Nightmare

by Amaranthine Thought

Chapter 2

After a little while, Gala’s glow began fading as she kept following the rat, to her minor relief, even if she couldn’t see as well. The rat had led her through another door, and she had been walking in dark hallways and other small rooms for a little while now, following the rat. The only sounds were her own hoofsteps and the soft clicks of the rat ahead of her.

Her light was gone, but the rat ahead of her let her see after a fashion, always waiting for her to catch up. Its tail gently glowing, its one eye like a beacon. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but the rat seemed, if nothing else, helpful. It hadn’t attacked her at all, even if she got really close to it. And it did seem to have a destination in mind; maybe the main hall again?

After a few halls, she smiled, seeing lights still present, letting her see where she walked. They were few and far between, but each lit place made her feel happier about where she was; nothing hid in light after all. The rat kept going, light or no light, and they continued for some time through halls and rooms, most completely dark.

Until, at last, it turned into a hall lit by several lights, and entered a large set of double doors. Gala followed it, only to pause in some awe as she entered.

A massive round table was in the center of a large round room. Six marble thrones ringed it, each one with some symbol on the back, and a smaller, seventh throne was present amongst them. The room was only dimly lit, but she saw the rat clearly as it ran to stop within the shadow cast by the chairs. It looked back, the chair it hid behind having the mark of three red apples.

She looked up, and saw the entire lower half of a tree above her, with lots of things held in the curling roots. A fair number were colored lights, which seemed to be the source of the faint illumination. Others were… harder to recognize; they had decayed with age, but seemed quite varied.

When she looked back down, the rat was gone. She walked into the room, wondering where it had gone; there was only the one door, and it couldn’t have slipped past her, not with its size. She felt a kind of… friendship with it. It hadn’t hurt her after all, and it hadn’t…

She frowned. It had likely eaten the apple. So, one bad mark against it then, but judgement held in check for now. It at least seemed to be somewhat nice, though why it led her here instead of back where she had been was a question. She had thought that it had known where she had wanted to go, or at least had been heading for an exit. Maybe its nest, but there was obviously no nest here.

So why had it gone here?

She looked at the table, and then at the thrones as she reached them, taking in the symbols. They were bright, and looked… like they would be at home as cutie marks. In fact, the room sort of felt like… a special place. A place where ponies, important ponies, would meet together, and discuss things, important things. Like a court.

She smiled at the idea, another mystery added to the purple crystal tree; who had used this room, and for what? She looked to one chair in particular, the one with three apples as its mark, and went to it. She looked at her own, and noted the similarity between them. Other than the tree on hers, the apples were more or less identical.

She wondered who would have sat there, wondered if, maybe, they might have been related. As she thought, she reached out, and gently touched the chair. The moment she did so, she felt a faint jolt, and gasped, pulling back. The apples on the throne suddenly flashed, and a shimmer of many colors passed over the table in an eye blink.

At the same time, the light above her brightened, and she looked up, gaping, as the glowing orbs brightened until the room was lit almost perfectly.

“Hm?”

Gala hesitated. She hadn’t made that sound.

“…A light? What’s…?” a voice murmured, making her tense faintly, but that one was far more normal than the ones before. She looked around, trying to see whoever was speaking. “…Is somepony there!”

Gala started a little at the sudden yell. “Yes?” she said, unable to see anypony. Even if she looked under the table. “I’m here?”

“Am I hearin thins? I know I saw somethin…” was muttered, and then, louder than before, “Hey! Anypony there!”

“Yes?” Gala yelled back, confused. Why couldn’t she see the speaker, or the speaker her? She would swear they were nearby, yet there was nopony nearby.

“There is somepony.” the voice murmured, shocked. “I heard somepony, I… Where are ya? I can’t see ya!” it cried again, and Gala wondered at the happiness in the tone.

“I’m standing right here?” Gala called around her, very confused.

