Blank Equestria

by Cafe Ponies

Rating: mature
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 6329

Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle must find out where everypony else is, and bring them back to Ponyville.

A few ponies suddenly go missing, followed by more disappearances of ponies. Very few ponies are left, and even they can't handle it, with some ponies locking themselves in their homes. Only the cutie mark crusaders are even barely able to stand up to this, being counted on to find the all of the ponies who disappeared and bring them back to Ponyville.

Inspired by the Silent Hill movie. This fanfic uses some concepts from it. It's no longer a ponified version of it, I feel like I went overboard with the gore and it wasn't creepy or atmospheric enough to feel like Silent Hill.

Published 2014-06-04 19:10:06 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-21 03:45:23 UTC

Facility

Scootaloo caught up to Sweetie Belle in a few seconds despite the fog blocking her view. She was too worried about losing Sweetie Belle too. Everything was completely still, there wasn't even a small breeze to blow back the manes and tails of the two cutie mark crusaders. They headed to the barn right away. It was where Applebloom went.

The red building came into view as the two fillies approached it after some time. Apple trees surrounded them as they got closer and closer to the front doors. For some reason, Sweet Apple Acres wasn't just eerie, but scary. Sheer horror. It was most likely because of the fog and cold temperature, as well as the lonely feeling it had inflicted on Scootaloo.

Scootaloo hurled a swift glance at Sweetie Belle. She was looking at the ground the whole time, her ears drooping. Scootaloo felt even more sad. She went into the barn first, slowly opening the doors. They let out an ominous creak. She looked at Sweetie Belle, who quickly followed her inside. Scootaloo shut the doors as fast as possible.

The barn looked massive on the inside with the endless darkness that filled it. Sweetie Belle shook in fear, but she held back her tears and her whimpering. Scootaloo stepped forward, looking up. Creepy noises descended from above, as if a metal wall was being moved. The windows were open, but the usual sunlight didn't come in through them.

"Sweetie Belle, come closer to me," Scootaloo instructed, warning her. Sweetie Belle did so immediately.

Hoofsteps suddenly echoed throughout the room rapidly, as if a pony was galloping towards them quickly. Sweetie Belle let out a small gasp and hugged Scootaloo, burying her face in Scootaloo's chest again. Scootaloo closed her eyes, her mouth gaping as she breathed heavily. The hoofsteps came closer until Sweetie Belle screamed in pain, breaking away from Scootaloo. Scootaloo opened her eyes quickly, alarmed.

A mare in a miner's suit slid to a halt nearby, holding an axe. Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle, who held her chest in pain. A cut was etched across the white filly's back. Blood sped down her back, gushing out of the long wound.

Scootaloo looked horrified. She turned her head to stare at the hidden mare. She was now looking back at Scootaloo, holding her axe up dangerously. Scootaloo let out a gasp, grabbed Sweetie Belle, and made a run for it.

The mare easily reached their heels within seconds. Her axe was now strapped to her back. This mare must have had fast and skilled hooves. She bowled over Scootaloo, grunting. Scootaloo couldn't identify the pony's voice through the sound of the two ponies falling and rolling over the floor.

"You little shit, why are you and your friend here?" the mare asked as she positioned her axe, aiming it directly at Scootaloo's face.

Scootaloo flinched. Her gaze rolled over to where Sweetie Belle sat, coughing up blood and looking weak. "We're looking for a friend," she explained quietly. Her words tumbled out of her mouth swiftly.

The mare's eyes, which were the only visible part of her body under her heavy miner's suit, looked over at Sweetie Belle as well. "Poor foals," she said sarcastically. The mare got up, giving Scootaloo a harsh stare, then pushed the filly over.

Scootaloo stayed on the ground, resting on her side. The mare trotted over to the injured Sweetie Belle, then dropped her axe. The sound it made when it was dropped was loud as it echoed through the building. Clank.

"You're lucky," the mare whispered, barely audible over Sweetie Belle's loud and continuous coughing. She picked up her axe again and slowly trotted off, returning to the darkness.

Scootaloo got up and rushed over to Sweetie Belle. She helped up her injured friend, the other filly's blood staining her hooves as she nearly choked on the blood rising in her esophagus.

"Keep...going..." she choked out.

Scootaloo shook her head. "No, Applebloom would be dead by now."

