Night Terror

Chapters

Chapter 1 (Part 2): Wintermint
Chapter 1.5: The Message
Chapter 2: New Hayshire
Chapter 1 (Part 1): By the Campfire

Chapter 1 (Part 2): Wintermint

Trixie had no idea how long she had been running when she ran into the two farmers and their mostly empty wagon. Her muscles were aching and her lungs were burning as she saw the slightly older couple rounding a bend in the forest road.

The stallion pulling the wagon was a portly, yellow earth pony with a thinning black mane and a thick brush of a mustache. The mare, a unicorn, had a sage green coat and a turquoise mane held in a neat ponytail.

“Turn around! Flee! Call the Royal Guard! There's a madpony monster in these woods and he's coming after me!” She screamed, grabbing the portly farmer by the shoulders and shaking him violently before galloping away once more.

The two farmers looked at the oddly dressed, haggard, rambling mare as she vanished down the road, before slowly turning to look at each other and blink in confusion.

“I shay... What wash that all 'bout, Wintermint?” The stallion asked of his wife.

The unicorn shook her head slowly “I don't know, Rocky Road dearest... But she does look vaguely familiar.”

They both furrowed their brows as they continued their slow walk through the woods.

“Shay... Ishn't she that known huckshter Trixshie? Y'know, that no-good showpony?” Rocky Road asked after a while.

“Ah yes. I think you're right, honey. I wonder what nonsense she's up to now? Poor dear seems to have lost her mind, if you ask me.” Wintermint mused idly, rubbing the back of her neck as she cast one final glance in the direction the mare had ran off to, her attention turning then back to her husband “Anyway, as I was about to ask before she so rudely interrupted. Are you sure you can handle the wagon all the way home? It's still going to be a couple of hours before we make it to town...”

“Oh it'sh quite fine, dearesht. It'sh my fault, after all, that our departchure from the farmersh' market in Bridlecheshter wash sho delayed. I got sho caught up gabbin' with Rusht Bucket and Dapper Dash that I totally losht all track of time! Sho now I'll pay the piper and burn through the night sho we can get back home to the foalsh.” He fixed his wife an encouraging smile “Beshides, the wagon ish more than half empty. Far eashier to drag like this! Heck, if you're gettin' tired, jusht hop on the back and have a shnooze... Jusht like back when we were young~”

Wintermint stifled a giggle and waved a hoof in her husband's direction “Oh you... Such lovely days those were! And, at the risk of sounding like an absolutely horrible mother, I'm sure the kids will be just fine. Amber Gleam is old enough to look after Honey Twirl and Shuffle Step for a day or two.”

“Aye...” Rocky Road sighed “Feelsh like they grow up sho fasht.”

Wintermint was about to answer when the second surprise of the night appeared in front of them: a pale stallion wearing a ragged robe and a pleasant smile.

“Hello there, strangers. You wouldn't happen to have seen an azure blue unicorn mare clad in a rather gaudy purple cape and hat passing by, perchance?” The stallion asked, his crimson red eyes sweeping from Rocky Road to Wintermint and back.

The portly farmer was about to answer, but was silenced by his wife's hoof coming to rest on his chest, the mare's expression turning serious as she leaned in to whisper. “We should be cautious, dear. She did mention someone was chasing her.”

Rocky Road nodded. It was always so endearing to see his wife's fierce spirit coming to surface, and there she was again, as stern, radiant and beautiful as the day he had proposed to her.

He was snapped out of his sweet memories by the words of his wife “Can't say that we have, mister..?”

“I am called Starcha-- Hmph... You know what? I'm really bucking tired of playing games after allowing that egotistical fool to get away. My name is Night Terror and you two are about to have a very, very bad time.”

Wintermint stepped forth, placing herself protectively between the pale stallion and Rocky “Is that so? Just a fair warning before you go doing something irreversible: I'm not your average country filly. My name is Wintermint and I cut my teeth in the Guard learning all there is to know about combat magic and afterwards served for over ten years as the Commander of our local Town Guard. I've had to kick the tails of bandits, scoundrels and ruffians like you all my career and you can bet your buckles I haven't let my skills collect rust since retiring.”

“You show him what for, shweetie!” Rocky didn't even bother unhitching himself from the wagon. He'd learned over the years just how capable Wintermint was of taking care of her and hers. Why, it was nary two winters ago when they had ran into half-a-dozen highwayponies intent on robbing them whilst they had been coming home from celebrating Hearth's Warming over at Rocky's parents' farmstead. The poor robbers never stood a chance against ol' Minty!

“Wow… I'm quivering in my shoes here.” Night Terror said flatly, an entirely unamused scowl on his face “Now if you're quite done flapping your gums, let us proceed. I'll even give you the first shot, so make it count!”

“How generous,” came Wintermint's reply as she started to channel her magic through her horn, her magic displaying itself as a vibrant orange glow.

There was a flash of light and an audible pop as she unleashed her spell, but instead of a blast or a beam of magic as her foe might've expected, the sage green mare instead had teleported next to him. By the time Night Terror could react, Wintermint had already coiled her body like a spring and unleashed a devastating kick right into the pale stallion's jaw that sent him reeling.

She wasn't done with just that, however. Minty planted her rear hooves firmly on the ground and pivoted, using her momentum to bring her front hoof down in an equally devastating punch to the side of the scoundrel's head. The force of the impact sent him sliding along the ground a good few feet, his hooves digging grooves into the dirt. Still he miraculously remained standing.

Wintermint's limbs felt numb and tingly, as if she had just hit a wall. Twice. Only then did she notice the stranger was sheathed in a protective shield of translucent black energy, with lightning-like streaks of balefire green coruscating over its surface.

Her eyes opened wide in surprise “But... You're not a unicorn. How can you use magic?”

“Not everything is as it appears, my dear. Excellent trick, by the way. Most ponies would expect a unicorn to be good only with magic and not with hoof-to-hoof combat.” A slow grin spread on the stallion's face. “My turn!”

In the blink of an eye the crackling barrier collapsed in on itself, forming almost into the shape of a wave or a blade, which then crashed into Wintermint, accompanied by the sound of magical static. She barely had time to throw up a protective field of her own, but it was akin to trying to shield herself from a rock slide with a cracker.

Her shield shattered like glass on impact and she was sent flying through the air, the wind getting knocked out of her lungs by the rough landing. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, pain shooting through every nerve as she struggled to get back on her hooves, but her limbs were just refusing to cooperate. Through her unfocused, swimming vision she saw Night Terror slowly approaching. If only her legs would listen...

“M-Minty! You bashtard!” Rocky Road shouted, hastily unbuckling himself from the carriage and trying to rush Night Terror.

“Stay out of this.” The pale stallion growled and a balefire green aura of magic appeared around Rocky's throat, hoisting him up several feet off the ground. Night Terror didn't even bother to look the other stallion's way as he slammed him forcibly to the ground and then dragged his dazed, nearly unconscious body to lay by his hooves.

“R-Rocky... No...” Wintermint managed to gasp weakly as she saw the pale stallion grab her husband by the head and shoulder, a savage snarl ripping from his muzzle as he opened it wide and revealed his sharp fangs. Her whole world seemed to come momentarily to a standstill as the fiend sank his teeth into Rocky's neck, the portly farmer only managing to let out a gurgling gasp, weakly reaching a hoof towards her before going limp. All she could do was watch as color seemed to drain from her husband, his eyes going glazed and empty.

Mere seconds later, Night Terror raised his head back up and licked his crimson stained chops, a faint trail of that same scarlet liquid staining the corner of his mouth. He tossed Rocky casually aside, like a broken toy or a piece of trash, before making his way over to Wintermint. She couldn't tell if Rocky was alive or not...

She tried to conjure up enough strength for a magical blast, but no sooner had she managed to ignite her horn than a lash of dark magic sent by the monstrous stallion struck her in the back. She threw her head back and screamed in agony, her spell dissipating.

Through the pain and tears she felt a pair of hooves grasping her head and shoulder, and she knew she'd suffer the same fate her husband had. The hot breath on her neck felt disgusting, but she couldn't summon up the strength to struggle physically or magically. Still, defiant to the end as she was determined to be, she spat out “At least make it quick, you bastard!”

There was an amused snort and then a sharp pain in her neck, her vision fading as she felt all strength leaving her body. Sweet, merciful darkness took her consciousness soon after. “I'll be with you again soon, my love... The Everdream awaits.”

Pain. It was dull, throbbing and felt oddly distant, yet it seemed to permeate every inch of her body. If this was the afterlife, it certainly didn't feel like all it was cracked up to be.

Wintermint slowly forced her eyes open, regretting it almost immediately as cold horror washed over her body upon seeing the pale stallion standing before her. Her limbs felt like bricks of lead and every breath felt laborious. Her gaze drifted from Night Terror to the plump shape of her husband laying next to her.

She felt her heart jump as she saw Rocky's side rising and falling. It was weak, but definitely a breath. Rocky was alive, too!

The next thing she noted was her back leaning against something hard and uncomfortable. Craning her head carefully she saw the shape of their wagon looming behind her, her back propped up against one of the wheels.

“So nice of you to finally wake up, dear.” Night Terror said in a soft tone, crouching before her to meet her at eye level. “And it looks like I didn't accidentally break any of your bones either. Good. You're far more useful when you're coherent rather than screaming your head off in agony.”

“What do you... want?” She managed to say, though it came out more as a groan and less as the fiery defiance she'd aimed for.

The pale stallion laughed, tilting her chin up with a hoof to make her amber eyes meet his crimson red ones. “Why, I want to have a little chat with you, 'Minty.' Though mostly it's going to be me asking you some questions and you being a good little pony and answering my inquiries truthfully. You will be a well-behaved little pony for me, won't you? There's no harm in it, right?”

Even in her weakened state Wintermint could tell he was trying to put some kind of a charm spell on her, his soft, polite voice and intense stare trying to worm their way into her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to look away. “I'll never play your game, you sadistic madpony... You'll get nothing from me, you hear. Nothing!”

Night Terror let out a frustrated sigh and grabbed Wintermint's head in both hooves. She could feel his gaze boring into her, but she kept her eyes screwed firmly shut. “Even in your drained state your mind and spirit are still strong enough to shake off my charm spell and I applaud that. However... I assure you it is in your best interests to stop fighting back. I only want information, nothing more, nothing less, and this charm ensures you'll speak the truth.”

“To Tartarus with you...” She opened her eyes and tried to spit on her assailant, but the most she managed was drooling on her chin.

“Now now... That's not very lady-like.” His brow furrowed angrily, though his voice remained calm and even. “I'll put this in no uncertain terms, much as I hate having to resort to such base threats. You may be able to resist my spells, probably due to that vaunted Guard training of yours, but I can also glean all this information out of your husband's mind and I doubt he's quite as strong-willed as you are. If you make me go through the extra step of having to wake up that fat slob-of-a-husband of yours, you will come to regret it.”

His grip on her skull tightened ever so slightly, going from a firm hold to an uncomfortable one. He leaned in close to her ear and spoke words of horror and cruelty the likes of which no mother, indeed no parent, would ever want to hear. And he did so in the kind of matter-of-fact tone with which someone might discuss the weather or recent unimportant events.

Wintermint's eyes flew open wide, tears rolling down her cheeks and her whole body quivering with muffled sobs as she was forced to listen to what would be the result of further disobeying Night Terror's demands.

“...And your fate will be the worst of all, my dear, for you will have to live with the consequences. You will be left alone, but very much alive, into the ruins of what used to be your life, every cursed breath a reminder that it all happened because of your foolish, stubborn pride.” Night Terror concluded as he pulled back to once more look her square in the eye. His smile was like an icy dagger plunged into Wintermint's heart. “Or you can choose to cooperate, at which point no harm will befall your family. Quite the contrary, I'll consider you lot borderline sacrosanct! As long as you don't deliberately try to go against me, that is. Do we have a deal?”

She nodded weakly “Y-Yo-you ha-have my word... I'll... I'll tell you everything you want to know. And it'll be the Goddess-honest truth no matter what. I swear by Celestia's divine name.”

