Fear Within

by VirtualCipher

Chapter 22 - Lies

Her path was consumed in numerous shades of grey, no form of light could be seen. While Applejack continued to look for her friends, the whole time she wore a puzzled expression, pondering wildly on how they just vanished without her noticing. The more her surroundings were surveyed, the more she realised how noiseless and bloodless the fog was.

Fearfully, Applejack was becoming overwhelmed by the fog. Her sight was becoming a little blurry and her head was hit by a wave of irritation, like a headache. She was nauseous, the pain within her head felt bruised inside. The fog was getting to her and she knew it, but she wasn't experiencing any illusions based on her fears, she wasn't thinking about being afraid. Constantly, her mind told her she had nothing to be afraid of.

How wrong she was...

Determined to find her friends and make it through the fog, Applejack continued to move forward even when she felt weakened by the fog that, crawled into her lungs. Her courage could have inspired a lot, but she was brought to a halt when she heard a rather demonic but quiet whisper sink down her ear. Her bones felt shattered; too scared to move another inch.

"Liar..."

She responded to the unknown whisper, speaking with an authoritative manner. "Who's there?!"

A few seconds passed as Applejack barked her command at the looming fog, however, not a single soul was appeared before her, just the daunting fog that crept around her. It was at this time she noticed the fog grow thicker than before, greatly swallowing the path the mare stood on.

"Focus, Applejack!" She growled at herself. "You have nothing to fear, you're not afraid."

"Liar..."

Without warning, Applejack felt consumed by the soft, demonic whispers that scorched her ears. Her sense of sound was becoming distorted by the many voices brimming her mind, constantly calling her what she despised. A liar. The name calling felt like her brain and ears were being scratched. Annoyed with the whispers that became apparent, even as she progressed through the fog, Applejack couldn't take it anymore. Weakly, she collapsed onto the ground where the fog continued to cover her terrain. Both hooves were burrowed into her ears which didn't do a thing, the whispers felt like they were echoing.

Overcome with irritation and anger, Applejack shouted, "Stop! Stop it!"

"Liar..."

"Liar..."

"LIAR!"

"LIAR!"

"LIAR!"

As the voices continued to vex her, Applejack had no way of blocking the voices that lingered around her, it felt like they were trying to unravel her mind; sink her into torment. The sound of male, female and children alike all infiltrated her sense of hearing, aggravating the pony. Applejack could have sworn she recognised the voices to be the ones she loved, like Applebloom and Twilight. Even those she despised could be heard like Flim and Flam; taunting her.

Again, she barked at the voices, "Stop!"

Abruptly, her vision was consumed by a brief flash, cutting her sight from the world around her for a second. Upon opening her eyes and reconnecting with her surroundings, she noticed the fog had cleared and the whispers stopped. She rose from the dirty ground and recognised the unwelcoming forest that trailed worriment into her mind.

She was in the Everfree Forest. Alone.

"What in tarnation is goin' on?" She questioned.

Any view of the sky was blocked by the lifeless, twisted trees' leaves, covering the heavens above. The Everfree Forest felt so alive, bringing chills to the mare. Her nose twitched as she inhaled a disgusting and nauseating smell which had been escorted with a vicious growl. Briskly, Applejack turned herself around to see three pairs of eyes illuminating green. Emerging from the dark were three Timberwolves, growling and widening their mouths, presenting their wooden spear-like teeth.

Applejack backed up from the wooden wolves that lingered towards her, growling in hunger. Bravery and determination quickly brushed across the mare as she replied to the wolves with a courageous smile. She was Applejack, she dealt with these creatures before. She was smarter, stronger and faster than them, she was an athlete after all.

While lunging at her, one of the Timberwolves were ready to pierce their teeth into her skin, but proving her agility to be superior to theirs', Applejack swiftly leapt over them. Not one bit satisfied, the Timberwolves continued to hunt their prey by chasing her, but she was outmanoeuvring them all. Dodging, leaping and sliding, using the forest to her advantage.

Refusing to give up, the Timberwolves continued to chase her while viciously chomping their teeth together.

Bushes, vines and logs all became obstacles for Applejack, but despite her track becoming difficult, she still excelled without any trouble nor distractions. However, a problem ensued. Despite how focused she was, the moment Applejack leapt, her sight was gifted with the same white, brief flash that lasted a second. Her balance was off and the landing she made resulted in her falling onto the dirt.

