Snow. Everywhere it drifted down lazily, no wind to disturb it in the blackness of the night. White Tail Woods was covered in a crisp blanket of it. Through the darkness a pony emerged. She wore a simple black cloak, the hood drawn up, covering her face in shadow. In her mouth she carried a woven basket, its contents hidden by a small checkered cloth placed delicately across the top. The soft crunching of the snow under her hooves was the only sound to disturb the silence of the frozen woods.
She moved with a purpose, not stopping or deviating from the path she was on. The woods began to thicken around her, and she knew she was quickly approaching her destination.
Finally she reached the center of the woods. There, awaiting her arrival, was a stone altar. Several unlit candles adorned it, though they were nearly lost in the snow. The cloaked mare approached the stone and set her basket down beside it. She gently brushed the snow off and adjusted the candles, placing one at each corner. She then bent down and removed the cloth covering from the basket. Inside it rested a box of matches, an ornate knife, and one gently sleeping pegasus foal.
The mare removed the matches and lit the candles. She then gently lifted the sleeping babe and placed him on the altar, steeling herself for what she knew had to be done.
"Ah'm sorry, sugarcube" the mare whispered in her peculiar accent to the oblivious foal. "Ah don't wanna do this, honest. But Ah gotta if'n we want a good crop this year."
The mare retrieved the last item from the basket, the ornate blade. she raised it, preparing to stab downward, when...
"AJ!"
The mare whipped around, surprised by the sudden outburst. There, standing at the edge of the candles' light, was her sister, Applebloom. Pony feathers! she thought. Did she follow me here?
"What're ya doing, AJ? You were about ta... Pound Cake... Ah don't understand."
Applejack was at a completely loss for words. She had never expected to have to explain her yearly ritual to her little sister, at least not yet.
The silence dragged on between them.
"ANSWER ME!" Applebloom finally screamed, tears beginning to stream down her face. The shout echoed out into the woods, bouncing off trees and snow before dissipating into the cold night air.
Applejack slowly removed her hood, allowing her sister to look into her bright green eyes. They were full of sadness, guilt, and shame.
"Applebloom..." AJ began. "I don't want to do this..."
"Then why!?" Applebloom interrupted. "You were gonna kill Pound Cake! Just like that!" She stamped her hoof in the snow for emphasis. "If you didn't want ta do it, then why were ya about ta!?"
Applejack looked her straight in the eyes, begging her to understand. "If Ah don't kill a foal tonight we'll lose the farm." The way she spoke was like she was explaining to a filly that her favorite pet was sick and had to be put down.
"Wha-What kinda sense does that make?" Applebloom stuttered in response.
"Our family made this arrangement a long time ago. As long as we sacrifice one foal durin' every winter solstice, our crop will never fail" AJ explained. "Haven't ya ever wondered how we're able to grow so many apples every year?"
"But... That's insane!" Applebloom shouted. she took a few steps backwards, suddenly feeling the bile rise in her throat as she realized just how many lives her family had claimed. "So you've been doing this... every year... Does Big Mac know? Or Granny Smith?"
"Mac knows" AJ replied. "He's too soft ta do the deed himself, but he understands the need fer it. And Granny told me she was the one who struck the deal in the first place." She began walking towards Applebloom, taking two steps forward for every one that she stepped back.
Applebloom's nausea reached new heights at the revelation that her whole family condoned these killings. She had been brought up in a house of blood, never realizing the terrible evils that were done in secret. But this was still her family, wasn't it? For every atrocious crime they committed, they did it to keep her warm and fed. Didn't that mean that they loved her still? And what of her? What would she do now, knowing the truth of it all? Would she accept this truth and continue to live in that house of blood, finally recognizing it for what it was? Or would she walk a different path than her sister?
Applejack stopped walking towards her. She needed to hear her sister's answer, yet she was afraid to at the same time. "Applebloom?"
Applebloom froze. She knew now. She knew what she had to do. She knew that she had to tell somepony about these murders. Twilight's library! That was the safest place for her right now. Twilight would stop Applejack. She may even be able to show her the error of her ways. Her conviction was resolute. Even though it would destroy her family, she had to stop this insanity. She had to stop her sister.
As the light of understanding dawned upon her, Applejack saw it as well. She saw the sudden change in her sister's eyes and realized her decision as soon as Applebloom did herself.
They both moved in the same instant. Applebloom turned on her hoof and shot out of the clearing like a speeding bullet, Applejack hard on here heels.
"Wait, Applebloom!" AJ yelled. "Let's just talk about this!"
Applebloom did not bother yelling back. She had to use every last breath she had to run. Adrenaline began pumping its way through her tiny body, keeping her ahead of her sister for the moment. But she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. She was able to use her size her advantage, ducking through the sparse undergrowth, slowing AJ as she had to push her way through with brute force.
They were still several minutes outside of Ponyville, and Applebloom was beginning to tire. Every breath she took burned her lungs, and her legs felt as if they were on fire. She could hear AJ's hoof-beats behind her. She had given up trying to call out to her. Applebloom guessed that she realized it was pointless. She looked over her shoulder to see how much distance was between them.
Applebloom couldn't see the snow-covered rock, but she could feel the sudden agonizing pain that shot up her foreleg as it struck the hidden protrusion. Her impetus caused her to roll forward and down a steep hill with a riverbed at its base. All Applebloom knew for her last few moments of consciousness was the world tumbling around her, and then nothing.
~ ~ ~
Applebloom awoke to an agonizing headache and a rope hog-tying all four of her hooves. As her senses began returning to her, she realized that there was candlelight around her, and she was lying on an uncomfortable stone slab. Fear began gripping her throat as she realized she had been here earlier this evening. Her fears were confirmed when Applejack stepped into her line of sight. To her surprise, Applejack was actually crying.
"Damn it, AB. Why couldn't ya just accept this? Why'd ya have ta try an' ruin everything?"
"Do ya know what yer doin'?" Applebloom shot back. "Nothin', not even the farm, is worth killin' somepony over. Even if killin' foals did somehow bring the harvest, which still sounds totally insane!"
Applejack brought up the ornamented knife from earlier, tears still running down her cheeks. "Ya just won't accept what we do, AB. Yer makin' me do this."
"No, AJ. Yer doin' this yerself."
Applejack stabbed downward. The forest was silent once more.
