The Taste of Apples
Nightmare Moon
The thoughts of the old world lingered in Nightmare Moon's mind, but the faces of her friends and lands she once traveled remained as ghosts. She ignored her memories as best she could and took curious interest in the lands that they traveled, and heaved a sigh of relief that they were not born from her own thoughts. The hills turned into gentle steppes, and on each row rose tilled earth and lush greenery. A host of faint pony silhouettes worked among them, seeding plots, tending patches, and harvesting dozens of different plants. Watermelon, squash, lettuce... even the wilder berries ran in neat rows one after the other. And at the bottom of the basin began a sprawl of fruit and nut trees that continued to the limits of their vision.
“Why the hay do ponies need to grow things when there's food all around?” asked Scootaloo, shouldering her way down the steppes.
“Everything's just better when an earth pony is behind it,” said Sweetie Belle. The specters didn't seem to mind when she shoved several strawberries in her mouth and made a happy sound. They seemed pleased with her response, though they largely poured themselves into their work.
Apple Bloom's eyes locked upon the orchard as she wandered down, weaving between plant and spirit with practiced care. “I don't think an earth pony is happy unless she can bury herself in her talent,” she said. “They're probably just doing what makes 'em happy.”
“It's about more than a few crops,” agreed Nightmare Moon. She glided down the slope and tried not to mind as the pony-spirits shied away from her. “It's about creation. Earth ponies imbue themselves in whatever they do. They can bring life where there should be none. And they find great joy in doing so.”
Apple Bloom paused for a moment and turned, regarding her blank flank. “Must be nice,” she said. “To have something special...”
But what does it mean if no one appreciates it? Nightmare Moon followed after the fillies, wandering through the orchard. She drew in a breath of air perfumed with the ripest of apples and it roused her hunger. But even the urge to eat felt numb to her. How lucky they are, so far from home, to still have one another. They do not even realize it.
The young earth pony stopped at an apple tree and looked up into its branches, as if spellbound by the shape of the apples there. She sat between the roots and struggled against some emotion.
“Is there something the matter?” asked Nightmare Moon, finding herself checking her tone. “It is just a tree, child.”
“I know,” said Apple Bloom, looking back up at her. “It just reminds me of home.” She paused and put a hoof on the tree. “D'you think that's why we ended up here? 'cos I can't stop thinking about my sister. If something happened to her... I'm worried about my whole family.”
Nightmare Moon shook her head. “If something had happened to them, then no doubt we would have met them here,” she said, though she was not sure she believed it. “Unless that happens, they are probably fine. It is our own fate we should be worried about.”
Her words did not seem to affect the filly. “I keep expectin' to see her,” she said. “Or Big Macintosh or Granny Smith... just turn a corner and there they'll be. And I don't think I could take that.” She bit her lip. “And the rest of my family, those that were gone before I was born. Maybe they're here. I wonder if I could see them. Or if they'd know me, or if I'd even want to see them. I'm just scared.”
“Yeah, well, so are we.” Scootaloo came back and sat beside her. “I'm trying not to think about it. We just need to get through this.”
Sweetie Belle followed next. “I can't stop myself, either. We're not supposed to be here or see any of this. It's not fair.”
“We just have to stick together,” said Scootaloo.
The three of them sat in front of the apple tree with their backs turned to Nightmare Moon. She stood beside them and curled her wing around to shade them, as if trying to stand between them and the rest of the world.
One moment you are a child, playing and living completely within the fields of your youth, she thought, and then you find yourself within something so much bigger than yourself. It's terrifying. It's so big and strange and makes no sense and in the end it changes you completely. And the little one is right. It isn't fair. They should not have to bear this burden. We should never have...
Apple Bloom laughed a little and the two fillies, and Nightmare Moon, looked at her.
“What is it?” asked Nightmare Moon.
The young filly turned and planted herself against the crook of the tree. “I was just thinkin' about my sister,” she said. “When I was younger I liked to play in the orchard. And she didn't mind so long as I didn't get in the way. One day though I was trying to get her attention and accidentally knocked over some of the barrels she'd been working with, and they go rolling down this hill, into a trench... oh, the sound was awful.” She laughed again. “Three broken barrels and a whole pile of ruined apples. She must have been in a bad mood because she threw her hat down and just started hollering at me. I don't remember what we said all that well, but I got scared and ran off and hid in one of the barns.
