No Turning Back
Written by Cerulean Pony
Chapter III: You can run...

It was quiet now. The wind and the rustling branches of the bushes surrounding the clearing seemed to stop as well; even though sounds of life that usually inhabit the area around the gardens at night were nonexistent. The silence was unnerving and her approach didn’t make the situation any better. And while I had bumped into a stone wall behind me, my mind began to race in many different directions. So many thoughts and questions flooded my current grip on what was happening here.

Like, who was this mysterious unicorn?

Why was she here?

And what did she want?

The unidentified mare that stared me down silently was now partially illuminated in the dark by her magical horn. Part of her figure that was now visible revealed some of her features from which, to be frank, unsettled me more than comfort me for some unknown reason. The pony was young, no older than I was, and the fur was opposite of mine: jet black. Her mane was black as well, save for strands of her mane here and there having a color shade of crimson. And her eyes…oh Celestia her eyes…they were the feature that unsettled me in the first place: at first, they were a bright yellow but then…a blood red, bright enough to shine in any level of darkness. Matched altogether, the combination would give anypony chills, if put in the same situation.

To know what the unicorn mare was using with her magic was not quite clear yet, but at this moment, I was more preoccupied with her than her glowing horn. The closer she moved the more I reacted. My breath quickened. I found myself panting softly as well, as if tired from running a great distance or flying for a really long period of time. The temperature grew cold, in a way that made my body begin to shiver. All these things I began to notice, and soon after, I realized they only increased with every step she took. I could not put my hoof on it, but the pit feeling in my stomach told me what it was clear:

Something about this mare was off.

She intimidated me completely and…I was afraid of her. I never seen her before in my life but…she terrified me.

Drawing my wings up, I finally spoke, trying to keep any hint of fear from showing. It, unfortunately, didn’t fare well.

“Y-you there, w-who are you? What are you doing here?”

Not a word of reply.

Instead, she only grew closer. Her steps calm, and creepily enough, in a precise manner. Instinctively I took a step back but my left back hoof thudded against a hard surface. Gulping out of fear I turned my head quickly behind me, where a ten hoof stone wall stood to greet my hasty glance. My ears drooped low towards the back of my head as I gaped at the barrier.

Oh crud…

Turning back quickly to the mare my heart skipped a beat--for the dark pony, which was advancing towards me, was gone.

The air was still, no sounds were made. The dead silence that once occupied this area was back, except now without the presence of a certain dark mysterious mare. I thought with her absence I would be feeling much better, but deep down in my stomach, I only felt it worsen. For a few moments I turned this way and that, searching for her.

No way did she just leave like that. No way.

“H-hello?” I almost whispered, taking a few steps forward, turning my gaze left and right.

No reply.

And as I looked cautiously around current area I felt it, creeping up on me -- the feeling of being watched.

She was out there, somewhere, waiting.

The small courtyard was empty again, save for me, alone, slowly searching the grounds. And it was quiet, avoidance of any other inhabiting life. The absence of these roaming night animals stirred a nervous concern. Walking the outer perimeter of the courtyard, I would find myself occasionally glancing back at the spot where the mare once stood in the clearing. In my mind as I continued my search, I would picture her to reappear and disappear at that spot every time my attention was turned away from it. Turning the next corner, my gaze came to a pathway leading away from the courtyard. Looking up from the path the silhouette of the castle stood over the hedge line, distant.

I knew my gut was telling me to leave while the timing was good, but casting a glance back at that certain spot, I felt something…lingering.

Catching my hooves hesitantly I took a step back away from the path, slapping myself.

Get a hold of yourself, for Celestia sake. You’re a member of the Royal Guard. Act like it!

Turning away and slowly walking down the dirt path, I exited the courtyard. The path was straight, with no turns, but long. The walls of the garden on either side were thick and too dense to see through. Occasionally I would stop to look back the way I came; expecting to see her standing silently behind me, taunting me, but there was nothing there.

