> Apple Bloom Goes Crusading
>  by Brass Polish
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 Payback
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	When word got out that a prisoner had escaped from Tartarus, but no one had seen or heard from him for over a year after his escape, the fear that had come over Equestria’s citizens had practically gone away completely after a while. The escapee was one of the few inmates who was a pony; a unicorn named Glean Fetcher who had the ability to collect or harvest just about anything. He was sent to Tartarus for stealing money from ponies all over Equestria. After he broke out, everyone in Equestria was commanded to keep watch over their money sacks for months on end. As time passed, it became more and more unlikely that Glean Fetcher was a danger to anyone. Eventually, security slackened, fear faded, and Glean Fetcher was nearly forgotten about completely.

By this point, it was business as usual. Ponies were working and playing all hours of the day. In Ponyville, nothing was out of the ordinary. The weather team had made the day sunny, but breezy. Stores and restaurants had plenty of customers coming and going. And today, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were playing hide and seek in an attempt to find out if any of their special talents was either one of those. They’d been at it all day and so far, Apple Bloom was doing well with the hiding.
“How are you so good at hiding with that huge bow on your head?” asked Scootaloo.
“Well first of all, I don’t giggle when somepony passes my hiding spot,” smirked Apple Bloom.
“OK, why don’t you forfeit your seeking turns for the rest of the day?” Scootaloo suggested. “We’ll see if finding great hiding places is your special talent.”
“And the two of us will look for you at the same time,” added Sweetie Belle.
“You’re on,” Apple Bloom agreed.
And she darted off to find her next superb hiding spot.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle found themselves looking in the strangest places in Ponyville. Apple Bloom was feeling really confident when her two best friends spent almost an hour looking for her hiding in, of all things, a basketball net in the park.
“How did we miss that?!” cried Sweetie Belle. “You were in plain sight and we missed you!”
“Well, you didn’t see me when I was hiding in the display window at Carousel Boutique either,” said Apple Bloom. “And you were looking right at me.”
“I didn’t recognise you,” Sweetie Belle insisted as Scootaloo laughed. “You had that giant hat on.”
“Funny how you didn’t spot me when I was wearing something bigger than my bow,” smiled Apple Bloom.
She was trying to not to show her concern at running out of ideas for hiding places.

While Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle counted to a hundred for the umpteenth time, Apple Bloom was running around town trying to find somewhere or something she hadn’t hidden in before. Eventually, she saw Fluffle Puff, who was doing a bit of drawing at an outdoor café. Apple Bloom thought her huge fur would be a great spot to hide. But as she ran up to Fluffle Puff and jumped into her quaff as if it were a ball pit, she realised what the subject matter of her drawing was. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were posing, each sporting new dresses.
“Dang,” groaned Apple Bloom, as she climbed back out of Fluffle Puff’s sea of fur.
“No, no, stay in there,” said Diamond Tiara.
“We won’t say anything,” said Silver Spoon.
“Yeah right,” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.
“No, really, we won’t,” Diamond Tiara insisted. “Cross our hearts, hope to fly.”
“Stick a cupcake in our eyes,” said Silver Spoon.
Fluffle Puff held up two cupcakes.
“Not literally,” frowned Silver Spoon.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had noticed that Apple Bloom was doing well at eluding Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They both had a feeling that she would finally earn her cutie mark, and they wanted to see how long she could keep it up.
“You swear you won’t tell them I’m in here?” asked Apple Bloom.
They both nodded and Apple Bloom decided to chance it. She climbed back into the massive pink bush, who continued her drawing now that Diamond and Silver were back in their poses.
“If she can outsmart those two,” Diamond Tiara said to Silver Spoon in a quiet voice, “there’ll be one less blank flank in school.”
“You know what?” asked Silver Spoon. “What if she already got her cutie mark, but it’s hiding?”
Diamond Tiara looked at her the way Rarity would look at a pair of plastic horseshoes.
“Just a thought,” Silver Spoon frowned.

Apple Bloom was definitely on to something. Scootaloo approached the café, looked right at Fluffle Puff as she drew Diamond and Silver, but she never thought that Apple Bloom would be hiding in her fur. She walked right by the café and continued to search. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon asked Fluffle Puff to do another drawing after she finished. They wanted to stick around for as long as Apple Bloom was hidden, so they changed poses and waited around. When Sweetie Belle eventually appeared, she walked to the café and approached Fluffle Puff. But she was actually hoping to check if Apple Bloom was concealing herself under Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s dresses.
“Stay out of our new dresses, blanky!” snapped Diamond Tiara when Sweetie Belle requested a peak.
“I only wish we could hide from you and Scootaloo as well as Apple Bloom can,” sneered Silver Spoon.

Apple Bloom was not happy to hear this. It dawned on her that the two bullies were hoping she’d get her cutie mark so she could become friends with them.
“No way am I gonna be friends with you two,” she muttered.
She raised her head and looked outside the pink tall grass. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were watching a very huffy Sweetie Belle walk away indignantly. Apple Bloom had an idea. She rubbed against Fluffle Puff’s fur rapidly, jumped out of her hiding spot, crept up to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and placed a hoof on them.
Bzzzz!
The static shock had made Diamond Tiara’s and Silver Spoon’s manes almost as big as Fluffle Puff’s. There were quite a few ponies at the café for dinner time by now, and they all found it very funny.
“You genius!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “A great hider, and a huge prankster.”
“Don’t draw this!” Diamond Tiara grouched to Fluffle Puff.

