Bloodlines

Luna had been the third, to encounter a Spellblade. Celestia felt a little rage well up inside of her, as she looked at the respective weapon, that rested on a pedestal. This one, looked less like a weapon. This one, was actually a large paintbrush. Or it used to be. Celestia had the tip melted off.

She would have rather obliterated the whole thing, but on her sister’s request, she refrained from doing such. No, instead she disabled the tool and even kept the last painting made by it.

or rather, the sculpture, of brown, red and blue. It was not finished. Several pieces were missing, it actually looked barely halfway finished. And Celestia was glad, that it was that case. For the sculpture was made out of a rather sickening material. the blood and the feather’s of her sister.

Celestia did not want to think about the implications. The horrible, horrible implications. Another shiver ran down her spine. And a pang of guilt shot through her, as she thought back, to the moment, that her sister had later shared with her.

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Year 7. 20 days, since the longest day.

The disorganized, and decentralized way, that a lot of Equestria was governed ,despite the great efforts of Queen Platinum and the rest of the six, allowed criminals and other lowlives, to easily avoid justice. Often times, for good.

But there were a few individuals, that were wanted far and wide throughout Equestria. One was known as Ivory Sculptor. The name she had given herself. And the name under which she was wanted for. The daughter of a former noblemare was known for her atrocities through many cities.

But on the other hand, she was also revered, as a peerless artisan. Ivory Sculptor was known for her unique style of committing her crimes. As a serial killer, who specifically targeted stallions, that had left their mare, often finding them, through her considerable wealth and her connection to nobles.

For as wanted as she was as a murderer, as desired were her more.. Humane pieces of art.

Ivory was doing one thing and one thing alone. Obscure and carnal pictures. Ponies locked in either death or sex, drawn in detail and with expression, as if they were alive. The colors were mostly red and brown, but with so many different compounds, that it did not matter, that only a certain spectrum was used.

For those that were openly sold, she used the blood of wild animals. But for those more abominable creations, were made out of her victims. Statues, pictures, busts and more, created from the ponies, twisted in a bizarre way. The pale unicorn certainly had an odd taste.

Luna knew all of this, as she was currently hunting down the elusive criminal. Fear and adoration opened and closed many doors. And friends in higher circles often obscured otherwise damning evidence. But Luna was the princess. And her funds were larger.

And so she was closing in, until finally, she got an anonymous hint, that her target would be at a private gallery, where she would then auction off her latest creations. And while Luna desired nothing more, than to just crack down on the entire gathering with one fell swoop, she knew that if she gathered troupes and went there openly, she would just scare away the majority. And most likely Ivory as well.

So she adjusted her approach. And with a few spells to hide her appearance and a few bribed tongues speaking of her, as the new heir of a distant noble house, she had gotten entrance to the gallery. By now Luna had come in contact with the works of the serial killer more than she desired.

And she had found herself admiring the woman’s twisted work. She did not agree with the way the masterpieces were crafted. But she could not deny the skill and the passion, that she could discern in every single piece. This was the work of a mare, who had dedicated her entire life to the craft, that her talent entailed.

But Luna’s resolve was iron. She would hunt down the criminal and execute her herself. With that in the forefront of her mind, she sauntered through the gallery, holding a regal, somewhat judging expression, in her unicorn disguise. Sometimes she gave words of critique and some compliments. One was a lot harder to do than the other.

Until finally, the auction started off. Luna had just looked into the eyes of a bust of a stallion, where the eyes even still held the spark of life, even after the untimely demise of the stallion, with half of the face peeled down, further and further, down to the skull. Shaking off her morbid fascination, she had followed the sound of the bell into the large atrium, of the mansion.

And there she was. Luna was taken aback for a moment. She had heard a few descriptions, of each of the mare, but seeing her was something else, for sure. She was not the most beautiful mare, that Luna had ever seen. but she carried herself with a dainty grace, that entirely betrayed her murderous nature.

