Desperate Measures

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?"