Return to Bittersweet Apple Acres

One year earlier

The bell for the final period of Ponyville High School rang loudly, and every student sprang into immediate action, excited for the night to come. It was Nightmare Night and that meant parties, candy, and vandalism, and every student of the building was ready for a night of fun and a sugar rush as potent as a high from poison joke.

Among the raging wave of students was a pegasus named Flora Bloom, dressed in her costume choice for that year; an elf princess, her wings coated in glitter and ear extensions tight on her ears. The dress was dark green with the ends cut to look like spikes, her curly blonde mane and emerald green eyes contrasting with it very well.

It fit her so well that she had even received some compliments from stallions that day, one of them even making an attempt to ask her to be their date to the big dance being held at Town Hall. While she was flattered by the attention and compliments, she didn't plan on even going into the dance.

She had other plans with a few of her friends.

Flora found her way to her locker and opened it with ease, its usual creak meeting her ears instantly. Sticking her history and math books in the small space, she shut it tight, immediately being greeted by her company for the coming night.

The first was a loveable jock named Trevor Trottsman, aka. the quarterback of the school's football team. While most assume jocks to be assholes, Trevor wasn't one of those cases; he was actually smart and not sleeping around with every mare who complimented his looks and skills on the field. He actually had his head on his shoulders, unlike the majority of his comrades on the field.

He was dressed as himself; football practice had prevented him from dressing up in his costume, so all he had was a t-shirt peeking through his black leather jacket that looked and was expensive as hell.

Next down was a unicorn named Sarah Darkmist; the school's supposed medium. She was dressed as a black clad witch, her white body blending in perfectly and her black mane accompanying the costume like a warm hug. The single purple stripe in her mane peeked through from under the hat she wore, matching her violet eyes that were focused on Flora, her usual blank expression painted on her face.

Lastly, was the nerdy oddball, Henry Quickwit, dressed as a fangless vampire pony. Henry was a lot of things, but as his name states, when it comes down to certain things, he's quick to think of solutions, and has yet to fail at it. Any other time he's normally quiet or hiding from bullies, seeing he's teased horribly for his behaviors and talents.

Flora came across Henry while hiding from her own pair of mean mares in her sophomore year, and managed to help him come out of his shell and confront the stallions who shunned him. While it was a big moment for him, the school system never did shit about it, so he still takes a lot of harassment, but Flora and the others do their best to help when they can.

"Hey Flora, you all set for tonight?" Trevor asked.

"Yep, I've got what you asked!" Flora replied excitedly.

"Nice! I can't believe we're actually doing this!" Trevor stated jovially.

"I still think you're all crazy for even trying this," Sarah intervened. "Especially with something like this."

"Come on, Sarah!" Trevor reassured. "We're only going to go as long as we need. If anything bad happens or starts to happen we'll leave, alright?"

Sarah still wasn't in agreement one hundred percent, but she nodded anyways.

Flora smiled at the nod, but quickly turned her gaze to Henry, his deameanor seeming more off than normal. She decided to comfort him in his current conflicting state.

"Henry?" Flora started lightly, the addressed pony twitching in alarm from the mention of his name.

Slowly, his head rose to meet Flora's eyes, his nerves shaking like a mini earthquake.

"You really don't have to go if you don't want to," Flora assured calmly. "None of us are going to judge you for not wanting to do this."

"No! I want to show you all I'm not a coward!" he claimed proudly. "I'm just getting slight cold hooves, that's all."

"I think we all are, no matter how tough we pretend to act," Flora comforted. "Isn't that right, guys?"

"Oh hell yeah! I'm scared as much as nervous!" Trevor confessed.

"While I'm constantly seeing the undead, nothing gets more terrifying than serial killers, so yeah, of course I'm terrified," Sarah followed.

Turning back to Henry, Flora spoke her own confession.

"I agree with Sarah. While I have no connection to the undead, anything involving killers isn't settling in the least. Like Trevor said, if anything bad starts to happen, we'll leave immediately."

Henry smiled.

"Thanks Flo, you always know the right things to say," he complimented, following with a nod from Flora.

