Sealed Within

by Shroomkin

Chapter 2

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A Tale of Ruins

"APPLE BLOOM!" The two young fillies cried out in horror as they saw their friend fall into the sinkhole. "Apple Bloom! Can you hear me?!" Scootaloo asked worriedly, her fears realized when there was no answer. The forest was quiet, so too was her friend. "Oh no, no, no... Please no..." Sweetie Belle gasped, as she saw a bit of blood smudge in between some rocks. She knew then that her friend was injured. "Scootaloo, we need to get help!"

"But what about Apple Bloom? We can't just leave her there!" Scootaloo cried, her emotions getting the best of her. She was shaking vigorously, ashamed that she can't just fly down there and pick up her fallen friend. "Scootaloo! The more we stay here," she paused for a second, looking back at where her friend had fallen, "the more she gets hurt!" She then points to the tiny smudge of red on the otherwise stone grey rocks. "She might be bleeding!" As soon as Scootaloo saw the blood, she gagged, covered her face, and cried a bit more. Sweetie Belle walked towards her and comforted her crying friend. "We need to get help. Let's mark this place with some sticks, okay?" Scootaloo sniffed as she looked at her friend. "Okay..." And they did just that. They marked it so that they couldn't miss it. They only had themselves once they were done marking the place. And then they ran. All they could do was hope for the best, that no Timberwolf would harm their friend as they left. They ran as fast as they could, in search of help. Sweetie Belle wanted to grab her sister as well as Apple Bloom's sister to ensure that Apple Bloom would be in the hooves of the ponies she knew.

As they returned to the clearing where they parked their scooter and wagon, they were exhausted. And yet, they pushed on. They forgot their transportation in the midst of their panic, for their friend's life was on the line. They ran and ran, and by sheer coincidence, they met the ones they needed.

---

It was a beautiful day for Applejack. She finished tending to her orchard, and got herself a free day. However, she was still aching to do more chores around the house. Granny Smith and Big Mac got together and told her off to get herself a darn holiday, and as such, she went to do just that. "Heya sis!" A sweet little voice she loves called out. "Apple Bloom! Ya gonna go with the rest today?" Applejack asked, a slight chuckle escaping her. She then ruffled her little sister's mane, much to the chagrin of her little sister. They then both laughed. "Ah am! We're gonna do Herbology! Ah just can't wait to get mah own cutie mark on that!" Her excitement melted the heart of Applejack, simply giving her little sister a nuzzle. "You be safe now, ya hear? Ah'm sure yer gonna get that cutie mark of yers in no time!" Apple Bloom giggled, and ran towards her friends, giving Apple Jack a wave of goodbye.

"Now then, for that 'relaxin' business." She grumbled, and then headed off towards town. The town was crowded, cheers and chatter fill the streets. She walked past stallions going towards a bowling alley, she walked past a wall-eyed mailmare delivering what appears to be an upside down box to a brown stallion, and she walked past a pink blur...

Well, she walked by her, but not before the pink blur grabbed her and gave her the biggest hug. "Heh, hiya Pinkie Pie!" The pink pony with a mane as puffy as the clouds giggled. "HELLOO APPLEJACK!" Pinkie Pie screamed, then shook Applejack. "Today's gonna be the bestest, most amazingest, time in the history of time, EVER!" She squeaked, bouncing up and down and around Applejack. She then grabbed a cannon and pulled the rope, exploding a lot of confetti to cover Applejack. Applejack giggled at Pinkie Pie's antics. She then noticed four more mares going in her direction. "Hello, darlings! Oh, what beautiful weather we are having today!" The white unicorn said, with a flamboyant tone. She flicked her mane, and swayed to the right. "I must say, it is quite rare for you, Applejack, to be here without your apple cart..." She gasped. "Are you perhaps having a day off?" Applejack sighed "Mornin' ta ya too, Rarity." She then looked at a yawning cyan pegasus, floating on a white fluffy cloud. The cyan pegasus then stretched, as she began to fly and hover, whisking away her cloud. "Good morning to you, Ponyville! Oh and, to you too, I guess." She smirked as she landed on the road. "Good ta see that yer active, Rainbow Dash." Applejack snickered as she pointed at a messy rainbow mane, to which the cyan pegasus blushed. Rainbow Dash was not pleased. With a flick, she fixed her messy mane and began to fly once again. "Good morning, girls..." A yellow pegasus said as she was holding her mane. "Mornin' ta ya too, Fluttershy. Honestly, Ah thought ya were gonna be at yer house today." The yellow pegasus chirped with an ever so quiet voice. "I was... um, planning to meet you girls, um, at Twilight's library today and, uh, well, I... followed Twilight out." Fluttershy's voice trailed out on the last sentence, but it was still audible enough for everypony in the group to hear.

Then, a lavender unicorn smiled and looked upon her friends. "Good morning, girls! Since we are all here, perhaps we can go around town and find a nice picnic place?" Everypony cheered, including a huffing little dragon. "Spike! What time is it? Are we still following the designated time protocol?" The young dragon huffed, tired from walking, perhaps a bit sleepy as well. Groggily, he answered. "It's nine in the morning, Twi..." He yawned and then proceeded to speak again, "Could you at least go a bit slower?" Twilight looked down at Spike, nuzzling his little head. "I'm sorry Spike, I am just excited... is all. Heheh." She then knelt down, allowing the tiny dragon to climb onto her back.

