> Cutie Fixation > by WondersparkOfHope > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Paper Struck: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another night alone. The maroon Earth pony sat sadly in her room, grading the essays from her class. The topic; If they could have anything, what would it be and why? A hackneyed topic, but a classic nonetheless. Answers varied; from all the chocolate in the universe to a high-tech saddlebag or even to join the Wonderbolts. She envied their free imaginations; no responsibilities, no cares, no worries. Limitless. How she missed the days when she, too, had not a care in all of Equestria. As for what she wanted most in the world, she knew; she wished to have a filly or a colt to call her own. But it was impossible. For one Cheerliee couldn't find a stallion who thought she was attractive. Even if Big MacIntosh did, he was too busy working at the Apple farm. Another solution was adoption, if she had the resources. A teacher salary was minimal, only enough for basic resources for one pony. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the essays. Her eyes glanced over until they stopped on three fillies named Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They all wanted the same thing; their cutie marks. "No surprise there," she said to herself. She gave them a read-through. Perhaps their antics could amuse her even on paper. What she read did not disappoint. All three of them wrote that they would do anything for a cutie mark. Sweetie Belle even capitalized and underlined the word "anything" in her essay. "I wonder if they really mean anything," Cheerliee chuckled. Slowly her laugh began to trail off. Something clicked inside her mind. Perhaps she could give them what they wanted. And, in exchange, give herself something she wanted. "I suppose it's worth a try?" She sounded incredibly uncertain. Wouldn't it be illegal? On one hoof, it wouldn't be sincere. But on the other, they were all going to win. "And no pony has to know," she said. Taking a deep breath, Cheerliee commented on the essays. Then she began on an extra assignment for the three special fillies. > Chapter 2: Suspicion: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: Suspicion: Sweetie Belle was astonished. Ms. Cheerliee had handed back her essay covered in smiles and stars. She looked around the classroom to find that only two other ponies had gotten papers back that were covered with smiles and stars; Applebloom and Scootaloo. "Thith ith tho weird!" she told them at lunch, her mouth filled with her cheese sandwich. "But totally awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "We've never gotten a perfect score on an essay before. Maybe writing is our special talent!" "Well, it mighta been," Applebloom said. "If we hadn't basically done the exact same essays." "I guess you're right," Scootaloo sighed. "I wish getting our cutie marks were that easy." "But it'd be cheating," Sweetie Belle said swallowing her sandwich. "And besides, what would a cheating cutie mark even look like?" "Ah don' think ah wanna know," Applebloom said. "Cain you imagine how terrible it'd be ta have yer talent be cheatin'?" The other two nodded in agreement. "But it seems strange," Sweetie Belle said. "I mean, no pony else got smiles and stars but us. I feel like something's up." "Or maybe we're just really good at writing," Scootaloo said Applebloom glared at her. "Maybe Ms. Cheerilee's in a good mood?" she added quickly as the glare bore into her face. "If she was," Applebloom said. "Other ponies would've gotten smiles an' stars too. But they didn'. Ah think ya might be on ta somethin', Sweetie Belle. Ah'm just not sure what." At that moment, the bell rang and the other fillies and colts began to trot back into the schoolhouse. The three picked up their lunches and followed suit. > Chapter 3: The Perfect Students: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Maybe we're just overthinking it," Scootaloo whispered to the others over a lecture Ms. Cheerilee was giving on Stockpony Disease seen in victims of past fillynappings in Equestria. "She could've just really loved our papers." "The strange thing was that all he wanted was a filly of his own," Ms. Cheerilee said. "Ah reckon it's a possibility, but ah'm not certain it's the answer," Applebloom whispered back trying to drown out the rest of the lesson along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. "Forget the papers. Why do we have to learn about fillynappings and Stockpony Disease anyways?" Sweetie Belle whispered. "What?" the others asked in confusion. "Hear me out. It's history and history belongs in the past." "And when the filly accepted her new life--" "Besides, it's not like it's going to happen to any of us." "--a cutie mark appeared on her flank--" "So why should we even care about this?" "--and it was completely identical to her kidnapper's.--" "Because the education system is makin' us," Applebloom whispered. "--Soon she began to think like her new parent,--" "Can't we just drop out of school?" Scootaloo said. "--talk like her new parent,--" "That way we'll have more time to find our cutie marks." "--act like her new parent,--" "Uh-uh. Applejack would kill me if ah dropped out." "--and soon she even looked like her new parent.--" "She wants me ta be the first in the family to go to a private university." "Applebloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!" Ms. Cheerilee's voice had suddenly changed from her normal teacher voice to a scolding, British nanny voice. Automatically the three fillies sat upright in attention. Their eyes became perfectly focused. "No talking while I am teaching. Do you understand?" "Yes, ma'am," the three fillies said in perfect unison as they nodded their heads together. "Good girls," she said. Throughout the rest of the lesson, she kept looking back at the three. Their eyes were glued to the lesson and their ears were taking in every single word. They were even taking notes! That's a first, she thought. Of course she knew exactly why they were acting that way. Ms. Cheerilee prided herself in her secondary talent; filly and colt taming. It may have not made her a good wife, but she could be an excellent nanny. She was always able to turn them into the most proper Jane fillies and Michael colts. It was only a matter of how stubborn they were. For even if it took her a while, even the most headstrong fillies and colts came 'round to her rule in good time. > Chapter 4: Inkwell Given Information: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After what only seemed a half-hour, Ms. Cheerilee glanced over at the clock. Was it almost the end of the day already? With a rapid two-taps of her hoof, the three fillies shook out of their states. "Now," she told them in her teacher voice. "Be sure to pick up a list of famous fillynappings on your way out. Pick an incident for your essay by tomorrow. That is all." As the fillies and colts filed out, she remembered what she had to do. "Hang on. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, would you three come see me for a moment?" The three fillies held their breaths as they walked to her desk. "Great. We're in trouble for talking again, aren't we?" Scootaloo asked defeated. "Not at all," Ms. Cheerilee smiled. "I wanted to talk to you about your essays." The three sighed; half of relief and half of impending doom. "Ms. Cheerilee," Scootaloo spoke. "It was my idea for us all to use the same essay. We each just changed it a bit--" "And how very resourceful of you." The Crusaders were shocked. "Really?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Of course. But I would like to see your own ideas, which is why I'm having you do an in-class assignment." Taking the packets, she gave one to each of the three. "A questionnaire?" Applebloom asked. "Yes. Just fill it out as honestly as you can and give it back to me when you're finished. Then you may go." They looked at her puzzled, but sat back down at their desks and began. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ms. Cheerilee sat at her desk impatiently. Why weren't they done yet? She was growing quite tired and she needed to get home to read their responses. But she knew it would be worth it. The questionnaire seemed to drag on, but finally all three of them were back at her desk. She dismissed the girls happily. As soon as they were gone, she rushed back to her house. She locked her bedroom door behind her. Sitting down at her desk, she opened the packets and devoured this new-found information. Once again, she was not disappointed. Despite not being a unicorn, she did have some magic inside of her. Even the ink she used propelled them to go in-depth into their desires, fears, secrets, and the like. No wonder they took so long. It was part of her talent to have them trust her. A small sampling of each caught her eyes. Applebloom adored apples dipped in chocolate and peanut butter. She also loved going to hypnotism shows. She'd never been hypnotized, but always wanted to know what it felt like. When she grew up, she wanted to be an artist that crafted using apples and apple seeds. Her biggest fear was getting the wrong cutie mark. Sweetie Belle loved to sing in the shower and couldn't resist any and all kinds of tasty treats and sweets. She loved the musical "Phantom Pony of the Stage" and wished she could play the leading mare, Cantershine Deary, in the show. She'd been hypnotized once before, but didn't remember what it was like. When she grew up, she wanted to be a performer. Her biggest fears were snakes and failing. Scootaloo could never get enough of extreme sports. She loved international foods because of the cool tastes and when she was alone, she sometimes pretended to be a chicken. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been hypnotized, but wasn't sure if she wanted to. When she grew up, she wanted to be an Equestria-famous extreme athlete and play in the Equestria Games for either Cloudsdale or Ponyville. Her biggest fear was disappointing her friends. Oh yes. The packets they filled out would be more than enough information; she could definitely put this to use. And after careful consideration, she knew just who to start with. > Chapter 5: For Whom the Belle Tolls: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next day, Cheerilee got up in a giddy mood. She remembered what had to be put into work today and she couldn't have been more eager. All throughout the school day, the thought stayed clear in her mind. She had given her special student her address to meet her for some tea and one-on-one time on her class grade. It was the perfect night. There was a fundraiser occurring at the school, so how could she possibly speak to the filly with all of that noise? Now she sat in her large house. A manor, more or less. She had inherited it from her father; a mad scientist, more or less. She sat impatiently in her finest nanny dress and hat. A bit Mary Poppins-esque, but she knew that to become the part, she had to dress the part. Cheerilee probably didn't need it, though. This first filly was very easily persuaded and absolutely adored her loving teacher. How could she say no? It will all be worth it, Cheerilee, she thought. It will all be worth it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sweetie Belle trotted happily over to the house just beyond the hill. She carried a picnic and her revised essay in her saddlebag as Ms. Cheerilee has requested along with her finest dresses. It was quite strange. Ms. Cheerilee never asked to see any students at her house, but shrugged it off. Perhaps she was an exception this time. As she trotted, Sweetie Belle wondered how long it would be until she was there. "I think I must be close," she said. "At least from what Ms. Cheerilee said." No sooner had she spoken that she had come around a bend to find a large, dark dwelling. It was protected by a tall, iron gate covered in vines and flowers. Sweetie Belle's joy turned to fear. Despite the vines and flowers, she felt the need to turn and run back, as it gave her a certain feeling of unease. "This can't be right," Sweetie Belle shivered. "Ms. Cheerilee wouldn't live in a place like this, would she?" She had been under the impression that her house was smaller than this. And less frightening. Nonetheless, Sweetie Belle decided to check. She pushed against the iron gate door. It swung open with a low, long, loud creak that almost made her tail stand up on end. Her hooves clicked cautiously against the cobblestone pathway as she approached the large estate. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Sweetie Belle," she told herself as she neared the front door. "This is Ms. Cheerilee we're talking about. She's not scary." Her eyes glanced at the knocker of the door. Shaped like an upside down horseshoe, she couldn't help but think of Troubleshoes and how he always thought he had bad luck. Did Ms. Cheerilee have the same worry? It was an interesting thought, but not the right time to consider it. Mustering up what strength she could, Sweetie Belle focused her magic on the knocker. After a few moments, she managed to bring it up an inch. At this she began to focus even more. Soon a throbbing pain entered her head and her chest felt as though it was being crushed. She tried to hold out, but the pain persisted to a point where she felt like her bones were breaking. It was only to the point where she felt as though she was going to faint when she finally gave up. She took several moments to catch her breath before debating what to do next. "I don't want to try that spell again," she said after some consideration. She picked up a hoof and knocked on the wooden door. There was only silence that followed. Finally, when she was beginning to consider coming back another day, the door creaked open. Standing in the doorway, dressed as a British governess, was Ms. Cheerilee. Her smile seemed a tad unnatural, but Sweetie Belle shrugged it off. Ms. Cheerilee never had students over at her house before, so she was probably a bit nervous. "Sweetie Belle, dear! I'm delighted that you could make it," she greeted with an overwhelming tone of joy in her voice. The filly was taken aback at how eager her teacher sounded, but attempted to conceal her shock. "Please come in," her teacher continued. Tentatively, Sweetie Belle stepped into the foyer. She couldn't believe her eyes. The house was decorated in candy colors. Or was it actual candy covering the house? "Ms. Cheerilee?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Did you decorate your house with real candy?" The maroon mare nodded. "Doesn't it look delightful, Sweetie Belle?" she giggled. "Uh, I guess so." This felt a tad discomforting to Sweetie Belle. It didn't seem like Ms. Cheerilee to have her house covered in candy. "But aren't you worried about pest infestations?" "Oh no! I don't have that problem." Sweetie Belle was befuddled. There was no way she could live in such a place without even a slight infestation. Maybe Mrs. Cheerilee actually had a huge infestation. Then again, why would she ask anyone to come over if she did? The thought made Sweetie Belle uncomfortable and it made her head hurt to think about it, so she decided to turn the conversation over to the picnic. "I-I brought the stuff you asked for," she said removing her saddle bag. Cheerilee's eyes shone in eager anticipation. "Wonderful! Why don't we get started? But first, have some tea." The mare handed Sweetie Belle a small, porcelain cup filled with a light brown liquid. A scent hit Sweetie's nostrils. "Is that....caramel I smell?" she asked. "Yes. I made it just for you. I know how much you love sweet things." Without hesitation, Sweetie gulped it all down. "It's delicious. May I have some more?" 'This is working out much better than I thought,' Cheerilee thought. "Of course." --------------------------------------------------- Approximately ten cups later, Cheerilee knew that it had to be enough. "May I have another cup?" Sweetie Belle asked again. "Now, now, darling," Cheerilee scolded sweetly in her nanny voice. "You have had enough. I'm sure that, after all that tea, you must feel very sleepy." Sweetie's eyes began to droop down. "So very sleepy," Cheerilee continued. "Very...sleepy," Sweetie Belle droned. A wave of soothing pleasure washed over Sweetie Belle. As her eyes slowly fluttered shut, she began to see herself in her mother's arms again. She was being rocked to sleep as the sound of nature entered her mind. The summer breeze, gentle and caring like the sound of her mother's voice as she sang to Sweetie Belle, brushed over her. The tiny foal gave a small yawn. "Ma..ma?" she asked sleepily. The mare gave a gentle smile. "Yes," her mother said sweetly. "It is I. Your mother. And you are my precious, little angel." "Mama," Sweetie said again. "Ma---" "Shh," her mother shushed her gently as she stroked Sweetie Belle's tiny mane. "Sleep now, my darling. Sleep. Sleep......." -------------------------------------------------------------- As Sweetie Belle fell completely under, Cheerilee grinned viciously. The plan wasn't going just perfectly. It was taking a direction that was even better than she expected. Sweetie Belle was much more receptive than she imagined she would be. Even so the plan wasn't complete. There was no time to waste. Even in her state of consciousness, Sweetie would need time to learn. "After all," Cheerilee told herself. "Her true identity won't set in right away." Cheerilee picked up Sweetie's entranced being and carried her to the lab to begin stage 2. > Chapter 6: The Remembering: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once the process was finished and the details arranged, Cheerilee placed Sweetie Belle in a chamber. Then she went over every single detail once more. "There we are," she said once she was satisfied with her work. On a whim, she glanced at the sleeping Sweetie Belle. How peaceful she looked. She must have a loving family that would miss her. "Is this....really a good idea?" Cheerilee asked herself. Then she shook her head. "Stop it, Cheerilee! Of course it is. She gets what she wants. I get what I want. She gets what she wants. I get what I want....." For several moments, she murmured it to herself. She had to make it stick to reduce any chance of second thoughts. Once she was satisfied, she stuck the final touch inside of Sweetie's mane. Something that would activate in case none of her other plan points worked. Now all she had to do was make one more stop. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Light hit against the walls as Sweetie Belle came to. The filly woke in a daze to what seemed to be a nursery; a very pink nursery, in fact. The bed she awoke in was a pastel pink crib with sheets, pillows, and stuffed animals of the same color. Above her bed was pink draping. The walls, floor, and ceiling were colored purely pastel pink. Sweetie Belle attempted to jump from her bed, but toppled over in weakness. What was wrong with her? With some struggle, she grabbed onto the bar, only to pull back in shock. Her front hooves now donned pastel pink, doll shoes and frilly, perfectly white socks with lace on them. The shoes each had a bow of the same color on them as well. She pushed herself onto her back only to find more shocking apparel. Her back hooves now had the same clothing as her front hooves. Her tail had been dyed the same pink as Fluttershy's mane and tail as well as curled to Victorian perfection. On top of it, she now wore a Sweet Lolita style toddler dress in pastel pink with bows and white lace at the trim. But the most shocking to Sweetie Belle was that she wore a silk diaper which had a familiar cutie mark sewn in every inch of the fabric. Once again she attempted to escape her confines when all of a sudden she heard a distorted, British voice. "Ah. You have awoken, Clara May. How do you like your dress, Clara May?" Sweetie Belle's head darted around the room. The voice chuckled slyly. "Aw. I can't believe you don't remember, Clara May," it said. "I cannot believe you wouldn't remember the life you had before, Clara May." "Before?" Sweetie Belle gasped. "Yes. Your mother misses you dearly, Clara May. Don't you remember the picnics, Clara May? Don't you remember the walks, Clara May? Don't you remember the parties, Clara May?" "Why do you keep calling me Clara May?" The voice chuckled. "That's your name, isn't it, Clara May?" "No, it's not!" she said defiantly. "It's Sweetie Belle." "Tsk tsk, Clara May. I can't believe you, Clara May. Let me show you, Clara May. Perhaps you'll remember, Clara May." A book shook on the pink bookshelf nearby. Intrigued, Sweetie Belle pushed herself up from the crib and wobbled over dizzily towards it. She grabbed it and opened it up. Inside were photos supposedly she had been in. In one she was walking in the park with a familiar pony. Another was her at finishing school. Another was her dancing with a colt that looked like---- "Button Mash?" "Secretly William Robert, the crown prince of Canterlot, Clara May. He had to hide as an average school pony to keep safe from assassins, Clara May. But he fell in love with you, Clara May. Don't you remember the cotillion, Clara May?" Something flashed in Sweetie Belle's head. It was of her and Button Mash at a ball. They were dancing together. He looked as though he was enamored with her. "Oh, Clara May," she heard him say. "You are, by far, the most dazzling and lovely filly I have ever laid eyes upon, Clara May. When we are older, perhaps we shall be wed, Clara May. Wouldn't you like to be my princess, Clara May?" Sweetie Belle began to smile, even though deep in her mind, something told her it wasn't true. She shook her head. "But---he knows me as Sweetie Belle, doesn't he?" "He calls you that in public to keep you safe, Clara May. And you call him Button Mash to keep him safe, Clara May." By this time, she felt incredibly confused and slightly disoriented. "You're making this up, right?" she asked. "I only wish, Clara May." "I'm going back to bed." "Have a pleasant sleep, Clara May." ----------------------------------------------------- It went on like this for sometime. Sweetie Belle would be exposed to information that she had apparently forgotten along with being tested on it. "Now what is your name?" the voice asked about two weeks afterwards. "Sweetie Belle?" "No, no, Clara May. Your name is Clara May. You grow up in a family that is very rich, Clara May. You go to the Canterlot Finishing School for Fillies, Clara May. You are to be betrothed to Prince William Robert when you are old enough, Clara May." That last bit Sweetie Belle didn't mind being true. Along with being fed auditory information, she was also fed what was supposedly her favorite foods, which consisted of what seemed to be what you would see at a palace dinner. When she was not sleeping, eating, or being tested on information by the distorted voice, she was forced to look at photo albums of her and her supposed family. Each morning, she woke up disoriented and went to bed the same way. The voice assured her that it was part of what was called the remembering. And as time went on, the more information she received about Clara May, the less she questioned it. Then one day--- "Now what is your name?" the voice asked her. She was about to respond with Sweetie Belle, but she paused for a second. Was her name really Sweetie Belle anymore? Was it ever really Sweetie Belle? Something in her mind seemed to click. Everything she thought she knew seemed to fade away. The memories she was taught began to drift towards the front of her mind. "Clara May?" she responded hesitantly. On the other side of the wall, Cheerilee sat at a control room full of monitors. A great grin leapt onto her face and she chuckled. "Good girl, Clara May. Now say it again." Sweetie Belle's eyes began to become blank. "My name is Clara May?" she asked, a little more sure of herself this time, as more of the memories she was taught replaced those of what she thought were memories. "Say it again." "My name is Clara May," she said without a doubt. Her voice became British and almost robotic. In the control room, Cheerilee laughed triumphantly as Sweetie Belle repeated her new name over and over in the same tone. The filly was now hers to mold further into the perfect child. > Chapter 7: The Final Phase: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the next week, Clara May began to adapt to her new persona. She readily accepted new memories and became submissive to whatever the voice said. "When can I be reunited with my family?" she kept asking in her now-permanent, proper, British accent. "Ah yes. The reunification. You are almost there." Clara May smiled widely. "There is just one more thing you have to do. Now listen closely." The filly's ears stood up, ready to listen. "You are glad you are reunited with your old life, are you not?" "I most certainly am," Clara May replied immediately. "You are glad to remember what is true, are you not?" "I most certainly am." "You know what I say is complete truth, do you not?" "I most certainly do." By this time, her eyes had gone blank again. Her brain became a blank mindscape, fully open to whatever the voice wanted her to do. "Then you must listen very carefully. The reason you believed in that lie of a life you once lived is because after the ball, there was a pony who lured you away. Far away. She brainwashed you into thinking you were a part of her family. She brainwashed you into believing you had no cutie mark after she took it away from you when, in truth, that ball was the night you received your cutie mark. "She disobeyed the law." "She disobeyed the law," Clara May repeated in her transfixed, robotic voice. "She must be punished." "She must be punished." "She is here. She wishes to see you again. But you have no desire to see her." "No desire to see her." "But you want her to receive her punishment. Bad ponies must be punished." "Bad ponies must be punished." "She is a bad pony. A very bad pony. Go down into the dungeon. You shall find the family there. You know what you must do." Clara May trotted out of her room. "She is a bad pony. Bad ponies must be punished," she murmured over and over. -------------------------------------------------------------------- When she reached the bottom level, there were 3 ponies shackled to 3 operating tables illuminated by hospital light. One had a purple, bobbed mane. Another had a brown mustache. And the one in the middle had a white pony with a curled, purple mane and tail. "Who's there?" the mare with the purple bob asked in fright. "Please let me out of here," the pony with the mustache whimpered in terror. "Honestly, this is no way to treat a pony," the one in the middle exclaimed with a tremble. "Bad ponies must be punished," Clara May continued to murmur. "Sweetie Belle? Is that you?" the pony with the purple bob exclaimed. "Thank Celestia you're here! You can get us out of here," the one with the mustache said. "You are bad ponies. You must be punished," Clara May said as she put on a pair of medical gloves. Approaching the tables, she switched around the middle one with the one with the bob. The purple bob pony was pushed against the table of the one with the mustache with a crash. Clara May then walked over to a table of instruments and picked out three sets of mouth props made of hard rubber along with a pair of wire speculums and a strange helmet with tubes of unknown chemicals. She walked back over to the table of the trembling stallion and force his mouth open. Clara May then stuck two of the props inside of his mouth, one on each side. She did the same with the purple bobbed pony. Next she walked over to the table with the purple-tailed pony and stared at her blankly. "Sweetie Belle? It's me, Rarity!" the unicorn pleaded. Clara May said nothing and took the pair of wire speculums. With one hoof, she held Rarity's eye open and stuck a wire speculum with the other into each eye. Next she secured the helmet onto Rarity's head and flipped a switch before pumping on a pedal to position Rarity vertically. Then she wheeled her towards where she could see her parents. Clara May trotted over to the table of instruments and picked out a knife. Satisfied she went back over to the table where the stallion trembled. "Please, Sweetie Belle," he cried through the props. "Please get us out of here." "You are bad ponies," Clara May murmured. "You must be punished." Reaching inside, she pulled at the tongue. Positioning the knife as far back as she could, she pressed down until the tongue was out of the mouth and in her hooves. Blood began to squirt from the open wound as the stallion screamed in