Applebloom took a deep sip of her tea, and sighed. It wasn’t the tea that bothered her, no. The tea was a nice oolong, and just the right temperature. What bothered her was the whole situation.
With another sigh, she set down her tea and finally spoke; “Ah shoulda been here with better news, Sweetie Belle. But as it is, Incidents are only growin’ more frequent. Just a few years back, we had a murder. A full-on murder, Sweetie. An’ not just one a ‘em. Ah shoulda known it was high time to close up the camp. What with the Everfree bein’ so Celestia-damned close to the camp an’ all, it’s been a proper hub for Incidents.”
“Applebloom, you can’t just ‘close up’ the camp! It’s a major part of our legacy! Of all crusader’s legacies! What would Gabby think, Applebloom? And it can’t be that bad. Those murders were years ago. What’s got you all shaken up this time?” Sweetie pleaded.
“It ain’t a murder this time, but it might as well be. We had a young filly, with her whole life ahead ‘o her, bitten by a Vampony. A Celestia-damned Vampony, Sweetie. Ya can’t undo that kinda thing!”
Sweetie’s voice turned sharp and dangerous. “Now now, you don’t want to be using that tone when you talk about the denizens of the darker corners.”
“Ahaha… right. Sorry, Sweetie. Ah forget your… situation sometimes.”
“Don’t apologise to me. Now, you said there were two young ones affected by the Incident?”
“…yeah. Depending on whether or not ya believe my sister, the other one may have gotten it worse.”
“What, is she ‘dead’ too?”
“No.”
Applebloom took another sip of her tea. It was a little too sweet, she noticed. And just a little too cold. But she couldn’t complain. She finally got to talk to somepony about the latest Incident.
Sage Mercy had seen a lot throughout the years, heard a lot of outlandish stories made up to conceal the truth, and treated some truly bizarre cases.
She’d once had a young colt with a cragodile attached to his back left hoof, and a story that matched the strangeness of the situation. She’d had a filly with a watermelon somehow superglued to her horn. A half-hippogriff who’d ‘accidentally’ swallowed somecreature else’s glass eye. Sage Mercy had seen more than her fair share of weird.
But two fillies claiming a Vampony was hiding in the Everfree Forest, and that they bit one of them? Sage hadn’t seen that before.
But all the same, a grey pegasus came in, dragging along her friend, an alabaster earth filly with midnight-black hair (who Sage was sure she’d never seen before), in the early hours of the night, no less. The poor dear who’d been bitten was currently in one of the Clinic Rooms, along with her friend, who’d refused to leave her side.
Sage was by no means an expert on equine vampirism, but she did have a store of blood, and Vamponies drank blood, right? Yeah, she’d have to call in the resident expert. And in the meantime, she’d have to keep trying to get the afflicted filly to actually drink the blood. Which was way easier said then done.
And so now Sage stood outside the Mahogany Cabin, knocking relentlessly. The door finally flung itself open, revealing a tired and grumpy-looking Crimson Thorn.
“What is it. Why are you here. What do you want from me?”
“Miss Thorn. I was wondering if you would assist me with a matter of importance.” It was clear from the tone Sage held that this was not a question.
Crimson yawned and nodded. “Let me grab my jumper.”
Sage stared at her stonily. “I was wondering if you would assist me with a matter of importance now.”
Crimson sighed, before walking out of the cabin, and shutting the door behind her. “If anything happens to the kids in my cabin while I’m gone, I’m putting the blame fully on you.”
“I see you didn’t notice that one of your charges is currently in my care then?”
Crimson paused, her face scrunching up almost minutely. Sage noticed, though. She was an expert at picking up on these kinds of things. But she didn’t say anything, rather just tucking that little piece of the puzzle away for later.
“What’s happened?”
“You see, Crimson, there is a specific reason I came to you.” the two of them were walking briskly through the snow now.
“Please tell me you don’t mean-”
“I’m afraid so. You’d best come quickly, Miss Thorn.”
