Castlevania: Portrait of Chaos

by butterfield pancake

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Crossover, Human, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 65018

Two people are pulled through a painting to a strange land

"It all started after rumors of a strange being circulated through the town. World War Two had just ended, and the people were still gripped with fear. Two people begin to investigate, and are pulled through a strange painting into an even stranger land…"

Human only for a few Chapters [Crossover of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Collad with Florarena Kitasatina

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-22 04:39:13 UTC

Chapter 3: Three that went Well [NOT!]

Chapter Three: Well, That Went Well (Not!)

“Do you have any meat? My crow needs to be fed.” Charlotte asked, holding the red bird in her forelegs. It had tried attacking Fluttershy’s animals and she had no choice but to intervene.

Fluttershy responded with, “Well….Mister Bear does enjoy fish every so often, so I always keep a few fish on hoof for him, would that suffice, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Pretty much any meat would do. Crows are natural scavengers.” Charlotte replied with a smile, still clutching the crow tightly.

Jonathan sat on the couch and yawned. He felt rather sleepy, though he did try his hardest to stay awake. Jonathan bent over and fell over the couch before landed on his rump with a thud. He quickly scrambled onto his hooves and shook his head, grunting in annoyance.

Rainbow began laughing at the poor stallion, pointing one hoof at him and hitting the other on the floor repeatedly.

“Oh, ha, ha. Very funny.” Jonathan snorted, ears flat as he glared at the mare. “Wait till your wings get broken, and then we’ll see who has the last laugh.”

Fluttershy had returned with a basket of small trout. She set it down and took the crow from Charlotte’s hooves. It was perched on the basket. It’s beak opened and it pecked hungrily at the fish, tearing bits of flesh off as it used its claws to hold the meal in place.

“Well, he sure seems happy.” Fluttershy said, turning away from the crow and back to Charlotte.

“Yeah. After this meal he’ll probably be asleep.” Charlotte replied, a cheeky grin on her face.

Rainbow trotted over to Jonathan, who began tripping over his hooves.

“You, me, sky race.” She said tauntingly.

“Race you in the sky? How about no?” Jonathan replied, standing up and shooting the rainbow-maned egotistical pony another glare.

“No wonder Charlotte didn’t date you. You’re a wimp.” Rainbow chimed, a grin quickly widening on her muzzle.

Upon hearing that, Charlotte blushed and her eyes went wide. “E-excuse me?” She stammered, trying to pretend she had absolutely not paid any attention to the derogatory remark.

“If I’m a wimp, then you prey on the weak.” Jonathan said, staring right into Rainbow’s soul with the glare he cast. “And to prey on the weak was never in your agenda, right?” He asked, about two seconds and another word from giving her a broken nose.

Again, Rainbow was yanked away by Twilight, who was getting more irritated by the second. And this time, a zipper appeared in place of the cocky pegasus’s mouth, thus sealing it for once.

“Halle-freaking-lujah!” Charlotte exclaimed, pointing the accusing hoof at Rainbow. “‘Bout time she shut up!”

Rainbow cast a glare at the unicorn. She tried speaking, but because of the zipper, her words were muffled gibberish.

“Rainbow, quit the holier-than-thou act.” Twilight scorned, still holding the pegasus in a tight magical grip.

The crow finished eating three whole trout and yawned. It flew over to Charlotte’s head, perched on it, and promptly went to sleep.

“Apparently, I am now a walking nesting ground.” Charlotte said, looking upwards and cross-eyed at the same time so she could see the crow.

“Do you want us to show you around the nearby town?” Twilight asked, sighing.

“It’s a really nice place called Ponyville.” Fluttershy added, a smile on her face.

“Sure, why not? At any rate, it’s better than sitting around all day doing nothing but argue and talk.” Jonathan said, stretching his wings.

“And besides, we need to get used to our new bodies anyway. The more the merrier, as even I couldn’t care less.” Charlotte chimed, beaming with a smile.

“Before we go, Fluttershy, could you get our guests a saddlebag each?” Twilight asked, turning to the yellow pegasus.

The pegasus nodded, and quickly trotted into another room. The sounds of things being shuffled through sounded soon after. It wasn’t long until the mare returned, and she put the saddlebags on the guests herself, who promptly loaded cross and book into their respective one.

“Thanks, Fluttershy.” Said the duo with wide, friendly grins.

“You’re welcome.” Fluttershy replied. She, Twilight, and Rainbow went out the door, followed by the two strange ponies.

The walk wasn’t that long, only lasting about ten minutes at best. Jonathan had finally gotten the bare ropes of how ponies walked (after tripping over his own hooves a total of fifteen times, and an extra five because of rocks along the way) and was able to keep up.

The band of five had stopped at a gathering crowd that was whispering worriedly. They were murmuring incomprehensibly, though Charlotte did manage to catch the words ‘stallion with a bottle and book for a cutie mark’ or something like that.

“Everypony, could you please let us through?” Twilight shouted, taking to the skies and causing the gathering to disperse a little with haste.

“But this stallion fell from the sky and he’s hurt!” Shouted one mare, trying not to cry.

“I’ll take care of it! Please, go about your daily business!” Twilight answered quickly, soaring down and landing in the middle of where the crowd was.

The crowd had began to disperse even further. Some went north, some south, some east and hardly any to the west.

And there, in front of the alicorn was indeed a stallion. He laid on his side, still fidgeting a bit in pain. His coat was a darkened tan, and his mane--which, mind you, made him look like he was wearing a mushroom made out of hair on his head--was a dulled, dark brown that was beginning to show subtle hints of aging. He had a bit of a beard stubble on his chin. His cutie mark was a bible and a small pint-sized bottle of holy water.

“Vincent…?” Jonathan and Charlotte asked simultaneously as their jaws physically dropped open.

Charlotte felt another headache--no, a magic surge--arriving once more. The injured pony was bathed in a soft, white aura and, much to the shock of Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow, the bruises he’d sustained went away in a matter of seconds.

The stallion opened his eyes, which were the color of the earth. He looked up and saw that he was surrounded by precisely five strange beings, two of which had horns on their heads and one of the horned beings having a bird perched on its head.

Instantly, his eyes widened, and he glanced at the being with a bird on its head and the red being.

“Oh my goodness! You two are safe!” He exclaimed, shifting his forelegs so that he could hoist himself up off of the ground. He raised his hooves and pulled Jonathan and Charlotte into a hug. “You’re safe! Everyone was so worried about you two!” At this point, he might as well have been crying tears of joy.

The duo returned the hug.

“Vincent, you know we can hold our own in a fight. You really shouldn’t be that worried about us.” Jonathan said with a sigh.

“Oh, Vincent. It’s gotten all sorts of crazy here. With you here, I can say it makes it a little more tolerable.” Charlotte added, smiling.

They broke the hug, and Vincent could now see exactly what Charlotte had meant with that statement.

“Everyone is a bunch of horses, you two included?” He asked, slack-jawed.

“PONIES.” Everyone quickly corrected at once.

“Ah. Well, both families are related.” Vincent was quick to point out, a smile overcoming his shocked look. “Besides, I never could tell the difference anyway.”

“He seems to be fine now.” Twilight sighed, sitting on her haunches.

“As long as he’s alright, I’m happy.” Jonathan said, patting his fellow stallion on the back with a hoof.

Charlotte walked to Jonathan and nudged him with a hoof before pointing said hoof to the other three mares present. “Ahem.” She pseudo-coughed.

“Oh. Right.” Jonathan sighed. He pointed a hoof at the three mares, causing Vincent to look at them. “You see those three mares?” He asked.

Vincent nodded quickly. He saw them clear as day.

“Well, the yellow one is Fluttershy. She found us in a forest we landed in.” Jonathan said.

“U-um, hello.” Fluttershy said, nodding.

Vincent promptly waved.

“The one with the rainbow mane is Rainbow Dash. She and I had a bit of a fight, so if she starts running her mouth and I end up snapping at her, you know why.”

Rainbow was trying to remove the damn zipper on her lips with her hooves. She was failing horribly at it.

Now, the hoof was pointing at the purple horned pony. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle. She says she’s an alicorn princess, but, to be blunt, she really doesn’t look the part aside from that small crown on her head.”

“Does she rule with an iron hoof?” Vincent asked, sounding worried.

“No, she doesn’t. Now, I’m only going by what I heard here, so pardon me for any misunderstandings. I heard that there are three other princesses, two of which raise the sun and moon. The third is basically somewhere else with her husband and…..yeah, I think I’ll shut up now.”

“It’s more or less a democracy around here, with four princesses acting as the head honchos of the government.” Charlotte said, grinning. “And we happen to be looking at one of them right over there. And don’t be Rainbow Dash.” She warned with a nod.

Vincent began rambling on and on about being saved from his vampirism. It would’ve drawn quite the crowd had Charlotte not clamped both of her hooves onto his muzzle and gave him the “shut up, for crying out loud” glare. The stallion quickly complied.

At hearing the word vampirism, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

“He rambles just like you do, Rainbow. Heed him no mind.” Charlotte said with a frantic nod. She let go of his muzzle.

All of a sudden, a loud sound was heard. It was best described as another cacophony of screams, this time coming from three young voices, most likely girls.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, ABORT MISSION! WE’RE GONNA CRASH INTO THAT MARE!”

Charlotte felt another surge. A pony’s head with a mane of living snakes appeared in front of her and its reptilian eyes stared straight into those of Vincent. Just like that, he became nothing short of stone.

And then three small ponies crashed straight into Charlotte’s backside, forcing her face into the ground. This caused the crow to wake up and hastily fly to Jonathan’s head, cawing the entire time in the process.

“Oh no, Charlotte! You accidentally summoned a Medusa head!!!” Jonathan shrieked, eyes wide and ears flat. Fluttershy was wondering what a Medusa head was. Twilight currently was studying the magic of the Medusa head in the book that flew out of Charlotte’s saddlebag. “It turns anything who looks into its eyes into a solid rock.” Twilight then asked Jonathan, “Where did Charlotte get a spell like that?!” She gasped, her horn lighting up as she sifted through the pages for a cure.

“She finds all sorts of weird spells! I won’t answer because I swear she tied me up once!” He replied, wings spread wide. While this happened, Rainbow Dash finally got the zipper off and started beating the flank of the Medusa head, which soon dissipated in a cloud of dust.

The small ponies got off of the unicorn mare, who stood up and cast them a scornful glare.

Rainbow, however, got into Charlotte’s muzzle and demanded to know what the buck that thing was.

The unicorn pushed her away with a hoof. “No time for that. We deal with this current problem.” She scorned, pointing to three fillies. One was yellow with gold eyes and a red mane that had a pink bow in it, the second was white with green eyes, a horn, and a dual-toned mane of light purple and pink that was curled. The third was orange with a magenta mane and irises to match, and she had wings.

Rainbow turned to the fillies. “Are you saying that it’s their fault that you summoned that thing?”

“No, I’m saying it’s their fault my face was in the ground, rendering me unable to fix Vincent’s condition.” Charlotte hissed, shaking some dirt off of her face.

Twilight’s horn flared up, and the petrified stallion was bathed in a soft purple glow. Bits of stone began breaking off, revealing that tan pelt beneath. After a little bit, the stone broke off, and Vincent breathed a sigh of utter relief.

“What just happened?” He asked, taking notice of Charlotte approaching three fillies who were backing away from her.

The mare was pulled away with an aura of purple surrounding her body. Twilight quickly saw the fillies and scoffed.

“Oh. I see. Carry on.” She said, putting Charlotte down to let her punish the fillies.

Her horn began glowing again, indicating that another magic surge was about to happen.

“I. Am. Going. To. Make. You. Pay.” Charlotte hissed. “All be still!” She cried as her horn released its surge, and this time, everything else had stopped. No movement.

Charlotte, of course, was the only one unaffected by this. She grabbed the three fillies by their manes and quickly set to work.

The unicorn filly’s mane became much like that of Twilight’s own, the wingless and hornless one had a mane similar to that of the pegasus filly, and said pegasus filly’s mane was messed up to hell and back as if birds made a nest in it.

Time resumed. Charlotte crossed her forelegs and grinned, waiting for the naughty foals to notice her foul handiwork.

They looked at each other and screamed nothing short of pitiful wails fueled by horror.

“What just happened...again?” Vincent asked, noticing the fillies’ new hairstyles.

“You used the Time Stop spell that Eric gave you, didn’t you?” Jonathan asked, trying not to sound too harsh on the mare.

Charlotte nodded, a wicked grin plastered all over her muzzle.

“You need to teach me some of your magic!” Twilight exclaimed in awe.

“Jonathan, Charlotte?” Vincent asked.

Both ponies looked at him, and Charlotte’s demonic smile faded into a frown. “Yes?”

“I’m wondering if you two have yet to get together as boyfriend and girlfriend.” Vincent said, somehow keeping a straight face as he spoke those words.

Chapter 4: Thirteenth Street

Chapter Four: Thirteenth Street

(please note that this chapter will be of a different perspective)

Night fell in the town of Manehattan. Ponies were gathered around in a crowded circle. They whispered worriedly as a night-blue alicorn looked at what had happened.

In the center of all this were precisely two mares clutched in a tight hug. One of which was a light green unicorn with a straight purple mane and tail. On her head was a green bonnet with red, false roses on its sides and her cutie mark was a purple spell circle with three different kinds of snowflakes surrounding it. The other, a light purple pegasus, had a curled mane and tail that were both held up with intricate clips. Her cutie mark was a double-edged sword bathed in a green breeze.

“Ponies of Manehattan!” Bellowed the alicorn in a regal, feminine voice. “Please disperse at once! We shall deal with the matter at hoof! You are to leave these ponies alone!”

The crowd begrudgingly dispersed. They went into various buildings and apartments as the alicorn’s horn took on a blue glow the color of her wispy, star-dotted mane. It soon bathed the two embracing mares and their bruises disappeared. As soon as the last scratch went away, the mare flew off into the night.

The mares began shifting, opening their eyes which were both a shade of evergreen. The pegasus quickly jolted awake and helped the unicorn onto her hooves. They quickly glanced at each other and then to their own bodies. Both wearily looked around, seeing that they were quite clearly in a city.

At once, the pegasus mare let off a shriek imbued with anger and shock. The unicorn jumped back a bit, nearly tripping over her own hooves in the process.

“FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS IN GOD’S HOLY NAME, WHY HAVE I BEEN TURNED INTO A WINGED HORSE?!” She bellowed, stomping her hooves in a fit of rage.

“S-Sister! P-please, calm down!” Yelled the unicorn, raising her hooves as if she were about to be mugged. “J-just try to think rationally and--”

The pegasus snapped, quickly cutting her off, “Loretta! We aren’t here to dillydally!”

Loretta, the unicorn, was taken aback by that remark. “I know full well we aren’t supposed to be dillydallying! But please, for my sake, calm down!” She remarked, ears flat and eyes widening.

“Fine.” Hissed the pegasus, again stomping her hooves. She rose onto all fours, steam blowing out of her nostrils and earholes. “I’ll calm down.”

Loretta sighed. She glanced around, making sure she wasn’t hallucinating or something like that.

“What should we do?” She asked, also rising to all fours.

“What else? We look around, of course.” Replied the pegasus, taking in a deep breath. She began to walk slowly, making sure she was walking correctly. Loretta quickly followed suit, but not before taking another quick glance at everything.

The duo began walking side by side, with just enough room for the pegasus to spread her wings. The street was dimly lit despite the clear overabundance of street lights. Perhaps there had been a power outage.

The mares stopped, tensing up a bit as they could’ve sworn they heard a third series of hoofsteps following not too close behind them.

Loretta took another glance, this time turning her entire body around in a full circle. “S-Stella, I don’t like this.” She whimpered.

“Nor do I. We have to move quickly.” Stella agreed, feeling her wings twitch. She began to trot forward again, her sister closeby.

The wind blew, somehow carrying the ominous and melancholic sound of violins and pianos from far away. A few leaves blew past the sisters as they stopped once more to listen to the distant orchestra.

Loretta suddenly felt sick to her stomach as the putrid stench of fresh blood invaded her nostrils. Her face wrinkled a bit as she tried very hard not to breath through her nose.

“S-Sister, please don’t tell me it’s--it’s a…” Loretta was cut short, gagging mid-sentence. She reeled herself in, shaking her head.

“It’s a what?” Stella asked, also noting the smell. She glanced around, seeing if there was a nearby corpse or something of the sort. Because the moon was blotted out by clouds, she couldn’t see too well.

Again, the smell hit Loretta. She sat on her rump and quickly held her hooves to her nostrils.

“Well, what?” Stella snapped. She turned to her sister and put her hooves onto Loretta’s shoulders. The unicorn found herself being shaken as though she were in an earthquake.

“Vell, vell, vhat do ve have here?” Said a masculine but very creepy voice, possibly Romanian.

Stella stopped. She let go of her sister and scrambled to all fours, glancing around hastily. Loretta held her head in one hoof, swaying back and forth as her eyes spun in their sockets.

The moonlight returned, casting a soft blue light on everything. Nothing was behind the sisters, and nor was anything to the front or sides.

“...I see your point. Loretta, we need to move now.” Stella said, wings snapping open as another faint breeze blew past.

Loretta shook off her dizziness and stood on all fours as well.

“Hmmm….I spy vith my little eye two pretty--no, gorgeous--mares. Unique, I should say.” Sounded the voice again, this time louder and probably closer.

“I hate this.” Loretta complained, finding her tail shifting between her hind legs.

“I can see why.” Stella agreed, closing her wings and turning around. She burst into a full gallop and her sister quickly followed. The moon blotted out again, but only briefly. And when it’s light returned, the sisters had already saw a dead end.

“S-s-sister Look out!” Loretta shrieked as she skid to a complete halt on her hooves. Her sister complied, her muzzle only inches away from the wall.

The pegasus pounded the wall with her hoof. “Dammit!” She cried, wings snapping open again.

“Trapped, are ve? You two have nice, young, shapely bodies that I vish to use for my own needs.” Sounded the voice again, this time accompanied by hoofsteps.

Loretta’s muscles tensed up. She felt as if those words violated her soul. She tried very hard to not scream, only letting a few frantic whimpers escape her mouth instead.

The sisters slowly turned around, seeing a black-pelted stallion approach them. A horn was on his head and his eyes were a pure, piercing red and his mane was a ghastly white. He soon spread a pair of bat-like wings wide.

“A-a-a-a-a…..A VAMPIRE!” Loretta cried, quickly backing up against the wall in fright.

“Great. First, I turn into a winged horse, then we reach a dead end, and now we’re cornered by a vampire of all things? This is the best day ever….NOT!” Stella hissed, also being backed up.

The vampire raised a brow. “I believe the term you are looking for is ‘pony. Never mind that, I just vant to get down to business. Smelling a mare in heat is easier than it sounds.” He said, looking straight at Stella.

A blush overcame the mare’s face. “Great. Another reason to avoid the locals.” Stella snapped, spreading her own wings wide.

“S-s-s-sister, we might have to fight him….besides if we don’t, what would dad say, we are the daughters of Eric Lecarde.” Loretta stammered, her legs shaking. “A-and t-this v-vampire said that h-he’d use us….for his own needs….” She stopped short, a headache now present and making the situation that much worse.

The vampire grinned. “I have followed you two here. Maybe I should turn you and make your family look down on you in shame.”

Stella was wide-eyed. “So….what happened to us happened to you as well?”

“Becoming a pony?” He asked, again raising a brow. “Vell, of course. Can you not see that ve all have hooves here?”

Stella fell silent. She mentally kicked herself for briefly forgetting that she became a pony….horse...thing.

Loretta’s horn took on a soft glow the color of ice. The energy shot out into the sky and stayed in place, hovering well above the vampire.

“Your spells are useless. Give up already.” Said the vampire, grinning once more and showing those deadly fangs in the process.

The energy widened into a large, purple void in a circular shape. Its outermost margins had strange characters bound by two smaller, lighter-colored circles. Large icicles slowly began descending from the bottom of the void. Once they were almost out, gravity kicked in and the gigantic masses of ice rapidly descended to the ground.

The vampire looked up a moment too late. He was impaled back-side first by the frozen water and he screamed as his body became dust. His last words were, “Oh buck, I had a bad feeling about following those two...” However, as his body was turning into dust, the last part of his body hit a passing caravan, and made it partially dusty.

The entire thing stopped. The sisters saw that two equines were pulling the caravan forward. From it came another equine who glanced around before seeing the sisters. It said something to the other two equines and all three came forward.

They were all unicorns. One was skinny as all hell and he had a dull orange pelt with a sickly green mane. The other was a grey, and he had an orange mane. He was so short he would’ve been mistaken for a foal had it not been for his bulbous, seemingly-deformed head. The thing was shaped almost like a damn octagon, for crying out loud.

The last one was a light blue, and she wore a hat and cape that were purple. Yellow and blue stars dotted the mass of the outfit, and there was a gem holding the cape around the unicorn’s neck.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has witnessed your arcane magic!” Bellowed the blue unicorn, stepping forward. “Trixie wishes to challenge you to a magic duel!”

The sisters exchanged glances. Stella shook her head, trying not to laugh at the sheer absurdity of Trixie’s words. Besides, she could sense that her magic was very weak, about the level of a Student Witch on drugs.”You, challenge my sister? That’s foolish!”

Trixie started to get angry and she yelled out, “The Great and Powerful Trixie said that she challenges you to a magic duel!”

Loretta sensed Trixie’s so-called magic, it was lightning-based, and her true magic talent is fireworks that don’t work half the time...and could not refrain herself from laughing in a taunting manner.

“You dare laugh at the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

Stella also burst out into a mad giggle fit. She stomped her hooves, unable to contain her swing of emotions.

Once it ended, Stella then asked in a serious voice, “Trixie, what do you think of vampires then?”

Trixie raised a brow. “They aren’t real.” She answered quickly.

Again, Stella laughed. “Oh really? See that dust on your caravan?” She asked, still laughing.

“What of it?” Trixie asked, her horn flaring up in a girly pink glow.

“The dust is the last remnants of a vampire we just slayed.” Stella answered, her tone serious again. “Sense it if you don’t believe me.”

Trixie did as told. Strong, vampiric magic still lingered about. “Even Trixie hates being corrected.”

“So, about that magic duel…” Loretta started, a sinister grin on her face as her horn flared up again. “....we have a test of attrition. You against me and my sister.”

“And before you say anything, you yourself didn’t specify the rules.” Stella was quick to point out, also with a sinister grin plastered on her face as her wings spread wide.

The night-blue alicorn saw everything unfurl. Things took an ugly turn for Trixie, who was trying to dodge a giant ice sword created by the unicorn and wielded by the pegasus, who was surprisingly quick to slam the damned thing into the ground despite its sheer size.

The pair of ponies were indeed a deadly duo. Trixie tried lighting up fireworks and they didn’t go off.

She teleported away and found herself before another alicorn. This one was snow white with a mane of light pink, green, purple, and blue billowing out and defying gravity.

“Luna, what has happened?” She asked.

Luna, the blue alicorn, quickly began explaining everything she’d seen this night. The white alicorn listened intently, and when Luna wrapped everything up, the other alicorn produced a scroll and quill before hastily writing something.

“I am sending this to Twilight. I saw three more ponies crash in Ponyville. She is to bring them here, at once.” Said the white alicorn as the letter disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Chapter 5: More Problem Again?

Chapter Five: More Problems Again?

Something kept Charlotte awake. She didn’t quite know what it was, but knowing her, she came up with a few theories. One could be was that she wasn’t really tired, and another told her that an incubus pony was waiting in the room that would pounce as soon as she fell asleep. Another still told her that it was her magic going haywire.

She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Twilight was thinking about the spells Charlotte used earlier that day. She knew that one where it made that pony head with a mane of snakes appear was clearly a forbidden, ancient spell of some kind.

If anything, she was gonna ask the foreign unicorn a bunch of questions, many of which would revolve around her spells in some manner. Soon afterwards a loud crash was heard, coming from outside

Twilight galloped outside as fast as she could to see what was going on. What she saw confused her a little: she saw a large amount of tiny midget sized ponies hopping as if they were fleas.

“Twilight, what’s going on?” yawned Jonathan, who had also galloped outside to see the commotion.

“I don’t know.” replied Twilight, unfurling her wings with haste

Jonathan looked at the chaos around him. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me! They are here now too?” Jonathan asked while face-hoofing.

Twilight looked at Jonathan with a quick glance “Wait, you know what those things are?”

“Yeah. Fleamen. They jump around like fleas and annoy the hell out of pretty much everypony.” Jonathan answered, his eyes narrowing.

One Fleaman--or, rather, Fleapony--decided to jump high in the air and it landed on a window sill. It sat there, watching behind the clear glass intently.

Only for the window to shatter as a flying book hit it in the face, promptly followed by the sound of a mare screaming in embarrassment. The other Fleaponies froze on the spot, staring up at their injured friend as he fell onto the ground. The book opened by itself and a white light emerged from it….forming two maces and a double-bladed halberd, the spike of which impaled it in the hind leg.

The Fleapony screeched in pain, and it actually cried tears as a result. By a sheer miracle it did not die, considering this rather unique set of circumstances it landed in.

Jonathan raised a brow. “I didn’t know they had emotions…” He said, dumbstruck by the sight.

One Fleapony walked very cautiously to the stallion. It didn’t hop, the damn thing WALKED.

“Please, release my friend. We truly didn’t mean any harm. We were just a bit too excited to have become equines. Please!” It pleaded, also breaking down into a sob.

Jonathan felt his eyes go wide. “Fine. But you have to promise me that you’ll keep your word.” He said.

“We promise.” Replied the Fleapony group, all of whom had pleading eyes (save the one that was injured.)

Jonathan nodded and trotted over to the hurt Fleapony and carefully removed the book from it’s leg. He reached under his wing as if searching for something. Eventually, he produced a bottle containing some strange, blue liquid in it.

“Drink this.” He said, handing it to the Fleapony. The Fleapony did as instructed, chugging the entire thing down in seconds. The leg healed, though it still hurt like hell. “Don’t walk too much on that leg.”

Twilight examined the Fleaponies and begun counting the group, making sure to add in the hurt Fleapony from the get-go. In all, there were only five of the things, and they did look rather harmless.

Jonathan sighed, “Well, that was a surprise, where we are from Fleaponies don’t have a will of their own--or be able to speak, and heck, they are produced by some creepy tree thing.”

“It may be because they’re here, not there.” Twilight pointed out, ushering the rather adorably malformed foal-lookalikes inside. Jonathan, carrying the hurt Fleapony in his saddlebag, trotted inside and closed the door.

Charlotte, who for some reason was wearing a towel on her rump, trotted downstairs. She had such a blush on her face that her eyes looked dark because of it.

“I need to ask you something…” Twilight said, failing to take into account the unicorn’s shamed look on her face.

“C-can it wait? Seriously?” Charlotte asked, ears folded back.

“Why?” Twilight asked, raising a brow.

Jonathan’s eyes went so wide his pupils shrunk. “Oh hell….” Was all he murmured.

“I….uh…..I-uh….” Charlotte stammered, gulping hard. She began to sweat from the shame.

Jonathan was quick to ascend up the stairs, making sure to lock the door of the room he entered shortly thereafter behind him.

The unicorn walked to the alicorn, her legs rather shaky. When she closed the distance, she pulled Twilight’s ear to her mouth and began whispering something into it. As Twilight listened, her eyes shrank.

Charlotte let go, trotting over to the table and taking a seat in a chair.

“I understand. Is it really that bad though?” Twilight asked, trying not to panic. The unicorn simply nodded with the same embarrassed look she had since the alicorn walked in.

“I’m….uh….going to bed now. Wake me up if something….uh….happens.” Charlotte said quickly before trotting upstairs to get some rest.

“This could have gone better…” Twilight murmured to herself, sighing in the process.

A sudden light appeared in the room, shining just before the ceiling. Twilight covered her eyes with a wing and the Fleaponies rushed for cover under the table. When the glowing brightness ended, there were two ponies hovering in the air--one with wings and the other without.

Twilight uncovered her eyes and saw the ponies, neither of which was a stallion. They looked back at her with matching eyes.

“Who are you two? And how did you get here?” The alicorn asked, noticing that the wingless mare had a bonnet which barely concealed her horn.

The mares exchanged glances, and then looked down before realizing that they were still in the air. They landed quickly before eying the room.

The pegasus looked at the alicorn and sighed. “You want our names?” She asked, folding her wings closed.

“Yes.” Twilight answered with an accompanying nod.

“My name is Stella. Stella Lecarde.” Answered the pegasus, sitting down on her rump.

The unicorn looked at Twilight. “Loretta.” She said swiftly, mimicking the pegasus.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Said the alicorn, also sitting down on her rump.

“It’s been….how shall I say...insane since we got here. Well, not here as in this house, but here in this city apparently called Manehattan, if I remember right.” Stella sighed, a look of defeat on her face.

“Which, may I add, gives us a decent reason to avoid the stallions.” Loretta scoffed, tensing up a bit at the thought.

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” Twilight asked, raising a brow.

“First off, we ran into a vampire. Then, this mare who spoke in third person and kept on boasting about how ‘Great and Powerful’ she was.” Stella said, her ears falling flat.

“More like ‘Useless and Weak,’ considering that she couldn’t even hold up a candle to our teamwork.” Loretta was quick to retort, snapping a glance at the pegasus.

“What happened after all of that?” Twilight asked.

“Well, a group of stallions found out I was in heat. I did a good job at holding them off at first, but they just kept charging like a bunch of fools. Had it not been for my sister and her teleportation spell, I would’ve been made unclean, so to speak.” Stella said, visibly trying not to get angry.

“It was just hectic. There were even police ponies who watched it all unfold and tried putting my sister down when all she did was attempt to defend herself. Isn’t that just wrong, seeing a police officer of all things stoop down to the level of a common thug?” Loretta hissed, her muscles tensing up again.

“Well, at least they didn’t follow you here. Otherwise I would’ve had them jailed myself.” Twilight sighed.

“To be blunt, I honestly think you don’t have that authority.” Stella said, again trying to reel her anger in.

“I may not look the part, especially since it’s only four in the morning. I can’t argue with that. But I’ll prove you wrong later today after everypony has had a nice, relaxing nap.” Twilight replied, a false smile on her face.

“As long as you keep your word, I am a happy mare.” Stella said, putting a hoof over her mouth to yawn into it.

“Yes, I have a few spare beds in case you were going to ask. In fact, I was planning on hitting the hay myself.” Twilight said, rising up on all fours. She trotted past the sisters, who also rose and began to follow.

“I’m going to hit the hay so hard I’ll be jailed for it.” Loretta murmured, a sleepy smile on her face as she ascended the stairs.

“I’m dead tired.” Stella whispered, her ears twitching a bit.

Around one in the evening the roosters began cawing. Apparently, they were waylaid.

Stella shifted before noticing the male chickens cocka-doodling outside. She yawned into the pillow and rose, arching her back sharply and stretching both her legs and wings. The mare quickly hopped out of the bed and trotted over to shake her still-sleeping sister awake, gently nudging her with a hoof.

The unicorn opened her eyes and fell clumsily out of the bed, the blanket flying off of her as if in protest. She shot up onto all fours, hastily glancing around before sighing in relief.

Both noticed a third pony in the room with them, also on a separate bed to themself. The sisters glanced at one another before trotting over to the bed and examining the third pony further. It certainly wasn’t Twilight--last time they checked, her mane was purple instead of brown. Who, then, was this third pony?

The pony shifted, rolling onto its side and revealing its pelt to be a hue of light blue. The face was that of a mare, and there was a horn on its head. Its eyes fluttered open, revealing irises of ocean blue.

Stella and Loretta felt their jaws physically dropping open. The mare, in turn, shot awake with wide eyes of her own. The blanket and a towel slid off of her, revealing an open book with a pentagram on its pages for a cutie mark.

“Stella? Loretta?” Asked the mare in shock.

“C-Charlotte?” Asked the sisters in response.

The unicorn got off the bed and all three mares shared a quick group hug.

It ended on short notice before Stella glared at Charlotte. “We were looking everywhere for you!” She scorned.

“Is this where you had been?” Loretta asked.

“Yeah.” Charlotte quickly answered with a sigh.

The door opened, and all three mares looked at it. In stepped a red stallion with a blond mane. He looked rather tired.

“Jonathan’s here too?” Loretta asked, blinking in surprise. Behind the red stallion emerged a dark tan stallion with a brown mane shaped like some kind of mushroom.

“And Vincent?” Stella asked, wings spreading in shock.

“Yeah….” Charlotte sighed.

“Twilight’s been calling you three for the past ten minutes. Get a move on, ladies.” Jonathan sighed before turning around and trotting out the door. The mares quickly followed, each one shaking off what sleep still clung to them. Down the stairs they ascended to meet with the alicorn, who was reading a scroll of some kind.

“I need to take you five to Canterlot. However, Celestia gave me a week for you guys to get accustomed to your new bodies beforehand, so I need to know what we’re going to be doing for the day.” Twilight said, rolling up the scroll and putting it on her table.

“Well, what places are there?” Loretta asked, muffling a yawn with her hoof.

“There’s the town square, there’s the Carousel Boutique, there’s Sweet Apple Acres, there’s Sugar Cube Corner….I could go on and on for another thirty minutes.” Twilight answered, smiling. The Fleaponies were huddled into one saddlebag that was attached to her, and they were still snoozing away.

“I say let’s hit Sugar Cube Corner first, and then Sweet Apple Acres.” Jonathan said, shifting his wings a bit.

“I have no objections.” Charlotte said, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

“Same here.” Vincent said, smiling.

“Why not?” Stella asked, wings stretching.

“Alright. Just follow me, everypony.” Twilight said, trotting out the door. Everypony obliged, trotting in haste. Bright sunshine and a clear sky made this look like a wonderful day, especially considering the activity in the nearby streets. Ponies of all colors and races trotted here and there, some towing carts behind them and some simply greeting others. Some flew in the skies above with clouds in their hooves for some reason. Others still carried things like shovels and woodcutting axes in their mouths, most likely for some kind of work.

Twilight began trotting down the dirt path and the group of five ponies followed. Many other ponies, of course, looked at them as if they were strangers before going about their business.

Eventually, they arrived at Sugar Cube Corner’s bakery, which looked like it was made of gingerbread for some reason.

“This bakery reminds me of a story I once read before going to sleep. Hansel and Gretel.” Charlotte said, smiling warmly.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Hansel and Gretel? I’ve never heard of that one, what is it about?”

“Well, it’s a children’s fairy tale about two kids whose stepmother kicks them out and they end up in a forest. They see a gingerbread house owned by a nasty witch, who has a desire to….make them into cake, so to speak. They trick the witch and take a lot of her riches back home to their dad. It’s as much as I can say without attracting a crowd, sadly.” Charlotte answered, sighing.

The door burst open, and from it hopped a pink pony with a poofy mane and tail. She hopped around the alicorn.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Said the pony, a wide grin on her face. “Now I can make more friends!”

“Pinkie Pie, please show them the inside of the bakery.” Twilight said, grinning as well.

“I was going to do that, Twilight!” Pinkie retorted, bounding back inside. The five ponies trotted inside, followed by the alicorn. The floor was made of wood and on a shelf complete with cash register was a vast assortment of baked goods behind a glass wall. There were cupcakes and cookies and cakes and many other sweets galore.

In one corner of the room were two foals, both of whom were still in diapers. One was a unicorn with blue eyes, a creamy pelt, and an orange strand of mane. The other, a pegasus, had brown eyes, a slightly lighter pelt, and a brown lock of mane. Both were walking on all fours and the unicorn was chewing on a stuffed bunny.

The foals took notice of the five ponies and trotted over to them.

“The foals are Pumpkin and Pound Cake! They’re the sweetest little things in the world!” Pinkie said, her entire body brimming with enthusiasm.

Stella and Loretta then guessed and both asked Pinkie, “Are they twins like we are?”

“I didn’t know you two were twins!” Pinkie exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the green unicorn and purple pegasus. “Well, yeah, the Cakes are twins too!”

Jonathan nudged Pound with his hoof gently. The little colt replied with a giggle and then a small, harmless punch. “I can see why he’s named Pound.” Remarked the stallion with a smile.

Pumpkin dropped the bunny as she approached Charlotte. The unicorn mare found her hoof getting the chew treatment shortly thereafter. “She’s adorable.” Charlotte said, grinning as well.

The three fillies from the other day snuck into the room, trying to be stealthy.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Ninjas, go.” Whispered one. “We need to teach that big mare a lesson.”

They tried sneaking upstairs. Sadly, Charlotte saw them and quickly began tsk-tsk-tsking them. The fillies ended up trudging to the unicorn whilst groaning in frustration. The filly with the red mane looked up at her.

“I wanna ask somethin’.”  She said with a pleading look.

Charlotte raised a brow. “That being?” She asked.

“Where do babies come from?” Asked the filly.

Chapter 6: A Disaster part 1/2

Chapter Six, Part One: Isn’t This a Disaster?

Jonathan said to himself, “Oh boy, this will be scary for the children to understand, unless she says things I don’t even understand.”

Charlotte’s eyes were wide. Her ears were flat. She was struggling to even form a word syllable. In fact, it looked like she’d foam at the mouth any second now.

Stella was also wide-eyed. “I-I don’t think you need to ask her such things.” She said.

“You’re much too young to know, and I’m certain that the alleged stork story has been revealed to be a lie to you now.” Loretta added, shaking her head with a look of uncertainty on her face.

“Ah wanna know where babies come from.” Repeated the filly, stomping her hoof in frustration.

“Personally, I’m afraid now. I’m afraid that what my friend knows will take your innocence.” Jonathan said, ears flat. He sounded as if he were pleading the filly not to ask again.

“How much does she know?” Asked the filly, now looking at the red stallion.

“She owns a library as big as that of Twilight’s from where we come from.” Jonathan was quick to answer, his ears perked up. “And you and I both know that Twilight knows quite a lot.”

Charlotte was still struggling to form words. It was as if her brain shut down. Pumpkin Cake approached Charlotte and then she resumed sucking on Charlotte’s hoof.

“Ah wanna know where babies come from.” Repeated the filly again, this time with the look of a stubborn toddler on her face.

“Please, no. You don’t need to know where babies come from.” Jonathan said, shaking his head quickly before moving his hoof up to his neck and making an invisible dotted line with it, as if his head were going to be sliced off.

A voice from outside called out. “Applebloom! Where in tarnation are ya? Did ya forget that ya were grounded for breaking Granny’s favorite vase?”

Another voice joined. “Sweetie Belle! Return home at once! You still have a week left before your time-out is lifted!”

And a third. “Scootaloo! Come here!”

The three fillies whined and rushed behind the counter quick as a whip.

Jonathan remarked, “I recognize one of the voices, but who are the other two?”

Vincent shrugged and answered, “Perhaps siblings or maybe parents.”

“Sounds more like grouchy parents to me.” Loretta sighed. She decided to break away from the group and take her place at a waiting table.

“Might as well.” Stella said, mimicking her sister. The other three followed in haste, and Twilight did so as well.

Just in time too, for in walked three ponies, one of whom was the loudmouth known as Rainbow Dash. The second was an orange mare with a blond mane that was tied back, and she wore a cowboy hat. The third was almost pure white and her royal purple mane was expertly curled. On her head was a horn.

Twilight sighed and she pulled the fillies from behind the sweets cabinet with her magic.

“Why are you in here?” Asked the unicorn mare, a scornful glare in her eyes as she eyed the unicorn filly.

“Well, Sis, I was...I was…” Stuttered the filly, who was on the verge of crying.

“Applebloom!” Hissed the orange mare, staring at the red-maned filly.

“Ah wanted to repay that mean mare for makin’ my mane a wreck!” Shouted the red-maned filly, pointing an accusing hoof at Charlotte. The orange pony cast a glare at the blue unicorn.

“She and the other two crashed into me and not only put my muzzle in the dirt but made my back hurt for the rest of the day.” Charlotte said swiftly. “So I frazzled her mane a bit and did nothing else. It’s just hair, it can be fixed.”

“...Ya sure are tellin’ the truth. Ah can see it in yer eyes.” Replied the orange mare, turning back to Applebloom. “Now what do ya’ll have ta say ta her, sis?”

“She’s a meanie!” Screamed Applebloom, who broke down into a fitful sob.

“Foals these days…” Sighed the white unicorn, shaking her head disapprovingly before turning to Charlotte. “I’m terribly sorry, darling, that our little sisters tried to get revenge.”

“I don’t mind it too much. Unless they carry weapons and try stabbing me, they can’t do much to me considering that I am a unicorn.” Charlotte replied, smiling.

Applejack stammered, “Waaaait, ya’ll have had ponies come at ya in the past with weapons!?”

