Blooming Talent 2: The Apple Falls Far

Apple Bloom slowly and painfully opened her eyes to the stark white ceiling of the hospital room once again. This time, her headache was even worse; it felt like a cavepony was playing the mamba and using her skull as a drum. The light hurt, and she had to blink several times just to even keep them slightly open. As her vision slowly sharpened, she saw Goten come into view.

"She's waking up." He said, turning to some pony she couldn't see. "Hon, are you OK?"

Before answering, Apple Bloom rubbed her temples and stretched her legs slightly. She attempted to sit up, but was suddenly forced back down by an immense pain in her chest and abdomen. It did not dissapate when she quickly lay back down.

Goten turned once more to the doctor pony as he check the scan of Apple Bloom's body.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked rapidly.

The doctor shook his head, dumbfounded. "I...haven't the slightest clue. I've never encountered something like this..."

Apple Bloom didn't like the sound of that. She rolled over as much as she could and began to speak.

"Like what..doc?" She asked.

The yellow coated stallion in the white coat turned his attention to her. "You seem to have contracted a rather...vicious strand of something. I'm not sure if its a virus, or something else, but it is...not pretty inside."

He pulled the screen over to where they could see for themselves; the xrays were blurry, but it was clear something was abnormal.

"It seems to be primarily traveling through your veins in an attempt which I would assume would be to reach your heart." The doctor explained. "Now that just a conjecture based on they way its spreading. Its moving outwards from your right hand and has already made its way into the right quarter or so of your torso."

Apple Bloom stared incredulously at the scans; her veins and arteries in the affected areas seemed to be darker than the others. It was like a pitch black compared to the greyish blue of the rest of them. She was about to speak again when the doctor continued.

"And that's not the only way we can tell..." He said, pointing hoof at her right arm.

The southern anthro mare followed his direction, and her jaw dropped open as her heart skipped a beat. Her entire vein network in that limb was visible and ink like in color. The sight was horrifying and traveled up to her shoulder and down her side, nearing her hip. She tried moving it, but found that she was very limited in its motor function; she couldn't even twitch the fingers, and had only managed to lift it halfway up.

The pain was present, but the shock at seeing what state her arm was in had blocked most of it from her mind and she continued to stare.

"What..the hay...is happening to me?!"

She started to panic a bit, and Goten put a soothing hand to her cheek, and another on her good hand. He told her it was going to be OK and that they would figure it out, but as he said these things, the door to the room suddenly creaked open and in strode none other than Princess Luna.

At first, Apple Bloom was relieved, and thought maybe the princess could help; but as soon as their eyes met, she remembered what the alicorn had done...and what it had cost her family.

Apple Bloom huffed and sneered at the princess, who did none of that back.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

She waited until the doctor exited the room and shut the door behind him to speak. "Piccolo thought you may respond better to my reason rather than to his."

"Well, as usual, Piccolo was wrong." The anthro on the bed scoffed. "You're both equally guilty for what happened to not only my son, but to Scootaloo...and possibly even to me."

"I understand that you think this way; the bruise on my face reminds me of that." Luna spoke simply and calmly. "But what happened to you and your friend Scootaloo was not mine or Piccolo's doing."

"You're guilty all the same. If you hadn't been such a pushover at the summit, none of this would've happened."

"For one thing, we actually fought against this course of action--"

"Well you didn't fight hard enough." Apple Bloom interrupted. "My baby boy of only two years is in the hooves of some selfish and arrogant horse who thinks he can get what he wants by flaunting about his big, gold suit."

"Selfish and arrogant or not, he is still emperor of Saddle Arabia."

"And you're Princess of Equestria!" Goten interjected. "He shouldn't even have any authority here! What did he possibly think he was going to threaten you with if you refused him?!"

Luna took a deep sigh. "The possibility of war."

Goten rolled his eyes. "Let him wage war! He has nothing that can beat me and the others! He only got lucky with his shot on me back at Sweet Apple Acres! Apple Bloom still couldve--"

"Dost thou even realize what thou didst say?!" Luna nearly shouted. "I shall not subject my citizens to the horrors of war, regardless of guaranteed victory or not!"

"But you'll subject 'em to slavery..." Apple Bloom added.

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but found no words and merely looked to the side.

After a tense few minutes, Apple Bloom started to get out of bed. Goten protested, but did not make her lay back down, and merely acted as her support, so she could stand without falling over from her weakness. The dark blue alicorn stared at the couple for a few moments as Apple Bloom positioned herself comfortably against her husband.

"Luna..." She said, making sure to exclude her royal title. "I don't give a flyin' feather bout your rule against us leaving. I'm going' to get my son back; if I'm banished from Equestria for it, then so be it. I ain't gonna let you tear my family apart to preserve your public image."

Luna said nothing as the couple slowly traveled around her and out the door, into the hallway, and out of Ponyville hospital. She continued to stand in the empty room in silence for several long minutes. She found herself wondering what Celestia might have done. Would her elder sister have made such an agreement? And what was she thinking looking down on her now from where ever she was? So many questions, but the rule remained.

"Herald." She commanded loudly.

A pony wearing dark purple armor and bearing fangs in his mouth quickly trotted in.

"Let it be known that Apple Bloom and Goten are no longer allowed within Equestria." She said somberly. "We shall no longer be responsible for their actions."

"Yes, Princess." He responded, and galloped off to spread the news.