> Creature of the Night
>  by RealBarenziah
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Any historian well versed in Obscure Unicorn history will most definitely claim that the Classical Era was one of great importance to the development of magical techniques, for thousands of spells were invented during this time. However, the Pre-Classical Era cannot go without mention. It is well known that Starswirl the Bearded was a primary character of this era and one of the most important figures in Unicorn history."

Twilight pulled the quill away as she dotted the period and scanned over the introduction. "Hmm," she pondered. "No.... this is too unstructured. And maybe a bit misleading too..." Dipping the scarlet feather into the inkwell she quickly scratched out the words and began a new paragraph below it. 

"It is widely known by Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies alike that basic spells such as telekinesis along with countless other spells that are used today were created during the Classical Era. Therefor this era is commonly referred to as the most important in Unicorn history. Surprisingly few ponies, however, are unaware of the importance of the Pre-Classical Era, specifically the life and works of Starswirl the Bearded...."

She pulled the quill away again and surveyed the words skeptically. "No, No." She scratched it out, disappointed. She thought for a moment, tickling her chin with the tip of the feather. She set the quill to the parchment once more and began a third time.

"Starswirl the Bearded was without a doubt the most important conjurers of the Pre-Classical Era, a fact that shockingly many ponies are ignorant of- Ugh!"

With a huff of frustration Twilight scribbled out the last sentence, set the quill back in its well, crumpled up the paper, and tossed it in the rubbish bin beside her, all without lifting a hoof. Twilight knew that Starswirl was the on everypony had to thank for the levitation and, by extension, the telekinesis spell, all that she had to do was prove it in a simple essay. She never thought it would take more than a few minutes, but for some reason she couldn't get the wording right.

"Maybe it's just because I've been working on other things all day and I'm just burnt out," she said. "What do you think, Owlowiscious?"

She looked up at her feathered friend as he perched in the open window. It was a warm night and there was barely any breeze to disturb her parchment.

Owlowiscious stared back with big, clueless eyes. "Whoooo!," he called.

Twilight giggled at him, then sighed. "What time is it anyway?" She turned to look for the clock, and found it where it always was: by one of the bookshelves, and boasting a silent, heavy 1:00. "Oh jeeze," Twilight said. "1:00 AM?" She yawned, suddenly aware just how tired she was. "I guess I'd better get to sleep, don't you think, Owlowiscious?"

"Hoo."

"Yes, Yes, I'm going." Quickly cleaning the quill and capping the inkwell Twilight blew out the candle lighting her writing space and proceeded to her bed.

"Goodnight, Owlowiscious," she called softly. Behind her she heard a quiet "Hoo" in response. She climbed the steps to her bed, careful not to wake Spike as she passed his little basket. Starting to feel exhaustion weigh down her limbs, Twilight ducked under the covers and laid her head on the plush pillow. It wasn't long until her eyes slid shut and she began to sink into a peaceful night's rest.

All of a sudden, a cool draft disturbed her as she was just starting to fall into a dream. She'd left the window open and it seemed to be getting colder outside. Barely aware that she was awake, Twilight rolled over in bed and wrapped herself in her warm sheets. If it got too cold she'd wake up and close the window. She was just too tired at the moment to deal with it.

"EEEEE-" BANG!

Twilight shot up in her bed. Was that a scream? Just a dream, maybe? "Owlowiscious?" She called, panic starting to rise in her chest. "What's going on?"

She hopped from her bed and peered down. Owlowiscious wasn't on his perch. He must have flown outside.

"I could have sworn I heard....."

Twilight trotted down the steps and to the window. Sticking her head out as much as she could over the desk, she gazed down at the town.

Nothing.

Everything was peaceful in Ponyville that night. Everypony was sleeping soundly in their beds and having sweet dreams. The air was as still and warm as ever.

"Just a dream I guess.....but..." She glanced over at Spike, still sleeping soundly, and smiled. "No, no. Of course it was a dream. Spike would have woken up too. Just a dream, that's all."

She turned from the windowsill and started toward her bed again. She paused, thought for a moment, and returned to the window, closing it tight against the night. 

It was silly, Twilight knew, to be afraid of the night. She wasn't, in any case, but it just felt right to close the window that night. Perhaps it was just her startling dream that made her wary. 

Maybe it was a hidden instinct deep in her heart that told her evil was lurking in the shadows that night.

---

"Hey, Twilight. Are you gonna eat that?"

"Huh?" Twilight looked up from her book to find a hungry Spike licking his lips at her daisy sandwich. "You're still hungry? You just had three orders of hay fries and two sunflower sandwiches!"

"I know." Spike replied.

He stared at her hopefully, and after a moment of silence Twilight smiled and levitated the sandwich to his plate where he ate in three quick bites. Twilight raised an eyebrow at him, and he replied with a sheepish grin.

"I suppose a growing dragon needs to eat. Maybe you're so hungry because you haven't had any gems in a while." Spike leaned back in his chair and gazed off wistfully. 

"Aw yeah. I can fill up on hay and flowers just fine, but nothing beats a nice ruby."

"Well, maybe we can stop by Rarity's to see if she has any to spare."

Spike shot up excitedly. "Really?! When?"

Twilight giggled at him. "We can go after I pay the bill. I need to ask Rarity about a spell anyway."

Twilight glanced around the courtyard. It was a beautiful day, but the cafe wasn't nearly as busy as it normally was at lunchtime. There were a total of three other ponies sitting outside for lunch, and no one else was inside. 

"I wonder where everypony is," She said. She remembered for a moment the startle she had last night, but quickly shook it off.

"Dunno," Spike replied. "Maybe everyone is just busy with work today."

"Maybe." Twilight said, unconvinced. "Let's get going."

Twilight beckoned the waiter and paid the bill, marking her place in her book and placing it in her bag. The two left the cafe for Rarity's store, cutting through the main square to get to the end of the shopping area where it stood. Twilight spotted a group of three ponies talking hurriedly as she passed the town hall. They seemed worried about something, but Twilight moved on. Spike didn't seem to notice.

Further down the street Twilight spotted the mayor facing a small group of ponies. She was blocking them from one of the houses lining the road. As Twilight neared she was able to hear what the mayor was saying.

"Please everypony, go about your business. This will all be sorted out, there's nothing to worry about."

One of the ponies, a pink mare, stepped forward. "If there's nothing to worry about," she challenged, "Why is Bonnie missing?"

This made Twilight stop in her tracks.

