//------------------------------// // Just in time for the party! // Story: Battle of the Blanks // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// Apple Bloom had just made into the clearing of this rather sunny like town. She found it strange the clouds overhead were gone and that it wasn’t night yet. Also to add to that oddity was the fact that she had never heard of this town before. What was its name? “Come to think about it, does anypony from Ponyville know about this place?” Strange or not it seemed pretty friendly and it looked like they were getting ready for a party. She could see some balloons attached the fence line and a few tables in a clearing that looked like they had some plates and cups along with typical party food. She could see a couple of ponies walking about in the small town. In front of her were three earth ponies, an older stallion, a younger stallion, and a young mare. The older stallion was busy arranging plates, and cups in a fashionable order. He had a regular grey coat and black mane and “Wait a minute…he has no cutie mark?” This confused Apple Bloom as she had never seen an adult without a cutie mark. “Now ah wonder why he doesn’t have a cutie mark? Ah guess he hasn’t found his special talent.” Apple Bloom quickly let her thought go as the she noticed the older stallion was waving at her with a friendly smile. She walked over to where he was next to the party table. As she walked over, she noticed that there was a rather nice cake and what looked like punch bowl that was rather dark red. It looked very different, but she had no doubt that it would be delicious. “Now ah hope that is Apple punch, because it looks so very different.” She then turned her attention to the grey stallion, which still had a very welcoming smile on his face. He then spoke up with a rather pleasant voice, “Why hello there little filly and welcome to Sunny Town!” “Thank you! But just who are you anyway?” He just slightly chuckled at her question, as if it was a little bit silly and then replied, “My name is Grey Hoof at your service, celebration planner extraordinaire!” “Nice to meet you! Mah name is Apple Bloom.” “Pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Bloom.” They then exchanged a quick hoof shake, and then Grey Hoof continued to speak. It appeared that he was in a very cheerful mood, maybe the party for some a special somepony or a birthday maybe? “Your just in time, the party just started. Please help yourself to food and drinks.” “Thank you Mr. Grey Hoof.” “Please young filly, you don’t need to call me mister. Grey Hoof or Grey will do fine, but thank you for being respectful. I’m sure we’ll become good friends later.” “This Grey Hoof feller seems very nice. Still, ah wonder what the hay this party is about?” “Umm, excuse me Mister ah mean Grey Hoof, but what is the party for?” “We’ll Miss Bloom, we have this party every year around this time. It’s really quite fun, and don’t be shy around the other ponies! We all like meeting new faces.” “Oh okay. Wait, is this your Nightmare Night party? Ah don’t see any costumes?” Apple bloom was trying to see if there were any fillies or colts that had costumes but everything she saw indicated that it was just a regular party. “Nightmare Night? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean Miss Bloom.” Replied Grey Hoof, who now had a confused look on his face. This confused Apple Bloom a little bit more, “How can he not have heard about Nightmare Night?” “You’ve never heard of Nightmare Night? Why it is one of mah favorite holidays! You get to wear costumes, have cake, play scary pranks, and you get to have candy!” said Apple Bloom, who had thoughts of candy and cake dangling around her head, that is if anypony could see it. Grey Hoof’s confused expression then changed to one of curiosity. He then simply asked Apple Bloom, “Really? Please tell me more about it..” Apple Bloom was more than happy to explain to Grey Hoof about Nightmare Night, for she just loved parties. Her face then lit up with excitement when she then said, “Okay, Ah’ll try and give you a short explanation of it.” For a couple of minutes, she had given him a rather descriptive explanation of Nightmare Night. Well, it was actually more than a few minutes, but like all young ones they easily lost track of time when something was on their mind. She told him about the beginnings of Nightmare Night, how Nightmare Moon was real and that she returned to Equestria in Ponyville two years ago, and how the Elements of Harmony defeated her. Grey Hoof merely just raised his right eyebrow as she went on and on about Nightmare Night. She then continued explaining about how Princess Luna returned to Ponyville, how she was scary at first but then was friendly, and made the party fun last year. After the boring part was over she then talked about the really good stuff, the candy and Moon Cake At this point she was practically jumping up and down in excitement of the upcoming holiday going off into tangent ramblings, just like she had done earlier with Twilight Sparkle. “And then ah’m going to get cake…” “Miss Bloom..” “and then get mah friend Sctootaloo to play a prank on..” “Miss Bloom! I believe that will do for now.” Interrupted Grey Hoof, while holding his right Hoof over Apple Bloom to make her stop jumping up and down. Snapping out of her rant mode, and ceasing jumping like a little filly, Apple Bloom then looked at his face. He had a rather amused look, and it appeared like he was on the verge of laughing. Apple Bloom then got a slight look of embarrassment on her face and the said, “Ah’m sorry about that Grey Hoof. Ah just love parties! Now Ah get to partake in two them!” “Oh don’t worry Miss Bloom! It’s perfectly fine to be excited about parties, as I am a celebration planner extraordinaire after all. You’ve given me quite a lot of new ideas that I can use for later, but for now I think you should just have some snacks, make some new friends, and have fun.” Apple Bloom was just too excited at the prospect of having two parties to have caught the hidden tone Grey Hoof made. Now that she thought about it, she was getting rather hungry. Apple Jack certainly wouldn’t approve of her having cake for dinner, for the main reason was “Ya’ll spoil yer dinner Sugarcube!”