Under the Shadow of His Eyes

August drew his revolver, the last remnant of anything he had left of his life on earth. He flexed his fingers excitedly. It was almost time.

When he had arrived in Equestria, he had been overjoyed to find such a harmonious, Utopian society.  After years of living in fear of monsters, he was finally free.

That was, of course, until he had discovered the existence of vampires. Filthy, unholy beasts that stalked the innocent under the cover of night. He glanced back at his crew.  One was a master of offensive spellcasting. Two were earth ponies, one had exceptional skill with hoof to hand or hoof to hoof combat, not to mention throwing silver daggers with alarming accuracy. The other had designed a suit that allowed him to stand and fight like a human, but with much more strength.   The last was a younger unicorn, who his spellcaster had insisted would be the key to avoiding powerful illusions.

"Alright, we'll hold here.  Claw, get your gear ready. And you, rookie!" He pointed at the unicorn.

"Y-yes sir?"

"Keep your ass back and do whatever you're supposed to be doing here."  August turned to face the village.  He gave his weapon a soft kiss. "By the grace of the goddesses." He took a low stance.  "We will eliminate this beast!"

"You know, you really shouldn't shout. You might warn me of your position."

August whipped around to see the unsuited earth pony, hanging by his neck from a shadow whose eyes emitted a dark crimson.  His eyes widened.  "What... how...?"

"Oops.  Too late." The beast grinned, dropping the lifeless body.

"Stupid colt!  WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN US?!"  August shouted.

"He wasn't using vampiric energy!  I didn't see him coming!"

"The kid's right. I know much more magic than just that which is inherent in vampires." He stepped forward.  "My name is Mar, and you'll be serving me dinner tonight."

August brought up his pistol and fired a shot directly toward the vampire's heart.  Mar stumbled back, his hand covering the wound.  "What in the hell is that?!"

"What's that?!"  August grinned.  "Never seen a gun before?!"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Then allow me to introduce you!  BOYS!  NOW!"

The pony in the humanoid suit charged forward, claws extended, and slashed at Mar's face.  Mar dodged, delivering a swift kick to the pony's stomach, then leaped sideways to avoid a barrage of glowing arrows from the unicorn.

August grimaced. I've never seen a vampire recover from being shot by a silver bullet that fast.  He drew a hand of silver daggers, launching them toward the vampire. Could he be more powerful than our reports said?

The earth pony launched himself toward the human again, taking a lower stance and slashing at his midriff.  Another barrage of ethereal arrows exploded out of the unicorn's horn.  Two of them pierced the vampire, who growled and flipped over the earth pony, using him as an improvised shield.

No, August thought.  He isn't healing fast enough. His wounds are still open, but they don't slow him down as much as they should. He aimed at the vampire, trying to get a good shot. What the hell kind of vampire is this?!

Mar grabbed the earth pony's arm, and twisted it.  The pony let out a shrill scream of agony as his arm was torn off.

August fired a shot that penetrated the vampire's leg, knocking him back and causing him to stumble.  "You bastard! CLAW!"  August ran forward, drawing a short sword.

The vampire smiled, and threw the screaming, struggling body toward him.  Jumping backwards to avoid another volley of glowing arrows, he flipped around and sprinted toward the unicorn. He dodged through arrow after arrow, one of them tearing into his left cheek.

When the two were barely five meters away, the vampire grinned, and muttered a short phrase. A sigil appeared on his forehead, and he melted into shadow and disappeared in the grass.

August gently pushed Claw off of him, and crawled to his feet.  "Where did he go?!  Rookie!"

The spellcaster stepped back, looking at the grass.

"I don't know where he is! He's using conventional magic!"

"What?!" Growled the older unicorn.  "What do you m-ACK!" The unicorn's exclamation was cut off by a hand, made of shadow, protruding from the ground, around his neck.  He looked down to see two eyes, one the normal shape of a human eye, and one a seething mass of solidified shadow and crimson.  "No."  He whispered.  His horn lit up.

Another hand burst from the shadow and grabbed his horn.  "No.. please, I'm sorry!  Just don't... AUGH!"  The horn shattered.  The second hand grabbed the pony's shoulder.

Mar lifted himself out of the puddle of shadow.  His body was entirely black, except for his eyes, which were glowing brighter than ever. He leaned in next to his victim.  "Die..." he whispered, a hint of a grin in his voice.

August stared, watching as the last fighting member of his team begged for his life.  He felt paralyzed, unable to do anything as the unicorn screamed apologies, then fell silent as the vampire tore his head away and consumed his blood.  August fell to his knees.  "Please... just make it stop... I don't want this to happen again." He whispered, tears leaking out of his eyes.

Mar finished feeding.  He turned to face his final opponent.  He approached slowly.  "Well, look at this.  Of all of the enemies I fight tonight, the one who gives up before he's even injured is the human."

