In the dark of the night

Chapters

Prologue: This is my story
When everything changed
Learning a dark truth
Dark memories
Transformation
Stories
The journey begins
When the pieces start to fall into place
More after the break
Before the next rising sun
Their blood shall flow like rivers
Into Darkness
Bloodstained Resurrection
The Night is still young
To Protect Those We Love

Prologue: This is my story

Twilight sat down on her bed in the Ponyville Library. It all seemed like it was a fantasy to her. The ponies all smiling at each other every day. The peace that surrounded her. Even seeing Spike almost seemed like a fantastic cliché now.

Sighing as she looked out the window, she could see the last vestiges of sunlight coming through the window. Luna's night would be soon upon them. Not that she would be sleeping tonight. No... there was far too much on her mind.

A grey pegasus mare with a lustrous raven-black mane walked up the stairs and over to Twilight before she nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"Something wrong Twi?"

In the time they had known each other, the black-maned pegasus had come to be able to read Twilight Sparkle like an open book.

"I don't know Artemis... So much has happened. Has it really only been a year?"

"Yea... Feels like its been ages though right?" She knew what Twilight was going through all too well.

"It feels like its been an eternity... Now... everything is so peaceful. Everything is back to the way it was, but..." Twilight hesitated to say what was on the tip of her tongue. "but its not the same... I'm not the same." And with that slowly hung her head.

Wrapping her forehooves around the lavender unicorn in a hug, Artemis pulled Twilight close.

"I won't lie to you and say that you are the same pony you were a year ago Twilight, but if you hadn't chosen the path that you did... this town, these ponies, none of them would be the same. All of Equestria wouldn't be the same. You know what they were planning to do. They didn't care... they were going to kill anypony who resisted them. We HAD to stop them."

Turning into Artemis's hug, Twilight buried her muzzle into the grey mare's chest as tears started to fall from her eyes. As she hugged her back, Twilight asked.

"I know... but how do I hide the monster I've become? How do I account for the terrible things I've done? The ponies I've..."

Twilight's breath caught in her throat as the long blade of remorse stabbed into her. It was a feeling she still couldn't shake.

"The ponies I've killed!"

Artemis stroked Twilight's mane as she cried. She had been there for the events Twilight was remembering. To say that some of them wouldn't haunt her own dreams for a while would have been a lie. However, after over 1,000 years, she had learned how to let go many of her own past transgressions.

"Monster?" Artemis shook her head slowly and tilted Twilight chin up to look into her eyes. "The ponies we killed, those were monsters Twilight. Do you know how many innocent ponies lives we saved by killing those ponies? We saved the lives of thousands and kept Equestria the safe place it is today. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

Releasing Twilight and stepping back a bit before giving her a saucy smirk, Artemis said "Besides, if YOU are a monster... then I'm something far worse... and I probably need to be punished for it." She said, putting particularly emphasis on the word "punish" as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Twilight. She knew exactly what it would do.

Twilight had to stifle a giggle at that. Though the pegasus across from her was possibly one of the deadliest ponies in all of Equestria, after getting to know her, you couldn't call Artemis Night a monster.

Sighing as her laughter resided, she looked up at Artemis and said "So how do I deal with this? You told me once that you found a way to suppress it?"

Looking at the unicorn across from her, Artemis shook her head.

"You don't want to suppress this Twilight. When ponies start to suppress the regret, the remorse, the pain... that's when ponies like us become monsters."

Twilight flattened her ears a bit at that... in a way, she didn't want to feel at all any more, but she knew what would happen if she stopped feeling. They both did. They had seen it with their own eyes.

Twilight pushed the memory back as Artemis continued.

"However, I know one thing that has helped me to deal with these kinds of things throughout the years. Write it out."

Twilight gave her a quizzical look as she explained.

"Write it all out. Your regrets, your pain, your happiness, your joy. The good times, the bad times, everything. Write it out. Keep the scrolls, burn them, make 'em into a book if you want. It sounds a bit old-fashioned but it works."

At this Artemis smiled before adding "I should know."

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded slightly, then re-opened her eyes to look into Artemis's. A grateful smile on her lips.

"Thank you... for everything."

Artemis walked back to Twilight and wrapped her in another hug, whispering "You would do the same for me." before kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"In a heartbeat" Twilight replied.

Giving Twilight a slight squeeze, Artemis let go of Twilight and started to walk back down the stairs, calling up as she went down "Oh, and just so ya know, I'm heading over to Sugarcube Corner to pick up some things. Do you want anything? She asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"No thanks, I think I may do a bit of writing... Give your suggestion a try."

"Certainly wouldn't hurt. Be back in a few Twi."

"Ok" Twilight called down as she turned to look at her old writing station. She was hesitant. It looked as if it had aged with her. The surface, once pristine and polished, was now battered and stained. There were gouges from where heavy objects had landed, stains from the blood on surgical instruments. She cringed at the memories, then, looking back at the pedestal, sighed and levitated a scroll, quill and inkwell over to it. She would likely be writing for quite some time so she also levitated extra's over.

Can't be too careful, right?

At that thought, she stopped and chuckled to herself. It was almost like hearing herself from before. Always needing to be utterly prepared and organized. Maybe that's what had kept her from going mad? Shrugging to herself, she sat down and started writing. Writing out her own story.

This is my story. The story of how I Twilight Sparkle came to be a creature of legend. The story of how I changed.

Where to start though? She thought for only an instant before she knew. She started on that day... the day that changed everything.

When everything changed

Twilight awoke to a room just starting to gain some light in it. Glancing out her window, she noted that Celestia's sun was starting to warm the skyline, turning the azure blue into a warm, fiery yellow. Reluctantly stirring to leave the comfort of her sheets, she rolled out of bed. Careful to be quiet as Spike was still asleep in his basket at the foot of her bed. Making her way down the stairs and out of her room, she picked up her to-do list for the day right where it always was. On the kitchen counter.

Looking over the days to-do's, Twilight read the list off quietly to herself.

-Leave list of things for Spike to do on counter *list is in your saddlebags, center pocket
-Pick up food from market *see attached list
-Stop by Sugarcube Corner for snack *spend no more than 8 bits
-Go to Rarity's boutique to be fitted for outfit for meeting with the Princesses
-Check with Rainbow Dash for this weeks weather schedule
-Stop by Fluttershy's to pick up the Amethyst she found for Spike
-Stop by Applejack's for two bottles of Cider.
-Come back to Library
-Put food up in appropriate places *consult list of appropriate places on cupboard
-Re-organize books.

*move fiction to shelf B

*Magical References to be moved to shelf E

*Catalog changes and make notes on how Ponies take changes.

*move cookbooks to shelf C.

Satisfied with her list of necessary things to do, Twilight grabbed her saddlebags and quietly slipped out the door.

***About five minutes later

The alarm clock on Twilight's nightstand jolted Spike from his sleep. He remembered that Twilight had said they had to get an early start that morning, but didn't imagine that she meant getting up the same time the sun did! Drowsily walking over to the offending clock, Spike shut it off and let out a large yawn as he stretched. Today was going to be a long one, he could tell. He has half tempted to-

Turning around, he caught sight of a small note on his basket.

Dear Spike, Don't get back in bed after you shut off the alarm clock. I've left you a list of things to do while I'm out on the counter. If you get them all done by the time I get back, I'll have a special treat for you!

-Twilight Sparkle

P.S. I know you can do it my Number-One-Assistant!

Rolling his eyes and muttering to himself, Spike set about doing today's "chores." He was hoping today would be an "easy" day.

Just as he was about to head down the stairs, he belched, and in a fiery flash a letter appeared for Twilight. He didn't think about it much until he saw the seal on it. This was from... Princess Luna?

Twilight was making her trip fairly quickly. She'd even mapped out a route of how to get everything done in one big "round" pass. Already her saddlebags were full of groceries. She'd actually been able to make it out of the market for fewer bits than she had figured. The noon-day sun was starting to get a bit warm though even though it was early spring. Stopping by Rarity's boutique, Twilight prepared herself for what she was about to do.

Pushing the door open gently, the small bell rang to make her presence known.

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and magnifique! Oh, Hello Twilight!" The white unicorn greeted Twilight with a beaming smile.

"Shall we get to work then?"

That was a biiiit too enthusiastic... Twilight thought to herself.

"Yes, lets get started."

***Two hours later

Twilight looked good, the outfit matched her and the occasion at which it would be worn to a tee. No doubt when she actually got to her audience with the Princesses, she would at least be comfortable. But not presently. Presently, she was doing her level best to keep from flinching. There were so many pins holding up just the slightest fold of fabric so it fit Twilight perfectly.

It was a simple affair, Twilight had requested something a tad spartan for the fashionista's liking but it didn't stop her from making her friend look glamorous. A lovely evening gown of a shade of purple that matched Twilight's mane and tail. The whole design flowing and lightly adorned with a small cluster of diamonds at the neck. Stepping back, Rarity pondered as she paced around Twilight, her discerning eye looking for the slightest detail gone awry. Having circled twice, she was thoroughly satisfied.

"Perfect! Now to make the necessary adjustments."

Helping Twilight out of her dress, making sure not to accidentally stick her friend with any of the pins and putting the dress on a Ponyquin, Rarity then glanced up at the clock.

"Oh good heavens! I believe I took a bit longer than I thought I would. I have to go pick up some more material from the market."

Twilight had been ready for that, she knew fully well how carried away Rarity could get when she was designing something. She looked up at the clock on the wall then levitated her schedule over to her. She was actually ahead of schedule.

"Well, I'll let you get to that. I'm starting to get a bit hungry... skipped breakfast this morning." Twilight said as she realized why she was able to get out so early. She mentally face-hoofed for her missing that.

"Darling, you must take better care of yourself! Your figure won't stay like it is if you don't stay healthy." Rarity said nonchalantly.

Twilight blushed slightly at the statement as she mumbled her thanks.

Giving Twilight a slightly devious grin, Rarity noted and played off of her embarrassment.

"First time being complimented by another mare like that?"

"Uh... I... Um... yea." Twilight scuffed at the floor lightly. "Anyways, I'll get out of your mane. See ya later Rarity." And was darting out of the boutique as fast as she could.

Her friend couldn't help but chuckle at Twilight's reaction. "She is just too easy sometimes." She said quietly to herself as she closed the door behind herself to go get her material.

Twilight stopped by one of the stalls in the market and got a fresh-made dandelion sandwich and a glass of water.

I'm going to have to remember that stall, the food is nice. She thought to herself as she ate contentedly. Glancing up from her table, she noticed Applejack walking through the market.

"Hey, Applejack!" Twilight said, waving a hoof to flag her down.

"Howdy Twi, how are ya?" Applejack said as she sauntered up and took a seat across from Twilight.

"Good, I was going to drop by the acres to see if i could pick up a few things from you."

"Way ahead of ya Sugarcube." She said as she plopped her own saddlebags up onto the table.

"Two bottles of Sweet Apple Acres finest cider!" She said, pulling the bottles from the bags. "Ah was headin' this way anyways so Ah figured Ah'd save ya a trip if'n I caught ya."

Twilight smiled across at her friend. This would likely cut her time out of the library in half.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"Think nothin' of it sugarcube."

"So what are you up to today?" Twilight inquired.

"Well, Ah got to pay mah fees for using a certain stall in the market. They're not due for another week but Ah tend to try and make sure we're not rushed about it so Ah been payin' a week or so early to make it easier. Aside from that, got a pretty good bit of stuff t'get today. Mostly supplies for Granny Smith, she woke us all up last night cuz the Timberwolves was a-howlin'. Zap-Apple season's a-comin'!" Applejack said with a bit of excitement coloring her features at the mention of the Zap-Apple harvest.

"Sounds like fun!" Twilight said "Don't hesitate to give me a call if you want some help harvesting them."

"Ah'll likely hold ya to that Twi. Anywho, I gotta get goin'. You take care, ya hear?" Applejack said, sidling off of her seat just as a streak of cyan blur crash landed right into her, knocking the wind out of her.

"What in tarnation?! RAINBOW!!!" Applejack said, clearly upset about being hit by the weather pony.

"OMIGOSH!! IS THAT SWEET APPLE ACRES CIDER?!" Dash had ignored her question outright.

Putting herself between Dash and the bottles, Applejack said "Yea it is. If ya want some, drop by the acres later. These here are Twilight's!" In a defensive tone that served to deflate the excited pegasus.

"Ok. Sorry about flying into you like that." Dash said, scratching the back of her head with a hoof.

"Nothin' new under the sun there Rainbow." Applejack said rolling her eyes. "Anyways, you girls take care. I got to get goin'. Bye!"

The two friends waved as their friend trotted off to the center of the market. Dash was about to try and talk Twilight into letting her drink some of her cider, but got cut off as the unicorn spoke first.

"So Dash, I was going to talk to you later to day but since you're here do you know what the weather schedule is supposed to be for the week?"

"Oh yea, I was actually heading this way to leave the schedules at Town Hall." She said as she pulled a schedule from her saddlebags and handed it to Twilight.

"Sooo, can I have some of your-"

"No Rainbow, you've got two bottles waiting for you at Sweet Apple Acres whenever Applejack gets back there. You can wait." Twilight said with a smug smile as she put the two bottles into her saddlebags.

"I hate waiting... I could-"

"No good Dash, I've got to go see Fluttershy now."

"But... I... You..."

Twilight chuckled loudly as she walked away to go to Fluttershy's. "Bye Dash." Leaving Dash sitting there on the bench... without any cider. Seeing that she wasn't going to get any cider, Dash flew towards town hall to drop off the weather schedules for the week.

"I hate waiting..." she mumbled to herself as she took off.

The trot to Fluttershy's cottage didn't seem take too long, despite being past the outskirts of Ponyville on the edge of the everfree forest. Then again, Twilight hadn't had to track down Rainbow Dash or go all the way out to Sweet Apple Acres so she was still fairly refreshed after having eaten. She walked up to Fluttershy's door only to see her friend tending to a small garden on the other side of the brook that ran by her house. She yelled out to Fluttershy to let her know she was there. Wouldn't want to spook the timid pegasus after all.

Fluttershy looked up at her friend and smiled as she laid a carrot into the basket she had beside her.

"Hey Fluttershy, how are you today."

"Oh, I'm doing good Twilight. Thank you for asking" Fluttershy said in her usual quiet voice.

"Would you like a carrot?" She said gesturing to the basket beside her. "They're fresh."

"Actually, that sounds great." Twilight said. Even though it hadn't been long since she had eaten, a fresh carrot did sound nice.

"Oh, that Amethyst I found is inside. Let's go get it." Fluttershy said as she handed Twilight the carrot and picked up the basket to go inside.

Twilight munched thoughtfully on carrot as she walked towards Fluttershy's door. Depositing her saddlebags by the door.

"I'll be back in a second with that Amethyst, would you like to stay for some tea?" Fluttershy offered politely.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you Fluttershy."

"Oh, its no problem Twilight." she said as she walked out of the room.

A small white bunny carrying a mouse to its hole in the wall caught Twilight's eye. As the bunny set the mouse down, he turned and upon seeing Twilight, gave her a flat stare.

"Hello Angel, busy day today?" Twilight asked politely. While she didn't particularly care for Fluttershy's favorite pet, she was at least friendly towards him.

Rolling his eyes and shrugging, he hopped back towards the kitchen just as Fluttershy brought out a rather sizable amethyst and two glasses of tea all balanced on a tray that she had laid on her wings.

Levitating the tray off of Fluttershy's wings and on to the table, Twilight couldn't help but note the size of the gem before her. It was nearly the size of her head and a deep, lovely shade of purple. Spike really liked the purple ones.

"Wow Fluttershy! Where did you find this?!" Twilight asked, slightly awestruck at the gem.

"At the edge of the everfree. I was walking to see Zecora when a little glimmer caught my eye. I got some help from one of my badger friends and cleaned it off in the stream by my house. I thought Spike would like it. He works so hard for a baby dragon."

"Yea, he does... sometimes I forget just how much work he does. I think he'll LOVE this Fluttershy. Thank you."

"Oh its no problem Twilight. Are you sure it'll fit in your saddlebags?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the saddlebags by her door as she sipped on her tea. They were fairly stuffed as it was. She doubted either would hold the large gemstone.

Glancing over at the bags after she took a drink from her own cup, Twilight couldn't help but wonder that herself.

"Umm, now that you mention it... I might have to come back later and get it."

"Um... I could carry it for you and walk back... if you don't mind that is."

"You don't have to do that Fluttershy."

"I-It's ok Twilight. I don't mind." Fluttershy said with a slight smile.

"Oh... Ok then. If you're sure you don't mind."

"Oh I'm sure. I need to go into town anyways." Fluttershy said as Twilight finished her tea.

"Ok, we'll head out as soon as you're ready." Twilight said with a thankful smile.

"I'm ready. Make sure everybody's good while I'm gone Angel!" Fluttershy called towards the kitchen as she stepped of of the couch. The white bunny leaned around the corner and saluted quaintly before disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Shall we then?" Twilight asked, holding the door open for Fluttershy.

"Yes, lets." Fluttershy said with a giggle as they both put on their saddlebags and sauntered out of the house.

Spike had finished the chores Twilight had left him fairly quickly. He had kept an eye on the library, but nopony came in that day so he lounged around as he waited for Twilight to get back. He was starting to nod off as the front door opened and Twilight strolled in, jolting him from his sleep and into a sitting position before she could call out for him.

"Spike?"

"In here Twi." He said, calling out from the small alcove hidden by bookshelves. Something was nagging him in the back of his mind. Meh, I'll remember it in a bit. He thought to himself as he stood up and left the comfortable cushion he had been resting on.

"Sleeping on the job are we?" Twilight teased him as he walked from around the bookshelves.

"Heh, almost. Its been dead here all day!" He said as he looked from Twilight's smirk to her bulging saddlebags.

"Geez, you get enough groceries?"

"Ha-ha, keep that up Spike and I miiiight just not let you have this." Twilight said teasingly as she levitated the massive Amethyst from Fluttershy's saddlebags. Spikes eyes went wide as dinner plates the instant he clapped eyes on the purple gemstone.

"WHOA!!! WHAT AN AMETHYST!!" Spike said, drooling and licking his lips.

"You can have it after you help me put up all of these groceries." She said, placing it on the chandelier above them. The light streaming through and painting the ceiling in a multitude of beautiful purples and blues.

"Done!" Spike said as he ran into the kitchen, having grabbed the saddlebags from Twilight. Walking after him with a light snicker, she stopped before she went through the door and turned to thank Fluttershy.

"Thanks for this Fluttershy. Spike really appreciates it."

"Oh it's no problem Twilight. He deserves it. I guess I'll be off now. Have a nice night." Fluttershy said as she turned around and exited the library.

"Oh yea, Twilight... I almost forgot, a letter came for you today." Spike said from within the kitchen.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight inquired as she walked into the kitchen, seeing Spike had already started putting up the groceries.

"Nuh-uh... Princess Luna." Spike said in a confused voice as he pointed the letter out to Twilight.

"Princess Luna? But what could she-" Twilight was cut off as she broke the seal on the letter. In a flash of purple, the Unicorn vanished, leaving a startled Spike in the kitchen.

"Twilight?!!" Spike panicked for a minute. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

"Does this mean I can have my amethyst now?" He wondered aloud to himself. Shrugging his shoulders, he finished putting up the groceries and got the ladder from beside the fridge. It was time for a treat.

Seeing as it was Princess Luna, Spike wasn't worried about Twilight being safe. He had come to not be scared of her after nightmare night. In fact, Spike now thought Princess Luna was pretty cool since she wasn't Nightmare Moon any more.

Spike climbed up the ladder and was now staring at the lovely purple of the huge amethyst. Come to papa!

Learning a dark truth

In a bright flash of light, Twilight appeared in Princess Luna's bedchambers. Looking around, she discovered that nopony was there. Glancing at the windows, she saw that the sun had finally set. As she walked towards the doors to leave though, a piece of bright yellow paper that contrasted with the dark oaken doors caught her attention.

Twilight Sparkle,

My deepest apologies for summoning you like this.
However, I am afraid that there was no other alternative...
for our meeting must be kept a secret. I shall explain upon
my sisters arrival, for she will need to be present as well.

-Princess Luna

**P.S. Feel free to help thyself to the fruit basket upon the nightstand if thou hungers.

Twilight glanced over to the basket. Some of the finest fresh fruit from all over Equestria was in the basket. How could she resist that after her long day?! She gingerly picked up a strawberry and bit down, the exquisite flavor of the fresh fruit rolling over her taste buds. She finished the morsel before her ears picked up something that she hadn't noticed before. The sound of classical music and running water. Turning her gaze over to the direction from which the sounds were coming, Twilight saw the door of what she only guessed was Luna's personal bath. Shrugging as she looked back over at the fruit basket, Twilight caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. The main doors had opened, and in walked none other than Princess Celestia.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight said excitedly.

Celestia turned her head towards Twilight, a slightly surprised expression painted across her features.

"Ah, hello my faithful student. What brings you to Canterlot?" Celestia asked as she closed the door behind her.

"A- Actually Princess... I was hoping YOU could tell me that."

"Ah." Celestia said as she spied the note on the door. "I take it then that Luna-"

Any further speech from Celestia was cut off as the door to Luna's bath flew open and the alicorn of the night walked out in a cloud of steam. It seems she had heard Twilight's outburst and knew that both parties where present and the door had been closed.

"Twilight Sparkle. Sister. I'm glad you could make it, for we have much to talk about."

"So, let us begin." Luna said.

"Um, Princess Luna... not to interrupt, but why did you bring me here?" Twilight inquired before Luna could get started.

"We are getting to that, and I suggest thou listens well Twilight Sparkle... for the topic of which I speak is no trifling matter." Luna said as her expression grew grim, instantly changing Celestia's attitude.

"What do you mean sister?"

"I'm afraid a darkness unlike any other has started to creep its way through Equestria. It has started to show up in many of our major cities. Manehattan, Las Pegasus, even Canterlot itself. A corruption that would make even Nightmare Moon and Discord look like child's play. For this corruption lies within many of our little ponies, and is led by one that..."

Luna halted and sighed before continuing.

"and is led by one that I thought to be gone. Lost to time itself." Luna hung her head at her last statement.

"Sister, you don't mean..." Celestia started to ask, halting before she could finish. She didn't want to think that what she thought may be true.

"Yes... one of my... My "children" Tia. They have fallen down a path that I cannot save them from. Nor can I alone stop them. Which is why I called upon Twilight Sparkle. Tia... she's one of the only ponies we can trust." Luna said with tears starting to stream from her eyes.

Celestia's eyes grew as she processed what Luna meant.

"What are your intentions sister?"

"I intend to ask Twilight for help. However, I shall let her choose whether she helps us or not. I shall not force this on her Tia, for I could not live with myself if I did so." Luna turned her head away and whispered. "Not again."

"Um... Princess Celestia, Princess Luna?" Twilight inquired. "Pardon my bluntness, but what the hay are you two talking about?"

Luna turned to face Twilight and said "I'm afraid I must ask you something that I have asked of nopony for well over 1000 years, Twilight Sparkle. I must ask that you become a... actually, it would be better if I just showed you." Luna said, looking to Celestia.

Giving her younger sister a small nod, conveying her reluctant approval, Celestia braced herself for what was about to come next by casting a soundproofing spell on the room.

