The L.R.E. Organization

Chapters

1. Prologue
2. Early Years (Applejack)
3. Early Years (Rainbow Dash)
4. Early Years (Twilight Sparkle)
5. Who You Gonna Call?
6. First Day
7. Under Our Spell
8. Venom-enal
9. Love And/Or Duty
10. Interdimensional Affairs Dept.
11. Dark Nostalgia
12. The Big Day (Part 1)
13. The Big Day (Part 2) [FINAL]

1. Prologue

Applejack ran as fast as she could, swiftly dodging every tree in her way. She had been running for a while now, her white shirt was drenched in sweat, but no matter how fast she ran, he was always there; behind trees, between bushes, on top of boulders, she just couldn't lose him. She tried to avoid him by hiding in a deep cave, but her escape came to an end - a dead end. There were only to exits now: the one she came from and the hole on the cailing of the cave, several feet above her. The cave was pitch black, except for the one spot illuminated by the moonlight coming from the hole above her.

The clack of hoofsteps against solid rock were a guarantee that she wasn't alone in there. He finally revealing himself by stepping into the light, and Applejack was finally able to take a good look of him: his tall, slender body, his suit as dark as that cave, his pale, furless body, and his face - or, in fact, the lack of one. On his flanks there was a mark, a crossed circle, but it looked more like it was carved there than a Cutie Mark that appeared there normally.

Dark tendrils started to stretch from his back, reaching for the mare. She closed her eyes and shouted:

"NOW!"

Above them, right outside the hole in the ceiling, was a pegasus mare wearing an unbuttoned dark magenta suit with a white shirt similar to Applejack's underneath it. She was holding a stake with both hooves - the sleeves of the suit rolled back, allowing her to have a better grip -, which was holding a chain in place which, in turn, was keeping a large cage without a bottom hovering above the hole.

"Took you long enough!" Rainbow Dash said as she pulled the stake, releasing the chain and letting the cage fall, right on top of the faceless stallion, trapping him inside. He tried touching one of the bars, but the electricity coursing through it shocked him, making him pull his hoof back. She flew down right after that and landed beside Applejack. "Alright, we did it!" she said as they shared a hoofbump.

But it wasn't over yet. The pony's black tentacles wrapped themselves around the bars, completely ignoring the hundreds of thousands of volts coursing through his body, and began to easily bend them, slowly creating an exit for him.

"Uh, Twi?" Applejack called. "Ah think it's yer turn now."

From the same entrance Applejack and the now trapped pony emerged, now entered a third pony, Twilight Sparkle, wearing the same suit Rainbow Dash was wearing, only without the rolled back sleeves and buttoned all the way up to her neck. She was levitating a spell book in front of her face and carefully reading every single rune.

"Chop chop, egghead!" Rainbow Dash said. "He'll get away if you keep your muzzle buried in that book!"

"Don't worry, I got this!" Twilight said as she removed a blank page from the book, then proceeded to draw symbols on it. She drew the last symbol at the same time the slender pony bent on the bars an opening large enough for him to go through.

"TWILIGHT!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash shouted at the same time.

The moment the albino pony took his first step outside the cage, Twilight touched his blank face with the slip of paper. It began to stretch until it was completely wrapped around its head. The runes glowed red and the tall pony ceased to move completely.

"There." the unicorn said. "Tame as a kitten!"

"Are you sure?" the pegasus asked as she poked the pony's head, but obtaining no reaction whatsoever.

"That's fancy magics for y'all." the earh pony said with a chuckle.

"Slendermane of the Everfree Forest..." Twilight said. "You're under arrest!"

* * *

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight and the tame Slendermane were waiting by the entrance of the Everfree Forest. Princess Celestia was already raising the sun in the horizon when the ponies they were expecting appeared.

Four pegasi landed not too far from there, two of them pulling a carriage and the other two pulling a cage. From the carriage, emerged a fifth pony, this one a cyan unicorn, wearing the same suit as Twilight.

"Not bad, you three." she complimented them. "You have improved quite a lot since your first mission!"

"Thanks, Trixie!" Twilight said as they watched the four pegasi carrying the white pony to the cage-carriage. "But I guess it's because we're getting used to the job, really."

Trixie levitated a quill and a clipboard from her saddlebags. "Slendermane..." she crossed the empty box next to his name on the list. "...check! And this was the last report of supernatural creature sighting we received. Congratulations, fillies! Our job is officially done!"

"Vacations, here I come!" Rainbow Dash said while pumping her hoof in the air.

"The applebuckin' season is jus' 'round the corner." Applejack said. "Big Mac an' Apple Bloom might need an extra pair of hind legs!"

"Well, there are some books in the HQ library thay I would like to check." Twilight said while rubbing her chin.

But while they were celebrating the start of their time-out, a small cloud of magic smoke appeared in front of Trixie and, with a flash, turned itself into a scroll. She used her magic to unroll it and began to read.

"Uh-oh..." she said.

"I don't like the sound of 'uh-oh's." Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm sorry, but I think our vacations will have to be postponed."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "What is it this time?"

"According to Chief Harshwhinny, a Giant Radscorpion appeared in Canterlot from seemingly out of nowhere."

"A Giant Radscorpion?" Twilight gasped. "That thing's venom is ten times more poisionous than a Manticore's!"

"That is why Chief Harshwhinny is giving the Yellow Code. All personnel must go immediately!"

"Then what the hay are we doin', standin' here an' goofin' off?" Applejack asked, stomping her hoof on the ground. "Let's move out!"

Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Trixie nodded and the four mares sprinted toward the carriage.

~ ~ ~

I suppose you might be feeling a little lost, not knowing what we're doing or why we're doing, but believe me, being part of the L.R.E. Organization is not only a great honor, but a big responsibility. Oh, you don't know what that is? Well, let me give you the quick explanation: "L.R.E." means "Locate, Restrain or Exterminate". Basically, our job is to fight monsters threatening our peaceful life in the magical land of Equestria. Well, I guess I could give you the long explanation, but no one likes exposition, right? Don't worry, though. You'll understand soon enough!

Author's Note

Whoa, it feels so good to finally make this a thing! The story was here on FiMFiction for WEEKS, but only now I decided to write something. Mostly because TM:E's epilogue is approaching and I'm running out of ideas for it but, at the same time, L.R.E. is just starting, and my brain is filled to the brim with ideas! So, now that I think about it, I suppose I just wrote this to relieve some of the pressure in my head. If you're a reader of TM:E, don't worry. Now that L.R.E. is officially alive, I think I can get back to working on it now.

inb4 L.R.E. is a parody of S.C.P.

2. Early Years (Applejack)

Year 984 CE (Celestial Empire). Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack, age 7, was sitting on the fence, watching her father working on the orchard.

"Pa is so strong!" she said. "Ah wonder if Ah'll be a strong as you one day..."

"Of course ya will, Jackie!" he said before bucking another tree with a single leg. "After all, yer mah kid, right? Y'all will be as strong as yer Pa one day!"

"Did you said something, darling?" a female voice came from behind her. The filly turned around and smiled.

"Ma!" she said before jumping from the fence and hugging her mother, who hugged her back.

"Back from the market already, sugar?" her father asked.

"Eeyup!" she answered. "I couldn't buy much stuff, though. Not many ponies go out these days because of... You-know-what!"

"What are ya talkin' about, Ma?" little Applejack asked.

"Nothing, sugarcube. So, did your father said something about you becoming as strong as him?"

"U-Uh, Ah meant to say that yer gonna be as strong as yer Ma, heheheheh."

Applejack and her mother laughed. Her father started to laugh as well.

"When are y'all comin' in?" Granny Smith called from the porch of the house. "Dinner's ready."

"We better go in quickly." the mare said. "Your Granny Smith gets really cranky when we leave her waiting."

"That's my Ma for ya." the stallion said before kicking one last tree. "Ah'll just carry those bushels to the barn an' we can go."

* * *

That night, Applejack woke up to the sound of a howl. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with a foreleg.

"Is it Zap Apple Season already?" she asked to nopony in particular. Her throat was dry, so she decided to drink a glass of water. The moment she opened her bedroom door, she heard murmurs coming from downstairs.

"...something Ah have to do. Not as a householder or as the owner of Sweet Apple Acres, but as a son, a husband an' a father." she heard her father saying.

"Sugarcube, please, reconsider." this time it was her mother speaking. "I don't want you doing anything reckless!"

"Ah know, sugar, Ah want to stay here an' hug y'all 'til mornin' comes, but mah instincts are tellin' me to go out there an' kill that thing!"

"The Mayor sent a letter to them earlier today. Leave it to the professionals!"

"Sugar, Ah have fifteen Shooting Contest medals, Ah am a professional."

"Ma? Pa?" Applejack called. Her parents looked at her.

"Jackie? What are ya doin' up this late at night?" her father asked.

"Ah just wanted a glass o' water. Are ya goin' somewhere, Pa?"

Her father sighed. "Jackie, Pa has to... Chase a varmint outta our property."

"Them rabbits again?" she asked.

"Somethin'... A lil' bigger!" he said while tightening the grip on his hunting rifle. "Ah'll be back in the mornin', alright?"

She nodded. Her father removed his hat and placed it on his little filly's head.

"Can ya hold it for me? Ah don't want to get it dirty!"

"Sure thing, Pa!"

The stallion hugged his wife. "Take good care of our kids 'til Ah'm back, ok?"

He then opened the door and left. Applejack's mother leaned against it, sighing. Applejack sat beside her and nuzzled her hind leg.

"Don't worry, Ma! Pa will be back in the mornin', remember?"

"I want to believe in that..." she whispered to herself while stroking her daughter's mane.

They just sat there for several minutes. Applejack was almost falling asleep again when she was startled by a noise coming from outside.

"What was that?" she asked her mother.

"A-A gunshot." she unconsciously replied. They then heard another. And another. The mare closed her eyes and bit her lip. After a few moments of silence, she ran to the kitchen, grabbed the largest knife she could find and returned.

"Ma?" Applejack asked.

"You stay here! I will help your father. If something happens, wake up your granny and your brother, then take your sister to the basement, alright?"

"But Ma--"

"Please, Applejack. Can I count on you?"

"R-Right. Ya can count on me!"

"Good girl!" she opened the door and ran, disappearing in the darkness of the night.

Applejack sat there until sunrise, staring at the door, waiting for her parents to return, but they never did. The first pony to get up that morning was Granny Smith.

"What are ya doin' up this early, young'un?" she asked after a big yawn.

"Waitin' for Ma an Pa." she said.

"Where did they go?"

"Pa said they were gonna chase a varmint away. He took his thing with him."

"'Thing'?"Granny Smith knew that's what her granddaughter called the family rifle and looked at the wall where it was supposed to be, but the only thing there were the old, rusty hooks. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Without thinking twice, she summoned all the strength on her tired legs she could muster and ran.

Applejack decided to follow her grandmother. After a few moments of runing around the orchard, Granny Smith suddenly stopped.

"Did ya find them, Granny?" she tried to look past her grandmother, but the elder pony covered her eyes with a foreleg.

"D-Don't look, Applejack."

But before Granny Smith could completely cover her eyes, Applejack saw it. The image that would be forever burned in her mind like a photography: her parents, lying on the grass, with large slashes and bite marks on their bodies, both covered in blood; even though they were no longer alive, they were still holding hooves.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Applejack saw ponies from her bedroom window. Curiosity took the best of her and silently approached them. She hid behind a tree and watched them. Out of the three ponies, she only recognized the Mayor, the other two were complete strangers. They were wearing dark magenta suits, brown pants and black shoes. She also saw some kind of badge pinned to their suits, a blue shield with a smaller, yellow shield in the middle.

"This is getting out of control!" the Mayor said. "The Apples are the seventh and eighth victims of this monster. Something must be done!"

"We're working on it, Mr. Mayor!" one of the ponies said. "So, what are we dealing with here, Sonata?"

A fourth pony, a dark grey unicorn mare with brown mane and wearing the same clothes as the other two, joined the group. She adjusted the black-framed glasses on her muzzle and began to talk:

"Based on the pattern of the cuts and bite marks, I'd say either a werewolf or a lycan. And since it's not full moon yet, only one of those can be the culprit."

Applejack gasped. Her uncle told her stories about those creatures and she was well aware how terrifying they are. She turned around and ran as fast as she could back home. If there was a monster on the loose, she didn't wanted to be outside, where she could very well be its next meal.

The years passed. Applejack grew up into a fine, strong, honest mare and eventually took over the family business. But the culprit, the one who took her parents away from her, was never caught. She tried to live a normal life after this, but the sadness and anger she felt never left her heart. But everything changed in one fateful day.

Author's Note

So, Sonata, is it true that you were once a member of the L.R.E. Organization?

3. Early Years (Rainbow Dash)

Year 989 CE (Celestial Empire). Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash, age 10, was once again forced to stay after class due to bad behavior. She was already used to it, but flying home without a friend to talk to - or, in multiple cases, show off to - was always a bore. It was usually a quiet and quick fly home but, this time, something caught her attention. A large shadow flew past her. She quickly looked up, but whatever cast the shadow was already too far away for her to recognize.

"What... What just happened? Whoever that was, it was so much faster than me!" young Rainbow Dash frowned. "Nopony is faster than me. Nopony!"

Rainbow Dash turned around and flew in the same direction the shadow had gone. After a few minutes flying at top speed, the pegasus reached a mountain.

"Wow..." she said. "It's in the same level as Cloudsdale. This mountain must be huge!" her ear twitched when she heard a very faint noise coming from somewhere within the mountain. "Maybe he or she went in there." she said before striking a pose. "Detective Rainbow Dash is now on the case!"

She flew around the mountain until she found a large cave on it. It was pitch black in there and apparently quite deep. The cold air coming from it made her shiver a little, but she wasn't about to turn around and flee.

"I should have brought a lighter." she mumbled as she entered the cave. To guide herself, Rainbow Dash pressed a hoof against a wall and proceeded while dragging it. A very faint smell reached her nostrils, but it didn't bothered her, so she proceeded. But the smell was slowly getting stronger. Soon it was so strong that she had to cover her muzzle with a wing.

"Ugh, is this some kind of dumpster?" she thought. "This place smells just like one of Fluttershy's birdhouses. Only, like, ten times worse! I wonder if there's any treasure in here, though. That would be awesome!"

Her vision started to slowly get brighter. It didn't took long for her to see why: the walls were staring to have holes; not very big ones, only enough for her hoof to go through, but it was enough to make it possible to see. She gasped when she saw the last thing she expected to see in a mountain: a very large bird's nest. Inside the nest she saw three chicks. Or, at least, she assumed were chicks, because each one was as big as her.

They didn't reacted when they first saw her, only watched her carefully, ocasinally tilting their heads.

"Hey there, little guys." she said. "Wow, aren't you big? I bet Fluttershy would love to see animals like you!" she looked around a bit. "Where's your mom? Huh, maybe it was that thing I saw earlier? Wow, your mom sure is a great flier, eh?" Rainbow Dash extended her hoof to pet one, but pulled it back as soon as one of the chicks tried to peck it. "Hey, what's the big idea? I'm not food!"

"G-Ge... Get... Out..." she heard somepony whisper.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and flew up a little; inside the big nest was a sight that almost made her lose her lunch, breakfast and dinner from last night: several pony bones scattered around, most of them broken or with flesh still attached to it. Then, she saw him: a light blue pegasus stallion with dark blue mane. His body was covered covered in bruises, scratches, peck marks. Large chunks of flesh and one of his wings were missing. Rainbow Dash's wings clamped in fear and she fell on her rump. Even trembling in fear she found the strenght to tackle the chicks to the side and go to where the stallion was.

"Are you ok, mister?! Don't worry, I'll go get help!!" she nearly yelled.

"The... The parent..." he said with his raspy voice. "She'll... Be b-back... S-Soon..."

"What?" she asked. "So-Sorry, I-I can't understand what you're saying!"

They heard a loud screech and Rainbow Dash quickly turned her head. Behind her was a very large, black hawk-like bird. The pegasus almost emptied her bladder then and there.

"Fly..." the stallion said. "FLY, YOU FOOL!"

The giant black hawk tried to peck her, but she jumped up on the last second. The monster didn't gave up, though, and still tried to catch her. She tried to help the fallen stallion, but she was too late and the chicks were feeding off his now lifeless corpse. She turned around and flew as fast as she could.

"It's no use!" she thought. "That thing is very fast, you saw it earlier. It's gonna get you and you will be those baby monsters' dinner!"

But, to her surprise, nothing happened. She looked back and noticed that nothing was following her. Relieved that she had survived, she did the only thing she could think of: fly back home and tell her parents.

Rainbow Dash's parents gave her the scolding of her life. She got grounded for a whole month, but her parents were also glad that she got out of there unharmed. Soon after that, they warned the authorities. Not even 24 hours after that traumatic event, ponies knocked on their door. They were three pegasi, all of them wearing dark magenta suits, brown pants and black shoes. The three ponies also had a blue and yellow shield badge each.

They asked the filly many questions, and she answered all of them the best she could. After the "interview", they asked if she could take them where she saw the black bird, but her parents were against it, so she just pointed at the general direction of the mountain. Hours later, the trio reported that the bird and its spawns had been slain.

That very day, Rainbow Dash made a silent vow: she would spend every waking training to be the best flier Equestria has ever seen cross its skies, then join the Wonderbolts to use those flying skills to help every pony in danger anywhere they were needed. She would never leave a single pony hanging ever again!

4. Early Years (Twilight Sparkle)

Year 987 CE (Celestial Empire). Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle, age 9, walked down the streets of the capital of Equestria, her muzzle buried in a book like usual. All the other fillies around her age thought it was weird for her to be more interested in studies than friends, but they didn't bothered her with questions. She was snapped back to reality when she heard her brother calling:

"Twily? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hi, Shining Armor!" she said with a smile. "I wasn't really paying attention where I was going, I'm sorry."

"You should leave now." he said while nudging her with his head. "Something... Bad happened here."

"What happened?"

"No-Nothing you're supposed to know, Twily. Please, go home now, before--"

"Officer Armor!" a stallion called.

"Uh-oh..." he mumbled before turning around and saluting. "Y-Yes, sir?"

"Mind telling me who is that little filly and what is she doing in a crime scene?" a dark brown unicorn stallion with yellow mane asked.

"S-Sir! She's my little sister, sir! She was just passing by, sir!"

"Is that so?" the stallion stood in front of Twilight Sparkle, looking down at her. "Didn't you saw the 'Do Not Cross' tape back there?"

"I-I'm sorry, Mister, I wasn't looking at where I was going..." she said, feeling very intimidated by the bulky stallion.

"Is that so? What about your big brother here? He wasn't leaking information to the public, was he?"

"S-Sir, I would never--" Shining Armor started.

"Quiet, Armor. I am talking to the filly. So, was he?"

Twilight Sparkle shook her head.

"Oh, are you sure? But, looking at you, I can tell that you are quite the curious filly, aren't you? One of those who always has a book by her side?"

This time, Twilight smiled before nodding. Her love for learning was something that brought her pride and joy.

"Then why don't you come over here for a second?"

Before she could reply or Shining Armor could object, the stallion wrapped a foreleg around the filly and led her to a back alley not too far from there.

"Sir, I don't think she--"

"Remember when I said 'Quiet, Armor'?"

Shining Armor whimpered and silently followed them. Twilight's eyes widened when she saw what was happening in there: a few Royal Guards were examining the body of a pale mare lying on the ground. At first Twilight didn't know what was going on, but when the rancid smell of a rotting corpse hit her nostrils, she felt sick. Twilight's sight almost glanced past it, but she also noticed a pair of small holes on the corpse's neck.

"So, what's the causa mortis?" he asked.

"Sir!" one of the guards saluted him. "We'd say it was loss of blood, sir, but not a single drop was found on the crime scene. We have yet to confirm this, but it seems that she was... Well... Sucked dry!"

The sight was too disturbing for someone her age and Twilight tried to flee from the scene, but the Captain of the Royal Guard wouldn't let her.

"She this young mare?" he said, holding Twilight's head in place so she wouldn't be able to look at anything or anywhere else. The longer she stared, the stronger was the sensation of bile raising in her throat and tears running down her face. "We have no idea when or what killed her, but she was probably just a curious filly who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, like you. So, I suggest that you look at where you're going. This time you ended up at a crime scene investigation. Next time, you might walk right into the next crime scene we will eventually investigate, and Canterlot will have one less curious filly wandering where she shouldn't! Are we clear?"

Twilight nodded as fast as she could, no longer trying to hold back her tears. The Captain then let go of her and patted her head. She immediately turned around and ran.

"Officer Armor, would you kindly escort that youngster back home?"

"Sir!" Shining Armor saluted him before running after his sister. "Twily, wait up!"

He caught up with her when she stopped to empty her stomach in a nearby trash can. Shining Armor sat by her side and aided her by rubbing her back.

"There, there, it's ok, it's ok." he said.

"Sh-Shining..." she said, turning her head to look at him, her eyes red due to the crying. "Am... Am I really going to end just like her?"

He picked Twilight up and hugged her. "Don't listen to the Captain, Twilight. He's just a big, mean jerk."

She hugged him back. "I-I was so, so scared."

"I know, I know, but it's over now. I will never let anything happen to you! BBBFF promise! Let's go back home now, okay?"

She nodded.

* * *

That night, Twilight did what she loved to do the most before going to sleep: she hid under her blankets with a lantern and her favorite books. Since her parents were very busy, they only got home after she was asleep and, with Shining Armor's new job as a Royal Guard, he was very tired when he got home and always went to sleep even earlier than her, nopony could read her a bedtime story, so she did it herself. She didn't wanted to accidently wake up her brother, whose bed was on the other corner of the room, with the light of the lantern, and that's why she hid under the blankets to read. But, that night, something unexpected happened:

Her reading session was interrupted by the sound of a trash can being knocked over right outside her window, which was right above a back alley. Twilight was always fascinated by pets, but since her father was allergic to cat fur and her mother was allergic to dog fur, pets were strictly forbidden in that house. She loved to observe and feed the street pets that took shelter in that alley.

