Visitor
Warm sunlight shone down upon Applejack as she trotted calmly through the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, a gentle breeze blowing through her mane. Normally around this time she'd be hard at work bucking apples, yet for some reason she found herself content to simply idle the time away, enjoying the scenery.
It did strike her as a little odd, yet at the same time she couldn't quite find the will within herself to question it. Everything just seemed so...right. The apples, so ripe and red within their trees, just waiting to be bucked and harvested. The air both warm and refreshing, the day so bright and cheerful….wait, that was it, wasn't it? The day.
As if in response to her own realisation, the shadows suddenly seemed to draw out, the sky swiftly transitioning to an inky canvass of blacks, blues and purples. With the dimming of the light the air seemed to cool as well, sending an involuntary shiver along her spine.
As everything around her became shrouded in shadow, Applejack found herself gazing up towards where the sun had been...and recoiled. It was not merely the presence of the moon in place of the sun which startled her; she had somehow expected that. Instead, the moon above her sported a pair of slitted turquoise eyes, gazing down upon her, rooting her to the spot in fear.
A loud voice rang out across the darkened orchard around Applejack, shattering whatever semblance of calm there had once been.
“Why is it, even when presented with the beauty of the eternal night, you ponies persist with dreaming of the day?”
She recognised the voice of course; that of Nightmare Moon. Its imperious tones unmistakeable from when she had first heard it, the night before what was meant to be the opening to the Summer Sun celebration, several 'days' earlier. The night that had never ended.
As she continued to stare up at the moon she saw a form begin to coalesce and descend towards her. Nightmare Moon landed before Applejack and towered over her, peering down on her trembling form, and spoke again, “Well? Why is it? What is your reason for these day-lit dreams? Speak, my loyal subject, your Princess demands your answer!”.
Applejack found herself stumbling backwards way from her, unable to form words to respond. The main thing on her mind was that she was apparently dreaming. That was what Nightmare Moon was saying, wasn't it? It made sense she supposed, now that she thought about it. She knew for a fact that the sun hadn't risen over Ponyville for nearly a full week. That meant that none of this encounter was real and she should be able to just force herself to wake up.
She closed her eyes tightly and tried to concentrate whilst still unsteadily backing away, wishing desperately to wake up safe in her bed. Opening her eyes a moment later, she was dismayed to find herself still looking upon the darkened orchard, Nightmare Moon standing within it.
Why couldn't she wake herself up?
Surely the fact that she was now aware that she was dreaming meant that she could wake herself from this increasingly nightmarish encounter? Instead she found herself still within the dream, staring down the literal pony of nightmares. She continued to unsteadily back away until she collided with a tree and fell hard onto her haunches, her gaze focused solely upon Nightmare Moon, as though willing her to remain in place and not approach.
Such power was not hers however, as Nightmare Moon chose that moment to slowly approach the position Applejack was now sitting in. Her face appeared filled with frustration as she advanced, impatience written across her every feature at Applejack's apparently unsatisfactory reaction.
She stopped short of Applejack's sitting position and stared down at her. Applejack began to realise that the only way she might be able to end this was if she actually gave an answer. But what could she say? She couldn't speak for everypony else. She could only speak for her and her family. As Nightmare Moon's glare seemed to intensify, Applejack realised it would have to do.
“It 'aint...it 'aint about beauty.” Her voice was quiet and wavering, but she stood up to try and marshal her courage.
Nightmare Moon's eyes seemed to widen slightly, “What did you say!?”
“Ah said it 'aint about beauty!” Applejack yelled back, a sudden feeling of fire seemed to well up within her.
“It was never about beauty. I don't deny that your Night may be pretty an' all, but it 'aint gonna feed everypony.”
Nightmare Moon just stared back, and if Applejack didn't know better she'd have thought she were completely taken aback. The lack of immediate retribution compelled her to try and press her advantage.
“Do ya see where you're standing?” She gestured around them, “You're in an orchard! With apple trees! Trees that help ta feed everypony in Ponyville, and they don't grow without sunlight. The longer this night goes on, the less food there's gonna be.”