"Yes...go...now!" Sweetie Belle said, followed by an aggressive series of more coughing. Blood burst out of her mouth, some dripped down her face and ruining her once pretty white coat with black and dark red.

Scootaloo swore Sweetie Belle would be dead soon, but the hospital was closed. Nurse Redheart was one of the ponies gone. The orange filly sighed and guided her friend into the shadows, following the trail of the mare. She went upstairs with Sweetie Belle, the steps stained with her own blood. It got worse with every step, and once they reached the floor upstairs, Sweetie Belle was collapsing every few steps. She twitched violently, her choking sounding more disturbing every second.

"Don't die," Scootaloo whispered. "We'll find the mare and everypony else. Don't worry."

Find

Scootaloo woke up quickly, a sharp pain attacking her side. And it was literally sharp. Scootaloo looked back at her side, pointy shards of glass digging into her flesh. Blood oozed from her many small wounds, making her almost vomit. Scootaloo forced herself up quickly, the pain growing.

"Ow! Oh my Celestia, glass hurts so much," Scootaloo screamed, her wings spreading as she fell and writhed in pain.

The blood dripped onto the ground, staining the pale grey grass that she wished was a fresh green color. The air didn't help. Her cuts stung from the frigid temperatures. Scootaloo reluctantly moved her hoof towards the closest cut, but paused.

"Brace yourself," she warned herself.

Scootaloo sighed, waiting. After what seemed like forever, she eventually got herself to pull the shard out rather aggressively. Blood spurted from her wound and sprayed the grass, turning it into a disgusting dark red color. Scootaloo quickly pulled her hoof back, then covered her mouth with it. The sour taste of bile was already covering her tongue. Scootaloo couldn't hold it in. She was forced to put her hoof down and open her mouth, vomiting on the grass. The gross smell was unbearable.

Scootaloo stepped back from the puddle of sick. She panted, her whole body aching. She glanced at her side that was covered in glass shards. There were still three more she had to pull out.

The filly nearly fainted. She moved back again from the puddle of bile, then gripped another glass shard. Quickly, she pulled it out. As she moved it, it accidentally made another small cut across her coat, approaching her neck. Scootaloo let out a gasp, then looked back at her side once more. Two more shards had to be removed.

Scootaloo groaned and decided to make this quick, no matter how painful it would be. Quickly, she pulled out the two shards, holding in her agonizing screams, despite how difficult that was to do. Soon, the grass around her was completely red as her bodily liquids began to form a small puddle. Then, she remembered what she had to do. She began to race into the fog.

Yes, live, Scootaloo thought worriedly.

A burning feeling caught her side again. Scootaloo glanced at it, where her cuts were resting. To her horror, it had gotten worse. Pus was streaming out of the cuts and down her orange coat, bubbling slightly. She held back more bile.

"Applebloom!" Scootaloo yelled, quickening her pace as she could feel tears form in her eyes. She wished she wasn't in this hell anymore. She wanted to save herself.

After what seemed like hours of galloping through the same fog and dull grass, Scootaloo finally came across some sort of metallic trapdoor. It was rusty and it looked like it was beginning to need a replacement. There were some small dents all over it.

Scootaloo punched it with her hoof. She pulled her hoof back, and the trapdoor fell. She flinched at the ear-shattering clank.

"Ow," the crusader muttered to herself, rubbing her hoof. She entered the hole where the weak trapdoor was.

Darkness suddenly covered Scootaloo. She looked up in alarm and confusion. The hole was covered, as if it was never there. Scootaloo shivered in fear, but trotted ahead.

Not too long afterwards, Scootaloo felt something cold hit her hoof. She looked closely at it. In the complete darkness, she could see that it was a flashlight. Scootaloo sighed in relief, then picked up the flashlight. She turned it on. A light emerged from the front of it. It seemed to work perfectly.

Scootaloo, satisfied, proceeded ahead. The walls were metallic and rusty too, just like the trapdoor. She was in some kind of underground torture factory. Massive fans whirled behind windows in the walls. Scraping sounds echoed all around her. It was as if somepony was struggling to drag a heavy metal sword across the floor.

