Twilight slipped into the mont's tent, glad to escape the rain and enter a safe haven. The candle in the middle of the cloth shelter glowed brightly, wavering though it did. Big Macinmont was still engorged in the journal with an intent look on his face. Applemont, on the other hoof, was laying on her straw cot at the edge of the tent. She was looking better for the wear; the cuts were already on a road to healing, and Big Mac had pulled out all of the glass. It lay in a blood drenched pile on top of the little chest of theirs: an unwelcome sight, if Twilight ever saw one.
Her helmet dropped to the floor with the use of magic, and she spoke up to Big Mac. "Here's that book," she told him softly, levitating the book from her pack and giving it to him.
He said nothing, letting his actions speak. With a wink and a nod, he urged her over to the sleeping Applemont. Twilight caught on, and strode to the pony with a pride about her. Such a beautiful pony, she thought to herself, has somehow drawn out my feelings. She considered herself lucky; love was the rarest material out there. And here she was, a glowing orange pony silently snoozing in front of her. A smile grew, softly, proudly.
Unbeknownst to the slumbering pony, Twilight lowered her head and gently licked her ear. That was a feeling like no other. It showed great affection, and a sense of comfort, as well as also just feeling, well, nice. This gentle motion of sweet caressing could sway anypony to a feeling of comfort, especially the one doing it. She could feel her anxiety working itself out with each warm little lick, this solace taking hold.
As she licked, Applemont began to wake up. "Wha...Oh, hey Twi...mmmm..." she lolled her tongue out. Rolling onto her back, Applemont's blush grew very visible in the dim candlelight.
"How do you feel?" Twilight whispered softly into Applemont's ear.
The orange pony grinned as hard as her blush. "Y'all have no idea'r," she mumbled as Twilight unrelentingly licked.
"Oh? Nah, I do. Going from death and vamponies, to the soft fur of a special orange coat is very...relaxing," she whispered. Her eyes were closed, the moment washing over her.
"Ah didn't think y'all would take it like this..." Applemont, eyes also closed, whispered back.
Twilight giggled and kept licking. "Truth is, me either. I did a lot of thinking though... It started when I was hit on my cheek."
"What happened t' yer cheek?" Applemont opened her eyes for a look at the damage. The unicorn tried to hide the gash, not wanting her friend to worry. She retracted from the orange ear and turned to the left.
"How bad are ya hurt? Big Mac, get'r a potion!" She demanded. Big Mac sighed, the annoying willingness floating along with his breath. He walked over to the chest, kicking the glass off, and popped it open with his snout. Out of it he pulled another tiny red vial.
He brought it over to Twilight, and set it in her hands before heading back to the book. "Pop'r open, soups on," Applemont chuckled.
The armored mare did so, gripping the vial in her hooves and yanking the cork out with her mouth. Quickly she chugged it, snarling at the awful taste. It went down smoothly, yes - the taste, however, was that of old mud. Or something of the sort, Twilight commented in her mind.
Applemont, who noticed Twilight's scrunched face of repulsion, chuckled again. "If yer wonderin, part of it's made with some snail extract. It's b'cause it helps digestion er somethin. I dunno, we just take'm from the nerds up at Canterlot."
"Well, it wasn't, um, too bad," the unicorn noted. It's aftertaste was oddly sweet, with a hint of bitter. It was almost like what a pony could expect from a fine dry wine.
The effects were similar too.
As Twilight's vision blurred, her pain quickly vanished from her completely. "Dont'cha worry about that blurrin ya see, that goes away." She opened her arms. "In th' meantime, why not, um, gimme a hug er somethin..."
The both blushed scarlet. And even with that burning heat in Twilight's cheeks, she bent down and wrapped her forelegs around her friend. They covered each other in this embrace, glad to still be able to hold each other despite the events of this night.
"I...I think it's a bit early to say... love. But Applejack, I..."
"Shhh, Ah know Twi. Just...shhh," Applemont smiled. She pulled Twilight in deeper, the cold armor only separating them bodily.
It wasn't long that they were like that until Twilight felt something wet on her exposed fur. Opening her now clear eyes, she looked up to Applemont to find tears in her eyes. "Applejack, are you alright?" Twilight whispered, concern in her soft voice.
"I...um, yeah. I ain't cryin, am I? Ah shoot..." she muttered. "Ah just didn't know if y'all was gonna make it out is all. Big Mac kept sayin that rookies don't make it, but Ah tried not to believe him." The orange mare squeezed Twilight.
"Glad to know you had faith in me," Twilight snuggled deep into her.
Big Mac stood up. "And Ah'm sorry I didn't. Yer turnin out to be another -mont, ya know that?"
Heat rose into her cheeks again. Beneath her sweaty purple coat, a scarlet burned on her cheeks. "T-Thank you," she forced out with a smile.
"Enope. Thank you, fer, well everythin. But ya gotta get goin again. Come'ere, I got somethin ta show ya."
Twilight licked Applemont's ear once more before breaking away from her. She stood back to her full height, her back cracking audibly as she turned. As she approached, she inquired, "What is it?"
"Right here," Big Mac marked something with his hoof. "Turns out Bellmont's amulet ain't no amulet after all. It's th' element a' magic."
"Really? That's...well, that's great! I know just where that is," Twilight beamed proudly.
"Enope," he said again. "Yer gonna need a princess t' unlock the door. And yer gonna need one t' use th' element. You can't use it."
The unicorn lost her bold smile. "W-Why not?" She got by Big Macinmont's side, and gave him a serious glare.
"B'cause," he told her, "The bell has t' be held by a mont. An' shootin yerself with th' element of magic is a bad idea, we're told."
"But I'm not even a mont!" she stammered.
Applemont coughed to get her attention. "Actually, Twi, ya are. Big Mac an' I were talkin, and we decided that since yer doin this by yerself, that you'd be taken into th' mont family. If'n that's what ya want, that is."
The purple unicorn's cheeks flooded once more. "It's... an honor," she shyly smiled. She was now a vampony hunter. It was actually kind of... cool.
"Welcome to th' family," Big Mac smiled as he welcomed her. "Now back ta this. Yer a mont, wearing Bellmont's armor, so it has t'be you. But the princess problem..."
Twilight spoke her mind with difficulty. After what she had seen in the labs and the dungeon, this princess was not her 'favorite', per say. "There's princess Luna," she choked.
"Can ya get in contact with'r?" Applemont asked from her cot.
"I think so," she responded in thought. "I've been working on a teleportation spell for objects, so it's possible..."
"Then hurry up," Applemont chuckled. "We ain't got all day."
Twilight rolled her eyes, and asked Big Mac for some paper and a quill. He gladly obliged, taking the requested items from that little chest. Wasting no time, Twilight hastily scrawled her message.
Spike!
Don't ask, just tell the Princess to teleport to the gates of the city. Now, please! We don't have much time at all, and it's very important.
Stay safe,
Twilight.
Her worry may have been a bit embellished, but she figured it would help. She charged her horn with her violet magic with all the strength she could; this was a hard spell to cast, but she could do it. With her library visualized in her mind clearly, she whisked the little paper away in a flash of violet light. "We may have to wait a bit," she admitted.
"Ah'm, uh, alright with that," Applemont sheepishly said. The strong pony let her weak side out, turning away and hiding her face.
