The Royal Apple

by Mister E-Nonymous

Prologue: Ghost of a Nightmare

This was a big day for me and the other foster kids in the foster care system. My name is Dylan Rider, and today was the day we were about to go on a camping trip for a 4^th of July camp out in Andover, Massachusetts. I was finished packing up my stuff when my foster mother, Regina, came in.

"Hello, Dylan," she said. "Are you, Peter and Jerry ready to go?"

"I'm almost ready," I said. I then sighed.

"Still thinking on when your parents will come to pick you up?" asked Regina.

"Yeah," I said. "I know they'll come to get me. I just know it. They wouldn't just leave me at a Foster Home, and not come back for me." I looked up at Regina, and just in a flash, I thought I saw sadness in her eyes, but she tried hiding it.

"You know, we got a long trip," said Regina. "I'm gonna see if the other boys are loading up. You better finish packing."

"Yes, Regina," I said. I eventually finished packing up, and I brought my bags outside to the car where Peter and Jerry were putting their bags into the car. But then I felt an itch on my leg.

Peter looked down at me then he saw something below me, saying, "Holy smokes! Regina!"

I then felt really dizzy. Everything was going dark, and I felt so cold. I looked towards the foster home and saw Regina running towards me, but I passed out.

Princess Twilight Sparkle was awoken by a shrieking noise really early, before the sun even rose. She looked around her room in the Golden Oaks Library. She looked around the room and saw that Spike was still asleep in his basket. She was confused. She decided to go for a little walk, but when she looked out the window, she saw some purple and dark blue cloud over the Everfree Forest.

"What?" Twilight asked. She then looked over at Spike and woke him up.

"Mmm... Five more minutes, Twilight..." Spike mumbled, before pulling the blanket over his head.

"Spike, wake up," said Twilight. "There's something happening in the Everfree Forest."

Spike uncovered his face, opened his eyes and said, "Well, take care of it in the morning. It's the middle of the night."

"Spike, I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen," said Twilight. "We gotta alert the princesses about what's happening."

Spike grumbled, got out of his basket, and headed towards the window. He looked out of it and saw the purple and dark blue cloud over the forest. He went wide eyed.

"What's happening?!" asked Spike.

"I don't know," said Twilight. "But we better head out there before something bad happens."

Twilight and Spike headed downstairs and headed towards the front door. Right as they headed outside, Twilight almost ran into four of her five friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

"What are you girls doing here?" asked Twilight.

"Ah'm guessin' ya saw that weird cloud over the Forest, huh?" Applejack asked.

"We all saw it," said Rainbow Dash. "We all came here right after we saw it. Me, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity... Wait. Where's Fluttershy?!"

The five mares and young dragon looked around. There was no sight of Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy must've been startled by that cloud and is probably at home, hiding under her bed," said Rarity.

"Well, we should go get her, then figure out this problem," said Twilight. "Let's go."

The five mares and young dragon arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, and Twilight was knocking at the door.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight called out. "Are you in there?!"

The door opened, and instead of Fluttershy, there was her pet bunny, Angel. He was grumpy and rubbing one eye with a paw.

"Sorry to wake you, Angel, but something has happened," said Twilight. "We need to see Fluttershy. Can we please see her?"

Angel sighed, then he motioned to the others to stay right there. He then headed up the stairs to Fluttershy's bedroom, and coming out from the bottom of the bed was Fluttershy's tail. Angel hopped up to Fluttershy's tail, grabbed it, and pulled on it.

"Aaaah!" Fluttershy yelped before banging her head on the bottom of the bed. She then turned around and saw Angel out from under there. "Oh, Angel! Guess I've been jumpy ever since I heard that shriek. What's going on?"

Angel then motioned to Fluttershy, telling her that her friends are outside.

"So my friends are right outside?" Fluttershy asked, which got a nod out of Angel. "Oh... I guess they need me..." She then got nervous. "But... I'm scared... What if what caused that shrieking comes after me?" She was then being pushed by Angel, heading towards the stairs. "Angel... wait. Don't..."

She was then pushed out the door, and the door was shut.

"Fluttershy, what were you doing up there?" asked Rainbow Dash. "You're acting like it's Nightmare Night."

"I'm sorry," said Fluttershy. "It's just... ever since I heard that shriek and saw that cloud, I've been hiding underneath my bed."

"Wait, you heard that shriek, too?" Twilight asked.

"We all did," said Pinkie Pie. "That was when we looked out to see that dark cloud."

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" asked Rainbow Dash. "Let's see what's going on in the forest."

Fluttershy was about to run back into her cottage, but was lifted by Twilight's magic, and all seven of them headed into the forest.

The Mane 6 and Spike arrived at the bottom of the cliff where Nightmare Moon made that avalanche. The girls kept looking around, then looked up at the dark cloud in the sky.

"Sheesh," said Rainbow Dash. "That thing is more darker when you get closer to it."

"It actually does," said Rarity.

"M-Maybe we should deal with this tomorrow," Fluttershy said, trying to get out of there. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Fluttershy!!" said the other girls and Spike, making her stop.

"I'm... I'm sorry... It's just too scary for me to..." Fluttershy was cut off when a wall of dark blue and purple clouds cut off her path. Then the cloud started creating a huge cylinder around the seven of them.

"What's going on?!" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Oooooooooooohhh!" Pinkie Pie said, her whole body shuttering. "I don't know... but it's a doozy!"

The girls and Spike then looked up and saw a black figure above them. Applejack then shouted, "What is that?!"

