It is said. That far off on a hill, where the black roses bloom. There exists a cave where vampires are entombed. Many a pony has ventured there from afar. But rarely do they return without battle scars. For on the stoop of this cave there is no welcome mat. What you will face when you enter is one angry Flutterbat!
/^(*vv*)^\
The moon cast an eerie glow on the open expanse of hills and valleys in this untamed region. Silently, but not in the least stealthily, two young pony ghouls crept along. The taller orange one began to tremble as he approached the edge of the hill and peered over, the shorter green one rolling his eyes. “Come on, man! We’ve got to get back to the castle by sunrise!”
The orange one shrank behind the hill as he pointed past him. “Yeah, but do we really have to go inside that?” The cave behind them stood out like a sore thumb on the face of the mountain. It was too dark to see inside but above and below the entrance grew stalactites and stalagmites that made the cave entrance resemble a gaping maw of some horrible beast.
The green one grabbed the orange and dragged him along the ground. “The mistress needs that vampire blood if she wants to complete her potion,” he grumbled. “Thus, as ghouls, we have a duty to complete her task.”
“I don’t think this job is worth the benefits,” the orange one mumbled.
“What benefits? We’re ghouls!” the green one shouted. Both minions froze as they heard a small grumble from the inside of the cave. The green one glared at the orange who gave him an innocent shrug. “Just keep your mouth shut,” he whispered.
The green one moved in first, placing a hoof past the entryway onto the cave floor. Another rumble reverberated off the cave walls once more. He looked back to the orange one with hesitant eyes but sighed when he saw him trying to run away. He lit up his horn and engulfed the cowardly ghoul in magic that lifted him into the air. Then he threw him inside the cave. “I think you should go first,” he muttered with a smile.
The orange one got up slowly in the damp dark cave as he rubbed his head. “Ow, that wasn’t very nice,” he hissed.
“Ghoul!” the green one hissed back from the cave entrance. “Now go see if there’s any traps.”
“*mumble* *mumble* ‘traps’ *mumble*” He lit up his horn to shed some light in the room and scanned the area. Luckily there were no big scary creatures but there was something else. “Uh, hey? What exactly are we looking for again?”
“A vampire. Or at least a tomb or something to bring back to the mistress,” the green one explained.
“So, like a giant boulder covering a hole in the wall wouldn’t count?” he asked. The green one walked up behind him and looked at what his horn showed. Sure enough a giant boulder looked to have been rolled in front of a large opening in the cave wall. He slapped the orange ghoul in the back of his head. “OW!”
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for, you numbskull,” he growled. “Now come on, help me move it.”
“Are you kidding? There could be a vampire behind there!”
The green one looked at him with a blank expression. “Even for a ghoul, you cannot seriously be this incompetent. You literally have to try.”
“I’m glad you recognize my struggle,” the orange one said with a smile.
“Just help me move this!” The two grabbed either side of the boulder and pushed, quickly realizing what they were doing wrong. “Okay, how about I pull and you push?”
“Alright.”
“Wait, I wasn’t ready!” The boulder rolled to the side and over the green one as he let out a short scream. The orange one whistled in fascination at the room beyond the boulder before noticing his companion was gone.
“Uh, Snips?” He heard a small tapping sound and turned to the boulder where he saw a green hoof attempting to push off the giant boulder that crushed him. The orange one gasped and began to roll the boulder further until the green one’s splattered body came around glued to the boulder. He turned his broken neck to the orange one with a furious glare. “That must hurt,” he laughed weakly.
“Ghoul,” the green one muttered. “Give me a minute and I’ll regenerate. Then I’m coming for your head.” The orange one gulped. “Just get in there and find a vampire!”
The orange ghoul steeled his courage and shined a light inside the room. It was actually bigger then he had first thought. He scoured the cave with trembling knees as he searched for anything that could get him out of this place quicker. Just above, hanging from the ceiling, a silent figure watched and waited.
After a few minutes the ghoul finally found what he was looking for. In the corner of the room sat a stone box just big enough for a pony. He crept over carefully and shined his light down on lid of the box. It too was made of stone and had an inscription carved into the surface. However, whatever language it was in the orange ghoul just couldn’t make out. “You found anything?” came the green ghoul’s voice from behind him. The orange ghoul yelped and jumped in midair firing off a beam of light. “What was that for?!”