. But…then again she wasn’t here, therefore was not the boss of her at the moment. She then beamed a smile and simply said, “Thanks Grey Hoof! But could you please call me Apple Bloom?” “Of course Apple Bloom! Please talk to the other ponies and have some fun!” “Thanks! Ah just hope Twilight doesn’t mind, she is probably still over there messing with those trees…ah darn ah forgot about her.” Apple Bloom’s face then immediately went to a frown, with her ears lowering as well as her head, and started to turn around before she felt a hoof stop her. “Hold on a minute Apple Bloom, what is the matter? Don’t you want to have fun with us?” Apple Bloom turned around with disappointment still clear on her face. She raised her head to look Grey Hoof in the eyes. It was quite clear he did not want her to leave, as well as she didn’t want to leave. Apple Bloom merely spoke with sadness apparently in her voice, “Oh ah really do want to have fun with you Grey Hoof, but mah friend Twilight Sparkle was taking me home. We stopped because there were some trees in the way and ah saw a pony head this way and wanted to say hello. Ah didn’t find her at all though.” This caught Grey Hoof’s attention alright as Apple Bloom noticed his eyes widen. She couldn’t tell if it was because he was surprised, excited, or shocked, but she hoped either way she didn’t give him bad news. After all, Apple Bloom didn’t like to ruin nopony’s party. His eyes returned to normal but his eye brow was once again raised. “Tell me Apple Bloom, what this pony looked like.” “Oh, well she had a Gray Coat, and yellow tail and mane. Her eyes were a bright yellow too, ain’t that weird?” Grey Hoof was silent for a few seconds and then his facial expression went back to the one he was wearing when she first saw him. He then smiled, chuckled, and said, “My Apple Bloom! Your mind was probably just playing tricks on you. We don’t have any mares here that fit that description. But in any case, we really would like you to join our party. Now you said you a had a friend nearby?” “Phew! Glad he is okay, for a minute ah thought ah said something bad.” Apple Bloom, now noticing that everything seemed fine now innocently replied, “Yeah! Mah friend Twilight Sparkle is on the pathway not too far from here. Ah hope she is okay, but ah stay can’t because she has to take me home. Ah really wish ah could stay though.” Grey Hoof then simply responded to her as if it wasn’t a problem at all, “Oh don’t worry! I’ll send somepony over to get her and bring her here, that way both of you can stay and she’ll know that you’re safe and being protected.” “Really?! Oh thank you Grey Hoof! Ah’m sure she’ll be glad to know ah am fine!” “No problem, now go run along Apple Bloom! The party has just started.” He then smiled and did that toy sound they usually do on the show (you know the one I’m talking about). Apple Bloom smiled as well and had an imaginary halo hang above her head. She then started to hum the tune (you guys know which one I’m talking about) she heard Fluttershy sing one time with her bird friends. And then she turned around to meet some more of the ponies that lived in Sunny Town. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Grey Hoof was particularly excited about this year’s party considering the news Crimson Tail and Blood Clop had told him about a strange, but very new arrival of creature in Everfree forest caught his interest and a bit of concern. Apparently, this thing called a human, which Blood Clop was very descriptive of, rode some strange carriage made of metal that was very fast. “That would be very useful in finding new friends for sure. I sure hope he will be a good friend for Sunny Town.” Then he remembered the bad news that Blood Clop told him concerning Necro Hoof and his family. The human killed all of them, and then apparently had used a strange weapon that Blood Clop was nervous about. Blood Clop also warned him about his very aggressive behavior and unpredictability. Although he was concerned about the Human, he thought he would be a good new friend with a little “aggressive assertion” as Blood Clop called it. “A real shame it is to lose friends permanently, but hopefully it will work out. Blood Clop was our first friend outside of Sunny Town and he has never let us down I’m sure it will all work out.” That wasn’t even the half of it though, as there was more good news. To make it even better was the fact that this human had an Alicorn with him! If they could get both an Alicorn and a strange being known as a human, finding friends would be even better! The parties would be much more livelier each year. “An Alicorn, and a Human. One that is very rare, and the other an impossibility. What great friends they could be!” Blood Clop had also told him about how the Alicorn was supposedly a princess, and that it was imperative to get the Alicorn first. Grey Hoof didn’t think the Alicorn was a Princess, as it was most likely trick to gain the human’s help. As rare and magically powerful as they may be, he just didn’t think she was that important compared to the human. That was until another surprise showed up unexpectedly, and in front of him no less. That surprise came in the form of an earth pony filly that walked right into Sunny Town and what bright young one she looked like. Sunny Town hasn’t had a filly or a colt in years, with the exception of Necro Hoof’s colt. Now the opportunity to gain a new young friend just presented itself, too bad Necro Hoof’s son was gone. He would have a had a chance to make very close fillyfriend indeed. The little filly, who called herself Apple Bloom, was very much into parties and quite excited at the sight of Sunny Town. She even told him about the holiday Nightmare Night as well as other events beyond Sunny Town. Then it hit him about how important the situation had become. The Princess that Apple Bloom described matched the description of the Alicorn Blood Clop had seen. It was without a doubt the same Alicorn that both spoke of. If she were to get away, with the humans help, then the whole fate of Sunny Town would be in jeopardy. They could return and try to get rid of everypony, and everything he fought hard to protect. So he gave Blood Clop permission to pursue the both of them using any means necessary. “Don’t worry Grey Hoof, the party won’t be ruined. You have enough Blood Hooves to keep Sunny Town safe.” Apple Bloom had told him that another companion of hers was nearby, a unicorn that she described as one of the Elements of Harmony. If he could get her, then a significant threat would be eliminated. He would sent another Blood Hoof to get her and bring her here. Tonight was going to be very good indeed. Though he was a bit worried about taking on an Unicorn, as everypony in Sunny Town had always been an earth pony. Nopony in the town had ever used or needed magic, nor were any of them pegasi. Sunny Town was always simple, but now it was about to change, albeit for the better. The town would have more friends of both different aspects and personalities. They