What Happens After Dusk

by Princess Maxii

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Flash Sentry, Anthro, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Romance, Prince Blueblood, King Sombra, Caramel
Length: 17796

A group of ponies that you'd never expect together must put aside their differences to defeat a common threat.

Six different ponies. One problem. They must go against the rule of a a mad god-like creature in order to escape a foreign land. They will learn that they can't trust anyone and that everything isn't what it seems . . .

Published 2014-05-23 00:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-11-15 01:38:49 UTC

Book One - Prologue

Book One

Prologue

Flash Sentry walked through the lonely streets of Agartha. He, and many others, had arrived there in a freak explosion. The explosion had caused a hole in the barrier between the worlds and so many ponies had gotten sucked in. Flash flexed his wings and was about to take off when he heard something. It sounded almost like footsteps. He folded his wings and headed towards the source.

Prince Blueblood followed the tan pegasus through the rugged streets. The concrete was cracked and the buildings were sagging in on themselves and boarded up. There seemed to be a feeling of danger and excitement in the air. Almost like one could run into anything and everything. Blueblood had seen the pegasus before in Equestria. He had escorted the crystal princess once. Blueblood had a feeling deep down in his gut that Flash had something to do with the fall into Agartha.
And he was determined to test out his theory.

Something was was watching him. Stalking him. He could feel it. His first instinct was to run but he knew that if he did, it would only seal his doom. Caramel could feel the sweat on his brow and he could suddenly hear every chirp of every bird and the skittering of every lizard. Please just be a rabbit or something, he thought. It was then that Caramel passed a street light. He saw a shadow towering over his own. He froze. It was a mistake. The shadow (of the pony stalking him, of course) stopped too. He heard a chuckle behind him.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Flash had the worst feeling. The absolute worst. Something was about to happen. Something bad. He started to run. He could have sworn that he heard footsteps behind him but he ignored it. He followed the faint sound of scuffling and his gut. It wasn't long until he found the source. A light brown earth pony with brown hair was being pinned down by a... mare... The mare was doing something to him. He struggled but she was holding him tight. Her head was inclined down to his neck, her rose-red lips locked on his throat. He let out a gurgling sound. Flash heard a gasp behind him. He and the mare turned around, startled.

"What are you doing!?" Blueblood demanded.

"Prince Blueblood?" Flash gaped. Blueblood grunted. The mare stared at him blankly. Then, she did something that made Flash's skin crawl. She smiled. With crimson liquid oozing down the corners of her mouth and dripped onto the ground. Her teeth and gums were covered in the stuff and her teeth, God her teeth, were scary on a whole different level. They were about and inch and a half long with fine, sharpened points. They were curved and red.
Red with blood.

"Oh. My. God." Flash had gotten training but this was nothing he'd ever dealt with before. That mare was a... a... dare he say it...?

"Vampire!" Blueblood screamed. He pulled out a freshly peeled bulb of garlic. "I never knew I would need this but the first time is always the best..." The mare gave him an amused look. Flash took his chance and shoved her off of Caramel. Caramel coughed and stood up shakily.

"Thank you." he wheezed.

"No prob. Now, I have to help this idiot." Blueblood was cornered. The mare took the garlic and kissed it. She actually kissed it!

"This isn't some novel, Princey. Let me remind you that those fiction novels are made by ponies." the mare hissed. She grabbed Blueblood's arm. She froze. A look of horror crossed her face. Bluebood was terrified. Something was happening. Something big. The only problem was, he didn't know what was going on. A strong, electrifying feeling rushed from the touch. It shot straight through his arm and hers. It spread throughout their bodies. It made his fur stand on end and his mind panic. He could feel her mind. They were being joined as one.
What is HAPPENING!? Her thoughts screamed. It was chaos but he got one thing out of it. There was a word, a phrase, the name of their fate if you will. Something that explained exactly what was going on. Blueblood gasped and wrenched his arm from the mare. He turned and ran.

"Run!" he yelled. Flash and Caramel didn't need to be told twice. They were off, faster than lightning. Blueblood took one last glance behind him, then disappeared into the night. The mare stood there, numb and confused. She'd never felt anything like that before. She knew what it was deep down. She couldn't believe it. The mare closed her eyes and leaned on a tree. She slowly slid down to a sitting position and cupped her face in her hands.

"Damn... what just happened...?"

The three stallions didn't stop running until they reached the better parts of the town. There were a few ponies walking around. The buildings were peeling but they were brightened up with light and customers and the faint smell of already-eaten suppers. The roads was no longer made of dirt but cobblestone. A few carriages lined the concrete sidewalks. Flash bent over and placed his hands on his knees and panted.

"Everypony okay?"

"I sure am." Caramel wiped sweat from his brow and smiled. "I want to thank you again for-" Flash raised a hand to stop him.

"I told you, no problem." Then, he turned to Blueblood, who was still flustered. "What were you doing?"

"What?" the tired unicorn looked around, dazedly.

"You were following me. What was up with that?"

"Aren't you a guard? You should have known I was following you!"

"You could have been hurt!"

"I-"

"Nothing but a nosy, stuffy noble and you could've gotten another civilian hurt!" Blueblood glared at Flash. He brushed his clothes off. Stupid, uncouth guard, he thought. Caramel stepped in between the two stallions. His T-shirt and denim jeans were torn and dirty, Blueblood noticed. Flash's plaid collar shirt and black jeans were dirty too. He was the only one looking presentable. The mare hadn't harmed him even though she'd caught him.

"I think we all need to go our separate ways." Caramel stated. He stared at Blueblood while saying it.

"Fine." He turned and left. He didn't look back.

Author's Note

A friend of mine read this over and apparently, she couldn't picture what my anthros looked like so this is what they basically look like: They have humanoid bodies (you know, including hand and feet, not hooves) but still have fur and pony ears and their added limbs (horns, tails-is a tail technically a limb?-, wings). That's how I see my anthros so... yea...

Book One; Chapter One

Book One; Chapter One

Night Crawlers

It was cold out. It normally was in the winter-times of Agartha. Ponies wrapped themselves up in coats and put on snug little hats on their vulnerable little, multi-colored heads. While one would expect everypony to stay inside their warm houses, ponies were out. Ponies were talking, laughing, and stomping around in the frigid air doing anything and everything they couldn't do during the spring and summer. The shops were full of new winter delights and yummy winter beverages and never-been-heard-of-before foods that oddly enough, were vaguely remembered from last winter. Chattering teeth were warmed by the blistering heat of hot chocolate while while not-so-cold mouths went on and on about the pumpkin pie of fall. Winter, like all the other seasons, was enjoyed by the joyful Agarthiens.

There was one, however, that was not bundled up and smiling and sipping hot beverages. It was a mare. The same mare who had, regretfully, not killed the helpless earth pony stallion in a feeding just a night ago. She was white with long, white curls for a mane draped down her back, up to her knees. Her eyes were a light brown that had a silvery tilt if one looked closely. Her mane wasn't really white. It was more of an extremely light pink that looked white unless there was a perfect amount of light shining through it. She had a tank top on and snug, fitted jeans. They hugged her thighs and shaped her toned legs and curves. She was a specimen. A target. But she was supposed to be. After the hot chocolate drinkers went home and the sun went down, it was a whole new world.
And a whole new ballgame.

She needed sustenance. She flicked her tail and started to walked around. It was dark enough. The prey always came after her. That was always how it worked. Barefoot feet on concrete. It was the softest of sounds. But wait, now she heard light-soled boots on concrete. Was somepony following her? The mare stopped, the boot-steps stopped. Yes! She was being followed. She sped up and just as she anticipated, the follower sped up more and grabbed her from behind. She pretended to be scared. She let out a scream and clawed at the hands.
Feebly.
She didn't want to actually hurt him. Yet.

"It'll do you well to hold your tongue." the stallion hissed with a heavy accent. He was a redhead unicorn. The mare rolled her eyes but kept quiet. "Good." He dragged her to the nearest alley and pulled out a knife. Two other stallions came out of the shadows. A blonde unicorn and a brunette pegasus.

"You got her." the blonde one smiled.

"Don't kill me! I have no money and I won't tell, I promise!" the mare faked. She made sure to open her eyes wide and look scared.

"She's about to cry!" the blonde grinned. He was on the verge of laughing hysterically. Seriously?, the mare thought. The brunette frowned.

"Stop being jerk and help me." Redhead-Accent guy held her and kept the knife at her throat. Blonde-Jerk guy poked her right breast teasingly. The mare jumped. What the hell was with this guy? Silent-Brunette guy started to tug at her pants.

"What's your name?" he asked quietly.

"Maxii." Silent-Brunette frowned again. His fingers hooked her underwear. While that was going to far, Maxii wanted to toy with her prey.

"What are you going to do with me? I'm no good to you..."

"What!? No good to us with this rack of yours? Hard to believe!" Blonde-Jerk took her nipple in between his thumb and pointer finger and squeezed. Maxii growled. He went too far.
Okay. Playtime was over.
Maxii pounced on the Blonde-Jerk first. She pinned him down and tilted his chin upwards. She could see his pulse underneath his skin. She licked her lips. She could feel her canine teeth extending, lengthening, thinning to needle points. Blonde-Jerk tried to push her off him but she stayed put. She dove in. As her sharp-as-can-be canines pierced the tender skin, she closed her eyes. The blood began to flow. Blonde-Jerk struggled violently but Maxii held him tight. She took gulp after gulp. It was bliss. The stallion beneath her got weaker and weaker, then went limp. She waited until there wasn't even a drop of blood left. She sat up and stretched. She opened her eyes.

Redhead-Accent and Silent-Brunette stared, horrified, at her. Maxii stared back. Silent-Brunette pointed a finger.

"Y-you're a v-v-v...!" Maxii blinked. She got up very slowly. It was always best when there were leftovers. Leftovers were for fun. Readhead-Accent raised his knife. She lunged for him first. She did a spin kick and knocked the knife out of his hand. He grabbed her foot and tried to throw a punch. She pulled her foot forward and he lost his balance. He fell on the ground, face first. She kicked him right under the horn. He grunted.

"Where's your big man muscle, huh? I'm a girl; nothing but a sex toy for you, remember? Fight back!" Maxii screeched while landing a kick in his ribs. He gasped for air. She bent down and licked him, or rather, his horn. Base to tip. He shivered.

"Demon." Redhead-Accent wheezed. Maxii kicked him in the ribs again.

"You attacked me!" She wasn't supposed to feel offended, but she did.

"Only demon drink blood and life of ponies." the redhead glared at her. Maxii growled.

"I'm a demon? Okay, I'm a demon." she lifted his head for him to look at her. "I'll be a demon. just for you." She put his horn in her mouth. He stiffened.

