Blood Clop was extremely furious at what had transpired. The damn human not only threw his offer of friendship away, but he had managed to put to rest four of his good friends. He knew they would be missed, but that wasn't the half of it. The human had personally injured Crimson Tail, and she was currently crippled. Both her front hooves and her left back hoof were missing, removed by his deadly weapon.
He was surprised that she survived at all, he didn't know if the human had crippled her on purpose for humiliation, or if it was an accident. Considering his actions towards his friends, he went with the former. He almost met the same fate as them too if it were not his quick reaction to seek cover. He didn't even have time to warn his friends of what the human was going to do.
It was happened all too fast, and he regretted that he couldn't do much to prevent it. He looked the human straight in the eyes, so to speak. It was quite a distance when he spotted him, but with the best he could see, he saw a dangerous opponent that he had underestimated. The human had a different weapon than the orange clawed one from earlier.
The weapon he had was longer, with some sort of orange wood, and what looked like scope on it, but it was quite a far distance away so he wasn't sure. In fact, he was quite surprised he even saw him at all.
If he had not been in the opening, he probably could have…
"No. I don't even want to think about it. I'm just glad that Crimson Tail and I are still here, I will miss the others, though."
Blood Clop and the remaining blood hooves were currently walking back to where Crimson Tail had fallen. On the way, his friends brought back the blood hoof known by the name as Blood Shot, who had his head completely removed by that damn human. What pony could have known he was capable of killing from that far away? Before he befriended Sunny Town, he remembered seeing archers hitting across pretty far, but that distance was unreal.
Blood Clop still couldn't figure out how his weapon worked, or how many more he had.
"What is that thing called, and how many of them does he have? Is it some sort of magic? If not, a bow that somehow shoots fire that doesn't burn, but dismembers? None of this makes any sense."
Blood Clop then turned his head to see how the others were holding up. One of them, Plague Chomp, was holding Blood Shot's remains his back, while Dead Coat walked solemnly with his head down. He didn't blame them, none of them felt this terrible since before they all became friends. They all wanted to be at the party, having fun, drinking punch, and dancing. Instead they were carrying their friend back.
"This isn't what was supposed to happen, we were supposed to get new friends, and have fun, but…"
His thought was interrupted when he saw Crimson Tail on the ground up ahead. She was trying to prop herself up in sitting position but kept falling down at every attempt. After giving it one more try, she fell back down again. She lowered her head to the ground and it looked like she was about to well…
"No…nopony of Sunny Town has ever cried, and not the one that I care for…"
Then all of a sudden she started to weep rather quietly, as a few black tears started to appear just beneath her eyes. Blood Clop then walked over to his friends and spoke to them.
"I need to go to her my friends."
"We know Blood Clop, give her our best wishes." Spoke Plague Chomp.
"Yeah, she doesn't deserve this." Added Dead Coat.
"None of us do my friends, but we will have to deal with it. Now I'm going to ask that you leave-"
"We know Blood Clop. Blood Shot would have wanted to help, even in death. I…we will miss him." replied Plague Chomp.
"Yeah…thanks my friends." Spoke Blood Clop in a soft manner.
And with that cue, Plague Chomp gently lowered himself to let Blood Shot's body lay on the ground. They both then nodded to Blood Clop and ran ahead back towards the main pathway to help with the cleanup of their other fallen friends. When both of them were out of sight, Blood Clop slowly made his way over to Crimson Tail, who was crying with increasing intensity. The sight made his good heart ache, which was something he had never experienced in his 99 years of being with Sunny Town.
He could see a now continuous stream of black tears coming from her beautiful crimson eyes. Well, they all had the same color but they were especially beautiful when it came to hers. He wasn't quite sure what to do or to say to make her feel better.
"I got to do something, but what? I guess I'll just have to do my best to comfort her."
"Hey, Crimson Tail…"
*sniff* "Y-yes Blood Clop?"
"How are you holding up?"
"Not s-so *sniff* good. My hooves are gone and I can't get up."
"I can fix that problem for you. Blood Shot is…"
"What?! You m-mean *sniff*?"
"Yes, Crimson Tail…he's gone, but he would have wanted to help out anypony. So I can give you his hooves, it will be a bit different from yours but at least you'll be able to move still."
"Thank you Blood Clop, though I think dancing will be a bit hard for me until I get used to the new hooves."
"Hey, as long as were still here together, all is not lost."
"Y-yes…together."
Both of them just stared at each other for a good few minutes before Blood Clop wiped Crimson Tail's tears away with his left front hoof. Blood Clop then went over to remove Blood Shot's hooves. Using his impressive teeth, he removed them with a sickening crunch that only non-blood hoof would find revolting.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
"Sorry my friend, but she needs this. We will bury you with respect soon enough."
Having to use his former friend's parts was bad enough, but it was terrible that they weren't able to find his head. He wasn't sure if there was even a head left now that he thought about it. Not wasting any more time he made his way back over to Crimson Tail and began the process of attaching and mending the new hooves to her. First he attached the hooves and began using the power of Sunny Town's 'friendship'. The new flesh started to attach itself to the hooves, and when it was done, Crimson Tail had a new hoof.
He repeated this process two more times until it was completely over. She now had new hooves although it would take a bit getting used to. She got up on all fours clumsily, but got up none the less. She moved her legs around a bit and it looked like she was getting used to them pretty fast. The best part however was that she had ceased crying and her expression was now replaced with…anger.
"Why Blood Clop?" she asked
"Why what Crimson Tail?" he replied.
"Why would they refuse our offer of friendship? All we wanted was to protect them and this is what they do to us?" asked a confused Crimson Tail.
"It confuses me too, but we knew it was a risk. I just didn't know how erratic the human would be. I mean…we trapped him!"
"But he still got away, and with her too…"
Blood Clop saw the disappointment on her face. She really wanted to make a new friend, as there weren't many mares in Sunny Town due to the past. He remembered when Grey Hoof told him about the plague when he stumbled upon Sunny Town so long ago. It scared him greatly at what happened, at what the price was to avoid it, but in the end it wasn't bad at all. It was actually the best thing that could ever happen to him, aside from her…
"As good as a plan it was, there was no way we could have known he was capable of putting up that much resistance on his own, nor was his 'carriage' capable of driving through the woods."
"It wasn't just him that put up a fight. The Alicorn got rid of…"
"Scab Flank? I know, I thought she was weaker, but the human must have assisted her somehow. She looked very weak when I first saw her and the human together. By the way how did you get on his carriage?"
"Well…a mare has to have her own secrets…" she responded as sly as she could.
