Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

Everyone was on edge as they soared over the winter kissed forest below. Their brief struggle with the vampiric ponies back in Coltridge served as a reminder that, even though they were prepared, they were fighting a fierce opponent.

Still, this reminder only served to strengthen their drive to take back their friends.

Another hour or so went by with nothing but endless forest going by. The thought that it was supposed to be morning by now was more than a little disturbing. Still, even if it wasn't daylight out, it didn’t stop the ponies' internal clocks. Most of them decided to take a power nap on the way, but some were stubborn enough to hold out for a while.

Shining Armor looked up to his companions quietly.

Glimmer Shine was asleep with his forelegs crossed. He had attempted to stay awake, but apparently, he couldn't hold out. Shining Armor couldn’t blame the yellow stallion. Even he felt exhausted.

Glitterball was just barely lucid. Her eyes were drooped and her head was about to follow. Every few moments, she would slowly drift forward and close her eyes, only to jerk awake and repeat the process. Eventually, however, she slid to the side of her seat and passed out.

Sunspot was completely conked out and had been for some time. The pegasus was usually lazy, but no one blamed her in this instance, especially after her brief struggle with the vampiric ponies.

Somehow, even Tom was asleep. Shining Armor had heard from Twilight that the boy usually only slept three hours a night due to his powers, but he had been out since they left Coltridge.

Suddenly, Tom jerked up with a slight noise of alarm. He eyed around at his surroundings briefly before relaxing a bit and deflating back to his seat.

"Bad dream?" A voice came softly from the side, causing the human to look over. Shining Armor was watching him with an understanding expression.

Tom exhaled tensely and ran a hand through his hair. "You could say that… I've been having the same one for a while now."

"Really?" Shining asked.

"Yeah." Tom scratched the side of his arm and avoided directly looking at the stallion. "I'm always trying to save someone, but there's nothing I can do. Sometimes it's Twilight and Spike, sometimes it's one of the others… sometimes it's Peppermint, or Neon Streak or Brimstoke."

Shining Armor was a bit surprised to see the human so vulnerable. Normally, Tom made it seem like nothing bothered him, even in crisis situations. It was a little disquieting to see him actually acting like a teenager.

"You know, I think we have nightmares to push us to be better… to help us overcome our fears." Shining mused. "I had a few sleepless nights myself after the hooded ponies attacked. I was so worried about Twilight and the others running into a monster or something… but after a while, I knew they would be fine."

Tom looked to the stallion curiously. "Why?"

"Because they had you," Shining replied lightheartedly.

Hearing this, Tom softened his eyes and managed a smile. He started to say something in response when another voice cut him off.

“Sir, we’ve arrived.” One of the guards from outside called.

Shining Armor shared an uncertain glance with the human before poking his head out the window. Up ahead, he could see a large snowy clearing in the forest. A frozen lake sat off to the left, and a rocky hill was in the center with a castle nestled on top. There was a precarious-looking path up the side of the cliff, and although he couldn’t make out all the details, it didn’t exactly look comforting.

"Set us down at the bottom of that cliff." He instructed before leaning back inside.

By now, Tom had woken up the others, who were coming to their senses with varying levels of success.

"Wha…? What's up?" Sunspot asked groggily. "Are we there yet?"

"Yes, we are. Get your game faces on." Shining Armor stated.

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the carriage stiffened. Everyone adopted more serious expressions and did their best to hide any unease they might have felt. Still, it was easy to see that many of them were nervous.

Glimmer Shine shook the last of the sleepy fog from his head and held a hoof to his ear while focusing on his gray teammate off in another carriage. "Sparkplug, you awake?"

After a moment of silence, a groggy voice responded.

"I am now… What is it?"

"Sorry to interrupt some good sleep, but it's go time. We're here." He explained.

"Really?" Sparkplug replied, a bit of trepidation to her voice.

"Yeah. Pass the girls some spare strobes and daggers like we talked about and get ready." Glimmer said before dropping his hoof and turning to his companions.

"So… do we have a plan here or are we just barging in there strobes blazing?" Sunspot asked.

"Well, uh…" Glimmer Shine scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and turned to Shining Armor. "Technically you're in charge here. Any thoughts, Captain?"

Shining Armor glanced between the others, a bit of a somber air about him as he contemplated how best to keep everyone as safe as possible. "I don’t know much about hunting monsters, let alone vampires, but… I think we should stay together and take them out one by one until we figure out where they're keeping everyone."

"What about that alicorn?" Glitter asked uneasily.

"Well… Tom said he had some ideas about taking care of that guy. You mind sharing with the class?" Shining asked, looking to the human hopefully.

Tom felt a bit nervous having everyone look at him expectantly. He knew they wouldn't like what he had in mind if he told them, but he wasn’t exactly sure what else to do.

"I gotta be honest, guys, I'm not even sure what this alicorn guy is. He beat Princess Celestia… and she has literal control of the sun. My first idea is to put a silver dagger in his heart or cut off his head, but if that doesn't work…"

"Tom?" Sunspot softened her expression as she saw the boy trailing his eyes down.

