//------------------------------// // Heroes // Story: Apples in the Moonlight: Crackshipping Applejack and Luna // by bahatumay //------------------------------// It was technically their first kiss. While Applejack was not much of a romantic--usually, she was too busy with farm work for that--she had hoped that it would be a happy occasion to remember. Still, their first kiss being the one that saved the world from eternal night (or whatever this incarnation of the Ńightm̀are̵ wanted) wasn’t such a bad option, either. For her part, Nightmare Moon was definitely taken aback. Having ponies kiss her hooves, yes, of course; having ponies kiss her lips, not so much. Still… Nightmare Moon tilted her head, pressing back into the kiss. With gentle, practiced motions, she slid Applejack’s lips apart with her tongue and slowly and thoroughly explored the back of Applejack’s mouth. Bat ponies stopped and stared, some even dropping their weapons, as the most feared pony in all of Equestria quietly made out with one of the heroes. Applejack relaxed, feeling a strange combination of vindication and violation at the same time. She knew it! She knew this would work! Nightmare Moon pulled back slightly, and her breathing seemed to come a little bit faster. She licked her lips and raised her hoof as if to caress Applejack’s cheek… And then crossed over and delivered a powerful backhoof to the side of Applejack's face that landed with a sickening crack, snapping her head to the side. The force of the impact was so great that Applejack left the ground, quite literally spinning through the air, and she landed hard on the ledge of a nearby window. Pain exploded through her lower back as it hit the mantle, and stars exploded behind her eyes as her head continued traveling and slammed into the corner of the wall. She dropped to the ground and felt something wet trickle out of her nose. She choked and gasped for air; a sharp pain let her know that something in her face was broken. Her left ear rang, and she was fairly certain it, too, was bleeding. Everything hurt. Everything. She heard the sound of magic blasts and noctrali squealing in pain as Nightmare Moon took revenge on the voyeurs. Celestia shouted something in protest, but Applejack couldn’t hear very well. All she knew was agony. Finally, it grew quiet, aside from the moans of a few of the unluckier noctrali; but for only a moment. “I changed my mind,” came Nightmare Moon's cold voice, near enough and loud enough to cut through the fog around Applejack’s brain. Still fighting for breath and fighting through the pain, Applejack painfully forced one eye open. Nightmare Moon looked most displeased as she towered over the injured mare. “I must kill you outright,” she murmured, lighting her horn. “You are becoming a most irritating thorn in my side. Not to mention just how much my host is fighting me right now. No, no; you have to die.” Applejack grit her teeth and narrowed her eye. If she was going to go, she wouldn't do it quietly. “Go ahead,” she spat, her words slightly garbled by the blood pooling in her mouth. “You didn't win last time; you sure as thunder ain't gonna win this time.” Nightmare Moon smirked. “Brave words from one so grievously injured.” She paused and looked up, as if listening to a conversation only she could hear, and then looked back down. “Luna wants me to tell you that she loves you, to tell you that it will be all right, and that when this is all over, she will take you on a most romantic journey to the wonders of the world as she remembers them.” She laughed. “I almost feel bad crushing both your dreams.” She leaned down and came close to Applejack's ear, near enough that her breath brushed against the fur on her face. “That's a lie,” she admitted quietly, her words making Applejack’s ear twitch. “I don't feel bad at all. In fact, I'm really going to enjoy this.” Nightmare Moon straightened up and lit her horn. Applejack closed her eyes and braced herself for impact. The sound of both the spell and its impact came, but it wasn't her screaming that accompanied it. She opened one eye to see Nightmare Moon, now with a large semi-circular crater out of her side that still smoked and sizzled, bringing with it the acrid stench of burned flesh and fur. Behind her, Celestia stood, horn blazing and eyes narrowed; and behind her, a few bat ponies, glaring defiantly, carrying serrated knives and other kitchen implements that they had used to free her. “You again?” Nightmare Moon hissed as dark magic swirled around her