Return to Bittersweet Apple Acres

Flora had wandered back down the opposite direction after being sure that it was safe enough to go and had been surprised that it had led her to another staircase. She had literally nowhere else to go, so she had just trotted up the stairs, bringing her to another set of stairs for another three ascensions.

That climb had led her to a change of scenery that resembled more the look of an attic of a house with only one exit that matched the look of the cellar door she'd come across. She didn't want to stop, so she had just followed the path she'd been provided, being cautious of any potential danger before stepping down from the attic-like area.

From there, it had led into something closer to a house, her assumption immediately being that, somehow, she'd found her way from the slaughterhouse to the actual home that the family had once lived in.

It was dark and eerie, as if this part of the entire farmhouse had not been wandered into for a very long time. Cobwebs and dust had made it evident enough that it hadn't been maintained or cleaned in easily five or more years, the floorboards starting to rot away and wallpaper peeling away from water damage.

For some reason, Flora didn't feel like she did in the maze here; this place felt forgotten and lost, and a ping of emotion stung her heart as she started to walk. She was in a narrow hall where to her right was two rooms, and to her left was one lone room. No door shielded the openings, and, feeling like she needed to investigate, walked into the first room closest to her.

Inside was an unmade bed, a wardrobe with a mirror, and, in front of it, red bows that were damaged from age. They were scattered all over the floor as if whoever had resided in this room was in a rush on the last day they left this room, and upon one glance to the bedside nightstand, it immediately hit her on who had resided here.

The pony who had brought the horrors to light at the cost of her own life.

"Apple Bloom…

The picture upon the nightstand's top surface was heartbreaking. It was of Applejack and Apple Bloom, both smiling with absolute happiness and no care in the world.

Two sisters that had loved each other dearly and just enjoyed life and living.

Up until the Apple Family Massacre happened, and, because Apple Bloom had done the right thing, was killed horribly in cold blood by the sister she loved and trusted to the ends of Equestria.

It was the first true act that had caused the Apple's to become feared and unstoppable. For one to kill their own family was another level of murder; a level that Ponyville had never believed possible at the time.

The first time Flora had even heard about Apple Bloom's demise, it had made her cry and still did. It's a tale that nopony could easily just listen to without having any sort of reaction, and that fact stuck with any who had ever heard it.

Flora's eyes had no tears left to cry, but her heart still ached for Apple Bloom as she turned to leave the melancholic sight of what once had been the room of a young filly with dreams and goals as high as beyond the sky.

Then her ear twitched upon the sound of hooves coming from above her, knowing that it couldn't be good. She quickly looked around for somewhere to hide, finding only the wardrobe as her best option. Working quickly she opened the door to the wardrobe, relieved that there was enough room for her to fit if she stood on her back legs, and worked into the space as quickly as possible.

Once she was fit into the space, she pulled the wardrobe door closed, leaving it ajar by just a sliver to get a visual of the pony on her tail. Her heart pounded in her chest as she heard the pony's hooves meet the floor just outside the doorway, to which she covered her muzzle with her free hoof and forced herself to stay as still and quiet as possible.

She looked through the sliver of an opening with care, hearing the pony start to walk into full view of the doorway, causing Flora to tense up even more.

Then she saw who it was. The vampony costume being clear enough of an indicator.

"Henry!" Flora called, moving out of the wardrobe and trotting to Henry hastily.

Before Henry could even get a single word out, he was wrapped in a hug as tight as the constriction of a Boa.

"Thank Princess Flare you're okay!" she stated emotionally, nuzzling her muzzle against his neck. "I've been so worried!"

Henry returned the embrace, also relieved to see Flora alive and well.

"It's okay, Flo, I'm here now and am not going anywhere," he assured calmly.

They shared the hug for what felt like an eternity, but eventually pulled away, knowing their lives were still at stake.

"Come with me," Henry instructed. "It's not safe here."

Flora agreed and let Henry lead the way, to which he led her down the hall, down a flight of stairs, and into what looked like the front opening space of the farmhouse.

The door was boarded up but looked possible to kick open, a thing Flora noted shall push come to shove. From there, Henry led her towards the back end of the house, into a closet that was just big enough for the two of them.

