Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

24.1--Eclipse

The rocky hillside seemed peaceful enough in the dim twilight. The first birds were singing their morning song, and some critters woke up or went to bed with the grand confusion about what time it was. Shrubs scattered the hillside, barring the one place where a rockslide had struck years before. Save for a sign that warned ponies not to enter, nopony would have guessed that it was home to an abandoned mine. Thus, the only way anyone got in or out, was through a unicorn's intangibility spell.

That changed when the rocks all levitated several feet into the air, jarring any lizards that crawled upon their rough surfaces and scaring off birds perched there. The mine shaft entrance was revealed, as well as the one causing this mass levitation--Princess Twilight Sparkle, relieved of horn crystals that prevented her from using magic.

Behind her, her friends and their acquaintance Tomato, watched in awe and relief, knowing that the challenges before them would be much less harder with her magic--as well as a book on runic circles that they had taken due to believing it could be useful. Twiilight urged them out quickly, and she herself was the last one out. She set the rocks down when it was all clear, and she took a moment to catch her breath.

"Whew! That was... big, for my first spell after being cured," she said.

"I'm afraid you'll have to do some other big spells later," Rarity said, looking at the book. "Do you suppose these circles would make things easier?"

Twilight took the book and flipped through it. "Summoning objects or even ponies... turning things to gold... pony transmutation... ah, long distance teleportation. It'll be a lot easier and less draining than just zapping us all to Canterlot with just my magic. Combining one of these with alicorn magic should give the runes a greater boost and help us travel greater distances in a second."

"Well, we oughta grab the stuff we left in Appleloosa before we go," Applejack said. She looked around at the dim forest and scratched her chin. "How long have we been in there? It looks like dawn."

Tomato pulled a pocket watch from behind his back, peered closely at it for a second, and was taken aback by what it said. "Is this thing broken? Because it says it's just after ten o'clock."

Fluttershy looked up at the sky and gasped. "I don't think it's your watch, Tomato."

The rest of the group looked to where Fluttershy pointed, and staggered back at the sight of an eclipse. All that could be seen of the sun was its corona; the rest was blocked by a dark moon, ensuring a dim landscape for all.

"But... Celestia and Luna didn't schedule a solar eclipse for this month!" Twilight cried. "Something must have happened to them!"

"What, really?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in disbelief. "But how could Wayer Rune take them out? It's not like he can go toe-to-toe with them in a magic fight or sic some werewolves on them! What could he have possibly done that they couldn't counter?"

After staring at the sky for some time, her mind running through any options that Wayer could have taken, Twilight's brow furrowed and she turned to the others with a serious look. "No doubt that Jamberry was right. How he got this far, I don't know, but we're going to find out, and we're going to stop this disaster. Not just for Cheese, Pinkie, and the Appleloosans, but for all of Equestria."

Tomato felt just about everything under his skin turn to jelly. Yeah, sure, he had the fate of all Equestria in his hooves now. No big deal.

---

Getting back to Appleloosa was a piece of cake. Nothing in the forest to jump them, and most animals they came across just scattered at the sight of ponies. And when they got to the town itself, they had Rainbow Dash quickly scope out the town in case Wayer Rune attacked it one last time before moving on.

Thankfully, it seemed that Rooney had forgotten about the town, for it was simply a case of pony and buffalo tending to the wounded from the train accident. Braeburn was among them, gathering water from a local well and distributing it among pegasi to take up to the rooftops. The medicine bison gave a salve and herbal drinks to them as well, while many of the buffalo warriors guarded the town, with Little Strongheart being a watchful eye in a tree.

The little buffalo was the first to spot Rainbow, and gestured to the rest of the warriors to relax, and let them pass through. She expressed relief that they were all right, but she still frowned on seeing that the only change to the group was that the pink one was replaced with Cheese's brother, and that there was no one else to be found. She kept glancing back at the girls as they continued down the road, even as she continued her watchbison duties.

Sheriff Silverstar noticed the girls, and immediately trotted to them. "Well, well! You sure gave us a scare when you trotted into that forest and didn't come out these past few days."

Twilight blinked and her jaw went slack. "Wait, what?! A few days?"

Silverstar nodded. "Yep. Now, I don't blame you for thinking it was just until dawn that night--somethin' weird's going on with the sun and moon."

"Yeah, we noticed," Rainbow deadpanned.

Braeburn, after hoofing off the last bucket, stood up, and made a beeline for the group with a grin. "Thank heavens, y'all are all right! We were worried that you got bitten or even killed!"

Applejack grinned at her cousin. "I'm awful glad to see the real you, Brae!"

Braeburn skidded to a halt, and scanned the group. His big grin sank into a frown when he counted the ponies, and saw that the only rescuee was Tomato. "Wh... where's everypony else? What happened to your pink friend?"

