Chapter 21
Canterlot

I cautiously moved through the open gates, noting the recently made cuts from blades and claws colliding with the wood. Once through I busied myself by scanning for any sign of life. The streets were empty and the majority of the two story houses looked abandoned. Their yards were unkempt and the doors of some homes hung open like slack jaws, gaping at the state of the city around them. Most of the first story windows had been shattered and several of the higher panes of glass had suffered the same fate. Occasionally I spotted the aftermath of a violent struggle, where blood had stained the sidewalk or the wall of someone’s home.

My eyes eventually came to rest upon a figure sitting in an alleyway between two houses that were a bit too close together. The Unicorn looked ragged and tired, his clothes were dirty and his mane was a tangled mess. I couldn’t tell what the original color of his clothing or coat were due to the layer of dirt caked onto everything. He looked at me with intense blue eyes that sharply contrasted the dull brown coating his body.

“Welcome to the jungle,” he rasped. He stared at me for a few moments then lowered his gaze to the ground again. I couldn’t tell if he was infected or not, why was some random pony just sitting in the streets with all these empty houses around?

I slowly approached the pony, stopping far enough away that I’d have time to react if he tried to attack me. If he was a citizen in need I had an obligation to help him, but these were strange times.

“Why are you sitting out here in the streets? Are you alright?” I asked, my wings listening for movement around anywhere else in case this was some kind of trap.

“It’s not safe in the houses, a few of the homeowners are still around,” he said, slowly scanning the street. “Vamps don’t want my dirty blood and usually just leave me alone out here, last time I went into one of the houses I got attacked. Broke my arm,” he pulled one of the rags from his body to reveal his crudely bandaged arm.

The bandages were dirty like the rest of the cloth on his body and stained red by dried blood. His hand and forearm were swollen and he managed to weakly flex his fingers.

“Let me help you then,” I said as I took a step forward, only for him to shuffle away. His eyes were the size of dinner plates.

“No! Stay away from me! You look like the kind they’d want! I can’t let you be associated with me or they might start to think I’m worth taking away too!” The distressed Unicorn cried out as he scrambled to his hooves and ran down the street. Judging by the way he moved, he wasn’t struggling to find food or water, he was just really dirty from living outside.

I shrugged and continued down the street, heading toward the castle district. I’d have to pass through the rest of the residential area and move through one of Canterlot’s commercial districts. Then there’d be the wealthier residential and entertainment districts before I’d reach the actual castle grounds. There were plenty of places for this trip to go wrong.

As I continued through the residential district I came upon a most curious street. All of the homes looked inhabited at the start of this block, their yards and hedges were trimmed. None of the buildings looked abandoned, no smashed windows, no doors hanging open. I even smelled something cooking, was that apple pie?

I spotted an Earth pony trimming his hedges and he smiled at me blankly. His eyes were wide and unfocused, his smile seemed to stretch his face. He looked like he was wearing some kind of creepy mask, I actually thought he was until I saw him blink and his eyes focused on me proper.

“Well hey there stranger! I haven’t seen you before! What brings you to our lovely neighborhood?” That creepy fucking face-stretching smile just stayed plastered to his face the whole time he spoke.

“I’m just passing through,” I said uncertainly as I caught motion off to my left. A quick glance confirmed someone was stepping out onto their front porch with a newspaper, the stallion had a cup of coffee in his hand and took a seat on his porch swing to read the paper. He had a similar smile seemingly welded to his face.

“Oh really?!” He asked, lowering his hedge trimmers as he sidestepped to tend to the next section of shrubbery. “Where are you heading?” He asked, never taking his glazed-over eyes off me.

“To the castle,” more movement. I spotted more and more neighbors exiting their houses to watch me and this stranger talk. I could feel their eyes boring into me, it was like walking in front of a shelf covered by dolls and noticing all of them staring at you.

A Pegasus flew over before he could ask his next question, a small cloud in tow. “Brought your water number six!” She said cheerily as she coaxed the cloud into raining on his lawn.

“Number six?” I asked, immediately gaining the attention of the stallion who had been trimming his hedges.

“Yes, mistress numbered us to make it easier for her to keep track of us. She couldn’t be bothered with learning all our names! It would have taken too long!” He said with a laugh and a dismissive wave as he returned to perfecting the hedgerow.

