//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: Living Nightmare 
// Story: The Goddess Inside Us All 
// by That_G3_Obsessive 
//------------------------------//

	"We forgot the Elements!"

My head spun. I couldn't believe that we had forgotten those priceless artifacts. I guess with the shadowy thing tryin' to kidnap Pinkie, we were sort of rushin', but I still beat myself over the head with a mental club. How could I have been so stupid?!

And of all the ponies to forget, it had to be me. Applejack. The glue that holds our friendship together, even when times are tough. Even though they didn't say it, it was pretty obvious that they all depend on me. Now, I had to go and screw everything up by forgetting the only artifacts in Equestria that could save us in the most dangerous part of said country. How could I have been so stupid?!

All of my friends are sayin' not to beat myself up about it. I guess I should, but I can't. One thing about me is that I can't let somethin' go until it's all fixed. Forgettin' the Elements of Harmony is probably somethin' you can't fix.

We all galloped back the way we came faster than a worm in an apple during harvest. Me and Rainbow were in the lead, as always, but for some reason Pinkie Pie wasn't on our tail like when we usually ran(which was surprisingly often). Instead, the poor filly was laggin' behind. She kept lookin' over her shoulder ev'ry two seconds, and slowed down to run backwards. I slowed my pace just slightly until I was side by side with her. 

"What's the matter with you?" I asked, still cantering slowly. 

"I'm afraid that big beastie will come back and eat me for brunch!" Pinkie said. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and full of so much fear, you could probably fill up the barn back home.

No, I thought. Don't think about home. That'll make you sad, AJ.

"Don't worry!" I replied. "It's probably after the Elements, which is why we have to hurry!"

"Oh, I know that!" 

"Then why are you lookin' back there if you know it's not comin' after you?" 

"I dunno," she said. "Force of habit, I guess."

I forced myself not to think about what that statement meant and to keep running. I looked into her eyes again. 

A thing I learned about Pinkie is that she hides nothin' from you. Her emotions are always on display if you look into her eyes. This time, however, I saw that she was deliberately pointing her head forward. 

I imagined locks and chains surrounding her, locking her feelings away in the deep recesses of her heart. I could almost see them, and I imagined that if I uncovered the truth, those locks would shatter into a billion little pieces.

Pinkie says that I have a more vivid imagination than her sometimes. Now that is somethin' I can believe.

"Everypony, start searching!" Twilight called. I hadn't even realized we had arrived.

Pinkie was still looking around, and even skitterin'. I tried to think of what to do to calm her down. As I thought, I started to look on the edge of the forest for where the Elements might have gone. If this mystery-stallion did take them, then he would have left some sort of trail. Pinkie stuck close to my side.

I bent down to sniff shrubs that looked sort of trampled, and my hat up and fell off my head. I kept my rope tucked away in there, so I saw it as I picked it up. 

Then it hit me. 

"Pinkie, if it means somethin' to you, we can tie ourselves together. That way, if the baddie comes back, then we won't be separated."

Her eyes lit up. I tied a firm knot around her torso, then connected the other end to my own. There was one thing on the back of my mind that was botherin' me, but I didn't share it. It would have spooked her again.

What if the creature broke the rope?

I shook my head to get rid o' those bad thoughts. That was white whale thinkin'. Hunting it would destroy me. 

Pinkie nudged my shoulder with a hoof. She pointed at a small bush, rustlin' up a storm. She squeaked a little as I crept up to the shrub and pulled aside a few branches. Inside was a... bunny.

"It's just a fuzzy li'l rabbit, Pinkie," I said. "Calm down. It's not gonna hurt you."

Pinkie laughed nervously. "Oh, AJ!" she replied. "I totally knew that the whole time! Hehehe..."

The bunny hopped up to me and chittered rapidly. I called Fluttershy over.

"Oh, my, Angel!" she said, pickin' up the rabbit in a hug.  "What are you doing here? You should be at home!"

Angel Bunny talked up a storm with Fluttershy. Now, I can't speak rabbit, but whatever he said, Fluttershy's face kept gettin' darker and darker. 

"Oh..." she whispered when Angel was done. "That's bad. That's very, very bad."

"What?" Pinkie asked. "What's he saying?"

Fluttershy gulped. "He says... he says that something is happening to Ponyville. There are big shadows everywhere. Ponies are going missing, including..." She looked at me sadly. 

"Just spit it out, sugarcube," I said. My heart startin' racin' just lookin' in her eyes. 

"Including Apple Bloom." 

My heart stopped racin', and sank faster than a Cragodile in the ocean. "A-Apple Bloom?" I stuttered. 

Pinkie put a hoof over my shoulder. Fluttershy wouldn't meet my eyes. My brain wouldn't believe it, but I knew in my heart that it was true. Apple Bloom was gone. 

Fluttershy continued. "He says that the missing ponies are mainly earth ponies, with several pegasi and unicorns gone, too. He mentioned a few... Cloud Chaser, Lyra Heartstrings, Carrot Top, and Mr. Cake. They've just vanished overnight."

Pinkie Pie looked distraught when Mr. Cake was mentioned, but I couldn't bear to look at anything but the ground. 

"I'd... I'd better go tell the others," Fluttershy muttered, puttin' Angel on her back. "I'm so sorry, Applejack."

She slowly walked away. I watched her tell the others. I watched their faces dawn with surprise, then sadness. I couldn't hear anything. I just watched. 

Dimly I noticed that Pinkie's hoof had left my shoulder. In slow motion, I felt the lasso 'round my waist tighten. Suddenly, I was on my back, and everything was real.

I could hear Pinkie screamin' behind me. I clawed at everything, anything with my hooves, but we were movin' too fast. The branches stung my face as they whipped by. I shouted for help, but it was too late. We were too far away. 

The rope dug into my stomach, cutting off my breath. I kept knockin' into trees, and they left me dazed every time. I started seein' black spots in my vision. Pinkie's voice became tinny and far away, then it stopped altogether. I slammed into a large oak tree, and then everythin' was gone.