Blood Lust

"Come on!" a filly's voice spoke up, the young mare pawing at the dirt path with her hoof impatiently. Dashing Stride watched as her two friends, Zig Zag and Lightning Strike, packed their bags with their books. Blowing the strand of pink and purple mane from her face, the young pink mare trotted over to Lightning, who was having trouble with his things. The yellow colt smiled sheepishly at Dashing as she helped him put his books into his bag.

"Thanks," the unicorn said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his muzzle. Lightning Strike was tall for a colt, and a bit on the skinny side too. Using his magic to put his bag upon his  back, he looked at Zig Zag. "ready to go?" he asked him.

"Yep." the green colt nodded with a smile. He blew a bit of neon blue and lime green mane from his his eyes.

"Good! Let's go!" Dashing started at a run down the dirt path. Strike and Zag rolled their eyes playfully before going after her. "Keep up slow ponies!" she giggled.

"Well then don't run so fast Dash!" the pegasus called after her, flying beside his unicorn friend.

After a good amount of running and flying, the three friends were almost home. They stood at the entrance of the Everfree Forest. The sun was setting and the trees were casting a shadow on the grass before them. "Why do the other ponies always say to never go in here?" Zig asked, cocking his head. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with it." he said as he started walking into the sea of trees.

"Because every other pony doesn't understand anything that's in here." Lightning replied, his short yellow and orange mane bouncing with every step.

"And they don't take the time to even try." Dashing said, her voice raising a bit as if the other ponies' acts was an insult. Zig Zag had a slightly worried expression at her tone but dismissed it.  Stride walked at a trot, her short mane staying out of her face. The filly's blue eyes watched her surroundings.

Dashing Stride was a bit odd for an earth pony filly. Her mane and tail were so short, she was always mistaken for a scrawny pink colt. The longest strands of mane she had was a bit that always hung over her left eye. Though what she didn't have in length of her mane and tail, she made up for in speed. The filly was always challenging others to races, and she always won. Dash was the fastest pony in her class. It was interesting, seeing as how pegasi are normally faster than earth ponies due to their ability of flight.

Lightning Strike was another oddity. The tall, skinny unicorn colt was always buried in his books. Though they weren't about magic like every other unicorn would read to study and practice the art. Strike's books were always about the weather. It was strange to see a unicorn learning about a pegasus' job of cloud clearing, or where and when the rain should fall over certain parts of Equestria. Whenever he had the chance (mostly at night), he would secretly use his magic to bring a cloud down to study it. His two friends had seen him while he was at his investigation, though they never mentioned it in fear he would be upset or embarrassed.

And that left Zig Zag. The pegasus was normal, to say the least. He was shy at times, and quiet for the most part. Though when he talked, he acted like he didn't know the meaning of shyness. Despite his timid appearance, Zig was far from it. In times of need, he was actually very brave and stood up for his friends or anyone close to him. His orange eyes shined and his electric blue and yellow mane was spiky, always ruffled from flying. His favorite thing to do was flying in odd patterns; loops, dives, and zig-zag patterns. It was this odd technique that made him a special flyer.

The trees got thicker the deeper into the woods they went. What little sunshine that peeked through the foliage was gone now, and Lightning had cast a lighting charm over the trio so they could see where they were going.

"Are we almost there?" Zig spoke up, keeping close to the other two so he could see.

"Yeah, look! Over there!" Dashing Stride broke out in a run, soon disappearing from the light source and out of sight.

"Wait up Dashing!" Lightning made sure the pegasus was close by before running after the earth pony with him. After a few minutes, the two had caught up with their friend.

Before them was a large castle, most of it destroyed. The columns had crumbled, walls were covered in scorch marks, and any tapestries seen from the outside were mere rags. Above what remained of the archway door was some sort of symbol; an alicorn's head with two wings outstretched. The wings were more bat-like than pegasus though. The head was a dark grey, and the wing skin was black. Red gems sat chipped and dusted as the emblem pony's eyes.

It was the emblem of the Vampony Empire that had fallen several years ago. The castle had been destroyed by a fire hunters had started after the Empire's rulers had fallen. Dashing was the first to trot up the steps and into the crumbling remains.

"Ah," she sighed happily with a smile. "Home sweet home."

The three fillies had taken residence into the castle every since they discovered it about a year ago. When they found it the ruins were in the same condition, if not worse. All three fillies never knew their parents; they were all orphans. This never stopped them from their adventures or fun they loved to have. Despite the pains of the pasts, they always looked forward to the bright future with heads held high and eyes bright with optimism.

"Lightning?" came Zig Zag's questioning tone. Dashing looked back at him, only to find Lighting Strike was missing. She tilted her head curiously.

"Where is he?" she asked.

Zig shrugged. "I don't know," the green pegasus replied. "I thought he came in with us."

"Weird," Dash spoke softly. "I'll go check outside. Maybe he tripped or something." the earth pony walked out of the castle ruins and out into the trees. Zig, who stood there nervously, was shifting his weight from one hoof to the other.

"W-Wait for me!" he called out and flew after his friend. Zig caught up with Dashing after a moment and trotted beside her. "Where do you think he is?"

"I'm not sure, he couldn't have gone too far." the pink filly replied. And she was right; it wasn't long before they saw the light of Lightning's horn casting a light in a nearby cave. They sped up their pace and walked inside. "Lightning! There you are, you had us worried!" Dashing scolded with a frown on her features.

"Shush!" the yellow colt snapped back, his voice hushed. Dashing's ears drew back and she cocked her head.

"What is it?" she asked. Instead of a vocal reply, Strike nodded towards something in front of them. A pair of bright red eyes was staring directly at the three ponies from the darkness Lightning's spell couldn't reach.  Zig squeaked and hid behind Dashing, while said pink foal watched curiously. "Lightning, what is it?" she asked again.

"I don't know. My first guess was a pony, but..." he looked at those eyes peering through the darkness at them. They weren't like normal pony eyes. The pupils were sharp and narrow, like a cat or dragon's. Making the spell stronger, Strike cast more light into the cave, revealing the owner of the blood red eyes.

It was a small filly, just slightly younger than Dashing, Lightning, and Zig. The young mare had a purple coat and blue hooves, along with a black tail. Her ears, which had small little tufts of fur on the top, were drawn back and her wings were tucked tightly against her skinny frame. Her wings were a bit strange looking, but Lightning couldn't make them out completely. Two small fangs were poking out of her mouth, but where soon exposed as she hissed when Lightning took a step forward.  "Easy..." he spoke gently, not moving at the defensive action. "Could you tell us your name?"

The filly's eyes were trained on the three. She watched them as she spoke with a raspy voice, like it hadn't been used in a while. "I-I don't know." she whispered. Her expression seemed to sadden a bit. "Who are you three?"

Lightning spoke for the group. "I'm Lightning Strike. These are my friends, Dashing Stride and Zig Zag. What are you doing in this cave, it's dangerous out here at night."

"This cave is my home. I live in here." her voice cracked. Lightning frowned in concern as the filly's eyelids lowered a bit.

"Are you alright?" the colt asked. It took a moment for her to answer.

"S-So...hungry..." the pony collapsed, passing out.