Nightmareby Amaranthine ThoughtChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2PrologueGala Apple was a strange earth pony. Her coat was orange, her mane and tail a vibrant red, her cutie mark an apple tree with three apples in its branches, but her appearance was not why she was strange. She was smart, intelligent, more so than anypony in her family. Gala’s mind was clear and strong, able to comprehend and understand more, easier, than those around her. When problems came up, Gala was often the first to think of a solution, and a far simpler one than most would think of themselves. She often didn’t seem to really fit in with her own siblings, but those traits were not why she was strange either. Rather, her oddity stemmed from her physical abilities. Earth ponies are known for their strength and endurance, sometimes one over the other. They can lift heavy weights, often weights unsupportable by unicorns or pegasi. They can run as far as a pegasus can fly, and rarely as fast. Their bodies can take more punishment, their bones and muscles simply tougher and harder than those of the rest of pony kind. They even had a near miraculous ability to encourage growth and health in plants and animals they cared for. Gala, however, couldn’t lift more than fifty pounds and couldn’t even drag a hundred when a weak earth pony could easily double those numbers with no effort. Her bucks were soft and weak, comparable to an elderly unicorn who hadn’t gotten a lot of exercise during their life. Her endurance was pitiful, running out of breath in a simple fifty-yard dash, a feat she did in miserable time as well. And while she was many things, tough was not one of them. And each time Gala cared for a plant, the poor thing would wither faster than if she had repeatedly stepped upon it. In fact, it would not be entirely incorrect to say Gala was a failure as an earth pony. And growing up and living on a farm made that become very obvious very fast. She could do little of what was needed, despite her best efforts. Her siblings did their best, always encouraging her, and her family, for the most part, understood her limitations. But it wasn't until her little sister, Sweet, proclaimed Gala her favorite pony did Gala begin feeling like she had a real purpose. Even if said purpose was in making her little sister happy. Yet, even then, Gala never really felt at home amongst the Apples, nor at the ancient family farm. It was always as if something was missing. Something unnamed, something she didn’t know, but something she knew she didn’t have, yet should have. It took a long, long time for her to find out what that was. And it all started with a perfectly normal day, or as it was then called, moon, being not quite so normal… Sweet Apple Acers had been the home of the Apple family for a very long time. Yet, it was greatly changed from what it once was. Part of the orchard was within a great structure, magical lights shining down on nearly 500 apple trees. Water ran through in a simple irrigation system, and air was circulated by those members of the family that were pegasi. Great care was given to the trees within, and each received the optimal amount of water and fertilizer to net the greatest number of apples. There was good reason the ‘Great Barn’ as it came to be called existed. Most of the orchard was outside, but those trees never bore fruit nor flowers. They barely even had leaves. That was because the light from the moon and stars was not enough for them, the plants only weakly surviving upon the dim light of the night. The Great Barn enabled the harvest to happen, and Sweet Apple Acers was vital to help produce the food of Equestria in the dark night. Gala had heard of a ‘sun’ that gave its light freely, but she was certain that that was nothing more than fantasy. There was no great ball of fire in the sky that gave more light than any magic ever could, and there never had been. All there had ever been was the moon and the countless tiny stars that filled the dark sky. Gala walked amongst the trees that moon, as she often did, collecting fallen apples, the job commonly reserved for the foals, when the sudden cry, “Mouse!” came. She looked up to spot the dark shape zip and weave under her sister’s hooves, dodge her brother’s stomp, and shoot toward her, its tiny eyes glittering. She frowned, and jerked, making it dodge, and then she stamped upon it, a small, dark fog radiating out from her hoof, swiftly dissipating in the bright light. As she pulled up, no trace of the mouse remained. “I got it!” she called. “Seein more o those n normal.” Macintosh remarked as he came over to deposit his apple basket in the cart next to Gala. He was a large stallion, with a bright red coat and a blond-orange mane and tail, a cutie mark of an apple cut in half. “Harvest might not be so good this cycle.” Gala sighed faintly. Macintosh had a tendency to worry, but worse, his worries often turned out to be true. And Gala hated worrying. “Come on Macintosh.” she said, trying to placate his concern, “We’re doing fine, and there’s a lot of apples. Nothing to worry about.” Macintosh opened his mouth before a bell rang, interrupting him. The ponies currently within the barn began heading out, while new ponies were already inside, moving to continue the work. The Great Barn needed tending to at all times, and the family did so in shifts. During harvest time, the work was constant, but pest control was absolutely vital at all times. A single mouse could devastate the harvest if nopony was watching. They did enough damage when somepony was watching. So the entire family kept their eyes open as they worked, and everypony hoped a rat wouldn’t show up. Ponies got hurt when a rat showed up. As Gala walked with her brother, Macintosh resumed, saying, “We ain’t got ‘a lot’ o apples sis. Th mice got a whole bunch jus last night, an we jus ain’t got th apples ta let em take any more.” “I know that, but it isn’t so bad.” Gala said. “Might be as bad as last year. An th last year, we jus bout starved.” “Macintosh, I!” Gala began to retort, before her younger sister forced herself between the pair. “Stop fightin!” Sweet cried, a deceptively delicate mare. She was a pale grey, her mane and tail bright white, her cutie mark a few apples lined up by size. “It ain’t helpin nopony an yer scarin th fillies!” “Sorry Sweet.” Gala said, ducking her head as Macintosh hurried ahead, Gala matching Sweet’s slower pace. “He just gets to me sometimes.” “He ain’t wrong Gala. Th mice eat more n a fat hog, an we really can’t lose too many apples ta them. Ain’t it better ta be ready ta see em, an be real careful?” Gala only nodded, wondering why it was Sweet who had the calm head. It was fairly often that her little sister had to calm down both Gala and Macintosh from their fights, something that nagged at Gala. She should be the one calming Sweet, not the other way around. Sweet gave her a small smile as the pair exited the Great Barn. “Come on sis. It ain’t that bad really, but best ta be careful.” “I know.” Gala said, smiling back before focusing on the path. A small trail led the way to and from the barn, lit by small lanterns set along its edge. They were there because moonlight was almost never sufficient to enable a pony to navigate their way to and from the barn, and on some nights, it was hard to see anything without their little glow lighting the way. The pair made their way to one of the four farmhouses upon the orchard, a fifth being built as the family continued to grow. Gala and her closest family lived within the oldest house, easily recognizable because of the windows set in the walls. Gala often wondered why the house had them. Nothing save darkness was on the earth, but the skies above never stopped shining, making windows on the wall pointless, and windows on the roof rather nice. She had stopped asking, since nopony knew why. The house was incredibly old, and why the windows were there just wasn't important. It gave the home a unique look, and the family was loath to change it. It had been there ever since the orchard was founded, the story went, and that made it special. As the pair entered, Gala could hear her granny’s voice, telling the foals her tales of a land filled with light. Sweet smiled, but Gala only sighed, tired of hearing the same nonsense over and over again. Sweet gave her a questioning look as the pair headed to the kitchen. “Somethin th matter Gala?” “It’s just Granny.” Gala said, exacerbated. “I’m sick of hearing about the ‘sun’ and everything else she thinks up.” “I think it’s nice. Gives us somethin ta do when nothin else is there. Sides, she is still Granny, an we should respect her, not sigh every time she entertains th foals.” Gala gave Sweet a look, making her sister giggle. She shook her head as Sweet kept smiling at her. “I know, I know, but… ah, forget it. You’re right, like you always are. How do you do that?” “Do what?” Sweet asked as she picked up her dinner, intent on eating it over near her Granny, so she could listen. She loved to listen. “You know what! That always being right thing you do! You and Macintosh, I just don’t understand it!” “Well…” Sweet hummed, thoughtful as she placed the plate on her back. “It’s kinda like how you kin tell a lie even when ya aren’t part o th conversation an don’t know what was bein talked about. We all got talents.” Gala gave her sister that as Sweet left to go and listen to the story. She didn’t know why she could hear lies like she did. She always could, ever since she learned to talk. If anypony spoke a mistruth within her hearing range she would know and often blurt out that she knew. It sometimes helped when dealing with business and rarely with family. It also got her in trouble more often than not, as telling ponies that they were lying without any care of what was being spoken of, who was being spoken to, or who was listening, often got ponies very upset with her. Not that she would ever stop. Ever since a very young age she had made up her mind that truthfulness was the greatest virtue and that she would uphold that: ‘everypony should be honest’, she had decided. It soon acquired the minor change of ‘I will be honest’ soon after the first few blow ups she had trying to make other ponies be honest. Whether they wanted to or not, and regardless of situation or meaning. She got her food, and headed after Sweet into the main room, where Granny had finished her first tale, and was leaning back in her rocking chair as she relaxed. She was old and wrinkly, bright green with white hair, her cutie mark two green apples. “Another!” a foal cried, making her chuckle, and push herself back up a little. “Alright, but jus th one more.” she said, her voice old, creaking much like her bones did from time to time. “What should I tell you yunguns..?” “The lost sun!” one cried, making the old mare grin and chuckle faintly. “Ya want ta hear bout how we lost our sun agin?” Granny asked them, and they all nodded, eager. Granny nodded, leaned back, thought, and then began: “A long, long, long time ago, longer n ponies kin remember, th land was lit up real bright, brighter n any light.” Granny murmured, the standard beginning to most, if not all, of her stories. “Th sun, th great ball o light, was high overhead and ponies lived in its light and warmth. Four princesses ruled over th land, guidin it wisely an with great grace, an ponies lived lives o perfect peace an prosperity.” the old mare said, her voice capturing the attention of the foals arranged before her. Granny leaned forward, lowering her voice, “But it wern’t ta be ferever.” she whispered, lowering her voice. She spoke slowly, darkly, “A monster came from th darkest shadows, where light couldn’t be found. He ruled over th darkness an hated th light. He looked over Equestria, an he wanted it ta be his. An one dark day, he decided th time was right.” “He rose up an struck th sun from th sky itself, swallowed the moon, an rose over th land like a dark cloud. In moments, darkness covered th whole land, darker n a night without moon er stars. Ponies cried out, but nopony heard em in th dark…” The foals shivered, trembling a little at the story. “Nopony cept th heroes.” Granny said, her voice rising back to normal. “Five ponies o light an legend. They heard th cries fer help, an came, and struck back at the dark king, and drove back his shadows. They stole back th moon, defeated his monsters and minions, an saved countless ponies. They took back th light bit by bit until they reached him himself, th king o darkness: Nightmare.” Sweet was happily listening, the foals enraptured, but Gala was leaning in a seat, bored as she ate. She fully believed that this entire thing was little more than a fairy tale. It even sounded like one! Princesses, heroes, bravery and defeating the monster, all normal story elements in fiction. Still, she didn’t interrupt her Granny as she continued. “Nightmare waited fer em in deepest shadow, th darkest place, a place where light couldn’t be. In it, Nightmare thought they would be helpless, lost in th dark. But they went anyway, faced their fears, faced him in his dark, an ya know what happened?” Granny asked, leaning a little forward. “As they entered, they shone. They shone like stars in th darkest night, an th darkness was gone, an th king o darkness couldn’t do anythin. They rescued th sun, and pushed Nightmare back inta th dark, back where he belonged! Equestria had light an peace agin!” A few of the foals cheered, as did Sweet, making Gala groan and hang her head. It was just so… silly. Ponies didn’t glow, and how would one ‘rescue’ a great ball of fire anyway? They would burn up. “But it wern’t ta last ferever.” Granny said, cutting them off. “Nightmare remembered his defeat, and slipped back inta th land, unnoticed. He didn’t take th sun then, no.” Her voice lowered again, and she leaned forward, as if sharing a dark secret, “He went ta each hero in turn, an whispered inta their ears. An he lured em ta places… alone.” The foals shivered. “An he stuck em down one by one!” Granny said suddenly, making several gasp. “Jumpin em at their weakest, when they were alone an not expectin him, till he got em all. An th moment he did that, he went and did th same thin to th princesses. He went an hid em where nopony would ever find em, fer punishment fer fightin him in th first place.” “Then Nightmare took th sun once more, an ponies despaired, their heroes an rulers gone, leavin em alone as Nightmare stole their light. They cried out in th darkness…” “An their cries didn’t go unheard. Th mixed up thin himself, th king o chaos, Discord himself, heard them. An he walked amongst them, and stood tall, and proclaimed:” “’Fear not! For