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// Shame on me 
// Story: Foal me once 
// by AsheBlaster 
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A week had passed since the crusaders had their encounter in the woods, and so far, everything had seemed to return to a state of normality. Sure, the group had been having trouble sleeping ever since, and they did have their fair share of nightmares, but at the end of the day they all seemed to have moved past the events. The only thing is that Apple Bloom had been indulging more and more into the macabre, something that the other crusaders tried their best to avoid. By all means, the event should have scarred the little filly, and to an extent it did, but it also seemed to spark a mysterious fascination in her. Something about that mysterious house, the photo Scootaloo described when she was recounting what she saw, and the fool's foal just couldn't get out of her head, and she just had to pursue the answers. This usually resulted in her borrowing every cryptozoology book she could get her hooves on, as well as asking around about anypony who lived in the Everfree forest in a mansion, but most would turn their heads and quicken their trot to get away from the inquisitive foal. They knew something, and she was too darn curious to let it go.
Apple Bloom decided that if anypony would have answers about the unknown and unnatural, it would be Zecora. After all, they were already pretty close friends, and she had more than a few books about remedies and treatments that weren't exactly standard, so why wouldn't she know about some of the mysteries surrounding her new home? So that evening, when she got done with her brewing work and Zecora was about to bid her farewell, she asked a quick question. "Zecora, have you ever seen somethin' you can't really explain? Somehthin' that shouldn't be real, even though you saw it with your own eyes?"
Zecora took a second to think, before heading to her bookshelf and giving her response. "To see is to believe, that much is true. So what have you seen that is troubling you?" The zebra seemed to stop in her tracks and wait for Apple Bloom to say something, almost as if she had a book that could help if she had a bit more context. "Well," Apple Bloom began, "me and the girls went out into the Everfree forest recently, and we ran into somethin' we can't explain. I was wonderin' if you could find anythin' on the history of ponyville." She fiddled one forehoof with the other before she spoke again. "Or somethin' about fool's foals?"
"While in my home, do not speak their name. Should someone get hurt, you'd be to blame." Zecora's swift response caught the little filly offguard, but she quickly stood up straight and nodded. Zecora turned and grabbed a blue book with gold on its binding, setting it down to reveal it was titleless entirely. "If the truth of the house is what you seek, it might be in the book, just take a peak. Though while you're reading about your home, don't forget that some things are best left unknown." 
That last sentence hung in the air as Apple Bloom stared down at the book, figuring that something with an answer about the thing haunting her head for the past week would have something more identifiable about it other than "it's a book". Regardless, she picked it up with her mouth and set it in her little saddlebag, deciding this would be enough for her. At least, if it wasn't for one other question on her mind. She turned back to Zecora and sat down, ready to face the brunt of a lecture. "Zecora? Why exactly can't I say the critters name?" 
Zecora first looked offended that she would ask a thing, then she let out a sigh when she realized that the filly likely didn't know much about the culture behind the being, and likely wouldn't unless somepony explained it. "Our world is full of magical things, but it's not only held by horned beings. Changelings change and pegasi fly, or there's alchemy done by you and I. Some beings find magic in words, they listen out for their name to be heard. Once they hear it they know where to go, even if you never know." That made the pony feel conflicted. Comforted in the fact that she got an answer, but now the fact that she had said the name so frequently around her home, she was worried about the idea of it finding her. Apple Bloom felt the color drain from her coat as she stared at her forehooves, not sure how to ask this next question. "Well... What can I do to make sure it don't hurt anypony... assuming we already spoke it's name a bunch."
