Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

Once again, darkness encompassed Twilight’s senses as she and her friends were whisked away by their monstrous captors. However, this time she was completely aware.

Judging from the occasional breaking of twigs and rustling of branches, she figured that the band of pale ponies was taking them through a forest, and a cold one at that. She could feel flecks of snow drifting down and nipping at her back.

Occasionally, she would hear a stray fearful squeak or a timid whisper from one of the three fillies somewhere around her. She would try to comfort them, but not only was she bound by the mouth, both she and the Crusaders knew that it was best not to agitate their captors.

She hadn’t heard Spike since they started moving again what seemed like hours ago. Either the alicorn had moved him so far away that his muffled noises of distress couldn’t reach her, or…

She didn’t want to think about the other option.

Once or twice, perhaps as some way of satisfying the burning need to try to act and save herself and her friends, she would try to use magic. However, no matter how much she strained, whatever the alicorn had carved into her forehead was completely suppressing her abilities. It was equal parts infuriating and terrifying.

Just who was this so-called Prince? If he knew how to suppress unicorn magic, what else did he know? And, perhaps most importantly, what did he want with her and her young friends?

Eventually, the snow coming down intensified. It wasn't a blizzard by any means, but it was certainly cold. Twilight shivered and tensed up, but the mare roughly carrying her didn't seem to care. At least she thought it was a mare carrying her. Perhaps it was the same mare from before?

The snapping of branches and the rustle of foliage eventually faded, replaced only by the idle chatter of the group of vampires and the crunching of hooves in snow.

The pale ponies were an odd bunch, to say the least. Many of them seemed to not like each other at all, but they kept their bickering to a minimum. Occasionally, they would shift to hushed whispers, and although Twilight couldn’t tell what was being said all of the time, there was a sense of nervous reverence in their behavior that was palpable.

It was maddening to be stuck in her own head, left to her fearful and uncertain thoughts in a sea of darkness, but she didn't dare sleep, even if it was hard to stay awake.

Her body was starting to catch up to her. She had been tired before she was pony-napped, but now she was exhausted. It took everything she had not to nod off. Even if she couldn’t do anything, she felt like she had to stay awake to make sure the unscrupulous ponies didn't harm her or the three fillies.

Slowly, the unrelenting cold and her own exhaustion lulled her into a daze. She closed her eyes under her blindfold, only to jerk them open again. Eventually, her heavy lids proved too strong to resist and drifted shut.

The last conscious moment of awareness she had before the haze of an uneasy sleep took her was a sensation of moving up a slope.

And then, nothing.
.
..
…
All at once, Twilight jerked awake as she smacked into a solid stone floor and rolled. She grunted in pain and bit down on her crimson gag as she came to a rough stop, sending an unpleasant metallic taste onto the tip of her tongue.

"Take the little ones downstairs." A familiar refined voice instructed.

"Yes, my Prince." Another masculine voice responded before a door closed with an echoed click.

Twilight tensed up as she heard hoofsteps approaching her. She could feel an unnatural and intimidating presence that she knew had to be the alicorn.

Suddenly, the binds around her hooves dissolved, along with the blindfold and gag. She caught a glimpse of red fluid dropping into a puddle on the floor, which she could now see to be stone as she originally estimated.

The room around her was dimly lit by torches, and she was barely able to make out any fine details, but she could at least tell that she was no longer outside.

A set of brown forelegs stepped in front of her, causing her to look up. Sure enough, a pair of softly luminous red eyes were staring into her own.

Twilight recoiled backward, scrambling to distance herself from the alicorn before she was met by a solid wall behind her.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Dusk gestured around him at the lavishly furnished room, which appeared to have seen better days.

There were tattered tapestries and paintings on the walls, and although much of the floor space was vacant, there was a faded throw rug and a broken wooden table complete with equally broken chairs.

"I must admit that it has fallen apart since I saw it last… but then again, it wasn't exactly perfect when I found it either." Dusk stated. He was trying to make a lighthearted comment, though his expression briefly showed disgust as he looked at the dark and empty space before settling his eyes on the unicorn.

"Where are my friends?" Twilight asked, struggling to not outwardly show her fear.

"Ever the altruist, aren't you?" Dusk muttered with a slight twitch to his lips. "I wouldn’t worry about them right now, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight took a shaky breath before meeting his gaze. "What do you want with me? You could have killed me at any point… so why haven't you?"

An amused chuckle softly pricked her ears.

"Who's to say I won't? You've heard of the expression ‘playing with your food’?" Dusk smirked cruelly before he flattened his mouth. "No… I won't be the one to kill you."

"What do you mean?" Twilight inched her head forward, only to see the alicorn turn and walk away from her. "Hey!"

Dusk walked over to the only door in the room. He opened it with a stream of blood from his neck before glancing back at the purple mare and smiling. He then stepped outside and reached a pair of crimson tendrils out before pulling something close to him.

Twilight widened her eyes as the alicorn held up a familiar little dragon before tossing him into the room.

Spike grunted painfully as he skidded to a halt on his tail end, his hands and mouth still bound. He seemed equally relieved and unsettled to be put in a dark room with the unicorn.