horror. Walking back over to the table, Clara May selected a pair of large tweezers, like you would see at the dentist. Reaching into the stallion's mouth she grasped onto his gums and began to pull. The screams were ear-shattering, but Clara May remained apathetic. With a yank, there was a loud rip and a shriek and it came out, both gums and both rows of teeth. The stallions mouth began to fill ever further with blood. He coughed and soon was choking on the red rum. Rarity trembled in horror as Clara May went back over to the instrument table. She grabbed a large, double-sided, sickle probe. She stuck one end into the left side of Rarity's dad's mouth and began to push down. Rarity could hear the skin being torn at and the screams of her father growing louder and louder. As soon as the sickle had reached the end of the left side, Clara May repeated the process on the right. Blood began to gush down the sides of his mouth. Clara May grabbed two buckets that were nearby and placed them on each side. She watched his eyes as they began to fade into gray. Soon enough, the screams began to die as did the stallion. When the life was completely drained, she fixed him in a sitting position and took the props out of his mouth. Next she grabbed two metal clamps and forced the on the furthest ends of what used to be his mouth. Then, taking a needle, some scissors, and some thread, she poked a hole in the center of his mouth and thread the needle through each side of his mouth. Slowly her mouth began to turn upward into a terrifying smile. "Why, thank you, mistress, for complimenting my sewing." She gave a laugh of madness that almost led Rarity to tears. "I've been working hard at it." Rarity trembled at this new pony as she finished sewing his mouth. It now resembled the smile of a demonic doll. "Sweetie Belle! What happened to you?" Rarity cried as Clara May trotted over to the next table and repeated the process on her mother. Then an idea seemed to strike her. "Mother, let's play Doctor," Clara May said as she took a saw and opened the stomach cavity. She placed a bucket below the cavity as more blood rushed out. "What fun this is!" she laughed in sadistic glee as she removed the organs one by one. After repeating the process with the stallion, Clara May went over to a shelf and picked out two electronic boxes. Each had various switches and buttons. Clara May stuffed them into the abdomens of both ponies. Next she took a knife and cut open the skulls. Removing each brain, she replaced them with control boxes. Clara May then took a spoon and removed each eye, threading red lights in their places and connecting them to the control boxes. With that, Clara May stitched the abdomens and skulls shut. Their cutie marks faded and were replaced with the same cutie mark that had been sewn onto Clara May's diapers. All of a sudden, Rarity began to feel strangely euphoric at the sight of her parents being mutilated. She attempted to resist, but she could not look away. It felt too wonderful. And yet it also felt maddening. Soon she began to giggle insanely. And the more she saw her parents being mutilated, the louder she laughed. The image of her parents' deaths began to play over and over in her mind. She found it so amusing but did not know why. After several long moments, however, she suddenly stopped laughing. Her eyes and mane turned gray and emotionless. The mane and tail lost their curls. Her face became expressionless and her cutie mark faded away. It was replaced with the same cutie mark her parents received. "I'll do anything," she said in a monotone voice. "I am your slave. Command me, master." Clara May pressed a button and Rarity dropped to the floor. The helmet released itself and bounced on the concrete. Rarity stood up and bowed her head. She walked over to Clara May like a wind-up toy. Cheerilee peaked through the doorway of the dungeon. At that moment, a cutie mark formed on Clara May's flank and she knew Sweetie Belle was gone, replaced with her first daughter. "One down, two to go," she whispered triumphantly. > Chapter 8: Fashion Fatale: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple Bloom paced back and forth throughout the clubhouse as Scootaloo watched. "Ah wonder if she's okay," Applebloom panted. "Will you relax?" Scootaloo asked. "The policemares are doing what they can to find her." "She's been missin' fer over a month, Scootaloo! Whatever them policemares are doin', it ain' workin'." "Okay, so maybe we should be concerned---" "Or maybe we should go look fer her ourselves." "Are you nuts, Applebloom? I mean, I'm all for adventure, but we don't even know what she's gotten herself into. She could be held captive by a killer pony or even dead! Is that really a chance you're willing to take?" "If it means findin' out what happened to her. Now are ya comin' er not?" The two crusaders stared at each other for a while as Scootaloo's mind began to race. On one hand, it was a dangerous game they were playing. They may have gotten into a lot of sticky situations with trying to find their cutie marks, sometimes literally as Scootaloo thought back to the time they tried zip lining and ended up covered in tree sap. But on the other hand, this was a fellow Cutie Mark Crusader. Sweetie Belle was also the most observant of the three and could point out the best opportunities for getting their cutie marks. However, despite her being the most adventurous, something in Scootaloo's mind told her to stay directly out of this, at least for now. Perhaps she and Applebloom could find a compromise. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Applebloom, but it's been over a month. I'm all for adventure, but this might become really dangerous. I mean, what if she was murdered?" Applebloom stared at Scootaloo with a hardened expression until she heard the word "murdered." She gave a gulp. "Maybe yer right. Why don't we check with Rarity? Maybe she knows what's up with Sweetie Belle." "Good idea." ----------------------------------------------- The two fillies arrived at the Carousel Boutique, only for Applebloom to stop to a halt. "Do yeh hear that?" she gasped. Scootaloo listened in confusion. She shook her head. "I don't hear anything. It's quiet." "Exactly," Applebloom replied. "There's no sound of inspiration." "What kind of drugs are you on?" "Just hear me out. Whenever ah come round here, Rarity's workin' on somethin' and, even when other ponies don't hear anythin', there's this sound in mah head. It's tough teh explain. Stuff like this has been happenin' to me fer years. But that's not the point. It's too quiet." "Maybe she's taking a break." "Well, let's find out." Cautiously, the two fillies creeped up to the door and softly knocked. They waited for a few moments, the feeling of numbed terror gnawing at their stomachs as they hoped for somepony familiar to open the door. "What are you two doing here?" a voice behind them asked. The two crusaders jumped in shock. They turned to find three ponies, a mare and two fillies, staring at them. "Twilight?" Scootaloo asked. "What are you doing here?" "Um, she asked you first, blank flank," Diamond Tiara scoffed. "Yeah, blank flank," Silver Spoon added. "Diamond. Silver," Twilight responded firmly. "I'm fillysitting these two while their parents are speaking at a Stockpony Disease Conference and we were out for a walk. What about you?" "We're lookin' for Sweetie Belle and we were hopin' Rarity might have some idea of where she might be," Applebloom replied. Twilight gave the two a puzzled gaze. "What?" "Rarity and her family are on vacation in Canterlot," Twilight answered. "Didn't you know? They left about a month ago." Now it was the crusaders' turn to look confused. "Sweetie Belle never told us about a vacation," Scootaloo said. "We thought she was fillynapped so we called the policemares." "And what about Opal? Did Rarity git a cat sitter?" "I have no clue," Twilight replied. All of a sudden, they heard a strained meow coming from inside the boutique. Applebloom grabbed the handle and turned only to find it was locked. "Is there a key round here?" she gasped in a panic. Scootaloo began to help search for one. "Calm down, my little ponies," Twilight told them. "I'm sure Opal's fine." Another strained meow followed by a cough echoed from inside. "She don't sound fine teh me," Applebloom exclaimed angrily. "I found it!" Scootaloo said holding up a platinum-covered key. Using her mouth, Applebloom placed it in the keyhole and turned. There was a click and the door flew open. The five stepped in cautiously and Scootaloo fumbled around for a light switch. Soon the lights came on and everypony gasped at the sight. Every single clothing rack was taken apart and scattered about. Pieces of fabric from prototypes had been torn off. Dust covered almost every inch of the floor. And a strange stench lingered in the air. "This place is a mess!" Silver Spoon coughed as dust hit her throat. The strained meow echoed once again. All five froze in fear. "Ah think it's comin' from one a the changin' rooms," Applebloom whispered. Carefully she crept towards the changing rooms. She opened a door with a creak and gasped at what she found. She could've called her Opal, but the thing was barely distinguishable from the once well-groomed feline. The poor thing was severely emaciated and covered in various foul-smelling concoctions. Even just thinking about what Opal was covered in made Applebloom feel sick. She backed away from the corpse and returned to the party. "Opal's nearly dead," she told them. "How is she not dead, assuming no