//------------------------------//
// 32 - Ghosts of the Past 
// Story: The Apple Falls Far from the Tree 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

Stepping forward hesitantly, the four pressed into the darkness. This wasn't any normal lack of light. They could feel the gloom pressing in on them from all directions, making it hard to see much past the next person beside them. Scootaloo found a door and nudged it open slowly, peeking inside.

A humanoid doctor in a blood-splattered labcoat was hunched over a pony on a table. "Simply speak the truth, and we can both go home. Don't you want to be free?"

The pony couldn't answer. The mare's tongue had been removed, blood spread around her snout as she gurgled and squirmed. "No no, you're lying again. We'll get through to you..."

Scootaloo backed away from the door with a shiver. "Not that one... Guys, this place is crazy."

Apple Bloom's ears fell. "We can't leave Applejack here for even a minute longer!"

Resolving to rescue their largest member, they pressed on into the dark.

"Dad?" Sunflower stared off at something. "Wait, Dad!" He ran off, quickly lost in the gloom. The girls rushed to keep up with him, but he was gone, as if the darkness had simply snatched him up.

Sweetie Belle squeaked shrilly and grabbed the other two, pulling them close. "I wanna go home now."

Apple Bloom stomped the floor. "Not without Applejack!"

Scootaloo pointed in the direction Sunflower had run off in. "And Sunflower. C'mon. We don't abandon Crusaders."

"My my my, look at the trouble the blank flanks have gotten themselves into today." Emerging from the darkness came the pink form of Diamond Tiara, followed shortly by the grey form of Silver Spoon. "They couldn't even keep track of their big sister. Pathetic."

Apple Bloom jerked her head back as she peered at the new arrivals. "W-What? How did you two get here?"

Silver Spoon leaned in close to Sweetie Belle. "This one looks like she's about to cry."

Diamond snorted derisively. "Don't worry about that, Apple Dud. A blank flank like you wouldn't understand anyway." She ran a hoof through her mane. "You think you can rescue your friends? I bet you can't even rescue yourselves."

Scootaloo spread her wings. "Shut up! We're adventurers now. We can do anything we want."

Silver pointed at Scootaloo. "Do you hear something, Diamond? I think that chicken is trying to talk to us." They laughed in their mocking titters. Scootaloo spread her wings and jumped into the air, but her wings refused to hold her up and she flopped gracelessly back to the ground. "Ohhh, you almost had it chicken. Just try harder." The laughing grew more intense.

Sweetie shook her head quickly. "Diamond, Silver, this isn't the time for any of this. Applejack's in real danger! Help us."

Apple Bloom gasped in shock. "Them? Help us? As if they'd ever."

Diamond Tiara walked up to Sweetie Belle. "You want us to help? Of course you do. You're just a little blank flank." She reached out and patted Sweetie Belle on the head patronizingly. "You just want to go home, don't you? We can get you home."

Silver Spoon moved in beside Diamond, nodding. "We can get you home, Sweetie Belle. Away from all of this."

Sweetie locked up a moment. "Y-you can? How? Please!" She clopped her hooves together once, falling to her knees. "Send us all back!"

"Just close your eyes," they spoke together with an eerie sync. Sweetie snapped her eyes shut, sniffling loudly.

Apple Bloom jumped at Silver Spoon. "Sweetie!" Sweetie opened her eyes to see Silver Spoon had drawn a butcher's cleaver at some point and was holding it to her neck and Sweetie began to tremble uncontrollably. Diamond Tiara caught the jumping Apple Bloom and threw her to the ground.

"The only way you're going home is in a bag, blank flanks." Diamond Tiara kicked Apple Bloom in the side. "Where you belong."

Scootaloo charged past Diamond Tiara and stabbed Silver Spoon in the gut with her rapier, flame and acid burst free of the weapon, knocking Silver Spoon away with a growl of pain.

Silver snarled at Scootaloo. "You want to go first, chicken? That's fine by me. That barely hurt at all. You think you're a big tough adventurer now? You hit like a little foal." Where Silver had been stabbed, no blood emerged, just a thick dollop of black, tar-like sludge.

Diamond Tiara grinned widely. "No wonder they came here. They have to be nuts if they think they can just fight past us. Imagine it, blank flanks overpowering us." They laughed together as they brought their hooves together in a hoofbump.

While their attention was diverted, Apple Bloom scrambled to her hooves. "Ah think it's time ta go, girls."

Diamond sneered. "Yes, go on, run away. That's something you're good at, at least."

Silver giggled. "A natural defense for a bunch of blank flanks. Not that it'll help them."

The Crusaders quickly regrouped and fled the bullies, their laughter following them even as darkness swallowed their forms quickly. After they had turned a few corners in a hurry, they sank together in a pile. Apple Bloom grunted. "That was crazy! How did they get here?"

Sweetie Belle sagged to the floor. "They aren't usually that mean..."

Scootaloo nodded. "Well, yeah, I mean... They never tried to cut somepony before. Something's fishy about the whole thing."