"Please, please," the mayor said, "I'm sure there's an explanation. I'm sure Bonnie is fine, but I can't do my job and find out if you all keep distracting me. Now, please. I will let you all know when I get to the bottom of this. For now, though, please go home. "

The ponies looked at each other, hesitating. Finally one of them said, "The moment you know, Mayor-" 

"Yes, yes, of course. And please, don't spread this around. I don't want to cause a panic."

"Okay... Thanks Mayor Mare." The ponies dispersed, and Twilight waited for them to be out of earshot before approaching.

"What's going on?" Spike whispered to Twilight.

"I don't know," she replied. Spike climbed up on her back and they approached the Mayor.

"Oh, Twilight," she said as she approached, putting on a smiling, carefree face. "Good day to you! Um, I'm afraid Bonnie isn't home, if you're looking for her. She's-um-gone to the country to visit her family and-won't be back for...about...a few days-"

"Mayor, I heard you. Bonnie is missing?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down," The Mayor glanced up and down the street. "Twilight...I don't know if I can say officially if she's missing or not. She didn't show up to work this morning and when Lyra came to check on her to see if she was alright, she was gone. She was nowhere to be found in town. So Lyra came to me for help. Perhaps you can help me, Twilight. Did you see Bonnie at all yesterday? Last night, maybe?"

Suddenly the sound of that short, cut off scream came to Twilight's mind, but she quickly shoved it back down. That was just a dream. Bonnie was probably fine.

"No, I haven't seen her at all. I don't have any idea where she could have gotten to."

Mayor sighed helplessly. "Ponyville doesn't have any kind of police force so I came out myself. We've never needed one, until now."

"Hold on, there, Mayor," Twilight said. "It's still too early to think the worst. What about inside her house? There may be some clues."

"I've already checked. Nothing. No missing clothing or suitcases, no broken objects or messes. It like she just vanished into thin air."

Twilight thought for a moment. That scream just kept pushing itself back up in her memory, like it was yelling at her for attention, trying to tell her something.

"Don't start worrying just yet, Mayor. It's only been half a day so far. It's possible she went to pick up a package in the next town over or something. But I'll keep an eye out for you, Mayor. I'll get to the bottom of this."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. And, if you could-"

"Of course. I won't say a word of this to anypony." 

"Thank you, Twilight. I must be getting back to town hall. I have an awful lot of things to do. If this gets worse, I should have a letter ready for the Princess."

"No, no." Twilight said. "Don't worry about that, Mayor. I'll take care of everything. Just put this whole ordeal out of your mind for now."

"Thank you again, Twilight. And good luck." The Mayor departed down the road toward Town Hall, leaving Twilight and Spike standing there.

"What could possibly have happened to her?" Spike asked.

"Probably nothing, like I said," Twilight replied. "Some ponies skip out on work occasionally and go mess around in the city or go on shopping trips or whatever. Still, something about all of this makes me uneasy."

"Why not ask the Princess for help?"

"This is a local matter, Spike. The Princess is busy with other things right now. Calling for royal assistance would be a little overkill. And, as I said, it's probably nothing."

"I guess you're right."

They were silent for a moment, then Twilight remembered where they were headed. "Come on, Spike. Let's see if we can get you some gems."

"Oh! Okay. I almost forgot." Twilight tried to push away any worries as the two continued down the road towards Rarity's boutique.





The door to Carousel Boutique swung open with a wistful jingle, and Twilight and Spike stepped inside. It was just as beautiful as always in the store, and Twilight spotted a couple of customers browsing Rarity's designs. Rarity herself was neatly packing one of her newest dresses into a gift box for a young mare, folding it delicately amongst shimmering tissue paper. The pony waiting before her drew a small coin purse from her bag as Rarity finished off the box with a graceful bow.

"There you are dear," Rarity said. They exchanged items, Rarity placing the box on the pony's back and setting to coin purse in a small chest fastened with a little lock. "Thank you for shopping at Carousel Boutique. I hope your friend likes the dress."

"Are you kidding?" The pony said. "She's been a fan of your work for ages, and this dress in particular has been on her radar for months. She'll love it, I'm sure, thank you."

"Not at all. And if it doesn't quite sit right, come in and I'll fit it for her."

"Thanks, miss Rarity." The pony turned to leave.

"Come again," Rarity called after her. Spotting Twilight and Spike by the door she lit up with a joyful smile. "Twilight!" She chimed. "And Spike! What brings you? Need a dress for something?"

Twilight trotted over towards the counter and Rarity stepped out to meet her. Pulling the book out of her bag, Twilight said, "Actually, I was hoping you could-"

"Do you have any gems to spare, Rarity?" Spike blurted. Twilight glared at him and he replied with another sheepish grin.

Rarity giggled, "Feeling a bit peckish, Spike? Well let's see." She wandered over to her gem case concealed behind a curtain and opened it. Inside was a multitude of glittering gemstones, and Spike's mouth watered just looking at it.

Rarity turned her head to face them. "Now, I can't just give you gems all the time Spike, I hope you realize that."

"Oh yeah, yeah. Of course." He said.

"Just this once, okay?" Out of the case levitated a shimmering purple gem, floating right to Spike's hands. "It just so happens I have a bit of a surplus of Amethyst. This one is yours, Spike." He licked his lips greedily.

"It looks great Rarity! Thank you!" He bit down on the stone, savoring each bite. Twilight shook her head, smiling. 

"Twilight, dear, you were saying something before Spike interrupted you?" At this he paused and blushed a little bit.

Twilight opened the book to it's proper page and showed it to Rarity. "I have a question regarding that gem-finding spell you taught me," Twilight said. "I was reading about magic that concerns gems and I'm afraid I don't quite understand it. This part in particular."

She indicated a section on the page and Rarity skimmed it over. "Hmm...." Her brow furrowed in thought for a moment, then she looked up from the book and said, "To be honest Twilight I'm not sure what to tell you."

"But your special talent allows you access all kinds of gem-related spells."

"That's true, but I don't know any kind of theory or philosophy behind it all."

Twilight flipped the book and skimmed over the words. "Then how did you learn it?," she asked.

"Your special talent, Twilight, is magic. Therefore, you can learn any spell you wish through study and practice. I didn't learn the gem finding spell through books or scrolls or lessons. It just sort of...came to me, I guess you could say. Unicorn magic is a mysterious thing, Twilight. It seems to have a mind of its own sometimes."

