It had been a productive evening for Cheerilee. Following up on what the leather vendor named Ceros knew seemed promising. Plus, she had alleviated some of her feelings of being a shut-in by going to the art gallery. All in all, a pleasant night. She returned home thinking of bed and happily turned in.
While vampires slept like the dead - quite literally - sleep was not quite as mandatory as it was for mortals. Still, Cheerilee enjoyed it. Any night when she had time to lay between comfortable sheets was a good one. If nothing else, the ritual left her feeling calmer and more normal.
However, something was different tonight. It had been quite a while since Cheerilee had experienced a proper dream. So long, in fact, that Princess Luna probably had never even considered coming to her part of slumberland.
This dream saw Cheerilee wandering through the streets of Canterlot. Ponies she passed didn’t seem to notice her, as though she weren’t there at all. She couldn’t interact with any of them, either, as her body just passed right through the other ponies. There was a dense fog over the city that kept sound muffled and visibility limited, even to her enhanced sight.
Cheerilee turned to look for Golden and perhaps ask for her ideas on the situation. She blinked in surprise at the Golden Ring she found at her side; the younger vampire had monstrous fangs and leathery bat wings, more bestial-looking than those of the Lunar Guard. A hungry look gleamed in Golden’s eyes as she waited for Cheerilee to lead the way.
The sound of explosions and gunfire drew Cheerilee’s attention away from the monster beside her. She could make out what looked to be a small battle, some ponies and other equines with guns slaughtering others that fought back with whatever was on hoof. Cheerilee just pointed at the fight, sending Golden off to kill.
For some reason Cheerilee’s body seemed heavy, like her limbs were suddenly made of lead. She felt sluggish. As she watched Golden tear apart the fighting ponies indiscriminately, she couldn’t even muster the energy to shout “stop.” Maybe it was the fog. Maybe it was something else, something with Cheerilee that was causing it. Either way, she didn’t feel up to thinking about it.
And yet, the dream didn’t seem like a nightmare. Where another pony might have felt horror or fear, Cheerilee wasn’t phased in the least by the violence inflicted by Golden. All she felt was a foggy sensation, like everypony else was at a great distance from her. The fighting didn’t concern her, did it? Those ponies were going about their business, and she’d go about hers.
She turned away from the fighting and wandered aimlessly through the fog in Canterlot, nothing else disturbing her walk.
Cheerilee woke up in the morning feeling refreshed, but not exactly relaxed. The dream was still in her memory, and she considered it while getting ready that morning.
She had a few ideas about what her subconscious might be telling her, but had never put much stock in dreams, as she had experienced so few of them. Cheerilee trusted her body and her abilities. She was not as comfortable with her psychology. But that was too bad.
Checking her phone, she saw a message from Golden. I’m convinced that Legal Tender’s son, Treasury Bill, is the green unicorn I saw at HOOF’s hideout. Nothing happened at dinner, but I have a date with Bill.
Well, wasn’t that something. Cheerilee managed a grin of amusement for a few moments. The emotion faded however. Golden wouldn’t have embarked on such a venture if she didn’t think it would produce results. She was a competent mare and was well capable of making her own decisions. Despite their relationship, Cheerilee often had to remind herself that it was just business.
Cheerilee pasted on a smile and went out the door to head for school.
While she taught young minds that day, others were also apparently toiling to improve the world. The information Cheerilee had obtained the previous night was valuable to somepony. Tapping Ceros’ phone produced results within a day. Cheerilee returned from teaching her classes to get a mirror call from Luna with information.
The Princess wore her reading glasses and a slightly puzzled look, gazing at a few pieces of paper in front of her Cheerilee waited patiently while Luna told her what had been learned.
“It seems that we’ve got positioning coordinates after accessing the electronic intelligence produced from collecting data from her cell phone,” Luna explained, poring over the documents. “After tracing her route with moving target indicators, we have a few locations that might be possible hangouts for HOOF, although part of her trail goes cold when she went underground at the Fifth Street Market. We also activated the phone’s sensors when she used it and managed to get data that includes audio and pictures of her clients. Some of them are definitely HOOF members and through a few database searches we were able to extend our surveillance to their electronics as well. The overall network has given us valuable insight.”
“You look like you don’t really understand the technical language in that report,” Cheerilee observed, suppressing a smirk.