First, the zebra alchemist just stood there, blinking a bit in contemplation. "If what you've said is the case, you'll need to fortify your base." She planned, "Circle of salt and burning incense, that'll make sure it doesn't get your scents. I could come by and help prepare if you suspect it'll soon be there." That reassurance was enough for Apple Bloom to regain the excitement she had before, before it left her again. "But, what if we set up and it doesn't come 'til way later?" Her inquiry was met with the gentle ruffling of her mane. "Young filly, rest assured, with this your home shall be secured. Be it tonight or in many moons, nothing will harm you, Apple Bloom." Zecora put her hoof down and started to pack a bag, putting in various different powders, plants, and other objects into it, and it reminded her of the way Scootaloo packed in the crusader clubhouse before the whole event. She found herself missing when this was all just some foal's tale, some scary story to tell young fillies not to travel too far on their own or for colts to tell around the campfire to spook eachother. That time was long passed, and now she had to make sure the consequences of her actions didn't harm her or her family. She decided to help Zecora pack, who was very appreciative of the help. 



By the time the two had made their way to sweet apple acres, it was high noon, meaning there was only a few hours before the sun set and Luna's moon gave way to all manner of nightly critters to roam about, fool's foal included. Apple Bloom knew this, and Zecora knew that Apple Bloom knew this, and they both knew that they had to get to work right away, lest the house be unprotected by the time any unsavory creatures were ready to prowl. Zecora trotted up to the house and began lining every entry with salt, even windows. Before Apple Bloom could help, Zecora moved on to pulling out several long candles, setting them up in seemingly random spots, but almost always in the direct center of certain rooms. She grabbed a pack of matches in her muzzle and set it down on the dining room table, turning to Apple Bloom. "Should I decide that we will meet, 'Flying pigs' is how I'll greet."
The two worked to set up the defenses, which usually involved planting objects for any scenario; bags of ash in case she needs to harm the creature, sage to help keep it away, and a 2x4 plank of wood, for obvious reasons. By the time the two sat down to rest, they were startled by the door opening to the rest of the apple family stepping in, Applejack stepping in first with a smile. "Zecora! Pleasure seein' you, what brings ya here?" her southern accent only sweetened the greeting, a kindness and warmth that Zecora returned. "I'm glad I stayed until you were home, I didn't want to leave this filly alone." she did her usual rhythmic speaking while rubbing Apple Bloom's head. "Though I'd love to stay the night, I should get home while there's still sunlight."
With that, she trotted out the door, leaving a confused group of ponies staring at Apple Bloom, who had been practically rehearsing this speech in her mind since the door had opened. "A bit ago, me 'n' the crusaders decided to go to the forest, which I know was dangerous, but I've been havin' nightmares ever since, so Zecora offered to come by and help me feel a bit more safe." She looked at the group for approval, hoping beyond hope that they bought it. To her shock, the group began laughing, although she could tell that Applejack's was a bit forced. Granny Smith, however, was letting out a laugh so hearty that she should've thrown out her back by now.
The older mare let out a bit of a laugh as she went up to ruffle the little filly's mane. "So ya snuck out?" her tone was jovial, but it still shook Apple Bloom a bit. "Oh, don't look so shaken up. Why, when I was a youngin I used to sneak out to look at the stars just 'bout every night. Why, one of these night's ah could show you my fav'rite." She gave the filly a gentle little nudge before heading towards the stairwell towards her room to rest up, as they did just finish a long day of chores (mostly shopping and a few deliveries to buildings on the outskirts of ponyville) and everypony couldn't wait until bed time, which considering the sun had gone from setting to set during the course of the conversation, wouldn't be far off.
Apple Bloom, had different plans, she had to make sure the defenses worked no matter what, she wouldn't let any of her family get hurt because of her actions. While everypony else was still awake, she made sure to help out as best as she could, something not too out of character for her, except for the fact that she was so determined to help everypony. Eventually, the apple family was resting while the youngest filly worked on the remainder of the chores for the day, praying that nopony found it that bizarre. Which, luckily, they didn't.



As the moon rose higher in the sky, the older ponies began to head to their rooms. On the way up to her own room, Applejack stopped Apple Bloom, and beckoned her to the kitchen table, which she did with a nervous gulp. "Apple Bloom, are you alright? Ya seem mighty enthusiastic to help us, which is always appreciated, but after that visit from Zecora, somethin' tells me yer either freaked out er plottin' somethin'." Apple Bloom sighed in defeat and pulled the book from under the table, setting it atop it's former hiding place. "Well," Apple Bloom forced herself to speak, "I asked about what we saw the other night, and when I told Zecora the name and about the buildin', she freaked out and gave me this book. She said I shouldn't say it's name, and so I won't, but she helped me protect the house in case it ever came back. I thought I'd stay up a bit tonight and read the book to try and find answers."
