Babs Seed peered out of the window of the bedroom she had been sharing with her cousin, Apple Bloom, and into the light gray haze that fell across the outside world. Rain was lightly pattering against the window, forming small semi-translucent dots before combining with others of close proximity and sliding down the glass. The caramel filly heaved a mournful sigh. Another day of her summer vacation was going to waste while she watched through a pane of glass.
Babs had returned to Ponyville for the entire summer. She had made wonderful friends here over her past visits and had grown to prefer the humble quiet of the country to the bustling hustle of the big city of Manehattan. The summer, so far, had been splendid and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had searched for their special talents the entire time. For Babs, it wasn’t the acquisition of her mark, but the experiences with friends of the like she had never known. The strawberry- maned earth pony had been exposed to the joys of friendship for the first time in a while and she had soaked it up eagerly. Her vacation had only just started and already she dreaded the day she would climb aboard the checkered wagon that would transport her back to her home to face another year of school where all of the other students wore their cutie marks with pride and prodded the late blooming Babs for her reluctance in discovering her life’s talent. The young filly loosed another remorseful sigh as she was reminded of the teasing from last year but a watery noise caught her attention and she perked her ears as Apple Bloom coughed softly behind her.
Apple Bloom had been sick for the last few days and Babs had refused to venture out into the world without her. Babs turned from the window and grimaced as Apple Bloom sat up in her bed, little more than a face buried in many blankets wrapped around her. “Hey Cuz, you okay? I didn’t wake ya, did I?” Babs knew that Apple Bloom needed to sleep to get better and worried her morose dissatisfaction with her inevitable departure hadn’t accidentally provoked her resting cousin.
Apple Bloom yawned and rubbed her eye with a hoof, bringing it down quickly to cover her mouth and roughly cough into it. She was feeling better and her coughing was sounding cleaner, less wheezy and blocked by phlegm. She mustered a weak smile and lay back down on her side, eyes dimly watching her favorite cousin, Babs. “Shucks, Babs. Y’all didn’t wake me up and there ain’t no need for ya to be cooped up’n here with me.” Her voice was stronger than it had been but still contained notes of frailty that threatened each word with whispers.
“I know, but I came out heeya to see you. You tink I’m gonna louse out on ya while yas sick? Forget about it.” Babs offered a genuine grin and came over to carefully tuck the loose blankets back around Apple Bloom.
“Yer gonna get sick if ya stay in here with me all the time. I know yer bored. Why don’t ya wear my slicker and go out to see what Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are up to. Ah’m sure it’s more fun than waitin’ on me ta feel better. We’ve got the whole summer ta play.” Apple Bloom’s eyes were less glassy than earlier and she seemed to have regained a good degree of color.
“I’m fine. Tanks for thinkin’ a me though. I’ll just read dis book.” Babs lifted a copy of Daring Doo and the Emerald Constrictor, she’d read it twice already but she could imagine it a little different this time. She was loyal to Apple Bloom’s friendship and didn’t want to chance any activity that might tarnish it.
“Babs, ya’ve already read that one. Ah’m fine. There ain’t no reason to stay here. It’d probably make me feel better if Ah knew you were out havin’ fun. Ah’ll even show ya how to make a sailboat.” Apple Bloom knew that Babs had seen Scootaloo’s paper sailboat earlier in the week and had wanted to try it out but the sun had been out for days and there wasn’t any little streams in which the boat could sail. It had been lightly raining all day and Apple Bloom knew that Ponyville would have several streets to loose the paper construction; it was the perfect opportunity.
Babes eyes lit up with interest and an excited smile played across her soft features betraying her feigned disinterest. She stammered as she tried to make up a reason why she wouldn’t want to try her hooves at papercraft ship sailing.
“Ha! Ah knew it. Get me a piece of paper and Ah’ll show ya how to make one. Ah’ll probably feel better tomorrow and we can play all day long, but yer only gonna get this one chance to learn to sail them things properly.” Apple Bloom shivered and cuddled herself into her blankets while Babs tore a piece of paper from a nearby drawing pad and brought it up for inspection. “Yeah, it’ll work fine. First ya just fold the paper in half and then…”
Babs followed her cousin’s instructions fairly well and only had to refold a couple time before blowing down into the triangular sail to expand the hull of the boat. It looked great! Babs was constantly assaulted by accusation of her useless nature and doing anything properly filled her with glee. Her grin was head splitting as she held up her construction for Apple Bloom’s inspection.