Slowly, the orange pony lifted herself back up with pain gnawing away at her, that and her hat had become unusually large, tipping over her head and concealing her sight.

"What the?" Applejack said, her voice sounding lighter than normal in a tone of shock.

She lifted her hat from her face to gaze upon her hooves, smaller than before. She was a filly; a helpless child.

"What in the?!" She exclaimed a muddled expression wiped the bravery off her face. "I'm... I'm a filly!"

If she wasn't being chased, Applejack would have remained confused and horrified for a while, but the eerie howls of the Timberwolves snapped her back into reality. She quickly rose back onto her hooves and ran to find somewhere safe, preferably out of the Everfree Forest. Although due to her sudden change, Applejack found the environment around her quite large, she couldn't possibly leap over obstacles without tripping or stumbling, her speed wasn't as adequate than before either.

Panicking and falling into the palm of trepidation, the young filly tripped into a puddle of mud, coughing and nearly running out of breath. The Timberwolves picked up on her scent, tracking her down and locating her in this helpless state.

For the first time in a while, Applejack feared these creatures like never before. The fact that she had been reduced to a younger version of her self-made her feel powerless and scared. She could feel her heart nearly pounding of her chest, trying to break free from her body that acted as a prison for the beating heart.

"Stay- Stay away!" Applejack cried in fear.

Ferociously, the Timberwolves chomped and ground their wooden teeth together, ready to attack their petrified prey. While the young filly silently sobbed, her eyes streaming tears, the Timberwolves stopped in place, almost freezing like statues. The wind brushed through the forest with the leaves dancing, Applejack was too frightened to move.

But finally... She witnessed sky that was pushed behind clouds of gloom, hiding the sky completely. Dauntingly, the clouds shrouded over her. Her eyes gazed upwards as they continued to flow tears. The clouds formed a dark, black pattern which resembled a sinister face as if it was painted with ink. She looked back down at the forest which rotted her stomach, strangling her heart. Her eyes screamed horror. The lifeless trees around her had accommpanied a noose on each branch, hanging there was her friends and family. The ponies she knew were all dangling from the branch, seemingly lifeless.

"No... No!" Applejack screamed, covering her eyes. "This isn't happening!"

Enthralled by horror, sickened by sadness, Applejack sobbed into her hooves, hoping that she would awaken from this realistic nightmare, anticipating a saviour. However, a familiar whisper was recognised, plaguing her sense of hearing. Applejack's pupils shrank as the whisper crawled down her ear, trying to locate who said it, but instead, all she could see were her lifeless loved ones, hanging from the Everfree's strong branches.

"Liar..."

Applejack took notice of Twilight's hanging body, noticing it twitch. Unexpectedly, Twilight's eyes opened and illuminated bright white, screaming: "Liar!"

Her friends and family followed her position, screaming at her. Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Rarity, Fluttershy, the whole of her friends screaming at her, constantly calling her a liar. Applejack broke down into tears of grief. The fog stung into her mind, forcing her to live the fears of being helpless.

Disturbingly, the hanging bodies of her loved ones continued to scream at her, but no matter how hard she tried to block her ears, Applejack could still hear them. She even took notice of a hooded figure walking towards her, she didn't need any doubt. She knew who it was.

Despite that her ears were covered by her hooves, she could hear his low, but devilish voice perfectly.

"The fear of being a liar and reduced to a young and helpless state... How sad, but pathetic." He taunted, the syringe on his wrist extending. "There is a time in our lives where we must all grow up, Applejack..."

Her sight shattered into pieces, nothing but darkness is what she was confronted with.

"Fear is no lie, it is the only truth you need..."

Comments

[Draconicus the Reaper]

Damn! that was disturbingly awesome
for little bit I thought when Applejack was running she was going to accidently lead the wolves to her friends or family or both, but it was much worse and creepier I mean just that ending line from Fright was bucking awesome "Fear is no lie, it is the only truth you need..."
I loved every word of it

[kahnac]

DAMN! And here i thought the PREVIOUS chapter was dark! This takes it to a whole other level. Well done, sir. Well done.

[GrimmWolfDragon]

Nice and dark

[JazzTheFox53rd]

Damn. Was not expecting that. Still enjoying it though.

[Eonflare]

Now madness takes you forever.

[billykilly]

This is amazing!!!

[EMosite CC]

These last two chapters are really good! I especially love the senarios in it! 💕 I can't wait to the the rest of the Mane Six's chapters! 💕
I do wonder how they'll get through all of this....