"What are you-" she bit down. Hard. "Yeeeeeooooow! What you doing!? That hurts!" She didn't answer. She continued to bite. Then, she pulled. The stallion was in a world of pain. The pain seemed to get worse and worse until -snap!- the base of his horn was cracking. The stallion howled in pain and thrashed left and right. She peeled his horn off like a band-aid off a cut. Blood gushed out like a well. It got all over her face and clothes. She let go of Redhead-Accent. The stallion gagged. He was drowning in his own blood. He coughed and staggered to his feet. His arms flailed around crazily. He gurgled and coughed and it didn't help. He was still choking. He staggered again and fell to his knees. Another gurgle. He let his upper body fall. He kicked and flailed on the ground like he was fighting someone and then, he stopped. He twitched again and then he stopped, never to get up again.
Maxii laughed.

"Monster!" Maxii whirled around. She looked like Bloody Mary herself, all covered in blood. Silent-Brunette was shaking and glued to where he was standing. "How could you?"

"I don't know. How could I?" she said in an amused tone.

"It's not funny! You killed him! You killed both of them!" Maxii smiled.

"And you're next."

Book One; Chapter Two

Book One; Chapter Two

Investigation Irritation

Things weren't looking so good. Flash has finally gotten a stable job as a detective and he already had a case that he couldn't solve. There were three bodies. One was drained of blood, one was bruised and had its horn ripped off, and the other, oh God, the other... was unrecognizable. Flash watched as a middle aged couple came in the crime scene to identify their son and the mare pointed to the mangled one.

"That's him! Oh goodness, that's him!" she sobbed. Confusion flickered in the back of Flash's mind. The other detective, Iona, placed a hand on the mare's back in comfort.

"Ah... how do you know...?" Flash asked awkwardly. The stallion glared at him.

"Excuse me!?"

"I mean,.. he's not looking... ah... presentable..." Flash shifted under the stallions' glare. The mare sniffed.

"I understand what you mean. Our boy always used to hang out with these idiots, peace be with them, and he would disappear for days at a time." The mare patted her graying bun and took a napkin out of her coat pocket. "Good day to you." The mare and the stallion left without a glance back. Iona cleared her throat. She was yellow with green curls that were always in a ponytail and purple eyes. She had on loose jeans and a navy blue uniform shirt topped with a thick, black winter coat.

"You really know how to charm." she said. Flash turned scarlet.

"I just wanted to know. He was freaking mutilated beyond recognition!" Flash exclaimed. Then, he shook his head. "Too bad we wont be able to solve this case, though."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because these guys were killed by, you know, a vampire."

Blueblood was a food critic for three main reasons. One; he liked food, Two; he liked judging how well ponies could make food, Three; he liked getting paid to speak his mind (even if it was just about food). There were five contestants in the competition that day. The second-to-last contestant, a stallion, was shaking as he placed a covered tray in front of the cynical perfectionist.
Trying to seem scared in order to gain pity, huh?, Bueblood thought. He lifted up the tray cover. Veggie lasagna. His favorite dish. He wrinkled his nose. The crowd sat forward in anticipation.

"What is this?" The contestant froze.

"What?"

"This horrid smell. The dish looks alright." he stuck a fork in the pasta. "It feels alright, but what is that smell?"

"Onions, sir."

"Onions?" Blueblood gave him an odd look. "Why would you put onions in lasagna?"

"My preference, sir. I'm used to it... I forgot not to-"

"Aha! And that's your downfall! You would've gotten a ten but no... I give this... a five!" The crowd murmured in disapproval. The last contestant was up. It was a teenage filly. Blueblood inwardly sighed. If she did horrible, the audience would shake their heads in disappointment for being "mean" to a little girl. She placed a covered tray in front of him. He lifted the cover and almost threw up at the sight itself. The teen obviously knew nothing about cooking. It was a semi-burnt meat loaf. The outside was tough and the inside was dry and tasteless. It looked like dried liver.

"Ew, what is this!?" he exclaimed. "My mother can do a better job than this And she can't even boil water!"

"How hard can it be to boil water?" the teen asked, confused.

"Obviously, pretty hard because she burnt it." Blueblood sighed.

"How do you burn water!?" the teen scratched her head.

"Exactly. Six and a half points." Blueblood got up and rushed out to talk to the other critics who were laughing.

Caramel handed the costumer his martini, extra strong. The stallion grunted a thanks and returned to his lonely corner to sulk. Caramel would have talked to him but he was too busy. Too busy doing his job as a bartender and too busy waiting for somepony. He let his eyes wander once more. No sign of her. His chest tightened.

"Can I get another martini over here?" the already drunk stallion called. Caramel ignored him. He's found her. She was gliding towards him like some beautiful goddess.

"Bartender?" The mare had raven-black hair and emerald-green eyes. She was wearing a green sweater and a jeans skirt that went up to her knees. She flashed him a smile.

"Bartender-"

"Quiet." Caramel quickly passed him another drink and turned to his lady. He smiled. "Rashel."

"Caramel."

"What brings you here?"

"You. I was just plain nosy and I noticed you got a different job."

"What can I say? I'm a jack of all trades." Rashel laughed.

"I hear your looking for somepony, love." Caramel frowned.

"Yes. I'm worried about her."

"Her?"

"Yes?"

"Oh c'mon. I don't do jealous." Rashel flipped her long hair with a smirk.

"She's a vampire." Rashel's smile disappeared. "She almost killed me the other day. Three people turned up dead yesterday. I think she might have done it. She has white curls and white fur. Her eyes are silvery-brown...?"

"Maxii!?" Rashel jumped. Caramel stared at his lover.

"You know her? That's her name?"

"No. I mean, yes. But... she's right there...!" Caramel turned his head. There was the mare that had almost killed him just a few days before. And she was coming right at him.

Author's Note

I just want to inform you guys that my mom actually managed to burn water while boiling it. She can cook, though. She just wasn't paying attention. :)
Plz like, comment, favorite, and check out my blogs!

Book One; Chapter Three

Book One; Chapter Three

Mate of the Wolf

Caramel stared at the vampire glide across the bar like some ghoul out of a horror story. His teeth clenched in fear for both him, his customers, and his girlfriend. Rashel was staring at her with wide eyes. Caramel gripped her hand. He felt relieved as he felt the familiar tingle as their skin and fur touched. He couldn't run off. It would cause a commotion and he would get fired. The vampire mare took a seat right next to Rashel and smiled.

"Hello, you two."

"Maxii." Rashel said her name like a warning. Caramel blinked. So, she did know her. Maxii nodded towards Caramel.

"What's with the chump?"

"Maxii, we'll talk about this later." Rashel growled. Maxii eyed Caramel's fingers intertwined with Rashel's. She raised a brow. Caramel's heart was pounding.

"Sleeping with the enemy?" Rashel stood up. She glared at Maxii and grabbed Caramel. She dragged him outside and they were stomping in the cold. Caramel let out a breath, watching it come out as fog and disappear before he turned to his girlfriend.

"How do you know her, Shelly?"

"Don't call me that." Rashel sighed. She stopped. "Do you remember when I told you there were things about me that you wouldn't ever know about me? Things that you couldn't understand?" Caramel nodded.

"Yes. But, Shelly, she's a vampire." Rashel's expression didn't change. "Wait, did you know...?"

"Caramel, you've got to understand. I'm not what I seem. I'm a monster, too. I may not be as bad as Maxii but..."

"You are not a monster. She killed three people! Who knows how much more?" Rashel looked around. She guided Caramel to a secluded part of town and stopped. She took a deep breath. Then, she started to change. Her fur became coarser and her muzzle became wider and longer. Her body looked deformed as she hunched over and she became a quadruped. Her tail got longer and bushy-er. Her teeth got sharper and longer. Caramel went bug-eyed and took a step back.
She was a wolf. A big, chocolate wolf. As chocolate as his dearest's fur. A black stripe ran down this wolf's back. Caramel couldn't believe it was his Rashel. Not until he saw the wolf's eyes. Its eyes were emerald-green and had a non-animalistic intelligence within them. Rashel is a werewolf, Caramel thought, how could have not known?

"R-rashel?" Caramel circled the wolf. "Shelly?" The wolf let out a half-bark, half-growl.

God, I said don't call me that!, a voice said, irritated. Caramel jumped.

"Rashel? Was that you?"

Yes.

"How?"

We're connected. Rashel looked p at him with those wolfy eyes. We're soulmates.

Maxii watched the two from afar. She growled as Caramel wrapped his hands around her friend. That was the first time a human wasn't terrified of a werewolf. She'd expected him to run off, giving her the chance to finish him off. He knew too much. She couldn't have a ruddy little pony knowing all the secrets of the Other World. She didn't understand why Rashel would fall for a pony in the first place. Oh well. She'd have to leer Caramel away somehow and get rid of him. Rashel would thank her later. Rashel barked and growled in her direction.

"Oh, you knew I was following you, Rashel?" A whine and pleading eyes. "Don't worry. I'll take care of your problem for you. Obviously you couldn't shake him." There was a fury of growls and snarls. Rashel almost threw Caramel off of her.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked. Maxii turned to leave. Rashel howled in anger behind her.

Blueblood entered the lonely building. There were groups of people casually talking about one of most dangerous creatures alive. Vampires. He wasn't surprised to see Iona, the lead vampire hunter there. Blueblood walked right up to her table and slammed the bits of garlic down. Everypony at the table simply looked at him. The whole room was.

"What seems to be the problem, Blueblood?" Iona sighed.

"You lied to me! You give me garlic for these bastards and it doesn't even work!" Several hunters exchanged glances. They hadn't given him anything that really hurt vampires because they knew that most people thought they were a club of some sort. To end the cults that pretended to be vampires.

"Maybe it wasn't a vamp." a stallion mumbled.

"No, it was. She was." A couple ponies smiled. Others rolled their eyes.

"And how did you know that for sure, hmm?" a mare giggled. Blueblood glared at all of them. They were toying with him, he knew. He smirked.

"I saw her trying to turn a guy into a meal." Silence. "Oh, no comebacks? Does she sound real enough for ya?" Iona turned to Blueblood.

"What does she look like?"

Flash was surprised that he ran into Caramel. Iona had tried to squander a few details out of him just hours yesterday and hadn't come in the today. He was feeling flustered from the hard work he had to do and anxious. He wondered if Iona would tell anypony about his rant about vampires. Caramel didn't help when he ran right into Flash and gave him an assessing look. There was a pretty raven-haired girl staring at him as Caramel apologized.

"Are you okay?" Caramel asked, worried.

"Yea, yea. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." Rashel said. She grabbed his arm and started to drag him across town. "Come with me. I'll fix you right up!" Caramel gave Flash a water bottle.

"I'm feeling... down right now. I need a joke or something... not a girl dragging me." he said, drinking heavily.

"You want a joke?" Caramel questioned.

Rashel then said, "I'll give you a joke! Okay, so, a husband and wife are trying to set a new password for their computer. The husband puts "MyPenis". The wife fall down laughing because the computer says"Error. Not long enough." Flash laughed and spit out a mouthful of water in Caramel's face. Caramel sighed.