Sage and Crimson arrived at the door to the Nurse’s Cabin. The Nurse’s Cabin was entirely different to the Residential Nurse’s Cabin, the former being the repurposed Beech Cabin. The door had been newly outfitted with a set of three seperate locks on the outside, and a set of deadbolts on all the windows. The only one with a key to the three locks was Sage Mercy, as she had been the one to install them. The keychain with all three keys now jangled noisily as it made it’s way through the locks, opening each one with a loud ‘click’. Finally, Sage was able to open the door, which she did so quickly.
Once the two of them were in the cabin again, Sage locked all three locks again, and slid the two deadbolts on the other side of the door shut.
“Why do you have all these locks? I’ve always wondered.”
“The Everfree has some particularly dangerous creatures roaming within it. I took the liberty of assuring that nocreature who comes for healing is forced to stay longer than they originally should have.”
Sage led her guest to the room that was formerly the Beech Dorm, but had now been divided into three seperate Clinic Rooms. In the last one, furthest from the door and with no windows, skylights or any other form of natural light, was a pair of young ponies. The first one, and the one of most concern, was sitting up on the bed that occupied most of the room, while the second, her friend, was in a cushy green armchair in the corner. The pair idly chatted, but the talk stopped when Sage and Crimson walked into the room. The filly on the bed seemed to shrink into herself, and the one on the chair’s eye’s widened a fraction.
Sage trotted up to the poor dear on the bed, a smile ready on her face.
“Hey sugar, how are you holding up? I’ve just got somepony else here with me. She’s a bit of an expert with your… condition.”
“What do you mean? My condition? I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again! I’m not a Vampony!”
Sage turned to Crimson; “Oh dear. Crimson, can you take your bracelet off? Just for a moment?”
The other being sighed, before lighting up her horn and slowly sliding her silver charm bracelet off. Seeing Crimson like this was definitely not positive for the two fillies, the afflicted one jolting back like she’d been shocked, while her friend flared her wings and glared at Crimson.
“What? I know I’m not much of a looker but this feels like an overreaction” Crimson quipped. She sounded nervous.
“Well, if you being here’s not helping the poor dear, then you’ve got to be heading out, Miss Thorn.”
“Ok. But if you have any questions, you can’t exactly ask Bright Stream or Gybh.”
Sage Mercy pinched her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead. She was on her way to developing a proper migraine.
“Fine. I’ll ask my questions in the next room over. Come.”
The room was dark, with only a few well-placed lamps, and the soft sunlight filtering in from the next room. Moonbeam was asleep, curled up in the green armchair in the corner. And Vig was at the edge of the bed, counting the minutes as the clock above the door ticked endlessly. The golden rays of sun that streamed slowly through the doorway tempted her, just asking her to touch them, to prove she wasn’t a Vampony. If something didn’t happen to distract her soon, Vig was definitely going to stick a hoof in it. Just to see.
“How long have you been up?” Oh good, Moonbeam was awake.
“All night. You passed out pretty early.”
“How are you not dead right now?”
Vig laughed; “according to everypony, I have been since early last night!”
“Oof, sorry” they muttered.
“I mean, I can still eat food, so… I’m pretty sure I’m not a Vampony!”
“Oh, and we’re just glossing over your fangs?”
“…yes.”
“You’re going to stick a hoof in that sunlight to ‘prove’ you’re mortal, aren’t you.”
“Yep.”
“…please don’t. I don’t want to watch my friend burn.”
“Oh, so we’re friends?”
“I certainly hope so!”
Vig laughed again, louder this time. “Yeah, let’s say we’re friends.”
Moonbeam got up and stretched, before walking over to the door, almost seeming to bathe in the sunlight. Vig was about to follow them, but halfway to the door, she remembered the sun.
“Wait, Moonbeam.”
“Please don’t step in the sun, I know you’re about to, but please for the love of Twilight don’t do it.”
“Look, the sun doesn’t do anything. See?”
Vig strode forward to the edge of the sunlight, before slowly raising a hoof…
Only to snatch it back with a hiss almost as soon as she’d stretched it out. The spot where the sun’s rays had touched it was glowing a sickly yellow, and small tendrils of steam rose up off the area.