As she advanced into next room, her flashlight mysteriously flickered and turned off. Scootaloo pressed the switch on it repeatedly. Numerous clicks echoed throughout the room, but her efforts to turn it back on were vain. Scootaloo sighed and simply dropped the flashlight. Too bad it seemed to work perfectly.

The lights turned on in the room. Scootaloo let out a gasp at what she saw. Blood completely coated the floor. The mare with the axe from before stood in the middle of the room, near Applebloom, who was strapped to an electric chair. Her mouth was sealed with duct tape, but when the mare noticed Scootaloo, she ripped off the seal.

Applebloom yelled in pain, squirming in the deadly contraption. Her hooves were also trapped with the same item, duct tape. The mare dressed in the miner's suit approached the horrified and nervous Scootaloo.

"Is this the pony you were looking for?" the mare said, her voice muffled beneath her thick miner's suit.

Scootaloo didn't know what would happen next, or what she should do. She slowly nodded, her whole body shaking as sweat streamed down her face. The filly hyperventilated.

The mare smiled at the look of Scootaloo. She even let out a small, short, but extremely sadistic laugh. Removing the axe from her back, she returned to Applebloom's side.

"You have two choices. Save your friend or let her die," the mare explained as she held the axe up in a threatening manner.

"How do I save her?" Scootaloo asked defiantly, looking brave. But this costed all of her strength.

"Get her out of the chair, of course," the mare said. She looked at Applebloom, who was sobbing and whimpering, shaking her head at Scootaloo in fear.

"If I don't, she'll get electrocuted and die?" Scootaloo questioned.

The mare sighed in irritation. "That's what you think." She didn't elaborate any further on what she said.

"How much time do I have?" Scootaloo asked once more, approaching the mare, which took up all of her bravery as well. However, she was sure she didn't have any bravery left.

The mare looked up in thought, dropping her axe. She treated the situation rather calmly. But that was because she was the killer. And Scootaloo was about to lose a friend.

"Four minutes," the mare said. "You're just a filly. I'll be fair." The mare trotted to the corner of the room, waiting casually. "Feel free to use my axe."

Scootaloo looked at the axe she left on the ground. The mare was quietly paying attention to the time as she carefully watched Scootaloo.

The crusader picked up the axe. It was awfully heavy and too hard to pick up, let alone move. Scootaloo looked at Applebloom sorrowfully. It looked like her friend had already been tortured in some way. There were a few small burn marks on her face, and one blood stain on her neck.

"Get the duct tape off!" Applebloom explained.

The duct tape, get it off, of course! Scootaloo did a quick facehoof, then rushed over to Applebloom's side. She took off one piece of duct tape restraining the pony's hooves, but the electric chair electrocuted her. Scootaloo winced, stumbling back and collapsing.

"Three minutes left!" the mare called from the corner, grinning evilly under her miner's suit.

Scootaloo got up quickly, her mane and tail disheveled horribly. She was already exhausted, but she finally found Applebloom and had the chance to save her. She couldn't let her die.

The Pegasus looked around for something that could cut off the duct tape. There were no knives around, or anything else. There was only the axe. Scootaloo shot the mare a furious look. The mare got an even more mischievous grin.

"This isn't fair!" Scootaloo screamed at her.

"Too bad. Two minutes left!" the mare warned again, laughing. She sounded crazy. Of course, she probably was, for attempting to kill Applebloom and possibly many other ponies. Then Scootaloo remembered the other missing ponies.

Scootaloo bit on the duct tape, but her mouth was shocked. She yelled, her whole mouth aching and burned. The mare cackled even more, menacingly loud.

Scootaloo looked around rapidly. There had to be something that was making the electric chair work. Wires, another machine, anything. Unfortunately, there was nothing in sight. The electric chair couldn't be working on its own, though.

"Applebloom, don't worry," Scootaloo whispered reassuringly to her friend. Applebloom was crying in agony.

"One minute left," the mare reminded Scootaloo in a cheerful, singsong voice.

Scootaloo was now hyperventilating again. She kicked the electric chair repeatedly, but all she had received from the strong metallic machine was just more burns and shocks. She collapsed, losing all hope for saving her friend.

"Scootaloo, no!" Applebloom shouted, depressed. Terrified, she tried to break out of the fatal machine herself once more.

"Applebloom, I'm so sorry," Scootaloo choked out.

