Into the Twilight

Chapters

Chapter 1(edited)
Chapter 2(Unedited)
Chapter 3(unedited)
Chapter 4(unedited)
Interlude

Chapter 1(edited)

Into the Twilight

by Midnight_Eclipse

Chapter I

A thunderous sound of a creature boomed across the Everfree forest, growing closer and closer towards the small rural town of Ponyville. As the cacophonous outcry of the ominous beast beyond the forest, upon a meadow hill with a slick steep leading down where the moonlight touched; was a young mare who worn a black cloak with holes that allowed her skin bat wings to show. She soon pulled down her hood, revealing herself to having a lavender coat that went along her mane and tail with blue highlights streaking down. She also had an horn indicating her level was not just based in flight capabilities, but also in magic. Her eyes were actually glowing a faint lavender as she stood there, waiting for the creature to make it's appearance. On her back, she had a sinister looking death scythe strapped with magical tendrils.

Eventually, the cloaked mare looked up just in time to see an incoming massive tree speeding straight at her direction. Side-stepping to the side, the mare dodged its crushing mass that crashed a feet from her as her gaze remained dead ahead of the responsible source of that tossed tree. The massive beast finally stepped out of the shadows of the cruel forest, revealing itself to being an giant ethereal looking bear with some small glinted star-like spots on its blue ethereal coat. This creature was called an Ursa Major.

The cloaked mare merely stood there, stoic as she watched the creature come forth, growling and roaring in anger as the fury burned in its dark eyes. The mare stood up on her hind legs and brandished her scythe in her front hooves as she spoke in a stern tone and said, "You best return to your den. I don't want to fight you but I will if you threaten my ponies." Her eyes glowed bright after giving the beast her warning, ensuring it was only provoking trouble in its path of fury.

The beast halted and gazed down at mare, only seeing an pathetic little pony who dared gave orders to him. Who was this mare? Why would a pony order him when he could easily squash her to a mere puddle? This angered the beast furthered as it then charged her that spurred its rage and looked down to it. The cloaked mare pulled up her hood, shrouding her face in darkness as she soon vanished then in a blur, causing the beast to swipe at nothing but air once it made its first move. Confused, the beast looked around for the vanished mare until he soon felt intense pain laden upon its back, forcing it down on its belly.

The beast began growling as it looked behind his back, spotting the mare standing there with her scythe still at the ready for his next move. The beast quickly got up from the ground before charging again towards the mare with killer intentions, but like a moment ago, the beast only swiped at nothing but air. He looked around before he felt weight on it's head. Looking up, the beast spotted the cloaked mare standing on his head, but soon gulped when he seen the blade of her scythe at his throat, softly touching the sides with its cold sharp steel.

"I said leave." She spoke in a more serious and deadly tone. The beast gulped and nodded its head assuring it was going to obey this time as fear was shrouding its eyes. The mare released her scythe and leaped down, as the Ursa Major did not hesitate to turn tail and scurry off into forest, feeling that mare's cold gaze still rest upon its back.

The Following Morning

"SPIKE!" Came the voice of Twilight Sparkle.

She was in the dining room within the new crystal kingdom's castle, growing use to its newly established flooring and polished to furnished room. She was busy eating some blueberry pancakes, while also reading the daily news paper of Manehatten Times. She had called for her assistant again, once after noticing because that there was an article that she was not fond of. She had noticed in the paper that a strange mare fought off an Ursa Major and caused it to flee back into the forest. Further into the article, they did not obtain any clue to who the mare was, due to it being very dark and difficult to see. Twilight still wanted to find out though who was up at that time of night to see this all occurred.

"Yes, Twi?" Spike responded entering into the dining room while reading one of his favourite comic issue of the Power Ponies. He was too into the book, he failed to notice the chair right in front of him, which he crashed. He crashed into the chair and soon fell down on his rump, groaning when his comic book fell on top of his head. The dragon sent an annoyed glare at Twilight's way as she was trying to hold in back a laughter. "Haha, very funny, so what did you need?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

Twilight took a deep breath to calm her self before she laid out the paper for him to see it as he got up from the ground and walked in front of the table. Spike took a look at the article, before smirking and returning his gaze at the alicorn. "Heh what? I don't know who did this, but come on, you're a hero. Stop being so modest!" The dragon laughed at this before taking up his comic again, reading it, much to Twilight's growing dismay.

"That's not it, Spike! I've used an illusion spell to make my wings look normal and to also hide my fangs. What if they find out? What if they hate me? Oh, Celestia, what if they form a mob and burn me at the stake?!" Panic was now in full swing until Spike reached up and smack Twilight across the muzzle, getting a loud yelp from her.

"That's enough, Twi! Geez! Calm yourself already. They won't hate or burn you at a stake! Wait....burn you at the stake?" That part finally caught the his attention, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Really? Twi, they've not done any of that since before Celestia and Luna were born!" The drake said looking at her with a deep frown.

Twilight looked down at the drake and chuckled softly, leaning down and giving him a nuzzle, followed by a hug, she then said, "Thank you, Spike. I don't know what I'll ever do without you." After she pulled back, she eyed the dragon with an serious expression as she began rubbing her cheek. "But did you have to smack me? Geez, I might be an alicorn, but I still feel pain as much as any other normal ponies." This comment only caused the drake to burst out in laughter before walking out of the room.

Twilight, on the other hoof, remained behind as she finished her pancakes and finished the paper. I wonder what the townsfolk think of this...I hope they don't think it's me. It's bad enough dealing with the need for blood. Which reminds me, I need to go feed. Twilight thought as she got up from the table, washed her dishes, and put them away in the cabinet before she walked out the room making plans to head after the castle.

It was such a lovely morning in Ponyville. It had been sometime since the darkness that clouded the streets had up and forced to leave. The darkness being, the Dragon Slayer, Discord, the Smooze, and many others that had threatened the rural town. It was remaining a peaceful small town, excluding the wandering monsters and beasts, but maintained. However, even in times of peace, anything could happen to break that order. So, Twilight had funded a new building in the town. A blacksmith shop and there was only one she trusted enough to actually work that new shop. The only pony she truly loved with all her heart. Willomena Christine Pie, or Weepy Cry for short.

Willowmena Christine Pie was the unicorn counterpart of Pinkie Pie. She was from a different world all together that came into Equestria the other week in pursuit for salvation from her queen, however, the vile queen found her and delivered punishment. Weepy's appearance was covered in scars from when she failed her queen and was punished due to her own failures. Even her own cutie mark had more scars than her body's. At first, the vampire was loyal to the queen, thinking it was Celestia due to the illusion she was put in until she broke through it. The case for encountering Weepy was meant for to being Twilight's blood bank but the two grew closer and soon fell in love throughout the course of time.

When Twilight arrived at the blacksmith, she smiled once she seen her lover working hard at pounding away at a sheet of metal shaped into a sword. As Weepy continued to hammer away at the red hot glowing metal while Twilight approached the loud cacophonous noise of the hammer's blunt strike made; it hard for the the pink unicorn to hear her approaching lover.

"Hard at work, I see." Twilight asked, causing the pink unicorn to yelp in surprise and leap into the air, dropping her hammer from her magical grip. She panted, almost out of breath until she turned and recognzied her special pony, giving her a sheepish smile.

"D-don't do th-that!" The pink mare cried out, panting and trying to get her heart to stop racing. The pink mare had the same demeanor as Fluttershy, only worse; she was so shy, she was actually submissive and easy to subdue, which Twilight didn't like very much. In fact, she hated it. Twilight merely chuckled lightly as she walked up and pecked the unicorn's cheek softly, causing Weepy to blush a bit.

