Dusk Shine stared down at the mare he had caught drinking the blood of one of his friends sisters. He knew the mare well enough as her name had been plastered throughout history as one of the greatest magicians of all time. The mare was none other than the infamous Moon Flower, a mare so cunning that only her stage name was truly known.

For Dusk this presented both an interesting and rather vexing dilemma. On the one hoof he could attempt to bring one of the most notorious vampony criminals in history outside of Blackheart to justice, an event that would undoubtedly get him killed or waking up in a ditch somewhere. Then there was the option of letting her go and letting her take Apple Bloom wherever she wanted, something that he wasn't going to let happen.

“Moon Flower, I'm only here for the filly. Let me take her and I'll leave you alone.”

“Ah'm surprised a pony in the army would let a notorious criminal slip through their hooves.”

“Normally that would be the case, but nopony ever survives a scuffle with you and I'm here to make sure that nothing happens to the populace. That being said I'll be taking that filly now.”

“Take her, she nearly got captured by Blackheart anyways. Tell her she knows who to visit about her new condition, now I must be going I've got a whole night ahead of me.”

Dusk Shine slowly approached the unconscious filly and took notice that the white maned mare that was Moon Flower wasn't moving. As he grabbed the filly he noticed the two fangs protruding from her gums and looked up at the mare who stared at him with rapt curiosity. As he placed the filly on his back Moon Flower's concentration lapsed, allowing Dusk Shine to make sure that Moon Flower wouldn't try something, which was linked to a small container he was carrying.

Moon Flower looked away briefly not wanting to look into the eye's of her friend's brother. She knew he had figured out what had happened as the little filly happened to let out a mighty yawn revealing her fangs to the world. Unfortunately Dusk Shine took her lapse in attention to blow a cloud of garlic powder at her sending the mare reeling in pain.

“Get back her you a##!” The mare screamed as her whole body began to swell and her breathing became painful.

Unfortunately the sudden aggression on Dusk's part had sent Moon Flower into a blood rage, a grave mistake on anypony's part. Moon Flower let loose an unholy howl of pure rage as she sent a fireball hurtling straight at the head of the retreating guardpony. Her target barely avoided the projectile, it was meaningless though, Moon Flower had other ways of handling her prey.

Dusk Shine couldn't help but feel a surge of panic shoot through him as a fireball whizzed past his head, he had known Moon Flower was a skilled aeroturge, but he had failed to imagine just what that meant. A quick dodge to the left gave the retreating stallion a cold shoulder as a spike made out of ice clipped his armor. After scanning the trees to see where the vampony could be attacking from she could see a doughy form moving about in the distance before another blast of fire was sent his way.

Moon Flower was clearly in pain, and her body wasn't wanting to respond either, but she wasn't about to let her prey get away with her broodling. Of course she was only aiming to take down the stallion, but if an innocent forest creature got hurt in the process she couldn't care less, no matter what Fluttershy said. Another blast was sent towards the stallion, this one being a trickier move that the vampony had been working on, she couldn't wait to see how he handled this one.

“If this is how she fight's when she's severely weakened, what in the world is she like when she's completely fine.”

“Ah'm yer worst nightmare... Silver Spoon...” Apple Bloom mumbled in her sleep.

Another blast came up from behind, one to which Dusk ducked for causing it to fly overhead, and turn around as the ball of lightning started to fly right back at the stallion. A quick shield stopped the projectile while also causing the stallion to grunt as his shield nearly shattered from the impact. A faint rumbling sounded from behind as another fiery blast hit the shield shattering it and singeing the two ponies.

Dusk Shine could barely make out the cackling of the vampony behind him as he took off in a sprint along the path as more fireballs whizzed past him, hitting the trees up ahead sending burning timber crashing onto the path. The obstacle caused Dusk Shine to run blindly into the forest, a forest that was slowly starting to burn as an unnatural heat consumed the area.

Moon Flower was close behind her quarry, sniffing out his scent like a feral dog. The fear he was emitting was tantalizing to say the least, and she was going to enjoy having her way with him. The stallion was busy wandering through her trap, while she had decided to wait on the other side and keep an eye on his location. To think that some ponies wondered why Moon Flower only left lone survivors to tell the tale of her exploits.

