Missing Clergy Found At Stalliongrad Train Yard
By: Igor Inkspill
Stalliongrad- In the early hours of yesterday, the Stalliongrad Train Yard guards discovered what appeared to be an execution of the five missing clergy members of the Church of Solaria. The victims were found bound and gagged with bullet wounds to their heads, all placed in a circle.

Commissioner Badge of the Stalliongrad Guard has stated that he will be working tirelessly with the EIB to bring those responsible to justice.
-More on C-3

Filly Applejack blinks the blotches of colors out of her eyes and scans her surroundings. All she sees is white, just like the flash after the multitude of emerald bolts of energy that attacked her and everything in the farmhouse basement.

Her heart hammers in her chest and her breathing becomes sharp as she paces in circles, eyes darting every which way they can to see if there is more than white. But there is nothing. No up or down or side and side. Everything is an endless void of white with no sign of life anywhere.

“Welcome to the Void,” echoes a soothing, male voice.

Applejack gasps and jumps around to face the source, and she backs up, trembling when she sees a tree that was not there a second ago. The tree has white and black bark with vines snaking all around its body that appear to come from the white ground. At first glance, it looks like a sitting unicorn, with its hooves being roots that coil into the nothingness around it. Its eyes are dark knots in the wood and its snout and horn are protrusions, but with a second look, little Applejack realizes that the two large branches sprouting from its side with thick green leaves hanging down look like wings.

Applejack backs up, trembling and swallowing as tears pool in her eyes at the strange sight.

“I can understand if you are frightened. The Void is no place for a child,” says the tree. “But it is remarkable that you have found your way here at such a young age. What is your name?”

“A-Applejack,” whispers the filly nervously.

“That is a pretty name for a pretty filly. My name is Sirius.”

One of the vines snaking around Sirius slides off and slithers across the ground towards Applejack, making her take a step back. When it is in front of her, the vine lifts itself up towards so it is at a comfortable height for a shake. Applejack swallows nervously and her wet eyes move between the vine and the dark knots that make Sirius's eyes.

“Please, do not fear me,” says Sirius his voice aching and more vines moving into Applejack's personal space.

Applejack takes another step back, whimpering louder with tears dripping off of her cheeks as the rest of his vines slide down off of his wooden body and slither across the white floor towards her. From seeing all the snake like tendrils sliding towards her, Applejack's heart spikes and she yells in fright and tries running, but the nearest vine grabs her hind leg and holds her in place.

“Let me go!” shrieks Applejack. She breaks down into sobs and wails, and thrashes desperately as more vines grab her limbs and waist and lift her off the ground. She turns in the air, face drenched in tears and eyes bloodshot as her writhing does nothing but encourage the vines to tighten and for Sirius to gently shush her. She does not listen to his attempt to calm her down, and yells through her sobs. “Please, let me go! Ah don't wanna be here!”

“I do not want to hurt you,” assures Sirius as he brings Applejack closer to him. With Applejack just barely three feet away from him, he starts turning her body for a full inspection and loosens his touch so he is barely touching her pelt as his vines run along her small body. “So small. So fragile. What brings you here, child?”

“Ah-Ah just wanted my-my mama and papa back,” sniffles Applejack.

“Resurrection is a common reason for coming in here, but, alas, I am afraid you will have to leave here alone.”

“What! Why! Ah-Ah did all the stuff Ah had ta do!”

“True, you performed the ritual well for somepony your age, but even then, you cannot get what you seek.”

“But Ah did everything! Gimme back my mama and papa!”

“Do not be upset. You have gotten far for your age. You have seen the first layer of the Void, and for that, you should be proud.”

“But Ah want my parents!”

The vines squeeze around Applejack's midsection and coil around her hooves, becoming tighter with each layer until she is no longer able to move. This does not stop her from trying to worm her way out, though.

“I know, but you cannot have them and I must send you back, but not without recompense,” says Sirius, his voice loosing its soothing edge to a stern tone as the filly grunts and wiggles uselessly in his grip. Though, she does stop squirming with the last part of his statement.

“Re-Recompass?” stammers Applejack, staring uneasily at the deity with widened, bloodshot eyes as her heart thumps loudly in her chest. “Wha-What's recompass?”

One of Sirius's vines moves under Applejack's body and positions itself under her stomach, poised for a strike, and his voice softens as he speaks. “It has been too long since I have seen a child, and I do not wish to inflict harm on you, but I must do this. Forgive me, Applejack.”

The vine then pierces Applejack's stomach like a freshly sharpened blade, and her bloodshot eyes bulge and her mouth opens wide as her back arches up with the pain ripping through her. Applejack screams in pain and-

Wakes up in a caged cart, coughing blood all over her hoof and wooden floor. The three other mares locked in with her reel back, swearing and shouting, but she can't understand what they are saying over the scratchy coughs that make her shoulders buckle and her lungs burn.

