Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

The air was deathly silent on the streets of New Hoofshire. Houses remained still and lifeless, devoid of their owners. Even the winter winds from before seemed to have left the area for fear of bearing witness to what was about to take place.

Celestia and Luna too were silent in their walk down the street. Both of them had a myriad of different thoughts swirling about their heads, and both of them were ready to lay down their lives to protect the ponies still trapped in the surrounding area, hoping to remain unseen by the pale horror currently sitting by himself.

The vampiric alicorn had scarcely lifted his head to notice the two sisters as they made their approach, though notice them he most assuredly had to have. Celestia felt her jaw clench as she imagined what he had planned for them, for the whole of Equestria.

Both of them came to a stop several feet away. They could see what he was doing now. He was apparently still drawing a large symbol on the ground, using his silver magical aura to spread around globs of green blood from his slain minion. This symbol was more circular, resembling the ones that the pair were used to dealing with from Raven Feather’s group. However, its purpose was a mystery, for the moment at any rate.

As if to acknowledge that they were waiting for him to speak, Dusk paused what he was doing and produced an exaggerated sigh. “I was expecting you to bring along that slayer fellow.” He said with a disappointed frown. “Perhaps I underestimated your bravery… or your foolishness.”

“I thought his powers would be of better use elsewhere,” Celestia replied, not once taking her eyes off him. Luna stood at the ready beside her sister, waiting for this ‘discussion’ to go where they both knew it would eventually.

Dusk looked up at this. “Interesting. So you would rather use your best piece to face a lesser threat if it means keeping your other pieces safe. It very much reminds me of how you play chess.” He flattened his brows. “You do remember our games, don’t you? Back when I was your student.”

“I remember you hastily sacrificing your pieces for some half-baked strategy that usually never worked out. I also remember you being a sore loser.” Celestia said. “Enough talk of the past, Dusk. What are you doing here?”

“Odd… I always remember winning.” Dusk grew silent for a moment, skewing an eyebrow before tilting his head and returning a more serious expression to his face. “As for what I’m doing here… I thought it prudent to remind you just what it is I’m after.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes and glared at the stallion. “You feel that I betrayed your trust, so now you want me and everyone I love to suffer… because that’s what you enjoy most, Dusk. You enjoy watching others suffer.”

“You still don’t see how wrong you were after all this time?!” Dusk shot to his hooves and took a step forward before forcing himself to stop. He took a few breaths before easing his glare into a steely stare. “I thought the world of you. You always encouraged me to never limit myself… to pursue whatever avenue of thought most intrigued me. You gave me the chance to study more magic than I ever thought possible, and yet now I’m the villain for doing what you taught me to do?! You remind me more and more of my parents… and just like them, you will get what is owed to you.”

Suddenly, Celestia’s intense gaze softened as a look of revelation came over her. “The fire… your parents. You did that?!”

“Good heavens…” Luna muttered, face pale with horror as she realized how much of a monster the stallion was, even from a young age.

Dusk smirked, seemingly confirming Celestia’s assumption, before he straightened his expression. “They never understood me… not like I thought you did. One thing led to another, and… I had to take care of the problem if I was to ever pursue my dream of meeting you.”

“Over half a dozen ponies died in that fire! There were servants and guards that lost their lives trying to get everyone out!” Celestia fumed.

“They were mere pawns, Princess. Just like this detestable abomination here.” He kicked the body of the bug demon. “And as in chess… sometimes you must sacrifice some pawns to take a bigger piece.” He smiled, showing off his fangs. “What pieces are you willing to lose to save the rest, I wonder?”

Celestia grew uneasy as she watched the stallion look over to her sister. Then, without warning, a shot of blood zipped out of one of the wounds on his wrists and went straight toward Luna like a shot from a cannon.

Luna widened her eyes in surprise and raced to light her horn and cast some sort of protection spell around herself. A shield popped up in front of her, splattering the tip of the crimson tendril into liquid, but it wasn't from her. She shared a grateful look to her sister, who was at the ready with horn already aglow, before readying herself for battle.

Going on the offensive, Celestia fired off a few condensed bolts of sunlight at the stallion. Luna joined in by lobbing some slower moving orbs of magic that curved and spiraled in odd directions alongside her sister’s beams of orange light. The combined strengths of the attacks flew toward Dusk.