“Okay, rule number one. Do NOT mention the tyrant's name ever again in my presence!” Night Terror snarled with sudden anger that made Wintermint flinch. He quickly cleared his throat and regained his composure. “Now then... How old are you and your husband?”

“I'm... Forty one. My husband will turn forty three next spring.”

“I overheard you mentioning something about having foals, but I missed their names. Oh, and how old are they?”

She looked up from the ground. The mere mention of her children after what she had just heard made her stomach twist, and before she could answer she felt bile rising in her throat as the shock and stress finally reached a boiling point. She managed to turn her head sideways just before she started retching and she would've probably toppled over were it not for a green field of telekinetic magic supporting her as she emptied the contents of her stomach.

“Charming, charming, charming... Feeling better now?” She hated how polite Night Terror sounded when he said that. A cruel, twisted mockery of friendliness if she'd ever seen or heard one. Yet again she could only nod weakly.

“Good. Now answer the question.”

“They're... Amber Gleam is our eldest. She's fifteen. Honey Twirl is ten and Shuffle Step, our brave little colt, turns eight next month.”

“You love them.” A statement, not a question.

“More than anything in the world...” She found the corners of her mouth curling upwards in a faint little smile despite the horrible circumstances.

“Enough to trade the entire rest of your community's well being for their safety?”

Wintermint felt the icy dagger twisting in her heart once more, tears once again flowing down her cheeks. “If that's what you demand...”

Night Terror's laughter would've impressed even King Sombra. “Oh, how quickly and how low the mighty warrior mare has fallen. Moving on, moving on. This road leads to New Hayshire, correct? And you live there, correct?”

“Yes... And yes. Shouldn't be more than an hour, hour and a half at most, I think.”

“How delightful. As a reward for being such an obedient wretch, I'll take you and your husband home. Well... To the edge of town, at least.” Flexing his magic once more, Night Terror hoisted first Rocky Road and then Wintermint into the wagon, dumping them both quite unceremoniously on top of the remaining baskets of produce. A bulging saddlebag landed in the wagon soon after, though that one was lowered in with much more care than the two ponies.

“I expect you to keep answering my questions, Minty! If I feel like you're being dishonest at any point... You know what will happen. Why, I might even take a break at some random point and confirm that you've been staying honest with me! Now let's get this wagon rolling. The Night, alas, won't last forever!”

Next thing she knew, the wagon started to trundle along the road. Their landing in the wagon had toppled most of the baskets, leaving the two of them laying on a bed of lettuce, carrots and kale; soft, if cold and a bit wet.

And speaking of cold, it didn't take long for Wintermint to notice her teeth were starting to chatter. With supreme effort she managed to shuffle sideways the necessary few inches to press herself against Rocky's side. At least now they were sharing warmth; another small blessing in this otherwise thoroughly wretched night.

It didn't take long for Night Terror to start his interrogation again. This time, however, his questions concerned New Hayshire. Layout of the town, population, size of local garrison, how many militia members could be called upon... Everything, Wintermint realized, one would need to launch an attack. And with a crushed, defeated spirit she told Night Terror everything, silently apologizing to her friends and townsfolk for selling them out in such a manner, but the alternative was too horrifying to even consider.

“I've answered y-your q-questions. N-Now m-may I ask some f-from you?” She managed from her shivers and the chattering of her teeth.

“Hah! Ask away, dear Minty, ask away... But I make no promises about giving answers.”

“W-Will you r-really hold on to your word and take us home?”

There was another amused chuckle from the pale stallion “But of course. A farmer doesn't burn down their garden after a harvest. Better to let it regrow so it can be harvested again later!”

“S-So you see us as nothing but a c-crop? Or cattle? Y-You really are a vam-vampire, then?” The horrors just kept on piling on, it seemed...

“In a manner of speaking, yes, you are like a crop to be harvested. You need food, I need blood and the magical essence of life contained within it. Which should answer your second question well enough, yes?”

Wintermint tried her best to suppress a shiver, clinging on to her husband as best she could. She could feel Rocky shivering, too, though he was still very much unconscious. “Th-Then that would make you a farmer in this m-metaphor a-and a f-farmer must look after their crops, correct? We're f-freezing out here, s-so p-please do something about it, I beg you.”

The wagon stopped. Wintermint could hear Night Terror chuckling “Using my words against me?”

A few seconds later Night Terror leapt into the wagon, making the whole thing creak. He stared at Wintermint sternly for a couple of seconds before allowing his muzzle to curl into a grin “That was both bold and clever. I like that. You've also been very helpful, so I suppose a reward is in order.”

With the help of telekinetic magic he undid the buttons on his travel robe and pulled it off, levitating the opened garment then on top of his hapless, shivering victims.

Wintermint's jaw fell open as moonlight washed over Night Terror's body, revealing an armor of dark and purple metal with bat wing motifs and, if she looked carefully, intricate runic scripting inscribed along the edges all over the old and archaic-looking suit. Despite the polished sheen, it looked like the armor had seen its fair share of hardships, what with all the scuffs and small dents marring the otherwise so pristine plates. Strapped onto his side was also a sheathed sword, the crossguard, pommel and handle exquisitely detailed in silver and gold with bat wing motifs as well.

“Y-You're one of Her Majesty's Night Guard?” She gasped, eyes wide.

The stallion snorted in amusement “You're almost correct. I was one of Her Dark Majesty's Nightmare Guards. In nomine Nox Aeterna! In the name of Eternal Night.”

Wintermint shook her head slowly in disbelief “Can't be... That would mean you--”

“Yes.” He interrupted. “I was there a millennium ago during the Lunar Uprising, fighting alongside my comrades and Her Dark Majesty to cast down the sun tyrant!”

“The s-stories never told of Nightmare Moon f-fielding undead monstrosities in her armies. A-And how could a c-creature like you have been around for a thousand years without anyone knowing or noticing? Y-You aren't exactly subtle, y'know...”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I was a mortal during the Uprising. I became a vampire afterwards, during the rout from Canterlot to Badlands. Picked the wrong damned cave to hide in... Long story short, I spent most of the past thousand years in torpor and I woke up around... Last Summer Sun Celebration, I believe that's the name of the holiday, when She returned. Now it's only a matter of time before I find Her again and together we can continue where we last left off!”

Wintermint bit her lip, thinking whether or not she dared to spill the beans. Ultimately she decided to speak, if for no other reason than to get back at the monster in some small way. “She... You haven't heard? She was defeated almost immediately upon her return. Six heralds of Cel-- the sun princess became the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and vanquished her. Nightmare Moon is gone, but the princess' sister, princess Luna, was also freed and now rules side by side with her sister.”

Night Terror lunged at her, stopping a mere inch away from her face, his eyes filled with rage and his face twisted into a furious snarl. “Lies! All lies! You dare lie to me?!”

She swallowed hard, actively forcing herself not to look away from those fiendish red eyes that seemed to promise nothing but pain and suffering to her and hers. “I swear it's the t-truth! You can use your spell to check if you want, I won't fight back this time, I promise.”

And that was exactly what Night Terror did, though his intrusion into her mind wasn't a slow and subtle process, but rather abrupt and painful like someone had driven a white-hot nail through her skull.

Having gotten his confirmation that she was, indeed, telling the truth, Night Terror released his spell and let out a frustrated sigh. “Well... At least you firmly believe you are telling the truth. But that can't be right... I can still feel Her presence in the world. No... She must be just hiding, biding her time as she did a thousand years ago before launching her attack...”

His words were starting to turn into a ramble and he wasn't aiming them at anyone in particular. Wintermint was starting to worry she might've pushed the unhinged madpony over the edge with her revelation, but a couple of minutes later the stallion took a deep breath and steadied himself with a slow exhale.

“No point in letting myself get distracted now. I just have to proceed according to my plan and keep the harvest going.” He threw a quick, reassuring smile down at Wintermint. “Let's get going again, shall we?”

Another fifteen minutes passed in silence before Wintermint had gathered enough courage to speak again. In the meantime, the thick robe had done a surprisingly good job at warming her up despite the scorched hole blasted into it. Even Rocky had stopped shivering.

“Why me?” She asked.

“Bad luck on your part. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or did you mean something else?” The joviality was all but gone from his voice.

“No, I mean... Why am I having this conversation and not Rocky?”

There was a small pause. “Honestly? I can't stand his accent and I don't understand how you can either.”

She managed a weak chuckle, which turned into a feeble cough almost immediately “I always found it endearing.”

“There's no accounting for taste, I suppose... The second reason we are having this conversation is because your grit and cleverness actually impressed me. Unlike that walking blood bag you call a husband. And thirdly, well, it's a long road and I get bored just humming or talking to myself.”

She was about to retort to the insult at her husband, but in the end thought better of it. No need to stoop to his level, after all, and the stallion was probably goading her intentionally anyway. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. “How come you can use magic? You're... An earth pony, not a unicorn. I know earth ponies have their own magic that connects them to the land, but I've never seen one actually cast a spell; much less ones as strong as yours.”

“Really, dear Minty? We live in a world with fire breathing dragons, immortal Alicorns and more magical beasts than you can shake a stick at. Is it really so far-fetched to think a bloodsucking monster of the night could use magic? Remember: looks can be deceiving.”

“Point taken.”

Another long silence fell, permeated only by the creaking and trundling of the wagon on the hard-packed dirt road.

“I pity you.” Wintermint eventually broke the silence. Getting no response she continued. “Truly, I do. You're good at hiding it, but... I've seen the glimpses of a decent, if troubled, soul underneath that cruel and callous mask you wear.”

“...You make some truly bold assumptions about a monster like me even having a soul.” Another flat, emotionless response.

“Everypony has one. Even you, dark though it may be.”

“I traded mine for power a long, long time ago and I have no regrets. I see what you're trying to get at, the game you are trying to play, and I will have none of it! Do NOT mistake my desire for idle conversation, meant only to pass the time, as softness.” His tone was sharp and angry, his words followed by a snarl. “In fact... This conversation is over!”

Wintermint was about to argue back, already opening her muzzle and drawing in the breath to do so, but ended up just shaking her head weakly and letting the air out in a deep sigh. She wanted to believe nopony was a lost cause, that there was something good inside everypony. Night Terror, however, had made a serious challenge to that belief.

“We're hee~ere.” Night Terror's sing-songy voice snapped Wintermint awake. She had no idea how long she had been sleeping, or indeed when she had fallen asleep, but it couldn't have been too long. A quick glance to the sky told her it was quite late into the night. Dawn would be just a couple of hours away at most.

Craning her neck she could see that the wagon had been turned around, its rear facing towards the dark silhouette of a town. She instantly knew where they were: at the top of the small hill at the edge of the woods overlooking New Hayshire.

Night Terror hopped onto the wagon, magically yanking his robe away from the two ponies and then donning it once more himself, his saddlebag finally levitating onto his back.

“This is where we will be parting ways. For the most part this has been an absolute pleasure! At least for me!” For whatever reason he seemed to be in good spirits. He even bowed theatrically to Wintermint before hopping off the wagon.

“Are you planning on just leaving us here? That's... That's good enough, I suppose. Somepony is bound to notice the wagon and come to investigate, especially if you light up the lantern we have.” She allowed herself to feel relieved. In the end the beast had kept true to his word at least.

There was a malicious chuckle from the front of the wagon which was currently facing the way they had come. “Oh no... That wouldn't be very gentlecoltly of me, now would it? I'm sure the townsfolk are eager to see you return with utmost haste!”

Wintermint was starting to have a seriously bad feeling about the whole situation. They had been parked on the very edge of the hill with the road leading straight to the town square... And the large stone fountain in the middle of it. “Y-You wouldn't... You can't possibly be thinking to...”

“Give you a little push in the right direction?” He finished for her, still sounding almost sickeningly sweet. “Why yes, that is exactly what I intend to do. Be a dear and deliver a message from me to everypony in town. 'Tis a short and a simple one: 'you're next'. Safe travels, dear Minty!”

She felt the air charging with magical energy, like a static charge slowly building up, before the wagon was forcibly thrust into motion, rolling down the hill with increasing speed. Night Terror was probably still magically guiding the wagon since the vehicle was traveling straight as an arrow down the path.

