Barn of the Pus Pony

The next day. Sun rises, night falls. In between, not much had happened, save for an unexplained extra shipment of custard being delivered to Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner. The following morning, Big McIntosh's kid sister Apple Bloom went off to school while Big Mac and Applejack hauled yesterday's harvest into town as usual.

Before long, school was out for the weekend, and Apple Bloom arrived home with her friends, a white unicorn named Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, an orange pegasus. She was relieved the others had agreed when she'd suggesting wearing their Cutie Mark Crusader capes to class. It had allowed her to disguise the latest indication that adolescence was setting in. Mostly covered by the cape and almost the same whitish-yellow hue as her coat, the large pimple on her side had gone blessedly unnoticed by her fellow students. It may be a sign I'm growing up, thought Apple Bloom, but it's sure no substitute for a cutie mark.

At the gate, Scootaloo started off toward the clubhouse, but Sweetie Belle pointed a hoof in the opposite direction, toward the small row of barns to the side of the farmhouse. "What's over there?" she asked.

Scootaloo turned around and looked in the direction of her hoof. "Yeah, I've always wondered what's in those."

Apple Bloom had to think for a bit; she hadn't had much cause to be around the equipment and storage sheds. "I know the closest one's full o' carts. But y'know, I don't think I've ever gone into the others."

Scootaloo gave her a nudge. "Come on, you mean you live on a farm and you haven't spent hours exploring every nook and cranny? You know I would." She buzzed her pegasus wings for emphasis and exchanged a wink with Sweetie Belle.

Stomping her left front hoof, Apple Bloom opened her mouth to object. "I know my own farm, but I..." How to continue? She had explored around the house and in the more open areas, but her big sis Applejack had warned her there were dangers on any farm, especially around equipment. Heavy objects, sharp edges, and moving parts were the tools of the trade, and even though Big McIntosh had been farming since before she was born, he still seemed to get some minor injury every season.

On the other hoof, she'd cited Applejack the last couple times she'd quashed one of Scootaloo's ideas. To do so again just wouldn't fly any better than... Well anyway, she wasn't scared, and she wasn't going to let them think so. Nothing would happen, and surely she could stand a stern talking-to from her big sister if she found out. Apple Bloom chose to finish her sentence casually. "I always assumed it was just a bunch o' old stuff we don't use no more." For reassurance she looked over at Sweetie Belle, who was usually the conscience of the trio. "Besides, if there's anything there, it'd be more fun for us to discover it together."

"Maybe something we could use to get our cutie marks," Sweetie Belle suggested.

With that remark the verdict was rendered. In a matter of seconds, the three had dashed to the unexplored barns. Passing the nearest barn and its carts, Apple Bloom led her friends into one of the storage sheds. The sun shone in just enough to light the front third or so of the room. Unfortunately, everything was in boxes, and they were stacked too high for the fillies to look into the ones on top. And even near the front it was still too dark to read the labels. Scootaloo jumped up and fluttered her wings but was still a good eighteen inches below the tops of the stacks. She hovered for a few seconds and returned to the ground, disappointed.

As Apple Bloom put an encouraging foreleg around Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle's huge eyes sparked. "I have an idea!" She walked up to a stack and lowered her chin so that her horn was pointed toward the boxes. Squinting her eyes shut in concentration, she gritted her teeth, and sparks of light sprayed from the top of her horn. After a couple more tries, she was able to create a small bluish-white glow near the boxes. Apple Bloom leaned in and read the labels by Sweetie Belle's light.

"Picnic supplies...tea party...garden tools. We could maybe try some of this if we could get to it." Apple Bloom could just barely remember a small vegetable garden her sister once kept around back. Holding picnics and tea parties didn't sound like talents to her, but a few weeks of gardening would surely be worth a cutie mark, and the sales would help out the farm. Her eyes widened as several other boxes bore similar hobby-related labels, but how would they get into the boxes without Applejack knowing they'd been in here?

