Twilight Sparkle trotted down the spiraling staircase. Who knew Hell could be so pretty? The cavern she was in was actually quite nice, minerals sparkled and glistened in the reddish light that seemed to permeate everything. The staircase she was on was in the middle of the cave. Casting a glance around, Twilight gave a sigh of contentment. She felt... like she actually belonged. Since becoming a vampire, or alleged demon of the dark, she'd felt unrestful. Always needing to move. Always needing to hunt.

Denying the urges that were part of her nature wasn't what one would call comfortable. It hurt. Hopefully seeing Thanatos would help. After all, the demon queen was who had created vampires, or the disease. Rumor had it that Thanatos was a bipolar mess. She was the queen of the damned, and though she had started out caring and helpful, having to cast souls to torment for eternity probably wasn't easy on morality. If she's really a bipolar mess, we'll fit right in together. Twilight thought. Reaching the final landing on the stairs, Twilight stopped and pondered what direction she should take.

Many tunnels filled with red light branched off from the cave. If she listened closely, she could hear tortured screams. Twilight shivered. She was in the right place for certain.

A low growl made her whip her head around. A large wolf, covered in armor, was staring at her like she was a meal. Not today, pal. "I am here to seek audience with Thanatos," she stated coolly. The wolf laughed, a sound between barking and talking.

"You're here to talk to the queen? Not just anyone can see her, you know."

"I assure you, I am not just anyone. I am a demon too."

The wolf seemed taken back. "A demon? Well, what kind?" He grinned.

"A vampire."

The wolf howled and more guards stepped out from the shadows. They were smaller than their leader, but still bigger than her. "Take her to the Queen. It seems a wayward servant has found her way back." He paused, and then cackled. "Be nice! If the queen doesn't like her, we don't want dinner bruised." Twilight gulped. "Have fun," he whispered.

The guards roughly shoved her towards one of the tunnels. No light came from this one, and it sloped downwards. As they passed the threshold into the darkness, even Twilight's vampire eyes couldn't see anything. "No magic," one of her escorts growled, seemingly knowing what she was thinking. Continuing on, the tunnel dipped low into a ditch, and her hoof touched something wet. Bringing her foreleg to her face, she inspected it with her other senses. It smelled familiar. Blood... She stuck her tongue out and licked it. Pony blood...

One of the wolves barked at her. "Yes, yes, I'm coming,"

"So, little demon, what brings you here?" the smaller of the guards asked. His armor was gold, and contrasted nicely with his black coat. His lips pulled back to reveal a fangs much like Twilight's own.

"I couldn't control myself," she said stiffly.

"Hey, didn't we see a soul like that a few days ago?" the other, reddish wolf teased. "She was blue, and had puncture holes on her neck," the wolf grinned.

"I don't want to talk about it," Twilight said, even stiffer than before.

"Oh, no. Poor little vampy pony couldn't control herself? Accidentally sent a pony to Thanatos?"

"Stop it," she growled. "You have no idea of the power I wield," even as the words came out of Twilight's mouth, she was surprised. Insanity is getting to me. Instead of meeting me head on, she's being passive aggressive. "Sorry," she said quietly.

The black wolf looked her over. "You won't survive long with that attitude, kid. Everyone here is a demon too, and most are worst than us. You still have equinity." His red companion snorted.

"Her Majesty's palace approaches!" the red wolf howled. Twilight looked ahead; she could see now. More guard-wolves lined the walls of the castle. Black spires, crafted of obsidian, joined with the cavern roof. the blocks from which it was constructed were translucent, letting her see into the building. Fuzzy shapes moved beyond the wall. A pair of great gates blocked her from entering.

The black wolf barked, "A servant of Thanatos seeks audience with her!" Two wolves, of the same size as the first one that she met, jumped down.

"Name!"

"Nox, Captain!"

"You may pass," one of the wolves grunted.

Twilight sheepishly followed the wolves. Even though she was on equal or higher terms power-wise, she still felt skittish around them. Her prey instincts as an herbivore still lurked. Trotting behind the wolves, they continued into the castle.

