Berry Punch was well-known as the town drunk. While she had always possessed a love of fine wines and such other liquors, the excessive drinking had not surfaced until the death of her husband four years ago, leaving Berry as a single mother of her daughter Ruby Pinch. And so it was that Berry stumbled out of the local Ponyville tavern, grumbling incoherently about nothing in particular. It was approaching eleven at night, far too late for her to be out while her daughter was at home alone. Still, when Berry wasn’t drunk, she was still devoted to Ruby, hence why her daughter still lived with her and not in foster care.
The full moon shone bright in the night sky, the highlight of another of Princess Luna’s glorious nights. Berry began heading through an alleyway, a shortcut she knew to get from the tavern to her home on the other side of Ponyville. Ponyville was by no means a seedy town; there was no chance of there being vagrants or vagabonds lurking in the alleys hoping to rob unwary passersby.
Unfortunately for Berry, an entirely different danger sought to make her its victim tonight.
As Berry almost tripped over a trashcan, cursing under her breath at the loud noise, she failed to notice a shadow looming over her from a rooftop. Due to the extent of Berry’s inebriation, she did not register the low growl of the shadowed creature as it regarded her with ill intent, its yellow eyes glowing like hellish fire.
It bared its gleaming fangs as it leapt towards the unsuspecting pony, its equally-sharp claws extending in preparation.
Berry whipped her head around at the sound of a terrible roar. She did not even have the chance to scream before the beast was upon her, cutting Berry Punch’s stunned life short.
The creature tore into the pony’s neck with ferocious zeal, killing her instantly. But it did not stop there. It tore apart the carcass, drank the blood that oozed from the flesh, and devoured the meat. By the time it was done, there was little left of Berry other than a few scattered limbs, innards, and her severed head, the wide eyes staring emptily into nothingness, a look of horror forever etched into her expression.
It hungered for more, but there was not a single other soul in sight. And so, the monster stood on its hind legs, reared its head back, and howled at the moon before bounding through the streets back towards the forest.
XXXXXX
Fluttershy had been having trouble sleeping lately. It had all started about two days ago, and the rampant paranoia that dominated her mind had a feeling that the fact that Nightmare Night was fast approaching had something to do with it.
Fluttershy did not like Nightmare Night.
She knew well enough that it was a holiday lots of ponies enjoyed, but it was also a time of the year that was rife with legends of terrors and mysterious happenings. She was always scared that one of those terrible things would come to pass right here in Ponyville, and she wanted no part of that. She had eventually managed to get her friends to understand her feelings on this, (though they had still shaken their heads profusely afterward) so she at least did not have to worry about upsetting them for intentionally forgoing the celebration.
Fluttershy was sitting at her kitchen table, idly sipping a cup of tea as she stared at the moon when she heard it: the howl of a wolf.
It was uncomfortably close. It almost sounded like it was coming from Ponyville, but Fluttershy dismissed that thought immediately. The Timberwolves never ventured out of the Everfree Forest.
It chilled her to the bone. And yet, fear was not the only emotion that stirred within her. Something deep within her heard it, and it grew angry.
Fluttershy shook her head profusely, wondering where that strange sense of fury and hatred had come from. She never felt these things towards anyone.
Something was wrong. And that scared Fluttershy even more.
XXXXXX
It was well-past ten in the morning when a search party, sent to look for Berry Punch after her daughter reported that she hadn’t come back home last night, finally found the body. Or rather, what was left of it.
Once Princess Twilight Sparkle saw the gruesome scene in the alleyway, she immediately lost her lunch. Once she was sure her stomach had completely emptied, Twilight dared to look back at the sight. Whatever had attacked Berry Punch during the night had torn her apart. Most of her body had been eaten, with part of her torso lying in the alley, most of the entrails hanging out. Some of her limbs were scattered around, and her head was not far from the body, having been torn off by a gaping bite wound to the neck. There was blood everywhere, on the ground and splattered all over the walls.
Twilight shivered terribly before looking at the leader of the search party, Big Macintosh, who regarded the scene with barely repressed horror and revulsion. Even he could not keep up his stoic expression in the face of this hideous sight.
“I-is this how you found her?” Twilight managed to ask.
“Eeyup,” Big Mac spoke in a weak whimper. “’N the owner of the tavern’s the last pony that saw her alive. He kicked her out as he was closin’ shop.”
At that moment, Nurse Redheart, who had been examining the corpse along with a few of her unicorn doctors, finally came up to Twilight. “Anything?” Twilight dared to request.
Redheart sighed. “She’s been dead for almost 12 hours. It appears some kind of large animal pounced on her, tore out her throat, and then proceeded to eat most of the body and simply shred whatever was left. Whatever did this was far more vicious than any creature I know of.”
“Thank you, Redheart,” Twilight weakly replied. “It makes sense, considering the last anypony saw her alive was eleven last night when the tavern closed. I need to report this to the Princesses at once. Um…Berry Punch, she…she had a daughter, didn’t she?”
Tears pooled in Redheart’s eyes as she nodded. “Ruby Pinch doesn’t know yet. Oh dear Faust…how will we even break this to her?”
Twilight wiped a tear from her own eye. “What’ll happen to her?”
