Feral

Author's note: I've decided to put the Act number in the title of each chapter at least a day after this one is published, that way the story is easier to navigate as it becomes larger. This one contains parts that are not for the squeamish! As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it for you all.

"One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star."
-Gilbert K. Chesterton

13,647 years ago, during the 'Age of Steam'...

"Shhh, Zarel. It's alright brother. We will be out of here soon," the boy whispered comfortingly to his seven year old companion, who was currently sobbing into his brother's cheap cloth tunic.

"I...I don't want..." he was choking on the words that he so desperately didn't want to speak.

"I don't want to die, Tikara!" he bawled in his older brother's arms. Both of them found it very difficult to hide their fear as they heard footsteps from around the halls.

The two brothers were Zarel and Tikara, two of only five children left from the Shi'vara worshiping city of Alokir after it was raided and destroyed by a wave of Vampire soldiers. The rest of the children were forced to take up arms against the hell-bringing monsters of the night and were slaughtered like lambs in the process. Alokir taken under Vampiric control and their mother on her deathbed made them both want revenge. The two brothers didn't speak a word of their plan to either their mother or father and snuck out of Alokir with what little money they had saved from working on the local leek and potato farm. The journey they embarked on took three days and three nights by steam locomotive. They got off at the last stop in Undreal and made their way to the heart of the forgotten land, Walpurgis. The city of the dead and home to the Vampire race. Tikara and Zarel had only one goal in mind: Kill the dreaded 'King of the Vampires' while he was still sleeping inside his coffin. When the two brothers had arrived midday at the borders of Walpurgis, they found the city to be very large

Nay, they found it massive compared to their own. Every single structure was made from a deep black-red stone. There were tales from the human Elders about how the Vampires would kidnap children and bring them to Walpurgis, where they would gut them and paint every house and building with their blood just to add a bit of color to the city. Its walls held strong at a good forty feet high and looming over the city's individual houses and districts was Castle Walpurgis, which was the most jagged and horrific looking castle the brothers had ever laid their eyes upon. It was made from the same dark red stone and it's twisted towers seemed to pierce the clouds like the tip of a spear.

The gates to Walpurgis were open and the city itself had no signs of movement whatsoever. It seemed like the entire town had been deserted, except for the large amount of coffins that the city had scattered in its buildings. Tikara was not foolish. He knew that they were all sleeping but ignored them for they were not his goal. With only five hours until sundown, his determination knew no bounds as the brothers made their way to the Castle. When they arrived at the castle arch, the gate was closed. Fortunately, many years of wear led to large sections of missing rock on the edge of the large black archway. They were both able to squeeze through and enter, only there was a factor that they didn't take into question: The sheer vastness of the Castle. The brothers had spent so much time traversing the dark corridors and hallways searching for any signs of the monsters, the sun had already fallen over the horizon.

It was time for the Vampires to wake up.

Cursing himself, Tikara took his little brother and hid behind a small bookshelf just large enough to cover both of their bodies, and they were now scared for their lives as they heard footsteps approaching from down the hall. Each one seemed to echo like thunder.

"Shhhh. You have to be quiet Zarel. If the dead do not find us, we can get out of here," he tried to comfort his younger sibling. At least he was attempting to do so, but it was hard to hide the shakiness in his voice. In hindsight, Tikara realized that this was not a very good plan to begin with.

The steps were becoming louder.

Eventually leading from hushed whispers to full shouts, the brothers could make out a conversation coming from the dark and ancient halls.

"Then, I tore its head off and decided to keep it as a trophy!" a large burly voice spoke.

"HA! Those foolish humans. Always using their damn dogs and such to guard their houses," a scratchy voice replied.

"You're telling me, comrade. Even after I drained every last drop of blood from their oldest son, they still seemed to be most put off by the fact I hollowed out the head of the beast and used it as a hat!"

"At least you have a good sense of fashion!" another scratchy yet slightly lighter voice remarked.

The three vampires were guffawing beside each other as they got closer and closer to the bookshelf.

"I love seeing the looks on their faces when you bite into them! It's..." the booming voice stopped along with the footsteps right in front of the two brothers hiding spots. It was followed by a long sniff.

Tikara sat there with his hand over his brother's mouth, trying to hush his sobs. The young boy prayed to Shi'vara that they would not be caught. They still had so much left to do. He never even got to tell his mother goodbye. As that last thought entered his head, a large arm came around the corner of their hiding spot and wrapped around his younger brother.

"Tikara! Help me!" the seven year old boy cried, but it was to late. His older brother was dragged out to the middle of the hallway and held up in midair as he refused to let go of him. He held on for life and for pure fear of Zarel's fate.

"Well now, what did I just find?" the booming voice asked before dropping both brothers on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Tikara quickly recovered and stood protectively in front of his younger sibling.

He looked up to see a pale, grotesque looking bald Vampire who was tattooed all over his body. The hulking individual easily stood nine feet tall, and at his side were two shorter Vampires with darker gray skin than the behemoth in front and they had matted coils for hair. There were also scars all over the face of the left one. The three of them were wearing the signature dark Mithril vestments adorned with the bones of their enemies that made elite Vampire soldiers stand out among the weak. It was clear that they were no stranger to battle and were to be considered ruthless. The large one roared,

"I know what I found. A snack! Hahahaha!" they all joined him in laughter and the hallway boomed.

"How could two human children sneak into the Castle of Walpurgis and not be noticed, Kizar?" the smaller one on the right asked.

"My guess is that they must have snuck in during the day and got lost. How tragic. Wouldn't you agree Rizan?" his twin said with a sinister smile plastered on his face.

"Who cares!? It's time for my lunch. Who knows, I may just rip the skin off of their little backs and fashion a nice belt for myself," he leaned down inches away from Tikara's face. The boy kept the look of pure hatred on his face, but found it difficult to hold back his tears of anguish, for he knew that even with the weapon he took from his father's belongings, there was no way that he and his brother were getting out of this alive. All Zarel could do was curl up and cry on the floor and try to rub comfort into his small shin, which broke when he collided with the hallway's ground.