Apple Bloom had not earned her cutie mark by the end of the day, but Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sure she was destined to be a hide and seek champion. So they decided to continue their game the next day. This made Apple Bloom happy because she now had the whole evening to think of new hiding spots.
“And this time, don’t hide anywhere near Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” advised Scootaloo. “We don’t want to make it too easy for them to get back at you.”
“They won’t get me,” Apple Bloom smirked. “I’ll be hiding from them more than I’ll be hiding from you two.”
“What can they do anyway?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Bad Seed made them scared to pick on us too much.”
“Would ya stop calling her that?” Apple Bloom demanded.
Scootaloo remembered something. “They know where our secret headquarters is.”
“Well, I guess it ain’t so secret then, is it?” said Apple Bloom.
“I mean they might do something to it,” finished Scootaloo.
“They can’t do that,” Apple Bloom objected. “They’d be trespassing on our farm.”

All the same, Apple Bloom’s concern grew as she returned home. She’d recently spent two days repairing a warped buttress and she didn’t want anything bad to happen to her handiwork. She decided to stand guard for as long as she could in case Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon turned up.
“Apple Bloom?”
The young earth pony jumped out of her slumber.
“Oh no! I fell asleep! Did they wreck the clubhouse?!”
She quickly discovered that the treehouse was undamaged. It was Big McIntosh who had woken her up.
“Bit past your bedtime, ain’t it?” he asked.
“I can’t go to bed,” said Apple Bloom. “I ticked off Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and I think they might try to wreck my clubhouse to get back at me.”
She yawned for thirteen seconds as soon as she’d finished saying that.
“Come on, now,” said Big McIntosh. “Get yourself inside.”
“Big Mac, could you please keep an eye on the clubhouse?” pleaded Apple Bloom.
“Mmm,” Big McIntosh considered. “OK.”

So Apple Bloom walked wearily to the barn, climbed into bed and slept the night away. But the rooster hadn’t even crowed before she woke up and her curiosity compelled her to check up on the clubhouse. She suspected that her brother hadn’t kept watch all night. But when she ran outside into the early morning glow, she saw Big McIntosh lying asleep beneath the steps of the clubhouse with Smarty Pants clutched in his hooves. And there were two figures peering from one of the windows looking startled.
“You two!” bellowed Apple Bloom.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon dashed from the window and clambered down from the clubhouse.
“Apple Bloom! We saw Glean Fetcher!” they both shouted.
“Huh?”
“Just- just before you came!” stammered Silver Spoon. “We saw him appear right in front of Big McIntosh!”
“He put a spell on him!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. “Silver Spoon gasped, and Glean Fetcher saw us and disappeared.”

Apple Bloom ran to Big McIntosh and shook him awake.
“Whoa- what- what is it?”
“Big Mac, are you OK?!” asked Apple Bloom with wide worried eyes.
Big Mac shook his head to get himself fully awake.
“Eeeyup,” he said. “I guess I dozed off.”
“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon said they saw Glean Fetcher!” cried Apple Bloom. “They said he put some kinda spell on you. Do you feel any different?”
“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” repeated Big McIntosh. “Ain’t those the fillies you were worried were gonna wreck your clubhouse?”
Apple Bloom, stricken with realization, looked back at Diamond and Silver, but they’d run off. Then she went into the clubhouse. Lying on the floor was an open bucket of black paint she had never seen before.
“If I hadn’t shown up, they’d have gotten away with their prank,” she said. “They just wanted to scare me when I caught them.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t seem to be done there though. Shortly after the Apple family had finished breakfast that morning, Twilight barged in with Spike riding on her back holding a clipboard. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie walked in behind them with strange machinery on wheels in tow.
“Sorry to barge in, Apples,” said Twilight as Spike ushered Big McIntosh towards the machines.
Before anyone could say anything, Big Mac was wired up like a Hearth’s Warming Eve tree. Computer screens beeped, a long sheet of paper was being scratched by swivelling pens, and the stallion’s pulse and heartbeat were being projected from two large speakers.
“What in tarnation is all this?” demanded Applejack.
“We’ve been told that Glean Fetcher appeared in front of your brother while he was sleeping and did something to him with his magic,” Twilight explained.
Apple Bloom groaned loudly. “Those two went to you?!”
“Well, she is Princess of Ponyville,” said Spike.
“Twilight, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were just pranking me,” said Apple Bloom. “I found a paint can in my clubhouse after they left. I got there before they could do anything, so they told me Big Mac was cursed instead.”
“But then why would they have come to me?” asked Twilight as her equipment continued to beep and whirr.
“Just to creep me out,” Apple Bloom claimed.

“You feeling hungry yet, Big Mac?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“Nnnnope,” replied Big Mac over the beeping and whirring of the machines. “I just ate.”
Twilight slapped her forehead. “This equipment doesn’t make ponies hungry, Pinkie! It records a pony’s life signs and tells us if something’s wrong.”
“Really? The last time I was hooked up to this stuff, I got hungry,” said Pinkie Pie. “And I wasn’t even on there for a minute.”
“How’s he lookin’ so far?” asked Applejack.
Twilight looked at the results her machinery had thus far produced.
“Nothing bad yet,” she said. “Brainwaves are normal, no sign of serious infections or diseases. Let’s give him an eyesight test. Spike?”
“I’m on it,” Spike replied, walking up to Big McIntosh. “OK. How many claws am I holding up?”
“Um, I don’t know,” said Big McIntosh.
“Spike, you’re doing it wrong,” cut in Twilight.
Spike had two claws held up, but he had them held up behind his back.
“You’re supposed to show him your claws,” said Twilight.
“But that’s cheating,” objected Spike.
Twilight slapped her forehead again.