“Hang on! Can ya keep on callin? I think there’s something tween you an me!”

“…Over here! This way!” Gala called, feeling a touch stupid, constantly repeating calls, looking everywhere as she tried to identify where the voice was coming from. For that matter, why was she calling anyway? She was in plain sight. “Are you any closer? I,”

Gala stopped instantly, her eyes locking on the floor and staring.

A shadow had just walked out from under the table. A pony shadow cast by nothing.

It stopped, and she saw its head moving faintly before ‘looking’ at her. “That you?” it asked, and she could easily hear it talking, and somewhat see the motions of talking. It walked closer, and a small part of her wondered how it did so; how did it orient itself? The rest of her was unable to really express an opinion, though a fair bit of her erred toward terror.

It stopped by her, and peered closer. “There ya are!” it said happily, leaning back. “Gotta say, ya blend in real good.”

“Do I?” Gala weakly asked, staring.

“Yep. Real black coat ya got there.”

“…I’m not black.” Gala said, her fear dissipating a little.

“…Looks black.” the shadow said, far too much like somepony pointing out the obvious for Gala.

“I’m orange!” Gala objected. “Very orange and not even a little black! You’re black!”

“I ain’t black.”

“You’re a shadow! That’s the color of shadows, black!”

“A what? No, I’m a pony! Look, see th tail an hooves?” it asked, gesturing as if to show that it did, indeed, have a tail and hooves.

Gala paused even as she opened her mouth to respond.

It hadn’t lied.

It was a pony. Somehow.

Gala shook herself. “…My name’s Gala, Gala Apple.” she said, deciding to try again. After all, what was the worst that could happen? It was a shadow after all, not something that could actually hurt her… right? “Do you have a name?”

“Apple? Like th apple clan?!” it asked excitedly. “Shoot, I’d thought I’d never see another pony, and now it’s family too! My name’s Applejack, cousin, an it’s a real good pleasure ta meet ya!”

Gala closed her eyes.

That wasn't a lie either. The being related part, cousin was just a nickname of sorts.

The shadow was a pony, her name was Applejack, and she was related to Gala. All true statements.

How?

It was all Gala could really think, trying and failing to imagine what to say next.

“So, how’d ya get in here anyway?” Applejack asked, jarring Gala from her confusion.

“…The door.” she muttered, still reeling.

“…There ain’t no door.” Applejack said. “I’ve walked everywhere, and there ain’t even a mouse hole in this place.”

Gala hesitated then. She hadn’t heard a lie.

She nodded slowly, an explanation coming to her. Of sorts.

There was, quite obviously, a door. So, Applejack had to be lying. Gala couldn’t tell, but that could be because of… who knew what, but it couldn’t be true. Applejack was therefore capable of lying without her being able to tell.

And more to the point, a few previous words came back to her:

‘A new family in darkness’ the monsters had mentioned.

And Applejack checked every box for that description. A… shadow pony that was related to her. And since she met the description of that rather strange promise…

Applejack had to be a trap of some kind, and Gala should leave as soon as possible. The monsters could still be nearby, and she was very not sure if she could escape them again, even if she managed to… never mind. Ponies don’t shine. She should leave, as soon as possible, before she got stuck here or worse.

“Sure there is.” she said, walking toward the door. Applejack followed after her, worrying her, but she ignored that. “It’s right over here.” she said, stopping next to it.

“There is no door there sugarcube.” Applejack said, her tone not very unlike Sweet’s tone when she was trying to tell Gala she was wrong. The relation only made Gala want to leave more.

“Watch.” Gala said, and simply stepped out, and looked back, waiting. Hoping.

Applejack gasped, and hurried to the door, to stop just at the threshold. Gala saw her press on nothing, and gave a large sigh of relief.

Applejack couldn’t follow her outside.

“Gala!” cried Applejack, “Are ya there! Whatever ya did worked! Ya went right through th wall like it was air! But I can’t, so can ya come back and tell me how ya did it? Gala!”

