Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

Soaring through the night sky, the cold wind at her back, Cadence reluctantly followed the group of pale ponies as they made their way back to wherever it was that Dusk wanted them to go.

They had met up with a pair of vampiric pegasi just outside the city that had held back from the initial raid on the palace. While the green and red mare and one other pony were being carried around the waist in a somewhat awkward fashion by their winged colleagues, the rest of the group had to make their way on the ground.

Cadence glanced over her shoulder to the young unicorn clinging to her back, and then to the side at the two pegasi carrying the other two fillies. The only reason they hadn’t knocked her out and were allowing her to fly freely, other than the lack of pony-power to carry her, was that they had threatened to kill Scootaloo and Apple Bloom if she tried to escape or fight back.

“Princess…” Sweetie Belle said in a hushed voice, though it was still trembling even with how quiet it was.

Cadence looked back, only to soften her gaze as she saw the shivering white mass and puffy eyes red from the cold.

“I’m scared.” The filly finished, taking a look around at the pale ponies flanking them.

“It’ll be ok, Sweetie,” Cadence said, reaching a hoof around and briefly holding the filly’s own tightly.

“Hey… knock it off back there.” The green mare said, trying her best to turn and glare back at the alicorn. Her awkward positioning made it nigh impossible and somewhat ridiculous looking, but the agitation was clearly there. “We’ve got some time before we reach the Prince, and I don’t want to hear any of you whining.”

Cadence remained quiet for a few moments. However, the shivering on her back and the pale bluish tint slowly coming over Sweetie Belle’s face worried her more than getting yelled at by a vampire.

The pink alicorn flew a little closer to the pegasus carrying the green mare, drawing their attention. “We need to take a break and find somewhere warm. They’re going to catch hypothermia before we even get there.” She pointed out. Even Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were showing signs of their temperature dropping. She was too, but her alicorn nature made her sturdier to most things that would plague a normal pony.

“Relax… It’s not that much further. Besides, you should be hoping for them to freeze to death. I’ll bet it’s a lot more merciful than what the Prince has in store.” The green mare smirked.

“At least let me carry them! They can huddle together and stay warmer!” Cadence pleaded.

The cold chuckle that followed wasn't exactly unexpected, but it still made her heart sink.

“Nice try. We’re not putting all our eggs in your basket.” The mare said. However, after a moment, she sighed and lit up her horn.

Much to Cadence’s initial alarm, she heard Sweetie Belle squeak softly in surprise as a magical aura wrapped around the filly and lifted her up. The unicorn floated her precariously over to the other pegasus that was carrying Apple Bloom and set her down. Then, she did the same to Scootaloo, bunching the trio up on one very reluctant pegasus’ back.

“But if it’ll make you shut up, we’ll let the pipsqueaks stay warm.” The unicorn said. Her tone didn’t really convey empathy or care, but Cadence didn’t really mind.

While the three fillies hugged each other close, the pink alicorn smiled a bit. However, her smile quickly faded as she thought ahead to what was waiting for them.

They wouldn’t need to wait long to find out.

Another half-hour or so of flying later, the icy forest below them gave way to a frozen clearing, with a lone hill sitting almost dead center. And at its top, a glum and cheerless stone castle sat like a silent sentinel over the land.

Cadence had never seen the structure before, but for the three fillies, it struck a chord of terror within them to be forcefully returned to the castle. It didn’t take long for the alicorn to piece together from their reactions that this was their final destination.

The pale ponies all descended for a landing and touched down just before the massive front doors. Cadence trailed behind the group, taking a moment to process the sheer size of the structure. The architecture was very unlike any equine buildings she had come across.

The unicorn mare grasped the doors in her corona and pulled. Even with her enhanced strength, it seemed to be a considerable effort. Soon, however, the hulking pieces of timber relented, and the group made their way into the decaying halls.

Although they were mostly free from the chill wind, the stone corridor around them was nearly as cold as the snow and ice outside. The occasional torches struggling to push away the clinging shadows seemed to fail entirely at providing any warmth. It very much felt like they had stepped hoof into a place where darker forces dwelled.

As they walked down the main hall, the pegasus that was still ferrying the three fillies on his back groaned wearily. "Can I put these kids down already?" He asked, looking to the green and red mare.

