Apparition Amphitheater Presents: Discoevil

"No."

"Why not?!" Apple Bloom whined questioningly. It had all come to this. After she came home with the new ticket yesterday, she decided to increase her chances by playing the good girl for today. Waking up extra early, working doubly as hard as normal, and listening to Applejack without any question or suggestion. It was all brought to this moment, only for her attempt to be shot down once again.

"'Cause, YOU have to get up early tomorrow mornin' to help me with the apple buckin', that's why." Applejack answered.

"But, it's not like ah'll be gone the whole weekend. Ah just-"

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled with a stomp.

Apple Bloom suddenly became silent, taking a step back. She stared at her sister for a moment, but shook her head and took a step forward herself. "Ah worked REAL hard today, just fer tonight! Can't you make an exception? Ah'll come back to help on the farm tomorrow after that, Ah promise!"

"No means no," Applejack stated, "We may be a little ahead of schedule, but an Apple's work is never done on a farm, and you should know that. It's somethin' yer gonna need to remember when you start workin' as a real farmer."

"Well, maybe ah don't WANT to be a 'real farmer'!" Apple Bloom yelled. As soon as those words left her mouth, she realized what she had done. Looking to her sisters face, she watched it go from shock, to hurt, then to anger, right before it calmed to a bitter resolution.

"The answer is still no," Applejack responded coldly, "Ya'll be gettin' up at 7 in the mornin' tomorrow, and that's final, missy."

Apple Bloom bit the bottom of her lip, trying to hold back her tears, before she angrily stomped away, up the stairs, and into her bedroom, slamming the door. Applejack sighed as she watched it happen, and sat down at the couch in exhaustion. She gazed over to an image of Granny Smith, before taking it off the counter. "Ugh, did Ah do the right thing, Granny?" She asked. "Was Ah also this bad when Ah hit this age?"

Silence answered her back as she wiped a little bit of dust from the picture. She gave another sigh before she put it back on the pedestal. "Hope yer doin' alright at Careful Relic's Retirement Home. Ah'll be sure to bring Apple Bloom to see you tomorrow." She felt a little silly talking to a picture, but since the old matriarch of the Apple family clan was fully retired, she couldn't seek out advice like she used to. She had to do this on her own. She just hoped she didn't make things worse.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Apple Bloom sulked in bed, staring out the window into the starry night sky, as a full moon hung overhead, painting everything with a thin, silver light. This wasn't the first time they fought so intensely, but this time felt extra heavy for her. Maybe it was because it was building up for a long time now. Maybe it was because even her sudden compromised solution was also shot down. Maybe it was the ultimately cold response. Maybe all of it, and a list of other issues. One thing was for certain now, and it made her brow furrow in determination. To Tartarus with the consequences. and dash her uneasy feelings.

She glanced towards the alarm clock on her nightstand, noting the time. 11 o'clock. Applejack had surely gone to bed by now, needing to get up early tomorrow to start the day. She knew this. She's lived with it for years. Now, she was going to use it to her advantage. Getting up from her bed, she carefully sneaked over to her saddle pack and fished out the ticket and tucked it into her bow, before she slowly approached her window and opened it. With the skill of a relatively decent tree climber and the physique of a young farm hoof, she carefully scaled down the side of the house, making sure not to damage the more sensitive spots along the wall.

She paused only for a moment when something in the back of her mind told her to stop. It made her heart quicken and her body shake. It was like she was afraid, but was it of being caught, or something else? Regardless, with a push of internal resolve and a light shake of the head, she resumed her climb down and reached the ground safely. She knew where the spare key was to get back inside when coming back, so with all that recalled, she made her way into town.

It didn't take her long to find Crest Street, but the whole place felt deserted. To be fair, everypony was probably asleep by now, and those that weren't were likely trying to keep quiet out of courtesy. It was kind of strange being out and about in town at this hour, under Luna's night. It made the town feel a little... spooky. However, it also made it feel new, which excited the young Apple sister.

"Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo exclaimed, trotting on over to her to her dear friend.

"You made it!" Sweetie Belle followed, gathering to the other two, finishing the trio.

"Almost didn't. Had to sneak out," Apple Bloom admitted.

"I'm not entirely surprised," Scootaloo mentioned, "Your sister is a bit stubborn... just like you." She then grabbed Apple Bloom and ruffled her mane a bit, annoying the farm pony playfully.

