Twilight's Prisonby Vale DecemChapters1- Twilight's Sacrifice 2- A Dying Country 3- The History of the Blood Mage4- Below Equestria...5- A Bit of Exploring Never Hurt Anypony1- Twilight's Sacrifice 1- Twilight's Sacrifice ~1~ "How about a trade, Princess Twlight?" Tirek offered, snapping his fingers and revealing five ponies and a draconeqques all sealed in bubbles. "Your friends for all the alicorn magic in Equestria." Twilight gulped, debating her options in her mind. As Tirek had stated, they were both at an impasse, a stalemate, Equestria would be destroyed before a clear winner appeared. She could not give up her magic, that was decided, it would doom her friends and Equestria to a life under Tirek's rule, but could she abandon them? She could choose to keep fighting, but risk them being hurt. Calmly, she faced Tirek, staring defiantly into his eyes. "Tirek," she stated, "You will have to kill me before you hurt Equestria or my friends!" Her horn began to glow with the aura of all four alicorns, a portal appeared before Tirek, sucking both of them in with it. Celestia awoke to the prodding of a persistent hoof. Tiredly, she opened her eyes to the element of laughter, Pinkie. "What happened?" Celestia implored, turning to see both Luna and Cadence next to her. "We were hoping y'all would know." Applejack answered, her hat over her chest in respect. "It was really cool!" Pinkie announced, bouncing around the group of ponies. "Twilight was like BAAMMM with magic, and Tirek was like WOOOOSHH with his and there was a big fight! You could see it all the way from Ponyville. Did I mention we were in a cage? Anyways, Twilight tried to save us, so she was like KAAA-CHOOOOOO and them she and Tirek were gone. But then you guys showed up, so it's ok I guess!" she rambled. "What Pinkie is trying to say," Rarity interrupted, grabbing the pink mare's tail with me magic, stopping her bouncing, "is that Twilight disappeared with Tirek rather than give up her magic. Heaven knows where the poor mare is now, though..." "I believe I might," Celestia said, standing up. Her true heigh was about as tall as a usual pony, due to her being stripped from magic. "I and the other princess were trapped in Tartarus before, and because Twilight's spell sent us out, it might mean Twilight and Tirek were sent in." "Tartarus? What the hay is that?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Tirek's original prison- there is no telling what's happening to them both down there," Celestia said. Deep, deep below the ponies hooves, Tirek screamed in rage, "Do you realize what you have done? I will have to wait years to get out again!" "No Tirek," Twilight stated, "I'm not going to let you escape again!" "Foolish pony!" He bellowed, "You will trap yourself down here as well, then! What could possibly be worth fighting me for eternity?" "Something you will never learn Tirek!" Twilight exclaimed, lighting up her horn. "THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!" And with that she sent a powerful blast towards Tirek. The light of the spell quickly cleared to reveal him, still standing and dusting off his shoulder. "So be it Princess! But you will never see those friends again!" "At least I have saved them from you!" (The lavender alicorn's vioce broke) "At least I have saved them..." Author's Note Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed so far! I've never been really good at intros, but I'm sort of proud of this one. I actually knew where I was going. Also critiques and reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you and I hope you've been entertained by this little bit. I promise that it will get better from here (lengthwise and content wise) 2- A Dying Country 2- A Dying Country ~2~ Life in Equestria was more hell than Tartarus was. Problems were endless for Celestia and left her with an ever-present migraine. In Canterlot, a city mainly populated by unicorns, accidental injuries and deaths had become prominent. The city had long been used to the comfort of magic, but now that it had been stripped from them, basic living by hoof was the only way. However, without magic or special talents, doctors and other trained professionals were not able to keep up. It strained her to think of the Cloudsdale... "incident", all those innocent ponies who had fallen to their deaths... Tirek had not realized (and would not have cared if he did) that when sucking Cloudsdale dry of magic, he also took their ability to stand on the clouds, and they all fell through. Only roughly 40% of the inhabitants survived, most of them involved in the pegusai stand against Tirek and had not even been in Cloudsdale at that moment. Then there was problems in Appleloosa and similar farming towns. Without the strength of earth ponies, harvesting had been difficult, but especially for Appleloosa, where harvesting depended solely on strength to knock down the apples. However the ponies found the inner strength to preserve- Until an unusually powerful storm, which could of been stopped by pegusas before, who now couldnt help, washed away what was unharvested. She had done and redone the calculations, at least 10% of her ponies would starve at this rate. But the most looming danger was the other creatures inside and outside Equestria, while allies like the Saddle Arabians had offered what help they could, others like changelings and creatures inside the Everfree were wasting no time to take advantage of their weakness. The griffons were divided on whether to help or attack the ponies, and at the moment remained neutral. It was rumored though that Gilda was one of the main supporters of invading. This was her fault, she knew it and always reminded herself. She had placed to much trust on friendship, believing it could change the worst of villains, and defeat someone who could take all they had with one breath if he wanted too. Discord had been banished for his treachery, and he was last seen wandering the Frozen North. She could not find it in her heart to forgive him. Celestia would not make the same mistake twice. She did not blame Twilight, she should have prepared the mare, taught her more powerful spells rather then leaving her to learn on her own. She should have confronted Tirek herself instead of trusting her previous worst enemy to turn down temptation. But this was her punishment, for making the wrong choice, and nothing could change it. The remaining mane six had done their best to help. Applejack and her family had left for Appleloosa to help with the work and their relatives. The others aided against the monsters of the Everfree. Rainbow Dash worked on the battle front, Rarity and Fluttershy both worked as medical helpers, while Pinkie did her best to boost morale of the other "soldiers". Cadence and Shining Armor aided when they could, sending supplies and food, but little of it was able to make it through- Chrysalis' changelings guarded the borders of the North. These where dark times, and Celestia could find no answers to save her Equestrians. The armies she had could barely keep the Everfree in check, and would be wiped out when the Changelings made their assault. Her kingdom was alone, without magic, and dying, but she was helpless to stop it. Stepping from her throne and heading up to her bedroom above, Celestia decided to hit the sack early. She needed sleep right now, as much as