//-------------------------------------------------------// Equestrian Blood -by Shuriken- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// 2 Marble and Blood //-------------------------------------------------------// 2 Marble and Blood Canterlot which once had tall and grand buildings now stood ruined; broken down and reduced to a pile of dust and broken bricks. The city of Canterlot was a silent as it could ever be without anypony preoccupy it in day or night. The streets would have once been busy with life, happy ponies would be outside buying and selling beautiful things, but now it was a gruesome sight with the bodies of dead ponies who were lying scattered about the street like rows of dead insects that had just been poisoned. This was the work of Princess Twilight during her battle against Princess Luna, but now something darker than the corrupted element lurked within the dark depths of the city. Even in its ruined state Canterlot maintained its regal beauty, it's tall marble towers and halls that would've once been full of life and song spoke of wealth and power, it was a city built for the aristocracy of equestrian society after all. Now it was the temporary home of the Everfree's 12th legion whose dark red banners hang from ruined towers and broken windows, they'd taken to clearing up the bodies as fast as they could, the last thing they needed was an army of sick ponies to deal with. Rosebud was was put on sentry duty guarding the entrance to "Sunny days" Theater, the 12th legions current headquarters. She felt bored as usual and couldn't help but let out a loud and heavy sigh. Dex turned his attention towards her and laughed, "What, daddy put you on sentry duty against your will again doll?" "Shut up Dex" She replied rolling her eyes at him in annoyance, "At least i'm not here cause i was caught stealing food supplies" she tapped her spear on the yellow stallion’s large belly to make a point of his weight. "Hey when you're living on the line like us, you've gotta enjoy life even if it means stealing a pie or two." "Or a box full" She said under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear. A slow loud thumping noise interrupted the constant steady beat of the rain, at first it was easily mistakable us thunder but the ground started to tremble more and more with each thump that seemed to grow louder and more violent by the second. //-------------------------------------------------------// Should i continue? //-------------------------------------------------------// Should i continue? I wrote this story a few years ago and i have only just rediscovered it. Honestly, looking back at these two chapters i feel like my writing skills and story-telling abilities have coke a long way since when i first wrote this. I have chosen to leave most of the original story unedited because if i choose to continue with this story then i don't want any unexplained character disapearances, i also want to keep them the way that they are as a reminder to myself of just how much you can change if you put your lots heart into something you love. Now i'm just trying to fill up the word count so that i can publish this story and hopefully get some feedback and a couple of ideas of where i should steer this story. Filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler fillerx2 filler3 and guess what? MORE FILLER!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BEHOLD THE TRUE POWER OF THE FILLER!!!!! OMG, i just need a few more words... so yeah.... soon.... This is getting kind of awkward now... Do you like cake? I heard it was a lie once and i wanted to find out the truth but then i kinda took an arrow to the knee... //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue The rain beats down heavily on the ground, turning it into a sea of mud. Thunder rumbled slowly in the background, adding to the tense silence of the ponies who were dismantling their camp and getting ready to fight. The silence was unnerving and the wind mimicked the howls of the tortured souls from Tartarus itself, where Tirek now lurked. Things must have been pretty bad for Celestia herself to approach the Everfree who, thanks to her, had been reduced to nothing more than a small nation of mercenaries. According to her, the Elements of Harmony had finally snapped and that all of the guards that had been sent to investigate the castle had not returned. "The bitch has some real nerve" Shuriken said, reflecting on the events of the previous night. He sat down on a ruined archway that had once been the glorious gate-way of this magnificent yet dark castle, now towered over him like a fierce giant. He took out a packet of cigarettes from his saddle bag and lit one, while calmly laying back to observe his scout teams getting ready. "Sire, the men are all set to go in." Shuriken turned his head to meet the eye of an old blue stallion; his mane had faded to grey over the years. One could tell from his eye that this pony had seen many wars; he was a seasoned veteran and the commander 3rd Legion. He wore an eye patch where his left eye should have been and a dark long robes that hung loosely on him. His single grey armor made him look strong, but Shuriken doubted that the armor would've made even the slightest difference if he'd not been wearing it. Shuriken jumped down from the comfort of the archway and threw his cigarette away. "Very well commander, send the men in ahead of us, both teams should take separate routes." "And Celestia's Mage?" The commander asked raising an eyebrow. "She'll come with us.” "Yes sir," Commander Torek bowed and turned to leave so that he could pass on the orders to his captains, he felt uneasy about this job on his journey to Ponyville he'd seen nothing but bad omens; a broken tombstone, dead crows and broken bridges. It was a well known fact that Torek was among the most superstitious ponies in the Everfree.