The Veins Run Deep

by Thunderblast

Fang Legion

"Blooooood? Bloodvein?"

...

"Son, wake up."

...

"Blood, open your eyes."

Blood did so, slowly lifting his head from his hooves. He glanced around. Instead of seeing his bedroom, or his home, he was on a dirt path in the middle of the forest. He could have been more surprised at where he woke up. Was he lost again?

"Bloodvein."

Blood then turned to his left side and looked up, immediately seeing his father standing over him.

"Where are we dad?"

"Come on, we're almost there."

Bloodvein slowly stood on all fours, shaking some dirt off of his back, still questioning where he was. The two ponies walked for about five minutes, until they reached a metal fence with blank signs on them.

"I know this place." He said mentally.

Skywatcher opened the gate, allowing Blood entry to wherever his father was taking him. It took a few moments, but after passing through the gate, the same military base he discovered a long time back appeared out of thin air. His first thought was new technology which can camouflage an area to most ponies, especially non-Legion personnel. Sky entered behind Blood, smiling at the sight as he put a hoof around his son. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing dad." Blood smiled. "It's even bigger than when I ended up here by mistake!"

"Yup, and with the help of the southern colonies, we're all working to build the biggest Legion base in Equestria! Come on, I'll give you a to--"

Just before Skywatcher could finish, large rocks started raining from the sky, some on fire. Without any warning, one smashed into the earth before Blood, his father disappearing under it.

"D...dad?" Tears filled Blood's eyes, just barely noticing the sky beginning to turn red, then dark grey. He slowly looked up, directly at a tall mountain, which spewed a gigantic black cloud, shooting up at high speeds and spreading out over the valley. More fiery rocks rained from the sky, crashing into adjacent mountain peaks and slopes, as well as buildings on the base. Blood's heart raced as he looked around, seeing multiple Legion soldiers running for their lives as large streams of red hot lava poured down, setting the wooden buildings ablaze and instantly melting them, and whoever was inside. The lava streamed towards Bloodvein, but was split by the large boulder that crushed his father. He desperately wanted to run, but couldn't for some reason. He felt as if his hooves were magnetically sealed to the ground. He heard a cracking sound, slowly peering down at his hooves to see a steaming crack forming. The sound soon got louder, and moments later the ground caved in underneath the pegasus. He fell...and fell...and fell. The sky disappeared above him, and everything went black.

"N-no...no...no!"

---

"NOOOOOOOOO! DAAAAAD!"

Bloodvein woke up sweating and panting, his golden pupils shrunk to marbles as he sat up, slowly looking around his room. Rays of sunlight poured into the windows, lighting up his dark bedroom. His heart was racing at a hundred miles per hour, but for no reason it seemed. Everything was calm. He sighed and laid back down. "Just a dream..." He mumbled to himself, turning onto his right side and shutting his eyes once more.

Blood's heart slowed back to a normal pace, and he managed to calm himself with the comfort of a stuffed bat pony soldier, which he grabbed and squeezed tightly in his hooves. He whimpered slightly, trembling as he held the stuffed toy against his chest. It wasn't as good as his real father's comfort, but it was good enough.

Blood opened one eye, moving it to the clock on his nightstand on the right side of his bed. He was up much earlier than he wanted to be, now that he was out of school. He groaned and released the plush, sitting up once more and climbing out of bed. His hooves made a faint clop as they met the wooden floor, and Blood yawned quietly. A slight growl could be heard, and at that time he knew he needed to eat something.

Blood trudged out of his room, soon gaining his posture as he walked the hallway, past his parents' bedroom, the bathroom, and his sister's bedroom. He then opened his wings, lifting himself off of the ground by a few inches, and floating downstairs, followed by a quiet landing on the thin carpet on the first floor. Blood looked around, raising a bit of an eyebrow when he didn't spot his mother dusting something off, or his little sister running around on some sort of sugar rush.

"Mom, dad?" Blood walked further into the living room, still looking for his parents and sister. It wasn't usual for all of his family to be gone, unless they all went on a vacation without him. Moments later, he heard a faint thump from upstairs. His ears perked some, but it immediately told him he was simply awake before everypony else. His pupils then shrunk; how did none of them hear his un-manly scream? Then another thought hit his mind. Before he could think of anything else, he galloped back upstairs and opened his parents' bedroom door.

"Mom, dad, are you okay?!" Blood panted, holding a hoof on the door.

Midnight jumped, standing next to the bed in shock. "Y-yes, I'm fine...your dad is out doing something. Is something wrong?"

Blood then felt embarrassed for scaring his mother. His cheeks heated, eventually turning red as he blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, er...n-no. Just, some thoughts raced through my mind when I didn't see anyone downstairs. That's all." He smiled, relieved that his parents hadn't died in their sleep or something.

