Flutter's Night

Chapters

Stranger At Home
Flutter On
The Proof
Professionals
Castlemania Reprise
Naflwgah'n Fluttershy Shoggnyth
Horror Stories

Stranger At Home

“I'm glad to finally have all the boring negotiations out of the way, miss Apple. This second job is sure to help my restoration project, but I've got a feeling I'll be making some friends at the same time.” Babs openly snorted at the stallion's corny statement, covering her face defensively when Applejack gave her a stern look. Unfortunately for Applebloom, Babs's snort also acquired Jury's attention. “And who are these fine young fillies?” Babs shifted uncomfortably and Applebloom soon knew why, Jury's ancient-looking eyes staring piercingly into her soul. She stared back at him in defiance, resisting the urge to gulp nervously.

“This here is my sister, Applebloom, our cousin Babs, and their friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.” Applejack watched the fillies expectantly, waiting for them to explosively introduce themselves as the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY‼ But… they never did, waving timidly instead. Applejack frowned in confusion before shaking out the bad thoughts and pressing on. “Anyway, why don't Ah show ya to yer room, mister Dambridge? When all yer things are squared away ya can join us fer some tea.”

“That seems a fine idea, miss Apple.” He spoke with a charm that only worsened Applebloom's opinion of him every time he articulated a syllable.

“Please, just call me 'Applejack'.”

“Only if you call me 'Jury,' Applejack.” Applebloom really didn't like the smile Applejack wore as she laughed, but she couldn't mention anything to that effect to her friends with Big Macintosh still in earshot. By the time her sister returned with the charming stranger, Applebloom had worked up the courage to speak with less reserve than before.

“So, what's yer Cutie Mark mean?”

“Applebloom!” Applejack swiftly reprimanded. “Cutie Mark's are extremely personal. You can't just go off pryin' willy nilly without gettin' to know somepony first.”

“It's alright, Applejack. It's nothing special, really.” At this he turned his attention to Applebloom in full, the filly feeling a subtle pressure in the back of her mind; perhaps some form of hypnotic magic not tied to a unicorn's horn, almost like something she'd read vampires were capable of. “I'm just a simple carpenter and furniture maker, but I specialize in coffin building. My coffins are decently extravagant, but the real artist of the family is my sister, Regime. She's a stage performer and folk singer rolled into one.”

“Well ain't that somethin'?” Applejack declared, trying to deflate the tension in the room. “How about Ah get that tea? Go ahead and make yourself at home, Jury.” He took a seat far from Applebloom, either to keep from making her more uneasy or to make it seem to others that he was trying to keep from making her more uneasy. Big Mac, as usual, remained standing, watching Jury Dambridge carefully. He hadn't been effected by the charms which had won over his sister, but the eldest capable mare of the household was traditionally in charge in Equestrian society and Big Mac would abide by Applejack's decisions. Applebloom, on the other hoof, was young, feisty, and suspicious.

“Ah'm tellin' ya he freaks me out, Twilight. Ah just don't know what to make of him.” Applebloom complained from her seat in the library, sipping the strong black coffee Twilight Sparkle had made. She thought the stuff was downright disgusting without cream, but she wasn't about to admit that to Twilight; if adults could handle it, so would Applebloom. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had quickly been chased off by Applebloom's paranoid behavior over the past few days and both were off Crusading in some fashion. Meanwhile, Babs had remained by her cousin's side. Babs's parents were on a business trip that would take them months, so she had plenty of time to enjoy Ponyville and its small town charm.

“What the hay is a jackalope, miss Sparkle?” Babs was reading from a book of peculiar creatures native to various forests surrounding Ponyville, including the Everfree and others. Apparently the town had a magnetic effect on dangerous beasts. She was also gulping down the same coffee that Applebloom could barely stand.

“Oh, jackalopes span a plethora of subspecies, including both herbivorous and vampiric varieties, the latter of which I have personal experience with. Chupacabras are their natural enemies, hunting the herbivores and competing with the vampires.” Twilight didn't realize what she'd done until it was too late.

“Are you tellin' me there are real, live, vampiric monsters that ain't extinct yet prowlin' around Ponyville? And ya never thought to mention this to me?”

“Oh dear…”

“How many ponies don't know about this?”

“Um…” The meek voice at the door came from lips mostly hidden by a pink mane, Fluttershy sidling away from the commotion before her. “I can come back later if this is a bad time.”

“Don't be silly, Fluttershy.” Dash had been so silent until this point that she might as well have been somewhere else entirely. Ever since she discovered that Daring Do was a real adventure mare she'd been reading the series with even more dedication, sometimes disappearing from Ponyville to make another cameo in a future book whenever she thought Daring was cryptically requesting help. She hadn't been wrong about such things yet. “Applebloom is just freaking out about jackalopes.”

“Vampiric jackalopes!” Applebloom corrected indignantly, throwing her hooves into the air animatedly. “They're a danger to society and must be avoided!”

“You don't know anything about vampiric jackalopes.” Twilight argued reasonably. “You'd never even heard of them until less than a minute ago.”

“Granted Ah'm a bit new to the subject of jackalopes, but Ah know my vampires and they're all dangerous, especially the ones with wings.” Applebloom turned to her cousin with an attentive expression. “Do jackalopes have wings?”

“Nah, they ain't got no wings.”

“Oh… well that ain't too bad, Ah guess.” Twilight groaned, slamming her hoof into her face dramatically; meanwhile, Fluttershy smiled tightly, stepping up behind Babs to read over her shoulder.

“So nice to see young fillies taking an interest in the local fauna.” The timid pegasus declared skittishly, which was almost normal, but her lips didn't stay separated for very long at a time. Applebloom almost couldn't believe her own thoughts as she contemplated the implications of such an inclination. She watched Fluttershy's lips very closely, but soon found herself being stared down by the commanding eyes of the Stare Master, her thoughts leaving her as she began to shiver slightly. “Twilight, I think the coffee you made was a bit too strong for Applebloom to handle. She has the jitters.”

“Really?” Twilight was incredulous at this news, stepping closer to inspect the filly. She'd only brewed the morning's light roast, the most manageable coffee she owned. “Her cup isn't even half empty.”

“Some ponies just can't handle their caffeine.” Fluttershy informed her bookish friend serenely. “I think I'll take her home so she can recover.”

“NO‼” She's got fangs! “Ah mean… no need! Ah can get there myself. Why don't you just go on an' do whatever it is ya came here to do? Ah-mean-it's-not-like-Ah-can't-walk-or-nothin'! What Ah'm sayin' here is like, hmmm… mmm… mm-- why should Ah impose, ya-know-what-Ah-mean? Huh? Yeahlikeso-okaybye, see ya'll later!” Even Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at Applebloom's sudden and frantic exit, Babs giving Twilight a level look.

“Youze think maybe Fluttershy was right about that caffeine theory?”

“Okay, let's review here.” Applebloom whispered to herself as she carefully stepped through town, looking with suspicion at everypony she passed. “Fluttershy is still a vampire, but my sister don't want me talkin' about how she was a vampire… bat… thing before, Ah'm surrounded by jackalopes with fangs, and there's another vampire livin' in my house.” Applebloom shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts and recompose herself. It don't do to walk around talkin' to myself like that, she thought.

“What'th up, Applebloom.”

“Ah! Dear sweet Celestia!” Applebloom leaped a foot into the air, spinning around to face Peppermint Twist-a-loo and pointing an accusing hoof into her face. “Don't sneak up on me like that, ya hear‽”

“Geeth, thorry Applebloom,” she said with genuine remorse. “Didn't mean to thcare you tho bad.” It was impossible for anypony with a heart to stay mad at Twist. “I jutht thaw my friend on the thtreet and thought I'd thay 'hi'.”

“Sorry, Twist. Ah'm just a bit on edge right now, that's all.”

“Now that I think about it,” Twist began, studying Applebloom more closely, “you don't look tho good. Maybe you thould thkip thchool tomorrow and recuperate from… whateverth going on.”

“Haha,” Applebloom chuckled dryly and without humor. “No. Ah'd like to spend as much time away from home as possible right now.”

“Okay.” Twist tilted her head a full thirty degrees, deep in thought for awhile. “Then why don't we grab a thmoothie?”

“That sounds like a great idea to me!”

"Come on, guys. Don't chicken out on us now."

"The last time we wandered into a cave we almost got eaten by a giant ursa minor, alright." Snips snapped back, Snails nodding and adding a 'Yeah!' "Forgive us for being more than a little creeped out at the prospect of looking through another cave for a supposedly extinct species of blood-sucking bats."

"Yeah! Fanged bloodletting is horrendous and infamous for its tendency to scar and welt skin, as well as to hurt… a lot."

"Besides, the search is pointless because we already know they aren't there; they would've used echolocation to find us by now." Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged impressed glances before turning back to the boys.

"You two should totes join Scoots and I in Twilight's Young Dictionary club."

"Totes." Snips and Snails held completely blank expressions for a moment while they processed this, Snails finally speaking after nearly three minutes of absolutely nothing happening.

"Does that mean we don't have to go into the cave?"

"Ha! No, we're still going in. Come on." The search wouldn't turn up any bats, but it was agreed that the trip could be cut short when the four of them found a napping cave troll within the first thirty minutes.

“No more shall Sugarcube Corner be trapped in the past!” Pinkamena Dianne Pie declared to every customer present, including the recently entered Babs Seed, her cousin, and Twist-a-loo. “With this cord of energy, which shall soon be connected to the crystal battery, I will power the newly arrived magic television screen! Soon the news stations which already grace cities such as Manehattan, Los Pegasus, Vanhoover--”

“Pinkie!” Mrs. Cake interrupted emphatically. “Just plug it in already!”

“Right, sorry.” As the device sparked to life, Babs took a seat at the table where Twist and Applebloom could be found.

“That book sure was interestin'. Ah'm glad Flutters let me finish it before she checked it out.”

“What did thhe need it for?” Applebloom was only half listening to the conversation, shocked at what she saw on the television set.

“Ponyville, a small town surrounded by exotic dangers, was always safe in at least one regard: you could trust your fellow pony there.”

“She needs it as a cross-reference or somethin' fer a paper she's writin' to clear up some misconceptions about the local wildlife.”

“But perhaps that is no longer true. Just last night somepony reported that this mare, a miss Bon-Bon, went missing. She could not be found at her home and she has not been seen since.”

“I didn't know Flutterthy wrote publithed paperth.”

“This alone would be bad enough.”

“Did you know thhe wrote profethionally, Applebloom?”

“However, the situation may be worse than it first appears, as two other mares disappeared three nights ago, and a stallion did as well the night before last…”

“Applebloom?”

“…making Bon-Bon the fourth pony to go missing in Ponyville in less than a week.”

“Applebloom!” The startled filly jolted in her seat, hitting her legs against the table and spilling her smoothie into her lap. Babs laughed openly as Twist covered a grin, Applebloom cringing quite dramatically as the cold reached her nethers.

“Oh ho haha! Yer so cool, Bloomster! Hahaha…!”

Flutter On

“Fluttershy can't be a vampire,” Scootaloo argued. “That doesn't even make any sense.” The day after Applebloom's smoothie accident was a Monday; she normally hated Mondays, but they seemed manageable compared to her more recent problems. After school the Cutie Mark Crusaders had regrouped at Rarity's boutique for three reasons: it wasn't Fluttershy's cottage nor the Apple orchard, and it had a television. Applebloom needed that television to tell her how screwed she was, and to her relief another disappearance had yet to be reported.

“Accusing a stranger of being a monster is bad enough, but Fluttershy of ALL ponies?” Sweetie Belle's voice cracked a little as she spoke, clearly not happy with Applebloom. “That's just ridiculous.”

“We now return you to Fright Night, hosted by renowned vampire killer, Petal Vestment.”

“Can we just unplug this stupid TV?” Scootaloo whined. “The advertisements are annoying and the shows are dumb.”

“If Ah see that GAK commercial one more time, every one of youze'll see my head explode.”

“Quiet!” Applebloom demanded, jumping past Scootaloo to sit directly in front of the screen. “Petal Vestment is on.” The pony in question wore a dramatic wool coat of a muted brown over a slightly off-white coat, his graying mane and tail groomed to perfection.

“Dear viewers,” the oh-so-handsome, yet past his prime TV star began with an air of mystery. “Have you ever heard of the Blueblood family's patented Sunblock Charms?”

“Ooh, ooh!” Sweetie Belle waved her hooves excitedly. “I have! I have!”

“He can't hear ya, Sweetheart; these things don't work that way.” Applebloom shushed them rudely as Petal Vestment continued.

“If you have heard of them, and you watch my show, you've probably already figured out the problem here. These charms allow vampires to walk freely through the Sunlight.”

“So that's how Jury gets around the orchard…”

“What is worse, these charms are not particularly overt, as they were meant to be worn as tasteful high society accessories. With some simple customizations a vampire can hide these small charms anywhere, such as in their ears or, in the following case, behind their fangs. Watch closely as I demonstrate how to use a silver bludgeon, the metal to which vampires are weakest, to shatter the fangs of the beast. With the charm exposed, it can be removed, and the creature will burn away in Celestia's light.” Suddenly, the scene changed, capture methods of a more archaic nature saving grittier film. Petal's mane was black and vibrant, his eyes younger and filled with passion. The following fight was most obviously fake, the transition from fake whole fangs to fake broken fangs a bit sloppy, but the false blood squirted every which way in a brutal facade of a bludgeoning. “Come on, Petal.” Even without wings or horn, Petal proved capable of beating the charm right out of the vampire's maw. “That's it, you've got it!” During the final, sloppy special effects, Applebloom's present friends exchanged glances of concern, worried the little Apple had gone off the deep end. “Ah've got some readin' to do…”

Quite put off by Applebloom's vampire obsession, the other Crusaders had left her to her occult studies by the time she'd reached the library. Applebloom had quickly lost track of time with Twilight reading quietly nearby, and found the Sun setting when she finally thought to head home. She had a good idea of what she'd need to defend herself, but the shops would be closed for the evening, forcing her to wait until tomorrow to stock up on supplies. As luck would have it she hadn't thought up anything to drain her allowance on in months, and she planned to count up and ration out her funds in advance of the coming shopping spree.

She had to make it home alive first. “Hey there, Applebloom.” Fluttershy… “Your friends told me you're going a bit stir-crazy about vampires and, well… I can't exactly help you find the kind you're looking for, but I could show you some real vampiric jackalopes if you want.” Applebloom took a step back as Fluttershy advanced a little more assertively than anypony who knew her would expect her to, the distance between them shrinking as Applebloom's fake smile slowly fell. “Normally they're quite dangerous…” She wasn't even sure how it happened so fast, but the young filly soon found her forehooves off the ground, Fluttershy's gentle hooves caressing her cheeks. Fluttershy's gaze was penetrating and hypnotizing, awakening in Applebloom urges and instincts she wasn't meant to feel until much later in her life. “Don't worry… you're safe with me.” The fangs were exceptionally obvious at the short distance Applebloom almost made shorter. She needed to escape, but she wanted so desperately to stay.

An instant later the spell was broken, Applebloom sliding through the dirt as she stumbled backwards in a panic, trying with all her willpower to shake away the aftereffects of the hypnosis. “They say that nopony can be hypnotized… unless they want to be.” With those parting words and a strikingly angelic smile Fluttershy finally took her eyes off the filly and left her to her paranoia and the coming nightmares.

Applebloom sprinted all the way home, passing a snoring Granny Smith on the porch and leaping and bounding up the stairs to her bedroom. She threw the door open and… “Hello there, little Apple.” She gasped with shock, her heart pounding away in her chest, practically fit to burst. “Surprised to see me?” Applebloom found herself nodding, but on further consideration she wasn't sure why she was humoring the monster. “I don't work nights, Applebloom.” The scared filly was literally being backed into a corner as Jury Dambridge studied her, his imposing figure slowly dominating her field of view. “I think your sister really likes me. She confided in me that she's a little worried about you and this vampire fixation of yours. You know vampires aren't real, don't you?” He chuckled humorlessly, leaving the filly with only an inch of space as he lowered his face to hers. “Next you'll tell me you believe in the Headless Horse, the Olden Pony, and the Boogie Mare.” He spoke to her as if they'd known one another for ages, perhaps in an attempt to make her even more uneasy, but she managed to recompose herself somewhat anyway.

“Nah, Ah don't believe in any of that stuff, mister Dambridge; Ah don't even believe in vampires.” Why is lying so darn difficult? “Ah just like studyin' it, that's all. Maybe my sister just got the wrong idea because of how dedicated Ah am.” When Jury pulled his head back to quirk a brow at her in amusement, Applebloom brushed past his leg and made a quick trot to her nightstand, pulling a wooden pencil from a drawer with her mouth. As she began to pretend to take notes, she casually shooed the vampire off with her hoof. As he left, he gave her a look which made it clear that he knew she was lying through her teeth, but he wasn't willing to start a proper fight just yet. So, she thought, the mind games continue.

Youtube Video

“What the HAY is all this‽” Sweetie Belle's eyes were as wide as saucers as they took in the sight before her. Several artful depictions of Celestia's Cutie Mark adorned the walls, window shutters, and wardrobe doors, while strands of garlic and lines of salt surrounded the windowsill, bed, and main entrance to Applebloom's room. There were stockpiles of wooden stakes, magic crystal lights, and various items of silver make.

“Looks kinda cool if you ask me,” Scootaloo commented, admiring the scene.

“Youze really gone off the deep end this time, ain't yahz, Bloomster?” Babs Seed impotently scratched her hoof into the top of Applebloom's head, but her cousin only responded by giving her a serious and determined expression. There was a frightening resignation in her eyes, as if she was fully expecting to die soon and had already come to terms with that fact.

“Ah have to fortify the clubhouse next. Don't go invitin' anypony inside; if they need an invitation then they're to be considered vampiric. We rightly own that clubhouse and Ah think we can keep them out of it indefinitely if we're real careful.”

“Just how many ponies do you think are vampires?” Sweetie asked timidly, cringing a little at the thought of Applebloom driving a stake through somepony's heart.

“Fluttershy and Jury Dambridge are definitely vampires, but Ah'm not takin' any chances; if there are more of them out there, Ah'll be ready for them.” With this, Applebloom set down a freshly sharpened stake, stepping carefully past her fellow Crusaders and making her way to the clubhouse.

“Are you two getting…” Sweetie trailed off for a moment, twirling her hoof as she thought of the right words. “…concerned about Applebloom's mental health?”

“Nah, she's just bein' a drama queen. It's kinda cute, actually.” Babs's dismissal of the problem was only half-hearted, as if she was actively trying to convince herself that there was nothing to worry about.

