Chapter 19
Belle had left her on the couch some time ago and the T.V.’s noise had fallen into the rear of her mind. It was amazing how easily the sounds and light had become little more than background noise for the farm pony. Sure it had been interesting enough at first, but the ‘news station’ had become fairly boring really. They replayed the same news over and over again, occasionally having one or two new things to say but for the most part simply rehashing things. Really, after she’d heard the story about there being a rise in the number of old humans and Pokemon dying, Applejack had heard enough of it.
She reached over to press the button she’d seen Belle use to turn the contraption on before a large yawn left her muzzle. Applejack raised the hoof to cover it before shaking her head, suddenly realizing just how heavy her eyelids were. She glanced around to see the apartment building was almost pitch black except for a few small rays of city light that leaked from beneath the kitchen window curtain.
Another yawn escaped her as she propped herself so that she was leaning against the couch’s armrest. A tired sigh seeped out of her as her head hung down, her eyes flutterling closed. Her head then snapped back up straight and her eyes opened wide as she shook herself to stay awake.
Truth be told, Applejack didn’t want to go to sleep. The nightmare from last night, as silly as it sounded, really frightened her. It had been so.... real. So real she didn’t want to see if the same thing would happen again. So if she had to sit here on the couch doing nothing for the rest of the night, so be it. It’s not like she hadn’t done all nighters before.
The mare rested as she leaned onto the armrest, her eyes drawn to the strange glowing clock that was sitting beneath the T.V. She watched the blinking colon flash at a steady rate and the minute mark counted up. Her eyelids weighed heavily in the back of her mind, and several times she forced herself awake to prevent herself from drifting off to sleep. Thirty minutes passed before the world before became fuzzy, unfocused and her eyelids closed, the world dissolving around her. Applejack then felt her head suddenly dripping and she jolted awake to prevent herself from falling face first onto the floor. Then she completely froze, her eyes widened at what she saw.
Sweet Apple Acres. She was sitting between fence posts that created the entrance, the sky dotted by stars and from high in the sky, The Mare on the Moon lit up her house and the barnhouse. Down the way past the dozens upon dozens of apple trees that lined the way, Applejack saw the lantern above the farmhouse’s doorway still lit.
.....no... no, this is just another dream, I’m asleep, yeah, that’s it. She rationalized in her mind shaking her head and closing her and focusing on snapping out of it. However, when she opened her eyes she still found herself sitting at the entrance way. The mare blinked, lifting a hoof to rub it against her eyes before seeing if anything change, and when that didn’t work she slapped herself, hard.
Pain spiked up on her cheek, causing her to rub it in regret, yet even with her mind now feeling fully awake, Applejack was still in Sweet Apple Acres. She got to her hooves and tried to walk away, actually, she tried to run away but no matter how hard she tried to leave it always seemed like she’d barely moved an inch. The mare stopped, looked over her shoulder and saw to her frustration that she was in fact exactly where she’d started.
Letting out a huff of frustration she simply sat down on her rump. Well then, I’m not going to move then. I’ll be awake soon... I don’t have to participate in whatever this is.
As she said that, her legs started moving, picking herself up and walking determinedly towards the farm.
“What in tarnations!?” she exclaimed as she tried to stop herself, but no matter how she tried to dig her hooves into the gravel, stamp, or simply stop, her legs weren’t listening. They trotted her along the worn out path and the mare continued to resist. She gritted her teeth and tried to buck her whole body around, but all that accomplished was her body jerking back only to be stopped by her uncooperative legs. “Grrr... Stop you stubborn legs of mine! This ain’t funny!” she shouted.
Personally, I find it rather hilarious, a familiar, dark voice replied in her right ear. I suppose I could do more, to make it even MORE hilarious, but I think what we’ll be watching together will be good enough by itself the voice continued, moving to her left ear.
A shiver tingled down Applejack’s spine. “Who the heck are you!?” she demanded, though her tone of voice wasn’t as strong as she intended. “What do you want?!” she asked further as she rapidly glanced around for the source of the voice.
I have MANY names, the Dreamweaver, the Nightmare Eater, the... wait, I don’t actually have a name, hah, I have titles, never really thought about that before, heh, the things you think of when you sleep eh? The voice asked her with a dark chuckle.
The mare simply blinked before growling in anger. “You think this if funny!? I have enough trouble being trapped here in this world! I don’t need some... Pokemon messing with me in my dreams!”
Ooooh waaa waaaa waaa your needs, the voice replied. You want issues little pony, look no further than the me, haha. Well, I mean, if you could see me, it’s kind of a matter of perspective really.