she could get. Manehatten had always been a place where you could hide from your past, restart, live a new life. That is exactly why of all ponies, Princess Luna trotted along its darker streets, searching for a certain address. Whispering street names to herself, she turned to a dimly lit street and knocked on one of its shabby doors. "Who the hay is knocking at-?" An older grey unicorn mare with a blue-grey bun started, but then paused as she noticed just who was on her doorstep. "Oh! Princess! Come in!" The mare opened the door to reveal a rather tattered entrance way. The wallpaper was old and peeling, a coat rack sat tilted on the wall, and the nearby stairs where missing their railing and a few steps. The worst part of all was that foals of all sorts of races, sizes, and colors where sleeping everywhere- the floor, the stairs, and one filly who close by stirred slightly due to the door digging into her hind leg. "We were told that thou is caring for a.. Blood? Blood Stone?" Luna whispered, not wishing to wake the foals. "Ah yes, Blood, he's a cutie, but he never talks. He was orphaned because of that rouge dragon attack a few years back. One of the only survivors too, him and... ah... what was her name... Anyways, let me go find him. Give me a minute, sweetie!" The mare said in a sing-song voice. She began humming to herself as she stepped over the many colts and fillies, searching for Blood Stone. She turned around the corner, and Luna lost sight of her. The colt who had been nudged by the door sat up and looked up bleary-eyed at the princess. "D-d-did I hear m-my name?" He stuttered, a bit too quiet for Luna's ears. "Please say that again, young colt, we don't think we got it." Luna said, leaning down towards him. "Did s-somepony s-say m-my name?" He asked again, cowering a bit from the princess. "Are you Blood Stone, son of Crimson Drop and Blood Stain?" Luna questioned. The colt nodded. Luna gave the colt a look-over. His shaking body was light orange (slightly muddy, too), and his mane was faint yellow with a spiked style, with a strand of dark red curling around his horn. "Do you know what your parent's special talent was?" Luna asked. "They were a doctor and a nurse- for healing ponies." He answered, a bit confused. "We're sorry, Blood Stone, but thy's parents and their ancestors practiced a forbidden magic. And for the salvation of Equestria, thy must learn it too." The princess stated, her voice firm. "Now let's go- I can take thou somewhere...Safer." Author's Note This is an updated version on chapter 2 and one I'm much happier with. I elaborated a lot more with detail and I decided to take it a bit slower. Sorry if the ending seems a bit cheesy, I've never been a fan of ending a chapter, but I have to do it somewhere... Once again thanks for reading and support! 3- The History of the Blood Mage~3~ Blood Stone followed Luna out into the street, trying to keep up with his short legs. "A what mage?" He called out to her, stopping in front of the Princess to demand an explanation. "Hush, little foal." She told him, covering his mouth with her wings. "We will explain in time, but thou must wait until thy arrives at our lodging for the night. Thou never knows who is listening" She removed her wings, folded them gracefully, and continued walking along the dim street without checking if he was still following. Blood Stone sighed and begrudgingly walked behind her. Though the princess's general disinterest towards him was a bit disheartening, he had nowhere else to go. Blood Stone had no known relatives, his parents were gone, and while it did provide shelter and an occasional meal, the orphanage had been far to overcrowded- not to mention boring. There was not a lot to do other than sit around. The other foals did play games, but he was rarely invited, and when he was they teased him. Still, he was left alone for the most part, which might be better than "Equestria's savior" as Luna had called him. Her words scared him. He was definitely not savior material, and did not want to be- but Luna was a princess, so surely she would be doing most of the saving. He was probably just here to help a bit. "Yeah, just to help," He said quietly to himself. The thought gave him a bit of reassurance as he followed the Princess. She led him down streets that he had never been on before, and they were actually clean and semi-lit. With his scruffy mane and dirty appearance, he felt out of place among the clean shops and houses. Eventually, Luna stopped a nice looking hotel and opened the door for the colt, letting him inside first. Inside the lobby was the biggest room Blood had ever seen. Everything was so clean and there was plenty of space for a pony to walk on the polished marble floors. He took one step off the welcome mat and proceeded to accidentally slide along the slick floor. He was stopped by the bell-hop, who gently put a hoof to stop the colt. "Woah there," The stallion said, bending down to see the colt better, "Are you OK, buddy?" Though the act was small, it was very meaningful in Blood Stone's eyes. "T-Thank you," He stammered. "Anytime, little guy," The bell-hop said warmly. "Now let me lead me to your room, Princess." Blood Stone gasped as he was introduced to one of the largest beds he had encountered, imagining how many of the foals at the orphanage could have fit on it. "Is this all m-mine?" He asked in awe. "Well, unless thou has anypony else coming, We believe it is." Luna joked, winking at Blood. "Now to business. Blood mages use an old magic, that was banned, up until today. Celestia gave thy special permission for the good of Equestria- but, unfortunately, she was was too busy with other matters to retrieve thou." "B-but-?" Blood Stone started to ask, but was interrupted by Luna holding a torn and yellowed page to his face. "We know thy has questions, but this will speed up the explanation." She stated, passing the page to Blood Stone. He stared at it for a bit and then flushed and turned to Luna. "Well? What art thou waiting for?" She inquired. "I-I can't.. um... Well, I can't-" "Say no more," Luna said gently. She walked over to his bed and sat next to him, "We will read it for you." "The Personal Journal of Starswirl the Bearded- Entry 507 'It is the Fifty-third day of my travels across Equestria, and today I encountered an unusual unicorn. His magic signature was larger that average and attracted my attention, but upon asking him, he informed me that he was actually unable to preform anything more than simple telekinesis. I did test the unicorn's magic, and reached the same conclusion. For some unknown reason, his magic was not flowing through his horn correctly and instead was being channeled somewhere else. Quite unusual, as his family was relatively good at magic, though did not have half as large magic signatures. I have run a simple blood test to ensure that the stallion was otherwise fine. When activating a spell to test his iron level of blood, all of the iron condensed to quickly and proceeded to explode. Either I casted the spell with too much magic, which is quite impossible, or much less was needed. His situation is quite curious, and I plan to investigate more once I return to Canterlot. I could be on the verge of discovering a new magic.'" "Princess," Blood said quietly, "It's a nice passage, but I don't see how it helps." "The stallion