Chapters The Deal
'' So, when the campers got back from the hiking trail, the entire camp was covered in... Trash ! ''
'' Ooooh spooky Sweetie Belle, did they survive the evil trash ? '' Asked Scootaloo as she lazily poked around in the dirt.
'' ... Ah, I don't know ? Rarity used to tell me it at night before bed, and that's why I don't go into the woods. ''
Yes, it was difficult getting Sweetie Belle on the camping trip but Applebloom and Scootaloo had managed to convince her. They were camped on the edge of the Everfree forest, but even at a safe distance it made their hooves jittery . The fire that they were huddled around had started to flicker and slowly die out. It was their only protection against the night, and they weren't about to let it die.
As Applebloom tired blowing life onto the fire, Scootaloo looked towards the forest. It was dark with a thick sheet of mist hovering over it , she could hear the faint songs of crickets in the distance. Her mind raced with what could be lurking within the darkness, if there was anything at all. Scootaloo's focus snapped towards Applebloom as she hurriedly rubbed away soot from her snout.
Despite the warm glow of the fire, the night still managed to chill their bones. The only reason they were out here in the freezing dead of night was because their cutie marks could have to do with outdoor camping. But as the night dragged on, the odds of success dwindled. It was getting late, and their attention spans were getting shorter by the minute. Scootaloo could only hold her head up for so long, but soon sleep proved more tempting.
Scootaloo laid her heavy head on the pillow and closed her eyes. But as she tried to sleep she felt like something was off, she opened her tight eye lids and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Applebloom was tending to the fire, and a pair of glowing eyes hovered over Sweetie Belle.... Wait. Before Scootaloo could react Sweetie Belle started screaming and was lifted in the air by a shadowy force. Applebloom tried to help but all she could do was watch the screaming filly.
'' AH ! Let me go--''
'' Now, now, now everypony calm down I'm not here to hurt anyone... I promise. '' The pair of eyes came closer to towards the fire, and the smiling face of Discord popped into view. He plopped Sweetie Belle on a nearby log and took her seat.
'' Oh great, w-why are you here Discord ? '' Applebloom asked.
'' Good night to go camping I see ? I hope all is well and don't worry I haven't come to take you as my prisoners, I only wish to escape my relentless boredom. '' Discord took a moment to look around the camp, his gaze quickly shot towards the forest. Once he surveyed his surroundings his eyes fell back onto the three filly's, and his lips curled into a toothy grin. '' I see that you don't have your cutie marks, am I correct ? If so I have a challenge for you. ''
'' Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope sorry Discord, but my sister taught me better than to listen to you. So if you don't mind we'll just be going-- ''
Scootaloo, Applebloom, and a shaky Sweetie Belle all looked towards the black hole in the ground. It was about as wide as a watermelon, they could probably fit in it. Applebloom took a bitter gulp, and Sweetie Belle held herself tight, but Scootaloo was determined to get her cutie mark. With a confident smile and trembling hooves, Scootaloo trotted towards the gaping hole.
Discord nudged her to go through with it, and she weakly agreed. Scootaloo starred into the hole and immediately threw her head back in disgust, it reeked of rotting garbage. But despite the foul stench She looked deeply into the abyss, it was dark as night and she could hear the faint sound of dripping water. As Scootaloo studied the darkness she felt her body shift and she fell in head first.
. . .
The pit was filled with the beat of Scootaloo's heart and she felt herself rushing towards the ground. She was stupid to take this challenge, what was Discord's goal ?Now she was going to die, alone in darkness. Freezing water engulfed her and she desperately tried to break through the surface. But it felt as if jagged teeth were stabbing into her sides, but it was just the biting edge of the water's chill.
Water too cold for reality forced itself down her throat as she gasped for air, she could feel it harden and contort her insides. The only thing she could even hope to do was to try to get a grip on the rocks, but the water made her hooves numb and useless. Feeling the crushing defeat of drowning, she let her head drip down. The water suddenly shifted and Scootaloo was pulled down, the chilling water gave away and she fell head first onto a bed of sunflowers.
Scrambling for air Scootaloo shot up from the flowers with pollen covering her. The icy rapid that she had fought so hard against was now replaced with a serine ocean of sunflowers. Could this be a hallucinating ? Had she fallen asleep and this just a nightmare ? Had her brains went splat on some rocks, and this was her mind going haywire ? She put aside the swirling pit of confusion growing in her stomach to look around.
