Lambs and Wolves

The sun shone bright in the afternoon sky. Around this time of day, everyone was out and about around town. Being that it was the weekend, that meant the local park was filled with kids of all ages. Amongst these kids were the group of friends: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo along with a friend of theirs, Juniper Sprout. The quartet of 13-year-olds were riding their bikes (or in Scootaloo’s case a old scooter) all around the park, simply having a grand time.

“Hey girls! I have an idea. How ‘bout a race?”, Apple Bloom suggested.

“That sounds cool. From where to where?”, Juniper asked.

“Hmmm….how about from this tree…” Apple Bloom patted the tree they were leaning against “...to that bench by the fence over there.”, she finished while pointing towards a bench further down by the silver fence that blocked the perimeter from the sidewalk.

“That’s not that far! I can make that distance in my sleep!”, Scootaloo bragged as she looked at the impromptu ‘finish line’ in a confident gaze.

“Not if I beat you to it!”, Sweetie Belle challenged giddly.

“Then it’s settled! Let’s race!”, Juniper shouted as she placed her blue helmet back on her choppy black w/baby pink highlighted head and re-mounted her bike.

The other 3 girls followed her example and re-applied their helmets before mounting their vehicles and lining up by the tree.

“Okay...on 3, we go! Ready? 1….2….3!”, Apple Bloom shouted as they all sped off on their vehicles.

The colorful blurs of girls on bikes eventually slowed as they reached their “finish line” with Apple Bloom being the surprising winner of the race. Laughing, the 4 girls sat on the bench or against the fence. Scootaloo had some music playing on her phone and they were simply hanging out. They were so deep in their conversations that they didn’t even notice a white van pull up near them on the street.

The van. It wasn’t a particularly interesting van. Plain white paint job and a silver sunroof. The windows on the other hand, were black tinted and there were only 4. In other words, this van spelled ‘T-R-O-U-B-L-E' without even trying. The driver in the van looked on through a window before picking his moment to strike. He got out the van and approached the fence where the girls were resting.

“Oh hello, young ladies!”, the man said to catch their attention. It worked as the 4 girls looked up to see just who called out to them. The man who loomed over them was a thin, muscular one. Finely defined features and he looked to be in his mid-20’s. The only thing that would distinguish him from a male model in the girls’ eyes was the long scar that went from his forehead along his left jaw and ended at the base of his neck.

“Oh...uhhh...hi mister.”, Sweetie Belle said in an uneasy tone.

The others looked wary as the clean-cut stranger casually approached them by the fence.

“You uh...you wouldn’t happen to know where the ice-cream shop is around here would you?”, the man asked in a sly tone.

The girls quickly huddled in group formation as they tried to analyze the situation.

“We shouldn't tell this guy anything! I’m getting a bad feeling about him.”, Sweetie Belle said.

“Ah agree. This guy seems like a creep to me.”, Apple Bloom agreed.

“Oh c’mon, it’s just directions! Besides, this could count as our daily good deed.”, Scootaloo said.

“The sad part about this is that you're both right. Maybe….we just tell him where it is and then ignore him after that?”, Juniper suggested.

They all nodded in agreement then broke the huddle before re-appearing at the fence.

“Okay. So, you go down this street and take a left, keep left until you hit Horseshoe Blvd. then take a right. It's the building with a big ice-cream cone on top.”, Juniper directed as the man typed that in his phone.

“Oh, thank you miss. You know what? To reward this good deed, how about I take the 4 of you out to get some ice-cream? My treat!”,the man offered as he leaned against the fence grinning.

The group of friends just looked at the man as if he’d just sprouted wings and a horn (and ever since that incident with the other dimensional pony princess’s missing crown, that could’ve actually been true). They quickly responded with a simultaneous ‘no' as they backed away slowly from the fence.

“Oh...I see...no worries! Maybe another time then. Farewell ladies.”, the man bid his farewells before climbing back into the van and driving off. Once they saw that he’d turned the corner, they all released a collective sigh of relief that they didn’t even noticed that they were holding.

“Okay, so that was...uncomfortable. I am really relieved that guy’s gone!”, Scootaloo said and the others agreed.

“Yeah, that guy was a real creep. You know how much trouble we could get into if our sister's found out! We’re talking leverage over us til’ we’re 40!”, Juniper said.

