Blanked

It wasn't that bad to awake, actually. Nothing hurt, nothing felt wrong, nothing felt bad. It all felt normal to Applebloom, only her stomach seemed to ache a bit. But that was only a bit.

Groaning, she scratched her mane. Where was she again? Oh yes. Wait...she didn't actually know...

Looking around, it refreshed her memory. She jumped up with surprise and panic, looking around expecting the horror movie she was in before she thought she was in. But, instead, it was just Sunny Town like it used to be; happy, sunny, and...

Wait a minute! The sun was up! Applebloom looked at the bright yellow sun high in the crystal blue sky. It must have been that every night they turned into zombies or some kind. Maybe it was a dream. No, she trashed the idea, it seemed too real. Maybe they didn't remember it once it was morning. Maybe, maybe, if she had luck. She raced towards the entrance of Sunny Town, and...

"Oof!" she bumped into the wall. Wait, there was no wall there! It was an invisible force that somehow kept her out. But it wasn't there before, and zombies certainly didn't have that kind of technology. So her happiness was gone. And all the doubts...

It wasn't a dream. But her theory of the moon controlling the zombie's form was still there. She could still wonder, still do it, and maybe at night she can leave. Just stay there, waiting, by the entrance...

"Hows it, Applebloom?" the 'Celebration Planner Extraordinaire' asked, walking up to her, and smiling, "I thought you'd like it here."

Applebloom sighed, then realized. She looked frightened suddenly at the stallion. "Y-you remember! How could you remember? Ah thought that..."

He smiled. But there seemed to be no evil towards it. "Talk with Mitta," he advised, "I only accept you because you're one of us now." He walked away.

"One of us..." Applebloom repeated, "What did he mean by that? How did he know mah name? And who's Mitta?" she looked around.

Curiously, she walked up to the nearest pony, besides that weird celebrator stallion, and poked their hoof to get his attention. It was a stallion -- the stallion, who she helped find the gift for. He had an orange coat and blue mane.

"Yes?" he asked, staring at Applebloom, "Oh, yes, thank you again for finding that gift for me."

She nodded nervously. "Er...yeah, anyways," she said, "Is your name Mitta?"

He stared, then chuckled. "Of course not, Mitta's a mare name, didn't you know that?"

Applebloom blushed. "Of course ah knew that..."

"If you're looking for Mitta she's that pony with a gray coat and dark red mane. In that house over there," he pointed to the house he was at.

"Oh, I remem'ber," she said, "Ah, thanks."

"No problem," he replied, watching the filly race off into the house.

The door was open halfway, so she pushed the rest open with a creak. Her hoofsteps echoed throughout the room, and the supposed 'Mitta' perked up in surprise.

"Um, hello?" she asked to Applebloom.

"Ha'i," she mumbled, "Any'ways, I waz wonderin', cuz I'm from Ponyville and all, y'all turned into zombies, and I asked that...Grey Hoof," she remembered his name, "And he'z all weird an' sent me to ask you. So what's goin' on?"

Mitta whimpered. "I don't want to explain," she answered, "I hate Sunny Town."

"Then why don'tcha leave?" Applebloom asked, stepping towards Mitta.

She sighed. "Because I can't," she said, finally meeting eyes with Applebloom, "It's the curse."

Applebloom looked confused. "The what now?"

Mitta smiled shakily, and motioned her to sit down. Applebloom did as she was told.

"I'll tell you from the beginning, alright?" she asked, continuing with the nod of Applebloom's head, "Once upon a time there was a city, a city in a middle of the forest. They were very happy, and they decided to name the town Sunny Town because the sun was always so bright, and it radiated the happiness throughout the entire town," she nodded, hesitating, then continued, "Soon, though, unknown ponies began growing trees around the town which covered all the farmer's crops. They fell in a great depression. Fast forward, they came out of it, and decided to just keep the town a little secret because they thought that the dangerous ponies out would grow more things on their property, so they allowed the forest to grow around them. But that came with prices, like unknown things that would be natural for a pony, they didn't know of but the outlanders knew, like the ponies in Ponyville," she looked at Applebloom, "Like things like a cutie mark. I'm not supposed to tell you this, I know, but that Grey Hoof rules Sunny Town. There's no mayor or anything, but he's definitely the leader here. And he told everypony that cutie marks were a curse when...when...Ruby got one. Ruby was my dear friend, and I'm so...so...so guilty of letting her..." she whimpered, "Letting her die out there. I could have stopped it."

Applebloom felt guilty for letting her cry. "It's alright," she comforted, "Just continue."

Mitta nodded, and brushed away her tears on her hoof, continuing. "Where was I? Oh yeah. And they murdered her. They thought cutie marks were a curse. Ruby sadly did not make it, and I think her ghost roams about the forest now. If only she haven't gotten that darn cutie mark..." she sighed, "And when she died along with it was the beautiful night. The next night the moon was red, dark red like Ruby's...Ruby's blood..." she looked away, "And all of us turned into...zombies. It's scary. It was really, very scary. But Grey Hoof told us that this form would not allow us to be cursed like...her...and so we just adapted. I can't believe it's been so many years...I grew up here, you know," she nodded at Applebloom sadly, "Now that we're actually the cursed ones we cannot leave for there is an invisible barrier surrounding the entrance and exit and trees within the area as some kind of boundary or border. That's why you don't see us in Ponyville."

Applebloom repeated a pony's voice in her head. We've got everything we need right here. So we rarely, if ever, leave town, that pony had said. But they didn't leave town. They couldn't leave town...ever. So that was that. And that would mean...how she could not exit...

Mitta noticed the filly's distress. "I'm sorry, Applebloom, I know what you're thinking," she said, "I'm sorry, but you've been Blanked."