“Damn that stings. I’m not doing that again” she shrilled.
And then it (figuratively) dawned on Vig. She had fangs. She couldn’t step in sunlight. She wouldn’t admit it, but there was definitely one less ‘blood bag’ than when Moonbeam went to sleep.
She was a creature of the night. A Nosferatu.
A Vampony.
I pushed my cup around aimlessly. The orange juice inside sloshed against the sides of the glass, filling in the silence around me. There was nopony else in the lunch hall, and I was indifferent. It was at least twenty minutes past breakfast and more than an hour until lunch. There was no plate of food in front of me, and barely any drink left in my cup.
Oh, and Vig was dead. Well, more ‘undead’ than ‘dead’, per say. The memory of her limp body, drained of blood and lifeless, was still raw in my mind, providing an extra edge of horror to my every thought. I wasn’t hungry, and the thought of Vig, unable to step hoof in the sun, pacing the room with her monstrous fangs and bright red eyes shining in the dark wasn’t exactly comforting.
“Hey camper! You ready to take on the day?” Bright Stream called from the doorway.
“No. I’m good thanks. You go on without me.”
“Aww come on. We’re roasting marshmallows out here, and there’s a colt making up scary stories for us!”
That was probably Cobblestone. It sounded so nice, and I was sorely tempted to join in, but the memory of the previous night felt as if it was superglued to my mind.
I forced myself to smile as I replied; “Yeah, no. I’m ok. Have fun without me, though!”
He sighed, giving me one last hopeful smile, before stepping out again and letting the door swing shut behind him.
I slumped down onto the bench, a few tears making their cold paths down my cheeks. Vig wasn’t gone, so to say, but something had changed. I could only hope I’d get better as the day wore on. And I’d have to join in the activities at some point.
It’d be ok.
It’d be just wonderful.
The day had practically flown past for Foggy Bramble, activities blurring into each other.
It was only after everything was said and done did she hear about the latest tragedy. A young filly, cut down in her prime by a ruthless monster. A Vampony. Everypony else said it was a beast from the woods. Foggy knew better. The whole situation reeked of Crimson Thorn.
Every time the story had been told and retold by the staff, Crimson had been there, dispelling rumours of her involvement and quashing theories that so much as mentioned her. It was enough to make Foggy’s head hurt, the amount of times she’d seen Crimson that day. And of course that mare had been the one to advocate most heavily against telling the other campers what fate had befallen their peer. She’d won out, and apart from the poor filly who’d brought her friend in to Sage Mercy, none of the other fillies and colts were any the wiser.
With an indignant snort directed towards Crimson Thorn, no matter her current location, Foggy turned her thoughts from the events of the day. The world was so lovely at night. The stars were twinkling in the heavens high above, surpassed only in their brightness by the pale light of the moon. The moon was a waxing gibbous, a stark reminder of the week to come.
A week Foggy would spend her nights locked up in a dingy murder basement. Without getting to see the stars, feel the call of the moon, prowl the darkness, or any of the other things she whispered about in the back of her mind.
Maybe a little, tiny, shift wouldn’t hurt…
No. Foggy Bramble would not be swayed by the temptations of the other lurking in the dark corners of her head. It was bad enough with the Winter Moon Festival leaving the full moon bright in the sky for a whole week, but shifting? Letting go of her equinity? Just because? No. Nope. Uh-uh. Bad idea. Somepony was bound to get hurt.
‘but the night is just so beautiful’ the other crooned.
‘Just once, before we are forced to spend all our time in the shadows?’
‘You know you want to, Foggy Bramble. Let me out. Let us prowl the darkness, feel the wind in our fur, become whole under the moonlight!’
Her pleas were becoming harder to ignore. She hadn’t realised, but the forest outside her cabin staff room’s window looked just glorious that night. It might have been the snowflakes, like pale shards of moonlight, drifting solemnly through the air, or it might have been the other and her temptations warping reality through the mind’s eye.