Luna turned back towards Twilight and closed her eyes. Twilight watched with a mix of fascination and horror as Princess Luna grew a set of fangs, the moon in her cutie mark turned to blood-red and her billowing mane and tail became as black as the darkest shadows. Opening her eyes, irises now as red as her cutie mark, and looking upon Twilight, Luna continued what she had been saying previously.

"I must ask that you become a child of the night... A-" Luna again hesitated. "A Vampony, Twilight Sparkle."

"WHAT?!!" Twilight shouted. Celestia's head snapped to look at her faithful student, expecting to see a look of terror. However, she was somewhat relieved to see a slight smile on Twilight's lips though she looked at Luna with eyes opened to their max."

Then both of the royal sisters got a surprise. Twilight started laughing.

"Aaahahahahahaha!!! A Vampony! Good one Princess!" Twilight said mirthfully.

"Dost thou think we jest, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked, rather vexed that the purple unicorn wasn't taking her seriously.

Twilight stopped laughing to look at Luna, the smile still on her face, but a hint of doubt in her eyes... was Luna serious?

"Well, yea. Vamponies aren't... real... are they?" Twilight looked at Luna but received no answer. Only Luna's flat stare. Panicked, her smile instantly faded as she looked to Celestia.

"She's joking... right?" Twilight said, looking to her mentor as a truly worried expression crossed her features.

"I'm... afraid not, my faithful student. Vamponies ARE real, and Luna is indeed a vampony. Queen of the Vamponies for that matter." Celestia said, nodding her head towards her sister, who had returned to her normal appearance.

"But then-... I-... you..." Twilight stammered as the full force of what was being asked of her hit home.

She once again surprised the alicorns before her. She shook her head and visibly calmed before them. Looking back over to Princess Luna, Twilight spoke calmly, asking the questions she though she would need to know the answers to.

"So, how many of the vampony legends are true?"

"Not much of the common vampony lore is true. How ever, some myths are true. As you could probably guess, you will have to take blood, but not much, and not often."

"How much is 'not much' Princess Luna?"

"No more than a few mouthfuls."

As Twilight asked Luna several questions, Celestia couldn't help but be rather impressed with her faithful student. Many ponies would have bolted for the door by now. However, Twilight was responding in her usual way. Trying to learn. Suddenly a thought hit her.

"Luna, do you still have that book tucked away? The one with your in-depth study on vamponies?" Celestia asked, interrupting an explanation from Luna.

"Yes I do. Why would-" Realization dawned on Luna, causing her to break into a smile.

"I believe I know what you're getting at Tia."

An indigo aura levitated a few books from her bookshelf in sequence before opening a small compartment hidden within the shelf. From this compartment, Luna pulled a small black book and presented it to Twilight.

"This book is essentially every truth about vamponies. What is written here are my observations of not only myself, but when they were many, of my "children" as well. If you like, you may read through this and decide. For within this lies every strength, every weakness, every pain. Most anything you can ask is in this book. Do you wish to read it?"

The scholar could not resist. She was being presented with the possibility to gain knowledge about something that up until mere minutes before, she had thought to be only legend. She reached out with her own magical aura and accepted the book from the princess. However, something was nagging at her. A question she had to ask.

"If I read this and decide no... will I remember what happened here tonight?"

Luna cocked her head slightly, giving Twilight a quizzical look. "Why would you not remember what transpires here tonight Twilight Sparkle?"

"Well, I guess I was worried that if I said no that you would... erase my memory." Twilight replied sheepishly.

The royal sisters looked at each other, then back to Twilight before each began to laugh gently.

"Fear not Twilight, for we know thou to be a trustworthy pony."

"Indeed my faithful student, your memories will not be tampered with. No matter your reply."

Twilight posed another question to the two alicorns before her.

"Luna, you said that Equestria is in danger... right?"

"Correct, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight set the book down onto the side of Luna's bed and walked over to the window. Pulling back the curtains to allow the light of the full moon to stream into the room, Twilight looked up at the brilliant white orb, her thoughts consuming her.

"Answer me this." Twilight said, posing a question she had not yet asked. " If I do this, will I be able to go out during the day. Live a fairly normal life?"

"Yes, you will Twilight. This is a powerful blessing, not the curse that many have made it out to be. But with that blessings power comes a great responsibility. A responsibility we trust you with." Luna said, walking over to Twilight to gaze at the moon as well.

Turning to the lunar regent, Twilight steeled herself.

"Then I... accept. I will help to protect Equestria."

Luna looked upon Twilight slightly awestruck.

"Make no mistake, this is no small matter my faithful student." Celestia said as she walked to stand beside her sister. "This is something that shall forever change your life."

"I understand, but-"

"My sister is correct, Twilight Sparkle." Luna gestured to the book Twilight had set down. "Take with you that book, study it. Take some time to think about this."

Twilight was about to object slightly when Luna raised a hoof.

"We shall call thee back in three days hence. Aside from the other Elements of Harmony, do not speak of this to anypony. We know that they can be trusted."

Allowing a resigned sigh to escape her, Twilight complied. Though she didn't always understand why the royal sisters did the things they did, she trusted that their judgement, as it had in the past, would yield the results Equestria needed.

"I suppose I'll see you in three days then?" Twilight asked the royal sisters. With a nod of their heads, Twilight walked past them and picked up the book before turning back to them.

"We shall arrange a carriage to take you back to Ponyville." Luna said, walking towards the dark oaken doors and opening them, quietly sending one of her lunar guards to do her bidding.

"Ok, I'll wait by the gardens." Twilight said as she trotted out of the room quietly.

Celestia watched from the balcony as one of Luna's carriages flew away from Canterlot. Whisking Twilight back to Ponyville.

"Thou worries sister?" Luna asked as she joined her sister on the balcony.

"How could I not? My faithful student... she may choose a path that, while protecting Equestria from this new evil... may put her in more danger than she has ever been in before. You know full well that she could die Luna. So many of my little ponies, many our own personal guard, have already fallen. How could I not worry about her?" Celestia said, the sadness and worry evident in her voice.

"Fear not sister... for Twilight Sparkle shall not be alone should she take this path. However, thou may be surprised by whom shall accompany her."

Celestia turned to face her sister. "Who?"

"Do you remember when this kingdom was young, before my... banishment?" Luna asked, seemingly going off-topic.

"Yes, I do remember."

"Then you will remember many of my children from before then. Yes?"

"Yes? Luna, where are you going with this?" Celestia asked, her confusion evident on her features.

"Do you remember the huntress, Night?"

Celestia's pupils shrank and she froze in place as she whispered the name, half-terrified. "Artemis?!!"

"One and the same dear sister... No doubt you had heard that she died some 600 years ago. Correct?"

"Yes... but how do you know that? You were on the moon." Any subtlety on Celestia's part had flown out the proverbial window.

"I have my ways. I know you have been keeping tabs on my children sister. However, I do know where Artemis is. Without Twilight's help though... bringing her back will be... difficult."

"Bringing her back? She's dead!" Celestia nearly shouted.

Luna remained surprisingly calm as she glanced over at Celestia and quietly asked. "Is she?"

Celestia's eyes bulged and she froze in place as she mirrored her sisters question. "Is she?"

Luna looked up at the moon and said "Not quite... and I feel that shortly, Twilight Sparkle will meet the eternal huntress." And with that, she walked back inside. Leaving a shocked Celestia out on the balcony.

Looking up at the night sky as the wind picked up, Celestia whispered to herself "Faust help us!" And walked back into the palace. She wouldn't be sleeping well tonight.

A storm was brewing.

Dark memories

Twilight woke up late the next morning. The late-night trip back from Canterlot had taken a lot out of her.

That... and finding out that one of the rulers of Equestria was a vampony, being asked to defend Equestria from some terrible evil then being told to truly think about her decision.

"Uuugh..." Twilight said, flopping face-first into her pillow. This was going to be a mess and she knew it.

"Aside from the other Elements of Harmony, do not speak of this to anypony." Luna's words ran through her head. Why would she need to talk about this with her friends? They wouldn't be turned into vamponies... would they?

A million scenario's ran through her mind. She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Discord would be having a field day with my brain right now." Twilight mumbled into her pillow.

"Hey Twilight, you want some breakfast?" Spike said, breaking Twilight's storm of thoughts. Turning her head over to look, she saw the small dragon next to her bed with a tray.

Smells like pancakes.

She smiled at him as she sat up.

"Thanks Spike, its been a rough night." Twilight said tiredly.

"Everything go okay in Canterlot?" Spike asked.

"How did you know I was in Canterlot?" Twilight asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Well, for one... when you disappear in a flash when you open a letter from Princess Luna and return in one of her carriages. It's a pretty safe bet that you were in Canterlot." He said, smiling at his own deductive reasoning.

"Good logic." Twilight said with a slight smile.

"Two, You brought back a new book with Princess Luna's royal seal on it." The young dragon said as pointed at the small black book.

Twilight looked at it. The book before her held a large amount of ancient knowledge about a myth turned reality before her very eyes. Would she dare to venture into this dark world?

"Spike." Twilight said, still staring at the book.

"Yea?" Spike replied, giving Twilight a curious look.

"I need you to get one of my blank 300 page journals, quills and two ink wells. I have a lot of work to do." Twilight said, her eyes alight with the excitement that Spike had become used to seeing whenever Twilight was about to throw herself headlong into a project.

"You got it Twi!" Spike said, throwing her a salute as he scurried to get the materials.

"This is going to take a while." Twilight said with a sigh as she started on her breakfast.

The next three days passed with little happening in Twilight's life. She occasionally ventured out for a walk or to talk to one of her friends, always avoiding the subject of why she was locking herself in the library. Not that they ever asked. It wasn't too unusual for Twilight to lock herself in the library for days at a time with nopony seeing her when she worked on a project.

Most of the first day had been used to copy the book which Princess Luna had let her borrow. Though Spike had asked, Twilight kept the subject she was studying a secret, reasoning with him that the princesses had told her to discuss it with nopony... not even him. Spike had merely shrugged and went along his way. It wan't to far fetched that Twilight would be working on something confidential like that so he left it be. She had absorbed a lot of the information in doing so and had a pretty good base, she thought, of what it was to be a vampony.

Though it was a daunting thing, she still wanted to protect Equestria. She HAD to protect Equestria. She was the element of magic!

But why didn't Luna call upon ALL of the Elements of Harmony? again, the niggling voice in the back of her head asked her.

Twilight looked out her window. She knew her time was running out as the last vestiges of sunlight slowly slipped behind the horizon on the third day.

Soon...

Releasing a resigned sigh, Twilight went downstairs and prepared herself to hear the knock on the door of the Lunar Stallions that Luna would no doubt send to pick her up. She then remembered that she needed to return Luna's book to her. Returning upstairs, Twilight was startled to see Princess Luna herself materialize out of the shadows of her room.

The alicorn of the night looked at Twilight with a stoic expression.

"Have you made your choice, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight hesitated for an instant, taking a deep breath before looking the lunar princess in the eyes.

"I have. I accept your request. I will defend Equestria, with my life if necessary."

Luna closed her eyes and hung her head slightly before sighing and looking back at Twilight.

"Twilight, I must ask you to see something. It will be your last chance to refuse. If you do so, no ill will shall be kept between us."

Twilight looked at the princess, a confused expression on her face.

"What do you mean Princess?"

"If you will permit me, I will show you what the true curse of the vampony is." Luna said, halting before she continued.

"I wish to show you a memory, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight watched as a silent tear slipped from the princesses eye. She wondered to herself what she would see. What could make the queen of vamponies cry? Walking over to the lunar alicorn, Twilight placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

"Show me Princess... I'm ready."

The princess looked at Twilight and slowly shook her head, tears still streaming down her face as the tip of her horn started to glow.

"No, Twilight Sparkle... you are not."

And with that, she touched their horns together, the memories of the princess flooding Twilight's brain.

Twilight looked upon Luna and a solid black unicorn mare. The room around her was a dark room with the exception of a fire crackling in the hearth and the moonlight filtering through the stained glass windows across from it. She couldn't help but notice how much younger Luna looked. The unicorn and luna's lips were moving but she could hear nothing except her own breathing.

"This is in the old castle. One hundred years before Nightmare Moon even came to be." Luna said, a bit of nostalgia showing through her voice. Twilight hadn't even noticed that she was standing beside her.

Jumping at the sudden sound of Luna's voice, Twilight started snapping her head back and forth, looking at the two Luna's. Twilight was confused.

"How are there-"

"Two of me? I'm here to watch this memory as well. This is how my sister saw everything."

"This is Celestia's memory?" Twilight asked, a bit of shock playing on her face.

"Yes... After I had agreed, Tia said that though she could not bear to lay down the blow, that she would be there to bid farewell to one of her dearest friends."

"Lay down the blow? W-what do you mean Princess?" Twilight implored before the princess silenced her with the raise of a hoof and gesturing towards the scene in front of them. Sadness thick in her voice as she spoke.

"Let us watch." Luna said as Twilight began to hear what the phantoms in front of her were saying.

"I can't do this! I just CAN'T!!!" The memory Luna said, hanging her head sobbing as the unicorn before her looked upon Luna with sympathetic eyes.

"I know what you are feeling Luna. I felt the same way with every one of my friends. My family. My... " the black unicorn stopped momentarily, tears beginning to trickle down her face.

"My love."

"You're my friend, m-my teacher! I- I... I can't... I WON'T kill you!"

Twilight's eyes went wide as she heard the words echo in her mind and realization struck her. The vampony that had turned Luna had asked her own student to kill her.

"Luna... please". Tears started to roll down the unicorn's face. "I want you to do this."

The memory Luna's breath was shaky as she looked up at the unicorn before her.

"I would rather die at your hooves than those of a vampony hunter... please." the unicorn whispered as she put a comforting hoof on Luna's shoulder.

Luna looked into the black unicorn's teal eyes, tears still flowing from them both as she quietly sobbed and stood up on her hind hooves. "I'm sorry."

The unicorn looked back at her and upon standing and stabilizing herself by putting a hoof on Luna's shoulder, smiled sadly. "So am I." and with that looked to Luna's right hoof.

A blade of dragons scale, enchanted by the unicorn herself was being held to Luna's hoof by magic. The blade had been in her possession for thousands of years. A gift from an old friend in the dragon lands, long gone now. She had enchanted it and carried it for all those years, the blade still gleaming brightly. She had given her beloved his death with that blade... just like she had delivered death to many of her friends, her children, all dead now except her.

Now, she had asked Luna to bring her own death with that very blade.

Luna shakily brought the blade up to the mares chest before looking up at her. The unicorn nodded and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, Twilight saw only the unicorn before her. The sadness in her eyes and on her smile. She felt her hoof resting on the mares shoulder, she felt the blade in her magical grasp.

She was seeing through Luna's eyes. She was experiencing what Luna had all those years ago.

Almost in unison, Luna lunged forward as the mare before her leaned in. The blade sliding through her heart until the hilt was upon her chest. Luna's eyes screwed shut as she started quietly sobbing.

The unicorn mare took a sharp breath in and grimaced as her breathing became ragged. She clutched Luna's weeping form tightly before half-opening her eyes and steadying herself, raising Luna's chin to look into her eyes one last time. With a labored breath and a sad smile as tears streamed down her face, she whispered her final words to her student and friend.

"Thank you."

The mare slumped back onto Luna as her life-blood drained into a pool at their feet.

Luna cried out before she bit down onto the mares neck. Her fangs piercing the skin and allowing her to receive one last gift from her.

Her memories.

Even as Twilight went back to observing the scene before her, the memories of thousands of years flashed through her mind's eye.

Looking beside her to the real Luna, she saw the Princess of the Night silently crying. Her eyes still riveted on the scene in front of her.

Not even looking at Twilight, she spoke

"This was not the first time I had killed. My sister's and my ascension to power was not without bloodshed. Since that day though, I have killed nopony. That very blade is now hidden within Canterlot Castle. Should the day come when I wish to end my own life, I may ask you to do so for me Twilight Sparkle." Luna said, her voice somewhere between anguish and cold.

Twilight was horrified. She couldn't possibly kill Princess Luna! How could she even SAY something like that?!

"Why are you telling me this? Why are you showing me this?" She asked, tears streaming down her muzzle as she heard the dream Luna's cries of anguish.

"Because, Twilight Sparkle... the path of which I am offering you does have one curse. The curse of immortality. While it is possible for a vampony to be killed, they cannot die of any natural cause. If not killed, a vampony could conceivably live forever. This is why my sister and I have told you to consider carefully. The book I gave you has much knowledge of vampony attributes, but what that book holds, does no justice in how a vampony actually feels when they must kill their own friends or to watch as the steady march of time claims them." Luna said, still looking at the scene before her.

Twilight turned, tears slightly blurring her vision as she heard a familiar voice.

She died happy Luna. You gave her the final happiness she wished for.

It was Celestia's sad voice that echoed through the memory as it started to fade from view into black.

That voice still rang in Twilight's ears as she snapped out of her trance, looking into the eyes of the alicorn before her. Tears still streaming down both of their cheeks as Luna asked Twilight a final question.

"Do you still wish to accept, Twilight Sparkle, given what you have just seen?"

"I- I... Yes." Twilight said, wiping away her tears

"Why?"

Twilight steeled herself. "Because, if there is a power that can save Equestria, I will accept it. If it comes with a curse, so be it. I will not allow Equestria to fall to ruin because I was scared."

Luna closed her eyes and turned to the open balcony doors.

"So be it, Twilight Sparkle. Come, my sister awaits us at Canterlot Castle."

Twilight walked over to the princess of the night and stood beside her as the princesses magic started to encase them in an indigo glow. In a flash of bright light they were gone.

**about ten minutes later

Spike knocked on Twilight's door.

"Hey Twilight, what do you want for-" Spike stopped when he opened the door. Nopony was there.

"Supper. Huh... that's wier-" Any speech was cut of as Spike burped, and in a burst of green flame, appeared a message with Princess Luna's royal seal. It was addressed to... him?

Opening the letter, Spike read the small message within.

Dear Spike,

I have been called to Canterlot on a small matter. I should be back in a few days time.
Don't worry about me and put the "closed" sign on the library door. If you need anything,
head over to Pinkie Pie's house. I've already sent word to her and the cakes that you may be arriving.

Be good my Number One Assistant!

-Twilight Sparkle

"Meh, whatever. Spike said, packing a small bag and after putting the sign on the door, started strolling towards Sugarcube Corner.

Transformation

Twilight breathed in deeply. She had just sent messages to Spike and Pinkie Pie so Spike would be okay while she was gone.

While she was being... changed.

Twilight looked out of the window to the moon, her emotions wreaking havoc on her as she contemplated what was coming next. What she knew was coming next.

She remembered what she had read in the book Luna had let her borrow.

Hearing muffled hoofbeats on the carpeted floor behind her, Twilight turned to glance over her shoulder. Princess Luna was standing behind her, a sympathetic look in her eyes as she spoke.

"Are you ready, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight looked back out the window to the moon, silent tears streaming from her eyes as she replied.

"Yes."

With that, she wiped her eyes, turned and walked past the princess and through the open door behind her.

Looking around, she saw a haunting resemblance to the room she had seen in Luna's memories in what lay before her. A fire crackled in the hearth before her as moonlight tinted purple streamed in through the stained glass windows of the small sanctuary. She heard Luna close the door behind her. Glancing over her shoulder once again, she saw Luna's horn glow as she cast several spells. She knew many of them, soundproofing spells, barrier spells, many of which only the caster could take down.

Twilight was going nowhere.

"Twilight, My Faithful Student."

Twilight looked towards the voice to see Celestia as she rose from her seat in front of the fire. The Princess of the sun walked over to the purple unicorn with tears in her eyes, betraying what true feelings lay behind the stoic expression she wore.

"You don't have to do this you know..." Celestia said.

"Yes Princess... I do."

In Twilight's mind, there was no turning back now.

Celestia merely nodded before she pulled her beloved student in close for a comforting hug. Upon releasing her grip, Celestia looked over to Luna and backed away.

Turning to Luna, Twilight saw the alicorn walk towards her. Her fangs glinting in the firelight as her crimson irises conveyed the hesitation Luna still harbored.

Closing her eyes, Twilight leaned her head to the side, exposing her neck to Luna. She felt the princesses warm breath on her neck as she hesitated slightly.

"Its okay Princess Luna..." She cracked her eyes open and smiled weakly "I'm ready."

Luna opened her mouth as though to speak, then simply nodded and moved to Twilight's neck.

Twilight had just closed her eyes again as she felt the sharp pain of Luna's fangs as they pierced her skin and sank into her flesh. Luna grabbed her and forced her, a bit roughly, to the ground. Pinning her with her front hooves.

Mere seconds after that, Twilight's world exploded in pain.

She felt as though the very fires of Tartarus coursed through her veins. Every bone felt as though it had been shattered. Even her eyes felt as though they were melting within their very sockets.

Her screams echoed through the room, causing both Luna and Celestia to cringe as Luna withdrew her fangs from Twilight's neck and stepped back. Both watching as Twilight's transformation took place before their very eyes.

For what felt like an eternity, every breath Twilight took brought her pain. Every motion was excruciating, as though her body was tearing itself apart.

How long had the pain plagued her? Twilight didn't know. She only breathed slowly, now that the pain had subsided. Her eyes remained closed as she rested.

"Twilight?" Celestia's concerned voice rang in her ears. Somehow, her voice sounded even more comforting now.

She opened her eyes and gazed upon Celestia and Luna, blinking repeatedly to try and clear the painful fog lingering in her head.

"How do you feel Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked.

"Oh Faust, that hurt! I feel better now though." Twilight said as she lifted her head to look at the princesses, trying to make light of the tremendous pain she had felt.

"Look in the mirror. See what you have become." Luna said, gesturing towards a mirror on an adjacent wall.

Standing up, Twilight was surprised that she wasn't shaking at the knees. For that matter, she didn't feel weak at all... she felt... Great! Walking over to the mirror, Twilight was further shocked at what she saw. She... she-

She looked AMAZING!!

She had gotten a bit taller. Though not quite as tall as Celestia, she was a bit taller than she had been. Her previously unimpressive figure had blossomed. She looked over the now-toned muscles of her legs, the supple curves in her flanks and the lustrous shimmer in her coat. She couldn't help but check herself out a little.

"Hehe, I'd probably give Fleur de Lis a run for her money!" Twilight mumbled to herself as she looked back in the mirror to see her eyes.

Her previously purple irises had given way to the crimson ones that Luna had. Somehow though, hers looked slightly darker than Luna's. She then noticed her fangs. They extended a bit past her lips when her mouth was closed. Smiling at the mirror, Twilight saw that her fangs were actually quite long and sharp.

"There is one last thing that needs be done, Twilight." Luna said, bringing Twilight's attention back to the two celestial sisters.

"Oh?" Twilight said, her eyes bulging a bit as she heard her own voice. It had a smooth, almost sultry undertone that she hadn't noticed before.

"Yes. Come." Luna said, giggling at Twilight's expression and gesturing for her to come closer.

Doing so, Twilight found her gaze drawn to Luna's neck. She heard both of the princesses hearts as they beat in their chests.

"In order to complete the transformation, you must feed." Luna said, tilting her head to the side and offering her neck to Twilight.