Redheart looked back at Berry’s shredded corpse. “She’ll likely go live with her Aunt Minuette up in Canterlot. But this is all so sudden…I can’t say anything with a hundred percent certainty.”
“Ah don’t recommend lettin’ poor Ruby see her ma like this,” Big Mac spoke. “We’ll get her down to the morgue so she can be prepared for burial.”
“Agreed,” Redheart said with a sniffle as she wiped her eyes. “I’ll break the news to Minuette first.”
Not wanting to be there any longer, Twilight spoke up, “If that’s all, I better get going. Princess Celestia needs to know what happened here, and we need to determine whether the monster that did this will strike again.”
No one objected, so the newly-crowned alicorn trotted over to her castle, a million morbid thoughts running through her head. But as soon as she entered, those thoughts were driven away as she was accosted by her friends.
“Twilight, what happened?!” Applejack demanded.
“They got the whole place blocked off and they ain’t letting anypony in close enough to see what’s going on!” Rainbow Dash cried. “What gives?!”
“Twilight, tell us! Did something happen to Berry Punch?” Rarity asked.
“Everyone, please be quiet!” Twilight shouted, silencing her friends.
It was then that Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was not among them. “Hey, where’s Fluttershy?”
“Haven’t seen her all day,” Rainbow replied. “Want me to go and get her for you?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, it’s fine, Rainbow. I’m actually glad she isn’t here to hear me say this.” Twilight paused, trying to muster her thoughts. “Berry…Berry Punch was killed last night.”
Her friends all gasped in horror.
“W-what?” Rarity whimpered. “T-that poor thing!”
“K-k-killed?!” Rainbow cried. “What happened? How’d she die?!”
They all went silent as they saw tears in their royal friend’s eyes. “P-please…please don’t make me describe it. It was just…horrible.”
Pinkie Pie’s hair was perfectly flat. “Ruby Pinch’s birthday was just yesterday,” she spoke quietly. “And now she’ll never get to celebrate it with her mommy again.”
“Did…did they say anything about when she died?” Rainbow hesitantly asked.
“She was killed on her way home from the tavern last night after it had closed,” Twilight answered.
“That was when I heard the howl,” a horrified, familiar voice spoke from behind Twilight, startling her.
“Fluttershy!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy apologized, sheepishly hiding behind her mane. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. “H-how much did you hear?”
Tears flowed down Fluttershy’s cheeks as she responded, “E-enough to know what happened.”
“Wait a minute!” Rainbow interrupted. “What was that you were mentioning about a howl?!”
“Um…I, uh…I-I’ve been h-having trouble sleeping lately,” Fluttershy nervously explained, not liking being put on the spot like this. “S-s-o, while I w-was drinking s-s-some tea last n-night, I h-heard a wolf howling at the moon. I-it even sounded like it was coming from Ponyville, b-but I thought it was nothing.”
Applejack gritted her teeth in hatred. “Timberwolves!”
“No, it couldn’t possibly be a Timberwolf,” Fluttershy answered.
“Ya said it yerself! Ya heard a howl last night ‘round the time Berry was killed!”
“No, Applejack, Fluttershy’s right,” Twilight interrupted. “It’s not a Timberwolf.”
“And how do ya know?”
“Firstly, there weren’t any twigs or leaves lying around. Timberwolves often shed bits and pieces of themselves as they move. Secondly, Timberwolves always hunt in packs, and Fluttershy only heard one wolf call. And thirdly, Timberwolves never venture outside of the forest, since the magic that keeps them alive grows weaker outside of it.”
“…Oh,” Applejack said, though not entirely convinced.
“But you’re the animal expert here, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “Do you have any idea what did this?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “The only wolves I know of are Timberwolves. I don’t think it originally came from the Everfree Forest. If it’s not from the forest, then I honestly don’t know much about it.”
Twilight groaned. “Ugh. Guess we’ll have to rely on Princess Celestia, since I’m still getting the library restocked. While I’m writing the letter, I want you all to round up the townsponies and bring them to City Hall. That way we can avoid anypony else seeing Berry’s remains being taken to the morgue. I’m going to issue a statement about what happened and what we should do in order to stay safe…in case this unknown monster intends to strike again.”
At that moment, Nurse Redheart burst in, panting as though she had run all the way there. There was a plastic bag in her mouth. “Your Highness!” she announced through her clenched teeth. “While we were collecting Ms. Punch’s remains, we found these hair follicles on her body. Since Ms. Fluttershy here is an animal expert, and you have such a well-equipped laboratory, the police department would like you to examine them.”
Twilight gripped the bag in her magical aura and lifted it up for everyone to see. Inside the bag was a small tuft of coarse, grey fur. “Fluttershy, what do you think?” she asked out loud. When she didn’t receive a reply, she looked at her friend. “Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy was staring intensely at the strands of hair, almost glaring at them. Her mouth was hanging open just a bit as the glare intensified. Twilight blinked uncomfortably, as that stare was starting to look outright murderous, even though it wasn’t directed towards her.
And then she saw the fangs.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight cried.
The yellow pegasus abruptly snapped out of her stupor, shaking her head profusely. “Huh? What?”
Everybody looked confused by this sudden occurrence. “Okay, everypony, go to work,” Twilight bade.
