Author's Note

I hope this chapter makes up for the chaos of the first chapter since it's more focused on one character versus many xD. Anyways, would love to hear feedback and whatnot ^~^

Ch. 2 - Apple Bloom, Savior of Ponyville

Chapter 2 - Apple Bloom, Savior of Ponyville

Findings of a Filly

Apple Bloom ran towards Sugarcube Corner with a heavy heart, the paralysis of Scootaloo was still on her mind, along with the ghastly image of Rarity’s dead body at the boutique. All the medical ponies and transfixed bystanders were absent as she arrived at the park for the second time that day. “What in the hay is goin’ on around here? How’d Scootaloo get paralyzed? What happened at Rarity’s? Ah’ gotta find my sister.” Distressed and nervous, the young filly sat down to rest herself for a few moments. The wind started to pick up a little, seeming to whisper a warning to her as it blew through her mane and tail. Slowly, the filly stood up again and started in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. Remembering Sweetie Belle mentioned that Pinkie left the boutique with Applejack, Apple Bloom decided that there would be the best place to look for her sister

The main market area had a somewhat different air about it as the filly arrived. It was a busy time of the day as usual, but Apple Bloom’s already worried mind made everything seem more chaotic. Almost at her destination, she caught a glimpse of Lyra and Bon Bon talking to Golden Harvest. Apple Bloom decided to stop and listen to the conversation, hiding in a nearby bush. She had to figure out what was going on, so maybe she might hear something useful.

“I think Colgate would love that! A surprise party for her fifteenth year as a dentist? Who wouldn’t love that?” Lyra said happily.

“What made you decide to set up a party for her though? I mean, you should know as well as I do that no pony likes going to the dentist. No pony is going to want to go because she’s just a dentist. It’s not like she’s the princess or anything.” Bon Bon said condescendingly.

Golden Harvest sighed heavily. “Look, she’s my best friend and I think this is something we should do for her. I’ve noticed that she doesn’t really like her job that much anymore, so I think we should do something nice for her. Without her, none of us would have bright and healthy teeth. We owe her something back. Especially for all the fillies and colts that cry and whine about getting their teeth checked. Not many other ponies can deal with that kind of stuff you know.”

Bon Bon replied in a more neutral tone this time. “Alright, I understand. We can talk about it some more tomorrow. It’s getting late and you should be heading home. See you later.” She smiled as Golden Harvest nodded and left.

“Catch you later Carrot Top.” Lyra added as Golden left. She turned back to Bon Bon. “That’s nice of her setting up that party for Colgate. Do you think she’d throw a party like that for us?”

“I doubt it. We don’t really hang out with her that much. Ever since you and I met, you don’t really ever talk to her, and I hardly see her myself. Anyways, what was up with Trixie? She didn’t seem normal. She seemed like, really weird today with all that talk about ‘cursing us’ or whatever. Even stranger was that she was covered in blood! Also, I didn’t really notice it at first, but my mind’s been really hazy all day. I feel like I have a hangover or something.” Bon Bon placed a hoof on her head. “I’m feeling really sick now too.”

Lyra placed a hoof on her. “I don’t really remember seeing Trixie earlier, but are you feeling okay? Was it those oranges we had? I knew that they would be bad. I should’ve got fresher ones. I think one of them tasted like- a frog?”

Bon Bon staggered a little. “No it’s not that it’s- I don’t know. My head just really hurts right now.”

Lyra placed a hoof on Bon Bon’s forehead. It was normal temperature, which worried Lyra a little. “Bon Bon, you feel just fine. It doesn’t feel like a fever or anything like that. Want me to run and pick up something for it? I’ll let you rest here.”

“No, Lyra, I’m fine. We’re fine. It’s Harvest’s fault. She’s just too damn nice. It’s like she’s better than us. But have you seen her around Colgate? Harvest’s a total bitch. I don’t even know how her and Colgate are friends. Maybe they’re both just annoying bitches.” Bon Bon said bitterly as she went over to the side of the building for something to lean on, her sudden change of language startling Lyra. Random other ponies started to slowly gather around them, they were all the ponies that have made eye contact with the two mares throughout the day except for Golden Harvest. Apple Bloom also noticed the uncomfortable approach of various ponies who all began to make a circle around Bon Bon and Lyra. She ducked a little further into the bushes to hear more of the conversation.

“Bon Bon, what are you saying? What do you mean she’s a bitch? It’s not ‘cause of that little prank she pulled on you in school is it? She told me about it. She said you’d get mad if I told you that she told me about it. But it wasn’t that bad, you both were fillies, things like that happen. She thought you would laugh.” Lyra responded, not sure of where her friend’s hostility is coming from.

Bon Bon looked up at Lyra, anger in her eyes. “I cried for three days because of that. I should’ve never told her about that crush I had on that other filly. She didn’t have to humiliate me like that.” The random mob of ponies had gotten closer and now caught Lyra and Bon Bon’s attention. “Why are they all looking at us?” Bon Bon questioned aloud.

“We’re going to enact revenge on Golden Harvest with you. We hate her just as much as you.” a tall stallion with a blue mane said.

Bon Bon smiled wickedly, a small flash of insanity flickered in her eyes. “It’s like my childhood wish that day come true. Come on Lyra, we’re going to burn her house down, with her in it.”

Lyra looked at her wide-eyed in shock. “You can’t be serious can you? That’s crazy! It’s murder! We can’t do that Bon Bon. All she did was write that you liked that other filly on the board, nothing to kill her over!”

“I thought you would do anything for me Lyra. Do you honestly love me? This is what I want and I need you to do it with me or I will leave you forever. “ Bon Bon said coldly.

Lyra hesitated for a moment, confused from Bon Bon’s shift of attention. Her belly rumbled in hunger, breaking the short silence before she gave in to Bon Bon’s desires. “Yes, Bon Bon. I will do anything for you.”

Bon Bon smiled and the two mares led their army away to gather torches and other weapons, leaving Apple Bloom shaking in fear. “What’s goin’ on with everypony? They can’t kill Carrot Top! Ah’ gotta find mah sister! Ah’ can’t stop them alone!” The filly rushed the last short distance to Sugarcube Corner. Bloody hoofprints stained the ground and floor as she entered the broken hole in the wall that used to be a doorway, seeing the tracks coming from the open basement door. Scattered pools of blood defiled the floor of the once happy pastry shop. Surprisingly, the counter and display shelves were completely untouched, baked goods sitting as they had since morning, unscathed by whatever horrors occurred here. Feeling a little hungry herself, Apple Bloom picked up a cupcake from the shelf and ate it, placing the correct amount of bits for it on the counter. “Hopefully Mrs. Cake will see the bits so she doesn’t think somepony stole it. That’s the last of my bits. Aw, ponyfeathers.”

