Haunted House On The Prairie

by elPossenreisser

Chapter 1 - The prairie

Haunted House On The Prairie

by elPossenreisser

Chapter 1 - The prairie

The sunlight was relentless, a bright white. It blinded her eyes. The sun-bleached, almost white sand that covered most of the ground seemed to amplify the light even more.

The light also seemed to drain all color from everything that was not pale white sand. The patches of Fell Grass appeared grey, any hint of green having long bled out. The occasional trees they passed had grey trunks and pale leaves, and the shade they cast was really just a slightly lesser degree of brightness.

Twilight’s companion appeared pale as well, her mane and tail almost bleached to white, her coat almost the color of the prairie. Twilight envied her her hat, but she didn’t complain. In fact, since they had left Appleloosa early that morning, Twilight had not talked much. She was too busy brooding over the hot, sun-bleached reality that was this trip. So she focused on the path ahead of her and tried to ignore the shapely flank in front of her.

Both she and Applejack carried two big saddlebags and big waterskins. This prairie, while big and hot and undeniably bright, was not quite a desert yet, but it was mostly uninhabited, so it was always better to be prepared. They had not encountered a water hole yet, and had only passed endless patches of Fell Grass, which brought feverish dreams to ponies which would eventually destroy their minds.

When she allowed her mind to wander, she inevitably came to wondering about why she had agreed to accompany Applejack on this journey, and so instead she focused on the path ahead and the shapely flank of her companion, which was mind-numbing, but perhaps safer.

***

At nightfall, they set up camp, collecting bushels of Fell Grass for a campfire and sharing a meal of bread and dried fruits and some of the water from their waterskins. Then they lay down on their bedrolls. Twilight stared into the flickering pale flame of the dying campfire, wondering again why she was even here.

She didn’t dare sigh or even turn around, lest she alerted Applejack. The farmer had not given any reaction to Twilight’s perpetual silence, remaining as taciturn as Twilight herself. She could be stubborn, but Twilight knew that she was worried about her. Eventually her concern for her would overcome her trademark stubbornness, and she would inquire.

It was one of the many things Twilight loved about Applejack.

The fire died down, and only embers remained, their orange glow as pale as everything in this color-drained land. Cicadas chirred around them, the only other sound besides the soft crackle of the fire and the deep breathing of the pony next to her. Holding back a sigh, she turned on her back and stared into the night sky instead. She imagined Applejack opening an eye and looking her way, preparing to ask her what was wrong, but the farmer’s steady breathes continued unfazed.

Why she had come along? Because Applejack had asked, of course.

***

It was only the next day around noon – the day before they came across the scorpion and the house – when Applejack decided to speak up. In hindsight, the eagle probably caused it.

The prairie was still the same sea of gleaming white sand and heat-defying grey Fell Grass. The horizon was completely flat, and besides the occasional tree, the landscape bore no discernible features.

They first saw the eagle about two hours after they had departed—a lone dot in the distant blue sky, drawing slow circles. At first it seemed they were not getting closer to it, as it remained just a tiny black dot in the pale blue of the prairie sky. Twilight gladly spent some time wondering which species of bird it might be, debating the preferred habitats of eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey in her head. It was fruitless, but a welcome distraction.

It took another couple of hours until the dot became bigger. Twilight had expected it to be no further away than maybe an hour, but distances in the featureless prairie were deceptive. Applejack could have told her, she assumed, had she uttered her estimation.

Eventually she could make out the wings. Twilight strained her eyes trying to discern more details, but it was still too far away. Applejack, she assumed, would know. Applejack wasn’t a scholar, but she possessed an impressive knowledge about flora and fauna of Equestria. She opened her mouth to ask the farmer before she remembered and closed it again.

Probably Applejack had heard her mouth snapping shut, and that might have prompted her to speak up some time later, when they had long passed the lone bird, and Twilight had been able to see the distinctive shape of the wings and the tales to be certain that it had been an eagle,

***

“I’m askin’ you ‘cuz I think you’d be the best company on such a trip,” Applejack explained, smiling amiably. “I know I can rely on you. That, and, well, with Rainbow bailin’ on me last-minute I’m in a bit of a pickle.”