“Yeah. Wasn’t fun at all. And please do not mention the fact that some of them had more than one lance on them, so to speak.” Charlotte replied, ears flat.

“Umm, Charlotte, some of them were actually armored--”Jonathan started, only to find a blue hoof between his teeth.

“Ignore him, he has a bad habit of talking about past experiences when it’s not needed.” Charlotte sighed quickly.

“Okay then.” Sighed the orange mare, trotting towards the still-floating Applebloom.

“Applejack, could you be a dear and take Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to the Boutique? Scootaloo did something that involved my sewing needles and she needs to pay her penance.” Sighed the white unicorn, glancing at Loretta.

“Sure.” Applejack replied, grasping all three fillies and dragging them out the door by their tails. Rainbow began following the mare, thank God.

Rainbow looked back for a second at Jonathan, “I still want to know everything CHUMP!”

Jonathan pulled the blue hoof out of his mouth. “Learn magic and turn me into a mare first, then I’ll talk!” He retorted. Rainbow went ‘hmph’ and trotted out the door.

The white unicorn trotted over to the group, her eyes still on Loretta for some reason. “Oh, darling, that bonnet is unlike anything I’ve seen! It’s just so fabulous!” She said, beaming with a smile.

“Th-Thank you.” Loretta answered, smiling sheepishly.

The unicorn glanced at Stella. “And that mane is superb!” She said, still beaming.

“Thank you very much. I work hard every morning to make sure it’s as neat as possible.” Stella answered, also with a sheepish grin on her face.

The mare turned to Vincent. “That mane could use some washing. No real complaints otherwise. But you need some more color, some more life!” She exclaimed, a glinting in her eyes.

“H-how so?” Vincent asked, a nervous look on his face.

“I’d like to put you in a fabulous outfit!” Exclaimed the mare in response, her smile widening.

Jonathan’s ears fell flat. “Vincent’s screwed….” He whispered to himself.

“Wh-what kind of outfit?” Vincent asked again, ears flat.

“I’d love to put you in a dress!” Replied the mare.

Jonathan started laughing hysterically at hearing that. As he laughed, he said “He may be a priest, but even priests don’t wear dresses…!”

“W-what….what…?” Vincent asked, beginning to shake.

Jonathan continued laughing.

Outside, a certain rainbow-maned pegasus heard everything and was currently eating a bag of popcorn by the handfuls, looking forward through a window to see a stallion in a dress of all things. A wedding dress, to be much more accurate. She couldn’t pass up this fine display of embarrassing a stallion, oh no. It was simply too enjoyable for her.

Fluttershy was wondering what Rainbow was doing and trotted towards her. “Um, Rainbow, what are you doing?” She asked, unaware of the grand show the rainbow-maned mare was eagerly watching. She looked in the window and saw a stallion in a wedding dress. “O-o-oh My,” was all she said and she promptly fainted.

Twilight saw that Fluttershy fainted. She trotted out of the bakery and to the pegasi. “Rainbow, why did Fluttershy faint?!” She demanded.

“Because a stallion was put in a bridal gown!” Rainbow replied, bursting out into insane laughter.

“Y-You’re not serious, are you Rainbow?” Twilight asked, her jaw dropping. “Look in the window for yourself Twilight,” retorted Rainbow as she burst out into another laughing fit.

Twilight did as instructed and gaped. “Oh no…” She murmured.

Chapter 6.5 A Disaster 2/2

Chapter Six, Part Two: More Disasters, Lovely

Vincent was busy trying to remove the wedding dress, much to his embarrassment and Jonathan’s (uncouth) amusement.

Charlotte retorted, “Jonathan, if you really enjoy it that much, I can imagine you in a blue frilly dress.”

Jonathan’s eyes went wide. He stopped laughing and his wings snapped open.

Stella had a wicked smile on her face as a candle lit above her head. Loretta stifled a snicker with her hoof at the remark.

All of a sudden, a large amount of chaotic magic started spreading, making cotton candy clouds appear from flat-out nowhere.

Fluttershy sighed, “Discord, this is you, isn’t it?”

Twilight studied the clouds and responded with “No, it doesn’t match his magic signature, in fact it’s very similar, but this one is about one and a half times stronger than his is.”

A strange, serpentine chimera who had mismatched wings, horns, and legs suddenly appeared behind Fluttershy shaking and said “Hide me, don’t let her find me!” over and over again.

Charlotte turned to the strange creature and raised a brow. “Hadn’t expected this,” she mumbled to herself.

Stella turned to the serpentine thing as well. She raised a brow and asked, “Who is this ‘her’ you speak of?”

Another burst of chaotic magic surrounded Vincent….and turned him into a mare, to be blunt. And then back into a stallion.

Discord sighed and answered, “My older sister who somehow got back to Equestria after our parents banished her. She looks like me but her scales are as black as night. Her wings are also like this, as are her horns.”

Charlotte’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. So did those of Jonathan.

“You have a sister?” They asked, jaws agape. Discord nodded but once. “Her eyes are also as blank as a canvas. She’s been like that since birth, or so I heard.” He added, his voice grave.

Both ponies blinked. “We found a creature like her, and she dragged us here.” Jonathan said, looking Discord straight in the eye.

“And by dragged, he means lured us here using an enchanted painting.” Charlotte translated, crossing her forelegs.

“...Which would explain all the insane rumors that were haunting where we came from recently.” Stella commented, raising a brow and rubbing her chin with a hoof.

“...That does sound like my sister, she has always had a strange fancy for causing rumors.” Discord said, nodding.

“...What explains the painting, then?” Loretta asked, rubbing a hoof on the back of her head.

“Before I answer, did you have another incident revolving around these ‘enchanted paintings’ this blue mare speaks of?” Discord asked, pointing a gryphon’s talon at Charlotte.

All five foreign ponies nodded at once.

“She must’ve kept to the shadows and watched the chaos she caused unfurl.” Discord sighed, scratching the back of his head with a talon.

“Either that or, she could have secretly followed Jonathan and I as we entered the paintings that Brauner created.” Charlotte said. Suddenly, her eyes went wide as a lightbulb clicked above her head. “WAIT A FREAKING SECOND!” She cried, jaw dropping.

“What? What is it?!” Loretta asked, quickly glancing at her fellow unicorn.

“I was told by your father that Brauner believed you and your sister to be the reincarnations of his daughters who died in World War One. If Discord’s sister has something to do with it, I think she helped him unlock his hidden power so he could become a vampire and erase humanity!” Charlotte declared, stomping a hoof in the process.

Discord raised a brow. Now he was really confused.

“You aren’t where we’re from, so ignore her and her flapping mouth.” Jonathan said, pointing one hoof at the draconequus and the other at his alleged “girlfriend.”

Discord retorted by saying, “Well, actually that sounds just like my sister. She did unlock a few ponies’ hidden powers by increasing the negative energy inside their bodies.”

“Translation?” Jonathan asked, raising a brow and putting his hooves down simply for balancing reasons.

“Remember Eric saying that Brauner became a vampire through use of a hidden power? Ten bucks says he struck a deal with….whatever his sister is and BAM! Half of his wish was fulfilled! Now if--” Charlotte began ranting, only for Discord to interrupt her mid-sentence by saying “My sister’s name is Havocia.”

“ANYWAY, BEFORE I WAS SO RUDELY INTERRUPTED,” Charlotte growled, shooting Discord a glare full of daggers in the process, “Now, if that’s the case, I am also going to bet it explain Dracula’s behavior towards humans!”

The three ponies who were outside suddenly burst into the room. Everypony else turned to them quicker than lightning could hit a filly in the face.

Twilight was shocked, her eyes wide. She asked, “Is everything alright?”

“Why would I be throwing a hissyfit?” Charlotte retorted, getting up and walking to the alicorn. “I found out something that could explain damn well everything.”

“That being?” Rainbow Dash asked, a cocky grin on her muzzle.

Charlotte simply encased the loudmouth pegasus in ribbons of white light and promptly tossed her out of the bakery.

“With Rainbow around, I ain’t speaking.” Charlotte said, crossing her forelegs.

“She certainly sounds like the type that just will not shut up.” Stella agreed, her wings shifting a bit.

“Here, here.” Loretta also agreed, raising a hoof in the process.

“Charlotte, I think you need a spell that’ll duct-tape that mare’s mouth closed whenever you feel like it.” Jonathan commented, crossing his forelegs.

Twilight sighed, “I can take care of that, no need to over-exert your magic.”

Rainbow burst back into the room, more furious than ever. “TELL. ME. EVERYTHING!” She bellowed, getting so close to Charlotte she was in danger of having her eyes poked out with that deadly horn.

“Everything, huh?” Charlotte taunted, a demonic smile on her face. “You want me to tell you everything that I know?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow responded, putting her hoof on the unicorn’s chest. Charlotte turned around and kicked the pegasus square in the face, knocking her onto her rump in the process. Her hooves were on her jaw, and she found another hoof pointing at the spot right between the eyes.

“Listen here.” Charlotte started, once more snarling. “You cannot coax information out of me. Your petty words will not move me. And if you EVER get into my personal bubble again, I am dissecting your wings, turning you into a frog, and I will teach you how to swim! You understand?!” She finished, her horn crackling to life once more.

Rainbow gulped hard and nodded weakly. It was all she could do at this point.

“Thank you.” Charlotte sighed, her voice still reeking of pure anger. She trotted away from the rainbow-maned mare and sat in front of Twilight. The alicorn stood there slack-jawed at the scene that just unfolded before her and ended in around three seconds. It was as if her brain failed to register what she saw and heard.

Jonathan leaned close to Discord’s ear, utilizing his wings for once in the process. “Give her some goddamned chocolate or she will kill us all. She’s extra-grouchy today.” He whispered.

“I’ll do that before everypony gets into bed tonight. I’m not risking a hoof-beating from her at this time.” Discord responded in a whisper.

Fluttershy asked “Who is Dracula, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Again, Charlotte decided to fling Rainbow out of the house. “Demonic Lord of all monsters from where we’re from. Most powerful vampire in existence if you ask me. He hates humans and wants them all dead.” She answered with a sigh.

“O-oh my….” Fluttershy said, morbidly amazed at what she just heard. “Was he really that bad?”

“Every single book I read about him said so. And I do mean every single one.” Charlotte answered swiftly.

“And get this: his right hand...err hoof servant is Death given form. No, I wish I was making this up.” Jonathan added, landing on the ground.

“Oh dear…” Fluttershy whispered, eyes widening a bit.

“And my sister and I were turned into vampires!” Stella said, standing up on all four hooves.

“Say what?” Twilight asked, jaw dropping once more.

“And we were cured of it. By Charlotte.” Loretta stated with a nod.

“So was I!” Vincent hollered, finally able to walk around without being in a damn dress for once.

Twilight wasn’t able to say anything. She couldn’t say anything. She stood there in a trance, entirely unable to believe the words she heard.

Chapter 7: Full Moon Fever

Chapter Seven: Full Moon Fever

Rainbow then asked “You said something about Legion earlier. What is that?”

“For the love of Christ Almighty, I am not talking. I won’t say it again.” Jonathan hissed, his eye twitching. The sun was setting outside, and he managed to catch a good glimpse of the grand and glorious sight.

Charlotte was busy eating a chocolate bar the size of a 2x4. Stella had the other half of this monstrosity. In short, both mares were pretty much occupied.

“I’ve never seen my sister go through that much chocolate in five minutes, let alone Charlotte.” Loretta commented, sitting on the couch to keep her distance. By the time she said this, both mares only had a small piece left, and said piece was about the size of a toy truck. The mares split it evenly in two and into the hatches both pieces went.

Both mares wiped their muzzles off with napkins, and then their hooves. They promptly trotted upstairs to get ready to go to sleep.

“This is why I had Discord get that monster-bar for them--to keep them occupied so nopony else winds up with a bruised jaw.” Jonathan replied with a sigh.

“On account of Rainbow Dash being kicked earlier today, I see the point.” Loretta admitted, also taking a moment to sigh.

“That overly cocky pegasus may as well have been in Dracula’s castle for a day simply to see how we feel.” Jonathan said and promptly nodded. “Just because she has a rainbow mane does not mean she has a free pass with us.”

“True,” Loretta agreed. She cast a glare on the aforementioned pegasus.

“Let’s just go to bed already. It was actually a good thing Applejack put us to work--I needed something to do other than argue.” Jonathan said, trotting upstairs. Loretta stifled a yawn with a hoof before following suit.

“That apple pie was good, and so was the cider.” Vincent mumbled as he followed the green unicorn.

Twilight gave Rainbow a quick glance. “Quit going overboard, Dash. I know they’re strange and you wanna know everything they have to offer and I understand that. Heck, even I am confused myself. But please avoid arguing with them again, I don’t want your wings ripped off.” She said before taking her turn on the stairway upstairs.

“Fine….” Rainbow sighed, taking her place on the couch. She curled up and preened her wings before nodding off into la-la land.

The Fleaponies were all curled into a larger basket simply for the hurt one to rest his leg on the rim. They were fast asleep. Hell, everyone was fast asleep, save for a unicorn mare who looked out the window as if longing for something.

Slowly, surely, it rose into the sky. The full moon was about to grace the land with its glorious night.

Charlotte felt a sharp pang of stabbing pain at the base of her neck. She grunted a bit and rubbed one side with a hoof. If one looked past her pelt, they would be able to see scars.

Scars from an attack that revolved around fangs.

Another sharp pang of pain occurred, and this time it hit the unicorn’s entire body. She looked at her reflection the window had to offer. Her pupils became slits and small fangs began protruding from her upper lip.

“I need to run…” Charlotte sighed, opening the window and putting her forelegs on the rims of where the pane was. She looked back at her fellow ponies, all of whom were still sound asleep. She sighed and looked down before making the leap, closing the window with her magic in the process.

Landing effortlessly onto her hooves without a single mishap, the mare began to gallop away from the library. She kept running, ignoring anything that wasn’t directly in her path. Something told her to find a woodland, and she followed that inner voice.

She entered a dense woodland known as the Everfree Forest. She ran past Fluttershy’s cottage and several trees before coming into a clearing and skidding into a halt before a moonlit pond.

The unicorn peered into the watery reflection. Her ears were tufted and her fur longer and wilder. Her nose became like that of a dog’s, and when she opened her mouth a snarl came out. All of her teeth were sharp and jagged like abused daggers, and her irises were now gold in color. The mare lowered her head and began drinking the water by lapping at it with her tongue.

After a few moments of drinking water, she rose and looked at herself again. Her tail and mane were wilder and unkempt, and her hooves became paw-like. Her cutie mark’s pentagram now detailed a full moon in its place.

A sound hit the mare’s ears, and she immediately zeroed in on the noise. Her nose sniffed the air a few times and it caught a foreign scent. She growled, bearing those deadly teeth. The bushes began to rustle vigorously, and soon came a challenger: a male pony with wolf-like paws for hooves, a canid nose, glinting fangs, and a feral gleam in its gold eyes. It had a brown pelt and there were wings on its back.

It too snarled back as it sniffed the air. It lowered its body and spread its wings, ready to pounce. Another growl escaped its muzzle.

The unicorn raised a brow and her horn began glowing. She too lowered herself in a position to pounce at her adversary. A spell began charging, but the deformed pegasus before her couldn’t tell what it was.

It growled again, seeing that the horn was a threat. It lunged forward with jaws wide and paws thrust forward.

The spell hit the pegasus, for it had waltzed right into its needed radius. A bright field marked by a circle of brilliant aurora appeared right before the pegasus would’ve ripped the horn clean off the unicorn. It convulsed and let off a howl of pain before becoming more pony-like. It was a stallion.

The stallion groaned and blinked a few times. He looked at the unicorn and gasped. He soon took flight shouting “WEREPONY! WEREPONY!” as if he’d joined a cult of some kind.

The mare brushed it off and fled deeper into the woodland, careful to sniff her way in the process. There were some scents she didn’t like, of course, and she stayed as far away as she could manage.

She heard more rustling bushes after five minutes. And another series after that. Her muscles tensed.

This didn’t mean anything good.

Jonathan woke up to the sounds of somepony shouting his head off like the zombie apocalypse led by Adolf Hitler was just happening. He rubbed his eyes lazily with a hoof and grumbled, “What time is it?”

The red stallion got out of the bed and quickly noticed that something was wrong. The first sign was that Charlotte wasn’t in bed, and he didn’t hear a toilet flushing or water running. The second was the shouting pony who was still going off about something.

Stella woke up, also hearing the commotion going on. “What in the hell is--” She started, but was cut short when the word ‘werepony’ hit her ears.

Jonathan’s eyes went wide. “Stella, get everypony else up! We have to find Charlotte!” He said, trying not to show his quickly-building panic. He quickly galloped downstairs and out of the library and saw a brown pegasus panicking way too much for his own good. His eyes were golden and his pupils were slits.

By sheer instinct the red pegasus tackled his fellow pony. “Just calm down and tell me what’s going on!” He demanded, putting a hoof on the stallion’s throat.

“I-I was in w-werepony form...and I...I saw this...blue mare...she cast a….a spell on me….and now I can’t change back. At least I won’t kill another innocent pony again…!” Choked out the brown pegasus, tears starting to trickle down his face.

“A blue mare? She was a unicorn, right?” Jonathan asked, entirely unable to believe what he was told. “If it is who I think she is, she must have cast Sanctuary on you…”

“Yeah...she was a unicorn….I didn’t get a glimpse of her cutie mark. I just...began freaking out…Please, don’t kill me now. I beg you…” Answered the stallion, coughing again. His golden eyes became magenta for some reason, and his pupils returned to normal.

“If you don’t hurt anypony else, I promise not to kill you.” Jonathan said, getting off of the stallion and helping him onto his hooves. “Go home, because you really need a nap.”

“T-thank you…” Said the brown pegasus as he took flight into the air right as all the other ponies in the library galloped out.

“I do hope you find peace.” Jonathan murmured to himself as he turned to the ponies looking at him.

“Is it true? He saw something?” Loretta asked, sounding very worried.

“He saw a blue unicorn that was also a werepony….who cast a spell on him. He was cured of his affliction.” Jonathan answered, spreading his own wings. “C’mon, we have somepony to find.”

“You can’t mean…!” Twilight started.

Jonathan nodded once. “Let’s get a move on.” He repeated.

At once, all the other ponies in all the other houses galloped out into the streets as a chilling howl carried to the ears of all through the very winds. Frightened murmurs began spreading through the growing crowd like wildfire.

Another chilling howl, this one distinctly clearer than the previous, seemed to freeze time itself. The crowd stopped, and the crowd listened.

“This is going to hell in a handbasket real fast.” Vincent commented, ears perked and eyes wide.

Stella nodded.

A third chilling howl, now sounding entirely like that of a wild animal. The crowd shouted “WEREPONY!” in response.

“Grab the silver!” Called a stallion.

“Craft the bullets!” Yelled a second.

“Eliminate the threat!” Hollered a third.

“I’ll calm this crowd down, just go and find Charlotte already!” Twilight commanded, taking flight.

Jonathan nodded and he led the group onwards, taking a detour around the crowd in the process. The group of ponies kept galloping until they reached Fluttershy’s cottage.

It was then that Loretta noticed tracks made in the grass quite a ways from said cottage. She put a hoof over one such mark simply to compare. The hoofprint made by her hoof and the one made prior didn’t match by a few millimeters at best--in other words, what made the earlier markings had slightly smaller hooves.

“Over here,” She said, beckoning the others with a hoof. They did as instructed and they too saw the strange markings.

The group began following the tracks, and as they did so, each marking changed. First, the entire hoof’s bottom would touch the ground and it wasn’t hollowed out. Then, a series of digits appeared. The ones on what was evidently the front hoof markings were a little larger than the ones made by the back hooves.

Claw marks arrived shortly soon after.

They followed the tracks past a clearing and stopped. There on the ground before them was the charred body of a male werepony who was clearly trying to confront a female before his life was cut short. His fur was singed and black, and he appeared to be entirely lifeless.

“Is this the source of our howls?” Vincent asked, bewildered.

“It might be. That other pegasus did mention ‘unicorn,’ but this sorry excuse of a horny bastard isn’t what we’re on the lookout for.” Jonathan answered, picking up a stick and poking the body with it. The body didn’t move, and he was now certain that it was quite dead alright.

Another howl sounded close by. Jonathan dropped the stick and ushered the group onwards, making sure to put the body under a tree beforehand. Along the way, they saw two more bodies who had met with the same fate in different ways: the second was crushed under a boulder and the third was stabbed in the face with an icicle.

“Is it just me, or are we being watched?” Vincent asked, now trembling a bit.

“I think it’s not just you…” Stella replied, also feeling at unease.

Upon coming across a fourth body that was tied to a tree by the tail, the group found themselves surrounded by glinting mouths and hungry eyes belonging to an entire werepony pack that was waiting in ambush.

One werepony howled and another growled at the group. A third took a step forward.

And found itself trapped in a green bubble and quickly suffocating. The other wereponies looked at the mishap and snarled at it.

A fourth werepony found itself turned to stone. And a fifth was turned to ash by a giant laser of white light.

“What the hell is going on?!” Loretta asked, ears flat as she quickly ducked for cover.

A sixth werepony was struck by lightning. It convulsed and howled in pain before dying, and the remaining members of the pack finally got the memo. They fled while whimpering like mere pups.

“Is it safe?” Loretta asked, standing up on all fours again.

“Not quite.” Jonathan answered, pointing to a seventh werepony looking at him. Its form was concealed by the darkness, but even so, everypony could make out the sharp point of a horn on its frame.

“Is it going to attack?” Stella asked, spreading her wings to make herself appear threatening to the werepony.

The werepony didn’t move. It blinked its glinting gold eyes.

The pegasus closed her wings, trying to comprehend what this werepony was doing.

The creature stepped out into the moonlight, revealing a light blue form and a dark brown mane. Its feminine form stopped as soon as its entire body came into light, so to speak. It blinked a few times, and it didn’t bare its fangs.

Jonathan raised a brow. The werepony proceeded to mimic him.

“It….it really….it can’t be true…” Jonathan started, ears flat and a frown on his face. He took a step towards the werepony. The beast sat on its haunches. “There’s no way…” He murmured, a sort of sadness in his eyes.

The werepony lowered its head and whimpered. Its ears fell flat as well.

Jonathan took another step forward, and the werepony was quick to flatten its body against the ground.

“This can’t be true…” He said, taking another step towards the werepony and flattening his own body against the ground so he could be at eye level with it. The werepony let off another whimper in response.

And then, much to the surprise of everypony present, it spoke words. “I was afraid you didn’t want me around like this…I was afraid you’d kill me…”

Jonathan tenderly put a hoof on the werepony’s furry cheek. “I….I can see why you’d say that.” He said, softly.

The werepony’s eyes widened and began producing tears. “B-but aren’t you…..?” It asked, about to break down into a sob.

“I won’t. Not until you become cursed.” Jonathan answered before the werepony could finish.

“You...won’t?” It asked, genuinely shocked.

Jonathan nodded.

Both he and the werepony stood up on all fours and embraced in a hug.

“It’s gonna be alright, I promise.” He said as the werepony sobbed into his shoulder.

Chapter 8: Stupid Stallions these Days...

Chapter Eight: Stupid Stallions These Days...

“It’s hard to believe she’s a werepony.” Twilight sighed as she eyed the lycanthropic unicorn who was chewing on an old broom (the alicorn needed to get rid of the damn thing anyway.)

“At least she isn’t running around killing things without a sound reason.” Loretta retorted, standing close by to keep any more mishaps from occurring.

“I wonder how she kept her mind though”, Twilight said to herself, rubbing a hoof on her chin.

“Beats me,” Jonathan commented, watching his “girlfriend” chew on the old, decrepit broom. He was puzzled as all hell.

“At least a werewolf with her mind intact is better than knocking on Death’s door a tad early.” Stella retorted, stifling a yawn with her hoof.

Loretta lifted the curtains of the window and bright sunshine was just starting to diminish that which was the night. The sun was rising and dawn was about to impact the landscape.

Charlotte had only snapped the broom in two when she began to change. Her paws became hooves, her muzzle more pony-like, her fur shorter, and her cutie mark regained its pentagram. In addition, her eyes returned to their normal blue hue.

“Do we have to stay up for the rest of the day?” Vincent complained, causing all others in the room to look at him.

“I’m letting you guys sleep in today. Just proving that Charlotte wasn’t a ‘bad’ werepony to that crowd brought all sorts of Tartarus before they were convinced.” Twilight said, smiling.

At once, the ponies jumped into the beds and covered up. Charlotte made sure to set the alarm clock to 2 in the afternoon.

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash and a broken window, and a rock that unceremoniously bounded off of Jonathan’s forehead.

“OW!” Yelped the red pegasus, holding a hoof onto his newfound bruise and sitting straight up. He flapped his wings and flew to the window, only to see those three obnoxious fillies playing with baseball bats...and rocks.

He took a deep breath and shouted, “EITHER TAKE THOSE ROCKS ELSEWHERE OR I WILL TELL YOUR SISTERS THAT YOU BRUISED ME!”

The fillies took notice of him. When he shouted, their manes stood on end and they gaped before rushing away from the scene of the crime.

“That’s better.” Jonathan mumbled to himself before flying back into his bed and covering up for the second time.

The alarm clock rang as if it’s life depended on it. Charlotte got up and yawned, her mane a little frazzled and some strands out of place here and there. She shut the clock off and noticed the broken window before waking everypony else out of bed.

They too got up and yawned. Everyone in the room, save Jonathan, was puzzled about the broken window.

Twilight asked, “What the hay happened to the window?!”

Jonathan sighed and picked up the rock. “Obnoxious fillies. With baseball bats, and rocks.” He said sternly. “This hit me in the forehead.”

Twilight groaned. “The cutie mark crusaders again?”

The stallion nodded.

The alicorn’s horn began glowing and the window’s fragments lifted into the air. They began joining together before going back into their proper places.

“Maybe Loretta could’ve done that with her freezing skills.” Stella said jokingly, playfully punching her sister in the shoulder with a hoof.

“Pshhh. Then perhaps you could repair windmills with your sword.” Loretta retorted, playfully returning the harmless punch.

“Hey, who’s the pony in the jumpsuit, Twilight?” Charlotte asked, pointing out to a flying pegasus just outside the window. He wore a blue costume with yellow lightning-bolt markings that more or less separated the top and bottom. His cerulean wings kept him airborne, and his blue mane was spiked like an odd blaze.

The alicorn trotted to the window and raised a brow. “It’s...Soarin’. He’s one of the Wonderbolts.” She answered.

“The hell is a Wonderbolt?” Jonathan asked, rather bemused.

“They’re a group of pegasi who perform shows for entertainment. They’re also the main weather team of Cloudsdale.” Twilight answered again, sighing this time around.

The pegasus flew closer to the window with another rock in his hoof. He slammed it as hard as he could into the glass frame, shattering it once more (causing Twilight to groan in annoyance in the process). He then had the nerve, the GALL to fly into the room through said window and DARED to push the alicorn princess out of his way as he landed gracefully before the group of foreign ponies.

Charlotte was appalled at his behavior. Yet she found herself choking on words that so desperately needed to be said about the situation at hoof.

Some more pegasi wearing the same kind of jumpsuit also flew in through the same window and landed behind the blue-maned stallion in exactly the same manner.

Stella stepped forward, for she was having none of this tomfoolery. “Just what gives you the right, the REASON, to push a princess aside as if she were a peasant while you break her belongings and intrude upon her grand and glorious living space that is her house?” She asked, spreading her wings angrily.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with Princess Twilight,” the stallion who was clearly Soarin’ spoke, his voice rather calm. “It has to do with you.”

“Me?” Stella asked, raising a brow in confusion.

Soarin’ nodded. He then said, “I heard you had a bit of a predicament. And I really want to help you fix it. Everypony needs it so bad once in a while.”

“S-sister, I have an idea of what he means and it’s not good.” Loretta stuttered, her eyes almost bulging out.

“That being?” Stella asked, shooting her sister a quick glance.

“Erm….uh…...remember those stallions in Manehatten?” Loretta stated, her lips trembling.

Stella’s eyes instantly widened a bit before becoming a pure blood red with complete and utter rage. She shot like a rocket right at the jumpsuit-wearing pegasus and grabbed his neck with her hooves.

“This is about to get ugly.” Charlotte said, covering both eyes with a hoof.

“I ain’t stopping her.” Jonathan commented, shrouding his eyes using his wings.

Stella slammed the stallion’s face into the woodwork, giving him some cuts and bruises thanks to the glass shards he created moments ago. He soon yelped in pain as she punched him repeatedly in the backside, his inflection rising a solid octave higher as the bones in his wings snapped like useless twigs.

The other intruders stared in horror as their makeshift ringleader got the asskicking of his lifetime. They covered their eyes as Soarin’ shouted desperately for them to save him from the psychotic mare.

Twilight yanked the purple pegasus off of the stallion and replaced her with the rest of her group using magic. If she didn’t do so then, the stallion would’ve found his face being crushed like a cockroach.

The ponies who shielded their eyes decided to take a peek at the wreckage. His face was bruised and bloody, his wings bent in all sorts of wrong directions, his tail was tied to his hind legs, and a foreleg was dislocated backwards.

“Ouch….” Charlotte said, morbidly impressed.

“I’d hate to be him…” Vincent murmured, aghast by the sight.

“And this is why dad taught me to NOT be a Casanova. Because things like this happen.” Jonathan commented, not quite sure of what to make of the punishment Soarin’ just received.

Soarin’ looked at the red pegasus with one eye scrunched shut. “You have a herd, don’t ya? Those three mares next to you are all yours, right?” He coughed weakly, trying to stand up and failing to take into account his dislocated appendage.

“Excuse you? Me, with a herd? Sorry, I’d only restrict myself to one mare.” Jonathan said, steam beginning to blow out his earholes.

“They trust you.” Soarin’ bluntly pointed out with a half-grin on his face.

Jonathan processed that short sentence for a few seconds. “You’re right, they do trust me. That I can completely agree with. But would trust make them my herd if I decided to form it?” He said rather casually despite the anger building up and making his blood boil.

A stallion with a light blue-and-white striped mohawk of a mane stepped forward. “If they aren’t a herd, then they are whorses.” He said, grinning wryly.

“Whorses?” Loretta asked, ears perked.

“You sold yourselves on the street, the whole lot of you!” The stallion said, pointing his hoof accusingly at the unicorn mares and the purple pegasus.

Loretta’s ears fell flat.

Charlotte’s jaw dropped wide open.

Stella’s wings snapped open as her eyes went wide yet again.

“WHAT?!” The mares shrieked in enraged unison.

“Oh dear…” Vincent murmured, tugging on Jonathan’s tail. The red pegasus nodded silently and they both ran out the room. Twilight followed suit, and the door was closed as the sounds of more bones breaking and faces being pounded into the floor filled the library like an orchestrated cacophony of the many pains comprised from a thousand souls.

“WHY DID YOU COME TO THAT ASSUMPTION IN THE FIRST PLACE?!” Loretta bellowed.

“SINCE WHEN DID YOU GET THE RIGHT TO CLAIM EVERY MARE YOU SEE?!” Charlotte hollered.

“DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO YOU’RE DEALING WITH?!” Stella wailed. Again, more bones breaking resounded soon afterwards...and this time it came with sounds of spells being fired like abused bullets.

Outside the library there was a group of five ponies, one of whom was Rainbow Dash, another Fluttershy, the third Pinkie Pie, the fourth Applejack, and the fifth being that fashionista unicorn who put Vincent in a dress.

They heard the ongoing chaos in the upper floor of the treehouse and none could believe their ears at the words being used.

Another pony soon flew down to the group, and she was orange with a golden-and-orange mane styled like fire. She was in a jumpsuit herself. “Oh no, what did that moron Soarin’ do now?” She asked, her hoof connecting with her face.

“Ah don’t quite know what he did, but Ah have a feelin it’s gotta do with the mares who helped me on the farm the other day.” Applejack replied right as the pegasi stallions were tossed out a broken window that was soon repaired.

Soarin’ wasn’t able to move anything other than his head. He looked up with one good eye at the mare in the jumpsuit before him.

“I-I can explain…” Soarin’ choked, barely able to form words at this point.

“Sweet Celestia, they took quite the beatdown.” Rainbow said, looking down at her fellow pegasi who were in a pile.

The door to the library opened, and out trotted Twilight and five ponies. The orange pegasus trotted over to the alicorn and pointed to the pile of hurt stallions.

“What happened here?” She asked, raising a brow.

“Spitfire, Soarin’ started it. He said something derogatory to one of my guests, and another called him out on it. He got beaten up first, and then Thunderlane said something else to enrage my guests further. In case you were wondering, two of them are mares in heat.” Twilight answered, frowning.

Groaning in annoyance, Spitfire hoof landed on her face once again. She trotted over to the group and scorned, “Soarin, I told you not to do this again. Last year you almost got arrested because of it, since you were about to beat up a foreign ambassador for denying his daughter to you! And THIS is what happens now and also your pigheaded friends are involved too?”

“He called us sluts.” Stella chimed, her voice imbued with anger still.

Spitfire turned to the purple pegasus. “He WHAT?”

“Yes.” Loretta confirmed with a nod.

“You girls get an ambulance. I’m demoting these dunces after they recover.” Spitfire hissed, turning to Rainbow Dash and her friends.

“On it. I’ll tell them it was a construction accident.” Rainbow replied, flying away and leaving a rainbow trail behind her with such haste none of the foreign ponies even had time to say ‘damn.’

“I might as well take you all to Princess Celestia.” Twilight sighed, shaking her head solemnly.

Chapter 9: Gathering

Chapter Nine: Gathering

“So, besides you and the other three you mentioned, Twilight, how many princesses are there again?” Charlotte inquired, raising a brow in the process.

“There are no other princesses. We’re literally the only four around, so to speak.” Twilight answered with a sigh.

“How are we going to get to Canterlot again?” Jonathan asked, crossing his forelegs.

As if on cue, Stella looked up and saw a flying chariot pulled by snow-white pegasi in golden armor. “I’d say by riding that,” she commented, pointing a hoof at it. Jonathan’s hoof connected with his face, and he grumbled something incomprehensible.

Charlotte, catching a glimpse of something sitting in the front seat, then asked, “Who is that pony in the grand chariot?”

The chariot wheeled in the sky a few times above the small gathering of ponies before landing gracefully in front of the library. The armored pegasi stopped flapping their wings as from the seats of the ornate method of transport rose a night-blue alicorn with eyes of turquoise and an ethereal, transparent blue mane dotted with stars.

She approached the group of ponies, who then noticed she wore grey-blue armor; the chestplate being adorned with a single crescent moon. The foreigners exchanged brief glances.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Started the alicorn, “I have seen two mares fall from the sky on one of my nightly rounds. It seems those two are safe and sound.”

The twins noticed the blue alicorn was looking straight at them and they found themselves at some kind of unease. They gulped hard and began having a bit of a cold sweat.

“S-s-sister, do you th-think she m-means...umm, us?” Loretta stuttered, unable to keep her legs from shaking.

Stella laughed nervously. She nodded her head up and down, her jaw working up and down but unable to form words beyond that of gibberish.

“Yeah. They teleported into my library reporting some sort of stallion-related mishap in Manehattan.” Twilight said, giving Stella a quick glance. “She was just defending herself from crazed stallions, and I won’t hold her responsible for it.”

The blue alicorn nodded. “Those stallions are in the dungeon now. Hopefully we needn’t fret about them anymore.” She said, her voice calm.

Stella breathed a sigh of utter relief, wiping sweat off of her forehead with a hoof.

The alicorn looked at the red pegasus whose green eyes were averting left and right. “Is he alright?” She asked, raising a brow.

“Mares in heat make him nervous--with good reason. He’s shown a considerable amount of restraint for himself.” Twilight commented, patting the pegasus on his back with a hoof.

Jonathan’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as a blush overcame his face. “Q-quit bringing that up!” He said, his voice shaking like a leaf.

The blue alicorn sighed. “All six of you, get on the chariot please.” She said. Twilight trotted inside the library and quickly returned with a basket of midget-sized ponies before boarding the pony-managed vehicle as the rest of the ponies complied. The blue alicorn raised an eyebrow at the midget-sized ponies. Twilight also brought Jonathan and Charlotte’s saddlebags because she knew they’d forgotten all about them.

“To Canterlot Castle!” Bellowed the blue alicorn as she took the front seat. The armored pegasi nodded and unfurled their wings before breaking off into a starting gallop. The chariot soon lifted high into the sky, gaving the ponies onboard a damn fine view of Equestria in all of its equine glory.

“This is amazing…!” Charlotte commented, her mane billowing in the breeze created by the vehicle’s movement.

“Oh my goodness! You’re right--this is FANTASTIC!” Vincent stated, looking behind the chariot in sheer awe.

“So this is what it’s like to fly high in the sky.” Jonathan said, unfurling his wings and letting the wind caress them. “Except I’m on a flying carriage, which is kind of a let-down, but that’s only a small detail.” He added, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling.

The blue alicorn turned her back on the pegasi pulling the carriage forward and her face to the group. She smiled, seeing that they were in fact enjoying themselves quite well despite falling from the sky days earlier.

Loretta put a hoof on her bonnet to ensure it would stay on her head.  “I feel as if I’m lacking something. Then again, don’t we all?” She mumbled to herself, a small grin on her face.

Stella opened her wings as well. She hummed a tune to herself and swayed her body a little bit.

“S-s-sister, I wonder what father would say if he saw this place; it’s so full of magic…” Loretta said, poking her sister with a hoof to get her attention.

Stella glanced at her sibling. “That, I really cannot say. If anything, he’d be rendered speechless at best.” She replied before going back to humming her tune.

A loud snore broke the silence as Vincent fell asleep and landed onto the floor of the chariot. He rolled onto his stomach and Twilight covered him with a secure blanket.

The blue alicorn got a glance at his cutie mark before it was covered up by the blanket. “Ah, is he a priest of some kind?” She asked, raising a brow.

Jonathan looked at the rather tall mare. “It’s safe to say that he’s a missionary.” He answered with a nod.

The alicorn nodded. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to you. My name is Luna.” She said swiftly before turning around. The ponies saw a castle quite literally embedded into a mountainside, very close to its peak in fact.

“I sense something….do you have some kind of strange magic on you?” Luna asked, turning back around and glancing at Jonathan. The pegasus stuck a hoof under his left wing and a pained look came on his face as he was somehow able to produce a metallic whip from the feathered mass.

As the whip was tugged free, it tore some red feathers loose. Once out of the appendage, he began plucking it clean until no more red feathers remained embedded into its shiny frame.

“You mean this?” He asked, coiling the whip around the crook of his foreleg. Its handle was brown and leathery, and the end of the whip ended in a rounded, larger sphere than the rest of its companions who made the weapon what it was. Each sphere and the handle itself gave off some sort of eerily calm vibe.

“Yes, that is what I sensed. What is it?” Luna asked again, raising a brow.

Jonathan sighed, “It’s complicated as all hell. Let’s just wait until we see the... “As soon as he about to say another word, a cream pie came out from under the same wing, soaking its feathers and a good deal of his side in sweetened cheese in the process.

“Oh come on!” He complained, frantically trying to rub the newly-created mess off of him and smearing a great deal of his pelt in the process. Twilight took the strange whip and placed it into his saddlebag.

“I sense something dark in that...which is no longer edible.” Luna commented, eyes wide as she watched the hapless pegasus desperately attempt to clean himself.

Charlotte turned to her companion and all she did was shake her head sadly.

Everypony, save Luna and Twilight, found themselves meeting with the chariot’s floor face-first as said pony-driven vehicle came to an abrupt halt. Vincent rolled onto his stomach, and even he returned to his hooves with a drawn-out yawn.

The abrupt halt caused Charlotte to cast a spell by accident and she wound up creating a pony skeleton that appeared from flat-out nowhere, and it had a horn of its own. This one wore a purple, old cloak and carried an abused musket in its magical grip.

“Is that even safe?” Twilight asked, eyes wide.

Jonathan found himself suddenly drenched in stinging cold water. While it did get that cumbersome mess off of him, it sent a jolt of ice throughout his body and he yelped as a result.

Charlotte sighed, shaking her head again. She couldn’t answer Twilight’s question, so she simply cast another spell that made the skeleton unicorn disappear the same way it had came.

Twilight’s wings unfurled and she asked Charlotte, “Where did you get that spell anyway?”

“Put it like this: I hijacked it from one of Death’s minions and he’s still mad at me to this day.” Answered the unicorn, sighing and shaking her head for a third time.

“So basically, you’re saying you’d killed one of those whatchamacallits and it dropped the spell then?” Twilight asked, raising a brow. The unicorn only nodded, albeit a bit frantically.