The mare sighed and rubbed a hoof down her face before turning with a jerk. "Yes! Just stop bugging me about it."

Uncaring of her annoyance, the stallion quickly lowered himself down and started ushering the trio off his back in an impatient fashion. "Get moving. If you fall behind or try to run, we'll use you as a snack."

“Ow!” Apple Bloom yipped as the stallion gave her and her friends’ backsides a slap with his wing, encouraging them to keep pace with the group.

“We get it… You don’t need to be so pushy about it.” Scootaloo muttered under her breath, making sure to keep her eyes to the floor ahead. As annoyed as she was, her fear and their previous experience with upsetting their pale captors gave her ample reason to keep quiet.

Cadence eyed the three fillies and the pale stallion near them. They were just within her reach. If she could only do something to help them.

"Where did the Prince tell us to meet him?" Another vampiric mare asked.

The green mare thought for a moment before shrugging. "I don’t know… he just said to come back to the castle."

An audible scoff made her narrow her eyes as another pegasus stallion gave her a leery look. "Yeah, right. I'll bet you just forgot."

"What was that?" The green mare stopped and glared at the stallion.

"You heard me!"

Then, out of nowhere, a pained yelp and a burst of magic rang out, followed by one of their own being flung down the hall.

The green mare and all the other vampires turned to see Cadence rushing forward with horn alight, heading straight for the three fillies.

"Stop her!" The unicorn yelled.

Scootaloo and her two friends flinched as the pale ponies rushed toward them. However, Cadence ran in front of them and sent a pair of concussive blasts at the closest ones.

"Leave us alone!" Cadence shouted as the pale ponies were sent flying back. She shifted her magical energies to another spell, hoping to encase herself and the crusaders in a forcefield.

However, before she could finish the spell, a whooshing sound rang out as a flash of movement came shooting out from the darkness ahead.

Cadence flinched back as a stream of blood unnaturally jutted to a stop before her, pressing into her neck with a surprisingly sharp tip.

All the pale ponies froze and turned as a hollow step came from down the hall. Soon, a pair of red eyes could be seen amid the shadows as a figure walked toward the group.

"Now, now… let's not do anything we might regret, Princess," Dusk said as he sauntered up to the pink alicorn, the stream of blood from his neck shortening as he stepped into the torchlight.

“M-my Prince!” The green and red mare tripped over herself as she raced to bow her head. The other vampires all did the same and parted to allow the stallion passage.

Scootaloo and her friends cowered back as they watched the pink alicorn standing stiff as a statue while the monstrous pony approached. Their whole bodies were trembling from fear.

Cadence tensed her jaw and started sweating as Dusk lifted her chin with the end of the crimson lash.

"I realize our last meeting wasn't exactly cordial, but I expected a bit more tolerance from the self-proclaimed Princess of Love," Dusk said.

"Even my tolerance has limits, Dusk." Cadence replied. She kept her steely eyes on him, even despite how still she was being as he moved around her.

Dusk quietly eyed her up for a moment before shifting his attention to the three fillies, who all took a step back and whimpered as he locked his piercing gaze on them. “And what have we here? I recognize you three from before. Sisters to two of the elements, as I understand it… am I right?”

Cadence inched forward. “Leave them al-” She paused abruptly as she found the spear-like tip of the tendril pressing firmer into her skin.

The pale alicorn completely ignored her as he leaned in close to the fillies, paying particular attention to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. “I must admit, the family resemblance is uncanny.” He said before shifting his eyes to the young pegasus. “And who are you related to, little one? Is it loyalty, or that other one with the big eyes and butterfly mark?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing but brief stammers came out.

Eventually, the pale unicorn mare with green fur answered for the petrified pegasus. “That one isn’t related to any of the bearers, my Prince. However, I have reason to believe that Rainbow Dash… err… the element of loyalty, is rather fond of her.”

“Excellent.” Dusk smiled, reaching down and patting Scootaloo’s head. He let his hoof linger for a bit as he watched her petrified expression shift to fearful discomfort. “I was going to feed you to my children here, but if that loud-mouthed cur cares for you… I suppose I shall keep you alive a while longer.”

Scootaloo felt a cold chill work its way down her back as the alicorn pulled his hoof away and turned. She let out the breath she was holding and fell back to her waiting friends.

