//------------------------------//
// Chapter 115 
// Story: Blood Curse Hunters 
// by Rarity Belle 
//------------------------------//

It dawned in front of the three of them, rising ominously from the forest that was surrounded by it. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, all three gawked at its massive size. The gigantic spires that rose to the heavens were terrifying, the walls clad in black had a menacing design to them. The three hunters stood there still a fair distance away from the structure. From them was it Sweetie let out a deep exhale. She was ready to face whatever had housed itself within those walls. She was ready to put an end to the sheer terror that had been spread all through Equestria.
 
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both had a gander to each other and wondered what went through the mind of the young unicorn. Well, they knew a bit of course. But this, after having done so many hunts together, after hearing what had happened the night Fleur Dis Lee died in her own estate. They had heard an unbelievable story from the ghost that was the mare, the answers couldn’t have been more clear for each of them. “So, what’s going to happen now?” Scootaloo asked while she rose from the bushes they were hiding behind.
 
They had to get closer and just storm through the front gate in order to face the demons that lived inside. But Sweetie rose as well and laid a hoof on the back of the pegasus. The determined glance in her eyes spoke a thousand words. A glance that Apple Bloom regretted seeing. “We don’t know what lives inside of it, we didn’t even knew that the castle existed for the longest time. Now it’s time to figure out what lives there, who lives there, and put an end to the madness of all this.”
 
“Wow, you’re really wanting to go through with this, aren’t you?” Scootaloo returned. The pegasus had a deep gander in the eyes of the unicorn. She wanted to see the determination for herself. At one end, Sweetie was right about everything. All of the hunts that they had done proved to them that there was something wrong in the very woods of Everfree. Something was terribly wrong just so close to home. The words of the last slaughtered vampony spilled to them that the Nameless Queen took residence there. They had the chance to kill a vampony queen and would take it without hesitation.
 
Sweetie sighed and let go of Scootaloo. The young unicorn took the first steps in the direction of the haunting, glooming castle. No light came from its halls and the iron gate would probably be shut. Getting entrance wasn’t going to be easy. “I didn’t went through the Night Guard’s sorceress training to be stopped at this, Scootaloo, nor did you went through their engineering classes and neither did Apple Bloom for her archery. We’ve achieved so much, I think we all deserve answers on the madness that has been engulfed in Equestria,” she answered to her friend.
 
Sweetie did happen to have a point with those words. Even if both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo didn’t really agree with them. The three of them all left the vegetation that was the woods and would bask in the moonlight. Finally were they revealed and the changes were significant. Scars riddled the face of Sweetie of magic gone wrong. Bruises covered the bodies of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo all over. The three young mares were clad in their thick, leather armor around the legs and vital parts. The bow that hung off to Apple Bloom's side and the trusty combat hammer of Scootaloo were ready to see blood once more. Other than those weapons, all three of them carried their mandatory swords and daggers for close combat.
 
They had lost their innocence in crusading for their cutie marks a long time ago.
 
The three had become battle-hardened veterans under the guidance of Blueblood himself. Though there wasn’t anything in the world that could have prepared them for the fight that was about to erupt. Their world was about to be rocked once more.
 
Closer and closer they came to the castle while Sweetie ignited her horn. The emerald colored, arcane aura would engulf them. It send a warm shimmer down their spines on that freezing night. The moon stood high and gave enough light, but the gates stood in the shadow side of the moon. In the light of the aura did the iron gate became visible and the most devastating feeling as well arose. It was shut tight with nopony even moving on the other side.
 
“What can you sense on the other side, Sweets?” Scootaloo asked.
 
“What do ya think? ‘Course there be bad ponies inside. It looks like som’thing that came straight of a horror story...” Apple Bloom commented. She was ready to draw her bow and fire an arrow through the darkened hall to see where it would end. She nudged Sweetie and then prodded her head to it.
 
The unicorn fortunately enough understood what the idea was. “Alright Apple Bloom, do what you have to do,” she said. Her attention shifted back to the pegasus with a somber expression. “I sense the dark beings in there, that’s all that I can say for certain. I do not know what else dwells inside, but something familiar as well...”
 
Those last words had the other two looking at each other with raised eyebrows. What was Sweetie going on about? They didn’t knew, nor did they truly cared in the moment. They were ready for whatever came their way. “We’ve been fighting vamponies and lycans for so long now, I think you start to feel their aura’s as second nature.”
 
A huff came from Sweetie, giving Scootaloo without a word her right. It had been far too long since the unicorn had even managed to crack a smile. None of them knew if she could even smile, or would smile again. Sweetie had truly become a husk of her former self. A husk that now only lived to take down the beings of the undead.
 
Apple Bloom had risen on her legs and held the bow in one while the arrow was drawn with the other. She aimed it through the bars of the gate and then let go. The arrow flew through the air and fractions later got stuck in the wood of something. As soon as it was stuck in something, Sweetie knew that it was her time to ignite the arrow. With a flick of her head would the butt of the arrow be ignited. The feathers disintegrated and revealed some details around it.
 
