note: the spacing of this doc fails on mobile devices. Deal with it
google docs: probably better formatting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bGzEogSDlBx1iITRUWMt9qub3QnBhLmuf9u_rAZtxFU/edit
Fury of the Forgotten
by Davey-
Chapter One - Scent
The melodic chirping of birds drifted gracefully into Twilight Sparkle's bedroom as she smiled proudly at the numerous stacks of books surrounding her bed. "Perfect! I've completely finished with Equestrian history!" she announced to no pony in particular. Lifting her gaze from her books, she stared out at the shining sky. Still smiling, the purple unicorn levitated yet another stack of books over to her bed. "Now to catch up on some physics!". Giggling with glee and rubbing her hooves together, the over enthusiastic filly pulled the first book off of the stack and began to flip from page to page, her eyes darting back and forth as she took in both old and new information.
So much unknown! Nothing will spoil this day!
Celestia’s day slowly grew into Luna’s night, signalled by the appearance of a milky-white crescent amongst the glimmer of a thousand stars. Twilight continued to read feverishly, attempting to take in as much of the knowledge her books kept from her before... Too late. The unicorn released a long and truthful yawn, stretching her forelegs carefully, releasing the tension that lazing around all day had built up in them. A second yawn more powerful than the first indicated the end of today's study session. She had just now noticed the strain she had put on her eyes, squinting them to focus them in on her window.
Night already? Did I really read for that long?
It was a slight shock, even to her, how dedicated she was sometimes, but with Spike sorting books all day and Owlowicious delivering a letter to her parents for her, it was very logical that she could become fully immersed in her studies, undisturbed. Reluctantly closing her book, she carefully levitated a few of the stacks aside so she could manage to reach her bedroom door.
I better clean up a little before bed.
A lavender glow surrounded the iron handle as it silently turned in Twilight's attempt to make as little noise as possible since Spike preferred to sleep early in the night. At this thought, the unicorn turned her head slightly towards the bed of her number one assistant, but adopted a quizzical expression at his absence from the small bed.
If he isn't sleeping, then where is that dragon? I haven't seen him all day...
Twilight paused with the door half open, trying to remember what Spike had last told her.
He didn't mention going anywhere, or do something unusual, where could he have gotten off to?
As if on cue, the purple scaled dragon shot through the open door like a bullet, wrapping his arms tightly around Twilight's right foreleg, unintentionally digging his claws in and drawing a few trickles of blood as a result. Twilight Sparkle shouted in pain louder than she would have liked and immediately scolded the dragon. "Ow! Spike! Let go of me! What has gotten into you! That is no way to behave!" But as her anger faded and she gazed down at the still clinging Spike, she realized that he was crying loudly, his half hidden eyes as red as the sun. Twilight instantly entered panic mode, worried about her baby dragon. "Spike? Are you okay? What's wrong? Did something happen to you?" The questions began to fly out of the frantic unicorn faster than the distraught dragon could answer them.
"Twi-tw-twi-ow-owl-ow-", he stuttered before returning to his deafening cries. The dragon dug his claws in deeper, as if holding on for dear life. Twilight attempted to shake him loose, but to no avail.
Twilight had seen Spike upset before, and more than once had she dried his tears, consoled him, and brought him a big ice cream sundae to cheer him up... but this time was different. The tiny dragon showed no sign of removing his little claws from the unicorns foreleg as he screamed pure misery rather than simple sadness through his sobbing.
Something is horribly wrong.
As each second passed, Twilight's leg pain faded, only to be replaced with the mental stress of Spike's unstoppable fit. Each shriek from the clearly traumatized dragon pierced the unicorns heart.
No time to figure this out, something must have happened, something bad.
The purple-coated mare finally managed to push her assistant aside and bolted out the door towards the staircase. As she approached the top step, a wretched smell caught her attention, resembling discarded food left to rot in a dumpster for weeks.
No, this is stronger... almost like some form of decay.