With her courage replenished and a satisfied stomach, she carefully proceeded down the steps. Immediately when she got to the bottom, the overwhelming amount of blood on the walls and floor, plus the horrible stench, caused her to vomit. Bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Cake laid on the floor along with the body of her friend Twist and two others she didn’t know. Tears filled her eyes as she continued looking into the room. A few feet deeper into the room, she noticed a ragged, lifeless Pinkie Pie. She screamed loudly, turning wildly and crashing into a pile of empty cardboard boxes in a corner. The sight reminded her of when Winona accidentally ripped up a toy that she had when she was younger. However, instead of cotton everywhere, blood and guts had covered the floor and spaces around the bodies..

With Applebloom shaking in horror and fear, she continued to search deeper into the basement. Finding her sister was a higher priority now than before, but what she saw on a table at the end of the room caused her to freeze in horror of what she saw. Her nerves stopped registering her senses, as she couldn’t feel the warm, smelly, liquidness of urine run down her legs as fear and sadness had fully captured her body now. “Applejack!” She screamed in horror as loud as her lungs allowed. Whoever killed her sister was different than the others, doing it in a less gruesome but still horrifying way that looked carefully executed and planned. The cutie mark was missing on both sides of her sister’s flank and specific organs were pulled out via nicely cut holes in her chest. It could’ve been seen as some sort of delicate medical operation that went terribly wrong. Apple Bloom had to look away from the terrifying sight, as it was too much for her. “What do I do now? Who’ll be there to give me advice on things? She’ll never get to see mah cutie mark!” Her eyes filled with tears as she quickly unstrapped her from the table. Holding Applejack’s body tightly to her, she sat and cried loudly. Applejack was the one who raised her the most. She was the one pony she spent the majority of her time with in her life. Now Apple Bloom would have to run the farm in place of her. Now, she’d have to work as hard as she could on the farm in memory of her. Besides her family, working on the farm was what Applejack lived for, breathed for, and would’ve died for if none of this happened.

Moments passed as Apple Bloom held her older sister. Finally, she stood up and went back upstairs, carrying Applejack with her. Outside, chaos ensued frantically in the streets, yet Apple Bloom barely took notice. Instead, she went through the back door and into the yard behind Sugarcube Corner. It was quite empty back behind the building, and there was a moderately sized backyard as well. Quickly raiding a small shed, the filly found a shovel and began to dig graves for all the ponies in the basement. When she finished, there were seven graves in a row. In the middle one, she laid her sister. To the right of that one, she placed Pinkie. The other casualties went in all the remaining graves. Apple Bloom went back in the shed to search for something to use as gravestones and found some unused landscaping tiles and a permanent marker to label them. After a few minutes, the tiles were written on and placed as gravestones. Still crying silently, she stood to look upon them. “I’m sorry ya’ll had to have suffered like this. May you all be at peace.” she said sadly. Having more she wanted to say, she kneeled in front of her sister’s grave. “I’ll make sure to have a proper funeral when all this crazy stuff is over. Ah’ can’t really consider mahself’ a filly anymore, so I’ll leave this as a gift for you sis’.” Slowly, she took the bow from her hair and placed it onto the grave before her, letting her mane fall down her back. The filly laid down onto the ground and fell asleep, trying now to sleep all this horror away.

Great, Powerful, and Almost Blind

“For a baby dragon, he’s kinda’ heavy.” Trixie thought to herself, chuckling a little. It was quite peaceful in her wagon as she laid there. Fluttershy slept deeply on Trixie’s bed, as cute as ever despite her yellow coat stained red in places from blood. Sleep wasn’t something that would bind Trixie for long as she was only asleep for about fifteen-to-thirty minutes before she woke up again. Unsure of whether it was because of Spike’s weight or her own experiences that day, she decided to stay awake. “I really need to shower, I smell like blood and sex.” She thought with distaste. When she tried to slowly move Spike off of her, Spike held onto Trixie. Carefully, she tried to take his arms off of her. Spike wouldn’t let go and held tighter each time she tried. “Spike, get off. I need to clean up.” she said quietly.

Spike grunted and pinned Trixie down. “No.” His eyes opened and it seemed as if he was getting bigger to the point he was over twice his size. His large dragon member was pressing against Trixie. He looked Trixie up and down then bared a sinister smile.

Trixie gasped as she knew what was going through the crazed dragon’s mind and struggled fiercely to break free. A sleepy Fluttershy was awoken to the sounds of Trixie’s struggling and scared the yellow pegasus as she took in the picture before her. “Dragon!” she screamed loudly and fled the wagon as fast as she could, not realizing it was Spike.

Trixie still struggled. “Thanks for the help, Fluttershy.” she thought sarcastically. As Spike was about to prod her, she casted a spell that produced a bright flash of fireworks right in his face to temporarily blind him. Immediately, she ran for the door and shut it tightly. Spike crashed into the wall loudly, shaking the wagon. Trixie pushed the mirror in the way of the door. “There. So if he breaks the door down, it’ll break the mirror and we’ll be free of this. I should’ve never even left my wagon this morning.”

Inside, Spike stopped in mid charge once the mirror was fully blocking the door. Instantly, he reverted back to normal. “Uhh. My head. Trixie? What’s going on? Where is everypony?” Spike asked.

Trixie stomped with her hoof. “That was supposed to break the mirror! Why did it change you back? What gives!?”

“Change me back? Back to what? What happened and where’s Fluttershy?” Spike questioned, not remembering what just happened.

“You grew bigger and tried to uh- do things I’d rather you not do. The great and powerful Trixie wishes not to have intercourse with a dragon.” Trixie said with a slightly disgusted tone.

Spike stood awkwardly. “Interwhat? Can you let me out of here? I really don’t like being trapped in such a small room alone. It makes me feel like I’m in a cage or something.”

Trixie scoffed. “Why would I do that? You’d just come after me again. And for your sake, It’d be best if you saved your virginity for Rarity.”

Spike gasped. Surprisingly, he knew that word. It had come up in a book Twilight was reading when she needed him to look it up for her. “How do you know that I like Rarity? And I can’t believe you would bring that up! You’re sick, Trixie. I don’t think of her like that. Gross. Speaking of Rarity, is she still in trouble? Twilight said she was in trouble earlier.”

Trixie stopped for a moment, remembering what she did to Rarity. “Oh. Right. She’s dead. I killed her.” Trixie said emotionlessly.