"Oh, well..." Midnight giggled a bit. "We're still here. Say, now that I remember, your father has a surprise for you later, so I would suggest getting a shower before he gets home."

"Really? Alright then." Blood smiled more, and trotted a door down into the bathroom. "A surprise? I wonder what."

He then shut the bathroom door and turned on the shower, hopping in after the water warmed to a comfortable temperature. Blood's mane immediately drooped over his eyes, and he lifted a hoof to get it out of the way. He reached forward, grabbing a bottle of shampoo, and squirted some into his hoof, brushing it into his mane and washing it out moments later. After a five minute shower, he hopped back out and grabbed a towel, drying himself off.

His mane puffed back out, messier than ever, as did most of his coat. Blood reached onto the counter, grabbing a hair brush and brushing his mane so it was neat once more. Afterwards, he set down the hair brush, picking up his toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, squirting some onto the brush and running some water on top of it. Next, he brushed his teeth and fangs until they sparkled, spitting the toothpaste into the sink and washing it down the drain completely. After all was done, he smiled briefly to make sure he didn't miss any spots, which he didn't.

"Bloodvein?"

"Comiiing!"

Blood trotted out of the bathroom and downstairs, greeted by his father who was once again in his armor. Skywatcher smiled and walked up to Blood, and the two exchanged hugs.

"You're growing so fast Blood. We're proud of you." He smiled. "I take it mom told you we're going out for the day?"

"Yup!" Blood smiled back. "Where are we going?"

"Oh, you'll see." Sky turned around, walking back to the door, "Let's go." And unfolded his wings, taking off into the bright blue morning sky. Blood followed suit a moment later, catching up with his father quickly as they flew east. After a few minutes, they started a descent towards the ground, and into the forest.

"Uh, dad? Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Of course I do Blood, what makes you think I don't?"

"We're uh, kind of flying towards the forest."

Skywatcher just chuckled in response, and the two continued down towards the ground. Eventually, they landed on a dirt path. Bloodvein felt a sense of deja vu as their hooves reached the ground, and got a cold chill down his back. He glanced around, feeling as if he had seen the area before.

"Dad?"

"Hm?"

Blood stopped. "Nothing."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

Skywatcher raised an eyebrow, "You're acting like a mare." mentally talking to himself, but shrugged his strange behavior off, and started walking with Bloodvein at his side. Less than ten minutes later, the two walked up to a metal fence, which triggered Blood to get a chill down his spine again, but tried not to think about it. Skywatcher opened the gate, motioning for him to enter first. He did so, only bracing himself for what he thought would come next.

To his surprise, the nearby mountain didn't explode...not that there was one there in the first place. Blood looked up, realizing there were two smaller peaks replaced by the larger one in his nightmare. He breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his guard up in case something were to happen again. One thing he also noticed, a Legion base didn't appear out of thin air either.

"Bloodvein!"

Blood snapped out of his trance of thought. "Hmm?"

"Are you coming or what?" Skywatcher stared back at him from a distance, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, yep." Blood galloped up to his father, and the two started walking again. Soon, the forest got more dense, and the path started to disappear under moss and grass. Eventually, they were stepping through bushes and on sticks, making slight cracks at every step. Blood continued to feel uneasy, but started feeling better knowing reality was diverging from his nightmare by a lot.

He continued to stare down, watching every step he had and hoping he wouldn't trigger an old snare trap from the Lunar rebellion. Suddenly, he bumped into his father's armor, making a slight clank which snapped him out of another trance. He quickly snapped his hooves together and looked up, his eyes widening at the new sight. "Whoa."

"Welcome to the Fang Legion main operating base son." Skywatcher smiled back as Bloodvein stepped around him, standing at his side and staring at the base in awe.

"It's grown so much." He continued to stare in awe.

Sky chuckled, "It has. Come on, let's head in." And started towards the base, Blood following close behind. No longer than a minute later, they were officially in the base. Bat stallions in similar armor to his father's trotted around. Some carried wooden planks, while others marched behind a higher ranking official, as well as others doing their own thing.

Since Blood's unexpected visit, the base had grown by at least ten buildings, and was now covering more land than before. Still, Blood looked around in awe at the new and improved base. The buildings were upgraded, and were now concrete with some steel built in as well for improved durability. Even the paths were upgraded, and most of the base ground was concrete as well.

"Weren't these buildings wooden before?"

"They were, until we figured out using stronger materials was less expensive and would work out better during strong storms. We learned the hard way." He sighed a bit.

"Why, what happened?"

Skywatcher pointed to his left, Bloodvein turning his head and seeing a stone monument, which two Legion soldiers sat in front of, their heads and ears down, holding their helmets in their hooves in respect. Blood gasped at the sight.

"A wind storm swept across the valley a year ago and wiped out some of the barracks, which took eleven lives. Eleven young lives."

