Deep in the darkness of the Everfree Forest, a small, young earth pony filly was running for her life. She was scared out of her wits as a group of monsters chased her out of a seemingly scary town in the middle of the dark forest. To think that such monsters existed. The filly never thought that she would ever be running away from something that was believed to only be in legends and myths.
Namely, she was running away from zombies.
Nearing the only exit of Sunny Town, Apple Bloom looked ahead, and her ears perked up in relief upon seeing the entrance. Finally, she could escape from this horrible nightmare come true. She didn't want to overstay her welcome any longer than she had to. However, she heard voices coming from behind her.
Screeching to a halt out of fear, she slowly turned her head back to notice two more of those monstrosities pursuing her. She recognized one of them as the fast-moving zombie that chased her just before reaching the front of the town.
"All we want is friendship," one of the zombies spoke with a raspy voice. "Don't leave, the others won't like it."
Earlier, Apple Bloom met all the ponies that lived in this tiny village. The only two ponies she knew were together, and coincidentally in this area of Sunny Town, were Roneo and Starlet, the two ponies whom she helped bring together. At least, they weren't ponies anymore.
"No! Ah ain't stayin', not with you guys!" the filly yelled in distress, backing away from the two as they approached her. The closer they stepped, they more frightened Apple Bloom became.
Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, she heard the ground shifting behind her. She became alarmed by the sound, and turned around to face yet another zombie pony rising from the ground.
However, this one looked much different than the others. All of the zombies she had seen so far were nothing but pitch black, but this one was a very dark red color. If anything, Apple Bloom thought this one could be their leader, or perhaps the strongest one or something that made this one more special than the others. She was doomed now, but as soon as she was about to scream in horror, the new zombie spoke up.
"Fools... even in death, they do not understand. I should have protected her, but I made my choice."
"H-Her?" Apple Bloom questioned shakily. She wasn't so keen on talking to the enemy, but this one didn't seem to be after her like the others. In fact, it was looking at Roneo and Starlet.
"My daughter, Ruby." the red zombie answered, turning to the surprised filly. "The skeleton you saw in that fireplace belonged to my daughter, Ruby. The day she earned 'the mark', they killed her." Her eyes glowed fiercely upon saying 'they' with emphasis. "Because of that, this curse descended upon Sunny Town, turning us into these hideous creatures you see now."
She turned back to Roneo and Starlet, and saw three more shadows in the distance approaching, narrowing her eyes.
"This is our everlasting punishment... what we deserve."
The other three zombies stood by the other two, but one of them stepped forward. "Mitta, what are you doing? Convert her now!"
The zombie mare now known as Mitta turned to Apple Bloom, pointing a hoof backwards towards the path away from the village. "I would explain more. but there's no time. Now run. Run for your life."
"Mitta!" The zombie ahead spoke out angrily, his red eyes glowing even redder. "Convert her now!"
Mitta did not move. She stood her ground next to the cringing Apple Bloom. A small touch from Mitta's hoof alerted her, and she gulped, turning away and running for dear life.
"So you're going to protect her, but in the wrong way..." The zombie shook his head in disapproval.
"Shut your mouth, Grey Hoof. It was about time you all stopped converting innocent wanderers. This isn't right!"
Grey Hoof scoffed, rolling his eyes, which would've been noticeable if they had pupils. "It doesn't matter. The others will see to it that she'll be converted, and then she'll be protected, forever!"
"No!" Mitta yelled with a hoof stomp. "I am not allowing another filly to be killed by the likes of you! Ruby already suffered that fate, and I had to watch... that filly will not be converted if I have anything to say about it."
"But you don't have control over the nightmares and bonefiends. Observe."
Grey Hoof stomped a hoof on the ground while his eyes shifted from a dark red to a deep black.
"Now let's see if the filly manages to escape. We will protect her from the dangers of the outside world, especially the mark!"
----------
Ignoring the incredible shock of seeing something so disturbing, Apple Bloom ran into the depths of the Everfree Forest, relieved that she didn't have to face those things again. But she was sure to have nightmares about them for weeks now. Once she was sure she was far enough from the entrance, she slowed to a halt to catch her breath.
"Thank... Celestia... for that red zombie..." Apple Bloom said between breaths. "Ah don't think Ah would've made it out alive if it weren't for her. Guess they all ain't so bad after all."