Light filled the hallway slow and steady. They got their first look around the hall of the castle and noticed how the arrow was stuck in a door. Apple Bloom grinned and stored her bow again. “Looks like that’s the way through to the throne room!” she said, looking at the others. “Only, how are we gonna get this gate to move? It’s full iron...” A hoof was tapped against it and they all recognized the clang of metal.
 
Sweetie’s horn discharged for the moment and she paced up and down her spot. Her magic was weak against iron. Meaning that they had no way that to just lift the thing up and be done with it. No, something else had to happen. Something that could open the gate for them.
 
While Sweetie and Apple Bloom thought, Scootaloo noticed something happen above the gate, in the very stone that laid above it. She nudged the other two young mares and pointed a hoof upward. Because right above them, words began to appear. “How does that..?”
 
Yet the unicorn knew in an instant what it was. Sweetie could almost slap herself in the face. Her own sheer stupidity was just unfathomable and the answer was looking them right in the eyes. “Magelight, of course! How could I’ve been so blind!” Sweetie mumbled to herself. Her horn remained discharged. If she were to charge it again, the words above the gate would vanish again.
 
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at her like they had seen a ghost of sort. “Say, whatta now?” the earth pony asked with a confused set of eyes. During all their endeavors together as hunters, they hadn’t come across a magic that powerful. If it was anything to go by, they would encounter much stronger magic inside the walls of the cursed and dreaded castle.
 
“It’s magelight, Apple Bloom. The words only become visible when the light of arcane has been shown on them. But what do they say?” Sweetie shifted her focus back to the words above and began to mumble to herself just what they could mean. “Drawn by the blood, given by the blood? Granted, by the blood?” Already did the ideas come to her mind and she took a step or two back. Without warning to the others would her horn be ignited and cast its light to the bottom.
 
Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had to cover their eyes for the moment and grunted. But Sweetie saw what they had been looking for. She saw a contraption of which she wasn’t too happy about. Because in the foundation of the castle, were two little channels that came together in a stone bowl dug in the ground. It was a receiver for something, while the channels went to either side of the gate. They had to give a sacrifice if they wanted to enter.
 
“You’ve got to be kidding me here,” mumbled Sweetie while she drew one of her daggers and rose a hoof. “It’s drawn by the blood, only with a sacrifice of blood are we granted access to the castle’s interior. I’m afraid, that we’ll have to cut ourselves and then we can proceed.”
 
It were words that neither Apple Bloom nor Scootaloo were happy to hear, but if that was the only way in which it could be done, it would have been. The other two also took out a dagger and held their hoof high. On the mark of Sweetie would they have cut themselves, left the blood stream down and dropped it in the stone bowl.
 
From there, their blood would mix together and become one sort of strange entity. The dark crimson mess would run through the two canals carved to either side of the gate. They kept on bleeding, feeding the gate with their blood while the creaks in the gears were heard. It was working! Their sacrifice would be enough to raise the gate and get in, hopefully.
 
“Yar gonna have to close these cuts, Sweets, ‘cause they ask a lot of blood for us to enter!” Apple Bloom grunted, slicing her hoof open just a bit more. She gritted her teeth to force the pain away.
 
The gate rose higher and higher until it couldn’t go any further. That was the moment where the three stored their daggers again and made their way inside the ominous castle. With the gate open for who knew how long, it was best to hurry up. Which was exactly what they did. With their bleeding hooves would the three hunters make their way inside.


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Now they stood within the walls of the castle and Sweetie charged her horn even more. She held her hoof to her the height of her face and signaled the others to do the same. They did it without a single word to counter and the unicorn would cast the spell to seal the flesh again. It was a light cut, meaning not too much magic was required to close it.
 
Once the light dimmed again, the three of them had a look at their hoof and only saw the scar that they kept because of it. It was maybe better that way, but at least they were inside. And not a moment too soon. The gates would be dropped and pick up speed, only to crash against the stone with their sharp tips. The three looked at it and were just glad to not be caught underneath it.
 
Though it also gave a problem with itself, the sheer fact that everybody in the entire castle now was aware that something or somepony had managed to work their way inside. The guards of the queen could be summoned at any given moment. The fight for their life was about to begin and the three readied themselves. All of the creatures of the undead could swarm to them, wanting to tear them to pieces and end their lives. They had to be ready for any- and everything.
 
Sweetie charged up her magic even more, igniting the torches that stood on either side of the hallway, engulfing the place with light. Apple Bloom took out her bow and readied an arrow while Scootaloo drew her blade.
 
“For the Night Guard,” Sweetie commented while she took a step to the door.
 
“For the Night Guard,” the other two returned to her.
 
There was no going back. The three had reached their point-of-no-return and they were ready to face whomever and whatever lived in the castle. The vampony queen would fall before them and maybe, just maybe, they could make an end to the turmoil that the undead creatures caused for Equestria.
 
Though their arrival to the castle wouldn’t have gone unnoticed, at all. The crashing iron gate would have made sure of that. All of the castle’s residents were aware of the situation and each of them knew that trouble had arrived. They too, would prepare for the fights of their lives.