Applebloom managed to calm herself down in what were probably her last moments alive. "It's okay. I forgive you."

"Time's up," the mare said, trotting over to the two fillies happily. She lifted her axe with ease, then trotted around the chair so she faced the front of Applebloom.

The red-maned filly looked furious, but no matter what, she couldn't hide her fear. She helplessly looked at the fallen Scootaloo, then back at the intimidating pony. The mare spoke again. "I hope you enjoyed your life."

In a split second, the mare swung the axe and the sharp end of it dug into Applebloom's eye. The mare pushed it in further, blood spurting out of the massive injury, and it dug through the metallic chair. The pony pulled it back out, then she used it to strike Applebloom in the center of her chest. She pulled it back slightly, then further in. She pulled it back out completely, bringing out some arteries and veins along the way. The mare shook her axe and they all fell to the floor with a gross squelch, blood exploding in small drops and forming miniature puddles.

The mare thrust the axe back into Applebloom's body, beginning to laugh sadistically again. This time, she had hit Applebloom's neck, then pulled it out. The red liquid sprayed the mare's face, but the miner's suit protected her. Applebloom's esophagus was hanging on the end of the axe, swinging around as the pony moved it. Scootaloo was shielding her eyes from the gruesome sight the whole time.

With one last hit, the mare pushed the axe into Applebloom's stomach. She moved it around a little bit, savoring the moment and enjoying herself as a disgusting squish was repeated with every movement. Finally, she moved the axe up and it flew out of the front of Applebloom's face. From her face down to her stomach, Applebloom was cut in half completely. Her intestines and many other of her important organs stuck to the sharp weapon of the hidden mare's. They all fell to the ground as well, with that same bile-inducing squish noise. The mare dropped her axe and approached the extremely frightened and pale Scootaloo.

Scootaloo uncovered her face and nervously looked up at the pony. She was certain she would die too. But the mare stepped back instead. She spoke gently, in a caring tone.

"Leave now."

Scootaloo shot one last terrified look at the horribly cut up corpse of Applebloom, then gave the mare a swift nod and rushed out of the room, ignoring the fact that she was treading through puddles of blood and the organs of her now dead friend. The last sound she heard was the mare trotting back, further into the room, through the remains of Applebloom and her dragging her axe. Splash, splash, squelch, scree.

Looking

Scootaloo trudged through the strange underground place, exhausted from feeling nothing but cold metal under her hooves. She tried to exterminate the recent scene of Applebloom's quick death she had seen from her mind, but she couldn't do it all. Everytime she remembered it, tears gushed out of her eyes, and she had to rest for a few minutes to cry herself out. It didn't help that all she heard was the sound of metal fans scraping against the walls and spinning in the windows.

Frustration unexpectedly surged through Scootaloo. She trembled, then her hooves took her over to a wall. In a bout of anger, she kicked it furiously, creating no more than a small and weak dent. She dropped her hooves, feeling pain, but she didn't care. She gave the wall another kick as her hind hooves rose again. Slam. More pain flew through her hooves, but her anger still made her whole body feel numb.

The crusader panted, putting down her hooves again. She continued to trot through the endless and dull hall, her ears being filled with unpleasant scraping noises. Her metallic surroundings seemed like it was actually trying to make her break mentally, and possibly physically too if she encountered anymore things. Then, as if this place had found out her thoughts, a stallion slowly rounded the corner, dragging a larger axe than the one that the mare had.

Scootaloo caught a glimpse of the pony, then jumped into a small, convenient hole that was the perfect size for her. The stallion, who appeared to be wearing a miner's suit just like the mare, slowly trotted past the hole, not even stopping to check it. Scootaloo was holding her breath, though.

Finally, the stallion was gone, disappearing into the eerie shadows. Scootaloo looked around for a moment as she abandoned the opening in the wall and sped away. The hard floor made her hooves hurt, just like before.

"Who and why would they be in here?" Scootaloo asked in a hushed voice as she glanced at the direction behind her. The stallion was out of sight. She cautiously looked back and hurried off.

Gentle sobbing abruptly caught Scootaloo's attention. She looked around rapidly, then she trotted to a rusty door nearby. It was half open and almost broken down, and it was covered in dents. Scootaloo looked around the edge of it and saw a mare restrained. She was tied onto a rack, her entire body lacking scars. She didn't even have duct tape on, only ropes tying her to the board.