Before the testing was done, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked in.
“Girls, Apple Bloom told me she found an open paint can in her clubhouse,” Twilight said to them. “Were you going to vandalise it?”
“Now, how in the hey do you vandalise a paint can?” asked Granny Smith.
“I meant the clubhouse,” Twilight corrected. She was starting to get annoyed.
Diamond Tiara gulped. “Yes.”
“We were gonna paint over their good idea bulb,” added Silver Spoon.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie laughed like drains.
“What a fine example you two are setting,” moaned Twilight.
“We only wanted to get back at Apple Bloom for giving us static shocks,” Diamond Tiara glowered.
“I did that because you were badmouthing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo while I was hiding,” retorted Apple Bloom. “You thought I was gonna get my cutie mark yesterday, and that’s why you helped me while we were playing. But you still treated my friends like garbage.”
“We did not!” protested Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
The next pony to come barging into the Apple’s kitchen was Fluffle Puff. She rolled in, dropped three drawings in front of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and then jumped out the open window. They looked at the drawings. Fluffle Puff had coloured the sketches she’d done of Diamond and Silver. One drawing in particular interested Apple Bloom.
“Look at this!” she said, showing the drawing to the adult ponies.
Fluffle Puff had drawn Sweetie Belle in this one. And a word bubble was sketched above Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon saying “Nah, nah.”
> 2 Sightings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Quite soon, the machines had done all the readings they could and Big McIntosh appeared to be completely unaltered. Spike unhooked him from all the equipment and Twilight, convinced that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had been lying, was about to tell Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to get in harness when Rainbow Dash approached the two mischievous fillies.
“So what exactly did you see when you were in the clubhouse?” she asked.
“Well…” they said together.
“Uh, you tell her,” said Silver Spoon. “You saw him first.”
“Well, we snuck in the farm through the back door,” Diamond Tiara began.
We have a back door on our farm?” thought Applejack.
“And we walked past Big Mac while he was sleeping,” Diamond Tiara went on. “We didn’t see Glean Fetcher then, but after we got into the clubhouse, we heard a noise from outside and thought Big Mac woke up. I went to peak out the window and there was Glean Fetcher standing right in front of him. I told Silver Spoon and as soon as she got to the window, Glean Fetcher put a spell on him. Silver Spoon gasped, and Glean Fetcher looked up and saw us. Then he disappeared.”
Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding. “And when did Apple Bloom show up?”
“Right after Glean Fetcher left,” said Diamond Tiara.

“Why are you listening to them, Rainbow?” asked Apple Bloom.
Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight. “Um, this isn’t the first time somepony told me they’d seen Glean Fetcher in Ponyville.”
There was a collective gasp in the Apple’s kitchen.
“Who else saw him?!” cried Silver Spoon.
“Berry Punch told me she saw him last month,” admitted Rainbow Dash. “I said I’d tell you all, but I didn’t think she knew what she was talking about. You know what she’s like.”
Twilight’s doubts were fading away rapidly.
“Oh, come on Twilight,” moped Apple Bloom, not convinced at all. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“Three wrongs,” interjected Pinkie Pie.
“Huh?”
“Three. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Berry Punch,” Pinkie Pie explained. “And that’s got to equal one right.”

So the next stop for all their equipment was Berry Punch’s house. After the mare herself was hooked up, Twilight and Rainbow Dash questioned her about her encounter with Glean Fetcher. She didn’t even ask why it took so long for them to interrogate her and instead claimed that she saw Glean Fetcher appear in her bedroom while she was half asleep. She said he put a spell in her and when she sat up, he vanished. So before the day was out, Twilight had implemented a lockdown in Ponyville and wrote a letter to Princess Celestia.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m afraid my friends and I have been told by three sources that Glean Fetcher has been in Ponyville and has used his magic for some unknown purpose. Two ponies have been said to have been cursed by him, but we have been unable to identify the purpose or the effect of his spells. Nothing has been stolen from the victims, and there are no signs of alteration. Please help us question ponies around Equestria if they have seen Glean Fetcher as well and were too scared or disoriented to tell anyone.

Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle.”

A reply arrived quite quickly.

“My dearest Twilight,

I have sent a team of investigators to Western Equestria to find out if Glean Fetcher has been sighted. I would like you to send Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to Cloudsdale, and Rarity and Pinkie Pie to Fillydelphia to help with the investigation. You and Applejack can stay in Ponyville and ask the other citizens if they’ve seen Glean Fetcher. I shall also contact Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour and ask for their assistance.

Good luck and be safe,
Princess Celestia.”