"After you, Flo," Henry offered, to which Flora followed and took a seat against the back wall of the closet.

Henry followed, closing the thin wooden door and taking a seat against the door. Once he was sure he was somewhat-settled into the closet, he turned his gaze to Flora, her face telling a story of trauma, tragedy, and exhaustion.

A state of emotion that Henry had never seen Flora in in their entire friendship. It broke his heart and made him all-the-more clear on why she had reacted so motherly in their reunion.

"Talk to me, Flo," he said gently. "I need to know. Are Trevor and Sarah…

Flora nodded before he could finish, taking Henry aback.

"I'm so sorry, Flo," Henry comforted, attempting to hide his own emotions.

"I saw both of them die, Henry," Flora started emotionally. "Trevor… h-he…he died…because of m-me."

Henry raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm sure that's not true, Flo," he comforted.

"But it is!" Flora retorted. "The reason he's dead is because I wouldn't fucking listen to reason! I thought I could save somepony who was already condemned to this damn place, and because of my stubborn arrogance, Trevor was shredded to pieces!"

She had started to cry again, still no tears to shed.

"Trevor would still be alive if it weren't for him trying to save me…and now…he's cursed to eternal pain and suffering because of me… It's my fault, Henry…

She collapsed into Henry's lap, her emotions breaking. Henry just allowed it, gliding one of his hooves through her golden mane in a way of comfort.

Eventually, Flora's emotions turned into slumber, and she passed out for just a little while. Knowing she was physically and mentally exhausted, Henry just let her rest away, keeping her safe in his hooves until it was time to move again

Yawning awake, Flora sat up from Henry's lap, her eyes slowly adjusting. Upon not even recognizing her surroundings she started to panic, her eyes darting rapidly and her anxiety rising quickly.

"Hey, hey, Flo!" Henry alerted, immediately catching Flora's attention and calming her down. "It's okay, I'm here."

Flora calmed and wrapped her hooves around Henry in a form of remorse.

"I'm sorry," she confessed.

"It's okay," Henry replied, rubbing Flora's back calmly. "I'm scared too."

Releasing the hug, Flora sat back and exhaled a long breath.

"I never wanted any of this to happen," she said, her voice shallow and broken. "For anypony to die or end up stuck in a sick game of hide and seek. All I wanted was a fun night of spooks and traditional Nightmare Night excitement, but now, Sarah and Trevor are dead, and, unless we miraculous survive whatever final act is awaiting us, we'll soon be joining them as eternal additions to this demented place."

"Flo, we all know that, and I'm sure Trevor and Sarah hold nothing against you," Henry replied. "None of us knew we'd end up here in a fight for our lives tonight, nor could we have predicted it. All that matters is getting out alive now, and finding out some way to put all of this tyranny to rest where it belongs; buried in history."

That last statement caught Flora's attention, finding it as something out of left field and out of place.

"What do you mean, Henry? This place can't be put to rest. It's just too bound to the very foundation where all of the murders took place. Those monsters left their impression as a permanent seal when they all ended their lives, and the best way to "stop" these bastards from killing anypony else is to do exactly what Crimson has tried to for two decades."

"Has that worked, Flo?" he countered. "We heard Crimson's pleas to stay away, but here we are in the very Hell that he escaped at the cost of losing his own limbs. No. Something else needs to be done to stop all of this.

No spirit or entity is eternally bound to one place by what they did in their lives, but only by some sort of object or seal that they have some bond to through unholy means. Sarah told me this once, and, considering what I saw earlier, I believe it's absolutely true."

Flora's curiosity peaked again. Henry had seen something? If so, what had he seen that made him believe that the Apple Family Massacre could potentially be put to an eternal rest?

"You saw something?" Flora questioned.

"Yes. Something that connects directly to the place where the remaining members of the Apple family were discovered dead," Henry explained, his words starting to sway Flora's beliefs.

Flora's eyes bulged as she felt a chill go down her spine, leaning forward and replying to Henry.

"Can you show me?" she asked. "It's not that I don't believe you, Henry, I just need to see it to believe it."

Henry nodded in understanding,his face expressing a serious look.

