The forest was thick with the fall colors in the treetops along with the same colors on the ground from the falling leaves. The sound of hoofsteps and footsteps could be heard as Zemrite, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Applejack walked along the barely visible path. All three mares having packs on their back as Zemrite walks ahead of them. What were these four doing out this deep in the Whitetail Woods? Why camping of course!

It had been some time since Zemrite spent time with his close friends, especially Twilight. And when Applejack had offered to take them camping, Zemrite just couldn’t refuse. He needed a break from the posh lifestyle of living in a castle anyway. And it had been some time since he had ‘roughed it’. Though being what he is, this is something quite natural to him and he loved doing it. Zemrite stopped dead in his tracks before he lifted his nose in the air, a familiar smell coming across his nose.it smelled of..fresh spring water.

“Come on, not much further now. We will be set up way before the sun starts to set. That way we'll have some time to enjoy the day as well. I found this neat camping spot a while back. I*ts got a nice fresh spring water for drinking and oddly enough, a hot spring not too far away. Not sure how that works, but who am I to question this world after how long I have been in it?”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking of Rarity when he mentioned the hot spring, a smirk forming on her face in the process.

“Heheh, Ah can’t wait to tell her about this when we get back. She’ll kick herself for not wantin’ to come with us.”

“You got that right, AJ. She is definitely missing out on this!”

Dash responded, just as eager as her farm pony friend was. Twilight was happy to go along as well but, now that Zemrite came as well she definitely wanted to go. She had missed him so very much and couldn’t wait to catch up with him. Not only that, but she wanted to talk to him about something rather...personal with him.

Once they made it to the campsite, they began unpacking and setting up the tents. Zemrite was out in the woods gathering firewood for the night ahead. After all, he had planned on being the cook for the evening as well so he had packed plenty of ingredients for the meal he had planned on cooking for them all to enjoy. After collecting a few bundles of firewood, he ties them up with some thick vines that hung from the trees and slips them under his arms to carry them back.

He was about to head back to the site when he nose caught a whiff of something that smelled….familiar. And it was a scent that made his hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end. It smelled of a...vampire! Being what he is, he would never mistake that scent with how many have tried to kill him in the past. That must mean that a rift must have opened and let them into this world close by or something along those lines. Zemrite stuffed the firewood into his void satchel and began to creep towards the smell’s direction. His steps silent as he walked in a crouched position as he makes his way behind a rock. He peeks around to indeed see that his suspicions were...wrong? He did not see a vampire, but a couple of ponies..normal, everyday ponies. An earth pony male and a pegasus female just doing some camping of their own. And yet, the scent remained around them. He commits the scent to memory before he quickly and quietly starts head back to the others. He could not shake the feeling that those two could somehow possibly be victims to vampirism. And worse case scenario, he’d have to end up putting them out of their misery. The question is..how did a pony get infected with that curse?

Zwmrite made it back to camp to see that the tents were all set up and they had made themselves comfortable on a few logs that Applejack had sat in a somewhat circle. She was the first to take notice of Zemrite’s face that had an intense and focused expression on it as he sat the firewood down and sat up some of it before taking out the flint and started grinding it together to form sparks.

“Are you alright, sugarcube? You seem a bit more serious than usual. Did something’ happen out there?”

She asked with genuine concern. Zemrite shook his head before he finally got the smaller pieces of wood to light before adding the larger pieces. He places the flint back into his satchel and gives them all a light-hearted smile.

“Nah, nothing to worry about here. All I ask is that if you leave the campsite, do it in pairs. And please keep these with you at all times while we are here.”

He said before pulling out three necklaces that had a silver cross on them. These items were blessed by a cleric and repelled undead. They bothered him slightly, but not enough to really cause visible irritation. They all took the necklace and looked up at him in confusion.

“Why do we need to wear these things? I mean, I like a cool necklace as much as the other mare. But why? What’s going on?”

He looks at Rainbow and walks over to her and places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him and can see the urgency on his face.

“Just please...all of you. Put them on and don’t lose them. Think of them as a gift.”

“Girls, if Zemrite is asking us to wear them, he must have a good reason.”

Twilight said before tying it around her neck. The other two mares nod in agreement following Twilight’s lead. Twilight smiles at Zemrite who smiles in return. Twilight’s word seems to carry weight with her friends. SO he was happy that she encouraged them to put them on as well.