Applejack's vision blurs with tears and she collapses on the floor, body trembling and tears mixing with the blood droplets as the cage door slides open with female guards rushing in and barking orders. The prisoners are forced to the far sides of the cage and the farmer's body feels like it is being ripped apart from the inside out as she curls up on the floor, hacking sharply and staining her orange coat with red.

The voices fade and she feels dizzy as she drowns in a sea of fear and confusion. She barely feels a hoof go on her and the tingle of magic going through her body, and then everything fades to darkness.

Filly Applejack lies on the ground on the edge of the Thaumaturgy Circle, huddled, defeated and covered in blood. Her scratchy whimpers are barely heard over the sparks flying from the burnt engraving in the ground, and her convulsing body is but a lump in the darkness, barely illuminated by the dim, emerald sparks. With each flick of energy into the air, the dim room becomes darker and Applejack curls tighter on the ground with both of her front hooves clutching her gut as blood pours past her mouth.

“Mama... Papa...” calls Applejack, her voice low like the whisper of a dying child.

Her vision swims, bending and blurring the room as she tries to blink the tears out of her eyes. Though, with all of her disorientation, she manages to spot a lump in the middle of the circle, surrounded by green haze. Its limbs are coiled like vines and its milky green eyes blink in the dark as it opens its mouth with its hoof extending. The bones snap and crack like brittle glass as it stretches out to grab her, blowing puffs of emerald smoke from its wide open maw.

“Mama...? Papa...?” wheezes Applejack, reaching her blood soaked hoof towards the figure.

Suddenly, her body is bathed in light and she hears two sets of hooves storm down the stairs. The light illuminates the charred body in the center of the ring, now lying motionless in a spreading pool of blood that covers the chalk. To her, it looks like creature's skin is made out of burnt bark and its wings appear to be covered in burnt leaves, with most of its leafy feathers floating as ashy flakes on the blood and the remaining few hanging by thin stems. Surrounding the body are charred vines that are also crumbling, but they are smoking and rapidly degrading, like the rest of the body.

“Jackie!” cries Granny Smith, her terrified voice distant in the fillies ears.

Applejack keeps her hoof outstretched, and her eyes widen and she tries screaming for her parents as the strange body breaks apart and collapses in a heap on the floor. Her pupils shake with her hoof and blood dribbles past her lips, mouth wide open for a silent cry.

“Macintosh, get Doctor Heartbeat right now!” orders Granny Smith.

Applejack hears her brother leave in a hurry and she feels her grandma's hooves embrace her. Next thing she knows, she is lifted off of the ground, leaving her bloody puddle on the floor, and she is hugged as tight as her broken body will allow without being in worse pain. It is at that moment when she sees the brick wall of the basement and feels her grandma's racing heart beating against her chest that she not only made a horrible mistake, but she failed in accomplishing what she wanted to do in the first place.

Her parents are still gone and she almost killed herself summoning the wooden creature, and with the crushing burden of her failure and the lifeless eyes of the creature haunting her mind, she breaks down.

Applejack's weak whimpers break into full on wails and she clutches her grandma as hard as she can, with her hooves slick with blood slipping off, only to snap back to hold her again.

“Ah'm sorry!” sobs Applejack, burying her face against her grandma's body. “Ah'm sorry! Please don't- Ah'm sorry!”

“It's okay, Applejack. Granny's here. Granny's got ya,” coos Granny Smith softly, sniffling and hugging Applejack closer to her with her eyes closed and body gently rocking back and forth. Her tears drip on Applejack's mane and she rests her head on top of the filly's as bloody hooves paw against her shoulders, desperately trying to hold her.

“Ah-Ah'm sorry.” Applejack's voice and cries are weakening and caving in to raspy coughs. She closes her eyes and buries her face in Granny Smith's shoulder, wanting to see nothing but the dark void so she does not have to see the demon she made when she failed. “Ah'm sorry, Granny... Please... Please don't hate me... Ah'm sorry.”

Granny Smith softly shushes Applejack and tenderly runs her hoof through her blonde mane and up and down her spine. “It's okay, sweetie. It's going to be okay. I promise.”

Applejack's eyes flutter open and she finds herself lying on a cot in a brightly lit, small, white room. She is covered in a thin blanket and has a breathing apparatus strapped across her muzzle that is connected to an air tank. Every breath she takes sounds like a wheeze going through a tunnel, and the machine hisses and clicks to pump more air into her, which, in turn, makes another machine click and print out a sheet with jagged lines to show her vitals. Applejack stares curiously at the printing machine, noting how it has wires snaking out and connecting to her hooves and barrel, right over her lungs and heart.

