When The Ponies Neigh: Arc of Guiltby Pony_Inanaku_Koro_NiChapters010204050607080301FIRST Applejack warns Applebloom to not go near her Personal Chest ever again. Applebloom insists in her usual "Cutie Mark Crusader" motivation . -"No Applebloom, not this time, don't touch my Chest, if I ever catch you peeping at my Chest again you'll be sorry" -"Bu--" -"YOU'LL BE SORRY" The matter is forgotten until a few days later, where Applejack surprises Applebloom attempting to spy on what's in Applejack's chest. She quickly trows herself towards Applebloom, but just like a surprised rabbit, Aplebloom escapes from her grip. Applebloom avoids Applejack for a while, letting things cool off, however, when Big Mac wasn't looking, Applejack smacks Applebloom in the face several times. Applebloom is about to cry but Applejack warns her threat-fully "Don't you dare to cry or I'll give you a good reason to do it" The matter is forgotten once again, Applejack even recovers her usual playful self One day Aplebloom and Applejack are playing on the Apple fields. -"Sis, let's play hide and seek" -"Okay" Applejack starts counting and after counting to 49, she hears everything's quiet, too quiet -"Applebloom?" Nothing, she usually blows her cover giggling, but this time, only the leaves could be heard -"Come out come out wherever you are" Applejack is still with his mind on the game She searches every possible place she could hide on the time ratio she counted. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip Applejack gets a chill running down her spine; she knows where she is. she runs as fast as she can, furious like she's never been before. As she approaches her home, she confirms what she thought; the door was ajar. She sneaks into the house, motivated with rage. Applejack's room's door is open . She slowly walks inside without making any noise to find Applebloom on her bed, watching the insides of her Chest. Applejack simply looses it She bangs the door behind her, Applebloom is paralyzed with fear. -"Applejack, No,NO.NO--" Applejack starts smacking her sister, and I mean REALLY smacking her. Applebloom tries to flee but the closed door works fine as an obstacle, giving Applejack the perfect time to intercept herApplejack trows her to the wall where she bumps her head. Applejack starts kicking her, yes, she kicks her sister with all her might -"I'm sorry,I'm sorry,I'm sorry" each time Applebloom apologizes Applejack gives an extra effort to kick her harder. Applejack feels that she can't kick anymore, her legs are tired, so she goes into the ground and starts pounding her sister.She doesn't knows why, but she feels like she's just not over punishing Applebloom. The beating continues until Applejack notices that Applebloom isn't moaning anymore She isn't moving either. Applejack opens her eyes widely in realization -"Applebloom? APPLEBLOOM? Come on! Don't play like that! Applebloom ANSWER ME!".-There is no response Applejack's eyes start to get wet, she has a "Blue screen of death" kind of moment that lasts for what seems like hours -"Big Mac!" She finally recovers her shit and thinks on what to do. -She runs errant to the fields where Rainbow Dash usually hangs out. Luckily, she finds Rainbow Dash on her way back home from a day of doing nothing -"Rainbow Dash! I- n--n-need yrrr yo--r help" Rainbow Dash thinks on making a joke about her way to talk, but something on her grimace makes her get serious. -"What is it? Applejack, what's wrong" -"Ah--ah--I'll explain you there" Rainbow Dash follows Applejack, concerning more and more as she sees Applejack weeping desperately. They make it to Applejack's and soon they're at the horrible scene. Rainbow Dash makes a full jaw drop. Applebloom's body is already covered with flies -"Appleja--" Rainbow Dash can't even properly form her words on the shock "Wh--What have... WHAT DID YOU--? -"I don't know! I JUST DON'T KNOW! I TOLD HER TO LEAVE MY CHEST ALONE AND SHE JUST KEPT LOOKING AND LOOKING AND I COULDN'T STOP I COULDN--".-Rainbow Dash slaps her, finishing with her Tantrum, Applejack gasps surprised -"Applejack, snap out of it! Calm down" Applejack burst into tears -"Rainbow Dash...I don't wanna go to jail" -"No! You will not--listen to me" She picks up Applejack by the shoulders "You will NOT go to jail, you got that? I won't let that happen".-As they hug Rainbow Dash can't help to cry herself too. She wipes her tears and breaks the hug.- "I'll be right back, don't move" She flies as fast as she knows how into her home in Cloudsdale. Quickly she lurks into her shelves, desperately trowing dishes and cutlery alike. She finally finds a bunch of plastic bags, big enough to fit a filly inside. Instantly she flies back to Applejacks, hoping she didn't took too long -"What took you so long?" -"Shut up and help me to get her in" .- Applejack takes her sister by the front hooves and Rainbow Dash by the rear She fits perfectly inside of the black bag. While Rainbow Dash ties a knot on the bags lashes, she orders Applejack to go find something to clean up the blood on the ground. Rapidly she brings a bucket full of water and detergent. She scrubs the remnants of blood off of the ground. When she's finished, it's like nothing have ever happened. Except for the plastic bag of course -"Applejack, grab a pair of shovels" Unseen by any pony, they make their way to a clear full of rabbit-warrens. Without talking, they start to dig If there would be anyone else there, they would hear the panting of both mares as they make the hole on the ground bigger and bigger. Once the hole is deep enough, they throw Applebloom's body inside. They take the earth once again back into the hole and they cramp it to make it look more natural They even leave some flowers and sprouts so it doesn't looks like somebody dug there. Finally, they add a good layer of snow to cover everything up -"It looks natural" -"Yeah, at night" Both ponies chuckle, but they stop soon after. Something has been broken between the two of them, something important As they return, neither of them say anything, so Rainbow Dash decides to talk: -"Applejack, we will never, EVER talk about what happened tonight, you understand me?" -"..." -"YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?" -"Yes. Yes Rainbow Dash, I understand" Applejack makes her way back home, so does Rainbow Dash.The moon shines high in the sky, the Winter Wrap up is near. 02SECOND -"Diamond Tiara" -"Here!" -"Twist" -"Here" -"Snips" -"Here" -"Silver Spoon" -"Here" -"Sweetie Bell" -"Here!" -"Apple Bytes" -"Here" -"Applebloom" -... -"Applebloom?" For the third time this week, Applebloom's desk remained empty, Scotaloo and Sweetie Bell looked each other in distress -"Oh...she's absent again. Does anypony knows if Applebloom is sick?" -"I think she's lost Miss Cherilee" confesses Scootaloo with certain sadness All the small fillies gasp in awe, the chatting noises overcomes the teacher -"Calm down, Calm down everypony, I'll talk to Granny Smith today, I'm sure they'll know about her. Now, let's take a small break before our classes begin, shall we? It's a beautiful day outside" All the foals leaves their places and head outside, first talking about Applebloom, and then talking about anything else. When Scotaloo and Sweetie Bell leaves their places, Cherilee calls them over -"Girls, what do you know about Applebloom?" .-both girls shrug -"Sweetie Bell?".-She starts to weep, Scootaloo follows her. Cherilee hugs them both -"Oh girls...girls...I'll find out what's happening don't you worry." That same afternoon Cherilee pays a visit to the Apples. She first encounters Applejack who seems to forget how to talk when Cherilee says 'hi' -"Uh...hi Ms. Cherilee, what brings you about?" -"Hi Applejack, I hope I'm not interrupting you but Applebloom has missed 3 days of classes already and I wanted to know if everything is alright..." Applejack lowers her head -"Miss. Cherilee?" Big Macintosh comes by -"Big Mac! Hi! I was asking just a minute ago if--" -"About Applebloom right?" -"Well...yes. She's been absent for 3 days now and I've heard from her friends she's been...missing" Big Mac sighs -"Why don't we go inside for a while?" Big Mac wants to speak this away from her sister, thinking that it might affect her somehow. Granny Smith is sitting on her rocking chair, staring at the window. It's obvious she's been crying for hours -"Take a seat" Granny Smiths hears Big Mac and stands up instantly -"Well, how'you doin' Ms. Cherilee? May I offer you some tea?" -"N-no thanks Miss Smith" .- She is already up boiling water -"Miss Cherilee, Applebloom has been missing since last Sunday. My sister Applejack was playing hide and seek with her but she never found her. She's been devastated ever since" -"Oh the poor dear..." Big Mac sighs, he is visibly shaken. Cherilee moves next to him to comfort him -"Have you told the authorities about this?" -"Yes, we have. They have opened a file for kidnap. They've said however that if the kidnapers haven't left us a message yet...well" Cherilee holds in suspense, she can't believe something that awful had happened to Applebloom. She remembers the last time she saw her running from class. That cheerful smile of her, that big pink blossom wiggling on her mane, she can even remember her saying "Goodbye Ms. Cherilee, happy weekend, see you next Monday!" Cherilee weeps too. 04FOURTH It's been 6 days since the disappearance of Applebloom. Pegasus and Unicorns search all over the place. They send dog after dog to search for Applebloom, but the snow makes everything harder Far from there, in Rarity's house, someone knocks at the door.Rarity opens to find the small Scootaloo -"Can Sweetie Bell come out to play?".