Oh, a mistress, fan-fucking-tastic. Were they all currently under her thrall? Or had she simply pacified them? Could a Master control more than one pony at a time?

“Well I really do need to get to the castle,” I said as I started to take a step away. “I have some important business to take care of and it’s mid-afternoon so I should get going,” I continued as I moved away from the street of smiling faces and staring eyes.

“You should stay for dinner! The mistress would love to meet you!”

Fuck.

“I really shouldn’t keep Princess Luna waiting,” I said as I continued backing away. “I’d love to stop by for something later though, rain check?” I asked as I tensed slightly, preparing to bolt away if I had to.

“You really should stay!” He insisted as he began to slowly round the bush. “Our mistress won’t keep you long! Who knows? You might just like it here enough to come back and stay after your business with the Princess!” The other residents of the street had taken notice of my slow movements and were beginning their slow pursuit as well. They were dropping their newspapers and gardening equipment, halting all their work for me.

Not wanting to let them be the first ones to run and close the gap, and knowing there was no shame at all in running from this situation, I ran. I ran like Death itself was chasing me, it probably was given the situation. I took off toward the commercial district and darted into alleyways and took random turns that carried me away from the noise of my many pursuers, my armor crashed noisily as I rapidly navigated the cramped quarters between buildings. I ran until their voices had faded into the distance and then some. It was not until long after the sounds of their pursuit had ended that I allowed myself to stop and catch my breath.

My hands found my knees as I forced myself to control my breathing again. Deep, slow, controlled breaths. I took a moment to still my trembling hands, damned adrenaline. In no time at all I regained my composure and straightened up to take in my surroundings. I was in an alleyway in the commercial district, a few knocked over trash cans were behind me and a few boxes stood in front of me, the final obstacle before the street.

“For someone loaded down with all that stuff you sure can haul ass,” a smug voice announced from the trash cans I had toppled.

I whirled about, searching for the owner of the voice but I couldn’t see anyone. Was it a Master using that invisibility trick? The alley was shaded from the sun’s light so they wouldn’t be burning if they had taken on their demonic form. But I never felt a body when I crashed through those trash cans and none of them hit anything when they toppled over. The lids had been knocked off as well so I could see inside them and they were empty.

“Who’s there?” I asked, taking a small step back.

“I must say I am impressed, I haven’t seen someone move that fast in heavy armor in a long time!” A little orange lizard, no, salamander… Newt? Crawled up onto one of the trash cans and stood on his hind legs like a little person and smiled up at me, revealing far too many pointed teeth. Maybe he was a tiny dragon? “How long have you been wearing that stuff? You move like you’re wearing something much lighter,” he commented as he crossed his little arms. “Or maybe even nothing at all,” he added with a little chuckle.

I shook my head a bit and looked around, was this little guy really talking to me or was I hallucinating again? Had I passed a Master during my mad sprint and made eye contact by mistake?

No, it couldn’t have been. The last time I hallucinated I didn’t stop to question it, I didn’t stop to question why I had jumped several years into the past into one of my memories. I really had encountered an orange newt capable of speech. I suppose stranger things existed in Equestria and even stranger things existed beyond her borders. This little creature looked oddly familiar, like I had seen him somewhere before.

“I can see the wheels turning in there, you realize it yet?” He leaned forward, his grin widening as his eyes narrowed. “This is perfectly real, I’m no hallucination,” he rolled his eyes and gave a dismissive wave as he began pacing atop the trash can. “So shall we get down to business then?” He asked as he clasped his hands together, slowing his pace but continuing it nonetheless.

“Business? What are you even talking about? I don’t even know who you are,” I said as I checked over my shoulder. My pursuers had indeed given up their chase.

“Oh, that’s right!” He exclaimed with a clap of his tiny hands. “You don’t know me yet! Hah! My mistake, sorry for the confusion Alex. My name is Tillook,” he said with a grin as he held out a hand. He then looked up at my hand before lowering his own. “Right, I’d be shaking your finger if we did this all formal-like,” he said with a little chuckle.

I crossed my arms and sighed. “I really don’t have a lot of time to waste, I need to get to-”

“Canterlot Castle?” Tillook said with a smirk. “I can get you there in a blink of an eye if you agree to do me a favor first,” he said as he resumed his pacing. “Are you interested?”

“Fine, explain what you want but be quick about it, I haven’t the time to spare,” I growled. The last thing I needed was a little amphibian jerking me around while I was this close to Canterlot Castle.

