Canterlot
Not for the easily disturbed.
“Good morning, everypony! Today’s the big day!” Cheerilee was right to be enthusiastic about this day. After all, it was the day of her class’s big field trip to Canterlot. “Now, get into your groups and follow me. Remember to ride in your assigned balloon. We don’t want anypony causing trouble before we’re even there.” Twist trotted her way over to Apple Bloom’s balloon, but was abruptly stopped by none other than Scootaloo.
“There’s only room for three of us in here, and those spots are reserved for Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and me. Go back to your own group!”
“But I hate my group, Scootaloo! Can’t I squeeze in there with you? Can’t I just try?”
By this point, Cheerilee intervened. “Now, Twist, you’ll see your friends when we get there. Go to your assigned balloon.”
Twist sheepishly and slowly walked to her balloon to join Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara on their journey to Canterlot.
One by one, the balloons landed and the little ponies got off. Cheerilee counted them all to make sure they had all arrived safely. Once she was sure that the flight was a success, she started the tour. First, the class paid a visit to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Cheerilee explained, “This is the most prestigious academy in all of Equestria, and Ponyville’s very own Twilight Sparkle is currently enrolled here! This is a place that ensures that the most magically inclined unicorns can succeed with their talent. In fact, if any of you young unicorns here today want to pursue a life of magic, you can apply to transfer here any time you want. I will miss you, but I want what’s best for you all.” Sweetie Belle was intrigued. She now wanted to concentrate on magic, just like Twilight. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom did not care for this school much at all.
The next stop was the Wonderbolts’ practice field. This caught Scootaloo’s attention. Cheerilee did not give an explanation at all. Instead, the Wonderbolts themselves appeared over the horizon and proceeded to give a lengthy demonstration for the students, who were all mesmerized. But only Scootaloo was truly inspired. She decided, for now at least, that she wanted to join the Wonderbolts someday. And the tour moved on.
“Cheerilee?” Apple Bloom asked, “Is there anything here for earth ponies?”
“Uhhh… Well, you see… I… I guess there’s not. Not really.”
“So now my friends will get their cutie marks before me, won’t they?”
“Well, Apple Bloom, there’s no guarantee that they even will. And for all we know, you could still discover your talent before they do.”
“I guess so. Thank you anyway. This has been fun!”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it!” Then Cheerilee turned around to face the whole group.
“Alright, everypony! Get in the same balloon you arrived in. It’s time to go home.” The crowd of young ponies let out a collective sigh of disappointment, but then obeyed their teacher and got into their assigned balloons. All of them except Twist, that is. She attempted once again to join Apple Bloom and her friends, and once again, Scootaloo interrupted.
“Hey! Twist! What did we tell you back in Ponyville?!”
“Please, Scootaloo, just let me in. I can’t ride with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon again! I just can’t!”
“I’m sorry, but there’s no room! Go away!”
“You just don’t understand! There is nothing worse than those two! Even if it’s crowded, it’s impossible that your ride could ever be any worse than mine with them!”
“Ugh, fine. You can try to fit.”
“GIRLS!” Cheerilee interjected, “Please just get into your own balloons!” And, again, Twist obliged.
The balloons took off again, one by one. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were last. Their balloon seemed abnormally slow, but it got them there just fine, so they didn’t think much of it. Ten minutes later, however, all the others were out of sight. Still no need to panic… But when the balloon stopped moving altogether, the fear finally set in to all three fillies. Back in Ponyville, Cheerilee was also terrified. How could she have lost three students when she saw them all leaving?
The fillies were silent at first. It took fifteen minutes for Sweetie Belle to finally speak up. “What if we never go home?” “Sweetie,” Scootaloo replied, “I’m going to make it absolutely certain that we do. You’ll see Rarity again. Apple Bloom, I promise you will see Applejack again, too. I will never let you down. We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! If this is a test… If this is our destiny… If this is how we’re meant to find out who we are, I will not rest until we do!” This raised hope for the three scared little fillies. Even Scootaloo was caught off guard by her own speech. But minutes became hours. “Scootaloo? Sweetie belle?” Apple Bloom announced, “I just want you two to know that no matter how this ends, I’m happy that I get to wait it out with you two. You’re the best friends a pony could hope for. Now, it’s getting late. Let’s just call it a night and figure something out in the morning.” And hours became days. The three little ponies had been in the same spot in the sky for two days. The feeling of hope Scootaloo had created was rapidly deteriorating, and the feeling of pain from thirst, hunger, and overall fatigue was taking its place. And then their balloon started to move again, directly downward.