"No more jokes for you."

Book One; Chapter Four

Book One; Chapter Four

The Hunt

Flash sat on his computer and looked up 'The Other World' on Google. He expected almost nothing to come up but he was surprised by the many informational websites that popped up. Caramel and Rashel watched him click a site from over his shoulder.

"Uhh, what are your names again?" Flash asked. Caramel said nothing.

"I'm Rashel and this is my boyfriend, Caramel."

"Oh yea."

"You saved him from a vampire, hello!" Flash smiled sheepishly.

"Right. It was kinda on impulse, you know? Instinct." Flash looked at the screen and read about three lines. He stiffened. His eyes flicked to the couple and back to the computer. He gulped.

"So... uh... vampires aren't the only thing I have to worry about, huh?"

Maxii petted the small child gently. The kid whimpered but did not move. He wouldn't dare. Maxii was cold-blooded. She would rip his esophagus out before he could even utter a word. The boy was beautiful. His glowing eyes and golden hair with a sharp chin and an adorable smile. He was skinny but tough. His hands were rough from work and only the ring on his right hand indicated what he was. It was a ring with a black lily. Which meant only one thing.
The boy was a shapeshifter.

Dark elves, fairies, ghouls, Old Souls, goblins, fauns, and dwarfs. There were so many different Other World people that Flash had never even heard of. Dark elves had sharp ears, like cats, and fairies had elemental powers, and ghouls were damned humans who didn't change properly into vampires... It was too much to take in. Flash stood up abruptly and turned around with wild eyes. His breathing was heavy.

"What are you?" Caramel blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not ponies. What are you? Vampires? Like that girl?"

"I am a pony." Caramel said simply.

"How can I believe you?" Flash eyed them both. Rashel sighed.

"I'm a werewolf. Caramel's telling the truth. He's a pony." Flash's eyes narrowed. He doesn't believe me, Rashel quickly realized. Caramel frowned. Oh yeah. Caramel could feel her surprise. But why was she surprised? She was never certain that Flash would have welcomed them without hesitation in the first place. Rashel was about to say something but Caramel gave her a look. He shook his head. Rashel sighed.

"If you don't believe us, Flash, you can go. Just remember that we called you here for a reason." Caramel said.

"Other than to help you out..." added Rashel. Caramel raised a brow at her. She blushed.

"We need your help." Flash stared at them long and hard.

"With what?"

Maxii herded the shapeshifter boy outside into the night air. The boy shivered and clung to his mistress. Maxii smiled down on him.

"What's your sisters name again, Keell?" Keell blinked and shrugged. "Oh c'mon, you can tell me."

"Ayona..." Keell shivered again. "Mistress, why do you want to know?" Maxii laughed casually.

"I just want to know. Now, do you want to know why I brought you out here?" Keell shook his head. "To hunt!" Keell's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Really?"

"Yes. But you must obey my every command. Your prey is very specific. An earth pony that smells a lot like a werewolf. You know my friend, Rashel, right?"

"Yes, mistress. Can I have the heart and liver?"

"Of course. You can also save what's left for later. Just let me have some blood." Keell grinned. He was a shapeshifter, after all. They required flesh. Maxii led the young shapeshifter outside and waved her hands impatiently. Keell didn't need to be told twice. His body started to change. Thick fur started to grow and his ears sharpened. His muzzle shortened while his teeth grew sharper and his feet grew into paws. Claws extended and a long, rounded tail emerged. His fur was golden and decorated with spots that clearly indicated what her was.
A leopard. Maxii clapped her hands together.

"Whoo hoo! Let's get a-hunting!" she did a little dance out of the joy of getting new prey. Keell let out a leopard-y mew and stuck his nose up in the air. "Here, baby, sniff this." Maxii let the boy sniff a necklace that she had snatched from Rashel a few years back. Keell sniffed it and was off. He kept to the shadows of the still just-darkening town. Maxii ran alongside him. Speed was no problem for the young vampire.

Flash, Caramel, and Rashel stopped in front of the precinct. Rashel sighed.

"Can you guys please just tell me why you need my help? Like, what for?"

"You ask too many questions." Rashel said. She smiled. "Come to us when you feel like you want to listen."

"But-"

"You have to agree to help us first." Caramel stated firmly. The couple turned and left the young detective frowning at their backs. He opened the door of the old, sagging police building and saw that only a guard and a rookie like him were in. He couldn't find Iona, which was odd. Flash turned around to close the door when he saw a big cat and a humanoid figure run past.

"What the...?" he started. The rookie looked up from his paperwork.

"What's wrong?"

"What?" Flash grabbed his .40 caliber pistol and dashed out the door. "Stay here!"

"No, wait, you took Iona's gun!" the rookie called. Flash ignored him and tried to follow the two creatures. He managed to find them when they stopped. The pony turned around and Flash froze. It was the same girl who had attacked Caramel before. She grinned at his shocked face. He aimed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. Maxii dodged the bullets easily.

"You remember me! How wonderful to know that I'm famous." The big cat growled. "Why don't you have some fun with this one, baby? I hear pegasi are yummy-yummy." She petted the leopard and it purred before turning to Flash with a murderous look in its eyes. The leopard licked its jowls, showing its jagged teeth and pounced. Flash tried to step to the side but the leopard got him. He was knocked down on his back and felt the pain of claws digging into his chest. The leopards tail swished side to side in anticipation. Maxii watched with a maniac-looking smile plastered on her face. Suddenly, there was a howl.

"Took her long enough." Flash murmured. Maxii's smile vanished. A huge black wolf crashed right into the leopard. Flash instantly tried to get up. Maxii was at his side in an instant. She tilted his head back forcefully and sank her fangs into his neck.

"GAAAH!!!" It felt like pain shooting through his veins and he felt weak with every passing second. She was drinking him dry! A growl and a whimper came from the tangle of fur that was Rashel the Wolf and Keell the Leopard. Flash let out a weak mewl.

"Stop. Right. There." Everypony froze. Maxii stopped her drinking to get a good look at the one who was interupting her meal. That would be her next target. Keell was pinned underneath Rashel and they stopped to look too. It was Blueblood, looking like quite the badass in his his black jeans and leather jacket. He lifted a knife and smiled. Flash didn't understand why Maxii stiffened. The knife was sharp but wooden. The blade looked like a toy despite the sharpness. Blueblood raised his hand, perfect poise, and threw the knife. Maxii smiled. He had thrown it wrong. It went left when she was right. The white unicorn, however, didn't stop smiling.

"Come at me, monster!" Maxii's heart sank a little when the last word reached her ears but she shook it off.

"Damned hunter!" she shrieked and lunged for him. It was a mistake. The same knife that had gone the wrong way came speeding back like a boomerang. It pierced her in her back, just above her hip. She sunk down to the ground and gasped in pain. Keell lifted his big, furry head and let out a low roaring sound. Rashel then took the opportunity to grab his throat in her jaws and bite down.
Hard.
Keell whimpered once, then went limp. His body changed back to his pony form.

"Keell!" Maxii wailed and ripped the knife out of her back. She glared at Blueblood with new found hate. "How dare you... you... lowlife scum... violate my body with your weak weapon!"

"Weak, huh? But I see blood." There was blood. It pooled out of the young vampire like a small waterfall. She stared at her own blood in horror and glared at the unicorn again. She hissed and started to go. Rashel, now in her pony form, stopped her.

"Oh no you don't. You've committed horrible crimes and besides," she gestured to Maxii's current state. "You're hurt. I can't leave a friend, no matter how horrible, injured like that and not help."

"I say you should finish her off. She's a filthy beast." Blueblood said. Rashel glared at him. Flash was still watching everything in silence, shocked from the whole thing.

"Just who do you think you are?"

"Hunter Blueblood. Former Prince Blueblood from Equestria."

"You hunters are just as bad as misguided Other World people like Maxii."

"Maxii?" Blueblood blinked. "Is that her name?"

"It's none of your business!" Rashel helped Maxii to her feet. "Leave, hunter. Your work here is done." Blueblood opened his mouth to say something but closed it as Maxii looked up at him.
Those eyes, he thought, those beautifully almond shaped eyes...
He turned to leave but not before looking over his shoulder.

"This isn't over." Maxii, hearing him, chuckled darkly.

"You bet it isn't."

Book One; Chapter Five

Book One; Chapter Five
Captured

Maxii was sprawled on the hard mattress, white curls surrounding her face. She was in a long, pink silk night gown and barefoot. Rashel was typing on the computer and occasionally glanced at the young vampire to make sure she wasn't doing anything fishy. Caramel was putting together some sandwiches. Flash stared at Maxii and she stared right back.

"Is it, you know, safe for her to be unchained or something?" he asked.

"I would assume you're more likely to get hurt in chains than without chains." Caramel said absently. Flash snorted.

"I mean is it safe for us, or better yet, me."

"Only time will tell." Caramel handed Rashel and sandwich and offered Flash one. The rookie detective gobbled it down hungrily. Maxii sat up with a groan. She glared at all of them but glanced out the window with a pout. "Looking for somepony?" Maxii frowned.

"It's none of your business, pony." she smiled, showing her fangs. "I should finish you right now. I won't give Shelly dear the heartache of doing it herself." Rashel turned to give Maxii a warning glare.

"Don't you dare."

"I'm only helping you."

"Killing my soulmate isn't helping me!" Rashel yelled. Maxii shrieked and stared at her in shock. Flash backed up.

"You don't really believe that you two are soulmates do you?"

"What's a soulmate?" asked Flash.

"A creature that another creature is destined to be with." Caramel explained. "For example, I'm destined to be with Rashel." Maxii leaped onto him. He was pinned on his back and her thin fingers wrapped around his throat. Flash searched for his gun.

She hissed, "You are not her soulmate!"

"Yes he is!" Rashel stood and tugged her so-called-friend off of her boyfriend. Maxii fought but the real reason she wasn't doing any damage was apparent. She was hurt and weak. Only time and feeding would help her gain her strength.

"You know it's forbidden! Other World people cannot fall in love with ponies!"

"We don't control the soulmate principal, Maxii." Rashel growled.

"If you do not recant from this heresy," Maxii turned slowly and deliberately to Rashel. "I will kill you instead."

Blueblood sharpened his wooden knife while Iona tapped her foot, watching. He stopped and glanced at her. She raised a brow. He narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"Hmm?"

"Am I sharpening it wrong?"

"No."

"Then, what?"

"I need you to show me that you can be a true hunter."

"Okay. I can do that."

"There hasn't been any killings lately so I'm assuming you took care of the one bloodsucker..." Blueblood blushed and rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"...Sure..." Iona cocked her head.

"Something wrong?"

"If there's something wrong, I'll tell you." Blueblood snapped. Iona's brows raised in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it. She shook her head and chuckled. Iona picked up a piece of paper and placed in front of him.

