Chapter 16 – Blood Magic

Anon

To my displeasure, Midnight returned to culling the forest almost immediately after finishing his bath after his duel with Shining Armor. He wouldn’t take no for an answer despite me wanting to spend some quality time with him. Left with little choice, I took the opportunity to return to work at the spa. Between arriving late today and having not worked for the last 4 days, there was a back log of ponies waiting to get seen for a mane cut or styling.

A bubbly pink mare was part of the group waiting to be seen. I smiled at the assembled ponies.

“Okay everypony, I’m back and I’m ready to work. So who’s first?”

There was an eruption of arguing ponies with nearly all of them claiming to be next. A few ponies had claimed that they had first dibs because they were told to come back the next day after not being able to be worked in previously. Others argued that they needed to be first because today was their only day off and if they weren’t seen today, they’d have to wait a whole week. And still others were simply impatient.

Aloe and Lotus had their hooves full trying to control the crowd and I was just staring at them with wide eyes. I had never seen these ponies so worked up about a spa day. I finally shook my head and whistled loudly to get their attention.

“Everypony calm down. Everypony will get seen today. Now form a line here if you’re getting a simple cut and a line here if you want a dye job and a third line here for a wash, dry and style.”

The ponies looked at each other and did form three lines as requested. Anon took the first pony from each line to her workroom. She sat the first two ponies down, side by side, at the two wash sinks and got the water going and then sat the third pony down in the regular chair for the mane cut. By the time the first cut was done, the other two mares’ manes were wet and ready to be washed. Anon washed both manes and then set the dye requested for the dye job and then styled the other pony’s mane in her requested style. Anon managed to do a second simple mane cut while waiting for the dye to set and the other style to dry so adjustments could be made as needed.

With that second satisfied customer, she checked the status of the other two mares and they both approved of the job Anon had done. The process was taking a little longer per pony than if they had her undivided attention, but she was getting through the line twice as fast overall by multitasking. Anon was able to do two more dye jobs and three more complex wash and styles while cutting five more regular ‘simple’ cuts, all without taking a lunch break, but completely erasing the back log of ponies waiting for her expert service.

The pink mare was last. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie!!! I feel really extra super-duper bad that I haven’t thrown you a welcome party yet. Would you like your party today? Would you? Huh huh huh!”

Anon looked to Aloe for help only to get a smile in return. “Um. I guess. I know most of the ponies in town from my work at the spa but there’s not that many that I would actually want to party with. I’ve never been comfortable with large crowds so can we keep it small and personal?”

Pinkie rubbed her chin. “Small and personal… huh. Well. Apple Jack told me about the prank that you pulled on her so I thought that you would want to meet Rainbow Dash finally. Also, my good friend Fluttershy is kinda, er, shy so I think the two of you would get along. Apple Jack of course and me… unless you wanted to invite some pony else?”

Anon nodded. “Midnight will be there when he gets done hunting and I’d like Rarity there too. She’s been working on my dresses, and I think she could use a break.”

Pinkie smiled at her thoughtfulness. “Okie dokie. Small parties are a sinch. It’ll be ready by the time you get home.”

With that, the pink pony shot out the doors like a bullet.

I was left shaking her head. “What did I just get myself into?”

Aloe was laughing at me… “Pinkie parties are the best parties. I hope you enjoy yourself.”

I continued to work, refusing to take a lunch break on account of having showed up late that day, and left at what might have been considered her normal time on a normal day. I walked home with a sense of dread, not knowing what to expect.

When I got to the estate, I was surprised to see that there were now a few old-fashioned looking metal outdoor tables set up with what might have passed as a classic British tea service. I recognized Rarity and Apple Jack. Pinkie Pie herself was looking a little worried and a cyan-blue pegasus looked bored.

I smiled at the set up. It was exactly as low key as I preferred it to be. I continued to walk towards the estate and Pinkie brightened when she finally saw me.

“Anon! So good to see you again. I’d like to introduce you to Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy isn’t here yet…”

Rainbow’s eyes widened when she finally looked at Anon. “Whoa. You were right Pinkie… she’s like a cross between a Minotaur and something else that I’ve never seen. And she managed to prank Apple Jack? She’s so awesome!”

I shook Rainbow’s hoof. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Rainbow. Apple Jack told me that you might help me prank Midnight. You up for the challenge?”

Rainbow nodded slowly. “Midnight is a tough one to crack. I’ve tried to prank him at least five times since I moved to Ponyville, and he saw through all of them. Maybe with your help we could do something… eventually. But it’ll take careful planning.”

I giggled lightly. “I’m in. We’ll have to discuss it privately. So… where is Fluttershy? I was looking forward to meeting her… I don’t believe I’ve ever seen her at the spa.”

