Disguised Dreams

Applebloom had been keeping to herself.

Not only that, but her personality became more violent and elusive every day.

Many inquired about her change, especially her friends, but she'd grow defensive and threatening.

It reached it's peak one fateful day at school.

She was filthy. Dirt coated her face, and her mane and tail were tangled between bits of dry mud and twigs. Dark circles surrounded the bags of her eyes.

The filly took her place between Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon, both giggling at her bedraggled appearance. She yawned, as if to drown them away.

Cheerilee eventually had to step out of class due to a phone call.

Applebloom still stared blankly, as though her teacher was still talking to class. She broke away when Diamond jabbed her elbow into the side of AB's arm.

Realizing her teacher wasn't there anymore, she very nearly fell asleep on her desk, but DT and Silver laughed loudly.

"You look disgusting!" Silver snickered. AB stared ahead, but was clearly bothered.

"Then again, what would you expect from some little, baby, blankflank?!" There was bitter venom ejected into that last word. At the very sound of flank, AB covered hers with her tail.

But she was surprised at being called "disgusting". "Filthy?" she rubbed her hoof against her gray muzzle, revealing yellow fur on her face, but blackening her hoof.

She looked at the sooty hoof. "Oh, ah didn't notice…"

Sweetie and Scoot looked on at her, concerned.

Ab sighed as the teasing and insults continued, but never looked or replied to either bully.

Then they mentioned AppleJack.

At last Diamond and Silver had found where to hit her, and how hard.

"It isn't a mystery why she left this utopia our queen has made for us." Diamond said into Ab's ear.

"After all, I would go anywhere to leave such a disappointing sister." Applebloom shook her sleepy head and squinted to keep her focus. But she would break if Diamond could help it.

She said one more insult.

An insult that would break any victim.

even Applebloom.

"She has to despise you. You were never anything but a disappointment to her. This world never deserved anything like you, you disgusting, little, freak."

Applebloom made a noise that sounded like a combination of sobbing and screaming.

To the pink filly's horror, Applebloom didn't so much as think when she pounced on top of her. She got so close to her face that their muzzles were touching.

Applebloom lavished in Diamond's fear, it fueled her burning rage. She didn't stop shrieking for a second.

"Ya'll believe the UNIVERSE revolves around you and yer pathetic cutiemark!" AB violently grabbed her crown and tore it to pieces.

"Yer talent is WORTHLESS! No pony cares that yer talent is wearing jewelry! Ya'll know that! And yer so blindly UPSET 'bout it that yer picking on ponies who could be BETTER than you! Ah AM better than you, my cutiemark isn't useless!"

The class gathered, watching her fury rise, but they were confused. Applebloom had a cutiemark?

The filly moved her tail, revealing her cutiemark.

A crosshair with a bullet at the center.

"I SHOOT ponies! That's mah talent! Shootin and killin 'em with guns!" Applebloom was crying. "Ah live with BLOOD on mah hooves! Even that's better than what you do!"

Something had to be wrong with the filly, as she through one more insult. "Freak!"

"Darn it, Diamond, ya'll have gotten on mah last nerve!"

Applebloom thrust her left hoof into the left side of Diamond's face, then the same on the right side.

Tears flooded the ground, but Applebloom wouldn't stop.

Years of rage and aggression and rage was vented into both blows. .

Sweetie and Scoot made a difficult choice: Rescue their bully or let her get what was coming to her for months. They almost didn't save her, but they did anyway.

They pulled the violent apple off of Diamond.

Applebloomed shrieked and fought, but when she found she couldn't break her captors' hold, she simply spat on Diamond's shivering body.

Then Cheerilee returned.

The next week

The cell was cold.

Applebloom had never felt so alone or angry.

Ruled so dangerous that she couldn't share her cell with another "Juvenile", and she was chained to the wall to prevent escape.

Once more, she she tugged and pulled at her chains, but held no avail.

Hot tears spilled from her eyes.

Then she heard two tiny sets of hooves gallop through the halls.

AppleBloom watched through the iron bars as two small ponies dressed entirely in black disabled a security camera.

One had a key attached to a belt.

That tiny pony jammed the key in Applebloom's cell lock.

The ponies took their hoods off. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were her saviours.

But she expected that.

Applebloom looked to the direction her friends came from, and bodies littered the way back. Looking back to the two, she saw a knife, powders, and a vial half filled with a vile, purple liquid.

Sweetie began crying. "When you were taken away, we began wondering if our…talents were different too." she said.

"Th-they were different. Re-programing and disable stuff, that's what I do, apparently…"

"I-I can poison things. I..k-kill."

"Our talents hurt, but I know we can make them help, right?"

Applebloom stared at her own cutiemark.

"There's only one place that will accept us right now." AB looked through her window to the dark Everfree ahead.

She knew where they would be safe.