She looked innocent. Pure. A coat, which had a slightly off coloration of white. Not radiant, but still bright. her mane was a wonderful, maroon color, that reminded Luna a little of the mare’s pieces of art. And her odd, ivory colored eyes scanned the room with an intensity, that hardly contrasted the rest of her posture. Each motion, each step, was careful. Around her hip was a little satchel.

Her eyes briefly scanned over Luna and for a moment the alicorn feared, that the mare had seen through her disguise, but the moment the gaze wandered on, she let out a breath, she had held instinctively.

“Welcome, my friends.” rang out a soft, female voice, silencing any whispering conversations with ease, despite the low volume and the gentle tone.

“I am glad, that so many of you have gathered, to admire my work. I know, it is not something you can openly share, but among our little, loyal group, we can freely expression our desire for my art.” her smile was demure and the intensity of her stare vanished, as soon as she had finished scanning the room.

It now matched her tender appearance. “The last months have not been easy,” she continued. “I have been chased, not only by the old law, but by the new too. As I heard that Discord, who perverted all that was, without sense of beauty, was defeated I was feeling relief, wanting to express my joy and gratefulness to the princesses. But…” she made a pause, her smile dropping into a sad expression.

“I fear they too judge us. They too can not understand the beauty of our own values.” she sighed softly and a few of the present nobles let out undignified curses and muttered their own outrage. Though, when Ivory spoke up, those murmurs were silenced. “But that is okay. We will prevail. But I fear, today, I will announce my retreat from art and this will be my last auction.”

Loud gasps and pleas rolled through the atrium and Luna was puzzled why Ivory was giving up now. Maybe she knew that she was being tracked and how close the princess was? But before she could follow the musing, the murderer continued.

Her horn, which was oddly small, flared in a dark red coloration and wrapped around her satchel, immediately the atrium grew silent. “As a last goodbye, I will do something, you all have been yearning for, for all those years. I will show you the process of my work. And as assistant and model, I have to thank one mare. My single, greatest fan, who has spent more than anyone else, just to be close to me, even if it was for other reasons. The one, who is closest familiar with most of my works.” suddenly the Atrium grew dark, there was a wet ripping sound and a spotlight appeared, right on Luna.

“Ladies and gentlemen, princess Luna!” Everyone was surprised, the crowd immediately parting for the princess, who stood alone in the spotlight. Hate and fear filled eyes surrounded the disguised alicorn, who stood there in shock. It took her a few seconds, but she concluded, that the anonymous invite and tip must have been from Ivory herself and she cursed herself, that she had accepted it in a spur of the moment.

And before she could fully overcome her shock, the light returned to normal, except that the stage, that Ivory had been on, was now gone, instead she stood before Luna, with a somewhat excited smile on her face. A few of the nobles gasped, having shallow cuts here and there, which dripped blood. On the floor were bloody footprints, while a single brush, with white, somewhat off looking hairs drew onto the ground and Ivory stepped onto them.

“Princess, I am so elated you could make it today! I had so hoped to speak with you, oh, how many things I want to ask the most beautiful pony there is.” Luna was taken aback once more, causing her to stammer slightly.

“Wha, we mean.. huh?” She managed to get out, causing Ivory to let out an adorable giggle.

“Oh, poor princess, not used to be in the spotlight yet? No worries, that will not be an issue for you soon.” a scalpel, that had a blade of the same coloration, as the brush hair, floated to Luna’s cheek. And before she could fully grasp what was going on, she felt a warm touch on her cheek, nearly gentle, with no pain following. Only more warmth and a wet sensation.

“Your blood is so beautiful, it is nearly divine.” whispered Ivory and that was when Luna fully realized what had happened. She had been cut. The woman’s behavior had been so gentle, so kind, so elated and her motions nonthreatening and soft. If she had desired, she could have cut Luna’s throat, without the princess even noticing, until it was too late.