The raging inferno that the forest had become was starting to make Dusk panic. Moon Flower's laughter was echoing through the flaming foliage, likely waiting to attack with another blast of magic. The inferno around Dusk was becoming alarmingly more violent as time progressed, trapping him in a small area. That's when the vampony landed in front of the stallion.

The garlic had certainly done a number on the petite pegasus, turning her toned body into a swollen mass that closely resembled a marshmallow. The strange demonic aura that surrounded the mare gave little doubt to what she was planning. The mare dove for Dusk's cargo and he rolled out of the way semi-successfully. The mare that had been lunging at him plunged her fangs into his leg when he dodged, tearing a large gash into the appendage. Thankfully Dusk was able to slip through the burning forest without getting attacked again, but when he was on the main path again Moon Flower showed up.

“Heh, yer pretty maneuverable for prey, but my broodling is the only reason yer still alive right now. Ya started this fight and ah'm endin' it.”

In a split second Dusk Shine attempted a ranged teleport to no avail. He didn't get anywhere and when he looked for the reason why he noticed his hooves were frozen to the ground and that his horn was covered in ice as well. Dusk Shine began to panic a bit as he was now an easy target, but he began to wonder if all of the other attacks were just for sport and that the only reason he was alive right now is because Moon flower wanted him to be.

''Thanks... Mama.” Apple Bloom mumbled when Moon Flower took her off of Dusk Shine.

Moon Flower stumbled back in shock as Apple bloom's statement managed to bring the mare to her senses and she blanched at what she had nearly done to her friends brother. Of course the mare had known of the dangers of a blood rage, but to actually realize what could have happened nearly made the mare sick. Moon Flower placed Apple Bloom back on Dusk Shine's back and merely looked him over while he was still imprisoned.

“Yer a right idgit ya know that? Ya were lucky ah was snapped out of that blood rage and that ah was sufferin' the affects of garlic while trying to get Apple Bloom from ya, otherwise ya never would have made it past the first attack. Now git before ya do somethin' else ya will regret and take care of that filly and if ya try somethin' like that again, well let's just say yer sister will have ta fergive her brother for inviting death upon himself.”

As Dusk was released from the mares magic he looked back at her to see her wings crackling with energy, daring him to try something. Dusk decided that he had made enough stupid decisions that night and merely walked down the path. The most Dusk would do is report the mare and let those trained for high level threats like her deal with her, although Dusk had a feeling the elements of harmony might need to be used on her to take her down.

Moon Flower watched as the stallion retreated into the forest taking Apple Bloom home, thankful that Dusk hadn't decided to tempt fate. The mare promptly collapsed afterwords finally letting her swollen body rest. The pain she was in was unbearable and Moon Flower felt like she was trying to breath through a straw at the moment. The mare being prepared for such emergencies started reaching into her cloak for an antihistamine shot as a Zebra mare walked up to her.

“My dear Moon Flower you're expression is looking quite sour. With how much garlic powder you are covered in at this hour you will certainly require a shower.”

“Whoah, Rainbow you look like a blue marshmallow, you weren't kidding about that allergic reaction.”

“Yeah, ah'm goin' ta be swollen fer a while even after this shot. Dusk took Bloom home, but her being a vampony is no longer a secret.”

“Oh no! What will happen to her?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“If her family truly loves her they'll learn about her condition and help her adjust, and if they don't ah'm just gonna' have ta get involved.”

“Woah! Yeah, you'll just jump in and you'll use you're cool powers and kill everypony and there'll be blood everywhere, it will be so awesome!”

“What kinda' anime are you watchin' filly?”

“All of them.”

“Ah think ya should cut back on the more violent ones.”

“Aw... I'll just watch the ones Rarity hides under her bed then.”

“On second thought watch the violent ones all you want they're safer than what your sister's watching, but she's going to be limiting them.”

“Ugh... Hey why haven't you told the rest of the element bearers about you being a vampony?”