Twilight, blushing probably twice as hard as her friend, strode over to her, and laid down beside the cot. She reached a foreleg over Applemont, and pulled her close. The two met in the middle, one armored, one bare, and held each other for a while. Big Macinmont sighed with a happy undertone and continued reading.
A flash just outside the tent announced the newcomer. It was bright and deep blue, and everypony knew what had happened. Twilight sprung to her hooves and dashed to the front flaps of the tent. Big Mac followed, and Applemont just stayed on her cot. Eagerly, she poked her unarmored head outside to see the Princess.
Luna, sure enough, stood tall in front of them. Her health was not in good condition, but she seemed to be managing herself fine. "Twilight Sparkle, you have set up camp with thy friends? Good. May I come in?"
"Of course," Twilight said. She had pushed her anger towards this princess back as far as she could; she needed to take care of the matter at hand, not argue. "Although, it's only Applemont and Big Macinmont here."
"You know of the monts?" Luna questioned, stepping in from the rain. Applemont and Big Macinmont smiled and waved, much different than the normal bowing and groveling that most ponies did. Luna, to Twilight's surprise, waved back with a weak smile.
"Yes, I do. I know...a lot of things now. But that's not the point. Princess, Big Mac here says we need to get in the castle and get the element of magic."
"Indeed," Luna agreed, sitting next to the large red stallion. "I see you have the whip, armor, and book. Quite the progress. Tell me, what of my... sister," she asked, the words falling flat from her tongue.
"Princess, no offence er nothin, but y'all know what's up with yer sister," Applemont said.
Luna nodded, reluctance more than obvious. "I do. And you are correct, we do have very little time. Come, we must be going to the Element's Hall."
"Are you sure you'd rather not rest? You look beat?" Twilight said. An injured pony teleporting was less than easy for sure.
"No, Twilight Sparkle, we must make haste! It is why you called me here, is it not?"
Twilight sighed, and used magic to refit her helmet. "I suppose."
"Good. I shall await you at the gates," Luna said, teleporting out of the tent.
Twilight shook her head, and walked over to Applemont. "I'll be back, and better this time. It's almost over," she assured herself more than anypony.
"Ah know Twi, I have faith in ya still. Now get goin, y'alls got vamponies t' hunt!" She said with gusto.
The unicorn giggled, and bent down once more. "You better be here when I get back," she whispered into Applemont's ear.
"Aw, shucks, fer my knight in shinin armor, I will be," Applemont smiled.
Twilight couldn't help but chuckle. She leaned into her friend, and gave her a small peck on her lips, before teleporting herself to Luna's side.
Luna stood next to Twilight at the gates. "I'm ready when you are, Princess," she said, a bit quieter than she had intended.
"Of course. After you, Twilight Sparkle."
The unicorn gulped, but after checking the expression on Luna's face, she could see that the princess was feeling no better. It was probably out of nervousness that she pushed Twilight ahead, anyways. Understandable, Twilight told herself. After the condition Luna was in at her door, she supposed anypony would be so nervous.
A weary twinkle in her eye, the purple unicorn carefully entered the town. The mist here was falling into a haze - just as it was in the castle - letting the moon shine in further. Unceasing was the rain, however. It continued to pound upon Canterlot and its frozen denizens. Twilight made a note of the piling ice's growth; it seemed to be getting worse, despite there only being rain. It wasn't so bad around the city gates, and the first few houses only had a bit crusting them, but further in, Canterlot was an icy wasteland.
"What has happened here?" asked Princess Luna, dumbstruck from the moment.
"I'm not sure about the ice in the town," Twilight explained, "But the castle's no better. So it's obviously Princess...Celestia." She shuddered at the name.
The pair walked further into the town, ice beginning to trip them. An intensive vibe in the air kept them from really talking to each other much; even as one of them began to skid on the ice, she would not ask for help. Rain and cold seemed to steal their voices, or at least their aptitude for talking.
Though, Twilight had something important on her mind. Too important to keep silent. "Princess?" she grabbed the alicorn's attention.
Luna's blue coat shimmered in her own moonlight as she looked down. "Yes, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Princess, did anything like this ever happen before?"
Luna stopped dead in her tracks, staring out into the hazing mist with blank eyes. A certain hesitation in her eye glinted in the moonlight. Her lip seemed to quiver as she spoke up. "Y-Yes, it did. I believe the last known time this occurred, it was called the Nightmare Moon incident."
"Oh my..." Twilight bit her lip. This was that bad. "B-But how can you freely change into Nightmare Moon?"
"Split Personality," She said grimly. The alicorn cantered to Twilight's side, and they began walking again. "I hope you understand the full extent of the situation now."
"I do. Let's, uh, pick up the pace," suggested Twilight in her unnerved tone.
Luna nodded in concurrence.
They both increased haste, quickly coming upon the first intersection. A sole frozen shade hovered here. Three ice shards spun around her in selective harmony, fracturing and splitting the moonlight within their shattered insides. As soon as she came into view, all three shards snapped into position, their sharp edges aimed directly at the princess.
Twilight would not hesitate for anything. Bellmont's whip rose high in the air, and forcefully swiped down upon the shade. It cracked the thing on its head, sending it stumbling right. The unicorn nodded to Luna, who the proceeded to bomb the thing with ferocious strikes of lightning. It quickly fell to the floor in millions of shards.
"Ah, I almost missed this," Luna chuckled to herself.
Twilight ignored the comment for various reasons as she split left. The few bones from her previous expeditions laid scattered around, not causing any problems for her. A few were freshly frozen, though, and she did manage to skid and slide on a few of them. Bellmont's armor didn't have the best traction.
At the second intersection, with Luna close behind, Twilight stopped abruptly. A horrible sound streaked across the sky in a blue beam. It was awful laughter, that of three voices in one body. Just the sound was enough to make Twilight want to hurl yet again.
(*,..,*)
The armored mare and the alicorn watched a mysterious figure hover above them. This figure, with it's deep, gruff voice was laughing its terrible echo.
"I-I know that stallion!" Luna acknowledged. "How did he fall to this?"
Before Twilight could inquire any further, the figure floated down from the clouds. He landed directly in front of them, in the middle of the intersection. The figure was still shadowed and dark here, but Twilight could make him out now as well.
"Nightwatch?"
The figure just laughed. The mist around him parting, his glowing yellow eyes stabbed Twilight to the soul. Nightwatch's legs were crushed - they reminded her of Pinkie - and his wings were little more than bones... Yet he still managed to fly.
Nightwatch leapt into the air upon the boned wings, and circled around them. His laugh did not stop, but rather grew as it rained down upon them. Luna in particular seemed extremely worried about this.
"Twilight Sparkle, duck!" she yelled after the laugh's intensity grew to a wail. The unicorn did not understand, but fell to the ground anyways. In this, her faith in Luna was restored a bit; just as she hit the ground, a huge sonic boom funneled down, barely missing her. The house behind her lost its front to the boom, now laying in a pile of broken rubble.
"What in Equestria was that?!"
"Why do you think I know!?" Luna snapped back. Nightwatch shot another boom down, just missing Luna by a hair.
Twilight growled. "Look, can you fly?"