Grabbing the can of treats she bought and hid under her bed, she ran straight to the window, opened it and looked around for the animal with the help of her lantern. But what she saw there wasn't a dog or a cat, but a mare and a stallion; the stallion was pressing the mare against the wall of her house and had his muzzle pressed against her neck. At first she thought they were doing adult stuff, but when she saw the look of sheer terror on the mare's face looking up at her, she knew something was wrong.

"HEY!" Twilight shouted. "LET GO OF HER!"

She then threw the can of treats at the stallion, hitting him on the head. He let go of the mare, who fell on the ground, then looked up at her. She felt the blood leave her face when she saw the face of the dark brown stallion with yellow mane staring at her with bright, glowing red eyes. She almost screamed in terror when he grinned at her. She immediately closed her window and sat on the ground, her heart pouding with nearly double the speed.

"Remember what I told you ealier today?" her heart now almost stopped when she heard that voice whispering those words in her ears. "Looks like Canterlot will actually have one less curious filly."

Twilight's body was frozen in fear. She wanted to run, she wanted to scream, she wanted to call her big brother, but her body wasn't responding.

The Captain of the Royal Guard was suddenly sent flying against a wall. Twilight turned her head and saw her brother standing behind her in a fighting stance. She couldn't see from where she was sitting, but he had an expression of pure rage.

"Officer Armor." the Captain said. "How dare you attack your superior?"

"Well, sir..." he said, the sir dripping with sarcasm. "...you can boss me around all you want, you can call me names, you can give me silly orders, you can humiliate me in front of my friends and my marefriend, but you will never, I said NEVER threaten my sister and get out without broken bones!"

He grinned again, showing his long, sharp and still covered in blood fangs. "This sounds like insubordination!"

"H-H-He's a vampire!" Twilight said. "I-I don't get it! He was in the sun, vampires burn when touched by sunlight, right?"

He chuckled. "For a bookworm, you sure are dumb! You shouldn't trust the words of novelists. We don't burn when we touch sunlight. We just get a little weak. Just a little! I can still crush pathetic excuses for guards like you, Mr. Armor, without even trying."

"A stallion, a captain, a vampire, you could be an Alicorn and I still wouldn't care!" Shining Armor said. "Twilight, go hide."

Twilight immediately hid under Shining Armor's bed. The vampire laughed!

"You call that hiding? If you think this will protect you from me, you couldn't be more wrong!"

"You are the wrong one, sir!" he said. "That's just so she won't get hurt by accident while I kick your flank!"

He laughed even more. "Oh, I can't believe you're serious! But this is your lucky day; I was feeling bored and looking for entertainment, so I won't kill you immediately. Now come, hit me with your best shot!"

Twilight watched as her brother charged against the stallion, but he dodged it with a jump, landing on Shining Armor's back with an elbow drop.

"Is that all? I taught you better, Armor!"

Shining Armor got up and charged against him once again. The vampire smirked and jumped once again, but the Royal Guard wouldn't fall for the same trick twice; the moment he jumped, Shining turned around and kicked him with both forelegs. The vampire hit the wall, making a large crack appear on it. But he simply got up and smiled.

"That's better!"

With a supernatural speed, the vampire headbutted the stallion, sending him flying. Before Shining Armor could get up, he sat on the unicorn's chest and proceeded to punch his face.

"There, now you got me all bored again." he said nonchalantly while punching the already swollen face of Shining Armor.

"GET OFF MY BIG BROTHER!" Twilight shouted as she cast a spell. The spell was supposed to push him away from her big brother, but it ended up throwing him out of the window.

While still in midair, a pair of bat wings appeared on his back and he tried to fly back up, but the moment he saw Twilight Sparkle's eyes glowing white, he deciced that retreating was the best option. The moment her turned around, though, he felt a tug on his tail and couldn't fly away anymore. He tried to flap his wings as hard as possible, but he wouldn't budge. He looked back and saw a magic rope wrapped around his tail. The magic rope was being cast by Twilight's horn, her eyes still glowing white. He saw Shining Armor getting up, holding the very spear he game him when the white unicorn graduated.

"You're dismissed, sir!"

Shining Armor jumped out of the window and, for the first time since his transformation, the vampire tasted of fear. The adrenaline made it easy for Shining Armor to trespass his Captain with the spear. When they fell on the alley, Shining was the only one to get up. He sat on his haunches and sighed.

"How am I going to explain this to the Princess?" he said.

"There's no need to!"

Shining Armor immediately looked up and saw the ruler of Equestria landing right in front of him, his little sister lying on her back, her eyes no longer glowing white.

"Pr-Pr-Princess Celestia!" he said while bowing. "I-It's not what-- I--- He-- We--"

She lifted her hoof and Shining Armor immediately shut his mouth. "I just one thing to say, Mr. Armor."

Shining Armor looked down, waiting for the Princess to tell him he would spend the rest of his life in a dungeon, but what she said was completely unexpected:

"You don't truly kill a vampire until you cut off his head."

Shining Armor looked up and saw her smiling down at him.

"Y-You know he...?"

"I suspected there was a vampire among the Guards." she said. "But vampires are very good at concealing their identitites, and I couldn't just arrest every single pony I suspected to be it! The moment I felt Twilight's magic surge, I knew something was wrong and came as fast as I could. To my surprise, the vampire was here and, to my double surprise, he was already defeated. By both of you!"

"So, I'm not in trouble?"

"Trouble?" Celestia giggled. "You deserve a medal!" she rubbed her chin with her hoof, pondering for a moment. "Well, your batallion will need a new Captain now. What do you say, Mr. Armor? Or, should I say, Captain Shining Armor?"

The information of his promotion took a few moments to register in his brain, but when it did, he saluted her. "I gladly accept your offer, Your Highness!"

The vampire, still lying on his belly with a spear on his back, chuckled.

"So that's how it works, huh?" he said. "I'm not even dead yet, and you already took my place?"

"Well, we can fix this immediately!" the Princess turned to Shining Armor. "Captain, can you finish the job? I have to check how's that mare he attacked!"

Shining Armor saluted her and approached his ex-superior.

"I taught you well, Captain Armor." he said with a chuckle.

"Want to know a fun fact?" he asked. "When I got home earlier today, Twilight was reading a very interesting book called 'Alice In Wonderland'! And that book has a quote that fits very well in this situation!"

"Oh, is that so? What, pray tell, is that quote?"

Shining Armor created a rapier with his magic and held it on his right foreleg, then raised it.

"'Off with your head.'"

And his head was no longer part of his cursed body.

Author's Note

Ok, I am done with the flashbacks! For now...
And today my college classes start again, so I have no idea when I'll be able to write more! Stay tuned! :derpytongue2:

5. Who You Gonna Call?

Morning in Ponyville shimmers.

Morning in Ponyville shines.

But not that one particular morning in Ponyville.

That morning in Ponyville was rainy, dark, gloomy and covered in blood.

~ ~ ~

A crowd of ponies surrounded a house; some of them had umbrellas, but most of them were too concerned to be bothered by the downpour. Moments before Celestia raised the sun, two ponies who happened to be passing by heard a scream coming from that house. The moment they noticed the front door had been kicked down, they immediately informed the authorities. When they returned with three police officers, curious ponies began to gather around the house. Moments after they went in, two of them returned outside. The first, a pegasus, took off back to the police station of Ponyville. The second, an earth pony, blocked the entrance with a yellow tape:

CRIME SCENE - DO NOT CROSS

Throughout the day, several ponies went in and out of the house, most of them police officers and forensics ponies. A couple of hours later, a carriage pulled by two pegasi landed right in front of the house and one single pony emerged from it. It was an azure mare wearing a purple magician hat and cape, both with stars on them; she was a familiar face in Ponyville and most ponies recognized her immediately: the showmare Trixie. Though she had no clothes underneath that cloak last time she was seen in Ponyville, this time she had a dark magenta suit and brown pants, as well as a small blue and yellow badge pinned to the collar of her suit.

"What the hay is she doing here?" Rainbow Dash, one of the ponies in the crowd, asked.

"Ah hope she's not up to not good again..." Applejack said.

"That's what I'm about to find out." Twilight Sparkle said while approaching the house. Rainbow Dash and Applejack followed her. They didn't went far, though, because the moment they got too close to the crime scene, two police ponies crossed their spears in front of the trio, blocking their path.

"This is a crime scene, civilians are not allowed in here." one of them said.

"Oh, yeah? Then what is she doin' there?" Applejack asked, pointing her hoof at Trixie, who was talking to one of the forensic investigators.

"She is here representing the L.R.E. Organization." the second police pony said. "In other words, she has full access to the crime scene and collected evidence."

"'L.R.E.'?" Twilight said while rubbing her chin. "Where have I heard those letters before?"

"Now that I could take a good look at her, those clothes are kind of familar." Rainbow Dash said. "Can't put my hoof on it, but I'm sure I've seen those same colors before!"

"Hm... Now that ya mentioned it, Ah think Ah saw that uniform before too!"

"That's it!" Twilight said. "L.R.E., the organization of highly trained ponies that takes care of supernatural and extremely dangerous creatures!"

"'Supernatural'?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash asked at the same time.

She nodded. "Princess Celestia told me about them a few years ago. They are highly respected across all of Equestria, and so skilled that a single team of three can subdue a fully grown Manticore with ease!"

"Whoa..." Applejack said.

"Cool..." Rainbow Dash added. "But wait, then why is Trixie one of them? I don't remember her being anything close to 'skilled' last time we met!"

Trixie, who was now standing right beside them, cleared her throat, startling the mares.

"It's not polite to sneak up on ponies, ya know?" Applejack said, but Trixie remained silent, looking at the three ponies from head to hoof, evaluating them.

"Alright, you seem fit enough. Gentlecolts, let them through."

Both police officers nodded and moved out of the way. Trixie walked toward the house, but the trio did not budged.

"I don't have all day, you know? Follow me!" she said.

Twilight, Dash and Applejack looked at each other, then shrugged before following Trixie.

"So, why do you want us here?" Twilight asked.

Trixie turned around and pointed at Rainbow Dash. "You! You have great wings, feathers and muscles, which means that you are a great flier, perfect for high speed chases."

Rainbow Dash smirked and flapped her wings. "Yeah, I am pretty awesome!"

Trixie moved her hoof and was now pointing at Applejack. "You! I can see that you have very developed muscles, especially on your hind legs. I bet you are not only a great athlete, but also a very capable fighter, perfect for close range combat."

Applejack looked away, smiling blushing a little. "Aw, shucks!"

Trixie finally pointed at Twilight. "And you! Twilight Sparkle, protégé of Princess Celestia herself, not only a highly skilled magician but also a scholar! Perfect for all kinds of support."

"Why are you suddenly praising all of us?" she asked. "It weird, considering that last time we met, you were still trying to prove that you were better than all of us!"

"Leave the past behind, Sparkle. This is the present and I need your assistance!"

"With what? And why?"

"I need capable ponies by my side here. The Organization is super busy, so I had to come here alone, so I'll work with my surroundings."

"Wow, that L.R.E. must be really great." Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, if they managed to change Trixie, of all ponies, into a completely different pony, they are at least half a Dash in the Awesome scale!"

"Can we not talk outside?" Trixie asked. "We need to discuss a few confidential things!"

Trixie entered the house, soon followed by the other three. The whole house was a mess; furniture destroyed, tables flipped, decorations smashed and, in the middle of everything, the bloodied corpse of a mare.

"First, let's see how good you are at deducting, Sparkle. Tell me what you think happened here!"

After recovering from the shock of seeing a dead body for the second time in her life, Twilight took a deep breath and analyzed her surroundings.

"The perpetrator entered through the front door, that's a given." she said. "The victim was probably already in this room, because the other rooms are mostly untouched, so the killer destroyed everything between the two of them. Unfortunately, she was caught and, the cause of death is..." she approached her face to the body. "...hemorrhage. He throat was ripped open and, judging by the wound, it was a bite. Big maw with very sharp teeth. The flesh wasn't consumed, which means that the killer wasn't hungry, it killed her just for..." she gulped. "...fun."

Trixie clapped her hooves. "Bravo, Sparkle! I'm impressed. Now, let's get down to business!" Trixie levitated a clipboard from her saddlebag concealed underneath her cloak. "This information was not released to the public but, eighteen years ago, a lycan was sighted here in this town and claimed eight victims. Sadly, by the time the organization was contacted, the lycan was long gone."

"Long gone?!" Applejack nearly shouted. "Ya mean that varmint is still out an' about?!"

"It says here that they were looking for an entire year, but couldn't find a single clue, so they... Well... Ended the search. I don't know many details, I wasn't a member back then, all my knowledge regarding the incident come from this single piece of paper."

Applejack grabbed Trixie by the collar, surprising all three mares.

"Then let's not waste any more time!" she growled. "We're goin' after that monster, we're gonna kill it, an' we're gonna avenge all the ponies killed by it, ya hear me?!"

Trixie released herself from Applejack's grip. "I know we're gonna do that, it's my job. What's wrong you? Geez..."

"Are you ok, Applejack?" Twilight asked, placing a hoof on her friend's back.

"Ah... Ah... Y-Yes, yeah, Ah'm okay. Ah'm sorry, Trixie, Ah didn't meant to--"

"Whatever, let's just do what I came here to do." Trixie said while adjusting her collar. "Let's split in groups of two. Sparkle, you're with the brute. Pegasus, you're with me!"

"We have names, you know. I'm Rainbow Dash. She's Applejack!"

"Fine, whatever. Rainbow Dash, you and I will patrol from above. Sparkle and Applejack, you patrol from the ground. The lycan won't attack until it's dark again, so we all meet here again before sunset. All of you get ready before then, and be prepared to stay up all night."

Twilight and Applejack nodded while Rainbow Dash saluted.

* * *

That night, Trixie was the first to arrive, soon followed by Twilight, who was reading a book about mythological creatures. Applejack was the next, carrying supplies - half a dozen of apples and two bottles of water. Rainbow Dash was the last; she wasn't carrying anything and was rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry, I'm late." she said. "My nap lasted a little longer than I expected." she grabbed an apple from Applejack's saddlebag and ate it. "On the bright side, I am now ready to pull an all-nighter!"

"Well, no time to waste. Let's go!" Trixie said.

"Wait, wait, wait, Trixie!" Rainbow Dash said. "About us patrolling from above... You are not expecting me to carry you, are you?"

"What, do you think of yourself as some sort of knight in shining armor?" Trixie's horn started glowing and she jumped up. While in midair, a pink platform made of magic appeared below her and she landed right on top of it. "Shall we?"

"Cool..." Rainbow Dash said. "Can you do that, Twilight?"

"I-I... Uh..." Twilight stuttered.

"Can we save pointless blabbering for after the mission is finished, if you don't mind?" Trixie rolled her eyes, sounding more and more annoyed.

"Fine, fine, sheesh!" Rainbow crossed her forelegs.

"You know what to do if you happen to spot our target, don't you, Sparkle?" Twilight nodded. "Good! We meet here at sunrise, understood?" the three other mares agreed. "Good hunt!" Trixie ran, new platforms appearing underneath her before she could step on the nothing while the ones she was no longer stepping on disappeared. Rainbow Dash flew after her.

"Welp, no use standin' around doin' nothin'. Let's go, Twi!" Applejack turned around to see Twilight jumping and trying to materialize a platform under her, but utterly failing miserably and landing on her face. "Uh, y'all okay there?"

Twilight quickly got up. "Y-Y-Yes, of course! Let's go!"

Applejack shrugged and both ran side by side.

A couple of hours later, Applejack poked Twilight's shoulder, almost making her spill the water bottle he was drinking.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Every pony in town was instructed to stay home after sunset, right?" she whispered.

"Yes, I personally made sure of that. Why?"

"'Cause somepony's been followin' us for some good fifteen minutes!"

"WHAT?!" Applejack shoved her hoof in Twilight's mouth, who started whispering as well. "Why didn't you told me sooner?"

"At first I thought it was Rainbow or Trixie, but they just kept their distance, so Ah decided to wait and see if they'd make a move."

"And what do you suppose we should do?"

Applejack pondered for a moment. "We should split!"

"Split? Are you crazy?!"

"One pony can't follow both of us at the same time, right? Trust me, Ah have a plan! Here, we..." Applejack approached her muzzle to Twilight's ear and began to whisper even quieter. Twilight simply nodded after every statement, sometimes mumbling a "yeah".

"Okay, I understand."

"See ya soon, Twi!"

"Alright, Applejack. Until then!"

Twilight kept walking down the road while Applejack turned left and went toward an alley. Twilight maintained her pace, but focused on listening to her surroundings. There was indeed somepony following her and, judging by the sounds of the hoofsteps, she concluded that it was from 40 to 60 feet behind here.

Twilight took a deep breath, turned right and entered an alley. The stalker did the same.

"So, what can I help you with?" Twilight asked, coming out of the shadows between two waste containers. She raised an eyebrow. "Caramel?"

"Twilight, is that you?" the light brown stallion with dark brown mane and tail asked, then sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. You got worried me there for a second!"

"What are you doing outside this late at night? And why were you following me?"

"Well, you see, I was about to go to bed, so I went to close my curtains, but then I saw two ponies walking down the street, side by side, in complete silence. I thought 'Hey, this looks suspicious, I should investigate'. Then the second pony went away, so I decided to follow the one I could still see! And now we're here."

"Is that so? Anyway, the streets are not safe, you should go back home now! I'll accompany you."

"Sure thing, Twilight!"

Just as they were about to leave the alley, a pony jumped from the roof of one of the houses and landed right on top of the stallion. Twilight readied her horn and prepared to attack the assailant, but stopped.

"Applejack?"

"Ah gotcha!" she said to Caramel.

"It's okay, Applejack, it's just Caramel."

"It's not ok, Twi!" she said. "Can't ya smell it?"

"Smell what?"

"Ah smelled it since he started followin' us. He reeks of blood, Twilight!"

Twilight gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof. The stallion began to chuckle.

"No use denying it. Good job, miss Applejack!" he said. "Blood is very hard to get rid of, specially its smell. I thought you wouldn't notice, but I should have known better than to underestimate your senses. Kudos!"

"C-Caramel, you--" the unicorn began to speak.

"It's you, right?!" Applejack asked, anger filling her voice. "Yer the lycan!! An' it was you who killed mah parents eighteen years ago, wasn't you, ya darned monster?!"

Twilight's eyes widened.

"So, what if I did?" he asked with a smug smile.

"Ah've been waitin' for this day ah whole life. Tonight, ya pay for yer sins!"

He chuckled again. "For you, the day I butchered the Apples was the most important day of your life, huh?" Caramel got up, Applejack still on his back trying to pin him down. He threw Applejack upwards with a jump and kicked her as she was falling down. The mare crashed against a trash can and was pinned down by Caramel. "But for me, it was Tuesday."

"Ah... Ah'll kill ya..." she said.

Caramel jumped very high, dodging Twilight's magic beam. "Oh, I'm sorry, almost forgot about you, miss!"

"You will pay for what you did!" she said, already preparing another shot.

"And what was it? I did so many things in my life that it's hard to know which one you're talking about!"

Twilight glared at him and shot another magic beam, which he dodged with a crouch.

"You might as well give up, you have no chance to beat me alone!"

She shot another magic beam, but upwards this time.

"I'm down here, you know?"

"Yes, I'm aware. Also, thanks for the advice!"

"Advice?"

"I can't beat you alone."

Rainbow Dash was the first to attack, landing on all fours on top of his head as hard as she could. "Twilight, Applejack, are you ok?"

Twilight nodded. Applejack got up.

"Ah'll live." she said. "Ah still can't believe our town was sheltering our biggest enemy."

Caramel got up again, looking rather annoyed instead of calm like he was just moments ago.

"Three against one? That's not fair at all!"

"Make it four!"

He looked up just in time to see Trixie, still standing on a platform in the sky, cast a spell which erected a magic box around him. He tried kicking it, but it wouldn't budge.

"No more games!" he said.

Caramel's coat began to grow darker and thicker. His mane was also getting bigger and dishevelled. His muzzle grew longer and his teeth were getting sharper, and his blue eyes were now a very bright golden color. Claws began to grow on his hooves. With a loud howl, he proceeded to scratch and slash the barrier, easily tearing it to pieces.

"Ah think we may have a problem..." Applejack said.

"Strategic retreat?" Twilight asked.

Trixie smirked, then undid the clasp on her cape, removed her hat and threw both at Twilight, who caught them with her magic. "If you're afraid, then feel free to leave. I have a score to settle with this one!" Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight all looked at each other, then back at Trixie. None of them were showing signs they were about to leave. "Good! I guess I can trust you after all."

The lycan finally opened a hole big enough for him to escape, and instantly pounced on Trixie. She erected a shield before he could reach her and Caramel smashed his face against it. She began to charge another spell while her foe tore a hole in the shield. By the time he finally destroyed the magic bubble, the spell was complete and she shot him with a magic beam ten times more potent than Twilight's.

Caramel was sent flying, but Trixie wasn't about to let him escape and created a platform underneath her. Instead of running, this time it was the pink platform that moved. The three mares followed her as fast as they could. When Trixie and the others finally reached the lycan, he was getting up and ready to run to the Everfree Forest with his tail tucked between his legs, but Twilight grabbed his hind legs with her magic.

He tried his best to escape, but Applejack kicked him right in the face; it wasn't enough to knock him out, but definitely more than enough to settle him down.

"Before I chain you and throw you in one of the Organization's dungeons, I have something to tell you." Trixie said.

"What do you want?" he asked between gasps.

"Twenty years ago, a lycan was spotted in Fillydelphia. His victims were a young couple, but since no other victims were made, the Organization believed that he was only passing by and his victims were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"So what? You want me to confess or something?"

