Nightmare Moon on Oak Street

Chapter 2: First Blood

Twilight and her friends blinked, spots dancing in front of their eyes, as the light faded. Twilight rubbed her eyes with both forehooves and looked around. She and her friends stood on top of the hillock, but the Elements of Harmony were gone. Wispy, white vapors trailed after the butterflies that slowly flittered away, leaving the six friends seemingly alone under the apple tree.

“PARTY TIME!” Pinkie shouted.

“Heh, kickin’ Tirek’s flank again does call fer a party,” Applejack said. Without turning, she bucked the apple tree. A half-dozen apples fell from the branches, one for each pony. Only Applejack caught hers with a hoof; Pinkie simply swallowed hers whole before it hit the ground, while the other four apples dropped to the dirt in front of their new owners.

Twilight picked her apple up with her magic, brushed it off, and crunched into it. “Thanks, Applejack. Thank you all. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, slowly opened her eyes, then looked around. She gingerly took the apple at her hooves and took a small bite. The apple crunched, just as it should have. Fluttershy chewed, then cracked a smile, causing Applejack to let out a barking laugh. Rainbow Dash and Rarity stopped chewing and looked at her, brows raised. “That ain’t how ya eat an apple!” she cried, still laughing. Applejack flashed a toothy grin, then took a huge bite of her apple; she nearly bit it in half. Applejack chewed for only a brief moment before the joy drained out of her face. Her jaw stopped chewing as she squinted at the remains of the apple in her hoof. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and her pupils shrank.

“BLEH!”

Applejack turned her head away and spat the apple bits out of her mouth with so much force, they sprayed halfway down the hill. She held her tongue out, gagging. Dropping the apple into the dirt, Applejack scraped her tongue with both hooves. “Ewwww!” Rarity exclaimed, as she pointed at the half-eaten apple on the ground.

The other four ponies looked at the remains of the fruit Applejack dropped. Twilight’s nose crinkled and her upper lip drew back. Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. The apple on the ground looked healthy on the outside, but the inside looked like the color of burnt toast. A dangling worm hung out of the rotting flesh, its guts leaking out like watery toothpaste. “Ha-ha-ha, you found the best joke, Applejack!” Pinkie giggled.

Applejack glared at Pinkie while she continued scraping her tongue. “Pinkie!” Rarity said with a gasp, “What a terrible thing to say— how is that funny?”

“Lighten up, Rarity! Haven’t you ever heard the old joke? ‘What’s worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm? Finding half a worm!’ Get it!?” Pinkie’s belly quaked with laughter as she rolled on the ground.

“What in tarnation is wrong with ya?! Rotten apples are the worst,” Applejack said, as she stomped away down the hill, still retching. With a sigh, Twilight and her friends followed Applejack, leaving Pinkie rolling in her laughter.

