The Nightmare Stigmaby Impossible NumbersChaptersThe Nightmare Stigma, Part IThe Nightmare Stigma, Part IIThe Nightmare Stigma, Part IIIThe Nightmare Stigma, Part ILightning crashed and thunder roared about the cumulonimbus cliff. It ricocheted off the lip of the plateau poking through the anvil-shaped cloud. It lit up the glinting heights of the glacial castle, the fang-like towers, the arch windows like skull sockets. From one of the windows, the square-jawed pegasus narrowed his sunken eyes as he gazed upon the scene. His dark collar was as large as the wingspan of a giant fruit bat, and even flapped lazily from time to time in the wind. Grey was his fur, pale as death, and smelling faintly of lavender. He took a whiff of his cape. “Ah,” he murmured. “Lacy’s Laundrette has outdone itself again.” Empty corridors echoed with his steps as he strode onwards. Portraits, many of them almost exactly like him, hung grim and gaunt every few yards. A flagstone sank slightly under one of his hooves. The great oak doors creaked back as he neared, revealing the cavern of the dining room, the chandelier as vast and covered with candles as a dragon’s birthday cake, the table long enough to bridge a chasm. There was only one chair. He threw back the tails of his coat with each wing and eased himself onto his throne. Beneath his large chin, the newspaper stared up at him. “The Sunday Grim Tidings” stood out in copperplate font. His dining hall howled with silence, punctuated by the sounds of page-turning. The Count chuckled, and raised the newspaper to be level with his dark eyes. “Ah… now that is more like it.” On the page was: “Royal Moonlit Meadow Show Makes A Full Comeback!” “That makes both of us…” When he smiled, fangs glinted in the candlelight. Sharp, pointed, very un-pony-like fangs. His dentist had outdone himself again. Pages rustled while Daisy licked her hoof and turned to the gossip column. Occasionally, the seat shook and she grunted, stopping herself from falling off. On her right, the window reflected the inside of the carriage. A small cranefly stood on a corner of the glass, vibrating occasionally. She glanced at the mare sat next to her, and sighed. “Did you really have to bring that kind of stuff? You’re having enough nightmares as it is, and I’m not buying any more sleeping pills.” Lily lowered her book. “I’ll have you know,” she said tremulously, “that this is full to the brim with important facts the common pony needs to know.” And with that, she returned to reading 100 Different Ways The World Could End, (and What To Do About Each One). “I’m not asking for much,” said Daisy. “This is a perfectly harmless, perfectly boring flower show. With any luck, the worst that’ll happen is we lose by an embarrassingly wide margin. And I’m not saying that’s not catastrophic, but it is quite enough catastrophe to be going on with, you understand?” Lily snapped the book shut. “‘Harmless’? ‘Boring’? I’ve heard stories about how ‘harmless’ and ‘boring’ it used to be, when there were monsters all over the place. Great big freaky things with teeth. I’m not taking any chances.” “That was over a thousand years ago. Things have changed. Didn’t you read the paper? Princess Luna herself guarantees it’ll be more in line with modern sensibilities.” “Maybe so, but I’m still not throwing the silver stake out of my luggage.” On the seat before them, Roseluck stopped reading her own book and twisted in her seat to face them. “You’re fussing over nothing. Fuss over the kind of rare plants you’re going to see instead. Oh, just think of the rare plants! Silver bells, witching hour witch hazel, moonflowers the size of juniper bushes…” She patted the saddlebag on the seat next to her. “Trust me, girls. This is going to be a good event to remember.” “Oh, really?” Lily leaned forwards. “Then why do you have that lucky iron horseshoe and all that garlic in your lugga –” “It-was-a-gift-from-Doc!” Roseluck turned back to her book. After a while, she checked on their staring faces again. “Well, it was,” she squeaked. “That’s all. Nothing-more-to-it-than-that! It’s not like I’m scared of the night. Because-I’m-not!” Daisy rolled her eyes. No wonder I never go out of town with them. They’re always a bit skittish, and that’s every day. They’re downright jumpy around big events, especially after sundown. It’s like they’re getting butterflies in their stomachs with butterflies in their stomachs. “If it helps,” she ventured, “I know a really good eatery in Canterlot.” “Doughnut Joe’s?” Roseluck stiffened and grinned round at her. “Ooh, yes! Finest jam-filled doughnuts you’ve ever crammed into your mouth, and hot cocoa like liquid dreams!” “Oh, so you’ve been before, then?” Finally, a normal conversation. “Have I ever! Ah, the number of times Doc and I got into a cheery argument over plant biology there with old Joe… That guy grows interesting carnivorous pitcher plants, you know.” Lily shuddered and gritted her teeth. “Heliamphora?” “Ew! No! I meant Nepenthes.” Lily shuddered and gritted her teeth. “Those Heliamphora things give me the creeps, looking like ugly green acid buckets. Just thinking of the way they gape at you… Ewwww!” “That’s just prejudice. Not like Nepenthes. There was one in the Royal Canterlot Greenhouses once, and when a little fly landed in it…” Roseluck’s full body gave a spasm. Daisy glowered out the window. The distant silhouette of Canterlot couldn’t come fast enough. The Count sniffed the night air. Below him, the train rolled to a stop with a complete hiss. Above him, the station’s gigantic clock ticked another minute away. Around him, the shadows were cool and shielded him from the moonlit sky. Ponies disembarked from the train. His sunken eyes narrowed, picking out one shape after another. The urge burned within his mind. Drool pooled inside his mouth. He forced himself to shake it down, and then focused on the last ponies to come out of the nearest carriage. Aha, he thought. My kind of pony… The three were talking amongst themselves. One of them looked a little excited compared with the other two, wide-eyed and gesticulating madly on her hind legs from time to time. Perfect. I like a little enthusiasm. Cape fluttering behind him, he slipped his wings out and slipped around the station rooftop. “Did you just see something up there?” squeaked Lily, pointing upwards. “Oh, not this again,” moaned Daisy. “Come on, I want to get to the hotel on time. My eyes just won’t stay open, and I need a pillow.” Nevertheless, she couldn’t help glancing up to the rooftop. Furiously, she forced herself to look down at the marble floor of the station instead. “Are you sure you don’t want to see them setting up first?” Roseluck said, showing the station attendant the three tickets to check. “I vote hotel room,” said Lily, as they passed through the barrier to Canterlot’s main boulevard. “That’s only because you’ve worked yourself up into a tizzy.” “Don’t question the democratic process! Just respect its results.” Lily yelped at nothing. “Oh no, oh no, oh no. I felt something brushing up against my face!” Daisy overtook her, and a slight gust of wind caressed her face. “Fancy that. So do I. Anyway, the hotel should be east from the station, away from Canterlot Castle, which is…” she checked the tower silhouettes and pointed… “that one.” “Ah,” said Roseluck happily. “The cheaper outer zone. Economical and not far from the station.” And a long way from the show. I know you know. I can see through your act. “Uh yeah. That’s right.” The two of them walked for a straight minute before it occurred to Daisy they were one short. Both of them stopped. Both of them turned around. Both of them walked back. “Any monster sightings?” said Lily from the steps. She was dancing on the spot. “I thought I heard a noise…” I wish she didn’t do this. It’s going to be hard enough getting to sleep tonight as-is. “Lily, will you relax? It’s Canterlot. We’re right next to the Princesses’ castle. No one’s going to try anything this close to the Princesses.” “Oh yeah? Then why is your face turning pale?” “Bad circulation,” she lied at once. “I have hypotension from eating too many snacks.” “But hypotension doesn’t –” Roseluck began. “I think you should ask the Doc for a second opinion on that when we get back,” said Daisy, who knew Roseluck could barely remember her own house keys in the mornings. “Now let’s go get some shut-eye.” Frantically, Lily looked around the plaza. “Um… there is something else…” “Yes?” said Roseluck, with far more sympathy than Daisy was prepared to give. “What is it?” Still dancing on the spot, Lily said, “Which way’s the little filly’s room?” “Oh, it’s back in the station. Just go up the steps and turn right. We’ll wait –” Daisy watched the flash of pink fade away, which was around the point the turbulence stopped trying to throw her curls all over her face. “– here… Wow,” murmured Roseluck. “I’ve never seen her look so nervous.” This time, Daisy swore she heard the slight thunk as of someone hitting metal. When she looked up, however, there was nothing but station rooftop and the never-ending shadows. The Count crawled through the narrow chute, knees and hocks bumping slightly against the steel sides. Not that the darkness bothered him; minute currents in the air dashed over his sensitive face, coursed through his twitching nose… Yes… that scent… that sweaty floral scent… Turning the corner, he faced glowing slits, which resolved as he stared at them to a metal grille. His spine slithered, inching him forwards. I know that scent… Within him, the urge became a burning flame. The room beyond was white as opal. Mirrors lined the far wall above the wash basins with their gilded edges. Cubicles suggested themselves beneath his protruding lower muzzle. Someone flushed, and one of the cubicle doors bounced open. A pink pony blundered out of it, then stood in the centre of the aisle and froze. Her ears twitched. The Count grinned. Gently, he eased his cramped wings forwards and fiddled with the screws of the grille. Yes… carefully… carefully, now… Below, the mare relaxed and hurried over to the mirrors, checking her blonde locks by tugging at them until they were in front of her face. Humming nervously, she patted her snout, smoothed down her flanks, washed her hooves, tugged at her locks, wiped her hooves on the towels, wiped her locks with the towels, tugged at her locks, patted her snout, smoothed down her flanks, pulled at her locks, washed her hooves, wiped her hooves on the towels, and then paced up and down the aisle whimpering. The Count almost groaned at the fiddly bit. One screw remained stuck. He tried again. Still humming, the mare went back to the mirror. She smoothed down her flanks, washed her hooves, wiped her hooves on the towels – The screw tightened. He realized he’d just screwed it back in again. “Oh, to heck with this,” he hissed. One kick, and the grille clattered on the tiles. The mare spun round. He braced his wings against the sides and thrust himself forwards. The mare backed into the basins, wet hooves slipping slightly on the tiles. The Count landed on all fours. Behind her wide eyes, his reflected grin stretched. Sharpened teeth glinted. She barely had time to scream. He lunged for her neck. She reared up and his cape smothered them both – “Well. I’m done,” droned Lily. Lily shuffled down the station steps and strode on. The other two glanced at each other, and then hurried after her. “You were gone a while,” said Roseluck, catching up. “Yes,” droned Lily, staring forwards. “We thought something might have happened to you,” said Daisy, catching up on her other side. “It was an uneventful visit,” droned Lily, resolutely not looking at them. “I am perfectly fine. Let us continue.” “Er…” Daisy glanced across at Roseluck, who shrugged. “We thought we heard screaming.” “What did you explain it away as?” droned Lily, still staring ahead. “I thought it was the train pulling out,” said Roseluck. “Then it was just the train pulling out. How far until we reach the hotel?” Daisy coughed. Perhaps the mare was just tired, but… “Actually, the hotel’s the other way.” “Very good,” droned Lily, turning so swiftly that the other two didn’t think to stop for a few seconds. “I am tired and worn out and I need a healthy night’s sleep. Let us look forward to the show in comfort.” Smiling as politely as she dared, Daisy slowed down behind her and waited for Roseluck to do the same. She leaned across to her friend’s ear. “Is she acting a little… strange to you?” she whispered. “Like she believes she’s been brainwashed, to be exact?” “A bit. But she said she was tired,” Roseluck replied. “Maybe it’s just that? And what do you mean ‘believes’?” “Yeah well, keep an eye on her tomorrow, OK? And… probably tonight, too. In fact, make sure she doesn’t read that darned book again. I’m not indulging those delusions of hers, and I’ll just bet one of those hundred is ‘Society Gets Brainwashed Into Violent Insanity’.” “Oh,” said Roseluck. “I see.” Lily strode on, staring at the looming shadow of the hotel. They walked a few yards behind her after that. The Nightmare Stigma, Part IIFor a moment, Daisy thought she saw the wings slip past, and then the world dissolved and her brain kicked into gear. Soft fabric pressed up against her cheek. She opened her eyes. Someone knocked at the door. Groaning, forcing every single shifting muscle to obey her, she eased off the plush Canterlot bed, tottered across the smooth Canterlot carpet, bumped off the gilded Canterlot doorframe, cursed a very Ponyvillian curse, and peered through the peephole and a foggy layer of gummy cornea. “Wstfgl?” she murmured. “It’s meeeee!” Roseluck’s voice was muffled through the door. Daisy couldn’t tell if the blurry face was glass distortion or her own sleepy eyes. “Rise and shine! They’re wheeling out my surprise entry! Come on!” “Mmuh,” managed Daisy, and finally the words penetrated the mush that passed for her morning thoughts. “Oh, right. The entry. Um. Give me a minute. I gotta…” She patted what was left of her curls. “I gotta find my dandy brush first.” “I’ll see you in the lobbyyyyyyy! Don’t take loooooong!” Roseluck disappeared from view. Twenty two minutes later, she staggered out of the lobby, bumping into Roseluck occasionally as they crossed the threshold. Immediately before them, the hotel porter struggled against his yoke. “Madam?” he said through straining teeth. “Where… would you like… the delivery…?” “Just outside the Royal Gardens, please.” Ignoring his groan, she added, “I’d better come with you. It’s very delicate.” “Myuh,” said Daisy before slapping the last of the sleep out of her face. Her gaze followed the luckless porter. “So… what’s this surprise entry you won’t tell us about?” “Ha! I can’t tell you that! It’s a surprise!” “Oh, of course. How silly of me.” Roseluck giggled while the cart inched and stopped, inched and stopped, inched and stopped. “I’ve been keeping this in my basement for as long as I can remember, growing it in absolute darkness. My mother passed it on to me. She says that, when the moonlight strikes it on an extremely magical night, the flower will bloom to its full magnificence.” “Uh huh.” I need a cup of cocoa. And a full Canterlot breakfast. And a bed. “Must be a long-lived plant, then.” “Oh, yes. My mother told me it goes back generations. No one’s ever uncovered its true secret in my family.” “Ah, I see,” said Daisy hopelessly. They took a few steps into the road. “So you think this midnight show might –” “Precisely!” “– be the oppor… tunity… you…” She slapped her own face again. “My word, I’m slow. But… isn’t that a bit of a gamble?” Roseluck blushed and flapped a hoof airily. “Oh, you know me. Always the risk-taker, never the risk.” “Oh yes, that’s you to a T,” muttered Daisy, still pining for her bed. She glanced around. “Where’s Lily, then?” Instantly, the bouncy exuberance radiating from Roseluck toned down, like a sun being occluded by fog. She actually seemed to shrink slightly where she stood. “Uh,” she said while the porter groaned down the street. “I… thought she might prefer a lie-in today. You know… after all that staring she did last night. Right up until bedtime. And the… staring after I woke up…” They glanced up the height of the hotel front. Several balconies above, where the velvet curtains met the ivory railings, they spotted a face staring down. It