His expression hardening, August leaped to his feet.  He drew up his revolver and emptied it into the vampire's chest.

Stopping, Mar lifted a hand, and pushed his fingers into one of the wounds, withdrawing a bullet.  "Silver projectiles?  Without any kind of enchantment, no binding spell, no burning agony curse, absolutely nothing?"  He dropped it. "I'm insulted."

August lifted his sword, and charged toward the vampire.  "You're going to fucking pay!" He slashed at his enemy's neck.

Mar caught the sword.  "No, that won't do."  He tightened his grip around the sword, breaking off the tip. "Poorly made, and also not enchanted."

Dropping the sword, August threw a punch at Mar's face.

Mar caught the fist, holding it in an iron grip.  "Have you even killed a vampire before?" he crushed the hand.

August dropped to the ground, clutching his hand.  "Y-you... piece of shit... all of you deserve to die a slow, and painful death.. you monster."

Mar grabbed the human's head, and lifted him off of the ground. In English, he said,  "Yes, I used to think the exact same thing.  But what does that make you, who would, unprovoked, try to kill me? A man? or a monster?"  His eyes flared.

"D-don't try to make yourself sound-"

The vampire lunged, latching onto his victim's neck.  He quickly drew all of the blood from his veins.  Dropping the body, he turned to the pony in the suit, who had long since bled out.  He extended his hand, and all of the blood spurted into the air, toward him.  He absorbed it directly through his skin.  Mar smiled.  "Ah... that was a fine meal."

Mar's shadowy appearance faded, and the light in his eyes died.  He pulled his glasses out of his chest pocket and put them back on.  He turned to the last pony left, a young unicorn male with maroon hair and a pale coat, who had not lifted a hoof in battle.  "What are you doing here, kid?"

The unicorn, who had been paralyzed by fear, was taken aback by how casual the vampire sounded.

The vampire looked around.  "And what have I been doing around here? Oh, yeah, that's right." Damn everything, Shira. You never mentioned that I would go into a blood rage for my first kill.

You never asked. Mar heard what sounded like a chuckle.

Mar turned and walked toward the unicorn.  "I'm not going to kill you.  I owe you that, until you try to kill me."  He knelt down in front of him.  "What's your name?"

"U-umm... my n-name is D-Daydream. Daydream Illusio."

"And what were you doing with these idiots?" Mar gestured to the scattered flesh behind him.

"The unicorn, he found me after I graduated from Canterlot University, he told me he had heard of all my research into illusions created by dark beings, and that he had a job for me."

"But... you didn't do much studying into illusions created by neutral magic, did you?"  Mar smiled a bit.

"That I did not." The pony shuffled his hooves a bit.  "So what now?  Are you just letting me go?"

Mar nodded.  "Yes I am. As long as you don't target me, or anyone around me, or assist any more vampire hunters, you're free to go."

"Deal!" Said Daydream, his expression brightening. "So... I think you said it earlier, but I didn't catch your name."

"It's Mar." He extended a hand.  "It would be a bit weird to call us friends, so... allies?"

Daydream shook his hand.  "Allies." He turned and walked away. "Goodbye!" He shouted over his shoulder.

Mar walked over to the body of the human. He picked up the strange device that he assumed was the gun.  "Huh." He said, looking it over.  "I don't see how this is at all practical. I guess I'll ask Shira."

"Questions? Again?  Really, Mar?" Countermelody sighed, setting down her violin.

"Yes indeed, miss.  You see, in that battle that I'm about sixty percent sure you set up, I came across this weapon."

"Ooh!" she shouted, grabbing it with her magic, inspecting it it closely.  "Hmm... not a design I recognize.  I wish I could have looked into the owner's mind to see where he got it from. Oh well." She handed the pistol back to Mar.  "So, how was the fight? Did you enjoy it?"

Mar narrowed his eyes.  "Well, aside from the fact that I've only been able to remember fractions of it, and the fact that I killed the first human I've met here who wasn't a vampire, along with three ponies..." he sighed.  "Yes. I'll admit.  What I remember, I enjoyed.  It made me feel powerful. It made me feel..." He looked up at the moon.  "Alive."

"Well, you're not technically alive anymore, but I guess late is better than never." She shrugged. Lighting another cigar, she said, "It's getting early. You should probably get to coffin before the sun comes up." She chuckled.  "Besides, you have that date in the evening."

Mar rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess you're right. See you later, Countermelody."

"See you later, Mar. Don't fall off any roofs."

He was in the desert. It was a full moon, and there was a light breeze.  He looked down the hill he was on to see a tall, female human with long, black hair driving an odd looking carriage down a road.  He felt compelled to follow. He ran down to the carriage, following closely behind it.  The human inside paid him no attention.

