Light in the Darkness

Oh wondrous teacher, why have you forsaken me?

My only sin is that my heart yearns for what it cannot have.

I am not merely a construct.

My heart beats to the same song as yours.

That being the song of life.

I seek one to call my own.

A single soul to fill the gap that has been left by the darkness.

But now, you have left me.

Gone, as a cloud in the sky fades away.

In my search for one to call my own, I have lost everything I had left.

Including… you.

You stopped gracing me with your smile, you no longer shared with me your dreams.

And then… and… then…

…

Now I am alone.

My heart has become like diamond.

Why did you leave me alone in the darkness?

Why… did you stop loving me?

The year was 2065, after the rise of the new Order of Friendship.

With the combined efforts of the gold of Griffinstone, the fire of Dragon's Reach, and the unusual magic of the Crystal Empire, a new age had begun. New discoveries in the field of magic brought new concepts. At first it was believed that unicorns had their own magic that they channeled through their horns, but with the discovery of a field of magic that was intertwined with all things, the view of magic was turned on its head. Unicorns did not posses their own exclusive magic reserves, rather they manipulated the magic in this invisible field.

It was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, who discovered this field after thousands of years, but this was originally conceived by the Archmage Starswirl the Bearded, who came up with the term “Mana Zone”.

According to his recovered notes, he had created special crystals called “Mana Stones” that were designed to tap into the Mana Zone and allow any pony to use magic. His work was solitary, done only in his secret lab away from the city of Everfree.

Upon learning of his legacy, Princess Twilight had become intrigued. Her mentor, Princess Celestia, had agreed to grant her anything she needed to restart the project, and even chose to assist Twilight directly. Her friends also opted to help, and with their combined efforts managed to create ten of their own Mana Stones. Twilight also created a special item called a Neutralizer designed to tap into the mana field and allow the wearer safe use of the Mana Shards.

It was Applejack, Element of Honesty, who volunteered to activate the Mana Stones. Wearing the Neutralizer, Applejack tapped into the Mana Zone, summoning the magic of the Mana Stones. However, their magic was too powerful to be controlled. They overloaded, and exploded with magic. When the smoke cleared, the Mana Stones had vanished.

Along with Applejack…

Wracked with guilt, Twilight would have disappeared from the public eye, but it was Celestia and her friends who convinced her to not give up. Thus, after a year of grieving, Twilight created the weaker “Mana Shards” from the remains, and incorporated them into magic powered machines. Society had changed into one that was forever intertwined with magic.

But the void left after her friend's death forever haunted Twilight, along with those closest to Applejack…

~Ponyville, year 2066

“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle called out from outside the two story house in Sweet Apple Acres, “Apple Bloom! Are you up yet?”

Sweetie Belle sighed and walked over to the door. Knowing Apple Bloom, she hadn't even gotten dressed yet. Everyone else in her family was up, of course. Apple Bloom just didn't have any motivation at all.

She rang the doorbell. Instantly a petty earth pony mare with a gray coat, a long dark gray mane that covered half her face, and wearing a simple black and white robe opened the door slightly.

“Oh, hey Marble,” Sweetie Belle said, “I came to take Apple Bloom to school. Could I come in?”

“Mmhmm,” Marble said quietly with a nod. She opened the door allowing Sweetie Belle to walk inside. At age thirteen, Sweetie Belle had become very fashion savy, thanks to the help of her sister Rarity. Most of the time, she wore a white suit shirt, black pencil skirt that fell halfway down her thighs, black high heels, and a black blazer. She also wore red lipstick, pink eye shadow, and golden earrings.

The house was very well kept, probably thanks to the help of Marble Pie. She had moved in shortly after the incident. She didn't talk much, but she kept a good house.

Sweetie Belle sauntered to second floor, where all the bedrooms were. On the left side of the hall were Granny Smith's room, and Macintosh and Marble Pie's room. On the right side was Apple Bloom and Applejack's rooms. The door that was Applejack's room was padlocked on Granny Smith's command. She had gone into a state of slight denial concerning her granddaughter's death, insisting that no one even enter the room, as she believed that Applejack would return one day.

Poor Apple Bloom's room was right next to hers, signified by the number of “danger” and “do not enter” signs plastered all on it. All of which Sweetie Belle was inclined to ignore.

“Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle called knocking on the door, “I know you're awake in there, so you might as well open up. It won't be pretty otherwise,” after a second of silence, Sweetie Belle knocked again, “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo is probably waiting at the bridge,” Sweetie Belle groaned, “Goddamn it Apple Bloom...”

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and opened the door. Apple Bloom's room was dark, as she had the blinds closed. The young mare in question was completely covered by her bed sheets, probably either fighting to stay asleep or just blocking out the outside world. Hers was the only room in the house that was a mess, with clothes thrown around and random pages all on the floor.

Sweetie Belle walked over to the large window in her room and threw the blinds open, letting in a blindingly bright light. Sweetie Belle was fine as she was all in the light, but she saw Apple Bloom flinch in her bed.

She knew Apple Bloom was awake.

Sweetie Belle then walked to bed, grabbed the covers, and threw them off, exposing the bra and pantie wearing teen to the light. With how loud she screamed you would have thought she were a vampire.

“WHAT THE HELL, SWEETIE BELLE?!” Apple Bloom screamed, “ARE YA TRYIN TO BLIND ME?!”

“If you would have just gotten out of bed like a normal pony we wouldn't have to go through this every morning,” Sweetie Belle said, “Now get cleaned up and dressed. I'll be waiting for you downstairs,” Sweetie Belle walked to the door, “And I swear to Faust, if you go back to sleep I'll come back and drag you into the bathroom myself.”

With that, Sweetie Belle slammed the door shut. Instead of going right downstairs she leaned against the door and sighed, remembering a time when Apple Bloom would have been the first one up. She changed a lot last year though. As much as Sweetie Belle wanted to criticize her, she had to wonder…

If it had been Rarity that had died, would she have been any better?

Apple Bloom came downstairs a few minutes later, now dressed in a nice yellow buttoned down shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and her sister's old choker, which had a golden star in the middle. Apple Bloom had grown her scarlet mane and tail longer since last year, her mane now going all the way down to her waist even when tied in her pink ribbon and her tail falling down to the back of her knees.

“Glad ya could join us,” Granny Smith said from her seat when Apple Bloom walked into the kitchen, “Good thing ya have such a good friend like Sweetie Belle to wake ya, ain't that right Marble?”

Marble Pie, who was cleaning the dishes, flinched and turned to Granny Smith, “Mmhmm,” she nodded before quickly going back to work.

“Hmph,” Apple Bloom turned away putting her hands in her pockets, “We eatin here, or are we goin out?”

“Going out, what else?” Sweetie Belle asked getting up and walking to her friend, “Thanks for not making a fuss over the noise Granny Smith.”

“Think nothin of it,” Granny Smith said waving it off, “That filly needs someone to get her outta bed in the mornins.”

“Are y'all done gossipin about me while I'm in the room?” Apple Bloom asked with a huff. Not waiting for an answer, she picked up her backpack and walked to the door. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.

“We'll see you later,” Sweetie Belle said waving to Granny Smith and Marble Pie. She then ran after her friend, who was already waiting for her at the door, “Aren't you going to say bye to them?”

“You already took care of that,” Apple Bloom said, “Sides, they'd just keep askin me if I'm okay and stuff.”

“Are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked placing a hand on Apple Bloom's shoulder.

“No, I ain't,” Apple Bloom sighed, “And until I know exactly what happened to Applejack, I ain't gonna be okay.”

Apple Bloom pushed out the door and walked off as fast as she could. Sweetie Belle sighed and caught up with her.

“Applejack wouldn't want you to be depressed like this though,” Sweetie Belle said, “She'd want you to keep going.”

“Yeah, well I'm not ready to “keep going” or whatever,” Apple Bloom fussed, “I didn't even get a chance to say good bye. One day she was here, and the next Twilight's sayin she's been in an accident. An accident that she caused.”

“Apple Bloom, that's not fair,” Sweetie Belle said, “Twilight didn't mean to-”

“If it weren't for Twilight, my sister would still be alive!” Apple Bloom cried, catching herself when she saw the shocked expression on Sweetie Belle's face, “Sorry...”

“It's fine, Apple Bloom, really,” Sweetie Belle said, “But you know it was an accident. Twilight felt horrible. I hear she's actually not much better than you.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom asked, almost as if she were saying “good”.

“Applejack was her friend, remember?” Sweetie Belle said, “Rarity says that she still refuses to leave the castle because of it.”

“Well, can't say I'm too mad about that,” Apple Bloom admitted, “I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to forgive her yet, even if it was an accident.”