The balloon accelerated up to a speed high enough that the fillies felt weightless. Then, all of that force caught up to them as their basket smashed directly onto a rock, scattering the three ponies all over the place. Sweetie Belle was quick to notice the bright side of the situation. “A rock! A rock! I’m going to be just like my sister! Scootaloo, I think you were right! This is our destiny! No, this is my destiny!” But this wasn’t just any rock. It was a small plateau with such massive cliffs on every side that not even a Pegasus like Scootaloo could possibly survive jumping down. As Sweetie Belle excitedly looked for a way to turn the crash site into her destiny, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo could only wait and hope that she was right, hope that she would save them, and just hope that if she was wrong, they would still get down somehow. And now, as they were beginning to feel dehydrated and malnourished, their waiting had brought them nothing but darkness. The Cutie Mark Crusaders made a blanket from the wrecked balloon and, for the first time ever, fell asleep truly worried that they may never wake up in the morning.
The third day brought rain, and the ponies collected it in every way they possibly could, drinking as much as they needed and attempting to create pouches out of the rest of the balloon, then holding those out to gather what the unnoticing weather Pegasuses had brought them. This inspired Apple Bloom to think, and then yell, “Cutie Mark Crusaders survivalists!” Neither of her friends were interested in this idea, though. They were going to study magic, or become a Wonderbolt. They already knew just what they wanted to try to be, leaving the young earth pony even more worried that she would be the last to get her cutie mark.
Sweetie Belle had a sudden realization: “If I’m going to try magic, maybe I could help us out! We all just had water, but we still need food! I’ll try to make a spell that gives us food!” She tried and tried, but everything she thought up was either not a real spell or had nothing to do with food. She froze all of their water, turned part of the rock into diamond, and temporarily made Scootaloo’s tail completely green, among other useless spells, before finally giving up. The fillies were in excruciating pain due to their hunger by nightfall. They all lied down and passed out immediately due to their minimal remaining energy.
The fourth day was dry and hot. The collected water evaporated and there was still no food. The fillies’ mouths and eyes were so dangerously dry that they had to keep them mostly closed throughout the day. Scootaloo complained, “I think… I think I’m literally starving.” Apple Bloom said, “You’re right. We are. I’ve never been this hungry. I could eat every single apple back home right now.” Sweetie Belle added, “I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse!”
This gave Apple Bloom an idea.
“Okay! I pulled out three hairs from my mane. One is tiny and the others are big. You two each take one.”
“Why?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Just do it!”
“Okay, okay. Is this one big? It looks big.”
“Well mine is longer!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“And I guess the one I’m left with is long, too.” confirmed Apple Bloom, “Sorry, Sweetie. You lost.”
Apple Bloom explained the whole situation to Scootaloo in the night while Sweetie Belle slept, thinking she had only lost a silly game the others had made up to pass the time. “There are animals out there that eat other animals instead of plants. I think we can be like them so the two of us can live. Sweetie Belle lost fair and square. We will miss her, but we need to do this.” Scootaloo crept over to Sweetie Belle and tied a gag made from the wrecked balloon around her head. This woke her up, and she attempted to scream but could barely let out a sound. As Scootaloo pulled her legs behind her back, tying them together, she looked away just in time to see Apple Bloom swing a rock directly into her forehead.
She woke up to find the balloon’s basket on fire. Scootaloo had used friction from her flapping wings to ignite the dry wood. Under that little horn, behind those little eyes was Sweetie Belle’s mind, and in that mind were so many thoughts just wishing that the gag would be gone to let them free. “Why am I tied up? What is that fire for? Why won’t you two look at me? Am I… are you… Oh, no. No, no, no. NO! Stop! Apple Bloom! Scootaloo! Stop! Stop! NO!” but all of those things became muffled, hardly audible noises as they became caught in the thick cloth of the balloon.