I, Discord, shall defeat Nightmare, and renew the land!’” Granny leaned back, sighing. “It were a great battle. Discord n Nightmare fought fer weeks, battlin across th land. Lots o stuff got hurt by one o th other, and fer a while, it seemed like it’d never end. Till it finally did.” “Discord defeated Nightmare once an fer all, breaking apart his black heart, but as th dark king died, he cursed th land. Never would th sun be back, never would ponies see another day, an never would those he hid away be found! But Nightmare’d never return, an ponies looked ta Discord ta set thins right.” Granny sighed, shaking her head as she continued, “But though Discord did his best, Nightmare’s words were, and are, true. Th battle had hurt him, an Discord couldn’t get th sun back. Try as he might, he couldn’t get rid o th darkness Nightmare had left behind. So he turned to th ponies, and asked fer them ta help him. They crowned him king, an ta this moon, th mad king watches over us as best he can.” “Ponies went lookin fer th heroes an th princesses, but nopony ever found em. Not one clue or hair o em. But even after all this time, there’s still hope. Ya know why?” Granny grinned, “Our lost Princesses ain’t th type ta die. Neither are th heroes. Nightmare mighta hid em away, kept em apart, but they ain’t gone. They’re out there, someplace. Jus need somepony ta find em, an bring em back. Course, nopony has, an some say nopony ever will…” “Less one o you young’uns go an do so.” she added with a chuckle. “Never know! Could be you yunguns that stumbles across one o th heroes o legend!” “Anyhoo, that’s th story o Nightmare, an o th world we live in.” she finished, leaning back in her chair. The foals turned to one another to chatter eagerly as Granny relaxed in her rocking chair, picking up her knitting once more. One filly went over to Gala and Sweet. Sweet smiled at their youngest sister, a small filly with yellow fur and a bright red mane smiling up at the pair. She was too young to have a cutie mark just yet. “Do ya think I kin go an find th lost heroes?” she asked them. “Course ya can Applebloom.” Sweet said, “But no runnin off. It ain’t safe fer ponies it th dark. Go an get yer dinner; it’s gettin late.” Applebloom nodded happily, and headed off as Gala gave her sister an annoyed look. Sweet glanced over, confused. “What?” “You go and fill her tiny head with nonsense and fairy stories too much Sweet. Can’t you just… let her down gently or something?” “Are ya suggestin I’m lyin ta her?” Sweet asked, one eyebrow raised. “No, I mean!” Gala took a short breath, and got her voice under control again, “They aren’t real Sweet. There were never any heroes, never any princesses, never any sun. Other than Discord, nopony in that story is real, not even Nightmare. There’s no such thing as a sun, and what about ponies glowing? That’s stupid.” “Ya got no magic in ya Gala, that’s yer problem.” Sweet said. “It don’t do nothing ta let em believe, an I believe too. Even if I did grow up with miss doubt’y tail herself.” Gala frowned and Sweet chuckled faintly, smiling. “Come on sis!” she added, happy, “Ya know I’m right! Sides, ya just wouldn’t be Gala if ya weren’t like that.” “Now let’s go.” Sweet said, walking toward the upstairs, where the bedrooms were. “We are gonna leave early to get to Ponyville tomorrow. Dad wants to get another light an expand th barn, an that needs bits we don’t got. Least not until we sell some apples.” “I know that!” Gala snapped as she trotted after her sister. “Miss doubt’y tail…” she muttered, “Really?” Sweet only laughed, making Gala smile. Even if it came at her cost, she loved to hear Sweet laugh. Sweet rarely laughed. There simply wasn't much to laugh at. Their little arguments about the truth behind the tale was one of the few things that got Sweet to smile. Gala always took it seriously, but Sweet always found enjoyment in it. Gala had already figured out it was pointless to argue, but when she had stopped trying, Sweet had smiled less. So she kept it up, almost exaggerating her annoyance for her sister. Life was hard enough without making ponies upset. The darkness was constant, food was low and desperately desired by everypony, and they walked the thin line between having just enough and starving. The Apples worked as hard as they could, but it was rare that they gained enough harvest to comfortably have enough for themselves. That was life for the Apple family, 36 strong, with more family far out in other places. Growing the vital food for Equestria and never quite having enough to feel secure. Food was in short supply and every apple counted, but they needed money to keep the farm running and to expand. So they worked harder than anypony else, putting their all into trying to reach a point where food and money was, if not plentiful, at least just barely enough. Equestria was in an eternal night, and its peoples changed. The past was a foggy mess, forgotten and left behind, its lessons tossed aside in favor of the facts of today. Everypony was tense, and often desperate, with despair filling the hearts of many. Discord sat on the throne in Canterlot, the mad king ruling over the ponies with insanity and chaos, their sole defense against the dark that threatened to overcome them each day. Yes, life was hard in Equestria, but the Apple family always held onto hope. Even when so many others had long since given up on the idea that anything would get better, and when so many others felt that the only escape was in death itself… the Apples kept that tiny star of hope alive. Chapter 1Gala walked with her siblings along the path to Ponyville early the next moon, no lanterns to light that trail. Macintosh pulled the wagon, Gala to his right, toward the Everfree, and Sweet trailing behind, to ensure none of the precious fruit fell away during the journey. Macintosh carried a lantern, Sweet and Gala armed with more of the same, the light within carefully protected in case of wind or rain. They also had a flare, in case of… problems. Monsters lived in the darkness, and they all hated light. Should one decide to attack, the sudden burst of light made by the flare would scare them off… most of the time. Flares were a very common traveling material, even if monster attacks were, fortunately, very rare. It was when they did happen that ponies carried flares. So that the horror of seeing somepony dragged screaming into the dark by some monster didn’t happen. Most of the time. Gala was especially nervous about taking these trips, though she always took the right side, the side facing the Everfree, the one most likely to be attacked. She mostly did it so Sweet wouldn’t have to. And partly so she wouldn’t relive something. She could still recall it, very easily. Macintosh and Sweet hadn’t been there, but she, her father, and her true eldest sibling had been. Something had attacked them. And the flares hadn’t done their job. She had forgotten exactly what had happened from the trauma of it. She was only left with garbled sounds and a single image: a brilliant light, reflecting off something black, and a horrible dark red glow. Her father wasn't so lucky; he still woke, screaming, on the darkest nights. It was why he didn’t take these trips anymore. She never saw her oldest brother again. She would sooner not go, but she still went. So somepony else wouldn’t have to, Gala facing her fear and protecting her family from it. Sweet, in the back where she was safest, and other ponies back at the farm, where they were safe. Gala, despite her terror, doing her best to ensure that it would never happen again, or, if it did, that it would happen to her, and not to the ponies she loved. And, in some silent understanding, that she was… expendable, while others were not. She relaxed as they approached Ponyville, large and powerful lights set on the sides of buildings. Most of the town was abandoned, the buildings too far away from one another to illuminate easily. Instead, the ponies who lived there were concentrated around something special. A giant, purple, crystal tree sat in Ponyville, and for whatever reason, it gently glowed on its own. Nopony knew what it was or why it was there or anything about it really, but its light was ever-present. Most of the town had been restructured around it, and the marketplace, where the siblings were headed, was inside it. The inside was massive, a gigantic open hall. It was always bright, despite there being no obvious light source. A few banners hung high above, decayed to near nothing, and ponies crowded the area. There was a lot more to the structure, but it was left unexplored. Other places were very dark and often blocked; the obvious example of that was that the main hall had a balcony with a long since destroyed staircase. Ponies simply didn’t really want to go inside, and there were more than a few stories about somepony off to discover to never be seen again. It didn’t really matter to most, and faint curiosity was tempered by the fear of the dark unknown. Gala helped her siblings set up the stall and then settled behind them, taking out her book and idly reading as ponies came over, looking about the apples before getting into haggling. “I’ve got six children!” “No.” “It’s ten bits, an eleven if ya keep tryin that.” Sweet said, unamused. “My grandmother is dying!” “No.” Macintosh only glared at the stallion, who backed away fairly fast. “I can’t afford that! My dog has injured my wife and now she cannot work to help support the family and she is craving apples!” Gala hesitated. “Yes, unbelievable as that sounds.” Sweet nodded at Gala and then smiled at the stallion. “Fer you, one bit. An thanks fer bein honest.” Gala sighed faintly as she flipped the page. She didn’t really mind being the living lie detector, preventing ponies from cheating them with sob stories, but she was very bored during this. After the first hour she had finished her book and began wondering how she was going to keep herself from simply falling asleep. She started faintly when Macintosh’s hoof bumped into her. “Ya kin go an find something ta do Gala.” Macintosh told her as Gala turned to see him. “I’m takin a short break, an Sweet kin watch th apples.” Gala nodded, stretching as she stood up. “I’ll stay with her Macintosh. You go and rest. You did an extra shift last night anyway, you deserve one.” “Keep yer eyes open Gala.” Sweet said as Macintosh disappeared into the crowd. “We got ten apples left, an we don’t got th bits we need yet. We need ta make sure no apple gets stolen.” Gala nodded. She soon grew bored again, however, very little happening that really deserved attention. She sighed after a time, and began looking up, toward the ceiling, and then along the wall, idly pondering where some of the doors went, or who put the long-decayed banners up in the first place. Who built this place, and out of what? For what purpose? All unanswered mysteries, and not anything she had a single clue about, but they were fun to ponder. As she peered around, something caught her eye. Not far from their stand was a single doorway. Nopony was near it despite the crush elsewhere, as if it was being avoided for some reason. The empty spot attracted her attention, and she wondered: had it been there before? But what was there soon distracted her from those thoughts. The door was open somewhat, and a black rat sat there, staring at her with a single glowing, golden eye. It was half as tall as she was and just as long, and very black. But what really caught her eyes was the bright red apple it held in its paws. Her head whipped around, and she saw nine apples. She didn’t even think as she got up and ran at it, intent on getting the all-important apple back. The rat ran into the hall, and moments after, Gala had made the turn into the dark hall beyond. Her family needed that apple! She could see the rat ahead of her, looking back with its golden eye, the one light in the dark hall. As it spotted her again, it turned and ran ahead, its tail then becoming the glowing sign for her to follow. It was the only thing she could see in the darkness; the tiny, faintly glowing white line that was the creature’s tail. It took a few moments before what she was doing actually struck her, and she skidded to a halt, already panting from exertion despite running for only a few moments. Rats were dangerous, she knew that well. In fact, a rat could actually kill somepony, and that rat she had chased had been massive. Three or four times the size of any rat she’d ever heard of. What could that behemoth do to her if she had caught it? Eat her most likely. Let it take the apple. The tail vanished into the darkness ahead, and Gala breathed a small sigh of relief that it had. Then she looked behind her, and tensed again. She couldn’t see the door she had come through, though she was fairly sure she had gone in a straight line and that the door hadn’t shut behind her. It should still be visible, but it wasn’t. And now, it was so dark she couldn’t see anything. There was nothing to help her find her way back, or even navigate at all. As she looked around, it was as if the darkness was somehow darker, and she feared. Anything could be between her and the door. In sudden fright, she whimpered, shrinking back from nothing. The moment she whimpered, a sudden, though distant, voice snapped, “What’s that?” Gala froze, her ears going up, listening. “…What’s what?” a second asked. “I heard something…Something over there.” Voices. Definitely not pony voices, hissing, rasping voices. Evil voices. Monster voices. Gala held her breath, not even daring to move, listening for the sound of approach. “Something ran into here.” rang clear behind her, far, far closer to her than before. It sounded almost surprised. Gala nearly shrieked, but managed to stop herself. How had it gotten so close so silently! “It didn’t leave.” a second murmured. “So it’s still here.” a third said slowly, and Gala could hear the growing smile in the words. A few moments of silence passed, Gala’s eyes uselessly open wide to try and see what was near her. She trembled faintly, terrified, trying to decide if she should just run, or wait and hope they failed to find her in the dark. “It must be trembling in fear.” a voice said almost mockingly, making Gala freeze. “Fear of what though?” was asked, the voice drifting past her, helping her relax. It must not have seen her. “…Of what… lurks in the dark?” “There are many… things one could encounter within it.” a third hissed, and Gala held still, despite the tingling sensation of having that hissed to her, directly. “Nothing that takes kindly to… trespassers.” “It could have, of course, simply stumbled here. Let’s not leap to conclusions.” the first voice said, orbiting