Sweetie Belle looked away in sadness and continued their walk in silence. Ahead of them they saw an orange teenage pegasus with a short purple mane and tail, wearing blue gym shorts, matching blue shirt, white sneakers, and a red scooter next to her.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle called out waving to the pegasus. She perked up, waved to them, and rode over to them on her scooter, flapping her wings rapidly to propel her forward.

“There you guys are,” Scootaloo said, “I thought we were going to be late. Luckily I stopped by Sugar Cube Corner to get us breakfast.”

Scootaloo reached into her backpack and pulled out three bags. She handed Sweetie Belle one that had a blueberry muffin inside, she handed Apple Bloom the apple strudel, and she kept the strawberry jelly filled donut for herself.

“You got us our favorites,” Sweetie Belle said happily, “Thanks Scootaloo.”

“Y-yeah, thanks...” Apple Bloom said looking away. Scootaloo rubbed her nose grinning.

“No problem. Anything for my friends,” Scootaloo said. The three of them continued onward to school, Scootaloo going on and on about some wrestling match, and Sweetie Belle mentioning something about taking a trip to Canterlot or something later in the year. Apple Bloom wasn't listening to any of that.

“Oh, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said, “Diamond Tiara was asking about you.”

“Was she now?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I think she's hoping we can all meet up soon,” Scootaloo said.

“It has been a while since the four of us all hung out,” Sweetie Belle said, “Diamond Tiara has been really trying to get close to you. Maybe today we could go to the old clubhouse.”

“I… um… I don't know…” Apple Bloom said somberly.

“Apple Bloom, you know she's changed, right?” Scootaloo asked, “Come on, you were there.”

“I know she's different now,” Apple Bloom sighed, “It ain't like I'm holdin it against her or anythin.”

“Tell that to her,” Sweetie Belle said, “It's bad enough she and Silver Spoon are still on outs, and the entire school still keeps their distance from her. We're sort of the only friends she has.”

“At least talk to her,” Scootaloo said, “She really wants to be friends with us, you more than anyone.”

“I'll talk to her, okay?” Apple Bloom asked, “I ain't makin any promises other than that, but I can at least let her know that I ain't mad at her.”

“That's all we're asking,” Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom turned away from her friends biting into her strudel. She didn't want to open up to anyone, as she was tired of everyone asking about how she was doing. She was still upset at losing her sister, and she wasn't going to be okay anytime soon.

Even now, she felt like crying.

Thankfully they weren't late for school, but class was about to start so they didn't have time to mingle with the students much. Apple Bloom went right to her seat and looked to her left and saw Diamond Tiara, wearing her usual magenta one piece mini skirt, white high heeled boots, and her tiara.

Diamond Tiara turned to Apple Bloom and waved happily. Apple Bloom hesitated, but waved slightly before turning to the front of the class. In her peripheral, she saw Diamond wilt somewhat before focusing on the lesson herself.

Once lunch started, Diamond Tiara got up and walked over to Apple Bloom.

“Hi Apple Bloom!” Diamond Tiara said cheerfully. Apple Bloom looked up and saw the teenage filly leaning forward smiling sweetly. Apple Bloom groaned internally as the top of her skirt was showing a little too much cleavage for her tastes. Still, her perfume was nice.

“Hey… Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom said awkwardly.

“So, today's Friday, and I was going to invite some friends over to my place. Did you want to come?,” she asked, looking hopeful. Apple Bloom hated to disappoint her, but lately she just wanted to be left alone.

“I… don't know,” Apple Bloom said, “I sort of planned on goin to my usual spot after school, so…”

“O-oh… I see,” Diamond Tiara said, visibly disappointed, “That's fine… I guess.”

“Hey, hang on,” Apple Bloom said as Diamond turned to leave, “It ain't cause I don't wanna be friends or anythin. You really changed, and I'm proud of ya. It's just…”

“No Apple Bloom, I get it,” Diamond Tiara said, “You're having a real hard time. I just wish… that I could…” she took a deep breath and gave Apple Bloom her best smile, “I'm here for you whenever you need me.”

Diamond Tiara walked off to lunch. Apple Bloom leaned back in her chair thinking. Some point after she and her friends got their Cutie Marks, Diamond Tiara started getting really close to Apple Bloom and her friends. In particular, she got more touchy feely around Apple Bloom, brushing against her, hugging her a lot. Then shortly after, the incident happened, and Apple Bloom shut herself out away from the world. Poor Diamond Tiara suffered too, but not because anyone close to her died.

