> The Well
>  by BlueColton
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> It waits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Well


Thunder bellowed. Like an invisible serpent, the wind hissed through the trees. What leaves still clung to the branches struggled to hold on. Many surrendered, the leaves torn violently from their boughs. It would be a fierce storm, they knew. Perhaps the wind would show them mercy by carrying them someplace safe.
Safety, however, was the last thing in one particular pony’s mind. Desperate hooves raced over the bare soil; a drumroll of violent urgency. The pony leaped over a displaced log, her golden mane flailing behind her like candlelit flames. When she landed, she didn’t take a moment to rest. Her breathing was harsh, like some pony had just strangled her, but she didn’t pause. She couldn’t stop moving. Her heart raced against her chest as if it had hooves of its own.
Tired. Terrified. Applejack went on.
Thunder boomed in the distance, a warning of things to come. Normally the pragmatic mare wouldn’t be stupid enough to be caught outside in such a storm, but she wasn’t thinking about that right now. Right now, all she cared about was finding her little sister, Apple Bloom. After their latest Crusaders meeting, Apple Bloom was supposed to come straight home. When the little filly failed to show up, Applejack went over to the clubhouse only to find it empty. That’s when she heard the storm.
It wasn’t the first time Apple Bloom had come home late. Applejack had scolded her on more than one occasion. She’d half a mind to give her sister’s yellow hide a good tanning when she found her. But what she couldn’t understand is what Apple Bloom would be doing out here with that storm bearing down on Sweet Apple Acres. Had something happened to her? Was she hurt somewhere in the woods? Did a timber wolf attack?
All these terrible notions scratched at the inside of Applejack’s head like raking talons. She felt sick thinking about them. She had to find Apple Bloom, had to make sure she was okay. And so, she fled the treehouse in search of her baby sister.
“Apple Bloom!” Her voice coarse from so much yelling, AJ paused to listen. Her breathing was almost as loud as the storm itself. Her keen ears panned around her head for signs of reply. When none came, Applejack began to run.
She didn’t know how long she’d been running. It seemed like forever. Applejack had grown up with these trees. She knew every square inch of Sweet Apple Acres, knew every apple tree, every fence, every rock. Yet never before had the place she’d called home seem so alien to her. It’s as if she had stepped into some warped version of the farm. The trees were less bright, more menacing. There was less grass here. Even the air felt wrong.
“Apple Bloom!” AJ’s frantic voice was drowned out by a loud crash. It sounded like a giant had just stepped into the woods. A tree came crashing down before her path with a bone-shattering stomp. Applejack cried out. She was almost crushed by the falling tree and had just barely stopped inches from where the closest branch, its point sharpened to a spear’s edge, lay pointing at her exposed neck.
You do not belong here, the alien forest seemed to be saying to her. Leave, NOW!
Gasping, the Element of Honesty fell on her backside. She’d come so close to death just now. She could feel the Grim Pony standing behind her, his icy breath causing every hair on her body to stand on edge. She felt cold; her breath coalesced into a thick mist before her.
Overhead, she saw lightning flash. Arcs of brilliant blue and white began to stab down at the earth like angry lances. She didn’t have much time.
It took AJ more than a minute to realize that she had lost her hat. She found it sprawled on the ground not five feet from her. It felt like losing a part of her body. Applejack quickly reattached that part of herself to her head. Whole again, the mare shook off that near-death experience and leaped over the fallen tree. She would not let anything stand between her and finding her sister. Death could kiss the fattest part of her…
“Help me!”
Applejack skidded to a halt. She knew that voice anywhere. “Apple Bloom?” She called out. Damn the storm! She would scream that name until it answered back. “APPLE BLOOM!”
“Applejack?” The tiny voice replied. It sounded nearby and yet so far away. Hollow, as if an apparition of sound.
“Hang on, sis!” Applejack took off at full gallop. She ran—for how long she could not say. Ultimately her wild flight through the forest, chasing down the voice of her sister, led her to a very unexpected and unfamiliar place.
A well stood before her. It was old, ancient even, with vines crawling up its sides and moss clinging to the stones. It was half-boarded up, the wood rotten and peeling. A rope dangled off the edge like a dead snake with a broken basket by its side. The well stood beside a wall of stone that towered over it like some gargantuan sentry. Both were surrounded by a ring of trees, the sky opened up to witness nature’s oncoming fury.
