Rarity rubbed her head, her fingers sliding through her hair in a weak attempt at fixing the damage that was done. She groaned as the shock finally kicked in. "Ugh...my head.." She whimpered out, quickly moving her fingers as they just graced a tender spot. The landing must have harmed her more than not. Her eyes refused to focus immediately after waking, but it caught glimpses of nasty wood beneath her body. It was dilapidated with holes in a few spots. "Where..am I?"

Desks, desks surrounded her. They weren't desks that she seen prior-they were very small and outdated. The windows in particular weren't seen now in days-she would occasionally see them when passing by in better, bigger neighborhoods. They were a decoration to the Victorian style homes that the higher paid seemed to enjoy more than not like a trend. They weren't cleaned though, and at some point, the windows seemed cracked, despite the glued demeanor. Either way-it wasn't where she was before. "We..were in 2-A...Starswirl...." Rarity tried getting up, but a shock of pain jolted her before she could. She glanced down at her ankle, surprised by the reaction. "Ah, I must have sprained my ankle when I fell.."She looked around once more, finding nothing of value on her side that could help her. She cursed at the luck before standing up and sighing.

"Rainbow Dash? Scootaloo? Applejack?" Rarity called out, wobbling as she done so. The pain wouldn't subside, and walking would only exasperate the wound even more-judging by Sweetie Belle's past history of sprained ankles in her care. Though, she didn't seem to have a choice. Either stay or possibly get her-her instincts choosing the latter than the former. She stumbled in the darkness, only to feel a desk stop her in her tracks just in time. She held her breath as her eyes widened, she was lurching forward before she managed to gain her bearings enough to force herself back from the massive hole that erupted. She ignored the searing pain at that moment as she sat, wide eyed, staring at the hole she almost stumbled into. Her breath was ragged. "I-I could..I could have..." She shook her head, but her mind wouldn't stop suggesting her demise from falling.

How far..is the drop? She questioned before chiding herself. She squinted to see past the hole to the other side. There was a chalk board, something she hasn't seen in ages BESIDES in an elementary school-she recalled her teacher handing a mini chalk board for games and the like, but that was it. The chalkboard and the podium didn't interest her, though, it was the fallen figure that had. She couldn't see who the figure belonged to, the darkness shrouded it, but there were noticeable features that caught her attention.

"That has to be Applejack's ponytail!" Rarity's eyes widen at the realization. She calculated the ability to get to the other side. The gap was massive-too huge to truly cross on this side, especially in the condition she was in. Her eyes land on the door on the other side. "It must be one of those rooms with a double door..."Hopefully it was, of course. Her body was slow as she dodged the desks and headed towards the door, making sure that she wouldn't fall into more holes on the way out. The scenery wasn't any different, but that was expected. She peered out the window, pausing before leaving. The walls in the hallway seemed off, just as bad as it seemed to be in the room she was in. She creaked the door open as she walked to the hallway before turning back. Her feet dragging her to the corner, her arms forcing her to carry a loose board before completely exiting to the other side. Her eyes trace the sides. It was disgusting. She wanted to remove it from her grasp, but something drew her in, making her grab it in the first place.

"What would a board do?" She sighed out, walking through the hall. It was odd to say the least. The floor was just as bad as it was inside the room, if not more. It was full of gaps that led to no where. She stopped at the one door before the gap took it over. It had to be the door that belonged to the room. She smiled softly.

"Applejack.." She blushed a bit before shaking the feeling off. Her eyes wandered to the article on the floor before entering. Curiosity bested her in that regard as she wandered to it, reading it in the process.

[Summer Post]" 'Third Student Reported Missing..'" She read aloud. "One by one...students of Summer Sun _____have gone missing, a third child joining the ranks of the missing. Classmates testify that fifth grader __________was on her way home from school, but got separated from her friends in the hall. She wasn't seen since. Police have suspected a serial kidnapper and place investigators on the case in hopes of a fast resolution to the kidnapping spree. However, ten days have seemingly past, causing parents and students great concerns." That unsettled Rarity as she shook. A killing? A kidnapping? Thoughts raced through her mind, questioning all the outcomes possible.

Applejack first, She insisted. It just has to be a coincidence. Maybe Applejack will concur... Though, the thoughts didn't cease as she raced into the classroom as fast as her ankle allowed her to. She was right; Applejack was laying down on the stage-like area, nothing out of place on her.

"Applejack!" She called out again, nudging the Southern teen. She groaned out an answer in response. "T-Thank god...you're alright!" Applejack, despite groaning, didn't budge much.

"W-Wake up..." Rarity cried out a bit. "P..Please don't leave me here..alone..." She whimpered softly. Applejack rubbed her head, arching forward.