- It's been days since Rarity has seen the regular spirit on both Scootaloo and her sister. That breaks her heart to the point where she feels she's about to cry just by hearing her tone -"Sweetie Bell, you've got visits".-Sweetie Bell comes out -"Hi..." -"...Hi" They both walk by slowly -"Sweetie Bell, where are you heading?" -"To the Apple Fields" -"Please come back early, and don't split up girls, and DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS".- As they get further and further, Rarity begins to cry.Nothing she does cheers up her sister, it's the first time she had to deal with the dangers of the world. Sick of concern, she can't stop thinking what would she do without her sister, Applejack must be suffering a lot. As Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell walk off they remember the succession of events that lead them into that day They remember the expression on Applejacks face as she told them she was playing hide and seek with her sister, and that she couldn't find her. Scoots' and Sweets' first reaction were that of excitement, as they thought they could have a "Cutie Mark Crusade" to find their missing member. They searched high and low, in the Everfree forest, in the Apple fields, In the house tree, they searched everywhere Applebloom was playing hide and seek, and Applejack could never find her Days went by and they couldn't stop wondering if Applebloom was still playing, since she still wasn't at home yet.They two went by the river, worried for their friend, they didn't let that depressed them, they only needed to try harder -"Cutie Mark Crusader Finders!" They searched again in the places they used to go all the time, even in places they never ever visited.By the end of the day, they felt defeated once more. It was Tuesday.The fillies didn't lost the hope that they would come one day into Applejack's house and found her smiling saying "I've found her". And the three crusaders finally meet again. And play the games they used to play. And try once more to get their cutie marks. And keep their adventures going once more Yet, that never happens It's Thursday already, and no one can seem to find their friend. Determined to do so, they climb up the tallest tree they can find in the Apple Fields. Both friends, with their eyes filled with tears and their voices filled with tender scream from the top of their lungs: -"Okay Applebloom, you've won. We can't find you anywhere. 05FIFTH Over a week and a half have gone trough since the Applebloom incident. There are posters with her face all over Ponyville captioned with "Have you seen me?" With that face, it's almost as she was really saying it. The news spread quickly all over Equestria, they were squads that had false leads on Manehattan and Fillydelphia, they conclude nowhere. For the first time in days, the mane 6 goes out in a Pick-nick. It's hard for them to ignore the situation, especially with Applebloom's face plastered all over the town. -"Come on Everypony! What's with the long faces? Hahaha, get it? Long faces?" Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie can't stand the general sadness regarding the group. Everyone rev up the spirit with Pinkie's Attitude, Fluttershy smiles weakly. She tries to feign happiness but fails miserably -"Fluttershy..." -"Oh...I'm...I'm sorry" .- Fluttershy flees, her tears are quite visible as she leaves. In a classic way, Rainbow Dash attempts to follow her but Twilight Sparkle snatches her tail in mid flight -"Give her some time" Applejack frowns. She has never been so bothered by Fluttershy before. It's almost as if Fluttershy knew Applejack was guilty of everything and she had to show her a proper expression of grief. Applejack felt out of place, she could not hide her discomfort any longer. General awkwardness ensued. -"W-why don't we have some cake?" Pinkie Pie retrieves the pink cake laying on her basket. That afternoon was a breath of relief in comparison with the last three days. Police Ponies coming in and out of Sweet Apple Acres, interrogating all of the residents to see if there's something else they can remember. Anything. They were desperate. The investigation in Ponyville was clearly not sophisticated enough for the job, their methods were very rudimentary. They had to force their guts out to do it, but the Pick-nick resulted quite fine, they were laughing and joking as usual -"Pinkie Pie! That was the last piece of cake! I was gonna eat it!" says Rainbow Dash in her usual squeaky voice -"Well, you should have kept your *EYE* on it, te he he he" Pinkie Pie's eye pops comically out of it's socket when she says *Eye* -"Oh yeah? let me put you where I'm putting my hoof instead" General laughter as they see Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash struggle up for the piece " -Alright, since there is no more cake, I'd say it's time to move on the muffins, courtesy of Derpy".-Twilight presents them 'THE MUFFINS'. Their pony eyes marble at the structure of the muffins. The toppling has the perfect puffiness and roundness, and the distribution of blueberries seemed quite appealing. Boy, they looked delicious. -"Twilight dear, there are only 4 muffins in the basket, even without Fluttershy, there's not enough for us all".- As Rarity points that, she, Applejack and Twilight pick up their own Muffins, Applejack eat hers right off -"I'll have one!" yells Rainbow Dash as she picks a muffin" -"What? No way, I'll have it, you got the last piece of cake, remember?" Rainbow Dash looks at the cake for a second -"Well, then YOU have the last piece of cake" -"What? Oh nononono, YOU have the last piece of cake, since YOU wanted it so much" -"I changed my mind, give it--" Laughter ensued as the mares struggled for the muffin -"Hehe girls, why don't you give ME the last piece of cake and stay with my muffin instead?" They both stared at each other" -"okay" Twilight picks up the delicious cake in her hooves. As she approaches the purple glowing pastry to her mouth, a chunk of snow falls from a nearby tree and spoils it completely. -"There's the ice frosting" .-At this point, they are literally willing to laugh about anything -"Hehe, very funny girls" .-Twilight Sparkle contemplates the tree for a few seconds .-"Snow is going to fall off from trees very easily, Winter Wrap up starts in 2 days" They cheerfully discuss on their expectation for this year and remember how well displayed last year was thanks to Twilight, Rainbow Dash stops eating her muffin in realization, Applejack soon notices something that catches her eye;Rainbow Dash was apparently nodding. Once she got her attention, she realized she wasn't nodding, she was pointing to the left with her head Applejack caught up Waiting for a moment of distraction, they both walk apart from the rest of the tree -"Where are you going girls?" -"We'll be right back!" Answers Applejack, they inferred that one of them probably needed to pee It's getting dark, the last sunbeams are leaving slowly -"Ok, what is it sugarcube?" -"It's two days until the Wrap up" -"So?" Applejacks thinks for a bit, she gets it soon enough "Oh oh..." How could they been so oblivious? Winter Wrap was near, there would be Ponies swiping the snow. Dozens and dozens of them. There was a really good chance that they found her buried somewhere near the warrens. The land on the Warrens wasn't meant to be plowed and seeded, but there was no doubt that Fluttershy was going to notice. -"What are we gonna do" -"Shh, calm down, this is what we're going to do: We are gonna go that clearing, We'll dig up the bag, make a hole in the lake's ice and drop it there" -"But what if it floats up?" -"No it won't! Don't you know anything about anything? The bag is too heavy, it will stay up" -"Up?" -"I mean down, DOWN! Jeez, relax for a minute ok?" Applejack flinches. She's clearly afraid of pushing her luck too far, Rainbow sees a chance in that , a breach to find the answer on Dash's most deep doubts. As they walk back with the rest, Dash strikes: -"AJ, what's on the chest?" Applejack stops dry. Dash's heart beats in expectation. Dash can't see her face, she wish she did. -"AJ?" -"It's none of your business" -"NONE OF MY BUSINESS?! I'm in deep SHIT for you, remember?" Applejack isn't responding "Rainbow Dash, you ain't having cold feet are you?" Rainbow Dash flinched -"Uh..w-what? what are you saying?" -"Do you trust me?" -"What? Yes" -"No, I mean, Do you really trust me, or you're just saying it?" Applejack turns to see her friend. It's like her usual face, that face full of freckles, the face that says "Howdy" by itself, but it's not the same. There's something uncanny about her face . Rainbow Dash understands that Applebloom is not the only one that's gone, Applejack is here no longer. Applejack slowly walks to her friend -"Is that a Yes?" -"Huh?" Applejack is close from her. Very close, face to face. There is something really wrong with her. Rainbow Dash thought on that before, but know she knew it. Something messed up her mind up, something really bad. -"I...yes, of course I trust you" -"....good" She walks away. Rainbow Dash noticed the cold running trough her mane. She was sweating. Badly -"Come on Pard'ner! They're waiting for us" Applejack smiled like always, it even seemed as thought she was back. Rainbow Dash was paralyzed, she skipped from her trance a little later, when the voice of Pinkie could be heard saying "What took you two so long? We are leaving" 06SIXTH That night two ponies walked into a lonely meadow, just like they did ten days ago. Just like that one night, both were holding shovels in their mouths, but unlike that night, Rainbow Dash was way less confident. Back then, She was solving the mistake of a friend, but she was not sure it was much of a mistake now after all...or much a 'friend' either... "Where was it?" whispered Applejack -: "I'm not sure........There! there it is!" -"Are you sure?" -"Definitively, it was near that rabbit hole" To tell the truth, all the rabbit holes looked the same. Both ponies came close to the place. It felt so familiar there was no doubt that was the right place after all. They moved the snow aside and found part of the plants they put up in the snow to cover the hole. They started digging once more. The soil seemed harder this time -"Where is this lake you're talking about?".