“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