//------------------------------// // 3. Chapter: Good Evening Selene // Story: Apple Moon // by JPHyperX //------------------------------// Chapter Theme The little foal ran and cried. She screamed loudly because she just didn't want to hear the words that Selene had said to her. Her parents, her plantation, she wanted to keep it all. The moon apple trees showed their true form in the blink of an eye. Dark rocks that she had piled up as columns. Her parents appeared behind the fictitious trees. Just assembled replicas built from moon rocks. In sheer panic, she fell over her own hooves. She lost her pink ribbon. But she stood up and just kept running without turning around. She wanted to return home, to her farm in Equestria, with Applejack and the others. The foal missed her friends and the more she missed them, the more the illusions became blurred. Columns surrounded her that had once been trees in her imagination. She slowed her pace and sat down exhausted. Suddenly she had to cough and spit out a pile of sand. Not even what she had eaten was real. She was hungry; she was starving and was getting weaker and weaker. Whimpering, she crawled a few inches away. Then she noticed a smooth black floor. She looked up. Everywhere stood alicorn statues without heads or wings. They were images of Princess Celestia. Someone had taken out the anger on them. Apple Bloom realized she was behind the black stripe she had seen before when she was sitting with Selene at the border of the plantation; a dark side that the moon never showed. A dark shadow appeared before her. Two black legs stepped forward. Dark wings spread out and the cool gaze of a mare scowled at her. Apple Bloom recognized this appearance and she couldn't believe it. It was just too unreal. “Nightmare Moon?” she quivered. “Not really!” croaked the mare and walked towards the foal. “You see what she left behind, an echo of her past.” Apple Bloom stared at the dark mare with big, horrified eyes. Nightmare Moon bent over her like a predator and bared her long fangs. “I am her wrath! A nightmare of nightmares! Nightmare Moon had to release a part of it; otherwise, she might have destroyed herself!” She strutted past the foal and fired a black beam at one of the statues. The stone head of Celestia’s image shattered. Apple Bloom squeaked and buried her face. Then she was suddenly lifted and pressed hard against a column. Nightmare Moon gazed at her with wild, furious eyes. “But it pleases me to scare a frail creature like you. Yes, now you shall fear for your life forever and ever!” “TRY ME!” shouted a powerful voice. Apple Bloom looked past the dark mare, which also turned her head. Selene stepped over the threshold to the dark side with glowing eyes. Her white, glowing mane waved majestically. Although she was very small in contrast to Nightmare Moon, her appearance was of considerable size. The angry nightmare laughed mockingly, “Ah, Selene, weak patron. Don't think you stand a chance against me.” “Put her down,” Selene threatened. Her horn flared up. Nightmare Moon grunted and dropped Apple Bloom on the floor. Then she walked menacingly towards the little Alicorn foal. “You think you can outdo me? Little worm! I'll crush you under my hooves!” She threw her head back to fire a thick blast against Selene. She immediately built up a white shield, but Nightmare's force was too strong. She was pushed back. Selene yelled, “Apple Bloom, she's too strong! Please, have faith in your imagination...” “But they are only illusions... you said that yourself...” she gasped and felt the sudden stomachache of her enormous hunger. Selene fought and pleaded with her, "I noticed it too late. You have a strong mind. Never underestimate your hopes and dreams. They are bound to the past, present and future. You imagined a farm with your parents. I understand... I understand everything now!" Sweat and tears ran down her face. Even Apple Bloom came to cry and closed their eyes. She called her parents again from the memories. Mom, Dad! Please help my friend and me! Nightmare Moon turned her head and shot her wrathful beam against Apple Bloom. But then two golden lights appeared, catching the dreaming foal and carrying her away from danger. Apple Bloom floated right next to Selene. By her side appeared Pear Butter and Bright Mac. They shone brightly and faced the nightmare with iron determination. Selene's eyes blazed, she raised her head and a white light lance shone out of her horn. Nightmare Moon did not hesitate and fired, and Selene released her light. Darkness met