Prince of Equestria - Blood Moon Summer, Part 4

>You are…who are you again?
>Guardp0ny? That’s a stupid name…
>Apparently, you aren’t important enough for anyone to remember your name, even you.
>The day your mom referred to you as guardp0ny? Man, that was…where were you?
>Oh, yes.
>You crack your neck, casting a glance at the large blue crystal in the center of this room, deep within the bowels of the Canterlot palace complex.
>For a member of the Royal Guard, they seem to have given you the most boring thing on the planet to guard.
>”Report any deviance in the crystal,” they said. “A millennia-old duty,” they said.
>Boring…
>The crystal sits there, lifeless as always.
>You roll your eyes as you stare at the bland walls of the room.
>What was this thing for, again? Monitoring Nightmare Moon or something?
>That’s a tale for little foals.
>You got some leave coming up though. Time spent not standing around an empty room, looking at a hunk of fancy rock.
>Maybe you should head home? Your brother mentioned those two cuties from school, Aloe and Vera, opened up a spa.
>You wonder if they give good horn massages.
>Maybe for a few extra bits, you could get a happy endin…
>Did that crystal just flash?
>…
>Nah. Must have been your imagination…

---------------

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izj8elq1o1Q
>You are Anon.
>Boy, does your head HURT.
>Even here in the dream world, it hurts like the dickens.
>”That seems to be quite a knock you took there, boy.”
>Great.
“You know, Nightmare Moon, don’t you ever get tired of bugging me?”
>A cold, dark sensation brushes against your skin as you feel the presence of the Mare in the Moon encircle you.
>”Now Anon, is that the way you address the mare who gave you such a wonderful gift? You’ve been listening to Anonym too much.”
“To be honest, I don’t care much for either of you. You two have been living in my head since I was seven, and you owe seven years of back rent.”
>You blow a lock of hair out of your eyes in frustration.
“The fact you two bicker like an old married couple doesn’t help things. It’s a wonder I’ve been able to stay sane.
>Nightmare gives a throaty chuckle. If she had a face, you imagine it would be up in yours.
>”Your wit is almost as strong as you are. But don’t you think you have bigger problems?”
>Well, when she’s right, she’s right.
>Some sucker punching jerkwad was in for it…
“Wait…where is Anonym?”
>”He will not be joining us just yet.”
>What did she do?
>”You know, you have everything you need to solve this situation…save yourself, save your friend…”
>You wish you had something physical you could spin on and glare at.
“Look, Darkie…I’m sure this is just some kind of misunderstanding…”
>You surge back as you feel the presence lurch up at you.
>”No, you impudent brat, you are the one mistaken here!”
>You wince. She’s never yelled like this before.
>”This creature, he is not one to be reasoned with. He does not respect you, your titles or positions. He sees you as a THING. You are property to him, to be turned in for a big payday. As for your little marefriend…”
>You clench your fists. You can feel her lips twisting into a wicked smile.
>”It is a long trip back home, and the Minotaur highborn tend to have exotic tastes.”
“Then I’ll stop him.”
>”With what? Your mother took your focus from you. Your magic won’t get you out of this one, whelp. If you want to save your friend…”
>The drop in tone sends a shiver up your spine.
>”You’ll need my help.”
>”You best turn her down, lad. The help she offers you is no help to you, only her.”
>You look up as the familiar phantom appears, eliciting only an annoyed grunt from Nightmare Moon.
>NMM: ”Awfully noble of you, Anonym, but you don’t have the power to help him. I do.”
>You snort and stand, already growing tired of this.
“Yeah, I’m done here. Wake-up time.”
>A: “Anon, listen! If you accept her help, you will start down a path you cannot turn ba….”
>Anonym’s voice fades as you return to consciousness.
>When you wake up, you find yourself bound tightly in ropes, tied to a tree in a part of the forest you do not recognize.
>You try your bonds…Nope. Whoever did this was good.
>You look around. You catch a mass of purple and white tied up next to you, not bound to the tree.
“Rarity?”
>She doesn’t look hurt, but she’s out cold.
>You manage to nudge her with your foot, causing her to stir.
>”Mmm…a-Anon? What’s going on?”
>The mare looks around, each jerk of her head growing more frantic.
“I don’t know, Rarity. Calm down, I’m sure there’s been some kind of mistake. I’ll take care of it…”
>Rarity looks back at you before a crashing through the underbrush seizes both of your attentions.
>Minotaurs…
>Three of them. You’ve heard them mentioned in history class, and those two freeloaders in your head may have mentioned them, but nobody would ever tell you much about them.
>They all stop and stare at the two of you. Two wear faces you can only describe as shock and amazement.
>The other a smug smile of victory.
>T: “I had to see it to believe it…Storm, are you really this big an idiot, or is this all a show?”
>The big one smacks the one that spoke.
>SS: “Shut up, Tusk. I just did what you two lacked the stomach to do, capture the human and the p0y harboring him.”
>Neither you nor Rarity particularly like that leer the big one…Storm, is giving the mare.
>C: “Storm, do you have any idea just how many laws you broke crossing the border to get these two?!”
>Rarity inches closer to you as the three minotaurs start arguing amongst themselves.
“Rarity…see if you can chew through my ropes…” You speak in a hushed whisper.
>Rarity nods and sets about to work.
>SS: “FINE! If you two are of such weak constitutions, then stay out of my way! The glory and reward shall be mine alone!”
>T: “Don’t you get it, Storm?! THERE IS NO GLORY TO BE HAD HERE! You kidnapped an Equestrian citizen just to get one escaped human!”
>C: “What’s so glorious about getting hanged, huh?”
>Storm snorts. “Oh how little you know, Colb. I am the first son of Viceroy Flinthoof!”
>Colb grits his teeth and starts to bow up to Storm. “Your father is not as powerful as you think he is, milk-drinker!”
>You wince as the little one, Colb, is backhanded for his trouble.
>SS: “Watch your tongue, nullson, before I drag you back to Minos with the rest of the beasts!”
>Rarity yelps as Tusk grabs her by the rear leg, dragging her away from you.
>T: “Now now, we can’t have that, p0ny.”
“Hey! Leave her alone!”
>The three stop to look at you, like their dog just told them to do their homework.
“I don’t know what you guys want…but I am Anonymous. Crown Prince of Equestria and son of Celestia herself. If you let us go right now, I will forget this ever happened.”
>A silence falls on the scene…
>…split by the most thunderous laughter you have ever heard.
>SS: “PRINCE?! Oh my, that’s a good one! Who knew humans could be so imaginative!”
>T: “What’s next, is there a housecat as an Earl?”
>Every muscle in your body tenses, Rarity frozen in fear as the laughter of the three die down.
>T: “…Alright, alright, we take the human. But Storm, the p0ny HAS to go.”
>SS: “Oh, she will…after she’s been properly punished.”
>Your jimmies jump straight to overload as Rarity backs away from the advancing minotaur as best she can.
“LEAVE HER ALONE!”
>R: “You keep your dirty paws off me, you brute!”
>Tusk looks on with at least a modicum of concern.
>T: “Storm, you really shouldn’t…”
>Colb places a hand on Tusk’s shoulder, shaking his head. “Just let him get it out of his system.”
>Rarity whimpers as Storm reaches out for her, grasping her rear leg to draw her closer to him.
>She raises her head in a vain attempt to defend herself before it is slammed back into the ground.
“Please, you can take me. Just leave her alone!”
>T: “Silence, human!”
>You grit your teeth as Rarity’s voice quivers, squirming as Storm takes a deep breath, sniffing her mane.
>He looks disappointed.
>C: “What now, Storm?”
>SS: “I was hoping she smelled like snow…”
>R: “Please…just let us go…”
>Storm only responds by licking her fur along the back of her neck, drawing a fearful whine from Rarity.
>NMM: “Kill them.”
>You freeze. She’s never talked to you while you were awake before…
>NMM: “Kill them all…”
“Just stop it…”
>The minotaurs are full on ignoring you now, Rarity’s panicked squeals wearing away your rationality.
>You strained against your bonds.
>NMM: “I can help you, Anon. I can make all of this go away…save the girl…”
>You really don’t like where Storm’s hands are starting to wander.
“stop….”
>NMM: “Just let go…tell me, ask me, beg me for help…and you will reach your full potential…”
>The eye of the mare of the moon glows a dim, deep blue.
>It matches the glowing sigil of the half moon emerging on your forehead.