Luna looked over her glasses. “Keeping up with technology is difficult enough for the average pony. Try running a country at the same time.”
Switching back to her reading of the report, Luna went on. “The whole operation has landed us a lucrative target. We believe there will be another HOOF meeting this evening.”
Cheerilee picked up the mirror and walked with it towards her closet. “Tell me when and where.”
Luna gave her the information and Cheerilee kitted up. Sword, sunglasses, Smiley.
She made it downtown a little after sunset. Keeping to the shadows, Cheerilee approached the target building. “Shabby” would have been too nice a term. The paint had long since peeled and the bare wood rotted. The roof was thin. It was rather small and didn’t even look like a legitimate business fronting for HOOF. It looked...expendable, Cheerilee decided. She frowned.
The situation didn’t feel right. Something was different. Cheerilee looked at the building from a nearby rooftop for several seconds, rolling it over in her mind. There was no way to know what she might be walking into. Best not to walk, then.
Taking a flying leap, Cheerilee jumped the gap and swung the sword hard at the fragile roof. The robust blade chopped through the weak shingles and she plunged straight through.
There was one buffalo, one unicorn, and one zebra in the room where Cheerilee landed. Actually, the building was so small that it was the only room.
Her sudden arrival through the roof caused the buffalo and the pony to back off to the far corners of the room, but the zebra stood her ground. She was decorated in gold and had her mane up in the traditional Zebrican native style. Two wooden stakes were holstered at her sides.
She stared at Cheerilee, recognition in her eyes, but not fear. “We knew you would come, vampire. My associates have set up effective bait.”
At the back of Cheerilee’s mind, she made a note to remind Luna that intelligence was not always infallible. HOOF was apparently putting out false signals, as if they had gotten wind that the government was so heavily involved.
And at the front of her mind, her inner voice screamed They know what I am!
None of this made it to Cheerilee’s expression. In fact, the only way she reacted was to part her lips in a fanged smile. “Nice of you to have me. What sort of entertainment do you have scheduled for this evening?”
The zebra mare drew her stakes, holding them in an impressively dexterous grip as she reared back on two legs. Cheerilee heard her heart rate speeding up, as the zebra’s pupils dilated and her breathing quickened. It was likely the effects of some sort of enhancement potion. While Cheerilee had never encountered an authentic Zebrican vampire hunter before, she knew enough about them to be wary.
The two of them circled, Cheerilee continuing to walk on two legs, her sword held loosely and pointed at the floor. She kept her easy grin going. “So, do you have a name? Are you somepony I’ve heard of?”
“I am called Erebus,” replied the zebra. “I’ve been hunting vampires for years, although I must admit this is the first time I’ve been called to Equestria for a job.”
“Working with HOOF?” Cheerilee asked.
Erebus nodded. “They pay well.”
“You know, I wanted to like you,” Cheerilee said. “Doing a noble thing, hunting monsters so kids can sleep soundly in their beds - it’s very grand. But then you go and cast your lot in with HOOF, an organization that has killed more innocent ponies than I ever have. Don’t you care about that?”
“What does it matter to a vampire?” Erebus asked. Her face was cool, but Cheerilee thought she detected a bit of irritation.
Cheerilee shrugged. “It just makes you another target for me.”
Erebus charged like lighting, bringing her weapons to bear. Cheerilee was actually caught off guard and was still moving to intercept when one of the zebra’s stakes pierced her skin and bit into her chest. The wood was under so much force that it splintered, pieces scattering beneath Cheerilee’s skin.
The zebra had put everything she had into the strike. Backing up a step to support her weight, Cheerilee caught the mare as her attack landed and for a moment the two of them stood there as if in a close dance.
Erebus took her hoof off the stake, seeing the dented but unpierced metal inside Cheerilee’s body. Slowly she raised her head, wide eyes meeting Cheerilee’s gaze.
Cheerilee leaned closer, her mouth inches from Erebus’ ear. “Do you know why you’ve never worked in Equestria before? Did you ever wonder why vampires are unheard of here? It’s because I killed them all.”
Her jaws tore into the zebra’s neck, opening the large blood vessels near the surface. Erebus jerked, but Cheerilee kept her close, so close that she couldn’t even make the appearance of struggling.
“It’s lonely, doing this kind of thing,” Cheerilee went on. “I’m sure you know how it is. Long hours, little thanks. The only satisfaction is knowing you made the world a better place.”