“You try telling friends that you just met that you're a parasite that feeds off of the blood of others. Not only that but that you have a hard time viewing them as something other than food, and that you have a temper a mile wide that feeds into a sadistic streak that all vamponies have. Not to mention that I nearly killed Dusk Shine in a fit of rage.”

“Sheesh, I was just asking.”

“Sorry kid, but ah wasn't joking when ah said being a vampony is rough, there are reasons why we are viewed as monsters. Those views have shifted over the years, and now we're almost being welcomed into society. That's not a luxury ah have though, if ah came out with who ah am ah'd be executed before ah even wash out mah hair dye.”

“Why?”

“Like ah said before kid ah've done things ah'm not proud of, but maybe ah'll do enough good one day ta make up fer all the bad.”

“Ya can't have done stuff that was all that bad, you're Rainbow Dash the most radical and heroic pony there is.”

“Ah'm also Moon Flower, Iris Moon, Purity Horn, and several others. Not all of the ponies ah've been were good Scoots. Some of them ah can blame on bein' depressed or angry with what ah was going through, but there are some things that ah know ah can't make up an excuse fer. Now please leave this subject be we've talked about it enough and ya need yer rest.”

“Alright, but you were so cool out there, I don't think I've seen any pegasus do that kind of stuff.”

“That's the result of a lot of practice squirt, and ta tell ya the truth, compared to other vamponies I'm pretty weak, even my two friends ah've known fer just near forever are tougher than me.”

“Then what would you call what you did back there?”

“Ah'd call it a sloppy mess. Mah strength is in speed and to a higher extent, agility and precision. As fer pegasus magic ah'm not good with the combat aspects of it, it's mostly showy stuff that ah've perfected and a few convenient things.”

“Oh... You're still cool though.”

“Right, well let's just not talk fer a while, ah've got a few things ta think about.”

Another bout of silence went on as the group travelled with Rainbow cleary deep in thought, far deeper than anypony would have associated with the egotistical mare. Scootaloo was one of the few ponies that likely knew how complex the pony really was and she didn't even know half of what her story was. With that thought on her mind Scootaloo decided to ask another question.

“Why so you hate Blackheart so much, aside from them being obviously evil I mean.”

“Were ya even listenin' ta that blabbermouth's rant?”

“Oh right, your family. Hey... what will you do if you ever get the chance to beat them.”

“Oh... what a day that will be. When that day comes they'll all beg for mercy from little old me, and do ya know what? Ah'll let them feel the tiniest spark of hope of escape before grinding it to pieces. Ah can't wait ta drain every last piece of scum dry.” Rainbow said with a look in her eyes that could only be described as disturbing.

Scootaloo lapsed into silence taking in what she had just heard. She had obviously dug up something that Rainbow didn't show on a normal basis and she decided that she didn't like it. Normal Rainbow Dash was fun and a bit of a show off, this Rainbow Dash was terrifying and had a sadistic glint in her eye that gave plenty of warning as to what she was willing to do for the sake of revenge. Needless to say Scootaloo also needed to do some thinking, and maybe she needed to reappraise what she viewed as being cool... it was going to be a long road ahead.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

As Dusk Shine absentmindedly bumbled through the forest after his rather brief run in with one of the most infamous vamponies around he began to notice that he was getting more and more lost as time progressed. In fact the flora of the landscape had shifted from what was normally the eerie foliage of the Everfree and into something that seemed to have come from a nightmare.

The ground progressively became more uneven and was mysteriously blackened as if a fire had been through the area. Of course it was entirely possible that a fire had been considering the earlier fight, but Dusk was thoroughly certain that he had wandered into one of the dimensional pockets that dotted the Everfree. Unfortunately he had no idea how to leave the area as he had likely been walking around for hours in the pocket without realizing it.

The place wasn't all that bad though and quite frankly it was more enjoyable than the nightmares he had when he first attempted a dark magic spell. The stallion's stomach growled in protest as he continued forward hoping that going straight would lead him back to the Everfree, and hopefully not deeper into whatever reality he was in the middle of.

Dusk Shine finally stopped moving when the desire for food became so unbearable that he had to stop and look over the plants growing nearby to see if any of them were viable food sources. The process wasn't all that quick since it required casting a complex spell that detected toxins in something and most of the plant matter turned out to be poisonous.

