Apple Bloom swallowed hard as she stood outside the Everfree Forest. She could feel thousands of eyes burning into her from all different sorts of creatures, rabbits and manticore and timberwolves alike.
But she didn't feel the watchful gaze from them.
It had been an entire year since that terrifying night when she followed Twilight Sparkle into the Everfree Forest.
It had been an entire year since she saw the gray coated earth pony that led her to a peaceful town in the middle of the forest.
It had been an entire year since she learned the truth and fled for her life.
And now, in her eleventh year, she decided to go back to the nightmare; to figure out the truth.
She had been haunted by memories and dreams of the place, ponies screaming in agony as they were transformed into those horrid creatures, or the sickening thud of a ponybeing beaten within an inch of its life and then burned alive.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force those thoughts out of her head.
Swallowing hard again, she reluctantly put one hoof in front of the other and slowly entered the sinister forest.
-
As Apple Bloom neared Zecora's hut, she kept her eyes peeled for her special friend; the gray earth pony named Ruby.
She longed to have somepony she trusted by her side, somepony to make her feel safe in the place that shook her to her core.
But here she was alone, all except the sounds of the forest echoing through the trees.
"Z-Zecora..? Are ya home?" Apple Bloom whispered at the door.
Inside, nothing moved, so Apple Bloom raised her voice a little.
"Z-Zecora?".
Still nothing.
She must be out getting herbs. Apple Bloom thought to herself.
Without Zeccora to guide her safely through the forest, Apple Bloom was frozen in her spot; unwilling to even head back down the path that led to Ponyville.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw an orange tail disappear behind some trees.
"Ruby!" Apple Bloom shouted and suddenly gave chase, leaving her fears behind.
When she turned the corner, she saw nothing.
"Hey, Ruby! It's me, Apple Bloom! Remember me?" the little filly called out, her face wide in a huge smile as she waited for Ruby to show herself.
"You should not have returned..." a sinister voice whispered from behind her, sending chills up along Apple Bloom's spine.
"P-Please d-d-don't hurt me..." she whimpered, unwilling to turn around and face the horrible monster she knew was there.
"Don't worry, Apple Bloom, Mitta wont hurt you." a softer voice spoke, and Apple Bloom recognized it as Ruby's.
Spinning on her hind hooves, she turned to face her old friend and reeled back in shock at what she saw: Mitta had once been a gray mare with a dark red mane. But now, her beautiful mane was torn and ragged; hanging limply over her skeletal face. Her coat no longer showed gray, in fact she had little coat at all! What little of her coat that did show was dark black, mere patches that covered her bare skeleton and dripped with ooze and rotten flesh.
As Apple Bloom backed away, Mitta turned her red eyes to the ground in shame and Ruby trotted forward.
"Don't be afraid, Apple Bloom; Mitta isn't like those other ponies. She was my friend, and still is." Ruby reassured her.
"Why have you returned?" Mitta asked darkly, not holding any resentment but her current state forcing it through her voice.
"Ah...Ah came back tah learn the truth about what happened tah everypony in Sunny Town..." Apple Bloom admitted nervously.
Ruby and Mitta shared a worried look, although it was harder to read on the skeleton's face.
"Apple Bloom..." Ruby started, turning her head to the filly. "There are some things in this world that aren't meant to be learned...".
"But ah've had nightmares every night since then! Whenever we're harvestin' the apples ah think ah see one of them hidin' in the bushes or the trees. Please, Ruby, ah have tah know!" Apple Bloom begged.
Apple Bloom..." Mitta said calmly. "The truth is an unspeakable horror that the living must never repeat. You will never know peace from our nightmare, even if you do learn the truth."
Apple Bloom glared at the cursed pony and stomped her hoof down. "An' why should ah listen tah you? You're one of them!" she shouted.
Mitta's eyes sparked and swirled in anger. "I did NOT kill her that night! I am only in this form only because I did nothing to stop it! You will watch who you raise your voice to and accuse, little filly!" Mitta boomed as her coat grew darker, her voice catching a raspy edge.
"Mitta..." Ruby squeaked, her eyes laden with tears.
As she heard her friend's sadness, Mitta collapsed to the ground and covered her snout with her hooves. "Not again, not again, not again..." she whispered to herself, horrified.
Apple Bloom had backed herself up against a tree the moment Mitta's rage erupted.
"Apple Bloom..." Ruby whispered as she approached the scared filly, her eyes darting over to her ashamed friend. "The truth is more painful than what we all must live through. Promise me you will not go into Sunny Town or try and find out what happened. Just go home, and never come back here." Ruby begged.