Tikara spit in the Vampire's face.

"Do what you will to me demon, but know that one day, my revenge will be sought out by another in my family!" the twelve year old boy screamed into monster's face. The behemoth quickly developed a scowl on his face after wiping the young boys saliva out of his eyes.

"Prepare yourself...boy. When Ulgrog the Great is done with you, you'll be nothing but pulp."

He took the large axe off of his back and grasped it in both hands. The two Vampire soldiers with dreadlocks watched in anticipation as their smiles grew larger.

"You will rue the day you came into my Castle. Now DIE!" screamed the Vampire. Tikara could only watch in horror as the behemoth brought his axe down to cleave through him. Only it never did...

"Your Castle? How interesting..."

The heavy steel axe stopped a mere finger length away from Tikara's nose as he fell on the ground from the sheer wind that came off of the downstroke. The voice that came from behind them sounded much cleaner and much more chilling. Almost with a certain hint of regality. It didn't seem to be that jarring, but as Tikara looked up from the ground, he found that the behemoth that came close to killing him was now visibly shaking. What's more, he had a look of pure horror in his pale blue eyes, the same as the two Vampires behind him. They all turned slowly but surely, until they came upon the sight they feared. Tikara got a good look at who stood behind them when they turned.

There stood a Vampire with pale skin and short brown hair. He wore a circlet of dark steel around his forehead with a blood red ruby inside of it. He was very large and muscular, but not as large as Ulgrog. He wore what could only be described as a black leather robe with long sleeves and a cape that seemed to have an unending length. All over the outfit were symbols of a blood red ankh with a silver outlining. It was the infamous "Masquerade Ankh". A symbol on every flag carried by every Vampire army in the world. At first it seemed to Tikara that he would have been no match for the grotesque creature that was about to kill him and his brother. Then Tikara gasped as the Vampire opened his eyes. They were not a pale, lifeless blue like most Vampires. Instead, they were a deep blood red that seemed to visibly burn with hatred and sorrow, yet seemed to remain emotionless at the same time.

"Forgive me...I was under the impression that this Castle was mine. Was I wrong?" asked the regal Vampire.

"S...sire, forgive us," Ulgrog nervously spoke.

All three of the Vampire soldiers got down on their knees and bowed in front of him.

"We found these human children and immediately thought to bring them to you. Isn't that right?" Kizar spoke.

"O..of course. We would never think of harming anyone inside the Castle without your permission," his twin Rizan said.

"So I heard," the intimidating Vampire said as he looked Tikara dead in the eye, then cast a glance to his injured brother who was still on the ground holding his leg. Tikara now stood in front of his brother trying to intimidate the leather clad Vampire, but to Tikara's shock, the Vampire merely smiled at him in return.

"Ulgrog, is it?" he asked the behemoth.

Ulgrog's eyes shot open in turn as he looked towards the Vampire he was bowing in front of.

"Yes, your majestAHHHHH!"

He screamed as in one fluid motion, the regal Vampire whipped his claws upward, cutting through the rock hard Mithril like paper and severing Ulgrog's arm off at the elbow in a fountain of dark blood. The air seemed to drop to a freezing temperature. The now one-armed behemoth Vampire fell back on the ground screaming in pain as the stump where his left arm had been began to rot upwards. Slowly, his flesh began to decay and fall off in grayish black clumps as he screamed in fear.

"Please, your majesty, I beg of you, please stop!!" Ulgrog screamed as what was left attached to his shoulder withered away. The spreading decay stopped at his shoulder, and the twins Kizar and Rizan had watched the entire spectacle in horror as their comrade had his arm eaten away by nothingness and now it lay on the red carpet of the hallway in a pile of gray rotting gore. All eyes were on the Vampire who stood above them all. His glowing red eyes were narrowed in rage.

"Let this be a lesson to you Ulgrog. Your arm would normally regenrate after a couple of days considering how young you are still, but now it will not regrow. Let the rotting stump where your arm used to be serve as a reminder never to threaten or harm an innocent child again under my rule. Human or otherwise," he leaned down inches from Ulgrog's face.

"Next time it will be your legs, and I'll let the rotting spell course through your entire body taking away your Unlife in the process. Do you understand?" he asked with a smirk.

"Y...yes, King Marius! Please forgive me!" Ulgrog cowered in front of the intimidating ruler. Tikara's eyes shot open.

It was him. Marius...the King of the Vampire race.

"You two! Drag him out of my Castle. No doubt the pain in his entire body must be crippling."

"As you wish, your majesty," Rizan spoke. As the twins grabbed Ulgrog's body and drug him down the hall, both of them made a mental note never to cross their King again.

Tikara watched the King like a hawk, expecting him to kill them right there, when instead he got down on his knees and lightly pushed Tikara out of the way to get to his brother. Tikara tried to fight him off, but it was futile as the Vampire just scooped him up and put him on his shoulders. From the King's shoulders, he watched as the Undead placed his hands on his still sobbing brother's leg and enveloped it in a soft red glow. Tikara watched in amazement as he could see the air around his wound become cold and foggy, before his brother stopped sobbing and started breathing heavily. Zarel's broken bone was no longer pushing against the top layer of skin on his leg, and was making light cracking noises as it shifted back into place. When the glow from the Vampire's hands stopped, he took Tikara off of his shoulder and placed him on the ground before standing up. He now had a good long look at the two boys.

'Relatively dark brown skin and short, curly black hair? They are also wearing green and blue tunics made from cloth. They must be from the Shi'vara worshiping cities. What are they doing all the way out here?' he thought while giving the boys a look of curiosity. He was jolted out of his thoughts when the eldest boy screamed while holding his little brother, who was now back on his feet.

"King of Beasts and Prince of Darkness! Your Vampire warriors destroyed our home and are responsible for our own mother being near death because she was struck by one of your solder's arrows!" he yelled before pulling a contraption out of his sack cloth. It was a dull black metal device of some sort with a cylindrical tube stretching from what appeared to be a housing mechanism.

