> Brightburn: Take Equestria > by Bric_A_Brac_INKSPLASH > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > When Death Stared Back > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "One must know the importance of wearing masks. They not only hide our true motives from others, but they also hide the monster we've become from ourselves." -Pride Ed There are many things you know about the mare in the moon, but is one of them the fact that even in banishment she could still walk in the realm of dreams? Well, she could, she would do this in order to cure her boredom, even if she could only watch, as the element's stopped her from influencing their dreams or feeding on their night terrors. It was both good and a bad thing to still be able to see them, as not being able to influence them, not being able to cause them harm was a horrid feeling, like her sister was mocking her every time she tried to do anything with the power she had, as with the power she had she could crush mountains, defeat any foe, CREATE ETERNAL NIGHT! but alas, she could not do anything here. she was trapped listening to the promise of power that would not come anytime soon, stuck with this horrid feeling forever more, watching as the pony's forget the time of her rule slowly over time, as she is thought of as only a fairy tale in the mind's of foals. But even so, it was not all bad for the mare in the moon, as this was an opportunity to plan for every outcome of her return. She thought of this plan so often that she dreams of it when she sleeps. it was the only thing that made her feel happy while stuck in such a horrid state. She sat in contemplation and hate staring at Equis, giving it one hell of a death stare that if the planet were sentient, it would have run from the fear it felt. The mare would sigh and kick away a random rock. "Why do thou mock us so sister?" "Is this what thou thought of us all those years?" "Thou thought that this was the only way?" "No, thou were just too stupid and arrogant to see the truth, but we know you, thou saw it was the only way to keep us out of the picture, and us turning agenst you was just the excuse you needed to do just that." The mare would lay down, done with talking to no one, as she entered the dream realm. Dark and forever expanding as new dreams are created, and old ones recorded, she had no one in general she wanted to see, so she just browsed through whatever dreams she felt could interest her. Dream after dream, nightmare after nightmare, sadly there were no nightmares to watch nor any interesting good dreams from any particular monstrous pony, as she found that if someone evil is having a good dream the dream its self is probably not a good one for any pony else. But as she drifts through the realm she finds something interesting, a dream not from a pony but from a creature of the likes shes never seen before. "What is this?" The mare would say with excitement, trying to pin point where the dream she feels is, and when she does, shes in shock. "wha-what?" What the mare sees is a pony filly, pretty much a newborn from the looks of it; it's coat was beige in color and it had a black mane, but most interesting of all were it's deep blood red eyes. But this wasent what intrigued the mare. In the dream realm, you can find most anypony, but it is pretty much impossible to do so for anypony besides the mare in the moon. Even then, it's quite difficult, especially if the dreams don't have strong emotions or the dreamer is far away. This is why it confused her as it was way too difficult to try and pin point this foals location more than it should any way, but not only that, actually trying to get in the dream seemed to be more difficult, the most she seemed to be able to do was see what the dreamer looked like, and sense that it was having a strong dream Very strong indeed. It was like a beacon in the dream realm. And when she finally found the foal, still not being able to enter the dream it's self, her jaw dropped for the first time in a thousand years. What she found was strange, as her senses told her that the foal was in space, and not only that, it was farther out than the moon, right by Pluto, and moving very quickly towards Equis. "How-How is that possible?" "How is it coming from outside the solar system?" The mare's eyes grow wide as she feels a presence coming from the thing the foal was in itself. It felt like the thing the foal was in would push back every time the mare would try and enter the foal's dream, making it even more difficult to see this mystery foal's dream. "HOW DARE THOU RESIST OUR COMMAND?!" The mare would yell in her mind, and she would push harder, her horn sparking at the amount of power she was using, it was so much so quickly that it made her head hurt. The power struggle between the two forces slowly turned to the mare's favor, and she would seemingly drift right into the dream. What the mare sees would be horrifying to any other creature that was not her or Discord himself; she sees terror, unending terror, death everywhere, and commands to "TAKE THE WORLD" coming from every corner of this foals mind. The mare wanted more of this feeling, it was like a drug to the power hungry mare, but as she begged for more, calling apon the dream to open itself to her, THE DREAM SPOKE BACK. "LEAVE!!!" The force from before came back suddenly and slammed into the mares mind like a wall of swords, forcing her out of the dream with so much force and pain that she left the dream realm entirely and was brought back to reality. The mare would groan from the pain. "So much power! How could something have so much power to not only refuse us entry