“I just… I…” the orange ghoul trailed off as his beam of light hit the ceiling and illuminated the area above. The green ghoul turned as well and his eyes went wide. Hundreds of bats clung to ceiling and watched with piercing eyes every move the two made. Slowly the light spell passed over the whole room and came to a stop in front of one last figure. A large yellow bat-like pony with pink mane and intense red eyes. The two ghouls gulped simultaneously as the pony spread her wings from the ceiling, letting her long mane flow to the floor, and let out a earth shattering shriek.
The bats around them scattered into the room in flurries of screams and beating wings. The ghouls completely disregarded the coffin they had found and ran from the room, screaming like babies. The bats proceeded to follow them out in swarms, some even nipping at their skin. “Gah! Get off you flying rodents!” the green ghoul shouted as he ran from the cavern with the orange one. They came to a rest on the hill just outside the cavern and panted. The orange ghoul looked back to the cave with a confused expression. “What is it?” asked the green one.
“Uh, you ever get the feeling like you’ve seen something before?” he asked.
“Like Déjà vu?”
“More like… in a dream. I could have sworn I saw that thing in a-”
“It doesn’t matter!” the green one shouted. “We need to think of our next move.”
“What are we going to do now?” the orange ghoul asked.
“Well, we’re not taking that live one home, that’s for sure,” the green one muttered. “Seriously, I thought all the vampires were dead.” He eyed the swarm of bats still congregating around the entrance to the cavern. “But the mistress doesn’t have to know that.” He focused his magic on a small bat on the outskirts of the swarm and pulled it away from the rest. He proceeded to pull out a glass bottle from his bag and throw the creature in. “We’ll just tell her that this was all we found.”
“Isn’t that lying?”
“I’m a ghoul. I don’t get paid enough to risk my hide like that.”
“We get paid?” The green one sighed in frustration as they walked off back through the fields and the forest, back to the castle of their mistress.
/^(*vv*)^\
Flutterbat flew down from her perch with a satisfied smile as she watched the two ghouls run away. This wasn’t the first time somepony had been foolish enough to try to invade her territory and it wouldn’t be the last. She walked over to the stone tomb that the two had been so close to. She rubbed a hoof over the words, remembering times gone by. Her smile began to fade as the memories flooded her. Memories of those words inscribed and the pony who made them.
Before she could continue reminiscing she heard the screech of success from outside. She turned with a happy smile to see all her bat friends returning to the cave. She pointed to each one as they entered and recited their names. When the last bat had flown in she frowned. Flutterbat turned to the crowd of bats hanging above once more and began to count again. No, she was right the first time. The number was off. One little friend was missing. She asked the others where he had gone. Many just shrugged their heads but a few explained that they saw him get caught by those two ghouls and taken west. Flutterbat gasped in horror and ran to the cave entrance. She was about to go flying after them when she noticed the sun beginning to rise in the distance.
With another gasp and a mad dash Flutterbat flew back into the safe darkness of her cave and rolled the boulder to block out the sun once more. She let out a breath of relief. When she turned around all the bats were looking at her with an expression that said “really?” Flutterbat explained to them again how she was afraid to go out in the sunlight. The bats did not change their expression. Flutterbat assured them that she would go in the evening.
She walked over to the tomb and placed a respectful hoof on it once more before flying up onto the ceiling and hanging upside down to sleep. She couldn’t. The thought of that poor little guy out there all alone probably scared out of his wits was enough to make Flutterbat toss and turn until she couldn’t take it anymore. With a groan of frustration and trepidation she flew down and rolled the boulder away. Sure enough the sun was still out outside. Flutterbat paced around her cave trying to think of what to do when her eyes came across the tomb once again. She frowned for even thinking of such a thing but then she remembered the words inscribed. Flutterbat walked over to the tomb once more and read the words out loud. Don’t let anything scare you, you can accomplish miracles with just a little bravery. Flutterbat sighed in resignation and opened the tomb’s lid.
Outside the cavern the sun was still high in the sky. A lone figure walked forth from the dark depths of the cavern and into the sun. Flutterbat, now clad in rusted armor that shielded her skin from the sun, walked into the hills with a bat at her side. The little one pointed in a general direction and Flutterbat nodded in recognition. The two were on their way to rescue a friend.