"I don't need to!" she pulled a picture from the inner pocket of her suit; it was the picture of an unicorn mare, holding on her hooves a sleeping yellow unicorn foal. But what really caught their attention was the forest behind her, and the brown wolf pony with golden eyes standing behind the bushes. "I know for a fact that this is you."

"Who is that mare?" Rainbow Dash asked. "And the foal?"

"Are those yer family?" Applejack asked.

"Not at all." Trixie said while placing the picture back in her pocket. "You killed this mare and her husband twenty years ago, but I just wanted you to know that this foal will be very happy to know that the one who murdered her parents was finally caught. And by me, no less!"

Trixie's magic enveloped Caramel's body. After a flash of white light, the pink magic was replaced by several chains. He struggled, but they wouldn't budge.

"And don't even try to escape. Not even two dragons pulling these chains on opposite directions were able to break them. And you three..." she turned to the trio and grabbed her clothes, which were still being held by Twilight, then wore them. "Good job! You could be great L.R.E. Agents one day."

Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, then nodded.

"Actually, Trixie, we'd like to talk to you about that..." Twilight said with a smile.

Author's Note

This takes place before chapter 1, but after 2-4, so I guess it doesn't count as flashback. Chapter 1 only takes place in the near future! I didn't lied, hah!

6. First Day

The mares met in front of the town hall, where Trixie and two pegasi pulling a carriage waited for them.

"Everypony ready?" Trixie asked.

"Yup!" Applejack nodded. "Since the applebuckin' season is still months away, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and Granny can hold the fort."

"And Fluttershy agreed to look after Spike while I'm gone!" Twilight said with a smile.

"And I'm always ready." Rainbow Dash said, crossing her forelegs behind her back while in midair.

"Then let's not waste any more time." Trixie jumped on the carriage, followed by Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight. "Off we go!"

The pegasi then took off.

* * *

The carriage took them to Canterlot, but they did not landed on the city; instead, the carriage took them to the other side of the mountain. The carriage landed on a grassy area surrounded by trees. They then got off the carriage, Twilight being the first. She turned around and gasped; the view of Equestria from there was breathtaking!

"Whoa..." Applejack said, turning around as well. "Now ain't that a beauty?"

"Yes, pretty and all, but I did not brought you here to appreciate the view." Trixie said. "If you want to join the Organization, at least act like you mean it!"

"Y-Yes, forgive us, Trixie." Twilight said, turning around again.

"Where is this organization, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie pointed at a stone road that led to a mansion not too many yards away from where they were. It was so big and well kept that its sight was as breathtaking as the view from the top of the mountain. Trixie opened the door and all four mares went it. The mansion was as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside, so much that the three couldn't help but utter an "ohhhhhh" of awe. The entrance lobby was well lit, with a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, as well as double stairs leading to the second floor.

"You three wait here. I'm going to see if Chief is available!" she then went upstairs while the guests sat on a bench near the entrance. It didn't took long for her to return. "She is ready to see you!"

Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight went upstairs. After a quick walk down a corridor, they stopped in front of a wooden door with a golden plate with "Chief" carved on it. Trixie knocked on it three times and opened the door.

The Chief's Office was spacious. All the walls had shelves with several books and files, except fo the wall opposite to the door, which had a large window. In front of the window was a big wooden desk with an earth pony mare behind it, checking some files. She had brilliant orange coat, light yellow mane and blue eyes; she was wearing a violet suit, a pink scarf and earrings. Her Cutie Mark was a golden trophy. Upon noticing that there were ponies in her office, she closed the files and placed them on top of her table.

"Good afternoon and welcome to the L.R.E. headquarters." she said with a very professional tone. "We deal with all sorts of problems with all kinds of creatures. My name is Harshwhinny and I am in charge of this place. Now, Trixie told me you three are interested in joining our ranks, is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Rainbow Dash said, saluting her.

"And why is that?"

"To save ponies!" Rainbow Dash said.

"To make Equestria a safe place for everypony, zebra, griffon and any other sentient creature." Twilight said.

"Help those in need, no matter when, no matter where!" Applejack said.

Harshwhinny got up and circled the three mares, rubbed her chin for a few moments then shrugged. "Nope! I hardly believe you would last three days in here."

"What?!" the three said at the same time.

"And I'm being optimistic! I don't know what Trixie saw in you that made her think it was a good idea to humor your request."

Trixie didn't said anything, she just kept watching.

"But we--" Twilight started.

"From your posture, I can say that you read a lot. Knowledge is good, but your body is frail, a slap on the back from a Minotaur could break your spine in half." she then turned to Applejack. "You are quite the opposite! Very developed muscles, though I hardly believe that you picked up a book after graduating from school. That's it, if you graduated at all." Applejack gritted her teeth and glared at her, but Harshwhinny ignored that and turned to Rainbow Dash. "And you. Muscles above average, specially on the wings, but I can tell that you have the attention span of a puppy!" the Chief then sat back on her chair. "Trixie, why did you even brought those mares here in the first place?"

Trixie finally approached the group. "You see, Chief, they may not look like much by themselves, but their teamwork is exceptional, enough even to cover each other's flaws. I saw them in action, and I can assure you, they will not disappoint you! All they need is a little nudge in the right direction."

"Hmmm..." Hashwhinny rubbed her chin again. "Fine, I'll give you one chance to impress me. Trixie, I have a mission for you! I'll explain the details later, but you're leaving tomorrow and I want you to take them with you. Let's see what they're capable of!"

Trixie saluted her. "Yes, Chief!"

"But don't give them uniforms yet. If they fail, I don't want them to be associated with our Organization."

"Uderstood!"

The four mares left the room and went downstairs.

"So rude!" Applejack said. "Did ya see that mare? She called me dumb!"

"And she called me a puppy!" Rainbow Dash said, crossing her forelegs.

"Were ya even payin' attention when she was talkin' to ya?"

"Yes! I mean, maybe. Kinda. Sorta." she looked away from Applejack, frowning and puffing her cheeks. "Shut up!"

"But she has a point, girls." Twilight said. "If we truly want to be part of this Organization, we have to work on covering our flaws!"

"Why are you taking her side?" Rainbow Dash asked. ""She insulted you, too!"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, she did. And I agree with her! I mean, what if I come across an enemy my magic can't beat, or Applejack comes across a particularly challenging moment, or a life-or-death situation when you need to really focus presents itself to you? If we want to help others, then we have to give our best!" she then smiled.

"Ah know that look!" Applejack said. "It's usually followed by one of yer crazy ideas."

"Applejack, we can help each other!" she said. "You can join me during my study sessions and we can work out together, what do you say?"

Applejack rubbed her neck. "A-Ah don't know, sugarcube! Studyin' was never mah forte."

"And exercising was never mine!" she said. "But we can help each other if we truly give our best. So, are you willing to give this a try?"

Applejack sighed, then adjusted her hat. "Sure thing, sugarcube. Let's do this!"

"Hey, what about me?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What can I do to pay more attention or whatever she said my problem was?"

Trixie used her magic to pull Rainbow Dash's tail. "You come with me, pegasus. I know exactly how to help you!" Trixie then pointed her hoof at the corridor behind the stairs. "First door to the left, that's the study room. The training grounds are outside, just go through the door at the end of the hallway. Since you're under my supervision, you'll spend the night at my room, just turn left on the second turn - my room has my name on the door, so it's impossible to miss. Each room has two beds only, so we'll have to share!"

"Wait, so does that mean that all the members are forced to live here?" Twilight asked.

Trixie shook her head. "Living in the dorms is optional. But it's highly recommended, though; we never know when we might be needed!"

"Fine by me!" Rainbow Dash said. Applejack and Twilight nodded.

"You two be there at seven o'clock, we have a mission tomorrow, so we need all the rest we can get!"

"Two?" Rainbow Dash asked. "But we're three."

Trixie nodded. "Yes, but you and I won't be leaving that room anytime soon. We're going to work on your focus!"

"We're going to be there until seven?" Rainbow Dash asked. "But it's barely past noon!"

"My training sessions are intensive." Trixie said, pulling Rainbow Dash by the tail with her magic. "Now let's go. You two are dismissed!"

"So, whaddya wanna do first, Twi?" Applejack asked her unicorn friend.

"Hm, I think we should study first, then do some exercises." she suggested. "It's not wise to study when tired!"

"Really?" Applejack asked. "Then maybe that's why Ah never did well in school!" she said. "Mah study time was always after my chores on the farm were done!"

"That's one of the absolutely worst conditions for a pony to study, Applejack! But let's not focus on the past. When I'm done with you, you'll be writing essays that will be published on science magazines!"

"Whoa, nelly! Ah appreciate the help, but Ah don't think we're goin' that far, Twi!"

Twilight giggled as they went into the study room.

* * *

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were sleeping on the same bed while Twilight was sleeping alone on the bed she had shared with Trixie that night. The azure mare, though, was not lying in bed; she was fully awake and already checking their saddlebags, making sure they had everything they needed. Once she was done checking everything, she turned around to the three sleeping mares.

"ATTENTION!" Trixie yelled, waking them up. "Off the bed and line up in order! Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes, time more than enough for a shower. And be quick about it, we're going on a mission, not to a birthday party!"

Twilight got up without any problems, already used to waking up early in the morning. Applejack sat up, yawned and rubbed her eyes. Rainbow Dash stretched while still lying in bed, accidently pushing Applejack off it. She got up the moment she hit the floor.

"Ah'm awake, Ah'm awake!" she said.

The three ponies went to the mares' locker room where all the showers were located. Trixie had already finished her shower and was drying her mane with a towel. Twilight was the first to get under the shower. She yelped when the water touched her.

"Th-That's c-c-cold!" she stammered.

"Perfect for waking up ponies who are still half asleep." Trixie said while wearing her uniform. After she was finished, she got up and left the locker room. "See you at the cafeteria!"

"So, AJ, how was study session with our local Egghead?" Rainbow Dash asked casually.

"Not bad, actually!" Applejack said. "Studyin' isn't as bad when yer legs aren't tired after a long session of applebuckin'! What about Trixie's trainin', RD? What did you two do all afternoon?"

Rainbow Dash suddenly started shuddering.

"Dash?" Applejack called.

"F-F-First rule of Trixie's training: do not talk about Trixie's training!"

"Why?"

"Second rule of Trixie's training!"

"I think we should drop the subject." Twilight whispered to Applejack, who immediately nodded.

* * *

"Took you long enough!" Trixie said while eating a daisy sandwich with three more sandwiches in front of her.

"But we're here and that's what's important." Twilight said, sitting beside her.

"Sweet, these are for us?" Rainbow Dash said while sitting across from Twilight.

Trixie nodded. "But don't get used to this kind of treatment! It's just because this is your first day and I'm in a hurry."

"Thanks, Trixie!" Applejack said, sitting beside Rainbow Dash and eating her daisy sandwich.

"So, what kind of mission Chief Harshwhinny entrusted us with?" Twilight asked while levitating her own sandwhich.

"Nothing complicated or dangerous." Trixie explained. "Some creatures are causing trouble near Horseshoe Bay, but they're not violent or life threatening, so we're just gonna show them who's boss and hope this will be enough to keep them in line. If not, we'll bring them back with us and Chief Harshwhinny will deal with them!"

Applejack swallowed the daisies she was eating. "And what kind of creatures are we talkin' about?"

"The requesters weren't sure, all they know is that they live in the ocean."

"That's... Extremely vague!" Twilight said. "It could be anything from a teenage Water Sprite going through puberty to Cthulhu!"

"Well, at least it's something." Trixie said, finishing her daisy sandwich. "A few months ago I was assigned to go see what was happening in a small settlement in San Palomino Desert, but nopony knew exactly what we were dealing with. I went prepared to fight overgrown desert bugs, since that's the most common threat there, but guess what I had to fight? A full grown Sand Worm!"

"Sand Worm?" Applejack asked. "What's that?"

"Giant annelids!" Twilight explained. "They live in deserts, but are extremely rare. They're over 800 feet long with maws big enough to swallow an entire house!" Applejack gulped and Rainbow Dash shivered. "How did you beat one of them on your own?"

"Simple! I jumped inside its mouth! The rest of the story isn't something you want to hear during a meal."

"Gross!" Rainbow said, then raised an eyebrow. "Wait just a second, this isn't just one of your stories like the Ursa Major thing, is it?"

Trixie shrugged. "Believe me if you want. Or go ask Chief Harshwhinny, she has the report!" Trixie then got up. "Anyway, story time is over. Get ready, we're leaving in fifteen minutes!"

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight finished their breakfast and, after some final preparations, they were all ready to go. Trixie was already waiting for them outside, where one carriage with no pegasus pulling it waited for them.

"Second part of your training, Rainbow Dash." Trixie said. "You're the one taking us to Horseshoe Bay."

"Heh!" Dash then stretched, popping a few or her joints. "That's all? No big deal!"

Author's Note

Chronologically speaking, this chapter takes place before Season 3, that's why Ms. Harshwhinny is a stranger to them.

Also, yay, fanfic is not dead! Sorry for the delay, but I really wanted to finish Twisted Metal: Equestria. I had to!

7. Under Our Spell

"You could use some work on math and English, but you are doing great in both history and geography!" Twilight said happily while clopping her hooves together.

"Well, shucks. Thanks, Twi!" Applejack blushed a little. "But, when ya need to maintain a business, at least some knowledge is necessary! And yer not slackin' either. Ya were payin' attention to everythin' Ah told ya about safety when liftin' heavy stuff! Ya'll be applebuckin' in no time. Ah'm proud of ya, Twi!" Twilight smiled brightly.

"Alright, Rainbow Dash, this is the place. Land here!" Trixie said, pointing at the town below them.

Rainbow Dash descended and collapsed on the ground as soon as they landed, panting heavily. Applejack and Twilight went to her aid.

"Everythin' okay, RD?" Applejack asked, truly concerned.

"I'll... I'll live." she gasped. "Just... Tired..."

"See?" Trixie said. "If you had paid any attention, you would have noticed that the saddle wasn't fastened properly, which made the effort required to pull it much, much bigger!"

"Aw, come on..." she said. "Can't we stop training at least during a mission?"

"Everyone is always training, even if they are unaware of that! Now let's go!"

"Can't we... Rest for a bit? I'm dying..."

"Applejack, if you please?" Trixie said.

Applejack nodded and placed Rainbow Dash on her back. "Come now, Rainbow. Ah know ya were tricked, but we have a job to do. Rest well 'til we get there, okay?"

Rainbow Dash only nodded, her respiration now slowly returning to the normal rhythm.

* * *

A rowboat was waiting for them at the shore. Trixie stretched her forelegs and jumped it.

"Alright, Sparkle. You and me, rowing now!" she said, already holding one of the oars.

"You too, Trixie?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not weak but, compared to those two behind you, I could use some exercise. And so could you!" she threw the other oar at Twilight, but she didn't reacted in time and the oar hit her face. "Your reaction time needs some adjustments, too."

Twilight rubbed the sore spot, but didn't said anything. She just grabbed the oar from the ground and jumped in the rowboat, followed by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Trixie and Twilight nodded at each other and started rowing.

"Row, row, row yer boat, gently down the stream~!" Applejack started singing.

"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream~!" Twilight finished, and both mares started giggling. They stopped, though, when they saw Trixie glaring at them.

"This is not a camp trip." she said. "This is an important mission. Ponies are dependding on us, and I don't want us to fail because a couple of grownmares were too busy siging like a pair of foals!"

"Gee, no need to get all uppity, Trixie." Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, sure, we need to focus on the mission and all that, but--"

"And who are you to tell me about focus?!" Trixie nearly shouted, surprising all three mares.

"Uh... Ah think we should just shup our traps now..." Applejack said.

"Smart move! I guess you're not so dumb after all." Trixie said and Applejack gritted her teeth.

"Alright, that's it!" Applejack said, jumping on Trixie.

"APPLEJACK!" Rainbow Dash and Twilight yelled. They tried to get her off Trixie, but she was blasted away by a magic beam coming from Trixie's horn. She was thrown several feet up in the air, then into the water.

"What have you done, Trixie?!" Twilight shouted.

"I didn't killed her if that's what you think." Trixie said while getting up, brushing the dust off her uniform. "But I hope this will teach her some manners!"

"She's taking her time to come back, isn't she?" Rainbow Dash said.

Trixie shrugged. "If you ask me, I couldn't care less. Now get to rowing, Sparkle!"

The pegasus grabbed Trixie by the collar. "I'm not leaving my friend behind!"

"I could leave you behind as well as I can leave her."

"Then do that! I don't care! I'm going after--"

Twilight's ear twitched. "You two, keep quiet for a second."

Trixie and Rainbow Dash stopped talking, though Rainbow was still holding Trixie by the collar.

"Did you hear that?"

"I can't--"

"SHHHHHH!" Twilight closed her eyes. "I think it's... Singing! There's someone singing!"

"Yes, I can hear it, too!" Trixie said. "And it's awful."

Twilight grabbed a pair of binoculars from her saddlebag and looked around. She focused her sight on a rock and gasped.

"I... I found Applejack." she said.

"Where?" Rainbow Dash grabbed the binoculars and looked at the same rock, where Applejack was sitting down. There were three creatures around her, though: they were very tall and looked like dragons, though their lower half was like the one of a fish. The first was yellow, the second was purple and the third was light blue. They were all looking at Applejack and singing.

"What the hay are those things? And what are they doing to Applejack?"

"That's what I'm going to find out. Trixie, let's go check it out! They might be what we came here looking for."

"Whatever!" Trixie said before grabbing the oar.

But ainbow Dash couldn't wait and she took off, flying toward her friend and those creatures. She landed a kick on the yellow one's face, making her growl in pain and stop singing, then landed on the rock. The other two stopped singing as well, startled by the sudden appearance of a flying rainbow that attacked their leader.

"Hey, Applejack, are you ok?" she called, shaking her friend. The apple farmer's eyes were glowing green and she had a vacant look on her face.

"Rain... Bow..." she mumbled.

The yellow creature shook her head and screeched at Rainbow Dash, who didn't even flinched. She just flew and headbutted her.

"What have you done to my friend?!"

Trixie and Twilight finally arrived there and jumped off the boat.

"Sirens!" Trixie said.

"I read about them!" Twilight said. "They hypnotize others with their singing magic, correct?"

"Correct!" Trixie then charged a spell and shot at Rainbow Dash, who was still attacking them. The pegasus screamed in pain and fell on the ground.

"TRIXIE!" Twilight yelled.

"So, if you don't want to suffer the same fate, I advise you to leave." she smiled, her eyes flashing green.

She looked around. Applejack was still entranced, Rainbow Dash was nearly knocked unconscious and Trixie and the sirens were grinning evilly. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I don't know when or how you magic got so powerful, Trixie, but..." she charged a spell. "...but I'm still the Element of Magic!"

Twilight's horn flashed a very bright light, temporarily blinding her foes. She immediately charged another spell, this time a magic beam.

"I know your weak spot!" she said before shooting her spell at the red gem on the yellow siren's chest. She shrieked and fell down. She repeated the process with the other two, who reacted in a similar manner. Both Trixie and Applejack lost their balances and fell, getting up soon after.

"Wha... What happened?" Applejack asked, then noticed the blue pegasus fallen next to her. "RAINBOW!"

"Hey, AJ..." she said. "Glad you're ok."

"Don't worry, Ah brought some bandages in mah saddlebag!"

"Sparkle." Trixie asked, rubbing her temples. "Care to explain what just happened?"

"Look behind you!"

She started to turn her head. "Or you could just tell me and WHOA!" she finally noticed the three sirens laying unconscious behind her. "Did... Did they...? Me... You know..."

Twilight nodded. "Sorry to say, but you even attacked Rainbow Dash while under their influence!"

"Crap!" she ran toward the fallen Rainbow Dash.

Twilight noticed a small amount of green smoke coming out of the holes on the sirens' chests. Soon that amount grew larger and their whole bodies exploded into green clouds of smoke. It didn't made her cough, though, and it soon dissipated. The giant bodies disappeared, leaving three smaller bodies on their places. They were all the same colors the sirens were, but they looked like a little different: their lower half was still fish-like, but their upper half were similar to a pony's. They also had a fin on their back, two under their bodies, one behind each hoof and pointier ears.

The yellow siren opened her eyes and got up, looking down at her smaller body. She growled at the ponies and tried to sing, but only a high pitched shriek got out of her throat, hurting her ears and forcing her to cover them with her hooves. She then began to panic "Huh? What? Huh?! My voice!!"

Trixie stepped in front of her, glaring at the siren. "I don't care who you are, you're under arrest!"

* * *

The four mares were waiting on top of the stairs that led to the dungeons of the Organization HQ. Trixie looked at Rainbow Dash, who had bandages wrapped around her midriff.

"How does it feel?" she asked.

"Not as bad as before." Dash explained.

"I am sorry for what I did. If there's anything I can--"

"Enough, Trixie! You've been apologized since I got out of the infirmary. It's okay, I forgive you! It wasn't your fault."

"Oh! O-Okay, just... Y'know... Checking."

Chief Harshwhinny finally got back up, her expression as serious as ever. But she wasn't alone.

"What are they doin' outta their cell?" Applejack asked, pointing at the three sirens behind Harshwhinny.

"Since you shattered the gems that gave them strenght, they are mostly harmless now." she explained. "So I made them an offer: I would release them if they joined our ranks."

"And why would you make that offer?" Trixie cleared her throat. "Ma'am!"

"Because this is an opportunity! They are sea-dwelling creatures that are capable of reasoning. I have never met any of those before. Think of the possibilities!"

"While I do agree that the possibilities are astounding, they were tormenting a city and hypnotized us. Surely you can't just brush it off!"

"Trixie, if I wasn't aware of what I'm doing, do you think I would still be Chief? Trust me, I know what I'm doing! And if they step out of line, then I'll take full responsability and deal with the consequences myself."

Trixie sighed and nodded. "As you wish, Chief."

"Good. Now..." she turned around to face the three sirens. "Don't you have something to tell those ponies?"

They all looked at each other, sighed and bowed.

"We're sorry!" they said at the same time.

"Good, good, very good." she turned back at the four mares. "And you, wait in my office. I'll be right there with your uniforms and your badges!"

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight smiled at each other, then jumped, high-hoofed and shouted:

"YEAH!!!"

"Ouch." Rainbow Dash said when they landed. "Still hurts."

Author's Note

This fanfic takes place in an alternate universe where Starswirl did not banished the sirens, and that tiny change of events in Equestrian history caused all sorts of changes in the main timeline - chances that will be shown right here, sooner or later!

And here's an example of a siren's true form in this fanfic:

8. Venom-enal

"Hey! Sparkle! Still with us?" Trixie asked, waving her hoof in front of Twilight's face.

"What? Oh, yes, Trixie." Twilight said while smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just thinking about our first mission. When we first met the Dazzlings and they hypnotized you, remember?"

"Yes, yes, fun times. But don't forget that there is a Giant Radscorpion on the loose in Canterlot and we have to stop it. There is no time for nostalgia!"

"What is a Giant Radscorpion even doing there, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I thought they lived in the badlands!"

"They do. That's the strange part. That's why Chief gave the Yellow Code. Somepony must have placed it there, so this is most likely a terrorist attack!"

"Ah sure do hope this is all a coincidence." Applejack said. "If this is indeed a terrorist attack, this could escalate into a war!"

"But I don't understand." Twilight said. "Equestria is in good terms with every other nation. Who would do this sort of thing?"

"We will figure that out later. We're here!" Trixie said while pointing down at Canterlot. She then turned to the pegasi pulling the cage-carriage. "You take the prisoner back to the HQ! We're landing!"

"Yes, ma'am!" both saluted.

The pegasi pulling the carriage with the four ponies inside soon landed in an empty street of Canterlot. The capital was quiet, save for the distant sound of commotion.

"It's coming from the castle!" Twilight said. Rainbow Dash flew up and looked around.

Yep, I can see it!" the cyan pegasus said. "A large crowd of Royal Guards in front of the castle and one average-sized Giant Radscorpion!"

"No time to lose, then!" Applejack said before running toward the castle, followed closely by the other three.

"So ya can finally keep up with me at full speed, eh?" Applejack asked with a smile. "Good job, Twi!"

Twilight smiled back at her.

* * *

The guards fighting the Radscorpion were being slaughtered, either pierced by its venomous tail, trampled by its long, slender legs or crushed by its massive pincers. A few L.R.E. Agents were also there, with two of them fallen on the ground.

"Sparkle, follow my lead!" Trixie yelled.

Twilight nodded and both mares charged a spell. A couple of seconds later, they had cast a two-layered shield spell around the Giant Radscorpion, who ceased to move.

"Not bad, Sparkle. Not bad at all!"

"It's all thanks to the Organization!" she said with a smile. "Now I know how you improved your magical abilities in such short notice; those books are amazing! Did you know that two of the Starswirl books in there aren't even catalog--"

She was interrupted by the Radscorpion, who started banging on the shield spell. Its blows were so strong that Trixie and Twilight felt it on their horns, flinching a little. After a couple more hits, cracks started to appear on the shield. The unicorns tried to increase the strenght of their spell, but to no avail; the spell shattered in no time and both mares yelped in pain.

"It's no use!" a mint-colored unicorn mare wearing the Organization uniform yelled. "Spells have no effect on it!"

"You could have told us that sooner." Trixie said while getting up, rubbing her sore horn.

"Well, I tried to, but--" something else caught her attention and she ran off. "Bon Bon, watch out!"

"If that thing is immune to spells, we're gonna have to do this the hard way!" Dash said while streching. "AJ, ready to rock?"

"Darn tootin'!"

Rainbow Dash flew up and grabbed knives from her saddlebags, holding three on each hoof. She shen threw them all at the Giant Radscorpion, not missing a single one. None of them did any significant damage to its carapace, but it managed to draw its attention to her. When the massive monster looked up, Applejack charged. A moment later and she was already in front of their foe. The earth pony turned around and kicked the Radscorpion's head with both hind legs as hard as she could.

"Never underestimate Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee!" she said with a grin. Unfortunately all she managed to do was anger the Radscorpion even more. Her face lost all color as she saw the pincer coming toward her. Applejack's eyes were faster than her body and she was swatted away like a fly by the Giant Radscorpion. Luckily for her, Rainbow Dash was fast enough to catch her before she rolled down the stairs leading back to the city.

"You ok there?"

Applejack nodded. "Thanks, Rainbow."

"Anytime, AJ!" she then glared at the black scorpion still attacking the guards. "Is there any way to stop that thing?"

"Of course there is." a pony standing behind them said. Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately turned their heads to look at who was speaking: a light orange-colored pegasus stallion with sapphire blue mane wearing the Royal Guard armor and holding a Naginata - a long wooden spear with a curved blade on the tip.

"When did you got here?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There is a way to beat that creature." he said with a smug grin, before adjusting his helmet. "Watch and learn!"

The ponies who happened to blink at that exact moment missed the moment the stallion flew at the Giant Radscorpion and swung his weapon. At first the monster didn't reacted, but two of the legs on its right side suddenly detached themselves from the main body, making the scorpion lose its balance and fall. With a loud shriek of frustration, the giant arachnid tried to attack the pony with its tail, but the orange male not only blocked the attack with his Naginata; he also cut off the monster's tail!

"You might as well give up now." he said after landing on the monster's back. "Run back to the nest where you came from and never come back and I'll spare your life! A good deal, don'tcha think?"

But the Giant Radscorpion's brain wasn't developed enough to understand speech, so he just kept trying to attack with its pincers. The stallion flew up and shook his had.

"Wrong choice!" he closed his eyes, held his weapon with the blade down and simply stopped flapping his wings, allowing gravity to do the rest of the job. And even though the chances were slim, the stallion managed to land exactly where he wanted, making the blade of his Naginata hit the joint behind the Giant Radscorpion's neck, decapitating the beast.

The rest of the crowd watched everything with their mouths hanging open. It took exactly ten seconds after the body of the monstrous arachnid went limp for their brains to register what happened. The crowd then cheered! The stallion lifted his chin, pleased with all the attention he was receiving. He grabbed his Naginata and jumped off the dead creature's body, landing right on front of the pony closest to him: a certain purple unicorn mare with a dumbfounded expression.

"That... That... That was..." she said.

"Incredible? Amazing? breathtaking? The biggest display of awesomeness you've ever seen?" he asked with a smile.

"Nigh impossible!" she nearly yelled. "I mean, all those precise attacks at such high speed?! And that last stunt when you fell with your spear right on its weak spot?! How in the hoof did you--"

She immediately silenced herself when the stallion grabbed her hoof and blushed profusely when he kissed it.

"Or maybe I'm just that crazy good." he said with the same smug grin from before. "Name's Flash Sentry!"

"Tw-Tw-Twilight Sp-p-parkle." she stammered.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, miss Sparkle!" he said before walking toward the cyan pegasus who was still holding the orange earth pony; both were so amazed by the Royal Guard that they didn't even moved since he cut off the Giant Radscorpion's legs.

"Come visit me sometime." he said, holding Rainbow Dash's hoof and kissing it. "I can teach you a trick or two!"

Rainbow Dash didn't said a word. He then grabbed Applejack's hoof, but she pulled it back before he had a chance to kiss it.

"Hooves off, fella!" she said. He just smiled, shrugged and kept walking.

"That was... Admirable!" Trixie said, trying to hide her amazement. "Say, couldn't you drop by the HQ someday? We could use a pony like you!"

Flash chuckled. "Sorry, miss, but I already have a job!" he said while tapping the side of his armor with a wing. "But thanks for the offer. If one day I decide to get a more exciting life, the L.R.E. will be my first choice!" he then kissed her hoof before taking off.

* * *

Later than evening, in the cafeteria of the L.R.E. HQ, every member still awake who hadn't been called to the Chief's office for a meeting regarding the sudden appearance of a Giant Radscorpion in the middle of Canterlot and the possibilities of terrorism was talking about the Royal Guard who dealed with a full-grown Radscorpion by himself. Except for Twilight Sparkle, who was staring down at the carrots and lettuce leaves on her plate.

"Somethin' wrong with today's menu, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, startling Twilight.

"Huh? What? N-No, I was just..." she didn't finished her sentence and just looked back at her plate.

"Then what's wrong, Twi?"

"No-Nothing, I was just think about-- N-No, nevermind..."

"Thinkin' about that Guard?"

Twilight just blushed, but didn't replied.

"Eh, can't blame ya!" she said before reaching for an apple in the fruit bowl on the table. "Everypony is thinkin' 'bout him right now. A lot of 'em in the same way yer thinkin'!" she bit her apple.

Twilight blushed crimson red. "N-N-No, i-it's nothing like..." she trailed off again. Applejack didn't said anything, just kept eating her apple while looking at her friend and teammate. A random question then popped up in Twilight's mind. "What about you? Are you also thinking...?"

"Nah, not really my type!" Applejack said before finishing her apple and yawning. Twilight yawned as well.

"Long night that was." Applejack said, looking at the clock on the wall. "Caught Slendermane, fought a Giant Radscorpian... Ah'm beat! Gonna hit the hay! Ya comin'?"

Twilight nodded. Both mares got up, left the cafeteria and walked toward the room they shared. They walked past the Dazzlings on the corridor, who seemed to be chatting casually. They stopped talking, though, when the mares passed by them. The three sirens stared at them for a while. Adagio Dazzle, the yellow one, then turned to face Aria Blaze, the purple one, who looked at her as well. Aria pointed her hoof at Applejack, but Adagio shook her head and pointed her hoof at Twilight. They then started to giggle. Sonata Dusk, the light blue one, looked confused and just shrugged. Adagio groaned and facehoofed. Aria slapped Sonata on the back of the head.

Author's Note

The Waifu Stealer joined the party. Hold onto your pony waifu and never let go!

9. Love And/Or Duty

"Twilight, watch out!" Rainbow Dash yelled, pushing her friend out of the way of the acid spray coming out of the giant snake's mouth.

"Th-Thanks, Rainbow." she said while getting up.

"We really need to work together here so, please, don't do that again!"

Twilight nodded. Rainbow Dash began to fly in circles around the snake, catching its attention and keeping it in place. Meanwhile, Twilight created stairs with her magic, which Applejack climbed while holding a spear between her teeth. When she got on top of the stairs, she grabbed the spear with her forelegs and jumped down, succesfully piercing the giant snake's midsection and pinning her down.

It lost interest on Rainbow Dash and focused on freeing itself, giving Rainbow Dash an opportunity to locate its weak point: a small orb located on its head, which was easily spotted since it was reflecting the light of the moon. She grabbed her trusty knives and started throwing them at the glowing point. She missed the first few, since the poisonous behemoth wouldn't stop thrashing about, but her next few throws were bullseye. Once the sphere shattered, the snake fell limp on the ground, slowly shrinking. A few moments later, the snake was no longer giant, back to its former size, still pinned down by Applejack's spear.

"That was... A close one..." Rainbow Dash said while panting. After a deep breath, she turned to look at the unicorn of the team. "What the hay was that, Twilight?! You can't just space out in the middle of a fight. Specially against one thing that big and deadly!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." she said. "It's just that--"

"Let me guess! It's him again, ain't it?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

Twilight blushed and nodded. Rainbow Dash groaned and Applejack facehoofed.

"He's just a colt, Twilight!" Rainbow nearly yelled. "You can't let one measly colt distract you like that, specially in a critical situation like that! I mean, sure, even I got a teensy little amazed back in Canterlot, but that was days ago! Can't you just let it go?"

"I'm sorry." she repeated. "I try not to think about him but, every time I try to focus on something else, he just pops right back up!"

"This ain't healthy, Twi." Applejack said. "Not for you and not for us! If that colt left ya so infatuated, why don'tcha talk to him instead of just keepin' it all bottled up inside yerself?"

"I-I don't know, I just--"

"We don't have time for mushy stuff, Applejack." Rainbow Dash said. "Ever since that Radscorpion incident, monsters have been appearing all over Equestria like distant relatives in a birthday party!" she looked at Twilight again. "Remember how you all chewed me out when I stopped paying attention halfway through somepony's speech, telling me that I needed to focus?"

Twilight whimpered and looked down. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry for that outburst." she said. "I'm just worried about you, Twilight. It's not like you to space out like that because of something so trivial!"

"Let's go back to the HQ." Applejack suggested. "We can deal with that on our way back."

* * *

Twilight gasped as soon as they opened the door to the Chief's office; Chief Harshwhinny was there, but she wasn't alone: the Royal Guard from the other night was also there, and they seemed to be talking about something serious. They stopped and looked at the door the moment they heard Twilight gasp. Flash Sentry, who had a serious expression on his face, immediately smiled.

"Hey there, miss Twilight!" he said. "Fancy meeting you here."

"H-H-Hi, F-Fl-Flash." she said while waving a hoof at him.

"Well, it's getting kind of late, my shift starts in about an hour. Thanks for your time, Ms. Harshwhinny!"

"Anytime, Mr. Sentry." she said.

Flash Sentry winked at Twilight as he passed by her. She blushed and looked down.

"Well, now that--" Hashwhinny started, but Twilight ran off before she could finish.

"Flash, wait up!" Twilight said as she left the room.

"Wait, Twilight, we have to--" Rainbow Dash was interrupted by the door slamming shut in front of her face. "...report the results... What is wrong with that filly?!"

"Hay if Ah know!" Applejack said with a shrug.

"Care to explain what just happened?" Harshwhinny assked with her usual serious tone.

"We can't really explain either." Rainbow Dash said.

"Well, Twi wasn't very sociable when she was younger, so Ah guess it's just that 'first crush' thingy finally happenin'!"

The Chief raised an eyebrow. "So, you're telling me that Twilight Sparkle is... Enamored by Flash Sentry?"

"Ah guess ya could say that."

Harshwhinny sighed and rubbed her temples. "Can you do me a favor? Next time you see either of them, can you ask them to come to my office?"

"Why? Is falling in love against the rules, or something?"Rainbow Dash asked quizzically.

"No, it's just that... Nevermind, just do that for me, ok?" both mares nodded. "Good. Now, about your report..."

* * *

Applejack and Rainbow Dash heard giggles as soon as they left the office. Just as expected, the ones making that sound were the three sirens, who were whispering among themselves in the corner of the hallway.

"I can't believe they are so oblivious!" Adagio said. "Almost a week and they don't suspect a thing."

"I mean, I know ponies are dense, but that dense?" Aria said with a smile, something rare to see her doing. "Come on, that's just super dumb!"

"An' what exactly are y'all badmouthin' our species for?" Applejack asked while approaching the trio.

"Are you planning something behind our backs?" Rainbow Dash asked while touching muzzles with Sonata. "Spill the beans, now!"

"Sorry, no beans here." Sonata said with a smile. "I'm more into tacos than burritos!"

"And I don't think it's worth telling you, anyway." Aria said, once again acting as cold as usual. "If you didn't noticed on your own, then explaining would just be a waste of our time!"

"Why, you--"

"As much as we'd love to stay and chat a little longer, we have duties to fulfill." Adagio said. "Until next time! Let's go, Aria, Sonata."

"With pleasure." Aria said.

"I hope we're around to see their faces when they realize Twilight is--"

"SONATA!" Aria and Adagio shouted at the same time.

"What did I do?" she asked.

"You tiped them off, you dork." Aria said with a sigh and facehoof. "You. Are. The. Worst!"

"They were supposed to figure everything out on their own." Adagio said. "And now you killed all the fun!"

"Who killed what?" they all turned around to see Trixie approaching them from the other end of the corridor.

"Nothing at all, it's just small talk." Adagio said with a crooked smile.

"They know something, Trixie!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing her hoof at them. "Something about Twilight!"

"An' they're not tellin' us!" Applejack added.

"Is this true?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing important, really. We just--" Adagio stopped talking when Trixie's magic pushed the three of them against a wall.

"Don't play stupid, I heard you!" she said. "Every day and night, you keep whispering about Sparkle. If you know something, just say it!"

"Bu-But we're not--" the magic focused itself around their necks, pushing them up the wall until their tails were no longer touching the ground.

"Sparkle's been acting strangely lately. She barely eats, doesn't talk as much, has lost a considerable amount of focus, I hardly ever see her in the library and Applejack told me she has trouble sleeping at night. I don't know if this is just symptoms of overwork or if something else is going on, so you better cough everything up or our surprise meal this friday will be fish sticks!"

"O-O-Okay..." Adagio whispered. Trixie released the three of them, who fell on the floor, coughing.

"That was... Unnecessarily brutal!" Rainbow Dash said.

"You don't have to deal with those three headaches as often as I do." Trixie explained. "Sometimes, somepony needs to remind them they're not in charge around here. So, are you ready to talk now?"

"Twilight... Twilight's been... Influenced!" Aria said between heavy breaths.

"Influenced?" Applejack tilted her head. "The hay is that supposed to mean?"

"Influenced, you say?" Trixie rubbed her chin. "And how exactly do you know that?"

"Seriously, what's that?" Applejack insisted.

"We're sirens!" Adagio said. "We can smell a good hypnotic spell from miles away."

"It's a little stinky, but you get used to it." Sonata added, making her companions roll their eyes.

"Ohh, so that's what it is." Applejack said.

"Wait, are you saying that Twilight's been hypnotized?" Rainbow Dash asked. "When? How? By who?"

"Not hypnotized. Influenced!" Trixie explained. "The effects of this kind of spell are slower, but much more powerful! Mainly because the target isn't affected immediately; instead, they're influenced a little bit everyday. This way, no one suspects they're being manipulated. Not even the target itself!"

"Sounds like the same thing to me." she said with a roll of her eyes.

"We can break the spell." Aria said with a grin. "But it will cost you. And it will cost--" Trixie used her magic to envelop Aria's neck, but didn't tightened the grip. "Okay, okay, I get it, stop that!"

"You two, go find Twilight!" Trixie ordered. "If she's alone right now, it's most likely that whoever influenced her will take the chance to do whatever they're planning!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash saluted her before running off.

* * *

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were walking side by side on the streets of Canterlot, illuminated mainly by the light of the stars and the occasional street lamp, looking around.

"So, since you and egghead are now so much closer than anypony else, do you have any idea where she could be?"

"Nope!" Applejack said. "She's been growin' distant, even from me. Like Trixie said, she hasn't gone to the library in days for our study sessions, neither to the racin' track or the trainin' grounds for our workin' out sessions. Ah'm worried sick 'bout her!"

"You're not the only one..." Rainbow Dash sighed. Applejack nudged her. "What?"

The earth pony pointed her hoof at the stairway leading to Canterlot Castle, which was being climbed by a lavender unicorn and an orange pegasus.

"It's them!" Rainbow Dash said. "Let's go!"

The due ran up the stairs as fast as they could, but not before Twilight and Flash arrived at their destination. The two guards standing on both sides of the entrance saluted them and allowed them in. When Rainbow Dash and Applejack tried to follow them, though, they were stopped by the guards, who crossed their spears in front of the door.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No one is allowed to enter the castle." the white pegasus guard said.

"But two ponies just went past you!" Applejack pointed out.

"Those two have special permission." the grey unicorn guard said.

"Well, then. Lucky for you, so do we!" Rainbow Dash flashed her necklace with the blue and yellow badge hanging from it while Applejack flashed the same badge pinned to her hat. "We're members of the L.R.E. Organization. We're investigating a--"

"I thought we were very clear when we said 'no one allowed'!" the pegasus said.

"Those orders come from Princess Celestia herself, which means that we couldn't care less who you are or what you do, you can't go in!" the unicorn said. "You could be Princess Luna herself and we still wouldn't let you in."

"Now beat it!" the pegasus then shoved them aside with his wings.

The mares glared at them, but then gave up and turned around.

"So, what do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yer faster than me, go back to the HQ an' request backup!" Applejack ordered. "Somethin' fishy is goin' on here. Ah'll try to find another way in!"

"Wait, you're going to sneak into the castle?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do you know how illegal that is? What they'll do to you if you get caught?"

"Twilight is mah friend, Ah'm willin' to take the risk!"

She smiled and shook her head. "You're crazy, Applejack. Like, good crazy! But I guess I'd do the same. But don't worry, I'll be at the HQ in ten seconds flat and backup will be here in no time!"

"Ah'm countin' on ya, RD!"

She saluted her friend. "Gotcha!"

Rainbow Dash took off while Applejack circled the castle from behind some trees, going unnoticed by the guards.

"They can't even see a bright orange pony in front of a blue and green background sneaking past them." she thought. "Maybe the Princess should hire some new guards. Maybe ponies from the newly formed L.R.E. S³, the Secret Security Service! Huh, who am I even advertising this to?" it wasn't long until she spotted an open window on the second floor. With a grin, she prepared her trusty rope, which she kept wraped around her waist at all times. "Way too easy."

She threw the rope, successfully tying it to one of the hooks used to hang plant containers. Once she was sure that it was secure enough, she began to climb. Already used to this maneuver, she climbed the wall in no time and jumped inside the window.

"Alright, phase one is--" she then noticed the five guards surrounding her and pointing their spears at her. "...a disaster."

"Seriously, I never thought somepony would fall for the old 'window open and unprotected at night' trick." one of the guards said.

"You better come with us to the Throne Room and not try anything funny, or else we'll poke you full of holes before you can even blink!"

Applejack sighed and let the quintet escort her. She got suspicious, though, when they walked past the closed door that led to the Throne Room.

"Where are y'all takin' me?" she asked.

"The Throne Room, of course! Princess Celestia will decide what to do with you."