With a crooked smile and a pleased look in his eye, Dusk planted his hoof into the center of the symbol, causing it to pulse green dimly. He then leaped back with unnatural speed and distance as the area ahead of him exploded in a rain of projectiles hitting the ground, sending flames and pulses of multicolored lights up into a cloud of debris. Concerningly enough, the symbol remained undamaged.

In response to their attack, Dusk leaned his head back and exposed the slash across his neck. A surge of red spray gushed out and flowed into the air like a miniature tide before crashing to the ground and heading toward the sisters.

Realizing how much trouble they were in, both Celestia and Luna snapped their wings open and kicked off the ground as the crimson wave flowed under them. Then, the wave lifted into the air after them and started to give chase, carried by whatever unnatural influence the stallion had over his own blood.

While the primary body of fluid seemed to be following Celestia, Luna had to dodge to the side as a smaller droplet shot out at her like a speeding bullet, and then another.

Celestia put a shield in front of her as a series of spiked tendrils extended toward her out of the living mass of blood. Much to her dismay, the wave curled around to the side, trying to get to her. She was forced to shift her frontal shield to a magical bubble around herself as she was practically swallowed whole by red.

“Sister!” Luna gasped as she watched the shifting mass of blood wrap around Celestia’s shield.

As a series of muffled thumps slammed into her shield, Celestia grit her teeth under the magical strain. She could see numerous points of the liquid around her receding and quickly shooting back forward like miniature battering rams that were much stronger than she remembered Dusk’s attacks being. Her alarm only grew as she noticed small cracks starting to form in her barrier.

Then, Dusk suddenly grunted in pain as something pierced into him from behind. He looked up as a luminous blade of blue energy clipped his side, followed by another nearly striking him in the head. He ducked down in the air and avoided several more of the miniature blades as they flew past before gathering near a very angry-looking Luna.

The blue alicorn looked to the side as she noticed the red shell around her sister falling like rain off an awning. She smirked as her attempt at distracting him succeeded, even if only briefly. Still, Celestia used this opportunity to drop her shield and teleport over toward Luna.

“What is your plan, Dusk?” Celestia demanded after catching her breath a moment. “What is that symbol for?!”

Dusk glanced at the symbol he had been drawing on the ground briefly and chuckled. It now held an ominous pale green glow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Before anything further could be said, both sisters looked over with wide eyes as the floating mass of blood where Celestia’s bubble formerly sat stopped falling. The crimson liquid spread out into a large sheet before dozens of tiny points along its surface started shooting out at high speeds toward the two alicorns.

Both of them gave a swift flap of their wings and swooped down in different directions as the miniature bullets zipped toward them. Seeing that they were evading, Dusk formed the smaller droplets into bigger globs and made them give chase to the pair.

Luna stole a glance behind her, only to spot a pair of crimson snakes gliding through the air, swirling around each other and following her through each turn, dive, or climb. She widened her eyes and narrowly avoided being skewered by another group of the floating tendrils right in front of her by pulling in her wings and dropping like a stone for a moment.

Meanwhile, Celestia cringed as she corkscrewed between a converging mess of bloody spears, one of them clipping her side and another clipping the edge of her wing. The freshly made cuts stung and sent a few droplets of her own blood falling toward the ground, but she kept going.

The pair kept dodging and narrowly avoiding certain disaster as the trails of blood lazily followed after, using superior numbers instead of speed to cut off their every escape route. Eventually, they found themselves flying toward each other, only to realize just how many streams of fluid were following them by seeing the other.

Celestia nodded to Luna as she lit her horn ever so slightly and looked to the ground. It didn’t take long for the blue mare to catch on, as she too nodded and readied herself as they both neared a head-on collision.

Then, just before they reached each other, both alicorns blinked out of existence, leaving the masses of blood to slam into each other and form back into loosely floating globs.

Dusk formed a lopsided smile as he stared up at the space where the two sisters just vanished from. His ear immediately pricked and rotated to the side to meet the sound of a soft magical hum and the hissing of flames.

The stallion leaped forward as an orange light enveloped him from the side, followed by a wave of flames surging past where he just was. He turned his head to see Celestia on the ground near a building, glaring at him with a trail of flames licking the ground in front of her.

As he prepared to dodge again, fully expecting Luna to attack next, Dusk suddenly found his body enveloped by a magical aura. Celestia could already feel his strength sapping her magical stamina, but she didn’t need to hold him long as a series of zaps filled the air along with blue light.