"Crimson…"
"Oh okay, there was a broken tree on an incline, so I ran ahead while he was swerving, and jumped on the right moment. Holding on to it was hard, but there were these strange wired things on the front that I held onto. And I saw her Blood Clop…I tried to convince her to leave the human, but…"
She paused for a second taking a deep breath before continuing in anger. Blood Clop didn't blame her in the least for it.
"b-but she said NO! I'm mean really, the nerve of her to choose some strange two legged freak over somepony that can easily relate to her. I mean really! She called me Evil! I swear if I get a hold her, I will give her good pair of eyes so she can see how evil her 'human' companion is…he…he said…"
"It's okay Crimson Tail you can tell me what he said."
"I got a feeling that my displeasure towards thus 'Hu-man' is going to increase three fold."
She spoke softly, "He called me a...bitch."
That shocked Blood Clop a lot, this 'Hu-man' (he still couldn't get used to that silly word) had called the mare that he considered his special somepony a bitch. What cruel word to call somepony, as even in his old life as well as his new one, that such swear words were virtually unheard of. Nopony would ever speak of such a thing, but here was this human, out from who knows where, hurling insults and harming his friends.
"Now I'm really going to make you suffer before you are brought before Grey Hoof. I hope I can convince him to let Three Leaf make you into punch."
Then Blood Clop realized that he shouldn't think such things. As angering as the human was, they were still about friendship and fun, it was the Sunny Towner way after all. The human would get taught a lesson, given a new body, and they would all be friends, that's it! And when he would get to know the human, he wondered if he would teach him how his strange weapons worked, and his carriage for that matter.
Snapping back to reality as he noticed that Crimson Tail was waiting for a response, he simply took a breath and said,
"It would appear that this human is rather crude and rude, but…you are anything but that word Crimson Tail. Do not believe it at all. Truth be told I think he is rather scared that is all and the Alicorn too."
"Really? I mean… I know I was scared but I never hurt anypony when we met."
"I know, but it seems that there must be a cultural thing with humans that we may not know about. Plus we've only met one, and I doubt no other pony has ever met one. In any event, you are not what he called you at all."
"Thank you Blood Clop, it's just this whole night isn't what we planned at all."
"Yes, I know my dear, I honestly think Ruby had something to do with this, but I can't think of how."
"Ruby!" spat Crimson Tail. "She always…"
"I know, and we will find her too. But for now, the party must go on, and not all is lost.
"How so?"
"Well, I believe you might have had something do with this one, the human's carriage is partially in the water and it appears to be useless. The fool drove it off a hill and into the river, as he must have not seen what was ahead due to you being on top of it."
"Really?! So I didn't lose my hooves in vain?"
Blood Clop didn't like to lie but she really needed her morale boosted. She had worked very hard and had learned a lot from him. Plus, he still wanted to be her coltfriend that was important too.
"Yes, the human was too distracted to see in front of him that he didn't see the steep decline. His carriage is useless now and they are effectively stuck. Plus, I noticed that the Alicorn was unconscious, so I assume that she won't put up much of a resistance now. Which means…"
Crimson Tail squealed evilly in at the news. She really wanted to make a new friend and her chance to make one was not gone yet. She then spoke up,
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go-"
"Hold on Crimson Tail, they are on the other side of the river. We can't just cross it remember?"
In fact she did remember, their bodies for some reason, would slowly fall apart if they went into the water. It just plain wasn't good for their new forms, from what Grey Hoof told them. While they never attempted to cross it to see if it was true, they weren't going to anytime soon.
"Well, what are we going to do then?"
"We will simply find a way across, as I happen to know one actually."
"Really? Well tell me then." She spoke with barely contained anxiousness.
"There is a bridge with on the other side. It's quite a long trot, but I know where it is. We can cross it and continue to search for them. Considering that it he doesn't have his carriage nor the help of the Alicorn, he will be slow, outnumbered, and surrounded."
"Well, let's go now!"
"No Crimson Tail, we need to take our fallen friends back and get more to help us. I don't want to take any chances this time. I'm mean, I almost lost you..."
Blood Clop then paused as he realized the meaning of his statement towards her. Her eyes lit up and she slowly walk towards him and spoke softly,
"Blood Clop…do you mean what I think you mean?"
Thinking for three seconds, he then decided to go double or nothing. He looked straight into her eyes and said,
"Yes, Crimson Tail. I… I love…you. Will you be my special somepony?"
At first, he was afraid she would say no but in an instant he felt something. It was her kissing him! He could feel his 'good' heart beat as fast as it could, not that it needed to beat, but that was beside the point. He closed his eyes and returned the same gesture. After another few more seconds, they broke away, and she simply responded,
"Let's go make some new friend's." while turning around towards Sunny Town. He just continued to watch her in shock. She stopped, looked at him, and responded,
"Well, are you coming or not? By the way don't forget Blood Shot, he deserves a proper burial."
Blood Clop snapped out of his love stricken trance and went to pick up what was left of Blood Shot. His anger that he felt earlier was now going away slowly, and the fact that he now won the affection of Crimson Tail made him feel much better. With his ego boosted and his opponent weakened, he was sure that despite the rough start, tonight was going to be a good night. His human rival certainly had proven himself to be much more resilient and dangerous.
"Perhaps we are more alike than it would seem, though, I'm pretty sure I have a better chance with the mares than you. Good luck with the Alicorn human. I still don't think you have a chance."
Blood Clop then trotted quickly to catch up with his new Marefriend towards Sunny Town.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple Bloom was running as fast as she could back towards Sunny Town. Her heart was racing full of shock and fear from the sight she saw. All she wanted to do was to say hello to the pony from earlier, but instead she saw a dead body that lit up with fire. At this point, having fun at a party was now out of the question.
"Ah hope they understand that Ah just want to go home now. Ah can't have fun now, not after seeing that!"
She couldn't help but wonder why it was all of a sudden dark. It was almost as if, upon seeing the body, the happiness in the area just disappeared, and became dark. None of this helped Apple Bloom at all, as she ran further towards Sunny Town. She could see the opening back entrance, and she got closer and closer, but there was something wrong…very wrong.
The town was no longer sunny like, the houses were collapsed with over growth covering them, and there was nopony to be seen. Worse was the fact that it was night, but there was no moon that could be seen.
"W-what…what happened? Maybe they decided to get ready for Nightmare Night while Ah walked away."
She slowly walked further into what was suddenly a much creepier version of Sunny Town. She kept looking back and forth for any sign that there was a friendly pony nearby. Then she heard a voice, one that was creepy, cold, and scary.
"There was no other way…it had to be done."
Apple Bloom then turned her head towards where the voice was coming from. It was coming from an opening in a house to her left. She couldn't quite see what was inside the hole, so she did her best to focus. She saw two red things, but then they started to move. It was…
"AHHHHH! Wh-What are you?!" screamed Apple Bloom while stepping back.