Twilight was shocked. Part of her wanted to say no, that she would find some other pony. She didn't want to hurt the princess. Another part was screaming at her to lunge forward, to take the princesses blood, to feed.

"What?! I-I can't drink your blood!! What if I hurt you?!" Twilight all but shouted at the lunar alicorn.

The princess rolled her eyes and gave Twilight a bemused look.

"Fear not, Twilight Sparkle. You won't hurt me. Now come... feed."

"B-but... I..." Twilight stammered as her resolve grew weaker. The heartbeat of the alicorn in front of her was now the only thing she could hear. It seemed to shake the walls and the very floor under her hooves with every beat.

And Luna knew she was on the edge.

"Feed, my little vampony."

No further urging was needed.

In a single swift movement, Twilight had closed the distance between her and Luna, pinning her to the wall which was behind her. Pure animal instinct taking over as she ran her muzzle over Luna's neck. Feeling the blood pumping just beneath the skin, Twilight sank her fangs into Luna's neck, closed her eyes and started to drink.

Luna winced slightly as she was pinned to the wall, she knew EXACTLY what Twilight was experiencing. She had experienced the same thing over a thousand years ago. She felt the gentle caress of Twilight's muzzle over her neck, causing her to gasp softly at the intimate contact. Then, the points of Twilight's fangs grazed over her skin lightly, making her shudder briefly before they sank into her neck.

The princesses blood poured into Twilight's mouth. The taste could only be described as exquisite. It was as if every heavenly body, every star in the sky, had given part of its beauty into the taste Twilight now greedily gulped down. Before long, she felt full. Taking one last mouthful and savoring its decadent flavor as she swallowed it, Twilight pulled her fangs from Luna's neck and licked the wounds. She was surprised to find that they had healed almost instantly. She stepped away from Luna and wiped a hoof across her mouth before opening her eyes.

The expressions that Celestia and Luna wore were an utterly shocked expression and a rueful smile respectively.

"I-I..." Twilight stammered as her eyes went wide and she backpedaled quickly. She now realized just what she had done.

"You did well for a freshly fledged vampony." Luna said, rubbing a hoof over the spot Twilight had just bitten. "Even knew to lick the wounds to heal them."

"I did WHAT now?" Twilight asked. She had just attacked one of the princesses and was being told she did well by the very same princess?!

"Most fledglings forget that detail after they feed. It can lead to... unfortunate accidents."

Luna's meaning clicked instantly in Twilight's mind.

"So if I hadn't licked your wounds, you could have... DIED?!"

Luna chucked at Twilight.

"Most certainly not. However, with other ponies, that is a possibility."

Celestia shook her head, the initial shock of seeing her faithful student pin her sister against a wall and drink her blood wearing off a bit as she composed herself before she cleared her throat.

"Ahem"

Luna and Twilight both looked at Celestia before the white alicorn cast a sidelong smirk towards her sister.

"I believe you do owe Twilight a-"

AAAAAAHHH!!!

Twilight's scream ripped once again through the air, rooting both of the royal sisters in their place and causing them to look at the unicorn now writhing on the ground before them.

"Twilight! What's wrong?!"

Barely had the words left Celestia's lips than she saw two large lumps pushing their way up from either side of Twilight's spine. Both sisters gasped in astonishment and horror as they watched a pair of wings explode violently from Twilight's back, ripping her flesh and spraying blood everywhere. Upon their reaching their full height, Twilight passed out cold. Her blood pooling at her sides as the wounds slowly started to heal.

"LUNA, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Celestia bellowed at her sister, accidentally slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"I-I don't know! Nothing like this has EVER happened before Tia!!" Luna said, her eyes wide as she rushed to Twilight's side.

Luna looked at Twilight's wings. They resembled her own wings as well as Celestia's in that they were longer than normal pegasus wings. The wounds were already closing around the base of the wings.

"Luna?" Celestia said, asking an unspoken question.

"She will be okay Tia. The wounds are already closing and forming new flesh. She should be up and about within the hour. In the meantime, she needs rest. Shall we take her to my quarters?" Luna said, glancing up at her sister after finishing her question.

"Would it not be better to take her to the infirmary?" Celestia inquired of her sister, her slight suspicion playing through to her voice.

"I'm sorry Tia, but swear them to secrecy though we might... Ponies will talk."

Celestia knew her sister was right. Even though the palace staff were all cleared and could be sworn to secrecy at any time... a matter such as this was not to be trusted with anypony until such time as Twilight could either hide or explain her new... additions.

Nodding slightly, Celestia said: "So be it, lower your spells and we will teleport straight to your room."

Lowering her spells, Luna cradled Twilight's head as they were teleported in a flash of white light.

In that same instant, they appeared in Luna's room. Twilight's bleeding had slowed to a trickle but was still coating the unicorn's coat.

"Orpheus, Erebos." Luna said aloud.

"Who are you-" Celestia started but stopped as two lunar stallions materialized out of the shadows, causing her blood to run cold as she saw their fangs.

"Milady, you beckoned?" The larger of the two stallions said, his deep, rumbling voice echoing through the moonlit room as both stallions bowed respectfully.

"Yes. Erebos, take with you another stallion and clean up the mess in the hearth. Orpheus, I need you to do as we discussed... it won't be long now."

The smaller of the stallions bowed his head and walked out the large oaken doors, taking with him one of the guards outside of the chamber he had come from. The larger of the two stayed, for he had questions he knew to ask.

"What message shall I deliver?"

"Summon her to the palace, We need her here... Tonight. Tell her to clear her plans for the next two nights and that she will be... compensated."

"Yes, Milady." And with that, the large stallion walked back into the shadows and disappeared before Celestia's eyes.

"Luna...?"

"... Yes, Tia?"

"Those weren't normal Lunar Stallions... were they?"

"... No. They are part of my small, personal elite guard. " Luna said as she levitated a first aid kit to herself, pulling out a pad of gauze to wipe up what blood was left. Twilight's wounds had closed during her conversation with the lunar guards.

"Such a quick healer..." Luna mumbled to herself.

"Are they..." Celestia started to ask.

"Vamponies? Yes. I know you saw their fangs Tia."

"You said you hadn't asked anypony of this for well over 1000 years Luna. How then, are they vamponies?" Celestia asked her sister, an accusatory undertone playing in her voice.

"I hadn't asked that of anypony for over 1000 years. They are of my oldest children Tia... They returned to me shortly after I was cleansed of Nightmare Moon. They came to stay by my side once again." Luna said flatly, picking up another gauze pad as the other one had become soaked with blood.

Placated slightly by her sisters answers, Celestia walked over to her sister and sat down beside her, helping to clean Twilight's coat of blood.

Yet, many questions still lingered in Celestia's mind.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*

"Alright! Alright!! Geez! Cool your burners!" The white unicorn said as she walked towards the door.

"It's not enough that it's 3 A.M. and I'm still awake but-" She stopped talking as she saw the lunar stallion in front of her as she opened her door.

"You can drop the 'it's too late for this' act... we both know better." The stallion said, his deep voice rumbling as he looked upon the unicorn with an unreadable expression.

Looking around to make sure nopony else was around, she invited him in with a motion of her head and closed the door behind him.

"Okay, what's up? Something big has to have happened for YOU to show up on my doorstep." She said quietly, as though the walls had ears.

"The princess has summoned you to the palace, immediately. She instructs that you clear the next two nights of any activities. You will be compensated for your troubles." The stallion explained, his stoic mask breaking into a toothy smile that revealed his fangs as he addressed the mare before him.

"Why?"

"Because, Melody Snow... We know that you are the only one who knows where the tomb of Artemis Night is. You are the sole carrier of that information, because you are the one who put her in that tomb after she turned you. I know, because Artemis herself told me you would be."

The unicorn's eyes grew wide at that statement.

"Yes." The stallion whispered. "We are going to resurrect Artemis, the time has come."

The mare shook her head, snapping herself back into reality before she spoke.

"Alright. Let's go. You're lucky, I've got the next three days off anyways."

As they walked towards the door, the unicorn picked up a pair of sunglasses by the door and with a toss of her electric blue mane, cleared the hair from her eyes before she put the sunglasses on despite the late hour.

"Oh, and by the way..." The mare said as they started out the door.

"The name's Vinyl now..." She smiled, revealing her own fangs as she continued.

"Vinyl Scratch."

Stories

Twilight groaned slightly as she awoke. She didn't want to open her eyes, she didn't even want to move.

She felt exhausted.

"Miss Sparkle?" A deep, rumbling voice inquired.

THAT caused Twilight's eyes to snap open as she sat up rather abruptly. Almost immediately she regretted doing so. The muscles in her back tensed painfully, causing her to fall back to the bed she was in.

Wait... BED?!!! A DEEP VOICE?! WHERE THE BUCK AM I?!!!

Her eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings. She was in Princess Luna's room... On her bed. She almost started to relax until she saw a massive lunar stallion, even bigger than Big Mac, approaching her.

"Stay back!" Twilight shouted as she scrambled along the bed, instinctively trying to back away from the large stallion.

Looking up, she saw that the stallion had stopped and was looking at her with a perplexed expression.

"If you keep doing that, you're going to hurt your wings." The large stallion said, nodding towards her.

"M-my... WHAT NOW?!" Twilight asked, shell-shocked.

Chancing a look behind her, she saw that she indeed had wings. Experimentally extending one out, she studied it. The tips of her primaries were a solid black, while the rest of the feathers matched her lavender coat in color. She had heard that some pegasi liked to dye the tips of their primaries black but had only seen it in a few of the fashion magazines Rarity had made her look at once. It seemed as though her wings were naturally like this and as such... rather beautiful.

How odd... She thought to herself before looking back at the guard who was now walking towards the doors.

"So who are you? Why isn't Princess Luna or Princess Celestia here?"

"My name is Orpheus. I'm Captain of Princess Luna's Elite Guard. Princess Luna is in Night Court right now and Celestia went to bed. She's been having trouble getting sleep the last few days from what I hear." The hulking guardspony said before sticking his head out the oaken double doors, sending one of the other guards to deliver the message of Twilight's awakening to the princess.

"Captain? I thought Dark Wind was captain of the Lunar Guard."

"Yea, well..." Orpheus said nonchalantly as he closed the doors. "While it is true that Dark Wind is the Captain of the Lunar Guard, just as your brother Shining Armor is Captain of the Solar Guard. Both Celestia and Luna have Elite Guard's that, while having the same goal of keeping the princesses safe, aren't a part of the respective "regular" guards. We're what you would call "off the grid."

"So... bodyguards?"

At this the large stallion chuckled heartily.

"No, more like special forces. We receive special training that the normal guard doesn't get. That, and with Luna's guard, we're like The Princess and yourself."

"Meaning??" Twilight asked perplexed.

At this the guard merely exposed his fangs, causing Twilight's eyes to go wide.

"Oh..." She said softly.

"Yea... I was actually Captain of the Night Guard back before Luna was banished to the moon." The stallion said, a hint of nostalgia playing in his deep voice. "I feel like I was just a colt back then."

"Yes you were Orpheus. Quite a cute colt at that time too if I recall." Luna said giggling as she silently walked through the doors.

"Milady! That's hardly appropriate." The large stallion said in an almost reproachful tone as a smile crossed his features.

Luna stuck her tongue out at him as she rolled her eyes in response before she turned to Twilight.

"How do you feel?"

"Tired. That and pretty sore around my... wings." Twilight said, sitting up slightly and extending a wing.

"You seem to be taking the new additions well." Luna said with a chuckle.

"As well as I can I suppose. How did I get wings anyways?!" Twilight asked, her voice strained as she conveyed her confusion and discomfort.

"I'm not sure, though I think it may have something to do with the fact that you fed off of me."

At this, the lunar stallion's expression changed entirely. The smile left his face as his eyes grew wide, his gaze moving from Twilight to Luna and back again.

"I-is that... not normal?" Twilight asked apprehensively, seeing that Orpheus was now looking solely at her, his expression unchanged.

"Well... Aside from one pony, a long time ago, you are the only pony to have ever fed from me Twilight." Luna replied.

"Oh..." Twilight whispered in a Fluttershy-soft tone.

"Indeed. Can you walk Twilight?" Luna asked her, changing the subject abruptly.

"I think so." Twilight said as she slowly tried to roll out of bed, only to have the muscles in her back spasm again, causing her to wince and fall back into the bed.

"I guess not then." Luna said before casting a quick glance over to the guardspony behind her before looking back at Twilight.

With a nod of her head in the direction of the doors, Luna gave Orpheus an unspoken order.

"Orpheus."

"Yes, Milady."

The stallion understood her silent command and went out the doors, only to return a few short minutes later with a light blue earth pony mare following silently behind him. Her blond mane fell loosely around her shoulders as she came to stop beside the princess.

"Lily, please tend to Twilight Sparkle." The lunar regent said, casting a smile at the mare who returned the gesture with a nod.

"We will await your arrival in the throne room." Luna said to Twilight with a smile. As she made to leave, she gestured for Orpheus to follow. After they silently closed the doors, Orpheus cracked a smirk at the princess.

"Cute, huh?"

Princess Luna's cheeks tinged red as she cast him a wistful glance.

"Oh, shut if Orpheus!"

Both chuckled as they walked towards the throne room.

Looking to the pony on the other side of the room, Twilight smiled and offered a friendly, albeit nervous, greeting to the mare.

"Hello."

"Hello." The older mare gently echoed with a soft smile on her face.

For some time after that, silence permeated the room as neither moved nor spoke. Finally, after what seemed like hours passed, the mare in front of her spoke.

"Well, Princess Luna told me to tend to you. What can I do for you Miss Twilight?"

"Oh... just Twilight please."

"Okay then, "Just Twilight", what can I do for you?" Her tone stayed cheerful as she playfully inquired as to Twilight's needs.

"I... I don't know." Twilight said as she looked down. In truth, she did know. Even as she stood across from her, Twilight could hear Lily's heartbeat and felt the same powerful desire to feed she had just before she had fed on Luna. If only slightly less powerful than before.

A small sigh brought Twilight's gaze back up to the mare before her. She was walking towards the bed shaking her head slightly.

"It's okay deary. I know why I was brought here. There's really only one reason that big hunk of lunar stallion ever comes and gets me. Most of the time, I actually have the pleasure of just dealing with Luna."

Looking into Twilight's eyes and giving her a caring smile, she said something she knew would likely shock the young mare before her.

"I know you need to feed."

Twilight's eyes went wide as she took in what the other mare had said.

"How... I-" She started to stammer. The mare in front of her silenced her with a raised hoof, the warm smile still on her face.

"Like I said, it's okay. I'm what you would call 'in the know' about such things." She said as she hopped up onto the bed.

"Wait... are you a vampony too?" Twilight asked apprehensively, only to receive a chuckle in response.

"Hehe, no. Not that it wasn't offered to me. After seeing some of the memories that Luna carries though..." She paused for an instant before continuing. "I realized that I didn't want to live forever." A tinge of sadness played through the mares voice at that statement.

"So then... wait, if you're not a vampony... how do you know? Who are you?"

Again, her questions were given a chuckle before she was answered.

"Well, My name is Lily Joy Meadows. I'm Princess Luna's personal florist, I specialize in nocturnal plants, including the Moonflower and the Midnight Lily. That's how I got my cutie mark."

Looking to the other mare's flank, she noticed that there was indeed a Midnight Lily that matched its owners namesake.

"That still doesn't tell me how you know about vamponies though." Twilight said as she brought her eyes back to those of the mare now next to her. She could still hear the mares heart beating in her chest. Her mouth started to water as she fought back the urge to pounce on the mare before her.

"True, well that one is actually a bit of a story." The mare said, leaning back against the plush pillows and relaxing in spite of Twilight's obvious nervousness.

"Basically, I was in Luna's "sanctuary" putting up a few arrangements when out of nowhere Orpheus booms my name out. Scared the hell out of me! I nearly dropped all of my bouquets! He just up and 'LILY MEADOWS, PRINCESS LUNA REQUESTS YOUR PRESENCE IN HER CHAMBERS.'" The mare said, trying to imitate the stallion's deep voice. That caused Twilight to chuckle and relax a bit.

"Anyways," Lily continued. "We walk to Luna's room and I'm wondering the whole time whether I had done something wrong, whether I was getting fired. When we get there, he just opens the door and gestures for me to go in. By now I just know I'm getting fired. Imagine my surprise when I see Princess Luna sitting on the edge of her bed, holding one of my bouquets and smiling! It was so... weird. Seems like it was only yesterday." Lily said as she recalled the whole incident.

"Princess Luna!" Lily said, bowing respectfully. One didn't become one of the castle's florists without learning respect.

"Rise, Lily Meadows." Luna said with a smile.

Rising, but keeping her head bowed to the princess before her, Lily spoke out of habit.

"To what do I owe the honor of you summoning me Princess?"

"Come, would please join me?" Luna replied, skirting her question entirely.

Looking up, Lily saw Luna was walking towards the open glass doors to her balcony. Casting a glance over her shoulder, Luna beckoned her again.

"Please? It's a lovely night. I should know, I made it." A smile crossed her lips as she looked up at her night sky.

Slowly, tentatively, the young mare approached her princess. Casting her gaze up to the stars, she saw a beautiful sight. Shooting stars were streaking across the sky as the full moon cast its pale light upon the gardens below her. Looking across the gardens, she saw the Moonflowers blooming as well as many other flowers that she herself had planted. It was a breathtaking spectacle.

"It is beautiful, is it not?" Luna asked, looking at the young florist with a smile.

"It is Princess... very much so." Lily replied, smiling back at Luna.

For a time, neither mare spoke. They just gazed up at the stars or down on the gardens, taking in the beautiful sight few would see.

"Come, I wish to speak with you." Luna said, turning to walk back into the room. Immediately, Lily's fears of losing her job resurfaced, causing her hesitate as she walked into the room.

Levitating the bouquet to a water-filled vase and shutting the balcony doors, Luna turned to look at the mare before her.

"How long have you been working in the palace?" Luna asked nonchalantly.

"Three years now Your Majesty."

"Please, just Luna will do." The princess said with a smile.

"Okay... Luna." Lily said hesitantly.

"So, three years? I've noticed quite a few of your bouquets in the sanctuary and in the night court."

"Well... I'm not the only florist who makes the bouquets for the night court Your Maje-"

"Luna." The princess preemptively corrected. "And true though that may be, your arrangements always stand out to me. You always use the Midnight Lily in your creations. That has always been one of my favorite night-blooming flowers." Luna said with a smile.

Lily's breath caught in her throat. The Princess of the Moon had noticed her creations!

"How did you know they were mine?"

"I asked a few of the other florists who made the arrangements. They all said it had been you when I mentioned the Midnight Lily's, which is why I've called you here tonight. I wish to ask you something."

"Please, by all means, ask away." Lily said earnestly, gesturing with a hoof.

"Lily Meadows, I request that you become my personal florist. Many of the places I go are restricted to most of the palace staff, including the florists. However, I wish for your creations to grace the areas that few other ponies ever see. They always seem to brighten my night. What do you say?"

Lily was dumbstruck. She had been fearing losing her job, now she was being offered the chance to be Princess Luna's PERSONAL FLORIST! Shaking her head to snap herself out of her reverie, Lily was beaming as she responded.

"I say yes! I would be honored to be your personal florist Luna."

"Excellent!!"

"I worked without knowing for a while. Oh I heard a few of her elite guard make a few references that now make sense but at the time, it didn't really click. I mean, at the time, there wasn't much way you could have convinced me that vamponies existed! They were just legends right?!" Lily recounted.

Twilight was now fully enraptured in Lily's tale, her thirst, while still nagging her, was suppressed as she listened.

"How did you find out?" Twilight asked with genuine curiosity.

"Well, long story short, I walked in on Luna feeding. We had become close friends and I had gotten to the point that I would just up and waltz into her chambers about like I do now. In retrospect, I should have noticed that the guards weren't there... Oh well. Here's how that all went down."

Lily stood shocked in the doorway. Princess Luna, regent of the moon and her friend, had been sucking on the neck of... another mare?

Normally, Lily would have just quietly closed the door and let Luna explain in her own good time. She had no problems with fillyfoolers, hay, she'd even considered it a few times herself. However, in the instant Lily had walked through the door, Luna had pulled away from the mares neck. Doing so revealed two large fangs and a matching set of punctures in the other mares neck.

"Wha- I..." Lily stammered.

Remembering the mare on her bed, Luna licked the wounds and sent the mare off.

"Jade, you are dismissed."

"Yes, Luna." The other mare complied, hopping down from the bed and walking past Lily with... a... SMILE on her face?!

Lily saw Luna look down and away from her as her horn lit up. The same color aura that surrounded Luna's horn now encased the room. Looking around she saw that the walls, the doors that had closed behind her, even the windows, all now had an indigo aura about them. Even though she didn't know magic, as she was an earth pony, she knew that the room was sealed. No sound and nopony was getting through this barrier. Why would she do that? Unless she didn't want anypony to hear what happened next?

For a moment, Lily was shocked. Fear, the urge to panic ran rampant through her. Yet, she stood stock still until she whispered to the pony before her.

"Luna?"

Luna nodded solemnly and looked up. "Yes. It's still me Lily. I'm... a vampony. "Queen" of the vamponies to be exact."

"What? I-... Why are you telling me this?"

"Because... given what you just saw, and that fact that you are one of my closest friends, you deserve to know the truth."

"The truth?" Lily asked.

"Yes, the truth. The truth that I, as well as my elite guard, are all vamponies. Though many of the legends of Equestria are false, including many about the vamponies, we are indeed real." Luna said, her hesitance playing clearly across her face.

"So why not just swear me to not speak of it or wipe my memory?"

"Because, I could not ask you to do something if knowing the truth of what we are frighten you and I would NEVER tamper with your memories!"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you love your job?"

"What?" The seemingly random question had caught Lily off guard.

"Do you love your job? Do you like making arrangements for the night court? Working with the nocturnal flowers of Equestria for my elite and myself to see?"

"Yes, of course I do. Why does that matter?"

"Because if something you fear became a constant factor in your work... You would come to hate your job, your work would be affected by that, and worst of all... I would be striking fear into the hearts of one of my dearest friends. I could not, in good conscience, do that." Luna's voice broke as she hung her head.

For a while, Lily stood quietly. The thoughts racing through her mind becoming silent as she looked at Luna, who was shedding silent tears.

Taking a deep breath, Lily looked over to the princess and did something that she never would have thought about doing only moments before. She walked over to Luna, Queen of the Vamponies.

"Hey... Luna?"

Luna looked up and into Lily's eyes.

"You know, it may be a frightening prospect at first, knowing that vamponies are real. Thing is, the way I see it... If you care this much about me being frightened. I know that you care about my safety too. Besides, vamponies aren't the bloodthirsty monsters like some of the myths say... are they?" Lily said with a smile.

Wiping her eyes, Luna smiled as she stepped forward and hugged Lily. "No, they are not. While they are certainly dangerous, they will not harm you. In fact, you may eventually see them as I do."

"And how's that?"

"Like another family."

At this, Lily smiled.

"I hope so Luna... I do hope so."

"Wasn't too much longer after that, that Luna first fed from me. Her elite guard act like a bunch of teenagers despite their age. A lot of them are over a thousand years old but you wouldn't know it from how they look or act! A lot of them refer to me as 'Luna's favorite midnight snack' among other things."