He raised his hands in a defensive gesture. “Hey roid rage, drop the hostile tone! I’m just asking for some help! Some vamps decided to move into my place and kicked me out. They took one of my amulets from me and if you can get it back from them I can teleport you to the castle!” He offered another smile that exposed far too many sharp teeth. “Sound like a decent deal to you?” Maybe he was part shark?

“How many vamps are there?” I asked with a little sigh.

“Eight total, two Masters, two Gargoyles, and four Bats,” he responded.

“I’m guessing they’re not even remotely friendly?” I mused.

“Yeah, I would have dealt with them myself but having all my blood drained out of my body didn’t seem like a fun time,” he crossed his arms as he looked up at me. “So will you help me?”

Technically I was obligated to help him even if he didn’t have means of repaying me, and he was offering to repay me for helping him. I wasn’t sure if he’d actually be able to teleport me anywhere, let alone to the Castle. I had run into non-Unicorn magic users before though and they were usually strange creatures like this one. “I’ll clear them out for you, which way to your house?” I asked as I uncrossed my arms and peered back out into the street.

“Down that street, take the second right and it’ll be the third building on the left,” he suddenly answered from my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin after his sudden relocation, so he really was capable of teleportation. That or he climbed all the way up to my shoulder in the time it took me to turn away from him and look out into the street.

“You live in the commercial district?” I asked as I started down the street, keeping to the sidewalk on the right side. I glanced into the restaurant as I passed by, the stench of rotting food flooding from the open doorway nearly knocked me over. I could see several rotten cabbages just inside the front door, their leaves wilted and brown with rot. Just behind them was an undisturbed barricade of tables knocked onto their sides with sharpened table and chair legs laid over the top.

“Ugh! That’s foul! Get away from there!” Tillook cried out as I dashed forward, his tiny hands gripping the edge of my helmet. Once we stopped and caught some fresh air he tended to my question. “I run a little bar and live on the second floor, it's a great way to save money on taxes when you only have one piece of property. Do you have any idea what the property taxes are like here? They’re highway robbery!” He cried out in indignation, shaking a tiny fist as we continued down the block.

We had crossed the street, passing the first block and I was about to comment on the business he owned when I noticed a new strong scent washing over the street. The smell of coffee. Farther along on the left side of the street I could see a cafe and as we drew closer to the building the scent of freshly brewed coffee grew stronger.

A cardboard-brown Pegasus wearing a tank top and boxer shorts came shuffling out of the cafe with a pot of coffee and a mug. He paid us no mind as he sat at one of the tables in front of the cafe and poured himself a mug of coffee. His eyes were squinting and his mane was disheveled giving him the air of someone who had recently woken up. He took a sip of his beverage and grimaced, shaking his head as his face scrunched into a scowl.

“WHEW! That’s some strong stuff!” He announced to the nearly empty street. His eyes eventually found myself and the little newt on my shoulder and he waved at us. “Mornin!” He called, raising his mug to take another drink.

“Afternoon,” I replied with a little wave of my own.

“Is it?” He asked as he looked to the sky, then shrugged. “Eh, it’s morning to me!” He announced as he resumed sipping his steaming coffee. He didn’t seem to need my help, if anything he was quite content to just sit outside in his pajamas sipping coffee.

“If you don’t need anything I’ll be going then. Have a pleasant day,” I said as I resumed walking down the street.

“Mmmmh!” Was his reply as he waved dismissively, the steaming mug raised to his lips once again. He was staring down the street in the direction we had just come from, life slowly returning to his eyes.

“Funny how some are coping with the situation,” Tillook mused from my shoulder as we turned right and started down the next street. “Some people are panicking and seeking shelter, others are organizing and fighting, trying to scrape bits of society back together, others are looting and losing their minds, and even more still are just bowing their heads and submitting to the vamps,” I could see him shaking his head at that last part in my peripheral vision. “Then there’s those guys, the ones who just don’t give a flying feather and do whatever they want because fuck it, society is collapsing,” he pointed over his shoulder at the corner we had just rounded.

During his little rant I had reached the third building and stopped across the street from it. Three stories tall with a sign hanging between the first and second floor that read “Hookah Up!”