Stella folded her wings as they ached for some reason. She glanced at Luna, who levitated an empty bucket next to her.

Loretta re-adjusted her bonnet. Some pieces of her mane were out of place.

“Save the chit-chat for my sister. Please follow me and explain her...forbidden magic to us.” Luna ordered, catching the attention of the five ponies who immediately looked at her. She was looking straight into Charlotte’s soul with her current expression, and the unicorn found herself choking on words again.

The ponies obliged, following the alicorn into the massive castle and down a very long hallway that seemed to take three hours to cross but, in reality, only took a good twenty-five minutes at best. Along the way, Loretta murmured something along the lines of, “It’s going to be hell, I just know it,” under her breath.

The group stopped before a set of doors that were pried open with magic. They trudged inside and found an entire gathering lined up single file on either side of a massive red carpet that lead to precisely four thrones, in one of which sat a white alicorn mare with armor of gold and embedded with amethyst. Her ethereal mane, much longer than that of Luna’s, was light blue, purple, green, and pink in color.

Eyes of light magenta stared at the group of ponies approaching her. The ponies looked amongst the divided crowd and the purple pegasus could’ve sworn she saw a familiar face among the fray of noble Canterlot unicorns.

“Dearest sister,” Luna started, causing the foreigners to tense in fear as she spoke. “I have found all five ponies that mysteriously fell from the sky; one of whom has mastery in forbidden, dark magics.”

Upon hearing the words ‘dark magics’ used in that conjunction, some of the nobles began shaking and some started clamoring in utmost confusion.

“Order in the royal court!” Bellowed the white alicorn mare, causing all others to fall silent without so much as another hoof shuffling so lightly it would’ve gone otherwise unnoticed. “Continue, Luna.” She added calmly.

“She was able to summon a pony from beyond the grave; a skeleton if you will. I witnessed this with my own eyes.” Luna said, her comment once more causing another brief clamoring from the crowd that was quicker to silence itself without the aid of the white alicorn.

“Ne….She committed necromancy?!” Asked the white alicorn mare, her face washed over in shock.

Luna nodded. “I sense forbidden magic in her very blood, but from what is something she herself is to testify about in her own words.”

Jonathan found himself looking at Charlotte, an expression of sadness and worry overcoming him. Charlotte looked back, her own face expressed in much the same way. She soon looked at the white alicorn and gulped before walking to her. Her hoofsteps were the only thing that dared to break the piercing silence of the court as she drew closer to that fearsome gaze those light magenta eyes had to offer.

The white alicorn seemed to cast a dark glare at the blue unicorn, who was quick to sit on her haunches and hang her head in shame.

“Well, I’m not sure if it is necromancy after I beat a monster called a skeleton gunman, it dropped a spell scroll that summons another one…” Charlotte murmured, scrunching her eyes shut and fearing the worst that could come. Her ears fell flat as she said this.

The white alicorn raised a brow before spreading her magnificent and surprisingly oversized wings. She rose to all fours, and Luna took a step back.

Loretta fell onto her haunches, trying her best to hold the tears back. She moved her hoof onto her muzzle to keep the sobs at bay.

The white alicorn stepped forward, and the crowd immediately gasped.

“That mare will be banished…” Whispered one pony.

“To the moon or to the sun?” Asked another.

“Maybe she’ll be jailed?” Stated a third.

The alicorn took another step forward.

Twilight turned to Jonathan with a worried expression on her face. “Why aren’t you doing anything to defend your friend?” She whispered.

“I’m afraid that, if I do, I’d end up dying before I said even one word. You said that the mare named Celestia is all-powerful and her judgements are obsolete, right?” Jonathan retorted, keeping his voice high enough that Twilight could hear, but low enough that the crowd couldn’t.

Luna was thinking to herself, ‘Did she really gain the spell from a monster? It seems unlikely to me...’

The white alicorn took another step forward, and her lengthy shadow loomed over the unicorn. Charlotte looked up, expecting a royal scowl of some kind and had instead received the complete opposite: a surprisingly happy look on the alicorn’s face.

“You...you contain dark magic, but...I also sense other magics that negate that. While necromancy is indeed forbidden here, I cannot help but notice you have magical talent comparable to that of my pupil, Twilight Sparkle. Plus, I can sense a sort of a very high level purification spell you possess.” The white alicorn said, closing her wings.

The crowd began babbling on again. They silenced themselves in a split second.

“Not many unicorns possess what you seem to be able to do on a sheer whim. Tell us, young mare, exactly where you acquired these magics and be sincerely truthful about it.” Said the white alicorn, her voice calm.

Charlotte gulped, turning around briefly and motioning for the others to come to her with a hoof. They obliged, all taking their places in front of the regal alicorn.

“It’s a bit of a really long story, and I wasn't the only one involved…” Charlotte said, turning back to the alicorn mare who still looked at her.

Suddenly, a pink pony emerged from behind the white alicorn. She had wings whose tips were lavender and a horn as well, and her mane was made in distinct curls of pink, lavender, and yellow.

“I sense that you and the red pegasus are in love somehow.” She commented, her horn glowing a light blue as she looked at Charlotte.

Jonathan’s eyes widened. “And who are you to dictate who I fall in love with?” He asked, his jaw dropping. “Why would I date a mare who is along the lines of my kid sister?” He added, his eyes narrowing very low in a scowl.

Chapter 10: Pandemonium

Chapter Ten: Pandemonium

The pink alicorn deadpanned. Her horn was still glowing for some reason. “It’s impossible to lie to me about your love. I am the princess of love, Mi Amore Cadenza.” She said, raising a brow.

“You know what? I’m not going to question anything anymore.” Loretta commented, a look of unamusement scrawled onto her face.

One of the Fleaponies, while still asleep, said “Just five more minutes mommy, just five more minutes...”

“Don’t make eye contact, don’t make eye contact…” Stella murmured to herself, trying desperately to avoid even looking at Mi Amore. Her wings shifted nervously as if they were loaded with fleas.

Sadly, Mi Amore stared intently at the purple pegasus with the strange hairdo. The pink alicorn tapped a hoof impatiently.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew past, causing Loretta to shift in surprise. The green unicorn hurriedly glanced around, only to see a familiar cyan frame with a mane of rainbow. She then felt something wiggling under her bonnet and looked up at her horn crosseyed.

The next thing all in the court knew was a pink form wearing Loretta’s bonnet and quite literally sitting on top of her head without causing her to fall somehow. The crowd gasped, and Loretta found herself recoiling in such a way that the pink mare was sent hurdling into Rainbow Dash.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, and while Rainbow could understand, she was still baffled at how Pinkie could appear under Loretta’s bonnet in two seconds without making her suffocate in the process.

Loretta got off of her rump, trotted over to the pink mare, reclaimed her bonnet, and then returned to the white alicorn as the crowd looked at her in silent worry.

A loud crash resonated in the adjacent hallway, and this was followed by a low-rumbling roar filled with malice. The crowd began murmuring again with some ponies actually going up to the doors to see what the fuss was all about.

Another roar sounded, and this time armored pegasi flocked through the door carrying a vast assortment of weaponry ranging from spears to swords, and some even had claws attached to the horseshoes adorning their hooves.

One armored pegasus stopped and turned to the white alicorn. “Princess Celestia, there is a bunch of weird monsters outside of the castle! They’re apparently leading a siege!” He cried desperately before joining his fellow pegasi in what became clear as combat.

Celestia looked down at the five ponies before her. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Charlotte. “I know, you’re wanting to know if we’re the ones who conjured this hell. We aren’t the source of the problem--we’re its solution thereof.”

With that, she, Loretta, Jonathan and Stella all made a mad dash for the doors without so much as a second thought while Vincent chose to stay behind. When they arrived at the hallway, they didn’t like what it was they found was making the ruckus.

There pushing the armored pegasi away like a bunch of flies was a giant blue beast with the head of a bull adorned with dull yellow horns. Its body seemed hunched over as, the armored pegasi found out, it lacked back legs; a measly fraction of spine supporting its bulky and rotting frame.

On top of the beast and using harnesses for some reason to drive said beast was a massive, brown frame made entirely of engorged muscles. Its forelegs ended in gruesome talons, and its feet more like that of a demon’s than that of a pony’s. Its body was matted in brown fur, though there were spots exposing a peachy-colored hue on its torso and forelegs.

The beast on top of the beast glared at the four ponies with golden eyes imbued with malicious intent.

“A behemoth...and a werepony on drugs. What a combo.” Jonathan said, shifting his forelegs a bit.

“Is it just me, or are we outmatched for once?” Loretta asked, trying not to show fear.

The behemoth roared, staring right at the red pegasus as if it remembered a past altercation involving him.

Stella felt a great pain in her side, and she found a sword clattering to her side as she spread her aching wings. She looked at it for a brief moment before scooping it up in her hooves and taking flight to avoid dropping it. The werepony was looking at her now, and it seemed to raise a brow as it sniffed the air generated by her wingbeats.

A loud voice echoed alongside the hallway, “You will not hurt her!”

This caused everything to freeze for a fraction of a second before many glanced around. Even the behemoth was now darting its head left and right, wondering where the hell that voice came from.

The voice called once more, this time sounding a lot closer than ever, “You will not lay harm on them!”

Again, everyone glanced around hastily. Confusion lingered in the hallway with neither side moving towards the other.

Rainbow Dash was behind Charlotte. “You still owe me an explanation.” She pointed out, gritting her teeth.

“There’s no time for that. What is happening?” Charlotte retorted, her horn crackling to life with a spell of some kind.

The voice called yet again, and it was now accompanied by a gust of cold wind. “You will not hurt them as long as I can have a say in the matter!!!”

Charlotte’s ears perked straight up. “That voice….it couldn’t possibly be…?!” She murmured, trying not to shriek in utter shock. Her horn had ceased its glow.

The werepony sniffed the air again and snarled as if it found a new scent with which to contend.

Jonathan felt something under his wings again. He spread them as wide as they could go, and he saw a gleaming rock fall and clatter to the floor, its echo sounding like a dropped coin. He picked up the rock with a hoof.

The werepony returned its gaze to Stella, and only then did the owner of the echoing voice reveal itself. The body was more horselike, its muzzle a bit longer than Celestia’s. It had a horn on its head, and its body was made of nigh-transparent blue wind. Its mane billowed out in short wisps behind its head, and its lower body was practically nonexistent.

“S-s-sister, is that who I think that is?” Loretta asked, looking up at the strange being. Stella didn’t answer.

The strangest feature of all was that the creature wore a hat made of the same material as its body. A feathered hat whose feathers were at the right side of its head no less.

The werepony growled at the strange being now floating between the behemoth and its adversaries.

“A wendigo? What’s that thing doing here?” Rainbow asked, raising a brow.

The werepony lept at the ghostly figure, only to get a hoof thrust right into the jaw. The hairy beast landed on the ground, barely avoiding breaking its foreleg in the process. It looked up and snarled at the wendigo, who in turn only smirked.

The wendigo’s horn flashed, and everything froze. Shortly thereafter, everything unfroze and the werepony was now frantically trying to separating its jaw from its tail that wound up looped around and knotted on the toothy appendage.

Jonathan threw the rock at the werepony, and it whizzed sharply in the air before hitting the beast smack in the eye. The beast yelped in pain, clutching its eye with a massive claw as blood began pouring out like a fountain.

The wendigo turned to the pegasus. “Nice shot.” It said, grinning warmly.

Charlotte, overcome with disbelief then asked the wendigo, “Wait….Eric, is that you?”

Rainbow Dash quickly whirled around the group and got into Charlotte’s muzzle before asking her, “Who the buck is Eric?”

Charlotte pushed the cocky pegasus aside with a hoof.

The behemoth roared, thrashing its head about wildly and causing the hallway to shake briefly.

The wendigo turned back to the behemoth. “Now isn’t the time for questions!” It declared, rushing towards the rotting monstrosity and grabbing its harnesses with its mouth. It jerked its head upwards in a swift, violent motion.

Stella saw her chance, clutching her sword tighter with her hooves. She closed her eyes to concentrate as light green sparks of energy danced around the length of her blade.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow asked, wide-eyed at the sight. “Pegasi don’t specialize in magic!”

“To that, I say poppycock.” Stella commented, not allowing her concentration to waver for even a second.

“Pegasi control the weather, right? Isn’t that technically a form of magic physically manifested?” Charlotte asked, giving the rainbow-maned mare a quick glance and wry smirk.

Rainbow’s hoof landed on her face, and she groaned in annoyance.

Stella soon whizzed out of sight. Vanished. Only a purple feather drifted down from where she was hovering.

The behemoth was busy trying to shake its new passenger off of its harnesses and was failing rather horribly at it.

Charlotte began to cast another spell, her horn charging up with cold air this time. She trotted forward before the others and quickly got in a position to pounce. Behind her formed eight large, sharp spikes of ice dancing around in a perfect circle.

All eight spikes were aimed right at the werepony, who was still trying to untie its tail from its upper jaw.

“ICE NEEDLE!” She bellowed, stomping a hoof as one spike shot forward at the speed of lightning, hitting the werepony in the stomach. Another hastily followed, hitting it in the head and killing it instantaneously.

The remaining six needles landed in the face of the behemoth in such a way they were stacked like bricks.

The behemoth let off its final roar before it and the werepony burst into ethereal flames which burned the flesh and turned them into a pile of useless bones.

The wendigo released the now-useless harnesses as Stella suddenly appeared exactly where she had been, the only difference now was that her sword was stained in fresh blood.

“Stella, what’s the current news?” Charlotte asked, glancing up at the pegasus.

“Whole swarm of monsters. I lost count of how many there are.” The pegasus replied, swinging her blade from side to side to clean the gunk that had accumulated on its otherwise-silver frame.

“I am glad that you weren’t hurt. Had I arrived sooner, though, I would’ve been able to set those stallions straight myself without your violent impulses.” Said the wendigo, concerned and yet very stern at the same time. “Then again, I suppose not all things can be helped, given the circumstances in which we all landed in.” He added, growing hind legs and walking closer to the group of ponies.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and flew right to the wendigo, her muzzle only inches away from his. “Who the buck are you? Go back to your mountain cave with your friends!” She hissed, her eyes narrowing. Twilight teleported into the room and saw the wendigo who had a horn on its head.

“I guess we should tell her who he is…” Jonathan said, whispering in Loretta’s ear. The unicorn only nodded.

The wendigo raised a hoof and gently shoved the cyan mare aside. “I wasn’t talking to you, so please leave me alone.” He said, his voice having undertones of anger.

Another gust of wind blew past, and for some reason, Stella’s wings stopped working and she landed flat on her rump.

“Not the most convenient landing, I see.” The wendigo commented, looking at the purple mare who quickly righted herself onto all fours.

Twilight thought to herself “Why is a wendigo here? And why would it help us anyway? This is not scientifically nor socially possible!”

“I’ve fared worse, father.” Stella replied with a grin.

Rainbow trotted to Stella and poked her with a hoof. “Did you say ‘father?’ You mean that that thing is your dad?” She asked, unable to wrap her mind around the concept.

“Yes, you see, back in the world we all came from, I was killed about... three years ago? My memory is a little hazy since after I went to the afterlife. As for my name, I am Eric Lecarde.” The wendigo said, giving Rainbow a glare of its own.

“I don’t buy it.” Rainbow said, flaring her own wings.

“Really?” Eric asked, raising a ghostly eyebrow.

“And this is the EXACT reason I haven’t said anything to her. She won’t believe me anyway, and she cannot for the love of God stop harassing us!” Jonathan chimed, pointing an accusing hoof at the cyan mare.

“Even after she’s done seen a werepony and giant, zombie bull?” Eric asked again, his eyes widening in shock.

“I wish I were making this up.” Jonathan confirmed with a nod. “But we have encountered a lot worse than that; Legion is an example.”

“If you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em.” Charlotte commented, rolling her eyes in the process.

Twilight coughed, “I have to be honest, I read that book of yours that shows what you have beaten before.”

“...Show it to Rainbow. Just give it back when you’re done.” Charlotte sighed, shaking her head sadly.

Twilight took out a strange, blue book titled ‘Book of Spirits,’ and she handed it to the cyan mare who soon found herself flipping through the pages like a foal reading an adult magazine. And some of the monsters made her want to puke, while others confused her a lot, almost as much as how Pinkie confuses everypony.

On one page, it detailed a pony in a clown getup. He was dancing about madly on his hind legs, causing cards to fly between his front hooves like an accordion. It soon threw them at an unsuspecting bystander and the cards left several lacerations on its body, which soon proved fatal.

And she thought to herself, “Okay, that is just plain freaky. My day is now twenty percent weirder.”

Another page detailed a strikingly beautiful mare in ancient getup. Her tan body and gold headdress fit her like a charm. A stallion looked at her, and he fell in love with this mare; so much so she told him to kill his marefriend...which he carried out without warning nor second thought.

Another page still detailed a massive ball of pony corpses, and it housed a grotesque mass of tentacles. Not only that, it could release the dead corpses and they would come after anypony who stood in the thing’s path. The tentacles could also fire lasers and pressurized, red gas. When Rainbow looked down at the name of the creature, it said Legion as clear as daylight.

“By sweet Celestia...You actually fought this...thing!?” She asked, her face went slightly green as a look of disbelief overcame her.

“So, NOW you believe us?” Jonathan asked, his eyes narrowing very low.

Another gust of wind blew past, and this time it was accompanied by a sudden void of black magic.

“I didn’t do it. I didn’t cast Dark Rift.” Charlotte commented, pointing at the void with a hoof.

From the void shot out a pair of mismatched appendages--a dog’s paw and dragon’s talon, both of which were white. And then emerged a body encased in black feathers with a long, black serpentine tail that sported a holey leg and and bird’s claw, both of which were green. Its head had eyes blank as canvases, and deer antlers. A stringy mass of blue hair was on its head.

“Hello, ponies...and wendigo.” It said with a demonic, feminine voice as it seemed to eye the group before her.

Eric turned around to face the creature. “I’m glad you took me into account.” He said with a grin that soon turned upside-down. “In all seriousness, however, I don’t take kindly to a...chimera that would try harming my children and friends. Using Dracula’s minions brings you down to a whole new low.”

The creature produced a cage which house two beings: a yellow pegasus and…

“You captured Discord and poor little Fluttershy?!” Twilight asked, her face in shock.

The being nodded.

“Having control of a demon’s minions is easier than I thought. Then again, when the Lord of Darkness slumbers, somepony has to gain control, right? Besides, I plan to add my brother’s powers to my own; you will be free to have his remains when I’m done.” It said, grinning wryly.

Fluttershy shook like a leaf as she spoke,  “So this is the sister you talked about, Discord?”

“I’m afraid so. I’m not the only one she’s after, last time she tried to get Princess Luna’s power as well, she already did the same to my parents.” He answered grimly.

“That’s just HORRIBLE! She killed her own parents to gain their powers!?” Charlotte objected, raising a hoof in shock.

“This is a problem.” Jonathan said, taking an entire trot forward.

The creature laughed. “So, the little red pony wants to play with me? I know about your whip and what will happen if you use it. Do you really want to take that risk?” It taunted, causing a boulder to emerge from the void.

“I don’t plan on using the whip. I have other weapons, like this thing.” Jonathan replied as from his wings he produced a great metal ball attached to a small chain. He grasped the chain in the crook of his hoof and he took to the air, swinging the thing over his head in the process.

Rainbow Dash was shocked at the weapon Jonathan had in his hooves. “OOOH, THIS IS GREAT!”

“It should not be possible for him to even lift that!” Twilight protested, her jaw dropping in the process.

“I call shenanigans.” Eric said, impressed at the sight.

The chimera threw the boulder at the pegasus, who easily deflected it with his comically oversized weapon. The rocky mass found itself being hurdled back at its owner and it became dust before it could collide.

“SHOWTIME!” Jonathan shouted, getting closer to the chimera and using the monstrosity of metal like a mace. Right as he was about to swing the damn thing, the chimera readied its dragon talon and punched him right in the nose, sending him hurdling back to the group and landing onto the floor face-first. His weapon disappeared out of sight, and he didn’t move afterwards.

Charlotte rushed to the pegasus and turned him over onto his back. She checked his wounds and put a hoof to his chest. “Oh no, he’s out cold! Wait! I have a potion on me….oh no, the bottle broke!”

“Awwwww, the little filly wants her boyfriend back?” The chimera taunted, a wicked grin on its face.

“That’s one less obstacle I need to deal with. Him and his crosses were annoying.” Said a masculine voice as a sickly thin pony emerged from the void. Its pelt was grey, and its skin clung to its bones. This thing was as tall as Celestia herself. Red eyes adorned its face, as did a horn and so too did sharp fangs under the upper lip. On its flank was a painting with a splatter of blood dotting its black canvas.

“All I need to do is take care of that worthless unicorn and I’m….how shall you say...golden.” It said, grinning wryly.

“Brauner…” Charlotte heaved, founding herself gulping hard.

“Here we go again.” Eric commented, his hoof connecting with his face. “At least I packed a lunch and brought some help this time around.”

“What help have you? Have you gone mad or something?” Brauner retorted, raising a brow.

“Pot, kettle, black.” Loretta stated, shaking her head sadly.

“She’s got ya there.” Eric agreed with a nod. “You have no room to speak.”

Twilight then said, “I have been tinkering with a new spell that can teleport somepony here; however, it takes time to cast.”

When Pinkie Pie saw Brauner, a thought seemed to have hit her as she produced a cupcake and merrily bounced her way to him.

“I thought you might like this!” She said, beaming with a grin.

The vampony looked at the pink mare and he was absolutely dumbfounded. He stared at her with wide eyes, unable to comprehend where she’d come from and why she offered him a confectionary treat.

“Quick, hand me the spell.” Charlotte whispered to Twilight, who then complied. She held the spell scroll before the blue unicorn whose horn soon crackled to life.

Twilight inquired who this stallion with obvious dark magic was. Had this been the Brauner that Charlotte first mentioned?

The spell resumed being charged, and Brauner was still standing there in a confused daze. He was trying to figure out what to do.

A blinding light soon encased the room, and when it disappeared, Applejack stood in between the twins.

“The hay is goin’ on here?” She asked, glancing around to accommodate to the current scene.

Rainbow found a page in the seemingly-cursed book and it detailed a pony who looked exactly like Brauner. She soon took wing and whizzed in a sharp u-turn, taking Pinkie away from the stallion in the process.

“H-hey! I was trying to make friends with him! Why do you have to be mean, Rainbow?!” Pinkie objected, trying to worm her way out of the cyan mare’s forelegs.

“Pinkie Pie, that pony is a VAMPIRE! One that’s basically hellbent on killing all non-vampiric things!” Rainbow protested, grasping the pink mare tighter.

Pinkie’s mane deflated and she said, “So you mean he’s a meanie meanie pants?”

Rainbow nodded. “More or less. Mean doesn’t even begin to describe him.” She answered.

Applejack looked around the room and saw the skeleton of the werepony on steroids and Discord and Fluttershy in a cage made of... what looked like diamonds and both were terrified. ”Okay, Ah’ve never seen Discord that scared before….and is that a female one near them? The hay is goin’ on here?” She asked, raising a brow.

“You said you had help. Where is it? I don’t see any help. Are you drunk or something?” Brauner asked, glaring at Eric.

“I am not drunk.” Eric retorted, crossing his forelegs.

The front of the cage was soon slashed to all hell as a thing whizzed by with such haste nopony had time to react. Fluttershy and Discord, realizing they were free, began to run away as fast as their legs could carry them.

“I do believe there is some foul slander going on when the monsters of my master are under YOUR control? I dare say, a twisted form of deja vu indeed.” Said a demonic voice from above.

Everypony, absolutely everypony, and the chimera looked up and saw a flying form draped in a tattered, dark purple robe. Its hooves, though barely visible, were nothing short of aged bone. Its face was skeletal, and in its black sockets were red dots. It had a horn and was flying on wings of bone as a massive scythe hovered in front of it.

Rainbow looked in the cursed book and realized who this pony was and hastily flipped through the pages until she found a picture with an exact look-alike of said pony….and its name was Death. Rainbow gulped in fear, glancing at the skeletal alicorn.

Applejack was shaking somewhat as she stared at Death, he looked just as he was described to her way back when she was just a filly.

Twilight realized who this was, due to Charlotte’s describing him to her before.

Pinkie, pointing a hoof at Death, asked Rainbow, “Is this one a meanie pants as well?”

The skeletal pony turned its head to the pink mare. “On some days, yes. But only if Master Dracula wills it. And he has not been pleased with this heist of minions at all.” Death answered, sounding like he would frown if he so had the option.

The other three alicorns trotted into the room, and the entire scene took them by surprise. They all gasped at once, unfurling their wings from shock. Vincent also trotted into the room, and he was so shocked he fell flat on his rump in horror.

“It...can’t…!” The priest began to protest, only to lose the strength to finish that sentence.

“Death, are you implying that Dracula is awake again?” Charlotte asked, confused.

“Well, yes and no. You see his soul is somewhere in this world, as I have been searching for it. However, it is in many pieces, so far I have found four pieces of the fifteen. Trust me, young mage, he isn’t happy. It was because of you and that boy that his soul is like this.”

“Art thou saying this skeletal being is DEATH!” Luna bellowed, shaking her head rapidly.

Charlotte tried shaking the red pegasus awake to no avail.

“Auntie, this is not looking good. I was also unaware that Death was an actual being.” Said Mi Amore, her voice shaking as she looked at Celestia.

“Now isn’t the time for gossip! Celestia, do you care about your subjects?” Death asked, lazily spinning his scythe in the crook of his hoof. “You see, a few of your subjects have collected said soul pieces as they thought each piece was a power source, but his dark aura calls to me and I have killed four who have found them so far.”

Death paused, taking a moment to register Celestia’s still-shocked expression. “One was a gryphon, another was some blue pegasus, a third was doglike, and a fourth was….a minotaur...Iron Will was his name, I believe?”

Luna nodded.

“I do care about my subjects. But even I hadn’t predicted this!” Celestia answered, her voice cracked.

“Then, you need to do this: Evacuate the city and castle. At once. This chimera’s followers are about to kill everything in sight that lives, breathes, and moves.  I suspect she may have some of my master’s soul fragments, and I do not like to kill, unless Master so wills it.  For the time being, Master has asked me to declare a truce with you.” Death said, his eyes dimming faintly for a moment.

“Then I have no choice….” Celestia murmured, shaking like a leaf before regaining her royal posture. “CANTERLOT IS TO BE EVACUATED UNDER ROYAL COMMAND! EVACUATE EVERYPONY AT ONCE, ROYAL GUARDS! WASTE NO TIME IN SAVING THE CITIZENS!”

“And take these five ponies with them! Bring the wendigo as well! Their lives are just as valuable as our own!” Twilight called, flaring her wings and encasing Applejack and Pinkie Pie in her magic before taking flight with them in two.

The royal guards who could still stand quickly ushered the group of foreign ponies and the wendigo to a chariot. A unicorn was among their ranks, and he carried the still-unconscious Jonathan in his magical grip. The princesses went with them posthaste.

Rainbow flew away, briefly looking back and witnessing Death fight the chimera in combat. The cyan mare then looked below to the streets of Canterlot, sighing in relief as she saw the citizens ushered to safety as the town was overtaken by a vast array of monsters, many of which the Book of Spirits had described moments ago. She shuddered in terror at the sight as she continued to fly away.

Chapter 11: Confrontation

Chapter Eleven: Confrontation

Rainbow Dash was flying over Ponyville when an odd sight struck her below: three ponies fighting off a hoard of small monsters with an additional two mares standing aside. She flew down and took cover behind a bush to wait and see if she was needed.That was when she noticed one of the three ponies taking part in the fight wore a familiar purple cape and hat...and, from what she could recall, only one pony she knew would wear that tacky thing.

Charlotte was watching a blue mare with some purple getup fight off a hoard of snake-maned pony heads. For a unicorn with pathetically weak magic, she was in fact doing a good job of defending herself.

Well, the mare had two fellow unicorns helping her (but they weren’t too helpful, taking into account one was already petrified), so it was more or less reasonable that she’d do a good job with them in tow.

The mare in the purple getup wound up having to resort using her hooves to fend off the wave of attackers. Since she and her helpers had barely got away from some creepy stallion who trapped ponies inside paintings, it was pure luck that they were still living.

Eventually, the snake-maned pony heads lost their footing in the ground, mainly because Charlotte said ‘screw this’ and ended up having to intervene. She freed the unicorn turned to stone, seeing as she simply couldn’t stand by the sidelines any further.

One snake-maned pony held a strange scroll in its mouth, and it was picked up by the mare in the getup. Charlotte saw the scroll and thought to herself, “Oh no, don’t do it…..”She studied it a bit and tried it out, resulting in another snake-maned pony appearing and petrifying the orange, lanky unicorn AGAIN.

The snake-maned head then used its snakes as a means to hug the blue mare in the strange outfit. It even purred like a cat. It then said in a cute voice, “Mamma?”

All the cape-wearing mare could say was “...... What the heck?”

Charlotte sighed, rolled her eyes, and shook her head sadly as she tapped the stone statue of the lanky pony with her hoof. The stone crumbled away, revealing him to be perfectly alive and well. The lanky unicorn said, “Did we win a million bits…?”

The stout unicorn with a deformed head answered, “No, you idiot.”

The magenta-eyed unicorn eyed her fellow pony curiously for a moment or two. She then said, “The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes to challenge you to a magic duel.”

Charlotte’s ears perked in disbelief. “Wait a second...are you the same mare Stella and Loretta….”

Trixie raised a brow at that half-finished remark. Charlotte pointed a hoof to a pair of mares, one with a bonnet and the other with a strange hairdo. Then the cape-wearing freak began to blow steam out of her ears once she turned around and saw them.

Stella began laughing away at the sight. She was laughing so hard she was soon crying. Ponies young and old alike were quickly drawn to the spectacle of the mare who had seemed to have a rather bad case of hysteria.

A green-coated pony who was certainly elderly stood next to Applejack, supported by a walking frame. “I haven’t heard laughter like that since Pinkie Pie’s fit.” She commented, smiling warmly. She fell asleep a second later, seemingly at the drop of a hat.

Charlotte began to sweat a little bit at that same moment.

“Trixie said she challenges you to a magic duel!”

“Stop going in third person, it’s annoying.” Charlotte said in a snarky tone of voice. The moon was slowly rising from the north.

“Trixie, I thought you stopped being like this,” retorted Twilight, who stood in between the sisters.

“Habits are hard to change.” Trixie counter-retorted, her own tone of voice getting snarkier with each passing second.

“Been there, done that.” Charlotte agreed heartily, raising a hoof in the air. A red pegasus who’d been lying on the ground next to Loretta began stirring, and he groaned in pain.

“Luna, could you not raise the moon tonight, please? Or at least cover it with clouds?” Twilight asked, looking at the night-blue alicorn.

“Why would I do either?” Luna stated, raising a brow.

“Okay, why are your eyes gold? Weren’t they blue a minute ago?” Trixie asked, confused as she looked at Charlotte. She was right, her eyes were indeed gold now. “Oh no, here we go again…” Loretta commented, ears flattening and her voice filled with dread.

Jonathan also saw the spectacle unfolding. “You can say that again.”

While Charlotte was starting to change, Twilight had an idea, perhaps she could use that purification spell she memorized in her spell book.

Charlotte’s hooves grew wolf-like digits on their frames. Her nose changed to a canid shape.

Trixie looked up and saw the rising full moon. She starting shaking and sputtered “Is-is….she...?”

The transforming unicorn opened her mouth, revealing many sharp daggers for teeth. She quickly closed it and trotted around the cape-wearing freak, as if she had lost interest in her.

Twilight yelled out, “STAND BACK EVERYPONY! I WANT TO TRY SOMETHING OUT!”

Charlotte stopped right in her tracks and yelped in surprise.

“And it doesn’t involve silver.” Twilight added, sighing. Charlotte had a sigh of relief and resumed walking to her group of friends.

“Thou is a werepony?!” Luna bellowed, seemingly very upset by the sight the world had to give her.

“Leave her alone. She isn’t killing things. Besides, we never got around to explaining anything anyway.” Stella snapped, and her wings unfurled.

Charlotte sat in front of Luna and let off a frightened whimper.

“She’s…?!” Trixie stammered, approaching the lycanthrope with shaky movements.

A loud clanking was heard as a suit of armour with a pegasus obviously inside was throwing a rather sharp axe at Scootaloo, who was running away from it and trying to fly on her small wings.

“Rainbow Dash! Help us!” Scootaloo shrieked as she failed to take flight. Running alongside her were Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, both of whom were also panicking.

The cyan mare lept from the bush she was hiding in and tackled the armored pegasus pony. The pegasus dropped its axe and spread its wings in surprise.

All eyes, including that of Trixie’s new Medusa Head, were now on the spectacle that rapidly unfolded into a fight. Rainbow, while having speed on her side, lacked power in her hooves. The armored pegasus had more strength and was able to shove the new obstacle off with ease. It then flapped its wings trying to fly after her as she ascended at lightning speed.

The poor armored pegasus failed to fly an inch above the ground. Even worse, it couldn’t move fast enough to dodge a cyan hoof that was brought down onto its plated face from the moonlit heavens above.

Twilight flipped pages in the Book of Spirits and found a page detailing the armored pegasus. It bore the name ‘Axe Armor’ just below the pony’s picture.

“Charlotte, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Jonathan asked, eyes wide and blinking.

The werepony turned her head to him and nodded once before glancing back at the fight.

Rainbow flew up again and brought down her hoof in less than five seconds. The helmet breaking in three pieces and the undead face beneath caving in with a sickening crunch had more than confirmed that the fight was over.

Scootaloo looked at the face under the armor and she screamed because it was the face was rotten beyond compare. The fact that it was caved in didn’t do much good. Rainbow Dash, as well as Princess Luna, glared at the dead, armored zombie-pony...before shifting their gazes onto the only werepony in town.

“Hopefully your story won’t be waylaid again.” Celestia commented, not making eye contact with anypony present.

“And we have an audience to boot…” Loretta sighed, chuckling nervously as she looked at the crowded town filled with Ponyville commoners and snarky Canterlot nobles who made crude remarks in faint whispers.

“Princess Celestia, you should take a look at this book first, it may prove helpful. “ Twilight said, lightly tapping her mentor with a hoof to get her attention.

Celestia glanced at the purple alicorn and then the book she held. She levitated it to her face with her magic, then opened it and flipped through the pages like she were a mathematician. The book detailed creatures that she believed were nothing but myth. Zombie ponies, mummies, chimeras...all sorts of things that, quite simply, didn’t belong in Equestria at all.

Which said something considering one page detailed a minotaur who had stone breath. Another was a headless giant stallion, whose head flew around its armorclad body.

Rainbow trotted to Jonathan and stuck her nose in his face.

“Looks like you’re gonna HAVE to explain, bozo. And not just to the Princesses either.” She said, her tone of voice snarky.

Chapter 12: Where it all Began

Chapter Twelve: Where It All Began

“How to explain this…“ Jonathan said, looking as if he’d been defeated in an argument. He shook his head sadly, his ears flat on his head and his wings drooping to the ground.

Charlotte whimpered, looking up at Luna like she were pleading for something.

“FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, I CANNOT TAKE THIS ANYMOREEE!!” Stella suddenly hollered at the top of her lungs, causing all eyes to look at her within a second. Her wings were wide and her hooves were against her head.

“I hope it’s not what I think it is…” Loretta thought, staring at her sister in utter horror.

“Has she lost her mind or something?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment.

Jonathan’s wings shot straight up as wide as they could go. His jaw opened and moved nervously, and yet he couldn’t form any words at all.

“Oh, how I dislike those outbursts…” Stella commented, taking a moment to breathe and settle her front hooves onto the ground. After calming herself, she looked at Jonathan...whilst smiling.

But this wasn’t any smile. It was a dark, sinister smile.

“Ummm, is this normal for her?”  Vincent mumbled, his eyes widening in shock.

“Oh no…I thought she stopped doing this...” Eric sighed, his lips trying to be kept sealed.

Rainbow Dash flew over to Eric and said, “What in Tartarus are you talking about?”

Eric took a deep breath and sighed again. Only when Stella took a single step forward did his lips part.

“JONATHAN, RUN LIKE THE WIND!”

By sheer instinct, the red pegasus did just as he was instructed to: he turned tail and made a break for an opening in the confused crowd. Stella was quick to take flight, whizzing over the crowd and barely keeping up with the pegasus who was trying to use the crowd as camouflage.

“Okay, wendigo, just tell me what the buck is going on?!” Rainbow demanded, glaring at Eric.

“We need to catch her first. Then I’ll talk. I can’t do it because I’m old.” Eric replied as Applejack grabbed the blue pegasus with a lasso and yanked her back.

“Whoa, nelly there, Rainbow!” Applejack stated, a scowl on her face. “We don’t need ta get all hostile now, besides we wouldn’t be alive if he didn’t help earlier.”

“She has a point.” Scootaloo remarked, watching the purple pegasus dart about here and there almost as if she were teleporting.

Celestia was still looking at the book intently, and so were Mi Amore Cadenza and Luna. Only when they heard the sound of a stallion shouting and throwing things did they look away. They turned to the crowd and saw Twilight tieing Stella up with so many ropes that she looked like a barrel with a head.

And Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared on Stella’s head saying, “Oatmeal, are you crazy?”

“This is getting out of hoof, regardless of whether or not she’s hogtied!” Jonathan called out, flying out of the crowd and in front of Luna with a few strands of hair out of place. As his wings flapped, some red feathers scattered about.

“Princess Celestia, may I explain everything in place of the other five?” Eric asked, walking up to the white alicorn as he spoke.

Celestia sighed, as if taking a moment to think about it. “Then we shall speak in private.” She said.

“The Boutique is open. Follow me.” Sweetie Belle chimed, ushering the wendigo and princess to an odd building that looked like it could house a carousel. She opened the door and in all three went, and they were followed by the foreign ponies, Twilight, and Trixie.

A yawn was heard as a white unicorn mare--the same one who put Vincent in a dress, to be more accurate-- descended the stairs at the exact same time Eric set foot into the building.

The lights turned on, and the mare and wendigo found themselves in a staring contest that lasted for five or so minutes.

“WENDIGO!” Cried the unicorn in fright before collapsing to the floor with a hoof on her forehead.

Eric began sweating a strange substance as he was not expecting that to happen at all.

“Sorry about that, my sister tends to overdramatize everything out of the ordinary...”Sweetie said, her head lowering in shame. “Even ripped clothes and dirt make her freak…”

“You’re kidding, right?” Jonathan asked as he entered, raising an eyebrow at the remark.

“No, I’m serious...you’re name’s Jonathan right?” Sweetie asked, looking up at the red pegasus.

“Yeah. That’s my name, I forget what yours is though is was, though. Sweemie Belle, right?.” Jonathan stated, sighing.

The filly nodded and then her eyes went wide in realization. “It’s Sweetie, not Sweemie!” She said, trying not to cry.

“Whoa...I’m sorry, it’s just that I wasn’t that good with names.” Jonathan said, his voice low. “Unless they really stand out.”

“Untie me, please.” Stella said, her body vibrating under the ropes holding her. She sounded very much like a nervous wreck now.

“Is it really this bad with her?” Twilight asked, poking Eric to get his attention.

“Yes. This is why I went and bought a shotgun when I was still living.” Eric answered, taking his place on the couch that was in the room.

Rainbow, demanding and persistent as ever, waltzed into the room uninvited.

At that moment a voice said, “Darling, I had the strangest dream….okay, maybe I’m still having it.”

“Hi, sis, I see you finally recovered!” Sweetie chimed, rushing up and greeting the white unicorn mare.

The unicorn hugged the filly, though her eyes were still on the wendigo who’d decided it was a fine idea to grow hind legs and claim her couch.

“I’m not the guest of honor.” Said the wendigo, pointing a hoof at a tall white figure. The unicorn looked and saw Princess Celestia looking right back at her with an expression of worry

“Well, since Rarity woke up, can we get on with the tale, if that is okay with you?” Fluttershy spoke, also entering the room. She was looking at the wendigo who looked out of place.

“What is happening now?” Rarity asked, eyes widening in confusion.

Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack, pointing a hoof at the yellow pegasus, “I don’t think she should know….”

“And neither should you.” Jonathan hissed, his tone of voice darkening.

Pinkie Pie bounced into the room with a large plate of cookies, cupcakes, and other sweets in two. The platter somehow didn’t fall down from her head.

“This is getting awkward.” Charlotte said before raising a rear paw and scratching an ear with it.

“I take it she needs a bath?” Loretta commented, looking at the werepony.

“I didn’t feel anything bite; it’s just a sudden itch.” Charlotte retorted, scratching her ear more vigorously now.

