//------------------------------// // Time for red // Story: The Empire of Blood // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// Twilight opened her eyes, only to see that she was huddled with her friends inside of a vortex seemingly made of blood. Black and red flashed and swirled everywhere. Twilight attempted to speak, nothing but air exited her mouth. She tried using magic, but it did not work either. She did notice something bad, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen. Twilight was shocked and horrified by what she was seeing. Faces of tormented creatures kept popping out of the blood and hissing. Others literally jumped out of the vortex to scare the group of five while they were inside the "tunnel" formed in the middle of the blood vortex. Suddenly, voices of cheering could be heard. Everypony looked around to try and figure out where that noise came from, while trying to avoid the creatures inside of that vortex. Muffled voices started to appear as well, until a resonating *splotch* echoed throughout the tunnel. The creatures became increasingly agitated. ".........and all shall become part of the Empire, or they shall perish!" It sounded like a mare, a rather aged mare. *cheers* "We have conquered the majority of Bleudfeg and we shall continue until the entire world bows to our god, Ghorandras." *cheering and sounds of creatures being killed* "The Empire of Blood shall reign supreme over all as the sacrifices bring our god ever closer to awakening! DEATH BY BLOOD! BLOOD BY DEATH! The tunnel suddenly started to swirl ever quickly, and the five ponies found themselves being pulled at incredible speeds through the tunnel. Pinkie was silently cheering as they were thrown through a black hole. *BAM! FLOP8 WHAM!* They finally exited the tunnel. Everypony was rubbing their head as they layed on the ground, piled on eachother. "Woohoo! That was awesome! Can we do it again? Come on, say yes!" "Pinkie, this isn't the time nor the place. Where are we anyways?" said Twilight. "I-I'm not sure. I thought we were at the swamp. And what WAS the scary place? It was horrible." said Fluttershy. "Ah dunno, but we don't look like were in Equestria no more. Whatever that thing was, it sent us somewhere." "Wait, where is Rainbow Dash?" asked Rarity. Everypony looked around for any signs of Rainbow Dash until Rarity stopped suddenly. She was utterly terrified and was staring at something. "G-girls. Look at that." "Why? What is...that's...no way..." stuttered Applejack. The place they were in were indeed the swamps...but not so swampish anymore. The ground was solid, and it looked like it was being cultivated. The ground was ridged, and the surrounding environnment was filled with thick trees. The sky was still blue and the sun still shone. How did the 5 realize they were in the swamps? Exactly where the ruins were, stood a stone hut, with a roof made of wood and straw. Those were the exact same stones from the ruins. The chimney spewed out smoke, indicating that someone was living in there. "Twilight, I think that's the hut from...." said Fluttershy, unable to finish. "From the swamp." finished Twilight. She started to walk in small circles, unable to comprehend what that creature did exactly. "But, if that's the hut, and we were thrown into some strange vortex...we were sent to the past?" "Maybe. I wonder how they threw parties here. I'd love to see their candy and cakes!" "Well, I will go knock on that door and see if the gentlepony in there knows something." affirmed Rarity. She walked nervously towards the hut as the others just watched. She looked back over here soldier one last time. With one deep gulp, she knocked on the door. "Yes? Is it already time?" The door opened to reveal a rather scrawny brown pony. He wore a crudely made straw hat, and blue overalls. He looked half asleep. "Um, yes. Would you be-" "AH! OUTSIDERS!" he slammed the door, and the sounds of fumbling metal could be heard. He came back out with a pitchfork held in his hoof. It was kept there by a special gripping mechanism. "Get off my property! I'll gut you and hang your innards on my fork here if you don't get out of here." "But-" Rarity tried to say. "OUT!" He thrust the pitchfork at Rarity who quickly scampered in the opposite direction, her friends following her. Even Applejack, who was known to be stubborn, knew that brawn over steel was not a "close" victory at hoof here. The further they went, the more huts appeared and the more diversified the place became. The group found themselves in the middle of a village outside what looked like a city surrounded by brown-yellow walls. Some sort of temple was the only thing seeable in there. It seemed to be made of several floors and was vastly decorated. It was too far to be able to distinguish anything. However, the zone they were in was chock full of different things. All the ponies had tribal colorings on their bodies, and many were pulling carts