Having to force a more confident expression to his face, Tom exhaled softly and patted the bag beside him. "I have a backup plan… but we'll burn that bridge if we get to it."

The others shared an uncertain look with each other as they contemplated what the human had in mind. Sunspot seemed particularly curious about it. Whatever plan he was thinking of, Tom didn't seem too keen on sharing it with them, and that was worrying for more than one reason.

A few moments later, the carriages started to descend once more. The teams of pegasi set their passengers down in the snowy clearing just before the towering cliff as instructed.

Sparkplug and the five remaining element bearers slowly filed out of the carriage and onto the frozen ground. They all looked up at the looming hilltop castle, various degrees of unease or solemn determination between them as they imagined what was currently happening to their lost friends.

“So that’s where these things are coming from?” Sparkplug tittered nervously. “Honestly, I would be lying if I said I was surprised.”

Fluttershy felt her body tensing as she stared up at the ominous shadow atop the cliff. Anyone who looked her way wouldn’t be able to tell if her slight trembling was from the cold or from fear.

Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, she looked up to see Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare was still sporting a grim expression, but Fluttershy could see a bit of loving concern underneath.

"Don’t worry. I'll keep an eye out for you." Rainbow said reassuringly.

Fluttershy trailed her eyes down briefly before glancing back up to the castle. Somehow, she managed to set her mouth in a somber line and looked back to her friend with a glint of determination burning in her eyes. "I'll be okay… I want to help too. For them." She said resolutely.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but smile. "Heh… I'm proud of you, Flutters." She stated. Her expression briefly dimmed before the slight smile returned as her thoughts drifted elsewhere. "And… I know he would be too."

Fluttershy softened her eyes for a moment before smiling back at the cyan mare. She was at least glad that her friend was opening up a bit.

Meanwhile, Rarity seemed to be sizing up the stairs leading up to the castle rather than the castle itself. The narrow, crumbling steps looked like they were barely fit for use, if at all. "Good heavens. How is anypony meant to get up there?" She asked, mostly rhetorically.

"I don’t think this place was built with wingless folks in mind." Sunspot stated plainly.

"Couldn’t we have just landed up there?" Rarity whined timidly. She would be surprised if any of them got up the cliff without falling, let alone all of them.

Shining Armor stepped up to the mouth of the winding stairs without hesitation. "I'm afraid not. The carriages would be too vulnerable up there. At least this way they can see what might be coming at them sooner." He said, looking back to the four teams of guards, some of which were clutching silver daggers in their mouths tightly against the cold.

Rarity gave one last look at the harrowing heights she would soon be climbing before swallowing tensely and picturing her little sister. "Alright… let’s go."

"Ok, everyone. Single file line." Glimmer Shine explained, gesturing for the group to move forward. He then looked to the three pegasus mares. "Sunspot, you go last. You two go somewhere in the middle. Be ready to catch anyone who falls." He instructed.

“Got it.” Sunspot replied immediately, fully prepared for her role. Rainbow Dash seemed equally serious about the prospect of protecting her friends, even after they got off the cliff.

Fluttershy glanced between her friends and the steep climb they were about to undertake. She cringed fearfully as she pictured someone falling and bouncing off the icy rocks to a bone-shattering stop dozens of feet down. Having such responsibility made her more nervous than she cared to admit.

After some brief hesitations and planning, a marching order of sorts was established and the group began their ascent.

Tom and Shining Armor were at the front, setting the pace and keeping an eye on their surroundings as well as those behind them. If they somehow got attacked on the way up, they would be the first line of defense, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Behind them were Applejack, Glitterball, and Pinkie. The farm pony tightly pressed her hat onto her head so as to not lose it amidst the chilled air-currents whipping into the face of the cliff. Glitter was doing her best to keep moving forward and not look down or to the side, but she couldn’t help but to lock up a bit, and it wasn't from the cold. Thankfully, Pinkie rested a hoof on her back and gave her reassuring smiles to keep her pressing through the fear.

Further back, Rarity tensely trudged onward and upward with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash close behind.

The unicorn wasn't normally one to be squeamish around heights. She was nervous to be sure, but she had been up and down more than a few mountains and cliffs in her many adventures with her friends. However, when there was barely enough clearance on the steps for her to put both hooves side by side, she started to become painfully aware of just how high up she was.

Hearing a slight scuff and feeling the edge of the stone step crumbling away under her hoof, Rarity produced a slight squeak and locked up, doing her best not to put herself off balance. Thankfully, before she could even think about wobbling, a set of teeth gently clamped down on her tail and pulled her back to a stable position.

“Careful,” Fluttershy said, offering the unicorn a concerned look.

Rarity exhaled and let the tension in her body relax as she smiled softly. “Thank you, darling.”

Bringing up the rear were Glimmer Shine, Sparkplug, and Sunspot. And while Sunspot was paying close attention to the others above, and Sparkplug was muttering to herself anxiously and trying to go to her happy place, Glimmer was mostly paying attention to his detector vial.

