//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Bathed in Blood and Darkness // by GoodKnight //------------------------------// THUMP! The azure mare fell flat onto the ground. Tiny pieces of foliage tickled her nose as she stood. Lagging behind she trotted up with the rest of the group... Or at least tried to. She tripped once more on the odd appendage. The first few steps into the forest had been easy, but now as they progressed eeper and deeper, the mare couldn't tell where she was placing her... "hoof." This had been a challenge in itself. It would bend in entirely odd angles and would snag itself on roots. It took all of her attention to keep up with the strange group of mares. She would've donated more time and focus to it if there were any left to give. The group was moving far too quickly for her liking. She was in no place to object though, as these mares gave her an uncomfortable silence. That was another thing. "Who are they?" she thought to herself. "I don't know any of them. Are they... what's the word? Friends? They don't seem like it." Her thoughts were paused as an alabaster unicorn glanced back at her with a look of anxiety. Farther ahead, she could see that the alicorn was carrying the thing from earlier. She had no clue as to what it was, but if the alicorn had taken it, the thing had to be important. "These ponies seem to know me, and yet none of them have used my name," she thought. "A friend would use your name if they knew it, right? Should I come up with a new one? I don't want to get a bad name. Knowing my luck, someone already knows my name. It'd probably be Oddball, or Uniqua. Better yet-" THUMP! "Right. Focus." She quickly righted herself and trotted ahead to catch up. After many hours of stumbling, the Azure mare saw the trees become more and more sparse. She stood behind the purple alicorn and saw that beyond it was a simple fence line and trees all in rows. The word orchard sprang to mind as she looked upon it. "Twilight," she heard someone call. She turned to see that orange mare had was waving the alicorn over to a group huddle. She attempted to follow but stopped after she saw the nasty glare that the orange one gave. She waited, and waited... and waited... After ten minutes, and some rather discouraging groans and sighs, the group finally split up with a few of them leaving the forest while others stayed behind. Among the ones who had stayed were the alicorn, the rainbow and the orange one. All were silent and staring at her. Each individual looked at her differently, yet every one made her feel uneasy. The rainbow one hovered impatiently in the air, as if it were waiting for any reason to charge at her. The orange one scanned the outer treeline, but kept glancing back to her. Each time she did, it conveyed a neutral look. Meanwhile the purple alicorn also held a neutral gaze, but at the same time, the azure mare felt... wrong. It was as if she were a piece of meat being judged for the quality of her existence. Above the alicorn, the sharp fleshy thing floated overhead. It was sharp, and looked very heavy. "Sword..." she mumbled, thus breaking the silence in the air. No sooner did she say it did the world around her become unbearably quiet. The gazes of the mares focused on her in an instant. She began to feel a feeling of pure dread welling up inside her. "Maybe I was wrong... she thought with her eyes shifting between the three of them. "Maybe... I have no friends..." The azure mare silently prayed that she wouldn't be here for too long. Night fell much too slowly for the mare. Her body had grown sore. She guessed that it was from falling face first through the forest. Even her odd appendage was worn out. Her eyelids were heavy with sleep gradually coaxing them to close. Just as she was about to nod off, a rough voice commanded her. "Get up," it stated with disgust. She opened her eyes and attempted to stand. Her limbs could barely manage it, and she found herself being quickly ushered along. "Left, right, left, right," the mare thought to herself whiule trying to keep up. The orange mare and alicorn were leading from the front while the rainbow mare watched from behind. No word passed between the mares. However, the orange one nodded in signal to something before leaving them and into the darkness. That was something she noticed. The glow of magic was just enough to illuminate the area dimly. Another thing was that the path they were taking was much smoother. In the veil of dim light, she could somewhat make out shapes. Buildings came to mind, and so they must be called. Despite the identification of them, the azure mare did not recognize them. Her ears flicked as a foreign noise occured behind her. The pegasus had left as well, for when she looked, the rainbow was no longer there. She briefly wondered where they were going, but fatigue soon overpowered it. The alicorn led her to a buillding that was different from the rest she had seen. The alicorn stoped for a moment before the threshold before gingerly opening it with magic. She stepped to the side and made only a simple gesture with her hoof. Taking the hint, the azure mare entered. The room was pitch black, but as the alicorn stepped inside the room slowly illuminated with light. The azure mare would marvel at this, but she felt so tired. SHINK! The mare snapped her head towards the startling noise to discover that the sword now sat within the floor. The alicornlooked at her with a wavering look. She seemed uncertain, but still had an air of indimidation about her. "Upstairs, last door on your right," she said with authority. The azure mare stood with a tired expressionwhile absorbing the instructions. After a moment, the alicorn gestured to something behind her. With hesitation, she looked and found a staircase heading up. With a small pause, the mare sauntered up the steps, having long stopped trying to concetrate on her footing. THUNK! She missed a step, causing her head to greet the stair with a violent clash. She did not fall however, as her appendage had instinctively grabbed onto the stair. If she were more attentive, she might have wondered about the new experience, but with her tired mind accomplishing little more than simple instruction, she continued allt the way up. Once at the top, she followed a hallway until she reached an open doorway. Inside was a dark room with perhaps the first comfort she ever truly relished: a bed. With little hesitation she fell upon the mattress with an aching body. Feeling sleep take her all too quickly, she let out a large sigh and closed her eyes.