“Yeah, it looks swell. Ah think it’s better than Scoot’s.”
Babs pride grew and she felt accomplished, memorizing the process of folds so she could reproduce it when she got home. If there was anything Manehattan had a lot of, it was rain and streets. Her self-actualization ended abruptly at what Apple Bloom said next.
“It just needs wax. Run down to the cellar and get it.”
***
There was only one thing on the whole farm that frightened Babs and she stood at the top of the stairs that led to it. The apple cellar was where the Apple family kept their jarred apples for the colder winter months, aging and pickling in the dark basement of the farmhouse. Babs stood in the doorframe, the light from the kitchen windows tossing her shadow down the old wooden stairs. The smell that came to her filled her with dread; it was old, stale, and permeated her senses.
She didn’t know why the cellar scared her so badly, but it did. She could usually suppress her fears, a trait that was useful in Manehattan, but there was something off-putting about the cellar. The floor was simple compacted dirt and the only light source was a bulb that required the use of a pull chain to activate it. Worse yet, the bulb was at the bottom of the stairs. Babs cringed at the thought of climbing down into that room, it was like the ones she had seen in the theatre that showed monster movies. They had been fun with the other CMC beside her and she had went the extra distance to not cover her eyes and pose herself as relaxed, even though she was just as afraid as they had been. She had a persona to uphold, after all, she was supposed to be a tough city pony, but she couldn’t help but wince occasionally as a vampony or weretimberwolf burst from the shadows. In the films hapless ponies would find themselves in the lair of horrific creatures that sought the blood of those foolish enough to disturb their ancient homes. Babs tried not to think of what creatures may thrive in the darkness of the cellar. It would have been a perfect location for those movies.
Babs took a deep breath. She was tough. Manehattanites were a tough breed and she took a moment to summon her courage. It was just a stupid room and monsters didn’t exist. She was just being foalish. With a quick gulp and a sharp breath, the filly literally ran down the creaking wooden stairs. Absently she thought of how the stairs were simple flat boards on a frame and anything dwelling underneath could easily reach its razor-like claws through the gaps between each wooden plank and trip her, making her easy prey. She tried to abandon the thought but it clung in her mind and she nearly tripped as she leapt the last couple of stairs to skid against the earthen floor, her teeth grabbing the chain and yanking furiously.
Her eyes squeezed tightly and she heard the most beautiful sound in the world, the click of the hanging light. She popped her eyes open, expecting to see a well-lit room of dirt walls and shelves containing random supplies and rows of jarred apples. Unfortunately, the world was still black except for the streaking light from the kitchen that the darkness devoured. The light bulb rattled above her, the burned out element making telltale clinking sounds as it rolled around the stained glass of the bulb. At some point the element had burned out. Her skin crawled suddenly and she whipped her head back and forth, straining her eyes to comprehend her surroundings. For a moment, she saw the ravenous claws grasping for her, promising to suck the meat from her quivering body as she was dragged into the darkness to disappear forever. Violent images of toothy maws stripping her flesh from kicking legs blotted her mind and she let out a shrill cry. It was coming, whatever it was. It was down here and it was hungry for her tender filly meat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the rectangular box that could only be the paraffin wax. The frightened filly lunged for the box, clenching it in her teeth and turned, bolting up the stairs in an instant and pausing to look back down into the lair of the monster. She heaved air around the box and a small smile lit on her face. She had been afraid for nothing. Of course, there was nothing downstairs. It was just her mind playing tricks on her. She chuckled softly and turned quickly, her neck bunched as she came face to chest with something that had seemed to appear right behind her, breathing hard and blasting her with the fetid air of the abyss. Babs shrieked in terror and looked up into the terrifying eyes of …
Big Mac let out a sudden yelp and fell backwards onto his rump. He had just come inside from work and seen the cellar door standing open. He was startled and surprised when his young cousin almost imperceptibly appeared from downstairs. He was about to ask if she were okay when she twisted around and shrieked. It had startled him and he watched as the caramel colored filly’s horrified expression softened and shifted into humor. He laughed with her and shut the cellar door as she trotted off with something in her mouth.
