Crimson Tail was not happy at the orders Grey Hoof had given them. She really wanted to get rid of the human…really, really bad. Why Grey Hoof would want to have a violent two legged coatless being part of Sunny Town was beyond her. Was the fact that he just got rid of six of their friends enough evidence that he wasn't worth the effort of friendship?
"He isn't worth it, but then again the Alicorn did get rid of one of our friends too…maybe Grey Hoof is right. Perhaps he is or can be a good friend…but…"
"Crimson Tail." spoke Blood Clop as he woke up another Blood Hoof sleeping in his resting hole.
Crimson Tail immediately snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Blood Clop. He appeared to be worried for her as he had a concerned look on his face, while his handsome crimson eyes pierced hers. Looking to the side and breaking contact, she replied to him in a soft tone that she hadn't used since her old life.
"Yes Blood Clop?"
"I can tell you are troubled about something…I'm here for you. You can tell me." said Blood Clop as he touched the head of a sleeping Blood Hoof. The Blood Hoof that Blood Clop woke up slowly rose from the ground making the usual noise.
"RRRRRGGGHHHHH!"
Crimson Tail didn't know who this particular Blood Hoof was as she still didn't get to know all of the Blood Hooves due to the fact that there was a limited amount of time before the cycle ended. Sunny Town had many Blood Hooves resting from last year's party, and a good portion had decided to skip this year's party. This was primarily due to the fact that many of the former ponies were still not used to their forms, thus requiring more regeneration time.
It was a shame that they would be required to miss some parties, but this year's party wasn't quite turning out so well. In fact, she really wanted to just dance and muzzle up with Blood Clop, not spend time trying to catch the human…alive.
"It's just…this year's party isn't turning out the way I had planned. I just want to have fun and be with our friends back at Sunny Town. Now, we're trying to catch the 'human'…"
Crimson Tail spat the word human out with intense disgust, that even a blood hoof would find pretty evil, that is if they understood real evil. Blood Clop took note of this and turned his attention back to the Blood Hoof, who was just staring in confusion at what Crimson Tail was talking about.
"Meet the others at the Sunny Town main entrance, all will be explained in a few minutes." Said Blood Clop.
The Blood Hoof stallion just nodded and slowly walked over towards the town entrance. Crimson Tail could hear him mumble,
"I hope this is going to be good, I'm still tired from last year."
Blood Clop then turned his attention back to Crimson Tail and said,
"I understand how you feel Crimson Tail. I'm not quite fond of this human either, but he needs to be shown real friendship or else Sunny Town could be in real danger. I love this place too much to see harm come to it."
"Then why don't we just kill the human and be done with it!?" responded Crimson Tail with frustration and stomping on the ground with her front right hoof.
"Grey Hoof knows what he is doing Crimson Tail. You need to know that friendship comes from anypony, whether they are a pony or not. The Alicorn killed one of our friends too, if you remember correctly, but I don't see any anger being projected towards her from you. Does that seem fair to you?"
Now Crimson Tail was feeling rather guilty. Blood Clop did have a point the Alicorn Princess did indeed kill a friend. Lowering her head in shame, she responded rather remorseful,
"No…it isn't fair for anypony, even the human. Scab Flank was a friend too and he will be missed. I just…I just wanted to make a new friend like you had with me. It's hard being one of the few mares in this town and most of them are busy resting, and I have none that I can relate to at the moment. I mean…it can't be all stallions having fun right?"
Crimson Tail looked at Blood Clop with a weak smile projecting a genuine attempt of light humor in her reasoning. Blood Clop just started for a second before returning a smile of his own.
"Ahh, I see…you want a mare to chit chat with. Heh, mares and their small talk."
"Hey! That's not funny you know." Replied Crimson Tail with a small giggle and giving a very weak hoof push at Blood Clop.
He simply just pretended to be hurt, as if her little hoof push did damage.
"I understand what you mean Crimson Tail, and don't worry you'll make a friend yet. But…"
"Yes?"
"You need to pay attention and be careful this time. You almost perished back there earlier, and I don't want that to happen again. Heck, you were lucky that he didn't hit you in the body or the head for that matter with his weapon. I can't bear to loose…you not when you and I just have…"
Crimson Tail's heart was fluttering at the moment of his obvious care for her and she found it most romantic. Before he could finish, she instantly moved in and muzzle kissed him.
"I don't want to lose you either my Stallion. I have yet to dance with you!"
Slowly moving back to her original position she locked eyes with him, and saw the look on his face rather hilarious. It was almost as if his eyes were made of little crimson hearts, and his mouth was still open. She giggled and hoof pushed him again, and said,
"Hello! Crimson Tail to Blood Clop, anypony home?"
Blood Clop shook his head, recomposed himself and spoke,
"Well…that was unexpected."
"That was the point 'my' Stallion."
Crimson Tail saw his eyes widen at the emphasis of the word 'my' and his smile just got even bigger. He continued to speak again, and said,
"Well, 'my' Mare…love aside we need to be careful if we are going to pull this off. They may be in a bad position, but they could still surprise us and with Ruby on the loose, the risk might be just as great as it was before. Our main problem will be to get across the river. There is a bridge that leads to an old looking castle ruin and they most likely will take shelter there, at least that is what I would do in their situation."
"So what you're saying is that we need to just cross the bridge fast and over power them?"
"That would be a good strategy, if it weren't the most obvious one. They most likely will cut the bridge, and if they do, we will simply make another one with Three Leaf's tools. We will have to be very careful, that 'hu-man' has a long range weapon and if he sees us making a bridge far across the river, he'll just hit us with it. We'll have to do something about that, but we'll come up with a solution when the time comes."
Crimson Tail was very impressed at this cleverness and improvisation skills. She wouldn't want to play a game of chess with him if she did, for he would undoubtedly win every time. With his skilled mind and rather fit body she might add, the human definitely wouldn't stand a chance. He and more importantly, the Alicorn, would be their friend by the end of the night.
"And what a good party it will be! I can't wait now!"
"When this is over Blood Clop, you're going to get a 'special' dance." Said Crimson Tail in a seductive tone.
Blood Clop simply raise his eye brow as if silently saying, 'Oh really?', and replied,
"Well…I can't wait to see It." in a sly tone.
Crimson Tail then slowly walked past him and slightly swayed her left flank close to his face and thought,
"Here's a little taste for you...my Stallion".
Blood Clop then turned around getting a good look at her 'plot, and walked up beside her as they went forward to wake up more blood hooves. Crimson Tail couldn't but help wonder about the details of the human that Blood Clop saw earlier in the day. Curious about the supposed 'scared' human, she decided to ask him,
"Blood Clop, you saw the human earlier today didn't you?"
Blood Clop slightly tensed up, and said,
"Yes I did, I saw him when he first killed Necro Hoof, his family and when he took the Alicorn Princess with him. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious about our new friends that we are going to make."
Blood Clop looked at her with his right eye brow raised, smiled and replied,
"Ah, you want to know more about the Alicorn eh?"
"Her mostly and the human, not so much. What do you know about them? I mean, you saw them and observed them close up. What were they like?" asked Crimson Tail.
Blood Clop stopped and Crimson Tail did the same as he raised his left hoof to his chin wondering how to describe them. He looked at her and spoke of what he knew,
"Well, I did happen to catch their names…"
"Yes and…"
"Well, the Alicorn is indeed a Princess, and her name is Princess Luna. She also has the mark I might add, although it's different from Ruby's."
