With a sigh of defeat, Applejack began to make her way through the rusted iron gates that led from the back of the house into the cemetery. The dark path, only barely illuminated by a glow from Constance's horn, dipped and turned in no particularly logical manner. Dark and twisted branches hung over the path from even darker and more twisted trees, several of which almost seemed to possess eyes of their own which followed them as they passed. The branches caught and dragged across Applejack's coat, causing her to jump several times.
"Easy now, Applejack. Yer almost outta here," she said to herself, passing by a large mausoleum. The crypt itself was not what gave her pause, for it was not at all uncommon to see one in a cemetery, but rather the bricks which had been laid to block up the doorway. Missing from the barrier were two bricks one on top of each other, through which a single skeletal hoof and leg hung and lay motionless, a few patches of light blue fur still visible. A few words had been written on the outside of the bricks with what appeared to be faded blood.
THEY'RE REAL .
The farm pony shuddered. "What's that all about?" It appeared as though its occupant had been alive at the time of burial, and either desperately wanted out, or perhaps even been the one to barricade herself in the crypt in the first place. There was really no telling in a place like this.
"Who knows?" Constance shrugged. "Every spirit here has their own story to tell, some sweet, others not so much."
The two rounded a corner, following the path through gravestones of varying sizes, only to encounter an eerily harmonious song coming from around the bend. Applejack pressed further on, curious to find out who exactly would be singing in a haunted cemetery, although if the night thus far was any indication, she really wasn't sure she wanted to know. She rounded the bend, and found three stone carved busts perched on pedestals around a small covered shrine, singing for no apparent reason. One had a horn, the other two did not.
When you hear the knell of a requiem bell,
weird glows gleam where spirits dwell!
Restless bones etherealize! Rise as spooks of every size!
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!
Applejack, of course, stopped right in her tracks, for her brain was insisting that the statues were the exact replications of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a fact which just didn't sit right with her. She approached as the song finished, as the three heads turned to look at her. It was truly unsettling seeing her little sister turned to stone and decapitated like this, but it appeared that the pattern of doppelgangers continued, for Bloom didn't seem to have any idea who Applejack was.
"Beware of ghouls that groan and spells of witches!" Apple Bloom warned.
"Of bodies that tremble and voodoo that twitches!" Sweetie Belle continued.
"The darkness takes all, and- my nose itches," Scootaloo complained.
"Dang it, that ain't scary at all, try harder!" Bloom insisted.
Applejack coughed. "Ahem. Ah was hopin' one of y'all could tell me how t'get outta here?" She was in absolutely no mood for this nonsense, and seeing her 'sister' in this state was bound to give her nightmares for weeks.
"Of course!" Sweetie squeaked. "Just keep following the path, it'll take you right back out to the mansion!"
Applejack didn't need to be told twice, and continued to do just that. The graveyard was terrifying and rather monotonous, momentarily leading her to believe that she would never escape. When all seemed lost, however, she found herself at yet another gate by the hedges, on which a red eyed raven watched her from its perch.
"Nevermore! Nevermore!" The bird squawked. Applejack just glared at it, and turned her attention to the newest obstacle. The gate was blocked by a pair of wings from a gargoyle on either side. The gryphon on the left had its wing extended, which passed over the equally extended wing of the insect mare on the right. Applejack didn't care for either of them, although put her negativity aside to try and push the wings out of the way. They wouldn't move, and Constance stepped forward.
"A magical gate, intended to keep intruders out," she explained. "Allow me." Her horn gave off a faint light, causing the wings of each creature to fold to a relaxed position. With the gate now unlocked, the doors pushed open. As they passed through them, the two statues mocked her.
"Foalish mortal..."
Ignoring them, Applejack made her way with Constance to the front of the house. She tried the doors and found them open, making a mental note that these doors only seemed to go in and not out. Now it was only a matter of following her hoofsteps from earlier.
Weaving through the seemingly endless maze of rooms and hallways was easier the second time, and with every passing minute that drew closer to sunrise, Applejack felt a renewed sense of completion towards her goal. She pushed open the door leading to the window where she had first encountered the lonely veteran, and was relieved to see he was still standing there. He gave her a friendly smile at first, opening his mouth to say something when he noticed Constance behind her. His eyes widened with shock, which soon turned to joy.
"Can it really be you, Constance?" he asked, his voice hesitant, not sure if he dared to believe it.
"It can. And it is," she said in return, approaching him. "I waited for you, but you never returned. After so long, I merely assumed you had been one of the lost soldiers. As I understand they only notified the families of those who could be... identified. Either way, I'm here for you now."
"I had every intention of returning to you, but I was denied that chance," he insisted. "But now, here, we can be together again." He leaned in to nuzzle her neck, a gesture which she returned, and a soft glow began to build up inside him, and another at the tip of his horn. As their horns touched, a subtle sort of metamorphosis took place, and Constance suddenly relaxed slightly, as if relieved of whatever violent thoughts she might have been holding onto.
"I'm afraid not," Constance replied, and the stallion looked shocked.
"What?"