Applejack quickly realized it was fleas alright, since her own dog had them about a month ago. Speaking of her dog, it barked at the werepony nonstop, stopping to growl on occasion. It was a border collie.

“You sure about that, sugarcube?” The orange mare asked, trotting over to the furry unicorn who was still scratching her ear to the point the skin was red and raw. Her hoof grabbed the paw and forced it down to the floor. Applejack saw a couple of bugs jumping around in her fur, and it didn’t look too good.

“Ah hate ta be da bearer of bad news, but ya have fleas. Heck, everypony needs a bath on the double!” Applejack commented, causing all to look at her.

The five foreign ponies sighed. “Where’s the shower?” Vincent asked, crossing his forelegs.

Twilight suddenly remembered she still had to cast a spell. Her horn flared up and its aura soon bathed Charlotte.

A blinding aura soon envelopoed the room. When it faded--and much to the shock of all present, except for the other four foreign ponies--Charlotte didn’t change at all.

“Did I do the spell wrong?” Twilight asked, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

“......you only cast an eighth of it. Read the entire ten pages in one seating next time.” Charlotte answered, sighing as her paw connected with her face.

“Whoops…” Twilight murmured. She untied Stella and kept the ropes in her saddlebag.

“The shower is this way. You all have to share. Don’t worry; there’s enough room for you to have your own separate space.” Rarity commented, turning around and going upstairs.

The four normal ponies and the fifth lycanthropic mare followed with haste.

Celestia looked at Eric. “While they’re busy, please do tell us what you know.” She said, softly.

Eric raised a hoof to his mouth and covered a cough that indicated he was clearing his throat.

“Yeah, we want to know BUB!” Rainbow snapped, flying to the wendigo in two seconds.

“...” Eric was silent for a moment, blinking his ghostly eyes a few times. “...I refuse to respond when you are in my personal space and demanding me to respond like a child who wants candy.” He said as if the mare were his daughter.

A lasso went around Rainbow and she was yanked back quite a ways. “Sugarcube, we all want ta know just as bad as ya do, but he does raise a valid point.” Applejack scorned as she tied the pegasus’s wings shut

“Sorry about that, she tends to get like that. Uuuum its not a problem right?” Fluttershy asked, sounding very worried.

“She’ll have to learn her manners sooner or later. Then again, I don’t know her like you do, so I’ll take it for granted.” Eric answered, a faint smile on his face. “Anyway, it all started like this…”

The horned wendigo spent an hour and fifteen minutes detailing all of what he knew to everypony in that room. How Dracula came to be the vampire he was; how the vampire hunters temporarily stopped him; how he was revived and defeated over and over again. He also made sure to answer any questions asked to the best of his abilities.

Given that the rulers of Equestria were interrogating him, he had to answer truthfully. When they were clouded with doubt, he either rephrased an answer so they could understand or simply lit his horn up and conjured an illusion that spoke louder than he could with events that said illusion depicted.

“I could use a spell to show you in your minds what happened to me when I died.” Eric said at last, taking in a moment or two to breathe.

“Don’t show Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash. It’s all I ask.” Twilight commented, a frown on her face.

“That I’ll keep in mind.” The wendigo agreed, his horn flaring up once more.

As if they were there themselves, they saw a tall, pale being bite the necks of two young women. Both women fell unconscious, but not before one of them--who was strangely clad in green--fell onto her knees.

The pale being then turned to face the ponies who were seeing all of this. It lurched forward with a bloodstained smile tainted with evil plastered onto its face.

And then, before everything went black, some kind of spell had been cast from a dying hand as a voice that sounded like the weindgo’s said, “I’m, not going to rest until you are vanquished...your crimes against humanity are unforgivable…You will fall, Brauner!!! ”

Twilight found herself back in Rarity’s house, and so did the other ponies who had seen that god-forsaken vision.

Princess Cadanza shook violently.  Her eyes were widening and she was sweating. “Did that really happen to you? What was that spell you cast as you were dying?” She asked, her voice cracking.

“Yes, that did indeed happen to me. I was trapped in that castle, but I couldn’t be tainted by it’s magic. In other words, I was both free and trapped simultaneously, as for the spell I cast as I died I bound my soul to just one room.” Eric answered, his voice grim, sad, and seething with some kind of anger all at once.

“Art thou serious, you bound your soul to one room as you lay dying?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eric nodded but once. “And it was roughly two long, painful, lonesome years later that I met Charlotte and Jonathan as a ghost. I asked for them to help me by having them perform certain tasks. In turn, I gave them things I had when I was still living--mainly weapons and spells. I later revealed that I was Jonathan’s father’s best friend.” He said, his inflection almost hushed in a whisper.

“Did he die as well?” Applejack asked, rubbing the back of her head with a shaky hoof.

“He died well before I did. The Vampire Killer carries a curse: if someone who is not of the Belmont clan abuses its power, when that someone dies, their soul is absorbed by the whip itself. This is why my family exists; to unlock it only when truly necessary. John, however, used the whip too often and it eventually took his life.” Eric answered, appearing to shed a tear.

“Just what is this whip?” Princess Celestia, who raised a brow. She was starting to wonder if it was cursed.

As if on cue, Twilight pulled the whip out of her saddlebag. She showed it to the others present.

Luna looked at it, sensing a strange power coming from it. And the power was quite strong. “I saw that same whip earlier today, when I brought the ponies to the castle using the chariot.” She commented, blinking a bit.

“Auntie, I do sense power from it, but it doesn’t really feel evil.” Cadenza added, her wings shifting nervously.

“It isn’t supposed to be evil. It’s supposed to vanquish it.” Eric stated, his voice grim once more. “You see, its a holy whip that is used to annihilate creatures of the night, and do pardon my choice of words, Luna. It’s especially powerful against vampires, zombies and demons. If I remember correctly its roughly about a thousand or so years old.” He added with a small nod.

“W-wait,” Asked Rainbow, “You mean to tell us that whip is one thousand years old?!”

“It’s been passed on, used, and cared by the Belmont clan for generations on end. who are immune to the effects a non-Belmont would otherwise receive, my friend. However, the Morris clan is distantly related to the Belmonts, but not enough to be immune from its price.” Eric answered, sighing. He took another moment to breathe.

Twilight then asked Eric, “Why aren’t the Belmonts using it?”

“It’s hard to explain, but this is what I have heard. Due to an ancient prophecy, the Belmonts are not allowed to use the whip until the year 1999. It’s because Dracula is predicted to revive then, but this time its said he will be dead for good....”

Eric paused for a bit before continuing. “How they’re going to pull it off--that is, destroying the Dark Lord for good--is beyond me. The closest anyone has gotten to my knowledge is when Trevor Belmont killed him and he had help. Even Dracula’s own son helped him.” He said, crossing his forelegs.

“W-w-wait! His own son? Dracula is a vampire; wouldn’t his son be one as well?” Fluttershy asked, shaking quite a bit.

“I’m curious about this as well.” Luna remarked, her ears perked attentively.

Thumping noises were heard coming from upstairs. Very loud thumping noises at that. Five flea-sized ponies, one of whom was limping, climbed out of Twilight’s saddlebag and they all looked at the wendigo intently.

“I think something’s going on up there. I don’t like it.” Rainbow remarked, taking the lasso off of her body as she began trotting upstairs.

Chapter 14: How Many Problems Now?

Chapter 14: How Many Problems Now?

Chapter Fourteen: How Many Problems Now?

After the second bath and some calming down, everypony had settled in the living room.

“How did you come to be a werepony?” Eric asked, sounding very concerned.

“One of those stupid things bit my neck when I was not looking…it was rather painless until Jonathan pried it off of me…” Charlotte answered, rubbing her neck with a paw to show where exactly the affliction was.

“Trixie’s life just went weird.” Trixie commented, looking at the Medusa Head that was settling itself in her now-frazzled mane.

Stella looked at the Pathetic and Weak Show-off and rolled her eyes and added a brief snicker.

“Trixie still demands to know what this thing is!”

“W-well, Trixie...its a type of monster called a Medusa Head,” stated Twilight, who sighed and looked at Stella disapprovingly.

“And why does it like Trixie?”

“It can be used as a familiar. You shouldn’t ask me about those things. Instead, ask HER.” Twilight replied again, pointing a hoof at Charlotte

“.... Yeah, I can summon them as well…. as well as….ummm, how should I put this?...Uh...a myriad of other things.” Charlotte sighed, ears flat against her head.

“YES. LIKE UNDEAD PONIES!” Luna bellowed, stomping her hoof.

“W-w-what, you said summon undead? TRIXIE DEMANDS YOU SHOW HER NOW!!!”

Charlotte shook her head. “No can do. I’m not going to jail for it; last time was a freak accident.”

A scream echoed and the werepony trotted to the window, only to arch an eyebrow as a large amount of zombie ponies starting popping out of the ground, banging on the Boutique’s door whilst moaning “Me smell magic, me shall feast!” in unison.

Another voice was also heard saying, “Now, now, just wait, my underlings, you can’t eat magic, it’s sad that you used to be mages when you were alive…I may have kept my individuality, but this is just plain stupid...But at least, the skeleton mages kept their rationality…and for that matter, what are you doing trying to talk to that building?”

“Ummm…. I was a nature mage when I was alive, and my power allows me to control and manipulate plants…...” One of the skeleton mages replied, rubbing the back of its head with its left hoof.

The first series of voices groaned in annoyance, “Me need magic, me must eat!” The zombies’ makeshift leader allowed its rotting hoof to hit its face.

“Wait a bucking second, zombie ponies can keep their identity…?” Rainbow and Trixie said in unison, also having taken their places next to the window.

“Ugh.” Charlotte grunted, the tempting smell of walking rotting flesh invading her nose. “Anypony have a leash I could borrow?”

“What is it now, furball?” Jonathan asked, noticing his companion turn away from the window in disgust.

“Werewolf instincts are trying to take over...I refuse to eat rotten meat.” Charlotte answered, holding her nose in her paws.

“Umm… that’s more than Ah needed to know”.” Applejack commented, shaking her head sadly.

“What’s rotten flesh?” Applebloom asked, looking at Charlotte again.

“Oh-oh my, I don’t think you want to know.” Fluttershy sighed, a disapproving frown on her face.

“Phht, I bet it’s something awesome like Rainbow Dash is!!!” Scootaloo chimed, a beaming smile on her face.

“Scootaloo… Applebloom, you do realize that it mean decaying dead ponies, don’t you?” Sweetie Belle retorted, quite clearly not amused.

“EWWW, you mean its dead rotting ponies?!!!” The other two fillies shrieked in unison. Sweetie Belle nodded grimly.

Charlotte looked like she was about to vomit. She held her muzzle shut with her paws.

“Wait! Let’s try the rest of the spell, I memorized the rest of the purification!” Twilight called, causing all to look at her.

“You did? WOW that’s awesome, Twilight!” Rainbow hollered, another beaming smile on her face.

Twilight’s horn began flaring up with a bright white magic, and Charlotte was bathed in the same aura. The spell she was casting seemed to have been long and drawn-out, as it took five solid minutes to cast.

“Umm is it supposed ta take so long, Jonathan?” Applejack asked, looking at the red pegasus.

“Yeah, it is, unfortunately….as the spell removes all abnormal effects...think if somepony were infected with deadly manticore poison. Now add fifteen flying enemies in the room. It’s hell in a handbasket, I swear.” He answered quickly, a frown on his muzzle.

Rainbow Dash had a blank expression on her face “Your kidding, right?”

“He had to set up a diversion to have her cure me and my sister of our vampirism.” Loretta confirmed, crossing her forelegs.

“Quite the diversion too. He was the meat shield.”

Princess Celestia “Well… I can see why it would take so long, purifcation spells are the same spell level as necromancy; however unlike raising the dead, this type of spell was introduced by Starswirl the Bearded, but he died before he could test it...its a miracle anypony her age could master such a powerful spell. Could she be descended from him?”

“I don’t see the connection, taking into account she’s not even from around the four corners of this world.” Rarity pointed out.

‘Well, this world has come into contact with your world once before, I believe. one of the Belnades clan ended up moving to this world…” Celestia retorted, looking at Twilight who was still casting the spell.

At once, a blinding flash of white-hot light penetrated the room. It radiated so much energy beams began pouring out of the windows.

It then faded, and Charlotte was on the floor looking like any other normal pony.

“Well… it appears the spell worked…” Twilight stammered as she fainted from the magic output of the intense spell.

“Interesting, this Twilight’s magic signature reminds me a bit of Sypha Belnades… or at least how it was described in the ancient books…” Said a voice from outside. The banging on the door repeated, this time much more annoying (taking into account the other voices began swearing.)

“Really now? Do you want to use my knives on you, you stupid pile of dead flesh? Because I will, and besides, yer too slow ta catch me… And also any slower and ya would be growing moss on ya!!! Besides, Sypha was one of my good friends long ago…I won’t lose or mah name ain’t Grant Danasty fer nothin’!”

“He sounds like a brute” Rarity stated, shaking her head sadly.

The cursing died down, and so did the banging of the door. The three fillies look out the window and see that all the zombieponies are now just cut up chunks of unmoving flesh

“...This should be interesting.” Eric said, arching both eyebrows. He was rather impressed. Eric thought to himself “So, this world was in contact long ago… well at least this means we have another ally.”

“Wait a second… who is this Grant pony anyhow...?”wondered Rainbow Dash.

“He was a traveling companion of Trevor Belmont, Dracula’s Son Alucard and Sypha Belnades, the four of them actually were known as the legendary heroes who did end up killing Dracula. How he got here is beyond me.” Eric answered swiftly, noticing Charlotte getting up onto her hooves.

“S-s-s-so, he was one of the ponies you mentioned who beat Dracula then?” Inquired Fluttershy

Eric responded with a nod.

“I haven’t been fully truthful.” Princess Celestia stated. “You see, one of Twilight’s ancestors was of the Belnades clan. Grant moved in with Starswirl’s mother and died on a trip to the Gryphon Kingdom when it was still young.” She looked rather solemn as she said that. “He was quite a Pegasus” As she said this her cheeks glowing red.

“I REMEMBER HIM SISTER, HE WAS QUITE A HANDSOME STALLION AS I RECALL… I BELIEVE YOU HAD A MASSIVE CRUSH ON HIM AND YOU CRIED FOR TWO WEEKS WHEN THE GUARDS CAME WITH HIS DEAD BODY!!! Luna bellowed out, much to the shock of all present.

“Lulu!!! Celestia said with a very embarrassed blush on her face, looking as if she were in denial.

“O-oh my” stuttered Fluttershy, eyes wide in complete disbelief.

“Wait a dern second! Is that Celestia and Luna Ah hear?” said who was evidently Grant as he phased into the Boutique. His form was emaciated and even more ghastly than that of Eric’s. His wing feathers were almost nonexistent and he was covered in ghastly white wrappings.

“Hold on a second there buster, I recognize you! When we were fillies, Spitfire showed me her family album and YOU WERE IN THERE”! Stated Rainbow Dash pointing a hoof at Grant’s ghost rather accusingly.

“...It’s one of the quirks of being a restless ghost: you can do all sorts of things.” Grant retorted with a wry grin on his muzzle.

“O….kay then.” Charlotte said, holding a hoof in the air like she had something on it to offer. She was still on the floor.

A low, deep growling was heard. All eyes darted about, trying to find the source. Jonathan’s wing began to bulge, and his legs shifted in discomfort.

“Why do I smell wet fur?” Luna asked, her nose curling up.

“Ah smell it too.” Grant commented, sitting on his rump.. however, since he was a ghost, half of his body was IN the floor

‘Why the buck are you wearing banadages?” Rainbow asked, hovering in the air and crossing her forelegs.

“Got mauled by gryphons and left to die of my wounds and starvation. Not pleasant, and because of this, I wasn’t able to see the birth of my fiance’s child....” Grant answered, a frown forming on his mouth.

“You had a realtionship with Darkfire right?” Rainbow inquired, raising a brow.

“Why, yes I did, why do you ask?” Grant sighed, shaking his head with a displeased look on his face.

The growling sounded again. This time it was louder.

“This is going to hell real fast.” Stella hissed, noticing the bulge in the red pegasus’ wing. It doubled in size now.

“I sense something vile in the room.” Celestia sighed, her horn glowing. “But what it is, I can’t exactly say.”

Grant blew a raspberry. “Check his wing, I think he has a demon inside his back.”

Stella groaned in annoyance as she cautiously approached Jonathan. She slowly lifted her hoof and touched a feather.

A howl like that of a beast sounded shortly after, and it pierced her eardrums. A mass of grey-blue fur emerged from the wing, nearly slicing it off Jonathan’s body in the process. He fell to the ground on his side wincing in pain.

“What the buck, how the hay did THAT get in there?” Rainbow hollered in surprise, seeing the blurry mass of fur rush right towards Charlotte.

“HHYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Charlotte screamed in pain as the thing clamped around her neck and hoisted her off of the ground like a ragdoll.

Twilight groaned, stirring from her brief nap...only to witness a werepony attacking Charlotte. The only thought in her head was “Oh no, not again!!!”

Loretta felt something spark in her as her horn started glowing with magic. The werepony yelped in annoyance and surprise as it turned to solid ice which then shattered seconds later. Charlotte landed on the floor with a dull thud...and her hooves began changing once more.

“I-I’m okay…” Croaked the blue unicorn, twitching in pain.

Celestia’s horn began flaring up with a golden aura again. The aura soon bathed the injured mare before a blinding light violated the room and everything within.

When it faded, there was a piece of paper lying in front of the unicorn, who hastily got off of the ground. She picked it up and examined it carefully.

“I’ve sealed your other form in that scroll. You had best use it wisely.” Celestia said, a small smile on her face.

“I didn’t know you could do that.” Jonathan stated, his wing being tended to by Fluttershy.

“You never asked if I could.” Celestia retorted with a small chuckle.

A loud boom was heard outside, followed by a crash as thunder tore the skies above. This caused Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle to shriek and a bolt of lightning struck the Boutique. Another boom was heard as a burnt-gray coated, yellow maned pegasus crashed through the hole the lightning made.

A weak voice coming from said burnt pony replied, “I don’t know what went wrong...”

“DERPY, this is almost what you did to the town HALL!!!” Rainbow yelled angrily, her hooves jittery as if waiting to punch something.

All the gray-coated pony said was “Hi Rainbow Dash, can we have muffins today?”

“For some reason, I want to have grandchildren.” Eric commented rather sarcastically as a smug grin emerged on his face.

Jonathan’s eyes went as wide as they could go. His jaw and good wing hung open. HIs coat turned solid white. As he fainted with a loud thud, his head hit the coffee table which sent him back into the waking realm.

“WHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTT????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Was all he could say as he fainted again.

Grant whispered into Eric’s ear. “Nice sarcasm dude, Ah think that one is dimwitted.”

Chapter 15: For Hells Bells Toll for thee

Chapter Fifteen: Hell’s Bells Toll for Thee

“Say, why does that red pegasus have Trevor’s whip anyway?” Grant asked, shifting what was left of his wings a bit.

“It was passed on to his family. Let me say you missed out on so much back home.” Eric answered, sighing.

“Really, like what for example?” Grant inquired, rubbing his chin with a hoof.

“I’d spend more time telling you what you missed out on, but now isn’t the time for simple lollygagging. We have to take care of something that has stolen Dracula’s minions for her own use. Yes, the thing that did so is a she.” Eric replied, a scowl on his face.

“So a female.… stole Dracula’s minions?! How the hay is that possible?!” Grant asked yet again, his eyes widening.

“It beats me. I’m surprised Death didn’t fall for her voodoo.” Charlotte sighed, trying to shake Jonathan awake again.

Discord appeared in front of Grant and said “Long time no see.”

“Hey! What’s  a bum like you doing free, Discord?” Grant replied rather warmly despite the frown evident on his face.

“Reformed.” Discord sighed, snapping the hairs on his tail like fingers and causing a bucket of water to appear. “Hey, blue pony, get out of the way.”

Charlotte saw the bucket and quickly complied. It tipped over and spilled its contents onto the red pegasus.

“Bwah!!  That’s way too cold!” Jonathan shrieked, scrambling to his hooves and shaking off the water that drenched him. His pelt returned to its normal red hue.

Rainbow Dash started laughing hysterically at the sight.

“Anyway, Grant, the female in question is….. my older sister….”Discord sighed despondently, his face showing traces of fear.

Grant crossed his forelegs. “‘Splains about everything now, but ah never knew ya had a sister.” He murmured angrily.

“Let’s get going before the problem gets worse. Lord knows what terrors the damned abomination for a sister of Discord be making at this time.” Charlotte said, causing all to look at her.

“Knowing her… she is probably… trying to find her ‘minions’ weapons made out of diamonds and silver…also they are types my kind cannot make through normal means.” Discord murmured, rubbing a lion’s paw on his chin.

“I know what type of diamonds you mean, dah-ling.” Rarity chimed, a smile on her face. “The only problem is… that they are supposed to…. in the heart of an active volcano in the land of the dragons… and if one were to use ice magic to cool it down… the diamonds melt.” She added, finding herself frowning.

“I get it, Havocia plans to use the fire demons to collect them, this is problematic indeed..” Discord stated, his eyes wide.

“Charlotte’s right. We’ve stalled too long now.” Loretta called, all eyes on her now. She sat on her rump and raised a hoof.

“Indeed.” Stella added, crossing her forelegs together.

“Here, here.” Jonathan stated, unfurling his good wing.

“Alright, people. Let’s get going already.” Vincent said, approaching the door rather carelessly.

Jonathan rose up and followed the priest, stopping him with his hoof. “Vincent, stay here where it’s safe. I don’t wanna risk you becoming a vampire again.” He said worriedly.

“Sweetie Belle, you and your friends should stay as well. Where we are going is no place for three fillies.” Charlotte said, going towards the door after loading her saddlebag onto her body.

All three of the crusaders said in unison, “AWWW MAN! WE WANTED MONSTER KILLER CUTIE MARKS!!!”

“Monster hunting is serious business that doesn’t tolerate any tomfoolery.” Stella added calmly, sheathing her sword and wrapping it around her body before going to the door.

“Trust us, we’re adults. We know things you’ve yet to comprehend.” Loretta stated, rising up and adjusting her bonnet before following her sister.

“Should I stay as well?” Twilight asked, a look of worry overcoming her face.

“Yes. Make sure this place is absolutely safe. For safe measures, a barrier would help a lot.  I’m betting my life nopony here has had any experience with the dangers we faced.” Charlotte answered, helping Jonathan load his saddlebag onto his body.

“I’m staying here too.” Eric commented, smiling warmly.

“Eh. It’d be less trouble if I sat here too, though I’d probably be bored outta my mind.” Grant said rather begrudgingly.

“It can’t be that bad. Stop worrying so much, for crying out loud. That’s the job of the living.” Jonathan chimed, a wide grin on his face.

The four ponies went out of the door and into the now-empty streets of the town. The windows were lit, and ponies looked at the quartet expectantly. The small band of travellers began galloping northwards posthaste, soon exiting the town and entering somewhat new territory.

For fleeting moments of time, only the sounds of their hooves hammering the ground hit their ears. They stopped for a moment and turned to glance at Ponyville for possibly the last time. Around its frame a giant barrier had formed, and another under that.

“Nothing can enter or leave the town now.” Charlotte sighed with a smile on her face.

A loud roar was heard, accompanied by powerful wing-beats.

“Great, I hate this…” Jonathan hissed, his eyes narrowing low as he turned around. The others also turned and found a purple beast with a green underbelly approaching them. It had a long and slender neck, and had leathery wings for forearms. It had deadly talons with four toes each, three in the front and one in the rear.

It dragged behind it a chariot, the same one that Luna had used.

“Are you working for Havoica?!!”  Jonathan asked, pointing accusingly at the beast. The beast shook its head as if to reply as it landed gracefully, letting the chariot hit the ground softly.

It then flew inches above the ground, making things with its talons.

“A wyvern that knows sign language? This is new.” Charlotte commented before glancing at the others. “He wants to help us get to Canterlot. Apparently, a long time ago, his family… owed a life debt to the ponies.”

“So, he’s simply carrying out  a tradition?” Stella asked, arching an eyebrow. Charlotte nodded, then trotted over to the chariot and climbed on. The others looked at each other and shrugged before following suit.

The wyvern roared and took the skies again, carrying the chariot with. The beast flew high up under the clouds, giving the passengers another good view of the landscape below. There weren’t many things below, but this was because of the darkness of the night shadowing many things.

“I could’ve sworn I saw a rainbow trail two seconds ago.” Charlotte commented, shaking her head. “I must be dreaming.”

“I WISH I were dreaming.” Jonathan sighed, noticing a town filled with moving shapes in the distance. In its northernmost part was a castle imbedded into the mountainside.

“Couldn’t agree more.” Stella added, rolling her eyes.

“Life is a funny old thing. But this is entirely the vision of some madman who spent fifty years in a nuthouse.” Loretta snapped, rubbing her foreleg with a hoof.

“I know it’s not Canterlot anymore, buuut how the heck is the castle surrounded by a green barrier?” Charlotte asked worriedly as she gazed at the sight.

“I’d normally ask the questions, thank you very much.” Jonathan sighed, crossing his forelegs together.

“Oh great, is that what I think it is?” Stella asked, looking down the side of the chariot and noticing flying shapes head towards the vehicle.

The wyvern roared and began spewing fire underneath its form as if hoping to ward off whatever hell was coming.

The beast soon took a steep dive towards the castle and swerved in a sharp u-turn, making a quick and harsh landing at the entrance of the town. Despite the sudden change of direction and gravity being a little bit of a bastard, the four ponies didn’t suffer any more harm than what was done to them.

The streets of Canterlot’s remains were deathly quiet. The wyvern detached the harnesses of the chariot from its body and turned to the group of four. It then bathed itself in its own fires, letting its ashes intermingle and become something else altogether.

The beast’s new form gave off a soft blue glow and floated down to Charlotte like a feather. She took it out of the air and examined it.

It was a spell scroll. She put it in her book and would’ve put it into her saddlebag had she not heard sounds in the distance.

“Looks like we got company!” Jonathan cried, prying out the cross from his saddlebag and loading it into his hoof.

Chapter Sixteen, Part One: Misery Loves Company

Chapter Sixteen, Part One: Misery Loves Company

Stella put a hoof over her narrowing eyes and looked into the moonlit distance. Around thirty or so shambling silhouettes approached the chariot at a laughable speed.

She scoffed. “Zombies. I think.”

Loretta glanced around, seeing more silhouettes emerge from the alleyways and interiors of houses.

“I thought I saw a rainbow flash again…” The bonnet-wearing unicorn cringed. Her horn charged with magic.

“You don’t think…?” Jonathan said while sweating slightly as he rose onto his hind hooves and readied the cross like it was a small baseball bat.

“Must be seeing things again.” Loretta shrugged, her horn letting off a glow bright enough to show the fronts of the houses lined up alongside the cobblestone walkway. Indeed, the snail-paced silhouettes were really rotten ponies who had suffered a vast multitude of injuries varying from one to the next.

“Eeyup. Zombies alright.” Charlotte sighed rather despodently as she flipped through the pages of her book. “I wanna end this quick so we won’t get waylaid any further.”

A rainbow trail whizzed by in around nine or so circles around the group, and each time a circle was completed a few zombies had been toppled over with their grotesque faces caved in.

Jonathan fell over backwards and quickly righted himself up.

“Oh, great, now I understand that SHE followed us here…as if we didn’t have enough problems already!” He cried, trying very hard not to let his anger go haywire.

“You know Jonathan, she did just destroy what, about thirty-seven zombies in about ten seconds…?” Charlotte stated, swiveling her head to look at the most recent mess around the chariot, “And, from what I can see, two of them dropped something…”

The rainbow trail whizzed by again, claiming whatever it was that caught the unicorn’s eye.

“Great. Less luggage for us.” Stella commented, getting off of the chariot and motioning for the others to follow. “Earth to the three stooges? We musn’t dillydally any longer!”

The trio obliged as Stella began to run off along the cobblestone trail. She soon stopped and drew her sword, loading its hilt into her mouth for some reason.

The other three skid to a halt as a massive amount of monsters came out of the doors of the many overturned caskets that littered the walkway. They were horrendously thin and what was left of them was a sickly white. Some, however, were a fossilized brown in hue and they had horns on their heads.

Above them wheeled strange round shapes with decrepit wings. They had glowing eyes of ice and horns sizzling with magic on their faces.

“I think…. we may be in trouble. I know you’re there Rainbow Dash, and we may need help.” Jonathan murmured, readying the cross in his hooves again.

“Death masks….now alicorns?” Charlotte commented, looking back between the wheeling shapes overhead and the ponies from the caskets--all of whom skeletons no less--a bit frantically.

“I have no comments.” Loretta said, shaking her head as her horn continued to build up magic.

Stella looked behind her and the rest of the group and saw more brown skeleton unicorns approaching them. They emerged from the corpses of the zombies for some strange reason, and they were quickly gaining ground.

Jonathan rose on his hind hooves again and flung the cross before hastily pulling out another from his good wing and flinging that opposite of the first. Both did mid-air cartwheels and sliced the white skeleton ponies in two. The brown ones were far sturdier and they seemed to laugh as the crosses bounced off of them harmlessly.

“Greeeeat. Skeletons with magical energy fields. What next, lesbian succubi?” Charlotte hissed in disbelief, reading her book in her hooves.

“Okay, enough is enough…. I will take you out in ten seconds flat!!!” Called a disturbingly familiar tomboyish voice as another rainbow trail whizzed by, taking out a good deal of the brown skeletons, though not enough to be of any help. It then took out the death masks hovering above one by one, and each let off a scream before disappearing in a fray of feathers.

The trail then returned and took out some more brown skeletons. One skeleton who apparently had more sense than the others fired a magical homing sphere that trailed the rainbow and hit its source: a cyan pegasus mare who fell flat on her face.

“Owww… That hurt, you CHUMP!!!” Rainbow cried, trying to get up onto her now-wobbly hooves.

“We did underestimate you, Rainbow. But this isn’t quite the place for you.” Charlotte commented, narrowing her eyes low as she cast a spell that enveloped her own body.

The horned skeletons glanced at her and dropped their energy fields before charging at the group like a mafia, unaware that the blue mare’s hooves became paw-like.

The first skeleton that got close enough to the group found a set of paws ripping its skull clean off of its spine as if a soccer session were about to occur. Its horn was soon snapped clean off by a set of dagger-like teeth belonging to a canid muzzle. That skeleton’s whole body turned into dust.

Another skeleton’s horn was quickly ripped off in the exact same manner.

Stella swiftly caught on, channeling green magic in her sword as she began flying past the skeletons and slicing horns clean off of their frames. She took out about one hundred of them in about a minute, and they still kept coming towards the small group that found itself with one extra (and not to mention uninvited) member.

“Augh! It seems like Brauner was prepared this time around!” Loretta ranted, channeling her magic into a single point above her and causing small bits of ice to coalesce into that point.

“That about explains everything!” Jonathan agreed wholeheartedly as he reached into his good wing and pulled out a simple combat knife.

“Ugh..that was so NOT COOL!” Rainbow Dash said as she began to regain balance at last. She glanced around and saw a purple blur slicing off the horns of the skeleton ponies and Charlotte tearing skulls off manually. One dropped another scroll.

Loretta commented, ice bits forming into a sphere above her, “Hey I just noticed...isn’t that… the skeleton summon spell that the third skeleton just dropped?”

“Might be something else.” Charlotte shrugged, picking it up before returning to prying skulls off of their bodies with her paw-hooves. Another horn turned to ancient dust in her mouth as she tore it off.

Jonathan brandished the knife in his front hooves and began walking up to some more skeletons on his hind ones. “Hey, nice horns ya have there.” He said before slicing some off. “Would be a shame if they were cut off!”

“You ponies are insane!” Rainbow called out, spreading her wings and seeing one of them fall limply to her side. Her eyes widened at the sight of a bone sticking out of the blue feathers.

“Sanity’s underrated!” Charlotte retorted, glancing around after smashing a skull with her book. All that was left now were the overturned carriages, her friends, Rainbow Dash, and ten years’ worth of dust and feathers on the cobblestone walkway. Jonathan returned to all fours, carefully putting the combat knife in his mouth beforehand.

The carriages suddenly lit aflame with the most beautiful blue fires the group ever saw. And yet, these fires heralded something sinister in their hypnotizing awe…

Chapter Sixteen, Part Two: Shadow Spectre

Chapter Sixteen, Part Two: Shadow Spectre

“Hey, guys...My wing has a bone sticking out here…!!” Rainbow cried.

“Get her a potion, and quick.” Loretta sighed, the ice-sphere floating next to her. Jonathan opened his good wing and stuck a hoof in the feathery mass before furiously shuffling through it, accidentally cutting his foreleg with the knife in the process.

“Potions don’t help broken bones. One of us has to manually put that back in place.” Charlotte retorted, returning to her regular pony form.

Stella sheathed her sword, glancing briefly at the blue fires that ravaged the carriages before trotting over to Rainbow and grabbing her wings with her hooves.

“Ow, what the hay! That really hurts! Do you even know what you’re doing?!” Rainbow protested, wincing in pain.

“No.” Stella admitted calmly. “Hold still unless you want to be wingless for the rest of your life!”

“Okay, I see your point. JUST BE CAREFUL, OKAY?” Rainbow hollered angrily, her eyes narrowing low.

“Cut off your wings? Okay!” Stella replied with a grin as she was about to unsheath her sword.

“That’s not what I said!!!” Rainbow yelped, trying to get away from Stella. The purple mare held a firm grip with her hooves, and she was pressing right down on the hurt bone, which added more pain.

“I’m not a surgeon; go cry about it to Charlotte if you’re THAT desperate.” Stella commented, refusing to let go of Rainbow’s injured wing.

“But she’ll turn me into a frog!” Rainbow pleaded, putting on a sad face.

“Why would she do that?” Loretta thought, rubbing the back of her head nervously with a hoof.

Rainbow screamed as the bone was somehow put back into its proper place. A white aura bathed it and the wound had healed. The cyan mare glanced around before finding out why: Charlotte’s horn was aglow.

“Next time, I’m bringing something along the lines of a chainsaw.” Charlotte commented, her horn ceasing its glow.

The carriages became sparkly blue ash that glistened like the night skies above. They began to coalesce into a small vortex.

“Whoa, how did my wing get healed?” Rainbow asked, moving it to make sure it worked.

“It’s magic. I ain’t gotta explain anything.” Charlotte answered, pointing a hoof at her horn before glancing at the small vortex of gleaming dust forming in the walkway.

“I will have to admit, it worked much faster than the time I broke my wing, that was not a fun time…” Rainbow reminisced, also watching the sight in morbid fascination.

The ashes began forming into a vertical shape with a sharp point like that of a crayon. It then grew wider and longer before morphing into the shape of an alicorn.

“Oh, sweet Celestia! It can’t be… her!!!” Rainbow panicked, eyes shrinking from shock.

“Rainbow…. Who’re you talking about?” Stella asked, rather impressed by the sight of the stardust.

“It’s Nightmare Moon’s last remnants of evil!” Rainbow answered, her ears falling flat.

Charlotte stepped towards the dusty alicorn. “I heard all about her from Twilight.” She said, staring down the ashes as if the mass had eyes.

“Something about making night eternal around here, so I was told.” Jonathan sighed, also taking a step forward.

“Vampires would have loved her for that reason.” Loretta commented, joining the two ponies that began their approach.

“Wereponies too.” Stella pointed out, unsheathing her blade and rushing at the swirling mass of ashes.

“Yes, but technically only on a full moon, Stella.”Loretta corrected her sister as she noticed her sibling charge at the mass of ash.

The pegasus sliced at the head and wings of the alicorn before returning to the group. The head and wings, strangely enough, remained in place.

“Ah hell! It’s a ghost of some kind!” Jonathan shrieked, digging into his good wing for something.

“Yeah, I mentioned that earlier if you were paying attention!” Rainbow Dash snapped while rolling her eyes in a crude manner.

“Okay, I’m not the best listener of the classroom.” Jonathan retorted, another pained look coming across his face as a long, slender pole of metal stuck out of his wing.

“Jonathan, I think your sub-weapons have shifted again…” Charlotte sighed, looking at the wing.

“And this ain’t one of them.” He replied, pulling it out of his wing. It was a polearm whose blade and handle met at an angel’s wing and another wing that was broken off of it at some point in time. The handle was a black, and the blade silver.

“Well, I have to admit it needs to be at least twenty percent cooler…” Rainbow commented, her eyes widening in awe.

“Wait a second… I recognize that weapon!” Loretta stated, looking at the polearm in shock.

“Now that you mention it Loretta, isn’t that…?” Stella begun saying, only for an aura of magic to lift her in the air and fling her into a house.

“S-s-sister! Are you alright?!” Loretta cried, only to be picked up herself and thrown into Rainbow.

“This is a problem!” Jonathan shrieked, using the polearm as a means to hold onto the concrete.

“Well, she is a ghost technically…. perhaps my magic can get rid of her, …there is a chance that she could neutralize my spells...here goes...” Charlotte murmured, rubbing a hoof on her chin as her horn began radiating a glow of fire.

“Uh…. what does that word mean again?” Jonathan asked, noticing the polearm was about to be pried out of the ground.

“Ugh… it means she could make the spell not work!” Charlotte answered, her gaze on the alicorn dustball that stood there mockingly. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter until a steady stream of blaze formed a halo above her head.

“I see your friend is a dimbulb. I’d say he’s about as smart as a brain-dead toad!!!” Bellowed the dust ball, spreading its sparkling wings as if to prepare for flight.

“Is that so? Well you’re a birdbrain!!!” Jonathan retorted, flapping his good wing nonstop.

Rainbow Dash had recovered and heard Jonathan’s retort and she hit her face with her hoof as she thought “Really, is that the best you could think of…he’s pathetic?”

Charlotte suddenly let loose a thick stream of fire from her charging horn, and her eyes turned a blazing orange in hue. The stream shot up in the sky like a rocket before it grew small reptilian legs and a large, draconian head.

“Salamander!” She cried, pointing her hoof at the dustball. The flame-lizard roared and rushed at the target in elegant movements, spreading embers in its wake.

Rainbow Dash looked in awe as she gently pushed Loretta off of her, since she had never seen a spell like this before.

Fortunately the ghost of Nightmare Moon was distracted by Jonathan and the spell hit her in her blind spot: the back, right between the wings.

“AAAAHHHHH!! THAT HURT! WHO CAST THAT ARCANE SPELL?! YOU BURNED MY WINGS!!!” The dustball cried, its voice like that of a demon. The wings burnt off with ease.

“Hey, ugly, you looked away from the blue pony.” Jonathan taunted, still flapping his good wing like a maniac.

The alicorn-now-turned-unicorn glared at Charlotte, whose horn was charging up another spell; this one with electricity dancing about its pointed frame. Her eyes took on a color of gold now.

“So, I sense you can cast all sorts of spells. Even summon monsters… fascinating… perhaps after I kill you, I can absorb your magic core…” The ghost said, grinning horribly.

“That just… sounded wrong on so many levels…” Rainbow commented while slightly green in the face.

“Heads up.” Charlotte said, smiling triumphantly and jerking her head slightly upwards. The ghost looked up and saw Loretta flying in the air without the aid of wings. Above her was a dark purple void, and the bonnet-wearing mare was twirling like a ballerina with the accusing hoof set on the dustball.

Giant masses of ice began to emerge from that void.

“Icicle drop!” Loretta cried, causing the masses of ice to fall down and come crashing on top of the dustball.

“THAT’S COOOOOOOOOLD!!!” The dustball wailed, its horn becoming damaged as it tried frantically to outrun the mare who was gaining ground with her impending icicle storm of doom.

“Take that, you damn ugly ghost!” Jonathan shouted, pointing a hoof at the dustball as his good wing began lifting him off of the ground with increasing ease.

“Even I’m not stupid enough to piss off Loretta, and you did that by slightly injuring her sister!” Charlotte added, her smirk widening.

An icicle stopped right in front of the ghost’s path, and then another landed right on top of the ashy mass. It screamed and dissipated into a pile of dust.

“.... I guess since she had no body, she was weak to begin with…” Loretta commented, her horn ceasing its glow. The void above her faded away.

“It’s definitely possible little sister. After all, it was dust.” Stella chimed, standing next to Charlotte.

Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief, still clinging to the polearm with his hooves. His wing stopped flapping.

The ashes begun to stir, sparkling even brighter now as a head rose from the pile. Quickly, the ghost was reformed without so much as a visible scar.

“Not again!” Everypony cried in shock, quickly readying battle stances again.

“I knew it was too good to be true!” Rainbow Dash deadpanned with a horrified wail as her eyes went wide.

