Nurse Redheart has dealt with very interesting and bizzare cases. She's seen it all: somepony's lower half is petrified, "this mare's got mushrooms growing out of her ears", or a whole mob being sick to their stomachs because of some messed up batch of cupcakes. She handled these cases with precision and ease. She longed to be the best doctor Equestria has ever seen, but she had no ambition. She knew she could take care of any health-related case at any given moment. That is...until she got Applejack's case.
It was odd for her to have been called in to become some temporary psychologist or psychoanalysist for anypony, for she never got any call like that before, but what was even more odd was the fact that Applejack, one of the most strong-minded of all ponies she's encountered, to be her patient. Redheart never thought that "A.J." would need any therapy at all. This was part of the job, she supposed. It may be just a bit of stress or something, that's all.
This wasn't the case, however.
As the slightly timid nurse entered the Therapy Room, she couldn't help but notice that the atmosphere seemed...off. She has been in this room before, on multiple occasions, but she never really felt any negative vibes like the one she was experiencing now. This feeling...it seemed...almost...almost as if this somepony was...traumatized. Traumatized...by what? If Applejack was the patient here and this...feeling was here as well, then whatever she was traumatized by was something she definitely didn't-shouldn't-want to deal with.
Something was terribly wrong here.
Something was definitely, terribly, horribly wrong.
Canterlot was anything but somber, especially during the Hearth's Warming month. The streets were filled with carolers and Santa Hooves and festive decor. Twilight Velvet loved it. All the snow and singing and caroling and decor and feelings of good tidings made her remember the younger years of her own daughter's youth.
Shining Armor was given the usual toys for colts like action figures and sports balls and whatnot. The same would go for Twilight Sparkle as well (in the opposite gender, of course) if it weren't for her wanting to just eat holiday cookies while reading about how to use simple magic spells. Her only Hearth's Warming gift that was ever taken as a beloved act of love was her childhood doll, her partner-in-crime, Ms. Smarty-Pants. Twily adored Ms. Smarty-Pants. She would take it pretty much everywhere in Canterlot; the city area, the park, the mall, the bathroom...
Oh, how she loved it. She loved it so much, she would cry nonstop until it was out from being cleaned. Velvet missed those days, yet she still reminded herself that she could, and can, always make new memories. With Flurry Heart in the picture now, she can create more fond memories, albeit being a grandmother rather than a mother. Velvet sighed happily as she trotted towards her house. She was about to just set her groceries down and continue reading her new favorite book if she hadn't seen the letter in her mailbox. She grabbed it in her mouth, wondering who it could be as she stepped inside. Surely this must be Twily, wishing her an early Hearth's Warming as almost-always. Maybe Shining...or Cadence...or...
...Applejack?
No. Not from Applejack. Well, not directly from Applejack, but there was her name. "Huh. Odd," she said, looking confused, "She must've sent this to the wrong pony." She checked the Recipient Name: "To: Twilight Velvet". No, it was sent to her without a doubt. But from the Ponyville Medical Center? She opened the letter and read it, hoping to figure out why this was sent to her and, more importantly, why Applejack was in the hospital. She knew Applejack well enough to be close, but not close enough to recieve a letter from her doctor for her. Why didn't she send this to her own family? Surely they would care more. The letter read:
To Twilight Velvet, mother of Applejack's dearest friend, Twilight Sparkle,
This letter is indeed addressed to you, and what you're about to read may not be suitable for any filly nor colt So please, do not read this aloud and usher anypony out of the room before proceeding.
Applejack, a dear friend of your daughter, Princess Twilight Sparkle, has turned herself in to our Medical Center. You see, we do not only serve as a hospital, but also as a mental and behavioral correction center as well. Her reason for turning herself in is indeed horrifying and traumatizing to say the least. I'm sure your daughter has informed you about the passing away of her dear cousin, Apple Fritter.
However, what Twilight Sparkle was, and still is, unaware of is the fact that Applejack's entire family, including her older brother, younger sister, and grandmother, was brutally murdered in a horrific massacre. Applejack, through tears, has informed me to ask you for visitation under some specifications: your daughter, as well as her friends, should NOT know about what you have read, as she has stated repeatedly that "they can't know. They should never know." You must remain calm and motherly, for she is in need of any feeling that closely resembles a motherly love. And, you mustn't talk to anypony about your reasoning for going to the hospital. Even though it is against anypony's better judgement, lie if you have to.