She suffered because someone she wanted to get closer to was pushing her away now.

She thought hard about it, but in the end decided to head off to her special spot, so after saying good bye to her friends she departed. It was a place deep in the Everfree Forest that no one ever entered as far as she knew. It was an old abandoned castle that once belonged to the Princesses. She had always wondered why a castle was in the middle of a forest, and had even taken it upon herself to explore it. Some nights when she didn't feel like going home, she'd just spend the night here.

She knew it was dangerous, but she didn't care. Nothing had ever happened to her yet.

When she arrived at the castle, she walked over to the old thrones and sat down in the one with a crescent moon on the top. It was only here that she felt safe enough to let her emotions out. Like always, she tested herself by thinking about Applejack, remembering the times they'd laugh, the times they'd argue, the times they played together, the times when Applejack would hold her, kiss her, and took care of her whenever she was sick.

Also like always, Apple Bloom started crying mere seconds later.

Applejack was the closest thing to a mother Apple Bloom ever had. Part of her wondered if maybe she secretly was her mother. She knew it was silly, but that was just how close they were. Apple Bloom never got to know their biological mother, but that was okay because Applejack always took care of her.

Now she was gone. Faust had taken away her mother.

She curled up in the large throne, wishing that Applejack was there to hold her. She felt so cold right now, and not because of the chilling night.

She must have fallen asleep, because when she opened her eyes, it was nighttime. Granny Smith, Macintosh, and Marble Pie never made a fuss about her coming in late, as she was responsible enough to come and go as she pleased. Still, she hadn't planned on staying out so late. As she woke up though, she heard movement in the castle.

Was someone there with her?

Her heart was racing, and part of her thought it was time to go. But this place was abandoned, right? Why would anyone be here? After a second, her curiosity got the better of her common sense, and she decided to see what the commotion was about.

The sound was coming from the right wing of the castle, in the direction of the library. She had found a lot of old books there, some with ancient spells she was sure Sweetie Belle would have been interested in learning. Though she aspired to be a singer one day, she had a secret love for magic.

Inside the library, Apple Bloom saw something odd. She saw what looked like a pony wearing a long red cloak looking around the shelves frantically for a book. After a second, the pony pulled a book out slightly, and the bookshelf opened up revealing a secret passage.

“What the…?” Apple Bloom asked watching the pony go inside. She slowly followed the pony, getting the feeling they were up to no good. The secret passage led to a long spiral staircase going down. The pony in the cloak was really far down, so Apple Bloom wasn't worried about being found.

She was more worried about what this pony wanted downstairs.

At the bottom, the mysterious pony stopped in front of an odd looking door. They placed their hand on what looked like a rune next to the door, and it opened with an audible hiss. When the pony walked inside, Apple Bloom ran after them.

She was amazed by what she saw.

The door led to what looked like a lab of sorts. Apple Bloom hadn't seen artifacts like these in her life, but most of them looked like ancient machines. In the middle of the room floating in what looked like a force field, was an odd looking bracelet. It was blue and golden, and had an opening at the top center of it, as if something was supposed to go inside.

The pony grabbed their cloak tightly, “Mana Change,” they whispered throwing off their cloak. At the same time, their entire body began glowing red. Apple Bloom shielded her eyes from the light, but when it died down she was shocked by what she saw.

The pony, identified as a mare, was wearing a fancy red suit of armor. It looked sort of like a knight's suit of armor, but it was made of red crystal of some sort, probably ruby. The armor as a whole was somewhat bulky, with very sharp and pronounced boots that were slightly high heeled, matching gauntlets on their arms, an armored skirt around their waist that was open in the front and allowed their long blond tail to flow freely in the back, dark red leggings, sharp shoulder pads, and the upper body armor was opened at the top revealing the top of their bosom. Finally, their helmet was fashioned sort of like a knight's helmet, but their extremely long blond hair came out of the back of the helmet and they had a black visor covering their eyes.

Apple Bloom hadn't ever seen anything quite like it. The mare looked almost like a super hero or something. They stepped to the energy field, examining the bracelet inside. Right before reaching in to grab it, the armored mare quickly turned to where Apple Bloom was and slashed the air sending an energy beam at Apple Bloom's hiding place, making Apple Bloom scream and hide.

