//------------------------------// // Chapter 32 // Story: Inner Demons // by Azure Sandora //------------------------------// This chapter is brought to you by The Running Free by Coheed and Cambria. I consider this song to be Apple Bloom's theme. Chapter 32: The Final Hazard It felt like she had been flying for a long time. The tower didn't look that far away from Tartarus, but now that was approaching it, it was apparent that the tower was simply massive. She had to traverse this tower and make find a way to Elysium? She silently hoped that Twilight and whatever took her was still in the tower. Apple Bloom reached a ledge on the tower and looked down. She couldn't even see the ground under her. Either she was just that high, or she wasn't in Tartarus anymore. She had a horrible feeling that it was the former. "Guess there's no turnin back now," Apple Bloom said to herself. She now felt the weight of what she was doing, and realized that there was no way for her to come back. Applejack... Ah'm so sorry... Rather than spend time feeling sad about something that she couldn't change, she turned around and faced the tower. As she approached it, she saw five lights fly around her; a white light, a pink light, a blue light, a yellow light, and a red light. A golden necklace formed around her neck, and the lights landed on it in a circle. The white light turned into a crystal, the pink light turned into a balloon, the blue light turned into a lightning bolt, the yellow light turned into a butterfly, and the red light turned into an apple. The center of the necklace was blank, but it looked like something was supposed to fit there. These were the Elements of Harmony, minus the Element of Magic. If she was going to defeat Twilight's darkness, she would need to find Twilight and get the Element of Magic from her. Well, it was now or never. Apple Bloom took a deep breath, and ran into the tower. At first the inside of the tower was dark, and the walls looked ruined. There had to be a staircase somewhere for her to use to get higher. So... instead of coming to face me themselves... They send a single pony in their place... "Where's Twilight?" Apple Bloom shouted to the dark voice. Twilight is safe... Enveloped in my darkness... "Safe? Ah don't understand!" Everypony can see her in the light... She is vulnerable... Here she won't feel pain... She'll never suffer again... "Yer NOT protectin her! Yer jus' tryin ta protect yerself! Ya know can't destroy Equestria without Twilight, so yer hidin behind noble words! Yer nothin but a monster!" I am Twilight's darkness... Calling me such... Accuses Twilight of being a monster as well... "Twilight isn't a monster! She's jus feelin trapped, an' yer the one trappin her! Ah came here ta save Twilight an' stop you, an' Ah don't plan on leavin 'till Ah do both in that order!" You can't destroy me... No one can destroy me... "Watch me!" As soon as she said that, there was a rumbling in the tower. Apple Bloom didn't want to stick around to see what was happening, so she galloped forward, praying that she didn't hit a dead end. She turned to the left and saw a doorway ahead of her, and something blue glowing ahead. Was that good? Only one way to find out. She ran into the room, and saw what looked like a control panel, but the buttons were made of magic. She looked closely, and saw a small map of the tower. It was an elevator! "Glad Ah don't have ta walk," Apple Bloom said activating the elevator. As it turned on she turned to the door, instantly wishing she hadn't. Running to the door was a giant black dragon with four red eyes. Was that what she was talking to? She immediately closed the door to the elevator, but a second later she heard the monster crash into the door. She screamed and backed away from the door as it continued to crash into the door. "COME ON!" she screamed, "GET MOVING!" as if answering her call, the elevator came to life and began moving up at high speed. Hopefully that thing couldn't follow her. When the elevator stopped, Apple Bloom looked on the map and saw that it let her off at the halfway point of what she assumed was the top. The door opened and Apple Bloom slowly walked out. She was in a small dome shaped room with white walls. In the center of the room Apple Bloom saw somepony lying on the floor. It was Twilight. "Twilight!" Apple Bloom called out running over to Twilight shaking her awake. It took a bit, but eventually Twilight stirred a bit and opened her eyes, which were thankfully still purple. "You're... Apple Bloom," Twilight said, almost like she had to remember who she was. "Twilight, do you recognize me?" Apple Bloom asked. Twilight looked away a bit thinking. "I... think so... sort of..." Twilight said softly. Apple Bloom looked down thinking, but then looked around the room. This room was doing something to Twilight, but what? She saw magical symbols on the walls, but as she wasn't a unicorn, Apple Bloom