"Ok, but if I take you there, there's no coming back here," he warned. "Morning is coming, and, like you said, the final act is coming. Once it does, there's no more hiding, only running and not stopping until the sun is over the horizon."

He was dead serious, and Flora recognized it.

This would be the last trot.

The last dash.

The final obstacle, until they would return to present Ponyville.

She nodded in complete assurance of the danger ahead, knowing she couldn't stop no matter what.

"I understand, but you best be right behind me, Henry," she fired back.

Henry nodded, moving back onto his hooves and taking a moment to check for any activity outside the door. Nothing met his eardrums, except for the sound of his and Flora's shallow breathing, to which he opened the door back to the sight of the melancholic home.

"Follow me, and stay close," Henry commanded, moving further into the farmhouse with soft steps to wherever he had discovered the one thing that had continued the madness of the Apple family, even beyond death.

The sight of Henry's discovery made every speck of fur stand up on the back of Flora's neck. Henry had led her into a hidden cellar below the rug that the kitchen table had rested upon, where only a sight of horrors had awaited her.

On the floor had been a pentagram drawn out in some dark and thick substance that Flora had assumed was wax of a black candle, and in the middle had been something circular and radiating a blood-red glow. Upon closer examination, it had been some sort of circular stone slab dressed with some sort of leathery blanket.

It was stretched out with enough slack to nail it to the back of the slab, nice and tight in place. On top, carved into the leathery blanket was some sort of array of symbols and text of some language Flora was unaware of, radiating the red light from each symbol carved cleanly.

Just being around it made Flora feel uneasy and sick, so she kept her distance to avoid any damage to her health. From a distance, she just examined the pentagram more thoroughly, being careful to be at full alert the entire time.

She had remembered seeing a picture of the crime scene in this room in one of the few newspapers that were printed before Princess Flare took the throne. In the picture there had been two bodies, Granny Smith and Big Mac, with the undersides of their necks placed right on a point of the pentagram.

The very areas where the wounds that had ended their lives had leaked their blood out as a way of making a sacrifice. However, upon another point had been a small jar, a label on it reading Applejack, meaning they had been prepared for what had happened for a long time.

However, no such slab was discovered or confiscated, immediately making Flora think that perhaps it was a discovery that was excluded due to being too graphic. Just another mistake by ponykind that had led to all of this.

"What do you think it is, Henry?" Flora asked.

"The key to this place's demise," he answered simply. "I think it's something we weren't told about that was removed from the farmhouse, and it was created from one of the first victims of the massacre as a seal of great evil to keep them and the past victims bound to the ground the slaughterhouse once stood upon.

It was hid away down here, shall the worst case scenario happen, and only if exactly what Crimson did happen, shall this seal be activated to assure their presence upon the Sweet Apple Acres foundation absolute. Given the fact that getting close to that thing makes us, two ponies of good will and souls, react negatively, it's clear that the three ponies of absolute tainted and evil souls made sure that only they could ever touch or alter it."

Henry's theories made absolute sense, and could really be the only reason it even exists. It seemed cheesy in theory, but, in reality, it was the truth and reason that any of this was even happening.

Now, the big question was what to do next.

"So what do we do? Try to destroy it?" Flora asked.

"No, because if we destroy the one thing that keeps this place alive, we'll be going down with it," he clarified.

Flora's eyes widened. How could she have overlooked that logical factor? It was like if you knocked over a wooden beam holding up a house; everything would come crashing down to nothing but dust and debris.

She was thankful Henry was here right now.

"Not to mention that the whole effects of that thing on us could be catastrophic or even fatal," he added, furthering Flora's relief that he was there with her. "What we need to do is first, get out of here, and then find where that slab thing is in reality. Only then can we destroy it."

"The only pony who knows where that thing is is the very pony who chose to cause all of this; Princess Flare. She probably has it locked up in some fancy chest or something in Canterlot, so getting it is next to impossible."

"I know, Flo, but we've got to at least try. For every pony stuck here. For Trevor and Sarah."

A ping of emotion stung Flora's chest at that, realizing that Henry was right.

This had to end.

For good.

For all of the trapped souls here.

She nodded.

"Okay. I promise to do all I can until my dying breath."