“Or worse, if Granny Smith found out--*shudder*”, Apple Bloom shuddered at the very idea of what her grandmother would do if she found out.

The other girls laughed as they picked up their purses and bikes/scooters. They then proceeded to leave and head towards the ice-cream parlor.
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When the group of friends got to the ice-cream parlor, they weren’t too surprised to see it so full on a hot weekend afternoon. Immediately chalking it up to the heat, they all found a booth to sit at while they ordered their ice-cream.

“So...massive creeps aside, who here is actually excited to head back to school Monday?”, Sweetie Belle asked as the waitress left to fill the orders.

“Not me. I got a big math test on Monday morning.”, Juniper said, resting her arms on the table.

“Aww! Well good luck to you on that one, ‘Junie’.”, Sweetie Belle said in sympathy to the irritation that was Monday morning tests.

“Well I know a certain someone who just can’t wait to get to school Monday!”, Apple Bloom indicated to a slightly dreamy-eyed, magenta haired friend of theirs.

“Yeah! Because we know who she can’t wait to see on Monday morning!”, Sweetie Belle joined in to lovingly torment the now beet red girl.

“Hey! Cut it out you guys! You guys are reading into this too much.”, Scootaloo yelped to the amusement of her friends.

“But yet, you aren’t denying it! We know you’re just dying to see Rumble come Monday morning!”, Juniper added to the chagrin of her friend and the laughter of the others.

Scootaloo just snorted and grumbled something unintelligible and colorful under her breath as their orders came up.
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After a few hours, the heat had died down and the girls ended up needing to head home.

“Are ya sure ya don’t need a ride? ‘Cause my big brother can drop us both off before he heads to work.”, Apple Bloom offered Juniper a ride once again.

“Nah! I’m sure AB. My sister’s supposed to come pick me up soon anyways.”, Juniper assured her friend as the familiar red pickup truck Apple Bloom’s brother drives pulls up to the parking lot.

“Well, that’s Big Mac! See ya Monday, Juniper!”, Apple Bloom said as she got into the old truck and no sooner she disappeared from Juniper’s line of sight as the truck drove away.

‘Welp! Better start calling Marigold. I swear, once mom finds out she left me again, it's going to hell in a handbasket fast.’ , Juniper thought to herself as she hung up her phone and redialed for the 5th time. With no answer from either her mom or sister, she decided to just find her way home herself. Somehow she knew that would be a bad idea so she at least resolved to stay there in the parking lot. The only company, a lone white van. Something about that van made her feel uneasy. She could’ve sworn she’d seen that van before. Juniper just couldn’t shake the feeling something bad was going to happen. While she sat on the outer edge of the pavement, she got the ominous feeling of being watched, but she brushed that off as simply nerves. Little did she know she really was being watched. The van, slowly drove closer to where she was. Once close enough, a figure emerged from the van. He slowly approached the lone girl.

“Young miss? What’s a pretty little thing like you doing out here by yourself?”, the man asked.

Juniper looked up only to instantly recognize who was addressing her. It was the man she had given directions to earlier that afternoon.

“Oh! It’s you again. As for your question, is that really any of your concern, sir?”, Juniper said in an apprehensive tone.

“Okay, relax Juniper.”, the man replied with the same sickeningly sweet expression he had earlier.

“H-How do you know my name?”, Juniper asked in surprise.

“Uhhh...Your necklace! Yes and coming back to my previous question, if you haven’t a ride home perhaps I could be of assistance? My van is very spacious plus I have all kinds of sweets in the back. ”, the man replied whilst retaining his sweet exterior.

“I….I don’t think that’d be a good idea. Plus I have this heavy bike with me.”, Juniper responded while getting up and going closer to her bike.

“Oh, c’mon! I’ll take you straight home.”, the man said as he got closer to her.

It was in that moment that Juniper finally got her legs working properly and broke into a dead sprint away from the man.
She didn’t expect the man to chase after her. Before she knew it, she was being slammed into the ground. Letting out a sharp, shrill scream for help she squirmed and tried to fight back. The man was definitely stronger than she had originally thought, but she still managed to bite him on the arm hard enough to draw blood and to kick him hard against the ribs. When he did let go briefly, she used the opportunity to make a staggering break for it. She didn’t get far before she felt something hard hit the back of her skull and everything went dark.