"I'm afraid not," Luna apologized as she stood. "I have no control of my wings whatsoever. Draculestia shot them with some sort of magic."
"Buck it all... Well we need to get him out of the sky then!"
The princess thought for a moment, giving Twilight the leisure to dodge another channeled sonic boom. "I believe...I believe that I can cast a spell to reflect his sonic booms."
"Then do it! We don't have time for this," the short tempered Twilight ordered. Luna may have been royalty, but her respect for anything having to do with this blasted castle was diminishing quicker than the mist, and flowing away like the rain.
Luna scrunched her face up at Twilight to express what she thought of her rudeness. But another boom drew their attention back up to Nightwatch, it's effects causing the loss of a sidewalk chunk. "Alright! But I will need time!"
Twilight nodded in mutual understanding as she pulled her whip out again. Nightwatch would be hard to hit in his swirling path, but she could manage the physical stuff with determination. The true reason it would be hard was that Twilight actually liked Nightwatch, so it was a shame that it had to come to this.
Another boom hailed down from above, striking the ground next to her. The blast sent her flying forward and landed her on her face. Luna, breaking focus, called to her, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" she yelled back. Jumping to her hooves gave the indication that she was in fact fine, and Luna went back to her spell. Twilight raised her whip and struck the flying Nightwatch. All night she had been doing this; it was becoming second nature to her. Just as the whip fell below the commander, she launched it up for a lash under his chin.
The undead forces commander glared at her angrily, and shot another sonic boom down. Twilight had just enough time to see Luna's spell charge fully before this boom was upon her. She closed her eyes and braced her face in preparation for the worst, but the sound blared in her face before shooting back.
Twilight was deafened, but not hurt at least. When she opened her eyes she saw Nightwatch falling from the sky. The limp body shot down and crashed on the ice below, creating a good sized dent in the crystal water.
"Now, Twilight, finish him!" Luna panted. That spell had really taken it out of her.
Twilight, who barely heard her over the ringing in her ears, gulped and ran to the middle of the intersection. Nightwatch was getting up already with his shattered legs. All remorse aside, the unicorn brought her whip down on him, lashing at his skull. Three to four times over again, the bone finally cracked, and the commander fell to the bloodied ice.
The princess stood by Twilight as she retracted the whip. "T-Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. That was not easy for me to see, and I am sure it was not for you either. But... please, we must continue."
"I know, Princess," Twilight said, her intellect returning in her tone. She turned the intersection, and began on Golden road, Luna following close behind. "I know..."
The castle was normal, at least compared to the rest of the night. The front doors were battered open, and there was no light but that of the moon.
The newest mont stepped through the large, open castle doors only to be stopped dead in her tracks. Luna was no different; she froze, and her jaw dropped. Both of them stared up the stairs with terror in their eyes and fear in their souls.
"What ever is the matter?" Draculestia chuckled. She sat at the top of the stairs, her wings spread in their sharp points, and her fangs glinting in the pale moonlight. The eyes of the evil Princess were still vibrant pink, but were dilated and pale. With a demented, twisted smile the most powerful vampony Equestria had ever known stared down at them.
"S-Sister! I demand you stop this!" Luna stepped forward.
Draculestia just sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sister? You do remember the last time you were so bold, no?"
"Please, Princess! Stop," Twilight implored. This was her chance to stop this all without violence.
"Oh, I'm sorry my faithful student, did I hurt your feelings?" This Draculestia laughed heartedly.
Twilight just spat. "I thought that maybe I could get through to you..."
"You do too much thinking," the vampony sighed.
Luna snarled, stomping her hoof down. "You will die monster! You don't belong in this world, you are not Celestia!"
The large, imposing vampony took a gentle sip of the wine she was drinking. With her dark, black magic she raised a silver chalice up to her lips and drank. When she had taken her sip, and after whipping her mane around to let it flow, she continued. "It was not by my hand that I was given this form. I was called here by ponies who wish to pay me tribute," she said in a calm, alluring tone.
"Tribute?" Twilight stepped forward. This was not the princess, so she felt at ease to hiss at her. "You steal ponies souls and make them your slaves!"
"Ah, perhaps the same could be said of the Celestial Church," Draculestia sighed. Her sharp wings had lowered down to her side, but her drink raised to her lips again.
Luna scowled at the heretical remark. "Your words are as empty as your soul."
"Ponykind ill needs a savior like you!" Twilight spat. Ponykind needed Celestia.
Draculestia stopped drinking, and spat her wine on the floor angrily. "What is a pony?" she snarled. Throwing her chalice on the floor in front of her, she answered her question: "A miserable little pile of friendship! But enough talk... Have at you!"
The vampony teleported from atop the stairs, down to the main foyer. She landed on the now closed star, and snarled. "I tire of you already."
"You shall not win thou monster!" Luna screamed, slipping into her royal Canterlot voice. She charged in at Draculestia, and the two butted heads. They rose onto their hind legs, trying to shove the other to the ground.
Twilight snapped out her whip and lashed down at the vampony, cringing at the sight of her mentor being hit. "You. Aren't. Celestia!" she screamed, mainly to assure herself that her actions were just. She cracked down the whip again, atop Draculestia's horn.
The vampony grinned with darted eyes. She pulled her right hoof back, and swung it down on Luna. The princess stumbled back, opening an opportunity for everypony to make attack.
Twilight cracked her whip across Draculestia again, but this time, the vampony responded with magic. She shot a dark bolt of lightning across the room, striking Twilight on the chest. The bolt exploded, sending the unicorn forcefully into a wall.
Luna was back onto her hooves now, and stormed Draculestia, her horn charged. A magnificent lunar beam shot from her horn and sliced the vampony. The beam hooked off, leaving Draculestia open for the princess to ram straight into. Both of them toppled, with the vampony getting the better shot.
Twilight shoved herself back to her hooves by now. She let out a wail of agony and anger as she brought the whip down again. It's crack echoed through the hall, yet it left no effect on Draculestia. The evil alicorn glinted a smile as she shot another shadowy lightning bolt out.
After the armored unicorn was down again from yet another blast, Draculestia turned to Luna. She had ended up on top of the princess, and was taking swings at her. One across the face, two down on the chest. Luna was taking a beating only an alicorn could survive.
A vampony hunter true to heart, Twilight was up again despite her pain. Across the room were the two princesses of lost grace. She charged over to them, not even bothering with the whip this time; Draculestia was beating Luna to death. At full force she slammed into the tall vampony, both of them thrown to the ground beside Luna.
"Get out of Celestia!" Twilight shouted through gritted teeth. She was atop Draculestia now, taking the swings she could. A few managed to land across the face, but she was soon bucked off. The vamponic alicorn leapt to her hooves with force and anger in her eyes. As she stood on the center star a twisted grin spread on her face.
"You...You don't understand!" She laughed an evil laugh. "I AM CELESTIA!"
Behind her a huge light radiated, and her mane seemed to be swept in it like a vortex. It was huge an brilliantly bright; The bright blackness was almost like a torch of space itself.
"Twilight! Run!" Luna screamed to her. The unicorn turned back to see the princess laying, mangled in the doorway.
"I won't leave you!"
"Go you fool!" she screamed. "Go to the elements!
