Now that she was out of the hole, Apple Bloom could finally have a good look at the box. The box was being held shut by a padlock that was old and rusted, it looked like it could've broken off at any moment. The box was made from some strange material, alien to her. It looked smooth, but it was actually very prickly to the touch and it would tickle her hoof if she ran it along the box. On the top of the box in big, red, hastily scribbled letters were the words Never Open.
"Let's open this thing!" Scootaloo said, eager to see what was inside.
"I don't know..." Sweetie Belle began, uncertain to whether or not to give in to her curiosity. "We don't know what could be in there! What if it's a snake, or a spider, or a monster or a-"
"Calm down! You're thinking waaay too much!" Scootaloo said, interrupting Sweetie Belle. "Let's just open it and get it done with! That way we won't have time to think about it!" she continued, picking up the box as she spoke.
"I suppose you're right." Sweetie Belle said, a determined look in her eyes "LET'S GET THAT BOX OPEN!"
"Wait what about m-" Apple Bloom began, but never finished due to the loud sound of the box being thrown at the ground and a cracking noise. Apple Bloom quickly scooped up the box, checking to see if the lock was broken; it was. Finally! We can open this thing, and get it done with! Apple Bloom thought, taking the lock off and tossing it behind her.
"Soooooooo, who's going to open it?" Apple Bloom asked, placing the box on the ground.
"I will!" Scootaloo shouted, full of excitement. She quickly lifted the lid, ready to see what was inside. Suddenly, turquoise smoke burst from the box, quickly surrounding the fillies, until they couldn't see anything but the smoke. Apple Bloom saw something, a pair of eyes, a pair of blue eyes that seemed to say two things at once, "I'll protect you" and "I'll kill you", slowly heading towards her. She tried to run, but she couldn't move! She only had time to do one thing before the eyes would come too close, so she screamed as loud as she could, hoping somepony would hear her.
Apple Bloom closed her eyes, scared of the monster, hoping it would go away if she ignored it. She could hear the same noise, continuously repeating.By now, the smoke had cleared, leaving behind a turquoise dome around her. She could see Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing to the left and right of her, they were lined up in a row. That wasn't the only thing she could see though, the thing she had been frightened by was standing right in front of her, looking right at her. It's black, scaly, mist-like body, it's eyes, located on what seemed to be a head, made out of the same black, mist-like scaly stuff. She felt scared, being so close to a monster so she tried to scream, and it worked. She was frightened, but determined not to let the beast get another reaction out of her.
She yelled out "What are you?" in the slim chance it would understand English.
"Me?" it said slowly, in an almost soothing voice. "I'm Curiosity." it voice was void of emotion, deep, and sounded male so Apple Bloom assumed it was male. It didn't seem to have a mouth, but Apple Bloom could hear everything clearly, as if he was standing right next to her.
"Haven't I seen you before?" Curiosity asked. Apple Bloom was too frightened to speak, which gave Scootaloo a chance to speak instead.
"Let us go!" She shouted, instantly regretting it.
Curiosity moved over to Scootaloo, his body swirling and twisting around the Pegasus, surrounding her with black mist.
"Now, why would I do that?" Curiosity said. Scootaloo was trembling, she could hear his voice as if he was standing in front of her, but his eyes were all the way up the top. Apple Bloom had been studying him carefully, and had noticed something was wrong with him.
"Where are your teeth?" She said, recalling that he didn't have a mouth when he first appeared.
Curiosity moved away from Scootaloo and went back to his normal shape, before a set of silver teeth appeared underneath his eyes.
"My, my! How delightful you are my little pony." He said, while his shape changed. He moved closer to Apple Bloom causing her to scream again, and placed what appeared to be a claw on her head. "How I'd love to have you as a pet." he continued, stroking her mane. His 'claw' felt like a cold breeze. Apple Bloom looked over at Sweetie Belle, who had been unnervingly quiet since the smoke came out of the box, she was trembling, and looked ready to cry.
"What are you looking at, my little pet?" He said, turning his head to look at Sweetie Belle. "Goodness, haven't you been quiet!" he said moving over to her. She trembled even harder, and a few tears rolled down her cheek. "How are you, my little pony?" he asked, putting out a 'claw' to stroke her mane. As soon as he did Sweetie Belle screamed until he took his hand away. She sniffled and began to cry, all the while Apple Bloom looked on, feeling sorry for her friend.
Apple Bloom decided to speak up and do something, she couldn't let him torture Sweetie Belle like that!
"Stop it!" she shouted, feeling more frightened than she did before.
"What did you say?" Curiosity inquired. "I suppose you're right..." he began, causing Apple Bloom to think, Yes! He's letting us go! "...I should probably do what I wanted to do in the first place." He finished, causing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to go pale.They were lifted into the air up to Curiosity's, so called face. All of a sudden, Apple Bloom felt herself being turned and she eventually was standing on her two back hooves; she felt like she was chained to a wall. The dome of turquoise smoke dispelled, the noise faded and the Everfree Forest was once again, visible.
"Now," Curiosity began. "A good pet doesn't talk.' he said, looking at Apple Bloom, making her shiver with fear. "and since you didn't answer my question, you mustn't need hearing." he said looking at Sweetie Belle, just causing her to spring into tears. "Now, I can't just leave you out, can I? So I suppose I will take your sight since it's the only one left, and since you spoke so rudely, I'll take your wings as well." He cast a spell and began to focus, red crystals began to appear. They were lightning shaped and there were three for each filly, all pointed at the respective filly. Suddenly, a voice could be heard.
"APPLE BLOOM! APPLE BLOOM!" it was Fluttershy's voice. She ran into the clearing.
"FLUT-" Apple Bloom began but never got to finish. When Curiosity heard Fluttershy's voice, he lost his concentration and the spell messed up. The crystals started spinning and fired randomly, in different directions. One hit each filly, square in the chest. Two flew straight up into the air. One hit the ground and vanished. One flew straight at Curiosity, hitting him perfectly in his left eye. The last two headed straight for Fluttershy, she dodged the first one but didn't see the second one and got hit right in the back. The three fillies and Fluttershy felt immense pain. Electricity flowed through their bodies, and they all started glowing red. Curiosity, also glowing red vanished and the fillies fell to the ground with a thump.
"Are you girls okay?"
Note: Music by Kevin MacLeod (Deep Noise)