was Lily. Her eyes were wide and staring directly at them both. Daisy forced herself to smile, and waved up at her. After a nudge, Roseluck did the same. “Morning Lily!” Daisy called up. “Nice to see you!” Out of the corner of her mouth, she whispered, “So we’re telling the Royal Guard about her strangeness, right?” “Absolutely,” whispered Roseluck. “Only, uh, let’s do it a couple of blocks away…” They each took a step backwards. “Where she can’t see us.” Soon, they were walking behind the cart’s pony-sized crate, which was drawing a few stares of its own from unicorns in the street. Lily stood in the middle of the room. She was staring at the wall opposite. Thuds could be heard on the other side of her door as ponies walked up and down the corridor. From upstairs, someone laughed and ran along the ceiling until a door slammed. On the bedside table, the hourglass sands poured on. Slowly, as though on the world’s most arthritic turntable, her head spun round until it turned away from the wall, past the room’s door, past the wardrobe, past the writing desk with the candelabrum on it, and past the velvet curtain to the balcony and to the rising sun outside. She traced its slow arc upwards. It was right behind her, so her head had to spin all the way round. Sitting up to the desk, Daisy once again wished she’d never crawled out of bed that morning. Beside her, Roseluck was tapping the edge of her own chair with the side of her ergot. Royal Guards marched past the cubicle door outside. Daisy got up and poked her head out into the aisle, peering down the stable-like offices to the glassy front doors that swelled like a split glass dome frosting over. She went back to the desk. “He’s been gone a while,” she said uncertainly. “Oh, it usually goes like this,” said Roseluck, not meeting her eye but apparently fascinated by the quill and inkstand. “Then they get Captain Shivers in to tell me off for wasting police time. Then they throw me out.” “You get involved a lot with the Doc’s hobbies, don’t you?” said Daisy coldly. “Well, actually…” She began tapping the edge of the desk. “I’ve… come up here by myself more often than not…” Daisy softened her expression. This wasn’t really all that surprising. In fact, she’d long known about the curse of the three flower ponies, mostly because it had been brought up a lot at school. Usually when they’d run out of the room screaming about spiders. It hardly seemed fair. After all, everyone knew ponies were skittish and didn’t like surprises. Everyone knew ponies were obliged by emotion-seeking abominations of prehistory and beyond to befriend each other or court death from the slightest unfriendly impulse. On top of that, everyone knew they lived in a land full of evil monsters and weird magical disasters that not only courted death but danced with it and brought it to social events for everyone to get acquainted with it. So logically, that meant she and her two friends were, if anything, the most realistic and the most essentially pony-like of all ponies. Suddenly, the door bounced off the wall. The captain strode in. He glared at them. “Oh, for Pete’s sake. You can climb down now.” Both of them were balanced precariously on the backrests of their chairs. They eased themselves down to the seats, smiling apologetically. Captain Shivers sat down opposite. “Corporal Poll tells me you two have concerns about your friend. Hello again, Miss Roseluck.” Roseluck grinned the grin of one pretending the last fifteen false alarms hadn’t happened. “Uh, hello. Captain.” He grunted and placed both front hooves together. “Now I heard everything from the corporal, so this is merely for clarification, you understand. You reported, and I quote, that your friend ‘keeps staring at things really, really hard’.” “Uh huh,” said Daisy, feeling her stomach sinking. “Right.” After a pause, he added, “So there definitely wasn’t anything else you wished to add?” Daisy glanced across at Roseluck, who shrugged helplessly. Up to me again, I guess. “She started acting weird after we got off the train last night. You see, we’re attending the Royal Moonlit Meadow Show, and everyone was just a little bit nervous –” Too late, she clamped her lips tightly together. Captain Shivers narrowed his eyes. “So she didn’t e.g. break into a building, or steal someone’s wallet, or kick a stranger in the face?” he said. “You know? Something concrete we could act upon?” “Well, she doesn’t usually stare so much,” said Daisy, who was already wishing she could kick him in the face. “That’s a case of suspicious abnormal behaviour, right?” “Look, this isn’t the first time Miss Roseluck here has been up before me. Last spring, she tried to report a snapped azalea in the Royal Canterlot Gardens.” “That was gross vandalism!” squeaked Roseluck. Captain Shivers ignored her. “The winter before that, she complained the Hearth’s Warming decorations were a fire hazard.” “There could’ve been arsonists,” insisted Roseluck. “You can’t deny that possibility.” “And the fall before that, she tried to have our official City Decorator for the Delightfully Cruel Nightmare Night arrested for behaviour likely to intimidate and or threaten.” “Well… those horrible decorations speak for themselves, right?” Daisy’s insides collapsed where she sat. “Please, Captain. I’m worried about my friend. Isn’t there anything you could do?” Captain Shivers smiled down at her, and the urge to kick it rose. “I’m sorry, but we need more substantial evidence before we can act. If we went around arresting ponies on such charges as ‘staring too much’, where would we be?” “I don’t know,” Daisy said through gritted teeth. “Maybe not cleaning up from the last changeling invasion.” The shock of her own words reverberated around her head. She tried to hide her neck. The captain’s glare was worse than a searchlight. “Go back to your flower show, ladies,” said Captain Shivers, gesturing to the door. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be of any more help. Treat your friend. Make her feel better. And remember: if anything actionable comes up, then we’re always willing to listen to you. Until then, I’m afraid I must ask you to leave.” While they stepped out into the aisle, Daisy could’ve sworn two things. The first one was that Roseluck glowered at the opposite stall for a moment before hiding it behind a sad but apparently understanding smile. The second one was that a shadow shifted in the rafters overhead. Neither of them spoke to each other on the way out. Daisy felt like she’d been told to step out of the classroom until she calmed down. Again. Even in this mild midday breeze that tackled her like a huddle of puppies as she stepped outside, she could feel her cheeks burning. Lily had been staring outside her balcony window until the sun rose out of sight. After that, she had to trace its trajectory by staring up the ceiling, then down the wall, and then down and across to the door. Steps echoed outside and stopped behind the beach-white wood. “Room service? Anyone in?” It opened slightly. “Oh, beg pardon. I didn’t realize anyone was in.” Lily stared on. “Um… are you OK?” Lily stared on. “All righty then… um…” Lily stared on. Eventually, the cleaner slammed the door. Steps echoed much faster as their maker hurried away. The room darkened. After a while, more steps rumbled by, and then stopped before the door. Voices muttered amongst themselves briefly. “Hi, Lily,” said the voice of Daisy, somewhat muffled. “We’ve, er, just been around the city. Taking in the sights, not worrying. You know? So uh, you –” Frantic whispering ensued. “You feeling better?” After a while, the other voice coughed. “We’re just getting ready to go check on the show now,” said the much squeakier voice of Roseluck. “Get a gander at the other early entries? I’ll be setting up my stall too, eh? Won’t that be fun?” The room continued to darken at an alarmingly boring rate. “OK, you’re still tired. Nothing wrong with being a bit tired. It’s not, you know, criminal or anything. We respect your privacy, even though up till now you’ve never had any from us.” Hooves shuffled on the carpet. “We’ll, uh, see you tomorrow then. If you’re sleeping… um… have a good night! Sweet dreams! Gotta go!” One set of hooves hurried off immediately. The remaining voice sighed. “Look,” said Daisy, “I don’t know what this is about, but we’re worried about you. How about we have a talk tomorrow morning at breakfast? I know something’s bothering you, but we’re your friends. You can count on us, right? Right?” Lily stared on. Another sigh. “OK, then. See you tomorrow, I guess.” Finally, the hoofsteps died away. All was silence. Lily stood and stared on. An hour later, and under much darker conditions, Lily blinked and woke up screaming. She finished her scream. She began to scream again. Then she blinked more frantically. She stopped in mid-scream. She looked around the room as though she’d never seen one before. “What the – Who the – How the – Where the heck am I!?” she cried out. “What happened to the little fillies’ room!?” Someone thumped the wall behind her bed. “Hey, keep it down in there!” they yelled. “I’m tryin’ to sleep!” Lily jumped away from it, smacking into the writing desk’s chair. A breeze played along the curtains. At once, she spun round with a yelp to face… The full moon, rising. Moonlight hit her in the face. She’d barely figured out this was a hotel room before her mind was thrown back into the darkness. Of course, she went out screaming. It seemed the best thing to do. Captain Shivers went out of the station, pausing only to nod to his night shift replacement coming up the steps. He paused again at the bottom, this time to peer up at the rising moon. “Ah me,” he murmured sadly. Further down the street, he paused for the third time and cocked an ear. He was sure he’d heard a flutter, but there were no pegasus ponies when he looked up to check, and none had landed in the street behind him. All was still and shadowy, the distant towers mere silhouettes in the dark. He chuckled and continued his march. The Royal Guard just weren’t what they used to be. A few years ago, he’d have been first in line to charge some hulking eldritch beast from the otherworld, often arresting them if they couldn’t pay up. They were awful for littering. But that was the point: ponies looked to the Guard and saw the shiny barding and the cropped haircut and tail, and they nodded and went about their business. Threats to Equestria knew their place back then. Now? Now, there were two Princesses – one had come back under suspicious but largely ignored circumstances – and now there were heroes all over the place. Old Law and Order were replaced by Mythic Quests and Noble Heroes, and what did he get out of it? Standing around like a dumb statue half the time, and dealing with the dumbest old lady complaints the other half. Now, if old ladies nodded at him, it was only to get him to agree that next door’s cat was smelly and ugly and needed to be ‘confiscanated’. And he was getting his haunches handed to him the other half of the time by the “hulking eldritch beast from the otherworld” of the week. Sometimes, he wondered what life would’ve been like if he’d changed his mind and taken higher mathematics at magical college. He turned the corner, and swore he saw another flash of wing out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and checked. Just stars. “Damned Roseluck,” he muttered as he continued marching. “Spreading her paranoia all over the place…” Yet even as half of him muttered on, another half of him had wished, just once, that her frightened ravings had been true. Oh, what an honour it would have been! Confronting evils beyond the ken of mortals, just like his father, and just like his father’s father, and just like mother’s father’s stepsister’s dog Fluffenschnoodle. To have proven that all those years studying military history had been worth it! Yet, another half of him wondered if he could have really, honestly handled it half as well as any of them. After all, he’d been the most boring of all the family, charging monsters was about all he’d been good at – As he turned the next corner, he suddenly wheeled round and pointed his horn, which glowed. “Gotcha!” he yelled. The wings glowed briefly, something shrieked, and then to his surprise the shadow fell out of his telekinetic grip and landed with a thump in an alleyway. Captain Shivers checked, but he was alone on this street. At once, he charged round the corner, blocking the alleyway. His horn lit up, capturing a pile of trash cans and their spilled piles of trash. Flies hovered about it. “Ha!” he said. “No one gets the drop on the good captain.” One slow hoof at a time, never lowering his horn, he advanced on the heap. Immediately, he held his breath as a precaution. “Now, you’re gonna answer me five questions,” he muttered. “Who are you? Why were you sneaking up on me in the dark? And are you aware there’s a charge for littering within the city boundary?” Almost on top of the heap, he summoned his spell and forced the trash and the cans against the wall, sweeping from the centre. Empty alleyway ground reflected his surprised gape. Suspiciously, he felt the weight of the trash within his telekinetic grip. Odd. There were no abnormalities of mass… By the time he’d worked it out and spun round, fluttering wings engulfed his face, muffling his yell. Worse, he made the mistake of breathing in. Around him, trash cans and trash crashed back onto the ground. The alleyway was plunged into darkness. And, eventually – save for the buzzing of the flies around the trash – silence. Daisy woke up into darkness, faint birdsong, and the stillness of her own body roasting under the thick Canterlot duvet. When she lifted her cheek off the pillow, the silk stuck to it briefly before peeling off. “Oooohh…” she groaned, wincing. For some reason, her brain throbbed. How late did I stay up last night? How much cocoa did I drink? She sat up in bed, her belly sloshing, and shielded her eyes from the raw sunlight. Oh dear. I forgot to draw the curtains last night. How could I be so… whatever I was last night. Say, what happens when you drink too much cocoa anyway? On the fifth attempt, she flopped out of bed and belly-flopped the carpet. Once the pain shrank away, she crawled over to the windows and levered herself up with the handle. The latch clicked. She belly-flopped the balcony floor instead. It was like marble. “Ow,” she moaned. “Why do mornings hate me? Did I just…” She yawned. “Did I just say something… profoundly insulting about them… when I was a filly? I feel like…” She yawned again. “I feel like the worst pony in the city. Ooh…” In the end, she stood on all fours, swaying like an upside-down pendulum. Blearily, her cringing eyes peeped out from beneath a furrowed brow and above shielding eyelids. Ponies moved on the street below, just where it opened into an alleyway. She saw a white cart with a red plus on the side. A stallion in a stretcher disappeared into the rear of the vehicle. Then the doors slammed shut. Around it, a ring of bystanders chattered amongst themselves. Daisy gasped while the ambulance went down the street and turned the corner, its driver galloping. “Oh my,” she murmured. I’ve seen that stallion before! “Was that…? Um…” The morning smacked her head again. “Oh, drat,” she moaned. “What was his name again? Shiny armour guy… Big muzzle… Uh…” Hooves rapped against her main door. From the corridor came Roseluck’s frantic panting. “Daisy! Daisy! Wake up! Wake up! Something’s happened! It’s a sign! A bad sign!” Eventually, Daisy zigzagged to the door – banging her hock against the bed once – and opened it. “Lily,” she said at once. “Check on Lily.” Roseluck goggled at her. “Lily!? You think she’s involved?” “Not a clue. Let’s check on her anyway. Just in case.” “You don’t want to brush your hair first?” “Forget the hair! Our friend could be in danger!” Halfway up the corridor, she added, “I’ll brush it afterwards.” They almost tripped down the stairs, and successfully bumped into an elderly couple coming down the next corridor. Many apologies later, they were outside Room 101, but had to stop to get their breaths back and wait for their lungs to cool down. Roseluck went to knock on the door. At the first hit, it swung open. “Uh oh.” Her face went pale. “That’s never a good sign.” “Lily?” Daisy stuck her head in. “Hey, her room looks just like mine.” “Lily!” yelled Roseluck, cupping her hooves to her mouth. “Liiiiilly!” “Ow! That was right in my ear!” “Sorry. Sorry.” Loud thumping came from the next room over. “I told you last night!” yelled a muffled voice. “Keep it down already!” Both of them exchanged glances. They went inside. “Lily?” said Roseluck. They passed the en suite bathroom door; through a crack, they could see the towels still neatly folded on the rack. “Lily? Are you in here?” They checked round the corner. Blank wall. They checked the writing desk. Unoccupied, save for a rather fetching candelabrum. They checked the bed. Lily was curled up on the large pillow, right against the wall. Legs, tail, even neck: all were folded or squeezed as tightly as possible, as though afraid of touching the rounded fabrics around them. Her eyes were wide. Both pupils locked onto them as they stepped up to the bed. A lump rose out of the duvet nearest to her. Even through her morning slowness and the stabs of a panic trying to break out, Daisy sensed her own sharp interest aiming at it at once. “Oh, Lily.” Roseluck’s hoof covered her mouth. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking like a leaf on an Arctic Wrap-Up Willow.” Lily whimpered and shook her head. In her cramped position, she seemed to be nuzzling the edge of the duvet. At once, Daisy felt the breeze caress her tangled mane. The balcony was wide open. About it, curtains fluttered. “Er… what were you doing last night?” she said. Lily took a shuddering breath. “I don’t remember,” she whined. “I don’t remember anything! First, I was in the little fillies’ room. Then I woke up here. Then I woke up again, and I was here again.” Daisy hurried over to the balcony, stomach still sloshing. The breeze was a comfort cooling her still-too-warm body. Yet despite the fluttering curtains, the railings looked normal, the ground looked normal, the view across the opalescent rooftops to Canterlot Castle looked normal – Damned girl got the best room, said a brief spark of rage in her head – and nothing else stood out. She turned back. On the wall next to the balcony, three imprints stood out. Each one was the size of a pony head, rounded on top, square at the bottom. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I don’t need this. I just came here for a flower show. Why do I have to be reminded of this sort of freakish superstrength that could tie a knot in my spine? Those imprints must be an inch deep, and that’s solid white brick! “Roseluck,” she began, stepping back in. Roseluck lowered the duvet. “Oh my,” she said. “Lily, where did you get this?” “‘Get it’? I didn’t get it!” said Lily. She drew back from the lump and trembled harder. “I don’t know how it got there, I swear!” “How what got where?” said Daisy. Roseluck gulped and threw back the corner. The golden helmet rolled a bit and then settled back down. Dents ran along the back where its rounded top stretched down to a square bottom. A Royal Guard helmet. “Daisy,” said Roseluck from somewhere suddenly very far away, “I was downstairs just now. They said there was a Royal Guard attack last night. It was Captain Shivers. This can’t be just a coincidence!” Don’t panic. Don’t panic. We always panic. At a time like this, the sensible thing to do is… is… well, it certainly isn’t panicking. I know that. “You’re taking this awfully well,” she lied to Roseluck’s wide eyes and quivering lips. “What’s going on!? What’s going on!? What’s going on!?” shrieked Lily, contriving despite her own cramped dimensions to cramp herself even more tightly. “Some beasty’s after me! That’s what this is! It’s the End Of The World Number 42! I just know it!” “It’s not the end of the world!” Daisy snapped before she could stop herself. Much more calmly, she continued, “Tell the Royal Guard. That’s the thing to do. They didn’t believe us before, they’ll definitely believe us this time.” “No!” Roseluck threw herself at Lily, then realized what she was doing and threw herself away, screaming. “They’ll lock her up! She might be under some kind of crazy brainwashing! So they probably should! But I don’t want them to! Kinda! Unless she’s innocent! Which she might not be!” “The Royal Guard!?” Lily stiffened. “What do you mean ‘before’!?” “Stop yelling!” yelled Daisy. It really is like a disease. As soon as one of us gets it… No! I’m not falling for it. I’m getting sick of falling for it. One of us has to be the mature one around here. She swallowed. “Let’s find someone to sort this out for us, and then find somewhere to hide and pray. How’s that sound?” Lily raised a trembling hoof. “That gets my vote.” “Mine too,” added Roseluck. Someone banged on the wall behind the bed. “Gosh darned it, you foals! If you don’t shut up, I swear I’m calling the manager!” The Nightmare Stigma, Part IIIThis time, the station bustled with more guards marching more quickly with more paperwork in their mouths or levitating beside them. Daisy rubbed her hooves together and waited in the cubicle. “He’s been gone a while,” she said. Next to her, Lily curled up on the middle chair, shaking and glancing at anything and everything. On the far chair, Roseluck reached across to her, paused, and then drew back cringing. Lily caught the movement. “Hey,” she whined. “You always used to pat me on the withers when I was scared.” Panic burst across Roseluck’s face. “Whatever-happens-we’re-still-here-for-you,” she said in one breath. “Then why did you hesitate?” “Good question,” said Daisy, willing herself to breathe normally and not e.g. hyperventilate. She could feel her own heartbeat pounding for attention. “She seems fine at the moment. I bet whatever happens only happens at night. Remember the first night we arrived here, that incident when she went to the bathroom and came out strange? And last night was the night of the attack.” They both glared at her. “Then what’s your excuse?” said Lily huffily. After a few seconds, Daisy reached across and gave Lily one pat. “Um… there, there,” she said. Then she took her hoof back hurriedly. Sighing, Lily hung her head. “Don’t worry,” Daisy added. “I’m sure the guard will figure it out and get this whole situation under control. From school onwards, we’ve always come out on top, right girls?” “Speak for yourself,” growled Lily to the desk. “I flunked everything except biology, remember? And even then, I only got a credit in botany. That’s all I’ve even been top of.” “I-I didn’t mean academically, I meant –” “I got a pass grade in every subject,” said Roseluck. “Maybe not a credit, exactly, but… Well, flawless mediocrity sort of counts as being ‘on top’, right?” Daisy wisely skipped over her own qualifications, and any examples of things she’d been “on top of”. Instead, she cleared her throat. “I meant welfare-wise. And we’ve always got the florist’s back in Ponyville,” she said. “A lot of good memories in that florist’s, remember?” “Yeah, but not a lot of money,” muttered Lily sullenly. “How long did it take you to save for this trip again?” “Us, Lily. Us.” “Don’t give me that. Who’s the registered owner of the florist’s again?” “Aw, come on. Don’t be like that. I’ve always considered you my equals. Don’t drag legal and especially fiscal niceties into this.” Lily narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously. “We do care,” insisted Roseluck. “Really we do. A hundred nights spent cowering together in the basement proves it.” “Yeah,” murmured Lily, looking at her own raised hooves. “But then it was us three scared at the world together –” Unfortunately, she chose that moment to look up at once. Daisy flinched. Too late, she averted her gaze. “There!” wailed Lily. “There! I just saw it in your eyes! You’re utterly terrified of me!” “No, we’re not,” lied Daisy over the rapid hammering of her heart. “Yes you are! It’s true! I’m a monster! I’m going crazy, and you know it! Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! I don’t want to scare any of you! It scares me worst of all!” Lily buried her face in her hooves, shoulders heaving. Daisy glanced at Roseluck. Both of them reached for Lily’s withers… then both of them drew back. Instead, they stared at the cubicle walls and tried to ignore the sobs. You coward, Daisy thought. And Roseluck’s no better. Please, for the love of Pete, make this stop. Suddenly, the door bounced off the wall. The corporal strode in. He stopped and raised an eyebrow at them. “Uh… you two OK?” Balanced on their respective backrests, Daisy and Roseluck glanced down at Lily, who was still heaving and sobbing. “My word,” breathed Roseluck, climbing back down. “This is serious.” “No kidding.” Daisy sat on her chair again. Corporal Poll fiddled with the rivets on his chest plate. “I’m afraid ‘serious’ isn’t the half of it, ladies. According to the report your friend, Miss Lily Valley, provided about herself…” “I had to do it!” wailed Lily, raising a face streaked with tears. “I know there’s something wrong with me!” Corporal Poll gave Daisy a pleading look. “What’s wrong, Corporal?” she said. “Well…” He winced at a sniff from Lily, who wiped her muzzle with the back of a hoof. “The preliminary report on Captain Shivers came in shortly after you arrived. He’s experiencing the same symptoms Miss Lily Valley described: general staring, memory blackouts, moments of panicky clarity.” “Hold on a second,” said Roseluck. “It took Lily a whole day to go through those symptoms. How can he be rushing through them all already? It’s not even lunchtime yet.” “Don’t interrupt him when he’s delivering traumatic news!” snapped Lily, her face still moist. “A stallion’s suffering because of me! How can you be so insensitive!?” Daisy groaned; she could already see the trembling lip and pooling tears in Roseluck’s face. She’d always been the most sensitive of the three. “Er,” Daisy said hastily. “So what does this mean, Corporal?” Corporal Poll was still drawing away from the other two with horror stretching across his face. “Hm? What? Oh, right. Yes. Well, we’ve reported another symptom. There were two puncture marks on the neck of the Captain.” Before she could stop herself, Daisy glanced at Lily’s neck. Not so much as a pimple. “Odd…” she muttered. “Don’t you start too!” Lily rounded on her, granting a clear view of the other side of her neck. All blemish-free. “Given this information,” continued Corporal Poll, “we suspect this is a supernatural phenomenon. In which case, we’re transferring the case over to a specialist.” He tugged at his breastplate. “A very… special… specialist.” Something about the way he said it made Daisy narrow her eyes at him. “‘Special’ in what way?” Corporal Poll writhed in some kind of private hell. A moment later, a fanfare burst through the station. Trumpets blasted in their ears. Ponies outside murmured and then stopped moving. Several backed away and kneeled. At once, Corporal Poll rose and placed one hoof on his chest. All trace of fear retreated to a slight twitch around each eye. Hinges creaked as someone eased the door open behind them. “Greetings, salutations, and many pleasantries of a similar nature,” said a curt voice. Daisy, Lily, and Roseluck spun around in their chairs. Four sapphire slippers gave way to four slender limbs like deathly columns, which in turn gave way to midnight blue. A black collar lurked beneath a piercing stare, surrounded by a mane that was more like a cape made from a piece of the night. Stars twinkled within the flowing curls of darkness. Lightning flashed. Indoors, somehow. Without hesitation, all three of them bowed, and then groaned as they hit their heads on the backrests. “Oh my gosh! It’s Princess Luna!” hissed Roseluck under her breath. “The Princess Luna!” “We have eyes, genius!” hissed Daisy back. “She’s the one hosting the Royal Moonlit Meadow Show Comeback!” “And working memories too!” While some pegasus officer pushed away the dramatic thundercloud behind her, Princess Luna raised a hoof. “Desist from formalities, Our subjects. We come bearing grim tidings. Now is not the time for solemnity.” Daisy tried – really tried – to smile. Rumours and gossip aside, the official position was that Princess Luna was no longer a threat of any kind, despite the suspicious yet largely ignored circumstances of her return. In a way, it was utterly reassuring to have two Princesses watching over Canterlot. In fact, she still remembered the first Nightmare Night occasion involving Princess Luna, though sadly not where she’d last left her cowpony hat that year. Somehow, it was a lot harder to remember all that when a hundred hands of living midnight loomed over her. The Princess was scowling at her. Daisy squeaked something that might’ve been a strangled “hello”, or a garbled “uh oh”. The towering Princess softened her expression. “We understand you have grim concerns regarding your condition. Fear not, Our dear subject. We believe We may be able to assist you in your unholy plight.” “Um.” Lily raised a trembling hoof. “I’m the one with the condition, Your Highness.” Princess Luna glanced between them, and then coughed. “Ah. I see. Apologies. The physical description was a little vague.” Daisy noted the “on again, off again” Royal We. As soon as Corporal Poll stood up, opened a drawer, grabbed a cushion for the chair, and stood aside for her, the Princess placed herself onto the vacated seat. A slight wiggle later, she settled down, both forehooves delicately pressing against each other and elbows balancing on the desktop. “Alas, the situation is grave,” she enunciated, and Daisy found herself admiring the classy Canterlot inflections. “As a Princess of considerable millennia, We have studied many an entity of paranormal provenance. As soon as We were informed of the symptoms, We were able to determine the exact nature of the curse.” Lily squeaked. “C-C-C-Curse?” Roseluck murmured. “Y-Y-Your Highness?” Princess Luna nodded. “Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Many Canterlot ponies last night have told of friends or relatives or odd strangers found in alleyways, all showing these exact symptoms. So many poor victims.” “Oh my gosh…” Lily bit her hoof, chipping it. “What have I done?” “Relax, Lily,” whispered Daisy, braving her own shaking enough to pat Lily on the knee. “Maybe it’s not just you. Whatever attacked you in that bathroom could have attacked other ponies too.” “That’s supposed to make me feel better?” “Um… well, less guilty, anyway.” Princess Luna sighed. “It is impossible to say at present how many such beings are at large in the city. With much regret, We must inform you: Miss Lily Valley of the town of Ponyville, all the evidence points to a local epidemic of acute vampirism.” Lily gasped into her hoof, which she bit again. “You mean…?” The Princess bowed her head. “Yes.” “I’m a…I’m really…?” “We would have to confirm the presence of a bite mark upon your body, but given all the prevailing evidence, that would merely be corroboration at this stage.” Roseluck pressed her hooves on the desktop. “B-B-But there m-m-must be s-s-s-something w-we can d-do, O M-Mistress of the Everlasting N-Night! W-We be-be-beseech you, hum-humble as we are! I throw my worth-worthless s-self on your m-m-m-mercy!” Always the drama queen, thought Daisy, shaking her head. Princess Luna glanced pleadingly at Corporal Poll, who hastily shrugged and looked away. “Uh,” she said, coughing into her hoof. “Well, uh… That’s where it gets… difficult.” “Name thy price!” wailed Roseluck. “Princess Of All Darkness, I am but a worm in the grass! Do not take my best friend from me! Please, take me instead!” “Calm down, Roseluck,” hissed Daisy. “Stop embarrassing yourself.” Aloud, she said, “But what can we do, Your Highness?” “Uh…” Princess Luna drew her forelimbs away from Roseluck, who was stretching across the desk towards her. “Regrettably, um, there’s no easy way to say this, but… such as it is… be that as it may… well… I don’t suppose any of you ponies are in possession of a silver stake, by any chance?” Lily burst into tears and Roseluck wailed. Panic jumped out of Luna’s face. “Relax, relax!” The Princess flapped her hooves frantically, trying to speak over the noise. “I didn’t mean it that way! It was just a precaution.” “Anything else we can do, Your Highness!?” Daisy yelled over the noise. A sharp outburst of woe stabbed her in the ear. Princess Luna turned to