Ever since they had landed, the vial had been faintly aglow. However, it was getting slightly more luminous as they ascended. If there was any doubt in his mind that they were in the right place, it was gone now.

Over the course of an agonizing few minutes, the group somehow made it to the top in one piece. Many of them took a moment after stepping onto flat ground to decompress. Some of them took a stiff look back over the edge to see how far they had climbed, only to regret it instantly.

Most of them, however, were staring ahead in stunned silence at the castle that had seemed much smaller to them from the ground.

The face of the castle seemed to take up the entirety of their vision. It didn’t look like it was designed for beauty in any sense of the word. No, this was a fortress intended to be as much of a stone wall as it resembled, with rigid geometry, sparing architectural flourishes, and only a few tattered banners hanging from the crenelations to serve as decoration.

As stoic and solid as it was originally intended to be, the ceaseless flow of time had battered even this relic of the past. Counting the cracks along its stoney surface would almost be as hard as counting the individual stone pieces that made it up. There were also several holes of varying size marring its form, the largest of which actually sat between two windows on the highest floor, offering a glimpse into a moonlit room.

"Huh… I always used to want to see an actual spooky castle." Tom stated.

"And what about now?" Applejack asked.

The boy shook his head. "Yeah… not so much."

Glimmer Shine took a few steps onto the faded remains of what used to be a paved platform leading up to the large front doors. "Sunspot, can you take a look around from above and see what you can see?" He asked, turning to his orange teammate.

Sunspot glanced skyward before looking at the stallion. "Right." She said, hopping up and fluttering away.

"Be careful." Glitterball cautioned, looking to the pegasus with a concerned frown.

"Don’t worry. Stealth is my middle name." Sunspot looked down with an assuring smirk before zipping up into the clouds.

The group waited a few tense minutes, watching the air above the castle for any sign of their orange friend. Occasionally, they would catch a glimpse of her darting from one side to another, but then she disappeared.

Just before their worries grew large enough to vocalize, they spotted Sunspot flying back down to them, where she landed in front of Glimmer Shine and her other teammates.

"I didn’t see anypony. There’s a courtyard in the center and a bunch of windows, but I couldn’t make out anything useful.” She explained, deflating her shoulders a bit as she did.

“You think they’re expecting us?” Fluttershy shrank down a bit as she thought about the possibility that they were walking right into a trap.

“I’d be surprised if they weren’t. Especially after that pegasus got away back in Coltridge.” Shining Armor stated.

Meanwhile, Tom broke off from the group and waltzed right up to the front doors. He traced his hand along one of the thick frosted wood panels before looking back to the ponies. “What are we waiting for? We can sit out here and talk shop all night, but there’s really only one thing we can do right now, and that’s to get in there, grab the others, and get out.” He suggested impatiently.

The others glanced between themselves and the human. He seemed to have a burning determination to take back their missing friends no matter what, and while they respected and even reciprocated it, most of them had to deal with their own apprehensions and worries that their little plan was going to go south as soon as they stepped through those doors.

“I’m with him.” Rainbow Dash said, stepping forward and clutching the dagger in her hoof tightly. “We’re going to be going in blind no matter what we do. We should go before those freaks decide to hurt Twilight and the others any more than they already might have.”

“As much as I think we’re a bit out of our depth here, I’m inclined to agree,” Rarity added.

Applejack steadied her hat on her head and stepped forward to join her friends. “What she said.”

Shining Armor took a look around at the troop around him. Everyone seemed equal parts eager and uneasy. However, one look at Tom told him all he needed to know. The human was concerned about what they were facing, but he was also bent on saving the purple mare and the others, no matter how outmatched they potentially were, and that was something Shining could get behind.

“Lead the way, Tom.” He said with a nod toward the door.

Tom smirked a bit before letting his gaze linger on the five mares and the members of Spirit. His expression fell as he thought about all the danger they were about to face. Still, they were in a bad situation, and they had to swallow their fears and step forward if they were going to save their friends.

The ponies all gathered around the human as he pulled open the large doors with a small struggle. A hollow-sounding creak reverberated off of the empty corridor walls that greeted them as a spacious hallway was revealed. Any light from the moon seemed to vanish a certain distance inside, only to be replaced by flickering torches that made it look like the walls and floor were alive with shadows.

Clutching their various weapons, the group all stepped inside. No sooner did the doors close behind them did the feeling of dread they felt outside intensify into a solid brick in their guts. All of the ponies’ ears twitched as they collectively darted their eyes around, hoping to catch any sign of movement before they were caught unaware by some monstrosity.

“Why are there lit torches here?” Sparkplug squinted curiously as she noticed the sparse flaming sources of light. It was still plenty dark and spooky in many places, but the general path down the hall was illuminated.

“What use do vampires have for light? Can’t they see in the dark?” Rarity added.

“I think they put them here for us.” Pinkie said.