"A mark? We'll we can take care of that problem real quick. So Luna is her name, she'll be an interesting friend to talk to."
"I think you two will get along just fine when you've given her the gift, and for the hu-man…"
"Why do you say it like 'hu-man'? It's pronounced 'human'."
Blood Clop chuckled and said,
"Heh, defending the human huh?"
"What?! No! I mean I'm just telling you-"
"It's a joke my lovely Mare."
"Oh well…continue please."
Blood Clop cleared his throat and spoke,
"Well, as I was saying, I saw them earlier when the 'human'-"
Crimson Tail slightly giggled at his correction and continued to listen while he spoke.
"-killed Necro Hoof and his family. The human was very arrogant and acted as if he was above anypony."
Crimson Tail gave an expression of disgust when he mentioned that that human acted as if he were above a pony. Blood Clop noticed this and continued,
"Yes I know my Mare, anyway, Necro Hoof offered to give him the gift, and the human just said he was evil and killed him right there with his red clawed weapon and used a vile phrase, 'You can go fuck yourself!".
Crimson Tail glared even more angry and snorted in anger at the remark.
"So he pushed away Necro Hoof and his family and threw away a wonderful gift of friendship!? How barbaric!"
"Blood Clop, what does the word 'fuck' mean?" asked Crimson Tail who was angry what the human said.
"I don't know what it means really, but it can't be friendly at all. I can only guess that it's the human version of the verb 'buck'. Whatever it means, it certainly was rude and uncalled for. I did catch his name though."
Now Crimson Tail was even more curious at what this human was called.
"I wonder if human names are like pony names…probably not, but if they aren't then we'll just have to give him a 'fitting' new one when he is given the gift."
"So the human does have a name…what is it?"
Blood Clop tensed up and expressed an uncharacteristic look of hate on his face that intimidated Crimson Tail, though she knew it was towards the human. She spoke in a cold tone, and said,
"His name is Konrad Ford."
Crimson Tail was silent for a few seconds, thinking about the human's name.
"Konrad Ford? What they hay does that name mean? What's a 'Ford' mean? His name is…"
Crimson Tail then started to laugh with her raspy, crude voice that came with being a Blood Hoof. Blood Clop snapped out of his cold demeanor and looked at Crimson Tail with a puzzle look on his face. He asked Crimson Tail,
"What's so funny?"
"It's his name…it's so silly! It doesn't mean anything! It's just meaningless! Hahahahah!"
The Blood Clop started to laugh to with his own unique Blood Hoof voice. They both just stood there laughing their flanks off at the ridiculousness of his name. Blood Clop then added more fuel to the laughter fire by saying,
"Wait! That's not all!"
Crimson Tail was struggling to stop laughing in order to hear Blood Clop some more and after a few seconds, she managed to do so.
"The best part was when he interacted with Princess Luna!"
Blood Clop definitely had Crimson Tail's attention now, as she really wanted to know how 'Konrad' acted towards Princess Luna. Crimson Tail eagerly asked him,
"Yes! Please tell me more!"
"Well…" Blood Clop took a breath and continued, "…he acted as if Princess Luna was the most beautiful Mare he had ever seen! He got down on one of his legs, and said I quote, "Greetings Oh Princess Luna of Equestria! I am in awe of your nightly beauty, for it is as rare in my land, as is the wondrous sight of a blue moon! Even this dreadful night of darkness and demons, cannot extinguish your wonderful elegance, grace and nightly mane shine! The pleasure is all mine."
Blood Clop even tried acting out the quote for an extra comedic effect and picked up Crimson Tail's hoof and kissed it. Crimson Tail went wide eyed and cracked up in the very same manor that Rainbow Dash did in the first episode.
"KSSH…KSHH…BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Crimson Tail falling on the ground.
Blood Clop just watched her and laughed to for a good few seconds until Crimson Tail recovered and got back up. He stood back up and Crimson Tail asked him,
"What was her reaction?"
"Oh goodness! Please tell me she rejected his advance right on the spot."
Blood Clop then had a look of disgust on his face and said,
"Well, it appears the human has the powers of swag with him. She didn't say anything to him, too enthralled at his 'compliment' but rather she blushed and stared into his eyes. To tell you the truth, if the Princess genuinely found him attractive, then I guess she hasn't seen any good looking stallions where she is from. I mean she was practically gushing at him!"
This disgusted Crimson Tail greatly to think that any Mare, an Alicorn especially, could find a human attractive, was rather well…just plain wrong and silly.
"Heck, how could they even dance or…mate?"
Crimson Tail shuddered a bit at the thought of those two together and said,
"It appears she needs help Blood Clop, or at least just has a very bad taste in males. What could she possibly see in him?"
Blood Clop just pony shrugged and said,
"Heh, I don't know but that's their business, not ours. The only business that is our business is giving them the gift of Sunny Town."
"Yes, I suppose your right, hey wait a minute…we need to think of giving them names when we convert them!"
Blood Clop pondered for a second or two with his hoof again hip to his jaw and said,
"Yes…your right. I guess you can give Luna a new name while I give Konrad a new one."
Crimson Tail thought for about ten seconds before she finally came up with a new name for Princess Luna.
"I know…I'll call her Princess Night Flesh."
Blood Clop gave her a smile and said,
"That's actually a good one. I like it."
"Well…" asked Crimson Tail.
"Well what?"
"What name are you going to give Konrad?"
"Hmmm…I'll name him…Reaper's Hand."
"Reaper's Hand? That's…odd."
"I know but for some reason, that's what pops into my head when I see him. He doesn't have hooves and everything he shoots with that strange weapon just well…gets reaped. Except you my lovely mare, you're really tough and fine shaped." Said Blood Clop while running hoof over one of her flanks.
"Ohh…that I like, but we got some friends to make remember?" said Crimson Tail while enjoying the touch of Blood Clop.
"Geez Blood Clop, at least wait until we're done getting Konrad and Princess Luna."
Blood Clop then ceased touching her flank and had a look of surprise on his face. He then spoke to her,
"Hey, didn't Grey Hoof say something about a filly?"
"Yes…he did. What was her name anyway?" replied Crimson Tail.
"I think he said something about Apple Blossom, or…no it was Apple Bloom. I remember him talking about her earlier."
"Well, I think I we can call her…Poison Apple."
"Yes Crimson Tail, now that is a good name for her."
"I think that will suit her just fine. It would seem that you'll a little filly to talk to now."
"Yes, more mares to enjoy the party. Us mares can't let all the Stallions have fun now can we?"
Blood Clop just chuckled and said,
"There will always be enough party to go around. It is after all thrown by Grey Hoof now isn't it?"
"Yes, it is now how many more should we wake up?"
Blood Clop then looked around the various resting places of the Blood Hooves and said,
"Just a few more, I still don't think we'll need to wake up all of them."
"Sounds good, my stallion and say come to think about it…"
"Yes Crimson Tail?" asked Blood Clop.
"If Princess Night Flesh and Reaper's Hand do become mates…wouldn't it be hilarious to watch them dance?"
"Heheh, you know that's what I thought when I saw them. And if they do become mates, then maybe they could adopt Poison Apple and what a family they will be!"
Then both Blood Clop and Crimson Tail just laughed together in their creepy Blood Hoof voices before walking off to wake a up a few more blood hooves.