couldn't read them. "Twilight, can you read these?" Apple Bloom asked. Twilight slowly got up and walked over to where Apple Bloom was standing and red the symbols silently. "It's a memory spell," Twilight said slowly, "Designed to modify a pony's memory." "Whoever left you in here wus tryin ta erase yer memory?" Apple Bloom asked, but Twilight shook her head. "Not erase, modify. They were trying to get me to forget something in particular, but I feel like it didn't work." "Why not?" "My memory is shaky, but I still think I remember my name, yours, and seven other names..." "Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike?" Apple Bloom asked, getting a nod from Twilight, "Who's the seventh name?" "It's... Trixie..." Twilight said, "But every time I try think about that name, I get really sad. Was I close to Trixie?" Apple Bloom almost cried when Twilight asked that, but she didn't know why. Was it because Twilight barely remembered the pony who might have been her closest friend, or was it because Apple Bloom knew that she was the reason Twilight felt sad thinking of Trixie? "Yeah," Apple Bloom said softly, "Ya'll were like sisters." Twilight closed her eyes and shed a single tear. Before Apple Bloom could ask if she was okay, the lights in the room flickered. Twilight had a look of sheer horror on her face as she looked around. "No! It's still here!" Twilight cried, "It's coming here!" "Whut's comin here?" Apple Bloom asked, although deep down she already knew what it was. They both heard a deep growl, and Twilight screamed in response. Apple Bloom turned to her and saw that she was sobbing, "Twilight, what's wrong?" She knows that she can't escape me... But the light has her confused... Stand aside Master of Harmony... This matter is not of your concern... "Damn right it's mah concern!" Apple Bloom shouted, "Twilight is mah friend, an' Ah want ta protect her!" If you truly cared about her... You would let me keep her safe... "Apple Bloom," Twilight sobbed, "Run away. Leave me here, and save yourself." "No can do, Twilight," Apple Bloom said, "Ah promised Ah would bring ya home, an' we Apple's always keep our promises," Apple Bloom took Twilight's hoof, "Come on. Let's beat this thing tagether." Twilight looked really afraid, and she turned away from Apple Bloom. The lights went out completely, and Twilight screamed loudly and ran into the elevator. It looked like she was trying to get it started. Apple Bloom ran into the elevator and grabbed Twilight trying to pull her away from the control panel. "Twilight, stop!" "I have to get out of here! I can't let it get me!" "If we run away, then this monster is free ta destroy Elysium, an' you'll never escape it!" "I can't escape it anyway! No matter where I run, it always finds me!" The second she finished her sentence the elevator came to life and started going up. Twilight backed up against the wall trembling, and still sobbing. Apple Bloom walked over to Twilight and touched her shoulder. "I remember..." Twilight began, "a dream I had. There was this monster always chasing me. I tried to run, but it was waiting for me every night." "Then why try ta run?" Apple Bloom asked, "Why not fight?" "Because I can't beat it!" Twilight cried looking at Apple Bloom, "No one can beat it!" "We can beat it," Apple Bloom said taking Twilight's hoof into her hooves, "Ah know it's hard Twilight, an' it's scary, but ya gotta face this demon. Yer fear is whut Ah think gives it it's strength. All Ah am right now is yer weapon against it. You need ta face it." "Apple Bloom, what are you talking about?" Twilight asked, now sounding like herself a bit (being out of that room apparently), "Why are you here?" Apple Bloom looked down, but before she could answer that question, the elevator stopped and the door opened. Apple Bloom and Twilight stepped out, this time in a forest of some sort. It would have been beautiful, except for the black clouds forming in the sky. "It's spreading it's darkness through Elysium," Apple Bloom said, "We gotta destroy it now, otherwise..." she turned to Twilight, who was looking down in fear and shame, "Ya can't run away, ya already know that, but if we don't stop it here then a lot of other ponies are gonna suffer. Ponies who don't have ta suffer. Help me, Twilight. It's yer darkness, help me purify it." She thought for a few long seconds, but right when it looked like Twilight was about to say something, they heard loud foot steps. Apple Bloom and Twilight looked ahead and saw that same black dragon from before walking up to them. Apple Bloom drew her sword and stepped forward. "Wh-what are you doing?" Twilight asked. "Whut Ah came here ta do!" Apple Bloom stated, "Ah promised somepony in Equestria that Ah wusn't gonna let the world end, an' like Ah said, we Apple's keep our promises!" as she spoke, she felt her eyes watering, but she wouldn't look away from the monster that facing her. You are afraid of