The only response from the other mare was to gurgle a little, her struggles weakening. Cheerilee’s smile vanished. “You had your whole career ahead of you, Erebus. You could have made a difference but you threw it away for money.”
Cheerilee now gritted her teeth in anger. “What happened to your principles? You came to Equestria to work with a terrorist group that murders children. You could have done so much better. Don’t you care about anything other than yourself?”
Erebus did not reply, her eyes still alert but not meeting Cheerilee’s gaze. Wiping her wounded chest, Cheerilee forced a reasonably-sized quantity of blood from her veins onto her hoof and shoved it towards Erebus’ face. Seeing what Cheerilee was doing, Erebus feebly tried to turn her head away but Cheerilee forced the zebra’s mouth open and made sure she swallowed some blood.
Pushing back, Cheerilee threw Erebus to the floor. The zebra’s face had gone from panic to horror, her hooves pawing at her bloody mouth as she lay spasming on the ground. Cheerilee raised a hoof and mentally forced her own, extracted blood into the mare’s system, into every blood vessel and capillary.
With a twist of Cheerilee’s hoof in the air, Erebus convulsed in pain. Cheerilee’s blood tore through the zebra’s body, rupturing cells and arteries from the inside out. Not even bone was safe from the malignant blood coursing through Erebus’ system. Her mouth flew open and she got a few seconds of scream out before every drop of foreign blood in her veins burst forth, rending her entire body to a great explosion of red gore, spattering bits here and there all over the walls, floor, ceiling, the two remaining HOOF members, and Cheerilee herself.
A crimson, misty cloud hung in the air for a moment before beginning to condense in drops on the floor. Small rivulets began to make their way back towards Cheerilee. She glowered at the mess, still angry.
The buffalo started to move but she threw her sword, the tip penetrating his chest horizontally and burying the entire length of the blade inside his body. He fell straight down and didn’t move.
The unicorn quivered in the corner as Cheerilee approached, too petrified to even try a spell. He tried to speak, his words just barely intelligible. “Y-you’re just gonna t-torture me and let me live, r-right?”
“I’m in no mood,” Cheerilee growled. She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a butterfly knife, tossing it on the floor in front of the stallion. She crossed her front legs in front of her chest and glared at him. “You’re going to do it to yourself.”
Perhaps I was overestimating my powers of perception. As the palace servants brought out the first course, then the second, the third, and so on, I made small talk with Bill and Legal. Well, truth be told, they did a lot more talking than I did, but that was kind of how I wanted it.
And it was all so awfully, totally boring. Legal certainly could ramble on when he got going, and most of it was about processes for various governmental procedures. Any other day I may have been able to conjure up at least a little bit of honest interest, but it was so different from what I was expecting. I guess I’m still pretty bad at setting reasonable expectations for things.
Whereas Legal was eager to talk about his job with a great sense of pride, Bill spoke calmly about himself. He apparently worked as a mid-level accountant for one of Canterlot’s financial corporations. I made sure to ask some detailed questions, though I phrased them in the most polite way I could. Rousing his suspicion wouldn’t do well for the investigation, after all.
All of my probing, all my watching, none of it bore any fruit. Bill was depressingly normal, if his story was to be believed. I couldn’t find any of the usual red flags- no heartbeat spikes for lies, no uncomfortable shifting or anything. If it weren’t for the fact that I recognized his scent from our encounter in the underground market the other day, I think I would’ve found myself unable to be suspicious of him.
All this left me with a sense of frustration as our royal dinner drew close to its conclusion. With a pang of regret, I realized I hadn’t even been able to really enjoy the exquisite cooking because of my focus on the mission. I silently mourned the loss of such an opportunity.
Oh well. I could always ask Celestia to invite me to dinner again sometime.
Now that the conversation was beginning to run dry and all the courses had been mostly consumed, I decided now would be a good time to excuse myself.
“Well, I have to say it’s been an amazing experience tonight,” I said, waiting for a lull in the conversation, “But I think it’s time for me to call it an evening. It’s been a pleasure, all of you.”
“And you as well, Golden,” Legal and his wife replied amiably. Bill nodded in agreement as well.
I then faced Princess Celestia, who gave me a nod and smile as I bowed and turned to leave. The trip out was fairly uneventful; one of the guards at the door to the dining hall escorted me to the palace gates, where a pair of armored guards offered to escort me back to my home. I politely declined, assuring them that I would be quite alright on my own and that I didn’t live too far anyway.