-Asked Applejack -"It's not a lake, it's a pond" -" A pond?" -"Yeah, I figured the mud would keep it there. Once the swamp dries up in summer, it would be earth's problem" They kept digging, the past days have been surrealistic at it's best. The plastering of Applebloom's face all over Ponyville the ridiculous campaigns that were determined on finding her, they would continue like that for a long time now, and with it, so would the guilt of Applejack. Rainbow Dash figured that if she felt bad about the whole movement, so would Applejack. -"A.J, have you thought that, well..." -"Yes?" -"Well, wouldn't it be better to just, leave the body somewhere it could be found?" Applejack stops digging -"And then what? getting caught?" -"I'm not saying that, I just thought it be better that way, I can't stand to see the mayor thinking that they will find her some day . Maybe this would be over better with you faking some tears at Applebloom's funeral rather than waiting for them to give up some day" Rainbow Dash didn't stopped digging until that moment she finished speaking, when she felt the piercing stare of Applejack fixated on her -"What do you mean by 'Faking some tears'? You don't think I'd cry in my sister's funeral!? -"No, I--" -"You think I enjoyed what I did? You think I liked to--" Applejack burst into tears. She tried to continue her rambling, but her voice was too broken to do so. Despite feeling bad for her friend, Rainbow Dash was a little glad of seeing a sane reaction coming from Applejack. That was the A.J she knew and loved. The rambling continued, only that Applejack voice was whinny and heartbreaking. -"You don't think I've thought about that? You don't think I've thought that when I see my brother suffering all the time?!" And that's when the saddest, most crushing bawling started. Rainbow Dash had to hug her friend. It was Applejack after all, the good old Applejack. There was nothing wrong with her, she just got stray from the way a little, that's all. Rainbow Dash held the hope that things would be like they were before, but before that, certain things from the past had to be buried. Applejack calmed down slowly, her breathing was still shaky and she kept blowing from her nose a lot, but at least she wasn't bawling anymore The digging continued for a few minutes. The more they dug, the more they realized of something really bad. Once they dug a bit too much Rainbow Dash pointed out their fears -"What the hell?, it should have popped out by now" -"Are you sure this is the right hole?" -"YES, I'm sure! See?" Rainbow Dash holds the plants that were over the hole on her hand -"Well it can't be because the bag ISN'T THERE!" Dash started to dig in every place that was ever near a rabbit hole, it dug deep enough for the bag to be seen, but no bag appeared in none of the holes they dug -"Rainbow Dash?!" -"It's...gone" -"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'GONE'?" -"Look, It's GONE, OK?" -"It CAN'T be gone! You just won't admit you lost the place!" -"I DIDN'T, IT WAS THE SAME DAMN PLACE WITH THE SAME DAMN FLOWERS" -"Then where's the bag, Rainbow Dash, WHERE IS IT?" -...dunno" -"What?!" -"I SAID I DON'T KNOW!" Applejack facepalmed -: "look it had to be here, there's no place else, see how the frikin' earth's different in this whole part? THAT'S WERE WE DUG".-Rainbow Dash voice raised a lot. Applejack finds it hard to accept, but she had to admit it's true. It's the right place after all, but there is nothing there. Now was a good time to panic, and so they did. They kept digging on the original hole but there was nothing there other than roots. A branch crunched next to a nearby tree -"...! Who's there?" Somebody outside the meadow ran away as she heard Applejack's voice. Both Ponies looked at each other and before they could even think about it, they followed it into a group of trees. It didn't matter how dark it was, it kept doing noises as it escaped. Applejack's face could only be described as the face of a desperate hunter. Rainbow Dash wondered what would they do with the spy once they caught it, she feared that Applejack got rid of her too. No, that was no way of thinking, Ranbow Dash refused to see her friend as a cold blood murder. Not after that display of sadness she had back there. Not Applejack. Rainbow Dash soon caught the lead of what they were chasing. She even saw how it quickly jumped inside a small den on the ground -"Ugh...It's a frikin' rabbit" Both of them sighed in relief, but there still was the matter of the corpse -"What are we going to do now".-asked Applejack -"What do you mean 'what'? It's gone" -Yes but-- -"Applejack; ITS.GONE. I really don't care who took the bag or why, as soon as it doesn't links us with it" -"You're right *sigh* I gotta calm down" Once that was said and done, they covered the new holes they've made as well as the original one, they covered it with snow once more and walked away from the meadow, going home. There were only 27 hours left for the wrap up. 07SEVENTH Winter Wrap up was finally here. This year they had their official organizer to make things more efficient for everyone. There was some issues about the investigation for Applebloom's disappearance going stall, but it was soon solved Twilight Sparkle has been there earlier than anyone could remember. Applejack and Rainbow Dash find each other, just to wish each other good luck There seems to be an unusual enthusiasm this year, as much as there seems to be a lot of gossips, all of them about Applejack: "Look at her" "She's so brave" "Her sister's disappearance won't stop her, no wonder why she's the Pony of Ponyville" Before the Wrap up begins, the mayor gathers everyone for the usual announcement -"Thank you ponies for once more being here so early. Before we start I'd like to thank Applejack who still managed to come despite the prior events. The disappearance of the little Applebloom has moved us, but let us have Applejack as a beacon of courage for everypony!" As the Mayor finishes her words, the prancing of the ponies made itself loud. Rainbow Dash saw how Applejack face tried to fake thankfulness, but instead inspired shame. No other Pony seemed to notice, and those who seemed to just said "This must be very difficult for her". The Mayor Followed: "Well Now, you all know your teams and duties, so let's make this the best Wrap up so far!" 'Yays' and 'hoorays' are heard all over before the teams spread as they should. Twilight takes her role as organizer and deploys each team from the biggest task to the smallest. Rainbow Dash and the weather control crew fly up high and start to take care of certain districts of clouds. They have to wait for the signal of the Animal team to fully free the sky of clouds Applejack begins the removal of snow on the fields. In intervals, she peeked at the rabbit meadow all the time, despite of being really far -"Applejack? Are you alright?" Asks Baritone, who's right behind her, plowing the snow. -"What? Oh, yeah...I'm ok" -"You sure you don't want to go home?" -"I'm fine" Applejack pulls her plower stronger than before and gains distance between the other ponies Meanwhile, far from there, the Animal team just arrived a meadow of rabbit holes. They must hurry, so there's no time wasted for the weather control team. They have a good part of the animals awaken at last. Taking Twilight's idea from last year, they tie a bunch of bells clinging on every warren controlled by one single rope. The bells chime and most animals come out of their dens. The crew is nice enough to assist some of the animals who seems to be rattled by the sudden awakening. Fluttershy couldn't be more satisfied with the hard work. Fluttershy soon notices there's something wrong; a very peculiar, high pitched screech were heard. Fluttershy follows the noise into a rabbit warren. -"Is everything ok in there?".- Fluttershy gets its head inside the hole, she can clearly hear that the critters in that hole are trapped -"Oh dear, oh dear! Somepony, help!" Vanilla Sweets soon comes to help -"What happened?" -"There are stuck in there" Vanilla Sweets can hear that, but she can't tell why, it's too dark in there. Whatever it was, the bunnies sure sound desperate -"Somepony bring here a lantern!" Soon, Mochaccino brings them a lit lantern. Vanilla Sweets flashes it into the hole and manages to see something, something that shines along with the light of the lantern "What is that...?".- wonders Vanilla Sweets >"It looks like some sort of...plastic wrap".- ponders Fluttershy -"Hold me, I'm going in" -"What? B-but it's too small" -"If I get stuck, then just pull me with all your strength" -:"Oh, I don't know if I can..." by the time Fluttershy says this, Vanilla Sweets it's already crawling inside the den. It's really tight. Vanilla Sweets can hardly keep going with all the dirt going in her mouth and ears. Fluttershy crawls inside the hole, holding Vanillas rear hooves. She is soon immersed too much inside and calls for help. Mochaccino who looked the entire scene holds Fluttershy's tail with his mouth. -"Almost...there" .- Vanilla Sweets finally reaches out the plastic wrap. She barely moves it a little when a very strong and disgusting stench comes out of the bag -"Ewwww" -:"What is it?" asks Fluttershy -:"I don't know, but it stinks, ewww and the insides are all gooey" .