//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Blood Ties // by Tiny Branch //------------------------------// Three pegasi were sitting on the stone floor of the cave in the mountain they were living in. The cave was furnished and was full of posters of the Wonderbolts. Outside the cave was a large village, population 138, surrounded by sharp rocks. A dark magical aurora trapped the ponies inside. No pony could get in or out. The village was dull, the only colours came from the drepressed ponies held captive in it. Atop the mountain was a castle, as grey as the village. There lived a cruel monster. You could only just spit our his name, Crimson Moon. He was a powerful and power-crazed hippogriff who would daily feed off a random pony’s power with his magical amulet. He and his ‘inner’ ‘circle’ kept the force field working and would beat up the earth ponies when they didn’t give him 1/2 of their crops. The oldest pegasus in the cave was dark emerald green, his mane was a dark violet. He had a scar on his right eye, after Crimson scratched his eye when he tried to refuse to give up his magic. He was blinded in that eye and his other one was a beautiful bright blue. His cutie mark was a lightning bolt behind a silhouette of a scooter. The other adult pegasus was a bright orange, her mane was yellow and red. Her eyes were a beautiful blue, just like the starlit sky out side the cave. Her fur shone in the moonlight, her cutie mark was a blue and purple mist and stars twinkling. She was holding the final pegasus in the room, a younge filly. Her coat was the same beautiful orange as her mother’s. Her mane was was was a brighter than her father’s but it was still the same eyes as his. She was sleep. Her mother was the first to speak,”Scootajade, Scootaloo can’t live her. My friend, Azure Myth still has magic and she is the most powerful unicorn I know. She can send Scoots to Ponyville were we met, to Holiday and Lofty. They will look after her. Jade, it is for her to live a good life.” “Astral Starlight, she is our child. We can’t let her go,” Jade replied. Astral argued,”Yes but if she stays we could lose her still, in a worse way than this. Remember Wild Strikes and Blaze.” Jade sighed, Wild Strikes was a friend they made when they were first captured and taken here. He and a few other ponies were murdered on the spot when they tried to touch the stones, trapping us. Blaze was a friendly colt who was one of the 3 foals chosen every 5 moons to be slaughtered. ”Starlight, you are correct, she can live a life worth living then. Go get Azure, make her teleport Scootaloo to safety.” “Yes, Jade. I will,” they smiled as they say hope for their young one. Astral went to the entrance of the cave and walked down the stairs going down the mountain to the rest of the village. Jade looked around the cave, he went and packed a few things into a hot air ballon’s basket. He firstly put a pillow and Scootaloo on it next to it. He put her favourite blanket on her as she slept. He found his old limited addition scooter he rode when he was a colt, he put it in. He put his old helmet in for safety’s sake too. Then he found his signed photo of Wind Rider, a photo of the Sonic Rainboom, a photo of him and Astral on their Wedding. He put them all in. He got out of of his Wonderbolts photo’s. Then he got a bunch of photos of one of Astral besties in college, Rainbow Dash. All her other photos were lost. Then he wrote a letter to Lofty and Holiday. Dear Lofty Sis, I hope you and Holiday can look after me and Starlight’s child, Scootaloo. Were are trapped in a place were we cannot live a happy life. Let Scoots live a happy one, tell her that we are dead, or have been thought to be dead. Ok, I hope she lives a happy life. Remember her birthday is the 21rst of May. Love Scootajade. Astral continued down the mountain and walked slowly to Azure’s house. Nighttime was the only time foals were aloud out side and she saw to fillies playing with a ball and smiled, hoping they wouldn’t be chosen for slaughter. The nice thing about Azure was she lived very near to the edge of the mountain. I had and idea, I may have lost my power to fly for now, but I could glide down if I spread my wings enough. Then I jumped off, I worked! I was gliding down the mountain. This was the most alive I felt since me and Jade conceived Scootaloo. Then I dived down and up again then glided down to Azure Myth’s house. I landed by her doormat. I knocked on her door,”Azure, ready to pit your magic to the test?” A pink pony with a whiteand green mane opened the door. Her eyes were green and her cutie mark was three green stars,”Yes Star, I guess he finally agreed?” “Yup, firstly can you tel-a-port us to our cave? Bet ya can’t?” I chuckled. “Ha! I can! And I love a challenge!” she shouted as she stared to form a little aurora around her horn then it exploded and we were back in our cave,”Told ya I could!” We walked over to Scootaloo,”Astral, you sure?” Jade had a worried look on his face as he said it. “Yes, before we change our minds. Do it NOW Azure! Goodbye my little star!” I shouted. Azure lit her horn again with it’s green aurora and exploded. Scootaloo was the first to leave this prison. The explosion had woken Crimson from his slumber. He used the magic he had consumed and teleported here. He shouted,”Who was practicing powerful magic!?” He had a angry expression. His claws were extended, his beak was open wide, he was wearing the amulet on his chest and a dark aurora was escaping it. His red and black feathered mane looked menacing. His bloodstained white feathered fur was rugged and full of ash. His beak was as black as the night but still managed to shine. “Me,” Azure said and was completely submissive when he took her magic, she already had done all the good she could in this hell of a place. She fell to the fall as we ran to her, never had a pony fallen like that, they may of been wobbly on their hooves but something like that had never happened. She got up, aleast she wasn’t dead but then fell again. Eventually she got up and stayed on her hooves,”There! You have taken my magic! Now leave!” “Holiday? What is this?” asked a pony. “I don’t know Lofty, all I know that it is a foal and it has a letter, you can read it,” replied Holiday. “Ok,” Lofty replied,”Ok, it says,Dear Lofty. Sis, I hope you and Holiday can look after me and Starlight’s child, Scootaloo. Were are trapped in a place were we cannot live a happy life. Let Scoots live a happy one, tell her that we are dead, or have been thought to be dead. Ok, I hope she lives a happy life. Remember her birthday is the 21rst of May. Love Scootajade.” “They are alive!” shouted Holiday. “I am as happy as you, but now we have a child to look after, let us make them proud.”