She raises her hoof to her eyes twisting and turning it every which way she can to get a better look at the sensors strapped to her, which lay just above the gem studded cuff on her hoof. Though, when a particularly noticeable jolt sends the contents of her room shaking, she realizes that there is a faint rattling outside and she glances out the window to see that she is still on the train, much to her dismay. Though, instead of seeing fields of grass, metal monoliths or trees, all she can see is a frozen wasteland through the gray fog.

“We are in the Frozen North in case you were wondering,” says a stallion next to her.

The voice startles Applejack, making the machine beep quickly and print out the vital records quicker, showing the spikes in her heart rate. When she looks to see who it is, her heart steadies, but her eyes narrow and her growl is muffled by the breathing mask.

“What the hay are you doing here?” growls Applejack hoarsely.

Nebulous smiles and gets up from his chair to approach the farmer. “I just wanted to see how our resident Thaumaturgist was doing after that little incident in your cage.”

“I'm doing fine.”

“Come now, Applejack, don't be a liar.”

That statement makes Applejack's eye twitch and her blood heat up, but her darkening expression does nothing to sway the unicorn's light demeanor.

“I know you are not in good health because nopony leaves the Void in perfect condition,” continues Nebulous.

Applejack's dark demeanor melts away as her ears droop and eyes widen. The machine beeps rapidly again in response to her hammering heart and her mouth becomes dry as the unicorn leans forward until his muzzle is almost touching her breathing mask. He keeps his smile, but instead of it being light, it is oozing with malice and Applejack shudders when she feels the invisible tendrils wrap around her body again and feel along her hooves and midsection.

She squeezes her eyes shut when the memory of Sirius spearing her body flashes across mind, and the whispering voice of Nebulous bounces around in head like an echo of a demanding demon.

“Tell me, my dear, what did he take from you?” asks the professor.

Applejack's eye open, red and wet with tears that snake down her freckled cheeks, and her body trembles as the tendrils continue to grope her hooves and midsection. When the tendrils around her midsection get really soft and curious, though, Applejack flinches and the invisible feelers freeze. Nebulous remains still, as well, and she wants to scare him off with a glare, but his eyes are closed, so all she can see is her sorry reflection in his glasses.

Applejack gasps when the tendrils give her a squeeze, then they pull away with Nebulous as he steps back, slowly opening his eyes.

“Ah, I see... How unfortunate,” murmurs Nebulous.

Just then, the door slides open and Parma Shield steps in, wearing his armored vest on top of a thick, white winter outfit that covers his whole body except his head. He also has his slender battle saddle equipped, but has the barrel tilted up at an angle and the firing bit just below his mouth. Behind him is a brown pegasus in a white suit and a unicorn nurse with a green coat, a red and white mane that is tied into a bun, and a slightly modified caduceus for a cutie mark. Instead of the winged staff being wrapped around by serpents, it is wrapped by two vines with red, fully bloomed flowers on the top. She is wearing the standard nursing hat and has on a white jacket with pens in her pocket and a clipboard hanging around her neck.

“Excuse me, Professor, but we'll have to cut your session short. Nurse Care is here to check up on Miss Apple,” says Parma Shield.

“That is fine. I will be leaving now,” says Nebulous, his goodhearted smile returning. He steps back and bows slightly to Applejack, saying in his calm tone: “Get well soon, Applejack.”

Applejack warily watches Nebulous leave, and once the door shuts she looks at Nurse Care and Parma Shield, watching them with the same cautiousness as she did with Nebulous.

“Alright, let's make this quick,” says Nurse Care as she steps forward, levitating her clipboard slightly.

“No funny business, either. We got guards on the other side,” adds Parma Shield in a nervous, quivering voice. Both mares in the room look at him with mixed expressions, and he swallows and takes a step back, quietly adding: “I gotta do my guard stuff.”

“The patient won't be able to do funny business,” says Nurse Care with a roll of her eyes, then she adds with a wave of her hoof: “Now, go on. Scram. Leave the mares alone.”

“But, I gotta-”

Nurse Care snaps her hoof to the door. “Go.”

Parma Shield opens his mouth to say something, but ends up closing it and leaving the room. After the door quietly shuts, the nurse shakes her head.

“I swear, stallions can be worse than us, sometimes,” she says.

Applejack remains silent and the nurse sighs as she scribbles something down on her clipboard.

“I don't mean to be rude, but-” Nurse Care looks at the cuffs “-what did you do?”

“Nothin' illegal,” replies Applejack sharply.

“Right. You're just in cuffs on your way to a prison camp because nopony likes you.”

“Eeyup.”

Nurse Care snorts, clearly skeptical. “Well, if you don't want to be honest with me, that's fine. I was just trying to get some small talk while I work. It helps me concentrate and get to know the patient better. Criminal or not.”

Applejack is again silent for the most part, but a low growl does rumble in her throat and her eyes narrow on the nurse, silently vowing to slug the next pony to make a comment about her Element. Indirect or not.