- Vanilla Sweets picks the bag in her hand with much disgust "Awright pug me bahg" Mochaccino pulls but of them back, falling on his lap as they all are launched outside the hole. A family of rodent quickly escapes from the hole on the ground. -"Oh dear, are you alright?" -"Yes, thank you Flutters-- -"You must have been soooo scared!" Fluttershy holds the poor rodent family on her hooves as Mochaccino snorts in disappointment A bunch of ponies gather around the plastic bag, who casts a very nauseating smell -"By Celetia, what is that horrible stench?" is the general question. Written Script comes close and rips a hole on the bag with his horn. A bunch of flies scape from the bag, and the smell intensifies" -"Gah...this is disgusting" -"Can we please throw this and continue with our labor" Fluttershy notices something in shock "Wait!, what is that?" She points out at something now visible from inside the bag -"looks like...a hoof" Everyone gasp in horror -"Calm down, calm down" calls Written Script. He comes close to the bag and rips it open a bit more. Mochaccino uses its horn too to rip it open entirely. As the integrity of the bag plummets, the insides are sprawled into the ground for everyone to see. Up high in the sky, the weather control team could hear multiple screams of horror. Rainbow Dash who was taking a nap from resting on her duty could hear it too. As she turned to see where it came from, her iris became really small, there was so much sweat running trough her face -"What was that?" Asks Firefly, as she and other Pegasi descend to know about all the commotion. -"Oh no..." Rainbow Dash flies quickly to search for Applejack. Her insides twitch, she feels physically sick, she never remembered having vertigo before, but now she felt she could hardly keep her lunch. When she arrives to Applejack's location, she is still working as nothing ever happened. Rainbow Dash lands on a piece of clean plowed earth, shaking like the victim of an earthquake. Applejack and other Earth ponies notice her -"Rainbow Dash...what in the world--?" -"A.J come quickly, I think--" A Unicorn with a solemn grimace comes immediately after -"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have to come with us" -"W-why? what is--" Big Macintosh runs by next to them. Somebody got to him first. Applejack follows him into a big circular crowd. As they both arrived, the sights of sorrow and sadness surrounded them at the same time. Once Big Mac got in the middle, he simply crumbled in the ground. Applejack walked by and stood next to him. Her mouth fully open. The vision of the two siblings finding out the mauled corpse of their younger sister was just too powerful, mares and stallions alike shared tears and turned their sights away. There were a moment of silence that seemed too last forever The mayor came soon, accompanied with Twilight Sparkle. -"What in the name of Celestia is--" The mayor gasped mute. She too joined the silence when she noticed Big Mac coming a little closer, to touch the inert hoof of his younger sister. He took it despite the smell, moved it up and let the inertia put it back down. What happened next, could not be described simply as crying, or shouting, it was a crude down right brutal demonstration of suffering. Big Mac's mourning roar could be heard by everyone. As they hear it over and over again, the crowd payed their respects lowering their heads. The pegasi who stopped working in a hurry, forgot to clear a lingering cloud holding the first rain of spring. 08EIGHTH The funeral was everything that could be expected from funerals, raised to eleven It was grim, blue, depressing, the silence was terrible. A lot of ponies were present: Twilight, Rarity (who personally designed the mourning dresses) Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy (although she left crying as soon as she saw the small coffin) and of course, the partners in culprit, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Miss Cherilee also came, and to worsen the matter, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo were present too, making the scene less silent with her bawling. Big Macintosh stood up strong that day, he nearly went trough the entire funeral without shedding a tear, until the moment where the coffin of her sister finally descended in it's grave, where he screamed: "NOOO, DON'T TAKE HER, SHE'S JUST A KID! APPLEBLOOM, APPLEBLOOOOM!" Applejack herself couldn't stop crying. Pinkie Pie hugged A.J to cheer her up, but Pinkie's hair couldn't lie, it was flat straight that day, relieved from all sort of joy. That very same day, after all was said and done, Applejack went straight to her room, Granny Smith asked if she wanted something to bite, but perfectly understood as Applejack declined. Big Macintosh dedicated that night on drinking cider outside, he was burning the pain quickly. Anyone who saw him could guess he was an expert on the matter. Applejack laid on her bed with her face against a pillow -"Is there something wrong, sugarcube?" -"I miss Applebloom, ma'" -"Oh, ohhh there there,..you made a boo-boo, that's all. You don't have to blame it all on yourself" -"Yes, it's all my fault. I've never meant to hurt Big Mac that way" -"He is a big boy, he'll get better" Applejack looks inside the Chest, the chest where the voice came from The calm red light hurt her eyes, but it was a pain that calmed her more than anything. It was the kind of pain one feels when recovering from a much worse injury. It was like something directly held her eyes in a satisfying grip. -"You know you are my very special Apple pie, and no matter what you do, I'll still love you" -"I know that, ma', I love you too" -"I know you do sugarcube, I know you do..." Applejack hugged the Chest. Her hooves could hardly surround the whole thing. Applejack rested her head at the edge of the Chest -"Aaaaaplejack" -"Yes mom?" -"You haven't feed me in more than three days" -"I haven't?" -"You don't want your mommy to suffer in here do you" -"No, NO. Don't go again" -"Maybe you don't want me here. The last time I left I wasn't thinking on coming back" -"No, hold on, please just hold--" From under her bed, Applejack pulls out a well-sealed jar. The contains of the jar could only be described in first sight as aversive. One could only see eyeballs and teeth as distinguishable features, as anything else was either guts or blood. Applejack held her breath as she poured the disgusting content of the jar inside the Chest which shined in ecstasy. The light became red, intensely red, rather than the pink glow it had before. The whole room illuminated. -"Applejaaack..." spoke the voice in a maternal nagging tone -"Yees?" -"This one is dead too" -"I couldn't find a living one in such a short time, I don't want you to starve Ma', so I always keep some under the bed" -"Good job Applejack. Good job" spoke the light. "Mommy needs to sleep, she is so very tired" -"Wait, mom, I wanted to ask you if Applebloom is fine, is she with you right now?" The Chest didn't replied, it was as though it never spoke before. The shining blew off. -"A-alright mom, I'll see you soon." Applejack turns off the lights -"Goodnight mom" 03THIRD Applejack can't sleep, Not after what she's done. She's not sure if it's the guilt built by seeing Big Mac and Granny Smith crying in secret or if she is actually feeling remorse for her actions She swears she can still hear the apologizing screams of her sister -"SHUT UP--".- She screams as the incorporates waste up in her bed. Again, her absence is strong. She can't really swallow the idea that Applebloom is gone She didn't realized at first, but she yelled on direction of her Chest. That Chest, that powerful Chest, the only thing that kept her sane, the only soothing thing left in her life... Applejack jumps in fright as she hears someone knocking in her window -"What the hay?" She goes and opens. It's Rainbow Dash. As they see each other, they simply hug. It's a hug that lasts for minutes. Applejack breaks the hug and lets Dash come in -"I couldn't sleep" -"Me neither, sugarcube..." -"The Wonderbolts are still looking for her. I feel terrible Applejack" -"You aren't gonna tell on me are you Rainbow" -"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not the element of loyalty for nothing" True that, but Applejack hasn't been the element of honesty herself. She feels that Rainbow Dash wants to ask her the reason of her actions. She hasn't done so since that day, Applejack wonders if she remembers anything about what she said. -"Applejack, can I crash here for the night" -"Of course pard'ner" Rainbow Dash prepares to move into the bed when she turns her sight to the left her eyes are fixated on a Chest; a chest that either is painted on a gracious fluctuating pink or actually shines in a dim red -"Hey, is that the Chest you were--?" -"Don't TOUCH IT!" Rainbow Dash is left cold speechless. The stare on Applejacks eyes, THAT stare... -"I don't wanna" Applejack doesn't buys it, she is looking Dash as if she was gonna jump in her chest at any second. Dash backs up slowly... -"Rainbow Dash, I think you should leave" -"Bu--Ah".- Applejack smacks the wall and leaves a hole with the shape of her hoof. Rainbow Dash gives a look to Applejack as she leaves, a look she has never give to a friend before, a look between fright and pure hatred. Lights start to lit downstairs, Granny Smith and Big Mac both wake up to that noise. Rainbow Dash doesn't says anything, she just looks at her friend as she leaves. Now that she is gone, Applejack feels a lot of relief, although she can't remember why. She is finally capable of going to sleep, leaving their older relatives clueless as they go to check on the commotion.