/^(*vv*)^\
Refracted light shined through the stained glass windows of the throne room as the ghouls’ mistress reclined on her throne in shadow, a bottle with a small bat in her hoof. “I send you to fetch vampire blood and this is what you bring back?” she asked in spiteful feminine voice.
The green ghoul shook as he tried to respond. “Well, um, y’see there wasn’t really any vampire there. The place was pretty much empty except for that little guy. I guess that rumor was bogus.”
The mistress tossed the bottle over to the orange one and sat up in her chair, the shadows still obscuring her features. “While it’s true that the rumor of a living vampire in the hill lands could have been… ‘bogus’ as you put it, I still expect a certain amount of decorum from my minions.” Dark thorny vines began to grow from behind her throne and twist around the legs. “Do NOT just bring back a vermin and expect me to believe your story!” Her eyes turned glowing green and the green ghoul’s did as well. “Now, what really happened?”
“We were attacked by a swarm of bats and a vampire,” the green ghoul said robotically.
The mistress chuckled. “That’s better, now I know your both cowards and incompetent. That makes it so much easier to figure out a fitting punishment for you.” She waved a hoof and a trap door opened under the ghoul who screamed as he fell into the dark pit. The sound of snapping jaws and screams could be heard from underneath as the trap door closed again.
The orange ghoul stood their silently with worried eyes as he continued to hold the bat. “Uh, mistress?”
“As for you,” she continued, turning her green gaze on the orange one. “Tell me about this vampire.”
/^(*vv*)^\
Flutterbat had been travelling most of the day and she was beginning to get pretty hot in her sweltering armor. She wasn’t used to this kind of heat. The bat that had been journeying with her came flying back from scouting above the trees. He reported seeing a giant structure in the distance just up ahead. Flutterbat nodded but still had to take a break. She went over to a shady spot beneath a tree and sat, taking her helmet off and letting her long mane out. The bat flew down to join her as it carried a small mouse it had caught for its dinner. It looked to her with the dead mouse in its mouth and offered her some. Flutterbat held a hoof to her mouth as she tried not to throw up and shook her head.
Flutterbat hated the thought of killing any living thing, even for nourishment. She looked around for something to eat and spotted an apple hanging from a tree a few feet away. It was too high for her to reach without taking off her armor and flying, but that didn’t stop her. Flutterbat aimed her flank at the tree and drew it back. With a whip like motion she shot her tail up and at the tree knocking down the apple. She picked it up and dug in, unaware that an array of thorny vines with eyeballs watched her from afar.
The mistress watched the events going on in her forest with great interest. “Hmm, I see.”
The orange ghoul was forced to sit in the throne room for hours waiting for his mistress to talk to him or tell him what to do. “Um, see what?”
The mistress’ eyes lost their glow as she returned her sight to her throne room. “It seems this ‘vampire’ isn’t entirely what she seems.”
The orange ghoul scratched his chin in confusion. “But she’s got the wings and everything.”
“Wings don’t make a vampire,” the mistress hummed. “The thirst for blood does. This one is as tame as a kitten. Something is off.”
The orange ghoul looked to the bat in the bottle who continued to fume at his predicament. “So… what now, mistress?”
The mistress picked up a bell by her armrest and rang it twice. The orange ghoul could hear the sound of heavy footsteps approaching outside the throne room. He had to jump away with the bat as the double doors of the room were thrown open and embedded themselves in the wall. He took a huge gulp as he saw the monster his mistress had summoned. It trudged forward before going on one knee before its mistress. “How may I serve you, my queen?” it asked in a rough but feminine voice.
“Go to the gates and deal with a trespasser,” the mistress said. “And if it’s at all possible try not to damage her too badly. She is the last vampire after all.”
“As you wish,” the monster replied and left the room.
/^(*vv*)^\
Flutterbat came to a halt outside of the gates to the castle. The sun had finally gone down so she didn’t need to wear her armor anymore. She stowed it away in the hollow of a tree just outside the moat before heading back to the gates. Flutterbat spread her wings and began to fly across the large moat surrounding the castle. She reached the gate on the other side almost too easily, her ears picking up the danger that lay just ahead.