“And these stakes are so…” Scootaloo picked one up, staring at its sharp point with thoughts of bloody homicide and Applebloom's subsequent banishment running through her brain. “…awesome.” They each gave each other knowing looks, speaking as one.

“We gotta talk to Twilight about this.”

“An anti-paranoia spell?” The purple Princess questioned incredulously, nearly spilling her cup of coffee. “You realize that's extremely dangerous, don't you? Mental magic is no joke. This is very serious business.”

“We know that, Twilight.” Sweetie was beginning to sound desperate, concern easily distinguishable in her expression and those of the other two fillies. “That's why we came to you for this. The spell has to be perfect and nothing can go wrong.”

“And you're Twilight Sparkle!” Scootaloo proclaimed, her wings buzzing in excitement. “Nothing can go wrong with you casting the spell.”

“Things never go wrong with your horn-a-super-magic.” Babs said pointedly, frowning to herself and tapping her chin a moment later. “Well, except fer that time youze tried to stop the parasprites from eatin' the town.”

“Ooh! And hey,” Scootaloo started in, fondly remembering a time when Applebloom wasn't crazy. “You remember when Spike ate all that ice cream and got that massive stomach ache?”

“Yeah,” Sweetie finished. “He said Twilight royally screwed up a time spell.”

“And there was that time in the orchard when youze made poor Flutters a vampire fruit bat, thus startin' a chain of events that led to the very paranoia we're askin' youze to fix now.”

“On second thought, we'll just ask Trixie for help.”

“Not by all the blood spilled in Tartarus!” Twilight declared with royal authority. “Sit down. You want an anti-paranoia spell? I'll get you an anti-paranoia spell and then some! Applebloom is going to be so thoroughly cured of this mental disease that it'll make your heads spin.”

It took Twilight the rest of the day to get everything in order, but while she worked on the spell matrix at the library she needed somepony else to go get Petal Vestment, or some dragon else. If the magic wasn't enough, the minor celebrity's word that there were indeed no vampires in Ponyville would go a long way. “This looks like the place.”

“Of course it is, Spikey-wikey. I know my way around Canterlot.” Rarity had volunteered to assist Spike to get an idea of what vampire-crazed ponies liked to wear while pretending to be vampire killers, as well as to offer Petal Vestment a discount for her services at the conclusion of the whole ordeal. She could always use more celebrity business, even if they were just cult celebrities.

“Hey, isn't that him over there?”

“Where in Equestria are his bodyguards? Can't he afford any, or does he simply not need them?”

“We could ask him, you know, before he just leaves.”

“Yes, quite.” Having finished blathering to each other, the dragon and unicorn pair stepped into Petal's path in the lot behind the Fright Night set building. “Excuse us, mister Vestment; could we have a moment of your time, please?”

“You don't look like vampire fanatics.” He commented dryly, before suddenly smiling and extending a hoof to Rarity. “To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking today?”

“Rarity Belle, proprietor of Ponyville's Carousel Boutique, and this is my friend, Spike.”

“First assistant to Her Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Spike's tone made it clear that he wasn't prepared to waste any time, and Petal assumed he might be able to get something from the dragon's royal employer to help with his current financial issues. With Fright Night being canceled he didn't really have much choice.

“The Princess wouldn't have sent you unless there was something important for me to do, and I'd never refuse the Crown, but usually jobs come with some sort of monetary compensation. With the royal treasury at her disposal--”

“Three hundred bits, and all you have to do is tell a scared little filly that she's safe. Can you do that, mister Vestment?”

“Ah ha ha…” Rarity chuckled nervously, trying to interject. “Forgive Spike, he's just rather attached to the pony in question; we all are, really. Ponyville is a small town, you see.”

“As I've already stated I'd never refuse the Crown. What does this filly need from me?”

“There are two ponies you have to prove aren't vampires.” Spike said pointedly. “You show up with two bottles we claim were blessed by Celestia, those ponies drink them, and then you get paid.”

“Hmm…” The performer appeared deep in thought for a few moments, contemplating the plan. “It would be more convincing with legitimately blessed water. The Celestial blessing gives the substance a certain fluorescence.”

“Unfortunately that would take too long at this time, what with both Celestia and Luna halfway to the Griffon kingdoms by now.” Rarity explained. “Princess Twilight has to act quickly so she can wrap up the anti-paranoia spell and get up here to Canterlot to handle royal affairs while the other monarchs are away.”

“You want to use mind magic?” The dragon and unicorn nodded. “Isn't that extremely dangerous?”

“Normally it would be, but this is Twilight we're talking about.”

“Everything will be fine, Petal, just as long as you play your part right.”

"It's about time you showed up, mister Coal." The stallion in question had a dark green coat of fur with a lime-green mane and tail, expressive cyan eyes, and saddlebags filled to burst with tools. "The coffin has already been tucked into the deepest cell in the dungeon. I doubt anypony will find it there."

"What was your excuse for my lateness, master Dambridge?"

"Just the simple version of the truth: family business." Billet Coal smirked at this news. "Come on, this castle desperately needs our help." Before they could get back to the job at hoof there was a spark of green magic just in front of Jury, and he immediately opened the scroll that materialized from it. He couldn't resist a small chuckle.

"Mind letting me in on the joke?"

"Just read this and you'll get it." Jury threw a forelimb around Billet's shoulders and held the letter close enough for anyone with excellent night vision to read.

Dear mister Dambridge,

I know Applebloom has been treating you a bit strangely lately, avoiding you when she can and looking upon you with suspicion. You may have already heard that she suspects you of being a vampire - a ridiculous notion, I know, but don't go thinking its any fault of yours; she suspects my dear friend Fluttershy as well. Worry not, however, for we'll soon have that cleared right up. Twilight has a little spell in mind to help the filly overcome her delusions, but just in case that isn't enough we've arranged to have Petal Vestment perform a few tests on you and Fluttershy to prove you aren't vampires. Nothing extreme, mind you. All you have to do is stand in front of some mirrors and drink a little Celestia-blessed water. It's too bad we can't get you the real thing, considering Celestia's absence from the capitol; I hear that blessed water tastes quite divine. Oh look at me rambling on like this, it's nonsensical! Anyway, could you swing by the library tomorrow at about ten in the morning? Applejack has already agreed to give you the day off, and she'll be at the library herself so don't worry about that.

On an unrelated note I've finished patching up the tapestries for the west wing of the Castle of the Two Sisters. We'll have that place restored to its former glory in no time at all!

Sincerely,

Rarity Belle

Fluttershy had just finished her own letter from Rarity and Spike, turning her attention to a very well-behaved bunny. "Tell the jackalopes to wait; Applebloom might not need to die tonight afterall." Angel saluted briskly, rushing to do the bidding of his mistress. There were several likewise turned animals prepared to do the same at every nook and corner of Fluttershy's property. "Yes, this way will be much more fun, I think."

The Proof

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this plan, girls." Sweetie Belle seemed to grow more anxious by the minute, remembering that it was her to first suggest using magic to help Applebloom. The more she thought about it, the more inane it seemed to her, not to mention needlessly dangerous.

"Would you rather just let her be until she goes and murders somepony with a stake?" Scootaloo had sound logic, but it was of little comfort to the unicorn filly. The flightless pegasus rapped her hoof impatiently against the clubhouse door, eager to get their plan underway. She wanted to have her friend back to normal as soon as possible.

"Ah'm with Sweetie on this one, Scooter. Twilight's cool and all, but…" Babs trailed off as Applebloom opened the door. She instantly began studying the expressions of the other Crusaders and seeing through their fake smiles.

"Why did ya'll come here? I know you don't believe me yet." The Crusaders in question exchanged nervous looks, silently deciding who would initiate the coming deceit. Finally, Sweetie reluctantly began speaking.

"We got in contact with Petal Vestment down in Canterlot, Applebloom. If anyone will believe you, it's him." Applebloom looked dumbfounded, her mouth agape. "He's going to test Fluttershy and Jury Dambridge for us at the library with Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, my sister and yours all right there to help out if something goes wrong." Sweetie was suddenly being gripped tight as Applebloom nuzzled into her shoulder, whispering her appreciation with a harsh rasp.

"Thank you…" Sweetie Belle never felt so horrible in her entire life.

"Come on, Bloomster," Babs interjected dejectedly. "We gotta get there by ten or we'll miss Petal."

"Ah can't thank ya'll enough for this."

"Don't mention it." Scootaloo replied a little too swiftly. "Ever. It was no big deal."

"No big deal?" Applebloom chuckled dryly as she started trotting toward the library with her friends at a leisure pace. "Ya obviously don't know what you're sayin' there, Scoots. Petal will know they're vampires and, well, maybe he'll even know how to cure 'em without hurtin' 'em, if there is a way." Scootaloo just gulped heavily, as if to keep down bile.

"You want to use mental magic? You know how dangerous that is, don't you?"

"Hay there, sis!" Applejack and Jury met them on the path out of the orchard, and another pony was with them as well. "This here's Billet Coal. He's helpin' Rarity and Jury restore that castle in the Everfree Forest." Whereas most of the fillies gave tentative, half-hearted waves to the grinning stallion, Applebloom just gave him a judging look before shifting her gaze to Jury with an air of trepidation. She carefully put Sweetie behind herself protectively, watching the other two fillies as if pleading for them to get further away from the older ponies.

Applejack didn't care if Applebloom was crazy or not; something real had to be behind that fear. Applejack's expression as she blocked Jury's view of her younger sister clearly let him know he was on thin ice, but the hired hoof just smirked knowingly back at her. She decided she didn't like him anymore, and she wouldn't let him anywhere near Applebloom ever again, regardless of the results of the coming tests.

Shortly after they reached the main road through Ponyville they met up with both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, rather reluctantly from Applebloom's point of view. She wanted to keep her friends safe, but she didn't know where to place herself. They were surrounded. "We're gonna get you through this, Applebloom." She wasn't at all reassured by Dash's hesitant attempt at displaying the gusto she normally had in spades. When she thought about it, Applejack didn't like the way Fluttershy was looking at her sister either. This day wasn't starting out too well.

"…And so, the acolytes of Huitloxopetl did decree that the local dream-walker of Equestria would be Luna, as her mood-swings consistently mirrored those of the Outer God they served." Pinkie finished her lecture just as Applebloom and the suspected vampires arrived, leaving her three pony and one dragon audience no time to question her about the quantum physics and cosmic deities she'd just breezily half explained. "Oh look, Applebloom is here!" Twilight quietly released the magic to set off the subtle charms that would begin to tweak Applebloom's thoughts away from a belief in vampires.

Applebloom had been prepared for this; she had expected one of the vampires to try hypnotizing her, and had the foresight to buy a charm that would protect her from mental magic. As Petal had told her on Fright Night, vampires hid Blueblood charms in all sorts of creative places, but often behind their fangs. If vampires could hide charms in their mouths, why couldn't normal ponies? She could feel the charm heat slightly as it strained to repel Twilight's powerful magic. The alicorn frowned, knowing something was wrong with her spell. She hoped Petal would be able to help Applebloom without the anti-paranoia spell.

The actor stepped forward with a flourish, straightening the stylized coat he wore in all his movies. "Applebloom, I presume. And these two, the supposed vampires." He pulled from his coat pocket two small vials of water, presenting first one to Jury and then another to Fluttershy. Both of them, reassured by the letters they received from Rarity, drank the water slowly, watching one another carefully. This was the first time the two had been in the same room together. "Now, could you please step in front of this mirror?" They did so, casting perfectly normal reflections, something that made Applebloom shake her head in confusion. Ironically, it was Twilight's anti-paranoia spell that reassured Applebloom that she was right; how could they have just tried to hypnotize her if they weren't vampires? Fluttershy stared up at Jury, but it looked to Applebloom as if she were somehow staring him down, asserting a sort of dominance over him in a way Applebloom didn't understand, and Jury relented to it, something which visibly surprised Billet Coal. Not that anypony other than Applebloom paid any attention to the exchange. "Now, Applebloom, do you really think a vampire could consistently work in Celestia's light, drink Her holy water, and be blessed with a reflection?"

"The Blueblood charms."

"Well, that could explain just--"

"No, they must naturalize the light somehow. That's how they can cast a reflection."

"But the blessed water--"

"Wasn't glowing enough anyway. It was fake wasn't it?" Petal's expression was all the answer she needed. "Ah thought so. Nice to finally meet you, Petal Vestment, vampire killer." The sarcasm dripped from Applebloom's statements condescendingly. "Well, this was fun and all, but Ah'd like to get back to my homework if Ah could." Such a reason might be her only excuse to leave after everything else she'd said.

"Listen Applebloom," Applejack began, managing to sound both commanding and protective. "If Jury did something to you--"

"Applejack, I do take offense--"

"Shut up." Nopony spoke in Jury's defense, watching him with new eyes. "Ah saw the way she looked at you." She turned her attention back to her little sister. "If he did anything to you to make you… uncomfortable… you can tell me, but you've got to stop with all this vampire stuff and speak the honest truth."

"Ah'll prove it to ya'll then." Applebloom pulled a wooden carving of Celestia's Cutie Mark from under her bow, using an attached bracelet to fasten it to her right fore-ankle. Before anypony could stop her she jumped forward to Jury and Fluttershy, thrusting her hoof forward. "Touch this."

"Forgive me for not wanting to get too close to you after what your sister so wrongfully accused me of." Jury's hasty defense seemed to satisfy all but Applebloom as he took a few steps back, but nothing could prepare her for the shock of seeing Fluttershy's hoof in direct contact with the carving, completely unharmed.

"It doesn't bother me," she said with her perfect, calming voice. For the first time, Applebloom thought that she might actually have been wrong. Either she was indeed wrong, or her situation was a lot worse than she'd originally presumed. "Please don't be afraid of me, Applebloom. I'd never let anyone hurt you." As if to punctuate this statement, Fluttershy lowered herself to Applebloom's height and surrounded her with well-preened wings, keeping her feathers just low enough for everypony to keep an eye on the filly. They could all see that Fluttershy was doing nothing dubious, and meanwhile Applebloom had her doubts finally erased.

Fluttershy's gorgeous eyes bore through Applebloom's charm, causing the expensive trinket to break apart gently, just as a blooming flower would. What are you? Applebloom thought, and she soon had a reply.

I am refuge and respite,

Shadow and sanctuary,

Darkness and moonlight,

Peace and tranquility.

I command death. I can unleash it or hold it prisoner. Sometimes I bite. A soft wing stroked the relaxing filly's cheek. When I do, cherish it.

What is she? Jury wondered, awed and frightened. This was a breed he had never encountered before, and he could feel her great age radiating from her. He knew that she predated Celestia's birth, but he didn't know how.

"Fluttershy, what are ya doin'?" Applejack was confused, but she couldn't help but to notice how much more at ease her sister now looked.

"To your sister?" Fluttershy's articulation gave a clear message to Applejack alone. Perhaps Applebloom just wanted Applejack to be her sister, and maybe she needed somepony else to take her mother's place. "I'm just trying to comfort her. She seemed so scared that she had me worried."

"Ahem." Pinkie soon had the attention of the silent ponies, each of whom seemed suppressed by the tension in the library. "Might I remind the party that there's cookies and punch by the door?"

With that single sentence Pinkie managed to drastically reduce the amount of tension present, and soon everypony was sipping their particular drink of choice, using the fact that they'd cleared their schedules for the day to reminisce and discuss Twilight's upcoming temporary position in Canterlot. It wasn't all smiles, of course, as Fluttershy very obviously kept close to a lethargic Applebloom while the other fillies shifted uncomfortably, Applejack giving Jury an apology she didn't mean whilst continuing to keep a close eye on him. Even Pinkie couldn't muster the party spirit necessary to hold much of a conversation with either Jury or Billet, which inwardly disturbed her quite a bit. Sweetie Belle in particular looked quite dejected, as if she were responsible for whatever Applebloom was going through. Twilight whispered to Petal and Rarity about how tremendously her spell had failed, but between the three of them they were still unable to pin down the problem. Rainbow watched Fluttershy mingle with her wing draped over Applebloom's shoulders all the while, holding an uncertain smile. Fluttershy sure seemed to be spending a lot of time speaking serenely to the other fillies.

After thirty minutes of chit-chat and strangeness they all agreed to walk Twilight to her train and part ways at the station. By that time, every one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were walking with Fluttershy, listless smiles on their faces.

"Snails, is it just me, or do those fillies look a little…"

"Dead inside?"

"…Yeah." Snails gulped nervously as he replied.

"It's not just you."

"What are those weirdos up to now?" Diamond Tiara lacked her usual sting as she spoke to Silver Spoon with a modicum of legitimate concern.

"Their flanks aren't all that's blank today."

"I'm telling you, featherweight, something isn't right." Rumble rambled. "Seven disappearances in five days, all in Ponyville? That just doesn't add up."

"Well yeah but… what can we do about it?"

"Guys," Button Mash interrupted. "Look at that! Sweetie Belle looks all hypnotized. In fact…"

"They all do."

"Thatth not normal…" All the fillies and colts in the schoolyard exchanged horrified looks, whispering the same word in near-perfect synchronization.

"Vampires."

"Okay kids, recess is over. Back to the books."

"Bye Twilight!" Pinkie Pie roared, bouncing up to ridiculous heights. "Be sure to write!"

"Oh dear!" Rarity exclaimed. "We seem to have forgotten all about Spike."

"No no," Twilight reassured. "He's watching the library while I'm away."

"Come to think of it," Pinkie began thoughtfully. "I don't remember seeing him at the party."

"That's because he's out getting supplies, since I'm bringing my quills, ink, and parchment with me."

"Ah'm sure he'll miss ya somethin' awful, Twi."

"Don't be silly, Applejack. It's good for us to have some time apart every so often. Not to mention he'll have Owlowiscious for company."

"Oh, I see what's going on." Rarity slunk up next to Twilight as she spoke, arching her brow coyly. "This about that guard you've fallen for, isn't it?"

"Flash Sentry isn't stationed in Canterlot!" Twilight's indignant retorts were cut short by the call of the conductor.

"All aboard, unless somepony wants to get left behind." Twilight seemed embarrassed at her slowness, beginning to step aboard. Before she could, Petal stepped forward with an indignant expression.

"How dare you, lowly conductor."

"How dare I?"

"Yes, exactly. How dare you. Did you not notice that you were speaking to Princess Twilight Sparkle Herself?"

"Uh…" The conductor finally took a closer look at Twilight, his expression becoming mortified as Petal began to advance toward him. "I-I-I… I mean… um…"

"Did you not recognize your Princess?"

"Well, I… um…"

"As if her being escorted by the Element Bearers wasn't a dead give away. Just because the Elements have been returned to the Tree doesn't mean their Bearers are any less important. What of her vibrant shade of purple and the distinctive stripes in her mane?"