As Dusk closed the door to a crack, he gave one last look up at Twilight. "You'll find answers to all your questions in time, Twilight. For now, feel free to get comfortable with your little pet… while you can."

The sharp click of the door closing left the room cut off from the outside world. Twilight stared at the wooden barrier to her freedom for a moment before looking to Spike.

All at once, Spike’s bindings dissolved to the floor. He took in a few sharp breaths, unhindered for the first time in a long while, before he looked up as a purple blur ran up to him and picked him up into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Spike… I’m so sorry." Twilight squeezed the dragon closer and rocked him side to side as she buried her face into the top of his now costume-less head. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought back to when she had to watch helplessly as a strange alicorn toyed with his life.

Spike clutched at the unicorn’s disheveled fur and nuzzled into her neck as he started tearing up as well. A few hiccups came as he tried to get enough air to speak.

"Twilight…" He managed to croak out softly.

"I never wanted to let you get hurt… I never…" Twilight took a shaky breath and clenched her eyes, letting her tears fall freely before pulling the dragon away and looking down to him with trembling eyes. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's ok…" Spike said, though his emotions betrayed his words. He let a few sniffles and sobs out before wiping his eyes. "I... I-I know you had no choice… but-"

Twilight frowned softly as the dragon’s lip started trembling slightly. Soon, his eyes shimmered and threatened a new outburst of emotion.

"But… seeing you there… doing n-nothing… I… I…" Spike averted his eyes and tried to prevent the tears from coming, only to fail as Twilight pulled him close again. "I was so scared…"

"I've got you now," Twilight whispered softly in his ear as he cried into her chest fluff. She rubbed her foreleg up and down his back, silently letting her own emotions out over his shoulder. "I won't let anything else hurt you."

Meanwhile, while the unicorn and dragon were having a heartfelt reunion, a certain trio of fillies was stuck with a more grim scenario.

The Crusaders were stunned into silence when they were first brought to the looming hilltop castle. However, now they were alone and terrified as a unicorn stallion carried them away from Twilight and Spike.

Through many bleak and empty rooms, and stone walls and floors masked with long since decayed decadence, the stallion brought them down a set of stairs leading away from the moonlight streaming in through frost-shrouded windows.

Scootaloo leaned closer to Sweetie Belle as the young unicorn started shivering. Although the only light to be seen was coming from torches, the area was colder than they could stand.

"Why is it so cold in here?" Scootaloo complained through chattering teeth.

The unicorn stallion looked back to the trio shivering on his back and chuckled. "Is it? I didn't notice."

Scootaloo shared an uneasy glance with Apple Bloom as they huddled close together. Although Sweetie Belle was occupied with trying not to shiver, all of them were troubled and afraid to some degree as they realized just how bad of a situation they were in.

After walking through the eerie basement corridors for a while, the echoing hoofsteps started getting to the three fillies. Even though the stallion was plenty threatening to them, they felt like he wasn't the worst thing they would find in the dark and dank abyss.

Finally, the stallion paused before a thick wooden door with rusted metal bands across it. He opened it with a grating creak before dumping the three fillies inside.

"Ow!" Apple Bloom yelped as she tumbled to the floor, only to have her two friends land on her.

Sweetie Belle rubbed her hooves against a very bruised muzzle. At least their bindings had dissolved once they reached the castle.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo pushed herself up and glared ahead at the stallion, only to have a door shut in her face. "Hey! Where are you going?!" She yelled, pounding her hooves into the door once before a twinge of pain discouraged her from continuing.

The stallion chuckled from behind the door and gave it a brief kick, startling Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

"Don’t worry. I'm sure the Prince will find some use for you… before you starve."

A set of hoofsteps going away signaled the stallion’s departure.

Scootaloo growled under her breath and briefly considered kicking the door before she sighed and turned to her friends.

"I can’t believe this…" She muttered.

"Where even are we? I've never been this far outside of Ponyville before." Apple Bloom chimed in.

Before Scootaloo could answer, a soft sob brought her attention to the side.

"I wish Tom and the others were here. They could beat up those jerks and save us." Sweetie Belle sniffled slightly and hid her face. She would have started outright crying if she didn’t feel a hoof being placed on her shoulder.

"Hey… it’s gonna be ok." Scootaloo assured. "I know for sure that Tom and the others are trying to find us right now.”

Sweetie Belle took a shaky breath and wiped her eyes before looking up. “You r-really think so?”

“Of course.” Scootaloo smiled brightly. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to go home within the-”

A soft scuffle at the back of the room brought the trio’s conversation to a screeching halt. They all darted their heads to the side and backed together, only to see steep shadows concealing a sizable portion of the room.

However, there seemed to be a shape within the shadows.

Scootaloo stood in front of her two friends protectively as Apple Bloom stayed near Sweetie Belle. The young pegasus boldly lowered herself into her best interpretation of a fighting stance and glared at the obscured figure.

“Who’s there?! Come out or we’ll be forced to defend ourselves!” She announced.

A soft whimper came from the shadows as the figure moved, revealing tufts of curly yellow hair and a hint of green eyes.

“Don’t hurt me!” The figure exclaimed in a voice far more shrill and timid than any of the crusaders were expecting.