Rarity blinked. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, if I was a bad guy and I wanted to mess with you, what better way than to get across the idea that everything you can think of doing has already been expected?” Pinkie answered, far more casually than the others would have liked.

“Pinkie… you scare me sometimes.” Sparkplug said.

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a bad guy, right?” Pinkie chuckled.

“Thank Celestia for that.” Applejack chimed in.

“Sssh!” Glimmer Shine hushed the group. “I think the welcome wagon is here.” He whispered tensely, pointing to his detector, which was now buzzing and glowing brightly.

Sparkplug, Sunspot, and Glitterball all glanced to their own vials. Much like Glimmer’s, theirs were vibrating and humming to alert them to the sudden change in supernatural energies. However, the liquid inside wasn't pointing in any particular direction.

Almost on cue, Tom jumped a bit as a puff of mist forced all the air from his lungs. The accompanying hiss seemed smaller than normal.

"How many?" Shining asked softly.

Tom had to take a second to interpret the muted feeling of his senses. Once he did, he held up three fingers before pointing up ahead.

Everyone immediately froze up and locked their eyes down the hall. The torches up ahead just barely offered a view of the faded cherry carpet splitting off into two directions. Truth be told, it was hard to make out just how many openings there were in the deepened shadows.

With a few hesitant glances, the group started moving forward at a slow pace. Everyone was trying to pay attention to every angle around them, but even with all of them looking somewhere different, they were worried about possible openings in their defenses.

Fluttershy could feel her body tensing up and her heart rate climbing. It was almost fortunate that it was cold, because if anyone knew how much she was shaking, they might be concerned.

Passing by a pair of open doorways, the front of the group inspected them before moving on. One seemed to be a large dining room, while the other was a kitchen. Both appeared empty and silent, save for the whistle of wind passing through the cracked stones.

Sparkplug did her best to keep a steady grip on the crossbow she had loosely pointed at the floor amidst her strained nerves. Suddenly, she and everyone else perked up as they heard a soft, directionless scuffle.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Glitterball whispered.

Before anyone could even answer, the noise happened again. It was hard to tell where it was coming from. It almost seemed to be above them.

Sparkplug jumped slightly as she caught a hint of movement to her side. She flipped her vest mounted flashlight on and pointed her bow ahead, only to find the empty opening into the kitchen. The torch by the doorway and its flickering flame must have tricked her eyes.

"Alright." Glimmer Shine announced, breaking the stiff silence as he scanned his head around. "We know you're here… why don't you just save us all some trouble and come out?"

"Where would the fun in that be?" A feminine voice responded, echoed and sourceless.

Glimmer looked around, only to see his companions quietly doing the same thing. Nothing had changed in their surroundings.

"We're not leaving without our friends, so either you're going to have to show yourself, or we'll just have to find you."

The scuffling sound happened again, this time closer to the ponies.

"Heh… alright." The disembodied mare spoke again. Although her voice was still distant, it seemed to be moving.

"If you insist…"

Sparkplug widened her eyes as the voice came right in her ear. She darted her head over just in time to catch a blur of yellow, auburn, and glowing red. Before she or anyone else could react, a low growl shifted to a feral shriek as a dark shape collided with her.

Rarity gasped as she and everyone else shifted wide eyes over to watch the gray mare sailing into the dining room with an equine figure on top. "Sparkplug!"

Sunspot and Tom prepared to charge forward to assist their friend, while many of the others readied their own weapons, when another set of growls came from above them and stopped them in their tracks.

Two pairs of red orbs were glaring down at them from the crisscrossing wooden beams near the high ceiling. All at once, two more pale ponies leaped down and pounced at the front members of the group.

Everyone jumped back, with Shining Armor and Glimmer Shine barely dodging a pair of reaching forelegs. The vampiric unicorn stallion and earth pony mare backed up as their initial attack failed, but they were still blocking access to the dining room.

Hearing a distressed yelp from their gray friend, Sunspot and Glitterball raced to aim their crossbows at the pale figures. They both let loose a silver bolt with a whipping sound.

The earth pony mare ducked to the side, just barely missing the bolt aimed for her.

Reacting a bit slower than his companion, the unicorn dodged to the left, only to yell in pain as the bolt tore across his side. A smoldering path of glowing cinders was left where the silver-tipped projectile nicked him.

"Gah!" The unicorn looked down to his side before shifting his gaze to the group and growling through his teeth.

Meanwhile, Sparkplug was fighting for her life against the pale yellow mare in the other room.

The two were struggling on the ground, with one desperately trying to push the other off, and the other trying to sink their teeth into flesh.

Amidst her strained grunts and cringes, Sparkplug suddenly recognized the mare on top of her. “Hey… you’re that freak from before!” She stated, thinking back to the trio that had taken the crusaders.

Seeing how she clearly had the upper hoof, the yellow mare took a moment to produce a cruel smile. “Did you miss me?”

“Like… l-like a pain in my neck!” Sparkplug hissed, using every ounce of strength she had to keep the pale pony away.