this one island of sanity. She rubbed her chin and murmured something. Daisy cupped her hooves around her ear. “Pardon!?” “I said, perhaps there is one thing!” she yelled. The other two settled down to a dull snuffling. “There is?” they said in unison. Luna grimaced at them. “Perhaps,” she said cautiously. Then she rose from her chair. “But you must come with me. I – I mean, We – suspect evil complications are afoot. If you are the primary victim, then there may be more to the situation than any of us realizes. We must away to the Outpost immediately.” The Outpost was a lighthouse among towers; a spiralling outer staircase rose up the concave heights and peaked at the bulbous head with its vast windows wide and all-seeing. Beyond it, the mountains of the Canterlot range surpassed it with all the granite grace of a colossal library, its shelves marked by pathways and longwise ridges. At the head of the line, Princess Luna marched to the top of the stairs and about-turned. Daisy staggered to a halt, panting, followed by Roseluck and then Lily. Princess Luna reared up and placed a slippered hoof onto the oaken portal. Eventually, the three of them stopped gasping for air and straightened up, standing in a row. “Within the Outpost are the methods to determine the nature of the vampirism that has befallen you,” said Princess Luna to Lily, who instantly stiffened. “However, I must warn you that what you will find may prove distressing and shameful. We will be able to inform your friends of the most pertinent and sufficient details, but We believe it best that, for the duration of the examination, We must speak with you alone.” No one spoke. Very slowly and deliberately, Roseluck reached across and drew Lily closer by the shoulders. Princess Luna raised an imperious eyebrow. “This is not for you to decide. Miss Lily Valley alone has that right.” Daisy thought it best to kneel. “With all due respect, Your Highness,” she said, hoping nothing she said was remotely likely to raise that eyebrow any higher, “we’ve always been together come rain or shine. Usually rain. I don’t have anything against your judgement, of course. Nothing whatsoever. It’s just that… well, it’s hard to put into words…” “No need for formalities,” said Princess Luna, trying what was technically a smile. At least, the corners of her mouth went up. The raised eyebrow ruined the effect somewhat. With Roseluck still gripping her shoulders, Lily sighed. “All right. You two can come in. I’m sure whatever we find in there won’t be any more embarrassing than what we’ve got out here.” The Princess nodded. “As you wish.” They went through, Lily muttering, “I wouldn’t have minded some time to myself, of course… I’m only doing it ‘cause they’ll bug me about it later anyway…” “You seem a little tense, Lily,” said Roseluck. “No, I’m not! And would you let go of my shoulders, please?” Daisy hesitated, one hoof still raised over the threshold. Lily and Roseluck hesitated in turn. She heard the clank of hidden machinery, smelled the stinging scents of acids, and felt a crackling over her fur as she stepped into the Outpost’s main laboratory. Charts smothered one wall. Bleeping devices sat on workbenches. Vast metal boxes bulged and hissed and rumbled around them. Overhead, sparks of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet zipped across the wires and zapped hanging hybrids of chandeliers and upside-down chemistry sets. Yet she couldn’t help noticing the little… gothic touches. Cobwebs in the corners. Dark wallpaper, blood red carpet, rickety wooden boards for a ceiling. Unprompted, the words “mad scientist” crossed her mind. “My word…” she breathed. Together, Lily and Roseluck each took a step backwards. A flash of blue: Princess Luna’s midnight blue torso vanished under a lab coat that reached to the floor behind her rear hooves. “A most impressive feat of interior design, is it not?” she said, totally misreading the wide eyes on their faces. “Um…” Daisy’s glance met only frantic head-shaking from the other two. “It’s very… ‘Doctor Deadhorse’, I think.” “Ah yes,” said the Princess dreamily. “A pioneer of the posthumous galvanization technique. We understand he was a trendsetter much in vogue three centuries ago. Alas, We never had the pleasure of meeting him, but We have studied his work most assiduously.” “Is… is that why you look like… I mean, why you’re dressed in…” Daisy gave up. She was starting to regret her moment of loyalty outside. “One must perform the examination according to custom and according to professional practice. But come.” Helpless as hypnosis victims, they followed the Princess over to a chart in the wall. Under the blue influence of Princess magic, its images rolled to the left. Daisy peered round its edge to see the rollers, but only met more paper pressed against an unseen, inch-thick backing. “Er… Miss Princess?” Roseluck lowered her hoof. “How many types of vampires can there be?” “We have encountered dozens upon our various travels,” intoned Princess Luna. “Including the rare and delightful watermelon vampire.” “The what?” said Roseluck. “The watermelon vampire.” “Watermelon vampire?” spluttered Daisy. “That is what We said,” insisted Luna. “Wow. It must suck to be one of those, eh?” said Roseluck. The wires sparked. The chemicals stank. The chart rolled on. “Moving on,” said Princess Luna. “It’s a play on words,” said Roseluck. “You see, because you suck a watermelon –” “We know,” said Lily. “But vampires suck you, you see, so when I said ‘it must suck’ –” “Hilarious,” said Daisy dully. “And when you use the phrase ‘sucks to be you’, because let’s face it, being a watermelon is about as low as you can get –” “Yet it is almost always the case that vampirism runs within families,” said Princess Luna, baring her teeth. Ignoring Roseluck’s groan, Lily pointed. “What’s that, then? Some kind of big family tree folded up?” “Exactly.” Luna slowed the leftwards rolling, and then the images instead rolled upwards. “I was only trying to lighten the mood,” said Roseluck. “How’s it doing that, anyway? It can’t go up and down as well as left or right if it’s attached to the wall. That’s impossible!” “The key word being ‘trying’.” Luna smoothed her face into a genial smile. “Impossible, you say? In the four dimensions of time and space, yes. In the fifth and sixth ones, it’s actually very simple to do.” “Whoa…” Roseluck stepped closer. “Doc was going on about all kinds of dimensions back in Ponyville. Wait till I tell him about this!” Daisy shivered. Dimensions. When that word is being bandied about, the “scientist” part is definitely in play. Now to check on the “mad” part… “What’s it doing?” she said. “Currently, We are calibrating it to Miss Lily Valley’s family tree. Unless” – Princess Luna lowered her head to be level with Lily’s – “you can name any living relatives who may have confessed their vampirism to you? Maybe? On the off-chance?” Sparks buzzed over their manes as a couple of wires discharged. Lily shook her head. “Sorry,” she said. “My baby cousin used to be a nibbler, if that helps.” The chart slowed down. One of the images was a small portrait of Lily’s head, looking dumbfounded at the painter. From there, it followed the lines up to two more portraits, across to cousins and aunts and uncles, up to grandparents and their siblings… “Interesting,” said Princess Luna. “It appears you have pegasus ancestors.” Lily wiped her hoof on her chest, inspecting it occasionally. “Oh yeah. On my mother’s side. That’s where I got my flowing blonde locks.” The chart continued to sweep side-to-side. The Princess’s glowing magic forced it to rise. “Oh my. And not just any pegasus ancestors. Yes… the rounded profile… the military flaming hair… All only a few generations back. We believe these are Cloudsdale nobles. ” “Whoa. Really?” Lily leaned closer. “We beg your pardon. You were unaware of your heritage?” “I never really took an interest in family trees. Not my cup of herbal tea.” Lily hummed to herself. “So, about these noble ancestors… They rich?” Despite herself, Daisy felt her stomach clenching at the sight of Lily and the Princess talking. Lily smiling and asking questions was much better than Lily grimacing and shouting for help, true. And at the end of the day, all this was just like going to the doctor to get rid of a cold. Yes, it was much better when she thought about it that way. Nevertheless, the more Lily and Princess Luna talked, the more they seemed to fade into a world of their own. No: the more Daisy seemed to fade into a world of her own. So what if she’s got noble ancestors? Lily’s as common an earth pony as me and Roseluck. But for a bathroom break, that could’ve been me chatting with royals about which Lord and which Lady was my great-great-great-great-grandparent. Anyway, Lily was on the verge of panic a few hours ago. That’s the only reason we’re here at all. Daisy found herself glaring at the back of Lily’s head. Her legs warmed with the urge to kick. Finally, Princess Luna shook her head at the genealogy chart. “No candidates so far. We shall set it to continue its sweep, just in case, but sadly no light dawns for us there. Come with me.” “So what can we do?” said Roseluck. At the Princess’s beckoning hoof, Lily strode over to one of the bulging machines. Smile rapidly fading from her lips, she stepped up onto a podium and cringed at various arms reaching down and around her. Most of them ended with tools stolen from a dentist’s. “Vampirism is gradual,” said Princess Luna, horn aglow and directing the tools to the skin one at a time. “The longer Miss Lily Valley goes without help, the worse she will become. Our only hope is to cure it in its earliest stages, or else it shall become… permanent.” Lightning flashed outside the window. Roseluck shrieked. “Who keeps following you with that?!” A pegasus pushed a thundercloud past the window. “Ah! Make him cut it out!” “We’re afraid that is impossible,” said Princess Luna. “We’ve given him a grant.” Lily gritted her teeth against a drill-like device trying to probe her ear. “Permanent?” she said. “It’s not going to come to that,” said Daisy. “What’s the cure?” “Impossible to say,” said Princess Luna, “without further examination. However, judging from these preliminary results” – she nodded to rolls of ticker tape and what looked like a seismograph reading pouring out of the machine’s slots – “this specific kind of vampirism is of a more conventional breed. In which case, there are at least two definite cures.” “What?” Lily tried to lean away from the machine, but Luna’s irritable spell made one of the arms nudge her back into place. “What cures? Are they painful?” “Either,” intoned Princess Luna, and the room darkened, and the crackling air was stilled, and Daisy’s limbs quivered where they stood, “you must defeat the original vampire, or you must force it to lift the curse.” “What?” shrieked Roseluck. “Those are merely the definite cures.” “But we don’t even know who the original vampire is!” Daisy fell onto her knees. “Isn’t there any other way? I can give blood, or teach her to suck watermelons! Anything!” Despite her words, the clenching feeling was still there. No! She’s my friend, come rain or shine! She doesn’t really want to be special, can’t you see that? What’s wrong with me? Princess Luna laughed, a royal laugh clear as a cathedral bell tolling within her lungs. “It will not come to that, my little pony.” “Oh sure,” muttered Roseluck under her breath. “You laugh at her watermelon joke…” “It wasn’t a joke,” said Daisy coldly. “We shall conduct further tests in order to eliminate all possibilities, leaving Us with the one form of vampirism under which Miss Lily Valley suffers most cruelly. Only once We know which of the unholy forces dwells within her mortal frame will We have the greatest chance to be rid of it.” Sighing, she turned to Lily. “It may take hours of testing and re-testing, and even then We shall only be certain under the light of a full moon…” “You mean – ow!” Lily winced at a prod jabbing her nostrils. “You mean I’ll have to stay here? Overnight?” One regal nod was enough. “And…” Lily’s face began to blanch. “I’ll have to… go through all that… that…? When it’s lights out…?” “It’s the only way to be sure,” insisted Luna. Lily’s eyes began to water, though that might’ve been because one of the arms had just sprayed them. “You’ll watch over me, right?” she said just before two prongs forced her lips to stay open. “Yes. It is imperative we understand this epidemic. We shall do what we can to keep you – and your fellow ponies – safe from attack.” Lily garbled something through the prongs. Both arms withdrew. “Can I have a moment?” she said again. “Alone? With my friends?” “As you wish. Speak Our name, and We shall return.” Once the oak doors creaked and slammed, Roseluck pushed the unmoving arms aside and gripped Lily one hoof to each shoulder. “We’re not going anywhere!” “It’s only for one night,” said Lily. “Don’t waste it on me. Go out and enjoy yourselves.” “Now wait a minute –” began Daisy. “No. You heard Princess Luna. I’m going to be fine.” The door creaked. “You wish Us to return already?” “No! Slip of the tongue! I’m not done yet.” “Oh. I see. Uh… apologies for interrupting.” Head hanging, Luna eased the door to. “Look,” said Lily as soon as Daisy opened her mouth again, “I’m under quality protection, right? Who’s going to top a Princess for a bodyguard? And even if, somehow, by some freaky coincidence, I managed to break out, you’d be far away from me. There’s no way I could do anything to you. It makes total sense.” “It’s awful,” mumbled Roseluck to her hooves. “Well, I’m the one with vampirism, and you don’t see me making a scene.” “Oh yeah? So that’s how you really feel?” said Daisy. “Sure. Go out and enjoy your time in Canterlot. I won’t mind.” Lily’s mouth strained to stretch into a smile. “Tomorrow at breakfast. We’ll swap stories and talk about the show. Don’t ruin your stay on my account.” “But it’s not on your account. You never asked for this.” Amid the acrid smells and the clanking of hidden machines and the bulging, hissing, rumbling metal boxes, they waited. Daisy glanced at their faces. Apparently, they were inspecting the blood red carpet. “We are still friends, right?” Lily blurted out. “Of-Of course we are!” spluttered Daisy to Roseluck’s frantic nodding. “I-It’ll take more than a bit of bad luck to come between us. You bet.” “Well,” said Lily, “there were another ninety nine ways this could have ended badly.” “And there it is. I knew I shouldn’t have let you buy that book,” said Daisy. “Let me? Let me!? Anyway, joke’s on you! I was right! It’s an undead apocalypse, if I’m not mistaken.” “You think everything’s out to get you, don’t you? Any one of us could’ve been bitten.” Too late, Daisy blurted out, “If indeed you were bitten.” Roseluck covered her mouth with both hooves. “What!” hissed Lily. “What’s that meant to mean?” “I meant –” That you were always the one jumping up and down in class. That you call yourself the “life of the party” when you think no one else is listening, even when I’m right behind your bedroom door. That you think everyone’s doing evil magic experiments that’ll get you, sooner or later. That you make up stories about visiting the Princesses for tea every Friday night when us two are visiting… er… other friends. That you’d fake a vampire attack if it meant proving you’re not still that dumb foal who was picked last for junior buckball and hoedown dance-offs! Daisy clamped her lips tightly together at once. Invisible vices squeezed from her stomach, up her throat, and on her writhing tongue. No. You can’t say any of that and still be friends. It ends here. “Nothing,” she said, not meeting her eye. “I was just a little high-strung. I didn’t mean anything.” More sincerely, she added, “I’ll just be glad when this is all over.” Lily cast a cringing glance at the tools raised overhead. “Amen to that.” Between them, Roseluck nodded and waved. “We’ll tell you everything that happened, right down to what food we ate and how many varieties of rose we’ve seen.” “Yeah,” mumbled Daisy, already turning around. “Good luck, Lily.” Both she and Roseluck went out the door without a backwards look. They barely registered Luna, who took her ear away from the frame and straightened up a little too smartly. “Does she want me back in?” she said. On their way past, they nodded and began the long trek back down the stairs.