Crinkling her eyes in confusion, Scootaloo briefly turned to her friends, who by now were both stood up and staring ahead like she was, before looking ahead again.

“You’re a…”

The figure slowly inched forward out of the shadows before the pegasus could finish, fully revealing the form of a young earth pony with reddish-brown fur and a blank flank.

“Filly?” Scootaloo blinked, fully caught off guard.

“You aren’t… one of them?” The reddish filly strained to even make her voice audible. Her tiny body was trembling ever so slightly, but she started to relax as she saw no signs of pale fur, red eyes, or sharp fangs on any of the three.

Now that the shadowy figure was revealed to be a filly in need, Sweetie Belle came to the front and softened her expression. "No, we’re not. My name is Sweetie Belle, and these are my friends Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. We got taken by those ponies… You did too, didn't you?"

The filly gave a small nod, keeping a foreleg close to her chest.

"What’s your name?" Scootaloo asked.

"Maple Leaf…" The filly said, making an effort to relax herself.

“Well, Maple, you’re in luck.” Apple Bloom chimed in with a confident smile.

Maple scrunched her face up at the odd earth pony. “I am…?”

“Yep. ‘cause we’re about to find a way out of here. Ain’t that right, girls?”

“You know it.” Scootaloo joined her yellow friend in smirking.

Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle seemed a bit less enthused.

“I like the attitude, guys, but… where do we even start?” Sweetie asked with a disheartened shrug. Aside from the door they came through, there seemed to be no other exits.

Scootaloo snorted softly and brushed off the young unicorn’s pessimistic outlook. “We won’t know until we get looking, will we?” She stated nonchalantly. “Come on, let’s turn this place over!”

With that, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom immediately began searching the dark corners of the room, leaving no stone unturned. Maple Leaf shared an uncertain look with Sweetie Belle, who could only shrug before going to help out.

A few minutes went by as the trio inspected every brick, every crack, and every flagstone of their cell. They used every bit of their knowledge of secret passages, hidden compartments, and trapdoors to try and find a way out, which was to say, they spent much of their time pushing and pulling on random spots along the walls or floor to see if anything moved.

Nothing did.

Eventually, Scootaloo gave one last tug at a piece of stone jutting out near the back of the room before producing a dissatisfied groan and sitting down. She looked over to see Apple Bloom lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, and Sweetie Belle sitting near their new friend and talking quietly to lift the reddish filly’s spirits.

“I hate to say it… but I think they made this room so ponies like us couldn’t find a way out.” Apple Bloom muttered flatly, not taking her eyes off the light dancing along the featureless ceiling.

Scootaloo sighed and let her head fall back against the stone wall behind her. She lifted her hoof in the air, lazily gesturing with it as she racked her brain to think of a solution. “Maybe we could break the lantern against the door and burn it down?” She suggested.

“Nope… the smoke would get to us before a hole got burned into it… if it would even catch fire.” Apple Bloom said flatly.

“Yeah, I’d rather not risk our only light source on a maybe.” Sweetie Belle added hesitantly.

“Me neither…” Maple Leaf said, her voice quaking a bit from the mere thought of being plunged into total darkness. However, her expression furrowed as she looked at the unicorn beside her. “Couldn’t you give us light, though?”

“No…” Sweetie reported dismally. “I’m not too good with magic yet.” She let her horn light up, the aura still tiny and hard to maintain, before letting it dim with a sigh.

Scootaloo grumbled begrudgingly before discarding that plan and thinking of a new one. “Maybe… maybe we could just-”

Just then, a muffled noise from outside of their cold prison silenced the fillies. They all lifted their heads up and froze, watching the door as what sounded like hoofsteps slowly approached.

Sweetie Belle and Maple Leaf backed up while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stood in front of them. Everyone felt their hearts seize up as the sounds grew closer and closer.

What did their sinister hosts want with them now? Were they finally going to be rounded up, helpless to do anything other than watch as their friends were eaten alive right in front of them?

The hoofsteps paused in front of their door, much to their dread. A suffocating moment of silence went by before the sliding window opened and a pony peered inside at them.

However, this pony didn’t seem to be one of the vampiric creatures that had brought them here.

Instead of cold-blooded red eyes staring at them, a pair of soft blue ones met their gaze. What seemed to be a white stallion with short black hair, no fangs, and no pale fur, was looking at them with a bit of surprise.

“I thought I heard voices over here.” The stallion commented to himself.

Scootaloo still stood in front of her friends, a bit wary of the newcomer, but gradually relaxing. “Who are you? You’re not one of those ponies with the fangs, are you?”

“Surprisingly, no… I’m still one hundred percent red blooded Equestrian.” The young stallion said. “My name is Blank Page… I assume those ponies brought you here?”

“Yeah… They took some friends of ours somewhere else too. We don’t know what they want.” Sweetie Belle added.

“How did you get down here without anyone seeing you?” Maple Leaf chimed in, staring at the stallion with an expression of disbelief on her face.

“I’ve been down here for a while. It’s uh…” Blank Page hesitated, lowering his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze to the fillies. “It’s a long story. One that I hope to be able to tell you later.”

“Can you get us out of here?” Apple Bloom asked, a bit hopeful.

Blank Page looked down at his side of the door briefly. “I think so. Give me one sec.” He said before closing the window.

