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// The Test:The trials of the spirit 
// Story: E.S.D.E.:Year One 
// by Chaotic Flier 
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        With a yawn Sweetie awoken inside a tent, “Uh how did I get here, was that just a dream that happened before?” She pondered before she crawled out of the tent to find herself at the foot of a mountain. “Where am I?” She asked aloud.

        “You're at the foot of Tora Mountain,” A very happy high pitched voice answered causing Sweetie to let out a startled scream. “Sorry to scare you,” The voice said as an emerald green mist collected underneath a tree covered in pale pink leaves. The mist began to solidify into a tall emerald skin woman who just floated slightly above the ground.

        “Who are you?” Sweetie asked the strange floating woman who simply gave her a smile.

        “I am Willow the embodiment of the hero's spirit and I am gonna be testing the strength of your will,” Willow answered her high pitched voice grew deeper into a more warrior like tone. The mist around her body turned to armor making her warrior like in appearance. Then she materialized a katana, “And the test is to survive the next three days against me and if your will even flickers you will die.”

        “Wha-,” was all Sweetie could say before Willow lunged swinging her katana at a downward motion, Sweetie used a shield spell to defend herself on pure instinct. Willow’s blade bounced off the barrier but she wore a smile on her face as her katana changed shape to a large sword.

        “Now the real test begins, can your shield spell survive the next three days of constant attack?” She said as she began beating the shield with the colossal blade the shield showed no signs of breaking but Sweetie was feeling the magic draining from each hit. Willow kept up the onslaught for the next twenty-four hours nonstop.






        Now it is day two and Sweetie’s shield still stood but Sweetie herself was tired and almost drained of magic. The sounds of Willow’s attacks suddenly stopped which confused Sweetie Belle greatly, looking around Willow was nowhere to be seen then she heard a knock on the magic shield above her and spotted Willow sitting there eating a large sandwich.

        “Hey I bet you're hungry from not eating in almost two days you must be starving too bad you can’t drop your spell, this sandwich is too big for me to eat alone.” Willow said in a mocking voice as she began to happily eat her sandwich, she smiled when she heard Sweetie’s stomach let out an angry growl.

        “You are so mean this is not a test it is torture!” Sweetie yelled at Willow the shield shrinking slightly as her concentration slipped.

        “You don’t understand to test one’s will you have to push them to the breaking point,” Willow said with a laugh as she hopped off the shield and threw her sandwich aside. “Guess it is time for me to get back to work,” she then proceeded to strike at the shield relentlessly with two katanas.

        Sweetie braced herself but her magic is depleting and it began to show, the shield was cracking under Willow’s quick precise strikes. Sweetie begins to panic as her shield finally breaks opening her to attack. As Willow raised her blade to strike Sweetie Belle down everything slowed down and Sweetie Belle’s mind drifted to her two friends Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who she believed she let down by being the weakest fighter of their new team. This thought made her want to cry but then she remember something Scootaloo told her.





Four years ago.

        “Hey Scootaloo,” Sweetie greeted to her tomboyish friend who was kneeling and huffing loudly covered in sweat but she turned to Sweetie with a smile.

        “What's up Sweetie Belle come to watch me beat Rainbow Dash in a race?” Scootaloo asked with a lot of confidence to which confused the young sorceress.

        “I want to know something Scoots, why do you keep racing Rainbow Dash knowing you are never going to win?”

        “Well that has a simple answer, I won’t stop till I have reached my goal which is to be like or even better than Rainbow Dash,” Scoots explained as she began stretching for her race against Rainbow. This answer began to inspire Sweetie Belle so she made sure to remember what Scootaloo said so she would remember never to give up.






        Willows sword was about to connect with Sweetie’s throat but caught only air as Sweetie Belle vanished and fired a magic beam that contained her remaining magic at Willow who stopped the attack with her hand absorbing the power. Sweetie Belle was shocked by this her spell was useless to stop willow, she then collapsed on the ground from fatigue from using up all her magic in that spell.

        Willow walked toward the paralyzed Sorceress with a smile on her face. “Bravo you have demonstrated the true meaning of spirit or will power, even though you stood no chance of beating my test, yet you never gave up I admire that so i must say you passed Sweetie Belle,” Willow told Sweetie as she grabbed her and returned to green mist which swirled around Sweetie Belle as the Torra Mountains vanished.

        The next thing Sweetie Belle found herself in the school hallway with Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom. “Did I pass?” She asked them with a look of confusion on her face.

        “Well of course you did silly,” Pinkie answered while juggling six colorful gemstones. “That beautiful green Element of Spirit around your neck is proof.”

        “Wait what?” Sweetie said with a confused look on her face.

        “I will explain once all of you are done with your tests so just relax and reflect on what you learned about the test,” Pinkie answered still juggling the stones.

        Knowing she wouldn’t be getting an answer from Pinkie, Sweetie sat down next to Apple Bloom and looked at the gemstone round her neck it looked like a sword surrounded by a star. Turning to Apple Bloom with a smile, “You know if Rarity saw these she would be swooning over how pretty they look,” She said with a giggle.

        “Yeah I can see it now,” Apple Bloom agreed laughing too.

        “Hey Apple Bloom what was your test like?” Sweetie Belle asked her friend.

        “It was horrible all five of you were being controlled by this lady who was made out of m…” was all Apple Bloom said before pinkie put her hand over AB’s mouth.

        “Shh no talking about the test till the others finish, kay” Pinkie Pie said before removing her hand from Apple Bloom’s mouth. “Now we must wait for the much longer tests.”

        Sweetie and Apple Bloom just shrugged the sat there in silence as they waited for Twist, Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo.