Flutter's Night

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