From Luna, Twilight turned back to Draculestia. The sight was that of the abyss itself. The light behind her grew, and now, her eyes had a matching color. Her fangs were huge now, matching her growing form. The horn atop her head now had two smaller ones twisting around it, and the crown had fallen to the floor. She was breathing black fire, leaving the air scorched. The wings on her back - once simply sharp - were huge shadows, resembling the fire she breathed.
Twilight grabbed the whip with her magic, and ran past Draculestia. With teary eyes she darted right, the light growing behind her. By the time she was in the archway, the light had grown so powerful that it was overpowering the entire room. She didn't look back - she couldn't. All she could do was run and listen to the screams that soon ensued.
(v,..,v)
In the Hall of the Elements Twilight soon found herself. Her mind was a wreck, just like her body. Both ached horribly, though it would help if she could breath. Slowing down for air, a trotting pace took place of the galloping. She was in the hall, and could have the elements as soon as-
There, in front of the open element's vault, stood four familiar ponies. Each was pale and twisted, and each held at least one element of harmony. Twilight lost all the breath she was regaining, and fell to her plot in tears.
"R-Rainbow...Fluttershy..." She muttered. Her breaking point was close now, she could feel it in her tears.
Her pale, seemingly undead friends said nothing, but rather, laughed. "W-What happened to you all..." Twilight whispered. "Do any of you remember me?" She stared at them for a while, but they only laughed.
"Of course they don't remember you, you low class imbecile," A stuck up voice from behind her said. Twilight jerked around to see this stallion, and found that her situation was worse now.
Prince Blulucard, his eyes glowing an orange-red, circled her. "You really are too late, you buffoon. And here I thought you were friends with the monts. Did they teach you nothing?"
"W-What happened to you? Blulucard, what happened to you?!" demanded Twilight through a scrunched face of mental agony.
"Blulucard? Oh have you seen him?" This pony quipped. A grin on his face, he continued in his suave, uptight voice. "Face to Face with Draculestia, hm? And how'd that go for you?"
"I-I-I..." stammered the armed pony.
"I-I-I see not so well, then? Honestly, did you expect less?" He chuckled again.
Twilight stood with fire in her wet eyes. Her head traced the circling royalty, twisting a few times the wrong way. "What happened to my friends?" her quivering lips muttered.
"What do you think, you backwater moron? Take a good look: Pale coats, bloodshot eyes, smell like...eck, garbage. I'd say they're dead, wouldn't you?"
She looked past Blulucard at the four ponies that stood with the Elements of Harmony. They indeed seemed beyond the grave. "Y-You're all going to pay for this...All of you..." she grinded her teeth so hard they almost bled.
"Ah, perhaps. We shall see. Come girls!" Blulucard nodded to them. They all slowly gazed over to him, their haunting eyes showing the terrible absolution. "To the chapel!"
In a flash of diluted blue light, they all disappeared, leaving Twilight with haunted images and a new destination. In the face of such urgency, however, she could hardly stand on her own four hooves. She soon found herself leaning up on the wall for support. The images of her ghostly friends staring at her, their raspy laughs echoing through the hallway... More tears crept from her eyes now. This was too much.
But...But she had to get going. For...what now, she was unsure. The Princess and her friends were far gone, and that just left Equestria and Applemont. So really, it was just Applemont. She sighed, and wiped away a tear on the verge of falling.
Her mind was swelling with thoughts now. Emotions asunder, she felt like a maelstrom of anger, love, revenge, somberness, hate... All the things she had at one time believed she would never feel.
"...The chapel it is..."
Twilight tore away from the Hall of the Elements, dashing down her previous path. When she saw no light in the main atrium, she dashed in there as well. Yet she could do no more than stop. The room was refilled with mist, black and evil as it was. The mare saw neither Luna nor Draculestia; they had completely disappeared, with no evidence as to their whereabouts. Twilight could only assume that they were in Celestia's tower.
Luna brought on thoughts of guilt and sympathy, but there was just no time. Twilight darted down the stairs, into the black mist. There, she hooked right, and went into the huge archway here. It funneled her into a distraught hallway, turning her left, then right again, before spitting her out in the gardens.
At the entrance to the gardens, another lifeless suit of armor stood ready with an axe. Twilight dropped it easily with two cracks of her whip, and darted over the heap of metal. Alas, there was yet another.
Though this one was different. In this green suit of armor, an actual pony stared at her with pale yellow eyes. On the warriors lips were large bloodstains; this pony was long dead. And here she stood, a sword in her bloody mouth, green and yellow armor adorning her rotting skin. A zombie knight stepped forward from the archway entrance, stumbling on the armor heap and axe before it.
Twilight cracked the whip at the zombie knight, only twisting its head with a cracking sound. The knight twisted back around, and swung it's sword at the unicorn. Metal hit metal, the armor taking the full hit. She didn't even feel it. With more force this time, she snapped the zombies neck with her whip. It fell limp.
"Easy," Twilight murmured under her breath. She jumped over the corpse and the armor, and was finally, truly in the garden.
Normally, the Canterlot gardens were a place of peace, tranquility, and every so often, love. But tonight they held a somber tone. The moonlight illuminated the various plants and trees here; soaked with rain, the plants had no problem fracturing and sharing the light. Speaking of the rain, Twilight spoke in her mind, it has gotten harder. She could feel the patters of the downpour through her armor.
In a way though, it felt...good. Almost cleansing, if it could be called that. The rain definitely lightened her mood either way. She began her trek through the royal gardens, thinking over her route. These gardens connected to the Main Ballroom. From there, she would go through the large golden doors to the opposite gardens. Then she could just follow the wall to the gold and blue chapel doors. Simple enough.
As she walked, she reveled in memories. Not only of when she was a filly - though warm memories of Celestia and her sitting in the gardens on a sunny day sat in her head - but also of her time with her friends at the Grand Galloping Gala. Her live friends, that is. Not the ghastly shells of them she saw in the Hall.
Something hit her side, knocking her out of her memory. It wasn't hard, per say, more just firm. She turned to see her assailant. What she found instead, was a huge weed that towered over her on a single vine. At the top, was a large yellow flower that spewed another mushy thing from it. It stood in the middle of a few hedges, still soaked in rain; Twilight took this to be an indication that it had been there for a while. This little thing was a ball of some sort of watered down pollen that traveled slowly in the mist.
This weed was almost pathetic. Twilight raised her whip, and lashed at it's stem, knocking it to the mud. She rolled her eyes, and turned back to the Main Ballroom. But in front of her, there was a huge flower. This thing had sprouted up from nowhere, and was already in full bloom. It's rose pedals flowered graciously in the moonlit rain, wafting a scent that smelled divine. In it's center, though, was a small horn. A small, white horn.
And on cue, a white coat pony sprung up halfway from the flower. She was quite alluring; her white coat and red mane matched her green eyes strikingly well, Twilight found. The rose pony smiled at her, waving a friendly gesture. Sure, it was strange, but the mare found herself inching closer to the flower still.
"Um, hello?" She asked it. If it was sentient, then just maybe she could use it to her advantage.
The mare just giggled and waved her closer.
"Do you understand me?" Twilight asked again. Yet the flower simple giggled, blushing and waving her closer.
Twilight was done playing the stupid mare. For advantage, she inched closer for a good shot. When she was within reach, she pulled out her whip with her mouth, lashing the flower mare on her cheek.