***
“And then ya just let it dry. It only takes a minute.” Apple Bloom’s eyelids were drooping and she needed to rest but she wanted to guide Babs through the procedure. Her sleepy eyes watched as Babs applied the last coat of wax thoroughly across the bottom of the boat. “Yer a natural, Cuz. Make sure ya wear my slicker when ya go out. No reason for y’all to get sick too.”
“Thanks, Apple Bloom. I really appreciate it.” Babs looked her ship over and, satisfied with its outcome, began to leave the room on her journey to find Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. She paused for a moment at the door and came back to Apple Bloom, looking into the cocoon mouth at the gentle yellow face inside that weakly smiled back. “I just wanted ta say that yer my best friend. Thanks, Cuz.” The Manehattanite leaned in to kiss Apple Bloom’s forehead, slightly moist from sweat as the country filly’s body fought the virus within. Babs didn’t mind, Apple Bloom was her closest family member and she loved her.
“Have fun but be careful, Babs.” Apple Bloom’s eyes were slipping into the realm of dreams as she spoke. She couldn’t wait until she felt better and the two of them could have fun again.
Babs quickly donned the yellow slicker and took her boat in her mouth as she galloped from the room and out towards Ponyville.
***
“Okay, thanks anyway.” Sweetie Belle was spending the day with her sister and Babs had no idea where to begin looking for Scootaloo so it seemed she was doomed to be by herself after all. She watched as Sweetie Belle’s mother shut the door. Oh well, she had her boat and the rain created tiny streams along the streets that, for a small paper boat, were like white water rapids. She could easily make the most of the situation. The brown filly pulled the plastic material of the bright yellow hat down around her neck and marched off to the streets. The rain made a gentle tapping noise against her hat and slicker. It was a pleasing sound that she had become accustomed to hearing and the strawberry-maned filly hummed a tune as she searched for the perfect stream in which to set her boat adrift on its maiden voyage.
Babs traipsed from street to street inspecting the quick running water. It was a tough choice and she wanted the one she picked to be perfect. It had to be long enough for the boat to travel for more than a few seconds but not so strong that it would tip the boat and potentially ruin it. She hopped around the town for the largest part of an hour before she came across the ideal stream. It led down an off-street that looked fairly straight and long with no ponies in sight. A quick grin mounted her lips and she straddled the running water.
She could smell the fresh water; it tickled her nostrils as she leaned down to plant her boat squarely in the center of the miniature river. She dropped the boat just as it made contact and a wide smile birthed as the paper construct shot off like a bolt down the side of the road.
The little boat rocked on the shoulders of the current and threatened to flip as it turned sideways from a piece of debris before righting itself and shooting forward again, the caramel earth pony laughing and giving chase to its journey. The boat rocked and gained speed as trickles of water joined the main body and propelled the instrument forward.
Babs was admittedly heavier than most foals her age. She wasn’t fat but she carried a little more weight and, although it gave her a strength advantage, agility had never been her strong suit and she recognized that she was losing ground on her boat. “Hey! Wait up!” Her calls were pointless but she shouted at the quickly diminishing ship regardless.
Babs realized her oversight before her toy disappeared down the sewer drain but she was helpless to stop it. She bounded quickly and snapped her jaws a few inches short as her vessel followed the water down into the sewers. “NOOO!” For a moment the filly squinted and dared to hope that the boat may have caught on something or was floating only a few inches into the blackness but she soon let her hope disintegrate and pushed herself up to her hooves. The water was cold and she had landed in the middle of the stream, soaking her coat. With a sigh she decided to leave, her mood turned sullen from the anticlimactic first and last voyage. With her head hung low, Babs took the first few steps towards Sweet Apple Acres.
“Heya Babsie!”A gravelly high-pitched voice rattled from the sewer drain, causing Babs head to pop up and twist to look behind her. She wasn’t prepared for what she saw next.