“It’s a hookah bar?” I asked, glancing at the diminutive creature on my shoulder. “Is the name a play on hooking up with other people or something?” I looked back at the building, a bit worried about what I was going to find inside. I dropped my pack and stashed it in the alleyway, knowing I’d need better maneuverability in a fight.

“Uhhh, a bit? The place is all about atmosphere, you know? Smoke a little, eat some overpriced snacks, drink imported wines, socialize…” He trailed off and looked away. “Hooking up just kinda happens in the atmosphere of the place, thus the name. I actually ran the place for a few months before deciding on a name, I didn’t even pick it to be honest. Some of the patrons started calling it ‘Hookah Up’ and it just stuck so I accepted the nature of the place and got the sign made for it. Plus I was getting tired of the lady running the dry cleaning service next door coming over and yelling at me for my customers asking where my bar went,” he scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

“I swear if the vamps are getting high and having an orgy in there I’m going to set the building on fire and walk the rest of the way to the castle,” I grumbled as I started across the street toward the oddly quiet building. “If you don’t want to risk your hide just point somewhere and I’ll set you down,” I warned as I paused on the sidewalk.

“Okay, two things mister perma-scowl. Firstly, I’LL burn the place down if they’re having an orgy in there. I may have set up an atmosphere for socializing but I did not run a brothel! Secondly, why would I give up a front row seat to view the destruction of my newest enemies?!” He declared as he crawled up onto my helmet and gripped the front edge of it.

“Perma-scowl?” I asked as I started up the steps to the front door.

“Yeah, you’ve had a scowl on your face pretty much this whole time,” he droned as if he were pointing out the obvious. I could hear muffled voices from the other side of the door as we drew nearer.

“I’m not scowling,” I replied indignantly as I yanked the door open. I could see four of the vamps sitting around a particularly tall hookah smoking, both Masters, a Bat and a Gargoyle. The other Gargoyle was busy at the bar downing a bottle of particularly expensive looking wine and he swayed like a boat on rough seas with every gulp. Two of the Bats were in a corner booth by a smaller hookah with their faces locked together and they were preoccupied pulling each other’s clothes off. The last Bat had apparently been on her way to open the door to investigate the sound of our voices. Her hand was still outstretched and was mere inches from where the door handle would have been before I opened the door.

The response was immediate and would have been comical if not for the nature of the creatures I had walked in on. The little Bat before me let out a yelp and stumbled back, falling onto her rear as she looked up at me. The quartet smoking had various reactions, two blew massive clouds of smoke and sputtered loudly, one started choking and the last jumped so violently that he knocked the hookah tower over, spilling the water all over the short table they were sitting at. The Gargoyle at the bar tipped over backwards after emptying the bottle and let out a loud, rumbling belch as he fell behind the bar. The two Bats kissing and disrobing in the corner ignored the noise until I started yelling.

“Alright listen up because this is your one and only warning! Get the fuck out of this guy’s bar and return anything of his you stole!” I bellowed with as much authority as I could muster.

The Master who wasn’t coughing was busy patting the back of the one who had started choking, the Bat scrambled to pick the hookah tower back up and the Gargoyle started laughing at me. The Bat on the floor in front of me scooted back and whimpered a bit. One of the Bats in the corner let out a soft moan as the other kissed her neck.

My hand instinctively reached for the nearest object, an empty bottle of wine on the table next to the door. I had almost grabbed the toothpick dispenser but I decided I might want one later and grabbed the bottle instead. In one fluid motion my arm swung up and I lobbed the bottle across the room into the corner and nailed the Bat in the back of his head while he was kissing the other Bat’s neck.

He recoiled and let out a yelp. “OW! What the fuck is your problem?!” He complained as he turned to look at me, a hand clamping the back of his head. The rest of the rooms occupants were beginning to pay attention after that outburst. The four in the middle of the room rose and glowered at me.

“What are you gonna do about it if we don’t leave?” The female Master taunted, a smug grin on her face.

“I’ll force you to leave, in pieces if need be,” I punctuated the word ‘pieces’ with a stomp of my hoof on the Bat’s tail to prevent her from crawling away.

The white-coated Bat let out a yelp when I pinned her teal tail to the ground, her entire body trembling. “Please don’t,” she squeaked.

“Oh for fuck’s sake Ghost, grow a spine!” The female Master snarled at the cowering Bat as she tensed to begin her transformation.