Tikara cocked the hammer back on his father's new gas-powered revolver and pressed it close to the Vampire King's chest.

"Now die and leave us to live in peace!" Tikara closed his eyes and winced as he pulled the trigger six times. It let out an extremely loud bang with each pull and expended each round into the Vampire's heart, while another trigger pull would force the hammer back and rotate the housing chamber to ready a new round. After six shots, all Tikara heard was 'click..click..click..click', signifying the revolver was now empty. He opened his eyes and stared in horror as there was a gaping hole in Marius' chest that he could see through. The boy could see the black heart of the creature sitting lifelessly in his body before the large hole stitched muscle and vein back together and the wound was healed in mere seconds. A wound that would have proven fatal to any other Vampire. The boy wore a look of terror as his head slowly craned up to look at the King. He just looked down at the boy with a sympathetic smile.

"So, that's why you infiltrated my Castle. To seek revenge for the wrong doing that has befallen your family," he sighed and Tikara recoiled back as Marius placed his hand on the boy's head.

"Believe me...I understand," he told him comfortingly before standing up and looking at the ceiling.

"What I don't understand is why YOU let them in here, when you knew they would be in danger!"

Tikara and Zarel stood in utter curiosity, looking at the Vampire screaming towards the ceiling. Then a cloaked figure fell from the shadowed area just above them and landed crouching right behind the brothers, not making a sound in the process. He slowly stood up and took his hood off and it revealed a short, dirty blonde haired Vampire who had one pale blue eye and one glowing orange eye. He was dressed in the black leather and cloth garb of an assassin and wore two crossed Vampiric short swords on his back. He gave a fanged smile to the King.

"Come on brother, you have to admit that you would have done the exact same thing in my shoes! I mean, just look at them! This twelve and seven year old boy just infiltrated your Castle to murder you, knowing full well that there were thousands of our kind in the city and that most of the Vampires here would have ripped them to shreds! That takes quite an amount of testicular fortitude to even think of attempting such a bold act," Lyre told his older brother, who wore an unamused expression.

"Maybe, but I can't figure out why you didn't save them, since you did follow them all the way from the city gates," he told Lyre.

Tikara was shocked at the manner of disrespect that Lyre showed the King when he put his hand in front of the King's face and raised his middle finger.

"Fuck you, that is why. Tell me brother, would you pass up the opportunity to miss such a great show? I almost cried out for an encore when you severed that idiot's arm! Bahaha!" Lyre wailed in a high pitch laughter. Marius merely raised an eyebrow.

"Fuck? So, I take it you picked up other bad habits when you were out scouting the human forces in the west?" Marius asked the Vampire assassin.

"Haha. Well, I have to do something to occupy myself."

He gave a sinister grin before speaking, "Sitting around here minding the palace like someone does all day would only make me weaker!"

Right on cue, the Vampire King unsheathed the giant, unseen sword from underneath his cape and swung its massive solid black blade quicker than lightning. In a split second, the broad tip was less than an inch away from Lyre's right eye, and the assassin didn't flinch as his smile only got wider.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked his younger brother with a chilling smirk.

Lyre drew his swords so fast, they seemed to teleport. The brothers didn't even see him move as one moment they were on his back and the next they were in his hands and at Marius' neck.

"You tell me."

Tikara and Zarel only watched in morbid fascination as they thought they were about to witness a bloodbath. Then both Vampires threw their head back and laughed.

"Not bad, brother," Lyre said as he twirled his swords like batons around his thumbs before he sheathed them on his back holsters once more. Marius did the same with his greatsword.

"So, what do we do with them?" Lyre asked.

"Well, we obviously can't let them walk through Walpurgis at night. They would no doubt become a hungry fledgling's food. So, we put them up in a room in the Castle for the night and send them on their way tomorrow afternoon."

Lyre shrugged.

"Fair enough."

Marius helped them to their feet and beckoned them to follow him and Lyre down the hall. Once they were far enough, the bookshelf they hid behind exploded into chunks of firewood, due to hundreds of sword slashes from the inhumanly fast fight that Tikara and Zarel didn't even notice the Vampiric brothers have.

The King and the assassin continued to chat as the boys followed them reluctantly down the hallway. They spoke of the progress in technology that humans had made and new so-called firearms they were adapting into combat, as well as the possibility of adapting them into Vampire warfare. They also spoke of the experiments they had been performing on human blood and how they melded well with the genotype of wolves' blood cells. Finally, after about fifteen minutes, they reached the door to the room that the boys were to be staying in.

"I'll show them their rooms. You wait for me by the throne," Marius told Lyre.

"Very well. Goodnight, brave children!" Lyre smiled.

"Goodnight Mr. Lyre!" little Zarel spoke. His brother shot him a glare not to speak to the foul thing, and Zarel mouthed the word 'sorry' to his older brother.

Marius opened the door to their rooms and the brothers were amazed at what was inside. The room itself was huge. It had everything a person of noble birth would want. Books, a huge fireplace, a massive bed with what looked to be silk sheets, paintings everywhere on the wall, and even a star gazing balcony. It only made the eldest brother angrier.

"Why are you doing this for us?" Tikara hissed under his teeth.

"Is it because you pity us? Pity what your Vampire military has taken?" he asked while looking the King in his dark red eyes.

"No child. It's because...believe it or not...I know exactly how it feels to lose family."

The brothers were not expecting this answer and contemplated it as they stared at the ground.

"I bid you goodnight, Tikara and Zarel," he spoke softly and closed the doors, leaving the brothers in their room by themselves.

They both looked each other in the eyes.

"How did he know our names?..." Zarel asked.

Tikara did not have an answer.

They slept soundly and enjoyed the posh conditions of the room. They were from a very poor family, so they were not used to such comfortable beds and the other fine living arrangements. They were awoke by the King at two in the afternoon. At first, they were shocked that the Vampire was able to lead them out into sunlight where the steed they had weighted down with bags of gold was waiting, but then they remembered that King Marius wasn't like any other Vampire. Once they were settled on the horse, Marius took Tikara's hand and placed a blood red coin in it. On both sides of the coin was an embedded Masquerade Ankh.

