That night was a sleepless one.
And the one thing that Applejack needed was a good night's rest. But it was perfectly fine. It wasn't like she was in the middle of some barren wasteland with an obnoxious unicorn who wasn't being the least bit helpful. It wasn't like molten lava rock was more comfortable and welcoming than the bed that she had to sleep on.
With every slight movement, the bed creaked horribly, as if to make Applejack supremely angry. Every time she managed to find a comfortable spot and silence had finally taken most of the battlefield, she could hear something inside the walls. Incessantly scurrying around. But only when sleep was in hoof's reach. It only ceased when Applejack was considering bucking the wall and scaring everything in there away.
Silence took one step forward and two steps back.
Applejack found herself staring out of the window most of the time.
The night sky looked so much different than the glorious painting that she was so used to seeing at night. That sky was kind and gentle. Hoof crafted to be beautiful. What was in this night sky was callous and cold. It was a bastardization of something so beautiful. There were no stars and no Moon. The only light that came from the sky was from the clouds themselves. It was like there was a very small star in each of them. While it managed to replicate the light, it just wasn't the same.
That's when the scurrying started getting louder. The scurrying migrated to Applejack's side of the room, and eventually left the room altogether. Like it was attracted by something inside the house.
Applejack got out of bed. Exiting her room, she decided to do what the animals were doing and go walk around the house. More specifically, walk around the basement. Perhaps see what was inside of that door in the basement. It wasn't like she was going to sleep at all that night, so what was the point in trying?
However, the rumbling in her stomach proved to be a much more enticing offer. So the first stop in her nightly adventures was the kitchen. Maybe there was an apple or two lying around. If not, then something else would do.
The hall outside her room shared the same darkness. Applejack was able to guide herself through it without too much trouble. Though she felt that her hooves were going to phase through the floor at times, the journey to the kitchen wasn't too difficult.
Upon arriving at the kitchen, Applejack pulled open the fridge door, discovering that there was indeed a couple fresh apples for her to enjoy. Arkane wouldn't mind if she took one or twelve apples for herself. He wouldn't mind if she disappeared into the night sky.
She sat at the table and started chowing down on her first apple. They weren't nearly as good as they were back on the farm, but they were sufficient. Strictly the most average apples she had ever eaten.
Maybe it needs a little rinsin'.
As Applejack stood up, she got a good view of the sky.
Much like the apple, it was strictly average. It was a little more soothing than what she saw earlier. Though, there was some kind of intrigue that Applejack couldn't really describe. As much as she didn't want to see it again, and as much as she didn't want to like it, Applejack couldn't help but be dragged back to it. It wasn't because it was the only thing that was interesting to look at, but it was like the pied piper. It played its night song, captivating all of the Applejacks and leading them to dance out into the night and eternally stare into nothing.
And wait for the cold, swift slice of a scythe against their necks.
As Applejack finished her last apple, a door that she never noticed before opened on its own. For a moment, the dust in the air stood completely still. Applejack’s heart stopped beating for what seemed like a whole thirty seconds. Not moving an inch, Applejack stared at the protruding door, not letting a single breath of air out of her body. Though it was anticlimactic, Arkane entered the door just a moment after opening it.
His hair was a mess. It was probably the worst case of bedhead that she had ever seen. The fact that his hair was already fairly long didn't help his case. Dirt covered his face, and his white fur was so dirty that he would need an hour long shower just to get slightly clean.
Arkane didn't seem to notice Applejack as he stumbled through the kitchen, probably going back to his room. Trying to exit the kitchen, Arkane stumbled over his own hooves, nearly collapsing to the floor. He managed to grab hold of the door frame, saving himself from unknowingly embarrassing himself.
Applejack quietly stood up from her seat, being careful not to make a sound as she tried to follow him to see exactly where he was going. Though she was certain that he was just heading to his room, she was still wide awake with nothing else that she was willing to do. Investigating that room in the basement would have to wait until morning. Arkane just seemed a tad more interesting.
Just as she nearly escaped her chair while successfully making no noise, Arkane turned his head. His tired eyes pierced into the white of her eyes like he had laser vision.
"Good to see that I'm not the only who can't sleep," Arkane said, yawning. "At least somebody can share my pain with me."
Applejack stared at him.
"That sounded awful, I apologize," he chuckled nervously. He brushed away his hair from his face. Applejack noticed his dirty, white skin. It was like he hadn't showered in weeks. He didn't smell all that bad, however. He had the familiar smell of dirt lingering on him, but it wasn't that strong.
To break the tension, Applejack spoke.
"What's keepin' you up?" Applejack asked.
Arkane hesitated before giving up his answer. "Just this house. I have a difficult time sleeping in strange places."
Applejack leaned up against a wall. "Shame."
"What's the problem with you?" Arkane asked.
"There's an animal in the wall that won't stop movin'."
Arkane sat in the seat next to her.
"Did you try opening the wall?" he asked
"...No, Ah never thought of that," Applejack said sarcastically.
"That's a good idea, you should probably do that."
Applejack gave him a tired, slightly amused looked. Arkane didn't notice, as he was extremely tired. So he just smiled, his head dipping every now and again.
Silence swept over the room like a mist. In the near darkness, Applejack rolled the apple around on the table. She and Arkane could both tell that Applejack was dodging a conversation like it was a stallion eyeing her gently from the other side of a public place.
Arkane’s head seemed to sway in and out of sleep. His head jolted as his head seemed like it was going to sleep. Perhaps if he just let his head fall to the table, he would wake himself up by giving himself a goose egg on his forehead.
“You know, take a lesson from me. Get some sleep. You’ll go a little crazy when y-you stay up past your bedtime,” Arkane said, swaying around like he was listening to a tune in his head.
“You okay ‘dere?”
“Don’t worry, everything’s clearly under control. Lightning, it’s like you think I don’t know—” Arkane jolted a little. “Applejack, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m, completely... Fine.”
Applejack stood from her seat. “Get up. Yer gettin’ some sleep.”
“But I-I’m busy. I came in for a quick break. I don’t need to go to bed, Mom. No, I just want to tell Glisten goodni—” he jolted again. “I don’t need to sleep.”
“...right. How ‘bout you take a wink ‘r two, and Ah’ll try to do the same.”
Arkane almost didn't argue. Perhaps he fell asleep in those few, short seconds, or maybe he didn’t need to respond at all. Either way, Applejack helped him back to his room.
Arkane sleepily recognized everything around him like he was as curious as a foal in a strange new environment. Applejack barely put up a fight trying to get him into his room.
His room was pitch black. Aside from the little light that shone through the open door, Applejack managed to locate the bed in the middle of the room.
She was slightly jealous. It seemed much more welcoming and comfortable than her bed. To a point, though. It still creaked something awful, and it looked just about as homey as the house itself. But he had the bigger bed. It was like his was built for two. Two ponies, sleeping in the same bed together.
It didn’t take much to our Arkane to bed. Just a tiny shove and a few soft words, and Arkane passed out on his bed. Applejack out the blankets over him and quietly left.
Closing the door as gently as she could, Applejack heard Arkane say something under his restless breath. She almost didn't hear it if it wasn’t for the silence that followed as she tried to shut his door.
“They’ll get thro—”
Arkane didn’t say anything else at all. He instantly fell asleep right there. Tossing the blanket right over him and unconsciously making himself more comfortable.
At last, Applejack shut the door. With nothing to bother her now, she found herself with plenty of time to finally explore the house.
But before Applejack could even take a single step, a loud crack erupted from outside. Nearly jumping out of her skin, Applejack stood as still as a statue. Holding her breath, she listened carefully for any more noises. What she heard was nothing. There were no sounds of animals running around, there were no chirping bugs. Everything that Applejack found familiar was silenced by the nothing that covered the entire landscape.
Applejack let her guard down. She assumed it was the monster prowling around outside, knocking something down or even tripping over itself. Applejack wondered how
The false moonlight shone through the window, projecting its light on the wall. It was the only light that Applejack had. Applejack’s hoof steps quietly echoed through the house.
Applejack’s heart quit beating when she saw a shadow limping across the wall.
Applejack backed up against the door behind her. She could hear a small jiggle coming from the same door that Arkane came through. The door creaked open, and she could hear dirt-stained hooves enter the house.
Applejack reached to open Arkane’s door but had to slow her movements when a figure lurched forward from the kitchen.
There wasn’t a face that she could see, or even a clear gender that she could detect. It had the body shape of a pony, though she doubted that it really was one. The only thing she could detect was the unwavering shadow taking up its body. A swirling vortex, seemingly sucking up all the air that it could. An infinite blackness that had no seeming end. The creature staggered around, using the walls to carry it.
It made a noise. A terrible noise that sounded like it was groaning in pain like a dog. Its head swiveled around like it wasn’t screwed on right.
Luckily, the thing didn’t notice Applejack. Hopefully, she could slip quietly into Arkane's room, and hopefully, find a way to get rid of it. Applejack prayed that she was hidden in the darkness.
The black creature lingered towards the stairs, paying no attention to Applejack. She held back her sigh of relief. Applejack crept across the floor , noticing a larger, much taller creature. Instead of lingering towards the stairs like the one before it, it instead peered down the hallway. It took a few steps towards Applejack but lingered in the hallway. It seemed to meticulously check each room before getting to Applejack.
With bated breath, Applejack waited for the creature to approach her. However, the creature stuck its head into a door straight ahead of her. There were no creatures that could see her, so with a thumping heart, Applejack reached for Arkane’s doorknob.
She jiggled it once. She jiggled it twice. She jiggled it three times, but the door would not open. Applejack’s eyes widened, suddenly terrified. She looked down the hallway. The creature was still looking around the bathroom. She silently, violently tried to open the door. But nothing was helping her. She shook the door, trying in vain to get that door open. But it wouldn’t budge.
Fear shaking her to the core, Applejack slowly looked to the hallway. She saw the tall creature staring her dead in the eye with its blackness.
The thing didn’t make a noise. Applejack shivered in her skin. Her breath was caught inside of her mouth, but Applejack held it in. Horrified but what it might do to her, Applejack only stayed silent, hoping that the thing would leave her alone.
The creature spoke. It came so suddenly that Applejack’s breath finally left her mouth. It was coarse and rapid but sounded dulcet to her.
Its voice was a whisper of glass scraping against a window pane. She could barely make out the voice that it tried to get out of its mouth but to a poor attempt.
“Wh-” was the only thing that it seemed to say. Everything else that came out of its mouth was a scratch on a chalkboard.
“Whe-ee-ee.”
Applejack tilted her head to the side.
“Whe-r-e? Where is h-he?”
It was a stallion’s voice. A pony approaching an elder status, but young enough that it was easy to think that the stallion was thirty.
“Where’s... who?” Applejack questioned, knowing who it was talking about.
“Him. Arkane,” it said, its voice coming in clearer. She still couldn’t see the creatures face.
Applejack hesitated.
“I don’t w-want to ‘urt him. I just wan’ t-to thank him.”
“Thank him for what?”
“This.”
A small flash of light appeared on the creature's face for a split second. Applejack saw its eyes. Its face was scorched by fire. The right eye was whited out by fire. Rage occupied his eyes like a grudge.
“Thank the dreck for me when he wakes up.”