With amazing agility she sprang from the gate as the wooden door splintered into hundreds of pieces. She flew in midair and hissed at the beast that had lain in wait for her. It was a monstrous griffin with plates of armor that looked to have been stitched onto it. Stitches and scars covered most of its body and a large piece of skin and beak was missing from its face giving it a gaunt skeletal look. “Come face me, coward!” it roared as it spread its wings. They too were a tapestry of various feathers and stitched armor.
Flutterbat let loose a harsh shriek that seemed to do nothing to the patchwork beast. With amazing speed it caught up to her in midair and threw a right swing at her with its talons. Flutterbat just barely dodged as she ducked down toward the moat. The griffin followed close behind with venom in its eyes. “Hold still, you runt!”
With an expert turn, Flutterbat twisted just before hitting the water and shot off in another direction. The griffin was not so flexible. She crashed into the water with force and caused a wave of water to push out. Flutterbat laughed at her as she tried to get out, her heavy wings too wet to make any traction in the air. “Raaaaaah!” the griffin roared as it swam to the side of the moat and clawed at the wall. With its amazing strength it dug its talons into the stone and steadily climbed out of the pit, glaring at Flutterbat the whole time. “You’re dead meat!”
Flutterbat had to think fast. Luckily she saw something that just might help. She flew back down to the surface of the moat, the griffin following her with its eyes. “You seriously think I’ll fall for that same trick again?” it asked with a laugh. Flutterbat paid no attention as she whispered into the water. When she was done she turned back to the monster and smiled. The griffin monster howled with rage and tried to swat at her again but Flutterbat was too swift. With a growl the griffin tested its wings once more and found them to be dry enough to fly again. She grinned and shot off the wall toward Flutterbat who stood motionless in midair. “Got you!”
But suddenly her momentum stopped. The griffin looked up at her wings in confusion but they were still pumping. Then she looked below her. A bunch of alligators had grabbed each other’s tails and made a sort of anchor to the moat, with one alligator clamping onto the griffin’s leg. She scowled. “You think this is gonna keep me!?” With a struggle her leg released itself from her body and the alligator’s pulled it down with them, a single thread being pulled along as well. “I’m a freaking zombie! You think one leg means anything to me?” The griffin smiled before she attacked again but was confused when her right swing did nothing. She looked down at her right talon and found it was no longer there. The alligators had it below as well as a shiny black thread that seemed to be unraveling her entire body. “Uh oh.”
The griffin screamed as her wings were the next to go and she fell into the moat. Flutterbat felt sick at the sight but had to giggle as she saw the alligators begin to play volleyball with the griffin’s head. “Hey watch it, losers!” the head yelled as it got spiked. Flutterbat thanked the alligators who all waved her goodbye as she entered the castle.
In the throne room, the mistress watched it all. “Are you serious!?” she yelled at no one. “Who stitches a zombie together with one freaking string!?” She had to rub her temples with her hooves to calm down. “I swear I am surrounded by idiots.”
The orange ghoul sat in the corner playing patty cake with the bat to pass the time. He stopped when his mistress screamed. “What now?”
The mistress glared at him. “Now I start hitting harder!” She lifted her bell and rang it three times. Suddenly the air grew cold. The ghoul began to shiver and picked up the bat when he saw him begin to shiver as well, the glass of the bottle beginning to frost over. In the center of the room a mist began to form. It swirled around until it coalesced into a silhouette of a straight maned pony in a flowing white and gray dress.
“How may I serve my queen?” the chilly mare asked in a toneless voice.
The mistress leaned forward revealing her glowing green eyes. “Bring me that intruders head!”
“Understood,” the mare replied. The mist once again began to coalesce and obscure the mare until she disappeared, the room’s temperature returning to normal.
“Let’s see how she stand up to a little of the cold shoulder,” the mistress chuckled.
The orange ghoul looked to the bat who shook his head. He agreed, that wasn’t a very good joke.
/^(*vv*)^\
Flutterbat and her little friend strolled through the grand hall of the castle. Parapets lined the sides with tattered banners of kings and queens past. It was pretty clear to Flutterbat that whatever pony lived here now was just squatting. The skeletal remains of stallions in armor and finery lay scattered about. She was not afraid of the death, though. She had been around it a long time.