would change for the better of course but they would be unique none the less. He was particularly pleased at Blood Clop’s judgment to send Crimson Tail back to warn them of the situation that had arisen during their pursuit of Ruby. Crimson Tail and Blood Clop went off with a few more Blood Hooves to find the Human and Alicorn earlier. It was they who broke the trees to prevent them from leaving Everfree Forest’s main pathway. Turned out this was good move, as another valuable piece of information just walked straight into Sunny Town, eager to sing like a bird to him. This gave him a little bit more confidence in the Blood Hooves ability to keep Sunny Town safe. He shuttered for second while he was setting the table up. “Ruby…every year you always try to ruin it. How right I was to rid the town you and your cursed mark.” He had sent the blood hooves to find her and the past two nights weren’t able to get her. He knew she was up to something, no doubt to try and get revenge and break up the party. Her spirit always tried to do it every year and they always were able to put her back in the fireplace. This year however was very different. Ever since she got that mark, he knew it was a curse. He remembered how everything was fine until she got the mark. Nopony had ever gotten a mark before, and quite frankly they never needed one. Sunny Town always had what it needed and nopony ever left the town. They always had food, fun, and friends and everything was perfect. He remembered the good times before Ruby ruined everything. “Those times are gone but I can always help make everything good for everypony.” The mark on her flank…it was bad news the first time he saw it. It happened on what was supposed to be his best party ever. He put so much effort to make sure everything was perfect; the food, the music, and companionship. He remembered that she had tried to help Roneo find something, and when she found it she got the mark. A Mark…the curse that had plagued the Town so many generations prior to him being nothing more than foal. His Great-grandfather had told him that the Plague happened when he was just a young colt. The ones afflicted by the strange pox kept performing things against their will that nopony had ever seen before. About half the town was afflicted and the decision was made by his Great-Great-Grandfather, to banish those that had the pox. The town just could not survive if people were being forced to do strange things. A sad thing it was really, as the town was forced to see friends and loved ones away, but it had to be done. He would never forget the pain in his Great Grandfather’s eye when he told him the horrible tale of the past. His GGF (well just abbreviate) never told him who had left the town, but only that is was very sad and unbearable. It was because of that, Grey Hoof new he had to try to keep the town together as best as he could. He loved it here, what this spot in the forest had to offer, and the people he could proudly call his friends. Never would he let the past repeat itself, never would he let the town fall, and never would a party be ruined on his watch. He just loved to plan them and what a good thing it was. He then remembered what he had to do in order to keep the town together. It was about one hundred years ago… 100 years earlier “The mark! She has the mark!” Grey Hoof had just got done setting up the balloons near the entrance fence, when he heard Three Leaf shout out with all of her lungs. “Please! I didn’t do anything wrong!” “Don’t let her spread it! Grey Hoof! Help us!” Grey Hoof then let go the set of balloons he had in his teeth and they floated gently way. He ran with all of his might towards the town square and everpony was there. He could see Roneo, Starlet, Three Leaf, Gladstone and Mitta were all surrounding Ruby. Ruby looked like she was on the verge of crying and didn’t they say something about a.. “A mark! She has a mark!” H was shocked as all the memories of what his GGF told him came rushing into his head. The pain, horror, and most importantly the town’s life was at stake! There were barely a few left in Sunny Town and if this went unchecked they would all be cursed with this pox! “I have to stop this, I have to get rid of her, and I can’t the town die!” “Ruby! You have the mark! You are hereby banished from Sunny Town! You have been warned now LEAVE!” shout Grey Hoof. “But why!? I only wanted to help Roneo!” “You wanted to help me by cursing us! What is wrong with you marked one!” rebuked Roneo. “Yeah! You want to drive this town apart!?” Starlet spoke up. “You will tear us apart! Get out just like Grey Hoof said!” spoke up Gladstone after looking at her mark. “Bu.bu..but I just wanted to make everypony happy! I saw that you were…I….mom! Help me!” replied a very scared Ruby who was starting to tear up with fear. Her mother Mitta did nothing but just stand there for about ten seconds before lowering her head. She didn’t know what to say to save her daughter, for she had the mark. They all knew what the mark meant as they all heard the horror story of the past. Then Mitta spoke up slightly and said, “Do…does she have to go? I mean what if we just live a little bit away from town and somepony can drop her some food every now and then……and…” “Are you crazy?! It will just spread! Grey Hoof, help us out here!” yelled Gladstone. Grey Hoof then stepped up to look at Ruby. She had a strange mark that looked like a magnifying glass. It looked harmless enough but that is what his GGF told him it started out like. It would only be a matter of time before it got worse and then all buck would break loose. “You have to go Ruby, I cannot allow you to curse the rest of all of us. Go now or we will make you!” Ruby was now just flat out frightened, she was shaking and flat crying. She then started to look at her mother as if saying “please help me”. But Mitta did nothing, but just stand and stare at the ground. She then spoke up one more time, “Maybe we can send for help….I mean..it doesn’t have to be this way…Sunny Town is our home. We…you..all of you are our friends…I mean…please..” “Grey Hoof! We can’t let her spread it! We need to end this now!” shouted Gladstone again. “She needs to go. It is the only way. She will ruin it for everypony!” shouted Roneo. Grey Hoof knew that this was a very bad situation but the future of the town was at stake and it was time to end it here and now. After thinking it over for what seemed like an eternity he made his choice that would forever change Sunny Town. “Everypony! Get Ruby and stop her! Don’t let her ruin the party!” shouted Grey Hoof as her looked into Ruby’s eyes. The look on her face was just