"What time do you want to meet up?" Flora asked Trevor.

"The blood moon isn't supposed to take place until midnight, so feel free to hit up some houses in the meantime," he proposed. "We'll meet up outside the opening to the foundation ten minutes to midnight, unless that's not long enough for our fellow witch to set up everything."

Sarah chuckled at the comment.

"I can have it set up in less. How long do you think I've been doing this shit, Trevor?"

The cuss surprised nopony.

"Right. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence," he sheepishly apologized.

"Very good," Sarah accepted. "However, one other thing I suggest bringing is salt."

Everypony's eyebrows raised immediately, minus Sarah's.

"Salt?" Flora questioned. "Why do we need that?"

Moving small strand of her mane from her left eye, Sarah responded.

"Given we're working with stronger spirits or poltergeists, it's best we do our best to stay safe from any sort of harm they may have in mind, shall we make contact."

"Good idea," Flora agreed.

"I can get some from my house," Trevor offered. "My folks are normally busy... roleplaying on Nightmare Night, so it shouldn't be a challenge."

"Ah yes, "roleplaying," Sarah teased. "We all know what your parents up to whenever they have an excuse to escape reality for awhile, so no need to sugarcoat it, Trev."

"I know, it just embarrassing to say it straight out," Trevor replied with a blush."Not to mention what I have to wake up to the next morning; I'm practically the only adult of the house for a day, seeing their hungover and unable to fend for themselves."

"Celestia, how the hell did you end up the one with a level head?" Flora questioned.

"I have no idea, and I prefer to just keep it that way. Last thing I want to do is make a joke out of myself under the influence of ecstacy and alcohol."

"I think that's something we can all agree on," Sarah agreed. "Anyways, before I start getting unpleasant thoughts in my head that I can't forget, is everypony in agreement that Trevor is on salt duty?"

Everypony except Trevor nodded.

"Very good. Now, I've got some enhancements to apply to my costume before we attempt to awaken a family of serial killers, so I need to hurry home."

"Alright, Sarah," Flora assured. "We'll see you at the gate tonight."

With a single nod, Sarah turned and trotted home, leaving Trevor, Flora, and Henry to chat furthermore.

"We should all get home and get ready for tonight," Trevor suggested. "I need to get into my costume still, and that's probably going to take awhile."

"Oh right, football practice," Flora confirmed, remembering Trevor's ordeal. "Alright, Trev. See you tonight, unless you'd rather get caught up in roleplay with your folks."

"Ha ha," he sarcastically answered. "I'll see you two tonight."

With that, he turned and trotted home, leaving Flora and Henry in the vacant hallway.

"I should get going as well," Flora addressed to Henry. "I'll see you tonight, Henry."

"Sure thing, Flo," Henry stated, and with a single wave, Flora trotted away, and he was left alone.

"Sure thing...

A sweet aroma of apples met Flora's sense as she walked through the front door of her house, the scent being a mix of fresh apples and a caramel mix. Walking past the living room, she found her mother, Lily Bloom, at their main oven, stirring a thick concoction with a wooden spoon.

Her entrance startled her mother in her haste of properly stirring the caramel mix, a set of over twenty red apples impaled with popsicle sticks neatly organized on a wide sheet of parchment paper just off to the side of the stovetop.

The essence was pungent but pleasing to Flora's nostrils as she breathed in the fumes emanating from the pot of caramel mix.

"Welcome home, dear," Lily said sweetly, but in a rush. "How was school?"

"It was fine, but I'm going to need to apply some fixes to the makeup patterns for my costume," Flora replied sweetly. "What is all of this mom? I thought you were going to the dance tonight?"

"I was, up until my date dumped me, so now, I'm stuck here tonight giving out future dental issues for fillies and colts," she confirmed, a hint of arrogance staining her tone.

"Oh… Are you going to be okay?" Flora questioned sympathetically.

Her mother paused the stirring to make eye contact with her daughter, her forehead dripping sweat and her mane slightly moist from both the heat of the room and her efforts.

