//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Nightmare // by Amaranthine Thought //------------------------------// Gala Apple was a strange earth pony. Her coat was orange, her mane and tail a vibrant red, her cutie mark an apple tree with three apples in its branches, but her appearance was not why she was strange. She was smart, intelligent, more so than anypony in her family. Gala’s mind was clear and strong, able to comprehend and understand more, easier, than those around her. When problems came up, Gala was often the first to think of a solution, and a far simpler one than most would think of themselves. She often didn’t seem to really fit in with her own siblings, but those traits were not why she was strange either. Rather, her oddity stemmed from her physical abilities. Earth ponies are known for their strength and endurance, sometimes one over the other. They can lift heavy weights, often weights unsupportable by unicorns or pegasi. They can run as far as a pegasus can fly, and rarely as fast. Their bodies can take more punishment, their bones and muscles simply tougher and harder than those of the rest of pony kind. They even had a near miraculous ability to encourage growth and health in plants and animals they cared for. Gala, however, couldn’t lift more than fifty pounds and couldn’t even drag a hundred when a weak earth pony could easily double those numbers with no effort. Her bucks were soft and weak, comparable to an elderly unicorn who hadn’t gotten a lot of exercise during their life. Her endurance was pitiful, running out of breath in a simple fifty-yard dash, a feat she did in miserable time as well. And while she was many things, tough was not one of them. And each time Gala cared for a plant, the poor thing would wither faster than if she had repeatedly stepped upon it. In fact, it would not be entirely incorrect to say Gala was a failure as an earth pony. And growing up and living on a farm made that become very obvious very fast. She could do little of what was needed, despite her best efforts. Her siblings did their best, always encouraging her, and her family, for the most part, understood her limitations. But it wasn't until her little sister, Sweet, proclaimed Gala her favorite pony did Gala begin feeling like she had a real purpose. Even if said purpose was in making her little sister happy. Yet, even then, Gala never really felt at home amongst the Apples, nor at the ancient family farm. It was always as if something was missing. Something unnamed, something she didn’t know, but something she knew she didn’t have, yet should have. It took a long, long time for her to find out what that was. And it all started with a perfectly normal day, or as it was then called, moon, being not quite so normal… Sweet Apple Acers had been the home of the Apple family for a very long time. Yet, it was greatly changed from what it once was. Part of the orchard was within a great structure, magical lights shining down on nearly 500 apple trees. Water ran through in a simple irrigation system, and air was circulated by those members of the family that were pegasi. Great care was given to the trees within, and each received the optimal amount of water and fertilizer to net the greatest number of apples. There was good reason the ‘Great Barn’ as it came to be called existed. Most of the orchard was outside, but those trees never bore fruit nor flowers. They barely even had leaves. That was because the light from the moon and stars was not enough for them, the plants only weakly surviving upon the dim light of the night. The Great Barn enabled the harvest to happen, and Sweet Apple Acers was vital to help produce the food of Equestria in the dark night. Gala had heard of a ‘sun’ that gave its light freely, but she was certain that that was nothing more than fantasy. There was no great ball of fire in the sky that gave more light than any magic ever could, and there never had been. All there had ever been was the moon and the countless tiny stars that filled the dark sky. Gala walked amongst the trees that moon, as she often did, collecting fallen apples, the job commonly reserved for the foals, when the sudden cry, “Mouse!” came. She looked up to spot the dark shape zip and weave under her sister’s hooves, dodge her brother’s stomp, and shoot toward her, its tiny eyes glittering. She frowned, and jerked, making it dodge, and then she stamped upon it, a small, dark fog radiating out from her hoof, swiftly dissipating in the bright light. As she pulled up, no trace of the mouse remained. “I got it!” she called. “Seein more o those n normal.” Macintosh remarked as he came over to deposit his apple basket in the cart next to Gala. He was a large stallion, with a bright red coat and a blond-orange mane and tail, a cutie mark of an apple cut in half. “Harvest might not be so good this cycle.” Gala sighed faintly. Macintosh had a tendency to worry, but worse, his worries often turned out to be true. And Gala hated worrying. “Come on Macintosh.” she said, trying to placate his concern, “We’re