around her. “Brave or stupid?” the second asked, again, orbiting her. “Why would s, it be here at all? What would rush into the dark?” Gala flinched at that, hearing the implication despite the save to prevent it. They could see her. They knew she was here, they were currently surrounding her, and she couldn’t see anything. “Does it even matter?” the third asked. “Why should we bother ourselves with why?” “Hypocrite.” “As if you’re any better.” “Now, now, look, we have better entertainment.” the first said, crushing Gala’s dim hope that they’d start fighting each other and forget about her. “She already knows we know.” “Does she?” Something touched her mane. She held still. “Perhaps she is ignorant yet?” another voice said, and something was definitely touching her mane. She kept still, trying to decide if simply running blind was a good idea. Or rather, if it was a better one than staying near whatever was near her. Would they chase her? What if she ran into something, or tripped? And even if she didn’t… she couldn’t outrun them. …She was doomed, wasn’t she? “How? She would need to be deaf.” “Don’t discount possibilities. She moved here, yes, but she might not hear us.” “…I don’t care. I’m bored. Time for fun.” At that, useless or not, Gala decided to take the chance, and ran forward. She didn’t hear a single one react in surprise, and then yelped as her tail was pulled taught an instant later, stopping her. Laughter ensued as she was dragged back, despite her scrabbling for purchase. All of a sudden, the pull became stronger, and she was nearly thrown backwards. She rolled, and recovered the moment she stopped, looking around in a panic despite being unable to see anything. But she did. A leering face fit for the worst of nightmares greeted her, and she screamed, trying to get away. Nothing stopped her, but another, somehow worse, face greeted her that way, and she tripped trying to reverse, her legs tangling themselves in her panic. And her every action was met with laughter. Mocking laughter. She recovered and ran, or at least she did her best. Which wasn’t much. Her legs burned in moments, and she knew she wasn’t going fast, and even holding back for fear of things she couldn’t see. She closed her useless eyes, and threw caution to the wind, using all of the little she had. The laughter doubled when she hit a wall she couldn’t see. She reeled back, dazed, only to have something grab her tail, wing her around, and throw her tired body like she was a hammer and it was in some competition. She screamed as she flew, and thumped into the ground several times, rolling to finally stop, weak, hurt, and exhausted. “Fifty!” Something grabbed her tail again. “Watch this one!” She was flung again, and that time slapped into something hard, and slid down it to a crumpled heap. She tried and failed to push herself up, her body too hurt and tired to move. “Thirty. Disappointing.” “Nice shot though, and if she hadn’t hit the rock, she might have made sixty. Though I would have thought she would get up after that. Earth ponies are meant to be abused.” “True. Yet, she isn’t.” She was picked up again by her tail, and gently spun in place. “You know, looking closer… she doesn’t look the part, does she?” “No, not really.” Something poked her, viciously, and she gasped. “Look at that. All give, no resistance.” “She’s already bruising.” Something sighed. “Disappointing.” She was dropped, and couldn’t even manage to not land on her head. She flopped over, groaning, wondering when it would end. Or if it was ever going to end. Darkness all around her, nothing to see, three monsters toying with her. Her strength already gone, nopony to know where she went… Was this to be her fate? The toy of three monsters, either to be forever caught in this abuse or to eventually die at their hooves? If they even had hooves. “…I doubt anypony could love her.” One ear pricked up. “A failure to her own species. Sad.” Gala coughed faintly, trying to move. “Her family must be ashamed of her.” “I’m…” she managed, wiggling to at least lie down properly. “Weak, soft, useless. You’re like a decrepit old mare despite your youth.” “I… can…” she murmured, forcing numb legs to try and support her, slowly standing up again. Trying to ignore the pain she felt. “Your run is nothing.” “Your body fails you even now, long before any other would have.” “Your strength is pathetic.” She stood, and though her legs wobbled, she took a step. Nothing stopped her. “Look at yourself, panting and wasted after a few moments of terror.” “You can barely move.” “You can barely live.” She slowed, lowering her head, taking another laborious step. “A disappointment to your family.” “A disgrace to your kind.” “A failure at everything.” Gala kept her head down and stopped, breathing slowly. “Just give up. Abandon it all, leave your pain behind you.” “You have a place to run to. The darkness is always accepting.” “We won’t hate you.” “I…” Gala gasped, breathing slowly, deliberately. “We can fix you.” “We can give you a body to be proud of.” “We can fill your empty life.” “I have…. A home…” “A home where you’re a burden.” “A home where you’re a disappointment.” “We can give you a better one.” “I… have a family…” “A family that hates you.” “You make them suffer. But we can make it better.” “A new family in darkness.” Gala was silent. “Say it.” “Do it.” “We’re here.” “We’ll help.” “New home, new family, new body.” “We’ll even say sorry.” “It’s easy.” “Just want it.” “Give up, and succeed.” “…” Gala pushed herself up. Then she turned around, even if she couldn’t see them, to face them. Her heart and mind hardened, her small wait enough for her to regain at least enough strength for this. “You’re all lying to me.” she said firmly, and somehow… the darkness was less. “My family doesn’t hate me. I have a home. And I’m not a burden, or a failure.” she stated, despite not being absolutely sure in the last. The previous two were enough, and even if she didn’t have faith in herself, her family had faith in her. Sweet had faith in her. “But your body,” “Is weak.” she interrupted. “I’m slow. I can’t really run at all. I bruise easy. I can’t carry much. I can’t buck a tree, or carry a full bucket. I get tired in moments and I’m kind of clumsy and I’m weak. I know that. But I have a place, and a purpose, and a family. I’m happy, no matter how hard it gets, or how ugly it seems, or how weak my body is!” She took a step toward them. “I have everything I need and want, and nothing you offer me is true!” She reared up, and… she shone. First, she was visible, and then it was as if she herself glowed bright, her color reaching out around her. “Go away!” she screamed, and she flashed suddenly, as if her will was made into light. Three voices yelled in pain, three dark things rushing away from her as she panted and glared, angry that they had even dared to try and use half-truths to make her… whatever. Angry enough that she didn’t even notice her shine until after the sounds had stopped. Then she noticed, and looked at herself. She glared a little. That made absolutely no sense whatsoever and she didn’t really like it. It had likely just saved her, but she still didn’t like it. Ponies don’t glow. Especially not shine like… Like a star. She shook herself, deciding to take advantage of it, but otherwise ignore it. It would go away on its own. And, at least for now, she wasn’t easy prey for running into walls, and monsters should leave her alone. Anyway, finding the way out. She looked around herself, deciding she had to be in a room of some kind; she couldn’t see any walls near her, despite her shine. As she began choosing a direction mostly at random, she spotted a tiny golden dot. She hesitated, and then went toward it, soon enough seeing the dark rat again, sitting in a dark doorway. Was it… smiling at her? Then it turned around, looked back, and its tail curled as if beckoning her to follow. The rat moved into the dark, only the faint white tail visible. She stared for a few moments, but before it got too far, she hurried after it. Chapter 2After a little while, Gala’s glow began fading as she kept following the rat, to her minor relief, even if she couldn’t see as well. The rat had led her through another door, and she had been walking in dark hallways and other small rooms for a little while now, following the rat. The only sounds were her own hoofsteps and the soft clicks of the rat ahead of her. Her light was gone, but the rat ahead of her let her see after a fashion, always waiting for her to catch up. Its tail gently glowing, its one eye like a beacon. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but the rat seemed, if nothing else, helpful. It hadn’t attacked her at all, even if she got really close to it. And it did seem to have a destination in mind; maybe the main hall again? After a few halls, she smiled, seeing lights still present, letting her see where she walked. They were few and far between, but each lit place made her feel happier about where she was; nothing hid in light after all. The rat kept going, light or no light, and they continued for some time through halls and rooms, most completely dark. Until, at last, it turned into a hall lit by several lights, and entered a large set of double doors. Gala followed it, only to pause in some awe as she entered. A massive round table was in the center of a large round room. Six marble thrones ringed it, each one with some symbol on the back, and a smaller, seventh throne was present amongst them. The room was only dimly lit, but she saw the rat clearly as it ran to stop within the shadow cast by the chairs. It looked back, the chair it hid behind having the mark of three red apples. She looked up, and saw the entire lower half of a tree above her, with lots of things held in the curling roots. A fair number were colored lights, which seemed to be the source of the faint illumination. Others were… harder to recognize; they had decayed with age, but seemed quite varied. When she looked back down, the rat was gone. She walked into the room, wondering where it had gone; there was only the one door, and it couldn’t have slipped past her, not with its size. She felt a kind of… friendship with it. It hadn’t hurt her after all, and it hadn’t… She frowned. It had likely eaten the apple. So, one bad mark against it then, but judgement held in check for now. It at least seemed to be somewhat nice, though why it led her here instead of back where she had been was a question. She had thought that it had known where she had wanted to go, or at least had been heading for an exit. Maybe its nest, but there was obviously no nest here. So why had it gone here? She looked at the table, and then at the thrones as she reached them, taking in the symbols. They were bright, and looked… like they would be at home as cutie marks. In fact, the room sort of felt like… a special place. A place where ponies, important ponies, would meet together, and discuss things, important things. Like a court. She smiled at the idea, another mystery added to the purple crystal tree; who had used this room, and for what? She looked to one chair in particular, the one with three apples as its mark, and went to it. She looked at her own, and noted the similarity between them. Other than the tree on hers, the apples were more or less identical. She wondered who would have sat there, wondered if, maybe, they might have been related. As she thought, she reached out, and gently touched the chair. The moment she did so, she felt a faint jolt, and gasped, pulling back. The apples on the throne suddenly flashed, and a shimmer of many colors passed over the table in an eye blink. At the same time, the light above her brightened, and she looked up, gaping, as the glowing orbs brightened until the room was lit almost perfectly. “Hm?” Gala hesitated. She hadn’t made that sound. “…A light? What’s…?” a voice murmured, making her tense faintly, but that one was far more normal than the ones before. She looked around, trying to see whoever was speaking. “…Is somepony there!” Gala started a little at the sudden yell. “Yes?” she said, unable to see anypony. Even if she looked under the table. “I’m here?” “Am I hearin thins? I know I saw somethin…” was muttered, and then, louder than before, “Hey! Anypony there!” “Yes?” Gala yelled back, confused. Why couldn’t she see the speaker, or the speaker her? She would swear they were nearby, yet there was nopony nearby. “There is somepony.” the voice murmured, shocked. “I heard somepony, I… Where are ya? I can’t see ya!” it cried again, and Gala wondered at the happiness in the tone. “I’m standing right here?” Gala called around her, very confused. “Hang on! Can ya keep on callin? I think there’s something tween you an me!” “…Over here! This way!” Gala called, feeling a touch stupid, constantly repeating calls, looking everywhere as she tried to identify where the voice was coming from. For that matter, why was she calling anyway? She was in plain sight. “Are you any closer? I,” Gala stopped instantly, her eyes locking on the floor and staring. A shadow had just walked out from under the table. A pony shadow cast by nothing. It stopped, and she saw its head moving faintly before ‘looking’ at her. “That you?” it asked, and she could easily hear it talking, and somewhat see the motions of talking. It walked closer, and a small part of her wondered how it did so; how did it orient itself? The rest of her was unable to really express an opinion, though a fair bit of her erred toward terror. It stopped by her, and peered closer. “There ya are!” it said happily, leaning back. “Gotta say, ya blend in real good.” “Do I?” Gala weakly asked, staring. “Yep. Real black coat ya got there.” “…I’m not black.” Gala said, her fear dissipating a little. “…Looks black.” the shadow said, far too much like somepony pointing out the obvious for Gala. “I’m orange!” Gala objected. “Very orange and not even a little black! You’re black!” “I ain’t black.” “You’re a shadow! That’s the color of shadows, black!” “A what? No, I’m a pony! Look, see th tail an hooves?” it asked, gesturing as if to show that it did, indeed, have a tail and hooves. Gala paused even as she opened her mouth to respond. It hadn’t lied. It was a pony. Somehow. Gala shook herself. “…My name’s Gala, Gala Apple.” she said, deciding to try again. After all, what was the worst that could happen? It was a shadow after all, not something that could actually hurt her… right? “Do you have a name?” “Apple? Like th apple clan?!” it asked excitedly. “Shoot, I’d thought I’d never see another pony, and now it’s family too! My name’s Applejack, cousin, an it’s a real good pleasure ta meet ya!” Gala closed her eyes. That wasn't