"Look, I just--"

"I suppose her wings and horn weren't enough to clue you in either. Furthermore, you are wrong in the first place. You see that clock up there? This train isn't scheduled to leave for another five minutes. Do you not have confidence in your engine, or are you simply incompetent?"

"I'm sorry, okay? Her Majesty can take as long as she wants." After that performance Petal found himself in possession of an extra hundred bits, as well as access to Twilight's room in the library so he could enjoy a much-needed vacation.

Dear Celestia,

We owe Petal Vestment a new job when all this is over.

Yours,

Twilight

"I gotta give you props, Fluttershy." After the group separated, Applejack took the Cutie Mark Crusaders to the Orchard, Jury promising to give Applebloom some space by spending the rest of the day at the Castle of the Two Sisters with Billet Coal. Rarity had tentatively joined the stallions to gather a few more tapestries in need of restoration. Pinkie decided to go check up on Cranky and Matilda, which left Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walking together until they would need to part ways to reach their homes. "I've never seen Applebloom that content about… everything really. How did you do it?"

"It just takes a gentle touch." Rainbow felt a wing brush against her own lovingly, Fluttershy turning her gaze to the cerulean pegasus with a soft smile. "It's not just for the young, either." Rainbow blushed and looked at the ground, watching herself walk as her mind raced. "Would you like to spend the day with me, Rainbow?" Fluttershy's hot breath touched Rainbow's right ear, and the acrobatic pegasus shivered in ecstasy. She may have given a small moan as well, but she quickly made an attempt to recover her coolness.

"Uh, yeah, yeah… a'ight. We can totally do what you just said."

Angel had done his best, but the jackalopes were voracious. Without Fluttershy to stare them down in person, there was no way to prevent them from going on the attack. He had to warn his mistress as soon as possible. The bunny rushed toward the cottage as quickly as he could.

"How'd the intervention go?" Big Macintosh dropped his plow and made his way over to his smiling sister and the fillies who were her charges. Applejack encouraged them to head on to the farmhouse to begin the impromptu slumber party, and as soon as the younger ponies left her fake smile fell completely. "What's wrong?"

"It's Jury. We're keeping him away from Applebloom from now on. Ah don't know if she's just scared of vampires or if somethin' worse is goin' on, but Ah ain't takin' no chances. That shack we was buildin' for him needs to be finished today, and we ain't makin' Applebloom help us."

"Alright, but we'll have tah double time it."

"Ah think we can manage."

Spike finished laying the last of several vampire traps he'd placed throughout the orchard, Celestia's Cutie Mark depicted with specially made strips of silver and hidden by the grass, this done at several locations in the fields around the farmhouse and clubhouse. He'd hung bushels of garlic on as many tree branches as he could, and placed magical UV lamps at strategic locations. There were even motion detectors connected to an alarm system that only a Princess could get a hold of easily. Applejack had discovered the dragon and his work on her way to get more supplies for the construction of Jury's shack, puzzling over a glowing crystal battery. "So, when Twilight said you were gettin' supplies, she really meant ya'll were fortifyin' the town?"

"Starting with the orchard," Spike confirmed. "The School is next on my list."

"But… why? I thought Twilight didn't believe in vampires."

"Imagine for a moment that Applebloom has been right this whole time, and our magical intervention makes her clueless again. How could we just leave her and everypony else without some form of protection?"

"That's just it: Twi's spell didn't work. Applebloom is totally convinced that Jury is a vampire."

"Hmm…" Spike scratched his chin, contemplative. "And what about Fluttershy?"

"Ah… Ah don't know what to think on that front." Spike raised a questioning brow, to which Applejack sighed in exasperation. "Look, she just did this weird, calming, stare-ee, Flutter… thing, er somthin'. Ah don't know! It was weird, alright? I can't explain it."

"Do you want me to stay with her tonight, just in case? I mean, I am a dragon, afterall."

"Nah, she's got her friends over so she ain't alone, and if she's right the school will need these defenses. The rest of the town, too, probably." Spike saluted with a determined grin and set out to finish his work, Applejack doing the same.

"Ten tapestries for this trip. I should have them done within a fortnight. You two don't mind giving the Apples their space for the day, do you?" Jury smiled back at Rarity from his position working on wooden frames which served as armor stands.

"Don't worry about them, Lady Rarity. You are a far more beautiful prize."

"What do you mean?" She took a step back, only to feel Billet Coal restraining her, and there was Jury before her, large fangs protruding away from the rest of his teeth. "Get back!" Rarity let magic flow unrestrained from her horn, attempting to push the predator back with sheer force, but her magic flowed through him as if he wasn't even there.

"There is only one spell caster who can hurt me, Lady Rarity." With her eyes as wide as saucers the panicked unicorn did all she could in her struggle to break free, throwing magic at the stone beneath them, kicking wildly, and screaming at the top of her lunges. There were none to come to her rescue in the depths of the castle that was some distance away from even Zecora's hut, and her thrashing couldn't shake Billet's hold, nor protect her from Jury's fangs. He drank from her until she grew limp, relenting before she was fatally drained. "Soon you will join us, milady, for Blueblood charms are expensive and our numbers are growing. With your gems we can buy as many as we could ever need." He carefully cut his own leg with a fang, letting his contaminated blood drip past Rarity's limp jaw and down her throat.

Billet dropped the unicorn to leave her to her transformation, smirking at Jury and his dramatics. Jury returned this attention by giving Billet a bloody peck on the lips. "They're here, you know." Even though his statement would seem acutely ambiguous to most, Jury seemed to understand Billet perfectly.

"Go, hunt them. Let them know this town is ours now."

"Ah love you, Fluttershy." Applebloom said to herself, the other Crusaders watching her stare out of the clubhouse window at the swiftly setting Sun. "Ah'm goin' to save ya from yourself if it kills me."

"Applebloom…" Scootaloo stuttered. "V-vampires… they aren't r-real." Applebloom turned to her friend with a sad look.

"We're all goin' to die, Scoots, and Ah think ya'll already know that."

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Rainbow Dash had spent the afternoon falling deeper into a dazed and hypnotized state with each passing second, until finally she found herself on her back on Fluttershy's couch, her back left leg kick-twitching at the attention her body was getting. The yellow pegasus was running her hooves through Rainbow's fur in slow, calming circles, kissing her chest with soft lips. She straddled Dash's twitching leg, letting her own knee press gently into Rainbow's moist sex, mimicking the circular motions her hooves were making elsewhere and relishing the feel of Rainbow arcing her back in response to the stimulation. "I've wanted to touch you this way since flight school, Dash." Rainbow's only reply was a breathless moan as Fluttershy nipped at her ear, the mortal pegasus too immersed in pleasure to feel pain for the puncture wounds created by the fangs involved. "All I had to do was remember how long I've lived to reclaim memories of the confidence I needed. Tell me, Dash… do you love me?" Fluttershy pressed her knee in with a modicum of extra pressure, Rainbow gasping and nodding frantically, a large and ecstatic grin dominating her features. "Will you ever leave me again?" Fluttershy loosened her hold, Rainbow's smile faltering as she gave a dissatisfied grunt and a single, desperate shake of her head. Fluttershy was pleased by this response, cooing and stroking her prey as she swiftly closed the distance she had created and then some, her body flush with Dash's. "You can be mine forever, my sweet. Just let me take you."

"Ah! Yes… Oh Fluttershy, please." She didn't have to wait long, Fluttershy lifting her head and licking her lips in anticipation. Rainbow squirmed with pleasure as Fluttershy's knee worked vigorously against her, the mistress of the household undergoing a transformation before the eyes of the vampiric animals Dash still hadn't noticed. They each continued to watch silently from the shadows as Fluttershy's fur, mane, and tail grew longer in tufts and became frayed and jagged; her fangs extended and multiplied, her muzzle stretching forward an inch and her eyes glazing over with a reddish amber glow while her pupils dilated and her wings shed their feathers. She looked down to see Rainbow on the edge of release, gasping and needy. Fluttershy took her time with it, exhaling a long, hot breath over Rainbow's neck, then licking the warmed fur with her wet, bat-like tongue. Her long mane now covered Rainbow's face, and the helplessly seduced pegasus breathed deeply through her nostrils, taking in the scent of her new mistress. After what felt like a lifetime, the vampire finally sunk her teeth into her victim's neck, drinking gulps of blood. Rainbow gave an immediate yelp that quickly dissolved into a series of long-winded moans and short utterance's of Fluttershy's name. Just as Rainbow began to relax into the feeding, Fluttershy bit down harder and thrust her knee in tighter, Dash panting and trembling in the throes of orgasm.

Fluttershy lifted her fangs from lightly bleeding holes in Dash's skin, a single tear of fulfillment rolling through the fur on her left cheek. She spread her leathery wings and slowly rose into the air, bending down and lifting the leg she kneaded into Dash's sex with her forelimbs. At the crease of her flesh where her thigh met her groin her fang cut open a small wellspring of her own blood. Soon her nether lips were over Rainbow's face, her tail draped across Dash's new neck wound. "Drink it, my sweet. It is the final step to eternity." Rainbow's hooves grasped Fluttershy's hips in a grateful hold, her tongue running over the fresh cut gratuitously as she drank from it. She could not allow herself to neglect the sweet-smelling sex so near to her able muzzle, nuzzling and licking it deeply as her hooves began to stroke her mistress, alternating to the cut and back until Fluttershy could no longer silence her thankful moans. Her mistress vocalized her pleasure with only the most subtle bat-like rasp, something which only drove Rainbow to slurp and suckle more greedily at both semi-viscous fluids available to her. It didn't take Fluttershy long to succumb to Rainbow's overwhelming technique, panting through a smile as her legs trembled and her wings straightened. Her orgasm was long a slow, and when it was over Rainbow nuzzled the base of her tail, lips brushing softly against Fluttershy's rearmost orifice. Somehow Dash had known that any more blood-loss would've weakened her mistress.

There stood Angel Bunny on the floor before his mistress, his fangs showing as he transferred to her his memory of the jackalopes' refusal of her order. "Dash, my sweet, there is a filly I must guard tonight. I must leave you, but not for long. Do not fight the changes my blood will bring you; embrace them." Rainbow released her hold, letting her body go limp with a happy sigh. Fluttershy flew through the cottage doorway with supernatural swiftness, speeding to Sweet Apple Acres with all haste. Applebloom had an anti-hypnosis charm and a concealed Celestial Mark at the library, Fluttershy thought to herself. She is obviously prepared. I'll watch her fight the jackalopes to better judge the level of her preparedness.

"Well see My Cutie Mark was itching so I bounced over here as quick as I could and what-do-you-know, here you two are working away at a shack that's just not getting finished." Applejack sighed in appreciation for Pinkie's appearance on the scene, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hoof.

"Thanks, Pinkie. Could ya nail in these here rafters while Big Mac stabilizes the stepladder? Ah gotta go get us some more wood and nails from the shed."

"Okey dokey lokey, Artichokey!" Applejack turned around to get the aforementioned supplies, completely missing Big Mac's gaping jaw and the already finished rafters.

Applejack's walk through the orchard was troubled by thoughts of unsavory acts and vampirism, her frown simply refusing to be shaken. She passed several vampire traps set by Spike on her way to the shed, admiring the beautiful silver Marks and colorful crystals, all bathed in UV light, a light that simple Blueblood charms could protect any blood-sucker from. Applejack was not without other sights to occupy her for long: after nearly seven minutes of taking carefully measured steps she saw something move in her periphery vision. Her breath caught as she looked around frantically, unable to locate whatever had moved. With only a glimpse to judge by, the farm mare stepped quietly behind an apple tree, standing on only her hindlegs and pressing her back against the bark. Her ears twitched as a voice drifted to her on the wind, a buzzing changeling voice.

"We don't want you here. Take your mazzzter and leave thizzz placezzz. I've mizzzed out on zzzeveral good mealzzz thankzzz to your kidnappingzzz."

"Ahaha!" This voice was almost like Billet Coal's, but with a more subtle inclination toward a changeling buzz. "You think I can be intimidated by numberz? You are truly ignorant creaturez." There were several hissed battlecries and the sound of buzzing changeling wings, followed immediately by an unholy noise straight from the depths of Tartarus, reminiscent of what Applejack imagined the desperate cries of several billion tortured souls would sound like. There was scrambling and cries of panic before the noise repeated four more times, and then all was silent. Applejack silently gasped, holding her breath and praying that Celestia would protect her somehow. A second later and a powerful force shattered the tree behind her, sending Applejack to the ground with flailing limbs and panicked pants. "What'z the matter, mizz Apple?" Billet said with his forelimbs resting on the now horizontal tree trunk. Applejack stared, mouth agape, at his true form, a changeling surrounded in an aura of mist shifting from green to cerulean and back. Behind him, the bodies of five completely love-drained changelings lay limp and shriveled, their faces permanently giving an expression of terror and pain. "Did I give you a fright?"

She ran as quickly as she could toward the shed, the structure closest to her, weaving between trees as if to evade a predator. Just as she threw open the shed door, Pinkie poked her head forward in greeting from within. "Hi-ya!"

"Bah! Pinkie! Get back in there." Applejack shoved her way inside and closed the door behind her, turning back to Pinkie to see that her pink friend wasn't at all alarmed by Applejack's own alarm. "Wait… are you really Pinkie or are you… him?"

"Oh, you mean Billet Coal? No, I'm not Billet; I'm me! He makes a great ghoul for Jury Dambridge though, being a changeling cannibal wraith and all. He keeps the other bugs in check." Applejack couldn't believe what she was hearing, trying to find the doorknob without taking her eyes off Pinkie. "Mistress Fluttershy hasn't exactly acquainted herself with them yet, but of course I have because I'm me." Pinkie gave an exasperated gasp, her usual smile growing larger as her fangs extended, leathery wings sprouting from her sides. "I almost forgot to tell you: Fluttershy turned me first! Isn't that great?" Applejack found the knob and stumbled out of the shed, only to find Pinkie in front of her again outside, a frown of disapproval on her face. "You know it's rude to run away like that, don't you?" Applejack jumped backward into the shed, shutting the door as she did, Pinkie's hoof instantly smashing a hole in the door.

The wooden door.

"Where's mah brother, Pinkie?"

"Oh, he's busy transforming into one of us right now. Don't worry about him." While Pinkie spoke, Applejack snatched a sawed-off with a strap and swung it over her shoulder, as well as another double-barrel shotgun with full barrels, bracing it against her shoulder.

"Wrong answer, Pinkie!" With ammo belts crossing each other over her chest Applejack blasted the shed door to pieces, sending hundreds of tiny stakes raking through Pinkies fur. The vampire gasped from the small jolts of pain, Applejack scooping up a sharp piece of wood in her teeth and charging it into Pinkie's neck. There was an ear-splitting roar as Pinkie slithered backward, convulsing on the ground as her hoof bones extended past her fur and seemed to sharpen, her face becoming a disgusting parody of what it once was.

Applejack ran from the scene as quickly as her hooves would carry her, panting through shells as she frantically reloaded her weapon. "Hello, mizz Applejack." The orange-coated earth pony dug her hooves into the ground, being braced by a silver depiction of Celestia's Cutie Mark. "Oh, you know theze don't work on me, don't you?"

"Does this‽" After the distinct bang of a shotgun firing echoed through the orchard, Billet Coal fell limply to the ground, Applejack quickly reloading and moving on. He didn't stay down for long.

Alarms blared throughout the orchard as countless bodies of vampiric beasts tripped the motion sensors, the Cutie Mark Crusaders watching the shadows from their clubhouse. "Jackalopes." Applebloom muttered.

"Youze remember how Ah was readin' that book what talked about vampiric jackalopes?" Babs's voice had a timbre that left the others more worried than before.

"Yeah." Applebloom answered tentatively.

"Well, they ain'ts got the weaknesses regular vamps have."

"Great. Any good news?"

"They ain'ts got the strengths neither, less youze count the fangs."

"Well, that ain't so bad."

"Yeah, but theyz also hunt in packs of fifty or more." There was a long moment of silence as the others processed this information, watching the ever-growing number of fleeting shadows hop between the trees.

"You were right, Applebloom." Scootaloo conceded. "We're all going to die."

"No we're not!" Sweetie stomped her hooves against the floor, turning away from the window and watching her friends slowly give her their full attention. "We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we don't give up, EVER! We are going to take these stakes Applebloom made, and we are going to fight off these stupid jackalopes if it takes us all damn night!" No adult would've blamed her for swearing in such a situation, if any adult were present. "They want to suck OUR blood? Well they can't have it! It's OURS!" There was a collective shout of approval from the other three, their determination bolstered. "This is our clubhouse, our farm, and our town!" Another collective shout of encouragement. "It's called 'Ponyville,' not 'Vampville' or 'Jackalopetopia'! Screw them!" Jackalope horns were soon being smashed against the windows and door of the clubhouse, cracks appearing in the woodwork and glass panes. Scootaloo's response to this was to grab three stakes at once and yell a challenge around the one in her mouth, her fellow Crusaders joining in instantly. Sweetie pushed her magic harder than she ever had before in her adrenaline fueled state, levitating seven stakes on her own. As the first jackalope broke through a window to their left Sweetie through a stake into its chest. All patriotic enthusiasm left the four as they stared at the bloody corpse of the horrible creature, red seeping into the floorboards. Then there was another beast, and a third, and there was no more time to think on the gruesomeness of death, only just enough to frantically defend their own lives.

Within seconds every window was shattered and the door shredded, blood and viscera soaking the fillies and coating the inner surfaces of the clubhouse. The blood was not only that of jackalopes, the outnumbered fillies unable to avoid every snapping jaw and swinging claw during their maddening brawl. The furry beasts fell one after the other, their adversaries quickly becoming jaded to the sights of blood and death, as well as the feel of sharp pain and physical overexertion. After the first few minutes there were dozens of jackalopes nailed to the walls by stakes that the Crusaders had run out of, the fillies desperately beating down the creatures with their bare hooves. Sweetie Belle stabbed one at the nape of the neck with her horn; Scootaloo kicked another right back out the window and past the balcony, its bones cracking on impact with the ground; Babs shoved one jackalope's horn through another's eye socket, snapping the neck of the first jackalope and simultaneously scrambling the brains of the other; Applebloom completely lost control of herself, kicking and bucking with enough force to shatter the small skeletal structures and musculature of the jackalopes. It couldn't last forever. Just when it seemed the fight might be ending, another jackalope appeared, larger than the others by several inches of height, baring four horns rather than two, each of a different sort. It gave a commanding roar, tens of other jackalopes flocking behind it at the door.