It was reasonable, too. The white mare growled and shot out vines with her horn, swiping at Twilight. Her armor took the initial damage, but she was tossed around nonetheless. That she would not stand for.
She ducked under a vine with moderate agility, rolling beneath it. Covered in mud, she wiped her eyes for her vision's sake. Another vine was being lashed out from the allura une, but Twilight dodged it hastily and began cracking her whip.
A good hit to the face on them both made a mirrored recoil. The vine had swung back around and lashed Twilight with a thorn - Twilight did almost the same with her whip. Yet now she knew not to face pain in the moment. With her magic, she crashed the whip down one last time on the white mare.
The pony screamed out as vines shot up from the flower and wrapped around her. These green thorn vines wrapped around her waist, shoulder, and neck, before finally dragging her down into the flower itself. As her horn vanished, the flower snapped closed and withered within seconds. All that was left of the large flower was a wilted pod.
Twilight took in a deep breath as she stared at the brown, dead pod. "Good job," she panted to herself.
Around the pod she galloped with newfound pride. The Main Ballroom was just up ahead; in the moonlight, Twilight could see the collapsed doors. She had to trample over a few flowerbeds, and through a few hedgerows, but she figured nopony would care, considering. At the doors in less than a minute, she trotted her mudded hooves in.
The Ballroom was cold, haze filled, and broken. If one wished to understand the state of the castle, they needed to go no further than here. Tapestries lay strewn across the floor, decorated with crumbled stone, and topped with a hint of blood. The main chandelier hung by a thread - or chain, as it were - and was bound to crash to the floor soon. Over by the statue of Celestia, the legs stood tall. Only the legs, though; the rest of the statue was but a heap of rubble. There were some party adornments around, seemingly in preparation for a small regal get together. They, of course, were on the floor in tatters too.
Even in this mess, sqeaking noises echoed in the Main Ballroom with each step Twilight took. However, the nasty noise was not the only thing filling the Ballroom. While inattentive, the unicorn was smacked by something. Or, she soon found, somepony.
A pair of ghostly ponies, a colt and a mare, danced elegantly along. Twilight was close to throwing a few curses at them, but their transparency brought her words to a halt. This pair of finely dressed ghost ponies twirled and danced in harmony; She could only expect this eloquent of dancing at the finest moments of a Gala.
Throughout the room, ghost dancers spun around each other synonymously. Their rapid, organized movements painted the scene with grace as a four pony orchestra played on the stage. Their music was somber and mellow - perfect for these dancing fiends.
Twilight couldn't stand without getting smacked again. It made no logical sense, even for the situation; ghosts were supposed to be intangible! How were they hitting her? Not that it really affected her next move, though. When she was back on her hooves, out came her whip.
She cracked it upon a pair of ghosts, and they broke their embrace, falling back. Just before they hit the floor, their empty bodies evaporated in a light mist. These ghosts only took one hit...
With her whip ready in her mouth, Twilight cantered through the Ballroom. She lashed at each ghost she could, with the same dissolving effect taking them each time. It almost made her sad, in honesty; As the ghosts would fall from each other, their faces held much sorrow. The type of sorrow that could only be felt at the loss of a lover.
But it was her duty now. Besides, she rationalized, who would want to be empty souls, doomed to dance for eternity anyways? That did not ease her discomfort, however. As she hit another, she watched them break, looks of loss and anguish on their faces. She actually began to feel a tear in her eye. What would it be like to lose Applemont?
That elicited another question though. What had everypony lost here, individually? Every life that once graced the castle had a story... what was taken from them? Twilight's head flashed a vision of her friends, cold and empty.
The tear fell, and her mind switched completely from headstrong and tough, back to its maelstrom of everything. And the tear hit the ground, lost in the silent dances of the ghosts.
"Aww, sh sh sh," A voice cooed. Twilight launched herself back into self preservation mode, snapping up to face this voice. "Don't cry," A calm mare in her vision coddled.
It was true, her eyes were still watered. "W-Who are you?" She snarled, wiping her eyes.
"Why, don't you know?"
"Yes...I do," She sniffled. It was only to stop her running nose, though; her emotions were pushed as far back as she could manage.
The mare chuckled. "Ah, good," she whispered in a seductive tone.
This was the cellist from the previous Galas - Octavia, if she remembered correctly. "Don't. Move," Twilight ordered the oncoming mare. "Another step, and I'll-"
"You'd hurt me? Why?" Octavia asked innocently.
Twilight looked her over, noticing a lack of blood or marks. "Because you aren't Octavia."
"I'm not? I'm not sure who else I could be," giggled the violet eyed mare on approach.
"I-I don't either, I guess," Twilight stammered. Octavia was rubbing up on her, gliding her head underneath Twilight's chin. "B-But what are you doing here?"
"Anything I want." Octavia snickered softly, her brown tail wrapping around Twilight's neck. "Why don't you tell me what you want to do?"
The unicorn blushed deeply as she felt Octavia's nose buried in her haunches."W-What do y-you..."
"Anything I want..." hummed the musician. She pulled away, and grinded her way up Twilight's side.
Heat full in her cheeks, Twilight said, "L-Look, I'm b-busy."
"Me too," whispered Octavia, who was nibbling Twilight's nape. The warm sensation on her back made her uneasy.
"No, I'm really busy," the unicorn gulped. "I-I have to get going-"
"Oh dear no, we're just getting started," Octavia smiled.
This situation was getting more uncomfortable by the second, and Twilight broke away quick as she could. As one of the few remaining ghost dancers passed in front of her, she snarled. "I appreciate the affection," her tone a bit rude, "But I really must be going."
Octavia just stood with a seductive grin.
Shaking her head, Twilight turned and headed for the open doors to the opposite gardens. "Awkward," she muttered to herself.
Then suddenly, the doors glowed red and slammed shut, knocking Twilight down. The purple mare rubbed her armored plot furiously.
"I told you," Octavia's voice sibilated, "We're just getting started."
Twilight turned around, an angry twitch in her eye. "I need to go!" She demanded.
"It's a shame."
Octavia's eyes glowed vibrant red, her coat burning up. She seemed to be on fire for a second or two. With a low pitch growl, the music mare's mane and tail sizzled off, being replaced by a deep red replacements in a puff of smoke. As the rest of her coat melted away to reveal a deep crimson, she unfurled two small, bat-like wings. Atop her head, a fiery red horn burst out, illuminating the dark room.
"Truly, it is," she laughed. Now Twilight understood the extent of the situation - Octavia was a succubus.
"It is; I wasn't going to hurt you earlier," the unicorn smirked.
The sneering succubus kicked a bit of dust on the ground. "I can't say the same." She backed up, letting a ghostly pair swing by, before taking her place in the center of the Ballroom once more.
Twilight had her whip in her mouth already. She just wanted to get destroying this annoying (Strikingly alluring) thing over with.
Red Octavia laughed with surprising confidence as she trotted towards Twilight. The unicorn took no hesitation in cracking her weapon at the succubus, striking a gash deep into her cheek.
The succubus leapt in retaliation, twirling in midair and lashing her tail into Twilight's face. The vampony hunter stumbled, but did not fall. Twilight only cursed and stabled herself. Her balance regained, she crossed her steps and strafed right.
