Inner Demons: 10 Years

by Azure Sandora


Ninth Year

Despite the name, the story is actually 11 chapters, since the first chapter was during the same year that everything happened. Just a reminder.

Destinies Intertwined – 2 Years Remaining

"I don't understand why we're here," Diamond Tiara whined as she and Apple Bloom walked into the library.

"Diamond, somethin weird is happenin to ya," Apple Bloom said, "We gotta find out what it is."

"Do you really think that the Princess will be able to help?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Ah hope so," Apple Bloom said, more so to herself then to Diamond Tiara. The incident last year really stuck with Apple Bloom. Ever since then Diamond Tiara had started depending on Apple Bloom a lot more, to the point that she spent the night over at Apple Bloom's place more than her own.

The two young mares looked around the library for a little while, but their focus was taken by the sudden appearance of Twilight and a somber looking Earth Pony. When Apple Bloom looked at the pony, it didn't register right away who it was until she got a look at the Cutie Mark, which Apple Bloom fangasmed shortly after.

"O-O-O-Octavia Melody?!" she silently cried out, even though everyone in the room heard her. Twilight smiled sweetly when she saw Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara, but Octavia gave Apple Bloom a funny look of almost recognition.

"Apple Bloom, what a nice surprise," Twilight said now turning to Octavia, "Octavia, this is Apple Bloom and her friend Diamond Tiara. Apple Bloom is the young mare I told you about."

"I see," Octavia said, her voice deep and sensual, she slowly approached Apple Bloom, "This is the so called Master of Harmony? You're... different then I imagined. You seem... harder... if that makes any sense."

"Um... not really..." Apple Bloom admitted slowly, the feeling of amazement at seeing Octavia slowly turning into fear for some reason, as if her magenta eyes were peering into Apple Bloom's very soul.

"I apologize, I just figured the pony who mastered all six Elements of Harmony would be... softer... is all. I was shocked by the edge I saw in your eyes."

"Uh huh..." Apple Bloom was clearly getting scared now. Diamond Tiara clearly sensed it, because she tapped Apple Bloom on the shoulder.

"Bloom, what's wrong?" she asked, unfortunately Apple Bloom didn't know how to answer. Before she even could though, Octavia turned to Twilight.

"I should probably get going," Octavia said, "I would hate to keep Vinyl waiting."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help," Twilight said sadly, "Trust me though, some things are best left not known."

"I understand," Octavia said, "But the nightmares won't go away if I ignore them. I'm sure you of all ponies understand that."

Twilight was silent, and just looked down. Octavia turned back to Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara, bowing to them, and sauntering over to the door.

"Octavia, wait," Twilight called out, stopping Octavia, "Um, you were friends with Trixie, right? Because her monument is outside of Ponyville."

"I saw it on the way," Octavia stated, "I'll pay it a visit before I move on back to Canterlot. Thank you, Princess Twilight," Octavia said bowing again and walking out. Apple Bloom was at first mesmerized by how amazing Octavia's walk was (she could even put Rarity to shame) and her overall alluring appearance, but now that she was gone Apple Bloom found that she had stopped breathing. There was something about Octavia. Something... not right...

"You needed something?" Twilight asked, snapping Apple Bloom out of her daze.

"Yeah, um... Diamond Tiara and Ah were wonderin if we could look through some of the books pertainin ta the age of Midnight."

Twilight was considering them for a long while. She looked at Diamond Tiara for a second, causing the pink mare to step back a bit. After what felt like an eternity Twilight shook her head.

"It seems like everyone wants to know about that time," Twilight all but groaned, "Come with me."

"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked as Twilight turned to go back into the room where she and Octavia talked. Apple Bloom turned to Diamond Tiara, who shrugged, and the two of them followed her.

In the room there were even more books concerning dark magic and the past. What looked like a large story book was on a stand in the center of the room. Apple Bloom wondered if she was reading off of that when she spoke to Ovtavia.

"What about the past do you wish to know?" Twilight asked.

"Well," Apple Bloom began, "Ah was wonderin if there's anything about the story that ain't covered in books. Ah mean, you got memories of that time, right?"