"This is your first official job." She walked away without having to see the nod and the determined look of the novice hunter.

The rookie typed feverishly in his little section of the office. There were papers scattered on the desk and there were various red alerts of cases. Iona opened the door of the precinct, dropped her bag in a corner, and didn't even glance at him as she walked past. The rookie didn't even try to speak up about his fatigue. The older mare wrinkled her nose and entered her office. As soon as she was out of sight, the rookie hopped up and lunged for the bag. He dug around in it for a few seconds before expertly pulling out a small, rectangular device.

"Ah-ha!" he exclaimed. There was the sound of footsteps from the office. The rookie closed the bag and rushed to his seat in front of his computer. Iona opened the door and her angry face peered out.

"Simon! What are you doing out there?" The rookie, obviously Simon, started typing furiously.

"N-nothing, boss. I was just reveling about the wondrous assets of our detectives."

"Two of our three detectives are undercover, Simon. The other's just a rookie."

"Yes, I know, boss."

"Just keep that racket down, Simon." The very peeved captain closed her office door. Simon shivered. He hated the way she said his name. It was like disgust and hate mixed into one rueful drawl. And she said it so often! It was almost like she was on to him, but she couldn't have been. They didn't call him Secret Simon for nothing. Well, nopony really called him that but... it's a good start that he started calling himself that. Simon took the cap off the device and inserted it into the computer. As a window opened up, he smiled.

Blueblood snuck around the shadows of the streets. It was the better part of town. A lid on every trashcan and a fence around every tree. Medium-height buildings with fresh-looking paint and fashionably warm coats being worn all around. The sidewalks were not worn down and dirty. It was an odd place for a vampire to be hunting but Blueblood wasn't about to complain. He scouted out the area and decided to do some snooping around. There were no suspicious ponies around. He didn't know where to look.

"Think, Blueblood, think," the young hunter mumbled to himself. "Where would a vampire hunt in broad daylight?" He stood there, thinking hard for a few minutes. Suddenly, he gasped, everything crystal clear. "The park! Of course!" Right on time, there was a scream. He rushed to the nearest park and whipped around to see if there were any attacks right that instant. There was a little filly in a blue dress running in no general direction. She was screaming her head off and there was a tall, wiry goon running after her in a speed that nopony could muster. He caught her in one swoop. Blueblood rushed in and grabbed the fella from behind, right around the neck.

"Gah!" the vamp growled. He elbowed Blueblood in the chest. The young hunter wheezed as his grip loosened. The vamp turned the filly's head and exposed her neck. He looked just about ready to dig in but it was then he took notice of the crowd gathering. Blueblood took this moment of hesitation as an advantage. He slid on the ground and stuck his leg out in a kick. The vamp dropped with a yelp of surprise. The filly squirmed free and took off like a bullet.

"Glad I didn't have to tell her to run." Blueblood grinned as the vamp rose to his feet and hissed.

"Filthy vermin! Always interrupting my meals!"
So I'm not the only hunter to try and get this guy, Blueblood thought bitterly. He reached into his pocket for his wooden knife. The vamp must have seen this coming because he moved to the right as soon as it was thrown.

"Crap!" Blueblood aimed a kick to the shin and a right hook as he rushed to get the knife. The vamp grunted as it made impact. He growled and knocked Blueblood down. He had the young hunter pinned on his back. The vamp's lips pulled back into a snarl, fangs erect and ready to kill.

"You're going to taste better than the colt did." he sneered. Colt!?, Blueblood's eyes widened, what colt? He reached for the knife which was just inches from his left hand. The vamp was too busy searching Blueblood's eyes for fear. The vamp laughed, "Ha! You're not even a real hunter, are you? Just a wannabe. You don't even know about the little colt I snacked on just a few moments before I nabbed his big sister."

"Monster." Blueblood hissed.

"I am no monster. It's kill or be killed. That's the motto, the meaning of life. The predators always get the prey. It just so happens that my prey," The vamp gestured to Blueblood. "is stupid enough to think that it can kill me." Blueblood's fingers touched the hilt of the knife and he eased it into the palm of his hand.

"I don't think I can kill you."

"Of course you do." The vamp forcefully turned Blueblood's head and licked the delicate furry skin. Blueblood shivered. The vamp sniffed the life-giving vein in the throat of the young hunter and sank his teeth in. A breathy scream escaped Blueblood's lips. He jammed the knife right into the spinal cord of his attacker and twisted for good measure. The vamps body twitched, them he looked up, into the young hunters eyes.

"I know I can kill you."

The vamp coughed, "Go to hell!" Blood trickled out of his mouth and onto Blueblood's face. The hunter didn't budge. He smirked.

"I'll see you there." The vampire snarled weakly, then, went limp. Blueblood rolled the dead vampire off of him and pulled the knife out. He wiped his face on his sleeve and the knife on his pants. "Damn. That was crazy." He stared at the corpse and thought for a second. He finally turned and stared at a coffee shop.
There was a twinkle in his eyes as he grinned and said, "Man, killing things really give you a mean thirst! I could really use a caramel frappe right now."

Author's Note

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Tell me what you liked, tell me what I can improve on, and check out my blogs and other stories!!!

Book One; Chapter Six

Book One; Chapter Six
Simon Says

Maxii groaned as she opened her eyes. Last thing she remembered was that she'd threatened to kill her illegally in love friend, Rashel and then pain. In her head. Almost like somepony had hit her on the back her head. Hard. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair and felt the large bump. Somepony had hit her.

"You're awake." a voice stated behind her. Maxii whirled around. It was only Caramel in his blue pajamas. It was then that she realized she was in a painfully small closet. She was a tangle of silky nightgown fabric and limbs.

"What are you doing here?" she asked stupidly. Caramel smiled.

"I live here." Caramel said wittily. He handed her a cup of water. "I know you can't really get your thirst quenched from this but it's all you can get for now." Maxii stood up and then, the thirst really kicked in. Her hands flew to her throat and she coughed.

"God, how long have I been out?"

Caramel shrugged. "A day or two." Maxii's eyes widened.

"A day or two!? What did you idiots do!?"

"You were threatening my girlfriend when Flash handily gave me a wooden plank."

"You hit me?"

"Damn right, I did." Caramel narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I'll have any remorse for you when the time comes for you to die."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Caramel sighed, "It's a shame. You don't even know."

"Know what?"

"Do you know what an Old Soul is?"

"Of course I do, you moron. A pony that is reborn over and over. Nopony knows why. They are to be killed as soon as they are located. Why?"

"I've met one. She said, "Tell the young huntress that she must find her heart before she finds her doom." I knew she meant you when she said 'young huntress' but I don't quite know what the rest means." Maxii chugged down the water.

"I don't know what it means either." Maxii staggered past Caramel and plopped down on the bed they'd put her on before. Caramel sighed again. Maxii didn't see him shake his head or hear him mumble, "I hope you figure it out because I can't tell you."

Simon kept his head down and his eyes on his computer at all times when Iona was around. She tended to get irritated and antsy at the office. He, of course, blamed it on hormones. Simon was surprised when he saw the chief with several other cops and detectives, including the only other rookie, Flash Sentry. All Simon knew about the guy was that he was a detective, a pegasus and he was a rookie like him. Simon kind of envied him. Simon was the only earth pony at that station. He laid his ears back and walked right up to the crowd.

"What's going on, guys?"

"Did you file all the missing reports?" Iona snapped.

"yes ma'am.," Simon said with a little cockiness. "Of course I did."

"Good. These ponies have been up my plot for the past few days. Where's the files? Where are the police? Where are your detectives? Why haven't you found our kid?" she imitated the voices and then screamed.

"Ah, calm down, boss. We're on it." a deep-voiced detective murmured.

"Yea, boss, we'll find the kids. Don't worry." a blonde cop with a bun agreed. The rest of the cops and detectives all mumbled in agreement. Nopony liked to see their boss hyped up about anything.

"C'mon." Flash said to Simon while everypony else was coaxing the chief. "Let's go find out exactly what's going on."

"Who me?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, guy, I'm all in for a snoop around anypony's coop but detective work? Nah, bro, I'm just an intern who does a little of this an' that on the side. Know what I'm sayin'?"

"You better come with me before I ask if your 'this and that on the side' is legal." Flash growled. Simon laughed nervously.

"Why didn't you say so, my dude? Let's go."

Rashel watched the hunter from afar. He had killed yet another vampire right off the streets. She flicked her ear and a low rumble escaped her throat. Blueblood had a look of triumph on his face as he wiped the blood on his faded jeans and happened to turn her way. His smile dropped. Rashel knew what he saw; A huge black wolf with non-animal green eyes. He was probably trying to decide whether or not she was a werewolf or a shapeshifter. He stared into her eyes for a second before smiling again.

"You're no 'shifter. Just a werewolf. What's your name again?" Blueblood approached her. Rashel growled low and clear, a warning for him not to get closer. Blueblood raised his hands. Blood dripped off of the wooden knife.

"Hey, hey. I won't try anything." he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. "But wood doesn't hurt you anyways." Rashel laid her ears back and a whine escaped her.

"Ah, yes. Silver is what harms you. Fire for ghouls, iron for fairies, and salt for goblins." Rashel's head shot up and she barked in surprise. How does he know that!? she thought.

"I bet you're wondering how I know all that." Wow. Maybe you should be a detective too. There was a howl in the distance. Rashel's ears perked up and she turned her head slightly. Blueblood chuckled.

"Meeting somepony?" Shut up. Rashel rolled her eyes and turned and bounded away. "Be careful, Fido! Wouldn't want you becoming vamp food!"

Rashel slid to a stop in front of a huge grey wolf with a black stripe down its back. The wolf was older and a female.The two wolves licked each others muzzles in greeting and started going back and forth with their thought-speech.
[Sis, what's the deal? We agreed to meet an hour ago.]
[Yea, I know but I got... preoccupied.]
[With who?]
[Can we not talk about this right now? We need to talk.]
[You're damn right we do. What's this I hear about huntings everywhere? So frequent in this town!]
[It's the vampires...]
[Yes, but somepony's been killing vamps too!]
[I know. I've got Maxii in my possession-]
[Maxii? That girl is nothing but trouble. I know you two used to be friends but... it's time to let her go.]
[She's just confused, Mimosa. She was raised by the highest ranking vampires. They're brutal. If I can change her...]
[Enough. If I don't have proof of her changed ways in three weeks, she's done. I'll dispose of her myself. On other terms, Rashel, there are kidnappings going on.]
[I don't know why but I've got an idea.]
[I do too. Slave trade.]
[What!?]
[I think the vamps are taking kids, not just little kids mind you. Teens too. They're selling them to other vampires as food for extra bucks.]
[Oh no.]
[I'm depending on you to find things out while I get the rest of the pack. Can I trust you?]
[I... yes...]
[Good. Love ya, sis.] Mimosa turned and left with her tail raised high and her nose in the air. She was alpha and she clearly hadn't forgotten it. Rashel headed home. She was exhausted. She's have to convince Maxii to change and gather some details about the kidnappings.