Gala looked away, and paused, recalling the she did not remember which way she had come from. As she looked back and forth, trying to discern direction in a rather symmetrical hall, Applejack continued.

“Are ya there Gala?” Applejack yelled, her voice gaining a desperate note. “Ya kin hear me, right? Yer… yer still there, aren’t ya?” her voice trailed off for a moment, and Gala turned back to regard the shadow. “I… I don’t want ta be left alone again…” Applejack whispered, and Gala froze from the tone. Terror. Despair.

“No!” Applejack abruptly screamed. “Ya got hurt somehow didn’t ya, and ya can’t come back cause of that! Well, don’t worry Gala!” Applejack turned about and began bucking against the door, impacting as though there was a wall for her, but no noise was produced despite the ferocity of the blows.

“I’m comin! Just hold on! I kin be there in two shakes of an apple tree! Jus hang on cousin! I’ll be right there! I’m comin!” Applejack began slowing down, the fire in her voice dousing, her bucks losing strength and Gala found herself unable to turn away.

“I’m… I’m…” Applejack ceased attacking whatever kept her in the room and slowly lowered her head.

“I’m…” Gala watched the shadow lie down, and the sheer heartbreak in her final words cut at her heart. Then the shadow began gently sobbing and that is when Gala hated what she had just done.

She didn’t know what Applejack was, but…

What if… What if she wasn’t a trap?

What if she really was a pony, trapped in that room as a shadow? And she had to be; there was no way for anypony to lie to Gala and not have her know it. Applejack was who she said she was, and the truth in her statement ‘there is no door’ was apparent now. For Applejack, there really was no door.

How long had she been in that room? In fact, how long had it been since anypony walked down this hall, much less entered that particular room? And even if they had… Applejack had only seemed to notice anything when she touched the chair, when the lights brightened for some reason. She might have been the first pony Applejack had talked to for… for who knew how long.

And she had just left her there. Abandoning her, leaving her in her prison.

Alone again.

She recalled Applejack’s joy when she had responded to her calls, and the glee in her voice when she found out it was family. And now she was crying, and Gala was tearing up, and Applejack was weakly telling herself to stop crying, which only made her feel worse…

She went back, unable to take it anymore. As she reentered, she focused on comforting Applejack, only to pause.

How, exactly, does one comfort a shadow? It wasn’t like she could hug her.

Applejack didn’t notice her entering, and Gala stood there for a moment before sighing faintly. Words would have to do.

“…Applejack?”

The response was instant. Applejack jumped to her hooves, in her own way anyway, and seemed to wipe at her eyes as she turned to see Gala.

“Gala!” she cried in the happiest tone Gala had ever heard from a pony, making her wince. She had really hurt Applejack. “Ya’ll came,” Applejack stopped, swallowed, and started again with her voice more controlled. “I mean, ya didn’t find any trouble, did ya? I… got kind worried that ya… got hurt.” Applejack said, rather weakly disguising her fears of Gala abandoning her.

Gala hesitated. Applejack was very willing to sweep the near tragedy under the rug, and was waiting for Gala to confirm her weak excuse as to why Gala hadn’t come back immediately. For a brief instant she didn’t know what to say. Then she sighed, the answer apparent.

“I… I almost left you behind Applejack. It wasn’t until I heard your… outburst that I came back.” Gala admitted. Honesty was the best policy, right? This hadn’t been a terrible idea, right? Applejack wasn’t about to rise off the floor and eat her, right?

Applejack soon dispelled those fears. “Ya… heard all that.” she muttered, and then covered her face with her hooves. The simple act of embarrassment took away Gala’s fears. No monster would be embarrassed.

Gala sighed, but smiled. “Sorry for almost leaving you Applejack.”

“It’s fine,”

“No it isn’t.” Gala interrupted. “I heard you, now and then. You even told me you thought you’d never see another pony. What happened to you?”