But as the rest of the Mane Six and Redheart began to file out, Twilight said, “Fluttershy, wait a second.”
Fluttershy looked over her head and nervously trotted back towards her friend. “Yes, Twilight?” she asked, taking care not to look at the fur sample.
“Can I look at your teeth for a moment?” Twilight asked.
Caught off-guard by the odd request, Fluttershy uncertainly replied, “Uh…okay.”
She opened her mouth, allowing Twilight to inspect her teeth. Strangely enough, the fangs she knew she had seen before were gone. “That’s odd,” Twilight murmured to herself.
“Um…w-what’s odd? If you d-don’t mind me asking?”
“When you were looking at the fur sample just now, I saw your teeth sharpen,” Twilight answered. “Like they did when you were…well, I guess there’s no better way to put it, when you were a vampire.”
Fluttershy gasped and touched her teeth with her hoof.
“No, they’re gone now, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “But it’s odd that that’s happened. I thought we cured you of the effects of that spell.”
Fluttershy’s eyes went wide with horror and dread. “Oh no! Twilight, am I going to turn into a vampire again?”
Twilight saw how fearful Fluttershy looked, but couldn’t bring herself to lie. “To be honest, Flutters…I have no clue. There’s so much about this whole situation I don’t know. But I do intend to find out, one way or another.”
“Um…Twilight?” Fluttershy hesitantly spoke up.
“Yes?”
“You don’t…y-you don’t think…that monster attack h-has something to do with it…do you?”
Remembering how her friend had reacted to the strands of hair, Twilight answered, “I don’t know, but possibly. Now go and help gather the townsfolk. I’ll meet you guys at City Hall in a few minutes.”
XXXXXX
City Hall, a few minutes later…
With the entire citizenry of Ponyville gathered, Mayor Mare ascended to the podium and cleared her throat, silencing the crowd. “Citizens of Ponyville,” she began, her voice laced with sorrow, “a few of you may be aware of this already, but for those who aren’t, it is with a heavy heart that I hereby confirm the passing of Berry Punch.”
The whole crowd gasped in shock.
“Oh, goodness! The wine seller?!” one pony cried.
“The town drunk?” another, ruder pony spoke up.
“What about little Ruby?” another asked.
The Mayor raised her hoof for quiet. “I will now give the mic to Princess Twilight Sparkle, who will explain the situation in further detail.”
Twilight nodded to the Mayor as she approached the podium, secretly thankful that they all weren’t bowing to her on sight. That had taken forever to change. Brushing that thought aside, Twilight cleared her throat. “Fillies and gentlecolts, I’m sure you’re all wondering what exactly happened to Ms. Punch. She was killed last night by an unknown monster that attacked her in an alleyway while she was heading home.”
“A monster?!” many members of the crowd cried, murmuring to one another.
“Why wouldn’t they let anypony see what happened?” one pony asked above the din.
Twilight really didn’t want to say this, but she knew it was necessary. “Because it was something nopony should have to see. There…honestly wasn’t much left of her.”
That heightened the crowd’s anxiety tremendously. “Everypony calm down!” Twilight bade with a slightly-raised voice. “It was late at night, and Berry was alone when she was attacked. Therefore, to ensure everypony’s safety, I heavily advise that you are indoors by nightfall, and if you absolutely must be out at that time, do not travel alone. I will send word to Princess Celestia of this incident at once, and in the meantime, I will also be working on uncovering the identity of this monster so that we can find a way to ensure it can’t hurt anypony else.”
Meanwhile, as Twilight conversed with the mob of scared ponies, Fluttershy silently slunk away and headed back to her cottage, a million terrible thoughts running through her mind. The thought of reverting back into a fruit-draining vampire was terrifying to her. One monster was bad enough: the thought of making things worse by becoming another one was unbearable. What if, while she was reverted, she got caught by the monster?
But as soon as her thoughts strayed to the monster, she remembered how clues about the beast had triggered certain things within her. The howl had caused a fleeting moment of irrational hatred to emerge. The hair had been different, though: even through the bag, she had been able to smell it. And the creature’s scent had caused those same feelings of hatred, and even her teeth to momentarily sharpen. Just what was going on here?
Whatever it was, she didn’t want to endanger her friends because of it. So once she reached the safety of her cottage, she locked her door, shut all her windows, and closed all the blinds, all without a word spoken. Angel Bunny, her pet rabbit, was concerned by this behavior and voiced it with a few squeaks.
“I’m okay, Angel,” Fluttershy replied. “I’m just making sure we’re safe.”
Angel squeaked again, asking what she meant by that.
Fluttershy forced a warm smile in reply and said, “Why don’t I make you a lovely gourmet salad?”
That immediately removed all concern from the rabbit’s excited mind, which was what Fluttershy had intended. As she busied herself with making Angel’s favorite dish, she began humming her favorite lullaby to alleviate her stress and anxiety. It didn’t help a lot, for she knew that night would fall eventually.
XXXXXX
When Twilight received a reply to the letter she had written, she eagerly unfurled the scroll to read the contents, and was dismayed by what she saw.
