Apple Bloom

by Noratcat

Chapter 9

The fire cast a low glow within the room, yet she took in the darkness. It always held her, comforting her, soothing her. Her black eyes looked about her parlor. Moments ago she had felt something, a loss. Although she couldn't see it, she knew the full moon had changed. So the filly had actually gotten one. In all honesty she had half expected her to win. She had to admit, Apple Bloom was far more resilient than the others she had ensnared. The last three had given in so easily to the luxury offered to them. Yet not this little pony. Something about her reminded her of her last visitor.

How many years had it been?

Thinking back, they had the same look, the same twang in the voice. Although one had been lime green, the resemblance was more than just by appearances, close as they were.

What was her name? Oh she had forgotten, but it had something to do with apples.

Apple Bloom

It made sense now. She wondered why she didn't see it before. Maybe it had been fate providing a bounty. A light chuckle parted from her lips. Perhaps she should have faith in her dear little sugar cube. Two more eyes to find, and the night was still young.

Something more comfortable would be needed to properly greet her little guest.

So her body began to contort and shed away the half equine form. One should be true to oneself after all.

Up above, a shadow crept over the moon.

XXX

Apple Bloom and the Other Spike hadn't said a word to each other since they had left the orchard. Frankly she didn't know what to say to the fake dragon. No, fake wasn't a nice word to say. Other Spike was just as real as anypony else, even if he was copied off someone she knew. The dragon kept up with her hiding his arm all the while. But she knew what it truly looked like: pink and shriveled. She would have asked how it felt, but she didn't want to seem rude. She had better manners than that. But the childish part of her mind egged her on.

Come on ask him! Don't be yellow!

If Scootaloo was present, she would have probably asked him right away. Sweetie Belle would probably have been more polite.

No don't ask him! It's not polite!

The more her mind wrestled, she found the two voices starting to resemble her two friends. Of course she found herself listening more to the one that sounded akin to Sweetiebelle. Her mind thought back to their other versions. It made her wonder...would they obey the Other Sister just as the Other Big Macintosh? It raised a good question. They were all created by the witch so there was reason to think they would obey if given the command. Although that left out the Other Spike. He didn't seem to be the kind to betray. Something about his concern seemed genuine. Thinking back to when everything in this world became clear, the Other Big Macintosh slowly collapsed into insanity, while the Other Spike defied his creator's orders. But it made her wonder all the same. Would he turn on her? The risk seemed great, especially seeing as they were close now. Though whenever those thoughts crept into her head, they would disappear just like that.

He wouldn't betray her, her gut advised her against it.

"We're here." The Other Spike spoke for the first time since they had set out. Before their eyes was the rodeo. Granny Smith's rodeo to be precise.

When Apple Bloom thought of the possibilities of the "three wonders", she had remembered how mesmerized she had been by the rodeo. If that wasn't a wonder than she didn't know what was. Her little hooves nearly trotted herself over to it, but stopped at that moment. Her eyes trailed to the Other Spike's arm, the one he was trying his best to hide. Apple Bloom could still see the faint outline of the pink under flesh. Or rather the withered remains of it. Again the question of the arm sprang up in her mind. Once more she ignored its calling. Politeness reigned over her.

Still she had to ask though. "Spike?"

The dragon looked up at her.

"Do y'all still want to come with me? Ah mean, ya could stay behind if ya want." A silly question, contradictory even seeing as she had asked him to come along. It may have been selfish then, partially, but she was in a desperate state. She had nearly been killed by zombified versions of her family that would make anypony want help (or so she assumed).

The Other Spike forged a perfect smile. "Of course I do! I don't want to leave you."

That had to make her smile. He was a determined little reptile. It spurred a ponder of how he would react to meeting the real Spike and vice versa. That had the potential for comedy. But this wasn't the time for such things. This was a serious matter. As the pair strolled towards the rodeo, Apple Bloom could feel the loss of joy in the air. The atmosphere of this jolly location was washed over in the tide of gloom. It made sense considering the circumstances.

