Fall Weather Fiends


                                            >Remember "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"?

                                            >It was a cultural phenomenon, surprisingly. Who knew that such a childish cartoon could receive the love and admiration of thousands of 20 somethings?

                                            >It was a crazy time. I remember having a "brony" phase myself. Those colorful equines brought me so much joy a few years back.

                                            >My favorite pony was always Applejack. I loved her countryisms and hardworking values.

                                            >Sadly, as all fads do, it came and went. The cheerful songs and wholesome plots soon became a distant memory for me.

                                            >However, something as big as MLP once was can never truly stay buried, at least not for everyone.

                                            >I was walking home from my menial job, bagging groceries at the local supermarket. I never was an overachiever, and it puts food on the table.

                                            >About a block away from my house, I noticed one of my distant neighbors was having a yard sale.

                                            >Strangely, I've walked past this house countless times and I've never noticed any signs of life coming from it.

                                            >A frail looking lady, at least in her 70s, was rocking back and forth on a chair on the porch.

                                            >Curiously, I decided to see what was for sale. Maybe I'd find some neat antiques of yesterday, begging to be resold for a markup.

                                            >I asked her if I could comb through the boxes of merchandise she had for display. She of course said yes.

                                            >She was a sweet old thing, offering me a cup of tea and some cookies. I politely declined, since I recently had lunch.

                                            >I began sorting through the various items in the boxes. Lots of useless looking ceramic knick-knacks and old, dusty toys.

                                            >Nothing seemed to be of any value or interest.

                                            >Just as I was about to leave, I noticed a box full of old video tapes.

                                            >My interest was piqued once more, and I began looking.

                                            >Shrek, Road to El Dorado, The Never Ending Story...

                                            >All signs of a grandson who's since started his own adult life.

                                            >Then, at the very bottom, I noticed a peculiar tape.

                                            >It had no case, just a very hastily placed label that just read:

                                            >Applejack

                                            >I recognized the name of the rural orange pony immediately. For memory's sake, I had to take it home.

                                            >I inquired about the price. Two dollars. Score.

                                            >I gave the old lady two wrinkly 1 dollar bills, thanked her, and went on my way.

                                            >I'm surprised at how excited I was to rewatch the pony show. I guess I needed some wholesome joy to spice up the repetition of my day to day life.

                                            >Soon enough, I was at home and ready to dust off my old VHS player.

                                            >I tossed some popcorn in the microwave, grabbed the bag, and planted my ass down to begin watching.

                                            >The episode began as normal. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were playing horseshoes, followed by some playful bickering.

                                            >Fall Weather Friends! I remember loving this one.

                                            >Giggling like a little girl, the intro began to play.

                                            >My Little Pony....My Little Pony...

                                            >Some bronies hated the intro. I always thought it was cute.

                                            >I hummed along to it. I felt silly, but I was enjoying myself.

                                            >Don't you know you're all my very best frieeeends?

                                            >Classic.

                                            >The episode continued playing as normal, Applejack and Rainbow Dash trying to one up each other in various activities.

                                            >I never liked Rainbow Dash's constant bragging, so just like before, I was rooting for Applejack.

                                            >The episode got to its major conflict, the Running of the Leaves.

                                            >Rainbow Dash wasn't allowed to use her wings, and the challenge was a footrace- or should I say, hoofrace, to the end against Applejack.

                                            >The scene changed to Pinkie Pie in a hot air balloon announcing that the race will begin soon.

                                            >I felt stupid at how hyped I was.

                                            >However, at this point, the quality of the VHS began to decline. It was unusually grainy.

                                            >I paid no mind, probably just an old tape.

                                            >The audio quality was going down as well, Pinkie's voice sounded like it was being played through an old radio.

                                            >This kept progressing. At the scene where Twilight Sparkle was talking to the ponies at the starting line, I could barely make out what she was saying.

                                            >The race began. The audio quality was incomprehensible.

                                            >What normally sounded like hooves running across the ground sounded like garbled nonsense. It was almost frightening.

                                            >Applejack and Rainbow Dash were running next to each other, trying to take the lead over the other.

                                            >However, something wasn't right. The scene was looping very poorly, over and over.

                                            >This went on for a few minutes. I was almost ready to take the tape out and continue my day. Must be busted.

                                            >Right as I was about to get up from the couch, something horrified me.

                                            >The incomprehensible noise that was the hoofsteps began to distort even further.

                                            >It almost sounded like...screams?

                                            >I was unsettled, but I continued watching.

                                            >The animation's frame rate was slowing down. It almost looked like a slideshow.

                                            >A reddish filter appeared over the scene. It almost looked like blood splatters.

                                            >The screaming noises became more intense. I could almost make out what looked like the skull of a pony in the background.