There was no mistaking it, Wintermint realized, as their wagon was indeed heading directly towards the massive stone fountain that had stood in the town square practically since its founding, an impressive piece of stone craftsponyship with a statue of Celestia on top of it. With a groan she forced herself to flop protectively on top of her husband, trying as best as she could to cling on to him.

One of the town's night watchponies saw the wagon rolling towards him on his usual patrol around the town square and was forced to dive into an empty fruit stall to get out of the way, shrieking “What the hay?!” as he did.

With a thundering crash the wagon slammed into the fountain, sending produce flying, but miraculously the rear board hadn't come off and the two hapless passengers only ended up smacking against it.

From his position in the shadows of the forest Night Terror watched and listened as the night watchponies rushed to the wagon, shouts for help and to fetch the doctor filling the once so peaceful late night air. One after another lights were lit in the nearby buildings and bleary-eyed ponies peered out of windows or stepped outside to see what the commotion was all about.

He let out a satisfied snort and turned around, walking deeper into the woods. Sun would rise all too soon and he needed to reach his lair whilst it was still dark.

He cast one last glance towards New Hayshire and allowed a small grin to curl onto his muzzle as he thought to himself “And so it begins... Let Terror reign.”

Chapter 1.5: The Message

The sun had climbed high up in the sky, marking it being around noon, when Trixie finally had gathered enough courage to return to her campsite. She couldn't possibly just abandon her beloved wagon. It simply had too much sentimental value to her; not to mention it was all she had in this world save for the clothes on her back and the single emergency smoke bomb she still had stashed in her hat. And vampires couldn't walk around in daylight, so it was safe, right? She certainly hoped so.

The disheveled mare tiphoofed carefully from one tree to the next, bloodshot eyes darting left and right to catch sight of anyone lying in ambush. Her mane and tail were a mess, too, with dried leaves and small twigs sticking out of them after a night spent sleeping fitfully under a hastily assembled pile made of said materials.

She cursed that bastard Night Terror to the lowest pits of Tartarus. No, straight to Avernus with him, and even then pony hell seemed like too light a punishment!

“How dare he play around with and mock the Great and Powerful Trixie? Why if I ever see him again I'm going to... To...” She had no idea what she'd do, actually. She'd felt the terrible power emanating from the monster once he had revealed his true nature; an aura of dark majesty that sent chills to her very core just thinking about it.

Much to her joy, however, she found the campsite was pretty much exactly like she'd left it last night. With one last quick check around she slipped into her wagon. Relief, once more, washed over her as she noted that the interior was mostly in good shape. Night Terror had obviously gone through all her stuff, but hadn't trashed or tossed anything about.

The next thing Trixie noticed was the big, juicy, shiny red apple and two golden bits left on top of the counter and underneath them seemed to be a neatly folded letter.

Trixie eyed the apple with suspicion. Could she really trust anything left behind by that maniac? She ignored the apple, for now at least despite the loud protesting of her stomach, and instead pulled out and unfolded the letter with her magic.

Dear Miss Trixie

I once more would like to extend my most heartfelt and sincere thanks to you for an evening of entertainment the likes of which I've not had in quite some time. For that reason I decided I'd let you go. Oh, I can just picture you rolling your eyes, but it's true! If I really, truly wanted to capture you, why would I have taken the time to write this letter rather than chase after you immediately?

I also went through all your things, not that there was much to begin with, and took all your smoke bombs; handy little things that they are. Don't you worry, I'll be putting them to good use.

Which brings me to my next point. I was touched by your story of how the denizens of New Hayshire mistreated you, so I decided I'd make that little town my next feeding ground. No need to thank me, miss Trixie. It will be my absolute pleasure to exact vengeance upon them on your behalf! They will know terror unlike anything they could possibly have imagined in their simple little lives...

Trixie had to stop reading for a moment to process. On one hoof they had insulted and wronged her and thus deserved to be punished, but on the other... Letting a monster like him rampage among them seemed a little excessive.

She shook her head and continued reading.

I also have a suggestion for you, miss Trixie, or more like a bit of advice. If you really want to face, defeat and humiliate this Twilight Sparkle, then you're going to need some help and I know just the thing!

In Baltimare there's a wonderful little shop called Mr. Wing's Magical Mysteries and it can be found on the back alley just off of Trottington Avenue. You should head there and see if Mr. Wing can help you. His assistance was invaluable to me and my plans, so I'm sure he'll have something to give you the necessary edge against that “stuck-up little librarian” as you so eloquently put it.

~ N.T.

PS. Do enjoy the apple I left. It's a long way to the next town and I'm sure you could use a bit of breakfast after all that running. It's perfectly safe, I assure you, but I'm not your father so feel free to make your own decisions.

PPS. I also left you some money as a tip for the show you put up. Two bits for a two-bit showpony!

Trixie snarled and crumpled up the letter, tossing it against the nearest wall as hard as she magically could. In a huff she swept both the apple and the bits onto the floor with a hoof, her anger threatening to boil over. Just who was he calling a two-bit showpony?!

She fumed for a good while longer, pacing back and forth in the cramped interior of her wagon whilst grumbling darkly to herself. Eventually, however, her impotent anger burned itself out and she was left with nothing else to do but to let out a deep, resigned sigh.

She threw another glance at the crumpled letter, chewed on her lower lip and then nodded, picking up both the apple and the bits from the floor.

Not fifteen minutes later she was packed up and ready to leave, strapping the wagon to herself and then making for a hurried exit away from the campsite.

Upon reaching the forest road she paused. She looked towards the direction of New Hayshire and for a few precious moments thought whether or not she should head back there to warn them of the danger.

“They'll just hurl more vegetables and abuse at me if I return... Hay, they'll probably end up blaming that madpony's actions on me! Buck that, they made their bed, now they get to sleep in it. In fact, yes, I think it serves them right...” She thought bitterly to herself and turned down the road leading away from the town. Besides, she was no hero and she knew it; not that she'd ever admit it out loud to anypony, of course.

With her head held low she started the long journey towards Baltimare. She just needed to find a source of income first... Maybe she’d have more luck in some of the towns on the way?

Chapter 2: New Hayshire

An uneasy, quiet atmosphere hung in the room as three of the most significant ponies in all of New Hayshire stood in silent contemplation around the infirmary's bed. Upon the bed, resting after what must have been a most harrowing night, was Wintermint, her various bruises and wounds tended to and bandaged with utmost care by the town's only doctor.

It was almost dawn by the time Doctor Aspirin had worked her wonders on Wintermint and now the three of them were waiting for Minty to wake up whilst the good doctor tended to Rocky Road.

The infirmary they had was a moderately sized, two-story country house converted into a clinic with each patient getting a modest room all to their own. Nothing modern, certainly nothing fancy, but it had served the town well for generations; four and counting, in fact.

Mayor Rubber Stamp ran a tired hoof through his black, silver-streaked mane and sighed. In all his long years as the mayor the light blue earth pony had never seen anything quite like this. What kind of creature could possibly have injured the previously so invincible Wintermint in such a manner? A question all those present hoped to get the answer to shortly.

He threw a glance at the light gray pegasus standing in full armor next to him with his helmet held underneath one wing, noting how the Captain of the town guard was trying his best to control his emotions and succeeding only mostly. The tightness of his jawline and the faint bristling of his wing feathers were dead giveaways of his barely contained fury.

Gale Wing had always had a bit of a temper, but he'd still always been the obvious choice as a successor to Wintermint after her retirement. To see his mentor and hero laying so weak and broken in front of him had to hurt...

The young stallion had always practically idolized Wintermint, always pushed himself hard to be noticed by the then-captain and in the end he'd been rewarded for his hard work and dedication with a well deserved promotion.

Last but most certainly not least in the room was Holly Plowshare, the current matriarch -despite her relatively young age- of the largest and most influential farmer family in the entire town. Where Ponyville had the famous Apple family, New Hayshire's backbone had always been the staunch and hardy Plowshares.

The brown-and-white-coated, bubblegum pink-maned mare was certainly living up to the Plowshare name and legacy. Even at the relatively young age of twenty three she was very much a pillar of the community. She'd gained a reputation as a just and righteous mare and thus it was no wonder most folks went to her for arbitration on their grievances and she was always more than happy to help settle disputes. And if, for whatever reason, the local farmers needed a spokespony to speak for all of them in town gatherings or in front of community committees, Holly was their go-to pony.

The soft creak of the door behind them made Rubber Stamp snap back to reality, all three heads turning in unison to look at the tan, bespectacled earth pony mare clad into a doctor's coat who had just entered the room.

“Aspirin, how's Rocky doing?” the mayor asked, his weariness managing to shine through despite the genuine concern and stress he was feeling.

“Like Wintermint, he's pale, bruised and has lost a lot of both blood and energy... More of the latter than the former. He also seems to have been put to sleep magically, as best as I can tell. I'm no unicorn, mind you, so magic is still a bit above me, but he didn't react to the smelling salts when I tried to rouse him from his slumber.” The doctor held a small pause during which she readjusted the tight bun of her dark green mane. “And, just like Minty, he had those same weird puncture marks on his neck.”

“Tell us, doctor, what makes them so weird?” Captain Gale chipped in sternly.

Doctor Aspirin weighed her words carefully for a moment before replying, though her eyes were cast down towards the wooden floorboards rather than at any of the three local dignitaries “The two small holes are evenly spaced near the carotid artery. I... I think they are bite marks caused by long, sharp fangs, done with incredible precision. It is also worth mentioning that, despite the puncture wounds' location directly on such a vital artery, there appears to have been very little bleeding; almost like the wounds had sealed themselves automatically.”

“What are you trying to suggest here, doctor? Did they get attacked by some kind of weird animal or what?” The Captain demanded, flinching then visibly when he realized he'd been raising his voice more than intended.

Once more the good doctor held a long pause, her brow knitted into a tight furrow, before lifting her gaze up to regard all three of the other ponies “An animal wouldn't have loaded them into a cart and sent them rolling downhill into the fountain, Captain. As a medical professional, I can't in good conscience even begin to guess. But unofficially, as just a laypony with a rudimentary understanding of folklore... All signs point to them having been attacked by a... a vampire.”

There was a stunned silence, six wide-open eyes staring at the doctor incredulously.

“Th-That's...” The mayor stammered “That's ridiculous. Totally absurd! Vampires don't exist outside of fiction and literature!”

“You see now why I couldn't possibly state an official, professional opinion on the matter, Rubber Stamp? Yet the evidence, circumstantial as it may be, still points towards that conclusion. Much enough, at least, that we can't dismiss it completely out of hoof.”

Captain Gale snorted and shook his head, muttering “Ridiculous...” under his breath.

“Guess we'll just hafta wait for Mrs. Wintermint to wake up and see what she has to say,” Holly added in. She shifted the toothpick she'd been idly chewing from one corner of her muzzle to the other before continuing. “On that note, doc, how long do ya reckon it'll take until they are back to health? If my memory don't fail me completely, they've got three foals waitin' back home.”

“Yes, Holly asks an excellent question, doctor. When will they be making a recovery; full or otherwise?” The mayor asked.

“In their current condition it's going to be several days, if not weeks, of complete bed rest before they'll be fully healthy.”

Gale Wing shook his head, his brow, too, furrowed. “I know Wintermint and Rocky's kids are made of stuff as tough as their parents, but several days, if not weeks, alone is just too much. I think they'll need a foster home for the time being. It'll be safer, too, if there's somepony with ill intentions lurking in the woods.”

“They don't have any other relatives in town, so I guess I'll--” Rubber Stamp began, running his hoof through his frazzled mane for the umpteenth time that night.

Holly, however, interrupted him with a stern shake of her head “Nah... I'll take 'em in. Our mansion has plenty of room and my nieces and nephews would be delighted to have other youths for company. That should, hopefully, help them cope with their parents being hospitalized a bit better.”

The relief on the mayor's face was clear as day “Oh, thank you, Holly! I... I confess I was hoping you'd volunteer, but you Plowshares already do so much for our community that I didn't want to impose.”

“Just doin' our part, mayor, nothin' more, nothin' less. 'Sides I know you are absolutely hopeless with foals!” She gave a mischievous, lopsided grin at the older stallion.

“Heh... You said it, not me. Married life and foals never did seem like the right thing for me.”