When Dusk Shine finally found something edible he quickly ate the thing and instantly regretted it. The plant he had eaten tasted meaty and foul and left an ashy aftertaste that seemed to coat the entire inside of his throat and mouth. Opting to never do that again Dusk Shine simply sat down in the gray terrain covering his flanks in a course layer of grime and dust that coated the ground.

The sky gave no indication to the passage of time as he couldn't make heads or tails of what he was looking at. While similar to a night sky back home there were three moons present in the sky and the sun of this world was a giant red thing that moved along the horizon instead of following any normal orbit. It was the most alien thing Dusk Shine had experienced and he wished that the journey wouldn't last long at all with the sleeping filly on his back.

“H-hey... Where am ah?” Apple Bloom groggily asked as she woke up.

“You're with me, Dusk Shine. Unfortunately we're in one of the Everfree's pocket dimensions.” Dusk Shine said wakiing up Apple Bloom the rest of the way.

“Ya Dingus! Why are we in a pocket dimension!” Apple Bloom yelled.

“Be quiet, we don't know what's in here, so far it's been plants but there could be other things here as well.”

“Sorry...”

“It's alright, it was mostly my fault anyway. The question is how do we get out of here.”

As Dusk Shine questioned these things Apple Bloom began to notice the increasingly tantalizing scent of the blood oozing from a cut on Dusk Shine. The little filly had never smelled anything like it before and she found herself slowly getting closer to the incision. Once her mouth was an inch away from the cut she tentatively licked the wound that had been left behind by Moon Flower.

Once the rich flavor of the liquid reached Apple Bloom's taste buds her mind became filled with the flavor of what she was tasting. The liquid that would be considered rather disgusting by any other creature tasted heavenly to the filly, it was oddly fruity and contained a hint of a smokey flavor emanating from the flesh near the wound. Enjoying the first taste of her first feeding Apple Bloom bit into the exposed leg and began to suckle at it hoping to get her fill of the life giving fluid that sustained her existence.

Of course nopony would take getting bitten lightly and Dusk Shine jerked around trying to see what had a hold on him when he realized who happened to be dangling from his left for foreleg. The yellow filly looked rather embarrassed as she hung from the appendage that was being held out in front of the stallion and let go of him, landing on the slimy ground that the area seemed to have.

“Sorry, ah couldn't help it.”

“It's alright, but after that fight with Moon Flower I need to keep my blood inside of my body.”

“So any ideas on how we get outta' here?”

“Nothing worth trying that wouldn't get us hopelessly lost.”

“Hey, were ya bleedin' the whole time ya were goin' through here?”

“Probably, why?”

“Well, ah might be able to smell the trail ya left when ya came through here considerin' ah can smell blood really well now.”

“If you think it will help you can try it.”

The yellow filly immediately began trying to see if she could pick up anything that would lead them back home. Of course Apple Bloom couldn't believe that Dusk Shine had managed to get them in this mess and didn't have a way to fix it, but she could complain later when she wasn't in immediate danger. After a few sniffs she was able to locate Dusk again, along with a very faint scent trail that went on for quite a while.

“Ah think ah found the trail.”

“Great... Let's get going so we can get you home and out of this dreary place.”

The two ponies walked on through the nightmarish landscape barely talking to each other. For Apple Bloom it was because she was too busy sniffing out the trail, for Dusk it was because he was mentally berating himself for being stupid enough to get them lost. It was Apple Bloom that finally broke the silence surrounding them, taking Dusk's mind out of a depressing set of thoughts.

“So what do ya think mah sis is up to right now?”

“Hopefully she's getting some sleep, but I have a feeling that she's causing trouble.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

“Hey AJ! So you were going to help me with baking today right!?” Pinkie shouted while bouncing through the orchard.

“Uh... Yep! Ah remember that now, we can get to it and ah can finish it up and be here to finish the fields before ah know it.”

“Um, AJ you don't look so good, maybe you can help some other time.” Pinkie said taking in the exhausted state of Applejack.

“Ah'm perfectly fine Pinkie and besides ah made a promise to ya didn't ah?”

“Well yes but...”

“Well Butt nothing! Ah'll help ya make the best batch of cupcakes ya ever did see!”

Pinkie didn't push the issue, because she knew fairly well there wasn't anything that would stop Applejack from making the cupcakes, but that didn't mean that she'd eat them either. As the pair trotted along, or bounced Pinkie's case, Pinkie began to wonder why it had taken so long to get back to Applejack. Of course vamponies were a distraction, and an unusual one considering circumstances, but she wasn't one to judge the situations she ended up in.

Once the two ponies were within the bakery Pinkie gave out a list of instructions to the mare on how to prepare the treats that were going to be made. As the orange farm pony went about collecting all of the worst ingredients possible and shoving them into the bowl Pinkie mixed them and placed them in the oven to bake. Of course Pinkie knew the cupcakes were going to be a disaster, but if she had anything to do with it, they wouldn't leave the kitchen.

As the timer went off signaling the completion of the abomination that Applejack had created, the orange mare charged blindly at the oven attempting to open it. The dazed and confused pony reeled back after the collision with the machine and could swear that she heard voices mocking her. When Applejack regained her senses the oven was open and the cupcakes were gone.

“Hey Pinkie where'd the cupcakes go?”

“Um... they looked so good that I ate them all!” Pinkie said hoping the farmer wouldn't ask any questions.

“Well that's a right shame, we'll just have ta make some more then!”

“Um, we can't!”

“Well why not?”

“The oven is... broken! See it doesn't cook anything!” Pinkie said gesturing to the oven that was currently off.

“Ah'll fix it, can't be harder than fixin' the stove back home.”

“Oh hooray!” Pinkie said as she slowly backed out of the kitchen to warn the cakes about an impending disaster.

Surprisingly it only took five minutes for Applejack to set the building on fire and get the fire squad called in. Nopony was hurt thankfully and Applejack only managed to singe her fur making the mare look like an even worse mess.

Deciding that cupcakes weren't going to be made anytime soon Applejack moved on to her next quest, which involved Rainbow Dash. The only problem was that the lazy pegasus was nowhere around and there was no indication of whether or not she would show up anytime soon.

“Hey Pinkie, do ya know where Dash is?”

“She's sick today Applejack, from what I've heard it's pretty bad.” The pink mare said.

“Hey there she is!” Applejack said as Derpy landed on the wooden contraption while adjusting a mail bag.

“Applejack, no stop!” Pinkie yelled.

It was too late however, and Applejack jumped onto the lever sending the gray mare soaring off into the sky and towards town hall. The two ponies raced to where she would land only to watch as the gray cannonball of a pegasus made impact, causing the whole building to shudder and collapse under its own weight.

It took two hours to clear the rubble and extract the ponies that were trapped in the rubble. Thankfully nopony was seriously injured and Derpy had miraculously taken almost no damage from the event. For once everypony was surprised when she knew exactly what went wrong, and pointed her hoof at a certain orange farm pony who was currently staring into the sun seemingly trying to figure out some great mystery by doing so.

When Applejack went back home to work on her farm again everypony gave out a silent sigh of relief as no more destruction would befall their town. That was until she walked in front of a cart and narrowly avoided being hit, the same couldn't be said about the market stalls that the cart was sent careening towards as all of the produce for that day was subsequently destroyed. Not a single produce stall remained standing, even the cabbages who had finally become ready for sale were not spared in the slaughter.

<><><><>

Morning for Applejack was what counted as another reminder that she had stayed up all night attempting to finish the fields. She was feeling incredibly tired and she had artfully avoided her brother as to not alarm him and be forced to sleep. Applejack noted that her performance was slipping though, thankfully she hadn't injured herself yet as she'd already knocked over a fence and managed to fall into a ditch. As the mare prepared to head to the next tree she tripped over a log that had been lying on the ground and smacked her nose on a nearby post.

Applejack couldn't quite remember how long she'd been awake and judging by the calendar it had been four days. Things were getting a little wonky now that she thought about it and the trees were being rather disrespectful lately. She wished her brother would do something but he had been out looking for Dusk Shine and Apple Bloom after the pair failed to show up the next day. Of course Applejack was too busy, and too delirious to think about it much.

As Applejack got back onto her hooves she noticed a haggard purple pony exit the Everfree forest with Apple Bloom on their back. Of course being a mare who cared deeply for her family Applejack rushed over to see what was going on and if there was anything that she needed to do. As Applejack got closer she noticed that it was Dusk Shine and that he wasn't looking very healthy. Thankfully Applejack had some clarity after having drunk an obscene amount of coffee earlier and could now mask her exhaustion.

“Heya Dusk, ya'll look worse than ah do right now.”

“Later, and you still haven't gotten any sleep? Get some tea prepared and I'll tell you what happened your going to need to sit down for this.” Dusk said while re-positioning an exhausted Apple Bloom.

Applejack didn't want to leave her work alone but she wasn't about to let anything involving her little sister. As the mare entered the house she prepared the tea and sat down as Dusk Shine positioned her stirring sister on the couch. What transpired next shocked Applejack out of her wits at discovering the danger her sister had been in, and the little filly's newly acquired condition.

“There's got ta be a way ta fix her Dusk, use yer fancy magic.”

“I'm sorry Applejack but vampirism isn't curable once a pony's turned, just keep an eye on her alright.”

“Ah can't believe it, mah own sister a blood sucking monster.”

“Vamponies have feelings too you know.”

“Yeah, anger and bloodlust if that Moon Flower and Blackheart are anything ta go by.”

“Aren't you being a little unfair?”

“Ah'll be fair when life decides ta be. Mah sister is a pony who won't hesitate ta drink mah blood and kill me in mah sleep!” Applejack said starting to feel delirious again.

“Please, AJ you're blowing things out of proportion I'm sure your brother will understand Apple Bloom's predicament and want to help her.”

“Now mah own brother is against me, Dusk what exactly are you playing at?”

“Nothing, now your going to want to drink your tea before it gets cold.” Dusk said after casting a sleep spell on it.

Applejack reluctantly took her mug and downed it hoping that the caffein would help wake her up enough to knock some sense into Dusk. Instead everything started to get hazy as the orange coated farm pony fell into a deep sleep that her body had been begging for. As the mare slumbered Dusk went out to get Big Mac and Granny Smith to tell them the news.

When Applejack woke up she was lying on the couch with a fair amount of drool on the pillow that had been placed under her head. The mare blushed a little at the mess and stood up as her body complained as all of her stiff muscles were forced to move. Sitting in a nearby chair was Granny Smith who was currently working on knitting something.

“Ah'll be headin' out Granny ah need ta finish those fields before we get too far behind.”

“Sit child, the fields are done.”

“What! H-how we have no helpers and Big Mac is injured.”

“Ah found some help now sit down and let me give ya a talkin' to.”

“Shoot, what about Granny?”

“Family. Now ah want ya ta know ah won't tolerate callin' yer sister a monster in this household little Missy!”

“What do ya mean?”

“Yer sister bein' a vampony is what ah mean. Now ah've put up with a lot o' things, ah even let my son go and marry that wife of his and move in wit' her, but an Apple values family above all else. Ya better treat yer sister right an' wit' the respect a normal pony desrves ya hear me? If she comes ta me tellin' me ya been treatin' her funny then yer goin' ta get a good lashin'.”

“Ah'm sorry Granny. It's just that ah've always been told they were monsters that only wanted to kill, and seeing Apple Bloom like that was a shock ah wasn't prepared for.”

“Well ya better start getting' used ta the truth o' the matter. Ah nearly lost ya too yer foolishness an' ah won't let ya push yer sister away.”

“What foolishness Granny? Ah've been perfectly fine.”

“No ya ain't. Ya nearly worked yerself ta death and when ya finally got some rest ya were asleep fer almost a whole day.”

“Ah may have overworked mahself.”

“Darn tootin'! Ya don't know this but yer granpappy made the same mistake. The big oaf worked six days nonstop to bring in an entire harvest, and ya know what happened?”

“He got it done?”

