Apple Bloom Goes Crusading

by Brass Polish

6 Corruption

Discord was right. A formal dinner party with an evil but polite dictator was very awkward. It was also tense for Twilight because Luna, Cadance and Shining Armour kept giving her knowing looks indicating that Celestia had told them about the plan to discourage Glean Fetcher from feeding on pony magic. There was very little conversation and everypony ate so slowly, their food got cold halfway through. It was a little annoying for the Royal Family seeing Glean Fetcher create the entrees and the desserts out of thin air with all the power he stole. The atmosphere felt so uncomfortable that they might as well have been eating cheap food in a dungeon. It ended in a somewhat interesting way though because Glean Fetcher had chosen that time to magic himself a set of wings, making him an alicorn prince. He didn’t expect much enthusiasm from the Royal Family, but he didn’t really care.

That night, Twilight lay awake in her room until well after sundown. She opened her door and peered into the hallway. A guard was standing by the wall across from the room. He looked at Twilight and nodded. Twilight guessed that Shining Armour had spread the word to the Castle Guard. She nodded back, walked down the hall and around the castle, exited through the front gates and flew off to Cloudsdale where Amber Aldis had moved to after she left school.

There weren’t many pegasi around, but the one Twilight approached knew where Amber Aldis was staying and was perfectly happy to give directions. When she eventually found the accommodation, she knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer after a minute, but Twilight was sure she heard movement inside and thought maybe Amber was having a hard time getting out of bed. She knocked again and soon, Amber answered the door. She had definitely been sound asleep before Twilight had knocked. Her eyes were red with huge bags under them, and her mane and tail were tangled messes.

“Oh, hi Twilight,” she yawned. “What are you doing?”

“Amber, you know Glean Fetcher is stealing everypony’s magic essence, right?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah,” said Amber. “He hasn’t come to me yet.”

“Good thing,” said Twilight with raised eyebrows.

“I guess,” Amber replied.

Then her droopy eyes snapped open.

“Whoa! I totally forgot about my infection!” she cried. “It’s been so long since I gave up magic and got into flying that I forgot why I had to! I gotta tell Glean Fetcher!”

Amber stepped out of her home and spread her wings.

“Hold on a minute, Amber,” said Twilight. “I have a plan to demoralize Glean Fetcher.”

Since Amber couldn’t use magic or have magic used on her due to the strange disease she got from eating an apple infected by a Venomodo claw, Twilight thought it would be a good idea to send the hereditary alicorn to the Mirror Pool.

“We’ll have to bring someone strong with us because the entrance is blocked off by a boulder,” Twilight said to Amber. “We’ll bring your reflection to life and it’ll be your decoy. When Glean Fetcher finds your duplicate and tries to harvest its magical essence, KA-BOOM!”

“That’s crazy,” said Amber. “There’s no such thing as a Mirror Pool. It’s just a…”

The look on Twilight’s face told her that she had to know something.

“You actually know where it is?” asked Amber in disbelief.

Twilight told her about the Pinkie Pie hurricane.

“That sounds more horrifying than blowing up,” groaned Amber when Twilight had finished.

In order to avoid getting caught leaving Cloudsdale by Glean Fetcher, Twilight and Amber flew to Ponyville that night and slept in the Library until morning. After sunrise, they went to fetch Big McIntosh to help them move the large boulder that was blocking the entrance to the Mirror Pool. However, when the three of them entered the Everfree Forest and arrived at the hole in the ground leading to the pool, it was completely unblocked.

“I don’t see any boulders,” said Amber. “Do you?”

“Nnnnope,” replied Big Mac.

“Look there,” said Twilight, pointing several feet away from the hole.

The boulder that was supposed to be blocking the entrance was sitting in the ground several feet away. Unbeknownst to them, Sweetie Belle had magiced that boulder into the air during practise earlier that week not realizing that the Mirror Pool was down there.

“Could somepony have gone down to multiply themselves?” asked Amber. “Could it have been Glean Fetcher?”

“I don’t think so,” said Twilight. “Glean Fetcher wouldn’t want other insanely powerful alicorns around. He wouldn’t want competition.”