I am so sorry for the inconvenience this may havd caused, and I hope you will be reasonable and willing to help us. Thank you.
Sincerely, Nurse Redheart
Twilight was stunned, bewildered beyond belief. Her whole family's...dead? she thought, tears forming in her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hoof, You poor thing, Applejack...I...I can't...oh my gosh...I'm so sorry, sweetie... She sat there for a few moments before packing a few supplies and heading off towards Ponyville. She made sure her husband, Night Light, knew about her whereabouts, but not to address why. She hurried off, leaving a trail of soft hoofprints in the snow. The air, once cold and friendly, was biting and foreboding now. She was very concerned, as well as confused and heartbroken...
...and a bit scared for her own life.
Applejack laid there in the hospital bed, unable (or rather unwillingly) to think of or do anything else but stare blankly at the ceiling. Her mind, as well as her spirit, was broken beyond repair. The horror of Sweet Apple Acres had burned into her skull like a branding iron, and would stay there as a grim stain etched into her memory. She wanted to help them. She wanted to warn them, guard them, save them...but she failed. She failed everypony she ever loved and she hated herself for it. Some nights she wished that Nurse Redheart hadn't shown up at the time she tried to hang herself. Other nights, she wished that she was there a bit earlier, then maybe...just maybe...she wouldn't fail them. If only...
The pink-maned nurse opened the door, stepping into the Therapy Room with caution, as not to startle the orange ex-cowgirl into a self-inflicting rampage. She gently closed the door and crept towards her. The last thing she needed was a wild frenzy that would end up hurting herself and others. Or worse.
Redheart sat down at the side of her new patient's bed and whispered, "Applejack. Applejack? Is it okay if I can talk to you now?" Applejack only stared up, allowing Redheart to see the toll grief and madness had given her: veins turned her once-white eyes into a more dark pink, her tearducts swollen from nightly sobbing, and her iris...almost a greenish grey. Added to the fact that her mane was also dull and mangled and that she was showing signs of her lack of eating gave the nurse quite the scare. She had never seen anypony like this. Never, in all her time as a soon-to-be doctor had she seen such a horrific state of health as this.
Redheart sighed and continued, "Well, I'm here to inform you that Mrs. Twilight has received the letter and is hopefully on her way here. I understand you've been through a very...very terrible situation, but I assure you, everything'll be okay in the end." She stood up and walked towards the door before turning around, "And I urge you to please eat something. I don't want to see you like this. Please..."
Applejack paid no attention to her words. She paid no attention whatsoever. She only stared at the ceiling, thinking of whether or not she should burst into tears or burst out of the place and off a bridge or cliff. The alabaster mare sighed as she exited the room, leaving the damsel to her demons.
Next door to the heartbroken mare, Flitter and Cloudchaser were quietly chatting amongst one another, with the latter consoling the former, and the former worrying about whether or not her wing would heal in time for Hearth's Warming. "Relax, sis," Cloudchaser assured her, "it'll be okay. They'll fix you up in no time. You'll see."
"I dunno," Flitter whimpered, "What if they don't, huh? There wasn't enough regular hospital rooms, so they had to relocate us here! What if they forget? I don't want to be stuck here all week! I can't! I just can't, Chase! I...I..."
"Here," Cloudchaser interrupted, showing her a crudely-wrapped present, "I rushed it as soon as I heard about the accident, so...here you go. I found it out in the streets one night. Figured it would be of some significance. Turns out I could be right." Fritter opened the box and pulled out...a doll. A doll that was almost the size of a filly. Its beady eyes, black yarn mane, and tattered grey dress would've made anypony think of it as a worn-out ragdoll, ready to be discarded as useless junk. Fritter wasn't convinced that that was the case. She hugged it, getting loose strands of straw onto the bed, "She's beautiful! Oh, I love it so much!"
"Really? I knew you would like it, but I expect that you would like it this much," The periwinkle pegasus said questioningly, "You really like it?"
Fritter squealed, "Ooh, she's so cuddly! She's so squishy and huggable and-oof!"
"Cuddly? Frit, that's got straw comin' out of the seams!"
