The Horrors That Lay Inside The Carousel Boutique

When Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had both healed up, they decided they would go to the Carousel Boutique. Maybe they would find Rarity’s dead body, or Opal. And if they found The Doll again, then they would bring weapons to take care of it.

Big Mac led them out of their hospital room and into the main lobby. He took them down to the farm where Applejack was waiting. She was all sweaty and she was leaning on a shovel. Sweetie Belle guessed that she had just buried Granny Smith.

“Good. Ya’ll are back. I just finished buryn’ Granny, she deserved to have a few words said. Ya’ll wanna say anythin’?” Applejack asked.

Big Mac stepped up to the grave and whispered something that the others couldn’t hear. He walked back to them a minute or two later with tears shining in his eyes.

Applejack looked at Apple Bloom like she expected her to say something. Apple Bloom looked back at her, and took a step back.

“What’s wrong Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom didn’t answer, she just looked down at the ground in front of her.

“She must just be too scared to talk. Like she’s in shock or somethin’.” Applejack said. Big Mac nodded and rubbed his hoof on Apple Bloom’s head to try to comfort her. She smiled slightly and looked up at him.

The Apples and Sweetie Belle went into the Apple family house, being cautious of The Doll that may or may not still lurk inside. They walked about the house, picking up objects they thought might be useful for fighting against The Doll.

When they left the house, they had collected a wagon full of weapons. They had a baseball bat, a hammer, a shovel (the same one Applejack used to dig Granny Smith’s grave), a few kitchen knives, a hoe, a rake, a broomstick, a few sharp shards of broken glass they had found lying around, a frying pan, a crutch that Big Mac had to use when he hurt himself, another shovel, a pickaxe, a hedge trimmer, a digging fork, and a hay knife.

Hopefully all these items would be useful and protect them from The Doll. As they were leaving Sweet Apple Acres, Big Mac was pulling the wagon, Sweetie Belle remembered The Doll’s eyes.

“We need sunglasses too.” She said. “I’ll go get them.” She ran back into the house.

“No, Sweetie wait!” Applejack called, running in after her.

Sweetie Belle grabbed four pairs of sunglasses from the shelf where they were kept. She made sure not to grab any broken ones, there were plenty. She turned around to go back out to the others. When she turned around, she saw a shadow coming in after her. She heard one of the floorboards creak. She tried not to scream and she grabbed the nearest heavy object she could pick up and threw it.

The lamp barely missed Applejack. “What the hay Sweetie? What are you tryna do to me?” Applejack asked.

“Oh…. Sorry Applejack, I thought you were The Doll.” She confessed.

“Well I ain’t so lets get goin’.” She said, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her out the door.

“Ouch. Applejack, that hurts.” Sweetie whined.

“Oh, sorry sugarcube, I guess ah don’t know my own strength.” She said, letting go of Sweetie’s wrist.

Sweetie dropped the sunglasses into the wagon and rubbed her hurt wrist with her other hand. Big Mac and Apple Bloom looked at each other with confused glances. Big Mac shrugged and started pulling the wagon out of Sweet Apple Acres and towards Ponyville.

When the quartet arrived at the door of the Carousel Boutique, they were more scared and nervous than ever. They each picked a favorite weapon out of the wagon and donned their sunglasses.

Big Mac chose the digging fork, Applejack chose the pickaxe, Sweetie chose the broomstick, and Apple Bloom chose one of the shovels. They left the wagon in close proximity to The Boutique so they could get back to it if any of their weapons broke, which was very unlikely, but they left the wagon where they could reach it, just in case. Because it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Big Mac walked in first. Then Applejack, followed by Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom went in last, being the one suffering with the most trauma. Once they were inside, they evened out so they were in a horizontal line instead of a vertical line.

Sweetie Belle was the first to see Rarity’s body. It was lying on the stairs, blood pooled out and running down the stairs. Her innards had spilled out and were lying askew along the staircase. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to scream, but Big Mac put his hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t make any noise. She nodded and he removed his hand. Sweetie closed her eyes and turned away from Rarity’s body.

