//------------------------------//
// Nightfall at Sweet Apple Acres 
// Story: Nightfall at Sweet Apple Acres 
// by Midnightshadow 
//------------------------------//


Nightfall at Sweet Apple Acres


An MLP:FiM sad fanfic by Midnight Shadow

***

Summer and Blossom walked hoof-in-hoof towards Sweet Apple Acres, the ancestral home of the Apple Family Clan. Summer Sparkles had visited before many times, he’d practically grown up in the area, but this was different. This time he and his prospective bride Apple Blossom were seeking the approval of the matriarch of the Apple Clan, Tweed Apple.
Usually she was ‘Grandma Apple’, or just ‘Grandma’, but today - today she would be Madame Tweed Apple, head of the clan. Never had so few steps into somewhere so familiar been so frightening. He was practically shaking.
“Sshhh dear, it’s only Gramma Apple. You know ol’Gramma.” Blossom laughed, punching her fiance on the flank. He winced, the Apple’s were well known for their physical attributes.
“Blossom, I’m gonna ask her for your hoof in marriage - what if she says no?”
Apple Blossom laughed, a silvery twinkling laugh, “Gramma approves of you, you great fat lump.”
“But...I’m a unicorn.”
“So’s she, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“That’s different!”
Blossom laughed again, pulling him onwards, “I don’t see how. Come on, silly.”

They trotted through the gates and were mobbed by two hyperactive foals, her sister’s kids, Cherry and Tango. Cherry the earth pony had kept her mother’s name, Apple. Tango was Tango Star - another unicorn - with his father’s name. It seemed being an Apple was in the blood, but love knew no boundaries.
“Heeeyyyy...oof! My, you’re gettin’ big!” cried Summer, swinging the earth pony foal up onto his back, where she stayed, giggling. The unicorn foal trotted alongside, still hyperactive and a trouble maker, but just for now preferring to act the bigger sibling. Just like her ma’ had been way back when, before Apple Bloom had grown up and taken on the yoke of the clan.
“Uh-huh! Mamma says I kin start apple-buckin’ this season!” said Cherry Apple, giving Summer a demonstration by drumming on his back. He grinned weakly at Blossom, who giggled again, looking away.
“Does she now? How about you Tango?” he coughed.
“I dun like apple-buckin’.” replied the unicorn youngster, shaking his head.
“I bet you like eatin’ apple fritters though, huh?” prompted Blossom.
“Sure do, specially when Gramma makes them. She ain’t made ‘em in a while though. Says her hooves dun work too good.”
Blossom winced, the years had been kind to Tweed Apple, but there had been so many of them. Her husband, Big Macintosh, had been taken many summers ago and she’d never been quite the same since. He’d been the love of her life.
Grandad Apple, Big Apple, Big Mac - he’d had many names but he had been the beloved patriarch to all of them. She knew Tweed still had a picture of him on her dresser that she kissed every night. She wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye before anypony noticed as they came upon the grand old lady herself.

