Author's Note

If you enjoy this story please be sure to leave a comment! It helps a lot to know that more is wanted as this did take a while to come up with. So if you could be kind to just take thirty seconds out of your day and leave me a comment, it would be great! And a like maybe? But also your thoughts and feedback would be wondeful.

The Awakening

It was a beautiful night in Equestria, the last danger to the place ponies called their home had been defeated yet again. But in an ancient and long forgotten place within the old castle, a sacred chamber waited to be discovered and found again. And a foolish scavenger was the perfect victim. Searching for any old gems or anything else of any value, a shady pony trotted the old halls. Cobwebs littered the now ancient stone pathways. Walls laid in disrepair, but a silence filled the air. Except for the distinct sound of hooves. The pony was treading in place few dared to explore and or even acknowledge. A place which seemed as if nopony had been in for centuries, not since the sisters had their fight. To even get to where the pony was, they had to climb through a wall and through a destroyed painting. Not to mention all of the rubble and webs. But a desperate pony had their ways. And with a bag full of goods, it was more than worth the trip. But the pony was drawn by greed to go deeper into the halls. No light could reach this part, and not being a skilled unicorn, the pony could barely maintain the light from their horn. It was just enough to illuminate their path and show their muzzle. It was a dark green tint, the eyes of the pony were also green. The pony though had an odd look, but without question, it was a mare. Desperate to find more things of value, a quick get rich scheme. Reaching a staircase, the pony looked back behind her and then back down the stairway. She sighed and made her way down slowly. Her hooves were beginning to ache from all of the walking and cold stone. Not to mention the bag she was carrying. But as she reached the bottom of the stairway, she found a large door. Getting closer with her horn, she could see the handles. Her magic grasped the handles as she tried to open them. They were quite heavy and old, making it even harder since they likely hadn't moved in centuries. But they soon gave in and budged open, just enough for to enter and squeeze in. Before her was a large room somewhat illuminated. She discharged her horn and let out a sigh of relief. She could see without the help of her magic now. Not too great, but it was less strain on her.

She looked around and saw many crystals lighting the way. She didn't have a clue about them, but she figured they may be worth something and that she would grab some on the way out. Disregarding the crystals, she looked around the rest of the large room. It was nothing to fancy, but a large table laid in the middle. She couldn't see where the walls ended either with the darkness, but she didn't want to really know either. The place was already giving her the creeps. She shrugged it off and hurried over to the table. As she got close, she could see many books laying across it. Most seemed to be ruined or in such a heavy state of disrepair that they were likely worthless. Of course they had probably did this on purpose. She groaned in annoyance and slammed her hoof on the table. She had hoped for something valuable. She looked down at the table and saw a crack form across it. It soon split and fell to the ground, putting a heavy amount of dust into the air and causing a very loud crash and a splash. She scratched her head as she thought about the sound. Why was there water down here? It was rather deep under the castle or so she thought. She couldn't imagine rainwater leaking down here. Her horn lit up as she inspected the ground. Their was a small stream of water going across the middle of the floor, she followed its current toward what she thought would be a wall, but it lead to a large pool of water that she almost fell in. She looked down and then up, there were no crystals here either. "Okay, this place just got even creepier." She whispered to herself and headed in the opposite direction. Following the current carefully this time, making sure she didn't just slip in for an unexpected dip. But instead she found an old stone wall with a small opening that the water trailed from. It was a weird design, but she shrugged it off as old design or something like that.

She was just about ready to go before she slipped on the stone floor, her hooves having just enough moisture on them to make her trip. She groaned as she felt a pain in her side. A rigid part of the floor seemed to have cut into her, unintentionally. "Fantastic! Just what I needed!" She shouted in anger as she climbed to her hooves. But the atmosphere had changed greatly. It was colder now. She huffed and stormed toward the door only to see it begin to close and slide back. She gasped as her horn lit up, trying to grasp it and hold just a bit longer. But in the process, her attention wasn't given to anything else. Too focused on the door to realize the ground was like ice with her wet hooves. She slipped yet again and lost her grip on the door. This time she hit her head, she blinked several times to get rid of the stars she was seeing. In the midst of her new recovery, she heard the door shut firmly back into place. Just like it had centuries ago. She rubbed her head with a hoof before climbing back up and steadying herself. She gritted her teeth and shook her head, only to growl in pain. Shaking her head hurt. But she had not a moment to recover as she heard a splash. Then another one.