01FIRST Applejack warns Applebloom to not go near her Personal Chest ever again. Applebloom insists in her usual "Cutie Mark Crusader" motivation . -"No Applebloom, not this time, don't touch my Chest, if I ever catch you peeping at my Chest again you'll be sorry" -"Bu--" -"YOU'LL BE SORRY" The matter is forgotten until a few days later, where Applejack surprises Applebloom attempting to spy on what's in Applejack's chest. She quickly trows herself towards Applebloom, but just like a surprised rabbit, Aplebloom escapes from her grip. Applebloom avoids Applejack for a while, letting things cool off, however, when Big Mac wasn't looking, Applejack smacks Applebloom in the face several times. Applebloom is about to cry but Applejack warns her threat-fully "Don't you dare to cry or I'll give you a good reason to do it" The matter is forgotten once again, Applejack even recovers her usual playful self One day Aplebloom and Applejack are playing on the Apple fields. -"Sis, let's play hide and seek" -"Okay" Applejack starts counting and after counting to 49, she hears everything's quiet, too quiet -"Applebloom?" Nothing, she usually blows her cover giggling, but this time, only the leaves could be heard -"Come out come out wherever you are" Applejack is still with his mind on the game She searches every possible place she could hide on the time ratio she counted. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip Applejack gets a chill running down her spine; she knows where she is. she runs as fast as she can, furious like she's never been before. As she approaches her home, she confirms what she thought; the door was ajar. She sneaks into the house, motivated with rage. Applejack's room's door is open . She slowly walks inside without making any noise to find Applebloom on her bed, watching the insides of her Chest. Applejack simply looses it She bangs the door behind her, Applebloom is paralyzed with fear. -"Applejack, No,NO.NO--" Applejack starts smacking her sister, and I mean REALLY smacking her. Applebloom tries to flee but the closed door works fine as an obstacle, giving Applejack the perfect time to intercept herApplejack trows her to the wall where she bumps her head. Applejack starts kicking her, yes, she kicks her sister with all her might -"I'm sorry,I'm sorry,I'm sorry" each time Applebloom apologizes Applejack gives an extra effort to kick her harder. Applejack feels that she can't kick anymore, her legs are tired, so she goes into the ground and starts pounding her sister.She doesn't knows why, but she feels like she's just not over punishing Applebloom. The beating continues until Applejack notices that Applebloom isn't moaning anymore She isn't moving either. Applejack opens her eyes widely in realization -"Applebloom? APPLEBLOOM? Come on! Don't play like that! Applebloom ANSWER ME!".-There is no response Applejack's eyes start to get wet, she has a "Blue screen of death" kind of moment that lasts for what seems like hours -"Big Mac!" She finally recovers her shit and thinks on what to do. -She runs errant to the fields where Rainbow Dash usually hangs out. Luckily, she finds Rainbow Dash on her way back home from a day of doing nothing -"Rainbow Dash! I- n--n-need yrrr yo--r help" Rainbow Dash thinks on making a joke about her way to talk, but something on her grimace makes her get serious. -"What is it? Applejack, what's wrong" -"Ah--ah--I'll explain you there" Rainbow Dash follows Applejack, concerning more and more as she sees Applejack weeping desperately. They make it to Applejack's and soon they're at the horrible scene. Rainbow Dash makes a full jaw drop. Applebloom's body is already covered with flies -"Appleja--" Rainbow Dash can't even properly form her words on the shock "Wh--What have... WHAT DID YOU--? -"I don't know! I JUST DON'T KNOW! I TOLD HER TO LEAVE MY CHEST ALONE AND SHE JUST KEPT LOOKING AND LOOKING AND I COULDN'T STOP I COULDN--".-Rainbow Dash slaps her, finishing with her Tantrum, Applejack gasps surprised -"Applejack, snap out of it! Calm down" Applejack burst into tears -"Rainbow Dash...I don't wanna go to jail" -"No! You will not--listen to me" She picks up Applejack by the shoulders "You will NOT go to jail, you got that? I won't let that happen".-As they hug Rainbow Dash can't help to cry herself too. She wipes her tears and breaks the hug.- "I'll be right back, don't move" She flies as fast as she knows how into her home in Cloudsdale. Quickly she lurks into her shelves, desperately trowing dishes and cutlery alike. She finally finds a bunch of plastic bags, big enough to fit a filly inside. Instantly she flies back to Applejacks, hoping she didn't took too long -"What took you so long?" -"Shut up and help me to get her in" .- Applejack takes her sister by the front hooves and Rainbow Dash by the rear She fits perfectly inside of the black bag. While Rainbow Dash ties a knot on the bags lashes, she orders Applejack to go find something to clean up the blood on the ground. Rapidly she brings a bucket full of water and detergent. She scrubs the remnants of blood off of the ground. When she's finished, it's like nothing have ever happened. Except for the plastic bag of course -"Applejack, grab a pair of shovels" Unseen by any pony, they make their way to a clear full of rabbit-warrens. Without talking, they start to dig If there would be anyone else there, they would hear the panting of both mares as they make the hole on the ground bigger and bigger. Once the hole is deep enough, they throw Applebloom's body inside. They take the earth once again back into the hole and they cramp it to make it look more natural They even leave some flowers and sprouts so it doesn't looks like somebody dug there. Finally, they add a good layer of snow to cover everything up -"It looks natural" -"Yeah, at night" Both ponies chuckle, but they stop soon after. Something has been broken between the two of them, something important As they return, neither of them say anything, so Rainbow Dash decides to talk: -"Applejack, we will never, EVER talk about what happened tonight, you understand me?" -"..." -"YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?" -"Yes. Yes Rainbow Dash, I understand" Applejack makes her way back home, so does Rainbow Dash.The moon shines high in the sky, the Winter Wrap up is near.
02SECOND -"Diamond Tiara" -"Here!" -"Twist" -"Here" -"Snips" -"Here" -"Silver Spoon" -"Here" -"Sweetie Bell" -"Here!" -"Apple Bytes" -"Here" -"Applebloom" -... -"Applebloom?" For the third time this week, Applebloom's desk remained empty, Scotaloo and Sweetie Bell looked each other in distress -"Oh...she's absent again. Does anypony knows if Applebloom is sick?" -"I think she's lost Miss Cherilee" confesses Scootaloo with certain sadness All the small fillies gasp in awe, the chatting noises overcomes the teacher -"Calm down, Calm down everypony, I'll talk to Granny Smith today, I'm sure they'll know about her. Now, let's take a small break before our classes begin, shall we? It's a beautiful day outside" All the foals leaves their places and head outside, first talking about Applebloom, and then talking about anything else. When Scotaloo and Sweetie Bell leaves their places, Cherilee calls them over -"Girls, what do you know about Applebloom?" .-both girls shrug -"Sweetie Bell?".-She starts to weep, Scootaloo follows her. Cherilee hugs them both -"Oh girls...girls...I'll find out what's happening don't you worry." That same afternoon Cherilee pays a visit to the Apples. She first encounters Applejack who seems to forget how to talk when Cherilee says 'hi' -"Uh...hi Ms. Cherilee, what brings you about?" -"Hi Applejack, I hope I'm not interrupting you but Applebloom has missed 3 days of classes already and I wanted to know if everything is alright..." Applejack lowers her head -"Miss. Cherilee?" Big Macintosh comes by -"Big Mac! Hi! I was asking just a minute ago if--" -"About Applebloom right?" -"Well...yes. She's been absent for 3 days now and I've heard from her friends she's been...missing" Big Mac sighs -"Why don't we go inside for a while?" Big Mac wants to speak this away from her sister, thinking that it might affect her somehow. Granny Smith is sitting on her rocking chair, staring at the window. It's obvious she's been crying for hours -"Take a seat" Granny Smiths hears Big Mac and stands up instantly -"Well, how'you doin' Ms. Cherilee? May I offer you some tea?" -"N-no thanks Miss Smith" .- She is already up boiling water -"Miss Cherilee, Applebloom has been missing since last Sunday. My sister Applejack was playing hide and seek with her but she never found her. She's been devastated ever since" -"Oh the poor dear..." Big Mac sighs, he is visibly shaken. Cherilee moves next to him to comfort him -"Have you told the authorities about this?" -"Yes, we have. They have opened a file for kidnap. They've said however that if the kidnapers haven't left us a message yet...well" Cherilee holds in suspense, she can't believe something that awful had happened to Applebloom. She remembers the last time she saw her running from class. That cheerful smile of her, that big pink blossom wiggling on her mane, she can even remember her saying "Goodbye Ms. Cherilee, happy weekend, see you next Monday!" Cherilee weeps too.
