//------------------------------// // Escaping the Sadness // Story: A Dark Infection // by DawnedDusk //------------------------------// The white hued stallion kept trying to dive into a serene state of mind, but he kept becoming agitated every time Luna invaded his thoughts. Many equines had confronted Blueblood about the disappearance of the queen, so he did what Luna had ordered him to do. Each time he said that she was off on royal business with some delegates from Saddle Arabia. “Leave, all of you,” the prince finally muttered out to the guards in the throne room. “I need sometime alone.” Without hesitation, they followed his order and exited the room. The prince was trying to make the area feel a bit more tranquil to make him feel more calm. His efforts had been put to waste. Prince BlueBlood still felt like he had a few screws loose, but he tried his best to act sensible. “Luna, where are you?” he puzzled to himself. Continuing to ramble to himself, he strolled over to the balcony that over looked Canterlot. He plopped down onto his haunches and gazed down onto the town. Some ponies stopped in their tracks and looked at him, waiting if he had anything to say. The prince smiled at them and gestured for them to move on. A few memories flooded into his mind, he was remembering previous times of the great princesses giving powerful speeches. One of them recalled Twilight's speech when she became a princess. He pictured his Aunt Celestia standing next to her student with a proud look. If only things hadn't come out to be so tragic. BlueBlood tried to imagine how it must of felt to be killed by their own student and in such a horrible way as well. Celestia must have felt helpless and hurt. The prince shook his head and retreated back indoors, trying to find a positive memory. Luna's speech came to mind, she had given it after the dark events. BlueBlood remembered how she didn't even try to hide her emotions but instead let them show. The queen had choked into a slight cry in the middle of it, but still continued rather than stop and collect herself. The stallion found it most moving with most ponies, but some had found it unprofessional. I guess they felt as if leaders shouldn't cry, BlueBlood thought. He couldn't help but to feel conflicted about it. His mind fell into a morbid state when his blue eyes met the ones of the portrait Celestia. If felt as if she were here. Time and time again, he began to wonder what would have happened if he had been there. Would things be the same as it was now? Or would the great solar princess be here ruling with her sister and reformed student? Blueblood wiped away some tears that escaped from his eyes before returning to the throne. A powerful green flare of fire appeared before him and a letter manifested from it. He raised a brow at the letter before levitating it with his magic. He wasn't expecting to receive any mail other than the documents he had to sign in Luna's place, so he cautiously opened it. It read: Dear Luna, We found a book on some sort of evil magic that survived the flames. It doesn't look like it came from her library, it seems to old and torn. The Twilight we knew would have kept her books looking shiny and new. Applejack suggests that she might have acquired it from you and your sister's old castle. We decided to hold on to it for now. Its best if we give it to you from hoof to hoof. News reached us that Twilight's parents killed themselves a few days after her home here was burned down. While we were here, Fluttershy did as well. I guess she couldn't handle-She couldn't deal with the pain anymore. Rainbowdash doesn't think they each killed themselves. She claims that there must be something out there thats forcing them or something. The rest of us tend not to think about it so much. We feel that they just should lay to rest in peace despite the way they died. In short, we wanted to inform you that we are going to stay in Ponyville a little longer. I know you'll understand. From, Applejack, Pinkie Pie Rainbowdash, and Rarity Prince BlueBlood crumpled up the letter and gritted his teeth. Why? He kept thinking. Why does this have to keep happening? The stallion cleared his throat and took a deep breath to calm himself. He straightened the letter back up to its neat form and placed it next to the throne. He wondered how the letter wasn't sent to Luna herself. “They must not have known that she left. That must be why it was sent directly here,” he hypothesized. Just then a flare of black mist and purple fire manifested and faded multiple times. A figure's silhouette did the same until both had appeared completely. The prince shouted for his guards but none appeared. “Don't even try, no one can hear you,” a mare's voice informed him. BlueBlood gave off the low growl and ran to the balcony. His eyes widened in shock. The whole town was in a stand still. Ponies were frozen in place. Their eyes were empty, dull, and emotionless. What is this? Some sort of time stop spell? He puzzled. When he turned and ran back towards the figure. His eyes met with those of a gray hued alicorn mare. “Twi-” he stopped and corrected himself, “Midnight.” The mare gave off a crazed grin that was somewhat seductive in a way. BlueBlood was disgusted with her form. She had what looked like markings of a rope around her neck and her eyes were somewhat red. Half of her body had suffered severe burns that BlueBlood hadn't seen on her before. Well technically, he never saw Midnight before him. He was only told and shown various drawings and statues of her. “Hello Prince,” she greeted in a withered voice. BlueBlood's horn grew an aura for he was about to shoot her with a beam of magic. Instead, he was thrown a couple of feet away from her for she had reacted faster. “Tsk-tsk. You really shouldn't try harm a mare. Its just not right,” she said in a sympathetic mock. BlueBlood gritted his teeth in pain. His side ached each time he tried to remove himself from the floor. “How did you escape? What do you want?” BlueBlood asked in a harsh tone as he began to fire questions left and right. The dark mare ran her hoof up his neck before holding his chin. She tilted it upwards to meet her gaze. “I need your body,” Midnight informed him. BlueBlood raised a brow and gave off a look of disgust towards her. “Don't have your mind in the gutter Blue. Filthy minded fool. I don't mean the need for your body in a sexual way, but-” she paused in her sentence and licked his face, “if you want it that way I don't mind one bit.” BlueBlood cringed at the thought. He tried to get up, but the alicorn had used the spell to control his body like she had done to Celestia. What are talking about? Tell me now!” he demanded. The mare's head and neck swung in different directions. He could hear her joints cracking in between jerks. Her mouth opened up wide and a shadow flowed out. It hovered next to her. BlueBlood could only see a pair of eyes in its ever so changing form until it changed into a full faded figure of a stallion. It was Sombra, and he was in a ghost like state. “I am the one you really needs your body. You are going to be my ticket back into a physical form. You will be my vessel.”