Apple Bloom Goes Crusading

by Brass Polish

4 Zecora's Challenge

Apple Bloom decided to visit Twilight at the Library to see if she and her royal family members had thought of anything.

“Sorry, Apple Bloom. But Glean Fetcher’s getting stronger and stronger every day and there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do about it.”

Apple Bloom’s heart sank.

“And you still can’t use the elements of harmony?” she asked.

“I’m afraid not,” said Twilight. “None of us have any magic in us anymore.”

Apple Bloom was slightly puzzled. “I thought as long as you all stayed true to what those elements represent, you’d never have trouble with ‘em.”

“It’s not just upholding kindness and generosity and everything,” Twilight explained. “We each need our own magic essence to make the elements work too.”

“So…” Apple Bloom pondered, “Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could use their magical essences when they used the elements of harmony?”

“That’s right,” answered Twilight. “There are outlets for non-unicorn ponies to harness the magic potential they possess other than the elements of harmony.”

“Hmm. Can you get any others?” asked Apple Bloom.

“None that are safe to use,” said Twilight. “Remember the Alicorn Amulet?”

“Yeah.”

“I reread that book Fluttershy found and it doesn’t say that the amulet only gives a lot of magic power to unicorns. If an earth pony or a pegasus wore it, they’d be able to use their magic and it would be really powerful.”

“Really?”

“But it would still corrupt their minds,” frowned Twilight. “So we can’t use it to stop Glean Fetcher without turning evil ourselves.”

A youngster’s imagination can be a blessing and a curse. In Apple Bloom’s case in these circumstances, it was a curse. Since she left the Library that evening, she couldn’t help but picture Glean Fetcher, having harvested every last pony in Equestria for their magical essence, giving a huge speech in Canterlot.

“I would like to thank Apple Bloom for making everypony not believe the only witnesses to my evil plans,” he would say every time she imagined this. “If it hadn’t been for her, I would never have stolen all your magic and taken over this land. So let’s hear a big round of applause for young Apple Bloom!”

And instead of applause, Apple Bloom was booed and yelled at by everyone who had had their magic taken away from them, including the Royal Family, Ponyville’s Royal Taskforce, the Apple family, and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. She spent a long time by the fountain trying not to cry at the thought of being hated by the whole of Equestria. And the more she hoped this wouldn’t happen, the more the Alicorn Amulet came back to her mind.

There must be a way for somepony to use it without turning evil, she thought.

She didn’t see how it was possible, but her imagination began to run away with her. She knew that Glean Fetcher was not collecting magic from foals. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking that she should find the Alicorn Amulet and use it to strip Glean Fetcher of his power.

The next morning, Apple Bloom wanted to get these visions out of her head so badly, that she decided to visit Zecora, to whom Twilight had given the Alicorn Amulet to hide once they’d gotten it away from Trixie. When she got to her house in the Everfree Forest, she was measuring ingredients for some sort of potion. She told the zebra about the awful guilt she was feeling and how she felt it was necessary to use the Alicorn Amulet to win against Glean Fetcher. She expected Zecora to refuse to tell her where she’d hidden it, but she didn’t.

“I understand the problem, Apple Bloom. Glean Fetcher’s intentions will lead to doom,” she said gravely. “And as we know of no other outlet, the item you speak of is our best bet.”

“So will you tell me where you hid it?” asked Apple Bloom.

Zecora nodded and walked into another room in the house. She didn’t return with the amulet though. Instead, she had a map of the Everfree Forest with directions inked in in green.

“With this, you will find the item you need,” she said, passing the map to Apple Bloom. “To begin your quest, just have a read.”

“Um, aren’t you coming with me?” asked Apple Bloom.

“There are dangers that lead to that amulet,” Zecora said. “And if you cannot face them, you cannot use it. This journey will be your rights of passage. Succeed, and you can repair the damage.”