During dinner while they were having conversations, Zemrite slipped away and reached into his satchel pulling out a few pieces of striped paper that had some kind of strange writing on it. He places them around the trees that circle the campsite. Once he completes a circle, they all flashed before burning the inscriptions into the trees and vanishing. If he was a cleric, a simple spell would have taken care of all this. But being what he was...yeah.

An hour later, Zemrite was now resting in one of the hot springs close to the camp. His eyes closed as he listened to the sound of the night, listening for anything out of the ordinary. He heard a rustling of the bush which made him snap his eyes open to see Twilight approaching with her clothing in hand and her body wrapped up in a towel. He blinks a few times before blushing lightly.

“Well now, I’d think you and the other girls would prefer to take a bath without the presence of a male. And I told you to come out here in pairs, did I not?”

She giggles lightly and drops her towel right in front of him, revealing that soft and curvy bare form to him before sinking into the water across from him. She lets out a sigh of relief as she leans back against the rock before responding to him.

“Oh, hush. I know you have eyes for the princesses only. But sure that doesn’t mean you can’t look. Besides…”

She said before lowering her gaze, then lifts it back up to him with a bit of worry in it.

“I..I need to talk to you Zemrite.”

He could hear the genuine worry in ehr tone, he was now listening to her intently.

“What’s on your mind, Twi?”

“Well, ever since I became a princess, things have certainly been...very busy as of late. And I still don’t know what my role as a princess is in Equestria. The other three have reassured me that my time to know will come soon. ButI...I feel so lost. That is why I have come to you. You are my b4st friend, Zemrite. Please, give me some advice…”

Zemrite slowly stood up and walked over to Twilight. His gaze locked on hers as he kneels down in front of her, placing his hands on her upper arms. She blushes lightly at how close he was to her.

“Listen Twi. The only advice I can give you about this is that until your role is revealed, keep doing what you have been doing all along. You are a kind and compassionate mare who tries her best to make things work out between others. And no matter the obstacle, you prevail each and every time because you refuse to give up. And that is something to be proud of. Do you understand me? So until then, keep on going with what you can do to help others and bring a bit more happiness into the world.”

For someone that was so dark, his words were full of hope and light to her. She gave him a big smile and suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. She had been needing to hear those words from somepony..or rather someone else other than the ones that told her to not worry about it. Both of them didn’t even care that their bare bodies were touching. Twilight was just happy that her best friend gave her words of encouragement that she needed. They held each other in the hug for a while longer before they pull away from one another and sit next to each other in the hot spring. The moonlight shimmered in the water brilliantly and with the steam, it added a glowing bloom effect which causes a form of natural lighting to occur. They sat there for a while longer before deciding it was time to get out and get dressed. It was getting late and they needed to get back to camp.

On there way back, however, Zemrite caught that same scent that he had smelled earlier. He stops in his tracks and stood in front of Twilight with an arm in front of her in a protective manner. His ears twitched at every little sound he heard. He eventually caught the sounds of hoofsteps and the sound of rustling bushes surrounding them. And judging by their smell, they certainly weren’t part of Rainbow or Applejack.

“Twilight, listen to me and listen well..make sure you have that necklace with you. When I say run, you run right back to the campsite. Do you understand me?”

Twilight saw the change in Zemrite’s attitude. She looked up at him quickly with a look of worry before moving closer to him wondering what was going on. And what this feeling of being watched came from. Zemrite being what he is having already caught the hostile intent way before she did.

“Zemrite...what’s going on…?”

“Let's just keep moving for now. But if I say run, leave me behind and don’t look back. I will be fine,I promise. Just make sure that you and the others stay in the campsite. And do not leave the outer part of the trees that surround it.”

“No, I won’t leave you here to fend off whatever is out there while I run away!”

She exclaimed to him in protest. Zemrite was about to raise his voice at her to tell him to listen to him when two figures come out of the shadows. It was those two ponies he saw from earlier, but he noticed right away that their eyes were blood red and slit. And that they had vampire teeth peeking from their upper lips. They both smiled to Zemrite and Twilight as they approached. They clearly wanted more than just to hang out with fellow campers. Zemrite was quick to put himself in front of Twilight to protect her at all angles. His eyes fixated on the two ponies in front of them both.

“Whoever you two are, dinner isn’t going to be found here. I suggest you two go find someone else to sink your fangs into.”

The two ponies stop advancing towards them after Zemrite had called them out on what they were so easily. A look of shock on their faces before they narrowed their eyes at him.

“How do you know what we are..?”

Asked the male. Zemrite reached into his satchel and pulled out a sharpened wooden stake reinforced with metal bolts. Twilight was confused beyond all reason as to what was going on, but she could also see the kind of hunger in their eyes that spelled bad news for both her and Zemrite.