"Uhhh, didn't we just passed by the Throne Room?"

"Look here, you little burglar, we are the Royal Guard! I think we know our way. Now silence! If you speak again, you shall be punished."

One of the guards poked her rump with his spear. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but enough for her to understand what they meant. They then halted in front of a small door, which one of the guards knocked at.

"Yes, what is it?" a clearly male voice asked.

"Princess Celestia, we have caught somepony trying to sneak her way into the castle."

"Hm, intriguing. Bring them to me!"

The guard opened the door and the five ponies walked in. The room, despite its small door, was surpisingly roomy and well lit by candles. Inside the room where two ponies; the first was a bright orange pegasus stallion sitting on a chair and the second was a purple unicorn mare sitting beside him on the floor, her eyes foggy and unfocused.

"Twilight!" Applejack called, but received no answer. Flash Sentry chuckled.

"I never thought somepony would be onto me so soon!" he said. "And you, of all ponies? I must say, I'm impressed." Applejack didn't said anything, she just glared at him. "Unfortunately, you're too late. Twilight Sparkle has already fallen under my spell. You know what happens next!" Flash Sentry grinned, baring his long and sharp fangs. "And once I am done with her, I'll go after her brother and finally get my revenge."

Applejack gasped. "Yer a vampire! Well, Ah guess that explains why ya were so good in that fight 'gainst the Radscorpian."

He tilted his head in confusion. "You... Didn't knew that?"

Applejack then smiled and chuckled. "Nope! Ah was just asked by Chief Harshwhinny to call the two of ya to her office, but the guards wouldn't let me through. Ah thought this was a lil' shady, so Ah decided to sneak mah way in. That's when ya sang everythin' to me like a pretty lil' canary! Thanks for that, Mr. Sentry!"

Flash Sentry facehoofed. "Ok, I'll admit it, that was pretty stupid of me..." but he grinned evilly. "It doesn't matter, though. If you didn't knew, it means the Organization doesn't know that either, so I'll just have to get rid of you and everything will be back on track."

"Don'tcha think everypony else will notice Ah'm missin'?"

He chuckled again. "As far as I know, there are only three ponies in that Organization who actually care about you. This little tart..." he patted Twilight's head. "And those two blue ponies. And though I failed to plant my charm on you, I can assure you, the others are all under my influence."

"That's somethin' Ah wanted to ask ya, too. When an' how did ya placed a spell on Twi?"

He sighed. "Don't you think your execution is overdue already?"

"Ah'm just curious. If Ah leave this world without all mah questions answered, Ah'll just come back as a ghost and haunt ya 'til the day they slay ya!"

"No, Dracula knows I do not need another one of those. Okay, okay, I'll tell you! Remember when we first met? Back when I cut that Giant Radscorpion in tiny pieces? Remember what I did afterwards?"

"Ya tried to kiss mah-- No way!"

He nodded. "Yup! They didn't even felt my fangs pierce their skin and inject some very special vampire poison in their veins. Too bad their immune system is stronger than Twilight's, so it takes longer to affect them, but it's only a matter of time. Soon the entire L.R.E. Organization will be just a bunch of mindless puppets under my command! And there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"I beg to differ!" Trixie, who was standing in front of the open door, said. "Oh, and if you're going to partake in exposition horsepoop, then you should at least close the door, I could hear you from the other side of the hallway!"

"Also, seriously?" Rainbow Dash, who stood beside Trixie, asked. "You fell into every single villain cliché AJ threw at you! A. K. Yearling would be ashamed!"

"Oh, it's you two." he said with a smile. "Just get out of here, will you? I'm busy!" but neither of them moved an inch from where they were standing. His smile turned into a frown. "I said. Get out. Of here!" his frown turned into terror. "Wh-Wh-Why aren't you obeying me?!"

"Sorry, Flash Sentry." Trixie said with a smug grin and a shrug. "I'll admit, was a little afraid when you said you had placed your influence spell on both of us, but then I remembered that you're a vampire!" she charged a spell and shot magic beams at two of the guards, throwing them against the walls.

The other three guards tried to attack Trixie, but Rainbow Dash quickly subdued the three of them. Enraged, Flash Sentry tackled the pegasus, but she was quick to retaliate. After a quick struggle, both crashed through the window, continuing their fight outside.

Trixie quickle examined Twilight's whole body, then sighed in relief. "No bite marks. She's still one of us! Adagio. Sonata. Aria."

The three sirens, who were waiting outside the room, walked it. Adagio was the first to inspect Twilight; she lifted the unicorn's head with her hoof and stared deep into her eyes. "It's been a while since last time I saw vampire poison in action. I must say, it always impresses me!"

"You said you can save her. Now do it!" Trixie ordered.

"Well, there is one little problem, you see." Aria started. "Unfortunately, our gems were shattered by Miss Trigger Happy over there, so we have no energy left."

"In other words, you lied!" Trixie gritted her teeth. "Why did I even trusted you three in the first place?"

"It wasn't a lie. It was just a half-truth!" Adagio said. "We can free her, but we need your help. Sonata, if you please?"

Sonata grabbed Adagio's mane and proceeded to shake it violently - Adagio was clearly not pleased with the strenght her partner had applied. Small red shards then fell out of her poofy, orange mane.

"I have shards of our gems stashed all over Adagio's mane." she said with a bright smile while still shaking her friend's mane. "I case of gem emergency!"

"Alright, that's enough, Sonata!" Aria then grabbed Sonata's hooves, forcing her to let go of their leader's mane. Sonata just kept smiling.

"I found it weird that the shards we collected were so few. You do realize we'll have to confiscate those afterwards, right?"

"It's not like we'll have a chance to use them as long as Chief has us on a short leash." Adagio said with a shrug. "Now, I need you to charge those with as much magic as possible!"

Trixie sighed. "Don't make me regret this decision." she levitated all the shards on the floor and proceeded to fill them with magic. It wasn't long until they were glowing once again. Each Dazzling grabbed one single shard while Trixie placed all the others inside her saddlebag.

The sirens looked at each other and nodded, then pressed he shard to their chests and proceeded to sing the same song the ponies heard when they first met the Dazzlings, but with one slight difference: it was being sung backwards. After a few more moments of singing, Twilight blinked and shook her head.

"Ow, my head..." she whined.

"Boy, oh, boy, it feels good to sing again!" Sonata said while bouncing up and down.

"So, did it work?" Trixie asked the Dazzlings.

"Only one way to know!" Applejack grabbed Twilight's shoulders. "Flash Sentry."

"Huh? Hi, Applejack. What about Flash Sentry?"

Applejack smiled and hugged her friend. "She usually got all flustered when any of us mentioned his name. Welcome back, pardner!"

"Back? What do you mean?"

"Long story short, Flash Sentry is a vampire and he placed a charm on you!" Trixie explained. "But our associates over there already fixed this!"

"A vampire? Charm? What, you mean he...?"

"No, he didn't bit you! You're safe."

Twilight sighed in relief, then looked around. "Where is he, anyway? And what about Rainbow Dash?"

As if on cue, they both flew back in through the shattered window. Flash Sentry had the upper hand, though, for he landed on top of Rainbow Dash, who had several bruises, while the only hint that he had been in a fight for the past few moments was the lack of his helmet and his dishevelled mane. He opened his mouth, baring his fangs once again, ready to consume the blood of his victim, but was blasted away by Twilight's magic beam.

"I can't believe I let myself fall for such a petty trick." she said. "You crossed the line, Mr. Sentry!"

"So, you're just gonna slay me, too, right?" he said while getting up. "Slay me just like you and your brother slayed my sire? I don't think so!"

His body suddenly morphed into a thick red mist, which enveloped itself around Twilight. He then morphed back into his pony form, legs wrapped around her body, ready to bite her neck.

"THANKS FOR THE MEAL!" he yelled before biting her. Trixie and Applejack tried to stop him but they were too late.

"Wh-What the...?" Flash said. He expected to feel her blood flowing into his mouth, but none came. That's when he noticed that her shoulder was glowing pink.

"Good one, Twi!" Applejack cheered.

"I-I didn't do anything..." her eyes widened when she looked at the door. So did Flash Sentry's. Standing right outside the dark room was her brother, Captain Shining Armor of the Royal Guard, his horn glowing pink from the protective spell he was casting around his sister's shoulder.

"C-C-Captain..." Flash Sentry stammered.

"Another one, Twi?" the stallion said. "Neck-Suckers are attracted to you like bees to honey!"

"Shining Armor!" Twilight said with a smile on her face.

Flash Sentry let go of Twilight and tried to fly out of the window, but three figures were blocking his path.

"Going somewhere?" Adagio asked with a grin on her face, which was mimicked by her associates.

"If I'm going down..." he said before flying toward Shining Armor. "...I'M GOING DOWN FI--" Shining Armor quickly turned around and kicked him in the face before Flash could either reach him or finish his sentence. Flash fell on the floor, clutching his muzzle.

"No Neck-Sucker messes with my little sister." he said. "Any last words before I send you back to the hole in Tartarus where you came from?"

Flash Sentry chuckled. His chuckle grew louder until it turned into a booming laughter.

"Care to tell what's so funny?" the alabaster unicorn asked.

"I'm laughing because I can't cry." he said. "I had so many things planned for the Big Day, but I guess I won't be around to see it. What a shame!"

"What Big Day? Tell me everything you know!" Shining said, stomping his left forehoof on the ground.

"Sorry, boss, but I was instructed no to tell a thing. Instructed by somepony with a higher rank than yours!"

"And who is that?"

"Rule #1 of the Royal Guards: always obey your superior's orders!"

"Tsk..." Shining Armor created purple a rapier with his magic. "At least you're one less foul being tarnishing the great name of the Royal Guards!"

With one swift move, Shining Armor beheaded the vampire with his rapier.

"Ew..." Aria said. "Gross."

"Woohoo!" Sonata cheered, pumping her hoof in the air. "Brother ex machina saves the day!"

Twilight jumped on her brother and wrapped her forelegs around his neck.

"Thank you so much, BBBFF!" she said while nuzzling her brother's chest.

"Hey, no need to thank me." he wrapped a foreleg around her. "It's the duty of every big brother to protect their little sister!"

"What about the others, though?" Aria asked, pointing at the five unconscious guards around them. "I mean, they were this guy's subordinates, weren't they? Doesn't that mean they're all vampires as well?"

"Nah, Ah don't think so. They thought he was Princess Celestia, Ah think they're just as hypnotized as Twi was!"

"Our counter spell works even if they're unconscious." Adagio explained. "They're all out of trouble already!"

Trixie couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Ah don't recall tellin' a joke!" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just that it looks that the rumors about the Royal Guards were true, after all."

"What rumors?" this time it was Shining Armor who asked.

"Well, let's just say that the influence spell of a vampire only works if you're attracted by the gender of said vampire."

"So, ya tellin' me all these guards are...?"

"Yup!"

"Huh..." a moment of silence, then it finally hit Applejack. "Wait wait wait! RD and ya weren't under Flash's spell! Does that mean yer both...?"

Trixie nodded. "And very proud of it! I had no idea Rainbow Dash was, too, but I had my suspicions."

"Ya learn somethin' new everyday." Applejack then placed Rainbow Dash on her back. "Anyway, our job here is done. We got some stuff to report to Chief! let's go, Twi!"

Twilight was still sitting on the floor, staring at Flash Sentry's corpse while rubbing her chin.

"Twi?" Applejack called. "Don't tell me yer still under his spell!"

"Huh? N-No, I'm not! I'm sorry, Applejack, I was just thinking."

"Thinkin' 'bout what?"

"Flash Sentry said he was instructed no to tell anything by somepony with a higher rank than my big brother's, and Shining Armor is a Captain. He also mentioned something about a 'Big Day'. I have a feeling that this is far from over!"

"Ah reckon yer right." Applejack said with a nod. "But RD here needs some bandages. We can worry 'bout that later!"

"Don't worry, Twi." Shining Armor said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "I'll do whatever I can to find out everything there is to know about what he said, and then some!"

Twilight nodded. "Thanks, Shining Armor."

She joined Trixie, Applejack and the Dazzlings, who were already leaving the room. Sonata and Aria tried to hide their gem shards in Adagio's mane, but Trixie quickly levitated them out of their hooves and placed them in her saddlebag, making the sirens pout.

"So, how come ya never told us ya have a brother, Twi?" Applejack asked.

Shining Armor was still inside the room, inspecting Flash Sentry's belongings, but didn't found anything incriminating.

"Nothing, dammit!" he said, throwing all the stuff he had gathered on the ground. "What is this Big Day you spoke of?"

Author's Note

I can see that OP Flash Sentry really bugged the hell out of my readers. Good, that's exactly what I had planned! And now I can kill him with a clear consciousness, thank you all so much.

And boy, that chapter was lengthy! Can't believe I wrote all that in a single day.

10. Interdimensional Affairs Dept.

As soon as Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight returned from their latest mission, they noticed a commotion happening at the HQ; it looked like most of the members were gathered in the lobby. Rainbow Dash flew up, but didn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Applejack then pulled the closest pony - a cream-colored earth pony mare - and asked her:

"'scuse me, pardner, but do ya know what's goin' on 'round here?"

"So, haven't your heard? Everypony is talking about it!" the mare said with a smile.

"Well, we were kinda outta town for the past few days."

"She's coming back! It's almost time for the portal to open again, and she's coming back again!"

"Who's 'she'?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"And what portal?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I think Trixie can explain it better." Bon Bon said, pointing at the azure mare standing on top of the stairs, talking to Chief Harshwhinny. "After all, she was her teammate!"

They followed her advice and approached Trixie, who had the biggest smile on her face while looking at something big and slim that was covered by a purple cloth. Chief Harshwhinny was holding the edge of the cloth while looking at the watch on her wrist.

"Hey, Trixie." Twilight called. Trixie's head turned around so fast that it startled them, her smile never leaving her face.

"Yes?"

"W-We just wanted to know what's going on he--" she was interrupted when Trixie grabbed her shoulders.

"Sunset Shimmer is coming back!" she said.

"Sunset who?" Applejack asked.

"Sunset Shimmer, former Princess Celestia's prized student and one of the most skilled members of this organization." Harshwhinny explained.

"Princess Celestia told me about her." Twilight said. "She told me that Sunset Shimmer joined the L.R.E. Organization as soon as she graduated from school, though she never explained why exactly."

Harshwhinny looked at her watch once more. "Well, it's time!" with a small tug, the cloth fell down, revealing a large mirror with a purple frame shaped like a horseshoe.

"Is that the portal?" Twilight asked, approaching it. "I've never seen one before, it's so--" She was about to touch the mirror when Harshwhinny grabbed Twilight's hoof and glared at her. "S-Sorry, Chief..."

In just a few moments, the pink gems on the frame of the mirror began to glow, but it only lasted a few seconds. Moments later, the mirror itself began to glow and a pony stepped out of it. Trixie wasted no time and jumped on the pony, hugging her.

"You're back, it's been so long, Sunse--" she finally noticed that the pony she was hugging wasn't her old teammate Sunset Shimmer, but an azure unicorn mare with light blue mane. She had a hairpin shaped like a star and wore a blue hoodie with a purple shirt underneath, a light blue and purple skirt and blue boots; aside from ther clothes, she looked exactly like Trixie. Both mares gasped.

"A doppelgänger!" Trixie yelled.

"A talking animal!" her lookalike yelled back.

The mirror started glowing again and another pony came through. This pony was another unicorn mare; she had an amber colored coat and a yellow and red mane, and was also wearing the standard L.R.E. uniform.

"Hello, everybody!" she said, waving her hoof. "Oops! I mean, everypony!"

"That voice... You're Sunset Shimmer?" the Trixie with clothes asked.

"In the flesh!" she said with a smile, then touched her horn with her hoof. "And magic! I missed you, little friend."

"What are you? What is this? Where am I? What's going on here?"

"Remember when I explained to you that people from my world didn't exactly looked like people from your world?"

"Yes, but I expected you to be still... Human!" she tried to stand on her hind legs, but fell flat on her rump almost immediately. That's when she noticed the lack of fingers on her hands.

"What happened to me?!" she yelled.

"You're one of us now!" Sunset said with a smile.

The Trixie with clothes looked at her body, then at Sunset Shimmer, at the ponies around her, then back at her body before losing consciousness.

"What... What just happened here?" the still conscious Trixie asked.

"Well, Trixie, I'd like you to meet Trixie. She's my girlf-- Marefriend!"

"S-Say what now?"

* * *

The second Trixie was lying unconscious on a bed in the infirmary, with Sunset Shimmer sitting by her side. Outside the room was the first Trixie, sitting on the bench by the door, looking down.

"Hi, Trixie." Twilight said with a smile. Trixie looked at her, then back at the floor. Twilight raised an eyebrow, then sat beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." she sighed.

"You don't need to hide your feelings from me, Trixie. There's something wrong, I can see it all over your face! Now, let's try this again: what's wrong?"

Trixie took a deep breath and started speaking:

"I'm just confused. Sunset Shimmer was always more than just a teammate to me. She's the reason I joined the Organization. She is my mentor, my savior and, above it all, my best friend. I always looked up to her more than anypony else! And now, half a year since we last saw each other, she not only comes back with a mare that looks exactly like me, but she is also dating her! This was so much to bear that I almost fainted as well. I mean, what does that imply? Does that mean she... I... Argh, is hard even to think about it!"

Twilight placed her hoof on top of Trixie's. "Now, now, Trixie, there's no need to make things this complicated: there's a very simple solution: go talk to her! Ask her about it, I'm pretty sure she will tell you everything."

"You... You think so?"

"She's your friend, isn't she?"

"Of course she is! Thank you, Sparkle, I'll go talk to her right now!" Trixie stood up, but then paused. "Can... Can you come with me? Just to make sure I won't chicken out in the last second."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Sure thing!"

Side by side, they walked toward Sunset Shimmer, then sat on the bed to the left of second Trixie's bed.

"H-Hi, Sunset Shimmer." Trixie said.

"Hello, Trixie!" she said. "So, how have you been? Things have been so crazy since I came back here that I haven't had time to talk. I'm sorry!"

"N-No, it's ok. I... I just wanted to ask--"

"Why I'm dating you from another dimension?" Trixie looked surprised, but Sunset simply chuckled. "You two were kinda loud! By the way, we haven't been introduced yet! Hello, I'm Sunset Shimmer, former protégé or Princess Celestia and head-slash-only member of the Interdimensional Affairs Department."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sunset Shimmer. My name is Twilight Sparkle, new member of the L.R.E. Organization and current protégé of Princess Celestia!"

"Really? Wow, what a coincidence. That's a nice thing to have in common!"

"It sure is!" Twilight said with a giggle.

They then shook hooves. "It's always good to meet new members!"

"Well, I can introduce you to my friends later, we all joined at the same time. But you can tell by Trixie's expression that she's gonna explode if you don't tell her what she wants to know!"

Sunset Shimmer laughed. "Alright, alright. But first I need to explain a few things to miss Sparkle, so that you'll be both on the same page when I tell you everything. You don't mind, do you?"

"Fine, go ahead!" Trixie said, waving her hoof dismissively.

"First, do you know what the Interdimensional Affairs Department is?" Twilight shook her head. "Well, sometimes we deal with foes that are far too strong for our dungeons to contain or for anypony to slay. We couldn't just banish them, because they would just cause trouble somewhere else. That's when Princess Celestia came with a solution: that portal you saw us coming from.

"It leads to a world where magic doesn't exist, so we send the worst of the worst there! Since they are stripped of all their powers and their appearance also change, it's easy to keep them in check. We see it as some sort of rehabilitation! But even if they are free to go anywhere they want in that world, we can't just leave them unattended either; even without powers, most of them are still very smart. They could find many other ways to be a nuisance!

"That's when I offered myself to escort them to the other world personally and stay there to keep an eye on them. Chief Harshwhinny agree with the idea, but she wanted to make everything super formal and all that, so she came up with the name 'Interdimensional Affairs Department'. She even created a new badge for it!" Sunset Shimmer pointed at the suit she had taken off and folded on top of the table beside Other Trixie's bed, which had a badge with a similar design to the L.R.E. Badge, except that the blue part was red and the yellow part was golden.

"Okay, I think I get the idea." Twilight said. "It was a very ingenious plan, but... Why are you here now instead of there?"

"Well, since I'm still the only member of this department, I still have to do everything myself. So, every six months, I come back here to update Chief on the status of all the criminals there. I don't know why, because I could very well send written reports through my magic notebook, but she wants them all delivered personally."

"Magic notebook?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, it's really neat! Ms. Harshwhinny also has one and, every time somepony writes something on one, every word magically appears on the other. She uses it to send me messages that are far too important for her to wait for my next return. It's also for me to use to ask for help in case one of the prisoners decide to rebel against me!"

"That's very convenient." Twilight said. "I must learn how to charm a notebook with that spell!"

"'Enchanting Objects - Size: Small To Medium - Advanced Edition', we have it in our library!"

"Alright, thanks!"

"Well, now that all this exposition is out of the way, let's talk about my sweet little Trix and how she saved my life!"

~ ~ ~

Alternate dimension. Human world. Canterlot High. Sunset Shimmer opened her locker in order to deposit her school books when she noticed that the satchel she kept under all her stuff was vibrating. She immediately pushed all her other things away and opened the satchel, which had a book inside. The book was vibrating and glowing pink, but stopped as soon as she opened it. It had been a while, but the book she used to communicate with her Chief from the L.R.E. Organization finally had a new message:

Sunset Shimmer

We recently discovered a new vampire infiltrated in Equestria. His name was Flash Sentry and he was disguised as a member of the Royal Guard. His coat was colored light orange and his mane was blue. If you stumble across an individual with that name who fits this description, investigate him immediately!