Spike staggered back and silenced for a few moments. “It was your fault from the beginning then isn’t it. How could you!” he yelled in rage as his size increased again. Loudly, he ripped through the metal of the side of the wagon with his claws as he clawed his way out. Trixie stood horrified, unable to run. She just bought that wagon a few days ago. Spike climbed through the hole he made and chased after Trixie. Quickly, he swiped at her, clawing a nasty wound upon Trixie’s right eye, blinding it. Trixie screamed in agony as she fell to the ground. Now trying harder to escape, Trixie casted a spell of illusion that mimicked invisibility temporarily. Confused, Spike looked around frantically, unable to find Trixie, who sneaked around to the other side of the wagon to hide. Quickly giving up and losing interest, he roared and ran off to cause havoc on Ponyville.

When Spike was gone, Trixie hurried back to her wagon to treat her wound. Using a first aid kit she kept in a drawer of the new dresser, she awkwardly wrapped her injury up. “Stupid dragon. I should’ve killed him too. Now I only have one eye! Damn this hurts. I’ll be a laughing stock again. The Great and Half-Blind Trixie. Almost killed by a baby dragon. Just bucking great!” she said angrily to herself as she finished up. “What do I do now? I have to hide. Can’t let Spike find me again. Definitely not going towards the middle of town. I’ll go to Fluttershy’s place. If she ran there, she’ll look over my wounds. It’s far enough from everypony else, so it’ll be a safe place to wait this all out. Maybe.” Trixie quickly packed her first aid kit and some food into her saddlebags and hurried to Fluttershy’s cottage.

Pinkie’s Premonitions

The roar of a small engine disturbed Apple Bloom’s peaceful slumber. It was the middle of the night now, and other sounds of chaos could be heard throughout Ponyville, but this new sound startled her. “Is that some sort of engine? It sounds like the thing Flim and Flam drove, but smaller and more chaotic sounding.” Apple Bloom said curiously to herself. She started to notice the sound coming closer. It was inside Sugarcube Corner. Worried now, the filly got up and took a few steps back. A piece of metal started cutting into the buildings back door, cutting a hole big enough for a pony to walk through. Watching in awe and horror, she now knew what killed Pinkie and the five others that she first saw in the basement. Out of the blackness of the house stalked a demented looking, blood covered Fluttershy. The filly screamed in horror. “Fluttershy? Why did you kill them? And Pinkie? Please don’t kill me!” she yelled.

Fluttershy slowly walked towards her. “Stay. Out. Of. My. Basement!” the pink maned mare yelled, her voice sounding very deep and disturbing.

Apple Bloom ran to the shovel and held it up to defend herself. She noticed a bruise on Fluttershy’s forehead. “Maybe if I hit her there, it’ll stop her for a moment for me to take that from her. I could use that motor.” she thought to herself. Since Fluttershy was moving slowly towards her, revving the engine to her weapon, Apple Bloom had time to think of a plan. Turning the shovel around, she threw the handle side at Fluttershy’s bruise. Luckily, it knocked the mare back a ways with a loud whack, causing her to drop the chainsaw. Apple Bloom ran to pick it up as fast as she could. Fluttershy recovered and glared dizzily at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom held out the weapon in front of her. “Come any closer and I’ll have to use this!” Fluttershy stood in place, glaring at her. Soon enough, the machine began to sputter and eventually die out. Immediately, Fluttershy collapsed onto the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut.

Moments passed as Apple Bloom stood on guard, watching the mare. Eventually, Fluttershy stood up awkwardly. “Apple Bloom? Why are you holding that horrible thing? Get rid of it! Hide it so I don’t use it again, please!” Fluttershy pleaded with tears in her eyes.

Apple Bloom nodded and quickly dug a hole and buried the device. “There goes for learnin’ how it worked.” She went over to Fluttershy. “Are you okay?”

Fluttershy was sobbing but stopped to look at her. “I- I’m okay. I’m so sorry about A- Applejack. W- We got here too late. We couldn’t do anything.”

“It’s not yer’ fault. Somethin’ strange is goin’ on. I could hear ponies doing crazy things out there.” Apple Bloom sadly replied, embracing Fluttershy in a quick hug.

“We should get to my house, I need to make sure Angel Bunny is okay. And my head hurts a lot too. Maybe I hit my head or something. I don’t know.” Fluttershy said, rubbing her temple.

Apple Bloom sat down on the ground. “How’re we supposed to do that without gettin’ ourselves killed out there? If ya’ didn’t notice, the chaos hasn’t died down at all for however long I’ve been asleep.”

Fluttershy thought for a moment, unsure of what to do. “Well, I could try to carry you? But I don’t know if I’m strong enough to hold you that long.”

Apple Bloom brainstormed as well until she came up with an easy solution. “Aha! Follow me Fluttershy!” she said excitedly.

Fluttershy awkwardly nodded and followed the filly back into the house but going upstairs into Pinkie’s room this time. “What are we doing? This is Pinkie’s room.”

“She showed me a secret that she said I’d need to know someday. Just trust me on this one. Stand on that rug.” Apple Bloom commanded quickly. Fluttershy nodded and stood in place as Apple Bloom grabbed Pinkie’s party cannon and placed it on top of Pinkie’s bed facing a certain direction. Next, she went and picked up a radio and placed it on a table, putting in a specific cassette into it and pressed play. A random theme song started to play and Apple Bloom quickly grabbed some streamers and went to stand by Fluttershy on the small round rug.

After a few moments of the two listening to the track, Apple Bloom began to chant spontaneously along the beat and tune of the song. “By the power of the great pink pony, ah’, Apple Bloom summon the flight of a pegasus to be bestored- be bestoled- uhh- given to me, an earth pony, in a time of need. An’ uhh, I-” the filly stopped to think for a moment and tried to remember the chant.

Fluttershy stood there awkwardly. “Are you okay Apple Bloom? What’s all that stuff you’re saying?”

“It’s just what Pinkie said I needed to say if I used her emergency party cannon.” Apple Bloom said, annoyed from the interruption.

Fluttershy replied nervously. “E- emergency party cannon?”

“Just watch.” Apple Bloom quickly replied. Immediately, she threw the streamers all around the room, confusing the yellow mare even more. After that, she made some balloons and placed them around the room. Lastly, she moved Fluttershy off of the rug and lifted the rug out of the way, revealing a storage area underneath it.

“I’ve never seen this before, what’s in there?” Fluttershy asked, still unsure of what was going on.