one came and fed her or anything?" Twilight asked. Suddenly there was a scream as Diamond Tiara trembled and pointed. "What the buck is that?" The group turned and everypony's stomach began to churn. "Please tell me it's not---" Applebloom gulped. "P-p-pony organs?" Scootaloo quivered. Sure enough, in a nice, neat pile laid intestines, a heart, eyes, gums and teeth caked with bloody tissue, a stomach, lungs, and other organs, all covered in blood. "Ah think somepony was murdered," Applebloom trembled gravely. "I think I'm going to be sick," Diamond exclaimed. "But why would a murderer put all those organs so neatly together?" Twilight asked trying to keep her daffodil and daisy salad from lunch down. "Who cares?" Diamond cried. "Let's just get the buck out of here!" As this was occurring, something on a stack of cardboard boxes caught Silver Spoon's eye in between her coughs. She trotted over, trying to keep her coughs down, and picked up a slip of paper "Hey cough, everypony. You should cough come and cough, cough see this," she gasped. "Silver Spoon, are you alright?" Twilight asked concerned. "Just cough, cough, cough come over cough, cough, wheeze here." The group crept up to her and glanced at what she had found. "This is a slip mail ponies bring when they need to pick up packages," Scootaloo exclaimed in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?" "'Work Order Slip fer Derpy Muffin Hooves. Pick up packages from Carousel Boutique to be shipped fer delivery to Canterlot,'" Applebloom read trying to drown out Silver Spoon's coughing spell. "It says this work order slip was from a month ago. Didn't yeh say Rarity and her family were in Canterlot fer a vacation, Twilight?" "Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. "But if Rarity was going to Canterlot, why didn't she just take the packages with her?" "And don't mail ponies usually take the work order slips when they take packages fer delivery?" "But where are the packages?" Diamond Tiara scoffed. "If the mail pony did her job right, which I doubt she did, the packages would be with the slip at all times when she collected them. In her fit, Silver Spoon pointed at a pile of boxes taped and ready for shipping; the packages. "But if the work order slip is here and so are the packages, then where is Derpy?" Twilight asked fearing the worst. All of a sudden, there was a thud. They turned to find Silver Spoon in the floor, her face turning a dark shade of blue. "What's going on?" Scootaloo asked. "She's having an asthma attack!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed in fright. Diamond began to search Silver Spoon for her inhaler but it was nowhere to be found. "I think she left it back at your place," she squeaked at Twilight. "We'd better go. And fast," Twilight exclaimed with urgency. All of a sudden, Twilight felt a thud to the back of her head. She fell to the floor and the world began to fade to black. She saw something hit Scootaloo and Diamond's heads. "You're not going anywhere," Derpy explained in a monotonous, metallic voice. Her head slowly and robotically turned to spy a trembling Applebloom who was slowly backing towards the door. Derpy walked rhythmically towards her until she had the fearful filly against the wall. "W-what do yeh want with me?" Applebloom whimpered. "Do not be afraid, Equestrian unit," the roboticized Derpy replied. "I shall not harm you as long as you comply. Do you comprehend?" Somewhere in Applebloom's mind, the fight-or-flight instinct she would usually utilize in situations like this clicked off and a new instinct kicked in; comply-and-survive. She nodded. "What do yeh want me teh do?" she asked the robotic Derpy. Derpy's eyes began to glow and emit rings of color; rings that seemed almost to have a transparent, liquid consistency, moving at a slow rhythm that began to put Applebloom's mind at ease. "Do not look away." Applebloom had no trouble following this order. Perhaps this robot wasn't trying to hurt her. All of her current predicaments seemed to become secondary to this feeling of deep relaxation. "Relax, relax, relax, relax," a voice in her head repeated over and over in slow rhythm. Applebloom began to sway with this new rhythm. Her muscles began to loosen and her eyelids began to flutter. The feeling was bliss and Applebloom wished she could always feel this way. "Deeper, deeper," Derpy commanded gently. "The more the rings go through you, the deeper you go. The deeper you go, the more relaxed you feel. The more relaxed you feel, the more the rings go through you. The more the rings go through you, the deeper you go. "The deeper you go, the more relaxed you feel. "The more relaxed you feel, the more the rings go through you. "The more the rings go through you, the deeper you go. "The deeper you go, the more relaxed you feel. "The more relaxed you feel, the more the rings go through you. "The more the rings go through you, the deeper you go. "The deeper you go, the more relaxed you feel. "The more relaxed you feel, the more the rings go through you." The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. 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The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper Applebloom went. The deeper she went, the more relaxed she felt. The more relaxed she felt, the more the rings went through her. The more the rings went through her, the deeper---- "Sleep," Derpy commanded gently. There was a snap and Applebloom fell under completely. She felt a state of total and pure bliss. She saw a galaxy of calming color and stars. She felt herself floating amongst them. A wind brushed under her, seemingly carrying her along to nowhere. The smell of apples covered in chocolate peanut butter wafted through her nostrils, relaxing her even more. "You will not remember what you saw," a voice purred gently. "I will not remember what I saw," she droned relaxed, her accent seemed to have disappeared along with her consciousness. "You will obey." "I will obey." "You will forget the life you have now." "I will forget the life I have now." Outside in reality, the robot known as Derpy felt a sense of accomplishment. Her new mistress was going to be so happy. The robotized pony picked up the hypnotized filly and carried her away, but not before locking and barricading the door of the boutique. > Chapter 9: Time For Round 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheerilee paced around her cottage; it felt like years since she'd sent Derpy to retrieve Applebloom. Where was she now? Perhaps the spell had worn off? No. Impossible! She'd done a thorough job of breaking Derpy, she knew it. She didn't spend all those years in the coven practicing mind-breaking just to have it all go to Tartarus. She had to have faith in her abilities. Even if she wasn't a unicorn, magic wasn't impossible. Unless, of course, the princesses found out. But she had to push that out of her mind. It would only make her faith waver. And that was something she couldn't afford to happen. Not like last time. Not again. Walking over to a table nearby, she stared longingly at a picture of a former class of hers, but one student stood out; an adorable blue filly with white-silver locks. She looked so happy and carefree, but the fate that befallen her made Cheerilee remember why she was doing this in the first place. "I'm going to fix this," she promised. "I'm going to do what I couldn't do for you." All of a sudden, the door flung open and there was the mail ponybot herself, carrying Applebloom. "Take her upstairs," she ordered Derpy who obeyed immediately. Cheerilee smiled as she followed the mail pony. "Time for round 2." > Chapter 10: The Second Remembering: > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applebloom awoke with a start, gasping. It felt as though she had been trapped in a trance for years. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was.....Derpy! The mail pony had been turned into a cyborg or a robot of some kind. She had to get help, and fast! She tried to stand, but found that her legs were too weak. No, not weak. Restrained was more like it. She looked down to find herself in a sort-of Southern Belle dress. And her head felt more covered than usual. Glancing upwards, she found a matching bonnet on her head. But what both shocked and embarrassed her was the diaper on her flank, with a strangely familiar cutie mark. But everything else was foreign, especially her surroundings. Looking around, she saw that she was inside of a crib. The steel bars were about twice her height, so even if she wasn't restrained by her new dress, jumping to get out was out of the question. "What the hay am ah doin' here?" she gulped in a mixture of fear and confusion. Welcome home, Anna Faye. Applebloom's heart practically jumped out of her mouth when a voice from a loud speaker began crackling from seemingly nowhere. It had a dialect not too unlike her own, except it was more refined, barely pronounced the Rs at the ends of words, and went a bit slower. It was also extremely distorted. We're so glad that you've decided to rejoin your family, Anna Faye. The filly was confused. Was there somepony else in the room with her? "Hello?" she called out. "Is there an.....Anna Faye nearby?" The voice from the loud speaker began to laugh endearingly. Oh, silly Anna Faye! You've always been quite the prankster, Anna Faye. That's when it hit Applebloom: the loud speaker was talking about her. "Ah dunno what yer talkin' bout. Mah name's Applebloom!" Oh, dear, Anna Faye. You're sufferin' from amnesia, Anna Faye. "Man memory works