Unmarked

The next day, Apple Bloom snapped out of her state of counting, not remembering where she had ended. Her mind was completely blank, as she looked around in the darkness, feeling as if she were being watched by the demons of her past. A eerie breeze blew throughout the small room, even though there was not a single opening within the room, but it wasn't the first time she had felt this breeze. From under her breath she muttered something.

"Hello again," she muttered. "Why do you continue to hide from me? I know you're there."

From the darkness, a foul odor that Apple Bloom was all-to-familiar with entered her nostrils, not even phasing her.

"Seriously? That's all you got?" she taunted. "You truly are a coward."

Her taunting was interrupted by the sound of her door opening, and the room being engulfed in light. A young nurse stood in the doorway, staring at the young filly, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Apple Bloom, who are you talking to?" asked the nurse.

"A coward, that's who," replied Apple Bloom.

The nurse stood confused.

"Apple Bloom, there's nothing here," spoke the nurse. "It's only you."

Apple Bloom expressed an annoyed look, following a chuckle.

"You wouldn't understand. Nopony would understand, except myself," said Apple Bloom, starting to get angry. "Have you ever killed anypony?! Have you ever gone so low that you took a cutie mark from somepony that clearly deserved it?! NO! YOU NEVER HAVE! YOU DON'T GET ME! NOPONY DOES!"

The nurse retracted, knowing that Apple Bloom was in a state of anger that could lead to much worse. She kept her distance, feeling a single drop of sweat flow down the side of her head. The room started to feel heavy and insecure, as she noticed Apple Bloom staring at her strangely.

"Nopony would ever understand, especially you," she said in a mild angry tone. "Do you understand now, nurse?"

The nurse nodded her head, as she trembled backward, slamming the door. Once the door was shut, she quickly galloped, feeling as if she were being followed. The fellow doctors and nurses watched the startled nurse, attempting to question why she was in such a rush. She didn't respond to any of them, as she made her way to Apple Bloom's therapist's office. The therapist named, Dr. Coltstein sat at his desk, going through some documents. He noticed the young nurse's state, and immediately attempted to calm her.

"Calm down, Ms...Daisy," he said, reading her nametag.

Her state of fear made it hard for her to relax, but she managed to take a seat in one of the open chairs. She took in deep breaths, still feeling as if something were watching her. Dr. Coltstein calmed her by presenting her with a cup of coffee.

"Why are you so startled?" he asked.

She struggled to answer.

"I'm not sure, doctor," she said in a shaky tone.

"Something is clearly troubling you, so why don't you start by telling me what started this?" he suggested.

"Well, I went to check on, Patient 17056, due to some strange behavior, and I can't explain what happened," she replied.

"Patient 17056?" he said unsuringly.

"Her name is Apple Bloom. She's a young filly."

Dr. Coltstein paused Daisy, and stood up from his desk.

"What sort of "behavior" was she doing?" he asked.

"She was talking to something, as if she were taunting something," she replied.

"Interesting," he said. "Ms. Daisy, could you please bring Apple Bloom to my office. I have many things to discuss with her."

The nurse gulped, unsure of what Dr. Coltstein was planning.

Therapy Session #2

Apple Bloom and Dr. Coltstein sat across from each other. About ten minutes had passed in the session, and it had been nothing but sheer silence. Dr. Coltstein gave Apple Bloom a stern look, as she stared back, refusing to speak. Dr. Coltstein didn't want to waste the entire session silent, seeing he wanted to find out more about what Apple Bloom was taunting, and if he could, get information on why she killed her friends. However, he'd have to earn her trust first.

"Apple Bloom, you know as well as me that not talking to me isn't going to make me go away," stated the doctor. "The longer you remain silent, the more you'll have to deal with me every day."

Apple Bloom looked at him, hearing only the sound of the clock ticking within the room.

"What do you want me to say, doctor?" she asked.

"You know what I want you to say, Apple Bloom," he countered. "However, I won't force you to say it. I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for that ticking time bomb within you to finally explode."

"Then I guess you'll be waiting forever, doctor," she clarified. "Until you earn my trust, I won't speak anything."

"Then tell me," he said.

"Tell you what?!" replied Apple Bloom, starting to get annoyed.

"What can I do to earn your trust?" he concluded, knowing that he had to be careful.

Apple Bloom expressed a confused look.

"Y'all are just tryin' to trick me," she snapped.

Dr. Coltstein shook his head.

"I'm all ears, Apple Bloom," he assured.

Apple Bloom didn't know whether or not to trust the doctor, but one thing always bugged her during the therapy sessions, and that was her shackles. Apple Bloom decided to test the doctor.

"Okay, how bout' we start by removin' these shackles," she claimed. "If you remove the shackles, I'll tell you one piece of the puzzle, but I know you doctors. You could care less about me."

Dr. Coltstein knew that now was his chance, but removing her shackles could put him in danger. However, he was the one who asked the question, so he knew that to gain her trust, this was one step.

"Then allow me to prove you wrong, Apple Bloom," he said grabbing a spare key from his desk drawer to unlock the shackles.

He walked from behind the desk to the couch where Apple Bloom sat, and unlocked her shackles, giving her limbs freedom. The shackles hit the floor with a hard thump, as Apple Bloom sat, shocked that Dr. Coltstein had actually fulfilled her request. To test Apple Bloom, Dr. Coltstein stood still in front of Apple Bloom, allowing her to strike him in any way. She looked at him, confused.

"Why are you standin' like that?" she asked.

"I was testing you, to see if I gave you freedom, would you have the urge to attack me?" he stated.

She looked at him, remaining calm.

"I believe we finally have connected evenly, Apple Bloom. Now, you must fulfill your promise," he claimed.

"What promise?" she asked.

"You said if I removed the shackles, you'd tell me one piece of the puzzle, so I expect you to keep that promise," he stated.

"Fair enough. I'll tell you what happened the first night me and my friends committed an "unmarking," she said.

Dr. Coltstein nodded his head, as Apple Bloom started to speak the night the madness began.

"It all started one day after me and my friends had grown tired of a couple of mean mares, named Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They had crossed the line by destroying something we had all worked on for weeks for no reason, and they had to be taught a lesson. They made fun of us for being blank flanks, so what better way to solve the issue than by removing them of what made us different from them. It's a night I'll never forget."

Dr. Coltstein had no idea what to expect, as he felt a chill flow down his spine. This tale would forever haunt his dreams.