Apple Bloom smiled at the mare. “This is where she stores the stuff for her party cannon, along with the key to the emergency cannon.” Apple Bloom opened up the door leading into a small dip in the room. There were numerous cannonballs packed with streamers and confetti inside, but what Apple Bloom didn’t expect, was a letter under the key to the emergency cannon. “I think she left me a letter in case I used this. But how’d she know?” She picked up the letter and they sat down to read it over.

Dear Apple Bloom,

I have this funny feeling that some of my friends might get seriously hurt today and knew you’d need some information. I know I don’t know what’s going to happen, but just be careful and stay safe. Don’t let chaos ruin your life and mind. Spread laughter in the dark times and keep your friends close. Don’t give up on them ever, you will need them. Applejack loves you.

Pinkamina Diane Pie

a.k.a. Pinkie

Apple Bloom’s eyes were starting to tear up. She gave the note to Fluttershy as well, who also started to cry. Several moments passed until Apple Bloom abruptly stood up, took the key and went over to the regular party cannon on Pinkie’s bed, aimed at the wall. Apple Bloom fired the cannon at the wall, revealing a secret slide downwards.

Fluttershy gasped loudly. “How long was that there? Where are we going!? We can’t go down there, it’s all dark down there! I’m scared of the dark!”

“We have no choice. It’s only dark for a little bit. Trust me.” the filly stated.

“But I can’t! I can’t handle all of this, can’t we just go home? I don’t want to be here anymore, I can smell the blood still!” she sobbed.

Apple Bloom quickly pushed Fluttershy down the slide, catching her by surprise. Quickly, she followed. The slide twisted and turned as Fluttershy screamed with her eyes tightly shut until they landed on a mattress. At the bottom was a large room where it looked like Pinkie made her party cannons. They landed in the middle of the southern half of the room. Next to them was a large Hot Air Balloon and a long cylinder space upwards above it. Around the walls of the room were fuses lined up and all connected with a single fuse that started at a small little terminal in the middle of one wall, where the lighting end was not to be seen inside it.

“Apple Bloom! We could’ve been hurt! I’ve been through enough today. I want to go home. With Angel. And my teddy bear.” Fluttershy said sadly, missing the safety of her cottage.

Apple Bloom was looking around in wonder. “She could have her own business or something! Wow! Ah’ didn’t even know ponies had this kinda’ technology.” The awestruck filly immediately went to the Hot Air Balloon. “Come on, this is what we’ll use! I don’t know how this is an emergency party cannon though, but if you want to go home, let’s hurry.” Fluttershy nodded and stood in the Hot Air Balloon with Apple Bloom. The filly pushed the large button that was the only indication of starting the balloon, as she never had started one herself. Instantly, the balloon was launched upwards through a long, vertical corridor that stretched high for miles. Fluttershy cowered on the floor of the balloon as they flew up. With a loud crash, they went straight through the roof of the corridor. The two ponies braced each other as rubble and the like fell upon them. When they were through, Apple Bloom stood to see where they were.

“Fluttershy! I don’t know how, but we came up through the town hall! That corridor was right under town hall! Ah’ hope nopony got hurt.” Apple Bloom said excitedly, looking down onto the town. No pony was to be seen except a few stragglers not knowing what had happened. “All the chaos stopped. Do ya’ know what happened Fluttershy? What’s goin’ on?” the filly asked calmly.

Fluttershy slowly stood up. “Well, I think that whatever it is, it just happens when it wants. Can we just hurry to Angel please?” Fear was felt in every word the mare spoke and Apple Bloom knew that Fluttershy couldn’t handle very much more of any of the death and destruction they’ve witnessed so far before giving up.

Apple Bloom put a hoof on Fluttershy. “We’ll get there as fast as we can, ah’ promise.” Apple Bloom turned her head towards the balloon and saw a strange device that was making ticking noises up inside it. “Ah’ have a feelin’ we should get off of this. Like now.” Apple Bloom said worriedly.

“Uhh, okay if you think so. But we’re so- high up.” Fluttershy gulped as she looked down from the balloon.

After thinking for a moment, the filly came up with an idea she knew that Fluttershy wouldn’t enjoy. “Can ya’ try and carry me? To your house?”

Fluttershy stared wide at her. “I- I- I can’t do that!” The beeping started to quicken above the two.

“We don’t have time, grab me and jump!” Apple Bloom commanded loudly.

Fluttershy nodded and grabbed Apple Bloom. Opening the door, she prepared to jump. The device inside the balloon had begun beeping rapidly. Taking a quick deep breath, she spread her wings and jumped. Almost on cue, the balloon exploded in a bright flash of color and sound. The blast managed to push Fluttershy in the direction of her house, allowing them to glide the entire way. Apple Bloom turned to see the remains of the explosion. Confetti and streamers seemed to fall like rain behind them. “Wow, now I know why it was called the Emergency Cannon. It covered almost the whole town in confetti!” She continued to admire the colors until suddenly, one of her lower hooves got cut from a tree branch. “Fluttershy, what’s going on? I caught a branch on my hoof.”

Fluttershy spoke with exhaustion, “You’re really heavy Apple Bloom, I’m sorry. Almost there!”

Apple Bloom continued to be scratched up by trees until they were close enough for her to let go and walk the rest of the way, causing Fluttershy to freak out for a moment before realizing they were hardly even five feet from the ground. After landing next to Apple Bloom, the two walked the rest of the way. Upon arriving at the door, they met with Trixie, who sat impatiently at the door.

“It’s about time you showed up. Discord wouldn’t let me in until you came back. Where’d you run off to anyways?” Trixie said bitterly at Fluttershy.

“Hey, you should be lucky we aren’t dead! Why are you being mean again? Ah’ thought you changed.” Apple Bloom said, defending the exhausted Fluttershy.

Trixie scoffed. “Old habits die hard little filly. And I wasn’t going to sacrifice myself looking for her either. Just open the door so we can rest.”

Apple Bloom just glared at her and nodded to Fluttershy, who went up to the door. “Why should we even help Trixie? She’s just a big meanie pony. Ah’ don’t even think she changed.”

A familiar voice answered from inside as Fluttershy knocked. “Why hello, my little pony, what is the password to enter?”

“Discord, please let us in, we need some sleep while we can.” Fluttershy said softly.

Discord smiled to himself, “But that would be too easy my dear Fluttershy. Can you at least say it? You are the one who thought it would be fun aren’t you?”

Fluttershy sighed to herself. “I like peas.”

The Draconequus sighed as well. “You’re right, it’s only funny when Twilight says it. Well, come in then.” Trixie and Applebloom stared blankly, quite confused as to what that was about. Discord opened the door, smiling brightly again as the three ponies came inside. “You three have been through quite a lot it seems. Why don’t you tell me all about it? This’ll be quite fun don’t you think?”