“Interesting choice of words.” The mare chuckled, her fangs dripping with eager saliva.

Sparkplug kicked at the undead pony with her hind legs, barely producing a result. She tried to roll to the side, only for the mare to roll with her until the both of them smacked into the wall, stuck in a similar position from when they started.

“Not so tough without your friends to help you, are you?” The mare faked a sympathetic pout.

Meanwhile, Sparkplug grunted and reached down to one of her vest pockets with a free hoof. She struggled for a moment to fish around, but once she found what she was looking for, she gripped it tightly and jammed it into the pale mare’s flank.

“AGH!” The mare yelped, looking down to her side to see a crossbow bolt sticking out of her. The fur and skin around her faded cutie mark sizzled and crumbled into ash. Looking back down to the pony beneath her, she was surprised to receive a blow to the jaw, knocking her sideways off of her prey.

Sparkplug panted heavily as she scrambled backward. By the time she made it to her own four hooves again, the pale pony was lifting up and glaring at her with a broken jaw, which she swiftly snapped back into place before removing the bolt from her side.

“That’s for biting my flank.” Sparkplug grinned before a feral growl flattened her expression in an instant.

With a boiling rage in her eyes, the yellow pony lunged forward, fangs bared and hooves outstretched.

Sparkplug yelped and darted to the side as the pale mare landed where she was just standing. She reached to her vest, hoping to find her dagger, or her popper, or something, anything to save herself from the vicious creature in the guise of a pony.

Before she could find something, however, a set of hooves grabbed her by the waist and tossed her sideways with unnatural strength.

"Gah!" Sparkplug grunted painfully as she crashed onto the long wooden table in the middle of the room, knocking some dusty bowls and one of the chairs over with a mighty clatter.

Her hip was throbbing, and she had numerous aches across her back, but those were the least of her problems.

Scrambling to sit up, Sparkplug found the yellow mare at the front of the table, staring daggers into her with fierce red eyes.

The yellow mare felt a bit of sinister enjoyment as she watched the vested pony crawling backward like a terrified animal. Before she could pounce forward, however, she heard movement behind her and glanced to the side.

A familiar yell came as the vampiric pony dodged to the side, revealing Applejack swiping down with a silver dagger.

Another, more refined, battle cry came and a floating dagger wrapped in a blue aura stabbed toward the yellow mare, which she quickly knocked away at the handle.

Sparkplug looked up to see Rarity and Applejack squaring off against the pale pony with silver daggers.

Rarity took a moment to look over to her gray friend with a concerned frown as she and Applejack stood between her and the vampiric mare. "Are you alright, darling? Did this ruffian hurt you?" She lowered her expression at the pale pony as she brought her dagger back to her side.

"I'll be sore in the morning, that's for sure." Sparkplug grunted as she stood up on the table and fished out her own dagger.

The pale mare seemed altogether unfazed by the three silver-wielding ponies.

"Well, if it isn’t the clown. I almost didn't recognize you without the stupid getup… although I see you kept the ridiculous hat." The yellow mare half smirked at Applejack.

Recognizing the mare that stole her sister from her, Applejack narrowed her eyes and exhaled tensely through her nose. "I'm gonna enjoy this more than I probably should." She muttered, tightening her grip on her silver weapon.

Back out in the hallway, the others were still doing battle with their vampires.

Shining Armor and Tom were trading blows with the gray unicorn stallion, who was using a mixture of magic, strength, and speed to keep them at bay.

The other pale mare was fighting Glimmer Shine, Sunspot, and Rainbow Dash. And although the others wanted to help, there wasn't much they could do without hitting someone with a stray bolt or magical blast.

Tom made a downward slash with his sword, only to have the unicorn dodge to the side. He started to pull his sword back for another strike when his body was suddenly enveloped in a gray aura, which then yanked him off his feet and sent him flying behind the pale stallion with a painful yelp.

Spotting a knife stabbing toward him, the pale unicorn ducked under the aura holding it and pounced at Shining Armor, who couldn't move in time to avoid being sent to the floor.

"Guh!" Shining grunted as he had the wind knocked out of him. He barely had time to process his pain before he looked up to see fangs gleaming in the torchlight.

Before the pale stallion could bite down, a few bursts of light zipped into his face and exploded into colorful sparks, burning him enough to give pause as he flinched and yelped.

Spotting an opportunity, Shining charged up his horn and let loose a concussive blast, knocking the creature off of him and nearly knocking himself into the carpeted stone beneath him.

Briefly admiring the sight of the vampiric stallion bouncing off the ground up ahead, Shining looked back to find his savior. He found Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, a pleased smirk and a nervous cringe respectively on their faces and a bit of smoke trailing off their strobes.

Shining flashed an appreciative smile to the two mares and started to get up. But before he could even brush himself off, a pile of ponies knocked into him before stumbling off.

Glimmer Shine and Rainbow Dash strained and struggled to hold onto the vampiric earth mare. Their pale foe was so strong that they could barely keep her still.