The sun shinned peacefully, it's warmth not too hot, but also not too cold. A cool, gentle breeze rolled over Scootaloo, just strong enough to part her mane. She looked down to the flowers and saw that it covered the entirety of the ground, like an blanket of yellow. On the top of a hill in the far distance stood a lonely tree, being a point of interest Scootaloo started for it.
The air smelled of pollen and rain, she couldn't stop sneezing as she trotted along. But as she made her way, she slowly began to move less and less. Soon her movements came to a staggering crawl. Scootaloo tired lifting her ligaments but they barley rose from her side. fear set in and she hurriedly tried looking around for a outing, but her gaze was fixed on the tree on the hill. The birds froze in mid air and the flowers stopped moving as well. Even the breeze halted.
The mood continued taking an anxious shift in tone as one giant rain cloud appeared over the tree. Scootaloo's heart suddenly came alive, it scrapped against her chest and she was glad, at least that was still moving. The cloud hovered over the tree and Scootaloo felt a sudden urge to trot towards it. As she did the ocean of yellow slowly withered into a pale wave of white petals. Despite this, and her heart now slowly pounding she tried to keep an aura of coolness.
Scootaloo drew nearer to the tree and rain from the cloud poured over it, each individual drop violently pounding against the bark. The sun had hid behind the clouds and the world around seemed grayer than it had before. Now, half way across the field of dead petals, Scootaloo looked towards the sky behind her. In the far distance was a single cloud was traveling right towards her. Atop the cloud stood a smiling Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo's heart lifted as she saw her friend. But an eerie silence fell over them, and a nauseating stench of the decay washed over her.
Rainbow Dash rode care-free on the cloud, but she stopped as she came over Scootaloo. Perplexed by her friends behavior Scootaloo raised a hoof towards the sky to try to get her attention. And yet Dash ignored her, she merely stood on the cloud and looked out towards the distance where the great tree was. Her confusion soon morphed into growing fear as Scootaloo flailed about to get the even smallest reaction from Dash. To her dismay, her moments were muted and slowed, as if she was moving in mud.
A climbing sense of danger crawled up Scootaloo's spine and she nearly stopped herself from trying to call out to Dash. The tension grew to a boiling point and Scootaloo couldn't stop herself from crying out to Dash to help her. The sky's grew dark and Dash towered over the insignificant little filly. Dash's brow furrowed and starred directly into Scootaloo's own eye's, but at the same time looking past her. A deep bitter wave of guilt churned around in Scootaloo's stomach as she tasted iron on the wind.
Dash starred and a look of disappointment marked across her face. What had Scootaloo done to upset her ? Feeling the heavy, depressing eyes of the one pony she admired the most, made Scootaloo wanted to crawl under a rock and die. But In the distance Scootaloo could hear the faint rumbling of thunder. Soon the ground shook and the air became dry, but Dash was still undeterred, despite the approaching storm. In an instant a bolt of white hot lighting struck Scootaloo and she felt a searing pain shoot up in her chest. Then nothing.
It was like a sleepless dream, hazy and warm but conscious. The milky clouds floated lazily about the bright blue sky, a feeling of peace was sown into Scootaloo. A cool sea breeze carried over her as she laid on a small, comfortable cloud. She raised her head towards the sun and smiled as it shinned back. She had been through a lot, maybe a nap was in order.
Scootaloo rolled her head to the side and closed her eyes. As she laid she couldn't help but think, was she dreaming ? But she quickly dismissed this, besides sleep sounded like a better idea than being awake. But as she tried to sleep she couldn't help but to have a biting feeling of unease. After awhile she could bear it no more she leaned over the edge of the cloud. She immediately reared her head back in disgust when the rancid taste of sulfur touched her tongue.
She rolled around and tried to the hold vomit that rushed up her throat. A cold shiver ran up and down her body as Scootaloo held herself tight. Below her was nothing more than a speck of blood on an endless sea of black. The air became tight and thin, like she was trying to breath through a wool blanket.
Trying to escape, she pressed her snout further into the cloud. But to her dismay she felt nothing, the cloud had vanished from under her and a terror-stricken Scootaloo went falling. She had expected to continuously fall into the black abyss below, but to her surprise her face smashed into wet concrete. For a moment she could not move, a paralyzing numbness seeped through her body. But those few seconds of confusing numbness vanished and Scootaloo could feel her bones crack and break apart.