Lily and Twilight both chuckled at that.

"In spite of that, they really have become like a second family to me. They've VERY protective of me and, despite the fact that they can full well take care of themselves, I'm extremely protective of them as well."

Lily looked over to Twilight, who, while smiling, was still straining to keep herself from jumping the mare before her.

"Oh dear, here I am rambling on and on and you're over there sweating bullets with thirst. Alright then deary, have at me." Lily said, exposing her neck to Twilight.

At this, Twilight started to eagerly lean in. Her breath was hot on Lily's neck just before a thought hit her and she pulled back and looked away.

"I-I can't!"

"What?" Lily said, looking at Twilight with a perplexed expression.

"I just can't... I..." Twilight whispered. Silent tears started falling before she felt Lily's comforting hoof on her shoulder.

"I... I'm becoming a monster." She continued. "This will be the second time I've fed tonight and Luna said I'd normally only have to feed once every week or so. I'm afraid I'm losing control."

"Well, pardon my saying so, but I don't think normally covers sprouting a pair of wings in a fountain of blood." Lily said softly.

Twilight's head snapped around to look Lily in the eyes as she whispered "How did you know about that?"

"I heard about it from one of the guards who had to clean up the sanctuary. Said it was a real mess in there. Besides, everyone in the palace has heard of you Twilight. You were a unicorn, now you've got wings... wasn't that hard to figure out. Only thing I picked up was the fact that getting those wings was rather... gruesome. As for you being a monster, Hah! You've saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon, Discord and now you're stepping up to the plate and taking on whatever you needed this for... Sounds to me like you're more a hero than a monster!"

For a while, Twilight just stared into Lily's eyes, thoughts rushing through her head as she started to protest.

"I can't-"

"Alright, we'll do this the 'hard way' then." Lily said as she leaned towards Twilight.

"The hard wa-AAH!!" Twilight started to say until Lily leaned down to Twilight's neck and nipped her. It was an action that had instant results. As she pulled away, Twilight heard Lily whisper.

"Drink up Twilight."

At that, Twilight didn't hesitate. She COULDN'T hesitate. Leaning over to nuzzle Lily's neck softly, she trailed her fangs slowly across the other mares neck, eliciting a small gasp from her as she shuddered in Twilight's embrace.

Feeling the mares pulse under her fangs, Twilight bit into Lily's neck. The blood that started pouring forth from the twin punctures and into her waiting mouth was very different from Luna's. This was like the scent of the Midnight Lily as a taste. Strong but subtle, it was almost as if she could smell the very fragrance of the mare's namesake in the blood she now drank.

Lily moaned and wrapped her forelegs around Twilight, pulling her in closer as she kissed Twilight's neck. Both mares took their time and relished in the moment they were having as Twilight acted off of instinct.

When Twilight's thirst had been sated, she licked the wounds and kissed it, then started trailing kisses up Lily's neck to her jaw. Eventually, Twilight found her lips on Lily's as her eyes opened.

Her eyes took in the oddly intimate sight before her. Her lips firmly planted on Lily's while said mare smirked at her with her eyes. Leaning forward, Lily returned Twilight's kiss rather forcefully for an instant before pulling away and smiling at her. It was then that a sarcastic voice drew both of their attention to the door.

"Heh, and here I thought we had somethin' special Lily."

Twilight and Lily both recognized the white unicorn leaning on the door frame.

Lily started laughing and fell back on the bed.

Twilight was confused.

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Twilight asked Lily.

"Well-" Lily started, only to have Vinyl cut in.

"Same reason you do." Vinyl said as she let her fangs show.

Twilight facehoofed at the response as Lily's infectious laughter took hold of her as she asked herself a question out loud.

"Oh for the love of Celestia, how many ponies do I know that are secretly vamponies?!"

"Eight... actually, Nine." Vinyl said matter-of-factly.

"What?! Who?!"

"You'll find out later. Right now though, Luna's waiting on us in the throne room. She sent me because you were taking too long and she was caught up with a few things. You good to go?"

Rolling out of bed, Twilight flexed her wings experimentally.

"Those are new." Vinyl said, gesturing at her with a hoof.

"Yea... Long story. Either way, I should be good to go." Twilight said.

"Okay then, let's get going. Don't want to keep Luna waiting." Vinyl said, turning around and walking out of the door.

Twilight made to follow her but stopped short of the door and turned to look at Lily, who was still sitting on the bed.

"Thank you... for the blood and... I'm sorry... for kissing you like that." Twilight said sheepishly.

"Pfft, think nothing of it hon. Not the first time I've been kissed by a vampony like that and it probably won't be the last. Also... I'd be lying though if I said I didn't enjoy it." She said, a bit of a smirk playing on her mouth as she winked at Twilight..

Blushing a bit, Twilight thanked her again and walked out of the door. Leaving Lily alone in the room.

But only alone for an instant.

Soon after the door closed, she felt a presence in the room. Whoever it was, it was definitely a vampony.

"Who's there?" She asked aloud as she turned to look where she felt the presence. Though she wasn't a vampony, she had been around them long enough to be able to sense them.

She watched as a solid black unicorn stallion walked out of the shadows of the room. Shaking his matching black mane out of his face, he opened his ice-blue eyes and looked at Lily as he sat down and smiled.

"My name is Amaranth, and I have a message for Princess Luna." The unicorn's smooth, svelt voice danced through the room with every word.

Unlike Lily, he showed no surprise when a dozen lunar guards appeared out of the shadows and surrounded him.

Orpheus looked at the mysterious stallion with a grimace.

"You..."

Paying no mind to Orpheus, the stallion looked around and spoke.

"Hello boys... Miss me?"

The journey begins

As Twilight and Vinyl walked down the corridors of the castle towards the throne room, Twilight's mind was buzzing like a hornets nest.

She was now a vampony. A creature that up until three days ago, she had blissfully thought of as naught but legends.

She now had wings.

Rainbow Dash is going to flip out over that. Twilight thought to herself, half-humored.

She had pretty much attacked Princess Luna and been told she did a good job of it!

What the hay was up with THAT?!

She had been told that there were at least nine ponies that she knew that were vamponies.

And last, but certainly not least. She had just kissed another mare.

And... liked it??!

"Uugh!" Twilight groaned quietly to herself as she walked. This was going to be a really long night.

"You alright over there Sparkle?" Vinyl asked, casting Twilight a questioning look.

"Y-yea... I guess so..." Twilight hesitantly answered. Was she alright?

The DJ's questioning look melted into a soft smile that belied her reputation as an arrogant and indifferent mare.

"You're not okay... are you?" Vinyl asked, taking her shades off.

Letting out an exasperated sigh and sitting back on her haunches, Twilight stared at the floor as she answered.

"I don't know... Three days ago, Vamponies didn't exist, I didn't attack princesses in an effort to quench a thirst for blood I didn't have... and as far as I knew, I was straight..."

Vinyl snickered at the last part, causing Twilight to look up at her with an annoyed glare.

"It happens to all of us Twilight, hay, it happened to me 500 years ago!"

At that, Twilight's full attention went to the number she had just heard.

"Five Hundred?!! You're FIVE HUNDRED years old?!!!"

She was rather startled when Vinyl chuckled.

"Hehe, no... I actually turn 724 come Hearth Warmings Eve."

Twilight's eyes threatened to pop out of her skull as her jaw hung slack for an instant.

"724? YOU'RE SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR YEARS OLD???!!!"

"Yup."

"Wait... how can your name be VINYL SCRATCH if you're that old?! They didn't invent records until fifty-two years ago!"

"Well, as you'll see with a lot of other vamponies through the years, I've changed my name every so often so a correlation isn't made. If you'll recall, there was a rather gifted mare violinist some... 300 or so years ago now, who was pretty decent. Went by the name of Alabaster Sonata. That was me."

Twilight couldn't help but doubt this claim, Alabaster Sonata was possibly the greatest violinist that had ever lived! She had been one of only two ponies to ever play the Schoenhoof Concerto flawlessly. A feat that even the best of unicorn violinists of today would consider nigh impossible. The only other pony who had played it flawlessly had been Schoenhoof himself.

"No way!"

"Yup."

"Prove it!"

Rolling her eyes, Vinyl summoned a violin with her magic and, upon making sure it was properly tuned, raised to her hind hooves and held the violin as an earth pony would. What Twilight heard next floored her.

Alabaster Sonata played for her.

Even as the flurry of notes that was unmistakably one of violin's hardest pieces made it's way to Twilight's ears, Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing. A unicorn playing an excerpt of one of the most difficult pieces known to pony kind, on one of the most difficult instruments known to pony kind, as an earth pony would! As the last note rang in the hallway and the violin disappeared, Twilight could only shake her head in amazement.

"Vinyl Scratch? Alabaster Sonata? Any other names you've gone by?"

"A few, most of the vamponies I know call me by my birth name though... Melody Snow."

"You've got to be kidding me. There's no way you could be Melody Snow. Not with your accent! Melody Snow was from Manemansk. That's on the edge of the arctic sea, north of Stalliongrad!"

"No eto pravda, ya Melodiya Snega." Vinyl said in a PERFECT Stalliongrad accent.

Twilight just stared, her jaw hanging loosely as Vinyl went back to her "normal" voice.

"What, you think that an old pony can't learn new tricks?" Vinyl asked with a chuckle.

"It's not that..." Twilight said hesitantly, not sure how her next words would affect the mare across from her. She had recalled what the history books had taught her about the mysterious and eclectic "Mare of Manemansk."

"History remembers that Melody Snow killed herself at age 42."

Vinyl grinned and motioned down the hallway with a nod of her head.

"Yea," She said as she started walking. "In retrospect... I could have gone about it a better way. Hanging yourself, even as a vampony, kinda sucks."

"You hung yourself?!" Twilight asked, shock riddled in her voice.

"Heh, yea... Artemis reacted about the same way when she saw me swinging there. She looked at me and said "Really? Hanging yourself? You DO know that you could have just stopped your heart right? That's a lot easier way to fake your death than this!!"

"Who's Artemis? And why did you want to fake your death?"

"Well, Artemis is the vampony who turned me, you'll be meeting her before long so I'll just let you find out for yourself who she really is. As for wanting to fake my death, things weren't good in Manemansk at the time. The port city of eternal winter... Anyways, I was getting tired of having ponies try and kill me so I faked my own death."

"Oh... that makes sense I guess." Twilight said, she was still trying to grasp the concept of actually hanging oneself to fake her own death. The mere thought sent shivers down her spine. Just as she was about to ask Vinyl another question, the doors to the throne room opened before them. She hadn't even realized they had arrived.

"Well, you can find out all about me later. Right now though, I'm pretty sure you have a couple things you need to do." Vinyl said with a smile.

Walking inside the throne room, Twilight approached the princess.

Luna saw Twilight and smiled. "We hope you are feeling well now Twilight?"

Twilight was about to respond when Vinyl spoke up.

"With what I caught her and Lily doing, she's probably feeling VERY well."

Giving Vinyl a slightly shocked look that melted into a sly grin, Luna turned her attention back to Twilight.

"Not even a day as a vampony and you have already attacked me AND seduced my personal florist? For shame Twilight Sparkle! For shame!" Luna said in mock reproach.

Blushing profusely, Twilight attempted to stammer out a reply before Princess Luna cut her off by raising her hoof.

"We merely jest Twilight."

"Oh... okay." Twilight said softly.

"Besides, we would actually find it odd if you did not have such... urges, this early in your transformation."

Transformation. The very word spoke volumes to Twilight. It reminded her that she wasn't quite a pony any more... That she wasn't the same.

As she was about to inquire about what the princess meant, the doors adjacent to the thrones opened rather suddenly as a squad of night guards filtered in around a unicorn Twilight had never seen before.

However... Luna and Vinyl had.

"Amaranth?" Luna whispered in shock, her emotions clearly written on her face. Vinyl's jaw hung slack as she pulled her shades off and gawked at the stallion.

"Your majesty. It appears a... message... has arrived for you." Orpheus said, glancing back at the raven-black unicorn with obvious distaste.

The stallion merely rolled his eyes as he walked towards Luna, perfectly at ease despite being surrounded by an entire squad of guards.

"Luna, I've known you for over 2000 years, and I STILL can't say hello without an armed escort?" Amaranth said, obviously humored as he motioned towards the squad of glowering guards.

Luna sighed and shook her head, a wistful smile playing on the edge of her lips as she bade the squad away with a hoof. Orpheus hesitated, but a look from Luna made him comply and disappear into the shadows. A moment after Orpheus had left, the black stallion chuckled and looked back towards Luna.

"They do know how to hold a grudge, don't they?"

"Can you blame them?" Luna asked flatly, thought the ghost of a smile still played on her lips.

"No, I suppose not." Amaranth chuckled before his expression turned a touch more serious.

"So... you intend on raising Artemis?" He asked nonchalantly as he looked Luna in the eyes.

Luna's breath caught as she looked into Amaranth's ice-blue eyes.

"H-How... How do you know about that?!"

"Oh, you know me Luna... I'm always... listening." The black stallion said cryptically as he turned his gaze towards Twilight and Vinyl.

"Though I will say that you've certainly picked quite the mare for the job. The element of magic, two-time savior of Equestria, and now vampony."

Amaranth walked over to Twilight and ruffled her mane as though she was just a filly.

"You do know how to pick them."

Twilight looked into Amaranth's ice blue eyes and involuntarily shivered. Even as he smiled and revealed his fangs, Twilight felt an odd mix of fear, awe and even trust for the stallion before her.

Turning his attention to Vinyl, Amaranth's smile grew ever so slightly.

"And Melody, or should I call you Vinyl now too? How long has it been?"

"167 years since that day in Trottingham. I meant to thank you for that, by the way." Vinyl said, having composed herself.

"Oh, I know. Had to go though, so much happening during those years and all."

"Yea, wasn't a pretty decade." Vinyl said, nodding her head in agreement. Her own smile growing as the mysterious stallion walked to the windows to look at the moon above.

"You know, Luna..." Amaranth started slowly.

"Artemis went into the vampires sleep for a reason... I'm afraid that she grows weary of her existence. She has not known many things in several centuries. Fear, remorse..."

The stallion then looked over at Twilight and smirked.

"Love, true passion... So many things she hasn't felt in far too long.

Twilight blushed slightly under Amaranth's gaze as Luna spoke.

"What is your purpose Amaranth? Why do you tell us this?"

Shaking his head and looking back to Luna with a saddened grin, Amaranth explained.

"I tell you this for the same reason I told you to be wary of yourself when Nightmare Moon first manifested within you. Artemis was on the precipice of losing herself when she went to sleep. You may have a hard road ahead of you, trying to help her find herself again."

"Then we shall help her find herself. I know Artemis, Amaranth."

"I know you do. I just thought it well to warn you beforehoof."

"A warning which I appreciate. However, you have another reason that brings you here... Don't you?"

"...Yes, I do."

"And what is this reason?" Luna asked a bit tersely.

The stallion's lips curled into what could only be called a deadly smile as he answered in nary a whisper.

"To prevent your death."

Everypony froze except for Amaranth. In that brief moment, he was able to teleport across the room next to a statue and hurl it with blinding speed towards a dark corner at the top of the room.

Everypony cringed though, when they heard the agonized scream of a mare.

In that instant, the room was flooded with guards from what seemed to be every shadow. Pegasi, Unicorn and Earth Pony alike, all in Night Guard Regalia flooded into the room from what seemed like every shadow to surround Luna. Some went over to the source of the pained cry... a masked unicorn, now laying on the ground, who's legs and back were bent at unnatural angles.

Amidst the confusion, Twilight and Vinyl had merely stood with jaws hanging as the whole scene unfolded. Neither had really seen Amaranth move. Twilight hadn't even felt his magic... it was like he wasn't even there.

"BE STILL!!!" Luna shouted as the cacophony of ponies trying to make sure she was okay drowned out all sound in the room.

Suddenly, all was still. The guards seemed to hold their breaths as Luna walked up to the mortally wounded unicorn and pulled her mask off.

"Who sent you?" Luna asked flatly.

Taking a shaky breath, the unicorn gave a pained chuckle before responding.

"You know full well who sent me princess. Heh, He knows everything that's happened here. Even about your little pet."

The mare cast her gaze to Twilight before coughing, the blood splattering on the cold stone floor as it left her mouth.

"You can't stop him princess. What makes you think that fledgling can?!" The unicorn spat contemptuously.

"Are you quite through?" Luna asked, showing her impatience, despite the sight of the maimed mare bleeding to death before her very eyes.

"Heh, I suppose I am. There's no way I could recover from this. Not with how hard that bastard hit me with that statue. I'm done. Just know this princess..."

The mare looked from Twilight into Luna's eyes, fiery hatred and contempt burning clearly in her eyes as she said, "He's coming."

The room was then filled with a sickening crack as Luna's hoof landed on the side of the mares head, splattering blood onto the walls as her hoof fractured the mares skull and sent bits of grey matter flying. Twilight started retching at the sight.

Luna turned around and started walking towards the throne room doors, a hard look on her face.

"Orpheus."

"Yes, Milady."

"Have this mess cleaned up. We're going for a walk."

"Yes, Milady." Orpheus bowed and started barking orders to the stallions around him.

Stopping next to Twilight, Luna spoke again.

"Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight looked up to see Luna's apologetic expression.

"I apologize for what you just saw... but I had rather that mare died quickly than have to suffer the pain of her injuries."

Still shellshocked, Twilight could only nod as she looked around the room at the chaos Amaranth had caused. As she looked around for the stallion though, she did not see him anywhere.

"Where is Amaranth?"

Her question prompted everypony except Luna to start looking around until the lunar princess spoke.

"You won't find him... nopony ever has. However, unless I miss my guess... we will see him again soon. Melody, Twilight, come... let us go for a walk."

Both mares nodded and followed Luna out the doors of the throne room and to a waiting carriage.

A carriage that would take them to Ponyville.

When the pieces start to fall into place

Still in shock, Twilight walked to the waiting carriage with Vinyl close behind her. As she looked at Luna, who was being given a wrapped bundle by the pony she recognized as Erebos, Twilight couldn't help but replay in her minds eye what she had bore witness to only moments before.

The blood-curling scream.

The gut-wrenching crack of Luna's hoof on the mares skull.

The sight of the would-be assassin's broken body on the floor.

But most of all... she remembered what she felt. The sight of the blood that pooled around the mare threatened to make her lose control. She could still smell the rich, coppery scent, despite her being nowhere in proximity to the dead mare.

"Whilst thou be alright, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked, having now taken a seat in the carriage. Twilight's head snapped up and looked at the princess. She hadn't even noticed when Luna had climbed in.

"I... I don't know Luna. I-" Twilight stammered for a moment, then just stopped.

"I know. It shall be... hard, during the first years of your new existence."

Existence... That word spoke volumes to her. It presented to her the fact that she wasn't quite alive anymore and almost made Twilight go into a meltdown. How could one comprehend that they were alive yet dead already? Had she already sold her soul to Tartarus that her body may live on until the end of days? Who was she now... truly?

She was jolted out of her deep musings by a nuzzle and a familiar voice.

"I wanted to see you off, my faithful student." Celestia said, her voice carrying a sad tone to it.

Twilight nuzzled her mentor back before looking into her tired eyes. How had she not seen it before? The slightly drooping posture, the bags under her eyes, even her hair seemed to be nearly stilled with how tired Celestia was.

"Princess... Celestia, I... I'm scared." Twilight admitted. Both Luna and Vinyl looked to each other briefly before looking back to the two alicorns as the bond that transcended merely pupil and teacher showed in the exchange before them.

Pulling Twilight into a hug, Celestia spoke soothingly into her ear. "I know Twilight, I heard what happened. Though there are dangers throughout, do not fear the night my faithful student, you are in good company."

Twilight reciprocated her hug until Celestia released her grip. As Twilight pulled away from the hug, she nodded first to Celestia, and then to Luna, who then beckoned the night guard who were strapped to the chariot. As the carriage took off, Celestia watched until it was out of sight, a single tear streaming down her cheek as the filly who had become the closest thing to a daughter Celestia had ever had, flew off into the night.

"You know..." A smooth voice came from beside her, a voice she hadn't heard in quite some time. "You're going to likely have the rest of eternity with her. Her parents will die, many of her friends will as well... but you... You'll always be there Celestia. Provided we all survive this of course."

Turning her head slightly, Celestia saw the black stallion standing beside her looking up at the moon above.

Looking up as well, Celestia confided in the unicorn. Though she harbored a fear and sense of mistrust for many Vamponies, she knew she could trust the stallion next to her.

"She's like a daughter to me Amaranth... how can I smile when I know that the price of her immortality is death? How do I look her in the eyes, knowing that death, in a way, has already claimed her?"

Smiling cryptically, Amaranth bumped Celestia playfully.

"I recall having a similar conversation with you about your sister a while back. How is this so different?"

"Those were different times... We were always powerful, the both of us. Yet, she never could quite match me. To this day, even with her being a vampony, she can't... though I imagine part of that is because of her time in exile on the moon."

"Well, that'll do it... thing is, the way I see it is like this. What's happening to her, isn't too different from what happened to you all of those centuries ago. She'll be okay."

Looking back over to where the stallion had been standing, Celestia saw nothing. She closed her eyes briefly before looking back up at the moon above.

"I hope you're right Amaranth... for both our sakes."

As the carriage made its way towards the outskirts of Ponyville, Twilight stared at her hooves until Luna cleared her throat to get Twilight and Vinyl's attention.

"Melody, did you contact the ponies we'll need?"

"Yea. They should meet us when we land." She said with a nod.

"Good. I feel they will need to know what has happened too as things have become more... complicated, than originally forseen."

At this, Melody cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Looking down at the bundle Erebos had handed her, Luna began to explain as she carefully unwrapped whatever was in her hooves.

"You both have seen the memory of when I took my mentors life. The blade I held that day was no ordinary blade, it was one of the three mystic blades of Ne' Thrael... The ancient city of Alicorns. Though our race has all but vanished, there are still reminders of the time when Alicorns were as plentiful as any of the other three races. The three mystic blades are just such items. The blade that resides in Canterlot is the blade of Equis. Legend says it was made as a weapon by the first alicorn to fight off the demons that plagued this world and protect his fellow ponies. Then there is this blade, Draco, the dragons blade. It is said to have been made by the first dragon king on this world, given to the Alicorns by that king himself long before Discord's great, great grandsires were even born. Then, there is the blade for which we cannot account. The blade of the gods. It is said that though these two blades which we now have are powerful, far more powerful than any other blades in this land, that it could bring about the end of this world. That blade is Superi. And-"

"And I shall have it soon." A crimson unicorn said from beside Luna, thoroughly startling everypony in the carriage. It only took an instant for Vinyl to bare her fangs at the intruder and make a stance to lunge.

"Wait!" Twilight said, reaching a hoof towards the strange unicorn. Upon touching him, he became blurry and fuzzy, as if out of focus on a telescope. Looking over to Vinyl's horn, she saw that the unicorns horn was alight with magic, but it was not the color of her own.

"A Projection Spell. He's not really here. He could be on the other side of Equestria and use this if he had a mental link with whoever he wanted to see this."