doing fine, and there’s a lot of apples. Nothing to worry about.” Macintosh opened his mouth before a bell rang, interrupting him. The ponies currently within the barn began heading out, while new ponies were already inside, moving to continue the work. The Great Barn needed tending to at all times, and the family did so in shifts. During harvest time, the work was constant, but pest control was absolutely vital at all times. A single mouse could devastate the harvest if nopony was watching. They did enough damage when somepony was watching. So the entire family kept their eyes open as they worked, and everypony hoped a rat wouldn’t show up. Ponies got hurt when a rat showed up. As Gala walked with her brother, Macintosh resumed, saying, “We ain’t got ‘a lot’ o apples sis. Th mice got a whole bunch jus last night, an we jus ain’t got th apples ta let em take any more.” “I know that, but it isn’t so bad.” Gala said. “Might be as bad as last year. An th last year, we jus bout starved.” “Macintosh, I!” Gala began to retort, before her younger sister forced herself between the pair. “Stop fightin!” Sweet cried, a deceptively delicate mare. She was a pale grey, her mane and tail bright white, her cutie mark a few apples lined up by size. “It ain’t helpin nopony an yer scarin th fillies!” “Sorry Sweet.” Gala said, ducking her head as Macintosh hurried ahead, Gala matching Sweet’s slower pace. “He just gets to me sometimes.” “He ain’t wrong Gala. Th mice eat more n a fat hog, an we really can’t lose too many apples ta them. Ain’t it better ta be ready ta see em, an be real careful?” Gala only nodded, wondering why it was Sweet who had the calm head. It was fairly often that her little sister had to calm down both Gala and Macintosh from their fights, something that nagged at Gala. She should be the one calming Sweet, not the other way around. Sweet gave her a small smile as the pair exited the Great Barn. “Come on sis. It ain’t that bad really, but best ta be careful.” “I know.” Gala said, smiling back before focusing on the path. A small trail led the way to and from the barn, lit by small lanterns set along its edge. They were there because moonlight was almost never sufficient to enable a pony to navigate their way to and from the barn, and on some nights, it was hard to see anything without their little glow lighting the way. The pair made their way to one of the four farmhouses upon the orchard, a fifth being built as the family continued to grow. Gala and her closest family lived within the oldest house, easily recognizable because of the windows set in the walls. Gala often wondered why the house had them. Nothing save darkness was on the earth, but the skies above never stopped shining, making windows on the wall pointless, and windows on the roof rather nice. She had stopped asking, since nopony knew why. The house was incredibly old, and why the windows were there just wasn't important. It gave the home a unique look, and the family was loath to change it. It had been there ever since the orchard was founded, the story went, and that made it special. As the pair entered, Gala could hear her granny’s voice, telling the foals her tales of a land filled with light. Sweet smiled, but Gala only sighed, tired of hearing the same nonsense over and over again. Sweet gave her a questioning look as the pair headed to the kitchen. “Somethin th matter Gala?” “It’s just Granny.” Gala said, exacerbated. “I’m sick of hearing about the ‘sun’ and everything else she thinks up.” “I think it’s nice. Gives us somethin ta do when nothin else is there. Sides, she is still Granny, an we should respect her, not sigh every time she entertains th foals.” Gala gave Sweet a look, making her sister giggle. She shook her head as Sweet kept smiling at her. “I know, I know, but… ah, forget it. You’re right, like you always are. How do you do that?” “Do what?” Sweet asked as she picked up her dinner, intent on eating it over near her Granny, so she could listen. She loved to listen. “You know what! That always being right thing you do! You and Macintosh, I just don’t understand it!” “Well…” Sweet hummed, thoughtful as she placed the plate on her back. “It’s kinda like how you kin tell a lie even when ya aren’t part o th conversation an don’t know what was bein talked about. We all got talents.” Gala gave her sister that as Sweet left to go and listen to the story. She didn’t know why she could hear lies like she did. She always could, ever since she learned to talk. If anypony spoke a mistruth within her hearing range she would know and often blurt out that she knew. It sometimes helped when dealing with business and rarely with family. It also got her in trouble more often than not, as telling ponies that they were lying without any care of what was being spoken of, who was being spoken to, or who was listening, often got ponies very upset with her. Not that she would ever stop. Ever since a very young age she had made up her mind that truthfulness was the greatest virtue and that she would uphold that: ‘everypony should be honest’, she