Weeks went by and the investigation did not turn up any new evidence. No one who had been questioned had seen Glean Fetcher anywhere. When they heard about the sources the investigators had to suggest that he was up to something, they were sceptical as well. They didn’t think the testimonies of a mare who was half asleep and two troublesome fillies ought to have been taken seriously. Some of Princess Celestia’s investigators were able to tell when a pony is lying, and they had been met with nothing but straight faces. Princess Luna organised an investigation party as well to talk to ponies who worked night shifts. Cadance and Shining Armour had a delicate job of questioning the crystal ponies without causing panic and alarm, but luckily, they were too put off by the previous claims to think that Glean Fetcher might have been in the Crystal Empire.

All over Ponyville, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were getting funny looks. It seemed as though the only ones who believed their story were Snips and Snails.
“What did he look like?” they would ask whenever they saw the two fillies. “Was he as cool as he looks on his wanted posters?”
Diamond and Silver hated the doubt that was pouring over them from everyone in town, and the fact that the two most gullible and easily impressed ponies were following them around was not helping one bit.
“Stop bugging us!” Diamond Tiara snapped one day. “Why don’t you wait until you’ve seen Glean Fetcher before you start talking about him?”
“But don’t go looking for him,” warned Silver Spoon, remembering that ordeal with the Ursa Minor.
“Why not?” Twist called from the other side of the school yard. “They’d be more convincing witnesses than you two.”
Laughter spread like fog across the grounds. By this point, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were feeling frustrated. They practically hoped that another pony would encounter the wanted unicorn. And they wished it would be Apple Bloom, because she had made them out to be liars in the first place.

At last, the Equestria-wide investigation was over. Every Equestrian citizen was questioned and not one clue of Glean Fetcher’s exploits had been unearthed, much to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s disappointment. They certainly didn’t like being on the receiving end of cheeky insults, which were coming at them from almost every pony their age, and even once or twice from adults.
“Thanks a lot, blanky,” Silver Spoon griped at Apple Bloom one afternoon. “You made us look like idiots.”
“And Glean Fetcher’s gonna get away with whatever he’s planning, and it’s all your fault,” frowned Diamond Tiara.
Apple Bloom was not standing for it. “You shouldn’t have taken your stupid prank to a princess. Think of all the time that all those investigators wasted because of you. That’s all you two can do, isn’t it? Waste ponies’ time?”

That evening, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sleeping over at Button Mash’s house for a night of video games. Gilt Eyes was joining them as well.
“No cheating this time, Gilty,” Button Mash warned.
“Excuse me? I don’t cheat,” Gilt Eyes protested.
“You made the split-screen switch sides to confuse us,” said Button.
“I didn’t mean to do that!” insisted Gilt Eyes. “I got wound up when you were all beating me and I lost control of my magic.”
“You’re a bigger liar than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” chuckled Scootaloo.
Gilt Eyes scowled. He hated Diamond and Silver almost as much as Apple Bloom did, and was not happy to have been labelled a liar like them.

It wasn’t exactly an exciting slumber party. They had to keep their video games’ volume down so as not to disturb Button’s parents. They’d raised their voices several times when things heated up on the screen, and Apple Bloom had to keep hushing them. Button Mash wasn’t quite so concerned about making his parents angry, but Apple Bloom didn’t want him to get into trouble. She had been trying to convince him to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders for a long time, and while Sweetie Belle wasn’t so keen, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo did everything they could to keep Button Mash happy.

It was nearing midnight when they got further into their game, and so far, Button and Sweetie had the highest scores.
“You’re going down, Button,” smirked Sweetie Belle as their tie-breaker game intensified.
“There’s no way you can beat The Stache,” retorted Button Mash.
For a second, Sweetie Belle was distracted as she looked over at Button Mash and saw that he was wearing his father’s moustache.
“Did you take that from your parents’ room again?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Yeah,” replied Button Mash, not taking his eyes off the screen as he pummelled his controller.
“I told you, you gotta stop doing that,” groaned Apple Bloom. “You’re gonna get in trouble.”
“It makes me look cool,” Button insisted.
“It makes you look like a villain from a Donut Steel film,” snorted Gilt Eyes.

Soon, Button Mash had claimed victory and the five foals spent half an hour snacking on chocolates and cracking jokes before settling into their sleeping bags and getting their heads down for the night. Apple Bloom had forgotten about Button’s dad’s moustache in the excitement of that hoof-biting tie-breaker, and when she remembered, she looked over and saw in the moonlight from the window that Button still had the moustache on. She decided to return it, so she slithered out of her sleeping bag, crawled over to Button Mash, removed the moustache from his face without disturbing him, and crept out of the room.

Apple Bloom was approaching Button’s parents’ bedroom so quietly, she could almost break Fluttershy’s record. When she got to the door, she pressed her ear against it. A faint snoring came from inside, suggesting that both parents were asleep. Apple Bloom touched the door and pushed. It did not creak or moan as it swung open. This room also only had moonlight from the window as its only light source. Button’s parents didn’t stir out of their sleep, and Apple Bloom made her way to the small box on their bureau. It looked like she’d be able to complete her mission without getting caught, but as soon as she put back the moustache, there was a disturbance in the corner of the room.

