Deep in the bowels of the Everfree Forest, a small filly wandered aimlessly through painful brambles, climbed over sharp, rocky outrops, and dragged herself under wide, fallen, dead trees. Most of the plants in this part of the forest reeked of decay- there was nothing to eat that wouldn't make the filly sick. The water was murky and flowed at a snail's pace, globs of sickly algae floating on top.

"Help!" The filly squeaked for what seemed like the millionth time since she'd woken up lost. "I didn't mean to fall!"

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"It was an accident..." She whimpered, recalling the day before-the day she now thought of as the worst day of her short life.

~Flashback~

"Rain Lily! Come meet our guests."

Rain Lily sighed, hopping off of her bed. "Coming! Just a minute!"

The small, pale purple filly glanced at her sore wings, wishing she hadn't tried sneaking out for night practice.

When she got to the door, she didn't bother glancing at the guests before she assumed the appropriate position- bent forward into a bow, resting on her foreleg.

"Who do we have here?" An unfamiliar voice asked, a hint of playfulness lining the edges, "A very important little filly, I presume?"

Rain Lily shook her head, not looking up.

"No...Just a filly."

The stranger ignored her reply, preoccupied with Rain Lily's mother.

"This is Rain Lily- our filly. She's pretty quiet most of the time, though, and pretty shy."

Rain Lily's ears drooped. She wanted to be loud- she just didn't have the voice for it.

"Mom, may I go play outside, please?" She begged, feeling awkward and ashamed for no particular reason aside from being around strangers.

"No, honey. I want you to meet your Aunt and her friends. Twilight, care to introduce yourselves? Rain Lily, look up."

Six ponies stood on the doorstep, smiling. The one who fit the description of Twilight Sparkle from the stories Rain Lily's parents had told her stood in the lead.

"Hi, Rain Lily. I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"Hello, Auntie Twilight." Rain Lily wasn't enthusiastic. Her voice was a monotone little noise, only audiable in a silent room such as this.

"These are my friends- Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. We're here to help you find your Cutie Mark!"

Rain Lily sighed. At least her Aunt hadn't brought any other fillies. She'd heard of a group her mother referred to as the Cutie Mark Crusaders- a group of fillies looking for their cutie marks by doing things that sounded painful and dangerous to Rain Lily.

She'd rather have no Cutie Mark than a Cutie Mark that haunted her with the memory of a scary event.

"Now, Rain Lily, go give each of them a hug. They're very special ponies, you know- they've saved Equestria before, and Twilight rescued me from Queen Chrysalis on my wedding day. You know that story, don't you?"

"Yes, Momma."

Rain Lily hated that story. It frightened her to no extent, and it would often give her nightmares if she thought about it before bed.

Rain Lily's mother led the way inside, gesturing to a lovely couch and inviting everypony to sit down.

"I'll have some snacks out in a minute," The Princess promised, "And Shining Armor will join us shortly."

The room fell silent as Rain Lily looked for a place to sit. usually, she sat on the couch with her parents, but today it was full of the strange ponies who she was apparently going to be Cutie Mark hunting with. She knew her mother would want her to be friendly, so she'd have to sit near at least one of the guests.

Shyly, she glanced across the faces of each pony.

'Auntie Twilight? ...I have a feeling that would be awkward. Pinkie Pie? She looks like she's going to explode! No! Rarity? Eh...She looks a little too fancy. I'd do something wrong and humiliate myself. Maybe Applejack? She looks nice.' Rain Lily considered for a moment before noticing the Earth Pony's thick, well-muscled build. 'Nope! I'm no athlete. All I can do is fly, and I can't even do that very well.' That left Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Noticing that the filly looked nervous, Rainbow Dash moved over, clearing a space for the little fuilly between her and Fluttershy.

"Hey kid, come on! Sit down-it can't be comfortable standing."

Rain Lily's father walked in, grinning. Behind him, servants stood, holding platters of snacks for everypony to share.

"Twilight! How are you, little sister?"

Twilight hopped up and made a diversion, hugging Shining Armor tightly. Rain Lily took the opportunity to slide into the freshly cleared spot without being noticed much, letting out a silent sigh or relief.

After everypony was settled and had started on the snacks, Rain Lily's mother spoke.

"So, why don't you all tell Rain Lily how you got your Cutie Marks? I'm sure she'll love all of your stories.

Rain Lily plastered on a fake smile and nodded politely.

'This is going to be a long day.' She thought, not looking forward to six stories of ponies who were so much cooler than her that it physically hurt. 'And it only goes down hill until I find my Cutie Mark!'