With the front inspected, Sweetie Belle walked toward the back of the barn, taking her horn-glow with her. As she disappeared into the darkness, Apple Bloom kept an eye on the dim glow, imagining all sorts of dangers in the back corners—blades, rats, an uneven stack of boxes ready to topple. Scootaloo looked unconcerned, still trying to fly or climb onto the top of a stack. Sweetie Belle returned to the light a tense minute later.

"Did you find anything cool?" Scootaloo asked.

"No, just more stacks of boxes and a big wooden crate that says 'ARK,' but this is just the first barn, right?" Sweetie Belle led the way out the door and over to the next storage shed over, which was secured with a padlock and chain. "This door's locked. Let's move on to the next one."

The door to the third barn was cracked open. As Apple Bloom peeked in, a voice called out from behind her. "Apple Bloom!" The trio turned to see an orange-gold pony dropping off a cart at the first barn. "What'd I say about pokin' around where we keep our equipment?" Applejack came over to the barn looking none-too-pleased.

Scootaloo instinctively stepped between Apple Bloom and her sister. "She's sorry, AJ. I thought we might find something in here to get our cutie marks."

Sweetie Belle chimed in. "We didn't touch anything, and all we've seen so far are boxes. Honest." She whispered to Apple Bloom, "Did your sis tell you the barns were off-limits?"

Applejack softened as she looked at the disappointed Crusaders. "No, what I said is you need somepony with you, like me or Big Mac or Granny. We can talk about this later, Apple Bloom. Right now since your friends are here, why don't I help you look for somethin'?" The relieved Crusaders perked up.

"There's not much in that one there," Applejack said as she led them back to the locked barn. "But this one's worth a look." She stepped away for a moment, came back with a flashlight and a key, and unlocked the door. By now the sun was a bit lower in the sky and shone farther into the interior. "Boy howdy, I haven't been in here since about the time y'all were born."

Inside were items from Applejack's early years—a white crib, toys, simple drawings, and the like. Somepony had even saved some empty cans and boxes from some of the brand-name foods AJ had enjoyed as a filly. Sweetie Belle found herself drawn to a white and purple bib with a red heart in the center, laid out next to a matching bottle. Nearby were combs and brushes decorated with butterflies, moons, and flowers. "Hey, I used to have these!" said Scootaloo, holding up a stuffed purple bunny and a foal's ring-stacking toy.

"Heh, yeah, they still make those," Applejack said.

Applejack settled in to share past memories with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but Apple Bloom grew restless with curiosity about the last barn. She approached her sister meekly. "Applejack, you said that other barn didn't have much in it. Is it okay if I check over there as long as there's nothin' dangerous?"

"Sure thing. I was more worried about the stuff we keep in the cart barn and around back. I reckon there's nothin' to hurt you in there, only some of Granny's old kitchen stuff and some furniture. Just come back here when you're done."

As Applejack turned back to the other two Crusaders, Apple Bloom trotted over to the barn with the cracked-open door. She went inside hoping for something more than her sister had described. She'd tried so much cooking and baking, it was becoming obvious she was not going to earn a cutie mark in food preparation, nor did she particularly want to at this point. Sweetie Belle loved the kitchen, but that wasn't going to happen either. Just last week she had somehow managed to make homemade rainbow sherbet that was spicy hot.

The filly's eyes dilated as she saw several tables and buffets laden with old-timey kitchen items. She envisioned the Crusaders as adults running an antique store and wondered what an antique cutie mark would look like. She muttered to herself, "Maybe we can't use these ourselves, but I bet somepony would appreciate 'em." Just then she heard a small clunk near the back corner of the barn, away from the tables. She made her way to the back and found a small trumpet lying on the dirt floor. It was old and dented, with what looked like charring around the bell of the horn. She bent her head down to pick up the horn and noticed that it was covered by a shadow the shape of an adult pony's head. The shadow moved.

Applejack and the others heard Apple Bloom's high-pitched scream and darted outside. They found her stumbling out of the kitchen barn. "He bit me! I been bit!"