flat out sad, and horrible. It looked a lot like sad Apple Bloom face but with only more fear, the type of dying like fear. She was on the ground trembling in fear, and then all the ponies started shouting with the exception of Mitta. “Clop her!” “Break her!” “Rip her” “Burn the mark!” Then all of a sudden Ruby made a run for it. She got up on all fours and bolted for her house not too far away from Three Leaf’s. All of them including Mitta were in pursuit of Ruby, trying their best to catch her. Roneo, who was the fastest, was getting closer and closer on her tail, but Ruby just kept going. Eventually Ruby made it to her house and locked the door as she bolted inside. Roneo was banging on the door as hard as he could when he got there. Unable to get it open, Gladstone joined in on banging the door down. The door however was just too tough, and they both gave up. They even tried to get in through the windows, but the windows were just too thin for a pony to fit through. After giving that up, they were them trying to convince her to come out but it was only a fruitless attempt. Grey Hoof was pacing back and forth wondering what to do next. “I don’t want to do this but she has given us no choice. She won’t leave and I won’t let this town fall apart. Now how do we get in….” Then it hit him all of a sudden, Mitta was here. “Mitta…do you have a key?” asked Grey Hoof. Then everypony just stopped and looked at her. Mitta could feel their gaze piercing thought her soul. After they stared at her forever, she just broke down and gave them her spare key. Mitta didn’t want Ruby to die, but she didn’t want the town to be cursed as well. “Please don’t hurt her. We’ll just send her away right?” As much as Grey Hoof didn’t want to do this he just couldn’t allow her to go, not anymore. Even if Sunny Town were to be spared, other villages would be at risk. That was something he didn’t want to wished upon anypony. He then lied to her, while portraying himself to be utmost sincere, “Yes Mitta...it will all be okay.” And believing the liar that Grey Hoof was, Mitta pulled her key out (from where I have no clue but hey its MLP right?) and gave it to Grey Hoof with her hoof. The then took the key and used it to open the door. All of the ponies then rushed inside to find Ruby cowering in a corner. “NO! PLEASE DON’T! I JUST WANTED TO HELP!” “You’re just going to ruin everything. Sorry Ruby, but your mark ends here! Clop her everypony!” Then it all happened so fast, everypony’s hoof was crushing Ruby. Blow after blow, she just kept screaming and shouting, “STOP! STOP! AHHHHH!” Grey Hoof himself even took part in it, getting a few blows in there as well. Mitta just stayed in the corner and watched in disbelief, shock, and fear in her eyes at what was happening to her daughter. These were her friends and they were doing this to her flesh and blood, but they had a good reason. Ruby was cursed and it would ruin everypony if it wasn’t stopped. But still… Then Ruby wasn’t moving anymore, except her eyes. With her last breath, she looked at Grey Hoof. He was still for what seemed like an eternity. They were about to murder a friend, and he was starting to have second thoughts. Not too long ago we he was pondering about asking her to dance but… “You can’t let her ruin it. You know what needs to be done.” And with that in his head, he responded by raising his left front hoof and struck her head with one last clop. There was a sickening crunch, most likely due to a skull fracture and then Ruby stopped breathing. The room was silent for a good three minutes before Gladstone spoke up, “We need to get burn the body or else the disease could still spread.” “Okay…everypony get some firewood and matches. Put her in the fire place.” “You..you said you wouldn’t hurt her! My little filly, my Ruby!” said Mitta who was still in shock. Grey Hoof then backhoofed her with his right front hoof and then said, “You knew we couldn’t let her go Mitta. I’m sorry but it had to be done! She just couldn’t ruin the party!” “Bbbut…my ..Ruby…WHY!?!” Mitta then just broke down crying while Three Leaf brought in some firewood, presumably from outside. Gladstone and Roneo then brought Ruby into the fireplace, while Starlet pulled out some matches. Three Leaf then tossed in the fire wood and Starlet started the fire. All of them just watched as Ruby’s body began to slowly burn away. When the fire was done, everypony including Mitta just stared at Grey Hoof. He then collected himself and then spoke, “Mitta I’m sorry, but that had to be done. I’m sure she will be waiting for you in the afterlife. Blame the mark and its evilness, we are your friends after all.” “But…I…okay…what do we do now Grey Hoof?” Everypony was still looking at him, wanting to know what to do next now that they had lost their friend. The then took a deep breath and exhaled before he spoke as calmly as he could, “We will do what we always do…lets go have our party like we planned..” Then they all nodded their heads and walked away from the burning corpse in the fire place and made their way outside. Then something weird and scary started to happen, the house suddenly became dark and was being covered in over growth. It started to spread like wild fire and all of them were scarred. They immediately ran towards the rest of the town, but Grey Hoof fell behind and was covered in the darkness. The sensation was at first very painful, it felt like his soul was being sucked out as well. Then he started to hear a voice, “Do not worry this is a blessing. You can still make the party a good one. And I can help you get more friends too. All you have to do is accept this gift and Sunny Town will never fall apart. Never will you have to worry about the marks and you can help other ponies with marks as well.” At first Grey Hoof was scarred but then the offer of having more friends, and the chance to protect ponies and Sunny Town was just too good to pass up. He had to have to ability to protect the others. He then gave into the voice, and started to feel very different. His eyes were red, his flesh started to rot and some of his bones became exposed. And it all felt very…nice. “Wait!” shouted Grey Hoof as if the voice could hear him, “How will I convince the others? They will run when they see me.” “You have the ability to change your form as needed, but when you don’t, you will revert back. Also, you will have to rest for most of the years to come, in order to maintain your new form. Only when it is time to rise again, you will have four days to enjoy your party until it is over. That is the cycle and it shall be so. To make new friends…I will demonstrate for you.” Grey Hoof then changed