“Twilight Sparkle,
While I agree that this is a most distressing event, I’m afraid that both of my aunts are indisposed for the time being. Aunt Celestia is resolving a border dispute between the Griffon Kingdom and the Dragon Lands, and Aunt Luna is helping to negotiate a trade deal between the Crystal Empire and Yakyakistan. Neither of them will return for at least a week, as both situations are extremely important to Equestrian interests. Nevertheless, I will forward your message to the both of them with all due haste. I will immediately inform you of their replies.
Blueblood”
Twilight groaned. Of all times for them not to be available, why now? Twilight wondered desperately.
Prince Blueblood had significantly mellowed out since the Gala several years ago, for which Twilight was extremely thankful. Still, if only he were more competent, maybe he could have helped a little himself. But this basically meant the task ultimately fell on Twilight’s shoulders, as she was the only princess available to deal with the situation. She would have to be the competent princess instead.
XXXXXX
That night…
Since all the fillies and colts were at school when the town meeting had taken place, the young ones had not been informed of their situation until their relatives came to fetch them.
Unfortunately, Scootaloo had no relatives of her own. Thus, she knew nothing about the ravenous monster that had begun stalking the streets of Ponyville by night. And so, after a long day of playing with her friends, Scootaloo slunk out to the small alley corner she bitterly called home as night began to fall. A large box with a ratty blanket stuffed inside served as her “house”, with a small poster of the Wonderbolts and pictures of herself with her fellow Crusaders and her favorite pseudo-sister, Rainbow Dash.
Pseudo-sister.
That was all Dash would ever be to her, because Scootaloo was just too damn proud to admit to her idol that the filly she thought was so awesome like her really lived by herself in a box in some dark alley of Ponyville.
No…not proud, scared.
That was the unfortunate truth of it, and she hated it.
Of course, pride still factored in, as she would rather live by herself on the streets than in the local orphanage, which honestly wasn’t all that well-kept, given that there weren’t very many orphans in Ponyville. It was also why Scootaloo tried to stay out of trouble as much as possible at school; it would most definitely come as a surprise to Cheerilee that Scootaloo didn’t have any family to report misbehaving to.
Sighing, she went about the daily routine of recalling all the fun she had had today to balance out the unpleasant truth of her living situation as she settled into her makeshift abode, leaning her cherished scooter against the side of the box before huddling up inside. She drew the dirty blanket around herself and glanced at the many pictures she had taped to the ‘wall’ of her home. While the nights were never particularly enjoyable, there was one thing she could always count on; another day to spend with her friends.
She wordlessly shivered as a burst of cool air rushed into her box, ruffling her mane slightly. Scootaloo huffed before yawning, preparing to settle in for what she hoped would be a decent night’s sleep.
And then she heard the growl.
Her eyes popped open and her breath hitched in her throat as she heard it.
A stray dog? Scootaloo thought.
And then she saw a shadowy, four-legged figure lope into view, sniffing the air as its massive fangs glistened with saliva in the dim moonlight. It was large, and its body was vaguely-equine. But that was where the similarities ended. The beast, whatever it was, had long fur and large eyes that glowed a sinister yellow.
Scootaloo froze and tried to be as quiet as possible.
And then it lowered its head…
And looked directly at her.
Scootaloo’s blood ran cold as the beast stood on its hind legs, bared its sharp teeth, and roared at her.
Scootaloo screamed as the monster then charged at her.
XXXXXX
Fluttershy’s cottage…
Again, Fluttershy was feeling restless, unable to sleep. And now that she had a possible reason as to why, that made her all the more frightened. She had hastily locked all of her fresh fruit away, fearful that having any of it around might awaken the horror within her.
And then of course, the other thing on her mind was the terrifying reality that the unknown monster could strike again tonight. Who would it claim next? Whose life would be unfairly cut short by a ravenous beast that lived only to kill?
She chanced a glance out her window as she sat at her kitchen table, looking upon the luminous moon casting its pale rays upon the earth. A distant roar, and the scream that accompanied it, suddenly threw her out of her reverie.
And then she felt something throb within her.
Fluttershy let out a startled gasp as she clutched her chest. “Ah…ah…w-what’s h-h-happening to m-me?” she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt a change begin to overtake her.
Tears spilled from her eyes at the pain and discomfort as she collapsed on the floor, clutching her stomach and whimpering in pain. “N-no…no, no!” she cried, realizing what was happening. “No, p-please, NO!”
Her ears lengthened, tapering up like a bat’s.
Her wing-feathers disappeared behind a layer of membrane.
Her canines sharpened into a fine, wicked edge.
The Cutie Mark on her flank changed from three pink butterflies to three pink bats.
And ever so slowly, rationality and fear gave way to hunger and rage.
Her eyes abruptly snapped open, and no longer were they the soft blue irises Fluttershy was known for. Now they were red and slit like a cat’s, and there was blood on their mind.
With a terrifying hiss, Flutterbat announced her return by smashing through her kitchen window and taking flight, making a beeline straight for Ponyville.