Rainbow groaned. “She definitely earned her name. That mare is so shy that sometimes I have to bring her food because she can’t leave her house. I’ll drag her here if I have to. She needs to meet you in a safe setting. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

Rarity joined me as Rainbow left. “Your wedding dress is finished, darling. I’ll make sure it’s wrapped up extra secure so Midnight can’t see it when he comes by to pick up your order.”

I smiled weakly. “Thank you for all your hard work. You got it done so fast… I hope you didn’t put off other orders to rush this one.”

Rarity smiled warmly in return. “Think nothing of it darling. If I can’t handle rush orders… then I have no business in the fashion business.”

I hugged her as Pinkie Pie served the tea. We all kept the conversation light, waiting for Rainbow Dash to return with Fluttershy. After about 20 minutes, Apple Jack started to get concerned.

“Rainbow brags about being the fastest flyer in all of Equestria and Fluttershy’s cabin at the edge of Whitetail Woods ain’t that far. Ah wonder if somethin’ happened to her?”

I was worried about the situation slightly. Granted… Rainbow was a reputed pranker so maybe she was trying to get Fluttershy to help her pull off a joke as an icebreaker? I was about to voice the possibility of that when we all heard Rainbow yell.

“Somepony, HELP!”

We all turned to look, and Rainbow Dash was carrying a bloody yellow Pegasus, with a disheveled pink mane.

Apple Jack looked angry. “What in tarnation? This better not be a joke Rainbow… because that’s not funny.”

Rainbow was sweating from the effort of having carried Fluttershy all the way to Midnight’s estate from her cabin.

“I wish it was a joke. Fluttershy was attacked by Timberwolves. I had to use a lightning cloud to destroy one of them and to get the other one to run away. I may be fast in the air, but I don’t have a lot of endurance when I’m carrying a pony that weighs more than myself. I don’t have the strength to carry her to the hospital…”

My face went pale, and I did the only thing that I could think of. “Moon Watcher! MOON WATCHER!!!”

Nearby… a thestral fell out of a tree. “Wha? I’m awake… sheesh. How may I serve you, my lady?”

Moon Watcher flew over to the assembled ponies and her eyes went wide when she saw the seriously hurt Fluttershy. I gave her clear instructions.

“Go find Lord Midnight and bring him back here. Now!”

Instead of flying towards the Everfree Forest like I expected her to, she flew straight up into the air and emitted a screech that started shrill and then seemed to fade to a range outside of human hearing. Within moments, six more thestrals approached the estate with weapons drawn, already in armor and they took up a protective formation around the estate. Midnight popped into existence with his magic a few moments later.

Midnight was wearing his pure black stealth armor again, but this time he was also wielding twelve different weapons in his magic. They floated around him in a way that reminded me of Noctis from Final Fantasy XV. I had liked that game until my ex-boyfriend had ruined it for me.

After taking a moment to assess the situation, and seeing no immediate danger, he magically put away the ten extra weapons and replaced his two normal swords in their sheaths on his armor.

Walking up to the ponies, he almost dryly stated… “Please state the nature of the medical emergency.”

I quirked a smile despite the serious nature of the situation.

Rainbow was frantic. “Fluttershy was attacked by Timberwolves! They nearly tore her wings off! Please save her!”

Midnight frowned. “Damn it, Dash. I’m a soldier, not a doctor.” He walked forward to take a closer look at her injuries. “Hmm. This is bad.”

I swallowed hard. “What can we do?”

Midnight

What can we do indeed?

I looked at the ponies. “She doesn’t have a lot of time left. These wounds probably can’t be healed with normal means. The doctors at Ponyville General will probably want to amputate her wings. It would save her life but not being able to fly is horrible for any pegasi, even the ones like Fluttershy that don’t fly much.”

Rainbow went pale. “Please… she needs her wings to take care of her birds and the other pets that she has… I’ll do anything. Please… tell me what I need to do?”

My expression softened. “I need your wings.”

Rainbow nodded. “Of course. You need some supplies to help her. What do you need me to get?”

I swallowed hard. “No, Dash. I need your actual wings… to give them to Fluttershy, to save her life.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide while Anon cleared her throat. “Do you mean to remove Rainbow’s wings and give them to Fluttershy? How? Can your magic do that?”

I nodded. “Yes. I know the proper spells. A lot of it falls into the realms of magic that is technically no longer legal to use… but I have special permission from Princess Celestia to use the spells if I need to… which is of course one of the perks of still technically being a Death Lord. Most ponies have never heard of Blood Magic, and most the ones that have are the ones I tend to end up having to kill at some point. It is dangerous magic in the wrong hooves.”