Mimosa sat at the local bar to order a quick drink and head back to inform her pack. Two stallions approached her with grins.

"Uh, hey miss. We saw you with this girl that we know and we wanted to ask you a few questions."

"What girl?" Mimosa huffed dangerously. One of the stallions trembled.

"You guys weren't girls, if ya know what I mean."

"I'm afraid I don't"

"Please, miss. You were with Rashel but you guys were wolves when we saw you."

"Freaking wolves!" the trembling stallion nearly shouted. "Then we saw you change into... into... well... you!"

"Who are you? How do you know Rashel?"

"I'm Flash Sentry. I'm a friend of hers. This is Simon, an intern who works at my job. Can you answer a few questions?"

Author's Note

Don't you just love how everybody is connected in some way to everyone else? I do!
Plz like, comment, and fav! Feel free to check out all three of my blogs!
Stay tuned for more supernatural beings!

Book One; Chapter Seven

Book One; Chapter Seven
Escape

Maxii was returning from her secret hunt. She had managed to run out while Rashel and Caramel were napping. She quickly pulled out a piece of paper and a pen she had found (stolen from another prey of hers). She jotted down a few words. She heard somepony walking up to her. She hastily shoved it in her bag and ran. She didn't see it fall out and land on the windowsill of a certain precinct...

Flash hovered over Simon, watching as he worked his techno magic. Simon opened a bunch of hard-to-get files from many different precincts. He downloaded them all into the flash drive that he'd gotten from Iona's bag before. Of course, he'd already gotten the files that were already on it onto another device before using it. They were all saved in his personal computer. After the last file was downloaded, he gave the drive to Flash. The young detective took it with a smile.

"Thanks, Simon. I owe you." Simon made a shooing gesture.

"No problem, my brother. Don't mention it." Flash laughed and Simon turned to look at him. "Seriously, don't mention it. At all."

"Oh. Okay."

"I mean, I got no problem doing illegal things for you as a client and not a detective. But I got a reputation to maintain, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Hey, if you have this job, why do you need to do illegal things?"

"Woa woa woa. Hey man, I do not ask you about your business and you do not ask me about mine. Got that?"

"What I mean is, we can solve a lot of cases, you and I."

"And what I mean is, I ain't no snitch."

"But-"

"No. Did your mama teach you what that means?"

"I just want to know why you chose this lifestyle."

"We have a saying for those type of questions, brother."

"Oh?"

"I ain't choose this life, this life chose me." You have to be kidding me..., Flash thought.

Iona watched the two ponies talk and growled. Flash couldn't have been more stupid, associating himself with Simon. From what Blueblood had told her, which was almost nothing, Flash knew quite a bit about the creatures that lurked in the night. He had not come to her, which irritated her even more. She needed all the ponies that knew the truth, that knew about the Other World, to come together as one and bring her news. What they did about their knowledge, of course, was the least of her concern. She could care less. Right at that moment, Simon and Flash were threats. She didn't know exactly what they knew and that was a problem. She didn't need them getting caught doing anything stupid and giving her group away. There was a tap on the window in her office. She walked to it and opened it when she saw who it was.

"What is it, Blueblood?"

"There's a note or something here on the windowsill." He handed the paper to her. She read the
I am being held by Rashel. Come get me. I have fed but she's got something you guys might want. Address: 105 Hay Road. ~Maxii~

"Oh? But what's this?"

"What?"

"Nothing darling." Iona reached out and kissed him. He tensed up and pulled away. She chuckled.

"What the hell!"

"Hush now. It was a reward type thing."

Blueblood grumbled, "A simple 'thank you' would have been fine." Iona gave him a knowing smirk.

"I'm sorry, did you not like that? What do you boys call me down at the club... was it MILF?" Blueblood glared at her and let out a string of curses but that did not stop him from turning redder than a tomato. After he left, Iona picked up an envelope and placed a shiny silver dagger into it. She whistled. There was a bark and a big collie came running. The collie took the envelope and Iona made it sniff the letter. Then, the collie was off.

Rashel sat on the edge of her bed with her face in her hands. Caramel was rubbing her back soothingly. It was sweet but it wasn't helping. She had to figure out what was going on with the kidnappings and get Maxii to see her point of view when it came to ponies. Rashel just didn't understand why some Other World folks hated ponies so bad. Rashel looked up from her worries. There was a scuffling noise coming from the other room. She headed towards it.

"Maxii? What are you doing in there?" Maxii was tapping the fabric of the couch irritably. There were bags under her eyes and her clothes were wrinkled and stale.

"You can't keep me here."

"I know that. I just want you to see things my way-"

"No!" Maxii arched her back and leaped onto Rashel like a cat. She hissed and gave her 'bestie' a right hook. The young werewolf let out a yelp and her boyfriend came running. Maxii simply pushed him roughly to the side. He slipped and his head slammed into the wall. He felt the back of his head and wasn't surprised to find that it was bleeding due to a deep gash.

"Rashel!" he said, despite the pain and while glaring at the vampire. "Get off her, Maxii."

"It's time I taught you a lesson." Maxii said. She pulled out a silver dagger. Rashel and Caramel's eyes widened. "It's time to teach you all a lesson."

Book One; Chapter Eight

Book One; Chapter Eight
Great Revenge

Rashel's pupils shrank as she felt the cold, silver dagger press against her skin and fur. Rashel was about to hyperventilate. The one thing that could truly kill her was being pressed to her heart. She tried to calm herself down. There was no way Maxii would kill her. They went way back.
Maxii's left eye twitched.
Never mind. It was the perfect time to freak out.
Caramel let out a wail of despair as Maxii drew blood from his beloved. Rashel growled and narrowed her eyes.

"Maxii, I'm going to kill you!"

"Are you, dear?" she grinned and lifted the dagger. She wiggled it under Rashel's nose. "I'm not going to kill you, silly. I've got a shamefully soft spot in my heart for you."

"Sure you do." Maxii bared her fangs.

"Careful. It's not that soft." She turned to Caramel. "I've got a surprise for you!"

"I don't want your surprise."

"Well, you're getting it." Maxii flipped her hair and clasped her hands together. "This is so much fun, isn't it?"

Flash was halfway done with the second file when Simon walked into the precinct. Simon was carrying a backpack and he had on a black cap with a skull on it. He plopped down right next to the pegasus.

"Found any leads?" he asked. Flash shook his head and sighed.

"There's really no tell-tale signs or anything. Nopony saw anything... nopony heard anything. Ponies could only describe the ones that were kidnapped and what time ponies started to realize they were missing."

"Well that sucks."

"Yea."

"Heads up, brother." Simon whispered. Flash looked up. Iona had left her office. She glanced from left to right before going outside. Simon narrowed his eyes. "Where's she going?"

"Might as well find out." Flash gathered his things. Simon offered his backpack.

"Can't have you running with all that stuff in your hands, now can ya?"

"Guess not." They rushed to the door and peeked out. Simon grinned and shrugged the backpack on.

"Let's go. We got a boss to follow."

A stallion walked up the concrete sidewalks searching. He was sure that this was the place he was supposed to go to. It wasn't until he saw the white-haired girl open the door of one of the houses and look around as if looking for somepony that she knew. He deliberately walked in her line of sight. She caught sight of him and her eyes widened along with her grin.

"Angel! Come in, come in!" she opened the door wide for him. He stepped inside.

"I hear you've been requesting me..." Angel stopped, catching sight of Caramel and Rashel tied up. "...I see you've also been busy." Maxii giggled.

"Yes, very busy. I really like this town. The prey have an interesting way of coming to me."

"Maxii..." Angel started carefully. "Are you the one responsible for the sudden high death toll?" Maxii didn't even blink.

"Yup." Her brother glanced at Rashel, then at Caramel. He returned his gaze to his sister.

"You killed twelve ponies in one week?" Rashel coughed in surprise.

"You killed how many ponies!?"

"Actually, it was fifteen. No biggie." Maxii corrected.

"No biggie!?" Caramel yelled. Maxii whirled around.

"I wasn't talking to you, you insufferable worm! You are vermin! I don't care about your kind!"

"Maxii..." Angel growled.

"You so deserve to die." Caramel grumbled. Maxii threw herself at him. He fell back in surprise. Angel tried to hold her back.

"HOW DARE YOU!? HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME THAT WAY! I AM BETTER THAN YOU! YOU ARE SCUM! I WILL RIP YOUR APPENDIX OUT! I'LL GUT YOU! I'LL HAVE YOUR LIVER ON A PLATTER! I'M GONNA-"

"Oh my god, she's having a mental break down." Angel rolled his eyes and lifted Maxii off of the stunned Caramel. He sat her down on the couch and put his hand on his waist. "Listen, Maxii, you know I love you and all that stuff but now is really not the time to feed your weird vermin-obsessed fantasies." Maxii blushed and sputtered.

"I-I-I..." she shook her head and glared at him. "I do not fantasize!"

"Course you don't." Angel teased. He wrapped an arm around his sisters' waist."You would never have some weird fetish about the very creatures you hate."

"I don't like the sarcasm in your voice." Maxii flipped her hair. "Anyways, the pony will be a present from me to you. You're still in need of more stock, yes?" Angel nodded, but there was a dark look in his eyes. "Good. Rashel will be coming with us but she's not going to be a part of stock. She'll be more of an... unwilling accomplice."

"Wha-" Maxii shoved the hilt of the dagger in Rashel's mouth before she could protest.

"Wait, your coming?"

"Of course!" Maxii quickly grabbed a random wooden object. " ...Unless you have a problem with that..." Angel put up his hands.

"I have no problem."

"Good." Maxii strolled past him and dropped the wooden object, humming a happy tune. Angel stared at her like she was crazy.

"Damn, sis, what are you on!?" he muttered.

Iona turned a corner. Flash followed from above. With every powerful flap of his wings, he a little higher to see if anypony was following them. He also had to watch out. One look up and Iona would see him. He did not want to explain to his boss why he was stalking her. Well, it wasn't exactly stalking... Iona kept walking. She peeked around another corner and into a dark alley.

"Are you there? I don't have all day." she said. A figure stepped out of the shadows. It was Blueblood! Flash nearly tumbled out of the sky at the sight of the white unicorn.

"Why did you call me of all ponies?" Bluebood said with a frown.

"Because you're a vampire hunter in training," Iona stated proudly. Flash did a double take. "and this is your session." Flash brought his wings closer to his body and dived towards the ground. He landed on his feet right next to Simon, who was engrossed by their conversation.

"Hey, I have got crazy news."

"GAH!" Simon yelped. Flash scrambled to cover his mouth. Simon swatted him away. "Dammit, man! Don't you know it's never good to sneak up on a brother? You're a danger to my mojo."