that Starswirl met went on to become the first blood mage. When his blood was drawn into certain symbols, he was able to create his own magic. His descendants are also able to use this blood magic. Fortunately, thy are his great-great-great," Luna said, repeating 'greats' for quite a bit, taking a deep breath before finishing, "grandson. Which make you able to use this blood magic as well." "But P-Princess, I thought Tirek took all magic from ponies." "Yes and no. Yes, he took the magic that would be used by thou's horn. But no, he did not remove it from your blood. Back in the days I was banished, Celestia looked for ways to remove the magic used by blood mages- to easily stop them. However, it was impossible for the pony to survive the removal. It was decided to just ban it." "But why would she want to remove it in the first place?" "Unfortunately, Blood, mages back then did... very bad things. It was easy to cast very evil spells with blood magic and it was almost untraceable. Celestia got rid of it to stop its evil." (From an old flier) Blood Magic or using blood to create magic is hereby banned from Equestria. Any pony found practicing Blood magic, or similar forms, are to be punished by death. A reward of 100 bits will be given to anypony who catches a blood mage in the act of using blood magic. At the bottom of the worn flier was Celestia's signature (which had been copied by magic onto all of the fliers), and the insignia of Equestria. A shimmering sun- Celestia's cutie mark. Author's Note Sorry about the wait on this one, but I wanted to finish the cover first. Hopefully this bit of exposition answers any questions for now on Blood Magic. Also please welcome our new editor, Lunalicorn, who has been very helpfully so far. Allons-y! (ps. New record for longest chapter! Yeah!) 4- Below Equestria...Oh, did Twilight Sparkle feel free! Her entire body coursed with endless magic, filling her with the feeling of strength and freedom. Her own limits of magic had always held her back, even as an alicorn. Unlike many ponies thought, she and the other princesses were not goddesses. Their magic had limits, although those limits were much smaller compared to a normal unicorn's. However, alicorn magic got stronger with time, so Celestia's felt quite powerful and eventually Twilight would have reached that strength had she lived the hundreds of years her teacher had. But when the four magics where brought together, she had yet to reach her limit. Spells that Twilight had dreamed of preforming by chance were now at the tips of her hooves. Mass teleportation? That was her favorite, she would teleport large rocks and even the occasional mountain of Tarturus onto Tirek. Magical blasts? No problem. Whereas they would have drained a normal unicorn and left her weak before, she preformed them with ease and had no back-lash. Her body, which was once normal-sized and one drab color, had changed. She had doubled in size and would have rivaled Celestia in the past. Her mane now flowed in some non-existent wind, and her wing had taken a sunset hue at its tips. Twilight had become very experienced in flying, only touching ground when dodging other attacks by Tirek, and her speed would have bested even Rainbow Dash's. She darted around Tirek, fliting here and there and teleporting if need be. Speaking of Tirek, Twilight found him incredibly boring. The villan only choose to use his typical blast and would sometimes charge or swat at her, but he was terribly predictable. She always dodged his attacks easily, and would always retaliate- but what Tirek lacked in attack, he made up for in unrelenting defense. Twilight would send blast after blast at him, but he would still remain standing. Not to say it didn't effect Tirek, as it still stung him, but he was strong enough to remain standing. He did look a bit worse for wear (compared to Twilight), and where she had become more goddess-like through her magic, Tirek resembled the worst of demons. From time to time, his dark fur glowed like the hottest embers of a fire, his eyes were red and slitted like dragons, and his horns were blackened at the ends, as if had been scorched. Yes, the magic of all ponies in Equestria had changed them both. Twilight had almost forgotten her friends. She remembered having friends, and some of the things she had done with them, but her friends themselves and the joy they brought was gone. If Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were dropped in front of her, she'd not be able to give names, talents, or even what element they embodied. However, for now she fought in the hope that her "friends" were worth it. She was not quite sure anymore. But one pony could still be faintly remembered. Her mentor: Princess Celestia. Twilight hoped that what she was doing would make her proud and tried to maintain the memories of the alicorn, but it did prove difficult. The constant fighting and dodging made it hard to focus enough, not to say she didn't enjoy fighting. Although the whole "fighting to protect her friends" motive was forgotten, Twilight still fought, but for herself. She knew that if she stopped fighting and let Tirek return to Equestria, the princess would make her return all her power. When she thought of having limits put back on her magic, it disgusted her. No, she couldn't go back, and if staying here was the only way to keep all this raw and unlimited power, she was not leaving Tarturus. At the time Luna was tutoring Blood Stone, Twilight was flying over Tirek's head, sending a blast at his horn. The ball of energy slammed him and disappeared. Lord Tirek flattened his ears and charged a fiery ball of magic above his head. Twilight sighed. There he goes again with that attack, She thought to herself and waited for Tirek to release the blast. When the red-orange fire ball launched towards her, Twilight teleported with ease and reappeared right at Tirek's chest, levitating a large amount of rock with her multicolored magic and rocketing it towards Tireks mouth, who just rubbed the underside of his jaw a bit then retaliated. The two enemies continued sending attacks back and forth, seemingly endlessly and without tire. Before Tirek's return... "Sister, please!' Luna begged, standing determinedly in front of Celestia, blocking her sister from continuing any further down the hall. "Let Us, Cadence, or even thy's student to stop Tirek- but Discord? Has thou lost thy mind!?!" "He has changed, Luna, and I believe that he can stop Tirek with the least amount of damage. I also believe that the ponies of Equestria, and even you, need some reassurance that he is reformed." Celestia said firmly. "Though I am not putting all my faith in him. I do have a back-up plan." "And it is..?" Luna asked. "Our alicorn magic can be combined, and Twilight happens to be the perfect catalyst. If-" Celestia began to explain. "No! Thou cannot be thinking of giving her all our magic! Sister, that will leave Equestria otherwise defenseless- not to mention what all that power might do to her!" Luna exclaimed. "It's the only other option, Luna! I-I was not expecting Tirek to return so suddenly. I was preparing the Elements of Harmony to be able to beat Tirek on their own. You remember the box released by the Tree of Harmony, correct?" "Yes, it is hard to forget about. But what of it?" Luna answered. "I sense the box contains a