Applejack pursed her lips and sighed. "I'm sorry, but we were awful tired when we fought the pack, and Pinkie got bitten."

Fluttershy nodded and held up the blue necklace she wore. "The curse not only turned her into a werewolf, but it made her lose her memories like everyone else under it."

"That's awful!" Braeburn exclaimed.

Applejack nodded. "We managed to find Tomato in an abandoned mine, but the crazy sorcerer set a trap before he left and got us stuck in Cheese's mind. I can't believe we were in there that long!"

Braeburn blinked. "Uh... you were in Cheese's mind?"

Sheriff Silverstar backed up. "That last part makes you sound plum crazy."

Rainbow flew to their faces. "Yeah, we were, and it was nuts! We'd tell you all about it, but it's been a few days, and we really need to get to Canterlot and teach that sorcerer a lesson!" She punched the bottom of her hoof with the other, a hot snort blowing out of her nostrils.

"Right," Twilight said. She looked at Braeburn and looked at the book she levitated. "There's a spell in this book that'll instantly teleport us to Canterlot. We need to gather our things and a few supplies to help us fight the werewolves and vampires there. We're going to have to fight a lot of monsters to return these memories--" She pointed to the glowing necklace that Tomato wore. "--back to Cheese. He's the linchpin of this sorcerer's plan, and when he's cured, so is everypony else."

The sheriff backed up even further. "Well... I suppose if you'll be on your way soon, I'll have to wish you luck. Right now, I have the rest of the town to take care of." He turned around and trotted to the nearest building.

Braeburn stared at Silverstar for a moment as he left, while processing what was told him. He turned back to the girls, rubbing the back of his head. "Well... I reckon that makes some sense." He looked up at Tomato, and then back to the girls. "But does Tomato have to go? I know Cheese is his brother, but, I don't know if he can survive it, especially since now there are vampires too! When did that happen?!"

"Braeburn, I'm the only one who can carry the memories," Tomato said, pursing his lips. "And this warlock made things personal, and I'm not going to stand by while he's still using Cheese as his attack dog. Besides, I'm tougher than I look."

The cowboy stood there a long moment looking in disbelief, and reading the girls to see if any of them had a problem with it. When he saw that they simply accepted the fact that Tomato had to help them, he didn't look any of them in the eyes as he said, "...I'll help you gather things."

---

Trotting into Braeburn's guest room to see Boneless 2 the normal-sized, inanimate rubber chicken on one of the beds was surreal. Despite his destination being the other bed, Tomato couldn't help but be drawn to the toy, thinking of the tall, living version that he and the girls encountered in Cheese's mind. He kept expecting him to talk, such as when he picked up the chicken, or when he shook him. All that came out were squeaks, some that Tomato kept trying to translate in his head as a sage word of advice, an inquiry of where Cheese was, or a simple "Put me down." But nothing happened, and Tomato found himself a little disappointed by reality.

He set Boneless 2 aside, and turned to the bed he had been going to before the rubber chicken distracted him. There, his suit jacket and necktie lay, folded neatly atop the quilt. Given how that little sunlight had made things chilly, it was prudent to slip his jacket back on--though, it'd look awkward without the tie, so he might as well put that on as well.

All the while, what was ahead of him gnawed at his mind. How do Princess Twilight and her friends do it? He thought this as he snaked the end of the tie through the loop and tightened it. Did they ever wonder if they were up to the task? He wiggled the tie and determined that it was indeed tight enough. Were they afraid?

Before putting on his jacket, he reached into his white shirt and pulled out the memory he took. Setting it on the bed, he looked at it as he slid his front legs into the sleeves. Along with the questions of how the girls were able to save Equestria, there were also the questions of how Cheese did it during the Las Pegasus incident. No doubt that there was fear, that he had to repress the flight instinct in order to fight off gangs of them with just an accordion, that he knew he was risking his own life to stop Kazam and snap Tomato out of it.

Knowing that how it ended in Cheese's near death, Tomato just stuffed the memory in his jacket and sighed. He didn't want this burden; he wished that someone else could carry it. There was absolutely no way he was qualified for something as big as saving Equestria! He was a business student, not any kind of trained soldier or magical prodigy that was built to fight.

Still, the necklace he was wearing, with Cheese's memories dancing within, reminded him why he was doing this.

"I'm coming with y'all."

Tomato spun around to see Braeburn in the doorway, a serious look on his face. Blinking for a few moments, Tomato pursed his lips and shook his head. "It's nice that you want to help, but don't you think it's a little risky to bring more ponies on this mission? Look at your foreleg! You nearly turned into a werewolf!"