Applejack paused, thinking. And after a moment, said, “I… I ain’t sure.”

Gala cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“I… I remember waitin. I was waitin in th meetin room, but fer what or why… I dunno. I jus know that they never came.”

“How long ago was,”

“Sugarcube, I kin barely see anything, and I worked out right quick that I don’t get hungry anymore. Any way fer me ta keep time jus ain’t here. It coulda been jus a week, but I… kinda think otherwise.”

Gala nodded, wondering. Applejack likely hadn’t been here for only a week. But it seemed that her memory was missing. Maybe she would get it ba…

…Meeting room?

“Meeting room?” Gala asked.

“…Yeah, I was waitin in th meetin room. Big place, round. Big white table, seven chairs, ya can’t mistake it really; look fer th roots in th ceiling.”

“…Applejack, I’m standing in the meeting room.”

“…Alright, now I know something’s stupid.” Applejack muttered. “My sight’s right messed up ain’t it? Ya ain’t black, there is a door, and I’m in the same gosh darned place that I was before th whole time?” she yelled, upset, but not at Gala.

“…I think so.” Gala said, mildly stunned; Applejack had seemingly just believed her, despite her own, altered, perception. Beyond that though, Applejack… had a really hard time seeing things apparently. Maybe it was part of being a shadow? “But what was this place for?” she asked.

“What do ya mean what was it fer? Meetins. Meetin rooms are fer meetins.”

“But meetings with who for what?”

She saw Applejack open her mouth, but the shadow paused. “…An that’s not there either.” Applejack sighed. “Sorry sugarcube. I jus can’t…” Applejack trailed off.

“Applejack?”

“Darkness…”

“…Applejack?”

“I was waitin, an darkness… attacked?”

Gala paused.

“I remember… I was waitin, and my shadow… jumped up an… an I fell down here, and couldn’t get out. Couldn’t see any light, couldn’t see anythin. I yelled and yelled till I couldn’t yell anymore, but nopony came…”

“Not till you. Yer th first pony I’ve seen in th dark with me, th first I’ve heard. But… why?”

Gala wasn't listening. She was gaping, eyes staring at nothing.

My shadow jumped up, darkness attacked…

I fell down here, and couldn’t get out… Nopony came…

Granny hadn’t been just telling a story.

Nightmare had lured five heroes to places alone, and trapped them where nopony would find them.

Applejack was trapped in the darkness of the room. Trapped where nopony could find her, where she couldn’t hear or see them, and they couldn’t see or hear her. Until now. Not until the light came back, and the darkness she was in was gone.

It was true. And if that was true, it was all true.

“…Gala?”

Gala’s shock was too great to truly express. Something she always held in near contempt was true. It was real. Five heroes, four princesses, the sun, Nightmare, every adventure and event her Granny had related to her about a land filled with light from a great, massive star in the sky, all real.

The story she always knew was total fantasy was, at the very least, heavily based in fact.

“Gala? Yer not blinkin.”

And she had just found a hero. Applejack. She was actually related to one of the old heroes of legend. She had found her when nopony else ever had before. Even if she had always kind of pictured them to be all stallions, it mattered very little.

“Gala?”

Gala suddenly grinned hugely.

Wait till her siblings learned about this. Wait till the rest of her family learned about this. Wait till everypony learned about this.

Applejack hesitated. “…Gala…?”

Ponies would go looking all over the place, peering into shadows to find heroes! The eternal night would be defeated as they were pulled from their prisons and set out into the world, to bring back the sun! The great and glorious sun! Equestria would regain its true rulers!

Everything would be so bright! It would all be so good!

Equestria would be saved!

And it would all start because she chased an incredibly large rat that stole an apple!

She could kiss that ra..!

…

Hug, hug the rat. Maybe feed it a lot. Rats are icky, don’t kiss rats.

“Applejack, I am getting you out of here!” she declared, high on the rush of emotion and imagining the stories her Granny had told her. All the adventures, the sights, everything so good and great and bright!