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Twilight Sparkle was not having a good night at all, not in the slightest. First the loss, no, the temporary missing status of Apple Bloom, then being chased by the scariest of all tales in Equestrian lore called Blood Hooves, and now the possible status of Princess Luna being ponynapped was definitely topping off all of the previous incidents she had ever encountered. Twilight was extremely worried about Apple Bloom, for the tale of the Bloody Hooves were terrible, and the thought of Apple Bloom becoming one of them…
"No! She isn't one of them, not until I actually see it. Oh Celestia! Please be safe Apple Bloom! I can only hope Princess Luna isn't in the same predicament as you."
Twilight Sparkle was brought back to reality as the Serpent was near Ponyville but still not within trotting distance. He had gone particularly slowly when they passed the bog but carried on anyway. It was good thing he didn't stop to complain about the bog, for she would have gone insane if he had stopped there. As soon as she got back to the library, she would have to wake Spike up, assuming he went to be already which most likely he did not, she would have him send an immediate letter to Princess Celestia.
"This is going to be one bucked up letter. "Dear Princess Celestia,
Pardon the lateness of the letter, but Applejack's sister Apple Bloom, has been taken by Blood Hooves. Yes, you read that right and I was almost killed by them too, and by the way, there is a strange creature that apparently has taken your sister Princess Luna captive. Other than that all is well. Would you send some help please? That would be great.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
"This isn't supposed to happen! This isn't what is supposed to be in Equestria, it's impossible! I'm going to snap, I'm going to snap, I'm going…"
"AAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Twilight at the top of her lungs.
"Oh dear! Whatever is the matter Miss?" asked the serpent.
Twilight just couldn't take it anymore, as the Serpents obliviousness was the last straw for the stressed mare.
"WHAT IS THE MATTER?! I JUST LEFT MY FRIEND'S SISTER ALL BY HERSELF IN THE FOREST WHEN I'M SUPPOSED TO WATCH OVER HER AND NOW A NEW CREATURE HAS PONY NAPPED MY MENTOR'S SISTER! THIS IS ALL TERRIBLE, THIS IS ALL TERRIBLE! THIS IS-"
"The end of the river my troubled Unicorn, we are here!" said the serpent as if Twilight's rant meant nothing.
Twilight Sparkle was now sporting her stressed look, clearly showing that she was close to breaking down even further. She slowly turned her head to the Serpent, while shaking in anxiety, who reeled back in fear at the creepy sight,
"Ah! My dear, I know all is not well with you, but if you are to do anything for your friends, you will need to get off and go seek help. You did say your brother was a strapping young Captain of the Guard did you not?"
Twilight was just staring endlessly at the serpent and only snapped out at the mention of her BBF, also known as Big Brother Best Friend Forever. She really was wishing that Shining Armor was here, for he would know what to do.
"Brother…where are you when I need you!?"
Twilight then felt a few claws on her shoulder and noticed that it was the Serpent who was looking into her eyes with sympathy.
"My dear little pony, your friends need you and you need to get help, which you can't do while standing here. I'm sure that whatever those vile beings are out their can't stand a chance against the might of the Royal Guard. Now please go."
Shaking out of her anxiety, her face was now replaced with determination while stepping off the Serpent. Twilight simply said,
"Thank you for your help."
"No problem my dear, now…go get the ruffians for me!" said the Serpent in a melodramatic gesture of defiance.
"Umm okay, and thank you again sir!" replied Twilight as she ran towards the library to get Spike.
"Please call me-", said the Serpent whose voice was out of Twilight's hearing range. Twilight Sparkle was now booking it as fast as she could, and she was starting to wonder what Spike had done this entire time.
"I know you did your chores Spike, and you better not have gotten into trouble while I've been gone, I have enough to do right now."
The library was in view now and she ran even faster towards it passing Sugarcube Corner and Lyra's house. Twilight then made a mental note to retrieve the spell book from her when this was all over.
"Just what they hay could that other evil, disharmonious creature be to possibly overpower Princess Luna?"
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Ruby, after running fast along the river, had finally found Konrad and Apple Bloom. She was resting in his strange carriage sound asleep. Breathing a sigh of relief, she continued to look at Apple Bloom's rescuer.
"I knew he would save her, and not only is he…attractive, he definitely is caring. I really want to meet him now, but how do I approach myself? My ghostly appearance doesn't exactly help me, considering my encounter with…'her'."
Ruby was still mad at Princess Luna for attacking her, and the magic attacks really made her angry. It was bad enough to be a ghost, but it was even worse when your body acted as if it was alive, and the magic attacks were a definite reminder of Ruby's current state.
Ruby could see Konrad looking around the area for something, most likely the Blood Hooves. She was afraid that he had spotted her as her eyes had a ghostly yellow glow and she was looking directly at his eyes. He still had the rag cover on and she wondered why he even had it on. For what seemed like an eternity, he lowered his hand that had the small weapon from earlier, and he turned his attention back to the carriage.
"Phew! That was close I thought he saw me for a second. Now why does he have that rag on still and what is the purpose of it? It must be a human thing."
Konrad was looking the back of his carriage and ran his free hand on the back of it touching some strange square shaped sign that appeared to have some weird looking letters. He didn't seem particularly pleased at what he saw, as she heard Konrad make a grunt noise that voiced some sort of disapproval. After looking around the carriage one more time, he opened the back of it and Ruby was surprised to see that it was some sort of door.
Ruby could tell that the others were doors only because they were opened. The back one was very flush and streamlined that nopony would have been able to tell what it was, unless they were up close of course. Konrad was shuffling his arms around in the back as if he were reaching for something and after a good few seconds he pulled out a brown towel. It appeared to be nothing special other than a towel, and Ruby was disappointed as she was expecting something more exotic in his hands.
"I have to admit it looks like he could some very interesting 'things' with them. I wonder if he really does find mares attractive. I mean I don't know what a human female is called but…"
If Ruby's face could blush like the sun, Konrad would have seen it. She was starting to feel dirty thinking about being with a human, but then she remembered that she was entitled so some happiness.
"Like I've thought before, to pony heck if anypony has a problem with it! He's taken care of Apple Bloom, and killed Blood Hooves! That makes him a stallion in my mind, and what the hay is he going to do with that towel?"
Ruby's question was answered as he made his way over the opening of the carriage, where Apple Bloom was resting after closing the back door gently. She observed Konrad as he gently put the towel over her, making sure that it was snug and comfortable. If there was anything that made Ruby thing more highly of him, it was this.
"DAWWW! That so sweet of him! Now I have to meet him! He his such a gentlecolt and maybe something more…"
Ruby couldn't but help slightly hoof stomp the ground in excitement as meeting Konrad. Every second that passed, she liked him more and more. Remembering that she needed to be quiet, she stopped stomping and continued to watch Konrad. He moved onto the front of the carriage to another door ahead of the one Apple Bloom was in.
It appeared that he was looking for something, but couldn't quite tell what it could be. She heard him breathe sigh a relief, apparently whatever he was looking for was very important. He backed out of the carriage and was standing sideways holding something in his hands. It was a small black square shaped object, and he was very fixated it.
Ruby had no idea what it possibly could be, and was surprised at what it did next. With a couple of strokes of his fingers, it lit up like a candle! The square box was now glowing rapidly and Konrad just kept tapping away at it. Ruby really wanted to get close to see what it was, but she still didn't know how approach him.