I drew a sigh, rubbing my head with a hoof.

“What a night. My first assignment and I’m already bailing on it.”

I turned back around and continued on, the clopping of my hooves becoming the only sound audible around me as I moved forward again.

“Shining Armor is going to remove me from service I just know it.”

I looked up at the moon overhead, partially covered by the clouds in front, my ears lowered.

“All thanks to my cowardice because of one young mar--.”

I froze as something light like a piece of a branch snapped close by. For a few moments later silence returned but then the noise came back, followed by more. The closer I listened, the more the sounds moved in a circular motion. As if somepony was running around crushing the fallen branches with their hooves. The noise did not stop and turning about constantly, trying to not be caught off guard, was starting to freak me out. Every time I believed I had found the source of the noise, another twig would snap behind me, jerking me away from the sense of certainty. This continued to the point where I was nearly turning back after every little noise I made unintentionally, not just the sounds beyond me.

“I know you’re the one out there doing that mare,” I raised my voice loud enough to be heard, still turning about at each new source of the noise.

No reply, as usual, just more sounds of movement under hoof.

I’m not scared.

I assured myself as I continued to back away from each and every noise my ears caught.

But there are times where even the most experienced ponies would safely call it quits and seek aid on something that was clearly beyond a single pony’s capability to handle on their own.

I did not know this area well and I was alone. There was no pony else assigned to this section of the castle grounds, or none that I was made aware of.

Regardless of whatever I tried assuring myself with while I was running along that path, I knew one thing--my mind and gut told me to find help now while I still had the chance.

“Oh I hope Shining Armor will not be mad at me for leaving my post like this,” I groaned, entering into a full sprint.

Unfurling my wings and looking skyward I felt a familiar presence return. The damage my wings sustained earlier was still there to remind me greatly. For at the moment I spread them a pain spiked all over causing a flinch from my entire body as I flapped several times. Catching momentum and wind I lifted off of the ground in a quick take off.

But it did not go unnoticed. During takeoff the shuffling sounds of movement ceased all too quickly. This halted my ascent a bit as I looked about in bewilderment.

For a long moment, I could not hear anything else except the flapping of my own wings.

“H-hello?” I called out shakily, my head turning side to side, cautiously searching.

Silence.

Whether or not I would have gotten a reply it didn’t really matter at this point. Now my mind and gut was yelling for me to run. And I did exactly that. Not wanting to wait around a second longer I took off. Scanning across the sky, I was desperately searching for any other pegasi guards flying around the grounds that I remember noticing prior to entering the labyrinth.

Not a single one was found and this fruitless finding only increased my current situation for the worse. For one it was only increasing the pain I felt in pushing my wings to fly farther. After more fruitless searching I abandoned that quest and turned my full attention towards the castle, its massive size overlooking everything on the grounds.

Its appearance was welcoming. Getting closer, a sigh of relief escaped from my mouth. From my current distance I could now see the individual lighting in the windows. Their sight was more warming than I thought.

Tilting my flight pattern a bit my wings hit resistance. It was cold, chilling even, almost like….

My eyes widened in fear.

Flaring my wings forward in midflight, I halted. Ending up in hovering above my current location I spun around, looking around wildly.

“N-no no no no no no! She couldn’t be--I outran her!…there’s no way she could’ve caught--“

Amidst the constant turning and searching something caught my eye ahead of me while turning back towards the castle. Standing on top of the arc entrance of the labyrinth was the silhouette of a pony – a dark silhouette with a black and red mane.

With barely enough time to recognize the silhouette an aura of red magic suddenly began to form around the mare; within moments it was released with a bright flash. The lance of red energy sprung forth, rocketing towards me with such an alarming speed I could only blink till until it was too close to dodge. A searing pain lanced across my chest, knocking the wind out of me as I spun back wildly. The attack was too fierce to recover from--I cried out as the energy enveloped my entire body, shocking me viciously with several high intensity voltages. I couldn’t move as I fell, plummeting toward the ground in a spiraling descent.

