Friendships, Present Hatred 
// by GMLover 
//------------------------------//

In a small town called Ponyville, a small filly with a large pink bow was trudging down the road towards her family's farm. Her overall appearance was the epitome of childlike depression, from her drooping yellow ears to her sullen amber eyes.
The tiny pony sighed in self-pity, looking behind her at her bare flank, further aching her heart and bringing tears to her eyes.
The filly's name was Applebloom, and she lacked a special talent.
Two years prior to this moment, the filly and her two best friends-Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle-formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a club dedicated to achieving cutie marks and finding special talents.
They had been on many adventures attempting to discover what they were best at. They had quickly become infamous in town with all of their shenanigans, but everypony had put up with them out of amusement or pity. The three fillies tried their best nearly every moment to achieve their goal: to get their cutie marks.
However, recently Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had obtained said marks and the Crusaders retired.
Except for Applebloom, that is.
With her friends caught up in joy over their newly discovered talents, Applebloom felt left behind; useless. The two fillies were as gracious as they could be to their unfortunate friend, but eventually they were overcome with the need to express their talents and had slowly halted their meetings with the red-maned filly.
"I'm sorry Applebloom, but I have to go to singing practice, I'll meet with you later! I promise!"
"Sorry, AB, but I gotta go work on my maneuvers, I'll catch ya later!"
This led Applebloom becoming more vulnerable to bullying, and, to rub salt in the wound, alone.
"Stupid Diamond Tiara. S-stupid Silver Spoon. I'll get my cutie mark someday! They'll see..." The yellow filly sniffled, shaking slightly.
She truly believed that someday she'd get her cutie mark, find her talent, and move on with her life...but that belief was starting to dwindle as more days passed with a flank as bare as it has always been. Days and even months went past as her bare flank stayed the way it always was, depression slowly baring down on her as more and more of her peers noticed this and joined in on her long-time bullies' teasing.
'Blank Flank!'
'You'll never get your cutie mark!'
'Who would want to be friends with a talent-less loser like you anyway?!'
Applebloom chocked on a sob, remembering each insult thrown at her and how they seemed to get more and more cruel and malicious the older she got. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stood up for her whenever they could, but they couldn't always be around her, and what bullies she had took their chances at easy prey. 
She rubbed her eyes gently with her hooves, barring the memories from her mind, and glanced around, freezing as she took in her surroundings, finally realizing that she had strayed from her path to home..
"Oh no..." The red-maned filly whispered in horror.
In her depression and sorrow, she had subconsciously gotten herself lost in Everfree forest, and judging by the little light streaming through the canopy, Luna's night was beginning.
Panicking, the small pony began calling out, "Help! Applejack! Big Mac! ...G-Granny? ...An-ANYPONY?!"
Terrified and exhausted from her earlier tears, Applebloom sat down, hoping and praying for her family to find her and take her home.
She shook as the howls of timberwolves reached her ears and the forest began to take an even more frightening turn. The trees seemed to reach out at her and eyes watched her every move from the corners of her eyes. What was once mildly dangerous to an adult pony was now very threatening, and Applebloom had a very difficult time restricting her rising hysteria. Normally, the filly would be one of the braver ponies out their, but even so, she was still just a filly put in a scary situation, so naturally she reacted badly.
Sniffling, Applebloom curled in on herself, looking everywhere around her in paranoia, shaking lightly from the slight cold.
Suddenly, a faded white light caught her attention and she immediately looked up at the direction it came.
The farm filly knew she should stay still and wait to be found, but one of the most prominent parts of her personality was her curiosity, and so she found herself drawing closer and closer to the dim light.
Apparently, it was a longer ways off than she had first guessed, as Applebloom realized that she had walked after the illumination long after the sun had set, driving her to follow the light at a faster pace. Along the way, many vegetation and debris had caused her legs to be covered with many small, but painful, cuts; however, to the determined filly, this was a minor nuisance, focusing only on the 'safe' light in the distance. Shaking from fear and exhaustion, she continued her trek and rubbed her hooves raw on the sharp and debris-covered ground.
Finally she had stumbled into a clearing that seemed to give off on air of hopelessness and imprisonment, and Applebloom saw that she had made it to the source of the rays, and what she gazed at both shocked and terrified her.
It was a creature. An odd, bipedal creature who's skin was pure white, not unlike Celestia's coat, and seemed to be the source of the illumination Applebloom had followed. It's mane was extremely long and tangled, starting brown at the roots and slowly turning green as it led to...flowers? Or rather, withered flowers. Except for one rose that was closest to the creature's face. It's body was horribly malnourished and sickly looking, and if not for the gentle rise and fall of the creature's chest, Applebloom would've thought it was dead. Lastly, the creature donned a dirty, light brown ripped dress and seemed to be chained up with black vines.
Applebloom took a wary step back, suddenly wary. If this creature was hostile, then the filly didn't want to be too close. However, it seemed like it wouldn't attack her, as it made no move and looked frail enough to shatter at the lightest touch.
Feeling brave, Applebloom dared to speak out, "H-Hello?"
In the blink of an eye, the creature's head shot up, blank yellow-green irises staring straight at Applebloom.
The filly shrieked and jumped back, banging her back hoof against a sharp rock, causing it to bleed.
A few tense moments past as each being stared silently at the other, one of fear and one of emptiness.
Finally, the creature blinked, and spoke aloud.
"Hello."