Chapter 16 Part 3: Rainboom

Chapter Sixteen, Part Three: Rainboom

“What’s it take to put her down?!” Jonathan hollered, pulling out another weapon from his wing: a double-bladed axe.

“Hmmm, perhaps a massive amount of positive energy may neutralize her darkness.” Charlotte sighed, her horn charging up another spell.

“And where do we get THAT?” Stella snapped, glaring at the unicorn with her eyes narrowing.

“Weeeell...I do have my element with me right now.” Rainbow commented, raising her hoof. Loretta glanced at her, seeing a golden necklace with a ruby carved into the shape of a lightning bolt around the cyan mare’s neck.

“And what the hell does that do?” Jonathan asked, balancing on the polearm using one hind hoof

as if here were in a circus.

“Jonathan, it’s one of the six elements that saved this world about three times. Maybe four? I can’t remember too good right now.” Charlotte answered, looking at the dustball who now held a giant boulder in front of its frame.

“Who do I knock out first?” The dustball asked, looking at all five ponies at once. Rainbow spread her wings and took to the sky, her necklace glinting in the faint moonlight in the process.

“Hmmm it could be a good idea, as what I learned, she is the embodiment of one of the elements. Perhaps it could weaken that ghost.” Charlotte murmured, firing a concentrated beam at the boulder which caused it to shatter into pebbles.

“It cannot be used alone.” The ghost smiled wryly, its horn charging with a spell of its own. “You’re such a stupid child.”

Charlotte’s eyes immediately went blank white and steam blew out of her nostrils.

“Back to square one then….” Jonathan sighed, noticing he was becoming a bit wobbly on top of the polearm. With an axe in his forelegs, panic begun chewing on him and made him a bit nervous.

“Uh yeah, Jonathan, that seems pretty dumb to do. I’m surprised your head hasn’t been split open yet!” Charlotte snapped, glancing at the red pegasus.

The ghost grinned. “Sounds like I have my target now!” It said, staring at the pony who was in the middle of a dangerous balancing act.

Loretta looked up and saw a rainbow trail rapidly shooting towards the earth. She was quick to yank the axe away from Jonathan right as he slipped and fell off of the polearm. By sheer luck he landed in a cart filled with hay.

The trail grew closer and closer, and all eyes not faced towards the sky soon found a most spectacular sight awaiting them in mere seconds.

A titanic BOOM sounded and it roared like thunder, and a rainbow-hued shockwave shined in the moonlight as its radius spread far and wide. The center of the sky-doughnut was stark white, allowing the moon to shine through right onto the ghost.

The ghost let off a shriek as the sonic boom caused its dusty mass to wither away and be carried off in all directions by the resulting wind.

Rainbow Dash landed where the spectre had been standing, and she looked at the group of ponies who stood there (in Jonathan’s case, sat in the middle of a haycart) staring at her with wide eyes and open jaws.

“What the hell?” Jonathan asked, literally so struck by the shockwave he was rendered unable to say anything else.

“Well...that takes care of that.” Loretta sighed, strands of mane out of place on her head.

“Yeah…” Charlotte added, blinking a bit.

“She really lives up to her birth-given name.” Stella chimed, her wings refusing to close at all. She sheathed her sword hastily.

Behind Rainbow, a brick wall formed out of thin air. Attached to that wall was a painting of Ponyville.

“Oh no…. don’t tell me…” Charlotte started, her body beginning to quake with fear as horrid thoughts began doing marathons in her mind.

Rainbow flew up into the sky again, but she didn’t get far because her nose met with an invisible wall. She looked past Canterlot and found that, much to her horror, the outermost margins of the town were all she could see--the rest had some kind of black mist lingering about it.

“Just as I thought. I hope no monsters attacked the sitting ducks yet.” Stella said, cringing a bit as she approached the painting.

Rainbow landed on the ground next to her fellow pegasus. “Can’t see anything past town. It’s...like nothing was even there.” She said, her voice filled with dreadful concern.

Jonathan took the polearm out of the ground and held it in his mouth. He glanced at the unicorns who then nodded.

All five trotted until they were directly in front of the painting, albeit it was a bit crowded.

“What do we do now?” Rainbow asked, noticing Charlotte’s horn glowing again as she raised her hoof upwards almost as if possessed.

“Let her work her magic.” Loretta sighed, blinking a bit.

The painting slowly turned into a glowing portal of brightest light that outshined the sun as it seemed to allow a purple horn--followed by mane--to pass through.

They jumped, seeing that Twilight was sticking her head out of the painting as if it had a gaping hole in it.

“So it connected to here and this was where you were Rainbow? Scootaloo was worried sick, as were the rest of us!” Twilight scorned, a frown on her face. She wasn’t amused.

“Hey Twilight, we ended up fighting zombies and… oh crap she’s reviving again!!!” Jonathan cried, noticing the ashes once again intermingling as if to mock him for his stupidity.

“Jump through the painting already!” Charlotte cried as Twilight pulled her head back into the paint. The group of ponies jumped through with haste and found themselves landing face-first on a dirt walkway and before a familiar set of white hooves that had gold horseshoes.

“Welcome back, was there any trouble?” Celestia asked, a warm smile on her face.

“A lot,” Stella scoffed, getting off of the ground quickly.

“Princess, Nightmare Moon is a ghost now and my element was not enough to beat her. It only stunned her, I guess…” Rainbow murmured, a look of shame on her face.

“DID THOU SAY NIGHTMARE MOON IS AS GHOST!!!” Luna bellowed, her wings spread in shock.

“Lulu, what did we say about the royal voice?” Celestia asked, giving her sister a glare.

“We’re witnesses.” Loretta said, groggily raising a hoof up.

Charlotte tensed up, feeling something breathing on her from behind. She turned around, seeing what could be best described as an adolescent wyvern with horns on its head staring back at her with red eyes. It’s frame was a dark blue-gray, and its arms sported clawed, two-fingered hands with wing membrane present.

It sat there on her back, about the size of a hen. An even larger, similar creature that stood half of Celestia’s height pried it off of her back and put it on the ground.

“Slogra, I command you to get that dragon away from her!” Called a demonic voice, causing Rainbow to turn around and see Death standing there pointing a hoof at the large beast. Next to him was a creature that was skin and bones. It was pale gold in color, and it had an oversized beak that could very well be a meat-slicing set of swords.

It had two arms that ended in three claws, and unusually large feet. It pried the big dragon and the little one off of the ground, dragging them to the Reaper and away from Charlotte.

“Why is… that Gaibon the size of a baby…?” Charlotte asked, pointing to the hen-sized dragon that began crying like a baby whose bottle was taken away from it.

“It is a baby Gaibon. It hatched right on your back as you came through the painting.” Death answered, turning to the big Gaibon swiftly.

“Mama!” It cried, kicking and punching at the air as it kept crying.

“Oh no….it imprinted on me?” Charlotte asked, her eyes widening in shock.

“I’m afraid so, and it sees that rainbow-maned one as the other parent…” Death answered grimly before grabbing the big Gaibon with a hoof and raising all sorts of hell at it.

“What in tarnation is a Gaibon anyhow?’ Applejack asked as she approached the group.

Charlotte pointed a hoof at the dragon getting bitched at. “That,” She answered, her face turning a darker hue of blue from a feeling of unease.

“From what Ah heard, that baby one thinks…” Applejack started, only for Rainbow and Charlotte to nod their heads whilst experiencing cold sweats.

“That is just too funny to think Rainbow is the daddy, wait till Scootaloo hears this one!”Sweetie Belle and Applebloom chimed in unison with wide grins on their faces.

The baby Gaibon giggled as it got off of the ground and walked over to Rainbow and said “Daddy?”

“Uh...help.” Rainbow pleaded, looking at Charlotte who was equally as horrified. The unicorn shook her head, clearly unable to provide any assistance.

“You not daddy.” The baby Gaibon said, pointing at Rainbow before it waltzed off to Jonathan and hugged his leg. “This is daddy.” It added lovingly.

“Well bub, it’s better that it’s you than it is me...” Rainbow admitted registering the look of pure terror that came across Jonathan’s face.

“When’s the wedding?” Stella jested, poking both ponies with the bare tips of her wings.

At that moment, all Jonathan and Charlotte could do was scream in agonized wails and the baby Gaibon thought it was a game and screamed with the two.

Chapter 17 Part 1: Crystals Galore

Chapter Seventeen, Part One: Crystals Galore!

“So, what were you hollering at the big Gaibon for?” Jonathan asked Death, making sure he was done with his lecture.

“If I didn’t have Slogra pull him away, you’d all be watching fornication.” Death answered rather bluntly, the glow of his eyes dimming momentarily. “If they smell something in heat, they end up just focusing on the thing in heat.”

“I haven’t heard Death speak like that.” Loretta commented, noticing the baby Gaibon looking at her.

“He probably worded it that way to make sure Jonathan would understand what he meant.” Stella added, stretching her wings to their full length.

“I’m not even twenty-five and I’ve already adopted a child. What is this world coming to?” Charlotte asked, her hooves close to her face. She took on a wide-eyed scowl, like she simply could not take this anymore

“Hey, I’m less than twenty-five myself and I have my daughter Dinky!!!” Derpy cut in, landing next to Charlotte with a glare on her face.

“Yeah, in Equestria, one is legally an adult when they are about sixteen.” Rarity stated, poking Charlotte with a hoof.

“Ask Eric if he considers me an adult. I’m only seventeen.” Charlotte retorted, rolling her eyes as she put her hooves down.

“What’s the legal age back at your home?” Rainbow asked, raising a brow.

“It’s twenty-one where we were from. My sister and I are twenty-two.” Stella answered, closing her wings and sighing through her nostrils.

“It’s very different back at home. Trust me.” Loretta wryly added, a frown on her face.

“Hmmm good point. Thou are from another universe…” Luna commented, poking the green unicorn with a hoof.

“I-um...I...could you please quit touching me?” Loretta asked, sweating a bit.

Mi Amore pushed Derpy aside gently, her horn radiating a blue glow on its frame. She looked at Charlotte as if the unicorn had done something taboo.

“What are you doing now?” Pinkie Pie asked, appearing on the pink alicorn’s back.

Amore smiled rather deviously. She poked Charlotte to get her attention.

“Somepony’s pregnant.” She cooed, and in that same instant Charlotte lost all coat color.

“Wha??????!!!!!” Jonathan cried, turning around with his good wing snapping open in a fraction of a second.

“Oh my. Now that you mention it, I can sense another soul....” Death added, recoiling a bit in shock himself.

“Say WHAT NOW?!” Stella shrieked, shaking a bit.

Loretta fell over, her hoof over her eyes. She landed on the ground, her eyes stark white.

“Oh dear.... I have a feeling it must have been something from a few months...ago…. during New Year’s….” Charlotte murmured, sweating very frantically now. “Either that or something snuck in my room while I was asleep…”

“Well, I do recall that you drank a lot, Charlotte….perhaps too much for your own good.” Stella sighed, her wings drooping down her sides.

The blue unicorn began to laugh hysterically. Shaking her head like a madman, she said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t either.” Jonathan murmured, unable to decide on a frown or a smile as he shook his head. “I was asleep well before the wine was brought out.”

Amore looked at him. “You’re lying just as bad as she is.”

“Am not.” Jonathan retorted, his wing folding against his body.

“Can I throw a baby shower?!” Pinkie cried, bouncing around Charlotte nonstop.

“PINKIE PIE! I don’t think that is a good idea, if you mind me saying…” Fluttershy hollered, much louder than anyone present had been used to. All heads that could move without assistance swiveled in her direction. She was standing next to Applejack, and she wasn’t the slightest bit amused.

“Why not?” Pinkie said, her mane beginning to flatten.

“The issue at hoof is more important right now. Everypony just calm down, if you don’t mind.” Fluttershy answered, her eyes narrowed but easing nonetheless.

“She must ‘ave lost a lotta ‘er marbles, right?” Grant commented, appearing out of the ground next to Slogra. He pointed a hoof at Pinkie.

“Nope, I haven’t lost my marbles. See, here they are!” Pinkie said as she took a huge bag of marbles out of her deflating mane.

“What the hay, how is….?” Grant stuttered, beginning to shake a bit.

“She’s always been a party mare. It’s just her being Pinkie.” Rarity shrugged, a look of worry on her face.

“She was even able to pop out of my bonnet earlier...” Loretta groaned as she begun stirring awake. She rose onto her hooves, albeit a little bit wobbly as her eyes regained color.

“She’s secretly a unicorn!” Stella cried, pointing at Pinkie rather accusingly.

“It would explain a lot.” Jonathan scoffed, wiping sweat off of his forehead with a shaky hoof.

Charlotte giggled hysterically again. She began shaking so much a volcano envied her.

“Awwww, don’t worry. The ham will be fully baked after this.” Amore cooed, a wide grin on her face as she poked Charlotte’s shoulder with a hoof.

All the unicorn could do was make an impression of a whining toddler.

Death trotted over to the unicorn, his scythe on his back. “Let her be. Just because she’s one of my sworn enemies does not mean I condone you humiliating her.” He hissed, looking at the alicorn.

Mi Amore quickly backed off.

Death turned to Slogra. “I command you to get this mare a bucket, preferably with water in it.”

Slogra nodded and scampered off into the alleys of the town.

“Can I crawl into a hole now?” Charlotte asked, looking like she was about to cry.

“It’s not your time, woman. Get a hold of yourself and calm down.” Death answered, still looking at Mi Amore. Slogra had returned with a bucket in his oversized bill, and it was at least half-full with water.

“Fine…” Charlotte said reluctantly, taking in some deep breaths. The bipedal, bird-like thing placed the bucket in front of her, and she immediately threw her head in it and begun drinking the water.

“I hope I wasn’t hallucinating...” Loretta commented, attempting to balance herself on her hooves again.

“You weren’t.” Stella stated, helping her sister stand properly.

Charlotte finished her drink and shook the excess water off of her head.

“Guys, I see another painting…” Twilight murmured, causing all to look at her and then to what she had been looking at.

In front of the library was indeed a painting, this one depicting crystals of all colors with a cyan heart bearing many facets in the center. The four ponies shook off the shock that clung to them and approached it.

As they came closer, it began warping and a skull was seen swirling about, though very faintly. Mi Amore quickly rushed to the ponies approaching the phenomenon.

“Oh no...the Crystal Empire too?” She asked, a worried frown on her face.

“Crystal Empire…? I must say, it does look amazing.”  Stella said, pointing a hoof at the painting.

“By looking at it, I would say the city itself is made of crystals…” Charlotte spoke, her horn glowing.

“Umm, Mi Amoire, if it’s not too much to ask, what is the Crystal Empire, exactly?” Loretta inquired, crossing her forelegs together.

“It literally lives up to its name. Even the ponies are made out of crystals. Lately, though, the Crystal Heart--an artifact that protects the Empire--has been failing more and more every day.” Amore answered, her ears drooping.

“Really...But I thought we all saved the Crystal Heart… or, rather, Spike did….? OH NO, WHERE IS SPIKE?!!!!”” Twilight shrieked before she fell over onto the ground.

“Who’s Spike? By the name, I’d assume Spike must be male?” Jonathan asked, raising a brow.

“Oh Spiky-Wikey.. is a cute baby dragon who helps everypony in town…!” Rarity wailed, her eyes beginning to tear up. OH, I DIDN’T NOTICE HE WASN’T HERE! ITS THE WORST POSSIBLE THING!!!” After saying that, she fainted.

“Rarity’s lost it…” Charlotte murmured, shaking her head sadly.

“Not really…. Spike, well, has a crush on Rarity….” Amore chimed in.

“I wonder what a mixture between a dragon and a pony would look like.” Loretta commented her hoof on her chin.

“As I recall, that particular mix is called a Kirin, I think…” Charlotte said, looking up at the painting and pulling in the four dunderheads who were going with her. Then, she touched the painting with her hoof. A bright light soon swallowed them up and disappeared, but not before the baby Gaibon jumped into the rays of magical energy.

“Well, there they go...I almost got killed when I followed them last time…” Rainbow sighed as the painting returned to its ‘normal’ shape.

The painting spat out six shapes, piling one on top of the other in such a way a red pony was on top of a blue one.

“Ugh… I hate it when those paintings do that…” Stella complained, noticing Loretta on Amore’s back.

“Well, at least you don’t have a big red lug on top of you in a really awkward manner!” Charlotte hollered, trying to shove Jonathan off of her.

“Oh dear god, I’m starting to think I raped you, woman!” Jonathan yelled, falling off of the dogpile and landing on his head.

“Let’s just get this over with, as I can see, everypony has become fully crystallized, and I’m betting my husband was as well.” Mi Amore sighed, getting onto her hooves.

“You have a husband…. who is he?” Stella asked, raising a brow.

“His name is Shining Armour… and he’s Twilight’s older brother.” Amore answered, using her magic to right the other ponies up before noticing the baby Gaibon clinging to Charlotte’s tail. “Oh, speaking of husbands, I know who’s gonna become one.”

“Really?” Jonathan asked with a disapproving frown on his muzzle.

Amore snickered crudely.

“Wait a second….are you implying the child I’m supposedly pregnant with is….!?” Charlotte asked, her jaw physically dropping as her pelt turned white again.

Amore snickered once more.

“Oh, deary me. Loretta, we might as well be the bridesmaids.” Stella commented, her neck retracting into her shoulders nervously.

“I’m confused…. what was implied?” Jonathan asked, his good wing unfurling a bit.

“I refuse to comment.” Loretta said, shaking a bit.

Amore trotted over to Charlotte and poked her stomach with a hoof. “What did you do, little mare?” She cooed with a motherly smile on her face.

Charlotte began leaning away to the point she fell onto her side. The mare soon scooted away a bit before standing on her hooves again.

“Maybe I could conjure an illusion to show you what you did~” Amore smiled, her face darkening as a result.

“NONONONONONONO!!!” The sisters objected, shaking their heads frantically in shock.

“Wait, what is that thing over there… it’s crystallized, but I can tell it’s not a pony…” Jonathan said, pointing to the object with his hoof. All eyes were soon looking at what he was looking at: a lizard-like being that stood roughly a third of a normal pony’s height, complete with a look of fear on its face.

“Oh, sweet Celestia! It’s poor little Spike!!!” Amore shrieked, running up to it and examining it from all angles.

“A little help would be nice, and...who are those weirdoes?” Said a young boy’s voice.

“I’m not a weirdo, I’m just insane.” Charlotte corrected, now noticing the baby Gaibon attached to her tail.

“Spike.. that’s not very nice…. and besides, if it weren’t for these ponies, Twilight and Ponyville might be in a living hell right now.” Amore scorned, a scowl on her face.

“He’s a dragon, like me…?” Asked the voice.

“Yeah, and it needs to know that I am not edible.” Charlotte answered, trying to pry the baby Gaibon off of her tail.

“Me would not eat Mommy!!!” It cried, letting go of the tail.

“Spike… Can you tell us who did this to the Crystal Empire and crystallized everypony here?” Amore asked, raising a brow.

“Cadance, you know pretty well….k-k-k-k-k-k-k-King s-s-s-Sombra...” Spike answered. “And did you give birth to that dragon?”

“WHAT!!!! I thought he was--?! And no, it hatched on Charlotte’s back by chance.” Cadence wailed, shaking a lot now.

“Can Mommy lay eggs?” The baby Gaibon asked.

Spike mentally hit his claw on his head and thought to himself ,“That little dude… will learn the hard way one day.”

“Let’s get back on topic. Can you tell us more about this Sombra?” Jonathan asked, raising his hoof.

“Well, he’s a unicorn who mastered very dark magic and at one time took control of this city...other than that, we know little about him. However, he was defeated by Spike and the Crystal Heart; he was vaporized as I recall. A small part of his horn remained, that much I know.” Cadence answered, her wings drooping.

“Hmmmm…. I think I got it! I think I know how he survived!” Charlotte said, her eyes twinkling a bit.

“And what is it, Miss High Fertility?” Cadence cooed in a taunting manner.

“This is not going well…” Stella sighed, her head lowered in disappointment.

“In my theory, suppose Sombra cast a regeneration spell on himself just before he was hit by the Crystal Heart… his body would slowly come back together… it would take about a year or so before he would be complete again.” Charlotte answered before her face contorted when she noticed Cadence’s cruel joke. “Also, that wasn’t very nice.”

“Oh, of course… I could have been so stupid… we just assumed he was gone for good.” Cadence sighed, poking Charlotte’s belly again.

“Wait, if he could use a spell that like…. he will be hard to beat, right?” Jonathan asked, raising a brow.

“I’m not public property, quit touching me. And, no, duh, Jonathan.” Charlotte snapped, glaring at Cadence.

“Hmmm, a regeneration spell… Twilight did say that is a spell that exists… was around the level Starswirl the Bearded had…?” Loretta asked, looking up at the ceiling and noticing it glimmered in some kind of nonexistent light.

“Wait a second…. I’m sensing something…. we need to move NOW!!!” Charlotte cried, turning her head to the painting and seeing dark crystals obscure the frame. From that wall emerged a large pony whose crystalline body radiated the epitome of forbidden magic.

“That madpony Sombra…. he has created Crystal Golems now??!!!” Cadence wailed as the Golem stared at her with cruel intent.

The Golem roared, rearing up onto its hind hooves in doing so. On its midsection was a band of darker crystals, crackling with black magic.

“I think… if we destroy the darker crystals the Golem will break… since I believe that it is what is making the pieces come together, sort of like the foundation of a house.” Charlotte commented before glancing at Spike.

Her eyes went wide. “SOMEONE GET HIM OUT FROM UNDER THE DAMN THING!” She cried.

“I’m on it, Miss Pregnant Mare.” Stella sighed, spreading her wings and brandishing her sword. She shot towards Spike, wrapped him in her forelegs, and then flew up to the underside of the descending hoof and hastily stabbed it, making sure her blade went as far as it could go. She retracted it and flew up, noticing the Golem roar as it clutched its hoof.

The Golem was more than royally pissed now. It sent its hurt hoof out in order to punch the flying nuisance, only to get another stab in return.

“Charlotte, let’s try the Holy Lightning….thingamadoodle.” Jonathan said, stretching out his good wing.

Spike mentally hit his face at that comment and he said to himself, “This pegasus must not be too bright…”

“It’s been forever since we last used that kind of teamwork, but it’s worth a shot… seeing as it  does hit a lot of things.” Charlotte commented, her horn glowing with white electrical sparks.

“True.” Jonathan sighed as he reared up on his hind legs, using his good wing for support.

An icicle-like saw appeared out of a purple void and it swung down, slicing the Golem into two separate pieces...right at the black crystal belt. The Golem roared and thrashed about briefly before it exploded into a million or so tiny pieces.

Jonathan landed onto all fours.

“Umm guys… I think it dropped two...somethings….” Stella commented, landing with the crystallized dragon on her back.

“You two are rather slow.” Loretta said brashly, poking the red pegasus and blue unicorn with her hooves. “And my sister happens to be right--there are two somethings over yonder.”

Charlotte’s horn stopped glowing. “Not my fault we need to polish up.” She replied, her tone of voice snarky.

“Hmmm, one of the things it dropped appears to be a helmet made of crystal...…. but I’ve never seen this kind before…” Stella commented, trotting over to it and picking it up.

The helmet was a radiant white, looking as if made of diamond. It had a round shape with visible slots for ears and a horn, and the inside had room for two hooves.

“I feel like I’m about to play dress-up.” Charlotte sighed, a frown on her face.

Stella spread her wings and quickly swooped over Jonathan and put the helmet on his head.

“HEY! I kinda need my skull, woman!” Jonathan yelled, having almost fallen over into the ground.

“Let’s move on. I don’t like this.” Cadence sighed, putting a scroll in Charlotte’s book when the blue unicorn hadn’t been looking.

The ponies turned around, seeing torches lit with blue flames on either side of a wooden, out-of-place door. The group trotted over to it with Cadence pushing said door open.

Jonathan accidentally stepped on a floor switch without looking. One wall disappeared and one came out of the floor in front of the door that was just opened.

“What the hay, where did that wall come from?” He asked, a look of annoyance on his face.

Spike mentally put a claw to his face and said to himself “Doesn’t that idiot realize he stepped on a switch??!”

“Oh great. Puzzles.” Stella said, small hints of sarcasm lingering about her voice.

The new, revealed room to the left was full of statues--four, to be exact… and four glowing lights in part of the room.

“Aha! I think I just figured out what we need to do!” Charlotte exclaimed, her eyes widening a bit.

“Tell us quickly, alright?” Jonathan sighed,ears flattening.

“What we need to do is put the colored statues in the corresponding glowing spot…. but the trouble is…. we need to do it in a certain order and the directions are on that tablet over yonder.” Charlotte answered, already inside the room. The other ponies went inside posthaste.

The room had the aforementioned statues in one color each: red, yellow, blue, and green. The red statue depicted a cruel-looking unicorn stallion with regal armor on his legs and upper frame. His horn was curved inwards, but only slightly.

The blue statue depicted a mare who bore an eerie resemblance to Cadence herself, except she lacked a horn. Her wings were spread wide and one hoof was raised.

“Oh my gosh… that blue one is a statue of mother, and the red one is somepony I loathe...a certain one we are looking for. ” Cadence sighed, looking at the red statue resentfully.

The yellow statue depicted another unicorn stallion who wore a hat and cape similar to that of Trixie’s. However, he had a beard and a wise, grand look on his face.

“Holy guacamole! The yellow one is Starswirl the Bearded!” Spike cried in shock, but because he was a mass of crystals, he couldn’t do much else.

The green statue depicted not one, but two alicorn fillies. One was flying high on her petit little wings, bringing with her an orb that looked very much like the sun. The second was flying low, bringing with her a crescent moon.

“Are those two who I think they are?” Charlotte asked, pointing a hoof at the green statue.

“Yes, it’s a statue of both my Aunties when they were still young foals; I’d estimate around the same age as Applebloom and her friends.” Cadence answered, a smile on her face.

“Frankly, they look cute.” Stella commented.

Loretta looked at a piece of rock in the center of this intricate room. It was old and chipped just about completely, save for the topmost fraction. “All I can see is that we have to start with the yellow statue.” She sighed, inspecting the rock closer.

“You gotta be kidding… that sucks…” Jonathan complained, his hooves on his armored head.

“AGH! That doesn’t help us much at all…. Oh how I miss Shining; it could take us all day to figure out which is the right order…” Cadence complained, stomping her hoof in anger.

“Is his brain frying?” Spike asked.

“Yes.” Jonathan answered, his wing and eye twitching.

Charlotte trotted over to the red pegasus and raised her left hoof. She slapped Jonathan right across the face with the back of her foreleg, a scowl adorning her own. “And that is supposed to help Cadence HOW?!” She yelled angrily.

Jonathan stumbled a bit before he collected himself, allowing his hooves to rise up and clasp the unicorn by her cheeks. “Y’know, you’re kind of cute when you’re in a hissyfit.”

In one swift motion, their lips met before Charlotte could say anything else. In the same instant, she punched him in the face, causing him to let go and fall onto the floor wings-first.

“I knew it!” Cadence cried, pointing her hoof at Charlotte. “I knew it!”

“Oh my.” Stella and Loretta said in unison, blinking a few times from shock.

All the angry unicorn could do was scoff and glare at the alicorn. She was not in the slightest bit amused.

Loretta trotted over to the statue of Starswirl and reared up on her hind hooves, placing her front ones on the glittering crystal. She then tried pushing it to no avail--it would not budge an inch.

“Alright, here comes Mr. Muscle.” Jonathan sighed, getting off of his back and trotting over to the statue. He rose onto his hind hooves, placing his front ones on the unmoving obstruction. The statue began moving, sliding on the floor with shocking ease, though still being a bit of a nuisance about it.

The statue, after a bit of work, was placed onto the corresponding yellow spot. Jonathan then trotted over to the red statue and placed it onto its spot without any help from the others (and, as a result, the statue was harder to push).

In a flash of light, the statues had been moved back to their original positions as if they hadn’t been touched at all. In the room with the five ponies and two dragons was a mare with a white coat, black webbed wings, and a pink mane and tail tied back. On her midsection was a corset, and her rear hooves sported joint-high, red boots. She had small horns on her head as well as a central long horn, and her cutie mark was a heart with little demon wings and a tail.

“Damn, we got the order wrong… apparently if you get it wrong, you fight a monster.” Charlotte sighed, shaking her head sadly.

The sixth pony in the room looked at her with eyes of crimson. “Oh, my. You’re very….sexy. Mind if I use your horn for something special?” The pony asked, a dirty smile plastered onto her muzzle.

“It’s not just a succubus, but it’s a lesbian one!” Stella shrieked at the top of her lungs, wings spreading wide and a look of pure horror on her face.

The succubus glanced at the purple pegasus. “You’re such a lovely mare; please stop freaking out. It makes you not only look less appetising, but it’s bad for your health.” She scorned, the smile fading a bit.

“Wow, that was unexpected indeed.” Jonathan stated, since they generally go for stallions. He had not witnessed this sight before and just stood there nodding frantically.

Loretta quickly hid behind the yellow statue, hoping to not be noticed. The succubus appeared in front of her, sadly. “Why don’t you come out and play?” The demon pony asked seductively.

“N-no, t-thank y-you.” Loretta answered, running around the demon and back to the group as fast as her hooves could carry her.

“Awww, is the little one scared?” The succubus taunted, grabbing Loretta by the tail and yanking her away from her friends and sibling.

‘LET HER GO, YOU DISEASED WHORE!!” Stella cried, drawing her sword again and flying at the demon with haste.

“Well, you do have a pretty face… but you’re too butch for me, though.” The succubus wryly commented, dodging the blade by mere inches.

“Charlotte, what is that monster anyway?” Cadence asked worriedly as she watched the succubus dodge the sword like she was made out of stretching slime.

“It’s a dream demon called a Succubus… but this one is acting real funny…” Charlotte answered, her horn glowing again. Her muzzle became more wolf-like and digits grew on her hooves.

“I always wanted to have sex with a furball!” The succubus teased, throwing Loretta at Stella and sending them both into the statue of Starswirl.

“Funny? How, exactly?” Cadence asked, raising a brow.

“That Succubus clearly has issues…” Jonathan sighed, shaking his head.

The demon and werepony rushed at each other, one with flapping wings and the other with a snapping set of teeth.

“Well, Cadance… a Succubus is a type of dream demon that tries to seduce stallions by appearing as a beautiful mare…. but this one is doing the opposite and hitting on mares... which is out of character for their species… and they literally suck their life-force out of whatever falls into their little trap.” Jonathan answered, ears flat on his head.

A sickening crack hit the ears of all present, followed by a soft thud.

“Oh, dear.” Cadence sighed, looking at the Succubus whose neck was now in Charlotte’s teeth. Her eyes were glassy and her body wasn’t moving, indicating she was dead. The werepony promptly spat out the corpse in a rather insulting manner.

“Bleh! Tastes like rotten fish!” Charlotte complained as the spell worn off, causing her to revert to her normal unicorn form.

“I never knew succubi could be lesbians.”  Stella commented, getting onto her hooves and helping her sister onto hers.

“I bet ten bucks this Sombra pony is not heterosexual either.” Loretta sighed, breathing in and out to calm down.

“You implying he likes stallions? In that case, that’s gonna be one hell of a problem.” Jonathan groaned, a look of horrified disapproval on his face.

Chapter 17.2 Eenie Meenie...

Chapter Seventeen, Part Two: Eenie, Meenie...

“EVERYONE! WOULD YOU PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY TAKE A DAMN CHILL PILL?!” Stella yelled, catching everyone’s attention in doing so. She looked rather ticked off, much more than she usually was.

“Everyone? I think you mean everypony?” The young crystallized dragon said.

“YOU TOO!” Stella snapped, her face turning red in blooming fury.

“Let’s just do what she says before we become sushi.” Jonathan sighed, his eyes wide.

“Sushi?.... as I recall, isn’t that…. rice rolled in raw veggies?” Cadance stated, raising a brow.

“Where we’re from, there’s also raw fish involved.” Charlotte answered, blinking a few times.

“Holy guacamole! You’re kidding right? EWWW, raw fish?!” Spike cried.

“We’re gonna have to explain a few things to him once he’s back in Ponyville.” Loretta sighed despondently, her horn glowing with an air of ice. The same aura was encasing the statue of Starswirl as it lifted the crystal structure onto its proper place.

The baby Gaibon was putting his little claws on the statue of the pegasus mare. “This one, this one!” He cried excitedly.

“Hmm?” Loretta asked before noticing the little wyvern pawing at the statue. Something seemed to have clicked in her head as she moved that statue onto the blue glowing spot, albeit with a little more trouble than with the yellow one.

The little critter ran to the green one.

“Oh, of course now...I see a pattern; it wasn’t obvious before, but I see it now!” Loretta exclaimed, moving the statue of the fillies onto its space.

“Well, tell us! I’m kinda lost here!” Jonathan wailed, somehow unable to notice the fact that the statues were being moved around like boxes in a house.

“Ugh, Jonathan, if your head wasn’t attached to your body you would be dumber than ever! The statues are in an hourglass shape….almost. Apparently, the current pattern on statues are diagonally across from the one before.” Charlotte answered, her hoof poised to slap him again.

“More like a set of squares.” Loretta commented, moving the last statue into its proper place. Then, an aura bathed all four and their frames turned towards the broken rock in the center of the room with no time for anyone present to react.

As if another magical entity had invaded the room, a sphere of light hovered above the horn of the immortalized Starswirl. It then moved to the head of the pegasus, leaving behind a faint trail of energy in its wake. It then swerved towards the statue of the fillies before meeting with the horn of the fearsome unicorn menace.

“I take it back then. Charlotte, you were right… it was an hourglass and not a square.” Loretta admitted, a little flustered at the sight.

A shape of an hourglass had formed in the energy’s mysterious light, and then the light rushed towards the only bland rock present which released a wave of pure energy that bathed the room and vanished as if it had never even happened to begin with.

“Ugh, that was too damn bright.” The red pegasus commented before pausing, seeing that Charlotte had a bad case of glitter adorning her frame now. “ Is it my twisted imagination or are you sorta sparkling, Charlotte?” Jonathan asked, also noticing the mare was translucent.

“Same can be said about you.” Charlotte answered, looking at her hoof in wonder. Her mane was tied back into a simple, high-rooted ponytail bearing curls in its mass. Her tail had more of these curls woven together with a red ribbon.

“This is a first.” Stella commented, looking at her sister who was also glittering in some nonexistent light. Loretta’s mane was unaffected for the most part, save for a green bow perched on the back of her bonnet and another at the very base of her tail.

“Indeed.” Loretta agreed, trotting over to the bland rock and poking it with her hoof. The baby Gaibon, also glittering and translucent, was chewing on his own claws.

“Hey, last time I was here I wasn’t affected, how come HE IS?” Spike asked as if filled with envy.

“Interesting. Somehow that…. puzzle was preventing the Crystal Heart from protecting the empire.” Cadence commented, her mane styled differently and a crown on her head.

“Don’t look at me, little lizard. I ain’t got the answers to the universe!” Jonathan answered, his eyes wide again. Aside from the glitter permeating his body and the fact that he was somewhat see-through, he didn’t change at all.

“You don’t have much of a brain, and besides, I’M NOT A LIZARD, YOU FEATHERHEAD!!!” Spike angrily yelled.

“Lizards and dragons share a common ancestor. Spike, your argument is where I have to call three degrees of bull.” Charlotte retorted, noticing a black ribbon wrapped around her hoof.

“Actually, Charlotte and Jonathan…. for a dragon to be called a lizard….. be lucky he isn’t fully grown.” Cadence sighed, her hoof connecting with her face.

“Ugh. What do you mean, exactly?” Jonathan asked, his good wing unfurling.

“Jonathan…. what she means is…..it’s the equivalent of calling you a dunderhead and your dad plant chow.” Charlotte answered, crossing her forelegs.

“Oh, I wasn’t aware of that…” Jonathan sighed, a frown on his face. He looked at his side and found a most peculiar anomaly: the bandages on his midsection were gone, and his bad wing looked as if it had never been damaged.

“How the…?” He asked, spreading that wing to make sure he wasn’t drunk or something of the sort. Indeed, the scars beneath were gone.

The black ribbon flew by itself to the horn of Cadence, oddly enough. It made a pretty bow around the pink frame before tightening a bit.

“Strange.” Loretta sighed, picking up the rock and placing it in her saddlebag with a careful hoof.

“It’s enhancing my magic, but…. it’s causing the magic to drain faster…” Cadence commented, looking up at her horn cross-eyed.

“Everything has its ups and downs. It’s just life.” Charlotte stated, a look of worry on her face. “But sometimes, things like this happen and you just don’t know what went wrong. You know, things that don’t seem possible in the slightest.” She added, scratching the back of her head with a hoof.

“And this is coming from vampire hunters.” Jonathan sighed, his wings folding shut.

Stella rolled her eyes and scoffed. Like Jonathan, she wasn’t affected much by the change that suddenly occurred moments ago.

“Why are you still over there? Please come over here!” Loretta commented, standing in front of the doorway that was blocked (she trotted over there when nopony was looking.)

The ponies still in the room with the statues caught on, and they ran over there quickly. The baby Gaibon was chewing on Cadence’s tail during the short trip.

“Aww, it reminds me of when I babysat Twilight…. Spike liked to chew my tail as well.” Cadence cooed, playfully poking the baby wyvern with her hoof.

“I’m starting to think he’s hungry…” Charlotte sighed, her eyes white with fear.

“Umm, actually, he’s teething since dragons eat well gem rocks like diamonds and emeralds.” Cadence sighed, smiling.

“His kind eats meat. He isn’t from around here.” Stella protested, her hooves prying the rascal off of the locks of purple, pink, and yellow.

“Yes, that is true for dragons in this world as well…. but…. most enjoy gems more; its the equivalent to I believe sugar candy. But, it’s healthy for dragons” Cadence sighed, a look of worry on her face.

“Me no like gems, they hurt teeth…. me want MILK!!!!” The baby Gaibon cried, making a face.

“Heh heh, I was like that too when I was his age.” Spike commented.

“I don’t have any….” Charlotte meekly said, ears flat on her head.

“Actually, Charlotte, I have some that I keep on hoof in case of emergency…” Cadence said, holding a bottle for the wyvern.

“YAY! MILKY!!!” The baby Gaibon yelled before taking the bottle and cramming it into his mouth.

“As for the gems, young dragons can’t eat them until they are about three years old or so…. as their teeth aren’t developed yet.” Cadence sighed, smiling again.

“Wait a minute, so you’re saying… a dragon’s jewel horde is really their...food??” Charlotte asked, crossing her forelegs together.

“Yes…. its the dragon’s personal non-perishable food supply…” Cadence answered, rubbing her hoof on the back of her head.

“Well, that does explain why dragons get pissed when someone takes some of the horde…. basically, it’s the equivalent if somepony stole food from your home. I know for a fact that I wouldn't like it if I woke up and the food at home was stolen.” Loretta said, blinking a bit.

“But that would mean… all the books in our world that say that dragons have a horde because they are greedy are all incorrect; this is amazing!” Charlotte exclaimed, a bright twinkle in her eyes.

“Either that or they pissed the dragon off too quickly.” Stella added, smiling.

“A lot of dragons back home had a horde and people would try to steal from them… which would explain it.” Loretta sighed, turning to the still-open door. “I mean, did the people even think to ask what the purpose of the horde ever was?…. And what if that is the reason dragons in our world were forced to kill and eat meat?”

“People back then were ignorant and relied too heavily on religion.” Jonathan stated, also turning to the door.

“That’s true… and today, people think of dragons as demonic, greedy, and ignorant monsters…. but with this revelation, I can hopefully dispel all of that nonsense. If only back then they knew then, perhaps we’d have a different outlook on a lot of things, and humans and dragons might have lived in harmony. I mean, I’ve of heard of stories where a human got married to a dragon and had a kid.”  Charlotte chimed, also looking at the door.

“Does that mean I still have a chance with sweet Rarity!?” Spike asked, his body no longer contained in crystal. He was purple with green spikes, facial fins, and underbelly. His eyes matched the color of emeralds.

“Spike, you are free from that prison! This is wonderful!!!” Cadence cried, smiling again.

“Wait, I am? Sweet, I am free! Holy guacamole!” Spike shrieked in joy as he looked at his own claws.

Jonathan thought to himself, “His personality reminds me of myself at his age, sort of...but not quite.”

“Ah, shoot…. it seems there are two paths as the hallways split up down the middle.” Stella complained, pointing at said hallway.

“Wow, for a dragon, he’s quite cute.” Loretta said, smiling a bit before looking at the split hallway and groaning in annoyance.

