Love Bites

chapter 12: everything i know leads me back to us

chapter photo creds: @tcn1205 on tumblr
title from "i miss you, i'm sorry" by gracie abrams

a/n: sorry in advance

                  ___________________

October 2023

The number of hunters that begin to close in on them is almost overwhelming, and Applejack, with her back against Rainbow Dash's, is beginning to doubt if anyone had even heard her over the comms.

"Where did they all come from?" Rainbow asks, kicking another hunter away from her and pulling the trigger on her crossbow. "I'm running out of ammo."

Applejack opens her mouth to respond when she fails to block a punch right to her ribs, causing her to double over with a pained groan. She stands her ground enough to stay upright, gritting her teeth. She prepares to throw a punch in return when the hunter in front of her gets tackled to the ground.

Sunset Shimmer has him pinned to the floor and she shoots a concerned look at Applejack. "You okay?"

"Better now," Applejack says, catching her breath, "Where's–"

A loud commotion not too far from her captures her attention, and as if she'd summoned her, Rarity appears out of nowhere, silver throwing knives flying out of her hands at an inconceivable speed. Finally, they were getting somewhere.

Applejack shoves a hunter against a wall, the force of the brick against the back of his head knocking him unconscious. The second he drops to the floor, Applejack turns to see another person running at her, a wooden club in hand. She uses her hatchet to block the strike, disarming the hunter the moment she gets the chance.

It doesn't take long after that for the hunters to begin retreating. The final one fights her way out of Sunset Shimmer's grasp, running towards the stairwell to find an exit.

She scowls at them. "This isn't over."

"Looks pretty over to me," Sunset shrugs.

They don't waste their energy chasing her, and Applejack immediately makes her way over to the prison cells. She breaks through the metal locks one by one with a single swing of her ax, and several vampires emerge, looking more fearful than ravenous.

"Thank you," one of them says, a boy who barely looked eighteen. The other men and women nod in agreement. They look fragile and weak from days on end of being starved, but they were alive nonetheless– as alive as vampires could be.

"Of course," Applejack responds, offering them a reassuring smile. "Y'all will be okay, I promise. We know someone who can break your bonds and after that, well... It's up to you."

"We won't force you to stay with us," Rarity interjects. "But we can help you. There are ways you can still live normally. Maybe one day we'll even have a cure."

The vampires still look apprehensive, as if they doubted the truth in Rarity's words. Applejack couldn't blame them. They'd just been locked up in prison cells. Of course they wouldn't trust easily.

"Don't gotta make a decision now. Let's focus on gettin' out of here,'' Applejack says.

She leads them all towards the staircase, Rarity by her side. They're almost to the first floor when the other woman suddenly stops, her head tilting curiously.

"Do you hear that?" She asks.

Applejack raises an eyebrow. "Hear what?"

"That... beeping noise," Rarity closes her eyes, retracing her steps until she stops in front of what looks like a supply closet. Applejack follows her lead and watches as the door opens, freezing at the sight of the deadly contraption in front of them. Suddenly, the noise was loud in her ears.