Henry smiled, turning his gaze to something peeking through the cracks in wood above their heads.

Sunlight.

Faint but visible.

The final act had come.

Upon the sudden sound of an all-too-familiar voice erupting from invisible speakers, Flora and Henry jumped in fear.

"My oh my has it been a fun night chasing down both y'all, but I'm afraid our fun must come to an end," spoke Applejack. "So, here's how our final little game is gonna play out. Instead of hide an' seek, we'll be playin' tag down to the final second that yur time here comes to an end!

The rules are simple; ya run and run, hopin' we don't catch ya, but to spice things up a little, we've decided to give y'all a bit of a headstart. Ya have one minute to run as fast as ya can out into the orchard, but I reckon ya don't stop, otherwise ya might be met with a bit of a surprise!

All exits are now open, and yur headstart will start in approximately five seconds. Ya better start movin' fast!"

Flora and Henry didn't even hesitate and rushed out of the cellar, up into the kitchen, and, just as Applejack had said, the side door exit in the kitchen was wide open. Wasting no time, both of them ran out into the yard, eying the orchard out past the gate, and trotted like an animal being chased by a predator past the gate, and out into the mass of dead apple trees.

Just as they met the tree line, a siren had started to blare from the farmhouse; the same one that had signaled Ponyville civilians of their impending doom approaching in short time. It sent shivers down both of their spines as they just ran deeper into the mass of trees that had seemed to extend for endless miles.

They didn't look back or stop, not even thinking for a second that Applejack had been feeding them lies about the orchard's "surprise." In the distance, the sun was starting to rise over a mountain, and if Flora's memory served her correctly, the full rising normally takes about ten minutes.

This would easily be the longest ten minutes of her life, and she didn't expect this to go as smoothly as it currently was. Trickery was soon to come and as soon as she heard the siren stop, she knew their advantage was up and that the true hunt had begun.

"Here we come, friends!" the voice of Applejack erupted over the sound of a megaphone.

Another sound accompanied the message, and it made Flora's fear escalate like a rocket.

Barking.

They couldn't stop, otherwise they'd be caught faster than they had run as far as they did.

"They've got a dog, Henry!" Flora informed.

"I know, just focus on running Flo!" he commanded, keeping within an inch of her tail.

So she did keep running, not looking back for anything and just focusing on what prize awaited her at the end of this race.

Then something happened that she didn't expect. One of the trees not far from in front of her placed one of its thick branches in the way of her path, as if it were a sentient being.

Flora and Henry skidded to a stop, both quickly turning and attempting to go down another clear path, but, to their horror, the trees were starting to block the paths.

The "trickery" Flora had assumed had come, and, as she had also predicted, it was making their progress more difficult, allowing Applejack to catch up faster.

She looked around quickly, looking for somewhere to go, but she found nothing but blocked paths starting to form. Neither she or Henry could trot fast enough to beat the trees, so trotting wasn't an option, and time was slowly starting to run out.

Then Henry said something that Flora hadn't expected.

"They want us to split up," Henry stated. "That's the only way they'll let us pass."

"Celestia dammit, Henry!" Flora objected instantly. "I just got you back! I won't lose you again!"

"There's no other way, Flo," he countered, and while Flora knew for a fact that he was correct, her stubbornness said otherwise. "We need to separate, otherwise we're both dead!"

"Henry! I won't lose you too! If we-

"Flora, Celestia dammit, do you want this to end the same way Trevor did!"

Flora gasped instantly at that, breaking her stubbornness that was as thick as ten-feet thick ice in the winter. Henry was right; this was going just like the series of events that led to Trevor's demise.

She refused to let something like that happen again.

"I'll see you back in Ponyville, okay," he said, backing away towards another path.

The trees began to give way and clear the path once again, and upon that, Flora knew she couldn't argue anymore. Henry had turned to move deeper into the orchard, up until Flora stopped him.

"Henry, wait!" she called, hurrying to him.

Then something happened that Henry had wished for his entire time of knowing Flora, but still had expected it to never happen.

His lips had met Flora's in a short but sweet kiss that he returned and shared with Flora for only a few seconds, though to him it had felt like an eternity.