injury, knitting her flesh back together until there was no trace of the previous wound. “The sun always rises, no matter how dark the night,” Celestia hissed right back, none the worse for the wear of being encased in a tree. Nightmare Moon growled and lit her horn. Celestia's head bobbed slightly, and Applejack realized she was weaving her magic into golden chains that held down Nightmare Moon's hooves. Nightmare Moon quickly realized this, too. She growled and began jerking her hooves free, shattering the chains; but still Celestia kept weaving. Nightmare Moon soon grew tired of this, and began focusing on stopping Celestia. Applejack could only watch in horror as Celestia managed to rotate her head and avoid the first blast only by the tiniest of margins. It continued on, splintering the solid rock of the castle wall behind her. Nightmare Moon's beams were devastating in their power, and Celestia was having trouble keeping her spell maintained as she dodged her attacks. And then she changed her tactics. She aimed lower, blasting the stone floor directly in front of Celestia. The explosion sent stone shrapnel flying, and Celestia recoiled as chunks and slivers of stone left bruises along her chest and cuts on her cheek. Nightmare Moon snorted triumphantly and tried again, this time aiming for a nearby wall. Celestia didn’t give her the chance; she dove out one of the broken windows and flew up. She hovered, waiting. Nightmare Moon took the bait. Not even bothering to fly through a window, she blasted her way through the stone wall to take Celestia on. Lighting crackled and Applejack’s mane stood up as the two alicorns fought. Bat ponies paced nearby, wanting to help, but afraid to get in the way. Applejack flinched as something was placed on the back of her head. She looked up to see a guard there, wearing the tiny crescent marking her as one of the noctrali medics, and she gave Applejack a comforting (if shaky) smile. She quickly placed absorbent pads on all of Applejack’s external injuries, and then drew up a needle filled with some kind of medication. “Wait! Don’t give her that yet! We need her!” Applejack recognized that voice. “Twi?” she asked, rotating her head (though it felt as though she were trying to move a boulder). Her head ached. “Fancy seein’... you here.” “We’re all here, Applejack,” Twilight said. “But we need you for this.” Sure enough, now that she squinted, she could see her other friends. That one was Rainbow Dash. There was Fluttershy. And Rarity. And Pinkie Pie. Had they come to visit her? That was nice of them. She should get up and offer them something to drink. Twilight crouched next to Applejack and nudged her, dragging her back into the present. “Come on! Celestia can’t distract her much longer!” “Distract her? From what?” Applejack asked. Twilight straightened up. “From this,” she said as her mane and tail began to grow. New colors threaded their way in. Rarity was next, followed by Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie slowly rose up as new colors darted across her mane. Finally, Applejack remembered. They were her friends. They needed her help. With an intense effort, she tried to push herself up on at least her forehooves. That was enough for the magic; she found herself levitating as well, and her mane suddenly doubled in size. Nightmare Moon didn't even see it coming. The rainbow of light blindsided her, hitting her harder than anything Celestia had thrown at her. Before she could recover, it had wrapped around her, muffling her scream of horror and despair. It wrapped tighter and tighter around her, as if squeezing her in punishment for her earlier actions. Applejack closed her eyes as the power coalesced into white and exploded, making manes and tails of everypony wave in the wind. As the power faded, the levitating ponies dropped back down on their hooves. For most, it was a painless landing. But as Applejack hit the ground, sharp pain tore through her back and she collapsed, howling in pain. It felt as though she were being ripped in half. She couldn't lift herself; she couldn't even feel her rear hooves. The bat pony medic from before darted in; but Applejack was writhing and rolling too much for her to get a clear shot. Her throat ran ragged and her body felt nothing but pain. Her vision swam, and right before her eyes closed and the glorious darkness overtook her, she was vaguely able to make out a blue blur, coming closer to her. “Applejack!” Luna's desperate voice sounded as though it came from miles away. “Applejack!”