Immediately she casted a shield spell, to push Ivory back, but a chisel, with a similar colored edge as the other equipment swiftly jammed into the top, while the scalpel made a slicing motion and the blue dome showed a slim gap, which the artisan used to slip through the initial wave, while everyone else was pushed away with a yelp.

Another weird sound, and the light changed again, now showing a large spotlight, nearly exactly the area that Luna’s shield was. The alicorn’s eyes opened wide and she jumped back, her wings flaring, while a spell tried to close the wound, but it was difficult, causing Luna to worry, as she had to use way more magic than usual to heal the minor wound.

“Please..” came it from the front, where Ivory seemed to draw a line out of blood, into the very air. “Calm down. it is alright, I promise you will not feel pain. Not like them. You are beautiful. You are art. It will be gentle. It will be pleasant. You will be made eternal, everyone will adore you, forever. Please, Luna. Let me show everyone your colors.”

With that the scalpel dragged over her own shoulder and the now clean brush lapped up her own blood and began to paint lines and spots onto the ground. At the same time the chisel and the scalpel floated towards Luna.

“You are insane, Ivory.” said Luna, with a lot less bile and force than she had hoped, her whirlwind of emotions and thoughts taken the edge out of her words, while uncertainty showed. “Please, put down your tools and surrender yourself.”

Giggling slightly, the adressed woman gave a half lidded gaze, as she sauntered along the lines she drew. “I fear, I am not one who gives up the reigns.. Maybe in bed, but I fear that will not happen, as you are now.. No matter, once you are eternalized, I will have all the time in the world, to enjoy your presence, before showing you to the entire world.”

Her tone was slightly sultry, as well as chipper. It was really offputting for Luna, in a weird way and she felt slightly bashful. Anger over her conflicted emotions took over and she leveled her head, shooting a beam of concussive energy at the horned woman, but before the spell connected, a spatula was lifted out of the satchel and it brushed along the beam, which seemed to practically freeze in midair, before the brush drew it into a circle and it scattered.

Luna was speechless, she had never seen such a spell. The other woman chuckled. “Hehe, seems someone is confused.. Everything is art. Everything can be molded, reshaped and redrawn. Magic is art too. And I am an artist. I also fear that my artistic prowess, exceeds you, forgive me my arrogance.” she chuckle and skipped onto one of the spots she drew and took her brush in her hand, the scalpel in the other.

Both the chisel, as well as the tiny spatula floated around her, joined by pincers, with ivory colored tips and a little bowl. And then she began. She darted towards Luna, dragging her brush over her own wound and splashed a few drops over the ground, which the spatula spread into small squares, then stars, as they spread out. The chisel was seemingly flung at Luna, who dodged easily, only for the scalpel to draw a line over her arm, as Ivory closed the distance.

“Do you like to dance, princess?” the unicorn asked, as she jabbed, sliced and brushed at Luna, with the alicorn being put on the defense. Each cut, each touch with the brush, left a small, nearly insignificant mark on Luna, who did her best to heal up the wounds. she had not worn armor, but instead opted for a light dress, not expecting to be drawn into battle like this. Nothing had indicated that Ivory was such an adept fighter.

But she had taken one thing with her. Or rather, there was something she could always rely on. Her horn flaring, the air behind her started to ripple, and out of it shot a halberd. The unicorn mare’s eyes widened and it hit her, or rather, grazed her hip, cutting deeply into her.

Blood gushed out of the wound and pooled over the ground, but the mare did not seem to notice, until she took a step forward and the leg gave out. “Ah!” came the surprised yell, as she turned and righted herself. “Oh deary me..” she muttered, as she saw her wound and put a hand on it.

Looking around herself, she let out a relieved sigh “it’s not ruined.” she muttered and smiled at Luna, just as the halberd came down on her. With her chisel she blocked the attack, while falling to the side. The weapon instantly obliterated the tool, causing the mare to wince in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.

