Author's Note

Ah, you've made to chapter three of my first My Little Pony fanfic sequel that, like its predecessor, is Mature no less on the grounds that a previous chapter had dealt with a heavy subject matter proven to be unsuitable for those certain readers; suffice to say, this was by far a stronger note for many and therefore they were all given an option to skip ahead to this chapter: whether or not you've taken up this offer, it was only up to you to do so, nothing more.

As always, My Little Pony, or rather Friendship Is Magic, including its settings and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro; however, this concept of my fanfic belongs to me so I will say this line one time only: please do not steal this story or I will sue.

Lastly, let me also say that I hope you enjoy this chapter now more than the others and still have the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for future chapters later; henceforth, I will leave you with but one saying only: thank you very much.

Fruit

The light in and of itself had so many properties harbored within it: warmth and guidance to all; of course, there was also another quality that was already revealed by the changing atmosphere. With so much as a keen eye, one can even see it give off some colors in many shades and hues to be seen in there at once; out of these colors, many would be most commonly found on the planet. As a matter of fact, the very soil itself would even serve to provide such a color capable of provide life to those that dwell around its premises thereof so long as the consumers remain wary.

With its colors painting the scenery as if it were being done by a legendary professional draughtsman, the burning daylights had become rather emphaticized at once. The spacious cerulean firmament held up an abundance of snow white clouds traversing along with the birds and bugs against the illustrious shine of the golden sun. Within the dream drop distance of life itself was but a large sea of the brilliant green, each fiber of them in various shades and hues creating a bewildering camouflage. The calm gentle breeze traversed throughout the herbage inside of them as the lush landscape remained loud and proud of its structured foundation amongst one another. For every piece of vegetation that dwelled within the brilliant green usually contained a plant capable of providing nourishment or mortality to any being regardless of the circumstances. Given the immense size of such acreage, it would seem that the probability of finding anyone residing in there was rather nonexistent; then again, life was brewing about nonetheless.

Anyways, there was at least one tree within the herbage that stood out and about: it was tall and large; unlike the rest of them, this one was serving as an unconventional form of residence. Although that its branches held up the foliage and produced vines like the rest of them had in the acreage, three out of the very five branches had bottles hanging from the ropes rather tightly. Etched into the very bark were only two circular apertures at were peering outward from the tree, both of them serving as windows to the strange yet humble abode out amongst the brilliant green. There was also a ligneous mask that found its own way on top of the brown door as it rested firmly underneath the blossoming foliage which had already provided them some pale shelter.

Compare to the rest of the dense forestry, the abnormal structure of this very tree in question was hollowed out; therefore, it was already anomalous enough to serve as a highly established domicile. The very ligneous ceiling in its entirety also had some of the small vials hanging out from there as well, albeit in a rather smaller quantity in comparison to what had already remained on the outside. Buried firmly within the inner walls of the single tree were also some potions and bottles too, except that they were all standing upon a shelf with some vases and books within close proximity of one another. There were only a pair of tall and stout white candles found with the edge of them but they weren’t even lit at this moment in time; of course, that didn’t try to stop the light from travelling deep inside the windowsills. In addition, there were even at least three more masks that clung onto the very upper corners of the foundation thereof, all of which that had been carrying the same form at once but in different styles nonetheless. Resting upon the brown lumber door upon itself was but a small willow hoop with so many intricate strings that intersected with one another in reckless abandonment all throughout the small circle. All that had remained within the very space was a jet black cauldron standing within a diminutive shallow pit, empty and hollow yet capable of holding so much more as the tree currently done already.

“Ahh…” a small groan escaped into the atmosphere, emitting from within the confines of the strange home.

It wasn’t long until the owner of the organic cry was revealed: a freckled feminine face with a bright complexion had walked out and about into the open. There was a set of some straight hot red hair that already ran past the nape of her neck, its solid color speaking loudly and proudly compared to the rest of the abode. Found upon the very tresses was but a light pink bow resting on them, its fabric being a lighter shade that was juxtaposed along the way. Deeply found within the half–shut eyelids were circles of orange that peered out at the surrounding where the female currently resided in. A dark green dress was already overlaid upon the redhead’s body, its own frilly edges reaching down to her very kneecaps at once. Both of her two feet were already adorned with some sandals that had matched the texture of the premises thereof. In the occupant’s hand was but a slender stick held firmly in place, its flat tip pointing from her grasp at once.

At that very moment, she steadily inspected the place throughout with that stick, taking a stand alone against what had come her way. Even though that the vials and cauldron were well within the redhead’s line of sight, they were all blurred a bit in a foggy cloud at an edge. A heavy yet steady breath soon escaped from her plain lips as she maintained some awareness of the texture around.