fine, thanks! Now lemme outta here!" I'm afraid I can't allow that, Anna Faye. You see, Anna Faye, when you were younger, Anna Faye, the plantation was practically runnin' dry, Anna Faye. There wasn't enough money to feed all of your brothers and sisters, Anna Faye. So your real parents had to abandon them and you, Anna Faye. Most of them died, Anna Faye. Recently, Anna Faye, your grandfather passed away, Anna Faye, and left a large sum of money to your family, Anna Faye. Now that they're rich, Anna Faye, they miss you so dearly, Anna Faye, and want nothin' more than for you to come back, Anna Faye. Applebloom was getting tired of this. This random voice was trying to tell her that she wasn't who she thought she was, trying to make her deny her real family? She wasn't about to let that happen! And the name: Anna Faye. Why was that voice saying it over and over again? It was pounding into her head like a steam engine and making her angry. "Ah dunno who yeh are or what yeh think yer doin', but yeh got the wrong filly!" she yelled defiantly. "Mah name's Applebloom, spelled A-P-P-L-E-B-L-O-O-M! Now ah dunno who this Anna Faye filly is, but ah'm not her. So jus' drop this, git me outta this dress, and lemme go already!" The room fell silent and Applebloom waited for something to happen. After a while, she smirked in satisfaction, thinking that she had won. But suddenly, two robotic arms swung down and grabbed her hooves, pushing her up against the crib. Another pair, this one with smaller fingers appeared and headed for her eyes, holding them open. Then from out of nowhere, a ton of books fell into her crib as another set of mechanical arms appeared. They grabbed a random book and opened it to the first page. Oh dear, Anna Faye, the voice sighed. This is much more severe than I had anticipated, Anna Faye. "What the hay is goin' on?" Applebloom demanded to know. "This is illegal. Ah'm callin' the policemares!" You must remember who you are, Anna Faye. I am here to help you, Anna Faye. All you have to do is be compliant, Anna Fay. Now start reading, Anna Faye. Applebloom took one quick glance at the text. It was so compressed. How was she supposed to read all of this? Wait, why did she even want to read this in the first place? None of it was true! Her eyes began to burn. "Can ah please blink?" You need to read, Anna Faye. Then you may blink, Anna Faye. Applebloom sighed and tried to read it aloud, but her vision was blurring up. Her eyes felt as though they were being fried with a blowtorch. She started crying and panicking, begging to blink, her panic soon turning to anger. She thrashed about and screamed, trying to kick the book away, the fingers holding her eyes open practically scratching into them as she struggled, until she suddenly lost consciousness. In the other room, Cheerilee sighed in frustration. She knew that Applebloom was going to be more of a challenge to brainwash than formerly-Sweetie Belle, but she had not expected this much resistance from her. "Okay," she exclaimed. "This is just a small setback. She'll come around eventually, Cheerilee. And even if she doesn't, you can always just activate the device. And even if she somehow breaks free of this, you're prepared." She knew there was a chance for the more rebellious of the three to break from their brainwashing, but even if they did, the cutie marks were permanent. And there was one thing in their Stockpony Disease lesson that she had neglected to mention: a cutie mark induced by brainwashing would indoctrinate them onto her side of this cause, meaning that even if they could leave, they wouldn't want to. But in the meantime, she set back to the drawing board, pressing a button to inject Applebloom with a knock-out drug in case she was to wake up before Cheerilee had finished revising her plans so that she could indoctrinate Applebloom as soon as possible. "It's going to be worth it, Cheerilee," she told herself. "It's going to be worth it." > Chapter 11: Never Leave the Crib, Young Filly > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Days turned into weeks: weeks turned into months. Cheerilee was still trying to condition Applebloom into her new persona. Knowing that the filly in question was more stubborn than Clara May, Cheerilee had imposed a stricter schedule for her, in the hopes that if she wasn't going to be broken by repetition, then perhaps she would be broken by some well-earned exhaustion. Applebloom was woken up at 8 on the dot every single morning, suited with a corset done up as tightly as possible, and then forced into a tight Southern Belle-style dress before having the bonnet tied around her head. Next she had to walk gracefully from one end of her room to the other and back, with a book on her head, between 50 to 100 times. Most of the time, she would be barely awake, her eyes burning and begging for even just a few more minutes of sleep, and the book would often fall off of her head. The voice would chastise her kindly, but firmly, and make her start back from the beginning, sometimes adding even more rounds as punishment. Once she had either completed all of the daily rounds or collapsed of exhaustion to the point where even just moving a tendon or a muscle would send an aching pain through her body, she would be carried to the bathroom and bathed. Applebloom would look forward to this, as every time she was washed, the pain would be alleviated for the most part and she would feel rejuvenated. Following that was breakfast, which she also looked forward to, along with lunch, snacks, and supper. While she was not a princess-to-be like Clara May, the voice told her that because of her "family's" new elite status, she now had servants to cook delicious food for her, so like Clara May, she was given well-sized portions of a variety of foods. These were two of the only times where she felt at ease when the brainwashing first began. After breakfast, she would be coached on articulation and dialect. At first, Applebloom made a conscious effort to stick to how she normally spoke, but each time she tried, she would get cut off and talked down to by the voice; after this happened a few times, she begrudgingly complied and studied, in the hopes that whoever was coaching her would cut her some slack, but they never did. Following lunch, she was forced to read aloud books on her family history and look at photo albums. After that first incident, Cheerilee had given up on forcing her eyes to stay open, so instead of being rewarded with blinking, she would be rewarded with a small treat for each chapter read aloud, with proper articulation and dialect earning her another treat each, and for every photo album she looked at. The only time for her to take a break and try to remember who she truly was was during snack time, which would be halfway through this. Finally after dinner, she would be quizzed on who this voice claimed she was. Being the stubborn farm pony, for the first month or so, Applebloom took any and every chance she got to talk back to the voice in her own slang, articulation, and dialect. Unfortunately all of those only added extra rounds to the following morning. What is your name? "How many times do ah have to say it? Mah name is Applebloom!" Aww, Anna Faye, the voice would coo, oozing with condescension. Does the poor, wittle, itty-bitty, silly filly got a case of the grumpy-grumps, Anna Faye? That earns you ten extra rounds tomorrow morning, Anna Faye. She would be drilled for hours on end, sometimes until 2 or even 3 in the morning, in which time she would be placed back into her crib and the cycle would repeat the next day. All the while, Applebloom wondered if anypony had noticed that she was missing. To her it felt like years since she had talked to Applejack, Granny Smith, and Big Mac. By now they had to have more than noticed her disappearance. Surely they were searching for her, right? Right? But as time went on, Applebloom began to have doubts. For all she knew, she could very well be far out of Equestria by now. Maybe that was why nopony could find her. One morning Applebloom awoke at 8 am, as her body was used to, but there was nothing from the intercom. This was unnerving, as it had been her only "companion" for months. At the same time, she was slightly relieved. That voice had beaten on her eardrums so much and it scared her how used to it she was. She didn't know how much time she had, but that didn't matter. Applebloom had to know where she was and what was going on. There was only one problem for her in terms of leaving the room, and that was her crib. The hoof gloves and shoes were restrictive in terms of gripping against the bars of her crib, but she soon decided to use her upper forelegs as makeshift hooks in a way. But there was an even bigger problem: how was she going to be able to get herself high above the bar to begin with? She had to make use of the mattress. Applebloom tried to create force that would launch her high enough for her to reach the bars, but the mattress didn't provide much of a bounce right away. But after a few minutes, she found herself gaining momentum and coming closer to being able to grasp on. Finally with a grunt, she pushed herself forward midair and flung her forelegs over. There was a slight miscalculation, however, and Applebloom ended up landing her torso on the bar rather hard. Despite the restriction of the corsets the past few months, she was not immune to any sort of pain in that area. The cold of the metal bar made it feel as though she had taken several hard and fast snowballs to the area, and it stung