The three sighed to themselves simultaneously as they began to tell their stories of the day’s events.

The Truth Lies in Your Mind

“Well, that was quite a chaotic story! Would you like to tell another story to me please? I just love hearing such stories.” Discord replied, laughing and smiling as the three ponies finished explaining all they’ve been through.

“Where’s your guest room Fluttershy? The Great and Powerful Trixie needs some sleep before the sun rises.” The blue-coated mare said tiredly, looking out the window. As she was the first to tell her story, she didn’t really care to listen about the other two ponies’ stories and was just sitting off to the side, waiting until they were done.

Fluttershy replied quietly and wiped her teary eyes. “It’s just through this hallway.” The mare led Trixie through a small hallway into a room that usually is used by the cutie mark crusaders when Fluttershy watches over them. The room was outfitted with various possessions of the three fillies laying on the ground and many colorful posters hung on the walls as well. “I- I don’t remember if you heard me, but I told Twilight that you killed Spike. I’m just glad that you didn’t. Thank you.” Fluttershy said softly.

Trixie glanced at Fluttershy awkwardly. “What? Oh that. Whatever. He’s still a kid. Cursed or not, I wouldn’t kill him. Why is it so important to you anyways?”

“I need to tell him that Rarity loved him. He needs to know before anything bad happens to him.” Fluttershy replied sadly but harshly, turning to leave the room.

“Look, I didn’t do it on purpose, if you’re trying to put me on a guilt trip it’s not going to work! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!.” The blue mare said harshly and slammed the door right in Fluttershy’s frightened face. Hoofsteps were heard loudly as Fluttershy ran to her room to cry. Trixie just rolled her eyes and sat on the bed. “I didn’t know that stupid mirror would make me kill Rarity. It’s not my fault! It wasn’t me!” she thought angrily, tears coming to her eyes. “What is wrong with me? I changed to be good, to fit in. I embraced my new friendships with Twilight and them. Now I’m being a total bitch again. Is this what I deserve? Was I really that bad? I’m so stupid!” Slamming her hoof onto the bed, Trixie began to cry quietly until she fell asleep.

Back in the living room, Apple Bloom was sleepily laying on the ground watching Discord perform little tricks with Angel. “Discord, do you know what’s goin’ on with everypony? You’re good at chaos-y things. Is there any advice you can give me? What do ya’ know about the mirror?”

Discord sighed. “That was the most predictable question you could’ve asked, little filly. Personally, I think it would be more fun to let you figure out its secrets on your own. If I told you what I knew, that would just ruin the ending now wouldn’t it?”

“Ending? Ending of what? Do ya’ mean that these mirrors are the end of the world!? We gotta do something!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, standing up.

Discord smiled, seeming to find what he was looking for in Apple Bloom’s eagerness. “Do you want to play a game with fate, Apple Bloom? You see, there is one way to reverse the effects of this catastrophe. Are you interested?”

Apple Bloom looked at him cautiously. “Just cause you’re good now don’t mean ah’ trust you. What’s this game of yours? How do I save mah’ sister?”

The grin on Discord’s face grew larger and he began pacing around Apple Bloom. “To put it simply, you must not allow Twilight Sparkle to destroy the mirror that infected poor Trixie and the rest of Ponyville. There is no hope for saving your sister if Twilight destroys that mirror.”

“Are you crazy!? She has to! Ah’ bet she’s bringing Celestia here to help too! You’ll see!” The filly replied loudly.

Discord frowned a little, still walking circles around Apple Bloom. “You’d rather let ‘Princess’ Twilight Sparkle be the big hero again and let everypony suffer, or be a hero yourself and save the ponies who are close to you? Who is more important little filly? The Princess or your sister? Hmm?”

Apple Bloom turned and glared at Discord, causing the draconequus to stop and smile right back at her. “If yer’ a liar, I’ll make sure you pay for lying to me! What do I do to make sure Twilight doesn’t break it?”

“Good choice Apple Bloom. Now, it’s quite simple. In order to bring back your sister and friends, just break the mirror yourself. Smash it to little itty bitty pieces.” Discord said happily, acting out the shattering of the mirror, exaggerating the beauty of it.

Apple Bloom looked at him blankly. “How’m I supposed to do that if nopony else who’s tried can? And how’s smashing it going to bring back everypony?”

Discord just smiled. “You’re immune to the mirror’s effects Apple Bloom. You’re the only pony who can do it. And you’ll see when you’ve broken it.”

Applebloom was confused for a moment. “Why am ah’ immune? Ah’ just don’t get it.”

“Just get some sleep. You have alot to prepare for tomorrow.” Discord mused, lounging on the sofa now.

Apple Bloom sighed and looked outside. The moon still held high in the sky, illuminating the night sky. “It’s still night? That don’t seem right. I need sleep so I can break that mirror.” she thought to herself as she laid onto a pet bed to sleep.

Morning Distractions

Morning came quite late for Fluttershy, despite the fact that the moon still shone brightly. As she got up she fed Angel and did some quick chores before heading downstairs where Trixie and Discord were eating. “Good morning everypony.” She said to them, smiling.

“But is it a good morning, my shy little mare? Isn’t there anything different here?” Discord said, waving his arm through the air to provoke her to take a look around the room.

Fluttershy looked around, confused for a few moments before she smiled widely. “Oh! Trixie made breakfast. Thank you Trixie, I’m glad you’re back to being nice again.

Trixie blushed a little. “Yes, I did, and it’s fine. I’m sorry about last night Fluttershy. I let myself go because I wanted to hide my guilt from starting this entire mess. Will you forgive me?”

“Of course I will. It wasn’t your fault though. I’ll be right back I’m going to check on Applebloom.” Fluttershy smiled and began to leave the kitchen but was immediately interrupted by Trixie.

“Where is Apple Bloom? I was the one who woke Discord. Is she in another guest room? I didn’t see any other rooms and assumed she was with you.” Trixie said worriedly.

Fluttershy gasped and ran through all of the rooms in search of Apple Bloom. Trixie awkwardly stood in the living room, not wanting to mess up Fluttershy’s house. Moments passed until a teary-eyed Fluttershy came into the living room and collapsed on the ground crying. “She’s gone! She’s all alone out there. What if she gets hurt? Discord, you need to help us find her, please!”

Discord had been watching the ponies and their frantic running around with delight. He sat down on the sofa casually. “Why she’s probably off to destroy the mirror like I asked of her.”

Anger flared through Fluttershy. “How dare you! She could get killed out there! If anything happens to her I swear-” Suddenly Fluttershy’s voice disappeared at the snap of Discord’s finger, causing her to panic for a moment then she just glared at Discord. Trixie stood shocked, slightly fearful of Discord.