Meanwhile, Cadence had never taken her eyes off the stallion for an instant. If he so much as harmed one hair on any of their heads, she didn’t care if he killed her. She was going to punch him square in the jaw.

“What do you want with us, Dusk?” She asked.

Dusk paused and turned to the pink mare with a lifted brow. “Want with you?” He snorted. “Honestly, nothing. The question you should be asking is what I want with Celestia, which is to say…” He narrowed his eyes. “I want her to know despair.”

It didn’t take much for Cadence to realize where this was going, and she didn’t like it. Dusk looked at them as mere objects, tools to be used for him to dig into Celestia’s skin one way or another.

However, Dusk then turned toward the pale ponies around him. Some of the small group flinched, while others stiffened up as he approached.

“You there.” He said, singling out the green-furred unicorn mare. “How many of you survived the attack?”

The green mare swallowed her unease as she faced her master. “Forgive us, my Prince, but only three others made it. They should be here within the hour.” She explained. Flying was still the fastest route, but as long as they didn’t stop to eat, a small pack of vampires could cross the kingdom within a few hours if they were properly motivated.

“What a shame… I had hoped there would be more of you.” Dusk muttered, a mildly displeased tone to his voice that seemed to further unnerve the green mare. Perhaps noticing her tense form, he chortled softly and lifted a hoof to the side of her face, causing her to flinch. “Do not be afraid, my child… You have done well in bringing me these four.”

Hearing this, the green mare opened her eyes, only to see the alicorn looking at her with soft features. She relaxed and bowed her head once more. “Thank you... you are kinder than we deserve.”

Dusk hummed flatly in acknowledgment as he shifted his thoughts elsewhere, dropping his warm expression. “Come with me, all of you. I will require your aid with my preparations if we are to get everything done before Celestia chases after us.” He said before walking back down the hall.

The pale ponies watched him for a moment before turning to Cadence and the fillies. They started to move to usher them forward when Cadence suddenly whined softly and flinched as the tendril of blood still at her neck pressed into her. She seemed to catch the intent behind the gesture and reluctantly started moving.

“Come on, girls… it’ll be ok,” Cadence said, turning as best she could to the three fillies. She didn’t want to annoy their captors any more than they already had and get someone hurt.

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom glanced at each other for a moment before hesitantly shuffling forward to keep pace with the group. All they could do was silently hope and pray that somepony would come and save all of them before the pale alicorn decided that they were more useful as food.

Meanwhile, miles away, help indeed was on the way toward the lonely castle hideout Dusk called home.

The four carriages flew as fast as the pegasi guards pulling them could muster, but even so, many inside felt that they weren’t going fast enough. Shining Armor in particular was staring out of the window at the rolling horizon nearly every few minutes.

Luna looked up to the troubled unicorn, only to frown softly. Everyone was feeling uneasy to some degree. Her sister, herself, even the slayer sitting across from them. But Shining, Applejack, and Rarity were probably feeling it the most.

“You should get some rest while you still can, Shining Armor,” Luna suggested, causing the stallion to break from his pensive stare.

Shining gave a stressed exhale as he stretched his neck. “I don’t think I could if I tried.”

“I understand the feeling,” Celestia added.

A few moments of silence passed as Shining trailed his eyes down. Eventually, one corner of his mouth pulled up into a half-hearted smirk. “You know… it seems like so long ago that we were heading up there to save you and Twilight. A lot’s happened since then…” He let his shoulders sink.

Celestia’s eyes softened as she thought back to that night. She only learned of Tom’s death after she woke back in Canterlot, but it was still just as crushing, and she still blamed herself. “Indeed. However, we must focus on the present rather than the past… no matter how painful it may be. If we let our fear of losing blind us, then there is no hope of winning.”

“But… we have so much to lose,” Shining said, his voice beginning to shake ever so slightly. He tried to play it off by scratching at his mane, but his movements felt stiff and tremorous.

Luna reached over and placed a hoof on his foreleg. “Then fight like you have nothing to lose.” She said, staring at him with a soft, yet unwavering, gaze.

The unicorn was a bit lost for words at first as he looked at the two princesses. Eventually, he managed a slight smile and returned some semblance of confidence to himself. “Right… whatever it takes to keep everypony safe.”