"Amazing," Twilight breathed, intrigued. She got a scroll and quill out from her bag and quickly jotted down a few notes. Rarity smiled at her studious friend. "Is the gem finding spell the only one you learned without study? What about enchanting?"

"Well I've never really had a use for-"

"Excuse me," Twilight jumped at the new voice. She hadn't noticed anypony approaching. A handsome young stallion was standing next to them. "I don't mean to interrupt." Smiling, he glanced over Twilight and her floating book and scroll and said, "Pardon me, miss," and turned to Rarity. "Miss Rarity, I was passing by and just couldn't resist stopping in to see your pretty face."

Rarity blushed and tossed her mane a bit. "Oh Marlin, you're too kind."

"I mean it, really. Everypony knows you're the prettiest pony in all of Ponyville."

"I don't know about that...Oh! I just remembered. Here," Rarity's horn lit up with a bluish aura and a small jewelry case came from behind the counter. As the lid was lifted away, a simple yet beautiful emerald necklace was revealed.

"I couldn't really make anything for you, but I remembered you telling me that your sister was looking for an emerald necklace but everything she could find was too ornate. I made this as a thank you for helping me deliver that shipment of fur-trimmed capes to Trottingham."

"Oh, no that's not necessary. It's my job, after all."

"That's not true. Joe's Shipping Service here in Ponville ships only between Canterlot and Manehatten. You went out of your way to set up a special delivery to Trottingham and I am very grateful. Please," the lid was replaced on the box and tied neatly with a ribbon. "I insist."

Marlin smiled and gratefully took the package onto his back. "Thank you miss Rarity. Lily will love it."

"I do hope so. I know how precious she is to you."

"She is...Miss Rarity, I was wondering," he paused.

"Yes, Marlin?"

"Would you like to accompany me to the Whitetail Cafe?"

At this Rarity blushed and smiled, saying, "Oh well...Perhaps another time, Marlin. Twilight and I are currently - Twilight?"

Rarity glanced around the store, but her friend was gone.





Head hanging a little lower than usual, Twilight wandered away from the Boutique.

"Twilight?" Spike said. "You okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. Of course." She forced her head back up but her ears were less abiding, still drooping a bit. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"We didn't have to leave. Rarity's friend seemed nice."

"Yes we did. He wanted to talk to Rarity, not me. I'll talk to her later. For now let's leave her to her colts"

"...Huh?" Spike didn't understand what she was saying.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight's copies of Obscure Unicorn History v.1 and Historical Black Magic Blunders slid back to their places on the shelf, filling the empty spaces perfectly. The sun was reddening and the air was tinged with the first violet of the night sky, a perfect dusk. Twilight stood at her desk refining a small stack of notes. Finishing off the last sentence, she let the quill obey gravity again and lay itself on the desk.

"Youwan' me ta pu' thos away for you Twi...?"

Twilight turned to see an exhausted Spike standing next to her, ready to serve, as always. "That's okay, Spike. You go on and get some sleep. I have a few things I still need to take care of tonight."

"Oka...y" Spike slowly climbed the stairs and fell into his little bed, falling asleep before he had a chance to get under the covers. Twilight smiled after her little friend. He was always so helpful to her. When the ink was dry she rolled her notes up in scrolls and stored them in a neat stack on her desk.

She quietly tip-hoofed out of the room and down the stairs to the main floor and wandered into the kitchen; she was feeling a little thirsty and thought a drink would help her get through the long night she had planned. She took a bottle of sarsaparilla from the fridge and took it back upstairs, opening it with magic and placing a straw inside as she went. When she reached her room again she didn't stop to study but rather passed her desk altogether and went to the balcony outside.

It was a warm night once again, and as Twilight sipped her drink the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the last ponies that were outside disappeared into their houses. Twilight's gaze shifted up to the night sky and all the stars that filled its vast emptiness. She had always admired their gentle glow. Ponies always seem to fear the night and the darkness, but they never see how much light there really is. This probably explains why they were so afraid of Princess Luna when she first visited Ponyville after she had returned.

Twilight, on the other hand, considered herself lucky to know the patron of the night and the mother of the moon and stars. She resolved to send a letter to Princess Luna next time she wrote Princess Celestia and see how she's doing. An unexpected chill breeze blew into Twilight, causing her to shiver. Suddenly she heard a soft thump back in her room. Her heart skipped a beat, but she was quick to calm herself. It was probably nothing.

Abandoning her sarsaparilla bottle outside she trotted quietly inside to investigate, hoping that Spike didn't accidentally roll out of bed and fall over the edge of the loft. She quickly surveyed the room, but found nothing. No Spike, thankfully; he was sleeping soundly in his basket. Then Twilight spotted a book laying on the ground that had fallen, the source of the sound. She let out a soft breath. "I knew it was nothing." She approached the book, intending to put it back where it belonged, but paused. It was Historical Black Magic Blunders, the book she'd been reading not long ago.

"Maybe I didn't tuck it into the shelf enough," she whispered to herself. She still lingered though, seeing that the pages had fallen open to a curious entry. It was an article that she had come across before but never dedicated any study to. It was short, only a page long, and described a mysterious transformation that had thought to be the product of Black Magic, forbidden knowledge of dark magical studies. The entry was not backed by much fact because the subject matter, according to the author, was difficult to study without coming to bodily harm at best and death at worst, so the article could rely only on numerous myths and tales collected from pony villages around Equestria. Twilight herself never thought there was much point to the article, but she found herself reading it despite herself.

"Vampires," she read aloud in a whisper. "Little is known about these mysterious creatures, and they are commonly believed to not exist at all. Even I, a humble traveler accustomed to having faith in so-called mythical, non-existent creatures, find it difficult to believe a myth of such proportions. And yet the stories of these fearsome creatures has sent chills down my spine and set my teeth on edge. Many villages in the remote recesses of Equestria harbor tales of Vampires. They are apparently ponies that had been infected by some means, commonly from the bite of another Vampire. Sunlight burns their skin, and its life-giving rays that we so covet mean only death to them, yet many stories I've collected don't regard them as alive at all. To survive Vampires must feed of the blood of uninfected ponies, "the living" as some tales describe the victims. Blood is their only source of sustenance. 