Pausing momentarily in a vain attempt to place the scent, it began to overpower Twilight's senses. The smell that now assaulted her burned at her eyes from its pure strength, forcing them shut. As the putrid smell of death hung in the air around her, it began to pull Twilight’s stomach into her throat along with all of its contents.
Oh Celestia.
Falling against the railing of the staircase and holding her stomach, the lavender mare began to dry heave violently. The taste of bile filled her mouth, pushing her closer to vomiting with each outburst of severe coughing and gagging. Through her hacking and heaving, Twilight's vision began to blur, her head aching from the barrage of pain the scent caused in her sinuses. The burning sensation of her stomach's acid flowing into her esophagus rose to her mouth, finally winning the battle against her will as she hunched over and expelled the vile taste from her mouth. The vomiting intensified as the putrid flavor of her half digested meals passed over her tongue, creating a sickening taste within her mouth.
What in Equestria could produce such a scent? Something so strong that it could induce vomiting? Dare I find out?
Concealed behind a certain unicorn’s bed, a small purple dragon resided, curled into a ball with one claw in his mouth.
Why? Why would anypony do this?
Spike began to viciously bite down on his thumb as past images of the day flashed in his mind, causing his head to ache painfully, like nails being driven deep into his skull. “Ahhhhhhhhh!” He screamed as his thoughts drifted to the sight in the library no more than six minutes ago. “D-d-did he d-do someth-thing to deserve th-that?” The dragon managed through burning sobs.
I wish Twilight hadn’t run down there...
Barely regaining control over her stomach and the burning pain in the pit of it, Twilight staggered down the stairs while levitating a tissue to her mouth, wiping away the last of the vomit. But as she approached the base of the staircase, the scent grew in intensity, almost driving her back into her sickness.
Stay strong Twi, you have to find what Spike found.
At that thought the innocent bookworm gritted her teeth and fought with determination to carry on, focusing all of her energy into resisting her stomachs yearning to vomit, but as she drew closer to the source of the smell, the determination was replaced by fear and nausea. The source of the deathly fragrance? A small desk with something wretched concealed behind it.
Please Celestia...
She held her breath, her face burning as she began grinding her teeth slowly. Feeling each drop of sweat crawl slowly down her face, the fear she felt intensified as each hoof fall brought her closer and closer to what had reduced Spike to horrifying anguish. Closer to what caused her to vomit profusely from scent alone. Closer to what would steal her innocence away from her forever.
As Twilight approached the scent, a glare from a nearby light caught her eye through its reflection on top of the desk, almost beckoning to her, drawing her in.
That’s strange... this desks finish is too worn to reflect light...
Her curiosity gripped her and pulled her closer to what appeared to be a form of liquid spread over the desk top, a liquid she recognized immediately, but couldn’t believe.
Is that...
Blood. Dark crimson smears coated the old desk in grotesque amounts, intentionally having been lead in a trail to the back corner where it formed a disturbingly large pool, dripping slowly over the edge to the ground below. As the intrigue of the spectacle drew the unicorn closer, the smears began taking the appearance of letters that had been carelessly painted out of some poor creatures blood.
Is this some kind of sick joke?
The thought of somepony the purple mare trusted pulling such an insensitive and disgusting prank like this renewed the nausea from earlier within her. With her legs trembling, Twilight fought to lift her hooves and move them forward, trying to reach a distance at which she could read the twisted text, taking note of what had been used to create the horrifying message. Twilight’s mouth hung open as her eyes settled on what seemed like a bunny, damaged beyond all recognition with a severed paw used to dot the letter ‘i’ that she could now make out.
i will
take
everything
from
you
Twilight’s body ceased all motion, her heart feeling as though it were refusing to beat in her chest, but rather finding a new home within her throat, gagging the unicorn with each of its relentless beats.
This can’t be a joke.
Her mind began to race as a million questions without answers assaulted her at once.
‘what does it mean?’
‘who would do this?’
‘what have they done?’
‘where did the blood come from?’
‘what did the blood come from?’
‘is this what traumatized spike?’
‘what if it isn’t?’
‘is there something worse?’
‘where is the smell coming from?’
