The Carnival of the Damned

Ryn emerged from the line of trees, shoving his way through the last of the entangling underbrush with a curse. Yet the sight of the carnival grounds before him offered only disappointment. The tents remained in their place, yet all was dark and deserted. Not a soul to be seen in it's midst.

"Wh-what the? How did?!" He hurriedly ran to the closest tents, eyes wide in disbelief. "N-No! No, damn it! Not this too!" First, he had lost Rose to the grasp of another, and now his only chance for answers had vanished along with them. Dejectedly he wandered the grounds, making his way between the tents as he pondered his next move.

Blood had taken Rose somewhere. Far from here if the unicorn had any sense. It's likely that the guards from the castle were on the hunt for Ryn as well. His dungeon escape wouldn't have gone unnoticed for too long, and he expected to see the captain eagerly leading his men to find him. All this, and the gypsy who had brought Rose to this land in the first place had likely up and vanished with the rest of his troupe. The whole of their carnival was a wasteland. Only discarded litter rustled slighlty along the ground as he passed. The pegasus couldn't very well return home either, not after his promise to Zecora and Okiku. He could nearly see the small specter pleading with him. Ryn sighed. His only choice was to continue searching. Comb the whole of the darkened land if he must in order to find Blood and pry Rose from him.

The stallion uttered a few more strings of curses, pausing as a single light caught his eye from somewhere nearby. He squinted his eyes, wandering in the direction of the strange green glimmer before coming to stand outside of a small fortune teller's tent. The light seemed to be issuing from somewhere inside of the building, a single wooden sign marking the entrance. As Ryn read the words printed upon the wooden plaque, he froze.

'The Chamber of Fayt'.

"N-not possible!" Old memories filled his head of similar circumstances, far too familiar to be cast away as mere coincidence. He entered quickly. Sure enough, the whole of the room was aglow with emerald green hues, glinting from jewels set into an empty settee to cast the whole of the chamber into an unnatural shade. In front of this empty seat was a small table, three cards of the tarot deck positioned in the center. Ryn ventured closer, the sense of deja vu threatening to come over him. "Dear Luna...It can't be..."

The first two cards showed clearly in the strange light. The Hanged Mare, and the card Death. Yet the third remained face down, a dagger pinning it to the wooden surface.

No more explanation was needed for the stallion. He rushed from the tent and from the whole of the carnival, hellbent beyond reason to find Rose and get out of the darkened land as quickly as was possible. The first two cards upon the table flipped, floating to the ground in the breeze caused by the stallion's hasty retreat, the red strings in the background also rustling in his wake.

....

Cheery music reverberated through the tavern of a nearby town, Dimitri and Hazel dancing happily upon the wooden tables of the cozy establishment. Nearby, the other gypsies watched with glee, clapping in time as the two continued to cavort without care. The whole of the caravan was fortunate in their escape, fleeing and evading the Rosencroix guards successfully. Now miles away, they were able to kick up their hooves for a bit of relaxation. Even the small mare Roma, the charms salespony of the group, giggled at the antics of the ringleader as he gestured to the barkeep for another round.

Only two other stallions looked upon this scene with disgust and dismay from a darkened table in the corner. Mortis idly rolled a large fange back and forth over the table as Fayt watched with a bemused smirk.

"So, she has escaped then..."

The green unicorn glared up at the other in silent sulking, clearly angered by the hellhound's failure. He pressed the fang against the table before heaving a sigh. "As I have stated before, it was not my fault. Dimitri's pets do not live up to my expectations." He punctuated his sentence with the fang, tossing the object to embed it into an opposite wall. "Still, I believe my role was accomplished well enough, was it not?" He gestured to the skull pendant at his neck, the dagger firmly back in it's concealed position.

Fayt nodded, waiting to speak as a waiter set two glasses in front of them and departed. "Your role is accomplished, but to what purpose? She escaped you, and you have lost your source of blood. Besides, such a pure source would do nothing for your goals. Purity of magic can only go so far. Darkness is the foundations of necromancy after all." A deep chuckle from his dead companion prompted Fayt to raise a curious eyebrow behind his bandages.

"You doubt my methods? She is lost to me, but only for now." The unicorn leaned forward in his seat. "What if I were to tell you, my friend, that in time she will come seeking me? What would you say to that?"

