The Chronicles of Moonshade part 2

by Kix

Chapter Four; Sweet Apple Acres part 1

"Okay darling, but please cheer up and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it." Rarity calls out before closing the door, drawing attention to us from those out on the street, causing me to shrink in on myself as they stare. I feel the beginning of growing panic creep through me as I watch a few of them whisper to each other.

Upon noticing the state I'm in Twilight steps immediately in front of me, blocking my view of the others as they continue on their merry way as she forces her voice to sound calm as she speaks. "Please Moon, calm down and breathe, relax." The mixture of her tone and the command begins to work as I take a deep breath and shivers. My muscles loosening and I glance at Twilight.

"Th- thank you, Twilight. H- how bad was it?" I ask, my voice matching my trembling body as I finally speak. I'm barely able to look at her as we resume our trek through the small town and then past, following a winding road. "Wh- where are we going?"

"You'll see, after what happened I think a bit more relaxing scene is in order. How does this sound, you'll get to meet some of Ponyville's residents, but in small groups and someplace where you'll hopefully feel a little more relaxed." Twilight offers as we approach a wooden fence and archway. Beyond the gate is a bright red farmhouse and rows upon rows of seemingly endless apple trees. Among the trees is a large red stallion with a dull orange mane pulling a cart filled with apples.

"Yeehaw! howdy Twi, Moonshade. Welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres, ya'll hungry? It's 'bout time fer lunch." Applejack greets as she rushes up to the gate covered in sweat and dirt. "Bah the way, weren't ya supposed ta visit tomorrow, Twilight?"

"Thanks AJ, and I don't know about Moonshade but I am getting hungry. That was part of the plan but---" The lavender alicorn starts and looks over at me.

"Somethin' happened, didn't it Twi? Did she have another panic attack?" AJ asks as she falls into step opposite Twilight, taking one look at me then to her friend.

"I- I almost did, but Twilight helped me before it got too bad,” Deep sigh. “We... we were exiting Rarity's shop and… and a large crowd was staring at me and began whispering. I… I couldn't help it." As I repeat the basics of what happened I can't help it as tears start to crowd and spill from my eyes as I begin to have a break down right in the middle of the walkway. My uncontrollable sobbing alters my voice as I can't help but speak out loud the questions flooding my mind. "Why? Why am I so… affected by all… this? Why do I feel so… helpless? So… weak?"

As I lay down in the dirt both Applejack and Twilight join me, each of them working on comforting me the best they can. "Ya never made any friends or tried ta since ya recovered and were livin’ in Canterlot did ya, sugarcube?" AJ asks first. As Twilight gives me a tender nuzzle the orange coated mare hugs me tenderly and all I can manage between sobs is a weak shake of my head. "Ah figured as much. Tell me Moon, do ya still blame yerself fer what ya did last year?"

As she asks I look up at her with my tear filled eyes and nod slowly and sniffs again before clearing my throat. "Wh- what am I supposed to do, huh? I feel horrible for what I did and… no matter how hard I tried nopony besides a small number thought to give me a chance. I just… I don't know what else to do. Also, I might have been coerced by the Nightmare but ultimately I was the one that committed those horrendous crimes. Blueblood is right, I deserve to be at the least thrown in the dungeons for the rest of my life." The words burst out as I look at them, sadness now mixing with anger with each word. My head falls to rest in the dirt as the last sentence is whispered. The remnant laughs as she repeats the part where I belong in dungeon.

For a couple minutes the three of us just lay there, Twilight and Applejack giving me time to calm down while offering soft words of encouragement as they hug me gently. Eventually the two mares get up and help me up onto my shaky legs before we are right in front of the farmhouse.

On the porch an elderly green mare sits asleep in a creaky wooden rocker. Upon hearing us approach she wakes with a jump. "Huh who goes there? Oh howdy Applejack and ummm... Sparkle Light..... No that ain' right.....oooh fiddlesticks, an who is this young'un with ya'll?"