Scootaloo looked down at herself and her bottom hooves were gone: broken in little orange bits. She tried crawling away but found that she was trapped in box. The walls of the box pressed tightly on her small frame, contorting her into a small ball of whimpering flesh. After her back hooves vanished, her lower body started to dissolve as well. She threw a hoof at the top of the box but only managed to scratch weakly at the wall.
Scootaloo could feel herself getting tired, and tired, almost at a point when she could hardly lift her eyes. Despite her circumstances, and the panic she felt she could not stay awake. Before she could notice, the box faded into darkness.
When The Belle Tolls
A layer of apprehension settled among the three of them. Sitting around the campfire with Discord sniffing around the cooler was unpleasant to say the least. Sweetie Belle sat anxiously trembling next to him, Discords eyes followed and studied their moments like a curious dog. The crackle of the fire was the only thing that made a noise, even the wind that had been howling fell silent. With a slight pause Discord slipped his scaly tail around the cooler and smiled slyly.
Sweetie Belle's mind drifted away from the fire, and from Discord and out towards the strange pit in the ground. It wasn't all that menacing, more strange and confusing. None of her friends had seen it before, not even in the daylight, It seemingly appeared in existence as soon as Discord arrived. But darkness seemed to hover over it, but it also had a strange alluring attraction to it.
Applebloom let out a nervous, dry cough, and a cold shiver ran up her spine and she shot a worried glance up towards Discord, wishing he would leave her be. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead when she saw him wink at her. He unwrapped his tail from the cooler and slide right next to Applebloom, uncomfortably close.
'' So Applebloom, how do you think Scootaloo is doing ? I mean it's only been about....7:34 seconds., I'm sure she's fine. You all get your cutie marks, and you win at life right ? Or so that's what I think happens. '' As she spoke Sweetie Belle and Applebloom could hear the ground rumble.
All three turned their heads towards the hole in the ground. it drizzled water, then like a geyser water erupted into the sky and spraying all of them down , it smelled like burnt rubber. Scootaloo came drifting out in a pool of dark, murky mud. Her body shook violently and her head thumped against the ground, making a sicking thud as it connected.. With eyes stretched back in shock, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom ran to their friends side. Discord sat back quizzically, his eyes filled with a spark of surprise. Scootaloo's eyes sat pressed loosely together as her mouth sagged open.
They started to shake her friend awake, but nothing helped. Frantically Applebloom slammed her hoof hard into Scootaloo's chest and she shot up in horror. She stopped and looked around, she didn't seem to no where she was. Scootaloo held her gut and turned to the side and violently vomited on the grass. After Scootaloo settled she laid her head on a bed of moss and drifted off to sleep. With gnashing teeth Applebloom raised her towards Discord.
'' Ah knew it, Sweetie Belle get Scoots. We should of never of agreed to this, you could of gotten her killed ! '' she yelled.
Rage built inside Applebloom, '' Ugh ! Just be quiet and go, Applejack was right. No wonder nobody likes you.... '' Her words hung in the air. Discord sat bad in the shadows and let his blood cool. But before he could settle it fully, like a whip she lashed out in spite.
'' Ugh ! Are you so dumb to think I would bother hurting you ? Your not even worth the time. '' He regretted his words immediately
Applebloom shoved Discord off before he could finish,She grabbed Scootaloo and helped her down the trail back to Ponyville. Feeling empty air behind her Applebloom spun around and saw Sweetie Belle starring at the ground. She looked towards the pi in the ground and back to Applebloom.
'' Um .... I mean, I know Scoots couldn't do it, but maybe- ''him another second. If you want to play this game, go right ahead, come get us when you got your senses back in order. ''
In that harsh, but well deserved response, Applebloom took the sleeping Scootaloo back onto the trial and vanished in the darkness. Sweetie Belle regretfully looked towards Discord, who with uncertainty dripping from his eyes nodded his head towards the hole. With a sigh and a confused frown, Sweetie Belle neared the abyss and peered into it. She felt a sudden urge to crawl in, and she did, letting the soft darkness kiss her cheek.
. . .
Soft breathing surrounded her, bouncing around her like an echo. Her bones ached and when she tried scrambling to her hooves, but pain shot up and down her body. Sweat poured down her face, seeping into her bone dry mouth. Sweetie Belle tried looking around but all she saw was darkness. She didn't know where she was and chastised herself for her stupidity, she should of gone with Applebloom.
Rubbing caked saliva from the corners of her mouth, she tried feeling around in the darkness for anything. Sweetie Belle shot back in horror when her hoof grazed over a fleshy mound. She nearly vomited and pressed herself against the cold, damp wall. It felt like stone with engravings carved in it, this definitely wasn't a cave.
