Desperate Measures

Chapters

Negotiations (GONE WRONG)
A dark pact
Shadow in the night
Adapting to the night
A bold plan
Bonus chapter: Backfired
Epilogue

Negotiations (GONE WRONG)

The amount of tension in the air on that day was nearly so overwhelming that you could feel it physically.

Gathered near the borders of the encampment of the stone giants, thousands of ponies anxiously watched the massive door through which Twilight Sparkle had disappeared through a good while ago... It seemed as though the crowd was about to start panicking any moment.

"D-d-d you think she's okay in there?" Fluttershy asked in a trembling voice.

Celestia replied with a firm nod. "I am certain that Twilight knows what she's doing."

"Of course she does," Applejack added. "Ain't nopony better at making friends than Twilight."

"B-b-but what if she fails?"

"Pfft!" Rainbow Dash laughed dismissively. "Since when does Twilight Sparkle ever--"

BLAM

"Aaaaaaghhh!"

Before she could finish, everypony's attention got caught by the screaming princess that just came flying through the newly-formed hole in the wall of the main giant encampment, making a crash-landing on the ground near them and tumbling all the way up to her friends and princess Celestia... Miraculously enough, her crown hadn't left her head for the duration.

"Fail..." Rainbow Dash quietly added, her voice now devoid of confidence.

"H-h-how did it go?" despite the rather obvious answer, Fluttershy asked, just in case... You can never be to sure with these creatures from other dimensions. Maybe throwing someone through a wall is some strange part of a tradition for them?

Alas, all doubts got cleared away as Twilight got up while barely lifting her head above the ground and frowned deeply.

A deathly silence claimed the air, and several hundred pairs of shocked eyes got fixed on the princess that couldn't even keep her eyes open because of the shame she felt inside of her... For she had just let down all of Equestria.

"We are all doomed!" The long awaited scream finally came, sending hordes of ponies panicking in every direction.

It was only a matter of time before that happened, so neither Twilight nor any of her friends seemed surprised, nor did they make an effort to try and stop any of them...

Hope had been erased.

Stretching her hoof out towards Twilight's shoulder to comfort her, Celestia was denied the chance as Twilight flinched away from her. "Twilight..." she said in a soothing tone.

"You're about to say it's not my fault, aren't you?" she asked, her voice calm, but her conscience killing her from the inside. "That I shouldn't blame myself..." She opened her eyes and looked upon her former mentor. "But how can I?"

"Twilight, please--"

"No!" Twilight retorted and winced from pain, a few tears escaping her eyes as she did so. "They... They trusted me... You trusted me!" She collapsed and burst into tears... Even in this moment when all hope of survival seemed extinct, her friends showed compassion and approached her slowly. Taking her crown off of her head, Twilight tried to toss it away, but Celestia caught her hoof.

"We still do," Celestia replied and placed the crown back on Twilight's head.

"But..."

"Celestia's right, Twilight," Applejack interjected. "You've gotten us through seemingly hopeless situations before, and if anypony here dares blame you for not achieving the impossible..." She left her sentence unfinished, but her tightly clenched hoof and gritted teeth said everything by themselves.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We'll figure something out... It's only hopeless if we give up!"

"Don't you get it!?" Twilight snapped back at her. "It already is hopeless! I was Equestria's last resort and I failed! There's nothing we can do against those things! There's no spell that can hurt them! No pony strong enough to even scratch them! And no ally that we could possibly call upon for help! Not even the dragons would be able stop them, even if by some miracle we managed to actually convince them to stand with us!" Finishing her shouting monologue, Twilight calmed her expression and sighed. Hanging her head and closing her eyes, she whispered a few more words, "And nowhere we can run..."

"But... There has to be something we can do!" Rainbow Dash insisted, but judging by her tone, she didn't even believe her own words. "We can't just sit here and wait to get stomped on!" She kept insisting, but whatever vestige of hope was still left in her faded away as she saw her friend just laying there, frowning and acting as though she didn't even hear her... Letting despair claim her senses, Rainbow Dash dropped on her haunches and screamed, "This can't be happening!"

"Now don't you go joining in on all the panicking, Rainbow." Applejack tried to calm her stressed out friend. "We got enough of those ponies as it is."

"What else is there to do!?" she shouted back at her. "We're sitting ducks without any means of escape! Even our princesses have given up hope at this point. What? Am I supposed to just lie back and hope that another rift will open and even bigger giants come out and become our friends!?"

"Uhh... No..." Applejack replied, still unsure about what to say next, but luckily for her, Celestia stepped in.

"There may be another option."

"What!?" the six ponies exclaimed in unison.

"Seriously!? Now you tell us!?"

"Hush, Rainbow!"

"Twilight? If your friends don't mind, I would like to discuss this with you in private," Celestia told her former student and took a few steps away from the rest of the pack.

Looking upon her friends with a confused look, Twilight got nothing from them aside from the exact same kind of look and a set of shrugs. Puzzled about this sudden revelation, Twilight hurried over to the other princess. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?" she immediately inquired as she caught up with her.

"Because I was hoping that we could avoid taking this path... For all I know, I might just be sending you off to your inevitable demise," Celestia reluctantly replied and hung her head. "To be honest, I'm not sure this is even an option, but rather just a desperate cling for a few more days of sunlight..." she admitted in a tone devoid of joy.

Unsure of what to make of her words, Twilight stayed silent for a good moment before saying anything. "Whatever it is, it can't possibly be worse than just freely letting ourselves get stomped to death."

"I wish I could say the same..."

Twilight's eyes widened upon hearing those words. "Princess... I don't understand... What in Equestria could possibly make you feel that way?"

Letting out a lifeless sigh, Celestia raised her head and began a monologue. "A few months before the arrival of the giants, another rift opened up in Equestria."

"What!?" Twilight shouted. "How come nopony else knows about this?"

"Me and my sister only know of this from a vision, similar to the one we had when Lord Tirek returned."

"So there are other creatures from different dimensions in Equestria..." Twilight whispered to herself.

Celestia replied with a solid but saddened nod. "There are, but only a single creature, however."

"You're not suggesting that we seek this creature out, are you?" Twilight asked, and Celestia didn't dismiss the notion. "But... What could a single creature possibly do against a horde of giants?"

"Whatever this creature is, Twilight, it is immensely powerful."

"And you believe that it would be willing to help us?"

"I doubt it... Which is exactly why I chose to not reveal this information to you unless there was no other choice."

"I see..." Twilight whispered and hung her head for a moment. "What else do you know of this creature?"

"Very little... Only that for some unknown reason it has chosen to not reveal itself to the rest of Equestria and has instead isolated itself within the darkest part of the Everfree forest..." Celestia hung her head again before finishing. "I was hoping that we could leave it undisturbed for all eternity."

"That's... Odd..." Twilight quietly added. "What does this creature look like?"

"We didn't see much of it in our vision. We only saw it moving swiftly through the forest, as if it was nothing but a shadow... Only at the very end of our vision did I and Luna manage to catch a glimpse of it as it turned to face us, but what we saw at that moment was... ominous, to say the least." She paused for a moment. Looking upon her curious former student who was still standing silent, she finished her monologue. "Blood-red eyes, as furious and malign as the fires of Tartarus, and white teeth, as sharp and vicious as the snowstorms surrounding the Crystal Empire."

Silence claimed the air for a good while after Celestia's last remark. The first sound to be heard from either of them after that was a loud and nervous gulp from Twilight.

"No wonder you chose to hide this from us... Whatever this creature is, it sure doesn't sound friendly."

"No... it doesn't," Celestia replied and leaned closer to Twilight, staring deeply into her eyes with a serious gaze. "And if you had seen it the way I did, I doubt you'd even consider this to be an option." Having said those words, Celestia turned around and took a few steps away from Twilight. "I'm not about to tell you what to do with this information, Twilight, for even under such circumstances, I can't force myself to tell you to seek such a creature out..." She spread her wings, readying herself for takeoff. "But you and your friends have always had a way of making miracles happen..." Turning her head around before flying off, Celestia graced Twilight with a very faint smile. "As long as the six of you are together, there is always hope for Equestria."

Still a bit dazed from such a strange conversation, Twilight's eyes kept following Celestia up until the moment she completely faded from her view. Afterwards shaking her head to regain her senses, Twilight slowly stood up and made her way back to her friends, all the way still thinking about what should she tell them.

Either we'll save all of Equestria, or we'll just die trying... Twilight said to herself in her thoughts. Whatever the outcome, I'm not about to just watch my home fall without even being able to say I did all I could to stop that from happening.

A dark pact

"So let me get this straight..." Rainbow Dash started a conversation as she and her friends made their way towards the Everfree forest. "The six of us are supposed to go into the darkest part of the Everfree forest, find the most fearsome creature that Equestria has ever seen and convince it to stop the stone giants for us?" she asked with her eyebrow raised halfway through her forehead.

Twilight did not answer, but her saddened look said everything by itself.

"Are you kidding me!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed and threw her forelegs up in the air.

"I know this sounds hopeless, but--"

"Hopeless doesn't even scratch the surface!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "This is a clear-as-day suicide mission!"

"You wanna sit this one out, Rainbow, be my guest," Applejack interjected. "Just don't go hogging up all the glory again after we're done here."

"Hey!"

"Enough!" Twilight stepped in between the two. "Look, nopony's making us do this, and we wouldn't even be doing this is if there was any other option at all, so please..."

Instantly responding to Twilight's words, both Rainbow and Applejack donned shameful expressions.

"Sorry, Rainbow... Dunno what came over me," Applejack told her friend with a compassionate smile covering her lips.

"Hey, I was the one that started this... but your apologies are still welcome," she slyly added.

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?"