"Is that... the Pony of Shadows?!" asked Rainbow Dash.

The black figure descended and landed in front of the Mane 6 and Spike. The figure then emerged and transformed. It was a ghost, but of a pony they all recognized all too well.

"NIGHTMARE MOON?!" asked the Mane 6 and Spike.

"That's right, you fools!" said the ghost of Nightmare Moon. "You all fell into my trap! Tonight, I shall retake Equestria... in a new body for my own!"

"You'll never take over any of our bodies," said Twilight. "We'll stop you like we have before."

"Who says I'll be taking over a body?" asked the ghost of Nightmare Moon, giving a smirk. Her horn then started glowing and fired a beam towards Twilight. Twilight was standing there in shock, but then Twilight was pushed out of the way by Applejack, but she took the blow.

"GAAAAH!" Applejack called out.

"Applejack!" called out the others.

The Ghost of Nightmare Moon was cackling, then said, "Oh, she will do nicely."

"What did you do to her?!" Twilight shouted. "If you are planning on taking over Applejack's body..."

"You misunderstand, Twilight Sparkle," said the ghost of Nightmare Moon. "That blast was to give me a body of my own. That magical blast was an instant maternity spell."

"Maternity?!" asked the others.

"GAAAAH!" Applejack shouted. "Wh-What's happenin'?! GAAAAH!" Applejack's stomach then started grumbling, then started getting bigger. Applejack looked down at her stomach and went wide eyed. "What did ya do ta me?!"

"That spell gives the mare who it hits a little... how do you put it? Bun in the oven?" asked the Ghost of Nightmare Moon.

"What?!" Applejack asked. "Ya made me pregnant?!"

"But sadly, when the foal is born, it'll have no soul," said the Ghost of Nightmare Moon. "But as soon as it's born, I shall take it over, and it'll grow up and be my new vessel."

"But an Alicorn can't be born!" said Twilight. "That's never happened."

"Oh, but this one will be born an alicorn, and I shall take over Equestria!" said the Ghost of Nightmare Moon. "And nothing will be able to stop me!"

"GAAAAAAH!" Applejack cried out as her stomach stretched out to make her look like she's 11 months pregnant. Then her water broke. "GAAAAAAH! N-no!!"

"Oooh... Looks like it's time..." said Nightmare Moon.

"Applejack!" called out Twilight. The other girls surrounded her, and then Twilight asked, "What do we do?!"

"We're going to have to support her," said Fluttershy. The girls put Applejack on her back. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were holding her down.

"GAAAAH!" shouted Applejack. "It's coming!"

Then a small sack started coming out of Applejack, and then Twilight used her magic to cut open the sack, and out came a baby pony, an alicorn with no colors, and not moving at all.

"Perfect," said the Ghost of Nightmare Moon. "That body is now mine!"

"NOOOO!!" shouted the Mane 6 and Spike. Then a bright light emerged from the sky, landing on the baby pony, and blocking out Nightmare Moon's spirit, preventing her from getting near the baby.

"What?! NOOOO!! That is my Vessel!!" shouted the Ghost of Nightmare Moon. "Without that, I'll..." Then a small speck of blue light came down from the light, and entering the baby pony. Then sunlight started piercing through the dark clouds, and a beam of sunlight made contact with Nightmare Moon, and she started smoking. "GAAAAH! NO!! THIS... ISN'T... OVER!!!" She then blew up, leaving out some blue and black smoke.

"What... just... happened?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know," said Spike.

"The foal!" said Twilight. All seven of them started looking at the foal. The foal then started aging up to a filly younger than he Cutie Mark Crusaders. Her coat and mane started gaining some color. Her mane and tail started turning blonde with two red streaks down the middle, her coat turned to a pale gamboge with freckles on her cheeks and in between her eyes in a triangle. The tips of her wings had blonde tipped feathers, and the hooves on the filly were white.

"What... in tarnation... just happened?" asked Applejack, trying to catch her breath.

"I... I don't know," said Twilight. "C'mon, we gotta get you to the hospital. You and that foal." Twilight then started using her magic to hold up Spike, Applejack and the foal, then she started flying up. Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie Pie and started flying up. Fluttershy did the same with Rarity. Then they started heading back to town. They landed, and Twilight still had Applejack and the foal in her magic. Twilight levitated the foal over to Applejack so she could carry it.

"Ah... Ah don't know if Ah should hold it, Twi," said Applejack. "Ah... Ah don't think..."

"Applejack," said Twilight. "Even though it was an unnatural birth, it's still your foal. You should carry her. Just... be gentle."

"Okay," said Applejack. "But... shouldn't she be cleaned off first?"

"Hang on a sec," said Rainbow Dash. "Fluttershy, do you have any towels hanging on your clothesline?"

"Oh, yes," said Fluttershy. "Grab two. One wet, one dry."

"Oh, good call," said Rainbow Dash. She then rushed from there, and came back with two towels, one wet, one dry. Rarity then took the foal in her magic, and the wet towel, and started cleaning the foal.

"Do not worry," said Rarity. "We shall get the foal cleaned up on the way to the hospital. You're going to have to stay off your hooves."

"Yeah, good call," said Applejack. "Ah'm not feeling too good." Her stomach then rumbled, which hurt her. "Feels like Ah haven't eaten for two weeks."

"Well, we better hurry," said Twilight. "Let's go. I'll write a letter to the princesses about what happened." Then they all started running to the exit of the Everfree Forest, and then kept running till they reached the Ponyville Hospital.