Sunspot tried to rush up and stab a dagger into the restrained pony, only to receive a hind hoof to the chest that sent her reeling to the floor.

The mare snarled and bucked her head up, hitting her skull to Rainbow Dash’s jaw with a painful crack. Still, the pegasus held on, unwilling to leave her friend alone in his efforts.

Shining Armor started to move to assist the pair as they dragged the mare to the wall. He could hear strobe fire whizzing past him as the others started firing at the pale unicorn somewhere further down the hall.

With a fierce yell, the pale mare kicked off the wall, sending the two ponies holding her into Shining Armor and the other wall.

Glimmer Shine let go as he received a reverse headbutt and an elbow to the gut. The pale mare jerked away and tried to grab someone, only to be tackled by Rainbow Dash and sent to the floor.

Before anyone could try to help, the pale pony rolled and kicked her hind legs out, sending Rainbow hurtling into the open doorway of the kitchen with a surprised outcry and a loud crash.

The mare started to get up from the floor when suddenly a crossbow bolt shot into her stomach. She grunted in pain and clutched the area. As she looked down, her body started burning up and crumbling to ash. She managed to get out the beginnings of a scream before falling silent.

The others glanced over to see Sunspot holding out her discharged bow. They barely had time to admire her work before the sounds of a struggle up ahead drew their attention up.

At the end of the hall, Tom was having his own fight with the pale unicorn stallion. They seemed evenly matched for a while, until the boy caught the pony off guard and shoved his sword clean through his gut, impaling him to the wall.

While the unicorn was yelling in pain and struggling, Tom looked toward the group of onlooking ponies, particularly to Glimmer Shine and his teammates.

“Shoot him!” He shouted to whoever would react first before cringing as he used every ounce of strength he had to keep the unicorn still.

Glitterball was the only one with a readied crossbow, so she moved first. Holding out her weapon, she swiftly took aim, taking care not to hit the human. Before she could fire, however, the pale unicorn shoved Tom away with a magical push, sending him flying to the wall and pulling the sword out.

As the bolt fired, the unicorn dove to the side, letting the silver-tipped projectile embed uselessly into the stone.

The stallion snarled at the white mare, seemingly singling her out for his next victim. However, he wasn't able to act any further before Tom rushed up, got behind him, and grabbed him under the forelegs to pick him up.

“Gah! Why you little-” The unicorn snapped to the side, prepared to sink his fangs into the human’s arm, before he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Tom flinched his eyes shut as the pony he was holding converted to ash. He looked up as the screams and debris faded, only to see a silver dagger being held aloft by a reddish magical aura.

Shining Armor shared an appreciative nod with the human before shifting his attention to the dining-room door as a loud crash came from inside. “Oh no… the girls!” He exclaimed, rushing forward with the others.

As soon as they poked their heads through the open doorway, they reeled back as a familiar gray earth pony sailed across with a panicked yelp before tumbling to the floor. They looked to the side, just in time to see Applejack and Rarity struggling with the remaining vampire.

The pale yellow mare was currently wrestling Rarity into a corner, with Applejack trying to pull her off. Rarity had her dagger in one hoof, but the pale pony was keeping that hoof very much under control. Applejack seemed to be missing her dagger entirely.

With a quick snap to the side, the mare bit into Applejack’s foreleg, causing a shout of pain and a scramble to grab at her head. Making ample use of the opening created, the pale pony swatted the farmer away with a painful-looking smack, sending her sliding into the table behind them.

Realizing Rarity was in trouble, the others swiftly sprang into action.

Before they could reach her, however, a wet squelch filled the air.

The yellow mare stumbled back and fell to her haunches. She looked down, bringing her hoof up to a glowing stab wound in her chest, before looking up and locking eyes with Rarity, who was still pressed against the wall.

Rarity had her dagger hovering in her magical aura between them. She stared at the pale pony as the glowing embers started spreading rapidly.

The yellow mare had a certain look of fear and regret in her eyes that caught the unicorn off guard. In the span of a couple seconds, Rarity stopped looking at a soulless creature of the night and started looking at a fellow pony.

A fellow pony that was fearing death.

With an agonizing scream, the yellow mare rocked her head back as the inferno took her. Soon, the room was silent once more as a cluster of ashes gathered on the floor.

Off in the other room, Rainbow Dash groaned softly as she lifted her head up. She was upside down, with her lower half crumpled against a countertop that she apparently fell over. All of her weight was focused onto her back in a painful position.

Rolling and getting to all fours, she quickly darted her head toward the door. Strangely, there were no sounds of fighting outside. She walked around the counter and out into the hallway, only to find most of her friends gathered in the next room.

“Did we win…? Is everypony ok?” Rainbow asked, poking her head into the room. She looked over to see a group gathered around a very rattled-looking Rarity, only to reel back in shock. “Oh my gosh… what happened?”

The others looked over to see the pegasus walking up. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were doing their best to console their unicorn friend, but she was trembling and staring at the floor at a dagger lying next to a heap of ash.

