Applejack walked through the hallways of her old elementary school, keeping her head down as she walked into the gymnasium with Grannie Smith and Big Macintosh. She couldn't bare to look at the other ponies around her, knowing that they would be there. She tried to keep her ears down, but failed. She heard a laugh across the room, one she knew all too well. She started sweating, nostalgia and memories of her younger days flowing through her brain.
"Applejack, Applejack!" a soft voice shouted, running up to the apricot colored pony. She whipped her head around, her blonde braids following. She grinned at the sight of her best friend, her yellow coat glowing in the sun. Her wings flapped, attempting to fly. Her three friends followed behind, the pink pony bouncing, the cyan pony flapping her small wings, and the white pony walking elegantly towards her friends, carrying a loving smile on her face.
"Heya," Applejack said, her voice young, pure. A scream, was then heard in the distance. They all moved their heads and perked up their ears, listening for more. More screams were heard, from the school. They all ran up to the school, whipping the doors open.
Applejack kept her head low, making sure the ponies didn't see. The family sat down, waiting for the play to start. She watched carefully, admiring her young sister speak her lines and go about the play perfectly.
As they left the school, someone called Applejack's name out.
"Is that...Applejack?" The voices whispered. She turned around, to see the four mares. Oh god, she thought to herself. She started sweating again, wiping her brow as she tried to walk up to the ponies as confident as she could.
"Applejack..." The cyan pony said, her faded rainbow mane tied up into a ponytail. She had bags of age under her eyes, her wings folded. One was bandaged, a loss of feathers. Her magenta eyes faded to a dark pink. She let her eyes fall over the white pony. She was still as beautiful as she was years ago. Her beautiful violet mane was tossed up into a ponytail, much like Rainbow's. Pinkie's hair was tied behind a blue and white polka dotted bandanna, curly as ever. Applejack looked at the three ponies, frozen.
"I haven't seen you...since.." Rarity said, her voice trailing off. Applejack looked around, and ran. She ran far away from the four ponies.
They ran inside the school, their hooves clicking on the linoleum floor. Pools of blood were spilled, the lights flickering on and off.
"Wh...what happened here...?" Fluttershy said, her soft voice shaky and quiet.
"Ah...ah don't know." Applejack responded, cautiously approaching the pools of the red substance. She dipped her hoof carefully in it, looking at it and letting it drip back onto the floor.
"Is..is that blood?" Rainbow Dash said, her wings stopping and she landed next to Applejack slowly.
"Ah think so..." She wiped the blood on the floor, leaving a rust colored streak. She trotted on, walking down the dark hallway.
"I don't know about this..." Pinkie said, cowering down and walking slowly.
Applejack kept running until she reached the barn, panting and sweating.
"Applejack, dearie, could you give me a hand?" Her grandma asked, holding a few pies with the little strength she had.
"Uh...sure." AJ agreed, walking over to her granny. She took a few of the pies and held them, sitting down. Her grandma walked into the kitchen and grabbed a knife, cutting the pies she brought with her.
"Applejack," she said, asking for AJ to come into the kitchen. She brought the pies into the kitchen, setting them down on a table. She began cutting the pies, the knife slicing her hoof slightly.
"Gosh darnit..." She sighed, walking over to a drawer get a cloth to wipe off the blood. She walked upstairs to get a bandaid, the old stairs creaking as she did so. Applejack started panicking as she saw the blood on the counter, the metallic smell creeping up to her nose and overwhelming her. She set the pies down on the table and bolted upstairs, running past her granny in the process.
"Applejack..?" She said softly, turning her head to see what the fuss was about. Applejack slammed her door shut, hyperventilating. She grabbed her head with her hooves, clumping her hair and holding it, trying to stop the pounding in her head.
"Ahh!" Fluttershy screamed, as the school shook and the rain boomed outside, followed by loud thunder. Rainbow, the small filly form grabbing her friends and gliding into the bathroom. She set them down and covered her ears, motioning the others to do the same. A sudden noise was heard, a crash that made the glass in the windows break. The 6 fillies screamed as Fluttershy and Rainbow covered everyone with their wings. They all sat in silence, the quiet ominous.
"Is..is it over?" Twilight asked, tears streaming down her face softly.
"I think so," Applejack told her friends, her eyes large. Rainbow and Fluttershy settled their wings back to their bodies.
All of a sudden, Fluttershy winced, her eyes closing and her face turning into a sickening grimace and started crying. She was shaking so violently that the others couldn't depict whether she was having a seizure or just a crying fit. Her wings, seemed to turn inside out as her feathers fell to the floor one by one. The ponies screamed her name as Applejack just watched. She didn't know what to do, she was too scared. The blood made her stomach turn, and her head started to pound. Rainbow screamed as well, telling the others to run. Applejack didn't stand, she just watched. Her friends voices muted by her thoughts.
"APPLEJACK! RUN!" She heard Rainbow shout, and she snapped. Applejack whipped her head around and ran out of the bathroom, a eerie pitch black smoke engulfing the bathroom as soon as it did. The ponies ran to the gym and the building shook again.