She stood there, contemplating what she just said about hideous undead creatures trying to 'convert' her and offer them their 'protection'.
"On second thought, yes they are, but with one exception. Still, Ah ain't goin' back there ever again. Ah gotta get back to Twilight..."
As soon as she took one step forward, she heard moaning coming from either side of her, as well as behind her. The ground started to move around as well before more zombies rose up from the dirt. Their glowing red eyes glared at the filly, who backed away even more before tripping on a small rock, landing herself on her rump.
She groaned as she rubbed her backside, but as soon as she looked up, one of the zombies stood directly in front of her.
She screamed in terror as she looked at the detailed features, most notably the pitch black coat, parts of the zombie's skeleton protruding from its stomach area, and even its rotting teeth with a sickly tongue hanging out. It pounced forward to try and catch Apple Bloom, but she reacted quick enough to slip away from its reach.
She immediately ran away, and they chased behind. Fortunately for her, her adrenaline made her quicken the pace, making her outrun her attackers. No matter what, they still chased her, intent on making her one of them.
But those three were the least of her worries. No matter where she turned, more zombies popped up to block her path.
"Don't leave. We want to protect you," they spoke to the escaping pony.
They were slow moving compared to Apple Bloom's slightly increased speed. That still didn't help, as more kept showing up every few seconds.
"J-Just how many of these z-zombies are t-there?!" Apple Bloom stuttered between breaths as she rounded a corner, narrowly avoiding another one.
She stopped as soon as she faced a crossroad with three paths. One had to be the way she came, but one of them had a lighted trail on the ground.
"Oh, no y'all don't," Apple Bloom spat. "Ah ain't fallin' for that trap. No way, no how."
Ignoring the lighted trail, she returned her attention to the two remaining paths. She shuffled on her hooves as she looked between both, thnking hard on the decision.
"Oh, what do I choose, what do I choose?!"
Her ears perked up once more as the zombies behind her approached rapidly, their undead hooves rustling through the leaves and twigs. She shrieked as she sped toward the path on the left.
However, her bow got caught on a stray branch from one of the smaller trees. She pulled hard to try and free herself. She didn't want to be caught by the zombies, so she tried her hardest.
Just when all hope seemed lost, she broke free from the branch and ended up on the ground, her bow ripping in the process. Part of it was left hanging on the stray branch.
Apple Bloom quickly rose up from the ground and ran through, the zombies giving chase. When they all disappeared, the glow from the lighted path dimmed down, and a mysterious grey mare emerged from it.
"Where is she going...? She's going to be trapped!"
----------
"Apple Bloom?" a lavender unicorn called out in the darkness of the Everfree Forest. "Where are you, Apple Bloom?"
Twilight Sparkle had been trotting her way through the trees, dirt and flowers, intent on finding the little earth pony filly who had been traveling with her earlier. She had finally moved away the couple of broken down trees that had been blocking their path earlier, but when she looked back at Apple Bloom to tell her the good news, she was nowhere to be found.
Since then, she made her way down the path at a breakneck speed towards Zecora's house, hoping that Apple Bloom made her way back to the foreign zebra's hut. When she found her way there, guided by a light conjured up by her magic, she immediately burst into the hut, startling the zebra who had been mixing up a potion in her giant pot.
"Twilight Sparkle! Do you want to find trouble? You and Apple Bloom must hurry home, on the double!"
"Zecora, there's no time!" Twilight breathed out in huffs. "We were about to leave when a bunch of trees blocked our path, and when I cleared them out, Apple Bloom was gone! I need your help to find her!"
Zecora's eyes widened in surprise. "You have lost the filly? I hope you are only being silly..."
"If I was joking, do you think I would be here instead of in Ponyville with Apple Bloom?"
"You must find her, and make haste! There isn't time to waste, for there is danger I am sure. Do you remember what I said earlier?"
"Something about darkness, right?"
Zecora shook her head, and looked at Twilight sternly. "Thank you for delivering what told, but you do not want to remain for the events that will unfold. Hurry back to Ponyville you two must, for the darkness this night you cannot trust."
"So she IS in danger!" Twilight yelled, much to the dismay of Zecora's ears. "I have to go find her now!"
Before the zebra could offer a rebuttal, Twilight rushed out of her hut, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake. Zecora sighed as she turned back to her mixture, a worried look on her face. "She may already be too late... Apple Bloom may have already met her fate..."