“I know you're there, so come on out!” the mare said. Apple Bloom slowly stepped out from her hiding place and looked at the armored mare, who looked somewhat surprised when she saw Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom looked at the mare's arm and saw that it had turned into a blade made of red energy.

“What are you doin here?” the armored mare asked harshly.

“I'm sorry!” Apple Bloom asked, “I was just curious is all! I ain't a spy or nothin!”

Apple Bloom was worried that the armored mare wouldn't believe her, but was surprised to hear their blade retract. The armored pony deactivated the energy field and was about to take the bracelet, but stopped as the whole building began to shake.

“Damn! They followed me!” the armored mare said, “Don't move from here!”

The red armored mare ran out of the room, for some reason forgetting the mysterious bracelet. Apple Bloom was about to run after them, but turned to the bracelet. Just what was that thing? Was it important to the mare? If so, why didn't she grab it first?

Apple Bloom walked over to it and picked it up. It was really pretty. Sweetie Belle would really like something like this. It wasn't really gaudy either, so it would fit pretty much under anything that Apple Bloom wore.

Well, that pony wasn't here right now. She'd put it back when she was done.

Apple Bloom put the bracelet on her right wrist and closed it. Immediately, the bracelet locked itself in place and glowed briefly.

“Whoa...” Apple Bloom said examining it, “I wonder what this thing even is,” she looked at the top, noticing the opening, “Somethin's supposed to go in here, right? I wonder what the missin piece is.”

Apple Bloom figured she should probably take it off before that armored mare got back and yelled at her. She looked at the bracelet, trying to find where it closed, but couldn't find it. She then tried pulling it off her wrist, but it didn't budge at all.

“Uh oh,” Apple Bloom said, realizing that she was in big trouble now. Before she could start panicking from that, there was another tremor, this time she heard what sounded like an animal's cry. At the same time, three really odd creatures transported into the room with her.

They were about half of Apple Bloom's height, and had round dark gray bodies, yellow feet, and big eyes. On their heads were what looked like yellow hard hats, but they were made of crystal and had sharp points right at the top center, where there was a small red gem floating over the point.

They looked sort of cute. At least, they would have been cute if they weren't glaring at Apple Bloom like she stole somethi-

Oh wait…

“Y'all… want this thing don't ya…?” Apple Bloom asked pointing to the piece of jewelery that was now hooked to her wrist. Instead of answering her outright, one of the creatures pulled a pickax out of nowhere and slammed it on the ground, sending a shock wave at Apple Bloom, who jumped away falling to the ground.

“What in tarnation?! That could hurt somepony!” Apple Bloom fussed. One of the other mysterious creatures slammed its pickax on the ground firing another shock wave at Apple Bloom, who scampered away screaming and tried to make her way to the door. Unfortunately the third one jumped in her way blocking the door and held up its pickax ready. She rolled out of the way just in time before its attack hit her.

Apple Bloom stepped back trembling, realizing that there was no way for her to escape. One wrong move and she was going to die. She might die if she made the right move.

“No… I don't wanna die...” Apple Bloom said, tears falling from her eyes, “Apple...jack…! Help me…!” as the creatures all got their pickaxes ready, Apple Bloom closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs…

“APPLEJACK HELP ME!”

There was a bright flash, and the creatures stepped back in surprise. Apple Bloom looked in front of her and saw a blue gem floating in front of her. It was round, and mostly flat with a point at the bottom.

“What is…” Apple Bloom asked, slowly reaching for the gem.

“Sapphire…” Apple Bloom said slowly grabbing the gem. Immediately, the bracelet around her wrist began glowing, as if it were reacting to the gem. Looking at it, the gem looked like it fit inside the opening. Apple Bloom took a chance and placed the gem inside. Sure enough, not only did it fit, but it also locked into place, sending a surge of power through Apple Bloom's body.

The creatures stepped away from Apple Bloom. Were they afraid of something now? Were they afraid… of her?

Words were entering Apple Bloom's head. Over and over again, as if urging her to say these words. Feeling inspired, she held her arm up, taking her other hand and hovering it over the gem.

“Mana… Change…!” Apple Bloom said, tapping the Sapphire.

~Transformation Scene~

Apple Bloom held her arm out as blue energy shot out of the gem. Suspended in mid air, she spun around as her clothes all magically vanished off her now glowing body.

In a quick flash, blue armored boots and light blue tights formed out of the energy. Next up formed her armored upper body and shoulder pads. Armor then formed around her left wrist, and then her right one in immediate succession.