It was a pony of some sort, only its coat was black and grey, some of its bones were showing, and it had very creepy red eyes, which is what she saw earlier. It was very scary, but there was something familiar about it… it sounded like…
"Grey Hoof?! Wh-whats going on and what is wrong with you?" asked Apple Bloom who was still in shock.
"Yes, Apple Bloom it is me and it's okay, there is nothing wrong with me for I am protected."
"Protected?! You look like a zombie! And why was there a pony's Skeleton back there?"
"She had the plague of the mark! She would have spread it to all of us!"
Apple Bloom immediately knew what he was talking about. He was talking about the Cutie Pox, the very same ailment that she had unwittingly gave herself a year ago. Did some Pony get it? And if so, they killed her for it?!
"You k-killed a pony just because she had the cutie pox? That's wrong!" replied Apple Bloom who was in shock at that revelation.
"If he killed her for it, then he could do the same to me!"
"It was the only way. It had to be done. Long ago the town suffered the plague, and many were forced to leave. I couldn't let the same thing happen to Sunny Town, as it had happened before. But don't worry, Apple Bloom, we will protect you from all of the bad things out there. We always will protect new friends, we do it every year. We have all that you will ever need."
"Oh no! He wants me to be like him?! Wait what does he mean by we?"
Grey Hoof continued to speak, as evil sounding as ever.
"The party is still going on, come join us! Please don't ruin it like she tried to. She was going to spoil the party, the one that I spent so much effort on. Trust me Apple Bloom, you will want to stay." he replied while slowly walking out of the ruined house.
This did not help her out at all, and the fact that he admitted he killed a pony made it worse. She just kept backing up as he got closer. She got a very much closer look at him and his muzzle was extremely gross, his teeth rotten, and he smelled really bad.
"Ah've got to get out of here!"
Apple Bloom then turned and began to run away from Grey Hoof. He just stared at her while she ran away. Apple Bloom made it to where Three Leaf had last talked to her and then she heard something move in the ground up ahead. The grass and dirt started to move and something was starting to come out of the ground!
RRRRGGGGHHH!
That was the voice she heard as it appeared that another pony, like Grey Hoof, came out of the ground. It looked very much like Three Leaf only she had the same red eyes as Grey Hoof as well as the same coat.
"No don't tell me it's..."
Apple Bloom suspicions were confirmed as the undead mare spoke.
"The curse had befallen upon her this very night. She was given the mark!"
"Y-you mean that pony ah found?"
"Yes, young Bloom, but don't worry…you must join us! The punch is wonderful!"
"NOOO! Get away from me!"
Apple Bloom continued to run away from the now scary Three Leaf. She then turned another corner and started to see bits and pieces of a house next to her on the ground. It looked like a side of the house came down, and rolled onto the ground in front of her. The main pathway was currently blocked by what appeared to be a big rock.
There wasn't a way around it unfortunately, as the brush from the edge of the town had grown around the surrounding area with thick thorns.
"How the hay did this grow so fast? And why didn't Ah see any of this when ah got here?"
Not wasting any more time, Apple Bloom then started to push the boulder has hard and as fast as she could. She could feel her coat getting wet from her own sweat, as she continued to push the rock.
"Come on just a little bit more…"
Then a new voice was heard from behind her, and she turned to see who or what it was. In the distance near the edge of the forest, was another creepy looking Pony. This time it was a stallion like Grey Hoof only his shape was different. She had no idea who this one was until he spoke with the same raspy like voice as the others. Despite having a raspy voice, she recognized who it was as he spoke to her. It was Gladstone, the one who looked mad at her earlier.
"Pleeaasse…stay with us. We will never let the same happen to you."
"Stay away!" shouted Apple Bloom.
Gladstone had other plans however and began to make his way over to her. Apple Bloom immediately began to push the boulder, faster and harder than ever. The rock was really heavy, but Apple Bloom continued to press as Gladstone got closer and closer.
"No no no no! Come on! Move dang it!"
When it looked like he was about to reach her, a small opening appeared and she squeezed as fast as she could. She felt the thorns tear into her, causing tiny but sharp scratches over her. Her mane bow was caught in the torn brush and she struggled to yank free. She heard a rip and could feel part of it coming undone. With no time to fix it, she just continued to bolt forward away from the thorns and more importantly, Gladstone.
She ran out into an opening and she could hear something else. It was the sound of hooves, but with a slight squishiness to it. It was another pony and it was coming at her fast. She still had some hoofing ahead of it and ran was fast as she could. She could feel her heart beat very fast, blood running through her body, and her lungs were burning from breathing. Never had she ever had to expend so much energy in her life.
She was still ahead of the undead pony, but it was getting closer and closer. This served to only make her keep her pace up.
"Ah need to find a way out of here, or else Ah might…"
Then she heard something, and turned her head around to take a quick look. It was the pony that ran after her earlier, but he had tripped on a rock. It spoke up and she knew who the undead pony in question was now.
"Raghhh! I can't believe this happened! I never trip!" spoke the one she knew as Roneo.
This Apple Bloom a little bit more confidence in escaping from this place.
"No! What am Ah thinking? Ah've got to be strong! But…"
She then noticed that Roneo was starting to get back up, albeit slowly. Not wanting to wait until he did get back up she continued to run further on ahead. She was currently running past his house and then all of a sudden something moved in front of her. It was a hoof, and it was trying to reach her! She jumped to the side in order to dodge the hoof, and rolled while somehow managing to get back onto her hooves.
"Ah guess Rainbow Dash did teach me something useful after all."
Apple Bloom then bolted away from the house and continued to run forward to where she thought was entrance to Sunny Town. She didn't even bother looking to see who it was, as none of these ponies were her real friends at all. The darkness didn't make anything easier to see where see was going but she could see the party tables nearby. They still had the food and drinks on them for some odd reason and she could the punch that Three Leaf was so insistent upon her drinking.
As she ran by it she noticed something in the bowl, and what she saw would scar her for life.
"A hoof, bones, and blood?! What is wrong with these ponies!? They even eat and drink like zombies!"
She kept running and running until she saw the town entrance.
"The town entrance! Ah'm coming Twi!"
Then she heard two different voices. She turned around and saw what she believed was Roneo and Starlet. Just like all of the others, they were all zombies. Then both of them spoke to her, with their voices all creepy just like the others.
"Please don't go." Spoke Starlet.
"All we want is friendship." Said Roneo.
"We don't want you to leave. Your nice to us." Spoke Starlet.
"You helped us become each other's special somepony, we like you. The other's won't like it if you leave." Said Roneo with a very creepy tone.
Apple Bloom was in fear, and didn't know what to do. She just slowly backed up as Roneo advanced towards her.
"B-but…"
"Don't worry; you'll never suffer like the marked ones do. We will protect you…Forever!"