a lie either. The being related part, cousin was just a nickname of sorts. The shadow was a pony, her name was Applejack, and she was related to Gala. All true statements. How? It was all Gala could really think, trying and failing to imagine what to say next. “So, how’d ya get in here anyway?” Applejack asked, jarring Gala from her confusion. “…The door.” she muttered, still reeling. “…There ain’t no door.” Applejack said. “I’ve walked everywhere, and there ain’t even a mouse hole in this place.” Gala hesitated then. She hadn’t heard a lie. She nodded slowly, an explanation coming to her. Of sorts. There was, quite obviously, a door. So, Applejack had to be lying. Gala couldn’t tell, but that could be because of… who knew what, but it couldn’t be true. Applejack was therefore capable of lying without her being able to tell. And more to the point, a few previous words came back to her: ‘A new family in darkness’ the monsters had mentioned. And Applejack checked every box for that description. A… shadow pony that was related to her. And since she met the description of that rather strange promise… Applejack had to be a trap of some kind, and Gala should leave as soon as possible. The monsters could still be nearby, and she was very not sure if she could escape them again, even if she managed to… never mind. Ponies don’t shine. She should leave, as soon as possible, before she got stuck here or worse. “Sure there is.” she said, walking toward the door. Applejack followed after her, worrying her, but she ignored that. “It’s right over here.” she said, stopping next to it. “There is no door there sugarcube.” Applejack said, her tone not very unlike Sweet’s tone when she was trying to tell Gala she was wrong. The relation only made Gala want to leave more. “Watch.” Gala said, and simply stepped out, and looked back, waiting. Hoping. Applejack gasped, and hurried to the door, to stop just at the threshold. Gala saw her press on nothing, and gave a large sigh of relief. Applejack couldn’t follow her outside. “Gala!” cried Applejack, “Are ya there! Whatever ya did worked! Ya went right through th wall like it was air! But I can’t, so can ya come back and tell me how ya did it? Gala!” Gala looked away, and paused, recalling the she did not remember which way she had come from. As she looked back and forth, trying to discern direction in a rather symmetrical hall, Applejack continued. “Are ya there Gala?” Applejack yelled, her voice gaining a desperate note. “Ya kin hear me, right? Yer… yer still there, aren’t ya?” her voice trailed off for a moment, and Gala turned back to regard the shadow. “I… I don’t want ta be left alone again…” Applejack whispered, and Gala froze from the tone. Terror. Despair. “No!” Applejack abruptly screamed. “Ya got hurt somehow didn’t ya, and ya can’t come back cause of that! Well, don’t worry Gala!” Applejack turned about and began bucking against the door, impacting as though there was a wall for her, but no noise was produced despite the ferocity of the blows. “I’m comin! Just hold on! I kin be there in two shakes of an apple tree! Jus hang on cousin! I’ll be right there! I’m comin!” Applejack began slowing down, the fire in her voice dousing, her bucks losing strength and Gala found herself unable to turn away. “I’m… I’m…” Applejack ceased attacking whatever kept her in the room and slowly lowered her head. “I’m…” Gala watched the shadow lie down, and the sheer heartbreak in her final words cut at her heart. Then the shadow began gently sobbing and that is when Gala hated what she had just done. She didn’t know what Applejack was, but… What if… What if she wasn’t a trap? What if she really was a pony, trapped in that room as a shadow? And she had to be; there was no way for anypony to lie to Gala and not have her know it. Applejack was who she said she was, and the truth in her statement ‘there is no door’ was apparent now. For Applejack, there really was no door. How long had she been in that room? In fact, how long had it been since anypony walked down this hall, much less entered that particular room? And even if they had… Applejack had only seemed to notice anything when she touched the chair, when the lights brightened for some reason. She might have been the first pony Applejack had talked to for… for who knew how long. And she had just left her there. Abandoning her, leaving her in her prison. Alone again. She recalled Applejack’s joy when she had responded to her calls, and the glee in her voice when she found out it was family. And now she was crying, and Gala was tearing up, and Applejack was weakly telling herself to stop crying, which only made her feel worse… She went back, unable to take it anymore. As she reentered, she focused on comforting Applejack, only to pause. How, exactly, does one comfort a shadow? It wasn’t like she could hug her. Applejack didn’t notice her entering, and Gala stood there for a moment before sighing faintly. Words would have to do. “…Applejack?” The response was instant. Applejack jumped to her hooves, in her own way anyway, and seemed to wipe at her eyes as she turned to see Gala. “Gala!” she cried in the happiest tone Gala had ever heard from a pony, making her wince. She had really hurt Applejack. “Ya’ll came,” Applejack stopped, swallowed, and started again with her voice more controlled. “I mean, ya didn’t find any trouble, did ya? I… got kind worried that ya… got hurt.” Applejack said, rather weakly disguising her fears of Gala abandoning her. Gala hesitated. Applejack was very willing to sweep the near tragedy under the rug, and was waiting for Gala to confirm her weak excuse as to why Gala hadn’t come back immediately. For a brief instant she didn’t know what to say. Then she sighed, the answer apparent. “I… I almost left you behind Applejack. It wasn’t until I heard your… outburst that I came back.” Gala admitted. Honesty was the best policy, right? This hadn’t been a terrible idea, right? Applejack wasn’t about to rise off the floor and eat her, right? Applejack soon dispelled those fears. “Ya… heard all that.” she muttered, and then covered her face with her hooves. The simple act of embarrassment took away Gala’s fears. No monster would be embarrassed. Gala sighed, but smiled. “Sorry for almost leaving you Applejack.” “It’s fine,” “No it isn’t.” Gala interrupted. “I heard you, now and then. You even told me you thought you’d never see another pony. What happened to you?” Applejack paused, thinking. And after a moment, said, “I… I ain’t sure.” Gala cocked her head. “What do you mean?” “I… I remember waitin. I was waitin in th meetin room, but fer what or why… I dunno. I jus know that they never came.” “How long ago was,” “Sugarcube, I kin barely see anything, and I worked out right quick that I don’t get hungry anymore. Any way fer me ta keep time jus ain’t here. It coulda been jus a week, but I… kinda think otherwise.” Gala nodded, wondering. Applejack likely hadn’t been here for only a week. But it seemed that her memory was missing. Maybe she would get it ba… …Meeting room? “Meeting room?” Gala asked. “…Yeah, I was waitin in th meetin room. Big place, round. Big white table, seven chairs, ya can’t mistake it really; look fer th roots in th ceiling.” “…Applejack, I’m standing in the meeting room.” “…Alright, now I know something’s stupid.” Applejack muttered. “My sight’s right messed up ain’t it? Ya ain’t black, there is a door, and I’m in the same gosh darned place that I was before th whole time?” she yelled, upset, but not at Gala. “…I think so.” Gala said, mildly stunned; Applejack had seemingly just believed her, despite her own, altered, perception. Beyond that though, Applejack… had a really hard time seeing things apparently. Maybe it was part of being a shadow? “But what was this place for?” she asked. “What do ya mean what was it fer? Meetins. Meetin rooms are fer meetins.” “But meetings with who for what?” She saw Applejack open her mouth, but the shadow paused. “…An that’s not there either.” Applejack sighed. “Sorry sugarcube. I jus can’t…” Applejack trailed off. “Applejack?” “Darkness…” “…Applejack?” “I was waitin, an darkness… attacked?” Gala paused. “I remember… I was waitin, and my shadow… jumped up an… an I fell down here, and couldn’t get out. Couldn’t see any light, couldn’t see anythin. I yelled and yelled till I couldn’t yell anymore, but nopony came…” “Not till you. Yer th first pony I’ve seen in th dark with me, th first I’ve heard. But… why?” Gala wasn't listening. She was gaping, eyes staring at nothing. My shadow jumped up, darkness attacked… I fell down here, and couldn’t get out… Nopony came… Granny hadn’t been just telling a story. Nightmare had lured five heroes to places alone, and trapped them where nopony would find them. Applejack was trapped in the darkness of the room. Trapped where nopony could find her, where she couldn’t hear or see them, and they couldn’t see or hear her. Until now. Not until the light came back, and the darkness she was in was gone. It was true. And if that was true, it was all true. “…Gala?” Gala’s shock was too great to truly express. Something she always held in near contempt was true. It was real. Five heroes, four princesses, the sun, Nightmare, every adventure and event her Granny had related to her about a land filled with light from a great, massive star in the sky, all real. The story she always knew was total fantasy was, at the very least, heavily based in fact. “Gala? Yer not blinkin.” And she had just found a hero. Applejack. She was actually related to one of the old heroes of legend. She had found her when nopony else ever had before. Even if she had always kind of pictured them to be all stallions, it mattered very little. “Gala?” Gala suddenly grinned hugely. Wait till her siblings learned about this. Wait till the rest of her family learned about this. Wait till everypony learned about this. Applejack hesitated. “…Gala…?” Ponies would go looking all over the place, peering into shadows to find heroes! The eternal night would be defeated as they were pulled from their prisons and set out into the world, to bring back the sun! The great and glorious sun! Equestria would regain its true rulers! Everything would be so bright! It would all be so good! Equestria would be saved! And it would all start because she chased an incredibly large rat that stole an apple! She could kiss that ra..! … Hug, hug the rat. Maybe feed it a lot. Rats are icky, don’t kiss rats. “Applejack, I am getting you out of here!” she declared, high on the rush of emotion and imagining the stories her Granny had told her. All the adventures, the sights, everything so good and great and bright! It was all coming back! “…How?” Applejack asked, bringing her elation to a screeching halt. Gala didn’t have a single clue as to how she would get Applejack out of anything. But she didn’t let that truly dampen her. She just reasoned that leaving the room was a great start, and selected the first thing she could think of. “Grab onto me.” Gala said. “…What?” “You can see me. Grab on, and I can carry you out of here!” “And that’ll work?” Applejack asked, incredulous. “I know it will!” Gala yelled, tossing doubt away. She felt far too worked up and excited to accept anything like doubt. Applejack stared for a moment, and then shrugged. She walked forward, and her shadow walked into Gala’s own. For a few moments, Gala didn’t feel anything as the shadows aligned. Then she felt… something. Two things. One thing was impossible to describe, but the other was a rejuvenation of her body, a healing of those bruises and bumps she had received earlier, and that felt great. Then her eyes blinked on their own. “I kin see.” she said, not intending to speak. “I kin see!” she cried, rearing up, emotions not hers flooding her, commands not hers pulling her body like a puppet on strings. “After so long,” Gala slammed herself down, panting as she stared at the ground. “What th… those ain’t my hooves.” she muttered. “They’re my hooves!” she yelled, mildly panicked. She saw her shadow, and saw one hoof lift up to rub at the head. She had a powerful urge to imitate it, but resisted as the shadow suddenly froze. After a few moments, the hoof waved out. “…That’s… me?” Applejack murmured softly, in shock, and Gala felt the urge to speak for her as well. Gala took a deep breath. “Yes. Yes, it is. And you’re looking out of my eyes, and trying to move my legs, and I’m feeling incredibly uncomfortable right now.” “I… think I can stop it, maybe?” “Please do.” “Jus a… um… that’s… weird.” “What’s weird?” Gala asked, keeping herself calm and collected. The sensation of not being in command of herself had faded, thankfully. “…I kin see ya real good now, color an everythin. Yer glowing pretty bright.” Applejack said. “But yer not moving at all, an if I look up… I kin see things. And if I touch ya, I kin see… outta yer eyes, I think, th same thing I kin see by lookin up. An if I walk away, I seem ta… come right back. Kin ya feel me touchin you? My hoof goes right through ya.” Gala waited a moment, and felt… the faintest tingle. Like what she had felt before, but nowhere near as strong as it had been. “Yes. Please stop.” “Sorry… I got no idea what’s happened here.” Gala sighed and shook herself, noting that she could actually feel Applejack’s confusion and mild uncertainty as if it was her own. She… really hated the idea that anything could control or influence her like that. But it was Applejack… and she was family, so… it… wasn’t… so bad? Maybe? …She could trust Applejack. Even to that… rather strange and somehow intimate way. Her body was personal, and at least control was optional. Though it seemed emotions were never going to be truly separate. “If it helps any, it’s a lot nicer down here what with yer light n all, and ya got a real nice mane and coat.” Applejack said, and Gala benefited from her firm want to help Gala feel comfortable. “Thank you.” Gala said, taking a final calming breath. She didn’t know what had happened, but… It sounded like Applejack was connected to her now. In what way, or how, or anything else she didn’t know, but the connection was obvious. For better or worse, Applejack was with her in a way that nopony else could be. “Alright.” Gala said, refocusing on the original idea: leaving the room. “I’m going to try and walk out the door again. Hold on.” “Hold on ta whaaaa!” Applejack yelled as Gala walked out the doors, and then stopped outside them, listening to Applejack’s mild pants. “Applejack?” “…That’s gonna take getting used ta.” Applejack murmured. “I’m O.K. Ta get out, ya should go left.” Gala nodded, and began walking. She felt ready, happy, a little elated. She had found an old story true. And now she couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.