had decided. It soon acquired the minor change of ‘I will be honest’ soon after the first few blow ups she had trying to make other ponies be honest. Whether they wanted to or not, and regardless of situation or meaning. She got her food, and headed after Sweet into the main room, where Granny had finished her first tale, and was leaning back in her rocking chair as she relaxed. She was old and wrinkly, bright green with white hair, her cutie mark two green apples. “Another!” a foal cried, making her chuckle, and push herself back up a little. “Alright, but jus th one more.” she said, her voice old, creaking much like her bones did from time to time. “What should I tell you yunguns..?” “The lost sun!” one cried, making the old mare grin and chuckle faintly. “Ya want ta hear bout how we lost our sun agin?” Granny asked them, and they all nodded, eager. Granny nodded, leaned back, thought, and then began: “A long, long, long time ago, longer n ponies kin remember, th land was lit up real bright, brighter n any light.” Granny murmured, the standard beginning to most, if not all, of her stories. “Th sun, th great ball o light, was high overhead and ponies lived in its light and warmth. Four princesses ruled over th land, guidin it wisely an with great grace, an ponies lived lives o perfect peace an prosperity.” the old mare said, her voice capturing the attention of the foals arranged before her. Granny leaned forward, lowering her voice, “But it wern’t ta be ferever.” she whispered, lowering her voice. She spoke slowly, darkly, “A monster came from th darkest shadows, where light couldn’t be found. He ruled over th darkness an hated th light. He looked over Equestria, an he wanted it ta be his. An one dark day, he decided th time was right.” “He rose up an struck th sun from th sky itself, swallowed the moon, an rose over th land like a dark cloud. In moments, darkness covered th whole land, darker n a night without moon er stars. Ponies cried out, but nopony heard em in th dark…” The foals shivered, trembling a little at the story. “Nopony cept th heroes.” Granny said, her voice rising back to normal. “Five ponies o light an legend. They heard th cries fer help, an came, and struck back at the dark king, and drove back his shadows. They stole back th moon, defeated his monsters and minions, an saved countless ponies. They took back th light bit by bit until they reached him himself, th king o darkness: Nightmare.” Sweet was happily listening, the foals enraptured, but Gala was leaning in a seat, bored as she ate. She fully believed that this entire thing was little more than a fairy tale. It even sounded like one! Princesses, heroes, bravery and defeating the monster, all normal story elements in fiction. Still, she didn’t interrupt her Granny as she continued. “Nightmare waited fer em in deepest shadow, th darkest place, a place where light couldn’t be. In it, Nightmare thought they would be helpless, lost in th dark. But they went anyway, faced their fears, faced him in his dark, an ya know what happened?” Granny asked, leaning a little forward. “As they entered, they shone. They shone like stars in th darkest night, an th darkness was gone, an th king o darkness couldn’t do anythin. They rescued th sun, and pushed Nightmare back inta th dark, back where he belonged! Equestria had light an peace agin!” A few of the foals cheered, as did Sweet, making Gala groan and hang her head. It was just so… silly. Ponies didn’t glow, and how would one ‘rescue’ a great ball of fire anyway? They would burn up. “But it wern’t ta last ferever.” Granny said, cutting them off. “Nightmare remembered his defeat, and slipped back inta th land, unnoticed. He didn’t take th sun then, no.” Her voice lowered again, and she leaned forward, as if sharing a dark secret, “He went ta each hero in turn, an whispered inta their ears. An he lured em ta places… alone.” The foals shivered. “An he stuck em down one by one!” Granny said suddenly, making several gasp. “Jumpin em at their weakest, when they were alone an not expectin him, till he got em all. An th moment he did that, he went and did th same thin to th princesses. He went an hid em where nopony would ever find em, fer punishment fer fightin him in th first place.” “Then Nightmare took th sun once more, an ponies despaired, their heroes an rulers gone, leavin em alone as Nightmare stole their light. They cried out in th darkness…” “An their cries didn’t go unheard. Th mixed up thin himself, th king o chaos, Discord himself, heard them. An he walked amongst them, and stood tall, and proclaimed:” “’Fear not! For I, Discord, shall defeat Nightmare, and renew the land!’” Granny leaned back, sighing. “It were a great battle. Discord n Nightmare fought fer weeks, battlin across th land. Lots o stuff got hurt by one o th other, and fer a while, it seemed like it’d never end. Till it finally did.” “Discord defeated Nightmare once an fer all, breaking apart his black heart, but as th dark king died, he cursed th land. Never would th sun be back, never would ponies see another day, an never