me... Nor do you want to die... And you know that if you fight me with the Elements of Harmony... You will perish... "Apple Bloom!" Twilight shouted, "Is that true?! If you fight that monster, are you really..." "YES! Yer right! Ah am afraid!" Apple Bloom shouted, "An' Ah don't wanna die, but if mah death can save Equestria, then Ah give mah life willingly! Ah love Equestria, an' all the ponies in it! Down there is mah family and friends, an' if I don't do this, then they'll all have ta suffer cause of you! Ah won't let you hurt them! Come on! Let's finish this!" The monster charged at Apple Bloom, who pushed Twilight out of the way and lead her to the side. As the two of them ran, Apple Bloom heard a voice in her head. Come on, kid! Face it! Take it out! "Rainbow Dash..." Apple Bloom said to herself. She then stopped running and turned around to face the monster. "Apple Bloom, what are you doing?!" Twilight asked frantically. Apple Bloom focused on the Element of Loyalty, and her entire body began sparking with electricity. She then charged at the monster at high speed, knocking it to the ground before she even could realize what happened. Did she just move at lightning speed? "Ah used the Element of Loyalty..." Apple Bloom said, realizing what happened. The monster got up, and charged up it's entire body. It then fired darts from it's body making them rain down on top of Apple Bloom. You can do it Apple Bloom! Just kick it REAL hard in the shin! "Pinkie Pie..." Apple Bloom said, now focusing on the Element of Laughter. She split into millions of mirages that the spikes couldn't hit. The monster roared loudly, and then fired a blast of fire at Apple Bloom, who stood on her hind legs and held her forelegs out in front of her, parting the fire with the wind. I wish I could fight with you Apple Bloom, but all I can do is lend you my strength! Save Twilight, please! "Fluttershy..." Apple Bloom said as she used the Element of Kindness to part the flames. Apple Bloom threw her sword at the monster, hitting it in one of it's eyes, and making it roar loudly in anger and pain. She then ran up to it, allowing the strength of the Element of Honesty coarse through her. Ya better win Apple Bloom! Our family don't breed no weak ponies! "Applejack..." Apple Bloom more so thought to herself. Her entire body was engulfed in flames, that unfortunately destroyed the red dress she was still wearing, but she didn't need it anymore anyway. She dashed into the monster's chest, pushing it back and knocking it over. She jumped onto it's head and reached for her sword, pulling it out of it's now destroyed eye. She then jumped down and dragged her sword on the monster's body, but it slashed Apple Bloom off of it and she fell onto the ground in front of Twilight. She looked up at Twilight, who was looking at Apple Bloom in awe, but didn't pay her too much mind. Apple Bloom had to destroy this monster, so she couldn't worry about Twilight right now. As she staggered up, she noticed the monster charging up another powerful attack. Apple Bloom closed her eyes, thinking about what she could do to stop this attack. Instantly, her thoughts went to Spike. Damn it Apple Bloom! Don't quit now! FIGHT! "Spike..." Apple Bloom said, suddenly feeling a presence nearby. Focusing on the Element of Generosity, she closed her eyes and screamed out the first thing that came to mind, "RARITY HELP ME!" As soon as she said that, the white unicorn spirit that Spike summoned appeared in front of Apple Bloom and created an ice wall defending her and Twilight from the incoming fire. Apple Bloom looked up at the spirit in awe, realizing what it really was. I believe in you... Apple Bloom... "Rarity... thank you..." Apple Bloom said softly. The spirit nodded, and vanished along with the ice wall. "Apple Bloom... why are you trying to help me?" Twilight asked, "I... hurt so many ponies under that thing's guidance. I don't deserve a second chance." "Everypony deserves a second chance," Apple Bloom said, "An' yer more than that monster. You resisted that thing till the end, an' ya did cry when Trixie died. That's shows me that you were never a bad pony. Ah'll save ya, Ah promise." You're... light... is strong... But it alone... can't defeat me... The five Elements of Harmony can't stop me... "There aren't jus five Elements of Harmony!" Apple Bloom shouted, "Even now, there's one Element ya fergot! That Element is the one that unites the Elements of Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, Kindness, and Honesty into one force! Created by the friendship formed by six comin together," Apple Bloom looked at Twilight, who was smiling now with tears in her eyes, "And empowered by the love formed by those same six stayin tagether, that alone is the one Element that can combine all Elements into one force!" You speak nonsense... No such Element exists... "It does..." Twilight said stepping out of her hiding place, "The