Applebloom could not contain her fury and revulsion, screaming at the top of her lungs and rushing the monster head-on. It bucked her to the ground with no effort at all, rearing over her and lowering its fangs. There was a splash of blood, bone, and grey matter, followed by an enraged hiss, the jackalopes scattering in several directions to the fanfare of motion sensor alarms. A yellow pony with bat-like features, leathery wings, red-amber eyes, long tufts of wild fur at the tips of her ears, and a sharp, bloodied hoof bone. "I wish I could have made it here sooner, dearest Applebloom." Fluttershy lowered herself to the height of a filly who was much more complacent than she had been a moment prior, wrapping a sharp hoof around Applebloom's shoulders and leaning in for a deep kiss.

The worst part in Scootaloo's mind was Applebloom actually seemed to be enjoying what Fluttershy was doing, leaning into the kiss with a disturbing sense of need. "You disgusting mo-- Gah!" Scootaloo's attempt to kick Fluttershy right in the face was thwarted as the vampire raised her own hoof in front of Scootaloo's, causing the filly's young bones to crack painfully.

"Don't lose your temper, Scootaloo; I love you, too, and you'll soon be just as much mine as Applebloom." Fluttershy licked a fang, pressing her muzzle into Applebloom's ear and whispering to her. "Will you cherish it?"

"Ye… yes." Applebloom panted, breathless from the fight and losing her energy as the adrenaline left her system. Fluttershy's fangs parted for the filly's neck.

*BANG‼*

The push of the blast caused Fluttershy to slide away from her mark by a mere inch, but the pony responsible did gain her attention. "Applejack, you shouldn't interrupt me… ever again." Applejack's face was paling fast; she'd expected the shotgun to do a bit more than that. There was a squelching sound as a jackalope corpse lost the stake holding it in the wall, Babs jumping through the doorway with the primitive weapon and stabbing at Fluttershy. The vampire mistress had the forethought to hold her leg in front of her chest, but the piercing stake still caused her a great deal of pain. The shriek that escaped her lips forced the mortal ponies to cover their sensitive ears, Fluttershy making a hasty retreat to someplace private enough for her to remove the stake without further harassment.

Applejack took in the sight of blood and death surrounding her panting sister and her friends, mortified that they'd been forced to go through such an ordeal alone. "If it's any consolation, Ah believe ya'll now." She unstrapped the sawed-off shotgun and placed it in front of Applebloom. "Ah reckon ya've earned that."

Professionals

Jackalope corpses were all around them, every step they took wet with the blood coating the floor. Yet, they did not leave, for vampires could not enter the clubhouse without an invitation. They weren't sure how long they would wait there, for they would not speak to each other about it, but the smell was becoming unbearable. At least there was a first aid kit from when the fillies were Cutie Mark Crusader Emergency Medical Situation Response Ponies, and Applejack helped Sweetie Belle put a split on Scootaloo's damaged leg in the relative quiet, Applebloom fiddling with the sawed-off shotgun idly. Babs was recollecting the stakes from the corpses, her grunts of effort and the splat of falling bodies filling the ears of the other fillies. At that moment a thought struck Applebloom, and she gasped with sudden realization. "Hay, Ah think Ah--" There was a resounding cracking sound and their entire world shook as the clubhouse toppled with the tree it was built on.

When Applebloom came back to her senses the first thing she noticed was the three dead jackalopes on top of her. The second thing she noticed upon removing said jackalopes was the cannibal wraith changeling standing beside the tree he'd just bisected. Immediately afterward she heard the gurgled scream of terror coming from her sister as Jury Dambridge bit into her neck with vicious finality. By the time he'd retracted his fangs, bathed in the light of several UV lamps, Applebloom had found the sawed-off shotgun under the rubble. "You might not understand why yet, but you've caused me quite a bit of trouble, little Apple." Her friends were groaning in pain, slowly lifting themselves from the grog in their minds and the debris scattered throughout the field. "You see, Petal Vestment has always been a bit too inquisitive for his own good, but he also knew he was only chasing made-up monsters… that is, until he met you. You've piqued his interest, and it's only a matter of time before he starts hunting for us, and since he certainly knows enough about us to be a major problem… well, let's just say you and your friends had better bring him to the Castle of the Two Sisters tomorrow night if you ever want to see your sisters alive again." Applebloom zeroed in on what she needed to see, diverting her attention from it only when she was positive of the meaning behind the sight. She had identified the location of a strange glow under Jury's skin over his left rib-cage.

"So, you've got Rarity too." The filly spoke with a grim tone one wouldn't expect from a pony so young.

"Indeed we do. Did you catch that, Sweetie?" The filly in question had recomposed herself by then, staring at Jury with contempt while Babs and Scootaloo kept their eyes on Billet Coal.

"Leave," She stated coldly. "We don't need any more of you right now." Just as Jury was laughing off Sweetie's declaration, the little unicorn used her magic to thrust one of Applebloom's Celestial Marks directly into his face. There came the expected hissed screaming, followed shortly by Jury's hasty retreat, Sweetie smirking at a job well done. Unfortunately, Jury had managed to carry a near comatose Applejack with him. The entirety of the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned to face Billet Coal, brandishing stakes and one shotgun menacingly. The abominable thing gave a toothy changeling grin before hurrying to follow his master, wholly uneager to face-off against the fillies at that point. "The sun will be up soon," Sweetie observed.

"I say we head to the library," Scootaloo proclaimed. "Petal is staying there and there's safety in numbers. We'll need him later anyway, and no place would be safer since Fluttershy and Jury have both been invited to pretty much everywhere." The other three of their party nodded in agreement, Babs speaking up next.

"Let's not forget about Spike. He is a dragon, afterall."

"We can't involve Twilight," Applebloom resolved. "She'll try to explain what we've seen with psychological theories before stopping us from going to the castle on account of how dangerous the forest is. We'd never get her on our side in time to save everyone."

"So it's just us then? We have to fight the vampires on our own?" Scootaloo asked.

"Unless youze count Spike and Petal Vestment."

"Come on," Sweetie encouraged. "We're wasting time. We need to get moving."

"We should stop at the farmhouse to grab some fresh stakes and other supplies. Ah've got everything from silver-trimmed mirrors to rose petals in my bedroom."

"When we're in a fight we don't want to be snatching that stuff from a bunch of bags; it's a bit cumbersome that way." They could guess Sweetie's suggestion long before it was verbalized. "We need coats our sizes with lot's of big pockets."

"Ah'm glad we finally have a plan." She could feel the charm heat slightly as it strained to repel Twilight's powerful magic. Jury had been bathed in UV light when something had glowed with heat. "Also, Ah think Ah know where Jury keeps his Blueblood charm."

"Hay, Petal." Spike slouched his way into the library with a hunched back, carrying the latest in a long line of emptied resource bags. He'd spent the whole night fortifying the entire town, using the excuse that the elaborate and particular precautions were decorations for an obscure cult holiday that Twilight Sparkle was reviving to avoid putting the townsponies into a panic. "I'm exhausted, man. See you in the morning."

"Yes, yes, of course. Sleep well, noble dragon." Petal was a bit distracted by the book he was reading, a first addition of Bram Stoker's Dracula. He'd read it before; quite obvious considering his career. However, he felt the need to read it again after the detestable sham of a vampirism test he'd put on earlier. There was something about Applebloom's conviction that was striking, motivating, galvanizing. "Yes, galvanizing."

Before Spike had taken three full steps there were that many knocks on the library door. The little dragon made a quick, disgruntled turnabout and swung open the door. Standing before him were four young fillies, each of them wearing faux-leather jackets filled to their brims with vampire-fighting materials and silver horseshoes. Applebloom even had a sawed-off shotgun strapped to her shoulders, giving Spike an appraising look. "Are ya'll up fer killin' some vampires?"

"Well I'm a little tired right now. Could we get to vampire killing tomorrow?"

"It has to be tomorrow night," Sweetie said as if Spike were completely cognizant and serious. He wasn't. "They have our sisters, so we have to abide by their terms."

"Well, just to set me at ease…" The Crusaders knew what he meant, stepping inside without an invitation.

"That wouldn't have worked anyway, Spike." Scootaloo attempted to educate the little dragon on the magic governing vampires. "We've been invited here before, and it's a public library."

Petal watched this exchange with an open muzzle, not quite believing what he was perceiving. "Eh- Excuse me, um… what exactly are you saying?"

"The Bloomster has been right the whole time. Fluttershy is a vampire, so is Jury, and the latter of them two has Rarity and Applejack."

"In that case, shouldn't we inform the authorities?" The fillies were joined by Spike in their collective face-hoof from Petal's babbling. "I don't see why that would be such a bad idea. Isn't it the job of the royal enforcers to take care of this sort of thing? To maintain order?"

"Did youze not hear the part where Ahz told ya that Jury has Rarity and Applejack?" Babs's face shown with the exasperation that could be heard in her voice, Petal snapping his book shut at the conclusion of her criticism.

"Fine. What are the monster's terms?"

"You have to come with us to the Castle of the Two Sisters tomorrow night." Applebloom explained.

"Likely so we can all be killed." Scootaloo continued.

"We aren't going down without a fight, though." Petal and Spike took a moment to look over the Crusaders more carefully, glancing at each other after they did so.

"You four are serious, aren't you?" Petal set his book aside, leaning forward with a steely look of determination. "I'll help you then. In a way, I've been preparing for this my whole life."

"And, you know, I'm a dragon, so… yeah."

"Awesome!" Scootaloo declared with buzzing wings, chipper despite the circumstances and her damaged leg.

"Looks like the Sun is comin' up. Any of youze want some coffee as much as Ah do?"

"Eh, why not?" spike asked sarcastically. "I didn't want to sleep at all anyway." Then there was another triplet of knocks at the door, five ponies and a dragon exchanging confused looks before Sweetie Belle cautiously answered the door. There before them stood their schoolyard pals, each wearing home-made Celestial Mark bracelets. It was as if there was a meeting for slightly extroverted and awkward children at the library that morning. Dinky, Twist, Snips, Snails, Rumble, Button Mash, and even the quiet and quick Featherweight all stood there, smiling awkwardly.

"So…" Snips began, observing the intimidating outfits and weapons the Crusaders wore. "Is it vampire killing time?"

"It will be tonight," Sweetie answered. "You guys want to skip school and drink some coffee?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Sounds fun to me!"

"…So we spent less than a half-hour frantically soaping out all the jackalope gore, snagged the jackets and booked it to the library."

"Sounds like you girls had a rough night." Rumble provided the gross understatement of the day.

"Tell me about it. The whole thing was a nightmare and it ain't even over." Applebloom sipped her black coffee, not feeling the desire to cringe at the bitterness as she had before. Things were different now, especially for her. She was tougher now. "Ah'd have thought Granny Smith had slept right through it all, but she wasn't at the house when we got there."

"We checked the whole place," Babs added, "top to bottom. No sign of her anywhere."

"Do you think they got her?" Button and Twist asked at the same time, Button pointing a hoof and yelling: "Jinx! You owe me candy!"

"The rule ith that I owe you a thoda." Twist corrected him with indignation.

"Bleh! No way, soda is gross. It's nothing but chemicals and stuff."

"Tho ith candy! Everything ith chemicalth!"

"Ahem," Spike interrupted. "I believe we have more important things to talk about."

"Right."

"Thorry, Thpike."

"Hoo." The young ponies gave a collective double-take, noticing the owl on his perch for the first time.

"Me, Sp-- wait, no. I'm not getting sucked into this today."

"Hoo."

"Owl antics and candy debates aside, I'd like to express my opinion on the matter at hoof, if I may." The children all nodded simultaneously in response to the only adult pony in the building. "I do believe that the idea of a large group of children such as yourselves walking into a trap set by real vampires with only one, admittedly fake professional vampire killer in the middle of the night after a long stretch of time with no sleep for many of you is quite inane, if not downright insane."

"So…" Dinky tentatively began. "We get another adult?"

"Yes, but not just any adult." Applebloom smirked knowingly, sipping at her nearly emptied coffee mug as she leaned back into the couch. "We need another professional. We'll get Zecora."

After yet another stop at the farmhouse to get more supplies, these encumbering the newest additions to the ragtag vampire killing team, the group edged their way toward the edge of the Everfree, keeping as far away from Fluttershy's cottage as possible. "Hello, little ones." Apparently their efforts had been in vain; Fluttershy had come to them. She was alone and in the daylight, obviously not in possession of enough Blueblood charms to have an entourage following her about at such an hour. "I hear that Jury has kidnapped your sisters. It's so unfair, the responsibility that has been thrust upon you these past few days."

"We can manage," Rumble asserted boldly.

"You haven't attacked us yet, Fluttershy." Sweetie Belle mocked, twirling a stake in her magic. "I wonder why that is?"

"You won't be confused for long," Fluttershy proceeded as if the little unicorn had spoken without sarcasm. "Aggression isn't my style. Look at your friend Applebloom." Sweetie did, and the others too. Applebloom had a conflicted expression, but longing was definitely the most prevalent of emotions there, her legs twitching with a desire to trot right into Fluttershy's soft embrace. "Giving in is more peaceful than fighting."

"Ah… Ah'm still gonna save mah sister, Fluttershy. Don't make me go through you to do it." There was a long and intense silence as the two stared at each other, Applebloom trembling occasionally, and her friends shifting uncomfortably.

Then, Fluttershy smiled sweetly. "Alright, I won't. You take care of your business with Jury, then come see me when it's over. Just… don't let him win. I like you much better, Applebloom." Did Applebloom just moan? Scootaloo wondered. "In fact, I can't say I like him much at all. Good luck, little ones; Petal too." With that she waved serenely and took to the skies at a leisure pace, as if she didn't plan on killing them all later. The general consensus was that she did actually plan on doing just that.

"Is this the kind of weird, psycho bunk you've been dealing with the past few days, Applebloom?" In an attempt to become cognizant enough to answer Dinky's question, Applebloom shook her head violently.

"Yeah, somethin' like that. Come on, let's go." They walked in silence for a few short moments, the soft sounds of the forest belying the dangers within. Finally, Petal's curiosity got the better of him.

"Applebloom, if Fluttershy is indeed a vampire, how did she touch the Celestial Mark without coming to harm?" The silence lasted quite a bit longer that time, and Petal had almost given up on even getting an answer when Applebloom finally spoke up.

"…Ah have no idea." With her senses functioning properly again Applebloom chastised herself for not searching for the glow of Fluttershy's Blueblood charm, but in all fairness she'd been distracted by the enticing glow of Fluttershy's powerful eyes at the time.

The tension of recent events could only inflict melancholy on the children for so long, and soon they were deep into heavily animated conversations, discussing strategy and stories related to vampires and other monsters. Spike was quite uneasy about the antics of the young ponies, darting his eyes back and forth in search of timberwolves or cragadillies, not to mention the countless other dangers of the Everfree. A cacophony of sounds reached the many ears of the travelling party, everyone ceasing their chit-chat at once. "Those are chimera mating calls," Spike recited from memory. A particular, disturbing memory at that. "They have annoyingly violent mating customs. It sounds like they're just ahead of us, so we'll have to leave the path to skirt around them through the bushes."

"Alright everyone," Petal stated to the group. "Keep yourselves alert for predators. There are plenty of them out there."

"If the CMC can handle fifty jackalopes alone, I think all of us together can take care of a manticore or two just fine."

"Yeah!" Snails loudly voiced his agreement with Snips, practically daring some sort of beast to attack and be repelled. He was unexpectedly answered by a loud roar, followed by several more. A pack of timberwolves barreled over and around the ponies, yelping and cowering in terror. Behind them came something much larger with countless heads, a massive, clawed foot slamming down inches in front of Petal and propelling the monster forward toward the retreating wolves. The party had avoided detection, but they shook in their silver horseshoes regardless.

"That… was an elder hydra. Let's hope we don't encounter a younger one with sharper senses." When he'd finished speaking, Petal stoically trot on, the young ones following his example. "Are we almost past the chimeras, Spike?"

"The elder hydra was headed right for them. They'll be fighting each other now. We should hightail it back to the path and double-time it to Zecora's while they're distracted."

"Don't let Scootaloo fall behind, ya'll; she's got a splint to worry about."

"Next level, here we come." They ran with the greatest haste they could muster, panting quietly with effort and staying in a tight group with the injured Scootaloo in the center. By the time they reached their destination there was no shortage of sweat to be wiped away. Petal pounded on the door, Applebloom stepping forward to speak through the window.

"Zecora? Ya in there somewhere? We need your help." The zebra emerged from behind a curtain near the back of the hut, garbed in a ceremonial robe and jewelry with archaic and unclear purposes. She looked directly into Applebloom's eyes with a mournful but steely expression, making a clear declaration in rhyme as she was often wont to do.

"You cannot enter this place,

The curse can be seen in your face.

You and you," she pointed out Petal and Spike.

"First face down a vampire's might on this dark night,

Then return to me here when the time is right.

For the rest of you I can only hope,

The shadow's threats fall short of their scope."

Another curtain fell over the portal of the window from the inside, opaque and blocking the party's view. As Applebloom stared at it with a slack jaw, Snips stepped forward to shake an angry hoof. "That's not very helpful, ya know!"

"Yeah, riddles are dumb!" Snails added, a groan emanating from behind the curtain.

"A riddle I did fail to tell,

Making known the outcome of a dark spell.

I am of the mind that my speech was quite clear.

I have made it known for you what it is that I fear."

"Right…" Button Mash rolled his eyes, speaking sarcastically. "Because that rhyme wasn't forced at all." He waited a moment, but no response was forthcoming. "Fine! I guess we'll just go then, and fight the evil vampires without your help."

"Miss Zecora, if I may," Petal began, speaking clearly through the curtain. "Equipping ourselves to fight these vampires took many hours and the trek here added another. We have had very little sleep and it would prudent for us to rest at this point, and we have nowhere to go but here. If we went back to town we would lose too much time. Might we stay with you until night falls?" There was a long moment of silence before he was given a tentative answer.

"I suppose you cannot be stopped,

And it would be best for you to rest.

Still, my guard will not be dropped."

The door was opened, Applebloom studying Zecora carefully, attempting to determine what her first verse meant. Zecora returned the gaze with a wary expression.

"The eldest beast holds sway over thee,

It may persuade you to end me."

"Do you not have a potion to help prevent that outcome?"

"I fear not a single brew

Would be strong enough to aide you."

"Even so, we should at least try. You can't give up this early, nor condemn us all to the wilds out of pure fear." The other children nodded to signify their agreement, Sweetie Belle speaking next.

"I don't want to lose my friend to those things, Zecora." Before she could finish her thought, Button Mash eagerly backed her up.

"Yeah, help her, damn it!" Zecora did not look amused as she turned her attention to Button with disdain. "Uh, I mean… Please help our friend, nice zebra lady, hehe…" A mournful howl echoed through the woods, Timberwolves verbalizing their remembrance of packmates lost to the elder hydra.