Upon Flora releasing him, she only stated one thing before turning and running.

"I'll see you on the other side."

Then she turned and ran off beyond Henry's vision, stunned briefly from what had just happened. The stun didn't last long though, and he quickly turned and ran off as fast as possible.

Flora wasn't sure what she'd just done, but she just felt it was needed. That might've been the last time she'd ever see Henry again as much as vice versa, so she just had wanted to give something as a potential last goodbye.

She could resolve the whole thing when she got out of here, so she turned her focus back to running and not stopping. The sun's light was starting to cause the trees to cast shadows, so the sun had risen a little more, but not by much more than a sliver.

She could've sworn enough time had passed for it to have arisen halfway, but she couldn't argue with what she was seeing, so she just returned her eyes to the path she was running, watching for any obstacles.

Her legs felt like jello, but she didn't care. She hadn't felt this exhausted in her entire life, feeling thankful that her adrenaline was masking the majority of it, otherwise she wouldn't even be walking straight.

She just focused on what Henry had told her; run and don't stop for anything. She was literally right at the finish line; minutes from escaping this Celestia-forsaken place and living to tell the tale as the second survivor of the Apple Family Massacre.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!"

A scream.

Henry's scream.

Every instinct was telling Flora to keep running and to not listen to Henry's clear sound of having been caught or injured.

Just run.

Run until the sun is high above the mountains.

That's not who Flora Bloom was. She wouldn't abandon a friend, regardless of what could potentially happen.

She turned in the direction of the scream and trotted as fast and endlessly as her body could. The trees didn't block her way, and that seemed abnormal to her, and that immediately made her sense that something was wrong.

Another thing that she had just realized in that moment was the barking.

It was gone.

Now she knew something was off, and as she came into view of Henry's location, her heart sunk.

Henry was impaled in the abdomen with an axe, swung so hard that it had broken through his body and into the wood of the tree on the opposite side, pinning him like an addition to the tree. On his chest was a white paper stained with blood, nailed into what Flora horribly realized was his heart.

He was a bloody mess, both of his wounds leaking tons of blood and staining the base of the tree. Flora was already starting to lose her tears by the time she got to the tree and gently touched Henry, his body growing paler with the more blood he lost.

A set of bloody coughs erupted from Henry upon the touch, looking at Flora with eyes of pain.

"F-Flo….

He struggled, to which Flora jumped. She was an emotional mess upon her response.

"H-Henry…I-I…

She trailed off instantly.

"C-Celestia…y-you never…l-listen," he responded, following a chuckle. "S-Same ol' Flo…

Flora sobbed, wiping some tears from her eyes as she collapsed to her knees.

"I-I'm so s-sorry, Henry… This should've…this should've never happened! Not to you, Sarah, or Trevor!"

"D-don't be, Flo… It's n-not your f-fault…We all c-chose to do t-this… We all f-face the c-consequences we brought o-on ours-selves.

"I know, b-but I-I led us all to this…I can't help but f-feel I'm to b-blame for all of t-this."

"Y-you just w-wanted to h-have a fun N-Nightmare Night, and s-so d-did the rest of us. I'm s-sure the others w-will s-say the same w-when or even i-if I find them i-in this p-place…

Flora's heart sank again.

"N-No! N-No Henry!" she objected pleadingly. "Please! Not you too!"

She pointed upward into the distance where the sun was nearly above the mountains. It wouldn't be anymore than another minute or so before they could finally escape this nightmare.

"Just hold put a little longer! The sun is almost up! We can go home! You don't have to die here!"

"Oh Flo…That's what I love about you. Always s-so kind and p-positive, even w-when it's clear t-that things aren't g-going to end w-well."

He smiled, looking up at the sky.

"I'm s-sorry Flo, b-but I can't j-join y-you. I-I'm already s-starting to see b-black, and w-won't last m-much longer…

Flora knew he was right, and she only sobbed, knowing the inevitable was approaching. However, Henry's voice startled her out of her sobs, and she knew that this would be Henry's last words, so she just listened closely.

