They were back at the firepit. Apple Bloom wondered how many times Applejack had come here in the dead of night, considering she was able to walk in the pitch blackness of the night without tripping on any holes or tree roots. Apple Bloom herself had stumbled a bit, but that was also partly in fault of her nervous, shaking limbs. Applejack dropped Lyra roughly on the ground near the firepit and began to untie her, allowing the mare’s body to splay out unnaturally. The orange mare demanded Apple Bloom to stand near the pit, and the filly couldn’t say no out of fear of consequence.

So the two Apples stood on opposite ends of the firepit. Applejack started eerily humming the same tune from the cornfield all those weeks ago. This time, Apple Bloom did not join in. Applejack seemed to return to her usual, chipper self as she smiled vacantly, nudging Lyra’s body into the centre of the pit. The cheeriness from her sister did nothing to make Apple Bloom feel better, however.

“Alright, Apple Bloom. This is how we keep our home safe,” Applejack explained as she pushed all of Lyra’s limbs into the moderately sized circle of charred wood. Applejack struck another match and held it in front of her. “You have to look right at the firepit, okay? I know you might feel afraid at first, but ya get used to it.” Applejack looked at Apple Bloom, who nodded meekly and turned to look at the stone encircled spot where Lyra’s body lay.

The flame on the match Applejack held flickered, growing larger, and then diminishing to near extinguish. It flickered again and then grew to a size that no single match should be able to produce. Applejack did not let up the humming as she threw the lit match into the fire pit, where it immediately caught the entire area within the border of stones on fire. Apple Bloom took a step back, afraid that the flames would catch her and the entire forest on fire, but it was as if a force field was in place, and the fire stayed exactly within the invisible barrier. It rose higher than a regular fire should have, almost reaching the height of the tallest trees.

The fire burned so strongly that it seemed like everything past the painted circle around the pit was darkened out. Apple Bloom felt the heat on her fur. It was so hot, she thought she’d singe. But as quickly as the feeling came, it disappeared. The fire completely went out within the blink of an eye, and where Lyra’s body once was, now was just a sheet of fabric the same colour as her fur.

No, it wasn’t fabric, was it? It was her skin. The rest of her body was gone, and the only thing that remained was the completely uncharred skin of the unicorn. Apple Bloom’s legs wobbled and she felt her body give in to the sensation as she fell on the floor and retched once. Nothing but stomach bile came up, and Applejack chuckled as she took a step into the fire pit, getting soot on her hooves. “I know, sugarcube. It’s quite a bit daunting. But we’ll be needing a new scarecrow soon.”

Apple Bloom started crying. Every emotion she had felt building up suddenly released, and she cried like a newborn foal. Her entire body trembled and she watched helplessly as Applejack hung the turquoise pelt on the blackened, twig rack as if it was a simple coat. This had to be a dream! Where was Luna? When would she wake up? She just wanted to wake up! She wanted her normal sister back.

The filly could no longer stand on her own, and she felt herself being lifted onto her sister’s back as Applejack slid her head underneath Apple Bloom’s body and heaved her up. Apple Bloom was completely frozen, useless to her mind’s demands to leave. She couldn’t move. All she could do was tremble in fear as Applejack murmured empty reassurances while they moved closer to the cellar. Apple Bloom had never wished she had been obedient more than she did in that moment.

Applejack led them back into the horrible, stench-ridden room with now the noises of one less pony in it. Apple Bloom didn’t even want to know who the other two were, and she didn’t want to imagine how many times Applejack had done this. How many times her… her family had done this. This had been going on for longer than they were both alive. It wasn’t just Applejack. It was her whole family. Applejack, probably her parents… Granny… Granny’s parents…

Apple Bloom held back a horrified scream as Applejack opened a second door in the far right corner of the room. She hadn’t even noticed it the first time she was in there. Apple Bloom looked around, but it was even darker in this room, and she couldn’t see anything but the faint silhouette of her sister’s head. Apple Bloom took staggered breaths, weak from crying. Applejack placed her gently on the ground and stroked her mane again. Apple Bloom could hear muffled grunting in a voice much deeper than the ponies in the main room. She looked around for the source of the noise, but all she saw was Applejack.