At the end of the hall were two large doors that led further into the castle. Flutterbat turned to the bat flying next to her and asked him to stay since it might get dangerous. The bat responded by shaking his head. He was with her all the way. Flutterbat smiled and opened the door. Both were immediately hit by a freezing gust of wind and snow. Flutterbat closed the door and turned away from it, half frozen. The bat shivered for a moment then shook off the icicles covering his nose and wings. He shrugged and told her good luck as he flew away. Flutterbat sighed.
After thoroughly melting the ice off of her and getting warmed up again, Flutterbat prepared to enter the room once more. This time she stood to the side of the door as she opened it. The freezing snow blasted out once more, freezing a large portion of the great hall. Thankfully though the blast died down eventually and Flutterbat peeked her head into the room. It was a circular ball room with many windows frosted over. Snow covered every inch and icicles decked the ceiling and chandelier. In the center of the winter wonderland sat a single mare with a long white and gray dress. Her coat was slate gray with a purple mane. Her eyes looked cold and emotionless. While the whole room seemed ravaged by cold and snow, not a single bit touched her or marred her form. Flutterbat cocked her head in surprise.
“Hello,” the dressed pony said emotionlessly. Flutterbat looked around the room curiously before entering and growling a hello in return. A long awkward pause followed. “Do you like ice?” she asked. Flutterbat shrugged. “Would you like to hear a song?” Flutterbat tried to smile politely as she shook her head. “It’s about ice.” Flutterbat began to try to wade through the snow around the mare. “They’re all about ice.”
Out of nowhere the mare began to sing. Flutterbat was floored by the haunting melody that came out of the mare. Instinctively she began to move forward toward the center of the room and the mare. As she went closer the snow in the room got picked up by wind and an indoor blizzard was beginning to form. But Flutterbat didn’t notice any of it, even as the flying ice began to slice at her flesh and her hooves became numb. All she could hear and feel was the song of the snow mare. Once she reached a few hooves away from her, she could no longer feel her wings or her extremities. She reached out to the beautiful snow mare, the tips of her hoof turning to ice as she got closer.
Suddenly there was a hard thunk on the back of her head. Flutterbat yelped in pain as she turned around to find what hit her. She looked down to find the bat that had come along with her returned. Though now he was nearly frozen over. Her eyes grew wide as she realized the danger the little one was in and her senses returned. Flutterbat scooped up the bat to hold him close and keep him warm, then she turned her attention to the snow mare. With a deep breath she let out a shriek. The two voices challenged each other for a minute before Flutterbat found the frequency to cancel out the mare’s song. With the sound of her song gone the blizzard died down once more and the mare glared at Flutterbat. “I was singing,” she said semi-angrily. Flutterbat had to move quickly as an icicle jutted up from where she had stood. She flew into the air and clung to an icicle. “Don’t run. I always hate it when they run,” the snow mare said blankly. The snow mare moved her arms and the icicle Flutterbat was perched on cracked. She flew off in a hurry as it crashed to the ground, the crushed icicle giving her an idea.
Below the snow mare continued to throw icicles and cause them to fall. Flutterbat dipped and dodged, narrowly missing most of them since her wings were already half frozen. She needed to get out of this room soon or she and her friend would die. With one final push of her wings she shot over to the chandelier in the center of the room. The snow mare watched her move and clapped her hooves. The action caused all the snow and ice encasing the chandelier to fly off towards Flutterbat. She held her little friend a little tighter against her chest as she felt her face and mane become encased in ice. Still her wings pushed her forward and she slammed head first into the chain that held the chandelier up. After the ice weakening it for so long the chain snapped from the impact and sent the chandelier falling to the ground. The snow mare didn’t have time to react as the large ornamental light crushed her, letting up a billowing cloud of snow.
Flutterbat fell to the ground in a heap, feeling her wing fracture. She screamed in pain as the ice on her face and body began to melt away, the same with the snow in the room. Flutterbat pushed herself to her feet and checked on the bat in her hooves. She gritted out a smile as she saw him move and begin to fly again. The two of them heard a moan from the chandelier. Flutterbat waved the bat away and told him to go home, but the bat wouldn’t have it. Then she gave him a glare that the bat knew all too well. With reluctance the bat accepted and flew out of the castle. Flutterbat staggered over to the snow mare who tried but failed to remove herself from the chandelier. She screeched in the snow mare’s ear causing her to wince. “Agh! Fine! The queen is in the throne room just beyond with your friend,” the snow mare said. “But be warned. She is far stronger than any minion you have faced. And her pet doesn’t take kindly to strangers.”