immensely. She bit on her tongue to keep herself from crying out before she took a back leg out of the crib and swung herself down with a thunk. Applebloom froze when she collided, her heart jumping into her throat. She dared to not even so much as breathe loudly in case someone had heard her. What if the voice found out and then the pony behind it was going to come into the room? She waited on the ground, fear and the lingering pain of the metal bar paralyzing her. After five minutes, there was no indication of any pony making their way to her room. With a sigh of relief, she then decided it was time for her gloves and shoes to go. She tugged at the ribbons on her gloves with grunts of determination and frustration, but they were tied on tightly. She thought of AJ, Big Mac, Granny Smith and how worried they were about her sudden disappearance. By this point, most ponies would say that she was dead, but the Apple Family was persistent. These thoughts gave the young filly strength, and she pulled out the ribbon on one of her gloves, allowing her to kick it off before quickly moving onto the next, Finally she bucked off the shoes and headed for the door. Not surprisingly, her captor seemed to have underestimated her, as they hadn't locked it. Applebloom theorized that they were certain she wouldn't have escaped, especially while stuck in such a repetitive routine. She pushed open the door and stepped out into a dark hallway. The filly trembled, as the only light in the hall was coming from a small high window nearby, but she was determined to find out where she was, as well as how she could escape if possible. Her hooves echoed against the smooth, polished wood floor, echoing against the walls. It was a strange sensation to be able to move on her own and go wherever she wanted, and yet it felt exhilarating. However her happiness was cut short when she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. Up ahead was a unicorn who seemed to approach Applebloom rather slowly and mechanically. At first she thought that she was shocked because it had been a while since she saw any pony face to face. But as the unicorn got closer, she realized that that wasn't it. The unicorn's fur, if one could call it that, was smoothed down so perfectly that they looked as though they were living porcelain. The mane and tail had barely anything distinguishable as they had no style or color, but when she could make them out, it was the eyes that made Applebloom panic. The pupils were barely pinpricks, devoid of any sense of emotion. The whites of the eyes seemed glazed over, almost as if the pony wasn't all there. Then they opened their mouth. "Why are you out of your room, Anna Fay?" The voice was also devoid of emotion, speaking in perfect monotone. The owner advanced upon the young filly whose blood had frozen the moment the unicorn opened their mouth. Applebloom began to back away as the unicorn asked once more, a bit louder. "Why are you out of your room, Anna Fay?" She tried to figure out a way to get around the unicorn, but she was slowly being cornered against the wall. The shadow of the unicorn loomed over her as they leaned in until their muzzles were practically touching, and asked once more, in a demonic scream. "WHY ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR ROOM, ANNA FAY?" The whole ordeal, especially with all of the repetition the past few months, was too much for Applebloom It seemed as though her mind was cracking. Everything began to split in two and lose form, as she stumbled where she stood. And before Applebloom knew it, she was out cold. > Chapter 12: The Last Bits of Sanity > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheerilee was shocked when she found her captive out cold on the floor. She had gone to pay a visit to Sweet Apple Acres the night before, but due to somewhat-foreseen circumstances, her return was delayed. Nonetheless she had what she needed, all except for the re-educated Applebloom. She put the filly back inside of the crib, and using a crank on one of the legs of the crib, she raised the bar higher to prevent any future escape attempts. However she soon came to the realization that....she didn't need it. When her captive woke up, she decided to ask her some questions to see if whatever caused her to pass out had shocked all of the memories of the past few months out of her mind. "What is your name?" The young filly blinked in dazed confusion. "What is my name?" she parroted, her voice having lost its accent, almost devoid of emotion. This confused Cheerilee, so she decided to ask another. "Who is your family?" "Who is my family?" And another. "Who are your friends?" Surely she would remember Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Cheerilee knew how integral the Cutie Mark Crusaders were to her existence. If she forgot them, Cheerilee knew that her life as Applebloom was gone for good. "Who are my friends?" Cheerilee was stunned. Not only had everything she'd been teaching to her captive left her mind, her whole life before this was wiped clean from her memory. It was a pain to have to reteach her everything she'd worked so hard to teach her these past few months, but on the upside, there was no past life to get in her way. The filly formerly known as Applebloom was a blank slate, and nothing more. Now it was up to Cheerilee to assure that she would be rewritten completely. Unlike the time before, this only took a couple of weeks, as Anna Fay rarely questioned what was told to her, except if it was to clarify something. The filly so readily accepted this rich Southern Belle life, and soon it was time to reveal the "truth." "You're almost ready to meet your new family. However I have something to tell you." Anna Fay listened attentively. "There's a group of ponies who live on the outskirts of Ponyville. When you were a young filly, they kidnapped you and brainwashed you into thinking you were just a lowly farm pony. They forced you to work to exhaustion, laughing at your pain. They didn't care if you broke a bone or had an infection. They made you work regardless. I brought you back and wiped those painful memories, so that they wouldn't distract you from the life you were meant to live." Anna Fay began to boil in anger, as the voice continued to plant the false memories into her mind. "They planned to take you back, make you work for them again. But I've restrained them. And now, dear Anna Fay. It's your chance to make them pay for what they did to you. Are you ready?" "Yes, I am," Anna Fay replied in her new Southern Belle dialect. "I was hoping you'd say that. Your new sister will take you to the basement. You'll have everything you could possibly need to carry out your vengeance." Hooves clopped against the floor outside and the door opened to see a unicorn filly in fancy clothes. "Clara May, please show Anna Fay to the basement." "Of course, mother," she agreed readily. "Come along now, dear sister." Anna Fay followed without question. In the months that Applebloom was being held captive, the filly formerly known as Sweetie Belle began to change even more. Her fur was now becoming a light shade of maroon and her mane and tail were now the color of pink lemonade, styled almost like Cheerilee's. She had even begun to develop a similar gait. And now that she was indoctrinated into the new family, Clara May had been told the gist of Cheerilee's plans. The brainwashing assured that she was now happily on board with bringing Anna Fay into the family, and soon, one more filly. Clara May led Anna Fay down to the basement, using her horn to open the door. Anna Fay stepped downstairs while some pony turned on a light. By the switch was the emotionless unicorn that had shocked her into amnesia not two weeks before. The dark room had been cleaned of any remains from the previous operations. Now there were 3 earth ponies: two of them, a light-green elderly mare and a rather large red stallion, were restrained on operating tables, facing towards the ceiling. They wanted to look up to see who the new visitor was, but their necks had been chained down, forcing them to look at the ceiling day and night. But there was one pony who could see Anna Fay entering the torture room. It was a light-orange pony with a matted blonde mane and tail to match, her cowgirl hat lying on the ground below her. She'd been restrained vertically against her table and had practically jumped when she heard the door open. At first, in a dazed state from lack of substantial nutrition and water, AJ found it difficult to see who this pony was. But in time, the mare managed to focus in on the filly and immediately recognized her from the light-yellow fur, her fear turning to joy. "A-Applebloom!" she exclaimed with a weak smile and worn eyes, only to realize how hoarse her voice was. She cleared her throat and managed to produce a small amount of saliva to wet her throat. "Thank Celestia you're here! Ah don't know what's goin' on, but ye gotta help us get out! I tried askin' Rarity, but she ain't said a word since we were brought here." But instead of helping her down, Anna Fay turned to the ponies restrained looking upwards. Her mind was now whirring as she grabbed a remote. With the click of a button, AJ was wheeled in closer and tilted forward. Yanking her eyelids fully open, Anna Fay placed hooks on her eyes, ensuring that they would stay open so that she could get a good look at what was about to happen. To the filly, it made sense to start with the elderly pony. She didn't seem long for this world. With two stomps of her hooves, 2 robotic