From the darkness came a white face, it was a clown’s face and Babs stood questioningly but curious as a happy smile burst across the thing. Babs could see the pink coat around the edges of the white paint and found herself staring into the bright silver eyes haloed in a giant poufy pink mane. Babs tried to get a better look but much of the clown’s body was shrouded in darkness, but she could recognize the blue and green frills that surrounded the pony’s neck. She couldn’t help but grin at the unseemly sight. A clown, in the sewers? She knew that clowns regularly piled inside of carts of relatively small size by the dozens but she had never heard of one coming from a gutter before. She took a step forward, wary of this being but enticed at the same moment.
The pink-maned clown raised an oversized drawn-on eyebrow and chuckled in its rough voice, “Well aren’t you gonna say hello?”
Still stunned from the appearance of the jester, Babs could only mash her mouth together and shake her head weakly. Her mind was processing the information slowly and it had her reactions dulled momentarily. For a second the clown and the filly’s eyes locked and Babs finally issued some sort of phonetic reply, “I shouldn’t talk ta strangas.”
The clown’s grin only widened and its impossibly bright silver eyes seemed to shimmer in the darkness. “Very wise, Babsie. Very wise indeed.” The grin turned mischevious and rye as the jester began to speak again, “I am Pinkiewise the Dancing Clown and you are Babsie. There! So now we know each other!” Her voice had a strange quality that Babs couldn’t quite pinpoint but she had decided that she should probably leave this funny pony to her own games.
“I guess so. Well, I gotta go.” Babs retreated a step but the clown’s voice rose is questioning excitement behind her.
“Go?” Pinkiewise almost sounded frightened by the event of Babs’ relocation. A certain amount of tempting timbre came to her voice, quivering anxiously in both words. “Without this?”
Babs paused and looked back to see the clown happily balancing her sailboat on one hoof while laughing giddily. “My boat!” Babs exclaimed in hearty happiness. Her ship was still in one piece and this harlequin had saved it from the depths below the streets.
“Go on, take it.” The clown’s face remained in a fixed state of happiness and her eyes flickered from the boat to Babs in a manner that prompted the filly to giggle slightly despite the odd scene unfolding before her. She began to reach into the drain but halted just outside of the lip, she wanted the boat but this was very strange and she needed to assess the situation before rashly following her desires.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you want it?” The voice skittered out in its amazingly high frequency. “Oh, of course you do! And there’s cotton candy and rides and all sorts of surprises down here! And balloons! All colors!” From the darkness, a bright pink balloon rose into view tied to Pinkiewise’s other hoof, dancing to and fro inside of the gutter, only a few inches away.
Babs wasn’t sure why she asked the next question, she felt somehow mesmerized by the clown and her inhibitions dried up under the silliness of this situation. “Do they float?”
It was as if the clown had been waiting for those specific words and her mind boggling wide grin fell to an almost harmonious expression. “Oh yes … they float.”
Babs reached with her mouth into the drain, the lip brushing her ears as she stretched to reach the object of her bond of friendship between Apple Bloom and herself. Her jaws opened as the clown began to speak again, the voice rising in intensity.
“And when you’re down here with us, YOU’LL FLOAT TOO!”
All at once, Babs realized that strange quality in Pinkiewise’s voice; it was the sound of hooves on a chalkboard. For a brief moment, Babs saw clearly her mistake but it was far too late. What she saw destroyed her sanity.
Pinkiewise’s mouth grew incredibly wide, revealing a double row of serrated and broken teeth. Her silver eyes flared magnificently bright and the creature lunged at the young filly, sinking those nasty teeth deep into the flesh around the filly’s jaws.
With one quick motion, Babs’ neck snapped and rotated, her head tearing free of the cartilage and muscles as the beast in the sewer took its prize deeper into the drain to feed, leaving the decapitated body to jerk with spasms and pour bright crimson blood into the abyss that lie below Ponyville. The young filly was the first murder that summer but would hardly be the last.
Author's Note
This story is obviously based off of Stephen King's "It". The opening scene is too great to change bt expect the similarities between the two to end here. Thanks for reading.