All the ponies looked at Rainbow and she gulped. Lowering her head, she closed her eyes and extended her wings. “Take them. Please… save her.”

I took in the scene with a grim expression.

Such loyalty. Almost enough to be the Element of Loyalty? Surely it’s a coincidence to have the Element of Loyalty in the same town as the Element of Honesty.

I sighed as I drew a sword from its sheath. “Okay Dash… this is going to hurt a lot.”

Rarity gasped. “NO! Rainbow wants to join the Wonderbolts. You can’t take her wings! There must be another way! I know! Take my horn. Surely the magic in my horn can heal her wings? I give you my horn freely but please don’t take her wings!”

Anon frowned at Rarity. “But what about your Boutique?”

Rarity huffed. “I can still make dresses with my hooves. Earth Ponies do it all the time. Yes… it’ll take me longer, but I can’t just stand here and do nothing if there is anything I could do to fix this! I’ll give you everything that I have, just save Fluttershy without hurting Rainbow!”

I looked at Rarity with a new appreciation of her.

Generosity in its greatest form. Giving everything while expecting nothing in return. With her usual attitude… I would have never expected her to be the Element of Generosity… but here we are…

I looked at Pinkie Pie. She giggled nervously. “I can give you a cupcake… it’s all I have.”

I snorted but also smiled as the other ponies seemed to smile to her antics. Even Fluttershy, despite the pain she was in, seemed to smile slightly.

Laughter… it can be a salve that heals the wounds that even the best bandages can’t fix. An underappreciated element… but still an Element of Harmony.

A glance at Apple Jack forced her to swallow hard. “There ain’t nothin’ ah can do other than offer to help get her to the hospital if you need help doin’ so. Ah hate feeling helpless, but ah won’t waste time by lying about it.”

Still as honest as ever. If I was unconvinced about her being the Element of Honesty before… then I have no doubts now…

A moan from Fluttershy brought everypony back into the moment. She spoke softly. “Lord Midnight… I have a request… umm, if you would?”

I lowered my head to her, so she didn’t have to strain to speak. “Of course… tell me what you want, and it shall be yours.”

Fluttershy swallowed. “Just… let me die. Don’t hurt my friends trying to save me. And take care of my animals after I’m gone… don’t let them starve…”

Everypony gasped. Anon herself had placed her hands over her mouth so she wouldn’t speak. I was lost in the moment…

The ultimate kindness… taking the burden of death to spare the pain of others. By the mother… they’re all here. Five of the Elements of Harmony are here… and Twilight has to be the Element of Magic or else she wouldn’t be Celestia’s personal student. I have to save her…

I nodded slowly. “What would you say… if I told you that I could summon a Prince to heal you without hurting your friends? It would still require a sacrifice of sorts… but it could be done.”

Fluttershy nodded weakly. “I would accept the help and I’m willing to pay whatever price the Prince would require… although… umm, I hope he would be willing to allow me to fully recover before… umm… taking my… payment.”

I smiled warmly… “I’m not sure I will require a payment from you… it is my sacrifice to make. Afterall… you are one of My Little Ponies…”

With a dark glow of my horn… my wings appeared; the illusion that hid them gone. I spread my wings wide, in a display of my authority, and every pony bowed. Fluttershy fainted but I wasn’t going to tease her about it. Her fainting could have just as easily been from blood loss than the shock of finding out that I was actually a Prince.

Apple Jack gulped… “Ah had no idea…”

Rainbow Dash’s mouth fell open in a big O. “Those wings… I could sleep in those for days…”

Rarity gulped… “If I knew you were a Prince, darling, I would have given you a discount on your most recent order…”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Well, duh! He’s like, over 1,000 years old! Of course he’s an Alicorn.”

Anon’s eyes had gone wide… “I didn’t know that you were ready to reveal yourself…”

I sighed. “I wasn’t… but this is too important. No matter what… Fluttershy must live… and if that requires me to leave the shadows… then so be it. Maybe it is time…”

I spread my wings wider and my sword, held in my magical grasp, came down… severing my left wing cleanly at the base. The cut end spurted blood while the detached wing twitched on the ground. Everyponies eyes went wide, and Rainbow started to hyperventilate.

I looked at Rainbow with a smile that was hard to maintain with the pain flowing through me.

“Oh… did you want the other one?”

Rainbow fainted at the mere thought of me cutting off both of my wings.

I snorted. “Lightweight.”

Apple Jack swallowed hard… “What happens now?”

I sighed as I tried to harness my pain without interruptions. “An unholy miracle.”

Fluttershy had lost consciousness when I had revealed my wings. In a way… it made this easier. I picked up Fluttershy and my severed wing in my magic and I wrapped Fluttershy within the severed wing. I then started to channel magic while reciting the required words.