“Eenie, meenie, miney, moe…” Charlotte sighed, glancing between the dual paths while pointing at them with a shaky hoof.

“Let’s go that way first.” Jonathan stated, pointing at the hallway to the left with his hoof.

“Wait a second! I can feel a dark magical energy from there! It’s almost suicidal! Besides… it’s blocked by a couple of barriers!” Cadence wailed, a look of terror on her face.

“Barriers huh…. I’m guessing it’s like how Brauner’s gallery painting was blocked by  that hunk of crystals from earlier…” Jonathan sighed, trotting up to the path he had chosen.

The mares groaned and followed him begrudgingly.

“Actually, featherbrain…. it’s more like the area where the dark magic is right now… its sealed…. by two--no, three--entities of some kind…” Cadence sighed, shaking her head as she tagged along.

“No problem, we had a similar situation  before with Brauner. He always pulled these kind of things.” Jonathan said rather reassuringly as he led the group deeper into the hallway, noticing torches made of crystal dotting the corridor.

“What do you mean similar?” Asked  Spike, who scratched his chin with a claw.

“We will explain once you are safe. Believe me, it’s a long story.” Loretta sighed, her left eye twitching a bit.

The group found a gargantuan, black wall blocking them. It was crackling with black magic, as Cadence had predicted. No sooner had they ran into that obstacle, a pony had tail turned to them.

“And who are you?” Charlotte asked, her legs shifting a bit in unease.

The pony turned around, revealing silver armor adorning dark brown-grey legs. A long, red cloth covered his flank and tail as he turned, its end marked by white cotton. Feathered wings spread wide, imbued with dark crystals. His irises were red and they sat upon canvases of green sclera, which radiated wisps of purple energy from the margins of the eyelids. A red, curved horn was on his forehead, the base marked by a black mane and a wicked helmet of war that covered his entire neck.

“I would comment on you not knowing of my name, little pony, had it not been for a recent friend I have made. He has told me all about you, your coltfriend, and your ruining of his plans.” Hissed the pony, a demonic undertone in his voice.

Cadence took a step or two back. “And who, may I ask, did you befriend, King Sombra?” She asked with a glare worthy of a tyrant on her face.

“Wait a second! You’re that Sombra prick...but, we were told you’re a unicorn, NOT an alicorn!” Jonathan yelled accusingly, his comment falling on irritated ears and echoing in the hall.

“It was a gift from Havocia, you pubescent whelp!” Sombra hissed, stomping a hoof in fury.

“Err, what does that word mean...?” Spike asked, unable to register the look of seething anger scrawled across the stallion’s face.

The red pegasus snarled, wings snapping open in a second. He looked more than ready to knock Sombra’s teeth out.

Sombra smiled wickedly. “Oh, how I’d love to stay and chat with your new friends, Cadenza, but I mustn't stay any longer here. I have things to attend to, my dear.” He chuckled as he turned around before walking into the dark crystal walls and vanishing without so much as a trace of him even being there.

The wall he seemingly phased through soon shattered like a china doll, and the hallway was no longer blocked.

“Spike, Sombra basically called Jonathan a spoiled brat.” Cadence sighed, watching the red pegasus stomp on a piece of black crystal with his hoof.

“Wow, I know for a fact that if it was Rainbow that was called that… she’d buck the pony right to the morgue.” Spike commented, crossing his arms.

“Let’s not waste any more time. If Sombra’s an alicorn, chances are Brauner is too.” Charlotte said, all eyes looking at her as she shook her head and began running down the hallway.

Everyone else nodded and followed suit, running as fast as their legs could carry them. After a fleeting moment of running, the path suddenly ended and all hooves skid noisily to a halt, with Charlotte nearly falling off of it in the process.

The unicorn recollected herself and gazed around at the sudden change. The new room was so big it could hold about thirty crystal golems stacked on one another, but most of it was about fifteen meters below. A loud crack was heard as many mares below cheered on a single stallion who was busy trying to fondle a crystallized pony (and was, sadly, failing to take into account said pony’s immobility.)

“Well…. this is obviously a…gathering of some kind…?” Charlotte squeaked, trying to make sense of the new sight before her.

“Odd. I recognize some of these mares…… some of them are the royal servants in….Luna’s night guards.” Cadence stopped before noticing bat-like wings on the frames of all the ponies present below.

Jonathan had his wings open, and he was digging a hoof in one. He was very much busy trying to search for something.

“What’re you digging for now, blondie?” Spike asked rather mockingly, watching the stallion produce a green, ovular shape with some sort of metallic pin on what he assumed was the top.

“This thing.” Jonathan answered as he pulled the pin and stood on his hind legs, tilting his foreleg as far back as it could go. He threw the green thing as hard as he could muster, all the while yelling “Fire in the hole!”

A distant clanking sound emanated from the bottom of the room, loud enough to send the crowd in a brief fit of panic. They moved away from the green object with some kind of worried fascination lingering about.

Five seconds. Ten.

Nothing happened to the green thing at all, and the crowd resumed its previous cheering of the single stallion fondling the crystallized pony.

“OH COME ON! THAT GRENADE WAS A DUD?!” Jonathan cried fitfully, again shoving a hoof into his wings and digging once more.

“Umm, Jonathan, a bunch of these mares are natural-born Equestrians…?”  Cadence sighedm looking at the pegasus with worry.

“I know a Succubus when I see one!” He retorted, producing a rectangular frame of metal from his wing now. It had a long, slender cord, and two slots on the top of it with a push-down button at the side. A big dent was present on the frame, and four little legs were on its bottom.

“Jonathan… I was trying to tell you the bat-ponies wearing armor and helmets are actually members of the royal guard… who patrol Canterlot during nighttime. Princess Luna allowed some of them to help the Crystal Empire.” Cadence said before noticing the metallic thing.

“....so, THAT was where my toaster went?” Stella yelled, pointing a hoof accusingly at the object Jonathan was holding.

“Someone explain why my wings do this to me?” Jonathan asked, noticing the toaster growing teeth where the dent was.

“T-t-t-t-that’s a MIMIC! IT MUST HAVE EATEN YOUR TOASTER AND REPLACED IT, SISTER!!!” Loretta yelled at the top of her lungs, her horn glowing as the mimic froze on the spot and shattered like a rock after a fifty-foot fall. Strangely enough, another toaster--this one without a dent--appeared in its place.

“I’ll use a spell to detect if it’s a real toaster or another damn Mimic.” Charlotte sighed, shaking her head sadly as her own horn began glowing. The new toaster was bathed in a faint aura briefly before being released. “Yep, it’s a real toaster.”

“At least I now know what happened to it.” Stella commented before turning around and looking into the large room.

All the mares present in that room were airborne, and they were looking right at the group with hunger-filled eyes.

“Oh, crud…. we are so bucked!” Spike wailed, pointing a claw at the sight before him.

“Spike, language! Do you want me to tell Twilight what you just said when we get you home!?” Cadence hissed, her eyes narrowing low.

Chapter 17.3 Houston we have a Problem

CChapter Seventeen, Part Three: Houston, We Have a Problem

All Charlotte could do was look at the crowd of flying mares and blow a raspberry in sheer annoyance. She was getting more irritated by the passing minute.

“Cadance, you said some of these mares are part of the Night Guard…. do you suppose they could be….ummmm, undercover agents who infiltrated the enemy?” Loretta asked, eyes wide. She was quite clearly nervous.

“Quite possibly…in order to be sure, I will need to cast a spell. If they are on our side, they will glow blue and red if not.” Cadence answered, ears twitching as her horn began glowing a soft purple.

Soon, the crowd of mares found themselves held in place; those highlighted in blue were immediately taken out of said crowd and placed next to the small group, but it was only one or two of them and the rest were all glowing red. The stallion who was still taking his sweet time with his immobile plaything also shared the same red aura.

“Well, I’m glad this means that we had some inside help and those enemies didn’t even know.” Cadence sighed, impressed before her expression curled up to see that the group was, in the literal sense of the word, outnumbered.

“Actually, we might be okay…. most of the mares who are enemies are vampires... and they cannot handle sunlight spells?” Charlotte chuckled in an irritated manner, a contorted smile plastered onto her muzzle. Soon, she broke out into a hysterical giggle fit.

“Well that is a good thing….wait, you have sunlight spells, right?” Jonathan asked, blinking a few times.

“Well I don’t, but Stella has told me Loretta used one or two before in the past.” Charlotte chuckled again, shaking her head in a worrying manner.

“I don’t have a sunlight spell. You’re drunk, woman.” Loretta sighed in defeat, a frown on her muzzle.

“It was more or less a mock sunlight by combining light with your ice magic..  if it at least can blind them, then we might be able to blast them from all corners of the room…?” Stella added before realizing that Charlotte was the only pony present who COMPLETELY lacked the ability to fly unless she rode on Jonathan’s back or something.

“I don’t have a light spell; I specialize in barriers….” Cadence confessed, seeing those around her were feeling very uneasy about their current predicament.

“What if I were to combine my holy water with your barrier--” Jonathan started, only to get cut off by Charlotte, who shrieked like a banshee, “HOLY WATER DOES NOT RADIATE ANY FORM OF LIGHT, YOU DUMBFOUNDED MORON! IT ONLY REFLECTS!”

“Geez, I was thinking since it does damage to undead beings….. perhaps it could change Cadance’s barrier to become a holy barrier that would burn those vampire mares over there…..?” Jonathan squeaked, his jaw hanging wide open as he began experiencing a cold sweat.

“Actually, Charlotte, he may have a point….  holy water is magic blessed water, am I right?” Cadence sighed, her wings shifting in unease.

“You are right about that.” Charlotte heaved, anger still lingering in her voice rather begrudgingly, for she felt kinda dumb at the moment due to forgetting that little property of said water. She hated moments like these.

“Somepony’s cute when she’s angry!” Called a vampire rather tauntingly, coming before the crowd and pointing a hoof at Charlotte.

“Ummm… Princess Cadance? What should I do?” One of the ally batpoines asked, rubbing the back of her head nervously with a hoof.

“Vampire hunters….oh sweet Celestia….” Murmured the other one worriedly, shaking very badly.

“Technically, we aren’t vampires but Thestrals…. there is a difference: those others were not born in Equestria, and besides, we don’t…. kill other ponies…..?” Sighed the first one.

The mare who made the remark about anger rushed towards Charlotte and then something unexpected happened: namely, the blue unicorn produced a broomstick straight out of nowhere and used that to knock the vampire out of the air faster than anyone could blink.

And then she stabbed the mare in the eye, making sure the stick went right through her skull.

“Yep, she’s lost it. We’re gonna die.” Jonathan commented, wings spread wide in shock.

Another mare strayed from the crowd, hollering something along the lines of “The mare with the bonnet is dead sexy” and she got impaled in the face with an icicle.

“Hmmph, she deserved that one for trying to hit on my sister.” Stella hissed, sounding as if she loathed the vampire for her remark.

“Yet another strayed from the group, shouting something incomprehensible (to Spike, it sounded like “something moving”) but this was largely due to a knife having been plunged in her throat.

One of vampire mares was obviously lazy as she was snoring….whilst still being somehow airborne.

“Oh great, Jade fell asleep again!” Shouted another accusingly before half of her body was melted off by a fire lizard that came from nowhere. Said fire lizard proceeded to melt the quite a few others as well, making the crowd shrink a considerable amount.

However, it was not able to melt the sleeping one as, somehow, she was able to dodge while sleeping….still airborne.

“Oookay, I’m not sure what to make of this….” Deadpanned Spike, whose thumbs were being twiddled with.

Charlotte’s horn was glowing, and she was even more furious than ever. She began screaming in anger as the sleeping vampire kept dodging her spells without breaking so much as a sweat.

“Remind me not to get on her bad side,” one of the enemy vampires said, pointing a hoof at the screeching unicorn.

“Kinda too late for that. Jade has obviously pissed her off, and it’s funny how she can’t dodge a ball when awake. But, when she’s asleep, she’s like…. a ninja-pony,” Retorted another before both were roasted alive by lightning bolts fired from the angry unicorn’s horn.

“FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! STAY STILL, DAMMIT!” Charlotte yelled, sending forth a great big, rotten-yellow mass of spiraling energy at the crowd. It was only a small orb, and it disappeared once it moved three feet away from her.

Without warning, the unicorn’s magic gave out and caused her a great headache in the process. She landed on her rump with her hooves on her head, trying to drown out the new pain.

Another vampire saw her chance, and she dove in hastily, knocking Charlotte onto her backside with her hooves. The unicorn tried desperately to shove her away, but she may as well have been trying to shove off a boulder instead.

Stella brandished her sword, placing the hilt in her jaw before spreading her wings and flying at the vampire who was trying to take a bite out of her unicorn friend.

The vampire was caught by surprise, and she had no time to react as her head was sliced cleanly off of her body.

The other vampires, for whatever reason, began to squabble amongst themselves, hissing and biting and shouting at each other.

“Oookay, this I was not expecting…” Murmured another vampony before she froze stiff and fell to the floor quite a ways, shattering on impact like a china doll.

The other vampires suddenly turned into a vast swarm of little bats, screeching and flitting as they fled from the group of ponies who opposed them so easily. Even the sleeping mare went with in haste, as if subconsciously aware of the situation falling in the enemies’ favor. A great staircase appeared soon after, made of pure ruby, and the group ran down it quickly.

At the foot of it, they saw the bat-winged stallion still trying to fondle a crystallized unicorn stallion in regal armor. He looked at the group, his white mane, dual horns, and red eyes being a dead giveaway as to what he was.

“Really? Only one other stallion here that can move? Oh well, I guess I’ll have to make do with what I have.” He sighed rather disappointingly, looking right at Jonathan he frowned a bit.

“No…. that crystallized stallion is--!!!” Cadence started, only to stop short as the bat-winged vampire rushed at Jonathan in an attempt to clamber onto his red frame.

“Not so fast, ugly! No one tries to hurt DADDY!!!” Shouted the baby Gaibon as he rushed forward and bit the intruding pony on the leg. He was kicked off with ease, and had been sent hurdling quite a ways in the vast room.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!?” Jonathan cried, rising up to his hind hooves and delivering the vampire a swift punch in the maw. He followed suit with another punch, and then a rear hoof right between the demon’s rear legs. He yelped in pain, front hooves moving to the hurt area, and he backed off quickly.

“ARRRGH! My JEWELS!!! YOU BASTARD!” The demon shouted, only to find blood pooling in his mouth and trickling from his lips as a sword was plunged clean into his throat. He soon found himself staring into Stella’s quickly-reddening eyes, and she heaved with what had clearly been hatred for this demon’s very kind.

For a moment or two, all froze around them as they stared off. Stella then removed the blade of her sword, allowing the head of the fiend to fall off and roll away from the body before it burned to ashes.

The baby Gaibon quickly got up and ran to the red pegasus that reverted to all fours, clutching his foreleg in a tight hug. “Daddy, are you okay?” He asked worriedly, his voice filled with sadness.

“I’m fine. Just….shocked, that’s all.” Jonathan answered, his tone of voice reassuring as he picked up the little wyvern and put him onto his backside, right between his wings.

Stella cleaned her sword before resheathing it. Her eyes returned to their normal green, but she still had traces of anger present on her face.

The crystallized unicorn began moving, revealing a sparkling coat of white with magenta and gold armor. His mane was blue and his eyes teal, and his cutie mark was a shield adorned with three purple sparkles.

Cadence ran up to him and embraced him in her forelegs. “Oh, Shiney! I missed you!” She said, smiling happily.

“As I recall, you said you married Twilight’s older brother? This is him, isn’t it?” Loretta asked, gently tapping Cadence with a hoof to get her attention.

Cadence let go of the stallion and nodded. “Yes. This is Shining Armor.” She answered, still smiling.

“Who are these ponies?” Shining asked, looking at Stella and Charlotte.

The Thestrals rubbed the back of their heads nervously with their hooves, still sensing some kind of unease in the group.

“As for me and my companion, we are actually two guards of the Lunar Division.” Answered one of them, still nervous. She pointed a hoof at the red pegasus. “He’s a vampire hunter…” She murmured.

Shining raised a brow as he shifted his gaze to Jonathan. The stallion chuckled as if a lewd thought was currently in his mind.

“That’s a good one. I know for a fact that vamponies are fictional.” Shining said sternly.

“Really?” Charlotte asked, raising her own brow as her horn began glowing with what little magic she recovered. The crystalline hue on her frame disappeared, although only briefly, as she morphed into her lycanthropic form. “And what of wereponies? You’re looking right at one.”

Shining recoiled a bit in shock, but not enough to stumble backwards. He looked absolutely dumbfounded at the sight of the short-lived metamorphosis.

“Shiney… I know it’s hard to believe, but..., you see all the dust around us…. they were all vamponies. Nopony can seem to hit that sleeping one that dodged everything. Had it not been for these strange ponies, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Cadence said, softly.

Shining looked back at the werepony, who changed back into her normal form. “Though I dislike being proven wrong, I’ll take your word for it.” He said in the same, stern tone of voice.

“Hey, Shining Armor. It’s good to see that you’re alright… By the way, Twilight told me to tell you come to Ponyville sometime soon.” Spike said, making himself visible to the unicorn stallion by placing himself upon Loretta’s head.

“There is now the equivalent of a bag of cement on my head. Spike, do please get off before my skull cracks.” Loretta sighed, trying hard to keep her head up and failing horribly.

“Oops, I forgot we dragons were rather heavy.” Spike said, a cheeky grin on his face

as he abided by the request. He looked rather nervous.

“Mommy, who is the white pony?” The baby Gaibon asked, jumping onto Charlotte’s back while sucking his thumb claw.

“His name is Shining Armor...I find it funny how his armor and cutie mark match his name.” Charlotte answered, a grin on her face.

“Grr, I don’t find that very funny. Most ponies’ names also reflect his or her cutie mark in some way or another.” Shining remarked, frowning.

“My name doesn’t reflect MY cutie mark, and that’s because I’m not from around these parts.” Charlotte retorted, angling her body to show Shining what it was she was talking about.

“Is that why you are a hairball?” He asked, raising a brow.

“Sort of,” Charlotte answered with another cheeky grin as her eyes beamed a bit.

A dark energy suddenly coalesced above the group, and all looked up in shock as black crystals crackling with energy danced around this blackness. A set of red and green eyes appeared in the mass, and a sinister voice resonated from within.

“Oh, my. What a sight. Two of my worst enemies teaming up with bat ponies and the accursed vampony hunters.”

“To be fair, we are actually part of Luna’s guard and we were disguised, you reject for a pony… I mean, look ya! Ya have a curved horn!” Shouted one of the bat ponies accusingly.

Sombra was starting to get a little irritated and pissed off from the reject pony comment.

“SOMBRA, YOU SNAKE! YOU ARE THE SPAWN OF A DEMON!!” Cadence and Shining cried in unison, their voices filled with loathing for the alicorn pony.

Sombra, even more irritated, revealed his full body to the group with wings of feathers keeping him aloft.

“How did you-- When did you--?!” Shining started, only to be flung against a wall. A crystal structure surrounded him, keeping his body exposed as his legs and horn were bound in dark chains. Cadence quickly followed, and so did Spike and the baby Gaibon.

“Now that we have the formalities out of the way,” Sombra started, pausing a bit as he produced a blue heart with many crystal facets. He soon descended onto the ground in front of the vampony hunters, making sure to add in the bat ponies to the wall.

Stella’s eyes went wide. “The crystal heart! Leave it alone, or I’ll--” She started, only to fall silent as the heart was dropped onto the floor and smashed to pieces with the armored hoof of the tyrannical king.

“You’ll what?” Sombra asked, smiling wickedly. The crystalline form wore off of Cadence, Shining, and the baby Gaibon, but it did not wear off for the hunters.

Sombra kept his wings wide, arching an eyebrow as his horn glowed with a green aura. He looked at Charlotte, who was grunting in pain and recoiling a bit. The unicorn glared at him, one eye scrunched shut.

“Hmmm, strange. I wonder why the crystal form did not leave you four….how shall I say…. strangers? Perhaps death will work then… besides, the one who revived me clearly wanted all of you dead anyways.” Sombra commented, his smile unwavering.

Jonathan pulled a huge sword in the shape of a cross from his wings and loaded it into his front hooves. Stella brandished her sword in her maw, and Loretta’s horn was crackling to life with an aura of coldest air. Charlotte, though still in pain, put her book in a magical grip.

Jonathan lunged at Sombra, only for his attack to go right through him... like he was made of melted butter or something.

“Heh, nice try…. but you only beat my after-image.” Sombra taunted, cackling behind the red stallion who turned around and found himself flying backwards.

“I don’t believe what I saw…. he made his shadow take his place!... Jonathan, be careful! He can create after-images made of shadow magic!” Cadence cried as she saw the stallion land face-first in a wall. He grunted in pain but waved a hoof, signaling that he heard the bit of advice. He soon regained his footing in time to see Loretta get hurled straight to the ceiling.

The unicorn caught herself right as her horn was about to be plunged into the crystal framework. She flew down to Sombra, creating something from ice as she descended to the alicorn.

The alicorn looked up, teleporting out of the way and depositing a crystal statue in his place right as a giant sword crashed onto where the statue was. Both ice and dark crystal broke into a million pieces on impact.

Sombra ended up rushing at the flying annoyance for a unicorn and punched her right in the stomach with a hoof as soon as he was within range. He felt a bone crack as Loretta let off a hideous wail before she tumbled down onto the ground in a harsh landing. She was curled onto her side, clutching her new bruise with her hooves. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing a bit frantically.

Stella’s eyes became red again as she flew into the air, her screams of anger muffled by the hilt of her sword. Sombra saw this and he smiled wickedly. “Foolish whorse! You think you can best me with a simple sword? Did you not witness me destroy the one thing that could kill me only moments ago?” He taunted, whirling around the purple pegasus and grabbing her wings with his hooves with blinding speed.

A series of sickening snaps sounded, and Stella dropped her sword to let off a wail of her own. She was soon tossed unceremoniously onto the floor, and the alicorn saw Jonathan flapping his own wings and rushing towards him whilst letting off a roar of anger.

The twins were placed into their own pods, chains forming on their legs, horn, and wings. Jonathan soon found himself in the same predicament, and Cadence began shrieking something incomprehensible.

Charlotte was beginning to panic, for she was alone, the only one who could fight Sombra at this point. The pain she was feeling had intensified, and her body told her to stop. She looked up at the cruel alicorn with eyes clouded by tears.

King Sombra was glaring right at her with a look that could kill. “And YOU, a mare who is stupid enough to challenge me on the day your child is due to be born, think you can fight me in the decrepit condition in which you stand? True, you do not look the part, but that does NOT excuse your blatant stupidity!” He bellowed, rushing at the unicorn full force. Charlotte barely got out of the way, tripping onto her own hooves and landing inches away from Stella’s sword which had fallen in a way it stabbed the crystal floor.

The unicorn got up, trying to cast a spell. Sadly, the only thing her horn could produce were faint sizzles and sparks. Sombra rushed at her again, this time his horn radiating with a sinister glow like that of his red irises. Charlotte grabbed the hilt of the sword in her jaw and pried it out before she found herself being sent back-first into a wall thanks to an armored hoof that met with her muzzle. Her body rebounded and landed on the floor, all four of her legs splayed wide. She grunted in pain because she landed stomach-first and felt something shift within.

Small droplets of blood fell off of her face from the nostrils. Her vision was blurry. Her breathing was frantic. She rose up, her body wobbling and shaking from the pain she took. A dark brown-grey form rushed at her again, and Charlotte barely got out of the way, thrusting the sword that wasn’t hers forward.

Sombra screamed, the blade having missed mere inches of his heart. Blood poured out of his wound, and much of it was blocked by the blade. He disappeared in a shadowy mist before reappearing behind the unicorn and rearing up on his hind legs.

A sickening crack hit all ears present as Sombra’s front hooves connected with Charlotte’s backside, forcing her onto the floor again. She let the sword drop from her mouth and let off a piercing cry that quickly faded as it got more hoarse.

“CHARLOTTE!” Jonathan cried, struggling fruitlessly against his binds.

Again, Sombra reared up and stomped on the unicorn, causing another series of sickening cracks and deafening cries to sound shortly after. Tears poured from Charlotte’s scrunched eyes as she let off a pained moan like that of a child. The alicorn backed off before trotting to the center of the room as dark crystals encased the wounded unicorn and forced her backside onto the wall. Her horn and hooves were chained, and her head hung low as if in defeat.

He then turned to her, his face blooming in utter fury. His horn radiated a glow the color of a deep purple.

“And now, for your petulance and stupidity, you are the first to be put out of your misery, you wretched slut!” Sombra bellowed, a beam of dark magic energy fired from his horn and rushing right at the injured mare.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!” Charlotte screamed in pain as the beam hit her full-force, unable to move from the sheer pain her body undertook.

The beam suddenly stopped its onslaught as Charlotte’s horn began glowing, breaking its chain in the process. A great, square shield of transparent, dancing rainbows had appeared in front of her, taking the entire beam as though it were nothing.

“What?!” Sombra exclaimed, wings spread wide as he watched the spectacle unfold. Nonetheless, he channelled all of his magic into the beam whilst hoping to take down the shield. Soon, however, his horn sizzled out from depleted magic.

The shield began to glow as it took on a circular shape before the injured mare.

Sombra found himself screaming one last time as his own beam was fired at him full-force, turning all of his body into dark crystals and then to mere shards. The shards then became ash before fading away from the world.

The beam faded from the world, and a scroll fluttered down to where the alicorn once stood. The crystal prisons everyone found themselves in disappeared without so much as a warning, and as a result, Loretta, Stella, and Jonathan found themselves grunting in pain from the landing. Charlotte, however, landed with only a thud. Her eyes were tightly closed, and she did not show movement.

“Charlotte!” Jonathan said, galloping over to the hurt mare and swiftly scooping her up in his forelegs frantically. The others followed suit, with Loretta having a noticeable limp as she hurried over while picking up the scroll in the process.

A white light suddenly flashed from overhead, and it blinded all present. When it faded, Jonathan tried spreading his wings. Much to his shock, they spread painlessly and with ease. Stella found her wings having the same phenomenon about them.

Charlotte opened her eyes, though weakly. She was turned over onto her backside, and she found herself surrounded by her friends, the Threstrals, Cadence, Shining, Spike, and the baby Gaibon. Her breathing was rough and ragged, and a pool of blood had formed around and under her hind legs.

“Charlotte, can you hear me?” Jonathan asked, sounding very much worried. His ears were flat on his head.

The mare only nodded slowly before letting off a hoarse shriek, one rear leg raising up briefly as if to kick away an intruder.

A painting leading back to Ponyville had appeared, and Loretta gripped her weakened friend in an aura of ice. She carefully lifted her up before walking to the painting, her limp no longer present. “What are you standing around for? We must get a move on, at once.” She scorned, looking at the group.

At once, everyone went to the painting. When all were in front of it, Loretta raised a hoof and touched the painting that soon enveloped the group in a white light. When if vanished, none of them were present.

Chapter 18: Extensive Medical Care

Chapter Eighteen: Extensive Medical Care

Twilight sighed as she approached the painting leading to the Crystal Empire. “What is taking them so long?” She murmured as she got closer. Right as she was within touching distance of the painting, it began glowing on its own. Before she could react, a red form landed on top of her.

The red form, a pegasus stallion, quickly got off of the alicorn. “There’s no time to talk, where’s a hospital when you need it?!” He cried frantically as more ponies, one of whom was held above the ground via magical aura, appeared from the painting.

Twilight looked at the other ponies and saw Charlotte held in an aura. She was kicking weakly, and whatever sounds came out of her mouth were hoarse and ragged.

“Turns out Cadence was right.” Loretta commented harshly, narrowing her eyes a bit as if annoyed. “Oh, and King Sombra was an alicorn. And a bit of a jerk!” She added quickly before turning to her fellow unicorn and noticing her flailing her forelegs wildly. Carefully, she put Charlotte onto her backside.

“Wait, what?” Twilight shrieked, finally registering Loretta’s words as though a brick had broken her horn off after it was thrown at her.

“Are you certain of what you saw?” Inquired Princess Celestia, who approached the group with a worried look on her face.

“We’re all witnesses.” Stella interjected, raising her hoof as if in court for some reason. Cadence and Shining nodded furiously. The Threstrals kept quiet, choosing instead to go to their fellow bat-winged guards to give them the scoop.

A white mare with a pink mane in a bun and a nurse’s hat on her head trotted to the gathering and, upon seeing the unicorn on the ground surrounded by some other ponies she could’ve sworn she’d never seen before, immediately rushed in and pushed aside the red stallion and green mare with her front hooves.

“You two clearly have no clue what it is you’re doing!” The white mare declared, scanning the blue pony to better assess the situation.

“We had no clue where the hospital was!” Loretta and Jonathan protested, eyes narrowed dangerously low.

“Ahem if you were to behind you, YOU WOULD SEE THAT THE HOSPITAL IS STILL INTACT AND ABOUT TEN HOOVES AWAY!” The pony hissed, pointing her hoof at the building with a big, red cross on it. She then returned her attention to the unicorn who was trying to kick her in the chest.

She pinned the rear hooves down with her front ones and could see that the unicorn had a bit of trouble breathing. What’s more, her muzzle was like that of a wolf, and so were her hooves. “What have I gotten myself into…?” The pony murmured, shaking her head sadly as she pulled a blanket from a saddlebag on her body using her mouth.

“I know that something’s wrong, to be blunt.” Eric chimed, appearing next to Twilight without warning and causing the alicorn to jump in shock in the process. “And I think I know how it came to happen.” He added rather coldly, looking right at Jonathan.

Jonathan, however, (pretended to have) had no idea what Eric is talking about. In fact, it was as if he ignored the wendigo entirely.

“Hey Twilight, how come nopony noticed I’m back yet?” Complained Spike, who was currently occupying Shining’s backside.

“Not now, Spike…” then Twilight suddenly realized who it was she had just spoken to. As a result, her eyes bulged out of their sockets and she slowly turned to see Shining and Spike, safe and sound. She ran over to them and embraced both in a hug.

“Spike and my BBBFF, you’re okay!” She exclaimed happily.

Shining returned the hug. “Twiley, I missed you too!” He said, smiling.

Eric was now poking his hoof on Jonathan’s shoulder. “Somepony has some ‘splaining to do.” He said, another smug grin on his face. Jonathan’s ears fell flat and his eyes widened--he looked absolutely petrified.

‘*Sigh*…. All I know is that… I think Charlotte may be going into, umm, what is it called when one gives birth?’ Jonathan mumbled under his breath, though he did it so fast Eric thought he spoke complete gibberish.

“Umm, wait…. did I hear right…. is Charlotte giving birth… If you mind me asking?” Fluttershy asked, trotting over to the group. Jonathan glanced at her briefly, and his teeth were clearly chattering.

“Well, sugarcube... I’d say dat’s a big yes, considering the fact that our red friend looks kinda nervous.” Applejack sighed, looking at Jonathan. The stallion looked very shaken.

‘She’s gonna kill me...’ He murmured, his coat color having faded to white again.

Soon after, all eyes were turned to the white pony who was now carrying a crying bundle wrapped in the blanket she had. Charlotte lay on the ground unconscious, and two unicorns also sporting nurse hats hoisted her onto a gurney and began taking her to the hospital.

Suddenly a pink blur came out of straight-out nowhere and stood next to the nurse pony holding the bundle.

“You were born today! PARTY!!!” Pinkie cried, jumping around the nurse like she was made of rubber.

Eric looked to Twilight, pointed a hoof at Pinkie and asked, “Is that normal? For her, at least?”

“Yeah…it’s normal for Pinkie Pie.” Twilight answered nodding.

“Um...Celestia, you might want to see this…” The nurse sighed, politely motioning for the princess to come to her with a hoof. The princess obliged and looked at the bundle the nurse had been holding. It had a red pelt and its mane had the front bangs of Jonathan, and the back part of Charlotte’s, though much wilder in appearance and a dirty blond to boot. The nurse pulled the blanket off of the head and torso, revealing to all that it had both wings and a horn. The foal was sucking one of its hooves and had stopped crying.

“..........” Celestia was silent, and it looked like it had taken a moment or so to register the fact that she was looking right at an alicorn foal--a filly, to be much more accurate.

And, much to the shock of all present, she promptly fainted with her eyes going blank white.

“SISTER! ART THOU ALRIGHT?” Luna shrieked, rushing to her fallen sister. She then looked at the thing that made her faint. She took a deep breath and then yelled, “AND WHO WAS IT THAT GAVE BIRTH TO THIS FOAL!?”

“Princess Luna, that one called Charlotte did…” Shining sighed weakly, but his voice was muted by Luna’s brief tantrum.

‘Help me...’ Jonathan thought, backing away very slowly from the royally pissed mare who was currently screaming her head off in what he believed to have been anger.

The baby Gaibon only said, “Yay! I have baby sister now!!!”

Stella and Loretta glanced at Jonathan, who now looked completely mortified. By instinct, Loretta’s horn flared up with an aura that soon yanked the stallion towards Luna.

By this point, the stallion was foaming at the mouth and laying pitifully on his side, his eyes, mane and tail having turned white in horror. Another unicorn picked him up in his magic and carried him and the foal to the hospital.

Vincent had watched the whole mess unfold and he trotted to the hospital with wide eyes and mouth agape. He didn’t say anything to anybody even as he passed them on his way.

“Did I just imagine it or did that foal have wings and a horn?” Rarity asked worriedly, looking at the still-irritated Luna as if she could provide answers.

“Thou did not imagine such things. We’ll have to ask that mare about it later.” Luna answered, shaking her head sadly.

The sisters sighed and trotted past their father, who was also going to the hospital, albeit at a slow pace.

“Does that mean I can now plan a welcome to the world alicorn party?” Pinkie asked, still jumping around the nurse nonstop.

“Well, miss…” Stated the nurse, looking at the green unicorn standing before her.

“Loretta,” she said swiftly. “Please, do cut to the chase.”

“The unicorn mare is suffering from slight breathing problems, a few cracked ribs, and intense magic surges which requires a horncap on her head to keep whatever spells she has from being let loose. Her foal also has a broken rear leg. To cover the expenses, the bill is basically required to be paid in the bit equivalent of three diamonds: one million, to be exact.” The nurse answered bluntly.

Stella’s jaw dropped. Loretta’s eyes went wide. “ONE MILLION BITS?!” They cried in unison.

“Would the gold Charlotte and Jonathan collected during their last quest work?” Vincent asked worriedly, ears flat and a profuse amount of sweat on his face.

“Nope.” The nurse answered bluntly again.

“Well, they did save the Crystal Empire, perhaps three of the diamonds from the royal vault would work?” Celestia asked, having gotten over her shock.

“Those have been stolen,” Cadence answered, a worried look on her face.

The sisters groaned in annoyance. They trotted past the nurse upon noticing a glow coming from the closest window they had. They soon found the source of the glow: a painting depicting a city with a huge monster looming over it in the distance.

“I hope we don’t have to deal with those stallions again…” Stella sighed as she and her sister approached the painting and touched it with her hoof. Almost immediately, the painting enveloped the duo in a white-hot light before sucking them into its flat frame.

Chapter 19: A Victorian Fear

Chapter Nineteen: A Victorian Fear

A white glow appeared in a street of a large city whose streets were seemingly-abandoned. When if vanished, two ponies had been standing in front of a painting. The sisters scanned the landscape carefully and found many stowaway carts and buggies dotting various areas of the streets. The place was far too quiet for comfort, and most certainly not how Stella remembered it.

The silence was broken with a young voice screaming something along the lines of “HELP MEEEEEEEE! I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!!!” in unison with a myriad of others.

Stella and Loretta exchanged a quick glance before both began flying around the alleyways, distancing themselves from one another in the process since it was hard to tell from exactly where the dreadful chorus was coming from.

A loud thumping sound was heard…. as a golem that was collecting the flesh of dead ponies was lumbering through the town--from what Loretta was seeing, at any rate. The golem had armor made from the very concrete of the city streets, a thick armor of sorts that she couldn’t break through.

The unicorn turned tail and flew away from the lumbering behemoth when that dreadful chorus of innocents screaming for mercy hit her ears again. Once more, she wasn’t sure where it was coming from and took a sharp left.

There, in front of a pile of rubble, she saw her sister defending a group of ponies from another group of what looked like bandits made of of animated clay or something of the sort. But these bandits had a disturbingly familiar air about them. Why that was had been something she wished she hadn’t found out as she descended and looked at them more closely.

“Well, well. Lookie at what we have here--our rather feisty set of whores.” Spat one of the bandits accusingly, giving Stella a glare that could very well match that of King Sombra himself.

“Hey, boss, I think that one wants to rumble. Should we slice her head off like a dandelion, or should we have our way with her first?” Hissed another, looking at Stella as well.

Loretta sighed through her nostrils and grunted, shaking her head disapprovingly. “We are not whores.” She said quickly.

All of a sudden, a loud crashing was heard as the golem from before now shambled between the two groups of ponies. It said with a deafening roar, “I smell ponies! More flesh for me! Body need more pony flesh!”

“Impeccable timing, for a load of rotting horseapples!” Stella hissed, stomping her hoof in sheer annoyance as she looked at the sight.

The golem swayed its head side to side, as if trying to figure out where the ponies on literally either side of him were. He then grunted and trudged away, it’s lumbering form crushing another lifeless body in the process and revealing the groups to one another once more.

“........ Sister…. I think that golem is literally blind...and mostly deaf, perhaps?” Loretta commented worriedly, turning her gaze to the snail-paced monster as it moved out of sight.

“Perhaps, but even so, we currently have bigger fish to fry.” Stella agreed, nodding as she drew forth her sword and spread her wings wide whilst looking at the group of dirty ponies. “These...miserable cretins need to be put in their place.”

The group of dirt-colored stallions, which totaled a good fifteen or so, burst out laughing at the remark of the purple pegasus.

One stallion with particularly large wings approached the sisters and he chuckled menacingly. “Pitiful sluts, you know not of I, Saurva the Lawless?”

Loretta raised an eyebrow. “Come again?” She asked, blinking a few times.

Saurva laughed again, spreading his wings wide enough to reveal glimmering embers in its mass, though they were very faint. Then, a horn appeared on his forehead as he took flight, “Once I’m finished with you two, I can have all the freedom I want!”

Stella took that as an immediate threat as she took to the skies as well. Loretta followed suit, a small purple void levitating next to her.

Saurva launched himself at the pegasus, expecting an easy adversary. Stella rushed above and then behind him, her blade now in her front hooves and glittering with a green glow.

The dirt-covered stallion turned around just in time to see a purple feather fall down to the ground, and a strange, crescent-moon-shaped aura hovering in the air. It radiated a sinister wavy energy in the bow of this moon. He turned around once more and found another crescent hovering frighteningly close to his muzzle. He then glanced at his sides, and found two more.

He was surrounded, but only from four sides. The things didn’t move at all, and then he looked up--

“Hurricane!” Stella cried, suddenly appearing above Saurva and slashing the air before her with her sword. A green energy shot forth and suddenly rushed at the alicorn, hitting him square in the face and sending him tumbling a ways down.

He landed onto his hooves, albeit awkwardly. He felt a warm substance trickle down his muzzle and dripping off his chin. He opened one eye--

“Crescent moon!” Stella shrieked once more, and only then did the still-hovering energies respond. They began spinning rapidly as if they were boomerangs and, one by one, lunged at him with haste. He dodged the first three, only for the fourth to slice off the bare tip of his horn.

“A pegasus who can teleport? Impossible!” Saurva hissed accusingly as he rose into the air again. The aura emanating from his wings changed from a soft, faint fire to a faint, grey mist.

Stella spat, “When has the lack of a horn stopped me?”

“And for my lack of wings?” Loretta added, appearing behind the alicorn with her horn aglow. Saurva turned, scowling at the green mare who was levitating herself with her own magic. His own horn came to life, a white glow emanating around it.

He fired the bolt of energy at the mare, only for it to be met with a shield of ice that shattered upon impact. He growled and rushed at Loretta. Right when his hoof would’ve met with her face to wipe that smug smile off of her muzzle, she vanished into thin air, re-appearing next to her sister.

Before the siblings was a large, dark purple void. And coming from it was a head whose muzzle was like a dragon, but it had the mane of a lion.

The entire thing was made of ice.

Saurva fired another magic bolt at the beast, and it shattered into a million or so pieces before another quickly took its place. He fired another bolt of energy, and the same exact thing happened. Now, he was getting irritated.

“An alicorn who knows the lowest level of all magic…” Stella sighed before bursting out laughing, “I’ve seen skeletons do better than you!”

“There are none better than I!” Saurva protested as he slayed another ice creature and found that replaced in two seconds flat.