She turned her attention slowly toward the sound and lit up her horn. She slowly trotted over to the pool of water and stopped halfway as she saw a horror climbing out. A pair of hooves had emerged and were gripping the stone in an attempt to rise. Her heart began to race as she questioned to try and run or to try and help. She could be in a lot of trouble if she had just walked into a trap. But she wasn't a bad pony, just in need of bits, that's all. Surely anypony could understand that. She ran over and looked at the hoof. The fur leading to it was soaked as she could expect. but it had a dark color to it. Not to mention scars that seemed to climb down the legs. She showed disgust for a moment and grabbed one of the hooves. It was ice cold, colder than any of the stone she had trotted over. This poor pony was probably freezing to death, she could be a hero for all she knew. Oh if only that was the case, instead the pony on the other end grabbed the mare's hoof and pulled her into the water as well. She closed her eyes and opened them as she felt herself being pulled down. She opened her mouth as she saw two red eyes, as if to scream, but only water filled her mouth which she swallowed and gagged on. She fought with the pony and tried to free herself. She wasn't even sure if it was a pony now. Those eyes were so evil and they seemed to be filled with death, coldness and hatred. Absolute negativity and she hated it. She fought with all her strength and barely managed to free herself. She swam to the top of the deep pool and climbed out. She rolled onto the cold stone and coughed up the water she had swallowed. She heaved after and continued to cough. What had she just seen? What had just happened to her? Her head still ached from the fall, it was worse now. So much quick movement had gave her an awful headache.

But her little horror wasn't over yet. No it was far from it, for she heard the splash yet again as the thing put its hooves onto the stone. She couldn't concentrate enough to charge up her horn, not that it would do much good. Instead she watched through the darkness, unsure of what to do. But slowly a head emerged from the water, followed by a groan. Again, she saw those haunting red eyes staring back at her. No, they were staring right into her soul. Her heart was racing now as she began to back up slowly. Edging her way back as the ponylike creature groaned and opened its mouth. With the help of the dim crystal's light, the mare could see two sharp fangs attached to the creature. Her problem had just became far worse than it was already. She didn't know what it was, other than an old mare's tale, a myth at that. But here it was, crawling out from the water slowly. She watched in horror and tried to rub her eyes, but it remained. She had hoped for a split second that she had hit her head to hard, but she was sure of it now. As the creature began to pull itself up and onto the floor, something in the mare clicked and she stood up. Only to hold her head with a hoof with an immediate dizzy feeling, but she had to ignore it and stumble toward the door. She tried to think of a spell and her horn sparked to life, illuminating the area a bit as she tried to force the door open. Her heart raced with fear as she heard a final splash and a wet thud onto the floor. She didn't dare to look back, she only hoped that she had gained more time to escape. She heard another groan from behind, it sounded tired and yet, it sent a shiver down her back. "Come on open you old door!' She yelled and tried all she could to open the door. She was panicking now.

With every second she became more nervous and scared, she had way more than she had bargained for. But now she could hear wet hooves slowly moving toward her. She freezed in place as her magic gave out. She was panting, she wasn't at all strong enough to open the door again. Nor did she have the strength for other spells at the moment. And to add to her despair, she didn't know any teleportation spells. The hooves moved closer as the mare tried to prepare to face her fate. She had heard stories of ponies who had taken the dark path and as such, fell victim to a curse worse than death and a hunger for the mortal ponies who feared the creatures. But she had never expected to find one, especially here. Nor did she even believe that they existed. But here it was, something that once haunted her nightmares as a young filly. Now in the flesh and likely here to end her. Her train of thought was abruptly cut off a she felt an icy hoof on her back, which slowly moved up to her neck. It was cold as death itself. The mare began to shake in fear as she turned to face whatever was behind her. There she met those eyes, those eyes that left a scar in her mind. She looked into the soulless eyes and gulped as she saw two sharp fangs. The pony in front of her was indeed a mare, but she looked so different from a pony, in ways that words could not describe. "Tell me, do you enjoy the night as much as I do?" She whispered In a soft tone.

The mare looked at the vampony who had spoken so simply to her and stood there in shock. But she realized the question and nodded her head rapidly. "Y-es! Yes yes, I love the night!" She said quickly, her voice heavy with fear. "Who are you!" She blurted out at the vampony, who hissed in response. The mare began to cower from the vamony after.