Applejack did not recognize the well. She did, however, recognize the voice coming from inside. “Apple Bloom!” She rushed toward the well. She could smell putrid water and foul things coming from within, a scent reminiscent of…well…of wrongness. Her nose scrunched up at the smell of it. What in the name of Celestia was Apple Bloom doing out here?
Peering over the edge, Applejack saw only darkness. The void reminded her of an open maw. “Apple Bloom?” Her voice echoed. The “maw” swallowed it up hungrily and opened up for more.
“Sis?” The tiny voice called back. “Is that you?” Water sloshed below. “Applejack?”
“What happened, Apple Bloom? How’d ya fall down there?”
“Ah’m sorry, sis. Ah didn’t mean to be late. Ah got lost and then…then Ah…” she began to cry. “Please help me. Ah think ma leg is broken.”
That was all Applejack needed to hear. “Hang on! Ah’ma getcha outta there!” With the wind picking up, Applejack knew it was only a matter of time before the storm was upon them. Storms this close to the Everfree Forest were brutal. Even the toughest earth ponies knew better than to spit in the face of heaven. They had to get home before it was too late.
Glancing around, Applejack naturally focused on the discarded rope. She felt it for sturdiness and was surprised to find that it was still strong, if a bit smelly. “Apple Bloom,” AJ called into the well. “Ah’m gonna toss a rope down the well. When it gets down, Ah want ya to tie it around yerself. Can ya do that?”
“Ah…Ah think so. But hurry, Applejack. Ma leg really hurts.”
Applejack wasted no time in coiling the rope. She could feel the storm getting closer, like a coy fish in the path of an oncoming tsunami. After checking it a second time for sturdiness, Applejack stood over the edge. “Heads up, sis. Ah’m lowerin’ the rope.”
Like feeding a wire through a wall, Applejack began to lower the rope. She stood on her hind legs, gradually feeding the rope into the well. Despite the urgency, Applejack kept a steady pace. Letting fear get the better of her would do no good, especially for Apple Bloom.
“Can ya see the rope?” She asked after a while. She had no idea how deep the well was, but as she was running out of rope, she figured she had to be getting close.
“Ah think so,” Apple Bloom called back. “Ah…yeah. Ah see it!” Hope entered her sister’s voice and it wasn’t long before Applejack felt a taunt pull at the other end.
“Great. Now tie the other end around yer shoulders like Ah showed ya.” Applejack felt the rope being pulled and twisted.
“Ah got it, sis!” Apple Bloom pulled the rope. “Ah’m ready.”
“Hang on!” Using her lower legs as leverage, the mare began to pull. Strong arms easily hoisted the filly upward. She only hoped Apple Bloom didn’t accidentally bump her leg against the walls of the well. Eventually, exhaustion from all the running began to take its toll and Applejack started to sweat. Her muscles protested and her joints groaned. She could still feel a slight burning sensation from where the tree branch had almost impaled her. Behind her, the wind began to rush at her, as if it meant to push her inside the well.
“How ya doin, sis?” AJ said in an attempt to divert her attention to the task at hoof.
“Ah can see light,” Apple Bloom almost squealed. “There! Ah saw a flash.”
“That would be the lightning,” Applejack muttered to herself. “Ah’ve almost got ya!” She had pulled up almost as much rope as she’d lowered. It began to coil at her legs.
“Ah can hear ya better!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Ah can see the edge.”
Applejack beamed. She was almost there. “Great.” Then she heard something. It was more terrifying than any sound the storm could make. There came a stretching, the sound of something being torn. Applejack noticed at the last second the point where the rope and the well met. It was beginning to give.
“No!”
It snapped.
Apple Bloom screamed.
“APPLE BLOOM!” Without thinking, Applejack dropped the rope and leapt in after her. With the gap in the wood being as small as it is, all she managed to get through was her right arm and a bit of her shoulder. She feverishly began to probe for her sister knowing full well she was already beyond her reach. “Sis!” Hot tears burned her eyes. She had smacked her face against the side of the boards when she leaped and a trickle of blood seeped down her nose. She didn’t care. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that she had failed her sister.
“Help me!” But Apple Bloom’s voice was close. Very close. She must have caught onto something, a jutting brick perhaps, or one of the vines. She had not fallen to her death as Applejack had feared.
“Reach for ma hoof!” Applejack yelled. The storm was almost on top of them so she had to scream to even hear herself. “Come on!”