Tweed looked up from her reverie, “Why I do declare, if it isn’t young Apple Bloom.”
Apple Blossom kissed her grandma on the cheek, “It’s Blossom, Gramma - Bloom’s my ma’.”
“Huh, likely story, you’re too big to be that sweet li’l foal I used to buck on mah back none too long ago.”
“It’s true Gramma, it’s true.” she smiled a melancholy smile, Tweed Apple’s eyes didn’t work too well, but they had a fantastic view of the past. They could see for years to a place only Tweed herself could visit - her memories were like bright shadows in panes of glass, so near yet untouchable and remote.
Truth be told, if Blossom was honest with herself, too many years had gone by without her finding her one true love. That had changed with the arrival of Summer.
“Well now then, I suspect ol’ Granny Apple here knows what’s coming next. This strapping young thing must be your beau!”
“I am indeed, Miss...Madame Apple.” he inclined his head respectfully.
“Pssh, don’t you try none of that sweet-talking young unicorn. Stand straight, tell me your name.”
“I am Summer Sparkles, born in Hoofington. My family-”
“Sparkles? Sparkles? Any relation, Bloom?” Tweed looked worried for a second, but was comforted by her grand-daughter.
“Blossom,” prompted Apple Blossom, but she shook her head in answer, “I don’t think so, Gramma.”
Summer looked at Blossom with a critical eye, “What does she mean, relation? She’s an Apple, isn’t she?”
“By marriage, yes.”
“Don’t you interrupt now,” said Grandma Apple, getting up shakily out of her seat. Blossom and Summer both rushed to help but she waved them off, “I don’t need no help from you young whippersnappers. Attend your Grand-mama and she will tell you a story. A long time ago - before you were born, when your mothers were small, as small now as Cherry and Tango are today, I had another name. That was...that was before Big Mac - Celestia rest his soul.”
Tweed Apple stopped for a minute - misty eyes unable to see ahead of her, gaze firmly set upon the past, filtered through her memories; a fine red stallion, broad of chest and strong of muscle. She continued narrating, as she walked towards the house on shaky legs. The pair followed her.
“A long time ago, I was the student of Celestia herself, I studied in the great school for gifted unicorns in Canterlot.”
Summer looked at Blossom with an ‘is she crazy?’ expression on his muzzle. Blossom shook her head and mouthed ‘no’.
Summer’s eyes went wide, “Grandma - how could this be? Celestia has had no pupil for decades! The last pupil she had...”
“Aye, young unicorn. Twilight Sparkle, defeater of the nightmare queen, defender of the dragon realm. Ambassador to the griffon lands. And finally, wife of Big Macintosh Apple, my most important role of the lot.”
“But but but...”
“You think I wanted to keep that silly name of mine when all I wanted was to settle down with my friends?”
“Your...friends?”
Tweed Apple - formerly Twilight Sparkle - stopped again, “Doesn’t this boy know anything? I may have to reconsider if you can’t educate him on Apple Family history proper, my gal!”
“But you can’t be...” said Summer, shocked into silence.
They had reached the house, Twilight eased the door open with her hoof when her magic failed her and stepped through, almost out of breath from the trip, “Bloom, be a dear and fetch me my box. You know the one, on my dresser. Mind you don’t touch Big Mac now, I won’t have it.”
“No Gramma, I won’t touch Big Mac.” said Blossom, not bothering to correct her grandmother on her name, “I’ll fetch your jewelry box for you.”
Twilight turned to Summer, and hiked up her skirt which she wore against the chill, even though it was early summertime to display a cutie mark - a tad faded with age as her coat was, but still there, still strong.
Summer gasped and reached out a hoof to touch it, stopping only inches away, “It’s true. You are one of the six!” he looked up, mouth dropping.
“Indeed, young unicorn. There were six bearers of the Elements of Harmony; Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty - and Magic. I’m the only one left now, charged with this sacred duty by Celestia herself.”
“Did you really defeat Nightmare Moon?”
Twilight Sparkle laughed, a racking cough ending the joyful noise abruptly, “Aye, that we did, in her own ruined castle too. We freed poor Luna from her prison and restored the sun to the world. Those were the days, we were carefree and footloose. I saw a Sonic Rainboom, you know!” Twilight punctuated the statement with a prod of her hoof into the young unicorn’s ribs.
“That old mare’s tail?” he raised an eyebrow.
Twilight wheezed out a laugh, looking up as Blossom came down the stairs with Twilight’s box in her mouth, “I saw three of them. Three! Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria. After her wings no longer carried her, the fight went out of her. She was the first to go. Live fast, die free. Rarity, that grand old dame, went in the middle of her greatest fashion show, a smile on her face. She even upstaged herself! Fluttershy passed away peacefully surrounded by her animal friends. She’s buried in a cairn up on the hills where we fought that dragon...”
“You fought a dragon? Come on...”
Blossom put the box down and scowled at Summer, “If Gramma says it, I believe it.”
Twilight carried on oblivious, “Pinkie Pie died in her sleep; her last, greatest party given to Celestia and Luna themselves the night before. And finally Applejack. She was Grandma Apple, you know, right up until she died. I carried the title, but she carried the name.”
“I remember Grandma Applejack. The best apple-bucker in all Equestria.”
“That she was, my gal, that she was. All the others, but myself and her, have passed on their gifts. The duty fell to me, and it now falls to you.”
“But...”
“As matron of the Apple Clan, I hereby give my consent to Summer Sparkles and Apple Blossom to wed - and many healthy foals may they have, with many more happy years together.”
The pair blinked, they hadn’t even asked.
“Don’t you look at me like two star-crossed foals, don’t think that I don’t know what you’re visiting boring old Gramma Apple for. Come ‘ere gal. You too, Twinkles.”