Scootaloo slowly approached the mare. "Who are you?" she asked sharply.

The mare jumped slightly, then her head turned towards Scootaloo, revealing her tear-filled eyes. "Please, just help me," she begged sorrowfully.

"You're from Ponyville?" Scootaloo asked again, starting to slowly untie the mare's hooves.

"Yes," the mare said. "Can I trust you?"

"Yes. My friend was killed in front of me, and my other friend is...injured. I'm looking for every Ponyville pony that went missing," Scootaloo explained as she quickened her pace in untying the mare's hooves.

"Oh...weren't you one of those three fillies always running around?" the mare asked, calming down but still breathing quickly.

"Yes, the cutie mark crusaders," Scootaloo said as she untied the pony's last two hooves.

After Scootaloo finished freeing the mare, she slid off of the rack and headed towards the door. Scootaloo looked at the board, then back at the mare.

"Nopony's here, let's go," the mare said.

The two ponies softly galloped into the hall and up ahead. Scootaloo struggled a little bit with keeping up with the mare, but when she flapped her wings she was right at the pony's side.

"Who are you?" Scootaloo said, repeating her first question.

The mare looked at her, then went faster as she looked back in front of her. "Lyra Heartstrings."

Scootaloo suddenly felt like she knew this mare. How did she not recognize her? "I'm Scootaloo."

Their trip continued in silence, Lyra slowing down every few minutes due to exhaustion. Scootaloo also slowed down, not wanting to leave behind this mare. But she abruptly remembered the ponies lurking in this hell.

"Hide," Scootaloo said.

"There's nopony here, though," Lyra repeated, but she was still worried.

Scootaloo looked around. "There's ponies walking around, I saw a stallion and a mare before, now come on." She slipped into a nearby room that was empty with Lyra. There were only torture devices inside, no ponies here.

After they were both in the room, Scootaloo pushed the door back to close it. It was awfully heavy, but Scootaloo knew it was metal.

Lyra stared fearfully at the door as Scootaloo trotted away from it, looking at the scattered objects on the floor. "Nothing here," Scootaloo sighed sadly.

Lyra sat down on the floor, not facing Scootaloo. "Did you see Bon Bon?" she questioned suddenly.

Scootaloo remembered the cheerful mare who always avoided Lyra's conversations about humans. "Your best friend?" Scootaloo said as she looked past a pile of crates, broken crowbars, and guns with no ammo. The crates were empty, so the empty guns couldn't work.

"Yes," Lyra said after some time. She got up and galloped over to the torture device. It was a wheel. Lyra avoided staring at it in fear.

"What kind of place is this?" Scootaloo queried, her fury returning.

Lyra finally faced the filly and approached her side. "Oh, it's the Pure Asylum."

"The Pure Asylum?" Scootaloo echoed, giving Lyra a bewildered look.

"It's a secret place where a group of ponies kills others to make Equestria...pure. It's only in Ponyville for now," Lyra explained, sighing. She was clearly distressed. "They have so many ways of torture, and so many ponies to kill."

Scootaloo backed away from the pile of items. "They're damned," she said harshly, her voice shaking as she grew more furious.

"They are," Lyra agreed. "Their sins won't go unpunished."

"Will you help me kill them?" Scootaloo asked. "I want to get revenge."

"Yes," Lyra said. "But first, we have to find weapons."

"There's nothing here."

"Damn it."

Lyra opened the door with great strength. There were still no ponies around, only the dark shadows that loomed over them as the two ponies stepped out.

"What happened to you?" Scootaloo abruptly asked.

"They tied me up, they said they would return, but they didn't. At least, they didn't return before you came. It was only a stallion that tied me up, but he had an axe."

Scootaloo remembered the stallion in the hall, wearing the miner's suit and holding the massive, bloody axe. "I saw a stallion with an axe. He might be looking for you," she warned.

"Should we run, then?"

Scootaloo thought for a moment. They might die, but if they stayed in the room they could be cornered and killed by those ponies. She nodded at Lyra. "Yes," she confirmed. But she knew it was a massive risk for them to take.

Lyra grinned slightly, but she still looked sorrowful. Scootaloo smiled back at the unicorn, and headed outside first. Lyra hesitated, then reluctantly followed her, her smile already fading. Scootaloo frowned as the hall appeared to be darker than before.