"Sorry about that, dear. I couldn't help it." Twilight replied as she chuckled a bit more. Weepy on the other hoof, huffed as she blushed even harder. Turning back to her work, she picked up her hammer and began forging the blade she was working on again.

"So, what brings you by here, Twi?" Weepy asked, as she focused on her work with her back to the princess.

"Oh, no reason. Did you see the paper this morning?" Twilight asked as she eyed the pink unicorn, who stopped her work and looked back to her lover.

"Yes. Twilight, you need to be more careful. There's no telling what these ponies will say about a princess who's a vampire too." She responded.

Twilight merely chuckled as she pecked the unicorn on the nose. "I'll be fine, love. No worries. I couldn't have let that major get into the town, could I? Besides, how was I suppose to know somepony was around to put this in the paper?"

Weepy merely sighed at this before returning to her work as Twilight smiled. "Well, I better get going. I have some shopping to do. I'll see you at home, after work." After a parting kiss between the two mares, Twilight left the pink unicorn to her work.

Later that Evening

Twilight had finished her shopping and got home to the castle. She had five bags, full of food and other miscellaneous sorts of items, floating in her magical grip. She looked a bit tired from all the walking, but that was due to the low amount of blood. Of course, she'd get to that later, so she didn't mind all that much and focused on ahead, heading towards the castle.

Twilight eventually made it into the castle and once she was down the hallway she walked on, she made it into the kitchen to put away the food. She didn't see Spike anywhere. She assumed he might have been over at Rarity's or at Applejack's place after a few seconds of thinking. She did say he could stay with the Cutie mark Crusaders over night, the day prior. Placing the bags down on the floor, Twilight stretched out her limps a bit before she began to unpack the bags. The fifth she didn't unpack for the time being as decided to preserve that once she was ready to head into the bedroom.

Just as Twilight finished unpacking and putting things away, she heard the castle's door open and close. This brought a smile upon her face as she trotted out of the kitchen and down the hall to the main entrance, where the doors were, to find Weepy Cry walking in. Giggling lightly as she seen the pink mare tiredly make her way in, she walked up and nuzzled the mare.

"Have a good day at work?" Twilight asked cheekily and only giggled more at the annoyed glare she got in return. Pecking the mare's cheek lightly, Twilight spoke up. "So, anyway, I bought somethings while out. Well, besides the usual food and other supplies." She giggled lightly. "Somethings for the...heh...bedroom." She winked which caused the pink mare to blush brightly at this. "Are you too tired to see?" She asked with an coyful smirk. Weepy, blushing really hard now, gave a small shake of her head.

Twilight had then walked off, shaking her tail end at the pink mare lightly and teasingly before winking. She giggled at the fluttered unicorn as they entered the bedroom the two of them shared, which was as large and accommodating as that of Celestia's. Large alicorn sized bed in the middle, wall to wall shelves with books. Science equipment and even astronomy equipment as well. To the right of the door that led into the bedroom, was another door, which Twilight had trotted up to as she peered back at the pink mare, smirking.

"Hehe, you wait here, I'll be right out." With that, she opened the door, which led to a bathroom, trotting in and closing it behind her. Weepy, walked up to the bed and gently climbed up onto it, stretching out as she waited for Twilight.

Several moments later, the door to the bathroom reopened, revealing Twilight up on her hind hooves, leaning against the door facing with her front right hoof. She had earrings in her ears that were of her cutie mark. She had black stockings up her hind legs that were connected to a pair of black lace and fishnet panties. The panties were also connected to a black corset around her mid section. Her tail was also braided along with her mane, which the latter was pulled back. Weepy, looking over as the door opened, blushed bright when she seen her lover. Just the sight of this made the pink mare want her but she was to shy to even act.

Twilight smirked at this as she lowered to all fours and slowly trotted up to the bed, her wings resting neatly to her sides, which she had dropped the illusion spell, revealing they were bat wings. Her illusion on her teeth had dropped as well, thus revealing her eyeteeth a lot longer and sharper than a pony's should be. Weepy gulped a bit as she watched her lover make her way towards the bed, growing more and more anxious by the second. If only she were more brave and less timid, she'd attack the vampire right then and there but sadly, she was very shy, timid, withdrawn and very submissive. Twilight smirked as she climbed up onto the bed beside her lover. "Heh, so do you like?" She asked in a low seductive tone, which caused the pink unicorn to shiver a bit at the words. Giving a small nod, the unicorn replied.

"Y-yes, I d-do, Twilight...." She spoke softly and timidly as Twilight gently rolled the pink unicorn onto her back, straddling her. "Oh, my dear, we are going to have so much fun."

Twilight smirked lightly as she lowered her head down and nuzzled against the unicorn's neck softly, before she parted her maw and grazed her fangs against the mare's neck. "May I? It's time for me to feed and I won't take without your permission." Weepy blushed brightly before she gave a weak nod of her head, tilting her head to the side for her lover to sink her fangs into. Twilight smiled a fanged smile as she leaned down and gently sank her fangs into the unicorn's neck, which caused her to let loose a small moan of bliss. Twilight closed her eyes as she tasted the blood from her lover, which she moaned out softly as well.

After a moment or so, Twilight released her lover's neck, smiling as she leaned in and softly licked the mare's neck, which caused the wound to close up. twilight smiled as she looked down at her lover, who was now looking up to the alicorn with a blissful look in her eye. "I-I can never g-get tired of th-that..." Weepy commented with a dark blush on her cheeks. Twilight merely giggled lightly as she leaned down and kissed the mare deeply, which Weepy happily returned, wrapping her hooves around her and held her. They parted, leaving a small trail of saliva behind from one another's muzzles.

Weepy was still blushing as Twilight giggled lightly before smirking deviously. "I'm in the mood for some....pie....tonight." She spoke smirking and it took a second before Weepy caught on to what her lover was indicating, which caused her to blush even darker, if that were possible.

Meanwhile in Canterlot Castle

"Tia! Did you see the papers?" Called the midnight blue alicorn as she came trotting into the Solar princess' room, much to the alicorn's dismay.

Celestia groaned as she opened her eyes to look at her little sister holding a paper in her magical field. Celestia then sat up and smiled sweetly. "Of course, I did, Lulu. Who do you think this strange mare is? She's obviously very skilled if she's able to scare off an Ursa Major." Commented the solar alicorn as Luna beamed at this before nodding her head enthusiastically. Celestia, on the other hoof, merely smiled kindly as she got up from her bed and strolled over towards her balcony. Looking up at the sky above, she smiled as her sister strolled up towards her older's.

"We are thankful that this pony was there or so many ponies would have lost their lives." Commented the solar princess as the Luna gave another agreeing nod while she looked down to the city below.

"Yes, it would have been very bad." Luna commented as she looked up at the night sky that had been brought forth, only about thirty minutes prior to the Lunar mare's intrusion.

The solar alicorn smiled lightly before she turned and walked back into her room but stopped at her bed, looking back to her sister. "Let's hope this mare is trust worthy. Now, I need some sleep. I'll see you in the morning, Luna. Goodnight." She smiled as she climbed up in bed as the lunar mare nodded in return as she flew off the balcony and back to her own.

Landing gently on her balcony, she turned back to the moon that remained still in the sky with a calm smile. "Well done, Twilight. Well done. You just saved a lot of ponies by scaring that Ursa off." She spoke to herself before she turned and walked into her room, then out to return to her duties.

To Be Continued

Author's Note

I have no idea where this story is going at the moment but I'm sure it'll come to me. Thanks to TimeRarity64 for editing this chapter.