Sweetie gestured around. "This whole place is filled with crazy. I'm scared."

Apple Bloom nodded as she sat up. "Ah'm scared too, but we have ta keep it togetha. Sweetie, why don't you sing?"

Sweetie tilted her head. "This doesn't feel like the time for songs. They might hear us."

Scootaloo shook herself out vigorously and spread her wings. "Work!" She took off and sailed a few feet before quickly rejoining the others with a bright smile. "See, we can handle this. Go on, Sweetie."

Sweetie gave a slow nod before she drew her breath. A shove sent her sprawling face-first onto the tiled floor. "So this is who you abandoned me for?"

Standing there was Twist, with her creamy coat, large purple glasses, and bright red mane and tail. "What did I ever do to you?" She had her nasal lisp in full effect as she stomped the ground. "We were friends!"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "What? We never stopped being friends. How'd you get here?"

Twist pointed a hoof at Apple Bloom accusingly. "You barely even talk to me after you founded your 'Cruthaders!'. The moment I got my cutie mark, I wathn't good enough for any of you." She drew out a two-foot-long candy cane. "I'll thow you how good my thweets are!"

Apple Bloom held up her hooves placatingly. "Woah now, hold yer horses. Ain't none of us thinking you're not 'good enough', Twist. Yer jus' fine."

Twist growled at Apple Bloom, pawing at the ground. "Then why don't we ever hang out anymore? I'm not an idiot, Apple Bloom!"

Sweetie recovered from her rude shoving and looked back and forth between Twist and Apple Bloom. "I didn't know you were lonely Twist. If you wanted to hang out, you coulda just asked." Scootaloo bobbed her head in agreement.

Twist stepped forward, giving a sudden flick of her neck. The candy cane in her mouth became sharp at both ends, lengthening into serrated edges and pointed tips. "I never had to ath before I had my cutie mark."

The Crusaders began backing away from her with timid steps. Apple Bloom tried assuming a confident stance. "You're taking this way outta proportion, Twist. You're totally our friend. In fact, we could hang out right now. We're looking for mah big sister, Applejack?"

Twist hesitated a moment, then swung the deadly confection around to rest on her back somehow. "Alright. Juth like old timeth." She smiled then, showing off white teeth as she turned in place. "I think I heard her thith way."

The Crusaders gave a collective sigh of relief and began to follow Twist. Scootaloo tilted her head a little. "Say, Twist? What's up with the weaponized candy?"

Twist looked over her shoulder. "A lady hath to defend herthelf. Thith plathe is dangerouth."

Sweetie blinked. "That... makes sense."

Twist bobbed her head, then pointed. "You have weaponth too."

Sweetie raised her forelegs. "Not me!"

Twist smiled. "You alwayth were the thweet one. I could make thuch good candy out of you."

"What?"

"Nothing. Thith way."

A shrill cry echoed down the hallways, but it was impossible to determine what direction it came form. The Crusaders huddled tightly together as they went, cowering from the darkness. "Thith way!" Twist waved at them and pushed open a door, vanishing into the space beyond.

Scootaloo shook her head. "I don't think we should be following her."

Sweetie agreed emphatically. "She's probably leading us into a trap."

Apple Bloom sagged a little. "What do y'all suggest? Ah'm lost." The other two looked around at all the near-identical looking hallways and hung their heads in defeat. With forward being as good a direction as any other, they advanced after Twist.

Past the door were stairs going both up and down in a spiral. Twist was nowhere in sight. None of them were entirely certain if they should be alarmed or relieved at that fact. As they considered ascent or descent, they heard a familiar taunting giggle approaching from down the hallway. Diamond and Silver were approaching.

Apple Bloom pointed upwards and began climbing quickly without a word, the other two trailing after her. The stairs suddenly gave a powerful lurch as if they were caught in an earthquake. With the sound of tortured stone and metal, the stairs broke away from the wall and leaned off to the side, threatening to throw them off into the stair well to fall. Sweetie caught herself, hooves landing on the guard rail. With a quick action she grabbed Apple Bloom by the scruff. Scootaloo took flight and looped around to help push them onto the badly-slanted flight of stairs. "Thanks girls." Apple Bloom gave a nervous smile. "Ya really saved mah flank there."

"Too bad it's such a blank flank," came Diamond Tiara's voice, somehow above them on the next flight. "Game's over, losers."

"Yeah, losers." Silver Spoon approached from below them, sneering. "Nopony will even miss you three after you're gone."

Diamond Tiara tapped her chin. "You know, maybe I'm being a little mean..."

Silver tilted her head at her conspirator. "What do you mean?"

Diamond drew out an already blazing-hot looking brand. "We should help them not be so blank anymore."

Silver drew out one of her own. "Oh that's a great idea! Stay still, this'll only hurt for a moment."

Scootaloo spoke the words of size and swelled in mass and power. "All aboard!" The others were quick in scrambling up onto the larger Scootaloo. 

Sweetie Bell asked even as Scootaloo threw herself off the edge. "Can you fly with them around?"