Those words still won Twilight over. She knew it was a bad idea, but Applejack’s praise—and her smile—were impossible to resist.

“But Applejack, I know nothing about cattle driving!” she protested with a smile, fully aware that it was only token protest.

“You have a level head, and you’re a quick learner,” Applejack dismissed her concerns, still smiling. “And you don’t get all fussy about a lil’ hard work’s dirt. ‘Sides, there really ain’t much to it. Cows are pleasant enough mosta the time. We’re only there in case they panic.”

Twilight sighed. “I know you wouldn’t ask if you had an alternative. Fine. I’ll come with you.”

“Thanks, Twi!” Applejack beamed. ”Rainbow writes she’ll meet us at Blue Cheese’s ranch and help with the cattle drive once she’s done with her extra training sessions, but I’ll believe that when I see it with my own eyes. I still halfway think she made up all that fuzz about Spitfire keeping them in the training camp for some more days to dodge the bullet,” she added as a joke.

“Applejack!” Twilight scolded her, almost shocked. “Rainbow would never—“

“Jus’ kiddin’, Twi,” Applejack replied. She gave the alicorn a quick hug. “Thanks. I’ma pick you up tomorrow morning at seven, alright?”

“That’s just fine,” Twilight managed to reply. Applejack waved her goodbye and cantered off, leaving Twilight to close the door of the library behind her.

Why had she agreed on this?

***

“Twi,” Applejack said without turning around. “Talk to me.” No question, just a simple request. Almost an order. Twilight’s time was up.

“About what?” Twilight tried to avoid answering the unspoken question.

“You kiddin’ me, sugarcube? You been broodin’ and not sayin’ a single word ever since we set off. If’n you’re mad I talked you into going on this here trip then why’d you come in the first place?”

Twilight was shocked at the hurt that resonated in Applejack’s question. “No, no, it’s not that,” she hurried to explain. “If I wouldn’t have wanted to come, I would’ve told you. I’m not angry with you.”

“If’n ya say so.”

For a few minutes they continued their march in silence. Twilight was not fooled, however, into believing that she was off the hook.

“Then what are you all tore-up about?” Applejack finally asked, now sounding genuinely concerned.

Twilight swallowed and carefully worded her response, aware of the perilous waters she was navigating. “I was just lost in thought. It is nothing important.” She felt wrong lying to Applejack, the bearer of the Element of Honesty nonetheless, but if there was another option, she was unaware of it.

“Uh-huh,” Applejack made, still unconvinced.

For a few minutes, it seemed like she’d let it slip by, but then she spoke again. “Is something wrong with your folks?”

“It’s not my family,” Twilight replied. “Just me.” She fought back the urge to facehoof when she saw the way Applejack’s ears perked up at this.

“Then what else is bugging you, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. The affectionate sympathy in her voice made Twilight’s head spin.

“It’s… something personal,” she said.

“You know, sometimes it’s better to tell somepony,” Applejack said.

“This is definitely not one of these times,” Twilight replied. “It’s… complicated. And stupid.”

“Is it Spike? You missin’ the little guy?”

“It’s not Spike, no,” Twilight said. “I mean, of course I’m missing him, but that’s not it.”

“Trouble with one of the girls, then?”

“You could say that.” Some reckless part of Twilight was starting to enjoy the guessing game their conversation had turned into, even though she was aware of the danger in which she was putting herself. Or maybe, rather, because of the danger.

“Did y’all have an argument?”

“No, not an argument,” Twilight said. She was feeling lightheaded. It was unreal. She had spent the last few months trying to hide her feelings from Applejack, and now she was wilfully allowing her to worm it out of her. “The opposite, actually.” The recklessness, the sheer irrationality of her reply made her almost dizzy.

“The opposite of an argument? Now what’s that supposed to be?” Applejack sounded confused. She snorted. “You makin’ this hard on purpose, sugarcube?”

Twilight didn’t answer. She realized she was smiling, but she had no idea why. She was pretty sure that by now it was only a matter of minutes until Applejack was onto her—she wasn’t dumb after all. The prospect was terrifying, but circling the drain like this was also tremendously exciting.

“Wait,” Applejack gasped, “you’re not sayin’ you’re sweet on one of the girls, are you?”

