Author's Note

First story in the site.

Trees

"Cutie Mark Crusaders potion brewing!"

As it couldn't get anymore frustrating, they still had to persevere. The sun had already completed three-fourths of its day cycle yet no imprint of a cutie mark had poofed into existence on either of the fillies' flank. As much as most of the activities they tried were deemed unsuccessful, they still had time for possibly one more. But in order to increase their chances of finding their talents in it, they had to go towards an equine with a much seasoned experience on the field. One that quite particularly calls the Everfree Forest her home. The three fillies decided to travel towards her cottage that's not situated too far from the bustling town of Ponyville, and can be reached within trotting distance, although that would take a bit of time.

"Ughh, this HAS to be it! I don't want our day of hard work to go to waste!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in frustration. The filly sighed.

"Aw don't worry Sweets! I just might have some knowledge in this. I've been to Zecora's place to help her before! We might just get this in the bag, hopefully" Applebloom replied optimistically.

"Oh alright then, let's just give in our last push for the day." Sweetie Belle replied back, feeling a bit determined yet reluctant after seeing the results of everything else they've tried beforehoof.

"Well, even if we get back home unsuccessful, at least we sorta had fun exploring. I really enjoyed some of the stuff that we've done today, even if it ended badly." Scootaloo chimed in.

"I'll agree with you on that one!" Applebloom replied.

"Same here!" Sweetie Belle followed in.

The CMCs were getting closer to Zecora's humble hut. Despite knowing about the spookiness that the forest had, they had the sun shining for them through the many dead trees which diminished any implication of that. The remaining daylight shone towards the hut, lighting up a bright path towards it. The three fillies travelled under the unblocked sunlight, eager to earn their cutie marks during their first day.

"Wow! I could see a lot of birds and critters hanging around the trees. I think I could recognize a few! Ooh! Ooh! That must be a woodpecker!" Applebloom exclaimed excitedly. "Hey you girls! Maybe if this turns out unsuccessful, we could try bird spotting on the way back!" She continued.

"Hmm, I like that idea! It doesn't seem so hard after all, I can even spot a few of 'em!" Scootaloo replied with a support for Applebloom's proclamation.

"Huh, you're not wrong alright, I could see some canaries here and there. Zecora must be brewing something up using a whole lot of leaves!" Sweetie Belle analyzed.

"Hmm, come to think of it, why would she need that many leaves?" Scootaloo curiously asked.

"It's Zecora alright! She can make anything out of anything! As a matter of fact, she must be stockin' up when she brews somethin'. You know, for trial and error." Applebloom confidently replied.

"That sounds definitely like her." Said Scootaloo. "Hey look! We're here!" She exclaimed.

"Alright girls, time to earn our cutie marks, hopefully!" Sweetie Belle spoke in confidence and anticipation. As she removed her helmet, she disembarked the wagon Scootaloo's trusty scooter was pulling and trotted up to knock on Zecora's front door. The three adventurous fillies all walked up towards the door, waiting for her reply.

"Ah, greetings my little ponies, I wonder what is it that you all need." Zecora happily greeted. She had not seen the trio, let alone Applebloom for a while, so she's ready to provide for whatever purpose towards them. The Crusaders all smiled gleefully in unison, as their last hope for the day has answered.

Some time has passed

"Its time to say goodbye, as the sun lowering for the night." Zecora rhymed as she opened the door for the fillies.

"Well thanks again for letting us try, Zecora." Applebloom replied in defeat.

"Oh don't take it so hard, for one day you'll find a talent and a mark!" Zecora reassured, hoping that her words would comfort them.

Sweetie Belle buckled her helmet and sighs. "Hey uhh, thanks for believing for us, at least we learnt a lot from that experience!" Zecora nodded gladly.

The trio waved back at Zecora as Scootaloo began flapping her wings in a motion similar to a propeller in order to propel her scooter forwards. Zecora waved back as she and her hut began getting smaller from their point of view.

"Well, still no cutie mark, guess we have to try again tomorrow." Scootaloo sulked.

"Hey! We still got bird watching as a last minute resort." Applebloom chimed in reassurance.

"Yeah but, aren't all the critters asleep? We won't be able to find a lot of them!" Sweetie Belle replied.

"Oh yeah, you're right." Applebloom realized.

The moonlight illuminated brightly as the trio travelled back into town. Usually it would be hard to know one's bearings in a forest like Everfree, but Scootaloo showed no signs of doubt on her point of view.

"Man, I'm exhausted. I could definitely use some shut eye." Sweetie Belle yawned.

"I'm with you on that one." Applebloom replied tiredly.

"Huh, come to think of it, I noticed there weren't any leaves used at Zecora's place. Did you notice that too AB?" Sweetie Belle wondered in confusion.

"Hmmm, not so sure I did. Maybe she had already used them." Applebloom yawned.

"Eh, I'll take your word for it." A reassured Sweetie Belle replied.

Some time has passed

"Bye AppleBloom!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo yelled out as they bid farewell towards the earth filly.

"Bye girls! See ya soon!" Applebloom yelled back. She then sighed in relief as she turned back towards the barn, glad that she had arrived just in time for curfew. Moments passed as the Apple family were bonding over dinner and chatting about their day. Finally, it was time for bed. Applebloom was ready for the following day and decided to rest up early to gain some energy. Before she hopped onto the bed, she took the time to admire the starry night that Princess Luna had to offer for the time being. She sighed happily, knowing that one day she will experience the joy of finally receiving a cutie mark, no matter what it represents. AppleBloom then glared around the ginormous apple farm, seeing the many stars hiding behind the leaves and the trunks of the trees. She then hopped onto her bed, and slowly closed her eyes, ready to skip the night.

AppleBloom jolted back up in confusion and hopped out before looking out through her window. She was scouting. Scouting for something strange, somewhere around the groves of the farm. Uneasiness crept up on her. Her mind spotted something in her mental image earlier beforehoof.

"They're just bright white stars. Nothing to see here." She thought to herself. As unnerving as that moment was, she decided to carefully shrug it off and get back to bed. She slowly closed her eyes, ready......to skip the night.