Author's Note

Sorry it took me so long to get this out. First I didn't like the direction it was going and had to start over from scratch, then work started giving me hell, then my internet router decided to die on me. It was a total mess! Gods willing the next chapter won't be such a pain in the ass to get on here in the future.

Ch.18 Regret

Gold and Rainbow sat in the Apple Family living room, both of them staring down at the aged coffee table set between them. Gold smiled smugly in her seat, the well-loved brown sofa's springs squeaking slightly under her. Rainbow sported a frustrated frown, her wings twitching irritably at her sides as she glared down at the chess board on the table from her own equally aged wooden dining room chair.

When Gold had decided to take a break from her training for the day, Rainbow was ecstatic. Now she could talk the mare into doing something fun for a change. That hope died a painful death when the golden mare brought out an old chess set from her room. Of course Rainbow protested, claiming that the game was too boring and "lame" for a pony like her. When Gold agreed with her, Rainbow was quickly knocked off guard.

"I whole heartedly agree," Gold nodded, otherwise ignoring her companion as she set up the pieces. "Chess is a game of intellect and class. In such a contest, I could defeat you without even breaking a sweat."

Never one to turn down a challenge, Rainbow took a seat and started playing.

Unfortunately for Rainbow, Gold was not exaggerating when she said how easily she could beat her. All of Gold's moves were careful and precise, cutting through Rainbow's defenses like a hot knife through butter. On the other hoof, Rainbow was struggling to make any plays that didn't end with her loosing her back-row pieces.

How the hay did she talk me into this? she thought, scowling at the board as she moved a piece.

Gold's confident smile never left her muzzle, a small debate filling her head while she stared at the board. Should she end the game now and put Rainbow out of her misery or keep picking at her defenses until only her king remained. She snuck a quick glance at her opponent, then let her smile get a bit sharper as she made her decision.

Her ear flicked when the front door opened and a familiar set of heavy hoofsteps, one only slightly lighter than the other, hit the hardwood floor.

"Good afternoon," Gold called out, moving a piece and claiming Rainbow's last rook.

"Howdy, Gold, Rainbow," Applejack chuckled as she entered the room.

Big Mac wasn't far behind her, the stoic stallion simply nodding to each of them in turn before looking down at the board.

"Kickin' Rainbow's flank?" Applejack smirked, taking note of all of the pieces positions.

"Quite," Gold nodded. "And I thought a Wonder Bolt would have a better tactical mind. You two desperately need to teach her how to play at some point."

"Doubt she'd listen," Applejack snorted rolling her eyes.

"Eeyup," Big Mac nodded.

Rainbow looked up at the the two siblings in shock.

"Wait. You two know how to play this?!"

They nodded.

"Used to play it a lot durin' the winter ta' pass the time. Not much else ta' do that time of year and it made Granny happy when we played with her.

"Eeyup," Big Mac nodded, a ghost of a smile gracing his muzzle.

Rainbow just stared at them, her brain seemingly frozen for a moment.

Suddenly, she glowered at Gold and pointing a hoof at her blurted out, "You said this was a game of smarts and class!"

"I did," Gold nodded, her face suddenly a cold mask.

"What are ya' gettin' at?" Applejack asked, eyes narrowing.

Big Mac did the same, a challenging snort shooting out of his snout.

A nervous chuckle came out of the mare, her eyes darting between the three irate ponies as she tried to find her words. Before she could shove anymore of her hooves into her mouth, a knock at the front door echoed through the room. Silently thanking The Maker or any other divine force out there, she flew out of her seat to answer. The three Apples watched her go with flat expressions.

"She really lacks tact, doesn't she?" Gold coldly asked.

"Sometimes," Applejack sighed. "Ya' get used to it. Eventually."

Big Mac rolled his eyes at that, shaking his head as he made his way towards the kitchen.

"It would seem I am not the only one that doubts that claim," Gold smirked, watching the stallion.

"Ah promise she's not that bad," Applejack chuckled. "Just give her a chance."