Chapter 2(Unedited)

Author's Note

I am sorry this chapter hasn't been put up and I've not updated in so long. My editor has things going in real life and hasn't been able to get to editing. So, I apologize in advance. This entire chapter is unedited, so forgive me on that. I thought it was time to put this up, edited or not. And I have chapter three I'm putting up as well. Both unedited. They will be edited, sometime. Not sure when, but they will be. But I've kept some people waiting long enough. So, again, I apologize to all who has been waiting for an update. Remember, both this chapter and the next are unedited, so forgive me for the grammar and everything else.

Chapter 2(Unedited)

Into the Twilight

by Midnight_Eclipse

Chapter 2

"You foal! Did you really think you can defeat me?!" The nightmare roared as she glared daggers at the cowering lavender mare. She had a defeated look on her face as she looked down and to the side but soon perked up when she heard the sounds of her friends coming up the stairs. The lavender unicorn stood up and gasp as a twinkle flashed in her eyes. Turning on her heels, she smirked triumphantly at the nightmare. "You think you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that? Well you're wrong!" The dark alicorn scowled as she glared at the unicorn. "Because the spirits of the elements of harmony are right HERE!"The unicorn turned to orange earth pony. "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of HONESTY!" She then turned to the butterscotch pegasus. "Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of KINDNESS!" She then turned to the cotton candy mane pink earth pony. "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger represents the spirit of LAUGHTER!" She then looked over at the white unicorn. "Rarity who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of GENEROSITY!" She then turned to the blue pegasus. "Rainbow Dash who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of LOYALTY!"

Twilight smiled with victory as she seen the shards of the orbs the nightmare had smashed only moments ago, lift up into the air and began to surround her friends. Nightmare was now looking very worried as she looked around for a way out of this. Then a thought came to her as she looked back to the lavender unicorn. "You still don't have the sixth element! The spark didn't work!" The nightmare spoke but this time had uncertainty in her words, which caused the lavender unicorn to smirk in victory. "Oh but it did! A different KIND of spark!" She turned to her friends. "I felt it the very moment I realized how much I loved to hear you, to be with you, how much I cared about you." She then turned back to the nightmare, smirking. "When I realized, you all are my, FRIENDS!" As she called out, there was a blinding flash of light, causing the nightmare to shield her eyes with a wing.

As the nightmare unblocked her eyes, a sixth orb hovered over Twilight's head glowing faintly. "You see, Nightmare moon, When those elements are ignited by the....the spark, it creates the sixth element. The element of MAGIC!" As she spoke, the shards fused with her friends, creating golden necklaces with their respective cutie marks on them. Twilight's however, formed into a tiara with her own cutie mark on top it. The nightmare reared back in complete shock and surprise as she stared at this. The six mares began glowing brightly as they levitated into the air. The nightmare could feel the energy building around them and she knew was coming next. Her eyes flared black with the darkest of energy as she roared. "NOT THIS TIME!" She called out as she fired a black energy beam at Twilight. The beam did nothing to her as a beam of rainbow shot down and surrounded the nightmare.

Twilight opened her eyes slowly with a small groan. She had a dream she's not had in many long years. A dream of the time her friends and herself came together. It was not only the beginning of Twilight's new role as element of magic but also something more. Something that changed her life forever. The day she became a vampire. With a small sigh, she looked over to see her lover, Weepy Cry, was not in bed with her. So, she assumed the mare was at work. The alicorn finally stretched out a bit before she rolled off the bed, onto her hooves as she let out a yawn. Damn it. Princess, do you have to make the sun so....bright? Ugh. The alicorn thought before she went to the bathroom to freshen up and get out of her bedroom outfit she had worn for her and Weepy's...time in bed last night.

After about thirty minutes of bathroom time, she came out looking as good as new and lacked her rather intimate outfit. Her mane was brushed and her tail. She gave another small yawn as she walked over to the window of her room and looked out. "Ugh, Celestia I swear I'm going to get you for this bright flank of a sun." She grumbled a bit before she turned and walked out of her room and down the coodor until she was in the kitchen of her castle. Being a vampire she still needed to eat normal food along with blood and since she had her monthly blood, she didn't need any blood for awhile. She gave a small blush as she remembered last night with her lover. She chuckled lightly as she began to make herself breakfast. Strewberry pancakes. She finally took notice of a small drake, or rather, lack of thereof. She realized he must not have made it back home yet so she merely shrugged it off.

After her breakfast was made, she walked over to a table and took a seat. As she began to eat, she went back to her dream she woke from. Why did she have that dream after all these years? She wasn't sure why but it got her thinking about what came after the spell was cast. Her life changed forever after that and not just because she became the new bearer of the element of Magic. She took a bite of her pancakes before looking down with a sigh. She always wandered. What would have happened if she didn't get hit by that spell? Where would she be in this world then? How would her life be? Would she have ever met Weepy and fell in love? All these questions were flooding her mind but she merely shook them out of her mind but her mind went back to her dream.

Twilight had woke up after she passed out when she got home from defeating Nightmare Moon and returning Luna to her former self. However, when she woke, she didn't feel right. Something felt amiss but she couldn't figure out what it was. She went to her bathroom and took a shower. Once she got out, she was busy brushing her teeth while drying herself when she noticed something. Her mane was a bit darker than normal. This caught her attention due to her OCD she had. Blinking she pulled her toothbrush away and stared at the mirror for a few moments. "What in the....?" However, her words were cut short when she noticed something else. Something that really got her attention. Her eyeteeth were a lot longer and sharper than a pony's should be. She screamed at the top of her lungs when she noticed this. She fell onto her rump and scooted away from the mirror panting heavily. "What in Equestria is going on?! What happened to me?!" She questioned as she then took a deep breath to calm herself, using Cadence's breathing technique.

However, her mind and train of thought was interrupted when a knock came at the door. Blinking as she stood up and walked out of her bathroom and into the main room of her library. Now who could that be? She thought as she walked over and opened the door lightly to reveal a midnight blue alicorn. This caused the lavender unicorn yelp in surprise and back up a bit. "Pr-princess Luna! What...what are you doing here?" She asked as she lowered herself into a low bow. The alicorn merely smiled as she shook her head lightly. "Thou need not doth that, Twilight Sparkle. We art here on an informal visit." The alicorn smiled at her statement before adding. "May We cometh in?" The question threw the lavender mare off as she looked up at the alicorn.

The lavender unicorn looked a bit confused and dumbfounded as she stared at the midnight blue alicorn before her. Princess Luna, ruler of the night and sister to her mentor Princess Celestia, was standing at her door step. Blinking a bit, she shook her head to regain her senses before smiling sheepishly as she stepped aside for the princess. "Oh! Sorry. Yes, come on in, princess." She offered with a nervous smile. The princess, however, smiled giving a nod a she stepped in. "Please, call Us Luna, Twilight Sparkle." The lunar princess chimed with a gentle smile. However, upon seeing the change in the lavender mare, she frowned sadly. Luna walked past the lavender mare before she finally spoke in a soft, regretful tone. "We art sorry, Twilight Sparkle. The nightmare did a terrible thing to thee and there was nothing We could doth about it." The lunar mare spoke softly as she sat down, her wings sagging as her hand hung.

Twilight hearing the princess' tone, causing her ears to perk as she walked up to the side of the princess, gently placing a hoof to the princess' back and stroking it. "It's okay Luna. Don't worry about it. I can live with this. It'll just take some time to get use to it." The lavender mare spoke with a gentle smile. "So, I really am a vampony, aren't I?" She asked a bit of worry in her tone as her question was answered by a single nod from the princess. The lavender mare frowned a bit as she looked up at the princess. "I see. Well, I suppose immortality comes with it doesn't it?" She ventured as she looked at the lunar mare, who in turn, gave a gentle and sad nod. "And the...need for blood?" That question came out in a near whisper, hoping it didn't. Her fear was realized when the princess gave yet another nod in confirmation.

