The Dreamer's Secret

Alienated

Something stirred in the nightly winds, an unwelcoming presence loomed over everything and everyone; yet as eerie and as prominent as it was, it was veiled out of sight. The trees rustled a bit more than usually and the high cumuli that sailed past distant mountain tops breezed by slower than normal. Every other day, during the quietest moments of the night, it came into the valley where Ponyville slept. The insects hushed themselves and the nocturnal animals came to a halt with ears twitching and eyes on the look out for this disturbance. It posed no known threat, though it set an unknown and hidden fear in the valley.

It came and it went, like seasons to the years; however as much as it came through the town, the denizen ponies had no clue of it. For many years this occurrence happened, this odd and silent event none could control. Not a single pony could feel or had noticed anything wrong throughout the town for all those years–that is, all but one. In a recent matter of turning events, one saw through the shadows of the night, yet still it was unclear to this pony. It had only known of the intruder’s presence for a few weeks, and it had changed everything about this one filly.

The filly looked out her bedroom window into the silent valley. From her home, she could hear the enchanting sounds of the Summer night. The rustling of ripe apple trees in the orchards, the gentle gust of wind blowing back her mane, the silver orb high above the lonesome farm twinkling its rays of majesty upon distant roof tops away from her home. Stirring clouds high above blew amongst the ceiling of the starry heavens. Whisking and tumbling billows danced above the farm in a slow sway as lovers do. It was a perfect night, a calm and peaceful night, but she knew that it was going to happen, and when it did, she was going to witness it as best as she could.

Apple Bloom was in a trance of sorts, not like being controlled by the mind or having the mindset of one without a mind, but an affixed and fully aware, dream-like state. Fully awake, but in the deepest of silence. This was such a notable fact that even her teacher at the local school house realized this and was concerned for her. She had set up a meeting with Apple Bloom’s sister, Applejack, to discuss her sister’s current mood in the classroom a few days prior to this night.

Applejack came into the schoolhouse during the middle of the day when the fillies and colts were out at recess. It was not to Apple Bloom’s knowledge that her sister was coming to her school. The meeting intended was meant to be private and it was, in fact, it done so with the utmost privacy.

“So, MissCheerilee,” Applejack began as she seated herself at a school desk in front of the teacher’s desk, “what seems to the be the matter with my sister?”

The orange mare’s mood was stern, she assumed that Apple Bloom had gotten into a fight or scruff with one of her classmates or said something inappropriate. Besides having the mood that Apple Bloom did something wrong, she was holding back a rising ire that had been building up since she had to take the lunch hour off to see Cheerilee. Applejack was hungry and annoyed, two things she didn’t want to be on a good working day.

Cheerilee sat herself down at her desk and placed her hooves on the table. She made firm eye contact with Applejack and spoke straight to the point, “Well, Applejack, I has come to my attention that Apple Bloom has been acting a bit strange lately and was wondering if there was something going on in your home that had caused her to act this way?”

Applejack rose her eyebrow in concern and entreated, “How exactly has she been acting?”

The teacher turned her head towards the window said, “Take a look for yourself, if you may.” Now both mares looked out the window to witness that all alone under a small oak tree sat Apple Bloom. She was turned away from them, but they knew she looked dazed just by her affixed head looking upwards into the sky. Not even her close friends were around–she sat alone, day dreaming in the cool winds of the day.

“She does this in class too,” Cheerilee started. “She is day dreaming almost all the time, hardly paying attention to my lessons. It’s not like her to act this way, so alienated from her friends and schoolwork. She hardly talks anymore and when she does, she only asks if she could use the restroom. She takes the closest seat to the window and if she gets it she stares out of it all day. Now I can only assume that there has to be something wrong in the household. Be frank with me, Applejack.”

Applejack was just as confused as the teacher was, but didn’t say it upfront. Her eyes read worry as they still remained on her sister in the school yard. After a brief moment within her own thoughts, she turned back towards Cheerilee and replied with hesitation.

“Now that ya say it... she has been acting quite a bit unlike her happy self. She does her chores, does her homework and goes to bed as quiet as before. Instead of playing with her little friends, she has been spending her days walking around and about our land. In fact, if I didn’t talk to her every once in a while, she probably wouldn’t say a word to me.”

