//------------------------------//
// 3 Defunct 
// Story: Apple Bloom Goes Crusading 
// by Brass Polish 
//------------------------------//

	That evening, Apple Bloom slept in Applejack’s room while she and her fellow taskforce teammates waited for Glean Fetcher to show himself.
“Why is there a pile of straw and a newspaper in your sister’s room?” Rarity asked.
“Quit pokin’ around, Rarity,” Applejack demanded. “And Pinkie Pie, quit bouncing on Apple Bloom’s bed!”
“Yeah, Pink,” said Rainbow Dash. “I might take a nap in there later.”
Twilight gave Rainbow a stern look.
“I meant after we catch Glean Fetcher,” insisted Rainbow Dash.
“Frankly, I ain’t comfortable with y’all being in my little sister’s room the whole night,” Applejack admitted. “Messin’ it up and all.”
“Please don’t be mad, Applejack,” said Fluttershy. “We won’t do anything disrespectful.”
“Certainly not,” agreed Rarity, who has just finished magically remaking Apple Bloom’s bed.
“Oh, I know y’all are just bored,” smiled Applejack. “There ain’t no harm in tryin’ to kill time.”
Twilight was happy. Their elements’ power would not waver so long as they all stood together and bore no animosity towards each other.

The hours passed. The ponies were all too anxious to feel tired, so no one ended up taking a nap in Apple Bloom’s bed. Their elements of harmony never came off their necks, although Rarity did shift hers around a lot because it was getting uncomfortable staying in one spot for such a long time.
“What’s that?!” shouted Pinkie Pie suddenly.
A ball of blue light appeared in a corner of the room.
“Get ready, girls!” Twilight bellowed as the ball got bigger and brighter.
There was a flash, and there in front of them was Glean Fetcher.
“Now!”
Glean Fetcher gasped. He hadn’t expected this at all. The six mares stood before him and one by one, their elements of harmony lit up. First the Element of Magic, then the Element of Generosity… and that was it. The Elements of Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness and Laughter remained dim.

Glean Fletcher realised that four of the six elements weren’t working before the ponies who were wearing them did.
“So you four can’t use your elements, huh?” he said with interest.
Twilight and Rarity looked around. Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were looking down at their elements in alarmed confusion. Rainbow Dash was tapping hers like mad.
“How do you turn this thing on?” Pinkie Pie frowned.
“What’s wrong with our elements?!” cried Applejack.
Glean Fetcher started chuckling. “I don’t think it’s your elements. I think it’s just you.”
“What did you do to them?!” Twilight demanded. “Why did you check them off your list?!”
“Ah, so you have my list,” Glean Fetcher raised his eyebrows. “The very thing I’m looking for.”
Twilight and Rarity were trying to use their own elements, but it was no use. Glean Fetcher had a grin on his face as if he’d found a bit under a table. Clearly, he had made some sort of discovery.
“Princess Twilight,” he said, “I’d like to face you and your royal family members in a magic duel.”
“Oh?”
“That’s right. You, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour,” said Glen Fetcher. “If you all win, I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing since I escaped from Tartarus, and I’ll cooperate with you. If I win, I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing since I escaped from Tartarus, and I’ll become the ruler of Equestria.”
The royal taskforce all gasped.
“I’ll give you until tomorrow morning to tell them all what I want,” finished Glean Fetcher. “See you then.”
There was another flash of blue light, and Glean Fetcher disappeared.

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy removed their elements and Twilight examined them carefully.
“I just can’t figure it out,” she said at last. “Mine and Rarity’s were working just fine, but yours are completely defunct for some reason.”
“But if our elements were the only ones that were working,” said Rarity, “why couldn’t they do anything? We’ve all used our elements on their own before.”
“I know,” Twilight replied, “but I think it’s because they activated themselves whenever the things they represent came into question and were proven to be true.”
“What like?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Well, Viana the Bearded thought you’d abandoned us and we defied him. Then your Element of Loyalty brought you to us,” Twilight explained. “Applejack’s Element of Honesty activated when she finally told Winona what she thought of her when she got turned into a bad dog. Fluttershy’s Element of Kindness came to her when she needed help using the tough love approach on Impulsoria. Rarity stood up for Trixie’s generosity when Vinyl, Lyra and Minuette thought she was up to no good, and her Element of Generosity freed them from the labyrinth. And Pinkie Pie was able to make thousands of ponies laugh at something that isn’t really funny, so she got her Element of Laughter to come to her and cure all those sick performers.”
“What about you?” asked Fluttershy. “How did your Element of Magic activate itself without the others?”
“Well, when I was in the alternate world,” said Twilight. “I thought I couldn’t use my magic at all, but…”
Twilight stopped talking and her jaw dropped.
“Oh my gosh! I know what Glean Fetcher’s been doing!” she burst out.
And she ran to Apple Bloom’s bedroom window, opened it, and flew away as fast as she could.