back to his old form and began to walk towards the rest of Sunny Town away from Ruby’s house. It felt as if he was and wasn’t controlling himself, he couldn’t quite describe it, but he was willing to do whatever it took to protect them. Eventually he made it back to the party tables that had worked on before setting the balloons up. Everpony was gathered around the snack table just looking at each other until they saw Grey Hoof approach. He had just this big smile on his face, as if he was so excited about today despite the terrible incident earlier. “Grey Hoof, what happened? Are you okay?” asked Three Leaf. “My friend everything is okay! Now come over here everypony we got a party to start!” “Grey Hoof, I don’t think this is a good time. I mean…did we do the right thing back there?” asked Mitta. “Of course we did! Like I told you Mitta, we can’t let the party be ruined!” “Grey Hoof is right Mitta, nopony wanted to do that but we had to.” Spoke Gladstone, who was Grey Hoof’s best friend. “I..uh..okay..I’ll just miss her that is all.” Said Mitta who was still on the verge of breaking down. “Now now…don’t worry everypony. I have just found a way to protect all of us from the bad things out there, including the mark.” They all had their heads up wondering what he meant. Mitta who was still sad about her daughter, went up to Grey Hoof. She was wondering if this could prevent others from suffering the same fate as Ruby. She hoped Grey Hoof had the answer to this terrible situation and was willing to hear him out. “What is this that you have found? Is it a cure?” asked Mitta. Grey Hoof’s smile just grew even bigger and he closed his eyes as it grew too. “Yes… it is…now everypony just come over here.” They all got a little closer to Grey Hoof, and the voice popped back up, “No you need to be able to reach them, closer…” “A little bit closer my friends.” Said Grey Hoof who still had is big smile. They all got even closer and it was good enough. Then the voice spoke again “Very good, now this is how you do it. All will be okay.” It then all made since for Grey Hoof, how clear it was. They were all looking right at him eager to know what he was about to do. He then spoke up with his eyes still closed and said, “Now don’t worry my ponies! I will be able to protect you. Now….” Grey Hoof suddenly opened his eyes and they were the same bright Crimson Red as they were earlier. He then spoke in an unnatural voice, one that was loud and terrifying. “ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!” It all happened fast, they were very scarred at first but then everything was okay. Never would they have to worry about the bad things in the world. The party that night was very fun for all of them. Present Equestrian time.. Grey Hoof then snapped out of his old memories and then observed Apple Bloom as she started to make her way towards Starlet. He could hear her hum this tune that he never heard before. It was very happy and nice. He then gave off an evil smile and then a thought pooped into his head, “Oh what a good friend you’ll be with us Apple Bloom. We’ll protect you forever!” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apple Bloom was making her way over the mare pony she saw earlier. She was currently sitting on the ground with all four of her legs. She had a white coat with a rather bright orange mane, but there was something wrong. Apple bloom noticed that she seemed rather sad. “Now ah wonder what is wrong with her?” She then walked up to the sad Mare on the ground and introduced herself. “Hi there, Ah’m Apple Bloom! What’s your name?” “Oh, hello there little filly, my name is Starlet. I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” “Oh ah just got here and ah’m excited that there is a party here, but you don’t seem so happy. What is wrong?” “What? Oh, it’s just that umm…he hasn’t said a word to me all night.” Starlet just sighed and lowered her head. “Who? Do you mean that pony over there?” Apple Bloom then pointed at the other stallion, who was standing in front of what looked like his house nearby, with her right front hoof. He was currently looking away from them as if he were either embarrassed or nervous to make eye contact. Apple Bloom then turned her attention to Starlet as she spoke up. “Yes, that’s him, but I don’t know why he won’t talk to me.” “Now ah wonder why too. Is he your friend?” “Well…yes but umm…I kinda have umm..” Apple Blooms eyes slightly widened a little bit at what she thought she was hinting at. It was becoming more obvious to her that Starlet has a crush on this pony. “Let me guess, he’s your special somepony?” “Well…technically no but…I would like him to be, but I wonder why he just doesn’t come over here and talk with me.” Then an idea popped into Apple Bloom’s head, “Maybe ah can help her get her special somepony! They’d be together and ah might get mah cutie mark!” “Well maybe ah can find out why. Ah’ll help you Starlet!” “Really?!” Um…thank you! I just hope that he isn’t mad at me. Thank you Apple Bloom.” “No problem! Ah only want to help” Apple Bloom made her way over to where the stallion was. He looked to be around the same age as Starlet, having an orange coat and blue mane. As Apple Bloom got close enough she also noted that he seemed rather down just like Starlet was. “Now ah wonder what is wrong with him?” “Hi there mister! Mah name is Apple Bloom!” He then looked at her with a frown still on his face and spoke to her with a down in the dumps voice, “Hello Apple Bloom, my name is Roneo. What brings you here?” “Ah just arrived here in Sunny Town and Ah’m excited about the party but what’s wrong? Are You okay?” “Oh nothing..” Apple Bloom just merely did her sad puppy eye routine and Roneo just couldn’t bear to see her look all sad, even though it was just a ruse. “Fine I’ll tell you Apple Bloom. See that Pony over there?” “You mean Starlet? She was wanting you to talk to her.” “Really?!” Replied Roneo who felt a little bit of hope at Apple Blooms revelation. Well…you see I was going to give her special gift tonight but I lost it!” “Hmmm ah wonder what his gift could be?” “It was so pretty and red too. If you see it let me know.” “Ummm okay. Ah’ll talk to you later Roneo!” “See you later.” Replied Roneo who still was down in the dumps. “Hmmm, he couldn’t have lost it that far from here. Ah guess Ah’ll better go look.” Apple Bloom then made her way further into Sunny Town towards the center. There were a couple of more houses nearby in that turned right into what looked like “U” shape pattern along the pathway. As she was walking, she notice a mare pony working in what looked like a garden, and what a wonderful garden it