"Are you two done?" Twilight asked as the pack stopped near the entrance to the forest. Letting out a sigh of despair, Twilight turned around to say something to her friends, "I won't lie. Chances are that if we go through with this, we won't even live long enough to get stomped on by the giants, so if any of you have any doubts about--"

"Haven't we already been over this before?" Rainbow Dash asked as she and her four other friends simply strolled past Twilight.

As the last one of them passed by her, Twilight closed her eyes and smiled at the ground under her hooves with the most cordial of smiles. "Thank you," she quietly whispered as a single tear escaped her eye.

"You coming, Twi?" Applejack shouted from afar.

"Coming!" she instantly shouted back and followed them.

Somehow, even despite their desperate situation, Twilight still managed to head into the forest with a smile... For even if the six of them were destined to never see daylight again, she could now rest easily knowing that the land of Equestria has heard her "Thank you" and knows just how grateful she really is for the five best friends that are always by her side when she needs them most.

***

As the six ponies pressed on, the light slowly began to recede. Before long, Twilight had to cast an illumination spell just so they could see through the dark... No doubt, the one they were seeking was not far now.

"Remind me again, how exactly did Celestia describe its looks?" Rainbow Dash inquired.

"Blood-red eyes, as furious and malign as the fires of Tartarus, and white teeth, as sharp and vicious as the snowstorms surrounding the Crystal Empire," Twilight quoted the said princess in a rather dramatic tone.

Rainbow Dash gulped nervously upon hearing those words. "Somehow, getting stomped on doesn't sound so bad anymore..."

"Shh!" Twilight hushed her. "Do you hear that?"

Perking up their ears and silencing their voices, the ponies listened to the... singing? ... Indeed, as they quietly approached the source of the sound, it became clear that it was someone singing... The voice sounded rather soothing. Beautiful, even... No doubt this was not the voice of the creature they were searching for, but if that were true, then who in Equestria could possibly be out here just sitting in the darkness and singing? As they got closer, they curiously began inspecting the creature.

They didn't walk all the way up to it, as it was sitting up in a tree with its back reclined against the trunk. Still, they were close enough to make out what it was -- a humanoid of some sorts. Its body was entirely black. He almost looked more like a shadow or a living silhouette rather than an actual humanoid.

Curious about just who was this strange humanoid, the ponies sat down and waited for him to finish his song... After such a stressful day, this was a rather nice change of scenery.

In the dark of the night,
We look to the skies.
And as the sunlight comes,
We cover our eyes.

As the wind grows fierce,
We spread our wings.
Never have we feared
All of the storms it brings.

Who are we? I have to ask.
To find that out is my task.
No, I cannot see past my own mask.
No, I can no longer see into my own past.

Yes, who are we? I do not know.
Even if the centuries have taken their toll.
Into emptiness, I continue to grow.
For there is no answer. Not above, not below.

As the song ended, the creature hung its head.

Deciding that this was a good moment to tell the creature how much she enjoyed its song, Twilight cleared her throat. "Khe khem."

Hardly had she finished doing so as the creature jumped to its feet and hissed at them furiously.

"GYAAAAGH!" the six ponies screamed out.

Blazing-red eyes and sharp, pointy teeth... seems like they found their creature... And it did not look happy to see them.

"V-v-v-va-vampire!" Applejack shouted while pointing at the creature.

"What do we do!?" Rainbow Dash asked, her hopes pinned on Twilight having a backup plan.

Unsure about how to proceed, Twilight took another glance at the creature's vicious expression before screaming, "Run!"

And with that, the pack of six ponies dispersed, each of them running off in a different direction while screaming or panting.

Curious about this sudden visit, the creature raised its eyebrow at the sight before leaving the branch it was sitting on. At the blink of an eye, the creature crossed the distance between itself and the nearest pony, leaving only a trail of red smoke behind itself. Just as quickly as it reached the pony, it carried it back and dropped it at the position where it first saw them staring at it, after which it repeated the same action with the rest of the pack, quickly gathering them all up and jumping back up on its chosen branch.

Dazed and confused, the six ponies looked upon one another in hopes of finding answers to what had just happened, but all they found was even more confusion. Realizing that there were no answers to be had between themselves, they stared at the creature on the branch which seemed to be just as confused about all of this as they were.

Seeing that running was of no use here, the scared-to-death ponies joined together for what they thought might just be the last hug they ever have, all whilst not breaking their nervous gaze that was fixed on the so-called vampire. Too scared to even breathe a word, the ponies just kept quivering in fear as they awaited its next move.

"Are you lost?" the creature suddenly asked in a surprisingly caring tone. "Do you need help finding your way back home?" Still confused, the ponies just kept staring at the creature with wide open eyes. "Heh... Forgive me. Where are my manners?" He laughed and jumped down. Slowly approaching the ponies, he extended his hand towards them. "I'm Sanguis," he introduced himself, but despite his politeness, the ponies just kept staring at him as though they were paralyzed. "Gah! Right. You little cuties don't even have hands." He laughed and folded his hands behind his back. "Still, that's no excuse to withhold your names."

Slowly regaining her senses, Twilight forced her name off of her lips in a trembling voice. "M-m-my n-name's T-Twilight Sparkle."

"What a beautiful name," Sanguis replied and smiled at her. "And you are?" he asked the pony holding onto her the closest.

"Rarity," the pony introduced herself and released Twilight.

"A pleasure to have your acquaintance, Miss Rarity," Sanguis replied and took a graceful bow, right before turning his gaze towards a different pony, and so on.

"I'm Applejack."

"Charmed."

"Name's Rainbow Dash!"

"Loving the hair."

"I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"How befitting," Sanguis replied and turned his attention towards the one pony still quivering from fear and holding tightly onto Twilight. Squatting down to match her eye level, he leaned towards her and whispered, "And who's this adorable little bird?"

Giving her a slight nudge, Twilight encouraged Fluttershy to at least say hello. Although she somehow managed to muster enough courage to look towards Sanguis again, she immediately let out a high-pitched "Eep!" and buried her face in Twilight's coat again as soon as she saw his unsettling eyes.

"Come on, Fluttershy!" Twilight started pushing her friend away from herself. "If he wanted to hurt us, I'm pretty sure he would have done so already," she said and pushed Fluttershy towards Sanguis.

"Fluttershy," he whispered so softly it actually convinced the pony to look upon him again, even though it was only with one eye -- the other being hidden behind her mane. "Never have I seen anyone living up to their name as much as you." He chuckled quietly and booped her nose, afterwards standing up and addressing all of them together. "So... Is there something that you wanted to say? Or are the six of you just going to keep staring at me with wide eyes for the rest of the day?"

"Sorry..." Twilight apologized and rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile on her face. "Given your appearance, I guess none of us were expecting you to be so... benevolent."

Sanguis chuckled at such a remark. "Oh, well, I'm really not that benevolent," he replied modestly. "I just enjoy getting to know my lunch a bit better before it's all gone," he added nonchalantly and watched the eyes of the ponies as they grew ever larger whilst their pupils only shrank. "So... What's on your mind?"

"Uhm..." Rainbow Dash uttered, sweat pouring down her temples without end. "Actually, I think we'll just be going now..."

"Yeah." Twilight agreed and nodded nervously. "Was nice meeting you, Sanguis! We'll be sure to drop by again sometime," she lied and started slowly backing away.

"You do realize that you can't outrun me, right?" the living shadow asked, his tone suddenly changing to a much less friendly one. He took a few steps towards them while they only kept backing away. Eventually the pack backed up all the way up to a large tree that blocked their way from there on.

"Uhh..." Rainbow Dash uttered again, her eyes constantly darting from one side to the other. "Who said anything about running? Heh... W-we were just... Getting more comfortable! Yeah!" she added in an utterly unconvincing tone and kept repeatedly nodding, as did her friends. "We were just about to tell you all about ourselves! So... just sit back, relax, and--"

"Enough talk!" Sanguis exclaimed and started leaning towards them and licking his lips. "Chow time."

Closing their eyes and pressing their backs against the tree, the pale-faced ponies readied themselves for the worst.

"I love you girls," Fluttershy whispered in a barely audible voice.

"We love you too, Fluttershy."

Slowly leaning towards the ponies, Sanguis revealed his sharp and hungry teeth that were ready to tear flesh apart. But then, just mere moments before taking a bite... "Bwaha ha ha ha ha ha!" All of a sudden, Sanguis just burst into unbridled laughter.

Opening their eyes, the ponies started staring at him with baffled expressions.

"Oh, if only you could see your own faces right now," he breathed out while panting loudly after he was done laughing. "I live for that look." He stood up and drew his hand past the bottom of his right eye, wiping away a single tear.

Fear aside, the ponies were 100% bewildered at this point... Seeing that they were all just too dumbfounded to breathe a word right now, Sanguis decided to explain his behavior.

"Khe khem... Forgive me... These last few lonesome centuries have left me with a rather morbid sense of humor," he politely explained.

"So... You're not gonna eat us?" Twilight inquired, just to be completely certain.

"Correct," Sanguis confirmed, making the ponies sigh with relief and wipe their foreheads. "Even if you do look rather appetizing," he added, and the ponies instantly reacted by tensing up a bit. "He he... Gotcha. I've had my fair share of lifeblood already... I suppose you could say that I'm on vacation, for the time being." He chuckled, but even despite his friendly manner of speaking, the mane six still couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy around him. "So tell me..." he blurted out and dashed back to his favorite branch, laying his back against the tree it was attached to and folding his hands behind his head whilst also holding one leg balanced on his other leg's knee. "What brings such an adorable bunch of candy-colored fluffballs to a place like this?" he asked playfully.

"Candy-colored fluffballs?" Rainbow Dash repeated with her eyebrow raised.

"He he." Twilight stepped in, slightly nudging her friend on the way as she walked closer to Sanguis. "Actually... We kinda came to find you."

"Oh?" the shadow uttered, instantly switching his sights from the treetops to the pony speaking to him. "Intriguing..." he switched to squatting on the same branch. "I am quite honored, really... Unless, that is, this is because my atrocious singing has become a nuisance and you've come to politely ask me to stop."

"Oh, no!" the alicorn quickly rejected the notion. "To tell the truth, we rather enjoyed your singing."

"Oh, you honor me beyond words, milady." He took a quick bow. "Then perhaps you've come for a free concert?"

"Ehh... no..." Twilight gave a hesitant reply.

"Oh... shame..." Sanguis hung his head. "No matter... I'm sure that whatever reason you sought me out for is no less intriguing," he happily admitted and smiled at the pony. "Well? Don't keep me waiting... Fire away!"

"Right..." Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "Well... How should I put this..."

"Oh, the suspense here is killing me!" Sanguis exclaimed. "If you're this slow to reveal your true intentions, then it must really be something worth my attention!" He grinned widely, but despite his happy expression, his sharp teeth only inspired uneasiness in five of the six ponies, so he turned towards the only one that was also grinning. "You! Pinkie Pie, was it? You look like someone who can give a straightforward answer... Mind telling me what's this all about before the purple one kills me with suspense?"

"Sure!" Pinkie happily admitted and hoped forward. "Our home has become invaded by a race of horrible stone giants who call themselves the nomads and we can't possibly hope to stop them from destroying our homes by ourselves so we've come all the way here to this dark and spooky place just to find you and desperately beg for your help!" she spouted out without thinking or pausing between words, right before she dropped on her knees and put her forehooves together. "Pleee-ee-eease! Won't you help us save Equestria?" she did just as she had earlier explained and started desperately begging.

Sanguis kept staring at the same pony with a puzzled expression for a few more seconds before bursting into laughter. "Bwa ha ha ha ha! Oh! How right I was to look to this one for answers! Ha ha!"

Not too eager to interrupt, the ponies just waited for him to let it all out and then give his judgement.

"My, my... You ladies really are the most interesting company I've had in many millennia," he admitted and jumped down from his branch, walking right up to the pack of ponies. "And you came here just like that? Unarmed, unsuspecting, under-informed and without so much as a single gift to persuade me to fight for you?" he asked whilst staring at Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"We... *gulp* We really were desperate," she admitted.

"No kidding..." Sanguis quietly added. "Did you also happen to know that I'd be just as likely to just have you for lunch, rather than go fight a horde of giants for you?"

Twilight nodded firmly and slowly. "It was the price that we were willing to pay."

That kind of reply managed to catch the vampire by surprise. "My, my..." He chuckled quietly. "Well... I won't lie. The six of you have gotten me so intrigued that I'm even tempted to drive these giants out of your lands if only it meant that I could palaver with you again sometime." He turned his back on them for a moment. "Now tell me... You obviously weren't hoping that I would just help you out of the kindness of my heart, so there must be something that you were about to offer me in exchange for my help..." He turned his head towards them, speaking over his own shoulder, "Am I right?"

"Name your price," Twilight quickly answered, although her expression wasn't very cheerful. "Gems, gold, treasures, how ever much is needed--"

Sanguis covered his face with his palm as he laughed at such an offer. "And pray tell me, what would I be spending any of those things on?"

"I had a feeling you'd say that..." Twilight hung her head.

"And yet here you stand..."

"And yet here we stand," she repeated with her head still bowed. "Without the faintest idea about what could we possibly offer to one such as you... but if you name it and it is within our power to grant, then it's yours," she declared with a strong touch of despair in her tone. "And if not..." She slowly raised her head. "Then you may as well just go ahead and eat us."

Sanguis turned around to stand and watch as six heartbroken frowns stared at him as their last hope for salvation... Never had he even imagined that someone like him would end up being in a situation like this. A guardian, a protector, a hero and a final spark of hope for a peaceful race of creatures that quite literally look like they wouldn't hurt a fly. How did I get dragged into this? he wondered. And who in oblivion would even want to hurt someone so gosh darn adorable?

"Gah!" he uttered and winced. "Enough with the puppy dog eyes already!" He turned away from them again. "Hmm..." He began to wonder as he took a few steps away from them, turning to face them again after coming up with an idea. "To be honest, I can't even think of anything to ask for in return either... A little company is about the only thing I'm missing, but I wouldn't want to burden any of you by making you drag yourselves to this dark and damp corner of the world every time I crave someone to talk to. Oh no..." he admitted and returned to pondering.

"Uhh... can't you just... you know..." Rainbow Dash sheepishly interrupted. "Come to us instead?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied in a serious manner. "I abhor sunlight."

"Ahh... Shoulda guessed."

"And it's not like any of you would be willing to stay awake just for me for the entire night, now would you?"

"No..." Twilight confessed... Although Sanguis' suggestion wasn't all that plausible, something else did occur to Twilight when he mentioned coming to them at night... However, she was very hesitant to say just what was on her mind. "There may be an alternate solution to that..."

"I'm listening," Sanguis said and took a step towards her.

Twilight had also managed to pique the interest of her own friends with her last remark.

"You can't come to us during the day... but what if the day were to become night?"

The rather ambiguous statement made Sanguis raise his eyebrow, whereas Twilight's friends only widened their eyes from shock.

"No..." Rarity shook her head.

"You don't mean..." Fluttershy added.

"Twilight... You don't mean..." Rainbow Dash asked and watched Twilight nod in approval. "Uhm... Are you sure about this?"

"No," Twilight shook her head. "But it's the price I'm willing to pay."

"Care to enlighten me, Miss Twilight?" the impatient vampire interjected.

Looking to her friends before saying a word, Twilight replied after seeing them all slowly respond with rather shaky nods of approval. Taking a deep breath and donning a solemn expression, Twilight clarified, "In return for your help in defeating the nomads, we will make the night last forever."

Shadow in the night

Author's Note

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard anyone speak of gods in the show... Thus, I'm just going to assume that the ponies don't even have gods, and that princess Celestia and Luna are the next closest thing.

Shadow in the night

"Oh ho ho!" Sanguis cheered and clapped his hands in amusement. "Now this just got a whole lot more interesting!" Chuckling quietly, he kept speaking with a satisfied grin on his face. "Am I to actually believe that you ponies are capable controlling the very time of day in your land?"

"Yes," Twilight confirmed and nodded. "Well, not us personally, but we know two individuals who can."

Baffled by such a claim, Sanguis flinched into a straight, towering position and arched his eyebrow. "So you know someone with godlike abilities, and yet you're still asking for my help in an oncoming war?"

Too embarrassed to admit it, Twilight hesitated to confess that she had no clue about the meaning of one of the words Sanguis had just said. "Uhm... Pardon me for asking, but what was that strange word you just used? Gaad-like."

Strange... Sanguis thought to himself. I actually took her for a clever one. "Godlike simply means worthy of a god," he nonchalantly clarified and watched as the faces of the ponies still didn't light up with clarity. "Curious..." he whispered. "If they're not gods, then what are they? These, "two individuals" who can control the time of day."

"They're princesses, of course," Twilight told him the seemingly obvious answer. "What's a god anyways?"

Princesses... Sanguis repeated in his thoughts, nearly bursting into laughter. This just keeps getting better and better. "Never mind." He avoided the question. "Let's assume for a moment that you really do know two individuals capable of controlling the time of day... If so, then, one -- Can't they help you in this war of yours if they're really as powerful as you say?"

"I'm afraid not," Twilight regrettably admitted. "Most of our kind's strength lies in our ability to use magic, but these giants we're facing seem to be completely immune to any spell we throw at them."

"Interesting..." the shadow replied and began rubbing its chin. "Well, I'll certainly be in for a fun ride if I happen to end up being the one standing against them... Very well, on to the next question... I can only assume that these princesses of yours are at the very top of your important individual list here in your homeland... Am I to trust you on your word when you say that they would just agree to turn the day into night simply because you asked nicely?"

"They won't like it..." the purple princess admitted. "But they'll agree... After all, this is their home as well."

"A fair point." Sanguis smiled and nodded. "Hmm..." He started rubbing his chin and pondering on the deal whilst aimlessly walking forward and backward in a small area. "This is indeed, a worthy offer... The freedom to roam around your land as I see fit, and when I see fit, and all I have to do in return is drive away some horde of stone giants..." Finally stopping and releasing his chin, he chuckled and clapped his hands together. "Very well, my dearies... Over these last few minutes that we've spent chatting, you've aroused my interest, vigorously... If it is within my power, then I shall rid your lands of these enemies... Quite frankly, I've nothing to lose from this agreement."

"Don't get too cocky there, partner," Applejack stepped in. "You ain't even seen these "nomads" yet... How can we even know that you won't just show up and run away at the first sight of em?" she inquired in a somewhat unfriendly tone.

"You can't," he cheerfully admitted and laughed. "But what other choice do you have? Bwa ha ha ha ha!" He kept laughing up until the moment he dashed back to his spot up in the tree and made himself comfortable.

"Why, of all the--"

Before Applejack could say something she'd regret, Twilight raised her foreleg in front of her, blocking her from advancing. "Not the time, Applejack." She lowered her hoof. Despite her friend's sulky expression, she held back any further comments. "So... Is that it?" Twilight curiously asked. "The deal is on? No additional assurance that either party will hold up their end of the bargain?"

"Well, I already know that you will hold yours," he slyly replied, making most of the ponies deadpan. "As for me... Well, you know, my mind can sometimes be a mystery even to myself... Maybe I'll show up, maybe I won't... I guess you'll just have to take a chance," he nonchalantly added and began whistling a cheerful tone, acting as though he was already alone again.

"Then I suppose that's that..." Twilight quietly answered. "Hope to see you again soon... I guess..."

As saddening as it was, the ponies were forced to accept the deal as it was. Looking upon one another with deep frowns, they began to slowly make their way back to the princesses to deliver the not-so-good news... As they dragged themselves forward with their heads hanging so low they almost brushed against the ground on their every step, Sanguis couldn't help but pity them.

