(A semi-crossover with a certain subject that will become known as the story progresses.) Applebloom is depressed. She is the last of her class to still not have her cutie mark, and in her sadness she finds something that shouldn't been discover
(Semi-Crossover, no pairings, semi-OC that's not really an OC, but I came up with her design and personality. However, she is not mine, nor are any characters that appear in this story not from the MLP franchise. You'll know who they are the further along you get.) Applebloom, depressed and feeling useless, blindly treks out into the Everfree Forest, which leads her to come across an individual who seems rather odd in more ways than one. Just how does this creature fit in to Equestria's history, and what ties does she have with Princess Celestia? Applebloom decides to take it upon herself to study this being...and possibly befriend her along the way. (The main story is in the POV of Applebloom, though my semi-not-really-OC will be having flashbacks in her POV, sometimes switching with Celestia and others. Oh, and Season 3? Doesn't exist here. Maybe.)
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."
Silence wrapped around the forest like a blanket over the deceased. All creatures ceased their chatter and noise, as if they sensed a phenomena and wished to sit back and observe. Any wind that may have been blowing was halted, any clouds disappeared. Leaves clung to their branches, or lay dead on the ground without a sound. Two sentient beings stared each other in the eyes. The first's brilliant gamboge gaze filled with sudden shock like one's own expression would be like had they come across a discovery they had never heard. The other entity had a look of vacancy, dulled chartreuse orbs peering intently on the life form in front of them. Moments passed of absolute silence, the mere thought of a pin dropping brought sound to the extreme quiet of the forest. The smaller being shifted, finally bringing the emptiness of the forest to a halt as the melody of the night played through the newly-returned breeze. Both of the life-forms in the clearing seemed to relax at the disturbance of the woods, and began to inspect each other with curiosity rather than fear or contempt. Finally, Apple Bloom spoke out, "Y-yes, uh, hello...What-I mean, who are you?" Tilting its head, the creature being spoken to replied slowly, "Who am I?" "Yes. Who are you?" The filly demanded, albeit timidly, her mind grasping for any information that may lead to what the being with her could be classified as. The five-clawed hooves it dawned reminded her of dragons like Twilight's assistant Spike, but somehow they seemed different. "I am." The other's answer brought Apple Bloom out of her study, and the absurdness of it hit her after a few seconds. "You are what?" Came the pony's question a bit tiredly. The other thought for a minute, as if confused, dull eyes clouding over as it seemed to search for a reply, "I am..." Getting frustrated despite her situation, the yellow filly muttered, "Yes? You are...? The other shook its head in defeat, a slight glimpse of worry coming across its face, "I don't know..." "You don't know who you are?" The filly repeated softly, feeling a little guilty at how she had treated the being, "Um, do you have...Amesheeza? Er, ameneza? Or something like that? Amnesia?" "I...am not sure. I would guess so." The creature quieted down again before inquiring, "But what of your name, little one?" "I'm not little..." Apple Bloom muttered under her breath, already being a tad more open towards the other, "And my name is Apple Bloom." The other moved its mouth in a way that seemed to replicate a smile, however vacant and empty it was, "That's a nice name. Bloom...like flowers?" Smiling some back, the filly nodded, "Yup. My sister says that I was named after an apple blossom that my mother saw the day I was born. I guess I always did like flowers because of that..." Speaking of her deceased mother always put the young pony in a depressed state, despite not knowing much of her or her late father, both having passed before memories could begin their mingling. "I live with my sister, brother, and granny at a farm. What about you? Can you remember your family?" "I...I am afraid I do not remember my...'family' as you put it. However, that word...makes me disheartened for some reason..." The creature stated, lowering her (Apple Bloom decided that the creature was female according to its voice) head, flower-like hair falling over her face in a manner similar to a certain yellow pegasus. "Oh...I'm sorry..." Apple Bloom replied awkwardly, trying to find a way to change the subject, "Hey...what if we can come up for a new name for you?" Looking surprised, the other said, "A new name...?" Smiling in a somewhat more genuine way, she nodded her acceptance in the idea. "Alright! Now what should we call you...?" Gladdened by the new game to take her mind off her troubles, the red-maned filly thought hard, eyes taking a better look at the other's floral additions to her hair. While they seemed to be decorations at first, upon closer inspection they were revealed to be literally growing out of the hair in a wide array of colors, albeit mostly withered, "How about we name you...Flora? After all of the flowers in your hair!" Another nod of acceptance was given, "I like that name. Flowers are all I really know, so a name relating them to me...That makes me happy." Grinning broadly at her success, Apple Bloom was brought out of her small victory gleam by recalling exactly why she was in the Everfree Forest to begin with, the memory causing sweat and apprehension to seize the filly. "Oh no! I forgot that I got lost in here! Oh, Applejack's going to kill me..." The yellow being groaned, feeling more terrified of punishment than of the forest. "Is there something wrong?" Came the questioning voice of Flora, a concerned look flashing across her face. "YES! I mean, no, well, yes, there is something wrong. You see, I'm lost in here, and I don't know how to go home..." The pony confessed, a wide variety of possible consequences for being in the forest so late running through her head like a hurricane. "I would help you. However, my current...predicament halts my assistance." Flora stated, lifting her shackles weakly to make her point. Seeing the shackles caused Apple Bloom's mind to come up with a sudden idea, "How about I help you out of those shackles and then you help me out of the forest?" "...I agree. It would be of use to both of use to do that." Leaning back so as not to get in the way of her yellow companion's aid, she nodded. Apple Bloom walked over to the shackle on Flora's left leg, the metal in question seeming to be in top condition despite the state of its prey. The shackle looked unbreakable, without even a keyhole for escape. It was exactly the kind of thing used to punish someone severely, though the filly thought nothing of this as she attempted to get a better look at the shackle, reaching out and lightly touching the metallic surface. The moment the yellow hoof came in contact with the metal, a bright light suddenly appeared like a more powerful sunlight shining through a window in the early morning, this being the cause of Apple Bloom stumbling back and rubbing her eyes out of slight pain. When she fluttered her eyelids open and took a glance at her new friend, a gasp escaped her throat. The shackles disappeared. There were no longer any evidence of their existence in the clearing, nor on the being they imprisoned. The being in question slowly, but surely stood straight and began walking, tripping a bit before finally getting her bearings. An odd sound erupted from the flower-headed creature, and after a few moments Apple Bloom realized that the noise was a laugh. Not a fake, empty, emotionless laugh either, but a hearty, genuine chuckle of pure happiness. Facing her yellow companion, Flora smiled widely, showing canines Apple Bloom winced at but soon decided they were harmless, "Thank you, my friend. Thank you so much. I...have forgotten how long it has been since I have walked this earth. Without those chains, I feel...free. I finally feel free! ...Thank you." Giggling in a humble manner, Apple Bloom dug her hoof into the dirt, smiling, "Oh, don't worry about it! We're friends now!" Nodding in agreement, Flora stated, "And now it is my turn to assist you in your journey back to your homestead. Is there a path you may have strayed from?" "Yes, actually I did. If-if we can find that, we can find the way out!" The filly exclaimed excitingly. "Correct, now then, should we head out?" "Yup!"