XXXXXX
Rainbow Dash’s house…
Rainbow had honestly not been getting much of a good night’s sleep either. The knowledge that some beastly horror was stalking the night, hunting for innocent ponies, and both of the ruling princesses were unavailable to deal with the matter themselves, left her unable to close her eyes. So much was on her mind right now, and none of it good. Would there be anyone out right now? If so, who would fall victim next? And if nopony was out there, would it simply invade somepony’s home instead and drag the unfortunate prey kicking and screaming out of their bed so it could rip them apart, just like it had with Berry Punch? Who would be killed next? What if it was somepony she knew, somepony she cared about?
A part of Rainbow wanted to go out there and confront the monster herself. Rainbow was anything if not brave. But she had to remind herself that the creature out there was capable of ripping a full-grown pony to pieces and escape without being seen. Rainbow hated to admit it, but whatever was out there scared her beyond belief.
Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, and Tirek were one thing. While they had each been very dangerous in their own way, none of them had been as mindlessly savage as this. Would she and her friends be enough to stop this thing from killing anypony else?
And then she was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of a familiar voice screaming in terror, accompanied by a savage, bone-chilling roar. Rainbow instantly put two-and-two together, and catapulted herself off her bed with such force that she punched a hole straight through the walls of her cloud house to get outside, screaming the name of the pony she knew was in terrible danger.
“SCOOTALOO! HANG ON, I’M COMIN’!”
XXXXXX
“AAAAAAAHHH! SOMEPONY HELP ME!” Scootaloo hysterically cried as she tried to run.
She had disentangled herself from her blanket and left her box right before the monster tore into it with slashing claws and snapping teeth. But she hadn’t gotten more than a few steps before the creature tossed aside the shredded remains of Scootaloo’s home and glared over its shoulder at her.
Scootaloo screamed again as she tried flapping her wings, desperate to escape the horrible creature out to kill her. However, the monster merely pounced, sailing over her head and landing right in front of her, blocking Scootaloo’s only escape. She quickly backed up, hyperventilating in fear at the hulking beast as it snarled at her. She was trapped, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
The last thing that passed through her mind as those gigantic teeth fell upon her was despair at never even getting to tell the ponies she loved good-bye.
And then Scootaloo knew no more.
XXXXXX
Flutterbat’s sharpened sense of smell beckoned her towards her ultimate enemy that lurked within the town. The smell was intoxicating, and at the same time, it invoked great anger and hatred within her that one of them would intrude upon her territory.
Smell…
Rank…
Filthy…
Dog…
FILTHY DOG!
This she repeated in her savage, primal mind as she let loose a piercing cry as she spotted the hunched back of her foe, preoccupied with a small, limp form in its mouth.
The monster, reacting to both her cry and her stench, whipped its head around and stood straight up, glaring into her eyes with equal amounts of primal hatred. The beast then dropped the small pony-shaped thing from its mouth like a spoiled sack of grain, eager to devour the sweetest meat of all.
Flutterbat perched on the roof, hissing her challenge at her nemesis. The monster responded in kind with a spine-chilling howl before matching Flutterbat’s glare once more, extending its claws in preparation to strike.
“Fluttershy!”
Flutterbat was startled by the sound of another pony landing next to her.
“Fluttershy, what are you doing out here?! Where’s Scoota…” Rainbow Dash demanded.
And then she noticed her friend’s new appearance. Rainbow’s eyes widened. “F-Fluttershy…?”
And then, to Rainbow’s shock, a long-furred shape pounced out of the alley and tackled Rainbow’s vampirized friend, nearly knocking the other pegasus over in the process too. “W-what the buck?!” Rainbow cried as she saw the struggling pair tumble off the roof onto the ground below. “Fluttershy!”
Rainbow took to the air and saw a shocking sight. Flutterbat had recovered first and pushed the wolf-like beast against the wall and was pummeling it savagely with her hooves. However, the beast recovered as well and grabbed Flutterbat’s neck with its long, hairy fingers. Flutterbat kicked her hooves out, knocking the wind out of the wolf-beast. With its grip loosened, Flutterbat twisted her neck out of the monster’s grasp, but not without receiving long scratches from its claws in the process that drew blood.
The smell of Flutterbat’s blood awoke a terrible lust within the creature, and it positively howled in its frenzied state as it leapt upon Flutterbat, eager to taste it. But Flutterbat flew out of its reach, hissing spitefully as she sailed over the rooftops. Rainbow looked on, shocked and confused into utter immobility, as the beast bounded after the vampire, matching Flutterbat’s speed with its own bounding leaps. And then it leapt once more, its arm outstretched, and seized hold of Flutterbat’s leg, pulling her screeching out of the air, where both monsters disappeared behind the roofs of the town into another alley.
Rainbow, transfixed by what was happening, moved to follow, until she happened to glance down into the alley below her.
The unmoving, blood-coated body of a familiar orange-coated figure spurred a horrified Dash into action. “NO!”
Rainbow landed roughly in the alleyway and rushed over to Scootaloo’s side, hoping beyond hope that the worst had not happened. “Scoots! Scootaloo!” Rainbow cried, sweeping the filly into her arms. “C’mon, Scootaloo! Speak to me!”
Rainbow didn’t want to believe it. Her mind just couldn’t process the reality of the situation. But Scootaloo’s empty gaze, as well as the deep holes still leaking blood from her neck, could only mean one thing. “S-Scoots…?” Rainbow quietly begged. “Please…Y-you can’t do this to me! Y-you’re t-the most awesome f-filly I know! C’mon, please! Please wake up!”
