My first instinct was to turn around and run back through the entrance, but as I did that, the two guards who Shining had sent to make sure we had a way out, but the two stopped me. “Let me through!” I demanded but they ignored me, swerving a hoof into my face.

“Tut, tut, Apple Bloom. You aren’t in charge anymore.” Rabil said with clear amusement.

“GUARDS, LET US THROUGH!” Shining Armor roared at the two, but he was grabbed by some of the stallions.

“Did you really think that your guards were yours, Shining?” Rabil asked, as if he was taunting a foal. I remembered Sombra’s words, and the words I had read not too long ago, they must have been referring to this.

“You’ll never take us!” I heard Scootaloo shout, but I heard a slam, and through hazy vision I saw her lying on the ground.

“I must say, your resistance to impossible odds is quite admirable.” Rabil said, almost as if judging someone in a contest. “But it is foolish to try to get yourself killed this way, Scootaloo.”

“You bastard.” I heard my father say, and Rabil laughed.

“Considering you are the one who abandoned their daughter, I’d say you’re as much of one as I am.” Rabil said, “Guards, take these, things, along with our two friends here to the castle cells.”

“Get up, farmmare.” I heard a stallion say as he slammed a hoof into my chest. I was semi-conscious, and they dragged me along into an area that was dark and then they kicked me into a cell, slamming the door. At that point, I passed out.

As my eyes opened my head hurt bad, and it felt a bit painful to breathe. “Apple Bloom!” Applejack called over, and I looked at her through the cell bars. “Thanks goodness yer not dead.”

“What happened?” I asked, wondering how they knew we would be there, and why some of the guards betrayed us.

“It seems like Helmet and Dagger had defected at some point to Rabil, and they had warned him we were coming.” I heard Shining Armor say, and I heard a growl at that statement from one of the other cells.

I didn’t know really what to do. It seemed all over, I was captured, along with everypony else, and he would probably kill us all, if not, then probably the Crusaders and I. A door opened and I saw a few guards dragging along another pony, who seemed to be struggling. “Let go of me, you damned colts!” The voice growled, and they were thrown into a cell.

“Babs, ya alright?” I asked as the door was slammed shut once again.

“I’m okay, I can’t be sure for the rest of us, they ambushed and captured me, and killed the others with me.” She responded.

“Wait, Twilight, can’t you just magic us out of here?” Scootaloo asked from a cell I couldn’t see.

“The cells are magic-proofed, I couldn’t do anything even if I was forced to.” Her voice responded.

I just laid my head on the rough ground then, it was all over. Nopony could stop the madcolt that would rule with an iron hoof, and terrorize everypony. “Ah just wish this was a bad dream.” I sobbed quietly, “Ah just wish Ah could wake up, and it would just be another day.” My mind remembered the cheerfulness before this all started, and it seemed like being a blank flank would be the preferable alternative to this. I thought of when I had gone with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to Fluttershy’s, how she had saved us. Then the concert we had done, and had unintentionally gotten the comedy award. Then, when he had gone around, asking about how ponies had gotten their Cutie Marks, Applejack realizing her home was at the farm, how Fluttershy had fallen and been saved by butterflies, Rarity finding a rock filled with jewels, Pinkie Pie smiling on a rock farm, and Rainbow Dash winning a race. “Why can’t mah life be so simple?” I muttered.

“The right path doesn’t always seem to be the right path.” A part of my mind said, and I stopped. Part of me didn’t want to listen to what I knew the rest would be, but another knew it was needed. “It often covers itself with hardships in order to hide its true nature from those who would destroy it.”

“But why me? Ah’m not that special! Hay, that prophecy was barely known!” I thought in retaliation.

“Zecora sacrificed herself for you, because she knew you could stop this madcolt.” It responded seemingly calm.

“Yeah but -” I tried argue back, but my conscious cut me off.

“The Doctor nearly died for you, not to mention Phalanx.” It reminded me.

“They didn’t mean that!” I argued. It was a bit odd, nopony else knew this internal conflict was happening.

“They did, Apple Bloom, and you know that. Right now, if you were to go, and not try to stop him, you would be disrespecting their deaths.” My conscious responded.

“But Ah just can’t do this, Ah’m not even really a mare!” I thought back.

“Apple Bloom, you are much more than a mare to a lot of ponies, why else would Phalanx try to protect you?” My conscious asked, “Why would he love somepony like you?”

“Ah don’t know, ask him! Oh, wait, he’s dead, because of me!” I shot back.

“Apple Bloom, he’s not dead because of you, he’s dead because of the thing upstairs, you never did a single thing to help kill him.” It said, “Now stop what you’re doing and take the mantle. You’re the only pony everypony is relying on. Now go and find a way to get out of here and march upstairs, and kill that son of a mule.”

I knew that part of me was right, and I changed my outlook. “Think, Apple Bloom, there’s gotta be someway.” I then thought of Pinkie Pie’s story, she worked on a rock farm, of course! “Pinkie, ya know how the floor’s made of stones?” I whisper-shouted over.