Sweetie weakly got to her hooves, her knees trembling from her own fear. Her eyes watered and she gagged when a sent of decay filled her snout. The stench was so immense that she fell back onto the chilling floor and rolled around trying to stop herself from choking. The stench filled the space around her and her eyes watered, even holding her snot as tight as she could couldn't save herself from vomiting.
Sweetie's Belle's breath became shallow and and her deep breathes filled the silence around her. She wiped away the sweat that pooled in her eyes and peered deeper in the darkness. As her eyes adjusted the room became clearer, but it was still like seeing threw muddy water. She froze in place and listened intently to the silence. She could... feel beings around her, just on the edge of her mind. Perhaps she wasn't alone, she could hear breathing from somewhere around her. She studied her surroundings as best she could, when muted steps echoed outside and she just barley managed to pick up on them.
The steps seemed to shuffle aimlessly up and down the hall outside, it seemed angry. Sweetie Belle pulled herself up from the ground and slowly walked deeper into the darkness. She shot her frantic gaze at a light that that appeared at the far end of the room. She scrambled towards the orange glow. The light only reached a few inches from under the creak in the wall, maybe this was a door. Sweetie Belle slide her hoof up the door until the felt an ice cold handle.
The door shifted and began to slowly creak open, she shot back in surprise, falling back onto the freezing stone floor. A blinding orange light poured into the room and she held her hoof in front of her face to block the worst of the light. Even with her hooves pressed firmly into her eye sockets, pain from the sudden burst of light still made her eyes burn.
In the doorway, a familer figure of a silhouette stood, It's features smudged by the light and a hood obstructing it's face. In it's hoof hung a lantern with a golden flame, too bright for her eyes to take. The silhouette starred, and then slightly jostled in place. Sweetie Belle's heart thumped in her chest, as the rhythmic beat of her heart rang in her ears.
The silhouette wavered a bit as a bitter breeze rolled in from the hall, as if it was difficult for it to stand. It's hood hung low, just low enough to cast a dark shadow across it's face. The only things she could make out were it's pale, glinting eyes. It slightly nodded it's head towards the door and took a step towards the shivering mare on the floor. Sweetie Belle crawled back, but stopped when her back hit a slimy stone wall. The room had gotten smaller, and now the silhouette starred, inches from her face.
Sweetie Belle held herself tight, not looking away from the figure. She thought she could hear a distant cry, but it could of been the wind. The silhouette brought the lantern up to it's face and shadows danced on it's sunken face. It was her sister, but it couldn't be.... Whatever white she had in her eyes had been replaced with a deep crimson, her stern expression looked pained and cold.
Sweetie Belle didn't not feel the frigid air seep around her, nor her heart beat. In fact she could not feel anything at all, she was numb from the shock of her '' sisters '' gaze. The hall's piercing beams had softened and Sweetie Belle could focus ever so slightly on the background. Her sister a step to the side and let the warm glow bathe over her Sweetie Belle.
A soft voice spoke, and Sweetie Belle could recall the words, It was Rarity. It was about the story when the campers came back from hiking in the woods and found their entire campsite in ruins. She chuckled at how silly the story was, and how she would stay up for nights fearing the dreaded trash monster. Thankfully the tense pain and fear she felt before seemed long gone.
The voice soon turned into song and Sweetie Belle could fell herself lift up. It didn't hurt anymore, it was like a hazy dream. Sweetie Belle looked towards her sister, but she was gone. Only a diamond sat in her place. Hearing the song play in her head Sweetie Belle welcomed the light. She walked, but she didn't move, she felt but didn't feel, but wariness slowly drifted into her mind.
The door and room was consumed by the light. In front of her sat a pool of wavy sunlight, it called to her. The voices were of her friends, one even sounded a bit like Celestia, and another, Luna. Sweetie Belle put her hoof in front of her and was about to touch the ripples of sunlight when the air ran cold. She could feel something grab her neck and she started to choke. The sunlight dimmed and seemingly cried in pain. Sweetie Belle fought the invisible force, but it was too strong. She felt the fear once more.
His Bet, His Prize
It was difficult, near impossible to drag the unconscious Sweetie Belle by the scruff of her neck from the pit. The end of the pit had always seemed miles yards away. The darkness was engulfing and the walls slowly heaved in on it's self, like it was breathing. Applebloom had to waver through a sludge-like substance that paved the ground, and she'd rather not know what it really was.