Twilight galloped through the trees, breathing heavily as she jolted her head left and right for any sign of Apple Bloom. She couldn't bear to feel responsible should anything happen to her. She already regretted bringing the young filly with her. All she did was turn her back to get rid of a few fallen trees, and suddenly she was gone. That filly was too curious.
She stopped as soon as she found two other trails near her, but something she saw made her gasp in surprise. Her horn glowed, and a small pink cloth floated over to her from one of the lower tree branches.
"Apple Bloom's bow! She must've went this way!"
She immediately made her way through the dark passage, ignoring the fatigue she was experiencing from running so much. No matter what, she was going to find Apple Bloom and bring her home. But the path was so dark compared to the earlier paths. She used her magic to conjure up another orb of light, which illuminated the area in front of her immensely.
This made it much easier to see, but didn't help lighten the situation any further. She still had to find Apple Bloom. She wasn't going to give up, even if it meant she had to spend a few hours in the dreaded Everfree Forest.
But now, that was no longer necessary. Just as she was about to call out her name, Twilight found a light coming from up ahead. Hopefully, Apple Bloom was still up there. Twilight quickly made her way toward the light only to come across a clearing blocked on all sides by trees and thick bushes. And directly in the middle of the clearing was something Twilight saw that shocked her even further.
Apple Bloom was in the direct center of the clearing, but she was surrounded by six hideous creatures that looked like nothing more than undead ponies. The young filly saw Twilight as she was cowering in fear, and reached a hoof up.
"Twilight! Help me outta here!"
Suddenly, the group of six pounced on the filly, attacking her and presumably tearing her to pieces. A loud shriek could be heard coming from the pile for a few seconds, and after a little while, it suddenly stopped. Twilight couldn't bear seeing this, and her horn glowed fiercely, and all six of the zombies floated upwards. A large beam of magic shot forward from her horn, obliterating each one into nothing.
Twilight's biggest concern now was Apple Bloom. But what she saw could possibly scar her for life. Apple Bloom was lying on the ground, but she had massive cuts all over her body, blood gushing out of every opening. Not only that, but her natural yellow coat had somehow turned into a pitch black color, even the parts that weren't bloodied. Her bow contained many rips and tears, but was not completely torn apart.
"A-Apple Bloom... I was too late..."
Tears started to form in Twilight's eyes, knowing that this was all her fault. Her heart ached in emotional pain from seeing one of her best friends' little sister, dead. She laid there for what seemed like minutes. She sobbed into her hooves in front of the now dead Apple Bloom, part of her hating herself for allowing the filly to follow her into the Everfree Forest. How would Ponyville handle the news, or the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or even the Apple Family? How would Applejack take the dreadful news?
Suddenly, the ground started to shift around Apple Bloom's body, and it started to slowly sink into the ground. Twilight lifted her head only to see part of Apple Bloom's head sticking out. "Apple Bloom...?"
She reached her hoof out, to no avail. By then, all of Apple Bloom sunk down into the ground, leaving nothing but a confused and scared Twilight Sparkle in the middle of the clearing.
----------
A smile curled up on Grey Hoof's repulsive face. "They have done it."
Mitta raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Who's they? And what are you talking about?"
"The nightmares and bonefiends. They captured the filly and have successfully converted her themselves."
Mitta gasped in shock, but the other Sunny Towners had evil grins upon their faces. They now had another addition to their small town.
"T-That can't be true! She had to have escaped!" Mitta retorted in anger. "I made sure she wouldn't fall by the likes of you, Grey Hoof."
"Are you sure?" Roneo spoke from behind Grey Hoof. "We can all feel when anypony joins us, or is otherwise converted. You must've felt it, too."
Mitta bared her teeth, knowing the truth stung, but was too afraid to admit it. As one of the zombies herself, she could feel when somepony has turned into one of them. There was no doubt in her mind that the young filly she saved turned out to be caught anyway.
Two more zombies approached from behind the group, evil grins on their faces as well. "The filly was captured?" one of them questioned.
"Yes, Gladstone. She's one of us now. Mitta tried to help her escape, but all was in vain."
"How fortunate for Sunny Town to have another addition," the one next to Gladstone added. "And a filly at that. Reminds me of those hundred years back when we got rid of the marked one..."