"What mojo? I could've been a ferocious werewolf or worse."

"W-what's worse than a werewolf?"

"A shapeshifter. Now c'mon."

"Shapeshifter!? Those are a thing too? Man, next thing you know, you'll be telling me vampires are really real." Flash gave him a look.

"They are."

"Shut up...! You're so killin' my vibe!"

Author's Note

So I've decided to make Maxii insane.....
I'm probably going to regret that later.

Book One; Chapter Ten

Book One; Chapter Ten
Arriving

Flash was up for the last leg of the journey. The ponies, of course, did not know it was the last leg until they heard the irritated grumbles of Maxii up front. Blueblood took little cat naps, not trusting his fellow ponies, Caramel quickly calculated how to escape and return home, and Simon was out like a light. The van came to a stop and the ponies heard car doors slam.

"Is this it, brother?" Maxii's voice was heard asking.

"This is where they've been stored for the event. Hurry up and get the pony. I need to prepare another space." There were heavy footsteps moving away from the van while there were lighter ones coming towards the back. Flash stared at the doors in horror at the realization that they would get caught. Blueblood tensed, ready for a fight. He would not let Maxii get away this time. The doors of the van opened and a very smug-looking Maxii gasped when she saw the extra ponies in back. Her eyes widened then narrowed. Blueblood took this chance to pull out his wooden knife and go into a fighting stance.

"How did... when did..." She shook her head and snarled. Kill now, questions later. Simon jumped out of his sleep and let out a girlish scream. He hid behind Caramel for protection. Caramel rolled his eyes.

"Yea, hide behind the guy who's tied up." he said. Simon only gripped Caramel harder. Flash gripped his gun, which was hidden in his coat. Maxii wrapped her hands around Blueblood's neck and squeezed. She wasn't quite hungry and all she wanted was to kill the one who had injured her and left her to be captured by her foolish friend. Blueblood kicked her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, but gasped when she did not release her grip. The young vampire growled when Blueblood raised his arm, the one with the knife. She, of course, did not allow him to touch her with it. Flash raised his gun, seeing the two rolling around, trying to best each other. He cocked it and aimed. Caramel frowned.

"That won't kill her." he whispered. Flash shrugged.

"I don't kill." He fired the gun, hitting Maxii in the heart right when she was about to rip Blueblood's throat open. She went rigid and toppled sideways to the ground with a thump. Blueblood looked from her to Flash to Maxii to Flash again. He smiled and stood.

"Good aim, detective." There were footsteps heading in their direction. Everypony turned. Angel and West, Maxii's other brother, came around the van to see what was holding his siter up when he saw a male pony standing over her still breathing, but unconscious form. The pony had a wooden knife in his hand. The pegasus and two earth ponies in the van glanced at each other. Angel and West snarled and bared their fangs.

"Damn." Caramel sighed.

Maxii awoke in a familiar bed in a dusty room. She looked around and wrinkled her nose in disgust, it was her room. Her old room. She sat up and grunted from the pain in her chest. That damned pony and his stupid metal weapon! Didn't he know she could not die from such stupid toys!? A door opened and closed from behind the bed. With the way Maxii was angled, she had to turn around to face the one who'd walked in.

"West." Maxii said softly. West was one of her three older brothers, the second oldest to be exact. Angel was the oldest of all of them while her brother, Louis, was the third. Being only a year older than Maxii, he and Maxii were the closest. West, who was the complete opposite of Louis, pissed her off to no end and she wasn't in the mood for his nonsense.

"Nice to see you, sis. Where've you been, how have you been doing?" West asked in a jovial tone, knowing exactly where she was and what she was up to in the town.

"Why are you here?" West sat next to her on the bed.

"I can't just be here to say hello to my little sister?"

"No." Maxii growled. "I know you want something and it's probably something I'll say no to."

"I was just going to ask if I could have a test drive with your werewolf friend."

"No!" Maxii yelled in disgust and horror. "Why would you even ask me something like that?"

"Hey, she is totally hot and that look she gave me when I was flirting with her... oh, man, she'll be a fighter."

"She's my guest, West."

"Aw, c'mon, I'll be gentle. Forty bits says I make her scream my name." Maxii waved her arms in the air and gagged.

"Ew, West, that's my friend you're talking about!" She paused and smiled mischievously. "Forty bits? What about sixty?" West's face lit up and he clapped his hands in child-like giddiness.

"You're on."

Blueblood groaned and sat up on the hard cot. Wait. Hard cot? The unicorn looked around frantically to find that he was in a medium sized room filled with cots and almost every cot had a pony on it. There were prepubescents to teens to adults. The youngest looked no older than nine. The nine-year-old-looking pony was a raggedy unicorn with dirty blonde mane hair and who was wearing a purple dress. She looked around the room with a pitiful look and locked eyes with Blueblood. He narrowed his eyes but she didn't look away. She stared him down and stuck her tongue out. He bared his teeth and looked away. Caramel was untied in a corner, Flash was two cots from him, and Simon was on the cot right next to him. Blueblood stood and swayed momentarily before he hit the ground.

"Gah! My head!" he groaned. The raggedy unicorn stood up and approached him slowly. She placed a small hand on his head.

"Are you okay, mister?" she asked.

"Get off me, kid."

"I'm trying to be nice to you." The filly lit her horn and her aura surrounded Blueblood's head.

"What are you doing!?" he asked, resisting the urge to push the filly away. He knew she was probably trying to help but he was in a vampire den. There was no way he would feel relaxed about anything or anypony. The filly's aura stopped and he noticed that his head wasn't feeling lightheaded anymore and his energy returned.

"They cast spells to weaken you. They absolutely don't want you to escape."

"Well, I'd expect they wouldn't. How do you even know spherically what they do?"

"I'm a personal blood-slave. My master left me months ago and now I am here to be served for the banquet." Blueblood started to wake up the others. He heard the last part of what the little filly said and looked up at her, startled. Caramel gave her a horrified look, Simon nearly fainted from fright and Flash's eyes widened.

"Banquet!?" They all asked in unison. The filly nodded.

"Yes. All the most important Other Worlders will arrive tomorrow night. They are the guests of honor and we," the filly gestured to everypony in the room. "are the main course."

"Wait, I thought they were selling ponies as slaves or whatever." Simon said, starting to freak out.

"Their going to serve us as a meal..." Flash repeated. Blueblood cursed under his breath.

"When you say meal, you mean a cook n' serve type thing or an all-you-can-eat buffet?" Simon asked.

"We have to do something. We need to come up with a plan. Oh, I just hope we don't get served first." Caramel worried.

"What if they decide to turn us because our blood tastes good!?" Flash looked around nervously. His blood probably sweet from all the sugar and caffeine he'd been downing to stay up and do research and snoop around. The filly sighed and sat on Blueblood's cot.

"There won't be anypony left to be turned. It's an eat-until-your-full event. There's enough Other Worlders coming that there won't be any leftovers." The four stallions stared at the filly. Simon fell to his knees and screamed to the heavens,

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Book One; Chapter Eleven

Book One; Chapter Eleven
The Plan

The four stallions mumbled to themselves as they let the new information sink in. They were right and wrong, apparently. The kidnapings were the work of the vampires but they were not being used as blood-slaves like they thought. Instead, they were going to be a meal! Simon was having panic attack and Caramel had to keep him from passing out.

"Why exactly did you bring him with you, Flash?" he asked. Flash gave Simon a hard look, causing the earth pony to flinch, and he rolled his eyes.

"He has a few talents that are useful to me."

"We are going to be vampire food!" Simon yelled. He put his face in his hands. "We're so going to die..." Blueblood sighed, missing his wooden knife and irritated,and got to his feet. He stretched and gave Simon an irritated look.

"You're about to be vampire bait so being food is the last of your worries." Simon gave him a confused look.

"Uhh... what?"

Maxii bounded down the hall to the royal chambers, grinning like Cheshire Cat and humming a random tune. She continued like this for a few minutes before running into one of her older brothers, a male werewolf and a female shapeshifter. Her brother looked a little worried when got a look at her expression, which was one of excitement. Knowing her, when she was excited it was time for everypony else to panic.

"Hey, Maxii. What's up?" he asked her. Maxii was actually happy to see him. He was the only one of her brothers that didn't talk to her like she was a grenade ready to explode or look at her like she was completely insane.

"Can't wait for the event! I know that this time around we'll be attending and I just enjoy being around fellow Other Worlders." The 'shifter and werewolf both glanced at each other and raised their eyebrows. The werewolf turned to Maxii.

"Your father did not speak of you when we discussed the guests of-"

"It's not my fathers decision. I'm choosing to go."

"You do know that you cannot go without consulting your father, right?"

"I go where I please."

"You go where your father orders you to go. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I am not a slave and I am not a dog nor a pony. I am not obligated to obey anypony and if you tell me otherwise, I will slit your gut open and force-feed you your own intestines." The werewolf opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it and folded his arms. Maxii turned to her brother. "Louis, can I talk to you while I head to the royal chambers?"

"Of course, sis." Louis waved to the other two and gave them an apologetic look. The female shapeshifter smiled and shook her head.

She leaned to the werewolf and whispered, "She is a feisty one, no? I feel she will change things around here." The werewolf growled and started to walk away.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

The filly watched the stallions with amusement. The plan basically was for Simon to attract the attention of the ones guarding the room and create a diversion. While the guards were busy with him, Blueblood would sneak past and get his bearings on the place, making a mental map of it and gathering weapons for when they made the real escape. Flash would keep watch for when he returned and would give the signal for Simon to do another diversion and allow Blueblood to get back in, weapons and all, without being spotted and caught. There was several problems with this plan, however and Caramel argued against it.

"Why are you heading out and not somepony else?"

"I'm the only pony here with fighting experience with vampires."

"But there aren't only vampires here. There are werewolves and shapeshifters and I suspect they have a ghoul around here somewhere. Do you have experience with those? And what weapons do you have if you get caught? A wooden knife?"

"What's wrong with my knife?!"

"Well, hmm, let's see..." Caramel pretended to think for a second before frowning again. "One, it only hurts vampires and I doubt any of them will let you get close enough to actually kill them. Two, this place is crawling with supernatural creatures...how will you fight them all? Three, they are stronger than you and all you have is a damn knife. Four, there are freaking shapeshifters here. Forget the werewolves who transform into canine killing machines! Those things can transform into any animal. What happens when one turns out to be a bear? Heck, one might even turn into a dragon!"

"I-is that even possible?" Simon asked, shivering at the thought. Caramel shrugged and threw his hands into the air.

"I don't know! That's the point I'm making! Too many variables! Too much risk!" Blueblood growled and folded his arms. The filly smiled and laughed.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Because I can just offer my services to my mistress and gather some weapons for you guys. Plus, I already know how to get in and out of this building. I know it like the back of my hand!" The stallions stared at her.