"Ooh, smart this one." The stallion said with a nod in Twilight's direction.

"Caedis!" Luna hissed as she looked at the unicorn, fire in her eyes as she bore her fangs to the intruder as well. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Oh, just checking up on what you've been up to Luna. Oh and Melody... thanks for making that possible." The stallion said with a wink, causing Melody to snarl at him.

"Go buck yourself Caedis! You ripped out my heart all those years ago! If I find you, I'm going to rip out yours!!"

"Oh, still upset about that I see. Well, no matter.The unicorn said smugly before letting his gaze fall on Twilight again.

“Seriously though Luna? Make another vampony and expect to take me? That's insulting Luna, really it is.”

“She will bring about your destruction Caedis. The darkness has consumed you... so much that even the Elements of H-”

“Yes, yes... So much so that even your vaunted Elements of Harmony can't save my wretched soul.” The unicorn chuckled psychotically. “Oh, but what soul is there to save? I gave my soul to Tartarus the day you changed me. Not that it matters mind you. I've already set things in motion that you could not possibly hope to stop.”

“We WILL stop you Caedis... of that you can be sure.” Luna said as her horn lit.

“You will plague us no more this night.”

“Perhaps not this night... but I will plague you Luna... up to my dying br-”

The image dissolved as Luna's horn lit brightly then faded as she looked to Vinyl, her eyes hard.

“He had a link with you Melody... how?”

Vinyl's head was hung low.

“We were lovers... two hundred or so years ago. I didn't know what he truly was. He left me to a group of Vampony hunters in Trottingham 167 years ago. I remember his smile that night... He was laughing! Laughing as they closed in on me with stakes and torches. He was just using me, playing my heart for a buck. That's the night I was talking about with Amaranth earlier. He saved me... to this day, I'm not entirely sure how.”

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked

Vinyl looked up and said, "I don't know... it was like... I can't really describe it. I didn't feel any magic, I didn't see him teleport, all I know is that in the blink of an eye, we went from surrounded by hunters, to surrounded by corpses. It was so..."

"Impossible?" Luna finished for her, her eyes still hard and set on Vinyl.

Vinyl nodded as Twilight spoke up. "When he moved in the castle... I couldn't sense anything. I'm ALWAYS attuned to magic fields but, I felt NOTHING when he moved! It's like he's-"

"Not even there? I get that a lot." Amaranth said, now sitting beside Luna with a smile. Everypony recoiled slightly at his arrival, but relaxed when they saw who it was.

"I know... Caedis was here. Cocky little colt isn't he?"

"Perhaps not so much as yourself Amaranth, but yes." Luna teased, not giving the stallion a single look.

"You can give the poor mare a break Luna, she's telling the truth." Amaranth said, lighting his horn for an instant.

"You never were that great at clearing something like that out of somepony's head."

At this point, Luna gave an apologetic look to Vinyl before concurring with a small nod.

"No... I wasn't."

Giving Luna a wry smile, Amaranth continued.

"Well, at least we know his plan now. Not too hard to put the pieces together. He's obviously figured out the clues within the old legends and plans to enact them."

"You'll have to pardon me but, what legends?"

Amaranth looked to Luna, who nodded in confirmation.

"Well, in short, there are seven clues, said to have been passed down by the first Queen of the Vamponies in the form of legends as to the location of the blade Superi. She, at one time, had all three mystic blades, and as such... was very powerful. However, she was fair, and there was prosperity for her ponies. However, one of the nobles in her court was greedy and sought to use the power of the three blades for his own ends. He attempted to steal them from the Queen, but she found out about his plan and stopped him. His plan was to use the three blades, take them to the ruins of Ne' Thrael, and take over the world by using their magic to wipe out almost every other race. The Gryphons, The Dragons, The Cows, Buffalo, almost every sentient race... even unicorns and pegasi. He would have killed everything, making vamponies the sole race of this world aside from Earth Ponies."

Twilight was listening intently to the tale, hanging on Amaranth's every word.

"Why were earth ponies the only ones he was going to spare?" Twilight asked.

"Simple... they didn't possess the means to fight back. An earth pony is strong compared to unicorns and pegasi naturally... however, anypony who became a vampony automatically had double the strength of even the strongest earth pony. Unicorns have magic that can injure, even kill vamponies. Pegasi... well, they're tricky to catch. Granted, a vampony pegasi can catch another pegasi... Same with a Vampony Unicorn or Alicorn. But again, the pegasi of old were a warring race. Even they knew how to fight vamponies to an extent. Granted, not as well as the unicorns but I digress. He was basically going to make the earth ponies the vamponies slaves. Forced to work whatever their masters saw fit and on a whim, could be slaughtered for no more reason than their master was thirsty."

"So what did she do with him?"

Amaranth shrugged.

"She killed him. There's a few legends as to that. Some say he was killed with Equis, Some say he was killed with Draco, Some even say he was killed by both of them. However, all legends said that he wasn't killed with Superi due to the darkness that festered within that vampony. It was said that Superi, though powerful, was also weak. If a strong enough evil found its blood upon the blade, it could be overtaken forever. For that reason, Superi was hidden by the queen, as she would not risk another like him trying to take over this world."

"So why does Caedis need to take the blades to Ne' Thrael?"

"There is an altar there, said to have the inlays for each of the blades. The magic within all of the blades is ancient and powerful, even more so than what Celestia or Luna possess. If used for evil, it could potentially destroy this entire world, leaving it naught but ash in space."

"And if used for good?"

Amaranth looked to Luna, then back to Twilight and cracked a smile.

"We don't know. We thought of a few possibilities but most of the old legends have to do with what could happen if evil gets control of the three blades. It could be as simple as a vamped up version of the elements of harmony, cleansing anypony of ANY trace of evil... or it could turn them into stone like it did Discord. Good job on that by the way." Amaranth said, smirking at the last bit before his expression fell a bit.

"Or... in a worst case scenario... It could potentially eradicate ANY source of evil in its entirety. In other words, no statues, no bodies, no ash... just poof, and everypony who so much as has an evil thought is gone."

Twilight gaped at Amaranth until he chuckled.

"This is all just speculation mind you. We won't know for sure until we find Superi and the ruins of Ne' Thrael. In the meantime, I think I'm going to stay with you lovely mares for a while. It's been a while since I've seen Artemis... I just hope she doesn't rip out my throat again."

"Wait... AGAIN?!!!"

As the carriage touched down, Twilight looked outside to see that they were in a small clearing in the Everfree forest. Timberwolves howled in proximity to the carriage until Luna stepped out and onto the ground. In that instant, there was silence. Even the crickets had stopped their chirping at the entrance of the vampony queen to their midst.

As such, Twilight was able to hear quiet hoofsteps approaching. No doubt the ponies Luna had mentioned before. Two cloaked and hooded figures walked out of the woods and, upon reaching the clearing, pulled back their hoods. Giving Twilight the shock of her life.

The ponies before her were none other than Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy?! Pinkie Pie?!!" Twilight said in disbelief as she saw their fangs.

"Twilight?!!" Both mares said as they saw their friend exit the carriage sporting a new pair of wings.

The three simultaneously fell back onto their haunches, eyes darting between each other in confusion until a sound broke the uneasy silence.

"Hehe..."

Pinkie Pie was starting to giggle. It wasn't long before Fluttershy joined in her laughter, then Vinyl and Amaranth, then even Luna. Leaving Twilight even further confused until, for some reason she couldn't fathom... she began to laugh herself.

Author's Note

DEAR CELESTIA'S TEATS!!! It's been WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too long since I posted a chapter. Sad thing is, to an extent, I haven't been able to help that. Between work, family and surviving a horrific head-on collision with a semi-truck (I wish I was joking about that last one, but I walked away with naught but bruises and a single cut. Would have been terribly rude of me, dying before I finished my stories! Anyways, back to my A/N!!) I've been unable to really do much typing despite having several ideas of where I want this to go. Anyways, enjoy the update you ravenous hoards!!!

More after the break

Twilight sighed in recollection. It had come as quite a shock to her then that two of her friends had walked out of shadow and into the forest with them that day.

As she sat at her station, pen sitting in the ink well, she heard hoofsteps approaching her door. The unmistakable cadence of Artemis's trot. She heard the knob turn and the door open, then quietly close before Artemis set about to putting away whatever she had acquired.

She could smell cinnamon, so it was probably delicious.

"Hey Twilight, I'm back!" Artemis called up. More as a habit than anything. She knew full well that Twilight had excellent hearing, even for a vampony. It was a habit she couldn't really kick.

"Up here Artemis!" Twilight called down, never really taking her eyes off of the scroll she had been writing on.

"Hey, there you... are..." Artemis said as she crested the stairs, stopping as she took in Twilight's body language. Which she knew quite well.

"Twi, is something wrong?"

Looking over her shoulder and giving the Raven-maned pegasus a wistful grin, she shook her head.

"No, nothing wrong. Just been writing up until a few minutes ago. How long were you gone for?"

"About three hours. Was catching up with Pinkie and before I knew it, we'd been talking for about that long. Finished off a whole tray of cinnamon rolls by ourselves." She said, patting her stomach with a hoof and licking her lips with a goofy look in her eyes.

"Almost sorry I missed that." Twilight said with a chuckle as she returned to looking at the scroll.

Artemis walked over and started scanning through the pages that Twilight had written, her face giving away tiny bits of her emotions as she read. After a few minutes, she came up to where Twilight had stopped and giggled.

"Oh, just getting to the part where I come in eh?"

"Yea, You know... To this day, it shocks me that Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were vamponies the entire time I've known them, but they never showed any one thing to make me think otherwise." Twilight said, giving pause before she continued.

"... Except Pinkie Pie... I knew that mare had SOME kind of magic that normal earth ponies don't have. Only logical explanation!!"

Artemis giggled beside her.

"Oh Twilight, you and your logic!"

"Are you saying logic doesn't have all of the answers?"

To this, Artemis only smiled and shrugged. As much as Twilight hated to admit it... she had seen things that defied all logic. They had baffled her, consumed her mind, even come close to killing her because of how illogical they were. However, she tried to make sense of it all, using one of the best tools she had.

Logic itself.

"Well, I don't know about you... but even after a whole tray of those cinnamon rolls, I'm thirsty." Artemis said, giving Twilight a nudge. Looking out the window to the night sky above, Twilight felt the urge she knew Artemis was feeling as well. Something almost feral within her. Something drawing her into the night. Turning around to her lover, Twilight gave Artemis a wicked smile and bore her fangs.

"That's my girl!" Artemis said, letting her own fangs grow before the windows were opened by the lavender aura of Twilight's magic.

"I think it's about time you took a break Twi. Let's hunt!" Artemis said as she jumped out the window and took to the air, followed closely by Twilight.

The night was young after all.

She had all the time she could ever want.

She needed a break.

Before the next rising sun

Twilight awoke to the cool night air on her back and snuggled up to Artemis, who in some way she could never quite fathom, had managed to steal all of the covers.

Again!!

As a shudder from the cold ran down her spine, she looked at the pegasus mare in her bed and suddenly had what could only be considered a VERY naughty urge... for a vampony anyways.

As her fangs extended and she leaned in towards the sleeping mares neck, that she might re-start where they had left off only hours before... she stopped and found herself staring at her lover. She looked at the way her fangs extended past her lips to acute points, offsetting her seemingly permanent half-smile. The way her raven hair fell lazily over her muzzle and neck. The way she had looked when... A strange feeling coursed through her, it wasn't one of love, lust or even affection.

She felt a shiver run down her spine that wasn't from the cold.

It was from a fear that she thought she had long lost.

Retracting her fangs, Twilight looked back over to the writing station, framed in the first vestiges of mornings new light. Easing herself out of bed, she walked over to it and took up her quill again. She was able to pick up right where she had left off.

The groups laughter had lasted but a short while. Each of them knew the reason they were there, and it wasn't for a meet-and-greet.

"Alright you two, is everything set?" Vinyl asked seriously. Both of them nodded and made a motion towards the trees.

"Yup. They volunteered when we told them what was happening." Pinkie said, her usually bubbly voice taking on a tone to match Vinyl's.

Fluttershy looked to Twilight as though beseeching forgiveness when she said. "I guess this takes out the part about telling you we're vamponies. I'm sorry we hid it from you."

Though Twilight was shocked, she could only smile at her friend.

"It's okay Fluttershy. I know now, that's all that matters. After all," Twilight said with a chuckle as she revealed her own fangs. "I'm a vampony now too!"

Pinkie nodded and said, "We told them to meet in Sweet Apple Acres. They should be there by now."

"Then let us not tarry further." Luna said with a sense of finality before Pinkie and Fluttershy joined the group and they were enveloped by the indigo aura of Luna's magic and they teleported to Sweet Apple Acres.

Artemis yawned a big yawn as she woke up. Twilight glanced over her shoulder and smiled as she watched her stagger out of bed like Berry Punch at a party. Slowly, Artemis made her way over to Twilight's stationary where her mate had stopped writing at the sound of her yawn.

Looking over her shoulder at her writing, Artemis chuckled.

"Didn't even wake me... you're getting better at this."

"I learned from the best." Twilight responded.

With a grin and a kiss on the cheek, Artemis scanned through what Twilight had written since she had awoken.

"Was it really so much a shock for you that Pinkie and Fluttershy were vamponies?"

"Not so much with Pinkie Pie... That mare has always had something about her. Something that nothing could explain. Science. Alchemy. Magic. Metaphysics of every sort... Nothing else could truly explain Pinkie. Fluttershy on the other hand... I would never have guessed. She's such a gentle, caring soul. To think that she was a vampony? That would have been absurd on most every level. Most ponies would agree on that."

Artemis nodded. "It's hard to believe sometimes as to just who IS a vampony among who you know. I mean, honestly, would you have expected that Vinyl was a Vampony? Much rather less that I knew her for more than a hundred years before my sleep?"

Her question carried a lot of truths for Twilight.

"No, honestly I wouldn't have suspected her." Twilight said as she looked back down at the scroll before her.

"I keep asking myself what I would have done if I had known back then... back before Luna turned me."

"You probably would have freaked out worse than that one time you were "tardy" getting that one friendship report in to Celestia." Artemis teased.

Twilight looked over into her lovers eye with a wistful glance.

"Oh don't even start! Luna showed me the memory of how you 'reacted' in Zebrica that one time when you were both down there for 'negotiations' between Equestria and the Zebra's! That face was priceless by the way."

Artemis blushed and turned away.

"You had to be there to really understand what I went through! I mean... SERIOUSLY!!! What I saw there shattered any expectations for Equestrian stallions!"

Twilight grinned at her victory.

"That's not so bad though, is it? After all... You have me now."

Artemis looked back at Twilight with a rueful grin.

"Yes, that I do."

Leaning in for a kiss, Artemis quickly found herself stopped by Twilight's hoof.

"Sorry Love, but you've got some hydra-breath this morning. Go brush!" Twilight said with a giggle.

The pouty look on Artemis's face wasn't enough to sway Twilight in the least, so she turned towards the bathroom as Twilight continued her writing. After all, she was getting to the first of several scarring moments in her new life! Who wouldn't want to write about that?!

As the group appeared within a section of the Apple family's sprawling orchards, Twilight felt a sense of unease sneak up on her. Each of the ponies around her had started walking in one direction, none making eye contact with her. Even Pinkie Pie hadn't looked whenever Twilight tried to make some sort of eye contact. As Twilight's head started to fall, she heard Amaranth beside her.

"They're worried. You of all ponies should now be aware that this is no small matter which we are about to face. With that said... Equestria will need the absolute best defense it has ever had."

"Why won't the Elements of Harmony work on Caedis?" Twilight asked, a bit of irritation rising in her voice as the question that had formed in her mind during the carriage ride surfaced.

Amaranth's expression fell slightly, making usual smirk seem to turn into a sad smile.

"It's odd that you should ask that..." He said, looking ahead into the clearing that was now ahead of them.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, an edge of panic playing through in her voice as Amaranth stopped. as did everypony around her. Just as she was about to ask again, she looked at the ponies that now stood in front of the group she was in.

For the second time that night, her jaw hung slack as she tried to process what she saw before her.

Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were sitting on the edge of one of the many ponds that dotted the apple orchards. All three were staring up at the moon in silence until Luna cleared her throat.

Each of them turned around to see the group of them, including the shell-shocked Twilight.

"TWILIGHT?!" All three of her friends asked in unison, wide-eyed.

Just as Twilight was about to ask what the rest of her friends from Ponyville were doing and why they were being brought into this, a thought dawned on her.

"A-are you vamponies too?!"

"No. Well... not yet anyways." Rarity said haltingly.

"Will be by the next rising sun though." Applejack said nonchalantly.

Applejack's statement made Amaranth's earlier quip hit her like a ton of bricks.

All six of the Elements of Harmony would soon be Vamponies.

"I... what?? How?! Why?!" Twilight stammered as her friends came closer to her.

"Take it easy sugarcube, we'll explain on the way." Applejack said, laying a supportive hoof on her friends shoulder.

Nodding dumbly, Twilight followed the group of ponies as they walked towards the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Their blood shall flow like rivers

As Twilight walked along the path ahead of her, flanked by all of her friends from Ponyville and led by Vinyl, she couldn't help but wonder how her life was going to keep changing. Two of her closest friends had been revealed as vamponies. Vinyl had told her that she knew at least nine vamponies, and four were surrounding her presently, and that made her all the more curious as to who the next five would be. It all seemed too surreal.

"Alright, Sugarcube... there's a little tellin' need be done so's ya know everythin'." Applejack said from beside her, drawing Twilight's attention. The Apple mare had a comforting smile, though one could tell that she was more than a little nervous due to whatever they were heading towards.

"A-about what? Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are vamponies. Vinyl already told me how some vam-"

"No sugarcube... Ya need t' listen." Applejack said, nodding to Fluttershy.

"Twilight... I'm the same age as you. Pinkie really is a year younger than me. We haven't been vamponies for long. I... I was turned after you met me." Fluttershy said as she lookied away, her frame quivering as though she were on the verge of tears and scared stiff. Twilight stopped and put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, drawing the mares attention. "What happened?" Twilight asked softly, making Fluttershy look up at her friend and take a deep breath. She wasn't going to like re-living this, but Twilight had a right to know.

"Manticore."

Twilight's eyes went wide. The thought of her demure friend surviving an attack by a manticore, even with her seemingly 'supernatural stare,' was edging once again into the realm of the absurd. But then, this had been the most absurd night that Twilight had ever had. Hay, she hadn't even heard something of this magnitude in reading a plethora of books, including the genres of horror, fantasy and adventure, in her younger years.

"Wha-"

"It was a rogue. Probably figured out that Fluttershy would help ANY creature in need and used that to lure her in." Rainbow Dash said in a surprisingly flat and angry tone. As if she had... seen.

"You... you were there." Twilight said. It was a statement, she knew better than to ask, she knew by her friends tone alone that she had seen the whole of the ordeal.

Dash nodded, her expression saddened as she looked over at Fluttershy. "I was heading to see her with Pinkie Pie. We're just walking along when Pinkie stops dead in her tracks, eyes wide. I asked her what was up, only to have her take off like a pink lightning bolt! I took off after her and we got to 'Shy at the same time." At this, Dash involuntarily shuddered. For her, the memory was just as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.

Rainbow Dash practically fell out of the sky as she saw a manticore pull it's stinger out of Fluttershy's side and leap back, eagerly waiting for its prey to expire. She remembered seeing the gash in her friend's side as the yellow pegasus collapsed. She remembered seeing the pool of dark crimson growing on the ground as Fluttershy started to bleed out. Above all though, she remembered what she had heard from Pinkie Pie. The animosity, the pain, the pure hatred that had laced Pinkie's voice as she addressed the fearsome creature that had attacked Fluttershy was something that Dash would remember to her dying day.

"You REALLY shouldn't have done that..."

Looking over, Dash had yet another scene burned into her memory that day. The crimson eyes, almost glowing in the twilight. The sickly smile, a picture of absolute insanity. The fangs, bared as a guttural snarl left Pinkie's throat. The muscles that snapped taught like bands of iron as the mare beside her tensed.

What happened next didn't really register for Rainbow until it was all over. In a single instant of blinding speed and flying blood, Pinkie Pie rocketed across the clearing and tore the manticore's throat out and took its tail clean off. As the beast had whirled around in blind pain, she had stabbed it in the chest with its own stinger. As the predator fell, Pinkie listened to the dying creature howl in pain as her pin-straight hair moved slightly in the breeze. Giving it a final glance, she whirled around and kicked it in the head so hard, her back hooves broke through its skull. The manticore lay in a bloody heap as Pinkie Pie pulled her hooves back, pieces of grey matter still clinging to them. Dash lost whatever contents her stomach had in it at the time, despite her attempts to keep it down. When she looked up again, she saw Pinkie cradling Fluttershy's head and silently crying, her hair still pin straight as her tears fell. Her fangs were still clearly visible as she had choked out a half-sobbed "I'm sorry!" and bit into the yellow mares neck. Fluttershy's eyes burst open as she screamed, a long scream of untold pain that shook Dash to her core.

The sound of Fluttershy's scream and the sight of Pinkie Pie pulling her fangs from her friends neck had shocked Dash out of her traumatized stupor and replaced her lack of cognition with pure rage as she rocketed over to Fluttershy and knocked Pinkie Pie away from her. As Pinkie Pie hit the ground, Dash was right there and kicked her as hard as she could, sending her flying again. Scenes of what had just happened flashed in Dash's mind along with the feeling she had gotten years earlier when she found out she had almost lost Fluttershy during the race that had resulted in both of their cutie marks. The feeling she had when she heard her friend was moving away from Cloudsdale. The feeling of elation when she found out she was getting posted to Ponyville as a weather pony because she knew Fluttershy was there. The feeling of rage because now, she would never get the chance to say what she had wanted to say for years. Several punches and kicks followed each thought until finally, Dash had Pinkie Pie pinned up against a tree by her throat. Her hooves were hanging limply at her side as she looked at Dash with tear-filled eyes and tried to speak.

"Dashie, I'm so-hrrk!" Pinkie had been cut off as Dash had pushed her hooves harder into Pinkie's throat.

"Y-you... Why?WHY?!! TELL ME WHY DAMMIT!!! WASN'T IT BAD ENOUGH THAT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF THAT DAMN MANTICORE?! NOW YOU HAVE TO GO CHOMPING INTO HER NECK TO FINISH HER OFF?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!! " Dash yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried with all she was to understand what had just happened in front of her. She just knew she had just watched Fluttershy die by Pinkie's hoof. Some ponies would likely say it was a 'mercy killing.' That Pinkie did her a favor by killing her instead of letting the manticore's venom work its way like acid through Fluttershy's system, painfully eating away at her, leaving her to only scream in agony before she died. Dash knew what a manticore sting did to a pony, she had heard stories from her uncle who was in the Everfree border patrol. Some of those stories had scarred him the way the scene that had unfolded before her would scar her forever.

"WHY?! WHY?! Why?" Dash asked as she choked back sobs, letting go of Pinkie Pie's neck and collapsing on the ground in a heap. "Why... Fluttershy... Why?!"

Curling into a ball, Rainbow Dash wept. Long cries of sadness wracked her body as she tried to curl up that much tighter. She cursed Celestia, that something like this should happen to Fluttershy. Why did it have to be her?

