Chapter One: Let Blood Fall.
She hissed at the empty air. An area once filled with pained sounds and screams of agony were now silent. Her name was of no importance, her appearance less-so, though it was now a thing that struck fear into all who had hear the story of, The Fangs. A cheesy name, but a well-created story.
She was a white, ghost-like mare stalking the night. Her blood-red eyes were hardened to crystals, and her messy red mane flowed behind her carelessly like copper fire. What stood out were her sharp pointy fangs, tufted bat-like ears, and slitted eyes. Despite all these strange features, she had a cutie mark. It was a large drop of blood.
Her bloodied hooves seemed to hover above the ground, despite her lack of wings, making her forward movements effortless and graceful. She couldn’t talk like others, and instead she hissed at the survivors who joined rank.
They would either parish in the sunlight, or fade into the everfree for whatever fate awaited them. She had plans to return to the everfree forest at dawn, and wait to begin another nights work.
Ah, but what was her work? Despite her less-than civilized life, and animalistic actions, she had a measure of wit.
My work…. I need not know what I am, only that I can kill… Kill for… She purred, remembering the night, while something deep inside her, buried under ages of memories and routine, weeped at the thought.
The large alicorn had come to her in an hour of need. Like all foolish ponies, she resisted at first, but then, something inside her agreed with this mare, a long crushed animalistic sense, thought to be bred out by decades of civilization.
“I sense it in you… Every creature, smart or not, kind or not, civil or not, has this. A killer instinct, and though some squash it out with time, you still own it. Hidden, but there… Hiding, but willing.” And so the mistress of the night called forth her killer side that all good ponie denied.
She beckoned this mare into her service and place a curse blessing on her.
“You will serve me, night eternal! Slumber during the day, and doing my bidding at night! Forever shall you roam this land, a beast amongst sheep, ready to lead, ready to kill, until I see fit to release you! Your kinder nature will be suppressed until your job is done, your duty, to Nightmare Moon! I command you, a beast of blood!”
The mere filly shrieked in horror as her body grew to the size of an adult, fangs sprouted from her mouth, and all her senses increased. Then her mom came home and she got her cutie mark that very first night of work…
Oh, she loved that night. How she loved every night. She cherished every night. Night, yes, her favorite time. The moon did not burn like the sun, and it hid her movements from all. For a thousand years she shunned the sun, so of course she was in love with her night. The time she could be free, herself, without any repercussions.
Yes, how she loved the night. The blood. The knowledge that she still worked for her mistress who would obviously return one-day. She had to return one day, the tiny, almost invisible voice in her needed her mistress to return one-day and revoke the blessing. Why, she didn’t know. She didn’t question things anymore, the mare simply acted.
Something told her to gather the converted, those who had survived her bloody rampages. They were hard to find, the everfree was vast, and they didn’t like to obey. Good thing she was the best hunter, and the only one who could remotely lead them. They soon learned fear, and they soon learned obedience, or what obedience they could in their tiny, blood-filled minds.
She hissed at the crowd gathered before her. It took days, weeks, away from work, to gather them. She didn’t even know why she needed to, she just did. The blessing told her to do it, or more like, guided her as it rarely would. Black rising smoke in warning, this was not a town to take alone, or even in small groups. She need an army.
They roared back at her, crazed red eyes danced in the fading sunlight that managed to pierce the trees. Sunlight would not kill them right away, and with beautiful dark trees to protect them, they could be up all day. It just hurt a lot, but their faith in the dark mistress steeled them as they gathered in perhaps the biggest gathering ever for them, just so they could take one tiny town.
Why did they need this town? They too no longer asked questions, they just knew to follow the leader, the blessed one.
All the ponies there had cat-like eyes, batty ears, and pointed fangs. If they were pegasi, their wings had turned into leathery appendages, and unicorn horns sharpened into deadly points, and earth ponies had jagged hooves, better for tearing.
She screamed, they went wild. The sun was setting, the night was coming! In mere minutes, when their bodies said it was ok too, they would charge! Their never-ending blood lust would be sated on pony-flesh, and they would bathe in the glorious battle to come! They would turn into gluttons, and have new converts in their ranks by dawn, and if they didn’t win that night, they would attack again and again until the commander said to stop, that whatever their objective was, was completed.
Then it happened, their bodies seemed to grow in size, muscles bulged, teeth gleamed, their blood-thirst became impossible. The army charged, screaming and hollering all the way.
The first building was filled with animals of all kinds, and nearest to the everfree. A bear in there put up a good fight, while a silly rabbit tried to desperately lead them against the non-ponies, but in the end, they easily lost to their numbers and cravings.
They cackled, or what a pony might call laughing, at this easy-victory.
“FOR THE NIGHT-QUEEN!” They shrieked in their odd language that wasn’t quite a language. “FOR HER GLORY!”