"The hydra is likely returning to Froggy Bottom Bog," Petal declared. "That is some relief, I suppose." Zecora sighed, stepping aside to allow them entrance.

"I can concoct something to take the edge from the hypnosis,

Though, I doubt a permanent solution will come of this."

"Sounds better than nothing," Scootaloo said with a bit of annoyance, stepping in ahead of the others.

"Awake I will stay, vigil as you lay.

Worry not during your stay."

"Thank you, miss Zecora. Perhaps I can help you with the potion?"

"No need, Petal,

Strong is my mettle."

Sure, Applebloom thought. That's why you won't help us fight Jury Dambridge.

Several peaceful hours passed as the children got some much needed rest, but Petal found himself unable to sleep, uncertainty and anxiety clouding his thoughts. Eventually he gave up, tossing aside the blanket he'd been given and standing on his four hooves. To avoid fighting over the only bed in the hut, Applebloom decreed that they would all sleep on the floor as equals; she had taken a position of leadership and command, unquestioned due to her obvious determination and expertise. Small silver earrings in the shapes of Celestia's and Luna's Cutie Marks pierced the nape of her black jacket, dangling in front of her left shoulder even as she slumbered. It had taken much of Petal's recently earned bits to pay for the thick silver horseshoes that each pony wore, including himself, but the idea was all Applebloom's. She had insisted that everypony wear the unique weapons as they slept, just so they would be ready to fight hoof-to-hoof in the event of a surprise attack. Spike had followed her example, forcing Petal to buy yet more silver in the form of claws which only fit because his age made his fingers as thick as those of a young griffon. It was funny to the minor celebrity that all of the recently purchased silver was meant to be a part of an authentic looking vampire hunter costume. "They've really been here all this time, haven't they?" Zecora sat at the back of her abode's main room, watching over the young with grim doubt, her intimidating robes of ceremonial purpose giving her a mystical appearance.

"Indeed.

It was only a matter of time,

Their discovery inevitable.

Would you enjoy some thyme?

It is quite delectable."

"Tea with thyme sounds lovely, thank you." Zecora held an empty cup in front of Petal with an elegant flourish.

"Where once was ignorance," She waved her hoof over the lip of the cup, steaming tea filling it instantly as she did.

"There is now knowledge." As she passed him the hot beverage he sipped of it to test its temperature and temperament.

"It's good," he mentioned weakly, sensing she wasn't finished.

"Just as you slowly empty that cup of its contents,

So too will your belief in these horrors fade and hedge.

To assure yourself that you are not mad,

Corrupting your memory will make you glad."

"Not me. I will face the monsters."

"You say that now--"

"No," he declared forcefully, cutting short her next verse. "I could hardly prevent myself obsessing over these things when I thought they were fictitious. They are my past life and future death rolled into one race of beasts. They will never allude me again, miss Zecora. As for you, you choose to cower here alone while these children fight for the lives of those they love. They are too young for this burden and you know it."

"With or without my help the Apple's Bloom cannot resist the beast.

Her blood shall inevitably be the Great Shadow's feast."

"Be that as it may, you must put more faith in us than in these archaic divinations of yours. With your help we stand with a much better chance of victory." Zecora was silent then, Petal sipping his tea to calm his nerves. "Applebloom was the one to recommend we seek out your assistance. Is she not your friend, miss Zecora?"

"Yes, she is." Zecora sighed in defeat, looking directly into Petal's eyes, judging him.

"It will be worse than you expect,

Will these fillies you protect?"

"You know," he began with a smirk. "You don't have to stretch Equestrian grammar just to force a rhyme. You could just talk to me like a normal pony. It's just between us; I swear not to tell anypony."

"I am not a pony, sir Vestment,

My native tongue is far more poetic.

I rhyme for personal betterment,

My reason for it quite tragic."

"Do you mind if I ask for a deeper explanation?" Zecora frowned deeply, giving him a none-too-friendly stare.

"Yes, pony, I certainly do;

Regardless, I will help you.

These younglings should not have to fight this fight.

Protect them I must, for I admit you were right."

"Well…" They both turned to see Applebloom and her friends fully awake, watching them with eerily neutral expressions. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses, Zecora. How about you hit me with another dose of your anti-hypnosis potion so we can get going. It's almost dark out."

Castlemania Reprise

Youtube Video

Applebloom lead the others ever forward toward the Castle of the Two Sisters, the vast structure filling their respective fields of vision. All the stones of the old fortress seemed to breath darkness and mist, a fog settled over the tall grasses, beyond which was the bridge they'd crossed and the drop to the cavern of the Tree of Harmony. Somehow ethereal breaths could be heard in the minds of each mortal present, in stark contrast to the very real silence that pressed in on them forebodingly. The Sun had been set by Celestia only a few minutes prior, and the darkness of the young Night only served to further mystify and frighten those brave, crazy, or stupid enough to confront the count within the ancient structure. Applebloom reached forward to knock upon the front gate, but Petal reached forward and stopped her just in time. "No, he'll be expecting that. We should try to sneak in through one of the side windows." Just as he finished saying as much, the gate opened of its own accord, creaking eerily in the Night air.

"Too late for that now," Applebloom mused, stepping stoically forth.

"It is far too quiet here,

A trap I now fear."

"That doesn't matter," Babs stated bravely, standing beside her cousin. "There are ponies in there who need our help." Petal and Zecora gave one another a grim nod, trotting in front of the young Apples protectively, the children inching forward behind them. As they entered, the gate slammed shut, startling them.

They continued forth, but Petal could be heard muttering to himself. "I am Petal Vestment, vampire killer."

As they moved deeper into the entrance hall they came closer to a masterfully crafted grand staircase, a pair of balconies attached to it from which Twilight and Spike had once witnessed their friends acting quite foalish. They heard the confident clip-clop of somepony's approach, the many lit candles about the structure giving the scene an orange luminescence as the vampire count finally came within their sight. Jury smirked down at them, putting on a theatrical accent classically heard in vampire films, a butchered interpretation of Trotsylvania. "Welcome to Fright Night…" His tone became much more sinister as he dropped the accent, mists taking the form of wolfish monstrosities in the shadows, glaring at the party with ethereal eyes as the count's next words rumbled through the stones of the castle. "…For real."

Despite his intimidating performance, all Jury got from Sweetie Belle was a smirk as she observed the burn mark on his face. "Why don't you just hoof over our sisters before things get ugly, vampire."

Jury chuckled slightly, stepping a foot down the stairs as he watched the mortals. "Why don't you come up and get them?"

"Don't listen to him, Sweetie!" Rarity's voice carried from a room attached to the rightmost balcony. "Get out of here while you still can!"

"It's a trap, ya'll!" Applebloom flinched as her sister's voice joined Rarity's, practically growling at Jury in her anger. "Don't ya bother with us. Save yerselves!" Applebloom did not heed her sister's words, opting to climb the stairs toward her enemy.

"Back, you beast." Before her she held the same bracelet with which she'd deterred Jury at the library, her fellow Crusaders and Zecora inching forward with her, the others behind them, all of them brandishing stakes in their silver-clad hooves. Jury hissed and backpedaled as they came closer, his fangs lengthening and his hoof-bones extending.

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Suddenly Billet Coal stood between them and his master, his misty aura glowing brighter as his twisted changeling horn sent out a shockwave, toppling the ponies and sending Applebloom over one edge of the stairs and Twist over the other. Only one pony still stood, but his legs shook with fear, the reality he thought he was prepared for much worse than he'd anticipated. As Jury and Billet shared a short laugh at his expense the mortal stallion began to retreat back through the hall, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's not fair. That should have worked."

Billet and Jury leaned forward with wicked grins, speaking in unison. "Boo."

Petal flinched before straightening, giving a harrumph; though, he was still shaking visibly. "That wasn't very frightening." Just as he took a step forward rather than back he bore witness to something that would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life.

Jury Dambridge stared down at Petal Vestment, his face contorting in a grotesque sneer as his jaws extended to the length of a wolf's and all of his teeth became sharp, serrated fangs, more of them sprouting up until his maw was a mass of them. He had a predatory gaze in his eyes as his pupils sharpened like those of a cat, glowing with an eldritch energy from the deepest of horrible shadow realms. Leathery wings sprouted from his sides, sharper and more jagged than those the Crusaders had already seen, claws extending from the joints and strands of slime clinging to the membranes. All four of his legs became those of a large, malformed bat, four finger-like toes growing from each hoof and ending in jagged claws. Jury released an ear-splitting screech as his fur and hair fell out, leaving behind diseased-looking flesh with heavy creases and splotches of some unidentified glowing slag. As the monstrosity began to swoop down toward him, Petal Vestment screamed at the top of his lungs, galloping away as quickly as he could. Jury caught up with him, snatching at him with his fingers, Petal ducking down to avoid being clutched and receiving deep cuts in his back for his trouble.

Finally barreling his way back through the gate, Petal found himself face to face with Fluttershy, fingers that were all too familiar to him sprouting from one of her hooves. Behind her stood an entire pack of timberwolves, a vampiric Rainbow Dash hovering nearby as Fluttershy gripped Petal's neck with her unholy appendages. "How dare you abandon my brave little Crusaders!" His only response was a choked wheeze. "Get back in there and help them, coward!" Petal reached for a stake in his belt, pulling it into his grip just as Fluttershy flung him back into the castle with enough force to send him toppling head over hooves thrice. His back hit the stones hard, Petal coming to his senses just as Jury bore down on him. Petal held the stake forward perpendicularly, Jury's fangs closing around the wood rather than Petal's face. With his unoccupied forelimbs Jury scratched Petal's right cheek, choking him and pressing his claws into his victim's skin.

"Applebloom!" The filly he screamed for came to her senses in the shadow of the staircase, watching the form of a pony move out from the shadows. It was Bon-Bon, sporting vampiric fangs and bright red eyes.

"Hello, little filly. I remember you, so eager to sell a few apples at the stand that day. It's too bad you have to die now." The vampire's tone gave the opposite impression of her language, her voice trembling with the anticipation to kill.

"It's too bad that you have to die now, Bon-Bon. I wish I could have saved you." Applebloom pulled a stake from her jacket, twirling it into a stab-ready position and thrusting it deep into Bon-Bon's heart before the corrupted mare had a chance to blink. The young vampire balked, staggering backward and wheezing horribly. Her eyes went wide as they reverted to their usual color, tears springing forth as she fell to the ground, clutching helplessly at the stake in her chest as she gasped in surprise. She stared up at Applebloom with an accusing gaze, but her expression changed to one of apology and forgiveness as her fangs shrank away, her body slowly ceasing its convulsions. Applebloom had tears in her own eyes, but was pulled from her paralyzed state by Petal's second choked scream for help.

"Applebloom! Spike! Zecora! Anypony!" Jury smirked around the stake in his jaws, reaching a set of fingers toward Petal's eyes. "NOOO!" His tumble back through the gate had lost Petal his rear right horseshoe, but the rear left was still there in all its silver glory, and Petal desperately kicked it into Jury's groin with all his might. The vampire growled angrily around the stake, but was otherwise undeterred. Spike drove a stake through Jury's shoulder just in time to save Petal's eyes, Jury screeching and scrambling backwards. His unnatural fingers gripped the stake, pulling it from himself as it dripped blood onto the stone beneath him.

Billet Coal advanced on the prone form of Zecora, planning to end her before she came to her senses. Standing in his way was Rumble, not but a child brandishing a stake in his teeth. There was an echoing crack, all falling silent as a carcass with a snapped neck was thrown from the stairs to the stones below. Button was the first to grasp what he saw, screaming in terror as he backed into Sweetie Belle's side, the unicorn gaping openly at the death of her friend. Snips and Snails reacted next, screaming as loudly as they could and running away into a side corridor, Jury disappearing down a different one shortly after. Scootaloo, Dinky, and Babs brandished stakes, Zecora facing down Billet with an expression of hatred. Not bothering to develop a rhyme with her current state of mind, the zebra simply roared at the cannibal wraith, flinging powder into his face that caused him to cough and stagger back against the steps he'd stood on, landing on his backside with an enraged zebra standing over him.

Zecora flung her hooves at his face, meaning to pulverize him, but he deftly deflected her strikes with his holed hooves, using his wings to inch backward and bucking the zebra in the stomach. As she tumbled down the steps, Dinky yelled, "Applebloom! We need that shotgun!" Applebloom rounded the edge of the staircase, her frown deepening at the sights which met her eyes. Rumble's ruined corpse, Zecora groaning in pain beside it, Petal hyperventilating across the hall, and she'd had enough. She leveled the shotgun at Billet, aiming it directly at his chest, and she fired without an inkling of hesitation. The pellets bore into his insectoid covering, sending fluorescent green changeling blood splattering over the stairs and throwing his limp body up to the balconies.

"That takes care of one problem." Even as she spoke Applebloom regretted her words, Billet Coal groaning with an unreal timbre as he rose to his hooves once again.

"Load it again!" Scootaloo urged as the cannibal wraith advanced down the stairs toward them. Applebloom complied, shoving shells into the barrels and re-aiming the weapon. She fired, and this time Billet managed to stay on his hooves, merely flinching at the projectiles that made him bleed further. "Again!" Again she shot him, and again he simply continued toward her, raising his hoof as he came within inches of her.

A black robe covered the changeling's face, striped legs constricting his neck as Zecora attempted to choke him. His hole-littered limbs flailed about as his horn began to glow and his aura became brighter, forcing those near him to squint through the fog surrounding him. Scootaloo knew what he was trying to do, resolving to stop him somehow. She let loose a cry of anger, buzzing forward and driving a stake into the wraith's chest. As the wood pierced his flesh, Billet screamed in pain and the light of his aura diminished. Babs and Dinky followed Scootaloo's example, the two new stakes weakening him further. Zecora removed her legs from his neck when she saw Applebloom pull her hoof back, allowing Billet to stumble forward into a strike from Applebloom's silver-clad hoof. He was spun around by the force of the strike, Zecora already positioned to buck the stakes deeper into his chest. The strength in the zebra's back legs sent him careening over the fillies' heads and bouncing off Rumble's corpse.

He ended up flipped over onto his belly, sliding deliriously down the hall, only to be stopped suddenly when Petal slammed his forehooves over Billet's wing joints. Spike quickly straddled the back of the changeling's neck, digging his silver claws into the exoskeleton at the base of Billet's horn, gripping the core of it despite the slickness of the blood surrounding it. With a snarl of bestial effort, the dragon uprooted the glowing horn, preventing Billet from calling upon his wraith magic. Spike proceeded to ignite his breath, burning Billet's face relentlessly. The cannibal wraith screeched and flailed like a pony possessed, his jaws open wide as he roared with the power of an Ursa Major. Petal kept the monster pinned to the floor, but turned his head away, gagging, and unable to watch the disturbing scene any longer. "Hay!" Standing on his back legs inches away from the purgation by fire was Button Mash, brandishing a silver bludgeon. "This is for Rumble, you devil!" Billet's burning flesh was ripped asunder by Button's angered strike, his neck breaking just as Rumble's had.

Still it wasn't over, Spike and Petal screaming in pain as Billet's flesh seemed to melt into them, Spike's ability to resist heat doing nothing for him. Button tackled the young dragon, forcing him away from the source of his pain. "Petal!" Applebloom rushed to the aide of her newest friend, but she wasn't heavy enough to push him away, ending up clinging to his neck instead. Lucky for them both Zecora had been right behind her, and she yanked them both away from the dying wraith. Billet seemed to deflate as spurts of sand and coagulated green blood shot out of holes in his exoskeleton, eventually pouring out around him as his skin dissolved completely, leaving behind fluorescent bones one would expect to find in a mammal. "W-what the hell?"

"Rise my minions! Make these mortals join your ranks!"

Snips and Snails tumbled helplessly into the room below them through the trap door they had triggered, their screams echoing back at them as they hit the stone floor painfully. Snips shook his head roughly while Snails braced against a nearby wall, the door they'd fallen through closing above them. "I can't believe Rumble's gone," Snips muttered to himself, standing in the dark.

Snails struggled to light his horn, managing on the third attempt with a grunt of effort. "The others could be gone too, but we wouldn't know. We shouldn't have run, Snips; there's no way we can help from in here."

"Well, we'll just have to find a way out, then won't we?" Snips gazed about the room, his eyes coming to rest on a hole in one of the walls. He walked up to it, hesitating for a moment before he stuck a hoof through it. After a moment he sighed in defeat and removed his hoof. "Damn. I thought that would work."

Snails studied Snips's short legs, then glanced at his own, much longer ones. "Let me try," he said, feeling around the other side of the wall. Soon his silver horseshoe made contact with another metallic object, and he pulled down on it, triggering a mechanism that spun their world around. When it finished, they were in a long hallway, filled with metal sculpts of pony forelegs, all of them bent at their knees. "Why does this exist?"

"It doesn't matter. We have to get back to the others. I don't think getting split up in this castle is a good… idea…" Standing at one end of the hall was a grey stallion, grey not in fur, but in lack of fur and a surplus of surrounding shadows. As it stepped into the light of Snail's horn, the colts could see that it had no eyes and its flesh was rotten. Somehow, there was a rotting corpse walking toward them, and it was not alone. "These are… guards. These are dead guards."

"Zombies!" Snail's shout served to draw the attention of the undead, and they began to move at a steadily increasing pace. "Run!" The colts were chased down the other end of the corridor, running deep into the unknown.

"Applejack!"

"Rarity!"

"Wait for us, dingbats!" As Sweetie and Applebloom bucked open the door they'd heard their sisters' voices coming from they were met by an unsavory sight. Dinky gasped and backed away, ready to bolt.

"Hay, ya'll." Applejack gave a wide smile, exposing a plethora of serrated fangs, her eyes glowing red with wicked amusement. "Ah told ya it was a trap, Bloom. Ya'll should listen to yer big sister."

"This is a gift, Sweetie." Rarity ran a hoof through her slightly tussled mane, blinking alluringly with her false eyelashes, her hoof bones beginning to extend. "Come and share it with your sister."

The two fillies slammed the double doors shut, Applebloom wedging a silver-trimmed mirror through the door handles in an attempt to keep her and Sweetie's sisters contained. As the vampires on the other side beat against the wood, Applebloom threw her head back and screamed with righteous fury. "JURY DAMBRIDGE‼ Ah will end you!"

"Guys!" Button's alarmed exclamation came from the top of the stairs, Featherweight and Scootaloo buzzing to his side as the others rushed to keep up. "There's more of them!" All throughout the entrance hall were changeling drones, but they didn't buzz around with the life or vigor of their race. Instead, their gaunt faces had looks of terror and pain as they milled about aimlessly, sparing the ponies mournful glances.

"Tortured are these lost souls,

Who once were changeling moles.

Billet was a cannibal wraith.

From his power none were safe."

