//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: Training and The Altar 
// Story: The Five: Into the Beyond 
// by lyra_lover777 
//------------------------------//

	Dinky started to sweat profusely as she began to wobble. After several more seconds she fell, screaming.
She was caught in Thompson's aura, who was training her. Dinky had been levitating herself up. She had gotten about ten feet up in the air when she couldn't do it anymore, and plummeted.
Mr. Thompson smiled at Dinky, and told her that they would move onto another spell. This one was hard, alicorn-awesomeness-level-hard.
Dinky stumbled as she trotted nervously behind Mr. Thompson. He turned around swiftly when they were a good distance from his house.
"Dinky of the Doos, you will now attempt to learn the Kaleidoscope Spell."
Dinky looked up questioningly at the wizened gazelle, her brow knitted. That sounded hard. And cool.
Mr. Thompson looked down at Dinky and said " The Kaleidoscope Spell is a spell that will produce thousands of shards of colored light. It will blind only your enemies, hurting their eyes and making them unable to think or do anything. Then you will be able to rescue your friends. Only this spell is hard, very hard."
"Why can't you preform it then, Mr Thompson?" asked Dinky, who was confused.
"I cannot. You see, you have to know the ponies or gazelles that you don't want to get hurt. You could tell me all about them, but I still would not be able to do the spell without hurting them."
Dinky sighed as she sagged.
"Mr Thompson, your training has helped a lot, but I don't think I am ready. Maybe you could sneak in and..."
"No." said Mr. Thompson firmly. " My brothers may have done me wrong before, but I do not kill or hurt unless necessary for my own survival."
Dinky began to brim over the top with anger. How dare he...But then she got control of herself. He was being generous enough training her.
"I will escort you to the gates. Then you will be on your own." said Thompson.
Dinky nodded solemnly and sat on the hard packed dirt as Mr. Thompson began to explain the Kaleidoscope Spell.
===
Coco sat on the grimy hay in the corner of her cell. Her cellmate, the loud, vulgar gazelle buck was laying on the ground moaning, clutching his groin.
The buck had been shouting and being overly annoying, not helping Coco let out her grief. She had wanted to cry but couldn't with all the obscene name calling and hoof gestures her cellmate was giving the guards only a foot away from her.
After several hours and more than several warnings, a guard came up to him and thrust his dagger onto the gazelle's neck, making sure to draw a little blood.
The buck had quieted down after that, only saying a few profanities a minute. (This was much improved: he had been swearing constantly before.)
Soon, though, the buck turned to her, a lustful gleam in his eyes. As he had approached her, she had turned around and bucked him in the balls, and now he lay rolling around on the floor, grunting and gasping in pain.
This quiet time gave Coco a minute to shed some tears. Soon it sounded like it was raining in the cell as her tears hit the cell floor with a pit pat, pit pat.
Now the buck had recovered. Coco's tears were thinning. She looked up with blurred vision to see the male gazelle, named Graffiti, having backed up to the other side of the cell. He gave her a mean glare before curling up in the corner and falling asleep.
After another hour, the guards arrived at their cell. Coco shivered nervously, thinking it was her turn to die. A young female gazelle had been taken away to be sacrificed about an hour ago.
So Coco was relieved when the guards hoisted the young Graffiti in their auras and carried him out of the cell. Coco felt a tinge of pity for him as the vulgar buck was pulled away in a magic wrapping, kicking and shouting. But the guards were stronger and their magic did not falter as they turned the corner, Graffiti's screams fading into the distance. 
===
Dinky's eyes were open wide as she began to ascend into the air, her horn earning its third layer, the second overglow. Sweat was raining from Dinky's body as she focused, her body becoming rigid as the fourth layer came, the third overglow. One more, and she would complete the spell.
Tiny beams of light danced around her horn. Dinky was screaming from the pain and exertion as she tried to go farther. The fifth layer flickered over her horn, not fully there, but close. It was about to complete when Dinky screamed, sending flocks of birds up into the air as the volume of the scream washed over everything, making even the trees shudder.
Dinky fell, the spell having been almost complete. That had been her twenty first try, the best so far. Before this time, she had only been able to get up to three layers.
Dinky lay there, the world dancing with light as if she was being affected by the Kaleidoscope Spell. Her vision would almost fade to black before coming back, then repeating the process several times.
Finally a hazy figure galloped over to her and raised a steaming hot flask to her muzzle, forcing it down her throat. It tasted like swamp water with a hint of cinnamon. 
Dinky suddenly became fully aware as she lifted her head up from the ground, rolling onto her back as she coughed and retched a little as she tried to get the disgusting taste from her mouth.
She finally got to her hooves as Mr. Thompson looked at her seriously.
He said "I am happy you are alright, but I am afraid your friends will soon be sacrificed at the ceremony of The Altar, a monthly ceremony to the most important god, Itzalulu, the god of the Earth."
Dinky visibly shook. Her friends needed her now, and she couldn't do the spell. What was she going to do?
===
Spike trembled as he was dragged out of his cell along with his friends and their cellmates, except Coco's, who had been taken away earlier.
Spike struggled and breathed fire, scorching the halls of the prison, but not breaking the hold of the guard's magic.
Spike finally gave up as they trotted out into the daylight, the light hurting his eyes, feeling like somepony was using a rusty dagger to scoop his eyeballs out.
Spike finally recovered, opening his eyes to tiny cracks as he watched as they reached a crowd of over ten thousand antelopes. They all were adorned with bod and face paints, and some wore masks or costumes. They all cried out in joy as Spike and the rest were carried up the steps of the nearest pyramid. It was painted in stripes of blue and red, and was far larger than the other pyramids.
Spike began to feel a few tears drip down his face as the crowd whooped and shouted as he and the other sacrifices were carried up the steps of the pyramid.
He watched as they finally reached the top, lining them up and shackling them to the ground. Up first was the insane unicorn hag, and then Spike. His cellmate, the snooty gazelle, was behind him and now crying as she shook visibly.
Spike watched as the guards bowed to a new gazelle who had just reached the summit of the pyramid. This gazelle was wrapped in pristine white robes, his legs adorned with golden rings topped with various symbols made of jewels.
The guards said, in unison," These are the sacrifices, High Priest Dragmar."
Priest Dragmar smiled wickedly at Spike and the others, and used his horns, which were also adorned in golden rings, to pick the crazy unicorn hag.
He laid her out straight on the large altar in front of him, calling out to the crowd. He said "The first sacrfice of The Altar, to the god Itzalulu!"
The crowd screamed their approval as the priest used his magic to keep the unicorn hag in place while raising a long, silver dagger over her chest.
Spike recoiled as he thrust the dagger into the hag's chest, blood spewing into the air and onto the ground. The priest turned around and bucked her off the altar, getting his hooves dirty with her blood. Spike watched the dead hag roll down the steps, her blood coating them.
Then Spike felt himself being unshackled and picked up. He cried out in shock as he was lowered onto the altar. Priest Dragmar lifted the dagger in his aura, raising it above Spike's chest. He smiled wickedly down at Spike, making Spike start to whimper and cry. All Spike wanted was Dinky, to be here holding his claws. That was all he needed.
Spike thought of Dinky, and then of all of his friends as he shut his eyes tight, awaiting the fatal blow from Priest Dragmar.