In a blur, a few bolts of luminous blue energy burned into Dusk’s form, piercing his body and leaving smoking holes behind. Luna walked forward from down the street, coming into line with her sister as she peppered the stallion with attacks.

Finally, one of her blasts sent him flying backward and skidding along the ground. His body was riddled with grievous injuries. Any mortal pony would be dead by now if they suffered a similar assault, but both sisters knew that they weren’t facing a pony anymore.

Dusk sat straight up as his body continued to sizzle. He looked down to his foreleg, which had two holes burned clean through it, almost resembling a changeling with flesh and bone instead of chitin and shell. He also had a few holes in his chest and stomach, with a particularly large one where his heart was.

Almost immediately, his wounds began to close up as blood oozed from them. Seeing the masses of blood from before falling from the sky and pooling on the ground just ahead, Dusk pulled all of it back into his slash wounds, speeding up the healing process until no trace of the sisters' assault was left.

“A fine first offensive…” He looked ahead at the two sisters glaring at him from down the street before a bit of movement caught his eye. Turning his head, he noticed a pair of guards ushering ponies down a fire-escape into an alleyway in the distance. This made him chuckle as a devilish grin formed on his face. “Let’s see if you can keep from losing too many pawns.” He said, lifting a single foreleg and pointing it to the side.

Celestia and Luna paused as the stallion produced a single stream of blood and allowed it to float out of his wrist. It wasn't pointing at them. And as they followed its direction, their faces paled as they saw innocent ponies in harm’s way.

Then, before they could even react, the stream of blood shot forward at dizzying speeds. It zipped up toward the ponies, who all gasped and recoiled while the guards could only stare with wide eyes.

“No!” Celestia cried, reaching a hoof out in defiance because it was all she could do in time. Any shield she could put up wouldn’t cover every angle due to the obstacles around the ponies.

However, instead of impaling the ponies on the fire-escape, the bloody spear zipped to the side at the last minute, digging itself into the brick wall of the building the escape was anchored to. A trail of dust and debris raked across the length of the escape as the bricks right behind the metal anchor points crumbled to nothing.

The fire-escape groaned and creaked as more weight was put onto the upper portions of it. The ponies frozen in fear jumped back as the stream of blood exploded out of the wall on the other side, this time piercing clean through one side of the stairs leading up, and then the other.

Seeing what the stallion was attempting to do, Luna grit her teeth and fired another bolt of energy at him. “Leave them alone, you monster!”

In response to this, Dusk tilted his chin up and exposed the slash on his neck. A torrent of blood surged out and with unnatural speed curved down and then up, forming a seemingly thin barrier in front of him. The bolt of energy collided with the wall of blood, exploding on impact. A sizable hole was left in the wall, but this quickly closed up as Luna fired two more shots, only to see the same result.

A metallic crunch and a terrified series of yelps and squeaks drew the sisters’ attention back to the ponies on the fire-escape. They were hugging each other close while the guards stood over them, trying to make themselves as small as possible to avoid the lone stream of blood whipping around. However, the stream seemed to purposefully avoid them, instead going out of its way to completely shred all points of contact the metal platform they were on had with the rest of the fire-escape.

Suddenly, the whole level of the fire-escape the ponies were on shifted violently and dipped downward, sending two mares over the side until they grabbed onto the edge with their hooves. A lone stallion and one of the guards tried to pull them back up, but before they could make any progress, the whole platform they were on was freed from the wall, and with the stairs leading up and down severed, nothing was stopping the hefty platform from tumbling down, taking the terrified citizens with it.

The two mares screamed, and the stallion covered his eyes as they neared the ground. Then, their bodies slowed to a gentle stop in midair as they were enveloped by blue and yellow auras.

Both of the guards narrowly avoided smacking into the ground as a magical tug slowed their descent. As they landed, they looked up to see the royal sisters standing over them, horns alight and relieved expressions on their faces.

Luna looked up with a start and raced to project her magic around the broken portion of the fire-escape as it clanged down the side of the building. She caught it before it landed on the group before gently floating it to a rest on the ground.

One of the two mares, who was still in tears from nearly falling to her death, deflated to the ground and looked at the two alicorns. “Thank you so much, Princess!”

“You are most welcome, but I am afraid this is no time for pleasantries,” Celestia said, a more urgent look returning to her eyes as she glanced behind her.

Understanding the severity of the situation, the two guards got in front of the civilians and gave a stoic nod to the two alicorns. “We’ll keep them safe, Princess. You have our word.”