magic that even Tirek cannot stand against. The elements have found their keys, except for Twilight. I estimate she would have found it within the month, but we do not have that time. However, I believe in my student. She will not fail." "We hope thy is correct, sister- for the sake of Equestria." Luna stated, removing herself from Celestia's path and allowing her to continue along the palace hall. She sighed and left for the Library of Canterlot. She had research to do. Though Celestia had decided her options, just maybe she could find another way. 5- A Bit of Exploring Never Hurt AnyponyBlood Stone sat awake in his bed, half snuggled under the soft, sheep-wool comforter. He held a book infront of him, turning the page by hoof every once and a while. The book had large font and small words, quite obviously meant for younger foals, but it was the most he could manage. Still, he progressed, albeit slowly, through the book. It was very well illustrated and told the story of two princesses who ruled Equestria long ago. To other ponies, the book quite obviously was the story of Nightmare Moon, but to Blood Stone, it was about a neglected sister who just wanted friends, not to far from his past situation. He turned to the princess snoring next to him, covering her eyes from the light with a pillow which did nothing to deafen her. She'd been trying to get him to adjust to her schedule of sleeping during the day, but Blood Stone still preferred his regular time. Silently, he wondered if the story was true, and his mentor was truly evil once. His storybook did not give names, but the pictures did bare a good likeness to Luna. When he reached the end of his story, Blood Stone sat up and walked silently to the hotel bathroom, turning the light on once the door was properly shut. Inside, he removed the several bandages on his hooves and cleaned out the cuts. For the smaller incisions, he applied a small piece of padded adhesive, accidentally sticking one of them to his nose at first as he was opening it. For one large cut along his foreleg, he took a roll of Medical Tape and wrapped it around several times. He remembered this injury- it was the first time he had attempted blood magic. Princess Luna had demonstrated how to draw the symbol with her horn in her own blood, and passed him a special knife for him to try. Blood Stone turned to the knife currently sitting next to the sink. It's blade was new and a shiny silver and its handle, originally designed for earth ponies hooves to be easier to pick up, was ivory with intricate carvings in it. He had dug the knife to deep and it had bleed profusely. Poor Luna had to excuse why there where bloody stains to be cleaned off the carpet. As of now, it had just started to scab. He finished and went back to his bed in an attempt to sleep. Unfortunately, none came- the light of the sun that shined through the curtains made him feel unable to. Blood sighed to himself and grabbed his saddlebags, embroidered with Luna's cutie mark (as he was a blank-flank himself), grabbed a hotel key card, and a few bits and walked into the hallway. It was quite busy- Maids, tourists, and families all trotted by, leaving or entering hotel rooms. It was unusually busy for hotels, but this one had been quite popular and only had two floors. He adjusted his eyes to the brightness of the lit hallway and began to walk along its shaggy carpet. Getting down the stairs was a bit tricky, as the bandages on his foreleg limited its movement and made it hard to bend. He tripped shortly before reaching the end and fell with a "thump" onto the landing of the first floor. Luckily, most ponies took the old elevator and where not there to see his embarrassing fall. He would have joined them if Luna had not warned him about going in public areas. "Ponies would wonder about the bandages," she warned, "And the less questions for thy to answer the better." When Blood Stone picked himself up, his stomach let out a low rumble. He checked a wall clock hanging above him. "It's 2:30," he thought, "...Or 3:20? Anyways, time for lunch." But, suddenly, somepony bumped into his side. "Huh?" he blinked. "Sorry, sir! I wasn't watching where I was going," the mare said politely. "I-it was my fault," Blood said eventually, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I was just checking the time." The mare was about to answer when her eyes drifted to his legs. "You should be checking those wounds of yours, too! What happened, sir?" "Uh... well... I ran into a wall." "Then why do you have some scratches?" Blood looked around and saw some small, un-covered wounds- like deep papercuts. Oh no! I forgot about those! he thought. "Um... my friend threw paper at me!" he said quickly before galloping away. "Hmm," the mare said to herself, "What a strange little colt." Luckily for Blood, most ponies had already eaten and he could go to the hotel's All-day Buffet without worrying about other ponies. When he reached the food-filled table, a servant stopped him from grabbing a seat. "Sorry little Fella- but the buffet is for hotel guests only," The waiter stated. Blood was still getting used to baths. Even after a week, his fur still had a slightly grimy look to it. The waiter probably just assumed he had come from the street. "Actually, sir," he paused, turning to root around in his saddle bag and pulling out his key card in his mouth, "Erm stayern here." The servant looked over the card, checking its number. "Mm-hhm... You are that colt Luna brought, yes? I'm sorry, go ahead and eat," The waiter apologized. "Can I get you anything to drink?" The unicorn ordered a glass of water (he was not allowed to drink much else, because most beverages were alcoholic) he grabbed a plate, and surveyed the buffet. It was small, with only one row of food, and most of it had been picked clean from lunch. He would have to wait until closer to dinner for them to be replenished. He decided on hay fries and some daisy rolls. He returned a few times, each time filling the plate, until he was stuffed. Although the buffet was free for guests, he still left a few bits for the Waitress that came and gathered his plate when finished, hoping she would find them while cleaning the table before supper. He journeyed back upstairs, without falling this time, and returned to his room. Instantly, he could tell he was in trouble. The lights were on and in front of the beds stood a grumpy looking Luna. "Blood Stone," she scolded, "We did not know where thy hadst run off to, and thy scared Us very much." "I-I was f-fine, Princess." He stammered, not looking Luna directly in the eye. "I w-was just getting some lunch. I didn't l-leave the hotel, I s-swear." Luna sighed deeply, she could not hide the colt in this room forever, there was no holding back his natural curiosity. She smiled faintly when she remembered how much trouble she and Tia had gotten into because of their own want to explore. After a bit of careful consideration, Luna turned to Blood Stone. "Pack up thine things, please. We are going somewhere.. better suited for thou and thy training." Author's Note Hello Everyone! Unfortunately, I was very busy this past week/weekend, so this chapter was written in bits an pieces. However, thanks to the help of a wonderful editor, Lunaalicorn, I was able to finish it! She even helped write some of this chapter! Go read any of her stories please of you have the chance, she is so wonderful! Till next chapter, Allons-y!