"...ght....light.....Twilight!" The voice of her dragon assistant broke the vampiric alicorn out of her memory as she looked over to see the dragon standing in the door way. "Oh, hey Spike. Something wrong?" She asked with a fanged smile as her dragon assistant merely rolled his eyes, his little arms crossed over his chest as he stood there, tapping his foot on the floor. "Oh you were just really spaced out there. Nothing strange at all." Twilight blushed at that comment as she watched the dragon make his way over towards her. "So, how was your night?" She asked trying to change the subject back from her spacing out to something else. The young drake merely sighed as he sat at the table with the alicorn. "You're thinking of the past again, aren't you? Twilight, when will you let it go? It's the past!" The Alicorn merely sighed as she looked at the drake. "I had a dream of when I first became a vampire Spike. A dream I've not had in so long." She said softly, looking to the side.

Her dragon assistant merely sighed at this before he reached out and gently touched her hoof with his claw. "Twi, like I said. It's the past. Long ago. You became not a being a darkness but a hero with the power of the night. Yes, you are a vampire who feeds on the blood of other creatures but you're also a hero." He spoke in a gentle tone as his muzzle bore a calm and kind smile. However, that smile formed into a teasing grin. "And speaking of feeding on blood of creatures. I happen to walk by Weepy's workshop and notice the bite bark on her neck." That comment caused the darkest blush ever to form on the alicorn's cheeks as her eyes widened a bit. "Had a bit of fun last night did you?" Twilight wrapped a bat wing around her head, hiding her blush before she slapped the drake with her other bat wing. "Hush you!" She called out but the sound of Spike laughing made her blush deepen.

The drake merely laughed more before he got up and walked out of the room, barely missing a harmless bolt of magic that was flung his way, which slammed into the wall with a small sizzle. Twilight merely sighed as she got up and walked out of the kitchen and down her corridor, deep in thought. It had been so long since she first became a vampire and granted, she didn't like the fact she fed on blood but as long as the power helped her protect her friends and family, she didn't care. All that mattered was her friends and family's safety. After a few minutes of walking, she found herself at her throne room with all her friends' thrones in a circle. This room always seemed to bring a smile to her face as she thought of her friends helping her run a kingdom. It was such a wonderful feeling, knowing she wasn't alone to do it.

Twilight had stopped when she heard the same thunderous roars from last night, however, it sounded like there were more than one this time. Blinking as she gulped. More than one?! Oh, dear Luna! I'm going to need help with this one....maybe. Twilight thought to herself as she quickly darted to the closet off to the side of the throne room, pulled out her black cloak and donned it. Her spell to hide her wings faded, along with the ones hiding her fangs. She bared her fangs as her eyes glowed brightly. "Alright. You brought a friend? This time, you're dead!" She growled out as she darted out of the throne room and out of the castle. She had to stop those monsters before anypony is hurt.

Out side of Ponyville, the edge of the Everfree forest, was five Ursa Majors, smashing the trees as they made their way to the town. Appearing in a blur, Twilight stood on the edge of town, watching the monsters match towards town. "Let's see. Five majors. Moving at a slow speed. Should be here in about five minutes. More than enough time." She looked to the side as she thought about what she was about to do. She had no choice. She could take out one, maybe two, but five?! That was to much, even for her. "Oh, I hope Celestia won't hate me..." she spoke as her horn lit sending a flare into the air, which exploded, forming her cutie mark in the sky. It was a signal that Luna told her to use if she had ever need help with something.

Back in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had looked out her window in her personal chambers and noticed the flare in the sky. Arching a brow as she stared at it. What is that? Twilight's cutie mark? What does it mean? As she thought that, Luna came burst through the doors of her sister's room in a frantic panic. "Sister! We have a MAJOR problem! Twilight needs our help! Our as in you and I! We only have to hurry NOW!" Luna didn't waste time, she flew out of the room before her sister could reply. Celestia stood there, dumbstruck as she looked back to the flare. "Dear Twilight. What have you gotten into this time? Nevertheless. Luna has never been so flustered about something before. This must be important." With that, the sun goddess followed her sister out of the room and soon out of the castle.

It didn't take long before the Sun goddess caught up with her sister. As they flew towards Ponyville, they heard the thunderous roars as well. Both their eyes widened at this. Surely those weren't roars of ursa majors were they? Their fears were realized when they noticed the starry beasts' heads poking out of the broken tree tops of the forest. Then, they noticed a cloaked mare standing in front of the forest as if waiting for the beasts to make their appearance. Celestia arched her brow at this. This was the first time she seen the cloaked mare in person. She only heard rumors of the mare and seen her in the paper. Celestia and Luna soon landed with grace on either side of the cloaked mare as she took a glance at the two princesses before looking back the forest. "So, what took you so long, Luna?" The cloaked mare asked in a rather informal manner. Celestia looked down at the mare and arched a brow. Only a select few are so close to the princesses to be so informal towards them and refer to them by name without their title.

Luna merely chuckled lightly as she smirked, looking down at the mare. "Oh, sorry. Traffic was a mess. You know how it is." She laughed softly before she frowned a bit. "You sent that flare I taught you. Does that mean, you're ready to tell her?" The cloaked mare looked down for a moment before gulping and nodding. "I see. We can explain later. Let her know who you are, then we take care of these beasts." The lunar mare spoke gently as the cloaked mare lowered her hood, revealing Twilight under it. Celestia let out a surprised gasp as she seen it was her faithful student and fellow princess who was the cloaked mare. "Twilight?! The cloaked mare was you?!" Her voice held no anger nor hatred but it was filled to the brim with surprise and...something else. Hurt? She couldn't place that other emotion in her voice.

Twilight winced a bit at the surprised voice. Giving a weak nod as she looked at her mentor and smiled an innocent and fanged smile. This caused Celestia's eyes to widen even more. "You have the vampirism too?!" Wincing again, Twilight nodded. Celestia took a deep breath, calming herself before she smiled a little, looking up at the forest line before them. "I'm sure we have a lot to talk about. You having the vampirism is one. You keeping it from me is another." She spoke in her usual calm tone before her horn flashed to life, summoning a brilliant set of gold armor that looked like Nightmare Moon's. Luna doing the same, summoning Nightmare Moon's. Twilight sighed a bit as she looked down. The jig was up. So, no need for the cloak anymore. Her horn lit and flung her cloak off revealing her body as she stood up on her hind hooves. Her eyes glowed as her sinister Death scythe appeared in her front hooves, brandishing it.

The three princesses stood there, waiting and watching the forest line. They were about to have a battle that will be very difficult for them to win. Three against five? The odds sure was against them but they had to stand their ground. They had to protect their ponies at all cost. Even if it meant their lives. Celestia was the one to break the silence as they waited. "That's some weapon, Twilight." She spoke in a soft whisper as she continued to stare at the forest, listening to the beasts growing closer by the second. "You can thank me for that, sister. I taught her how to forge it." Spoke the Luna princess as she summoned two short sabers. Celestia in turn, summoned a long sword and a shield made of sun light.