“Good. Run as far as you can until you get out of the city. We will hold him off while you flee.” Luna said.

Just then, a magical chime sound faded into a steady hum, and as they both looked out onto the street, the sisters were met by a green light. The symbol that Dusk was working on was glowing brighter now, and he was standing right in the center of it.

The stallion laughed as the many circles and glyphs shifted from a sickly green glow to a deep red, luminous after-images of the symbol lifting into the air slightly like a mirage. “You two are so predictable when it comes to your subjects. I’ll bet I could kill one or both of you if I used the right bait… but of course, where would the fun in that be?”

Celestia walked out of the alleyway and stood in line with Luna as they both stared at the light show ahead of them. Glancing back to see the ponies already fleeing down the alleyway and out onto another street, they realized that they were now alone to deal with whatever was happening. In a way, that was good.

“Enough games, Dusk!” Celestia demanded. “Whatever you are planning, you will fail!”

Dusk watched as the pair lit up their horns and glared at him, ready to react to any action from him or his symbol. “I hope you have more to offer this game than hollow words, Princess… because in case you haven’t noticed...”

*Fwoosh*

All at once, a wave of energy shot out of the symbol around Dusk and into the sky. It collided with the clouds above, sending out a shockwave of fading red tint before seemingly vanishing. The symbol on the ground wasn't glowing or humming anymore, and it had returned to mere green blood on the pavement.

Celestia and Luna trailed their eyes away from the now undulating clouds to see Dusk wearing a crooked grin.

“...I’ve just put you in check.”

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville...

Applejack, Rarity, and Glimmer Shine slowed to a halt as they finally reached the front gate to Sweet Apple Acres.

The orange mare panted lightly and rested her forehooves on the wooden fence as she stared ahead at the seemingly still peaceful orchards. Nothing looked out of place, and she could still see the silhouette of the farmhouse and the barn in the distance. However, deep down she knew that they were on the precipice of something terrible happening.

“Land sakes… I hope they’re alright.” Applejack fretted. “Big Mac’s tough, but he’s never had to actually fight anyone before… ‘specially not a vampire!”

Rarity placed a reassuring hoof on her friend’s back, but the gesture seemed hollow with the concerned look on her face. She knew that Applejack was right. The stallion was basically defenseless against the pale ponies without silver, not that he would even know to use silver if he had any. And if, Princess forbid, the worst happened, Granny Smith was even more defenseless.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Glimmer Shine suggested, which the two mares seemed eager to oblige. All three of them bolted down the main path toward the Apple family home, desperately holding onto whatever hope they could to stave off the dread in their guts.

As they neared the house, they noticed the sounds of what could only be some kind of struggle. Feral growls and hisses were accompanied by unfamiliar yells and the ringing of blades. Much to their surprise, they saw a group of about five of the pale ponies out in front of the house being held off by what looked to be a trio of guards.

The stallions were doing their best to stand their ground with their silver blades, but they couldn’t land any solid hits, and they were outnumbered. And cowering in fear in the open doorway behind them was none other than Granny Smith.

“Good heavens.” Rarity widened her eyes as she saw the fighting going on.

Some of the guards already bore bloody cuts and bruises from their struggle. One even had a partial bite mark on his shoulder. A bite mark that did not just have two holes, but many.

Seeing her grandmother helplessly watching while a band of strangers risked their lives fighting off some vicious monsters, Applejack furrowed her expression and steadied her hat before rushing forward, silver dagger clutched in her hoof. “Hang on, fellas! The cavalry’s here!”

Rarity and Glimmer Shine followed after as their friend led the charge. The yellow stallion got out his crossbow and unfolded it as he ran, while Rarity merely shifted her strobe into her magical grasp and kept it close.

One of the guards bumped into the porch of the house behind him as he dodged a swipe from a pale gray stallion with brown hair. He made a swipe with his blade, only to have it be evaded and swiped out of his hooves with great strength.

The pale stallion growled, red eyes flaring and burning a hole in the guard’s very being as he bared glistening fangs in the moonlight. The other two guards were spread out, and far too busy with their own fights to help their colleague. He was about to die, and he knew it.

Just before the guard could accept his fate, the pale stallion arched back and yelled in pain as a silver blade was planted between his shoulders. The vampire’s form was burned away, leaving a collapsing ashen skeleton behind and revealing Applejack standing there.