“Mmm, perhaps in the thug department. Sadly, that’s about it!” Loretta chimed in, also joining her sister in the laughter fest.

Saurva was getting even more irritated. “You know nothing, you disease-ridden, bastardized bitch!”

In that very instant Loretta was right up in his face, her eyes blood red and glimmering with hate. “Say what?” She hissed, her body shaking from the anger she was undergoing.

Loretta’s front hooves grabbed Saurva by the face, “SAY THAT AGAIN?” She hissed even louder now, her muzzle inches from his.

Stella flew up and stopped behind the stallion, grabbing his horn with one front hoof. Her sword was very carefully moved to the very base of the appendage.

Saurva opened his mouth to protest, only to scream in pain as his horn was sliced off of his forehead and quickly jammed into his throat. At first, it was coherent and deafening, but after a few seconds, all that could escape his throat were horrendous gurgling sounds as blood pooled into his mouth.

A voice faintly, oh so faintly, muttered “Oh, this idiot just made a huge error…”

The body of Saurva went limp, and Stella skewered it onto her sword and motioned for Loretta to let go. The green unicorn complied, watching her sister wheel above in the sky for a little bit before the body rocketed off her blade and was sent into a building, shattering a window in the process.

The sisters then descended, their hooves once more touching the ground as they stared at the remaining bandits. The group of wingless, hornless stallions stared at them in a mixture of hate and horror, and they dashed away into an alley before their screams echoed from a short distance.

“I’m not helping those bastards.” Stella commented, shaking her head.

“Let’s let bygones be bygones.” Loretta agreed, her eyes returning to their normal hue. They then turned to what it was the bandits had cornered: around ten ponies--two unicorns, one pegasus, and the rest earthlings--huddled in utter fear, clearly trying to get away from the maniacs that stood before them.

The sisters exchanged glances again, and Stella sheathed her weapon securely under her wing.

“M-minions of Tirek…” Murmured one of the earth ponies, a young dark orange filly with freckles and a straight, streaked magenta mane.

Loretta’s ears twitched. “Who is Tirek?” She asked, blinking a few times.

A mysterious voice then replied, “Tirek is a demon-like being from Equestria’s ancient past and he has the ability to drain pony magic and add it to his own. Pegasi cannot fly, unicorns cannot use magic, and earth ponies cannot till the land.”

Loretta turned around, seeing another unicorn mare looking at her. She had a light orange coat with a streaked mane of fiery red and shimmering yellow, but her eyes were grey and she lacked a cutie mark.

Stella also turned around to see the strange unicorn. “And who might you be?”

“My name is Sunset Shimmer.” Replied the mare, no discernable expression on her face. “I still wonder how you can fly and use magic…” She added, glancing between the sisters.

“You mentioned Tirek being able to drain ponies of their magic? Well, the short answer is we simply have yet to run into him.” Stella commented, blinking a few times.

“Yes. He can even wield alicorn magic, should he get his hands on it…” Sunset replied, stoic as ever.

“Hands…? HE HAS HANDS?” Loretta asked, shaking her head in disbelief before letting her jaw drop.

“Now that I think about it, I want my fingers back…..” Stella scowled, eyes narrowing low again.

“Wait a second did you two go through the mirror as well?!” Sunset asked, eyes wide as bewilderment took over.

“More like a magic portrait. Twilight told us of her experience…” Stella answered, ears flat against her skull.

“Same effect nonetheless…” Loretta added, her ears twitching.”

“Just wondering, did you have to deal with what we had to? …I never want to see a medusa head again…” Stella asked, looking at Sunset.

The unicorn shook her head. “ I have never heard of those until recently… and most certainly not in the human realm.” She then rose a hoof to point at the sky, and the sisters looked up to see small, flying shapes hovering in a zig-zag pattern. “If those flying heads up there are what you speak of, I suggest not flying too high…”

“Father has told us a theory of how they came to be…. according to him, Leon Belmont killed Medusa and the heads are tiny pieces of the Medusa…” Loretta murmured before returning her attention to Sunset.

Sunset raised an eyebrow and said,  “Leon Belmont, I have not heard of him before…. can you explain?”

The ground began to shake as a giant, green serpent with red eyes fly into the air before landing head-first in the concrete. It then emerged between Sunset and the sisters before coiling up. The snake head then morphed into the shape of a mare’s upper body, with snakes in place of a mane. A horn was on her forehead, and golden bangles decorated her front legs. She was looking at the sisters, though her eyes were closed.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the two annoying daughters of Eric Lecarde…. Master Dracula always hated your line due to the ties to the Belmont clan…. “ She chuckled, her voice having a serious demonic undertone to it as she spoke, “now I can actually kill you two children of vampire hunters!” She then laughed evilly before retracting one foreleg back. That foreleg morphed into a serpentine head, mouth wide open and revealing four sharp daggers for teeth.

She then lunged at Loretta with frightening haste. The unicorn teleported out of the way, only to find a most terrible sight: the snake clamped down on Stella’s midsection, an audible cracking present as the pegasus shrieked in pain. She was then hoisted in the air, thrown upwards, grabbed by the tail, spun around like a lasso a few times, and then sent careening off quite a ways to another part of the city.

“Just what the hay is that thing?! You explain!” Sunset shrieked, motioning for her fellow ponies to flee for cover.

“As much as I hate to admit it, that was….Medusa…” Loretta answered, pausing briefly before continuing, “Apparently, from what I can tell from her energy, the vampire Brauner brought her back to life…”

Medusa turned around in a second, her muzzle and snake-mane inches away from Loretta’s body. Loretta calmly stared down the beast for mere seconds before her eyes went blood red once more.

“I sense anger boiling in your wretched blood.” Medusa hissed, chuckling a little bit. “No matter--I can take care of your worthless slut of a sister later.”

“.... WHAT DID YOU SAY? YOU….YOU ARE….” Loretta heaved, gritting her teeth as she charged another spell. Her body trembled and her hooves moved upwards until they were above her head. Bits of ice began collecting into a single point before expanding into a much more sinister shape.

A gargantuan sword.

“What the heck? Even before Tirek drained me…. I could have never casted something like that!!!” Sunset protested as she and the other ponies watched the monster and unicorn.

“You are weak, little slut. As weak as your father and his stupid magic…. though I doubt he was able to teach you a spell only he could muster.” Medusa taunted, a grin plastered on her muzzle.

“I promised my sister I would be strong...and I will carry out that promise!….. As for the spell you are talking about….. was it his time stop spell?!” Loretta almost cried before she brought her sword down onto the monster, who dodged with ease. The ice shattered onto the walkway, scattering into a million or so pieces.

Medusa put her hooves to her face, almost as if she were sobbing. Instead, she laughed and from her mane emerged more medusa heads, all of which were the color of gold. They came out of the mane at an alarming rate, about one hundred or so per second.

The newly-formed heads soon danced in the air like fireflies before making a drilling formation that homed right onto the green unicorn, who had another purple void before her.

The drill formation had been met with a sudden cold flurry of snow and ice that seemed to have been wrought by some kind of demon. As the snowflakes left the portal, they became larger and sharper, spinning almost as if they were crosses while they sliced, diced, and impaled the medusa heads without warning.

“I’ve never seen magic like that!”  Said a unicorn stallion who was watching the battle unfold into sheer chaos.

Medusa removed her hooves from her face and began swirling around the buildings as if she had wings, her massive lower quarters following in perfect sync. She circled three buildings before going into the skies once more, hoping to crash into Loretta and smear her into the ground like a rotten tomato. Loretta teleported out of the way once more before giving chase as the snake-mare rose up and circled more buildings.

This time, however, she coiled her body around one building and squeezed it until it snapped in two. She then moved over to another building, dragging with her the massive chunk she recently created. Her tail moved up and around, letting go of the pile of rubble and letting it crash into Loretta, which knocked her clean out of the air and into some more jagged concrete.

The green unicorn winced and teleported out from under the rubble, only to find Medusa hurling another chunk of the city at her.

Chapter 20 A Chaotic Playground

Chapter 20: A Chaotic Playground

Stella groaned in pain, a massive aching sensation assaulting her head and sides from the horrific impact. Her vision was blurry, though it was becoming clear again.

“Hey! Are you okay?” Shouted a young voice.

Stella groaned again and forced herself into a sitting position, her sword clattering next to her as her wings fell limp.

“I think my wings are broken… and my ribs are bruised, but at least they are not broken...” She sighed despondently, picking up her sword with her mouth as she shakily rose up to all fours.

“But, anyway, who are you?” Asked the young voice, and it was then Stella saw a dark orange filly running towards her--the same one from the crowd. The filly looked at the mare, seeing that she was quite roughed up by the landing.

Stella looked at the filly before raising a hoof...only to find herself falling down in an embarrassing kneeling position.

“I may not be a doctor, but…. clearly you need to rest…” The filly sighed, gently tugging the sword from Stella’s mouth with her hooves.

“I...won’t rest….until this entire mess...is sorted out!” Stella barked, trying to rise up once more and fall onto her side embarrassingly.

“This is just so creepy….” The filly said before helping the wounded pegasus onto her wobbly hooves.

“I dare not make a comment…” Stella sighed, the pain becoming more unbearable with each passing second.

“Can you walk, miss?” The filly asked, distraught at the sight of massive holes neatly dotting the mare’s body. Stella attempted to move her legs, only to fall over yet again rather clumsily.

It was then that, for some unknown reason, a soft white aura bathed the pegasus. She winced in pain at first, but eventually relaxed at the bruises went away. Then, the puncture wounds closed and the bleeding stopped.

“Oooh that light is pretty ,” Commented the filly, who watched in awe as the wings spread as if receiving some kind of special attention. Some feathers were carefully plucked out and new ones grew in their place.

On short notice, the aura ended. Stella groaned before forcing herself into a sitting position, and her ears immediately perked up. She blinked with wide eyes and quickly scanned her surroundings, making sure to not panic in the process. In one particular alley, she could’ve sworn she had seen something shift in the shadows, as if moving out of sight.

“I feel...much better.” Stella said at last before returning her sight to the filly. “So, uh...you asked me who I was, right?”

The filly nodded. “My name’s Babs Seed.”

“I’m Stella Lecarde. Pleasure to meet you….though not as much thereof, considering the circumstances in which we met…” The pegasus replied, returning her sword in her hooves.

“I agree… I just hope my cousin Applebloom is okay…”

“She is alright. Just being babysat, that’s all.” Stella sighed, still remembering when the earth pony asked one of her friends how reproduction works or something of the sort.

“Whew. I’m glad she’s alright.” Babs said, smiling.

Stella took another glance at the immediate surroundings. “Let’s just get the flying hell out of here. I’m already roughed up as is, and I’m pretty sure you can’t hold your own in a fight.” She commented dryly before standing on her hind legs. It felt really awkward in the equine form she was stuck with, and had to revert to all fours and the hilt of a weapon in her mouth.

“Ummm, perhaps I can help…. I found out some of the zombies are weak to holy salt and…. I made some ammo?” Babs stated, though rather nervously, as she pulled out a Y-shaped piece of wood with a thick, lengthy rubber band tied between the prongs with her hooves from a saddlebag she had.

Stella arched an eyebrow at the rather inferior weapon, but soon shrugged it off. Perhaps Babs could prove her wrong with that flimsy thing.

“Stella, there’s a zombie at ten o’clock behind you!” Babs cried, rising onto her own hind legs and loading a simple rock into the rubber. She pulled it back with her mouth, then let go. The pegasus turned around just in time to see half a zombie pony’s face literally fly off of its head from the impact of the rock that was fired.

The pegasus blinked in surprise as the zombie still lurched its way towards her before the other side of its head was sent rocketing off in the opposite direction thanks to another rock. Only then did the abomination land pitifully on its side, even more body parts splaying out in all sorts of wonky directions from the impact.

“Ick.” Babs sighed, putting her weapon in her maw before reverting to all fours. Stella nodded in agreement before both noticed a part of a building flying overhead them. It crashed into another building and toppled it in mere moments.

Flying away from that new wreckage and towards the two ponies was a brown shape that soon landed right where the zombie was. It looked like a chest with the cover torn off, and splayed within were several bottles of varying sizes that all contained a strange, blue liquid within.

“What are those blue things….? They look like… the stuff adults drink at hospitals.” Babs wondered aloud, trotting over to the anomaly after putting away her slingshot.

Stella sheathed her sword in her wing. “Healing medicine. May as well take the whole chest. If we find any injured ponies they will be needing some.” The pegasus remarked before loading all of the bottles into Babs’ saddlebag, careful to select the bigger bottles first.

“Why are some of them smaller?” Babs asked, frowning a bit.

“Well, different ponies require different dosages of this...er, drug. It can heal wounds both great and small, but I once had too much and…that wasn’t very fun.” Stella answered, feeling a bit of pain returning in her sword-carrying wing. She took a small bottle and drank its contents in two seconds.

Babs’ jaw dropped open as more of Stella’s injured flesh began to rapidly recover, though not quite that of when that mysterious aura bathed her earlier.

“See what I mean?” The pegasus asked as she put the bottle in the saddlebag.

“What happens if anypony drinks too much?” Babs asked worriedly.

“Whole list of nasties. Let’s see, you cannot move for a while, most of your body drops numb, you see things that aren’t there, and your senses become so slurred it takes three weeks to remember what happened. In the case of a young pony like yourself, death or a coma. Don’t do what I did--drink three huge bottles of the stuff in one seating.” The pegasus answered grimly, tensing up at the thought.

“Yikes…. thats scary so how much is safe then?” Babs questioned.

“A small bottle to a medium-small glass at best, depending on what it was that had transpired.” The pegasus replied, now frowning.

“But what about the huge ones?”

“Those are to be used solely for immediate emergency...if only I had a bottle of the stuff for one of my friends earlier…” Stella sighed before she and Babs witnessed a giant, long shape fly overhead whilst emitting the most horrible hissing sounds she ever heard.

“It’s that big monster again!” Babs wailed upon seeing the shape coil around a building.

“Oh great, it’s Medusa again…. but I don’t recall her having a horn….?” Stella commented, scratching her head with a hoof. Only now did she see the snake-mare’s horn, and it was visibly crackling with some strange aura.

Medusa hissed once more, flinging huge chunks of buildings in the sky with her tail as if at random. But when Babs and Stella saw a green blur flinging giant shards of ice in response as it dodged the oversized debris, they knew that a different story was taking place before them.

Medusa brought her hooves to her face, then flung them downward as her eyes opened to reveal blood red voids glimmering like rubies.

“DON’T LOOK AT HER!” Stella wailed, shielding both herself and Babs with her wings, making sure to cover both sets of eyes thoroughly.

“PETRIFY, YOU HIDEOUS WORM!!” Medusa cried as her eyes shot a translucent, sparkling grey beam that lasted for two seconds. Her eyes swiftly closed back to a complacent, almost serene look as her snake-mane writhed as if acting very much like her eyes.

“Excuse you?!” Cried another feminine voice that sounded rather annoyed by the gorgon’s comment, “Just who are you calling a worm?!”

Medusa grinned before bursting out in a fit of laughter that revealed sharp fangs caked in glistening blood. She then lunged at the owner of the voice quick as a whip and both forelegs bearing fanged heads. Stella closed her wings and looked up. Babs looked up as well, and both saw a giant blade of ice slice away the gorgon’s horn clean off the forehead.

Medusa shrieked and threw her body against more buildings before falling onto the ground, writhing pitifully in pain. It was then that a green form with a purple tail descended onto the ruined walkway.

Babs hid behind Stella in fear. “T-that mare scares me!” She cried frantically.

“I can see why.” Stella replied, her tone a little sad, “But she’s still my younger sister. I’m willing to bet it’s the equine hormones and instincts taking effect.”

“She’s your sister?” Babs asked, eyes widening in shock.

“Mhm. To be blunt, we are twins.” Stella nodded, trotting over to the green form who turned around.

‘Hmmm, I guess it’s true. They have the same mane color…’ Babs thought, ears twitching. ‘From what I heard, there is a unicorn filly and pegasus colt that are also twins...’

“You’re alright!” Loretta cried, rushing in and almost jumping on her sister as the two embraced in a hug.

“Of course I am. I’m tougher than I look.” Stella replied, breaking the hug with a nervous grin on her face.

Loretta put her hooves to her head and scrunched her eyes shut. She groaned in pain and began shaking a little bit. “Ngh…..I should’ve been aware of how much I strained myself earlier…” She complained, now gritting her teeth.

A loud rumbling sound was heard as Medusa once again rose up as if to fight again, but not without serious wounds visible. A strange liquid poured from where her horn was, and it was glowing a soft teal.

“Is that…” Medusa stopped, coughing up a little bit of blood before continuing, “All you… ugh, got, you…” She coughed again, this time expelling more blood, “worthless whore?”

The sisters turned to the gorgon. Babs did as well.

“Ugh… I can’t use anymore magic… I used the last of my strength there…” Loretta hissed, once more rubbing her head with a hoof. “But if that has ended you, which it should’ve by now, then I am amazed you are still ready to fight.”

“Hey, would any of those blue potion thingies we found earlier help her?” Babs asked Stella worriedly, looking at her saddlebag.

“No. We need a red variant; the blue ones would only serve to heal her flesh wounds.” Stella replied before noticing something very off about Medusa: namely, her bangles were now a dull silver in color.

“Gwahahahaha! I will always come back with my Master. One day, I will best you in--what is this?!” Medusa wailed, her eyelids scrunched worse than they usually were. Her mane of snakes turned grey and cracked as if becoming stone.

“Well… well, well… I see you do have impressive magic… but for some odd reason, I can’t steal it. Though, in this case, I may as well kill you using the power I just stole from the stupid vessel I’m inside of at the moment. She honestly thought eating me would kill me…. the fool I slowly steal the life force from. It results in my restoration by summoning and creating a new body.” Said a deep, male voice whose owner seemed to have possess the gorgon.

Then, Medusa began flailing about once more, though she didn’t cause as much damage this time around considering the fact that she was weakened from the fall. “You will not control me!” She hissed, the tip of her lengthy tail already turning to stone.

“Oh no!” Cried a female voice as Sunset Shimmer arrived in a mad gallop, skidding to a halt next to Babs. “Tirek lives!”

“Pitiful fool. If only you had more magic than what you have now!” Boomed the male voice that once more possessed Medusa briefly.

“YOU WILL NOT--AAAAAAUAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!” Medusa shrieked, throwing her entire torso upwards as her body rapidly turned to stone which soon crumbled and turned to dust under it’s own weight.

“Oh my goodness, that was the worst death of any living being I’ve seen yet!” Cried another female voice, which caused the eyes of the mares and filly to turn to an alleyway. Galloping towards them with a bottle that housed red liquid which was levitating alongside her was Rarity, and she looked absolutely aghast at the sheer sight of the dust that was once Medusa. “Are you alright?!”

“Better than being dead, yes, but not in the most perfect condition.” Stella answered, noticing that the mare had been breathing hard as if she had been running for some time.

“I was told to hand this to Loretta.” Rarity sighed, now sitting on her haunches as her magic carried the bottle to the green unicorn who soon drank its contents greedily.

“Who was it that informed you of our whereabouts?” Stella questioned, trying to comprehend why Rarity would bring her sister a potion.

“It was--” Rarity started, only to look up and gape in utter terror. Stella, Loretta, and Babs turned around and soon found what it was that the white unicorn had been so terrified of.

The creature had a whole horse-like body that was jet-black with a grey mane and hooves. Instead of a head, there was a bulky upper body decorated in black armor that concealed blood red skin. Arms that had more muscle than one hundred stallions bore silver bangles and ended in five human-like digits.

The face was like that of a monkey’s, and a grey beard and mane was present. The eyes were golden irises and black sclera, and there were demonic horns on the head which were curved, shot upwards, and ended at a tapered point.

“So, my little ponies,” Asked the beast, a scarlet aura morphing into a ball between his horns as he glared at the group, “Who is it that I shall have the honor of killing first?”

Chapter 21: What are you?

Chapter Twenty-One: “What Are You?!”

The centaur smiled as he eyed the ponies in front of him. Then, he opened his mouth as wide as it could go, a fiery orange orb settled between his horns as he did. It enveloped Rarity and the sisters, hoisting them into the air almost as if he were using his arms. Rarity shrieked as her magic was drained clean out of her horn, her cutie mark disappeared and her eyes became a monochrome grey. Then she was dropped onto the wrecked walkway, landing awkwardly on her hooves.

Tirek noticed that the same thing hadn’t been happening to Stella and Loretta, and his eyes narrowed low as he glared at them. “Why can’t I drain your magic?!” He shrieked, his mouth curled into a frown.

“To be blunt, I’ve no idea myself. But at least my sister and I have a fighting chance against you!” Loretta answered, flailing her forelegs about madly.

Stella drew forth her sword in one hoof. Then her other hoof moved to its handle before she held it above her head. “Hurricane!” She cried as she brought her sword down in front of her, releasing a green shockwave of energy that rushed headlong at the centaur. It hit him right in the chest, but because of his armor, he remained relatively unharmed. It was then Loretta noticed his horns shrinking just a tiny bit.

Babs noticed that Sunset’s eyecolor, a vivid sea-green, had returned. A small green aura encompassed the very tip of her horn.

“What the? My magic…?” Sunset asked, eyes wide.

Babs rose onto her hind hooves, taking out her slingshot and loading a rock into it. She let go of the rubber band, sending the rock careening off into the air and hitting the centaur right in the nose. Tirek glared at Babs, then scoffed when he remembered he had absorbed her magic and couldn’t do much to him.

Little did the centaur know that a dark purple void was above him, and icicles were already forming in it. Only when did he look up was when the first icicle met with his face, causing him to recoil in pain.

Some of Rarity’s magic came back to her horn at that instant, as did her eye color.

Tirek glared at the unicorn and pegasus, another scarlet orb present between his crackling horns. Then, a great red laser was let loose from the glow, and the sisters immediately got out of the way by flying in opposite directions. The centaur turned to the pegasus, that beam still radiating in concentrated form as he did. The mare flapped her wings rapidly, hoping to get away from the laser…

...and ended up falling to the ground screaming as it barely touched the tips of her wings, causing them to petrify on the spot.

“Damn it! He must have…?!” Stella pouted before noticing the laser on the ground heading right towards her. She got up onto her hooves, loaded her sword into her mouth, and began galloping away as fast as she could manage. Her wings were still open and stiff with stone feathers, which made it more cumbersome to get away since they weighed down on her frame.

Loretta took notice of this and fired some more icicles the centaur’s way, hitting him in the back and catching him entirely off-guard. His aim was thrown off, the beam shooting in the sky before being stopped as he turned to the unicorn.

“The two of you are the biggest annoyances I’ve ever met!” Tirek hissed, firing another beam Loretta’s way and scowling as she teleported out of sight. He turned around and fired another beam as an icicle came into contact with the base of his tail, and hit Loretta’s horntip, turning the entire horn to stone and causing her to land onto the street screaming.

Loretta tried getting onto her hooves, only to yelp in pain upon finding out that her left hind leg had been broken upon putting the corresponding hoof onto the cracked concrete. Tirek had turned to her right as Stella galloped to her with a worried look on her face.

“Now, your powers are useless. Bow down to me, weak ponies!” Tirek bellowed, horns charging and another orb between them as if readying another attack.

It was then that a skeleton pony with a purple robe appeared between the sisters and Tirek, an old musket levitating in its magical grip. “Oh dear God! That’s a face not even a mother could love!” It hissed, pointing the barrel of the gun at the centaur and catching his attention.

Tirek was getting angrier by the minute, and quickly redirected his magic attack towards the

skeletal pony and obliterating it with a laser. All that was left now was a scorch mark. However, Tirek put too much magic into the attack, such that it still continued after vaporizing the target.

Babs looked behind her, only to see Rarity smiling. “Darling, your eye color has returned!” The unicorn chimed.

The centaur slowly moved the beam of death to the sisters, only for it to meet with a third pony who suddenly jumped in and cast a barrier to completely stop the attack.

“Now that is a high level barrier…. I’ve read not even Starswirl could get one like that.“ Sunset murmured, eyes wide.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Tirek bellowed, stopping his attack altogether. There, behind the barrier was a blue-coated pony with a disheveled brown mane breathing as if she ran three miles to cast the barrier.

“Charlotte, why are you here?!” Rarity shrieked in surprise with wide eyes, noticing the mare looked a bit roughed up still.

Sunset was confused a little and thought to herself, “Why? How?”

“Charlotte, you just had a foal not even seven hours ago!!” Rarity cried as if in protest, stomping a hoof in the process.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t fight!” The blue unicorn cut back stubbornly, horn still glowing as she looked up to gaze in the centaur’s eyes.

“Wait! She just gave birth today?!  A pony’s magic is weaker when they give birth for at least a day and a half! If her magic is still this strong, THEN WHAT IS SHE?!” Sunset protested, looking at Rarity with wide eyes and ears flat on her head.

“In that case, I’ll crush this mare first. I can sense she possesses magic like the alicorns; I find it strange that she isn’t one herself….she looks like a child.” Tirek said, grinning horribly as he charged another dose of potent magic between his horns.

“I AM NOT A CHILD! DOES A CHILD BEGET MORE CHILDREN?!” Charlotte shrieked angrily as a halo of fire circled her horn. Her eyes narrowed low, and they seemed to glow with her own magic.

“What kind of spell is that!?” Babs wailed, awe-stricken by the sight of a stream of fire rising up into the sky like a rocket before turning into an elongated lizard and hitting the centaur in the palm of his hand (which he had used to cover his face with.)

“Babs… its an archsage-level fire spell. But, according to myth, only Celestia’s father could cast it. What makes it more amazing is Charlotte still has magic, even in her current state.” Rarity answered, lowering her head to sigh. “If I have to, I’m dragging her back to the hospital back in Ponyville after this.”

Tirek fired another beam of destruction, only for Charlotte to retaliate by firing a beam of concentrated light. Both forces collided, yet neither seemed to overpower the other.

“What condition?! What do you mean, Rarity?” Babs asked worriedly, looking at the fashionista.

“Well, Charlotte gave birth to an alicorn foal earlier today…?” Rarity squeaked, ears flat on her head and her lips curling into a shocked frown.

The centaur stopped his attack and used his magic to hoist the blue unicorn into the air at his eye level. He fired the petrifying beam, only to have a Medusa Head appear before the mare and fire one of its own, thus causing the forces to collide and his attack to completely cancel out.

“JUST WHAT IN TARTARUS ARE YOU?!” Tirek bellowed, raising both hands in the air on either side of the unicorn. He looked about ready to crush her. Then, the palms of his hands collided with one another and, rather than blood, shards of blue crystal flew about as the impact occurred.

“Over here, you horny bastard!” Charlotte called out, causing the centaur to turn around and find her on top of a building two roofs away. Her horn was still glowing with some kind of spell, and the centaur growled.

“Stand still!” He cried, firing another laser at the blue-coated annoyance. Instead of her, he hit a crystal look-alike thereof.

“Close, but not quite!” Charlotte taunted, this time entirely unseen by all present. Tirek darted his head around frantically, looking in the buildings with his magic before finding his target…

...and finding himself enveloped in an aurora-like circle that bathed him in light. He screamed and started to shrink in size, and with each shrink he looked weaker and weaker until he was hornless, bone-thin, and unable to stand. Soon, a painting grabbed him and yanked him into its flat surface as though a sentient being in its own right. Then, it disappeared before any could get a good look at what it depicted.

“Ugh! I would have never suspected she could use a purification spell only somepony like Celestia could learn!” Sunset cried as her magic returned to her full-force, and her cutie mark reappeared on her flank: a yellow and red yin-yang orb with red solar rays radiating from it.

Rarity’s magic also returned to her, and her cutie mark returned as well. In addition, Stella’s wings loosened and the petrified feathers fell off of them, and Loretta’s horn returned to normal as well. Her broken hind leg was bathed in a soft white, and it healed entirely before the white glow faded away.

Sunset turned to Rarity and grabbed her shoulders with her hooves. “Did you say she gave birth to an alicorn foal earlier!?”

“Yes...I wish I were making this up.” Rarity answered, ears perked and eyes wide.

“So, I’m gonna guess on this one: is the father a male alicorn?!” Sunset cried, eyes narrowing as if envious.

“Nope. He’s a pegasus.” Rarity answered again before both mares found a blue hoof pushing each other away.

“Break it up, you two. I am NOT putting up with this type of argument!” Charlotte hissed, looking angrier than ever. Eyes narrowed dangerously low, and seemed to glow stark white.

A painting leading back to Ponyville appeared behind the sisters, and only Babs took notice of it.

“What’s that?” Asked the filly, pointing a hoof at the anomaly. She arched a brow at the sight.

Charlotte turned around to look at it. “That’s basically our get-out-of-hell ticket.” She answered.

A painting began glowing in the a pristine hallway, causing all ponies--mares with nurse hats--to stop in their tracks as four unicorns, a pegasus, and earth filly appeared as the light from the painting faded.

One nurse pony trotted over to Charlotte, a worried look on her face. “Where were you?! You were supposed to be in the bed!” She cried as if protesting.

“Nevermind that. Where is Jonathan?” Charlotte asked, morphing into her lycanthropic form.

“He’s...uh, in the waiting room..?” The nurse muttered as if afraid.

Charlotte quickly bolted past the nurse, running down the hall with a furious look on her face.

The twins exchanged glances and nodded before they took off in the other direction. They then took a sharp left and ran down that hallway before butting into Vincent, who had the foal sleeping in a saddlebag.

“He’s hiding. He knows he’s going to die. I’m just getting the foal out of the crossfire.” Vincent said, a nervous smile on his face. He was sweating slightly.

“Where is Jonathan?” Loretta asked worriedly, ears flat on her head.

Vincent sighed and said, “He’s with the Princesses on the 2nd floor after he went into shock and  hasn’t responded for two hours...I think something’s wrong. He was muttering about Little Miss I-Will-Tear-Your-Face-Off before he went into shock.”

The sisters nodded and darted past him, taking a sharp right shortly afterwards and found a flight of stairs. Another hallway lined with doors greeted them, but outside one stood two pegasus stallions clad in gold armor and holding spears in their forelegs. They had stoic looks on their faces, and they hadn’t even moved once as the sisters made their ascent. It was as if they hadn’t been there.

“S-sister, they are just like the sentries in England?” Loretta asked, noticing the armored ponies stand next to that one door.

“I....I think so. Albeit more...yes, I’ll save the remarks for some other time.” Stella replied, trotting up to the ponies with her sibling in sync. The ponies, only then, took notice of the duo, and stepped in front of the door to block it off.

“Celestia had given us orders to not let anypony enter.” The guards said in unison, faces stone-cold as ever.

Out of the corner of the hallway, a loud and almost-hysterical scream was heard, causing all to glance down the rest of the impromptu corridor. A patient scrambled out of her room, clumsy hooves propelling her forward, and then out of the hallway.

Dragging its hooves lazily after her was a pony, a stallion easily as tall as Celestia herself, with a sickly green pelt with purple splotches and short, oil-black mane. Two large, rounded metallic pieces stuck out of its neck at either side, and attached to its midsection were two machine guns and a rocket launcher. On its head was a horn crackling with blue sparks.

“S-sister, I hope that’s not what I think it is…” Loretta murmured, watching as the pony snapped its head in her direction. Its body seemed to move towards her, rockets being loaded into launchers.

The guards quickly flew to the monster, spears at the ready. Sunset Shimmer had just trotted up the stairs in time to witness the explosive mess that quickly unfolded afterwards.

“It’s exactly what you think it is.” Stella hissed, eyes narrowing as she spread her own wings for takeoff. Before anyone could react, though, the door burst open, and out strolled Celestia. The eyes of the princess were narrowed low, and she craned her head to the monster who made quick work of her guards, her own horn aglow in soft gold.

The monster groaned like a zombie, proceeding to load more rockets into its launchers. It fired them at Celestia, but she cast a barrier over herself to deflect the explosive blow. To make matters worse another of the same monster crashed through the ceiling, ready to discharge bright and sparking lightning from its horn.

The princess scoffed, eyeing the identical fiends, as her horn still glowed. The monsters were enveloped in gold, and before any could react, they burnt to naught but a cinder, and some nuts and bolts as well.

Sunset Shimmer yelled out loud, “What the buck were those things?!!”

Celestia turned toward the voice, eyes widening as she was very much surprised to see her former student here in these halls. She quickly put on a calm face before answering, “Monsters not from this world.”

“So, you mean like those snake head things in Manehatten?” Sunset asked. Celestia merely nodded in response.

“We’d...erm, like to see Jonathan.” Stella stated, causing the princess to look at her.

“Charlotte’s a little angry--” Loretta started, only for her eyes to go wide as she heard the blue-coated unicorn shout something along the lines of this:

“I WILL STRANGLE HIM WITH HIS OWN GONADS FOR KNOCKING ME UP!”

“Scratch that, she’s really angry.” Loretta sighed, ears falling flat on her head as the shout faded into an echo.

“Just tell me what exactly was that particular monster duo?” Sunset asked, eyes still wide.

“Well, they are simply called ‘The Creature.’” Stella replied, cringing a little bit. ”They have some unusual abilities indeed.” She added.

“Please, can you elaborate on these abilities?” Sunset asked.

“No time for that, considering we have an angry werewolf who wants to kill a stallion very close by.” Loretta cut back, looking at Celestia as she said this.

“He’s awake, but his mind simply hasn’t registered that fact yet. That, and Cadence is...taunting him.” Celestia said with a nod. The sisters went into the room, and witnessed Cadance poking the red stallion with a hoof. Sunset also trotted in to see the spectacle.

“What did you do with her?” Cadence cooed as she continued to poke him.

Jonathan simply groaned, face stuffed into pillow, and said, “God sath me, I can senth it now.”

“So that’s him… I can sense some sort of energy in him, it feels kinda like a church…” Sunset remarked before she actually noticed the pink alicorn smiling deviously, poking at him with her hoof like it was a twig of some kind.

“WHERE IS HE?!” Yelled Charlotte from somewhere.

“I’m not sure how to address this…” Loretta whispered, leaning in close to her sister so she could hear her remark.

“Neither am I.” Stella admitted. Then, without warning, Charlotte burst into the room, pelt turning from blue to crimson in unchanneled fury.

Rainbow Dash burst in as well, and she put her forelegs around the werepony’s neck in an attempt to halt her soon-to-be rampage. The attempt was cut short and made futile by those accursed white ribbons of light wrapping around the rainbow-maned mare, tugging her loose and then casting her aside like a stick.

Things quickly escalated when Fluttershy saw what Charlotte had done, and she stormed right up to her faster than any could blink. The butter-yellow pegasus was staring down the werepony with a stare that could at the very least make Dracula himself break a sweat.

Surprisingly, this had an interesting effect in its own: some of Charlotte’s rage left her body, her pelt returning blue as it did, and manifested itself next to her, ready to attack everypony in the room. An apparition of fury, as it were.

“Oh great, now there is a shade we have to deal with as well. The day just got better.” Stella said sarcastically as she eyed the anomaly. Fluttershy stared the shade down, and it started trembling and then whimpering. It fled from the room in a puff of smoke.

“Well, we all know what made her cranky now.” Loretta added, a simple sigh escaping her lips as she watched the pegasus turn to the werepony and stare her down.

“Umm, I’m confused of what that thing was…can somepony explain it to me?” Sunset murmured as everyone watched Fluttershy as she continued to have her stare-off with Charlotte.

It was then another side of the shy pegasus made itself known, and it manifested in her words. “You can’t hurt your friend, even if he did something outright foolish. What would your mother think of you right now if she heard of you doing this?”

Charlotte registered the words of the pegasus, and she reverted to her other form and broke a sweat. She gulped hard as she stared into those green voids that seemed to have a magical grip upon her body. She was very still; her muzzle felt like it was being clamped shut by hooves.

“I better not hear you say those mean things again, let alone catch you trying to actively kill something. You understand?” Fluttershy seemed to hiss out her words as she stared deep into Charlotte’s widening eyes. The unicorn quickly nodded, and once that stern gaze left her sight, she began to shake.

“Yikes. I never knew she had that side of her.” Stella murmured, eyes wide at the sight.

“Let’s avoid invoking that side in the future…” Loretta agreed, gulping hard afterwards.

“All I know of your story is you’re from the human world… buuut, monsters and stuff…” Sunset murmured, pausing briefly, “It’s a little hard to swallow…”

“Well, I guess since everything, we should tell her some of the major knowledge surrounding Dracula and whatnot.” Stella muttered, wings shifting in unease.

A dark laugh was heard as Death floated into the room saying, “I agree with you  on that point, Stella..”

“Is that who I-I-I think that is!?” Sunset asked, eyes wide and jaw agape as the skeletal alicorn made himself known in the room.

“I will take care of that.” Celestia said, briefly glancing at Death, “And, yes, it is who you think it is, Sunset… it is Death himself.” She added.

Death looked at one of his hooves, eyes dimming momentarily as if he were bored. “Celestia, if I may… I could show some of Dracula’s history, but not what killed him in the past before--a bit of his and my point of view, as it were.”

“Wait, Dracula… but wasn’t me made by that writer Stroker?” Sunset thought, sighing.

Celestia thought it over a bit. “On one condition.” She said.

“Yes?” Death inquired, putting a hoof on his chin.

“Let Sunset see more of the...minions for herself, with her own eyes. She will have to be accompanied by at least one of the four hunters present in this room, though.” Celestia replied at last.

“Interesting, Lord Dracula says its fine with him… I must obey his will.” Death said nonchalantly. “Very well, then. But, I still believe we have a formality with two ponies.” He added.

“That formality being?” Celestia inquired. Just then, Vincent trotted into the room, with the alicorn foal perched upon his backside and his eyes were wide as could be.

“I...I just remembered something!” The priest uttered, causing all to look at him. Even Jonathan removed his face from the pillow and directed his gaze at the middleaged stallion.

“That is what, exactly?” Rainbow inquired as she returned to the room. A brow was arched.

“Jonathan, Charlotte,” The priest started, “Remember New Years?” He asked.

“What of it?” Jonathan asked, a hoof connecting with his face.

“W-Well...I…” Vincent started.

“Spit it out.” Charlotte sighed, shaking her head. “No offense to you and your master, Death, but if Dracula doesn’t sound abstract enough, I don’t know what does.”

“None taken.” Death commented with a bit of a chuckle.

“There was...a ceremony.” Vincent stated, ears flattening on his skull. Now, he was breaking a sweat.

“Ceremony?” The sisters asked in unison in confusion, one with arched brow and the other with shifting wings.

“All the priests got drunk that night since everybody else did it, right?” Vincent stuttered, shaking a bit as he spoke. He gulped hard before continuing, “Long story short, I went and carried out the marriage of…” He paused again, raising the accusing hoof at Charlotte before slowly moving it towards Jonathan.

And then, at once, the pelts of both turned white. And never before had they screamed so loud in unison before both fainted.. At that moment, the baby alicorn filly woke up crying as if right on cue.

The baby Gaibon asked, “Why did mommy and daddy scream?”

Stella and Loretta were still processing what had just transpired, and Vincent’s remark. Both then spoke in unison, “YOU DID WHAT THAT NIGHT?!”

Chapter 1: Oddity

Chapter 1: Oddity

It was the dead of night. A black, serpentine silhouette raced in the platinum moonlight throughout the sleepy, humble town. Following close behind it were precisely two figures, both panting as their legs demanded for them to stop running. The matter was too great of importance for either figure to ignore.

One figure had broader shoulders, a jacket’s tails billowing out behind him as he kept pressing onwards. The other had long hair and a sort of mini-cape barely flared out past its arms. Under one arm, it appeared to be carrying something.

The serpentine thing took a sharp turn, its pursuers barely keeping up behind inches of its lengthy tail.

“Damnit! If only you’d stay still!” Complained the first figure, its voice like that of a young man.

“Jonathan, I’m getting the feeling that this wasn’t such a good idea after all.” Said the second figure, its voice like that of a young woman.

Both figures stopped in their tracks, their legs aching in pain from abused adrenalin and oxygen levels. The first figure put its hands on its knees.

“For the love of all things in God’s holy name,” Started the first figure, its voice sounding rather scornful, “you worry about too much of everything, Charlotte.”

“Wouldn’t you do the same, considering that World War Two ended weeks ago? Wouldn't a World War Three start sometime now?” Retorted the second figure, standing upright and crossing its arms. In a hand was a simple book with a red cover.

“On second thought, I see your point.” Replied the first figure, moving its hands off of its knees and standing up full height. It was only inches taller than its companion.

“Besides, Jonathan, I could sense that thing has a large amount of chaotic magic. We have no idea what that thing is; however, I can tell it’s worse than Brauner was.” Said the second figure.