“Oh no, she woke up!” Apple Bloom yelled, “I didn’t want this to hurt her! And I already got rid of that rock, so we can’t knock her out again!” Scootaloo gave Sweetie Belle an apologetic frown, but then told Apple Bloom that she needed to choose between one filly’s comfort and two fillies’ lives. Apple Bloom agreed, and the two lifted up the helpless little unicorn. Sweetie Belle again only wanted to talk, to scream, and to cry. But again, the gag prevented her mouth from forming words and all she could do was cry. And then, the heat of the day proved to be nothing as the filly became five times hotter having been dropped into the burning basket.
Sweetie Belle’s eyes were as wide as ever, as the tears they were forcing out evaporated away immediately. Those same eyes began to shrivel up as their moisture was forced into the atmosphere. Sweetie Belle’s mane was a smoldering orange and black mess as little flames and embers danced around in it from hair to hair. The rest of her coat wasn’t holding up well, either, as the skin it was attached to blistered, boiled, melted, and tore free from the muscle underneath. Those muscles became stiffer and stiffer as the searing heat burned and dried them all from wet and pink to crunchy and brown. Sweetie Belle’s heart rate had increased to a horribly unsafe level, just as her gag burned free from its grip. The young unicorn gave out a final, gruesome, bloody scream as her blackened silhouette collapsed among the flames.
As the fire died out, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom came to find their friend burned and hurt, but very much still alive. Sweetie Belle was writhing in the ashes and embers in immense pain. Every time she moved, it felt like she was scraping across rusty nails and broken glass. Every time she was still, it felt as if the fire was still burning around her. The pain was unavoidable and there was nothing she could do to make the situation more bearable. Most of her meat was cooked, however, and Apple bloom knew this. She took hold of one leg, sending a sharp, throbbing pain through every vein in Sweetie Belle’s body. She snapped the bone, proving to the little unicorn that it actually was possible to feel more pain than she had throughout the rest of the ordeal. Apple Bloom then tore the flesh to remove the leg, and in response, Sweetie Belle let out a dry, gravelly, quiet scream. She then tried to speak. “Apple Blo-… Ap-… Ki-… Me…” was all she could get out before she suddenly stopped making any noise at all. Apple Bloom pretended not to hear her and bit into the burnt leg once. Her eyes became wider and her mouth turned up into a smile. This was the tastiest thing she had ever eaten in her young life. She bit into it again, and then a third time, before finally motioning silently to Scootaloo that her meal was ready. Scootaloo took another leg, and Sweetie Belle tried to let out another scream. The filly had not gotten used to the throbbing pain of that event and it was exactly as unbearable as the first time.
Two more legs and two hours later, the Pegasus and the earth pony were full, while the burnt, now legless, dying unicorn continued to twitch and shake in the ashes of the basket that just days before was supposed to take her to her town, her home, and her sister. Her sister… In what was left of Sweetie Belle’s mind, there was nothing but Rarity, and how worried she must be back in Ponyville. Or worse, how she was probably hopeful that Sweetie Belle was okay. How she must lie awake every night, just like Applejack, holding onto nothing but the hope that she would be reunited with her little sister. Unlike Applejack’s, Sweetie Belle thought, Rarity’s hope was doomed to be for nothing. While Sweetie Belle could now accept and understand the fact that she would never see Rarity again, she knew that Rarity had no idea of her tragic circumstance, and she wished more than anything that her big sister could somehow find out and learn to cope with her loss earlier. But there was no way that could happen, and the young unicorn filly didn’t sleep at all that night knowing how much pain would inevitably be inflicted upon her big sister, and just wishing it could be gotten over with.
Scootaloo woke Apple Bloom up in the morning to point out that someone had taken a bite out of Sweetie Belle’s chest. This was baffling, as both of them knew that they were asleep all night long. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle twitched again, and Apple Bloom immediately put two and two together to see that she must have taken a bite of her own flesh in an effort to survive just a few hours longer. Scootaloo saw something completely different, though.
“Apple Bloom, look! Your cutie mark!”
It was true. Apple Bloom had finally gotten her cutie mark, before either of her friends, just as Cheerilee had suggested. She was so happy that it took her a few minutes to realize what it was. And when she did, she was proud of her new unicorn skull.