Braeburn took off his hat and held it over his heart. "I know. But, Cheese Sandwich is my friend, and most of that first pack are my neighbors, so it's just as personal for me as it is for the rest of y'all. How could I live with bein' a yellow-bellied coward when fellow Appleloosans are hurtin' and not rememberin' bein' pony?"

"Even if I agree to this, I don't think your cousin would. Just because you know how to fight coyotes doesn't mean you'll survive against werewolves and vampires."

"I don't think no pony has much experience fightin' them either," Braeburn retorted. "Still, I reckon I have more of a fightin' chance than most ponies."

Tomato sighed. "Well... as much as I'd like to argue against you going, it doesn't stop the fact that I'm going, and I'm pretty sure I'm less fit for this than you are. I don't know if we'll be able to talk the others into letting you come, but hopefully they'll see that a little more muscle might not hurt."

---

After everypony had gathered their saddlebags and packed the things they needed, the ponies went outside town to proceed with the long distance teleportation runes. However, Applejack then learned that Braeburn was not exactly there to see them off.

"Braeburn, are you crazy?!" she yelled. "Have you already forgotten how your last fight with werewolves went?!"

"Applejack, my leg's feeling a whole lot better! I'm in better fightin' shape than I was a few days ago!"

"So? That don't mean you can wrassle monsters like you do with pigs!"

Twilight could not focus on drawing the needed lines and runes in the circle thanks to the yelling between cousins. A line out of place here, a wrong curve there, and the stick ended up flicking dust onto a rune when somepony's pitch suddenly went higher. Looking between the book's illustration and her attempt at imitating it, she had to admit that it was not all that great. She grumbled about the desert sand and how much she'd have preferred chalk on stone, but they had to make do with the desert soil outside of town.

At one point, her stick caught a rock, and a shout from one of the cowpokes startled her into flinging it right over the other ponies' heads, all of whom ducked. When they looked up, they turned to the arguing cousins, and then looked at each other.

"Well, I should have argued harder so we didn't have to put up with this," Tomato grumbled.

"You think?" Rainbow said.

Rarity looked up at Twilight. "Twilight, perhaps I could take over in drawing the runes?"

Twilight sighed and levitated the stick and book toward Rarity. "Fine. You are a better and faster artist than I am. Maybe I can get those two to stop arguing."

She trotted to the arguing cousins, magically grabbed them by the ears, and dragged them a good distance from the circle. Sitting them down on a pair of rocks, Twilight took a deep breath. "All right, that's enough! Braeburn, I understand that members of your community have been dragged into this, and I'm sorry, but are you sure that you're up to this?"

"Oh, no, he ain't!" Applejack snapped. "He can't even watch three fillies, how does he expect to fight off a bunch of werewolves?"

"Watchin' fillies and fightin' animals ain't the same thing!" Braeburn shouted. "And you're makin' it sound like I'm expecting to do it alone. I know I can't do it alone--I fought Cheese with Little Strongheart's help, and if I go, I could help you ponies."

"You'd also be at risk of getting bitten, or even killed," Twilight said. "I don't want to drag any more inexperienced civilians into this. Tomato's only along for the ride because Cheese deemed him worthy to carry his memories. You'd have to be somepony he'd really, deeply trust to do that. Or a powerful magic user, but I need my magic to do a lot on this mission."

"And the only one out of us gals who could carry it is Pinkie, and you know what happened to her," Applejack said.

Braeburn sighed. "I know it's dangerous. I just thought a herd that's a little bigger could make a difference in fightin' the pack. And even if Cheese Sandwich don't consider me worthy enough to touch his memories... well, I still want to help save my friend, and my neighbors. Not like you knew if you'd survive any time you saved Equestria."

Twilight pursed her lips, and looked at her cast wing. She exchanged uncertain looks with Applejack, wondering if the risk would be worth it, and then looked back to the serious, steadfast Braeburn.

A few moments of silence passed, and Applejack said, "Brae... do you really know what you'd be gettin' into?"

Braeburn pursed his lips. "Appleloosa got the first werewolf, and the first pack. I think I have an idea."

Applejack sighed. "Well... maybe we do need all the help we can get. The magic of friendship ain't just for us, you know."

"You're right," Twilight said with a nod. "And family relationships can be the most valuable of friendships."

Applejack turned to Braeburn. "All I ask is that you be careful."

Braeburn smiled. "Don't worry, cuz. We can watch each other's backs."

Then, they heard Rarity trilling, "Yoo hoo! I've drawn the rune circle, and we're still waiting for your decision on Braeburn!"

The Apple cousins hopped off the rocks, and followed Twilight to the newly drawn runic circle, which was drawn a harder, more clay-like patch of ground. After confirming Braeburn as a member of their party, Twilight put the spellbook in her saddlebag, and urged everypony into the circle's perimeter. Everypony squeezed in--though there was just barely enough room for all to fit.