"P-promise me, F-Flo…that you'll d-destroy this p-place for g-good. That u-until you a-are on y-your deathbed t-taking y-your final breaths…y-you'll try e-endlessly to put t-this terrible p-place to r-rest for g-good…

Flo rose up from her knees and wiped her tears away, looking at Henry with fogged and pale eyes.

"I-I promise, Henry. For you, Trevor, Sarah, and every victim these monsters have victimized, I won't stop until this place falls and never exists in any reality beyond our own."

Henry smiled and coughed as he eyed the sunrise one last time.

"While I'm s-scared… I-I'm happy, because… I-I g-got to… h-hear your v-voice…one l-last..ti…

One last breath escaped his lips, then, with a smile on his face, Henry Quickwit went limp.

Flora started to lose her emotions instantly, but upon a glance at Henry's corpse once again, she remembered the paper nailed to his heart. Wiping tears away, she reached up and pulled the nail from Henry's corpse and took the paper.

It was mildly stained with Henry's blood, but she could read the words well enough, the message sending a chill down her spine.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO Y'ALL'S RETURN

She expressed anger at the message as the sun rose fully into the sky, and with a single blink of her eye, Flora found herself in an empty field.

She had survived the Apple Family Massacre and lived on. However, she would never speak of the horrors she had experienced to anypony. She'd carry the horrors with her to her grave and beyond, probably destined to relive the horrors in her dreams and much more.

She got up and found her way to the entrance she and her deceased friends had entered through, and happily left the foundation with memories she'd never forget.

Most of Ponyville was dead to her relief, seeing she was soaked with blood, dirt, and much more, and all she wanted was to get home and take a long shower. The promise she had made Henry would be accomplished, but she needed time to think and plan.

That would take weeks, and that meant her friends would face endless pain and torture while she plans and lives freely. The guilt ate at her like a parasite, but she just did her best to ignore it, approaching her home.

Opening the door, she walked into the smell of alcohol. It was just as she feared; her mom had drank herself drunk, and upon seeing a mare with a messed up mane sprawled out on the couch and an empty wine bottle on the floor, her fears were confirmed.

"Celestia dammit, mom…

She picked up the wine bottle and tossed it into the nearest garbage, allowing her mom to sleep. As she had planned, she worked her way to the bathroom, stripped herself to nothing but fur and hooves, and took a long thoughtful shower, scrubbing herself over three times to get that copper smell out.

In the mix of the heavy duty cleaning of her body, something eventually clicked in her mentality, and she lost her emotions completely. She sobbed under the stream of hot water and just cried endlessly for ten minutes straight, all of the macabre memories flashing back and playing out like a visceral horror movie.

After her emotional breakdown, she had just shut the water off and dried off, throwing away the towel after she was done. Normally, she would've done her hair and made herself all pretty, but right now, she didn't even care about her looks or anything.

She wanted to take a nap, but she was too afraid to even attempt it, knowing Applejack was waiting for her in her sleep. Instead, she just cleaned up her mother's mess and made the house at least decent enough for just the two of them.

After that, she decided to get something done that was needing to get done for awhile, borrowing some bits from her mother's purse and moving to the Ponyville market centre.

She only needed to get a few things, mainly some vegetables and milk, but nothing more. While at the market, she ran into some of her school friends, but she paid them no attention and just got the deeds done.

Even the market ponies were surprised at normally-chatty and friendly Flora being so emotionless and cold, but she didn't care. If they had any idea of what she'd been through, they would understand why she looked like shit and didn't even want to look anypony in the eye.

Opening the door to her home again, her mother was still asleep on the couch. Sitting the bags of her newly-acquired goods on the kitchen counter, she looked at the clock.

It was 8:00 am.

She wasn't going to let her mom sleep in all day after the mess she made, so she moved back to the front room and started to shake her mother awake.

Upon the touch to her mom's shoulder, Flora froze.

It was like ice.

"No…

Flora started to shake her mother hard, only for no response to come. Upon one good glance of her mother, Flora felt her heart drop and stomach churn in disbelief.

She was pale, stiff, and cold like a stone statue.

Lily Bloom was dead.

"MOM! PLEASE WAKE UP! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

Flora Bloom was all alone now.

Lost, broken, unstable.

Flora had officially lost everything.

END OF PART ONE