The fortune teller scoffed. "I would wager money against that, yet such an action is Dimitri's forte. Do explain yourself."

A deep shadow played over the necromancer's features as he removed his pendant to set upon the table for the examination of the other. "This is much more than just a weapon, my friend. It is an ancient tool in my trade, dagger specially made for my purposes. You see, the blade itself is coated with a poison. Very rare, and known to cause wild hallucinations. Horrible nightmares, tortuous pain, and finally death if not taken care of properly. Only one antidote can be found, and I have it." Levitating the strange pendant, he twisted one of the wings on it's side to unlock a small cache in the base of the skull. A miniature vial was visible in the compartment's depths, clear in color. After his explanation had been given, he returned the decorative death's head to its normal appearance and replaced it around his throat. The unicorn leaned back in his seat, smirking with assurance of victory as Fayt continued.

"So she will come to seek the antidote. What then? Pure blood, remember?"

"Oh, I have planned for that as well." Mortis nodded. "For you see, I have added something else to my little antidote. Sure, it will cure the poison well enough, but with a slightly unfortunate side effect."

He gave a deep chuckle. "Corruption of a most pure heart, as well as the blood that runs through it!"

...

The halls of the Rosencroix Kingdom echoed shadow and moonlight, each alternating in turn with every pillar passed by the Lord. His steps remained firm, timed only with the thoughts in his head and the pounding of urgent matters in his mind's eye. Too much was at risk here. This was seen easily in his actions taken only an hour or so before. This, yet even more so elsewhere. He had done what he had considered to be the correct choice those years ago, however the differing variables continued to alternate unceasingly. He knew that the castle and outer lying grounds were secure for the time being, yet they would not be an eternal defense against an onslaught of power hungry enemies. How much more frail were the defenses of Ponyville in comparison. He could not chance it, not if it meant even the slightest in differences between life and a fate worse than his.

Ancient Blood sighed. Heavy and unnecessary as it was, there were no other means available to diffuse or even alleviate the ever increasing stress that he had felt. The unicorn paused in the shadow of a pillar, leaning against the cool marble in passive thought. All was spiraling beyond his control and he could do little more than watch at this point.

"All this, and all caused by my selfishness." The grim countenance of the Lord turned upward to stare at the ceiling, remembrances of years ago beginning to flood back with a vengeance. He snarled as Nicolae's grin filled his thoughts. "All from your curse, and my efforts to remove it. If the land had remained as it had been meant to, no one would have sought her out or her blood." He winced at the scene of sacrifice, the scent of her blood once more filling his nostrils.

Not wishing to linger further on the thoughts, Blood continued on his path through the darkened halls. The blackness of the night proved comforting to him in his tormented position, sheltering him from the prying eyes of the moon as he sought to make his way back to the seclusion of his chambers. He paused once more only to glance into a nearby room, the door of which was cracked enough to cause a small line of light to illuminate the outward gloom. Inside was a single candle left upon a nightstand, the gleam of which flickered over Rose's sleeping countenance to dance and mingle with the shadows of the chamber. She seemed at peace in her repose, mouth open slightly in testament to her weariness. The mare's chest rose and fell gently under the sheets. A profound and complete slumber. Still, Blood did not wish to chance any disturbance as he stole gently into the room. How he wished the circumstances of their reunion could have been different. Something kinder, a happier setting. Yet they were what they were, and he was grateful all the same.

Four years had passed since he had last laid eyes on the mare. Four years of remaining silent in his feelings for her. Now as he lingered at her side glancing down at the still form, it seemed that these closely kept and well hidden secrets may at long last burst forth unhindered.

Rose shifted slightly in her sleep. A dream perhaps, yet enough of a movement to bring her left cheek fully out of shadow into the candle's light. The bloodied bandage had become loosened during her rest, and in this last movement pulled away completely to leave the wound visible. The cut had become a deep scar, reddened and angry even in the dim flame's glow. The Lord moved closer, raising a hoof to test the mark. The mare whimpered in pain at the gentle touch, wincing and moving away in unconsciousness. The stallion's brow furrowed and he moved to dissolve into the nearby shadows, soundlessly exiting the room to search for Apothecarium.

...