“You smell of blood and murderous intent. And even if you chose to run off and feed elsewhere, I’d have to hunt you down and kill you both before you spread your curse to others. Now then. Are you going to tell me who your liege is? The one who turned you? Or do I have to cut the answers out of you?”

“Well, we were going to skip you two, as there we two mares at the last campsite we saw. But there was some kind of barrier that we could not cross.”

“That’s good. I made sure you weren’t going to hurt them either. Now, answer my question, and then I shall release you from your curse.”

He said as he reached under his cloak and pulled out his trusty blade, Demon’s Demise. The two turned ponies stepped back a bit seeing to blade shimmer in the moonlight and the fiery aura that glowed a deep purple flowing around it.

“Be quick, I did not come out here to waste my time with bloodsuckers like you. I came here to enjoy some time with my friends. And you are taking away from that.”

His voice became dark and sinister. He maintained eye contact with both of them to keep their attention. Little did they know that tendrils of shadow started slithering towards them silently, getting ready to trap and ensnare them into a rooted position.

“Like we’d tell you were our mistress is and where she is located! It is thanks to her that we have gained power being reach of any mortal pony. Not to mention we possess the strength of earth ponies and magic of unicorns thanks to this dark gift she has shared with us.”

Said the pegasus mare as she leaned against her partner who Zemrite assumed was her mate. The fact that they seemed to be lovers did not stop him from his goal. This wasn’t his first vampire couple purge. He will not be burned by that by having his emotions and sympathy taken advantage of again. Suddenly she puts his blade up back under his cloak and smiles a fake smile at the couple.

“I can see that you two are very close. It would be wrong of me to kill such a loving couple. Vampire or not.”

They both stare at him with wide eyes of shock. They were speechless. Was he really going to let them go?

“You..you are really going to let us-.”

Suddenly the shadows wrap around the limbs and throat. They are lifted up from the ground kicking and struggling to break free of these sudden bonds. Zemrite’s smile fades away as he slowly starts to approach the couple. His leather armor stretching audibly with his movements as he takes out a couple of the same pieces of paper he had placed around the campsite before. He places one on each of their chests so that their powers would be neutralized. And judging by how well it worked, these two were lowly fledglings. Having probably been turned about a month or two ago.

“I lied. I could never allow ponies like you to roam this land turning other ponies into servants for your mistress.”

He said as he stood before them with a glare on his face. He readies the wooden stakes he had brought out earlier and looks back to Twilight who had the look of fear and shock on her face. Never before has she witnessed his abilities in such a brutal and menacing manner. She knew what he was and what he was capable of. But never in a million years did she think she ever would see this.

“Twilight, leave. Now. Go back to the campsite. I will be along shortly.”

He said in a rather callous tone before turning back to the vampire ponies who struggled even more when they saw the instrument of their death. The pegasus called out to Twilight, tears running down her cheeks as she struggled in the shadow’s grasp.

“Please, don’t let him do this! We just wanted to be together forever! That’s all! We promise we won’t try to hurt you or your friend! Just make him let us g-mmmff!”

Both she and her partner were silenced just as shadows coiled around their muzzles. Zemrite’s gaze remained on Twilight, this time a more firm stare was given by him.

“I said go back. I will not let you witness what I need to do here.”

“But Zemrite...they just-”

“I said GO!”

He bellowed out in a dark, growly tone. This was enough to make the purple pony nearly jump out of her fur before she turned tail and ran away from the scene. Once he couldn’t smell her scent anymore, he turns to the ponies who now looked at him with the fear of death in their eyes.

“If there is a place of paradise after this world that you two will go to, I hope they let you in and that you will enjoy all of eternity there forever. Take comfort in that.”

He said before he raised his hands with the stakes in them. The last thing those two saw, was the swift and precise downward thrusts of the tips of the stakes landing their mark. The struggling stopped, and all was silent but the spraying of blood hitting the once green grass below.

“It is done…”

He said before he lowers the corpses onto the ground and kneels down over them. He places his hands over them before the shadows swallowed them up slowly, pulling them into the ground leaving no trace of bloodshed to be seen. He was surely in for a lot of questions when he returned to camp. But he took comfort in knowing that if any other vampires were out there, they’d surely meet the same fate.

Author's Note

I am sure you are all itching to see this come out. I had planned on writing a few more chapters before I do. But I think this little taste will keep you satisfied as I work this sequel. So enjoy. :)

May the darkness grant you peace.