Octavia followed her circle with haste, eyes locked with Twilight. Another crack of the whip fell upon her, knocking her balance off. But the succubus was not one to back down, eloquent demeanor or not.
She hissed, and lashed out at Twilight. The distance was short, and with her sharp teeth Octavia managed to take a good chunk from the unicorn's exposed neck. It was nothing too serious, but Twilight was on the ground in seconds.
"Ah...Buck you," swore the cringing pony.
"Quite the mouth," Octavia quipped. "I wonder what else it's good for."
Twilight beat her out of that fantasy. With the curt swing of a hoof, the succubus was well away from her. She pushed herself up, and charged up her horn. This pony wanted something in her so bad? Well, she could have it.
The hoof dagger levitated from its sheath and hovered above Twilight's head. "Well it's pretty good for throwing last insults!" she screamed at the succubus.
Before the red pony even knew what was going on, the dagger charged at her. It was a perfect flight; though, Twilight had expected no less from Bellmont's blade. The shining silver dagger flew with precision, executing Octavia with a plunge to the heart.
A shrill scream filled the air as the pony burst into flames. Her coat melted again, this time dissolving into smoke, just like the rest of her body. And the only thing that Twilight could think was how nice the warmth was.
(-,..,o)
Twilight galloped from the Ballroom, and out to the final span of gardens. The Chapel's side entrance would be one of the many towers sprawled throughout here, it's only difference being a large Celestia statue hanging above the archway. It was a fairly sizeable difference, so Twilight was sure she could find it with ease. She dashed through the rain, between a few hedge rows, and over a large collapsed tree.
The chapel was in view now, only a few meters away. If she just sped up a bit...
In a sudden flash of lightning, a creature appeared in front of her. She came to a sudden halt, and yanked her whip out to attack this new blockage.
Though she could make out some strange features in the moonlight; features she had never seen before in her life. This...creature, was some sort of ape thing. But it stood on two legs, and it's mane was only on top of its head. It had neither a tail nor hooves, and was fully dressed.
"Hello," it said monotonously.
Twilight snarled in moderate disgust. This was the most revolting thing she had seen all night. "Um, hi?"
"I am a Human," it continued. "I am in Equestria. I died on Earth. I woke up in the Everfree Forest with no memory. I wandered out to a cottage. I met Fluttershy. We fell in lov-"
A huge bat swooped down from above and snatched this creature up with its mouth. The purple unicorn watched in absolute confusion as the large bat flew away with its prey.
She blinked the whole scene out of her mind, letting the bat disappear behind a patch of clouds. The chapel was more important than sitting around wondering what...that was.
The blue and gold chapel doors latched behind Twilight, leaving her alone once more. Her breaths in this place manifested in steam as she examined the cold, empty structure. This was one of the side chapels, with the tunnel to the main Celestial Chapel next to the Celestia statue. She had been here a thousand times or more, each time a very serene experience. It was a shame to see it in such dismay.
As she maneuvered through some toppled pews she noticed something strange about the place now. Hovering above were bright little sparkles, almost radiant like the sun. But these were simple, tiny fractals that just sat there. Perhaps she could use them somehow.
Up at the Celestia statue, Twilight could spot something she had never seen before. The plaque held a new hoof indent with a large 'S' inscribed in it. It beckoned to her, screaming her name silently. She did not know why - or how - but she was being attracted to it. Her keen eye stuck on the golden plate, she carefully approached. The plate was at the base of the large statue, with ten or so burnt out candles around it. Behind the statue, Luna's moon illuminated the room with its glow, making the statue that much creepier. Yet still she approached the golden plaque.
She closely inspected the little thing: it read the same inscription as always, the only difference being that hoof dent. It wasn't normal, that part was certain, but still Twilight held her hoof up to the plaque. The armor hoof cap fell from her hoof, leaving it bare as she pressed against the freezing metal.
Just as she made contact, her body froze. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move, and panicking soon ensued. But a warm feeling shot through her, erasing any pain, and flooding her with powerful magic. The twinkling stars that were floating above fell upon her in sync with the pulse of the magic; Twilight felt her tension and apprehensions falling away as these little orbs of light entered her body.
The last one vanished within her, and she was finally able to break free. She noticed now that her various cuts and wounds had disappeared; her skin was practically untouched. "What?" she asked herself.
Eh, no time, she made a mental note. Turning back to the archway to the left, Twilight stretched her legs out in preparation. If she remembered correctly, this tunnel would span a few catacombs, go through the organ room, and pop her out in the side of the main chapel. Good, she mentally sighed.
Charging off she took her whip out; The catacombs would obviously be flooding with something, and she needed to be prepared. She ran down the stairs, taking the sharp left at the base. The cobblestone undercroft that appeared in front of her was open and ready.
In she went, turning her head left and right rapidly. There was nothing yet, but surely there would be. It was a good walk to the main chapel, with plenty of time for something ugly to rear its head. She galloped through the tombs quicker now.
Casks laid on either side of her in their little wall indents. Princess Celestia would rarely take her down here, and now she knew why. The place was disturbing on a whole new level. Under a few stone pillars, Twilight actually had to jump over a fallen coffin. Though the urge to hurl was long gone, the disgust never left her mind.
Suddenly, from out of a side path, a huge, muscular thing flapped out. It had the snout of a pony, but the legs of a boar. Claws spread out of its...hands, and a sharp tail flickered from it's behind.
Twilight wasted no time in cracking down on it. The whip fell, and snapped on its horns.
Now it was pissed.
The demon pony-boar thing opened its mouth and unleashed a firebolt on her. It shot down, and barely missed Twilight. She jumped to the side, and snapped her whip again. A scrape ran down it's torso, pissing it off more.
Another bolt of flames discharged into the unicorn's face, barely missing yet again.
Time was running short. Twilight [and the author] did not want to waste this valuable resource. With her magic, the vampony hunter levitated one of the three Celestia blades, and slung it at the demon. The blade pierced it's chest with ease.
The demon screamed and exploded in a flash of red, bright light, and Twilight was back on her way.
The Celestia figurine followed swiftly, with the help of magic, and slid into the galloping Twilight's armor. She made her way further through the bone riddled catacombs with a few swears, keeping her anxiety at bay with reminders of Applemont. That headstrong mare was quickly becoming her driving force: Everything else she held dear was, well, dead.
Deeper in, she encountered another minor setback. In dull green armor, a zombie night sauntered out of a grave row. The mentally inept thing spotted her, and swiftly swung it's sword.
The blade missed Twilight by easily a foot. After taking in a good breath, she retaliated by cracking her used whip down again. An easy kill, she arrogantly thought.
Her pride was not misplaced. It only took a few good hits to drop the undead knight, and once it was on the stone and dirt floor, she proceeded to the chapel.
A utilitarian styled arch opened up the head of the tombs in her fore. Well, it would've if there wasn't something in the way. In the archway were four, no five, skull pony heads, all stacked up on one another.
"What the buck is-"
The one on top promptly coughed a bone out. The white femur spun in the air, and smacked the vampony hunter on the head, knocking her to the ground.
It certainly wasn't powerful, but it was enough to agitate her headache. Angry as ever, Twilight magically whipped a random head. It crumbled instantly, but the other four still stood tall. Her face was soon that of flat annoyance.