“Dearest Princess Celestia,

Glean Fetcher has appeared before my friends and I, and he has rendered four of our elements of harmony useless. I think I have discovered his plan. According to Unicorns United by Starswirl the Bearded, all ponies possess magic, but only unicorns and alicorns are able to harness it. I believe Glean Fetcher has used his harvesting ability to steal magical essence from earth ponies and pegasi all over Equestria, starting with his fellow pony inmates in Tartarus. The reason Big McIntosh and Berry Punch did not show any bad signs during their examinations was because my machinery does not look for signs of magical ability in earth ponies and pegasi because they cannot use it.

Glean Fetcher has not been visiting unicorns and alicorns, so I am sure they have not been harvested. He has challenged me to a magic duel and wants you, your sister, my brother and his wife to join me. He will appear at Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville in the morning and he will expect to see the whole of the Royal Family there. If we defeat him, he will come quietly, so please prepare yourself. I am sure the five of us will stop him from taking over Equestria.

As always, your faithful subject,
Twilight Sparkle.”

It was quite a sight for Apple Bloom when dawn was breaking. Never in pony history had an earth pony foal hosted a family of four alicorns and a unicorn in her bedroom.
“If Glean Fetcher has been stealing magic essence from thousands of ponies,” said Princess Celestia gravely, “he must be very strong.”
“He can already teleport long distances,” added Princess Luna. “He must have gained that power when he harvested his fellow pony prisoners.”
“Who knows what else he can do?” worried Shining Armour.
“We must not fail, everyone,” Princess Celestia said. “I don’t know what Glean Fetcher wants if he rules Equestria, but I know his greed will cause a great deal of damage. Apple Bloom, you should not be here. It may not be safe.”
“But your highness,” said Apple Bloom, “Twilight said Glean Fetcher crossed foals off his list as well. That means he’s not taking their magical essences either.”
“Also, I’m sure we won’t be duelling here,” Twilight added.
“I would still like you to leave please Apple Bloom,” Celestia insisted. “We are all here to ensure that Glean Fetcher cannot harm anypony, and that includes you.”

When Glean Fetcher reappeared in Apple Bloom’s room at sunup, he did indeed have a place in mind for their duel. He did not wait to hear what any of the Royal Family had to say. He simply teleported all five of them outside Ponyville town hall. A crowd of ponies was waiting there, all looking tired, but anxious.
“Morning, Royals,” he said at last. “And good morning, Ponyville.”
None of the residents responded.
“We know what you’ve been doing, Glean Fetcher,” said Princess Celestia. “You’ve taken the magical essence from ponies everywhere.”
“Only from those whose power was going to waste,” said Glean Fetcher. “I let unicorns and alicorns keep their abilities, but how could I pass up earth ponies and pegasi’s magic when they could never use it? But as I’ve said to Princess Twilight, if you win our duel, I’ll return it all and go back to Tartarus if you order me to.”
“On your honour?” asked Celestia and Luna together.
“Or may I be attacked by an Ursa Major,” replied Glean Fetcher.

“Before we begin,” he went on, “I believe you, Prince Shining, are gifted with force field spells.”
“That’s right,” said Shining Armour.
“Then would you be so kind as to make one around us?” Glean Fetcher requested. “We don’t want anypony to be harmed by accident.”
“Alright,” answered Shining Armour.
He lit his horn like a gasoline fire and produced a transparent protective dome separating them from the spectators.
“Well then, shall we begin?” asked Glean Fetcher.
Princess Celestia nodded.
“Alright. Draw!”

The members of the Royal Family had planned their strategy well before Glean Fetcher had arrived. The idea was to have Princess Cadance use her love spell before beginning the duel to get him to look into his heart and reconsider everything he was planning. Cadance had indeed been casting her spell since Glean Fetcher had brought them to the center of town, and judging by his request to Shining Armour, it must have started to work. After Glean Fetcher cued the start of the duel, Celestia, Luna and Twilight all cast stunning spells at him. But as they did, Cadance started shouting.
“My spell’s getting weak! I can’t feel it in my horn at all anymore!”
Shining Armour quickly realised what was happening, and cast another shield spell around Cadance to try and prevent Glean Fetcher from harvesting her power.
“You’re too late, Shining Armour!” bellowed Glean Fetcher, who was unaffected by the three stunning spells being fired at him. “Her magical essence is already mine!”
Celestia, Luna and Twilight found that they couldn’t stop casting their stunners, and it became apparent that their foe was absorbing their magic as well. They tried in vain to break their streams, but it was no use. Soon, Cadance, Twilight and the royal pony sisters could not cast any spells at all.
Glean Fetcher started to laugh loudly. “Well, Shining? Are you going to attack? Or should I just harvest you right now?”
Shining Armour wasn’t going to give up even though it was hopeless. He attempted to knock Glean Fetcher backwards with another shield spell, but his magic was sucked right into the villain’s horn. All five of the Royal Family members had not a drop of magic between them now.