“Ah ah ah!” Tillook suddenly called out from atop my head. “I wouldn’t go transforming if I were any of you!” He taunted loudly enough to be heard anywhere in the room. “It’s gonna get bright in here!” He clapped his hands twice, then every single shutter covering the windows flew open with a thunderous clatter, flooding the room with sunlight. It seemed he was capable of quite a bit of magic.

I tensed my forearms and deployed my two blades, glaring at the Master in charge. “So are you going to comply or am I going to have to start carving Ghost up into little pieces?” I growled as I gestured to the whimpering mass on the floor… I suddenly noticed the smell of urine after that threat… “Did you just?” I started as I looked down, reflexively taking a step back as I took in Ghost’s prone form.

With the release of her tail she curled up into a ball and began sobbing quietly, a small puddle forming under her. By the Sisters why did I always have to run into the ones that made ME the monster?

“DID YOU JUST PISS YOURSELF?!” The Master screamed as she strode forward. “Oh that is it Ghost I am sick of you being a spineless little whelp! After we break this damned Pegasus down I am going to make you kill him!” She seethed as she looked back to me. “I am going to enjoy torturing you,” she growled coldly, her voice shaking with anger.

“Big talk for a vamp without her powers, I do hope you can deliver,” I said as I stepped over the crying Bat on the floor and lunged for the unarmed Master.

She apparently wasn’t used to ponies fighting back, or charging her. She raised her arms in an attempt to block my swinging left arm. The blade carried enough force to chop clean through her right arm and embed itself in her torso. Before she could even begin to cry out I plunged my right blade through her throat and severed the vertebrae with a wet snap. Her face was set in shock as I withdrew my now bloodsoaked blades and let her fall to the floor. A few pumps of blood spurted from the hole in her neck, a futile effort on her heart’s behalf. One down, plus a rush of endorphins.

“Holy shit that was brutal!” The newt called from my helmet amongst the cries of the other vamps.

The Bat who had been sitting at the hookah was actually armed and armored and drew a mace with his left hand as he charged me. He had armored his torso to protect his heart and throat but left his limbs mostly unprotected. He raised his six-pointed mace, perfect for cracking heavy armor. I fucking hate blunt weapons. He brought the mace down in a powerful vertical swing aimed at my head, I dodged right and narrowly avoided the blow. I saw the twist in his shoulder and the rest of his arm before he could use the momentum to swing sideways and moved forward myself.

I tucked my left arm around his wrist and locked the back of his forearm against my body. I swiftly grabbed his upper arm with my right hand to brace it and spun left. His elbow was immediately locked out and forced beyond its normal range of motion. The joint stretched and let out a sickening series of snaps as the tendons holding the joint together snapped and cartilage was forced into unnatural positions. The mace clanged to the floor as his grip slackened and he emptied his lungs in an ear-splitting shriek.

Before I could make another move I was struck in the back by a chair. I knew it was a chair because its legs broke apart and flew past me in a cloud of splinters along with Tillook. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as he reached out toward me and waved his arms in a dramatic display. His trajectory had him on track to land on one of the pillows patrons could sit on while enjoying hookah so I wasn’t terribly worried about him. Time seemed to return to normal as the force of the impact staggered me and caused my wings to instinctively flare out as I sought balance. My right wing ached after the impact and the sudden motion. This also created the opening the Bat needed to get away from my grip.

I stopped my forward motion with a powerful stomp and turned just in time to see what was left of the chair being swung at me again. I raised my arms, guarding with my right as I punched with my left, striking the chair and deflecting it as it broke apart. The Gargoyle swinging the improvised weapon hadn’t expected the deflection and stumbled forward and to my left. I caught a glimpse of his terrified expression as I rapidly twisted and plunged my right blade through his exposed neck. He dropped to the floor with a fresh smattering of blood. Two down, another rush of endorphins.

“YOU FUCKING MONSTER!” The Master screamed as he swung the burning coal tray from the hookah tower at me. The hot ashes hit my face and got in my eyes, blinding me. I recoiled and stumbled back. Fuck.

“Goddesses damn it all! Ashes?! You fuck! I’m going to skin you!” I screamed as the bits of hot coal singed my face. I shook my head, trying to stop the infernal bits of coal from burning their way into my skin. I kept my guard up in spite of my blindness.