Applejack let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. "Well, that's a relief, I swear I keep hearin' my own voice callin' to me at night." She said this with such an air of nonchalance that it got Apple Bloom entirely offguard. Applejack noticed the startled expression and realized her folly. "I mean, I could just be hearin' things, but I'd be lyin' if I said it didn't spook me in the dead of night. You know how at night yer mind plays tricks on ya." The answer didn't calm Apple Bloom at all, but she did her best to put on a 'I'm satisfied with your clarification and am put at ease' face. It did not work.
"Look, that night in the woods went pretty well all things considered." Applejack comforted, "You got home safe, yer friends got home safe, and nopony got so much as a scratch on 'em. I know these kinda things help ya feel safer, and I'm glad, but nopony is gettin' into this place without us knowin' and comin' to yer aid. We're family, and if one of us is in danger, we buck first and ask questions later." The older earth pony yawned before getting up. "Now I'm gonna go catch some shut-eye. You have fun readin' yer book, and if you need anythin', anythin' at all, ya know where to find me." She left a gentle peck on the top of her sister's head before retiring up the stairs, leaving Apple Bloom in the kitchen with the book under her forehooves. 
She never got to read the title until just now; A comprehensive history of Ponyville. The author's name was a bit worn away, so much so that it was practically illegible, but Apple Bloom could just barely make out that the last name started with an "A". Apple Bloom entertained the idea that an apple may have written this as she lit the candle and began to read the table of contents, skimming for anything about the Everfree forest. Unfortunately the Everfree forest surrounds the entirety of Ponyville, so just about every chapter had something to do with the forest. She ultimately decided to just give up and read through the entire book, a feat she would not be able to complete in one night, but she was hoping to take a decent chunk out before sunrise.



Apple Bloom shot awake as she heard something coming from the living room. A gentle rapping upon glass, as if something was trying to get her attention. Groggy, she looked down at the book she had made into her pillow, then up at the candle to see it had only burned a quarter of the way down, so it still had a few hours before it burnt out. She glanced back down at the book to try and remember what she read last, which was apparently something about timberwolf migrations. No wonder I fell asleep she joked to herself before continuing on the page, only stopping when the rapping came from the living room again, this time a bit louder. 
The filly got up to investigate what was making that noise, still a bit out of it, but awake enough to make up some rational explanation in her head, like a bat or bug trying to get in through the window without knowing it was there. Just as she got to the doorway, she heard a woosh and was met by an oppressive darkness; the candle behind her had gone out. Any ounce of rationality or drowsiness had shot out of her body, and she now stood frozen and wide eyed, suddenly feeling as if at any moment the inky blackness itself would produce an arm and drag her into the void. She felt naked, and as if hundreds of malevolent eyes were staring down at her, like a wolf would look at it's prey before it decided if the pack would move in or not. She was in her own home, but she was at the dark's mercy.
She was shaken out of her trance by the aggressive tap, tap, tap at the window, which drew her into the room. When she finally made her way to the center, she was pleasantly surprised that it was illuminated ever so slightly by the moonlight, and it gave her a momentary glee. She felt like if she could see, somehow that would protect her, the same way a young filly's blanket will become an impenetrable defense against whatever monsters hid in the dark corners of her room. Maybe it reminded her of Luna, maybe it just made it easier to see around her and make sure the fool's foal couldn't get her, but either way it helped her calm down.
Fool's foal. That named echoed in Apple Bloom's head as she remembered how often she had been talking about it with Applejack, thought out loud to herself about it, or read aloud whenever she found new information about one. She remembered Zecora's warning of how they're attracted to anypony who says their name, and that's when she finally looked over at the window where the rapping was coming from. She stared in terror as what looked like the silhouette of a mare stood, one hoof gently tapping at the window in a slow, irregular rhythm. Apple Bloom froze, staring at the backlit figure, hoping that it would move more than just the tapping, but it never did. Eventually, her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she could make out even more of the messy mane, twisted muzzle, and lack of features on it's face, other than it's rough skin, almost as if it was made entirely of wood.