Nurse Care adjusts the clipboard in her grip and positions her pen, ready to scribble down information in an instant. “Now, Jackie, I need to know if your allergic to anything before I start recommending medications to fight your condition.”

“Oh, well, no that you've mentioned it, I am allergic to a lotta things actually,” says Applejack, her eyes widening and body stiffening.

Nurse Care raises both brows curiously. “Really?”

Applejack nods. “Oh, yeah. Let's see if I can remember them off the top of my head.” She taps her chin with her hoof and rolls her eyes to the ceiling. “There's stupidity.”

The nurse's curious look crumbles into a large scowl instantly.

“I'm allergic to bullshit, too,” continues Applejack. “Then there is scapegoaters, chronic liars and those weird folks that knock on the door with them white shirts and creepy smiles.”

Nurse Care facehoof's. "I'm being serious.”

A smile flickers across Applejack's covered muzzle. “Asparagus.”

Nurse Care lowers her hoof, barely missing the smile. “What?”

“I'm allergic to asparagus. And lemon peppers. My face swells up a bit around my eye when I eat lemon peppers and I get these weird bumps on my tongue when I eat asparagus.”

Nurse Care sighs exasperatedly. “Okay, but what about prescription drugs? Are you aware of any allergies you may have to certain medications?”

Applejack shrugs. “Shoot, I don't know. Never took a prescription drug in my life.”

“Your joking, right?”

Applejack lowers her eyelids slightly and seconds later the nurse clicks her tongue and scribbles down some notes with hard strokes.

“Well, this certainly will make things interesting,” grumbles the nurse.

Meanwhile, a few carts down the train, Nebulous and Meriaclock are enjoying as much of a stroll as they can through the guard's living quarters of the train. The decorations consist of gray carpet and thick curtains to keep the cold at bay, and framed propaganda posters and metal safety signs are placed at even increments. As usual, the propaganda is flashy and makes the royal government to be the purest of entities while the safety signs are comprised of bland pictures to go with their bullet points. To alleviate the boredom that comes with these, there are speaker boxes placed in the car that play upscale orchestra music. The attempt to add life to the train is noble, but it is obvious that Meriaclock is finding the music to be rather dull, but Nebulous enjoys it. It gives him something to listen to if he doesn't feel like thinking. Like right now.

“I still think that this is ridiculous. We are in the perfect position to take her now and get this over with,” complains Meriaclock, interrupting Nebulous' peace.

“Only, the extent of her condition is worse than I thought, and I do not know if she will be able to perform the task after she is treated,” says Nebulous after a deep sigh.

“You said that she was capable.”

“No, I said that I think she was capable and that was before I got a better look at her. Hopefully the medical facility at the Gulag will treat her well enough so she can accomplish what has to get done.”

“Well, that's just great, Professor. We are going through all this trouble for a maybe and a hopefully. I'm sure our chumps will be thrilled.”

“We have no other option. I'm sure they will understand.”

Meriaclock snorts and ruffles his feathers challengingly. “We do have another option. You just don't want to use it because you're a ball-less coward.”

Suddenly, a tendril wraps around Meriaclock's neck and he is hoisted off of the ground and slammed against the wall. The pegasus gags and kicks his dangling legs wildly while Nebulous stares straight ahead, jaw tight, eyes glowing green and tendrils appearing in the same color. As the tendrils appear, thorns start to protrude from them in random increments, growing in size and sharpening by the second. The professor hears Meriaclock gulp when one of the thorns pokes at his neck, just barely missing his jugular, and when he looks at him, he sees the pegasus' struggle weaken and his eyes roll to the back of his head.

Nebulous keeps his narrowed eyes locked on Meriaclock as he uses his hoof to adjust his glasses. He does not say a word and his breathing becomes heavy and his body trembles with the desire to pierce the pegasus in the throat and throw his carcass out in the snow. But, after taking a deep breath and seeing the body become limp, Nebulous remembers that he needs Meriaclock, and with that small thought, he releases his prisoner so that he falls in a heap on the floor. His horn glows for only a second before Meriaclock wheezes awake and starts coughing violently and sucking for air as his hoof massages the bruise around his neck with Nebulous watching the whole time.

Meriaclock takes a gulp of air and coughs violently again, glaring at Nebulous without lifting his head.

“Say that to me again and I will show you who the real coward is,” says the professor coldly. He then uses his magic to help Meriaclock to his hooves and brushes the wrinkles out of his suit, then gently places his white and red hat back on his head. “Come. Let's see what the cafeteria has to offer. I'm feeling famished.”

Nebulous turns on his hooves and trots down the train car without looking back. But even though he is not looking Meriaclock anymore, he can still feel the glare burning at the back of his skull, and, quite frankly, he can care less.