"After what your father did to me, rejection barely stings anymore, dear," Lily placed one of her hands onto one of her daughter's shoulders and expressed a smile in assurance of her emotions. "Just go get ready and have fun tonight, but remember, no alcohol, no kissing, and at least an inch apart while dancing to slow songs. Got it."

Flora nearly raised an eyebrow, up until she remembered the dance. Her mom must've assumed she was just going there tonight with Trevor as her date.

She just giggled at her mom's assumption.

"Got it, though I've told you multiple times that it's not like that between us. We're just good friends and only that, I swear."

"Whatever you say," her mom joked. "Now, go get yourself all prepared while the night is still young."

Flora nodded in response and turned towards the direction of one of the bathrooms while her mother returned to her own prepping.

The closest bathroom was just outside of the kitchen and down a hall to the right. Flora made her way in seconds, closing the door behind her and turning on the light. Her reflection in the large mirror met her eyes, to which she just admired for a brief moment.

She could see exactly why stallions had been all over her today; she looked stunning in her Nightmare Night attire. Like an actual princess.

Now, she was slightly happy she wasn't going to the dance. She practically be a beacon for every dateless stallion there, and she wasn't interested in any funny business.

Less to say, provoking poltergeists wasn't any more comforting or seeming like a better alternative. She had heard the tales, while some say it was just a myth meant to scare ponies, she had a hard time believing that such a detailed and graphic story told in a vivid manner could be "just a myth."

Normally fictional scary stories weren't as graphic as this one and detailed so well to the point of feeling real; they were normally just told in a manner meant to scare you; the tale of Bittersweet Apple Acres and the Apple Family Massacre was far from that and disturbed her to the point of nearly crying.

That wasn't a casual reaction to a fictional tale, but she couldn't prove anything factual or fictional. The foundation was said to be the site of an old apple orchard that died off from some sort of toxic blight that had to be terminated because of it spreading to crops outside the area.

The area was quarantined, and the trees were ripped out from their roots to assure they couldn't spread any further past the area. Many lives were lost in the process, but eventually the area was cleared of any of the toxic trees. However, to be safe, the area was gated off as a toxic site and has been left to suffer whatever history throws at it.

However, one thing didn't add up. There was one other factor that made the tales seem more real, and it lived right in the town. The supposed only survivor of that tragic massacre, Crimson Flash.

While he was an elderly pony now, Flora found it strange that an old pony would spit nonsense to ponies that was so powerful, graphic, and disturbing. Plus, he had evidence to prove his claims; the scars he carries on his skin.

How he tells of how he got them is far from just "off the top of the head" brainstorming. He also cried while describing the agonizing pain and torture, which, unless he was a solid actor, wasn't a casual action in telling a fictional story.

Flora hoped to get closure tonight. While she was scared, she was excited at the same time as she began to apply the fixes needed for her makeup.

She wanted to look her best for the ponies who caught eye of her in the streets. She planned to hit one specific area that gave out large candy bars, soda pop, and even some harmless potions that had specific qualities to each of them.

One year she got one that changed her eye color for only an hour. Another year she got another that gave her harmless fangs until morning came, causing her to make a costume change hastily, and the year before she had gotten one allowed her to fly a little faster than her usual speed.

It was the one treat she anticipated each year ever since the owner of the house, a zebra named Zena, moved in.

Her personal favorite effect had been the fake fangs. That Nightmare Night she won best costume and came home with a load of candy that was the equivalent of a dragon's hoard. The next dentist visit wasn't pleasant, but she had zero regrets on the sugar rush she'd earned from that year.

When she finally finished up the fixes to her additional touches an hour had passed, and Celestia's sun had only been inches from disappearing beyond the distant mountains. Her mother had finished her contribution to the holiday, the apples now doused in hardened caramel upon the countertop.

Lily was resting on the couch in the living room, engaged in a rerun of one of the many classic horror films that aired every Nightmare Night.

A large bottle of red wine rested on the side table next to a glass, the cork yet to be pulled from the opening.

"I'm going out now, mom," Flora stated. "I'll be home not long after the blood moon event ends."

She paused, eying the wine bottle with concern.

