Return to Bittersweet Apple Acres

It had felt like I'd never left Bittersweet Apple Hell after I'd realized that everything that had kept a smile on my face and my life as bright as the sun had left me alone and lost. Reality became a blur in my screams of a hopeless and inevitable conclusion, and, from that moment onward, the old Flora Bloom had faded away, replaced with the lifeless husk now rotting away in this shithole.

Everything that had kept me stable and robust had collapsed, and back then, I'd become a bridge destined to crumble apart into whatever lay beneath it. Everything bright in my life had faded to nothing but a desolate grey, and my mentality, already scarred by that Applebitch, had become unhealable, the wounds bleeding like a raging waterfall of crimson.

In full clarity, my life had, in one lone night, gone from happy and carefree to dystopic and unhinged. Something I hadn't felt since the day my mom and I ran away from "him."

Oh, you must be wondering who I'm talking about, seeing I never mentioned it beforehoof. Well, there's a reason for my lack of mentioning the stallion who literally destroyed my foalhood, and that's because I buried that bastard in the darkest corner of my mind long ago.

To put it in the lightest of descriptions I can manage, the stallion I speak of is the very one that…violated me at only the age of five, and beat my mom as if she were his own personal punching bag…

The stallion known as Darwin Flare, aka my father.

But that whole nightmare is another horror story for another time. The only thing relevant about that monster to this is that he was the cause of my imbalance before Sarah, Trevor, or Henry were ever even a thing in my life.

For the longest time after mother and I managed to escape him, the scars he'd left continued to fester with pain and trauma. I didn't go anywhere, talk to anypony, or just socialize in any manner in general for months.

Up until the day I met Sarah for the first time.

To keep it brief, Sarah understood my pain, because she'd been through something similar in her past. That's how we connected, and eventually, our friendship would lead to me healing and letting go of the past.

It took a long hard time to finally move on, but my friends all helped and supported me along the way. They were like the siblings I'd never had, and we all understood each other, carrying our own baggage that lingered like an incurable virus or disease.

We all weren't just your ordinary group of friends; we all had connections through things connected to our pasts' and worked together to free one another of those things that haunted us by showing that there is light in the darkness.

Trevor's demon was drug addiction, nearly losing his life to an overdose. He had grown up around said demon and had been led to think that drugs were nothing bad, seeing his parents were constantly poisoning their bodies with them.

Then came the night he had shot up something beyond his usual dosage, leading to immediate negative effects on his body. Somehow he had managed to save himself in time by calling 911 and alerting the operator of his situation.

He was taken to the hospital and cured of his poison, having escaped death by less than five minute's time. I don't know how his parents were able to keep him, but Trevor had vowed from that day to turn his life around.

Henry's demon was suicide, having been driven to the point of no return by the school staff doing nothing to stop the bullying he received daily in and outside of school. However, once it had come to the moment of ending it all, he couldn't do it, and realized that ending his life wasn't the answer.

He came out of that horrifying situation a stronger pony, and refused to ever let his demons take him over again. There were a few occasions when he had nearly lost his strength, but Sarah, Trevor, and I managed to keep his head above the dark sea he was starting to sink into.

Together, we worked to keep each other strong and stable. We'd been through Hell and had managed to escape, turning our lives around in hopes of a second chance. So when I lost them and mom…

I lost myself in the crumbling of everything that had kept me above my own personal sea of dread.

One day after escape

The room Flora sat in was cold and unwelcoming, consisting of only thick walls, a hard floor, and one lone table she was currently seated in. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen from the previous night and horrid discovery that she had found only two hours prior, her screams of anguish and desperation having been loud enough to alert neighbors.

They had found Flora weeping on the floor, her mother's corpse immobile and pale on the couch and cold to the touch. It was a sight that had horrified the ponies who had come to her aid as much as it had Flora, following with a call to the Ponyville police department.