04FOURTH It's been 6 days since the disappearance of Applebloom. Pegasus and Unicorns search all over the place. They send dog after dog to search for Applebloom, but the snow makes everything harder Far from there, in Rarity's house, someone knocks at the door.Rarity opens to find the small Scootaloo -"Can Sweetie Bell come out to play?".- It's been days since Rarity has seen the regular spirit on both Scootaloo and her sister. That breaks her heart to the point where she feels she's about to cry just by hearing her tone -"Sweetie Bell, you've got visits".-Sweetie Bell comes out -"Hi..." -"...Hi" They both walk by slowly -"Sweetie Bell, where are you heading?" -"To the Apple Fields" -"Please come back early, and don't split up girls, and DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS".- As they get further and further, Rarity begins to cry.Nothing she does cheers up her sister, it's the first time she had to deal with the dangers of the world. Sick of concern, she can't stop thinking what would she do without her sister, Applejack must be suffering a lot. As Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell walk off they remember the succession of events that lead them into that day They remember the expression on Applejacks face as she told them she was playing hide and seek with her sister, and that she couldn't find her. Scoots' and Sweets' first reaction were that of excitement, as they thought they could have a "Cutie Mark Crusade" to find their missing member. They searched high and low, in the Everfree forest, in the Apple fields, In the house tree, they searched everywhere Applebloom was playing hide and seek, and Applejack could never find her Days went by and they couldn't stop wondering if Applebloom was still playing, since she still wasn't at home yet.They two went by the river, worried for their friend, they didn't let that depressed them, they only needed to try harder -"Cutie Mark Crusader Finders!" They searched again in the places they used to go all the time, even in places they never ever visited.By the end of the day, they felt defeated once more. It was Tuesday.The fillies didn't lost the hope that they would come one day into Applejack's house and found her smiling saying "I've found her". And the three crusaders finally meet again. And play the games they used to play. And try once more to get their cutie marks. And keep their adventures going once more Yet, that never happens It's Thursday already, and no one can seem to find their friend. Determined to do so, they climb up the tallest tree they can find in the Apple Fields. Both friends, with their eyes filled with tears and their voices filled with tender scream from the top of their lungs: -"Okay Applebloom, you've won. We can't find you anywhere.
05FIFTH Over a week and a half have gone trough since the Applebloom incident. There are posters with her face all over Ponyville captioned with "Have you seen me?" With that face, it's almost as she was really saying it. The news spread quickly all over Equestria, they were squads that had false leads on Manehattan and Fillydelphia, they conclude nowhere. For the first time in days, the mane 6 goes out in a Pick-nick. It's hard for them to ignore the situation, especially with Applebloom's face plastered all over the town. -"Come on Everypony! What's with the long faces? Hahaha, get it? Long faces?" Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie can't stand the general sadness regarding the group. Everyone rev up the spirit with Pinkie's Attitude, Fluttershy smiles weakly. She tries to feign happiness but fails miserably -"Fluttershy..." -"Oh...I'm...I'm sorry" .- Fluttershy flees, her tears are quite visible as she leaves. In a classic way, Rainbow Dash attempts to follow her but Twilight Sparkle snatches her tail in mid flight -"Give her some time" Applejack frowns. She has never been so bothered by Fluttershy before. It's almost as if Fluttershy knew Applejack was guilty of everything and she had to show her a proper expression of grief. Applejack felt out of place, she could not hide her discomfort any longer. General awkwardness ensued. -"W-why don't we have some cake?" Pinkie Pie retrieves the pink cake laying on her basket. That afternoon was a breath of relief in comparison with the last three days. Police Ponies coming in and out of Sweet Apple Acres, interrogating all of the residents to see if there's something else they can remember. Anything. They were desperate. The investigation in Ponyville was clearly not sophisticated enough for the job, their methods were very rudimentary. They had to force their guts out to do it, but the Pick-nick resulted quite fine, they were laughing and joking as usual -"Pinkie Pie! That was the last piece of cake! I was gonna eat it!" says Rainbow Dash in her usual squeaky voice -"Well, you should have kept your *EYE* on it, te he he he" Pinkie Pie's eye pops comically out of it's socket when she says *Eye* -"Oh yeah? let me put you where I'm putting my hoof instead" General laughter as they see Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash struggle up for the piece " -Alright, since there is no more cake, I'd say it's time to move on the muffins, courtesy of Derpy".-Twilight presents them 'THE MUFFINS'. Their pony eyes marble at the structure of the muffins. The toppling has the perfect puffiness and roundness, and the distribution of blueberries seemed quite appealing. Boy, they looked delicious. -"Twilight dear, there are only 4 muffins in the basket, even without Fluttershy, there's not enough for us all".- As Rarity points that, she, Applejack and Twilight pick up their own Muffins, Applejack eat hers right off -"I'll have one!" yells Rainbow Dash as she picks a muffin" -"What? No way, I'll have it, you got the last piece of cake, remember?" Rainbow Dash looks at the cake for a second -"Well, then YOU have the last piece of cake" -"What? Oh nononono, YOU have the last piece of cake, since YOU wanted it so much" -"I changed my mind, give it--" Laughter ensued as the mares struggled for the muffin -"Hehe girls, why don't you give ME the last piece of cake and stay with my muffin instead?" They both stared at each other" -"okay" Twilight picks up the delicious cake in her hooves. As she approaches the purple glowing pastry to her mouth, a chunk of snow falls from a nearby tree and spoils it completely. -"There's the ice frosting" .-At this point, they are literally willing to laugh about anything -"Hehe, very funny girls" .-Twilight Sparkle contemplates the tree for a few seconds .-"Snow is going to fall off from trees very easily, Winter Wrap up starts in 2 days" They cheerfully discuss on their expectation for this year and remember how well displayed last year was thanks to Twilight, Rainbow Dash stops eating her muffin in realization, Applejack soon notices something that catches her eye;Rainbow Dash was apparently nodding. Once she got her attention, she realized she wasn't nodding, she was pointing to the left with her head Applejack caught up Waiting for a moment of distraction, they both walk apart from the rest of the tree -"Where are you going girls?" -"We'll be right back!" Answers Applejack, they inferred that one of them probably needed to pee It's getting dark, the last sunbeams are leaving slowly -"Ok, what is it sugarcube?" -"It's two days until the Wrap up" -"So?" Applejacks thinks for a bit, she gets it soon enough "Oh oh..." How could they been so oblivious? Winter Wrap was near, there would be Ponies swiping the snow. Dozens and dozens of them. There was a really good chance that they found her buried somewhere near the warrens. The land on the Warrens wasn't meant to be plowed and seeded, but there was no doubt that Fluttershy was going to notice. -"What are we gonna do" -"Shh, calm down, this is what we're going to do: We are gonna go that clearing, We'll dig up the bag, make a hole in the lake's ice and drop it there" -"But what if it floats up?" -"No it won't! Don't you know anything about anything? The bag is too heavy, it will stay up" -"Up?" -"I mean down, DOWN! Jeez, relax for a minute ok?" Applejack flinches. She's clearly afraid of pushing her luck too far, Rainbow sees a chance in that , a breach to find the answer on Dash's most deep doubts. As they walk back with the rest, Dash strikes: -"AJ, what's on the chest?" Applejack stops dry. Dash's heart beats in expectation. Dash can't see her face, she wish she did. -"AJ?" -"It's none of your business" -"NONE OF MY BUSINESS?! I'm in deep SHIT for you, remember?" Applejack isn't responding "Rainbow Dash, you ain't having cold feet are you?" Rainbow Dash flinched -"Uh..w-what? what are you saying?" -"Do you trust me?" -"What? Yes" -"No, I mean, Do you really trust me, or you're just saying it?" Applejack turns to see her friend. It's like her usual face, that face full of freckles, the face that says "Howdy" by itself, but it's not the same. There's something uncanny about her face . Rainbow Dash understands that Applebloom is not the only one that's gone, Applejack is here no longer. Applejack slowly walks to her friend -"Is that a Yes?" -"Huh?" Applejack is close from her. Very close, face to face. There is something really wrong with her. Rainbow Dash thought on that before, but know she knew it. Something messed up her mind up, something really bad. -"I...yes, of course I trust you" -"....good" She walks away. Rainbow Dash noticed the cold running trough her mane. She was sweating. Badly -"Come on Pard'ner! They're waiting for us" Applejack smiled like always, it even seemed as thought she was back. Rainbow Dash was paralyzed, she skipped from her trance a little later, when the voice of Pinkie could be heard saying "What took you two so long? We are leaving"