"Bah!" he uttered, immediately catching their attention. "For the love of god-- err... princess... Show a little spirit, would you? You look like you're going to your own funeral, for Christ's sake!"

"Uhm... We kinda are, probably," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Grr!" Sanguis facepalmed himself. "Must I honestly stoop so low as to make formal declarations and promises!?" he retorted. "I will be there as soon as you start the endless night, and I will reduce those walking boulders to a pile of rubble! Just... For pete's sake, keep your chin up! Would you? Your faces are longer than my lifespan!" he blurted out, only later realizing that he's talking to actual horses. "Erm... No pun intended."

While it may have been wrong to say that his statement made their hearts fill up with joy, it did still manage to make them lighten up... Twilight even giggled before replying.

"Sorry... Given our circumstances, it's not exactly easy to stay cheerful... To be honest, I'm actually rather surprised about your way of managing to stay so relaxed considering you might just be going to your own doom."

"He he he," he laughed quietly. "Once you've lived for as long as I have, even a chance to just die epically may seem like fun."

"That's... an interesting way of seeing things."

"Well, I do strive to keep things interesting in my life," he said with a sly smile on his face. "Bring the night, Twilight Sparkle, and the shadow will come by itself," he declared as he got back into a more comfortable position. "For all it's worth, this much I can promise you."

"It's worth more to us than you know... Thank you." Closing her eyes and nodding sincerely, Twilight and her friends now made their way back home with their heads no longer bowed.

"Don't mention it," Sanguis muttered. A good moment later, after the ponies had already left the vicinity, he whispered one more word to himself in a somewhat disgruntled tone, "Mortals... Pfeh!"

***

On the next day...

As the new day's sun reached its highest point, the ponies gathered near the borders of Canterlot to watch and wait for their enemies to arrive.

The air was still and silent, and tension tore away at everypony's heart all the while... Before long, the first stone giant became visible on the horizon.

"There!" a scout exclaimed.

"It's time," Twilight declared.

"Are you sure about this?" Celestia asked, sounding rather troubled.

"No," Twilight quickly replied in about the same kind of tone.

Despite the negative answer, the other princess knew what had to be done. Replying to Twilight with a saddened nod, she then turned to her sister who had been wearing an unforgiving gaze since the moment they left Canterlot. "Are you ready?" she asked, sounding almost frightened.

"I would not be here if I was not," Luna replied firmly, her tone devoid of any emotions, but no matter how hard she tried to hide her emotions, they were still evident to all around here.

"Luna... I--"

"Save me your apologies, Twilight Sparkle," Luna ordered. "My quarrel is with these nomads, not any of you." She closed her eyes for a moment to hide the pain in her eyes. "We all make mistakes, and I've long since gotten used to some of the more demeaning ironies of life." She opened her eyes again and took a few steps closer to the fray, her gaze now being even less pleasant to look at than before. "Let us just be done with this already," she told her sister whilst retaining her grim expression.

Saddened by her own sister's pain, Celestia winced and closed her eyes for a short moment, and once she opened them again, the look on her face had become the same as that of Luna's. Nodding at one another solemnly, the two sisters spread their wings and started slowly ascending, and the higher they rose, the darker it got. Before long, the moon was the only source of light in the area.

"It is done," Celestia announced as she and Luna reached the ground again. With an expression full of pain and hatred, she got back in line with the rest of the ponies that were watching the nomads approaching. "Let us hope that this shadow of yours doesn't disappoint."

One large step after another, the giants drew closer and closer to their city. As their steps became louder, the ponies started trembling, and as they got close enough for the impact of their marching to be felt throughout the land, the ponies started losing what ever was still left of their hope.

"Where is he!?" Rainbow Dash asked with both fear and anger present in her tone.

Stopping just a few steps away from the line of defenders, the nomad leader looked to the sky before addressing the ponies. "Hah! Is that the best you could come up with?" He laughed. "Was this really your final effort at stopping us?"

"Actually, no," a voice answered from the shadows. Everyone looked in the direction it was coming from, but nobody saw a thing. "That would be me," the living shadow added, opening its eyes and thus making itself visible.

Pausing for a moment before saying anything, the leader of the nomads started laughing. "Oh, my, I'm shaking! Ha ha!" He mocked the shadow. "So you called for the night so one of you could become invisible... So, what? Were you planning on backstabbing us while we're busy reducing your city to dust?"

"Who said anything about becoming invisible?" Sanguis asked. "I was actually hoping for a fair fight... No smoke and mirrors or anything of the sort."

"Bwa ha ha!" the giant leader laughed. "Well, now. Aren't we cocky? Am I really to assume that you're just going to stand there as I bash you into the ground?"

"You're certainly welcome to try," Sanguis answered with a satisfied grin on his face. "Go ahead... Take your best shot."

The leader of the giants wasn't the brightest sort, but even if he suspected that this small shadow had some kind of trick up his sleeve, his pride wouldn't let him show fear or uncertainty at a moment like this. "Well, who am I to deny someone with a death wish?" Raising his fist up in the air, he sent it crashing down right at where the two red eyes were located.

Twilight watched the sight anxiously. She was sure Sanguis would move before the giant got to strike, but all he did was turn his head towards her and wink at her before disappearing under the giant's fist.

As the giant's hand collided with the earth, it made such a strong impact that it even made some of the ponies standing in the front-lines fall down on their backs. Utterly shocked to see that Sanguis didn't even flinch, the ponies stared in sheer shock as they waited for the giant to remove his fist... Alas, the moment he did so, all their hopes got erased as they witnessed the massive dent that the giant left in the earth, and in its center, a pile of ashes, which could have only been what remained of Sanguis.

Still flat on her back from the blast against the ground in front of her, Twilight kept her mouth open without breathing a word, as did the majority of the ponies around her... There just wasn't anything to say... Hope was gone, and their end at the hands of the giants was now certain...

A lot of good he did us, some of the ponies thought. The last resort of the ponies ended up being nothing but a massive embarrassment to Equestria.

In front of her eyes, time slowed down for Twilight as she watched everything around her... In front of her, the leader of the giants reveling in his guaranteed victory. Behind her, her own friends who looked no less shocked than herself, as well as hundreds of ponies who had already begun to tuck their tails in panic, and most importantly, those blasted ashes of their "hero" as she nearly called Sanguis. Part of her wanted to cry, but another part just wanted to blast what was left of him as his ashes kept on sailing through the sky...

Wait... What!? Twilight suddenly jumped up as she realized something that made absolutely no sense... There wasn't so much as speck of wind in the air that day. All of the weather was cancelled for that day and not a single pegasus was up working the sky that day... but then, how could the ashes of Sanguis possibly be floating through the air? More importantly, how are they sticking together so well, rather than just being scattered across the land?

"Bwaha ha ha ha ha!" the nomad laughed. "Pathetic doesn't even scratch the surface of this event! You pitiful creatures are absolutely hilarious!"

Ignoring the giant's moment of pride, Twilight kept watching the ashes all the way up to the point where they flew up to the head of the giant and then just mysteriously vanished.

"You miserable swine deserve to be put out of your misery!" the giant screamed. "You should be thanking us! We will make sure that your lands are from here on kept and maintained by a race that is actually worthy of-- Ah, I see." The giant suddenly switched its tone drastically, confusing everyone around it. "What in the... How--" Before the giant could say another word, it started shaking and making strange movements while even stranger noises started coming from its mouth. After a few moments of the same kind of behavior, the giant just seemingly... shut itself down?

Everyone kept staring with utterly bewildered expressions as the giant just sort of started resembling someone who was trying to catch his breath after straining himself for too long, only it wasn't moving or speaking at all.

"Aaaaaah!" a scream echoed through the sky.

Following the direction of the scream, the ponies saw a strange humanoid creature with light-blue skin falling from the sky. As it came closer to the ground, it became clear that he wasn't falling, but was instead being carried by the shadow they had thought to be deceased. Landing on the ground in front of the ponies, Sanguis tossed the creature that was hardly more than half his size towards the ponies, making it land right in front of Twilight's hooves.

Stepping back to free up some room for the creature, Twilight stared at it for a brief moment as it raised its head and started staring at her with a sheepish grin, afterwards turning to Sanguis for some answers. "W-wh-wha... How..."

"Turns out these "Nomads" of yours are nothing but a bunch of robots with weirdos like this one controlling them," Sanguis explained without waiting for Twilight to find the right words to ask.

"E he he..." the creature laughed sheepishly and then gulped nervously. "I, uhh... We..."

"Not so tough when talking to someone your own size, eh?" Sanguis made fun of him.

"Hold your tongue, fiend!" the nomad snapped back at him. "You forget that I still command a whole army! Your dirty shadow tricks may have worked on me, but--"

Not waiting for him to finish, Sanguis vanished from sight, leaving only his signature trail of red and black smoke behind himself.

Moving miraculously fast, the smoke trail quickly reached the nearest still-active stone giant and began climbing it. The giant barely even managed to react before the trail reached its head, instantly shattering the large stone on top of it into dozens of smaller stones and sending the pilot flying right out of it while screaming in terror.

Hardly had the other giants realized what had just happened before the trail reached them, as well. One by one, the heads of the giants got popped open like balloons, and before long, the nomad leader's army was laid down next to him without their giant robot shells to protect them anymore.

"You were saying?" Sanguis playfully said to the nomad leader with a cocky victory grin covering his face.

Odd how just minutes ago, hope seemed like a myth to the ponies, but now, just mere minutes after Sanguis got turned into ashes, victory was already theirs... Ponies and nomads alike kept staring at the shadow with both their eyes and mouths wide open from sheer shock and awe.

"Who... W-what are you?" the nomad leader asked in a trembling voice.

"Just a shadow of my former self," Sanguis happily admitted and gave a friendly pat on the cheek to the nomad leader. "Now... on to a more serious matter." He turned towards Twilight and her friends. "What do you want done with these savages?"