“He’s an alicorn now?” asked Big McIntosh.

Twilight went down first to make sure no one was in there. The cave appeared to be empty, so she called Amber down. Big Mac was staying outside and keeping a lookout. Amber walked up to the water.

“You remember the poem?” asked Twilight.

Amber looked back. “How did it go?”

Twilight groaned. “Into her reflection she stared, yearning for…”

“Oh, right. I remember now,” said Amber.

She turned back around and looked at herself in the water.

“And into her reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared,” Amber recited. “And she solemnly sweared not to be scared… um…”

“At the prospect of being doubly mared,” her reflection finished.

Amber jumped backwards. She and Twilight watched as Amber’s reflection left the flat surface of the water and stood before them totally solid.

“Thanks for getting me outta there,” it said. “It’s, uh, awfully pink down there.”

Apple Bloom and her crew had woken up early and gone to the Everfree Forest as well. The place they entered was nowhere near the entrance to the Mirror Pool, so Big McIntosh did not spot them.

“Hey Apple Bloom,” said Diamond Tiara, “if we’re all taking turns wearing the amulet, what are we gonna do when we finally use it on Glean Fetcher?”

Apple Bloom had to admit that that was a good question.

“Um, I guess one of us would wear it and the rest of us will put our hooves on it,” she said.

Diamond Tiara snorted, but she couldn’t think of a better idea so they all agreed that that was what they would do.

“Who’s gonna wear it when we face him?” asked Gilt Eyes.

“Scootaloo should wear it,” said Snips.

“She wore it the longest without turning evil,” agreed Snails.

Scootaloo was quite nervouscited at the idea, and once again, no one had any objections.

After Twilight Sparkle, Amber Aldis and Amber Aldis 2 had left the Mirror Pool cave, Big McIntosh shoved the boulder back over the hole.

“Now when you see Glean Fetcher, fly into the air as high as you can right away,” Twilight said to Amber 2.

“OK, Toilet,” nodded Amber 2.

Twilight groaned as Amber cackled like mad. “That’s Twilight.”

“Right.”

“Now Amber, I’m sending you to Zecora’s to hide out while your reflection lives your life for you,” Twilight went on. “You can hang out with Spike until Glean Fetcher’s done with her.”

“He’s that short one who goes all gooey whenever Rarity’s around, right?” asked Amber.

“Yep, that’s him,” answered Twilight.

“OK. Well, bye Twilight. Bye Big Mac. Bye Amber.”

“See you later, Amber,” smiled Amber 2.”

And Amber turned away and headed to Zecora’s house. Twilight, Big Mac and Amber 2 carried on out of the forest.

And who should be outside getting ready to absorb Minuette’s magic but Glean Fetcher. Amber 2 was true to its word. It took off immediately, catching Glean Fetcher’s attention and distracting him from Minuette.

“What’s this?” he said. “A runaway?”

“Run, Amber! Run!” Twilight and Big Mac bellowed to the solid reflection soaring above them.

“Oh, that’s Amber Aldis!” exclaimed Glean Fetcher. “She’s on my list. Well, no one escapes me!”

“No, Glean Fetcher!” shouted Twilight.

“That’s Prince Glean Fetcher!” snapped the alicorn dictator as he aimed his horn at the sky and lit it like a tiny blue sun.

Zecora and Spike were meeting the foals in the same field they always met in.

“This morning, you shall again improvise,” Zecora instructed. “Use your imagination and amaze our eyes.”

Spike handed the Alicorn Amulet to Apple Bloom, but before she put it on, the sound of an explosion rattled the very air around them. Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle screamed.

“What in Celestia’s name was that?!” shrieked Silver Spoon.

Amber Aldis was nearby with no knowledge of Zecora’s, Spike’s or the nine foals’ presence in the forest. She flew above the trees to see what had happened.

“Look!” said Button, who had spotted Amber hovering several yards away.

Zecora, Spike and the foals looked up at Amber and heard her yelling.

“Whoa! I think Glean Fetcher actually blew her up!”

The foals were nearly thrown off their hooves. Could it be true? Had Glean Fetcher gone a step too far and attacked the citizens of Equestria?