"These stories are consistently vague in the process by which a pony becomes a vampire other than the fact that he or she must be bitten. Is it a venom of some sort, or a spell? Is it simply the contact between the two creatures that transfers an unknown disease? We will never know, if these creatures exist, for their elusive and murderous nature would no doubt hinder any attempt at study. Legends and myths concerning Vampires were also consistently inconsistent, each one differing the exact characteristics of the Vampire.
"Despite this, though, each story I've encountered has, in one way or another, stated vaguely: 'the full moon shows them for what they truly are.' I have been unable to determine what this means, for the information is lacking and the continuing pursuit of truth in myth will serve only to distract my career from its set path. So I leave this topic here, and despite my lack of faith in this particular legend, I find myself cautioning anypony from pursuing these creatures."

The page ended abruptly, and the next page started an entirely unrelated analysis on the actions of an ancient cult-lord that burned ponies alive and reanimated their corpses with the black arts. Gruesome stuff. Twilight knew that the Vampire article had been removed from the most recent edition of the book, and thought it odd that the author had included it in the first place. And yet for some reason she felt that the article was screaming a warning at her, resonating in her heart, pleading with her for something. She quickly shut the book and tucked it tightly back into its spot on the shelf. "Silly," she said softly to herself.

Twilight shut the door to the balcony against the night, and exited the room again, down the stairs, across the main library. She paused, catching her reflection in the mirror. She lingered for a moment to try an fix her mane so if fell more nicely over her eyes. She continued to stand there, looking at herself and wondering why she looked so plain. Rarity wasn't plain; She was beautiful and stunning and always had the attention of a handsome stallion. Twilight frowned at her reflection. She was ugly. No stallion would blink an eye at her. They never had. Twilight felt sheer hopelessness starting to take hold, and she turned away from the mirror before she could think anything else about it, and left out the front door. 

As the door shut behind her, Twilight noticed that it was getting darker outside. Dark clouds had appeared, and Twilight remembered that Cloudsdale had scheduled cloudy nights for the next couple of days. Disappointed that the stars would not aid her in her watch tonight, she ventured off into the town, only the street lamps shining in the dark. Her eyes adjusted and she saw everything clearly. "Perhaps this is a bit too much," She said to herself. "Bonnie is probably just away. There's no filly-napper or murderer or anything out here." A warm breeze slowly blew through the town square.

BANG

Twilight froze and her ears stood up, alert. What was that? She looked about. Nothing. Everything was still. Everything was silent. The only sound was the quiet hush of the gentle wind as it brushed the town with its soft fingers. No bird chirped, and no insect rattled or squeaked. It was like time itself had stood still.
Perhaps everything was a little too quiet.

"What's going on..." Twilight couldn't help saying it, but she quickly corrected herself. "No. That gust of wind just blew a window shut, that's all." She continued down the path. "I can't tell which direction it came from anyway."

Twilight strolled in the night and soon found herself in front of Bonnie's house. It was dark, like all the other houses on the street, but yawned an emptiness that chilled Twilight's bones. The dark windows sucked at the air, reaching out with ominous blackness, pleading for its lost owner to return, yet somehow knowing she never will. The scream from the night before, the cold breezes, the missing pony, the ominous nights; everything was screaming at Twilight, but she had been refusing to listen. And now as this house stood before her, pleading for her attention, Twilight finally accepted what the house was trying to tell her: Something bad has happened here. 

"And something bad is going to happen tonight. Or," She cast her gaze around the empty street. "Something bad has already happened."

Finally starting to worry, Twilight dashed about town looking through windows, checking doors to make sure they were locked, keeping an eye out for open gates, broken windows, disturbed flower beds, anything that would give her a sign. But there was nothing. Nothing at all.

"I don't understand," She said quietly to herself. "Why am I so sure if there's no evidence?" Suddenly a patch of light appeared beside her, and she turned around to find that one of the windows to Carousel Boutique was illuminated. Rarity was up late, probably working on a new design or something.

Twilight made her way toward it, for comfort of a friend or to see if she was alright, she didn't know. Nevertheless, the next thing she knew she was knocking softly on the door to the boutique. She heard the soft patter of hooves approach, then the door opened and Rarity stood before her.

"Twilight!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing out here at a time like this? Come in!"
"What are you doing up so late, Rarity?" Twilight asked as she crossed the threshold and the door shut softly behind her.
"Well I had a few designs I need to get done before tomorrow. The real question is what you're dong up so late, Twilight. And outside, no less."

"Oh, well...I was just planning on studying the movement of the stars during the night," Twilight lied. "But the Pegasus ponies scheduled a cloudy night. I saw that your light was on and decided to check up on you."
"That was very kind of you Twilight....I've been needing to talk to you anyway. I wanted to apologize for earlier today. Our conversation was interrupted and-"

"No, don't worry," Twilight interrupted. "I didn't mind. I know your busy with your customers sometimes and I didn't want to muddle your business."
Rarity raised an eyebrow at her. "Twilight. You know very well he wasn't there to buy any dresses."
"Okay. I know your busy with your fans and I didn't want to muddle your business-" Twilight stopped short, cursing herself inwardly. She tried to swallow the bit of venom that came into her voice. Before she could stop it, though, "he didn't want me there anyway," slipped out.

"Twilight!"
"What? It's true. Every guy in town wants to talk to you, not me. It's better that I just get out of the way." She shook her head violently, trying to shake these feeling from her head. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything. It's no big deal."
Rarity trained her sympathetic gaze on Twilight. She said, "Twilight, don't be silly. You're-"

BANG BANG CRASH BANG

Twilight and Rarity nearly jumped out of their skin at the sudden racket. "What in Equestria was that?!" Rarity cried. 
Heart racing, Twilight said, "I don't know. It sounds like it came from the back."
Rarity gasped, "My dresses!!!" she cried, running toward the door to the back rooms.

"Rarity!" Twilight yelled after her. "Wait! Stop!" But Rarity had already reached the door and when she flung it open a great dark thing flew out, knocking her over then darting around the room so fast they couldn't tell what it was. Finally it stopped on top of a wardrobe, and both Rarity and Twilight froze at the sight that snarled above them.

It was a pony. Or rather, what should have been a pony. She was a pegasus, but her wings were featherless and leathery like the wings of a bat or a dragon. Her teeth were sharp and grotesque, and she had two canines that were longer than the rest. Her coat was deep red and her mane was shaggy and black. The only relatively normal thing about her was her cutie mark, which was a graceful quill, but it seemed faded and sunken into her coat, and instead of ink there was a drop of blood coming from the tip of the quill. Worst of all, though, were her eyes. They were normal at first, for the most part, but when they trained on Rarity, when the mare smiled cruelly with her demented teeth, the black of her eyes widened and engulfed the scarlet irises, leaving only shining onyx set in ivory. She was like a shark who had just smelled blood.