"Ergh! Gee, Rarity, could you make this circle smaller next time?" Rainbow groused.

"Hmph! No need to descend into biting sarcasm, Rainbow Dash," Rarity grumbled back.

Twilight sighed. "Firing up the spell now."

"Wait!"

They looked up to see Little Strongheart leaping out of town and running toward them. They just watched as she skidded to a halt, took a brief moment to catch her breath, and then straighten out into a steadfast position. "I heard that Braeburn was planning on going on this quest to right this wrong, is that correct?"

The ponies looked at Braeburn, with the girls and Tomato nodding and Braeburn saying, "Yes, ma'am, that's what I'm doin'."

"If so, I request to join you. A member of my tribe is part of that pack, and I must bring him home."

"Wow, this is personal for a lot of us," Tomato muttered.

Rainbow grinned and said to Twilight, "Hey, her sweet moves could be a lot of help!"

Twilight groaned. "All right! Little Strongheart, you may help."

Little Strongheart smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I know it will be hard, but I will fight until all are free from that curse."

Braeburn smiled. "That's the spirit! I'm awful glad that you're comin' with." The genuine smile soon turned sheepish. "Though, we're a mite squeezed like grapes in a juicer, so you'll have to get on somepony's back."

Little Strongheart complied with that suggestion by getting on Rainbow's back. With everyone squeezed within the circle and holding their breath, Twilight lit up her horn, and in a flash, they had disappeared. All that remained in the desert outside Appleloosa were scorch marks that resembled the circle.

---

A flash of light illuminated the Canterlot Castle's throne room for a second, and the once empty room was now occupied by seven ponies and a little buffalo, all tumbling out of their squished circle onto the magenta carpet--or the hard marble floors if they were unlucky.

After they picked themselves up, Rarity brushed ashes off her white coat and smoothed down her mane. "Well, we'll certainly make the circle bigger next time."

Wincing from the soreness in her wing, Twilight lit up her horn, with Rarity following her lead. Looking around the throne room, she said, "Well, we made it with all of us in one piece."

Tomato, Braeburn, and Little Strongheart wandered around a little bit, gawking at the banners on the walls, the tall pillars, and the colorful stained glass windows. Braeburn took off his hat and said, "Is this what the Princess' throne room looks like? Wow, ain't that fancy."

"Do all ponies not of Appleloosa live like this?" Little Strongheart asked, noting how high the ceiling was.

"I don't," Tomato said. "I grew up in a little brick house in one of Manehattan's poorer neighborhoods."

"Well, this is the Princesses' castle, so of course it's more grandiose than the average Equestrian house," Rarity said.

"But where are the Princesses?" Fluttershy asked.

"That's what we're here to find out," Twilight said.

She pulled open the doors, and the group went out into the hallway. The first thing they noticed were broken windows, leaving sharp glass on the floor that most of the group had to tiptoe around, with only the two pegasi flying over it. Miraculously, the stained glass depictions of events in Equestrian history remained intact.

Peering out the windows for brief moments, they could already see pony-sized creatures flying around, or some that hung off various ledges of the castle. The light outside was too dim to see any features with a quick glance, and nopony wanted to pause for a closer look.

"Uh... maybe they're just Luna's guards," Twilight suggested, forcing a grin.

They hurried past the windows and turned down the hallway. The further they went, the more that they could see was wrong. More windows were cracked or had panels shattered. Decorative centerpieces had been thrown about, leading to shattered vases and busts and dying flowers, as well as tipped over pedestals and fake fruit scattering the floor. Claw marks ran across the walls, and tore up the carpets.

They had held their breath within icy silence for what seemed like hours, tiptoeing around broken glass and torn flooring. The wind blew through the windows, giving them a chill, and they froze each time they heard a door creak, or another item shatter in another part of the castle, or even a distant scream echoing across the land. In an attempt at self-comfort, Rarity levitated pedestals back upright and crowned them with fake fruit bowls, and straightened out pictures.

Twilight stopped in her tracks when she heard a shower running in the bathroom on her left. The door had been torn off its hinges, and the curtain draped over the bathtub's rim, water droplets running down the waterproof cloth in their own small little race. Said curtain was the shower's only occupant, with no pony in sight and the room a mess like the rest of the castle.

After Twilight used her magic to turn off the shower, everypony jumped and shuddered when Fluttershy screamed. They spun around to see Fluttershy, with a red hoof, looking down at the floor and quaking.

"Fluttershy, what are you..." Applejack looked down at the floor, and saw the large spot of blood soaking the floor. "...oh, my."

Rarity pulled a cloth out of her saddlebag and wiped her friend's hoof clean. "I'm not looking at that dreadful sight! No, I'll just look down that adjacent hallway and... oh, dear sweet Celestia, there's footprints!"