She walked over to Apple Bloom and whispered to her, “Don’t look over there.” She pointed in the general direction she had seen Rarity’s body. “That’s where Rarity’s body is, it’s really bad. It would probably give you nightmares if you saw it, unless you’re already having nightmares from just seeing The Doll.” Sweetie said. Apple Bloom nodded and she and Sweetie walked in the opposite direction.

Big Mac and Applejack walked up the stairs around Rarity’s body. Applejack slipped on Rarity’s lung and nearly fell down the stairs, but Big Mac reached his hand out and caught her. He pulled her back up and she nodded at him as a thank you.

The two younger ponies looked around the kitchen and the living room. Sweetie Belle shed a few tears of old memories she had spent and Apple Bloom stood shaking, clutching the shovel like it was her best friend. Sweetie Belle looked underneath the couch, and one of Rarity’s fainting couches.  She didn’t find anything, Apple Bloom relaxed slightly and Sweetie wiped away the few tears she had shed.

The two older ponies were currently looking through Rarity’s craft room. They were lifting up pieces of fabric and checking under them. They found some small blood splatters and cat fur, but nothing else. They left the room and went to check inside Rarity’s room.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked into the downstairs guest room. They looked underneath the bed and inside the dresser, but they found nothing. They looked in the closet and under every other piece of furniture they could look under. As they were leaving, Sweetie Belle heard a meow.

“Opal.....” She said, mostly to herself. Apple Bloom started crying slightly and tightened her grip on the shovel. Sweetie Belle walked back into the room. She looked around, but she couldn’t see Opal anywhere. Then, Opal meowed again. It wasn’t the kind of meow she had mewed when she was about to attack her and Rarity, it was a sad, hungry meow. Sweetie turned to where she had heard it. She looked up and saw Opal sitting on top of the dresser. She had only been here by herself for two days, but already she looked so much thinner than she had before.

Sweetie Belle had always kind of liked Opal, and she felt bad for her. “Here girl,” She cooed, walking over to the dresser. “Come on down, I won’t hurt you.”

Opal hissed and turned around, her tail swishing off the top and tickling Sweetie’s nose. Sweetie Belle sneezed and jumped back, startling Opal. The cat jumped down, landing right in front of Apple Bloom. She was scared, and didn’t know if the cat was bad or not, she screamed and slammed the shovel down on top of her. Blood and cat guts went flying everywhere. Sweetie Belle screamed as well, in protest. She was now covered in splatters of blood and tiny, squished organs.

“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie screamed. “What did you do that for? Opal was a good cat.” She started crying. “She only tried to kill me and Rarity when she was possessed by The Doll.”

“Ah… Ah’m sorry, Sweetie.” Apple Bloom said quietly.

Sweetie Belle gasped and stopped crying. She looked at Apple Bloom and said, “Apple Bloom! You talked!”

Apple Bloom stared back at Sweetie Belle, somewhat surprised at herself for speaking and surprised at Sweetie for favoring that as a conversation topic rather than the dead cat in between them. She nodded slowly, “Yeah… Yeah! Ah did!” She shouted happily.

Applejack and Big Mac came rushing into the room then. “What’s wrong? What happened?” Applejack said. “I heard one or both of ya’ll screamin’.” She said. Then she noticed the squashed cat under the shovel. She gasped and stepped back into Big Mac.

“Nothing, we’re fine, sis.” Apple Bloom said.

“Apple Bloom, you’re talking again.” Applejack said. Apple Bloom nodded with a small smile. She started to lift the shovel off Opal’s remains.

“You might not want to do that.” Big Mac said, putting a hand out to stop her.

“Oh… Right.” She said, letting go of the shovel and letting it fall to the floor with a soft thump. “Ah’ll just go get the other shovel outta the wagon.” She said, leaving the room.

“Ah’ll go with yah.” Applejack said. “Fer safety.” Apple Bloom nodded and left with Applejack.

Sweetie Belle looked up awkwardly at Big Mac, who towered over her. “So ummm…. Did you and Applejack find anything upstairs?” She asked.

“Nope.” Big Mac said, shaking his head.

“Okay…” Sweetie Belle said awkwardly, nodding her head.