Truthfully, I just needed to be out of sight of any law enforcement so I could settle in to wait. The fact that Bill had managed to keep himself from giving away anything that might confirm his ties to HOOF frustrated me a little more than I would ever admit to myself. I decided that it would be a good idea to catch him and his parents coming out of the castle so I could follow them home and perhaps pick up on something interesting while they thought their guard was down.
A little part of me wondered if I was possibly going a little too far here. Another part just wanted to know for sure whether or not Bill was a terrorist.
The question would not be resolved that night, however. Just then, I saw Legal, Penny, and Bill trot out of the front gates of the palace and unfortunately for me, the trio did decide to take up the guardsponies on their offer of an escort. That meant that I’d have to evade the guards’ more effective methods of detection. At least it was dark out; our dinner had run fairly late into the evening.
I’d had a bit of experience with stealth, though, so I decided to mare up and follow through with my plan. As the little group made its way away from the palace gates, I stuck to the roofs of the buildings that they were walking past, making sure to keep my profile low enough to escape the notice of not only them but also any pegasi that might happen to fly past.
It still shocks me at times how easily ground-based pones forget about the up and down directions, especially when so many pegasi are around. I can’t imagine what life would be like to only have two dimensions. Flying makes it so easy to do just about everything, especially spy on land-bound ponies who aren’t paying attention.
In that regard, I had yet to overhear any damning evidence from my quarry. None of them noticed me following them around town, either. I guess we kind of broke even, neither of us getting any advantage. It left me feeling more than a little frustrated.
It was only about fifteen minutes by my estimation when we arrived at the Legal family residence. It was a ridiculously fancy home, a perfect fit for one of Equestria’s Senators. I frowned a bit in distaste. Fancy decorations are fine in their own right, but you can always have too much of a good thing. Remember kids, overdoing it can be just as bad as not doing it at all.
The place was a relatively large estate with gardens and everything. I say ‘relatively’ here because Canterlot real estate is so hard to come by that even the fanciest, most expensive mansions are perhaps a square acre or two at most. The gardens here were particularly well-kept, with a large hedge encompassing the edge of the property and acting as a buffer against the world outside.
The group of ponies I was tracking stopped outside the entrance to their home, sending off the guards with an appreciative wave. I looked about for another vantage point that I could use, but to no avail; there was nothing but empty space between my current spot and the mansion on the family’s land.
I frowned. I could either trespass and perhaps find something useful, or I could call it quits and go home empty-hooved. The idea of just leaving without getting what I came for left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Well, maybe that was just dinner sitting undigested in my gut. Anyway, trespassing onto their property would be a tough one to sell if I got caught. Things could go really poorly, I mean really awfully if I got caught on their property.
I caught a snippet of a sentence as the family disappeared through their hedge wall: “...stuff in the shed?”
It sounded like Legal’s voice. The idea of a shed with stuff in it ate away at my sense of curiosity; what kind of stuff would they have in the shed? Illegal weapons? HOOF members? Gardening tools? This could be the big break that I had been searching for all night. If only I could get a good look at this shed. Of course, for that I’d need to go into the mansion’s grounds.
On a gut impulse, I decided that I should follow through with it if I’d already come this far. I did a quick check of my surroundings to make sure nopony was around. Once I was satisfied that there would be no witnesses, I leapt from my perch and swooped down towards the giant hedge.
I knew that they’d have some kind of pegasus-proof security system, so flying right over the hedge was definitely out of the question. Going through the gate might be possible, but that would be less than optimal. I alighted on the ground just outside the gate, my eyes quickly scanning for any sign of an alarm or other defense mechanism. All that I could see was a basic burglary protection rig; if the gate was opened without entering a passcode, it would trigger.
I was deciding whether or not to try and look for another way in when, to my great surprise and chagrin, the gate opened right in front of me. In the split second I had to act, I debated between diving into the hedge to hide or trying to pass off my presence in some way. Seeing as how I didn’t really have a good cover story this time, I poured on every ounce of vampire speed that I could, rushing into the greenery and doing my best to keep silent as a grave.
Unfortunately for me, the darn thing was a spikey hedge wall. The sharp little thorns caught on the dress I was wearing caught and also bit into my skin, keeping me from getting into cover. That left me entangled and out in the open as the pony on the other side of the hedge stepped through the gate.