Apple Bloom was scared. She knew the Everfree Forest was home to many strange and dangerous creatures, many of which did not like ponies. She spent a long time looking out of Zecora’s front door as the zebra packed some food and drink for her.

“I am not forcing you to go,” Zecora said, holding onto the saddlebags of supplies. “You can call it off, you know.”

But the guilt Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had made Apple Bloom feel quickly replaced her fear of encountering a dangerous animal.

“I have to do this, Zecora,” she said stubbornly. “I have to fix everything.”

So Zecora placed the saddlebags on Apple Bloom’s back, bade her farewell, and the young filly set off.

The Everfree Forest always looked dark, even during daytime. For an hour, Apple Bloom walked along an overgrown path of bushes and shrubberies. Every sound and every shadow made her think a monstrous beast was going to pounce on her. But the only danger she’d come across so far was a really bad smell that seemed to be coming from a tangle of vines that sat atop a small cliff.

“PU!” she groaned. “What kinda nasty thing’s making that stink?”

She froze.

“Timberwolves,” she said in a whisper.

She walked gingerly on, casting constant nervous glances at the piles of vines. The smell got stronger as she passed them, but nothing stirred within them. Before she knew it, she was well away from the vines and that stench.

“Wonder if I’ll end up discovering something special like Granny Smith did,” Apple Bloom said, her spirits lifting at the thought.

Soon, she got tired and sat herself down on a stump to eat. She unrolled the map to make sure she was on track, and when she did, something came off the back of it. She was surprised to discover that it was a photograph of Rarity.

“Why was there a picture of Rarity stuck to Zecora’s map?” she wondered.

She could not think of any possible reason. She didn’t know if Rarity had helped her hide the Alicorn Amulet, or if Zecora was trying to give her a clue as to how to use it safely.

“I’d think if Rarity wore the Alicorn Amulet, she’d become a fashion fiend,” she said to herself.

In the end, she decided that the most plausible reason was that Zecora had photos of all her friends and out of all of them, Rarity’s happened to get stuck to her map.

When she was on her way again, she kept consulting Zecora’s map because now there were a lot of direction changes she had to make. More strange sounds made her jump, and more odd shadows made her nervous. There were overgrown bushes and trees everywhere she looked. This had to be the wildest part of the Everfree Forest. Apple Bloom was certain she’d run into a threatening creature soon, especially because she swore she heard rushing footsteps somewhere nearby. She stopped, listened, and waited. No creatures appeared. The only sound now came from the occasional breeze rustling the leaves in the trees. Very cautiously, she carried on.

At last, she reached the location that the green inked line on the map indicated was the hiding place for the Alicorn Amulet. It was a large pile of tree branches. It sort of looked like somepony’s firewood collection.

“This is it,” she said shakily. “This is where it is. All I have to do is…”

“Who goes there?!” came a voice from within the pile.

Apple Bloom jumped into the air higher than Rainbow Dash ever did.

“Leave now, intruder!” demanded the voice.

Apple Bloom took a deep breath and tried not to sound scared.

“I-I’m here t-to find s-something,” she said.

“There is nothing here for you,” said the menacing voice. “Go away!”

“I’m trying to get the Alicorn Amulet,” Apple Bloom gulped.

And she took a step towards the pile of branches.

“Do not come any closer!” warned the voice. “Or you will suffer!”

Apple Bloom yelped as flames shot from beneath the branches making it look like a massive bonfire.

“A dragon!” she cried.

“Yes. Now leave my home,” said the voice when the flames stopped.

Apple Bloom didn’t budge. “I have to get the amulet. Do you have it?”

“I do. And you cannot have it! Go home!”

“I can’t,” said Apple Bloom, fearful yet unable to make herself turn away. “I have to fix a big problem I caused.”

“Is it worse than being burned by a mighty dragon’s flames?” inquired the voice.

Apple Bloom remembered that awful vision of her friends and family looking at her with deepest hatred.

“Way worse,” she choked.