The vampony cocked her head for a moment and then laughed. "I suppose you may know, my name is Virulence. The prodigy of Nightmare Moon and one of her finest soldiers. Now then, lying to me is bad for your health." Virulence sneered and the mare gulped again. The mare began to back away, she had never heard the name before. But it had a ring to it, one she would never forget. Virulence smiled as the mare tried to back away. But Virulence already knew there was no exit. "Where are you going? We haven't even gotten to the fun yet." She cooed in a sultry tone to the mare, whose heart had yet to stop racing. Seeing that she wasn't getting an answer Virulence rushed at the mare and tackled her to the ground, causing a loud yelp. The unicorn was no match for her vampony strength, but she kept struggling as the vampony laughed at the weak pony. The mare looked up at Virulence with complete and total fear. She saw the sick grin the pony sported with their fangs.

She gasped at the sight. "N-no please! I-I don't want to die here!" She yelled and began to thrash bout, to no avail. Virulence kept her hold and kissed the mare's neck, despite the attempts to keep it hidden. "N-no please! I'll do anything, just please don't!" She pleaded as tears formed in her eyes. "Please?" The mare whispered hopefully up the vampony and likely would be killer.

"What is your name?" Virulence asked.

"I-it's Swift." Swift said quickly.

"Hmn, well Swift, you're only good to me for one thing right now and that is food." Virulence said, killing any hope the mare had. Virulence took notice and sighed. "I suppose I don't have to kill you, in return for information." Virulence added. Right now, Virulence hadn't been outside in many centuries. Not since the sun came back up that day. Instead, she slept. It was the best of her options after being chased into the castle ruins. Of course she lured the ponies to their deaths when they chased her into the ruins. But she knew that she had failed and thus, had no reason to show her muzzle. But she had no idea how much time had gone by now. And then there was Swift, a bleeding mare who woke up the animalistic instincts.

Swift nodded her head slowly in understanding. Not dying was nice, so long as Virulence held up her end of the bargain. She took a shaky breath before she would speak. "I-I can tell you whatever you want, just please don't ki-" She started to say before she shut up instantly as she felt two sharp points dragging across her soft flesh.

"I didn't say stop, so I suggest you start talking or I'll start with ripping your throat out as painfully as possible." Virulence said in a cold tone.

"W-where do I start?" Swift asked fearfully.

"Is the princess of the night back?"

"Y-yes. She returned and rejoined her sister not lo-" She was cut off by a hiss. Swift whimpered and bit her lip.

"Continue, how many years have passed since then?"

"I-I'm not sure honestly, I think it's been a few." Swift explained quickly.

"Good good, she may still turn to her old ways then." Virulence mumbled mostly to herself. "Is there anything I should know? Perhaps how long ago we lost?"

"Well that was roughly one thousand years ago that Princess Luna was banished. There is a new princess too. Princess Twilight, she and her friends ha-" Virulence once again cut her off with a hiss.

"How talented is this new princess?" She asked.

"Well she and her friends have saved the world a few times. She is the princess of friendship an-" Once again, Virulence cut her off. This time she erupted into a crazed laughter.

"Princess of friendship?" She laughed and shook her head in complete disbelief. "Ponies never change do they?" She muttered under her breath as Swift realized she had just exhausted her usefulness. Virulence knew this too, that was all she honestly wanted to know. And likely all that she had needed as well. With that in mind, Virulence kissed Swift's neck. "It appears your usefulness just ran dry just as you soon will." She whispered and Swift stiffened in response as she began to squirm. Just as she had nearly gotten used to the cold mare, though somewhat rude.

"No please! I did as you asked!" Swift yelled and went to yell again just as Virulence sank her razor sharp fangs deep into her neck. She gasped and cried out in pain, only for the moment however. Virulence pushed her down firmly into the ground as she heavily drank from the mare. Swift moaned and then bit her lip as she tried to pry the vampony of. But she grew weak with every passing moment. Her chances became slim as did her eyesight, barely keeping her eyes open. It wasn't exactly pleasant either. It was a mix of pain and numbness. But to add the weird feeling, Swift felt something wet and cold licking her neck as Virulence continued to drain her dry. Not that it mattered now as she felt her heart slowing. She tried to say something, but nothing came out. Her vision soon darkened, but Virulence let go and licked at the bite she had left in the mare. Swift was no longer conscious, but she was breathing. Even if it was slow, she was still alive. Feeling satisfied for the moment, Virulence licked her muzzle clean as her horn lit up with a spell charging up. A beam of dark magic made contact with one of the many crystals as the old room lit up in light. She smiled and walked away from Swift, her fangs still red and muzzle dripping with blood. The fresh warm blood of her prey, who had awoken her in her self induced panic.