Signed

L.R.E. Organization Chief

Harshwhinny

Sunset Shimmer sighed and closed that book. She really expected to receive some good news, but got more work to do instead. That information was worrying, though; many ponies from Equestria had counterparts in this world, but so did many creatures with pony form, such as vampires. So, whenever a new vampire was slain in Equestria, she would be informed of this and asked to deal with the problem in this world.

At first this was a hard task because she was used to fighting monsters with her magic, which proved to be a hard task in a world with zero magic. But it had been two years since she first acquired this new form, so she had already gotten used to it, and was now as capable of fighting in human form as she was in pony form.

She looked inside her satchel, which had more than just books: there were also two garlic bulbs and a cloth wrapped around a cylindrical object, which was actually a silver stake she brought from Equestria long ago after she first learned that this world also had vampires hidden in the shadows.

She felt a hand grab her shoulder. She gasped and immediately threw the book and the satchel in her locker before closing it. She turned around and saw a tall blue-haired guy wearing a white shirt and black jacket smiling down at her.

"Hey, babe!" he said. "You look worried! Something bothering you?"

"N-N-No! Not at all! I was just... Thinking about the..." she looked at a poster on the wall behind him. "Fall Formal! Yes, the Fall Formal! It's really close and I haven't... Uh... Decided what to wear yet!"

"Have you tried asking Rarity?"

"Oh. No, I did not. Thanks, Flash, you're a lifesaver!"

"Anything for my sweet little Sunny!" he pulled her closer to kiss her, but was pulled away from her when their lips were about to meet.

"Excuse me, but the Great and Powerful Trixie was under the impression that she ordered you to go to the art classroom and get materials for our schoolwork." Trixie, the person who had pulled him away from Sunset, said. "Less time flirting, more time working. The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes nothing less than A+!"

Flash groaned. "Of all the people Miss Cheerilee could have paired me with..."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is equally displeased. But we wouldn't have to rush everything if you hadn't neglected your duties all week, would we?"

Flash sighed. "See you later, Sunny?"

"S-Sure thing. See ya, Flash!"

Flash Sentry walked toward the art classroom, followed closely by Trixie. She turned her head to glare at Sunset, who was too lost in thoughts to notice it.

"Flash can't be a vampire." she thought. "Can he?"

* * *

Later that night, Sunset Shimmer opened her wardrobe and grabbed a box hidden under a pile of clothes. She placed the box on top of her bed and opened it; from within the box, she retrieved a purple spandex suit with a large collar, dark blue boots and gloves, a cape, a mask and an utility belt with a buckle with the letter "M" on it. A purple hat was the last thing she took.

"It's been a while since last time I had to use these clothes." Sunset Shimmer thought as she wore the jumpsuit, boots, gloves and cape. "Not since the exiled prisoners stopped acting at night." she wore the dark blue mask. "But if I'm going to sneak around at night in secret..." she finally grabbed her hat and placed it on her head. "...why not do it in style?"

Sunset Shimmer, now disguised as her alias, Maiden Do Well, - though most commonly referred as The Maiden - opened her bedroom window to sneak out of her apartment without alerting her neighbors. She closed the window behind her and, with the agility few knew she had, she jumped and grabbed the branch of a tree located right outside her window. She climbed it, jumped on the roof of a nearby house and dashed off into the night.

It didn't took long for The Maiden to arrive at her destination: the roof of the house located on the other side of Flash Sentry's house. She grabbed a binoculars from her utility belt, kneeled and watched his house.

"Come to think of it, I never met Flash's relatives." she thought. "I wonder what kind of people they're--"

She interrupted her own thoughts when she saw the front door opening. She laid flat on her stomach and kept watching as Flash Sentry himself stepped out of the house.

"Flash is going out this late? And on a school night?" Maiden Do Well didn't thought twice before following her boyfriend, doing her best to not be spotted by anyone, specially him.

Her heart skipped a beat when he turned around to look in her general direction. She was quick to duck behind a chimney, then peeked several seconds later, sighing in relief when she saw him walk away at the same pace he was walking for the past few minutes.

"Thank Celestia for this suit." she thought. If it weren't for its dark colors that helped her blend in the night, she would have surely been spotted - her bright red and yellow hair wasn't exactly the best for sneaking around at night.

Flash stopped in front of a house and knocked softly on the door. Not loud enough to wake someone up, but definitely loud enough for someone already awaken to hear. It didn't took long for someone to open the door.

"Welcome again, Flash." the girl with very light grey, almost pure white skin, indigo hair and piercing blue eyes wearing a pink nightgown said. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face closer until their foreheads met. "I hope you came prepared this time."

"What the...?" Sunset thought, tightening her grip on the binoculars. "This can't be..."

"Of course I did, Rares!" he said with a smile, patting his pocket. "What about you? Are you sure your sister is asleep this time?"

"Entirely sure, my dear. Now come, we mustn't waste another second." Rarity stepped into her house, pulling Flash Sentry with her, who closed the door behind them. Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer was almost crushing her binoculars with her bare hands.

"So the bastard is cheating on me." she said, so frustrated that just thinking those words wasn't enough - she had to speak them. "Vampire or not, I will slay him mercilessly!"

While they were busy inside, The Maiden set a trap; she smashed two garlic cloves and spread them across the floor in front of the door before climbing the house and sitting on the roof, waiting. If Flash was indeed a vampire, he would vomit immediately after smelling the garlic. It would not only give her the confirmation she needed, but it would gross Rarity out so much that she would never want to mess with another man ever again.

"Huh, where did that came from?" Sunset thought, surprised with her own remark.

It took about thirty minutes for Flash Sentry to get out of the house and walk down the street. The Maiden raised an eyebrow.

"That was quick." she thought. "Also, he did not reacted to the garlic at all. Maybe he isn't a vampire after all. Just one rotten cheater!" Sunset was about to return home, already preparing her breakup speech, when she saw him enter a street that didn't lead back to his house. Considering where he had been for the past half an hour, she decided to keep following him.

Flash knocked at another door, this one answered by a girl with light green skin and purple hair. She recognized her as one of the girls from Canterlot High, but since they had never interacted before, she didn't knew her name. Once again, Flash entered the house and came out about half an hour later.

That night, he visited the house of several different girls before finally going home. Sunset Shimmer had problems going back home, since it was almost 5 AM and people were already starting to crowd to streets, going on with their daily lives. Once she closed the window, she threw her hat against the wall and angrily took off her clothes, stuffing them back in the box before collapsing on her bed, clenching her fists.

"That stupid cheating jerk!" she said between gritted teeth. "I will snap his neck the moment I--" her speech was interrupted by a yawn. Staying up all night jumping from roof to roof was really tiresome. "I'll still end him, but not now." she grabbed her blanket, covered herself, curled up and closed her eyes. "I'll think I'll skip school today."

* * *

Sunset Shimmer stretched and yawned as soon as she woke up. She slowly opened her eyes. "Nothing like a long nap to KYAAAH!!!" she screamed and her heart almost stopped when she saw a man standing beside her bed, but calmed down as soon as she recognized who he was. "Crap, Flash, don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, babe!" Flash Sentry said, pulling a chair and sitting on it. "But some girls didn't went to school today, you included, so I got worried and decided to come see if you were ok."

"I'm okay, I just had a bad night. How did you get in here?"

"You told me where you keep the spare key, remember?"

"Oh, yes, I did." she sat up, still covering her half-naked body with the blanket. "What did I missed today?"

"Nothing much, I guess. So, what about last night was bad?"

"Well, I--" she blinked a couple of times. "Huh, that's a good question. What happened last night? I... Crap, I can't remember a thing!"

"Did you stayed up all night studying again? You know this is not good for your health."

"Yes, I know, I'm sorry. But sometimes I just can't help myself, you know? Like when you spend all night playing guitar."

"Well, since you have a point, I'll forgive you." Flash Sentry got up and kissed her on the forehead. "And now that I know you're fine, I can go on with my day without worries. Don't push yourself, Sunny!"

"Sure thing. And don't forget to lock the door and leave the spare key where you found it."

"Can do!" Flash Sentry said as he left her bedroom.

Sunset Shimmer stretched one last time before getting up and walking toward her wardrobe. She grabbed her usual magenta t-shirt, her orange skirt with a yellow and pink stripe, her black and magenta boots and her trademark black leather jacket. She then noticed one thing missing from her wardrobe: the box containing the outfit she wore when scouting at night. After a quick look around the room, she noticed the box in front of her bed with her hat laying on the floor a few feet away from it.

"Did I used it last night?" she said, opening the box to check if everything was there - fortunately, nothing seemed to be missing. She stuffed the hat inside the box and closed it as soon as she heard a knock on her door. She threw the box in the wardrobe and closed the door. "I-I'll be right there!" she announced.

Sunset ran to the door and grabbed the key, which was hanging from the key holder. Just as she was about to unlock the door, she noticed something:

"This is the spare key." she thought. "Last week I forgot my keys in my locker back in school, so I used those and forgot to put it back in the hiding spot. Then how did Flash--"

Her trail of thoughts were interrupted by more knocks on the door, this time harder ones.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie does not tolerate people who treat her like a common salesperson!" the voice that belonged to the person outside the apartment said. Sunset groaned when she realized who it was and unlocked the door.

"What do you want, Trixie?" Sunset asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has come to--"

"Ruin my day?" Sunset asked, her eyes rolling.

Trixie, instead of getting angry like usual, grinned instead. "What if the Great and Powerful Trixie says 'yes'?" Trixie opened her backpack and practically threw a yellow envelope on Sunset's hands. Sunset Shimmer raised an eyebrow and inspected it.

"What's this?"

"You won't know until you open it!"

"I swear to whatever deities you worship, Trixie, if this is blackmail material, I will--"

"Firstly, the only deity The Great and Powerful Trixie worships is Trixie!" she said with a smug grin. "And secondly, this could be blackmail material if the Great and Powerful Trixie so desired, but it wouldn't be you who Trixie would blackmail with those."

Still a little skeptical, Sunset opened the envelope and pulled pictures out of it; pictures of Flash Sentry with many different girls. All the pictures had a date and time on the bottom left corner: the date was last night, and the time ranged from a while past midnight - which was a picture of him in front of Rarity's house, hugging and nearly kissing the snow white girl - from some time past 4 AM - this one a picture of him with another girl from Canterlot High, but she couldn't remember her name.

"Trixie saw him walk past her house last night. Trixie thought it was pretty suspicious, so she decided to follow him in secret. And who would have guessed that--"

Maiden Do Well. Window. Flash's house. Rarity's house. Binoculars. Garlic. Half an hour. She remembered everything! And it hurt - a little emotionally, but very physically. She fell to her knees, clutching her head, which felt like it was about to explode.

"This... This sensation..." she thought. "This... I felt this before..." she loosened the grip on her head, the pain easing a little. "Someone tried to wipe my memories!"

"--rry, I didn't expected you to react this way, I only--" Sunset heard a very distant voice. She then remembered that she wasn't alone there. She looked up and saw Trixie kneeled in front of her with her hands on Sunset's shoulders; she had a look of panic on her face.

Sunset Shimmer tried to get up on her own, but Trixie helped her. She wiped the tears of pain streaming down her face with her t-shirt and took a deep breath.

"Forgive me, I--" Trixie was interrupted by Sunset Shimmer's hug.

"Thank you, Trixie." she said. "You have no idea how much you helped me right now!"

"I-I... Huh?" Trixie blushed a little. Her arms were trembling and she was about to hug Sunset Shimmer back when the girl stopped hugging her.

Sunset then grabbed Trixie's shoulders and looked deep into Trixie's eyes. "Now I need you to tell me one thing: those girls in the pictures! Were they the ones who didn't go to school today?"

Trixie nodded. Sunset let go of her and went back into her apartment. The magician, still a little worried about her classmate's state, followed her inside. The redheaded girl was standing in front of a large bookshelf, skimming through a thick book with a brown cover.

"Ah-hah!" she nearly yelled. "Here it is!"

As Sunset Shimmer read the book, Trixie tried to peek over her shoulder to see what she was reading, but the book was written in a language she had never seen before. The only thing she could identify was the drawing of a half-naked man on the top of the page.

"I should have known." she said. "All the signs were there, but I ignored all of them." she closed the book. "No... No, I didn't ignored! He wiped my memories clean, so I wouldn't suspect a thing!"

"What are you talking about? And stop ignoring the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Oh. I'm sorry, Trixie, but I have to go now! I must take care of something!"

Sunset Shimmer dashed out of her house, leaving Trixie alone there with a confused look on her face.

* * *

Sunset Shimmer kicked open the door of Flash Sentry's house. She marched straight to his bedroom, where she found him tuning his guitar.

"Sunny? How did you get in--" he asked, but she grabbed him by the collar and slammed him on the floor, straddling him.

"I know what you are!" she said.

"I-I don't know what you--"

She punched him in the face, making him clutch his nose.

"What the hell did you do that for?!"

"That was for cheating on me." she punched him again. "That's for lying to me. " another punch. "That's for endangering the lives of those poor girls!" yet another punch. "That's for messing with my memory while I was asleep." and one last punch for good measure. "And that's for making me fall in love with you, you damned Incubus!"

Flash chuckled.

"So, you finally figured that out, huh?" he said with an evil grin. "Maybe you're not quite as bad as I expected you to be, Equestrian." he would have shrugged if she hadn't immobilized his arms with her legs. "But not as good as those prisoners told me you were, so I'm kind of disappointed!"

"Your opinion doesn't mean jack to me. You're just a monster from Tartarus sucking the life out of innocent girls!" she reached into her pocket and retrieved a necklace with Celestia's cutie mark on it. "But I am here to send you back to where you came from. For good!" she placed her hand on Flash Sentry's face and raised the necklace as high as she could.

"Hear me, oh mighty Goddess of the Sun, for I am your loyal servant. Channel your power through my mortal body and pulverize this tainted soul. Send it back to the depths of Hades as a warning for those who--"

She was interrupted by Flash Sentry's uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh, this is rich!" he said. "Do you really think the power of your Goddess of the Sun can reach this realm? Too bad, but she has no power here."

Flash Sentry got up with superhuman strenght, throwing Sunset Shimmer against the wall of the bedroom. He slowly walked toward her.

"I was waiting for you to be ripe enough to bear the child of a demon, but you had to ruin everything, didn't you?" he grabbed her by the arm and spun her around, smashing her against the floor. "You were the perfect choice, but now I'll have to look for someone else!" he kicked her, sending her flying until she crashed on another wall. "Shame on you, Sunset Shimmer." he grabbed her by the neck and lift her as high as possible. "Don't worry, though. No one will miss you!"

Water splashed on his face, which began to smoke. He let Sunset fall to the floor and clutched his burning face, yelling in pain.

"Are you okay?" Sunset opened her eyes with difficult, only to see a blue hand reaching out to her. Moving her eyes a little, she saw that the hand belonged to the same girl she had just seen a few moments ago.

"T... Tr..." she tried to speak.

"Say no more!" Trixie said, helping her up. She then laid her down on Flash Sentry's bed. "The Great and Powerful Trixie can handle this."

"You little slut." Flash said. His face was partially melted, revealing a dark green, wrinkly, greasy skin underneath his boyish looks. It was revolting, for the lack of better words. "What did you do to me?"

She showed him a glass vial full of water. "Holy water, best way to inflict pain to a demon since the Dark Ages!"

"I... I thought you... D-Didn't worship... Any deities..." Sunset Shimmer said.

"Wrong again, Sunset Shimmer. Remember what The Great and Powerful Trixie told you earlier?"

Flash Sentry was about to attack her, but another splash of holy water to his face kept him at bay.

"Legend says that Dolos, the greek god of trickery, fathered a demigoddess called Trixie. But like many gods from Mount Olympus, he didn't wanted anything to do with her and simply abandoned the poor thing. She was a trickster by nature, just like her father. Once she was old enough to learn the truth, her mortal mother told her about her father."

Flash Sentry once again tried to attack, but Trixie still had more holy water for him.

"Angered by the fact that her father abadoned her, she roamed the land, searching for him. When they finally met, Trixie challenged him: the best trickster would be the one worthy of the title 'God of Trickery'! Dolos was a god, but Trixie had the cunning spirit of a mortal. She dethroned Dolos and became the new goddess of trickery.

"But her father was a sore loser and made sure that this information never spread across the land of the mortals, forever keeping his loss a secret. But not from us!" Trixie reached into her pocket, retrieving a golden badge shaped like a crescent moon with a magic wand on top of it, flashing it on Flash Sentry's face. "For we are the Lulamoon clan, direct descendants and loyal servants of Trixie, the Great and Powerful goddess of trickery. I am The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon, chosen by the goddess herself to inherit her name and harness her power!"

Flash tried to shield his face with his hands, but the power of the Lulamoon badge was still hurting him. She pushed him against the wall and pressed the emblem against his head, making him scream.

"Now begone, foul being! The Power of Trixie banishes you back to your land of pain and misery, where you shall spend the eternity suffering the same pain you made others suffer."

There was a bright light that forced Sunset Shimmer to close her eyes. Flash Sentry's body began to deteriorate, until all that was left were his greasy clothes. Once he was gone, Trixie fell to her knees, panting.

"The Great and... P-Powerful Trixie... Never thought that... Channeling the go... goddess's power was so... Tiresome..." after a couple of deep breaths, she got up and walked to the bed, where Sunset Shimmer was still lying down, staring at her in awe.

"Trixie worships the only goddess who can get the job done." she collapsed on the bed, beside Sunset Shimmer. "Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie never thought she'd had to exorcize him to get him out of the way, but Trixie did it. The path is clear!"

"Path to wha--" her words were interrupted by a pair of lips that planted themselves on Sunset Shimmer's. Though it only lasted a couple of seconds, it was enough to amaze her. "Tr-Trixie, you..."

"Did Trixie ever mentioned that you are incredible, Maiden Do Well?"

"How did you...?"

"Remember that night on the alley, when some muggers cornered Trixie and you kicked them into oblivion?"

"Y-Yes, I..."

She nodded. "One of them cut your arm. The next day, you show up in school with a bandaged arm, the same arm Trixie saw the guy cut The Maiden. It couldn't be a coincidence! Trixie fell for you that day, but you weren't available, since you were dating Flash Incubus Sentry."

"Please, I just want to forget that I ever had anything to do with him. I mean, it."

"If Trixie wanted a chance, Flash Sentry had to be out of the way. From that day on, Trixie did her best to keep you two apart, even going as far as to bribe Miss Cheerilee into pairing Trixie with him for her schoolwork. Forgive Trixie if this sounded creepy, but Trixie always suspected that Flash Sentry was more than he looked. Turns out that the Great and Powerful Trixie was right once again!"

"You sure were, Trixie..."

~ ~ ~

"What an... odd love story." Trixie said.

"What happened to the girls?" Twilight asked. "The ones he 'endangered'?"

"Well, nothing much. He just sucked some vitality out of them. They were exausted for days, but recovered in no time! Also, it wasn't their fault that Flash was cheating on me. Turns out thet he had wiped the memories of us being a couple, which allowed him to completely manipulate them. They were just puppets and he was the puppeteer!"

"You never told us why you brought her here in the first place." Trixie said.

"Well, I thought that it would be obvious after that story I just told."

Trixie rubbed her chin for a moment, then realization suddenly hit her. "You want her to join the Organization, am I right?"

Sunset Shimmer smiled and nodded. The other Trixie groaned as she opened her eyes, then sat up, rubbing her head.

"Wha... What did Trixie missed?" she asked.

"Welcome back to the conscious world, Trix!" Sunset Shimmer said with a smile. "How was the nap?"

"Trixie does not think it's over yet, considering that you are still a... What the hell are you?"

"I am a unicorn! Wasn't my horn a big and pointy clue?"

"A... Unicorn? And what am I?"

"And so are you, look!" Sunset Shimmer levitated a mirror in front of her face. Trixie waved a hoof, then touched her cheek to make sure it wasn't a trick.

"Huh, it will take some time to get used to it." she looked to the azure pony sitting on a different bed. "Wait, if the one in the mirror was Trixie, then is that...?"

"Yup! That's Trixie! Well, the Trixie from this dimension. We're old friends!"

"Does... Does our relationship, by any chance, makes things awkward between you two?"

Trixie looked at Sunset Shimmer, then shrugged and smiled.

"After hearing that story? Not at all!"

* * *

Early in the next morning, Sunset Shimmer entered the mares' locker room, where somepony was taking a shower. She saw her lover's clothes on the benches and grinned. She sneaked into the showers, where the azure mare was washing herself. She approached her on the tip of her hooves and hugged her from behind, burying her face on her mane. Trixie gasped and blushed.

"Your hair smells as good as usual, Trix." she said.

"S-Sunset..." she said. "I-I think you got the wrong Trixie."

"Huh?"

The curtains of the shower were opened, revealing a frowning Trixie wearing the L.R.E. uniform. This Trixie, though, had a star-shaped hairpin on her mane.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie looks away from five seconds and you turn into a deviant?" she said between gritted teeth. "Did that Incubus turned you into a Succubus before Trixie vanquished him?"

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" Sunset Shimmer immediately jumped away from the first Trixie.

Pony Truxie resumed her bath, her blush never leaving her face, while Human Trixie yelled profanities at her marefriend. "Aaaand she made it awkward!"

Author's Note

Another change in this universe: since Starswirl didn't used it quite as much as he did in the canon universe, the magic of the portal is still quite strong, which means that, instead of opening every 30 moons, it opens every three months.
Oh, the glorious power of fanfics taking place in alternate universes! :pinkiecrazy:
Also, HUMANS! Gotta love 'em, huh?

Also, sorry if this chapter took a while, but I had planned to keep Flash a vampire in the human world, but then I realized that things would just get repetitive, so I decided to change him into an Incubus just for the sake of variety. And so, I had to make an awful lot of changes based around this idea. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off and halfway through this I seriously considered turning him back into a vampire, but in the end, I didn't. Hope the results are pleasant to you.