It was all coming back!

“…How?” Applejack asked, bringing her elation to a screeching halt.

Gala didn’t have a single clue as to how she would get Applejack out of anything. But she didn’t let that truly dampen her. She just reasoned that leaving the room was a great start, and selected the first thing she could think of.

“Grab onto me.” Gala said.

“…What?”

“You can see me. Grab on, and I can carry you out of here!”

“And that’ll work?” Applejack asked, incredulous.

“I know it will!” Gala yelled, tossing doubt away. She felt far too worked up and excited to accept anything like doubt.

Applejack stared for a moment, and then shrugged. She walked forward, and her shadow walked into Gala’s own. For a few moments, Gala didn’t feel anything as the shadows aligned.

Then she felt… something. Two things. One thing was impossible to describe, but the other was a rejuvenation of her body, a healing of those bruises and bumps she had received earlier, and that felt great.

Then her eyes blinked on their own.

“I kin see.” she said, not intending to speak.

“I kin see!” she cried, rearing up, emotions not hers flooding her, commands not hers pulling her body like a puppet on strings. “After so long,”

Gala slammed herself down, panting as she stared at the ground.

“What th… those ain’t my hooves.” she muttered.

“They’re my hooves!” she yelled, mildly panicked.

She saw her shadow, and saw one hoof lift up to rub at the head. She had a powerful urge to imitate it, but resisted as the shadow suddenly froze. After a few moments, the hoof waved out.

“…That’s… me?” Applejack murmured softly, in shock, and Gala felt the urge to speak for her as well.

Gala took a deep breath. “Yes. Yes, it is. And you’re looking out of my eyes, and trying to move my legs, and I’m feeling incredibly uncomfortable right now.”

“I… think I can stop it, maybe?”

“Please do.”

“Jus a… um… that’s… weird.”

“What’s weird?” Gala asked, keeping herself calm and collected. The sensation of not being in command of herself had faded, thankfully.

“…I kin see ya real good now, color an everythin. Yer glowing pretty bright.” Applejack said. “But yer not moving at all, an if I look up… I kin see things. And if I touch ya, I kin see… outta yer eyes, I think, th same thing I kin see by lookin up. An if I walk away, I seem ta… come right back. Kin ya feel me touchin you? My hoof goes right through ya.”

Gala waited a moment, and felt… the faintest tingle. Like what she had felt before, but nowhere near as strong as it had been. “Yes. Please stop.”

“Sorry… I got no idea what’s happened here.”

Gala sighed and shook herself, noting that she could actually feel Applejack’s confusion and mild uncertainty as if it was her own. She… really hated the idea that anything could control or influence her like that. But it was Applejack… and she was family, so… it… wasn’t… so bad? Maybe?

…She could trust Applejack. Even to that… rather strange and somehow intimate way. Her body was personal, and at least control was optional. Though it seemed emotions were never going to be truly separate.

“If it helps any, it’s a lot nicer down here what with yer light n all, and ya got a real nice mane and coat.” Applejack said, and Gala benefited from her firm want to help Gala feel comfortable.

“Thank you.” Gala said, taking a final calming breath. She didn’t know what had happened, but… It sounded like Applejack was connected to her now. In what way, or how, or anything else she didn’t know, but the connection was obvious. For better or worse, Applejack was with her in a way that nopony else could be.

“Alright.” Gala said, refocusing on the original idea: leaving the room. “I’m going to try and walk out the door again. Hold on.”

“Hold on ta whaaaa!”

Applejack yelled as Gala walked out the doors, and then stopped outside them, listening to Applejack’s mild pants.

“Applejack?”

“…That’s gonna take getting used ta.” Applejack murmured. “I’m O.K. Ta get out, ya should go left.”

Gala nodded, and began walking. She felt ready, happy, a little elated. She had found an old story true.

And now she couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.