“Hey, wait up!” Pinkie called, as she cantered to catch up to her friends. Once they slipped out of sight, Nightmare Moon chuckled, like schoolyard fillies plotting secrets. The apple’s guts melted into a black puddle, smoldering like a snuffed fire.

~~~~~

“LET’S BURN DOWN THE BARN!” Pinkie shouted over the deafening booms of her party cannon. She had produced the cannon from her own fluffy tail only moments after entering the Apple Family barn. Pinkie insisted they have a party immediately, while asleep, because ‘it would be super-easy to clean up.’ The other five agreed that waking up would be an effective way to avoid the work.

“Puh.” Rainbow Dash spat out streamers and struggled, upside down, out of the mass of multicolored balloons that packed the ceiling.

“H-help…” came a tiny voice somewhere near the ceiling, hidden by too many balloons. Dash held her breath and dove back up. She resurfaced with Fluttershy a moment later, both gasping for air.

“Enough with the decorations, Pinkie!” Dash called. Pinkie twirled around on the disco ball, one hoof holding onto the wire that held it to the ceiling, and her hind hooves on the mirrored surface. She looked ready to sing, holding her other hoof out to the non-existent crowd below.

Pinkie’s eyes suddenly went wide, and a lit light bulb appeared above her head for a moment, literally. “Wait! We need more guests!” she cried. Squeezing her eyes shut, the light bulb flickered, broke its filament, then vanished.

“So much for a relaxing night…” Twilight mumbled. She, along with Rarity and Applejack, looked up at the disco ball. “Are you sure, Pinkie? We could just have a nice little party with the six of—”

POP!

The entire class of fillies and colts from Ponyville elementary appeared, scattered around the barn. Within seconds, they began playing the foalish carnival games Pinkie had set up with her party cannon earlier. The bounce house filled in seconds. Fillies squealed with delight as they bobbed for apples. Colts shot water guns at targets in an attempt to win a plushie. Pinkie appeared behind the booth with the water guns. Stroking her fake moustache and straightening her candy-striped jacket, Pinkie barked for her little carnival game. “Step right up, filles and gentlecolts! Try your hoof with a water gun! First one to fill the balloon wins a prize!”

Rarity looked as if she stood in a swarm of rats, as the fillies and colts surged around her. “What? How many ponies are linked to this dream? Pinkie, what have you done?!” she cried, as she darted around the crowd and squeezed over the young ones with her superior size.

A little cream-colored hoof tugged at Rarity’s mane. She looked down into the oversized glasses of Twist; Rarity recognized her as one of Sweetie Belle’s classmates. “Don’t you want every filly and colt to have some fun?” Twist asked.

“That isn’t what I’m saying!” Rarity shouted over the cheers of the other fillies. “I just don’t— wait a moment. Aren’t you the little rascal that has a lisp?”

“Oh my gosh, Rarity! You’re totally right! How could I forget?” Pinkie said, as she stroked her fake moustache. She pointed at Twist with her showmare’s cane and said, “You, lisp, now!”

“I-th s-so shorrwy. Ah’ll linthsp reeeaal good frm now on-th!” Twist replied with copious amounts of spittle. Rarity shook her head, blinking. She looked between Pinkie and Twist.

Both of Rarity’s ears pressed against her head and her brows rose. “What’s going on?” She asked.

“I think I know,” Twilight replied from behind Rarity. She edged her way into the crowd to stand near Rarity, while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash hovered after her, ears piqued.

“Good, can you explain it to me?” Dash asked. “‘Cause I don’t wanna spend all night in a little filly’s dream. I’ve got better things to do than spend all night having tea with fillies, wearing a frilly, pink dress.”

Rarity scoffed, “But you’d look good in a pink dress! It would go with your coat so well. Not something frilly, of course. Something more like…” Rarity trailed off in thought, looking at Rainbow Dash with a little smile. Dash rolled her eyes, just as a flash of light covered her body.

“Wh-what the—! Get this off’a me!” Rainbow Dash cried. She now wore a tight-fitting, black-and-pink ensemble. The get-up looked like older-style workout clothes, but held some modern, sleek lines. If Twilight didn’t know better, she’d have thought Dash was about to model for a new line of training clothes. The pink matched Dash’s coat, but not her scowl.

“This is all a dream, but not every pony is real. These colts and fillies are just figments of Pinkie’s imagination,” Twilight said, then she stifled a laugh. “Just like Pinkie wanted fillies and colts to enjoy her games, Rarity wanted you in a dress,” she explained, while she pointed at Dash. “I guess imagination is a powerful thing here.”

“Wh-what if a pony imagines something scary? Like… if you imagined Tirek?” Fluttershy asked with a quaver. She flew a little higher, balloons partially covering her body, her mane covering the rest. She trembled, her breath coming in short gasps.

Rainbow Dash did a mid-air contortion as she tried to peel off the tight-fitting clothes. She bit at the fabric, like a dog wearing an unwanted sweater.

“Calm down, Fluttershy! Just think happy thoughts like Pinkie Pie. Look at her— she’s never been so happy!” Twilight said, as she pointed at Pinkie, who wore an almost manic grin. Surrounded by fillies and colts, she smiled wider than any of them. She just watched, while they tried their best to win a cheap plushie.

“QUIT IT!” Applejack barked, as she chased another colt off the hay bales. “THOSE AIN’T TOYS!” she cried, snatching a heavy pipe wrench away from another pair of colts fighting over it. “Twilight, make it stop! This is a nightmare!”

“Calm down, Applejack. It isn’t that bad, they’re just imaginary colts. This isn’t even a real barn, it’s just from… well, I guess it’s from your imagination,” Twilight said. “Seriously, what’s the worst that could happen?”

A trio of all-white fillies with red, green, and blue eyes darted past Twilight. She’d never seen these fillies before in her life. Giggling, care-free, they took up an impromptu game of jump rope, using Applejack’s good lasso. They sang a rhyme in high, foalish voices. “One, two, she’s coming for you…”