1- Twilight's Sacrifice 1- Twilight's Sacrifice ~1~ "How about a trade, Princess Twlight?" Tirek offered, snapping his fingers and revealing five ponies and a draconeqques all sealed in bubbles. "Your friends for all the alicorn magic in Equestria." Twilight gulped, debating her options in her mind. As Tirek had stated, they were both at an impasse, a stalemate, Equestria would be destroyed before a clear winner appeared. She could not give up her magic, that was decided, it would doom her friends and Equestria to a life under Tirek's rule, but could she abandon them? She could choose to keep fighting, but risk them being hurt. Calmly, she faced Tirek, staring defiantly into his eyes. "Tirek," she stated, "You will have to kill me before you hurt Equestria or my friends!" Her horn began to glow with the aura of all four alicorns, a portal appeared before Tirek, sucking both of them in with it. Celestia awoke to the prodding of a persistent hoof. Tiredly, she opened her eyes to the element of laughter, Pinkie. "What happened?" Celestia implored, turning to see both Luna and Cadence next to her. "We were hoping y'all would know." Applejack answered, her hat over her chest in respect. "It was really cool!" Pinkie announced, bouncing around the group of ponies. "Twilight was like BAAMMM with magic, and Tirek was like WOOOOSHH with his and there was a big fight! You could see it all the way from Ponyville. Did I mention we were in a cage? Anyways, Twilight tried to save us, so she was like KAAA-CHOOOOOO and them she and Tirek were gone. But then you guys showed up, so it's ok I guess!" she rambled. "What Pinkie is trying to say," Rarity interrupted, grabbing the pink mare's tail with me magic, stopping her bouncing, "is that Twilight disappeared with Tirek rather than give up her magic. Heaven knows where the poor mare is now, though..." "I believe I might," Celestia said, standing up. Her true heigh was about as tall as a usual pony, due to her being stripped from magic. "I and the other princess were trapped in Tartarus before, and because Twilight's spell sent us out, it might mean Twilight and Tirek were sent in." "Tartarus? What the hay is that?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Tirek's original prison- there is no telling what's happening to them both down there," Celestia said. Deep, deep below the ponies hooves, Tirek screamed in rage, "Do you realize what you have done? I will have to wait years to get out again!" "No Tirek," Twilight stated, "I'm not going to let you escape again!" "Foolish pony!" He bellowed, "You will trap yourself down here as well, then! What could possibly be worth fighting me for eternity?" "Something you will never learn Tirek!" Twilight exclaimed, lighting up her horn. "THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!" And with that she sent a powerful blast towards Tirek. The light of the spell quickly cleared to reveal him, still standing and dusting off his shoulder. "So be it Princess! But you will never see those friends again!" "At least I have saved them from you!" (The lavender alicorn's vioce broke) "At least I have saved them..." Author's Note Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed so far! I've never been really good at intros, but I'm sort of proud of this one. I actually knew where I was going. Also critiques and reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you and I hope you've been entertained by this little bit. I promise that it will get better from here (lengthwise and content wise)
2- A Dying Country 2- A Dying Country ~2~ Life in Equestria was more hell than Tartarus was. Problems were endless for Celestia and left her with an ever-present migraine. In Canterlot, a city mainly populated by unicorns, accidental injuries and deaths had become prominent. The city had long been used to the comfort of magic, but now that it had been stripped from them, basic living by hoof was the only way. However, without magic or special talents, doctors and other trained professionals were not able to keep up. It strained her to think of the Cloudsdale... "incident", all those innocent ponies who had fallen to their deaths... Tirek had not realized (and would not have cared if he did) that when sucking Cloudsdale dry of magic, he also took their ability to stand on the clouds, and they all fell through. Only roughly 40% of the inhabitants survived, most of them involved in the pegusai stand against Tirek and had not even been in Cloudsdale at that moment. Then there was problems in Appleloosa and similar farming towns. Without the strength of earth ponies, harvesting had been difficult, but especially for Appleloosa, where harvesting depended solely on strength to knock down the apples. However the ponies found the inner strength to preserve- Until an unusually powerful storm, which could of been stopped by pegusas before, who now couldnt help, washed away what was unharvested. She had done and redone the calculations, at least 10% of her ponies would starve at this rate. But the most looming danger was the other creatures inside and outside Equestria, while allies like the Saddle Arabians had offered what help they could, others like changelings and creatures inside the Everfree were wasting no time to take advantage of their weakness. The griffons were divided on whether to help or attack the ponies, and at the moment remained neutral. It was rumored though that Gilda was one of the main supporters of invading. This was her fault, she knew it and always reminded herself. She had placed to much trust on friendship, believing it could change the worst of villains, and defeat someone who could take all they had with one breath if he wanted too. Discord had been banished for his treachery, and he was last seen wandering the Frozen North. She could not find it in her heart to forgive him. Celestia would not make the same mistake twice. She did not blame Twilight, she should have prepared the mare, taught her more powerful spells rather then leaving her to learn on her own. She should have confronted Tirek herself instead of trusting her previous worst enemy to turn down temptation. But this was her punishment, for making the wrong choice, and nothing could change it. The remaining mane six had done their best to help. Applejack and her family had left for Appleloosa to help with the work and their relatives. The others aided against the monsters of the Everfree. Rainbow Dash worked on the battle front, Rarity and Fluttershy both worked as medical helpers, while Pinkie did her best to boost morale of the other "soldiers". Cadence and Shining Armor aided when they could, sending supplies and food, but little of it was able to make it through- Chrysalis' changelings guarded the borders of the North. These where dark times, and Celestia could find no answers to save her Equestrians. The armies she had could barely keep the Everfree in check, and would be wiped out when the Changelings made their assault. Her kingdom was alone, without magic, and dying, but she was helpless to stop it. Stepping from her throne and heading up to her bedroom above, Celestia decided to hit the sack early. She needed sleep right now, as much as she could get. Manehatten had always been a place where you could hide from your