While his companions settled back into the quiet that held the carriage before, Blue Bolt watched them for a while longer with a myriad of emotions and thoughts welling up inside him. The alicorns and the unicorn stallion were scared like he was, but there was determination burning away in their eyes as well. They knew that they could depend on each other as well as themselves.

They wouldn’t admit it to his face, but he knew that they were depending on him most of all. It was a heavy weight upon his shoulders, and it sent a twinge of nervousness through his core whenever he thought about it too much.

Still, he hadn’t been given such miraculous powers just to waste them. They were willing to give their all to save their loved ones, but he would give his all in their stead. If somebody was going to be broken, he would rather it be him. After all, he could be fixed if he was broken, and he would push through the pain if it meant protecting his friends.

Off in another carriage, Glimmer Shine and his team were also struggling to occupy themselves amidst the tense atmosphere and looming danger ahead of them.

The yellow stallion was huddled together with Sparkplug and Glitterball, offering some reprieve from the cold for the three of them. Sunspot, however, was sitting across from the trio along with Raincloud. The two mares were making sure to hug their respective corners to keep as much distance as possible, even despite the temperature.

Raincloud slowly tapped one of her hind hooves against the bottom of the seat, as she had been doing off and on for the past several minutes. The ride so far had been mostly devoid of any prolonged conversation as everyone remained in their own heads.

Looking up, she could see the members of Spirit each displaying some level of unease. Sparkplug was slowly twirling one of her charm vials back and forth. Glimmer Shine was just sitting quietly with his forelegs folded, staring at the floor.

Glitterball kept trying and failing to sleep before sighing and settling back in for a few, only to start the cycle again. Sunspot looked like she could barely keep still, shifting in her seat and changing positions or looking out of the window near constantly.

“Sheesh… Are all your missions like this?” Raincloud spoke, breaking the silence that everyone had mostly gotten used to.

Glitterball looked up, and although she seemed to instinctively narrow her eyes upon interacting with the gray pegasus, she snorted softly and leaned forward. “Only the ones where we think we’re going to die horribly.”

“So, yeah… at least for me they are.” Sparkplug chimed in.

Raincloud seemed a bit surprised at this. “You know, I used to think a lot more of you guys back when we were trying to kill each other. Raven Feather would flip whenever you ruined one of our plans. You were always this thorn in our sides that wouldn’t go away, no matter what we threw at you.”

“I’m glad to know that you hated us as much as we hated you.” Sunspot said flatly, casting an unimpressed look in her direction.

Raincloud held a hoof to her chest and shrank back. “Ah, come on. Do you really hate me? I mean, I know I broke your nose, and… I think my shadow almost killed you that one time,” She looked to Glitterball and cringed a bit, “but that’s all in the past.”

Glitterball growled under her breath and made an uncharacteristic glare. “You’ve done a lot more than that in the past.”

“Like what?” Raincloud scrunched her face up and shrugged. “We barely even saw each other in person except for when we took down that asshole Shade. And I know that you guys got caught up by some of the monsters I helped summon, but you made it through in one piece.” She said before having a look of revelation come over her. “Oh… uh… most of you, anyway.” She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. However, before she could even think to speak further, she was interrupted by Glimmer Shine.

“Raincloud… I’m only going to tell you this once.” The stallion said, making efforts to keep his voice from becoming a growl. “Don’t ever talk to us about what happened at the mansion again. Don’t even bring it up.”

Raincloud sighed softly before lifting a hoof in a disarming gesture. “Look… I had nothing to do with that. You backed us into a corner, and that was just what Raven Feather decided would buy us the most time. And honestly, you guys are lucky only a few of your team died. Those ghosts were-”

“Lucky?!” Glimmer snapped, causing everyone in the carriage to freeze as he inched off of his seat. “We barely made it out of there with our lives, and you call that lucky?! And we didn’t just lose a few of our ‘team’. We lost friends! I lost my brother in there!”

“Your brother…?” Raincloud asked, her eyes softening ever so slightly. However, this only seemed to annoy the stallion more.