It wasn't until a raspy voice caught Dash's attention that she stopped crying.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Rainbow. I had to."

Her head snapped up as she recognized the voice as Pinkie's. Scowling at the pink mare, Dash's teeth chattered with barely contained rage and sorrow.

"Y-you MONSTER!!"

As Dash stood up, fully ready to unleash her fury on the pink mare again, she heard something that stopped her cold.

"R-rain... bow...?"

She couldn't be. There was no way! If the manticore didn't kill her, then Pinkie- There was no way!

"Rainbow... don't..."

She looked. She had to. What she saw made her cry tears of joy.

Fluttershy was alive. She looked at Dash with a mix of sadness and pain as she tried to get to her hooves. It took Dash all of half a second to bolt over to Fluttershy and look her over. Though the gash was still there, much to Rainbow's disbelief, the wound was closing right before her eyes. The color was returning to Fluttershy's eyes... but it wasn't their usual color. They were coming back a dark crimson, much like Pinkie's had been. Looking over to Pinkie Pie, Dash saw her trying to raise up slowly. The damage Dash's assault had done was evident in the bruises and cuts to the earth pony mare's body and face, but it caused Rainbow Dash to realize three things very quickly.

One: Pinkie Pie was a vampony and now, so was Fluttershy.

Two: She hadn't been finishing Fluttershy off, she had been saving her.

Three: She had just attacked one of her best friends as viciously as any manticore ever could.

"Oh Dear Faust! Pinkie, I'm so, so, sorry! I... " Dash said, still cradling Fluttershy close to her barrel as the earth pony mare finally rose to her hooves with a sad but understanding smile.

"I-It's okay, Dashie. I know what it must have looked like. I had to act fast though... manticore venom is quick and painful. If I hadn't done what I did... She'd be screaming in agony right now and there's nothing anypony could have done but listened and watched."

Dash nodded somberly, looking down at Fluttershy's pained smile. She may not have been feeling the effects of the manticores powerful venom, but she still had a gash in her side that was no doubt causing her great pain. Presently though, Dash just carefully hugged her friend close to her as silent tears slid down her cheeks. "I thought I lost you Fluttershy... I thought I lost you." The words came out as choked whispers as she absentmindedly nuzzled the butter yellow pegasus in her arms. Looking into Fluttershy's eyes, Dash saw similar tears running down her cheeks. Her smile though, was becoming less pained.

Suddenly, Fluttershy's gaze drifted down to Dash's body. Glancing back up to her eyes and back again, Fluttershy cleared her throat and said "Rainbow... you're covered in blood." Looking down, the prismatic mare saw that she was indeed rather drenched in blood. A shiver went down her spine as she realized that, had it not been for Pinkie, Fluttershy would either be in pain unimaginable or dead at that moment. It dawned on her suddenly, that Fluttershy's eyes were back up to meet hers. Looking up, the sight shocked Rainbow. Fluttershy looked at her with uncertain but hopeful eyes, and biting her lip, making a single fang stick out. Dash had to admit, despite the situation, the sight was incredibly... hot.

"Uuhhh, 'Shy?"

"Yes, Rainbow?"

"W-what's with the look?" Dash asked as her cheeks tinged a light pink.

Fluttershy blushed crimson and looked away. "I-it's nothing..."

"C'mon 'Shy... It's me. You can tell me anything."

Looking back at Dash, Fluttershy couldn't stop herself from licking her lips as she realized that she heard the athletic mare's heart beating in her chest.

"I... well... I'm..."

"Yeeeees?" Dash said, giving the stuttering mare a confused look.

"I'm... thirsty."

Dash's eyes shot wide open as she jumped backwards of her own accord, allowing Fluttershy to fall to the ground with a soft thud before she even realized what happened. As soon as she did, she scrambled back to Fluttershy's side and cradled her head again, apologizing profusely.

"Oh, Faust! I am SO sorry Fluttershy! I don't know what came over me! I-" Dash was stopped when Fluttershy's hoof came to rest on her lips. Looking up, Rainbow saw that Fluttershy was looking away again as her voice and body quivered. Sniffling, she said "I-It's okay Rainbow Dash... I... I understand." Fluttershy said before she passed her tongue over her new fangs and sighed. "After all... I know what I am."

Dash was at a loss for words. She wanted to say something, anything, in order to comfort Fluttershy. To let her know it was okay. To make the mare before her know everything was fine, even if she herself wasn't sure it was. Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, she looked over to see Pinkie Pie smiling at her lopsidedly, her hair having regained its poofy curls. "Dashie, can I talk to you for a second?"

Looking back to Fluttershy, who simply nodded, never turning her gaze back to the mare holding her, Dash nodded and gently set Fluttershy down before following Pinkie. Her eyes never left the quivering body of her oldest friend.

"It's okay, you know..." Pinkie's voice said, causing Dash to turn her head to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Your reaction just now. You actually handled that pretty well, considering you rushed right back to her. You care for her more than you know Rainbow Dash. You've shown that whether you realize it or not."

"I..." Dash slumped. She didn't know what to do. She just knew that in the last ten minutes, her life had been thrown the biggest loop since her sonic rainboom.

"Will I be turned if she drinks from me?" Dash asked, not entirely sure why the words were coming out of her mouth, but never more certain as she spoke them.

Smiling, Pinkie shook her head. "Nope. It takes a few years to learn how to sire a fledgling. I've only been able to do that myself for two years now."

Dash's interest piqued at that. "How long have you-"

Her question was cut off as Pinkie spoke. "Not important right now. Right now, what's important is that you get over there to your marefriend and let her suck on your neck a bit." the poofy-maned mare said with a wink and a nudge from her flank that sent Dash stumbling towards Fluttershy.

“Marefr-... Wha-?!" Dash started to respond, but was shut up by Pinkie's knowing smirk. Some things were just better left unquestioned when it came to Pinkie Pie. Shaking her head, Dash walked over to Fluttershy and touched her shoulder with a hoof.

"'Shy?"

Fluttershy cringed, but turned her head to look at Rainbow and said "Y-yes, Rainbow?"

Rainbow smiled and nuzzled Fluttershy. "It's okay. You can... you can d-drink from me." The stutter in her voice telling of her trepidation. Fluttershy started to try and move away but was stopped as the gash in her side from the manticore stinger reminded her that it was still there. Hissing in pain, Fluttershy looked at Dash, a hungry look in her eyes before she closed them and shook her head.

"No, Rainbow Dash... I- It's really okay, I'm-"

Any argument was cut short when she felt a hoof tap her head. Opening her eyes, she noticed that Dash was giving her a stare to rival her own. Shrinking a bit, she buckled under the gaze of Rainbow's rose colored eyes.

"I.. I am a little... thirsty." She finally squeaked out, looking at Dash's neck. Leaning closer, she saw Rainbow flinch, but not move away. "A-are you sure?" Seeing Dash nod, Fluttershy hesitated for a moment before wrapping her hooves around Rainbow's neck and biting into her. The sudden spike of pain made Rainbow gasp, but the pain was soon replaced by a pleasant warmth that spread throughout her as Fluttershy drank. Melting into the usually shy mare's embrace, Dash wrapped her arms around Fluttershy as well, simply enjoying the moment. Under a tree, not far from the two pegasi, sat Pinkie Pie. The same knowing smile never left her face as she watched Fluttershy feed.

"And so it begins."

"And well, that… that’s pretty much the story of how I became a vampony." Fluttershy said, looking back over at Twilight as they walked.

To her credit, Twilight hadn't slipped into her "freak out zone," nor was her mind blank. It seemed that she was coming to terms with the fact that ponies that she had now known for years, had been vamponies. However, one question did keep coming back to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The group of friends looked uneasily at each other before Applejack sighed. "Twi, sugar... Y'all kinda had a bad habit uh slippin' over t'loco on us. It's not that we didn't wanna tell ya. Ah'll tell ya now that it was tough to keep it from ya. As Faust is mah witness, none of us liked it... But we couldn't risk it."

"All of you knew?"

Each of them reluctantly nodded, still uneasily glancing from one to the other. Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to speak again, but she was promptly cut off as her ears perked up and her head snapped around to look ahead. Fluttershy had frozen and was looking ahead as well. Looking ahead herself, Twilight saw that Luna, Vinyl and Amaranth had all stopped, and were looking at a section of forest in front of them that seemed to emulate pure darkness.

Walking a few steps ahead of the group, Vinyl smirked into the darkness. “It’s been a while… My friends.”

As the six friends joined Luna and Amaranth, Twilight became acutely aware that the nine of them were not quite alone in the forest as she heard one, two, and then three sets of hoofsteps coming towards them from the darkness in front of Vinyl. The forest seemed to conceal their forms in inky blackness until they reached the edge of the clearing. Three mares. All as white as alabaster, with manes of black, red, and purple. They stopped a short distance from the larger group, their expressions emotionless as they all spoke as one.

“Melody… Many years have passed since you came here last. Why do you come now, to the dark of the forest?” The monotone of their voices and their slight smirks gave Twilight, and her friends from the look of it, the creeps.

Vinyl cocked her head to one side and raised her sunglasses to look at the three expressionless mares. “Uh… We came to wake Artemis up?"

Again, the mares spoke as one, each of them cocking their heads over, expressions staying neutral. "Why do you wish to wake our mistress?"

"Uuuuhh, girls... Are you okay? You sound… different." Vinyl asked, her unease showing in her voice.

Their smirks grew into dangerous smiles as their eyes narrowed and they started creeping forward. “Whatever do you mean, Melody? We have not changed… You have.”

Author's Note

HUZZAH!!! ANOTHER CHAPTER!!

Well, this time around I had a proofreader. A big shoutout goes to Rainbow Ninja for being said proof reader and for putting up with the fact that I disappear for weeks on end. Or that I don't write for weeks on end at least. Oh well, you get the idea!

ENJOY!!

Into Darkness

Twilight knew that the situation unfolding in front of her was NOT a good one. The three mysterious mares were closing in on Vinyl, circling her like ravenous timberwolves, licking their fangs as if to show their vicious intent. Vinyl was whirling around quickly, trying not to let her back fall squarely to any one of them as they circled. Looking over to Luna and Amaranth, she saw the black unicorn lean over and whisper into Luna’s ear. To her astonishment, Luna only smirked, chuckled and nodded before turning her head to look at Twilight and her friends, all of whom looked ready to jump into the fray.

"No matter what happens, do not intervene. This is not our fight." Luna said, in a cool, somewhat amused tone that somehow, also gave no room for argument. As the mares circled, getting ever closer, Twilight was on the verge of panic, her heart flying in her chest. She could hear the hearts of her friends hammering as well… they all knew the situation was on the brink of collapse.

Then, in an instant, it happened.

In what seemed like both blinding speed and painfully slow motion, the mare with the crimson mane flew across the short distance between them in a blur, knocking Vinyl off her feet with a sickening crack not unlike that of bones shattering. The other two mares came between the two fighting ponies and everypony else in the same instant. Looking over in a panic, the lavender mare was surprised to see bemused smiles on Luna and Amaranth's faces while her own worry was echoed by her friends.

"Why aren't you helping her?!" Fluttershy shouted in an uncharacteristic display of assertiveness as she made to help Vinyl, only to be bodily stopped by Luna, who gave her a wry grin.

"Worry not, friend Fluttershy, for there is no danger to any of us here."

Twilight was about to argue that statement when she looked over to Vinyl and the mare pinning her. Slowly, with fangs bared, the red maned mare leaned down and... brought their mouths together in a brief, but rather intense kiss.

"W-... What?!" Applejack asked, clearly as shocked as most everypony else.

The mare straddling Vinyl broke the kiss and whispered into Vinyl’s ear before she sat up, laughing loudly. "Oh, Mel, you should have seen the look on your face! That. Was. PRICELESS!!!"

Beneath her, a slightly panting Vinyl Scratch smiled goofily at her would-be "assailant" and chuckled. "Gotcha? That's the best thing you could come up with? Really, Ruby?"

The mare on top of her rolled her eyes. "Like you could do any bE-aah!" The mare yelped as Vinyl's hoof quickly reached out and slapped her flank right on the cutie mark with a resounding SMACK!!. Looking down with a lascivious grin, she said "Oh you're gonna regret that later Mel!"

To her credit, Vinyl just gave her a cheeky smirk and asked "Promise?"

"If you two nymphomaniacs are quite done, I'm pretty sure we're here to go wake up The Mistress... Not buck in a field." The mare with the black mane said in a flat tone that was offset by an amused smirk.

"Yea, business before pleasure, we know Nightshade." Ruby said, rolling her eyes.

"That, and I’m pretty sure the readers are getting a bit annoyed by all of this waiting to meet Artemis." Pinkie said, looking up into the sky.

"Uh... What??" Applejack said from beside her.

“Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about, AJ! Now come on! lets get going!”

For a while, nopony spoke. They all just watched as Pinkie walked towards the black void that the three white mares had come out of with expressions of utter confusion. It took the mare with a purple mane to break the silence. “What the buck is she on??”

Rainbow just shook her head. “Nopony knows... So who are you three, anyways?” Her attention moving back to the mystery mare.

The mare shrugged. “Well, I’m Amethyst. The one with the black mane is Nightshade, and the one with the red mane is-”

“Ruby, yea… I’m pretty sure we got that. I mean, who ARE you ponies? What are you doing out here?” Dash said, interrupting the mare, who gave her a flat stare for said interruption.

“After giving you our names, I was going to tell you that we are three of the nine guardians of the crypt of Artemis Night. The Eternal Huntress.”

“... Oh… My bad.” Dash said, uncharacteristically cowering a little under Amethyst’s gaze.

Sighing a little, Amethyst shook her head and looked over towards Pinkie Pie, who was “poking” the darkness with a hoof. “We’re here because Artemis has enemies. Vamponies who would kill her if they got the chance. A few have tried, some even brought entire armies of fledglings… but none reached our Mistress. None can when all of us fight. We knew that there were six vamponies in your group. We’ve handled more than that before, of course, but Ruby saw three that were very powerful. More powerful than any others before.” Looking over to Luna, she smiled. “And now, we know why.”

“Indeed.” Luna said with a smile, already flanked by Ruby and Nightshade, who were nuzzling her.

At this, Amethyst also walked over to Luna and nuzzled her tenderly. A gesture which Luna reciprocated, using her wings to bring the three mares into an impromptu hug.

“Our Queen… we welcome you.”

“I am humbled that you welcome me amongst you again… my children of the night.” Luna said, her voice catching in her throat for an instant. Twilight and the rest of her friends watched the exchange with understanding smiles. The emotion that the three mares were feeling towards Luna was palpable, Twilight could even see a few tears running down Nightshades cheeks as the words were spoken.

Despite the absurdity of the situation… it was a beautiful thing.

Unfortunately, the emotional display was suddenly cut off as a delighted voice broke the silence of the clearing, drawing everypony’s attention.

“Hey! The shadows move! What happens if they-aah!!” Any further speech was cut off as Pinkie Pie got sucked into the shadows.

“BUCK!!” The three mares all but shouted as they ran towards the forest and dove into the inky blackness, disappearing into ripples of shadow as they did so.

“Um… What just-HEYWHATAREYOUDOINGLUNA?!!” Twilight shouted as she was picked up by Luna’s magic and hurled full force towards the shadows, with Luna and Amaranth close behind.

Twilight watched the darkness get closer to her, until it swallowed her and her friends.

Caedis paced across from a bright orange unicorn stallion, impatience etched in his features as the unicorn kept his eyes, as well as his mouth closed.

“Well? Have they entered the crypt yet?!”

“Not yet. Wait… one of them-Now four-Yes! All of them just entered.” Opening his eyes, the stallion’s irises glowed the same color as his coat before dimming down. “They are now beyond my sight. What are your commands?”

“Commands?” Caedis said, a smug smirk painting his features as he addressed the unicorn. “I have none yet. I merely wanted to know when they got there.” Walking over to a window, the stallion chuckled darkly. “After all… We’ll be meeting them soon enough. Artemis will be a grand addition to our ranks, I think. Even the whelp of a fledgling Luna turned to fight us has some potential. The sisters will fall… Equestria will be ours. We, the superior race, will have absolute power.”

“Master Caedis, not to overstep my bounds… but what makes you think Artemis or the fledgling will join us? They owe allegiance to the Prince-hRrk!!” The orange stallion suddenly found himself pinned by his throat against a wall that had previously been at least twenty feet away.

Caedis looked over to the stallion with an unamused expression. “You’re lucky you’re of use to me Tirok… otherwise you would be a deadpony. They will join us! How could they not?! Once they learn of the horrible acts the ‘princesses’ committed… they will join us. Mark my words.”

Tirok nodded vigorously, had he not been a vampony, his lungs would have been burning from lack of air as he flailed against the vice-like grip of Caedis’s magic until he was finally released.

“Besides,” Caedis said, looking back out his window. “The whelp has yet to learn of the true nature of the vampony. She won’t be able to refuse.”

Twilight hadn’t expected the shadows to have a consistency… or for that matter, to drag her to a sudden halt before dropping her onto a solid marble floor.

“Ow!! Mare-bucking… that hurt!!” Twilight cursed uncharacteristically. She hadn’t taken a hit like that since she was Applebloom’s age!

It was something her friends hadn’t expected either, as each of them hit the ground and uttered a similar curse, save for Fluttershy. She somehow landed on top of Rainbow Dash, who like Twilight, that had been rather quickly thrown through shadows by Luna, said diarch landing on her own hooves before stamping one with enough force to crack the stone under her hoof and bring silence to what Twilight hadn’t yet recognized, had been an absolute cacophony.

“BE STILL!!!” Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, effectively making her presence known in deafening surety.

Looking up, Twilight saw some things she was woefully unprepared for. One was Pinkie Pie, sitting on top of a pile of two dazed vampony mares, holding a half-eaten cupcake. Ruby, Nightshade and Amethyst were nary a hoofstep away from her, almost undoubtedly having been questioning how Pinkie was able to defeat two vampony guards in a little under ten seconds. Another was that Amaranth was sitting on his haunches, levitating a teacup in his ice-blue magic and looking at Luna out of the corner of his eye in what may have been the most deviously innocent expression of all time. And finally, all of this was before a stone monument that could only be the result of decades, if not CENTURIES of carving by the most dedicated of craftsponies. It looked nearly as tall as Canterlot Castle and far more elaborate. Yet, the obviously hoof-carved monument held a dark and ominous aura about it that made Twilight want to turn around and run back through the shadows so as to return from whence she came.

“Luna…” Nightshade started, breaking the momentary silence. “Who is this mare? She bested not one, but TWO fully realized, eight-hundred year old vamponies in a matter of seconds.” Turning her head, her gaze leveled at her queen. “And I want to know how.”

Shaking her head, Luna shrugged. “I’m afraid I know not. All I know is that Miss Pie is, aside from Amaranth, the most eccentric and unusual pony I have ever met. I believe it would be wise to… “Make nice” with her, lest you find yourself incurring her wrath. Which, I might add, is not inconsiderable.”

“Indeed.” Amaranth said, walking towards the group of ponies. “She is not one to trifle with. I daresay, she may one day be my replacement or match as a pony who bends what seems to be reality to their will.”

Pinkie Pie, for her part, merely… blushed. Waving a hoof at him half-dismissively, she said: “Aww, you’re just saying that. I’m just me.”

“Which is more like myself than any other pony I’ve ever met. You will go far, Miss Pie, mark my words.”

“Ahem, not to interrupt this little ‘meet-and-greet’ party… but who the buck are you lot?” An unfamiliar voice, that of a stallion, said. Effectively breaking yet another diversion from the main focus of the assembled ponies. Looking over, four stallions stood shoulder to shoulder at the dark doorway of the monolith that towered over them. Two of the pegasi had their wings flared, ready to take off in an instant. One was a unicorn, his horn charged in dark magic. The last, an earth pony, not unlike Orpheus in his size and build.

“Luna, Princess of the Night and your Queen.” Luna said, flaring her wings out and lighting her horn in her own dark magic so powerful that it seemed to shake the very air around them.

“Amaranth. As though you had to ask… not after the last party I showed up to!” the Black stallion said with a chuckle.

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Twilight Sparkle??”

“Rainbow Dash.”

“Applejack.”

“F-Fluttershy…”

“Rarity… uncouth ruffians! “

“These six are my companions. Three are essential to resurrecting Artemis Night, your Mistress. They shall be among my children by daybreak. Three have already become one with the Night. One, only just recently…” Luna said, casting Twilight a glance before turning her attention back to the stallions before her. “Will you let us pass?”

The four stallions prostrated themselves before Luna, their heads down in reverence as they spoke in unison. “Yes our Queen, we shall grant thee passage to the tomb of our Mistress.”

“Rise, let us not tarry further.” Luna said, clearly becoming a little impatient with the constant interruptions.

“Yes, Our Queen.” the stallions said in unison before jumping up and leading the way into the crypt.

“We keep hearing about this ‘Artemis’ pony… Who is she?” Applejack asked as the group followed the four stallions into the torchlit hallway.

“Well…” Amaranth said “She’s one of the oldest vamponies in Equestria, Luna aside. She’s the only pony, other than Twilight here, to have ever fed off of Luna. As you can imagine, that gave her power like most vamponies could only dream of. She earned the nickname “Eternal Huntress” after hunting an entire clan to the last member. It took her fifty years, but over 900 ponies fell to her… She was essentially the sole killer of the then-infamous Black Soul Clan. Now, they’ve pretty much faded into the annals of history.

“She sounds like an absolute killing machine!” Rainbow said, partly aghast, while also being partly impressed.

“Oh, every vampony you meet over a hundred years old is a killing machine.” Amaranth said with a chuckle. “She’s an artist of death. A reaper with wings. Some would even say Death incarnate. She’s… a big-hearted pony who is here because she hated seeing her friends, family, lovers and even children succumb to the slow march of time. Make no mistake Miss Dash… we vamponies are ponies too.”

“Oh… my bad.” Dash said, hanging her head a bit.

Shaking his head slightly, Amaranth said “Don’t be sorry. You’ll understand soon enough… After all, You’ll have a long time to get to know Artemis. You all will.” With that, they entered a lit chamber. To say it was spacious would be a blatant understatement and insult to the craftsponies who had built the room. It was opulent! The room was massive, a design etched into the floor beneath their hooves that Twilight didn’t recognize, but knew was magical in nature. The center piece of the room was a casket of solid marble, intricately carved and sculpted with designs that were from era’s long gone.

It was Luna’s voice that broke the silence.

“Everypony, stand back.”

With that, she lit her horn in dark magic and encased the casket in an inky black glow. A short while later, a series of clicks was heard.

“A magically sealed coffin?” Twilight asked, shocked.

Setting the lid over to the side, Luna walked over to the casket, her horn dimming.

“Artemis… my old friend. Finally, we meet again.”

Bloodstained Resurrection

“Amaranth, do not allow her to intervene.” Luna said in a suddenly cold and commanding voice, prompting Twilight’s eyes to widen as she found herself encompassed by Amaranth’s magic.

“What are you doing?!” Twilight shouted, struggling against his magic as she looked back towards her friends. They were being bodily stopped by nine vamponies… there was no way anyone would be able to stop Luna from doing whatever she was planning.