Growing dizzy from the mass of inquiries she was failing to sort, Twilight began to lose balance, wobbling from side to side. Vision swaying, she crossed her hooves repeatedly as she sidestepped left and right. Slowly regaining control over her now jello like legs, she once again felt the rage of her stomach attempting to betray her once more. FIghting as long as she could, Twilight eventually gave in and settled on leaning over to vomit once again. Having previously relinquished all of her past meals on the staircase, the putrid taste of pure bile stung at the unicorns throat and tongue.
Come on Twi, keep control, it’s only going to get worse...
She shuddered at the thought of ‘worse’.
Carefully, Spike pushed Twilight’s bedroom window open, allowing the cool night air to sweep in and envelop him like a comforting blanket. Night. Luna’s gift to every citizen of Equestria. As he stared up at the deep blue glow of the sky, his eyes reflected the small glimmer of the stars that dotted the mystic expanse.
Where should I go?
The dragon considered this for a moment, realizing the hopelessness of his situation. Rainbow Dash was out of reach, The Cakes had their hooves full with Pinkie and the little foals, Rarity was in Canterlot for the week, Applejack lived too far from the library, and Fluttershy was too close to the Everfree forest. No pony seemed to have a home for Spike other than Twilight, but recent events had made it too painful to even consider going back to the main floor of the library. Spike thought for a moment, closing his eyes tight in an attempt to hide from his memories.
I just need to get away from this.
Settling on his choice, he hopped into the window and stepped out onto a large tree branch.
Why?
The only question that still lingered in his mind stung deep in the depths of Spike’s heart, resembling the feeling of losing a loved one. Hanging his head, the dragon watched solemnly as tear after tear dropped from his eyes to the ground below.
Why would somepony take away Owlowicious?
A blood curdling scream pierced the silence of the library as Twilight drew back in horror from the source of the wretched smell. “No!” She cried as her breath caught in her throat, driving her into a nearby bookcase as she gasped to regain lost air. There, behind the desk with its hateful message was the source of the blood used to write it.
No! No Celestia no! Please!
Upon the library floor lay an arrangement of small animals in the shape of a crescent moon, all remorselessly decapitated; but worst of all, Twilight’s eyes settled on the focal point of the sociopathic art show... Owlowicious... or what remained of the loyal avion. Her once faithful, second assistant, lie dead in the center of the gruesome moon, feathers half torn out and littering the display. Twilight’s mouth became drier than it had ever been before, as though she hadn’t had any form of liquid in it for weeks. She struggled vainly to rehydrate her saliva-less mouth, unintentionally allowing the vile taste of vomit to make itself known once more to the unicorn. Her brain halted its attempts to figure out what had happened, adopting the plan to just decipher what was in front of her now.
Th-this is sick!
Gagging, the unicorn felt the vomit once again returning to her throat, faster and more forceful than it had before, expelling itself onto her lavender coat. The acidic solution heated the areas it affected, creating a burning sensation. The source of the vile scent was clear to her suddenly as her eyes, now wide as saucers, took note of the level of decay the critters forming the moon had reached. Their fragile little bodies had been harshly split open in many different places, leaving jagged wounds which allowed their entrails to spill out from every new opening. Judging by the carrion that dug its way through the decaying flesh of the small animals, it was clear the attacker had killed them weeks before, fiendishly allowing them to rot to drive the sick message straight into Twilight’s heart. The look in the vulnerable creatures’ eyes almost cried out to Twilight that they had endured much pain while still alive before being granted the gift of death.
Who could do something so horrific?!
The saddest sight, and probably the one to cause so much trauma to Spike was that of her other assistant. With his feathers mostly gone and wings ripped painfully off, Owlowicious lay in a heap of fresh blood and organs. His eyes had been removed from their sockets and his talons chipped away. From the display that burned itself into Twilight’s mind, it was clear that they had all been heartlessly tortured before having their necks swiftly broken.
No... No please, let this be a dream, a horrible, terrifying nightmare! This is wrong, so very wrong... No!