"What could that thing he have possibly be? I mean I can tell it's not magic and what is it for any way? The only thing it seems to be doing is giving off and light noth-"
Ruby was then interrupted by something nopony could possibly have foreseen. The box in his hand started to shout as if it were alive! Well, more like very loud and forceful singing, the words were much jumbled and the pitch drastically changed every half second. The box also rapid blinked and flashed at the same time the voice sang or yelled.
Ruby slightly jumped at the sudden outburst coming from the box and it appeared that Konrad did the same too. He dropped the box on the carriage floor and immediately went to grab it
"What the hay was that?! And why is that box doing that? Is it a music box of some sort? It would seem it needs some fine tuning. Thought the melody is interesting despite the oddness, and the voice sounds like a very weird mare."
Konrad was now violently tapping the box, as if he was trying to get it to stop singing. Ruby then saw Apple Bloom turn slightly and say,
"UUUHHH….Apple Jack?"
"Huh, Apple Jack? It that a sister of hers? She must be confused at the sound for I know I am."
Then with one final tap on the box, Konrad managed to get it to stop and silence filled the area. Ruby could still observe both of them, as Apple Bloom was getting up a little bit by raising her head. It appeared that Apple Bloom couldn't see Ruby as well, and neither could Konrad as he took the front of his head cover off.
This definitely caught Ruby's attention as she only saw a brief glimpse of his face earlier in the day and at a much longer distance. His finer facial features were of a definite interest to her, and she really wanted to get up close to him. Ruby continued to watch in anticipation of Konrad going to talk to Apple Bloom.
"Well, now to see what he is like as a pony, I mean, human"
Konrad's back was turned towards Ruby and her view of Apple Bloom was barely visible. Although a bit disappointed at the view, she continued to observe. Then Konrad spoke to Apple Bloom with a very friendly tone, one that was genuine unlike the Blood Hooves.
"Hello young filly, my name is Konrad Ford. As you probably know, I am a human, and I aim to get you home safe and sound. Trust me, you will see your family again, and if any of those Blood Hooves have a problem with it…well, let's just say you'll never see them again."
"So his name is Konrad Ford? What does 'Ford' mean? In fact, I don't understand his whole name at all. But it sounds very interesting, I want to know more. Okay, Apple Bloom, please give him a chance, I wouldn't have sent you to him without a good reason."
With the little bit of view of Apple Bloom that Ruby could see, she had a look of worry on her face. Ruby was starting to fear that Apple Bloom would freak out and try to buck Konrad, though it was obvious she wouldn't win the fight it did come to that. And if it did indeed come to that, she would definitely have to intervene and hope for the best.
"His weapons look like they would hurt more than magic and it's a good thing nopony will ever see those other Blood Hooves ever again. Still, I hope she'll react better than Princess Luna did."
Fortunately for Ruby, it indeed didn't come to that as Apple Bloom's reaction was a positive one.
"Hi there! Mah name's Apple Bloom and Ah'm sorry for getting scared at you earlier."
Ruby noticed Apple Bloom extended her hoof and that Konrad shook it in a friendly manner. The made Ruby breath a small sigh of relief, and she continued to observe and listen to them.
"Oh thank goodness that came out well. I should have met him first instead of that spoiled Princess Luna! She doesn't deserve his presence. Wait a minute...she was scared of him earlier? Well, his head rag doesn't exactly help his appearance."
With negative thought about Princess Luna aside, she heard Konrad reply,
"I don't blame you Apple Bloom I would have been scared too if I had been in your situation. Now, are you hungry by any chance?" asked Konrad.
Apple Bloom smiled as asked Konrad,
"Ah sure am! Do you have any cupcakes?"
Ruby then noticed Konrad tense up and shudder a bit. Even though he was not a pony, emotions are pretty easy to read and since Ruby was good at finding things, it was obvious to her he wasn't comfortable.
"He doesn't like cupcakes? Why nopony I know of or at least formerly knew, ever hated cupcakes. He must have his reasons."
Ruby got her answer when the conversation continued with Apple Bloom asking,
"What's wrong? Don't you like cupcakes?" Asked Apple Bloom.
"No I do it's just…that word reminded me of something that kinda of ruined them for me for a while back. And no I don't have any cupcakes, but I got pop tarts if that's okay for you."
"Ah don't know what pop tarts are but Ah can sure go for some."
"I don't know what pop tarts are either Apple Bloom; I would like to have one too. Can I even eat food? Now that I think of it, ever since I've been a ghost, and can feel pain, can I still eat for food for the hay of it?"
Now Ruby was thinking of food for the first time in 100 years. Since all she ever did was run from the Blood Hooves, this was actually the first time since her death that she ever got a break. She never actually got the chance to make a new friend, and see something new and interesting at the same time. Besides from making peace with her mom, and meeting Apple Bloom, this was actually turning out to be a good night due to him.
"Well maybe not for them, but at least I get to see something that's actually good for a change. I'm tired of this nightmare and I don't want nopony to ever experience it. Now what does this 'pop tart' look like?"
"I think you'll like them, but be warned they aren't homemade. And if you're thirsty I got some water too, it might not be punch, but it should do for now."
Apple Bloom visibly cringed at the mention of the word punch and Ruby knew exactly why too. Three Leaf every year made a punch from left over parts of ponies that refused the gift or had proven to have a 'lack of party spirit' as Grey Hoof put it. Whenever she had been caught, beaten and abused by the Blood Hooves during a cycle, they would sometimes make Ruby watch Three Leaf devour and make a punch out of the so called 'Party Poopers'. It was truly as disgusting sight and Apple Bloom no doubt had seen the terrible mix.
"Poor filly, I understand your pain, and disgust at that word. Could he have had a similar experience with cupcakes? Pony feathers! I hope there aren't any Blood Hooves, I mean Blood Hands where he is from."
It was this point that Konrad grabbed her right hoof and began to gently massage it with his strange hand. He must have seen her reaction and was currently attempting to calm her down. Even though he didn't speak yet, Ruby could tell that he was saying to her,
"I'm here for you…that is what he means. Oh Konrad, you're such a gentlecolt! I wonder what his facial expression is like right now. Darn this angle!"
"Are you okay Apple Bloom?" spoke Konrad.
"Oh now it's just…when you said punch, it reminded me of something bad Ah saw not too long ago." Replied Apple Bloom with a down look on her face.
"I knew it…darn you Three Leaf!"
Konrad seemed to notice this and let go of her hoof, and then he did something Ruby didn't expect…to laugh!
"Is he laughing? What could possibly funny?"
"Hehehe, well I think you and I are going to get along Apple Bloom, now how about those pop tarts eh?" said Konrad while holding out his hand that was curled up.
Ruby had no idea what this gesture meant, but it appeared that Apple Bloom seemed to. Ruby observed Apple Bloom hold her right hoof out and made contact with his hand. The next moment was going to very cute for Ruby.
"BOOM! Now that's what I'm talking about!" said Konrad.
Apple Bloom then smiled and giggled a little bit, giving off an innocent look of happiness for a just a split second.
"DAWWW! Another sweet moment!"
Ruby couldn't but help hoof stomp again in slight excitement at the sight in front of her. Remembering again that she was hiding, the stomping ceased and Ruby listened for his reply.
"Wait here Apple Bloom I'm going to get the food in the back of the truck."
"Truck?" asked Apple Bloom with a confused look on her face.