past, restart, live a new life. That is exactly why of all ponies, Princess Luna trotted along its darker streets, searching for a certain address. Whispering street names to herself, she turned to a dimly lit street and knocked on one of its shabby doors. "Who the hay is knocking at-?" An older grey unicorn mare with a blue-grey bun started, but then paused as she noticed just who was on her doorstep. "Oh! Princess! Come in!" The mare opened the door to reveal a rather tattered entrance way. The wallpaper was old and peeling, a coat rack sat tilted on the wall, and the nearby stairs where missing their railing and a few steps. The worst part of all was that foals of all sorts of races, sizes, and colors where sleeping everywhere- the floor, the stairs, and one filly who close by stirred slightly due to the door digging into her hind leg. "We were told that thou is caring for a.. Blood? Blood Stone?" Luna whispered, not wishing to wake the foals. "Ah yes, Blood, he's a cutie, but he never talks. He was orphaned because of that rouge dragon attack a few years back. One of the only survivors too, him and... ah... what was her name... Anyways, let me go find him. Give me a minute, sweetie!" The mare said in a sing-song voice. She began humming to herself as she stepped over the many colts and fillies, searching for Blood Stone. She turned around the corner, and Luna lost sight of her. The colt who had been nudged by the door sat up and looked up bleary-eyed at the princess. "D-d-did I hear m-my name?" He stuttered, a bit too quiet for Luna's ears. "Please say that again, young colt, we don't think we got it." Luna said, leaning down towards him. "Did s-somepony s-say m-my name?" He asked again, cowering a bit from the princess. "Are you Blood Stone, son of Crimson Drop and Blood Stain?" Luna questioned. The colt nodded. Luna gave the colt a look-over. His shaking body was light orange (slightly muddy, too), and his mane was faint yellow with a spiked style, with a strand of dark red curling around his horn. "Do you know what your parent's special talent was?" Luna asked. "They were a doctor and a nurse- for healing ponies." He answered, a bit confused. "We're sorry, Blood Stone, but thy's parents and their ancestors practiced a forbidden magic. And for the salvation of Equestria, thy must learn it too." The princess stated, her voice firm. "Now let's go- I can take thou somewhere...Safer." Author's Note This is an updated version on chapter 2 and one I'm much happier with. I elaborated a lot more with detail and I decided to take it a bit slower. Sorry if the ending seems a bit cheesy, I've never been a fan of ending a chapter, but I have to do it somewhere... Once again thanks for reading and support!
3- The History of the Blood Mage~3~ Blood Stone followed Luna out into the street, trying to keep up with his short legs. "A what mage?" He called out to her, stopping in front of the Princess to demand an explanation. "Hush, little foal." She told him, covering his mouth with her wings. "We will explain in time, but thou must wait until thy arrives at our lodging for the night. Thou never knows who is listening" She removed her wings, folded them gracefully, and continued walking along the dim street without checking if he was still following. Blood Stone sighed and begrudgingly walked behind her. Though the princess's general disinterest towards him was a bit disheartening, he had nowhere else to go. Blood Stone had no known relatives, his parents were gone, and while it did provide shelter and an occasional meal, the orphanage had been far to overcrowded- not to mention boring. There was not a lot to do other than sit around. The other foals did play games, but he was rarely invited, and when he was they teased him. Still, he was left alone for the most part, which might be better than "Equestria's savior" as Luna had called him. Her words scared him. He was definitely not savior material, and did not want to be- but Luna was a princess, so surely she would be doing most of the saving. He was probably just here to help a bit. "Yeah, just to help," He said quietly to himself. The thought gave him a bit of reassurance as he followed the Princess. She led him down streets that he had never been on before, and they were actually clean and semi-lit. With his scruffy mane and dirty appearance, he felt out of place among the clean shops and houses. Eventually, Luna stopped a nice looking hotel and opened the door for the colt, letting him inside first. Inside the lobby was the biggest room Blood had ever seen. Everything was so clean and there was plenty of space for a pony to walk on the polished marble floors. He took one step off the welcome mat and proceeded to accidentally slide along the slick floor. He was stopped by the bell-hop, who gently put a hoof to stop the colt. "Woah there," The stallion said, bending down to see the colt better, "Are you OK, buddy?" Though the act was small, it was very meaningful in Blood Stone's eyes. "T-Thank you," He stammered. "Anytime, little guy," The bell-hop said warmly. "Now let me lead me to your room, Princess." Blood Stone gasped as he was introduced to one of the largest beds he had encountered, imagining how many of the foals at the orphanage could have fit on it. "Is this all m-mine?" He asked in awe. "Well, unless thou has anypony else coming, We believe it is." Luna joked, winking at Blood. "Now to business. Blood mages use an old magic, that was banned, up until today. Celestia gave thy special permission for the good of Equestria- but, unfortunately, she was was too busy with other matters to retrieve thou." "B-but-?" Blood Stone started to ask, but was interrupted by Luna holding a torn and yellowed page to his face. "We know thy has questions, but this will speed up the explanation." She stated, passing the page to Blood Stone. He stared at it for a bit and then flushed and turned to Luna. "Well? What art thou waiting for?" She inquired. "I-I can't.. um... Well, I can't-" "Say no more," Luna said gently. She walked over to his bed and sat next to him, "We will read it for you." "The Personal Journal of Starswirl the Bearded- Entry 507 'It is the Fifty-third day of my travels across Equestria, and today I encountered an unusual unicorn. His magic signature was larger that average and attracted my attention, but upon asking him, he informed me that he was actually unable to preform anything more than simple telekinesis. I did test the unicorn's magic, and reached the same conclusion. For some unknown reason, his magic was not flowing through his horn correctly and instead was being channeled somewhere else. Quite unusual, as his family was relatively good at magic, though did not have half as large magic signatures. I have run a simple blood test to ensure that the stallion was otherwise fine. When activating a spell to test his iron level of blood, all of the iron condensed to quickly and proceeded to explode. Either I casted the spell with too much magic, which is quite impossible, or much less was needed. His situation is quite curious, and I plan to investigate more once I return to Canterlot. I could be on the verge of discovering a new magic.'" "Princess," Blood said quietly, "It's a nice passage, but I don't see how it helps." "The stallion that Starswirl met went on to become the first blood mage. When his blood was drawn