“You ok, hun?” She asked softly, extending her free hoof to him.

The guard looked around, only to see that his two companions were gaining the upper hand in their own fights, thanks mostly in part to the efforts of Rarity and Glimmer Shine taking the pressure off.

“Yeah…” He grunted softly as some wounds and sore muscles notified him of their presence. Still, he managed a smile as he accepted the mare’s help back to his hooves. “Thanks.”

Seeing that her friends had things mostly handled for the moment, Applejack rushed up the steps to the porch and around to the front door, where a very petrified Granny Smith was surprised to see her.

“Applejack?” The Apple family matron’s creaky voice was shaken with fear, but her wrinkled face brightened as the orange mare wrapped her up in a hug and pulled close.

“Granny… I’m so glad you’re ok.” Applejack pulled away, keeping her hooves on the elderly mare’s shoulders and staring at her with shimmering eyes. She glanced back at the fight taking place outside before returning her gaze to Granny Smith, only now her relief was replaced with worried alarm. “Where’s Big Mac?”

The green mare immediately had a twinkle of fear come over her eyes. “When those toothy varmints came, the guards tried to keep ‘em away from us, but three of ‘em came barkin’ and snappin’ like a bunch’a rabid weasels. Big Mac got ‘em to chase him and ran off toward the treehouse. That was a few minutes ago.” She explained.

Hearing the description of the creatures, Applejack’s eyes went wide. “Oh no… don’t tell me…” She muttered to herself before looking around. The house seemed undisturbed, and judging from a shivering mess in the shape of a dog in the corner, she wagered that none of the vampires had made it inside. “Granny, take Winona and lock yourself in your room. I’ll come get you after we sort out this mess.”

“Applejack, you best bring you and your brother back here in one piece, or I’ll beat the life back into both of ya. Ya hear?” Granny said, taking one of her granddaughter’s hooves in her own for a moment.

“Yes, ma’am.” Applejack smiled softly before turning and heading back out of the door. She leaned over the railing on the porch to see how the battle was going.

Rarity and one of the guards were fighting off two of the pale ponies, while Glimmer Shine and the other two guards were fighting the rest.

The unicorn managed to distract one of the creatures with her strobe, allowing the guard to get in a good stab that ended up killing the pale pony. Glimmer’s group was doing well enough, though they were fighting a more defensive battle than an offensive one, happy to get away with preventing any hits from the opposition rather than be frustrated at the fact that they couldn’t land a hit either.

“Guys, Big Mac is in trouble! It sounds like a couple of them stroganoff critters!” Applejack stated, face full of urgency. If she didn’t think she needed help, she would have already been off.

Glimmer Shine shoved one of the creatures away before pausing abruptly and skewing a brow. “Stroganoff?” He muttered to himself before widening his eyes. “Oh… OH! That’s bad!” He said before yelping and ducking underneath a pale hoof swiping his way. Luckily, one of the other guards made a lunge with his sword, dissuading the vampire from another attack. “I can handle this, you two go on ahead! I’ll be there as soon as I can!”

Rarity glanced back to see her friend in desperate need of help. She flinched back in fear as a feral hiss preluded a pounce from one of the pale ponies. However, before the undead mare could collide with her, the guard she was with stepped in front of her and blunted the attack with his sword. He nodded to her confidently, and although she was conflicted, she had to help Applejack.

“Lead the way, Applejack!” She exclaimed as she turned tail and galloped around the side of the house with the orange mare already ahead of her. The two ponies beat hoof as fast as they could to come to the aid of the stoic stallion.

Around the house and through an open space, then through a thicket of trees. They ran, and ran, ignoring the pounding of their hearts in their chests as horrifying images flashed in their heads.

Applejack couldn’t shake the fear from her eyes. Her whole body was refusing the thought of her brother, the nicest, gentlest stallion in all of Ponyville, being run down by a pair of the vicious feral ponies that almost killed her and her friends on multiple occasions.

She wasn't much bothered by their soulless eyes or mouths full of sharp teeth when she fought with them. Just another terrifying image to block out of her mind later. Now, however, the thought of them alone sent chills down her back.

Hang in there, Big Mac… Don’t you die before I get there!

Meanwhile,

Far away from the tense battles going on under the night sky, off in the safe confines of the royal castle in Canterlot, Cadence was restlessly walking the castle halls.