"Shut up, Three Leaf!" Mitta yelled in frustration, and tears began to form from the memory of Sunny Town's cursed dark origin. However, what were her tears was actually blood streaming down her dark crimson cheeks.
"That filly was my daughter. All she did was find her true purpose in life, what gave her life meaning... and like the monsters you all are now, you murdered her!"
"We had to, Mitta! That mark she received was a curse, and you know that!"
"It was no curse! What happened before with our great grandparents was nothing more than a mere illness. It could've been cured. They also believed it was contagious."
"Which it was..."
Mitta stomped a hoof in anger, glaring at Grey Hoof with malicious intent. "Silence! It wasn't contagious. But since they believed it was due to some of the ponies getting it all at once, even though it was nothing more than a mere coincidence, they left Sunny Town to fend for themselves. They were never heard from again."
"Save your breath, Mitta. We heard that lie of a story over a hundred times. None of that is true. The mark is a curse, and we had to get rid of her, or else she could've spread it to all of us, even you. We could've let her go out into the forest, but you didn't want to let her leave."
"She was my daughter, and she was just a filly. She couldn't fend for herself in the forest!"
"That's exactly why we had to get rid of her. To get rid of the mark."
"The mark was no curse. It was actually a blessing. Look what your actions caused all of us. We're all these hideous creatures, forced to be isolated in this town, and with no true purpose. That is the real curse here."
Next to Roneo, Starlet circled her hoof beside her head to indicate Mitta's nonsense, and Roneo snickered. They all believed she didn't know what she was talking about, and Grey Hoof was going to get the last word in.
"That's enough, Mitta. We've heard it all already, and don't want to hear it anymore. In fact, you should be happy. You wanted to protect the filly. Now you can protect her... forever."
His eyes glowed a brighter red, and the dirt between him and Mitta started moving around. She wasn't startled, but she knew what was coming next. After a few seconds, Apple Bloom reappeared before all of them, but she was now a zombie. Or at least, half a zombie. Parts of her skin still had large cuts and slashes, blood gushing out and staining a lot of her now black coat.
She approached the dead filly with dread, her mind once again reminded of the murder of her daughter. She simply closed her eyes and hung her head in remorse.
"Don't feel bad, Mitta," Grey Hoof said, noting her expression. "I said you could protect her now that she's been blessed by the Blanks. But she isn't fully blessed yet."
He turned toward Roneo and Starlet. "Roneo, Starlet, take our new friend with you and finish her off. Three Leaf, take Mitta home. I think she's had enough for tonight. We'll give the filly a proper welcome to Sunny Town tomorrow morning."
Grey Hoof then turned and walked back to his house. Roneo and Starlet nodded, walking up to the deceased Apple Bloom. Starlet lifted her body and laid it atop Roneo's back. Once they made sure she was secure on his back, they made their way to Roneo's house.
Three Leaf gave a heartfelt smile toward Mitta as she held a hoof out, but she swatted it away. "I don't want your help. Just because I'm the oldest one in Sunny Town doesn't mean I'm too old to care for myself. I'm still young. I just want to go home and cry myself to sleep."
She sulked as she turned away from Three Leaf, her undead hooves dragging on the dirt ground. She didn't want to see any of her friends for the rest of the night, if she could even call them friends anymore. She didn't want to become part of the curse that came with Sunny Town's killing of her daughter. Moreso, she didn't want her daughter to be murdered in the first place, curse or not. She felt alone, even with the others living in the small town.
And now that Apple Bloom was captured, she too would have to suffer being one of them. Mitta felt guilty about letting her get caught by the nightmares. She knew the filly couldn't stand a chance against them, and she let her go anyway. She felt responsible for not preventing the deaths of two innocent fillies now, and it was weighing down on her heart even more than earlier in the day.
Once she reached her house, she slammed the door shut, and impressively hard at that. She had a lot of strength, even as the oldest mare in the town, but that didn't matter anymore to her, though. She just slumped onto her bed and pulled up the covers.
Across the room from her was another bed, presumably the bed of her daughter. She didn't want to get rid of the only reminder of her daughter she had, even after that fateful day she was murdered. The memory never left her mind. And as she was staring at it, she could hear the sounds of Roneo and Starlet finishing off Apple Bloom's transformation in the other house. She had enough for the day, and simply closed her eyes, blood tears staining her pillow.