//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: Sour Apple Acres // by -Serpent- //------------------------------// A dark figure galloped through the night towards a certain apple farm. The shadowy figure paused, looked around, and ran behind the barn and disappeared into a hole. It was very dark in the hole, but the figure's green eyes lit the way through a tunnel, and into a huge chamber. Said pony walked over to a door, and said something - most likely a password, and the door opened. Inside the room was an elderly mare grinding seeds in a seed-grinding machine. The other pony looked at the mare threateningly. The elderly mare tried to flee, to be caught and thrown into the machine. Blood was spurted everywhere, and the shadowy figure smiled evilly and said, "Anything that gets in my way will have the same fate. Understood?" "Understoo...." The other figure rasped, and there was a loud crack as her spine was broken. The evil pony smiled once more, left the room, and ran off into the dark night. *** Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were running through Ponyville over to Carousel Boutique to get Sweetie Belle, who was helping her big sister, Rarity, make outfits. They were older now, but still hadn't gotten their cutie marks, and Scootaloo had another idea of how to try. Soon, they arrived at their destination. Apple Bloom knocked on the door, and Rarity opened it. "Rarity, where's Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm sorry, girls. Sweetie Belle has the flu. She can't go crusading today." Rarity explained. The two other members of the cutie mark crusaders lowered their heads and uttered a sad, "Awwwwwwww......" They said goodbye to Rarity, and ran off to find Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo's idea included Rainbow, and they decided they would try it without Sweetie Belle. Rainbow Dash was at the library, reading her favorite Daring Do book. She dropped her book, surprised, when she saw the two crusaders barging in. They looked very tired. "What's up, Scoots, Apple Bloom?" Rainbow asked. "We...came....so...you....could....help....us.....get....our....cutie....marks...." Scootaloo panted. Apple Bloom nodded encouragingly, also panting. Rainbow agreed to help, but she knew that it was no use. The cutie mark crusaders had tried almost everything to get their cutie marks, but never succeeded. This will end up in another injury....like last time when they broke some of their bones, trying to zip-line again.... Rainbow shuddered at the thought. Pinkie Pie suddenly came barging in, her tail shaking. "Something is going to fall! I know it! Run! Hide!" she shouted, pushing Scootaloo under a table and going under there herself as well. Rainbow slid under a chair, bracing for the worst. She caught sight of Apple Bloom, frozen with fear. Rainbow's eyes widened, and she jumped up, wanting to grab Apple Bloom, and banged her head on the chair. Then the tree fell. *** "Is she going to be all right?" Fluttershy whispered, not wanting to disturb the sleeping Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom's family and friends were visiting her at the Ponyville Hospital. The tree had fallen on Apple Bloom's leg, breaking her bone and severely damaging her leg. Apple Bloom also had a minor concussion, due to one of the tree's branches banging onto the side of her head and her temple. She was confined to the hospital for at least two weeks. "Ah hope so, but ya can't ever be sure," Applejack said sadly. Apple Bloom frowned in her sleep. "Poor Applebloom. Her leg must be really-" Twilight started, sadly looking at Apple Bloom's broken leg. "-Be quiet! It's all my fault! I didn't grab her. I didn't save her!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She whipped her head around, her face glistening with tears, and stared into Pinkie's eyes. "It's true, Pinkie, isn't it? I didn't save her. You saw me!" "My dear, you shouldn't say that! It's not true! It's not your fault!" Rarity cried. She walked over to Rainbow and put her hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. Rainbow Dash pushed it away. "What I still don't get is the TREE! Where did that stupid tree come from?!" Scootaloo complained. Twilight then chuckled nervously. Spike blushed and explained,"It was supposed to be a present for Rarity, but..." "You dropped it, didn't you?" Rarity asked. Spike blushed even more. "Oooh!!! Does anypony want some CUPCAKES?!?!" Pinkie asked, holding a tray of them. "She's gettin' hyper again..." Applejack mumbled. "Hmmm?" Pinkie asked. Applejack facehoofed. "Oh, I'm really happy I wasn't that poor tree," sighed Fluttershy sadly, looking over to the bed next to Apple Bloom's. Fluttershy had insisted that the tree have a bed in the hospital to recover. Nurse Redheart had just rolled her eyes and assigned a bed for Mr. Tree. Scootaloo took a cupcake from Pinkie Pie and started eating. She quickly spit it out afterwards and started running around, fanning her tongue with her hoof screaming, "WATER! WATER! WATER!" Pinkie Pie just giggled, and gave a glass of water to Scootaloo, who gulped it down thankfully. "It's chocolate 'n' hot sauce, silly!" Pinkie said with her usual energetic tone. Scootaloo started at Pinkie, spurting her water out. "WHAT?!?!" Rarity screamed, knocking a cupcake out of Twilight's hooves, who had just taken one earlier. "Of all the things that could happen, this is. The. Worst. Possible. THING! Feeding a CHOCOLATE 'N' HOT SAUCE CUPCAKE to a FILLY?!?!?! Pinkie, are you CRAZY?!?!" Rarity levitated her couch behind her and fell on it with a dramatic pose. "There goes the drama queen. Again," Applejack muttered to herself. "I heard that! Applejack, I am NOT a drama queen. You're just an unsophisticated dirty farm pony who doesn't know a thing about drama and all those things," Rarity said, putting her nose in the air. "Hmph." "Umm...if it's okay...I'd like to..." meeped Fluttershy. "Ugh! With all these drama affairs I can't even eat one single cupcake!" complained Twilight, looking at the smushed cupcake on the floor that Rarity had knocked out of her hoof. *** Little did these bickering ponies know that Apple Bloom was is a deep sleep, and was having a horrible nightmare... ***