The stallion grunted a bit as a series of metal scuffles could be heard. Eventually, the sound of a bar being dragged out of the way filled the fillies with hope for the first time in a long time as the door drifted open, revealing their new savior standing in the dark hall.

“There we go.” Page smiled at the four young ponies.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Page,” Scootaloo said as she stepped out into the corridor with her friends and gathered before the stallion. “You really saved our tails.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We need to find a way out of here, or we’re all gonna wish I left you in there.” The stallion stated uneasily.

“I’m not sure if we can find a way out. Those things will probably be guarding the way upstairs… so unless there’s a way out down here,” Apple Bloom said, looking around at the two dark paths that stretched out into nothingness and shuddering a bit.

“I haven’t found one yet, and I’ve been here at least a few days.” Blank Page admitted. “It’s been kind of hard finding my way around in the dark. Now that these torches are on, I was hoping to maybe sneak upstairs somehow, but if there’s more of those things than I thought, then that might not be an option.”

“We didn’t see all of them, but I think there were at least a dozen,” Scootaloo said.

Blank Page brought a hoof to his mouth and bit the tip of it as he trailed his eyes to the floor. “A dozen?” He parroted softly.

Seeing the stallion acting nervous made the faint bit of hope in the fillies’ hearts shrivel up, replaced again with gnawing fear and uncertainty.

“What are we going to do?” Sweetie Belle muttered, shrinking down and hugging herself.

“Hey, don’t get soft on us now, Sweetie. We’re going to be fine.” Scootaloo assured before turning back to the stallion. “Look, we don’t need to escape.”

“Huh?” Apple Bloom cocked her head to the side.

“Are you crazy?” Maple Leaf reeled back, staring at the pegasus in disbelief.

Blank Page was a bit taken aback by the sheer confidence in the filly’s eyes. She seemed like someone with a plan, someone that he should have been in this situation instead. “What did you have in mind?”

“We might not look like it, but we’re friends with Tom and the team of monster hunters that work for the princess,” Scootaloo explained.

“Tom…? You mean that human guy?” Blank Page asked, tilting his head forward.

“Yeah! If I know him like I think I do, I know that he can find us no problem! All we need to do is stay hidden from those things until they get here to save us!” Scootaloo stated, smiling excitedly.

“Easier said than done. I’ll bet those things can smell our fear.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Speak for yourself. I’m not scared of them.” Scootaloo puffed her chest out confidently.

“I’m sure I’ve got enough fear for all three of us,” Sweetie admitted, lowering her head slightly.

“How about it, Mr. Page. Do you think you can find us a place to hide?” Apple Bloom asked, managing an optimistic, if a little desperate, expression.

The stallion looked at the four fillies for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck and trailing his eyes to the side. He wasn't sure how he was still alive, let alone how he hadn’t been found yet. Still, he wasn't about to shatter their hopes just yet.

“I… think so. I found a secret chamber when I was wandering around trying to find a way out. I don’t think those things know about it.” He said with a slight nod of assurance. “Come on, let’s go.” He gestured for them to follow behind as he started moving back the way he came.

Scootaloo briefly looked back at her friends before trotting to keep up. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed close behind, with Maple Leaf bringing up the rear.

As they walked through the dimly lit corridor, the fillies noticed something about their new companion. Blank Page seemed to be limping slightly, with his back left leg appearing bruised and discolored. Every time he put weight on it, he would cringe softly. He also looked weak, either from his injury or from being trapped without anything to eat for however many days he had been stuck in the castle.

“Mr. Page, what happened to your leg?” Scootaloo asked, frowning with concern.

Page looked back at the fillies before settling his eyes on the offending appendage. “Oh, that? Heh… believe it or not, a rock fell on it.”

“Ow…” Apple Bloom cringed sympathetically. “That sounds painful.”

“It wasn't exactly the best thing to happen to me since I’ve gotten here, that’s for sure… but it wasn't the worst either.” Page said.

“What could be worse than having a rock fall on you?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Hearing this, the stallion grew quiet for a moment.

“I uh… I didn’t… come here alone.” He said, his voice a hollow shell compared to his usual upbeat tone.

It took a moment or two for the stallion’s words to process, but once they did, the fillies all lowered their expressions.

“Oh my gosh…” Sweetie Belle covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s ok. You didn’t know.” Blank Page said, managing a smile that didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

Although he tried to move past the thoughts swirling around his head, the fillies could see clear gloom in the stallion’s eyes as he briefly came to a stop and stared at the floor. A small puddle of water had accumulated from the dripping ceiling above, creating a somber reflection that stared back at Page, reminding him of his past failures.

“It… seems so stupid now.” He muttered.

“Huh?” Scootaloo pricked her ear as she walked up to the stallion and sat down, hoping to better hear him.

“Me and my sister came here with some… friends. We wanted to write a report about it. It was supposed to be just a nice and easy adventure, seeing an empty castle and wowing readers with her words. It was supposed to be her big break… and now she’s gone. They’re all gone…” Page blinked as his eyes threatened tears. He wiped his face on his foreleg before looking back at the fillies and coughing to get rid of the tickle in his throat.