06SIXTH That night two ponies walked into a lonely meadow, just like they did ten days ago. Just like that one night, both were holding shovels in their mouths, but unlike that night, Rainbow Dash was way less confident. Back then, She was solving the mistake of a friend, but she was not sure it was much of a mistake now after all...or much a 'friend' either... "Where was it?" whispered Applejack -: "I'm not sure........There! there it is!" -"Are you sure?" -"Definitively, it was near that rabbit hole" To tell the truth, all the rabbit holes looked the same. Both ponies came close to the place. It felt so familiar there was no doubt that was the right place after all. They moved the snow aside and found part of the plants they put up in the snow to cover the hole. They started digging once more. The soil seemed harder this time -"Where is this lake you're talking about?".-Asked Applejack -"It's not a lake, it's a pond" -" A pond?" -"Yeah, I figured the mud would keep it there. Once the swamp dries up in summer, it would be earth's problem" They kept digging, the past days have been surrealistic at it's best. The plastering of Applebloom's face all over Ponyville the ridiculous campaigns that were determined on finding her, they would continue like that for a long time now, and with it, so would the guilt of Applejack. Rainbow Dash figured that if she felt bad about the whole movement, so would Applejack. -"A.J, have you thought that, well..." -"Yes?" -"Well, wouldn't it be better to just, leave the body somewhere it could be found?" Applejack stops digging -"And then what? getting caught?" -"I'm not saying that, I just thought it be better that way, I can't stand to see the mayor thinking that they will find her some day . Maybe this would be over better with you faking some tears at Applebloom's funeral rather than waiting for them to give up some day" Rainbow Dash didn't stopped digging until that moment she finished speaking, when she felt the piercing stare of Applejack fixated on her -"What do you mean by 'Faking some tears'? You don't think I'd cry in my sister's funeral!? -"No, I--" -"You think I enjoyed what I did? You think I liked to--" Applejack burst into tears. She tried to continue her rambling, but her voice was too broken to do so. Despite feeling bad for her friend, Rainbow Dash was a little glad of seeing a sane reaction coming from Applejack. That was the A.J she knew and loved. The rambling continued, only that Applejack voice was whinny and heartbreaking. -"You don't think I've thought about that? You don't think I've thought that when I see my brother suffering all the time?!" And that's when the saddest, most crushing bawling started. Rainbow Dash had to hug her friend. It was Applejack after all, the good old Applejack. There was nothing wrong with her, she just got stray from the way a little, that's all. Rainbow Dash held the hope that things would be like they were before, but before that, certain things from the past had to be buried. Applejack calmed down slowly, her breathing was still shaky and she kept blowing from her nose a lot, but at least she wasn't bawling anymore The digging continued for a few minutes. The more they dug, the more they realized of something really bad. Once they dug a bit too much Rainbow Dash pointed out their fears -"What the hell?, it should have popped out by now" -"Are you sure this is the right hole?" -"YES, I'm sure! See?" Rainbow Dash holds the plants that were over the hole on her hand -"Well it can't be because the bag ISN'T THERE!" Dash started to dig in every place that was ever near a rabbit hole, it dug deep enough for the bag to be seen, but no bag appeared in none of the holes they dug -"Rainbow Dash?!" -"It's...gone" -"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'GONE'?" -"Look, It's GONE, OK?" -"It CAN'T be gone! You just won't admit you lost the place!" -"I DIDN'T, IT WAS THE SAME DAMN PLACE WITH THE SAME DAMN FLOWERS" -"Then where's the bag, Rainbow Dash, WHERE IS IT?" -...dunno" -"What?!" -"I SAID I DON'T KNOW!" Applejack facepalmed -: "look it had to be here, there's no place else, see how the frikin' earth's different in this whole part? THAT'S WERE WE DUG".-Rainbow Dash voice raised a lot. Applejack finds it hard to accept, but she had to admit it's true. It's the right place after all, but there is nothing there. Now was a good time to panic, and so they did. They kept digging on the original hole but there was nothing there other than roots. A branch crunched next to a nearby tree -"...! Who's there?" Somebody outside the meadow ran away as she heard Applejack's voice. Both Ponies looked at each other and before they could even think about it, they followed it into a group of trees. It didn't matter how dark it was, it kept doing noises as it escaped. Applejack's face could only be described as the face of a desperate hunter. Rainbow Dash wondered what would they do with the spy once they caught it, she feared that Applejack got rid of her too. No, that was no way of thinking, Ranbow Dash refused to see her friend as a cold blood murder. Not after that display of sadness she had back there. Not Applejack. Rainbow Dash soon caught the lead of what they were chasing. She even saw how it quickly jumped inside a small den on the ground -"Ugh...It's a frikin' rabbit" Both of them sighed in relief, but there still was the matter of the corpse -"What are we going to do now".-asked Applejack -"What do you mean 'what'? It's gone" -Yes but-- -"Applejack; ITS.GONE. I really don't care who took the bag or why, as soon as it doesn't links us with it" -"You're right *sigh* I gotta calm down" Once that was said and done, they covered the new holes they've made as well as the original one, they covered it with snow once more and walked away from the meadow, going home. There were only 27 hours left for the wrap up.
07SEVENTH Winter Wrap up was finally here. This year they had their official organizer to make things more efficient for everyone. There was some issues about the investigation for Applebloom's disappearance going stall, but it was soon solved Twilight Sparkle has been there earlier than anyone could remember. Applejack and Rainbow Dash find each other, just to wish each other good luck There seems to be an unusual enthusiasm this year, as much as there seems to be a lot of gossips, all of them about Applejack: "Look at her" "She's so brave" "Her sister's disappearance won't stop her, no wonder why she's the Pony of Ponyville" Before the Wrap up begins, the mayor gathers everyone for the usual announcement -"Thank you ponies for once more being here so early. Before we start I'd like to thank Applejack who still managed to come despite the prior events. The disappearance of the little Applebloom has moved us, but let us have Applejack as a beacon of courage for everypony!" As the Mayor finishes her words, the prancing of the ponies made itself loud. Rainbow Dash saw how Applejack face tried to fake thankfulness, but instead inspired shame. No other Pony seemed to notice, and those who seemed to just said "This must be very difficult for her". The Mayor Followed: "Well Now, you all know your teams and duties, so let's make this the best Wrap up so far!" 'Yays' and 'hoorays' are heard all over before the teams spread as they should. Twilight takes her role as organizer and deploys each team from the biggest task to the smallest. Rainbow Dash and the weather control crew fly up high and start to take care of certain districts of clouds. They have to wait for the signal of the Animal team to fully free the sky of clouds Applejack begins the removal of snow on the fields. In intervals, she peeked at the rabbit meadow all the time, despite of being really far -"Applejack? Are you alright?" Asks Baritone, who's right behind her, plowing the snow. -"What? Oh, yeah...I'm ok" -"You sure you don't want to go home?" -"I'm fine" Applejack pulls her plower stronger than before and gains distance between the other ponies Meanwhile, far from there, the Animal team just arrived a meadow of rabbit holes. They must hurry, so there's no time wasted for the weather control team. They have a good part of the animals awaken at last. Taking Twilight's idea from last year, they tie a bunch of bells clinging on every warren controlled by one single rope. The bells chime and most animals come out of their dens. The crew is nice enough to assist some of the animals who seems to be rattled by the sudden awakening. Fluttershy couldn't be more satisfied with the hard work. Fluttershy soon notices there's something wrong; a very peculiar, high pitched screech were heard. Fluttershy follows the noise into a rabbit warren. -"Is everything ok in there?".- Fluttershy gets its head inside the hole, she can clearly hear that the critters in that hole are trapped -"Oh dear, oh dear! Somepony, help!" Vanilla Sweets soon comes to help -"What happened?" -"There are stuck in there" Vanilla Sweets can hear that, but she can't tell why, it's too dark in there. Whatever it was, the bunnies sure sound desperate -"Somepony bring here a lantern!" Soon, Mochaccino brings them a lit lantern. Vanilla Sweets flashes it into the hole and manages to see something, something that shines along with the light of the lantern "What is that...?".- wonders Vanilla Sweets >"It looks like some sort of...plastic wrap".- ponders Fluttershy -"Hold me, I'm going in" -"What? B-but it's too small" -"If I get stuck, then just pull me with all your strength" -:"Oh, I don't know if I can..." by the time Fluttershy says this, Vanilla Sweets it's already crawling inside the den. It's really tight. Vanilla Sweets can hardly keep going with all the dirt going in her mouth and ears. Fluttershy crawls inside the hole, holding Vanillas rear hooves. She is soon immersed too much inside and calls for help. Mochaccino who looked the entire scene holds Fluttershy's tail with his mouth. -"Almost...there" .