It was a rather enjoyable walk for Applejack and the group. They went to find the perfect place to set up their picnic, and they found it. Right by Fluttershy's cottage lies a secret grove, one she often visits to simply escape from her worries. As they prepared their picnic blankets and their baskets, they heard a muffled howl from the Everfree Forest. Not paying much attention to the howls coming from the Everfree, they proceeded to follow Fluttershy. Then, with the sheer silence that followed, they heard hoofsteps running towards the open area. They saw who made them, two exhausted fillies running away from the forest. They then realized that it was not a howl, but rather, a scream. The two fillies ran and ran and ran, hoping that they could go even further beyond their limits. The mares saw this and decided to intervene in this little marathon. "Woah there squirt! What's the hurry?" Rainbow Dash said, with a bit of worry as she placed her hoof on the head of Scootaloo. Rarity did so as well as she hugged her little sister, not realizing the problem. They were crying. They were tired. Applejack then realized that her sister was missing.

"Where's Apple Bloom?" She asked, panicking. The two fillies looked at each other, tears in their eyes, and then explained the situation. The look of terror in Applejack's eyes said it all.

---

They ran as they followed the directions of the fillies behind their backs. Specifically, Sweetie Belle was on Rarity's back while Scootaloo was on Rainbow's. They ran and eventually found the hole. It was as the fillies explained. It was a very deep, ragged hole with the only light shining unto it was the sun's. "Apple Bloom! Where are ya?!" Applejack exclaimed. Her heart sinking as there was no response. Rainbow Dash flew down to check if there was an unconscious filly, hoping deep down that Apple Bloom was there, resting. However, her hopes were broken as she only found a little pink ribbon. She was about to fly back up when she felt a bit of a draft coming from behind. She then notices a strange structure, one that can only be found in those fantasy books that Twilight reads. Symbols carved in ancient runes. It was eerie.

She flew back to her friends and gave Applejack the ribbon. Applejack, who normally hid her tears, wept at the sight. She couldn't believe it. Before the others could console her though, Rainbow Dash commented on the weird structure that she saw. With this new information, their hopes grew. Maybe, just maybe, Apple Bloom is in that "structure", safe and sound.

As they ventured into the unknown, they were met with chills as there was indeed a structure never before seen. One that breathes "ancient". With a quick cast of light from the two unicorns, they mustered their courage and proceeded to go deeper into the depths of the unknown.

---

The sounds of water dripping from the ceiling echoes around the ancient structure, with their hoofsteps breaking most of the sound of silence. Broken shards from ancient vases can be seen, yet there is no sign of a filly anywhere. Paper were scattered amongst the floor with no writings whatsoever. Runes carved on the wall with no apparent context. What bothered Twilight the most was that this ruined structure did not seem to belong to any of the pony civilizations who once lived here. None of these match what she remembers from her books containing history. It is as if this did not even exist. She scribbled down notes along with Spike while also focusing on the main task at hoof: finding Apple Bloom. Twilight then ordered Spike to take a letter. As the dragon finished writing, he blew fire upon the parchment, allowing it to be engulfed in flames. The smoke then travelled to where they once came in. And with that, Spike continued to walk alongside Twilight as they try and find the missing filly. They followed the blood trails of the filly, noting that she might have had a hard time navigating if she broke a vase whilst going right. Rarity then noticed a bunch of blue gems that even she did not know existed. They were extremely light yet somehow hard. She then noticed something flickering inside the gems. She showed it to Twilight and simply described it as "flames within a crystal". She then looked back to a furious yet tired Applejack and decided that it would be rather uncouth of her to focus on such a thing when sweet Apple Bloom is missing.

And then, the blood trail stopped. It stopped at a room with a hole on the ceiling, light dimly enveloping that specific area. As they continued to search through the room, they noticed that the blood trail stopped directly in front of some chains. Broken chains. Fear arose from the ponies, as they now knew that there was some creature on the loose. Behind those chains was some sort of a sarcophagus, but this sarcophagus was broken.

When Applejack saw the blood trail stop, her whole world stopped. In the midst of chaos, she thought of an outcome. One that every mare had within that very moment. Apple Bloom is gone. With a heavy heart, Applejack decided to leave. "Applejack..." Fluttershy whispered, knowing full well that Applejack would not listen. Their friend was hurt, and with the loss of a sweet and innocent soul, they too were hurt. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo could no longer hold back their tears. They wept for their friend. A once cheerful Pinkie Pie now deflates with utter despair. Her once poofy mane now turned flat.

The sun is on the verge of setting, and the night is nearing. The walk towards Ponyville was quiet and filled with dread and sorrow. As much as they wanted to comfort Applejack, no words came from their mouths. They languished in the silence. What monster could've done this to a sweet and innocent little filly? They decided to follow Applejack back home. Applejack, while silent, thanked them for being with her. She does not know what to say or what to do. This day was supposed to be perfect! How could she face Big Mac and Granny Smith? How could she face her family? How could she face her ma and pa, if she ever passes on? These thoughts lingered in her mind. Night soon came and they reached their destination, Sweet Apple Acres. Whatever happens, she needs to tell her family of the loss that they have suffered. They need to know, and she has her friends with her to try and ease them in...

As they entered the premises however, they felt something... odd. Something was in there with them, yet they can't see it. Twilight and Rarity especially, as they were both unicorns. They were detecting something within the farm. However, they shrugged it off as mere tricks upon their minds as they have encountered death at the moment. Maybe they were sensitive at this moment?

Applejack sighed. She continued on, not really caring about that strange sensation. She knocked at the door. "Granny? Big Mac? Ah'm home..."

Author's Note:

Oh no... Apple Bloom is gone...

So anyways, I drank coffee again!

Oh come on! This is a victory for me!

Oh, mail arrived as well. It says, "Journal Entry 2"... meh, throw it on the garbage.

Entry 2: Mother, it has been a while since we last spoke. I hope you are well wherever you are... I miss you greatly. I failed to protect Father. All I can do is hope that he is alright. Fire is on the horizon. Being a wizard sure is hard work.

Aww dang it, it didn't come with freebies...