“Now Fluttershy, you wouldn’t want to cause another fit all across Ponyville with your anger would you? Now just listen to me. The fits seem to occur randomly and last about half an hour to an hour. There hasn’t been one since yesterday.” As Discord finished, he gave Fluttershy her speech back.

“We need to make sure Apple Bloom is okay, come on Trixie!” Fluttershy said angrily. She didn’t want Apple Bloom hurt since it’s her duty to keep the fillies safe when Rarity and Applejack are busy, or in this case, dead. The two mares immediately left towards Trixie’s trailer where the mirror was. Upon arrival, they saw Apple Bloom looking it over. “Apple Bloom, get away from that mirror! Please!” Fluttershy yelled as loud as she could.

Apple Bloom turned to Fluttershy. “Ah’ guess I really am immune to it, like Discord said.”

Fluttershy understood now that Discord’s intention was good. “Well, in that case hurry and destroy it!”

Trixie just sighed. “I don’t think she knows if she’s infected or not. Just like us now. Wait until a fit comes just like Discord said. I bet that soon, we’ll see that everything’ll go insane and she’ll be as bucked up as the rest of us.”

“When did you get so negative?” Apple Bloom said, annoyed. “Fine, we’ll wait and I’ll show ya!” She sat down on the grass and the others followed suit. Small, little fires blazed across town. They could see a nearby fire right in front of Sugarcube corner where a group of ponies were sobbing and crying. “Looks like everypony saw what happened.” Apple Bloom said blankly, trying to suppress her own emotions.

Tears came to Fluttershy’s eyes and she looked away, whispering to herself. “I didn’t mean it. It wasn’t me that killed her. I swear it wasn’t me!” Trixie laid a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder as Fluttershy quietly sobbed. A short tender moment broke once Trixie got up to try and start a fire.

“Ugh, this isn’t working. How do you even do this? I don’t even know a spell for a real fire.” Trixie growled to herself. “It doesn’t help that I can’t even see as well as I used to. My eye is hurting again.” Trixie thought as she rubbed her temple. “I give up on the fire.” She said in defeat, sitting down next to an unimpressed Apple Bloom.

“Seriously? I’ll do it then.” Apple Bloom said disappointingly. Within minutes, she managed to start a fire. “It’s not that hard. I learned from my sis. You should ask Fluttershy to replace yer’ bandages, they look pretty bad.” Apple Bloom sat down again, watching the crowd around Sugarcube Corner disperse, carrying littler torches and putting out the larger fire.

After being asked, Fluttershy began to replace Trixie’s bandages on her eye. “So, Spike did this?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah. I used an illusion to get away though. What happened to you? You’ve got a bruise on your head.” Trixie replied.

Fluttershy looked away, not wanting to think about when she lost control of herself. “I don’t want to talk about it.” she said quietly. Trixie just shrugged and let Fluttershy finish the bandages. Just then, two ponies carrying torches came over to the three.

Once they came close enough, the three could see that it was Caramel with another earth pony mare. “Apple Bloom? Are you okay? Your brother’s been looking for you everywhere!”

Apple Bloom’s eyes lit up at mention of her brother. “Where is he? Is he okay?” the filly said worriedly. The two mares also stood up, hoping for some good news.

“Yeah, he’s fine. For now. Come with us to Sweet Apple Acres to see him. We should hurry too.” Caramel replied, looking towards the sky, which now was quite cloudy.

Apple Bloom nodded quickly, adding wood to the fire so it would last until they came back. “Let’s hurry, ah’ think whatever pegasai left are settin’ up a storm.”

Flame in the Rain

An unexpected sight awaited the mares and filly as they reached the Sweet Apple Acres barn. Big Macintosh was tightly buckled to a vertical beam of wood inside the barn. A few ponies stood outside of the barn, whispering among themselves and occasionally glancing and staring at Apple Bloom as they entered.

“Granny Smith, what in the hay is goin’ on? Why’s mah’ brother up there?” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she ran up to her.

Big Mac turned his head to look at his younger sister and smiled, a great amount of stress lifted from him, knowing she was still alive. “Yer’ okay. Don’t worry ‘bout me, I’ll be fine. Ya’ aren’t infected are ya’?”

Tears came to the filly’s eyes and she went up to hug her immobile brother. “A- Applejack’s gone! I missed you so much. What happened here?”

Tears also came to Big Macintosh’s eyes. “Apple Bloom, when the skies clear, just make sure to run as fast as ya’ can from this place, ya’ hear? Ah’ don’t want you to see what happens when it comes back.”

Apple Bloom looked up towards him in sorrow and anger. “Ah’m not leavin’ ya’ here ta’ die!” she yelled stubbornly. Suddenly, the wind picked up and the clouds in the sky began to disperse.

Tears now freely ran down her brothers face. “Listen, Apple Bloom. You can’t stay here. Escape while you can and don’t come back until this is all over!” Big Macintosh said loudly and sternly. The wind had now begun to blow the door back and forth chaotically. Apple Bloom didn’t move and stayed where she was, somewhat worried about Big Mac’s seriousness.

Trixie and Fluttershy had been standing just outside the barn watching the filly and stallion. Instinctively, Trixie began to back up away from the barn until she noticed something bulge up from the ground near Fluttershy’s hooves. “Fluttershy, something’s coming out of the ground by you! Watch out!” she yelled, afraid of whatever it was.

Both Fluttershy and Apple Bloom turned towards Trixie. Confused, the yellow mare looked down at the ground and saw the growing bulge in the ground begin to take a familiar form. “No! I won’t kill anymore please! Go away!” she screamed, trying to flee but couldn’t pick up her legs at all. As with the first couple times, she grabbed the handle of the chainsaw once it broke through the ground and swung it wildly in the air.

Apple Bloom immediately began tearing at the rope that bound her brother. Big Mac yelled in disagreement, “No, If ya’ untie me, thing’s’ll just get worse!” Applebloom continued to ignore him as the once-again-crazed Fluttershy slowly came towards the two.

“Apple Bloom, we need to leave! Get to the mirror before it’s too late!” Trixie yelled, hoping to also distract Fluttershy.

“No! Ah’ can’t leave ‘im!” the filly yelled back, finishing with one of the ropes. As Apple Bloom continued to untie her brother and Fluttershy kept coming closer, a group of pegasai quickly cut through the sky, eliminating the clouds that blocked a bright full moon. The sudden illumination of the ground and barn seemed to cause everypony to stop for a moment.