With a nudge forward from both Applejack and Twilight I resign myself and introduce myself hesitantly. My head hanging as I avoid as much eye contact as possible. "Moonshade, ma'am."

Before the elder mare can speak Applejack steps forward. "Granny this here's Moonshade, a new friend. Moonshade this here is Granny Smith."

"Nice to meet you, Granny Smith." I offer as I still pointedly avoid talking as much as I can.

"Now wha’s the matter young’un? Yer shier than a bear in winter." Granny asks while picking up on my discomfort. Before I can answer a loud rumble could be heard, causing me and Twilight to look at Applejack.

"Heh, seems mah belly is empty. C'mon ya'll, let's go an get somethin ta eat. Ah'll introduce ya ta mah siblin’s." Applejack takes us inside to the dining room where the big stallion from earlier is sitting already, eating a large meal. "Heya Big Mac, how’s the chores comin’ along?"

The dining room is sparsely occupied, only including a table, refrigerator and a cabinet with an oval rug laying atop the hardwood floor. The walls are painted in two tones of light green with plain wooden trim. A single window offers a good view of the row of trees not too far away from the house.

"Slow." Is Big Mac's answer while the orange cowpony goes and fixes up a couple large plates of food. While we're waiting Twilight gives me a nudge and nods towards the stallion.

"H- Hi, I'm… Moonshade." I offer after some prodding by the young princess. I don’t know if it’s my newly obtained low self confidence, or just nervousness at being around such a large stallion, but I’m more eager than before to get out of the house.

‘He is a nice specimen, you could have had him as a mate, if you stood with me.’ I have no idea where that… tone came from, but the remnant definitely sounds different as she observes Big Mac.

"Nice ta meet ya Miss Moonshade, Ah'm Big Macintosh." He announces between bites before going silent, causing me to look at Twilight.

"Don't worry, he's normally like that, nothing against you." Twilight explains just before Applejack comes back with the food. "You're not too busy are you Applejack?"

"Yea Ah am actually. We're fallin’ a bit behind. If ya don' mind Twi, Moon, it'd be greatly appreciated if ya could lend us some help." The apple farmer comments as she fills herself up. The amount of food she's scarfing down makes me stop and stare, wondering where she puts it all. "Ah mostly need help out in the west field with applebuckin."

As I continue to observe the farm mare eat I find it astounding that she is working on her second plate while I can barely finish my first plate of food. Once we’re done Applejack gathers dishes up and takes them into the kitchen as Twilight beckons for me to wait with her by the back door.

"So uhh… what exactly are we doing?" I ask as we make our way through the orchard with Applejack in the lead. I think Twilight was right about one thing, it is pretty peaceful and calming out here. I had no idea that this small town had a farm this expansive. "Hey Applejack, do you... Nevermind."

"What’s wrong, Moonshade?" Both mares ask at the same time, turning to face me in concern.

"N- nothing… nevermind… it… it's not important. Let’s just… let’s just get this applebucking over with." I thought it was a good idea, but what if she says no, or doesn’t want me around her trees? What if-

"No Moon, it is important. Please, don't be scared to ask us anything." The young alicorn says reassuringly, stepping in front of me as she speaks. Her gaze is soft as a hoof lifts my head up to stare at her.

"Well, I was… I was wondering if I could... instead of staying with Twilight for the next two days could I... camp out here instead? I- I like how calming this place feels." I ask after giving in as uncertainty colors my quiet voice as I ask, expecting the farmer to say no.

"Sure ya can, sugarcube. In fact it's been awhile since Ah had a good campout. Though it probably ain' the best idea if ya were alone, mind if Ah join ya?" Applejack agrees without a second thought, giving me a bright smile as we make it to the indicated field.

"Oh we can make it into a slumber party... YAY! That's if you don't mind me joining as well, Moonshade." Twilight squeals out in excitement until she recognizes her mistake and blushes a bit.

"Actually I was thinking of inviting Lily, Almond and Sunstreak if you don't mind Applejack, Twilight." I whisper, bracing for the slightest hint of anger from either of them, my body already shaking a bit. At this point I realized we have stopped moving and are in front of a row of trees dotted with large, red dots almost begging to be picked.