"My longing for you turned to desperation, and eventually desperation turned to madness. I do hope I shall be with you again in some capacity, but I fear it will not be where you are going. You have been so patient, and waited for so very long, but I must disappoint you."
Applejack looked very confused. "Wha's goin' on? Why are y'all gettin' all Crystal Empirey?"
Constance looked at her. "Our business in this realm is completed, we have been reunited." The glow within the stallion that looked like Shining Armor grew ever brighter, and soon enough Applejack had to shield her eyes.
"I will be with you again, I promise. No matter what it takes," the stallion said. "I love you." It was with that he burst forth in a dazzling display of light, a large golden orb shooting towards the sky and phasing through the ceiling. Applejack rushed to the window and watched for as long as she could, craning her head further upwards until her neck hurt.
"And y'ain't going with him?" she asked finally.
"Afraid not," Constance replied, the floor trembling beneath her hooves. A fissure began to open between the two of them, and gnarled demonic claws reached for her, grabbing, wailing and moaning echoing throughout the room. Applejack covered her ears from the terrible noise, but it only grew louder.
"I loved him more than anything," Constance said loudly, "but with him gone, I still needed satisfaction. I loved and married several times to fill his place, but quickly grew bored with each successor, for they were not who I wanted. So I had to do away with them, you understand, once I realized they failed to serve my purpose."
"Y'din' hafta kill them! Ain't no sense in that!"
"My dear, what fun is there in making sense?" Constance smiled, a genuine grin, no longer as unsettling as it had been. "Thank you for all your help, I really do appreciate it. If you decide to haunt here, you may have my room." The claws grabbed onto her legs, hauling her into the glowing depths of the floor. Applejack was stuck, still moving backwards to escape the widening fissure, until finally the bride was hauled into unmentionable torment. The fissure slammed shut, the horrible cries ceased immediately, the only sign of anything unusual having occurred being a few scorch marks in the floor, and the years of therapy ahead that Applejack suspected she now needed.
Turning around and leaving the scene, trying not to think about it, she once more encountered the Ghost Host, who stood by the front door. "Well, it appears that we have a couple new vacancies now," he offered.
"So what's that mean? Can ah go home?" Applejack asked.
"Yes."
"Stop messin' with me! If y'give me ONE more stupid riddle, ah- what?"
"Yes. You may go home." He gestured to the front door with a claw, which slowly creaked open by itself.
"Oh. Well. Thank you then," she said, and made a run for the door.
"Make sure to tell your friends, we're just dying for some new visitors!" Spike called. "Oh! And I almost forgot, a few final words! Beware of hitch-hiking ghosts!"
Applejack, unfortunately, did not hear him, as she was focused on her quest to leave this building. The only obstacle now between her and the door was Pinkamena, who, true to her threats, held a hacksaw over her head, grinning maliciously. "Let's finish this! It's just you and me now, Applejack! I'm coming for-" her threat was interrupted as the farm pony barreled into her, sending the unfortunate pink spirit right through a closet door.
Applejack was already out the door, which slammed behind her. It had a tendency to do that. "Ah ain't listenin' to nothin' else he says, ah'm LEAVIN' this gottdang place." She ran right past the groundskeeper, who was still standing in the same general area as he had been before. He opened his mouth, but Applejack shut him down. "Nope! Don't even try yer fancy talk on me, ah'm DONE!"
She ran out of this terrifying place, and through the huge set of iron gates. A carriage was waiting for her, once more pulled by the headless red stallion. Applejack threw herself inside it, pointing accusingly further down the road. "Get me outta here!" She demanded.
The stallion whinnied, and broke into a breakneck gallop away from the mansion. Applejack looked out the side window, relieved to see that the sun was starting to come up, just a bare glimmer on the horizon. "Thank Celestia that's over." She sighed, relaxing for the first time since the previous day. She hadn't slept all night, and exhaustion was creeping up on her. No, wait, that feeling wasn't exhaustion. It was the feeling of being watched. The hairs on her neck were standing on end, and she slowly turned, already regretting what she might find.
The ghost of a pegasus was sitting next to her, perched precariously on the seat of the carriage as it flew around a bend. Poor thing must have suffered some terrible trauma to the head, her eyes were all askew. The ghost lifted up its hoof, which contained a small basket.
"Muffin?" She asked.
Applejack screamed, though more with rage than with fright, and flung open the door to the carriage. Despite its dangerous speeds, she'd had absolutely enough of this, and flung herself from the vehicle. Applejack hit the ground rolling, bouncing off the ground and down a hill. She rolled violently, accumulating quite a number of bruises before coming to a rest. She was barely able to get to her hooves by the time she looked up, stunned to find that not only had she come to rest in front of her own barn, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh stood only a few feet away, looking down at her with concern and confusion.
"Y'alright?" asked Macintosh.
"You look like y'jes saw a ghost!" Bloom chirped.
"WHERE?!" With a scream, Applejack bolted into the barn, followed by the unmistakable sound of the barn being locked from the inside. Her two siblings looked at each other, Bloom with significant confusion.
"What'd ah say?"