The raid continued. Fillies, colts, mares, and stallions, they all fell and no distinction was made. A few rose again, but not many. Ponies were softer nowadays, they fell easier. Those who did join their ranks took on red eyes and slowly gained the looks of the blood army as they fought those who used to be kin.
Swiftly they made their way across the town, closely following what orders there were.
Break into all the homes. Kill everypony you see. Circle the town so nopony may escape. It was mostly easy, except for the circle part. They were in such a frenzy and keeping anytype of rank was hard to begin with.
Suddenly their bodies stopped, and seemingly began to shrink slowly. Red eyes and crimson splattered faces turned towards the horizon. They must flee, the sun was coming up. So they all ran, new comrades and old alike made a mad-dash into the forest of the everfree. Their night-mistress would be pleased with their work, but it wasn’t over yet. A whole day waited until they might finish their siege on the town.
Yet, them fleeing did not mean they were about to give up and let ponies escape. Those who tried to fly away found themselves tackled by burning pegasi with peculiar looks and a burning smell, or shot down by a corrupted unicorn spell. Any who dared dash were either gored by a unicorn horn, or beaten by an earth pony. Their leader was perhaps the most active, for she didn’t need sleep like them, not anymore.
She walked around the forest like she owned the place, having everyone keep careful eyes on the tiny town. A few of the more daring even slept in the now-empty homes! Reports said that the remaining ones who lived had fled into a strange crystal tree that they couldn’t access. Six ponies stood out in majestic power alone.
She would undoubtedly have to deal with them, perhaps an ancient from her first wanderings yet lived and could help her. The older these creatures were, the more they appeared to grow in power, and after a night like that, their appearances were altered more than ever.
Pointed hooves and gaping jaws filled with rows of fangs. Their bodies were massive, hers included. Their manes and tails didn’t seem to mat, instead, they become slightly airy, powered by ancient magick. This didn’t happen to the younger ones, but it did happen to the older creatures.
Finally, after a few more deaths, the sun set. The leader had tried her best to warn them that the villagers would now be armed, and attempted to gather the old ones for her special fight, but animals were hard to control, and on many nights, she was no better than them herself.
They charged, expecting an army of angry ponies, only to be greeted by six somber looking mares, one of them an alicorn. The leader screeched in her loudest tones, the army stopped.
The alicorn walked forward, and began making noises that only the oldest would understand, barely. But the leader was blessed, and she knew every word.
“Why are you doing this? What happened to you all? Please, we just want to help!” Her words were full of sympathy. She stalked forward, head lowered and flowing tail twitching in anger and warning. She snarled in the best pony-speak she could.
“The night-misstress commands us! We do as she says. Convert ponies, make them serve her! Eternal goddess, Nightmare Moon!” Though part of her speech was lost on the alicorn, she knew enough had gotten across.
“But… NIghtmare Moon is no more.” Confusion flickered on her face. “We cured her…”
No, that was the wrong answer. Her outside screamed in such a fury that the yellow-one fled before being dragged back by the blue one, yet inside her the tiniest part celebrated. No more curses, even if she was still blessed.
She snapped her teeth at those behind her, and they all charged the mares who stood their ground. Seconds passed slowly as the mares looked at one another, their faces determine. Obviously this was some last-stance, right? But no, in all her thousand years, the first was surprised, these ponies would fight back and win.
They rose into the air, but they did not fly. Magick that these non-ponies couldn’t touch surrounded the evil mares. It glowed white at first, but then… A rainbow appeared from it. In the middle of the night, what could only be called a second sun was born from rainbows. It spread beyond the first lines to the back, it circled the entire village, than the surrounding parts, and soon enough, the entire everfree was covered in its bubble.
Than a new change happened. In the middle of the night, a change occurred from the deepest parts of the vicious forest, to the majority of the creatures standing right in front of the six friends. Dark magick was leached from them all, to those who hid in the caves, to those fighting at that moment.
A curse, not a blessing, was lifted, and Bloody Cry rejoiced.
Yes, she had a name, and it mattered! This form she had adopted was not hers truly, and the monster she had become was not willingly welcome, but instead forced upon a tiny child of old! The oldest were the last to revert, but the youngest did so quickly.
They shrunk to their normal sizes. Foals became foals once more, losing all their unusual parts, and adults reverted to a slightly smaller, chubbier size. Eyes became round, and teeth flat. Eye colors returned to normal.
Yet the changes went only skin deep, and reversed the dark magicks influence. What it could never change or reverse was past, memories, and horrible hideous truth. Though their nature was gone, still, a group of killers stood before the princess of friendship, even if they were unwilling killers.
Cry blinked her large red eyes. She was naturally a white filly with a red mane and red eyes, and sickeningly enough, her cutie mark stayed. The large drop of blood that would mark her for life.
She looked at it, looked at the ponies around her, and did what any kid in situation would do. She cried.