“Little ones, the time had come!” Zecora announced. “Go now and save our beloved kingdom!”

Apple Bloom looked around at her companions. “Ready?”

“Ready!” responded Scootaloo, Silver Spoon and Gilt Eyes together.

Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara, Button Mash, Snips and Snails, shaken but determined, nodded.

Outside the forest, ponies were gathering to the spot under which the explosion had just occurred. Twilight, Big McIntosh and Minuette watched as curious Ponyvillians crowded around them and the overlord prince. And what a sight their current ruler was. He couldn’t have looked more terror-struck if somepony had drained him of all his ill-gotten magic. He was staring straight above him at the clear black smoke that had been obscuring that which he’d inadvertently blown up.

“How… I didn’t… I don’t… Did I just…?”

He could hardly speak in his disbelief and horror. Twilight was quite sure Glean Fetcher was well and truly traumatized.

As ponies began murmuring about Glean Fetcher exploding a pony, out of the Everfree Forest appeared Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Gilt Eyes, Snips and Snails. They quickly surveyed the situation and when it seemed that Glean Fetcher had indeed attacked and destroyed somepony, they immediately took action. Apple Bloom put the Alicorn Amulet on her neck and, quickly but with difficulty, the other eight foals each placed a hoof on the amulet.

“OK,” said Apple Bloom. “Now!”

Some of the crowd had only just noticed that those foals were present, but when an enormous red light blasted from the amulet and enveloped Glean Fetcher completely, no pony was looking at or talking about anything else. Twilight and Big McIntosh were trying to see where the huge red light was coming from, but the glare was too strong and they couldn’t make out who was behind it.

The nine foals put every ounce of will and nerve they had in removing every little bit of magic power Glean Fetcher possessed. Glean Fetcher himself had been caught completely off guard for the second time in so few minutes. He shouted as he felt his strength leave him. He tried to resist, but in his shocked state, he couldn’t cast an effective shield charm. All the magic inside him was rapidly leaving his body and there was nothing he could do about it. The power of the Alicorn Amulet coupled with the combined magical essences of the nine school-age ponies was rendering him completely powerless.

It was over in a minute. As the red light faded, everypony looked to find its source. Not one of them expected a group of foals to be behind the infamous Alicorn Amulet. The parents and relatives of the nine foals were hysterical. Everypony was talking at once. The foals were trying to explain what they’d been doing for the last two weeks, and the adults were fretting over the dangerous item they were all touching. Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Apple Bloom, who was still wearing the amulet, had magiced a boom to catch everyone’s attention. Glean Fetcher was whimpering. The bang had been eerily similar to the one that had destroyed Amber’s reflection.

“Listen up, everypony!” Apple Bloom shouted in a magically amplified voice that was making Vinyl Scratch jealous. “We’ve been taking turns practising using this amulet to stop Glean Fetcher so that none of us would get corrupted by it!”

“Well then take it off!” demanded Applejack, who had pushed her way through the crowd along with Rarity and Filthy Rich.

Apple Bloom reached up to her neck, then stopped. Everyone looked at her.

“I… uh…”

“Apple Bloom, take it off,” said Scootaloo, reaching for the amulet.

“No,” said Apple Bloom, leaning away from her.

Sweetie Belle gasped. “Apple Bloom, you have to take it off before it…!”

“As we all feared, one has worn it too long,” came a voice from the trees.

They all looked and saw Zecora exiting the darkness of the Everfree Forest.

“If you thought it would not happen, you were wrong,” she went on.

“What- what are you saying?” asked Sweetie Belle, beginning to panic.

“Brave young Apple Bloom,” said Zecora gravely, “has become consumed.”

Apple Bloom looked at the shiny amulet on her neck. She was smiling in a way that made everyone around her uncomfortable.

“All this magic,” she said. “I’ve got all this magic.”

“Wait! You got all of Glean Fetcher’s magic?!” exclaimed Button Mash.

“Where did you think it was gonna go?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Back to all the ponies it belongs to!” shouted Scootaloo.

“No way!” Apple Bloom grinned. “It’s all mine now. All the magic in Equestria is mine!”

“Hey!” shouted Gilt Eyes. “You took my magic too!”

