Desperate Measures

"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."