“What do you mean, mayor dearest?” It was doctor Aspirin's turn to chime in. “You already are happily married... To your job!”

The light-hearted ribbing caused a chorus of soft chuckles from all four; just what they needed to lighten up the gloomy atmosphere.

“That settles it then.” Holly said with a nod. “Once it's properly light outside, we'll go and fetch the Roads' foals and let them know what has happened. No sense waking them up just yet.”

“On that note, since it appears Wintermint won't be waking up anytime soon, I'm going to have to ask you lot to vacate the premises and let my patients rest. I'll send word immediately if either one of them wakes up.” Doctor Aspirin said in a tone that brooked absolutely no arguments, starting then to usher everypony out of the room.

Having been practically pushed into the largish reception area/lobby of the clinic, mayor Rubber Stamp allowed himself another weary sigh. “Well... I suppose I'll go and try to get a bit more rest before starting the day proper. At the very least I'm going to have to fix myself a drink. A stiff one.”

“A bit early for booze, don'tcha think, mayor?” Holly jabbed at the older stallion, eliciting a dry chuckle from him.

“Under normal circumstances I'd agree with you, Holly, but if our town really is under threat by some sort of violent lunatic, supernatural or not, then I hardly count this as normal.”

“Fair 'nuff.”

The mayor turned his weary gaze to Captain Gale. “Gale, please make sure that some of your night watchponies do extra patrols near the Roads' homestead until dawn. Just to be sure.”

The Captain mustered up a faint, lopsided grin “One trot ahead of you, mayor. I ordered that as soon as I heard who the victims were. Winternight will be doing aerial survey in that area for as long as he can.”

Rubber Stamp nodded, letting out an approving grunt. Being the only bat-pony in town, Winternight had proven invaluable in his service as one of the night watchponies; despite his playful nature and penchant for goofing off.

The Captain then added “I'm also going to send patrols into the woods to see if they can find anything.”

“Just make sure they be careful, Gale. Whoever that pony is, they were strong enough to beat up Wintermint and remain in good enough condition afterwards to haul her and Rocky back into town,” said Holly, still idly suckling on the toothpick.

Captain Gale's features darkened and his head drooped just a tad, but he shook the darkness of his thoughts away a few heartbeats later, fixing the farmer with a look of steely determination. “I won't be taking any chances. Every patrol will be at least six ponies strong with at least two unicorns for magical support.”

“Some might see that as overkill... That's half the ponies in the town garrison per patrol. We have only ever had just enough to keep bandits away to begin with,” the mayor mumbled, clearing his throat and straightening his posture as he saw the glare Gale Wing was giving him. “Ahem... But if that is your decision, Captain, then you will have my full support for it.”

“Stronger Together,” the Captain said whilst extending his hoof.

The other three ponies extended a hoof each, bumping them together in the middle of their little ring whilst repeating the Captain's words.

And with that little ceremony of reciting the town's motto their meeting was officially adjourned, everypony going their separate ways out of the infirmary to prepare for the coming day.

The soft glow of an oil lamp greeted Wintermint as she finally came to. Despite having slept for who knows how long she still felt weary and exhausted. A bit less so than after the attack, but only a little.

Her blurry eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in the cozy wood paneling of the walls and the small oil painting of a bowl of fruit hanging directly opposite of the bed she was resting in. To her left was a nightstand with the aforementioned oil lamp and a water pitcher and a window with its curtains drawn shut tight. A simple chair, probably for visitors, was neatly placed into one corner next to the door. The small wooden chest, meant for the patient's personal belongings, placed into the other corner completed the décor.

“The infirmary?” She thought to herself, shifting her eyes towards the headboard of the bed and, yes indeed, she spotted the drawstring attached to a bell dangling within easy reach.

Taking a deep breath she tried to focus her magic into her horn to grasp the string, but her horn merely let out a feeble little spark before the magic sputtered out.

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced the rising tides of cold horror and despair back down. Not having her magic left her feeling so very... Vulnerable, weak and useless; like a fundamental part of what made her, well, her was missing.

Wintermint swallowed hard and, with some struggle, managed to crane her neck enough to grasp the string with her teeth to give it a pull. Somewhere in the reception area a bell rang cheerily as a result.

Just to be sure she pulled the string a second time and then relinquished her hold of it, allowing her head to flop back on the fluffy pillow.

It didn't take long for the door to creak open and a dark red unicorn stallion in an orderly's jacket entered the room.

Wintermint gave the familiar pony a tired smile, her voice hoarse as she spoke. “Hey, Bedside. Good to see you. How's the town's best nurse doing?”

Bedside Manner gave the mare a smile of his own as he trotted over to her bed. “Glad to see you awake, Wintermint. And it's easy to be the best when you're the only nurse in town!”

Wintermint managed a chuckle in response, her smile melting away as she asked “What about Rocky? Is he all right?”

Bedside nodded “Banged up, but he'll be fine. A broken rib and a concussion plus a whole bushel of bruises, but nothing the good doctor couldn't fix.” He held a small pause before continuing. “Do you need anything, ma'am, before I go notify the doctor you've awoken? She wanted to know as soon as you woke up.”

Feeling absolutely parched, Wintermint nodded and croaked out “Water, please.”

Bedside nodded once more and his horn lit up with a soft silvery white glow that matched his mane perfectly. Using his magic he opened a drawer on the nightstand and pulled out a lidded cup with a straw, popped open the lid and filled it with water from the pitcher. After sealing the container once more he levitated it over to Wintermint whilst propping her up into a more upright position.

“Small sips now,” he gently instructed as he brought the straw to Wintermint's lips.

The water wasn't exactly cold, but it was refreshingly cool nonetheless, like liquid bliss flowing down her throat with every little gulp. It took a bit of time, but she ended up draining the whole mug in one go, a satisfied sigh leaving her muzzle when she was done.

“Thank you, Bedside. You're a real gem.”

The nurse stallion let out a soft chuckle as he levitated the cup onto the nightstand. “Just doing my job, ma'am. I will now let the doctor know you're awake.”

With that said he briskly trotted out of the room, closing the door with magic as he went. This caused an involuntary pang of sadness in Wintermint as it reminded her of her own sorry state.

She tried a couple more times to simply light up her horn with magic, the simplest of simple tricks that every unicorn foal learned almost from the get-go, but to no avail. Once again, after focusing so hard she thought she'd pop a blood vessel in her head, the best she could do was conjure up a couple of faint little sparks and she was left panting and gasping like she'd just ran a race.

Wintermint couldn't help but worry. What if that monster had taken her magic away for good? What if she'd never recover from her weakened state? What, then, would become of her children..? Who would take care of them if Rocky, too, shared a fate similar to hers? The gloomy thoughts swirled in her head like dark, roiling fog. She wanted to cry, but found that she had no tears to shed, left with nothing but the burning in her eyes and an ever tightening knot in the pit of her stomach.

She had no idea how much time had passed when the door next opened and doctor Aspirin led Rubber Stamp, Captain Gale and Holly into the room. Their arrival was a welcome distraction as it allowed her to focus on something other than her worries. Their relieved smiles leveled at her even managed to coax a small smile of her own out of her.

“Quite the welcoming committee I'm getting,” Wintermint said, trying to sound positive.

The mayor adjusted the red-and-white striped tie he had around his neck before speaking. “We were all very worried, Wintermint, so of course we'd all want to come and see you. We--”

Gale interrupted the mayor in a tone that surprised even himself in how demanding it was. “We need to know what happened to you, ma'am.” Catching himself he felt a faint heat rising to his cheeks as he added, in a more sheepish tone, “Err... That is, if you're ready to speak about it, ma'am.”

Wintermint nodded. “I will, but before that... Doctor? Is Rocky going to be all right? Will... Will I be all right?”

The doctor took Wintermint's hoof into her own and gave it a reassuring pat. “I'm positive that with enough rest you'll be up and about in due time. Same with Rocky, though his ribs will need several weeks to heal, but heal they will.”

“Thank you...” Wintermint stifled back an involuntary sob of, mostly, relief. She then swept her gaze slowly from one pony to another before focusing on Captain Gale. “We were attacked. It all started when we saw this mare in a cloak and a hat running down the forest road...”

She recounted the main points of her encounter with Night Terror to the best of her ability: the meeting, the banter, the decidedly one-sided fight... The others clearly had a hard time believing what she was saying judging by the nervous, incredulous glances they were giving each other. All except Holly, whose face remained a mask of stoic granite all throughout.

When she came to the point where the pale stallion had delivered his ultimatum to her she had to take a long, long pause.

By the end of it her tears had once more found her as she cast a mournful look at the four ponies standing by her bedside. “I'm so, so, so very sorry, everypony...”

Holly shook her head. “Nah... You've got nothin' to apologize for, Minty.”

“Yes I do!” She shouted. “I... By Celestia, the things he threatened to do to my foals... I-I had no choice...”

“What are you saying?” Rubber Stamp asked tentatively.

“I told him everything... He knows everything about the town, the garrison, our defenses, l-layout, the most important po-ponies in town... E-Everything.” Wintermint sucked in a quivering breath before screwing her eyes shut. “I sol-sold out the town on a silver platter to that monster and betrayed you all for the safety of m-my family...”

“That's a load of horseapples, Minty,” Holly said in a surprisingly calm tone despite the dire nature of the news. “That sick bastard put you into an impossible situation and you know it. Heck, I'da done the same dang thing in your horseshoes! But now that we know that he knows, we can prepare and adjust things accordingly, so don't you DARE go an' blame yourself for lookin' after the safety of your foals first and foremost.”

The others nodded and murmured in agreement. Holly was right, as usual. They were a close-knit community made of good, tough country stock. They could take on anything; come hell or high water.

“Besides, with any luck, my patrols will find, beat and apprehend that miscreant before you know it. They've been at it all day, but I'm sure they'll find something soon enough. And don't you worry, I made sure the patrols are sizable so they have the advantage of numbers against a lone madpony,” Captain Gale said with all the bold confidence so stereotypical of military pegasi.

Wintermint shook her head slowly. “Didn't you hear me, Gale? He took me out in one blow. My magic was nothing compared to his... I was as a foal against a Chimera...”

Suddenly her eyes widened in shock as something the Captain had said struck her mind. “Wait... all day, you say?” Concern was creeping into her voice with every word, her heart hammering in her chest as panic seeped into her very core. “What time is it? How long was I unconscious?”

“The sun has just set. You've been asleep all day,” Doctor Aspirin replied.

With panic and adrenaline fueling her, Wintermint managed to lurch out of the bed enough to grab Gale by his chest with a hoof, eliciting a loud protest from the good doctor and a surprised grunt from the pegasus. “The patrols... You said they’re still out there?”

“Y-Yeah... Sergeant Stalwart Heart's group is still combing through the woods, though they should be returning shortly,” the Captain stammered a bit, taken completely by surprise at the frantic desperation in Wintermint's eyes.

“Call. Them. Back! They are in mortal peril... Night Terror is no mere lunatic. He is dangerous and he wields… He wields dark sorcery the like of which I've never seen before! For pony's sake, he even used to be one of Nightmare Moon's Nightmare Guards... A thousand years ago! He's... He's an actual bucking vampire, Gale!”

“Wh-What..?” Was all the pegasus managed.

“That's quite enough, Minty!” Doctor Aspirin said sternly as she forced the sage green mare back into her bed. “You need to calm down and not strain yourself. You've lost a considerable amount of both blood and energy and the last thing you want is to cause some kind of complication with all that thrashing about. Think of your foals, for goodness' sake!”

Aspirin then wheeled about and pointed a firm hoof towards the door. “This concludes the visiting hours for today. Out, all of you!”

The mayor was about to argue, but Holly planted a hoof gently on his withers and shook her head silently. The old stallion let out a defeated sigh, nodded and walked out of the room, followed swiftly by Captain Gale and, finally, Holly who shut the door firmly behind herself.

The sun had already dipped below the horizon, filling the forest with long and dark shadows, whilst Sergeant Stalwart Heart and his five companions were making their way back into town.

Stalwart and the other unicorn in the outfit, the fresh-faced rookie named Bright Star, had their horns lit whilst two of the others carried lanterns in their mouths.