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>You are Tusk.
>This is making you really, REALLY uncomfortable.
>R: “Please, please don’t do this…”
>You manage to tune out the p0ny’s sobs.
“Hurry up Storm, get this over with…”
>Storm snorts at you as you fold your arms. “Unless you want a turn, keep your snout shut.”
>You wrinkle your nose.
“No thanks…”
>Clouds start to swirl in the sky as Storm traces the contours of Rarity’s flank, eliciting a creaky whimper.
>C: “I didn’t think it was going to storm tonight…”
>SS: “You know, if you two are going to kill the mood like this, you can just goooAAAAAAAAAGH!”
http://youtu.be/5ORdImR0kak
>You jump back as a lance of magical energy impales Steel Storm in the shoulder, staying embedded as the noble stands and lurches backwards.
>You follow the magic back to its source…
>To the human’s ar…
>The human?
>He stands as his outstretched hand clenches, drawing another yowl of pain from Storm as Rarity lies there, frozen in shock.
>The last remnants of the rope falls from his form, the ends awash in flame.
>A: “I said…leave her alone…”
>In history class, they said humans were ones to be feared.
>Now one stands before you, a glowing blue symbol on his head as his lips curl into a bloodthirsty grin, feeling those hollow black eyes stare directly through you.
>A: “You should have listened the first time…”
>In Canterlot, a certain guardp0ny takes a sip of coffee as the crystal he is guarding suddenly lights up like a tiny sun.