Scootaloo and the others frowned sympathetically at the older pony. They wanted so bad to say something to offer him some comfort, but none of them knew what to say.

Eventually, however, Maple Leaf stepped forward.

“Mr. Page… What was your sister’s name?” She asked softly.

Page took a moment to stare at the reddish filly before exhaling quietly. “Scholarly Scribble.”

“That’s a nice name.” Maple said, putting on a small smile that grew slightly as the stallion reciprocated it.

“Gosh… where are my manners? I never asked any of you your names, did I?” Page chuckled awkwardly.

Sweetie fidgeted her hooves together, still a bit saddened by the stallion’s story. “I’m Sweetie Belle.”

“My name’s Apple Bloom.” The yellow filly added.

“Scootaloo…” Scootaloo said flatly, only smiling because Page was.

“I’m Maple Leaf… but you can just call me Maple. My parents always did.” The reddish filly said before trailing her eyes down.

Blank Page immediately recognized the look on the filly’s face, mostly because he had been making it just moments ago. “It’s going to be ok, everyone.” He said, looking to the Crusaders as well. “I know it seems really scary right now… but I’ll take care of you, just like your parents would.” He looked to Maple Leaf and smiled a bit.

After a moment, Maple nodded, replacing her gloomy expression with a more hopeful one. She watched as the stallion looked around at the dark corridor before getting up and gesturing for them to follow.

“Come on. We should keep moving.” He suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” Sweetie Belle said, trying her best not to look at the darkness behind her as she and her friends followed after their newfound guardian.

Staying behind for a moment, Maple Leaf looked down at the puddle Page was staring into, smiling as a red-eyed filly with pale brown fur and fangs stared back at her.

“Yeah… it’s gonna be ok.” She said to herself before hurrying to return to her position at the back of the group.

-Elsewhere-

After some time spent comforting each other and getting their emotions out, Twilight and Spike shifted their attention to their surroundings. Namely, how to escape them.

The room had two windows, and although they were unlocked, there was a sheer drop off of a cliff into a snowy clearing far below.

The door proved sturdier than either of them could overcome. Twilight tried kicking it to no avail, and Spike tried breathing fire on it, only to discover that the frigid air was hindering his fiery breath.

It would be simple to escape if Twilight had her magic, but that was yet another obstacle in their path.

The unicorn cringed slightly as she let Spike examine her forehead up close. Whatever Dusk did to her was the cause of her magic being blocked, and she couldn’t exactly look at it herself, so she had to let her number one assistant do what he did best. Assist her.

"What does it look like?" Twilight asked, gently moving her mane to give the dragon a better look in the nearby torchlight.

Spike leaned forward on the table he was standing on and gently brushed away some excess blood from the mare’s forehead, pausing as she drew air between her teeth. He traced a claw along what appeared to be a shallow series of cuts that formed some kind of shapes.

"It… looks like some kind of symbols. I can’t read them." Spike reported with a regretful sigh.

Twilight sighed tensely and placed a hoof to the bloody graffiti. "They’re probably anti-magic glyphs… I didn’t think they could be applied so directly."

"That’s about as direct as it gets," Spike added with a slight frown. "Do you think there's any way to get them off?"

Twilight collapsed to her haunches and thought deeply about the matter. No matter how many far-fetched ideas she came up with, nothing seemed to stick.

Until she glanced up to see Spike scratching his head.

"Well…" She bit her lip hesitantly and trailed her eyes up. "I think magical symbols like these tend to stop working if they're… altered."

Spike blinked at the unicorn, unsure of what she meant until he looked to where she was looking. His claws.

"What…? No!" He shook his head and backed up a step. "You can’t be serious, Twilight. I-I don't want to hurt you." He looked at her with worried eyes.

"I know, Spike… but there's no other way. I can’t do it myself or I would. Please…" Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. "You won’t be hurting me… you'll be saving both of us."

Spike lowered his gaze to the floor briefly before looking up to see the purple mare flashing him a slight smile. "Are you sure about this?"

"I am," Twilight replied. She then stepped closer and took a quick breath before holding perfectly still.

Although every fiber in his being was telling him not to, Spike lifted a claw up to his dearest friend's forehead and gently pressed it against the symbols carved into her skin. She wrinkled one side of her mouth briefly before returning to a neutral expression.

"How much do I need to scratch out?" Spike asked hesitantly.

Twilight managed a reassuring smile despite her anxiousness. "As much as it takes." She said before steadying herself on all fours and leaning into the dragon’s claw.

Spike frowned and searched the unicorn’s eyes for any sign of doubt. Finally, he exhaled and steeled his expression before applying pressure to her forehead.

Just then, the sound of the door opening made the pair stop what they were doing and freeze.

They both looked to the side, only to find the brown alicorn standing in the doorway and looking back at them with the same amused smile on his face as before.

"Good news, my dear little pony," Dusk stated as he entered the room, backing the unicorn and dragon toward the wall and nearly making Spike fall off the table. "My guest of honor just woke up, and you're going to be my welcoming gift."

"Wh… what?" Twilight asked, staring ahead despite her confusion.

"Oh, you didn't think I brought you here for kicks, did you?" Dusk asked.