Also, longer chapters are longer.

11. Dark Nostalgia

Author's Note:
This wasn't edited yet. Errors and mispellings ahead. Send me a message telling me where they hide and I'll terminate all of them!

Badlands near Macintosh Hills. A single house on top of a mesa was being surrounded by six pony-shaped creatures wrapped in many layers of linen cloth. Since Twilight had been summoned by Harshwhinny regarding her interactions with the vampire Royal Guard, - in her own words, "safety measure to make sure she is still fit to be part of the Organization" - she was out of comission for a while; that is why Trixie had been chosen to temporarily take her place. And the three of them had just gotten off the carriage that landed there.

"Huh. Two for each one of us. How convenient!" Rainbow Dash said. She grabbed her knives. "Betcha can't finish them faster than me!"

Applejack smiled as she grabbed the spear strapped to her back and spinned it a couple of times. "Challenge accepted, pardner!"

"Is there a time when you two are not competing?" Trixie asked with a roll of her eyes.

Applejack shook her head. "Nope!"

"What she said!" Rainbow pointed at Applejack.

"Anyway, let's just get this over with." Trixie blasted two of the mummy ponies with her magic while Rainbow Dash attacked them from afar with her knives and Applejack charged at two of them with her spear, successfully piercing both of her targets.

"Well, that was easy. Like, disappointing easy!" Rainbow Dash said, then turned to look at Trixie. "So, who won?"

"I don't know and I don't care." she said, walking past the now dead living dead. "The hard part comes now, though." Trixie knocked on the door three times.

"KEEP AWAY FROM OUR HOUSE!" a filly shouted from inside the house, startling the trio. "MY FATHER IS NOT ONE OF YOU!"

"It's okay, kid." Trixie said. "We're from the L.R.E. Organization, we're here to help you and your father."

It took a while but, afew moments later, the door slowly opened a little, though it still had the chain bolt keeping it mostly closed. The pony who opened the door was a little pink unicorn filly, and anypony could see her big, blue eyes were full of fear.

"C-Can you really help my father?" she asked with a trembly voice.

"Trust us, kiddo!" Rainbow Dash said with a wink. "We're the best at what we do."

"An' what exactly are we doin' here?" Applejack asked. "Ah was informed 'bout the mummies, but everythin' from here is a mystery to me."

"We sure can help you and your father, child." Trixie said with a smile. "Trust us!"

The filly closed the door, unbolted it and opened again, this time with enough for the mares to walk in. Rainbow Dash looked around at all the books and scrolls about supernatural beings, ancient curses and similar subjects.

"Wow, whoever lives here is really into supernatural stuff!"

"This is the house of one of the researchers from the Organization." Trixie explained, pointing at a wall, which had a picture of many ponies wearing lab coats and goggles. Sunset Shimmer and Chief Harshwhinny - who looked as unamused as ever - were among them.

The little filly nodded. "Father said that if something ever happened, I could trust ponies from the Organization, no matter what!" she petted a white and grey pigeon who sat on the perch on top of a table. "That's what I sent father's carrier-pigeon as soon as..." she looked at stairs that led to the basement of the house and sighed. "He's downstairs. Don't hurt him, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Applejack said while patting her back, reassuring the filly.

Trixie was the first to go downstairs, soon followed by Rainbow Dash, then Applejack. It was dark, but they found a lamp with the aid of the unicorn's light spell. There wasn't much in the basement, except for some papers on a table and a wardrobe.

"Three guesses where the father is." Rainbow Dash said before looking under the table. "Two guesses left!"

Applejack opened the doors and was immediately attacked by an unicorn stallion half wrapped in linen cloth, drooling and moaning like the mummies from before. She kicked him off her and reached for her spear, but Trixie levitated the weapon away from her.

"No harming here." she said. "You two, hold him down, I'll handle this."

Both mares pinned the stallion-mummy to the ground before he could get up while Trixie charged a spell.

"Sunset should be the one doing this, she's much better at this kind of spell than me." she said. "Why did she had to go back so soon?" she sighed, then mumbled: "I didn't even had the chance to tell her I slayed the lycan that killed her parents..."

Trixie fired the spell at the stallion, enveloping him in a pink coat of magic. The magic focused itself on the cloth wrapped around parts of his body, making them deteriorate and turn into dust.

"Alright, you can let him go now." Trixie said. Applejack and Rainbow Dash got up, looking down at the stallion lying on the ground, who slowly got up as well.

"That was... An unfortunate event!" he said while rubbing his head. The stallion gasped. "My daughter, is she--"

"Father!" she called as she ran downstairs. She immediately jumped on the stallion and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." he said while hugging her back. "I was careless."

"What the hay happened to ya?" Applejack asked.

"A little accident during one of my studies of undead creatures." he explained. "The lack of sleep made me careless, and I ended up casting a spell I shouldn't have." he hugged his daughter tighter. "I should have paid attention to what my sweetie said. I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, father. Everything's fine now!"

"I believe our job here is done." Trixie said. "Let's leave them be, they need some family time."

"Wait! Can you do me one last favor?" he levitated a book in front of Trixie. "Can you take this back to the HQ? And please, tell Chief that the spells in this book should never be cast ever again! You saw what they're capable of."

"Alright." Trixie said while placing it in her saddlebag.

The three mares then left the house, walking back to where the carriage was waiting for them.

"Now that felt nostalgic." Trixie mumbled.

"Nostalgic?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Did you had problems with living dead before?"

"Well, yes, but that's not what I meant." she explained. "I was in a similar situation before joining the Organization. I was surrounded, with nowhere else to go, death knocking on my door, when suddenly a pony from the L.R.E. came out of nowhere and saved my my hide!"

"That sounds like an interestin' tale." Applejack said while jumping on the carriage. "Care to tell us? It will be a long travel back, anyway."

"Well, that's a story that I never told many ponies." she sat beside Applejack, pondering. "But I guess I can trust you. Well, here it goes." she took a deep breath and proceeded to tell them her story.

~ ~ ~

Four and a half years ago. Trixie used her smoke cloud spell to run away without being spotted, but didn't expected the magic wind Twilight had summoned earlier to still be blowing, completely blowing her cover, allowing everypony else to spot her fleeing the scene.

"Why, that little--" Rainbow Dash said before taking off, ready to chase Trixie.

"Just let her go." Twilight said. Rainbow Dash stopped and watched Trixie disappearing behind some trees after a turn of the dirt road. "Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson."

But Trixie was already too far away to listen. She only stopped running once she ran out of breath.

"Those colts..." she said while breathing heavily. "Are unbelievably... Stupid..." she approached a small river and drank as much water as she could. "Ahh, much better." she crossed the river and kept walking. "But still, what were they thinking? Bringing an Ursa Maj-- I mean, Minor... Into town and hoping for the Great and Powerful Trixie to vanquish it? Trixie is telented, but not to that extent!" she sighed. "That purple mare sure showed Trixie who's..."

She shook her head. "NO! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall never bow down before another! The others bow down before Trixie. Besides, this was just an isolated incident, was it not? Nopony is going to believe that the Great and Powerful Trixie was bested by a bunch of hillbillies from a countryside village where progress has yet to reach? No pony Trixie knows, that's for sure. Trixie will sneak back before sunrise, find her cape and hat, some of her possessions and start all ov--" she bumped on something and fell on her rump.

After rubbing her face a little, she opened her eyes and saw the last thing she expected to see in the middle of a dirt road: a scarecrow. Its head was a sack with two buttons stitched to it, serving as its eyes. There were also stitches forming a curved line, serving as a smile. Its body was a bigger sack stuffed with hay with an old, ripped and dirty shirt covering it. Just looking at it gave Trixie shivers.

"What in the name of the Princess is this thing doing here?" Trixie tried to move the scarecrow, but the stake that kept it standing was probably buried too deep on the ground. "Probably just some stupid prank. Trixie is not amused!"

She dodged the scarecrow and kept walking, still thinking out loud:

"First, Trixie needs a new cart." she said. "The bits in Trixie's bank account may or may not be enough, but maybe Trixie can earn some more in a couple of weeks working at Donut Joe's--" she once again was too focused on her plans to notice something in the middle of the road, once again bumping on it and falling on her rump.

"This is getting ridiculous!" she said, looking up at it: a scarecrow. "Another one?" she turned her head to look at the other one that she had previously met, which couldn't be too far behind. "What kind of pony has so many free time on their hooves that--" her eyes widened when she saw that the road behind her was empty. "Did... Did Trixie walked in circles? But this is a straight road!" she faced forward again and gasped when she saw that the scarecrow was gone.

Trixie immediately got up and looked around, but she didn't saw anything. "Alright, whoever is doing this, Trixie would appreciate it if you STOPPED! I am already leaving your city, no need to chase me out with... With... That thing!"

She received no answer, so she harrumphed and raised her chin as high as she could before she kept walking. Until the scarecrow blocked her path once more.

"ENOUGH!" she yelled before running as fast as she could once again. She ran for nearly half a mile and even went as far as entering the woods nearby, trying to escape from whoever was chasing her. She collapsed in front of a tree, breathing heavily. "Tr-Trixie thinks... She... She lost them..." she took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but her heart skipped a beat when she heard dry leaves and twigs being crushed. She immediately curled up and covered her mouth with both forelegs.

"Why am I even so afraid?" she thought. "It's probably just some stupid teenager trying to scare a poor mare when she's down." she got up and took a deep breath before jumping from behind the tree. "Why are you following Trixie, you--" she looked around, but there was nopony there. She groaned, shook her head and rubbed her temples. "Trixie must be hallucinating..."

She heard noises coming from above and looked up. She screamed when she saw the same scarecrow falling from a branch and about to fall on top of her. Without thinking twice, she charged a spell and fired it at the faling scarecrow. The brute force of the spell sent it flying, shredding it to pieces once it hit the trunk of a tree. Some of the hay straws were even set ablaze by the magic beam. Trixie was pating, still a little shaken by that event.

"There!! Trixie broke your little toy!!" she yelled. "Will you leave Trixie alone now?!"

She turned around with the intention of walking back to the main road, but the scarecrow blocked her path once again. She turned around to look at the pieces of the destroyed scarecrow, but there wasn't a single hay straw left. She looked back at the scarecrow and yelped when she saw that it was so close that she could see many of the straws sticking out of its "body" were scorched. She turned around and ran as fast as she could.

"What the hay is going on here?!" Trixie yelled. "Why won't you leave Trixie alone?!"

Trixie tripped and fell on her face. She turned her head to look at what she had tripped on. Her face went pale when she saw hay straws sticking out of the earth wrapped around her left hind leg. Not too far behind her was the damned scarecrow; the stake was tilted, making it possible for its makeshift hoof to touch the ground. She noticed that the hay sticking out of its burlap hoof had been buried in the ground. It didn't took long for Trixie to put two and two together.

"This... This is no scarecrow!" she said. "LEAVE TRIXIE ALONE, YOU MONSTER!"

She fired another spell at the hay straws keeping her in place, and winced after accidently scorching her leg as well. She got up and limped away. She was almost sure that she had no chance of getting out of those woods alive, but Lady Luck smiled upon her and she smiled back when she saw a small wooden cottage. It looked abandoned and fragile, but no part of it was missing, so it had to do.

She was both thankful and surprised that she managed to get into the cottage unharmed. She slammed the door shut behind her and looked around frantically. She smiled when she saw an empty cupboard not too far from her. Using both her physical and magical strenght, she managed to block the door with it, sighing in relief once she was done. She moved to the window and yelled with a grin on her face:

"Try to follow Trixie in here now, you loser!!" she yelled. She gulped when she saw the scarecrow standing between two trees. If it had real eyes, it would surely be staring at her. She watched as the stitches undone themselves as if they were being removed by magic, but Trixie ruled out that option since she couldn't see any magic aura around the stitches. The black string that kept its "mouth" closed fell to the ground, soon followed by a dark, thick liquid seeping out of its now open "mouth".

Trixie almost threw up when she saw the inside of the scarecrow's mouth: it was full of a liquid that looked like blood, except that it was pitch black. She also saw many rotten, pointy teeth that were also stained with what looked like fresh blood. Trixie immediately ducked, incapable of looking at that thing a moment longer. She was breathing heavily once again. She lied on the floor and covered her head with her forelegs.

"I'm not gonna die." she whispered. "I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die..."

Something slammed against the door, making the cupboard shake and creak. Trixie screamed and jumped inside an empty wardrobe on the other side of the cottage. She closed the doors as quietly as possible, hoping that the scarecrow wouldn't hear and know right away where she was hidden. Her heart was pounding so hard and fast that it was painful. She covered her muzzle to make sure her pursuer wouldn't hear her, which left no hoof free to wipe the tears of fear that were blurring her vision.

"I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die..." she kept chanting in her head, hoping that any deity would hear her and spare her from a fate worse than death.

"I gotcha!" she heard somepony saying. It was the voice of a mare.

"What the hay was that?" she thought, still not daring to move. "Is that thing emulating somepony's voice to taunt me? Or maybe give me a false sense of security?"

She heard struggling outside, but her will to live was stronger than her curiosity.

"Nothing escapes from me." she heard the voice speak again. "You evaded me for a while, but your time is up."

A whimper of fear escaped from Trixie's throat. It was involuntary, but she knew that it was a mistake that would cost her life. She still didn't moved, hoping that the scarecrow didn't heard her, as unlikely as that sounded.

"Is someone here?" the voice called. Trixie kept silent.

She heard hoofsteps approaching the wardrobe, but she was too agitated to remember that her pursuer didn't made a sound while chasing her. She tried to scream in fear when the doors opened, but the hooves that kept her mouth shut didn't let the scream leave her throat.

"Hello there." the amber-colored mare with bright red and yellow mane wearing a dark magenta suit who opened the doors said with a warm smile. "There's no need to be afraid, you're safe now."

Trixie immediately wrapped her hooves around the mare's neck and cried harder than she had ever cried in years. The mare just patted her on the back.

"It's ok now, it's ok." she said with a tone that sounded like a mother comforting her child. "You're safe, don't worry about it."

Trixie looked at the doorway, where the scarecrow was standing. She would have screamed again if she hadn't noticed all the charms wrapped around its body. Trixie was a dropout from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but she spent enough years there to know that those were movement restraint charms, and its purpose was exactly as it sounded: it made any creature affected by it cease each and every movement.

"Th-Thank you..." she said. "You... You saved my life... Thank you so much..."

"Oh, don't mention it, I was doing my job!"

"Your... Your job?"

A second mare appeared in the doorway, this one a grey earth pony with a long, straight purple mane. She was also wearing a dark purple magenta suit, but hers wasn't buttoned, revealing the white shirt underneath.

"So, you did it. I'm impressed." she said, not sounding impressed at all. In fact, Trixie couldn't even tell if the mare was feeling something.

"You're late, Maud." the unicorn mare pointed out.

"Sorry, but I found this komatiite." she said as emotionless as before while retrieving a small rock from her breast pocket. "It's very rare."

"You sure do love your rocks, don't you, Maud?"

"I think I'll call it 'Boulder'."

"Yes, you do that!" the amber mare looked back at the azure mare who was still hugging her, noticing how confused she looked. "I suppose you might be feeling a little lost, not knowing what we're doing or why we're doing, but believe me, being part of the L.R.E. Organization is not only a great honor, but a big responsibility." she said with a big smile.

"'L.R.E.'?" Trixie asked, finally letting go of her savior. "What's that?"

"Oh, you don't know what that is? Well, let me give you the quick explanation: 'L.R.E.' means 'Locate, Restrain or Exterminate'. Basically, our job is to fight monsters threatening our peaceful life in the magical land of Equestria."

"And how do you do that?"

"Well, I guess I could give you the long explanation, but no one likes exposition, right? Don't worry, though. You'll understand soon enough!"

Maud placed the komatiite back in her pocket and ducked under the frozen scarecrow. She got up and lifted it with so much ease that it looked like the creature was as light as a twig. She carried it out of the woods, followed closely by Trixie and her savior. They then started to follow the road.

"You... You never told me your name." Trixie said.

"Oh! Yes, I'm sorry. My name is Sunset Shimmer!" she pointed at the mare in front of them. "That's my partner, Maud Pie! And what about you?"

"I'm... Lulamoon. Trixie Lulamoon!"

"Pleasure to meet you." Maud Pie said, not sounding pleased at all.

A few minutes of walking later and they reached their destination: a place where to carriages were parked; one was a normal carriage pulled by two pegasi wearing golden armor, and the other was a cage, also pulled by two pegasi wearing golden armor.

"Are you from the Royal Guard?" she asked the mare beside her.

"Not really." Sunset explained. "I mean, we cooperate sometimes, but they mind their business and we mind ours. Our Chief, on the other hoof, has the authority of a Lieutenant Colonel; that's why those kind gentlecolts agreed to help us, since all our carriage drivers are busy at the moment. Thank you again, misters!"

All four pegasi nodded. Maud opened the cage and threw the scarecrow in, locking him in there. She then entered the other carriage and sat down, looking at the rock she had found.

"Well, we're all done here. Thanks for your help, Trixie!"

"Help?" Trixie tilted her head.

"We've been chasing that thing for nearly a month now, but it always managed to evade us. Not this time, though, since it was so focused on stalking you that it didn't noticed us approaching. Thank you very much, and sorry for any problems that it may have caused you."

"I-It's okay. I wasn't having the best of nights, anyway... I lost everything I had when my cart got smashed..."

"Really? Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I think I'll just keep walking until I figure something out..."

"Don't you have any relatives who you can stay with?" she shook her head. Sunset Shimmer pondered for a few moments. "Wanna come back with us?"

"P-Pardon me?"

"If you have nowhere else to go, you can come to the HQ! I mean, it's because we didn't catch that monster sooner that you lost everything you had, I can convince Chief Harshwhinny to let you stay for a while!"

"Bu-But it wasn't that thing that destroyed my carriage, I--" Sunset Shimmer silenced Trixie by covering her mouth with a hoof. She then winked.

"But our Chief doesn't know that!"

Trixie smiled and both entered the carriage.

~ ~ ~

"It didn't took long for Sunset Shimmer to notice that I was quite skilled with magic and started training me." Trixie said. "In just a couple of months I was already much better at magic than Sparkle was at the time! Not much later I joined the ranks of the L.R.E. and teamed up with Sunset Shimmer and Maud Pie. Maud went back home for a couple of months and came back with her two sisters. She left our team to work with them, forming a new team called 'The Dolls'. They now walk around wearing some silly clothes with a creepy mask - one of her sister's idea, she says it makes them look scarier, even for the monsters."

"Is that Maud Pie related to our friend Pinkie?" Applejack asked.

"Beats me!" she answered. "Maud never told us much about her family, but one of her sisters mentioned a fourth sibling that 'abandoned the farm to chase after her dreams of being a clown' or something."

"So, what happened next?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, my first official mission with Sunset Shimmer and Maud Pie was to catch a serial killer. An odd job for an organization that chases after monsters, but witnesses said that the killer didn't looked like a pony, because he was very pale and had a smile too big for his face. Some also said that he was immortal, but..."

Trixie kept telling them stories of her times working with Sunset Shimmer and Maud Pie until they finally landed.

Author's Note

Okay, last flashback of the series, I promise you that!
By the way, this chapter only exists because I! FRIGGING! LOVE! SCARECROWS!

12. The Big Day (Part 1)

A few months later. Sweet Apple Acres. Sunset. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were carrying baskets full of apples to the barn. Once they put the baskets they were carrying down, Applejack wiped the sweat on her forehead and took a deep breath.

"Now that's what Ah call an Apple Buckin' Day!" the farmer said. "Thanks for the help, RD. If it wasn't for yer help, we would be waaaaay behind schedule right now!"

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh said while dropping his last basket and leaving the barn.

"Well, you promised me some cider afterwards, how could I refuse?" she said with a smile.

Applejack smiled back and shook her head. "Ya never change, do ya, RD?"

Both mares left the barn and went straight back to the house, where they saw Granny Smith and Apple Bloom sitting on the couch looking at an album.

"What are y'all doin'?" Applejack asked.

"Granny's showin' me pictures from young Ponyville for mah essay!" Apple Bloom answered.

"Darn tootin', young'un!" the elder mare said.

"An' who is that pony, Granny?"

"This here is our very first mayor, Winnin' Streak. Not the most likeable of ponies, but that mare knew how to keep ev'rythin' in order!"

Applejack looked over Granny Smith's and Apple Bloom's shoulders to look at the picture and gasped. She grabbed the album from her grandmother's hooves.

"Hey, we were usin' that!" Apple Bloom protested.

Applejack gave the album to Rainbow Dash and pointed at the picture of her grandmother with a very unamused mare. "Look at her. Does she look like somepony ya know?"

"Hm. Now that you mention it..." she inspected the neatly brushed mane and tail, which were obviously golden-colored even for a yellowed picture, the brownish-orange coat, the clothes that were probably the fanciest of that age and the golden locket around her neck. "She looks a lot like Chief Harshwhinny, doesn't she? Maybe an ancestor?"

"Not an ancestor, Dash." she pointed a the mare's cutie mark: a golden trophy. "This is Chief Harshwhinny!"

"What? No way!"

"Accordin' to one of the books Twi and Ah studied, the odds of two ponies sharin' the same cutie mark is 1 to 180,000! And even if they're kin, the odds of two ponies of the same family havin' the same cutie mark are even smaller. Hay, the Apples are a clear example! All of us work with apples, but none of us have the same cutie mark, do we?"

"Yeah, you have a point there..." Dash rubbed her chin.

"Ah don't think they can be the same pony, fillies." Granny Smith interrupted. "Winnin' Streak was older than my mama, so even if she was alive today, she would probably be dead! Wait, that didn't sound right..."

"Whaddya mean with 'alive today'?" Applejack asked.