“He took a dirt nap! Now ya better go and make nice with yer sister, she's up right now anyways, and ya better think about what yer stubbornness nearly cost ya.”

“Right... Granny, what if ah can't see Bloom as anything but a monster, what if no matter what ah do ah can't help but fear her?”

“Try yer best darling, and if things turn out bad we'll figure somethin' out.”

“Right...” Applejack sighed as she ascended the stairs in search of her younger sibling.

When Applejack entered the filly's room she noticed that Apple Bloom was wide awake and staring intently at the moon that had just finished rising. Applejack made sure to keep her hoofsteps as quiet as possible while approaching the filly, not wishing to disturb her. It didn't work though and Apple Bloom whirled around to see her sister and a fanged smile graced her lips.

“Hey AJ! Why are ya up so late!?”

Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin at the remark and sat down quickly trying to calm her racing mind. She tried not to think about the sharp fangs in her sisters mouth, or the red stains that were just barely visible around her mouth. The immortal filly merely looked at her with concern, and upon realizing that Apple Bloom would one day outlive her whole family a pit settled in Applejack's stomach.

“Ah just woke up actually. Hey what were ya doin' earlier?”

“Oh, well ah've never noticed how pretty the moon was before, it's nice.”

“Yep, Artemis sure knows how ta take care o' things. Hey do ya maybe want ta play a bit, ah could use some time ta get ta know mah sister better.”

“Sure!” Apple Bloom squealed as she went over to get everything set up.

To say Applejack got over the vampony fear was a little bit much after the entire play session ended. Whenever the filly showed her fangs Applejack could feel her heart rate shoot up, but it wasn't bad enough to make her avoid her sister. After playing for a bit Apple Bloom fell asleep and Applejack placed the filly in her bed. Looking back on the filly after the whole thing Applejack decided that maybe things weren't going to be so bad.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

For Rainbow Dash waking up was always a chore, and today was no exception considering the amount of time it took to remove all of the garlic that had managed to get into the most uncomfortable of places. Thankfully her bloodlust was in check since the sun was out otherwise her growling stomach would have had her find fresh food.

The mare grumbled as she washed her face and took care of other necessities. After walking downstairs she threw open the fridge and pulled out a blood substitute one of the most unusual things for the mare considering her tendencies. It was one of the greatest bits of shame and pride that Rainbow Dash found in her daily routine, pride for not drinking the blood of others, shame for knowing that it was gradually making her weaker as time went on. Apple Bloom on the other hoof was a rare exception for her and was done out of necessity more than anything else.

After downing her breakfast and trying desperately not to retch as her body tried to reject the concoction that kept her from starving to death. Hopefully things ended up winding down for her now that fillies weren't in any immediate danger. After managing to stomach whatever it was that she had subjected her body to Rainbow Dash put the container away and prepared to go make an apology to Gilda for accidentally blowing her off.

As Rainbow Dash made her way out into the world she took notice of the destruction that had befallen the town. To say the pegasus was surprised was a bit of a stretch considering her long life and what she came to expect of Blackheart. It was the lack of any police forces that surprised the mare the most making her wonder what had happened.

Thankfully after flagging down a pony she found that most of the destruction was Applejack's fault. The rest of the destruction however is what made Rainbow Dash's heart leap into her throat. Apparently there had been a break in the previous day and Rainbow doubted it was a coincidence that Gilda was staying there. Rainbow Dash thanked the mare and made a quick sprint for the nearby building dreading what she would find there.

After jumping over a woefully understaffed police scene the distraught mare found herself within the building looking at the mess that was left behind. There had been a struggle obviously, one that was likely caused by an angry vampony looking for some cheep revenge. Just by the smell of the place Rainbow Dash could tell it had been Gilda doing the fighting, and the large pools of blood were an indication that it wasn't easy.

The real problem presented itself when Gilda's blood was the only blood she could smell clearly, with a few lingering scents of somepony else. It was saddening in a way that Rainbow Dash already knew how things went down. They came and Gilda fought beak and claw over protecting Daisy, it wasn't enough and she was disposed of and Daisy was claimed as a prize. The singular chalk drawing in the next room was enough to confirm the vampony's assumptions and she simply hung her head and left the building.

