Chapter 2

It was about four in the afternoon now, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Bittersweet were walking deeper through the Everfree Forest. The trio was extremely happy, knowing that they may longer be Blank Flanks. While the Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were walking just a few feet behind them, Sweetie Belle on the other hand was right beside Bittersweet, skipping happily. It was at that moment she came to notice Bittersweet's cutie mark; she didn't seem to notice it back when she first found her.

Her cutie mark was that of two vines, twisted into a formation of a heart. The vines were thin, spindly with a silver bark, and in alternate patterns were round glossy leaves. Sharp and rigid thorns ran along its surface, with reddish orange berries.

"Um, excuse me?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Yes," replied Bittersweet.

"I'm just wondering, what does your cutie mark mean?"

"Well my cutie mark means to give guidance and wisdom to the young, so that may bloom into mature and outstanding ponies.

"There's a lot of detail in your cutie mark," said Scootaloo.

"Well each design means something different," answered Bittersweet. "The vines mean to love and tolerate. The leaves means to protect and shelter, and the thorns mean to strengthen the weak."

"What do the berries mean?" asked Apple Bloom.

"They're the most important ingredient, they mean to be honest and always thoughtful," replied Bittersweet.

"That's really amazing," said Scootaloo. "Do you really think you can get us cutie marks as incredible as yours?"

"I will try my best," remarked Bittersweet.

They continued their journey through the woods, but it was only within a few minutes that they reached the entrance to a large dark cave. "Okay, here we are," said Bittersweet.

"What's in there?" asked Scootaloo.

"In there is where you three will acquire your cutie mark," replied Bittersweet.

"Are you sure," questioned Apple Bloom.

"Yes, when you return you will have the strength and knowledge to get your cutie mark.

"The trio just stared at the cave, until Scootaloo finally spoke, "Okay, I'll go in." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom glared over at Scootaloo, not really sure if they should. But then they began to think about how much they really wanted their cutie marks.

"Okay, I'm in," said Apple Bloom.

"Let's do it," added Sweetie Belle.

The trio took a few steps forward, than turned to look back at Bittersweet. "Be brave little fillies and remember, true friendship can conquer anything you may face," spoke Bittersweet. The trio then looked back into the shadows of the cave, and walked through, disappearing into the darkness.

The entire cave was engulfed in darkness, as if they were walking into the very definition of nothing. They couldn't see what was in front of them, they couldn't see what was behind them, and they couldn't even see each other.

"Where are we going?" asked Scootaloo.

"To the end of this cave, I guess," replied Apple Bloom. "If there is an end."

"Hey Sweetie Belle, do you think you can use your magic, and give us some light?" asked Scootaloo.

"I'm not really that good at magic," replied Sweetie Belle.

"Can you try," said Scootaloo.

"Okay, I'll try," said Sweetie Belle. At the tip of her horn a light started to shine, it wasn't too bright, but it was bright enough for them to see each other. At this point on Sweetie Belle led the trio through the darkness, but it seemed as if the light attracted the ominous shadows among the walls.

They slowly proceeded along the eerie surrounding, but they began to feel as if they were being followed. Apple Bloom glared back, but with Sweetie Belle ahead of her see could not see what was behind her.

"Sweetie Belle," called Apple Bloom.

"Yeah," answered Sweetie Belle.

"Can you shine the light back here?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Why," replied Sweetie Belle.

"I-I think I hear something," said Apple Bloom.

"Alright," said Sweetie Belle, turning around towards Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. "I don't see anything."

"Me either," added Scootaloo. "What did you hear?"

"I don't know, but I swear I heard something," replied Apple Bloom.

"It's just your imagination, your just hearing things that aren't there," said Scootaloo.

"Maybe your right," said Apple Bloom.

They turned around to continue on their journey, but when Sweetie Belle shined the light forward, for a brief second a darkened image with malevolent red eyes appeared and then disappeared when the light shined on it.

"What was that?" cried Apple Bloom.

"I don't know, I don't know," added Scootaloo. From behind them they could hear the infamous moans that screeched the very walls.

"RUN!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

They ran as fast as their legs could take them, but no matter how fast they ran the shadows crept up on them, as if they were their own. The stomping of their hoofs echoed throughout the ample cavern. To make matters worse, the light on Sweetie Belle horn was slowly fading away, until they were once again lost in the dark.

More and more eyes began to emerge along the walls, as they moved forward. Nothing more than darkness, as if there was no end, but the cycle soon came to an closing, as the eyes now appeared in the distance, moving in on them. The shadows had circled them, as they cowered to the ground.

"Sweetie Belle, their afraid of the light," cried Apple Bloom.

"I-I can't… I just don't have the magic," remarked Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie Belle, you're our only hope," said Scootaloo. "Please, hurry!"

