A Crimson Star

Bloody Star awoke suddenly, breathing heavily. Shaking his head, Bloody Star got out of his bed and walked downstairs. It was still late in the evening, not even time for the moon to reach it's zenith. Bloody Star shook his head, trying to clear it. His dream had told him to travel west, to where the Wildlands and Everfree Forest converged. Bloody looked around the little farmhouse kitchen for a pen and some paper. Once he had found them, he wrote a quick goodbye to AJ, Applebloom, Granny Smith, and Big Macintosh. Taking another sheet of paper, he wrote an apology to AJ, begging her forgiveness and effectively ending their short relationship. He knew that he would probably never see them again, but he was ok with that thought. His love for AJ had caused a rift between her and her friends. Leaving was the only way to rectify this. Still, he would miss the Apple family. Over the past few months, he had become accustomed to seeing them everyday, helping with the apple harvesting, playing, and losing, games of chess with Applebloom, and just being around them. He looked back inside as he walked out the door and quietly closed it behind him.

*

Once the door was shut, Bloody Star used his magic to silently lock it. Then, he turned to the west and started running. The sooner he was done with this journey the better. He still wondered what the dream could have been about. It had been extremely vague, though Silver Blade had been in it so that was alright. He only regretted not being able to see AJ one last time before leaving. Bloody Star shook his head again, telling himself that if he had seen her once more, he wouldn't have been able to leave. He kept running until he came to the Everfree Forest. He slowed his running and stopped on the outskirts of the forest. Bloody Star knew the stories well enough by now, but they didn't scare him. He took a step forward and just kept going. The stories were nonsense, he had wandered throught the forest before and nothing had ever attacked him.

*

The forest was quieter than it usually was at night. That didn't bother Bloody Star as he walked along the dark paths, though. He enjoyed the silence. The farther away he got from Sweet Apple Acres, the easier it was to think about his dream. He didn't know what he was going to find at the end of this little journey, but he was hoping that it would help him. He shook his head as images of Silver Blade, Alive and well, with their little foal, danced in front of his eyes. No, Silver Blade and the foal were long since gone. He couldn't indulge in such wishful thinking, it would only hurt him. Walking faster, he continued his journey into the west, as the Moon slowly began it's decent towards the horizon.

*

Meanwhile, back at Sweet Apple Acres, AJ had woken up to get a midnight snack. She slowly and quietly made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Turning on the light, she found two things she wasn't expecting; Bloody Stars goodbye notes. She noticed one had her name on it and picked it up. Silently Reading through the note, she felt sobs building in her throat. Bloody Star had left her. He had just writen this note and gone, like it was nothing. Putting down the note, she began to cry, not even noticing the volume of her sobs. Soon, the others came down to see what all the noise was about. It wasn't long before they had all read the letters. Applebloom started crying with AJ, while Big Macintosh tried to comfort them. None of them wanted to belive that Bloody Star had just left for no reason, but his letters gave no explination, no hint as to where he would go. The only thing the letters had in common was the fact that they both said he was going away. They didn't even say for how long. The Apple Family sat there in the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity, until Applebloom fell asleep with tears running down her face and AJ could barely keep her eyes open.

*

Soon, the sun began rising above the Eastern horizon. Bloody Star had been walking for hours through the Everfree Forest and he was sure the Wildlands were just ahead. He walked through the bushes in his path and emerged into the Wildlands. He had made it safely through the Everfree Forest. Now all he had to do was cross the Wildlands until he finally found the place he should be. Bloody Star tried to take a step forward but his legs just buckled underneath him. Of course, he couldn't walk any farther, he had been walking all night. His eyelids slowly started to close. He was so tired. But then a strange green magic aura surrounded him and lifted him off the ground. Bloody Star tried to fight the powerful magic, but he didn't have the strength. He closed his eyes and fell asleep while being pulled along by the strange green magic.

*

Bloody Star awoke to find himself laying on a bed with silken sheets. He looked around, confused. He was in a large Chamber bedroom with walls that looked like a spiders web. He could heard a voice coming closer and pretended to still be asleep, which wasn't hard to do. Bloody Star heard the door to the room open and an unfamiliar scent washed over him. He stirred in his faux sleep and slowly opened his eyes. Staring down at him was a strange black creature with a long green mane and green eyes. The creature smiled and laughed. The creature was obviously a female, judging from the sound of its laugh. The Creature stopped laughing and looked at him with a fire in her eyes.
"Where am I? Who, and what, are you?" Bloody Star asked the creature.

*

The Creature smiled. "You are inside the Hive. I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings! Who Are you that sleeps on the land of the Changelings so proudly?"
This time it was Bloody Star that smiled. "Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, I meant no disrespect if I have offended you. I go by many names, The Bloody Tide, The Warrior Prince, The Angel of Death....But you may call me Bloody Star"