"Oh, hush! Nothin' but a bit of sprucing up'll do the trick. Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"
Flitter snuggled in her bed, smiling as she drew the doll close to her. Cloudchaser rolled her eyes and chuckled. She knew her sister well enough to know that she can get easily distracted by the cuteness of things. However, this was quite a shocker in a way. The thing looked like it belonged in a haunted house museum or a dumpster. Or both, for that matter. Despite this, Fritter loved it. The only reason she considered giving it to her was that she didn't even give it a full inspection. She saw it as a filly in the dark, laying there in the streetlamp's light, then she saw it as a plus-sized doll. That was it.
Fritter yawned quietly, sounding kind of cute, signaling that it was time for bed. Cloudchaser suppressed her urge to yawn and patted her head, whispering, "Guess I'll be goin', now. Wouldn't want to ruin your morning, y'know? Bein' all groggy and whatnot? Well...g'night, Frit."
"Goodnight, Chase," Fritter whispered back, "Thank you, and happy early Hearth's Warming." Cloudchaser nodded and wemt out of the room as the pegasus in bed dozed off into sleep, holding the ragged doll in her hooves. Its glistening, beady eyes twinkled for a brief second, but not of just a trick of the night's moonlight outside, but rather of something...unnatural. It sensed the mare next door. It sensed the ex-apple farmer right behind the wall.
It knew.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Twilight Sparkle groaned in frustration at the sound. She wanted to sleep. She had had a long day yesterday; planning the Hearth's Warming party, helping out Trixie and Starlight, and, most of all, figuring out just where in Equestria did Applejack and all of her family go. The last two months were more annoying than excruciating. Sure, Apple Fritter's death had tooken a great toll on them, but to be gone this long? And on top of that, nopony knew where they went. And on top of that, Applejack, the Element of Honesty, didn't even tell her nor her other friends where she was boing or what she was doing before she left. Obviously, it must be a family thing, for the whole entirety of Sweet Apple Acres' residents were gone but...for this long? And why? These questions had plagued her mind. They conflicted her. They tormented her. And worst of all, they exhausted her. And exhausted she wa-
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"I'm up! I'm up!" Twilight shouted tiredly. She slumped off her royal bed and headed down the grand staircase, leaning against the wall as she did so. A princess should be able to get some well-deserved rest, right? Why did she have to do this? To wake up way too early do that she could check who was obnoxiously knocking at four in the morning?
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"I said I'm COMING!" Twilight shouted, annoyed and irritated. She made it to the front door and swung it open with her magic. Rubbing her eye she yawned, "What is it that you possibly want? What?" She stopped rubbing her eyes and leaned on the door, only to realize that who she had yelled at just moments ago was her own-
"Mom?" Twilight jumped back in surprise. Twilight Velvet only shook her head and giggled, "Sorry if I interrupted your sleep. I hope you don't mind my asking you to come in."
"Oh, of course!" Twilight, the princess, stepped back, inviting her mother in. She felt embarrassed at the least as Velvet stepped inside. Twilight shut the door behind her as she walked beside her, "Do you want anything to, uh, eat? Drink? A sandwich? I got some sparkling water in the icebox-"
"Twilight, calm down," her mother reassured her, "I'm fine, thank you. I'll make myself something to eat on my own. You just go on back to bed, okay? You need to get some sleep. I'll be fine."
"You sure?" Twilight yawned.
"I'm very sure. Go on."
Twilight sighed as she received her kiss goodnight and headed upstairs, where she flopped onto her bed, wrapped herself in her warm comforter, and fell instantaneously into a deep sleep. Velvet giggled again as she made her way into her daughter's kitchen. She set her luggage at the doorway as she stepped inside the room.
No matter how many times she's been in the palace before, she was still astonished beyond belief at the architectural wonder. Her daughter...her precious daughter, once a nerdy schoolgirl, was now the famed Princess of Friendship. And she couldn't be any more proud of her. She smiled at the thought, then, in realization, let it fade away. Although it was nice of her to be with Twily for a time before Hearth's Warming, she wasn't the main reason why she came here. What was even worse was the fact that she couldn't tell her the real reason of why she came. It was painful to have to lie to her daughter like that, but, for Applejack's well-being, she had to.