"You say that as if I have a choice," she frowned. "As it stands, humoring her is the most I am willing to do with that mare."

"Ah guess it's a start," Applejack sighed.

Her mood lightened a bit when she stared down at the board again.

"So," she continued. "How do ya' plan ta' beat her?"

"I was going to toy with her for a bit, but for her crimes agains my family, I feel a swift execution is in order."

"Erm...How are ya' gonna do it?" she tentatively asked.

Somberly, she moved her queen across the board and said, "By going for the throat. Checkmate."

***

Total darkness filled the room, an unearthly chill drifting through it like a foul mist. This meant nothing to Spider, his blue, cat-like eyes immune to it all as he read a book held in his magic's grip. Lining the walls of his office, hidden in the gloom to those that lacked his sight, were tall ancient bookshelves. Each one reached all the way to the vaulted ceiling, of which a purely decorative obsidian chandelier hung at its heart. To the back of the room stood an equally lavish and darkly toned desk and chair. There were no windows or decorations beyond the one that hung from the ceiling and the gothic embellishments carved into his office's black oak door.

His brow furrowed, the book enveloped in his magic's sickly black aura. Letting out a irate huff, he slammed the book shut and floated it back to its shelf before pulling another from a different shelf with his magic. Skimming through the pages until he found the chapter he needed. A steadily growing scowl formed on his muzzle as he read through the passage. A cross between a feline howl and furious yell flew past his lips, his frustration finally tearing past his breaking point before he slammed the book shut. A loud bang added itself to the heated disturbance as he harshly dropped the heavy tome onto the desk.

"DAMN IT!" he roared, breath coming out as ragged pants. "DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT! USELESS! BUCKING USELESS!!!"

His tirade was cut short by a familiar burn in his throat. Eyes wide, his hoof shot to his muzzle just in time to muffle a cough. More followed the first, each becoming more wet than the last. Pulling a stained rag from one of his desk's drawers with his magic, he pressed it to his muzzle with his free hoof and prepared to wade out his fit. When it finally passed, he drunkenly let his rag-covered hoof fall, his breaths coming out in slow ragged gasps. Struggling to keep them open, he sluggishly brought the rag up to his eyes. He weakly grimaced at the new red stains tainting the rag and his other hoof. He wiped the blood he felt covering his lower lip and tossed it into its drawer, a few more similar rags briefly coming into view before it was slammed shut.

"D-D-Damn it all," he fumed, struggling to stay sitting. "G-Get it together. St-Stop wasting time. I....I....need...I need to work."

In spite of his words and convictions, his body refused to listen to him. Fatigue shook him, the hours he went without sleep finally starting to catch up with him. A sudden wave of nausea nearly knocked him over, but he refused to yield. A faint flash of black magic shot out of his horn, and his weariness faded.

Taking a shaky breath, he staggered back into his seat.

Now able to think clearly again, he knew he was going to regret using that spell, doubly so after all of the times he had cast it already. Shoving that to the back of his mind, he tried to think of what forbidden tomes he had that could help him in his mission. Aside from passing mentions of it in the books confiscated from the Stone's main estate, there were very few things that he could find out about the spell that summoned Bloodstone. Some of the older noble houses kept to the ancient tradition of teaching their heads of house their most secret spells directly, refusing to keep written records of them in the off chance that said spells could be used against them in some way. Unfortunately, it appeared that Bloodstone's Crimson Edict was one of the spells that fell into that very exclusive category.

A quick lavender flash in front of his desk tore him from his musings, a few muttered non-magical curses flying out of his muzzle as he rubbed the stars out of his eyes. The smell of aged paper and tsunami of raw magical power he sensed was all he needed to identify his new guest. Biting back his irritation, he lowered his hooves from his still closed eyes before he turned his head towards her general direction.

"What can I do for you, Princess Twilight Sparkle?" he asked, tone professional.

Silence answered his question.

Subtly raising a brow at that, he tried to ease his dazzled eyes open.