PrologueGala Apple was a strange earth pony. Her coat was orange, her mane and tail a vibrant red, her cutie mark an apple tree with three apples in its branches, but her appearance was not why she was strange. She was smart, intelligent, more so than anypony in her family. Gala’s mind was clear and strong, able to comprehend and understand more, easier, than those around her. When problems came up, Gala was often the first to think of a solution, and a far simpler one than most would think of themselves. She often didn’t seem to really fit in with her own siblings, but those traits were not why she was strange either. Rather, her oddity stemmed from her physical abilities. Earth ponies are known for their strength and endurance, sometimes one over the other. They can lift heavy weights, often weights unsupportable by unicorns or pegasi. They can run as far as a pegasus can fly, and rarely as fast. Their bodies can take more punishment, their bones and muscles simply tougher and harder than those of the rest of pony kind. They even had a near miraculous ability to encourage growth and health in plants and animals they cared for. Gala, however, couldn’t lift more than fifty pounds and couldn’t even drag a hundred when a weak earth pony could easily double those numbers with no effort. Her bucks were soft and weak, comparable to an elderly unicorn who hadn’t gotten a lot of exercise during their life. Her endurance was pitiful, running out of breath in a simple fifty-yard dash, a feat she did in miserable time as well. And while she was many things, tough was not one of them. And each time Gala cared for a plant, the poor thing would wither faster than if she had repeatedly stepped upon it. In fact, it would not be entirely incorrect to say Gala was a failure as an earth pony. And growing up and living on a farm made that become very obvious very fast. She could do little of what was needed, despite her best efforts. Her siblings did their best, always encouraging her, and her family, for the most part, understood her limitations. But it wasn't until her little sister, Sweet, proclaimed Gala her favorite pony did Gala begin feeling like she had a real purpose. Even if said purpose was in making her little sister happy. Yet, even then, Gala never really felt at home amongst the Apples, nor at the ancient family farm. It was always as if something was missing. Something unnamed, something she didn’t know, but something she knew she didn’t have, yet should have. It took a long, long time for her to find out what that was. And it all started with a perfectly normal day, or as it was then called, moon, being not quite so normal… Sweet Apple Acers had been the home of the Apple family for a very long time. Yet, it was greatly changed from what it once was. Part of the orchard was within a great structure, magical lights shining down on nearly 500 apple trees. Water ran through in a simple irrigation system, and air was circulated by those members of the family that were pegasi. Great care was given to the trees within, and each received the optimal amount of water and fertilizer to net the greatest number of apples. There was good reason the ‘Great Barn’ as it came to be called existed. Most of the orchard was outside, but those trees never bore fruit nor flowers. They barely even had leaves. That was because the light from the moon and stars was not enough for them, the plants only weakly surviving upon the dim light of the night. The Great Barn enabled the harvest to happen, and Sweet Apple Acers was vital to help produce the food of Equestria in the dark night. Gala had heard of a ‘sun’ that gave its light freely, but she was certain that that was nothing more than fantasy. There was no great ball of fire in the sky that gave more light than any magic ever could, and there never had been. All there had ever been was the moon and the countless tiny stars that filled the dark sky. Gala walked amongst the trees that moon, as she often did, collecting fallen apples, the job commonly reserved for the foals, when the sudden cry, “Mouse!” came. She looked up to spot the dark shape zip and weave under her sister’s hooves, dodge her brother’s stomp, and shoot toward her, its tiny eyes glittering. She frowned, and jerked, making it dodge, and then she stamped upon it, a small, dark fog radiating out from her hoof, swiftly dissipating in the bright light. As she pulled up, no trace of the mouse remained. “I got it!” she called. “Seein more o those n normal.” Macintosh remarked as he came over to deposit his apple basket in the cart next to Gala. He was a large stallion, with a bright red coat and a blond-orange mane and tail, a cutie mark of an apple cut in half. “Harvest might not be so good this cycle.” Gala sighed faintly. Macintosh had a tendency to worry, but worse, his worries often turned out to be true. And Gala hated worrying. “Come on Macintosh.” she said, trying to placate his concern, “We’re doing fine, and there’s a lot of apples. Nothing to worry about.” Macintosh opened his mouth before a bell rang, interrupting him. The ponies currently within the barn began heading out, while new ponies were already inside, moving to continue the work. The Great Barn needed tending to at all times, and the family did so in shifts. During harvest time, the work was constant, but pest control was absolutely vital at all times. A single mouse could devastate the harvest if nopony was watching. They did enough damage when somepony was watching. So the entire family kept their eyes open as they worked, and everypony hoped a rat wouldn’t show up. Ponies got hurt when a rat showed up. As Gala walked with her brother, Macintosh resumed, saying, “We ain’t got ‘a lot’ o apples sis. Th mice got a whole bunch jus last night, an we jus ain’t got th apples ta let em take any more.” “I know that, but it isn’t so bad.” Gala said. “Might be as bad as last year. An th last year, we jus bout starved.” “Macintosh, I!” Gala began to retort, before her younger sister forced herself between the pair. “Stop fightin!” Sweet cried, a deceptively delicate mare. She was a pale grey, her mane and tail bright white, her cutie mark a few apples lined up by size. “It ain’t helpin nopony an yer scarin th fillies!” “Sorry Sweet.” Gala said, ducking her head as Macintosh hurried ahead, Gala matching Sweet’s slower pace. “He just gets to me sometimes.” “He ain’t wrong Gala. Th mice eat more n a fat hog, an we really can’t lose too many apples ta them. Ain’t it better ta be ready ta see em, an be real careful?” Gala only nodded, wondering why it was Sweet who had the calm head. It was fairly often that her little sister had to calm down both Gala and Macintosh from their fights, something that nagged at Gala. She should be the one calming Sweet, not the other way around. Sweet gave her a small smile as the pair exited the Great Barn. “Come on sis. It ain’t that bad really, but best ta be careful.” “I know.” Gala said, smiling back before focusing on the path. A small trail led the way to and from the barn, lit by small lanterns set along its edge. They were there because moonlight was almost never sufficient to enable a pony to navigate their way to and from the barn, and on some nights, it was hard to see anything without their little glow lighting the way. The pair made their way to one of the four farmhouses upon the orchard, a fifth being built as the family continued to grow. Gala and her closest family lived within the oldest house, easily recognizable because of the windows set in the walls. Gala often wondered why the house had them. Nothing save darkness was on the earth, but the skies above never stopped shining, making windows on the wall pointless, and windows on the roof rather nice. She had stopped asking, since nopony knew why. The house was incredibly old, and why the windows were there just wasn't important. It gave the home a unique look, and the family was loath to change it. It had been there ever since the orchard was founded, the story went, and that made it special. As the pair entered, Gala could hear her granny’s voice, telling the foals her tales of a land filled with light. Sweet smiled, but Gala only sighed, tired of hearing the same nonsense over and over again. Sweet gave her a questioning look as the pair headed to the kitchen. “Somethin th matter Gala?” “It’s just Granny.” Gala said, exacerbated. “I’m sick of hearing about the ‘sun’ and everything else she thinks up.” “I think it’s nice. Gives us somethin ta do when nothin else is there. Sides, she is still Granny, an we should respect her, not sigh every time she entertains th foals.” Gala gave Sweet a look, making her sister giggle. She shook her head as Sweet kept smiling at her. “I know, I know, but… ah, forget it. You’re right, like you always are. How do you do that?” “Do what?” Sweet asked as she picked up her dinner, intent on eating it over near her Granny, so she could listen. She loved to listen. “You know what! That always being right thing you do! You and Macintosh, I just don’t understand it!” “Well…” Sweet hummed, thoughtful as she placed the plate on her back. “It’s kinda like how you kin tell a lie even when ya aren’t part o th conversation an don’t know what was bein talked about. We all got talents.” Gala gave her sister that as Sweet left to go and listen to the story. She didn’t know why she could hear lies like she did. She always could, ever since she learned to talk. If anypony spoke a mistruth within her hearing range she would know and often blurt out that she knew. It sometimes helped when dealing with business and rarely with family. It also got her in trouble more often than not, as telling ponies that they were lying without any care of what was being spoken of, who was being spoken to, or who was listening, often got ponies very upset with her. Not that she would ever stop. Ever since a very young age she had made up her mind that truthfulness was the greatest virtue and that she would uphold that: ‘everypony should be honest’, she had decided. It soon acquired the minor change of ‘I will be honest’ soon after the first few blow ups she had trying to make other ponies be honest. Whether they wanted to or not, and regardless of situation or meaning. She got her food, and headed after Sweet into the main room, where Granny had finished her first tale, and was leaning back in her rocking chair as she relaxed. She was old and wrinkly, bright green with white hair, her cutie mark two green apples. “Another!” a foal cried, making her chuckle, and push herself back up a little. “Alright, but jus th one more.” she said, her voice old, creaking much like her bones did from time to time. “What should I tell you yunguns..?” “The lost sun!” one cried, making the old mare grin and chuckle faintly. “Ya want ta hear bout how we lost our sun agin?” Granny asked them, and they all nodded, eager. Granny nodded, leaned back, thought, and then began: “A long, long, long time ago, longer n ponies kin remember, th land was lit up real bright, brighter n any light.” Granny murmured, the standard beginning to most, if not all, of her stories. “Th sun, th great ball o light, was high overhead and ponies lived in its light and warmth. Four princesses ruled over th land, guidin it wisely an with great grace, an ponies lived lives o perfect peace an prosperity.” the old mare said, her voice capturing the attention of the foals arranged before her. Granny leaned forward, lowering her voice, “But it wern’t ta be ferever.” she whispered, lowering her voice. She spoke slowly, darkly, “A monster came from th darkest shadows, where light couldn’t be found. He ruled over th darkness an hated th light. He looked over Equestria, an he wanted it ta be his. An one dark day, he decided th time was right.” “He rose up an struck th sun from th sky itself, swallowed the moon, an rose over th land like a dark cloud. In moments, darkness covered th whole land, darker n a night without moon er stars. Ponies cried out, but nopony heard em in th dark…” The foals shivered, trembling a little at the story. “Nopony cept th heroes.” Granny said, her voice rising back to normal. “Five ponies o light an legend. They heard th cries fer help, an came, and struck back at the dark king, and drove back his shadows. They stole back th moon, defeated his monsters and minions, an saved countless ponies. They took back th light bit by bit until they reached him himself, th king o darkness: Nightmare.” Sweet was happily listening, the foals enraptured, but Gala was leaning in a seat, bored as she ate. She fully believed that this entire thing was little more than a fairy tale. It even sounded like one! Princesses, heroes, bravery and defeating the monster, all normal story elements in fiction. Still, she didn’t interrupt her Granny as she continued. “Nightmare waited fer em in deepest shadow, th darkest place, a place where light couldn’t be. In it, Nightmare thought they would be helpless, lost in th dark. But they went anyway, faced their fears, faced him in his dark, an ya know what happened?” Granny asked, leaning a little forward. “As they entered, they shone. They shone like stars in th darkest night, an th darkness was gone, an th king o darkness couldn’t do anythin. They rescued th sun, and pushed Nightmare back inta th dark, back where he belonged! Equestria had light an peace agin!” A few of the foals cheered, as did Sweet, making Gala groan and hang her head. It was just so… silly. Ponies didn’t glow, and how would one ‘rescue’ a great ball of fire anyway? They would burn up. “But it wern’t ta last ferever.” Granny said, cutting them off. “Nightmare remembered his defeat, and slipped back inta th land, unnoticed. He didn’t take th sun then, no.” Her voice lowered again, and she leaned forward, as if sharing a dark secret, “He went ta each hero in turn, an whispered inta their ears. An he lured em ta places… alone.” The foals shivered. “An he stuck em down one by one!” Granny said suddenly, making several gasp. “Jumpin em at their weakest, when they were alone an not expectin him, till he got em all. An th moment he did that, he went and did th same thin to th princesses. He went an hid em where nopony would ever find em, fer punishment fer fightin him in th first place.” “Then Nightmare took th sun once more, an ponies despaired, their heroes an rulers gone, leavin em alone as Nightmare stole their light. They cried out in th darkness…” “An their cries didn’t go unheard. Th mixed up thin himself, th king o chaos, Discord himself, heard them. An he walked amongst them, and stood tall, and proclaimed:” “’Fear not! For I, Discord, shall defeat Nightmare, and renew the