She sighed as she grabbed a can of sparkling water from the icebox. She sipped it. Red cherry. Her favorite. She then made her way out of the kitchen, leaving her bags where they were, and up the stairs into her daughter's room. She leaned against the doorway as she watched the sleeping princess snuggled deeper into the comforter. This was her favorite part of the day: watching her precious Twily sleep peacefully and without a care in the world. She did this ever since Twilight was only a baby. It made her tired herself, but she didn't mind. She never did mind. She would stand there and watch her sleep the night away until she herself became too tired to keep awake.
She loved every bit of it, from the way she cuddled and snuggled to the sound of her soft breathing. Twilight never snored, mainly because she slept with her mouth partly open. When she was in her filly days, she would sometimes drool all over the pillows and blankets. And those were the days where she was really bushed. Velvet smiled at the memory. She missed the olden days of the princess's youth. Well, most of them, anyway. The day Velvet herself and her husband, Night Light, had fought that evening was one she would gladly forget. Velvet had ran with Twilight to Canterlot once she had her face whacked by a glass vase. Time had allowed her and Night Light to come back to each others' forelegs, thankfully, but the incident still left its mark in her head.
She shook that thought away. That didn't matter right now. The only thing that did matter was her sleeping Twily-Wily and her visit to Applejack that afternoon.
Celestia willing.
Redheart awoke from her desk, oblivious to the fact that she slept through the entire night inside her office. It didn't matter, though. She would've walked an aggravating length to her job if she was at home. In addition, the office was much warmer in the winter compared to her little cottage. She had many reasons to admit that her work was definitely more comfortable than home.
She yawned, stretching her forelegs across the table to ease her aching. She stepped out of her office and into the restroom to tidy up her bun. As soon as she was finished with that, she went to the breakroom, which was a few halls down. She didn't mind the walk. It was better than going from her cold cottage to her workplace and vice-versa. As she walked down the hall, she caught a glimpse at the Therapy Room-the one Applejack resided in. There, she saw the blonde cowpony fast asleep. She sighed as she walked in to cover her up with the silky hospital blanket...and gave the mare next-door her straw-filled doll back.
Meanwhile, Velvet finished signing the visitation sign-in sheet. She then turned the corner and followed the signs that lead to the hall Applejack's room was. She had snuck out of her daughter's castle moments ago, but not before leaving a note that only stated that she would be back soon. It was wrong, that she knew, but it was...well...not for her own good but the well-being of her scarred friend. She knew better than to keep this a secret, but if A.J. depended on this to get well (hopefully), then so be it. She turned another corner, this time almost bumping into a pink-maned earth mare.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Velvet yelped. Redheart brushed off her chest and smiled, "It's no big deal, ma'am. I...hey...you're...you're Twilight Velvet!" The unicorn blushed a bit as the nurse continued, "Yeah, the Equestria-renowned author of the Daring Do series! Oh, I'm a bit of a fan myself. Love your work."
"Why, thank you, miss," Velvet said sheepishly, "That means a lot to me. Say, you're a doctor, right? Can you show me the way to-"
"The Therapy Room?" Redheart interrupted, "Of course. I was the one who wrote you the letter. Follow me." Redheart turned around and lead Velvet towards Applejack's room. While she did so, Velvet took in the scenery of the workplace. Almost everything was white, but not the kind of white that would drive a pony insane if stared at for too long. Rather, it was a kind-of snowball white, like a nursery or a gentle winter's day. The borders on the walls were a neat navy-blue, which gave a nice touch to the bright contrast.
Finally, the two mares stopped beside the Therapy Room. Redheart turned to Velvet, "Okay, she's sleeping right now, so it's best not to startle her. Let her wake up for herself. Don't be loud. Just talk nice and quiet. Loud noises tend to jumpstart the 'Fight-or-Flight' sequence. And we all don't want that to happen. Oh, and lastly, make sure you don't bring up anything about her...you-know-what. Got it?"
"Understood," Velvet assured her, "Trust me when I say this: I would definitely need all of that if I ever found out that my own...you-know-what...was gone in a tragedy such as-"
"Such as what?" a voice behind the two mares shocked them. Velvet knew whose voice that was, and she wasn't supposed to be here. Velvet spun around, "Twilight? Uh...what are you doing here?"