looked like. She saw all sort of fruits and vegetables in a nice orderly fashion, and a small flower bed nearby by. Wanting to say hi to new earth pony, whose coat was green with a mossy green mane and tail, she made her way over to where she was. While Apple bloom did her best to make sure she didn’t clop on the garden that this pony worked hard on, she noticed something on the ground. It was bright red, shiny, and it was the size of her hoof. It looked like a.. “A gem! It’s all pretty and red….maybe this is what Roneo lost?” Apple Bloom then picked it up with her teeth and then put it into her empty saddle bag. She then noticed that the green earth pony was making her way over towards her. As the mare got closer, she noticed that the pony didn’t have a cutie mark. “Another pony with no cutie mark? Ah would think she would have some sort of mark about plants, since she appears to be good at gardening.” “Hello there! My name is Three Leaf and welcome to Sunny Town!” “Hi, mah name’s Apple Bloom.” “Nice to meet you Apple Bloom, what brings you to Sunny Town?” Not wanting to admit that she had wandered off when she wasn’t supposed to, she just decided not to tell the whole truth. “Oh, just taking a little detour.” Technically it wasn’t a lie, she was after all taking detour. “Well, I’m glad that you did, your just in time for the party!” “May ah ask whose party this is for?” “Oh this is just a regular celebration that Grey Hoof puts on every time this year. It’s quite wonderful, and did you see the punch bowl by any chance?” Apple Bloom then remembered the bowl from earlier that had the rather dark red punch. “Yeah ah did. What is it?” “It’s a SPECIAL punch, I made it myself. You should try it! I think you’ll be surprised at the taste it has.” Apple Bloom really was just too innocent to catch the hidden meaning Three Leaf was throwing out. “Ah’m not really thirsty but she did go through all the trouble of making it. Ah guess Ah’ll try it later.” “Umm okay.” “Great! I hope you’ll like it! Now if you will excuse me Apple Bloom, I need to finish up here. See you later!” “You too Three Leaf!” “Well this party sure is something to these ponies. Ah still wonder why they don’t have a cutie mark.” Apple Bloom then turned around to head back towards Roneo. She hoped that the gem she found was his gift. If it was his gift, then she would help two ponies become each other’s special pony. “Ah hope ah get mah cutie mark for this! I wonder if it will be a heart or a cupid’s bow & arrow.” She then started to trot a little bit faster, as she wanted to get her cutie mark and see two ponies become special for one another. As she got closer, she notice Roneo turn his head towards her and his eye lit with surprise. “He is probably wondering why Ah’m running. Oh he’ll find out alright.” “Roneo! Roneo! Ah think Ah found your gift!” “Really!? We’ll what did you find?” his face lit up with anticipation. “Is this it?” She then pulled out of her saddle bag using her right hoof, a nice crimson red ruby that was nice well cut and hoofed it to Roneo. He then looked at it with his left hoof and his face lit up with happiness washing all of his worries away “You found it! Thank you! Thank you so much!” All of a sudden he bolted past Apple Bloom, running towards Starlet with the red gem in his mouth. Then Apple Bloom noticed something about Roneo and Starlet. “Huh? Why do none of them have their cutie marks? What is with this town?” As soon as he got to Starlet, she stood up in anticipation of what he was about to say to her. “Starlet! I have something for you.” Apple Bloom watched in excitement as he ran towards Starlet, and wondered what would happen next. She watched the scene unfold in front of her just as she had with Big Mac and Miss Cheerilee. She only hoped that this one would be better than the previous event. Starlet then noticed Roneo present her the Ruby gem, and took it with her left front hoof. Her eyes lit up with love and happiness and then got really close to Roneo. Her eyes were literally filled with cartoon like hearts if anypony could see them. “Oh Roneo, thank you!” “Sorry for not talking to you earlier, but I wanted to give this to you to show how much I care for you.” “Your love is more than enough of a gift.” Then both Roneo and Starlet started put each other’s muzzle closer and closer, and… “Okay, ah think ah should give them some space now.” Apple Bloom then started to walk away and then forgot to check to see if she earned her cutie mark. “And mah cutie mark is….nothing.” Apple Bloom then gave a sigh of disappointment, and continued to walk further into Sunny Town. She was about to pass Roneo’s house when she heard something. There was a noise coming from inside his house, and it got louder and louder as came closer. It sounded like somepony was crying, and Apple bloom wanted to know why. Apple Bloom saw that Roneo’s door was open and she decided to walk in. She hoped that Roneo wouldn’t mind, but she had to make sure everything is okay. As she walked in she noticed that it was rather dark. There were no candles lit and all the windows were covered. She then saw a pony on the ground crying. The mare on the ground had a grey coat and red mane, which was a mess. “Umm excuse me..” “It’s not right…not right.” “Are you okay? What’s not right?” The pony just kept crying on the ground ignoring Apple Bloom and continued, “It’s the same thing, again…and again…and again.” “Ah think Ah should leave her alone.” Then all of sudden, Apple Bloom felt a hoof on her shoulder. It was Grey Hoof and he didn’t seem particularly happy. He gently guided her out of the house and closed the door as they both left. This confused Apple Bloom for second and then she decided to ask, but Grey Hoof spoke first, “Sorry you had to see that, I had hoped she wouldn’t be disturbed.” “Why? What’s wrong with her and what’s her name?” “Her name is Mitta and she just isn’t feeling well. I had hoped she would feel better when the party had started but I guess she won’t be joining us.” Apple Bloom then put her sad face on and continued, “Awww..Ah hope she feels better. Ah don’t like it when somepony is sad.” “Neither do it I, but hey, cheer up the party is still going on. I saw that you got Roneo to talk to Starlet. That was very nice of you Apple Bloom.” He replied with a smile on his face. Apple Bloom then immediately put her happy face on and replied, “Oh thank you! Ah was just trying to help, and Ah’m glad they are each other’s special somepony.” “Apple Bloom, I think you’re going to fit in nicely with us here. I can tell the party is going to be great!” “Why thank you Grey Hoof but ah can’t stay forever you know, and