The others shuffled to where Rarity looked, and indeed, there were footprints, which morphed from a pony's hoofprints to a wolf's pawprints the further they went down. Peering as far as they could, they could see that the tracks lead further and further down the hall.

Rainbow hovered over them. "I say we follow them!"

"I have a better idea," Tomato said. "Let's not do that."

"Well... maybe it's somepony we know," Twilight said, starting her trot down the hall. "Somepony that we could apprehend easily, change them back, and then ask them what happened. Somepony like, uh... Raven Inkwell... or Kibitz... or one of the Royal Guards..."

Rainbow flew ahead to see where they lead, while the others galloped after her--though Applejack was in the back, making sure Rarity and Fluttershy recovered from their shock. As they ran, Twilight continued to name castle inhabitants that they could possibly bump into that they could defeat easily, or better yet, didn't transform. She droned on about it until a crash and clatter from a room ahead made the group jump and stop in their tracks.

Seeing where the tracks lead, Twilight grabbed Rainbow Dash and pulled her back before she could start a fight in the room ahead, and shushed her before her protest. They looked up at the door just barely hanging on by a hinge, revealing a messy kitchen with just food on the walls and floor, and a few glasses that were dropped near the sink. In the middle of it all, it looked like Royal Guards and a couple of others were feasting from the tipped over refrigerator.

"Why am I not surprised that they go straight for the food?" Tomato whispered.

"Guess hunting's not goin' well for 'em," Braeburn said, scratching his head.

Twilight peered closer and scratched her chin. "Well... doesn't look like the princesses are in there. Still, with those guys occupied, maybe we can cure them before they--"

Another shriek came from the three girls in the back, and half the the group spun around to see that some vampire ponies in guard armor had jumped them from behind. Applejack bucked one away, Rarity knocked another away with a nearby vase when it came too close to biting her, and they dragged a third off the startled Fluttershy and threw it aside, before darting off to the rest of the group.

Of those who just turned their heads, they turned back to the kitchen, where the Royal Guard werewolves and their royal aide counterparts had perked up and spotted them. The growling canines leaped over the counter and out into the hall, some revealing that they still had pegasus wings on them.

Rainbow kicked a pegasus werewolf in the face, and punched another. "So much for secretly curing them!"

Twilight blasted another werewolf into a wall, before following that up with shooting at a vampire heading her way. "Where did these vampires come from?!"

Tomato found himself pinned to the wall by one of the vampires, who sniffed him and hissed. "I think they smelled the blood."

Little Strongheart jumped at the wall and sprung off it to kick the vampire off Tomato. When she landed on the floor, she said, "I have never seen anything like them!"

"I was one once," Tomato grumbled, whipping out Boneless 2 and smacking a werewolf with it hard enough to draw a whimper. "Bad dog!"

Braeburn hopped to Applejack's side to help her buck some werewolves and vampires away. The wolves growled and barked as they pounced, only for those growls and barks to devolve into whines and whimpers went met with a pair of back hooves. The vampires hissed as they attacked, only to shriek when they were met with the same fate. The Apple cousins didn't have much time to grab ropes from their saddlebags, for they were still being leapt at by hungry hybrids and had to keep bucking.

"I ain't sure which one's worse!" Braeburn cried.

"Bein' ripped apart or sucked dry? Definitely a hard choice," Applejack replied.

"How about the ones that fly?!" Rarity shouted, punching a vampire in the face.

Rainbow Dash was leading some monsters up to the ceiling for them to smack into. Once they slammed headfirst and then fell to the floor, Rainbow descended to kick more butt. "Well, some of these werewolves are flying!"

Twilight picked a werewolf up with her magic and threw it into a trio that tried to pounce on her. "At least these guards don't remember their training! Then again, if they remembered anything, they'd be begging to be cured!"

Rainbow kicked a vampire away from Fluttershy, who was holding one werewolf hostage with her Stare. "Fluttershy! Why aren't you doing that on all of them?!"

Fluttershy spun around and screeched, "Because they keep moving around everywhere, and I can't focus on more than one in this chaos!"

Little Strongheart bounced off a wall to bowl over several of the monsters, including the ones that Applejack and Braeburn had been fending off. With that small window open, they pulled out ropes and made lassos to tie up the monsters with. They threw the lassos up and began to twirl like the cowpokes they were--only for a couple of vampires to swipe the ropes out of their mouths and throw them aside.

Applejack stomped on the ground. "Dagnabbit! You're gonna get a lickin' for that!"

Tomato rolled and jumped out of the way of each attack from either monster, landing hits when he jumped from head to head or smacked them with rubber chicken or pocket watch. He looked around the halls, which while seeming spacious normally, was a whole lot more cramped when filled with vampires and werewolves trying to kill them. He paused in his jumping, right atop a flying pony, to shout, "Princess! We need to get out of this hallway!"