Apple Bloom turned around and gasped loudly. She was face to face with none other than the wanted unicorn Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Berry Punch had claimed to have seen. Glean Fetcher was looking intently at Button’s parents asleep in their beds, but he didn’t notice Apple Bloom by the bureau until she’d squeaked in fright. He took one look at her, pulled a shocked face of his own, and vanished in a ball of blue light. Apple Bloom had screamed before realising that Glean Fetcher had only teleported out of the room. Button’s mother woke up, looked around the room and saw Apple Bloom standing close to the bed.
“Apple Bloom? What are you doing in here?” she demanded.
Apple Bloom didn’t know what to say at first, but then she spotted something on the floor. Something that hadn’t been there when she’d entered the room. It was a scroll. She ran to it, picked it up, and showed it to Button’s mom.
“Glean Fetcher was in here!” she cried. “Look! He dropped this!”
The two of them opened the scroll and looked at it. Quite soon, they were both wide-eyed with shock.

Button’s mom woke her husband and told him to keep an eye on the foals while she and Apple Bloom went to Library to show Twilight the scroll.
“Sorry to bother you this late,” she said when a very drowsy Twilight answered the door, “but Apple Bloom here says she saw Glean Fetcher.”
Twilight was now wide awake. “Are you sure?!”
“Look at this, Twilight,” said Apple Bloom.
She and Button’s mom opened the scroll that Glean Fetcher had left behind.
“It’s a list of every single pony in Equestria,” said Button’s mom.
Twilight magiced the scroll out of their hooves and quickly looked through it. She was very startled and questions were exploding inside her head. About a third of the names on the long list of Equestria citizens were crossed out. Others had checkmarks next to them. And when she looked in the B list, she found check marks next to Big McIntosh’s and Berry Punch’s names.
“Did Glean Fetcher put a spell on her?” Twilight asked Apple Bloom.
“No, he disappeared when he saw me,” Apple Bloom answered. “He didn’t do anything to either of Button’s parents.”
“Get Apple Bloom home,” said Twilight to Button’s mom. “I’m gonna announce a code red and call the taskforce together.”

Red lanterns were lit all over Ponyville. A wave of panic spread over the town as parents went to check on their children and possessions. Applejack couldn’t believe her ears when Apple Bloom showed up at the barn and told her what had happened.
“Twilight wants you to meet her at the Library,” Apple Bloom said when she’d finisher her story.
“On my way!” replied Applejack, and she bolted out of the barn and away from Sweet Apple Acres.
Everywhere she went on her way to the Library, Applejack saw windows lighting up from houses left and right. She met Rarity who was on her way to the Library as well.
“Is Apple Bloom alright?” she asked Applejack.
“Yeah, she’s fine,” replied Applejack. “Button’s dad’s watching Sweetie Belle, so you don’t…”
“Yes, yes, I know,” Rarity stammered. “I just hope Glean Fetcher’s magic didn’t do anything fatal to anypony.”

Barely five minutes since Apple Bloom and Button’s mom had left the Library, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were there.
“Glean Fetcher has been doing something to ponies all over Equestria,” Twilight told them. “This list has every single pony in Equestria on it.”
Her five friends skimmed over the list. There were ponies listed from every city they could think of, some with dashes, others with checkmarks, and others – including Button Mash’s parents – unmarked.
“How come some of the names crossed out and some have checks next to them?” asked Pinkie Pie.
“I looked over the whole thing before you all got here,” said Twilight (Rainbow decided that this was an inappropriate time to call her an egghead), “and from what I’ve seen, all the names that are crossed out are foals, unicorns and alicorns. So I think that whatever he’s doing, he’s only doing it to earth ponies and pegasus ponies.
Rarity couldn’t hide her relief at not being a target of a criminal, but only she and Twilight didn’t feel a twinge of panic upon viewing the list a little closer. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash all had check marks next to their names.
“Oh, no. Do we have to go through those tests?” groaned Rainbow Dash.
No sooner had she spoken when Twilight had hooked her up to the same machines Big McIntosh and Berry Punch had had thrown on them.

Twilight spent hours taking the royal taskforce’s readings one by one. She could not understand why all of their readings were normal when their names were clearly checked off on Glean Fetcher’s list. It was noon the next day by the time Pinkie Pie’s results were coming in. The other members of the taskforce were taking naps around the room. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie shouted.
“I told you!” she called over her rumbling stomach. “I told you these machines make ponies hungry.”
The sleep deprived Twilight didn’t bother to argue. She was trying to figure out what Glean Fetcher was up to. Not one test had shown any sign of abnormality in any of her friends.
“Are you four certain that you didn’t see Glean Fetcher at all since his escape?” she urged.
“If Fluttershy had seen him, she’d have screamed the place down,” insisted Rainbow Dash.
“And none of you feel weak or sick at all?” asked Twilight.
“Weak? Me? Never,” scoffed Applejack.
“Alright. I have an idea for how to catch Glean Fetcher,” said Twilight. “Since he saw Apple Bloom when he left his list behind, he’ll probably come after her. So tonight, we’ll wait in her bedroom with our elements of harmony. If he shows up, we’ll stop him from teleporting away and question him.”
And with that, Twilight promptly fell asleep.
> 3 Defunct
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	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.
> 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.”
> 5 Comrades
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	So that afternoon, Apple Bloom went around Ponyville talking to ponies her own age about the plan to overthrow Glean Fetcher with the Alicorn Amulet. Naturally, the first ones she talked to were her best friends.
“You mean if we take turns using it, we won’t get corrupted?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Zecora will keep an eye on us so none of us wear it too long,” replied Apple Bloom.
“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to use magic,” said Scootaloo. “I guess we could give it a try.”
Next, Apple Bloom spoke to Button Mash and Gilt Eyes.
“This’ll teach him to attack my parents,” said Button Mash with determination.
“Well, I don’t want to lose my power,” Gilt Eyes said thoughtfully. “Even if it is useless.”
Both colts agreed to help Apple Bloom. But after she’d gotten their approval, she had trouble finding other foals to join her. Twist, Rumble and Featherweight were too frightened about possibly losing their minds and becoming evil, so she could not convince them to even give it a shot.
“I wish I could get Babs Seed to join us,” she said to herself. “She wouldn’t be afraid to use it.”
But she was trying not to arouse suspicion, and bringing Babs to Ponyville would raise a few questions.