The unicorn collapsed in a heap, her limbs giving up on supporting her torso, aching from their violent, non-stop shaking. Tears streamed like rivers from the eyes of the emotionally damaged mare, her mind repeating the scene in her head, destroying every last bit of sanity remaining in her mind. Twilight’s crying intensified as her breathing and heart rate increased simultaneously, overwhelming her own will. Once again she found herself gasping for air, struggling to overcome the shock of what she had just seen. Slowly, shadows clawed into the unicorns eyes, pulling veils of darkness over her vision, relentlessly dragging her away from the world. She was losing consciousness, and she knew it. Twilight fought as hard as she could for many things, she fought for air, she fought for strength, she fought for clarity, but no matter how hard she tried, she found herself unable to fight for long. Allowing the darkness to consume her, the pained weeping that was escaping her gradually died out, and finally, after what felt like eternity, Twilight grew still and silent.
From the lower floor window of the now quiet library, a cloaked pony gazed in at the tragic image of the broken unicorn lying unconscious in a pool of her own bile and tears. Barely visible in the concealing darkness of night, her eyes radiated pure malice. Slowly, the mysterious mare began licking her lips deviously, whispering defiantly into the window.
“Oh my dear Twilight. I have only just begun my torture. Stay strong, I want you to feel all of the pain that your friends will soon feel as a result of you ever opposing me.”
Her words unheard, the figure smiled, turned, and disappeared into the forgotten supremacy of Luna’s beautiful night.
Better formatting on google docs:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1832QY9PFJPjwc88KfuFB6T6QVXmOAi2A4sRiRlCzA5s/edit
Note: The formatting of this doc fails on mobile devices. Deal with it.
Chapter Two - Sight
by Davey-
Twilight struggled to see through the blackness of night as she wandered the streets of Ponyville.
Where is everypony?
The small town was usually quiet at night, but never this quiet, and there had always been at least one dim light from somepony’s window. Unfortunately for Twilight, the lack of light made it nearly impossible to navigate the streets, causing the unicorn to stumble over rocks and walk into more than one wagon along her way.
“Damn it!” She cursed as her head collided with a flower stand.
What is going on tonight?
Twilight turned her gaze to Luna’s nightsky, hoping to somehow find an answer there, but she froze at the sight before her. The sky above was pitch black, more so than usual. Where stars once lit up the darkness, there was nothing but a barren sea of emptiness. Twilight’s mouth fell open as she noticed a more major component of night was also absent...
Where is the moon?
In the normal stretch of sky that the moon once resided, Twilight found nothing but dark sky. Trying to piece together a logical explanation, She began to pace back and forth, talking aloud.
“Could Luna have forgotten to raise the moon? No, she would never forget, and even if she did, somepony would have reminded her. Maybe it is just a really, really clear night.... but there would still be a moon... Could it be a new moon tonight?”
The unicorn quickly scanned the sky, looking for any sign of a new moon’s outline.
“Nothing... Not even a faint glow!”
Twilight furrowed her brow, trying to understand what was going on. Ponyville was never this dark, and the sky was never this empty... so why was it tonight?. As she thought, a dim light from the Everfree forest caught her eye, radiating out from the dense population of trees. Suddenly noticing how far from Ponyville she had wandered in the dark, she cautiously decided to investigate the glow.
This is getting stranger by the minute, since when is there ever light coming from the Everfree?
Navigating through the maze of trees, Twilight felt her face warming as she approached the light, bringing a smile to her lips. As she continued along, she stumbled upon a small clearing in the forest with five figures within, all looking deeper into the forest.
It’s the girls!
Opening her mouth the call out to her friends, Twilight froze as she realized that each of them appeared to be the source of the light she had noticed before. The motionless ponies’ coats were giving off a faint glow, slightly lessening the darkness of the clearing where they all stood. Ignoring the oddity, she called out to them.
“Girls! Thank Celestia I found you! What is going on tonight? Is there a meeting I’m not aware of? And why are you in the Everfree forest?”
Twilight’s barrage of questions was met with silence, sending a slight shiver down her spine.