One of the guards groaned. “We spent all day and evening combing through the woods looking for one pony. We'd have better luck finding a needle in a haystack!”

Another one nudged his complaining companion, a roguish smirk on his face. “Well of course we didn't find him. The damned coward is too scared to face Equestria's Finest! I bet he heard us coming, turned tail and fled and is currently halfway to Saddle Arabia!”

The one-eyed Sergeant fixed the two loudmouths with his trademark withering glare. “No whinnying, or whining for that matter, in formation. You make enough racket to wake the dead, so is it any wonder we can't find anyone you mo-rons!”

The two offenders stiffened up and one even threw up a hasty salute amidst hurried exclaims of “Yes, sergeant!” and “Sorry, sergeant!”

Once the sergeant turned his eyepatched visage away from them, the two guards exchanged a quick glance and sighed, very very quietly, in relief.

The next ten minutes or so passed by in relative silence with only the clop and crunch of hooves on packed dirt filling the air. The further they went, the deeper the frown on the sergeant's face grew. It was far, far too quiet, after all...

Before Stalwart Heart could give voice to his concerns, however, the almost eerie silence was broken by the sound of someone humming coming from the dark woods somewhere to the advancing formation's left. It was a slow, soft tune, oddly familiar yet completely foreign at the same time to almost everypony in the group.

Five heads turned towards the direction the sound was coming from and the small column came to a halt almost immediately. The sergeant, however, kept his head on a swivel and scanned the treeline in the other directions, fully suspecting the humming to be nothing more than a distraction.

Sure enough the direction from which the hummed melody was coming from seemed to change abruptly which had the already nervous patrol nearly tripping over each other as they turned towards the new source of the singing.

“Whoever it is, they're trying to mess with our heads! Form a circle, spears out!” The sergeant barked as he fluidly unsheathed his sword with a practiced flick of magic, weaving the blade in a lazy figure eight in front of him to test his telekinetic grip on it.

Before the others had a chance to react, something thwipped past Stalwart Heart's head and the two lanterns went out accompanied by the sound of shattering glass. The lantern bearers snorted and reared in surprise as they dropped the now suddenly darkened sources of light.

Private Bright Star could feel beads of sweat rolling down his brow as he clutched his spear. He dutifully followed the sergeant's orders to form a circle, placing himself on the opposite side of it now that their lanterns had been knocked out and the two of them were providing the only illumination. Silently he cursed the overcast skies, lamenting the fact they had no pegasi in the group who could fly up to punch some holes in the clouds to let some much-needed moonlight into the gloomy woods.

The humming stopped abruptly and Bright Star became suddenly very aware of the frantic beating of his heart. Instinctively he raised a hoof to his chestplate, pressing the amulet he always wore underneath more tightly to his chest as he offered a silent prayer to Celestia for protection.

“Steady... Steady now...” He heard the sergeant saying in that gruff but confident way of his.

Several tense heartbeats passed, ten nervous and one determined eye scanning the shadows for any signs of movement. A bush rustled, followed by something being thrown into the middle of their formation.

The spherical object exploded with a loud bang and a cloud of acrid lavender smoke billowed forth. The guardsponies started coughing almost immediately, trying to waft the noxious fumes away from their stinging eyes.

Hearing the sounds of his troops trying to scatter away from the cloud, the sergeant barked a single order “Hold the line, dammit!” He fought down a cough, snarled and then added, “Whoever is behind this is trying to break our formation, so you mo-rons won't give them that pleasure! We are the motherbucking Guard and we hold! The! Bucking! LINE!”

The other guards' replies were drowned out by more loud bangs and puffs of smoke as two more smoke bombs exploded in their midst. By then the noxious cloud was so thick that even the sergeant had to relent rather than choke, ordering the troops to move out and regroup further down the road.

Bright Star was more than happy to leap out of the acrid cloud, shaking his head and rubbing his watering eyes whilst coughing up a storm. As soon as the world came back into focus he started to look around, spotting one of his companions, the loudmouth who had roused the sergeant's ire earlier, coughing and sputtering not far away on the edge of the roiling smoke cloud.

He tried to call out to his fellow guardspony, but as soon as he had opened his mouth he saw walls of impenetrable umbra closing all around them, leaving him standing in absolute pitch darkness that even the light on his horn couldn't penetrate.

Bright Star had to do a double take on that last point. His horn was definitely glowing and he could just barely make out his own outline in its light, but beyond that the alabaster unicorn could see absolutely nothing.

“What kind of magic is this..?” He found himself thinking frantically.

The other guards had started to call out to each other and to the sergeant for advice and the whole chaotic situation seemed to be turning into a six-way game of Marcolt Polo.

There was a loud, sudden crash of something heavy colliding bodily with a fully armored stallion, followed by a surprised scream for help that almost immediately transformed into a strangled, gurgling scream before being silenced.

“What was that? What's going on?” Someone else yelled.

“It's a magically conjured darkness, no normal light will pierce it. Bright Star! Help me dispel thi-- Urf!” The sergeant was cut off suddenly, causing even more pandemonium among the blinded ranks.

Whilst Bright Star tried his best to calm his mind and focus on channeling more and more light into his horn -light magic was, after all, his specialty as his name suggested- all around him he could hear the sounds of his companions being attacked one after another. Curses, screams and the trampling of hooves filled the air only to be abruptly silenced one by one.

“Oh Goddess! It got me, it got me! Heeeeel-grlgh!”

“Show yourself you bucking coward! Aaaaaargh!”

Silence fell. Absolute, total, complete silence. It was as if even the wind itself was holding its breath in anticipation for what was to happen next.

Bright Star felt his spell fizzle, his mind too frantic to focus. He clutched his spear to his chest like a scared foal would a safety blanket. He had never expected to have to fight a foe like this... Heck, the worst he'd expected to face were ponies who had enjoyed too much hard cider and maybe, maybe the odd few bandit rabble. Not this. Not anything remotely like this...

A twig snapped behind him, his ears perking up from where they had previously lain flat against his helmet. He whirled about and thrust wildly with his spear, shouting what he hoped would be a ferocious battlecry, but alas his voice cracked and came out more as a frightened squeak.

His thrust met only empty air, but before he could recover something or somepony stomped onto the shaft of his spear, knocking it out of his grasp. The walls of inky darkness fell away, revealing to Bright Star a pale, armored stallion standing right in front of him with a fanged smile adorning his helmetless head.

Unlike the standard Guard armor that he and the others wore, or even the ones worn by princess Luna's Night Guard, the stranger's dark purple armor had more plating to it to cover more vital areas, all the way from neck to hooves, and those parts which weren't covered in plate were protected with a mesh linked chain made of some dark gray metal. Naturally such a suit would've taken a lot more time, effort and material to make which was part of the reason the Guard wore such stripped-down versions usually; they were simply easier to make and maintain.

“Boo,” Night Terror deadpanned, causing Bright Star to shriek in fear and fall flat on his back in his haste to scramble away.

The alabaster unicorn fired off a hasty bolt of magic which struck the other stallion square in the chest. Rather than being knocked back, the intricate runic scripture etched onto his armor flared momentarily in balefire green light around the point of impact and the spell simply dissipated, leaving him completely unfazed and unharmed. Bright Star felt the bottom of his stomach falling away as he realized his spell had had no effect.

“Impressed?” The fanged pony asked in an amused tone, giving the alabaster unicorn a wide, wicked grin. “Runes of Spell Dissipation. Plenty enough all over the suit to make me virtually immune to, well, weak magic such as yours.”

Night Terror's grin melted away into a stern look. “E for effort. Here's your reward!” And with that said he conjured up a lash of his own dark magic. The black-and-green tendril of ruinous energy whipped into Bright Star with enough force to send him flying through the air.

The wind was knocked out of his lungs as he landed. Spots of light danced in his eyes as he tried to refocus his swimming vision. It was then that he noticed the carnage all around him. The roadside was littered with the bodies of his fellow guardsponies, each one laying haphazardly on the ground or leaning against a tree and they all had a stain of crimson on their neck where they had, by the looks of it, been bitten.

Were they truly facing a vampire? The Captain had been, at best, vague about it, stating it was a rumor and nothing more, yet the evidence he was presently confronted with was frighteningly compelling...

The clop of armored hooves heading his way made Bright Star shift his focus back on the vampire. Night Terror was approaching him casually with an amused half-smile on his lips, eyes firmly locked with his prey's.

“If you lot are the best that New Hayshire has to offer, then consuming the town for all it's worth won't even be a challenge...” He was about to say something more, but then his eyes fell away from Bright Star's and onto his chest. The vampire's pupils contracted and he let out a hiss like an angry cat, fangs bared as he recoiled away from the other stallion.

Bright Star was confused for a moment until he brought a hoof to his chest and felt the familiar shape of the amulet. In all the jostling it must've slipped out from underneath his armor. The amulet itself was made of solid gold and shaped like a burning sun -a perfect replica of princess Celestia's cutie mark- surrounded by a wreath of feathered wings.

It was a family heirloom from the times when ponies had revered the princess more akin to a goddess. Whilst actual religious worship of the sun princess had diminished over the years, some ponies carried the sun amulets as good luck charms or out of sheer habit. Yet others to that very day still assigned a deeper, more spiritual meaning to them, but those ponies were getting fairly rare.

“Of course... Vampires hate holy symbols and what would be more hated than a symbol of the sun itself!” Bright Star thought to himself, feeling a sudden surge of hope welling within his chest.

He yanked the amulet off his neck, snapping the cord that had been holding it and clambered onto his hooves, presenting the symbol of the sun in front of him towards Night Terror whilst shouting with all the conviction he could muster. “Back! Get back you fiend! Back to the shadows that spawned you! The power of Celestia compels you!”

With every step that he took, Night Terror was driven back, hissing and trying not to look at the golden symbol, almost as if the light reflecting off it's surface was burning and blinding him.

Finally, with one last look that screamed bloody murder, Night Terror snarled and dove into one of the bushes, the sound of galloping hooves soon fading into the distance.

Bright Star let out a quivering breath that he hadn't even realized he was holding. His ears were perked and alert, listening to any sounds that might betray the monster's return, but he heard nothing. Nothing but the chill wind gently rustling through the trees.

He lowered his gaze to look at the golden amulet on his hoof, a smile curling onto his muzzle as he clutched it against his chest and closed his eyes. “Thanks, grandma, you were right when you said this thing would keep me sa--”

The blast of magic coming from his left took him completely by surprise, a strained yelp the only sound he managed to let out as he was hurled through the air once more. He landed poorly and ended up skidding along the thankfully soft forest floor, his head spinning and his ears ringing from the force of the impact.

With dawning horror he realized he'd lost his grasp on the amulet! Even worse, the vampire was sauntering towards him from the shadows with a thoroughly displeased scowl on his gaunt features...

Frantically Bright Star scanned his surroundings for any glimmers of gold, feeling a slight bit of elation as he saw the familiar shape glinting not too far away. Forcing his aching body to comply he made a dive for the precious heirloom, but in his injured state he ended up misjudging the distance and landing just out of reach of the amulet.

He scrabbled and crawled as fast as he could towards it on his belly, but just as his hoof was about to make contact with it a coruscating beam of magic, fired from Night Terror's mouth, slammed into the ground where the holy symbol of Celestia lay.

A few seconds later the vampire snapped his jaws shut and the beam was cut off, revealing nary more than molten slag where the amulet had once been.

“Ahhh... Much better!” Night Terror exclaimed, allowing a small smile to curl onto his pallid features as he swept a stray lock of black mane back behind his ear.

Trembling like a maple leaf in wind, Bright Star turned to look directly at the vampire that now was looming terrifyingly close to his prone form, the unicorn's voice cracking as he very quietly uttered “Oh buck me...”

This elicited a hearty, downright jovial laughter from Night Terror. “Handsome though you might be, I'm going to pass on that offer, thank you very much.”

Flustered, Bright Star could only open and close his mouth like a goldfish on dry land, unable to form anything more coherent than stuttered half words.

The vampire suddenly ceased his laughter and turned to look to the side, his brow creasing in a deep frown as he muttered, “That wasn't too weird, right? Just a simple little joke. I mean he practically walked into that one, so it would be downright criminal not to seize the opportunity... Right?”