Virulence trotted over to an old armor rack and looked at the armor she had once worn. It was aged and nearly ripped now. It was useless in its current state. It annoyed her. but she had little to fear right now. In her mind, she had no need for her basic armor. Though she forgot an important question, she had no idea if the sun was out right now. She guessed that it was, since ponies usually don't travel at night. But granted by how much time she had seemed to sleep away, she could only assume that custom had changed some. She was in a bit of a rough spot, she had no idea if it was safe to venture out from her hiding place, the sunlight was barely worth the burn as it was. But yet, she yearned to be out and about in the night once again. To hunt like the true predator she had become. While this hiding spot of hers was unknown to Princess Celestia, she had thought that Luna would have at least kept something down here so that she could tell the time. But she found very little in the room to aid her. Though, her old daggers still hung on wall. She hadn't used them or needed them for so long, it never was her particular like. She enjoyed the feeling of beating her opponent by strength. Or a bite, anything that was easy wasn't fun. An immortal life needed enjoyment one way or another, now she knew why she had gone to sleep. She would have gone crazy if she was awake for centuries hiding from Celestia.

That name left a burning pain in her head. A pony that Virulence truly hated. She hated that foul princess with all of her undead heart, She was the very reason that she couldn't go outside. The very reason why she couldn't live in peace as it was. But to add to the reasons that Virulence hated her, Celestia had taken away the once chance she had to make her life meaningful. She was promised a night that would never end, a sun that would never rise and a source of food that wouldn't fight back. It sounded perfect for all of her kind and then Celestia came and ruined it. Everything they had worked for was for nothing. The princess of the night she had blindly followed on a promise had failed. She wasn't strong enough even with dark forces aiding her. Every reason, every single time she thought about those two names, it angered her greatly. She shook and gritted her teeth. "Celestia! I will end you!" She shouted, sending her voice all around the nearly empty room as she returned to gritting her teeth. "You will pay and I'll make sure of it. I will win Luna back, Nightmare Moon will return and nopony will stop me!" She yelled, meaning every word. "No more time for sleep, no. I will not sleep another minute until you fall, princess." She whispered and turned toward the door. Her eyes may as well have been fire. A sacred hatred burned inside, a desire to kill. A need to fulfill herself. She hissed, baring her fangs at nothing as her horn lit up. Her magic burned brightly as she managed to rip the door off from the wall.

She was just about to storm through the door before she turned to look at the other mare, Swift. She was the reason, a reason that Virulence was now awake and beyond angry. Built up hate and anger over the failure so long ago, but to her it felt like only days go. She huffed and grabbed Swift in her magic and tossed her over. Virulence watched and caught Swift on her back. Swift groaned but other wise remained out cold. Still suffering from the blood loss and shock that Virulence had caused. Virulence sighed and began to march up the stairs. She wasn't sure why she hadn't killed Swift either. She hated the thought of becoming soft. That was Nightmare Moon's mistake. Even if she did hate her sister, he could never kill her. She looked back at the sleeping Swift, an innocent pony at that. Virulence narrowed her eyes, contemplating if she should drain Swift entirely now. She had lived up to her usefulness. And Virulence had very little else that she could use help with. Except, she had no army. No allies by her side. A sick grinned formed as Virulence licked her sharp fangs. She would turn Swift instead, making her part of a new army. But should she make the poor mare scream for mercy? Or should she make it an easy transition? Virulence wasn't sure as another use for the mare grabbed her attention. She could use a pony to feed from. Swift had a sweet enough taste for it to b worth the effort. She looked back, now with sly grin. "Too weak to join me anyway, but I'm sure you can feed me when I need it." Virulence whispered softy as she reached the royal halls of the castle. But she stayed in the shadows and tried to look outside. It fell so similar and yet so different to the vampony. It was cold as usual, but there were far more trees surrounding the place than usual.

She stepped out with great caution and tried to see any sign of sunlight or Celestia. But she found moonlight and silence. She stepped out fully with Swift still on her back and hurried for the nearest exit. Climbing over whatever rubble she had to. Her throat was starting to burn now. She still hungered with that old need, to quench her thirst. Every step into the moonlight brought it on stronger. She closed her eyes as she stepped out fully into the moonlight. Just outside the castle. She rose her head and basked in all of the moon's glory. The one thing that could always calm her had remained true t itself. The moon was a beautiful as she had remembered. The feeling of safety and serenity filled her and cleared her mind. It was time for the hunt, time for a new strain of nightmare to plague the land. She inhaled the night air and closed her eyes. Letting instinct take her as she charged off into the trees, disappearing as she stomped the ground with full force. "Tonight, I run under the night sky and feast on the blood of the mortal ponies who dare to venture out. Tonight, I shall take a life. Tonight, I shall reclaim my rightful place as a monster." She whispered to herself as she emerged through the trees. She had ran the entire way with her eyes closed. But now, she slowly opened them. She looked toward the nearest light source and saw some ort of town not too far from where she was. Her senses were long since hyperactive. There was a pony and they were hurt. She knew it, but now she had to hunt them down. Without another thought, she charged toward the town. Stealing a small glance at a sign, she could at least read it. The town she was heading to was Ponyville. A place that was about to be put under a storm, an attack by a force unseen and unheard of.