Though still blurry, the state the Alicorn was in was not a pleasing one, even for a stallion as coldhearted as Spider. Her mane, tail, and coat were matted and unkempt. Her feathers were ruffled, a nervous twitch of the wing all it took to shake several of them off. Long bags hung under her bloodshot eyes along with trails of dried tears.

With a voice as dry as desert sand and as faint as a final breath, she asked, "Did you find anything?"

Sighing, he shook his head.

"The specifics of Moonstone's spell are hidden behind ancient oral traditions. Unless we resurrect Moonstone's parents, there is no way to learn how it works in its entirety."

"I see," Twilight hollowly stated. "What do you know at the moment?"

"From what I was able to observe, the spell appears to be a blood contract dedicated to summoning a specific demon. The demon in question claims to be the famed, Crimson Barron of Canterlot, Bloodstone Circle. Given the abilities the demon displayed and what my research has been able to glean on him, I feel that this claim is truthful. It also appears that whatever contract was forged between them involves the execution of a Unicorn mare that goes by the name Gold Vine. A mare who's current whereabouts are unknown at the moment."

"I see," Twilight sighed. "So you can't find her either."

Again, he shook his head.

"There were some reports from my agents of a homeless mare that resembled her wandering the streets a few weeks ago, but that was all they were able to find."

"What do you mean, 'resembled' her?" she asked, a bit of anger creeping into her tired tone.

Without missing a beat, he calmly answered.

"Same coat, mane, eye color, and cutiemark, but no horn or Unicorn magic."

"That's....strange," Twilight allowed. "How could two ponies have the exact same cutiemarks?"

"It is extremely rare, but it has happened in the past," he sighed. "Maybe Gold Vine and this mystery mare were sisters. As unlikely as it may sound, The Vines could have decided to disown her as opposed to killing her in her crib."

"They wouldn't do that," Twilight frowned. "As evil as they were, they never took the lives of children. At least, that was what Gold Vine's former servants and assassins told us when they were brought in for questioning."

"Regardless," he bitterly continued. "She is literally a dead end as far a being a possible lead."

"Why? Did Moonstone... kill her, too?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"She flung herself off of Canter Mountain a few hours after Moonstone was apprehended. Due to the history between the two families and her resemblance to Gold Vine, it is believed that she was one of Moonstone's victims that escaped when the manor was attacked. It was likely that she had been so heavily tortured that she lost all desire to live. By the time the police were able to find where she had landed, all that was left was a massive puddle of dried blood."

"Another victim," Twilight shuddered, a new rain of tears already starting to form. "How can a pony like that exist?"

"The brighter the light, the longer the shadow it casts," Spider sighed, glaring hatefully at the top of his desk. "No matter how peaceful a kingdom may be, there will always be monsters hiding in the dark, waiting to rip the innocent to shreds. Some spend so much time in the dark that they fall into the core of the abyss, forever twisted into something that only death can purge. Moonstone Dagger, Bloodstone Circle, and Gold Vine are beings that live in or near that abyss."

A brittle silence settled between them for a few minutes, before Twilight broke it with a question.

"How can you talk about killing like that?"

Spider closed his eyes, his face void of emotion as he contemplated the Princess's question. When he found the words, he opened his eyes and with a voice as blank as his expression, gave his response.

"Because I am also a beast of the abyss. The only difference between I and them is the fact that I am a cannibal."

Twilight was taken aback by that claim, then let a small smile grace her muzzle as she shook her head.

"You aren't like them. You know that."

"You know what my special talent is, Princess," he intoned, eyes narrowing. "The things I can and have done to others would be worthy of the worst punishments imaginable. I fail to see how that makes me any better than a mare that tortured innocents or an assassin that was foolish enough to try killing the lover of Princess Celestia's daughter."

"Did you want to do those things?" Twilight asked, a bit of fire returning to her eyes.

"Of course not," he huffed.

"Do you feel guilty for it?" she pressed.

"Some cases more than others," he admitted. "But...yes."

A small smile spread across Twilight's muzzle at that, a bit more life returning to her. On unsteady hooves, she walked around the desk and took a seat next to the lunar aid's chair. He raised a brow at her when she draped a comforting wing across his back.