Taking a deep breath, Luna lit her horn, causing the arcane etching in the floor to begin glowing a deep crimson. Looking down intently into the coffin, Luna started to chant in a language that Twilight couldn’t understand.

Glancing back over to the cryptic black stallion, in a state of complete and utter confusion, she asked “What is she saying?”

“Artemis, Eternal Huntress and Daughter of The Night, we awaken thee from thy slumber.” Amaranth said with a small nod. “She’s speaking in the old tongue of the alicorns." He said as Luna stopped speaking and his magic intensified. "That’s not why she’s got me holding you back though.” He tensed as Luna summoned a blade with her magic.

The instrument was of a single curved piece of crimson dragon scale, sharper than any blade even the most skilled of earth pony or unicorn blacksmith could ever dream of. It was a blade unlike any other Twilight had ever seen.

“Wha-” Twilight started, but wasn’t able to finish as Luna levitated the blade to her neck and, with a violent pull of her magic, slit her own throat.

“LUNA!!!!!!!” Twilight screamed as the Lunar diarch’s blood spurted and flowed from her throat in a seemingly endless torrent. The only thing that made having to watch the lunar regent twitch and convulse that much worse, were the sounds that Luna was making. With each spurt of blood, a small squelch, gurgle, or hacking sound would reach the ears of everypony assembled until, finally, Luna collapsed on the floor in a heap. What little blood Twilight thought she might have left, began pooling underneath Luna's now-still body.

Twilight fought like a madpony against Amaranth’s magic, trying to fire off every single spell she knew, even some which would most assuredly have killed any mortal pony. Spells that, up until moments ago, she wouldn't have thought about using on ANYPONY.

As she did so, Amaranth gave her an unamused look.

“Twilight, I need you to calm down. You should know that Luna isn’t going to die from having her throat cut. However…” he said, looking over to the casket as a low thrum began to resonate throughout the room, “Luna is currently the least of our concerns.”

As the thrum began to increase, shaking the very ground underhoof in a pattern not unlike a heartbeat, the runes on the floor began glowing brighter. Slowly, the light encased the entire area within the circle in a dome of crimson magic. Upon seeing the dome of magic, Amaranth released Twilight from his magic but quickly stopped her from rushing forward with a hoof.

“If you touch that sphere, you’ll die.” He said flatly, his eyes uncharacteristically hard as he lowered his hoof. “That spell would hold off an army thousands strong. You can’t disarm it either. It would send a feedback through your horn and split your skull, probably blowing out your horn before it did. Artemis was always cruely clever about her spells.”

“HER SPELLS?! I thought Luna said she was a pegasus!” Twilight gasped.

“She is.” Came the ominous reply from Nightshade.

Then, as though summoned from a nightmare, a scream reverberated from within the sphere.

A demonic scream of untold agony.

As Twilight looked towards the casket, she was horrified as she saw a blood covered hoof attached to what could only be described as a layer of hole-riddled skin loosely hanging over bone, suddenly flail over the edge of the coffin. As the blood from the first hoof began dripping down the marble slab to the floor below, another hoof hooked over the opposite edge of the casket, this one showing the beginnings of regeneration. Twilight could swear she actually saw the fibers weaving together to form tendons and ligaments as the blood itself seemed to congeal into flesh. The two hooves hooked hard against the sides of the casket as what would possibly be one of the most scarring things she had ever seen to that point, pulled itself to within her vision.

A skeleton, the parchment-like skin that still clung tightly to its skull, stained with Princess Luna’s blood. The empty eye-sockets turned towards the group of ponies, before settling on Amaranth. Then, its jaws opened wide, revealing its long fangs as an otherworldly scream cut through the air, making all assembled flatten their ears as the deafening wail grew before dying out entirely.

Looking up, Twilight saw Luna move. She wanted to call out, but thought better of it, lest she attract the attention of the otherworldly creature before her. Slowly, Luna rose on shaking limbs until she was face to face with the skeletal corpse.

“Artemis…” Luna hoarsely half-whispered, her throat still healing from the self-inflicted wound. “I need you... Equestria needs you!”

The creature bore its fangs at Luna, its wing bones flaring up in a challenging gesture that sprayed blood backwards in a fan that made the creature look as though it had wings again, but only for an instant. Luna didn’t falter, nor did she so much as flinch upon the ghastly sight. The skeletal remains before her stared her down with eyeless sockets, as she stared back, her eyes were hard but pleading.

"Please... my friend."

For a tense moment, it seemed as though nopony dared to breathe.

Finally, the animated skeleton closed its gaping maw and gave Luna the slightest of nods before an ethereal whisper of a voice seemed to emanate from the air around them.

“I… must… feed…”

The three words sent chills down Twilight’s spine.

“I know…” Luna said with sad eyes before turning her attention towards Nightshade.

“How many do you have?”

Nightshade, as well as the other eight guardians, bowed as she said “We have ten, all deserving of their fate. All waiting within the dungeon.” Stretching out a hoof, Nightshade pointed towards a surprisingly simple oaken door.

Luna nodded as she said “That shall suffice.” her voice coming out a bit stronger and clearer with each word as she looked back to the skeleton and nodded. Lighting her horn, she picked up the bloody specter and set its hooves on the ground. Slowly, the two of them walked towards the door, pausing only to allow Artemis to touch the crimson dome with one of her wing bones, causing it to dissipate before they walked to the door. As it closed behind them, the slamming sound seemed to draw a relieved exhale from everypony left in the room.

“That went better than I expected it would.” Amaranth remarked lightly as he turned and walked towards the other vamponies. Turning around to look at her friends, Twilight saw that all of them were shaking, even Pinkie Pie. It was Fluttershy who broke the silence that her friends shared.

“She said ten… as in… ten ponies?!”

Looking back to the door with wide eyes, Twilight turned to sprint across the room to the door, only to have Nightshade bar her way in nary the blink of an eye. The black-maned mare fixed Twilight with a level stare.

“I wouldn’t.”

“Why?! Those are ten PONIES in there!! They-” Twilight started, but was cut off as Nightshade raised her voice in a snarl.

“They would rape you, murder you, torture you, all without a second thought. The ponies down there are some of the worst that Celestia imprisoned or banished from Equestria. Some “disappeared” from the dungeons in Canterlot, their crimes having deemed them far too dangerous to even be kept in cells with other ponies. Others still are the most wanted criminals that seemed to "vanish" into thin air. The ponies in there are currently the worst of what Ponykind has to offer. They deserve the fate that is going to befall them tenfold, fledgling. Don’t forget that. You may be an alicorn of sorts, you may be Celestia’s prized student, but make no mistake in thinking that you can deem ponies like them able to be saved.” Nightshade spat, the venom and harshness in her voice telling Twilight that she REALLY shouldn’t even attempt to go through the door that stood behind Nightshade.

Twilight cringed under Nightshade’s verbal assault, her eyes locked to the other mare’s as she slowly slunk backwards, away from the door.

“What is she going to do to them?” Fluttershy inquired, her whisper-soft voice gone as the seldom-seen assertive nature that hid within her showed.

Turning to look at Fluttershy, Nightshade’s even voice echoed through the chamber.

“She’s going to rip them apart... and slake her thirst with their blood."

Luna walked beside the skin-covered skeleton of her dearest friend through the torch lit corridor. The torches lighting in pairs as they slowly, silently, made their way towards what Luna knew would be a bloodbath. In silence, she pondered why Artemis had let herself fall into the state of decay that she was in presently. Most vamponies, even after centuries, would look as though they were merely sleeping. She wondered what would cause one of her best friends to allow herself to try and fade into dust.

Her musings were interrupted, however, as they reached the end of the corridor. There, a simple wrought iron door stood between her and the ten condemned souls.

Looking into the large cell, she was surprised by what she saw. All ten ponies, stallions and mares alike, stood perfectly healthy and utterly still. Many had looks of defiance on their faces, while others held looks of unbridled terror.

"They froze them in time. Such a complicated spell... No doubt it took several of them to accomplish. Rather clever though." Luna remarked in a whisper as she turned her attention to the decaying specter at her side.

Lighting her horn, Luna un-froze all ten ponies at once. Looking upon them with a cold, unreadable expression, she spoke to them in a tone that instantly caught their attention.

"You ponies have been tried and convicted of multiple crimes against the ponies of Equestria. Crimes that have either deemed you too dangerous to be allowed to live in Equestria, or even to live at all. Given that you have been frozen in time, I feel compelled to inform you that I am Princess Luna. Princess of the Night, and Queen of the Vamponies!." She said, allowing her fangs to show and her wings to flare.

Despite this display, Luna noticed that every eye was now locked on the animated skeleton that stood beside her, so she continued.

"And by that authority, I sentence each of you to death. Your sentence will be carried out by Artemis Night, she is what remains of the pony you see next to me.” Lighting her horn, Luna opened the door. “May the creators have mercy on thy wretched souls."

The bones of Artemis’ wings flared out again as a wraith-like scream echoed in the chamber a mere instant before she flew at the ponies within the cell.

“Calm down!! You have no reason to be in there and I can tell you now, you DON'T want to see what's on the other side of that door!!” Nightshade said as she wrestled with a frantic Fluttershy, who upon hearing that the ponies behind the door would be torn limb from limb and drained of blood, had quite literally flown towards the door in a pink and yellow blur. However, even as a vampony, Fluttershy was no match for Nightshade.

“I DON’T CARE!! THOSE ARE STILL PONIES DOWN THERE!!! THEY ALL DES-”

Fluttershy’s scream was overpowered by a much louder scream. One of untold anguish that echoed from even behind the oaken door that stood between them and the carnage unfolding on the other side.

Lighting her horn, Twilight flung everypony aside in a burst of magic and wrenched the door open. However, she froze cold at the entrance as the scent of fresh blood hit her, along with a few drops of the delicious liquid that drenched the door, and the scene before her was laid bare.

Luna watched with a heavy heart as Artemis tore through pony after pony in what seemed as nary the blink of an eye. Her fangs and the bones of her wings tearing ponies limbs off, severing their heads, and laying their bodies open. As she watched the entrails of a mare fall to the ground, having been freed from the owners body by the now half-formed wing of Artemis, she couldn’t help but shudder as the mares blood spurted out onto the floor in a volume that told of a quick but painful death. Finally, only one pony was left alive… another mare, her eyes transfixed on the last corpse that fell before Artemis. The red-coated unicorn cringed in the corner, her horn having been long cut off, as death came for her. Looking up with eyes brimming with tears, she didn’t plead for her life, for she was far beyond mercy or saving and she well knew it. She simply watched as the blood on the floor slowly trickled and flowed to Artemis, coating her, recreating her. Before her eyes, she saw a pony being born of nothing but blood. In her final moments, only one thought possessed her mind.

“M-Monster!!” She said, her eyes flitting over to the corpse of the mare that had once been her mate one last time before she looked death in the face. She knew it would trigger something, hopefully her quick death, but she didn’t expect what it did trigger. The wraith before her stopped, its freshly formed eyelids closed over what looked like a hundred worms wriggling beneath as its raspy voice echoed softly through the chamber.

“Monster… I cannot think of a better word…”

With that, Artemis opened her silver-gray eyes and spoke in her own voice. A svelt, feminine tone that seemed to flow from her mouth like velvet would across the bare, sensitive skin of one’s underbelly.

“To describe me.”

Opening her mouth in a snarl, Artemis lunged at the mare’s throat, burying her fangs deep within the flesh of her final victim of the night. The mare in her grasp didn’t scream, she merely wimpered until she expired in the fanged clutches of Artemis’ maw.

Letting the drained corpse drop with a soft thud, Artemis cast a glance over her shoulder to Luna. Her voice once again rolling through the room, soft, yet seeming to roar in Luna’s ears like thunder.

“...Why… Why didst thou waken me?”

“We need you… Artemis.” Luna started to approach the grey mare. “I-”

“TAKE ANOTHER STEP, AND I SHALL RIP THEE LIMB FROM LIMB AS I DID THESE OTHERS, YOU WRETCH!!”

Luna stopped, her expression showing her hurt as one of her oldest friends snapped at her.

“Artemis?”

“Why couldst thou not merely let me die, Luna? Let me fade away into naught but dust? Let me finally atone for all which I have done?! WHY?!”

Luna hesitated for a moment, her eyes closing as she searched for the right words.

“ANSWER ME!!!”

Luna once again flinched, but couldn't find the words to respond.

When Luna didn’t answer, Artemis shook with rage. She wanted to whirl on Luna and attack her, to rip the mare who had once been her dearest friend to pieces.

But she couldn’t.

So, falling to her knees, Artemis screamed. Her scream was of agony, rage, hatred, sorrow and remorse. It tore at her vocal chords and made even her vampony lungs burn. Finally, she stopped, her body quaking as she began to weep. So consumed was she in her sorrow, that she didn’t hear the door get wrenched open, nor smell the scent of another pony at the end of the corridor. It wasn’t until a voice not of Luna’s reached her ears that she looked up.

"Oh, Faust!” A mare's voice said, before the sounds of retching filled the room. Looking up, Artemis saw a lavender Unicorn. No… she had wings as well. So Alicorn, then? Taking notice of her fangs, she knew she was another vampony, and likely at her immediate disposal. Screwing here eyes shut, Artemis tried to fight the urge she presently had to sink her fangs into the newcomers throat, to release the venom that had already built within her fangs into this mare. To introduce her to the full pleasures of the night. However, the urge was overshadowed by something... the look she felt the other mare giving her.

"Do not look upon me so, fledgling, I have no need for thy pity." Artemis said, blinking back the tears she had previously been shedding.

Twilight was shocked, but looked away regardless. She didn't want to anger the mare who had caused the carnage before her. The scene was worse than anything she could have possibly imagined. Internal organs lay strewn about the room, limbs and bones, heads and eviscerated bodies torn asunder from each other. Then, her eyes finally fell on the only whole victim in the room, the mare's face frozen into a twisted expression of agony and terror.

"Artemis... You need to rid thyself of the venom building up in thy maw. Lest it bring ye pain. A pain thou knowest well." Luna said, slipping into a more archaic dialect to make the conversation easier on the ancient pegasus.

"I am well aware... Your Highness." She said, spitting the words from her mouth as though they were of the most vile poison. "Is this why yonder fledgling is here? To be the recipient of mine fangs? To moan like a common whore as my venom courses through her veins?"

"HEY!!" Twilight said, none too happy about being even POSSIBLY referred to as a whore. Her retort was cut short, however, as Artemis' head snapped back to look over at her.

"You forget thy place, fledgling... Do not think thee equal to us. We seek neither thy company, nor thy council on the matter."

“Oh, take it easy on her Artemis… She’s a fledgling of this modern age. She doesn’t know the old ways.” Amaranth said, drawing the attention of the three mares to the door where he stood.

"After all, sleeping beauty, this fled-"

Anything further was cut off as Artemis flew across the room and tore Amaranth's throat out, causing him to collapse as her momentum took her through the doorway where she landed with a deafening crack as the stones shattered like glass underhoof. Spitting the piece of flesh from her throat, Artemis was greeted by the sound of her nine guardians voices.

“Mistress… We welcome thee back.”

Looking at the nine of them, Artemis flared her wings and reared up on her back hooves.

The Huntress... Had returned.

Author's Note

Well... This has been interesting. Things are moving along now, and I'm still brainstorming on a few things with this story, but I feel it will be rather well done. also, a HUGE thanks to my friend, Xconfusingmelody, for being my new beta on this.

That said... ENJOY! :D

The Night is still young

Setting her hooves down against the fractured marble with a soft clack, Artemis appraised her nine guardians with a stoic expression.

"Nightshade, step forth."

Her tone was cold and commanding, prompting the mare in question to move quickly as she complied. As she came to a graceful stop, before she could even bow as she intended, Artemis' voice once again rang through the chamber.

"Present thy throat."

Gulping silently, Nightshade did as she was bade and lifted her chin, baring her throat to her Mistress. She knew what Artemis was about to do and that it would be, without a doubt, the most blissful experience of her entire existence. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming nervousness wash over her.

Before the long fangs could grace her throat though, a cold voice cut through the air.

“ARTEMIS!”

Sighing in annoyance, Artemis glanced over her shoulder to Luna; who was now standing in the doorway by Amaranth. Said stallion was grinning at Artemis in a taunting manner.
Narrowing her eyes, Artemis turned back to the two of them. Her voice was cold as she gave them a wholly fake smile that served only to tell them of her growing ire.

“Do neither of you know when to heed a mare’s warning?”

Luna stepped forward, a hard look in her eyes. “We do not wish to fight, Artemis. We would talk, if thou wouldst listen.”

In nary the blink of an eye, Artemis was nose to nose with Luna, baring her fangs as she snarled out her reply.

“I will not listen to the words of the witch who so betrayed me! Nor shall I suffer her further!”

With that, Artemis lunged at Luna’s throat and plunged her fangs deep into the alicorn’s neck. What followed was of simple design. A way to keep Luna and most all who might attempt to follow her... preoccupied.

She began injected Luna with the entirety of the venom that her regeneration had created.

Luna couldn’t keep the gasp that left her mouth from turning into a lewd moan as more vampony venom than even she had ever received before began coursing through her veins.

As the last of her venom slipped into Luna, Artemis dropped the spasming alicorn onto the floor with an unceremonious thud before regarding her nine guardians again; her disdain rather clear in her voice.

“Tend to her. I trust you nine can follow that order!”

Then, with not so much as another word, Artemis unfurled her wings and flew out the still-open outer door and into the night.

Smirking as he shook his head, Amaranth felt the presence of another pony beside him and looked to see Twilight staring, mouth agape, as the nine guardians of Artemis and Vinyl rushed Luna into another room amidst the mare's increasingly desperate and lust-filled moans. Looking across the room, he also saw her five friends in a similar, if more fearful state as they had seen the entire scene unfold.

“W-what. Just. Happened?!” Twilight whispered as a few strands of her mane came askew of the others.

Sighing internally, Amaranth opened a door and motioned towards it.

“I’ll explain in here. I don’t know about you lovely mares, but I could use a drink.”

"Not blood, I should hope?" Rarity asked with obvious trepidation.
"Not at all, I'm rather in the mood for a good wine though." The stallion said with a chuckle as he walked through the door.

Nodding in mute agreement, Twilight followed the stallion into the room, followed closely by her traumatized friends. Taking a seat at the long table in the middle of the torchlit room, Twilight watched as Amaranth walked over to a wine rack that spanned the entire height and breadth of the wall behind it. After passing over a few selections, Amaranth finally pulled a pristine bottle out and smiled.

“Ah, a nice 207 year old Canterlot Bordeaux should do quite nicely. Second batch from the now-renowned winery of the Pranceton family.” He said, noting the vintage.

Popping the cork, he took a deep breath, his smile widening as he did so.
“One of the better vintages they ever made in my humble opinion.” He said as he reached out with his magic and grabbed seven ornate goblets from the hanging racks on the wall behind Twilight and set to pouring the wine in equal measure.

“Now then, where to begin?” He asked as he took a seat at the table himself, looking at the mares with a cryptic smile.

“The part where that previously dead madmare just bit one of our princesses and dropped her where she stood while you acted as though she did nothing out of the ordinary! THAT, I believe, would be an appropriate place to begin.” Rarity said with a shaky voice as she sipped on her wine.

“Yeah... Not to mention that she kinda tore your throat out right before that.” Rainbow added while she idly toyed with her own goblet.

“Ah, so she did, but that hardly matters.” Amaranth said before breathing deeply of the wines bouquet. Taking a long sip and uttering a low hum of approval, he answered Rarity’s question.

“What does matter is that a regeneration like the one Artemis just went through is a rather painful process in many ways. I surmise that what we just saw was her getting rid of her venom. With the rapid regeneration and magical assistance from Luna, I’d imagine Artemis had two or even three times the venom that an average vampony has ever carried at any given time. Perhaps even the most a single vampony has ever carried in recorded history. Not that anypony records such things, mind you."

“So what is it going to do to Luna?” Applejack asked flatly as she stared over the rim of the goblet in her hoof.

“Nothing TOO bad, I assure you. Not from a vampony standpoint anyways.” He said with a chuckle.

“Care to elaborate?” Twilight asked impatiently.

“But of course.” He said, setting his goblet down.

“You see, on regular ponies, vampony venom can cause anything from a slight numbing sensation at the site of a bite, to a burning, excruciating pain unlike anything they have ever felt before. Twilight could probably recount the experience of her own... 'ascension' with bone-chilling clarity on that matter presently." He said, giving Twilight a small nod as she shuddered at the all-too-recent memory.

"On other vamponies however," He continued. "The venom has quite a different effect. It is, essentially, the ultimate aphrodisiac for our kind. The scorching fire that would course through a regular pony turns into a constant state of near-orgasm until the majority of the venom wears off. Even then, something akin to an orgasmic 'hangover' can last for up to a few days after. Bliss is an understatement, really. ”

“Wait… so you’re telling me that Luna-” Twilight started.

“Is currently aroused enough to buck anypony she can get her hooves on until they can’t even see straight? Yes.”

“And those nine ponies that went in with her?” Applejack cautiously asked, her eyes wide.

“Are going to all get bucked until they can’t even see straight. Long story short, unless you want to get pulled into an orgy with a bunch of sex-crazed vamponies and potentially turned or killed… With killed being the more likely of those two, I wouldn’t go in that door if I were you Applejack. Same goes for Rarity and Rainbow. Though I would imagine none of you have any business going in there anyways. Seems Luna’s plans didn’t quite go as she had hoped they would in that regard."

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, suddenly curious despite the blatantly lewd turn the conversation had taken.

“Well, the fact is, Luna was hoping to see Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash turned by the end of the night. Seems that isn’t going to happen since she’s… occupied. So, it would seem the three of you have some time yet before you make the choice to join the night. If you so choose to do so at all.” He said in a casual manner as he lifted up his glass to finish off what was left of the admittedly decadent wine before continuing.

“You see, the Elements of Harmony won’t work on Caedis. His darkness isn’t something that can be purged from him like Nightmare Moon was from Luna. No, I’m afraid his darkness is something far worse. He's misguided by his own foolish ignorance of what he believes is the best thing for vamponies.”

“Which would be?” Rainbow asked before grabbing, then downing the entirety of her goblet in a single draught. Rarity cringed at the blatantly ‘uncultured’ display of merely chugging a priceless wine, but Amaranth just shrugged slightly as he answered.

“He intends to make all non-vampony Pegasi and Unicorns vanish from the face of Equestria. Along with The ruling Alicorns, the gryphons, the dragons, and the zebras. The last one is mainly because, despite the lack of magic as most unicorns know it, zebra’s are the best vampony hunters out of any species in the world. Aside from that, shamans among the deer tribes may be targeted as well, as some have quite the connection with the innate magic of Equestria."

"Okay, that leaves just us earth ponies then?" Applejack asked hesitantly.

"Indeed. As I told Twilight earlier, a hellish existence would await any survivor... Which is why we are going to stop him."

"An' just what did you tell Twilight earlier, exactly?" Applejack asked in an adamant voice. It was clear that she wanted the whole, honest truth.

Sighing slightly, Amaranth shrugged.

"That the entirety of the earth pony race would then be no more than meals on legs, and slave labor at that point. Sure, an earth pony may be able to kill a fledgling, maybe even better if they've been equipped and trained well enough. However, most vamponies would leave an attacking earth pony as a bloody smear on the ground, no matter how well they had been trained. Some of like mind to Caedis would likely do so to anypony who dared to merely talk out of turn."