"Winnin' Streak died in a carriage accident when Ah was younger than y'all!" she explained. "She was goin' to a meetin' in Canterlot, but her carriage fell down a cliff an' into a river. We never found the body, so we erected a statue in her honor in front of the Town Hall. The name wore down with age, but that statue still represents all the respect we Ponyvillians have for our appointed leaders!"

"The body was never found? Hm, I've been part of the L.R.E. for long enough to know that this sounds a little suspicious!" Rainbow Dash looked at her teammate. "What do you wanna do?"

"Let's go back to the HQ an' tell Twi! This can't be good news."

"But today is our day off! And what about my cider?"

"Rainbow Danger Professionalism Dash!" Applejack called while stomping her hoof on the ground. "Is a cup o' cider more important to the Element of Loyalty than the security of her friends?"

"Alright, alright, I got it. But you owe me now two cups of cider!"

* * *

L.R.E. Organization Headquarters. Library. Twilight Sparkle was surrounded by books, levitating and reading two at once. Until she was startled by a hoof touching her shoulder, making her drop both.

"What are you doing, Sparkle?" Trixie asked. "And are you ok? You seem a little jumpy."

"H-Hi, Trixie." she said while levitating the books she dropped. "I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling very well."

"Really?" she pulled a chair and sat beside her. "And why is that?"

"I don't know, I just feel like..." she looked left and right, then whispered. "I'm being watched."

Trixie placed a foreleg on Twilight's forehead. "Are you feeling sick? Need a glass of water? You probably should rest, today is your day off, after all."

"I can't! I just can't! I mean, remember what Flash Sentry said?"

"That there's a 'Big Day' coming, right? You keep reminding me that every time we meet."

"Until I figure out what that means, I won't stop worrying. Besides, it's hard to concentrate when there's someone watching all my moves!" she immediately covered her mouth with both hooves. That's when both of them heard the sound of a book hitting the floor, but it wasn't one of Twilight's books this time.

"Who's there?" Trixie called. "Show yourself, that's an order!"

But no one identified themselves. Trixie's horn flashed as she cast a spell that locked the door and all the windows.

"I guess you weren't just paranoid after all, Sparkle."

The mares split and looked in different areas of the library, not resting until they inspected every suspicious looking nook and cranny. They were about to give up when Twilight heard the sound of flapping coming from above a bookcase. She immediately created a magic bubble around that shelf, trapping whatever was there.

"Did you find something?" Trixie asked.

"There's something up there." Twilight pointed at the bookshelf.

Trixie created a platform under her hooves, which lifted her until she could see the top of the bookcase. "Alright, Sparkle. You can stop now, I got it."

Twilight burst her magic bubble, and Trixie went back down, bringing with her a bat trapped inside her own magic bubble, struggling, trying to free itself.

"A... Bat?" Twilight tilted her head.

"Or is it?" Trixie said. "Follow me!"

* * *

Dungeons of the L.R.E. Organization. Trixie and Twilight walked past several cells where many incarcerated creatures were screaming, weeping, squealing, banging or cursing at the two ponies walking past them. Trixie ignored all of them while Twilight tried to. They finally reached their destination: a metal door at the end of the corridor, which led to a room separated in half by a thick reinforced glass wall.

A unicorn guard stood beside the door. He quickly closed the book he was reading and saluted the mares. Trixie levitated the bat in front of him.

"We're interrogating this one." she said.

The guard nodded and cast a teleportation spell that sent the small bat to the other side of the glass wall. Trixie grabbed a microphone that was hung on a panel on the wall and blew on it to make sure it was on. The sound came out on speakers on the prisoner's side of the interrogation room.

"State your name and species." Trixie said, but the bat just kept flying around aimlessly. "Again, state your name and species. Don't make me repeat myself, or there will be consequences!" but the bat still didn't show any signs of being able to understand them.

"Pardon my intrusion, ma'am, but why are we interrogating a bat? I mean, isn't it normal for bats to be flying around at night, specially this time of the year?" the guard asked.

"While that may be true, do you remember how high we are on this mountain?" Trixie explained. "Nomal bats don't fly this high. And I'm losing my patience!" she pressed a button on the panel, making a cloud of some sort of yellow dust come out of two vents on the walls on the bat's side of the reinforced glass.

"What's that?" Twilight asked.

"Garlic powder."

The bat immediately dropped to the floor, twitching and squealing. Its left wing suddenly got bigger, but the right one kept twitching, as if the bat was being forced to transform, but trying the best it could not to. Its feet turned into hooves and its ears got smaller. In just a few moments of excruciating discomfort, the small bat turned into a full grown, greyish blue mare with dark blue mane and bat wings on her back. She was wearing a uniform similar to the one of the Wonderbolts, except that it was black and purple and with a skull on the flank, as well as golden goggles. She got up and started banging on the glass.

"Make it stop!" her voice, coming from speakers on the unicorns' side of the room, said. "Please, I beg you, make it stop!" she clutched her stomach with one foreleg and covered her muzzle with the other, trying not to puke and not breath any more garlic powder.

Trixie pressed another button, making the vents suck all the powder out of the room. The bat mare was still sitting down on the ground, breathing heavily.

"See? That wasn't so hard!" Trixie said. "Now let's try this one more time: state your name and species."

"N-N-Nightshade..." she said. "I-I'm... I'm a vapire." she said.

"Good, good. Now tell me, what were you doing spying on us in the library?"

"I-I don't have permission to--"

"I still have tons of garlic, ready to be released."

"N-No, wait! I-I can't tell b-because if I do, they will... They'll make me... Disappear!"

"You are under our custody." Trixie explained. "Nothing can harm you now, so you can tell us everything."

"You don't understand!" she banged on the glass again. "It's the Son of the Dragon! He knows things! He can do things! And if we do things he don't want us to do..." she sat back on the floor, hugging herself and shivering.

"Twilight, go see if you can find any information related to this 'Son of the Dragon'!" Trixie whispered while covering the mic with a hoof. Twilight nodded and stormed out of the interrogation room.

Nightshade suddenly stopped moving, then grinned. A grin that made Trixie raise an eyebrow and the guard uncomfortable.

"Well, looks like I just got granted permission to speak." she said with a chuckle. She shrugged and crosseed her forelegs. "As k me anything you want, miss L.R.E.!"

Trixie was suspicious of this change of behavior, but kept talking anyway:

"What are you doing here?"

"Spying on you, of course. After all, that's my job as a Shadowbolt!"

"Shadowbolt? What is that?"

"We're a special task force of the Ventrue clan, specialized in spying, scouting and kidnapping."

"What's a Ventrue?" the guard asked.

"One of the seven main vampire clans!" Trixie explained. "They are the Ventrue, the Brujah, the Gangrel, the Malkavian, the Nosferatu, the Toreador and the Tremere. While the other six are perfectly fine with living in the shadows, the Ventrue like to control! Most of the vampires living among us are Ventrue, and they're most likely disguised as leaders: CEOs of big companies, mayors of big cities, evil rulers of Crystal Empires..."

Nightshade clapped her hooves. "You really are a smart one, aren't you? Everything you said was indeed correct."

"I'm just gonna guess that your clan had something to do with the Flash Sentry incident from a while ago."

"Well, I'll admit, Flash Sentry was indeed a Ventrue, but he acted on his own accord. We got tired of his shenanigans, so we sent a Giant Radscorpion for him to fake his death and leave Canterlot, and what did the bastard do? Killed the thing only to be showered in praise! His desire to be a Captain was even bigger than we had predicted. In name of the Ventrue clan, I thank your organization for getting rid of him for us."

"There's one thing I don't understand, though." Trixie rubbed her chin. "The only vampires that could shapeshift were from the extinct Tzimisce clan, and yet I've seen you shapeshift into a bat and Flash Sentry into a cloud of red mist. Why?"

Nightshade giggled. "Well, we have a very powerful ally. One that no living creature would expect!"

"Who is that?"

"The Son of the Dragon, of course! Don't worry, though. You'll meet him soon enough; after all, today is the Big Day!"

"And what is this Big Day?"

They heard a loud explosion and the whole headquarters of the L.R.E. Organization shook.

"What was that?!" Trixie nearly yelled.

"They're heeeeere~!" Nightshade said with a singsong tone.

"You keep an eye on her, don't leave her alone for one second." Trixie said before throwing the microphone to the guard, then ran out of the room, past the jail cells of the dungeons and back to the main corridor of the L.R.E. HQ. The two guards that were supposed to be standing beside the door that led to the underground path she just came from were missing. She ran to the main entrance of the building and opened the doors.

"What the hay is--" Trixie looked up. She fell on her flank, with an expression of terror on her face.

Several dozens of vampires were flying in circles around the L.R.E. Organization building, entering through a wall that had been blown up just a few moments ago. She heard screams coming from there.

Nightshade was laughing like a maniac in the interrogation room. The guard had no idea what to do and just watched her, very concerned about what was going on up there. She looked at him, with the biggest evil grin on her face, her golden eyes now glowing red.

"Tonight, you all die!"

Author's Note

Sorry if it took a wwhile to write this, but I'm working on a new project and there were just so many ideas for it that my brain completely stopped producing stuff related to L.R.E.!
My most sincere apologies!
And the new fanfic is looking cool in my head, can't wait to start writing it and release for the public! Hope you'll enjoy.
Also, I'm sorry if the "vampires come from several different clans" talk made things complicated, but worry not, this was just a pointless moment. It's just that a friend of mine bought me "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines" as a birthday gift last week, so I had to make a reference somewhere!

13. The Big Day (Part 2) [FINAL]

Twilight was in the library once again, but surrounded by far less books than before and, instead of reading two books at the same time, she was reading a single book.

"Here it is! 'Son of the Dragon' was the title given to Vlad III (131 CE – 176 CE), also known as Vlad the Impaler." she read out loud. "His father, Vlad II, was known as Vlad The Dragon, and received this title after being inducted into the Order of the Dragon, which was founded to overthrow the Princess and separate the three tribes once again. The plan was a failure and the Order was disabanded, though the House of the Dragon kept working in the shadows, making deals with all sorts of creatures to accomplish their goal."

"Vlad III was last seen in 176 CE, and his whereabouts were unknown until the year 220 CE, when a crypt was found in Hollow Shades, with the words 'This is the resting place of the Son of the Dragon'." Twilight put down the book and sighed. "History is a very interesting subject, but none of this is helping me in the slightest."

She rest her head on top of a pile of books. "If only I had a spell that could send me back in time to Ancient Equestria, so I could see with my very own eyes what--" her eyes widened. "Ancient Equestria, that's it! They still used the ancient Equestrian language back then!" she levitated some more books from the shelves and opened them on the table. After translating the name she gasped.

"In Ancient Equestrian, 'Son of the Dragon' means 'Draculea'! If the Son of the Dragon is a vampire, then that con only mean one thing!"

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by an explosion, followed by screams coming from above. She immediately left the library and ran upstairs, freezing when she finally reached the second floor: several vampires had invaded the HQ through a giant hole in the wall and were attacking all the members that were unfortunate enough to be there at the time, sucking all of their blood out of them, killing them instantly and not giving them the chance to come back as vampires.

Twilight immediately teleported to the Chief's office, since it was the most secure place due to the reinforced doors and windows. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had that idea, since some other ponies were there as well.

"What is going on here?" Twilight asked.

"They came out of nowhere." a mint-colored unicorn said while tending to an injuried cream-colored earth pony who was lying on the floor. "We were taken by surprise, and there are so many of them, the only thing we could do was hide!"

"Where's the Chief?"

"I don't know. We came here hoping that she had some sort of super weapon or something to protect the HQ, but she was gone!"

"Well, in that case, there's only one thing left to do." Twilight said as she levitated all the bookshelves in the room, using them to block the door an the large window. She then levitated the two crossed swords mounted on the wall and gave one to the unicorn while keeping the other. "Hold the fort! Remember to cut off the head, otherwise you'll be just slowing them down."

The unicorn nodded and Twilight teleported away, reappearing on the corridor outside the room. The vampires were startled, but immediately got ready to attack.

"Yes, come at me!" she challenged them. "Let's see how good you Neck-Suckers can be." she swinged the sword around. "Just a warning, though: I killed my first vampire when I was nine years old, and I've gotten a lot better since then!"

The vampires hissed, but just when they were about to attack Twilight, an unicorn jumped over them from behind. She had a dagger clenched between her teeth and, with the help of her magic, she created a large blade made out of magic around the dagger. With a powerful swing, she cut off the head of several vampires, but not all of them. The survivors immediately flew out of the hole they came from.

"Thanks, Trixie!" Twilight said.

"Don't mention it." she said while cancelling the spell, turning her weapon back into a simple dagger. "I should be the one thanking you for keeping their heads turned to the same direction. I don't think I would have been able to take care of them on my own!"

"That was a powerful spell you just cast. Why don't you use it more often?"

"That's what I like to call my 'last resort' spell. Super powerful and stuff..." Trixie then fell on her rump. "...but extremely exhausting..."

Twilight helped Trixie stand again and wrapped her foreleg around her neck. "I'll take you somewhere you can rest."

"Thanks. By the way, that was a nice bluff! ' I killed my first vampire when I was nine'! I swear, I saw half of them flinch."

Twilight chuckled. "That wasn't a bluff!"

"You... What? You're kidding, right?"

"Well, my brother landed the killing blow, but I helped quite a lot?"

Twilight stared at her for a moment. "Are you even real?"

While on their way back to Chief Harshwhinny's office, an earth pony crossed their path.

"Oh, there you are, Chief!" Twilight said.

"Isn't this supposed to be your day off?" she asked.

* * *

Since the carriages weren't unavailable at the moment, Rainbow Dash had to carry Applejack to the L.R.E. HQ. They were currently hiding in the bushes, watching.

"It's finally our day off, and this happens." Dash whispered. "Why this sort of thing only happens during our day off?"

"Eyes peeled, RD." Applejack warned. "There are enemies ev'rywhere, we don't want 'em sneakin' up on us!"

"Right, right. You never told us the plan, though! What are we doing here in the bushes instead of there, kicking each and every flank that crosses our path?"

"If ya wanna destroy the hive, aim for the queen." Applejack said. "First, we find the leader of this attack and take 'em out. After that, the rest will be easy pickin's!"

"Do we even know who is that leader?"

"That's why we're hidin' in the bushes!"

It didn't took long for a pony they knew very well and hardly knew at the same time to walk out of the front door. The vampires standing outside immediately saluted her.

"The Organization is out of the way." Chief Harshwhinny said. "The path is open! The Princesses will fall tonight!"

All the vampires outside the HQ cheered. But to an outsider, it didn't sound like cheering at all; it was just a very high-pitched collective scream that made Applejack and Rainbow Dash cover their ears.

But, just as soon as the cheering started, it stopped and all the vampires stared at nothing, with a blank expression on their faces. Chief Harshwhinny was the first to grin.

"He's on his way!" she shouted. "After so many centuries, Lord Dracula is finally returning!" her maniacal laughter was louder than the new round of cheering of the other vampires.

"That no-good rattlesnake." Applejack whispered. "She's been mastermindin' ev'rythin' all this time."

"It makes sense, too. Remember what Flash said?" Rainbow Dash asked. "He said he was instructed by somepony with a higher rank than a captain's!"

"Yeah, accordin' to Trixie, the Chief has the authority of a Lieutenant Colonel! How did we not notice that?"

"That explains why he was in her office the day Twi was taken by him!"

The vampires formed two lines and walked toward the edge of the cliff, then jumped and took off. They watched as every single one of them flew away, except for one.

"Where's Chief?" Applejack asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, today is your day off." Harshwhinny, who was standing right behind them, said. Rainbow Dash and Applejack immediately jumped away from her, assuming a fighting stance. "Then what are you doing here?"

* * *

All the vampires invaded the castle at once, subduing all the guards that tried to stop them. Many were injuried, some died, others were taken hostage. The Princesses wanted to do something, but while their subjects were endangered, they were powerless. Suddenly, the main doors opened and two ponies walked in.

The first was a mare, also known as the Chief of the L.R.E. Organization, Ms. Harshwhinny. She was accompanied by a pony Luna has never met before, but Celestia knew very well.

"It's been a long time, Dracula." Celestia said.

"Please, Celestia, you know you can call me Vlad!" he said in a very smooth voice. The stallion had blue coat, white mane, a pointy goatee, equally pointy ears and was wearing a black cape. His blue eyes were captivating, but his gaze was very cold.

"You are not Vlad!" she said. "Vlad died when he decided to follow his father's footsteps. All left behind now is a shell, a shadow of what he used to be."

"You hurt my feelings, Celly! That was his dying wish, I couldn't just say 'no'!"

"Yes, you could. But you chose him over Equestria! You chose him over peace! You chose him over everything that was worth fighting for!"

"It's what they say. Family comes first, right?"

"One day, you will fall, Dracula. The Elements of Harmony will--"

"Oh, you mean these Elements of Harmony?" he nodded to one of his minions, who pulled a chain. That chain was binding Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight together. Luna and Celestia gasped.

"How did you--?"

"My little sweetheart here." he said while patting Harshwhinny on the back. "She's done a fine job since I left. And to think that I almost killed her when we first met! I'm glad that Belmont stopped me when he did, otherwise she wouldn't be one of us, just a pile of bones."

"I think it's time, dear." Harshwhinny said.

"Oh. Yes, that's right! Thank you! Well, Princesses, I'd love to chat some more, but I don't have time to waste. Well, as a matter of fact, I do, I just don't want to!"

Harshwhinny grabbed a bloody knife from her saddlebag.

"You're going to fall in due time, Celly. But first, I need to take care of those pesky Elements. Now, if you do--" he suddenly stopped talking. Dracula looked down at the knife that was stabbed in his chest and the orange hoof holding it. He looked at Harshwhinny, who was grinning at her.

"Sw... Sweetheart?"

"Dead pony's blood! It will keep you at bay." she said. "You think I liked being a vampire for five hundred years? I watched all my loved ones die around me. I nearly killed several of them when I could barely hold my bloodthirst! You know who was that Belmont who stopped you from killing me? My fiancé! He couldn't bring himself to kill me, so he killed himself in shame. I watched him hang himself with his own whip! You know how much it hurts? Of course not! You have no heart!"

She twisted the knife in his chest. "And you wanna know why I created the L.R.E. Organization? It wasn't a plot to make the Princesses trust me so we could strike, no! It was all to make you crawl out of your filthy den, so I could end you with my own hooves! Killing you won't bring my fiancé back or turn me back into a normal pony, but it brings me so much satisfaction!"

"Why, you..."

"Trixie, if you don't mind."

"Yes, ma'am!" the unicorn came through the front door, bringing with her a silver rapier coated in vampire blood.

Dracula chuckled. "The only pony I thought I could trust is the one who double-crossed me. There's a life lesson hidden somewhere between the lines! How did you get them to cooperate, even after you betrayed them?"

"I just told them everything before coming here. Honesty gets you everywhere!"

"Darn tootin'!" Applejack said with a smile as she straddled and punched the vampire that had been dragging them. The chain had a weak link, planted there by Harshwhinny herself, and the three mares freed themselves as soon as Trixie walked in.

"Well, it was nice catching up. Trixie, could you...?"

Trixie nodded and swung the sword. Dracula's head flew across the room, still with a smile on its face. Rainbow Dash grabbed her knives, all of them wet with dead pony's blood, and threw them at the vampires in the room.

"Bat hunting season is open!" Dash said with a grin.

* * *

Applejack, Twilight, Trixie, Rainbow Dash, Chief Harshwhinny and several other survivors stood outside the HQ, in front of a recently erected large memorial stone, with the pictures and names of all the members who lost their lives in that bloody night.

"I never meant for this to happen." Harshwhinny said. "I told them to not hurt a single pony, just tie them up or knock them out." she sighed. "I guess keeping secrets can be hurtful too..." she then took off her scarf, which had a purple and white L.R.E. badge pinned to it. "Well, I guess that's that. Trixie?"

"Yes, Chief?" Chief Harshwhinny wrapped the scarf around the unicorn's neck. "Wh-What is the meaning of this?"

"I am retiring." she said. "My business here is done. Besides, I don't think the ponies here would be very comfortable having a vampire as their leader, don't you think?"

"Bu-But, ma'am, I--"

"Good luck to you, Trixie. To all of you!"

Trixie looked around at all the ponies she was supposed to guide from now on, all of them staring directly at her with different levels of excitement. She looked back at her former Chief and nodded.

"I accept this responsibility, Chief Harshwhinny!"

"From now on, Ms. Harshwhinny will be fine!"

"Yes, ma'am!" she turned around to look again at her new subordinates. "L.R.E., salute!"

All the ponies, donkeys, griffins, zebras and sirens who proudly wore the L.R.E. uniform and flashed their badges saluted their former leader. She was strict and a vampire, but she also meant well and truly wanted to make Equestria a better place. After that last farewell, Harshwhinny smiled, nodded, saluted them back, turned around and left.

"Foolish mortals." the cloaked pony watching from the woods next to the HQ said. "Such ambition, even though they stand no chance against the evil that lurks in this world. They even think they managed to kill me! Foolish, foolish mortals. But again, that's also fascinating. I'll humor them. Let them believe they vanquished me! Those L.R.E. ponies truly intrigue me. I'll be watching their progress."

"Lord Dracula?" a high-pitched voice from a young mare called from behind him. "Your carriage is ready, do you intend to leave right now."

"Undoubtedly!" he turned around and followed the mare. "Until we meet again, L.R.E. But maybe, next time, not on the battlefield!"

Author's Note

L.R.E. is finally over. Sadly this didn't turned out to be what I had planned, I had to cut lots of edges, edit out lots of stuff and I rushed past many things (especially that ending. I'm sorry). I wish I could have turned this into something great, but it wasn't meant to be...
Well, at least I had fun for a while, and I hope you did as well!

P.S.: If you're a fan of "The Mysterious Maiden Do Well", I'd just like to write two words for ya: stay tuned! :raritywink: