The line seemed like it stretched out for miles. Applebloom readily pulled the barrel's trigger, filling everyone's tankard with sweet apple cider. It was like any other cider day at the farm, busy, noisy and friendly.
Rainbow Dash awaited her turn, her tongue could taste it's sweet flavour tingling on it's tip. She stared as the yellow filly pulled the trigger when her turn came.
Fittzzzz!
"Ah'm sorry Rainbow, that was our last barrel," Applebloom said to the wide eyed mare.
Rainbow Dash's left eye twitched. She trotted away, her mouth wide open in an awkward fashion.
"Again, whyyyyyyy!" she cried, falling onto the ground.
Pinkie bounced over to her friend, a tankard on her head. She carefully helped Rainbow up, before handing the tankard over with a giggle.
"Did you forget?" Pinkie Pie laughed, "I pinkie promised, remember?"
Rainbow Dash started to blush, almost as pink as Pinkie herself.
She nodded before gulping the cider down as fast as she could. No one was going to take it from her this time.
Rarity stood with Fluttershy and Twilight, all with tankards in their hooves, sipping merrily.
Unexpectedly, Fluttershy screamed as Angel hopped from her back into her cider, drinking every last drop.
"Oh Angel bunny, you startled me," Fluttershy said, taking in deep breaths.
The naughty bunny's head popped out from the tankard, burping loudly.
"Seriously, Fluttershy, you need to keep him under control,"
Rarity took another sip of her cider carefully, making sure she didn't make a mess.
Suddenly, Rarity coughed violently.
"Something has gone down, my, my throat," she spluttered, dropping her tankard.
"The cider probably," Twilight said, patting her friend's back.
The white mare shook her head, "Something solid."
Rarity started to feel sick from the thought of it.
Fluttershy picked up Rarity's tankard, placing into the unicorn's left hoof.
"Are you OK?" she asked, concerned.
Rarity nodded, taking a deep breath. She took two steps, wobbling slightly.
"Absolutely fine."
Ringadingading!
Applejack rang the barn's bell calling: "Cider season is now over!"
In crowds, the ponies left the farm. It was getting late, beds to go to. Anyway, the cider had all gone, they had no purpose there.
Pinkie and Rainbow Dash trotted over to the others, bellies full of cider, smiles on their faces.
"Well I'll be off, see ya' in the morning," Rainbow Dash said with no hesitation, flying back to her cloud home.
Fluttershy, Twilight and Pinkie Pie said their goodbyes before trotting off to their abodes.
"Well, I better be hitting the hay too, and by the looks of you Rarity, you need your beauty sleep," Applejack stated, looking at her pony friend.
Rarity tried to walk, but she got that sicky-dizzy feeling again. The world seemed to spin around and around, until finally her legs gave way.
Her surroundings seemed to blur, everything silent until: "Eeyup, it's her alright,"
Rarity opened her mouth to speak.
"Big Macintosh?..."
Everything went black.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Is she awake yet?"
"Enope."
"Ah' wish she would hurry up, ah' wanna get started!"
"Applebloom, be patient."
Rarity's eyes flickered, slowly opening.
"Ah' told you she weren't dead yet!"
"Applebloom!"
Rarity took in her surroundings. Concrete walls, bare from pictures and ornaments.
She tried to move her arm, but found it was stuck. A clamp held her neck and forelegs in place on a large wooden bench, sat in an upright position. Her back legs were chained to the ground in heavy duty chains.
"What's going on?" Rarity murmured, gaining full consciousness.
"Your gonna bmphmph-" Big Mac put a cloth in Applebloom's mouth.
She spat it out, then sulked.
"You are too keen Applebloom, your the one who's gonna get us caught," Granny Smith stated sternly, entering the room.
"Caught?-" Rarity churped in.
Granny Smith placed her hoof on Rarity's mouth.
"And so are you."
She took the cloth that was in Applebloom's mouth and tied it round Rarity's head, covering her muzzle.
The captive mare's heart started to race. Sweat trickled down her face, causing her to moan.
This is disgusting, she thought.
She felt like she was going throw up, the gag smelt of iron and rotten cheese. Rarity could hardly breath.
What had Applebloom been eating?
"Is she ready?" A familiar voice said from behind her.
Rarity's heart sank as an orange earth pony trotted in front of the unicorn.
Applejack's mane hung loosely over both shoulders, not in the usual pony tail style she usually has it in, her tail the same. Scruffy, tangled and wild, looking like it hadn't been brushed for weeks. But it was her eyes that made Rarity feel uncomfortable. Under the shade of her hat, AJ's eyes looked like a wild wolf's, waiting to pounce on it's prey, to go for the kill. She looked like she hadn't slept for days.
Was that the same pony she was drinking cider with a few minutes ago? Or was it hours? Rarity didn't know.
She then noticed that Applejack's family had the same wolfish look to them, tired, scruffy, evil.
AJ pulled down the gag over Rarity's mouth.
"One scream, an this goes back on," she warned, a menacing grin on her face.