“Is something wrong girls?”
More silence greeted her, the warmth in her face slowly fading away.
“Rarity? Fluttershy? Pinkie? Rainbow? Applejack?”
Time seemed to stand still as Twilight desperately tried to get the attention of her stone-like friends.
“Girls please, this isn’t funny! Answer me!”
Losing her patience, she started towards the five, but stopped as Rarity and Applejack began to turn around to face her. The two mares appeared to move in slow motion, keeping their faces hidden from Twilight as they turned. Taking a few steps back, Twilight’s body became hot with anxiety as Rarity and Applejack froze once again, heads hanging.
“R-rarity? Applej-jack?” she stammered.
The light that the two gave off began to gradually increase in brightness, forcing the purple mare to shield her eyes. When her vision restored, Twilight found her three other friends had disappeared into nothingness. Applejack was first to move, her face hidden by a combination of her mane and Stetson, shadowing her features. Twilight’s eyes quickly switched to Rarity, who was now raising her head too, her disheveled mane covering the upper half of her face.
“Girls, you’re scaring me! Stop, please!”
Stumbling a few more steps back, Twilight stepped unknowingly into a gopher hole, creating a jolt of pain within her back left leg. She shouted as a sickening snap accompanied the sound of her fall and the pain that ensued.
“Ahhh! Please! Girls, help me, I think it’s broken!”
Inspecting her injury, Twilight found that it was indeed broken, but neither Applejack nor Rarity seemed to care about her fall. Stunned, she looked up at her friends in horror as they finally revealed their faces to her. The fashionista caught Twilight’s attention first. Drops of blood streamed from Rarity’s eyes like tears, their scarlet shade splattering against her white coat as they fell from her cheeks. No sound seemed to come from Rarity as she wept, sending yet another shiver down Twilight’s spine. Carefully carved crescent moons littered her face, allowing the red liquid to collect under the markings until it met with previous lines of blood, quickly following the path down her face.
Oh Celestia! What is going on!
Breath rapidly escaped from Twilight’s lungs as her gaze shifted to Applejack’s now visible face. The sight was more horrible than the first, diverting her senses from the pain of her broken leg. The cowpony’s face remained unchanged, but two large nails had been forcefully driven straight into her pupils. Unblinking, Applejack’s eyes gradually turned a deep red, streaming blood in mass amounts down her face. Slowly, Applejack blinked. The nails pushing against the insides of her eyes, forming a small vertical indent in each eyelid.
“Somepony help! Please! Anypony! Help!” Twilight cried out in vain, horrified by the state of her friends. It seemed that nopony was around for miles.
Please Celestia, help me...
Suddenly, a red mist appeared from the darkness behind the clearing, encircling a cloaked pony. Without a word, the new arrival walked toward Twilight, stopping in between Rarity and Applejack.
“Please... Help us...” Twilight managed through sobs.
The figure gave no answer. The red mist now surrounding all three silent ponies.
“Please...”
Together, the three began walking toward Twilight, the light her friends were giving off morphed into a crimson glow. Attempting to scurry backwards, the pain of Twilight’s injury renewed itself, burning at her, refusing to help. Helpless, she covered her eyes and tensed all of her muscles, preparing for the worst, but nothing came.
Huh? What?
Cautiously opening her eyes, Twilight found the three now surrounded her, towering over her like malicious statues. After what seemed like eternity, the three looked straight down at her, faces cloaked by the shadows of the eerie night. Then, a sound came from the mysterious pony in front of her.
“Payback”
At the word, the red mist enveloped Twilight, squeezing her with great strength and dragging all of the breath out of her.
“L-leave m-me a-al-alone... p-p-please” She stammered, trying to find any sign of air in her lungs.
The mist, nor the cloaked pony, gave any sign of relenting, draining the life from the purple unicorn.
“p-please...”
A rush of light stung at Twilight’s eyes as she shot up in bed. Quickly forcing them shut, the lavender unicorn rubbed her head, trying to remember what had happened or where she was.
A-a dream? Is that what that was? Why Celestia, why?