Rarity was terrified. She tried to speak, ask what that was on her wardrobe, but nothing would come. Suddenly the creature screeched an unearthly sound and dove towards Rarity. Rarity screamed and the mare grabbed at her, clutching her hair and neck as she writhed desperately to get away.

"RARITY!" Twlight cried. 
"TWLIGHT!" The mare shot towards the window, Rarity in her grip. In flash of light, Twilight teleported outside the window just as the creature crashed through the glass. Twilight grabbed the mare carrying Rarity, managing to get a grip on her shoulders. The mare screeched angrily at Twilight and continued to fly seemingly unaffected by the added weight. 
"T-TWILGH-" Rarity tried to yell for help. Suddenly Twilight was knocked violently off the mare by what looked like a black cloud populated by bodiless leathery wings. As she fell, the cloud engulfed her and she felt invisible limbs constrain her. She kicked and squirmed against it, somehow catching a glimpse of a unicorn screeching at her the same way the pegasus was. But just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone, and Twilight was unable to free herself from the grip of the ethereal creature. 

Unable to escape, Twilight and Rarity were carried off into the darkest reaches of the Everfree Forest.

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"OOF!"

Twilight's breath was knocked out of her when she was thrown rather suddenly onto hard earth. Coughing out the dust that was thrown into her face, she took a moment to let the dizziness and the foggy vision subside. She shook her head of it, and remembered that Rarity was in danger.

"Rarity!," Twilight cried, taking in her surroundings for the first time. When she did, her voice stuck in her throat. Before her lay a clearing in the twisted depths of the Everfree Forest. Scattered about it were ponies. Ponies living in darkest parts of the forest? It was unheard of. But then Twilight's foggy head cleared and she remembered what happened in Rarity's store, and was instantly gripped by caution and paranoia. 

She gazed out at the mass of ponies. They were beautiful. More beautiful than anypony Twilight had seen before. The mares and the stallions rivaled even Rarity's elegance. They seemed to be occupied with their own business, clumped together in groups, eating...something. Drinking something. Twilight's insides twisted in shock and revulsion when she saw that some of the beautiful ponies' mouths were smeared with red, and all of them bore the same ivory fangs as the mare that attacked Rarity at the store. Suddenly their beauty became grotesque and unnatural to Twilight. Who were these monsters? Where was Rarity?

"Rarit-!" Twilight's desperate cry for her friend was cut short when a solid hoof struck her in her shoulder, pinning her to the ground. Twilight shouted in pain and looked up at her captor. It was a large, and rather handsome, male unicorn. She would have thought him beautiful if he hadn't been staring down at her with scarlet eyes, a cruel, sharp smile etched across his face. Twilight could feel massive strength in his one hoof alone, and shuddered to think of what he could do with all four.

"Our hunt tonight was more than a success!" He said down at her with a smooth, oily voice. It was the kind of voice that in any other situation could easily persuade anypony of anything. "Not only did we catch ourselves a whole two pretties, but we had quite a bit of fun in the process, didn't we Craeva?" 

The mare from the store came into Twilight's view. She noticed that Craeva was much rougher than the rest, but still beautiful in her own brutal way. "Indeed, Knight."

Knight, the pony holding Twilight down, turned to Craeva and gave her a strange look. "You're a mess," he said without sympathy. Craeva returned the remark with an annoyed glare. "Wash up for dinner would you?"
"Oh, shove off Knight. I'll do and look how I like."

Twilight desperately cast her gaze around as best she could. There was no hope in wriggling free of Knight's grasp, and she knew that she might have to attempt another teleportation, but she needed to get her bearings first. Looking more closely now she saw that the clearing was divided, for the most part, into several sections, presumably separated according to use. Mostly the sections trailed off into the cover of the woods, what Twilight thought could be their resting area. She was able to determine the most likely use for each part of the clearing. The section she was in, for example, was obviously the dining area.

There were bones. Big bones. Bones that could only belong to ponies jutting out of the ground as if their bodies were buried there carelessly like a dog burying a bone.
There was blood. Fresh red was smeared here and there in the dirt and grass, giving off a metallic, sour smell. Older, dry patches of brown encrusted the earth, giving off a fainter, rusty smell.
Twilight had no doubt that the only reason she and Rarity were there was to be eaten. Eaten by grotesque, deformed, twisted ponies that might as well not have been ponies at all. Or perhaps not eaten but drunk from. Bled dry slowly until there was nothing left but a dry husk of skin and bone. Twilight thought back to that ridiculous book that didn't seem so ridiculous anymore.

Suddenly a glimpse of pinkish mane caught Twilight's eye and saw another pony laying not too far away. It was strange seeing things from that angle, but Twilight realized that it was Bonnie, her soft yellow coat and magenta and purple mane were ragged, dirty, and touched in some places by blood. She was breathing, from what Twilight could see, but only just. Her eyes were half open, half closed, and Twilight wondered if they were seeing anything at all. Forgetting herself, she called out, "Bon...Bonnie!" There was a pony standing over her. The bat-winged stallion leaned down and suddenly bit down violently on little Bonnie's fragile neck, right over bite marks that were worn and ragged, as if they had seen multiple use. 

"Bonnie!!" Twilight squirmed to get closer to her, to get that thing off of her. "Get away from her!!" Bonnie's eyes closed and her face weakly contorted into an expression of dulled, exhausted pain. Knight's hoof slammed down harder onto Twilight's shoulder, and she cried out in surprise and pain. She had forgotten, in her panic over Bonnie, that she was helpless.

"What do you think you're doing?" Knight said, amused. "She's gone, hon. Gone too far for you to help her. Don't worry, she'll still last a few days at least. But then, I figure she'll last a lot longer now that we have you two to divvy up amongst the coven."

A high-pitched scream suddenly pierced the air, and Twilight knew at once that it was Rarity. Twisting her head, she saw two of the creatures trying to get to her neck, but she was squirming and kicking so much that they were having a great deal of trouble. 