Flutterbat frowned but disregarded the warning and limped forward to the double doors at the back of the ball room. With a deep breath she steeled her courage and opened the door. At first it was hard to make out anything in the dark room. The sun hadn’t risen yet so only the moon cast light into the throne room. Flutterbat growled as she looked across the vast room. A pony sat in shadows with a familiar orange minion at her side, her captured friend in his hooves. “So,” the pony in shadows said coolly. “You’ve made it this far. Congratulations.” The pony placed both hooves on the sides of her throne and lifted herself from the chair. She strolled forward and came into the light of the moon. She was a gorgeous white mare with a beautifully dark violet mane. Across her body was a vast array of vines and thorns as well as a tiny vestigial pair of black wings. Her eyes glowed green with a dark power. “It seems the last of the vampires will do battle with the last of the succubi.”
/^(*vv*)^\
Flutterbat gritted her teeth and growled at the succubus queen. The mare scratched her ear with a perplexed expression. “I’m sorry, dear. I’m afraid I didn’t get that.” Flutterbat growled a little louder. The succubus frowned in confusion. “Do you… do you not know how to talk?” Flutterbat rolled her eyes. “Are you serious? My forces were wiped out by a savage that can’t even speak!?” The succubus turned to the bat in the bottle which Flutterbat had been eyeing. “This? You came for this? I thought you wanted revenge or something vicious. Seriously what kind of vampire are you?”
Flutterbat lunged forward, stumbling before she could reach the succubus. She hit the floor and felt pain travel up her side and wing. “Looks like you’re not even up to snuff. My snow mare take a lot out of you, hmm?” The succubus watched Flutterbat struggle to stand up again as she glared at her. “You know, I’m not sure I even want this epic boss battle anymore. You look pretty beat already.” She turned back to her throne and picked up the bell on her armrest. She rang it four times. Flutterbat’s eyes went wide and so did the orange ghoul’s as the entire back wall of the throne room began to move. The area had been covered in shadow, but now they could make out a long scaly tail and thick neck. A giant head with purple scales and green spikes emerged from the shadows and blew smoke out its nostrils. The castle was shook as it lifted its massive legs to turn towards its mistress. The succubus smiled happily and went over to hug the dragon’s head. “This is little Spikey Wikey!” she proclaimed. “I only use him when I don’t feel like doing any real work. Attacking a village. Pillaging a city. Laying waste to my enemies. Stuff like that can just be exhausting.” The orange ghoul backed away slowly with the bat.
“So where was I?” the succubus wondered. “Oh yes. Spikey please kill that nasty old vampire for me. And if you could, save some blood. I’m going to need it for later.” The dragon nodded and turned to Flutterbat who still struggle to get up. He let out a loud roar that shook the windows of the room. The castle shook once more as he stepped toward the limping Flutterbat. The two stopped in the middle of the room and stared at one another. The dragon let out another roar while Flutterbat took it head on with a determined face. When the dragon’s roar had ended she let out a roar of her own. The dragon moved his head back confused. The succubus watched all this from her throne. “Is there a problem,” she asked with a sigh.
The dragon replied with a moan. The succubus groaning in response. “Ghoul, what’s he saying?” The orange ghoul, who had been trying to slip out of the room, froze and turned to the dragon.
“Um, I don’t speak dragon, mistress,” he mumbled.
“Well, neither do I!” she shouted. Flutterbat grinned. But she did. She let out another roar which got the dragon’s attention once more. She continued to roar and rumble as the dragon soon began to pout and nod his head. The succubus had had just about enough. “Oh, that is it! Spikey!” The dragon turned to her with a morose look. “Either get it done or no more treasure privileges!” The dragon groaned and turned back to Flutterbat giving the succubus a nod over his shoulder. Flutterbat nodded in response and roared again. The dragon chuckled and lifted his head. He gave the succubus one last look before he spread his wings and burst out of the roof. The succubus queen watched as her faithful pet flew away. “What in the blazes is going on here?!”