Bloodvein slowly looked back, his ears pinning back. "Did you know any of them?"

Skywatcher shook his head. "Nope. But a loss is a loss, especially eleven losses. It hurt us all for a while, and still does as you can see."

"How come I never heard of it?"

"Our colony never hears news of what goes on at the bases, unless it's of an attack. So, no one but the governor hears of the news."

"I see..." Blood sighed. "That really sucks dad."

Skywatcher nodded, looking down a bit, but perking back up a moment later. "So, would you like to see everything?"

Blood perked up as well, smiling brightly. "Would I?"

Sky chuckled again. "Alright, let's go. Father-son time, you and me."

Blood smiled more as Skywatcher led him further into the base, passing barrack after barrack. "There are currently fourteen barracks with two more under construction as of right now, and they should be completed in mmm...three weeks. After that, two more will be added." He started as he led Bloodvein around the base, nodding to some ponies he knew as Blood followed shyly, but glancing around in awe. Following the barracks, they went to the outskirts of the base where a new small military prison was built, as well as what appeared to be cannons as base weapons.

Shortly after, the two circled back and passed more barracks, the mess hall, the training grounds, and finally into the main building, which was much larger than the first. Touring the main building took longer than Blood expected, but it was worth it in his opinion. After the tour was complete, both Skywatcher and Bloodvein felt hungry, and went back to the mess hall. They grabbed trays and got in a short line for food. As they went along, they were given mashed potatoes, green beans, three celery sticks and dressing, and diced oranges as a side, and a glass of milk; one of Skywatcher's personal favorites. The two sat down and started eating, Bloodvein being surprised once again that military food wasn't the brown mush that was mentioned in a book he read.

"So, Blood. What do you think?" Skywatcher smiled as he chewed on some celery.

"It's amazing dad. You really surprised me." Blood smiled back, sipping his milk.

"Heh, I figured you'd want to come back...under my guidance of course. However, I have something else I want to talk to you about."

"Yeah dad?" Blood picked up his fork, picking up some green beans and putting them in his mouth, chewing at a normal pace.

"Do you want to enlist?"

Blood's eyes widened, and he wanted to spit out his food, but swallowed to avoid being rude, putting a hoof to his chest to keep himself from choking. "E-enlist?"

"Isn't that what you always wanted, to be a soldier by my side?"

Blood's heart sunk. "Y-yeah, but...I..." He sighed. "I don't know if I want to anymore. I mean, I just don't think I would fit in here."

"What are you talking about? Of course you would fit in! Look, I felt the same way when I first enlisted. It's a hard start, but it gets better after a few weeks."

"A-are you sure dad?"

Skywatcher nodded. "Would I ever lie to you?"

Blood picked up more green beans with his fork, holding them in front of his mouth and thinking, "No." And set them in his mouth and started to chew.

Author's Note:

Hey guys, once again, sorry it is late, but here it is!

P.S.

This chapter takes place ten years after Chapter 10, and after he's learned how to fly.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Sweet.chapter. I guess that means we soon start to see blood training to become a solider. I wonder how his Pegasus wings will hold him back, or advance, during the process of training.

[dracone]

passing barrack after barrack

last I checked they're called "barracks" not barrack, but I could be wrong. The reason is because before reading this I only it written like "a barracks", "the barracks"

[Thunderblast]

5262956 They are, but in this term it's okay to use barrack. (According to my dad. He was in the armed forces for 13 years)

[Thunderblast]

5262787 Perhaps. Only time will tell.

I will try to get chapter 12 out this weekend, as it should be easy to write.

Oh yeah, how was that opening? :3

[SageBrony07]

5263701 That was an intense opening. I keep on thinking that the father died or he was going to die this chapter. I'm glad he didn't. I can't wait to see what happens when Nightmare Moon returns. Will she try to make a deal with the bat ponies or will they hide from her?

[Thunderblast]

5263822 Hehe, I'm glad he isn't dead either. In fact, in real time he's still alive and well. Though, chapter 12 I will say have a bit of a plot twist in it. That's as far as I will go. Who knows, I may even write it tomorrow because I'm pumped to get it out.

[SageBrony07]

5263841 Something tells me something big is coming. Wait. That was you. Anyway thanks for a good chapter. I can't wait to read the next one. The plot twist I sure is going to be epic.

[Thunderblast]

5263948 I wouldn't say epic, but it'll be something.

[Paladin Redflare]

I can only imagine a bunch of sexy beasts walking around that base... with Skywatcher as the alpha male...

[Kestrel]

P.S.
This chapter takes place ten years after Chapter 10, and after he's learned how to fly.

I feel this would have been good to put in the chapter proper. So how old is Bloodvein now?

[PonyJosiah13]

Big problem right off: what was the point of the nightmare? It didn't really seem to add anything to the plot. Unless it's foreshadowing, in which case I'm jumping the gun.