brightness. Apple Bloom was blinded by the clash. She narrowed her eyes and thought of her friends, her siblings and her parents. Selene screamed with all her might. The brightness gained strength. Nightmare Moon raved, “How can this be? Why do I lose against two foals? Nooooo! Noooo...” She was swallowed by the light. Her dark body disintegrated. Only her eyes left behind a baffled look before they too burst like a bubble. Selene slumped on Apple Bloom's lap. Panting, she looked up and grinned at the emaciated foal with tired eyes, “We beat her! All thanks to your help!” "Yes, we chased her away," Apple Bloom laughed weakly. All of a sudden, small light dots rose from Selene's body. She slowly dissolved. Apple Bloom's breathe trembled when she noticed this. She touched her face, which turned paler and paler. “Selene, what's happening to you?” “I guess my purpose has been fulfilled,” she said, looking down at her flank. Apple Bloom also looked, but Selene had become so transparent that she couldn’t see it anymore. Apple Bloom started to cry loudly, “No, please! Don't leave me! You are the only friend in this place! I am banished and all alone!” Selene lifted her hoof and stroked her cheeks, wiping away the tears. "Oh, little Apple Bloom... It's all right. But I have to go. I'll think of you always." After these words she disappeared once and for all. The sparkling remains glided from Apple Bloom's hooves into black infinity. She just sat there and watched the end of her friend in dismay. Then she felt again those unbearable stomach pains. As if she had been hit in the belly, she buckled. Her eyes were soaked with tears. She struck the sand so that the dust was whirled up. Finally, she found the air to cry out loud. She was alone, and she understood that an illusion, not even her parents, could save her. And as she wailed loudly; a lament that no one heard, the planet rose before her. Her shrunken eyes shivered before this beauty, which she will soon see one last time. Then she closed her eyes and accepted her inevitable fate. A purple circle formed directly in front of the sick foal. Two ponies came out of the hole. A big shadow and a smaller one stood frozen in front of the misery. “There she is! Oh, Apple Bloom! My little Apple Bloom!” Applejack ran up to her, panting and holding her. She barely moved. The orange pony pressed her head against the foal's chest to listen to her heartbeat. Bu-bum… Applejack sobbed, "Oh, this mean, nasty fate. It was all ma fault, Ah’m so sorry, sugar cube. Bu-bum… A thin, pale yellow hoof touched her cheek. “Mom?” Applejack looked at her startled when she said that. “No... No, Apple Bloom! Don’t go to them yet! You still have so much to do, and I'm gonna make it up to you! Ah promise!" She pulled herself up and lifted her little sister over her shoulder. "You will live, you will..." She stumbled over the rope that had been tied around her waist and led to the circle. A cobalt blue levitation caught the farmer's fall. “Slow down, she's been here way too long and we're not a second too late.” A large shadow leaned over the filly. The blue leg touched her gently on the head. “Rest my dear Apple Bloom. You're coming home and shall be healed.” Applejack sniffed and wiped another tear. “Ah don't know how to thank you, Princess Luna.” “No need to thank me. It was my duty. Walk quickly through the portal, the Unicorn's power will soon be gone.” Applejack trotted ahead and turned around again. "And what about you? If th spell goes away, then you're..." “Give me just a minute. I have to deal with something.” Without words, Applejack jumped into the light along with Apple Bloom. Luna stepped over the dusty surface. Her gloomy look was directed at two figures. A mare and a stallion stood there as if they were waiting. The princess raised her wings and said, "Guardian spirits. I release you from your duties." She stomped on the ground. Apple Bloom's parents bowed before her and turned into two bright lights. Then they soared into the heights of the vast universe and flew to the golden horizon of the planet. Luna turned around and saw several columns sticking out of the ground. In between stood a stone block shaped like a small house. When she had been exiled here for a thousand years, these structures had not existed before. Yet somehow it all seemed so familiar. It suddenly came back to her. Her eyes widened in astonishment. Nostalgically she looked at her flank, where the dark spot with the crescent moon adorned her. "Good evening, Selene," she said with a smile and left the moon. ~ The End ~