Twilight didn’t answer; there was no need to. She could see with her mind’s eye how the conversation would turn out. It was almost beautiful, like watching a Sonic Rainboom erupt while under the effects of a time-slowing spell. All those months of hiding away her feelings for the farmer were about to come to an end, and while she was terrified by the prospect, a more defeatist part of her was almost relieved to finally get it over with. Even though it seemed oddly inadequate to have this moment in this featureless pale prairie.

“And now you’re hurting because you miss her? That it?” Applejack asked with a smile. She sounded quite pleased with herself that she had figured it out.

“I’m not missing her right now,” Twilight mumbled, her throat suddenly tightening. The reckless dizziness was gone. She didn’t want this. She really didn’t want it. But she had essentially outmaneuvered herself.

“You’re sweet on her, but you don’t miss her?” Applejack chuckled. “Sugarcube, if it were me, I’d be offended if you didn’t miss me, that’s for sure.” She waited for Twilight to reply something, but when she turned around, she only saw her friend trotting along behind her, head hanging, ears drooping. Applejack’s eyes shot open wide. “Twilight? Are you sayin’—“?

“I’m so sorry, AJ,” Twilight whispered.

They walked on through the sun-bleached prairie. It was going to be a long walk, Twilight thought. Then Applejack turned around and gave her a smile. “How ‘bout we take a lil lunch break under that tree over there, sugarcube?”

Twilight managed to smile back and nodded, her eyes still wet, her throat too dry to talk.

They sat down in the shade, and finally Twilight’s stubborn defiance gave. She tried to hold back the tears, but a little sob escaped her mouth. When Applejack turned to her, her eyes full of concern, there was no more resisting. Twilight hid her face in her hooves and cried uncontrollably.

Almost immediately, Applejack pulled her into a tight hug and began stroking her mane, rocking her gently back and forth. No words were spoken. Twilight was vaguely aware that she had no right to be comforted by Applejack, but her unexpected confession, not to mention the weeks of hiding that had preceded their trip, had left her sore and weakened. So she just let the sobs shake her and allowed Applejack to comfort her.

An indeterminate time later, her tears ceased. She kept her face buried in Applejack’s coat, unwilling to face the outside world.

“Feelin’ better, sugarcube?” Applejack murmured.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“No need to be apologizin’. I’m always there for you.” Applejack released her, and Twilight heard her rummaging through her bags. She still didn’t want to open her eyes. “Here, have a bite to eat,” Applejack said and pushed an apple into her hoof. Against her will, Twilight smiled. She opened her eyes and took a hearty bite from the fruit. It was sweet and juicy, and she realized only now how hungry she was.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, still chewing and spewing a rain of apple pieces and juice. Applejack chuckled, and it somehow was infectious. “For everything.”

“Any time, sugarcube.”

“Actually, I think I do feel better,” Twilight said after having swallowed the apple, only wondering afterwards if it was really true. While she still felt raw and smashed, she was also relieved that her fear of alienating Applejack over her stupid feelings had proven insubstantial. And with the strong farmer’s support, she felt confident that she could deal with whatever residue of weird emotions remained.

She wondered if things could return to being okay just like that.

***

Perhaps they could.

“So how is it that your cousin Blue Cheese lives that far out, Applejack?” Twilight asked curiously. Their second day in the prairie was drawing to an end, the sun setting in the west, ahead of them. When they looked back, their shadows seemed to stretch out for miles over the prairie, and the land behind them lay in a dark twilight under an almost black night sky. “I always thought Appleloosa is rather far off the beaten track, but they at least have a train station.”

“Y’know, sugarcube, as much as us Apples love our homes and our family, every once in a while a young colt or filly will come down with a mighty case of wanderlust. And when that happens, they will pack a cart and just bolt off until they find a patch of good land where they can build their own homestead.”

“But why there? Why not closer to Appleloosa?”

“Care to hear a lil ghost story, then?” Applejack asked en lieu of a reply.

“A ghost story?” Twilight echoed.

“The terrifying tale of great grand-uncle Jonah Gould’s cursed farm,” Applejack whispered in an eerie voice. “It’s one of the Apple family legends,” she added. “Granny Smith used to tell it to me and Big Mac when we were younger.” She cleared her throat and began speaking.