"I'll give you savages, you--"

"Hush, Caerulus!" a lesser nomad told their leader. "This is not the time to show pride and stubbornness." He knelt down on one knee, as did the rest of the pack behind him. "This is a time to admit defeat..." Raising his head, he turned towards the victors. "We are fully at your mercy, brave warriors."

"Well, well, well..." Sanguis uttered, somewhat impressed by such a humble attitude from one who was just towering over him by nearly half a mile. "Your leader could certainly learn a thing or two from you... Perhaps a change of rulers is in order?"

"Grr!" Caerulus gritted his teeth at the shadow. "They'd be nothing without me! I was the only one who took initiative and got them to where they are today!"

"Which is where?" Sanguis asked, retaining his satisfied grin.

Realizing his poor choice of words, the nomad leader just crossed his arms and maintained his sulky attitude. "Enjoy your victory while it lasts, you filth... Say your terms, if you even have any, but I will never bow," he told Sanguis and glared at him viciously.

"Fair enough," the hero of the day nonchalantly admitted. "Quite frankly, that means I won't have to strain myself by looking downwards every time I have to address you." He chuckled, only forcing Caerulus' stare to become even more deadly. "Now, then... Where were we?" He turned back towards the ponies. "Ah, yes. I believe you were about to decide what to do with these fine fellows."

Seeings how Twilight and her friends were the ones who secured the aid of this unlikely hero, Celestia and Luna nodded in agreement that it should be them that get to decide how to proceed.

Twilight was still busy being rather dazed by Sanguis' display of power the first time he asked the question, but during his little moment of reveling in his victory, Twilight regained most of her senses... Even though she still couldn't help but get chills every time she remembered just how powerful their ally really was... Thank Celestia he's on our side, was about the only thing she could tell herself at the moment.

Donning a gaze full of hatred, Twilight raised her hoof, ready to have the nomads locked away in Tartarus for good, but somehow she managed to hold back her anger. Exhaling loudly and calming herself, Twilight addressed Sanguis, "You should be the one to decide their fate," she declared.

"Me?" he asked, surprised by this decision. "My lady, you honor me beyond words." He bowed before Twilight. "Very well," he said as he faced the nomads again. "Hmm... What, oh what should I do with the lot of you?" He began rubbing his chin. "Aha!" He snapped his fingers. "You know... I think I'll just go ahead and take a page from the book of these lovely and peaceful little creatures that you were just trying to eradicate."

A bit nervous at first, the nomads were now confused by what had the shadow meant by such a statement.

"You are free to go," Sanguis said nonchalantly and crossed his hands behind his back. "Leave this land and never return..." Dropping his friendly manner for a moment, he ignited the fires in his eyes and revealed his sharp teeth as he added two more words, "Or else!" He then quickly turned back to his friendly tone again. "Have a nice day!"

Bowing their heads, the nomads rose up and made their way out of their lands.

"Thank you," one of them whispered before leaving.

The leader, however, only gritted his teeth and muttered something unintelligible as he turned his back on them.

"That's it?" Rainbow Dash suddenly asked, disappointed by such an outcome. "You're just going to--"

Before she could finish, Sanguis grabbed Caerulus by his right shoulder and turned him towards himself. "Oh, and one more thing, just to be sure you don't forget."

"Get your filthy paws o--" were the last words of the proud nomad leader.

Not waiting for Caerulus to finish, Sanguis grabbed him by both shoulders and let out a demonic shriek as he sank his fangs deep into his neck.

Instantly widening both their eyes and mouths, both the ponies and the nomads stepped back and watched the sight in terror... The nomad leader started shaking erratically and vigorously and moaning in pain, whilst the shadow let out beastly sounds that only inspired even more fear in those around it.

As the event continued, Caerulus' body seemed to begin to lose mass... It seemed as though his lifeblood and energy was being transferred to Sanguis as lines of blood-red energy started coursing through his body.

Finally, it stopped, and instead of their proud and stubborn leader, Sanguis was now holding a deflated balloon with Caerulus' face on it. He tossed the drained leader towards the nomads. Sounds of bones colliding with one another were heard as the remains of the body dropped and changed shape.

Still terrified by the sight, the nomads kept their gaze fixed on their deceased leader for a moment longer before turning back to Sanguis, who was now wearing a look more demonic than ever.

"That shall be your fate should any of you ever again be seen even close to these lands!" the demon screamed, its eyes burning like wildfire. "Leave, now! Before I change my mind!"

Not requiring any repeated explanations, the nomads ran as though a demon by the name of "Sanguis" was on their tail.

After they were gone from their sight, Sanguis ditched his demonic state and turned back towards the ponies with a friendly smile on his face, but despite it, all of the ponies were leaning away from him as far as they could without falling on their backs, all whilst keeping their nervous stares fixed directly on him.

"Oookay..." Rainbow Dash slowly uttered. "Not what I would have suggested, but I think they got the picture."

"You think?" Sanguis asked. "Perhaps I should go grab another one, just in case..."

"Umm... No... That's quite alright," Twilight insisted.

"Have it your way," Sanguis replied and took a few steps away from them. Looking up to the darkened skies, he took in a very deep breath. As he let the air out, it was clear that he was thoroughly pleased with his surroundings. "Aaah, now this is my kind of place to be in..." He chuckled. "I really did hit the jackpot with that last rift, it seems."

"Huh?" Twilight uttered. "What do you--"

"Have fun adapting to your new home, my lovelies." Sanguis took a deep and graceful bow before the ponies. "I know I will."

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed, but it was already too late...

Just as suddenly as their hero had arrived, he vanished, leaving so many questions still unanswered...

And so, even though victory was theirs, the ponies still wanted to frown...

Seems rather ironic how just a few years ago, Twilight and her friends gave it their all to prevent the eternal night...

Who knows? Maybe it's not as bad as they had thought... Or perhaps this just wasn't the kind of price they were willing to pay...

And by the gods, look at the mess Sanguis left behind himself! It looks like a quarry over here!

Adapting to the night

And thus began an era of darkness in Equestria, where smiles were rare, and the stars just didn't seem all that beautiful anymore.

The weather became much harder to control, crops grew a lot slower and often turned rotten before becoming fully grown, fillies and foals were no longer allowed outside on their own at any time, and worst of all, the creatures of the night became ever bolder. Things like timberwolf attacks and random bat clouds causing panic throughout the towns became a common thing... Simply put -- Equestria was in disarray.

Nothing happened the way it was supposed to happen. Everypony was too worried about managing to stay alive that they no longer had time for any kind of entertainment, meaning that not only were the ponies everywhere bitter and sad, but also that just about everypony whose special talent had something to do with entertaining other ponies found themselves re-thinking their career soon after the dawn of the everlasting night, whereas those who were specialized in healing and taking care of others found their hooves so full they could hardly find any time to rest.

Complaints rose up everywhere and for many varieties of reasons due to the fact that a lot of organizations could no longer function properly. Ponies blaming the pegasi for not doing something about the weather, the earth ponies for not being able to produce fresh food, and the princesses for not bringing back the day, even going so far as to calling them craven for not being able to do anything about their situation... Odd how everypony had so quickly forgotten just what Sanguis was really capable of, for if they hadn't, then they wouldn't be so surprised about the fact that nopony could ever dare defy him.

And as for our most beloved heroes, the mane 6...

Twilight probably got the worst out of all of this... As the only princess in Ponyville, she got massive amounts of complaints about the situation, and trying to reason with any of the panicking and disgruntled ponies seemed utterly futile.

Right next to her was Rainbow Dash, who was also widely criticized and questioned... Many had thought her to be a very dependable pony, but now it seemed to everypony that she wasn't even lifting a feather to improve the situation... About the same thing could be said about Applejack, who once known as a hero to Ponyville was now but a disgrace and a disappointment that couldn't even deliver proper food for the citizens of Equestria.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity found themselves questioning their own way of life as nopony seemed eager to attend parties or buy fancy dresses anymore, and the poor, gentle soul that had always been a natural at making sure that all of the animals of Ponyville had everything they needed was now in such a mess that she often found herself just sitting and crying as all of her beloved pets started turning against her, constantly disobeying her, hissing at her and sometimes even clawing at her...

"This can't go on..." Twilight said to herself and watched the chaos ensue out on the streets.

"Oh dear..." Fluttershy whimpered as she saw her animals hissing at one another and preparing for a fight.

"This is simply preposterous!" Rarity ranted after seeing several dozen ponies just running around her boutique and panicking as though it wasn't even there.

"Darn it! Not again!" Applejack exclaimed upon seeing her baskets getting flooded with rotten apple soup after bucking an apple tree.

"This isn't fun..." Pinkie whispered while lying idly on the ground and drawing various shapes with her hoof.

"This sucks!" Rainbow Dash shouted, just because she felt like it.

It was clear to everypony now... This had to stop.

***

Refusing to let this last any longer, the six mares gathered in the throne room of Twilight's castle to discuss their plan for bringing back the daylight.

"Maybe if we just ask him very nicely--" Fluttershy meekly suggested.

"I say he needs to go! For good!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed before anypony even got a chance to consider Fluttershy's words. "Let's just lower the moon, and if Sanguis doesn't like it, then he can just kiss my horseshoes coz we can't keep living like this!" She slammed her hoof on the table.

"Easier said than done," Twilight added. "You haven't forgotten what he did to that nomad leader, have you?"

"I haven't," Rainbow Dash replied with an expression devoid of cheer. "Which is exactly why we need to deal with him before he decides that this deal just isn't good enough for him. At least this way we have the element of surprise."

"Wait... Hold on," Twilight shook her head from confusion. "Are you actually suggesting that we try to fight Sanguis?"