"Keep this. Never again will a Vampire bother you or your family so long as they know you have this mark, lest they face my wrath," he told the boy.

He couldn't believe it. Never be bothered by another Vampire? Could it be true? Tikara could only stare at the King in baffled gratitude. No Vampire ever dared to harm any of his family again. He came there looking to kill the King of Vampires, and he sent them away with permanent protection and ten thousand gold coins, which happened to be enough to fund their mother's recovery and cover their family's expenses for three generations. Eighty years from that moment, when Tikara lay on his death bed surrounded by his loving family, including Zarel, his last thoughts were of the King and that faithful night.

The night his life and his family's lives were saved by the King of Monsters.

"Hmm hmm hmmm. Dadum hmm hmm bumm-bumm," Rose happily hummed The Heart Carol from behind her flower stand as she picked up a water can and lightly drizzled water onto her Calla Lilies. She turned around to put it back and was a tad bit startled to see a very large Vampire leaning over the counter on her stand, smirking at her.

"Oh! Hehe, Marius," she jumped and waved a hoof at the Vampire.

"You startled me."

She leaned over her stand's counter, mimicking the Vampire while looking up into his eyes.

"How's your afternoon been?" she asked.

"Decent," drawled the lazy Marius. "Rarity woke me up an hour early to help her finish the last dress for that musician. Sapphire..."

"Shores!" Rose's hoof shot up in the air.

"The Pony of Pop. I absolutely adore her. She's one of the best musicians in Equestria!" piped the starstruck Rose.

Marius just *hmphed*. She gave the Vampire a sly smile.

"Oh come on, Marius. Are you telling me you don't like music?" the flower salesman asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"No, quite the opposite actually. This pop music which you ponies listen to just doesn't peak my interest."

She gasped.

"I'll have you know mister, that there is more to music than posh orchestral nonsense. Music also has to have soul! I should have you listen to a track by her. I bet you would love the new tracks she released for her 'Zigfilly Follies Revived' tour!"

Marius just scoffed.

"I'm sure. Now, could you be so kind as to fetch me twelve Daises and five of your special Calla Lilies?" the Vampire asked.

She beamed at him in return.

"Of course hun! Let me just gather them up in a bouquet for you."

In a few seconds she had all fifteen white pedaled flowers with yellow stigma wrapped neatly in a fine arrangment, which she carried with her mouth over to the counter and placed down.

Marius picked up the bouquet in his hands and gave it a thorough examination before smiling widely.

"Simply exquisite."

"Thank you," Rose told him with pride. "I try to grow them the best I can."

Marius lowered the bouquet and slowly narrowed his eyes in a lazy fashion to look at the mare that was at least four feet shorter than him.

"I wasn't talking about the flowers," the Vampire spoke softly with his velvety low voice.

Rose smiled and blushed before slapping his right hand which was still on the counter with her hoof and squealing,

"Eeeee! You're so bad Marius." she chuckled afterwords.

Marius gave her a look of shock.

"What? Me bad?! I can't believe you would insinuate this just because I treat a lady with the proper charm that she deserves." He gave her a sly smile.

She giggled at his interesting way of defending his charm.

"Whatever you say Mr. Flirt. Still, I suppose it is better than some random stallion calling me 'Hot Flank'. Now, that'll be ten bits," she told him.

The Vampire dug into his pocket and fished out ten of the golden coins with Celestia's cutie mark on one side and Luna's on the other and forked them over to Rose.

"Thanks. Tell everypony I said hi!" she yelled to the waving Vampire as he once again started to walk down the square.

"I will indeed...Hot Flank!" he yelled at her with his signature fanged smirk. She turned a delightful shade of pink as everypony was now staring at her, since the Vampire made sure everypony in the square heard him call her the embarrassing nickname. All Marius could do was cackle with laughter as he continued his trek to Sweet Apple Acres.

It had been three full days since his awakening and it was now Wednesday. The days actually seemed very peaceful and everypony in Ponyville now showed Marius the utmost respect. Everyone he saw on Monday had stopped him and apologized for their rude behavior. The Vampire's charm and generosity when it came to helping others was slowly turning him into an idol for the tiny town. Everyone had grown to love him including stall runners such as Rose, Golden Harvest, and Applejack (which was already a given) all the way to shop owners such as Time Turner, Colgate, and even Mayor Mare introduced herself and had taken a liking to the Undead. He cooked Rarity and Sweetie dinner every night and tucked them both into bed every night as well. Sweetie had taken a liking to having the Vampire sing her the Father Bird lullaby every night and Rarity was absolutely thrilled she had someone to cook and clean around the shop instead of herself. He got to spend some time with several ponies besides Rarity and Sweetie also. Sunday evening he helped Derpy deliver the mail for a few hours, although somehow she got stuck inside of Lyra and Bon Bon's mailbox. Marius knew they didn't have time to try and get her out since they were already late, so he yanked it out of the ground and flung it over his shoulder with Derpy still inside. Lyra and Bon Bon seemed a little more than upset, but he told them he would come by Thursday evening to answer any questions Lyra had about humans. Lyra seemed ecstatic, but Bon Bon didn't really seem that thrilled. That was, until the charming Vampire offered to cook dinner. Both of them didn't even think about their mailbox anymore and said yes to the dinner appointment. Other than that brief little fiasco, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday went very pleasant. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and he even had the pleasure of joining the Elements at a picnic Tuesday afternoon. It was there that Applejack had offered him some work out on the farm if he'd be willing to accept it. He gladly accepted since it would give him some spare bits to do with what he pleased and was on his way to the farm now.

He unfurled his wings from inside his back and stretched them to the air while yawning very loudly, when he came upon the fence to the Apple Orchard. The sun was agonizingly bright and he made a mental note to take revenge against his master in some way for waking him so early. In that instant, he side stepped casually to the left and watched a rainbow blur shoot through the place where he was standing, bank upwards, and then land hard in the leaves of a nearby Apple tree.