                                            >The skull like object became more and more apparent as the loop kept playing. It was covered in what looked like blood.

                                            >The screams were almost deafening. I was about to shit my pants in terror, but I couldn't look away.

                                            >After about 5 minutes of this loop, it cut to Pinkie and Spike in the balloon, playing like normal.

                                            >But that was only for a few seconds.

                                            >Right after Pinkie's joke about fudge, it began to distort once more.

                                            >The stuttering was almost like that of a Youtube Poop.

                                            >Pinkie began convulsing faster.

                                            >The stuttering was so fast that it was giving me a headache.

                                            >Why was I still watching?

                                            >Pinkie's erratic movements then froze and it cut to black.

                                            >Thank god that's over.

                                            >Once again, I moved to remove the tape.

                                            >The moment I got up, as if it was trying to catch me off guard, the black screen flashed into a screencap that I can only describe as "demonic".

                                            >Pinkie's eyes were black voids, with blood dripping down from each socket.

                                            >Spike...his head was on a stake. His eyes and face were covered in tears.

                                            >The horrifying image of Pinkie Pie was looking directly at the screen. Smiling.

                                            >I was shaking. What the fuck did this old lady possess?

                                            >I had to finish it. I couldn't look away.

                                            >Two minutes of Pinkie's horrifying grin passed. It cut back to the loop of Dash and Applejack racing.

                                            >This time, the red filter was way more intense, if you could even call it a filter. It looked like the screen was covered in blood.

                                            >Skulls of ponies littered the racetrack and background. They looked like they were in a perpetual state of terror.

                                            >Applejack's face began distorting. Just like Pinkie, her eyes turned into black holes, and blood was raining from her face.

                                            >Her skin began to peel away, in frightening detail. Her skull was revealed on various parts on her face, and a gruesome smile began to form.

                                            >Still running together, Rainbow Dash's head began to turn to look at her rotting friend. She looked terrified.

                                            >Applejack's face was now facing me, as if it was the world's scariest fourth wall break.

                                            >The smile got even more deranged looking. Whatever was possessing this tape was having fun.

                                            >It cut to black, but only for a split second.

                                            >When the image returned, the screams were eardrum blowing.

                                            >The face of the cheerful, hardworking apple pony was almost completely rotted off.

                                            >Her skull was almost completely exposed. Hyper-realistic blood and brains poured out of her face.

                                            >I couldn't take it anymore, I had to stop.

                                            >Once again, I got up to take the tape out of the player. I was planning on smashing it with a hammer soon after.

                                            >Then, the screaming stopped.

                                            >Somber piano music began playing. It cut to a grainy shot of Applejack's barn, and the camera slowly moved towards the door.

                                            >What came next shook me to my core.

                                            >Rainbow Dash was on the ground, dead. Her wings looked like they had been gnawed off.

                                            >Hanging from the ceiling from a noose was poor Applejack.

                                            >Swaying back and forth in a depressingly realistic manner.

                                            >Words flashed on the screen. "Dead". "Sugarcube." "Why didn't you save her?"

                                            >I popped the tape out and the screen cut to black. I was emotionally scarred from what I just witnessed.

                                            >As I promised to myself, I grabbed a hammer from my toolbox and smashed the tape into pieces.

                                            >I cleaned up the debris and put it in the trash.

                                            >I should have just watched some ponies on the internet instead.

                                            >I spent the rest of the day rewatching non-corrupted pony.

                                            >The pony episodes I watched cheered me up.

                                            >I watched most of season 1, reliving good times.

                                            >Ticket Master, Party of One, all classics. I even watched the actual version of Fall Weather Friends.

                                            >Still holds up.

                                            >I was still emotionally damaged from the horrors from earlier in the day.

                                            >However, I'm a grown man, and tried to put it past me.

                                            >I went to bed and had trouble falling asleep.

                                            >I didn't have good dreams. The tape may be destroyed, but it was still very much alive in my subconscious.

                                            >Horrifying flashes of Applejack hanging on a noose played in my head, over and over.

                                            >I woke up in a cold sweat.

                                            >6am, time for work.

                                            >I got up, made coffee, and threw on my clothes.

                                            >Perhaps the menial tasks of the day would take my mind off of it.

                                            >I grabbed my sack lunch, and walked out the door.

                                            >What I saw next almost made me scream at the top of my lungs.

                                            >A ripe, juicy looking apple was planted right at my doorstep.

                                            >I panicked and threw it as far as I could, right into the street.

                                            >That was 1 week ago. Every morning, I find fresh apples at my doorstep.

                                            >I constantly look over my shoulder in terror.

                                            >The only thing that seems to take my mind off of it at this point is watching more pony.

                                            >However, I make sure to avoid any episodes involving the sweet farmer mare.

                                            >Applejack was my favorite pony, now she's my worst nightmare.