That's because it was made of wood, it was a tree that looked vaguely like a mare. Apple Bloom sighed as the wind blew, which caused the branch to tap on the window. Apple Bloom laughed to herself at her silliness, prompting to go back to the dining room and continue her research. She picked up a match in her muzzle, struck it against the box, and lit the candle, discarding the match in the little metal tray on which it resided. She opened the book and picked up from where she left off; the first attempt to clear the Everfree forest. 



During the second year after the first Hearth's Warming, the settlers of Ponyville were slowly expanding their small collection of shacks into a full, bustling town. The residents were still starting to understand the area around them, and had only just begun their process of controlling the weather of the land they now resided in. Their plan was to move further into the Everfree forest, using the resources they got from it to build more homes and farmland. Unfortunately, that proved to be a bit less than easy for them, as they barely understood the land or what lived in it.
There were many things that troubled the settlers; vampire fruit bats, timberwolves, and all sorts of manner of critter that they didn't understand. Some even report seeing dead loved ones speaking to them from the treeline, but most historians attribute this to one case of pegasus flu followed by mass hysteria. This hasn't stopped many occult groups from believing that a house built in the era is home to the creatures from the sightings, as it has been a where the most sightings have occurred, many of which were reported by the owners of the Pear estate.(page 76) 

The Pear estate was built by Baked and Candied Pear, and it was built as a vacation home for the farmers who belonged to the family. They would stay there frequently during the winter months, and occasionally during the summers. As years went on, however, it would seem that old age had gotten to the couple, as reports state they would frequently run into town shouting about how there were entities in the snow mimicking the voices of family that had long passed. They disappeared under mysterious circumstances around a moon after their last appearance, around the sixth winter since Ponyville's founding. It's highly speculated that they had fled from their home into the forest after having another episode, likely getting caught by timberwolves or falling into a situation they never escaped from.

Every page that Apple Bloom read both furthered her curiosity and grew her sense of unease. She kept thinking back to that night, how the fool's foal seemed to actually live in the house rather than have been scavenging in it, and the description the book gave her made her wonder if the run down old building was the Pear estate. If that were the case, and the fool's foal had attacked her and the crusaders, then maybe those things got to the old Pears. She felt a bit of a shudder slide up her spine as she thought about how lucky she was her older sister came in when she did.
Apple Bloom had gotten so caught up in her train of thought, she nearly jumped out of her chair when the candle in the living room went out. She calmed herself, grabbed the matchbox, and started to trot over to it. She stopped dead in her tracks when the candle behind her went out to. Somehow, despite having just been in that room, she didn't feel safe having her hind to it, almost as if by looking away she was giving whatever thing that hid in the darkness free reign to grab her and drag her to Celestia knows where. She felt almost as if a pair of eyes was staring right into her soul, waiting for her to make the wrong move so it could strike, so Apple Bloom stood still as an oak, hoping that somehow she would trick the creature into not seeing her.
She got snapped out of her trance when she heart a gentle tap, tap, tap at the front door. She shot over to the living room, lit the candle, and looked back to the door she heard the noise from and just kept eye contact. What felt like a thousand year staring contest only lasted for a few seconds before the silence was broken by a familiar voice. "Are you okay, little Apple Bloom? I don't see you in the dining room."
Apple Bloom let out a sigh of relief and trotted up to the door, feeling glad that she wasn't alone for now. "Hey Zecora, what're you doin' here so late?" the filly inquired. "I figured right now you'd feel alone," Zecora half-sang, "so I thought I'd pay a visit to your home." 