"You do not need to do this," he stated. "As I have told you many times before,I am not worthy of your comfort."

"And like I told you every time before now, I don't care," she smirked.

A faint chuckle crept past his lips at that.

"Of course. If you would not listen to me when you were a mortal mare, why should I expect you to listen to me as a Princess?"

She giggled at that.

"Coming back to topic," he frowned. "Have you made any progress in locating Gold Vine yet?"

"No," she sighed, exhaustion returning to her features. "No matter what spell I try, I just can't find her Unicorn magic signature anywhere. It's like she just vanished into thin air."

"That is not very surprising," he nodded. "She was an assassin after all. It is unlikely that she would allow herself to be easily tracked."

"Maybe," she allowed. "But it's not just me. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia can't find her either."

"That...is very peculiar," he blinked, a bit of intrigue creeping past his mask. "No offense to your skills, but if both m'lady and her older sister cannot find her, then I fear there is little we can do on that front."

"I was afraid of that," she groaned. "And I bet you can't find Moonstone either."

The frustrated huff he let out was all the answer she needed.

"Bloodstone's magic is just as intricate as it is powerful. I do not know what kind of deal he made with The Taker when he died, but it ultimately benefited him far more than it cost him."

Twilight was about to comment on that, only to freeze when she saw a small red stain on his chest. pursing her lips, a faint lavender glow briefly enveloped her horn. Spider noticed, but before he could ask her what she was doing, he noticed a similar faint light come from his chest. His jaw clenched irritably when similar specs of light came from the floor around his chair and desk. The drawer that house his coughing rags glowed the brightest, a fact that made Twilight stare at the stallion with a look of pure terror.

"How many times did you use that spell?" she demanded.

"More than once," he admitted.

"Why!?" She cried, turning to face him fully.

"As the foals say, coffee doesn't do it for me," he flatly stated.

"This isn't funny!" she snapped. "How long have you been working?"

He opened his mouth to answer, then slowly closed it. At the same time, he tried to calculate exactly how long he had been working. Failing to find a clear answer, he tried to get a rough idea the only way he could at the moment.

"What day is it?" he asked.

"Friday?" she blinked, her worry growing.

"And the time?"

"Three PM."

Flinching slightly at that, he did the math as best as he could in his current state, then grimly stated, "Four and a half days."

Twilight gasped, then, with panic heavy in her tone asked, "Have you been eating anything, at least?"

He didn't answer, turning his head away from her scared eyes.

Twilight let out a growl and used her magic to force the suborn stallion to look back at her. He aimed a heated glare at her the second their eyes met. When he noticed the slit pupils she now sported, a small bit of his anger was replaced with surprise. Shelving that little feature away for later, he met her worried anger with bared fangs and a feline growl.

"You need to rest."

"I need to get back to work," he growled. "Every second wasted is a second those two monsters have a chance to hurt somepony."

"And you can't stop them if you're half dead when you find them!" she yelled, matching his ire with her own. "You need to rest and eat something before you collapse. If you don't, then so help me, I will hex you! You know I know the right spell to knock you out!"

"As if you are one to talk!" he roared.

Twilight flinched back at that.

"You want to judge me for not sleeping? Look at yourself! How much have you eaten lately?! Have you slept since the orphanage incident?!"

"I...I can handle it," she gulped, then aimed a stern frown at him as she added, "I'm not cutting down my own life force to stay awake."

"I can make that kind of sacrifice," he snorted. "You are well aware of that."

"That doesn't mean you should," she frowned, her lip trembling as tears started to form in her eyes.

Spider met the scene with his fangs bared, but the ferocity slowly dripped out of him when the tears finally started to fall. Unable to truly counter the mares point or properly deny the weariness sitting in the back of his consciousness Spider let out a sigh. It was obvious that he was not going to win this argument, but his pride would not allow him to be the only one slain. If he was going to fall, then he was going to take his opponent down with him.

"Very well," he frowned. "But you and I are going to sleep together."