But Scootaloo didn’t wake up.
She never would.
Her Number 1 fan, her favorite little sister, was gone. Scootaloo was dead.
Tears fell freely down Rainbow’s face as she tilted her head back and howled like a wounded animal. Alone in her misery, Rainbow Dash screamed her throat raw, Scootaloo’s lifeless body hanging limply in her arms. The blood-curdling cries of agony and incomprehensible sorrow began to awaken other ponies from their slumber, drawing attention away from the vampire fleeing towards the safety of the Everfree Forest with an enraged wolf-beast in hot pursuit.
Rainbow was still screaming by the time Twilight had arrived, tears glistening on her cheeks as well as she held her frantic, grief-stricken friend back as the doctors took Scootaloo’s tiny corpse from her, laying her on a stretcher and covering her body with a white body bag so that nopony else would have to witness the unbearable sight. Rainbow begged and pleaded, until she finally buried her face in Twilight’s chest and sobbed uncontrollably. Twilight could not bear to watch Scootaloo’s body be taken away, and she cried as well, rocking Rainbow back and forth and stroking her forehead in a vain attempt to comfort her grief-stricken friend.
Pinkie, having been awoken by her Pinkie Sense alerting her to terrible danger, arrived shortly afterwards, and her hair deflated with an awful, balloon-like pop as she realized that she had arrived too late. Twilight didn’t have the heart to say who, but it was clear on Pinkie’s face that she understood what had happened; somepony else had been killed.
XXXXXX
The next morning…
Twilight had allowed Rainbow to stay the night at her castle. The rainbow-maned pegasus had cried herself to sleep in her spare bed, and Twilight had been too distraught to go to sleep herself. Instead, she had tried to keep herself busy by studying the bit of hair that had been recovered from the first victim. She had run it through a machine that read the sample’s DNA, but something about it confused her beyond belief.
“That’s…that’s impossible,” she murmured as she read over the test results. “This says that there’s both wolf and pony DNA in these hair follicles. But wolves and ponies aren’t genetically compatible! This doesn’t make any sense!”
“Actually, Twilight, I think it does.”
Twilight let out a startled gasp before turning around. “Pinkie, you scared me!”
Pinkie Pie sighed, her hair still flat, signifying her sadness. “Sorry, Twilight.”
Twilight shook her head. “No, it’s okay. What were you talking about just now, though? How does this make sense?”
“Isn’t it obvious, Twilight?” Pinkie responded. “I found Dashie just a few minutes before, and she told me about how Fluttershy had turned back into a vampire and got attacked by some wolf monster.”
Twilight gulped. “She turned last night?”
Pinkie nodded. “I’ve read plenty of old pony’s tales to know what we’re really dealing with.”
Twilight began to sigh before Pinkie held up a hoof. “Please, just…hear me out, okay, Twily? This isn’t the first time old pony’s tales turned out to be more than that.”
Twilight shut her mouth as she realized her friend was right.
“Fluttershy turning back into a vampire and going right after it…the whole wolf-pony DNA thing…the fact that it eats ponies…Twilight, I know this sounds crazy, but…we’re dealing with a werewolf.”
“Okay, let’s say you’re right,” Twilight responded. “But what does Fluttershy have to do with it?”
“C’mon, silly, everypony knows that vampires and werewolves hate each other,” Pinkie replied. “But it’s more than just that. Vampires and werewolves are both territorial, but the real kicker is that vampires get really nasty when they smell wolf, and werewolves are extremely attracted to vampire blood. Either way, when they meet up, they stop at nothing to rip each other apart.”
Twilight took a moment to process Pinkie’s claim before asking another question. “So…how did this pony become a werewolf anyway?”
“If there’s more than one werewolf, then they usually hunt together, and most of them will have been bitten but survived,” Pinkie explained. “Since there’s just one, though, it’s probably a pony who got possessed by the magical energy of a Timberwolf.”
“How could that possibly happen?” Twilight asked incredulously.
Pinkie shrugged. “Timberwolves could do that to nearby ponies to save themselves, or, if a pony’s really mean, they could forcibly extract it into themselves. But only unicorns can do that, and Dashie said this one didn’t have wings or a horn.”
“So, whoever it is might have originally been an Earth pony?”
Pinkie nodded. “Probably. Which means it can’t fly or use magic, but it’s incredibly strong, stronger than pegasus or unicorn wolfponies.”
“Does it turn back into a normal pony?”
“Only after the first night of the first full moon. After the second night, they’re stuck like that…forever.”
“Is…is there any way we can kill it?”
“There’s two ways I know of,” Pinkie answered. “Vampire venom, or silver.”
“Vampire venom?” Twilight asked.
“Both werewolves and vampires have a kind of venom in their bites. It’s how they turn you into more of them. Vampire venom is toxic to werewolves, just as werewolf venom is toxic to vampires. The quickest way for one to kill the other is to bite the neck. Otherwise, we would have to pierce the werewolf’s heart with a silver stake.”
Twilight looked down as she considered this. “I see.”