Soon, the trembling redhead felt both of her ears standing on endwise as the sounds of some footfalls made its way known at once followed by a turning latch; as a result, she had turned to the door to find an individual stepping into the fray: it was another female albeit with differences. This one had been walking tall and with skin firmly in the dark, wearing only a face full of confidence and a faint smile being plastered out amongst the tender visage. A calm circuitry of chilled cerulean orbs was found to be peering out into the direction of the younger counterpart’s current standing all at once. The woman had possessed some tresses neatly arranged in a set pattern of both black and white in equal proportions whatsoever, all of which that was straightforward down to the nape of the neck. Her slender frame was covered up by a large brown fabric; in addition, her feet were wearing some sandals as the other albeit in a jet black scheme.

As the stick wielding redhead held her composure, the woman calmly chuckled and had said to the former all at once, “Apple Bloom, you are already awake; I had just gotten back from the lake.”

“Good Morning, Zecora…” the young female replied steadily as she had yawned, “are ya alright…?”

“Nothing but some water to refresh the mind; thanks for the question so kind…” the woman answered back calmly.

Apple Bloom began to slide away from Zecora for some room and stretched her arms apart slowly; as the latter had watched on, the former then said, “do you suppose that the zap apples will be coming back to the Everfree forest anytime soon…? Granny Smith, may she rest in peace, used to have my sister and brother harvest these back at the farm where Ah had used to live there.”

“I cannot say for sure yet, little one; but as soon as the howl comes, it’ll be done…” the lanky woman sighed as she had slowly placed a hand upon the shorter female’s shoulder, “besides, there’s something about it that I must ask: are you going to be able to go use them for some task…?”

“To be honest, yes Zecora: do ya remember that one letter that mah sister Applejack had just sent to you and me back almost a month ago…?” Apple Bloom had slowly answered with a small yawn.

Zecora knelt down a bit and responded at once, “as clear as the skies are still blue, ‘tis true for both me and you; the times that we had read and write, our bonds strengthened through and through…”

“Her birthday is coming up soon so Ah had thought about making a cake just as a big surprise…” the young redhead said already, “she used to tell us how extremely important it was for us in the family to get every single thing exactly right; Ah had even been able to write down what Ah could remember since the time Ah had started to get mah sight back years ago. I know that things were different back then since we had them growing at our home but I just want to ready for them to show up this time; after all, Ah can’t afford to have Applejack keep feeling sorry for me over some silly war, let alone say it for what happened either. I may have nearly gone blind from the poisoning but I don’t want everyone else to think that I am weak just because of it; besides, I want to move on past the pain and not have to wake up from the nightmares every once or so in a week. Ah–––”

“Please try to understand: that’s such a demand…” the woman interjected softly, wiping away a stray tear within due time.

Apple Bloom turned away from Zecora’s calm blue eyes to face the vials before returning to have the complementary orange face them back and said, “Ah know that but believe that it’s the only way to let her know that Ah have forgiven her already nonetheless; even so, living with you over the years was a miracle for the both of us. Once upon a time, Ah had always wished and prayed that Sweet Apple Acres would still be standing at the end of the day like it had before; now, Ah am right about sick of crying about what had happened to us. Writing these letters to Applejack back and forth had given us the kind of comfort that lets us made known how we had loved and cherished our bonds as sisters and remind us of the good times we had when we were so close together. Ah would like to at least keep it that way and she would definitely want the same thing as well too; besides, Ah even have mah own share of regrets too and as much as she knows this already, I want to remind her as she did reminded me that we are not alone as we think.”

“I can agree with that too, Apple Bloom; all of us came face to face with certain doom…” the woman said calmly before exhaling at once, “nevertheless, your open fate is to just simply wait: your sister’s mind has yet to be mended and you still need to be at least tended; while that your two eyes have started to see a hue, the recovery process isn’t through. The fact that you were nearly dead had left Applejack seeing red: had it not been for a quick time, you’d have been victim of such crime; even as long as I would live, not even I could just forgive. As these memories can go on and on, even hope rests on the horizon: time is moving slowly, but it heals rather surely; soon, the nightmares will bygone as we all hither yon. The present alone is but an opportunity to maintain your sisterly unity: as long as we believe, we don’t have to bereave; the past stays behind while the future goes to unwind. The years we had spent gave us hope, not just simply to cope, but to look away from the slope with a brighter scope: our survival is proof of such things as important as it is for kings lest the fatality from the red string will make us all sprout some wings. As though that such a surprise itself is great, we must both keep ourselves straight.”

“If you insist Zecora, then I will try…” the redhead had quickly replied all within due time no less.

At this very moment in time, Zecora placed Apple Bloom within a tight embrace and said calmly, “yes you will, won’t be long ‘til…”

“In any case, do we still have any ink and paper left…?” the little redhead had asked as she soon started to wipe away her eyes free of liquid, “I want to send out another letter to Applejack today.”

“The parchments are due and the ink is too…” the woman answered as she patted the red tresses softly.