land!’” Granny leaned back, sighing. “It were a great battle. Discord n Nightmare fought fer weeks, battlin across th land. Lots o stuff got hurt by one o th other, and fer a while, it seemed like it’d never end. Till it finally did.” “Discord defeated Nightmare once an fer all, breaking apart his black heart, but as th dark king died, he cursed th land. Never would th sun be back, never would ponies see another day, an never would those he hid away be found! But Nightmare’d never return, an ponies looked ta Discord ta set thins right.” Granny sighed, shaking her head as she continued, “But though Discord did his best, Nightmare’s words were, and are, true. Th battle had hurt him, an Discord couldn’t get th sun back. Try as he might, he couldn’t get rid o th darkness Nightmare had left behind. So he turned to th ponies, and asked fer them ta help him. They crowned him king, an ta this moon, th mad king watches over us as best he can.” “Ponies went lookin fer th heroes an th princesses, but nopony ever found em. Not one clue or hair o em. But even after all this time, there’s still hope. Ya know why?” Granny grinned, “Our lost Princesses ain’t th type ta die. Neither are th heroes. Nightmare mighta hid em away, kept em apart, but they ain’t gone. They’re out there, someplace. Jus need somepony ta find em, an bring em back. Course, nopony has, an some say nopony ever will…” “Less one o you young’uns go an do so.” she added with a chuckle. “Never know! Could be you yunguns that stumbles across one o th heroes o legend!” “Anyhoo, that’s th story o Nightmare, an o th world we live in.” she finished, leaning back in her chair. The foals turned to one another to chatter eagerly as Granny relaxed in her rocking chair, picking up her knitting once more. One filly went over to Gala and Sweet. Sweet smiled at their youngest sister, a small filly with yellow fur and a bright red mane smiling up at the pair. She was too young to have a cutie mark just yet. “Do ya think I kin go an find th lost heroes?” she asked them. “Course ya can Applebloom.” Sweet said, “But no runnin off. It ain’t safe fer ponies it th dark. Go an get yer dinner; it’s gettin late.” Applebloom nodded happily, and headed off as Gala gave her sister an annoyed look. Sweet glanced over, confused. “What?” “You go and fill her tiny head with nonsense and fairy stories too much Sweet. Can’t you just… let her down gently or something?” “Are ya suggestin I’m lyin ta her?” Sweet asked, one eyebrow raised. “No, I mean!” Gala took a short breath, and got her voice under control again, “They aren’t real Sweet. There were never any heroes, never any princesses, never any sun. Other than Discord, nopony in that story is real, not even Nightmare. There’s no such thing as a sun, and what about ponies glowing? That’s stupid.” “Ya got no magic in ya Gala, that’s yer problem.” Sweet said. “It don’t do nothing ta let em believe, an I believe too. Even if I did grow up with miss doubt’y tail herself.” Gala frowned and Sweet chuckled faintly, smiling. “Come on sis!” she added, happy, “Ya know I’m right! Sides, ya just wouldn’t be Gala if ya weren’t like that.” “Now let’s go.” Sweet said, walking toward the upstairs, where the bedrooms were. “We are gonna leave early to get to Ponyville tomorrow. Dad wants to get another light an expand th barn, an that needs bits we don’t got. Least not until we sell some apples.” “I know that!” Gala snapped as she trotted after her sister. “Miss doubt’y tail…” she muttered, “Really?” Sweet only laughed, making Gala smile. Even if it came at her cost, she loved to hear Sweet laugh. Sweet rarely laughed. There simply wasn't much to laugh at. Their little arguments about the truth behind the tale was one of the few things that got Sweet to smile. Gala always took it seriously, but Sweet always found enjoyment in it. Gala had already figured out it was pointless to argue, but when she had stopped trying, Sweet had smiled less. So she kept it up, almost exaggerating her annoyance for her sister. Life was hard enough without making ponies upset. The darkness was constant, food was low and desperately desired by everypony, and they walked the thin line between having just enough and starving. The Apples worked as hard as they could, but it was rare that they gained enough harvest to comfortably have enough for themselves. That was life for the Apple family, 36 strong, with more family far out in other places. Growing the vital food for Equestria and never quite having enough to feel secure. Food was in short supply and every apple counted, but they needed money to keep the farm running and to expand. So they worked harder than anypony else, putting their all into trying to reach a point where food and money was, if not plentiful, at least just barely enough. Equestria was in an eternal night, and its peoples changed. The past was a foggy mess, forgotten and left behind, its lessons tossed aside in favor of the facts of today. Everypony was tense, and often desperate, with despair filling the hearts of many. Discord sat on the throne in Canterlot, the mad king ruling over the ponies with insanity and chaos, their sole defense against the dark that threatened to overcome them each day. Yes, life was hard in Equestria, but the Apple family always held onto hope. Even when so many others had long since given up on the idea that anything would get better, and when so many others felt that the only escape was in death itself… the Apples kept that tiny star of hope alive.
Chapter 1Gala walked with her siblings along the path to Ponyville early the next moon, no lanterns to light that trail. Macintosh pulled the wagon, Gala to his right, toward the Everfree, and Sweet trailing behind, to ensure none of the precious fruit fell away during the journey. Macintosh carried a lantern, Sweet and Gala armed with more of the same, the light within carefully protected in case of wind or rain. They also had a flare, in case of… problems. Monsters lived in the darkness, and they all hated light. Should one decide to attack, the sudden burst of light made by the flare would scare them off… most of the time. Flares were a very common traveling material, even if monster attacks were, fortunately, very rare. It was when they did happen that ponies carried flares. So that the horror of seeing somepony dragged screaming into the dark by some monster didn’t happen. Most of the time. Gala was especially nervous about taking these trips, though she always took the right side, the side facing the Everfree, the one most likely to be attacked. She mostly did it so Sweet wouldn’t have to. And partly so she wouldn’t relive something. She could still recall it, very easily. Macintosh and Sweet hadn’t been there, but she, her father, and her true eldest sibling had been. Something had attacked them. And the flares hadn’t done their job. She had forgotten exactly what had happened from the trauma of it. She was only left with garbled sounds and a single image: a brilliant light, reflecting off something black, and a horrible dark red glow. Her father wasn't so lucky; he still woke, screaming, on the darkest nights. It was why he didn’t take these trips anymore. She never saw her oldest brother again. She would sooner not go, but she still went. So somepony else wouldn’t have to, Gala facing her fear and protecting her family from it. Sweet, in the back where she was safest, and other ponies back at the farm, where they were safe. Gala, despite her terror, doing her best to ensure that it would never happen again, or, if it did, that it would happen to her, and not to the ponies she loved. And, in some silent understanding, that she was… expendable, while others were not. She relaxed as they approached Ponyville, large and powerful lights set on the sides of buildings. Most of the town was abandoned, the buildings too far away from one another to illuminate easily. Instead, the ponies who lived there were concentrated around something special. A giant, purple, crystal tree sat in Ponyville, and for whatever reason, it gently glowed on its own. Nopony knew what it was or why it was there or anything about it really, but its light was ever-present. Most of the town had been restructured around it, and the marketplace, where the siblings were headed, was inside it. The inside was massive, a gigantic open hall. It was always bright, despite there being no obvious light source. A few banners hung high above, decayed to near nothing, and ponies crowded the area. There was a lot more to the structure, but it was left unexplored. Other places were very dark and often blocked; the obvious example of that was that the main hall had a balcony with a long since destroyed staircase. Ponies simply didn’t really want to go inside, and there were more than a few stories about somepony off to discover to never be seen again. It didn’t really matter to most, and faint curiosity was tempered by the fear of the dark unknown. Gala helped her siblings set up the stall and then settled behind them, taking out her book and idly reading as ponies came over, looking about the apples before getting into haggling. “I’ve got six children!” “No.” “It’s ten bits, an eleven if ya keep tryin that.” Sweet said, unamused. “My grandmother is dying!” “No.” Macintosh only glared at the stallion, who backed away fairly fast. “I can’t afford that! My dog has injured my wife and now she cannot work to help support the family and she is craving apples!” Gala hesitated. “Yes, unbelievable as that sounds.” Sweet nodded at Gala and then smiled at the stallion. “Fer you, one bit. An thanks fer bein honest.” Gala sighed faintly as she flipped the page. She didn’t really mind being the living lie detector, preventing ponies from cheating them with sob stories, but she was very bored during this. After the first hour she had finished her book and began wondering how she was going to keep herself from simply falling asleep. She started faintly when Macintosh’s hoof bumped into her. “Ya kin go an find something ta do Gala.” Macintosh told her as Gala turned to see him. “I’m takin a short break, an Sweet kin watch th apples.” Gala nodded, stretching as she stood up. “I’ll stay with her Macintosh. You go and rest. You did an extra shift last night anyway, you deserve one.” “Keep yer eyes open Gala.” Sweet said as Macintosh disappeared into the crowd. “We got ten apples left, an we don’t got th bits we need yet. We need ta make sure no apple gets stolen.” Gala nodded. She soon grew bored again, however, very little happening that really deserved attention. She sighed after a time, and began looking up, toward the ceiling, and then along the wall, idly pondering where some of the doors went, or who put the long-decayed banners up in the first place. Who built this place, and out of what? For what purpose? All unanswered mysteries, and not anything she had a single clue about, but they were fun to ponder. As she peered around, something caught her eye. Not far from their stand was a single doorway. Nopony was near it despite the crush elsewhere, as if it was being avoided for some reason. The empty spot attracted her attention, and she wondered: had it been there before? But what was there soon distracted her from those thoughts. The door was open somewhat, and a black rat sat there, staring at her with a single glowing, golden eye. It was half as tall as she was and just as long, and very black. But what really caught her eyes was the bright red apple it held in its paws. Her head whipped around, and she saw nine apples. She didn’t even think as she got up and ran at it, intent on getting the all-important apple back. The rat ran into the hall, and moments after, Gala had made the turn into the dark hall beyond. Her family needed that apple! She could see the rat ahead of her, looking back with its golden eye, the one light in the dark hall. As it spotted her again, it turned and ran ahead, its tail then becoming the glowing sign for her to follow. It was the only thing she could see in the darkness; the tiny, faintly glowing white line that was the creature’s tail. It took a few moments before what she was doing actually struck her, and she skidded to a halt, already panting from exertion despite running for only a few moments. Rats were dangerous, she knew that well. In fact, a rat could actually kill somepony, and that rat she had chased had been massive. Three or four times the size of any rat she’d ever heard of. What could that behemoth do to her if she had caught it? Eat her most likely. Let it take the apple. The tail vanished into the darkness ahead, and Gala breathed a small sigh of relief that it had. Then she looked behind her, and tensed again. She couldn’t see the door she had come through, though she was fairly sure she had gone in a straight line and that the door hadn’t shut behind her. It should still be visible, but it wasn’t. And now, it was so dark she couldn’t see anything. There was nothing to help her find her way back, or even navigate at all. As she looked around, it was as if the darkness was somehow darker, and she feared. Anything could be between her and the door. In sudden fright, she whimpered, shrinking back from nothing. The moment she whimpered, a sudden, though distant, voice snapped, “What’s that?” Gala froze, her ears going up, listening. “…What’s what?” a second asked. “I heard something…Something over there.” Voices. Definitely not pony voices, hissing, rasping voices. Evil voices. Monster voices. Gala held her breath, not even daring to move, listening for the sound of approach. “Something ran into here.” rang clear behind her, far, far closer to her than before. It sounded almost surprised. Gala nearly shrieked, but managed to stop herself. How had it gotten so close so silently! “It didn’t leave.” a second murmured. “So it’s still here.” a third said slowly, and Gala could hear the growing smile in the words. A few moments of silence passed, Gala’s eyes uselessly open wide to try and see what was near her. She trembled faintly, terrified, trying to decide if she should just run, or wait and hope they failed to find her in the dark. “It must be trembling in fear.” a voice said almost mockingly, making Gala freeze. “Fear of what though?” was asked, the voice drifting past her, helping her relax. It must not have seen her. “…Of what… lurks in the dark?” “There are many… things one could encounter within it.” a third hissed, and Gala held still, despite the tingling sensation of having that hissed to her, directly. “Nothing that takes kindly to… trespassers.” “It could have, of course, simply stumbled here. Let’s not leap to conclusions.” the first voice said, orbiting around her. “Brave or stupid?” the second