"Oh, I mean the carriage you are in. We have them all over the place where I'm from. You're in the back seat right now, and those two front seats are the front passenger and the one on the left is the driver's seat. Well…here I am boring you about this ponyless carriage, you don't want to hear about that, you want food am I right?" asked Konrad.
"You're right about that Mister Ford."
"Hey just call me Konrad, only my work buddies call me by my last name."
"Uh okay Mist-Ah uh mean Konrad!" replied Apple Bloom giving off an innocent smile.
He then made a strange gesture with one of his hands and said, "Eay!"
"So it's called a truck huh? Strange named to call it that, and how does he sit in those seats? They don't look right for a pony. And what does 'Eay' mean? Oh well, now I get to see Konrad's face a bit better."
Ruby observed Konrad turned towards the back of the 'truck' and he had a smile on his face. It was actually more of a smile, it was one of…excitement?
"I guess he finds Apple Bloom cute since she is a nice filly. I just wonder what he will think of me…I do like his smile."
Konrad then opened the back door using his hand on some sort of latch. Ruby found it very interesting how his hands worked as they seem to be able to do more than what a plain hoof could do. He then reached in the back, looking for something, and shuffled things around a bit. While he was doing this, she then looked at Apple Bloom. Her bow was still a mess and her mane was a little bit wet but had dried off a bit due to his brown towel. She was looking around in his tuck, curious of the details and above all she wasn't frowning any more like earlier.
Then Konrad pulled out a strange brown container that had some words on it. Ruby couldn't make out what the words were but guess that they probably said food or something. Using his hands, he ripped the opening of the strange container and pulled out something else that caught her eye. It was a shiny rectangle shaped object that was covering something. He opened it up in the same manner as he did with the brown container and pulled out the strangest looking pasty she had ever seen.
The shape was a rectangle shortbread with a very weird looking white frosting, and weird sprinkles. Despite it looking odd, Ruby was starting to want one.
"That actually looks good, but I think I'll let Apple Bloom be the judge of that."
Konrad then made his way back to over to Apple Bloom with the 'pop tart' in hand. He again turned his back to Ruby and her view of Apple Bloom was once again slightly cut off. He handed her the treat and Apple Bloom quickly hoofed it away, and began to devour it really fast.
"Wow, she must really be hungry or the treat must really be good…maybe both."
After Apple Bloom got done with the treat, she looked at Konrad, and appeared confused. Ruby still couldn't see Konrad's face from this angle and had to pretty much guess what his expression looked like. Apple Bloom then asked,
"What's wrong Konrad?"
He simply just shook his head left to right and replied,
"Nothing Apple Bloom it's just I have never seen anyone chow down on those that fast before. Would you like a another one?"
"YES PLEASE! Ah, uh mean, yes please and thank you!" said Apple Bloom.
She simply gave him a smile and he replied,
"Now that's what I want to see, all smiles and nothing else. I'll get you some more real quick, just wait here." Said Konrad as he went to the back of the truck to get more.
Ruby now had a high opinion of Konrad, as he was not only caring, but he seemed like a rather nice gentlecolt. Since he appeared to be in a good mood, and that Apple Bloom was okay, Ruby decided that now was the time to reveal herself to Konrad. Taking one better look at Apple Bloom who had a smile on her face, she slowly made her way over towards the back of the truck.
Konrad's back was currently facing her again, and he was shuffling around the back of the truck. As Ruby got closer, she noticed that there were several items scattered about. There were things such as: two wooden crates with letters and numbers, clothes and a towel scattered, more of the brown containers that had some food in it, and a green bag of some sort that appeared to have held the clothes.
"That's a lot of stuff and I guess humans must have to wear clothes all the time. It would make sense considering he doesn't have a coat…only smooth…nice skin. I would like to help keep him warm, he looks all cold, wet and-"
While Ruby was admiring Konrad's appearance so much that she was unaware that she was walking close to him…too close to see that she walking straight into him!
BUMP!
"Oops! I just bumped into him, I didn't mean to-"
Ruby's thought was interrupted as Konrad suddenly turned around and brought his hand with the small weapon down on Ruby's head. It was the last thing she saw before blackness over took her.
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Spike was currently in the Library's Center Room wasting time, and taking advantage of Twilight's lateness. She was normally on time about everything, and that drove Spike insane at times. It was always checklist this and checklist that, and what he really wished was for her to just relax and do things as they come, not how it's written down in some book or checklist.
Spike didn't really have much friends of the male gender, and right now he wished that he had somepony to hang out with that wasn't a female. Owlowiscious bailed on him to fly around in the night, and that disappointed him. Since the whole incident when they first met, they had actually become good friends. Though having to decipher 'WHOO' this and 'WHOO' did get annoying after a while.
He was busy building a fort with the unorganized books that he 'accidentally' forgot to re-shelve after Twilight Sparkle spent all day reading and skimming through. He remembered some of the books she had taken, one of them was 'Ghosts, Goblins and Ghoulish figures' and the other one was 'Humans: Fact or Fiction?' None of those books interested him in the slightest, specifically the one about Humans. Twi's friend, Lyra Heartstrings, chatted like an annoying Mare with Twi yesterday, and unfortunately for Spike, he had to listen to the whole thing while he did his chores in the Library.
"Gosh! Humans don't exist! Why do they keep talking about such made up stuff anyway? Even the myth says they can't use magic! I mean come on, technology and stuff? The subject sounds boring, but at least they aren't real. Just like…Zombies!"
Even though Spike couldn't stand the word, he none the less said it and pretended to fight off hordes of the undead zomponies. He also pretended to have a scared and vulnerable mare right next to him in fear. He'd have to protect this wonderful lovely beautiful mare, the only one that happened to have caught his heart and that mare could only be,
"Rarity…" said Spike with little hearts popping around him. "Don't worry! I will keep these undead fiends away from you!"
Spike then jumped out of his rather impressive book fort and began swiping his tail around pretending to kill zomponies.
"Take that you evil Blood Hooves!" shouted Spike
"Oh no! Be careful my Knight!" said Spike in his Rarity voice.
"Fear not! For I am the Magic Dragon of Awesome!" replied Spike to an imaginary Rarity.
He kept swiping his tail around and a rather impressive swoosh noise could be heard.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
And then Spike knocked down the broom pretending it to be a Blood Hoof. He then let out a tiny dragon roar and said,
"AAHHH! I am Spike hear me roar!"
"Oh thank you my hero! You've saved me Spike! I am forever grateful." (Rarity voice).
"Kiss me my dear!" said Spike in his epic voice.
Grabbing the broom on the floor he picked it up and started to kiss it as if it were Rarity. This went on for a good few seconds, and Spike's mind thought,
"I wish this were really Rarity and I wish that I did kick Blood Hoof tail. How epic would it be to meet somepony that did do all those things and get the Mare in the End? Good thing nopony sees me doing this that would just be plain-"
Unfortunately for Spike, somepony did see him doing such thing, as Apple Jack opened the door, ran inside, and shouted out,
"Twi! Are ya here? Where are ya?! And where's Apple Bloom!? Oh, hey there Spike. Have ya seen…" said Apple Jack who froze the moment she saw Spike.
"-embarrassing…Pony Feathers." thought Spike as he made eye contact with Apple Jack.
The moment was extremely awkward for both of them, and after half a minute of staring, Apple Jack simply said,
"Uhhh…Ah got too much of a big problem to comment on what ur doin' there Spike, so Ah'll just forget about it. Deal."