"Even foals?" Fluttershy half-whispered in horrified curiosity. As Amaranth nodded, she suddenly found the previously untouched wine before her to be a rather excellent distraction.

"It's an unfortunate truth, but many vamponies subscribe to the notion that they are better than regular ponies. Problem is, that's only in the physical sense. We still need mortal ponies to survive. We may be faster, stronger, and able to use the magic of the night in ways no known unicorn can. We may heal faster, need little to no sustenance, and be 'immortal' in a sense. But we are still a race that feeds on the living. In all truth... We need mortal ponies more than they shall ever know. We're parasites really. Leeches in the likeness of a pony." He said with a lopsided grin as he leaned back in his chair.

"So how does Artemis fit into-" Twilight started as Applejack stood rather suddenly.

"Excuse me ev'rypony. Ah... Ah need a minute." She said as she pulled the brim of her Stetson down and quickly walked out of the room.

Sighing, Pinkie Pie looked at her friends with a small smile as she said, "I'll go talk to her. I think it's best if you girls stay here with Amaranth... Earth pony stuff, ya know?" Her voice was incredibly level as she stood and walked out to follow Applejack.

"So she is in the forest, but the rest have not left? Is she hunting?" Caedis asked as he tapped a hoof impatiently on the table. The unicorn before him had his eyes closed as he ‘watched’ Artemis.

"No, she's on a cliff some ten miles away, facing the east." Tirok said, a rather confused undertone finding it's way into his voice. "Why would she-"

"To see the sunrise." Caedis said softly, causing Tirok to open his eyes and look at the other unicorn with uncertainty as Caedis explained.

"Artemis is like few other vamponies... She saw fit to keep many of her habits from the time of her mortality. One of which, was to watch the sunrise. She always was an odd mare in that regard."

"I see. So then, shall I watch her further?" He asked.

"No. It's unlikely she'll be going anywhere. Not unless she gets hungry, that is. After all, that level of regeneration is no small feat." Caedis said with a small smirk.

"Yet, it's still incomplete..." Tirok mumbled quietly.

"Indeed, now... If you would be so kind Tirok, would you please go get me a snack. You know the kind I like."

Nodding his head, Tirok chuckled as he turned to leave.

"One earth pony mare coming right up."

"Oh, and Tirok?"

Pausing, Tirok turned to look at Caedis.

"I'm sorry about my outburst earlier, I've been under quite a bit of strain as of late. You know this, but that's no excuse to take it out on my closest friend." He said with a forlorn smile.

Giving Caedis a small smile of his own, Tirok nodded.

"I know, water under the bridge now though." He said with a small chuckle as he trotted out the door.

Author's Note

Well... I'm back... again.

Seems every time I try to post, something comes up! Net goes screwy, computer bonks, I lose my flow of creativity... all that jazz. However, this story is FAR from its completion, so stay tuned!

To Protect Those We Love

Applejack looked up at the moon with eyes turned red by tears she had been trying her hardest to not cry. However, the thought of Applebloom being torn limb from limb by a vampony who saw the act of a foal’s question as an offence worthy of death, proved too much for the mare to handle. The idea that such ponies, living or dead… or of any state in-between for that matter… would condemn pegasus and unicorn foals like Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to death… it appalled Applejack more than she thought anything ever would.

So she had left. Walked away from the conversation so she wouldn’t have to hear any more of something that she knew she would eventually have to fight.

But not as she was.

No… if she was to fight the ponies who would do such a thing to a foal, she would have to become that which she feared. That which would do such a thing to a foal.

She would have to become a vampony.

“Applejack… you okay?”

The usually bubbly voice turned worried served to snap Applejack out of her train of thought. Turning, she saw Pinkie Pie looking at her with a worried expression as her pin-straight hair danced in the slow breeze of the Everfree.

“Ah… Ah don’t think so Pinkie. Hearing Amaranth say that even foals would be killed for so much as speakin’ out a’turn? Knowing that th’ entire earth pony race would be nothin’ to vamponies but food and labor? Ah can’t stand that thought. Makes me sick to mah stomach.”

A quiet moment passed before Applejack looked at Pinkie with determination in her eyes.

“That’s why Ah’m not gonna sit idle by and let it pass. Ah’ll fight it. Ah’ll become the very thing that would have us earth ponies as nothin' but slaves… if’n it means Applebloom and foals her age would have a future. Ah’ll become somethin’ else… somethin’ stronger.” She said with a tone that spoke of great resolve.

Shaking her head, Pinkie gave her friend a sad smile.

“You don’t have to take this burden on your shoulders Applejack. Luna wasn't going to force this on you. There are many of our kind who don’t see like those meanie-heads do. There are a lo-”

“A lot of vamponies who see it like y’all do… Ah get that Pinkie. Ah really do… but Ah can’t just sit by and let it happen. Not with mah little sister an’ her friends’ lives on th’ line. Ah just can’t. Ah… change me, Pinkie.”

The sudden request by her friend caused Pinkie to recoil in shock. After Luna's original plan had been thwarted, she had thought Applejack would eventually come to join the ranks of the night.

BUT NOT THAT NIGHT

“I… AJ, this isn’t something to be taken lightly. I think you should-”

“WHAT? RECONSIDER?! AS IF AH COULD! THERE ARE FOALS ALL OVER EQUESTRIA WHO WOULD DIE! FRIENDS WHO WOULD DIE! AH CAN’T JUST SIT BY AND LET IT HAPPEN PINKIE! AH CAN’T!"

Her shouting done, Applejack slumped in front of her friend as her tears spilled over onto the ground below.

“Ah just can’t. Ah have to fight it Pinkie. It ain’t because Ah’m an Element of Harmony, ain’t for th’ Princesses, ain’t even for all of Equestria… It’s for the foals. For ever filly and colt, earth pony or not. Ah couldn’t live with mahself if Ah let so many foals die because Ah was scared. So please… turn me.”

Looking up, Applejack saw tears in Pinkie Pie’s eyes as she looked at her. The were a conflict of emotions there; confusion, remorse, sadness. So many emotions ran through her friends eyes, but most of all, she saw a resolute sort of resignation. The acceptance that her friend would be joining the night, not for herself, but for the safety of others.

“You’re as honest and loyal as they come, AJ, especially to your family. Are you sure though? It's not something you'll be able to shrug off once you do it. It's forever."

"Ah know... An' Ah'm willin' to bear it. Come what may, so's the foals of Equestria can be safe."

Nodding, Pinkie sighed as she looked up at the moon for a moment before her eyes widened and she smiled a smile that threatened to break physics.

"Hey, AJ?"

"Yeah, Pinkie?" Applejack asked as the party pony's mane became its usual poofy mess, much to the surprise of the Apple mare.

"What if I asked you to wait a few days before you make your decision?"

"Why? The sooner Ah get it done'n'over with, the sooner Ah ca-"

"Because, I have a feeling there's somepony you need to meet. He's an old friend friend from when I was first turned. He probably knows a thing or two you might want to hear before making a decision." Pinkie said, interrupting her friend with a face that was surprisingly stern.

"Ya mean like what Princess Luna did with Twilight?"

"Somewhat... but I think he may have more insight for you in particular. He's an earth pony, like us. His reason for coming to the night is a bit similar to your own as well. I... Please, AJ, will you give me three days?

"Ah..." Applejack started, only to stop and consider.

Three days... Ah suppose Ah could wait that long.

"Alright Pinkie." Applejack said with a resigned nod. "Ah'll give ya the three days.

Nodding with a smile, Pinkie gestured back to the door.

"I think we should head back in... no doubt the girls are worried about you."

"Yea, Ah did storm outta there pretty sudden-like." Applejack said with an admonished smile before walking towards the door. Just before the pair of them entered the crypt, the farmer looked over at her friend and smiled a little wider.

"Hey, Pinkie?"

"Yeah, AJ?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. What are friends for after all?"

Applejack smiled as they walked through the door, only for it to fall as Twilight walked past them and out the door.

"Twi? Sugarcube, where ya goin'?"

Twilight turned and gave then a small smile.

"Just out for a walk. I'll be back soon."

And with that, without so much as another word, Twilight ventured out into the night.

Twilight hadn’t been sure of why she had suddenly felt the urge to leave the room where Amaranth had been talking to her friends. Nor had she been sure of why she felt the need to go for a walk.

However, one thing she was sure of was that she was now walking through the Everfree in no particular direction. As she did so, several questions came to her mind, many troubling.

Will there be a day when I’m asked to kill another out of pity?

Will there come a day when one of my friends asks me to end their life?

Even though Luna had shown her what could possibly happen, Twilight couldn’t help but be shaken by the questions. However, one question worried Twilight further.

Artemis wanted to fade. She wanted to die, to end herself. Why?

As she came to a cliff face, she sat down and looked over the valley below, listening to the silence that surrounded her as her thoughts consumed her.

Wait… silence? The Everfree is hardly ever silent!

She suddenly found herself listening for anything, a chirp, a screech, anything that would indicate that some of the usual creatures of the night were around.

All she heard was a small, quick heartbeat that was surprisingly nearby. Looking over, she saw the tail of a shivering cockatrice, obviously hiding and scared stiff.

Why would a cockatrice be hiding? Unless…

Artemis sat, looking over a valley towards the horizon as she waited, waited for the dawn. As with so many things that she still did, waiting for the sunrise was a habit, a habit she retained from her living years.

She sighed. Trying to remember the details of those earliest years had gotten harder and harder as she had aged. She could still remember some things though.

Her Mother, Her Father, her brothers and sisters…

Gone. All gone. Naught more than dust by now.

Looking to the horizon, she sighed again.

Want that if I could, I would join thee now.

A scant moment later, Artemis heard hoofsteps behind her. Far and away from stealthy, whomever it was certainly had no qualms with making their presence known.

Most surely a foal or fool, to traipse so in the night, as these woods are not short of dangers.

Taking wing, Artemis flew into the boughs of an oak and waited on whoever it was that had interrupted her solitude. Upon seeing the intruder, she grimaced.

The fledgling… this whelp wears on my patience.

Hoping that maybe the cliff would deter the intruder, Artemis waited, watching silently as Twilight walked straight over to the cliff and sat down.

Well, so much for that. She thought as she silently unfurled her wings and began to conjure a spell that would take her away from the cliff face.

“Artemis?”

The pegasus mare froze, a perplexed expression making its way across her muzzle as she looked down at the mare below her. She hadn’t turned around, but her ears were perked.

How? How did she know I am here?

Twilight was a bit spooked, nary a moment ago she had been looking at a cockatrice that was cowering behind a boulder, when she suddenly felt a tingle.

Somepony was using magic nearby.

“Artemis?” Twilight asked as she reached out, feeling the magic around her until she found its source in a tree a few hoofsteps away.

“I’m impressed fledgling, however, my patience is nearing its end with thee.” Artemis said, her voice coming from Twilight’s right, as though the mare were sitting right next to her.

“I’m not here to fight, Artemis, I just went for a walk. There’s a lot on my mind right now.”

“A likely story. No doubt Luna told you to follow me and convince me to join thy cause. I am not so naive as to believe thou simply wished to walk.” Her voice said, this time coming from Twilight’s left.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight shrugged.

“Say what you will, but it’s the truth. However, if I may make a small request?”

“What request would you make? Not that I will likely acquiesce.”

“Would you stop with the voice throwing? It’s a little unnerving. Especially since I know you’re in the oak directly behind me.”

As her lips curled into a snarl, Artemis jumped down from the limb, landing quite hard as to make her presence known.

“Thou has quite the nerve, seeking me out, intruding upon my solitude, all after I made my wish to be alone quite clear. I’ve half a mind to knock you unsensible and go back merely to throw you to the ravenous clutches of my so-called guardians. However, I have the suspicion you do not seek to be taken as a common whore, so leave me in peace before I act upon the idea.”

As Artemis spoke, Twilight froze. She dare not let her mind wander to what was happening to Luna at that moment, nor what would become of her if she were thrown into the same room as them. However, she couldn’t just let Artemis go. If Luna went through all of this, changing Twilight, giving her own blood, and unleashing a wraith on ten others just to bring the mare in front of her back from the edge, there had to be good reason for it.

“No.”

Artemis narrowed her eyes dangerously as she approached Twilight, a low rumbling growl that would normally be associated with a manticore building in her barrel as she began to speak.

“Perhaps I shan’t throw you to my guardians after all. Perhaps I should dismember you myself! Limb from limb. Bone from Bone. Take your body and deposit its pieces over the Everfree. Mayhaps leave thy head hanging from yonder oak? No doubt it would be a horrific experience having to watch as I tear you asunder, having to feel every bit of that pain, but not dying as I assure you, you will see and feel the pain I would inflict upon you."

By that time, Artemis was nose to nose with Twilight, her fangs bared at the now-cowering fledgling.

“W-would you do the same… to a foal?”

Twilight’s world exploded as Artemis backhoofed her so hard she actually went flying and crashed into a tree. She acutely heard at least five of her ribs snap as she hit the tree with enough force to rattle its leaves. Looking up, she saw the snarling face of a mare infuriated.

“YOU DARE!! YOU DARE TO ASK ME THAT QUESTION?! MANY IS THE TIME I HAVE LAID DOWN WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY LIFE FOR FOALS!! I HAVE BRAVED DRAGONS FIRE, THE MIGHT OF MINOTAURS AND THE TWISTED MINDS OF GRYPHONS, ALL TO SAVE FOALS!!!” Artemis screamed in rage, the very air around them becoming darker until the only thing Twilight could see was the furious mare before her.

Twilight was terrified, but she knew this would likely be her only chance, so she stood to face Artemis.

“If you run away from this, if you just go and get yourself killed… you would be condemning foals to fates like that and worse. Their blood would be on your soul. For not standing up, you would be just as guilty as the monsters who would kill a foal for something so small as asking a question. You-”

“SILENCE!”

Again, the sting of Artemis’ hoof meeting her face served to remind her that she was playing a very dangerous game.

Potentially a lethal one.

“And what would thou have me do? Ally with the mare who betrayed me? To become naught more than her attack dog for the rest of my days?”

“Only until we finish Caedis and those who would follow him.”

“What of after?” Artemis snarled, clearly not liking where she thought the conversation was going.

“I… I’ll swear you an oath.”

“An oath? To what?” The pegasus asked, flaring her wings challengingly.

“That if, when this is all over, if you still want death… I’ll give it to you.”

In that moment, time seemed to stand still. The darkness left the air as Artemis gave Twilight a mildly shocked look. Many things the ancient mare had expected, but that had not been one of them.

“How?”

“A mystical blade.”

“Which mystic blade? There are few that can deal death to vamponies, fledgling.” Artemis groaned with annoyance.

“Equis, or Draco, though I doubt you’d have a preference as long as they both have the same result. Correct?” Twilight said, her voice strained as she bargained with a mare who wanted nothing more than to die.

Artemis considered Twilights proposal for a long moment before finally nodding and walking right up to her.

“Then an oath you shall make, sealed in our blood that thou cannot go back on what we agree.”

“O-okay… how do we… seal it?” Twilight said, obviously clueless.

“Oh Dear Faust! Do as I do.” Artemis said as she brought her right foreleg to her mouth and bit on the inside of her fetlock.

Following suit, Twilight did the same as Artemis walked over and hooked Twilight’s bleeding fetlock with her own.

“Make thine oath.”

“I-...” Looking Artemis in the eyes, she spoke a solemn vow. “I, Twilight Sparkle, make this oath. Should the day come when our enemies are no more, should you still wish for death, I shall give it to you… on pain of my own death.”

Nodding, Artemis retracted her hoof.

“That shall suffice.”

Then, without so much as another word, Artemis began walking back to the crypt with Twilight in tow.

The walk back to the crypt had been a quiet affair, with Twilight almost being afraid to breathe too loudly, lest she invoke the wrath of the mare next to her.

Now, seeing the doorway, Twilight sighed. She felt like the ordeal of bringing Artemis to their side was over, but knew better.

Upon entering the crypt, Twilight saw Applejack and Rarity talking, the former looking much calmer since Pinkie had talked to her.

Glancing over, Twilight saw Artemis making a beeline for the room the group had talked in previously. No sooner had she cleared the threshold than she barked "OUT," and the rest of her friends quickly scurried to join Twilight in the main room.

As the door slammed shut, Twilight began to worry about what was now happening behind it.

“Fools, all of you.” Artemis said as she stared Amaranth down.

The stallion, to his credit, didn’t so much as bat an eye as he looked over to the wine shelf and scanned the shelves.

“While that’s far from the first time you’ve called myself or Luna that, I do question your justification, my old friend.”

Finally selecting a Merlot that was nearly as old as Ponyville was, he looked back over to Artemis, finding the mare to be rather unamused.

“You bring me back from the edge, you restore me, all after having made vows to kill you and that wretch both… yet you sit here, drinking wine while waiting for my venom to wear off on her. All things considered, I find your nonchalant attitude insulting and foolhardy…” Artemis said before baring her fangs.

“Or perhaps… merely suicidal.”

“Oh, that’ll be the day.” Amarath said with a chuckle as he sipped on the wine, looking at Artemis over the rim of the glass.

“Fact is old girl, we need you. No doubt Twilight, the fledgling, offered to kill you by her own hoof once we make Equestria safe for all again?”

While the accuracy of his guess would have bewildered most, Artemis was used to the prophetic nature of the stallion before her.

“Yes… One she will be held to by her own blood.”

“Ah… a blood oath then? No doubt she is rather clueless about all that entails, not that I can blame you for taking advantage of the situation. Oh well, I suppose that is your prerogative as a suicidal madmare.”

Sighing, Artemis moved a chair and sat closer to the table, closing her eyes as she laid her head down on the cool surface.

“In another life, I would have broken your horn for a quip like that… you vexing bastard.”

A soft tap next to her head made Artemis open her eyes to see a full wine glass sitting next to her.

“In another life… perhaps. For now though, I believe you’re going to want that drink in a moment.”

“Why do you say tha-”

Artemis wasn’t even able to finish her sentence before a loud crash sounded in the room behind her, followed shortly by a loud scream.

Looking over at Amaranth, she shook her head as she rose from her seat.

“You know… I truly hate thee at times.”

No sooner had the door closed behind Artemis than Twilight’s friends trotted over to her, their eyes showing many questions.

“Twilight, Sugarcube were ya able t’convince her?” Applejack asked first.

“Yes, Applejack, I was… but I had to make a pact with her I’m none to fond of.”

“Which would be?” Rarity queried.

“That if she still wants to die at the end of this… I have to kill her.”

“Whoa, whoa there Twi! How the hay could you AGREE to something like that?!” Rainbow asked, her wings flaring up defensively.

“It was the only way I could get to her! I knew she wanted to die… it was the only thing I could promise her that would sway her, Dash!” Twilight said as she signed deeply, a single tear escaping her eyes.

“Besides… If I’m correct, by the end of this, we’ll all have blood on our hooves. The blood of our enemies, but the blood of ponies nonetheless.”

For a moment, nopony said anything. Twilight’s statement hitting each of them in a way none of them had expected.

“I think that’s why Luna gave me so many chances to back out of this. We’re going to have to kill. Deliver death to prevent death… Kill for the sake of Equestria, and everypony in it. If not for everypony… then just for the sakes of foals like Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom.”

Twilight looked up at her friends with a fierce fire in her eyes.

“If for nopony else… for those three.”

The six friends looked to one another for several long moments before Dash nodded, resolution evident in her eyes.

“Alright… for them. For the Crusaders.”

Nodding, Twilight looked to Dash, Applejack and Rarity.

“I suppose that just leaves the three of you to be… turned.”

“I was actually talking that over with Fluttershy here... “ Dash said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.

“She’s going to turn me on the next full moon.”

Nodding, Twilight looked to Applejack.

“Pinkie’s having me meet somepony before I turn. Thinks he’ll have a few things to help me feel better about the whole thing.”

“Yuppers, he’ll get AJ set on all of this Twi, don’t you worry your pretty little alicorny head.” Pinkie quipped as Twi looked over to Rarity.

“Well Rarity, I suppose that just leaves you as the ‘wild card.’”

“I would say so. I’d prefer to be turned by a stallion. Perhaps I’ll find a charming vampiric stallion in this gothic underworld to sweep me off my hooves and turn me during a night of frenzied-”

The sound of wood splintering and clattering behind them brought the attention of the six mares to a very dishevelled Ruby, who in the blink of an eye was upon Rarity, sinking her fangs into the mare’s neck.

The scream Rarity produced would have rivaled any Royal Canterlot voice either royal sister could have summoned.

“It’ll all be over soon.” Ruby whispered huskily into Rarity’s ear as she kissed the bite marks, looking over her to Applejack and Rainbow Dash with a lascivious grin.

“Now for you two… I think-”

It was at that precise moment that Artemis burst through the door, surveyed the scene in front of her and flared her wings, causing Ruby to rocket with great speed to the ceiling above, hitting her head rather hard on the solid stone before promptly throwing the dazed mare back into the room where she had come from, rebuilding the door with yet another flare of her wings.

Looking over to Twilight, she nodded towards Rarity.

“Tend to her… the venom will hit her heart soon. Do keep her quiet though, I'm trying to have a discussion in here." And with that, Artemis turned and walked back into the room, closing the door behind her.

“... So much for a whirlwind romance.” Rarity whimpered just before her eyes widened and she screamed.

“This… is going to be a long night.” Twilight signed.

Setting her quill down, Twilight stretched languidly, a sigh escaping her lips as a few of her joints popped. A vampony though she was, there was always something about sitting still for too long that just made her feel stiff.

Looking outside, Twilight spotted a familiar blur in the distance heading towards the library. Glancing at the clock, she smiled as her attention turned back to the prismatic streak that was now much closer and bearing down on her home quite quickly.

Right on time. Wait for it... Aaaand NOW!!

Lighting her horn, Twilight opened the window, plotted Rainbow Dash's trajectory, shielded two book shelves, and put a particularly large pillow right where Dash was headed.

The resulting landing was, to say the least, amusing.

It was, to say the most, spectacular and slightly horrific.

With the full speed of her flight uninhibited by the window, Dash hit the pillow, bounced off both of the bookshelves Twilight had just shielded, then slid towards another. Stopping just shy of the shelf, she hit it with a hoof, causing a copy of the latest edition of Daring Do to fall right onto her belly.

"Right on time, Rainbow." Twilight said with an amused chortle.

Nodding as she picked up the book, Dash flashed Twilight a fanged smile.

"Naturally! After all, since we started this, reading got about 20% cooler!"

The slight squeak of the door hinges brought the attention of both mares to Artemis, who had poked her head in the door and now bemusedly regarded Dash.

"Hello, Rainbow. Nice of you to... Drop by."

Rainbow threw her head back and gave a single laugh before she deadpanned at Artemis.

"HA!! Never heard that one before..."

Author's Note

Well... once again, I prove that I am in fact not dead. Rather, I've been in zombie mode.

Basically, working in retail around the holidays SUCKS. BIGTIME.

That said, I'm still working at this, albeit slowly. So, to all of my readers (Who I do value! Seriously! You all are great!) Please bear with me, because I WILL keep writing until I finish this lovely little tale of darkness.

DJ-Pon3FTW