Unluckily for him, he was sitting on a vampire, who promptly bucked him off and sent him hurtling to the floor. One the one hoof, it wasn't too high of a fall, but on the other... it still hurt. Especially when his back landed straight on the ropes that were taken from the Apple cousins.

As much as his spine hurt and he just wanted to lay down and rest, that wasn't an option at the moment, and he rolled off the ropes. He grabbed them and stuffed them into his jacket, and then hopped up to make a beeline for Twilight, who realized that the only way out of this was to teleport away.

A couple of vampires blocked his way, with one reaching forward to grab him by the memory necklace to pull him forward.

A flash was followed by the smell of burning flesh, and the crackle of electricity. The two vampires dropped to the floor utterly dazed, seeming dead until he saw their chests rising and falling rapidly. Tomato froze at what had transpired in front of him, and gripped the necklace that he was nearly pulled by. He glanced down at it, and thought to himself in amazement about how Cheese still managed to look out for him.

He barely had time to process it more before Twilight called him, and he darted to the group. While some tried to jump him, they backed off when seeing the other two on the floor and hearing Tomato's shout of, "You wanna touch the living bug-zapper, pal?! Come on, I dare ya!"

Applejack reached out and pulled him in, and Twilight lit up her horn to teleport their entire party out of that hall.

---

They reappeared in the castle gardens, where neither werewolf nor vampire was currently residing. Hidden by trees and shrubs, with an sweet scent carried by the cool breeze and space to breathe, they could feel themselves ease from the cramps caused by fighting monsters in a hallway. For at least a moment, they could sit down, catch their breath, and examine what damage they took from the fight.

"I'm startin' to wonder if this trip is worth it," Braeburn said, searching for a first aid kit in his satchel.

Little Strongheart noticed the scratches and bruises she got from the fight, and gently ran her hoof over them. "Even if we are starting to regret this, we cannot turn back now."

Rarity looked up at the castle. "I'd hate to say it, but it think everypony in the castle has been transformed."

Fluttershy gasped. "You don't think the Princesses transformed also, do you?"

Twilight stood up and stomped a hoof. "No! There's no way they'd let that happen so easily! Both Celestia and Luna can repel a bunch of measly little werewolves and vampires without breaking a sweat! Wayer Rune can't possibly catch them both off guard; heck, you'd think Luna would have noticed if he struck in the middle of the night! What could he have possibly done to them to cause the eclipse?"

"Heck if I know," Tomato muttered. "But... whatever happened to them, I think it's better to look for the guy you have a magic signature for." He held up the necklace for her to see. "You know, the guy we have to return these to and turn everything back to normal?"

Fluttershy looked at her blue necklace. "Including Pinkie."

Twilight huffed. "I know, Tomato! I just want to know what happened to the Princesses!"

Applejack came to Twilight's side and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Twi... I know you're worried, but maybe if we focus on our goal, we can save the princesses too."

Twilight pursed her lips, and then sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I might as well track Cheese now."

But before she could do so, they were startled by a large werewolf hopping right out of the brush. All gave a shriek of fright and backed away, with most of the group clinging to Twilight. They stared at the white wolf, crowned with a unicorn horn and a messy mane of light brown, and fringed with the same color on his legs and tails.

Rarity gasped. "Blueblood?! I knew he was a beast, but seeing it taken literally is so much worse!"

Blueblood pounced, but Rainbow darted forward to kick him away, sending him flying. "Back off, Fido! I still have a lot of fight in me!"

By chance, she looked up, and noticed the vampires hanging from the various castle ledges awaken, and direct red-eyed gazes toward her. She just hovered and stared back at them, her mind torn between standing her ground--so to speak--and fighting, or retreating back to the others for a quick teleport away.

Her choice was made by Twilight shouting, "Rainbow Dash! We need to focus on tracking Cheese!"

Rainbow turned and sped back, with the vampires beginning to give chase. She took the hoof of Fluttershy and was pulled into the group, and once again, Twilight teleported them all elsewhere.

---

Canterlot Main Street was not much better. They appeared to a scene of werewolf-vampire gangs caught up in a brawl, which stopped the moment that non-cursed ponies and a buffalo came on scene. With fresh meat and blood standing right there, they broke their fight, and crept forward for a smell and quite possibly a taste of that food.

"And I thought Manehattan gangs were bad!" Tomato shouted.

"Let's go to my boutique!" Rarity cried. "Perhaps we'll be safe there!"

Fluttershy gave them the Stare to freeze them, while Twilight charged up another spell to escape.