“So, what you’re saying is you don’t know what’s happening and you haven’t done anything to offend her or... or perhaps beat her-”.

Cheerilee was cut off by the stamp of Applejack’s hoof. The orange mare immediately rose in protest to the teacher’s remark.

“I would never do such a thing!” The ferocity in her tone assured the teacher that she was telling the truth. Applejack fell back on her haunches and felt it was bit unnecessary to make such an outburst like that; the look of surprise from Cheerilee’s face didn’t wear off until Applejack realized how loud she was. Both felt sorry for what they said and expressed it without the use of words. The looks the two gave each other were enough to express their thoughts.

Cheerilee reinstated her last sentence with another, more apologetic one, “I’m sorry to assume that, but we have had cases like that in this very schoolhouse where my students were beaten by their parents. It was misleading of me to think you, an Element of Harmony, would do something as sinister as that to Apple Bloom.”

Applejack cooled herself down and spoke in a somber tone once more about the current situation.

“Well, if you don’t know, and I don’t know, who can help us figure out what’s going on?” Before Cheerilee could speak, Applejack thought up her own answer and stated it aloud, “Reckon Twilight could help? I know she isn’t no doctor but I know she is smart enough to figure what’s happening in my sister’s head.”

Cheerilee returned a smile and agreed, “That sounds like an excellent idea. You should probably waste no more time and see if you can’t arrange a meeting between Twilight and Apple Bloom.” She looked back out the window and her eyes fell on the lonesome, yellow filly again. “I hope she can help her, Applejack, I really do.”

A sudden and expected tapping came from the outside of Apple Bloom’s door. The young filly’s mind began a mental journey back to the real world while her eyes were still bound to the dark heavens.

In a few long seconds, Apple Bloom finally muttered, “Come in.”

It was loud enough to hear from the outside door, yet so peaceful and quiet it hardly lingered in one’s ears. The door was pushed ajar and Twilight Sparkle was revealed under the door frame. Apple Bloom never acknowledged her, her sight was still scanning the starry skies. The purple unicorn wore a lively, professional smile from dimple to dimple. She was eager and ready to chat with her young friend and came into the bedroom door, closing the door behind her with her magic.

She had been informed about everything Applejack knew about her sister’s recent mood ‘beforehoof’. She even told Twilight about how she wouldn’t even listen to a word she said. The unicorn was happy to help her friend’s sister out and pushed all of her studies and books behind her to aid in the dilemma at hoof. She trotted and joined Apple Bloom beside her window. The earth filly was perched up on a chair with her front hooves and head out the bedroom window. The unicorn tilted her head and looked over the Apple Bloom’s face, studying the young mare’s unbroken focus with a warm smile.

“Isn’t it beautiful tonight, Apple Bloom?” Not a word was spoken back, so Twilight continued, “What are you looking for?”

Finally Apple Bloom turned towards her, something the unicorn didn’t expect. The yellow filly was emotionless as she locked eyes with Twilight. The purple mare revealed her once hidden concern though the expression that was forced out through Apple Bloom’s piercing eyes.

“I want to see it again,” she said in a dry voice.

“What do you mean by 'it’, dear?”

“The great ball.”

Twilight tilted her head back a little and repeated in question, “The great ball?”

“Yes, the-great-ball,” she replied in annoyance.

She didn’t know how to keep this circling conversation going without getting her mad and decided to change the pace of it. She turned her head around and saw a small, empty chair at a desk and levitated it over behind Apple Bloom. Twilight positioned herself in it behind the filly and slowly weaved her hooves into the back of Apple Bloom’s hair.

Twilight commented while untying Apple Bloom’s bow, “You know, you have such a beautiful mane. I’m so jealous that I didn’t have hair like yours when I was a filly.” Apple Bloom was once again in silence and she allowed Twilight to begin combing her hair and straightening it. Twilight changed the subject of the previous chat to a different matter to try and see if Apple Bloom would talk about something else than what she wants to see.

“Apple Bloom, I know being a kid is tough. Me and everyone who cares about you is concerned about the way you’ve been acting, and all we want to do is help.”

The filly bent her head down in shame a little, “I’m not in trouble, am I?”

