Clearing in the Forest

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The Clearing, Pt I
By Chrysalis

“the soul of he has come to thee

to bring you to his home

what shall transpire

the rain of fire

shall be the end of all

for he the one

it shall be done

the world shall he burn it all”

It was a sunny spring day, and the streets were populated with normal pony folk going about their business. Buying apples, going to work, etc. However, the life of three young fillies will change forever... These three rambunctious young foals were in their so-called “secret” clubhouse, and they were plotting another adventure to find their cutie mark.

“No Apple Bloom, that won’t work,” Sweetie Belle said, in response to the former’s earlier idea.

“What’s wrong with become circus ponies, Sweetie Belle? Ah would sure love to be launched outta a cannon, with everypony cheering for ‘The Acrobatic Apple Bloom’!” Apple Bloom responded, slowly going in to the imagination as she talked.

“Hey guys, a few weeks ago this shady pony talked to me and said something about getting cutie marks,” Scootaloo said to the other two, grabbing their attention. “He said something like this...”

----

Flashback to a few weeks prior...

I was walking home from our meeting, when I heard someone talk to me.
“Hey kid.”
“Who was that?” asked Scootaloo, looking around.
A shady pony walked from the dark alley in front of Scootaloo, wearing all black.
“I heard you and yer friends’re looking fer a cutie mark, eh?” He said, now directly in front of the filly. “Well, my friend told meh once, there’s a clearin’ deep inside the Everfree Forest. He said that there’s some kinda stone formation, used in rituals by cultists long ago. It’s said that if a blank-flank such as yerself goes into the middle of the stones in the middle of the night, you magically get a cutie mark. But beware, it is said that once, a group of blank-flank foals went there, and that a dark force comes upon them, bringin’ them into the cult that placed the runes, and dragged ‘em to the depths of Hell.”
“Really??? Reallyreallyreallyreallyreally!?!?!?” The filly said, bouncing up and down in excitement, completely ignoring the warning.
“Yup,” said the mysterious stallion, now walking back to the alley from whence he came.

What Scootaloo didn’t notice, was that after he walked to the end of the alley, behind a dumpster, the stallion was engulfed in a blue flame for a short second, like a magician, then disappeared.

“Master, I’ve led another filly into the clearing.”

----

“So you’re sure that man didn’t say anything about cults, right?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Of course not. All he said was that there’s a clearing in the Everfree where you can get a cutie mark,” replied Scootaloo.
“I’m still not sure, Scoot,” whined Sweetie Belle.
“Stop worrying, you big chicken,” teased Scootaloo.
“Look who’s talking,” Sweetie Belle whispered to Apple Bloom, which lead to obvious giggling.
Scootaloo let out a noticeable groan as she sat down, trying to imagine herself as a chicken. She gagged as the thought somewhat disgusted her. “Okay, guys, let’s go to that clearing tonight and get out cutie marks!” She shouted out, trying to spark some enthusiasm in the other two.
“Alright, fine, Scootaloo, but Ah get to get my cutie mark first,” said Apple Bloom.
“No, I get to get my mark first!” said Sweetie Belle, creating an argument.
“GIRLS!!” Scootaloo shouted, once again grabbing their attention. “I told you about it, so I get it first. Okay?”
“Okay,” the other two said in unison.

----

It was nighttime. 11:35 PM. The CMC had their hoofmade “capes” on, leaving their clubhouse to venture into the dreadful and spooky Everfree. Crows were cawing, some little worms and flies were going into some shrubs that marked the border between Ponyville and the Everfree. Sweetie Belle whined for a little, but Apple Bloom and Scootaloo convinced her to carry on with the mission. The three fillies were scared, but prepared for anything that came their way. Some rats that poked out of the dark bushes had startled this at first intrepid group of youngsters. Snakes had slithered in and out of the shrubbery silently, spiders had made webs in between tree branches, scuttling back to their nests to sleep. Simply put, they were scared. Very scared. A few times Sweetie Belle got scared from crows that had suddenly squawked at the three.

Soon the fillies had reached the clearing. Exactly as the shady man had told Scootaloo. A circular formation of small stones with red markings inside, forming a grid ending at the stones. Scootaloo remembered what the Shady Man said to her. “...goes into the middle of the stones in the middle of the night...”
“All right,” said Scootaloo, shaking in fear of the forest. “I guess I’ll go...”

Slowly walking to the stones, Scootaloo was ready. She was going to do this. However, tons of thoughts were racing in her young mind.

What if he lied?

I think he said something else, too...

Come on, you can do this!

Youcandothisyoucandothisyoucandothisyoucandothis...

I don’t want to!

I have to!

She was almost there, the stones only a few steps away...

“Wait!” Yelled out Apple Bloom. “Ah wanna take a picture of this so Ah can keep it and show it to Applejack.”
“Yeah, me too! I want to take pictures!” Responded Sweetie Belle, both bringing out cameras and giving Scootaloo a “go on” motion.

She had walked into the stones. Even more nervous as the last hoof had stepped onto the middle of the “grid”. She let out a huge sigh as nothing had happened. All her worry was gone. But suddenly, a group of demonic hands had reached out of the ground and gripped Scootaloo by the hind hooves. She tried desperately to pull away but to no avail. A large hole in the ground had opened. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were too scared to run away or even yell. A reddish spiral-like formation of color had formed, which was the “vacuum” that had sucked her in. As she was being sucked in, she yelled out, “HELP! APPLE BLOOM, SWEETIE BELLE, PLEASE HELP ME!!” The other horrified two had regained control of their bodies and had screamed and ran as fast as they could. The last thing they heard from Scootaloo was a loud scream of terror.