Sweetie Belle, Snips and Snails felt strangely empty as well. Apple Bloom had indeed not only absorbed all of the magic Glean Fetcher had collected, but also that of her fellow foals.

Applejack and Big McIntosh walked right up to their little sister.

“Apple Bloom, you gotta give all that magic back,” pleaded Applejack.

“No!” snapped Apple Bloom. “Don’t you know what I can do now? With this much magic, I can finally get my cutie mark. Look!”

She focused her energy and the Alicorn Amulet glowed crimson red. Almost instantly, an image of a horn with two wings appeared on her flank.

“Look at that!” shouted Apple Bloom in delight. “Finally, I have my…!”

She gaped. The winged horn had vanished.

Everyone watched as Apple Bloom tried again and again to give herself a cutie mark. But every time something showed up, it was gone in seconds. Twilight took a tentative step towards her as she began to get frustrated.

“Apple Bloom,” she said, “I told you this before. Magic can’t make someone’s cutie mark appear no matter how powerful it is.”

Apple Bloom’s eye began to twitch. “Who’s next on the list?”

She magiced Glean Fetcher’s scroll towards her and looked at it.

“Apple Bloom, stop!” cried Applejack and Big McIntosh together.

Apple Bloom ignored them and used her immense magic to bring Minuette to her. She started to absorb magic from her too.

“Apple Bloom, please! You’re out of control!” shouted Twilight.

“I’ll get more magic! More!” Apple Bloom roared.

After she’d deprived Minuette of her essence, she tried again to give herself a cutie mark. It didn’t stay on her flank.

“Who’s next?!” she shrieked. “I’ll absorb magic from foals, too! I don’t care!”

The amulet glowed again and out of nowhere, Twist, Rumble and Featherweight appeared in front of her.

“Oh, no! Apple Bloom’s gone bad!” exclaimed Rumble.

Apple Bloom took all their magic in seconds and when she still couldn’t produce her cutie mark, she started to lose her nerve. Amber, who had been flying close enough to hear everything, quickly hid herself back in the forest.

There were voices all around her pleading with her to take that evil amulet off, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She magiced away the hooves of everypony who tried to grab her, and lied down on the ground sobbing.

“I can’t give it up,” she said. “I’ve waited too long for my cutie mark. If I don’t keep collecting magic, I’ll never get it. Never.”

Her friends and family were starting to give up hope. They couldn’t force the amulet off of her due to the magic lock, and the amulet had given her a fanatical obsession with getting her cutie mark. Apple Bloom stood up, grabbed the list, and started to light the amulet intending to teleport to the next town over.

“You don’t need a cutie mark, Apple Bloom!” said a voice.

It was Diamond Tiara. Most of Ponyville knew that Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara were not friends, so this was just as surprising as everything else that had happened that morning.

“You didn’t need one to do anything you’ve done in these past two weeks,” Diamond Tiara went on.

Apple Bloom turned her head and stared at Diamond. The amulet stopped glowing. She was thinking about all the practising she had done with all the foals who had agreed to help her, and about the great care they’d each taken to make sure they didn’t give in to the Alicorn Amulet’s magnetism.

Then Silver Spoon spoke up too. “Wouldn’t you rather earn your cutie mark doing something with your fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

Apple Bloom, unsure but very much distracted, closed her eyes. Part of her was telling her to take Glean Fetcher’s list and teleport to his next port of call. But she was remembering all the fun times she’d had with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in their endeavours to discover their special talents. All the sound around her was fading away. It seemed as if the amazing amount of magic she now possessed was transporting her back in time to the clubhouse, the theatre, Fluttershy’s cottage, the zip line, the bowling alley, the marathon track, and all the places the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gone to in a bid to unlock their hidden potential and find out who they were meant to be. Her stress seemed to waver and she began to feel happier as she recalled those wonderful memories.

Suddenly, the sound of the crowd around her began to come back. And to Apple Bloom, it sounded like they were cheering. She opened her eyes and gasped. Without realizing it, she had taken the Alicorn Amulet off her neck. She didn’t feel like holding onto it at all now. She looked around.