full of food, fabrics, materials, and...beasts? This seemed to be the market. Many stands were open, and many ponies were gathered at them. There were blacksmiths who were promoting their work by showing how they forge outside of their shops. Several spears and shields were sitting against the stone walls of the shops. Others forged armors. Many of the ponies would look at the group and whisper. They certainly were not welcome. Rarity had just lost her garments, and she was still covered in mud. As the group started walking through, Twilight decided that a plan was needed, and they stopped near a quaint little shop. "Okay. We don't know where we are, or, more importantly, WHEN we are. We need a plan We also need to find Rainbow Dash." said Twilight. "Yes. I do believe that new garments are of the most important factor, as is a very good bath. I look simply dreadful with all this mud. It's going to take so long for my coat and mane to achieve their beauty once more." "Rarity, this isn't the time to be thinking about clothes. We could be in serious danger here." "She's right Rarity. Ah don't think we should attract too much attention to ourselves. Maybe we should ask the folks 'round here 'bout this place? Hopefully, they'll be nicer than that other guy." "Yeah! It'd be great if we could discover everything here! Like, what's that? And that? And that?" "Pinkie, darling, this isn't the time to be playing, either." "Awww, but why not? Everything is better when you have fun. Isn't that right Fluttershy? Fluttershy?" Fluttershy was shaking like a leaf. She was hiding behind her mane. The tatoos on the ponies who passed by were actually quite frightening. Some put empasis on the red eyes of some ponies who walked by, and others seemed to draw the shape of a beast on the coat. The tatoos were mostly red, but they were sometimes other colors. Suddenly, five ponies came from the far right of the store. They wore red armor that seemed to have some emerald linings and would "poke" out at the joints. These armors covered their entire bodies, only leaving the eyes out, who seemed to be completely red. They were quite monstrous, and the heavy armor they wore, coupled by the single spear on their backs, made them look quite scary. The only pony that stuck out, was a mare who had certainly seen many battles. She somehow had four canine teetch that stuck out of her mouth, giving her a wolf-like appearance. Her armor was very thin, and she didn't have a helmet on. Her coat was black, her mane was gray, and her iris were of a soul-less white. She seemed to have "clawed" boots. These claws looked like carved metal. The middle blade looked like a bent "H", while the two on the sides curved inwards. She was hitting everypony who had the audacity to pass by her, a sadistic smile on her face. She stopped in front of the five, her guards standing still. "What? Who are you? I have not yet seen you registering at the blood palace." she said, a rumbly voice crackled in her throat. "Bl-bl...blood palace? You don't really put...blood in there do you?" Fluttershy asked. She gave a very nervous smile, hoping that the answer would be no. The surrounding ponies backed off. They knew who these armored soldiers were, and they would be careful treading around them. After hearing this remark, the mare was exhilirating herself. She and the guards started exploding with laughter. The mare, despite crying in tears, answered quite directly: "That's a good sense of humor you have! The blood palace flows with the blood of all enemies and those who sacrifice themselves to Ghorandras." she gave a serious look suddenly:" Willing...or NOT." "Eep." "In fact, you five could make fine sacrifices. You smell of purity and good energies. Your blood will feed him well. GUARDS! Take them away!" They started moving towards the five. Even Rarity readied herself. Pinkie took had something wierd in her hands, the looked like balls. Even Applejack was readying herself for a fight, but Twilight stopped this. "No! There is no need for this." her horn glew and lifted the guards off their feet. They started screaming and flailing about. The mare looked too terriied for words to describe, but she quickly snapped out of it and charged at Twilight, her mouth wide open. She was going to chomp into the unicorn. "Oh no you don't!" yelled Applejack. She jumped right in front of the mare and bucked her straight in the face. The mare flew but flipped and landed back on her hooves. She was bleeding and smiling. "Yes, YES! I haven't felt this kind of battle since the gryphon wars. Let's spice things up a notch, shall we?" She shook her front hooves slightly, sha king some dirt off her hoof-blades. Before she could get any closer to Applejack, the building behind the group exploded outwards, showering the area with straw, stone, and mud. The indigenous ponies ran away, hoping to not get caught in the debris. Twilight lost her concentration and dropped the