Finally, a blue knight's helmet with a green visor formed on her head. She held her arm out in front of her as if reaching for something, tightened her fist, and then stood ready in a fight stance.

~End Transformation~

When the light show ended, Apple Bloom took a look at herself. She was now wearing armor similar to the armored mare from earlier, but hers was sapphire blue. It had the same sharp design as the mare's armor, but hers was more form fitting. The armor around her legs and arms was light blue, and her helmet had a transparent green visor over her eyes. Instead of outright showing the top of her bust, Apple Bloom's armor (much to her relief) was completely closed but accentuated the shape of her bust. Like the red armored mare, her boots were slightly high heeled, and her mane and tale flowed freely out of the armor.

“This armor...” Apple Bloom said, “What in tarnation is goin on here?”

The creature in the center slammed its pickax on the ground, sending another shock wave at the armored Apple Bloom, who this time jumped into the air, flipping and landing perfectly in front of them. She couldn't do that before.

Could she beat them with this new power? Only one way to find out. Apple Bloom got in a fighting stance, bracing herself.

“Ready!” Apple Bloom shouted.

The three creatures spread out. Apple Bloom looked through her visor, which she noticed was scanning the creatures somewhat. She saw their names appear over them, Mettaur, and she saw what looked like a red bar of energy. Was that their life?

Apple Bloom decided to not waste time and rushed over to one of them. She punched it square in the face, causing the Mettaur to fall back. At the same time she saw the red bar go down slightly.

One of the other Mettaurs slammed its pickax on the ground, firing a shock wave at Apple Bloom. As she wasn't paying attention, the attack hit her knocking her back into a wall. It didn't hurt nearly as much as she thought it would, but it still hurt.

At the same time she noticed a green bar on her visor go down a bit, once from the attack and again slightly from being hit into a wall. So that was her life. She didn't want to know what would happen if that hit zero.

The second Mettaur fired its shock wave at Apple Bloom, but this time she rolled out of the way.

“I need another way of attackin!” Apple Bloom cried, “Somethin that ain't so dangerous as punchin em!” she then remembered the red mare's energy sword. Did she have something like that too?

Apple Bloom pointed her right arm forward, willing a weapon of some sort to appear. Instead of a sword, Apple Bloom saw her arm turn into some sort of armored cannon.

She didn't have a sword. She had a gun. A freaking gun!

More than happy with this, she pointed it at the monster that she punched earlier and fired a light blue energy blast at it. The Mettaur toppled backwards and exploded, fading away in a white light.

Apple Bloom held in a giggle, as that looked sort of humorous.

The third Mettaur prepared another attack, but this time Apple Bloom was ready. She rolled out of the way just in time, and then had an idea. She realized that in order to fire her gun arm, she had to release the energy. So what if she built up the energy for a bit then fired?

Testing out her idea, she held in the energy. She could actually feel it building up within her gun, which was now glowing and making a sort of odd sound, like it was charging up. She fired it at the Mettaur that just attacked, shooting a larger red blast at it. The monster toppled back and exploded just like its partner.

The second Mettaur got its pickax ready, but Apple Bloom was too fast. She fired her gun arm at it just before it attacked. The monster flinched and fell back, now looking dizzy. Apple Bloom even saw stars hovering over its head.

Now all of a sudden, these things weren't so scary. They were sort of pathetic actually.

Apple Bloom charged up her gun arm, and fired her charged shot at the Mettaur. Like its companions, it toppled back and exploded.

Apple Bloom lowered her gun as it changed back into a regular arm. Now alone, she looked herself over again, this time feeling the armor. Oddly, it didn't feel like she was wearing clothes. It was weird. She was aware of the armor, but it didn't feel like armor. It actually felt like… her body in a sense. The armor itself looked like it was made of sapphire.

Was this what the red armored mare was after? But why? Didn't she already have a suit of armor? Why did she need two?

Another tremor caught her attention. No time, Apple Bloom thought. She'd have to figure out the rest later. Right now the most important thing was getting out of this castle. If she ran into trouble on the way, thankfully she had this blue armor to protect her.

As long as she didn't run into that red armored one, she'd be fine. Then she could figure out what to do about this thing attached to her wrist.

Author's Notes:

If the first chapter seemed rushed, that was me trying to get the feel for how Mega Man usually begins. This story is going to be pretty heavy on action, but it won't be too fast paced.

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