Applejack took a deep breath of the air. It carried the scent of trees and apples, an excellent combination to clear the head, as far as she was concerned. It was her favorite way to think--trotting through the apple orchards. Quiet, alone, and-
"Applejack?"
She screamed, whirling around, to see Twilight walking up the path behind her. "I'm sorry," Twilight said, "I didn't mean to scare you! Are you all right?"
Applejack placed a hoof to her chest in relief. "Nah, Ah'm fine. Just a mite startled. What brings you here?"
"Well, Pinkie said her left hind hoof itched and her tail was pointing straight up, which meant that I needed to come talk to you. She also said you seemed lost in thought, so you probably needed somepony to help you figure out a problem. Which means that it makes a lot of sense for you to need to talk to me!"
Applejack shrugged. "Eh, what can it hurt? Ah'll tell you all about it. 'Member how Ah said Ah thought there were some Apples in Hollow Shades?"
"Ohhh." Twilight caught on remarkably quickly, Applejack reflected. "Well, I'm sure it must have been a mistake, then. You only thought they did. Maybe they live somewhere else, or-"
Applejack shook her head. "Ah was lookin' at some stuff from the last family reunion--our next one's comin' up in a few months--and there were a bunch of RSVPs from Hollow Shades. Forgot how funny names that branch had, though. All 'cyanide' and 'arsenic'. Ah'd almost forgotten why we call that branch the 'Poison Apples'."
Twilight blinked. "Well, that sounds... ominous."
Applejack shrugged. "They're a little odd, Ah'll grant ya, but they ain't so bad. They tell some hilarious jokes! ...At least, Ah think they're jokin'..."
"Well... all right, I guess. I'll go check the library and see what I can find about Hollow Shades. Want to come with me? Two researchers are better than one."
Applejack shrugged. "Why not? Ah sure learned a lot about researchin' effectively back when we were decodin' that old book. Might as well put that to use."
Twilight reached out and touched her with a hoof, and the two vanished in a flash of magenta light.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"It's no good," Applejack said several hours later, slamming a book shut.
"I wouldn't say that. There's a definite trend, even if a weird one," Twilight retorted. "The older books have missing pages where Hollow Shades should be; the newer books just that it's a ruin. That implies that something happened about a hundred years ago, but I don't know exactly what yet."
"But Ah have letters from them just a year ago!"
Twilight nodded. "Which is actually a good thing. It means that, whatever happened, it probably wasn't something that killed everypony in Hollow Shades. Right now I don't have any clue what could've happened there, unless they were trying to hide their own existence. But in that case, they wouldn't keep in touch with you."
"So we're back to square one," Applejack grumbled.
"No, we're not!" Twilight insisted. "We know that even if Hollow Shades is a ruin, it only has been for about a hundred years." She levitated a book to her side. "And before you interrupted, I was reading something very interesting. Apparently some archaeologists went into Hollow Shades to see what they could find about the civilization. They all vanished. But nothing happened to us when we went in, except Stygian showing up, and he couldn't have been the culprit behind the disappearance of the archaeologists because they went in years ago, and we only released Stygian a few weeks ago!"
Applejack pondered this. "So, something there doesn't want archaeologists, but it doesn't mind us. And something doesn't want news to get out that mah family lived there, but was okay sendin' me letters."
"Did any of the Poison Apples go to your family reunion, Applejack?"
Applejack shrugged. "Ah coulda sworn Ah saw them, but they weren't in any of the pictures Ah took, even the big group photo with all of us."
"That fits with the behavior seen so far," Twilight said, scribbling on a whiteboard. She had several scattered around the library. "Maybe they are trying to hide their existence, but they also still want to keep in touch with you and your family."
"Why, though?"
"I don't know. I'm just throwing stuff out here. But maybe they thought that if they abruptly cut off ties, you guys would be worried and come investigate?"
Applejack shrugged. "So, what now?"
Twilight grinned. "Now we get to do the best kind of research. Field research!"