Sweetie Belle lasted an incredible two days on her own flesh, tearing off piece after piece and using the thought of Rarity to overcome the excruciating pain, before the three fillies collectively consumed just too much for her to hold on any longer. The pain from the burns never went away. The pain from the bites was always sharp and new, especially the few times when one of the ponies got a hold of some fresh, uncooked tissue that tugged at other living muscle and organ, increasing the intolerable pain exponentially to the point where Sweetie Belle’s entire body took some of the impact. If her vocal cords hadn’t dried up and shattered as she tried to ask to be put out of her misery, her friends might have heard her attempted screams. They might have gone easy on her. They might have put her down, as she was actually attempting to do as she gnawed at her own chest, desperately trying to reach her heart. But they didn’t. She lived for two days after being burned, dismembered, and eaten, and it never got even a small bit more bearable.
Three more days passed as the meat on the pile of unicorn bones became rotten and inedible. Apple Bloom was hungry again. She glanced over at Scootaloo and then at her rock. Her rock! She had thrown it over the edge to prevent this exact thing from happening. She wanted herself and Scootaloo not to experience the same pain that Sweetie Belle would go through. But she was still hungry anyway, even though she knew very well that she wasn’t starving. She simply could not wait for her next fix of pony meat. She looked around and eventually her gaze caught on to the little unicorn skull in the pile of ashes ten feet from her. “Maybe this is what my cutie mark is telling me. Maybe it’s not only symbolic of my skills, but it’s also a clue! This is what I have to do now! This is it!” she thought as she ran to the skull, but Scootaloo had had the same idea and beat her to it.
“Lay down, Apple Bloom. This will all be over before you know it.”
“No! This is my special talent! If anyone should get down and give up, it’s you!”
Scootaloo lunged at Apple Bloom and the fillies immediately found enough energy to fight. Scootaloo got the first hit: a swift kick into the earth pony’s mouth. Apple Bloom, fueled by rage and the pain of some of her teeth cracking and coming loose from her gums, retaliated by biting one of Scootaloo’s wings with her bloody teeth and pulling it to the point where it popped out of its socket. Scootaloo collapsed to the ground in a momentary seizure brought on by what felt like a railroad spike had been driven into her back. When she stood back up to take her next shot, Apple Bloom stopped suddenly in her tracks. A hot air balloon was rising up just behind Scootaloo. But before the earth pony could say anything, the Pegasus jammed Sweetie Belle’s horn directly into her gut. And the balloon’s basket set down on the rock face, just in time for a horrified Cheerilee and her search party to witness the attempted murder of one filly using part of the corpse of another.
Scootaloo was back in class the next day as her wing was undamaged and only sore, but Apple Bloom spent a week in the hospital recovering from her stab wound. The whole town gathered for Sweetie Belle’s funeral as soon as Apple Bloom was well enough to attend. Rarity managed to hold back tears for quite some time, but when Apple Bloom found and stood next to Applejack, the lonely white unicorn broke down so hard that the entire service had to come to a halt as no one could hear the speaker over her crying. This brought on an increase in the emotion of the rest of the crowd, and soon the entire town was in tears as well. All except Apple Bloom, who could not see what the big deal was. After the burial was finished and the older ponies had moved on to comfort Rarity, Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo to come to a private place with her to reminisce about their lost friend. Understanding and still crying, Scootaloo followed. Apple Bloom led her to a dark, empty room in her family’s barn. Scootaloo turned on the lights, which flickered for only a split second. That was long enough to see Apple Bloom standing on the other side of the room with a huge, insane grin on her face and a butcher knife between her teeth.
“Oh, Scootaloo. You really hurt me back there. And you meant to do it... I don’t think you’re my friend anymore... It’s time you get what you deserve.”