“.......I DON’T NEED ANY MORE ISSUES!” she shouted out. “Especially from you, whatever you are. That first.... ‘dream’ of yours wasn’t ‘hilarious’ and... and... you probably somehow responsible for me being here, so how about you just end this and let me go back home for real!”
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
The over exaggerated ‘hmm’ played from one ear to the other, causing her to flicker both in annoyance.
Personally I found your first dream to be an absolute gutbuster, the voice replied as if it hadn’t heard the last half of her request. I mean, how often do you get to see your own sister devoured? It’s comedy gold at it’s highest caliber! He was silent for a moment. Wish I had a sister, I’d eat her all the time.
The mare’s face was just... speechless, incapable of fully understanding what she was hearing. “You’re... sick,” she said shaking her head. “Just... sick.”
Huh, weird, if I’m sick... then why do I feel so great? He inquired, as if it was a real question.
Applejack shivered once more, an uneasy feeling quickly growing in her stomach. I got the feeling he’s messing with on purpose... and not in a good reason.
Heheeh, if you listen to my good old grandpappy then it’s because of balance, personally I’m just enjoying the opportunity to sink my ‘teeth’ into an innocent little pony, the voice replied with a chuckle. I mean, I could kill you now if you really want me to, go on, think about it, I’ll give you a second.
Applejack’s heart started to beat rapidly as fear eased it’s way into her mind. “What, no!” she exclaimed automatically.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, what was that? I didn’t quite hear you, what did you say? the voice inquired and Applejack’s heart began to beat even faster. Could you repeat that? I’m afraid my ears aren’t working quite right, again please.
“I don’t want to die!” she shouted, her heart beating faster as she panted heavily.
Terribly sorry, what was that? he inquired again. I really don’t know what I have in my ears, for some reason it sounds like you’re shouting “I WANT to die!”, but that CAN’T be right can it? No self respecting pony would want that would they? He asked again as her heart began to slam against her chest, sweat rolling down her forehead.
“I SAID I DO NOT WANT TO DIE!” she shouted again, hyperventilating.
OOOOOH, why didn’t you just say so? he asked her, her heart rate slowing down. Then again, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to die. She felt what resembled a hoof on her back. After all, a little filly who practically murdered her own parents probably has a lot of guilt issues hanging around her.
The mare suddenly felt much... smaller. She was a filly again.
Applejack glanced down at herself and quickly examined to see her small framed body and blank flank. “I.... I did not murder my parents!” she shouted out, her mind in a flux of panic, her heart racing once more as she glanced rapidly around to see who touched her.
Sure you didn’t, you just signed their death warrant, the voice agreed, patting the little filly on the back from the other side. You’re right, they’re completely different things entirely.
The filly whirled around to see no one once more. “I didn’t do anything!”
She cried to her brother and grandmother, the voice finished, as if it was narrating. As the guard questioned her, the answer was always the same. “I didn’t do anything”
Applejack was now in full blown panic as she turned again and again in an attempt to find whoever was talking to her, her eyes petrified in fear. “I-I-I didn’t! The Sphinx did... she... she KILLED THEM!”
That much was true they agreed, the Sphinx had killed them, eaten them in fact, on their bed even, the voice continued to narrate. But Sphinxes don’t just wander into houses the Guard knew, the filly must have let her inside. She’d always hated her parents and the way they treated her, that must have been why she did it.
“That-that’s not true! I love my parents!” she yelled out, her voice squeaked. “I-I loved them!”
She insisted over and over again to no avail, the voice said, practically slithering through her ears. And yet try as they might to believe her, her brother still hated her. From that day forwards he turned taciturn and quiet, only speaking when he was angry for he knew... if he allowed himself his full faculties then he’d scream himself hoarse just being in the same room as her.
“That’s not true! Big Mac was... was always a quite colt!” Applejack screamed out, her heart beating heavily in her chest, tears were forming in her eyes. “He... he doesn’t hate me!”
And oh her grandmother, that poor mare, cursed to see her child die before her, cursed to watch the filly who’d killed him, the voice whispered. Forever wishing that she’d just... bashed the little filly’s head open with a pie plate... and sometimes when it’s very late at night she sits up awake, staring at the picture... wondering if she should still do it.
“Leave Granny Smith out of this! She... she wouldn’t think of such things!” Applejack stated, yet even doubt from herself leaked into her voice. “She... wouldn’t!”