Where the mortal wound had failed to elict even a grunt from her, the breaking of the tool seemed to send her tumbling. But each step seemed deliberate and her brush worked feverishly around her, on the floor, then it shot back at Luna, now freed from the artist’s hand. The scalpel cut, the pincers plugged and the spatula deflected the halberd, with flowing arcs of red.

But the motions became slower, as the mare was losing more and more blood. Sometimes she dodged in a way, that allowed Luna to easily deliver another blow. But it was not until she managed to stomp on the pincers, that she heard another cry of pain from her opponent.

One by one the tools failed their user and eventually the streams of blood started to slow on Ivory’s side, while Luna was panting in exertion, her head spinning from blood loss. But no drop of hers had touched the ground. Instead the brush had drank them up eagerly, only to create something unreal. In the middle of the spotlights a sculpture, seemingly random and cut into the air started to form. but Luna noticed soon, that it mimicked her wounds, especially as a single lapse in concentration cost her her left eye.

She screamed and clutched her eye socket, while the brush was jammed into it, alongside the scalpel. She managed to rip both out and fell over, reeling in pain. Ivory however seemed to not want to capitalize on the advantage and even turned away from Luna, as the brush started to paint an eye, that was a perfect copy of the eye it had just destroyed, into the air.

Pouring even more healing magic into her spell, Luna managed to staunch the intense pain and the flow of blood, leaving herself slightly drained. Or rather, heavily after the intense fight. It was harrowing, but as she managed to clear her vision with her remaining eye, she saw ivory falling to her knees. One last time her halberd came down and this time neither scalpel, nor spatula were enough to block or redirect the attack.

And with that, Ivory was no more. She looked peaceful, as she fell to the floor, with a large gash in her back. A soft, somewhat unsettling smile etched into her face, for all times.

Silence, reigned, the nobles who had not yet fled, staring in wonder and shock, as their adored artist fell to the floor, right before her unfinished work. One could roughly recognize the goal of the statue. The feathers, as well as the general shape and especially the life like eye, were forming a picture of Luna, but at the bottom, there was something else.

Where the remaining nobles had been able to see, what was unfolding before them, in absolute awe, Luna had been too occupied, with trying to stay alive and even now, she was feeling dizzy. But as she beheld what laid before her, her eyes widened and her jaw fell slack.

On the ground, was a painting, drawn in basically three colors. A slightly lighter red, which mimicked that of the statue, for general outlines and base details, a darker red, from Ivory herself, creating shadows and further details and the white floor. On it, was the picture of an alicorn, similar in stature to Celestia.

Tall, regal, but dark. The long, floating mane of brighter red, was dotted with darker stars, mimicking the northern constellations. The wings, spread in a proud display, enveloped the drawing. What Luna saw before her, was the cut up, practically pathetic shade of herself, before a version of her, that was so much grander, so much more powerful.

It was breathtaking, and mourning, for what she just did, as well as regret, threatened to overwhelm her. The drawing on the ground looked like it could come alive any moment, the massive, crimson alicorn, a bloody shadow of Luna, to reign over the night supreme. But then the alicorn was reminded of what this was.

This was an atrocity. This was an attempted murder. The creator of this image, had been consumed in her own madness, losing herself to her work. And to make it, so many had to die. This was beauty. But it was a cruel and wicked beauty. A perversion of what Luna tried to be. And as she stared at both depictions of herself, she made a decision.

With a last flare of her horn, she rammed the halberd into the ground and channeled her magic through it, shattering the ground, to the shock and dismay of everyone, herself included, into a thousand pieces, ruining the last piece of art. Instead, she let the unfinished, cut statue of herself remain, held by an undying magic, that even outlived it’s caster.

Luna chose to be like this. Not the overbearing, bloodsoaked image of absolute power, crafted in the blood of others. But rather the cut of protector, locked in a battle, that would never come to an end, but fought and paid for with only herself. For that was the just thing to do. And Luna, if anything, put justice above all else.