"That's fine with me, whatever ya think is best fer ya, as long as yer not alone. Ah won't be that far away if ya need any extra help." Her smile never falters as she plants herself in front of a tree as raises her rear legs to give the tree a good kick, leaving me to wonder exactly how much power and control she actually has to be able knock those apples off the tree without damaging the tree itself. My jaw just drops as a rain of apples fall around her into the perfectly placed buckets.

"Oh and Twilight, I… I think maybe meeting a few ponies between these next two days in a small group would be possible." I add as I watch the lavender mare use her magic to clear a couple trees of the ripe fruit.

"APPLEJACK, WHERE YA AT SIS!" A young voice calls out followed by the giggling of three other fillies, interrupting us before we can really get started.

"OVER HERE BLOOM!" The farmer responds, and in a flash she's tackled by a small bullet colored yellow and red. Following the blur is an orange coated pegasus filly with a purple mane and a white unicorn with a two tone mane and tail. The two apparent sisters roll around on the ground and giggle as they wrestle a bit.

"Hi Twilight and uhm… you must be new. I'm Sweetie Belle." squeaks the unicorn as the pair finally stop their wrestling match and get up, covered in dust and fallen leaves.

"I'm Scootaloo." Pipes up the pegasus, her wings flapping like a hummingbird as she hovers for a moment.

"And Ah'm Apple Bloom. We are," The final filly says before the trio begins to take a deep breath. Both Twilight and Applejack cover their ears as I look about in confusion. "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!!" The three shout at once. Caught unaware by the shout I actually rock back a bit by the sheer force of their combined voice, my ears ringing as they finish.

"I'm… Moonshade, nice to meet you three." I respond, probably louder than I need to, but I can’t hear very well due to the ringing the shout caused. Though I do speak in a whisper as I fight against the growing panic.

"Are you ok, Moonshade?" The trio asks in concern as I partially freeze in place.

"Apple Bloom, why don't ya three go ta yer clubhouse. Ah'll join ya guys in a bit." Applejack intervenes, watching me out of the corner of her eye as the fillies rush off, giggling and playing before they can disappear.

An image of both Twilight and AJ flood my mind, and the only things they are saying is how much they hate me and wish I was dead. ‘I wouldn’t want my sister or friends around somepony I hate, either. Though I must admit, Applejack is doing an excellent job at hiding it.’ The remnant just laughs as I can feel some her tendrils caress my cheek, or is that sensation just my imagination?

"H- how… how am I supposed to show ponies I have changed when they hate me? Even you two hate me, don’t you?" The question starts out mentally. Little do I realize I also spoke it out loud, causing both Twilight and AJ to stare at me in confusion.

"Wh- what just happened, Moon? And what do you mean by everypony hating you? We don't hate you. We never did." The mares take a couple steps closer to me with concern in their eyes. Without giving an answer I start to take off in my gaseous form, only to be stopped by Twilight's magic which ends up pulling me back to her and the farmer, concern etched on their faces. "Please, tell us what happened."

Seeing as how any chance to escape is futile I begin my explanation with a sigh, fear at their reaction clouding my voice as Nightmare Moon's voice continues to ring in my mind. "I- I don’t know if you already knew this or not, but apparently I have a... remnant of the Nightmare still inside me. I- it told me that you guys secretly hate me,” *Sniff* “I- it's true, isn't it? Y- you girls hate me for what I was, what I did, what I- I tried to do."

My words are spoken in a whisper as I let my head, tears rolling down my cheeks unbidden and splashing onto the grass below. My tail wraps itself around, as if offering a comforting hug or pretending to be a barrier of some kind as my ears droop almost lifelessly. The orange apple farmer approaches me, her expression trained to keep her feelings unknown as she steps directly into my view.

Comments

[badninja]

Great to see this story back! Well she is in the safest place she could be right now and Applejack will definitely be able to help out poor Moonshade as she deals with her issues.