"What choice do we have!?" Rainbow retorted. "Our lives are a nightmare right now! We can't just keep sitting around and waiting for Sanguis to change his mind! From what I've seen from him, he can't be trusted, and if we go and just break the deal without getting Sanguis out of the way first, then I doubt he'd just let it lie!"

"Rainbow's right, y'all," Applejack joined in. "Sanguis is more unpredictable than a cow in a meadow full of snakes! Worse yet, he's a gosh darn vampire, for pony's sake! Why, I'll eat my own hat before I trust someone like that to honor his word!" she declared and reclined her back against her chair, crossing both her forelegs and hindlegs in frustration.

"But... he's not a bad vampire," Fluttershy insisted, flinching after receiving a deadly glare from Applejack.

"Save it, Fluttershy... Even you turned into a wicked, terrifying monster when you accidentally got turned into a vampire, and you're the nicest pony I know," Applejack reminded, making Fluttershy frown and fall silent.

"Well, I must say, I have to agree with Applejack and Rainbow Dash here." Rarity stepped in after a brief moment of silence. "To me, this Sanguis just doesn't seem like much more than a careless ruffian with a very vile sense of humor... I dare say that, given enough time, he will definitely turn on us."

"Aww, don't be so negative about this, girls," Pinkie Pie interjected, drawing a set of rather displeased stares towards herself. "Sanguis just wants to have some fun! Sure, his definition of "fun" might not always be the same as ours, but that doesn't necessarily make him bad... right?" she asked... To her disappointment, only one other pony present at the table seemed to agree with her.

"Pinkie's right," Fluttershy approved.

"See? Fluttershy agrees. We should just all put on our best frownie faces and go to Sanguis and let him know that no sunlight is just no bueno for us ponies," she suggested and donned the saddest expression she could muster.

Fluttershy nodded in approval. "He didn't seem intent on causing us misery when we talked to him back in the forest. I'm sure he'd understand if we just--"

"And what if he doesn't!?" Rainbow Dash interrupted and furiously slammed her hoof against the table, drawing all the attention towards herself. "Huh? What then? If we go to him and just reveal that this deal, that we ourselves suggested, might I remind you, just isn't in our favor anymore, then he'll suspect that we might try to pull a fast one on him sooner or later." Putting on a sulky expression, crossing her hooves and reclining her back against her chair, Rainbow Dash waited a moment to see if anypony had any good counter-arguments to her words, but the room stayed silent. "The way I see it, we only get one shot at this... Believing that he'd just allow us to bring back the day if we just asked nicely sounds like wishful thinking."

"But..." Fluttershy whispered after a good moment of silence, her eyes full of sorrow. "We wouldn't even be here without him..."

The room fell silent again as the ponies exchanged glances full of either sadness or anger... Arguments were given both in favor of just talking to Sanguis and getting rid of him for good, with Twilight as the only pony still left in the room that had not stated her opinion.

"All in favor of getting rid of Sanguis raise their right hoof!" Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed. Along with Rarity and Applejack, there was a total of three hooves in favor. After they lowered their hooves, she sighed and said in a tone that was quiet and devoid of enthusiasm, "All in favor of just talking to him..." Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie raised their hooves at this point... A brief moment later, all eyes were on Twilight. "Looks like it's your call, Twilight..."

Up until now, Twilight had just sat there with her elbows on the table and her chin nested on her hooves as she listened to everything her friends had to say about the situation... Still rather puzzled about all this, she waited for quite a while before speaking up. "Wow... This... I can't even believe we're actually considering this!" she admitted, her voice sounding rather shocked. "Do you even realize what this means if we decide to just defy him? Not only will we be sullying our names by becoming Equestria's most renown oath-breakers and backstabbing the only creature that offered us a helping hand when we needed it the most, but we will also be declaring war against a being of immeasurable power!"

Finishing her monologue, Twilight waited for a moment to let her words sink in.

"I won't lie, I'd probably sleep better at night knowing that Sanguis isn't lurking around somewhere out there, but even if we decide to get rid of him... Just how in Equestria are we going to accomplish a feat that not even an army of stone giants succeeded in doing?" she asked and devoted a curious gaze to the three ponies that seemed to be thoroughly against letting Sanguis stay in Equestria, as did Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Lowering their heads to avoid the unpleasant stares, the three ponies pondered Twilight's words.

After another brief moment of silence, Rainbow Dash stood up, pressing her hooves against the table and stared back at Twilight in a very serious manner. "What if I told you that there is a way to vanquish him... Would you agree to participate?"

"Not until you tell me just how are you planning on doing that."

"By setting a trap for him."

"What kind of trap?"

"Are you in or are you out?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted, infuriated by such a response.

"Yea or nay?" Rainbow kept pressing.

"You can't expect me to--"

"Yea or nay!?" Rainbow Dash retorted, hardening both the pressure her hooves were putting on the table and her gaze that was fixed on Twilight.

"Uggh!" Twilight groaned and facehoofed herself. Seeing that there really was no reasoning with her stubborn friend, she started considering all the pros and cons that she could think of. Looking to her friends, she saw Rainbow Dash staring at her with a gaze that was as fierce as it was determined. Switching to Applejack and Rarity, she saw that theirs minds were also made up, even though they clearly lacked the same kind of conviction that Dash was packing, whereas Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie could only frown and shake their heads when Twilight turned her sights their way.

This was truly a difficult decision for her... On one hoof, Sanguis was a hero to them. A creature of immense power that could have destroyed them long ago if only he wanted to, and yet still he chose to stand with them, humbly accepting the deal that Twilight herself had suggested. On the other hoof, he was utterly unpredictable and, given enough time, much more likely to become a detriment to their kind, rather than to continue helping them in their time of need.

Twilight knew the meaning of self-sacrifice, and so in a situation like this, as long as it meant restoring harmony to the ponies of Equestria, it didn't really matter to her that choosing to side with Rainbow Dash would make her a despicable hypocrite, oath-breaker and backstabber... In fact, about the only thing keeping her from giving an immediate answer was fear... If Rainbow's plan were to fail, then the consequences would surely be dire...

She kept pondering and pondering until the moment she remembered the day she first met Rainbow Dash, specifically the moment when she thought that she was about to turn her back on them for a chance to live her own dream... There's no denying it, Twilight's faith in Rainbow Dash started rapidly diminishing the moment she saw her talking to the shadowbolts, but in the end, she stayed true...

Twilight then remembered that even though she might not exactly be as honest as Applejack or as kind to her friends as Fluttershy, it was at times like these, when things turned serious and grim that Rainbow Dash would never do anything that could put her friends in harm's way, and that there was no way in Equestria that she would risk everypony's safety unless she was absolutely certain that there was no reason for doubt... And so, Twilight chose to believe her, just as she always had.

Letting out a long sigh that was full of both sorrow and remorse, Twilight quietly replied, "Yea."

"Then it's settled!" Rainbow excitedly announced. "Sanguis is going down! All we need to do now is--" She stopped herself mid sentence as she saw Fluttershy quietly sneaking away from the table. "Fluttershy? What are you--"

"I'm sorry, girls..." She turned around to prevent her friends from seeing her devastated expression. "I just can't go through with this!" she admitted, her tears instantly breaking loose as she released those words, afterwards turning around and trotting out of the room.

The atmosphere in the room already wasn't pleasant, and it only got even more depressing as the five remaining ponies sat in silence and kept listening to the loud, echoing cries ringing through the hallway leading away from the throne room.

"What about you, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash slowly asked. "Are you..."

Letting out a sad sigh, Pinkie replied in a lifeless tone, "Yeah... I'm in."

"May Celestia forgive us then..." said Twilight.

***

A bit later...

"I hope this works..." Twilight uttered, her tone sounding rather troubled.

"It has to work!" Rainbow Dash assured her. "Sanguis is too cocky to suspect anything."

"We still need to figure out how to lure him to the trap," Twilight reminded, forcing the room into a session of quiet chin rubbing.

A good while later, there were still no suggestions from anypony. Deciding to not prolong this anymore, Rainbow Dash suggested the only thing she could think of.

"How about I just punch him in the face?"

A bold plan

Deciding to take a break from all of the exploring of the world that just kept on amazing him, Sanguis just made himself comfortable on his favorite branch and began humming a cheerful tune to himself... Luckily for the ponies, this made him easy to find, thus his enjoyable moment was soon interrupted by a very sudden visit... If you can even call it that. Without so much as a "Hello" or any kind of other introductions, Rainbow Dash just flew up to him and punched him in the face as hard as she could.

Slowly turning his head back towards her and smiling at her, Sanguis asked politely, "Forgive me, was I being too loud?"

"Cut the polite talk, shadow!" Rainbow impolitely retorted. "Put em up!" She readied her hooves for a fight.

"Oh?" he uttered, surprised by such an offer. "You want me to return the favor?"

"Yeah!" she boldly confirmed. "Come on! Give it all you've got!"

"Oh, don't be silly, Rainbow... I'd never hit a lady."

"Who you calling a lady!? You... You gentle...shadow?" That sounded better in my head... she said to herself and fell silent whilst doing her best to hide her self-embarrassment.

Sanguis kept staring at her for another few seconds before cracking up. "My, my... how offensive... Does this mean you don't want to be friends with me?" he asked with a fake frown on his face.

I need a new plan... she told herself and went with the first thing she could come up with. "Tag! You're it!" she exclaimed and nudged him, afterwards rocketing herself out of the vicinity.

Letting out another short round of laughter, Sanguis flew right after her. "He he he... I don't know what's going on here, but color me intrigued." Quickly catching up to Rainbow Dash, he asked her while she kept flying. "Oh, and by the way. Do you need a short or a long head start?"

"Aaah!" Rainbow exclaimed and started flying even faster.

The shadow merely shrugged at such a response. "Eeh, I suppose a short one will just have to do... One, two, three..." He counted to twenty before continuing the chase. Swiftly catching up to her again, he readied his hand to grab her by her tail. "Too slo--" He was suddenly stopped by a surprise magical blast to his face.