A brisk wind briefly blew past the field. Dirt and dust kicked up into tiny twisters. What horrors awaited them inside? The filly could only imagine it and the imagery wasn't good. Most certainly the ghost eye would be hidden around a fantastic, challenging trap.

Apple Bloom found herself wrong. Both counts to be precise.

There it was, situated upon a barrel, was the ghost eye. It was too far away to make its appearance, but she knew from the round shape what it was.

"Well this is easy." Apple Bloom commented confidently.

She trotted up towards the barrel with hope in her step.

"Apple Bloom wait!" The Other Spike called. The dragon looked around worriedly with his button eyes. In his moment of worry, he had pulled out his withered arm then quickly retracting it the moment he noticed he did so.

Apple Bloom paid the warning no heed as she continued to trot forward.

"Going somewhere deary?"

Apple Bloom stopped dead in her tracks.

Right on cue came the cold wind against her mane. Running up her neck and down her spine. The chilling voice held a tone of familiarity. It held an echo in it's underlining rasp, but the voice linking it had a corrupted version of the joyous drawl she had known both outside and inside this world. Turning around, she noticed a strange could covering the rodeo grounds. The wind kicked it up sending more twisters in their wake.

Behind the twisters, she could see the Other Spike with a worried tone etching his scaly face.

"Spike!" Apple Bloom called as the wind continued to speed up more dirt. She closed her eyes as it spread.

Crish Crish.

The sound came over the wind. To Apple Bloom it sounded just like when Big Macintosh plowed the fields. Only it had a metallic undertone to it. Apple Bloom kept her eyes peeled for anything. As much as she wanted to close it, she kept them open, forced herself even.

Crish Crish.

The sound came again. Amidst the dust, she could see a glint the glint vanished for a moment, and then it came again.

"Oh don't be scared deary; Granny just wants to take a peek at you."

The voice rasped in its hideous tone. She couldn't shake what it was. Her mind tried to think up a possibility to who it belonged to. Honestly she didn't think she could handle her possibly correct assumption.

Crish Crish

Apple Bloom could feel a breath followed by a swish of the wind. Something was behind her, observing her, watching her. As she turned her head, she could feel whatever it was had vanished. Then she felt it in front of her only to turn and find herself facing thin air.

"Granny has such big eyes. All the better to see you with."

The movement grew closer and in the dust, she could see two black buttons. The metal glint shone through clawing at the ground. Yes they were claws; claws where there were once hooves. The dust continued to blow as a long shape slithered through. The shape was long and lime green, but it held the appearance of scales instead of a flank. Before Apple Bloom could react, it came into full view moving right up in front of her face. Face to face she met her grandmother. Or rather the other version of her. Just like the Other Big Macintosh, she too had changed. No longer did she have the shape of a pony. What she could see was described only as a reptile of sorts. Almost like a snake. A long neck of scales and ridged stood out like plates against the neck the face of the Other Granny Smith had become just like a serpents. The same applied to the rest of the body. The legs however were like the skinny legs of a centipede. At the end were the hooves, split apart into three knives clawing at the ground. The demonic pony dragged her way across the field. As she did, Apple Bloom could make out the rest of her body. The legs were of the same manner of the one she could clearly see. The same pattern and design complete with the knife feet. The button eyes peeked out from underneath the matted, long gray mane.

A cold breath hit her face as the Other Granny Smith opened her mouth to say something. When she did, Apple Bloom could see rows of sharp teeth behind the gums. "Granny's got big teeth, all the better to eat you with my dear."

A bead of sweat ran down her face. The monster version of her grandmother, it reminded her of a story she once read. But that story involved a wolf and some pony in a red hood. The Other Granny Smith reared her head back to strike. Of course it gave Apple Bloom the chance to duck just as the serpentine head dove. It didn't last forever as the Other Granny Smith was quick to act. Quick and deadly that is. Apple Bloom ran with much fear carrying her along. The monstrous grandmother whirled around and whirled underneath. Apple Bloom could feel the air against her body as she trotted underneath the beast. While she ran she caught a glimpse upward and noticed the plating didn't apply to the underside which was tender looking.