ponies made their way over, ready to assist Anna Fay with the endeavor. The stitches in their heads showed that they had once been unicorns, only to have their horns ripped out of their skulls. However this time, it wouldn't be a problem, as these were earth ponies. Anna Fay gestured to the disinfectant and the cotton. Immediately the lightbulbs in their eye sockets blinked and they grabbed what they'd been ordered to grab. Anna Fay, with their help, went through the procedure in spite of their cries of pain and agony. "Sweet Celestia....." Applejack was in disbelief. What was her sister doing to her own family? Why? "Applebloom, snap out of it! Please!" The filly blocked out her cries and soon what was left of the other two ponies were husks and shells of their former selves, ready to be robotized. Another filly, one who looked like a miniature version of a pony that Applejack could swear she recognized, but couldn't name off the top of her head. "I guess the truth isn't always the best solution," the pony who had replaced her sister said sinisterly. "Right, Applejack?" Slowly, the orange pony felt her resolve disappearing; no matter how much she tried to hold on, it was only draining away faster. And then..... She saw them.....now completely robotic. All hope was lost. Every bit of color drained from her and the restraints dropped her. "How many I serve you?" she asked monotonously. Cheerilee peeked from the door in time to see Anna Fay's coat turn a maroon color with a flower cutie mark. Her fate was sealed. Two down, and only one to go...... > Chapter 13: The Lone Crusader > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo paced around the Crusader clubhouse, fraught with anxiety. It'd been about a month since the incident at Carousel Boutique, and Applebloom was nowhere to be found. The policemares had all but dismissed Sweetie Belle's case by that point and if Applebloom wasn't soon found, then her case would be dropped as well. Now she was the only crusader left standing and felt conflicted on her next move. She wanted to go to Sweet Apple Acres, but she knew that it would be too dangerous to go alone. After all, even with Twilight they were still ambushed at the Boutique, and she was afraid to take that chance. "Grrr....we shouldn't have left the clubhouse to begin with!" she sighed. "I feel so stupid!" Then again, Scootaloo had been the one to tell Applebloom to just leave it be. "But where did that get us? Another missing pony!" How many more foals were going to go missing before other ponies began to care? And why had none of their families been in an uproar? She heard nothing from Applejack, Big Mac, or Granny Smith on Applebloom; not a peep from Rarity about Sweetiebelle. It was as if they never even existed. "This isn't fair!" she cried out in frustration before bucking the clubhouse wall. "Something needs to be done!" Yes....something. And that soon solidified her decision. There was no way she would be able to just sit by until another went lost. She had to go looking by herself, consequences be damned. "Cutie Mark Crusaders--er, Crusader--Detective, action go!" she cried out, before cantering down the ramp. By the time she closed in on Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo has used up all of her stamina. Her heart was banging on her chest and her blood was racing. Sweat was invading her face from the hot sun, but she still pushed on to the farm where she was met with a surprise, a horrific one. All of the apple trees were withered or currently withering away. Their produce had all but turned brown or even black. Moving in closer, Scootaloo could see little insects crawling around the apples; what sort of insects they were she didn't know, and she didn't want to know. The leaves were just barely hanging on or had dropped to the ground completely, having given up on trying to survive. The ground around them had turned dry and bitter, giving off the impression that this was some sort of graveyard. To Scootaloo, knowing the Apples, this wasn't just odd; it was alarming. And that made the fact that the rest of the town was doing nothing about it exceptionally terrifying. Had no one bothered to check the place for anything? Clues? DNA? Even a newborn foal could do a better job than anyone else had been! All of a sudden, she felt a drop of water on her before a waterfall doused her. "Hey!" she snapped before looking up at the perpetrator. "Oh, hey Scoots!" Rainbow Dash called out. "You here to help water the place for the Apples?" "What do you mean?" "I was told to water the farm while they were away on a long business trip. Something about an Equestria world tour or whatever." Hearing this, Scootaloo blinked. "Who told you--?" "By the way I was also asked to clean inside, but that's not really my thing, well at least not by myself; can you get it started?" Rolling her eyes, the filly approached the farmhouse when suddenly an overwhelming sense of dread took hold of her. Attempting to push through, she pushed on the door inside. Or rather tapped it. CRASH! The door fell right off of its hinges, hitting the ground. Dust flew around, causing Scootaloo to cough. The sense of dread inside her grew even more, but she had to push on. Heading inside she was greeted by a horrific sight. All of the furniture was either turned over, broken, or both. Glass littered the carpet. Pictures and trinkets had been seemingly flung off of their shelves. Even the lights were shattered. A cry escaped Scootaloo's throat. She found herself rooted to the spot, trembling, as various horrific scenarios spun inside her mind. "You okay, squirt?" Rainbow Dash called. Her heart was practically begging to escape her body and soon a cry of fright escaped her throat. "....No! No, I'm not!" She cantered back over to Rainbow, who was finishing up with the cloud. "You need to see the inside, Rainbow! Please! It's urgent!" Hearing this, Rainbow looked down at her and shrugged. She knew that fillies had overactive imaginations, like she did at their ages, but she also knew never to push them aside. "Okay, sure." Flapping her wings at a leisurely pace, she took her sweet time to flutter down into the doorway's view. "You know, if you wanted us to start the cleaning together, you could've just asked me instead of---SWEET CELESTIA!" The weather pony's eyes were bulging from her skull. "You should've just told me that it'd been turned into a crime scene!" "P-probably," the filly squeaked. "Rainbow Dash? Scootaloo?" The two whirled around to see Twilight heading their way. "I didn't know you both were asked to take care of the farm." It took her a moment to register the fear on their faces. "Is something wrong?" she asked. There was still one question that had been bouncing about Scootaloo's mind for a month, and now she had the question for both Rainbow Dash and Twilight. "Um....Twilight?" she asked meekly, afraid of the answer. "How did you find out that Rarity and her family went on a vacation?" "Miss Cheerilee told me when I visited the schoolhouse to pick up Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." "For how long?" "Umm.....she didn't give me that info." The dread was enveloping Scootaloo as she turned to Rainbow Dash. "And who....asked you to take care of the farm?" "That was also Miss Cheerilee." "And....how long?" "I never got told about any specific time either. Just something like when they feel the time's right." Dots were beginning to connect in Scootaloo's mind. "First Sweetie Belle goes missing," she thought aloud. "Then Miss Cheerilee tells Twilight that her family went on vacation. We get ambushed. Applebloom goes missing. Then Miss Cheerilee tells Rainbow Dash that her family went on some tour or whatever---Oh Celestia...." "What is it, kid?" Rainbow asked. Scootaloo looked between the two. They were likely her only hope. "I need you two to come with me....I need backup..." "Scootaloo, are you saying--?" Twilight began. The filly nodded in determination. "We need to go visit Miss Cheerilee. Now." > Chapter 14: Reflection > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at her place, Cheerilee began to draft plans to finally take Scootaloo, as well as what her new identity would be. She knew that the orange pegasus was the strongest-willed out of them all, with Applebloom following in a close second. The only problem was that her parents, Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood, were constantly on the move with their careers. Her aunts' whereabouts were also unknown, so having her torture and murder any of her family wasn't an option. She knew that the pegasus idolized Rainbow Dash, but if she were to go missing, ponies would find out something was up, as Rainbow Dash wouldn't just up-and-abandon those she cared about. Deciding to take a break, Cheerilee looked over at that picture with the blue filly with white and silver locks, her wings no bigger than a newborn bird's. She'd always been the target of ridicule in the class, leaving her an outcast. Her being without any living family hadn't helped either. Nonetheless she always tried her best in school and rarely caused trouble for Cheerilee. This made her want to help the poor pegasus, but by the time she ended up getting everything ready, it was too late. At that moment, an idea struck her. Perhaps she didn't have to brainwash Scootaloo after all, at least not unwillingly. Perhaps all it would take was a little deal. Perhaps all it would take was to play to what the orange pegasus wanted most of all. All she would need was a special drug, some dye, and colored contacts.