“Where’s Zecora? Where’s the chest?”

Zecora passed through the applauding crowd and held out the wooden chest. Apple Bloom quickly threw the Alicorn Amulet into it and slammed the lid shut. Applejack and Big McIntosh both hugged her.

“You did it, little sis!” cried Big Mac.

“We’re so proud of you!” Applejack beamed.

Apple Bloom felt a little uncomfortable because Applejack was wearing the Element of Honesty and it was jabbing at her shoulder.

“When did you put that on?” she asked after her brother and sister had released her.

“You brought it to me,” answered Applejack. “You brought all the elements of harmony here.”

Apple Bloom looked around again. Twilight had been wearing her Element of Magic the whole time, but Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all had their elements on as well.

“Just before you took the amulet off, a bunch of light beams came out of it and went into us,” continued Applejack. “Then our elements appeared.”

“If I’m not mistaken,” said Twilight, “you gave the six of us our magic back.”

There was only one way to find out. The crowd stepped back to give the royal taskforce room to concentrate. One by one, the elements of harmony lit up. First the Element of Magic, then the Element of Generosity… then the Element of Loyalty, then the Element of Kindness, then the Element of Laughter, and finally the Element of Honesty. Then, as the crowd began to cheer again, Apple Bloom began to glow and light flooded everything. Streaks of bright and colourful light shot across the sky in all directions. All over Equestria, ponies found themselves being visited by one light streak each. The power of the elements of harmony was extracting magical essence from Apple Bloom and returning specific amounts to their rightful owners. Not many earth ponies or pegasi felt a difference, but unicorns knew that they now had their magic back. Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance knew what was happening as well and were delighted to realize that Twilight and her friends had regained the power to use the elements of harmony.

The following day, there was a ceremony in Canterlot. All the Royal Family had learned the whole story about Apple Bloom using the Alicorn Amulet with eight other foals and falling under its evil influence for several minutes. Glean Fetcher, now devoid of power, confidence and even his wings, was sent back to Tartarus. At Canterlot Castle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Gilt Eyes, Snips and Snails were standing before a proud and admiring Princess Celestia, who held the whole court in silence after everything was ready.

“Mares and Stallions,” she said, “Glean Fetcher, the thief who took magic from ponies all over our beloved land, is no longer the ruler of Equestria.”

There was a cheer from all the guests.

“Many of us, myself included, had given up hope of ever finding a solution,” Princess Celestia continued. “And while Princess Twilight had come up with a plan that would pay off in the short run, these courageous foals took a risky move in full awareness of the possible consequences and under the careful supervision of a trusted ally. And while the foal in the lead, Apple Bloom, had fallen under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet after Glean Fetcher’s defeat…”

Apple Bloom shuffled her hooves. She wasn’t very proud of that moment.

“She was able to overcome her sudden lust for power with the help of her friends,” Celestia finished.

Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon all wanted to correct her, but knew it wouldn’t be appropriate. After Ponyville’s Royal Taskforce had returned all the magic to everypony in Equestria, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon kept insisting that they only said those encouraging things to Apple Bloom to get her to take the Alicorn Amulet off. Apple Bloom had had quite a lot of fun teasing them about their kind words to her.

Princess Celestia turned to one of the long, high walls of the throne room, and so did everyone else in the room. A violet curtain had been hanging over one of the windows all morning. Celestia’s horn glowed and the curtain opened. The stain glass window behind it depicted the defeat of Glean Fetcher by Apple Bloom and her eight young companions with the Alicorn Amulet. Cheers and applause echoed around the throne room. It was a proud moment for Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Gilt Eyes, Snips and Snails. No foals had been illustrated on a window in Canterlot Castle since Snowdrop’s time. For the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the idea of earning their cutie marks couldn’t compare to this happy and glorious moment.

Author's Note:

I completely forgot that I had Glean Fetcher do that. Still, he would do it. Buckle up for this one, lads.

Comments

[Tadpole]

I must say, the cover art is awesome.

[Brass Polish]

5309365

I believe the correct term is "levitated".

One of my favourite Thomas the Tank Engine episodes is The Diseasel, and Bill and Ben got me into using magic as a verb as well as a noun.