Twilight stared at the forest for a moment as silence descended upon the area once more. So, this was it. She was going to fight along side the princesses to protect her home. And here she thought her days of fighting were behind her. She really did hate fighting but she had to in order to protect her ponies. Especially Weepy Cry, her beloved marefriend. She would do anything to keep that mare safe. Her ears perked when she heard a tree snap, causing the princesses to look up and see five Ursa majors lined up, on their hind legs, growling and snarling. "They're here." Spoke Twilight as she bared her fangs. "This time, I won't hold back. You're dead." She spoke in a dead serious tone, shocking Celestia as she looked down at her student. Shaking her head, she looked back to the beasts before them. The battle to protect Ponyville was about to begin and all of Ponyville will know the lavender princess was indeed a vampire.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 3(unedited)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 4(unedited)

Author's Note

Finally, after all this time, here is the long over due, Chapter 4. I humbly apologize to everyone who has been looking forward to this chapter all this time. Writer's block is the bane of any writer's existence. Anyway, here you all go. 6.5k words. By far, my longest chapter I've ever wrote. I do hope it was worth the wait. Again, this is unedited, sadly. I'm going to upload chapters unedited until my editor can find time to work on them or until I find a new one. Until the next time, hopefully not as long of a wait.

May the moon watch over you all throughout the night.

--Midnight_Eclipse

Chapter 4(unedited)

Into the Twilight

by Midnight_Eclipse

Chapter 4

Massive shock waves shot through the air as the faint sound of metal upon metal echoed throughout the area. The ponies below watched in awestruck as the battle between their two princesses raged on. They had never seen such a display of power and speed before, and if they were completely honest with themselves, it terrified them. How can two ponies have this much power? It was unheard of! Yet, Rainbow Dash, despite her bravado, in her mind, she was as terrified as any other pony. As fast as she was, in her famous words THE fastest pegasus in all Equestria, she couldn't even follow the movements of the princesses. She thought no pony was faster than she was and yet, here two ponies were. Moving so fast, the eye couldn't keep up and clashing with power so strong, it seemed like the earth was trembling in fear of their power.

While the battle raged, the pink unicorn stood beside princess Luna, eyeing the battle. She was shaking like a leaf as she watched her lover and their princess clash with almost god-tier power. She was a mere unicorn but she had a spell that was on par with that of an alicorn. However, she never used it unless the situation caused for it. Glancing over, the pink mare took note the ponies inside the town were having trouble keeping up with their speed but she herself, could keep up. That was probably because one of said princesses, she was married to. So, she got all the time she needed to practice following her when she used this level of speed. Something she shamelessly took pride in.

Just as the pink mare looked back to the battle, she noticed the princesses had stopped and were now floating in front of one another. Each had quite a few gashes, ranging from their legs, to back and even their face. Blood was dripping from the wounds and despite this and the wounds, Ruby Obsidia had a sadistic smirk on her maw before licking some blood from her cheek. "Mmm...tasty." The dark alicorn chimed with a sadistic little giggle. A sound that sent chills down everypony's spine that was close enough to over hear the words and giggle. Celestia merely stared at the disturbing alicorn with a passive stare. She would not be detoured from her goal in cleansing this demon from her student and fellow princess.

The pink mare, down below watched this battle but when they stopped, she took it upon herself to step out of the princess' barrier. She needed to get to her lover and now. Slowly, yet surely, she made her way over towards the two alicorns, only for the blue alicorn to gasp and call out. "Weepy! Get back here!" But it was all in vain as she made her way over. She was not turning back. She needed to help her instead of standing around. As she neared, she looked up at the floating alicorns before looking over at the ponies within the town. Her lover's friends, the captain made prince, and even the alicorn of love kept trying to call out to her to back away and retreat behind the shield but she merely shook her head in defiance.

Now, standing directly under the alicorns, the pink mare looked up with sadness in her eyes while she called out, her voice, although shaky, carried over the area like a thunderstorm. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" This caused everyone to blink and turn to look at the pink unicorn covered in scars. They had never heard the mare call out so loudly before. The demon had looked down at the pink mare, her eyes had shifted back to normal eyes but still glowed crimson however, that was normal for the alicorn. "Weepy....?" She blinked a bit as her voice came out in her normal tone, instead of the dark and eerie one she was speaking in only a moment ago.

Everyone around watched as their eyes widened. Did the pink mare actually bring their princess? They didn't know what was going on but they were sure the alicorn had been freed from the demon....or so they thought anyway. The alicorn hovered in mid air as she stared down at the pink mare, all the while, Celestia watched this. The pink mare glowered at the floating alicorn before she bellowed out once more. "Twilight Sparkle, what do you have to say for yourself?! Huh?!" Everypony around gaped in awe at the once timid mare scolding the mighty alicorn like she were a mere foal. "You're attacking CELESTIA!" The dark alicorn blinked a bit before she looked over at the white alicorn, covered in gashes and blood from their brief battle. "Ce-Celestia?" The dark alicorn spoke in a broken voice as if she weren't completely back to normal.

Celestia merely stared at her fellow princess, panting as she tried to regain her composure. Her ears perked when she heard her name called out by the dark mare. Was she back to normal? Was this Twilight Sparkle or was this the demon, Ruby Obsidia? Only one way to find out. The celestial mare spoke in a soft voice but still strained from her energy being low. "Twilight? Are you back?" She asked but then the dark mare growled as she began shaking her head rapidly. The dark aura that was surrounding her dissipated as the demonic features slowly faded, revealing her old self once again. Twilight lowered to the ground, landing softly before she proceeded to pass out where she was, falling to the right side and landing with a dull thud. "Twilight!" The voice of the pink unicorn filled the air as a pink blur shot across the ground, stopping beside the fallen mare's side in an instant. "Twilight! Speak to me!" Tears welled up in her eyes as she cradled to alicorn's head in her hooves.

The dome around the town shimmered before falling into nothing while seven ponies and one dragon was at the alicorn's side while the white celestial mare slowly landed behind them, her weapons bursts into solar energy, vanishing into nothingness. The towns' ponies stared at the scene before them as the lunar alicorn, who was watching the scene, now made her way to the gathered ponies.

Unbeknownst to the gathered ponies and princesses, a dark crimson set of hues watched the gathering from the darkness, high upon a cliff, overlooking the town. The hues belonged to a black cloaked pony. They were clad from head to hoof by a cloak, completely covering the pony from sight. The cloak prevented the pony's identity from being revealed as they stood and watched the gathering below. The cloak's hood shrouding their face in shadow as a low growl escaped the pony before a deep rumble of a voice escaped the cloaked spectator. "Our plan failed. The outsider must be eliminated if we're to free our queen." As deep as the voice was, it was clearly a male's voice. The deep crimson hues stared at the gathered ponies below with an almost hungry glint.

With another low growl, the pony stood thinking on how their long planning failed. They refused to accept such a thing. They will have their queen and it didn't matter who got in their way. They'd eliminate all who stood in their path. If their plans were to succeed, they'd have to eliminate the outsider. The only question was, how? Surely, the one they sought after would notice when something happened to them. Their target was connected with the outsider, so if something were to happen, their target would know immediately. However, at that thought, the shadow blanketing the pony's face parted a bit to reveal a sinister grin as well as deadly sharp eyeteeth. As a new plan formed in their mind, the pony began laughing maniacally before they faded from existence, leaving behind a faint whisper on the winds. "Soon, my queen."

Far away, in an unknown location, a strange cloaked pony appeared from the darkness. They appeared in front of a mountain side. The pony strolled forward and into the wall, which shimmered and rippled as the pony passed through. Once inside, the pony was greeted by three other cloaked ponies. The newcomers bowed deeply to the lone pony, which said pony, gave a curt nod before strolling off into the hidden cavern. The three ponies stood up before following after, only for the middle of the three to speak up in a deep but strangely feminine tone. "Master...was the plan successful?" Not bothering to falter in their stride, the apparent leader gave a small nod before they pulled out a small vial of purple goo. "I'm afraid not, but you needn't worry, my subjects, I have another plan in mind. Now, Nightshade, I have an important mission for you." The middle of the three ponies nodded once before the master continued again. "Take Scarlet Moon and Silent Shadow. I need you three to gather me some important ingredients." The four ponies stopped as the leader turned and passed the middle one a sheet of paper, in which the middle pony nodded once before the three faded from existence.