I felt another impact with serious weight behind it, someone had tackled me and took me to the ground. This wasn’t my first time fighting blind but I was far from comfortable fighting this way. I snapped my wings to listen and ‘saw’ the Master’s face less than a foot from mine. I instinctively grabbed his horn and pushed up and away, forcing him to look skyward and cracking his neck. I stabbed his neck with my right arm and felt the splash of his blood on my face and neck, it thankfully put the embers out. Goddesses I stabbed at him like a wild animal. I was terrified out of my wits and didn’t stop slashing until his head had been completely removed from his body. The bits of cartilage holding what was left of his neck together were the last things to go, they crunched and snapped as I pulled his head off.

In the back of my mind I counted a third kill as my stomach tossed itself, the stench of blood filled the air and made me sick. I rolled the body off myself and rose from the blood-slicked floor. I could hear someone rushing toward me but my eyes refused to open with the offending material still lodged beneath my eyelids. My left hand was still gripping the horn of the severed head and instinct took over. I threw the severed head at my charging opponent and heard a shriek followed by a dull thump of the macabre projectile hitting its mark.

“Hahahaha! Nasty!” I heard Tillook calling from the floor somewhere to my left and behind me. “You got incoming!”

A quick snap of my wings gave me a snapshot of my situation, the two Bats from the corner were closing on me after having discarded the severed head. The injured Bat was backed up against the bar and gripping his useless limb, the Gargoyle was still passed out behind the bar, and Ghost the last Bat was still curled up, covering her ears.

Snap.

The Bat on the left had armed himself with the mace dropped by the armored Bat, the one on the right had drawn a sword and they were both about to swing. My heart was hammering in my chest, I could feel more adrenaline rushing through me.

I raised my arms and lowered my head to guard against the attacks. The strikes impacted nearly simultaneously and both attackers had thrown their body weight into the attacks and I barely managed to hold my guard up. I purposely dropped my guard farther on the left side, letting the mace scrape against the side of my helmet and drop onto my shoulder pauldron. I leaned forward slightly, lining my left wingblade up for the strike.

SNAP!

The adrenaline-fueled strike chopped through his skull, cleaving it horizontally in two and liberating the top half of it from the rest of his body. My left wing was coated in blood and bits of brain, the feeling sent a shudder down my spine. Four.

“Jetla-” I cut off the rest of the female Bat’s cry as I spun and aimed my left blade for her heart. I slammed it through her torso, but missed my mark. I could feel her heartbeat traveling in rhythmic vibrations through my blade into my arm. It was an odd and almost intimate connection, to feel another being’s heart beating so raw and pure.

“You bastard,” she spat weakly, her voice trembling.

“I’m sorry, I don’t usually miss,” I whispered. My own voice was trembling in equal measure as I withdrew my blade slightly, turned the point toward the source of the beating and plunged it into the life-giving organ. Five.

Snap.

The injured Bat was behind the bar trying to wake the Gargoyle from his alcohol-induced sleep, his broken elbow still hanging uselessly at his side while he kicked the unconscious vamp.

I took the opportunity to blink several times in an effort to clear the debris from my eyes, my hands were coated in vamp blood so I had to make a conscious effort to not rub my eyes with them. With no small amount of effort I was able to open my eyes slightly to view the bar, my vision was terribly blurred but I could make out rough shapes.

I made my way toward the bar, the Bat abandoning his companion as I drew near. I ignored the Bat and hopped over the bar, best to eliminate the Gargoyle before he could become a threat again.

“Can’t wake him up? Guess he’s gonna stay asleep then,” I growled as I knelt and grabbed his hair. I yanked his head back and quickly sawed through his throat. He struggled only for a moment but his effort was too little too late. Six.

“You snooze you lose!” Tillook called from his pillow.

I rose and pursued the retreating Bat. I was still squinting to see him and I just barely made out his right arm moving but couldn’t tell what he was doing. I saw a dark object rapidly approaching and instinctively tucked my chin down toward my chest and closed my eyes. I felt an impact against my helmet and heard the shattering of glass. The scent of wine mixed with blood as the fluid washed over my face. I decided to keep my eyes closed for the time being.

Snap.

He was backed against a table and reaching for the hookah on it. Another projectile to delay my advance.

“Quit breaking my stuff!” Tillook bellowed from the far side of the bar.