“Jonah Gould originated from the branch of the Apple family that wound up founding the frontier town of Appleloosa. He had an older sister, Golden Delicious, and even though he could have stayed on their parents’ farm in Appleloosa after they had passed on, he decided to found his own ranch out in the prairie. He had always had a way with the cattle and had great plans of producing cheese and other dairy products.

“The Appleloosans were skeptical about his plans, as even back then there were tensions with the native buffalo tribes because of land the pony settlers had taken for themselves. But Jonah Gould was not one to make the same mistakes the first settlers had made, and he picked a patch of land that the buffaloes didn’t claim.

“With the help of the family, he built a nice house on the prairie for his wife and his foal, and he hired a large herd of cattle to live on his new ranch. That’s when the incidents started.

“Only a few weeks after the family had settled in, the well collapsed, leaving them without water. Of course the nearby family helped digging a new well, and no real harm was done.

“Not much later, within one week four of the cows gave birth to dead calves. Jonah Gould considered it a streak of bad luck and thought nothing of it, seeing as most other calves were growing beautifully and the cows seemed all content on the ranch.

“Then, one day, a part of the herd suddenly started panicking and trampled down a fence, a dozen or so storming off into the wilderness. Jonah Gould and his wife only found them on the bottom of a canyon where they had all fallen to their death.

“But what finally made Jonah Gould yield was when one of the bulls one day went mad and charged at his foal. Jonah managed to push the foal out of harm’s way in the last second, but the prospect of his foal being attacked by his cattle was too much for him. That instant, they packed some things and left the ranch.

“And to this day, nopony has ever dared build a farm in those cursed lands, where every fruit and every critter are cursed.

"Or somesuch dramatic humbuggery." Applejack grinned. “At least that’s the kind of yarn my Granny Smith used to tell me ‘n Big Mac when we were still little.”

“Was that here?” Twilight asked, stopping in her tracks.

“Might as well be,” Applejack said. “This here land is at any rate not buffalo land. You worried about evil spirits, sugarcube?” Applejack chuckled as she turned around to her. “It’s just an old ponies’ tale. Farms sometimes don’t work out. It happens.”

“But sometimes evil spirits are real,” Twilight replied. “There was a study conducted by the Royal Academy about haunted houses in—“

Applejack put her hoof on Twilight’s mouth. “I wasn’t meanin’ to scare you, sugarcube. We’ll be fine.”

Twilight smiled against Applejack’s hoof. “I know.”

***

At nightfall they set up camp, just like they had the night before. Applejack stacked the Fell Grass to the same neatly symmetric pyre and set it ablaze. Staring into the pale, flickering flames, they shared another meal in silence, but it was very much unlike the tense speechlessness that had engulfed them the night before. Maybe, Twilight idly mused as she unrolled her bedroll, they were different ponies, different from who they had been the night before by virtue of shared feelings. If so, she thought, she preferred her new self.

Applejack put down her bedroll right next to Twilight, and when they lay down, hunkered down close to the alicorn. “It don’t feel right leaving you all by yourself tonight, Twi,” she offered by way of a rather vague explanation.

“Thanks, AJ,” Twilight murmured.

“Sure thing, sugarcube.” They lay next to each other for a few minutes, each of them lost in her own thoughts. Then Applejack asked, “How’re you holdin’ up?”

“I’m fine,” Twilight said. “My back is rather sore from the heavy bags, and my hooves are really grateful for the respite, but other than that…”

“I think that answers my actual question jus’ fine, though,” Applejack mumbled before continuing louder, “Where’s your back buggin’ you?” Twilight, who lay curled up on her side facing away from Applejack, felt a gentle hoof poke her in the back through both their blankets.

“A little high—mmhm!” Twilight hummed.

Applejack wormed her hooves under Twilight’s blanket and began applying more pressure, massaging the rock-hard muscles of her back in practiced circles. Twilight closed her eyes and leaned back her head, slightly brushing against Applejack. The strain of a day-long hike with substantial baggage slowly eased out of her muscles.

“What about you? Have you ever come down with a case of wanderlust?” Twilight asked, trying hard to keep the satisfied purr inside her.

“What’s that, sugarcube?”