Scootaloo’s heart stopped in its tracks. She heard footsteps, and turned to open the door and run. But without the light, and having been ironically blinded by the flash that happened when she attempted to turn that light on, she could not find the door. Her only option was to scream for help as she kept looking. The footsteps continued until the fillies finally made contact. It wasn’t the knife that hit Scootaloo first, but Apple Bloom’s newly fixed teeth. They closed around a section of skin on Scootaloo’s neck, tearing it off and pulling plenty more of her skin, fur, and muscle along with it. The shock and the pain caused the Pegasus filly to seize again, as Apple Bloom swallowed the chunk of her neck that had been torn off seconds before. “Mmm. Scootaloo, I have to admit, Pegasus meat might just be better than unicorn meat. If you weren’t so darn tasty, I think I would just let you go now.” Scootaloo resumed her screams as Apple Bloom resumed her feast. Big Macintosh and Applejack were the first to the scene, but by the time they arrived, their little sister had left Scootaloo irreparably disfigured with only one wind, two legs, and a gaping hole in her side, and she was left in some sort of trance as all of her muscles disabled themselves and her breathing increased to an unimaginable speed. Little Apple Bloom’s pupils were dilated unevenly and her face was splattered with blood. She had a massive grin as she went in for another bite. This caused Scootaloo’s breathing to cease entirely. The older Apple siblings were frozen in a horrified shock as Apple Bloom looked up at them and, in her sweet, innocent voice, said, “Want some?”
There was a second funeral the next day. The only resident not in attendance this time was Apple Bloom. She was far away in the bad part of Canterlot, in a massive stone building full of padded rooms. She spent the remainder of her days in one of those rooms, wearing a straight jacket and a muzzle, hallucinating other ponies and eating them in her mind. Applejack and the rest of the Apple family couldn’t bear to visit her. The only pony who ever did was Rarity. Still distraught by the murder of her little sister, the bigger, stronger unicorn used her more controlled magic to tighten Apple Bloom’s straight jacket. It got smaller and smaller, redder and redder, until the young filly was constricted enough that she just had to let go. She was found in a puddle of blood after Rarity left, but the prison guards chose not to speak of the unicorn’s deadly assault. After all, this just meant one less lunatic to care for.
And Rarity got some lovely yellow and red fur to work with.
Rarity carried Apple Bloom's flesh all the way back to the Carousel Boutique, wondering what she could possibly make with it. Maybe it was enough to make a full dress for another filly. Maybe it could be used to make a scarf or another part of a full-sized outfit. Maybe it could be cut up and used to detail several different things. But she eventually came to realize that any pony could immediately realize what it is, and that, she thought, would instantly destroy her entire business and, ultimately, her dreams. She would have to get rid of it before anyone could see it.
"Hi, Rarity!" shouted Fluttershy softly, as she appeared over the crest of a hill at just the wrong time, "What do you have there?"
"NOTHING! It's... uh... nothing, Fluttershy."
"Oh. Um. Okay. I thought it was something, but I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry."
"Yes. You were wrong. It's nothing! Do not tell anypony that it's something! Understand?!"
"Yes. It's nothing. I understand."
"And you won't tell anypony about it?!"
"Please stop yelling..."
"Will you or will you not!? ANSWER ME!"
"I won't! I promise."
"Good!"
Rarity trotted away, furious at herself for offending her friend like that. Horrified by the chance of encountering another of her friends and making another scene like that, she took off running as fast as she could, the pelt of the dead filly hanging from her mouth. She just had to get rid of it; nothing was more important. She could only hope that none of her friends would see her before the fur was finally gone. And, just as she had hoped, none of her friends saw her before she left town. Instead, Big Macintosh did.
Knowing enough about Rarity through his sister, Big Macintosh was immediately suspicious of her worried, cautious behavior. He approached his neighbor, though mostly apathetically, with some caution.
"Rarity, right? Just what is that you have in your mouth, there?"
Rarity froze. She started sweating. She dropped the fur at Big Macintosh's feet, unintentionally and without noticing. He took one look at it, then his eyes widened and met the beady, distant ones of Rarity. Her mind void of other thoughts, Rarity noticed that something was missing. Her tongue had slowly grown accustomed to the flavor of the fur as she carried. She looked analytically at Big Macintosh now, thinking to herself that the members of the Apple family must be similar in ways yet unknown.
"Hey there, Big Mac," she finally said, "You wouldn't want to cause me any trouble, now would you? Come on home with me and we can forget all about this."
Doomed by his own desire, Big Macintosh excitedly followed Rarity into her bedroom. She told him to close his eyes and he's get his surprise. Just after his hopeful thoughts of an intimate evening, the last thing to go through Big Macintosh's head was a ten-inch steak knife.
Rarity's red dresses were a smashing hit the following week.