"Make sure to not drink too much, okay,"

Her mother turned to her with a smile.

"I won't even start pouring until the caramel apples are given out," she stated calmly. "I love you. Be careful and have fun."

Flora walked around to where she was face to face with her mother, reaching down and hugging her gently.

"I will. Love you too."

Pulling away, Flora grabbed her provided candy bag, walked to the door, and walked out to the sight of a very festive Ponyville.

Nightmare Night music blared throughout the small town, fillies and colts dressed as a plethora of mythological creatures and much more ran through the streets like stampeding bulls, and the sounds of games and cheers could be hear from the other side of town.

Flora closed the door behind her, proceeding to check her bag for the things she'd promised to bring to the ritual. The sheathed knife and crimson apple were still resting at the bottom of the bag as she'd left them, and with that assurance, she trotted off into the streets.

She had planned to meet up with Henry just outside of Ponyville Center, the shy pony being her usual company while trick or treating each year, and it didn't take long for her to find him in their usual rendezvous every year; the right side of the entry to the main plaza of Ponyville.

He was camouflaged very well with the growing shadows of the approaching night time, the light brown fur of his head being the only indication that he wasn't just another shadow cloaking the fence. Flora waved as she approached him, receiving a wave back as confirmation that he'd spotted her amongst the mildly-crowded streets.

As she approached, the first thing she noticed was that his costume quality had changed drastically, the fangs having a tint of dark crimson to them, red contacts adorning his eyes, and even his fake wings looking as if they had aged to the point of looking tarnished, but they adorned the costume almost too well.

Less to say, Flora was impressed and slightly terrified.

"Wow! Henry, you look…. menacing!" Flora complimented, a wide smile growing on her face. "Did something happen to you within the past hour?!"

Henry expressed a blush at the comment.

"No, I just decided to… up the ante this year," he explained. "I was tired of looking so plain in comparison to everypony else, so I just got creative and came up with this."

Flora's amazed expression didn't change, and she only continued to stare at Henry's costume.

"Um… you look great too!" he bumbled out, trying to change the subject.

Flora budged, a smile and light blush meeting her face.

"Thanks. I really wanted to look nice tonight for everypony, even if it's only for one night."

"Well, in my eyes, you nailed it, Flo!" he complimented.

Flora's smile grew wider, following with an action Henry hadn't expected; she leaned forward and wrapped her hooves around Henry tightly. He jumped at the contact but returned it, his blush growing more visible on his face with each second passing in the embrace.

Their embrace lasted shortly before Flora pulled away, her eyes immediately noticing the blush dressed on her friend's face.

"Aww Henry!" she said cutely.

Henry jumped again, panicking madly.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't m-mean-

He was cut off by a hoof to his muzzle, the only sound, aside from the many sounds of Nightmare Night festivities, was Flora's laugh.

Henry didn't know what to think about that, but the fact that it was just a "cute" laugh rather than a mocking laughter was enough for him to calm down.

When Flora finally came out of her short fit, she just continued to smile.

"Come on, let's go hit the good houses before all the good stuff is gone," she said softly, grabbing one of Henry's hooves and starting to drag him.

"Y-yeah… sure…

With that assurance, the two took off towards the far side of Ponyville, one's spirits high with excitement while the other's was more lost and unsure.

While Flora had treated it as a harmless and funny misconception, Henry prayed to Celestia above that as the night carried on, all memory of what had just happened would fade like a lost memory from Flora's mind.

It seemed like the treasures obtained from each house had gotten more and more valuable to Flora after the Sun went down, and night finally came, but the one she treasured the most was her mystery potion she'd gotten from Zena.

Three hours of hardcore trick or treating had passed, and at this point, she and Henry were both exhausted from walking the streets of Ponyville. They had stopped and were looking through their obtained treasures from their fellow pony residents, trading candies for other candies and slowly gaining a massive sugar rush.

Flora had traded candies she couldn't stand, such as Lemon Spheres, black licorice, and anything with dark chocolate involved to Henry for anything sweet and to her liking. Henry wasn't a sugar freak by any means, so he didn't mind giving some of his candy to Flora, knowing she loved sweets and would actually eat them.