Twilight chuckled, "Well, I have a few memories. I don't remember everything, but I remember quite a bit," Twilight walked over to the book, "You know, Bayonet and Midnight were friends."

"R-really?" Apple Bloom asked. Even Diamond Tiara looked really surprised.

Twilight nodded, "As a matter of fact, history doesn't make much mention of some of the other ponies related to that period. It's been so long that a lot of the stories have been split up into multiple stories."

"What do you mean?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Well, for one thing, there's the story of the two goddesses," Twilight began, "which tells of two powerful goddesses, one of light, and one of darkness. The two of them were close friends despite one coming from Elysium and the other one coming from Tartarus. The goddess of darkness fell in love with a mortal pony, but that pony was killed by a local villager. The goddess of light tried to calm the goddess of darkness, but she was inconsolable. In the end, the goddess of darkness went out of control, and the two former friends had to fight one another. Sadly the goddess of light wasn't able to bring herself to kill her friend, so she was struck down by the goddess of darkness. No one knows what happened after that, as any pony who could document it was killed in the destruction."

"Celestia..." Apple Bloom said.

"Another story tells of a dark witch who came across a cursed sword. This sword was known as the Sword of the Condemned, and it granted the wielder immense power. Using this power the witch summoned evil monsters that wreaked havoc all across Equestria. Eventually she was stopped by four ponies from a small village. Led by a powerful mage named Azure Sky, the four heroes caught the mage and sealed her away, but not before the mage cast one last spell sending the Sword of the Condemned far away, out of reach of anypony who would want to claim it."

"How are these stories related," Diamond Tiara asked.

"Well, Midnight was actually the goddess of darkness spoken of in the first story, and two of the heroes spoken of in the second story were not only Midnight, but Bayonet."

Apple Bloom was surprised to learn that. She wondered who the fourth hero was, and who the goddess of light might have been. She then had an idea and looked at Diamond Tiara, who was looking down seriously. Maybe there was something in those stories that connected itself to the weirdness that surrounded Diamond Tiara.

"Do ya know who the dark witch was?" Apple Bloom asked. When Twilight looked out her window seriously Apple Bloom got really afraid.

"I'm starting to get an idea," she stated, "why?"

"Um..." she looked at Diamond Tiara, who lightly shook her head, "Jus' curious, that's all. Weird stuff's been happenin an' Ah jus' wanted ta be prepared."

"I can understand that," Twilight said with a sigh, "If you have any other questions..."

"Naw, we're good, right?" Apple Bloom asked her friend, who nodded, "We'll be goin."

"Alright. Don't be a stranger Apple Bloom," Twilight said with a smile. Apple Bloom nodded and then walked out, Diamond Tiara following her closely.

"Apple Bloom, I'm scared," Diamond Tiara said when they were outside, "Twilight is the reincarnation of Midnight, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Apple Bloom said.

"And you're the reincarnation of Bayonet, right?"

"Ya thinking you might be the dark witch?" Apple Bloom asked. Diamond Tiara sighed for an answer, "Tiara, Ah don't know..."

"But my weird powers, the black outs, what happened at prom a few years ago... Apple Bloom, what if I really am-"

"If ya are then we'll deal with it tagether," Apple Bloom stated, but Diamond Tiara looked away.

"Deal with it? You mean by killing me?"

"What?! No, never! Yer mah best friend, Diamond Tiara, an' Ah'd never hurt ya. I remember durin the incident when Twilight turned evil. Applejack an' the others initially fought Twilight, but that only made things worse. Ah honestly think the only pony who did the right thing was Trixie," Apple Bloom looked down in sadness, "She stood by Twilight when no one else did, not outta fear, or brainwashing. She followed Twilight outta sheer love an' devotion. Ah think it was her love that kept Twilight in the light, cause once Ah... killed her... Twilight lost it.

"Diamond, Trixie taught me a lesson that day. She taught me what true friendship was. She knew that Twilight was evil, and that she would be marked as a villain for helpin Twilight, but all she wanted was ta be by Twilight's side. She was a good pony, better than all of us, an' Ah wanna follow her example. No matter what happens, Ah'll watch over ya an' protect ya."

