//------------------------------//
// Ch.14 Scarecrow 
// Story: An Anon-a-Miss Persona 
// by Arcanum -Phantasy 
//------------------------------//

After the near disaster that was the first day on the farm, Fluttershy and Rarity refused to let their guards down. Every morning, they made sure they didn't leave their rooms without their Tonics and they kept as much distance as they could from anything that had dread fruit in it. A task that was significantly easier than one would think, given the effect the twisted fruit had on anything it was added to. 
As each day passed, one thing in particular gradually became more unnerving than the fruit.
It turned out that Applejack had built her scarecrows in quite a few locations throughout the farmhouse. Eerily enough, the same could be said about the land surrounding it, to some degree. In seemingly random locations and rooms in the farmhouse, one or more of the scarecrows would be arranged in various scenes. One was placed in a hallway near the main bedrooms dressed like Applebloom with an "arm" up in greeting. The living room had a scarecrow version of each of Applejack's family sitting in chairs. The three in the dining room from their first day in the house remained were they sat.
Adding a chill down their spines was seeing how Applejack reacted to the effigies.
Every single time they saw her interact with them, she would reenact the exact same conversations and routines. The only deviations that they noticed was how she would add one or both of them to the performance. If either of her friends said or did anything different from the previous interaction, her head would twitch and then she would somehow weave the difference into the scene. 
Another thing they noticed was how much she pushed them to try her baking. 
Normally, that wouldn't be that much or a problem, but it was obvious what was being used to make her pies. Even with their Tonics, they didn't want to risk being put under the same spell as their friend. The fact that they were too repulsive to even look at only added to their revulsion. Fortunately, Applejack would always let the rejection go with a shrug before greedily digging into her creations on her own.
While the farm girl inhaled her pie, the two girls retreated to Rarity's room. While Fluttershy sat on her friend's bed, Rarity paced the room, gnawing on her thumbnail in thought. 
"It is obvious that the scarecrows are a key part of her delusions," Rarity mused, continuing her pacing.
Fluttershy nodded, watching her friend with a tired frown.
"As such," she continued. "I believe the first thing we need to do is find a way to get rid of them."
"I...agree," Fluttershy reluctantly nodded. "But, how do we do it? If she really thinks that the scarecrows are her family..."
Both girls shuddered, neither of them eager to cross their unstable friend. 
Since they came to the farm, there were a few instances were Witnesses came onto the property. Every time they came, they would meet their end by the farm girl's hammer. She would become even more vicious if the Shadows came near a scarecrow.
"W....We may not have any other choice." Rarity gulped. "As it stands, nothing short of destroying the farm could convince Applejack to leave."
"Right," Fluttershy sighed.
"Besides," she added, a small smirk slowly forming on her lips. "I didn't say that we were going to get rid of them all at once."
"Oh?" Fluttershy blinked.
Still smirking, she turned to face her friend fully.
"Not only would doing that be risky, it would be next to impossible to pull off in a timely manner."
Fluttershy nodded, eager to see where her friend was going with this.
"As such, I believe the best approach would be to remove them gradually, starting with the ones outside of the house and working our way back."
"That....might work," Fluttershy nodded, hope slowly creeping into her eyes. "But, how are we going to do this? I mean, Applejack patrols the farm regularly to keep out Shadows. If she sees one of us..."
"Not at night," Rarity pointed out, her smirk growing slightly. "I've noticed that she never comes out of her room until about an hour before moonrise. That should give us plenty of time to complete our mission."
"B-But the Shadows are more aggressive at night!" she gulped.
"Yes," she nodded, her smile shifting into an uneasy frown as she added, "Though, for some reason, they never attack here at night."
"They...don't?" she asked. "Why?"
"I do not know for sure," Rarity mused. "But I think....the barn might have something to do with it."