Through her quiet sobbing, Twilight rubbed a hoof against her aching head as memories of the previous night flooded back to her.
Owlowicious...
She cautiously forced one eye open to inspect herself, finding that the vomit had been cleaned from her coat and, to Twilight’s surprise, her leg was fully functional.
Was any of that real?
For the first time, she noticed she wasn’t in her bed at the library, but rather, she found herself lying on a bed in what she assumed was a hospital’s room. An IV in one foreleg connected her to a machine on her left, while an oxygen tube connected her to another on the right.
“Oh good, you’re awake” spoke an unknown voice from the doorway.
Still squinting to focus her eyes, Twilight looked at the figure with confusion until she eventually realized it was a doctor who spoke. Adjusting to the light, she looked at the doctor, seeing that he was an earth pony. His coat was very clean and resembled a light brown hue, matching his tan mane and tail. His eyes shone a deep blue that seemed to strike deep into Twilight, calming her nerves. However, her eyes settled on the stallion’s cutie mark, which was of a needle with a bandage over it, making Twilight uneasy as to what he was here to do to her.
“You’ve undergone quite an ordeal Miss Sparkle. I’m actually surprised you’ve woken up this fast, but since you are indeed awake, I can talk to you about what happened.”
Twilight shifted at the idea of recalling the past night.
“In case you were wondering, my name is Doctor Swift Mend, Princess Celestia herself arranged for you to be under my care for the duration of your stay here”
“The Princess? Why would she be involved with this?”
“I’m not sure, but I assume she was worried about you after what had happened, you are her best student after all.”
Twilight blushed at the compliment, but quickly returned to her disoriented state. “What happened to the Library? Is Spike okay?”
“Please Miss Sparkle, relax. The Canterlot royal guard is investigating the scene as we speak,as for ‘Spike’, I have no information as to who or where he is.” The doctor began searching through a desk drawer at the end of the bed until he finally pulled a clipboard out with his mouth and carried it over to the bedside table. “Letsh shee” he mumbled through the clipboard before setting it down to read. “When medical personnel arrived at your residence you were unconscious, had low vital signs, and had lost more fluid through vomiting than anypony they’d ever seen. They rushed you here, cleaned you up, and then re-stabilized your vitals. You’re quite lucky we found you when we did, any longer and you might never have woken up.”
Twilight sat in silence, her thoughts swam with the information presented to her. “What day is it?” she managed to ask.
Shifting awkwardly, Doctor Swift Mend reluctantly gave the answer. “Thursday, you’ve been in a slight coma for a week now”
Twilight’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, dead set on the stallion before her.
A week?! It seemed like last night! How could it have been a week!? Before she could say a word to the doctor, a familiar voice echoed through the hallway until finally taking the form of a white unicorn in the doorway.
“Oh thank goodness! I was beginning to think that we might lose our dear Twilight.” Rarity’s exaggerated voice rang out as she walked gracefully into the room. Pausing, she held her foreleg to her head. “How dreadful of a thought!”
Upon seeing Rarity, Twilight’s dream flashed in her mind, renewing the horror it held.
Relax Twi, Rarity is fine, see?
“Now calm yer flank Rarity, ah’m sure Twilight is gunna be okay.” The sight of Applejack caused Twilight’s mind jump again.
Deep breaths, no one is hurt, it was just a dream. Quickly regaining control of herself, Twilight laid back against her hard hospital pillow, the two mares now at her bedside.
“I’ll leave you to catch up” Doctor Swift Mend said with a smile as he exited the room.
“Where is Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked groggily.
“Oh, ummm... T-Twilight, I’m right here...” whispered the timid yellow pegasus. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner” Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane, backing up slightly. “Pinkie is out of town... on a delivery for the Cakes.... I’m sorry she couldn’t come.”
“That’s okay Fluttershy” she replied, regaining some of her strength. “Where’s Rainbow?”
Rarity pointed her nose upwards and huffed as she answered. “Hmph! Little miss Wonderbolt apparently thinks meeting Spitfire at a fancy book signing is more important than the well-being of one of her friends! Some element of loyalty!”