guards, who "activated" their spears and roared. They charged right at the stunned group, taking advantage of the opportunity, but they were swiped against a wall by a very long blue object that came out of the dust. "WATCH OUT! The Yumis is loose!" yelled a wounded stallion back in the shop. The thing looked like a four legged creature with a body in the middle. It had some type of on it's back. The thing was multi-segmented, indicating that it was far-reaching. The beast's mouth was triple-mawed. It had eight, beady black eyes, and the Yumis had two arms, each ending in a claw. The thing was gigantic and azure blue, and it seemed to like the guards, ALOT! It was attacking them with full force. They had trouble fighting the thing, who would grab them and slam them several times against the floor. That other mare was nowhere in sight. Twilight, despite not liking those guards, knew that the surrounding ponies were in danger, and quickly formulated a plan: "Okay then. Pinkie and Applejack, you go distract that...that thing, while Rarity, Fluttershy and I help that stallion." "Right!" said Pinkie and Applejack in unison. They started galopping towards the giant creature, and, with a few bucks to the legs, it tripped a bit and turned it's attention Applejack. It still had a guard in it's claw. The guard was screaming as the claw tightened on him. "You let go of him!" yelled Pinkie Pie. She threw her wierd balls at the creature's face. The balls exploded into a confetti rain, and the impact was so powerful that the Yumis took a few steps back. It roared in rage. It stabbed the guard with it's tail. The dard pierced right through one end and went out the other. Blue foam started leaking from the armor, much to the horror of the other three and the two mares. The beast then snapped it's claw, cutting the guard in two. The two sides flopped on the ground. The two mares were horrified by what they just saw. This beast was a ruthless killing machine. It started attacking Pinkie Pie who was standing on a dried mud mount. This distraction was enough for the lost guard-mare to reappear and yell at her guards for a retreat. Meanwhile, Twilight was helping the stallion heal from his wounds with his magic, while Rarity cleaned him up. Fluttershy just stood in place. She saw what the creature had done. She knew that some of her animal friends were ruthless killers when they hunted, but that was too much. Then it hit her, the guards had charged at her and her friends with their spears out. Perhaps it saw them as a threat and defended itself, thinking that they were trying to kill it. She would be sure. "Twilight, I'm going to go calm that monster." "What? Are you crazy Fluttershy. That thing is amonster!" "*cough* She's right you know. The Yumis is a beast of war. Everypony knows that." said the stallion. Twilight and Rarity tried to keep hm down. "I don't care. I'm going!" "NO! WAIT! DON'T!" the stallion had cast both Rarity and Twilight off of him as he ran to try and catch the yellow pegasus. It was too late. She was facing the beast in it's face. It had stopped moving and it was breathing heavily. It suddenly roared at it's new opponent. The only thing that moved was Fluttershy's mane. Fluttershy lift a hoof. The beast readied itself. All the local ponies popped out of their hiding places to watch what these outsiders were going to do. Fluttershy tapped the Yumis on it's head. It duddenly stopped moving. "What in the name of...?" whispered the stallion. "Poor little guy! You were being attacked by those meanie old stallions. Well, I forgive you. You were just defending yourself. Weren't you?" The Yumis roared again, but it didn't attack Fluttershy. Instead, it grabbed her with a claw and put her to it's chest. "Awww. You're jut a softie aren't you?" The stallion stubbled forward as Applejack and Pinkie Pie returned near Twilight and Rarity. "I've been working in the monster taming business for 20 years, and I've never seen anypony do that before." "Well, that's just Fluttershy for ya. She has a way with the critters." "Hmmm. Well, seeing as she befriended it, I suppose I could help you five. Could you help me get to my house? I'll direct you to where it is." "Sure. Karm says that he'll help." "So it adopted the name I gave it, huh? Wait, YOU SPEAK TO THEM TOO?!" roared the stallion. "That's just how she is." affirmed Applejack. The creature grabbed the five other ponies and put them on it's back. It hissed at Pinkie Pie and Applejack, but was scolded by Fluttershy for doing that. The stallion knew more about the Yumis thant the mares, and was hesitant to move, let alone breath. He still managed to direct the group in a direction through the forest. The surrounding ponies just stared at them as the Yumis walked by and went into the forest. The multiple stomping sounds of it's needle legs quickly died out, and they started rebuilding the destroyed store. It would be ready when the stallion returned.