The master went on his way through the cavern, mulling over his new plan to bring his beloved queen back into the world. The very thought of his queen returning, sent a delightful chill down his spine. However, he had to push his plan to the side for a few moments because it was feeding time. Grinning a fanged smile, the master made his way to a bared cell in the cavern's wall, stopping in front of it. With a tap to the bars, the master spoke up. "Wake up, my dear." The master's voice was soft and almost like a father speaking to his daughter.

Inside the dark room, a lone earth pony stepped out from the shadows. It was a pony, no older than a filly, probably the same age as the cutie mark crusaders. The filly had a pink coat, a light purple mane with a white streak running through it and a matching tail, which both were a complete mess as if they've not been washed or brushed in several days. On her flank, she bore the image of a diamond studded tiara. However, she lacked her namesake that stood atop her head as she glared at the older, cloaked pony that stood outside her cell. The master only chuckled softly as he took in her state. Her coat had dirt and filth all over it, some red dried stains and she was holding up her front left hoof as if she couldn't stand on it.

The filly limped towards the cell door, glaring at the cloaked pony, who in turn, just smiled a fanged smile. "Like, what do you want, freak?" The filly sneered at the older pony as she stopped before the cell door, glaring up at the master with unbridled hatred. The sneer and glare from the filly did nothing to cause a reaction out of the cloaked pony, who only smiled down at her. "Now, is that anyway to speak to your father, little missy?" The master asked in a gentle but firm tone but the filly only spat at the master's hooves before reaching behind her, into the darkness, and pulled out her namesake tiara, in which she wasn't wearing, and threw it at the cloaked pony. The tiara slid between the bars of her cell and flew at the older pony's head, only to be caught by the pony's hoof with the speed a normal pony could never follow. "You're not my daddy, freak! He'd never lock me up in a disgusting cave like this!" The bratty filly cried out in defiance.

The cloaked pony merely chuckled as he dropped the tiara, which caused a metallic clank to ring out. Smiling that fanged smile, the pony reached up and pulled his hood back to reveal a chestnut colored earth pony stallion with a jet black mane, which was combed back. His eyes, which were normally a gentle blue, were now a deep crimson. His smile, which was still a gentle one, revealed his deadly sharp eyeteeth. "My dear, I only did what I had to." Filthy Rich chimed before opening the cell and stepped inside, locking it back behind him.

The filly's eyes widened as she stepped back several steps, now shaking in fear. Her captor was now in her cell with her, standing between her and the door, which was now locked. She was cornered with no way out as her father slowly, almost predatory, strolled forward, closing in on his terrified daughter. Filthy opened his maw to reveal his long fangs as he reached out with his hoof, using speed the filly had no chance in tracking or dodging, grabbing her by the throat and picking her up in the air, letting her dangle in mid air. "Don't worry, my dear. I won't kill you. In due time, you'll come to accept your role as a blood bank." With that said, he slowly brought his fangs down to the filly's neck.

The following morning

The lavender alicorn awoke to the feeling of somepony snuggling with her. Her lavender hues cracked open, revealing she was in her room within her castle. Turning her head to the side, her vision was filled with pink and scars. Blinking a bit, a small smile formed on her maw as she turned to her side, laying a bat wing over the sleeping pink unicorn. As soon as her wing stretched out and lay across the pink mare, said mare stirred a bit as her own hues cracked open. With a yawn, Weepy Cry rolled over to face the lavender princess. Just as she rolled to face the princess, Twilight surprised the pink unicorn with a kiss, which caused the mare to squeak in surprise. With a giggle and a playful smirk, the princess greeted her beloved. "Good morning, dear." Weepy giggled softly as she seemed to snuggle closer with the lavender alicorn, planting a couple tiny kisses to her lips and a teasing kiss to her ear, in which caused the vampire's ear to twitch. "Morning to you as well, princess." The scared up unicorn greeted with a sweet smile. "So, any plans for this morning?" She asked with a tilt of her head as she sat up on her haunches before she gave a small, cute yawn. Twilight fallowed sult, setting up and yawning softly before she shook her head. "Anything you wish, my dear. Today is your day off, is it not?" Weepy lifted her front hooves up above her head, stretching lightly before she nodded a bit. "Yep, meaning I have all day to spend with my princess." At the use of her title, Twilight usually scolded whoever used it, getting them to drop it but when the pink unicorn used it, the vampire seemed to blush.

After giving her own light stretch, the princess gently climbed out of bed and trotted over towards the bathroom, only to stop and peer over her at the pink mare still on the bed. "Weepy, what you did last night was incredibly foalish, not to mention reckless." Weepy frowned and looked down at the bed as her ears laid back against her skull, only for a moment before the vampire chimed again. "But I'm glad you did. Now, if only you'd let me put a set of armor on you. You'd make a perfect royal knight." The vampire giggled and winked before proceeding through the bathroom doors, leaving the pink unicorn alone with a frown but now sported a dark blush on her cheeks. After a couple moments, the pink mare stepped out of the bed, stretching her front hooves out and lowering her chest to the floor as her tail end lifted behind her, stretching like a cat would before she trotted over to a nearby full body mirror and starred at her reflection within it. Her head tilted to one side as her mind seemed to wonder, picturing herself sporting a set of shiny dark lavender armor. After a couple moments, she shook her head, banishing such thoughts before she proceeded to the bathroom as well, joining her beloved princess for their morning bathing.

Exactly two hours and forty-five minutes later, both mares excited the bathroom with a towel around their mid section. Normally, a bath would never take nearly that long but the two couldn't help themselves. The water was perfect, they were the only ones in the bathroom, they were married, plus the vampire was always a bit...hot under the collar in the mornings, something the timid unicorn was more than happy to oblige in. "Oh, I just remembered. I promised Applebloom and the others that I'd do a little investigating in the disappearance of their friend Diamond Tiara. She's been missing for nearly a month now." Twilight spoke up as she stopped in front of their bed, pulling the towel off and folding it before placing it on the side of the bed. Weepy stepped over to the large dresser with a mirror, grabbing a mane brush to begin the process of making herself presentable. "Yeah, I remember the crusaders going up to everypony in town asking if they've seen her." She paused as she tapped her chin with her left hoof, the brush held aloof in her magic for a couple moments before resuming brushing her mane. "Come to think of it, I've not seen much of that business pony, Filth Rich, either. He's Diamond's father, isn't he?" She questioned as she peered over at the alicorn as she donned her regalia. "Yep, he's also the most wealthiest pony in town, outside royalty, of course. You don't think there's a connection between the two, do you?" Twilight asked as she strolled up beside the unicorn after she finished donning her royal vestments. Of course, seeing her wife in them, the unicorn cocked a brow questionably. Seeing the unicorn's reaction, she paused before peering down at herself, only to giggle a bit. "I've got court this morning, plus I'll be officially heading the investigation. So, I must look the part, after all." The alicorn explained pecking the unicorn's cheek softly. "I'll see you in a few hours, my timid little knight." With that, the alicorn strolled out her royal bedchambers and towards the throne room, dreading the long and most boring part of being a princess. With a sigh, she formed her royal mask, before entering her throne room.

