Heir to a Silenced Blood

by Rock Slide


To the climax

Well Kept was angry. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. When she had planned it out, she had accounted for a great many outcomes, but never had she considered that they would do nothing.

And then to top it off, when she finally had a chance to get back at him, his foal turns out to be a nutcase, unable to provide any real information. She silently fumed as she made her way towards the tunnel exit, having decided that she wanted a drink, a hard drink.

Working her way back through the maze, she was starting to feel the effects of both a lack of sleep and food, along with the justified feeling of paranoid. As she approached the hidden door, she began to hear voices, at least four, that much she could tell. Moving quietly again, she looked through the spy hole.

On the other side, there was three princesses, one prince, two dragons and two more parents. “Buck buck buck buck buck.” Well Kept swore to herself. She didn’t know how they had tracked her here, but it didn’t matter, she needed an escape plan.

Turning, she threw caution to the wind and ran back the way she had come.


“Are you telling me you there is a secret tunnel system, in my castle, and I don’t know about it?”

Blueblood looked up at his aunt. She sounded a little miffed, so he decided to play it safe.

“I don’t know how it got there, but yes.” He hummed in thought. “It actually connects to quite a few of the rooms, but I personally blocked most of them off. At the time I wanted to keep it a secret.”

“And one of the exits is hidden in here. This all seems a little far-fetched…” Celestia stopped talking. Hers, Luna’s, and Twilight’s ears perked up, swiveling. “Do you two hear that?”

“Aye sister,” Luna agreed, “I just heard what sound like somepony running, behind that wall.”

Sunset, Adagio, Spike and Ember looked at Twilight questioningly. She blushed, rubbing her forehooves and looking at the floor, “Alicorn hearing.”

Blueblood approached a bookcase. “Now I know there was a hidden lever somewhere around …”

His word died in his throat, as the bookcase in question was ripped from the wall, surrounded by a magical aura.

Everyone stared at Celestia, who had the decency to look bashful. “What? She’s had my son for twenty hours. I need to hug him.” Twilight walk up and kissed her deeply, causing the rest to groan.

“Come, into the tunnels, before my sister gives us all nightmares, ones that I refuse to help with.” Luna strode into the revealed passageway, her night vision making her the perfect leader.

They walked for a few hundred yards, before they came across a four-way junction, two of the turns becoming stairs.

“Nephew, which way through this maze?”

“Erm, let me think. Hmmmm. Aha. Up this flight, and the next, then down two on the other end, a left, then a right, then another left, another right. That leads to another junction where the maze has letters marking the passages, a-d. I think it is a ‘b’, then ‘a’.”

Luna raised an eyebrow at him. “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, stop?”

“That sounds about right, yeah.”

Happy with their route, the group set off, following behind luna. They kept the power of their horns low so that it wouldn’t affect Luna’s ability to see in the dark.


The door swung open, and the mare came barreling through, slamming it behind her. Sunny could hear her swearing under her breath, and she was scrambling around gathering her items.

Sunny smiled; the only reason the mare would be this panicked was that she had been found out, and rescue was likely on the way. But the smile fell away as her gaze swept back over Splendid, who still hadn’t moved.

Solar came and joined her by the barrier. “Tartarus, stone, or the Moon?”

“What?” Sunny spun her head to look at him.

“Which punishment do you think my mothers will give her.” He pointed at the mare, “Sent to Tartarus, imprisoned in stone, or sent to the Moon?”

Sunny giggled. “You mean if Sunset and Adagio don’t get her first?”

He nodded. “In that case, I hope she gets sent to the moon. I hear it’s nice this time of year.” The pair descended into giggles.

“Would you two shut the buck up!” Startled, they found the mare inches from them, on the other side of the barrier. “You think this is funny, do you? ‘Cause I don’t. If they try and breach this room I’m going to have to do something drastic, and that won’t be a laughing matter.”

Emitting a low whine, Sunny and Solar moved away from the barrier again, keeping their distance, and the mare went back to collecting her things.

‘BANG BANG BANG’, the door rattled.

“IN THE NAME OF ME, OPEN UP!”

Solar turned to the door, “Mother?”


“‘In the name of me?’ Seriously?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Look, everypony else gets to justify things in my name, why can’t I?”

“Ughh.” Twilight face-hoofed, her wife antics getting to her. “Look, just focus on getting that door open.” She looked back to Blueblood. “Tell me again how, and why, you have a room even I can’t just break into.”

“When I found this place, the inside made it look like a vault of some sort. It was already pretty strong then, magically, and at the time I had a keen interest on magical locks, and keeping various activities hidden. So I may have added a few bits and pieces.”

“Is there anything else we need to know about it before Celestia and Luna brute force their way in?”

“Errrm. Once inside, there I designed a system of magical barriers that segregate the room. The spells are designed to implode unless they are deactivated from inside.”

“Great - boobytraps.” She glared at Blueblood. “What was so important it had to be destroyed before anyone could get a chance to see it?”

Blueblood coughed, and covered his muzzle with a foreleg. “Certain… ‘Equipment’.”

“Oh for the love of…”


“Buck buck buck NO!” Well Kept lit her horn, and a series of barriers appeared across the door. At the same time, the lights around the room dimmed.

A thunderous assault could be heard from the other side of the door, and all four ponies in the room could feel their horns itch from the sheer amount of magic being thrown around.

Sunny and Solar were herded to the back wall, and a barrier boxed them in, whilst the mare and Splendid were off in the corner, more barriers between them and the door.

The room started to shake, but the door held firm. Instead, cracks started to appear either side of the door frame, running up and arching over the top. The magical assault stopped for a moment before a myriad of colors seeped in through the cracks.

The combined magic of three alicorns and two unicorns created a multi-hued field that blankets the back of the door frame. With a huge shudder, the magic pulled, trying to rip the entire doorway free, rather than bash it down.

The stonework creaked, and mana sparks flew where the wall tried to repair itself. Slowly but surely, the doorframe was starting to tilt away from vertical, the flowing manes of the alicorns visible through the gap.

With a final pull, and an ear-splitting squeal, the door frame, complete with door, came free, sailing over the top of the gathered ponies and back down the passageway.

The group strode into the room, as far as they could, up to the first barrier. Celestia and Luna had walked in side by side but peeled away as they got closer, revealing Blueblood.

“YOU!” Well Kept snarled, fire returning to her eyes, the panic was forgotten. She turned to Celestia. “Why is he here? Did you not read my demands? Do you want your child harmed?”

Once Celestia had gotten in, the first thing she had done was search out her son. Finding him next to Sunny, both completely unharmed had allowed her mind to calm down. He was here, he was safe, and one way or another she would have him back.

Celestia turned to address the foalnapper. “It’s funny really. When we first got them, Bluey over there actually got up to inform the press. He was willing to submit, to give up everything if it meant the foal’s freedom. It was me that stopped him.”

“What?” This caught Well Kept off-balance. “No! No way! Blueblood would never do anything like that. The Blueblood who used me, the Blueblood who tossed me aside at the first sign of commitment, the Blueblood who had me fired, the Blueblood who had me beaten to the point I lost the foal would never do anything that kind, ever!”

“What?! I never had you beaten! What are you talking about?” Blueblood looked both enraged and troubled. The other ponies in the room were too stunned to add to the conversation.

“So what? Are you saying that the three stallions who jumped me two days later and beat me within an inch of my life had nothing to do with you, did they?”

“I swear, on my life, on my station, and on my crown, I had no knowledge or involvement with that. Even as I was back then, I would never have done that, only threaten.”

“Even if I believed you, why should that matter. You still ruined my life. You tore my heart out, and cost me the job I loved.” By this point, the mare was in hysterics, tears flowing from her eyes.

Blueblood sighed and sat down on his haunches. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter. What matters here is that you have three innocent foals. Whether or not I caused the act, those three certainly didn’t. Don’t make them suffer for my past sins.”

“Don’t you get it? I have to, I have to do this because it’s the only way to make you feel as hurt as you made me feel!”

“No, it isn’t.” Princess Luna stepped forwards. “He doesn’t need you to do this for him to feel as hurt as you. Because he already hurts far worse on his own.”

Well Kept stood defiantly. “Horse shit.”

“Neigh, tis not.” Luna often slipped back into old Equestrian when agitated. “While his treatment of you may have been his worst transgression, we both know there was much more. But the stallion before you is not the same as the one you knew. Each of his sins weighs heavily upon him, and before you think I take that just upon his word, let me tell you this; the nightmares I have personally pulled him from are not ones I would even wish upon my worst enemy.”

“She’s right.” Blueblood stepped closer to the barrier. “I have changed and I am doing my best to make amends. I know I can never replace that what you lost, or make up for the years I took from you, but if you release the foals I promise to help you, in any way I can.”

Well Kept stared at him, before looking at Luna, and back again.

“No - this is some kind of trick, a lie to get me to lower my guard, and let you finish what you started.” She back away from the barrier, and lit her horn. “I will never submit to you ever again Blueblood, ever!” Her eyes held a crazed glint, her body twitching.

“I've heard enough.” Celestia stepped up to the barriers, “I let Blueblood try it the nice way, but you said no. Now you stand between me, two members of my family and a family friend. Move, or be moved.”

“Fat chance. You'll have to get past these barriers first.”

“What barriers? These ones?” Celestia lifted her foreleg. The tip of her hoof glowed a brilliant gold before returning to normal. She reached out and gently tapped the first barrier, and it shattered like glass. Stepping forward, she tapped the second barrier, shattering that one as well.

Well Kept had thought she was safe behind five of the strongest barriers she had ever seen, but she was wrong. Celestia advanced as if she was simply wading through water. As she reached the last barrier, Well Kept made the last move she could, charged her horn and fired.