“I… I killed her.” Rarity muttered in shock. “That’s… the first time I’ve ever killed anyone.”

Looking to the dagger and putting two and two together, Rainbow Dash softened her expression. “They were trying to kill us, Rarity. You shouldn’t feel bad for those things.”

“Things…?” Rarity parroted, looking up in surprise. “Those weren’t things, Rainbow… they were ponies at one point. We’ve had to kill monsters before, and that was horrible in its own way, but we’ve never had to kill anything... intelligent.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “I… never thought about it like that.” She said quietly. Before, she was fully prepared to kill those two pale ponies, not just because they were threatening her and her friends, but because she felt they deserved it. They were just like the feral beast that had slaughtered Blue Bolt right in front of her, at least, she thought so at first. Now, all she could think about was what their names were, and what they were like before they became what they were now.

Seeing a wave of silent horror, regret, and sadness working its way over much of the group, Tom stepped forward and rested a hand on Rarity’s shoulder, causing her to look up.

“You can’t blame yourself like that, Rarity. They weren’t ponies anymore…” He glanced down to the pile of ash. “They were perfectly in control of themselves, and they were still trying to kill us. Once they get to that point, there’s no hope of ever turning them back to normal. The person they were was long gone before you did what you had to. In a way… you were being as merciful as you could to that girl.” He explained reassuringly.

Rarity trailed her eyes down briefly, the remorse and sadness suddenly shifting to worry as she thought of something. "Princess Luna said that alicorn did something to Princess Celestia… what if he made her like them?" She asked before paling even more than she already had. “What if h-he… w-what if he made the others like him too?”

The question drifted through the air uncomfortably for a moment. No one seemed to want to acknowledge it, but the looks on their faces gave away that it was the only thing on their minds.

"If… that’s true, then there's still hope. As long as a freshly turned vampire hasn't drank any blood, they can be cured." Tom answered finally.

"Let’s not make assumptions right now. It's only going to freak us out." Shining Armor suggested. He then turned to Glimmer Shine and his team. "We need to find the others as soon as possible. Didn't you guys have something that tracks living things?"

"Yeah… that’s right." Glimmer Shine said, eagerly reaching down to his vest. The others did the same, reaching down to the pull cord that held their detection charm and bringing up the other vial attached to it.

Everyone watched the team of monster hunters hold out some vials full of red sand, which started to glow as they twisted the cap on each one.

After separating themselves from the group to get a better reading, the four ponies did a full sweep of the area, pointing their vials around and paying attention to how much sand was lit up in which direction.

"I'm getting something upstairs," Glitterball announced, pointing her vial toward the ceiling a little ahead of them.

"Looks like someone's below us too." Glimmer Shine said as he and Sunspot held their charms to the floor.

"There’s a basement to this place?" Pinkie asked uneasily.

Fluttershy shivered slightly as previous experiences came to mind. "Why is there always a basement?"

"Figures they wouldn't keep them in the same place." Applejack huffed.

"Where do we go first?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, it looks like there are more ponies downstairs. That is what this means, right?" Sparkplug asked, looking to her teammates and gesturing to her vial. True enough, there seemed to be more of a glow to the sand when pointing down to the floor.

"It's probably Sweetie and the girls!" Rarity shot to her hooves eagerly.

"Either way, I don't like the idea of going to get them one at a time… but I also don't want to split up with that alicorn somewhere around here." Shining Armor said, taking an uneasy glance to the doorway leading out into the castle.

"I think splitting up is our best bet for getting out of here sooner," Tom suggested.

"Really?" Pinkie tilted her head in surprise. "Normally you're against us splitting up."

"It's not like we're spoiled for choices here," Tom explained before looking off into the distance. He closed his eyes briefly, took a steady breath, and then hissed out a puff of mist. "Besides… as long as whoever splits off stays away from that alicorn, they should be fine. And right now, it feels like he's upstairs somewhere."

“I don’t know…” Glimmer Shine chimed in. “This is setting off every red flag I know about. What do you think?” He asked, looking to Shining Armor curiously. After all, he was the closest thing to a leader this group had.

Shining Armor produced a tense sigh as he thought about their options. He didn’t like being put into such a bad situation. Lives would be put in danger no matter what they did, but part of him agreed with the human. They weren’t here to fight. They were here to get their friends and get out as soon as possible, and if that meant splitting up, then they would have to take that risk.

“I don’t like it… but then again, I don’t like us being here period. We’re darned if we do and darned if we don’t… so why don’t we put it to a vote?” Shining suggested. “All in favor of splitting into two groups, raise your hoof.”

A few hooves immediately went up. Tom and Applejack were among the first to decide in favor of splitting up.

“I’m all for whatever gets the others safe as soon as possible.” Applejack stated.

After a moment’s hesitation, Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof, while Fluttershy abstained. Rarity joined the vote, though she seemed conflicted.

Glimmer Shine kept his hoof firmly on the floor. Much to his surprise, Sunspot wasn't voting either. “You’re not with them on this one?” He asked curiously.

