“Hello? Is anypony here?” said Sweetie Belle.
The sky is gray, the trees are without their leaves, and Sweetie Belle is confused and alone. She is at Sweet Apple Acres so she can play with Apple Bloom, but there is nothing but an empty barn and locked up house. She just got done looking around the Apple family house. Not only was it completely abandoned, but the place showed no evidence that anypony lived there. Despite already doing it, Sweetie Belle decides to search the barn again. As she approaches the barn, which looks like it’s been abandoned. Paint is peeling off, there is wood rot, and the doors are all locked up tight with a rusty lock.
Suddenly, she remembers there is an underground cellar underneath the barn. She hopes that it holds any answers to why the Apple family left. She scrounges around trying to find the cellar door. After a moment, she finds it and to her surprise, it’s unlocked. She opens the door and goes down the stairs. As she goes down the stairs, it gets darker and darker. She eventually makes it down into the cellar, but it is so pitch black; she can’t even see her hoof in front of her own face, let alone the cellar it self. Trying her hardest, she feels against the wall trying to find a light switch, and to her satisfaction she did. She flipped on the switch and the light quickly illuminated the room. She turns around and gasped loudly.
Across the cellar walls there was graffiti painted in red paint covering every inch. Some of them said, “DEATH 2 FILLIES” and “I HATE SWEETIE BELLE”, but Sweetie Belle was too shocked to read them all. Her eyes begin to swell with tears and her voice began to tremble.
“W-Why would Applejack do this?” sobbed Sweetie Belle.
“What made ya think it was Applejack?” said a deep creepy voice.
Sweetie Belle turns around and discovers that it is Big Macintosh. She looks up at the red stallion who is glaring back at her with an evil gaze.
“Ya know it’s rude to go into other ponies privete places,” he said as he slowly approaches Sweetie Belle.
As Sweetie Belle walks backwards away from Big Macintosh, she trips and falls over backwards. She tries to scoot away, but Big Macintosh slams his hoof onto her tail. She was now stuck and she couldn’t get loose.
“Big Macintosh! Let me go!” she screeched. “I’ll do anything! I promise.”
“Promises were meant to be broken. Like your bones,” he said. He quickly lifts his hoof and slams it into Sweetie Belle’s face.
“NOOOOOOOOO!” yelled Sweetie Belle.
Her heart races and sweats drips down her forehead. She looks around and discovers that she is in her room at Carasol Boutique. It was only a bad dream.
Rarity then comes into Sweetie Belle’s room.
“Sweetie Belle, are you alright? I heard screaming,” she said.
Rarity approaches her sister with a concerned frown on her face. As Sweetie Belle continues to cry with every heartbreaking sob, Rarity gently hugs her. Sweetie’s Belle’s pain and sadness is felt by Rarity and she begins to cry too. The two white ponies hugged each other long into the night.
A new morning arrives in Ponyville. Rarity is in her kitchen sipping some breakfast tea while reading a magazine. As she reads her magazine, Sweetie Belle comes into the kitchen slowly and quietly. Her eyes still moist from her tear-filled sleep. The once energetic filly is now displays a lifeless cold stare of sadness. As Sweetie Belle slowly makes her way to the fridge, Rarity turns around and notices her.
"Good Morning, Sweetie Belle," she said.
Sweetie Belle slowly lifted her head up at Rarity, but says nothing.
"Sweetie Belle, you're not still upset about last night are you?"
"Yes," she quietly responded.
"You know, this is the third time you woke me up in the middle of the night due to your screaming and crying. It is was only a dream after all," Rarity responded.
"But what if-"
"Sweeite Belle, it was only a dream. Just repeat that to yourself."
"It was just a dream, It was just a dream, It was just a dream," she chanted.
Rarity then put her magazine down and got up from the table.
"Well now, I am off to get some groceries," she said as she levitated her saddlebags onto her. She then turned to Sweetie Belle. "Do you want to come along? Maybe some fresh air will calm you down."
"I guess," said Sweete Belle.
***
The Ponyville marketplace is bustling with vendors. Fruits and vegetables colorful as the canopies they were under. The pegasai cleared every cloud in the sky, and Rarity's attitude is as bright as the day. Unfortunately, Sweetie Belle still has a worried look on her face as she traveled alongside Rarity still chanting that phrase. As they walk through the marketplace, Scootaloo comes riding by on her scooter. She stops next to Sweetie Belle and Rarity.
"Hey, Sweetie Belle, where have you been these past couple days?" she asked.
"She was in my house having and recovering from some sort of nightmare," said Rarity.
"It was so scary and real," said Sweetie Belle.
"Whatever, too bad you can't be tough like me," said Scootaloo. As she rides off with a confident stride, she accidentally crashes into Roseluck's rose booth. She is covered in about a dozen of unthorned roses. Her face tightens up with pain.
"Scootaloo, are you alright?" cried Rarity.
"Yeah- ow. I'm tough like- ow- Rainbow Dash!" she replied while trying to hold back the tears. Rarity and Sweetie Belle continue on.
"You know, Rainbow Dash needs to talk some sense into her before she gets killed," said Rarity
Sweetie Belle gasped.
"Oh Sweetie Belle, I wasn't wishing death on her, I was only concerned about her safety."
"No. I meant that." Sweetie Belle points to a dilapidated building adjacent to them. The windows were boarded up and it also appeared to be slanted. It began to disturb Sweetie Belle because it looked eerily similar the abandoned house in her dreams.
"Oh yes, The Salt Lick. It was one of the great restaurants in ponyville. It even beat out some Canterlot restaurants. Then they got a new owner who pretty much neglected the place until it was closed down." Rarity then turns to Sweetie Belle who is shivering in fear. "Sweetie Belle, calm yourself. They inspect every inch of the building before they condemn it. If there was some sort of scary monster, we would have heard of it."
"Okay," said Sweetie Belle. She resumed her chant as she and Rarity continue to through the market. They continue walking until they come to Applejack's booth.
"Hi there, Rarity. Hello, Sweetie Belle," said Applejack.
"Hi," Sweetie Belle said quietly and nervously.
"What's the matter, sugarcube?"
"She has had some... umm... nightmares these past few days and it has really gotten to her," explained Rarity.
"Well don't ya worry. Ah brought some apple fritters from home. Maybe that will cheer ya up," Applejack then turns around. "Here they come."
Sweetie Belle sees the tray being placed on the table. The pony lifts his neck up and looks down at Sweetie Belle and reveals himself to be Big Macintosh. A sudden coldness grips Sweetie Belle. Her heart stops beating, her knees turn to custard, and all time stops. She begins to have flashbacks to her nightmare of Big Macintosh beating her to death.
"Why hello there," said Big Macintosh.
Sweetie Belle then lets out an ear-piercing scream and runs back to the boutique.
"Was it something I said?"