He'd taken his time with some of his goodies, while Flora had delved into her treasure like a madpony craving a sugar high, to which Henry had only giggled at, knowing his friend very well.

That also meant he had to be the voice of reason to stop her from giving herself a nasty belly ache, stopping her at her twentieth sweet treat and persuading her to save it for another time. While she pouted at it, Henry convinced her, and now, for a good half hour, the two had just been walking around and enjoying the night on its own.

They decided against the local spook alley, because both of them absolutely hated haunted attractions. It wasn't due to a bad experience or anything like that; they simply just hated the idea of being in a dark and scary place that is intentionally designed to scare the hell out of you. It wasn't their definition of a good or fun time, and just preferred walking around until they needed to take a break again.

"If only we had some bits, then we could pass the time playing some of the games and doing some of the activities in the plaza," Flora pouted.

"Nah, that would ruin your makeup, Flo," Henry stated. "That would be a shame, considering what's to come in less than an hour."

Flora giggled.

"You want me to look all pretty for the serial killers?" she joked.

"Who wouldn't?" Henry complimented. "I heard that they took only the prettiest of mares back then. Something about making their product taste better."

"So, what? You think that'll increase our chances of actually contacting them?"

"They'd be foolish not to take the opportunity to see you, Flo."

"Hmm, I don't know if I should be flattered by that or terrified."

"Well, it is Nightmare Night. If you don't get scared in some way, you aren't celebrating, are you?"

Flora put a hoof to her chin in thought at Henry's comment.

"Hmm, I guess not," she answered.

A pause followed, up until Henry decided to change the subject to something less scary.

"So, what do you think they're talking about when they say "blood moon?" Henry asked.

"What do you mean?" Flora replied, one eyebrow raised.

"Like, is it really a "bloody" moon or just a trick used to hype up everypony watching?"

"You mean, like a magic trick?"

"Yeah! Exactly!"

Once again, Flora paused, putting a free hoof to her chin in wonder of Henry's comment.

It wasn't really something she'd thought of from the moment it was announced to occur a few weeks prior, but Henry had a good point. Was the blood moon an actual real thing or just an illusion, and if it is real, what does it look like or represent?

"Honestly, it could be either. Princess Flare doesn't seem the type to really do something fake for entertainment, but given the history of the Apple Family Massacre doesn't add up in the slightest, maybe it is."

A short pause followed.

"However, is a gimmick for a holiday really something to really get all worked up over? It's used for entertainment on a holiday where almost everypony is out and about having fun, so I don't think we can hang Princess Flare for something so mild."

"What about the history cover-up? Doesn't that seem a little unfair and wrong to hide from us?"

"Well, yes, but maybe it was for a good reason. I mean, think about it. Princess Flare lost her mother and aunt to those monsters. It must've been unbelievably painful and hard for her to go through the loss, then having to wear the weight of their crowns after the dust settled.

I can't even imagine all she went through in such a short amount of time, which may be why the Apple Family Massacre was covered by lies. The pain and grief just never went away, so she buried it the only way she could; by erasing it from history."

"That would make sense, because look around; there's no attraction themed to that massacre or anyone dressed in anything related to the Apple family members. It's just as if it never happened and was never looked back upon."

"I can answer why the second part of that doesn't exist," Flora stated. "It's because the names or anything visually related to the family or the massacre were destroyed when Princess Flare took the throne. Every document, picture, article; anything with any sort of connection to the family or massacre."

"How do you know that?" Henry questioned.

"My mom knew one of the therapists who was assigned to the only survivor of that tragedy, and she said that the stories she heard from the therapist were too much for her to handle, but in the mix of the sessions, the therapist had stated to the survivor that all documentation was being ridden of by order of the princess.

They thought the survivor would be relieved at the news, but was mistaken and had given one grim response that caused them to resign from their work.

"You all are a bunch of fools if you believe the past can be buried so easily. The events of those ten years will never rest; they will only linger until somepony learns and speaks the truth, similar to how one Apple did in the face of death. How will that end, doctor? In proper action or history repeating? Let's hope we make the right choice this time."