Sunspot frowned uneasily. “Too risky… even for me. I’ll go with whatever the group decides, though.”

Pinkie and Sparkplug opted against lifting their hooves. They seemed concerned about both options, but they didn’t want to make a choice that would potentially get one of their friends hurt.

Just when the vote seemed like it was over, Glitterball hesitantly lifted her hoof. “I don’t know what to do… but… I feel like this is the best option.” She said, a conflicted grimace on her face.

“Great… a tie.” Shining Armor sighed. “Guess I’m the deciding vote after all.”

Everyone lowered their hooves and looked to the white stallion. Although they had all made their decision known, they would respect whatever was decided and do their best to keep each other safe no matter what. But first, their captain needed to choose a stance.

Finally, Shining let his shoulders sink a bit and exhaled softly. “As much as I hate to say it… I think we should split up.”

Fluttershy and a few others trailed their eyes to the floor uneasily. They had a feeling something bad was going to happen, but without coming up with an alternative plan, they had to go along with the team’s decision. After all, all they had right now was each other.

“Welp, I s’pose that’s that.” Applejack said. “I don’t know how we’re gonna divvy up the teams, but I want to go downstairs.”

“You seem confident.” Sparkplug noted.

“Well… in my mind, that’s where the girls are. I want to be there when we find Apple Bloom and the others.” Applejack reasoned.

“I think I’d like to join you,” Rarity added.

"Ok… everyone pair off with whichever group you want to go with," Tom said. "Keep in mind, whoever goes upstairs is probably going to be at the most risk."

After some deliberation, two teams had been formed. Shining Armor and Tom would be going upstairs with Sunspot, Sparkplug, and Pinkie Pie. Meanwhile, Glimmer Shine and Glitterball would lead the rest of the girls downstairs.

Everyone gathered out in the hallway and traveled to the end of it. They found a split before an open courtyard, with what appeared to be a staircase leading up further down the left corridor.

"Looks like we split off here." Sunspot stated as she scanned the hallway ahead with her flashlight.

Rainbow Dash and the others looked to their friends about to head straight towards potential danger, unable to hide the worry in their eyes.

"Please be careful, darling." Rarity said, looking to Pinkie Pie and resting a hoof on her shoulder. At least Shining Armor had royal guard training, and the others were monster hunters, but the pink mare was still inexperienced with fighting in general, let alone fighting monsters.

Pinkie giggled in her usual carefree way. "Don’t worry, I'll keep an eye on everyone for you." She winked confidently.

Tom walked up to Glitterball and Glimmer Shine. He pulled his backpack out and fished around in it for a moment before pulling out what looked like a pair of syringes full of red fluid.

"Here, take these. If you find one of the others and they have been turned, use these on them." He explained, pressing the items into the loosely outstretched hoof of a very confused Glitterball.

"Uh… thanks." Glitter said, staring at the needles with a raised eyebrow. "Do I want to know what's in them?"

Tom wrinkled his mouth a bit. "Probably not… it’s my blood."

Glitterball blinked before trailing her eyes down to the syringes again. "Ew…" She suppressed the urge to recoil.

"Pardon my ignorance, but how in the hay is a shot of blood gonna help?" Applejack asked, a bit unsettled by the thought of the human drawing his own blood to use as a weapon.

"Yeah, I thought it was bad for new vampires to drink blood?" Rainbow Dash added.

"My blood is a little different, and they won’t exactly be drinking it," Tom explained. "Slayer blood is toxic to vampires. One shot of the stuff will knock them out cold. It might not be the most pleasant experience for them… but it was the only non-lethal option I could think of on such short notice."

Glitterball stared at the two needles for a moment longer before tucking them into a pouch on her vest and giving the human an appreciative nod. "Thank you… I just hope we won't need to use them."

Shining Armor glanced between the five mares and the yellow stallion with a serious look about him. "Good luck, guys. Remember to stay together, and keep in touch with us."

"Same to you." Glimmer Shine replied, giving a knowing glance to Sunspot as he and his group started moving down the other hallway.

Tom and the others watched their friends departing, hiding any concerns they might have had and offering a reassuring smile to a few of them who looked their way.

They then turned to look ahead at the stairs leading up, where they would hopefully find their missing friends…

And possibly one of the most terrible foes they had ever encountered.

After sharing a silent look of hesitance, and hopefully, encouragement, with Sparkplug, Sunspot drew her crossbow. The gray mare soon did the same before the both of them turned to the human and unicorn leading them.

“Ready when you are.” Sunspot said.

“I’m as ready as ready can be,” Pinkie added, twirling her strobe on the tip of her hoof before grasping it tightly.

Shining Armor glanced at his small troop for a moment before looking to Tom, and then the stairs. “You think Twilight’s up there?”

“I do…” Tom replied flatly before half smirking. “You do too, don’t you? Otherwise, you’d be going down instead.”

Shining merely smiled lightly. He took the dagger beside him in his magical grip and did a quick flourish with it before steeling his expression. “Let’s bring them home.”