“There’s more,” Pinkie added, causing Twilight to look back up. “If this werewolf was created by Timberwolf magic, then the werewolf becomes a member of the original Timberwolf’s pack, and usually becomes the alpha on top of that. Which means, if we go after it, we might have to deal with Timberwolves too.”
Twilight groaned. “Oh, this just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?”
“Fluttershy might be our best hope for that,” Pinkie said.
“How?” Twilight demanded. “She’s a vampire again! How could she possibly get the Timberwolves to back down?”
Pinkie shook her head. “She can’t. That’s not what I was implying. Just like the werewolf can control the Timberwolves, Fluttershy can control the vampire fruit bats that live on Applejack’s farm.”
“But, Fluttershy’s in danger!” Twilight cried. “She might be a vampire, but that werewolf could still kill her! If she fights it again, we need to be able to help her!”
“You got any silver?” Pinkie asked.
Twilight put aside her notes and walked past Pinkie up the stairs. “There’s an old antique cake cutter made out of pure silver my mom gave to me. It’s all I got, but it should do.”
Pinkie allowed herself a smirk, but it wasn’t enough to bring the poof back into her hair. “I’ll get the others and see if Fluttershy’s come back out of the forest. After that, let’s get this thing.”
Twilight flinched at the vindictive tone in Pinkie’s voice before disappearing up the stairs.
XXXXXX
Two hours later…
The Mane Six sans Fluttershy were now all gathered in the castle parlor, awaiting Twilight’s instructions. “No sign of Fluttershy?” Twilight asked grimly.
Pinkie shook her head, and Twilight sighed. “Alright, everypony. For those of us who aren’t yet aware, Fluttershy reverted back into a vampire last night.”
Rarity and Applejack gasped, but before either of them could say anything, Twilight interrupted, “No, Fluttershy isn’t the monster that murdered Berry Punch and Scootaloo, thank Celestia. But according to Rainbow Dash, she did fight the one that did, and fled into the Everfree Forest with the monster in pursuit.”
Rarity and Applejack both tearfully glanced at Rainbow before each putting a hoof over her shoulders, grieving as much for themselves as their sisters. When Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had heard about Scootaloo’s grisly fate, they were both inconsolable, and even now were spending the night together at the Apple farm. The clubhouse was unsafe so long as the monster was around.
“So what was it?” Rainbow asked in a slow, thick voice. Rage began to gradually burn brighter in her eyes as she growled, “What. The fuck. Murdered. Scootaloo?”
Twilight sighed again, not knowing how they would react. “Based on my observations of the hair sample found on Berry Punch’s body, as well as Pinkie’s testimony and Dash’s description of the monster, I believe that, despite my initial skepticism, we are in fact dealing with a werewolf.”
Applejack’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “A werewolf?”
Twilight mutely nodded. “Look, I know you might not…”
“That ain’t the problem. Mah folks’ve dealt with wolfponies b’fore.”
Twilight and the others all regarded this with surprise. “What, really?” Twilight asked incredulously.
Applejack nodded. “Granny Smith oftentimes told me ‘n Big Mac stories ‘bout all our folks, includin’ her great-great-gramma, Clementine Van Horseing, also known as Pink Lady Apple. Granny Smith says she was a professional monster hunter workin’ under Princess Celestia in a secret monster-fightin’ agency she founded sometime after Nightmare Moon was banished. She apparently killed a pegasus wolfpony that was menacin’ Manehattan ‘bout two hundred years ago that was the result’ve some experiment a mad unicorn scientist was performin’ with Timberwolf energy.”
“I-is there some way we can contact this agency?” Twilight asked eagerly, stunned at this new possibility.
To her disappointment, Applejack shook her head. “Ah don’t know who, but accordin’ to Granny, a former member lives here under an assumed identity ‘cause the agency was disbanded after Tirek ‘n that darn bugbear escaped Tartarus while Cerberus was in town. Guess Princess Celestia decided we were good enough.”
Twilight shook her head. “And all these years I thought werewolves were just old pony’s tales…”
“Ya got anythin’ t’kill this motherbucker with?” Applejack asked grimly.
Twilight levitated up a silver cake cutter with sharpened edges. “It’s not exactly a silver stake, but it’s the best I’ve got.”
Applejack chuckled bitterly. “Twi, ya ain’t seriously considerin’ tryin’ t’kill a werewolf with a cake cutter?”
“It’s the only silver instrument we have!” Twilight groused.
Applejack grinned. “No it ain’t.”
---6---6---6---6---
Sweet Apple Acres…
While her friends waited outside, Applejack went into her home and found Granny Smith alone in the living room, sitting in her favorite rocking chair. Big Mac was absent, likely out checking on the trees before dark, and Applebloom was probably in her room with Sweetie Belle. Granny seemed to be looking far away as she rocked in her chair.
But old age had yet to dull the wits of the Apple Family matriarch.
“Ah know what yer ‘bout to ask, AJ,” Granny spoke up in her thin, warbling voice as her tired eyes focused on Applejack. “Ah knew it in my bones from the moment Berry Punch died.”
“You knew it was a wolfpony?” Applejack asked plainly.
“Everythin’ Ah toldja ‘bout li’l Pink Lady Apple weren’t no tall tales, AJ,” Granny spoke sternly. “You know that stuff ain’t got no place under our roof. That monster-huntin’ group might be out ‘o commission now, but she figg’red one day we’d have need’a her tools.”