"Run," she choked out.

Lyra looked confused, but she sped off first anyways. Scootaloo hurried away after her, looking behind her. There were no ponies nearby. She still raced down the hall with Lyra, hoping to get out of this place alive, along with the, hopefully still living, missing ponies.

Purify

"Come on, can't we stop?" Lyra questioned quietly.

Scootaloo flashed the unicorn a scared look. "No," she whispered in return as she continued down the hall. It never changed, it was always dark. She didn't like it at all.

"Let's just rest," Lyra attempted again. Scootaloo wasn't convinced yet that they should rest.

"No!" Scootaloo murmured sharply, her wings spreading out swiftly from the filly's anger.

"Scootaloo, you know we have to."

"If we don't, the others will die. We don't have much time, you know."

Lyra continued trotting. Scootaloo folded her wings, then stopped. She gently tugged on Lyra's tail before the darkness could swallow her. She gave the mint green unicorn an irritated look, accompanied by a serious frown.

"Fine, we'll stay," Scootaloo said, changing her mind. It was rather quick.

Excitement brightened up Lyra's eyes, but her fear and sadness remained, not hidden enough by her ecstasy. The two mares gave the hall a short examination and went into another empty room with a deadly contraption. Lyra carefully avoided it as Scootaloo pushed the broken door, closing it.

"Did you know about those ponies before you were here?" Scootaloo queried as she made sure it was completely silent in the room.

"A little bit," Lyra said worriedly, sighing afterwards.

"How? Did somepony tell you?" Scootaloo went on. Lyra seemed to glare at her, but her furious look faded, as it was taken over by her own anxiety.

"Actually, I visited Twilight once. She gave me a book, and it was about those ponies," Lyra explained nervously. She blinked, then gave Scootaloo another uncertain look. "I only read a little bit of it and returned it after I found out how dark it was. Twilight was really terrified, but I left, so I don't know what she did with it."

"What about Bon Bon?"

"Bon Bon didn't know anything about these ponies at all. She doesn't deserve to be here."

"You know she's here?"

"Yeah. They knocked her out first, then they got me when I saw them taking her outside to some field with a trapdoor."

"I went through the trapdoor and ended up here," Scootaloo said, remembering her long trip from Sweet Apple Acres to the trapdoor that had disappeared completely when she got inside.

Lyra remained silent after the crusader spoke. She pushed aside some more crates that appeared in the room, then looked around.

"Looking for weapons?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Lyra answered. Scootaloo stared at her, then assisted her in her search for a weapon.

After a while, Lyra yelped in happiness. Scootaloo jumped and sharply looked around. There were no hoofsteps getting louder.

"Lyra! You could have gotten some of those ponies to come in here and kill us!" Scootaloo said angrily.

"I found a weapon," Lyra muttered. She turned to Scootaloo, wielding a crowbar. It looked like it was in extremely good condition. It wasn't perfect, but it was all that they could achieve so far.

"That's the only one?" Scootaloo asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Lyra said. "Should we go now?"

Scootaloo stared at Lyra for a moment. Her gaze finally drifted over to the torture contraption, which was coated with fresh blood. It didn't give off a disgusting smell, but it definitely looked like they just killed a pony not too long ago, at least.

"Yes," Scootaloo said, already heading towards the door.

Lyra immediately followed Scootaloo. The two ponies instantly rushed outside and into the corridor again. There were still no ponies in sight, but then again, there were still the shadows.

"Do you think we'll be safe?" Scootaloo panted as she ran as fast as she could.

"Yes," Lyra said hopefully, but they both knew they would die soon. The ponies would soon take over.

Suddenly, the sirens that Scootaloo had heard from before went off. The ear-shattering sound that had abruptly gone off made the two ponies jump, drowning out every other sound that they heard, even though they heard nothing but massive metallic fans spinning loudly. The fear surging through the two ponies made them gallop even faster than they normally could.

"The sirens, that's when they come out," Scootaloo said fearfully.

"Keep running!" Lyra said, barely able to hear Scootaloo, let alone herself, talk. They continued to race down the corridor. The scraping noises that Scootaloo heard before had now begun to accompany the sound of the sirens.