Focus!

Night Terror turned to look directly at Bright Star once more, a pleasant, if fanged, smile on his face that chilled the prone unicorn to the very core. “Sorry about that. Now then! Where were we?”

Bright Star found his wits enough to try and scramble away, crawling along the ground whilst kicking wildly with his back legs for purchase. The only thought hammering in his mind was to escape, to run away from the horrible creature before it could finish the job. He didn't get very far before a magical grip on one of his hind legs snatched him back, dragging him screaming along the ground.

“Don't make me break it...” Night Terror's tone was dark and left no doubt he'd make good on that threat too. For emphasis he gave the unicorn's entire leg a painful squeeze with a little flex of his magical prowess, only relenting once his hapless victim was screaming in agony.

“P-Please...” Bright Star pleaded, turning onto his side on the ground to look at his assailant with tears of pain and fear in his eyes. “I-I don't want to die!”

Night Terror let out a disappointed sigh and shook his head. “What a coward... Oh how the Guard's standards have fallen in the past millennium. It would be funny if it wasn't so damn pathetic! You signed your life away to be the Tyrant's plaything the second you scribbled your name on that dotted line, rookie. Or what? Did mommy and daddy get you in through connections in hopes of getting their pwecious widdle colt a fancy uniform so they could brag about it to their self-important highborn friends?”

The mixture of shock and surprise on Bright Star's face told Night Terror he'd struck a chord.

The unicorn hung his head in shame. “I... I never wanted this career, but t-t-they insisted. F-Family tradition and all and they said I was so good with magic back in school...”

Night Terror stomped the ground with a steelclad hoof, interrupting the rookie guard's speech. “I'm not here to listen to the whole miserable sob story of your life... If you haven't grown enough of a spine to say no to your parents and make your own damn way in this world, well, tough crap. The only reason I'm not currently gums-deep in your jugular is because I had fun watching you squirm, but the novelty of that is running thin. Rapidly.”

Bright Star cast a tentative look once more at the still forms of his companions. “H-How much do you even need to consume? How much can you consume in one night?” The question left him before he had a chance to really think better of it and he winced immediately afterwards as he turned, shakily, to look at the vampire once more.

That got an amused snort out of the pale stallion. “I only need enough to make one adult pony feel woozy for a day or two. Anything I consume beyond that is just to make me stronger and stronger. The more I gorge on, the more powerful I get!”

When the injured unicorn said nothing, Night Terror plopped down onto his haunches in front of Bright Star with a heavy thud and the soft clink of mail armor. He crossed his forelimbs and tapped his chin thoughtfully with one hoof whilst sucking on his teeth, a deep, thinking frown creasing his brow. “You know a weakness of mine, so I can't just let you go because you'd tell everypony and their dog back in the village... And let's face it, nopony likes a tattletale.”

Bright Star swallowed audibly, but kept silent. Better to let the monster have his monologue and then, afterwards, he could beg for his life.

“I'd rather not kill you. Unicorns are, after all, my favorite meal and from what dear Wintermint told me there aren't too many in New Hayshire to begin with.” He held a pause, his frown deepening “But even if I drain you like I've done with the rest of your group here, you'll still be in good enough shape to spill my secrets.”

“Y-You could always take me as a prisoner? I wouldn't be of any bother, I swear,” Bright Star offered with a nervous half smile of his own.

Night Terror shook his head and chuckled. “Not a chance, little morsel. I have neither the time nor the patience to look after a hostage. Killing you here and now would be infinitely more merciful than letting you slowly starve at some dank, dark corner of my lair, because I know I couldn't be bothered to scrounge up food and water to keep your sorry flank alive.”

The sinking feeling in Bright Star's stomach intensified exponentially as the small smirk on the vampire's face died and his expression hardened like granite. Night Terror rose back onto his hooves and circled behind the unicorn, a flicker of magic pinning the guardspony firmly to the ground.

“Looks like I'm going to have to end you after all, but don't you worry none. You get to go to a place where mommy and daddy can't boss you around. And hey, they'll now get to say their son died a hero in service of the oh-so-precious crown. What an honor!”

Bright Star tried in vain to thrash and struggle, panic welling inside him. He tried to speak, to plead and beg for his life, but the same magic that kept him pinned was also keeping his muzzle firmly shut.

He felt the vampire's breath on his neck, a stark contrast of warmth against the autumn night's chill. “Hush now. The pain will last but a moment and then there'll be no more tears... Good night, little pony. The Everdream awaits.”

A bestial snarl cut through the night. Bright Star let out a muffled cry and then... Silence.

Silent as a passing shadow, a bat-pony dropped to hang upside down by his tail on a branch nearby to the scene of the rather one-sided battle. He surveyed the area, holding a long, thin silver whistle between his lips. Ever so cautiously, he closed his eyes and blew into the whistle, but no sound came out.

Well, no sound any ordinary pony could hear at least, but to a bat-pony with such finely tuned ears as Winternight had, the dogwhistle allowed him to survey the darkness through echolocation without much of a risk of anypony hearing him; quite nifty when one wanted to be covert about their presence.

He had already blown into the whistle twice whilst still fully hidden before he'd decided to drop into view, true, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to be careful. Or so the dark gray little bat reasoned to himself.

Satisfied that the monster truly was gone, Winternight uncoiled his shockingly bright red tail from the branch and flapped his way to the ground next to the pile of unconscious guardsponies. The vampire had dragged the whole lot of them into one pile with his magic before sauntering off into the night whilst humming some kind of tune.

He licked his dry lips, trepidation filling him as he approached the pile of what he presumed to be corpses. Cautiously he leaned his ear against the barrel of the nearest guard and, for a moment, thought his own heart skipped a beat as he picked up not only the other pony's weak heartbeat but the sound of shallow breathing.

A quick check confirmed it: five of the six were, in fact, alive! Some just barely, but nonetheless. Suddenly Winternight was glad that the monster had decided to dump all the bodies into one big pile. Sharing body heat would help them survive better in the chilly night whilst waiting for help to arrive.

Winternight cast the pony pile a nervous glance. Would they really be okay whilst he went to get help from the town? He decided they'd have to be, because he didn't have what it took to help all of them in their current state. Sure, if there was just one then maybe he'd just barely be able to fly them over to New Hayshire, but all five survivors and the dead unicorn? Not a snowball’s chance in Tartarus.

“Hang in there, fellas. I'll... I'll be right back with help, okay?” He said in a soft, squeaky voice before spreading his leathery wings and taking off with all the speed he could muster.

Author's Note

Comments are, as always, very much appreciated. We authors thrive on them, after all :twilightsmile:

Chapter 1 (Part 1): By the Campfire

Several months had passed since the rather exciting events in Equestria's capital, dubbed “The Canterlot Wedding Incident” or, more commonly, “The Changeling Invasion,” had taken place. Warm, sunny summer days had given way to a far chillier autumn, and a Nightmare Night most memorable, one graced by the presence of no less than one of the royal Alicorn sisters, had been experienced by the residents of Ponyville.

The final rays of the setting sun flowing over the horizon painted everything in hues of red, orange and gold. The majestic display of nature did very little, however, to lift the spirits of the brilliant azure blue unicorn mare who sat on a log halfway sunk into the ground by a modest campfire set in a forest clearing, nursing her bruised ego.

Parked beside her was a small yellow carriage with a red roof, the wheels and undercarriage caked in the mud and dirt of countless roads traveled across Equestria. Faint red stains could just barely be made out on the walls of the otherwise rather cozy-looking little carriage; constant reminders of the day's disastrous events in the nearby farming village of New Hayshire and the source of much of the traveling showpony's woe.

“Stupid dirt-digging, small-minded, good for nothing farm oafs... This is all because of that stupid, stupid, purple, self-righteous Ponyvillean bookworm!” Trixie grumbled under her breath, wringing her trademark star-studded hat in her hooves. “Nobody gives the Great and Powerful Trixie the respect and adoration she so rightly deserves!”

She let out a deep sigh as she placed the hat neatly on the ground next to her, then levitating her cape from where she had hung it up to dry.

“At least the barrage of cabbages and fruit didn't leave any permanent stains...” She thought to herself as she telekinetically turned the garment around in the air in front of her for inspection. Glad for that minuscule bit of good fortune, she hoisted the cloak around her shoulders and clasped it around her neck, pulling it then tight around herself for warmth against the autumnal chill.

Early that afternoon she had arrived at the village square of New Hayshire with her trusty wagon, to set up for her magnificent magic show in the hopes of earning some bits for food and other supplies to replenish her stocks. Alas, as had started to become a woefully frequent occurrence, someone in the slowly gathering crowd of mostly earth pony farmers had recognized her even before she'd had a chance to set up her stage. Word clearly traveled fast around these parts of Equestria...

“Oi! I know who ye are! Yer that phony 'magician' who plum near wrecked Ponyville by dragging an Ursa into town!” One gruff stallion in the gathering crowd shouted, pointing an accusatory hoof in Trixie's direction.

“Yea! I heard it took a unicorn with some real magical talent to save the day!” A nasally voice chipped in.

“H-Hey now, just hold on a moment! The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks you shouldn't believe just any old bit of hearsay! 'Tis all lies and slander! Slander, I say!” She tried to shout over the clamor of the villagers, but in vain. No matter which way she looked, she was met with increasingly hostile faces and louder, angrier grumbling.

“You won't be bringin' no scary beasties to OUR town, you... you two-bit huckster! Git outta here!”

“Beat it, you charlatan!”

That was when the first piece of projectile fruit hit the side of her face, the overripe tomato bursting with an audible SPLAT against her cheek and showering her with juices. With the first fruit cast, more soon followed and Trixie thought it best to beat a hasty retreat. The villagers chased her out all the way to the edge of the town, hurling expired produce, insults and invective at her the whole way.

Having put at least an hour of distance between herself and the village, she had decided to call the whole day a wash and set up camp on that very clearing. Cleaning up the mess had then taken the rest of the day. At least a nearby stream had provided her with all the water she needed to wash away the assorted fruit and vegetable salad that had decorated the exterior of her worldly possessions. Some stains still remained on her carriage, but she was sick to death of scrubbing things clean and all the telekinesis she'd had to use to reach the higher parts of the wagon had left her with a sore horn.

A loud gurgle from her stomach suddenly reminded her that she hadn't had anything to eat all day. Well, that just wouldn't stand any longer! A Great and Powerful unicorn needed her sustenance, after all. With some effort she pulled herself onto her hooves and stumbled her way into the wagon.

It didn't take long for her to rummage through the cupboard that acted as her pantry, but with every passing second the bottom of her stomach seemed to drop further and further. Nothing. Absolutely nothing left. Just empty boxes and sacks.

Feeling desperate, she decided to comb through the cupboard extra carefully just one last time in the hope that she might've overlooked something. Her persistence was rewarded when, from a burlap bag pushed into the farthest corner of the cupboard, rolled out a singular carrot. Better yet, it looked like it was still edible!

“Looks I won't be going to bed with a completely empty stomach after all... Joy.” she said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she slowly made her way out of the wagon once more, munching on the carrot. She had to remind herself to take small bites to make the meal last longer, if only to fool her body into thinking she was eating more than she actually was.

It all just felt so unfair! So what if she had exaggerated some things occasionally... Well okay, often. Constantly. Nearly all the time. She was a showpony for Celestia's sake! It was part and parcel for the act! And yet after Ponyville nothing seemed to be going right for her no matter what she tried. She was out of food and soon she'd run out of what remaining bits she still had left and then what? Work on a rock farm? The very notion sent a shudder through her body.

Outside the sun had finally set and with it the shadows had lengthened and deepened, an umbral wall held back only by the flickering light of her campfire. Trixie tossed a couple more pieces of wood into the fire, poking the burning wood with her magic to coax a bigger, brighter flame out.

She sat down on the log by the fireside and pulled her cloak tightly around herself once more, head hanging low as the dark thoughts kept swirling in her mind.

“It's just not fair...” She screwed her eyes shut to fight back the burning tears, hugging her forelimbs to her body.