I charged the last Bat, not wanting another object thrown at me. I felt the impact of the hookah and heard the glass shattering but didn’t slow down. I slammed into him with enough force to put both blades clean through his torso. He let out a gasp and struggled for just a moment. I was glad my eyes were closed, I didn’t want to look into another set of dying eyes. Seven. I pushed the corpse from my blades and turned to face the rest of the room. One left…

I walked over to the Bat still curled up and cowering in front of the door. Before I could speak I felt something wet slap my face and slide around. I stumbled back and started to struggle when I realized it was a towel.

“Hang on, let me get that gunk off your face,” Tillook said from across the room.

When the towel pulled itself from my face I could see clearly again. The towel was indeed floating through the air, soaked in blood and wine. Tillook snapped his fingers and the towel vanished with a twist. I shook my head after the strange display of magic and moved toward the Bat on the floor again.

As I regarded the little white Bat curled up on the floor I felt myself let out a sigh. I was covered in blood, my hands were trembling, I hadn’t caught my breath yet, my stomach was doing backflips, and adrenaline was still rushing through my veins.

“Please,” she whispered from the floor. “Just don’t make it hurt.”

“Get up,” I said, my voice still trembling as I struggled to control my breathing.

“What?” She peeked from her arms at me, her eye widened with terror at the sight of me.

“Get. Up. Please,” I spoke slowly and deliberately, trying to calm myself down.

She did as I said, trembling like a leaf in a strong breeze. She couldn’t have been more than five and a half feet tall. “What are you going to…?” She trailed off and looked down, terrified by her own imagination.

I raised a hand. “Calm down, I’m not going to do anything to you… Yet. How’d you end up in this situation? You seem out of place among the rest of them,” I figured I’d at least hear what happened to her before making a decision.

“That Unic-Master,” she pointed to the female Master. “Was my friend before all this started, her name was Lotus Bloom and when she got turned she said my only choices were to turn or be one of their blood slaves,” she trailed off. “I just got scared and didn’t want to be one of their slaves! I-I-I just, and now… I never wanted anyone to get hurt,” she looked around the room, running a hand through her hair as she took a shuddering breath. A fresh wave of tears filled her eyes as she took in the carnage. She looked back to me, still trembling. “Are you going to kill me? I-If you are, please just do it fast,” she squeezed her eyes shut and tucked her chin down, her ears flat against her head.

Why do I always get the ones with the sob stories?

I took a deep breath and mulled her story over. It was believable, it could happen and probably has to other vamps I had already killed. If I did kill her there wouldn’t be any vamps left seeking revenge for her, but I’d have to live with it. If I let her live and left her out here she’d probably succumb to her urges eventually and need to be put down. The only other option would be to send her to Timberfold. She could probably find a place there and live a fulfilling life, but if she was lying and turned out to be malicious when she got there. Anyone she hurt or killed would be my responsibility…

“Do you know where Timberfold is? It’s a little town about two days south of here if you travel on the ground. You could make it there in a day if you flew across the plains south of Canterlot and walked when you got within a few miles of the town,” I explained.

She slowly looked up at me while I explained how to get there. “Why would I want to go there?” She asked meekly.

“It’s a place where vampires are managing to coexist with the non-infected and you could probably find a place there and a job and actually live a decent life there. They make it work,” I said with a bit of a smile, trying to seem a bit less intimidating.

“I,” she looked down and away for a moment, then back up at me. “I don’t know if I can make it, I haven’t fed recently and I appreciate the second chance you’re offering me but-” I raised a hand and cut her off, feeling myself sigh.

“Three things,” I said as I unfastened the buckles on my blood-soaked gauntlet and slid it off, revealing the clean cloth that covered my arm. Good, my armor had kept it clean. “One,” I resumed as I carefully removed the cloth to expose my wrist. “Don’t you dare bite me,” I said as I picked up a piece of glass from a broken wine bottle and inspected it for blood. It was clean so I used it to make a small cut on my wrist. Shit, glass cuts burn, I forgot about that.

Ghost had a confused expression on her face. “I’m not going to bi-”

“Two,” I resumed as I held my wrist out in front of her muzzle. “Don’t tell anyone I fed you, last thing I need is for vamps to think I’m running some kind of soup kitchen for them, drink what you need but don’t you dare bite,” I warned.