"Hey, quit it! Ah just washed it today," she giggled.

"Alright, so, we're on Crest Street," Sweetie Belle started, "Now, where's this Phantom Disco?"

"Ah guess we should go lookin' fer a place that has neon lights, er somethin'."

"Ya mean like that?" Scootaloo stated, pointing towards a building that had neon lights leaking from the cracks of the front door and spotlights pointed directly at the walls on either side of the door frame.

"Ah... didn't see that while comin' here," Apple Bloom stated, a little spooked.

"Well, it IS called the Phantom Disco," Scootaloo reiterated, already heading towards the building, "Come on, girls! Who knows if we'll ever get a chance to do something like this again!"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom gazed at each other for a moment, before giving a nod of affirmation and followed their cohort. They mused about the irony of the chicken being the braver one of the three, eliciting giggles between them, as the three approached the front.

There before them was a modestly sized building, no bigger than most of the shops around town, with no signs on the front to identify it, save for a red placard with a slot in the middle that read:

Welcome to the Disco. Insert Tickets Here.

"Straight forward, but I wonder why we have to do it like this?" Scootaloo asked.

"Maybe it's to keep non-ticket ponies from getting in. There might be somepony on the other side to take the tickets and allow us in," Sweetie Belle answered.

"That makes the most sense."

The three of them were about to do as the placard said, when the sound of hooves were heard behind them, following familiar voices.

"Oh hey! You got yourselves tickets too?"

Turning to meet the recent arrivals, the trio were soon joined by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"Hey, you made it just in time. Yeah, ran into an old friend that gave us one each." Scootaloo mentioned, holding out her ticket to them.

"I guess that means we'll all be heading in, then," Silver Spoon stated.

"Not a bad idea," Sweetie uttered, "Maybe we can find other former classmates and all catch up."

"And party like no tomorrow!" Scootaloo added.

Diamond Tiara chuckled. "Sounds like a plan," she agreed, "So, how are we doing this?"

"We do what the sign says," Sweetie Belle stated, "Insert our tickets there."

With agreements all around, one by one, each of them slid each of their ADMIT ONE into the slot, with Apple Bloom doing so last, with some slight hesitation. The nerves she had over this still somewhat bizarre situation where there, but were now decently suppressed with the enthusiasm of her friends.

Upon Apple Bloom's ticket disappearing beyond the door, said door slowly creaked open, revealing a warm, orange light. The group then cantered inside with anticipation as the door slowly shut behind them. What they witnessed was actually somewhat of a marvel.

Inside what appeared to be at first an incredibly standard looking building was a massive dance hall, easily four or five times the size of what they initially believed. The whole interior glowed a warm golden glow, with neon pink, blue, purple, and green dots of patterned light moving and shifting about the surfaces. Booths and chairs could be seen set up off to the side for rest and relaxation, while the tiled, chessboard pattern center was smooth and clean, perfect for pulling whatever dance moves one could ever hope to try in absolute confidence. They could even see a buffet table in the back. Disco, jazz, and dance music could be heard coming from an unknown location, somewhere out of sight, but loud enough to be firmly present even at the entrance. There was only one, very prominent thing that was off about all of this. Aside from the five young mares standing at the entrance, no one was there.

Not a single guest. Not a single member of staff. Further, again, even a DJ, which would likely be the one providing the music, remained entirely unseen, as the music continued to play. The girls expression over the place went from abject wonder and awe to slight nervousness.

"Where is everypony?" Scootaloo asked, breaking the silence among them.

"Well, maybe we're just a bit too early," Diamond Tiara reasoned.

Everyone agreed with that answer, as it seemed the most logical, and were all preparing to step forth away from the entrance, when they heard something. It was shrill, desperate, fearful, and a bit too haunting. Out from the far end, coming from a hallway unseen, was another pony, roughly their age, limping as fast as possible away from... something. It was then that the new individual saw the girls and began to pick up the pace, in between pants and sobs, right shoulder bleeding rather heavily from a major gash they only started to notice. The girls began to get nervous and feel something was terribly wrong as the unknown pony came closer, crossing the dance floor. Said pony's damaged foreleg outstretched towards them in a panicked desire for safety and relief.