"Leave her alone!" Twilight shouted after catching the shadow's attention

"Huh? But we were just playing," he insisted and instantly got blasted again. "Just go ask her yourself!" he said and caught the next magical bolt with his hand. "Am I going to have to put an ice cream cone on that horn of yours to get you to stop blasting me?" he asked in a friendly tone, yearning for a positive reply.

"You're welcome to try!"

"Well, in that case..." He approached her slowly, but just before he got to grab her, she teleported away. "And here I was thinking that she would just make it easy for me... He he. Pleased she didn't," he told himself and bolted after her. Following her trail, he caught up with her after a short while and jumped right towards her. "Ha! Got you!" Alas, she managed to teleport away again in the nick of time. "So close..."

"Wee!" Pinkie Pie uttered as she bounced over Sanguis. "Ooh! Ooh! My turn!" she shouted and kept bouncing forward.

"Hah! I should have known you wouldn't be far behind on all the fun!" Readying himself for a delightful jog, Sanguis started bouncing after Pinkie, but in a much quicker pace. "Huh... This seems too easy," he said as he neared the bouncing pony. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed and grabbed her by her tail, but to his utter confusion, she just kept on bouncing forward with her tail still in its rightful place... and at the same time also in his hand... "Uuuhh..." Baffled by the sight, he pulled the tail closer to his face and sniffed it. "Is that... cotton candy?"

"Yoohoo!" Rarity called out to him from a distance and waved. "Over here, darling." She started trotting away at a very ladylike pace.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Keeping his eyebrow raised and his gaze fixed on the fashionista, he just couldn't figure out whether she was part of the ensemble or was she simply trying to get his attention. Shrugging in confusion, he decided to just find that out by himself and started following her at a pace slightly quicker than her own. "This is the weirdest game of tag I've ever played... And I've played a lot of em." Eventually catching up with her, he slowly uttered, "Uuhh..."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, pretending to be surprised. "Seems like you've caught me... Very well, I suppose now I'm it." Waiting a few seconds before acting, she tagged Sanguis and started nonchalantly trotting away from him in the same pace as before. "Tag."

Scratching his head from confusion, Sanguis just started looking around to see if he could find a different pony... This one seemed to be a bit confused about the point of the game. "Aha!" he suddenly shouted and caught an apple that was flying fast in his direction.

"Come and get me, ya goon!" Applejack shouted from afar and bucked another apple towards Sanguis before running off.

"Hmm... Seems a bit stale," the shadow said to himself after taking a bite from the apple that had already started to rot from the lack of sunlight. "Oh, right!" He dashed after the pony, again catching up to her in no time. "Aha!" he exclaimed as he managed to corner her. "Nowhere left to run!"

"Wasn't planning on it, ya goofball!"

"Hmm? What do you--"

"Now!" Applejack bawled, and at her mark, a set of sheets fell off from all sides of the room that Sanguis thought he had gotten her trapped in, revealing itself to actually be a hexagon of mirrors.

Just mere seconds after the mirrors were revealed, Applejack jumped out of the center just as the sun came up. Looking to the sky, Sanguis saw the sun reaching its highest point, and before he could even get to react, its rays hit all of the mirrors around him, redirecting all of the excess sunlight directly towards him.

Instantly falling on his back and covering his face with his hands, Sanguis started screaming in agony as his entire body became engulfed in sunlight. Rolling around in a pointless attempt to preserve his life, he created a real light show as the shadow kept fighting the light.

Gathering around him, the ponies looked upon him with both shame and remorse eating away at their hearts... Even though their plan was a success and victory was theirs, they still simply could not celebrate the moment... As they had just ended the life of the very same creature that had recently saved their entire race from extinction... The longer he screamed, the more painful it became for both sides.

"Gaaaaaaaah! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Gaaaaaaaaaaaatchaaaa! Aha ha ha ha ha!" Just like that, his rolling around and screaming in agony turned into lying on his stomach and pounding the ground from laughter.

For the ponies, however, sadness turned into confusion... confusion that started slowly turning into fear. Fear of what will become of them once Sanguis stops laughing.

A creature of shadows, seemingly immune to both magic and the touch of sunlight, not to mention, able to come back from his own ashes after getting pulverized... Is there anything out there that could even come close to stopping something like that? This the ponies did not know... What they did now know, however, was that they had just made a grave error...

As Sanguis kept on laughing without end, they started nervously backing away, and after what seemed like a whole afternoon of laughter, the illuminated shadow finally stood up. Taking a breath and calming himself, he suddenly just smashed all of the mirrors with a motion so swift the ponies couldn't even trace it.

Covering themselves to avoid getting glass in their eyes, the ponies flinched away from the mirror explosion. Opening their eyes again, they watched and trembled as Sanguis started slowly walking towards them. The way he kept on crushing the glass beneath his feet with each step only made the moment seem even more dramatic. Reaching Twilight, he knelt down on one knee before her without losing his cocky smile.

"I... take it apologies won't do us much good at this point," Twilight nervously whispered.

Chuckling as a response to that remark, Sanguis replied in a friendly tone, "Apologize? Why, what ever would you want to apologize to me for?"

"Please..." Twilight breathed out heavily and broke eye contact. "Just... Do what you have to... As far as I'm concerned, we deserve it."

And thus the air around them fell silent. Everypony watched the sight with frightened expressions, but their fear soon left themselves as they considered Twilight's words... For despite the sinister look of the demon before them, they were the only real monsters here.

Chuckling again in a barely audible voice, Sanguis gently placed his hand under Twilight's chin and lifted her head up to face him. "Do you honestly think I'm mad at you?" He stood up and laughed. "You ponies are, without a doubt, the most amusing creatures I've ever laid eyes upon," he gladly admitted.

"Huh?" the crowd uttered.

"And trust me, I've seen plenty, and if I had not shown mercy to all those that managed to even slightly get on my nerves, then your nomad problem would have most likely already been solved before it even occurred," Sanguis explained and let the crowd keep staring in awe, yet again.

"You... you..." Twilight, in particular, was baffled beyond words.

"Do you take me for blind?" he asked, almost as confused about all this as were the ponies. "I've been exploring every inch of your lands over these last few months. Did you honestly think that I wouldn't notice how miserable you had become?" he asked out to everyone present, but there was no answer. "Even if one of you hadn't tipped me off earlier, I saw something like this coming from miles away. And even though I had secretly hoped that all of you would be wise enough to just come and talk to me before doing anything stupid, I am ever so glad that you didn't! Aha ha ha ha!" he laughed, still as amused by all this as ever. "Seriously? You pinned every last piece of hope you had on a vague statement by me, saying that I abhor the sunlight?" He shook his head in disapproval.

The ponies instantly put on rather sheepish frowns and began rubbing the backs of their necks after that... Rainbow Dash, more than anypony, felt like crawling under a rock after Twilight glared fiercely at her.

"Wait!" Rainbow Dash suddenly called out. "Did you just say that somepony tipped you off?" she asked, intriguing everyone around her and making them perk up their ears as they looked to the shadow for answers.

Nodding solemnly, Sanguis stepped aside to let the crowd gaze in utter shock at the very last pony they expected to see.

"F-F-Fluttershy!?" Rainbow Dash uttered, her confusion quickly turning into frustration that had a scent of anger to it. "How could you!?" she bawled at the same timid pegasus who was already too ashamed of herself to even look her in the eye.

"Hold your tongue!" Sanguis commanded. "You have no idea just how much this pony loves each and every one of you... By the gods, you should have seen her when she trotted up to me. Her heart broken from sheer emotional pain and her face wet from prolonged crying," he explained, making a large portion of the crowd drop their unfriendly expressions while looking at Fluttershy. "How she begged. How insisted... How she cried." Sanguis hung his head. "For so long she cried in my arms that I had to sing her a lullaby just to get her to stop. And all the while she kept on begging me to not hurt her friends, insisting that you're just not yourselves, that the long night has made you all bitter and that you only want to see your sun again..."

Aside from just one last pony, every other expression had softened up and was welcoming towards Fluttershy as she made her way closer to them... Everypony, except Rainbow Dash.

"She really is the only smart one out of all of you," Sanguis added.

"I... I can't believe..." Rainbow Dash tried to say something, but the sorrow and anger eating away at her from the inside kept her from it.

"I'm sorry..." Fluttershy apologized and hung her head as soon as she reached her friends. Her expression being painful to even look at.

"No," Twilight replied and stepped forward, immediately throwing her hooves around her yellow-coated friend in a warm embrace. "We're sorry, Fluttershy... We're so sorry..." she whispered as her tears started raining on Fluttershy's back.

"We should have listened to you from the very beginning," Rarity added and joined in on the hug.

"Yeah. I can't believe you guys talked me into this!" Pinkie also joined in.

"That's the second time you've been right from the start when it came down to a vampire problem!" Applejack added.

As the hug dissipated, everypony stepped away from Fluttershy and looked upon the one pony who had yet to apologize.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight addressed her. "Is there something you would like to say?" she asked and kept looking upon her friend whose head was still hanging ever-so-low.

"I... I..."

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy insisted as she walked closer to her, offering a comforting hoof on the shoulder.

"No!" Rainbow Dash shouted and hugged Fluttershy as tightly as she could, immediately bursting into tears. "It's not okay! *sob* I... I..." She started shaking from her own cries.

"You're... hurting... me..." Fluttershy barely breathed out.

"Sorry..." Rainbow apologized and loosened her grip, letting Fluttershy inhale loudly. "I'm... really sorry... To all of you! I..."

"It's okay," Fluttershy repeated.

"We forgive you," Twilight added as she and the others also joined in on the hug.

"Not like the rest of us are exactly all innocent either," Applejack reminded.

"I know I am!" Pinkie declared.