After a minute or two of awkward silence between Sweetie Belle and Big Mac, Applejack and Apple Bloom reappeared. Apple Bloom had the other shovel in hand and Applejack still holding the pickaxe.

Sweetie Belle looked at the pickaxe in Applejack’s hand. “What do you guys use that for on the farm?” She asked.

“What?” Applejack asked.

“The pickaxe you’re holding, what do you guys use it for normally?”

“Oh. We use it to dig holes to plant trees when the ground is too rocky fer just a shovel to dig through.”

“Oh.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Where to next?” Apple Bloom asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Big Mac and Ah will go back upstairs and continue looking around. You two look around wherever you haven’t yet.” Applejack said, grabbing Big Mac’s large hand and dragging him along with her back to the second floor.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other. “Where haven’t we checked yet?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Ummm….” Sweetie Belle said, looking at the ceiling as she was thinking. “The bathroom?”

“Alright then, lets go check the bathroom.” Apple Bloom said, leading the way.

Sweetie Belle followed her. “Umm… Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah?”

“The bathroom is that way.” Sweetie said, pointing in the opposite direction they were going.

“Uhhhh.… Ah knew that. Ah was just checking to make sure you knew where everything in the house was.” Apple Bloom said.

“Sure.” Sweetie Belle said, taking the lead to the bathroom.

“Be careful big brother, I coulda sworn I heard something round this way earlier.” Applejack said, readying her pickaxe to strike whatever living creature got in her way.

Big Mac nodded, even though Applejack was in front of him, and readied his own weapon/farm tool. He followed his sister into Sweetie Belle’s room. There was blood covering the floor and her bed. Rarity’s best kitchen knife was lying on the floor close to the bed. Applejack slowly and carefully moved towards it, looking around the room as she did so, to prevent any other attacks.

When she reached the bed, she looked down at where she had seen the knife before, but it was gone. “It’s in here.” She said to Big Mac, stepping away from the bed.

Big Mac kicked the railing of the bed, attempting to startle whatever was underneath it. There was a screech of metal on metal and Applejack and Big Mac took another step back. They looked at each other nervously and then looked back at the bed as The Doll crawled out from under it.

Big Mac grunted as he thrust his digging fork at The Doll. It penetrated The Doll and pinned it against the bed. The Doll flailed wildly and swung the knife back and forth, trying to hit something. Applejack laughed humorlessly and The Doll looked at her. It’s eyes glowed green, but nothing happened. “Thank Sweetie Belle for thinking of these sunglasses.” Applejack thought as she stared into the bright green, unblinking, button eyes of the small, helpless doll in front of her.

The Doll made a sound that she couldn’t describe and chucked the knife at her. Applejack yelped and jumped to the side, the knife barely missing her and sticking into the wall behind her. She gave a quick sigh of relief and then slashed at The Doll with her pickaxe.

She barely cut it open. Four inches of stitches on its chest opened up. Applejack and Big Mac expected to see stuffing pour out, because it was a doll. But instead, blood poured out of the wound. It opened up wider, and inside Applejack could see something. She dared herself to move closer so she could see what it was. She looked inside The Doll and she saw a heart. A beating heart. She gasped and jumped back.

“What is it?” Big Mac asked.

“It’s got a heart. A real one. And it’s beating.” Applejack explained, not taking her eyes off the doll, still flailing in place.

“You’re joking, right?” Big Mac asked.

“Do Ah look like Ah’m joking?” Applejack asked, looking at Big Mac.

“I can’t tell, you got big goofy sunglasses covering half your face.” He said.

Applejack sighed and removed her sunglasses, purposely trying not to look back at The Doll. Big Mac looked her in the eyes. She was panting even though she hadn’t just done anything that involved work, and her eyes were wide with terror and panic.

“No, you don’t look like yer joking.” Big Mac said. he pushed the digging fork further into The Doll.

“Just leave it there. We gotta go get the girls and get outta here.” Applejack said. She slashed at it one last time before she and Big Mac left the room. The pickaxe hit the side of its face. Instead of blood coming out, it was stuffing this time. Applejack looked back one last time, confused and scared and then left with Big Mac.