"The answer is, and always will be, no, Blueblood. I'm already married, you know this. Besides, my proverbial barn door doesn't swing that way." The princess stated eveningly as she sat on her throne, staring down the last, so called, nobleof Canterlot, she ever wanted to see. The arrogant unicorn stood before her with a disappointed frown upon his maw. He had, on several occasions, appeared before the alicorn proposing to her, even though he clearly known said princess was already married. Like most of the so called elite, he was strongly against same sex couples, claiming them to be unnatural but every time, the princess had to shoot the arrogant prince. However, she had to give him credit. He was quite persistent. "It's unbecoming of a princess to involve themselves, not only with commoners but in such unnatural behavior! What's more, it clearly states in old Equestrian law that if a princess were to take on a consort, they are to produce a legitimate heir within the first two years of courting!" The prince argued with a smug smirk adoring his face. "Those laws don't mean anything to me, or else I would have studied them years ago. I am immortal, Blueblood. As is Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and princess Cadence. It's still in the works if my niece is immortal or not but I digress. I am not Celestia, Blueblood. I will not give into your every whim to keep you happy out of fear of public image. Now, I hereby ban you from my court for the next two years. Guards!" As she called out, two large stallions, one unicorn and one pegasus, both clad in dark lavender armor with a pink six pointed star adoring the front of the chest plate, stepped out from the shadows on either side of the prince. Blueblood looked around then back to the princess, rage now adoring his face. "You can't do this to me! I'm a prince! I have every right to be here! You can't ban me from court!" The prince called out in rage.

The princess stood from her throne and slowly descended the stairs that led up to her throne. The guards took one look at their princess and took several steps back. The prince was to into his rage to take notice but the lights seemed to dim a bit, while the illusion hiding her wings and fangs rippled but only for a second. "Blueblood, you forget your place. You are a prince but I am an immortal alicorn princess. I have no better. I can't ban you from court? I just did. If you refuse to leave my castle, I'll be forced to show you, exactly why I have no better. In terms of status and power. Is that understood?" The entire time, the prince was oblivious to what was happening, so enthused with his ranting. "No! I don't understand how a mere commoner like yo-" The prince's rant was stop dead when something seemed to grip at his core. A simple look. He made the mistake of looking into the princess' eyes during his rant, in which her eyes had gained a deep crimson hue and seemed to glow for a bit. "Guards. Remove this trash." Her voice, although calm and collective, seemed to vibrate the very air around them. The guards, taking this time to remove the prince before things got out of hoof, took the prince on each side and escorted him out of the castle.

In the meantime, the princess' eyes returned to lavender and the glow ceased as she turned to her scribe with a wry smile upon her maw. "Ink Well, I think I'll call it a day here. Dealing with that sorry excuse for a noble seems to have drained me." The tan unicorn mare standing to the left of her throne smiled sweetly and nodded in understanding. It had been a couple hours since she opened court, which was actually rather short compared to other court sessions but she really wanted to end it early to get started on her investigation into the disappearance of Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich.

The drained princess nodded once to the scribe before turning and exiting the throne room through the door off to the right of her throne, intending to get a few moments rest before she headed out to meet with her investigation team. Something about the disappearance of the filly and her father just didn't sit right with the alicorn. Staring down at the floor as her body moved on auto-pilot, strolling through the corridors of her castle, towards her bedchambers. As she spaced out, her mind wandered to the father and daughter's disappearance. Normally, she'd chalk the strange feeling she had up to her nerves but she couldn't. At least, not this time. Something about Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich vanishing as they had, seemed a bit off as if they hadn't just vanished for no reason.

As the princess' mind swirled with thoughts and theories as to what the feeling was about, her train of thought soon derailed as she heard her name called out. "HEY TWI!" She stopped in her tracks as she turned to see Rainbow Dash flying her way with a smile and a wave of her hoof. "Oh, hey, Rainbow. What brings you by?" The princess greeted and asked as she turned fully to her friend. The rainbow maned pegasus smirked as she landed before the alicorn. "Oh, no reason, was just happened to be taking my usual flight, when I seen you through a window looking lost in thought. So, spill, egghead. What's on your mind?" The brash pegasus explained and asked as she cocked a brow. The guards and servants that wandered the halls paid the two no mind, having grown use to the familiarity the princess and her circle of friends shared. Turning to see the servants and guards lining the halls, the princess turned to the friend and nodded with a grim look. "Not here." She whispered before she motioned with her head for the pegasus to follow her. Taking the hint, the rainbow maned mare trotted off behind the alicorn, towards her bedchambers.

"Alright, egghead. We're alone now. So, spill! What's up?" The pegasus chimed impatiently, wanting to know why her friend looked so lost in thought moments ago and bore such a grim expression. The princess strolled across her room to the open window, closing the curtains before turning back to the pegasus. As she did, she closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "There's been two disappearances in town, Dash." She began as her illusions around her wings, and fangs rippled, fading away, exposing her bat wings and sharp fangs. Her friends knew of her vampirism, so she didn't mind dropping her illusions in front of an of them, thus why she closed the curtains, blocking any passerby from peering into her bedchambers. "Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich have been missing for a month and nopony has seen hide nor hair of either of them. I have a strange feeling their disappearance isn't just a coincidence. I have this feeling that they are connected in some way but I don't know what." As the princess explained, the pegasus sat there, listening before she too, gained a grim expression. Normally, when the princess had such a feeling, she was usually correct. And, if something was happening within Ponyville, may Faust help them all. The Great Darkness flashed through her mind, causing her to visibly shiver at the mere thought.

The pegasus strolled passed the princess and stood, staring off in space with her back facing her alicorn friend as she spoke in a slightly shaky tone. "Wh-what do you th-think might be going on, Twi?" Rainbow Dash was the type to never show fear, no matter what. However, even she couldn't stop the slight fear that slipped into her voice as she peered over her shoulder at her friend. "I do not yet know, Dash. However, I plan on finding out and bringing Diamond and Rich back safely. If something is going on, I'll put a stop to it before it gets out of hoof. I refuse to allow another event like the Great Darkness to occur." As she spoke, her eyes glowed as if showing her determination. The pegasus smiled as she gave a nod before she turned to fully face her friend with her usual cocky grin. "Of course! You can count on me, Twi! Keep me updated, I have to jet. Gotta be at the cloud factory. See ya!" She called as she bolted out the window and into the sky, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake.

Twilight stared at the rainbow trail her friend left, watching as it faded into nothingness before sighing softly and shaking her head. As much as the alicorn wanted to just dismiss the feeling she had as nothing but paranoia, she just couldn't. Something about those disappearances just didn't sit right with her and she was determined to find out. The princess walked to the window her friend escaped from and opened the curtains once again, allowing the afternoon light to bath her bedchambers. Turning, the princess headed for her door as her horn flashed, recasting her illusion spells to hide her wings and fangs. Walking out into the halls, she took a right, headed straight for her investigation team meeting. She had a disappearance to investigate.

Ponyville - Residence of Mr Filthy Rich

"Oh! Good morning, princess! I wasn't expecting you!" The purple maned earth mare chimed as she opened the door to reveal Princess Twilight Sparkle and two ponies, one on either side of her. One, on the left, was a brown unicorn stallion with a reddish-blonde mane and tail, clad in a tan trench coat and sporting a matching fedora. The other, was a black bat pony mare with a dark purple mane and tail, sporting a black trench coat and matching fedora. Both trench coats were long and covered their cutie mark from sight. "I'm sorry to drop by unannounced like this, Mrs Rich. However, I came by to see if I can ask you a few questions, if that were okay? It's about the disappearance of your husband and daughter. I am heading the investigation personally." As the princess explained her unannounced visit, Spoiled Rich waved her left hoof into her home, inviting the three ponies inside. "Oh, why certainly, princess! Anything if it means helping find my beloved husband and beautiful daughter! Would you like some tea?" The rich mare asked as the princess and her team strolled in at the invite, followed with a single shake of her head, denying the mare's question. "No thanks, Mrs Rich. This will take but a moment." The princess followed the earth pony into the living room. Twilight was soon reminded of the nobles back in Canterlot at how the house was massive and filled to the brim with expensive busts, statures, furniture. Anything to show anypony visiting they were very wealthy.