Once the moonlight reached Big Macintosh, a loud yell was heard as he began writhing in pain. Horrified, Apple Bloom backed off away from both him and the ever advancing Fluttershy, who now stopped to watch this new scene. Before her and Trixie’s eyes, Big Macintosh began transforming. Hair began to fall off of the stallion and his skin began to shrink and merge with his bones. An unnatural aura formed around Big Mac as his entire body began to shift and gain a new layer of dimension. Alongside the wretched yells from him that became more and more guttural, his body shape became more canine as his snout became longer and blocky and his hooves became clawed. Once the transformation completed and a sickening scent appeared in the air, Apple Bloom and the others knew what now stood before them; a timberwolf with a red wooden body and green eyes bared its teeth at them.

As if on cue, Trixie screamed Apple Bloom’s thoughts, “Run! Get to the Mirror!” Trixie turned tail and began sprinting, hoping that Apple Bloom was following.

Still in shock of what she had witnessed, Apple Bloom was held fast in place in the corner of the barn. Fluttershy smiled widely as the timberwolf turned towards her, attracted by the loud noise from the chainsaw, or perhaps the tiny fragment of Big Mac holding on to protect his sister was the reason it ignored Apple Bloom.

Fluttershy lunged at the beast, chainsaw blaring. Dodging quickly, the timberwolf prepared for battle and growled loudly at her and snapped at the mare. Flying quickly into the air, Fluttershy easily avoided the attack. With a few quick slices of wood, Fluttershy cut a piece out of the roof in an attempt to crush the timberwolf. Big Mac just rolled out of the way and grabbed a piece of firewood in his teeth and flung it at the pegasus. With an aerial spin she dodged and sliced the log in half, surprising Apple Bloom, who was still unmoving, mesmerized by the two.

“I can’t believe Trixie abandoned me. Now I’m gonna’ be stuck here til one of them is dead. Then i’ll be next.” the filly thought to herself, about to cry in hopelessness. “Ah’ shoulda just stayed behind. Why’d this have to get my brother too? Are all a’ my family just supposed to die?” Apple Bloom curled up and began to cry, trying to block out the sounds of fighting around her.

After a few more minutes of fighting, suddenly a large explosion sounded and blew a hole through the back wall of the barn in bright, pretty colors, giving Apple Bloom a chance to escape. While the sound didn’t attract the attention of Fluttershy and Big Mac, the bright fireworks did. A horrified Trixie stood on the other side as the two crazies stared her down. “Come on Apple Bloom!” she screamed.

This time, Apple Bloom listened and sprinted through the hole and not looking back. Immediately as she passed through the hole, Caramel and the mare from earlier set the hole on fire, stopping the two from chasing Apple Bloom, or at least slowing them down enough so she can escape. “Hurry you two! We’ll do what we can here.” Caramel said quickly. Apple Bloom quickly nodded and ran with Trixie to the mirror as the barn behind them began to catch fire.

Now that the clouds were gone, making their way back to the mirror and Trixie’s trailer was quite easy with the full moon’s light guiding the way. Upon arrival, the two stopped a moment to rest from nearly sprinting the entire distance.

“Well, hurry and end all this Apple Bloom. Please.” Trixie said in between breaths. Apple Bloom nodded and took a deep breath and looked at the mirror.

“Here goes. For big sis. For everypony!” As she finished speaking, she took a few steps back and charged headfirst at the mirror. Upon impact, the mirror shattered into hundreds of shards. Apple Bloom dizzily stepped back until she collapsed onto the ground, barely hearing Trixie yelling her name in joy.

Licking the Wounds of Your World

Apple Bloom woke up in her bed with a bandage around her head. Slightly confused, she got up and brushed her chaotic mess of a mane and went downstairs. Tears came to her eyes at what she saw when she came into the kitchen. She immediately ran up to her sister and hugged her tightly for several moments.

“It’s true. Yer’ back. I missed you so much.” the filly said with tears in her eyes.

Applejack also had tears in her eyes. “Ah’m so sorry ya’ had to deal with that Apple Bloom. Had ah’ known what’d happen, ah’ would’ve never went to that party. But it’s okay now, ah’m back. Everypony’s back.” Applejack smiled, still tears in her eyes.

Apple Bloom still held tight for a few more moments until she broke the hug. “So, everypony is fine now? What happened to the mirror? Is Big Mac okay?”

Applejack smiled at her. “Twilight took the remains of the mirror to study what exactly happened. Ah’ know that everypony who was uh, killed, were brought back somehow. Not even Twilight knows how that happened.” Applejack sighed, but then smiled again. “You know, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are waitin’ for ya’ to go visit them. Yer’ a hero Apple Bloom. Ah’m proud of ya’.”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Ah’ guess I am a hero. Does that mean I’ll get a cutie mark in heroing? Wait, that ain’t a word.” she thought to herself as she left to visit her two friends. When she was outside, she was greeted by the two other fillies and exchanged hugs and the like.

“So, what really happened? I just, like, woke up and the town was in total disaster.” said the still confused Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle looked off in the distance. “You don’t want to know, Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom nodded in agreement and Scootaloo just shrugged.

“Well, what do you want to do today, Hero of Ponyville?” the orange filly said enthusiastically.

Apple Bloom blushed a little. “Well- erm- Uhh. Ah’ don’t know, why do I have to pick?”

As soon as she asked that question, a familiar bouncy, pink pony lifted her up onto her back. “Well, if you won’t pick, then how about we just have a party instead!” the voice said happily.

“Pinkie Pie! Yer’ alive!” The filly jumped in joy and hugged Pinkie as they bounced towards Sugarcube Corner, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo following close behind.

“I am?” Pinkie stopped for a moment pondering, “Of course I am! ‘Cause if I wasn’t, you’d be sad and i’d be sad and Rainbow Dash would miss me of course!” She continued to bounce their way to the party.

Upon arrival at the shop, Apple Bloom was greeted by friends from school and all over town. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Trixie were already there, waiting for the heroic filly. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were there to celebrate. They all greeted Apple Bloom positively, even though Tiara and Spoon had noticeably fake smiles plastered on their faces. The orange filly went to enjoy the party for a while before going up to talk with her sister’s friends.

Rarity was the first to talk to Apple Bloom. “I want to apologize for everything you’ve been through dear. I’m so thankful you managed to undo all that chaos. Would you like to have a drink? Don’t worry, it’s filly-friendly.” the elegant unicorn said smiling.

“No, that’s fine, but thanks anyways. How come Twilight’s not here?” Apple Bloom asked, confused as to why the recently coronated princess hasn’t shown up to congratulate her, or at least be with her friends.