Diamond Tiara was brought to tears and she embraced Apple Bloom, "Even if we're far away?"

"Even if we're far away. You can count on me, alright?"

Diamond Tiara nodded, tears still streaming down her face. It warmed Apple Bloom's heart to feel her friend's joy. She was still afraid, but at least she was more at peace.


After walking Diamond Tiara back to her estate, Apple Bloom decided to walk over to Trixie's monument as well. She felt like she needed to talk to Trixie about some of her concerns, and sometimes she felt like Trixie was even listening to her.

When she got close to the monument, she saw a sight that shocked her. Two ponies standing in front of her monument. One was Octavia, but the other one a unicorn that Apple Bloom recognized. They had a really long light blue mane and tail, blue coat, and wearing a familiar hat and cape, and it looked like their Cutie Mark was a magic wand.

Nuh uh, Apple Bloom thought. It was impossible...

Apple Bloom ran over to the monument, but once she got there she noticed the pony was different. Their coat was darker, and they were bigger. Apple Bloom also noticed the pony's Cutie Mark was a wand surrounded by electricity. She stopped and marveled at how similar this pony was to Trixie.

The pony turned around and looked at Apple Bloom, at first shocked, but then they glared at her. Apple Bloom couldn't believe it. They looked so much like Trixie, but now that she got a good look at them she could tell this pony was a stallion despite the feminine features.

This was scary.

"Um... hi," Apple Bloom said. The stallion gritted his teeth and looked like he was about to attack, but Octavia held out a hoof stopping him.

"I'm not going to stop you, but I'd advise against starting a fight here," Octavia said. The stallion growled, but then turned away.

"I'm going," he said trotting off past Apple Bloom, his dark red eyes actually piercing through her soul.

"You came to pay your respects?" Octavia asked Apple Bloom, who shook her head and looked at Octavia.

"Yeah, Ah knew Trixie really well. Ah sort of feel like it was mah fault she died."

"I can see why you'd think that," Octavia said with a sigh, surprising Apple Bloom a bit. That was sort of morbid, she thought.

"Um, if ya don't mind me askin, what were ya talkin to Twilight about?" Apple Bloom asked. Octavia looked down and laughed a bit, "Ah'm sorry if it ain't mah business. Ah jus-"

"No Apple Bloom, it's fine," Octavia said, "Actually, I get this feeling you and I will find our destinies intertwined in the near future."

"What does that-"

"The Princess of the Stars was helping me make sense of a few dreams I had," she met eyes with Apple Bloom, once again inducing an alluring feeling over Apple Bloom, "Have you ever had a destiny you were afraid of, yet couldn't run away from?"

"Y-yeah actually," Apple Bloom said, feeling both drawn to Octavia, yet repelled at the same time, "Eight years ago, but it turned out ta be okay. Sometimes ya gotta charge through, an' jus' trust it'll be alright."

"Charge through..." Octavia said to herself, "Thank you so much, Apple Bloom," she said in a manner much like Rarity. In fact, Apple Bloom saw a lot of similarities between the two mares, though Octavia was actually even more sensual and mysterious, something odd in an Earth Pony.

Octavia sauntered over to Apple Bloom, who was trembling looking at the beautiful and mysterious mare. She was so close to Apple Bloom right now, any closer they'd be kissing.

"I hope to see you again really soon, Apple Bloom," Octavia said sensually. Apple Bloom could manage nothing but a nod. Octavia gave a small laugh, and then walked away. Apple Bloom took one last look at the dark coated mare, her tail swishing back and forth as she trotted away. Why was Apple Bloom so drawn to this mare? Accept for the kiss she and Diamond Tiara shared in senior year, Apple Bloom had never questioned her sexuality, and she was still holding out for Lezard. That mare though, her aura was powerful. Apple Bloom was always a fan of Octavia's partially even styling her mane like Octavia's (harder though, as her mane was naturally curly), but what just happened was borderline physical attraction.

How could a pony have such a strong aura?

Apple Bloom walked over to the monument and sat down. She didn't say anything. Instead, she just needed to feel the presence of someone dear. She wished she could cuddle up against Lezard, but that was something she'd have to wait two more years for.