Twilight Sparkle, grand old dame of the Apple Clan, pulled her grand-daughter and grandson-in-law-to-be into a hug. Her own eyes were wet with tears by the time she pulled back.
“I have to give you something now, something important.” she said, looking each in the eye with a piercing gaze.
“But...”
“Goats butt, grandson-in-law’s are quiet and respectful. Same for you, Missy. Long ago,” Twilight opened the box, and pulled out a necklace with an apple-shaped gem on it on it, which she put in front of Blossom, and a bejewelled tiara, which she put in front of Summer, “long ago Applejack and I were given these. They are the elements of Honesty and Magic. I have been the bearer of one, and the safe-keeper of the other. That duty now falls to you.”
“I...do you really think I’m the embodiment of Honesty?”
“I...er...I don’t have to wear the tiara, do I?” asked Summer.
Twilight blinked, looking at them for a second, before bursting into laughter so explosive she ended up with a hacking cough and had to sit down on her rump. She wiped away tears from her eyes and settled in to a quiet throaty giggling, “Oh my no - you aren’t the bearers. They’re for your foals.”
Twilight pointed to Blossom, and the halter, “She will take to her gift immediately - but you must keep it from her for at least ten summers. This is no toy and she must be old enough to understand what she takes on.”
Twilight turned to Summer, “And he will take a long time to warm up to his gift. Don’t you tell him it won’t always look like that, it’ll be fun to see his face when it changes to be more...appropriate. He will be head-strong, talented - he may even become a Student of Luna, or of Celesetia, as I was.”
Summer and Blossom looked at each other, “Gramma, how do you even know we’re going to hav-”
“Didn’t I say never to question Gramma Apple?”
“I...uh...”
“Well now, I believe I just did if I didn’t earlier.”
“But...Celestia will take no pupil!” said Summer, lamely, for wont of saying something to such a preposterous idea.
“Aye,” said Twilight sadly, “and she won’t, not whilst I live and breathe. She may have tricked me into naming my only son Morning Sparkle, but she does have her standards. Go now, take them. Take the box, I no longer need it. The two most important things in there no longer belong to me.”
“But...Grandma! Your pictures, your keepsakes, don’t you want them?”
“They’re memories, child, and I have a lifetime of those where nopony can take them from me. Grandma is tired now - help an old lady to bed?”

As Apple Blossom led her grandmother, the legendary Twilight Sparkle, up the stairs to bed, Summer sorted through the pictures. There they were, the legendary six. If he’d had any doubts before, with these pictures they were gone. Twilight with Gilda, the warrior princess of the High Reaches Griffon Clan. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Grandma Applejack when they were young - and a dragon, a baby dragon of all creatures!
He looked up the stairs, living near a legend like that, and he hadn’t known a thing!

Twilight slept easy that night, although getting into bed had been as difficult for her old bones as ever. she leaned over the side of the bed, body protesting, to give the picture of her true love, Big Mac, a kiss before sinking back gratefully under the covers. The night was warm but she felt a chill deep in her bones. The one task she’d had left had finally been completed. She could rest. Her breathing grew deeper as she looked out of her window at the stars and the moon. They were so very, very bright tonight. A faint breeze was blowing, bringing with it scents of summer.
“No Apples in summer,” she said, laughing to herself at the double meaning - his son would be like Tango. Very much loved, but no Apple.
“Apples only in autumn,” she sighed, eyes wet with tears before they closed, “before the fall.”

The wind blew stronger and with it came a voice, calling her name, “Twilight...Twilight Sparkle...”
Twilight opened her eyes, the night was crystal hard but her eyes were gummy. She rubbed a hoof to clear her sight, “Who’s there? I know that voice...I defeated you years ago! Show yourself, Nightmare Moon!”
The answering laugh was soft, “Oh dear Twilight, that task is over and done with. You freed me. I’ve been Luna now for many a year, and I still thank you for all you’ve done. Your tasks are complete.”
“Luna?” asked Twilight, she felt strange, weak.
“Yes Twilight, and Celestia is here with me.”
“Where? I can’t see...” the night seemed to be growing dim now, the clear brittle brightness fading to black.
“I’m here, my child, my most precious student.” it was Celestia!
Damn these old hooves of mine, thought Twilight to herself, a chance to speak with Celestia again and I’m too feeble to...
“Fear not child,” said Celestia’s voice softly, kindly, “don’t get up, we’re here.”

And they were, their presence surrounded her like a warm gentle cloak, it was so peaceful. She smiled, “You were gone so long, Princess. I missed you so much.”
“Sshhh, don’t worry about that now. We’re here just for you, Twilight, to take you on a journey.”
“What? Where? But little Bloom...”
The laughter was like the wind through blades of grass, leaves on trees rustling, almost as if nature itself, both Night and Day, was chuckling at her inanity - but with love, “Young Bloom will be the new Granny Apple, another task you are free to pass on. Come with us now, come!”
“But where? I can’t see...I can’t...breathe, I feel so weak.”
“Then let us carry you...home.”

She felt herself lifting from the bed, floating up towards the sky where suddenly the stars returned as if from a thick fog. They were glorious and bright, the moon was a glowing jewel and it almost hurt to look. She flowed onwards, buoyed by the twin Princesses at her side which she couldn’t see but could only feel, somehow flying - it had to be their magic, she reasoned.
They flew on towards the moon, it’s brightness expanding until it filled her vision with bright, warm light. As it grew, the tightness in her chest eased, the aches in her joints vanished and she felt whole again; hale, hearty, and...alive.

The tired old purple unicorn in bed gave one last breath, held it for just a moment, let it go - and was gone. The form grew still and cold. Her body wasn’t found until morning, and many tears were shed that she had left, but none could deny the smile still left on her muzzle was true and warm.