Marius only chuckled as he saw Rainbow Dash pop her head out of the Apple tree. Her eyes wobbled in a comical fashion before she spit out some leaves and spoke with a crack in her voice,

"No fair! I was gunna tackle you to the ground! How could you see me coming?" she asked him while pouting.

"Haha. You may be fast, but you are indeed louder than a thunderstorm," he told her.

She rolled her eyes at him before flying out of the tree and landing beside his feet.

"Yeah, whatever. AJ told me to come here today and help out on the farm whenever I got the chance, and I'm finally free so I guess that means you're my partner today," she flew up to his face causing him to stop walking.

"Try not to slow me down."

She said that last part looking into his eyes with what seemed to be an expression that said 'Or Else'.

He smirked before shooting into the sky like a cannon ball. The force of the takeoff caused the mid-air Dash to be taken away in Marius' slipstream and clumsily carried upwards several hundred feet.

She flapped both her wings and used the current to gently glide herself into a fluid updraft and with a heave from her wings she shot upwards also. She made it to where Marius hovered several hundred feet above the ground with his arms crossed. She stopped and scowled at him.

"What the hay was that?! You could have warned me you know!" she huffed.

He merely patted her on the head while she gave an annoyed look.

"I just wanted to get a good view of the orchard," he said looking down.

Sure enough he could see five ponies out in the field past the farmhouse. One was orange and had a brown Stetson on her head and the pony next to her was a rather large red stallion with a yoke on his back. The other three ponies, or fillies rather, Marius recognized as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. All three were working with Applejack and the stallion he recognized as Big Macintosh shaking each tree to try and get the apples from each tree down. Marius then realized he had been patting Dash's head the entire time he surveyed the area. She came close to having steam rise out of her nostrils.

"Do you mind?" she asked under her breath.

He took his hand away and smiled at the fuming Cyan mare before speaking,

"Not at all. Let's go tell them we have arrived," he told her. She nodded and flew down at a fast pace while the Vampire watched her. She stopped above Applejack to tell her she had arrived and Scootaloo galloped as fast as she could while screaming "Rainbow Dash!" and jumped into the mare's arms. Dash merely chuckled and hugged the little filly.

"Hehehe. Heya squirt. How's it goin'?" she asked.

Marius watched them all converse as he took his huge bat wings and rolled them in the air until he heard a loud 'pop' from the spiked carpal joint. With that small amount of comfort performed he curled them into his back and started to fall.

Applejack was scolding Rainbow about how she should come over more often and the Crusaders went back to trying to shake the trees and get at least one bucket full of apples, when what sounded like a falling tree collided with the ground. Every pony looked back and saw said tree get up off his knees and speak,

"Hello. I've come to work on the orchard today."

"Marius!" all three Crusaders yelled and ran over to the Vampire who scooped all three of them up and gave them a bear hug.

"How are my three favorite fillies? Causing Applejack as much trouble as possible, I hope?" he asked.

All three crusaders giggled simultaneously while Applejack gave a glare to the Vampire.

"Ah reckon we aren't now. We got in big trouble when we tried that glue in her hat thing that ya-"

"*Cough* *cough* So, have fun girls, I'll talk to you later," he cut Apple Bloom off and sat all three girls down. They walked off towards their assigned tree for the second time. Marius looked over to the Cowpony who gave him a glare that could melt steel.

"Ah hope yer ready to do some work, since it is harvest season and all...and get me a new hat," she deadpanned while Rainbow giggled to herself. Marius hadn't noticed until then the cuts and missing sections on the brim of her Stetson. He had to bite his bottom lip with his fangs to keep himself from laughing so hard that the Princesses themselves would hear him all the way from Canterlot.

"I indeed am." he managed to squeak out through muffled laughter.

Applejack and Rainbow took him over to the tree Big Mac was about to buck.

"Marius, this is mah brother Big Macintosh. Big Mac, this is that feller I was tellin' ya about that saved Apple Bloom and the other girls. The one who works for Rarity," she explained to her brother. "Now Ah'm gunna leave him here to work with you while RD helps me buck some o' them stubborn trees in the West field.

He looked at his sister and simply replied,

"Eeyup."

Rainbow flew while AJ galloped quickly behind her heading West.

Big Mac looked up into the intimidating eyes of the Vampire. He was quite a bit larger, but it seemed like Big Mac was still more muscular.

"Thank ya kindly Mr. Marius for saving my sister. The Apple family commends bravery and honesty. Them's the rules we live by, so if ya need anything from our family, don't yall hesitate ta ask, ya hear?" he asked the Vampire who looked at him with a serious expression taking him very seriously. Big Mac was slightly confused at how Marius bowed and put his right arm over his chest.

"You have my word Bic Macintosh. I take my vows very seriously and I would never break my vow of watching over and protecting my Master's friends and family. I shall keep watch vigilantly over all of you until you all take your last breath and your bodies wither away in the ground. Even then your children and your children's children will know me as their guardian," he explained with pride to the stallion, who was shocked at his morbid way of describing protection.

He knew he was a Vampire as his sister explained to him Marius and Rarity's situation, but he didn't expect him to be so dignified and dark in his speech.

"Errr...I reckon," he said as his eyes darted around in his head trying to remember what he was supposed to do with Marius, that way he could change the topic of the conversation.

"Apples! Errr...um..Ah need ta teach ya Apple buckin'," he told the Vampire awkwardly as he moved into position behind the tree they were conversing by. Marius stood up and looked down at Big Mac who positioned his backside in front of the tree.

"Now the best way ta learn is by experience so Ah'm gunna show ya how it's done, then you'll try," he explained to Marius.

Big Mac took a deep breath and raised his hind quarters up while reeling his back legs in. He held the breath in and then let it out as he quickly forced his legs outward and straightened them. His hooves struck the tree with enough force to shake every single apple loose from its branches and into the buckets that were scattered underneath the leaves. His back legs landed on the soft grass as he straightened himself out again. Marius was stroking his chin with his fingers analyzing the strong backward kick that the stallion used.