----

Both of them had horrible nightmares that night. Sweetie Belle had dreamed that the ghost of Scootaloo had come to get her. Apple bloom had dreamed that Scootaloo was being dragged into the hole by cultists that made her evil (which was what the shady stallion warned her about), and she had “reenacted” Cupcakes with her. Both woke up in the middle of the night and heard the faint voice of Scootaloo whisper in their ears, “Why did you leave me? Why?” at the exact same time.
To be Continued...

Chapter End Notes:

Some of you readers out there might not think that Scootaloo would have ignored the shady man’s warning. FYI, I see her as a filly that would do ANYTHING to get her cutie mark.

Currently working on a side story for this, which starts the morning after they go to the clearing.

Inside the Cult's Lair

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The Clearing, Pt II
By Chrysalis

Down in hell...

Hell was... firey. Not as firey as you people that believe in God might think, but firey nonetheless. Hell might not even exist. Even if it did, it probably wouldn’t be a world of fire. It could be a perfect world, except for the speakers in your pockets that infinitely play Justin Bieber songs.
“Please... let me go!” Begged a sobbing Scootaloo.
“The girl wishes to be let go!” Said one of the cultists, invoking a hearty laugh between the group.
“Enough of her whining. Take her to the branding station,” said another cultist. The others did as they were told and took Scootaloo to the branding station.

Fun Fact: In this storyline, back in this cult's time there were no cutie marks. Each pony had to join a guild of their choice but could never leave. Their "cutie marks" were brands of their guild's logo.

“Take me out of this leash. It’s degrading,” whined Scootaloo.
“Stop your whining, girl,” responded the cultist holding her leash, giving her a smack on her empty flank, leaving a deep red hoofmark.

At the branding station, four cultists had very securely secured Scootaloo onto the wall. The other two had grabbed their branding materials, which had just gone through their burning. One of those two had come up to her.
“So... you want a cutie mark?” was the last thing she heard before she blacked out from the pain of being branded with the cult’s logo on both flanks.

She awoke on a very hard and rundown mattress that looked like It had never been washed and was used by many. She took some time to study her surroundings. The words HELP US and HE COMES were sprawled across the wall many times in old blood, among others. She looked at her flank, gasping when she saw the symbol. It was... the shape of Pinkie Pie’s hair?! What?

Scootaloo heard the sound of a speaker turning on. “Gotten used to your cage yet? Make sure you do, because you’ll be in it for quite a while,” said whoever was on the other end of the speaker. “Hey, wait a minute. I know your voice. You’re Trixie, aren’t you?” questioned Scootaloo. “Uhh... No I’m not! Heheh.. No... I am not Trixie...” she said in nervous denial. “Alright, then who are you?” responded Scootaloo. “I am Black Night!" Trixie said.

Another voice, this one unknown, had spoken into the intercom system. "Black Night, go back to your training," he commanded. "Sorry, she's still a rookie. I am Dark Fiend. Over the period of time you will be staying here you will undergo vigorous training. After your first few months (usually somewhere near half a year), there will be one of two fates chosen for you. You will either be sold to the slave traders, or be recognized and be given a chance to join us. If you are accepted into our guild, then you will be given a new name and will go through even more training, not as much as your first 6 months or so, but still more training. Got it?"

Scootaloo had been all ears the whole time. "Yes," she responded simply. "Alright. Now get some rest. You'll need that energy for your first day of training," Dark Fiend said. Scootaloo had laid down on the old matress, curling up to become warmer as the intercom turned off. It was already warm in there, since it was hell or something, but the cell had that kind of "cold prison" kind of feel to it, so it made her feel cold. She just noticed that she was tired the whole time despite her being passed out, so she she slowly closed her eyes as she sobbed quietly, and gave in to the temptation of sleep.

----

Back in Ponyville, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had to find ways to cope with Scootaloo's kidnapping. One of their ideas on that was finding a new friend.

"Alright class, when recess is over, we'll discuss the history of Ponyville," Cheerilee said as she dismissed class.
"Hey, Featherweight," Sweetie belle said as she and Apple Bloom left the classroom. "Do you want to be our new third friend?" Choosing Featherweight as their replacement friend wasn't the best option, but at least it was an option. They barely knew anyone else, and those stuck-up and I'm-rich-so-I'll-dress-like-it Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were of course not an option. "So, Featherweight," said Apple Bloom. "What are some good ideas on getting our cutie marks?" "Well, Apple Bloom," Featherweight responded. "You're in the Apple family, so why don't you try helping around the farm? And Sweetie Belle, try helping Rarity make dresses."

----

Scootaloo woke up in the morning with a scream, as she had a nightmare. Not the good kind. NOT the kind that stallions have where they're with the mare of their dreams at night, and they get... you know, freaky (That's why some ponies call it a nightmare). She had the bad kind of nightmare. She dreamnt that she was being whipped tons and tons of times by cultists, until the wounds from the leathery beatdown matched (or at least closely resembled) the mark on her flank. When she woke up, her first thoughts beside that nightmare were about the clan's logo. Why was it Pinkie Pie's hairstyle? There had to be something big behind this all. And she was determined to find out... Right when one of the cultists had put a tray of food through the cage door. Scootaloo walked up to her breakfast and frowned when she saw what it was. A banana, orange, apple, guava, and an energy drink that had that really buff pony from Hurricane Fluttershy on the can. "This is what you'll eat every morning," said Dark Fiend on the intercom. "Now, what my unicorn friend here Fiendish Shroud served you is our official captive's breakfast: Fruits and our reccomended drink: ROID RAGE Energy. Don't worry, it all tastes good. We assure you."

Chapter End Notes: Featherweight as a replacement friend? Eeyup.
The side story mentioned in Chapter 1's end notes is going to be a long side story. Don't expect it to come so soon.
ROID RAGE Energy? Yeah.