"Well it's about time," a rather stuck up voice snapped as Twilight barged into the Chapel.
Here, in this huge eloquent place, the torches lit up Blulucard's face. The vampony was up on the Celestial Altar, staring down at Twilight as she fumbled through the door. The purple mare took no time in galloping through a row of pews to the center aisle.
"Blulucard!" she hissed. "Where are my friends?"
"Not here, if you care. Only me, and these flashy little things," grinned the vampony. With his blue magic, he levitated the six elements of harmony behind him.
Twilight put her hoof forward, stomping down on the red carpet. "You will tell me where my friends are, and you will give me the elements!"
"Oh please, don't be so...rude. It's rather unladylike, you know," Blulucard sighed.
Behind him, the large Celestia statue that depicted her raising the sun stood tall, supported by two chains on either side. He lifted the elements to the top, where a large ornate sun stood. It was hollow, but made of pure gold, and rested on the statues hooves. The elements sat right in the center of the huge circle.
"I could say the same to you," Twilight forced a snicker. She examined the large room, in wait of Blulucard's oh so clever reply. The large place was actually rather nice; pillars mirrored each other on adjacent sides of the room, shooting up to the large, gold encrusted ceiling. The ceiling held a painting of Celestia and Luna on clouds, their hooves almost touching as they drifted away from each other. It was a bit vein, but hey, they were royal goddesses so they had room to be as such. In the actual Chapel itself, almost forty rows of pews shot up either side, each crafted from the finest mahogany. Large tapestries hung from the pillars, blue and gold alternating as they spanned up to the statue. All around the room, stained glass windows let in the moonlight, but it was quickly drowned in the light of the torches - of which Twilight was sure were the only actual torches left in the castle.
Behind her, the Lunar statue lay crumbled on the ground. The statue - once depicting the lunar goddess - was in a heap that blocked the entry way. Twilight assumed that Draculestia had done this for two reasons: one, out of spite, and two, for a strategic advantage.
"I find myself tiring of you very quickly, little girl," Blulucard spat.
"Well what's the matter, little girl?" Twilight snarled in response, "Afraid to get a little dirty?"
The vampony chuckled now. "Ah, so you wish to fight? And here I thought it was males who were testosterone-pumped."
"And I thought it was females who preferred to run like a coward," The vampony hunter tried her hoof at a chauvinistic attitude.
"As did I. Yet here you are, challenging me," huffed the uptight prince.
"Hey Blulucard, let me ask you something. You're a bastard, right?"
The prince stomped his hoof. "I most certainly am not!"
Twilight chuckled, and commented, "Well then where in Equestria did you come from?"
"I am Draculestia's nephew! How dare you insult me in such a manner!" he spat.
"Nah, I face Draculestia. Much prettier than you," Twilight flat out lied. They were both ugly.
Blulucard stammered, trying to throw out his next move. "I-I...W-Well fine! Should you wish to fight, then we shall fight!"
The vampony's disposition changed in a rapid swing. "Though, per etiquette, I have the first move." He chuckled, and with his magic, cut the two chains that held the Celestia statue up. Before Twilight could even begin to comprehend what he had just done, the massive thing fell upon her, crushing her like an insect.
Pain shot through her whole body as the torso of the statue flattened her. She felt many things crack, and even more get punctured. Her vision blurred, and finally blacked.
"It seems as though I have had the last move as well," Blulucard's voice invaded her bleeding ears. "You have lost, and WE have won. Have fun in eternity, Twilight Sparkle."
(O,..,<)
Twilight blinked rapidly, finding herself in front of the Celestia statue in the side chapel. Her bones were whole, and her organs still in one piece. "What...what was that?" she asked herself, rubbing her headache away.
"Blulucard!" Twilight shouted as she angrily galloped into the Celestial Chapel.
"Well it's about ti-"
"No! Shut up! I have no idea what the BUCK just happened, but just shut up and get down here!" demanded the fuming unicorn.
"Ouch. What bit your plot, miss Sparkle?" The vampony asked with a stiff upper lip.
Now Twilight found the Celestia statue upright, chained to the wall. "How did you put it back up..." she muttered. "Wait, nevermind. It doesn't have to make sense."
"Hm, I think the night's adventures are leaving you a bit weary, don't you?" he chuckled.
"Shut up! Just get down here before I come up there!"
Blulucard scoffed at her boldness. "Well if you insist. Though, per etiquette, I-"
"You have the first move, yeah, I know. Just do it please," Twilight snarled.
Sighing, the vampony did just as he had done the time before. The chains snapped, and the huge statue collapsed at Twilight. Now, however, she was prepared. The unicorn dashed back as the large golden sun fell around her.
"Get some new moves," grumbled Twilight as she jumped up on top of the rubble.
Blulucard's eyes began to glow an intense orange. "Bore of me? Well here, try something new as you wish!" Out of a bright light - deep orange red, this time - flashed a scythe.
A scythe? the vampony hunter thought in astonishment. She stared up at the menacing weapon, Blulucard's now bright orange magic encompassing it. "What did Draculestia do to you?"
He did not respond, but instead sent the scythe hurling towards Twilight. It spun in the air, cutting its path to the unicorn. She dodged, but just barely.
The scythe swooped behind her, and boomeranged around for another pass. Sharp metal glinted in Twilight's eye as she barely avoided decapitation. It spun in a curve, sweeping back to Blulucard.
At her chance, Twilight lashed her whip at him with magic. The whip cracked down on his face, smacking him right. The vampony stumbled, but did not stop. In his rebuttal, he shot the spinning scythe at her again.
Twilight had to duck under a row of pews to dodge it this time; Blulucard's accuracy was fairly strong. The scythe flew over her, taking the tops of a few pews off. The shattered wood would have been a problem were it not for Twilight's armor.
She was back on her hooves in no time, ready to strike yet again. Her whip fell to Blulucard's back, making him arch in pain. Seeing her success, Twilight cracked her whip down twice more on his back before he could get a move in.
The scythe split the air, twirling at her again. Not so lucky this time, Twilight had no time to move. The blade slammed into the side of her armor, knocking her back a good few feet with a cry of anguish. She flew into a side pillar, cracking a nice little indent in it.
Twilight spewed a few curses, her voice twined with anger and pain. With all the energy she could muster, she shoved herself back to her hooves and picked up her whip. The metal thing snapped on Blulucard again, knocking him to and fro. The vampony hunter was getting mad. She tossed her prey around with the whip; her entire being seethed with rage.
The vampony hissed and launched his scythe again. It swung horizontally now, curving around the chapel before finally slamming into the pillar behind Twilight. The large stone brace crumbled, shooting dust and stone everywhere.
A moment later, and Twilight was lashing out again. Her whip fell heavy on her enemy, just as planned. Yet Blulucard just would not fall. This many lashes had taken out countless enemies, and would have surely wilted the stronger ones. The vampony's damage toll was going higher and higher, yet he did not waver in the slightest, with the exception of the occasional fumble.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, an idea flooded her mind. That demon in the catacombs had burst out so easily when that Celestia blade pierced his chest... Maybe Blulucard would do the same. It wasn't like she really had anything else to try; Her whip was doing close to nothing now.