---

Surprisingly, the boutique was rather clean when they popped in. Rarity, thanking the heavens and laughing, leapt to each rack and to each displayed dress, none of which were in tatters, and posed and cuddled with them. She swooned near one dress, flung a hat off a mannequin and wore it, and danced with another mannequin. It only brought about awkward stares from the others and nervous glances between them.

Rarity calmed down quickly, and returned the hat. "Regardless, the untouched state of Canterlot Carousel suggests that we are safe here." She looked at Little Strongheart. "Someday, I would like to make a dress for you, to highlight your bravery."

Little Strongheart tilted her head. "Thank you? I did not feel very brave with each retreat."

"That's because our focus should not be fighting the vampires and werewolves, it should be tracking Cheese down and taking advantage of his status as the linchpin of this curse," Twilight said.

"But why would anypony want to..." Braeburn's question drifted off as his eyes wandered to a nearby dressing room, and widened. "Uh, gals? I don't think we're alone."

They turned to the room that Braeburn looked at, and saw a horned, red-headed vampire hanging upside-down from the curtain rod, glaring at them with glowing red eyes. The blue creature spread its wings, revealing a skinny body wearing tattered dark clothing, and hissed loudly.

Rarity gasped. "Sassy Saddles?! Oh, no, the curse got you too!"

Tomato looked around at the neat room. "I'm surprised she still has respect for your work."

"Still, we're not safe here, either," Twilight said. She pulled the others close to her. "Maybe Moondancer can give us refuge."

And she teleported away before Sassy could snatch them.

---

They teleported in the middle of a monster slumber party, where vampire Moondancer and the the werewolf Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts all jumped at the flash of light that revealed several ponies and a buffalo on a silver platter. After recovering from the flash, they all sniffed, and prowled forward to the delicious meal that had just appeared in front of them.

Twilight gasped. "Oh, no, not you guys too!"

"Is anywhere in Canterlot safe?!" Tomato snapped.

"Possibly... maybe... I don't know! We're just here because Wayer Rune might be here!"

"It's been a few days, he could have left for a different town!" Rainbow snapped.

"Girls?" Fluttershy said. "We need to leave, uh, now."

Twilight looked sadly at her old group of friends, all devolved into mindless predators that sized them up for slaughter. As she lit up her horn to teleport away, she whispered to them, "I'm sorry."

---

There was no thought put into their next destination, so they appeared in the middle of another Canterlot street, in view of a lot of vampires and werewolves. Many of these former ponies had their fine garments reduced to tatters, as much shells of their former selves as their owners were. Familiar faces were spotted among the packs and colonies--Fancy Pants had been digging through trash as a werewolf, whilst famous face Trenderhoof glided down onto an unlucky wolf as a vampire. Tomato could see Great Uncle Lemon Lime and Great Aunt Macaroni snapping and hissing at each other as the two monsters, and many other upper crust ponies of all shapes and sizes acting as mere animals.

It was hard for them not to notice the flash that came with teleporting ponies, and they almost immediately crept toward them on realizing there was free food. They were completely surrounded within seconds, thanks to the sheer number of the cursed ponies on that very street. With nowhere to run, Twilight needed to teleport again.

Before she did so, Twilight noticed one of the inter-monster couples among them, and cried out a gasp of, "Mom? Dad?!"

Twilight's werewolf mother was the first to pounce, and onto the stunned Twilight. She had her jaws on the alicorn's horn before Rainbow Dash kicked her off, and helped Twilight up. Before she could ask if Twilight was okay, another wolf pounced, and she had to throw that off, and then had to punch away a vampire. She took off alone in the sky to lead any vampires or pegasus werewolves away from her friends, but that didn't take care of all of them.

Apple cousins were forced to buck more monsters away, with everyone else doing punches, kicks, smacks with whatever inanimate object they had on hoof, hisses, and stares. Whines and shrieks came from each blow that hit, and some dropped stunned after contact with Cheese's memory necklace, but more and more just kept coming, landing hits and scratches on each member of the group with each attempt to bite their necks. Soon enough, it got crowded enough for Twilight, once she recovered from her shock, to summon a shield and push the monsters out of their personal spaces.

"Twilight, let's get out of here!" Fluttershy cried.

Twilight looked up at the sky at Rainbow's fight. "I don't want to leave Rainbow behind! And... I don't know where else to go!"

Applejack watched the werewolves try to claw and gnaw their way through. "I hope you can keep this shield up awhile."

Twilight looked around at the once-pony creatures that were trying to break in. Rarity's Canterlot associates were digging at the shield, ready to eat the horrified fashionista alive. Neighbors that she recognized from her youth bore fangs when they once bore smiles, and even her own parents were trying to kill her and her friends. All this from what she had thought was just an inconvenience to be quickly solved, which not only stole Tomato's brother's equinity, but extended to her own loved ones and acquaintances as well.