Upon entering the living room, the princess took a seat on an expensive deep purple couch, while her entourage took position behind the couch and their princess, the stallion to her right while the bat mare to her left. "So, Mrs Rich, can you tell us when and where you last seen your husband and daughter please? Don't spare any details. Even the smallest thing could help us find and bring them home." The princess set up straight as a note pad appeared in her magical field as well as a quill, ready to take notes. "Well, I'd say it was about a month ago. Diamond left that morning for school, shortly followed by Filthy. I gave my farewells as well as Diamond her lunch. I got this strange feeling that something was wrong but I just brushed it off as stress and went about my day. When it came time for Diamond to return from school...." Tears began flowing freely as she explained her tale to the princess. "She never showed up. However, I figured she was just taking her time, like always. So, I waited, and waited. After two hours, I got a knock at the door." At this, she paused as she tapped her front hooves together, in which a grey unicorn mare dressed in a maid uniform stepped from the other room with a box of tissues and a cup of freshly brewed tea, placing both on the table in front of her mistress. The maid bowed low to Spoiled but bowed lower to the princess before exiting the room. The extra low bow didn't go unnoticed by the earth pony as her right eye twitched but held her tongue as she picked up a tissue and dabbed at her eyes, "I answered the door, thinking it was Diamond. Oh, how I was going let her how exactly how I felt about her being two hours late. However, much to my dismay, it wasn't my daughter but her teacher, Ms Cheerilee. She let me know my daughter had not attended school that morning. That's when I knew something was wrong. As much as my daughter hated school, well, the learning part, she didn't miss a day. She wasn't the type to skip school. I soon, set out to where Filthy should have been during that time, only to discovered he too, never showed up." That's when the dam broke. Spoiled Rich broke down in uncontrollable sobbing, tears streaming her cheeks.

Through the entire story, Twilight had been taking notes of key information but her notes came to a halt as the rich pony broke down, unable to hold her emotions back any longer. It took five minutes before Spoiled Rich calmed down as the princess watched, unable to say or do anything for the mare, as much as Twilight wished to Faust,that she could. "Is there anything else, Mrs Rich? I know you're hurting and wish for their safe return but if you can remember anything else that could help us. Anything out of the ordinary. Shady looking characters hanging around town, anything." The princess asked in a calm and gentle tone, hoping the rich mare seen something between the time her husband and daughter left that morning and the time her daughter's teacher came by. After a couple moments, the crying mare shook her head slowly, tears still flowing. "No, prin...." She paused for a split second before nodding instead. "Wait a second. I do remember something. I paid it no mind at the time but an hour before Ms Cheerilee showed up, I seen this strange pony standing off in the shadows of the alleyway behind Sugar Cube Corner. The cloak hood was up, shrouding their face and the cloak itself seemed purposely larger than it should have been, as a means to hide the pony's physical characteristic traits, such as gender, cutie mark, etc." Spoiled Rich explained as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue before looking at the princess. "You don't think that strange cloaked pony had anything to do with my family's disappearance, do you, princess?" She asked as fear slowly filled the grieving mare's eyes.

As the Spoiled Rich revealed this new information, the princess jotted down notes. Finally, she closed her note pad, which popped out of existence, a long with her quill. "I am not sure, Mrs Rich, but I intend on finding this mysterious pony." As Twilight replied to the earth mare, she slowly stood from her seat. "Anyway, I believe that'll be all. I'll be on my way. Good day to you, Mrs Rich. And don't worry. I will find both Mr Rich and your daughter. I stake my life on it." With that, the princess gave a small bow, biding Spoiled Rich farewell before turning and heading towards the door, followed by her entourage. "Thank you, princess!" Spoiled Rich called out as the trio exited the Rich estate.

Far away, three cloaked ponies strolled out from the darkness in front of a cliff wall. The lead pony turned their head to and fro, checking if they were followed or not before they strolled forward into the cliff wall, which rippled as the three ponies passed through it. Not stopping in their stride, the cloaked ponies strolled through the dark corridors of the cavern, deep into the mountain. It didn't take long before the trio of ponies to stop in font of a wooden door, which the lead pony lifted their hoof and tapped the door a couple times. As they patiently waited for the door to be answered, the lead pony pulled out a large brown sack, which had a moisture building across its' bottom. After a couple minutes of waiting, the door finally creaked open, revealing a chestnut colored stallion with a sleek black mane. He still wore his cloak but his hood was currently down as he addressed the three ponies. "Ah! Excellent work, my faithful subjects." The stallion gently took the sack in his hoof, pulling it close to him. "Well done you three." The stallion praised the three with a smirk, revealing his sharp fangs. The three ponies dropped into a deep bow. "We live to serve, master." The lead pony replied in a deep, yet strangely feminine tone before they stood. "Glory to the crimson star." All three ponies chimed in unison before turning and retreating back into the cavern's depths.

Filthy looked at the sack and grinned a large fanged smile as his eyes glowed a deep crimson before stepped back, closing his chamber door. The stallion strolled over to a large black caldron sitting atop a fire with a bubbling purple substance inside. Placing the sack on his work table, just to the right of the boiling caldron. "Finally, my queen shall live again and all of Equestria will be her hunting grounds." Filthy proclaimed as he opened the sack, reaching inside and pulled out five items. Some kind of flower roots, a small vial of thick green liquid, a dead caterpillar, what appeared to be a small spleen of some kind, and what seemed like a fruit of some sort. "Shrivelfig." He took the strange fruit and dropped it into the caldron. "Daisy Roots." Next he grabbed the flower roots, dropping them in the bubbling purple substance. Next he picked up the small vial of thick green liquid, uncorking it and pouring it into the caldron. "Leach Juice." Once the vial was emptied, he sat it aside before grabbing the dead caterpillar and small spleen. "One dead caterpillar." He dropped said ingredient into the bubbling mix. "And lastly, the spleen of a rat." He listed as he dropped the bloody spleen into the mix before picking up a long wooden stick, placing it inside the caldron and began stirring with a fanged smile upon his maw.

After a couple moments of stirring, the stallion picked up vial he had waiting on his table and dipped it into the purple substance, which by now was giving off an eerie purple glow that seemed to pulsate in time with a heart beat. Once the vial was filled, Filthy lifted the vial up to eye level, staring at his creation and ticket to reviving his beloved queen. "Soon, my queen. You'll walk among these mortals again." The stallion proclaimed as he threw his head back, letting out a chilling laughter that echoed throughout the cavern's many passageways. Anypony who happened to cross by the secret entrance to the cavern would hear a faint chanting coming from within the mountain. "Long live the queen! Long live the queen!" It sounded like many ponies chanting in unison but it would be faint for anypony that passed by, barely able to make out where the eerie chanting was coming from.

As the night finally settled in across Equestria, the moon glowed brilliantly across the sleeping land. However, if one were to look skyward, they'd take notice of a new star appearing in the sky, next to the moon. Whether it had been there all along but glowed so faint to be noticed, or it just now appearing in the sky, was clear but the eerie thing about the star was, it's glow was unlike the rest. This one glowed with a deep crimson glow, easily out shining even Solaris, which was said to be the brightest star in the sky. Whatever it was, one thing was certain. A darkness was on the horizon and it threatened to smother the light.

To Be Continued...

Interlude

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