Gilt Eyes was fuming when Apple Bloom suggested asking Snips and Snails.
“They are unicorns, after all,” said Button Mash. “They know as much magic as you do.”
“But they’re dummies,” Gilt Eyes protested. “If they do agree, they’ll get carried away with how much power they get. And if they don’t agree, they’ll blab to somepony about us.”
However, Snips and Snails were very mature about the subject. They couldn’t forget what Trixie was like when she had the Alicorn Amulet, and they didn’t want any of their schoolmates to fall under its influence.
“You’re sure we won’t get all mean and nasty?” asked Snips.
“Zecora will be making sure we all take it off before it can make us evil,” Apple Bloom assured them.

There were only two school-age foals left to ask, and Apple Bloom knew Gilt Eyes would think they were even worse than Snips and Snails.
“What do you want?” scowled Diamond Tiara.
Apple Bloom straightened up and put on a serious face.
“I need your help,” she said.
Her serious face began to fail when she saw their reactions to her plan.
“Is your brain blank, too?” asked Diamond Tiara.
“You expect us to wear a necklace that makes ponies evil?” asked Silver Spoon.
“Well, it can’t make you two any worse,” Apple Bloom snapped.
Diamond and Silver glared.
Apple Bloom sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I said you were lying about Glean Fetcher. But most of the foals in school are too scared to do anything. I know you two aren’t too scared. You went straight to Twilight after you saw him. You weren’t fooling around.”
“Are you saying you need our help because we’re brave?” asked Silver Spoon.
Apple Bloom nodded.
“Well, say it then,” said Diamond Tiara.
Apple Bloom groaned, and said “We need your help because you’re brave.”
“Alright,” Diamond Tiara smirked. “We’ll help you. Right Silver Spoon?”
“Right.”
“Bump, bump, sugarlump, rump!” the three of them chanted, performing the hoofshake that went with it.

The following morning, each of the foals who would be practising using the Alicorn Amulet told their families that they were all playing hide and seek together. The only ones to be slightly suspicious were Applejack and Rarity, as they knew their little sisters never played with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The explanation they gave was that they were settling a bet with them, so Applejack and Rarity did not think on it for long, but warned them not to get into a big fight. The foals who had not agreed to join them kept their promises to keep it a secret, so no one in Ponyville had any reason to suspect that they were going to take turns trying on a potentially harmful object.

The nine foals met Zecora at a field in the Everfree Forest. She had the wooden chest from her house with her when they arrived.
“Already, I am proud of you all,” she said when she saw how many foals Apple Bloom had brought. “It is very bold of you to answer this call.”
Snips and Snails smiled smugly.
Zecora opened the chest. “First, you must practise self-control. So who would like to be the first foal?”
She looked in Snips and Snails’ direction. They immediately abandoned their smugness.
“Apple Bloom’s the one who brought us here,” said Button Mash. “Why doesn’t she go first?”
“Yeah,” Snips agreed instantly. “Apple Bloom should definitely go first.”
Snails nodded.
“You did want to use it on your own before,” said Scootaloo to Apple Bloom.
“I know,” Apple Bloom was shivering a bit. “But…”
“Now that you’ve got us, you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Sweetie Belle said with an encouraging smile.

So Apple Bloom stepped forward and Zecora gave her the Alicorn Amulet.
“When you put it on, try to close that chest lid,” said the zebra. “Then take it off right away. Are you ready kid?”
Apple Bloom nodded, looked at the open wooden chest, and placed the amulet on her neck. She didn’t feel any different, but she knew she couldn’t keep it on for long. She stared intently at the chest, concentrated on the lid, and then watched as it glowed red and snapped shut. She took the amulet off as soon as the chest closed. Everypony was gazing at her with impressed and amazed faces.
“How do you feel?” asked Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom considered. “Normal, I guess.”
“You’re not evil now, are you?” Snails whimpered.
“I don’t think so,” replied Apple Bloom. “It did feel weird using magic.”
Button Mash found Apple Bloom’s trial run with the amulet very encouraging. “Can I go next?”
“If you feel you are ready, very well then,” said Zecora. “You shall try to open that chest again.”
Button Mash hesitated for a few seconds after Apple Bloom handed the Alicorn Amulet to him. He was strongly reminded of a video game where the players could collect power-up items when they found wooden chests. Once he put it on, he put all his focus on getting that lid open. In a flash, the lid glowed red and the chest flew open.
“Just like Super Seabiscuit Sisters!” beamed Button Mash as he took the amulet off.