The ground greeted me rather harshly. I gave a crying shout as my body hit hard, bouncing a few times, before going into a tumbling roll that ended out in a slide stretching a small distance from the initial landing spot. On my left side in the middle of a dirt path inside the labyrinth, I found my body unresponsive. My chest was sore, just breathing alone was enough to make me wince. Looking at my chest I noticed the gold plated armor harbored a hoof-size burnt through hole, a bit of smoke still trailing off of the edges of it. Reaching a shaking hoof to my chest, I barely touched the tender spot before whimpering in agony. Removing my hoof from the spot I felt something moist from that section of my coat. Raising my hoof up to my face the tip was stained crimson. Panting hard, I turned over, hissing from the difficulty. My body was screaming for me to stop moving, it wanted nothing more than to just lay still and rest. But I ignored it and slowly sat up, giving myself a quick onceover. Through my search several things became clear. One, I could no longer feel the weight and clinging feeling of my helmet which meant that it was lost somewhere in the landing. Two, a few other pieces of my armor were missing, including a hoof guard that protected one of my fore hooves. But that was the least concerning feeling I had felt during my search. Lastly, looking back I winced from a different but equally agonizing pain. My back pained me, particularly around my wings, and considering the intensity it was safe to assume that one of my wings was either fractured or broken cleanly.

Looking the rest of my body over, my white coat was dirty with various degrees of mud and grass stains. However, in some spots on my sides and flank I felt the occasional stinging sensation that was quickly revealed to be a matted patch of white and red fur. One such area covered a sizable portion on my right hind leg. Moving it was very difficult, occasionally causing me to wince when I turned my attention to other areas.

Much to my suspicions, my chest, my wings, and one of my rear legs took the most damage as I slowly tried to stand up. Wobbly at first and with a few collapses but I managed it, my hooves still shaking. With some more difficulty and discomfort, I undid the latches that kept what was left of my body armor on and shook them off.

As they clattered on the ground, I groaned and facehoofed.

“Lovely, just lovely, my first night and I’ve already broken my armor. How am I ever going to be able to explain this?” I groaned, muttering to myself, piling the pieces of broken armor together before looking around, “oh well, this was going to be a hard one to explain to Shining Armor before this but now it will be ten times worse.”

Looking up my eyes locked upon the castle before my hooves slowly started to move.

“Now…where is that mare? She shouldn’t be too far away. Or at least, for once, I hope she is.”

A few moments of silence had started to relieve me into thinking the latter but a rustle among the bushes soon after quickly quelled that, yet again, making me turnabout.

“And there she is…geez…you just had to jinx yourself, didn’t you?” I muttered with annoyance, turning around as the sounds of rustling continued.

The rustling bushes begun to lack direction as it moved around faster. Tilting my head I tried to follow the noise, my body expressing discomfort and protest through the constant movement. Turning completely in a circle my body nearly gave out, causing me to stumble greatly after attempting to recover.

Panting, I looked around for the intruding mare. I knew the mare was close, but more gravely, I knew that in my current condition I would not last at all in any hope of defense. My body was already confirming this, making my attempts to stay upright an almost seemingly impossible task. In addition to my failing attempt to stay standing, I felt my consciousness slipping by the numbing effects of my wounds; having to constantly shake myself to stay awake to keep looking. During this I started to growl in annoyance.

What was she waiting for? An open target?

This constant state of uneasiness and worry was starting to push me over the edge, so much that I found myself shouting aloud in frustration.

Stepping forward into the middle of the dirt path, I looked around wildly, stomping my fore hooves into the ground in a fit of that frustration, screaming.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT!!?”

This time, the reply came. And fast.

