Monster's Sacrifice

Applejack fled towards her home, memories of watching her entire family slaughtered by those things. These Dark Young claimed the Apples had worshiped them in ancient times. This did not go over well with the clan. With the refusal to renew the old arrangement the butchery had begun. Applebloom ran beside her, keeping up with her big sister. Up ahead the farmhouse stood, momentary safety from the Dark Young and their Mother Shub Niggurath, for though they lurked like shadows among the trees, they were only circling the house itself, but circleing closer. The two sisters raced through the Apple Orchard, when a tentacled limb grabbed Applejack and yanked her back, her strong legs doing nothing.

“Let go ah mah sister!” A tree reached out punching the Young, forcing it to drop Applejack. She turned and saw Bloom, eyes glowing as she crouched down. As Applejack hit the ground Bloom shot forward, and applebucked the Dark Young into paste, arcane lettering glowing along her legs.

Aj turned to stare at her sister, who yelling, “Don’t just stare, we gotta run.”

Applejack nodded, explanation later, safety first. Ariving at the door she turned to see that Shub Nigurath herself had come forth and was pursing them directly. The Mother of her kind spawning more Dark Young even as she moved, consuming and birthing as she went, for even her own children where not immune to her appetite.

“Bloom, C’mon we have to get inside, Harmony said that the farmhouse was safe cause of what slept inside.”

“Sorry, sis, I can’t let these things do what they’re doin’. They gotta be held back, long enough that you can find whatever it is. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my abilities. But their stronger at home. They draw energy from this land. Ain’t ya ever wondered how me and the crusader kept from dyin’ all those years. Most a the time without a scratch? Well, lets just say we all learned, everything we could from everyone we could. Hehe even Diamond and sillver learned after we became friends.”

Applebloom flicked her hand to her side, a glyph, glowing on her hand, a similar one glowing behind Applejack yanking her backwards into the house as the door shut, another collection of glyphs sealing it shut.

Aj stood, she knew without a doubt that there was no way she was getting through that door. Not anytime soon anyway. So she turned, pulled out a chair and thought, “Ah Horseapples, why couldn’t we have been given an easy one? Ah mean, ‘He rests, preserved in the house the Apple’s Built.’ Well this is the house that... wait, the main house sank years ago, we turned it into our root cellar and built the new one over the top, so if he was ‘resting, preserved’ that means...” Applejack shot forward. Thanking Celestia the root cellar opened from the inside of the house, she yanked the doors open and descended into the dimly lit basement.

The dirt walls and left over supports of the old house held and supported the house above, a long halway with branching rooms led deeper in the darkness. Moving forward Applejack saw a light coming from Granny’s old workroom. Taking a breath and holding her arms across her chest as the chill of the place hit her she moved towards the illuminated room. Steeling herself she crossed the threshhold amd there sat a guy that shared her coloration, a stetson and a long duster hanging off his frame. He paused, sniffing the air and growled as he turned.

“Y’all really shouldn’t be here, my hunger ain’t abated....... Cousin Applejack!?,”. The grizled shape shot forward and as Applejack took a step backward her pulled her forward into a Hug?

“Yah have no idea how good it is to see you!” The furry form nuzzled her as he held onto her, despite her protestations. “How long has it been since we last...... saw ....... each oth... ah Horseapples.” The much larger figure, let go and pulling back he again turned away, his sad voice echoing to her, “Yah ain’t mah AJ so go back up and forget ya saw me. Musta been a fluke you with me at all.”

Applejack moved forward, thing of darkness or not, he was an Apple, and Apples don’t give up on one another, but before she could make contact a wierd instectiod thing darted out of the shaddows. The tendrils in place of it’s face vibrating. It raised it’s carapace covered limbs, each bearing a different surgical device. Before it could descend a shape grabbed it by it’s throat and slammed it into the wall.
“The Mi-go don’t get to touch mah family.” His hand twitched as it tore the throat out of the insectoid thing. Chittering was heard echoing through the cellar.

“Well ah was gonna be neighborly and let y’all leave but if that’s the way ya fell, meet some of the rest of mah kin.” Within the celler the roots that clung to the walls and to the supports place seeds on the ground, which produced small Timberwolves, adorable were it not for the fact that even pups are lethal. The man in front of Applejack, howled low and mournful the pups took up the call, as it ended the pups tore into the Mi-go, weird smelling fluids watering and nourishing the roots. Applejack sank to her knees as she saw the man lean against the door frame. He turned and offered a toothy, yet apologetic smile. “Name is Braeburn, once upon a time, me and mah favorite cousin went to war with darkness so terrible it threatened all light, all good things. I took part of that darkness into myself so that Mah Cousin wouldn’t have to do it and to weaken it. But once the darkness was beaten back, it was still in me, so Mah Cousin Applejack, the first Bearer of Honesty locked me away so that the light could keep going.”