"What do you think they meant?" Henry asked with a mild shiver.

"To put it simply, if we can't learn from our past mistakes, we are destined to repeat them."

A pause followed.

"And, the survivor is right."

The moment was interrupted by an announcement from the many speakers throughout Ponyville, causing both of them to stop in their tracks. The mayor's voice boomed from the speakers, coming through loud and clear to everypony's eardrums.

"Attention all residents of Ponyville! The Blood Moon Celebration event will be starting in less than twenty minutes! If you plan to join in on the event, please make your way to the main stage in front of Town Hall for Princess Flare's speech and presentation! Thank you!"

"I'm guessing that's our cue to meet with the others?" Flora said, turning her gaze to meet Henry's.

A long breath escaped the stallion's mouth, attempting to smile at the sudden realization that they were less than twenty minutes from attempting to talk to a bunch of serial killers from beyond the grave.

Swallowing hard, he nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's get moving before we start to look suspicious from everypony else," Flora claimed.

"R-right," Henry muttered out, fear clearly staining his tone as he started to walk alongside Flora outside of Ponyville, up the outer side road that led to the foundation that was once Sweet Apple Acres.

The walk was calm and quiet, but the awareness of what was about to occur made all of the natural calming essence of the night static. The road to the Sweet Apple Acres foundation was decrepit and rotten, abandoned, forgotten, and rotted away from years of no care or maintenance.

While a tricky walk, the sight of the rusted fence came into sight, sending an immediate chill down both of their spines. It was a very unsettling sight to the eye, seeming less like a fence guarding the perimeter of a foundation and more like an entryway to Hell.

Both of them gulped hard, walking further, up until the tall fence towered over them like the maw of a massive beast. It was starting to feel more like Nightmare Night now as they drew in closer to the area they were supposed to meet up with the others.

Relief washed over both of them at the sound of voices and flashes of beams of light from flashlights, trotting faster than intended towards the source of light and life. When they finally reached the rendezvous, Trevor greeted them with a joyous Nightmare Night-style welcome.

"Glad you kids finally made it to the gates of Hell. Are you all ready to talk to some demons?!"

"Not exactly, but sure," Flora answered, turning her gaze to Sarah, a specific object held in one of her hooves. "Sarah, what is that?"

Sarah met Flora's gaze quickly, answering in her usual tone of voice.

"Just something to take the edge off," she answered simply.

"Drugs?!" Flora objected in shock. "Sarah! We need you with a level head, not seeing hallucinations and Celestia knows what!"

"It's not drugs, Flora," Sarah reassured calmly. "It's a natural medicine that calms your nerves and gives you better focus. I'd never put things like poison joke in my body."

Flora wasn't sure what to think, standing frozen in place with confusion expressed on her face.

"W-well...okay. As long as it's natural," Flora stuttered.

"I promise. Want some? It'll help if you're scared out of your wits," Sarah proposed.

"I'll pass," Flora answered slowly.

"Agreed," Henry added.

Henry's contribution to the conversation caused Sarah's eyes to shift to him, immediately smiling deviously.

"Well, well, what the hell happened to Henry?" she spoke deviously. "He never dresses so….scary."

Trevor caught on, adding his own thoughts to the mix.

"No kidding. Henry looks more sinister than usual, and I like it a lot!"

Henry just smiled at the compliments, bowing like a vampire as a bonus to further prove he appreciated the gestures.

"Thanks guys, I just decided to up the ante this year, and considering Flo said the same stuff, I guess I succeeded."

"Bring this kind of effort every year, and you might win the Best Costume award!" Trevor stated, lightly punching Henry on the shoulder with one of his green hoofs as a show of affection.

Trevor was dressed as Frankenhoof, the costume and character actually being perfect for his size and build, to which Flora had nodded at in impression, resting away the residing butterflies in her stomach momentarily.

"I think Flora would actually be good competition in that regard, Trev," Sarah commented. "Were you dressing for Nightmare Night or a strip club?"

Flora immediately blushed in embarrassment, immediately objecting at the comment.