asked, again, orbiting her. “Why would s, it be here at all? What would rush into the dark?” Gala flinched at that, hearing the implication despite the save to prevent it. They could see her. They knew she was here, they were currently surrounding her, and she couldn’t see anything. “Does it even matter?” the third asked. “Why should we bother ourselves with why?” “Hypocrite.” “As if you’re any better.” “Now, now, look, we have better entertainment.” the first said, crushing Gala’s dim hope that they’d start fighting each other and forget about her. “She already knows we know.” “Does she?” Something touched her mane. She held still. “Perhaps she is ignorant yet?” another voice said, and something was definitely touching her mane. She kept still, trying to decide if simply running blind was a good idea. Or rather, if it was a better one than staying near whatever was near her. Would they chase her? What if she ran into something, or tripped? And even if she didn’t… she couldn’t outrun them. …She was doomed, wasn’t she? “How? She would need to be deaf.” “Don’t discount possibilities. She moved here, yes, but she might not hear us.” “…I don’t care. I’m bored. Time for fun.” At that, useless or not, Gala decided to take the chance, and ran forward. She didn’t hear a single one react in surprise, and then yelped as her tail was pulled taught an instant later, stopping her. Laughter ensued as she was dragged back, despite her scrabbling for purchase. All of a sudden, the pull became stronger, and she was nearly thrown backwards. She rolled, and recovered the moment she stopped, looking around in a panic despite being unable to see anything. But she did. A leering face fit for the worst of nightmares greeted her, and she screamed, trying to get away. Nothing stopped her, but another, somehow worse, face greeted her that way, and she tripped trying to reverse, her legs tangling themselves in her panic. And her every action was met with laughter. Mocking laughter. She recovered and ran, or at least she did her best. Which wasn’t much. Her legs burned in moments, and she knew she wasn’t going fast, and even holding back for fear of things she couldn’t see. She closed her useless eyes, and threw caution to the wind, using all of the little she had. The laughter doubled when she hit a wall she couldn’t see. She reeled back, dazed, only to have something grab her tail, wing her around, and throw her tired body like she was a hammer and it was in some competition. She screamed as she flew, and thumped into the ground several times, rolling to finally stop, weak, hurt, and exhausted. “Fifty!” Something grabbed her tail again. “Watch this one!” She was flung again, and that time slapped into something hard, and slid down it to a crumpled heap. She tried and failed to push herself up, her body too hurt and tired to move. “Thirty. Disappointing.” “Nice shot though, and if she hadn’t hit the rock, she might have made sixty. Though I would have thought she would get up after that. Earth ponies are meant to be abused.” “True. Yet, she isn’t.” She was picked up again by her tail, and gently spun in place. “You know, looking closer… she doesn’t look the part, does she?” “No, not really.” Something poked her, viciously, and she gasped. “Look at that. All give, no resistance.” “She’s already bruising.” Something sighed. “Disappointing.” She was dropped, and couldn’t even manage to not land on her head. She flopped over, groaning, wondering when it would end. Or if it was ever going to end. Darkness all around her, nothing to see, three monsters toying with her. Her strength already gone, nopony to know where she went… Was this to be her fate? The toy of three monsters, either to be forever caught in this abuse or to eventually die at their hooves? If they even had hooves. “…I doubt anypony could love her.” One ear pricked up. “A failure to her own species. Sad.” Gala coughed faintly, trying to move. “Her family must be ashamed of her.” “I’m…” she managed, wiggling to at least lie down properly. “Weak, soft, useless. You’re like a decrepit old mare despite your youth.” “I… can…” she murmured, forcing numb legs to try and support her, slowly standing up again. Trying to ignore the pain she felt. “Your run is nothing.” “Your body fails you even now, long before any other would have.” “Your strength is pathetic.” She stood, and though her legs wobbled, she took a step. Nothing stopped her. “Look at yourself, panting and wasted after a few moments of terror.” “You can barely move.” “You can barely live.” She slowed, lowering her head, taking another laborious step. “A disappointment to your family.” “A disgrace to your kind.” “A failure at everything.” Gala kept her head down and stopped, breathing slowly. “Just give up. Abandon it all, leave your pain behind you.” “You have a place to run to. The darkness is always accepting.” “We won’t hate you.” “I…” Gala gasped, breathing slowly, deliberately. “We can fix you.” “We can give you a body to be proud of.” “We can fill your empty life.” “I have…. A home…” “A home where you’re a burden.” “A home where you’re a disappointment.” “We can give you a better one.” “I… have a family…” “A family that hates you.” “You make them suffer. But we can make it better.” “A new family in darkness.” Gala was silent. “Say it.” “Do it.” “We’re here.” “We’ll help.” “New home, new family, new body.” “We’ll even say sorry.” “It’s easy.” “Just want it.” “Give up, and succeed.” “…” Gala pushed herself up. Then she turned around, even if she couldn’t see them, to face them. Her heart and mind hardened, her small wait enough for her to regain at least enough strength for this. “You’re all lying to me.” she said firmly, and somehow… the darkness was less. “My family doesn’t hate me. I have a home. And I’m not a burden, or a failure.” she stated, despite not being absolutely sure in the last. The previous two were enough, and even if she didn’t have faith in herself, her family had faith in her. Sweet had faith in her. “But your body,” “Is weak.” she interrupted. “I’m slow. I can’t really run at all. I bruise easy. I can’t carry much. I can’t buck a tree, or carry a full bucket. I get tired in moments and I’m kind of clumsy and I’m weak. I know that. But I have a place, and a purpose, and a family. I’m happy, no matter how hard it gets, or how ugly it seems, or how weak my body is!” She took a step toward them. “I have everything I need and want, and nothing you offer me is true!” She reared up, and… she shone. First, she was visible, and then it was as if she herself glowed bright, her color reaching out around her. “Go away!” she screamed, and she flashed suddenly, as if her will was made into light. Three voices yelled in pain, three dark things rushing away from her as she panted and glared, angry that they had even dared to try and use half-truths to make her… whatever. Angry enough that she didn’t even notice her shine until after the sounds had stopped. Then she noticed, and looked at herself. She glared a little. That made absolutely no sense whatsoever and she didn’t really like it. It had likely just saved her, but she still didn’t like it. Ponies don’t glow. Especially not shine like… Like a star. She shook herself, deciding to take advantage of it, but otherwise ignore it. It would go away on its own. And, at least for now, she wasn’t easy prey for running into walls, and monsters should leave her alone. Anyway, finding the way out. She looked around herself, deciding she had to be in a room of some kind; she couldn’t see any walls near her, despite her shine. As she began choosing a direction mostly at random, she spotted a tiny golden dot. She hesitated, and then went toward it, soon enough seeing the dark rat again, sitting in a dark doorway. Was it… smiling at her? Then it turned around, looked back, and its tail curled as if beckoning her to follow. The rat moved into the dark, only the faint white tail visible. She stared for a few moments, but before it got too far, she hurried after it.
Chapter 2After a little while, Gala’s glow began fading as she kept following the rat, to her minor relief, even if she couldn’t see as well. The rat had led her through another door, and she had been walking in dark hallways and other small rooms for a little while now, following the rat. The only sounds were her own hoofsteps and the soft clicks of the rat ahead of her. Her light was gone, but the rat ahead of her let her see after a fashion, always waiting for her to catch up. Its tail gently glowing, its one eye like a beacon. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but the rat seemed, if nothing else, helpful. It hadn’t attacked her at all, even if she got really close to it. And it did seem to have a destination in mind; maybe the main hall again? After a few halls, she smiled, seeing lights still present, letting her see where she walked. They were few and far between, but each lit place made her feel happier about where she was; nothing hid in light after all. The rat kept going, light or no light, and they continued for some time through halls and rooms, most completely dark. Until, at last, it turned into a hall lit by several lights, and entered a large set of double doors. Gala followed it, only to pause in some awe as she entered. A massive round table was in the center of a large round room. Six marble thrones ringed it, each one with some symbol on the back, and a smaller, seventh throne was present amongst them. The room was only dimly lit, but she saw the rat clearly as it ran to stop within the shadow cast by the chairs. It looked back, the chair it hid behind having the mark of three red apples. She looked up, and saw the entire lower half of a tree above her, with lots of things held in the curling roots. A fair number were colored lights, which seemed to be the source of the faint illumination. Others were… harder to recognize; they had decayed with age, but seemed quite varied. When she looked back down, the rat was gone. She walked into the room, wondering where it had gone; there was only the one door, and it couldn’t have slipped past her, not with its size. She felt a kind of… friendship with it. It hadn’t hurt her after all, and it hadn’t… She frowned. It had likely eaten the apple. So, one bad mark against it then, but judgement held in check for now. It at least seemed to be somewhat nice, though why it led her here instead of back where she had been was a question. She had thought that it had known where she had wanted to go, or at least had been heading for an exit. Maybe its nest, but there was obviously no nest here. So why had it gone here? She looked at the table, and then at the thrones as she reached them, taking in the symbols. They were bright, and looked… like they would be at home as cutie marks. In fact, the room sort of felt like… a special place. A place where ponies, important ponies, would meet together, and discuss things, important things. Like a court. She smiled at the idea, another mystery added to the purple crystal tree; who had used this room, and for what? She looked to one chair in particular, the one with three apples as its mark, and went to it. She looked at her own, and noted the similarity between them. Other than the tree on hers, the apples were more or less identical. She wondered who would have sat there, wondered if, maybe, they might have been related. As she thought, she reached out, and gently touched the chair. The moment she did so, she felt a faint jolt, and gasped, pulling back. The apples on the throne suddenly flashed, and a shimmer of many colors passed over the table in an eye blink. At the same time, the light above her brightened, and she looked up, gaping, as the glowing orbs brightened until the room was lit almost perfectly. “Hm?” Gala hesitated. She hadn’t made that sound. “…A light? What’s…?” a voice murmured, making her tense faintly, but that one was far more normal than the ones before. She looked around, trying to see whoever was speaking. “…Is somepony there!” Gala started a little at the sudden yell. “Yes?” she said, unable to see anypony. Even if she looked under the table. “I’m here?” “Am I hearin thins? I know I saw somethin…” was muttered, and then, louder than before, “Hey! Anypony there!” “Yes?” Gala yelled back, confused. Why couldn’t she see the speaker, or the speaker her? She would swear they were nearby, yet there was nopony nearby. “There is somepony.” the voice murmured, shocked. “I heard somepony, I… Where are ya? I can’t see ya!” it cried again, and Gala wondered at the happiness in the tone. “I’m standing right here?” Gala called around her, very confused. “Hang on! Can ya keep on callin? I think there’s something tween you an me!” “…Over here! This way!” Gala called, feeling a touch stupid, constantly repeating calls, looking everywhere as she tried to identify where the voice was coming from. For that matter, why was she calling anyway? She was in plain sight. “Are you any closer? I,” Gala stopped instantly, her eyes locking on the floor and staring. A shadow had just walked out from under the table. A pony shadow cast by nothing. It stopped, and she saw its head moving faintly before ‘looking’ at her. “That you?” it asked, and she could easily hear it talking, and somewhat see the motions of talking. It walked closer, and a small part of her wondered how it did so; how did it orient itself? The rest of her was unable to really express an opinion, though a fair bit of her erred toward terror. It stopped by her, and peered closer. “There ya are!” it said happily, leaning back. “Gotta say, ya blend in real good.” “Do I?” Gala weakly asked, staring. “Yep. Real black coat ya got there.” “…I’m not black.” Gala said, her fear dissipating a little. “…Looks black.” the shadow said, far too much like somepony pointing out the obvious for Gala. “I’m orange!” Gala objected. “Very orange and not even a little black! You’re black!” “I ain’t black.” “You’re a shadow! That’s the color of shadows, black!” “A what? No, I’m a pony! Look, see th tail an hooves?” it asked, gesturing as if to show that it did, indeed, have a tail and hooves. Gala paused even as she opened her mouth to respond. It hadn’t lied. It was a pony. Somehow. Gala shook herself. “…My name’s Gala, Gala Apple.” she said, deciding to try again. After all, what was the worst that could happen? It was a shadow after all, not something that could actually hurt her… right? “Do you have a name?” “Apple? Like th apple clan?!” it asked excitedly. “Shoot, I’d thought I’d never see another pony, and now it’s family too! My name’s Applejack, cousin, an it’s a real good pleasure ta meet ya!” Gala closed her eyes. That wasn't a lie either. The being related part, cousin