Nightmare Moon gazed silently back at Applejack as though she simply couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. In a way, her lack of response felt almost as unnerving to her than if she had reacted with furious anger. Applejack lowered her gaze to the ground, feeling as though a moment of tension had suddenly come and gone. She continued more softly, “It 'aint just here in Ponyville either. Sooner or later, food's gonna run out, and ponies are gonna start dyin'.”
She looked up suddenly and glared at Nightmare Moon, “It won't matter if your eternal night is the most beautiful thing in all Equestria, because there won't be no ponies alive to see it!” Applejack stomped her hoof down as she finished, her words seeming to echo through the trees around them.
An uneasy silence fell between them both, the only sound to be heard was the rustling of the leaves around them.
Applejack lowered her gaze again. She wasn't sure if Nightmare Moon could truly hurt her in her own dream, but she clearly held some power here to prevent Applejack from waking herself. Would she ever wake up, or would she find herself condemned to an unending nightmare, abandoning her family to try and make ends meet in the perpetual darkness they all now shared? The longer their silence drew on, the more apprehensive she felt. She'd said everything she believed, everything she knew to be true, and she had absolutely no idea how Nightmare Moon would take it.
“I...had not considered this.”
Applejack started as Nightmare Moon suddenly broke the uneasy silence between them, and looked up at her. Nightmare Moon didn't seem to be staring at Applejack anymore, instead she seemed to be staring wistfully out amongst the trees, and the stars in the sky beyond them.
“For a thousand years I have dreamed of my return, of forcing ponies to truly appreciate my night, to not look upon the darkness with scorn or fear, to instead live happily within it as they do in my sister's day.”
Applejack's eyes widened at that. Nightmare Moon was Princess Celestia's sister? If that were the case she supposed there would be historical records somewhere with proof of this. As it was however, she didn't get the sense that Nightmare Moon was lying. In fact it was almost as if she had forgotten Applejack was even there.
She contemplated trying to wake herself again, but felt curiosity getting the better of her. This moment she was experiencing felt strangely important, as though she herself could somehow make a difference. Nopony was a match for Nightmare Moon, that much was clear. If there was to be a chance for any of them to survive, maybe she could be convinced to bring Celestia back and restore the regular cycle of night and day that they were familiar with.
Her thoughts were broken as she saw Nightmare Moon suddenly straighten and stare down at Applejack again, whatever internal struggle she had been experiencing appearing to be over.
“It is plain to see you speak the truth as you see it, young Applejack. It is not often one finds a pony with both the courage and the honesty to speak so bluntly to one such as I. As much as it...pains me, there is merit in what you say.”
She bent down towards Applejack, who stared wide-eyed back at the mare of the night. Rather than striking her down, Nightmare Moon seemed to be studying her, as though searching within her for something. Whatever it was, she seemed to find it as she lifted her head away and stepped back from her.
“I have a proposal for you, Applejack. A lot has changed in the last thousand years, and I see value in you. You shall give me the honest answers where others will not. Return to Canterlot with me, and tell me the truths of this modern world. In return, I will restore some daylight hours, enough to ensure that food can be grown, and that my royal subjects will not starve. I wish them to thrive and to appreciate the beauty of my night.”
Applejack's jaw dropped. Nightmare Moon appeared to be offering what she'd just been considering begging for, or at least some of it. Some daylight at least was certainly better than none at all. She wondered if she should dare to mention Princess Celestia, but decided against it. Her position felt tenuous at best, and this was her chance to help make things better for everypony. A little daylight would go a long way towards lifting the despair that had settled across Equestria.
Her new potential position would take her away from the farm though. Whilst she worked in Canterlot for Nightmare Moon, her family would struggle. It would be hard on them, she knew, but if it meant millions of ponies weren't going to starve, it was a sacrifice she would have to make. Perhaps in time she'd be able to come and visit them, maybe even pitch in with some of the work to try and ease the strain on them.
It hurt her to think of the difficult times ahead for her family, but Nightmare Moon's proposal seemed to offer her hope where there had once been none. It was too important to ignore. Once she was in Canterlot, perhaps she'd even be able to find out what had happened to Princess Celestia! She quickly rallied her thoughts and fixed her gaze firmly on Nightmare Moon's expectant face.
“Ah'll do it.”