Upon arrival, the house had been swarmed with police and barricaded with crime scene tape. Flora had refused to leave the premises, but was eventually taken out by force, allowing the officers to do the proper actions of investigating the crime scene for anything related to the cause of death to Lily Bloom.

Due to her refusal to cooperate, Flora had been hoofcuffed and locked in one of the cars. She hadn't been under arrest, just temporarily restrained to allow the police to do their job.

Next to arrive had been the homicide unit, a stallion dressed in a black trench coat making his way into the house with heavy focus and analyzation of every area outside of the residence. He did the usual protocol upon entering the horrid scene, eying Lily's body and everything around the area for any solution to her cause of death, but the only plausible thing he could find in relation to anything to do with the crime scene was the empty wine bottle on the carpet floor.

No blood, weapon, or sign of forced entry.

From that, he had concluded his analysis, allowing the coroner to lead the body from the house to the Canterlot Morgue. However, that wasn't all he planned to do, having exited the house, walked over to the car Flora had sat in, and opened the door to speak with her.

"Good day, Ms. Bloom," he had greeted. "I'm Detective Blackhorn, and if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you to come down to the station. You aren't under arrest, I'd just like to ask you a few questions regarding the current situation."

Flora had just lifted her head to meet Blackhorn's gaze, knowing it had been best to just comply. She had seen enough crime shows to know that refusal to comply only makes you look even more suspicious than you seemed prior, so she just had responded with a light nod.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Blackhorn had responded with a smile. "Sit tight. We'll be leaving shortly."

After a short ride, Flora had been escorted to where she currently sits in a blank state. Between losing her friends to that psychotic mare and her mother dying out of nowhere, she felt as if all if the light in her life had burned out, and now she was just trapped in a labyrinth with no way out or light to lead her.

She felt empty.

Lifeless.

Upon the sound of the door across the room opening, she shifted her gaze and jumped in mild fright. Through the door came Detective Blackhorn, closing the door behind him and taking a seat across from Flora. She felt as if she were in one of those cheesy crime dramas being interrogated, and upon Blackhorn laying his hooves upon the tabletop , it was practically exact.

All that was missing was an ashtray and a ton of folders with documentation of the victim. She was just waiting for him to pull out a cigarette, but he never did, and instead began to address the reason he had brought her here for.

"First, I am very sorry for your loss, Ms. Bloom," he started. "It truly must've been quite a shock finding your mother deceased, but that's why I'm here."

Flora didn't say anything, only nodded her head in response.

"Alright, so let me ask the first question. Do you know anypony who would want to hurt your mother? An ex-boyfriend, co-worker, friend?"

Flora shook her head instantly. Lily wasn't one to make enemies, nor did she really have any friends who had a gripe with her.

Blackhorn nodded, pulling out a mini notebook and pen from his left chest pocket and scribbling some notes onto the first blank page steadily.

"Alright, question two. Where were you between midnight and 5:00 am this morning, Ms. Bloom? I know the answer is pretty obvious, but I'm required to ask these things for confirmation."

Flora took a moment to answer, her mind still stained with all the horror of last night and that morning. Her mind echoed the screams of her friends in their final moments, the laughter of that sadistic mare, and Henry's dying wish, but she found her answer through all the traumatic imagery and sound.

"I…was out…at the…festival…

Her voice came out as a trembling whisper, but upon Blackhorn scribbling furthermore in his notebook, it was clear he had heard her.

"Very good. Question three. Were you with anyone at the festival?"

Again, Flora hesitated, but after a minute, she found her answer.

"My…friend…Henry Quickwit…

The screams echoed again, Blackhorn scribbling more notes down.

"Okay. Question four. What time did you leave the festival with your friend?"

Flora paused. She had to be careful here, because she could easily be caught in a lie. She couldn't tell the truth, nor could she say she hung out at Henry's house for awhile. His parents would've seen her arrive and stay.

