Ten years later.

Chapter 8 – Apple Bloom

(I did it! I wrote this chapter right after Everfree Northwest! It's two in the morning, so sorry for many grammar mistakes and stuff... Hope you like it!)

The magical weight pressing down on the group slowly faded away. Spike was the first

to get to his feet, followed shortly by Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They all look at the castle.

Apple Bloom frowns and her ears are hanging, she feels a uncomfortable pain all around her body:“I don’t think they can make it much longer, we won’t make it… This is our end, the end of ponies… the end of Equestria…“ she lays down and her eyes get teary. Sweetie Belle lays her head in Bloom’s neck:“Hey Bloomster… we can’t give up now, we got to help them!“

Scoot smiles to comfort her friend:“Yeah, we have to show some guts now! All the ponies believe in our friends, we have to believe in them too and not just that, we have to help them as best as we can because we are their friends and Equestria is our beautiful home!“ She grabs Bloom’s hoof and pulls her up:“We have to be brave now!“ she stands in front oft hem like Rainbow Dash usually does. Like a  brave, loyal leader.

Apple Bloom nods in agreement:“Let’s help them by fighting against some of these small nightmares“ she smiles at them.

As soon as possible, after only a few moments actually, they begin to gallop to the castle grounds, into the castle, where this creatures with claws and sharp teeth are. They areand the is not entirely sure why, but she assumes that they just want to damage everything. She can’t figure out any sane way to do something like that. She frowns:“I’m curious how to defeat them, but I’m not sure if we can defeat them at all!“

Scootaloo takes off into the air and growls:“I guess we have to find out and there’s only one way to do so, a little combat!“ she dashes into the direction where some of hem are. She kicks and punches them, struggles when they try to attack. Scootaloo is obviously the pony with the most courage of the three, but Spike helps her immediately. He has claws and teeth himself and his bigger and stronger than the little monsters:“Hey you two, would you be so kind and help us?!“ he growls and punches some nightmares away.

Apple Bloom nods and reacts immediately. She gallops to them and kickgs the creatures who look like a mix of a dog and a bear away. Her legs are pretty so strong so she has no problem fighting against them, it brings some good things to buck apples all day, that you get strong is perhaps the best one.

Sweetie Belle was, is and will never be a good fighter or someone who even likes to battle, just like her elder sister, but she could make it in a fight any day and that’s what she does now, she tries her best to get through this crowd.

Apple Bloom looks around. Here are too many doors they will never find out where the others are, it could take them hours to find the right chamber, but they don’t have much time left. How are they supposed to find them. Apple Bloom breaks down.“What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?!“ she complains.

Sweetie Belle places a hoof on her back:“Don’t worry so much Apple Bloom. We have to believe and we have to hope, we have no other chance“

Apple Bloom sobs:“But we can’t just run around and think that we just find them sometime by accident!“

Sweetie sighs, she looks around:“I have to agree with you, but we can’t stop now, we have to try it. I for my part don’t want to give up my hope“ she grins:“Never give up!“ she tries to comfort her friend and they continue their search.

Apple Bloom feels a heavy, magical power that pressest hem back. It’s similar to what happened a few minutes ago. That means they are getting closer, when you’re able to feel the magical energy it’s either extremely strong or very, very close. Apple Bloom thinks both ist he case right now.

Scootaloo still leads the way. Apple Bloom is amazed by the courage of her friend, she’s never seen a pony quite like her. Maybe Rainbow Dash, but that’s all.

They run and run through the corridors of the castle, they look into several doors, but none oft hem is the room they seek.

The magical energy gets stronger and stronger, it’s getting more difficult to get forward and another bad thing is that a lot of nightmares are chasing them. Apple Bloom looks back, she can’t even look fast enough until an arrow almost hits her.

Spike jumped in front of her and blocked it. „Thanks Spike“, she smiles happily. The dragon breaks the arrow off:“No problem Bloom! My scales are strong and resistant, nothing can break it that-“ he couldn’t end the sentence anymore. They shoot many more arrows at them. Spike jumps faster than Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle ever could. Many of them are stuck in his back or his belly. He has no time to break all off, he just  to protect the three ponies.

