Scarlet Mane's Diary, Entry 1: The Curse of Scarlet Mane

by Madame Minty

Exploration

They couldn't find Blasting Boom nor follow Melody.

"What do we do now?" asked Cinnamon Cream.

"There's only one thing we can do," replied Moonbeam, "find the source of this mayhem!"

"So... what are we looking for," asked Joy, "exactly?"

"I don't know, perhaps..." Moon paused and picked up her cat, Chewie. "I might be just paranoid at the moment," she admitted, "but there's something really weird about Chewer. I can't put my hoof on it."

"Don't mind the silly rabbit now," said annoyed Cinny.

"You're right," said Moon as she put her pet on the ground again. He looked at her, growled with what sounded like annoyance and ran away.

"No, Chewie, go back," she yelled as she chased him, Cinnamon Cream and Jelly Joy following. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a damaged wooden fence to what was once a garden, presently filled with strange vines and bushes. She squinted her eyes—there was a piece of fuchsia and prim hair on a thorn. "This is it!" she exclaimed and continued the gallop.

Very soon they all found themselves in front of a stone fortress... floating in the air, similarly to slabs of granite which formed the stairs. There was a mark of somepony's fall on the ground and Chewie flying about and flapping his wings.

"That is most peculiar... really odd stairs. Let's go inside. Don't read anything aloud!" warned Moon.

Moments later she realized what were the ghosts she saw before. Now there were ponies, unicorns and pegasi, all murmuring something indecipherable and facing the same direction. When they got close they entered a pompously decorated chamber with beautiful bright red wall coverings and stained glass windows on the white marble walls which seemed to go up forever. In the middle there were magnificent circular marble stairs leading up to a majestic throne. Two impossibly black crystals were floating by its sides, bending the light around them in an astonishing way. On the throne itself sat a grand rose white winged unicorn with an image of a sanguine triquetra on her flank, her incredible crimson mane swimming in the air and her eyes closed. Several ponies that were standing on the stairs were whispering something to her. She was subtly smiling.

"That is so..." whispered Cinnamon Cream.

"Fantastic!" said Jelly Joy.

"Magical!" corrected Moonbeam.

"Ominous," finished Cinnamon Cream.

Moon's sight fell on the incredibly intricate windows which, one by one, depicted a small red-maned unicorn crying alone, traveling through mysterious lands and finding the black crystals. Moon wondered about it for a while. But they weren't there to admire sights.

"The crystals! They must give the sorceress her power!" shouted Joy.

"Sssh, she isn't aware of us," hissed Moon, but it was too late. Everypony stopped whispering at once. The great figure have risen and opened her torch red eyes.

"Scarlet Mane is not pleased," she bellowed. "Cease them!"

Flapping wings could be heard as Blasting Boom rose on her bright pink wings, hooves and back covered in black armor. Her emerald and conifer mane was almost completely concealed by a horned helmet, from beneath which a pair of golden eyes filled with hate were staring directly at Moonbeam.