Alert but not alarmed, big sis was beside her in an instant. "Let me see it. What got you, a mouse or a bat or somethin'?"

"It was a pony," Apple Bloom sobbed. "Some stranger, and he did this." She pulled her cape aside with her teeth to show her now-punctured pimple. The deflated mass was more visible now, about the size of a bit coin, and a small trickle of blood was leaking out.

Applejack sighed in relief. "Uh, darlin', are you sure you didn't just bump somethin' that opened you up?"

Apple Bloom tried to regain her composure. "It was a pony! It was dark, but I saw a pony's head move toward me. Or at least it looked like a pony. All I know is somethin' big and thirsty's in that barn. You'll see if you just go in."

Having already taken the initiative, Scootaloo showed up with the flashlight from the last barn. Applejack took it and looked inside, shining the light in the rear corners. All she saw was a shallow hole under the back wall, probably dug by Wynona but nowhere near large enough for a pony. "No ponies in here now."

Scootaloo helped Apple Bloom calm down as Sweetie Belle inspected the tables. She stopped at a green and white checkered tablecloth, on which sat an antique toaster. She'd never quite had the knack for toast herself, but maybe this one was special. It was electric like any other, but the outside was overlaid with wood. At one time it was painted with green and yellow stripes, but the finish had mostly worn off.

Scootaloo took a closer look at the slight trail of blood from Apple Bloom's sore. "I'll tell you what it is. It's a vampire. They can change from bats into ponies and back."

Apple Bloom giggled, grateful for the moment of levity. But the moment soon passed. "Wait, does that mean I'm gonna turn into one?"

"No, silly. Not for a tiny bite like that. It looks like he only got one fang in. But you know what this means?"

Sweetie Belle joined the conversation. "It means somepony needs to be on the lookout for vampires in Ponyville. We could be vampire stalkers like Pinkie Pie's aunt Wilhelmina."

"Hold on, y'all," Applejack cautioned. "Vampires? I don't wanna call into question Pinkie's family heritage, but as far as I know there ain't no such thing."

The younger ponies' ears drooped as they hung their heads. A beat passed.

"Alright, I'll humor you. If you wanna check the farm for vampires, be my guest. We've still got some time before supper."

The bite forgotten, the fillies celebrated. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER VAMPIRE STALKERS!"

Apple Bloom was first with a plan of action. "We should do research first."

"Yeah," said Scootaloo. "We'll ask Twilight Sparkle to tell us everything she knows."

"And make the library our headquarters!" Sweetie Belle added.

Applejack stepped in to keep them from running off. "Hold up, gang. Today's almost over. 'Sides, Twilight and Spike are both in Canterlot for the next week on royal business, and Bon Bon can't sub for her 'cause of some mishap, so the library's closed."

Sweetie Belle cocked her head to the side. "Mishap?"

"Nothin' you need to concern yourself with. And confidentially, she may be smart about a lot o' things, but I don't recommend Twilight as a reliable source on vampires. Just trust me on this one."

The Crusaders went into a huddle, and Scootaloo eyed Applejack heading back to the farmhouse. "I say we split up."

Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, we can do more damage that way." Scootaloo stuck out her tongue.

Sweetie Belle broke the huddle to follow Applejack. "I'll check around the farmhouse."

Apple Bloom replied, "Alright, I'll stay here around these barns."

"You're okay with that?" asked Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom tugged her cape back over her sore and looked up. "I'm okay. I'm already bit, so I reckon the vampire'll leave me alone. And even if Applejack doesn't believe in vampires, she wouldn't have left us here if she thought we were in trouble. This is my home, and I trust my family to keep me safe."

"Alright. That leaves me with the path from the barns to the field. If anything happens, just scream like that again and I'll be right there."

Left alone, Apple Bloom cringed at the situation she'd left herself in. Looking back at the farmhouse, where her sister, brother, and granny were talking inside, she noticed Applejack periodically glancing her direction. Apple Bloom was warmed by the thought of her sister keeping an eye on her. Nothing could happen to her now.

(Commercial break)