Almost right after the sirens had gone off, Scootaloo felt dizzy. She panted heavily, almost choking, as she struggled greatly to keep up with the also struggling Lyra. The unicorn was close to collapsing. Scootaloo felt herself nearly faint too. As they both continued running, their thoughts almost blank except for the fear running through them and the desire to live, Scootaloo wasn't sure if the darkness was the real shadows in the facility, or her blacking out.

Applebloom

It was dark and foggy all week. Disappearing ponies had appeared everywhere on the Ponyville news, and the cutie mark crusaders were tired of it. The terrified mail pony replacing Derpy, who had gone missing as well, always gave them explanations of who had just gone missing every week. Every newspaper and news report mentioned ponies that were gone. Ponies locked themselves in their homes, and so did the cutie mark crusaders. They were stuck in their treehouse, with nothing else to do but to listen to the same news everyday, with nothing on their minds but missing ponies.

"Ah've never felt so bored in mah life," Applebloom groaned, breaking the dull silence that had filled the treehouse for days.

"Me neither," Scootaloo agreed, who was leaning on the table next to her.

Sweetie Belle simply nodded. She looked the most tired, but also distraught, of the three of them. Only yesterday was when she explained that her sister had gone missing, as well as the rest of her family, including her pet cat Opal. Some blood stains were left all over Ponyville, especially the Carousel Boutique. The sight for her was simply horrifying.

They all looked back at their TV. There was another report about missing ponies. Scootaloo and the others listened, seeing that they had nothing else to do but to do find out who else had just gone missing.

"News just coming in today, local Ponyville residents Applejack and Cheerilee have now gone missing. With fog impossible to see through, we see no more hope for finding these two mares than for finding the other ponies that are now gone."

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at Applebloom. She was already silently crying, tears streaming down her cheeks like waterfalls.

"At least it's not as bad as losing your whole family," Sweetie Belle pointed out reassuringly, although her voice was weak. She looked close to breaking down too.

"Yeah, Applebloom. It's only Applejack," Scootaloo agreed, but Applebloom only felt worse.

"This is mah big sis we're talkin' 'bout here, ya'll," Applebloom choked out, her face already covered in tears.

"Well, what about Granny Smith? And Big Mac? And Winona?" Sweetie Belle said, forcing herself to sound hopeful, but Scootaloo knew it was fake.

Applebloom unlocked the door. "They're still here, but ah still want Applejack back."

Scootaloo let out a small, faint gasp. Sweetie Belle looked extremely fearful. "Applebloom, lock the door!"

"No, I'm going to the barn. It's just over there," she said quietly.

Sweetie Belle shot a worried look at Scootaloo. "Do something!"

Scootaloo galloped over to Applebloom. "Applebloom, if you even take one step outside, go outside at all, you'll be gone too. Celestia knows where those ponies disappear to."

Scootaloo seemed to convince Applebloom into staying inside for a moment, but the yellow filly continued to try to get outside. She opened the door, and a cold breeze swept in. Sweetie Belle let out a gasp, almost like a scream, as if the cold air was some sort of contaminated air that would infect all of Ponyville. Fog filled the treehouse as well.

"The clubhouse!" Scootaloo yelled. It was a ghostly sight, all of that fog and chilly air speeding into their treehouse.

Applebloom rushed out, over to the barn. "NO!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both called. They were both careful to call from the inside, not even daring to stick their heads out to give Applebloom a clearer call through the thick air that seemed like it was almost at frigid temperatures, as well as how far she already was from the clubhouse, and how close she already was to the barn.

Scootaloo quickly closed the door. She opened the windows slightly, letting the cold air escape through it, then closing them quickly as well before anymore fog could enter their treehouse.

"That's it! She's gone!" Sweetie Belle said in sadness.

"Yeah..." Scootaloo said, pulling Sweetie Belle farther away from the door. "You okay, Sweetie Belle?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine..." Sweetie Belle muttered weakly, tears already forming and dripped down her cheeks.

Scootaloo pulled Sweetie Belle in again, using her wings to shield the filly from the snowy air. She gave her friend a soft hug as Sweetie Belle sobbed, burying her face in Scootaloo's chest.

After a while, Sweetie Belle broke away from Scootaloo, wiping away her remaining tears. She let out a sigh, depressed.