Soon, a small smile was found upon the young Apple Bloom’s face and she said, “I suppose so; I want to talk to her…”

“That I can see; do you want help from me…?” Zecora asked calmly as she slowly broken away from the organic encirclement thereof, “it would be nice that you let me please look this through…”

“That’s okay Zecora; I’ve been getting a lot better at writing more clearly since you taught me how to do it again and I can’t wait to tell my sister about what just happened yesterday…” the redhead replied before scurrying away into a nearby crevice underneath the warmly colored mask.

The location of where Apple Bloom had gone off into was almost obvious to say the very least: it was a just a room with a small storage space. All that had remained in there was a simple bed resting nearby a window donned in a spotty yellow comforter neatly aligned in place. Only one vial was found inside the very room in question but it happened to be a lot smaller than the others outside overall.

As the redhead started to sit down onto the cover, she had found a piece of paper and a feather nearby her line of sight. With the elder woman looking onward, Apple Bloom started to squint at the flat sheet and began to make sense of what she wished which words would appear on there. The redhead took note of the diminutive bottle within the room and opened; afterwards, the tip of the feather landed right into the opening. As she had pulled it out at once, there was a jet black substance emerging from where the unlocked bottle had remained in place that clung to the surface. Slowly and steadily, Apple Bloom soon started to scribble out a simple letter within seconds, slightly set out to script even a short sentence at the summit of the paper sheet. The redhead concentrated even further to detail a symphony of words all upon there from the darkened instrument at once; sure enough, it had now simply read out only two words: “Dear Applejack.”

With a deep breath, she moved towards the otherwise uniform parchment and placed a comma at the end upon the upper left hand corner. Apple Bloom pulled the feather away from the sheet before returning it to its surface, constructing some more letters directly below the first batch. Finding the little strength thereof to begin where the redhead had already started off, the synthetic inscription grew steadily onward within each passing seconds given out to her. With the weary eyelids already locked into a tense squint, she started to focus on what was being written down; of course, it wasn’t without a moment of silence to consider a strategy. Aside from a stray blot or two nearby the darken text, Apple Bloom continued to place down some calligraphy upon the white paper with a shred of newfound fortitude within her very grasp. As soon as the redhead was finally finished, he set of sentences had now made itself across by only half, each adorned with a set of rustic neatness being out of place but otherwise easy to read aloud nonetheless.

After putting the feather away from the bedside, she started to take some time in studying what had been written down since the beginning: a white sheet of paper that grew beyond simple words. Looking past the indenting, the constrained yet fluid wall of wording was being read by none other than Apple Bloom herself: “I wished that you were there at the air show with me; you could have at least seen it though. My friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo happened to find me there when we had went over to the bayside. We all had thought that we would never see each other again after what had happened to our hometown. Sweetie was able to tell her a joke that made us laugh because of what she was doing with her fingers. Rainbow was also there too; Scootaloo said that she was like the star of the show over there with the flying. I’m happy that you have been getting better over the years now that the war is over; I just hope to see you again face to face.

With love and best wishes, XOXO

Your Dear Sister, Apple Bloom.

P.S. – Zecora says hi.”

A flood of tears threatened the moment that the redhead had to herself as it came to call collect upon her visage. Even with the presence of Zecora nearby, Apple Bloom thought to herself as the only person in the whole wide world to be marooned on some remote island. The fact that the redhead was writing such things to her own flesh and blood was proof of how much everything had seemed to change.

“Is that blight; are you alright…?” the older woman asked as Apple Bloom hyperventilated a bit at once, “you’re shaking… are you crying…?”

“N–n–no… I’m happy… that I’m–––” the redhead had soon suddenly stammered on as she gotten off the bed at once, quickly holding onto Zecora’s body as the former started to weep silently.

The older woman took note of the words that were transcribed on a sizeable piece of paper, wary of what the writer had done; slowly, the former was retreating from the sounds and thought to herself, “many moons had passed ever since she’d seen things I would mince: once they were lost and stolen away, yet they found themselves another day; yet, the pain lingers on the two like droplets of dew. The little one mourns for her home as I have after over the loam; such a shame that a small town was being cruelly torn down. Even though that it’s all over, we still being guided by a drover: people grow and pass, the soil becomes like grass, places deteriorate, and ideas lose mass; yet, things remain the same as little as many would claim. Normally, these turn of events had made me crave death but it’s miraculous to hear the little one take her breath; because of that, I am rather grateful of it for even her smile shows some wit. I admire her company and her bravery and yet mourn for her sister’s civility; after all, the worst of their pain had made it far from plain.”

Apple Bloom’s silent sobs had now broken Zecora away from the subconscious shielding of hers, prompting the latter to quickly return the hug that the former had already given; now, they were not alone as once previously thought sometime long before in their minds or hearts within the two.