“Rarity!” Applejack shouted angrily. “Rainbow was one’a the first t’get here last week! She just didn’t think Twi would’a been up an talkin’ yet!”
Rarity hung her head, hiding her face as she backed away from the farm pony. Applejack’s anger immediately left her voice as she realized how frightened she had made the white unicorn.
“Ah’m sorry Rarity, its been a might rough on the farm, an with Twi in the hospital, Ah’ve just been stressed”
As Twilight watched the scene, images from her dream appeared to flash before of her eyes. The black sky. The bitter loneliness. The horrific sight of her friends. As the portrait re-painted itself in Twilight’s mind, the tears flowing from Rarity’s eyes began to turn a deep crimson, washing over her coat like paint.
No, this can’t be happening!
A sharp scream escaped from the purple mare, drawing all eyes to her along with the attention of a passing nurse.
“Miss Sparkle, are you okay?” the nurse started abruptly. “What’s wrong?”
As quickly as the illusions came to her, the remnants of Twilight’s nightmare faded, Rarity’s bloody tears fading back to clear streams.
“I...it’s nothing... Just a little shaken up...” lied Twilight.
“Are ya sure Twi? Ya look awfully upset... What exactly got ya in here anyhow? The doctors wouldn’t tell us nothin’”
“I’m fine, I just need some rest, please.” Good job Twilight, your friends are all very worried about you, and you go and scare them like that! She mentally scolded herself as she rolled over in bed, trying to mask the tears forming in her eyes.
Swallowing her remaining sobs, Rarity spoke up first. “O-of course dear, you need your beauty sleep if you are to feel at all better!” Turning to the door, she beckoned for Applejack to follow her. “Come along now Applejack, I think we should continue our discussion outside.” The farm pony nodded obediently and the two exited the room with the nurse.
“Ummm, T-Twilight... if you don’t m-mind... I could maybe stay and keep you c-company?” Fluttershy dug her hoof at the ground, trying to hide behind her mane as much of her face as possible.
“Thank you Fluttershy, but I just need to sleep right now, a lot has happened...” Twilight’s voice trailed off as her view became filled with pink and yellow.
“The others don’t know, but.... but I h-heard what happened.... at the library... I want to help out... if you want to talk about it...”
Twilight’s eyes filled once more with tears as she bit her lip, trying to hold back her urge to cry. The thought of Owlowicious... and the state she found him in haunted her, tearing at her sanity.
“Oh... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything... I’m sorry Twilight...” the pegasus’ voice shook with regret as tears filled her eyes, matching Twilight’s.
“It’s o-okay Fluttershy... but please, let me rest...”
At the command, the pegasus mare turned and walked slowly to the door, leaving Twilight with her tears, her fears, and the memories of her nightmare.
The moon spread a serene glow over Sweet Apple Acres as Applejack made her way to the barn. Still quite far away, she paused to admire the look of the trees at night. The dark green leaves swarmed to fill the openness of the night, casting long shadows on the cold grass. Each shiny red apple caught the glimmer of Luna’s moon, reflecting flashes of dim light to dance with the swell of shadows. Applejack stood in awe as a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, creating a perfect calm in the surrounding orchard.
Ah think ah’ll stay out here a little longer. Sitting down and leaning up against a tree, the farm pony tilted her Stetson over her eyes, allowing the mystique of night to overwhelm her other senses. It’s nights like this that remind me why ah love this farm
Hours past as Applejack slept among the fields of apple trees. Her blonde mane lifted slightly with each exhale, swimming in the air momentarily before settling back over her face. Amidst the stillness of the night, an ear splitting scream arose the orange earth pony from her slumber.
“Huh? What in the hay?” She looked around confusedly, trying to find the source of the scream.
“HEEEELLLLP!”
She shot straight up and galloped in the direction of the sound, recognizing the high-class voice that was now in distress.
“Rarity! Where are ya? Ah’m coming!” AJ called into the night, her voice being remorselessly swallowed by the emptiness around her. “Rarity!” Darting around each tree, the orange mare scanned the shadows, looking for any sign of the white unicorn.