Trying not to listen to the songs and not to give into the hallucinations of the pit proved more challenging than she had first thought. Applebloom tried to calm herself down, but even her own thoughts were not safe. She saw horrible visions of her family and friends and of an deserted Ponyville. That they were just that, hallucinations brought upon by the pit. She didn't know what the pit was, heck she doubted that even Discord truly knew. Pain burrowed itself her hooves and chest, it was almost debilitating, but she wouldn't leave her friend behind to be consumed.
Despite her determined attitude she quickly crumbled to the ground as a wave of putrid decay flooded over her. She heaved over Sweetie Belle's body and nearly vomited from the stench. Her skin started to burn and sting like she was being attacked by bees. She doubled over further, gripping her sides in pain, and leaving Sweetie Belle unattended.
Applebloom fell against one of the sides of the cavern and felt wet skin graze her cheek. She couldn't hold it anymore, vomited rushed up her throat and splashed on the ground next to her. Applebloom's entire core shook from the empty feeling she got in her stomach. Regaining herself she looked back towards the still Sweetie Belle. Suddenly a black, slimy claw reached out of the darkness and gripped the filly's leg. Applebloom lunged after her friend and quickly tried ripping her away.
The claw squirmed and wiggled like a worn, but it would not let go. Applebloom could feel another round of vomit rise in her throat as she starred at it's fleshy scales that glistened in the low light. She bit her tongue and finely manged to wrangle her friend free free from it's disgusting grasp. Without another breath of air Applebloom threw Sweetie Belle on her back and rushed up the steep path.
With her muscles sore and seemingly on fire, Applebloom desperately crawled towards the fleeting light of the exit. The light from the camp bled into the pit. Each painstaking step she took was slower and more stiff. The ground under her had thickened with the same black goo that oozed from the walls. Applebloom could feel the cool breeze of the night air kiss her cheek as she shoved a slimy hoof into the grass. Feeling her heart flutter and rise, she nearly cried as she shoved her face into the dirt.
With her victory gained Applebloom, and with the last bit of energy she could muster slide Sweetie Belle onto the surface with her. She looked barley recognizable, thick black muk had ingrained itself into Sweetie Belle's coat. Her face was still but her eyes twitched like she was in a nightmare. From where he sat Discord could see the two slime-covered ponies, he nearly jumped through the fire in a panic when they cried out.
Discords's body tensed when he did not see Sweetie Belle move. Thoughts of somepony dying by his actions made his figure brittle and his palms sweaty. He didn't even know what that place was, he thought it was some random fox den in ground. But instead of angry foxes scaring them away, and him getting a full cooler of food to himself.... This happened.
Dawn had started to emerge and the first bursts of pink and orange appeared, and shadows danced among the trees. Discord usually found entertainment in such things, but now the sun made him fear for his life. The thought of Celestia finding out.... His mind snapped back to the situation that laid in front of him; he had to act fast.
Quicker than a whip of his tail Discord frantically stumbled towards Sweetie Belle, his heart racing too fast to keep his fluid movements. Discord put a ear to her chest and felt a slight thump, so slight that it might just of been his own heart. A put a leathery claw and a furry paw together and pressed down on Sweetie Belle's chest. Nothing happened, and Discord felt like he was in a dream, or a nightmare. Again he pressed hard on her chest, and again nothing.
After five minutes of trying to breath some life into her, Discord's heart sagged as realization slowly set in. The only reason he did not fully give up was because Sweetie Belle still had some sort of pulse in her, faint as it might be. In one last desperate move, Discord Held the filly above his head with his tail and shook her harshly. It was he only thing he could think of.
At last when nothing happened Discord looked at the faces of the unconscious faces of Applebloom and Scootaloo, their chests slowly rising and falling. His eyes started to water and the hot tears of defeat washed over his face. He was a murder. As the awful realization struck him, he could hear coughing. With eyes wide, alert eyes Discord sprang up and saw Sweetie Belle coughing uncontrollably above him. He quickly laid her out on the grass and held her head up. His heart nearly sprang from his chest when he saw Sweetie Belle's bloodshot eyes look up at him.
They were filled with sadness, but Discord was glad they were even opened. After Sweetie Belle violently spat up a disgusting ball of hair and slime, her head tilted back. Fearing she wouldn't wake Discord put his ear to her chest once more, he felt the soft beat of a heart. This time more strong and consistent. Quickly Discord gathered the three and wrapped them in a blanket that they had at the camp and flew off towards Ponyville, leaving the cooler behind.