into certain symbols, he was able to create his own magic. His descendants are also able to use this blood magic. Fortunately, thy are his great-great-great," Luna said, repeating 'greats' for quite a bit, taking a deep breath before finishing, "grandson. Which make you able to use this blood magic as well." "But P-Princess, I thought Tirek took all magic from ponies." "Yes and no. Yes, he took the magic that would be used by thou's horn. But no, he did not remove it from your blood. Back in the days I was banished, Celestia looked for ways to remove the magic used by blood mages- to easily stop them. However, it was impossible for the pony to survive the removal. It was decided to just ban it." "But why would she want to remove it in the first place?" "Unfortunately, Blood, mages back then did... very bad things. It was easy to cast very evil spells with blood magic and it was almost untraceable. Celestia got rid of it to stop its evil." (From an old flier) Blood Magic or using blood to create magic is hereby banned from Equestria. Any pony found practicing Blood magic, or similar forms, are to be punished by death. A reward of 100 bits will be given to anypony who catches a blood mage in the act of using blood magic. At the bottom of the worn flier was Celestia's signature (which had been copied by magic onto all of the fliers), and the insignia of Equestria. A shimmering sun- Celestia's cutie mark. Author's Note Sorry about the wait on this one, but I wanted to finish the cover first. Hopefully this bit of exposition answers any questions for now on Blood Magic. Also please welcome our new editor, Lunalicorn, who has been very helpfully so far. Allons-y! (ps. New record for longest chapter! Yeah!)
4- Below Equestria...Oh, did Twilight Sparkle feel free! Her entire body coursed with endless magic, filling her with the feeling of strength and freedom. Her own limits of magic had always held her back, even as an alicorn. Unlike many ponies thought, she and the other princesses were not goddesses. Their magic had limits, although those limits were much smaller compared to a normal unicorn's. However, alicorn magic got stronger with time, so Celestia's felt quite powerful and eventually Twilight would have reached that strength had she lived the hundreds of years her teacher had. But when the four magics where brought together, she had yet to reach her limit. Spells that Twilight had dreamed of preforming by chance were now at the tips of her hooves. Mass teleportation? That was her favorite, she would teleport large rocks and even the occasional mountain of Tarturus onto Tirek. Magical blasts? No problem. Whereas they would have drained a normal unicorn and left her weak before, she preformed them with ease and had no back-lash. Her body, which was once normal-sized and one drab color, had changed. She had doubled in size and would have rivaled Celestia in the past. Her mane now flowed in some non-existent wind, and her wing had taken a sunset hue at its tips. Twilight had become very experienced in flying, only touching ground when dodging other attacks by Tirek, and her speed would have bested even Rainbow Dash's. She darted around Tirek, fliting here and there and teleporting if need be. Speaking of Tirek, Twilight found him incredibly boring. The villan only choose to use his typical blast and would sometimes charge or swat at her, but he was terribly predictable. She always dodged his attacks easily, and would always retaliate- but what Tirek lacked in attack, he made up for in unrelenting defense. Twilight would send blast after blast at him, but he would still remain standing. Not to say it didn't effect Tirek, as it still stung him, but he was strong enough to remain standing. He did look a bit worse for wear (compared to Twilight), and where she had become more goddess-like through her magic, Tirek resembled the worst of demons. From time to time, his dark fur glowed like the hottest embers of a fire, his eyes were red and slitted like dragons, and his horns were blackened at the ends, as if had been scorched. Yes, the magic of all ponies in Equestria had changed them both. Twilight had almost forgotten her friends. She remembered having friends, and some of the things she had done with them, but her friends themselves and the joy they brought was gone. If Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were dropped in front of her, she'd not be able to give names, talents, or even what element they embodied. However, for now she fought in the hope that her "friends" were worth it. She was not quite sure anymore. But one pony could still be faintly remembered. Her mentor: Princess Celestia. Twilight hoped that what she was doing would make her proud and tried to maintain the memories of the alicorn, but it did prove difficult. The constant fighting and dodging made it hard to focus enough, not to say she didn't enjoy fighting. Although the whole "fighting to protect her friends" motive was forgotten, Twilight still fought, but for herself. She knew that if she stopped fighting and let Tirek return to Equestria, the princess would make her return all her power. When she thought of having limits put back on her magic, it disgusted her. No, she couldn't go back, and if staying here was the only way to keep all this raw and unlimited power, she was not leaving Tarturus. At the time Luna was tutoring Blood Stone, Twilight was flying over Tirek's head, sending a blast at his horn. The ball of energy slammed him and disappeared. Lord Tirek flattened his ears and charged a fiery ball of magic above his head. Twilight sighed. There he goes again with that attack, She thought to herself and waited for Tirek to release the blast. When the red-orange fire ball launched towards her, Twilight teleported with ease and reappeared right at Tirek's chest, levitating a large amount of rock with her multicolored magic and rocketing it towards Tireks mouth, who just rubbed the underside of his jaw a bit then retaliated. The two enemies continued sending attacks back and forth, seemingly endlessly and without tire. Before Tirek's return... "Sister, please!' Luna begged, standing determinedly in front of Celestia, blocking her sister from continuing any further down the hall. "Let Us, Cadence, or even thy's student to stop Tirek- but Discord? Has thou lost thy mind!?!" "He has changed, Luna, and I believe that he can stop Tirek with the least amount of damage. I also believe that the ponies of Equestria, and even you, need some reassurance that he is reformed." Celestia said firmly. "Though I am not putting all my faith in him. I do have a back-up plan." "And it is..?" Luna asked. "Our alicorn magic can be combined, and Twilight happens to be the perfect catalyst. If-" Celestia began to explain. "No! Thou cannot be thinking of giving her all our magic! Sister, that will leave Equestria otherwise defenseless- not to mention what all that power might do to her!" Luna exclaimed. "It's the only other option, Luna! I-I was not expecting Tirek to return so suddenly. I was preparing the Elements of Harmony to be able to beat Tirek on their own. You remember the box released by the Tree of Harmony, correct?" "Yes, it is hard to forget about. But what of it?" Luna answered. "I sense the box contains a magic that even Tirek cannot stand against. The elements have found their keys, except for Twilight. I estimate she would have found it within the month, but we do not have that time. However, I believe in my student. She will not fail." "We hope thy is correct, sister- for the sake of Equestria." Luna stated, removing herself from Celestia's path and allowing her to continue along the palace hall. She sighed and left for the Library of Canterlot. She had research to do. Though Celestia had decided her options, just maybe she could find another way.