Twilight cleared her throat a little, "Well, I was going to see how Flitter was holding up. I'm sorry if I intruded on your little side-conversation. I'll just...be in here."
"Oh...alright...you go on ahead, sweetheart," Velvet told her as she went inside the room. The author turned back to the nurse in a hushed tone, "Great! What do I do now? I mean...she's right next door to her."
Nurse Redheart glanced around, not knowing how to fix the problem, "Well...I don't really know. But-"
"A-HA! I KNEW IT!"
This time, instead of the mannered tone of Twilight, a voice of somepony that had absolutely no care for the ill gave the two mares a burst of fright. Sure enough, the both of them, as well as Twilight, who had jumped out of the room (and almost out of her skin as well), recognized it: Pinkie Pie.
"I KNEW my Pinkie Sense told me there was something wrong here I- "
"Will you shush?" commanded the white unicorn behind her, "Have you no respect for the weak and ill? My word, Pinkie..."
"Pinkie...Rarity...Fluttershy...Dash...uh, what brings you here?" Twilight asked.
"Well, um, Pinkie had another...uh...twitchy episode," the yellow pegasus of the group replied quietly, "and uh, we followed it here. So...here we are. Sorry to interrupt."
"Well, you can't be here, I'm afraid," Redheart said solemnly, "this is confidential, so I'm afraid that I must ask you all to-"
"Hey, hold up!" Rainbow Dash interrupted, shuffling her cyan wings, "Why's it confidential, huh? Why can't we-"
"Because I said so, okay?" Redheart snapped back. As the conversation continued, Applejack woke up, rubbing her eyes. She swore she could have heard her friends outside. She hoped they don't discover that she was in this very room. If they did, all Tartarus would break loose. Twilight Velvet spoke in a hushed tone, "Please, can you ladies go on while I do what I have to do. This is very important to me, and I don't want to have anything bad to happen. Is that alright?"
"NO," both Pinkie and Rainbow abruptly stated in unison. Pinkie went on, "I know that whatever's the source of my itchy-twitchy-witchy is behind that door! I can feel it! And if my Pinkie Sense is correct, then..."
Oh no, Applejack thought.
"...the pony behind that door is none other than..."
Please, the ex-farmer begged, tears forming once again, Don't do this, please! Ah beg of ya, please!
"...Applejack herself!"
"NO!" A.J. squealed in terror. As much as she loved her friends, she didn't want any of their help. She wanted to just be left alone with somepony to care. Their determination of getting to the root of the problem would not only depress her further, but would also endanger them all. It didn't matter if it was an Apple relative or not, for the Raggedy would rip them to shreds without a second thought. She needed them away from her. Away from what she's going through. Away...from it.
"Come on, guys! Let's see what's wrong with her. Maybe we can help!" Pinkie stated dutifully. Despite Velvet and Redheart's pleading, Pinkie bounced right on in, the others, including Twilight (who was trying to get Pinkie out), following behind.
"Oh my goodness, Apple, dearie!" Rarity gasped. Fluttershy and Rainbow stood there, distraught at the sight of their friend looking like she just got out of the Everfree Forest. Twilight was the most shocked of all. There was Applejack. She was in the hospital the whole time. But that still left the question: where was the rest of her family?
What came next had ultimately cost nearly all of them their lives.
"NOOOOO!" Applejack grabbed her head and screamed at the top of her lungs, stunning everypony inside, outside, and next-door to the room. Then, without so much as a thought, she sprinted out of the room and into the labyrinth of hospotal halls.
Nurse Redheart, now annoyed, scared, amd furious, snapped at the pink party pony, "Ya see what you've DONE?! HUH?! Thanks to you, she's in danger of herself! And if we don't get to her on time, she might commit SUICIDE! So thanks a lot! Oh, and to answer your questions, cause I'm sure you have 'em, the reason why she's here is because all of her family is dead. D. E. A. D. DEAD. Gone from some freak carnal massacre that nopony knew about until now! And the reason why she had specifically asked for Twilight's mother to be here instead of y'all is because A: she needed some kind of family-type love and care so that she can actually feel better and B: that you all would...well...start THIS! I hope y'all are happy! I hope y'all are really happy!"
Redheart's face was now a deep shade of red. Red with frustration that everything that she didn't want to happen happened. She ran off, first to pull the alarm, then to the microphone, giving orders to stop Applejack from either escaping the hospital, trying to kill herself, or both. As she left, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Velvet stood dumbfounded. Shocked. Horrified.