The scent of her next victim edged her closer, but she remained in the shadows as she searched high and low for the source. Her eyes soon became fixed on a pony who was struggling to get up from the path ahead. The scent was driving her mad now. All sense of self control had left her as she was on autopilot, her instincts piloted her like a machine to the pony. The pony was a light brown furred stallion. She didn't care however as she rolled him over and pinned him down. But he put his hooves up to try and stop Virulence. "Hey what do you think you're doing!" He shouted and reared his hoof back to punch her. She didn't expect such a hard punch, it knocked her sense slightly back into her. She blinked and looked down at the pony before she spat blood into his face. She grinned and bared her fangs as she stared into the now scared earthpony. "Wait! What are you!" He yelled his question as she laughed.

She kissed her neck and licked her lips as he felt powerless against her. "I am something forbidden from the eyes of a pony, something most call a myth. I'm the lie of history and the oldest teacher. For, I am your worst and final nightmare!" She explained in her crazed state as her instincts returned. The stallion couldn't reply as she bit into his neck and ripped at it. Tearing through his veins as his rich blood filled her mouth. She swallowed and moaned as she gulped it down, tying to quench her endless thirst. This is what it meant to be a monster, to take the life of another pony to maintain your own. She would kill him and she would love every second. He shook and weakly pushed against her, but his hooves soon fell to his sides as his muzzle showed a look of pure terror and pain. His eyes soon closed as Virulence drained him dry. But she still sucked on the wound, trying to get whatever she could still. But she was just biting a dry vein at this point. She pulled and hissed at the pony. Upset he couldn't feed her more. But he was no more anyway. She sighed and licked her muzzle as she stood up. She began to march down the street in search of another victim. Her throat still burned, still unsatisfied.

Her eyes fell on a farm not to far away. She licked her lips. If she had to, she could feed on something other than a pony. But as far as she was concerned, somepony was always doing late work. She hurried to it, but remained silent and in the shadows. It would ruin the fun to give herself away. She wanted to be hidden for her victim, to attack at just the right moment. She looked to the sky and looked at the moon as her eyes widened. It wasn't the beginning of the night. No, it was the end. The sun would be up soon. She hit her head with her hoof and hissed. She hadn't paid much attention, only focused on the hunt. But she had to satisfy herself still. She scanned what she thought as a farm, even if it was covered in apple trees. Her attention focused on the main building as she just barely caught the door open and a pony step out. They weren't very tall, rather short actually. She expected a groan pony, perhaps this was farm-hoof? A foal of the owners? She didn't care as she stalked closer to the pony.

The pony was none other than Applebloom, out and getting ready for her morning activities so that her sister would have an easier day when she came home. Her brother was likely still asleep since his shift didn't technically started for another hour. But she hurried around the building. Virulence followed close behind as the pony grabbed a few buckets. But Virulence couldn't risk waiting any longer. Her horn lit up, grabbing the buckets and tossing them as she emerged from the shadows. Her fiery red eyes glowed and the scared Applebloom gasped as she caught sigh of the eyes. She began to back away. "B-but ain't you supposed to be a m-myth?" She mumbled mostly to herself as she backed into a wall. Virulence didn't answer as she charged her. Applebloom had barely a moment to react and she tried to punch Virulence. But it had no effect, it felt like she had punched a cold wall. Virulence grinned and picked up Applebloom and pressed her against the wall. "N-no please hang on a second! My big sis will kill you if you hu-" Applebloom couldn't finish her sentence as a hoof covered her mouth. Tired of wasting time, Virulence bit into her small neck. After the first few drops, she gulped down what she could. But she oddly stayed mindful to the pony's heartbeat. She could only get so much before she could hear the once racing heart began to slow. She let go and dropped Applebloom to the ground. Her neck still bleeding. Applebloom weakly opened her eyes and looked up, expecting to see what had attacked her, But she saw nothing but the night sky. She put a hoof up to the bite and gasped as she felt her own blood. She forced her hoof on the spot. "Big Mac come quick! O-or Granny!"