Scootaloo starts to help him by fighting against these creatures:“You’re a true friend Spike. It’s awesome how you sacrifice yourself for us!“

They run ahead:“Hey it’s no problem, I did many other things to help friends. Believe me, I would even give my life“

Apple Bloom thinks of that while they’re running. They all have some dominant characteristics that make them what they are, that’s what makes them special, like a second cutie mark you have to find out what it is. It’s like the elements of harmony, deep inside of you. She remembers when Sweetie Belle was taking some courses in Twilight’s school. She remembers the presentation Spike did back then, it was about different kinds of magic. She gasps as an idea floods her mind. Probably it really is what she thinks. Probably everypony and even every creature in this world has to put it that way an element of harmony inside. A special talent, that marks your character and gives you some magical strength.

All of a sudden the farmer pony feels much stronger than before. She feels like she could do anything, she even feels the power to defeat that monster, somehow anyway. “We can do it!“ she shouts.

Sweetie Belle grins:“That what I told you all the time“

Spike nods in agreement:“My words Bloom!“

Scoot has to agree too:“See, all we need is courage, hope and a little sacrifice“

In that moment they find the correct room. The magical power is so mighty, that they can barely stand on their hooves. It presses them back, like a storm.

They can see how their six friends are glowing in a bright, white light and how the gigantic nightmare is fighting against them.

He looks at the four friends:“Hah! You’re too late! I will win, you four have no chance against me! You’re all alone!“

Luna suddenly stands up again. She seems exhausted and tired, almost all of her magical energy is gone, but she stands up because she wants Sg defend her subjects:“No they’re not, I’m here!“

A few guards are still in the room. They sit at the walls and shiver in fear. Apple Bloom looks at them:“Come here! We need you, we can still do that“

The nightmare growls and they get pushed away by his power, but they stand on their four hooves. They remain there, they will try everything to save Equestria, how the others saved Equestria too.

Luna smiles:“Once upon a time a wise pony told me you can’t destroy the elements of harmony just like that! Because you can’t destroy friendship and that’s why you can’t destroy magic. We will do our best to help them in this dark hour!“

Apple Bloom nods in agreement:“We all have magical power in us, that we can show with our special characteristics“ she looks at Scootaloo:“If it’s courage“ then at Sweetie Belle:“hope“ and then Spike:“or sacrifice“ she looks down at her hooves:“Or even something simple like curiosity“ her eyes wandert o the guards:“Everypony can do that! They just have to realize it!“

Two of the guards stand up and walk to them. They smile with hope in their eyes.

The nightmare just laughs again:“You have NO chance!“ he growls and it really seems like that. It almost seems like spirits of the elements of harmony give up. Apple Bloom grits her teeth:“We have to help them“

Spike frowns:“But how?“

Luna gasps:“I got an idea. Touch my and Sweetie’s horn and imagine that you have your own magic inside yourself, imagine that you transfer that magic into our horns and it will help us“

Spike touches Sweetie’s horn:“It’s worth a try!“ he has to shout, they’re not sure why it’s so loud, but it sounds like extremely noisy machines working on something gigantic“ Scootaloo and Apple Bloom touch Sweetie’s horn too and the guards try to help by touching Luna’s horn.

They all try their best, they think imagine The and it really feels physical.

Apple Bloom can feel how they levitate from the floor and they soar up into the air. It’s a warm, strong feeling, everything feels so static and somehow wonderfully comfortable.

Luna and Sweetie Belle suddenly open their eyes and they spark in a white light.

The last thing Apple Bloom is able to see are all the colours of the rainbow, how they lighten up the room, it looked like a rainbow how it floods around and crashes into the nightmare.

Apple Bloom opens her eyes, she moans because of a terrible headache. She looks around, but her vision is too blurry. She tries to stand up, the pony gets dizzy and falls down again. Her vision gets black again and it feels like something sucks the life out of her. She gets weaker and weaker. A soft, comfortable feeling sorrounds her while it feels like she was flying to that light at the end of the tunnel. But all of a sudden it fades away and Apple Bloom can't feel anymore, can't smell, see or see anything. "It's over" she yellow earth pony says to herself, she sighs and fades into eternal sleep.