Chapter 17: Home at last
Applejack caught glimpses of something up ahead through the shadowy army of pine trees. A crumbling old house. The ruin of an ancient abode, its roof partially collapsed and its windows smashed in. This dilapidated structure seemed oddly out of place within the confines of the egotistical unicorn's mind.
As Applejack drew nearer the door creaked in the breeze. A breeze that seemed to come from within the house itself.
The nightmares are close by. Trixie hates them. They got into the one place she thought she'd always be safe...
The young filly's words had lodged themselves in AJ's mind and she heard them once more, as clearly as if they had been spoken directly into her ear. This was it. The heart.
Behind the broken, unhinged door lay the darkness. Hissing and swirling like a bubbling stew. AJ gulped and stepped forward. A torrent of whispers was carried on that breeze.
"Power. The Amulet. Vengeance. The Amulet. Blood. The Amulet. Revenge. The Amulet. Mortality. The Amulet. Darkness. The Amulet. The Amulet. The Amulet. The Amulet," the whispers rose to a crescendo as AJ stepped through the threshold into the ramshackle house. Then the voices suddenly were silenced.
"Trixie? Is this the right place?" the doorway behind her was swallowed up by the blackness as she spoke.
"Who dares intrude?" murmured the voices breathlessly.
"Uh... well... Mah name's Applejack and Ah'm here as a favour to a... friend," AJ ventured nervously.
"Do you desire power, mortal? Does your lust for it bring you before me? If you wish for it then drop to your knees," Applejack knew why Trixie had been unable to return to sleep last night. That voice melted her courage like butter in a furnace.
"No... Ah'm here to... uh... ask ye to leave, actually..." her mouth felt as dry as ash.
"Begone, ye of small ambition. This one belongs to us. She acceded to the terms. Made due tribute. Her's is ours. This one will be the vessel. We will bring this pitiful conjurer to the throne of the sun and cast the golden pretender into the abyss. Return the amulet to the magician and you may yet earn our mercy," as the voices spoke, strange imaged flickered through the darkness. AJ thought for a moment she saw Celestia's face but the Princess was wearing a look of contempt like Applejack had never seen before. She saw Trixie wearing the amulet, her eyes ruby red and glowing like hot coals. She saw ponies running. A knife. An emerald. a sickle.
She took a moment to steady herself. She spoke through a clenched jaw in an effort to keep from stuttering or letting her teeth chatter, "Ah don't know nothing about that. Now if ye'd kindly vacate mah friend's head so that you and Ah don't have to come to blow's it'd be much appreciated."
"You would challenge us? Without magic? We, who have devoured kings and gods, alike. You would stand against the voiceless others? Despair your arrogance, small being. Your unmaking draws closer with every word you utter," Applejack couldn't stop herself shaking. The darkness was gripping her with suffocating tightness. Each breath she drew was like a cold, wet liquid being forced down her throat into her lungs.
"Twilight told me that ya can't hurt me. Ya can't hurt nopony anymore. Now stop yer dillydallying and git!" her attempts at bravado sounded almost comical, even to her own ears.
"Twilight? The pretender's newest quarry. A fitting name for one born so near the end times. She was wrong, mortal."
Applejack managed a fake chuckle, "Twilight? Wrong about somethin' involvin' magic and the like? Ah don't think so. Now git!"
"The magician belongs to us. The world belongs to us. Soon the final candle will be extinguished. Soon all will return to the nothingness from whence it came. Soon..." images began to flicker in the nothingness once more. Celestia and Luna standing on a bridge, adorned in golden and silver armour. Canterlot Castle towers coming crashing down. The stars slowly vanishing into emptiness.
"Ah told ye Ah don't care about that! Now git! Get out! Leave or... or Ah'll buck ya right in the face!" Applejack began staggering forward. The blackness was as thick as jam but she dragged her hooves forward.
"The magician is ours..."
"No she ain't!"
"The magician is ours..."
"Ah said no!"
"The magician is ours..."
"No! She's mine!" silence fell, once more. Applejack stumbled onwards. The darkness was loosening its hold, "Yeah! You heard me! Ah ain't givin' her to no two-bit loser who... who hides in darkness like a big stinkin' coward. Who takes advantage of folks who're havin' a hard time. Yer jus' some stupid jewellery! Ugly jewellery at that! And Ah ain't givin' mah Trixie to you! Or to nopony else! That gal's comin' home with me and gettin' a good night sleep for once and there ain't nothing you can say or do to stop that! Now shut up and get out!"
The darkness suddenly stirred. It slowly poured past her. Gradually hastening till it was gushing out like somepony had pulled the plug on an entire ocean of inky water. As it retreated the inside of the house became visible. Beaten-up old sofa's, broken glass and the twisted wreckage of a fireplace. The last of the blackness vanished into the forest beyond.
"Is... is that it? Did Ah get it?" no answer came.
And yet... the forest seemed lighter. The whole place seemed lighter. Not brighter but not quite as heavy either. Less stifling. More alive.
"Ah think Ah got it..." Applejack stared around her. Even the ruined house felt more cheerful somehow, "Now, what did Twilight say Ah should do to get out of here again?"
Step one: Draw a circle.
Applejack could remember Twilight's concise instructions. Delivered in typical Twilight-checklist style. AJ scrawled a clumsy circle in the dust on the floor of the abandoned house using her tail and hooves.
Step Two: Seat yourself comfortably in the circle's centre.
AJ settled herself on the floor.
Step Three: Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
Step Four: Begin to think of where you are. The scent of the place. The feel of the air. Remember the temperature. Listen for the sounds. Bring yourself slowly back to reality with your five senses acting as an anchor.
Step Five: Open your eyes.
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Argh~! Why must you tease so?! I'm hooked, gimme more!
Great work so far. TrixieJack is not a ship I ever expected to like, but you've pulled it off admirably~!
MORE, PLEASE *shakes author furiously* I DUN WANNA WAIT.
3694262
3694285 *puts you down* k den
I'll just wait over here, then.
*Explodes with feels*
you end it like that! you sire suck!!! Give us more! we need to know more!
Hey, guys. Want some extra fun with this chapter? Imagine all of the Nightmare’s lines delivered as they would be by the late Tony Jay when he played the role of the Elder God in The Legacy of Kain: Defiance.
The darkness got out of that decrepit house, but is it still in Trixie? If not, where did it go? Darkness like that has to go somewhere.
It couldn't have been that easy, could it? You don't just yell at what is essentially the influence of the One Ring of Power, you have to toss it into the fires of Mount Doom.
Then again, this IS Equestria... Love and friendship and happies seems to be the answer to everything...
The Darkness.... ACTING! :D
So Applejack was about to (puts on sunglasses
)... Attack the Darkness? 
Not sure if intentional, or just one magic missile too many.
Nevertheless, this has earned another
!
Go Applejack