by the way where is mah friend Twilight Sparkle?” asked apple Bloom who was starting to wonder about her. “Oh don’t worry Apple Bloom, I sent somepony to go get her. They should be here any minute now, so go ahead and continue to mingle. Just be sure to give Mitta some space though.” “Oh okay!” Apple Bloom the continued to head back towards the town center to explore some more. Then all of a sudden, a though popped into her head. “Something seems odd about these ponies but what? Wait, Ah’ve noticed that everypony Ah’ve met had no cutie mark, but….hmmmm.” She then noticed a new pony came out of a house across from her. It was a stallion she had never met before and he was walking towards her. He seemed to be around the same age as Roneo, but maybe a bit older with a brown coat and orange mane. As he was about to pass her, she then decided to introduce herself. Grey Hoof after all did say to mingle. “Hi there Mister! Ah’m Apple Bloom!” ‘Oh hello there young filly, my name is Gladstone nice to meet you. Don’t think we’ve met before.” “Nope Ah just got here, but Ah got a question if you don’t mind.” “Sure, go ahead.” “How come ya’ll don’t have cutie marks?” He then produced what looked like slight confused look on his face or was it an annoyed look? Apple Bloom couldn’t tell either way, but Gladstone’s response was even more confusing. “Cutie whats? Sorry little filly. I have no idea what you are talking about.” Now the conversation just became awkward and Apple Bloom became more uncomfortable and embarrassed at asking such a question. “Maybe it’s embarrassing for him? Ah hope ah didn’t make him mad at me.” Apple Bloom’s face then became a little red and she gave him the best innocent look she could give in hopes that Gladstone wouldn’t be cross with her. “Oh well, never mind then. Ah’ll think Ah’ll just be on my way then.” Apple Bloom then simply walked away, looking out of the corner of her eye she noticed that he was still looking at he with that same facial expression. He then turned around to make his way over to where she assumed the food was. Apple bloom then became lost in her thoughts, but inadvertently spoke them out, “Now that’s just strange. Ah hope ah didn’t offend him and what’s even more strange ah didn’t know that ponies were living in Everfree Forest, let alone a whole town.” “You’re not the first visitor to say that.” This startled Apple Bloom a little bit but then she relaxed as she saw that the pony in question was Three Leaf. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You see Apple Bloom, we have everything we ever need here, so we rarely, if ever leave town.” Three Leaf just simply smiled and Apple Bloom then decided to ask about Gladstone. “Umm Three Leaf, was that feller mad at me?” “You mean Gladstone? Nah, he’s just a little cranky sometime, but he’s a really nice guy when you get to know him. I’m gonna try to dance with him at the party. He always says no and I don’t know why, but I’m gonna drag him into it anyway!” Three Leaf giggled as if she was young filly again, and then asked Apple Bloom, “We’ll now are you going to come join us?” “Ah was just exploring around seeing if there were any other ponies.” “We’ll I think you’ve met everypony Apple Bloom. Tried that punch yet?” “No not yet, Ah’m still waiting for mah friend Twilight Sparkle to get here. Grey Hoof said he sent someponies to get her. Ah hope she is okay.” “Oh don’t worry Apple Bloom, our other friends we’ll be here soon and so will yours too. Now why don’t we make our way over to the party table…” Then out of the corner of her eye, Apple Bloom spotted the same pony that she saw earlier before coming to Sunny Town. She was a bit farther away, but she was looking at her, as if she wanted her to follow. Apple bloom wanted to meet the strange pony first before joining the other. Coming up with a fib, okay a lie, she then spoke to Three Leaf, “Umm Three Leaf, is there an outhouse nearby.” Apple Bloom then gave off a fake “I gotta go dance” and a fake embarrassed look. Three Leaf then responded with slight chuckle, “It’s okay Apple Bloom, nothing to be embarrassed about there is one just done the pathway over there.” Three Leaf then pointed towards the direction where the strange pony had been and noticed she was gone. The outhouse that Three Leaf pointed at was just beside the exit of Sunny Town. “Oh okay thank you Three Leaf.” “No Problem! Now hurry up, everypony’s going to want to have fun with you!” “Uhh okay, see you in a minute!” Apple Bloom then turned towards the “Outhouse” and when she was a few hoofs away, she turned her head around to see if Three Leaf was still looking at her. Three Leaf was trotting towards the direction of the party tables and she heard her shout, “Hey Gladstone wait up! You still owe me a dance!” “Ughh! Give it a rest will you!” yelled Gladstone. Apple Bloom then turned her head towards where the pony was and then picked up the pace to find her. As she made it past the exit of Sunny Town she notice the pathway lead to somewhere. Just then, she caught a glimpse of what looked like a pony’s tail. More specifically her pony tail, “Wait!” shouted Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom then picked up the pace and eventually the pathway led to a house. The house was old, growth covered, and had holes in it. “Now Ah wonder if she lives here. This house sure could use some work. With the right tools and some wood ah could probably..” Snapping out of her house renovating ideas, Apple Bloom then decided to knock to see if anypony was home. KNOCK KNOCK! NO REPSONSE KNOCK KNOCK! NO RESPONSE “Maybe nopony lives here. Still ah wonder what’s inside.” She tried to turn the knob with her right hoof and the door was clearly locked. “Darn it! The door is locked!” Apple Bloom really just wanted to meet the strange pony from earlier, but if she could just check this house than maybe she would find her. “Now Ah wonder if there is a key somewhere around here.” Apple Bloom then looked around the house and was actually able to see something on the ground. “A key! Now Ah hope this is the right one.” The key was very rusty and she wasn’t sure if it would work or if would break, but hay what did she have to lose? Picking up the key with her right hoof, she walked back to the door and used the key. Sure enough, she heard a click indicating that the door was unlocked. She gently pushed the door open and, CRRREEEAAAAKKK! The door made a very loud sound that was not only awful, but creepy as well. However, apple Bloom would soon realize that a creaky door would be anything but creepy compared to what she was about to discover. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “AGH! Stupid trees! Why does every tree have to fall down when we are going home!” asked Twilight Sparkle to nopony in particular. She was running pretty late and right now she just wanted to go back to the library and relax while reading a nice book. “I think I’ll read Starswhirl the Bearded’s book on Astronomy again. That is just one of my favorites.” Still what seemed like a simple errand, seemed to become more annoying, tiring, and really creepy now that she thought of it. She really needed to get home and make sure Spike wasn’t going to eat all the Ice Cream like he did that one time or stay up late and ruin his sleep schedule. She also hoped Apple Jack wouldn’t be upset with her bringing Apple Bloom home late. “Speaking of which, she hasn’t said anything since we got to this mess. I hope she is alright.” “Don’t worry Apple Bloom, you’ll be home soon enough.” Said Twilight while tossing another tree enveloped in her purple unicorn magic. NO RESPONSE “Apple Bloom are you okay?” NO RESPONSE “Look Apple Bloom, I’m sorry I told you to be quiet but I needed to concent-“ Twilight Sparkle didn’t even get to finish her sentence as turned around to see that Apple bloom wasn’t there. Instead, there was something else ahead in front of her and the sight shocked her greatly. There were two ponies, if you could call them that. Their flesh was rotten, bones were exposed and they had these strange, yet terrifying crimson red eyes. They were about 20 hoofs away and they were just staring at her, and staring and staring. Still in shock of what the sight was in front of her. They looked like..like.. “By Celestia! It can’t be! They’re just a made up Mare’s Tale, they can’t be real!” “Yes..” said the one on the right that was a stallion, or once was,” we are Blood Hooves, and no your eyes do not deceive you. My name is Slick Jaw but I prefer to be called Smoker, and this is Fester Mane.” “You look lost and lonely.” Said the one on the right in a very creepy voice just like the other one. “Why don’t you come with us? We’ll be your friend.” “And we can protect you even though you have the mark.” “Whhaa…what are you talking about?” Twilight Sparkle still had a looked of shock and fear on her face, and she was scarred out of her bucking mind. Out of all the things her friends had face together, this clearly was the worst and she didn’t have any of them to back her up. “Your mark..it is dangerous..” “Don’t worry we can get rid of it for you….” “And everything will be okay.” “No! It’s just like the tales! They want to eat me! Wait, where is Apple Bloom?!” Twilight then shouted at the Blood Hooves in front of her, “WHERE IS APPLE BLOOM? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?!” Both of them just laughed in a raspy voice and the one on the right tried to reply, but his tongue fell out due to a part of his jaw missing. Now she found out why he was called that. A sick gurgling sound was made and then his tongue retracted back. It was the grossest thing Twilight Sparkle had ever seen and she was close to vomiting, but quickly held strong. The Blood Hoof that had his tongue fall just chuckled and said, “Pardon me Miss, but I was tongue tied. It must be your wonderful beauty.” Now Twilight Sparkle was really struggling not to vomit, for it was bad enough that Apple Bloom was missing, but even worse to be hit on by a zombie! “Now as for your question, your little filly friend is with us at Sunny Town, just a half mile from here.” Spoke Slick jaw pointing the direction with his right hoof. Then the other Blood Hoof, known as Fester Mane, simply backhoofed Slick Jaw. “Fool! Do not tell her anything important until she has been converted!” “Don’t tell me what to do Fester Mane! I saw her first and I will be the one to convert her.” “No you won’t I’ve been wait for this chance for years. I will do it!” “No I will!” Slick Jaw hoofed back. “No me will!” hoofed back Fester Mane. Slick Jaw’s tongue once again fell back down and it quickly retracted back up just as fast and just as gross. While the two Blood Hooves were going back and forth, Twilight took the opportunity to quietly escape. She felt bad about not having Apple Bloom with her but at least she knew a general starting point of where she could be. She would need to warn Princess Celestia about this evil monstrosity and get the Elements of Harmony to bring these vile creatures down. Twilight Sparkle then noticed that there was a clearing with the same track like marks she noticed earlier in the ground. It looked like something just pushed them out of the way, and in a big hurry too. She looked back at the two Blood Hooves, and noticed that they weren’t looking at her. As quietly as she could, she tip hoofed towards the strange pathway that she had failed to notice earlier. She was able to make it further into pathway, more than tripling the distance the Blood Hooves were just a few seconds ago. “As long as I can keep quiet, they won’t notice me and then I can escape. I’m sorry Apple Bloom, but I’ll come back for you, I won’t let you down, I-“ SNAP! While Twilight sparkle was deep in her thoughts she failed to notice the twig in front of her, and it made a loud noise. This was more than enough to get the attention of Fester Mane and Slick Jaw. “She is trying to get away!” “Get her!” Then Twilight Sparkle immediately began running as fast as she could. He heart was pumping her mind was in overdrive and she was sweating intensely. “BUCK BUCK BUCK!!!! Celestia! Help!” Twilight Sparkle knew the blood hooves were still following her and she had no intention of becoming that “Smoker’s” mare friend. Just the thought his tongue made her run faster. And with that last thought she continued to run down the strange pathway hoping that it would lead to safety. “Ugh! Be your “friend” like buck that is going to happen!” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh noes! Apple Bloom what have you gotten yourself into?! Run Twilight! Run from the Smoker! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as I took me longer to finish it due to trying to get the villains' just right, and give them a bit of a personality. The two at the end are just some OC blood hooves I made up at the last minute. I really do hope I got Apple Bloom's character right. I also used Template93's scrapbook at DeviantArt for a lot of reference, and I suggest you guys check it out when you get the chance. Anyway, let me know what you guys think and leave reviews! The more my ego is boosted the more chapters you get...well your gonna get them anyway, in any case let me know what you think! I hope ya'll like this so far! Work on Chapter 8 has also been started too!