“Please, don’t bring him up.” Replied the first figure, running alongside the second into the halo of a street light. The first figure had blond hair and bangs that covered the right side of his face if you happen to be looking straight at him. A red and battered coat was on his body, the tails of which having seen far better days. He wore a simple black shirt and jeans with brown boots.

“Well, ex-cuse me for reminiscing!” Scorned the second figure. She had long and straight brown hair which reached the length of her back. She wore a bright blue minicape that was held onto her shoulders with a simple red cloth tying the ends together. A white shirt with very faint grey stripes going vertically downwards was on her torso, and it reached to the waist which was adorned with a simple belt. A matching skirt reached to mid-thigh, and a little bit past that were long, blue socks. There were red high-heels on her feet.

“Charlotte, quit your griping. We have a….” The man, Jonathan, trailed off. He was at a loss for words to finish his sentence, especially after he heard the distant sound of something groaning in pain.

“Problem to deal with?” Charlotte finished for him, also noticing the sound in the distance. She glanced around in all directions, her blue eyes narrowing a bit from a feeling of unease.

“Just where is that sound coming from…?” Jonathan murmured under his breath, also darting his head about every which-way he could manage.

Both stopped with their backs against each other’s. The sound drew closer still, and neither had any idea just where it was coming from. North of the town? South? They didn’t know.

It drew closer, and Charlotte could barely make out another silhouette in the moonlit distance. “Follow me.” She whispered to Jonathan as she began to walk to the silhouette so as to avoid scaring its owner. The young man followed, his pace also slowed to a simple walk.

As they walked away from the halo of artificial light, their forms darkened until barely discernable under the soft light of the current celestial body above.

The sounds of groaning drew closer. The silhouette seemed to have taken notice of the rather unusual duo out and about in the street. It stopped entirely.

Charlotte slowed her pace a little bit, occasionally stopping to see if anything else was following behind her heels. She could still sense that chaotic magic lingering about, and she didn’t like it one bit.

Jonathan grabbed the woman by the wrist and tugged gently. She took notice and resumed walking to the groaning silhouette in the distance.

Soon, they met with a woman leaning on a wooden stick for support. Her hair was greyed and hung sloppily in front of her shoulders, and she seemed shaken a good bit.

“Confound this back pain I’ve had for the past fifty years!” She complained, her eyes scrunching shut in strain.

“Um, miss?” Jonathan asked, tapping the elder on her shoulder to get her attention. “Have you seen a….black thing around town lately?”

The woman looked at him and shook her head. “No, I can’t say that I have. ” She replied. “But unless you mean my cat, she is black with two white stripes.”

Jonathan’s hand connected with his face, and he groaned as if annoyed. “No, we aren’t looking for a cat. We’re looking for this….” He lost words again.

“Serpentine monster with high amounts of chaotic energy, figuratively and literally speaking, of course.” Charlotte said, putting the book she held all this time to her chest.

“I….haven’t even seen such a creature. Could you describe it in more detail, please?” Asked the elder, raising a wrinkly brow.

“It was jet-black and I think at least fifteen feet in length. That’s really all I can say.” Charlotte answered with a sigh.

“What she said.” Jonathan quickly added, shaking his head. The elderly lady replied, “Your boyfriend is a half-wit, right?”

Charlotte’s eyes quickly widened, and a faint blush was on her face. “H-hey! H-he isn’t my boyfriend! W-what evidence do you have to support that outrageous claim?!” She retorted, shaking her head frantically as if in utter denial.

Jonathan’s eyes also went wide. “I’m not dumb! And no, we aren’t dating, she’s like my kid sister!” He added, his hand quickly connecting with his face once more.

Charlotte swiftly snapped a scornful glare filled to the brim with murderous daggers at the red-coated man. “For the last time, Jonathan, I am NOT a child!”

“Yeah, right.” Jonathan retorted, casting his own glare at the woman. He poked an index on the top of her head. “You sure act like one.”

The two looked as if they’d engage in a ferociously heated debate over whether or not the girl carrying a book was acting like a child. That is, if the elder didn’t speak up.

“My, my, that is an interesting book you have there.”

Charlotte pushed Jonathan’s hand away and turned to the woman. “T-thank you, I guess. I study a lot.”

“Mind if I take a peek in it? I’ll make it quick to avoid wasting your time.” Said the elderly woman, a faint smile on her face.

Charlotte complied, and the woman quickly sifted through the pages before looking at something that caught her eye. She looked at it for a moment or two, and then swiftly returned the book to its rightful owner.

“It was more interesting than I thought. I’ll be on my merry way.” She said, hobbling past the duo whilst grunting in pain.

“I hope your back gets better.” Jonathan said to the woman as she faded away into the distance.

“We’ve wasted enough time as is. Let’s just get this damn show on the road, catch the whatever-it-is, slay it if need be, go home, and take a nap.” Charlotte hissed, sounding particularly cranky now.

Jonathan nodded in agreement, and they once more took off running. Only this time, considering that the whatever-it-was had ditched them at this point, they were left practically guessing where its current location would be. Charlotte began relying on her ability to sense magical energies a bit too much now, and was as a result the leader in this scenario.

After an hour of mindless walking about and sensing magical energies, the duo came to a stop at an abandoned house. There were no lights and the thing was boarded up to boot.

“It’s the strongest here,” Charlotte said, her voice filled with subtle hints of worry.

Jonathan walked up the stairs to the sealed front door and he inspected it thoroughly. “Charlotte, you might want to see this.”

The young woman quickly ascended the stairs and sighed. Jonathan’s shadow had darkened the door too much for comfort. “Bring out the flashlight.” She groaned. The young man complied, shining the light at exactly what it was he wanted his supposed “girlfriend” to see.

Claw marks. Claw marks that had spanned the length of the door and its wooden bonds.

“Just what the hell happened here?” Jonathan asked, turning his gaze to Charlotte.

“From the looks of it,” Charlotte paused, putting a hand on her chin, “It seems that the owner was a quadruped hybrid.” She also saw similar markings on the porch itself, and even some on the margins of the sealed windows.

“English? Do you speak it?” Jonathan asked, shaking his head disapprovingly.

Charlotte’s torso hunched over and she sighed in annoyance. “For crying out loud, you know of the Glasya Labolas? Or how about the manticores? Or the Vapula? Those are all quadruped hybrids--put two creatures together and what do you get?” She answered, quickly righting her stature.

“Oh. Right. So, a freak of nature then?” Jonathan asked again, raising a brow.

“...More or less.” Charlotte replied, finally noticing a marking that simply didn’t belong with the others: a hoofprint. She knelt down to inspect the anomaly more closely. She soon darted around the porch, scanning for anything else that didn’t belong in the picture. More hoofprints and there were some strange feathers to boot.

“Just what the hell are we after again, Miss Know-it-All?” Jonathan sighed, very confused now.

“Not just a freak of nature. A very strange freak of nature.” Charlotte said, now returning to the boarded up door.

Jonathan put the flashlight away and charged shoulder-first at the door. It didn’t budge an inch. He did this again, and it still held firm.

“A little help would be nice.” Jonathan said at last, glancing at Charlotte.

“Right.” Charlotte replied with a nod. Both readied their shoulders and counted to three. After that, they charged at the same time and the door finally fell down, breaking its bonds and dragging them with it into the dark depths of the house.

The young man pulled out the flashlight again and stepped inside. Charlotte soon followed. The house was beyond dusty and the air inside was horribly stale. It reeked with rot as if a dead body was left within for four years straight. The duo nearly found themselves gagging but pulled themselves together.

At once, the door slammed shut. Both turned around with haste.

“Just great. We’re stuck here.” Charlotte complained.

“It was your bright idea.” Jonathan commented, rolling his eyes in a rude manner. He had accidentally shone the flashlight toward the eastern side of the room, where the house had a horrible surprise for the duo. There in the corner of the room were two dead bodies; one was that of an old man who was missing an arm, and the other, though disfigured, was the old lady from before...but her neck was gnarly, as if it had been broken horrendously, and there was a worm crawling out her eyehole.

Their eyes widened and they found themselves suddenly recoiling from shock with a severe aftertaste of confusion. They looked at each other and took a deep breath.

“W-w-w-what the hell did we just walk into?” Jonathan asked, shaking a bit.

Charlotte gulped hard. “Posthumous bodies. They’ve been dead for some time. When we get out of this, we’re reporting this to the police.” She said, very clearly trying her best not to scream bloody murder.

Jonathan turned the flashlight towards another wall on the south end of the room, only to meet yet another door that was boarded up as if to flat-out mock him. “This probably wasn’t such a good idea…” He whispered, hearing something going on upstairs. He wasn’t quite sure what the sounds were, but he knew that he was bound to find out sooner or later.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious…” Charlotte whispered in a menacing hiss, also hearing the strange sounds going on above her head. She too turned to the door, which had for some reason removed its binds and opened by itself. The duo exchanged glances, and then walked through the second door of the house that was creeping them out more and more by the very minute.

Now, the young man shone the flashlight everywhere, seeing that he and Charlotte had just entered a kitchen that had clearly suffered years of abuse. The walls were peeling and broken glass, most likely from dishes, lay scattered about on the splintering floor. Pieces of a broken table and some chairs also appeared to have been flung around the whole damn room at some point in time.

Amidst all of this fine hellhole of a mess, they saw a flight of stairs. Again, its wooden steps were rotted like the rest of the desolate place.

“And already I hate this.” Jonathan complained, carefully moving to the stairs and avoiding all of the bits of table and chair. Charlotte followed not too close behind.

Jonathan took hold of the rusted, metal railing and slowly climbed the stairs, cursing his luck because each step squeaked under his feet in the process. Then, all of a sudden, Jonathan lost his balance and accidentally broke a hidden wall that was disguised as part of the stairs.

Charlotte nearly jumped out of both her clothes and skin. She blinked a few times. “Be more careful next time.” She scorned, keeping her voice as low as she could manage.

Jonathan regained his footing and rolled his eyes. “You check upstairs, and I’ll see what’s in here.”

Charlotte complied and ascended the rest of the stairs, making sure not to lose her footing the way her companion did. The young woman was met with a hallway, and she saw a bright light...with that damned silhouette she’d been chasing all this time in front of it.

It turned its disfigured head and saw her. Quick as a whip it fled into the light...no, not a light. A glowing portal that took the shape of a painting. A painting depicting a strange landscape with floating buildings, brown rain coming from pink clouds, and other sorts of pure, abstract nonsense in all its wacky glory.

Jonathan ascended the stairs and stopped, also seeing the strange phenomenon before him. Again, they exchanged glances. “I found nothing except a high tonic and spell scroll.”

“What’s a spell scroll doing here in this….” Charlotte lost words, taking the spell scroll and looking at it. She was unable to read it because it was written in a language best described as swirls and other strange figures. In other words, gibberish. She put it in her book--which was an encyclopedia--nonetheless.

Jonathan turned to the painting again. He put the flashlight away, seeing that the damn anomaly radiated a bright enough light to provide decent sight.

They drew closer to this painting. At once, it began warping and the faint image of a skull swirled about freely in the distortion.

“This is...unlike any magic I’ve sensed before. It’s….” Again, Charlotte lost words.

“And the painting itself. If Brauner somehow did this, I’m going to assume that he had way too much to drink and way too much time on his hands.” Jonathan commented, trying to make sense of the mess the painting depicted.

“He couldn’t have done this. And even if he did, it no longer contains his magical essence.” Charlotte replied, rubbing her eye with a hand. “And Jonathan, another reason why I know it’s not Brauner is the magic signature of the painting is nowhere near what his was--and who’s to say another being couldn’t do the same kind of magic?”

Slowly, they drew closer to the painting. The distortion grew more violent as they approached its very presence.

“Okay. This is getting stranger by the minute. How the hell do I make sense of this mess? Think about it: monster, old lady, dead bodies….and now this painting is mocking us. Seriously, how the hell do I know exactly what is going on around here?! Dracula was bad enough as is!” Jonathan complained, holding out his hands before him and waving them in the air in confusion.

“And it was you who told me to quit whining, right?” Charlotte asked, looking at Jonathan with a look of unamusement.

Jonathan groaned.

They drew even closer to the painting. The distortion grew even worse, and now the skull was blood red. Charlotte slowly, cautiously, raised a hand to the painting and began to recite a spell in ancient tongue. Her hand drew closer and closer until the very tips of her fingers touched the fine tempora paint.

The painting, as if in response, emitted a white-hot light and cast it into the hallway. It grew brighter and brighter until it suddenly dissipated. And when it vanished, neither Jonathan nor Charlotte stood in front of it.

Chapter 2: What the Hell...?

Chapter 2: What the Hell…?

Falling.

Falling.

From the damn sky. The duo found themselves rapidly shooting towards a vast forest. It was as if the entire plan was a bad idea from the start. Of course, they were also screaming in sheer panic.

“I swear, I did NOT sign up for this!” Charlotte wailed as the ground got closer.

“Neither did I!!” Jonathan replied, unable to control his body at the velocity he was going at.

They got closer to the ground.

And then they collided face-first with a stowaway tree branch, which snapped under the sudden impact.

They fell to the ground and their vision went black instantly.

A pair of songbirds saw the entire mess unfold. They unfurled their wings and took flight, whizzing past tree branches and other such plant material until they reached a nearby cottage. There, tending to the hens in the chicken house was a yellow pegasus mare with a long, light pink mane and eyes of green-blue. On her flank were three butterflies the color of her mane and eyes.

The birds stopped, flitting in front of the mare and chirping like the end of the world was happening at that very moment.

“W-what? T-two ponies...fell from the sky?” Asked the mare, her eyes going wide and her wings quickly spreading.

One of the songbirds nodded before chirping again.

“A...blue unicorn and red….pegasus?” She asked, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

Again, the songbird nodded.

The mare asked the songbirds to show her where the two injured ponies were. They agreed and led her to the alleged crash site and, indeed, there were exactly two ponies on the ground--one a red pegasus and the other a blue unicorn. The unicorn had a moderate brown mane and tail and was clutching a strange, red book in her hooves as if for dear life. Her cutie mark was an open book whose pages detailed a pentagram.

The red pegasus had blond bangs and a tail of medium length, his hooves matching the golden color. His cutie mark was even stranger: a sword and a whip crossed together in the form of a crucifix. He and the unicorn both sustained decent bruises to the face, and, to be frank, neither looked to be in any shape and simply weren’t supposed to be out in the open, much less falling from the sky like stray meteorites.

The pegasus mare looked at the songbirds. “Could you two get me some help, please? If you don’t mind, that is.” She said, softly.

The birds flitted off, and the mare inched her way towards the out-cold ponies to further inspect them. She hadn’t seen this duo before, so it was wise to be cautious. For all she knew, the birds could’ve been lying about them hitting a branch face-first. But had than been the case, then she wouldn’t be here, and nor would the bruises that these ponies sustained from the fall.

The birds returned with two brown bears in two.

“C-could you take these ponies to my cottage? I’d do it myself, but I need to get help from Twilight.” Asked the mare.

The bears nodded, and one carefully inspected the pegasus’s wings before lifting him off of his dirt nap. The other took the unicorn who still clutched her book and they both marched away from the clearing.

The mare took flight and quickly ascended into the sky. She whizzed above a small town until, at last, she came across a big tree with windows on its upper frame. She landed before the door and knocked it with her hoof rather hastily.

The door opened, and behind it stood a lavender alicorn mare with a darker purple mane which bore a fuchsia and royal purple streak just beside the horn. Her wings were folded neatly to her sides, and on her flank was a magenta starburst with smaller white stars surrounding it.

“Hey, Fluttershy.” Said the alicorn with a grin.

“Hey, um...Twilight?” Fluttershy replied, looking in the direction she’d just came from.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, her grin fading quickly.

“I found two ponies in the Everfree forest. Could you come with me to my cottage?” Fluttershy said, unfurling her wings.

Twilight spread her wings and the mares took flight. Again, they passed the small town as ponies below waved their hooves at the lavender alicorn. Twilight waved back, but she had to make it quick.

They stopped their flight and landed in front of the small, humble cottage. They opened the door and trotted inside. The bears had already left, leaving the unconscious ponies on the floor.

Twilight quickly trotted over to the duo and her horn lit up in a soft glow the same color as her coat. She moved her horn just above the body of the unicorn mare. Twilight felt...strange and powerful magic in the blue-coated pony, but couldn’t put her hoof on exactly what magic this mare specialized in. If anything, it was arcane energy with subtle hints of forbidden arts here and there. However, in the red book Twilight could sense that it was really a disguised book of spells.

She moved her horn over to the pegasus stallion. He didn’t contain any magic, of course. If he did, then it simply didn’t show. But his cutie mark confused Twilight a little. She’d never seen anything like it before.

The alicorn moved away from the duo and trotted over to Fluttershy.

“Yeah, I kinda see your point. How’d they end up here?” She asked, raising a brow.

“I was told by birds that they literally fell from the sky. I had bears bring them here while I got you.” Fluttershy answered, being the first of the winged mares to notice subtle movements in the unicorn’s forelegs.

This was followed by a groan of pain. And then, her eyelids began to flutter rapidly, revealing her irises to be a hue of ocean blue.

“Oh, my aching head…” The mare moaned, her shoulders barely twitching.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, recoiling a bit from shock.

“No…” Answered the mare, her voice sounding weak. She slowly shifted her forelegs to prop herself up, her rear legs seemingly failing to work.

“You should rest. I heard you had taken quite the landing.” Twilight said, stepping forward a bit.

“I feel funny…” Complained the unicorn, her rear legs shifting into a proper sitting position. She rubbed her eyes lazily with a hoof.

Twilight raised a brow at that remark. “Might I ask you something?”

“You already are.” Retorted the unicorn. Her eyes widened and she suddenly swung her head every which-way she could manage. “How did I get into someone’s house?” She quickly asked, looking around still.

The mare took notice of the stallion and her hooves went to her face. She then cast a quick, shocked glance at Twilight and Fluttershy. She took another look at her current surroundings and then onto her own body. Her hooves went to the sides of her head.

“I’m losing my mind. I’m just losing my mind.” She said, shaking her head a bit.

“No, you’re not. It was just the aftershock of when you hit the tree branch.” Twilight replied, trotting to the confused mare.

Then, the stallion began awakening as well. Unlike the unicorn he landed with, he was much quicker in regaining his senses. He glanced at his own body, then the unicorn, and then the other mares.

The stallion looked at Twilight, and was quick to say, “Hey, what is this horned horse doing here?”

“I am not a horse. I am a pony.” Twilight corrected.

The stallion looked at the alicorn with his jaw physically dropping. His eyes went wide.

At once, the unicorn took a deep breath, scrunched her eyes shut, and let off the worst shriek that had ever hit Twilight’s ears. The stallion joined in, and then Fluttershy. Twilight also ended up screaming, and the whole orchestrated cacophony lasted a full minute.

When it ended, all the ponies sat on their haunches trying to catch their breath.

After a bit of panting for air, Twilight looked at Fluttershy. “Could you go ahead and see if any other animals are witness to the freefall?” She asked.

The yellow mare nodded and trotted out the door. Twilight turned a sharp gaze at the duo before her.

“Okay, I have to ask, just who ARE you?” Asked the alicorn, looking at the blue mare.

The mare and stallion exchanged a quick glance, and then the mare returned her gaze to the lavender pony.

“My name is Charlotte. Charlotte Aulin, to be exact.” Spoke the mare, rubbing a hoof on one foreleg.

Twilight turned her gaze to the stallion.

“Jonathan Morris.” He said with haste, rubbing a yellow hoof on the back of his head.

Twilight sighed. “I can certainly tell you two aren’t even from around here.”

There was a sudden display of perked ears.

“A-and what evidence do you have to support that?” Charlotte choked, swallowing hard.

“First off, your names are a dead giveaway. Second off, your cutie marks. Third off, that spellbook you carry.” Twilight answered swiftly and without stall.

The duo exchanged another quick glance, and their eyes went wide.

Charlotte returned her gaze to Twilight. “Had you landed where we came from, I’d say much the same about you.” She retorted.

Twilight raised a brow. “Why say that?” She asked.

Charlotte gave a wry smirk. “We’re actually from the realm of humans.” She answered, ears twitching.

Twilight’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. She shook her head as if unable to believe the exact words Charlotte had spoken.

“C-come again?” Twilight stammered, her wings shaking a bit.

Charlotte’s smile failed to waver. “I said that we’re from the realm of humans.” She repeated with a nod.

The alicorn turned to Jonathan, only to find him nodding in agreement.

“I have been to the human world. And it’s….oh my sweet Celestia, it was chaos!” Twilight said, trotting over to the duo.

Charlotte was quick to blink. “You have? You actually understand what I am currently talking about this VERY MINUTE?!” She asked, disbelief evident in her voice.

Twilight nodded with haste.

“Then did you have to deal with something like we did? Brauner was a nightmare with his enchanted magical paintings--and don’t even mention Death and Dracula.“ Charlotte said, crossing her forelegs.

“No, I didn’t. In fact, I never even heard such things.” Twilight answered.

Jonathan responded, “Well, Brauner was a vampire, while Dracula is the lord of Darkness, and Death….well, literally is Death given form.”

“I’d very much like to keep talking. We might know more about each other and prevent any future altercations.” Twilight said, beaming with a huge smile.

The trio carried on a lengthy discussion and exchanged about things such as lore, hobbies, and many other topics; Dracula being one of the many. Charlotte was careful to not explain too many things all at once and only kept to the current topic at hand--or, rather, hoof. The entire talk took a lengthy three hours, mainly due to Charlotte’s running mouth.

“You guys have it pretty rough. Being vampire hunters sounds particularly harsh.” Twilight said as she and the duo wrapped things up.

“Let’s just say we get bruised on a daily basis. But I am damn sure that landing in a tree branch and breaking it with my face was NOT on my to-do list.” Jonathan said, spinning his hooves in circles to mimic a clock as best as he could.

“Could you do us a big favor and not tell anyone else--” Charlotte paused, covering her mouth with a hoof to take a cough, “--or, rather, anyPONY else about us? We’d sure like to make friends here and all that, but even we have a low profile to keep sometimes.” She finished, putting her hoof onto the floor.

“Well, I’d have to tell Fluttershy your names and to not address you in public unless it was urgent business. Other than that, I’m keeping my lips sealed.” Twilight said with a grin.

Charlotte suddenly got a headache, and Jonathan quickly spread his newfound wings in shock. “Um, Charlotte, horn.” He said, trying not to panic.

The blue mare put a shaky hoof to her forehead. She groaned in pain as her horn began to glow brighter. It quickly disappeared, and so did the intruding headache.

“Um, Charlotte, I think I know why you suddenly had a surge of magic.” Twilight spoke.

The mare shook her head. She looked at the alicorn and saw that where a potted plant was a red crow perched on the clay rims, ice-blue eyes looking back at her. Twilight took notice of the crow as well.

Charlotte raised a hoof. “Come.” She said sternly. The crow spread its wings and quickly took flight, racing to the outstretched appendage. It took its place on the foreleg and scooted over to the shoulder before looking at the alicorn and sounding a caw at her.

“As I was saying before the interruption, I think that the reason for your magic surge is simply because your magic is stabilizing in your new form.” Twilight said with a sigh.

“Translation?” Jonathan asked, folding his wings shut.

“Her magic is going to be haywire for a while. It’s best to avoid using it for at least three days. It should be plenty of time for her to recover.” Twilight said with a bit of a chuckle. The crow put her at a bit of unease, and taking into account that it was not only red but summoned by a unicorn she’d just met earlier that day, made it a little worse than needed.

“And what of this feathered friend right here?” Charlotte asked, pointing a hoof to her familiar. The crow cawed once more before flapping its wings and finding itself perched on her head.

“Just keep him out of the sight of the residents. Red crows are….well, strange.” Twilight answered with a nod.

“I almost forgot!” Charlotte suddenly exclaimed, picking up her spellbook with her hooves. She sifted through the pages and produced a spell scroll.

“We found it in that old house we told you about.” Jonathan explained, “And she can’t read a word of it.”

The scroll was gripped in a lavender aura before flying out of Charlotte’s hooves and hovering before Twilight. She examined it carefully.

The crow cawed again. It began to scratch its head with a talon.

Twilight’s horn flared up further, and in the room appeared a mop and water bucket. The mop dipped itself in the bucket and, after wringing its own ropes a bit, began to cleanse the floor at a rate comparable to that of the local house maids, if any had been present.

“So, THAT’S what it does?” Charlotte asked, a half-frown on her face. “Well...I guess it could be useful for cleaning the house.”

“Especially if a bunch of maids are ill.” Jonathan added, nodding in agreement. The crow cawed once more. This time, it took flight and landed on the rims of a window pane.

Twilight craned her head, seeing that a cyan mare with a rainbow-colored mane peeking into the window. She banged on the window a few times, expecting to chase the red crow away. The crow only cawed in response and didn’t do much else as far as movement was concerned.

“Hang on a second.” Twilight groaned, trotting out the door and pulling the rainbow-maned mare in with her magical grip. Wings were on her back, and her cutie mark was a white cloud with a thunderbolt that had red, yellow, and blue as its main colors.

“Who is this? Why is she rainbow? Am I the only sane one here??” Jonathan asked, his hoof connecting with his face.

“Jonathan, you hang out with me all the time. Therefore, you’re not sane because you put up with an insane individual on a near-daily basis.” Charlotte retorted, motioning for the crow to come back to her. The bird complied, but not before circling the rainbow mare’s head once.

“Rainbow Dash, why were you watching from the window?” Twilight scorned, glaring at the cyan pegasus.

“Fluttershy told me about the hurt ponies, and I came to see what the commotion was about...the crow coming out of nowhere was AWESOME!!!” Rainbow replied with a cheeky grin.

“...” Charlotte was silent, processing what she heard.

“I am NOT giving the rainbow pony an explanation.” Jonathan commented, crossing his forelegs in a rather pouty manner.

Rainbow flew up to Jonathan’s face. “So Chump, are you a spy or just dumb?” She asked, giving a full course of glaring with daggers.

Jonathan turned his head away, forelegs still crossed. “Neither.” He replied.

“Rainbow, leave him alone! If he doesn’t want to talk, then let him be.” Twilight said, yanking the mare away with a flicker of her horn.

Charlotte raised a hoof to her head as another headache showed up. Her horn flared up and dimmed quickly. Jonathan found himself stifling a chuckle with a hoof before he broke out into an outburst of laughter.

The unicorn lowered her hoof again and looked at Rainbow, who now had a green triad of frogs on her head. The frogs croaked and hopped over to Charlotte, but not before one turned around and extended its sticky tongue, which hit the cyan pegasus right between the eyes.

“Apparently, my frogs don’t like a loudmouth pegasus who is much too quick to assume things like the very pony she’d accused of being a dumb spy. Well, then, who’s the dumb spy now?” Charlotte taunted, a sly grin on her muzzle.

Rainbow’s face quickly curled into an angry frown. “What next, bookworm?” She asked, her voice filled to the brim with murderous intent.

“....For a pegasus with the colors of the rainbow, you are already boring me.” Charlotte quickly retorted, going so far as to roll her eyes in a very uncouth manner.

Jonathan regained control of himself, but he was still chuckling a good deal at the unicorn’s rather cold remarks. His hoof was on his muzzle and he was shaking his head.

Jonathan said, still chuckling, “Besides, you haven’t seen evil unless you fight Legion or Medusa heads,” as he accidentally dropped the cross subweapon, which had somehow been held under his right wing all this time.

“Legion..? What the buck is that?” Rainbow asked, raising a brow.

“Once again, I’m not gonna say anything!~” Jonathan sang, putting a rather crude emphasis on ‘anything’ as he took notice of the cross and swiftly clutched it in a hoof. He rolled his eyes and flashed a wide grin at the mare.

The crow cawed once more.

“If I’m gonna get an explanation out of you one way or another, I may as well pound you into the ground to do it!” Rainbow hissed, her voice fueled by fury.

“In that case…” Jonathan paused, moving onto all fours and shifting into a battle stance, “...I have two words for you: No problem.”

Rainbow spread her wings and shot at the stallion with nigh-blinding speed. She had a hoof ready to deliver a punch to the face.

Jonathan wasn’t quite prepared for this burst of speed, and he nearly jumped in surprise. However, he reeled himself together at exactly the right moment and ducked the incoming punch. Quick as lightning he grabbed the mare by her tail and slammed her effortlessly into the floor before moving in and placing a hoof on her throat.

“How did you…?” Rainbow asked, quickly realizing that she made a very big mistake.

“Again, I refuse to answer.” Jonathan hissed, applying more pressure to the mare’s throat.

Twilight was quick to break the two apart, and she pulled Rainbow towards her with another series of flickers from her horn.

“Rainbow Dash, you wouldn’t understand anything he knows! Believe me, he could have killed you!” Twilight scorned, pointing a hoof at the stallion. “He was prepared for your attack, and I won’t scold him for trying to protect himself!”

“B-but…” Rainbow started, more than a bit shaken from what had just transpired.

Twilight shoved her face into Rainbow’s own. “Don’t do that again!” She said before turning to the duo. “I’m very sorry that happened. Rainbow is….”

“Reckless?” Charlotte finished for the alicorn. “Don’t worry Twilight, we were all reckless at some point in time. It’s really not that big of a deal.”

Chapter 13: Thirteen hallway Senanigans

Chapter Thirteen: Hallway Shenanigans

Rainbow now stood in the second floor hallway. The lights were on, which was a good sign.

All of the shouting and screaming that echoed from one of the rooms wasn’t.

“What the buck is going on now…?” Rainbow asked herself as she took cautionary steps forward, careful to avoid making any noise. The shouting and screaming grew more intense, and she could’ve curse words fly from mouths that shouldn’t have spoken them.

The thumping noises ceased for an unsettling moment. The cursing didn’t die down, however. In fact, it got much more vulgar by the passing second.

Rainbow’s muscles tensed to the point she couldn’t move them without added pangs of pain assaulting her nerves.

Rarity trotted out of another room and shut the door. She saw Rainbow sluggishly approaching the commotion at the end of the hallway. “Oh, darling, what could possibly be happening in there?”

Rainbow gulped hard. “I dunno Rarity. It sounds pretty bucked up though.”

The shouting grew even louder now

“Get away from me! I am not a mare!” Yelled what sounded very much like Jonathan.

The thumping sounds returned, and it was accompanied by a crashing sound. A voice said “But I love you!” in a very creepy, slurred inflection.

“I SAID GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU CRAZY *&^$!!” Jonathan hollered again as another thump and crash followed soon after.

“Oh my, what vulgar words...” Rarity murmured, shaking her head sadly. She and Rainbow got closer to the door at the end of the hallway.

“YOU WILL NOT *&^$ING DEFLOWER ME!” A voice sounding like that of Stella’s shrieked.

“Deflower... why would somepony behead a flower?” Questioned Rainbow, now curious.

“Deflower is a slang term used to address losing one’s virginity, dear. Whatever is going on in there is very serious.” Rarity answered, ears flat as she trotted to the door. The cyan mare followed suit.

“Wait, you mean….OH SWEET CELESTIA!” Rainbow gasped, eyes wide as a lump formed in the back of her throat.

“TAKE ONE STEP CLOSER AND I WILL RIP YOUR DAMN FACE OFF AND TURN YOU INTO POULTRY!” A voice like that of Charlotte’s snapped, accompanied by a low growl.

“Poultry...Gilda once told me that means dead bird, I think…so does that mean the invader is a Gryphon or a cockatrice maybe?” Rainbow sighed, trying the knob of the door. As expected, it was locked.

She turned around and kicked the door. It swung open, nearly flying off of the hinges in the process. A figure landed in front of the mares on the spot. It had a body the size of a pony and its front quarters had bird-like talons and wings. It also had a beak and some strange attire covering the chest, back, and shoulders. The rear quarters was like that of a pony’s that had a strange lion’s tail.

“Wait a second…. I remember seeing this dude in that book of Charlotte’s… it was called Zacchino, I think...it said he is a demon of some sort...” Rainbow sighed before a horrid stench invaded her nostrils.

“Oh great Celestia, it absolutely reeks of alcohol!” Rarity cried, her nose curled upwards because of the smell.

“I wasn’t aware demonic being could drink…” commented Twilight as she teleported into the hallway behind the mares, concerned for her friends as they were up there for a good fifteen minutes.

“And neither was I!” Jonathan yelled from within the room.

“H-He tried tainting me…” Vincent whimpered, sounding like he was on the verge of crying.

“........ HE DID WHAT?!” Rainbow shrieked in shock.

“According to the book he only goes for mares and attacks stallions...” Twilight sighed before her nose curled up in disgust.

“So, that’s what happened...he got so drunk he couldn’t tell mares from stallions…” Rarity commented, holding her nose with a hoof.

Sweetie Belle came up the stairs and saw the mares at the end of the hallway. She ran up to them and tapped Rarity’s leg to get her attention.

“Mr. Wendigo sent me up to see if everything was alright.” She said, unaware of the unwanted house guest in plain sight within the adjoining room.

That was when Sweetie Belle smelled a stench that was mingled with rotting flesh, mares, and--strangely enough--roses. There was a fourth undertone of the horrid smell, but the filly couldn’t quite tell what it was. She threw up on the floor right then and there.

“Clean up on aisle four,” Rainbow joked as she trotted into the room the out-cold drunkard was in. The room was clouded with steam that was fleeting.

Rarity and Twilight soon followed inside, and all three mares saw Vincent trembling in a corner with a frightened look on his face. Stella was still blowing steam out of her ears, Charlotte’s fur was matted to all hell, Loretta looked down at the floor blankly, and Jonathan appeared to have a rather bad case of unpreened wings. They trotted out of the shower and tidied themselves before approaching the door.

“Let us never speak of that demon again, or what he has done here for that matter.” Twilight said, to which everypony else nodded.

As soon as that was said, Stella had walked right into Sweetie Belle’s and found herself sliding down the hall. Her wings opened and she took flight--had she not done so, she would’ve broken into a large vase, which flew up into the air and landed on her head.

“And this is one of the bad things about being a pony…” Stella hissed, her voice echoing in the vase as she got onto her backside. She attempted to pry the vase off with all four of her hooves, but with little success.

“Bwah HAHAHA, that was funny!” Sweetie and Rainbow both hollered, mouths unable to close from how much they were laughing.

“What in Tarnation is so funny?” Applejack asked as she came up the stairs to the hallway. She quickly saw the hapless pegasus who had found herself with a new hat. “Hehheh heh, Ah can see how that is funny, sugarcube.” She commented with a false smile.

Loretta had a slight chuckle at the bizarre sight.

“A little help would be very much appreciated!” Stella shrieked, rolling off of her back and taking flight. She began bumping into walls and doorways blindly.

“I’m not sure if I should help.” Jonathan said, trying very hard to stifle a laugh.

“Where’s the popcorn?” Vincent asked, starting to break out into little fits of laughter.

“Here, did somepony say popcorn?” Shouted Pinkie, who appeared from out the shower drain with a bowl of fresh, hot morsels.

“I have no idea how she did that, then again, she did do it to my bonnet earlier…” Loretta commented, rather impressed by the sight. Pinkie got out of the shower and placed the bowl in front of Vincent, being careful to avoid the vomit puddle.

“That’s Pinkie for you…” Twilight sighed, watching Stella fail horrendously at attempting to get the vase off of her head.

The vase sucked the pegasus in and fell to the floor before rolling towards the stairs. Stella began cursing again all the while, struggling to get out of the ornament that seemed to have taken a liking to her.

“The vase is possessed.” Charlotte murmured, pointing a paw at the ornament accusingly and waving it up and down.

“WHA?” Exclaimed Rarity, who was very much surprised. “I remember that I got it at an antique shop but….now that you mention, it the pony who sold it to me said it may bring bad luck.”

“The vase is possessed.” Charlotte repeated, her tone of voice sounding more frantic this time.

“That explains everything, NOW GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Stella shrieked, struggling in the vase in such a way the damn thing began bouncing about the room and glowing with a dim light.

“Oh dear, I’ve heard of this kind of possession….from what I remember it’s an urn spirit. It’s good we found out now, or else Sweetie Belle would be dead soon…” Rarity sighed, ears flat on her head.

“It requires a sacrifice…” Vincent said, sounding like he was going to cry again.

“No, this type finds a home with a child and over time--about a year or so--will kill the child and eat them, it prefers fillies though...” Twilight explained with a sigh.

“Hence why I said sacrifice!” Vincent snapped angrily, though he didn’t look mad.

“I don’t fully understand, since Stella’s not a filly nor a child…” Twilight retorted.

“GET ME OUT OF HERE, I FEEL LIKE I’M BEING VIOLATED!” Stella cried, still trying to get out of the vase.

“How do we drive this thing out?” Charlotte asked, looking at the alicorn princess for an answer.

“What is going on here?” A voice asked as Eric ascended up the stairs and found himself in the hallway.

Charlotte pointed to the floating, vibrating vase. “That thing is possessed and it has eaten Stella.” She answered, a look of worry on her face.

The wendigo looked at the vase that then flung itself at a wall. It landed on the floor and rolled a bit.

“I see what you mean...NOT.” He said, quite clearly not amused.

“IF YOU CAN SEE, GET ME OUT OF HERE, FATHER!” Stella cried, this time sounding more desperate than ever. The vase began shaking wildly before spinning in place. A large shadow was now looming over the vase and it had two huge, glowing red eyes and said “SHE’S MINE SLICK!”

“WHAT IS GOING ON UP HERE?” Yelled Princess Luna, who was using the Canterlot royal voice as she came rushing up the stairs.

“W-w-what was that?” Stammered Loretta, who fell onto her rump shaking madly, since she had slipped on some water.

“Oh darling, that was just Princess Luna using the royal voice...” Rarity sighed, gulping hard.

“RELEASE ME AT ONCE!” Stella hollered. Whatever was going on in the vase was making the thing bounce about the room like it was made of rubber.

“No, no, no, no not her, she was the one who sealed me in this Celestia-forsaken thing!” The shadow wailed, its red eyes locked on Luna in pure horror.

“Now thy know thou are, you were the demon who killed mother, by possessing one of her guards with a knife when I was but a filly!” Luna hissed, her eyes developed slit pupils and dark blue sclera. Her pelt became jet-black and her ethereal mane became a sinister purple. Her wings changed drastically, the larger feathers becoming merged into an even stranger shape.

“Lulu, what are you doing, and is that shadow what I think it is?” Celestia asked as she teleported into the room.

The bouncing vase fell to the floor again, and this time it broke into about a million pieces. In the mess of shattered glass lay Stella, who was gasping for air and trying very hard to get up.

The shadow growled, “I WILL BE BACK SOON, CELLY AND LULU MWAHAHAHAHAH”!

It would’ve fled had something sharp not pinned it to the wall. It was a dagger holding it by the throat.

“Not so fast, ugly!” Jonathan hissed, pulling out another set of five daggers from his wings and readying them in his hooves.

The shadow laughed nervously as he said, “Oh buck.”

“Okay, okay, Princess you clearly know what that thing was? Now I want to know in ten seconds flat!” Rainbow sighed, preparing to take flight with rapid flaps of her wings. Jonathan thought to himself, “I would have demanded the same thing too, but not in the same disrespectful tone.”

“Whoa, nelly girl, cool yer jets!” Applejack said, trotting to Stella and helping her onto her hooves.

“It has no identity; it once possessed one of mother’s unicorn guards and killed her using his body. He was unaware of anything until it was much too late.” Celestia said solemnly.

“So, that was how your mother died? It was unclear on how in the books I read…”  Twilight said with a frown.

Celestia’s horn flared up and the shadow was bathed in a soft, golden aura. It began to hiss loudly.

“Auntie, what is that magic?” Cadenza asked as she came up the stairs, unfurling her wings in shock. The shadow began hissing even louder as it started to shrink.

And then a blinding flash bathed the entire hallway. When it went away, the shadow was no longer there.

“I just defeated a nuisance who was the bane of Luna and I.” Celestia answered, a very displeased frown fit for a queen on her face.

“Umm, a nuisance, Auntie? What do you mean by that?” Cadenza inquired further.

“Everypony, let’s just calm down, take another bath, and then think things over.” Charlotte called from the end of the hallway. “This is getting too out of hoof for us to handle at this point.”

“How so?” Cadenza asked once more, raising a brow.

“You really want to know?” Charlotte retorted, sounding very much like she should’ve been in the middle of a rant. “Just look in the bathroom. Tell me what you see.”

Princess Cadenza looked in and she saw the passed out drunk... whatever-it-was on the floor, its beak short of a puddle of vomit. And it wreaked of vermouth, mares, and other disgusting things; however, the smell of roses mixed in was unusual.

(That was when she realized it was the scent of the popular Canterlot Rose Vermouth, purchased generally by nobles, and was a personal favorite of Prince Blueblood.)