Skeletons in the Closet

Applejack released Apple Bloom in front of the large, heavy metal door in the cold, smelly, damp hallway of the cellar. The Stetson-wearing mare struck a match, briefly lighting up the area. Apple Bloom looked around. The tunnel seemed somehow even more creepy now that they were the only ones lit up. Applejack used the match to light the lantern, then threw the little wooden stick on the floor and stomped it out. Wordlessly, Applejack turned to the metal door and raised a hoof. She hesitated for a moment, glancing at Apple Bloom from the side of her eye, and then pushed the door open with seemingly no effort. The door metallically shrieked as it opened, and Apple Bloom looked inside reluctantly, no longer as disturbed from the even stronger stench.

For a moment, she was confused. The light from the lantern didn’t reach far enough into the dark room for Apple Bloom to see what was in it, but she strained her eyes and once she was able to see, she wished she hadn’t. In front of the door, and in the room, were three ponies, blindfolded, bound, and tied to the ground. None of them seemed to be struggling but laboured breathing indicated to Apple Bloom that they were, at least, still alive.

Applejack looked expectantly at Apple Bloom and then motioned with her head to the inside of the room. Apple Bloom lifted a hoof to take a step forward but found herself frozen with fear. Applejack exhaled sharply through her nose and shoved Apple Bloom by pushing her with her head harshly. Apple Bloom stumbled into the room. The scent was somehow even stronger inside the room, but Applejack seemed undeterred.

“This is how we keep our family afloat, Apple Bloom.” Applejack’s voice was quiet but was definitely too loud in the otherwise silent room.

At the mention of the filly’s name, the pony in the middle of the room raised her head, causing Apple Bloom to drift her eyes over to the movement. Her heart sank as she recognized the turquoise pelt on the unicorn, and she wanted to call Lyra’s name, but nothing came out. Lyra started to struggle and writhe around, moving her head against her shoulder repeatedly until her blindfold fell down her head and onto her neck. Lyra blinked for a moment, but then locked eyes with Apple Bloom, a silent plea ringing out through the cloth in her mouth. She had dark circles around her eyes, and the area around her hooves was rubbed raw, dried blood covering the shackles and around the floor, and it was then that Apple Bloom worked out what that stench was.

Lyra seemed energized by the sight of Apple Bloom and pulled at the shackles, metallic clanging filling the room. In comparison to the last few minutes, it was so loud it made Apple Bloom’s head hurt. Lyra screamed, but it was muffled by the cloth in her mouth. She looked wildly around the room until her gaze fell on Applejack, who looked at her with a lack of expression on her face. Lyra growled something that Apple Bloom couldn’t quite understand as she stared savagely at Applejack, tears now falling freely down her face and into the dirty, bloody cloth in the mare’s mouth. The other two ponies in the room were still, each of them looking down at the floor. Not even their ears flicked at the sounds. Apple Bloom swallowed dryly and looked away from Lyra. She didn’t want to see it anymore.

“And I reckon it needs an early gift this month,” Applejack spoke as if Lyra wasn’t even there, continuing her muffled screaming. Applejack calmly took a step back toward the wall next to the door. Apple Bloom followed her sister with her eyes, curiosity mixed with fear egging her on. Applejack turned around to grab something from the wall. Something long. Once she turned around, Apple Bloom gasped. She held a rusted metal rod in her mouth that thickened on the opposite end of where she held it. Upon closer inspection, Apple Bloom deciphered that it wasn’t just rust that reddened the metal.

Applejack walked slowly back to Lyra, who watched her with wide eyes and shook her head furiously, her screaming changing from ones of rage to ones of pleading. Applejack reared back, and as she did so, Lyra looked back at Apple Bloom desperately, their interlocking eyes sending a hard chill down the filly’s body. Applejack brought down her front hooves on the nape of Lyra’s neck, forcing the mare forward and her face hit the floor with a sickening crunch. Apple Bloom looked away from the mare as Applejack brought down the rod with a grunt of effort. There was a squelching crunch this time, not as dry as the first.

The filly shut her eyes—the only thing she seemed to be able to will her body to do. The image of Lyra being forced into the floor replayed in her mind. She was sure that a pony’s front legs weren’t supposed to move like that. And that noise. It made Apple Bloom’s stomach churn. If she had any real strength in her, she would throw up, but she couldn’t.

The room was silent again, and the only thing she could hear was the breathing of the remaining live ponies and her own thundering heartbeat. Apple Bloom looked back, wondering why Applejack wasn’t saying anything. She saw her sister using the lasso she carried everywhere to tie Lyra in a hog-tie and used the extra length of rope to start dragging her out of the room. She looked dangerously at Apple Bloom, who was now afraid of what would happen if she didn’t obey. Fear-induced adrenaline allowed the young filly to follow her sister back out, the metallic door shutting loudly behind them. Applejack dropped the rope for only a moment to blow out the candle, leaving the three ponies in the dark.

Since she couldn’t see, the sound of Lyra’s body being dragged behind her sister, eventually up the stairs as well, was the only thing that forced a mental image into Apple Bloom’s mind as she tried not to step in the blood that trailed behind.