The near-entirety of Ponyville was out last night, so many eyes would've seen her at the festival, as much as leave it. She thought about the way she left to go to the foundation, and assumed she could say that she went to meet up with a friend or something for a better view of the blood moon.

The road to the foundation is across the bridge and to the left, so she could say she went to meet a friend out that way, seeing there is an actual open field with a good view of the night sky just across the bridge.

It was her best resort, so she went with it.

"I…went outside…of..town…across the bridge…to meet…with my…friends. We…wanted a…better view…of…the …blood moon…so we…went out…that…way."

More scribbling followed, along with Blackhorn sticking his notebook into one of his many coat pockets.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Bloom," he said calmly, standing up from his seat. "You've been a great help, but there still lies the fact that you are without a guardian and are not of adult age.

Therefore, by law, we cannot just let you go, until we are sure that you have an adult guardian caring for you. Not to mention, your home is currently a crime scene, so you cannot go home just yet."

"Then…where do…I go?"

"Do you have any family that can provide care for you, Ms. Bloom? A grandparent, uncle, aunt?"

Flora paused. The last time she'd ever seen one of her relatives was before she had moved to Ponyville and was old enough to remember, and her mother had never mentioned anything to do with her grandparents, so she had no idea. She decided to just lie.

"None…that I…am aware of…

"I see. Well, then do you have any trusted friends who could temporarily care and watch over you?" Blackhorn asked.

Sparks instantly burst in Flora's head, her only friends having met their grisly demise the night prior. Tears instantly started to soak her tearducts, but, given her situation, she fought them back and brainstormed some fake story up in her head.

She couldn't say she didn't have any friends due to her statement of being with Henry the previous night, so she came up with a not-too-untrue answer.

"No sir…because my…friends have been…missing since…during the blood moon…last night…

Blackhorn's eyes widened. Even he wasn't expecting that answer.

"What do you mean, Ms. Bloom?" Blackhorn answered unsurely.

"We all…were…watching the blood moon…last night…and after…it…was over…we all were…planning to do…some last…minute trick or treating…However, after the…event was…over, all three…of them were…gone…

I spent…all night looking…for them…within the…area, and…had no…luck, so…I was going…home to call…the police to report…them missing. That's…when I…found my mother…

Blackhorn cleared his throat, regaining his calm composure. This case of murder had now become a missing case as well, and he was nowhere prepared to find three more potentially dead ponies.

"I see I've underestimated the severity of this," he said, taking a seat again and pulling the notebook from his breast pocket again. "Can you give me their names Ms. Bloom? I'll see to it that a search party will indeed be formed to search for them."

"Sure… Trevor Trottsman, Henry…Quickwit… and…Sarah Darkmist…

With a click of the pen and a few scribbles on the blank paper canvas, Blackhorn finished the session, slipping the notebook back into its home of cloth and cotton, and turning to the door.

"Thank you again for your cooperation, Ms.Bloom. For now, just stay put. My fellow colleagues will arrange something for you shortly, given you're probably hungry."

"What about…my temporary…home?" Flora questioned.

"We'll arrange you something until the crime scene is cleared. My fellow friend Officer Darkwood will be just outside the door if you need anything. Don't be afraid to ask."

Flora nodded, to which Blackhorn took as a sign for him to depart, walking the door and exiting the room.

Once Flora knew she was safe, she didn't hesitate and allowed her dam of tears to break. She buried her face in her arms to suppress any sound she made, and just cried freely, eventually exhausting herself into a near slumber. However, she stopped herself, fearing what may await her in slumber.

Reliving her friends' final moments, what may have happened to her if she had been caught by that twisted mare, her friends being tortured gruesomely, and much more macabre nightmares that she feared won't be "just a nightmare," but actually real.

Just thinking about it made her skin crawl, so, instead, she just tried to think of memories that she cherished; the moments in her short life that had rebuilt her after the horrors that Darwin Flare had caused her, and had shattered her already-fragile psyche.