It was grand, she'd give it that. But in a macabre way. Skulls of many large animals decorated the walls, while bloody weapons hung underneath them. Her hooves made a racket on the ground, contrasted to the nearly silent padding of the wolves. She noticed that their ruffs were bristling. Glancing around, she found the source of their aggression. Another demon, though this one was a griffin, approached them.

"Well, look at you two! Finally got something interesting to do!" she said, ruffling her feathers. Twilight noticed that her claws and talons were bloody.

"Somnum, go away!" Nox snarled.

The black griffin paused, and then continued, "Fine, but you still report to me." Swishing her lion-tail in their faces, she walked away.

"She's an ass," the red wolf snarled.

"Cruor, shut up! She's got good hearing, you know," Nox quickly yipped.

Generally ignoring the wolves, Twilight continued to inspect the castle. Her ears told her that down one of the hallways, creatures were eating, and it didn't sound like they were eating grass. Her nose told her that many inhabited the castle. Still leading her, the wolves continued to bicker.

Until, that is, they came to a set of doors emblazoned with thorns.

The black wolf, Nox, came up to her and said, "If you wish to continue breathing, bow as soon as you reach the end of the carpet. Don't look her in the eyes unless asked. And by any means, don't make any snarky comments about anything. She won't care if it's a joke," his yellow eyes burned with the intensity of his warning. "Good luck, kid."

Swallowing her fear down, she stepped into the throne room. The rug she was on was red, and detailed with thorns along the sides. She kept her eyes down, feeling the great magical presence ahead. Walking slowly down, she ruffled her wings, adjusting the appendages that wanted to act upon her fight or flight instinct. Reaching the end of the rug, she prostrated herself before the Queen.

"Rise," a cold voice said.

Standing up, but not looking at the queen, Twilight said, "I have come to seek audience with you, my Queen."

"So you have, but why?"

"I accidentally killed a pony, Your Majesty," the purple pony answered shakily.

"Oh, I know that. I passed judgement on her just hours before," the voice said, cold as winter. "She was most distressed." The Dark Queen laughed. "You gave her quite the scare," Thanatos paused, and then said, much kinder, "Look at me."

Twilight raised her eyes to the Queen of Death, and her breath caught in her throat. She could see why Nox had warned her. The Queen's appearance kept shifting, from an alicorn more beautiful than Celestia, to something uglier than what Opalescence drags into Rarity's shop occasionally.

"A vampire? I see, one of my children has made it back to me. You were not bitten by another vampony, but by the source of your blessing itself. And, you come seeking a way to redeem yourself," pausing at Twilight's shocked expression, Thanatos held an expression of amusement, "I keep up with the happenings of the world, you know."

"Yes, my queen, I come seeking a way to redeem myself from the evil I have committed."

"There is a way, but you won't like it," Thanatos grinned. "You can become a reaper of souls, one who heralds death."

"You mean, killing ponies?!" Twilight backed up. "I can't do that!"

"You're not just killing them, you're saving some of them from a worse demise than the one you gave Trixie."

Twilight's knees shook. "I-I suppose I could," Her eyes closed, "If it meant helping ponies, I could."

Thanatos clapped her hooves together and giggled, breaking her cold facade, "I guess Sleipnir gets his vacation after all!" She called forth Nox and Cruor, the wolf guards. "Take her to the Initiate Suite!"

The wolves pushed her down one of the adjacent halls in the room, much gentler than before. "Good job," Nox whispered in her ear.They swiftly trotted through the maze of hallways until arriving at the aforementioned room.

"Here you go, hope you don't get a pup on your first assignment!" barked Cruor.

"Your training will begin soon, and I suggest getting some rest," Nox warned. "It won't be easy, and you'll need all your energy."

Twilight stepped into the room and blinked with surprise. It was almost as big as her room in Canterlot! And filled with books too! Smiling, she walked over to the bed. Magically exhausted, she manually lifted the sheet. Sleep... I fear you and I won't be seeing each other all that often soon. Dragging her pillow into a proper position, the purple alicorn promptly fell asleep.