"These are his victims." Dinky confirmed quietly, watching the congregation with a new sadness.

"The wraith's death has brought them here.

Pain from them we should not fear."

"Vampires are capable of resurrecting such monsters," Petal explained. "It is why they so readily serve vampires. If we can kill his master, these souls will be set free." A particularly harsh beating against the door caused the glass of the mirror to shatter and clatter on the stone floor. "There is also the chance that killing Jury could make those he has turned revert to their true selves, but…"

"But what?" Applebloom asked.

"According to most sources, that only works if the master is killed on the very night his victims are turning, and it is possible Jury turned your sisters last night."

Sweetie Belle looked downcast, staring at the floor, but Applebloom spoke with resolve. "Then we kill him anyway; see what happens. If they don't change back, we kill them too." Sweetie opened her mouth to protest, but Applebloom pressed a horseshoe to her chest, staring her down. "If they get in our way…" Both fillies had tears in their eyes as Applebloom finished her thought. "We kill them early."

"I can't lose my sister, Applebloom… there has to be another way."

"My parents died and Ah never once bitched about it!" A slam from the other side of the double doors punctuated Applebloom's angered declaration, the others snapping back from the viciousness in her tone. "Pull yerself together."

There was a slow clip-clop of applause down the hall, Jury Dambridge stepping forward with a smirk. "Excellent speech, Applebloom. You are truly an inspiration to us all."

"Get up here and die, Jury!" Applebloom commanded furiously.

"I'm going to say… nah." Before Jury could agitate Applebloom any further, the castle was filled with the playing of a pipe organ, the balconies on which the ponies stood shifting about and causing them to tumble down through slanted tunnels. Sweetie was torn away from Applebloom, Scootaloo and Babs falling after her. Applebloom herself had her shoulder cracked against stone, landing on top of Dinky as the two fell in isolation. Petal found himself tangled up in Zecora's robes, Featherweight behind them despite his attempts to fly back up. Button Mash and Spike ended up sliding down their own trap, the colt's yelps echoing back into their ears every time Spike huffed a spark. "That was easy." As Applejack and Rarity finally broke down the doors imprisoning them, the balconies returned to normal and the organ ceased its song.

Jury stepped through the changeling specters as if they weren't there at all, lowering his lips to the remains of his ghoul and slowly breathing life back into him. As his skin manifested once again, the specters dissipated into mist, the sand and blood seeping back into the wraith from the floor. "Rise, my friend. This castle needs us." Standing forgotten in the shadows of the stairs, only having recently come to her senses, Twist watched the resurrection unfold through her glasses, sneaking silently into a tight corridor.

"Hi Snips! Hi Snails! How ya doin'?" The two unicorn colts came to a screeching halt in front the exceptionally pink vampire blocking their path, the armies of the undead nearly upon them with drooling maws. "Oh, I guess you aren't doing so good, huh? Let me help you with that." Pinkie's leathery wings fanned out to her sides as she glided over the colts' heads, barring her fangs at the zombie horde. With a great screech of outrage Pinkie thrust a hoof into the neck of the fastest and nearest walking corpse, its head soaring over those of the others and the rest of it crumpling to the ground. She hissed menacingly at the stilled zombies, the dead slowly slinking back into the shadows submissively. The party pony turned back to the young boys with a soft smile, laying her wings across their backs protectively. "So, was that cool, or was that cool?"

"It was awesome!" Snips declared.

"Yeah!" Snails agreed.

"The other yous looked really neat as incubi, so I bet you'll be wicked cool vampires!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, and yet, I still agree with you!" Snips paused, becoming tentative again. "Wait… does it hurt?"

"Just a little." Pinkie surprised the young boy by gently pressing her lips to his, smiling down at him. "But I can make it feel a whole lot better than it normally would."

"Hay, how come I don't get a…" Snails's complaints were cut short by exactly what he wanted. "Sweet…"

"Come on, boys! We've got an ancient bedchamber to visit!"

The Crusaders sans Applebloom found themselves in a circular room filled with glyphs and dark banners the like of which they'd never seen in any other royal structure. There were magic crystals floating in the air of their own accord, lighting the room with a soft and ethereal cerulean glow. Mists were even more prevalent than elsewhere in the castle, and as the fillies examined the truly indescribable depictions of the banners they began to sense that they should not be there. "How are my favorite little fillies doing, huh?" They all turned abruptly at the sudden intrusion, Rainbow Dash smiling warmly down at them from mere inches away. It was obvious from the states of her ears and wings that she'd been turned.

"Stay back!" Sweetie warned, brandishing a Celestial Mark.

"Wow, wow." Rainbow threw her hooves up defensively, but still stubbornly refused to move back. "I'm not looking for a fight, okay?"

"Shut up!" Applebloom's harsh words echoed through Sweetie's mind as she raised a stake beside the Celestial Mark. "After what you creeps did to Rumble you actually expect mercy from us?"

"What do you mean?" Rainbow's expression grew serious, her smile fading. "What did us creeps do to Rumble?"

"You know damn well! That wraith killed him."

"That punk bastard!" Rainbow's unexpected outburst caused the fillies to flinch backward in surprise, Sweetie's weapons slowly lowering. "I'm going to kill that motherbucker!"

"Wait, but…" Scootaloo stammered. "Aren't you…? I don't…"

"I wasn't turned by Jury, Scoots. I serve Mistress Fluttershy. You remember when she told you all to handle your business with Jury and then come fight her?"

"…Yeah." Babs replied tentatively.

"Well, she lied. She sneaked Pinks and I in here to help you." It took a long, drawn out moment, but finally the fillies smiled in relief.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Dinky asked nervously.

"Of course Ah don't," Applebloom replied. "Ah've never been down here before, same as you, but we have to try goin' somewhere and we ain't splittin' up." Also, without your horn lighting this place up I wouldn't be able to see these creepy suits of armor, Applebloom thought to herself. Ironically, Dinky gave a gurgled gasp at that very moment, the only light in the corridor being snuffed. The earth filly spun around in the darkness, facing the sound of blood being extracted from her downed friend. "Show yerself, Jury!"

"I ain't Master Jury, little filly." Granny? There was a whoosh of air as Applebloom stumbled forward into what felt like a slackened jaw. "Now just hold still a minute and Ah'll take care of your, 'bein' alive' problem." Applebloom couldn't believe her ears, running as quickly as she could in total blackness and screaming for help.

"I can't believe you singed my coat so much! It's all sooty now."

"Quite your whining, Button." Spike led the way as the two wormed their way through tight corridors. Spike's night vision was fantastic, but he didn't need it in this case, holding a torch he'd commandeered and lit himself so his pony companion could see as well. "Sweetie likes you for your personality anyway. At least your crush isn't a Faust damned vampire right now."

"You want us to become one of those--"

"I want you to become like me." Rainbow Dash argued. "Just hear me out, okay?" The fillies before her all nodded, but they were frowning with doubt as they did. "Good… Listen, Scoots. If I do this, you'll be able to fly. I'm even faster than I was before. And you, Babs; you can stay with us. You'll never have to deal with those bullies again. As for you, Sweetie." Rainbow stared into the little unicorn's eyes, placing a hoof to her cheek. "You'll be strong enough to save your sister and Applejack. All you have to do is force feed them some of your blood and Mistress Fluttershy can usurp Jury's hold on them."

"…Alright. We'll do this your way."

"It's going to sting, and you'll have to drink some of my blood, too."

Scootaloo stuck out her hoof, smirking at her idle. "Me first, okay?" Rainbow just nodded with a smile, cupping Scootaloo's offered hoof in her own and biting into her wrist carefully. Soon we will fly together.

I know, Squirt.

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"Where the buck is that music coming from?" Spike pondered.

"Sounds awesome!" Button declared, rushing ahead of Spike and bucking open the door to an occupied bedchamber. "Holy Faust…"

The speakers surrounded the room, neon lights and lasers coming out of the walls and ceiling inexplicably. At the epicenter sat Pinkie Pie, awash with blood and moaning ecstatically, surrounded by Snips and Snails. It was hard to tell in the strange light, but she looked to have another fluid coating her fur as well. Snips was in front of her, fangs sprouting from his maw at odd angles and drool of his own meeting Pinkie's saliva at his crotch, Snails popping out of Pinkie's rear and panting in exhaustion. All three of them turned toward Button with bright red eyes, giving him toothy smiles. Suddenly Pinkie was upon him, snarling and dripping viscous fluids; however, she was not snarling at the colt. Button glanced behind him to see nothing short of a walking corpse slink back into a massive horde of those like it. "It's not safe out here, Button. Come on, join the party!" She sunk her fangs deep into his neck, his cry of pain transforming into one of pleasure as she massaged his body with wet hooves and dragged him into the room.

"This is gonna be so cool!"

Watching with horror had been Spike, who stammered as the undead approached him with hungry groans. "Z-Z-ZOMBIES‼" He abandoned Button to his fate, throwing his torch at the horde before turning tail and running as quickly as he could.

"Now, you three just rest while you're turning. I have to go tell Mistress Fluttershy what happened to Rumble, but I'll be back soon." She is not going to be happy about this.

"What did you just say?" Fluttershy asked with a trembling voice.

"Billet Coal, the wraith. He killed one of the children. He killed Rumble."

Fluttershy's enraged screech echoed through the entrance hall as she burst through a priceless stained-glass window, Rainbow Dash soaring past her in the next moment and tackling a surprised Jury to the ground. With the recently resurrected Billet open for attack, Fluttershy stabbed her unnatural fingers into his shoulders and lifted him up past the stairs, bucking him with such force as to cause his body to crack open the stone wall behind him. He spiraled down a familiar trap with blood and sand spurting from a hole in his chest, the other traps still closed off. "Child killer!" Before Fluttershy could pursue him, Applejack and Rarity began to rend apart her wings, the three vampires tumbling down the stairs in a heap while Jury and Rainbow exchanged blows.

"Help me! Somepony!" Applebloom's cries for help echoed down to Petal, Zecora, and Featherweight, who were in a circular room with five layers, each layer having a hidden set of stairs that they could only access if they found the button in the wall to release the stairs. The walls were far too steep for only one pony to climb, and so far they'd released the stairs for four layers.

"I'm going to help her." Before, Featherweight had no reason not to wait for the adults, but a reason had finally presented itself: Applebloom was in trouble. He took to the air and buzzed his way to the only exit.

"They're both going to get killed if we don't get up there soon," Petal stated with worry. "Come here. I'll boost you up." In that moment, Billet Coal fell to the first layer from the hole in the ceiling, a bloody hole in his chest.

"No, I will boost you;

He and I are not through.

You help the Apple's Bloom.

The wraith will now meet his doom."

"At least take some sort of weapon--"

"I know where his weakness dwells.

Wraiths are weakest to living cells."

Without putting up anymore of an argument, Petal allowed Zecora to boost him over the top layer, rushing after Featherweight as the zebra jumped down into the wraith's back. There was a changeling screech and a zebra's grunt, and then Petal was gone into the blackness. He couldn't see a thing, attempting to follow the sound of buzzing wings and a filly's screams. Suddenly the buzzing stopped, replaced by a gurgle and the gasp of an old mare. "Oh, thank you Big McIntosh. Jury wouldn't stop screaming at me."

"Just let Mistress Fluttershy help you, Granny." The voice was deep, filled with bass and strength.

Petal felt some small pony run into his legs before Applebloom whispered to him. "Run, now." He did, and she was not far behind.

"We're mighty sorry, Mistress Fluttershy."

"Thank you for removing Jury from our minds; he had such vicious thoughts."

Rainbow Dash limped her way to the other three, blood pouring out of several gashes in her sides. "I'm sorry, Flutters. He got away."

"Sh, hush now, my sweet. Drink of me until you recover." Rainbow complied eagerly, biting into Fluttershy's thigh. "Rarity, Applejack… when Rainbow is ready, follow her to the Crusaders. Applebloom has yet to be turned, but the others will be happy to see you are alright."

"What of yourself, Fluttershy?"

The countess growled with hatred, her muzzle creasing and her fur growing long, thick, and dark. Her voice sounded with power as she spoke through grit fangs. "I'm going to destroy that wraith."

Zecora's back hit stone and she fell to the floor, coughing up blood. Across from her was the cannibal wraith, panting deeply and nursing a stump that was once his right foreleg. Slowly the zebra rose back to her hooves, looking on the monster with distaste.

"This is the last time you die, beast.

On no other soul shall ye feast!"

Zecora charged her foe, swinging her right forehoof at his chest. The moment his remaining forelimb rose to block the strike, her other hoof beat him over the head repeatedly, green blood escaping his maw. He attempted to light his horn to deflect her as he had before, but she struck it as well, interrupting his spell. He then flung away the hoof pressed against his leg, kicking her chest and stepping into an uppercut. With his supernatural strength he managed to knock her on her back, blood pooling beneath her head. She was finally still.

Billet began to chuckle to himself despite his injuries, but was cut short as something exceptionally heavy slammed into him. He looked up, and he beheld. The horror before him was no mere vampire, a living monolith to darkness, an emissary of the Star Gods. He tried to scream, to beg for mercy, but he was wreathed in darkness which consumed his aura and his being, leaving behind only shadow.

Spike's breathes were ragged, his capacity to focus waning as his legs ached for a break. The zombies were gaining on him rapidly, but he suddenly heard them falling, turning around to see Twist standing on the trigger for a trap door. Unfortunately, only so many corpses could fit in the hole, and the remainder began to walk over their brethren, even as Twist released the button and the door shut on rotted limbs. "Come on, Thpike." When they turned around they saw a pack of timberwolves ready to pounce. Spike felt a tapping on his leg, looking down to see Angel Bunny staring up at him with beady red eyes. Spike in turn tapped Twist on the shoulder, Angel Bunny smiling at them as the timberwolves leaped over their heads and tore into the zombie horde.

Applebloom leaned against a nearby wall, panting heavily as she finally deemed the time right for a short rest. Beside her, Petal Vestment lit a torch he pulled from his vampire killer costume, looking around to find more torches to light all along the walls. As fire began to light the place, the two lone ponies realized they were in a dungeon, and in one of the cells they saw a coffin. "I don't suppose that perhaps--"

"So, you've found my bed." They spun around to face the vampire count, his form just as grotesque and hairless as it had been when he'd attacked Petal in the entrance hall. "Location, location, location. There's no windows down here. Even if you could figure out a way to get rid of my Blueblood Charm, it wouldn't do you any good. Plus, when a vampire is my age we tend to resist death for quite some time. It would be really difficult to keep me from pulling a stake right back out of my heart, and snapping your necks is easy." Jury approached Petal with a sneer, speaking condescendingly. "She has shorter legs, so I think I'll kill you first." Applebloom held her breath as Fluttershy's head appeared beside her, shushing her with a raised hoof.

"My parents died and Ah never once bitched about it!"

As Fluttershy began to creep past her, Applebloom quietly drew a stake.

"If they get in our way, we kill them early."

Jury's head turned toward a pained, feminine gasp, Fluttershy falling to the floor with a stake in her chest. "Leave Petal be. Come to me and die."

"On second thought, you do seem to be more dangerous than he." Applebloom drew another stake as Jury approached, Fluttershy weakly attempting to crawl away. "When did you become so ruthless?"

"When you came into my life. You're going to pay for what you did to my sister, to Fluttershy."

"I did nothing to this timid little pegasus. You, on the other hoof…"

"Shut up!" Jury frowned, Fluttershy sobbing and staring up at Applebloom helplessly. Jury placed a fingered hoof over her neck, choking her as he watched the quivering filly in front of them.

Bon-Bon stared up at Applebloom with an accusing gaze, but her expression changed to one of apology and forgiveness as her fangs shrank away, her body slowly ceasing its convulsions.

Jury kicked behind him, knocking Petal to the floor, the silver bludgeon he'd been carrying clattering against stone. The count finally stepped past Fluttershy, inches from Applebloom. The filly lunged with her stake, but the vampire was faster, knocking the weapon from her hooves and kicking her jaw. Applebloom held her hooves over her bleeding gums, whining pitifully as Jury bit into her neck. As her blood was drawn from her system, Applebloom saw Fluttershy's features slowly returning to normal, the light fading from her eyes. She reached for her belt only to find it now void of stakes. She remembered where the charm was under Jury's skin, slamming a silver-clad hoof into it with a resounding crunch. Jury staggered from the unexpected lose, his fangs scraping their way from Applebloom's neck. He barred them at her, slamming a clawed hoof into her gut. As she fell to her knees she heard an angry voice, Fluttershy clinging desperately to Jury's neck as she tried to restrain him in her dying breath.

Jury kicked the stake deeper into her chest, Fluttershy falling unto her back in exhaustion as blood darkened her soft fur. When Jury turned back around he lost his senses from a blow so powerful it caused Applebloom's leg to lose feeling for a moment. She did not stop, repeating the action thrice more before falling to her knees in front of Fluttershy. "I'm sorry," she whispered, reaching down and pulling the stake from the dying pegasus. Fluttershy's fangs regrew and her hooves re-extended, her eyes becoming slits as her feathers were once again replaced by bat-like membranes. She quickly shielded Applebloom as Jury bucked at them, taking the blow to her back and coughing feebly. "Ah'll cherish you like a friend should." Applebloom hugged Fluttershy's neck, exposing her own. "It's not worth winning if Ah have to kill my friends to do it. Drink, please."

Jury bore down on them, prepared to end them and be rid of the headaches they'd caused him, but he was distracted as he stepped back, coughing and sputtering against the garlic Petal had thrown in his face. The vampire killer threw himself at the count, using his remaining three horseshoes and his bludgeon to their fullest in an attempt to slow the beast down.

As Applebloom felt blood leave her body for the second time in so many minutes she couldn't help but to notice a difference in the way Fluttershy fed. It was a gentler, kinder experience, lulling the filly into a sense of peace despite the chaos around them. She moaned happily as Fluttershy slowly extracted her fangs and whispered into the filly's twitching ears. "I forgive you… and thank you." She gave Applebloom a soft, bloody kiss on her cheek, her demeanor completely reversing as she turned toward Jury. The count was swinging a clawed hoof at Petal's scarred face, but Fluttershy caught the strike and deftly broke Jury's foreleg. "You would kill a child?" Before he could properly react Jury's jaw was unhinged from another blow, which he returned in kind to the best of his ability. Within short order the two vampires were going at each other furiously, but it was obvious that Fluttershy had him as she quickly forced him back toward the entrance hall.

"Follow 'em, quick!"

Luna lowered the Moon and Celestia raised the Sun just as Fluttershy flew Jury into the entrance hall. She made an exceptionally loud, bat-like noise, reminiscent of echolocation, and it shattered all of the windows in the hall. As light came toward her it seemed to die in a shroud of darkness, and for the purpose of exposing Jury to that light she bucked him into the wall. He was wreathed immediately in green flames that consumed his flesh and left only a burning, writhing skeleton flailing on the wall, defying gravity and sense. After a moment of this his convulsions stopped and his grotesque bones exploded into nothingness, shattering the wall behind him and causing a portion of the roof to collapse.