"Get away! Get away from me you disgusting, rabid beasts!" she cried. In a snarl of frustration, one of the ponies slammed Rarity's head into the ground by her temple and held it there. He bared his fangs and opened them up to pierce her skin.
"RARITY!" Twilight cried. She landed a swift kick in Knight's stomach, causing him to flinch just so. It was probably more the shock of the blow than the actual damage it did that made him react but it game Twilight enough time that in a sudden burst of magic she disappeared from under Knight's hoof and reappeared over Rarity.
The two ponies trying to get to her were blown back in a flash of violent sparks, and all that remained was Twilight standing protectively in front of Rarity, who was trying to get herself on her feet again.

The commotion started attracting attention and it wasn't long before the ghastly ponies of the forest started to gravitate towards Twilight and Rarity, circling around them to watch as a few of the diners approached them with teeth bared.

"Twilight," Rarity whispered, terrified. "What- What in the world are these things?"
"I think..." Twilight cast her gaze about the advancing ponies. Their sharp teeth, leathery wings, eating habits; There was no denying it. "I think their vampires." 
"Vampires?" Rarity replied.
"I was reading a book that talked about them. They're ponies that live in darkness and feed off the blood of the living."
"What do you mean, 'living'?"
"It's said that vampires are the walking dead."
"I-I don't understand...."

"Their creatures of dark magic, Rarity. They rely on pony blood to survive. They plan on feeding off of us for as long as possible. I'm guessing their food has been scarce. Maybe trying to steal ponies discreetly, keeping their existence secret."

Rarity eyed the vampires warily. "Did that book of yours say anything about how to defeat them?"

An earth vampire pony, one without a horn or wings, suddenly lunged forward. Rarity yelped in surprise, and in a flash of pink Twilight summoned a protective barrier around her and Rarity. The bubble sparked and shot the pony backward once again. It was a strong defensive spell that Twilight had never really practiced before. It was so strong that is was making her perspire with effort just trying to keep it going.

"Not really," Twilight said in answer to Rarity. "All it said was: the full moon shows them for what they truly are."
"Well," Rarity huffed, half annoyed, half terrified. "That doesn't help us in the slightest."
"Maybe," Twilight had to stop for breath now. The spell was becoming tiresome. Through the pinkish barrier she saw Knight approach.

He laughed at her and Rarity cowering behind the barrier. "Do you think that's going to keep us from you?" His horn started to glow with a magical aura, as Twilight's does when she casts a spell, but his was different. The aura was black and spindly, reaching out into the air and clawing at the empty space with an insatiable hunger. As Knight drew nearer, the black magic wrapped itself around Twilight's barrier and dug its cruel talons into it. Twilight physically reacted to the added strain, her legs buckling slightly, her body being pushed down. But she didn't give up. She fought against Knight's magic.

They pushed against each other, back and forth, Twilight growing ever weaker and Knight seemingly unaffected by the struggle. Soon Twilight could no longer hold and the barrier ripped violently apart between Knight's ethereal claws. Before she hit the ground Knight's hoof slammed into her chest with remarkable speed, flipping her and pinning her on her back. She was too weak to fight anymore, physically or magically. The only hope was to run. With the fading shadows of her remaining strength she began to conjure the spell that would teleport both she and Rarity from the hollow to somewhere else.

Knight smiled cruelly down at her. "Just try it," he said. "Go ahead. Teleport away from here with no magic to ride on. Rip yourself to shreds, appear over a canyon or at the bottom of a lake, leave part of your friend behind." he lowered his voice to a threatening whisper. "Just try it."

Twilight knew he was right. Trying to cast a spell in her current state would only spell disaster for them both. She wondered whether it would be a better death than was to come, but didn't get the chance to decide before the magic died out of her completely. 

"There's nothing that can save you," Knight said. "...say it." Twilight was silent. Knight pressed down treacherously on her chest.
"Twilight!" Rarity cried in terror. She was cowering not far away, unsure of what to do. She didn't know any kind of offensive magic. Only useless levitation and silly things like that. None of the other vampires were approaching. They were just watching, as if they had all come to see a performance. They circled around the stage, waiting to see what would happen next.

Twilight felt her rib bones creak under Knight's weight, and felt that one of them was dangerously close to snapping. "Say it!" he yelled at her.
"There's..."
Knight smiled at her again. "You're going to feed us. You're going to feed us tonight, tomorrow, the next night, and every night for as long as there is blood in your veins." His jaws parted, revealing two shining fangs. Twilight felt the tips of them press through her coat and push against the skin of her neck.
"Twilight!" Rarity shrieked.

Suddenly Knight was thrown violently away from Twilight, bowling into the front line of spectators many feet away. Twilight saw four slender white legs standing over her.
"Rar..." She said. She looked up at her, but it was not Rarity. She was white like rarity but her mane was a orange and flowed smoothly, subdued compared to Rarity's style. She wore a simple scarlet thread around her neck. Her equally scarlet eyes glared after Knight. This pony was a vampire, and she had just saved Twilight. The notion that perhaps this creature was a friend was immediately evaporated when the mare's eyes cast down coldly at Twilight, sharing the same icy glare she had given Knight.

"Get up," she said in a voice that would make Tartarus freeze over. Twilight complied, getting into a sitting position, and Rarity immediately flew to her side. The mysterious vampire mare turned back to Knight. "Fool!" she cried at him. "Do you know who this is?"

Knight snarled at her, "I see nothing here but our dinner. Or have you forgotten that we're starving?"
"You're a fool, Knight. Don't you see? This is the one His Majesty has been waiting for." at these words the congregated vampires resonated with a collective intake of breath, turning their heads to look on Twilight and whisper amongst themselves.

"Now, if we're quite done," the mare said. She turned to Twilight. "You. Come with me. Leave you're friend, please."
"No." Twilight said sternly. The mare turned her head and glared at Twilight. "Didn't you hear what I said? I told you to leave her."
"No. If you want me to follow you, Rarity's coming with me."

The mare and Twilight scowled at each other for several moments, the silence dragging out as the onlookers anticipated the next reaction. At last the mare sighed in annoyance. "Very well," she said. "You can bring...Rarity," she said the name like it was distasteful in her mouth. "Now stop sitting around in the dirt and come with me. Unless you'd rather be eaten, of course."

The mare started towards the line of vampires and they parted ways to let her through. Twilight forced herself to stand, finding that she was already starting to recover from the magical strain.

"Twilight," Rarity said quietly. "Are you okay?"
Twilight let out an indifferent huff and joked, "First stallion to throw me down and he's trying to kill me." She sauntered on, but Rarity could just see the smallest tendons in her legs and back trembling. Twilight was such a brave pony, but her self esteem seemed downgraded as of late. Rarity followed her, sticking close by her side while they followed the mare across the clearing. Behind them the crowd dispersed, and the hollow was once again dotted with the vampires as they scattered about back to their resting places, conversations, etc.