She had to admit to feeling frustrated and uneasy when Celestia asked her to stay behind. They needed help, if not in the fight with Dusk, then with fending off the attack on Ponyville. Still, she understood why everyone needed her here. After all, she was the princess of love, and as such, she was woefully inexperienced in combat.

And, of course, someone needed to stay behind and watch the castle while everyone was away. Equestria needed someone left to pick up the pieces if everything went horribly wrong, and someone needed to be there to keep the children safe.

Even so, she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread in her heart as she stared out of a passing window up at the moon. “Shining… Twilight… everyone. Please be safe.” She muttered to herself.

“Cadence…?” A small voice spoke up beside her that she immediately recognized.

Sure enough, as she turned her head, the alicorn was greeted by the sight of a young dragon watching her with soft, slightly drowsy eyes.

“Spike? What are you doing here?” She asked, a bit concerned.

“Oh, y’know… I was just, uh…” Spike let his shoulders sink and sighed, remembering that it was pointless to try and hide his emotions from the pink alicorn. “I couldn’t sleep… Not with Twilight and the others out there.”

Cadence felt a tug at her heart as she saw the worry in the young drake’s face. He had been through so much already, and now he had to wonder whether or not his friends would be ok.

“Well,” She started, thinking for a moment, “do you want to walk and talk with me?”

He looked up at this. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean… I haven’t been able to sleep either.” Cadence admitted. “But, maybe we can make each other feel more at ease. If you want, you can even sit on my back.” She managed a smile. “How about it?”

Spike fidgeted with a claw for a moment as he considered the offer. He looked back where he came, seemingly wondering if it would be better to just decline. Then again, moping around by himself wasn't helping anything or anyone, certainly not himself.

“Ok. I think that would be cool.” He reciprocated her smile, however small it was.

Seeing the unease fading from his face ever so slightly, Cadence’s smile deepened. She lit up her horn and gently picked him up before whisking him over and onto her back. He settled in like it was second nature, which it probably was with how often Twilight carried him. “Are you hungry?”

“Well… Twilight usually doesn’t let me get midnight snacks.” Spike said, though he didn’t seem terribly opposed to the idea.

Cadence chuckled a bit. “I won’t tell her if you won’t.” She said, pleased at the eager smile she saw forming on his face. “Come on. I know where Celestia’s stash is.”

With that, the pair returned to walking through the halls of the castle, though both of their spirits were now marginally higher than they were before.
.
..
…
Eventually, Cadence’s path took them through the downstairs guest rooms. Most of them were empty now, with only three fillies occupying the one Rarity and Applejack were using. She hoped that the Crusaders were asleep. Then again, she wasn't sure if they were even aware of the mission their sisters and friends had gone on.

However, as she was passing through, a sudden noise made her pause.

“What was that?” Spike asked, confirming that the noise wasn't just in her mind.

Cadence hushed the dragon softly before walking back a few steps. Another muted thump came, like something falling to the floor. Now that she was being more attentive, she noticed a hint of light coming through the seam of one of the doors, which was barely ajar.

Sparkplug’s room…? She thought to herself. The last thing she expected was to find some activity in one of the empty rooms around her, especially the gray mare’s. She knew for a fact Sparkplug was in Ponyville with the others, so who was currently making that noise?

Spike suddenly found himself being lifted off of the alicorn’s back and back to the floor. He started to look at her in confusion, only to see a slight air of seriousness on her face that made him quiet down.

“Stay here for a sec.” She whispered before walking forward.

“Cadence…” Spike muttered, unsure of how to feel. The castle was safe enough, and he couldn’t fathom who would want to lurk around in one of his friend’s rooms, but he couldn’t help but feel a little worry for the young alicorn as she stealthily approached the door.

After flashing a reassuring look to the dragon behind her, Cadence shifted her full attention to the door. She put her ear to it, only to pause as she heard a soft, mildly irritated sounding voice inside, followed by another rustle.

Taking care to be as quiet as possible, she grabbed the edge of the door with her magic and swung it open. There was a single lantern alight in the room, and sure enough, someone was in there.

A familiar pale grayish-blue pegasus mare was currently rifling through the wardrobe at the back of the room, sifting through Sparkplug’s belongings and hastily casting them aside as if she were looking for something. She pulled up a vial full of yellow liquid, seemingly a spare from the gray mare’s gear, and scowled at it silently before tossing it behind her and continuing her search.