Then Roneo made a quick lunge for her, shouting with a very scary and gurgle scream.
RRRGGGGHH!
Apple Bloom merely pulled the same maneuver that she pulled when one of them had attempted to grab her by the door. Roneo, who either didn't expect her to move or simply just tripped, made contact with the ground, and a sickening crack sound, was heard.
CRACK!
Apple Bloom immediately backed away, from him and watched in shock and horror as he got back up. His head was completely turned upside down, but somehow he was still alive, as if any of these ponies could somehow be alive. What she saw next would even scare her more, as if she couldn't have been more scared in her life.
His head began to turn back to its upright position and a series of cracks were heard.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
His head was now back to where it was and he simply laughed and said,
"OOPS! Silly me, that happens sometimes."
"S-stay away!" shouted Apple Bloom.
She then turned back again towards the entrance, and began to run. Just when she thought she was in the clear, another zombie pony appeared from the ground, much in the same manner Three Leaf appeared.
"Oh no! Not another one of them zombie fellers!"
This one however surprised her, as it was the one known as Mitta. After coming out of the ground, she made her way over to Apple Bloom who could do nothing but hope to find another way around. Then Mitta spoke to her in a different tone, however still creepy.
"Fools, even in death they do not understand. I should have protected her, but I made my choice."
"What? You m-mean the pony that Ah saw earlier?"
"Yes, she was my daughter, Ruby was her name. No doubt that you must have seen her wandering around. I will always miss her." Replied Mitta who then walked past Apple Bloom.
She was currently acting as a barrier between her and the rest of the Sunny Town zombies. More of the others started to appear with Roneo and Starlet. They were currently watching her, as if waiting for something to happen.
"This is our everlasting punishment, which we rightfully deserve." Continued Mitta who had a look of increasing anger on her face towards the rest of the Sunny Town zombies.
"Mitta, what are you doing?" spoke Three Leaf.
"Yes, get her and give her the gift!" said Gladstone who was really close to Three Leaf.
"You fools! This is not a gift! Open your eyes! We are the cursed ones! We brought this on ourselves and especially you Grey Hoof! You are murderers, all of you!" shouted Mitta with her undead face getting more angrier by the second.
Grey Hoof then appeared from behind the rest of them. Roneo and Starlet parted way to let him through. Apple Bloom could see the look of anger on his face, and he glared his red eyes towards Mitta.
"Mitta, what are you doing Mitta? You're starting to ruin the part-"
"The party is over Grey Hoof! I will not let this continue on any further. It's over!"
"NOOOO!" shouted Grey Hoof with a very evil tone. "It will never be over, and there will be no party busters. Apple Bloom, don't listen to her, stay with us. You'll have fun, friends, and you'll never have to worry about marks again for the rest of eternity!"
"No! You hurt her daughter over a cutie mark! Ah'm gonna go home!" shouted Apple Bloom.
Grey Hoof then just looked at her, as if nopony had ever said no to him. Then Mitta turned her head towards Apple Bloom and spoke to her,
"They won't let you leave, and will send the Blood Hooves after you, for the curse of Sunny Town will not let the original inhabitants leave. They were trying to curse you and make into a Blood Hoof."
Apple Bloom then gave her look of fear.
"B-Blood H-h-hooves?"
"Yes, Apple Bloom they are real and they're many of them. Grey Hoof already sent some after your friend. As far as I can tell, they didn't get her, but you need to get out of Everfree Forest, for that is how far they can go, nowhere else. Do you understand?"
Apple Bloom just nodded as she looked Mitta, who despite her appearance, felt safe with her like a daughter with a mother.
"I may have made the mistake of not helping Ruby long ago, but at least I can help you. I want you to run for your life while you still can. Go! I'll hold them off as best as I can and don't look back!" said Mitta who then turned her attention to her so called 'friends'. All of them were now just giving her an evil glare.
Apple Bloom then ran away from Sunny Town as fast as she could, not even bothering to look back.
"Thanks Mitta."
Apple Bloom was now trying to back track her way towards the main pathway from where Twilight originally was. This made things a bit difficult, for the darkness made it difficult to see where the pathway in front of her was.
"At least they aren't following me. Ah hope Mitta will be okay."
Unfortunately, Apple Bloom's luck just wasn't that good, as she heard numerous sounds of brush moving, groans, and moans.
RGHHH! UGHHH! AGHHH!
"NO! They're everywhere!"
"Don't leave us!"
"We are lonely!"
"Come stay with us Apple Bloom!"
"I can give you a better body my filly friend!"
"NOOO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" shouted Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom just continued to run as every tree and branch she passed showed the same creepy red eyes that the Sunny Town ponies had. There were some that started to poke their heads and muzzles out of the brush, just looking at her. Some even attempted to reach out their hooves and grab her, but she merely pulled the same trick that Rainbow Dash taught her.
This went on for good few more minutes, but it was scary none the less. It was not too long ago that she was telling Diamond Tiara that she was liar for making up Blood Hooves, and here she was running from the very dang things! As she kept moving through bushes, she saw less and less of them until it was quiet. There were no more Blood Hooves in sight or sound, only the darkness of Everfree forest.
Then she saw something up ahead, it was the general shape of a pony. At first she thought that it was a Blood Hoof, but as she got closer, she realized that it was the strange pony she saw earlier.
"That must be Mitta's daughter Ruby! Ah hope she can help me!"
Apple Bloom cautiously moved towards the pony known as Ruby, and noticed several things about her. She had a grey coat like Mitta with a dark and light stripped yellow mane and tail. Unlike the others, she had a cutie mark! Apple Bloom noticed that it was a magnifying glass that made her wonder what her special talent was.
But the thing that stuck out the most was her eyes. They were like the others except they were a bright yellow, just like she saw before. As Apple Bloom finally caught up he, she took the time to take a breather, as she was out of breath from running away. Apple Bloom looked at Ruby and saw that Ruby had a look of "Forgive me" on her face, with her ears down.
"I'm sorry Apple Bloom I didn't mean to bring you into this. I was just curious." Spoke Ruby with sadness in her voice.
"Don't be sorry. Ah don't blame you at all. Nopony could have ever wanted this to happen. Wait how do you know mah name?" Replied Apple Bloom
"I've been watching you sever since you saw me on the trail, and I was watching you while you were in Sunny Town. It wasn't my goal to lead you into them, and I had to show you what happened to me at my old home for you to see what monsters they truly were and still are."
She then lowered her head as if she were ashamed and continued to speak.
"It just been forever since it all happened. I just wanted to talk to somepony and now you might be hurt because of me. All because of this."
Ruby then pointed to her cutie mark with her left front hoof.