"Ya think yall can do that?" he asked the Vampire who had one eyebrow raised still calculating the momentum used to buck the tree.

He smirked at Big Mac before replying,

"I shouldn't have too much trouble."

They both walked over to a new tree and positioned about five buckets underneath each branch. Big Mac stood and quietly observed. Marius turned his large back to the tree, closed his eyes, and took a breath. He put his hands on the ground and heaved his waist into the air while curling his legs. A perfect clone of Big Macintosh. Marius straightened his legs and heaved his black polyester and rubber shoes into the bark.

The midsection of the tree exploded into thousands of tiny splinters from the several tons of force applied all at once. The top of the tree arced several hundred feet into the air until it landed on the ground, making a small crater in the process.

Big Mac's jaw hung open and his eyes seemed like they were wide enough to fall out of their sockets. Marius stood back up and looked around at the huge amount of wood chunks and random pieces of bark that lay in the grass. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"Um...I apologize for the tree. Would you like to try again?"

After several hours, Big Mac gave the Vampire the rest of the evening off. After destroying ten more trees, Marius had gotten the hang of how much force he needed to apply to get all the apples out of each tree safely. Coupled with his incredible speed, he had managed to clear the amount that would normally take Big Macintosh a full day in just a few hours. Figuring he'd done more than enough work for the day, the hard-working stallion gave Marius his pay for the day. Plus, Macintosh wasn't too keen on the idea of someone making him look bad on his own farm. He had his pride also, after all. Bag of bits in hand, he flew off to find Applejack and Rainbow in the West field. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were no longer by the small group of trees they had worked on the whole day, which Marius guessed was a sign that they were finished with their chores. He flew low for several minutes until he saw them.

Applejack and the Crusaders came into his sight as they were sitting by several apple trees looking into the sky, but Rainbow was nowhere to be found. For some reason they looked horrified and were screaming into the air towards him. Then Marius found out why.

"Look out!" was all that was said as Rainbow came barreling towards him at incredible speed.

Eyes narrowing, he quickly banked left in a hard roll and dodged her as she flew directly towards the ground. Marius was concerned but then realized she had complete control. The Element of Honesty and all three Crusaders breathed a sigh of relief when Marius dodged her. He was about to yell and ask what was going on, and then it happened.

Marius hadn't noticed the cone of wind seeming to form around Rainbow Dash as she barreled towards the ground. The cone of excess wind and inertia seemed to tear just as she was about to hit the ground, and with a deafening BOOM she pivoted upwards, changing directions leaving a giant rainbow colored shockwave near the ground that seemed to singe the grass. As she rose into the sky leaving a Rainbow trail she could hear everypony on the ground cheering her name.

One voice stuck out among them all.

"YEAH!! Go Rainbow Dash! I told you guys she was the best flier ever!" she yelled to her friends who had never really seen the mare perform the Sonic Rainboom before. They were awestruck, yet cheering at the same time. But even more awestruck than them, was the Vampire who was still in the air watching the Pegasus. He was utterly at a loss for words, then he looked down at Scootaloo on the ground cheering the mare she had so much respect and admiration for and he smiled.

'I've never seen any ability like that before. I wonder...'

Marius began to develop a plan.

Rainbow rose higher and higher into the sky. Then she felt something near her wing and turned to her right. She was shocked at what she found.

There, flying right beside her at equal speeds after she performed a Sonic Rainboom, was a large Vampire dressed in black with huge bat wings. He simply smiled and waved at her as they both rocketed into the sky. Then she heard his voice in her head.

'So, is this a good time to have that race?' he asked her.

Not only was she in disbelief that he could fly as fast as her, but she was even more put off by the fact that he was having a conversation with her through her mind. Still, at the mention of the word race her eyes narrowed and she licked her lips shaping them into a devilish smile. She pointed her hoof upwards towards the blue sky and a lone cloud that was very high in the air.

'You're on. First one to make it to that cloud up there and back to the others on the ground is the winner. 123go!' she thought and shot upward even faster, turning her mane into a pure rainbow streak and leaving the Vampire to eat her dust (so to speak).

He smirked at the place where she was just a moment ago.

'Excellent'

He heaved his giant black wings and cut through the sky like a hot knife through butter. Instantly he was side by side with her. They flew into the sky, unstoppable. The wind pushed Marius' short brown hair back with extreme force. Rainbow's mane seemed to be unaffected by the wind as it was still a clear rainbow streak slicing through whatever remained behind her. The two occasionally busted through a cloud on their way up and swayed, keeping their momentum. The Crusaders and AJ watched, mouths agape, as they flew so high and fast that they were merely dots in the clear blue mural that was the early evening sky.

Dash looked over to her racing partner and laughed as loud as she could when she saw the last cloud she had busted through had flown pieces of cumulus into Marius face. Since she touched them right before, they remained solidified and stuck to the mouth and eye of the Vampire. She peeled in laughter as they soared skyward. Marius noticed this, took a chunk of the cloud off, and threw it to his left. It found its way into Rainbow Dash's gaping mouth. She coughed it back out and threw it at the Vampire with a scowl. Both of them developed a grin on their face and within moments, tufts of cloud were flying back and forth between the two while Dash giggled like a school filly and Marius kept a smirk on his face. Their cloud fight continued for a few seconds, before they both noticed that the highest cloud in the sky was drawing near.

They both became determined to reach it first.

Dash forced herself to move faster by pivoting her wings to the side, and using her momentum, threw herself upward. Marius noticed this and did the same. Unfortunately for the Cyan pegasus, his wings were much larger, causing a larger updraft and throwing him farther in the process. Her smile slowly turned into a sad frown as she saw the Vampire steal her opportunity and rocket through the cloud first. He stopped himself right above where the cloud once was and she quickly came to a halt in front of him. They both sat several hundred meters up in the sky. The Vampire noticed the sun had become extremely hotter the closer they got to the planet's atmosphere and it seemed like they were both very close to breaching said atmosphere and drifting off into space. Not a problem for the Undead, but a huge one for Rainbow. She was used to the thin air, though.