"Huh?" Twilight blinked, a small blush coloring her cheeks.

"We both want each other to rest, so it is the only way to make sure that it will happen," he calmly said, making his way towards his office door. "First, we will bathe, dine, then sleep."

With faint glow of his horn, the door opened. He paused just short of crossing the threshold to aim an impatient frown over his shoulder at the stunned Princess.

"These are my terms of surrender. Will you accept them?"

Twilight gulped, then, blushing furiously muttered, "F-Fine."

A ghost of a smile crept onto Spider's muzzle at that.

With a nod, he faced forward and, as he left, casually said something that left the blushing Princess sputtering as she ran after him.

"Good. You smell like a dead rat and I refuse to share a bed or dine with something so revolting."

***

Gold stared down at the dining room table, a cup of tea set before her. Slowly, she stirred a small spoon through it with her hoof. There was no honey or anything in the tea worth mixing, but the swirling drink kept her calm. It kept her distracted. It helped keep her from running from the two Unicorn mares sitting across from her.

When Rainbow had announced that two of her friends had come to visit her, she was hoping that she meant that it was Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie. When she saw the two Unicorns, it took everything she had to not throw her chessboard at them and fling herself out the nearest window. That, and she was certain her family would not appreciate her turning an heirloom into a weapon or mandate that they replace a part of their home. Now she sat in tense silence, stirring her tea as she waited for the two mares to make their move.

Rarity and Starlight watched her with nervous frowns, neither of them sure just how they were going to proceed. They knew what they were here to do, but the heavy atmosphere put them too on edge to act. It was as if they were sitting across from a cornered animal, one that was ready to pounce or flee the second they made a mistake.

Applejack, Big Mac, and Rainbow were not fairing much better, the three of them watching the non-exchange from the kitchen. Skully had warned the Pegasus of Gold's phobia, but she had no idea just how bad it was until then. While it was faint, Rainbow could see the way the golden mare trembled in her seat. It wasn't the way one would in fear, though. It was the kind of trembling she had seen her coworkers and teammates do just before they took-off.

"S-So," Gold forced out, eyes still locked onto her cup. "Wh-What business do the two of you h-have with me?"

The two Unicorns flinched, then Rarity cleared her throat and with her best sales smile firmly in place, answered the question.

"Well darling, as you know, I have been working on a replacement for your cloak for the last few days."

"I-I am aware," Gold nodded, still stirring her tea.

"Well, you see," she continued. "To ensure that my products last as long as possible, I often add enchantments to them. I was wondering-"

"No enchantments," Gold intoned, her eyes still locked on her cup, but the spoon was now still.

"Are you sure?' Rarity nervously asked. "If I don't apply them then-"

"If I sense anything more than what trace elements of magic you used to weave the fabric, I will throw the damnable thing into a fire," Gold coldly said, her face a blank mask as she finally met the mare's eyes.

Both mares balked at that, Rarity more so.

"Y-You wou-"

"Without a second thought," Gold stated. "As you recall, I was against this arrangement from the very beginning. If I am given any reason to dispose of your "present", then I will do so with little remorse. Do you understand?'

Gold could see that Rarity wanted to argue, but stopped herself at the last second. Rainbow saw it too, a part of her thinking that Gold was being a bit too harsh. At the same time, she couldn't blame the mare for how she was acting. If even a tenth of what Skully told her was true, than it was a miracle Gold let Rarity get close enough to even get her measurements. Anything else, especially when it came to magic, was seriously pressing her luck at this point.

It was then that Starlight decided to try to cut the tension.
“So, how’s your room?” she asked, awkwardly smiling.
“As it should be,” Gold nodded, aiming a cold frown at the mare.
“T-That’s good,” she stiffly chuckled. “L-Like I said, I’ve never done a repair job that big before, so I was kind’ve worried I’d missed something.”
“No, as I said, everything is as it was.” Gold nodded, still tense and eyes still cold. “I feel I should thank you for that at least. As such, thank you for repairing my room.”
“Y-You’re welcome,” Starlight nodded, some of her nerves settling.
A faint, barely perceivable smile graced the golden mare’s lips, only for it to vanish the second she locked eyes with Rarity.
“You know my standing on the matter. Unless there is something else you wish to discuss, I suggest you say so now as I have a few tasks that I have been neglecting today that need my attention.”
While she said that, she started to rise out of her seat. She froze halfway out of the action when Rarity suddenly found her voice.