"S-sarah! S-seriously?!"

"Calm down, princess, I'm only joking," Sarah assured. "You should know my humor by now."

"I do, but...did you really have to take it THAT far?" Flora countered.

"Yes," Sarah replied teasingly. "Besides, it's just us out here. Nopony else is going to know about that little comment except all of us."

"Still…

Trevor suddenly intervened to avoid any further issues from occurring.

"Hey, we all know you're not like that, Flo, so don't take anything that Sarah says personally. It's all good fun between good friends on Nightmare Night, and that's as far as it's gonna go, alright?"

Flora hesitated at Trevor's words, but eventually she accepted them.

"Alright," she agreed calmly. "Sorry if I overreacted a little, it's just… well, you guys know how I get about things like that."

Sarah acted first.

"You didn't overreact, and I'm sorry I didn't take your feelings into account. Let's just make up and enjoy the rest of our Nightmare Night rather than hurting each other's feelings."

Flora nodded with a smile, taking Sarah into a short but sincere hug of forgiveness.

"Alright kids, let's get moving," Trevor directed. "The blood moon is supposed to happen in about ten minutes."

Everypony nodded, Sarah flicking her medicinal concoction off into the night and all four of them walking towards the fence. The only way in was a weaker part of the fence that had been weakened by history and was loose enough to crawl through. Being a pegasus, Flora could normally fly over, but a spell shield was applied so that pegasi couldn't just fly in, so she had to just go in the hard way.

The same applied to teleportation with unicorns as well, the only exception being the one who cast it, seeing the spell would weaken with time and would have to be recharged back to full strength for another number of years.

Sarah held the fence with her magic while the other three crawled through carefully, then assisted in pulling Sarah through with their combined efforts. It took about five minutes, but they all were in, standing upon a land that was stained with the blood of countless ponies.

Upon entering something immediately caught their attention; it was dead.

There was no sound except their own breathing, steps, and pulses in the wide enclosure. Already, they were having second thoughts on even continuing a step forward into this ominous place.

"I'm not the only one who can't hear anything except us, right?" Flora asked, her voice trembling.

Everypony else, faces plastered with uncertainty and fear, nodded slowly.

"Something's not right," Sarah stated with a hint of fear. "We should turn back and abandon this idea completely."

"After we planned this for months, you just want to leave not even a minute in because of some absence of sound?" Trevor persuaded.

"Yes," Sarah stated seriously. "When strange abnormal occurrences start happening and poltergeists are involved, you don't fuck around any further."

"I agree with Sarah," Flora added. "This isn't right, and I'd rather not even test the waters any further than I feel unsafe. I vote we get out of here while we're still ahead, and vow that we never come near this place ever again."

"Make that three votes," Henry agreed, his legs shaking sporadically.

Trevor sighed in defeat, turning back towards the fence.

"Ugh, fine. Since everypony is against it, I guess we're leaving."

Walking back to the fence, Sarah focused her magic on the weak spot they'd originally came in from, only to receive zero response from her magic core.

A discovery that made her shudder and freeze in horror.

"W-what?!" she tremored.

"What's wrong?" Trevor asked in concern.

"M-my magic…I can't c-cast it!" Sarah panicked, her voice expressing true fear.

"What?" Trevor questioned in confusion. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm fucking joking!? My magic is gone!"

Trevor had no retort, knowing Sarah well enough to know for a fact she was being serious.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I can lift the fencing no problem, so let's just get out of here and not panic."

Moving past Sarah, Trevor reached down towards the bottom of the fence and placed his hooves into a position to where he could lift the fence, but upon first contact with the rusted metal, Trevor was met with an agonizing pain to his hooves.

A scream of pain escaped the stallion's throat, scrambling back on the ground in a hasty retreat from the fence. A very audible sizzle could be heard, and upon the sight of Trevor's hooves the situation escalated quickly.

"What happened to you?!" Flora questioned in concern, rushing to Trevor's aid on the brittle ground.

"I got burned!" he exclaimed in pain.

"What?! How?!" Flora questioned further, her calm composure starting to dwindle away fast.