“You said earlier that sometimes a young Apple comes down with wanderlust and wanders off in search of fertile land to found their own farm. Have you never experienced that?”

“Nah, not me. You know I tried the fancy city life when I was a filly, and I’ve learnt my lesson. My life is at the Acres.”

“Even though you are the younger sibling?”

“Yeah, even though Big Mac is older. He’s a great work pony and I love him dearly, but he’s not cut out for taking care of all the business stuff all by himself. He’s too kind to be dealing with them business ponies. They’d take advantage of him and the Acres would be gone lickety spit.” She paused for a moment, thinking, before she added, “Nah, I rather think young Apple Bloom will be out and about when she’s a little older.”

“But she loves Sweet Apple Acres, doesn’t she?”

“Of course she does. But she’s got a clever little head, doing well in school and all. Wouldn’t surprise me none if she ended up going to college one day. I’m a might proud of her.” She moved her hooves a little lower on Twilight’s back. “How’s that?”

“Mhmm,” Twilight just purred.

“What about you, Twi?” Applejack asked after they had been in thoughts for some time. Unlike the day before, the silence didn’t feel uncomfortable. “What are your plans for the future?”

Twilight pondered over the question for a while before she answered. “I used to have a very clear picture of my future,” she finally said. “Being Princess Celestia’s personal protégé I was pretty much guaranteed a position in one of the Royal Court’s research projects, or maybe as a professor in the School for Gifted Unicorns. And then, when I became a princess, I believed Princess Celestia expected me to take up a position in the Royal Court.” She trailed off. Those plans, faced with the cool, clear night out on the prairie, seemed very distant and almost unreal to her.

“But ya didn’t go to Canterlot,” Applejack observed. “And you don’t sound like you’re still plannin’ to.”

“Not anytime soon, no,” Twilight confirmed. “I’ve talked with Princess Celestia about it and explained her that I can’t live away from my friends.”

“How’d the princess take it?”

“She wasn’t even surprised, as if she’d expected exactly that from me,” Twilight snorted, suppressing a chortle. “And I couldn’t be happier. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

“I hear you,” Applejack simply said. “Home’s where the heart is, an’ all that.”

“Yes. Well, I know that we’re not all going to stay together forever. Rarity is eventually going to make it as a designer in one of the big cities, and she’ll have fashion shows and boutiques all over Equestria. And Rainbow Dash has already—“ She interrupted herself, suddenly insecure if she wanted to continue down that path.

Applejack just said, “Yeah.” For a moment, she stopped her ministrations as she thought about what to say next. “I mean, she’s only in the Wonderbolts’ training squad yet, and already she has to spend six weeks there for training, and once they put her on the active roster, she’ll be gone for months to end.”

“And what about you?” The question was out before Twilight could even think about it. Applejack’s hooves were still just resting against her back.

“I trust her that she comes back,” Applejack said after a few seconds. “Don’t you?”

“I do.” Twilight didn’t even have to think about her answer. “Rainbow just said before she left how glad she’ll be to be able to hang out at the library again when she’s back from camp.” She groaned with pleasure as Applejack picked up the massage again. “I miss her.”

“Yeah, me too.” Applejack sighed. “It’s been six weeks now.” She trailed off. Twilight was grateful that the farmer didn’t go into more detail about just how much she missed Rainbow Dash.

“So what are ya gonna do in Ponyville then, if you’re not gonna leave?” Applejack finally picked up the conversation.

“I guess I can do most of my research work in Ponyville as well,” Twilight replied. “It will be harder because the scientific community is centered in the universities, and knowing the right ponies can open a lot of doors. But I think it’s worth it.”

“I reckon being a princess can open a few doors just fine as well.”

Twilight giggled. “I think so.”

“Well, I for one am happy that you’re gonna stay in good ol’ Ponyville,” Applejack said. She stretched her legs and gave a hearty yawn before resting one of her forelegs loosely over Twilight. “What do you say we call it a night?”

Twilight couldn’t contain a yawn herself. “Sounds good. Night, AJ!”

Applejack leaned over and nuzzled her head. “Night, sugarcube.”

***

When Twilight woke up a few hours later, she didn’t immediately know where she was. She was lying on a rather hard bedroll, above her the stars shone, and somepony held her in a loose embrace. Then she remembered where she was, and who she was with.