As the vampony's weapon passed by again, Twilight let the whip fall. She ducked under another row of pews to let it pass. When it did, she was up again, the Celestia blade in the grasps of her magic. Jumping out to the center aisle, atop the Celestia statue's ruins, she pointed the blade directly at the vampony's cold heart.
"Blulucard!" Twilight snarled. It was all she could push out, before shooting the goddess shaped blade at him.
"Oh, dear me," Blulucard rolled his eyes. "You're going to shoot me with an enchanted letter opener! How terrifying."
Twilight just laughed at his ignorance. With a glint of totality in her eye, she launched the blade at him. Just as before, it pierced his heart, and had instant effects. Blulucard's eyes glowed devil red, and his body shook violently. His mane lit on fire as he let out a horrible scream. The vampony's flesh melted away, revealing smoldering bone and crisping insides. The Prince screamed, and screamed, and screamed, his dying breath being let out in one final barrage.
After the fiery drama, the skeletal prince fell to the top of the altar, dead. The vampony hunter snickered to herself, using her magic to regain her whip. "Terrifying indeed," she quipped under her breath.
Around the altar, where the statue once stood, she found the elements of harmony on the carpet. First thing she did was pick up Magic, and place it atop her helm. She then bent down to start retrieving the rest.
Before she could get loyalty in her mouth, the corpse of Blulucard shifted. Twilight jumped back, staring it down. Her whip was ready again, should she need it. And she did, she soon found.
The skeleton of the dead prince twitched, his bones sticking together with a redish glow. "What the..." muttered Twilight, who starred in awe as the skeleton slowly levitated off the altar.
"Sorry for the melodrama," a thin, raspy, stuck-up voice came from everywhere.
"What the buck is this?"
The skeleton answered her. It turned it's pale head, and stared at her with surprisingly electrifying bloodshot eyes. A light grew in it's chest cavity, becoming an intense orange red in a matter of seconds. Now the bones were lined up, levitating above the alter as a normal pegasus would. But this was a bone unicorn, with a magical orb in it's chest.
"B-Blulucard?" Twilight gulped.
The skeleton laughed. "No...No you fool. Death."
Oh dear, Twilight mentally choked. Death's laugh grew louder, soon loosing contact with his embodiment. The laugh came from the walls, the roof, the floor...it was everywhere. "I-I'm not afraid of death!" Twilight sneered, with little to no confidence in her voice whatsoever.
Death's continued laughter sang a song of victory. "I'm sure," he chuckled.
Twilight raised her whip, and cracked death on his skeletal face.
"Eager to get to business, as always," he sighed. The whip had had literally no affect on him.
His bone jaw opened, and in it Twilight could see another ball of fiery magic. She tried cracking at this, but once again, nothing happened. On her end, that is. Death used this ball of magic to spawn not one, but two large, flaming scythes from thin air. They spun in unison, prepared to strike.
"I'm going to die," admitted Twilight flatly.
No! Wait! She had that stone from Blackmoon. She could just use that! But...what did she say?
"Just strike it with magic when you're in trouble."
The words rang through her head as if they were just spoken.
Wasting none of the sparse time she had - the scythes were swinging so fast that she was sure to be dead in a moment - she snatched the stone from her saddle bag. But it was too late, and the blades were hurling down to her. They got two sharp hits in, throwing Twilight to the front wall of the chapel.
Quick to her hooves Twilight ran back to the stone. She was in horrendous pain, but there was no time to dwindle in it. The stone had fallen beneath Death; getting it would be enough to focus on without the thought of what state her body was in.
She skid underneath the orange-glowing Death, grabbing the stone with her mouth. Barely avoiding slamming into the altar, Twilight hooked right and darted around it.
The stone flew up in the air, and she zapped it with a weak little magic bolt, hopping it would be enough. Surely and truly to the witches words, the stone glowed a fiery red as it thumped on the ground.
But then the light died. The fire ruby sat, burnt to a crisp on the crimson carpet, its searing indent leaving a black burn mark.
Death laughed at her pathetic display. His scythes swung at her again, just missing the top of her neck. The other scythe swept lower, hooking her belly and flipping her in the air.
Just below her, Death had a blade ready to impale her as she fell. The hit from the last scythe had taken all the wind from her, and she could hardly think of any way to stop it. This was it, she was dead. With no options in her irrationalized mind, she just closed her eyes and braced herself.
Boom. She hit something... not a sickle, though. It felt more like the hay of a broom.
"Well that's one way to say hi," Blackmoon chuckled.
"Blackmoon! Oh thank Celestia!" exclaimed the vigorously shaking pony. "Get us outta here!"
"What's the probl- oh my..." she laid her eyes on death itself. "Hold on!"
Twilight was already ahead of her though; she was gripping the length of the broom for dear life (literally). Blackmoon leaned forward, and the broom followed.
A scythe spun over them. If it weren't for the timing, the broom would have been sliced in half. But, the wooden handle of the scythe tapped the broom, only knocking it off course for a moment.
"How do we get out of here?" Blackmoon called back to Twilight as the broom rose.
Doing her best to pull her scrambled brain together, Twilight sputtered, "I, uh, um-"
"Of course," the witch sighed, mulling over her options. "Right then! Out the window!" She leaned forward again, launching them on a curved course around Death. Twilight was too far into her freakout to say or do anything as they arched around the skeleton. The broom flew past him, curving to the stained glass window of day and night.
Headfirst, the two ponies sprang from the chapel. The window around them shattered as they traded the warm glow of the torches for the rainy chill of the moon; a trade they were both more than happy to make, as they left Death in their wake.
"That was certainly...interesting," Blackmoon gulped as the broom glided through the rain.
"Y-Yes. It was," Twilight agreed. She weakly brought a hoof to her head, assuring that the Element of Magic was still there. It was, thankfully; going back was not happening.
"Interesting time to call me, I have to admit. I didn't mean to leave you hanging as long as I did," the witch blushed.
Twilight chuckled, her nerves finally cooling. "Y-you're here now, that's what matters to me. T-Thank you."
"I suppose we're even then."
"We are," she smiled to Blackmoon, who genuinely smiled back.
"If you don't mind me asking, though: what in Equestria was that thing? It was surging with some pretty potent magic," The witch said. She mused over it for a second.
"That was apparently Death," The purple mare said, finally releasing her death grip on the broom, and sitting upright.
Blackmoon's eyebrows darted. "Well Miss Sparkle, you certainly have a knack for getting yourself into...strange situations."
"Tell me about it," grumbled the mare.
Blackmoon giggled. "And what's with that...flashy thing, atop your head there." She pointed with a free hoof to the Element of Magic.
"Oh that? That's the thing that's going to end all of this," Twilight said, hopeful.
"Ah. Well just don't end me, please," Blackmoon chuckled.
The armored mare - still beat and hurting - sighed. "I won't. You're kindness tonight...well, thank you. You've done me a great service."
"Hey, don't mention it. No, um, really don't. If Draculestia finds out, I'll be wishing to have died from Frankenfreak down there," she giggled.
"How are you so relaxed all the time?"
"I have an apprentice, remember?" Blackmoon winked over her shoulder.
Twilight blushed. "Ah, um, right."
"Yep! So tell me Twilight, where are ya headed?"