“Applejack please! Help!”
Unable to track Rarity’s voice, a feeling of helplessness began to overwhelm AJ, slowing her gallop to a cautious trot.
“Rarity? Where are...” Applejack’s words caught in her throat as she finally found the fashionista behind a large apple tree. Slowly approaching the weeping Rarity, she noticed that the unicorn’s snow white coat had been stained a deep red on one side. She was covered in blood. “Rarity? What’s goin’ on?”
Rarity lifted her head, tears washing over her, mixing with the stains of blood. Upon seeing Applejack, she leapt up and wrapped her forelegs around the earth pony in a tight embrace.
“I-I came here to... to apologize... about our f-fight... but, but... what I f-found... oh why? Why would a-anypony do such a terrible th-thing?” the weeping mare wailed. Applejack tightened the embrace, softly rubbing the unicorn’s back.
“It’s okay Rarity, now please, tell me what ya saw” AJ felt the unicorn swallow hard, her sobs dying out as she broke the embrace.
“There...” Rarity whispered, raising a hoof to point behind a group of trees.
Clearing her throat, Applejack began to walk towards the trees, her heart pounding in her chest. As she drew closer, the source of the stains on Rarity’s coat caught her eye. A thick puddle of red, almost black blood stained the grass and surrounding trees. AJ guessed that Rarity had fallen into it, judging by the splash marks.
What critter could bleed this much? What caused a critter ta bleed this much?
Making her way around one of the larger trees, AJ froze at the sight on the other side. From the puddle on the ground, a large trail of blood led the farm pony’s eyes to the mangled corpse of Rarity’s beloved cat, Opalescence. Freshly killed, blood seethed from crescent shaped cuts slightly below each eye, creating the illusion of tears. Clumps of fur had been torn out of the feline, leaving bloody patches in their wake, the crimson fluid collecting around the twisted animal’s legs.
Oh my goodness...
Applejack’s stomach formed a tight knot as her view rose to the tree behind the deceased feline. Trickles of blood weaved over the bark, forming shining trails over the tree’s surface. As AJ’s eyes continued to follow the lines up the tree, her breathing quickened, anticipating what was sure to be the source.
Please Celestia...
Her eyes froze.
“No! Winona!” Applejack screamed through agonizing sobs. On the trunk of the tree, at eye level, her beloved dog resided. Two long nails had been driven through the canine’s ears, pinning it to the trunk, still alive. AJ stared in horror as Winona squirmed in pain, blood pouring from the dog’s eyes where two smaller nails had been driven in with sickening accuracy. Dead center. The creature desperately tried to whimper, but a large gash in its throat robbed it of that luxury. “Ah think ah’m gunna be sick!” Applejack moaned, watching helplessly as her loyal companion fought, slowly weakening. Tears forced their way out of the orange mare’s eyes as Winona stopped twisting, her body going limp where it hung. Her eyes fixed on the sight, Applejack began to shake as thousands of things assaulted her mind. Only one thought stuck. Why? Below the still animal, carved deep into the tree’s deep brown body, were eight words that had now been stained red. Upon reading them, Applejack’s breath caught in her throat.
i will steal the light from your eyes
“This can’t be happening...” the earth pony whispered, struggling to reclaim the air in her lungs. She tried to move, but found her body unwilling to cooperate, remaining motionless as the brutal scene burned itself into her eyes. Winona... no.... please...
With legs trembling, AJ dizzily turned around, breaking free of the hypnotic horror show. She cantered to where Rarity now lay, the white unicorn still weeping profusely. As she approached, she slowed her pace until she came to a stop beside her friend. Laying down, AJ huddled close to Rarity.
“Ah... don’t know what ta say Rarity... What... who... would do such a thing?” Applejack whispered, fighting back more tears.
“Why them Applejack? They didn’t deserve it...”
At Rarity’s words, Applejack’s heart shattered, releasing more tears than she had ever let out before.
If only ah’d gone back ta the barn...