I could feel her breathing quicken as she took in the scent of fresh blood that wasn’t filled with vamp venom. She looked like she didn’t want to drink it but she succumbed to her need and her muzzle found my arm. After the first taste her inhibitions seemed to melt away and she grabbed my hand and forearm, I could feel her teeth grate against my arm as she held back against the urge to bite me. Her breathing intensified greatly as she fed, sighing between gulps.

“I swear if you bite me-” I started to warn.

“You’ll be pissed for a grand total of about ten seconds then you’ll get ridiculously horny and probably screw her right here in the middle of this bloodbath,” Tillook said from the edge of a puddle of blood that he was trying to mop up with a tiny mop sized for his own body. “I’ve seen it happen before man, reason and rational thought go right out the window,” he said with a little chuckle as he mopped up the blood pool an ounce of blood at a time. “Next thing you know you’re doing the horizontal mambo with someone you don’t even know!”

She released me with a gasp and a sigh, wiping the blood from her mouth and shooting my wrist a hungry look. I could tell she wanted more of it, her wings had flared out slightly in excitement and she was still breathing fairly heavy. “I’ll be good until I get to Timberfold,” she said with a sigh as she forced herself to look away. Her wings were still unfurling slowly as well. Had feeding aroused her that much?

“Alright,” I said as I started wrapping my arm back up and shoved my gauntlet back on. “The third thing I want you to do is,” I turned to my right wing since it had significantly less blood on it and plucked a feather from it. I had chosen one that was about a foot and a half long and handed it to Ghost. “Take this feather to Timberfold as proof I sent you, ask for Lucky and give it to her,” I instructed.

She slowly took the feather and examined it, then looked back to me. “Any other instructions?” She asked, a little louder than she had been before. Feeding seemed to make her a little braver as well.

“Actually yes,” I said, solidifying my face and finding that military bearing. “Bathe and wash your clothes before you approach that gate,” I finished.

She blushed and looked away. “That’s your fault for threatening me the way you did. Asshole,” she started as she walked toward the door. She paused a moment in the doorway and looked back at me. “You should follow your own advice by the way, I may smell like piss but you look like you hopped into a bathtub full of blood and wine,” a small grin found its way onto her face. “But thank you for giving me a chance,” she said with a nod.

“Don’t make me regret it,” I warned with a smile.

“Yessir,” she said with a little wave before stepping outside and taking flight.

“Well that was just so sweet I think I got diabetes… AGAIN,” Tillook groaned from his position atop the female Master’s corpse. “It’s refreshing to see you still have a heart after all this time and can show a little mercy. I’m also glad you didn’t actually start boning her as well, she definitely wanted more than just your blood,” he teased as he tugged at the necklace the Master was wearing. “Can you help me with this? My amulet is attached to the gaudy piece of shit she’s wearing,” he groaned as he stopped tugging.

I reached down and yanked the necklace from the corpse and popped the largest gem out of its casing. “There you go,” I said as I set it down next to him.

“Nonononono!” He said as he shook his head and hand. “The little gem on the right, the green one? Can you just pop that one out?” He asked.

“Sure thing,” I said as I pinched the edges of the frame and bent it, popping the little gem out. “Ohshit!” I dropped the necklace and reached out, trying to catch the gem.

“Don’t lose it! It’s too important to lose!” Tillook cried.

My hand closed around the tiny gem and halted its descent. “Got it,” I sighed with relief.

“Good, give it here!” He said, holding his hands out.

I dropped the gem into his outstretched palms and he grinned, rubbing his fingers over it. “Ohhhh, it’s so good to hold it again,” he purred. “You have no idea how important to me this is. I would be DEVASTATED if I lost it!” He then tossed it over his shoulder and popped his knuckles.

“Wha-” I started.

“Now let’s get you cleaned up and off to Canterlot Castle!” He announced.

There was a blinding flash of light, a loud pop, and I nearly tipped over when I suddenly found myself standing in front of the gates to the castle with the weight of my pack suddenly pulling me backwards. I checked my armor to see that the blood was gone along with the smell. I looked up from the ground to see a pair of equally bewildered Night Guard Bat ponies staring at me.

“Uhhhh, I can’t believe it worked?”

Author's Note

Well this chapter is long overdue! Sorry it took me so long to get this one out to you all! I've been pretty distracted by life crap and military stuff and medical issues and I let it get in the way of progress on my story. For that I apologize and I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

I hope you all enjoy it!

-Jake