The malevolent red eyes looked as if they were preparing to attack. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom sunk to the ground, with only Sweetie Belle still standing. She was trying her hardest to light up the room, but she could only manage to create a small sparkle.

The shadows pounced at the trio, about to immerse them into the dark. But in the mix of the madness, Sweetie Belle let out a load shriek, as she engulfed the room in light. Flames sprung forth from her horn, which were as bright as the sun. It all ended in a flash, as the shadows vanished in the light, an on the ground in front of the trio lay a large fire that stretched to the ceiling.

"Wow!" said Apple Bloom and Scootaloo getting up off the ground. Sweetie Belle on the other hand remained silent, just staring at the fire in front of her. After a moment the silence finally fell, and she was no longer in shock.

"Sweetie Belle, that was amazing," said Scootaloo. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know, I just… I just lost it," replied Sweetie Belle.

They could see everything now, the cave was as bright as day. They could now see how deep they really traveled.

"Is Bittersweet trying to kill us," said Scootaloo.

"She said we were going to face some challenges," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, but this is just insane," remarked Scootaloo.

"Do you reckon we should go back?" said Apple Bloom.

"We already made it this far, maybe we should keep going," replied Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie Belle might be right, it's for our cutie marks after all," said Scootaloo. "If we can conquer this, we can conquer anything." With those final words spoken, the trio journeyed deeper into the cave, ready for whatever lay ahead of them.

It wasn't very long before they reached the end of the passage, and found themselves in vast chamber. In front of them was a lengthy walkway; engraved in the walkway were large silver platforms that were exactly a foot in distance from each other. The platforms were all lined up in a row, of which stretched out as far as the floor would go.

After what happened earlier they were a little suspicious of the lay before them. Trying to figure out if this was a trap, Scootaloo reached one of her hooves out and gently placed onto the platform. She than put more weight onto her hoof to see if anything would happen. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the floor, so she decided to take a couple steps forward. As far as they could tell it was completely safe to advance forward.

After a couple of minutes they reached the end of the walkway and stepped back onto the regular cave floor. What lay ahead were several steps, and reigning at the top of the steps was a cryptic pedestal with a golden object that shined ever so brightly.

"This must be the next challenge," said Scootaloo. "We just have to go get that gold thing."

"Well, that's easy," said Sweetie Belle.

"I don't know about that, I read in one of Rainbow Dash's Daring Do books that when Daring Do stole this idol it triggered several booby-traps," replied Scootaloo.

"I didn't know Rainbow Dash liked to read," said Apple Bloom.

"I didn't know Rainbow Dash knew how to read," added Sweetie Belle.

"Okay you two stay right here, I'm going to go up there and get it," said Scootaloo. "When I grab the gold thing, get ready to run."

Slowly she made her way up the steps, and strolled over towards the pedestal. At first she wasn't sure what to do, it all seemed too easy. She knew something was going to happen, she just wasn't sure what. But the only way for her to find out was to take the object.

It was now or never, she swiped the object and sped off in the opposite direction. But it was only when she was halfway down the steps that she realized that nothing happened. With the object in her mouth, she approached Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"Okay I got the gold thing, now let's get out of here," said Scootaloo. At this point Scootaloo wasn't too sure whether or not something was going to occur, causing her to constantly look back towards the pedestal. But when the trio walked back onto the walkway, that's when things started to fall apart.

The ground itself plummeted to the abyss below; the only thing still standing were the silver platforms, which now revealed to be pillars that stretched down into the never ending pit. The trio were standing on one pillar, unfortunately Apple Bloom was already moving to the next platform when floor fell, leaving her unbalanced on the far edge of the pillar. Scootaloo quickly dropped the golden object, letting it fall into the darkness and grabbed Apple Bloom's tail just as she fell off the pillar, leaving her dangling over the abyss.

Trying to hold onto Apple Bloom was dragging Scootaloo to the edge, and the only thing now holding her and Apple Bloom from falling was Sweetie Belle, who was gripping onto Scootaloo tail. All the weight on the one side began to unbalance the pillar and cause it to sway back and worth. The swaying grew stronger and stronger; it was only a matter of time before the pillar would fall.

Scootaloo wasn't too sure how they were going to get out of this, but there was one idea on her mind, even though she wasn't sure whether or not it would work. "Sweetie Belle," called Scootaloo, trying to talk while holding onto Apple Bloom's tail. "I need you to let go."

"What are you crazy," remarked Sweetie Belle.

"No, don't let go!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Look, we're going to fall if we don't do something fast," said Scootaloo. "Sweetie Belle you have to trust me. When I count to three I need you to let go and jump to the nearest pillar, than run to the exit as fast as you can,"

"But…" said Sweetie Belle.

"Please, just trust me," said Scootaloo.

"I… Okay," whimpered Sweetie Belle.

"Alright Apple Bloom, get ready," called Scootaloo. "One… Two… Three!"

Sweetie Belle immediately let go of Scootaloo's tail, and jumped over onto the other pillar. After which the pillar that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were on tumbled forward, sending them falling into the darkness.

With as must strength as she could muster, Scootaloo flapped her tiny wings as rapidly as she could. Trying to keep herself airborne was already hard enough, but haven't to hold onto Apple Bloom made it even more challenging.

Sweetie Belle wanted to help them if she could, but she had to quickly hurry to the exit, as the pillars began to collide into one another, knocking them over one by one. Scootaloo can feel her heart beating heavier than ever, she knew that the only thing that awaited them below was certain death. All Apple Bloom could do was pray to Celestia, as she stared in fear at the blackness below.

Sweat was beating down from Scootaloo's scalp, as she tried to fly to one of the pillar. But her strength paid off when she landed on the pillar, just as he wings were giving out on her. But it wasn't long before that pillar was struck by another pillar, knocking it sideways. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom jumped from pillar to pillar, trying to outrun the ongoing collision behind them. Scootaloo's strength was taking its toll, as she was starting to fall behind.

It wasn't until Apple Bloom reached the exit and turned around that she noticed Scootaloo was still out there, just barely outrunning the mayhem that proceeded. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom watched on in anxiety, unable to do anything. Scootaloo now found herself among the falling pillars. She had very little time to even jump to each surface, as the second she landed on it, was the same second it plummeted to the darkness.

The pillar she was now on was falling forward, and the last few pillars ahead of her were already dropping. It left her with one option, to jump. To jump as far as she could. At the last second she made a leap towards the entranceway, she landed in hooves reach of the edge, gripping on for her life. Fortunately for her, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were there to pull her up.

For the moment the three of them were breathing too heavily to even speak, but after a second Scootaloo finally said the words that were on everyone's mind, "F-Forget this, w-we're leaving now, Bittersweet is crazy if she thinks this is how we will get our cutie marks. Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle seemed to agree with Scootaloo.

They journeyed back the same way they came, yet the scenery seemed to be quite different. "We just walked straight back right, than how come we're in a different area," complained Apple Bloom.

"Are you sure we went the right way?" asked Scootaloo.

"I'm positive," replied Apple Bloom. "It should have been about right here where Sweetie Belle vanquished the shadow things, but it's not."

"Well then we're going to have to find anoth… But before she could finish her sentence she was interrupted by a loud roar.

"Okay let's go this way!" chanted Scootaloo, as the trio took off in whatever direction they could find. The roar sounded as if it were coming from a distance, but every time they heard the piercing roar it seemed to be getting closer and closer. When hope was starting to fade they could see a light shining at the end of the tunnel. They ran to it as fast as they could, but their ambitions soon faded, as they came to a stop at the sight of a cliff.

It was right there, the light of freedom shined so brightly in the distance, they could practically see the Everfree Forest. The only way it seemed to cross the gap was an old wooden bridge, but sadly it was broken. The one small section was up and standing, but the rest of the bridge was dangling on the other side of the gap.

Apple Bloom quickly walked over to the section of the bridge that was still standing, but that was as far as they could go. The only thing still attached to this side of the bridge was a small strand of rope, which swung on end of the bridge.

"Scootaloo do you think you could fly us across?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I-I can't there's no way I could make it that far, especially carrying you two," answered Scootaloo.

The roar screamed throughout the cave louder than ever. Apple Bloom glared over at the bridge at the opposing end of the cliff, when an idea formed in her mind. She ran over to the loose rope, and bit off the end that was still attached to the broken bridge.

"Okay, Sweetie Belle, I need you to us your magic and raise the other half of the bridge. Do you think you can do that?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, but I don't know how long I'll be able to hold it," replied Sweetie Belle.

"Just long enough," said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle walked to the edge of the cliff and summoned an aura of light that surrounded the bridge. She then moved it up till it was positioned right next to the other side.

"Scootaloo take this rope and tie it to both sides of the bridge, make sure it's really tight," said Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo stood on the remaining half of the bridge, and wrapped the rope around the wooden step several times before tying it into a knot. "Hurry up Scootaloo," called Sweetie Belle, uncertain of how long she could grasp the bridge.

Scootaloo then proceeded to do the same with the opposing side, and once it was done the bridge stood, as it once had. For a brief second they felt a little relived, but their joy was soon broken as the beast now appeared before them. They charged across the bridge, hoping it was strong enough to support them.

They reached the end of the bridge, and ran to the light as fast as they could. They thought they could out run it, but the beast was right on their tails, and proceeded to jumped in front of them, blocking their only exit. The trio ran off in two directions, Apple Bloom ran to the left and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran to the right. The beast set its sights on the two fillies forcing them into a corner.