"Your cutie mark is a Magnifying Glass?" asked Apple Bloom
"Yes. Turns out I'm really good at finding things. It took me awhile to understand it. When I was trying to help Roneo out, I found his gift and then I got the mark. Then they…"
"You don't have to tell me Ruby. Ah know what happened."
"Again, I'm so sorry to have gotten you into this."
"Like Ah said before, Ah don't blame you. It's their fault not yours, and your mom misses you."
"My mom?" asked Ruby with a curious tone.
"Yeah, she said she regrets not helping you long ago. Ah thought she was going to hurt me when Ah was trying to get out but she let me go and said no to the others. They looked mad when Ah said no to them. Ah hope she is okay."
Ruby then just smiled at Apple Bloom's revelation concerning her mom. Then they both heard something in the distance.
RGGGGGHHHHH! UGGGHHH! OOAAAHHHH!
"Oh no! They found us!" said Ruby.
"What are we gonna do?" asked Apple Bloom with fear returning to her face and ears down.
Ruby didn't respond as it looked like she was trying her best to think of something. Her facial expression changed, as if she had found an idea. Ruby then looked at Apple Bloom with a slight smile on her face.
"I think I can find you a way out of here, I just hope he'll do his best to help you. It's the best that I can do."
"Oh okay…wait what do you mean he?" asked Apple Bloom who was confused
RGGHHHH!
"THERE SHE IS!"
"PLEEASE DON'T LEAVE!"
"RUBY! EVERYPONY, SHE IS TRYING TO TAKE OUR FRIEND AWAY!"
"STOP HER!"
"No time to explain Apple Bloom!" replied Ruby.
Then all of a sudden her eyes changed to a very bright yellow, almost as if it was close to turning a bright white. Then a bright white orb appeared close to Apple Bloom, as if it were a light at the end of the tunnel.
"Go to the light, it will take you away from here! Don't be afraid when you see him!"
"B-but what about you?" asked Apple Bloom who was worried for Ruby.
"Don't worry about me, just go, now!" said Ruby with a serious look.
Apple Bloom looked around and she could see the Blood Hooves closing in on them. She simply looked back at Ruby and said,
"Stay safe"
Apple Bloom immediately ran for the white orb. The light was almost blinding but for some reason it didn't hurt her eyes at all. Then there was a flash and a boom that was similar to the one she heard earlier, neither of which hurt her senses at all.
BOOM!
And then in an instant, she was no longer near Ruby or the Blood Hooves.She looked around to observe her surroundings and noticed that she was all alone. She was still in Everfree Forest, but in a totally different place that she didn't recognize. With no sense of bearing she decided to simply walk forward and catch her breath from all the running earlier.
Ruby certainly did her best to get her away from them, and Apple Bloom was now starting to worry about her safety, even though she was already dead.
"Ah hope she is okay, she didn't deserve what happened to her. Now Ah need to get home somehow, but where the hay am Ah? And what did she mean by 'he'? Is there somepony nearby? Ah guess Ah should keep moving until Ah find someplace safe. Ah hope Zecora's hut is nearby."
Apple Bloom continued to walk forward in an unknown direction in hopes of finding a real friendly face, preferably a pony that wasn't a zombie. It was now more than ever that she wished she was back home on the farm with Apple Jack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith. She also couldn't but help wonder if Twilight was okay and hoped that the Blood Hooves didn't get her.
"Ah hope Twi is okay, and Ah hope ah get home…wait what is that up ahead?"
In the distance, Apple Bloom could see something that looked like a ruined castle of some kind. Apple Bloom didn't even know that this was here, but then again neither did she know about Sunny Town. Considering that it was better to go there than to be out here where Blood Hooves might be lurking, she decided to head in the directions of the strange ruins.
"Does this 'he' she mentioned live here? If so, what kinda pony lives like this?" thought Apple Bloom as she continued her way towards the ruins.
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Ruby was terrified as she was surrounded by the Blood Hooves. She had spent all day trying to avoid them, and she did a good job managing that. If it weren't for the unexpected filly named Apple Bloom wandering into Sunny Town, she would have had a much better chance of keeping taps on that strange male. She felt bad for dragging him into it, but she was tired of wandering the forest as a ghost and the curse of Sunny Town was spreading.
She just couldn't let any more innocent ponies suffer the same curse as the rest. Ruby immediately looked around to see if there was way she could get through her enemies. Despite having the unique ability to find things, such as items and more importantly ways out of situations, she just couldn't find one at the moment.
"Too bad I couldn't go with her that took a lot out of me, almost as much as bringing him here."
Ruby was desperate now, and she began to start to buck as much of the Blood Hooves as hard as she could. Unfortunately, she never was that strong of a mare, whenever she hit a Blood Hoof, they would only stumble backwards before continuing again. She then bucked one really hard and a mare Blood Hoof's head cracked, and span in an unnatural direction.
CRACK!
This didn't do anything however as the mare's head simply just corrected itself back into its original position.
"Give up Marked one!" shouted the Blood Hoof mare she hit.
"Yes, you will ruin it like you always do!" said another Blood Hoof nearby.
Ruby's memories of her past murder began to flood back into her. She remembered the pain, both mental and especially physical, of being murdered by the ponies she thought were her good friends. Every year the cycle would continue again, and she would be forced to wander, with the unfortunate ability to still feel pain. If they caught her, they would drag her back to her remains, where she would continue to suffer in agony.
She had been more than few times over the past century, but despite the many times it happened, it always hurt no matter what. It would always result in being clopped and then burned, just like how she was murdered.
"No! Not this time! I have to escape!"
She continued to struggle against them, but a blood hoof out of nowhere suddenly bit her back right leg. She yelped in pain and struggle to get away, but its grip was to strong. Then another Blood hoof grabbed her front left hoof with its tongue and it too wouldn't let go. She could never get used to the stench of death that emanated from them, and she continued to struggle even more. But it was all in vain, as more and more of them surrounded her, and then two blood hooves appeared in front of her as she stopped struggling.
It was the stallion known as Blood Clop, and the mare known as Crimson Tail. She instantly felt fear strike into her heart, as Blood Clop was the one who usually caught her throughout the many cursed years. He would always take pleasure in reenacting her murder, even though he wasn't there when it happened. She was always disgusted at how loyal he was to her murderers, even though they were the ones who cursed him and all the others.
It was just pure evil how the rest of the Sunny Towners spread the curse to other ponies. There they were in the past thinking that her marks was a curse and a plague, and here they were now, using spreading this evil disease that warped ponies sense of morality, their bodies, and their once harmonious hearts. And what was it all for? To bring back the glorious days of the past and for Grey Hoof's obsession for party planning.
Ruby then looked at Blood Clop with a look pity, and shook her head.
"Still fetching for Grey Hoof I see, how pathetic."
