Every Prince Deserves a Princess

Time seemed to freeze. My heart stopped, and it was as though the entire world had slowed, the hands of the clocks moving at half, quarter speed, and then suddenly, not at all. With the death of movement, my mind began racing, veritable wheels spinning within my brain as the cool, deadly metal chalice rested against Shining Armor's lips. This was it. This was my chance; the defining moment of my life. The time had come, and fate had laid bare its hoof, asking me to think about what sort of stallion I really was. However, for all of the panicked racing that my mind did, for all of the longing in my heart for the beautiful pregnant mare mere feet away, oblivious as to what was to happen to her husband... there was no thought involved.

"No!"

Time once again resumed its march. Celestia jumped in her seat as Shining's eyes widened, the stallion quickly beginning to choke as I leapt sideways, throwing my body into his as hard as I could. I cast my hoof out, hoping, praying to knock away the goblet before any more damage was done, and I let go a breath I hadn't known I was holding as the metal collided with the wooden tabletop, sending the cup spinning as Shining and I hit the floor. We landed hard, I atop him, as he began to scream in an unholy wail, the noise leaving his mouth unlike any I had ever heard before.

Shining Armor clawed at his face, writhing on the ground as his eyes seemed to glaze over, a sickening hiss emanating from his lips and cheek. The white fur on the right side of his jawline began to melt and bubble, ripping small holes through the skin as tiny plumes of smoke snaked upward through the air. His teeth became visible through his flesh as the skin of his cheek began to tear itself apart, and I raised my head upward to the scene at the table, unable to watch any longer without becoming violently ill. My eyes trained upon the pony who had poured Shining's drink, and in an instant, the stallion took off for the door, shoving into Moss and sending the stallion headfirst over the table as he bolted for the exit. The chef's hat slipped from his brow as he began to sprint, revealing a billowing blonde mane, and confirming my suspicions. It was indeed Sundance, seemingly back from the grave.

"Get back here!" I roared, leaping off of my fallen comrade as I gave chase, rapier drawn. I didn't know if Shining was dead or dying, I didn't know what was going on, and I didn't know just how many of the eyes in the room were upon me as I sprinted out into the hall. All I knew was that bastard needed to die- again- and that a large, deep blue blur was running at my side.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Luna bellowed, her diamond glass shoes making an awful, staccato racket against the stone floor as she joined me in my hunt for what I hoped wasn't a killer.

"I'll explain it all in time! He's one of the dead guards that was found the other day, and one of the two I encountered in that cave with the chimera!"

"Dead guards!? Impossible!" Luna's horn began to ripple with shadowed grace, tiny pinpricks of light glowing in the space between her horn and the edges of the aura. The candles in the hall were immediately snuffed out, and my memory jumped back to the night I had been awoken by some strange creature. The exact same thing had happened, and to make matters worse, that cloying stench rose up again, so sweet that it was overwhelming to the senses. The possibilities crashed through my head in a rapid fire, and I shook out my mane in an effort to focus on the current, more pressing situation. Answers as to my personal nightmare could come after this villain was dispatched... or with luck, from his very mouth.

The hall was soon engulfed in total darkness, hampering my ability to navigate in what was surely a brilliant move by my unwanted companion. I lit my horn as an automatic response, the edge of the light revealing a pair of yellow hooves a good distance away, still moving at a good clip. Our target seemed completely unbothered by the sheer darkness, a fact that baffled me and only raised further questions.

"Fly after him! He's getting away!"

"The hallways are too tight for my wingspan! Corral him toward the eastern training room, I'll head him off there!" Without another word, Luna vanished in a black mist, leaving me to chase down the much more fit pegasus, while I was unable to see. It absolutely amazed me that she thought us allies.

As fate would have it, Sundance reached a T-shaped intersection and scurried up against the wall, almost waiting for me. To the left was the training room, and to the right, the castle kitchens. He cast his eyes to the left as I caught up, my blade thrust outward at him while I waited for him to make his move. Sundance stood quite still, trying to catch his breath as he let out a raspy laugh.

"Miss me, Vladdy boy?"

"What is this!? How are you back, and why are you trying to murder Shining Armor!? What happened to you!?" I asked my former... comrade. He wasn't a friend, especially after this.

The rasp turned into a howling laughter as Sundance licked his lips, the look in his eyes deranged.

"Why? You think that's information I'll just give you? You think you have any place in this chain of events? That cup should've been yours. I told 'em you were too much of a risk, after what you did to that chimera. Gotta say, I'm impressed. So is my master... but in a different way."

"Your master?" I asked, advancing as the weapon in my hoof shook a bit due to my exhaustion, though I kept it trained for his throat. He would never be fast enough to move out of the way, not as hard as he was breathing.

"Oh, don't worry. Even if I am to die tonight, you'll meet soon enough. I don't know when... but I can't wait to see the look upon your face when it happens." Sundance wheezed, his condition seeming to deteriorate before my eyes as he doubled over as though he was in pain. I saw the opportunity and took it, opening my mouth to feign speech before I rushed forward, aiming the tip of my blade for his throat. Within seconds, I was upon my ass, the rapier spinning through the air as his now-bleeding hoof smacked it away, a dangerous glare in his eyes while I tumbled backward. Sundance took off to the right, disappearing through the doors of the pitch-black kitchens as my blade clattered to the floor, missing my side by mere inches. I scooped the weapon up and pursued as quickly as I could, yelling over my shoulder as I followed my prey.

"Luna, he went the other way! Come quickly!"

The very moment my hooves made contact with the checkered tile of the kitchens, the air seemed to grow colder. The fur upon the back of my neck stood straight as the light from my horn caught upon hanging pots and pans, sending off an eerie glow and distorted reflections of myself and my surroundings. I tried my best not to look, the images somewhat unsettling to me, as I was already on edge. I did a quick visual sweep of the room, finding that the only exits were the various high windows, none of which were open. Sundance was cornered, and it would end here.

"Wherever you are... I'll take you alive, and you're going to answer all of my questions! I am tired of being jerked around and made a foal in my castle!"

A sudden sharp banging rang out, the sound causing me to jump and turn, looking frantically about to find the source of the noise. More clanging followed, as though a foal was running his hoof along the hanging pans, trying to make as much noise as possible to annoy his parents. A quick glance to my left found an entire section of pans swaying, and I made off for the location, trying my best to focus above the obnoxious din.

"I'm not scared of you! S-stop playing games!"

That sweet, disgusting smell rising up around me was the only response, and I hoped against hope that it somehow meant Luna had gotten my message and rushed to lend her assistance. Of course, I knew better than that, but hope was about all I had in the dark, freezing kitchen. Another shuffle of movement darted past in my peripheral, and I turned to find those same glowing, haunting magenta eyes I had seen on that horrid night mere inches from my own. A black mist swallowed the rest of the intruder's form, obscuring my vision from anything but the pulsating irises staring me down as I backed into a counter, injuring my side as I slammed against the marble surface with a yelp.

"Poor Vladimir Blueblood, hated by all, distrusted, and now the suspect of murder most foul," a mocking, feminine tone began. The voice was the same as the one I had heard that night in my room, though otherwise unfamiliar. Eyes not unlike Celestia's, though with slitted pupils, bore down upon me, black magic of Luna's swirling forward as the figure moved with grace throughout the darkness, leaning down until some part of what I hoped was a face touched my nose. "Your little friend is right- this is all a game... and the losers are you, and Shining Armor."

In my panic, I scrabbled a hoof against the tile as the she-devil began a cruel laugh, desperately searching for my rapier. I knew that it had fallen, but I was unable to locate the blade as the monster before me raised her eyes toward the ceiling. A moment later, the otherworldly orbs were back upon me, and I saw only a manifestation of sheer hatred reflected in her gaze.

"Kill him."

The entire construct of mist, along with the eyes, seemed to vanish as the room went silent following the creature's command. Hesitantly, I rose to my hooves and looked around, my ears flicking as a dull, faint buzzing noise began to echo throughout the cavernous room. Without warning, a hard force impacted my stomach, bowling me over once again as I slammed back into the counter, sending cookware down onto my body in an avalanche as I flailed in a panic. Sundance was atop me, his eyes glowing as he pressed his hooves hard into my chest, easily keeping me pinned to the counter. The pegasus stallion opened his mouth and let out a hiss, showing off long, curved fangs reaching from his upper and lower lips, along with a forked tongue. I screamed in panic, pounding my hooves against him as hard as I could in an effort to dislodge the freakish stallion, to no avail. The pegasus reared his head back as though he was a cobra readying for a strike, and I closed my eyes, doing all that I could to shield my face with my hooves from the incoming attack.