“A-Actually, I do have something else I wanted to say.”

Gold locked eyes with her, the pressure in the room growing the longer their gaze met. Then, after a few minutes that felt like an hour, Gold let out a reluctant sigh and fully returned to her seat. Both the parties in the kitchen and at the table let out breaths they didn’t know they were holding, most of the tension in the air suddenly falling out of it.

“And that is?” Gold asked, a nervous hitch entering her tone.

A small smile formed on Rarity’s muzzle as she said, “My little sister told me that you taught her a way to unlock her magic. I wanted to thank you for that.”
Gold met the mare’s praise with a small frown, one that held just enough venom to make Rarity lean back from her and wilt her ears.
“You are welcome,” she coldly stated. “Though to be frank, I am disappointed that my assistance was needed in the first place."

"P-Pardon?" Rarity nervously asked.

"How is it that you were not aware of such a simple teaching technique? Had I not shown her meditation, how would have Sweetie learned to find her magic? While the idea of her using magic scares me, the possibility of her going her whole life without knowing how to do so is a blade that cuts far deeper."

"I-I never knew that meditation was an option," Rarity sputtered. "My parents and I simply grew into our magic over time. We both assumed the same would happen to Sweetie Belle."

Gold's jaw dropped at that.

"Such folly!" she barked, her forehooves slamming onto the table as she stood up on her rear ones. "How is it that you are not suffering from mana rot?! Such irresponsible practices could have atrophied her horn! Tell me! Does that brain of yours function or is it only in your skull to keep it from collapsing?!"

Rarity continued to wilt under the weight of Gold's tirade, guilt steadily filling her like toxic water. Starlight wasn't fairing much better, but instead of feeling guilt, a growing anger was starting to fill her. Both mares' emotional turmoil reached their peaks when Gold decided to twist the verbal daggers she had in them.

"I sincerely hope you never become a mother with that kind of tradition."

Rarity's face fell to the table, black-stained tears dripping onto its surface. The sight cut Gold deep enough to snap her out of her tirade, the arctic chill of guilt taking the place of her searing rage. She opened her mouth to apologize, but a furious cry from Starlight froze her tongue.

"That's enough!"

Gold's jaw snapped shut with an audible clack, her shocked eyes locking with Starlights burning blue ones. All of Gold's old instincts told her to run, but fear held her firmly in place. For a moment, she could've sworn she felt thin vines start to form inside herself, the start of their tips ready to burst out of her back at a moments notice. Before that could happen, she watched Starlight close her eyes, take a deep breath, then pull Rarity into a half-hug as she continued.

"I get that she screwed up, but you seriously crossed the line. Now, before I say or do anything that we'll both regret, I'm going to teleport us out of here and try to help my friend calm down. I will come back at some point and I will give you a piece of my mind. It just won't be when I want to do to you what whatever the buck you did to your room did to it. Until then, go buck yourself with a burning rod and have a nice day."

With that, the two mares flashed away, leaving everypony present slack jawed at what they had just witnessed. Gold stared at the two seats they had occupied with wide eyes, raw terror and self-loathing filling her veins with acidic ice. Starlight's words and Rarity's reaction to her ran through her head like a bad dream. Those, along with her dark feelings left her staring at the chairs as if in a trance, her brain unable to figure out what to do with what it had been given.

A wet pop from her chest snapped her out of it.

Blinking, she looked down at it and put a hoof over where her heart was. The fact that she felt no beats was the only warning she got before she fell to the floor. Muffled voices was the only thing she heard as everything turned dark. As the void came to take her, all she could think about was how much she wanted to tell Rarity she was sorry.