The sound of humming coming from the dark woods gave her quite the startle, her eyes snapping open and she hastily clambered onto her hooves, scanning the treeline to see where and from whom the song was coming from. The melody itself was slow, soft and comforting. Like a lullaby sang by a parent to their foals to carry them safely into the land of sweetest of dreams.

“W-Who goes there? Show yourself! A-And if you're some crook up to no good, let it be known that you'll have to deal with none other than the Grrreat and Powerful Trixie!” She tried her best to put on a brave face and she even reared onto her hind legs to appear more intimidating, but ultimately couldn't quite keep the quivering out of her voice.

Almost like a spectre materializing from the very shadows themselves, a lone pony with pale gray coat and black, slicked-back mane walked languidly into the warm and bright glow cast by the campfire and then stopped at a respectful distance away. His body was shrouded by a utilitarian brown, hooded travel robe -though said hood was currently pulled down- which looked like it had seen it's fair share of adventures, and his back was burdened by a saddlebag that seemed to be filled to bursting.

“Ho there, fellow traveler!” The stallion said in a cheerful, if weary voice, a tired smile curling onto his muzzle as he fixed his red eyes on Trixie's purple ones “I meant not to alarm you ma'am, hence I chose to announce my imminent arrival with a little tune. Might you grant your fellow pony the kindness of sharing in your campfire for a little while? The road has been awfully long and cold.”

As Trixie didn't respond immediately, choosing instead to keep eyeing the newcomer with some suspicion, he continued, lifting a hoof to his chest “My name is Starchaser, but to my friends just Chase will do. Pleased to make your acquaintance miss..?”

“Y-You mean to tell me that you've never heard of the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

Chase shook his head and gave an apologetic smile “I'm sorry, but I... Haven't exactly been around to these parts in a long, long time. But I'd judge from your title and garb that you are some kind of a traveling magician?”

“The very best and grrreatest in all of Equestria, I'll have you know!” Her dramatic posing was suddenly interrupted by the loud grumbling of her stomach, causing her cheeks to go flush with embarrassment. She tried to hide it by lowering her head and hiding underneath the rim of her hat.

“Well then! Seems to me I may have interrupted you before dinner, miss Trixie, so I would be honored to share a meal with you. All I ask is for you to allow me to warm my weary bones by your fire.” For emphasis Chase produced a large, juicy red apple from his saddlebag.

It took Trixie a considerable bit of effort not to stare too long at the delicious, plump fruit and even more so to keep herself from drooling at the sheer idea of getting to sink her teeth into the juicy goodness.

“V-Very well. Trixie will graciously agree to share her campfire with you.” She then gestured to a spot on the opposite side of the fire form where she was planning on sitting. Wouldn't hurt to keep the crackling fire between herself and the stranger, no matter how inviting his apples seemed to be.

Chase sat down on his haunches at the spot indicated and pulled out two more apples from his bag, offering then all three of them towards Trixie with an encouraging smile and a nod.

With her magic Trixie snatched the offered food and hastily levitated them to herself. She couldn't help but devour the first one in three hefty bites before coming back to her senses. Cheeks bulging with apple and juices running down her chin she threw a quick glance at Chase and was relieved to see the pale stallion was busily rummaging through his bag for more apples and paying her no mind.

She swallowed. Hard. A quick swipe at her muzzle with the back of a hoof and she'd made herself presentable again. Or so she at least hoped. This was a complete stranger who apparently had no idea who she was, so she had every intention of keeping up appearances... Even if it meant she'd have to play nice with this obnoxiously friendly earth pony.

And just what the hay was up with the way he was talking? There was something weird about his pattern of speech and accent. It sounded almost comically archaic. She was actually surprised that Chase wasn't spouting out “thees” and “thous” in his sentences! Guess he really wasn't from around these parts of Equestria.

She did her best to eat the other apples with more dignity whilst keeping a close eye on Chase as she did so. In her experience, stallions usually had some ulterior motives when they were going out of their way to be nice to mares. Still, that usually made them easy to lead by the nose to get what she want--

“Nice apples.” Chase's voice broke the silence and Trixie's train of thought.

“Excuse me?”

The pale stallion gestured slightly with the half-eaten apple in his hoof “These are some nice apples, don't you think? Worth every shiny bit I paid for them.”

“Oh... Yes, they are very... Delicious. Where did you get them?” By that point Trixie was down to the last few bites of her final apple whilst Chase was still taking only small, measured bites out of his, as if savoring every little sweet, juicy bit.

“I got them from this rather delightfully rustic orange mare some ways down South. Apple-something, I believe was her name.” He chuckled. “Pardon me, I'm not the greatest at remembering names. Anyway! She lives on an apple farm near this quaint little place called Ponyville. I ran into her on the road as she was returning from a day of selling her produce at the local market.”

Just hearing that name made Trixie's mood sink. Suddenly the apple she was holding up in her telekinetic grip didn't seem quite so appetizing after all. With a sneer she tossed the remainders into the fire.

“Not a fan of the place, I take it?” Chase added with a nod towards the incinerating piece of fruit.

“That's putting it lightly.” She grumbled darkly in response, once more hiding her face underneath the rim of her hat.

“I'm starting to think there's a story here. Would you like to tell me?”

“Why would the Great and Powerful Trixie tell you anything? You, a complete and total stranger, should know to keep your nose out of other ponies' business!” She pointed an accusatory hoof in Chase's direction, feeling her temper flaring.

If anything, Chase's smile grew a bit wider, yet his expression remained overall soft “Ah... But you see, miss Trixie, that is exactly why I'm such a perfect candidate to hear your story.”

“Bu-What..?” Trixie lifted her head to look over the crackling fire at the stallion.

“I am a total stranger, like you said. I am but a passing page in the story of your life, a visitor for one eve and then gone most likely for good 'fore morning breaks. You are, of course, under no obligation or duress to tell me anything, but in my travels I've found out it does help to talk of the many things that weigh so heavily upon our minds.” Chase's eyes remained fixed upon Trixie's, and she was finding it hard to look away from those deep and kind pools of bright red “'Sharing is caring' as the saying goes, so how about it?”

Trixie blinked, suddenly aware of the warmth rising on her cheeks, and it wasn't because of the heat emanating from the campfire.

“I guess there's no harm in spinning a tale to him? Who knows, maybe getting to vent at someone might actually improve my mood? And... He might share MY version of the events with others... A fine first step in getting back at that stupid Twilight Sparkle.” She thought idly to herself before clearing her throat and standing up “Very well! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall regale you with the tale of her encounters with the narrow-minded hicks of backwaters such as Ponyville and New Hayshire!”

Her story, needless to say, was greatly exaggerated and colored to paint herself in better light, with the residents of Ponyville and New Hayshire as oafish thugs and bullies lacking in both manners and personal hygiene. The most truthful part in the entire tale was the fact that the appearance of the Ursa Minor wasn't exactly her fault, but rather the doing of two bumbling idiot unicorns called Snips and Snails.

Trixie's telling of the story was also greatly enhanced by her liberal use of fireworks and other stage props. It actually felt good for her to get to perform properly in such a manner for the first time in months. The lack of jeers and airborne salad ingredients was also a refreshing change!

Throughout it all, Chase remained seated where he was, gasping and marveling at the colorful displays of lights and explosions.

“And ever since that day, the Tragic and Misunderstood Trixie has been a pariah wherever she has gone... All because some ponies cannot fathom what it means to be a showmare and what it takes to put on an entertaining show!” Trixie finished, slumped on her knees and clutching her hat to her chest whilst looking forlornly at the skies above.

She lies...

Chase clapped his hooves together in applause “Bravo! Such passion! Such tragedy! What magnificent special effects!”

Trixie smirked and gave a bow before putting her hat back on with a flourish. A good, vigorous performance had been just what she'd needed!

“Thank you, thank you, your adoration is most welcome,” she said as she returned to her seat by the fire.

“You clearly have a lot of passion for your craft, miss Trixie.” Chase once more fixed his gaze on her.

“You can say that again,” she replied with a self-satisfied chuckle, throwing a smile, a genuine one at that, towards the stallion “No, please, do feel free to say that again.”

Starchaser let out a hearty laugh and shook his head “Oh, miss Trixie, you are such a delight. Thank you once more for the show, it was wonderful.”

She practically beamed at that, her heart-- and ego-- swelling with pride for the first time in a long while as she basked in Chase's compliments with her nose up in the air.

“Now that you've heard the truth about those boorish Ponyvilleans, do tell me what brought you to that awful place?”

“Oh... I never went into the town itself, per se, rather I passed by it on my way to visit the Everfree forest.”

Trixie's jaw fell open and she gasped “That's a lie if I ever heard one. You'd have to be completely mental to voluntarily walk into the Everfree! What would anypony want in that beast-infested Tartarus hole?”

“Sightseeing.”

“Now I know you are pulling my leg...”

“I most certainly am not. There's an old ruin there that I wanted to see with my own eyes. A castle, to be more specific, called The Castle of the Two Sisters. A crumbling, neglected relic from an era long, long gone...” Chase gave what sounded to Trixie like a wistful sigh. “You see I'm a bit of... an aficionado for history. A traveling, adventuring archaeologist, if you will.”

“Hmph... Makes Trixie wonder if actual archaeology is half as exciting as the adventures of Daring Do make it look like.”

“I... Can't say that name rings a bell, I'm afraid, but I'll let you be the judge of it...” He left the words hanging in the air as he rummaged through the other side of his saddlebag, pulled something large out of it and tossed it at Trixie's hooves.

She squinted at the object and then shrieked, ending up flailing with her forelimbs in the air before falling backwards off her seat and onto her back. There was no mistaking it. Starchaser had just casually tossed the empty-eyed wooden cranium of a Timberwolf onto the ground; a fairly sizable one at that.

“M-Miss Trixie?” Chase called out as he hurriedly trotted over to her and offered a helping hoof for her to get up “My most sincere apologies! I didn't mean to startle you so.”

“I-I wasn't scared! Just... surprised.” She replied while batting away the proffered hoof in an attempt to salvage at least some of her dignity.

Chase nodded and politely backed away a couple of steps, letting Trixie get back up on her own. With hooves and magic she hurriedly dusted herself down and took to her seat, but this time Chase sat on the other end of the log rather than going back to his usual spot.

The stallion held the Timberwolf cranium in his hooves, turning it about this way and that as if inspecting the way the light and shadow played over it's surface at various angles.

“How did you manage to beat a Timberwolf?” Trixie asked before she had a chance to bite back her curiosity.

Chase looked slowly up from the skull and turned his head towards Trixie, giving a playful wink as he replied “You're not the only one with tricks up your sleeve, miss Trixie~”

She waited for a few more moments to see if Chase would elaborate further, but the stallion just kept smiling that mysterious smile of his. She couldn't help but giggle at that “All right then, keep your secrets! ”

“Heh... Just like a magician never reveals hers.” Chase quipped back as he tossed the Timberwolf skull onto his saddlebag.

Silence fell between the two ponies, permeated only by the occasional crackle of flame, until after what felt like several minutes Chase broke it.

“How do you handle it, Trixie?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” She tilted her head in idle curiosity.

He fixed her with a surprisingly serious stare, but there yet remained that soft edge, a hint of a smile tucked in one corner of his muzzle. “The traveling life? The long, lonesome road and life of a traveling showpony? It can't possibly be easy, backwards thinking country ponies or no, to just wander from town to town, never forming lasting bonds of friendship, never having roots anywhere... By Starswirl's overlong beard, I know it ain't easy for me. It's in our nature, you know? We ponies are social beings. We crave for the companionship and camaraderie of others... So I ask again: how do you handle it? What's your secret?”

Starchaser's words cut deeper than Trixie was willing to admit, striking a chord she'd rather leave unplucked, especially by such a stranger; charming though he might be. She cleared her throat and made a grand, dismissively sweeping gesture towards the night sky with her hoof. “By her lonesome is exactly the way the Grrreat and Powerful Trixie prefers it. Bonds and roots are nothing more than a distraction on the road to greatness and stardom! The undying adoration of other ponies is all the companionship I will ever need!”

She just can't stop lying, can she? Her head is so far up her own backside she could tickle her tonsils with that horn!