For a moment, there was silence. Then the branches started to shift. Apple Bloom’s legs were shaking like paint mixers. The dragon revealed himself to her.

“Spike?!”

“Hey, Apple Bloom,” said Spike in his normal voice. “You OK?”

“What are you doing here?!” shouted Apple Bloom. “You scared the life outta me!”

“Zecora told me you wanted to find the Alicorn Amulet, so she sent me to follow you to try and… what’s the word?… discourage you from it,” said Spike.

“Wait a minute,” said Apple Bloom. “What were you doing at Zecora’s anyway?”

“I’ve been living with her since that investigation started,” Spike explained. “Twilight said that Glean Fetcher had been sent to Tartarus because he was planning to bribe the team of unicorns that kept watch for intruding dragons to let him take over. He wanted to command an army of them so he could take over Equestria. So Twilight sent me to Zecora’s to hide me in case Glean Fetcher tried to recruit me.”

“You?”

“I am a dragon, after all,” Spike said.

Apple Bloom reached into her saddlebags.

“Is this yours?” she asked, showing Spike the picture of Rarity.

Spike quickly snatched the photograph out of her hooves.

“Thanks,” he said with a bit of a frown.

“So that was you I kept hearing?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Yeah. I was following you trying to beat you to Zecora’s firewood stash,” said the baby dragon.

“What?!”

“Yeah. She stores her extra firewood here because it’s along a path by stink vines,” said Spike.

“Stink vines?”

“Vines that make a nasty smell to drive away animals that would want to eat them,” Spike explained. “So no animals would come here and attack you. Zecora figured you’d either turn back after you smelled those vines, or once I’d scared you off. But I don’t want to upset you too much. You sounded really sad just then.”

“I am sad,” sighed Apple Bloom. “Why would Zecora toy with me like this?”

“She just wanted you to get the idea of using the Alicorn Amulet out of your head,” said Spike. “She’s no fool. She knows it’s way too dangerous for you to put that thing on.”

“But what choice do I have?” asked Apple Bloom. “There’s no other way to overpower Glean Fetcher if the elements of harmony won’t work.”

“That doesn’t make the Alicorn Amulet any less dangerous,” Spike said.

Apple Bloom turned around, thoroughly disheartened.

“I’ll have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life,” she said sadly.

“Apple Bloom, it’s not your fault,” Spike insisted. “Glean Fetcher was sucking magic out of ponies way before you called Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon liars.”

“I felt so sure I’d be able to fix everything,” Apple Bloom smiled faintly. “Zecora made me think everything was gonna be OK. Why’d she have to send me on a wild goose chase and get my hopes up?”

They found Zecora waiting for them at her front door when they returned.

“Did you find your journey fruitful?” inquired Zecora.

Apple Bloom glared.

“Or was it unbearably brutal?” Zecora asked.

“Why didn’t you just tell me you wouldn’t let me have the amulet?” Apple Bloom demanded.

“Because you can have it, Apple Bloom,” replied Zecora. “This whole time, it has been in this room.”

Apple Bloom and Spike were shocked. Zecora showed them into her house and pointed to a wooden chest next to the wall.

“I gave you that task to see your determination, and now I know how strongly you feel this obligation,” Zecora said to Apple Bloom. “But you must not carry this burden alone. You must not use the amulet on your own.”

“What are you saying?” asked Apple Bloom.

“You are a foal, so Glean Fetcher won’t suspect. But you are not the only one in town I expect,” said Zecora. “I suggest that you gather some school friends, and treat the amulet like the taskforce’s elements.”

Apple Bloom was feeling much less tense now. “You mean I should get some other foals to help me?”

“You can take it in turns to sample its essence,” Zecora smiled. “And I will watch you to make sure you don’t cecum to malfeasance. And remember, you must be discrete. We want this endeavour to be a secret.”

Author's Note:

Seems Luna was denied an opportunity here.

Comments

[Rayanne]

Well. Zecora is awesome