Bill froze for a moment as he saw me stuck in the shrubbery surrounding his house. I saw his eyebrows furrow in confusion; all I could think to do in response was blush and smile sheepishly, hoping it might appease him for the moment. He began to trot slowly towards me.
“Golden? What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Me? Um, nothing important. You?” I said. As soon as the words left my mouth I visibly cringed, knowing how bad that sounded. My normally quick mind was unable to come up with anything better, addled as it was from the sheer panic that I was feeling from being caught.
Fortunately for me, Bill seemed to take it well and chuckled as he came closer. “Nothing, huh? That must be a pretty important nothing for you to follow us all the way from the castle, especially if you didn’t want us to know you were there.” Although outwardly he was being nothing but courteous, I caught a bit of an accusatory undertone to his speech. He wanted an explanation for my presence and wasn’t going to take “nothing” for an answer.
“Yeah, that would have to be a pretty important nothing, wouldn’t it?” At this point, I was just stalling for time, hoping I could come up with something believable.
Bill finally stopped just in front of me, and with a glow from his horn, he began to unstick my dress from the thorns in the hedge wall. I fidgeted a little bit, but did my best to keep still. I didn’t want to let on that I was hurt, as he might make more of a big deal out of that, and so I kept my blood from leaking out of the few little scratches I’d gotten from the spikes.
“There, all unstuck,” said Bill. “Are you alright, Golden?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” I said, shuffling in place a little bit. Why couldn’t I come up with anything to say?
“So, what are you doing here? You didn’t just come all this way just to see me, did you?”
“Um… well-” I stopped mid-sentence as a plan finally came to me. The idea was so genius, but at the same time so uncomfortable that I wasn’t sure if I should go through with it. Bill’s expectant expression forced my hoof, though.
“Yeah, I did, actually.” I made sure to blush extra red and look as awkward as I could, not making direct eye contact.
“You did?” Bill asked, clearly not expecting that answer. That meant I’d put him off his guard, at least for a moment, and I had to capitalize on it.
“I just thought maybe I could have another little chat with you. It was nice, listening to you at dinner. I thought maybe we could, um, have dinner again sometime?”
He clearly had trouble hiding his surprise. I could see it all over his expression.
“But if you don’t want to,” I said hastily, “I would definitely understand, I mean I know this is kind of sudden and all-”
“No, no, I wouldn’t mind, it’s just-”
“You will?” I interrupted him. “Oh, that’s just perfect! When are you available?”
“Er, I suppose the day after tomorrow would be alright? Golden, slow down a moment. Aren’t you a little young to be dating a stallion my age?”
“I’m a little bit older than I look,” I said, grimacing inwardly as the irony of that statement was not lost on me.
“Well, alright. If you really want to, I suppose it’s fine. I can honestly say I’m a little surprised, and flattered, I guess. Where would you like to go? My treat.”
“Nothing too expensive. There’s a little diner on the corner of Twilight Boulevard and Friendship Avenue that makes some really good food. How does that sound?”
“That sounds lovely. Is six o’clock alright for you, the day after tomorow?”
“It’s perfect!” I smiled, more out of relief than anything.
Treasury Bill grinned as well. “Then I guess I’ll see you there. I need to get back to my parents, though, they’re expecting me. See you, Golden!”
“See you,” I said, waving a few times as I lifted off into the air. I flew back to my apartment at a leisurely pace, not wanting to arouse his suspicion if he happened to be watching.
The skies were almost completely empty at this time of night, which left me alone with my thoughts. I didn’t feel like thinking about those, though, so I just hummed the tune to one of my favorite songs. The fact that I’d wasted one of Princess Celestia’s evenings in a vain search for evidence was bad enough. Going and getting caught while snooping just made it all worse, to say nothing of how I got myself out of it.
I might have been humming that song a little too loudly, in retrospect.
When I landed at my apartment, I noticed that there was a small bag hanging on my doorknob. There wasn’t a whole lot that stood out about it, so I took a quick peek inside. I gasped; inside was my scarf, clean as a whistle and neatly folded. I quickly twirled it around my neck, a note falling to the ground as I did so. Curious, I picked it up and read it.
Golden,
You forgot to take this with you when you left.
-P.C.
P.S. Have fun on your date! ;-)