was just a nickname of sorts. The shadow was a pony, her name was Applejack, and she was related to Gala. All true statements. How? It was all Gala could really think, trying and failing to imagine what to say next. “So, how’d ya get in here anyway?” Applejack asked, jarring Gala from her confusion. “…The door.” she muttered, still reeling. “…There ain’t no door.” Applejack said. “I’ve walked everywhere, and there ain’t even a mouse hole in this place.” Gala hesitated then. She hadn’t heard a lie. She nodded slowly, an explanation coming to her. Of sorts. There was, quite obviously, a door. So, Applejack had to be lying. Gala couldn’t tell, but that could be because of… who knew what, but it couldn’t be true. Applejack was therefore capable of lying without her being able to tell. And more to the point, a few previous words came back to her: ‘A new family in darkness’ the monsters had mentioned. And Applejack checked every box for that description. A… shadow pony that was related to her. And since she met the description of that rather strange promise… Applejack had to be a trap of some kind, and Gala should leave as soon as possible. The monsters could still be nearby, and she was very not sure if she could escape them again, even if she managed to… never mind. Ponies don’t shine. She should leave, as soon as possible, before she got stuck here or worse. “Sure there is.” she said, walking toward the door. Applejack followed after her, worrying her, but she ignored that. “It’s right over here.” she said, stopping next to it. “There is no door there sugarcube.” Applejack said, her tone not very unlike Sweet’s tone when she was trying to tell Gala she was wrong. The relation only made Gala want to leave more. “Watch.” Gala said, and simply stepped out, and looked back, waiting. Hoping. Applejack gasped, and hurried to the door, to stop just at the threshold. Gala saw her press on nothing, and gave a large sigh of relief. Applejack couldn’t follow her outside. “Gala!” cried Applejack, “Are ya there! Whatever ya did worked! Ya went right through th wall like it was air! But I can’t, so can ya come back and tell me how ya did it? Gala!” Gala looked away, and paused, recalling the she did not remember which way she had come from. As she looked back and forth, trying to discern direction in a rather symmetrical hall, Applejack continued. “Are ya there Gala?” Applejack yelled, her voice gaining a desperate note. “Ya kin hear me, right? Yer… yer still there, aren’t ya?” her voice trailed off for a moment, and Gala turned back to regard the shadow. “I… I don’t want ta be left alone again…” Applejack whispered, and Gala froze from the tone. Terror. Despair. “No!” Applejack abruptly screamed. “Ya got hurt somehow didn’t ya, and ya can’t come back cause of that! Well, don’t worry Gala!” Applejack turned about and began bucking against the door, impacting as though there was a wall for her, but no noise was produced despite the ferocity of the blows. “I’m comin! Just hold on! I kin be there in two shakes of an apple tree! Jus hang on cousin! I’ll be right there! I’m comin!” Applejack began slowing down, the fire in her voice dousing, her bucks losing strength and Gala found herself unable to turn away. “I’m… I’m…” Applejack ceased attacking whatever kept her in the room and slowly lowered her head. “I’m…” Gala watched the shadow lie down, and the sheer heartbreak in her final words cut at her heart. Then the shadow began gently sobbing and that is when Gala hated what she had just done. She didn’t know what Applejack was, but… What if… What if she wasn’t a trap? What if she really was a pony, trapped in that room as a shadow? And she had to be; there was no way for anypony to lie to Gala and not have her know it. Applejack was who she said she was, and the truth in her statement ‘there is no door’ was apparent now. For Applejack, there really was no door. How long had she been in that room? In fact, how long had it been since anypony walked down this hall, much less entered that particular room? And even if they had… Applejack had only seemed to notice anything when she touched the chair, when the lights brightened for some reason. She might have been the first pony Applejack had talked to for… for who knew how long. And she had just left her there. Abandoning her, leaving her in her prison. Alone again. She recalled Applejack’s joy when she had responded to her calls, and the glee in her voice when she found out it was family. And now she was crying, and Gala was tearing up, and Applejack was weakly telling herself to stop crying, which only made her feel worse… She went back, unable to take it anymore. As she reentered, she focused on comforting Applejack, only to pause. How, exactly, does one comfort a shadow? It wasn’t like she could hug her. Applejack didn’t notice her entering, and Gala stood there for a moment before sighing faintly. Words would have to do. “…Applejack?” The response was instant. Applejack jumped to her hooves, in her own way anyway, and seemed to wipe at her eyes as she turned to see Gala. “Gala!” she cried in the happiest tone Gala had ever heard from a pony, making her wince. She had really hurt Applejack. “Ya’ll came,” Applejack stopped, swallowed, and started again with her voice more controlled. “I mean, ya didn’t find any trouble, did ya? I… got kind worried that ya… got hurt.” Applejack said, rather weakly disguising her fears of Gala abandoning her. Gala hesitated. Applejack was very willing to sweep the near tragedy under the rug, and was waiting for Gala to confirm her weak excuse as to why Gala hadn’t come back immediately. For a brief instant she didn’t know what to say. Then she sighed, the answer apparent. “I… I almost left you behind Applejack. It wasn’t until I heard your… outburst that I came back.” Gala admitted. Honesty was the best policy, right? This hadn’t been a terrible idea, right? Applejack wasn’t about to rise off the floor and eat her, right? Applejack soon dispelled those fears. “Ya… heard all that.” she muttered, and then covered her face with her hooves. The simple act of embarrassment took away Gala’s fears. No monster would be embarrassed. Gala sighed, but smiled. “Sorry for almost leaving you Applejack.” “It’s fine,” “No it isn’t.” Gala interrupted. “I heard you, now and then. You even told me you thought you’d never see another pony. What happened to you?” Applejack paused, thinking. And after a moment, said, “I… I ain’t sure.” Gala cocked her head. “What do you mean?” “I… I remember waitin. I was waitin in th meetin room, but fer what or why… I dunno. I jus know that they never came.” “How long ago was,” “Sugarcube, I kin barely see anything, and I worked out right quick that I don’t get hungry anymore. Any way fer me ta keep time jus ain’t here. It coulda been jus a week, but I… kinda think otherwise.” Gala nodded, wondering. Applejack likely hadn’t been here for only a week. But it seemed that her memory was missing. Maybe she would get it ba… …Meeting room? “Meeting room?” Gala asked. “…Yeah, I was waitin in th meetin room. Big place, round. Big white table, seven chairs, ya can’t mistake it really; look fer th roots in th ceiling.” “…Applejack, I’m standing in the meeting room.” “…Alright, now I know something’s stupid.” Applejack muttered. “My sight’s right messed up ain’t it? Ya ain’t black, there is a door, and I’m in the same gosh darned place that I was before th whole time?” she yelled, upset, but not at Gala. “…I think so.” Gala said, mildly stunned; Applejack had seemingly just believed her, despite her own, altered, perception. Beyond that though, Applejack… had a really hard time seeing things apparently. Maybe it was part of being a shadow? “But what was this place for?” she asked. “What do ya mean what was it fer? Meetins. Meetin rooms are fer meetins.” “But meetings with who for what?” She saw Applejack open her mouth, but the shadow paused. “…An that’s not there either.” Applejack sighed. “Sorry sugarcube. I jus can’t…” Applejack trailed off. “Applejack?” “Darkness…” “…Applejack?” “I was waitin, an darkness… attacked?” Gala paused. “I remember… I was waitin, and my shadow… jumped up an… an I fell down here, and couldn’t get out. Couldn’t see any light, couldn’t see anythin. I yelled and yelled till I couldn’t yell anymore, but nopony came…” “Not till you. Yer th first pony I’ve seen in th dark with me, th first I’ve heard. But… why?” Gala wasn't listening. She was gaping, eyes staring at nothing. My shadow jumped up, darkness attacked… I fell down here, and couldn’t get out… Nopony came… Granny hadn’t been just telling a story. Nightmare had lured five heroes to places alone, and trapped them where nopony would find them. Applejack was trapped in the darkness of the room. Trapped where nopony could find her, where she couldn’t hear or see them, and they couldn’t see or hear her. Until now. Not until the light came back, and the darkness she was in was gone. It was true. And if that was true, it was all true. “…Gala?” Gala’s shock was too great to truly express. Something she always held in near contempt was true. It was real. Five heroes, four princesses, the sun, Nightmare, every adventure and event her Granny had related to her about a land filled with light from a great, massive star in the sky, all real. The story she always knew was total fantasy was, at the very least, heavily based in fact. “Gala? Yer not blinkin.” And she had just found a hero. Applejack. She was actually related to one of the old heroes of legend. She had found her when nopony else ever had before. Even if she had always kind of pictured them to be all stallions, it mattered very little. “Gala?” Gala suddenly grinned hugely. Wait till her siblings learned about this. Wait till the rest of her family learned about this. Wait till everypony learned about this. Applejack hesitated. “…Gala…?” Ponies would go looking all over the place, peering into shadows to find heroes! The eternal night would be defeated as they were pulled from their prisons and set out into the world, to bring back the sun! The great and glorious sun! Equestria would regain its true rulers! Everything would be so bright! It would all be so good! Equestria would be saved! And it would all start because she chased an incredibly large rat that stole an apple! She could kiss that ra..! … Hug, hug the rat. Maybe feed it a lot. Rats are icky, don’t kiss rats. “Applejack, I am getting you out of here!” she declared, high on the rush of emotion and imagining the stories her Granny had told her. All the adventures, the sights, everything so good and great and bright! It was all coming back! “…How?” Applejack asked, bringing her elation to a screeching halt. Gala didn’t have a single clue as to how she would get Applejack out of anything. But she didn’t let that truly dampen her. She just reasoned that leaving the room was a great start, and selected the first thing she could think of. “Grab onto me.” Gala said. “…What?” “You can see me. Grab on, and I can carry you out of here!” “And that’ll work?” Applejack asked, incredulous. “I know it will!” Gala yelled, tossing doubt away. She felt far too worked up and excited to accept anything like doubt. Applejack stared for a moment, and then shrugged. She walked forward, and her shadow walked into Gala’s own. For a few moments, Gala didn’t feel anything as the shadows aligned. Then she felt… something. Two things. One thing was impossible to describe, but the other was a rejuvenation of her body, a healing of those bruises and bumps she had received earlier, and that felt great. Then her eyes blinked on their own. “I kin see.” she said, not intending to speak. “I kin see!” she cried, rearing up, emotions not hers flooding her, commands not hers pulling her body like a puppet on strings. “After so long,” Gala slammed herself down, panting as she stared at the ground. “What th… those ain’t my hooves.” she muttered. “They’re my hooves!” she yelled, mildly panicked. She saw her shadow, and saw one hoof lift up to rub at the head. She had a powerful urge to imitate it, but resisted as the shadow suddenly froze. After a few moments, the hoof waved out. “…That’s… me?” Applejack murmured softly, in shock, and Gala felt the urge to speak for her as well. Gala took a deep breath. “Yes. Yes, it is. And you’re looking out of my eyes, and trying to move my legs, and I’m feeling incredibly uncomfortable right now.” “I… think I can stop it, maybe?” “Please do.” “Jus a… um… that’s… weird.” “What’s weird?” Gala asked, keeping herself calm and collected. The sensation of not being in command of herself had faded, thankfully. “…I kin see ya real good now, color an everythin. Yer glowing pretty bright.” Applejack said. “But yer not moving at all, an if I look up… I kin see things. And if I touch ya, I kin see… outta yer eyes, I think, th same thing I kin see by lookin up. An if I walk away, I seem ta… come right back. Kin ya feel me touchin you? My hoof goes right through ya.” Gala waited a moment, and felt… the faintest tingle. Like what she had felt before, but nowhere near as strong as it had been. “Yes. Please stop.” “Sorry… I got no idea what’s happened here.” Gala sighed and shook herself, noting that she could actually feel Applejack’s confusion and mild uncertainty as if it was her own. She… really hated the idea that anything could control or influence her like that. But it was Applejack… and she was family, so… it… wasn’t… so bad? Maybe? …She could trust Applejack. Even to that… rather strange and somehow intimate way. Her body was personal, and at least control was optional. Though it seemed emotions were never going to be truly separate. “If it helps any, it’s a lot nicer down here what with yer light n all, and ya got a real nice mane and coat.” Applejack said, and Gala benefited from her firm want to help Gala feel comfortable. “Thank you.” Gala said, taking a final calming breath. She didn’t know what had happened, but… It sounded like Applejack was connected to her now. In what way, or how, or anything else she didn’t know, but the connection was obvious. For better or worse, Applejack was with her in a way that nopony else could be. “Alright.” Gala said, refocusing on the original idea: leaving the room. “I’m going to try and walk out the door again. Hold on.” “Hold on ta whaaaa!” Applejack yelled as Gala walked out the doors, and then stopped outside them, listening to Applejack’s mild pants. “Applejack?” “…That’s gonna take getting used ta.” Applejack murmured. “I’m O.K. Ta get out, ya should go left.” Gala nodded, and began walking. She felt ready, happy, a little elated. She had found an old story true. And now she couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.
