Fanged Feathers II: Black Midnight

"Black... Midnight?" Rainbow Dash asked, her tone soft, and puzzled. She thought back to a book she had overseen in the coven library - just across from where the Daring Do books were kept. Derpy had mentioned that name before, when talking about it. Why did it strike her as off. This wasn't the same Black Midnight she had heard off. This wasn't the furred she-demon her coven feared...

It was a kind mare, with a protective heart. One who was willing to fight off her own kind to save others... A heroine. Almost...

Rainbow Dash shook her head, returning to her senses. She looked over to Lyra, who was holding her the makeshift umbrella. She sighed, nodding as she took it in her jaws, following after Black Midnight calmly, her two unaware companions following suit.

When they reached the castle it was, unsurprisingly, in a ruined state. Old stone blocks lay strewn across the floor in messy piles, while tattered banners swayed in the gusts of wind forcing itself through the smashed windows, violently. The cracks flood heaved and creaked as the four mares walked over them, threatening to give way and collapse at any second! Even the walls were starting to crumble as the silky, green overgrowth of the Everfree Forest pushed against it, causing the back wall to simply collapse without reason. The sound of the falling wall caused Black Midnight to jump in shock, having not expected the place to be quite as unstable as it was. Though the four ponies pushed on until the were safely inside a a dark, windowless room. They found it in the library, a simple secret passage behind one of the bookshelves. No trigger mechanism, or complicated trap door. It was just a simple hole behind the book case. And the room smelt of soaking, rotting mold. Vines along the walls withered away in the darkness as the four sat down, relaxing as best they could.

They all sat in a circle as Lyra started a small fire, burning the illegible pages of an ink-stained book, which provided to group some warms, and a soft, flickering, glowing light source. The fire crackled and hissed as it danced in the darkness of the small, dank chamber, and it took all of Lyra's magic to keep it lit!

"So..." Rainbow Dash started, glancing at Black Midnight. "Care to explain the situation to me? I came out here to get these two runaways, and now I'm muddled in some mess I don't understand."

"It's a long story..." Midnight replied. "Though we have plenty of time before we can really leave without drawing suspicion, so I'll tell my tale..."

The three vampires all turned their attention to the lycan, listening carefully to what she had to say.

"It all started on a night of hunting. I was just a pup, and was joining my pack on my first hunt. We had chased down a Manticore, surrounding it in a small clearing. Dinner! I was so confident in our success that when a vampony arrived, I ignored it. So did my pack. Then... More arrived. And even more... We grew suspicions, as you could probably guess. They were attempting to steal our prey. And after an hour-long tussle, the dragged our dinner away. My father, our pack alpha, soon grew highly territorial, along with my pack, and forbade us contact with any outside the pack... Including my vampiric sister... A victim of the mare who's been a thorn in our side for a good few years now..."

"And who's that?" Lyra asked curiously, staring at Black Midnight in search of an answer.

"Derpy buckin' Hooves. Snatched up a good, strong looking pony I could have ate too. And the filly with her. Shame - I was starving to death at the time."

Rainbow Dash looked on in horror, remembering back to the night she was turned. Derpy saved her and Scootaloo from the forest after she was attacked. Black Midnight had planned to eat them both!

"Well, we're with Der-" Rainbow dash cut of Bon Bon quickly, frowning.

"Enough talking you two. You don't want to say something stupid," as Rainbow Dash spoke, her voice became strict, harsh, and demanding. "You will not speak of the coven while outside it. That's a rule."

Black Midnight chuckled at the group. "You vamponies have a strange pack system."

"It's called a coven," Rainbow Dash corrected, frowning harshly, turning her head away. "Can you go and keep an eye on the time of day? We really need to be going home as soon as possible. It's important."

Black Midnight sighed, nodding as she left the chamber, her furry paws thumping gently on the cold, stone brick flood as she left the three to themselves. There was little to do in the chambers but read, so both Lyra and Bon Bon had taken some books from an old, damp, cracked bookshelf. The books had been on mythology, and of official organisations from the past.

One even caught Rainbow Dash's eye. She looked over the cover which displayed an ancient tome that represented the sun, and two silver swords over it. "The Silver Sun, Defenders of the Night?" She seemed to be intrigued. It was by no means a Daring Doo book - but it was something - and it was probably going to be useful.

The book spoke of an old, secret order of monster hunters. They slew everything that would typically be seen as 'evil' to such narrow-minded ponies like the paladin's and priest's described in the book. Rainbow Dash scoffed at the book. It sounded insane! But... Was it true? She flipped through some more pages. The weaknesses of many creatures listed were given, including lycanthropes, the vampiric, and demons.
"To defeat a lycan... A blade of pure silver, and a vial of Hydra venom will leave the lycan at your mercy - which you must not give," Rainbow Dash quoted, frowning slightly. She continued reading as her two companions glanced at her. "The vampiric are weak to the sun, and will slowly burn to cinders while in it. A wooden stake through the heart will kill - do not engage alone. Highly cunning, and dangerous."

She closed the book, frowning. "We're keeping this. When we get back I'm placing it in the library under Derpy's place. No touching it."

"Understood, Ma'am," the two replied in sync, returning to their books.

Rainbow Dash turned her attention to the room again. Flapping her wings gently and taking off, looking towards the top of the bookshelf. She frown as she realized there wasn't a saddlebag, or any kind of bag, to store the book in. "Damn..." Rainbow Dash muttered, looking over what they had in the room. The leaf umbrellas! They could be fashioned into saddlebags, with a little magic. "Lyra!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking towards the pastel green unicorn, whom had jumped in shock and surprise. "I need a saddlebag made from the umbrellas... Now!"

Lyra nodded, turning and quickly getting to work, sighing slightly. At least she had something to do... Bon Bon also sighed, throwing her book at the wall in sheer boredom.

Then, the lycan returned. "It'll be night in about ten minutes. But... We have company."