Memories of her dream were fading quickly – something with white lights and generally unpleasant. She was grateful for Applejack’s comforting embrace. But as her mind cleared off the last remainders of doziness, she couldn’t help but wonder what was had happened before they had gone to sleep, and what was, in fact, continuing to happen even as she carefully turned her head to the sky and looked at the familiar and soothing constellations of tiny dots of light above her.

Applejack was with Rainbow Dash; the two had been a couple for almost half a year by now, including the weeks Rainbow had spent in the Wonderbolts’ training camp. Twilight had known that from the beginning; when she first hypothesized that she might have romantic feelings for Applejack, she and Rainbow had already been an item. Which was why she had done everything in her power to quell those feelings. There was simply no way she could have acted on them, seeing as it would have meant going behind the back of one of her best friends.

Despite all this, it hadn’t been hard to maintain a friendly attitude towards Rainbow even though she was, in a certain way, her rival. Twilight enjoyed hanging out with the pegasus way too much to allow her pesky feelings to make things complicated. She had just inconspicuously looked away whenever the two lovebirds were about to share a kiss, which, thanks to Rainbow’s aversion to “being mushy in public” had only happened very rarely.

Most of the time, she had been fine, even though she had started spending more time with both Rainbow Dash and Applejack together. Applejack had often joined her when she watched Rainbow practice for training camp, and sometimes the farmer had invited her over to a family dinner at Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight had still genuinely enjoyed being with her friends. The tears that had inevitably followed at night when she had lain in bed alone – well, she had been sure she could deal with them.

And she had been sure that all this fuss was going to end eventually.

As she lay there in the middle of the prairie, she still believed her feelings for Applejack would eventually have left her alone. And yet she had, idiotically, gone and confessed everything to Applejack, burdening her with her stupid, messy feelings while she was busy enough missing her marefriend.

Twilight’s feelings had, in fact, taken a turn for the worse when Rainbow Dash had departed for her training camp stay six weeks ago. It didn’t help that Applejack, despite displaying a stubborn unwillingness of openly missing her marefriend, had been spending even more time with Twilight when Rainbow was gone. Twilight had secretly hoped to use their regular Wednesday afternoon reading date for a new research project, but Applejack had shown up, and of course she had not turned her down.

She suppressed a sigh.

None of this really mattered, though, in the face of her lying in Applejack’s embrace. Unwanted by her, her mind turned to their talk before they had gone to sleep, and to the sensation of Applejack’s hooves expertly massaging her sore back. She imagined certain spots on her back still tingly from the surprisingly gentle touches.

She suppressed another sigh.

Suddenly, a flash of bright white light illuminated the prairie night. Twilight started and sat up, slipping out of Applejack’s embrace, who just mumbled something in her sleep.

Another flash cast the prairie in white light, but it wasn’t as bright as the first one. There was no thunder to be heard, and when Twilight looked up at the sky, she could only see stars, and no thunder clouds. Whatever these flashes were, they did not appear to be a thunderstorm.

She strained her eyes to see more flashes, and indeed, in the distance, probably more than just a few kilometers away, a dot of white light was hovering just above the horizon. In the near absolute darkness surrounding them, Twilight couldn’t tell which direction she was looking in, but the light was undeniably there.

“Twi, what the hay?” Applejack mumbled next to her. Twilight, still sitting upright on her bedroll, looked down on her and only saw a slow-moving shadow.

“There’s a strange light out on the prairie,” Twilight explained. She pointed at it, but then she realized that Applejack would not be able to see her hoof, and instead carefully felt around for Applejack’s hoof. She took it and pointed it at the light. “Look, over there!” Applejack slowly raised her head and looked.

“’S jus’ some fireflies,” Applejack grumbled. “Go back ta sleep, sugarcube.”

“Hmm. It doesn’t look like fireflies,” Twilight mused.

“You’re not still goin’ on about that story? I told ya, it was just some old family yarn,” Applejack groaned. “I’m goin’ back to sleep.” With a clearly audible huff, she turned around and wrapped her blanket closer around herself.