They carefully made their way down the stairs as fast as they could without slipping or tripping over Rarity or her various body parts.

“Girls! Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom!” Applejack called as she and Big Mac neared the bottom of the staircase. The girls came rushing out of the bathroom, holding their weapons in a fighting position, ready to attack anything that came at them.

“What is it, Applejack?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, and where did Big Mac’s weapon go?” Apple Bloom asked.

“There ain’t no time to explain. We gotta get outta here right now.” Applejack said, pushing the girls in front of her as they all ran out. She looked behind her one last time to see if The Doll had freed itself and was following them. It wasn’t and she sighed with relief and left the boutique, slamming the door behind her and Big Mac.

The girls threw their tools and sunglasses back in the wagon as Big Mac grabbed it. Applejack did the same and Big Mac pushing his sunglasses over his head. He pulled the wagon as fast as he could.

“Where are we going now? And what did you guys find?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“We’re goin’ back to Sweet Apple Acres. Ah’ll tell ya’ll what me and Big Mac found once we get there. Just go, no more questions.” Applejack said, shoving them softly.

As they walked through Ponyville, they realized the streets were mostly empty, and those who were out on the streets were giving them strange looks, mostly Sweetie Belle. Sweetie blushed slightly and tried to wipe the squashed cat guts off of her.

“Sweetie Belle!” A voice called. Sweetie recognized it and turned around. The apple family turned around as well. “Sweetie… Belle….” Button Mash gasped for air. He slowed from running to jogging as he neared her.

“Hi Button Mash.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Sweetie, what happened to you?” He asked, still catching his breath.

“Oh ummm…” She looked at Applejack and Big Mac as if asking them if it was ok to tell him what had happened. Apple Bloom had her hand over her mouth and was holding back hysterical giggling. Applejack had a small smile on her face and Big Mac, also smiling, simply nodded.

“Are you ok?” Button asked, getting impatient with her quietness.

“Yeah, Button, I’m fine. It’s just….” Sweetie Belle explained to him what had happened and he listened, staring at her with wide eyes.

“Holy hay!” He shouted. “You’re sure you’re ok? That sounds bad.”

“Yes,” Sweetie sighed. “I’m fine, Button.”

“Well, I guess that’s why I haven’t seen you or Apple Bloom at school.” He said.

Sweetie Belle nodded.

“So can I help you guys vanquish this evil Doll?” He asked.

“Button, this isn’t a video game, it’s real life.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah, I know, but I still want to help.” He said.

Sugarcube, what would your mother say if she knew you were out with a family she didn’t know and two girls your own age fightin’ an evil Doll that could possibly kill you?” Applejack asked.

“Well umm….. She would probably ground me.” Button said.

“Exactly.” Applejack said. “Now get goin’. We can take care of Sweetie Belle all by ourselves.”

“Fine.” Button said. “Bye Sweetie Belle.” He said a little awkwardly, blushing slightly as walked away.

“Bye, Button.” Sweetie said, blushing and waving to him as he walked away.

“Sweetie’s got a boyfriend. Sweetie’s got a boyfriend.” Apple Bloom chanted.

“Oh, be quiet.” Sweetie huffed. “Lets just go.”

Big Mac started pulling the wagon and Sweetie Belle kept pace with him while Applejack and Apple Bloom stayed a big further back, talking to each other and giggling. Big Mac sighed, “Girls….”

“Ugh, I know, right?” Sweetie Belle said, walking alongside Big Mac with her arms crossed over her chest. Big Mac looked at her with a small smile and continued on back towards Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and Apple Bloom jogged to catch up.

“Ah’m sorry for teasin’ you about Button, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom said.

“It’s ok.” Sweetie Belle said.

“It’s just, ya’ll would be such a cute couple, it’s obvious ya’ll like each other. If only one of you could get the courage to tell the other-”

“Apple Bloom, that’s enough.” Applejack said.

Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle, her entire face as red as an apple. “Uhhh….. Ah’m sorry… Again.” Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie Belle ignored her and walked faster. Even Big Mac had to struggle to keep up with her.