“Yeah, my brother. What? You didn’t even bother to learn who you and your group killed?” Glimmer wrinkled his face in disgust. He took a few breaths and sat back down, seemingly making an effort to calm himself. Still, he looked to the gray mare with a steely glare. “That’s why we hate you, Raincloud… you don’t care about anyone but yourself. You’re a murderer… you’ve ruined lives. It doesn’t matter if you did it directly or not.”

There was a heavy pause after that. Glitter and the others weren’t sure if they should say anything, or what they would even say as they drifted their eyes between the two hesitantly. Sparkplug was shrinking back into her side of the carriage, and Sunspot was distancing herself as much as possible like she thought Glimmer might jump down the pale blue pegasus’ throat.

Raincloud stared at the stallion for a while, mouth agape slightly. She was finding it hard to meet his gaze. Finally, her expression fell into a somber frown. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”

Everyone was surprised to hear that, Glimmer perhaps most of all. He was scrutinizing her expression, only to find it sincere. Then again, she had lost her brother as well, so perhaps she understood his feelings on the matter.

“Let’s just not talk about the past anymore. You don’t talk about our friends, and I won’t talk about what you did with the hooded ponies. Deal?” He said, voice still holding a rough edge to it despite his attempt at sounding cordial.

Although she didn’t mean to, Raincloud couldn’t help but snort softly. “Is that really what you called us? That is… such a stupid name.” She cracked a smile.

Glimmer stared at her for a few moments, and as a reserved chortle came from his side as his three teammates slowly cracked up, he relented and smiled as well.

“Yeah… it really is.”

Meanwhile, in yet another carriage.

Twilight looked up from her deep thoughts to take a glance around at her friends. Most everyone was wearing a somber or worried expression on their face. Even Pinkie Pie hadn’t made any attempts at cheering the group up, not that they could blame her.

“Girls…” Twilight paused briefly, causing everyone to look up to her as she contemplated her next words carefully. “I just wanted to say, thank you for always being there for me… and for each other. All of you are the best example of how friendship can be a beautiful thing.”

The air in the carriage quickly became uncomfortable after that as the group looked to the purple mare with slight frowns.

“Twilight, stop. You sound like you’re expecting to die or something.” Pinkie whined softly.

Twilight pressed her lips together and trailed her eyes down for a moment before meeting her friends’ worried stares. “That might end up being what happens, Pinkie… to any of us. And if it does happen,” She hesitated, taking a moment to steady her breath, “I just don’t want there to be anything left unsaid between us.”

“Don’t bother, because that’s not gonna happen.” Rainbow Dash insisted.

“Rainbow…” Twilight frowned.

“I’ve already watched you die once, and I’m not gonna let that happen again… not to any of you,” Rainbow said before softening her expression. “And besides… there’s nothing left unsaid between us. We already know how you feel… and we all feel the same way.” She turned away slightly, her face getting a bit flush.

“I second that,” Rarity added.

Applejack smiled, “What she said.”

Soon, everyone was voicing their agreement. Twilight felt a pang of bittersweet happiness inside of her. She was smiling along with them, but her eyes were welling up a bit.

The others’ cheery expressions lessened as the purple mare let out a quiet sob. She reached up and wiped her eyes, but tears were already falling down her face.

“Are you ok?” Fluttershy asked. Seeing how she was right next to the unicorn, she rested a hoof on Twilight’s back as she got the emotion out of her system.

Twilight sniffed and nodded as she gathered herself. “Y-yeah… I’m fine. It’s just, I-I don’t want to… lose any of you.” Her voice hitched at the mere word.

It was a hard sight for the five mares to see their friend so fragile. There was so much fear and hurt in her eyes, where normally there was determination. She almost seemed certain that they were going to lose someone. They imagined that she had already accepted that there was no other outcome, no matter how much she didn’t want to.

Applejack reached a foreleg over and gently pulled Twilight close, the equipment on both their vests clinking slightly. “It’s alright, sugarcube… let it out.” She said, gently patting the unicorn on the back.

Twilight fought a while longer to keep her emotions in check, but eventually, she relented and let her tears fall while embracing her friend. She wasn't outright crying, only letting out a few shaky sobs, but she definitely needed this outlet for all her pent-up sadness.

Soon, Fluttershy leaned over and joined the pair, uncaring of how scratchy their new uniforms were. Pinkie managed to join as well, standing on her seat and reaching across the aisle with her whole body. Rainbow Dash and Rarity would have joined too, but the awkward space of the carriage dissuaded them from trying. Instead, they offered their friend some warm smiles.

After Twilight had quieted down and her breathing somewhat returned to normal, the group hug gradually vanished. However, Applejack kept a hoof on her shoulder, prompting her to look up.

“You got nothin’ to worry about, Twilight. You ain’t gonna lose any of us… no matter what happens. We’ll always have the memories we’ve made all this time.” Applejack smiled.

“But… I don’t want just memories of you.” Twilight said.

“I mean…” Rarity started, “to be fair, we have basically confirmed that some sort of afterlife exists. We might not get to see each other for a long time… but it would hardly be losing us.”

“Who knows? Maybe we can come back as ghosties and haunt each other?” Pinkie suggested.

“Umm… Pinkie, I love you and all, but I don’t think I would want that.” Fluttershy said, a bit uneasy at the thought.

“Aww, but think of the possibilities! You could have the scariest house in Ponyville for Nightmare Night! Having a ghost friend would be amazing!” Pinkie said. The others weren’t sure if they were comfortable with how eager she was getting at the prospect.

“Alright, alright, enough talk about dying.” Rainbow Dash said before looking at Twilight earnestly. “I guess what we’re trying to say is… We don’t want to lose anyone either. That’s why we all came, right? We want to do our part to make sure that nopony has to just be a memory.”

There was a resounding agreement to that. Soon after, Twilight managed to smile again. “I can get behind that.”
.
..
…
As never-ending as their tense journey seemed to be, it had to come to an end eventually. And after another hour and a half had gone by, Twilight was stirred from her half-sleep by a voice in her head.

“Everyone get ready… we’re here,” Celestia said. Around that time, the carriages dipped downward slightly as the pegasi teams started their descent.

Looking up, Twilight could see that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were asleep as well. Pinkie Pie was looking at her with a certain level of unease in her eyes that told her she had heard the same message.

Twilight reached over and gently stirred the yellow pegasus beside her. “Guys, wake up. It’s time to go.” She said. Applejack and Rarity immediately looked at her, expressions falling into hesitant frowns.

Rainbow Dash groaned softly and lifted her head. She rubbed a hoof around an eye and her temple a few times as she gradually woke up. She might not have completely heard the unicorn’s words, but the looks on her friends’ faces combined with the downward motion of the carriage got the message across.

Poking her head out of the window, Rainbow immediately received a blast of cold air to the face, waking her up the rest of the way. She blinked hard and shielded her face from the snow before looking ahead, only to let her shoulders sink at what she saw.

The familiar sprawling stone fortress atop an icy hill was quickly getting closer. From this angle, she could see into the courtyard and some of the upper walkways. It looked just as abandoned and still as it always had, but somehow it held so much pull over her, seeding a nervous pit in her stomach.

Shortly after, all four carriages landed right in front of the castle, coming to a stop on the massive stone platform leading up to the front steps. Their more direct approach was almost a warning to their enemy that they were not messing around.

Twilight was the first to step out of their carriage. Celestia and Luna, along with most of Glimmer Shine’s team were already out and about, with the others closely following suit.

They were expecting it to be cold, but it didn’t make it any less jarring. Even the vest she was wearing did little to shield her from the biting wind, and with dawn still a few hours away, there was little hope of her getting warm again any time soon.

The purple mare looked up at the front of the castle. Strangely, the hole in the wall that she remembered being there before, the same one Tom used to try and escape, was missing entirely. However curious this should have made her, she couldn’t help but shift her thoughts to her human friend.

She could still see him falling there, disappearing into embers. She had him in her grasp, but still, there was nothing she could do.

Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, Twilight looked up to see Celestia standing there. The alicorn offered her student a sympathetic look before leveling her gaze forward, perhaps dwelling on her own memories of the castle briefly.

Meanwhile, Sparkplug and a lot of the others had noticed the obvious change in the castle’s exterior by now. The gray mare skewed her eyes as she stared at the unbroken face of stone above them. “Hey… wasn't there a hole up there before?”

“I do seem to recall something like that,” Rarity added confidently, not wanting to bring up just why she knew so assuredly that she had seen a hole there. Nobody really wanted to think back to their human friend’s last moments, but the absence of the opening in the castle made it difficult.

Luna glanced around at the others before looking ahead, brow arched in mild confusion. “You’re saying that the castle has changed since you were last here?”

“Definitely.” Shining Armor said. “I didn’t take Dusk for the kind of guy that likes remodeling work… or work in general.”

“How curious…” Celestia said flatly, unsure of what to really think. She couldn’t fathom why or how Dusk would fix such a sizable hole in the castle. At the very least, it denied them a potential entry point, but the possible ramifications of the odd sight were more troubling to her at the moment.

She turned toward the pegasus stallion huddled over by his friends with a more severe look in her eyes. “Blue Bolt, can you feel anything unusual?”

As the group’s eyes shifted to him, Blue exhaled softly before closing his eyes, inhaling, and then focusing on his newfound abilities. A familiar sharp hiss and puff of blue mist accompanied his slow breath, the sound nearly being lost in the whistling wind, and the mist almost resembling everyone else’s visible breath from the cold.

After taking in the strange sensations spreading outward from himself and forming a pseudo awareness of the space around him, Blue opened his eyes, though they had an uneasy look to them as he turned back to the others. “There’s some kind of faint energy all throughout the castle… I think it’s called ambient energy or something. I can’t feel Dusk or any of the other vampires though.”

“Ambient energy?” Fluttershy asked, unsure if she should be nervous from the term alone.

Twilight placed a hoof to her chin, “I think I remember that stuff being left behind when the hooded ponies attacked the school and the hospital back in Ponyville. Tom said that it isn’t directly attached to anything, but it can be used as energy for certain spells or supernatural creatures.”

“Sounds about right.” Raincloud chimed in.

“What does it mean?” Pinkie asked, looking to the gray pegasus in the hopes that her darker knowledge set would give them some enlightenment.

Raincloud shrugged, “Hard to say. It can be a byproduct from a spell, but it also gets left behind from a lot of monsters and other magical sources.”

“Well, whatever it’s from, I think we can take this as a sign that Dusk has been busy,” Glitterball said. She was holding up her detector charm and waving it around the front of the castle, but the result didn’t change from a dim glow no matter where she pointed.

Sparkplug swallowed as she looked to the entrance up ahead. “You think he’s expecting us?”

“I think he’d be stupid not to,” Sunspot added. In all likelihood, Dusk kidnapped Cadence and the girls to push their buttons and make sure they all came along.

“At any rate, I feel we should be cautious in our approach. Our goals are to find Cadence and the young crusaders and put a stop to Dusk and his children, but without knowing where any of them are, I think staying together is our best bet.” Luna suggested.

Celestia narrowed her eyes as she looked to the massive double doors. Cautious approach or not, she didn’t like that they were most likely walking into a trap. “Shining Armor, Blue Bolt, stay up front with us. The rest of you, keep your eyes open and stay close.” She instructed before making her way toward the entrance.

However hesitant they might have been, the others had no choice but to do as they were told. Twilight and her friends huddled up in the center of the group, with Glimmer Shine and his team scattered throughout. Raincloud slowed down as she walked, only to be nudged back into place by Glitterball.

Blue Bolt and Shining Armor moved toward the front. They walked alongside the alicorn sisters as they all diligently moved forward. Whatever they were going to find waiting for them, they had one thought running through their heads; keeping each other safe.

The four at the front of the group fanned out as they reached the grand doors. Celestia and Luna nodded to each other before lighting their horns. They each took one door in their grasp and pulled them apart with a hefty creak, revealing the mouth of the entry hall and the darkness within.

Glimmer Shine and Sunspot each drew their blades and maneuvered to the front. They joined Shining Armor and Blue Bolt in taking the first few steps inside before pausing and surveying the area.

Everything was quiet, save for the wind whipping at their backs. There was a smattering of snow in the shape of hoof prints on the stone floor leading further in before vanishing, seemingly confirming that the group of vampires had been through here.

After scanning the few darkened doorways visible for signs of movement or an early ambush, they motioned for their friends to join them inside. Celestia and Luna ushered the rest of the group in, taking pains to be quiet and keep verbal communication to a minimum.

Then, they closed the doors behind them, sealing them all within shadow.