The Nightmare Stigma, Part ILightning crashed and thunder roared about the cumulonimbus cliff. It ricocheted off the lip of the plateau poking through the anvil-shaped cloud. It lit up the glinting heights of the glacial castle, the fang-like towers, the arch windows like skull sockets. From one of the windows, the square-jawed pegasus narrowed his sunken eyes as he gazed upon the scene. His dark collar was as large as the wingspan of a giant fruit bat, and even flapped lazily from time to time in the wind. Grey was his fur, pale as death, and smelling faintly of lavender. He took a whiff of his cape. “Ah,” he murmured. “Lacy’s Laundrette has outdone itself again.” Empty corridors echoed with his steps as he strode onwards. Portraits, many of them almost exactly like him, hung grim and gaunt every few yards. A flagstone sank slightly under one of his hooves. The great oak doors creaked back as he neared, revealing the cavern of the dining room, the chandelier as vast and covered with candles as a dragon’s birthday cake, the table long enough to bridge a chasm. There was only one chair. He threw back the tails of his coat with each wing and eased himself onto his throne. Beneath his large chin, the newspaper stared up at him. “The Sunday Grim Tidings” stood out in copperplate font. His dining hall howled with silence, punctuated by the sounds of page-turning. The Count chuckled, and raised the newspaper to be level with his dark eyes. “Ah… now that is more like it.” On the page was: “Royal Moonlit Meadow Show Makes A Full Comeback!” “That makes both of us…” When he smiled, fangs glinted in the candlelight. Sharp, pointed, very un-pony-like fangs. His dentist had outdone himself again. Pages rustled while Daisy licked her hoof and turned to the gossip column. Occasionally, the seat shook and she grunted, stopping herself from falling off. On her right, the window reflected the inside of the carriage. A small cranefly stood on a corner of the glass, vibrating occasionally. She glanced at the mare sat next to her, and sighed. “Did you really have to bring that kind of stuff? You’re having enough nightmares as it is, and I’m not buying any more sleeping pills.” Lily lowered her book. “I’ll have you know,” she said tremulously, “that this is full to the brim with important facts the common pony needs to know.” And with that, she returned to reading 100 Different Ways The World Could End, (and What To Do About Each One). “I’m not asking for much,” said Daisy. “This is a perfectly harmless, perfectly boring flower show. With any luck, the worst that’ll happen is we lose by an embarrassingly wide margin. And I’m not saying that’s not catastrophic, but it is quite enough catastrophe to be going on with, you understand?” Lily snapped the book shut. “‘Harmless’? ‘Boring’? I’ve heard stories about how ‘harmless’ and ‘boring’ it used to be, when there were monsters all over the place. Great big freaky things with teeth. I’m not taking any chances.” “That was over a thousand years ago. Things have changed. Didn’t you read the paper? Princess Luna herself guarantees it’ll be more in line with modern sensibilities.” “Maybe so, but I’m still not throwing the silver stake out of my luggage.” On the seat before them, Roseluck stopped reading her own book and twisted in her seat to face them. “You’re fussing over nothing. Fuss over the kind of rare plants you’re going to see instead. Oh, just think of the rare plants! Silver bells, witching hour witch hazel, moonflowers the size of juniper bushes…” She patted the saddlebag on the seat next to her. “Trust me, girls. This is going to be a good event to remember.” “Oh, really?” Lily leaned forwards. “Then why do you have that lucky iron horseshoe and all that garlic in your lugga –” “It-was-a-gift-from-Doc!” Roseluck turned back to her book. After a while, she checked on their staring faces again. “Well, it was,” she squeaked. “That’s all. Nothing-more-to-it-than-that! It’s not like I’m scared of the night. Because-I’m-not!” Daisy rolled her eyes. No wonder I never go out of town with them. They’re always a bit skittish, and that’s every day. They’re downright jumpy around big events, especially after sundown. It’s like they’re getting butterflies in their stomachs with butterflies in their stomachs. “If it helps,” she ventured, “I know a really good eatery in Canterlot.” “Doughnut Joe’s?” Roseluck stiffened and grinned round at her. “Ooh, yes! Finest jam-filled doughnuts you’ve ever crammed into your mouth, and hot cocoa like liquid dreams!” “Oh, so you’ve been before, then?” Finally, a normal conversation. “Have I ever! Ah, the number of times Doc and I got into a cheery argument over plant biology there with old Joe… That guy grows interesting carnivorous pitcher plants, you know.” Lily shuddered and gritted her teeth. “Heliamphora?” “Ew! No! I meant Nepenthes.” Lily shuddered and gritted her teeth. “Those Heliamphora things give me the creeps, looking like ugly green acid buckets. Just thinking of the way they gape at you… Ewwww!” “That’s just prejudice. Not like Nepenthes. There was one in the Royal Canterlot Greenhouses once, and when a little fly landed in it…” Roseluck’s full body gave a spasm. Daisy glowered out the window. The distant silhouette of Canterlot couldn’t come fast enough. The Count sniffed the night air. Below him, the train rolled to a stop with a complete hiss. Above him, the station’s gigantic clock ticked another minute away. Around him, the shadows were cool and shielded him from the moonlit sky. Ponies disembarked from the train. His sunken eyes narrowed, picking out one shape after another. The urge burned within his mind. Drool pooled inside his mouth. He forced himself to shake it down, and then focused on the last ponies to come out of the nearest carriage. Aha, he thought. My kind of pony… The three were talking amongst themselves. One of them looked a little excited compared with the other two, wide-eyed and gesticulating madly on her hind legs from time to time. Perfect. I like a little enthusiasm. Cape fluttering behind him, he slipped his wings out and slipped around the station rooftop. “Did you just see something up there?” squeaked Lily, pointing upwards. “Oh, not this again,” moaned Daisy. “Come on, I want to get to the hotel on time. My eyes just won’t stay open, and I need a pillow.” Nevertheless, she couldn’t help glancing up to the rooftop. Furiously, she forced herself to look down at the marble floor of the station instead. “Are you sure you don’t want to see them setting up first?” Roseluck said, showing the station attendant the three tickets to check. “I vote hotel room,” said Lily, as they passed through the barrier to Canterlot’s main boulevard. “That’s only because you’ve worked yourself up into a tizzy.” “Don’t question the democratic process! Just respect its results.” Lily yelped at nothing. “Oh no, oh no, oh no. I felt something brushing up against my face!” Daisy overtook her, and a slight gust of wind caressed her face. “Fancy that. So do I. Anyway, the hotel should be east from the station, away from Canterlot Castle, which is…” she checked the tower silhouettes and pointed… “that one.” “Ah,” said Roseluck happily. “The cheaper outer zone. Economical and not far from the station.” And a long way from the show. I know you know. I can see through your act. “Uh yeah. That’s right.” The two of them walked for a straight minute before it occurred to Daisy they were one short. Both of them stopped. Both of them turned around. Both of them walked back. “Any monster sightings?” said Lily from the steps. She was dancing on the spot. “I thought I heard a noise…” I wish she didn’t do this. It’s going to be hard enough getting to sleep tonight as-is. “Lily, will you relax? It’s Canterlot. We’re right next to the Princesses’ castle. No one’s going to try anything this close to the Princesses.” “Oh yeah? Then why is your face turning pale?” “Bad circulation,” she lied at once. “I have hypotension from eating too many snacks.” “But hypotension doesn’t –” Roseluck began. “I think you should ask the Doc for a second opinion on that when we get back,” said Daisy, who knew Roseluck could barely remember her own house keys in the mornings. “Now let’s go get some shut-eye.” Frantically, Lily looked around the plaza. “Um… there is something else…” “Yes?” said Roseluck, with far more sympathy than Daisy was prepared to give. “What is it?” Still dancing on the spot, Lily said, “Which way’s the little filly’s room?” “Oh, it’s back in the station. Just go up the steps and turn right. We’ll wait –” Daisy watched the flash of pink fade away, which was around the point the turbulence stopped trying to throw her curls all over her face. “– here… Wow,” murmured Roseluck. “I’ve never seen her look so nervous.” This time, Daisy swore she heard the slight thunk as of someone hitting metal. When she looked up, however, there was nothing but station rooftop and the never-ending shadows. The Count crawled through the narrow chute, knees and hocks bumping slightly against the steel sides. Not that the darkness bothered him; minute currents in the air dashed over his sensitive face, coursed through his twitching nose… Yes… that scent… that sweaty floral scent… Turning the corner, he faced glowing slits, which resolved as he stared at them to a metal grille. His spine slithered, inching him forwards. I know that scent… Within him, the urge became a burning flame. The room beyond was white as opal. Mirrors lined the far wall above the wash basins with their gilded edges. Cubicles suggested themselves beneath his protruding lower muzzle. Someone flushed, and one of the cubicle doors bounced open. A pink pony blundered out of it, then stood in the centre of the aisle and froze. Her ears twitched. The Count grinned. Gently, he eased his cramped wings forwards and fiddled with the screws of the grille. Yes… carefully… carefully, now… Below, the mare relaxed and hurried over to the mirrors, checking her blonde locks by tugging at them until they were in front of her face. Humming nervously, she patted her snout, smoothed down her flanks, washed her hooves, tugged at her locks, wiped her hooves on the towels, wiped her locks with the towels, tugged at her locks, patted her snout, smoothed down her flanks, pulled at her locks, washed her hooves, wiped her hooves on the towels, and then paced up and down the aisle whimpering. The Count almost groaned at the fiddly bit. One screw remained stuck. He tried again. Still humming, the mare went back to the mirror. She smoothed down her flanks, washed her hooves, wiped her hooves on the towels – The screw tightened. He realized he’d just screwed it back in again. “Oh, to heck with this,” he hissed. One kick, and the grille clattered on the tiles. The mare spun round. He braced his wings against the sides and thrust himself forwards. The mare backed into the basins, wet hooves slipping slightly on the tiles. The Count landed on all fours. Behind her wide eyes, his reflected grin stretched. Sharpened teeth glinted. She barely had time to scream. He lunged for her neck. She reared up and his cape smothered them both – “Well. I’m done,” droned Lily. Lily shuffled down the station steps and strode on. The other two glanced at each other, and then hurried after her. “You were gone a while,” said Roseluck, catching up. “Yes,” droned Lily, staring forwards. “We thought something might have happened to you,” said Daisy, catching up on her other side. “It was an uneventful visit,” droned Lily, resolutely not looking at them. “I am perfectly fine. Let us continue.” “Er…” Daisy glanced across at Roseluck, who shrugged. “We thought we heard screaming.” “What did you explain it away as?” droned Lily, still staring ahead. “I thought it was the train pulling out,” said Roseluck. “Then it was just the train pulling out. How far until we reach the hotel?” Daisy coughed. Perhaps the mare was just tired, but… “Actually, the hotel’s the other way.” “Very good,” droned Lily, turning so swiftly that the other two didn’t think to stop for a few seconds. “I am tired and worn out and I need a healthy night’s sleep. Let us look forward to the show in comfort.” Smiling as politely as she dared, Daisy slowed down behind her and waited for Roseluck to do the same. She leaned across to her friend’s ear. “Is she acting a little… strange to you?” she whispered. “Like she believes she’s been brainwashed, to be exact?” “A bit. But she said she was tired,” Roseluck replied. “Maybe it’s just that? And what do you mean ‘believes’?” “Yeah well, keep an eye on her tomorrow, OK? And… probably tonight, too. In fact, make sure she doesn’t read that darned book again. I’m not indulging those delusions of hers, and I’ll just bet one of those hundred is ‘Society Gets Brainwashed Into Violent Insanity’.” “Oh,” said Roseluck. “I see.” Lily strode on, staring at the looming shadow of the hotel. They walked a few yards behind her after that.
The Nightmare Stigma, Part IIFor a moment, Daisy thought she saw the wings slip past, and then the world dissolved and her brain kicked into gear. Soft fabric pressed up against her cheek. She opened her eyes. Someone knocked at the door. Groaning, forcing every single shifting muscle to obey her, she eased off the plush Canterlot bed, tottered across the smooth Canterlot carpet, bumped off the gilded Canterlot doorframe, cursed a very Ponyvillian curse, and peered through the peephole and a foggy layer of gummy cornea. “Wstfgl?” she murmured. “It’s meeeee!” Roseluck’s voice was muffled through the door. Daisy couldn’t tell if the blurry face was glass distortion or her own sleepy eyes. “Rise and shine! They’re wheeling out my surprise entry! Come on!” “Mmuh,” managed Daisy, and finally the words penetrated the mush that passed for her morning thoughts. “Oh, right. The entry. Um. Give me a minute. I gotta…” She patted what was left of her curls. “I gotta find my dandy brush first.” “I’ll see you in the lobbyyyyyyy! Don’t take loooooong!” Roseluck disappeared from view. Twenty two minutes later, she staggered out of the lobby, bumping into Roseluck occasionally as they crossed the threshold. Immediately before them, the hotel porter struggled against his yoke. “Madam?” he said through straining teeth. “Where… would you like… the delivery…?” “Just outside the Royal Gardens, please.” Ignoring his groan, she added, “I’d better come with you. It’s very delicate.” “Myuh,” said Daisy before slapping the last of the sleep out of her face. Her gaze followed the luckless porter. “So… what’s this surprise entry you won’t tell us about?” “Ha! I can’t tell you that! It’s a surprise!” “Oh, of course. How silly of me.” Roseluck giggled while the cart inched and stopped, inched and stopped, inched and stopped. “I’ve been keeping this in my basement for as long as I can remember, growing it in absolute darkness. My mother passed it on to me. She says that, when the moonlight strikes it on an extremely magical night, the flower will bloom to its full magnificence.” “Uh huh.” I need a cup of cocoa. And a full Canterlot breakfast. And a bed. “Must be a long-lived plant, then.” “Oh, yes. My mother told me it goes back generations. No one’s ever uncovered its true secret in my family.” “Ah, I see,” said Daisy hopelessly. They took a few steps into the road. “So you think this midnight show might –” “Precisely!” “– be the oppor… tunity… you…” She slapped her own face again. “My word, I’m slow. But… isn’t that a bit of a gamble?” Roseluck blushed and flapped a hoof airily. “Oh, you know me. Always the risk-taker, never the risk.” “Oh yes, that’s you to a T,” muttered Daisy, still pining for her bed. She glanced around. “Where’s Lily, then?” Instantly, the bouncy exuberance radiating from Roseluck toned down, like a sun being occluded by fog. She actually seemed to shrink slightly where she stood. “Uh,” she said while the porter groaned down the street. “I… thought she might prefer a lie-in today. You know… after all that staring she did last night. Right up until bedtime. And the… staring after I woke up…” They glanced up the height of the hotel front. Several balconies above, where the velvet curtains met the ivory railings, they spotted a face staring down. It was Lily. Her eyes were wide and staring directly at them both. Daisy