A Council of Shadows

Twilight followed the steps down into the castle, her heart pounding. This wasn't right; whatever Luna was doing down here, she had wanted to keep it secret...

Then again, someone else might already be down here. That could explain what she saw. It could have been someone sneaking through the door and leaving it unlocked.

Twilight went back and forth between the two frames of mind, until she reached the bottom of the steps. There was a small room, and against the back wall, a large, locked box. That wasn't what had gotten Twilight's attention though.

What got her attention was the figure in front of it. A pony dressed in a long, black cloak, though the bump in the hood indicated that it was a unicorn, and it was much too small to be Luna. That, and it was using it's magic to try and break the box open.

"Hey!" Twilight said, moving closer to the figure. "What are you dong down here?"

The figure stopped, glancing back. "You..." she said. It was a mare, her voice low and husky. She looked over at the box for a moment, then turned her head back towards Twilight, a short laugh coming from beneath the hood. "A fortunate night." she went on, turning around to face Twilight, though her face was still obscured by the hood.

"What do you mean?" A chill went up Twilight's spine, a feeling of dread filling her; her horn lit up by instinct. "Why are you here, and what's going on?"

"Rebirth." the figure said, throwing back her hood. Twilight's vision was suddenly dominated by a pair of glowing red eyes that grabbed her gaze. She pulled her head to the side, trying to escape their pull.

"No. Look deeply." the voice cut across her awareness, and Twilight's head turned back, gazing deeply into the red glow. The eyes were so bright, and so deep...

"Good. Keep looking, let yourself be pulled in. You cannot resist, so just surrender and be consumed." The glow filled her eyes as she kept on looking, and then it started to fill her mind. Twilight felt as if those eyes were capturing her thoughts, her awareness, and soon it was all gone, leaving just that red glow, which faded soon after, leaving just the hooded pony in her vision.

"Twilight." the voice said, "I have taken your will. You will now do as I command."

Twilight nodded slowly, dazed. She knew, somehow, that it was true, that she must now obey the commands of the hooded pony.

"Open the box."

Twilight approached the locked box. It was a simple enough task, when she got close to it. The lock lit up with the purple aura of her magic, and she could feel the tumblers responding, sliding into place until the lock clicked open. She swung the box open and saw a pony lying there. Jade Dream...the pony that had been killed...she felt a brush from behind her.

"Well done. Turn around."

Twilight turned, and again, she saw the red eyes. This time, though, the image of Jade Dream lying there was before her eyes well. Jade Dream, killed by a vampire...it was like a splash of cold water on her head. Twilight could feel her focus coming back to her, see the pale face behind the eyes.

A laughing face. "You're stronger than I expected, Twilight. Unfortunately for you, I have what I need, and now I can take what I want."

A mouth. Oh, it was a wide mouth, with sharp teeth...coming closer to her. There was a flash of red before her eyes, and a pinching feeling. The world wavered for a few moments, then slid upward. There was the briefest of whispers.

"...see you soon..."

"Twilight!"

Twilight's eyes snapped opened, and she tried to get up. An armored hoof pressed her back down, and she found herself looking into the green eyes of a Night Guard. She glanced over at Luna. "Whaaa...what happened?" she asked, shaking her head.

Luna was looking past her, and Twilight followed her gaze. The box was still open, and as Twilight stood up, pushing the guard away, she could see inside.

The box was empty. Twilight shook her head, looking back. "Luna...there was a vampire down here." her eyes widened, and she reached for her neck

"The skin is unbroken, Twilight. We've checked several times." Luna finally looked at Twilight, her brow furrowed. "I don't understand. Why would a vampire take the body?"

"Well, doesn't a pony killed by a vampire become a vampire?" Twilight asked, puzzled. That had been one of the overarching themes in the vampire books she had read.

"Of course not."

A new voice cut across the room, and a pale pink unicorn with red eyes entered.

"Do your wrappers turn into ponies when you discard them?" she asked, as she approached the box. "Your glasses spring to life when emptied?" the unicorn shook her head. "Why would we want our food to be anything but food?" she turned to Luna. "I apologize for my lateness. It took forever to get the information on the deceased."

Luna nodded, then turned to Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, I'd like you to meet Lone Blaze. She'll be working with you to investigate both the death, and now...theft, of Jade Dream. Lone Blaze, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Lone Blaze gave the slightest of nods. "I'd say, it's likely this madpony just wanted to suck the last bits of blood from their victim. It's not often we get to drink as much as we like..." she had been staring at Twilight's neck for a few seconds, then caught herself. "They won't stay in Canterlot, too dangerous and too close to Luna. If I had to guess, they'll stick to their new hunting ground."

Twilight nodded. "That makes sense, if they're establishing a killing habit, then they'll want a familiar-Ponyville!"

She ran out of the door.