"Funny I was going to say the same about your condition, you filthy marked one."
"Is that the best insult you can come up with Blood Clop? You're really terrible at it you know." replied Ruby.
Ruby then noticed Crimson Tail, the new mare from two years ago visibly shift into a tense stance, and then spoke in loud voice of anger.
"HE IS NOT TERRIBLE AT ALL YO-"
Ruby then noticed something as Crimson Tail continued to spout out her rant of how 'vile and unclean her mark was'. Crimson Tail's hooves were greatly mismatched, as three of them appeared to be the shape of a stallion's rather than a mare's hooves. Only one, which was the her right one in the back, appeared to be hers.
"Now I wonder why her hooves are different? Could it have been caused by him?"
Ruby then snapped back to reality as she realized Crimson Tail was done ranting.
"U…YOU BITCH!"
Ruby then looked at Crimson Tail straight in the eyes when she heard that remark. Crimson Tail had a complete look of fury in her eyes, and it was hilarious to Ruby. This amateur Blood Hoof was trying to scare her and she was doing a rather poor job. The only thing that she was really afraid of was the pain of being put back into the fireplace, and the safety of Apple Bloom. Ruby then relied back with as much defiance as she could,
"Wow, little filly! You learned a very dirty word? Now what bad pony taught you that? By the way, nice hooves, did they come with instructions?"
All of a sudden, Ruby was backhoofed by Blood Clop. She turned his attention to him and now she was starting to be a little bit afraid, but did a good job of hiding it. He spoke in an unpleasant tone, like he always did towards her.
"Now now Ruby, don't talk to her like that, and in regards to that so called 'Bad Pony', it wasn't a pony at all. It was a human in a carriage."
That caught Ruby's attention alright, for what he said sounded a lot like the strange male she found earlier in the day.
"A human?! Like the old myths?! So that is what he is."
Unfortunately, her surprise was easily recognized by Blood Clop.
"Ah, so do you now about him? Just what exactly did you do earlier today? What do you know about this Hu-Man?"
Ruby then thought about what she knew. She only remembered bits and pieces from the old tales her mother used to read. They were two legged, had technology and stuff. In the end she didn't know much about him, but then again did anypony?
With another act of defiance, she gave a smirk and then looked Blood Clop in the eyes and said,
"I do know this…he's going to blow your bucking hooves away! Well, at least he did hers anyway."
Then a fury of back hoofing came from both of them. Blood Clop struck first then Crimson Tail, and then both alternated back and forth for a good twenty seconds. The pain from strikes hurt, but they were nothing compared to what she experienced almost every year when she was caught. After they were done, Ruby looked at both of them and they both had the look of hatred in their minds.
"Damn you Grey Hoof, you poisoned them to become the monsters like you and they rest of your so called 'friends' are. If only my mother and I could have seen it coming."
"Are you mad?"
Neither Blood Clop nor Crimson Tail said anything, and neither did the rest of the Blood Hooves that surrounded her say anything.
She then gave a rather funny smile, giggled and then said to both of them.
"Yeah, you're mad."
Then Blood Clop walked closer to her, putting his eyes extremely close to her. Ruby could smell the putrid scent of death coming from him. Even after all these years as a cursed suffering soul, she simply could not get used to it.
"I don't think anypony could get used to seeing their friends become monsters. I hope the human and his people don't share the same fate."
"You think I'm mad Ruby?! I'll show you how 'mad' I am like never before. I will enjoy getting rid of a party destroyer like you. You two! Drag her back to Sunny Town…NOW!" shouted Blood Clop with so much anger that is practically dripped from his mouth aside from the actual blood.
Then all of a sudden, the tongued one and the other that had bitten her, started to drag her back to Sunny Town. It was sad really, the place she once called happily her home was now her everlasting pony heck. And when they dragged her, it was painful, as always. If two ponies weren't enough, a third and a fourth came by and bit the remainder of her legs, effectively dragging her back to Sunny Town. And when they bit her, it was hard. She could do nothing but scream and yelp in pain as they dragged her back to Sunny Town, the place that she hoped to never see again in her afterlife. While in pain, she could hear the other ponies chant as she was dragged back to heck.
"Rip her!"
"Clop her!"
"Break her"
"All party stoppers must die!"
"AAHHHHHHHH!" shouted Ruby in pain.
"I don't know who you are human, but please, kill all these bucking bastards and bitches!"
If she hadn't been murdered, and was alive, she would have felt bad for saying or even thinking such vile curse words, for ponies were supposed to be harmonious beings, not chaotic or evil. But considering what happened in the past, and what was going on in the present, it was quite clear that ponies were not perfect beings. She could only hope that this human would be a better being than these so called 'friendly' ponies were.
Unfortunately for Ruby, this may just be the worst night of both her previous mortal life and cursed afterlife. She could do nothing but scream and yelp louder and louder as they got close to Sunny Town.
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Mitta was currently doing the best she could to distract her so called 'friends' from so long ago. For many years after her daughter's death, she followed Grey Hoof to the best of his instructions. Year after year, they gained new friends, effectively making Sunny Town bigger and better than it had before. They didn't bother making new houses or even keep up their old ones, for they didn't need to maintain their bodies like the old times, except to maintain their old image when new visitors happened to come by in their party form.
Of course it was just all a ploy to lure unexpected outsider ponies to the true curse that they had fallen into due to their evil action so long ago. Mitta felt to guilty for not stopping her daughter's death and the irrational and blatantly evil aftermath that followed. But then again, she believed in Grey Hoof's leadership, they all had. How was she supposed to know that this was going to happen?
"When Ruby got the mark, I should have just taken her and ran for help, but no…I had to be a coward instead of being brave…my Ruby I miss you!"
Three Leaf and Gladstone kept trying to bite her legs but she merely just dodged both of the slowest ponies she ever saw. She then bucked Gladstone as he gain missed her and he was sent flying into Roneo's house.
"OOOFF!" shouted Gladstone as he made contact with the door and inside the house.
Throughout the years, she had practiced fighting against the ponies that resisted the so called 'Gift' Grey Hoof offered. For the first few decades she felt that she was doing the right thing, by giving them protection from the 'bad' things that endangered their lives. Then she began to have doubts as she started to think more and more about Ruby. It wasn't until she recently had greatly reflected on her previous life and cursed afterlife, that she realized how wrong she was.
And when she saw the young filly named Apple Bloom, she realized that enough was enough. No way would she let a young innocent filly suffer the same as the others, including Ruby, have all these years. Seeing the young filly reminded her of her own motherly instincts, something the others would never understand. She might have failed Ruby, but not now, she would not fail Apple Bloom.