forced herself to smile, and waved up at her. After a nudge, Roseluck did the same. “Morning Lily!” Daisy called up. “Nice to see you!” Out of the corner of her mouth, she whispered, “So we’re telling the Royal Guard about her strangeness, right?” “Absolutely,” whispered Roseluck. “Only, uh, let’s do it a couple of blocks away…” They each took a step backwards. “Where she can’t see us.” Soon, they were walking behind the cart’s pony-sized crate, which was drawing a few stares of its own from unicorns in the street. Lily stood in the middle of the room. She was staring at the wall opposite. Thuds could be heard on the other side of her door as ponies walked up and down the corridor. From upstairs, someone laughed and ran along the ceiling until a door slammed. On the bedside table, the hourglass sands poured on. Slowly, as though on the world’s most arthritic turntable, her head spun round until it turned away from the wall, past the room’s door, past the wardrobe, past the writing desk with the candelabrum on it, and past the velvet curtain to the balcony and to the rising sun outside. She traced its slow arc upwards. It was right behind her, so her head had to spin all the way round. Sitting up to the desk, Daisy once again wished she’d never crawled out of bed that morning. Beside her, Roseluck was tapping the edge of her own chair with the side of her ergot. Royal Guards marched past the cubicle door outside. Daisy got up and poked her head out into the aisle, peering down the stable-like offices to the glassy front doors that swelled like a split glass dome frosting over. She went back to the desk. “He’s been gone a while,” she said uncertainly. “Oh, it usually goes like this,” said Roseluck, not meeting her eye but apparently fascinated by the quill and inkstand. “Then they get Captain Shivers in to tell me off for wasting police time. Then they throw me out.” “You get involved a lot with the Doc’s hobbies, don’t you?” said Daisy coldly. “Well, actually…” She began tapping the edge of the desk. “I’ve… come up here by myself more often than not…” Daisy softened her expression. This wasn’t really all that surprising. In fact, she’d long known about the curse of the three flower ponies, mostly because it had been brought up a lot at school. Usually when they’d run out of the room screaming about spiders. It hardly seemed fair. After all, everyone knew ponies were skittish and didn’t like surprises. Everyone knew ponies were obliged by emotion-seeking abominations of prehistory and beyond to befriend each other or court death from the slightest unfriendly impulse. On top of that, everyone knew they lived in a land full of evil monsters and weird magical disasters that not only courted death but danced with it and brought it to social events for everyone to get acquainted with it. So logically, that meant she and her two friends were, if anything, the most realistic and the most essentially pony-like of all ponies. Suddenly, the door bounced off the wall. The captain strode in. He glared at them. “Oh, for Pete’s sake. You can climb down now.” Both of them were balanced precariously on the backrests of their chairs. They eased themselves down to the seats, smiling apologetically. Captain Shivers sat down opposite. “Corporal Poll tells me you two have concerns about your friend. Hello again, Miss Roseluck.” Roseluck grinned the grin of one pretending the last fifteen false alarms hadn’t happened. “Uh, hello. Captain.” He grunted and placed both front hooves together. “Now I heard everything from the corporal, so this is merely for clarification, you understand. You reported, and I quote, that your friend ‘keeps staring at things really, really hard’.” “Uh huh,” said Daisy, feeling her stomach sinking. “Right.” After a pause, he added, “So there definitely wasn’t anything else you wished to add?” Daisy glanced across at Roseluck, who shrugged helplessly. Up to me again, I guess. “She started acting weird after we got off the train last night. You see, we’re attending the Royal Moonlit Meadow Show, and everyone was just a little bit nervous –” Too late, she clamped her lips tightly together. Captain Shivers narrowed his eyes. “So she didn’t e.g. break into a building, or steal someone’s wallet, or kick a stranger in the face?” he said. “You know? Something concrete we could act upon?” “Well, she doesn’t usually stare so much,” said Daisy, who was already wishing she could kick him in the face. “That’s a case of suspicious abnormal behaviour, right?” “Look, this isn’t the first time Miss Roseluck here has been up before me. Last spring, she tried to report a snapped azalea in the Royal Canterlot Gardens.” “That was gross vandalism!” squeaked Roseluck. Captain Shivers ignored her. “The winter before that, she complained the Hearth’s Warming decorations were a fire hazard.” “There could’ve been arsonists,” insisted Roseluck. “You can’t deny that possibility.” “And the fall before that, she tried to have our official City Decorator for the Delightfully Cruel Nightmare Night arrested for behaviour likely to intimidate and or threaten.” “Well… those horrible decorations speak for themselves, right?” Daisy’s insides collapsed where she sat. “Please, Captain. I’m worried about my friend. Isn’t there anything you could do?” Captain Shivers smiled down at her, and the urge to kick it rose. “I’m sorry, but we need more substantial evidence before we can act. If we went around arresting ponies on such charges as ‘staring too much’, where would we be?” “I don’t know,” Daisy said through gritted teeth. “Maybe not cleaning up from the last changeling invasion.” The shock of her own words reverberated around her head. She tried to hide her neck. The captain’s glare was worse than a searchlight. “Go back to your flower show, ladies,” said Captain Shivers, gesturing to the door. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be of any more help. Treat your friend. Make her feel better. And remember: if anything actionable comes up, then we’re always willing to listen to you. Until then, I’m afraid I must ask you to leave.” While they stepped out into the aisle, Daisy could’ve sworn two things. The first one was that Roseluck glowered at the opposite stall for a moment before hiding it behind a sad but apparently understanding smile. The second one was that a shadow shifted in the rafters overhead. Neither of them spoke to each other on the way out. Daisy felt like she’d been told to step out of the classroom until she calmed down. Again. Even in this mild midday breeze that tackled her like a huddle of puppies as she stepped outside, she could feel her cheeks burning. Lily had been staring outside her balcony window until the sun rose out of sight. After that, she had to trace its trajectory by staring up the ceiling, then down the wall, and then down and across to the door. Steps echoed outside and stopped behind the beach-white wood. “Room service? Anyone in?” It opened slightly. “Oh, beg pardon. I didn’t realize anyone was in.” Lily stared on. “Um… are you OK?” Lily stared on. “All righty then… um…” Lily stared on. Eventually, the cleaner slammed the door. Steps echoed much faster as their maker hurried away. The room darkened. After a while, more steps rumbled by, and then stopped before the door. Voices muttered amongst themselves briefly. “Hi, Lily,” said the voice of Daisy, somewhat muffled. “We’ve, er, just been around the city. Taking in the sights, not worrying. You know? So uh, you –” Frantic whispering ensued. “You feeling better?” After a while, the other voice coughed. “We’re just getting ready to go check on the show now,” said the much squeakier voice of Roseluck. “Get a gander at the other early entries? I’ll be setting up my stall too, eh? Won’t that be fun?” The room continued to darken at an alarmingly boring rate. “OK, you’re still tired. Nothing wrong with being a bit tired. It’s not, you know, criminal or anything. We respect your privacy, even though up till now you’ve never had any from us.” Hooves shuffled on the carpet. “We’ll, uh, see you tomorrow then. If you’re sleeping… um… have a good night! Sweet dreams! Gotta go!” One set of hooves hurried off immediately. The remaining voice sighed. “Look,” said Daisy, “I don’t know what this is about, but we’re worried about you. How about we have a talk tomorrow morning at breakfast? I know something’s bothering you, but we’re your friends. You can count on us, right? Right?” Lily stared on. Another sigh. “OK, then. See you tomorrow, I guess.” Finally, the hoofsteps died away. All was silence. Lily stood and stared on. An hour later, and under much darker conditions, Lily blinked and woke up screaming. She finished her scream. She began to scream again. Then she blinked more frantically. She stopped in mid-scream. She looked around the room as though she’d never seen one before. “What the – Who the – How the – Where the heck am I!?” she cried out. “What happened to the little fillies’ room!?” Someone thumped the wall behind her bed. “Hey, keep it down in there!” they yelled. “I’m tryin’ to sleep!” Lily jumped away from it, smacking into the writing desk’s chair. A breeze played along the curtains. At once, she spun round with a yelp to face… The full moon, rising. Moonlight hit her in the face. She’d barely figured out this was a hotel room before her mind was thrown back into the darkness. Of course, she went out screaming. It seemed the best thing to do. Captain Shivers went out of the station, pausing only to nod to his night shift replacement coming up the steps. He paused again at the bottom, this time to peer up at the rising moon. “Ah me,” he murmured sadly. Further down the street, he paused for the third time and cocked an ear. He was sure he’d heard a flutter, but there were no pegasus ponies when he looked up to check, and none had landed in the street behind him. All was still and shadowy, the distant towers mere silhouettes in the dark. He chuckled and continued his march. The Royal Guard just weren’t what they used to be. A few years ago, he’d have been first in line to charge some hulking eldritch beast from the otherworld, often arresting them if they couldn’t pay up. They were awful for littering. But that was the point: ponies looked to the Guard and saw the shiny barding and the cropped haircut and tail, and they nodded and went about their business. Threats to Equestria knew their place back then. Now? Now, there were two Princesses – one had come back under suspicious but largely ignored circumstances – and now there were heroes all over the place. Old Law and Order were replaced by Mythic Quests and Noble Heroes, and what did he get out of it? Standing around like a dumb statue half the time, and dealing with the dumbest old lady complaints the other half. Now, if old ladies nodded at him, it was only to get him to agree that next door’s cat was smelly and ugly and needed to be ‘confiscanated’. And he was getting his haunches handed to him the other half of the time by the “hulking eldritch beast from the otherworld” of the week. Sometimes, he wondered what life would’ve been like if he’d changed his mind and taken higher mathematics at magical college. He turned the corner, and swore he saw another flash of wing out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and checked. Just stars. “Damned Roseluck,” he muttered as he continued marching. “Spreading her paranoia all over the place…” Yet even as half of him muttered on, another half of him had wished, just once, that her frightened ravings had been true. Oh, what an honour it would have been! Confronting evils beyond the ken of mortals, just like his father, and just like his father’s father, and just like mother’s father’s stepsister’s dog Fluffenschnoodle. To have proven that all those years studying military history had been worth it! Yet, another half of him wondered if he could have really, honestly handled it half as well as any of them. After all, he’d been the most boring of all the family, charging monsters was about all he’d been good at – As he turned the next corner, he suddenly wheeled round and pointed his horn, which glowed. “Gotcha!” he yelled. The wings glowed briefly, something shrieked, and then to his surprise the shadow fell out of his telekinetic grip and landed with a thump in an alleyway. Captain Shivers checked, but he was alone on this street. At once, he charged round the corner, blocking the alleyway. His horn lit up, capturing a pile of trash cans and their spilled piles of trash. Flies hovered about it. “Ha!” he said. “No one gets the drop on the good captain.” One slow hoof at a time, never lowering his horn, he advanced on the heap. Immediately, he held his breath as a precaution. “Now, you’re gonna answer me five questions,” he muttered. “Who are you? Why were you sneaking up on me in the dark? And are you aware there’s a charge for littering within the city boundary?” Almost on top of the heap, he summoned his spell and forced the trash and the cans against the wall, sweeping from the centre. Empty alleyway ground reflected his surprised gape. Suspiciously, he felt the weight of the trash within his telekinetic grip. Odd. There were no abnormalities of mass… By the time he’d worked it out and spun round, fluttering wings engulfed his face, muffling his yell. Worse, he made the mistake of breathing in. Around him, trash cans and trash crashed back onto the ground. The alleyway was plunged into darkness. And, eventually – save for the buzzing of the flies around the trash – silence. Daisy woke up into darkness, faint birdsong, and the stillness of her own body roasting under the thick Canterlot duvet. When she lifted her cheek off the pillow, the silk stuck to it briefly before peeling off. “Oooohh…” she groaned, wincing. For some reason, her brain throbbed. How late did I stay up last night? How much cocoa did I drink? She sat up in bed, her belly sloshing, and shielded her eyes from the raw sunlight. Oh dear. I forgot to draw the curtains last night. How could I be so… whatever I was last night. Say, what happens when you drink too much cocoa anyway? On the fifth attempt, she flopped out of bed and belly-flopped the carpet. Once the pain shrank away, she crawled over to the windows and levered herself up with the handle. The latch clicked. She belly-flopped the balcony floor instead. It was like marble. “Ow,” she moaned. “Why do mornings hate me? Did I just…” She yawned. “Did I just say something… profoundly insulting about them… when I was a filly? I feel like…” She yawned again. “I feel like the worst pony in the city. Ooh…” In the end, she stood on all fours, swaying like an upside-down pendulum. Blearily, her cringing eyes peeped out from beneath a furrowed brow and above shielding eyelids. Ponies moved on the street below, just where it opened into an alleyway. She saw a white cart with a red plus on the side. A stallion in a stretcher disappeared into the rear of the vehicle. Then the doors slammed shut. Around it, a ring of bystanders chattered amongst themselves. Daisy gasped while the ambulance went down the street and turned the corner, its driver galloping. “Oh my,” she murmured. I’ve seen that stallion before! “Was that…? Um…” The morning smacked her head again. “Oh, drat,” she moaned. “What was his name again? Shiny armour guy… Big muzzle… Uh…” Hooves rapped against her main door. From the corridor came Roseluck’s frantic panting. “Daisy! Daisy! Wake up! Wake up! Something’s happened! It’s a sign! A bad sign!” Eventually, Daisy zigzagged to the door – banging her hock against the bed once – and opened it. “Lily,” she said at once. “Check on Lily.” Roseluck goggled at her. “Lily!? You think she’s involved?” “Not a clue. Let’s check on her anyway. Just in case.” “You don’t want to brush your hair first?” “Forget the hair! Our friend could be in danger!” Halfway up the corridor, she added, “I’ll brush it afterwards.” They almost tripped down the stairs, and successfully bumped into an elderly couple coming down the next corridor. Many apologies later, they were outside Room 101, but had to stop to get their breaths back and wait for their lungs to cool down. Roseluck went to knock on the door. At the first hit, it swung open. “Uh oh.” Her face went pale. “That’s never a good sign.” “Lily?” Daisy stuck her head in. “Hey, her room looks just like mine.” “Lily!” yelled Roseluck, cupping her hooves to her mouth. “Liiiiilly!” “Ow! That was right in my ear!” “Sorry. Sorry.” Loud thumping came from the next room over. “I told you last night!” yelled a muffled voice. “Keep it down already!” Both of them exchanged glances. They went inside. “Lily?” said Roseluck. They passed the en suite bathroom door; through a crack, they could see the towels still neatly folded on the rack. “Lily? Are you in here?” They checked round the corner. Blank wall. They checked the writing desk. Unoccupied, save for a rather fetching candelabrum. They checked the bed. Lily was curled up on the large pillow, right against the wall. Legs, tail, even neck: all were folded or squeezed as tightly as possible, as though afraid of touching the rounded fabrics around them. Her eyes were wide. Both pupils locked onto them as they stepped up to the bed. A lump rose out of the duvet nearest to her. Even through her morning slowness and the stabs of a panic trying to break out, Daisy sensed her own sharp interest aiming at it at once. “Oh, Lily.” Roseluck’s hoof covered her mouth. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking like a leaf on an Arctic Wrap-Up Willow.” Lily whimpered and shook her head. In her cramped position, she seemed to be nuzzling the edge of the duvet. At once, Daisy felt the breeze caress her tangled mane. The balcony was wide open. About it, curtains fluttered. “Er… what were you doing last night?” she said. Lily took a shuddering breath. “I don’t remember,” she whined. “I don’t remember anything! First, I was in the little fillies’ room. Then I woke up here. Then I woke up again, and I was here again.” Daisy hurried over to the balcony, stomach still sloshing. The breeze was a comfort cooling her still-too-warm body. Yet despite the fluttering curtains, the railings looked normal, the ground looked normal, the view across the opalescent rooftops to Canterlot Castle looked normal – Damned girl got the best room, said a brief spark of rage in her head – and nothing else stood out. She turned back. On the wall next to the balcony, three imprints stood out. Each one was the size of a pony head, rounded on top, square at the bottom. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I don’t need this. I just came here for a flower show. Why do I have to be reminded of this sort of freakish superstrength that could tie a knot in my spine? Those imprints must be an inch deep, and that’s solid white brick! “Roseluck,” she began, stepping back in. Roseluck lowered the duvet. “Oh my,” she said. “Lily, where did you get this?” “‘Get it’? I didn’t get it!” said Lily. She drew back from the lump and trembled harder. “I don’t know how it got there, I swear!” “How what got where?” said Daisy. Roseluck gulped and threw back the corner. The golden helmet rolled a bit and then settled back down. Dents ran along the back where its rounded top stretched down to a square bottom. A Royal Guard helmet. “Daisy,” said Roseluck from somewhere suddenly very far away, “I was downstairs just now. They said there was a Royal Guard attack last night. It was Captain Shivers. This can’t be just a coincidence!” Don’t panic. Don’t panic. We always panic. At a time like this, the sensible thing to do is… is… well, it certainly isn’t panicking. I know that. “You’re taking this awfully well,” she lied to Roseluck’s wide eyes and quivering lips. “What’s going on!? What’s going on!? What’s going on!?” shrieked Lily, contriving despite her own cramped dimensions to cramp herself even more tightly. “Some beasty’s after me! That’s what this is! It’s the End Of The World Number 42! I just know it!” “It’s not the end of the world!” Daisy snapped before she could stop herself. Much more calmly, she continued, “Tell the Royal Guard. That’s the thing to do. They didn’t believe us before, they’ll definitely believe us this time.” “No!” Roseluck threw herself at Lily, then realized what she was doing and threw herself away, screaming. “They’ll lock her up! She might be under some kind of crazy brainwashing! So they probably should! But I don’t want them to! Kinda! Unless she’s innocent! Which she might not be!” “The Royal Guard!?” Lily stiffened. “What do you mean ‘before’!?” “Stop yelling!” yelled Daisy. It really is like a disease. As soon as one of us gets it… No! I’m not falling for it. I’m getting sick of falling for it. One of us has to be the mature one around here. She swallowed. “Let’s find someone to sort this out for us, and then find somewhere to hide and pray. How’s that sound?” Lily raised a trembling hoof. “That gets my vote.” “Mine too,” added Roseluck. Someone banged on the wall behind the bed. “Gosh darned it, you foals! If you don’t shut up, I swear I’m calling the manager!”
The Nightmare Stigma, Part IIIThis time, the station bustled with more guards marching more quickly with more paperwork in their mouths or levitating beside them. Daisy rubbed her hooves together and waited in the cubicle. “He’s been gone a while,” she said. Next to her, Lily curled up on the middle chair, shaking and glancing at anything and everything. On the far chair, Roseluck reached across to her, paused, and then drew back cringing. Lily caught the movement. “Hey,” she whined. “You always used to pat me on the withers when I was scared.” Panic burst across Roseluck’s face. “Whatever-happens-we’re-still-here-for-you,” she said in one breath. “Then why did you hesitate?” “Good question,” said Daisy, willing herself to breathe normally and not e.g. hyperventilate. She could feel her own heartbeat pounding for attention. “She seems fine at the moment. I bet whatever happens only happens at night. Remember the first night we arrived here, that incident when she went to the bathroom and came out strange? And last night was the night of the attack.” They both glared at her. “Then what’s your excuse?” said Lily huffily. After a few seconds, Daisy reached across and gave Lily one pat. “Um… there, there,” she said. Then she took her hoof back hurriedly. Sighing, Lily hung her head. “Don’t worry,” Daisy added. “I’m sure the guard will figure it out and get this whole situation under control. From school onwards, we’ve always come out on top, right girls?” “Speak for yourself,” growled Lily to the desk. “I flunked everything except biology, remember? And even then, I only got a credit in botany. That’s all I’ve even been top of.” “I-I didn’t mean academically, I meant –” “I got a pass grade in every subject,” said Roseluck. “Maybe not a credit, exactly, but… Well, flawless mediocrity sort of counts as being ‘on top’, right?” Daisy wisely skipped over her own qualifications, and any examples of things she’d been “on top of”. Instead, she cleared her throat. “I meant welfare-wise. And we’ve always got the florist’s back in Ponyville,” she said. “A lot of good memories in that florist’s, remember?” “Yeah, but not a lot of money,” muttered Lily sullenly. “How long did it take you to save for this trip again?” “Us, Lily. Us.” “Don’t give me that. Who’s the registered owner of the florist’s again?” “Aw, come on. Don’t be like that. I’ve always considered you my equals. Don’t drag legal and especially fiscal niceties into this.” Lily narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously. “We do care,” insisted Roseluck. “Really we do. A hundred nights spent cowering together in the basement proves it.” “Yeah,” murmured Lily, looking at her own raised hooves. “But then it was us three scared at the world together –” Unfortunately, she chose that moment to look up at once. Daisy flinched. Too late, she averted her gaze. “There!” wailed Lily. “There! I just saw it in your eyes! You’re utterly terrified of me!” “No, we’re not,” lied Daisy over the rapid hammering of her heart. “Yes you are! It’s true! I’m a monster! I’m going crazy, and you know it! Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! I don’t want to scare any of you! It scares me worst of all!” Lily buried her face in her hooves, shoulders heaving. Daisy glanced at Roseluck. Both of them reached for Lily’s withers… then both of them drew back. Instead, they stared at the cubicle walls and tried to ignore the sobs. You coward, Daisy thought. And Roseluck’s no better. Please, for the love of Pete, make this stop. Suddenly, the door bounced off the wall. The corporal strode in. He stopped and raised an eyebrow at them. “Uh… you two OK?” Balanced on their respective backrests, Daisy and Roseluck glanced down at Lily, who was still heaving and sobbing. “My word,” breathed Roseluck, climbing back down. “This is serious.” “No kidding.” Daisy sat on her chair again. Corporal Poll fiddled with the rivets on his chest plate. “I’m afraid ‘serious’ isn’t the half of it, ladies. According to the report your friend, Miss Lily Valley, provided about herself…” “I had to do it!” wailed Lily, raising a face streaked with tears. “I know there’s something wrong with me!” Corporal Poll gave Daisy a pleading look. “What’s wrong, Corporal?” she said. “Well…” He winced at a sniff from Lily, who wiped her muzzle with the back of a hoof. “The preliminary report on Captain Shivers came in shortly after you arrived. He’s experiencing the same symptoms Miss Lily Valley described: general staring, memory blackouts, moments of panicky clarity.” “Hold on a second,” said Roseluck. “It took Lily a whole day to go through those symptoms. How can he be rushing through them all already? It’s not even lunchtime yet.” “Don’t interrupt him when he’s delivering traumatic news!” snapped Lily, her face still moist. “A stallion’s suffering because of me! How can you be so insensitive!?” Daisy groaned; she could already see the trembling lip and pooling tears in Roseluck’s face. She’d always been the most sensitive of the three. “Er,” Daisy said hastily. “So what does this mean, Corporal?” Corporal Poll was still drawing away from the other two with horror stretching across his face. “Hm? What? Oh, right. Yes. Well, we’ve reported another symptom. There were two puncture marks on the neck of the Captain.” Before she could stop herself, Daisy glanced at Lily’s neck. Not so much as a pimple. “Odd…” she muttered. “Don’t you start too!” Lily rounded on her, granting a clear view of the other side of her neck. All blemish-free. “Given this information,” continued Corporal Poll, “we suspect this is a supernatural phenomenon. In which case, we’re transferring the case over to a specialist.” He tugged at his breastplate. “A very… special… specialist.” Something about the way he said it made Daisy narrow her eyes at him. “‘Special’ in what way?” Corporal Poll writhed in some kind of private hell. A moment later, a fanfare burst through the station. Trumpets blasted in their ears. Ponies outside murmured and then stopped moving. Several backed away and kneeled. At once, Corporal Poll rose and placed one hoof on his chest. All trace of fear retreated to a slight twitch around each eye. Hinges creaked as someone eased the door open behind them. “Greetings, salutations, and many pleasantries of a similar nature,” said a curt voice. Daisy, Lily, and Roseluck spun around in their chairs. Four sapphire slippers gave way to four slender limbs like deathly columns, which in turn gave way to midnight blue. A black collar lurked beneath a piercing stare, surrounded by a mane that was more like a cape made from a piece of the night. Stars twinkled within the flowing curls of darkness. Lightning flashed. Indoors, somehow. Without hesitation, all three of them bowed, and then groaned as they hit their heads on the backrests. “Oh my gosh! It’s Princess Luna!” hissed Roseluck under her breath. “The Princess Luna!” “We have eyes, genius!” hissed Daisy back. “She’s the one hosting the Royal Moonlit Meadow Show Comeback!” “And working memories too!” While some pegasus officer pushed away the dramatic thundercloud behind her, Princess Luna raised a hoof. “Desist from formalities, Our subjects. We come bearing grim tidings. Now is not the time for solemnity.” Daisy tried – really tried – to smile. Rumours and gossip aside, the official position was that Princess Luna was no longer a threat of any kind, despite the suspicious yet largely ignored circumstances of her return. In a way, it was utterly reassuring to have two Princesses watching over Canterlot. In fact, she still remembered the first Nightmare Night occasion involving Princess Luna, though sadly not where she’d last left her cowpony hat that year. Somehow, it was a lot harder to remember all that when a hundred hands of living midnight loomed over her. The Princess was scowling at her. Daisy squeaked something that might’ve been a strangled “hello”, or a garbled “uh oh”. The towering Princess softened her expression. “We understand you have grim concerns regarding your condition. Fear not, Our dear subject. We believe We may be able to assist you in your unholy plight.” “Um.” Lily raised a trembling hoof. “I’m the one with the condition, Your Highness.” Princess Luna glanced between them, and then coughed. “Ah. I see. Apologies. The physical description was a little vague.” Daisy noted the “on again, off again” Royal We. As soon as Corporal Poll stood up, opened a drawer, grabbed a cushion for the chair, and stood aside for her, the Princess placed herself onto the vacated seat. A slight wiggle later, she settled down, both forehooves delicately pressing against each other and elbows balancing on the desktop. “Alas, the situation is grave,” she enunciated, and Daisy found herself admiring the classy Canterlot inflections. “As a Princess of considerable millennia, We have studied many an entity of paranormal provenance. As soon as We were informed of the symptoms, We were able to determine the exact nature of the curse.” Lily squeaked. “C-C-C-Curse?” Roseluck murmured. “Y-Y-Your Highness?” Princess Luna nodded. “Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Many Canterlot ponies last night have told of friends or relatives or odd strangers found in alleyways, all showing these exact symptoms. So many poor victims.” “Oh my gosh…” Lily bit her hoof, chipping it. “What have I done?” “Relax, Lily,” whispered Daisy, braving her own shaking enough to pat Lily on the knee. “Maybe it’s not just you. Whatever attacked you in that bathroom could have attacked other ponies too.” “That’s supposed to make me feel better?” “Um… well, less guilty, anyway.” Princess Luna sighed. “It is impossible to say at present how many such beings are at large in the city. With much regret, We must inform you: Miss Lily Valley of the town of Ponyville, all the evidence points to a local epidemic of acute vampirism.” Lily gasped into her hoof, which she bit again. “You mean…?” The Princess bowed her head. “Yes.” “I’m a…I’m really…?” “We would have to confirm the presence of a bite mark upon your body, but given all the prevailing evidence, that would merely be corroboration at this stage.” Roseluck pressed her hooves on the desktop. “B-B-But there m-m-must be s-s-s-something w-we can d-do, O M-Mistress of the Everlasting N-Night! W-We be-be-beseech you, hum-humble as we are! I throw my worth-worthless s-self on your m-m-m-mercy!” Always the drama queen, thought Daisy, shaking her head. Princess Luna glanced pleadingly at Corporal Poll, who hastily shrugged and looked away. “Uh,” she said, coughing into her hoof. “Well, uh… That’s where it gets… difficult.” “Name thy price!” wailed Roseluck. “Princess Of All Darkness, I am but a worm in the grass! Do not take my best friend from me! Please, take me instead!” “Calm down, Roseluck,” hissed Daisy. “Stop embarrassing yourself.” Aloud, she said, “But what can we do, Your Highness?” “Uh…” Princess Luna drew her forelimbs away from Roseluck, who was stretching across the desk towards her. “Regrettably, um, there’s no easy way to say this, but… such as it is… be that as it may… well… I don’t suppose any of you ponies are in possession of a silver stake, by any chance?” Lily burst into tears and Roseluck wailed. Panic jumped out of Luna’s face. “Relax, relax!” The Princess flapped her hooves frantically, trying to speak over the noise. “I didn’t mean it that way! It was just a precaution.” “Anything else we can do, Your Highness!?” Daisy yelled over the noise. A sharp outburst of woe stabbed her in the ear. Princess Luna turned to this one island of sanity. She rubbed her chin and murmured something. Daisy