Applejack growled, “Get out, ya varmints!” One of the balloons near Fluttershy burst, causing her to cry out.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get these foals outside so they don’t wreck your barn,” Twilight said, as she lit her horn. The barn doors slid open, letting in the cold, starless night air.

“Stupid dress!” Dash kept biting at it, like she had fleas, in order to peel off the offensive garment. Another pair of balloons popped near Fluttershy, making her clap her hooves over her ears. A single tear slid down her cheek.

Rarity giggled, “Oh, leave it on, Dash. It looks wonderful! Shouldn’t we all just enjoy ourselves?”

“HEY! Who’s popping my balloons?” Pinkie inquired. She glared around the room, her eyes stopping on Applejack.

“Keep them doors closed!” Applejack barked. “Ah don’t need stupid fillies and colts running around the orchard, messing with mah apple trees!”

“...Three, four, better lock your door...”

The barn door slammed shut, locking with a bang. Several more balloons popped, causing Fluttershy to curl into a ball in mid-air, mumbling to herself. A cold wind swept through the barn, chilling the ponies and making their hairs rise. The wind kicked up bits of hay and dust. “Thanks, Twilight. Now help me stop all these rascals from destroying the barn!” Applejack said, with a giggling colt and filly slung across her back.

“Um… I didn’t close the door,” Twilight said uneasily. Her eyes darted about the room, searching. The wind picked up, blowing from nowhere. It rattled the disco ball, balloons, and the tools on the workbench.

“Fluttershy, are you alright?” Rarity asked, looking up as Fluttershy quivered helplessly.

“Be a tree… Be a tree… Be a tree… Be a tree… Be a tree…” Flutterhshy mumbled over and over to herself. The wind kicked a tuft of hay off the top of the stack of hay bales. The little straws, normally not dangerous, tore through the cloud of balloons like razors. Several balloons popped all at once, causing Fluttershy to let out a short scream.

A wispy, black mist bled out of Fluttershy, like a too-heavy, dark fog. It spilled in between Rarity’s hooves, sending an icy shiver up her spine. Her breath fogged once, and then it happened.

The wind picked up a loosened hay hook sitting on top of the hay bales. It shot across the room with unholy speed, as if it were possessed. “FLUTTERSHY! LOOK OUT!” Rarity screamed. She jumped and pushed Fluttershy out of the way at the last second.

From her hiding place, Nightmare Moon gasped in ecstasy, as she vigorously rubbed herself between her hind legs. Her lips quivered, her eyelids drooped, her tail twitched, and her mouth opened just a bit. She drank in the scream.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Rarity screamed so loud, the rest of the balloons popped. Dash stopped squirming in mid-air, her fearful eyes locked on Rarity’s foreleg. The handle of the hay hook had shattered the disco ball and tangled itself around the hanging wire.

The other end of the hay hook pierced Rarity’s left foreleg, just above the hoof. The sharp tip came out of the other side of her leg. Tiny square mirrors rained down around Rarity, each one reflecting her crying face and her scream of pain.

Fluttershy spun away and bounced once on the floor, before she came to a rest in a fetal position. She sobbed, crying useless phrases to herself. “Be a tree… trees don’t feel fear… trees can’t feel pain… be a tree…” More of that alien black mist leaked out of her eyes and drifted across the floor.

“Leave mah barn alone! And leave mah trees alone!” Applejack shouted at the onlooking colts. They all held faces that looked like teasing, smiling clowns. The black fog swiftly coalesced around her hooves. “Rarity, what’s all the hollerin’ about?” She looked, saw Fluttershy, and then Rarity. Applejack felt the horrible cold climb up her limbs, like ice spreading across a freezing lake. Her eyes went wide, and she opened her mouth to scream.

Nightmare Moon gasped one last time, ecstasy coursing through her. Her entire body tensed and froze. She let the wave of fear finally boil over. Her breath hitched in her throat, and her face contorted into exquisite pleasure.

“Be a tree…” Fluttershy said again, weeping.

CRRRAACCKKK!

“AHHHhhh—glck!” Applejack’s scream started with pain and cut short. It looked like an invisible giant had grabbed her with both hands, and twisted! Her lower legs stayed in place, while some force held her upper body into the air and spun that half of her around. It didn’t take more than a second for her spine to snap. Twilight, Dash, and Pinkie looked on in shock, their mouths agape. Twilight stumbled backwards and fell to her haunches. All of the colts, and all but three of the fillies vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Applejack’s head continued twisting even farther than the rest of her. Her limbs stretched to their breaking point, and a little beyond that. Tears and blood splattered out of her eyes, nose, and mouth. The look of fear Applejack gave Twilight settled into her brain like a headstone.

Then Applejack changed.

It happened fast. Her lower limbs changed first. Her hind hooves pushed into the ground with so much force that they shattered. Rivulets of blood spread out of the cracks, but by the time they hit the dirt, they transformed into roots. Thin, brown tendrils found purchase in the dirt. Her fur melted, morphing into something rough and brown. Her forelegs stretched far beyond what should have been possible, but instead of tearing off, they grew thinner. With a sickening rip, they split into branches. Another fantastic crack, and her skull split open, bursting with verdant green.

By the time Twilight staggered to her hooves, it was over. In front of her stood a healthy, blooming apple tree. Bright, red apples sprang into being on its boroughs. It looked like a normal tree, except for all of the blood that ran down in between the rough grooves in the bark, seeping into the ground. Applejack’s hat floated down and stopped in the dust at the base of the tree, all other remnants of her gone.

“HEEYAHHHHHH-HA-HA-HA-HA!” Rarity screamed again, until her lungs emptied and she gasped for air. With each shuddering sob of pain, another spatter of blood dribbled down her foreleg, seeping into her mane and coat. “H-HELP!” she screamed, her eyes squeezed shut, tears bleeding out of them as fast as the blood leaking from her foreleg.

“Nine, ten, she’s back again.”