but force us out of the dream realm entirely?" The mare asked no one in particular. "That thing is coming this way from what I saw." The mare would then get an idea. "Oh, sister how things have gotten so much more interesting!" The mare would say with a wicked grin, Everypony that night would swear that they could hear the cackling of- "NIGHTMARE MOON!!!" > One apple falls off the tree the other from the heavens > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ponyville Hospital Room A113: "Please, Mrs. Pear Butter, just take a breath in and out, and push on three!" said Nurse Red Heart. "TRYING!" Pear Butter muttered as she writhed in agony. "Okay, on three, one, two, three!" Red Heart spoke as Pear Butter screamed in agony. Red Heart could see the top of the foal's head as Pear Butter pushed. "Thats it, Keep it coming, breath." After a while of pushing, Pear Butter managed to give birth successfully. "And with that, we are done. Congratulations, Pear Butter, on your beautiful baby filly's birth." Nurse Red Heart said while holding Pear Butter's baby. Nurse Red Heart would hand over the child to their mother, Pear Butter, who cradled her baby in her hooves. "Do you have a name for them?" Red Heart asks while getting a diaper for the new born. "If she were a boy, I would have named her Bramble Blossom, but I think I have the perfect name." Pear Butter paused. "And?" Red Heart says. "Apple Bloom. Her name is Apple Bloom." It had been a long year for the Apple family. First came the death of a beloved family member, Bright Mac, who was sadly mugged on his way into town and died in the hospital of a heart attack. But the Apple family remained strong, hoping that the addition of a new member would heal the wound left by his death, so the news of Pear Butter's pregnancy was a welcome sight among the family members, particularly Granny Smith, Apple Jack, Big Mac, and Pear Butter, who were closest to him at heart. But for Apple Jack, the screams from the hospital halls were still nightmare fuel. In the middle of the night, they had to make a hasty trip to the hospital after Pear Butter unexpectedly went into labor. All of this, combined with the sounds she heard in the hospital, gave her goosebumps as she sat in the waiting room chair. Big Mac had stayed at home to keep the house safe, so it was just Granny Smith and Apple Jack in the waiting room, with the exception of the nurse at the counter, who was reading a book and not paying them any attention. Apple Jack eventually had enough and went to make small talk with Granny. "Um, Granny, is Mama gonna to be okay?" Granny Smith raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do ya mean, deary?" "Well," Apple Jack would pause, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I am worried about the screaming; Mama never screams like that; even when Mama stepped on that nail once, she never cried out like that, I am worried that Mama having our sibling will hurt her, and she might not bounce back from this." Granny Smith would look down at the small orange-coated filly, sympathetically. "No," Granny would say. "No, do not say that if all we do is imagine what could be, or we will just worry ourselves silly!" Granny Smith would wrap her hooves around Apple Jack, hugging her while wiping her tears away. "Now stop crying now, or your mama will be upset when you see her again. "You do not want your new sister to see you like this, do you?" "No." Apple Jack would sniff "good, I will be here to support you the entire time, so please stop crying and be patient." Granny Smith would say, nuzzling Apple Jack ever so gently. About five minutes later, nurse Red Heart would emerge from the hallway that led to room A113, where Apple Jack's mother was. Despite tears streaming down her cheeks, she maintained a professional demeanor and said, "I am sorry, but Mrs. Pear Butter has passed away; however, she did successfully give birth to her child." Granny Smith held a hoof over her mouth, eyes becoming pin pricks, her mind trying to comprehend what she was hearing. "What do you mean, Are ya sure?" Granny Smith asked. Indeed, we are. We assumed she was asleep until we felt her pulse, which was silent. We attempted, but were unable, to revive her. With tears in her eyes, she would ask, "Dear Celestia, what did we do to deserve this?" She would look down at Apple Jack, who was now sobbing. Granny would shake her head, looking back at the nurse with an angry and heartbroken expression, and get up, pulling Apple Jack along. She would immediately start speed trotting down the hallway. "Come on, Deary, we are seeing your mama right now!" They both sped down the hallway. Granny counted the rooms, starting with A108, A109, A110, A111, A112, and ending with A113. She basically pushed the door open, giving both her and Apple Jack a clear view of the scene in front of them. The only sounds in the room were the cries of a baby on a little makeshift side table, the scared shuffling of the doctors, and the light coming from the windows as the light of dawn filled the space with natural light. Granny would follow the shape of the sun's beams until she saw that the beam had landed on the lifeless body of Pear Butter laying on the bed. As Granny examined her body from the doorway, she noticed that she was smiling even now, which made Granny's heart break even more when she noticed the way her eyes just looked into space as if they were void of life. Apple Jack would gasp and rush over to Pear Butter, hugging her as she sobbed into her dead mother's chest. Apple Jack continued to hug her tightly, but she no longer felt her mother's warm embrace—rather, she felt