"Don't run deary. Granny just wants a look at you!" The voice echoed in the back of her head. It only made her run faster. But it wasn't fast enough even after she made it back into open air. The Other Granny Smith simply twirled around using her sinuous body to maneuver herself around. Apple Bloom found herself back to square one. Another snapping of the jaws made her leap upward and duck as the claws came next. The monster's long body served as a great means for movement. Apple Bloom didn't have much to react to herself. In moments she found herself coiled within. As much as the filly struggled, she couldn't break free.

"Ungh! Uh!" she grunted. A blast of air hit her face as she stared into the eyes of the Other Granny Smith.

"Don't struggle deary. You'll only make Granny mad." The creature warned.

Her mouth opened again showing off the silvery fangs. Slowly she leaned in, it made the stories of monsters under the bed seem all too real. Apple Bloom couldn't find anything she could use. Well there was something. Although the monster was plated, she noticed something she had noticed underneath.

"Well, here goes nothing." She thought and so she dug in.

At that moment, the Other Granny Smith let out a wail as her granddaughter of sorts bit down hard into her bare underbelly. In the grip of pain, she uncoiled herself to sooth the reddened area, marred by the teeth marks. It proved an unwise endeavor as Apple Bloom took that moment to run. Where she ran was obvious.

"NO!" the Other Granny Smith cried out in horror. Despite the pain, she resumed her chase snatching at Apple Bloom with her knifed claws.

Apple Bloom felt like her chest was on fire as she ran, but she kept going and when she saw her moment she dove. Her tiny body crashed into the barrel, not the most graceful of landing nor even where she wanted to go, but she found what she was looking for knocked within reach.

CRISH! CRISH!

The sound became louder as the demonic granny weaved herself ever closer. With wide, frightened eyes, Apple Bloom placed a hoof upon the round object. It was a round red ball, actually more like the nose one would find on a rodeo clown. Yet she knew its true nature: a ghost eye.

The Other Granny Smith let out a shriek, but that was it. The shriek ended right then and there as her whole body stiffened and froze. The dust storm that had reigned since they had began instantly died. Just as the apple orchard, a strange cracking sound came and in moments, everything, including the Other Granny Smith was covered in the deathly color. Apple Bloom felt a heavy fire in her chest. That had been a push for her, but she had made it.

"Be careful girl, the Beldam won't relent."

Apple Bloom looked to the clown nose to see it had taken on a glow. The image of the unicorn filly stared back with her button eyed gaze. Then she vanished. With a wide grin, Apple Bloom deposited the ghost eye along with its fellow. Two down, one to go. Strangely she found herself quickly reacting to this all. She had nearly been killed by another copy of a family member and she hardly seemed fazed. Although it could mean she was growing used to this place...that worried her. But really her only worry that she cared more about was someone.

"Spike!" she called as she noticed the limping purple shape.

Apple Bloom trotted over to the copy dragon but skid to a halt with a gasp. A pitter patter of scales fell to the ground the moment she did. More than just a pitter patter, a whole pile fell to the ground. The Other Spike hadn't just lost a limbs worth, he had lost practically his entire lower body leaving only his right leg scaly. The rest revealed only the same pink flesh which withered upon exposure to the open air.

"Apple...Bloom," The Other Spike wheezed out a breath, "I'm sorry... I couldn't... see. I would have... helped if... I could." Then he collapsed.

"Spike!" Apple Bloom rushed to his side helping him up.

Above unnoticed by the little pony, the shadow over the moon grew larger. From her hidden perch the Beldam smiled as she felt the pain her little puppet dragon was in. Apple Bloom would have to learn that no action goes unpunished. Although Apple Bloom wasn't the one being punished.

The game still had one more round.

Comments

[PhantomSage21098]

Keep it up. It getting good.