5- A Bit of Exploring Never Hurt AnyponyBlood Stone sat awake in his bed, half snuggled under the soft, sheep-wool comforter. He held a book infront of him, turning the page by hoof every once and a while. The book had large font and small words, quite obviously meant for younger foals, but it was the most he could manage. Still, he progressed, albeit slowly, through the book. It was very well illustrated and told the story of two princesses who ruled Equestria long ago. To other ponies, the book quite obviously was the story of Nightmare Moon, but to Blood Stone, it was about a neglected sister who just wanted friends, not to far from his past situation. He turned to the princess snoring next to him, covering her eyes from the light with a pillow which did nothing to deafen her. She'd been trying to get him to adjust to her schedule of sleeping during the day, but Blood Stone still preferred his regular time. Silently, he wondered if the story was true, and his mentor was truly evil once. His storybook did not give names, but the pictures did bare a good likeness to Luna. When he reached the end of his story, Blood Stone sat up and walked silently to the hotel bathroom, turning the light on once the door was properly shut. Inside, he removed the several bandages on his hooves and cleaned out the cuts. For the smaller incisions, he applied a small piece of padded adhesive, accidentally sticking one of them to his nose at first as he was opening it. For one large cut along his foreleg, he took a roll of Medical Tape and wrapped it around several times. He remembered this injury- it was the first time he had attempted blood magic. Princess Luna had demonstrated how to draw the symbol with her horn in her own blood, and passed him a special knife for him to try. Blood Stone turned to the knife currently sitting next to the sink. It's blade was new and a shiny silver and its handle, originally designed for earth ponies hooves to be easier to pick up, was ivory with intricate carvings in it. He had dug the knife to deep and it had bleed profusely. Poor Luna had to excuse why there where bloody stains to be cleaned off the carpet. As of now, it had just started to scab. He finished and went back to his bed in an attempt to sleep. Unfortunately, none came- the light of the sun that shined through the curtains made him feel unable to. Blood sighed to himself and grabbed his saddlebags, embroidered with Luna's cutie mark (as he was a blank-flank himself), grabbed a hotel key card, and a few bits and walked into the hallway. It was quite busy- Maids, tourists, and families all trotted by, leaving or entering hotel rooms. It was unusually busy for hotels, but this one had been quite popular and only had two floors. He adjusted his eyes to the brightness of the lit hallway and began to walk along its shaggy carpet. Getting down the stairs was a bit tricky, as the bandages on his foreleg limited its movement and made it hard to bend. He tripped shortly before reaching the end and fell with a "thump" onto the landing of the first floor. Luckily, most ponies took the old elevator and where not there to see his embarrassing fall. He would have joined them if Luna had not warned him about going in public areas. "Ponies would wonder about the bandages," she warned, "And the less questions for thy to answer the better." When Blood Stone picked himself up, his stomach let out a low rumble. He checked a wall clock hanging above him. "It's 2:30," he thought, "...Or 3:20? Anyways, time for lunch." But, suddenly, somepony bumped into his side. "Huh?" he blinked. "Sorry, sir! I wasn't watching where I was going," the mare said politely. "I-it was my fault," Blood said eventually, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I was just checking the time." The mare was about to answer when her eyes drifted to his legs. "You should be checking those wounds of yours, too! What happened, sir?" "Uh... well... I ran into a wall." "Then why do you have some scratches?" Blood looked around and saw some small, un-covered wounds- like deep papercuts. Oh no! I forgot about those! he thought. "Um... my friend threw paper at me!" he said quickly before galloping away. "Hmm," the mare said to herself, "What a strange little colt." Luckily for Blood, most ponies had already eaten and he could go to the hotel's All-day Buffet without worrying about other ponies. When he reached the food-filled table, a servant stopped him from grabbing a seat. "Sorry little Fella- but the buffet is for hotel guests only," The waiter stated. Blood was still getting used to baths. Even after a week, his fur still had a slightly grimy look to it. The waiter probably just assumed he had come from the street. "Actually, sir," he paused, turning to root around in his saddle bag and pulling out his key card in his mouth, "Erm stayern here." The servant looked over the card, checking its number. "Mm-hhm... You are that colt Luna brought, yes? I'm sorry, go ahead and eat," The waiter apologized. "Can I get you anything to drink?" The unicorn ordered a glass of water (he was not allowed to drink much else, because most beverages were alcoholic) he grabbed a plate, and surveyed the buffet. It was small, with only one row of food, and most of it had been picked clean from lunch. He would have to wait until closer to dinner for them to be replenished. He decided on hay fries and some daisy rolls. He returned a few times, each time filling the plate, until he was stuffed. Although the buffet was free for guests, he still left a few bits for the Waitress that came and gathered his plate when finished, hoping she would find them while cleaning the table before supper. He journeyed back upstairs, without falling this time, and returned to his room. Instantly, he could tell he was in trouble. The lights were on and in front of the beds stood a grumpy looking Luna. "Blood Stone," she scolded, "We did not know where thy hadst run off to, and thy scared Us very much." "I-I was f-fine, Princess." He stammered, not looking Luna directly in the eye. "I w-was just getting some lunch. I didn't l-leave the hotel, I s-swear." Luna sighed deeply, she could not hide the colt in this room forever, there was no holding back his natural curiosity. She smiled faintly when she remembered how much trouble she and Tia had gotten into because of their own want to explore. After a bit of careful consideration, Luna turned to Blood Stone. "Pack up thine things, please. We are going somewhere.. better suited for thou and thy training." Author's Note Hello Everyone! Unfortunately, I was very busy this past week/weekend, so this chapter was written in bits an pieces. However, thanks to the help of a wonderful editor, Lunaalicorn, I was able to finish it! She even helped write some of this chapter! Go read any of her stories please of you have the chance, she is so wonderful! Till next chapter, Allons-y!