Element of Magic, created by the spark of friendship I felt when my friends came to my aid. It doesn't represent magical power, but it represents the one true magic in the world. Magic that's in the hearts of everypony, whether they're a unicorn, pegasus, or an earth pony." You speak of friendship, but you cling to the Element of Magic... There is no power in friendship... And the Element of Magic will not help you... "Yer wrong!" Apple Bloom shouted, "Ah've seen a lot on mah journey, and Twilight has suffered greatly, but if it weren't fer the power of friendship, neither of us would have made it through." "I finally understand why Apple Bloom can hurt you, and why I'm stronger than you," Twilight stated, "You're alone, made and empowered from solitude. You speak of being stronger than the power of friendship, but you cower in fear of it. Apple Bloom may be fighting by herself, but she fights with her friends, our friends in her heart, and because of that you can't lay a finger on her or truly hurt her!" You two are grasping at straws... "The power of Generosity is nurturing and gives life, like water!" Apple Bloom started, "To be Loyal to a pony is to follow their path and support them till the end, like how lightnin travels in a straight line!" "Laughter is a response to happiness," Twilight continued, "a force that is invisible, and at times untouchable, but affects everypony in a positive light. Kindness is like the wind, strong enough to move mountains, but gentle enough to never harm anyone." "An' Honesty can at times be painful, but it leaves a warm feelin in yer heart, jus' like fire!" Apple Bloom finished. But none of this changes anything... None of those powers could destroy me... "But that's why the Element of Magic is so powerful!" Twilight stated. "Cause it's power is demonstrated through the hearts of everypony everyday!" Apple Bloom added. "The lessons that Princess Celestia taught me revealed-" "The power Ah felt with mah friends at mah side showed me-" "The connection between the Element of Magic-" "An' the power of friendship!" "We know now-" Twilight proclaimed. "Without a doubt-" Apple Bloom proclaimed. "FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!" they shouted at the same time. That second, a bright light came out of Twilight's horn, and flew up. The light turned into a purple orb, and added itself to Apple Bloom's necklace, forming a purple star. Apple Bloom closed her eyes, and let the power of all six elements take over. Slowly all of her thoughts vanished... All of her fear... All of her sadness... She felt... nothing... Except... Free... Twilight watched in awe as Apple Bloom began to change. No longer was she standing next to a yellow earth pony. Now she was standing behind a large, golden alicorn with a long red mane and tail, and pure white glowing eyes. This alicorn was as large as the dragon, which was now backing away in fear. "Apple... Bloom?" Twilight asked, slowly realizing that this wasn't Apple Bloom any longer, "Are you..." Apple Bloom was my name at one time... At another time it was Bayonet... I did not mind either name... "What happened to you..." Twilight asked, "Are you the Elements of Harmony?" The power of the Elements... And the love of your friends... Have given form to your light... I am the Master of Harmony... Using your light as a weapon... Twilight looked in sadness at the entity standing before her. Apple Bloom had to fully surrender her sense of self in order to use her Element. I sense sadness for my previous life... Do not mourn... As Apple Bloom, I understood what may have to happen... They both heard a growl, but it sounded like a laugh. Your light is strong... stronger than I expected... But it is no match for my darkness... The darkness cannot overcome the light... You have already lost... As soon as she said that, the golden alicorn charged at the dragon, pushing it further into the forest. Twilight could no longer see them, but she heard their fight, and it sounded violent. She ran in their direction to see the fight. The dragon slashed wildly at the alicorn, but she moved out of the way of all of those attacks and kicked the dragon with her hind legs. The dragon grabbed hold of the alicorn and they both fell to the ground, but the alicorn fired a bright light at the dragon, pushing it back. She got up, and then galloped over to it and stomped on the dragon a few times, but the dragon hit the alicorn with its tail, knocking her to the ground. The dragon then grabbed the alicorn by the tail with its mouth and threw her into the trees where Twilight was hiding. She just barely hit Twilight, who ran out of the way of the giant alicorn. Is this the power of your light... I am not done... "Apple Bloom!" Twilight called out. She knew that the two story alicorn wasn't Apple Bloom, but she had no idea what to call her. Twilight Sparkle... You must fight... "What can I do?" Twilight asked, now gettign scared