Spike nodded his head and threw the broom at the corner, where it just happened to land upright. Apple Jack, snapping out of the awkward trance, went to ask Spike,
"Now can you tell me where Twi is? Ah haven't seen her since this afternoon!" said Apple Jack with a worried look on her face.
"Well no, I thought she went to Zecora's to drop some books off, but she hasn't come back yet. I figured she was talking to Lyra about 'humans' again. Why?"
"Because Apple Bloom went with her and Twi hasn't brought her back! Ah'm so darn worried!" said Apple Jack with her worried look ever present.
"Oh well, maybe they stopped somewhere or something. Maybe they are at Sugarcube Corner…"
"Now why in tarnation would Twi take her there this late?! And the Cakes ain't open at this time Spike! You know that 'checklist' she goes over all the time about, Ah doubt it includes takin' mah sister there."
Spike face clawed and shook his head at the mention of Twi's checklist.
"Yeah, I do remember she only goes through five drafts every minute…well I do at least."
"Well can you at least think of where she might be Spike? Ah'm really worried about both of them, and this ain't like Twi to be late."
Now Spike was indeed starting to get worried, for Twilight Sparkle was never late. Trying to remember everything Twilight had on her checklist, Spike then recited the final version that he wrote for her.
"Let's see what I remember, study chapter 6 in Starswhirl the Bearded's advanced spells, go to the market for food, have Spike file the checklist after memorizing it…" Spike sighed at that part for his disdain of Twi's checklist," go to Zecora's to drop requested books off. That's it Apple Jack, those were the only things she had on her checklist. I don't remember Apple Bloom being a part of it."
"Well, it was a last minute thing, Twi looked like she needed help carrin' them books and Apple Bloom was just so dang bored she volunteered to help. They went into Everfree Forest earlier and they haven't come back! Oh shoot Ah hope they didn't get turned to stone like that one time!"
The thought of Twi and Apple Bloom being turned to stone made Spike nervous, just as Everfree Forest did. Thinking of other rational explanations, Spike then suggested,
"Maybe they're here in town having fun? Or maybe they're at Rarity's…"
Tiny little hearts were floating around Spike when Apple Jack utterly crushed them without even realizing it.
"Ah hate to break it to ya Sugarcube, but Ah already checked with Rarity and they both ain't there. Sorry Spike."
Disappointed at the defeated suggestion, Spike moved onto another one.
"Well, have you at least asked Pinkie Pie anything? I mean it wouldn't hurt to check with her-"
Spike was then interrupted as Pinkie Pie burst through the door, full of her usual energy bouncing around and speaking fast.
"OHH! I knew somepony would say my name, and I knew it would be you Spike. Did you know how-"
Spike interrupted Pinkie Pie to say the most obvious answer.
"Gee let me guess…your 'Pinkie' sense." Said Spike while shaking his head.
"BINGO! You got it right! Oh I love that game, but yeah you're right. My Pinkie sense went off while I was just walking around Ponyville, cuz I couldn't go to sleep just yet, and my left hoof shook like this-"
Pinkie then shook her left hoof in a vertical manner up and down very rapidly that both Spike and Apple Jack saw multiple Pinkie hoofs. Spike then broke eye contact from the optical illusion while apple Jack did the same and shook her own her to refocus her own eyes. Pinkie didn't notice any of this as she continued her rant.
"and I just knew it had to be you Spike as it happened just as I was walking by. Say where's Twilight and oh hi Apple Jack! I didn't expect to see you here I mean my Pinkie sense didn't say…"
"Whoa there Pinkie! You're goin' too fast for me to follow and for your information; Twilight and Apple Bloom are missing!"
Pinkie Pie then stopped bouncing and then had a pinkie worry look on her face.
"OH NOES! I wonder if that's what my very new pinkie sense meant! I mean, it was very weird first, there was a flash and then there was a weird boom sound that woke up the cakes' foals, and then it was so SPOOOOOKY!"
Attempting to stop Pinkie Pie from going into another tangent, Apple Jack then said,
"Yeah, that was really weird, it happened just after they left into Everfree Forest! It didn't sound like no thunder Ah ever heard and the sky was actin' like a ripple in the pond! Ah mean of all the strangest things Ah ever saw, now Ah know that thing was a bad omen."
Now Spike was really starting to get worried. He did happen to see the strange act went he was up on the balcony brining in Twilight's telescope after it looked like it was going to rain. He witnessed the whole flash and ripple and promptly cast it off as a joke from the Cloudsdale Weather Factory. Looking back at the rather creepy weather and the fact that Twi and Apple Bloom are missing, Spike was starting to become really worried.
"You don't think…zzzombies got them?" said Spike while he was shivering.
"Now hold on there a minute Spike, Ah doubt zombies got them and they sure as hay don't exist neither. They probably just got lost or something. Ah guess we'll just have to go look for them that's all. It shouldn't be hard if Ah track them."
"Yyyyyeah…ssure. We'll you two have fun with that."
Then another voice was heard and it was a voice that Spike could never get tired of…it was the voice of Rarity.
"Oh, sorry to intrude this late in the evening my friends, but I just absolutely had to make sure my widdle Spikey wikey was okay after hearing he was all alone!" said Rarity while holding her left hoof to his face.
"I uhh…I'm fine Rarity, nothing to worry about." Said Spike with a very faint blush.
Then spike noticed that she wasn't alone. Rarity had brought her little sister Sweetie Belle with her and for what reason, he didn't know until Apple Jack asked the question.
"Uh, now why did you exactly bring your sister Rarity?"
"Oh well you see Sweetie Belle was just having the most terrible of all nightmares and couldn't get any sleep. And when I heard that my widdle Spike was all alone, I just knew I had to come over and make sure everything was okay. We'll stay until Twilight comes back, isn't that right Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie Belle had pretty much nodded and moved over to where Spike was and got close, a little too close for his comfort.
"Hi Spike!" greeted Sweetie Belle with a smile directed straight at Spike.
"Uh hi…"
"Nice fort! What game are you playing?"
"Uhh…I was…"
Spike then looked at Apple Jack, who made the pony equivalent gesture of 'your secret is safe with me'.
"Nothing…nothing important. Just making a fort for no reason out of boredom."
"Oh well, can I play? I had a bad dream, it was about…zzzombies."
Spike visibly shifted at the word he hated the most. He started to shiver and said,
"Zzzzombies? That's nnnot gggoood."
"Yeah I was all scared, but not now since I'm here with you."
Spike then stopped shivering and face clawed once more. Ever since Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding, Sweetie Belle had kept annoying crush on him and everypony knew it. Rarity, Apple Jack and Pinkie Pie, both made a silent 'DAWWW' and smiled at his embarrassment. Desperate to recover from the moment, he went back to the subject of Twi and Apple Bloom.
"Yeah, well you can go play in the fort if you want to. We're trying to figure out where Twi and Apple Bloom are."
"Oh no! I hope that…bbbblood…hhhooves didn't get them!" said Sweetie Belle with the memory of what Diamond Tiara said in school and the memory of Blood Hooves in her dreams.
Rarity simple moved to where the duo were, with Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack just watching, and said,
"Now Sweetie Belle, what did I tell you earlier before we left?"
Sweetie Belle then lowered her head and said,
"Blood Hooves aren't real and it's all a bunch of nonsense."
"That's right my little sister, it's all just an old Mare's tale nothing more. There's no such thing as-"
"BLOOOOOD HOOOOVES!"