***


Pure darkness covered the land, the eery silence adding to the dead feel of the world. That alone was enough to put Fluttershy and Rarity on edge. The two girls progressed at a slow rate, holding hands for both comfort and to keep each other from getting separated. At the same time, their Personas guided them through the dark. 
Even at after all this time, it was still an odd feeling for them. It was like having a living being watching the world from the back of their minds. They still flinched every now and then when their Personas talked to them or answered when they talked to themselves. The truly odd feeling was how their Personas could guide them towards something. If they were to put the feeling into words, it was as if they were being subconsciously pulled towards something. This, combined with more direct navigation from the beings gave them an almost perfect internal radar.
While this ability was a mere curiosity or perk at the start, now it was proving to be a massive boon for the two girls. Slowly, guided by the pull of their Personas, they closed in on their first scarecrow. Groping at the construct, they quickly discovered that it was one of the "Appleblooms". They both drew their weapons and carefully cut at the bindings holding it together. At the same time, they made sure to keep an ear up for any footsteps or humming. Aside from their own occasional footsteps or the sounds of wood and fabric falling to the ground, there were no breaks in the unnatural silence that surrounded them. 
Once the scarecrow was completely taken apart, each of them gathered up as many parts as they could, sheathed their weapons, and made their way towards the tree-line. As soon as they got as close as they would dare, they threw the branches back into the forest beyond. Not wanting to test the nerve of the Shadows, the two girls quickly distanced themselves from the boarder. 
With clothing in one hand, the two held hands and made their way back towards the farmhouse. A small, hopeful smile spread across Rarity's lips, her grip on the cloth in her hand tightening slightly.
One down, ninety-nine more to go. 


***


Applejack let out a yawn, the red shine of the moon filtering through the kitchen windows. While she worked on getting breakfast ready for her family and friends, her mind wandered slightly. She didn't know what it was, but she felt as if something was wrong. She felt restless, as if something was missing or taken from her and she needed to get it back. This feeling had hit her the second she woke up that morning and continued to eat at her from the back of her mind all the way to the present.
She asked Applebloom if she had noticed that anything was missing, the girl told her she hadn't, but agreed that something didn't feel right. She briefly wondered if her friends had done something, then killed that line of thought just as quickly as it was birthed. There was no way Fluttershy or Rarity would do anything like that to her. She trusted them just as much as she knew they trusted her. At the same time...
Maybe some varmint snuck onto the farm, she mused, yawning into her palm.  Might need ta' start doublin' mah patrols now.
Putting a metaphorical pin in that, she loaded up some pan-fried instant waffles onto some plates. Carrying one in each hand, she gave her brother and grandmother smiling nods of greeting before she set their breakfast down onto the table in front of them. She did the same with Applebloom when she brought her plate, rustling the younger Apple's hair as she went back to get her's and her friends' food. Once everything was all set, she went off to go get her friends for breakfast.
"C'mon ya'll!" she merrily called, banging loudly on two doors in the hall of guest rooms.
She chuckled when she heard a pair of groans, one fainter than the other and each from one of the two rooms. A part of her couldn't understand how they hadn't gotten used to the hours in this house at this point. She knew her friends weren't morning people, but she was sure that they would've adapted by now. 
After a few minutes, Rarity and Fluttershy staggered out of their rooms.
Both girls were dressed sloppily and sported tired scowls, Rarity's holding a bit more venom than Fluttershy's, but they both managed to force a small thin smile to take their places. Applejack gave them a nod in greeting, a cocky smirk hiding her own exhaustion. They returned the gesture, yawning and mumbling softly under their breaths as they staggered past her. Applebloom watched the whole thing from the other end of the hall, giggling and shaking her head. Applejack rolled her eyes in agreement, turning to follow her friends back towards the kitchen.
Weird feeling or not, she and her friends still had a lot of work to do. Maybe it would be enough to help her forget about it. Maybe. Hopefully....


***


"Ah need to get out. Ah need to wake up. Please. Help me wake up. Rarity. Fluttershy....Please.....help me."
A female voice echoed out into the void, a warm embrace holding her close. Applejack had no idea who was holding her, nor could she hear her words, but they continued to ease her pain. The darkness kept her trapped, her body's actions visible to her in dreams. In her waking nightmare, all she could do was try to push forward when she could and pray. Pray that her friends could help her break free. Pray that they could help her wake up. 
Pray that she could come back to her body.
Pray that she would not turn into a hollow husk.
Pray that she wouldn't become a lie.
That she wouldn't become just like the scarecrows.
Tears ran down her face as she curled in on herself, clutching onto the invisible figure for dear life. 
"Ah'm scared. Please.....Ah don't want ta' be trapped here. Please.....save me."