Twilight stood up, shivering in the cold nightly air. She made a few steps into the direction of the strange lights, but didn’t dare leave the camp too far behind. The moon had already descended behind the horizon. In the cold white starlight the prairie looked grey and eerie.

The pale white light in the distance suddenly disappeared, only to give a few arrhythmic flashes a few seconds after. Almost instinctively, Twilight tried to decode it using Horse code, but the flashes would not amount to any reasonable message. Or if they did, they used some other code Twilight was unfamiliar with.

She was almost sure that the lights were quite far away, which filled her with a certain relief, although that meant that the light was probably very strong and big, which raised all kinds of other questions and concerns.

The light gave a final flash, and then the prairie, in whichever direction she was looking, was dark and quiet again. Twilight stood there for a few more minutes, staring into the darkness. It seemed like a bad idea to turn her back to the unexpected phenomenon, regardless of how far away it was. Something about this light filled her with a distant anxiety which she couldn’t quite explain to herself. She scolded herself for being ridiculous and forced out a low chuckle before she turned around and returned to her bedroll. Applejack was snoring lightly and was curled up to a small ball of pony, head covered by her blanket, turning her back to Twilight. Suppressing a sigh as she was assaulted by memories about lying in Applejack’s embrace earlier, she lay down herself.

Comments

[elPossenreisser]

Thanks to Tchernobog for gently pushing me into the contest

There will be new chapters added every two or three days.

[Tchernobog]

3996783
I feel the need to comment already, and I've only just read the description. This looks like it's going to be very fun!

[Cryosite]

Oh no... they got you too with their mudpony love. :(

[Timaeus]

As a person who lives in the immediate vicinity of the prairies, I can verify that basically all that's said here is accurate. That, and the prairies are flaaaaaaat.

This looks to be fun, count me in for another ride on an elPossy fic.

[AnonponyDASHIE]

Just how dark is this going to get? I'm interested in reading it, but I've been burned by that tag before so I'm wary.

[elPossenreisser]

4005234
Not very dark IMHO. It has a teen rating after all, and according to the contest rules, Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow have to be alive at the end, so there's that I'm aiming for more Lovecraftian spookiness and no splatter or torture porn.

3998248
As a person who is an estimated 4,500 miles from the closest prairie, I can only say "Western movies" Hope you enjoy the show!

3996849

3996802
Hope I won't disappoint

[AnonponyDASHIE]

Ahh, the rolling prairies, perfect for lonely ghost stories. For having never seen them, you still get the feeling just right; although the ground in the prairie is soft, rich soil, not sand.

This was a good first chapter, but there were a couple of things that nagged at me (besides the sand). Jonah Gould doesn't sound like a pony name, especially when it's put directly beside his sister's Golden Delicious. Just use the actual apple's name 'Jonagold'; it has a more authentic feel to it and probably won't rip your reader out of the story to go google "Jonah Gould Apple" like it did for me.

The ghost story was nice, but for the very end of it.

, or somesuch dramatic humbuggery.”

When you throw that in, in italics as if it's a part of the story, it ruins the impact. It's not a bad way to show that AJ doesn't really believe the story, but it would be better to have this apart from the italicized story, perhaps being said after the story has had a moment to sink in.

Other than that, this is looking really good and I'm interested to see this continue.

[elPossenreisser]

4011407
and thus my Europeanness shall manifest itself in... sand Thanks for pointing it out; I'm gonna leave it since apparently the atmosphere is still kinda right (and I think there's sand all over the story, so I'd probably just end up with messed up continuity if I changed it now).

I agree with your thoughts on the "or somesuch dramatic humbuggery"; it should not be inside the italics. I changed it.

As for Jonah Gould's name, I'll leave it for now... the idea was to have the name look somewhat archaic. But I agree that it is of a different quality than Golden Delicious. I shall ponder

Thanks for the encouraging and helpful feedback!

[Dinoguy1000]

This makes the third AppleDashLight story I'm following where Twi is the interloper on a preexisting AppleDash relationship. Considering I've read maybe only six ADL stories in total, this is rather curious.

[The_Lone_Wanderer]

This very much reminds me of The Color Out of Space by HP Lovecraft. I approve.

[bronyvamp]

this story has a edgar allan poe mixed with the call of wild feel to it i love it