- Vanilla Sweets finally reaches out the plastic wrap. She barely moves it a little when a very strong and disgusting stench comes out of the bag -"Ewwww" -:"What is it?" asks Fluttershy -:"I don't know, but it stinks, ewww and the insides are all gooey" .- Vanilla Sweets picks the bag in her hand with much disgust "Awright pug me bahg" Mochaccino pulls but of them back, falling on his lap as they all are launched outside the hole. A family of rodent quickly escapes from the hole on the ground. -"Oh dear, are you alright?" -"Yes, thank you Flutters-- -"You must have been soooo scared!" Fluttershy holds the poor rodent family on her hooves as Mochaccino snorts in disappointment A bunch of ponies gather around the plastic bag, who casts a very nauseating smell -"By Celetia, what is that horrible stench?" is the general question. Written Script comes close and rips a hole on the bag with his horn. A bunch of flies scape from the bag, and the smell intensifies" -"Gah...this is disgusting" -"Can we please throw this and continue with our labor" Fluttershy notices something in shock "Wait!, what is that?" She points out at something now visible from inside the bag -"looks like...a hoof" Everyone gasp in horror -"Calm down, calm down" calls Written Script. He comes close to the bag and rips it open a bit more. Mochaccino uses its horn too to rip it open entirely. As the integrity of the bag plummets, the insides are sprawled into the ground for everyone to see. Up high in the sky, the weather control team could hear multiple screams of horror. Rainbow Dash who was taking a nap from resting on her duty could hear it too. As she turned to see where it came from, her iris became really small, there was so much sweat running trough her face -"What was that?" Asks Firefly, as she and other Pegasi descend to know about all the commotion. -"Oh no..." Rainbow Dash flies quickly to search for Applejack. Her insides twitch, she feels physically sick, she never remembered having vertigo before, but now she felt she could hardly keep her lunch. When she arrives to Applejack's location, she is still working as nothing ever happened. Rainbow Dash lands on a piece of clean plowed earth, shaking like the victim of an earthquake. Applejack and other Earth ponies notice her -"Rainbow Dash...what in the world--?" -"A.J come quickly, I think--" A Unicorn with a solemn grimace comes immediately after -"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have to come with us" -"W-why? what is--" Big Macintosh runs by next to them. Somebody got to him first. Applejack follows him into a big circular crowd. As they both arrived, the sights of sorrow and sadness surrounded them at the same time. Once Big Mac got in the middle, he simply crumbled in the ground. Applejack walked by and stood next to him. Her mouth fully open. The vision of the two siblings finding out the mauled corpse of their younger sister was just too powerful, mares and stallions alike shared tears and turned their sights away. There were a moment of silence that seemed too last forever The mayor came soon, accompanied with Twilight Sparkle. -"What in the name of Celestia is--" The mayor gasped mute. She too joined the silence when she noticed Big Mac coming a little closer, to touch the inert hoof of his younger sister. He took it despite the smell, moved it up and let the inertia put it back down. What happened next, could not be described simply as crying, or shouting, it was a crude down right brutal demonstration of suffering. Big Mac's mourning roar could be heard by everyone. As they hear it over and over again, the crowd payed their respects lowering their heads. The pegasi who stopped working in a hurry, forgot to clear a lingering cloud holding the first rain of spring.
08EIGHTH The funeral was everything that could be expected from funerals, raised to eleven It was grim, blue, depressing, the silence was terrible. A lot of ponies were present: Twilight, Rarity (who personally designed the mourning dresses) Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy (although she left crying as soon as she saw the small coffin) and of course, the partners in culprit, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Miss Cherilee also came, and to worsen the matter, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo were present too, making the scene less silent with her bawling. Big Macintosh stood up strong that day, he nearly went trough the entire funeral without shedding a tear, until the moment where the coffin of her sister finally descended in it's grave, where he screamed: "NOOO, DON'T TAKE HER, SHE'S JUST A KID! APPLEBLOOM, APPLEBLOOOOM!" Applejack herself couldn't stop crying. Pinkie Pie hugged A.J to cheer her up, but Pinkie's hair couldn't lie, it was flat straight that day, relieved from all sort of joy. That very same day, after all was said and done, Applejack went straight to her room, Granny Smith asked if she wanted something to bite, but perfectly understood as Applejack declined. Big Macintosh dedicated that night on drinking cider outside, he was burning the pain quickly. Anyone who saw him could guess he was an expert on the matter. Applejack laid on her bed with her face against a pillow -"Is there something wrong, sugarcube?" -"I miss Applebloom, ma'" -"Oh, ohhh there there,..you made a boo-boo, that's all. You don't have to blame it all on yourself" -"Yes, it's all my fault. I've never meant to hurt Big Mac that way" -"He is a big boy, he'll get better" Applejack looks inside the Chest, the chest where the voice came from The calm red light hurt her eyes, but it was a pain that calmed her more than anything. It was the kind of pain one feels when recovering from a much worse injury. It was like something directly held her eyes in a satisfying grip. -"You know you are my very special Apple pie, and no matter what you do, I'll still love you" -"I know that, ma', I love you too" -"I know you do sugarcube, I know you do..." Applejack hugged the Chest. Her hooves could hardly surround the whole thing. Applejack rested her head at the edge of the Chest -"Aaaaaplejack" -"Yes mom?" -"You haven't feed me in more than three days" -"I haven't?" -"You don't want your mommy to suffer in here do you" -"No, NO. Don't go again" -"Maybe you don't want me here. The last time I left I wasn't thinking on coming back" -"No, hold on, please just hold--" From under her bed, Applejack pulls out a well-sealed jar. The contains of the jar could only be described in first sight as aversive. One could only see eyeballs and teeth as distinguishable features, as anything else was either guts or blood. Applejack held her breath as she poured the disgusting content of the jar inside the Chest which shined in ecstasy. The light became red, intensely red, rather than the pink glow it had before. The whole room illuminated. -"Applejaaack..." spoke the voice in a maternal nagging tone -"Yees?" -"This one is dead too" -"I couldn't find a living one in such a short time, I don't want you to starve Ma', so I always keep some under the bed" -"Good job Applejack. Good job" spoke the light. "Mommy needs to sleep, she is so very tired" -"Wait, mom, I wanted to ask you if Applebloom is fine, is she with you right now?" The Chest didn't replied, it was as though it never spoke before. The shining blew off. -"A-alright mom, I'll see you soon." Applejack turns off the lights -"Goodnight mom"
03THIRD Applejack can't sleep, Not after what she's done. She's not sure if it's the guilt built by seeing Big Mac and Granny Smith crying in secret or if she is actually feeling remorse for her actions She swears she can still hear the apologizing screams of her sister -"SHUT UP--".- She screams as the incorporates waste up in her bed. Again, her absence is strong. She can't really swallow the idea that Applebloom is gone She didn't realized at first, but she yelled on direction of her Chest. That Chest, that powerful Chest, the only thing that kept her sane, the only soothing thing left in her life... Applejack jumps in fright as she hears someone knocking in her window -"What the hay?" She goes and opens. It's Rainbow Dash. As they see each other, they simply hug. It's a hug that lasts for minutes. Applejack breaks the hug and lets Dash come in -"I couldn't sleep" -"Me neither, sugarcube..." -"The Wonderbolts are still looking for her. I feel terrible Applejack" -"You aren't gonna tell on me are you Rainbow" -"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not the element of loyalty for nothing" True that, but Applejack hasn't been the element of honesty herself. She feels that Rainbow Dash wants to ask her the reason of her actions. She hasn't done so since that day, Applejack wonders if she remembers anything about what she said. -"Applejack, can I crash here for the night" -"Of course pard'ner" Rainbow Dash prepares to move into the bed when she turns her sight to the left her eyes are fixated on a Chest; a chest that either is painted on a gracious fluctuating pink or actually shines in a dim red -"Hey, is that the Chest you were--?" -"Don't TOUCH IT!" Rainbow Dash is left cold speechless. The stare on Applejacks eyes, THAT stare... -"I don't wanna" Applejack doesn't buys it, she is looking Dash as if she was gonna jump in her chest at any second. Dash backs up slowly... -"Rainbow Dash, I think you should leave" -"Bu--Ah".- Applejack smacks the wall and leaves a hole with the shape of her hoof. Rainbow Dash gives a look to Applejack as she leaves, a look she has never give to a friend before, a look between fright and pure hatred. Lights start to lit downstairs, Granny Smith and Big Mac both wake up to that noise. Rainbow Dash doesn't says anything, she just looks at her friend as she leaves. Now that she is gone, Applejack feels a lot of relief, although she can't remember why. She is finally capable of going to sleep, leaving their older relatives clueless as they go to check on the commotion.