again, "How can I fight that?" As I am right now, I can only harm it... It cannot kill me... But I cannot kill it... Only you can destroy it... Twilight slowly walked over to the alicorn, and knelt down next to it, "If we work together then?" she asked. The alicorn slowly nodded. Twilight took a deep breath, and touched her horn with the golden alicorn's horn. They began to glow brighter, and the two of them became one entity, now a pure white alicorn with a light purple mane more like Twilight's, and wearing a white tiara. You... side with the light... You... turn me away... "I may not be able to run away from you," Twilight said through the spirit, "But I won't let you run my life any longer! I will be the pony I want to be!" You... FOOL! The dragon charged at what was now Twilight leading, but she flew to the side and buck kicked the dragon into a tree. "I understand," Twilight said, "Before, you would have been able to destroy it yourself, but as it's my darkness, you had to empower me," Twilight closed her eyes, "Apple Bloom... thank you..." The dragon ran over to Twilight and began slashing at her, but Twilight stabbed it's claw with her horn, leaving a white crack on it's hand. No... NO! I cannot be defeated! Twilight got on her hind legs and kicked it a few times, and then turned around and buck kicked it again, this time leaving white cracks on the dragons chest. The dragon tried to hit Twilight with it's tail, but Twilight jumped over its tail and slammed her back feet on it's tail, leaving white cracks all on it. The dragon staggered away from Twilight, it's entire body cracking and breaking. What is this... Why am I in such pain... Twilight kicked the air with her forelegs, and then hunched over stomping her feet, preparing to charge. No... NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Twilight charged at the dragon, her entire body engulfed in a bright light, and went through the dragon. It roared loudly and angrily, fading away in a black mist and leaving a small wisp of darkness in it's place. Twilight separated from the alicorn spirit, who turned back into it's golden self, and ran over to the darkness. "This is a part of me," Twilight said softly, "No matter how far I run, it'll be with me." Twilight reached out her hooves to take the wisp of darkness, and then surprisingly took it into her heart, "You were just lonely, weren't you? Well, you'll never be alone again." Twilight turned to the golden alicorn about to thank her, but she saw that it was beginning to fade away, "Wait, what's going on?" Now the threat is gone... I must return the Elements of Harmony to their rightful owners... "But what about you?" Twilight asked, now scared as the alicorn became more transparent. Tell Applejack... That I am sorry... "A-Apple Bloom..." My time in this world... Is up... Good bye... Twilight... Sparkle... "NO!" Twilight cried out running over to the alicorn. After everything that happened, after fighting so hard for her, Apple Bloom couldn't... She looked up at the alicorn, who slowly vanished from sight. It was over, but the price... "APPLE BLOOM!" Apple Bloom woke up and found herself in a meadow, standing on a single road. The sky was bright and blue, and the grass was a healthy green. It sort of looked like the path she'd take to the Everfree Forest. Only there wasn't anything on either side. Just land. She looked at herself and saw that she was back to being a filly here, but she still had her Cutie Mark. On instinct she picked a direction and began to walk down, but stopped when she heard a voice behind her. "Don't go that way," a voice Apple Bloom recognized called out, "There's nothing down that road for you." Apple Bloom slowly turned around, and was shocked by who she saw. It was Trixie. She was wearing a silver hat and cape like her normal purple attire, and she looked magnificent. Her blue coat had a certain shine to it, her mane and tail looked a little fuller, and her eyes seemed more relaxed. "Trixie?" Apple Bloom exclaimed, then looking a bit down the path she was about to walk down, sort of realizing what was going on, "Um, whut's down that path?" "Nothing you need to worry about," Trixie said looking down the path with a serious expression, "Come on," Trixie said with a smile, going down the opposite path. Apple Bloom was scared, but she followed Trixie. Somehow, she felt safe following her. "Um, am Ah..." Apple Bloom asked slowly. "Dead? Not quite," Trixie explained, "Almost dead, but you haven't taken the final step to death yet." Apple Bloom was still confused, but before she asked what that meant, she felt like there was something else she needed to say, "Um, Trixie, Ah'm sorry Ah killed ya," Apple Bloom said sadly, shocked when Trixie laughed. "Why are you apologizing?" Trixie asked, "I should thank you." "Th-thank me?" Apple Bloom couldn't believe what she heard. Here was the pony who had her life taken away from her, and she was