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// 5- A Bit of Exploring Never Hurt Anypony 
// Story: Twilight's Prison 
// by Vale Decem 
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	Blood Stone sat awake in his bed, half snuggled under the soft, sheep-wool comforter. He held a book infront of him, turning the page by hoof every once and a while. The book had large font and small words, quite obviously meant for younger foals, but it was the most he could manage. Still, he progressed, albeit slowly, through the book. It was very well illustrated and told the story of two princesses who ruled Equestria long ago. To other ponies, the book quite obviously was the story of Nightmare Moon, but to Blood Stone, it was about a neglected sister who just wanted friends, not to far from his past situation. He turned to the princess snoring next to him, covering her eyes from the light with a pillow which did nothing to deafen her. She'd been trying to get him to adjust to her schedule of sleeping during the day, but Blood Stone still preferred his regular time. Silently, he wondered if the story was true, and his mentor was truly evil once. His storybook did not give names, but the pictures did bare a good likeness to Luna.

When he reached the end of his story,  Blood Stone sat up and walked silently to the hotel bathroom, turning the light on once the door was properly shut. Inside, he removed the several bandages on his hooves and cleaned out the cuts. For the smaller incisions, he applied a small piece of padded adhesive, accidentally sticking one of them to his nose at first as he was opening it. For one large cut along his foreleg, he took a roll of Medical Tape and wrapped it around several times. He remembered this injury- it was the first time he had attempted blood magic. Princess Luna had demonstrated how to draw the symbol with her horn in her own blood, and passed him a special knife for him to try. Blood Stone turned to the knife currently sitting next to the sink. It's blade was new and a shiny silver and its handle, originally designed for earth ponies hooves to be easier to pick up, was ivory with intricate carvings in it. He had dug the knife to deep and it had bleed profusely. Poor Luna had to excuse why there where bloody stains to be cleaned off the carpet. As of now, it had just started to scab.

He finished and went back to his bed in an attempt to sleep. Unfortunately, none came- the light of the sun that shined through the curtains made him feel unable to. Blood sighed to himself and grabbed his saddlebags, embroidered with Luna's cutie mark (as he was a blank-flank himself), grabbed a hotel key card, and a few bits and walked into the hallway. It was quite busy- Maids, tourists, and families all trotted by, leaving or entering hotel rooms. It was unusually busy for hotels, but this one had been quite popular and only had two floors. He adjusted his eyes to the brightness of the lit hallway and began to walk along its shaggy carpet.  

Getting down the stairs was a bit tricky, as the bandages on his foreleg limited its movement and made it hard to bend. He tripped shortly before reaching the end and fell with a "thump" onto the landing of the first floor. Luckily, most ponies took the old elevator and where not there to see his embarrassing fall. He would have joined them if Luna had not warned him about going in public areas.

"Ponies would wonder about the bandages," she warned, "And the less questions for thy to answer the better."

When Blood Stone picked himself up, his stomach let out a low rumble. He checked a wall clock hanging above him.  

"It's 2:30," he thought, "...Or 3:20? Anyways, time for lunch."

But, suddenly, somepony bumped into his side. "Huh?" he blinked.

"Sorry, sir! I wasn't watching where I was going," the mare said politely.

"I-it was my fault," Blood said eventually, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I was just checking the time."

The mare was about to answer when her eyes drifted to his legs.

"You should be checking those wounds of yours, too! What happened, sir?"

"Uh... well... I ran into a wall."

"Then why do you have some scratches?"

Blood looked around and saw some small, un-covered wounds- like deep papercuts. Oh no! I forgot about those! he thought. "Um... my friend threw paper at me!" he said quickly before galloping away.

"Hmm," the mare said to herself, "What a strange little colt."

Luckily for Blood, most ponies had already eaten and he could go to the hotel's All-day Buffet without worrying about other ponies. When he reached the food-filled table, a servant stopped him from grabbing a seat.

"Sorry little Fella- but the buffet is for hotel guests only," The waiter stated.

Blood was still getting used to baths. Even after a week, his fur still had a slightly grimy look to it. The waiter probably just assumed he had come from the street.

"Actually, sir," he paused, turning to root around in his saddle bag and pulling out his key card in his mouth, "Erm stayern here."

The servant looked over the card, checking its number.

"Mm-hhm... You are that colt Luna brought, yes?  I'm sorry, go ahead and eat," The waiter apologized. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

The unicorn ordered a glass of water (he was not allowed to drink much else, because most beverages were alcoholic) he grabbed a plate, and surveyed the buffet. It was small, with only one row of food, and most of it had been picked clean from lunch. He would have to wait until closer to dinner for them to be replenished. He decided on hay fries and some daisy rolls. He returned a few times, each time filling the plate, until he was stuffed. Although the buffet was free for guests, he still left a few bits for the Waitress that came and gathered his plate when finished, hoping she would find them while cleaning the table before supper. He journeyed back upstairs, without falling this time, and returned to his room.

Instantly, he could tell he was in trouble. The lights were on and in front of the beds stood a grumpy looking Luna.

"Blood Stone," she scolded, "We did not know where thy hadst run off to, and thy scared Us very much."

"I-I was f-fine, Princess." He stammered, not looking Luna directly in the eye. "I w-was just getting some lunch. I didn't l-leave the hotel, I s-swear." 

Luna sighed deeply, she could not hide the colt in this room forever, there was no holding back his  natural curiosity. She smiled faintly when she remembered how much trouble she and Tia had gotten into because of their own want to explore. 
After a bit of careful consideration, Luna turned to Blood Stone. 
"Pack up thine things, please. We are going somewhere.. better suited for thou and thy training."