would those he hid away be found! But Nightmare’d never return, an ponies looked ta Discord ta set thins right.” Granny sighed, shaking her head as she continued, “But though Discord did his best, Nightmare’s words were, and are, true. Th battle had hurt him, an Discord couldn’t get th sun back. Try as he might, he couldn’t get rid o th darkness Nightmare had left behind. So he turned to th ponies, and asked fer them ta help him. They crowned him king, an ta this moon, th mad king watches over us as best he can.” “Ponies went lookin fer th heroes an th princesses, but nopony ever found em. Not one clue or hair o em. But even after all this time, there’s still hope. Ya know why?” Granny grinned, “Our lost Princesses ain’t th type ta die. Neither are th heroes. Nightmare mighta hid em away, kept em apart, but they ain’t gone. They’re out there, someplace. Jus need somepony ta find em, an bring em back. Course, nopony has, an some say nopony ever will…” “Less one o you young’uns go an do so.” she added with a chuckle. “Never know! Could be you yunguns that stumbles across one o th heroes o legend!” “Anyhoo, that’s th story o Nightmare, an o th world we live in.” she finished, leaning back in her chair. The foals turned to one another to chatter eagerly as Granny relaxed in her rocking chair, picking up her knitting once more. One filly went over to Gala and Sweet. Sweet smiled at their youngest sister, a small filly with yellow fur and a bright red mane smiling up at the pair. She was too young to have a cutie mark just yet. “Do ya think I kin go an find th lost heroes?” she asked them. “Course ya can Applebloom.” Sweet said, “But no runnin off. It ain’t safe fer ponies it th dark. Go an get yer dinner; it’s gettin late.” Applebloom nodded happily, and headed off as Gala gave her sister an annoyed look. Sweet glanced over, confused. “What?” “You go and fill her tiny head with nonsense and fairy stories too much Sweet. Can’t you just… let her down gently or something?” “Are ya suggestin I’m lyin ta her?” Sweet asked, one eyebrow raised. “No, I mean!” Gala took a short breath, and got her voice under control again, “They aren’t real Sweet. There were never any heroes, never any princesses, never any sun. Other than Discord, nopony in that story is real, not even Nightmare. There’s no such thing as a sun, and what about ponies glowing? That’s stupid.” “Ya got no magic in ya Gala, that’s yer problem.” Sweet said. “It don’t do nothing ta let em believe, an I believe too. Even if I did grow up with miss doubt’y tail herself.” Gala frowned and Sweet chuckled faintly, smiling. “Come on sis!” she added, happy, “Ya know I’m right! Sides, ya just wouldn’t be Gala if ya weren’t like that.” “Now let’s go.” Sweet said, walking toward the upstairs, where the bedrooms were. “We are gonna leave early to get to Ponyville tomorrow. Dad wants to get another light an expand th barn, an that needs bits we don’t got. Least not until we sell some apples.” “I know that!” Gala snapped as she trotted after her sister. “Miss doubt’y tail…” she muttered, “Really?” Sweet only laughed, making Gala smile. Even if it came at her cost, she loved to hear Sweet laugh. Sweet rarely laughed. There simply wasn't much to laugh at. Their little arguments about the truth behind the tale was one of the few things that got Sweet to smile. Gala always took it seriously, but Sweet always found enjoyment in it. Gala had already figured out it was pointless to argue, but when she had stopped trying, Sweet had smiled less. So she kept it up, almost exaggerating her annoyance for her sister. Life was hard enough without making ponies upset. The darkness was constant, food was low and desperately desired by everypony, and they walked the thin line between having just enough and starving. The Apples worked as hard as they could, but it was rare that they gained enough harvest to comfortably have enough for themselves. That was life for the Apple family, 36 strong, with more family far out in other places. Growing the vital food for Equestria and never quite having enough to feel secure. Food was in short supply and every apple counted, but they needed money to keep the farm running and to expand. So they worked harder than anypony else, putting their all into trying to reach a point where food and money was, if not plentiful, at least just barely enough. Equestria was in an eternal night, and its peoples changed. The past was a foggy mess, forgotten and left behind, its lessons tossed aside in favor of the facts of today. Everypony was tense, and often desperate, with despair filling the hearts of many. Discord sat on the throne in Canterlot, the mad king ruling over the ponies with insanity and chaos, their sole defense against the dark that threatened to overcome them each day. Yes, life was hard in Equestria, but the Apple family always held onto hope. Even when so many others had long since given up on the idea that anything would get better, and when so many others felt that the only escape was in death itself… the Apples kept that tiny star of hope alive.