“Who’s next?” asked Apple Bloom.
No one came forward.
“Go on,” said Zecora. “Be brave like Button and Apple Bloom. How about you, young Silver Spoon?”
Silver Spoon flinched.
“Go ahead,” said Diamond Tiara. “If those two can do it, so can you.”
“Um… alright,” Silver Spoon gulped.
She walked up to the chest and Button gave her the amulet.
“OK,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Here I go.”
She put the amulet on, eyed the chest, willed it to close, and took the amulet off as soon as the lid came down.
“Way to go, Silver Spoon!” Apple Bloom cheered.
Silver Spoon smiled. “That was kinda fun. Come on, Diamond Tiara. Give it a try.”
So Diamond Tiara went next. Just like the first three who tried out the Alicorn Amulet, she put it on, willed the chest open, took the amulet off, and did not feel the least bit changed.

“Gilt Eyes, how about you go next?” asked Button Mash.
“But I can already use magic,” said Gilt Eyes. “Look.”
He shut the wooden chest using his own magic.
“The point is to use magic with the amulet on,” Zecora reminded. “Resist its magnetism, and you have won.”
So Gilt Eyes tried using his magic under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet. Unlike the earth ponies who had tested it before him, he felt different when he put it on. He was sure he could feel his power growing. But he didn’t do anything beyond what was instructed. He magiced the chest open and removed the amulet from his neck.
“Well, that wasn’t too hard,” he said. “Wanna try it, Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie Belle didn’t say anything, but accepted the amulet when Gilt Eyes passed it to her. She too felt change when she wore it, and she’d never gotten the hang of simple magic like telekinesis before. Even so, she did not feel an urge to keep wearing the Alicorn Amulet after she’d magiced the chest shut.

Snips went next, followed by Scootaloo, and finally Snails took a turn. And not one of them left the amulet on for too long to feel power-hungry.
“Congratulations. I’m very impressed,” Zecora beamed. “All nine of you have passed the first test.”
Apple Bloom and her companions all smiled. They too were happy with how their endeavour was going so far.
“I think you are ready to step up your game,” Zecora went on. “Now where is Spike? I thought he came.”
Spike had gone with Zecora to the field before the foals arrived, but he hadn’t forgotten what Trixie did when she wore the Alicorn Amulet either. He didn’t want to get turned into a bouncing ball again. He had hidden behind a tree watching them try the amulet on one by one.
“Young dragon, please put away your fears!” Zecora called out. “I am sure you won’t be harmed by these little dears!”
Having seen them keep their heads when opening and closing the chest, Spike decided he’d take the risk.
“Here I am,” she said, walking out from behind the tree.

Zecora asked the foals to take turns levitating Spike. The baby dragon quickly lost his fear completely. One by one, the foals put the amulet on, raised and lowered him, and passed the amulet on to the next foal. Not one of them hesitated to take it off or try and use some sort of dark magic. Button Mash was the last one to try lifting Spike off the ground, but he found he couldn’t do it. For several seconds, he focused all his energy is raising Spike into the air, but to no avail. Quickly, he removed the amulet from his neck.
“Ah! Very wise, little Button,” said Zecora with delight. “Better to fail than become a glutton.”
“We were really worried there for a second,” said Scootaloo. “Pretty smart of you, Button.”
“Thanks,” said Button Mash, not discouraged at all despite not being able to lift Spike up. “Should I try again or give somepony else a turn.”
“I think you should give it another try,” said Apple Bloom. “Agreed?”
Everyone else nodded. So Button Mash put the amulet back on and glared at Spike again. He thought of nothing but lifting the tiny dragon off his feet. At last, Spike rose higher and higher. Satisfied, Button set Spike back down and took the amulet off again.
“This is great!” Apple Bloom jumped into the air excitedly. “We’ll get to use magic as good as Twilight’s in no time!”
“I will not say I have any doubt,” said Zecora. “But remember, baby steps is what this is about.”
Spike tried not to take that as a joke.

For over a week, the Alicorn Amulet was passed around like a baton. After opening crates and levitating small objects (and animals) on the first day, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Gilt Eyes, Snips and Snails moved on to spells that they learned about from some of Twilight’s books which Spike had smuggled from the Library. Twilight wasn’t likely to look for these books because they were about simple beginner spells. The foals spent days practising growing spells, shrinking spells, colour changing spells, and vanishing spells on things like plants and stones. And not one of them showed any sign of possession during these sessions. None of them ever wore the Alicorn Amulet for more than twenty seconds. They always listened to Zecora’s instructions and advice, and every day, the magic they attempted got more complicated, but there were little to no difficulties. Things were going so well that Zecora felt as though the youngsters would manage to dethrone Glean Fetcher by the next full moon.

No one in the Royal Family had given up on trying to solve the Glean Fetcher problem for themselves, but no feasible solutions were drawn up. And all over Equestria, Glean Fetcher was appearing before unicorns on his list and removing their magic essence. One afternoon, Twilight was having a hard time thinking of a plan because Discord had chosen her Library to complain about Glean Fetcher that day.
“Without my magic, I’m just a pile of spare animal parts,” he griped. “I’m a hot dog, that’s what I am.”
“Why are you complaining about this now?” groaned Twilight.
“Well, if anything, it’s because I keep forgetting that Glean Fetcher’s the bad guy,” said Discord, now starting work on a tower of books. “He treats Celestia and Luna like…”
“Princesses Celestia and Luna,” Twilight corrected.
“Oh, come on. You never complain when I call you just plain Twilight,” frowned Discord. “Oh, alright. He treats Princesses Celestia and Luna like they were his sisters. Every night, they have dinner together and he lets them eat as much as they want and whatever they please. It’s super awkward for them and all, but anyone would expect somepony who overthrows the rulers of the land to lock them up in a dungeon or something.”
“Yeah, he does have a lot of respect for ponykind,” agreed Twilight. “That’s the weakness we all want to take advantage of, but there just doesn’t seem to be a way to do it.”