“I get in one of these nooks and lay perfectly still, and all the while I can hear her yelling and getting madder and madder and telling me to come out. 'course I don't budge an inch. I'm so worried about what's gonna happen. I stayed in there till the sun was going down. I thought my sister got tired of yelling.”
Apple Bloom scuffed the grass beneath her with a hoof. “Then I hear something. I creep a bit closer and I can hear Applejack. She's crying and saying she didn't mean any of what she said and that she just was yelling because she was worried and wanted me to come home." The little filly sighed. "I felt so terrible I came out of my hiding place and she hugged me up tight. We spent the whole night talkin' and I promised never to hide or run away again.”
Nightmare Moon chewed her lip. Sometimes it felt like she'd had spent more days fighting with Celestia than getting along with her. Somehow, though, she just understood what Applebloom meant. And the fillies did as well.
“Now that I think of it,” said Apple Bloom, looking her way, “it's kinda like that with you, isn't it?”
Nightmare Moon frowned and chewed her lip, fighting down a boil of rage. “Are you suggesting we are hiding from our sister?”
The filly shook her head. “No,” she said. “I think that you act so angry because you're actually really scared. And that maybe you don't mean to do anything bad, and you just want your sister back, and...”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “It's not like she broke a few barrels,” she muttered. “Take a look around you, Apple Bloom. This is way different.”
“Is it though?” asked the little filly.
Nightmare Moon found herself staring at the grass beneath them. She had found herself within a deep rage for a millennium, so long that it had practically become her. She did not know if she could exist without it. Perhaps she is right. Would we tell anypony? No. We are angry. But we are also afraid.
“It is different,” she said at last, sitting down as well. “You spent a few hours hiding in a barn. Celestia... my sister imprisoned me in the moon for a thousand years.” She looked upon the children she had taken from their homes, from their loved ones, and her stomach felt like ice. And we... I'm not so sure she made the wrong decision.
“It's not like we can just hug and make up and forget about it all,” said Nightmare Moon.
Apple Bloom frowned. “Well why not?”
Nightmare Moon shook her head. “It's too much to forgive,” she said. “Too much to forget, and too much time has passed.”
“It doesn't matter,” said Apple Bloom, “if ya'll still love each other, it is that simple. Don't you think she wants you back?”
She was not certain. When she had come back after a thousand years, all she wanted to see was her sister. For revenge, for anger, or for whatever reason. But Celestia wasn't there. Celestia abandoned her. And yet... the Elements of Harmony did not return her to the moon. They offered her a way to return to Equestria, and she refused it.
No. I can't dwell on that... she squeezed her eyes shut and forced her sadness back into the void of herself.
“I don't know,” she said. “We will see when we find her, I imagine.”
Apple Bloom nodded. She turned and gave the tree a fierce kick, and the other ponies jumped. Though it seemed like she should not have been strong enough to shake it, a single apple fell from above. She plucked it up, the stem in her teeth, and offered it out to Nightmare Moon.
“What are you doing?” whispered Scootaloo.
Nightmare Moon took the apple between her hooves and considered it. Her stomach rumbled and she ignored it, as if it were some distant sound. Apple Bloom moved back and watched her.
“I think I understand a little bit,” she said. “She took us away but she's also been taking care of us. We need her and she needs us. We should try to become friends.”
“Are you forgetting all that we went through?” Scootaloo's little wings flicked. “Because of her?”
“I understand where you're coming from,” said Sweetie Belle, promptly hiding behind Scootaloo. “But she's got a point.”
“If it were me, would'ya still say that?” said Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo stamped her hooves. “That's not at all--”
“It could have been.” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Look around you. Seems to me we don't have anything to count on but each other. Might be the only thing we've got is love. If there's a reason for us to be here, then maybe that's it.” Her cheeks turned red. “I kinda mangled the words, but that's something Applejack would say... I figure she's right.”
