The lycan swung down, hanging from her tail like a bat. Her blueish green canine eyes lined with Rainbow Dash's. She smiled, sizing the vampony up. "What's a vampyre trio like you doing here?" she asked, her eyes moving to Lyra and Bon-Bon. "Wouldn't you have brought a vampiric gryphon with you, with some new bloods here?"
Rainbow opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a howl in the distance.
"My pack can smell you, vampony. You should leave. You don't wanna get hurt do you? Right? Say, I've never seen a vampony, or vampyre of any kind this closely before. What's it like? C-" Rainbow Dash placed her hoof over the Lycan's mouth, stopping her ramblings.
"Shut it." Rainbow Dash ordered. The lycan nodded. Rainbow Dash took her hoof from the lycans mouth and sized her up. Her coat was a silvery yellow, while her mane was a messy black splotch of hair. Her long talon-like claws hung in her pawed hooves like razors. Perfect killing devices. Her tail was also black, like her mane, and quite messy in itself. Yet long, and surprisingly elegant in its sways. She chuckled, looking at the trio with a wide, toothy smile.
"Why are you here, anyway?" the lycan asked, dropping down onto the floor, sniffing inquisitively at Rainbow Dash. The four hunters suddenly heard another, louder and more urgent sounding howl. "Follow me!" The lycan begged, rushing of excitedly into the thick, dark forests. Rainbow Dash sternly looked to the new bloods, frowning as she sighed, rolling her eyes. She began to chase after the lycan mare, silently gliding over the forest floors, her hooves never quite touching the ground as she sprinted. Lyra and Bon Bon pursued their elder, frowning as they realised that their decision to wander could have far more dire consequences that she thought.
The lycan had rushed out of sight, taking an unannounced turn at some unknown point, leaving the three vamponies in the middle of the forrest - lost.
"Where... did she go?" Rainbow dash asked herself, looking around her carefully. No sign of the wolf-mare... Lyra and Bob Bon slowed to a halt, Lyra falling over a root, landing on her face. Bon Bon worriedly turned to Lyra, checking her over for any injuries. Rinbow Dash didn't pay Lyra attention, more focused on finding where the trio were, without getting themselves in more trouble. Noticing a small streak of sunlight pushing down through the leaves Rainbow Dash grunted. It was still day, she wouldn't have a good time flying.
Rainbow Dash slowly turned to the others in concern, finally checking Lyra over. It wasn't a serious injury, at least not for a vampony. A large gash tore down her leg, staining the floor in vampyric blood. That became Rainbow Dash's new concern. Something they could be tracked by, other than smell. Lyra's dripping blood would leave a trail straight to them, wherever they went!
The wound would close, soon hopefully...
Then Rainbow Dash's ears perked up, honing in on the sound of dampened hoofsteps. The Lycanthropic mare, or a new threat? Much to the vamponies relief, it was not any threatening - Just the silver furred mare.
"What's going on?" she asked, looking at the trio, bouncing up and down energetically.
Rainbow Dash replied with a sigh, and roll of her eyes. A twig cracked and the lycan let out a yelp, spinning around and growling defensively, her voice becoming coarse, or more so than it already was. She began to sniff the ground, flicking her tail. Her head raised up, pointing into the darkness with a growl. What had she found? Rainbow Dash wondered, gesturing for her two companions to fall behind her.
They did.
A deep, dark, grey furred form moved through the bushes, red eyes glaring at the trio of vamponies, yet ignoring the lycanthrope completely. Another one was stalking them from the top of the trees, watching them with hate-filled eyes of sapphire. They growled lightly, revealing themselves with a chilling confidence of victory. They snarled, jumping out at Rainbow Dash, only to meet with the cyan equine's hooves, rather painfully. The first fell backwards, holding his face protectively, while the other engaged the vampiric leader in vicious combat. Bloody claws dug into the rainbow maned fighter, and sharpened fangs sank into the lycan's neck.
The lycan struggled for a moment, gasping in vain for air, and died... His limp body fell to the floor, a light smirk on his face. Rainbow Dash frowned, crushing the dead lycanthrope's skull with a powerful stomp of her hoof. Why the smirk though? Why could he be happy on his death bed? Rainbow Dash shook it of, carelessly. A sudden ear-piercing howl erupted from the other lycan, still alive despite the kick to the face.
The strange, friendly lycan mare shut him up by throttling his neck with her own sharp canine jaws, killing him too. "This way," she exclaimed, heading down a shaded pathway - towards the castle ruins. Lyra and Bon-Bon glanced at each other, looking to Rainbow Dash for guidance. She nodded and the two followed after the stranger, with their leader. Rainbow Dash managed to keep up with the lycanthrope mare, this time. She followed through the shade, until she reached the clearing with her two companions. The canine mare stood in the sun, smiling as she flicked her tail forwards. She frowned suddenly, looking at the trio. "What's wrong?" she ask, tilting her head. She paused, holding a paw up to signal for no reply. Thinking... Thinking... She placed her paw to her face. "Right... Sunlight." The lycan stomped about in a circle, groaning as she attempted to think of some solution.
Rainbow Dash glanced at her in bewilderment.
"What about an umbrella?" Lyra suggested, pulling some leaves into a cover with her magic. "Shade!"
Rainbow Dash nodded, sighing. She looked at the lycan mare and asked the one question that had been bugging her. "Who are you?"
"Me?" the lycan replied, smirking. "I'm Black Midnight."