Three Leaf, upon seeing Gladstone get launched into Roneo's house, simply looked at Mitta and screeched a very creepy yell, even for somepony cursed such as her. She then began flurry of front hoof strikes, and numerous bucking attempts, but Mitta simple dodged all of them with ease. She knew all of their moves, having taught a few herself.
But despite her advantage in fighting them, the simple fact remained that she was outnumbered, couldn't leave the town, and could still be put to rest permanently if they tried.
"Doesn't matter now, I deserve permanent resting. At least I won't be able to hurt nopony. If only I could see her one more time…"
Again Three Leaf tried again and again to hit Mitta but failed each time. Mitta could tell she was angry and frustrated. Three Leaf then spoke out at her,"
"How could you hurt him!? You're ruining the party!"
"You hypocrite! You hurt my daughter over a stupid mark! As far as I care, you can go to pony heck!"
"I'm going to make your remains into punch when I'm done with you!"
Three Leaf then tried to pull off a massive hard buck, only to be counter attacked by Mitta. She then went flying into the same house that Gladstone was sent into.
"That takes care of two, now where is…"
Mitta was soon interrupted as Roneo came out of nowhere and bucked her. He wasn't as strong as she was considering he was still relatively young when he first received the 'gift', but he sure was a fast runner. She lost a little bit of her balance only to recover. He then made another attempt at hitting her, but she dodge him and back hoofed him like a mother punishing a bad colt.
"AHHH!" he screamed.
The Starlet, who hid behind the table, bite her back left leg. Mitta could feel the pain, but shrugged it off and simply hoofed her off real hard. She was sent flying away, but not as hard as Three Leaf and Gladstone. Mitta completely forgot about Roneo, and immediately paid the price for it. He bucked her in the head when she wasn't looking, and he head bent in an unnatural direction.
Although this wasn't fatal for her 'good' form, it was enough to through her off balance and lose her sense of bearing. He then followed up with another attack that knock her down. She then tried to quickly adjust her head to get back to fighting, and when she did adjust her head, it was too late. Starlet had bit her other leg and Roneo did the same with the other. Unable to get up, she struggled until two blows came from nowhere.
It was both Gladstone and Three Leaf, with Three Leaf screaming,
"When this is over, you will be the next batch of punch! AAAGGHHH!"
Three Leaf then attempted to buck Mitta to death, but was stopped by Grey Hoof, who did nothing but watch the entire scene unfold before him. He spoke in an serious tone,
"That will do for now Three Leaf."
She looked at Grey Hoof with a 'please' look, but he simply said,
"No Three Leaf. Go over with Gladstone and get something to drink."
She then looked at Mitta, shoved some dirt into her face, and walked over to the a party table with Gladstone. Mitta then looked at Grey Hoof with disgust. Grey Hoof noticed this and responded,
"Why Mitta? After all these years you helped us make the party better and gave the…"
"What? The 'gift'? It's a curse Grey Hoof! You murdered my daughter over a mark that did nothing to us, nor any other pony. You were and still are paranoid about the plague. Trying to force ponies to bring back the good old days won't do anything."
He simply just shouted at her,
"YES IT WILL! THEIR MARK WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A CURSE. SUNNY TOWN ALMOST WAS BROKEN UP BY IT! I WILL NOT LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!"
"Why? Because your old Great Grandpa said so? Your so foolish Grey Hoof. I should have stopped you so long ago, but I didn't because I was paranoid like you. Not anymore, I don't want your friendship and I don't want to be with any of you! I only want to see my daughter one last time before I go!" shouted Mitta with so much passion of regret at herself and anger at all of them.
Grey Hoof then appeared as if he was ready to clop Mitta to oblivion, but then stopped. He was looking towards the entrance now and then just smiled. He looked back at her with the same smile he used so long ago, that showed to all of Equestria how much of a liar he was.
"Maybe you will get to after all. Look behind you." Said Grey Hoof.
Mitta then turned around only to see many Blood Hooves. They were carrying, more like dragging a pony on all four of her legs. As they got closer Mitta noticed that she looked a lot like…
"RUBY!" shouted Mitta
"MOM! Don't let them hurt me! It hurts!" cried Ruby.
"My Ruby! No!"
Grey Hoof then gave the Blood Hooves a command,
"Set her over by the punch table, and keep a close eye on her. All of the others, go head and help yourself to some snacks. You earned it."
All of the Blood Hooves made their way over to the party tables and began to talk with one another. Most of them wanted to have the special punch that was on the table. Three Leaf was more than pleased when they indulged in it. It gave her a big evil smile as she gave Gladstone a cup, and at the same time looking after his wounds, even though they somewhat regenerated from minor fractures, and bruises so to speak. Gladstone was very happy at the attention he was receiving.
"I hope you to wind you together in a grave together forever dead." thought Mitta.
"All except Blood Clop and Crimson Tail, I want you two to come over here." Commanded Grey Hoof.
They both complied and began to walk their way over to Grey Hoof, while giving both Mitta and Ruby evil looks.
"I'm glad that you caught Ruby, and as you can tell, Mitta here has had a change of heart towards us."
"WHAT?!" said Crimson Tail.
"WHY?!" asked Blood Clop.
"Why don't I let her explain." Said Grey Hoof.
Mitta then just looked at Ruby and said,
"I was wrong for not helping you all those years ago. I don't want to hurt anypony and I don't that little filly to suffer like you my precious Ruby. I…I am…sorry Ruby. Please forgive me." Said Mitta who was essentially breaking down in shame and sadness.
"Mom… I forgive you and I love you!" replied Ruby whose yellow eyes were filling with normal tears.
Mitta was so happy to hear those words, her daughter forgave her for her lack of action all those years ago. She could feel her tears begin to gather in her eyes and just did nothing but continued to look at her daughter.
"Even in death she is beautiful. My precious Ruby.."
But the sappy moment would soon turn sour as Grey Hoof interrupted them.
"Well, now that the cursed one and her traitorous mother have reunited, perhaps you can tell me more about the special 'human' Blood Clop told me about." Said Grey Hoof.
Mitta could tell that his patience was getting old and he wanted to know everything, as he always wanted to. Mitta had no idea what he was talking about for the only newcomer she had seen or heard about all day was the filly called Apple Bloom, and to a lesser extent her friend.
"Human? You mean like the old tales?" asked Mitta.
Ruby looked at Grey Hoof, and gave him glare before facing her mother.
"Yes, mom. I saw a human and he is something alright." Said Ruby.
Mitta couldn't but help catch her emphasis on the word 'something' she looked at Ruby with her red eyes raising what her eye brow. Ruby merely gave a small smile and it look like she was…blushing.
" 'Something' my Ruby? Don't tell me your got a silly filly crush on this 'human' boy you haven't even met. He isn't even a pony!"