The hug ended rather abruptly as the ponies looked over their shoulders and saw Sanguis just nonchalantly walking away. Not intent on just letting him leave like that, they quickly caught up with him.

"Oh, by all means, don't let me stop you," Sanguis said right as the ponies surrounded him. "The six of you look absolutely adorable when you're hugging one another like that."

Twilight giggled. "Then how come you were walking away from us?"

"I feel too exposed in the sun," he confessed. "Feels like the word "shadow" just doesn't apply to me anymore when I'm stuck in the sun... Also, it kinda makes me itch," he admitted and started scratching.

The ponies laughed, and as their laughter ended, the two parties smiled at one another as the time to say "goodbye" seemed at hand.

"So is that really all there is to it?" Twilight inquired, still a bit baffled by how well Sanguis had reacted to an attempt to murder him. "You're just going to let us get away with this without any sort of repercussions?"

"I never said that," Sanguis replied in a not-so-friendly tone. "See, I can't drive myself to punish those who were merely talked into doing something stupid..." His tone turned even more serious than before. "But the instigator, however..." He paused for a moment. Suddenly turning around swiftly, he glared right into Rainbow's eyes with demonic rage. "Has to die!" he roared right into her face and gritted his teeth.

"Yaaaaaggh!" Rainbow Dash yelped from sheer fear and her face instantly turned pale. Jumping up into the air, she just rocketed away with enough speed to single-hoofedly deliver water to Cloudsdale.

"Bwaha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Sanguis dropped on his back from laughter and began rolling around.

Realizing that she had been played, Rainbow Dash turned around and landed near Sanguis and her friends.

"That's... pfft... Not funn--pfff ha ha ha!" Applejack tried her best to keep a straight face but simply couldn't hold back her laughter anymore after seeing Rainbow Dash getting pranked so badly.

"Yes it is! Aha ha ha!" Pinkie exclaimed and joined in on the laughter, as did the rest of the ponies that weren't Rainbow Dash.

"Gee... Thanks for the moral support, you guys," grumbled Rainbow Dash.

"Aww, don't be so blue, Rainbow Dash," Sanguis replied.

"Yeah! White suits you much better! Aha ha ha ha!" Pinkie added, creating another round of unbridled laughter as a result.

"Yeah... Real funny," Rainbow muttered.

"Ehh... But in all seriousness..." Sanguis began once the laughing ceased. "You ponies have made it rather clear that you no longer wish to have me as an ally." He started slowly walking away from the ponies. "If that's really the case, then so be it." He looked back at them over his shoulder before vanishing back into the forest. "Should you ever find yourselves facing a threat you can't handle by yourselves, I'm afraid you'll have to look for help elsewhere."

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed, but yet again, she was too late.

"Let it go, Twilight." Applejack stepped closer to Twilight and placed her hoof on her shoulder. "This is probably for the best, anyways."

"I guess you're right," Twilight sighed and admitted. Lingering near the edge of the forest for a while longer, the ponies soon turned around and started heading back to their homes.

"I still can't believe he sang you a lullaby," Rainbow Dash said while looking at Fluttershy. "Not the kind of thing I'd expect from someone like Sanguis."

"I told you he's not a bad vampire," Fluttershy replied, afterwards letting out a sad sigh. "I just wish we didn't have to part ways like this... We didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Don't think it was necessary, sugarcube," Applejack replied.

"How so?"

"Given Sanguis' lust for entertainment, I doubt he'll stay stuck in that dark corner of his forever... Something tells me we'll be seeing him again real soon."

Despite not even putting much effort into hiding his presence, Sanguis remained unnoticed as he stayed near the fringes of the Everfree forest and listened in on every word the ponies were saying.

"Sooner than you think, Applejack. He he he." Sanguis chuckled. "Sooner than you think..."

Bonus chapter: Backfired

Author's Note

Bonus chapter: Backfired

It was just another average day, and Sanguis was just chilling in his favorite spot in his favorite tree and humming his favorite tune... but then, all of a sudden...

Swoosh

Like a shadow, something sprung through the air so swiftly that Sanguis couldn't even catch a glimpse of it.

"Hmm?" Sanguis uttered and scanned the area around him. As the same object came flying by again, he managed to get a good look at it this time, despite its miraculous speed. "Pink mane and tail, yellow coat... There's only one creature I know of that fits such a description," he said out loud, and just as he did, the object swung by again. "My, my... Have you been taking flying lessons?" As it flew by again, it hissed viciously. "So fast, so furious!" Sanguis switched to sitting, the strange creature now having his full attention. "Is this a game? Do you want me to chase after you?" he asked, but the creature only dashed by and hissed again. "Very well... You have my attention." Sanguis grinned widely and got off his branch.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Sanguis followed the hissing creature. Very soon, he got close enough to it to pounce at it. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed and jumped towards it, only to land on solid ground. "Huh?" He looked upwards and saw the creature fly past him again. Slightly confused at first, he then got up and chuckled while brushing the dirt off of himself. "Heh... Well done... You're the first opponent that I've underestimated in several centuries... I wonder for how long can you keep this up?"

Smiling at the darkness, he waited for the creature to appear before him again before chasing after it again. As soon as it did, he pursued it and pounced at it with no luck for the second time. "Oh, you're good... You're real good." He got up again and got into position for another try. "Just don't get cocky... I'm actually starting to enjoy myself." Spotting the creature again, he bolted after it and landed on the ground after another unsuccessful pounce. "Too slow again? My, my. I'm impressed... Keep this up and you're actually going to make me break a sweat!"

With a grin of sheer pleasure, Sanguis kept chasing after the creature time and time again, always increasing his speed by just a little bit after every unsuccessful attempt until he finally managed to chase it into a straight, narrow path between the trees. "Sorry, dear... Game over," he whispered and leaped towards the creature, grabbing it, landing on the ground and tumbling forward along with it, landing on top of it and pinning it to the ground. "A valiant effort, my dear, but--"

Sanguis was cut short by a furious shriek from the creature... His suspicions were correct, it was Fluttershy... However, something was awfully off about her... Her eyes were blood-red, her mane was all edgy and untidy, her ears were much larger than those of any normal pony and her wings resembled those of a bat, not a bird... Sanguis kept staring at her in utter confusion as she just kept on hissing at him and trying to break free from his grip.

"You... You..." he uttered, still baffled beyond words, but after a short moment, his confused expression suddenly just changed drastically... Putting on a playful grin, he gazed at her with his best set of bedroom eyes. "You're sexy," he said to the creature, instantly making it cease the act of hissing and stare back at him with wide-open eyes.

"Uhm..." she uttered.

"Ever done it with one of your own kind before?" Sanguis asked playfully and watched as her pupils shrank down to 1/5th the size of a pea.

"Oh dear..." Fluttershy whispered in a high-pitched voice. "This has all been a huge misunderstanding... I'm not really a vampire," she insisted and struggled to break free.

"That's okay," the shadow replied and leaned closer to her. "You still look hotter than ever."

Not taking the compliment too well, Fluttershy started sweating bullets. "I, uhm... Thanks, but--"

Sanguis interrupted her with a soft giggle. "Don't stress yourself so much, my dear! I'll be very gentle, I promise."

Even more nervous now than before, the poor girl started shaking her head in disapproval. "No! I'm sorry, but I really need to get going... Oh dear! I think I left the teapot boiling!" she lied and tried to break free. "Please, if you could just--"

"Oh, fine." Sanguis sighed.

"Phew." Fluttershy also sighed. "For a second there, I thought that--"

"I didn't want to do this to one as fragile as you, but since you insisted..." He grinned widely. "We'll make it a quickie!"

"No!" the appalled pony screamed and shook her head vehemently. "I mean... Some other time, maybe? Please, I really--"

"Don't worry, this will be over in a jiffy," the shadow declared and started slowly leaning towards her, his eyes full of passion and his tongue sticking out and dancing around his lips.

"No!" exclaiming in utter horror, Fluttershy started panicking so badly it seemed like she was about to catch a heart attack. "Please don't!" She struggled greatly, but the shadow's grip on her was too strong. "I really don't want this!" she cried out, sweating rapidly and shaking her head without stop. "Please, Mister Sanguis! Please, please, please, don't do this!"

But even despite all of her crying and begging, the shadow lying on top of her did not even flinch and only kept leaning closer and closer and tightening his grip on her to make sure she didn't break loose...

Very slowly and gently he lowered his mouth to her ear and softly whispered a single word.

"Gotcha."

Epilogue

And so their lives returned to what they used to be before they met Sanguis... Or, well, at least they did until the moment one of the nomad stone giants returned to their land and threatened to destroy everything they love as a form of revenge for depriving them of their leader.

Powerless to stop the giant by themselves, the ponies just panicked... Many tried to just beg, but the giant only kept on laughing and terrorizing everyone, but as it kept laughing, the ponies stopped panicking for a moment as they started noticing something rather strange about the giant. Even aside from the fact that it had not caused any actual damage and had only been laughing and making promises that it had yet to fulfill over the last half-hour, there was still something off about the way it laughed... It seemed somehow... familiar.

A short while after everypony was done panicking and had simply turned to curiously gazing at the giant, the giant suddenly just shut itself down and sent its pilot flying out... Just as some of the ponies had already begun to suspect, it was actually Sanguis controlling the giant, and as he kept on rolling around the ground in perpetual laughter, the ponies could only stare at him in a deadpan manner.

Insisting that this was nothing more than just a small form of payback for the attempted murder, Sanguis decided to strike a new deal with the ponies. Seeings how nothing brought him more joy than seeing someone's face turning pale from one of his pranks, he agreed to defend the ponies from any future threats if they promised to not protest against him coming around and pranking the innate colors out of their faces every now and then.

And so it went on for quite some time...

But then, one day, the ponies decided to give Sanguis a taste of his own medicine and prank him... and, boy, did it not go as planned...