"I-I don't know! I just g-grabbed the fence a-an-

"Guys… Sarah's voice broke the chaos, the tone of it being no more than a whisper of a terrified child, and as they all saw what she was so scared of, their own voices died and their blood grew cold as ice.

Before their eyes, fading in like a transition effect, was the sight of a large farm, one lone pony on the outside wearing a grin from ear to ear.

"We need to get out of here...now!" Flora commanded, moving to the fence in a haste and attempting to lift it, only to meet in the same result as Trevor, falling back and screaming in absolute pain.

Her screams continued, up until the entire area and beyond turned a bloody red color. One gaze at the moon solidified the cause of the crimson tint, but that was the least of their worries as a deafening ring enveloped their ears along with a massive rush of what felt like misery and chaos in one blow.

It felt as if their heads were imploding on themselves, and the pressure was unbelievable, feeling like their skulls were in a tightening vice grip with no breaking point. It was like everything was in slow motion, up until it all just stopped.

A new sound had filled the void of deafening ringing; water dripping and distant creaking pipes. Opening their eyes, they were met with the sight of a large and wide room.

It was wooden, decrepit, and smelled of rot and copper. It wasn't until they looked around the room that they figured out the horrifying realization of where they were and their terror peaked to max.

Just off to the side was a massive rusted machine with a single opening at the top of a high flight of stairs. From down that it had a channel of two pipes; one large, one small; the small one leading to just above a conveyor belt line with thin tubes pointing downward, as if to fill something on the beltline.

The exit tubes' tips' were all coated with something thick and chocolate brown, and only until the color became apparent did it hit all four of them on exactly what place they had ended up in.

"It can't be," Flora whispered in fear, her eyes not leaving the massive machine.

Trevor's voice intervened, speaking something she almost didn't believe.

"Hey, there's a door! I think this is the exit!"

He was right. Just off to the right side of the room was a large barn door exit, to which they all quickly acted upon, moving to the door and attempting to push it open.

It didn't budge an inch, even with all of their strengths combined.

Their actions had caused a sudden reaction, the grinder suddenly erupting to life like a waking giant. Following that, a sinister laughter met the room, echoing off of every wall and crevice in a manner of unease and absolute danger.

The instant response was to run, but the only way to run was to a door straight ahead; the very area the laughter had originated from.

"What do we do now?!" Sarah questioned in fright.

Before an answer could be given, the far door swung open with a massive force, entering a sight that seemed impossible; a headless pony with tan fur that wore specks of dried blood with a lasso around their half-neck. They had a blonde tail with part of it tied up at the end with a hairtie and a cutie mark that made all four of their hearts drop like stones; three red apples.

"Leavin' so soon?" the headless pony spoke in a thick southern accent. "But ya' just got here, and trust me when I say that we've had plenty of time to arrange a perfect welcome for y'all!"

Nopony spoke, too shocked in fear and terror to even find words. They didn't know what was to come, but in the company of a headless pony, it was bound to be nothing pleasant.

"Tough crowd I see. Alright, then why don't we just get to the point, seein' it's fixin' to be a long night for y'all. We're going to play a game tonight. Think of it as hide and seek, only with deadly consequences if yur found by me. The rules are simple; if you can stay hidden and out of my capture for the entire night, you'll escape with your heads on your shoulders, but, if I catch you, you'll become part of the collection of victims and souls, bound to eternal torture with no mercy, forever."

That comment made all four of them freeze in fear, unable to move from their current positions.

What just happened?

One hour ago, they were all in Ponyville enjoying the festival. Now, they were in some demented Hell fighting for their lives.

It was too late to turn back now. It was live or be tortured for eternity now; one night of survival in a slaughterhouse controlled by a demented serial killer.

"Happy hidin'!" the headless mare stated grimly, then the room started to shift and convert into something else, the headless mare's sinister laughter erupting once again from her nonexistent muzzle.

A mirage of different structures suddenly erupted from the ground, separating all four of them before they even had a chance to move. It happened too fast to comprehend, and in less than seconds, four friends that were together as one were now separated and in for the fight of their lives.