Pinkie's eyes filled up with tears as her mane, once puffy and full of fluff, deflated into a straight form. Then, along with Fluttershy, she ran off crying. Rarity and Rainbow Dash raced after them in an attempt to calm them down. Twilight was left alone with her mother, processing the entirety of what Redheart had just yelled at them about. Suicide. Massacre. Depression. Carnage. Deception. Those were the thoughts that ensnared her mind. She turned towards her mom, who only looked down and sighed.
"W...why?" Twilight asked, tears forming in her eyes as well, "Why didn't you tell me? Why-"
"Twilight!" Velvet snapped, trying her best not to sound harsh herself, "Twilight, I couldn't tell you. I just couldn't. I know you would-and still-want to help, but...that's not what she wanted. Don't you see? She just wanted somepony to take care of her-to love her...like a mother...not engage in a misadventure that would only bring about more depressing memories."
Velvet continued as the red lights were getting dimmer and dimmer, "And I know, it's not right for me to lie to you, and it's not right for her to exclude you out of her problems, but...sometimes, ponies, um...uh...they...well...there are certain parts of life that could bring you to a state of, uh, disbelief. No not disbelief...uh, I think-trauma! That's it. Ponies can get traumatized, like what happened to Applejack's family. When somepony's traumatized, they don't want any kind of help or assurance or anything like that. They just need love. Pure, caring, gentle love. Do you understand?"
Twilight tried her best to stop the flow of her tears with her hooves. She nodded, then gave up on keeping her composure and collapsed onto her mother, who, in turn, pulled her into a caressing embrace. Velvet stroked her daughter's back as she shushed her, "Shh. It's okay. It's okay. It's not your fault. You didn't know. It's going to be alright. Okay? It's going to be alright. Shh."
Twilight sobbed harder as her mother reassured her that everything would be alright, while a filly-sized doll, Flitter's head in needle-lined mouth, proved otherwise as it limped into the shadows of the adjacent corridor.
Applejack hid inside the janitor's closet, muttering to herself incoherently as she wished for all of this to stop. Pinkie slid to a halt right in front of the closet door. Either her Pinkie Sense told her she was here or that she needed to take a break from running, she had no idea. All she wanted was for her, as well as the rest of her friends, to go away. The orange mare closed her sore eyes and waited. After a couple seconds, she heard Pinkie yelp in the midst of the blaring siren, followed by a weird gurgling sound. A gurgling sound unlike the one she heard when the Ra-
...Oh good heavens, no... Applejack realized in thought. It couldn't be. There was no way. She knew it still lurked in those closed-off apple orchards. She knew it! It was there. Wasn't it? No...it wasn't. That was the definitive sound that plagued her dreams at night. She hadn't heard it herself during the time of the massacre, but she envisioned it. She heard it. And now, she could actually sense it. She could-
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Applejack heard her friend's bloodcurdling scream, which then turned into a screech, then gurgling. That only meant one thing...that only meant one, truely horrifying thing: the Raggedy had grabbed hold of Pinkie, and it sucked the life out of her.
The Raggedy had returned to claim what was left of her...
...her friends.
Applejack opened her eyes. Through the slits in the door, she could make out the form of her dear pastry-baking friend, bloodied, limp, and unmoving. What was worse was that the Raggedy was nowhere to be found. Horrified, she slid from out of the closet. She didn't want to see the mangled remains of the friend before her. She knew, and she didn't want an image to go with it. She sprinted away from it, hoping that she was going the opposite direction of the demon that was out there.
Here, tonight, the night before Hearth's Warming, was the night the Raggedy returned to resume the onslaught of the Apple Family...
...starting with her friends.
She turned a corner, just in time to catch sight of Rarity's head being torn away from her body by shiny, needle-like claws. The screams were everywhere, now. Everypony in this place was a sitting duck, in sickness and in health. The scarecrow of a monster turned its gaze towards the cowpony with cold, lifeless eyes. She turned and ran as fast as she could possibly be. This pleased the beast.
It loved a good chase.