“Gah… where did that stupid gearhead hide them?” Raincloud muttered to herself in annoyance as she stuffed her head into the space of the wardrobe, making sure to examine every nook and cranny.

Cadence watched the vial clatter along the floor before stepping on it lightly, bringing it to a stop, and flattening her expression as she looked at the pegasus. Then, she cleared her throat, causing the pegasus to freeze.

Like a filly with her hoof caught in the cookie jar, Raincloud sighed and let her ears droop before stiffening back up and slowly turning around. As she noticed the pink alicorn, very much reminding her of a displeased parental figure, she smiled nervously.

“Hey! If it isn’t my favorite Princess!” She forced a laugh before trailing off uncomfortably as the alicorn’s glare remained unchanged.

“Raincloud, what are you doing here?” Cadence asked with eyes narrowed, not necessarily in anger, but more so in annoyed disbelief.

Raincloud gave the question some thought. Either that or she was internally screaming, going off the blank look of panic in her eyes. “I was just looking for the bathroom… and then I got lost… aaand then-” She darted her eyes to the mess behind her, and then back to Cadence. “And then I tripped and fell into the closet.”

“Is that so?” Cadence lifted a brow.

“Uh-huh.” Raincloud nodded.

Cadence had to admire that she was staying on her sinking ship for this long. “Interesting… because, I kind of think that you were looking for a remote to your collar so you could escape.” She said casually before narrowing her eyes again. “They’re not in here, by the way.”

Raincloud blinked. “They aren’t?”

“No.” Cadence shook her head. “Sparkplug told us where she put them in case we needed to know.”

“Wow… she really is responsible, isn’t she?” Raincloud chuckled lightheartedly, though Cadence could spot a slight crinkle of her eyes.

“Yeah, unlike some ponies I know.” Cadence snorted softly. “How did you get past the guards outside your room?”

“Psshh…” Raincloud rolled her eyes. “You think this is the first time I’ve snuck out of somewhere? Besides, those bozos you have playing soldier couldn’t guard a goldfish from a cat.”

This only made Cadence’s scowl deepen. “I think it’s time we got you back to your room. I’ll have to let Celestia decide how to punish you when she gets back.” She said.

Then, the sound of the door creaking open drew both mares’ attention away. Cadence paused as she saw Spike walking in, already staring at the gray pegasus.

The dragon’s eyes were fixed on Raincloud with a sense of fear in them. His form adopted a slight tremor as memories of his last encounter with the pegasus flashed through his mind. He could still remember the icy chill of terror he felt as a glowing visage of purple and black stared back at him before almost killing him and Twilight. His midsection tingled as he recalled the pain. It was the worst thing he had ever experienced.

“Well… this is awkward.” Raincloud cringed uncomfortably.

Cadence walked over and sat down, looking at the dragon with soft eyes. “Spike, are you ok?”

Spike forced himself to look over to the alicorn, his body relaxing ever so slightly as he did. Still, he seemed a bit pale around the scales as he eyed at the pegasus out of the corner of his vision. “Yeah. I’m good… I just, uh… haven’t seen her since… you know. She was with the hooded ponies.” He whispered uneasily.

“Relax, kid,” Raincloud said. “I don’t even have my shadow with me anymore, and even if I did, I am under a strict no-killing policy.” She assured, though it didn’t seem to have the intended effect.

Cadence shot the pegasus a dirty look. She didn’t exactly expect her to say ‘sorry for trying to kill you and your friends’ but anything was probably better than that. “Sorry, Spike… I think we’re going to have to take a little detour. Then it’ll just be you and me again, ok?”

“Ok,” Spike said, rubbing his shoulder slightly and avoiding eye contact with the pegasus before Cadence put a hoof on his shoulder and led him toward the door.

“You don’t even have to talk to her. Just pretend she isn’t here.” Cadence said with a sympathetic frown.

“But… I am here. Like, right here.” Raincloud let her ears droop a bit as the pair ignored her.

“Come on, Raincloud,” Cadence called from outside, not sounding the least bit amused.

The pegasus let out an annoyed sigh and kicked the vial on the floor aside before begrudgingly dousing the lantern and following after the alicorn. “Stupid collar… stupid remote… stupid princess and her stupid… face.” She grumbled.

As the door to the room closed, the vial rolled to a gentle stop, punctuating the mess left behind. However, in the dark space of the quaint bedroom, a yellow pulsing light sprang to life as the glass charm vibrated and teetered back and forth.