“I can tell you’re unsure, Apple Bloom,” Applejack spoke gently. “And I get it, trust me I do. I was afraid too.” Applejack’s somewhat comforting presence disappeared as she took a step out of the doorway. Apple Bloom tried to stand, but she couldn’t hold herself up. The muffled grunting grew more desperate as she heard somepony writhing in place. It sounded almost like a warning.

Applejack came back into the room, completely blocking out the light. Apple Bloom heard a wooden thud on the ground as Applejack stopped in front of her. “I can change that.”

Before Apple Bloom could question what that meant, she felt a hard thump on the side of her head, and then the world turned black.

Apple Bloom opened her eyes slowly. She blinked one eye at a time, taking notice of a light source on the floor in front of her. She wondered where she was, and tried to remember what had just happened. She was with Applejack, and they discovered a horrifying place. Or… was it Applejack that showed it to her? Whatever. They were in a room, and then… Something hit her. Was it Applejack?

The young filly shook her head as the memories started to return and her gaze focused on the candle in front of her. She was… in that room. Not the same room, though. A different room. She groaned as her head spun. Why did Applejack do that? As she groaned, the muffled noises became more and more desperate. Suddenly realizing she could actually see because of the candle, Apple Bloom desperately looked around the room to the source of the deep grunting. Barely visible thanks to the weak candlelight, her gaze fell on a large silhouette. The red fur and orange mane were unmistakable and Apple Bloom yelped in surprise, a noise almost unhearable thanks to the cloth in her mouth. Big Mac? But I thought he was doing a delivery! That’s what Granny and Applejack said!

But, like she had learned, they say a lot of things.

Apple Bloom made eye contact with her brother. Her eyes felt puffy from all the crying, and he looked at her, brows furrowed in intense desperation. They were both tied down, although with their hooves in front of them rather than behind them like the other ponies, and they weren’t blindfolded. Apple Bloom looked around. Scrawled on the wall in different hoof writings in different shades of red paint were the same theurgical symbols around the firepit in the woods. Apple Bloom felt even more scared, and she longed for her brother, but they were too far away from each other.

Hoofsteps echoed in from the room outside of where Big Mac and Apple Bloom were trapped. Apple Bloom looked up to see Applejack there, her expression untelling of any emotion. “Good, ya woke up.” She walked into the room and observed the candle. “You’ll learn to accept it. Both of you. For now, we can make an excuse. Big Mac got delayed by the weather, y’know.” She glanced over at their brother, who looked away from Applejack. She turned her gaze back on Apple Bloom. “And you’re busy preparin’ the farm for the next harvest. Or maybe, you’ve gotten sick.”

Applejack smiled vacantly at her. “Big Mac’s close to comin’ home though. I can tell. He don’t struggle much anymore.” She flicked her gaze back to her brother, who stared at the candle. “Your friends’ll come around, I reckon. But I’ll tell ‘em you’re busy, or sick. They won’t ask questions. And within a few weeks, you won’t either.” She lifted Apple Bloom’s chin with a hoof. “Worked for me,” she muttered.

The hat-wearing mare took a step back, then walked towards one of the walls where the writing was the densest. There were arrows pointing down to a record player that Apple Bloom hadn’t noticed before. Applejack turned it on, and the same tune that her sister occasionally hummed started playing. Instantly, Big Mac relaxed and smiled. He hummed along to the song, and Apple Bloom reluctantly found herself humming as well.

“See? It’s already workin’,” Applejack said with a grin. “I’ll come back to check on ya soon. We’re family, ya know. I love y’all.” She turned the corner and shut the door, leaving Big Mac and Apple Bloom alone in the room with the music drowning out all her senses.

Apple Bloom looked back down at the candle. It burned similarly to the match that Applejack lit in the trees, but no matter how large it grew, the light levels emitted were minimal. Around the candle was a red circle painted onto the floor, and within it, different symbols than the ones on the walls and in the orchard. Written on the outside of the circle, following its circumference was written messily in a different shade of red paint:

Every family has its secrets.

Author's Note

You can check out the drawing I did for this end scene here.