Rainbow Dash spent the next three hours drowning her sorrows in ice cream and more than once Pinkie asked her what was wrong. Instead of answering she just ordered another milkshake knowing that she could easily work everything off later if she needed to. She knew that she shouldn't be all that upset, it wasn't the first time something like this had happened in her lifetime, but it still hurt just the same if not more so.

Then there was Daisy who was now a vampiric thrall who was likely hoping for anypony to come and rescue her. The other ponies of the flower trio weren't taking it well either and were bemoaning their kidnapped friend. It was at that moment that life seemed to make things harder for Rainbow Dash as a newspaper was placed before her. The front page article was the one that drew the mares attention though.

Today Princess Celestia gave out an announcement that most ponies of the modern age have been vying for. Our reporter...

...My loyal subjects, today is the start of a monuments occasion. As you know the vampony inquisitions that have been kept around more out of tradition than necessity have caused many tragedies in their investigations. So effective today the inquisitions are finally over, being replaced instead with an actual justice force dedicated to tracking down vampony criminals.

General Nightwing will be in charge of the training of this new division and is the best pony for the position. This new division while primarily being used to track down the nefarious Blackheart organization and stop their reign of terror along with other vampony criminals, they will also be acting as a normal police force during the evening.

“Princess Celestia, concerning the new force what is going to be done about the criminal known as Moon Flower?”

We are doing everything we can to track down the illusive pony, and we are tasking the vampony Lieutenant Silver Moon and his squadron to the task. Now if there are any more questions please feel free to ask...

Rainbow Dash crumpled up the newspaper and threw it away before paying for her expenses and storming out of the establishment. She couldn't believe Celestia managed to choose Silver Moon of all ponies to hunt her down. The pony was one of her grandchildren and to say that he hated her was an understatement.

They had gotten to know each other when Rainbow was going around as Shining Pearl one of the more aristocratic ponies Rainbow spent her life as. They had never seen eye to eye and when her identity as Moon Flower was figured out things turned for the worst. He had started to avoid the mare and as events continued she ended up hurting him more and more until the point he was certain there was nothing more to her than a criminal that only cared for herself.

Rainbow hated that parts of her own family hated her, but another more callous part didn't even care. That evening Rainbow Dash put two more tally marks in a thick book that she had kept ever since her first run in with Blackheart and allowed herself a little more time to mourn before putting the book up and getting ready for bed. When she went to sleep she could only hope that none of her friends ever found out about her.

Author's Note

Finally! I'm sorry this took so long but I was busy writing the first chapters of around eight different stories. I also changed the page break markers.

If boast busters is next in the list I'll skip it for the moment because I've planned for that to focus on Rainbow Dash again and I don't want to put two Rainbow Dash centered arcs back to back.

Poor AJ. It seems like she can't avoid being a background pony even in a story meant to be focused on her. I guess the main problem is that it doesn't feel like she needs to grow when faced with any normal situation.

Well I'm quite curious about what you think of RD now. The problem I faced with RD concerning her long life, skills, and apparent abilities in the dream world was that I was afraid of her becoming too powerful. With this last bit of character development with her hopefully I can avoid introducing vamponies into this story for quite a while.

When writing this part of the story I considered removing the vamponies, but they were too integral to who Rainbow Dash was to remove from the story. Thankfully this series of chapters is over and the story can get more cheerful, well as cheerful as my writing will allow at least.

There was orriginally going to be a part where we got to see a bit of interaction with the Blackheart boss and the pony Rainbow defeated in the forest but I felt like this chapter was getting too long as it was. As for the brief excursion into the pocket dimension I thought of cutting it because it seemingly didn't add anything, but I have a feeling I'll use it as a traumatic experience for Dusk at a later time...

Also I managed to overcome that curse of nine thing or whatever it's called with the posting of this chapter. While listed as the eighth chapter chapter 6.5 is technically chapter seven, making this chapter nine. So woo!

As always I enjoy reading your comments and would enjoy hearing your thoughts on the story and any ways to improve things. Well that's it for now, until the next chapter that is.