The rhyme was more comforting than Apple Bloom had realized, but she felt comfort that she had a friend to talk to for now. But she still felt a bit confused, why was Zecora here so early? Better yet, why was Zecora just talking through the door to her? She pushed that doubt down for a second, letting herself feel relief after jumping at shadows for the past few hours and just enjoying the company of an old friend. That was until an unease rose up her back, and found it's way into her throat, making her feel nauseous. She needed to ask a question.
"Zecora, what's our password?"
Apple Bloom stood there for a few seconds, awaiting a response, but one never came. So she tried again, this time more stern. "Zecora, I need that password if you wanna keep talkin'." To this she was met with just more silence. At first she was angry at being ignored, until that was shut down by a sense of determination, the pure urge to keep this thing out of her house. She felt the fear in her body get pushed down by the need to protect her home and her family, she wasn't scared. She decided to put her hoof down and raise her voice a bit more. "I know what you are!" she whisper shouted, "You ain't gettin' in, so leave." 
Instead of a response, Apple Bloom was met with silence, nocreature nearby was so much as making a peep; crickets weren't chirping, owls weren't hooting, the mice in the house weren't even scurrying. The only sound entering Apple Bloom's ears was her own heartbeat, and with each passing second that echoing ba-bump, ba-bump started to slow down, Apple Bloom felt safe, she had scared the critter off, she convinced it to leave her and her family be. She let out a breath of relief and started to head back to the table to read more about the Pear Estate.
BAM! Apple Bloom was shaken out of her sense of confidence, and spun around to the source of the sound; the door she was just standing at. She thought maybe she was hearing things, until another bang, then another. It had a constant rhythm, as if it was trying to bash down the door. Bam, bam, bam, bam. It didn't stop, it wouldn't stop, and Apple Bloom stood there, her hooves held down by the cold hands of fear, icy sweat dripping down her forehooves like fingers gently tracing them. The force of the pounding could easily knock the door off it's hinges, then barely anything would stop the thing from coming in. If Apple Bloom wanted to survive, she had to think, and think fast.
She sat there, racking her brain over what Zecora had said about the creature, key details about each defense; the salt surrounding the house would act as a barrier, but that would only work if the barrier was unbroken, which a falling door would definitely render it useless. The candle would scare the creature off, but considering how one had gone out to a breeze, it wouldn't do much for long. Maybe knocking on wood could work, but maybe wasn't safe enough. Apple Bloom felt slow relief creeping across her body as she remembered that the creature couldn't come in without an explicit invite. She had to stand firm and deny the creature.
"You can't come in here, now leave you varmint!" her voice came out a bit louder than she had expected, but she was firm and explicit. she had stood her ground and the pounding had stopped, and in it's stead was the slow sound of grass crunching beneath hooves growing further and further away, and finally Apple Bloom could return to the book, looking for anything new about the Pear Estate. Even though she hadn't found anything worthwhile, she ended up going uninterrupted until the sun rose in the sky. She conquered the fool's foal, and for that she felt proud of herself. Once she met up with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, she would tell them how to keep themselves safe, then nopony would have to be afraid of one again.



Apple Bloom had gotten a head start on her chores that day, as a bit of a way to atone for her staying up all night, even going as far as to do some of Applejack's chores, something that her sister didn't mind, as it did help out with the stress of having to withhold information from the family, which was as close to lying as Applejack wanted to ever get. Apple Bloom knew this and felt really bad for making her sister go through all that, so in any way she could help, she would.
While she was feeding the pigs, she heard Applejack's voice echo out from the barn, "Hey, Apple Bloom, could you c'mere fer a minute? Need help carryin' some tools!" Apple Bloom was ecstatic to help, so she shouted out "Comin'!" as she galloped into the large, cluttered barn. Applejack wasn't visible at first, but she poked her head out from behind some hay bales with a warm smile, nodding her head towards the back of the barn where the tilling supplies were kept. Apple Bloom rushed to her sister, giving her a quick smile that reflected in Applejack's blue eyes as she ran over to help. As she began looking for what her sister might've needed help with, she froze in place, feeling all color leave her face. Her sister had green eyes, and just as that revelation fully sank into her mind, she felt icy cold breath on the back of her neck.