Everypony in the room jumped at the sound of Twilight Sparkle screaming. Sweetie Belle and Spike embraced holding each other in fear both shivering at the sound of the words Blood Hooves. Everypony turned their attention towards Twilight. She was a complete mess, and Spike was very scared at what he saw.
Twilight Sparkle's mane and tail was a disaster, her eyes were twitching, and she had the same stressed look on her face that she had when she was worried about missing a report to Princess Celestia. She also had dirt on her hooves and Rarity especially took notice of it. Apple Jack then stepped forward and asked,
"TWI! What happened to you and where is Apple Bloom?! And what the hay do you mean by…"
Twilight Sparkle then responded in a rapid manner that matched that matched Pinkie Pie's speed only with fear and stress present in her tone.
"What happened?! I'll tell you! First was the flash and boom, the strange crack noise, then the trees and then Apple Bloom just disappeared when I was throwing the trees off the trail! Then I turned around after sometime only to notice two Blood Hooves! After they told me they had Apple Bloom, in a town not too far away, they tried to eat me and make me one of them! I threw my saddle bag at them and used the 'want it need it spell'! And thank Celestia it worked, because I was too weak to use more magic. Hahahahah…" finished Twilight Sparkle using a creepy laughter and sporting her stressed look.
Twilight took a breather and continued to speak, while everypony listened intently with Spike still holding on to Sweetie Belle.
"So then I fell down a trail that was caused by this strange metal ponyless carriage by the river that had a weird sign that said 'UZI 4 U' and 'Raccoon City'. Then the Sea Serpent that Rarity gave her tail to, came by and told me that a strange two legged creature covered in a green outfit-"
"Oh my!" said Rarity when she heard the word green.
"-had…well guess what he had." Said Twilight while she was hyper ventilating.
Pinkie Pie wanted to start the guessing game, but felt that the situation was rather not so good, and her ears were lowing when she saw how stressed and scared Twilight was. Nopony said anything, and Twilight continued,
"Nope all wrong, hahaha! It was a creature that had an Alicorn, and not just any Alicorn, one with a Moon for a cutie mark!" exclaimed Twilight.
Everypony in the room gasped at the last sentence, for they knew who she was talking about. It was none other than Princess Luna. After noticing that everypony in the room got the hint she finished very rapidly,
"Yep! Princess Luna has been ponynapped! So not only is Apple Bloom alone out there with Blood Hooves, but a new strange two legged creature has ponynapped Princess Luna! I'm sorry Apple Jack! I failed to keep her safe, I'm a horrible pony, I'm so sorry sorry sorry…"
Then Apple Jack ran over to Twilight putting a hoof over her shoulder and said in a calm manner,
"Twi, Ah don't blame you."
Twilight Sparkle froze, looked at Apple Jack and said,
"You…don't?"
"No Sugarcube, Ah know you didn't want to leave her and Ah can tell you've been to Pony heck and back. You were ambushed and chased like prey, you didn't have much of a choice and if you had fell to them evil vermin out there then we would never have known what happened. Ah'm not gonna lie, this sounds like it ain't gonna be easy, but if we can stop Discord then we can stop them Blood Hooves and that other two legged vermin out there. Now let's send a letter to the Princess for help. Ah'm sure that your brother would-"
Apple Jack re-assuring speech was then interrupted as Shining Armor himself came through the door narrowly avoiding running into Twilight.
"Twilight!" shouted Shining Armor.
"Brother! I'm so glad to see you!"
They both embraced in a loving sibling hug and Shining said,
"Cadence says hi."
"Tell her I said hi back."
Everypony watched them embrace and Spike, realizing he was still holding Sweetie Belle let go of her. Spike noticed a disappointed look on her face, but she turned her attention to the new visitor.
"Dang this is turning out to be one hay of a night!"
"You're probably wondering why I'm here and …Twilight you look terrible." Said Shining Armor as he took note of her appearance.
"It's a long story."
Pinkie Pie then gave a very brief summary of what happened.
"Twilight was chased by Blood Hooves that ponynapped Apple Jack's sister Apple Bloom and found out that Luna was Ponynapped by a strange two legged creature in a green outfit."
Shining Armor suddenly had shocked look on his face and then turned to Twilight for confirmation of what Pinkie Pie said.
"Okay, it's a short story…and unfortunately, it's true brother. There are Blood Hooves in Everfree Forest and I think that monster did Ponynap Princess Luna! But I don't understand how he could have gotten into the Castle."
Shining Armor's face then went into a serious expression and revealed to everypony,
"He didn't get into the Castle. I know this because Princess Luna ran away earlier today after a fight with Princess Celestia."
Now everypony gasped at the revelation, for this new creature had overpowered Luna, and was now just as scary as the Blood Hooves. Spike simply thought in shock,
"No way! First Blood hooves, now a monster that has Luna! This…can't be happening!"
Shining Armor continued,
"I don't know where these creatures came from, but I know this, those Blood Hooves will perish under the might of the Royal Guard and as for that renegade two legged creature…I will personally deal with him myself."
Everypony now saw the determination on his face and it was one that only a true noble Knight could wear. Everypony now felt much safer knowing that the might of the Royal Guard would come to Ponyville to stop this terrible threat that none of them had faced before.
"We'll need the Elements of Harmony as well, since this creature was able to overpower Princess Luna." said Twilight.
Shining Armor nodded and said,
"I agree, we'll all need to work together to stop this threat and I'll be there with you sis."
Twilight Sparkle then smiled at her brother's reassuring words with her worries easing up a bit.
"Yeah, Ah can't wait to get Apple Bloom back and show those Blood Hooves and that two legged varmint a thing or too!"
"Now I am usually not one to be unlady like for violence, but…if any of those Ruffians lay a hoof on Apple Bloom or Princess Luna, I'LL RIP THEM APART!
Spike couldn't but help find this attractive coming from Rarity.
"MMMM…tough Rarity…uuughhhh."
Then Pinkie Pie threw her two bits in and said,
"ME TOO! No bad meanies going to hurt my friends! And when they're all turned to stone and whatnot, with Apple Bloom and Princess Luna home, we should throw a party!"
Everypony agreed and then Apple Jack said,
"Wait a minute, ain't Nightmare Night tomorrow? That's already a party."
"I know but it will be a party within a party and we won't be scared of Luna, we'll make her feel happy to be home and I Pinkie promise not to let anypony be scared of her!"
"Wow my dear! That's a huge commitment!" said Rarity.
"I know, but I was thinking Princess Luna would deserve a break since she has been Ponynapped and what not."
"That's very generous of you Pinkie Pie, I wish I had thought of it." replied Rarity.
"It's okay we need to get both of them back first." Said Pinkie Pie.
"Ah agree Sugarcube. After this is over Ah ain't ever letting mah guard down for Apple Bloom!" said Apple Jack while stomping her right hoof on the floor.
Twilight Sparkle's confidence was now starting to grow after her friends were now gathering strength to help take down these new creatures. Shining Armor then looked at Twilight and said,
"I think it would be best if we gather the rest of your friends and send a letter to Canterlot now. The sooner we do so, the better chance we have of stopping this threat."
Twilight then hugged her brother and said,
"Thanks for being here. You have no idea how much it means to me."
Everypony in the room then went 'DAWWW" except Spike, who was now noticing that Sweetie Belle was again getting too close to him. He looked at the desk next to the door and said,
"About that letter, I should write it down now!"