"And didn't decide to speak up about this before...?" Flash asked.

"It was funny watching you guys argue over a plan that made no sense to me."

"Troll much...?" Simon whispered to Caramel.

"Kid, I can tell we're going to get along juuust fine." Blueblood chuckled. The filly giggled and bounced over to the door. As she reached out to knock, she glanced at the back of her hand.

"Oooh, I never noticed that before..."

Book One; Chapter Twelve

Book One; Chapter Twelve
Little Packages

The little filly smiled at the stallions and knocked. There was a long silence as everypony waited for something to happen. There was a grunt outside the door and everypony stared at the filly.

"Hi, mister guard. I have a request."

"Is that so?" came a deep voice from the other side.

"Yes. I would like to greet my master and serve her once more before the banquet."

"You gotta be kidding me. I am not going to let you out."

"Please mister?"

"How would you even know if I was a guy or girl, eh?"

"Mister."

"I could've been some mare on a shift."

"Mister, if you don't let me out, my mistress will be very angry. Trust me, you don't want to get her angry."

"Eh? And who's this 'mistress' you speak of that I apparently don't want to get angry?"

"Princess Maxii." Caramel froze. Flash paled. Blueblood looked uneasy for the first time since he met any of them. Simon gulped and placed his face in his hands. He sat on an empty cot.

"I knew this could turn out to be worse than it seemed. What are the odds we've been getting involved with a bucking vampire princess." There was a shuffling outside the door and the sound of several locks moving. The door opened and a nervous ghoul poked his head in.

"Well, why didn't you say so, huh? Off you go."

West opened his eyes and blinked. Rashel stood in front of him with a glare that could kill. His head throbbed and he was sore all over. He quickly remembered Rashel kicking his butt and looking very fine while doing so. He smiled cheekily and blew her a kiss. She bared her teeth and growled.

"Letting your wild side out, I see." West tried to get up only to find that his arms and legs were tied in thick ropes. "Ropes? Oooh, kinky." Rashel wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"It is not kinky."

"Yes it is, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that!"

"Do you mind doing a little more with your mouth than talking?" Rashel nearly choked when she realized what he was saying.

"Gross!"

"Choking already? You haven't even started..."

"Stop saying disgusting things to me!"

"What do you mean?" Rashel rolled her eyes and walked towards the door. "Niiice view."

" I have a boyfriend, you perv!" She walked out and closed the door behind her.

"I have no problem with third-wheelers..."

The filly pranced down the hall, a grumbling ghoul guard following behind. They passed many doors but there was one in particular that she was looking for. She smiled to herself as they neared her mistresses room but as she passed another room, a raven haired girl came out and flipped her hair in frustration. The ghoul behind her saw the girl and pointed a shadowy finger.

"Hey! You there! State your name and your business roaming these halls." Rashel glanced at him and the filly.

"You okay, Hun? Is this loser bothering you?" she asked. The filly shook her head.

"I'm helping a bunch of stallions escape and save a whole bunch of ponies from being vampire snacks." The filly whispered. "I can tell you're not from around here. What's your name?"

"I'm talking to ya!" The ghoul hissed. "I'm taking you to the Princes to be dealt with if you do not state your business here."

"I'm a guest of Maxii. Relax." Rashel turned to the filly. "I'm Rashel. Who're you, little one?" The ghoul narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. He was not pleased to have met two others who knew the Princess personally. She could be... a little erratic when friends of hers were approached with hostility.

"My names Dinky. Wanna come with me while I lead this guy to the Princess?"

"Uhh...sure..." The two continued to walk to their desired destination (well, Dinky's desired destination anyway) and the ghoul followed behind them glumly. They entered a comfy-looking room with a soft, fluffy carpet and a four poster bed. In the corner stood Maxii chatting with her brother and a blonde pony-servant. They all turned and gave the three curious looks.

"Rashel? Dinky? What're you doing here?"

Caramel was sitting on a cot, thinking of a plan to save themselves from incoming doom while Simon paced back and forth. He ran a hand through his hair and babbled on about every possible thing that could have gone wrong. Blueblood scowled and turned to Flash, who was grumbling to himself.

"Remind me exactly what you needed help with when you brought him along with you?" Blueblood said.

"Lay off, Blueblood." Flash folded his arms. "He can and will be a great help."

"And that time he helps would be...?"

"I can help, it's just vampires were not in the job description!" Simon shouted. He sighed. "I wish I had my backpack. My laptop and stuff is in there."

"Too bad these guys are too out of it to help create and pull through with a plan." Flash said, gesturing to the room full of dopy ponies. One of them lazily opened her eyes and groaned.

"Yea...if they weren't drugged...or magic spelled or whatever...some or all of them would've been a great help." Blueblood agreed. He thought for a second. "Is there a way to reverse the effects of the spells that were cast on them?"

"No. Not without a unicorn who knows how to reverse those types of spells." Caramel sighed.

"Yea. It's not like we can stop these ponies from eating the food, which is probably drugged, and have somepony with basic knowledge about magic be guided by somepony who knows about the electro-shock therapy and therefor can help combine both to cancel out the spell completely." Simon quickly said in one breath. The other three stallions stared at him with wide eyes.

"Referring to your question from before...I think that time is now." Caramel stated bluntly.

"Who knew?" Flash smiled and ignored the glare from Simon.

"Hey!"

Book One; Chapter Thirteen

Book One; Chapter Thirteen
Helping Out

Rashel and Dinky were a little surprised at Maxii's elated mood. She was usually hyper and dark and all over the place with random comments. Right at that moment, she almost seemed normal and Rashel almost forgot why she wasn't as close to her old friend like she used to be. She smiled and wrapped the two girls in a hug, making the blonde pony servant and her brother stare.

"Oh, Dinky my dear, I thought you'd be dead soon after I left. I'm glad you're here."

"R-really?" Dinky asked, caught off guard and dizzy from the tight hug.

"Oh yes. Your blood was quite tasty. I'm tired of feeding off of this fool."

Almost.

Rashel frowned and folded her arms. Maxii hadn't changed a bit. The vampire turned her head to her servant and bared her teeth. The servant put her hands up and trembled, her tail flashing side to side anxiously. Maxii's brother, whose name escaped Rashel's mind at the moment, got up and stood in front of the servant.

"Maxii, seriously, leave the servant alone. Go hunting or something."

"I am going hunting, right now,"

"No, I mean...you know what I mean!" The pony servant shivered and shot Dinky an angry look.

"Ahm sorry ah upset ya, Princess. Ah didn't mean to. Ah'll get ya somethin' to calm ya down..." The pony servant bolted out of the room and Maxii pouted. Her brother narrowed his eyes at her.

"You can't keep killing off the servants, sis."

"Aw, hush, Louis. You're no fun." Maxii grabbed Rashel's arm and led her out of the room and down a hall, Dinky following with a squeak. "C'mon guys. Let's get you two aquatinted with our surroundings. Wait until you hear the amazing plan I have for the banquet/dinner thing tomorrow!" Maxii reached for the filly and had a loose grip on her arm. Dinky flattened her ears and slipped out of the young vampires grasp. Rashel shot her a questioning look and Dinky gave her a slight wave before sprinting down the halls in the opposite direction. Maxii watched her go with an annoyed huff and continued to drag Rashel.

"West'll catch her."

Blueblood groaned loudly and rolled over on the cot, making in creak in protest. A pegasus mare in the far corner of the room grumbled under her breath. A teenage colt put his hooves to his ears and turned over in his cot to face Blueblood and glare at him. Blueblood groaned again and started to tap his foot. Caramel flattened his ears and frowned. Flash glanced over at the white unicorn in annoyance. Blueblood made a long whiny sigh and tapping his foot faster. An earth pony mare and a unicorn colt sat up on their cots and shot him a look. Blueblood began to tap his fingers too. Simon grinded his teeth together as he thought of the best way to seriously knock Blueblood out. Just as he was about to say something, the unicorn began to sigh louder.

"SHUT UP!" Everypony turned and stared at Caramel, who was rubbing his temples and staring at the unicorn through narrowed eyes. "If you're bored, go to sleep for Fausts sake! We don't want to lose our minds before we even encounter any Otherworlders!"

"Other Worlders."

"What?!"

"If you're going to complain about me, at least know that it's two words, not one."

"Listen here you horned devil, if you sigh or groan or anything one more time...!"

"Siiiiiiiiiiiigh." Blueblood sighed with a growing smirk on his lips. Caramel saw red and he charged across the room to strangle him. Blueblood grinned and got ready to step to the side when the metal door flew open and Caramel ran right into it, face first. Dinky stared at him, as was the rest of the ponies in the room who were surprised and amused at the same time.

"Oh, sorry, mister. Did I come in too soon? You look like you were in the middle of something."

"I. Hate. You."

"I hate you too, does that make you sad?" Dinky turned to Flash and Simon. "I brought a crossbow, a 9mm with silver bullets, and an iron retractable pole."

"Yes! Three different weapons for three different creatures!" Flash, Simon and Blueblood hugged her and grabbed a weapon. Flash got the gun, Simon got the pole, and Blueblood got the crossbow. They cheered and the ponies murmured to each other.

"Okay, guys! We've got weapons and a plan that can't go wrong! We're getting all of you out of here, and with a bang too!" Flash exclaimed. Caramel groaned from on the floor by the door. "Oh, right, we have to stay quiet and go over what's going to happen, alright? Everyone huddle around." The ponies clouded in the center of the room and Dinky left and shut the door behind her.
She had more business to take care of.

Dinky watched the blonde servant talk with another fellow servant who also blonde, had a grey coat and was a pegasus. She watched with wet eyes and a frown. The pegasus said something to the earth pony and they both laughed, giving Dinky a good view of those razor sharp teeth. There were rows of them. The filly tried to count them, anything to avoid looking into those dull, red eyes that pierced your soul. Too many to count. Dinky flattened her ears and tears rolled down her cheeks. Oh, what she would give to be able to run up to her mommy and squeeze her with a smile and a laugh, just like the old days.
There was a shuffle of hooves and a grunt. Dinky looked up only to find that both ponies had gone. Or should I say PONY and monster., Dinky thought bitterly.

"Dinky?" The filly froze at the sound of her name. She knew that voice...she'd know it anywhere. Her mother, Ditsy Doo, hovered above her with a seemingly innocent smile on her face. Dinky was tempted to run to her mothers arms...but then those lips parted and that smile grew larger and owe teeth were visible and...sharp... "Dinkyyy..." her mother slurred, sounding like a hungry dog about to get a bone. Dinky opened her mouth and let out a ear-piercing scream.

Author's Note

Sorry for the lateness! Here, have a cookie!

Book One; Chapter Fourteen

Ditsy Doo reached out for her daughter and grabbed her. She sniffed that fragile neck and imagined crushing it with one squeeze of her hand or tearing it out and watching the lovely red liquid gush out like a waterfall. The pegasus mare shuddered and ran her tongue over the artery, causing Dinky to whimper and squirm.