Crimson Tail interrupted both Mitta's thought and Ruby's statement and said,
"He is an evil and rude bastard is what he is!"
"Crimson Tail, don't use such language." said Grey Hoof.
"But it's true! Look at what he did to me!"
She then showed Grey Hoof her hooves that had been replaced by another ponies. Mitta then just smirked and thought to herself.
"I wonder how he did that? It appears he is strong against them."
Grey Hoof continued to look and then asked Crimson Tail,
"How did this happen?"
Crimson Tail lower her head and said,
"I jumped on his carriage and tried to convince the Alicorn with him to leave him and join us."
"Alicorn? Why does he have an Alicorn with him?"
"She said no, and he called me a…bitch."
"Well he is right about that, you blood hooved bitch."
"And then he…he…"
"It's okay Crimson Tail, go ahead and tell them."
Crimson Tail simply nodded at him and continued,
"He used some sort of weapon that was loud and painful. It made some sort of fire that didn't burn me, but it ripped my hooves off, which hurt. I think the evil bast…human did it on purpose for fun."
She then did a zombie version of a pony snort and scraped the ground with one of her mismatched front hooves.
"A weapon that uses fire which cuts? How interesting, I wish I could have done the same to you!"
Mitta was starting to smile more and more by the second, as Crimson Tail revealed the details of this human.
"Oh boo hoo! Isn't that a shame! Welcome to my world rotten mare." Said Ruby in sarcastic tone.
Crimson Tail tried to kick Ruby, but fell down. Both Mitta and Ruby laughed together at the embarrassing sight. It had been forever since she got to share a laugh or really any good emotion with her daughter, though she wished that it was under better circumstances. Grey Hoof then shouted,
"SILENCE BOTH OF YOU!"
And stop laughing the did, as it was sure to not help their situation. Mitta then looked at Ruby again, and still just could not get enough of seeing her daughter smile, after remembering her face in fear from her death and when they caught her. Mitta never partook in throwing her back in the fireplace, but rather did nothing, as she was too ashamed to even look her in eye all those cycles ago.
She then turned her attention to Grey Hoof who looked like he was in deep thought. After a minute of silence, he spoke up again.
"Blood Clop, where is the human, and the Alicorn now?"
"They are on the other side of the river, we couldn't pursue them and we lost four good friends. The Alicorn killed one with some sort of magic spell, and the human killed three, two with his carriage, and killed Blood Shot with his weapon or I should say weapons."
That caught every ponies' attention and Grey Hoof was the first to ask,
"You mean he has more of these weapons?"
"Yes, they are all made of metal, one has a red claw, the other is long, black, had orange wood on it, and small L shaped one that he used on Crimson Tail. I still don't know how they work nor even what they are called."
Grey Hoof then pondered for a second and then simply said,
"Continue please."
"We had to use Blood Shot's hooves for Crimson Tail." Said Blood Clop rather solemnly.
"So he killed three? Impressive, nopony has ever managed to kill a blood hoof. Well except this Alicorn he supposedly has with him."
"So we've lost four more including Necro Hoof's family…this human certainly is something." Said Grey Hoof who appeared to be taking more of an interest in him rather than be angered.
"So he killed three more and Necro Hoof's family? Most impressive, he definitely is 'something' now." thought Mitta.
"We did, however, manage to render his carriage useless and the Alicorn was rendered unconscious. They are stuck on the other side of the river and will most likely try to take refuge of those old ruins over there. I want to take some more Blood Hooves over there and take them by force while they are in a weak position."
Then the other Blood Hooves at the party tables overheard Blood Clop's suggestion started to protest at his plan.
"Oh c'mon! I want to stay here and party!"
"Yeah! And I'm hungry!"
"I just want to dance already!"
"I want some MOAR punch!"
"MOAR?! No problem!"
Three Leaf was even more ecstatic at hearing her punch being more complimented, as her attitude dramatically change to happiness, while Gladstone just kept staring at her...plot while drinking his cup. Then arguing started to break out between both groups,
"Ugh, now I wish the human would destroy all them and wait…they are distracted. Now is my chance to talk to her."
Mitta very slowly and carefully got close to her daughter and whispered to her.
"You need to get out of here and warn them of what is coming Ruby." Whispered Mitta
"You don't need to tell me mom, Apple Bloom is in danger too."
Mitta then looked to see if it was still safe to talk and noticed that a full blown argument was starting to grow between the groups, with Grey Hoof trying to mitigate to 'save the party spirit'. She turned around and continued to whisper,
"What do you mean she is in trouble? I thought she got away."
"I used my special talent to get her to safety and the best that I could find was where he is. I would have found her a way out of the forest if I could, but it took a lot out of me earlier just to find the human. I don't even think he is from this world, and frankly I'm surprised that I even found him."
"Wait?! He's here because of you? Why did you bring him into this? And why is Apple Bloom here?"
"Apple Bloom accidently followed me here after I was curious of who she was. I didn't mean to get her or her friend involved. Also, I'm tired of this cursed life and I can tell you are too. He is the best chance to stop all of this, if you've noticed."
"I have noticed and I have also noticed that he is certainly 'something'." Said Mitta while raising her eye brow.
Ruby just slightly blushed again and smiled before continuing,
"I…uh.. yes…he is, but that isn't important right now."
"No it isn't, and I want to you so slowly make your way out now. And don't come back for me! I don't care what happens to me now, as I will gladly rest forever knowing that you will no longer suffer if your plan works. And please make sure Apple Bloom escapes, this is not her fight." Said Mitta.
"Yes, mom." whispered Ruby.
Mitta leaned in and gave her daughter a kiss on her forehead and whispered,
"Go to them now, and remember this mommy loves you very much. And…nopony or human is ever going to be good enough for my precious Ruby." whispered Mitta who was joking about the last remark…mostly.
Ruby just quietly giggled after hearing the last remark and whispered back,
"Okay mom, I love you and I will see to it this ends."
They both hugged each other and Ruby slowly made her way away from the ground, while everypony was distracted. When she made it to the edge of the tree line, she then looked back at Mitta. Mitta then simply waved her away, with a slight black tear showing in her right eye. Ruby did the same before turning away and disappearing in the forest.
"Good luck my Precious Ruby! That human boy better take good care of you or else he will answer to me!" thought Mitta with her eyes growing an even darker red at the thought of this 'human' boy somehow sullying her little Ruby.
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This chapter took way longer than I had anticipated, but I think it turned out good. No game references in this one, as I decided to make this chapter a bit darker. It appears that Konrad is become quite popular with the wrong crowd and what will Apple Bloom find in the ruins?! And Luna should watch out as she isn't the only pony that sees him as 'something'. So what do you guys and gals think? Let me know and I hope you all like it! Work on ch11 has been started and expect this one in about 3-6 days. Cheers!