"Help m-" was all the pony could say before the floor on either side suddenly grew spikes, and slammed inward like a high speed Venus fly-trap with a hard crunch mixed with a wet splat, severing the outstretched foreleg from what was once the owner. The force of the impact sent the leg tumbling through the air, splashing blood all around it before it thumped against the floor and rolled to a stop at Apple Bloom's hooves, bumping against them.

All five girls stood frozen in absolute shock, trying hard to process what had just happened, before fear finally sunk in, and one of them started to scream.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED!!!?" Diamond Tiara shouted fearfully as Silver Spoon continued to scream.

"N-no way th-that's r-r-real," Scootaloo stuttered, right before she heaved off to the side and vomited from the sight.

Sweetie Belle then suddenly fainted, causing the girls to look away from the grizzly scene out of concern for their friend, trying to make sure she was alright. Apple Bloom gave her a light tap on the cheek, only to mark it with a splotch of blood that was on her hooves. Diamond Tiara, with manic terror, began shaking and pounding at the door behind them, trying to get it open, to no avail. It was then that Apple Bloom realized there was no one to greet them at the entrance. No one was actually there to take their tickets or open the door. And now, the door was locked, keeping them inside. She then turned towards the dance floor, and noticed something even more shocking. The dance floor, which had acted as a giant, make-shift fly trap a moment ago was now back the way it was, save for the big red blood stain that was present. The expected gore from such a thing was absent, with the only other evidence of it happening was the severed forehoof in front of them.

"Wh-what's going on?" Apple Bloom asked quietly in heightened nerves, as the Disco music continued to play and the neon lights continued to move in patterns around the interior.

"We're trapped!" exclaimed Diamond Tiara, now clutching Silver Spoon for comfort.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!" her close friend screamed between sobs of fear.

As the music and fearful crying continued, the other girls remained frozen, gazing about the interior, trying to find some hint of a way out, or at least try to see some sign of danger to avoid. Their heightened vigilance towards the main area of the disco hall proved to be a bad move, however, as without much of a warning, a panel off to the side of them slid open. From the opening, a wire slithered out of the darkness and made its way towards the girls quietly. Apple Bloom's ear flicked in irritation upon feeling a tickle in her back hoof, only to see the wire slide towards Diamond Tiara.

Recognizing the danger, the farmpony stomped hard on the moving wire, trying to stop it from getting any closer, all while shouting toward her friend to get away. However, it proved to be a bad idea, as the wire whipped backward and wound around her own hind-leg fetlock and began to pull and tighten. The young mare yelped and faltered slightly, but held strong and pulled back, trying to get free. The other girls, save for the hysterical Silver Spoon and the unconscious Sweetie Belle, quickly took note of the situation and clutched at her body and leg, trying to help her pull away from it. The three mares pulled with all of their might, not wanting to become part of some other unknown, gruesome fate like the victim they had just just witnessed. In what felt like an eternity of a tug of war, suddenly the wire managed to slip off and disappear back into the darkness, where the panel from whence it came from slid back into place.

The girls fell backward from the sudden release of force, with Apple Bloom landing the hardest, both injured from the fall and from the scrapes and lacerations on her leg. Small patches of her coat were ripped out and lightly bleeding skin was exposed to the air. She seethed and endured the small pain for a moment, before she slowly and shakily rose back onto her hooves.

"W-we aren't safe here," Scootaloo muttered, terrified with the new revelation.

"Y-yeah, no horseapples!" Diamond Tiara responded in anger, before she shook and let out a small sob of her own for a moment, only to gain control once more. She turned her attention to Apple Bloom, and with honest, tear filled eyes then said, "Thank you..."

This was a total nightmare. It was supposed to be a fun evening of eating, drinking, and dancing the night away. It was supposed to be the night to taste the sweet sensation of freedom and independence, even if it's for one frivolous night partying it up on their own terms. It was supposed to be fun and rejuvenating. It was supposed to be safe.

"We shoulda known somethin' was fishy about that rumor," Apple Bloom bitterly thought, shaking on her hooves as her eyes cautiously gaze about.

Then, Diamond Tiara's voice picked up, addressing the young Apple. "I-I'm sorry," she said with a barely controlled hiccup, "I-I should have known t-too. I thought it was just, ya know, kind of a cool story, like w-we'd all be going on s-some sort of adventure... Like you guys used to back then. We should have j-just junked those tickets Rumble g-gave us."