Twilight gave a light chuckle and replied, “Of course not! You’re far from it!” She brought her mood back down and began talking somberly again, “I want to know why you’ve been avoiding your friends firstly. Did you three get in a fight?”

“No,” She said coldly, “we’re still friends, but I just want to be away from them for a while, that’s all.” Before Twilight could ask her a different question, she continued on the same subject matter, “I just want to be away from everypony now... I... I want to try and figure this out... and I can’t do it with others. Besides, if I told anypony about what’s going on, they’ll all think I’m some loony.”

Twilight stopped combing the filly’s hair for a moment and placed her hoof on Apple Bloom’s shoulder.

“I know for a fact that you can’t always tell your secrets to family members or friends. I assure you that I wouldn’t think you were ‘loony’ or ‘silly’ or even ‘different’. You can come and tell me anything, Apple Bloom, remember that. I swear as The Protégé of Princess Celestia that I wouldn’t tell a word that is said in this room to any other pony.”

A brief moment of silence filled the bedroom. Twilight could tell that Apple Bloom was turning what she had said over in her mind and Apple Bloom was thinking if she should say what she wanted to or not. The yellow filly turned her head swiftly towards Twilight and her face revealed immense and sudden panic.

She spoke slowly at first, but gradually began to clamor faster, “It’s been here for a very long time... longer than I’ve been here... longer than you’ve been here... even longer than the two Princess’ had been here. I want to see it and all its glory... yet I don’t even know what it is. It calls to me from the stars... can’t you hear it? It’s the whisper that keeps me up at night, the booming sounds in the middle of day, the echos of it bounce through the mountains far beyond anypony can see. It scares me and frightens me and leaves me in wonder all at once.”

She now grew closer to Twilight and even the unicorn was beginning to become frightened by the filly’s words and emotion.

“I see it in the corner of my eyes watching me. In the trickle of sun off a pond or puddle, I see its figure and burning eyes take hold of me. In the motion of leaves I witness its presence too. In every aspect of light and darkness, I see a glimmer or shadow or figure stalking my every move and I just want to scream for help or hide or cry but it’s always there, it’s always watching me. It leaves me in fascination though, I must know what it is. Don’t you understand? Please help me! For Celestia’s sake, make it stop, Twilight! Make it stop!”

Apple Bloom broke into a torrent of tears and let out her once contained emotions onto the unicorn. Twilight held Apple Bloom close as the filly cried into her shoulder. Twilight’s mind raced with ideas as to what was going on and presumed that the only logical reason for these visions and actions was the act of some mental disorder which needed to be treated right away. She pressed the filly closer to her and comforted her with her loving embrace. She felt so ashamed that she couldn’t help the filly, for this was a matter of medicine and psychoanalysis.

After about an hour and a half, she tucked Apple Bloom in her bed and put her to sleep. She rejoined Applejack in the kitchen to discuss what had happened.

“Oh... oh my heavens...” Applejack stuttered with watery eyes.

Twilight sighed with defeat, “I can contact a few old colleagues of mine in Canterlot that could help her, if you don’t mind taking her there and missing a few days of work and school... I know this is difficult, but we can make it through this, plenty of regular-joe ponies have had treatment for various mental diseases and have come out perfectly fine.”

“I d-don’t know, T-twi,” Applejack sputtered. Her face was reddened with worry and her eyes tried their hardest to hold back the tears. She tried to remain strong in front of Twilight, she desperately wanted to.

The orange earth pony held her head with her hooves over the dining room table, staring blankly at the table top and searching for the right words to respond.

“We haven’t come out ta’ say it yet,” she slurred with a wavering tone, “but we’re not doin’ so well. The apple business hasn’t been so good to us lately and I don’t know if we have the money to afford such treatments fer’ my sister.” A tear splashed on the the table below and just from the whole scene in front of her, Twilight was beginning to tear up as well.

“I’m sure I can put a word in to the Princess and she could help you out financially,” Twilight said with a new, elated hope.

Applejack looked up and replied, “Really? Oh, bless you, Twi! Bless you!” The mares hugged in the dim light of the kitchen, rubbing each others backs and comforting one another.

However, unbeknownst to the two mares, Apple Bloom was in the dark parlor room across from the kitchen. She had heard everything.