And then, suddenly, there came a shout of, "Wolves holding ponies hostage? Throw them in the garbage!"

Strong, blue hands yanked werewolves from the bubble one by one, and tossed them away. The wall of armored muscle they belonged to barreled through the crowd of monsters, grabbing vampires in midair and flinging them at others with a roar. The two-horned beast raced through, knocking all the fanged beasts away from the shield with frightening ease, and even yelling at them to scare them off.

"Yeah, you better run! Iron Will's prepared to kick your butts!" their savior roared.

Little Strongheart watched the scene with wide eyes. "What is that?"

"That's a minotaur," Fluttershy stated.

Joining Iron Will was a bubble that zoomed out of nowhere, and pinballed against vampires and werewolves with the bounciest of forces. Coming over the hill, control the pinball bubbles and shooing monsters away with frequent zaps from her horn, was none other than Silk Shimmer, who didn't even seem to have her makeup smeared or a hair out of place.

After hopping atop Twilight's shield and zapped more monsters, she looked down and spotted Tomato. "Oh, hi, Tomato! Can you believe we're going through this crud again?"

"Tell me about it," Tomato grumbled. "But I have a different perspective this time."

Suddenly, another unicorn sprung out of nowhere, and bathed in a fireball of powerful magic, she slammed right onto the street, and sent a shockwave that not only shattered Twilight's shield--which had Silk Shimmer falling on top of the group--but shook the houses in the neighborhood. Seeing that display of power, both werewolf and vampire pinned their ears back, and took off with excessive yelping or panicked chirping.

The unicorn rose from the dust, revealing herself as turquoise, with lilac and violet hair put up in a ponytail. She turned to Twilight and her friends with narrowed eyes and a scowl, and she seemed to ponder on whether they should live or die.

Rainbow Dash landed from her midair fight, ended by flying monsters fleeing the shockwave. "Whoa... that was awesome!"

Twilight stood up, and walked toward the unicorn. "That was really impressive. I have to thank you and your companions for coming to our rescue. I'm afraid we might have underestimated just how many werewolves and vampires there would be."

The unicorn huffed. "Well, I'm sure that as princess, you just have a need to save the day."

Twilight backed up. "What?"

Silk Shimmer slipped to the turquoise pony's side. "Sorry about that. Glimmerdust has a bit of an attitude, but, she did give the, uh... for lack of a better word, 'survivors', a warning about the water."

"What about the water?" Rarity asked.

"It's enchanted," Glimmerdust said. "Don't drink it, or even play in it, unless you want fangs and a hunger for pony."

Iron Will picked up the entire group, with half the ponies (and buffalo) under each arm. "Iron Will warned the lot of you that strange things happen under a full moon!" He looked up at the sky. "Or an eclipse, strange things happen then, too. We minotaurs always feared the return of the werewolf, and thus, we are prepared! Now, let's take you ponies to our little safehouse!"

"It's technically a cave, but... yeah," Silk said.

"Yeah, we don't want you turning into a monster now, do we?" Glimmerdust said with a condescending tone.

And thus, they took off for the refuge.

Author's Note:

And thus, the final stretch begins! I think it could be around an eight chapter thing (or maybe even ten), but that's just a guess based on how much is going on in my head and what I want to stick in the finale. What do you guys hope to see? Who do you guys hope to see?

I'm already having a few players march in to join the battle.

Comments

[redmar]

I want the whole stuff with the werewolves and vampires to be over already. For me the whole thing with the transformations has lasted too long and I want it to end quickly. Wayer Rune must be punished extremely hard when this is over of course.

[Goldfinch142]

They were in the memories for several days!? Wayer Rune set that trap even better than I thought, if the extended time span of entrapment was intentional.

Huh, I guess the cursed water did have a 50/50 effect of vampires and werewolves. Good thing too--like I said, vampire/werewolf hybrids are the last thing anypony needs right now. Alicorn werewolves/vampires are on that list as well, but it unfortunately looks like the Sisters were also taken by the curse. After all, who can counter a surprise tampering of the entire city's water system?

Well, it's nice to see Silk Shimmer again, even if it's not exactly under the best of circumstances. I wonder if she realizes that the pony responsible for this city of monsters is her own ancestor?

[howard035]

Cool to see all these extra ponies joining the Mane 6 and Tomato for the big fight!

[Chromio]

All I request is that you take your time with this stretch if you need to. Don't worry and rush, we're here and appreciate how much work you put into this story. I'd like to see a number of things, good battles, the struggle to survive this apocalypse, perhaps development among the additional characters you've introduced in this chapter.
Honestly all I want in this final stretch is a story we won't forget, and you've been giving that to us for quite a while now, so keep doing your best!

[Godslittleprincess]

Please tell me this story has a happy ending.