“Blood of my Blood. Flesh of my Flesh. What was once two is now one. Heal thy wounds with the offered flesh and become whole. I command thee to rise again… as a Death Lord.”

The wing dissolved into a red, blood-like substance, and seemed to encase Fluttershy utterly. After a few breath-taking moments… the substance seemed to absorb into her and what remained was an uninjured pegasus. Her wings were as black as Midnight’s until he cast a spell that returned her wings to her natural yellow coat color.

Fluttershy floated gently to the ground, and when she opened her eyes… they glowed with a bright aura. She spoke with a dark, monotone voice.

“What is thy bidding, my master?”

Everypony gasped but I merely cleared my throat. My voice came out deeper and more ominous than normal. I tried not to smirk, having forgotten about the command aspect of the spell.

“Death Lord Fluttershy… I name you Death Lord of the Wood. Raise an army of furry critters and defend Whitetail Wood with your life. Help your friends… and kill ponies with kindness. The world needs more kindness. Awaken.”

The glow left Fluttershy’s eyes, and she gasped. “Oh my… I feel so much better.”

I nodded. “That’s good! I’m happy to hear it. Tell me the first thought that comes to mind now that you’re healed?”

Fluttershy thought about it. “Well… I was thinking that Harry the Bear might like to learn Griffon martial arts. It would be nice if he could help me protect Whitetail Woods from those nasty Timberwolves…”

I smiled while the rest of the girls frowned. “I can probably help train him. I’ll add it to my calendar. Now… Rainbow Dash seems to have fainted and hit her head. Please take her inside the estate and let her rest in one of the guest rooms. Once she’s settled… please enjoy some of Pinkie’s tea and cupcakes. She went through a lot of trouble to put this together.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Of course…”

Fluttershy didn’t seem to notice Midnight’s wing… or the other severed end… and carried Rainbow inside while the other girls followed. Anon was left standing next to Midnight, looking at the still bleeding stub of a wing.

Pinkie Pie called to her. “Anon? Are you coming?”

She shook her head. “Nah. I’ll stay with Midnight. Enjoy the party without us, please.”

Pinkie wanted to protest but let it go as Anon followed me up to one of the hills near the estate.

Anon took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Why haven’t you healed yourself?”

I smiled. “I’m an Alicorn… the wing will grow back on its own… but I have to let it bleed. Besides… it wouldn’t do to shorten the pain. I rarely get to enjoy it to this extent.”

Anon’s frown deepened. “You like… pain?”

I lowered my head as I pulled a guitar out of my magical storage portal. “I’ve been wounded in battle many times. Pain let me know I was still alive. Once I learned how to harness the pain into stronger magic… I never lost any battles. It may have helped open me to the darkness that became Calamity… but I won’t deny that pain helped me to live.”

Anon found her words stuck in her throat. She hated how… honest… that sounded. She didn’t get a chance to form a response as he started to play his guitar and sing.

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real

The sword tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everypony I know goes away
In the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

Anon found her voice… “Where did you learn that song?”

I smiled. “It’s an old favorite of mine by an Earth Pony Country Music artist… Johnny Bit.”

Anon snorted. She continued to listen to me sing until the song was over. She cleared her throat with a sense of dread.

“What will happen to Fluttershy now that she’s a Death Lord?”

I sighed. “Nothing much will change for her. The spell was two-fold. It saved her life but also strengthened her. She’s like… a pseudo-alicorn now. She’ll be physically stronger than she was… stronger than the average Pegasi, but not stronger than Earth Ponies. She’ll also be able to fly faster and longer than she used to. She’ll follow the order I gave her without understanding completely why she’s doing it, but that’s okay. It will make her more confident without making her arrogant. She would follow my orders if I gave her one, but I doubt I’ll ever have to call on her. If I’m right… it’ll be in my best interest to allow her to grow without my interference.”

Anon hugged me tightly. “I still fear losing you. I haven’t yet provided a reason for you to fight to live. Please tell me that making Fluttershy into a Death Lord helps you somehow?”

I nodded. “It does help… and I’m starting to gain hope that Luna can be purified instead of destroyed. Only time can tell…”

Anon cried softly into my coat, at a loss for words. Out of nowhere… my wing seemed to reappear, and the pain vanished. I wrapped the new wing around her in a soft embrace.

I whispered to her softly. “Not much longer now. Remember, my love. It’s always darkest… just before the dawn.”

Author's Note

Original song 'Hurt' by Trent Reznor

Provided cover by Johnny Cash

(28) Johnny Cash- Hurt (HQ) - YouTube

I chose the Johnny Cash version because when I think of Midnight Stalker singing... I imagine a deeper and more gravelly voice.