Is she serious? thought Nightmare Moon. But at the same time she felt a little embarrassed, and a little grateful to hear the filly speaking out for her. She remained silent and watched them converse.
“I admit I feel sorry for her,” said Scootaloo. She pushed her way by Apple Bloom and looked up at Nightmare Moon. “But if Apple Bloom is right, she can't just speak for you. You have to say it yourself.”
The dark mare dropped the apple and leaned back instinctively. “Ah...” she swallowed. She felt her feelings more ancient, more complicated than the children could have ever known. But they were trying to understand her. Scootaloo was not cowering before her, not falling into subservience, but trying to connect. The little pegasus was breaking every notion of manners, and yet she was not offended.
Still, they would not understand. They may not even accept me... She looked across the three of them and made up her mind. “Yes. I want you to stay with me.”
“As more than just your hostages?” insisted Scootaloo.
Nightmare Moon flinched, and gave a nod. “Yes,” she said. The words may have sounded insufficient to them, but for her, it was a monumental effort. Every nerve in her fought to keep her silent, to keep her from letting another pony into her life. But it was either that or remain alone.
“Then that's good enough for me,” said Scootaloo, shutting her wings in a snap. “We're all in this together. And that means finding your sister as soon as possible.” The pegasus' own stomach growled and she flustered.
Apple Bloom laughed. “That also means staying fed.”
The filly bucked a few more apples from the tree and the two of them went about gathering a small smorgasbord of fruits and vegetables taken from the nearby gardens. Sweetie Belle sat quite still and kept looking up at Nightmare Moon, who worked her way through the apple as if eating were a new and delicate experience. Each burst of juice in her mouth filled her with a certain nostalgia for life, and the sweet cider-like pulp that pleased her senses.
“What is it?” she asked, once she'd polished it down to the core. Sweetie Belle squeaked and looked away. For a while she thought the filly wouldn't answer her at all.
“I'm just nervous,” she mumbled. “Sorry.”
Nightmare Moon sighed and lowered her head. “I promised I would never hurt you,” she said, “and I meant it.”
The unicorn shook her head. “I'm just sorry that you're out here all alone and we can't find your sister and I still feel so scared I kind of want to throw up.” She seemed to get a little courage from prattling off her condition and chewed an apple. “I think we all want you and Princess Celestia to make up. We're all just trying to get back to our families.”
“I'm sure we will,” said Nightmare Moon, plucking another apple from the tree with her magic. But she wasn't so sure. More than anything I want your place, sister, thought Nightmare Moon. I want to be loved by all your subjects and belong in this world. But I'm not sure anymore. I want my old life back. But I can never have that. Not even if you forgave me.
She laid down in the shade of the orchard and sated her hunger alongside the three fillies. Their companionship brought to her a certain warmth that she would not have remembered at all, but for the saving grace of Starswirl. She let herself bask in the idea of friendship, and push away all the greater things that threatened her existence. She tried to forget about mortality and broken promises and while she enjoyed herself the darkness still lingered in her.
And the moon, now nearly dominating the sky, coated them all in its light and reminded her of all that had come to pass, and all that would come, and its presence felt so much bigger than the three little ponies beside her.
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Closer and closer still... I haven't had a real apple in so long it hurts.
Just "wilder" would be fine
Daw, how bittersweet.
1712812
Well go buy an apple then. Preferable a Golden Delicious, the best apple.
1712987
Real apples don't come from grocery stores. Maybe farmer's markets, but not this time of year where I live.
I love the story, but it seems like it's starting to spin its wheels.
I'm wondering when this is going to go somewhere. We've spent how many chapters searching for Celestia in this "death-dream" world, and all we've got to show for it is a little bit of character development which could have easily been compressed into fewer chapters.
Basically, I think that you're wasting time on this when you should be moving forward. If something major doesn't happen in the next chapter I'm probably going to stop reading. I just don't have the time to read huge stretches of chapters which barely advance the plot forward.
1712861
Nah, you have to emphasize just how WILD these berries are.
Royal Gala, best apple.