She felt something fumbling for her hoof. It was wet and sticky. The smell of rot and dank filled her one good nostril. It was overwhelming but she tried to ignore it despite her gag reflex kicking in. “Come on!” It was almost too slippery but eventually her hoof did manage to grab Apple Bloom’s. Her hoof was wet. Perhaps there was some water left in the well. Maybe it had cushioned Apple Bloom’s fall. Small miracles.
“Ah’ve got ya! Don’t ya worry none! Ah’ve…”
“Applejack?” As if the storm had suddenly ceased, a great silence pervaded the grove. The quiet was deafening. However, nothing surprised Applejack as much as the fact that her sister had spoken—from behind her.
Slowly turning her head, Applejack spotted Apple Bloom just standing there. The filly was soaked and covered in mud, her hair matted to an exhausted face. Her wide eyes were filled with confusion and apprehension, her little chest heaving with exertion. Aside from the fact that she looked like she’d just been through Tartarus, Apple Bloom looked none worse for the wear.
Her jaw hanging, Applejack was at a loss for words.
“What are ya doin, sis? Why are ya screamin’ for?”
“A…Apple Bloom?” AJ spoke as if she’d never seen her before. “But…Ah thought ya were,” A shiver ran up her arm and into her body. Applejack turned back to the well where her arm was still more than halfway through the hole. Something was holding onto her. Something wet. Something wrong.
Suddenly she was pulled towards the hole with horrific strength, her back legs kicking into the air. Apple Bloom screamed and dove for her sister’s tail. She gripped with her teeth and pulled with all her might, her assistance enabling Applejack to get her hind legs back on the ground. Pain surged through Applejack’s arm as whatever had taken it was slowly, but with increasing ravenousness, began to pull.
“Let me go!” She screamed. Growling like some feral animal, the mare pulled with all her might. She could feel the tendons in her arms stretching beyond their natural limits. It felt like whatever had a hold on her was going to tear her arm right out of its socket. She didn’t want to lose the arm, but if she had to choose, she’d gladly cut it off if it meant freedom. Trapped animals did it all the time; chewing off their legs so that they may escape. But could she do it? Could she chew off her own arm?
“What is it?” Apple Bloom cried through clenched teeth.
“Ah don’t know! Pull, Apple Bloom! PULL!”
Through their combined strength, the earth ponies struggled against the thing within. Applejack felt sick. Whatever had her felt ambiguous. She couldn’t tell whether it was a hoof, a claw, or a tentacle. All she knew was that it was wet, slimy, and did NOT want to let her go. It wanted to drag her into the well, into its domain, where she would never get out.
The struggle went on for several agonizing minutes. The pain was unbearable. Applejack surged with all her earth pony might, her sister doing the same. But try as they might, they couldn’t free her arm from the thing’s grasp. It seemed they were at a stalemate, but whereas the ponies would soon tire, the thing below showed no signs of letting up.
Just when it seemed that her arm was about to be torn off, Applejack was let go. She tumbled backward into her sister, burying the filly beneath her. Apple Bloom cried out but was freed moments later when AJ rolled off to the side. Her eyes wide, Applejack skidded away on her back, putting as much distance between her and the well as possible. “Get away from it, Apple Bloom!”
The Apple sisters had retreated until they were sure there was no chance of the well so much as touching them, never mind the creature inside. Gasping, AJ observed her arm. It was covered in black and brown gunk and smelled unbelievably bad. Small cuts appeared on the arm with rivulets of blood dripping to the ground. A bit of moss clung to it as well, which Applejack quickly dislodged.
Wincing, for her arm throbbed with pain, Applejack felt like sitting there and crying. Her sister was in a better frame of mind. “Applejack, we’ve gotta get ya back home so that Granny can look at yer arm!”
Applejack didn’t hear her. She couldn’t take her eyes off the well. What was that thing? How had it imitated Apple Bloom’s voice? Then another question came to the forefront. How long had it been there?
“Come on!” Plowing her head into her calf, Apple Bloom forced her sister to get up. “We’ve gotta go, now!” Half-dazed and barely coherent, instinct took hold as Applejack allowed herself to be taken away. Apple Bloom stood on her injured side and firmly nudged her sister away from the well, into what she hoped was the general direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
Behind them, the well remained as it had for uncounted years. Alone but far from uninhabited. Some other lost soul will come along eventually. They always did. And it was patient.
It was always patient.