“Yeah, why?” I heard Pinkie say, but she sounded real depressed, and I knew her mane had probably “deflated”.

“Can ya get a stone out of the floor?” I replied, and she was silent for a moment.

“Okie-dokey-lokey, what do you to do with it?” She asked, presumably finding a way to get a stone out. I wouldn’t be surprised, she was Pinkie.

“Get it over to me!” I said, and after a few moments, Applejack shoved a rock through the bars. It was small, but it should do what I wanted it to. “Alright,” I said, then turned my voice up as loud as I could. “ARGH! AH REALLY HURT MAHSELF BAD, IT’D BE A SHAME IF AH WAS TO DIE HERE, INSTEAD OF BEIN’ KILLED BY SOMEPONY RABIL WANTS TO HAVE KILL ME!” For a moment, I thought it wouldn’t work, but then I heard the door open. I quickly moved the hay towards the front of the cell, and covered myself with it. I heard the cell door open and somepony walked in.

“What is the problem, scum?” I heard the stallion say with some irritation. I jumped up on top of him and smashed the rock into his head, which knocked him out. I grinned, and grabbed the keys from the stallion’s side and walked out. As I opened up a cell door, Applejack walked out, seeming to have a look that showed respect. Almost as if I was her equal.

After a few more moments, everypony was out of their cells, and I whispered something. “Listen, they’re probably gonna send in a few guards tuh see what’s happenin’ not too soon from now, so Ah need Diamond Tiara to go and say that the guard’s knocked out.”

I saw Diamond Tiara in the dim light look surprised momentarily, but she nodded and walked over. “The rest of y’all, just wait until they’re all in here, then we’ll take ‘em down.”

As we all hugged the walls, sure enough a minute later, a small group of the armored stallions came in. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here, one of your guards was knocked out when he tried to help that Apple Bloom.” The guard leader seemed to growl at this, and shoved Diamond aside.

“Where are they!” He shouted, and as soon as he said that, we pounced on them. Even though they may have had armor, 18 or so ponies versus 3 ponies will always win. As I grabbed one of the dead soldier’s swords, I realized something. I somehow instinctively knew how to use it, just like I had with being able to use a rock as a weapon, and the keys to open the cells. Granted, some of those were relatively simple, but still, that must mean...

“Scootaloo, do I have somethin’ on mah flank?” I asked, and Applejack seemed a bit weirded out by the question.

“What kind of question is that?” She demanded, but ignored her. Scootaloo seemed to come up, and she gave me possibly one of the best things I’ve ever heard.

“There’s a Cutie Mark! It’s some tools and stuff.” She said, and I knew it was time to go and stop Rabil once and for all.

“Let’s get movin’, he certainly ain’t takin’ his time.” As I walked out of the cell room, we entered a hallway. I recognized it as the old entrance to the castle. “Alright, everypony except for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, get the hay out of here.” I said, but my father protested.

“I’m not losing you Apple Bloom, I’ll stay.” He said, and Applejack and Big Mac seemed to share the sentiment.

“No, it’s mah friends and my duty to stop Rabil, you guys need to go, you’ve gotta make sure either way you have your lives to live out.” I replied, and my father seemed to smile a bit.

“You sound like your mother, Apple Bloom.” He said, and turned to the others. “Come on, we should go.”

Babs looked at us, and said, “I’ll stay if you want.” I shook my head and she gave a frown. “Good luck then, you’ll certainly be meeting it.”

With that, they left, and as soon as the door shut, a guard patrol came through one of the hallways. They looked equally surprised as we were when they saw us, but luckily Scootaloo moved to tackle one of the stallions down. “They’ve escaped!” One of the stallions shouted before Scootaloo kicked him down.

“Apple Bloom, here’s a present!” Scootaloo said as she slid a sword over in my direction.

“Ya know, this ain’t a movie! That coulda cut mah hoof off!” I said as I picked it up.

“Well it didn’t.” She replied. Our oblivious conversation was cut off as the cacophony of hoofsteps grew louder, and a swarm of guards came out of multiple hallways.

“Crusaders, let’s give ‘em a lesson ‘bout who they’re dealin’ with!” I said, and we galloped off, taking on the armored colts. As I slashed through a group, I was impressed with myself. It seemed like I had always known how to use a sword like a master, even though I had only had my hooves on one a few times. I could hear Sweetie Belle humming, and a group of stallions turned and attacked each other, while Scootaloo moved faster than some of the other stallions could follow.

After a few moments, the entrance room was littered with the stallions, and we still stood. “To the throne room?” I asked, and my two friends nodded. Rabil needed to be stopped, and now was the time. We followed a hallway, which had some more of the stallions, who were made short work of, we reached the entrance. “Ready?” I asked.

“Let’s do it.” Scootaloo said, holding up a hoof, “As the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” We all put our hooves together, and went through the entrance.

Rabil seemed to sigh, and said almost as if irritated, “I suppose it was only a matter of time.”