Spike started to move forward until a hoof landed on his shoulder and nudged him back. He looked up with concern, only to see Twilight staring ahead bravely.

"I don’t know what you're planning on doing, but I don’t have any intentions of following you." She said.

"Hmm… I can’t say I didn't expect such a reaction. Then again, I never intended to give you a choice in the matter." Dusk flashed a toothy smile as two fluid tendrils drifted up and out of his wrists like a pair of crimson snakes.

Twilight felt herself tensing up nervously as she watched the two tendrils slowly creeping through the air. She didn’t want to just outright give up, but there wasn’t much she could do.

Just before she prepared to step forward, Spike jerked away from her hoof and stood in front of her.

"Spike!" She called, reaching for him only to be shoved away.

"Leave her alone!" Spike glared at the alicorn as fiercely as his fear would allow. His knees were weak and his heart was racing, but he couldn't let the monstrous stallion take his friend.

"Aww… how adorable," Dusk said flatly as he lifted a foreleg. He then swiped it across, causing the stream of blood attached to follow.

Twilight tried to move the dragon out of the way, but before she could even reach him, a crimson whip smacked into him, sending him flying into the far wall with a painful yelp and an equally painful thud.

"No!" She widened her eyes as she watched her young assistant settling to the floor in a crumpled heap. She started to rush to his side when a red tendril wrapped around her forehooves.

"Wh-AAAGH! NO! LET ME GO!"

Spike groaned softly and brought a hand up to his throbbing head as he slowly lifted up. He gasped as he heard a familiar voice crying out.

"Twilight!" He exclaimed, rushing to his feet and looking ahead to see the unicorn getting dragged along the floor towards the door.

Ignoring his sore body, Spike ran forward and leaped to grab her hind hoof. Before he could reach her, however, the alicorn yanked her out of the room and slammed the door shut in his face.

Pounding on the door, the dragon listened helplessly as the sounds of the unicorn’s struggles faded.

"Twilight!" He cried, tears starting to form as he wondered if he would ever see her alive again.
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..
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Twilight loosely struggled against the crimson bonds keeping her tied to the sadistic alicorn. Still, her efforts only led to her getting more bruised and battered.

"Tsk tsk… This would have gone so much easier if you had just come along peacefully." Dusk stated with an apathetic sigh without even looking back to the unicorn.

"Gah!" Twilight yelped as she was purposefully dragged over a jagged stone. She glared up at the alicorn. "You know… I usually don't enjoy watching someone get their comeuppance, but I am really going to enjoy watching you get yours."

Dusk chuckled to himself before glancing at her. "I'm getting some comeuppance, am I? Well… just who is going to be giving it to me? Oh… that’s right. You’re expecting the Princess to come save you."

Twilight didn't like the grin forming on his face. He looked like he knew something she didn’t.

Before he could speak again, Dusk paused as he reached a door at the end of a hall. He opened it up and turned back to the purple mare before tossing her inside.

Twilight barely caught herself with her newly freed hooves before she smacked into the stone floor. She looked back, locking eyes with the alicorn as he closed the door.

"Hey!" Twilight shouted angrily, rushing to her hooves and running up to the door before trying to open it. Much to her dismay, it was locked.

"I hope you will keep my guest entertained, Twilight. After all… she did choose you." Dusk stated coldly before walking off.

Twilight gave one last pound on the door before falling back and sighing. She then turned to observe her new surroundings.

The room she was in seemed to be barren of any furnishings. There were at least four slits in the left wall that acted as windows, letting moonlight paint blue stripes on the floor across the length of the room and providing the only light in the vicinity.

A soft noise drew Twilight’s attention to the back corner of the room, where a white shape was moving in the darkness.

"Huh?" She narrowed her eyes with concern before she noticed that the shape was familiar to her. She could just barely make out flowing green, yellow, and pink hair.

"Princess…?" Twilight called, hesitantly at first, before the shape lifted its head up and turned to look at her. "Princess!"

As she started to rush toward the white alicorn, a hoof shot out of the shadows toward her.

"Twilight, stay back!" A familiar voice snapped, causing the unicorn to freeze.

Twilight softened her expression with confusion and concern as she watched the shadowed figure of Princess Celestia cringe and tremble.

"Princess… are you ok?" She asked softly, starting to approach her mentor again. “Here, let me help you.”

“No!” Celestia pleaded. She seemed to be in considerable pain or discomfort judging from how strained her breathing was. “Dusk… he did something to me… Please, I…”

Twilight backed up as the alicorn stumbled out of the darkness, clutching her head. Her fur was washed out and dull, and as she briefly looked up at her student, a soft red glow could be seen.

“I don’t want to hurt you…” Celestia stated, a sad look on her face before she cringed and covered her ears.

Twilight watched with wide eyes as the alicorn seemingly attempted to ignore her. “Princess… no. He didn’t…” She shook her head in denial as she slowly backed up. Still, it was plain as day that she was simply trying to refuse what she already knew.

The alicorn was one of the pale ponies now.

“I’m sorry, my student…” Celestia said, not chancing looking up at the unicorn. She felt a gnawing thirst, and although she didn’t want to accept it, she knew by instinct alone just how to satisfy it. “I should never have… let it… come to this. But right n-now… you need to protect… y-yourself.”

