Apples in the Moonlight: Crackshipping Applejack and Luna

by bahatumay

The Old Castle

Applejack was washing the last dish after breakfast when Apple Bloom hesitantly poked her head back in the kitchen. “Applejack?”

“Yeah?”

“There's… somepony here to see you,” Apple Bloom said, jerking her head back towards the front door.

Applejack blinked, but Apple Bloom didn't elaborate. She grunted interestedly, flicked her hooves to get the water off, and trotted over towards the front door.

And stopped short. Princess Luna stood at the door.

“Prin- Luna!” Applejack blinked. “What brings you over?”

Luna glanced over. The bat pony secreted there in the shadows of the porch nodded encouragingly, and she turned back to look at Applejack. “I have a… favor to ask.” The words felt strange crossing her tongue—normally, Luna was the one granting favors—but her guards had told her that this kind of invitation was almost never turned down, and she really wanted to… what was it? 'hang up' with Applejack again.

Applejack's forehead crinkled. What kind of favor could she do for a princess? “Sure, I guess. What kind of favor?”

* * *

“I thank you for accompanying me,” Luna said as her hooves trod the hauntingly familiar flagstones of the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. “Returning here alone is… uncomfortable.” That part was definitely true. She looked up at the familiar tapestries, now frayed and worn with time.

“No problem,” Applejack said with a smile. “We come here all the time. Well, Twilight does, especially. Lots of old books she likes to read here, you know?”

Luna's mouth tightened slightly. “There are some books secreted here that should never be read again,” she murmured. “I shall advise her to take caution.”

The two walked further through a large room with vaulted ceilings. Luna couldn't help but smile as memories surfaced. “This was the main dining hall,” she said, and suddenly the presence of a crumbling, rotting wood pile in the center made sense to Applejack. She glanced up and her smile turned wry. “I always felt the ceiling was higher than strictly needful. When I was bored and eating my midnight meal alone, I would sometimes try to throw my cutlery up and stick it in the ceiling. I never did quite get it.”

Applejack slowly looked up and whistled. Their last experience here had not lead to good sightseeing; she hadn't noticed any of that. “Looks like a place to hold a dance.”

Luna chuckled. “Nay; that would be the ballroom.” She led Applejack further and opened a door into a larger room.

Applejack's jaw dropped. Even though it had faced what had once been the gardens and had long since been reclaimed by vines and leaves, it was still quite the sight. “Even the one in Canterlot isn't as large as this,” she breathed.

“True. It may be nicer and have two stories, but this one is larger.” Luna turned and continued walking, and Applejack followed behind.

Luna ducked into a small corner that Applejack hadn't seen, and they emerged in another wing she hadn't seen before. Luna walked for a few moments longer before pausing in front of an ornately-carved door. “And this was our- my old quarters. Remain here,” Luna said, pushing open the doors to her old room. “Our room was warded strongly against intrusions of all kinds, and I know not what may have happened here over the years.”

“I'm not coming with you?” Applejack had to ask.

“The path to what I seek is littered with tricks and traps, nearly impossible for the unaware to safely traverse.”

“Like I said, I've been here before,” Applejack said, gingerly moving a hoof to a less suspicious-looking floor tile. “I've had enough of trapdoors and such to last me a lifetime.”

“Yes,” Luna said with only the briefest of hesitations. “Trapdoors and such.”

Applejack wondered what other kinds of dangers existed here that would make an alicorn hesitate, but she decided not to ask.

Luna headed over to the door. “Remain here. I will return anon.”

Applejack was naturally a curious pony, so when Luna left, her attention was drawn to some of the things in Luna's old room. She made faces at herself in the metallic trophies and shields on the wall. She looked at some of the weapons and hefted a few of the knives. She could sense something different about these. They were heavy, but perfectly weighted. She tossed one up experimentally, and it rotated smoothly—and much faster than she'd expected. Instinctively, Applejack jerked her hoof out of the way, and the tip of the knife fell and buried itself in the desk. It sunk deeply into the old wood.

Applejack had a mild heart attack. She reached out a hoof to pull it out, but then stopped. A thin trail of blood ran down the back of her hoof. She glanced over and saw that in her instinctive attempt to avoid the knife, she had scratched it against a metal statue of a majestic mare, possibly Luna herself. At least, it looked metallic; but the reflection patterns on the surface looked like they were shades of purple instead of silver, and the little thing gave her the willies for some unknown reason.

She became aware of a burning sensation on her hoof and she looked down. Maybe it was because it was dark, but she could swear that the cut and the blood seeping out looked almost black. She shook it, trying to clear the pain before pressing her other hoof against it to staunch the flow of blood.

The sound of hoofsteps sounded behind her, and she quickly spun around. Luna had returned. A little smile crossed her face as she saw the knife impaled in the desk. “I see you've found some of my weapons,” she said.

Applejack scratched the back of her neck. “Yeah…” she said sheepishly.

Luna chuckled and walked closer. “Fear not,” she said, lighting her horn and pulling the knife out. She tossed it in the air a few times, and it rotated just as smoothly as before. “They are curious things, are they not? I am not disappointed that they have little use besides decoration in these days.” She set it down gently.

“Did you get what you were looking for?” Applejack asked, scratching at her aching hoof again.

“Indeed. Behold!” Luna held out an ancient book.

Applejack squinted. “What is it?”

“We have- I know that Pinkie Pie is a player of pranks and a cracker of jokes…” She paused. “That is the phrase, right?”

Applejack grinned. “Something like that.”

“…and this is one of the finest books of pranks ever written,” she finished, holding it up proudly. “The book itself plays pranks on its readers, and I believe she would find it most amusing. It is to be a peace offering for my actions last week.”

Applejack paused, noticing something for the first time. “Does that have something to do with the fact that your cutie mark is now pink?”

Luna placed the book in her saddlebag. “I was not fast enough to avoid some of its tricks,” she admitted, looking embarrassed but somehow remaining regal at the same time. “Apparently, my ability to riddle has been… rusted over the years. But I have no doubt Pinkie Pie will find it most amusing.”

“I'd agree with that,” Applejack said.

Luna gestured with her head, smiling. “Come. Let us present it to her together.”

Comments

[Aatxe360]

Uh-oh. Chekov tells me that tetanus is the least of upcoming problems.

[Tchernobog]

6231573
Indeed. Applejack, say something, you silly pony.

[p61blkwidow]

great

[Aatxe360]

/Bumpity-bump

How goes things? Hit a block?

[bahatumay]

6277431
Not quite. Actually, I wrote an interlude, debated putting it up as its own story, then decided to put it in this one, then realized it wasn't done, then sortof got distracted with other stories. But it's not dead yet!