"Will she return?" Sweetie Belle questioned, looking up at Scootaloo as if she was her leader.

"No," Scootaloo said. She didn't like the fact that this could have broken Sweetie Belle's heart, but she had to be truthful. What was the point in lying now?

"Can we go look for her?"

Scootaloo repeated her answer. "No."

Sweetie Belle collapsed, forcing herself to stop crying. "I can't cry anymore, I cry too much."

Scootaloo looked at her friend sorrowfully, then directed her gaze to the windows. The view was blocked by the dull, grey fog. She was exhausted. She didn't want to see anymore of this.

"Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo began, her voice trembling. She paused, summoning the small amount of strength she had left. "We're going to go look for everypony and bring them back to Ponyville."

Sweetie Belle's head shot up. The distressed filly stared at Scootaloo. Her eyes were blazing with fear and hope at the same time. Sweetie Belle brushed her disheveled mane out of her face.

"Why so fast? You said no," Sweetie Belle pointed out, her eyes dark.

"Well, if it means making you happy, then I'll bring everypony back. I'll keep you safe," Scootaloo explained, running a dirty hoof down Sweetie Belle's cheek.

Sweetie Belle stared at Scootaloo for a moment, her mouth slightly open. She was breathing heavily, extremely still. She heaved herself up quickly and sped towards the door. She ran out of the treehouse, slamming the door shut behind her. Her messy tail was the last Scootaloo saw of her. She turned off the TV, exhausted from the news reports about missing ponies, then the orange filly sighed and followed her friend out of the door into the cold, dangerous, and fatal world that had taken over Ponyville and possibly all of Equestria.

Mares

Scootaloo gently put Sweetie Belle down on the bed she saw in Applebloom's room upstairs. Everything was in good condition other than the constant shadows that surrounded the two cutie mark crusaders. Scootaloo let out a sigh of exhaustion as she sat down on the chair next to the bed. Sweetie Belle's face was completely soaked, disturbing and dark red. The mare's axe was definitely not an ordinary weapon at all.

"Sweetie Belle, can you hear me or see me?" Scootaloo questioned worriedly, staring into Sweetie Belle's now dull eyes.

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, her tongue hanging out. She let out a heavy sigh, her eyes narrowing. Sweetie Belle drooled, her saliva mixing in with the blood. Scootaloo winced in disgust, sympathetic as well, because it must have tasted awful.

"Hey, let me check your cut," Scootaloo said. She smiled at her friend to comfort her.

Sweetie Belle rolled over, revealing her cut. It had grown awfully quick. Her back was covered with her own dried blood, terrifying Scootaloo. "Roll back over."

Sweetie Belle rolled back over again, her cut hidden once more. "That axe might be cursed or something," Scootaloo said.

Sweetie Belle let out one more cough. She turned, no longer looking at Scootaloo. "Do you want me to go find Applebloom?" Scootaloo queried.

Sweetie Belle wheezed, then slowly nodded. Her ears drooped. Her blood, strangely, began to become wet again, dripping down her body. It was as if somepony made it run down her white coat again.

Scootaloo, disturbed, got off of the chair and stepped back. The blood was not only covering Sweetie Belle's body now, expanding quickly, but also spreading to the objects and the room itself.

"Sweetie Belle..." she whispered as she stared at the sudden sight.

Sweetie Belle let out an inhuman gasp. Her body was completely covered in blood, her breathing fast. The walls began to collapse in flakes.

"What the fuck?! Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo shouted over the walls falling.

The blood spread across the floor, chasing after Scootaloo's hooves. She looked down just in time to see this and had no choice but to abandon her friend and run. The crusader sped down the hall as the blood quickened its pace, coating the walls and floor.

"STOP!" Scootaloo yelled.

She looked back. Her heart was beating so fast it was louder than the walls collapsing. She stared at the room she had left Swetie Belle in. Her inhuman sounds echoed in the halls. Scootaloo ran as fast as she could.

"NO!" she exclaimed.

Scootaloo turned sharply, almost crashing into the wall and being captured by the blood. Hopefully this was just a dream or a hellish nightmare. Scootaloo screamed fearfully, closing her eyes. She plunged into the window. The glass fell in shards. Scootaloo fell into a white light, hearing nothing but sirens abruptly turning on as she blacked out.