"That's not really fair, you know. I totally would have reached it first if I didn't still have cloud in my eyes," she said while crossing her hooves behind her back and kicking the air. Marius put his hands under his arms and gave her a skeptical look.

"Oh really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah really!" her voice cracked and she looked away while pouting.

"Didn't you forget something?" Marius asked her.

Her eyes widened in realizaion.

"That's riiiight...the race isn't over, is it?" he asked.

She turned downward and took off at the fastest speed she possibly could, leaving the Vampire behind once again.

"That's what I thought," Marius spoke before tucking his wings in and letting himself fall downward.

Once again they were playing keep up as Marius dove downward. Rainbow was desperately trying to gain momentum by giving her wings the occasional flap, but the weight and strength of the Vampire's wings was almost impossible to match. They both flew toward the ground at breakneck speeds. Going downward was an entirely different matter than going upward for a being with flying capabilities. You only had to let gravity and your body do the work for you, giving the occasional bit of assistance from your wings when you needed to sway a certain direction or needed a gust of speed.

The rush itself was exhilarating. Rainbow always loved racing, since fast flying was what she lived for. Ever since she was a filly and got her cutie mark, she knew her special talent was flying and winning. She was baffled that the Vampire had been able to keep up with her, though. Even after she performed a Sonic Rainboom and was carrying herself on its current, Marius was still able to fly as fast as her. She only had one question on her mind: How? How could the fastest flier in all of Equestria, except for a few of the Wonderbolts, be beaten by someone who wasn't even a pony?

After a few minutes Applejack and the Crusaders became slightly visible and Marius was once again next to the mare, only she watched with disbelief as he slowly passed her.

He was going to win.

They were a few miles from ground now and he was going to win.

Marius looked back into the eyes of the egotistical mare with hope.

'Do it.' he told her mentally.

She scrunched her face up in determination, choking away the tears that the wind was forcing out.

'No. He. Bucking. ISN'T!' she mentally screamed.

With that she forced her wings out and back as hard as she could when she felt the familiar cone of wind build up around her as she peeled through the air. After a few seconds it tore, and with another mighty BOOM she performed a second Sonic Rainboom. She flew past the Vampire who smiled at her, contently.

"It took her long enough," he said.

She looked back at him over her left side as he appeared to be the size of an ant. A beaming smile slowly found it's way to her face.

"I did it. I won..." she said in disbelief.

"I actually beat Mari-"

BOOM!

Silence...

"Rainbow Dash! Please wake up!" screamed the little orange filly with her head pressed to her idol's chest.

"Hang in there RD...Ah know ya can pull through this." lightly whispered Applejack.

Rainbow Dash slowly came back into consciousness. She felt the wet grass and mud with chunks of wood in it bellow her back. She slowly tried to open one of her eyes.

She couldn't. Only searing pain was there.

She tried the other. Fortunately, that one she was able to look through. She saw everypony at her side with tears streaming down their faces while she lay in the grass. She then realized why she couldn't open her other eye.

There was a tree branch through it.

She was going so fast from her Sonic Rainboom, that she never noticed how close she was to the ground. She hit a tree first and the shockwave from her body shattered most of it, but in the process, it fractured three of her ribs, broke her right forearm and sent a shard of its bone upward which was protruding out of her skin, a large hunk of bark shoved itself through her gut and pierced itself through her stomach and out of her back, and she had her left eye impaled by a stray tree branch. She then collided with the ground and skidded along the grass all the way to the middle of the West field. The proud Cyan pegasus was now a bloody pile of broken bones and gashes.

It was a miracle she wasn't dead.

She began to cry inside from fear. She wasn't supposed to be scared of anything. The incredibly bold and daring Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, was now terrified that she might die. Terrified that she might never see the little filly who looked up to her more than anyone else. Terrified she might never get to see her friends again. Terrified that she would never get to smell that sweet aroma of apples and garden soil coming off of Applejack or get to feel her soft fur as she held her in a hug. Terrified that she might never get to tell her how she truly felt towards her.

She was just plain terrified.

She slowly took her hoof and put it against Scootaloo's blood covered mane and started stroking downward, holding her head closer to her body.

"Hehe..*ughh*...you think that..*ssss*..that something as tiny as this will keep me down? C'mon Scoots, you know me better than...than that," she spoke slowly through heavy pants and winces. She feigned a smile towards the little filly but all she could do was release more tears and quiver her lip.

"N..*sniff*..no, I suppose not," Scootaloo said while returning her weak smile.

Rainbow Dash then noticed that Marius stood above them watching them the whole time.

He gave her a sympathetic smile before speaking,

"You won."

She threw her head back and laughed as hard as she could, feeling the sharp tree branch jiggle in her eye socket as it gushed a murky yellow and red fluid down the side of her face. She winced and immediately regretted laughing.

"Marius, can't you use your healing magic?" Sweetie Belle asked him wiping her nose. She had funny habit of having a runny nose when she cried.

Scootaloo's head shot up from Rainbow's chest.

"Yeah, you can heal anypony who's hurt! You healed Sweetie's leg and she would have bled to death if you didn't!" the little orange pegasus said with hope in her voice.

"It's true..I can heal her," he said.

Everypony looked up at him through their tearful gazes.

"In order to do so, we need to get all of these tree pieces out of her," he told them.

Everypony winced at the picture of agony they had in their head. They all looked up at Rainbow Dash who smiled up at her potential savior.

"Do it, big guy..." she said weakly.

The Vampire didn't need to hear anymore.

His large hand wrapped around the tree branch embedded in her eye socket.

"Brace yourself," he told her.

She stiffened her body up, but she couldn't prepare for the pain.