The one thing that Rarity wanted to do was scream. No harm had come to the mare yet, but enough was said to make her want to run.
Rarity took a deep breath.
"What do you want with me Applejack?"
"Ah'm hungry!" Applebloom interrupted.
Big Mac growled at her to keep quiet. Applebloom went back to her sulking.
Rarity couldn't believe her eyes or her ears. Big Mac, the gentle stallion of very few words, acting so aggressively towards his little sister, only for her to sulk?
This made her feel even more queasy. Something wasn't natural here. Something wasn't right.
"Sorry 'bout that, the youngans are always hungry, especially at night time," Big Mac said, his voice calm but disturbing at the same time.
Applejack sat down in front of the white mare.
"I think Granny Smith would be the best to tell you."
Rarity's eyes caught the elderly mare's. A sudden chill went down her spine, she knew what she was going to hear now isn't going to be something pretty.
Granny Smith sat down next to AJ, staring directly at Rarity, making sure she was paying attention.
"Many years ago, long before I, even the princesses, existed, the world was at war with one another. Our apple ancestors amongst other crop growers fought for the day, while the rest fought for the night, the time when most pegasi and unicorns practice their talents.The opposing side were so desperate to win, that they would do anything to try and convince us-"
Applebloom shot out from in between the two mares, leaping at their captive pony. Fortunately for Rarity, Applejack managed to grab Applebloom's tail before she had the chance to make contact.
"Ever since her first transformation, she's been so eager to get her hooves on fresh meat,"
AppleJack growled as she put Applebloom on the ground.
"Fresh meat?" Rarity squeeked quickly.
"Seriously Applebloom, control yourself, any way where was I, oh yes,"
Granny Smith cleared her throat for the last time.
"Most of our side was made up of earth ponies, giving the other side a magical advantage.
The unicorns, with the help of the pegasi placed a curse in the apples water supply.
Well, heh, to make a long story short, the war ended in blood and victory for the day dwellers, all because of that night curse. The same curse has been passed down to us through blood line, all through out the centuries."
Granny Smith chuckled at the last part.
"Why would you be happy over a curse? Anyway, you still haven't explained why I'm here, why me?"
Big Macintosh stood up, before walking over to Rarity, a smile on his big stallion face.
He turned his head towards a window Rarity hadn't noticed before. It was hidden from the outside but you could look out it with ease. The moon was shining bright, illuminating
the night's sky like any other night in Equestria. Big Mac stepped back and stood with his family.
Suddenly, Big Mac winced in pain as he held his head to the floor. Soon the rest of them followed, Applejack being the last.
Tears started to fall out from Applebloom's eyes as she squirmed on the floor.
Rarity's heart started to melt as she watched her friends writhe in agony before her eyes. She was helpless. As quick as a flash, instinct took over, she imagined her own sister lying there.
"Untie me Applebloom, I can help you-"
"NO!" she roared, bearing newly sprouted fangs out at a wide eyed Rarity.
Applejack held her head tightly, crying in pain.
Rarity looked into AJ's eyes, her own eyes leaking with tears. She could feel her pain, her sorrow. For once that evening, Rarity could see past the evil look of the Apples, and see that they are just victims of a curse that her kind had placed upon their family.
Everything didn't seem real. The white mare closed her eyes. Rarity wanted this to be a terrible nightmare, and that she was still in her bed at the Carousel Boutique. That the Country ponies were lying in their farm house having sweet dreams.
She struggled to get out of the prison that held her on that wooden bench. She tossed and turned, all her attempts failed.
When she opened them again, the apples had doubled in size. Even Applebloom was about Rarity's height now. They didn't look like ponies anymore, apart from their back hooves everything was more of a canine structure, even their noses. They lie on the floor, exhausted from the pain and work their bodies went through taking deep breaths. All of them apart from Granny Smith.
Rarity turned her head around searching for the elderly wolf-pony, her own heart beating faster than it was from the start.
Suddenly, Rarity felt hot breath on her ears. She slowly looked up to reveal a very wolf like Granny Smith, paws holding on to the top of the bench.
"You see Rarity, usually we drink a special brew that stops us from transforming every night. But ever so often we need to transform in order to keep our hunger under control. And when we do, we need to feed." Granny Smith started, her voice more of a growl than before.
"It can be any pony really, it just so happens that you had the tankard with the hidden pill in it,"
Applejack chuckled, standing up, an even taller height than her elder.
"That's why we have a cider season in the first place, the pill only starts to work when the bell has rang. When the drug has started to take effect, eveypony else has trotted on home, nopony sees," Big Mac continued, the biggest of all.
Applebloom padded forward, "Don't worry about Sweetiebelle, I'll comfort her in the morning,"
Rarity couldn't speak, she couldn't breath. Four hairy creatures shadowed around her. She was the prey, this was her grave. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as their eyes stared at her, blood thirstily.
"They are not the monsters, the ponies who did this to them are,"
She closed her eyes as she waited for her death.