The screams. The lights. The siren. The chaos. It was all too much for Fluttershy. She had no idea A.J. could cause this much trouble. And the fact that she now knew the reason behind her staying here, the Sweet Apple Massacre, didn't help not one bit. She curled herself into a ball and sobbed uncontrollably until Rainbow Dash arrived. She shook the bundle of tears and yelled at her to get up. "Come on! Stop crying and get up! Something's wrong! Something's very wrong, and I can feel it! Come on, Fluttershy! GET UP!"
The rainbow-maned pegasus caught glimpse of her farmer friend run past at the other end of the hall. Following pursuit was something...unnatural. Something...paranormal. Uncanny. Disturbing. Horrifying. Rainbow's heart plummetted towards her stomach as the thing redirected its focus towards her. Towards the both of them. "Oh my-FLUTTERSHY! GET UP, NOW!" Rainbow screamed with tears now pouring down her face in fear. Fluttershy, now caught off guard by Rainbow's sudden change in tone, stifled her sobbing and looked up at her friend, who was frantically looking to her side and back, shaking her to get off the ground and-
"RUN!"
The Raggedy charged at the two pegasi. If the yellow mare hadn't followed her friend's direct command, they both wouldv'e been devoured instantaneously at that moment. They raced down the corridors as fast as they could, whizzing past Twilight Velvet and her now fear-stricken daughter. Nurse Redheart galloped towards the two Twilights and screamed, pleaded, for them to get out. Velvet, confused, stood up from her haunches, allowing Twily to do the same, and questioned her reasoning to-
"AAAAAAAACK-!"
The sound of two mares' bloodcurdling screams echoed over all the others' panicked ones, filling the entirety of the hospital. They were only stopped by sickening snaps and cracks. All three mares darted away from the source in hopes to get out of this Celestia-forsaken place before it was too late. They bounded into the Main Hall, where Applejack joined in, running from the demon that was hot on their trail.
"MOM!" Twilight shouted, "What's going ON? WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Velvet shook her head, "I DON'T KNOW! BUT WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"
"I'M SCARED!"
"I KNOW! BUT WE'RE STRONG! ONCE WE ARE ALL OUT OF HERE, WE'LL RID-"
WHACK
The screaming stopped. The sirens stopped. The chaos...stopped. Only darkness remained.
Death itself drew near.
Velvet came to, adjusting to the dim morning light. How long was she out? How long was ago was she knocked out by...whatever it was. She stood up and glanced around the lobby. Everything was covered in blood. She saw Redheart lying down, unconscious, in a puddle of blood. She then saw Applejack, or what was left of her. Only her front half was visible, the rear replaced by her intenstines. She was long dead, of course. But the sight that shocked her the most was her own daughter.
Twilight coughed and gagged as she laid there, sprawled on her back as metal poles stuck up from her abdomen. Velvet rushed over to her dying daughter. "M...momma...?" Twilight coughed. "Shh...it's okay. It's okay, I'm here," Velvet quietly lied. She levitated thr poles out of Twily's stomach as she cuddled her, petting her mane. Twilight Sparkle coughed and gagged until she didn't have the strength anymore, then fell limp and silent, but not before telling her, "I...I...love...y-you...m-mom..."
"No! NO! NO!" Velvet screamed, "Please, come on! Come on! NO!"
"I...I'm...s-sorry..."
"NO! COME ON! Please..."
Please...
...no...
It was a quiet, dreary Hearth's Warming morning. Snow covered the streets and rooftops of Ponyville. Everypony was either asleep or around the fireplace, opening their Hearth's Warming gifts.
Everypony...except for one.
That one, lone mare trudged in the snow, making her way towards the train station. She pulled along a makeshift sled out of the fallen debris from a ruined Ponyville Medical Center. What was in that sled was her dearest daughter, covered in hospital sheets as neat as could be. With tears flowing down her cheecks, she gave one last look at the place that took so many lives instead of saved. There, something stood in the doorway. There, something showed its glistening teeth through the darkness.
There, the Raggedy stood, fully satisfied with its revenge. It had sought out after the entirety of the Apple Family, ripping them apart because of their inaction and inability to save her precious life so long ago. It slew all who were found guilty in its sight. Now, it waited. It not only waited for the distraught mare to leave the village it now ruled in secret, but also for its next victims.
Just because it took its revenge doesn't mean it was done...
...It was only just beginning.