“Is that really how you feel deep down inside, Trixie? Come now, you don't need to put up such an act for silly ol' me.” Chase's hoof landed softly on Trixie's, sending an involuntary shiver down the mare's spine.

By the moon and stars it felt so warm and inviting, an earnest gesture of kindness the like of which she hadn't experienced in a long, long time. “I... I...” Was all she managed to stutter out, feeling the heat returning to her cheeks as she pulled her hoof away and turned her gaze towards the fading fire.

A tender hoof nudged underneath her chin and tilted her head back towards the stallion, gently but firmly forcing her to look into Starchaser's eyes once more. She found that the stallion's face was but a few short inches away from hers, so close that she could practically feel the other pony's warmth. She took a shallow breath and caught a whiff of the stallion's scent: like a coniferous forest after a rain. “Sweet Celestia have mercy on my poor soul... ”

“Trixie...” His voice was barely above a whisper “You can be yourself with me. No need to put up a front, none whatsoever. I know there's more to you than the cold, aloof exterior you show the world. Heck, just in the span of this one evening I've caught glimpses of the mare behind that icy mask and, if you don't mind me saying, I like what I've seen.”

Her heart was beating so fast now she feared it was going to jump right out of her chest, transfixed by the soft words and the tender, unwavering gaze of the handsome stranger who had trotted into her camp and her life out of nowhere. Not to mention his words were making a whole lot of sense to her...

“So I say, to Tartarus with the rest of the world! If for but one night, allow yourself to be, well, you! No lies, no masks. Just two strangers sharing a moment 'neath a starry sky. And if such is your desire, I'll then be gone before dawn and we can both go on with our lives.”

Just a breath more and their lips would meet. Trixie was able to only suck in small, shallow breaths. What she failed to notice, however, was that she'd almost instinctively been slowly leaning backwards and, just as Starchaser was about to kiss her, she lost her balance and tumbled, once again, onto her back, her vision shifting from Chase's roguishly handsome features to the star-studded skies above.

She gasped, sucking in a full breath for the first time in what felt like minutes. Her head felt blurry and her thoughts hazy, but the crisp autumn air and the coolness of the ground were helping in clearing up both. “What am I doing? Am I really that badly in need of what he's offering? Why does it feel so right and yet so wrong at the same time..?” She thought idly to herself before a shadow fell upon her face: a concerned looking Chase was standing above her.

“You seem to be in the habit of taking tumbles tonight, Trixie.” He said with a soft chuckle, leaning then lower again... Only to be met with a stern hoof pressing against his snout that forced him to back up.

“Hold it right there, casaneighva!” She had finally found her voice, her face a stern frown “I do appreciate the notion, but Trixie wants only adoration, not companionship from stallions like you!”

Chase paused like he had just been slapped, his stunned expression scrunching up into a deep, narrow-eyed frown. “How did you break the..? It shouldn't have happened that fast, not unless...”

And then a realization seemed to dawn upon his face. He burst into what sounded like a genuine, if brief, laugh before shaking his head. He smiled down at Trixie, seeing how the starlight glimmered in her fiery, defiant eyes. “My most sincere apologies, miss Trixie. Wow, this is kind of embarrassing, but I truly do apologize for misreading the signs. Had I known you preferred the... Companionship of other mares, I wouldn't have tried to lay my charms on you in such a manner.”

His words hit like a sledgehammer, shattering Trixie's defiant front and replacing it with more blushing and fluster. “I... You... How dare you even insinuate such a thing!” She shouted as she clambered back onto her hooves, swiftly adjusting her cape and hat before narrowing her eyes at the stallion. “I think it's about high time you left, mister Starchaser...”

Chase sighed, his expression going from soft genteelness to a sad smile, before finally hardening like granite, half his features hidden in the shadows cast by the dancing embers that yet remained in the firepit. “I'm afraid that won't be possible. I still haven't gotten what I need from you. More the shame we can't do this the fun way, but I suppose the hard way has a charm all it's own, too.”

“So that's how it's going to be, huh?” Trixie snarled, her horn starting to glow as she gathered her magical might in preparation for a fight. “If you think I'll just roll over and let a base brute like yourself r-ravish me as you please, you'll be in for a rude dose of reality, bucko!”

The stallion started to laugh, but caught himself in the middle of it, confusion evident on his face. “Wait. Hold on... You think I intend to..? No! Sweet, merciful Night, no!” He snorted in a very equine fashion in clear indignation, making a forceful, cutting motion with one front hoof “Your virtue is most certainly not what I'm after! I may be a monster, but I've got some principles!”

He sighed and rubbed his face with a hoof. “Now that I think about it, I do see how my words could be seen to mean something... Ghastly. I do offer my most sincere apology for that. I swear... I'm going to have to come up with some new lines that are less... Weird, like that.”

“So,what, a robbery, then? Good luck! I don't have much anything worth stealing!”

Starchaser grumbled and stomped the ground once. “You fool... It's your blood that I crave!”

Trixie's eyes flew wide open at that. Was this weirdo planning on murdering her? “Wh-What..?”

A broad, almost maniacal grin spread on the stallion's muzzle, the pupils of his eyes contracting into narrow slits and that was when Trixie noticed the long, terrifyingly sharp canines in his mouth. “Oh yes... Your sanguine vitae has been singing such a sweet aria to me in your veins all evening long, taunting me to sink my teeth in and drink my fill! Every beat of your heart has been like a piece of an irresistible percussive symphony!”

“Crazy... You're absolutely crazy!” She shouted, feeling her legs quivering. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, what the stallion was insinuating. Vampires weren't real, right? They were just fictitious creatures used in horror stories to scare foals!

“Hahahahaa! I can tell by the look on your face you're having a hard time believing it. That's how it always goes... Only when it's too late does anypony realize just how well and truly bucked they are. Err... Metaphorically speaking, of course.”

“Then... What was all that about earlier? All those honeyed words and other mushy crud?” Trixie tried to keep the weirdo talking whilst she channeled all the magic she could muster into her horn. A little bit longer and she'd be ready.

The stallion shrugged “Just a bit of fun with a charm spell, trying to make you lower your guard so that I could get close enough to bite your neck. Would've succeeded, too, had you not subconsciously resisted and kept backing away until you took that tumble. You broke our eye contact long enough to shake off the charm.” He smiled a fanged, saccharine smile at her before adding. “I find it endearing how in denial you are about your own feelings, by the way. More the shame that I have to devour you, Trixie. I was really starting to li--”

Chase never got to finish his sentence before a bright beam of energy slammed into his chest and launched him across the forest clearing. He took a hard fall, tumbled, rolled and then slid to a halt, unmoving at the very edge of the ring of light.

Trixie was panting hard. She was glad that the weirdo had blathered on as long as he had, because she'd had a chance to charge up her blast to full power.

“Serves him right!” She thought to herself with a huff, before realization struck her as Chase remained completely motionless where he had landed.

“Wait... I didn't accidentally kill him, did I?” She mumbled to herself in dawning horror.

Panic was rising and she found herself trotting in place, eyes darting this way and that as she tried to figure out what to do about her current situation. She couldn't very well leave right now in the middle of almost pitch-black night, but she couldn't just leave the creep's corpse where it lay. What if someone else happened to wander into the camp before she had a chance to take a stage left and exit?

“A shovel! I need a shovel! Better to bury him first and hope nopony asks questions ever. Ooooh Trixie you've gone and done it now... You're a murderer! But... But he totally had it coming, right? What with all that talk about vampirism and drinking my blood and... For Luna's sake, he was probably planning on killing me from the beginning!” Her thoughts were frantic, sweat beading her forehead despite the chill of the night.

Her aimless, feverish pacing was suddenly interrupted by a laugh. The cold, hard, mocking laugh of a stallion she'd presumed dead.

Starchaser had risen back onto his hooves, a broad grin plastered onto his face. Even in the dim light of the fireplace Trixie could see the scorched hole she'd blasted in the chest of Starchaser's robe, something dark and metallic glinting underneath.

“That... Was really pathetic, miss Trixie. Makes me wonder if drinking you is going to be even worth it. Not much magic in a unicorn as weak as you, I wager. Oh... Don't tell me that was actually the best you got? That would be just sad.” As he spoke, the vampire was trotting ever so slowly towards Trixie, like a big hunting cat stalking its prey.

Trixie felt like she was going to faint, her whole body trembling in fear as the fiend stalked casually towards her. Was the bastard just toying with her yet again? “N-No... T-That can't be. I hit you w-with e-everything I’ve got...”

“Tsk... Great and powerful? I guess that’s all just hot air and bluster after all, oh Weak and Helpless Trixie. Now be a good little pony and give up quietly... I promise to make this quick and relatively painless. Why, I've been told by one delicious little morsel, under mind control, that after the initial numbing coldness it starts to feel like a warm, fuzzy blanket wrapping around you just as you drift off to sleep.” He giggled, the sound feeling like icy needles on Trixie's skin. “Doesn't sound like such a bad way to go into the gentle Night, hmm?”

Feeling desperate, Trixie fired off a trio of magical blasts in rapid succession at the slowly advancing stallion, but this time he didn't so much as flinch. It was almost like the bolts of arcane power simply dissipated in harmless puffs of light and sparks upon contact with him.

Trixie swallowed hard, trying to force down the lump forming in her throat. Tears of sheer fright were threatening to cloud her vision and she had to blink hard to keep the burning sensation at bay. Starchaser, if that indeed was his name, had paused, crouched slightly, clearly preparing to lunge at her. Meanwhile all around her the shadows seemed to be growing longer and darker, the light of the Moon and stars dimming as walls made of inky black shadow appeared to be closing around her.

“Is this how it's going to end for me? As a luncheon for a madpony in the middle of a lonely forest clearing?” She thought, tugging her cloak tighter around herself much like a foal might do with a blanket to ward off the terrors of the night.

That was when she felt them. Her way out, her one shining chance of survival.

“I'll... I'll take a hard pass on all that, you jerk!” She screamed, reaching into her cloak just as the vampire pounced.

With the practiced swiftness and sleight-of-hoof of a seasoned street performer, she pulled every last smoke bomb she kept hidden inside the many secret pockets of her cloak and slammed them into the ground. With a mighty bang they all burst, blanketing the entire forest clearing with a thick cloud of acrid, lavender smoke. For good measure she ignited some of the fireworks she still had laying about with a flick of magical power, the colorful explosions and noise adding to the overall mayhem.

The vampire landed where Trixie had just been standing, only to find... Nothing. The mare had disappeared! He was left coughing and sputtering amidst the cloud of noxious smoke, his eyes stinging and burning.

“Oh...” He hacked and coughed, trying to waft away the acrid cloud. “Well played, miss Trixie!”

The smoke cleared soon enough, dispersed by the crisp autumn wind, leaving the pale stallion standing in the clearing alone. His eyes scanned the treeline, ears perked to listen to the telltale signs of hooves crunching on dried leaves, but he picked up nothing.

“This evening was most delightful and filled with such entertainment!” He laughed, a hint of that previous politeness creeping into his otherwise cruel and callous tone “So I'll tell you what... I'll give you a head start before I start chasing after you! Chop chop, little pony. Better make haste now!”

He didn't bother to wait around, making his way instead into Trixie's wagon without a second thought spared to the fleeing mare.

Trixie, meanwhile, had pressed herself flat against the trunk of a tree a short distance away from the clearing, doing her best to remain as still and motionless as possible, even trying to will her heart to beat slower so that it wouldn't give her position away.

Hearing the sound of her wagon creaking under the weight of Starchaser entering it, she dared to peek out. Soon enough her ears picked up the unmistakable sounds of the stallion rummaging through her belongings. She had half a mind to storm back and kick the bastard's flank. How dare he set hoof inside her beloved wagon?!

Her rational mind, however, reminded her that discretion was definitely the better part of valor. Especially against someone as terrifyingly powerful as Chase. And so she opted to sneak off into the darkness, doing her level best to not disturb the undergrowth until she was sure she was well out of earshot of the clearing. It didn't take long after that for her to find the forest road she'd been following earlier that day and she burst into a frantic, adrenaline-fueled gallop.

Author's Note

First fanfic I've ever written. Feedback is thus greatly appreciated.