When they reached the edge of the clearing Twilight saw that they were heading for a tunnel in the dense growth of the forest.
As they passed through it Twilight's eyes adjusted in the dark and she saw that it was quite a short tunnel, spotting a patch of dim light ahead of her. They emerged, and Twilight braced herself for whatever she was about to encounter. 

But there was nothing. It was a small clearing with soft patches of grass here and there and a large grassy nest-like area near the back, probably a resting area, but that was it. There was nopony there except for the two mares and the vampire.
"I don't under-" 
"Shut up," the mare cut Twilight off. A soft breeze tussled her orange mane as she took a few steps deeper into the clearing. Twilight and Rarity stayed where they were.

The mare lifted her gaze to the cloudy night sky and said with a spectacularly loud voice, "my lord, we've found her. The unicorn you've been waiting for." Her voice resonated in the trees, echoing up into the air and the clouds.

At first nothing happened, then the air started to shake with some malevolent presence. The clouds above swirled ominously above them, flashing with the dim light of lightning as it struck behind the hazy surface, never breaching the clouds themselves. The wind picked up, tearing at Twilight's mane and bending the forest around them. Then something burst from the clouds and descended.
The clouds began to calm, the wind returned to it's former stillness, and before them stood a great alicorn, bearing the horn of a unicorn and the great leathery wings and scarlet irises of vampire. He stood nearly as tall as Princess Celestia, but he was so much darker than any pony Twilight had seen before. His coat was ashen, his mane was shades darker, and his face, though quite handsome, bore an ancient and evil nature that took the voice from Twilight's throat. His cutie mark was a slender crescent moon, red and dripping with it.

"Twilight Sparkle," he said. His voice was like nothing she had heard before. It was a beautiful voice, in its own way, but incredibly dark. "I've been looking for you for quite a long time."

> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I've been looking for you."

Twilight remembered herself as the initial awe of seeing the great stallion before her faded away. "Have you?" she said nonchalantly. He smiled at her, but did not respond. Instead he turned to the orange-maned mare that had led the two ponies to him. "Nightshade, you may go now."

Nightshade, the orange-mane pony, seemed surprised at the order. "but, my lord-"
"Thank you for bringing them, Shade," he said. "But you heard what I said. Go. Now." 

Twilight caught the look of disappointment, maybe a bit of betrayal, that crossed the mare's face, but she quickly corrected it. She turned and left the hollow without another word, no doubt to wait outside until she was allowed in once again.

"What do you want with us?" Twilight demanded. "Who are you?"
The alicorn gazed down at her with a calm look on his face. "I am the first."
"The first?"
"The first. The beginning. The only vampire that was ever truly born a vampire. I am the father of my kind."

"You created all those monsters," Twilight replied. "You stripped them of their mortality, their nature, and replaced it with blood."
"Well said, my dear. Although I didn't sire all of them myself. I turn one, he or she turns another, and so on. If I was the only vampire that could create more, you've have a much bigger problem on your hoofs."

"Ponies you turn yourself are more powerful," Twilight guessed.
"Marginally so, but there is strength in numbers. You are quite clever."
"What's to be clever about? You're making it all rather obvious."
The alicorn laughed. It was a dark, beautiful chiming laugh that made Twilight's heart flutter for a second.  "Except of course, the reason you're here," he said.

"You didn't tell me who you are," Twilight said.
"Yes I did."
"A name would be nice."
He smiled at her and said, "I am the Prince of Vampires, Talon."
"Why not a king?"
"The same reason Princess Celestia is not Queen."
"No mate."
"Precisely. Which brings us to the reason you're here."

Twilight's breath choked her, and her next words didn't leave her throat. It was Rarity who said, "Pardon me?"
"You're excused. Farewell," Talon replied. "...oh. That's not what you meant." He was playing games with them now.
Twilight said, "What do you want with me, Talon?"

"You," he said simply. For a moment there was silence. Twilight couldn't think of a reply. "I want to give you, and your friend, the gift of immortality. You see, Twilight, ever since Nightmare Moon was defeated I've been looking for the unicorn that had such power to do so. Now I have found you, I want you to join us."

"What-" Twilight found her voice again. "-to become-no. Not ever."
"You don't understand," His horn began to glow with silvery light. "What I'm offering you. What I could give you. The power," The light grew and blinded Twilight, and her vision of the clearing was replaced with visions. Visions of magical power beyond that of the combined power of the Elements of Harmony. "You're vampire blood, combined with your natural talent as a magician, would create a creature of infinite power," Twilight was unswayed by the visions of it, trying her best to pull away from it all, to no avail. Then an image of herself appeared. She saw a new Twilight standing there, a vampire Twilight. "And infinite grace." 

She was beautiful. Her mane had an elegant wave to it and shined like moonlight. Her eyes were two shining rubies curtained by long black lashes. Before Twilight stood a pony that rivaled Rarity and all the Canterlot ponies in every aspect. She moved fluidly, like she was dancing, and her horn glowed with restless energy. "You'd be by my side," Twilight saw herself standing beside Talon, his wing curtaining her fondly. "Forever." Twilight felt two hard points press against her neck. She didn't pull away.

"Twilight!" Rarity cried angrily. She was suddenly torn away from Talon and the visions, but he did not pursue her. As Twilight's sight cleared she saw Rarity glaring at her, eyes glistening with oncoming tears.
"Twilight!" she said again. "That's enough. I don't understand what makes you so...so..."
"But Rarity," Twilight said quietly. "I'd be loved here."
"I love you! And so does Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, and Applejack and Spike."
"But-"
"Shut! Up!" Rarity's eyes spilled over. "Why can't...How could you not understand?" Rarity's voice died down, and angry tears rolled silently down her cheeks. Twilight felt the first wave of shame roll through her, but she remembered the sight of Talon and her. She looked at him. He was just standing there, completely calm, waiting. She saw in his eyes, though, an anticipation that seemed to be eating at him. He was holding his breath.

Rarity knew Twilight had been thinking lowly of herself, but she never thought it was this bad. Rarity's eye suddenly caught a growing patch of light in the sky, and saw that the moon was beginning to emerge from the clouds. She suddenly remembered what Twilight had said before, and cried out to her, "Twilight, look!" she pointed to the sky. "'The full moon shows them for what they truly are,' remember?"
Twilight saw the full moon as it emerged from the inky night. It spilled its light over the trees, illuminating the branches and the grass. It fell on Talon and Twilight stepped back, unsure of what was to come. 