“Tell him he no need do this,” came a voice from the room. The queen turned and glared at Flutterbat who walked limply up to her throne. Her voice was harsh and her syntax was rough, but she spoke. “Tell him… you full of bat guano.” Flutterbat grinned widely and struggled to stand tall before her foe.
The queen scowled but gasped when she noticed something strange. The roof was gone and the morning sun had begun to rise. Sunlight poured into the room and bathed both her and Flutterbat. However, Flutterbat was unharmed. “That’s… that’s impossible,” she muttered. Flutterbat looked at her confused before noticing herself that she was in the sunlight. She jumped in surprise but stopped when she realized that it did nothing to her. The queen groaned. “You’re not a vampire at all, are you?”
“News to Flutterbat,” she replied with a shrug.
The queen grit her teeth in anger and her eyes began to glow a fiercer green. She screamed as hundreds of thorny vines shot into the room through the stained glass windows. More vines came out from under her throne and lifted her in the air. “You think you’re so smart? You think you’re something special? You’re just an aberration! I’m the one who’s special! Do you know what I needed vampire blood for? A potion to create more succubi!” She lifted a hoof and more vines began to grow from the floor, cracking the tiles and causing Flutterbat to step back. “Being the last is fine but we all get lonely. I decided, why not give back a little. Try to be generous! Well fine! I don’t need that stupid blood anymore! I’m going to rip you to pieces and feed your remains to my dra- … I’ll kill you!”
Flutterbat dodged as a mass of thorns shot at her. The mass split off in many direction attempting to close her in but Flutterbat was fast once again. She jumped in the air earning a wince as her wing stung and the thorns converged under her. However she couldn’t last long as the room began to be filled with thorns. Eventually they caught her. The vines wrapped tightly around her, choking her and digging into her skin. The succubus queen lifted a hoof and the vines followed her will lifting Flutterbat up to face her, a gloating grin on her face. “Alright. I’m a decent pony. Give yourself up right now and I’ll let your friend go free. Otherwise I’ll just kill him and you.”
Flutterbat continued to struggle but knew that it was hopeless. She sighed as she resigned herself to her fate. Then a small shriek came from the distance. Flutterbat turned her head and looked to the east with a smile. The succubus queen heard the sound as well and looked eastward. “You have got to be kidding me,” she muttered. Hundreds of thousands of bats swarmed the sky and were headed towards the castle.
The succubus raised both hooves and the thorns obeyed, creating a domed barrier around the destroyed ceiling. She turned her attention back to Flutterbat. “So you’ve got a couple friends. Do you honestly think that makes you more powerful than me?”
“Uh, mistress?” the orange ghoul said hesitantly. The succubus shot him a glare but turned when he pointed up. The roof of thorns was burning with a green flame. She watched with horror as the roof burned away to reveal a familiar giant purple dragon sitting on one of the castle’s spires smiling as thousands of bats sat perched on the edges of the wall and ceiling. Flutterbat’s smile returned and she gave the succubus queen a victorious grin.
“I may have… misjudged the situation,” she pouted. Flutterbat let out a shriek of attack and the bats all flew into the room. The succubus tried to swat them away with her vines but they were simply too numerous. With her attention diverted, Flutterbat was able to squeeze out of the grip of her thorns. She flew down to the ground where the orange ghoul had been holding the captured bat. She gave him a look.
“Duh, sorry,” he whispered in fear as he handed the bottle over to her. Flutterbat opened it and the little bat let out a shriek of joy as it tackled her in a hug. She returned the embrace and then looked back to the fight at hand. The queen was lashing out furiously in all directions, clearly outnumbered. Then with a scream she let out a blast of green energy that pushed the bats back.
“Enough!” she screamed with rage. “I have had it with bats! No more bats! If I even see another bat it will be too soon!” She opened her eyes again to be face to face with Flutterbat in midair. She was not happy. “And what do you want!?” Flutterbat grinned slightly as she took in a deep breath and let loose an earth shattering shriek the likes of which had never been heard. Even the dragon and the bats had to shield their ears. Unfortunately the succubus queen was right at point blank. She tried to fight the power of the shriek but its sonic impact just pushed her back. With one last scream, drowned out by the shriek, she raised her hooves and a giant flower grew from the ground to encompass and swallow her. When the flower bloomed again moments later the queen was gone. A bat had to tap Flutterbat on the shoulder to let her know to stop.