Discord noticed that Twilight was wearing her crown.
“Why are you wearing that thing when you can’t use it?” he asked.
“I want to be prepared in case something can be done,” replied Twilight.
Discord chuckled. “It’s too bad you haven’t been able to use your element since you got back from that alternate world. First you couldn’t use it to get rid of that Venomodo, and now you…”
“Amber Aldis!” cried Twilight.
“Who?” asked Discord.
Twilight didn’t answer. She simply zoomed across the room and out of the front door.

When she got outside, she stopped in her tracks. There was Glean Fetcher outside the Library feasting on Vinyl Scratch’s magic. His scroll was lying on the ground next to him. Twilight crept up to it and looked over the list. It was in alphabetical order, but Glean Fetcher was obviously choosing ponies at random to visit. To Twilight’s relief, Amber Aldis’ name did not have a checkmark next to it, but the slash that had been through it when Apple Bloom discovered it was gone. This meant she was still a target.
“Ah, hello Princess Twilight,” said the unicorn overlord when he saw Twilight. “What perfect timing. Would you care to dine with us at Canterlot Castle this evening? Your brother and Princess Cadance will be there as well.”
Twilight was angry at Glean Fetcher for acting as if he had done nothing wrong, but she wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to visit the rest of the Royal Family when she had a plan to explain to them. So she accepted the invitation, and Glean Fetcher rolled up his scroll and disappeared.

That evening, Twilight flew to Canterlot and found Princess Celestia in the garden at the castle. She was looking at the setting sun.
“He does it all now,” she said when Twilight landed next to her. “He raises the sun at day and the moon at night, he spreads love and light around the Crystal Empire…”
“Princess,” Twilight interrupted, “I have an idea.”
Celestia perked up. “You have?”
“It won’t make Glean Fetcher lose his power, but it should demoralise him,” said Twilight.
She whispered her plan in Celestia’s ear.
The princess of the daytime nodded. “Good thinking, Twilight Sparkle. I’ll pass the word. My advice is to wait until tomorrow morning. Glean Fetcher has set up a room for you and he’ll get suspicious if you request to leave right after dinner.”
“But what if he visits Amber before then?” asked Twilight worriedly.
“I’m sure it’s worth the risk,” Celestia insisted. “He still has over ten thousand unicorns to visit. But I suppose you could leave tonight just in case. I don’t think the guards will object. They’re still loyal to us.”

In the Everfree Forest, Apple Bloom and her companions were progressing beautifully. All nine foals were now teleporting, lifting enormous rocks, making trees dance, duplicating bushes, aging flowers, and making Spike grow and shrink, and still the Alicorn Amulet hadn’t warped any of their minds.
“You have all been at this for a while,” Zecora said to them while they were taking a break. “I think that next practise, you can go freestyle.”
“You mean we can try our own thing?” asked Scootaloo. “Can I go first? Please?”
Zecora decided to say no. She was wondering if Scootaloo was getting addicted. But Scootaloo did not object at all when the zebra said she would let Apple Bloom go first.

Apple Bloom decided to make the trees around Zecora’s hut bare all sorts of fruit. In no time, there were fresh, ripe apples, oranges, bananas, cherries and plums hanging from the branches, which passed the taste test from Snips and Snails. Sweetie Belle went next, and she amazed them all by lighting an enormous technicolour fire from her horn. All too soon, it was Button’s turn. The foals and even Zecora had a laugh when he conjured a game controller and made Spike do everything he made him do for less than half a minute. Diamond Tiara used her turn to transform her cheap plastic diadem into a glimmering gold crown. She changed it back before handing the amulet to Snips, who moulded a big manticore out of dirt and made it roar. Next, Gilt Eyes took his own magic ability one step further and mirrored Zecora’s house. Zecora was very disoriented when she looked inside and found everything on the wrong side of the room. Before Gilt Eyes passed the amulet on to the next foal, he restored the hut to normal. Silver Spoon spent sixteen entertaining seconds walking through the trunks of the trees as if they were illusions. And when Snails’ turn came, he created a basin of pudding out of one of Spike’s scales. No one was surprised.

At last, the Alicorn Amulet was given to Scootaloo. It was clear right away why she was eager to choose her own spell. She used an age spell to make her roughly as old as Rainbow Dash. Her wings were fully grown and she spent a happy twenty-seconds flying above Zecora’s hut before landing next to Apple Bloom, restoring her chronological age and taking the amulet off her neck. The other foals cheered. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon decided not to tell Scootaloo that she didn’t have a cutie mark in that older state.
“This is so cool and totally bizarre at the same time,” said Snips excitedly. “I’ll bet no foal in the history of Equestria has ever done advanced magic like this.”
“No earth pony or pegasus either,” put in Button Mash.
> 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.