cold. As Apple Jack sobbed, she could just barely make out the sound of Granny Smith yelling and screaming at the doctors, accusing them of being responsible for her death. However, none of that really mattered at that moment; what did matter was saying goodbye to her mother and moving on. However, there was one thing she had to say to her mother first, a promise. She shivered and said, "M-mama," struggling to speak, but she persevered. "I promise to always be there for my sister no matter what; I won't let her get in any danger ever, I promise." As Apple Jack got up from the bed her mother was on, Granny Smith stopped yelling at the doctors, who were now in tears, and looked at Apple Jack. Apple Jack left the bed and went over to the crying foal in the small bed, admiring her beautiful red main and reddish orange eyes. Apple Jack carefully grabbed her sister and tried to rock her in her arms, even though it was awkward because Apple Jack was still quite small. "Deary?" Granny Smith would say confused, then Apple Jack would begin to speak to her new sister. "Shhhh. It is okay, lil sis, you are not alone no more." Apple Jack would smile " I wont ever leave you." Granny Smith would take this scene as a sign to stop yelling at doctors and start comforting Apple Jack. Granny Smith would approach Apple Jack and her new family member, pulling them into a group hug. Then Nurse Red Heart entered the room as Granny asked one of the attending physicians if Pear Butter had given the foal a name prior to her passing. "Yes, she did; Apple Bloom is her name." Granny Smith would nod with a smile. "Its a beautiful name." About three weeks later: The funeral Apple Jack and Granny took their new family member home after visiting the hospital, but they were still in mourning for Pear Butter. Big Mac, who had a complete panic attack, was informed. Nevertheless, when all was said and done, it was time for the funeral; Big Mac, Granny, and even little Apple Bloom prepared to see Pear Butter in the casket; Apple Jack, however, was really reluctant to go, but Granny had forced her to too anyway. It was now the day of the funeral. It was overcast, and the Apple family only held funerals on the apple farm where the deceased pony had grown up when an Apple died. People came up and gave speeches and other things you would expect at an event like this, and at some point, everyone began talking to one another. Apple Jack stood by a tree off to the side, listening to a conversation going on nearby. She listened because she was the subject of their conversation. They would say things like, "Did you hear what happened? Apple Jack was there, and I feel so bad for her." and so on. Apple Jack had had enough of this and walked back to the farm house, hoping to escape it all. Granny would yell at her from far away, "Where are you going, dearie?" You still need to say good bye." Apple Jack would simply continue walking, a tear falling down her cheek, and whisper, "I already did." It had been an hour since everyone arrived to say their goodbyes, Apple. Jack had been crying in her bed the entire time, unable to sleep, and whenever she got close, she heard her door open, "Apple Jack?" Big Mac would say coming into the room, he would continue to talk when she did not answer. "Um, I know your sad, but would you like company?" Apple Jack would give a sniffle, and she would then lift her blanket slightly to allow someone else to join her in bed. With a gentle smile, Big Mac would climb into his sister's bed and give her a tight hug. He would soon feel himself starting to cry, so he would give her a stronger hug. She would then turn to face him in bed and give him a hug in return, and they would cry and eventually fall asleep in each other's arms. Down stairs, Granny Smith, who had learned how to make family-made baby formula from her mother, would be in the living room feeding Apple Bloom. She would rock her chair back and forth while sitting in contemplation, gazing at Apple Bloom's adorable little face. However, as she rocked and Apple Bloom gradually dozed off, there was an enormous boom sound outside, causing Apple Bloom to wake up and begin crying. Granny Smith would jump at the sound and yell, "What in the hay!?" When Granny Smith got up, she would place Apple Bloom in the living room's makeshift bed. When Granny stepped outside onto the porch, her eyes widened and became pin-prick sharp as she gazed up into the sky above the orchard. Granny Smith would notice the large streak of red in the sky as something fell from the sky into the edge of the everfree forest, which connects to her farm. Granny Smith would whisper, "Not today, godammit!" as she ran to where she saw the thing land with a huge explosion. As she got closer, she noticed a line where the thing must have skidded on the ground, leaving a massive scar in the earth, After following it for a while, she saw the thing finally. It was a huge, shed-szed metal sphere that was colored black. "What is this contraption?" Granny would ask, trotting closer to it. As she did, the side of the object would open, revealing a small foal with deep black hair, blood red eyes, and a bage coat. The small foal would cry as Granny took him out. "What are you doing inside that thing?" "Are you okay? You fell from the sky. How is that possible?" She sat in thought and finally decided on something: "I am going to take care of you because I do not think you are from here. I will take care of him, thank you whoever sent this; it is like you are a gift from the stars, a gift for us in this difficult time." She would smile down at the foal and name him Berry Bramble. End chapter one.