That didn’t change the fact that the night was beautiful. Or that she desperately wanted to stroll through those woods. Or to feel the moon’s call upon her, like an enchantment. Maybe a little, tiny, shift wouldn’t hurt…
She’d have to go far into the Everfree before she did so, and even then she’d have to be careful not to alert anycreature of her presence. She’d have to stray far from the beaten paths of the forest, and avoid signs of life as much as she could. But, it was doable. It only took a moment to decide.
The Everfree would gain one more dangerous creature that night. Foggy Bramble.
I sat quietly at the window, deep in thought. It must have been close to midnight, or not; I wasn’t sure. Yet again, I could not sleep. Although this time, there were no monstrous red eyes glaring out from the shadows, or subtle, creeping movements in the dark. Just a thick, foreboding silence. There was no birdsong, or the leathery whistle of bat wings. No strange noises out in the night, or creatures of said night calling to each other in strange sounds.
It was silent, beyond the window, like the calm before a storm. It had almost been silent all night.
Almost, because, not an hour ago, a bone-chilling howl had echoed through the woods, reaching the cabin loud and clear. A cold chill had shivered it’s way down my spine at the sound of it, and more than one pony in the cabin had turned over uneasy in sleep, if they didn’t awake with a start.
And there it was again, sparking curiosity more than fear now; that howl. At first I had put it down to timberwolves or a Canis Minor, but now, as it rang out again, I noticed something odd. There was a distinctly… equine quality to it, like it was a pony doing a very good job pretending to be a wolf, and not an actual wolf. I almost laughed aloud as the thought crossed my mind. Probably just a prank.
Wait- there it was, again, louder and closer this time. Yep, there was definitely something about the sound that was a dead ringer for equine speech. I glanced over at Cobblestone’s bed. Empty. Yep, definitely a prank. One that was sure to end badly for him, if he was out in the forest at night.
I tried to get up off my bed as quietly as possible, before making my way to the Birch Dorm’s door, which led out into the hallway passing the Group Leader’s bedroom. I quickly slipped out the door, before holding my breath and listening. Another odd thing. There was no sounds coming from Group Leader Foggy Bramble’s room. No snoring, no rustling sheets, no almost-imperceptible sound of breathing. Maybe she was a silent sleeper?
I shrugged it off and swiftly made my way to the front door, which creaked loudly as I pushed open. I paused, listening for any sound that somepony had heard me, before opening it all the way, and stepping out into the bleak world of night that awaited me beyond the cabin. I carefully pushed the door shut behind me, and set off; trudging through the thick snow.
I wished I had brought my scarf, or my jacket, or anything besides a set of boots and long socks. Oh, and my grey beanie was sitting lopsided on my head, but it didn’t do anything for the biting winds.
I slogged through the heavy layers of slushy wet snow, a light drizzle of rain throwing itself against me, but I kept going. Cobblestone was surely out there, trying to scare the rest of us, and he didn’t know the dangers that lurked in the shadows. Vig hadn’t, and I didn’t want what happened to her to happen to him.
And so I kept going, even as the rain turned from a light drizzle to a freezing shower, and snowflakes pelted down around me, icy cold. The rain finally slowed as I reached the tree line, crossing into the dark gloom of the Everfree.
The words of Foggy rang through my head once again. Her warning.
‘You shouldn’t be leaving the cabin at night. The Everfree becomes especially dangerous when night falls.’
But I was certain she was exaggerating. At least just a little.
Cobblestone stepped back into the cabin, blearily rubbing his eyes. It had been pretty stupid of him to leave his beret in the lunch hall, and also a pretty stupid idea to break in and get it back.
But he’d done it. And now his beret sat cheerily on top of his head, and the lunch hall was down one window. Twilight was he tired. Cobblestone stumbled back through the hallway, before getting back into the dorm. Huh. Moonbeam’s bed sat empty. Maybe she’d left something in the lunch hall too.
He made his way over to his bed, before quickly dropping off to sleep. It’d be fine. He’d find out whether they got their stuff back from the lunch hall in the morning.
I struggled through a snowdrift, trudging deeper into the forest, my fear starting to rise. But I had to keep going. I could do something this time, I wouldn’t be frozen. Useless. I had to keep going.