Marius yanked the tree branch out of her head, bringing along with it what was left of her large magenta eye and yanking out a long strand of her optic nerve which the Vampire severed with his claws fast enough to not even be seen by the other ponies. A massive gush of blood that was being blocked off pushed itself out of her ocular cavity and sprayed the Vampire in the face when he pulled the branch out.

"AAAAHHH!" the Cyan mare screamed in agony while Applejack hid the girls' faces and sobbed for her friend's pain.

After screaming, Dash felt the relief of not having the branch in her socket anymore.

Marius then wrapped one hand around the chunk of wood impaled in her gut and one hand around her mouth.

"This is in your stomach, so this is going to hurt worse I'm afraid. Just be strong, alright? The bold mare that beat me in that race fairly would be strong, wouldn't she?" he asked her giving her a sympathetic smile.

She smiled underneath his palm and slowly nodded her head.

"Brace yourself once more," Marius spoke.

He ripped the huge chunk of wood out of her body leaving a visible gaping hole in her belly that one could see all the way through.

"MMMMMmmmmmmphhhh!!!" she screamed into his hand as blood streamed out of one side of her face and tears streamed down the other.

She slumped down after she screamed and Marius removed his hand, placed it on the side of her small face, and lifted it so she could look at him.

He gave her a warm comforting smile before speaking,

"The hard part is over child. Rest."

With a cold surge of magic through his fingers, she was unconscious for the second time that day.

She opened her eyes to a dark room.

She felt soft blankets over her body and wings. She rolled over in the comfortable bed to see the moonlight shining through the window...with both eyes. Dash blinked both separately to make sure they worked, then recognized the room as one of Sweet Apple Acres' spare rooms. Rainbow slowly sat up to turn the lamp on that was sitting on the nightstand. She turned it on and noticed that there was a little orange filly curled up at the hoof of her bed.

Rainbow Dash smiled softly at Scootaloo.

She slowly got up out of the bed to examine her body and couldn't believe what she saw. Not a single bandage was put on her body, because there was nothing to bandage. Everything from the top of her head to her hooves and even her flank didn't have a single scratch on it. Her wings looked perfect as well.

"Ah reckon ya like Marius' hoofwork?" said a mare with a soft voice that Dash instantly recognized.

Applejack sat in the doorway watching Rainbow admire herself with a dumbfounded look.

"How-"

"That fancy magic o' his, sugarcube," she cut Dash off.

"Ah don't know how it works, but Ah reckon it's the most amazin' thing I ever did see. Ya just got wrapped in this red glow as the air all around us got really cold, then we all watched as yer wounds started patchin' themselves up. It was like they were sewin' themselves back together with your skin and muscle and such. He saved yer life, is what he did."

Applejack looked over at the sleeping filly on the bed with a small smile.

"Scoots never did leave yer side either. Ah've never seen a filly who was so determined to make sure somepony was better. Even after we brought ya back here to rest in this bed, since ya were plum tuckered out and all, she absolutely refused to leave yer side," she said while walking up to the sleeping filly. Dash slowly joined her and nudged Scootaloo with her left wing.

"Scooootaloooo...wake uuuuup.." lightly cooed Rainbow Dash.

The little fillies eyes slowly opened.

"R..Rainbow Dash?"

They shot open.

"Rainbow Dash!!" she wrapped her hooves around the once injured pegasus' neck.

"Are you ok? I was soooo worried. Hehe *snort*," she accidentally let out a tiny snort at the end of her chuckle as if to solidify her statement by being cute.

"Hehehe. Yeah, squirt. I'm fine now, thanks to the big ol' lug Marius. I'll tell you what though, how about you go sleep in Apple Bloom's room tonight since we're both staying over?" she asked the little filly.

She beamed a smile at her and started to cry tears of joy. Joy of knowing that the Pony she looked up to and loved the most in this world wouldn't die.

"Ok Rainbow Dash. I'll see you in the morning!" she announced happily as she trotted off.

Both mares watched her go.

"She loves ya a whole lot, ya know," whispered Applejack.

"Yeah...without sounding all sappy or anything, I love her alot too. She doesn't see much of her family because they live in Cloudsdale. Since she can't fly, they couldn't care less about her. So, she stays in Ponyville with her aunt and me when I have the time. She looks up to me like an idol...but honestly, being rejected by your own family, yet devoting yourself to being happy with the one person you look up to most in this world and accept her as your big sister?" it came out like a question.

"As far as I'm concerned...she's sorta...my idol. Hehehe," she told Applejack who gave her a look of pure D'awww.

She huffed in response.

"Darn it...ya got me acting all sappy."

Dash wiped a single tear from her face with her hoof.

"So, where did Marius go?" the pegasus asked.

"Where do ya think R.D.? He took Sweetie Belle home. It is going on midnight," she said.

"Yeah..." Rainbow said quietly.

'I owe him. He saved me from my own ego.' she thought. The mare then jolted when she heard the voice of said Vampire inside her head.

'The ego is a tool, child. When used properly it can make you stronger and strengthen your bonds of loyalty with your friends. What you need to remember though, is that same tool can be used to destroy and impede you, keeping you from letting yourself have what makes you most happy in this world. The key to using your ego is finding the proper balance of self-destruction and self-preservation for your life. Remember this...' the voice spoke in her head.

She smiled at his words of wisdom.

"Finding balance, huh..." she whispered to herself.

Dash turned around to sheepishly look at Applejack, who currently had a puzzled look on her face.

"So...AJ...I was wondering, you know...maybe if you really didn't have anything better to do and your bed maybe isn't that comfortable or...something...I don't know, maybe you would wanna-"

She was cut off as she felt the Cowpony's warm lips gently kiss her cheek. Seconds seemed like minutes as she slowly removed her lips and nuzzled Dash's cheek with her own. Applejack pulled her head back to look warmly in the eyes of the now wildly blushing pegasus.

'Finally...' Applejack thought.

"Ah'd love to...Sugarcube."

They smiled, contently, into each others eyes before cuddling all night next to each other in the warm bed, under the covers.

A pair of glowing red eyes watched over them happily the entire night.