"Huh?"
"We're going to Hollow Shades," she clarified, sighing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Twilight was beginning to strain slightly from the invisibility spell she held over the two of them, but she'd worked her magic much harder before. She could hold this invisibility for hours if she had to.
They topped the last ridge before the village and saw a surprising and frightening sight in front of them. Masses of ponies, at least a hundred, were walking towards the center of the village, chanting rhythmically. A strange song began to play.
One mare stood at the front of the crowd, appearing to lead the song. Her cloak was fancier than the others', embroidered with silvery-blue accents. It caught the moonlight and sent it dancing across the ground. Twilight and Applejack weren't sure where the background music was coming from; it sounded like it was floating out of the Well of Shade. They found themselves frozen, eyes staring as it became apparent what exactly they were looking at.
It was cult. A cult revolving around Nightmare Moon.
The song finished, and the ponies turned to the Well of Shade. Several ponies in the crowd spread wings out from under their cloaks. Twilight and Applejack watched in awe as the pegasi began ferrying the others down into the Well. She spread her own wings. "Come on! We've got to follow them!"
If there were worse things than being carried through the air by somepony you couldn't see, Applejack couldn't think of them. She had to bite her lip several times to keep from crying out when Twilight veered suddenly to avoid crashing into a cultist. They blended into the night very well with those cloaks, and often seemed to come out of nowhere.
Finally they made it into the Well of Shade, and headed for a corner where there would be little chance of somepony bumping into them. Applejack couldn't help but wonder why Twilight had brought her down her. Surely her cousins couldn't be involved in something like this. Perhaps the cult had forced them to go along when Hollow Shades went into hiding. Yes, that had to be it.
The mare who had been leading the singing separated from the rest of the group to stand in front of the reddish wall with the image of the Pony of Shadows on it. "Brothers and sisters," she began passionately, "this is the night we've been waiting for for years! We will return the Nightmare to the Princess of the Night, and she shall bring darkness eternal. Too long has the night been scorned! Too long have ponies spurned her beauty and laughed at her grace! No more. It is time."
Applejack and Twilight exchanged nervous glances. Two stallions threw back their hoods, revealing similarly-colored dark blue unicorns. Applejack guessed they were siblings, maybe even twins. They lit their horns in unison, with identical blue glows, and began drawing on the floor with white chalk.
"Oh no, oh no," Twilight muttered next to her, dancing in place. "We have to get closer, Applejack! I need to see what magic formation they're drawing!"
The ponies had begun chanting again, and nopony heard Twilight and Applejack's footsteps as, still invisible, they slipped through the crowd. "It's too tight," Twilight complained in a whisper so quiet even Applejack almost couldn't hear it. "I don't think I can get close enough to see!"
"Can you fly?"
She shook her head, realized Applejack couldn't see her, and whispered, "No. They'd feel the wingbeats, not to mention hear them. I have another idea--climb on my back."
"What?"
"Just do it! I can support your weight, I promise. Alicorn, remember?"
Sighing, Applejack carefully clambered onto her friend. Twilight's back was uncomfortably small and round, and her hooves threatened to slip off. Twilight, meanwhile, grunted with pain as Applejack's hooves dug into her back. "What can you see?" she whispered.
"They've got a circle, and a star in it."
"What kind of star?"
"Huh?"
"Different shapes mean different types of magic."
"Um... it's got five points."
"Oh no! That's a Summoning Star! Summoning rituals are almost always Dark Magic, because there's almost nothing you can summon that isn't Dark." Twilight took a deep breath. "Okay. There will be runes around the circle, that'll tell you what they're summoning."
Applejack squinted. "Yeah, they're drawing some runes now."
"What runes?"
"Uh... there's one that looks kinda like a lopsided A... there's one that's a whole buncha spikes in different directions... next to the A is one kinda like a bear's head, then maybe a tooth? Over by the spikes we've got something that could pass for a wing, and something roughly circular-ish-"
Twilight shook her head. "Never mind, that's not going to be helpful. Anything else?"