“Princess… I… I-I,” Twilight stammered, her mind racing to come up with a way to help her mentor. “I’m not going to attack you.”

“Twilight… you don’t understand. I… don’t know how much longer I can resist.” Celestia said. She sniffed at the air a moment before snarling and shaking her head, revealing a set of nasty-looking fangs. “I can hear your heartbeat… I can smell your blood… I-I…” She strained to stop herself from looking over to the purple mare, only to fail.

Twilight felt a cold chill work its way over her as the alicorn stared at her blankly for a moment. She had a certain hungry look in her eyes that reminded the unicorn of a starved coyote.

“Princess…?” She said timidly.

Hearing such fear in her student’s voice, Celestia’s eyes came to focus again and even widened. She shook her head and reeled back, nearly tripping over herself as she scrambled back to the wall.

“No… no… I…” The alicorn let a set of tears fall down her face. Still, no matter how sorrowful she felt, the hunger inside her was getting worse. “Please, Twilight. Put a shield around yourself… I can’t stop myself forever.” She pleaded before clenching her eyes shut again and clutching her head.

Twilight backed all the way over to the door and tried to open it again, only to remember that it was locked. She tried forcing it open, all the while not breaking eye contact with the pale alicorn. “Princess… I can’t do that.” She admitted regretfully.

“You must!” Celestia snapped, her breathing intensifying and her hooves shaking as she dragged them down the sides of her head. A feral snarl made its way to the surface.

“No… I really can’t. Dusk carved anti-magic symbols into my skin… I can’t use magic.” Twilight explained tensely as she stared ahead like a caged animal before a lion.

A series of strained pants and growls came from the back of the room as Celestia obscured herself in shadow.

Seconds went by as the Princess remained silent, save for her breathing.

“Princess?” Twilight spoke up softly.

“I’m sorry, Twilight…” Celestia panted. “I… I’m… s...ss…” She trailed off.

Before long, the alicorn’s quiet stammers shifted to a deep snarl.

Twilight felt her heart sink as a pair of intensely glowing red eyes poked out of the darkness, staring right into her very being.

Celestia stepped forward, saliva dripping from her exposed fangs and glistening in the moonlight. Any semblance of reason or intelligence was gone from her. This wasn't the face of the kind mentor that the unicorn was so familiar with. This was the face of a bloodthirsty animal.

“No…” Twilight squeaked as she cowered back against the wall behind her. She barely had time to think of a possible way to survive before the alicorn leaped for her with hooves outstretched.

The unicorn yelped as she dove to the side. Celestia landed where she just was, cracking the stone wall slightly with sheer strength. As Twilight scrambled to her hooves and ran for the other side of the room, the feral alicorn snapped her head to the side and let out an unnatural cry that sounded like a mixture of a wild cat and a nightmare.

“Princess! Please stop! It’s me!” Twilight pleaded as she kept running. She spun around as she reached the back wall, only to see the alicorn already halfway to her.

"AHH!"

Barely managing to dodge to her right, Twilight cringed fearfully and her fur bristled as the alicorn sped past her. Celestia’s hooves skidded along the floor as she turned and swiped a foreleg at the unicorn.

Twilight yelped as she was pulled to the floor. She kicked out at her mentor with a painful sounding thwack to the jaw, causing the princess to let go of her briefly enough for her to scramble forward.

"Princess, you have to fight it! Please!" Twilight pleaded desperately as she ran for one of the windows. She barely realized that her slender body was still too large to fit through before she heard a snarl beside her and turned to see a pale face glaring at her.

The unicorn fell backward to the floor roughly as Celestia lunged at her. Before she could do anything else, she let out a strangled croak as a pair of hooves shot to her neck, pinning her to the floor.

Twilight shakily pressed her hooves into the alicorn’s shoulders, pushing as hard as she could to keep her away from her neck. Still, even if she wasn't being half choked, she would be far outmatched in terms of strength.

Clenching her eyes shut to get away from the sight of her beloved teacher coming toward her with fangs bared, the only thing she could do was kick and squirm and punch at the alicorn, but nothing worked.

"Prin..cess…" Twilight shook her head, desperately searching the cold red eyes staring her down in the hopes of reaching the alicorn she knew was still inside.

Uncaring of the pleas of the prey in her grasp, Celestia salivated hungrily and took a moment to sniff at the pulsing fluid coursing through the unicorn’s veins. She then lifted her student up and bit down.
.
..
…
All at once, Celestia froze as an invisible force of will urged her to stop. Her eyes softened and clarified, and the gnawing thirst was briefly gone, but she was still stuck in place, unable to move.

A soft click came from the door ahead before it opened, letting a brown alicorn walk inside.

Dusk looked at the two mares on the floor with a cynical frown. "Tsk tsk tsk… Look at your precious student, Princess." He gestured toward the unicorn.

Celestia raised up slightly and trailed her eyes down to Twilight.

The purple mare had two slight puncture wounds on her neck that were barely even drawing blood. She was clenching her eyes shut, her face damp with tears. As she slowly looked back up to the alicorn, her trembling eyes held a sense of shock and fear that made Celestia reel back.

Dusk walked over to the stunned alicorn and leaned in close to her ear as she stared at her faithful student.