cupped her hooves around her ear. “Pardon!?” “I said, perhaps there is one thing!” she yelled. The other two settled down to a dull snuffling. “There is?” they said in unison. Luna grimaced at them. “Perhaps,” she said cautiously. Then she rose from her chair. “But you must come with me. I – I mean, We – suspect evil complications are afoot. If you are the primary victim, then there may be more to the situation than any of us realizes. We must away to the Outpost immediately.” The Outpost was a lighthouse among towers; a spiralling outer staircase rose up the concave heights and peaked at the bulbous head with its vast windows wide and all-seeing. Beyond it, the mountains of the Canterlot range surpassed it with all the granite grace of a colossal library, its shelves marked by pathways and longwise ridges. At the head of the line, Princess Luna marched to the top of the stairs and about-turned. Daisy staggered to a halt, panting, followed by Roseluck and then Lily. Princess Luna reared up and placed a slippered hoof onto the oaken portal. Eventually, the three of them stopped gasping for air and straightened up, standing in a row. “Within the Outpost are the methods to determine the nature of the vampirism that has befallen you,” said Princess Luna to Lily, who instantly stiffened. “However, I must warn you that what you will find may prove distressing and shameful. We will be able to inform your friends of the most pertinent and sufficient details, but We believe it best that, for the duration of the examination, We must speak with you alone.” No one spoke. Very slowly and deliberately, Roseluck reached across and drew Lily closer by the shoulders. Princess Luna raised an imperious eyebrow. “This is not for you to decide. Miss Lily Valley alone has that right.” Daisy thought it best to kneel. “With all due respect, Your Highness,” she said, hoping nothing she said was remotely likely to raise that eyebrow any higher, “we’ve always been together come rain or shine. Usually rain. I don’t have anything against your judgement, of course. Nothing whatsoever. It’s just that… well, it’s hard to put into words…” “No need for formalities,” said Princess Luna, trying what was technically a smile. At least, the corners of her mouth went up. The raised eyebrow ruined the effect somewhat. With Roseluck still gripping her shoulders, Lily sighed. “All right. You two can come in. I’m sure whatever we find in there won’t be any more embarrassing than what we’ve got out here.” The Princess nodded. “As you wish.” They went through, Lily muttering, “I wouldn’t have minded some time to myself, of course… I’m only doing it ‘cause they’ll bug me about it later anyway…” “You seem a little tense, Lily,” said Roseluck. “No, I’m not! And would you let go of my shoulders, please?” Daisy hesitated, one hoof still raised over the threshold. Lily and Roseluck hesitated in turn. She heard the clank of hidden machinery, smelled the stinging scents of acids, and felt a crackling over her fur as she stepped into the Outpost’s main laboratory. Charts smothered one wall. Bleeping devices sat on workbenches. Vast metal boxes bulged and hissed and rumbled around them. Overhead, sparks of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet zipped across the wires and zapped hanging hybrids of chandeliers and upside-down chemistry sets. Yet she couldn’t help noticing the little… gothic touches. Cobwebs in the corners. Dark wallpaper, blood red carpet, rickety wooden boards for a ceiling. Unprompted, the words “mad scientist” crossed her mind. “My word…” she breathed. Together, Lily and Roseluck each took a step backwards. A flash of blue: Princess Luna’s midnight blue torso vanished under a lab coat that reached to the floor behind her rear hooves. “A most impressive feat of interior design, is it not?” she said, totally misreading the wide eyes on their faces. “Um…” Daisy’s glance met only frantic head-shaking from the other two. “It’s very… ‘Doctor Deadhorse’, I think.” “Ah yes,” said the Princess dreamily. “A pioneer of the posthumous galvanization technique. We understand he was a trendsetter much in vogue three centuries ago. Alas, We never had the pleasure of meeting him, but We have studied his work most assiduously.” “Is… is that why you look like… I mean, why you’re dressed in…” Daisy gave up. She was starting to regret her moment of loyalty outside. “One must perform the examination according to custom and according to professional practice. But come.” Helpless as hypnosis victims, they followed the Princess over to a chart in the wall. Under the blue influence of Princess magic, its images rolled to the left. Daisy peered round its edge to see the rollers, but only met more paper pressed against an unseen, inch-thick backing. “Er… Miss Princess?” Roseluck lowered her hoof. “How many types of vampires can there be?” “We have encountered dozens upon our various travels,” intoned Princess Luna. “Including the rare and delightful watermelon vampire.” “The what?” said Roseluck. “The watermelon vampire.” “Watermelon vampire?” spluttered Daisy. “That is what We said,” insisted Luna. “Wow. It must suck to be one of those, eh?” said Roseluck. The wires sparked. The chemicals stank. The chart rolled on. “Moving on,” said Princess Luna. “It’s a play on words,” said Roseluck. “You see, because you suck a watermelon –” “We know,” said Lily. “But vampires suck you, you see, so when I said ‘it must suck’ –” “Hilarious,” said Daisy dully. “And when you use the phrase ‘sucks to be you’, because let’s face it, being a watermelon is about as low as you can get –” “Yet it is almost always the case that vampirism runs within families,” said Princess Luna, baring her teeth. Ignoring Roseluck’s groan, Lily pointed. “What’s that, then? Some kind of big family tree folded up?” “Exactly.” Luna slowed the leftwards rolling, and then the images instead rolled upwards. “I was only trying to lighten the mood,” said Roseluck. “How’s it doing that, anyway? It can’t go up and down as well as left or right if it’s attached to the wall. That’s impossible!” “The key word being ‘trying’.” Luna smoothed her face into a genial smile. “Impossible, you say? In the four dimensions of time and space, yes. In the fifth and sixth ones, it’s actually very simple to do.” “Whoa…” Roseluck stepped closer. “Doc was going on about all kinds of dimensions back in Ponyville. Wait till I tell him about this!” Daisy shivered. Dimensions. When that word is being bandied about, the “scientist” part is definitely in play. Now to check on the “mad” part… “What’s it doing?” she said. “Currently, We are calibrating it to Miss Lily Valley’s family tree. Unless” – Princess Luna lowered her head to be level with Lily’s – “you can name any living relatives who may have confessed their vampirism to you? Maybe? On the off-chance?” Sparks buzzed over their manes as a couple of wires discharged. Lily shook her head. “Sorry,” she said. “My baby cousin used to be a nibbler, if that helps.” The chart slowed down. One of the images was a small portrait of Lily’s head, looking dumbfounded at the painter. From there, it followed the lines up to two more portraits, across to cousins and aunts and uncles, up to grandparents and their siblings… “Interesting,” said Princess Luna. “It appears you have pegasus ancestors.” Lily wiped her hoof on her chest, inspecting it occasionally. “Oh yeah. On my mother’s side. That’s where I got my flowing blonde locks.” The chart continued to sweep side-to-side. The Princess’s glowing magic forced it to rise. “Oh my. And not just any pegasus ancestors. Yes… the rounded profile… the military flaming hair… All only a few generations back. We believe these are Cloudsdale nobles. ” “Whoa. Really?” Lily leaned closer. “We beg your pardon. You were unaware of your heritage?” “I never really took an interest in family trees. Not my cup of herbal tea.” Lily hummed to herself. “So, about these noble ancestors… They rich?” Despite herself, Daisy felt her stomach clenching at the sight of Lily and the Princess talking. Lily smiling and asking questions was much better than Lily grimacing and shouting for help, true. And at the end of the day, all this was just like going to the doctor to get rid of a cold. Yes, it was much better when she thought about it that way. Nevertheless, the more Lily and Princess Luna talked, the more they seemed to fade into a world of their own. No: the more Daisy seemed to fade into a world of her own. So what if she’s got noble ancestors? Lily’s as common an earth pony as me and Roseluck. But for a bathroom break, that could’ve been me chatting with royals about which Lord and which Lady was my great-great-great-great-grandparent. Anyway, Lily was on the verge of panic a few hours ago. That’s the only reason we’re here at all. Daisy found herself glaring at the back of Lily’s head. Her legs warmed with the urge to kick. Finally, Princess Luna shook her head at the genealogy chart. “No candidates so far. We shall set it to continue its sweep, just in case, but sadly no light dawns for us there. Come with me.” “So what can we do?” said Roseluck. At the Princess’s beckoning hoof, Lily strode over to one of the bulging machines. Smile rapidly fading from her lips, she stepped up onto a podium and cringed at various arms reaching down and around her. Most of them ended with tools stolen from a dentist’s. “Vampirism is gradual,” said Princess Luna, horn aglow and directing the tools to the skin one at a time. “The longer Miss Lily Valley goes without help, the worse she will become. Our only hope is to cure it in its earliest stages, or else it shall become… permanent.” Lightning flashed outside the window. Roseluck shrieked. “Who keeps following you with that?!” A pegasus pushed a thundercloud past the window. “Ah! Make him cut it out!” “We’re afraid that is impossible,” said Princess Luna. “We’ve given him a grant.” Lily gritted her teeth against a drill-like device trying to probe her ear. “Permanent?” she said. “It’s not going to come to that,” said Daisy. “What’s the cure?” “Impossible to say,” said Princess Luna, “without further examination. However, judging from these preliminary results” – she nodded to rolls of ticker tape and what looked like a seismograph reading pouring out of the machine’s slots – “this specific kind of vampirism is of a more conventional breed. In which case, there are at least two definite cures.” “What?” Lily tried to lean away from the machine, but Luna’s irritable spell made one of the arms nudge her back into place. “What cures? Are they painful?” “Either,” intoned Princess Luna, and the room darkened, and the crackling air was stilled, and Daisy’s limbs quivered where they stood, “you must defeat the original vampire, or you must force it to lift the curse.” “What?” shrieked Roseluck. “Those are merely the definite cures.” “But we don’t even know who the original vampire is!” Daisy fell onto her knees. “Isn’t there any other way? I can give blood, or teach her to suck watermelons! Anything!” Despite her words, the clenching feeling was still there. No! She’s my friend, come rain or shine! She doesn’t really want to be special, can’t you see that? What’s wrong with me? Princess Luna laughed, a royal laugh clear as a cathedral bell tolling within her lungs. “It will not come to that, my little pony.” “Oh sure,” muttered Roseluck under her breath. “You laugh at her watermelon joke…” “It wasn’t a joke,” said Daisy coldly. “We shall conduct further tests in order to eliminate all possibilities, leaving Us with the one form of vampirism under which Miss Lily Valley suffers most cruelly. Only once We know which of the unholy forces dwells within her mortal frame will We have the greatest chance to be rid of it.” Sighing, she turned to Lily. “It may take hours of testing and re-testing, and even then We shall only be certain under the light of a full moon…” “You mean – ow!” Lily winced at a prod jabbing her nostrils. “You mean I’ll have to stay here? Overnight?” One regal nod was enough. “And…” Lily’s face began to blanch. “I’ll have to… go through all that… that…? When it’s lights out…?” “It’s the only way to be sure,” insisted Luna. Lily’s eyes began to water, though that might’ve been because one of the arms had just sprayed them. “You’ll watch over me, right?” she said just before two prongs forced her lips to stay open. “Yes. It is imperative we understand this epidemic. We shall do what we can to keep you – and your fellow ponies – safe from attack.” Lily garbled something through the prongs. Both arms withdrew. “Can I have a moment?” she said again. “Alone? With my friends?” “As you wish. Speak Our name, and We shall return.” Once the oak doors creaked and slammed, Roseluck pushed the unmoving arms aside and gripped Lily one hoof to each shoulder. “We’re not going anywhere!” “It’s only for one night,” said Lily. “Don’t waste it on me. Go out and enjoy yourselves.” “Now wait a minute –” began Daisy. “No. You heard Princess Luna. I’m going to be fine.” The door creaked. “You wish Us to return already?” “No! Slip of the tongue! I’m not done yet.” “Oh. I see. Uh… apologies for interrupting.” Head hanging, Luna eased the door to. “Look,” said Lily as soon as Daisy opened her mouth again, “I’m under quality protection, right? Who’s going to top a Princess for a bodyguard? And even if, somehow, by some freaky coincidence, I managed to break out, you’d be far away from me. There’s no way I could do anything to you. It makes total sense.” “It’s awful,” mumbled Roseluck to her hooves. “Well, I’m the one with vampirism, and you don’t see me making a scene.” “Oh yeah? So that’s how you really feel?” said Daisy. “Sure. Go out and enjoy your time in Canterlot. I won’t mind.” Lily’s mouth strained to stretch into a smile. “Tomorrow at breakfast. We’ll swap stories and talk about the show. Don’t ruin your stay on my account.” “But it’s not on your account. You never asked for this.” Amid the acrid smells and the clanking of hidden machines and the bulging, hissing, rumbling metal boxes, they waited. Daisy glanced at their faces. Apparently, they were inspecting the blood red carpet. “We are still friends, right?” Lily blurted out. “Of-Of course we are!” spluttered Daisy to Roseluck’s frantic nodding. “I-It’ll take more than a bit of bad luck to come between us. You bet.” “Well,” said Lily, “there were another ninety nine ways this could have ended badly.” “And there it is. I knew I shouldn’t have let you buy that book,” said Daisy. “Let me? Let me!? Anyway, joke’s on you! I was right! It’s an undead apocalypse, if I’m not mistaken.” “You think everything’s out to get you, don’t you? Any one of us could’ve been bitten.” Too late, Daisy blurted out, “If indeed you were bitten.” Roseluck covered her mouth with both hooves. “What!” hissed Lily. “What’s that meant to mean?” “I meant –” That you were always the one jumping up and down in class. That you call yourself the “life of the party” when you think no one else is listening, even when I’m right behind your bedroom door. That you think everyone’s doing evil magic experiments that’ll get you, sooner or later. That you make up stories about visiting the Princesses for tea every Friday night when us two are visiting… er… other friends. That you’d fake a vampire attack if it meant proving you’re not still that dumb foal who was picked last for junior buckball and hoedown dance-offs! Daisy clamped her lips tightly together at once. Invisible vices squeezed from her stomach, up her throat, and on her writhing tongue. No. You can’t say any of that and still be friends. It ends here. “Nothing,” she said, not meeting her eye. “I was just a little high-strung. I didn’t mean anything.” More sincerely, she added, “I’ll just be glad when this is all over.” Lily cast a cringing glance at the tools raised overhead. “Amen to that.” Between them, Roseluck nodded and waved. “We’ll tell you everything that happened, right down to what food we ate and how many varieties of rose we’ve seen.” “Yeah,” mumbled Daisy, already turning around. “Good luck, Lily.” Both she and Roseluck went out the door without a backwards look. They barely registered Luna, who took her ear away from the frame and straightened up a little too smartly. “Does she want me back in?” she said. On their way past, they nodded and began the long trek back down the stairs.