But nothing happened. He moved his eyes from Twilight for the first time and looked to the tunnel behind them. Twilight followed his gaze and saw nothing but heard something faint begin to rise over the trees. It was snarls. Groans and hisses that sounded like they were coming from some large pack of hellish animals. Twilight shot towards the tunnel. Rarity followed, and they emerged on the other side to find the clearing was crawling with...things. They were nothing like the vampires they had seen before.

Their coats had almost disappeared completely, turning white and revealing sickly pale skin stretched tightly around the little bodies. Their ribs stuck out as if they had been starving for weeks. Their mane had mostly fallen out and lost almost all of its color. All of their teeth were jagged and sharp, not just the two canines. Most of all, their eyes were no longer divided into white, red, and black. The whole eye was consumed by an angry red and glowed with an evil aura. They no longer walked but crawled, even the leathery pegasi were rendered flightless. They crawled on the ground like parasites, snarling and hissing and clicking their jaws hungrily. Twilight looked to where Bonnie lay, but found that the creatures had abandoned her altogether. Her stomach turned when she saw one of the degraded vampires chomp down on a live squirrel, swallowing the head whole.

"We could do so much," Talon's voice said quietly. Twilight whipped around. He had appeared behind them without making a sound. He looked almost sad. "Together, Twilight, we could do so many things. We could rule over the night world. We could lift vampires out of the gutters of the planet and make them strong. Recreate them to be something more-"
"Talon." Twilight said. "No."

"You wouldn't be like this. This would never happen to you. You'd be something greater than these that crawl here."

Twilight approached Talon and stood right in front of him. She gazed right into his eyes. "I think you know what you are," she said. "You know what you've created. You know what you've done." Talon lifted his gaze to the hollow and looked at the creatures.

"They forget," he said. "They forget everything when it comes to this. They don't know who they are, where they came from, who their friends are. I have failed them." He looked back at Twilight. "We could fix them, you and I."
"No." She said. They stared at each other for a moment, as if Talon was waiting for her to change her mind. Finally all he could say was, "I see."

Twilight observed him a moment and said, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were heartbroken." He met her gaze, and is stony expression seemed to crack a bit. "How is that possible?" she asked.

He looked at her a moment and said, "You left your sarsaparilla bottle on the balcony."
An odd sort of smile crooked into the corner of Twilight's mouth. "You've been watching me, of course. Why else would that book have fallen just so? How else would you know what I'd want to see?"

He laughed quietly, but said nothing. He lowered his head and hovered over Twilight's. Hesitating for a moment, he rested his nose on her head. She didn't move or pull away.
He simply said, "Quite sad, isn't it?"
"Perhaps a bit," she replied. She felt his shallow breath weave through her hair when he sighed.
"I think it's time you left." He pulled away as Twilight and Rarity were suddenly encompassed in light, and soon all they could see was the glow. "She won't remember any of this," they heard through the noise of the spell. A powerful wind swirled around them, and they had to blink back the blindness.

Soon the light faded and the wind died. They opened their eyes and found themselves at the edge of the forest, Ponyville not too far from where they stood. Twilight looked down and saw what Talon had meant by not remembering. Bonnie lay before them, the wounds on her neck had healed and she slept soundly. Rarity leaned against Twilight fondly, as if to comfort her and ask her what she was thinking. Twilight smiled at her.

"Thank you Rarity. And I'm sorry."
"Well, you wouldn't have to apologize if you weren't so stupid back there," she said in her usual fashionista tone. "But seriously, you do understand, don't you?"
"I do. I love you, too Rarity. You're the best friend a pony could ask for."
"And don't worry about stallions," Rarity said encouragingly. "You're still so young, after all."
"We both are."

Rarity smiled at her, then glanced warily back at the forest. "What should we do about them?" she asked.
"Don't worry, Rarity. They won't be bothering us anymore."
"How can you be sure?"
"Talon knows what he's done. He knows what he created and he knows they can't be allowed to continue. Trust me, we won't see him again. Now, let's get Bonnie home. We'll need to think of something to tell her when she wakes up."

They turned away from the forest and together levitated Bonnie off the ground and began to walk back to town.
"Perhaps you can use that memory spell again, except create fake ones?"
Twilight thought for a moment. The two unicorns began discussing the possibility as the moon shone brightly above them, lighting the way home.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Talon sat in the clearing, watching his children crawl like vermin on the ground. They were too weak. They were slaves to the will of the moon and burned in the light of the sun. He never understood why he was unaffected by the two spheres, yet the others were so bound by them.

"Oh, my children," he said sadly, though he knew their ears were deaf to his voice. "What have you become?"

Something caught his eye, and he spotted one of them blindly approaching. It moved its gaze as if it were blind, yet it seemed to know exactly where Talon was. None of them had ever attacked him before or payed any attention to him whatsoever when they were like this. Yet the creature found his side and curled up beside him, resting its head fondly against him. He saw that it was a mare, and found the remains of the fiery orange mane unmistakeable. 

"Nightshade. Even like this you..." He heard something that sounded somewhat like a cat purring resonate in her throat. He extended his wing and draped it over her, pulling her closer. She lay beside him, her red eyes gazing aimlessly out over the clearing.

As the moon approached the horizon it fell behind a line of clouds. The light disappeared from the clearing and Nightshade's body began to return to normal. Her eyes closed, her body filled out, her coat reappeared, and her mane returned once more to its full and elegant style. She blinked several times as if to clear a haze. She shook head of it, and shivered the rest of her body as if it was covered in water and she had to shake it off. She noticed the wing around her and looked up to find she was being embraced by the prince.

She shot up into a sitting position and stammered, "M-My Lord-I-I-um...I didn't-" Her face grew redder with every unfinished word. She respectfully tried to pull away, but his wing held her close. He smiled down at her, amused by her reaction, and she fell silent. She only stared at him, flush, not sure of what to say.

Orange light started to creep from behind the horizon, and Talon said, "Day is coming. You should rest."
The sun wouldn't allow her to stay awake if she wanted to, so she complied, falling asleep beside Talon. The rest of the vampires lay asleep in the clearing. He covered her protectively with his wing and looked to the sky.
"The sun is coming."