"Yeah, only one feller is drawing the runes now. The other is drawing two lines leading away from the circle, towards that one mare..."
Twilight gasped. "They're trying to force the Summon into her!"
"The Summon?"
"Yeah, it's the term for the creature or force being summoned. I think I know what the Summon for this ritual is, too. Come on! We've got to stop them before they can complete the circle! Get back down!"
"With pleasure," Applejack mumbled, slipping back down to the floor.
The chanting was reaching fever pitch. "Forget stealth," Twilight added, starting to shove her way through the crowd. "They'll know we're here soon anyway."
The ponies didn't even look sideways as the two pushed past them. They were focused on their chanting entirely. With one final shove, they stumbled out of the crowd into the center where the circle was being drawn, still invisible. Twilight's eyes grew wide as she saw the circle was near complete.
She acted quickly. First she dropped the illusion. Even the most adept magician would struggle to cast a second spell at the same time as invisibility. Immediately after revealing herself, however, she whirled and blasted the first unicorn in the face, rendering him unconscious.
The cultists reacted faster than she could've imagined. Before she could blast the second unicorn and stop the ritual, they swarmed towards the pair, blocking them from him. She could just barely see him as the fight began--he was still drawing, finishing the circle. It wouldn't take him more than a few minutes.
But the fight wouldn't be very long either.
Applejack whirled on her forelegs, bucking a pony solidly in the face. He went flying into a pillar and crumpled to the ground. For a second, she could've sworn the hood slid from his face, revealing cousin Antimony, but that couldn't be. She must've been imagining things in the heat of battle, she told herself, rearing to kick three ponies in quick succession. Twilight was lifting ponies off the ground to slam them into the pillars, an easier spell than the blast to knock them unconscious. She tried to rise into the air to get a clear shot at the stallion completing the ritual, but the pegasi flocked around her, cutting her off at every turn, forcing her back to the ground. It seemed like the reserves of ponies were inexhaustible, and the battle would go on forever.
Neither of those were true.
The waves of ponies ceased abruptly, and Twilight looked around. Were there really no more? They'd beaten them all?
Suddenly she remembered what all that had been for and whirled towards the stallion who had been drawing, only to see him stepping back, dropping the chalk. Oh no. No no no no no!
Applejack saw the horrified look on Twilight's face and turned to see what it was. The stallion had backed away from the formation. The circle was complete. And as she watched, the lines began glowing with a deep blue light, the magic formation activating.
The mare in the cloak, who had remained motionless this whole time, finally moved. She threw back her hood, preparing to receive the Nightmare. Applejack froze, her blood running cold in her veins, unable to believe the deep brown face and black hair that stood before her. "Aunt Cyanide?" she whispered.
"Applejack!" Twilight shouted, pointing at the center of the magic circle. It was like a black hole had opened up in the floor, and out of it was flowing a dark blue mist, studded with stars. Thinking quickly, she cast a shield around it, keeping it from flowing down the formation to Cyanide. After the invisibility and the battle, the strain of this spell on her was obvious. Sweat rolled down her face. "I can't keep it for long! Do something!"
What am I supposed to do? Applejack wondered helplessly. Back when the Nightmare took Rarity, we were able to use the Elements of Harmony against it, but that was all of us together, reaching out to a friend. All we've got now is me and Twilight. What can we possibly do?
The answer came to her like a bolt of lightning. It was glaringly obvious, really. She took several steps forward, almost touching Twilight's shield. "The honest truth," she said loudly, "is that Ah'm not really sure how to feel about this whole thing. Ah only just discovered that some o' mah family is part of a creepy cult, and now Ah've gotta stop them, but... they're family. And Ah'd be lying if Ah said some part of me didn't want to turn around and walk away, so that Ah ain't fightin' mah family."
The Nightmare quailed, cringing backwards. Applejack kept talking.