Flutterbat ended her shriek and looked around at her companions with a smile before passing out. The dragon was able to catch her before she fell. A couple of the bats flew up to the dragon and pointed in the direction of home. The dragon understood and nodded, beginning to beat his wings and fly east with an unconscious but victorious Flutterbat in tow.
A single orange ghoul was left alone in the throne room, unsure of what to do. “Uh, so I’ll just be going then,” he said to no one as he casually walked out of the castle.
/^(*vv*)^\
Just outside the castle moat, a new flower began to bloom. However its beauty was ended when an angry unicorn succubus burst from within and wrecked the petals. She stomped out and shook of the flower goo before looking to her castle. It was in shambles from the fight. A broken gate. Half the rooms frozen over and the throne room had been completely demolished. She growled to herself. “I swear I’ll get that bat.”
The sound of splashing and yelling came from the moat and she turned that way. A hoof shot up from the cliff wall of the moat followed by another and a familiar looking green ghoul. He panted with relief as he flopped down on the ground. “Free at last,” he muttered. “Least I don’t have to deal with that crazy biiiiiiiiii-” He couldn’t finish his thought as a very familiar white succubus stood over him with a sour expression.
“Funny,” she snarled. “I don’t remember saying you could quit.”
The green ghoul shrunk back into the dirt and cowered. “Yes, mistress.”
The succubus queen let out a moan as she began to pace around. “I need to get back at that bat somehow. Hit her where it hurts. Just give me something!” She kicked a tree in frustration and heard a small clank. The queen raised an eyebrow as she peered into the hollow of the tree and pulled out a rusty set of armor.
“So what’s that?” the green ghoul asked as he joined his mistress. She smiled wickedly.
“This is leverage,” she laughed. “Sweet and beautiful leverage.”
/^(*vv*)^\
Flutterbat awakened in the dragon’s claws. She looked around in confusion at first but shouted in delight as she saw all her bats and her familiar cave. The dragon smiled at her as it let her off and gave a friendly wave before flying off. Flutterbat turned to all her bats and smiled as they all flew into the cave. She went to follow them but a sonic boom caught her off guard. She shut her eyes as dust flew through the air. When she was able to open them she came face to face with three ponies in strange garb. She hissed at them and took up a defensive stance. They were probably more minions of the queen.
The cyan pegasus in the blue uniform stepped forward with sad look. “Flutteshy?” she asked.
Flutterbat was taken aback. Nopony had called her that name in a long time. “Are you sure this is the right one?” asked the masked pony to the pink one. “She looks… feral.”
The pink one nodded. “This is the one,” she said. She stepped forward. “We mean you no harm. My name is Filli-Second. That’s Mare Do-Well and Rainbow Dash. We’re here to ask for your help.”
Flutterbat frowned and kept her distance but she stood back up from her defensive stance. The one called Rainbow Dash took another step forward, causing Flutterbat to step back. As a sign of good will, Rainbow took off her uniform goggles and mask, letting her rainbow mane fall. “I… um… I’d really appreciate it if you came with us,” she said.
“There’s a danger the likes of which you’ve never seen coming,” Filli-Second continued. “I know you can understand us. So please understand that we’re only here out of concern for you and all you care about.”
Flutterbat frowned a bit more and looked between the newcomers with a nervous expression. Rainbow Dash was the closest so she held out a hoof toward Flutterbat’s face. She shrank back a bit but allowed Rainbow to run a hoof through her mane. Rainbow bit her lip as she tried to hold back tears. “You look so much like her.”
“She is her,” Mare Do-Well muttered. “Just another version.” Mare Do-Well seemed to give Filli-Second a doubtful look for a moment.
“Flutterbat is Flutterbat,” she said, earning a look of surprise from the three. “Flutterbat want to go home. But if family needs help, then Flutterbat go with ponies.”
The three gave each other a look and then Filli-Second nodded. “Alright. Two more to go. Everpony grab on tight.” The other two grabbed her shoulder and Flutterbat followed suit. She gave her cave one last look before it disappeared from her sight. The sun steadily rose to its full height as the birds on the hills began to sing. A single bat crept its head out of the cave in search of a friend.