1713001
Agreed. Apples in grocery stores look like they're made of wax and taste like dust. Apples from farmers' markets look REAL and taste like a monumental explosion of the very essence of "apple".
At least, the apples in the farmers' market around here are.
You're on a roll with this story.
Argh! Get back! Feels!
1713055
Why the heck would you want to stop reading because of character development?
1712812 Walk in an open space and keep an eyes out for wild apple trees. It's getting a bit late in the season for them, so most will probably be squirrel-bitten, but that's my favorite thing to go for on a late summer afternoon...
1713334
Because "character development" (and I use that term very, very loosely, because so little of it has happened as to be negligible) is the only thing that's happened in the last couple of chapters in regards to the dream quest.
Stories actually need to go places, and having three or four chapters filled with nothing more than the whining of NMM, or about twilight draging her feet, does nothing to advance the plot.
1713120
Old trees bear tasteless apples. New trees bear the best fruits. The difference is actually quite stark. Blueberry bushes accelerate this fact: the older the plant, the less taste in the berry.
Often, apples in stores are from old trees.
1713120 The big, pretty apples in grocery stores taste awful (unless you cook with them, then the subtle flavor is more what you want), but they usually also stock some of the smaller and more flavorful variety. The tart yellow and green ones especially. The grocery store cherries and grapes are also good.
I haven't tried farmer's market apples specifically, but I tried some other stuff (tomatoes and onions) and it wasn't noticeably different from grocery store vegetables.
Hmm, strawberries are a weird case. I've never had a raw strawberry that tasted like anything worth eating, but you put a little sugar on them after slicing them, and stir it around, and it's just awesome. It's not just 'sweeter', they actually start tasting like strawberries.
1714109
Nono, see, the apples in my farmers' market are about twice the size of a hand grenade. And just as delicious as the ones you mentioned.
1713737
oh but there has been a lot, Discord facing himself And Celestia (albet even for a moment) and NMM now seeing how much of a moron she is. also the more advancement of the changelings and how the ponies are trying to get back to a "normal" life
a few chapters of charicter development like this is kind of needed, but i am starting to get on your side. if any more lagging with twi and luna it would be annoying.
1715130
I'm not saying that the character development has been bad, just that it's taken too many chapters to accomplish it. What's occurred could have probably taken place in two chapters, honestly.
That's why the next chapter(s) need to be heavy on plot advancement. Everything's been set up, and now it needs to happen. Anything else is just filler.
1712987
Bah! Nothing beats the tangy yet sweet Granny Smith green apple. An apple so good, they named the Matriarch of the Apple Clan after it. //dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Applejack_lolface.png //dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Applebloom_lolface.png
1712812 *holds a bag of apples* Lookie what I got!
*bites into one, and pulls out a green caterpillar* And chock full of protein-rich coddling moth larvae! Mmmmm! *munch munch munch*
1715474
Granny Smith apples FTW!
I have to agree with Voba the grumpy guy over there, every character seems to be at a point where any more exposition and character development is going to stretch the story thin. Not that the pacing has been bad, but something needs to happen in the next few chapters or else it's going to get a little dull. I mean, you can only listen to someone talk about there feels for so long
1716972 1715174
Hey, I get this. I really do. And I am very happy to have readers that tell me what they're thinking. Ultimately I'm gonna tell the story I'm gonna tell. Some stuff has been compressed. Maybe I could have accomplished this in less. I'll save my explanations for when the story is done, because I love a good retrospective.
But to allay anyone's fears, yes, 'things are going to happen.'
1716748
Hey, yeah, you have to do some work to get a good apple, but at least they exist. Unless you want something with a coating of wax and the consistency and vague taste of Styrofoam.
I'll still buy apples mass produced, but nothing in the world was ever better than the apples my great grandmother grew, and the things she made with them.
Actually I'm really fascinated with different people's input. <3 Gala are very sweet and tart and are my favorite to just munch on in general. Braeburns are the most soothing and bodied flavor to me. And yeah, Granny Smiths are amazing too. Best ones for cooking but they taste awesome and will kick you around the kitchen.
1715174
Well Voba, while I can sorta see your point, I'm going to have disagree with it.