“Victory is mine!” roared Glean Fetcher triumphantly.
Then another shocking sight met the Royal Family’s eyes. Glean Fetcher’s horn disappeared!
“What is this?!” he cried.
There came a knocking from his left. They all looked and there was Discord outside Shining Armour’s first force field, which was beginning to fade away.
“Can I come in?” came Discord’s voice through the clear walls.
“Discord! You came!” exclaimed Celestia.
The force field dissolved and Discord strutted into the circle.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said with a grin. “I have a nasty habit of hitting the snooze bar on my alarm clock.”
“I told you to come to Ponyville right away!” scolded Princess Celestia.
“I did,” Discord insisted. “And then I took a nap.”
Suddenly, Discord started glowing a faint blue. Twilight looked at Glean Fetcher and shrieked.
“He grew his horn back! He’s stealing your magic, too!”
Discord turned to Glean Fetcher and mustered all his strength to keep his magic to himself. For a wonderful moment, it looked as if he was manage to stop Glean Fetcher. But in the end, the villainous unicorn won.

Glean Fetcher’s face was brimming with excited pride.
“Look how powerful I’ve become, royals!” he bellowed. “I have even outmatched a Draconequus! Haha! And now, the kingdom of Equestria is MINE!”
He magiced several blades of grass from the ground, turned them into a crown, and placed it on his head with a delighted evil grin.

Shock spread across the land as the news of the defeat of the Royal Family spread to all corners of Equestria. Princesses Celestia and Luna could not raise the sun and the moon, and now only Rarity’s element of harmony would work. But not for long. The amount of power Glean Fetcher had absorbed was making him hungry for more. And in a public announcement on the evening of his victory against the royals, he said he will no longer be omitting unicorns and alicorns from his list of ponies to harvest. However, he would still not take any magic essence away from foals until they grew up because he knew their magic would be stronger when they reached adulthood. He did not announce his long-term plans, but everyone in Equestria was sure that they couldn’t possibly be beneficial for anyone accept himself. The suspense was really getting to everypony, especially as Glean Fetcher was no longer visiting ponies in their sleep to steal their magical essences. He was appearing to them in person at random hours of the day. And he still wasn’t going in alphabetical order either.

He did have one redeeming characteristic, though. He was not cruel to the Royal Family after their loss. He didn’t banish, imprison or enslave them. He allowed the royal pony sisters to carry on living in Canterlot Castle, Twilight to stay in Ponyville with her best friends, and Cadance and Shining Armour to continue watching over the Crystal Empire.
“You’ll be happy to know I have not harvested any of the crystal ponies,” he told them. “I know that they power the Crystal Heart and provide energy to Equestria. I know their morale is important to maintain. Crystal Fairs will be as usual, the Equestria Games will still take place there, and my power in Equestria will never disturb the crystal ponies.”
Glean Fetcher seemed to have great respect for ponykind, and Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Shining Armour were determined to think of a way to exploit that.

While it was true that the crystal ponies’ spirits weren’t dropped, morale everywhere else in the land was low. None of the remaining ponies on Glean Fetcher’s list liked being harvested, even though it was completely painless. For the unicorns, it felt strange because they’d been using their magic all their lives and now it was being sucked out of them.

After school one afternoon, Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon happened to witness Lyra being harvested by Glean Fetcher.
“Wait! I don’t want to be stuck with one voice forever!” she pleaded. “Changing my voice is part of my special talent!”
“Sorry, my friend,” said Glean Fetcher, “but now that I am prince of Equestria, I can’t risk leaving anypony who can use magic unharvested.”
And he disappeared. Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon watched Lyra walk glumly away.
“Way to go, blank flank,” groused Diamond Tiara.
“What did I do?!” demanded Apple Bloom.
“What did we tell you? If you hadn’t called us liars and made everypony not believe us, the royals could have done something about Glean Fetcher other than just go around asking ponies if they’d seen him,” Diamond Tiara growled.
“If he’s got something really evil planned that could ruin Equestria forever,” put in Silver Spoon, “it’ll be all your fault.”
Apple Bloom couldn’t help but feel that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were right. Knowing what was happening now, perhaps she should have taken them seriously the day she found them in the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse. And now she was feeling very guilty.