thanking Apple Bloom? "You set me free," Trixie said with a smile, "Ponies have the wrong idea about death," she continued looking at Apple Bloom now. "Whut do ya mean?" "Death is more of a choice," Trixie explained, "For the ponies who die of old age, they simply arrived at a point where they've lived as long as they want. For the ponies like us, our choice happens differently." "But mah sword pierced yer heart! Ya can't tell me ya could've survived that!" "Actually, I could have, but I didn't want to," Trixie closed her eyes and looked serious, "I'm not going to go into my full story, but let's just say my life wasn't all sunshine and butterflies. Between a neglectful father, a mother I never knew, constant ridicule from my peers, and coming up short in everything I endeavored, I didn't have much to live for," she smiled peacefully, "I think the only truly good thing in my life was Twilight. I had two friends in elementary school, but I didn't know them long enough for them to really leave an impact on me." "Why did ya side with Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked, "Didn't ya think that whut she wus doin was wrong?" "Truthfully, I didn't care," Trixie admitted, "All I wanted was to be with her," she actually started crying, "I admit, I fell in love with her." That wasn't what Apple Bloom was expecting to hear. Trixie was in love with Twilight? "Did... ya ever tell her?" "Never," Trixie said through her tears, "I didn't need to tell her. All I truly needed was to be by her side. All I wanted was for her to recognize me as an equal. I guess I was probably afraid to show her my feelings. So instead I made myself hers. Whatever she asked me to do, I did it, as long as I made her happy." "But ya came ta Ponyville so she'd teach ya magic, right?" "That was the beginning, yes. However, as time went on, learning from her mattered less, and just being by her side mattered more to me. Around the time I saw her devastation at Shining Armor threatening her, I began to realize how much her happiness meant to me." "If she meant so much to ya though, why didn't ya come back?" "Because she gave me what I truly wanted out of life. I was happy after twenty-one years of nothing but sadness and misery. Now that I felt true happiness, I was able to let go." Apple Bloom was amazed hearing Trixie say all of this. She must have been truly sad in her life, but she must have truly felt happy being with Twilight. Apple Bloom stopped and looked down. "Trixie, Ah know ya don't blame me, but Ah'm still so sorry. Not jus' cause Ah killed ya, but because yer life was so..." Trixie knelt down in front of Apple Bloom and hugged her. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I lived my life how I wanted. I don't feel like there's anything that I needed to do," Trixie said softly to Apple Bloom. She got up and started walking down the path again. "Would ya change anything... if ya got a chance ta do it over?" Trixie stopped and looked at Apple Bloom with assurance, "Not a thing," she answered simply. Apple Bloom followed after her, now feeling like she finally understood her. The next few minutes they walked in silence, but they soon hit a fork in the road. "Well, this is as far as I take you," Trixie said, "Here's where you make your choice." "Mah... choice?" Apple Bloom asked looking down the paths. They both looked the same to her. "The left path is where I'm going," Trixie explained, "Go down there and you're truly dead. If you go down the path on the right though, then all of this is a dream, and you'll wake up a few hours after the fight." "A dream?" Apple Bloom asked, "It's that simple?" "What were you expecting, magic words? A ritual?" Trixie laughed, "All life is really is a path, as is death. You just need to decide which path you want to walk now," Trixie started down the left path, "I'll see you around, maybe in a few seconds, maybe in a couple of years." "Wiwait!" Apple Bloom called out, stopping Trixie, "Ya said if Ah walk down this path on the right, it's all a dream. Does that mean all of this is jus' in mah head? That Ah didn't really get ta see ya again?" Trixie laughed again, "Of course this is in your head, Apple Bloom. However, one of my teachers had this saying. He said, 'just because it's in your head, doesn't make it any less real'. If you see Twilight, can you tell her how I felt?" "Ah will," Apple Bloom said with a nod, "Ah'll... see ya around?" Trixie bowed to her, and then elegantly turned down her path and walked off. Apple Bloom watched her for a little while, but then looked down the path on the right. Was it really that easy? Did she just have to walk down this path and she'd be back in the world of the living? Back with her friends? She didn't even have to think about it. She ran down the path on the right. She wanted to be with her friends. She wanted to see her brother and her sister again. She wanted to see Lezard. She wanted... to live.