Apple Bloom watched on in horror, as she saw her two closest friends about to be eaten. She was frozen in fear, it engulfed her. But in all that terror she felt a strength building up inside, she knew if Applejack was in this same situation she would do whatever it took to save her friends.

The beast lowered its jaws to reveal its many jagged teeth, which were as sharp and rigid as knives. It was at this point that they could see the beast up close; it looked as if it was a pony, but its nightmarish image was something deeper and darker. It struck at the two fillies, but to its surprise it found itself getting attacked. Apple Bloom had pounced onto its back, and sank her teeth into its neck.

With a mighty thrust it threw Apple Bloom to the ground, but in her bravery she had conquered and defeated the enemy. Blood dripped from its neck as it ran off into the shadows, disappearing into the blackness of the cave.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran up to Apple Bloom, who was spiting up the blood she had gouged out. The taste of the blood was horrid, more revolting than she had imagined. With a quick smile the trio ran towards the exit, and as soon as they were several feet from the cave, and could finally she the sunlight gleaming above them, the three instantly fell to the ground completely exhausted.

It was at that point an all too familiar voice had spoken "So did you three have fun?" asked Bittersweet cheerfully.

The trio just stared up at her with disbelief in their eyes until Scootaloo said "F-Fun! W-What the Hay was all that."

"You are insane," replied Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, you were trying to kill us," added Apple Bloom.

"I wouldn't say that," said Bittersweet.

"Do you have any idea what we had just encountered," snapped Scootaloo.

"Okay, do you three want to know the truth?" asked Bittersweet.

"The truth, what truth" replied Apple Bloom.

"You see the truth is you were never in any real danger," said Bittersweet.

"I don't think you what was in that cave," said Sweetie Belle.

"No the thing is that it was all an illusion," said Bittersweet.

"You mean it was just our imagination," remarked Scootaloo.

"In a way, yes," answered Bittersweet. "I would never put you fillies in any real danger."

"So everything we did in there was all a lie," said Sweetie Belle.

"No Sweetie, what happened in there may not have been real, but in your mind it was," said Bittersweet. "You three made it all the way through knowing full well of the dangers you were facing."

"Yeah, but we still didn't get our cutie marks," added Sweetie Belle.

"That's because you haven't realized what you really accomplished," said Bittersweet. Sweetie Belle, it was your love and guidance that gave you strength when you were lost in the darkness."

"I-I guess so," said Sweetie Belle. But as she said that, she could feel an aura of light shining around her. Now positioned on her Flank was an image of a small red flame. She wasn't too sure of what to say, but there was one question did come to mind. "What does it mean?"

"It means you will bring warmth and love to all those around you," replied Bittersweet. A cheerful smiled seemed to form across Sweetie Belle's face, as she heard those words.

"Now Scootaloo, it was your skill and courage, which allowed you to acquire the idol and escape across the pillars," said Bittersweet. Just like with Sweetie Belle she could feel an aura of light shining around her, as her cutie mark appeared in the image of three gold coins.

"Wait, if my skills were my talent, how come my cutie mark is gold coins?" asked Scootaloo.

"Besacuse Scootaloo, you are so astonishing, you're not bronze or silver, you are pure gold," said Bittersweet.

"Wow," said Scootaloo, glaring down at her new cutie mark.

"And finally Apple Bloom, it was your brains and loyalty that allowed you to conceive a plan, even when all seemed lost. You were able to face your fears and conquer whatever stood in your way," said Bittersweet. Then for a third time it happen, a small aura of light shined around her, and her cutie mark appeared in an image of a brain.

"You see Apple Bloom your knowledge will build a much brighter world," said Bittersweet.

The images of the terrors they had just faces seemed to fade from their minds, as the rewards now felt well worth it. It seemed as if their dreams had come true. They were so excited that they sprang at Bittersweet to hug her, knocking her to the ground in the process.

"Thank you so much," cried the group.

"You three should be very proud," said Bittersweet.

"What do we do now?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I think maybe you three should probably head back home," replied Bittersweet.

"Oh wow, I didn't know how late it was, Applejacks going to be really worried," said Apple Bloom.

"Thank you so much for everything," said Sweetie Belle.

"Maybe sometime you can come to ponyville, I think you'd really like it there," said Apple Bloom.

"I might just do that one of these days," replied bittersweet.

"Goodbye Bittersweet," called the trio as they headed back towards ponyville.

"Goodbye," called Bittersweet. "Now go and show the world how incredible your cutie marks really are. Together you three will bring true love and happiness to all of Equestia."

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, ran off in the direction towards ponyville, skipping happily as they proceeded. They were no longer The Cutie Mark Crusaders; they've now accomplished everything they set out to do, and couldn't wait for what the future may bring.