"Apple..Bloom...isn't it late...?" She moaned out, shaking her head before her eyes adjusted. She squeaked as she looked towards Rarity, eyes full of concern and fear etched into her blue orbs. "Rar...it...ty..?"

"D-Don't scare me like that, you idiot!" Rarity chided with a smile, hugging her friend. Applejack gave a shaky smile back before turning.

"Where..are we?" Applejack questioned, looking around as she stood up, stretching her limbs. "We...weren't here before, right?What's going on?"

"I would love to answer your questions...if I had answers myself..." Rarity looked away, standing herself. "I don't think anything moves here. Its...unsettling." She was debating on telling her the newspaper. It wasn't a bad idea to talk to Applejack, but it still lingered as a bad idea. She didn't understand why a measly article would cause the reaction, other than the murders, of course. It was an article that, easily, could have been in the paper recently.

"Did you, by perchance, hear of something?" Applejack straightened herself, her face contorting. Rarity continued. "I know that you watch the news more frequently than I, I wanted to know whether a recent sorrowful event has partaken er..recently. I happened to come across an article just in the halls. The floors aren't connected.." Rarity was not one to bring up such a tragic event, she simply hadn't the tact for it, but it seemed like the only feasible option at the moment.

Applejack pondered for a bit, her eyes landing on the wide gap between the sides. She hadn't answered for a while; Rarity shivered, she really wasn't the one for this. Twilight or Maud had a better understanding of events of this caliber than her. Applejack sighed. "The only tragic news story that got broadcast was a rerun of a massacre. 'fraid that ain't very recent. Somethin' about a church..." She paused again to figure her words. "Bless them to pieces. Though, it didn't happen anywhere near here. Why? What was in the article?"

She was afraid of that. She shook her head. "I must have just read it weirdly. Never mind me." Rarity cracked a small smile. "Any how, we must find the exit. We can't simply stay here." Applejack nodded.

"We can't leave the others, either." Rarity eyed the door, frowning. With the dilapidated condition she saw within the hallway prior, just how difficult would finding them be? Surely, the floors could give out at any moment..She didn't press on the matter. Honestly, whatever had to be under the boards...She couldn't even complete the train of thought before shuddering.

They had to leave. She didn't want to stay there.

"Yes, we mustn't forget them. I hope we can encounter them sooner than later. Judging by location, I fear it might be later..." What room had they been placed in, anyway? It seemed similar enough, she figured.

"We should go then, right?" Applejack piped in, her head whipping to face the fashionesta. Rarity grew silent. What could she possibly state? Nodding was her final answer before walking towards the door. She became immediately familiar with the hallway system, having explored it prior to waking her apple themed friend.

"Another gap, great," She muttered, squinting to see what lied ahead. She hadn't the materials to waste, therefore she checked each location. With a single board at her disposal with god knows how much durability, the idea to waste it on the wrong location was idiotic. Seeing a staircase, she made the bet it would be safer to head that way, then check for more boards.

"Why are you carrying..a board?" Rarity ignored her, placing the board down carefully. Normally, these situations wouldn't head her way. She normally wouldn't risk herself for something so uncouth. Then again, this wasn't exactly normal, either.

"This way! "Applejack complied as instructed. Rarity had more knowledge than her, at the moment. It felt safer to let her decisions guide them for the time being. With a steady cross, they walked down the hallway, trudging into a room. The room was the only connection they had, after all the path ahead had a major gap; inaccessible if it weren't for the room.

It wasn't as though the room was fixed, of course. It was just as torn as the other rooms were. This room, however, was shocking in its own right. It was unsettling, more so than Rarity could ever assume anything could be. It couldn't be real.

Applejack raced to the corner of the room, just missing the small gap of flooring so close to her boots. Rarity followed suit, only to be pushed, thankfully, no where close to the other break in the floor. It was the first time she really saw the farmer act so strangely. She screamed, falling backward. It was almost reminiscent of Fluttershy's reaction prior: utter fear. Rarity could even swear she felt the ground tremble from her shaking.

"A-Are those..are those bones..? A-As in...HUMAN bones?"

Author's Note

While its not exactly long, I wanted the next chapter to have everything. I wanted to glance over the first part and really work the later part. Originally, I wanted the breaking point for the chapter to be the upstairs scene, but I decided that it didn't feel right.

As to why I didn't let Applejack examine the room more..that'll be stated the next chapter. I wanted it to feel as genuine as possible. Real people would assume reading an article like that is unsettling, but despite the location, its pretty normal. At the same time, its not normal to carry planks. I always picture SOMEONE asking the characters why they are carrying planks around...