Wouldn’t... wouldn’t... wouldn’t wouldn’t she? the voice asked, each word repeating in a different voice before returning to its normal one. I don’t know... if my granddaughter had all but murdered my son... I think I’d contemplate killing her too.
Applejack sat on her rump and lifted her forehooves to cover her ears. “I didn’t kill pa, I didn’t kill ma!” she yelled. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”
What are you talking about? You are alone, the voice said, now horribly familiar. It was her own voice. I’m you, well, your innerself actually, you know, the one who admits that she wants to die. A phantom image of Applejack appeared in front of her, bringing a hoof to the bottom of AJ’s chin and lifting it up so that that she was staring into her own, teal tinted eyes. “Admit it... we’re pathetic aren’t we?”
The filly shook her head. “No... no... no... I... I didn’t do anything wrong... I... I... didn’t kill ma and pa...”
“Oh poor, silly filly, of course you did,” her double said, keeping a grip on her chin as the night around them became dark and stormy. “It was a night just like this one, you remember?”
The filly’s eyes gazed around, wordlessly nodding her head.
“I just want to come in... I’m cold and wet, please, please let me in,” a feline voice crooned in her right ear. “I promise, I won’t hurt anyone, I just want to get out of the cold.”
“And what did you do little filly?” her double asked indulgently.
“I.... I.... opened the door....” the small filly answered, her voice shallow and lost. “I... opened the door...” she said again, her voice quavering, face falling.
“Yes, that’s what you did, you opened the door,” the double said, nodding Applejack’s chin for her. “You let the Sphinx into your house and do you know what it did?” she asked, bringing Applejack’s face up to look at hers.
Applejack’s eyes began to water. “She... she... licked me... and called me a precious child.”
“Ah yes... that she did,” the double said with a small smile. “And then she sent you to bed with a pat on the head and you went to bed without another thought in your mind.” Again, Applejack nodded her head once more, tears streaking down her cheeks. “And in the morning... well, you know the rest, don’t you?” Applejack burst into deep heaves, her body violently shivering as the memory of waking up and the smell of... rot... blood filled her nostrils.
“They found you curled up in a corner... weeping just like you are now,” the other mare agreed with a small, almost sympathetic nod as she nodded Applejack’s head for her. “And you began to lie... because deep down, you knew that you killed them... you knew that their death was your fault Applejack... and you hated yourself for it every bit as much as the rest of your family does.”
Applejack continued to heave heavily, her eyes gazing down in admittance. “........yes......”
“So... do you still think you don’t deserve to die?” the other mare asked her.
“.....no....” Applejack whispered.
A dark sinister laugh erupted from all around her as her opposite vanished. Music to my ears little fly, music to my ears, the voice from before murmured in her ears. Buuuuuuuut not yet I think, that’ll be later. For now... I think a certain kitty’s trying to wake you up so tootles.
Applejack’s body jerked upwards with a scream of pain as Ohm bit into her shoulder.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” she yelled, Ohm letting go of her shoulder before she could drag his head along with it. The mare winced in pain as she glanced at her shoulder, seeing some blood seeping out from the bite.
“I am sorry for the bite, but you weren’t reacting to anything else,” Ohm said as he stood next to the mare, looking at her with concern.
Applejack was panting heavily, her heart racing a mile per second. “It’s... it’s fine... I’ve gotten worse bites...” she said between her pants, taking in deep intakes of breath.
“You must have the worst dreams on earth!” Xav’s voice said from Ohm’s back. “Uncle Ohm tried a bunch of attacks before the bite!”
Applejack blinked for a moment before glancing down at her body more closely to see some other marks on her side. Before she could question much the door the master bed room suddenly burst open and Roxanne hurried into the room.
“What’s going on?” she asked a little breathlessly, her disheveled black hair scattered around her head. The woman glanced around the scene before her before a sigh left her body. “... well, looks like I’m going to be making an extra large pot of coffee...”
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...WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SADISTIC F**KER!?
I love Darkrai.
Gotta love the way he gets into opponents' heads.
My opening thoughts of the chapter in general is a very nice dark chapter in the middle of all of the happy chapters. I felt that the story was being too happy for it's own good, trying to depict normal life in too many chapters. There was a tinge of doubt for the past couple chapters that the story will go downhill soon.
- The depiction of Darkrai(?) is very different from most, having him be a dungeon master with a sadistic sense of humor, than a loveable dork is a very independent move. I love it! I thought Darkrai was more of a cold type than anything else. You guys keep surprising me, and I'm not asking you to stop.