"Finally, my greatest obstacle is removed. Now my army of vampires shall descend upon the Princesses of the Night and of the Day, and we shall once again be reunited with our dear Luna. Very soon our Night will last…

"FOREVER‼"

Behind the shroud of the Shadow Pony a helpless Fluttershy cried at her wasted efforts to save the young.

"Ooh, lookie!" Pinkie proclaimed, pointing toward the front gate. "Applebloom and Petal got away!"

"RRRAH! Creatures of the forest, hear me! Stop those ponies and bring them to me!"

"What are we doing‽" Petal asked as he galloped to keep up with the little filly.

"Sweetie was right! It's not worth it if we can't save everypony, and we can!"

"That's all fine and dandy, but what, by Faust, are we doing‽"

"Whatever Zecora was going to do!"

"And what is that?"

"Ah have no idea!"

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Naflwgah'n Fluttershy Shoggnyth

The Everfree was thick with fog even in the daylight, shadows from the trees falling upon the pair of vampire killers threateningly as they galloped toward the one place with the answers they needed: Zecora's hut. "Zecora kept referring to Fluttershy as 'the Shadow,' so she must have known she was possessed long before we did."

"We know what‽" Petal seemed aghast, looking about with even more fright than before.

"The Nightmare Forces have returned, or at the least the remnants of them. Our enemy is an emissary of the Star Gods. Granny used to tell us stories about them. The Great Old Ones were born of the ancient Outer Gods, the Otnergn. Since their masters can't be bothered to care about anything that doesn't relate to some mysterious purpose too complex for any mortal pony to comprehend, the Great Old Ones are often left to their own devices. Legend tells that those of the Great Old Ones who preferred our reality eventually evolved into an entire physical species, living in the depths of Luna's Night on alien planets. This race is called the Elder Things by pony scholars in the field, and they made the Shoggoths. We're dealing with something similar, but different somehow. Granny used to say that there were rumors in her day of Celestia doing extensive research on the Great Old Ones and their many spawn, as if the Elder Things and their Shoggoths were just the tip the iceberg, a short chapter in a vast, unwritten lexicon."

"What are you, some kind of dictionary or something?" Several animals began to screech and howl at once, as if answering some unheard call. Petal yelped as the forest became a bastion of noise, leaping over thorn bushes Applebloom had weaved her way through.

"That doesn't sound good." Applebloom said with some trepidation, moving forward just as quickly in spite of her fears.

"Oh, it's fine," Petal spoke with sarcasm. "I'm sure all the chimeras, apes, cockatrices, manticores, bats, snakes, bears, hydras, and dragons in the dangerous and heavily magical Everfree Forest just want to have a spot of tea with us!"

"As long as the daylight keeps the vampires at bay we'll stand a pretty decent chance. At full gallop like this we can probably outrun most of those things. What really has me worried is the possibility of running into…" Applebloom came to a sudden halt, Petal stopping with a gasp just behind her. "…vampiric jackalopes." They were everywhere, between the bushes and standing upon tree branches, and they weren't alone. There was a bear to the right, its teeth protruding from its closed jaws, and rabid-looking rodents were crowded around and beneath the jackalopes, hissing viciously. Hawks, falcons, and eagles littered the treetops, their beaks seeming longer and sharper than one would expect. Timberwolves lurked in the foliage on either side of them, leaving only one direction free.

"Perhaps we should retreat?"

"No," Applebloom stated flatly. "We fight our way through them. If Night falls before we banish the Shadow Pony then Equestria will never again see the Sun." Angel Bunny stood at the forefront of the sloppy formation of vampiric critters, a paw held up as if he were signalling the others to wait.

Applebloom will beat you, Shadow. Don't doubt it for a second.

You are with me, Fluttershy. That foal almost killed you.

She should have. You would've died with me. I was proud of her.

Obey me and be silent.

I still am proud of her. You, a great shoggnyth, defeated by a mortal filly.

"Silence, pony!"

"Uh… Mistress? Are you okay?" Pinkie asked, seemingly confused.

"I am fine," the Shadow Pony answered with Fluttershy's voice. "These foalish ponies must be stopped. I shall pursue them myself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Mistress Fluttershy? The Sunlight will weaken you."

"I am not this fragile flesh you see before you," the Shadow Pony sneered at Pinkie. "I am Darkness Itself, and I will grind those pathetic ponies into paste!"

"No you won't!" Twist and Spike ran into the entrance hall from a side corridor, brandishing stakes as they charged right past Pinkie Pie and her three recently turned colts.

Three creatures each with the head and body of a lion, a goat's head sprouting from each back, and tails that were snakes with draconian features crept up behind Petal and Applebloom, snorting bouts of flame from every nostril. The two ponies were completely boxed in. "No choice now," the filly declared, taking a step forward. "I'm out of stakes. My shotgun is loaded but once Ah fire it Ah'm screwed. What about you?"

"Two stakes and my bludgeon. Which do you want?"

"The stakes, please." As Petal passed her the sharpened wood, Angel's paw lowered, Petal twisting about to beat silver against wooden skulls as the timberwolves leaped at them. Applebloom propelled herself away from the timberwolves, driving her stakes in and out of jackalope hearts and trampling vampiric rodents underhoof. Headless of the weakness of their supposed allies, the three chimeras let loose torrents of fire from all nine heads they had between them, Petal kicking and thrashing to keep the timberwolves between himself and the offensive beasts; thus, he stumbled within reaching distance of the bear, Applebloom taking notice just in time to jump up and stab her stakes into its swinging paw. The bear abandoned its attack to roar in pain, several jackalopes deciding to take advantage of Applebloom's exposed position dangling from her invaluable stakes. as they all simultaneously leaped forward, Petal kicked them all back onto the corpses of those Applebloom had already slain, using his back hoof still clad in silver to do so. The filly took note of her compromising position, bucking the bear's muscles to force the stakes free and falling to the grasses below, Petal beating the bear liberally with his bludgeon as she did. "Petal, duck!" A swooping plethora of corrupt avians passed just over their target as the stallion followed the filly's advice, Applebloom firing her sawed-off into the swarm with enough force and spread to take most of their lives. Petal came back up with a vengeance, his bludgeon unhinging the bear's jaw due to his upward swing, the dazed creature falling to its back as Applebloom bucked away a snake that tried to bite at Petal's belly.

"Who's next‽" Petal screamed angrily at the retreating wildlife, mad scowl upon his face. The chimeras managed to barrel their way past the burning timberwolves to leer down at the very flammable ponies in front of them at that moment.

"Gallop to the hut!" Applebloom directed, flames lighting the forest behind Petal and herself as their hooves pounded against the ground.

Tendrils of dark energy shot forward to greet the dragon whelp and visually challenged filly daring enough to confront the Shadow Pony, Fluttershy's body contorting and expanding to form the beast that Billet Coal had seen in his final moment. Her maw became like that of a wolf, filled with fangs much more orderly than those of the late Jury Dambridge. From her face sprouted four additional eyes, perfectly symmetrical with one another, and all completely black in stark contrast to the glowing amber red of her original eyes. Her form grew thicker and taller, black tendrils sprouting from elongated fur as two additional sets of leathery wings grew from her back. Her legs were much longer than normal with thrice as many joints, allowing them to convulse about in a manner that was most off-putting for any forced on-looker, and strangely sharp claws protruded from each joint in her legs and wings. "How do you plan to stop me, whelps?"

"I'll get them for you, Mistress!" Pinkie bounced over to where Spike was suspended in the air, licking her fangs in preparation. "This will only hurt for juuuust a second."

Spike stared at the abomination Fluttershy had become, sneering at her. "You comprehend that I'm a dragon, don't you?" As Pinkie moved forward to bite him, Spike punched a fist into her jaw, coughing a bought of green flame over the tendril of darkness holding him in the air. The magical fire light destroyed the dark magic, and he immediately severed the tendril holding Twist with a fiery chomp. Pinkie was right behind him, snarling for vengeance, but Twist was quick to stab a stake through her shoulder, causing her to retreat in pain.

"Hey, don't hurt Pinkie!" Snips yelled angrily.

"Yeah!" Snails loudly agreed.

"Get her!" Button demanded.

"Back down, fellath." They didn't. Button was the first upon her, a right hook sending her glasses careening to the floor with a spattering of blood. She was near-sighted, so could still make out things near to her with absolute clarity. The walls and tapestries behind Button became a hazy blur, unfocused and unimportant, but Twist could make out every detail of the vampire's laughing face. She put the brunt of a silver horseshoe through his right eye, mangling it in a shower of blood and viscera.

The abomination rose to the air as Spike ran toward it, kicking out at him ferociously. The little dragon sidestepped the attack just in time, throwing his arms out to regain his balance. It leered down at him, kicking at him repeatedly and at odd angles much more quickly than anything with such a size should be capable of, several strikes clipping his shoulder before a direct hit landed, throwing him into the stone wall. He spit blood, wiping his chin as he stood, jumping to the side as the thing's next attack hit the wall. He took his shot, shoving a stake into its flesh.

As the emissary screamed with an unholy voice, Snips and Snails swung their extended hoof-bones at Twist, having abandoned their horseshoes when they were turned, the same sort Twist used to deflect each strike she could not wholly avoid. Every chance she had she reversed the offensive, striking their knees and faces, Button clutching his slowly healing eye and moaning in pain. One of her strikes hit Snips's horn, jolting him and giving her the chance to buck his neck. He writhed on the floor, his vampiric tendons attempting to reconnect as Twist stared Snails down. The exceptionally tall colt was frightened by the failures of his friends, leathery wings unfolding as he backed up and away warily. Twist was then knocked unconscious from behind, Pinkie tsking at her failure. "Guess you didn't see I was back up without your glasses. Oh well…"

Spike had run up the abomination's leg, using his silver claws to rake open its skin and crawl over its form, his short bouts of flame deterring the darkness. He saw in his peripheral vision that Pinkie was biting Twist's neck, the filly unconscious in Pinkie's hooves, and he abandoned his assault on the emissary to intervene. He leaped onto her back, digging his claws into the shoulder joints of her unnatural wings and pulling them out with a mighty heave. Rather than screaming in pain, as Spike had expected her to, Pinkie looked back at Spike with a wolfish snarl. "You wanna dance, boy?" Pinkie bounced bodily in place, causing Spike to find himself falling from her, and she bucked him back into the wall before he could hit the floor. Spike staggered back to his feet, roaring with draconic might and jumping over a sweeping strike from the abomination. He ran straight at Pinkie, practically throwing himself at her, but then she wasn't there anymore. "Over here!" Spike was out of his depth, Pinkie hopping, skipping, and jumping all about the entrance hall, kicking him and slamming him into the walls, the floor, the ceiling, candelabras, and the sills of the shattered windows. The assault was jarring and disorienting for the poor dragon, but his scales were strong and he did not bleed much.

Twilight Sparkle lowered the letter Spike had sent her in secret as she approached the tree line, having read through it for the thirty-fourth time. She'd been worriedly reviewing the letter's contents for the entirety of her trip to the Everfree Forest, and she had not come alone. "Split into squads of five and fan the forest in that direction. We need to make our way to Zecora's hut, check the area, and then move on to the castle. If you run into any vampiric ponies, overwhelm them with your numbers and capture them. Only kill if it's the only way to save your own life. We will purge whatever dark forces have possessed them when we have more information. Alpha team is with me; the rest of you take flanking positions and keep ahead a few meters so we can ambush any hostiles in the hut. Move out!" Having a brother who was captain of the guard and a curios mind was a useful combination for the young Princess and her orders were readily followed by her twenty-five guards.

Pinkie was panting with exhaustion, standing between a fallen dragon and her dark mistress, her legs shaking due to the exertion of beating her hooves against dragon scales. "So… do you… give up… yet?" To her greatest dismay her reprieve was denied, Spike standing with a draconian grimace. In his eyes could be seen patient anger, the most dangerous kind, and he began to advance with slow, measured steps. Pinkie couldn't stand the suspense, rushing him as she had before, but this time he was ready for her. His silver claws beat away her hoof-strikes as his mind worked on overdrive to predict her movements with the speed at which she made them; even when running out of energy Pinkie was undeniably swift, but her tiredness gave Spike just enough of an edge to overcome her. Forcing an opening in her defense, the dragon dug his claws into her neck, tossing what he'd ripped out aside to make Pinkie a mass of gurgling flesh. As her vampirism worked to heal her, Spike charged his next target: the abominable emissary of the Star Gods.

"Do you come to die, little dragon whelp?" A tendril of darkness shot toward his neck, but he held his arm in its path, the tendril gripping his wrist. "The darkness of the void is infinite. I am that darkness." Before significant damage could be done, Spike's flame freed him, and his advance began anew, only to be stopped once again when Twist's unconscious body was held aloft in the emissary's claws. "Are you prepared to be drowned in the blood of your companion? There is no other way you can stop me." Spike thought back to memories of Zecora, as she had spent several afternoons teaching him to better use his natural dragon abilities. He had yet to master fireballs, but he knew no way to save Twist other than to create one immediately.

"Now it may seem hopeless, but,

You can pull the mass from your gut.

The flame within must do more than char,

To explode and send the ball far."

Spike succeeded, Twist falling somewhat safely to the ground as the emissary hissed in pain, recoiling and clutching its burning limb. With licks of green flame Spike spoke to the beast. "Leave that innocent mare, Shadow Pony, or I will make you." The response was merely a roar of indignation, and Spike responded in kind.

"You are a creature far from plain.

A dragon's fire is not mundane.

Dig deep to let the magic flow.

Then roar to let it go,

And unleash it on your foe."

As the darkness was banished by fire's light, wails of pain met Spike's ears. The abomination was no more, and instead the lovely Fluttershy burned and wreathed in agony on the stone floor.

"To recall a flame which has begun to burn,

Inhale it sharply back to the place from whence it churned."

Fluttershy laid a gentle hoof on the dragon's cheek, gifting him with a soft smile. "It's okay, Spike. It can leave me to feel pain for it, but it can't escape my death. Light me again and everypony else will be safe."

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy." He cupped her chin with his claws, giving her a sad smile of his own. "But it isn't worth it if we don't save everyone." He pulled his fist back, ready to strike. He would guard her unconscious body and await Twilight's arrival.

"Wait! Stop!" It was too late, for the blow had landed. The moment Fluttershy's kind mind was repressed, the Shadow Pony returned. A dark energy closed around Spike's neck, lifting him into the air as Fluttershy's features snarled. "Foolish dragon whelp. You know nothing of who you oppose." A dragon cannot breath fire when he cannot breath at all. "I am going to enjoy this."

"So will we." The vampire horde did assemble, and the turning of Twist began.

"There it is! Petal, we made it! We outran them!" Applebloom elatedly exclaimed her excitement as she unceremoniously dived through a window, immediately trotting into Zecora's back room with all haste. Petal was too large to follow her in such a manner, opting to use the door that he fortified with the empty cauldron after completing his entrance.

"Those chimeras could burn this hut with us in it, and I do not look forward to that. Please tell me you know what you're looking for." Petal was relieved to hear an 'ah-ha!' from behind the rearmost curtain, Applebloom emerging with a number of tomes and notes written in the language of Zebras. "Why are we celebrating? I can't read any this, can you?"

"Yes, actually," Applebloom responded simply, though her voice was weak from blood loss. "Ah asked Zecora to teach me her language a long time ago. Ah can't understand all of these words, but Ah think Ah can read enough of them to figure out what's going on here and what we need to do." Applebloom groaned, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. "Though, Ah get the feeling that won't help me unless somepony hoofs over that green bottle over there and a roll of gauze from the back." Petal ignored her attempt at humor, entirely focused and getting her what she needed and keeping the filly alive. "Stupid, damnable vampires…" Despite how focused the two vampire killers where on their tasks, they still noticed sounds reminiscent of explosions echoing in the forest.

Magical discharges beat against feral wildlife as ponies bucked with hooves and stabbed with spears, the strike team fighting through a plethora of brainwashed creatures. At the center of it all was Princess Twilight Sparkle, shooting spells and shouting orders. "Unicorns, focus your sleeping spells on the larger animals! Earth ponies, cover the flanks! Pegasi, hold back those birds!"

"What in bloody Tartarus is going on here‽" One of the guards yelled. "It's as if the entire forest is trying to kill us!"

"We can't let them stop us! Keep moving forward!" Ponies are peculiar creatures. They fight with the moral high-ground, sparing as many lives as they can in their advance, and they have the courage to carry on, no matter the odds.

The spirit of these ponies would do humanity good, if only they could reach them in the alpha timeline. An Outer God mused. Alas, it cannot be.

As Petal Vestment nervously watched the forest through a window, a recently bandaged Applebloom sat reading with a look of awe upon her face. "Petal… these notes speak of the language of the Outer Gods themselves. Apparently, only the language of the highest order can be used in any incantations against things descended from the Outer Gods. These are some really confusing pronunciations, too; Zecora wrote at length on the pronouncement of each individual word to give herself reference materials to review before the ritual."

"It sounds to me like we don't have much of a chance without her." Petal's tone was neutral, and Applebloom replied with a small shake of her head.

"These notes are very specific. Ah'm pretty sure Ah can get it right with some focus. Ah'm already getting an idea of how the whole incantation is going to sound. And this word here, 'shoggnyth,' describes the very thing we're fightin' against, as does 'shuggoth.' It's the '-oth' suffix which denotes nativity, and '-nyth' which indicates servitude. The Shadow Pony is of 'shugg,' or the realm of us mortals, but it serves the dark realm. It is composed of the darkness of our world, thus its name and nature."

"Look, all I'm saying is… you speak in a heavy accent all the time; therefore, how will you manage to correctly chant Outer God words?"

"Ah-- I can enunciate properly when it is required of me," Applebloom proclaimed with excessive eloquence. "Also, their language is called 'R'lyehian,' m'kay?"

"…" Petal just stared at her with a deadpan look for a moment, almost forgetting the perilous situation he was in. "You added 'm'kay' just to mess with me, didn't you?"

"Yeah, Ah kinda did."

"Aw…" Pinkie whined pitifully. "I thought we were gonna torture him." Fluttershy had retaken her usual form, the Shadow Pony's power lessened by recent events, and blood had flowed from her leg into Spike's throat. The dragon lay on the ground, seeming lifeless.

"The transformation of a dragon takes time, but Twist should be with us within the hour." The possessed Fluttershy informed. "The rest of you must prevent Applebloom and Petal Vestment from getting here. If they have reached your old abode," she continued, singling out the zebra vampire, "Zecora, then they have your notes."