"You see that? That look of betrayal… that heartbreak? Doesn’t it look familiar?" He whispered, though she barely registered his words.

Celestia’s jaw trembled as she tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. A set of tears dotted the corners of her eyes. "Twilight…" She muttered, faint and remorseful.

Twilight simply laid there on the floor, shakily breathing and staring up at the alicorn. She seemed to want to say something, but she couldn’t speak amidst her shock.

"How many students have you had over the years?” Dusk asked. “Why do you constantly seek to impart your knowledge onto these… ponies?” He glared at the unicorn briefly. “Perhaps… if you mold enough of them, you think you can make up for your past mistakes?”

“Why…?” Celestia managed, trailing her eyes to the brown alicorn. “Why are you doing this?”

“You of all people should know why, Princess. You did this to me,” Dusk dragged a hoof across the wound on his neck, “so now I’m going to do the same to you in kind.”

“You did that to yourself.” Celestia strained. “Given the scope of your crimes… your punishment was merciful. I admit… I was ashamed. I was ashamed that I allowed you to fall so low… or perhaps, that I didn’t realize sooner that you had always been this way.”

Dusk gave the princess a flat look, his jaw tensing ever so slightly. Without warning, he socked a hoof out and hit her in the mouth.

Twilight flinched as Celestia briefly reeled from the sudden strike. The white mare silently cringed as she processed what just happened. She tensed her hooves and wrinkled her expression in rebel, but all she could do was spit a bit of blood out and trail her head back like an obedient dog.

"Merciful…?" Dusk squinted in disbelief. "Is that what you think? You can tell yourself whatever you like to justify your choice… but don't you dare lie to me. I would rather you have killed me!" He snapped.

Twilight cowered back to the floor, while Celestia merely flinched as the stallion snarled through his teeth, his eyes flaring up. It took him a moment to calm himself down and return some semblance of sophistication.

"Two years I spent… wandering Equestria’s outskirts before I found this place, and another two before I discovered how to save myself." Dusk explained. "Four years might not sound like much to you… but then neither does a hundred. It's easy to forget when you're immortal, just how the passage of time feels." He looked down to his own hooves. "I could feel my body aging. The blood in my veins grew stale… I knew that all I had left in life was a slow and ungraceful death. So… I did what you taught me to do… I adapted… I persevered. Now, I'm more than just an immortal… I am forever."

"You might think that you've changed into something greater… but you are the same egotistical, self-centered, sadistic pony that I knew then,” Celestia said, a slight intensity to her eyes that told of how much she wished she could rebel against the stallion.

Dusk flattened his smug smirk in an instant. “Keep talking, Princess. Maybe next time I won’t be kind enough to stop you from ripping your student to pieces.” He said, looking down to Twilight with an evil glint in his eye that made her blood run cold. “Or maybe I should do it myself and make you watch?”

Suddenly, Dusk had a white hoof shoved into his throat. He looked up, only to see Celestia staring daggers into him as she pushed him to the wall. Her whole foreleg was shaking and the muscles in her neck were tensed, but her stare didn’t waver for an instant.

“You… h-harm… one hair on h-her head… and I promise you I will bury you myself,” Celestia said quietly, either from intensity or from fighting the invisible force compelling her not to harm her new master. Her grip wasn't tight enough to cause much discomfort, but it was enough to cause brief surprise in the stallion.

Dusk’s eyes trailed along the foreleg around his neck for a moment before looking up to the white mare. He then calmly and casually lifted a hoof up and took her hoof away from him.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you shrivel up from the thirst. Perhaps you won’t be so ungrateful of my gift here then." He said, looking at Twilight before walking over to her.

Celestia took a step forward toward the stallion. “Leave her al-”

“Stay right there,” Dusk commanded, letting his eyes flare briefly as he faced the princess.

As a wave of influence pulsed through her mind, Celestia froze. She stared ahead, her body twitching slightly as she watched the stallion approaching her faithful student.

The unicorn tried to crawl away from the monstrous alicorn, but she didn’t get far before he slipped a bloody coil around her neck and tightened it slightly. He tugged on it as he opened the door to the room, forcing her to stand up.

“Gh…” Twilight clutched at the crimson stream around her throat, desperately trying to break free. It felt wet and springy, but somehow it didn’t stain her fur at all, like every droplet it was made of was concentrated into holding its shape.

“Come along, Twilight. Let’s find you some more… comfortable quarters to rest in.” Dusk suggested, tugging on the unicorn like a dog on a leash.

Twilight reluctantly followed behind the alicorn out of the room. As she passed through the door, she glanced back and reached out to Celestia, who was still watching helplessly. “Princess…!”

After the door closed, leaving her alone once more, Celestia was forced to remain still for a while longer before the command over her faded. She rushed to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked once more. She yelled in frustration, banging the door once before sliding to a seated position.

“Twilight…” She muttered, her eyes threatening tears again as she looked down to her pale hooves. As much as it destroyed her, she was going to kill her student before Dusk intervened.

She didn’t even get a taste of the unicorn’s blood, but somehow she felt a burning desire to get more. She clutched her stomach and cringed, trying her best to hold on to her will and stave off the monster clawing at the back of her mind.