- The depiction of Applejack's parents death is blamed on her is a very interesting topic. It just makes sense this universe. It also explains the motives of AJ's feelings forward Cres.
Edit: I forgot to mention the obvious amazing exposition
I'm quite tired today so this is all for now
5566744 if you pay attention to the titles of this creature, and especially the setting this DREAM takes place. This is the legendary Pokémon, Darkrai.
To add on to this comment, I never thought why people type curses, its very awkward, and censoring makes the thing even more glaring. I know that people want to let out their emotions and such, however, its like riding a bike indoors "there is a time and place for everything, but not now". It blemishes your credibility and makes you seem immature.
Sigh...hate evil masterminds...
Darkrai used Dream Eater. It's super effective!
I love Darkrai's sense of humor
You've just made this story much more engaging.
Are you guys sure this is Darkrai? I don't remember the movies much, but I remember Darkrai being a nice guy, not evil. Also, I don't remember him being able to take on and beat Graitina's butt, take his shape, lock Graitina's form and trap him outside of his own world while being able to go through it at will, something only Graitina, Arcius, and Palkia (I think, the space one) can do.
This can't be Darkrai. The dude was so nice! He nearly sacrificed himself for an entire town!
lol Xav is sooo adorable! I wonder if AJ is going to tell them about her nightmares poor AJ... She isn't going to get any sleep after this at all!
5567582 Different Darkrai
It said it doesn't have a name, so it can't be Darkrai, plus it calls itself the Nightmare Eater not Maker which Darkrai is.
5568144 Depends on whether we follow the New Way school of thought or not. If we are in this story, there is only one Darkrai.
5568272
I'm not really weighing in on this but I do remember a version of Darkrai in one of the sidegames who wanted to destroy the universe, I think it's interpretation more then anything really *shrugs*
5568379 I believe you're talking about Shadows of Almia. That Darkrai was more corrupted by the Shadow Crystal than actually evil. And Kellyn/Kate purified it by capturing it with the Vatonage Styler.
5569036
That maybe be true, but I would like to say that cannon material are more of guideline than absolute truth. This universe that Ed and I have created might have similar properties to the main Pokemon universe, but it doesn't follow all the rules.
5569036
Ah, I wouldn't know, never played the games, I think I read about it on TVTropes
5569124 Fair enough. It just feels weird when a legendary is truly evil. After all, Arceus or Mew must've made them, so why make them evil? But hey, your story.
5569137 The Ranger games are actually pretty fun. Or, the second and third ones are. The original... Not so much. But they do have some pretty compelling stories. Honestly, someone needs to drop a few Rangers into Equestria and see what happens. I'm thinking either Kellyn/Kate, Keith, and Rythmi or Ben and Summer...
5569036 No he is talking about the Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky, and that Darkrai was evil no external forces were involved, in fact, he was the one who caused the collapse of Temporal Tower to freeze time and make a world of darkness.
5569139 Some of them might have been nice to begin with but went off the deep end, remember at first Mewtwo wanted to destroy all of humanity and natural born Pokemon once and that was due to him being used by everyone.
5569789
That and Mewtwo wasn't made by Arceus or Mew per say, but by humans.
5569783 Oh, right... Been awhile since I played Explorers. Though using a Mystery Dungeon game is kinda stretching it.
5574059
And what does that have to do with the Sleep status effect?
Frozen and Sleep are two different effects with different conditions for curing them.
5566818
Lol! Says the guy with the Hellboy avatar! So fitting!
5577877 -red herring method: very intriguing. it does make sense that a main villan would like to put a scapegoat on a widely hated(?) pokemon. However, what kind of pokemon can have the same powers as Darkrai, but not be Darkrai?
-character description: as always. it is always needed to ad some character description. But i believe that the authors gave us enough information to make our own interpretation. I learned a long time ago that there is no definitive description of a scene, it is all imagination (that's why we're reading right?).
its good to have another critique along side me. I think it would do good for not just for the author, but for all of us reading the narrative.
Well, no wonder you're such a deranged, maniacal sociopath, you feel left out in the name department! We can't have that, now, can we? I know just the thing! How's Fred?
?-
Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week!
?-
Says the one who would kill his own sister if he had one.
So, she's also projecting her survivor's guilt, guilt for innocently doing a nice thing that, quite literally, came back to bite her (parents), and her own self loathing upon Cres, not just her loathing of predators.
Hmm, she and Cres have more in common than they'd likely like to admit: both (wrongly [or at least excessively]) blame(d) themselves for the deaths of some of the ones who were closest to them.
uh... uh...
WHAT THE FU**