Rainbow Dash answered somewhat bitterly. “She’s too busy studying that broken mirror to come party with us I guess. ‘Orders from Celestia’ or something.”

Applejack scowled at Rainbow. “Twilight has her royal duties that she need’s ta’ tend to. Ya’ know, responsibility an’ such?” she said sarcastically.

Apple Bloom just rolled her eyes at Rainbow and her sister, then left them to find the other two crusaders. However, after not seeing Spike anywhere either, curiosity got to her mind and she slipped out of her own party to try to find him. Before leaving however, she was seen by Zecora.

The zebra offered a cup of juice to her. “I congratulate you with this tasty punch, but won’t you stay for lunch?”

Slightly embarrassed that somepony saw her trying to leave her own party, Apple Bloom just made a quick response. “Zecora, ah’ need to see Twilight, don’t tell anypony that ah’ left, please!” she had an important attitude about her as she explained what she was doing. Zecora nodded and let her leave through the back door. “Ah’ just have a feeling about that mirror. Twilight would’ve at least would’ve shown up to say something, right?”

As the filly left, she turned to look at the now unscathed Sugarcube Corner. “Breaking the mirror couldn’t’ve fixed everypony’s houses too could it? Ah’ need to make sure everything’s okay with Twilight.” Ponyville was quite empty despite everything looking normal again. Apple Bloom assumed that they were all staying home for today or were at the crowded party. Finally, she made it to the library and knocked. No answer. She knocked a few more times until it was finally opened by a tearful Spike.

“A-Apple Bloom, it’s you! Come inside quick!” the dragon said, hiding the sorrow in his voice quite poorly. He pulled her inside and locked the door behind her. Inside the library all the lights were dimmed and the windows were all curtained. Spike led her through a messy maze of books until they came to a large purple crystal that housed Twilight inside of it, completely unmoving.

“Holy ponyfeathers, Spike! What happened to Twilight? Was it the mirror that did this?” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“I don’t know what happened. Everypony came back to life and when I came home, Twilight was like this. I thought she was in Canterlot still though. And we haven’t heard anything from Princess Celestia either. I thought all that horror was over with, then this happened.” Spike said, upset and as confused as Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom sighed. “Well, looks like we gotta figure this out on our own then. Spike, what happened to the broken mirror?”

Spike sat down on a pile of books. “It’s still over by Trixie’s trailer. That’s where everypony found you knocked out. Everypony was so distracted by you that when they asked about Twilight, I said she was studying it here. Apple Bloom, some strange magic is still in that mirror I think.” Just then, it was as if a light lit up above Spike. “That’s it! We’ll try to use it to cure Twilight!”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Yeah! We can try to get all the pieces and bring them back here. We should hurry before the party is over though, so nopony gets suspicious.”

Spike nodded in agreement and the two prepared to leave. Outside, it was still eerily empty through the streets of ponyville as the two went through the streets until they arrived at the broken mess on the ground in front of Trixie’s trailer. Despite their happiness from seeing the shards still there, the two heard voices from inside the trailer.

“Oh, Trixie, you know, before yesterday, I never realized how attractive you are.” One of the voices said seductively.

Trixie giggled. “You know, we were drunk. Are you sure you want to do this again though?” A moan was heard inside the trailer as the filly and young dragon listened in a mixture of disgust and curiosity.

“Of course I do. I rarely ever can get any of the others to do any naughty play with me you know, and as long as you don’t kill me again, we should be fine.” Rarity said in between light moans.

Apple Bloom stepped away from the wall. “Spike, I don’t think the mirror’s effects wore off! Ah’ don’t know what they’re doing in there, but it can’t be good.” she whispered over to him.

Spike turned towards her, looking as freaked out and horrified as her and whispered back. “You’re probably right, lets hurry and get these shards and get out of here. I bet they ditched the party.” There was a hint of jealousy and worry in his voice as he knew Rarity was in there. Quickly, the two went over to the broken mirror shards and began collecting them in Apple Bloom’s saddlebags.

Once the rest of the shards were collected, the two quietly left, but something Apple Bloom remembered began itching into her mind. “If Twilight’s in that crystal, does everypony else know or did they lie to me? Applejack said Twilight took the shards of the mirror. Somethin’ just ain’t right about all this. Mah’ sister never lies.” She and Spike were completely silent as they returned to the library and carefully set the shards of the broken mirror on the floor as they arrived. Several minutes later, and multiple slips leaving little cuts all over Apple Bloom’s hooves, she managed to piece the mirror back together as Spike watched. As soon as she put the final piece in, the mirror fused itself back into one whole object causing the two to take a step back in surprise.

“Well, the mirror’s put together but what did you want to try and do with it Apple Bloom? Nothing is happening.” Spike asked.

Apple Bloom pondered for a few moments until she found an answer. “Maybe if we put it in front of Twilight, we might be able to free ‘er from that crystal.”

Spike nodded and the two lifted the mirror and carried it to where the crystallized Twilight lay. Using nearby books, they leaned up the mirror to face Twilight. Suddenly, a bright light engulfed Twilight as words slowly appeared on the mirror’s surface.

You seek to be free,
Of the fires of chaos.

Fires of lust,
Of passion,
Of death.

The only escape with red stained hooves,
Or losing something,
Never to be found once lost.

One or the other is your choice,
Either way you are damned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Apple Bloom thought aloud, “It makes it sound like I’m trapped or something. Is it talkin’ about Twilight?“

Apple Bloom’s thought was cut off by Spike tapping on her shoulder. “You think that this could be all a dream? It can’t be a dream, I remember everything that’s happened.” The purple dragon said worriedly.

Apple Bloom turned around towards Spike. “Don’t ya’ think it’s a little weird how everypony came back from the dead? An’ how Twilight is stuck in that thing still? What if the mirror has some strange magical properties that’re makin’ us imagine all this? Ah’ gotta solve the riddle if I’m ta’ get out of here Spike. We probably should see if mah’ sister and her friends can help us somehow.”

Spike nodded in agreement. “But what if they don’t help? What if you’re wrong Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom glared at him. “Don’t think like that, ah’ just know I’m right. There’s gotta be a way to fix everythin’, we have to try. Now let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”

Spike set the mirror up against the wall. As he stepped away, he realized something was very wrong. “A- Apple Bloom, I don’t have a reflection in the mirror! What’s up with this thing?”

Apple Bloom went over to the mirror, standing behind Spike. “Why’s it show my reflection though?” She said worriedly, getting just a shrug from Spike. “Tomorrow ah’ gotta get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to try to help us.” She wandered over to a chair and sat down in it. “Well, goodnight Spike.” She closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep, thoughts of her chaotic experience in her mind.