Another howl, positively spine-chilling, sounded. Close to me. It sounded just so equine. The thought that it could be anything other than Cobblestone playing a prank didn’t cross my mind.
“Cobblestone? I know you’re out here! It isn’t safe! We need to go back to the cabin!” I yelled out into the darkness.
“Dude! You have to come back! You don’t know what’s out here!”
There! Silhouetted by the light of the moon was a figure. It was hard to see any other details, but I could tell it was a pony. Maybe a little tall for the one I was looking for, but there wasn’t anypony else it could have been. I walked towards him with a relieved smile on my face.
“Cobblestone! You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you! Look, we need to head back-”
Two menacing eyes flicked open. They were slitted, like Cobblestone’s, but unlike his, the eyes seemed to glow. Not to mention, I couldn’t see the sclera. That was weird. And they were a verdant green, which was doubly weird because Cobblestone definitely had dark grey eyes…
Oh. Buck. That wasn’t Cobblestone. I backpedaled, my smile dropping. The being in front of me stalked forward, stepping into a stray shaft of moonlight. Definitely not Cobblestone.
It was like a pony, but twisted, and reminiscent of a beast. A thick layer of fur covered it’s coat, and in place of a tail of hair, was a proper tail, like that of a wolf. A thick mane as white as the snow surrounding us hung off it’s head, a reminder of the equine appearance of this creature. Where hooves were supposed to be were a set of paws bearing menacing claws. It’s lips were rolled back in a snarl, revealing a full mouth of razor-sharp fangs.
And the eyes. Oh, the eyes. Pitch-black sclera and dangerously slitted pupils, with glowing green irises.
The creature growled low in it’s throat, and I turned. And ran. I tried to open my wings, to fly away to safety, but they were locked at my sides. I desperately galloped as fast as I could, away from this beast.
When I turned my head even slightly to the side, the creature was there, flanking me at every step. And worse, it seemed to be gaining on me. I forced air into my lungs, running harder, faster, than I ever had before. My heart pounded in my ears, and my entire body felt as if it was aflame. I couldn’t feel the harsh cold of winter anymore. My thoughts were jumbled, and my mind in shambles save for one notion: run.
And so I ran. I had no sense of direction, nor time. I just galloped as fast as I could possibly manage.
Every time I turned, it was behind me, getting closer and closer with every step. I could feel exhaustion creeping up on me, held at bay only by panic and sheer force of will.
But it wasn’t enough. A thick, dark tree root arched out of the ground ahead of me. I barely noticed it and made no move to compensate. My back right hoof snagged, and the freezing ground rose up to meet me. I tried to get up, to keep running, but complete and utter exhaustion won out, and I just lay there, waiting for the killing blow.
I hoped it’d be quick.
And then it was right behind me. Panting and snarling, but not nearly as depleted as I was. I rolled over, onto my back, ready to face what was surely my death head on.
It must have been a minute, but it felt like an eternity. And the beast made no move. Just standing there, looming over me.
I shut my eyes. Hugged my hooves to my chest. Tried to calm my heart, which beat lightning-fast in my ears, like a war drum.
And then it bit down into my right shoulder. Hard. I screamed. Hot tears spilled out of my eyes. It felt like I could feel every one of it’s razor-edged fangs ripping through my flesh. A shooting pain blossomed through my shoulder, excruciatingly agonising. Like a flower, the pain bloomed and made me hurt in more ways than I thought I would ever experience. Blood spilled from the wound like a thousand miniature rivers making their way to the ground.
It bucking hurt.
The creature-no, monster ripped itself off my shoulder, tearing through nerves, tendons, and scraping bone. I screamed, again. It stood over me, baring those awful, awful fangs. Darkness seeped in at the edges of my vision.
And then the monster bolted off into the forest. Presumably leaving me for dead. The lights of the stars shined too bright, and the moon burned my eyes. But then the lights stopped twinkling, high in the heavens above. The void filled my sight, and a cold breeze swept across my body.
And with one last sigh, my thoughts, too, ceased.