"And to be perfectly honest, Ah'm a mite jealous of Twilight because she was the one who figured out almost everythin' and Ah ain't been much use so far, even though Ah know it shouldn't matter who does what, as long as you, yes you, don't show your ugly face 'round here ever again."
The mist began to seep back into the hole in the floor. She didn't stop.
"And let me tell you one thing. If Ah ever see you again, in this life or the next, Ah'm gonna hit you so hard whatever weird abomination grandkids you have are gonna feel it a million years from now. And that's the honest truth."
The Nightmare didn't seem to doubt her. It practically fled through the hole, which sealed up after it. Sighing with relief, Twilight dropped the barrier. "All... good?" she panted.
"Not quite." Applejack set her face. "There's a few more ponies Ah need to give a talking to."
She trotted forward until she was right in front of Cyanide. She took a deep breath.
"WHAT IN THE EVER-LOVING HORSE APPLES WERE YOU THINKING?" she shouted. "You tried to bring back NIGHTMARE MOON! Using YOURSELF as a vessel! That's the most idiotic darn thing Ah've ever heard! You risked the safety of yourself, me, and the entire planet of Equus."
"I-"
"Ah'm not done! Ah will personally ensure that Luna is told of this affair. She can decide what to do with you, but I doubt it'll be nice." She paused and looked back at Twilight over her shoulder. "Hey, Twi?"
"Yeah?"
"Does Canterlot Castle have a dungeon, or do the princesses just throw everypony into Tartarus?"
Cyanide whimpered. Neither mare paid her any heed. "Tartarus is only for immortals. There's a pretty decent dungeon under the castle, actually. Now, if she had gotten the Nightmare into her, that would make her a good candidate for Tartarus."
Applejack sighed. "Well, darn. Ah was really hoping she'd end up in Tartarus."
Cyanide looked up at her. "But, Applejack, I'm your family. You just said you couldn't fight family."
"Actually, she said she didn't want to, not-"
Applejack held up a hoof, stopping Twilight. "Nah, she's got a point. Ah shouldn't treat mah family that way." Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but Applejack kept her hoof raised. She wasn't finished. "Cyanide Apple, Ah hereby disown you and the rest of the Poison Apple clan from the Apple family. Ah have confidence that the rest of the family will follow me in this, and you will be cut off from the entire family."
Twilight's mouth dropped. Applejack smiled. "Which means," she added, "that Ah ain't fightin' mah family when Ah do this." She leaned forward and smacked Cyanide roundly across the face.
Twilight picked up the chalk off the floor with her horn, and wiped the pattern off the floor. "There. Now they can't try that again. Ready to leave?"
Applejack nodded. "Let's get out of here."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"It's just hard, y'know? Ah know it had to be done, and they were pretty awful ponies, but Ah had a lot of memories of them attending the reunions. Cousin Antimony and Ah had some great laughs. Makes it harder to deal with the fact that they're part of, y'know, an evil nightmare cult."
"Eeyup."
Applejack sighed. "At least they're in the dungeons. Princess Luna said they'll probably be there their whole lives. It's weird to think Ah'm never gonna see them again--and Ah can't decide if that's good or bad."
"Eeyup."
Applejack leaned back against her brother. The last rays of sunset were peeking over the mountains as they sat together on the hill. Everypony had backed her up in disowning the Poison Apples once they heard what they'd done. The whole family were farmers, and they knew how important sunlight was for their crops. It was a good thing, too--Apple family tradition stated that if one pony tried to disown another and the rest of the family didn't support it, the first pony would be disowned instead. Applejack had been pretty sure they'd back her up, but still, it was a risk.
"Thanks for listening, Mac."
"Eeyup."
And together, they watched the sun set.
Author's Note
That ending came out a little weird, I think. ~~I tried.~~
This was requested by Flash Notion over on my story Pinkie Pie Explains Everything, but I thought it worked better as a full story of its own. It came out a little darker than my usual, and for a minute I almost added the "dark" tag, but I don't think it warranted that.
I love getting comments and feedback.