There are a number of reasons why I love this story, from the multiple point of views, the diction and imagery, but most importantly I love the pacing. So many fic are fast paced and it can be difficult to get a handle on whats going on when you read it the first. This story has a lot going on, and a faster pace would ruin the story and make it all the more difficult to comprehend.
Personnally, I love the way that Starsong is authoring this story.If you want to stop reading it, go ahead but don't try and use it as some way to possibly coerce him into speeding up the pacing of the story, thats childish and immature. This isn't your story so stop saying what "needs" to happen, the only thing that should be happening is Starsong writing what he thinks should be written. Thats all there really is too it.
1717503 I recall a tree that grew near my great grandmother's house in Leisuretown, a retirement community in South NJ, a little before the 70-206 circle, heading westward. It was a variety I've never seen since, shaped about the size and color of a small Macintosh, with pink flesh and a very sweet-tar flavor. I made pink applesauce and pink apple pies with it.
One day I decided I should get seeds from it when the apples got ripe that year, only to find that the tree had been cut down that summer. :C Another heritage variety lost.
1713063 Red Delicious.
1717498
Well, I thought this chapter was a wonderful exposition on Luna's feelings about her relationship with her sister and the CMC.
1722207
That's what biochemical genetic engineering is for, if you remember what it tastes, feels and looks like: we can make it.
1732732 I'm a research biologist. Nothing has ever come close to those apples. They were... not of this world... (suspects the Greys were involved)
1732732 1736395
Most genetic engineering used to make things more convenient for mass production, which unfortunately ruins the quality of the apple. It's usually a trade of that for shelf-life, shape, and appearance.
1737198 I know. I'm in genetics research.
But if I noted that, I couldn't then make the comment that the pink apples were clearly of alien origins... possibly Mars... *searches Stongehenge for information from the aliens about said apples... the same aliens who built Stonehenge... and the pyramids... and mutilate cattle... and probe people's rectums...*
1737198;1738698
I knew that, I was basically joking, because you'd have to pay for your own lab, the techs, the equipment to keep experimenting, etc. and it would all be really expensive, at least over 10 million to get to that apple...though the description did remind me of a Starfruit (not quite sure on the name, I'd tried it in Jamaica a few years back)...I'd start with that.
1713737
Looks like SOMEONE needs to watch a Michael Bay film!
But in all seriousness, I agree partly with you. The dialogue between Twilight and Discord has been pretty unimportant, and kinda meh. Rainbow Dash is playing the damsel in distress, and Lyra raised the sun. Wait a minute, Lyra raised the sun? That's pretty important. Now obviously most of the focus for these last few chapters has been on Twilight and Discord as well as Nightmare Moon and the CMC traversing the dreamworlds, Discord and Twilight's journey has been pretty dull with only a little minor character development taking place.
I do, however, believe that the narrative of Nightmare Moon and the CMC has been well done, and adds a nice note of levity to the narrative. Think about it; here we have three small children beginnin to sympathize with the monster from under their beds tha has stolen them away from their family. That takes some time to develop. We are also treated to some good development on Nightmare Moon's part, which I think is well done.
All in all I would say less Twilight and Discord would have been preferable, and maybe Rainbow attempting to escape the Changelings just to spice things up, but the true test of whether this Character Development is important will be when the pieces start falling together and we are rewarded with complicated characters that are easy to understand. If the author can pull that off, then this lengthy character development will have gone to a good cause.
Any other thoughts? Oh and just remember that
Ann lies 
1713001
Then my grocery store must get a good number of theirs from local farmers because I have gotten them from both sources, I've even gone to a farm that lets you pick your own apples, and the quality is very similar. The pick-your-own apples were the best but the grocery store still has tasty stuff nine or ten months out of the year.
Now that's a Stockholm Syndrome if I've ever seen one!
In retrospect, I suspect commenter Voba was disappointed because he thought this was a short story. In short stories, from what I recall of my experiences, there is not enough space for things to happen slowly. If character development happens at all it happens quickly unless it's the whole story arc. Maybe if the journey of NMM and the CMC was the entirety of this fic it would have happened quickly enough for him.