"I'm going to enjoy this, muffin." Ditsy purred into Dinky's ear. "It'll be so fun. Don't worry, it won't hurt too much..." The mare opened her mouth and dug her teeth into her daughters neck. The filly screamed and flailed her arms, hoping that somepony would hear her and come to help before it was too late. There was the sound of feet coming down the halls and Dinky hoped it wasn't one of the shady guards that took after the Princess in these situations.

"What's that screaming about?!" a ghoul guard growled. Another two guards, one a faerie and one a shadow being, followed behind that one and entered to the room. They stopped and gaped for a few seconds before one hissed, and the other grunted. Dinky continued to scream and write in pain. The ghoul wrapped his arms around Ditsy's neck and held on firmly. The shadow's four black tentacles stretched out and grabbed Ditsy. He narrowed his pure-white eyes and made a raspy, guttural noise before prying herd of Dinky and flinging her across the room. Dinky felt to the floor with a groan and pressed her hands to the wound in her neck. The faerie leaned down and checked her over with his dark magic.

"Hm... She didn't go too deep to fracture anything but you'll bleed out if we don't get you help soon." he said.

"What do we do with this one?" the ghoul asked, keeping Ditsy in a chokehold despite her struggles and angry screams. "I doubt the Princess will want a rabid one running around here."

"Take her to the king. The Princess and the princes don't know about The Infection yet." the faerie answered. Dinky was going in and out but still heard enough to instantly panic. What infection? What's going on? Why is the king hiding this from the princes and Princess?, Dinky thought, her eyes tearing up. Then, she asked herself a question that made her fear for her life, What if I have this infection, whatever it is? What will happen to me...!?

"She left. Probably went to see if there'll be any changes in guard shifts or anything." Flash said to Simon. The earth pony shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"But think about it...she's a little kid...she hasn't come back...something could've happen to her."

"She's been here longer than any of us, " Blueblood sighed. "This place is practically home to her. I'll bet allt he guards and whatever freaks they have out there are old friends or something."

"While your reasoning can be true, Blueblood, Simon does have a point. Just because she's been here before doesn't mean we should expect her to be alright running around this Faust forsaken place." Caramel frowned and glanced at Simon who glanced at Flash. "I think she's in trouble. I don't know how I know but...I feel like something's not right. We need to get out of here and go help her."

"And how do you suggest we do that, Oh Mister Enlightened One?" Blueblood sneered. Caramel shot him a look and glanced at Simon again.

"Well, we do have a volunteer who has years of experience staying hidden." Simon put up his hands and his eyes widened.

"WOA WOA WOA, are you talking about me?" Caramel smiled a bit trollishly and Flash smiled and Blueblood scowled. "Nonononononononono. I am not going out there. This room is locked and safe and not filled with crazy not-so-mythical creatures that want to kill me. I'm staying right here and there is no way you're getting me to go out there."

~Ten Minutes Later~

Simon was crouched behind the door and managed to slip past as Flash and Blueblood managed to make a big enough distraction to make both guards come in. Simon quickly wondered how Dinky got the weapons to them if there were two guards by the door at all times. He made a mental note to ask her later, when he found her and brought her back.

"How did I get talked into this...?" he wondered to himself and continued to creep down the halls and not get a heart attack from every little sound.

Dinky let the nurse tend to her wounds. She stared at the ceiling, her vision going blurry a few times and ignored the throbbing pain that was coursing through her body. She wondered if it was The Infection that she was feeling. The nurse had given her painkillers before getting to work on the wounds so it wasn't her injuries causing all that pain.

"You alright, honey? Need a little more juice?" the nurse asked in that soft, soothing voice of hers. So, her discomfort must've been visible then. Dinky shook her head no but stopped when her neck felt like she was trying to rip it off.

"No ma'am." she lied and tried to focus on the problems she now faced. She had to warn the guys. With some viral threat going around the castle, there was the possibility things would change. The whole banquet could be canceled...all those ponies would end up getting sold as blood-slaves! She couldn't have that. "How long to you think this will take, ma'am? I need to...get to...the Princess."

"Almost done, dear. But...you should rest. You've been through so much today and there's these wounds you have..."

"Yes, I understand all that but I really have things to do... I promise I'll take it easy after but now I-" Dinky's jaw dropped as she watched Simon creep past the door. She stared and he backed up, staring at her, wide eyed. The nurse moved to turn around so Dinky grabbed her arm.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh...um...I just wanted to say how thankful I am..." Dinky made a shooing motion at Simon. He made wild gestures as if asking, what the hell happened!? The nurse tried to glance behind her, curious of what Dinky was looking at. "...aaaand I wanted to make sure you heard me say it before I leave."

"You're very welcome, dear. Can you let go of my arm?"

"Um...sure..." Simon beconed her to come to him and she shook her head and gestured to the nurse.

"What're you doing? Who's behind me-" the nurse began, turning.

"NURSE!" The nurse whipped back around to face Dinky, worry etched onto her features.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I...um...I ...need you to check out my head..." Dinky winced at her own lie. The nurse mistook it for pain so she inspected Dinky's head. Go hide. Wait for me. Dinky mouthed.
Okay. Simon mouthed back.
That was a close one, Dinky thought, sighing as the nurse probed her head for an injury that wasn't there...

Book One; Chapter Nine

Book One; Chapter Nine
The Ride

Maxii lifted Caramel and carried him with her as she followed Angel. Angel was leading her to the van that would be driving away to Celestia knows where. The older male vampire was carrying Rashel as gentle as he could, cautious of his mentally unstable younger sister behind him. Rashel spat her loosely tied gag out of her mouth and gave Angel a pleading look.

"Please, let me go." she only got a look of indifference. "At least let my boyfriend go. He's just a pony. He can't defend himself against vampires. Please!" She only got silence. Maxii heard Caramel snort at Rashel's lie. Like hell he couldn't defend himself. Ponies definitely had a lot of tricks up their sleeves when it came to fighting against the creatures of the night. Caramel's gag was tight and he was unable to voice his anger at the way his girlfriend was being held against his will. Maxii seemed to find it funny to jostle him around and purposely bang his ribs into her shoulder. As the vampires walked, his anxiety of not being able to escape got worse. He could see the van now. It was a smudgy grey color and the windows up front were tinted darker than normal. Ponies would not be able to see the driver or any captives if they got free and tried flagging somepony. Angel put Rashel in the passenger seat while Maxii threw Caramel into the back. The light brown earth pony grunted as he made impact with the hard car floor.

"Don't go anywhere," Maxii laughed at her own little joke, "Come on, Angel. Time to go." The young vampire slid into the passenger seat with her 'friend' and waited patiently for her brother to get in the drivers seat. Angel started to scold her about her treatment of the captive but she only scowled and argued back.

"Did you see that? Did you see that!?" Simon gasped, totally freaking out. Flash nodded.

"Do you think their going to hurt them? I hope they-"

"Dude, don't tell me what you hope! We're watching kidnap right now!" Flash stood up and flexed his wings. He had a plan. Simon saw the look in his eyes and put up his hands. He wanted nothing to do with any plan of Flash's. Flash grabbed him and rushed up to the van, covering Simon's mouth all the while. He jumped aboard, flapping his wings gently to quiet his land inside the back. He plopped Simon down next to Caramel. The light brown stallion stared, wide eyed, at the unexpected guests.

"Oh sweet Celestia. Please tell me you two didn't get yourselves caught." he sighed. Simon made it a point to turn his head to lash slowly and fold his arms. Caramel narrowed his eyes.

"You're here on purpose aren't you." He said it like a statement instead of a question. Flash shrugged with a sheepish grin. The back door of the van swung shut and Angel got in the drivers seat. He started the car and began the long drive to a place unknown by the ponies in the back.

Blueblood watched the van leave from the top of a building. He stood slowly, to keep his balance and lit his horn. The teleportation spell he was preparing was very hard and complicated, for long distance teleportations took more energy. There was a bright flash of energy and Blueblood disappeared. He reappeared on top of the van, smiling at his own accomplishment. He swung down the back and unlatched the door. As he gently opened it to not alert the two vampires and werewolf up front, the three ponies in back stared up at the unicorn in shock.

"Blueblood!?" Flash exclaimed. Caramel shushed him. "Sorry."

"How did you get caught? You were running around thinking you could save ponies from those leaches, right?" the unicorn asked with a wry smile. Caramel gave a snort. "Did she catch you again?"

"Simon and I actually didn't get caught. We jumped in before they noticed up." Flash folded his arms. Simon nodded in agreement.

"Yea, this guy was already here. How did you get caught, my brother?" he said. Caramel sighed.

"My girlfriend, the black haired beauty, and I were housing Maxii, the lovely *cough cough* insane *cough cough* young vampire up front and Maxii found a way to contact her brother. Maxii decided to give me to her brother for whatever madness the vamps are planning way out here."

"Serves you right. You should've let me finish her off."

"I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that you didn't want to 'finish her' as you say." Blueblood narrowed his eyes.

"And what gave you that idea?"

"The first time I saw you, when she attacked me the first time, she didn't kill you. She let you go. Now, the only explanation for that is that something is going on between you two." The unicorn sputtered angrily and blushed. "From knowing Maxii this short while, I know now that she shows no mercy." Simon and Flash looked back and forth between the earth pony and unicorn.

"That's nice and all but I have a question. Does anypony actually have a plan?" Everypony exchanged glances and Simon sighed. "We're dead. We're so dead." Flash gave him a pat on the back.

"Relax. We'll be out of this in no time."

"Who's the nerd, anyway?" Blueblood snarled. Simon glared at him.

"I ain't a nerd! I am a techno genius." Simon added with a lot of smugness, "Who does a little dirty work on the side, know what I'm sayin'?" Blueblood rolled his eyes.

"Simon worked the computers at the precinct. He's helping me solve the case of the kidnapings. Now, I'm starting the believe that it wasn't ponies after all. It was those sneaky vampires." Flash explained.

"I suspected the same thing. I'm not surprised she's behind all of it." Blueblood huffed. Caramel ran his fingers through his mane.

"Actually, I don't think Maxii's behind all this. She knew about it but there were others actually working this whole operation. Keep in mind that she could be taking us to some random place where she tortures ponies before feeding or this could be an actual lead to the disappearances." The three other stallions murmured in agreement. "Now, we should take turns getting rest and listening out for when we stop. Something tells me there's a long trip ahead of us." Blueblood offered to be the first to look out. He wanted to keep an eye on Caramel. That stallion seemed to know a little too much for his liking. He was like the wise old man and he was the karate kid. It irked him to no end. Blueblood sighed and decided to use his time to create a plan.

Author's Note

Sorry for the lateness. Please check out my blog tagged to this story and it will mostly explain everything.
Hope you enjoyed!
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