Within moments I was shoved, harshly, knocked off my hooves and onto my back. Lying on my side, with my right hind leg now ablaze with new intensity I yelped. I couldn’t see my leg though; dust and dirt from the fall covered my face. Attempting to wipe my face with a hoof, I tried to sit up but something prevented my body, except my hoof, from moving. After clearing the dust from my face I saw why.

Standing in front of me, on all four hooves, was the black mare intruder, the dark unicorn’s horn aglow.

I watched her magic encase my entire body as she stepped forward. Her eyes glaring down at me those crimson red pupils piercing into mine. She moved around me once before stopping back where she started. It was at this moment I knew that her game was over; the look on her face assured that. Under her spell I knew I couldn’t do anything but watch.

“W-what do you want from me?” I managed to call out between labored breaths.

Without any reply I was lifted up off of the ground and held in midair. She approached me, looking me over, touching each wound and testing the reaction it gave. Despite all my painful reactions and whimpering, her expression remained the same. She merely glared in dominance, like a predator would do to a captured prey. It was until then that she finally spoke, her stare turning into a toothy, fanged grin as she pressed a hoof against my right hind leg, causing another whimper in response.

“You left yourself open…my little guard. Not much fun are you?”

I looked at her, panting, my state of consciousness dropping.

“W-what?”

This time she pressed her hoof into my chest, getting an even more painful whimper from her captive.

“I supposed there is not much sense to keep playing with you anymore now that the fun is over.”

The mare started to pace back and forth, every now and then giving me a look before turning her head away, speaking aloud to herself.

“Hmm, I do wonder though…shall I kill you now or let you suffer a little longer?”

She paced back and forth some more before giggling for the first time; it wasn’t at all comforting. As she looked up at me once more with another malicious toothy smirk, I gulped.

“Oh well…guess you’ll just have to take your chances then, won’t you?”

My eyes widened in terror, pain momentarily forgotten I struggled to get free but to no avail. She merely watched my attempt and laughed, shaking a hoof in a disapproving gesture. I looked down at her, pleading, tears beginning to form in my eyes.

“N-no! You can’t do this…pleas--“

Pulling me in close and tilting my head to the side, she sank her fangs deep into my neck. The moment her fangs pierced through the skin the most intensive pain I ever felt caused my body to jolt, but the magic hold she had kept me from moving as a warm pulsing feeling dripped down my neck and chest, coating the affected areas of my fur with a mix of white and red.

I wanted to scream. My body writhed in agony, but somehow the mare’s bite prevented it. All I could get when I opened my mouth to scream was the rising taste of copper from my own blood as it slowly filled my maw with every passing moment the mare would continue to sink her fangs deeper. When she stopped sinking her fangs in deeper I felt her beginning to suck on the open wound, feeling the pulsing warmth of my blood rushing to meet her. While she continued, I slowly began to experience the feeling of my body fading away as well. The process was excruciating even as the connection to it began to disappear, my body was constantly in agony, aching for it to stop. I wanted it stop but even if her spell was lifted I couldn’t move.

As long as she held me in her grasp, her fangs deep in my neck, draining my blood, I was helpless to her whim, nothing more, and nothing less. After a few moments that seemed like hours the pain subsided as a numbing sensation swept over my body. The numbing effect had its way with my panicking state, draining my strength and ceasing all of my pointless struggling. I couldn’t tell what was happening exactly; the numbing of my body seemed to slow down my thoughts as well.

Not that I had long to figure out what was happening to me either way. From all that she was doing to me I could feel my consciousness slipping under finally. With my vision blurring and my body shutting down, I could only watch as she continued to feast before my wounds finally took their toll and everything faded into darkness.

Author's Note

I am deeply sorry for the longest of waits. I've been moving around a lot with my new job and its been keeping me way too busy to do anything else. I can only hope you'll forgive me as I try to make it up to you after so long. The next five chapters have been completed and will be uploaded as soon as possible.

I am truly sorry for the wait, it's been a huge pain to me for not being able to upload them in my spare time that I rarely get so often now.

But if you still want to read them, please enjoy.