After a few minutes of running, they came upon a small town. There was a small bar near the edge of town, it seemed to be the only establishment that was still in operation at this hour. The woman rode into the town like a demon out of hell, and the carriage slid to a stop right outside the entrance, just barely managing not to smash anything.  The woman jumped out.  She put on a cowboy's hat and lit a cigar.

Mar walked through the wall of the bar.  The woman shoved the doors wide open, striding in with an aura of supreme confidence.

"What the hell?  Who is that?"

"You know what, I bet it's that vampire that just killed all of the griffons!"

"Nah, no way!  She's way shorter, and she has red hair! 'Sides, she don't dress that way."

"Y'all think she'd show up wearing her usual getup? Of course she'd be in disguise!"

The woman turned to glare at all of the ponies in the booths. She narrowed her eyes, then turned back to the bar.  "Yo, barkeep, I'll take a shot of whatever your strongest drink is."

"Comin' right up, pretty little lady."

Mar walked behind the bar to look at the woman.  When the drink was delivered to her, she picked it up and knocked it back with a single swig.  "Hit me. Nah, fuck it, get me four more."

"Are you sure that isn't too much, miss?"

She glared at him.  "I'll tell you when I've had enough. Until then, keep them coming."

The bar was almost silent, save for the constant buzz of conversation. The barkeeper walked up to the woman.  "So, what's a pretty human like yourself doing all the way out in the little town of Appleloosa?"

"I'm here to deliver a message to someone. Some guy named Braeburn."

"Oh! Well, you've come at a good time. He usually walks in here about five minutes from now. What kind of message is it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I actually do mind you asking."  The two lapsed into uneasy small talk.

Mar's attention was drawn by a pony at one of the booths.  He was giving the woman a suspicious glare. He reached slowly down by his side, pulling up a revolver, and silently aimed it at the back of the woman's head.

Without a word or any indication, the woman drew her own pistol in a flash and shot the pony, through his left eye. The bar went silent.

The woman gestured to the corpse at the booth. "If anyone else wants to pull a gun on me, please do so now. I'm not in the mood for bullshit.  Anyone?" She looked around, all of the ponies she looked at shook their heads vigorously.  "Alright. Good. Sorry for interrupting the fun. Carry on."

The barkeeper stared at the woman in awe.  "That... was quite impressive, actually! How did you even know he pulled out the gun?"

"I got ears, don't I?"

The door to the bar opened. A pony with a tan coat and a slightly darker mane walked in. He looked at the body in the corner.  "Well, I say, it looks like I missed something! What's going on here, Wheat?"

The barkeeper snorted. "That fool over there tried to shoot this here human girl in the back, and I swear to Celestia, she didn't even turn around, she just pulled out a revolver and shot him in the head! I tell ya, she's a might fine gunslinger!"

Braeburn looked at the human, and his eyes grew wide. He looked at the barkeeper.  "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

"Sure thing. The back room, right through that door over there."

Once they were in private, Braeburn whispered, "Shira, is that you?!"

She nodded.

"Wha... what happened? With the griffons? And where's Mina?"

Shira's eyes glinted. "I don't really want to talk about it. But I have to give you a message for your cousin, and the Princess. I can't go near Ponyville again, and I think it's likely that I'll never see any of them except for Twilight for the rest of their lives.  So please." She pulled an envelope out of one of her pockets.  "Take this to them. Let them know that I'll always care about each of them, and regret everything that's happened. Tell them." A bloody tear ran down her face. "I'm sorry."

"Well... O-okay, miss Shira... I just don't understand why..?"

The world faded to black.

"Shira...? Are you okay?"  Asked Twilight.

They were in the middle of a burning city.  The sun was almost set. Princess Twilight was slowly approaching a short female human with red hair.

"Shira, please, talk to me! What happened?" Twilight walked up and poked Shira. "Shira...?"

Turning around, Shira glared at Twilight.  Her eyes had no pupils, just a pair of glowing, enraged, crimson eyes. Her teeth were clenched.  "Twilight." She said in an oddly calm voice.  "They're all going to pay.  "Every single one of them is going to pay. Do you hear me?"

"What do you mean...?"

"THEY'RE ALL GOING TO PAY! THEY'RE ALL-" Shadows exploded out of Shira's shoulders, assembling themselves into wings. "Going to die." She growled.  She took off, gliding away into the distance.

"Shira!  Wait!" Twilight shouted, taking off and trying to chase her, to no avail.  She was too slow.

"SHIRA!"

Mar woke up, punching the lid off of his coffin.  He sat up quickly, and the lid fell down on his head.  He fell back into the coffin. "Ouch..." He grimaced, rubbing his head. "I really shouldn't do that..."

Pushing the lid aside, he sat up.  "Ugh... what time is it...?" He looked out the window.  The sun was down.

Sunset....

Date with Kite Runner...

"Oh, Hell's motherfucking Boundaries!"