Apple Bloom then had a thought. "W-wait a second. Rumble!"

"What about him?" Scootaloo asked, starting to calm down.

"You can only be invited here," Apple Bloom started, "Does that mean Rumble and Twist were invited here before? Do they know somethin'?"

"Twist too?!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. She was the old friend we told you about."

"Why would they do this to us?"

"More importantly, did this happen to them, and how did they get out?" Apple Bloom pondered out loud. She then shook her head. "Anyway, Scoots is right. It ain't safe here. If we wanna find an exit, we gotta get movin', before something else tries to grab us." She then turned to Scootaloo, "Ya think you can carry Sweetie Belle?"

"I'll certainly try," the young pegaus declared, hoisting Sweetie Belle over her back with some effort, but gave a small salute to her friend to show she was fine.

After which, Apple Bloom faced Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, addressing the latter. "Can ya stand?"

With a gentle sniffle and a nod, now starting to calm down, she shakily rose back to her hooves, but clung to Diamond Tiara ultimately, as if she was now afraid she might get attacked or nabbed next.

"Ok, here's the plan, everypony," Apple Bloom announced, "We're gonna have ta leave this main area if we wanna find the exit. We'll make our way where that... other pony came from. As we move, though, we gotta stick together. We just showed we can at least stop somepony from bein' dragged away if we work together. Diamond Tiara, can ah trust you'll keep Silver Spoon safe?"

The upper crust young mare gave a nod of determined affirmation. With renewed resoluteness, the group made their way around the outer edge of the dance floor, keeping an eye in every direction to make sure they don't get surprised once again. Strangely, everything remained relatively normal for a disco as they reached the hallway.

"So far so good," Scootaloo uttered with slight strain, feeling Sweetie Belle shift ever so slightly across her back as she kept pace.

Apple Bloom nodded, but uttered in caution, "Keep movin' girls. No matter what, stay together. We'll be safer that way."

It was then that they came to a crossroads in the hallway, with a corridor leading forward, left, and right from where they were, all lined with doors to what seemed to be staff or office rooms. The strange thing, while the neon disco lights were no longer reaching them this far into the halls, the music and the warm golden glow of the place was ever present.

"Ok, so," Diamond Tiara started, "Which way should we go?"

"I heard when walking through a maze, a pony should always hug the left wall. That way, they'll always find the exit in the end," Scootaloo suggested.

"Ah bet Sweetie told you that," Apple Bloom said, chuckling inwardly, "That's a good idea as any. What about you, DT?"

"I'm not really good at mazes, so let's just go with Scootaloo's idea."

"'Kay, then. Left it-" Was all Apple Bloom managed to say before glass walls suddenly shot out from either side of her, cutting her off from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle on the right side, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon on the left. Behind them, they were blocked off by a normal wall that wasn't there before. The force of the sudden walls knocked the mares over briefly, not giving them much time to realize what had happened until they were sealed off. Apple Bloom rose quickly and tried smacking at the glass, but it didn't budge, no matter how much force she put behind a buck or a punch. "Are you girls ok?!" she shouted, hoping her voice could at least be heard.

"Yeah, I think we're fine," Diamond Tiara said, though heavily muffled.

"Wh-... what's going on? What happened?" Sweetie Belle said, dizzy and also muffled from the glass.

Scootaloo laughed in relief. "Thank goodness you're awake. I was starting to get a little tired carrying you!"

"This isn't good," Apple Bloom stated in worry, "We don't have a choice now. We HAVE to split up."

"Y-yeah... so much for staying together for safety," Diamond Tiara lamented. Silver Spoon then began to cry once again, unable to handle the stress of losing the one safety they had going for them in this nightmare.

"Everypony," Apple Bloom started, a lump forming in her throat over what she had to say, "Go where you can. Stay safe."

"Yeah, you too," Scootaloo replied, her tone feeling a little more hopeless than before.

With that, the two pairs went down their forced directions, while Apple Bloom trekked forward, for the first time feeling truly, hauntingly alone and entirely exposed and vulnerable. She just hoped there weren't any more nasty surprises in store for them in their search. However, she knew hopes here were slim.