He then immediately ran away from Sweetie Belle, who had a slight sad look on her face that when he left her side, but then smiled again as she observed him pick up a quill and scroll. Twilight then said,
"Yes Spike good idea and Apple Jack…"
"Yes Twilight!"
"I need you to get Fluttershy and have her go to Cloudsdale to retrieve Rainbow Dash."
"You got it Twi!"
And just like that, Apple Jack immediately ran out the door and was gone. Rarity then spoke up next,
"Twilight, I hope you don't mind if Sweetie Belle stays the night here. I don't want her to be alone since there are those terrible Ruffians running about in the night."
"NO! Don't leave me here alone with her Twi!" thought Spike.
Spike immediately shook his head 'no', while Sweetie Bell shook her head 'yes' even faster. Twilight saw this and said,
"Of course, I know Spike will look after her just fine, he even built a fort out of the books he was supposed to organize in order to protect her. What a knight he is, isn't he?"
"Oh my widdle Spikey wikey is ever so noble! I just know he'll keep her safe."
"Yeah, a future knight for sure! Heheh!" chucked Shining Armor.
"Ugh! I swear I get no respect! And now I got to spend the night with Sweetie Belle?! I think I'd rather spend time with zombies…we'll maybe not."
Shaking his head in disappointment, he looked at Twilight and asked,
"How to do you want me to write this?"
Clearing her throat, Twilight Sparkle then said in a serious tone,
"Okay Spike, this is how I want it written…"
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Princess Celestia was currently in the Royal Archives trying her best to find a lead, or anything that could hint at where her sister might be. Normally around this time she would be quietly sleeping the night way in her chamber. Instead, she was looking at book after book about her sister's so called images. Princess Celestia's makeup was starting to wear off noticeably as well as the look of fatigue on her face was increasing.
"I'm so tired, but I can't sleep now, not when I have an emotionally compromised sister out there. How could I have not seen it!? I rise the Sun for crying out loud! Oh Luna, if only you could see the beauty you do possess! You are indeed loved by your subjects. Please be safe!"
After going to another book that had images of her sister in the past, she threw the book aside and into the pile of other books she had read earlier. Celestia was very puzzled and agitated at the vagueness of her sister's letter.
"What did she mean by 'the last image of my past'? There are many portraits of her around the Castle why would she…wait a minute…why didn't I see it before! She doesn't like Nightmare Night and she has an image problem. Her last image of the past is…the statue in the Everfree Forest!"
"So that's where you went off to. Well, good thing Shining Armor is Ponyville, I guess I'll just send some guards there and he'll bring her back in no time. If she has a fuss about it, then I'll help drag her back myself." Said Celestia to herself.
Just as she finished that sentence, a letter appeared right on the desk in front to her. It was sealed with the stamp that Spike used whenever he sent a letter on behalf of Twilight Sparkle. Curious to read its contents, she hoped that is wouldn't be a lesson in Friendship. It was very late in the evening for Twilight to send a letter and very odd at that for her to do so.
"Okay my faithful student, if this is a lesson learned in friendship, and then I'm going to have to…"
Princess Celestia's eyes widened at the contents of the letter. Instead of lesson in friendship, it was a plea for help, and a lot of help at that. The letter wrote,
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I come to bring you terrible news. I was attacked in Everfree Forest by creatures so vile an disharmonious that you might have trouble believing me…they were Blood Hooves. Yes, you read that correctly, they were real Blood Hooves, and they were the most evil of beings I have ever seen. Apple Jack's sister, Apple Bloom, was accompanying me in the forest while I ran an errand for a friend. We were separated and the Blood Hooves claimed to have a taken her to a town somewhere in the forest. I was forced to run for my life and I was able to evade them. Unfortunately, the news gets worse from here. While I was escaping, I ran into a strange ponyless carriage made of metal and wheels of rubber. Yes, a ponyless carriage is what it is. You may be wondering what this has to do with the current situation; well an eye witness saw a strange two legged creature in a strange green outfit carry off a blue Alicorn Mare with a Moon Cutie Mark."
Princess Celestia froze when she read that sentence and immediately fear and anger started to rise with in her. Doing her best to keep in control, she continued to read the rest of the letter.
"Yes, my mentor, this creature has apparently overpowered your sister and has taken her captive, and I believe that the ponyless carriage belongs to the creature. The witness also made contact with the creature and, according to him, it shouted at him very in a very disharmonious and vile manner (pardon the colorful language),"GET BACK HERE YOU GUTLESS PIECE OF SHIT!"
Princess Celestia reeled back at the quote of the supposed creature that ponynapped her sister. It was very crude, rude, and so…chaotic. Celestia's eyes narrowed at what this creature had spoken, and thought,
"This being is certainly something to be reckoned with if it has overpowered my sister. I have a feeling I'm going to dislike this 'thing' more than Discord himself."
Princess Celestia continued to read the letter, doing her best to maintain her composure, but her patience was now treading on thin ice. She was not happy at the news of her sister being captive by this…thing.
"Of course, our eye witness was able to escape and was able to kindly assist me in returning to Ponyville. Shining armor has arrived here, and has told me about the event at the Castle earlier today. I regret to inform you of this terrible event and now we humbly ask for assistance in bring both these vile beings to justice and more importantly, Apple Bloom and Princess Luna, home safe and sound.
With regret, due to the terrible situation,
Your Student, Twilight Sparkle.
P.S. This is Shining Armor and I have interviewed the witness. I do believe his statement to be credible and hereby request that enough Guards to search all of Everfree Forest be sent to Ponyville immediately. Your vigilant Captain, Shining Armor.
Princess Celestia took a deep breath and made her way over to the Guard by the door. She shouted to him using her old Canterlot voice that she had not used in over a millennia.
"GUARD, COME OVER HERE NOW!"
He jumped at the sudden outburst from the normally soft spoken and gentle Princess. Nopony alive at the moment had ever heard her speak in such a manner and it took him by surprise. Wasting no time to obey her command, he ran over to her and stood at attention.
"Yes your Majesty, how may-"
He didn't have time to finish as she shouted,
"YOU ARE TO BRING ME THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY THIS INSTANT! ALSO SUMMON 300 GUARDS IMMEDIATELY! TONIGHT, WE RIDE TO PONYVILLE!"
The guard just shook a little bit before saluting and running off to carry out her orders. Princess Celestia felt bad for shouting at him like that, and made a mental note to apologize to him later. She then returned to the task at hand and went to go find her old armor from the ancient days. She intended to break every tree in Everfree Forest down until she found Apple Bloom and her sister Luna.
"Don't worry little filly, help is one the way. And don't worry Luna! Your loving sister will bring you home."
As she walked out of the Royal Archives, and proceeded to her chamber where her old armor was, she then thought on last thought concerning the new beasts in the forest.
"You evil blood hooves…I will make sure that you stay an old mare's tale, and as for you Mister Biped…unless my sister takes mercy on you, I will not. And if she doesn't then I hope Discord will be a good companion for you in my garden."
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Oh noes! This doesn't look good for anypony now does it? Poor Konrad, he has no idea he's been made Equestria's # 1 enemy. And poor Ruby! All she wanted was some human luvin'! I hope you guys like this chapter. Please be sure to leave reviews and what not! I feed off it muwhahaha! Sorry...anyway chapter 14 already been started! about 1500 words done, and more will come later on. A special thanks to Portal82 for some ideas that I have taken. They have really helped out a lot. Enjoy folks!