“So she did leave her things to ya?”
“Darn tootin’ she did,” Granny replied with a nod. “Everythin’ she left us is down in the root cellar. There’s a secret cubbyhole in the far back behind the cider rack. The keyhole is hidden by a loose brick. The key you need is the rusty one in the middle ‘o the keyring. It’s got a horseshoe mark on it. Do what’cha need t’do, AJ. Li’l Scootaloo was as much a part’a the Apple Family as Applebloom is, and Ah would’a took her in in a heartbeat if Ah’d known where she was really livin’.”
Applejack looked down and gently shook her head. “Scootaloo ne’er told a soul ‘bout it. Not even the other Crusaders. Not even Dash. There was no way we could’a known.”
“Pride is a tricky partner,” Granny sagely answered. “It c’n make plum fools outta the best ‘n worst of us all. Now git goin’, AJ. Y’all got monsters t’hunt!”
XXXXXX
Twilight and the others had been waiting nearly fifteen minutes before Applejack finally returned, and they gasped at what they saw.
Applejack was wearing a duster coat, dark brown, almost black in color. On the back was a faded symbol of a pink rose with its stem wrapped around a red apple. Around Applejack’s neck was a necklace bearing a golden charm depicting the alicorn figure of Mother Faust, a holy symbol in Equestria. Around her middle was a bandolier carrying multiple items, among which…
“I-is that a silver stake?” Twilight asked.
“Sure is,” Applejack replied. “Li’l on the rusty side, but it’ll git the job done.”
“I can polish it for you in a heartbeat, darling!” Rarity eagerly spoke up as she eyed the pure silver weapon.
“We ain’t got time fer that, Rares,” Applejack replied, shaking her head.
“What are those balls on your belt?” Rainbow asked, pointing at them.
“These’re fer Fluttershy,” Applejack explained. “Garlic has a strong smell that vampires can’t stand. If she’s gone totally feral like last time, we c’n use these to distract her ‘til we c’n capture her ‘n figg’r out how t’return her t’normal. They’re garlic bombs. Ya throw ‘em on the ground ‘n they burst open, sendin’ garlic powder everywhere.”
Rainbow pulled a face. “But those things are, like, two hundred years old! You sure they’ll work?”
“Ah put new garlic in,” Applejack answered.
Suddenly Applejack jerked her head up as they heard an inequine, high-pitched shriek rend the air. At the sound of screeching and flapping wings following suit, they all turned around to see that the full moon was high in the air, allowing them to easily see the hordes of vampire fruit bats that were clouding the night sky as they headed for a part of the orchard not far from where they were.
At that moment they saw Big Mac galloping up to them, panting heavily.
“Big Mac?” Applejack exclaimed.
“It’s Miss Fluttershy!” he cried. “She’s in the orchard, actin’ all funny-like, ‘n when Ah saw her hangin’ in a tree by her tail, she screamed at me, ‘n suddenly all the fruit bats in the orchard started flyin’ over t’where she was!”
“Wow, that’s the most I’ve heard him talk in years,” Pinkie muttered, still not quite recovered from her negative mental state.
Applejack’s face hardened. “She must be gearin’ up t’go after that wolfpony too, and is bringin’ reinforcements this time.”
“We gotta stop her!” Rainbow declared, taking to the air. “That mutt could kill her too!”
“It’s too late!” Twilight cried, pointing.
The others gasped (and Rarity recoiled in horror and disgust) as the unmistakable red-eyed silhouette of Flutterbat took flight, and all around her swarmed a veritable army of vampire fruit bats, their large teeth glistening and their red eyes burning as they began the search for a far different prey. Flutterbat paused right inside the circle of the moon, allowing the cloud of bats to surround her as her shadow fell upon them.
And then she looked right at them, her eyes gleaming with rage and no hint of recognition. Then she threw her head back and screeched into the air, and Rarity was unable to stop herself from swooning in terror. And what further chilled their bones was that, over the din of hundreds of shrieking bats, another sound answered: a beastly howl from the Everfree Forest.
The challenge had been issued, and accepted.
As one, Flutterbat and her army flew off towards the dark forest, intent on the war that was soon to begin.
“We gotta stop her!” Rainbow cried again. “Come on!”
The Mane Five, after rousing Rarity, ran or flew after Flutterbat’s retreating figure, each knowing deep down they were about to enter the fight of their lives.
Fur against fang.
Monter against monster.
Flutterbat versus the Wolf Mare.
To be continued…next Halloween…
Author's Note
You’re damned right I went there.
I decided to make this a two-shot instead of a one-shot, partly to keep you poor bastards in suspense till next year, and also to make sure I got something out in time for Halloween. I actually started writing this a couple years ago, but the holiday spirit managed to rekindle my interest in this short story. Next Halloween will come the conclusion of this ride, but it’s possible this might not be the end of Flutterbat’s escapades. Perhaps we may one day see our little half-vampony take on other terrors of the Equestrian night…
Like a certain village of the dead…
Happy Halloween, mortals. Beware the night, and the horrors that lurk within its darkest shadows, and our darkest imaginations…