"Their heads shall be my prize,

When I cut them down to size."

Petal's expression turned grim as the three chimeras closed in on the hut, and he turned his attention to Applebloom. "We're out of time. I sure hope you memorized that chant."

"Ah've got it, Ah-- I promise." The filly asserted, rolling up some of the parchment and stowing it in her jacket pockets in case she had another chance to review the material. "Let's go." Petal nudged the door open as the chimeras began to breath fire on the walls, and the two battered ponies snuck into the treeline in an attempt to avoid another fight. Once they were several yards away, Applebloom proceeded to elaborate on the ritual to her partner. "There is one major problem, though. We need a unicorn to act as a magical focus, and we don't exactly have one of them with us anymore."

"Will an Alicorn do?" There stood Twilight Sparkle, a look of fierce determination on her face. She had lost three guards to the onslaught of the forest, and she would destroy whoever was responsible with extreme prejudice. "I feel an amalgamation resonance in my horn. The signature matches that of a rare fire breathing breed of chimera. Beta squad, cover the right flank and watch for an ambush. Alpha squad, incapacitate the chimeras and put out the fire they started before it burns the whole forest down."

"But Ah don't understand. How did you end up here?" Applebloom questioned, flabbergasted.

"Don't act so bewildered," Twilight replied. "Did you really think my number one assistant wouldn't tell me about this, or that I of all ponies wouldn't take this situation seriously? Saving Equestria is practically my job." As she spoke the sky grew dark, a shadow stretching through the air to block out the light of the Sun. "That's just great," Twilight grumbled, lighting her horn. "This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Petal and Applebloom staggered along behind her as she began to chase after her guards, who were apparently rushing to meet some threat before it could reach their Princess. "Wait! Pull back!" There was a cascade of noise as several trees fell to ensnare the guards in their branches, screams of pain echoing through the forest as vampires tore into them. Zecora left the others to their gruesome work, stepping into the light of Twilight's horn.

"I see now that the integrity of my hut was unimportant to thee,

And now to the chagrin of thy,

We march under blackened sky,

To make it stay that way for good,

Even beyond this Everfree wood."

"Yeah, okay, whatever." There was blinding flash of light from Twilight's horn and then Zecora was gone, hissing and cursing in the depths of the trees.

"How… What? Ah don't--"

"Solar magic cast from an alicorn. Only magic that can harm vampires. They once wrongfully believed only Celestia could hurt them, but now they know better."

"But, Princess, I thought you did not believe in vampires," Petal stated, puzzled.

"Ha! As if something has to be real for me to study it. Hello, Daring Do fan over here! Although that turned out to be real too…"

"It did?" Petal asked incredulously, to which Applebloom replied:

"Yeah. Don't look so surprised. Jeez, it's embarrassin'."

"Anyway, with all that screaming I'd assume the guards are being turned. Does that ritual you were talking about undo turning?"

"No idea, honestly."

"Well it's worth a shot. Let's go, and by that I mean stand stock still." Purple light enveloped the three of them as Twilight teleported them all to the entrance to the Castle of the Two Sisters, tendrils of darkness rising from the windows and holes in the roof to reach the blanket of the shadow covering the forest.

"The tell-tale signs of a shoggnyth," Applebloom whispered to herself. The party pushed their way inside the Castle, and at the end of the entrance hall stood Fluttershy, Spike laying unconscious at her hooves and the darkness pouring out of her eyes. When she spoke her voice was strangely serene as it echoed off the stone walls.

"Hello Twilight, Applebloom, and the famous mister Vestment. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" In that moment everything was finally real for Twilight. She could not even look her friend in the eye for the shadow clouding the air, and her own eyes clouded with tears because of it. It was Applebloom who had the courage to speak up next.

"We're here to make that THING in your head get the fuck out of dodge!"

"Language, Applebloom," was Fluttershy's only verbal response, but the shadows pouring from her eyes filled the room as well, until the filly couldn't even see her hoof in front of her face. There was an inviting magic that allowed her to see through the darkness, but using it seemed to make her attempt to leave, not out of fear but by command. Petal was approaching Twilight with a vacant expression.

"The Shadow Pony is trying to control us directly!" Twilight cast a spell that washed away the darkness, and then another that freed the minds of her companions before Petal could attack her in a mindless stupor.

"What… the hell was that?" He asked in a daze, but there was no time for answers, a vampiric Twist releasing the zombies she had entrapped whilst still herself. The horde began to shamble it's way out of the hole, the dismembered limbs of the other undead ripped from them in the timberwolf skirmish moving forward of their own accord as well. "I'll hold them off! You two take care of the shoggnyth." The earth filly and alicorn mare nodded to the stallion just before he twisted around to find Applebloom's shotgun and shells thrown at his hooves.

"Blow 'em to smithereens." To the cacophony of shotgun blasts, Applebloom spoke with Twilight Sparkle. "Focus on what I say. Channel the magical signature you find in the R'lyehian words directly at the Shadow within Fluttershy."

"Okay, that I ca--" There was a blur of orange movement and Twilight was on the ground, being dragged toward Fluttershy by a tendril of darkness.

"We'll kill them early, Applebloom? They just have to get in our way first, right?" The other crusaders were there, and Applebloom was far too tired to fight them all. "You're in my way Applebloom."

Applebloom didn't remember exactly what happened next, but when she recovered from blacking out she had a significantly larger quantity of blood on her face, Petal was bleeding profusely as he fought against the zombies and Twist, and Twilight was glaring at her from across the room, shadows holding her in place. "Do something, Applebloom! I can't resist this thing much longer." She had been turned too, the Shadow Pony attempting to take a stronger host body. From what Applebloom had read from Zecora's notes the host transfer would kill the old host permanently.

"Sweetie, please stop."

"Why should I‽"

"Because you were right." Applebloom was interrupted by a bloody coughing fit, but found that Sweetie had yet to strike her again in that time, so she continued. "It's not worth it if we don't save everyone. I could have killed the Shadow Pony, but I didn't because I would have killed Fluttershy too." She failed to mention that she now knew this incantation would only remove the Shadow Pony from her friend; that it would still live. "Please… help me save them." The other Crusaders just stared at Applebloom, looking conflicted… very conflicted, as if fighting the Shadow Pony's control. "That thing can't stop us. We've got hearts as strong as horses!" Another spell shot through the room from Twilight's horn, and suddenly all the Crusaders were smiling at each other.

"Stop this thing!" Twilight screamed, but her pleading was cut short by an unearthly howl at the entrance.

"Jackalopes…" Scootaloo seethed. "Round two, motherfuckers!" As the pegasus filly flew into the horde of vermin on leathery wings, Rainbow Dash swooped into the entrance hall through a window.

"Scoots, you stop that right--"

"Oh now youze don't!" Babs sprouted her own pair of vampiric wings, crashing into the fully grown mare and doing her best to keep her away from the others.

"OhhididImisstheparty‽" Sweetie's horn lit up as solar energy washed over Pinkie, but the vampire simply giggled at the attack. "Having wings doesn't make you an alicorn. Stupid filly." Applebloom screamed angrily, bucking Pinkie's jaw out of place with her silver horseshoes and bashing her head in repeatedly as a rush of adrenaline overtook her.

"FUCK! YOU! Nawgah'n Fluttershy, shoggnyth!"

"What?" Sweetie asked in shock and confusion.

"The signature of the chant, Sweetie. Use it to banish the Shadow Pony!" All around them vampires were returning from their gruesome trek, their turned friends flooding the room and swarming through it like bats.

"Okay. Let's do this!"

"You're in a lot of trouble, little lady." Granny Smith warned.

"Eeyup." Big Mac agreed.

"Expect a stern talkin' to iffin' you don't stop this right now!" Applejack roared.

"Sweetie, you cease this resisting nonsense this instant!" Rarity commanded.

"Nawgah'n Fluttershy, shoggnyth! Nan'gha, ryess! Nan'ghft, flagn! K'mnahn', shuggoth!"

"Oh, I hope she just forgets what he did to her like the others did. It must have been awful."

"Sh, she's waking up." Applebloom groaned as she rubbed her head, sitting up in the hospital bed.

"What happened?"

"It's okay, Applebloom," Applejack reassured. "That Jury Dambridge is gone. Ah'm mighty sorry Ah ever let 'im in to our home. Ah had no idea what he was, but you did, even iffin' ya did have to pretend he was a vampire as a copin' mechanism." Applebloom ignored her sister, staring at Fluttershy very carefully. There was no longer any trace of the Shadow Pony in her eyes. She also looked around the room. The other hospital bed had someone on it she was glad to see alive, but unfortunately Petal Vestment was not currently conscious. "Applebloom… you alright?"

"Yeah sis, Ah'm fine. Fluttershy, could you come a little closer please?"

"Oh, um… sure. I don't know why, but I guess that's okay. Is there… something you aren't comfortable sharing with everypony else?"

"Somethin' like that." With that cryptic statement Applebloom gripped Fluttershy's head with a hoof and kissed her right on the lips in front of everypony. They were all too shocked to do anything, especially Fluttershy, and eventually Applebloom released the pegasus and leaned back into her pillow. "Ah'm fine now. Ya'll can head out."

Later that night, Fluttershy stared at a mirror that didn't seem to reflect her image, running her tongue over her still present fangs. "Oh… my. What am I going to do about this?"

The Shadow Pony had a new plan. Instead of targeting somepony close to the Princesses it would stay under the radar, using a lesser known actress who happened to already be vampiric. It would be rather easy to trick Regime Dambridge into believing that Applebloom was responsible for her brother's death, and then the shoggnyth would have its revenge. First, it would need to recover its strength, which only time could do for it. Its failsafe to corrupt the memories of those it had turned would by it all the time it needed.

Years in the future, but not many…

"Then there was this huge explosion… and that was it."

"And was Fluttershy a vampire? Were any of them really vampires?" These questions came from Applebloom's shrink, who worked at the college she attended.

"A-course not! There ain't no such thing as vampires; ya'll know that."

To Be Continued

Horror Stories

“Miss Cheerilee, why are they called 'vampire fruit bats'?” Applebloom questioned innocently. “Don't vampires suck up blood to stay alive?”

“Applebloom…” The lavender-coated teacher gave an exasperated sigh, shielding her face with her hoof while she tried to recover her fake smile. Usually she remained on the falsely cheerful side for weeks at a time, but ever since a few days ago the Cutie Mark Crusaders (especially Applebloom) just wouldn't stop talking about vampires. “Vampires don't exist in the real world; they're just made up monsters for fictional stories.”

“What, you mean like Ahuitzotl?” Scootaloo asked coyly, knowing from Rainbow Dash that Ahuitzotl and Daring Do were both real people. She gave Applebloom a wink just as Cheerilee explained that yes, vampires were just like Ahuitzotl. She had no idea how right she was.

–

Dear Princess Celestia,

Your sister's image is well on the way to being restored!

I honestly don't see the appeal in stories about made-up monsters, considering how many real ones there are to worry about in Equestria, so I'll be glad to see Fright Night go when the pieces finally fall into place. I understand your reluctance to let Luna in on the plan, but I'm 99 90 80% 79% sure that she would be fine with what we're doing. Plus, I've met Petal Vestment and he seemed a little too needlessly dramatic for my taste. As an actor. You know wh

Anyway, I'm glad you trust me to run the whole of Equestria in your absence, even if the excursion to the Griffon Kingdoms only lasts for one month. It really does mean a lot to me.

Your ever faithful friend,

Twilight Sparkle

“There! Now I just need to write a fifth draft; this time with no parts that need striking-out.”

“Hey Bloomster!”

“Babs!” As the two Apple cousins embraced, the remaining members of the CMC snickered at the wary looks Babs received from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. While Babs was in Ponyville her fellow Crusaders enjoyed a lack of bullying not seen in other times. That didn't stop Twist, Snips, Snails, and several others from approaching the group to interrupt Applebloom with questions.

“You don't really think vampireth are real, do you?”

“Oh, ho ho!” Babs shook with mirth at this statement, ruffling Applebloom's mane and displacing her bow. “What have you been tellin' these ponies, Bloomster?”

“Only the truth, cuz.” Applebloom pushed away from the Manehattanite and began to gesture animatedly to the crowd which had formed. “It was a dank and dreary time for the Apple orchard when Fluttershy stared down the vicious vampire fruit bats and, through a misfired spell, became like them.” The majority of the young crowd visibly gasped, despite having heard the same story from others in less dramatic terms before. “Only through the efforts of the alicorn Princess to cast the spell were the effects supposedly reversed, but who is to say that nopony made the same mistake in the past before proper, blood-sucking vampire bats became extinct?” Several fillies and colts grimaced or balked at this notion, shifting their gaze back and forth as if searching for hidden threats. “Historical documents I have studied show us that vampire ponies become ageless as a side-effect of the magic which makes them what they are, and the older they are the more power they acquire. A vampire older than Discord himself could live in this very town, striking unseen in the dead of night.”

“Okay, that's enough, Bloomster. Hehe…” Every child with the primness to have worn horseshoes to school shook in them, even the two Crusaders not of the Apple family looking a bit uneasy as Babs pulled her cousin away from the scene that she herself had created. “Why don't we go tah the farm an' see ya sistah, eh?”

“What is that blank-flanked freak telling those ponies?” Diamond Tiara whispered quietly to Silver Spoon from several yards away, looking frightened just from seeing the reactions of the others. Still, Babs had good ears.

“Youze stay outta this, ya hear‽” The wealthy bullies gasped and bolted from the scene, Babs trying desperately to contain her cousin's enthusiasm for spreading vampire lore to everypony in town.

–

“They're real, Ah tell ya! Ah'll even prove it to ya, if ya'll give me a week to find one. Ah'm sure there's at least one livin' in Ponyville.” The moment the fillies had reached the Apple home Applejack had sat them all down in the front room and served them some tea Fluttershy had vouched for a month ago. After which time, Applejack had taken a seat opposite her sister, causing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to wonder what exactly was going on whilst their fellow Crusaders had continued to argue about vampires.

“Applebloom,” Applejack finally said, interrupting the debate. “Have you been spreadin' around that story Ah told ya'll about Fluttershy becomin' a Flutterbat fer awhile?”

“Uh…” Applebloom and Babs exchanged looks, Babs's expression saying: Now ya've done it, youze little blabber-mouth. Applebloom looked to her other friends for help, but they could only look on with pity. “Yeah, but Ah don't--”

“Ya can't go doin' that, Applebloom!” The younger of the sisters cringed reflexively, trying to hide behind her cup of tea. “Poor Fluttershy 'as been dealin' with all kinds of alienation because uh you. Now don't worry too much,” Applejack backpedaled a bit, put off by her young sibling's distress at the news. “Ah'm just sayin', ya know… stop it. Like, maybe cut back on the vampire talk a little, or leave out the part about Fluttershy, m'kay? All the fillies and colts especially have been givin' her a wide berth and she don't rightly like it too much.”

“Ah'm sorry, sis… Ah really like Fluttershy. She's nice and I…” Applebloom sighed heavily, Babs patting her back in reassurance. “Ah didn't mean to do that to her, Ah swear.”

“Well, as long as you won't go doin' it again, Ah suppose it's fine.” Applejack smiled warmly at her sister and her friends, glad to have cleared things up without any sort of fight. “Now, as ya'll know, them vampire fruit bats have been producin' some grade A seeds and gettin' us here Apple farmers enough extra crop to start exportin' in mass. As such, we've got more work to do around here than we can handle ourselves, and we might as well share our new wealth with a helpin' hoof or two. So, Big Macintosh is escortin' our first hired hoof to this very house at this very moment. Might I ask a certain somepony not to scare him off with stories of vampires?”

“Sure thing, sis!” Applebloom practically roared, saluting diligently.

“I wonder where he's from.” Sweetie Belle pondered aloud.

“Why don't ya'll ask him when he gets here?” As if on cue, a knock was heard at the door.

“I bet that's him!” Scootaloo's wings fluttered excitedly, showing how easily the young could be excited by things adults would consider mundane and common. “I wonder what he's like.”

“I wonder what he wears.”

“Ah wonder why youze care.”

“Come on inside before the pegasi start this evenin's storm.” The earth pony stallion to step into Applebloom's field of view was dressed in a thick, stylish black coat over his reddish-brown fur, and it did nothing to cover his hammer and coffin Cutie Mark, nor his disarmingly charming grin framed by a tastefully cut black mane, which was nothing short of creepy to the young filly. His eyes spoke of the unnatural calm which only old immortals like the Princesses bore, and Applebloom was instantly suspicious of him. “Apples, presentin' Sweet Apple Acres' first employee outside the blood of family,

“Jury Dambridge!”

To Lady Rarity Belle,

My associate will arrive at the Castle of the Two Sisters to begin restoring the furnishings within the week, so you won't have to wait much longer for his help. I'm sorry I can't give you an exact date; he's dealing with family business at the moment and I'm unsure how long he'll be. However, I myself should arrive at Sweet Apple Acres by the time this letter reaches you. I'd appreciate a tour of the premises this evening as we previously discussed. I can help with damaged woodwork, but Billet is the expert on metalwork so we may as well wait for him before working on those rusted hinges you told me about.

I look forward to meeting you in person.

Yours truly,

Jury Dambridge

–

“Say Fluttershy, you home in there?” Rainbow Dash soon received a muffled reply from the other side of the door, taking that as an invitation and rushing in. “Sweet!” Rainbow took a quick look around to locate the other pegasus, finding her sipping some tea on a nearby couch, as well as eating an apple. It was nice to see her chewing the apple like any normal pony instead of sucking it dry like the pseudo-vampire she'd been only days ago. Rainbow took a seat beside her and gave her the sort of hug one only sees between family members, close friends, or those with a romantic connection. Ponies outside their inner circle of friends had trouble determining which of the latter two was the truth. “Applejack said you hooked her up with some really awesomazing tea last month, and I was just wondering if you had any more by chance?”

“Yes, you can have some,” Fluttershy said flatly, cutting to the chase.

“Ah yeah!” Angel Bunny seemed strangely polite today; usually he would've tried to coax Rainbow off the couch, but he just watched her calmly, unmoving. Creepy…

“Shouldn't you be managing the storm, Rainbow?”

“Nah. The clouds are all perfectly positioned by now. It's up to my lackeys to keep 'em that way.” Fluttershy just gave Dash a disapproving look which eventually seemed to work its magic. “Okay, fine, I'll go back out there, but I'm coming back for that tea tonight, alright?” Fluttershy merely nodded. The apple was completely gone by then. Rainbow didn't remember seeing Fluttershy dispose of the core, but she must have at some point, somehow.

Rainbow didn't give it much thought, but the only explanation that made any sense would be that Fluttershy ate the core whole.