Emerging Shadows.

by Bahamut Omega

Prologue: How the Hunt Began

"I haven't been a kid since I was eight years old."

Applejack looked at the house across the street. Located on the outskirts, most ponies wouldn't even look twice at the abode. But Applejack knew better, and what resided within. Gently patting her saddlebag, she looked at her companion. "Ready, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac said, a grim and determined look on his face that matched his sister's.

"That bloodsucker dies tonight," Applejack said.

"Eeyup."

With that, the siblings made their way across the street, covered by the dark and their cloaks. Making their way around back, they knocked on the back door.

"Who could that be?" a voice within pondered as hoofsteps approached the door and opened it. "Yes?"

As soon as the home owner was visible, Big Mac tackled her and pinned her to the floor while Applejack came in and shut the door behind her, locking it. "Evening, Berry Punch."

"Applejack?" Berry asked. "What's going on here? Why are you doing this? Please let me go!"

"Eenope," Big Mac said, keeping his weight on her.

"Big Macintosh?! You too?!" Berry asked in shock.

"Enough chit chat, Berry," Applejack said as she stepped into Berry's view. "We know what you are."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Berry stuttered as Applejack drew out a matchbook and pulled one of the matches out. "Please don't hurt me." At that moment, Applejack struck the match, bringing the flame to life in Berry's view, causing her to hiss and attempt to throw Big Mac off her as she recoiled from the flame in terror.

Applejack smirked as she put out the flame. "Still don't know what I'm talkin about, vampire?"

"W-What have I ever done to you?" Berry asked, looking at Applejack in fear.

"Not us," Applejack said. "But we know you've been feedin on ponies around Ponyville for years. Especially folks from outta town."

"I've never killed anypony!" Berry insisted. "I only take what I need to survive."

"Don't matter," Applejack said as she pulled out a wooden stake, causing Berry's eyes to widen. "You bloodsuckers are like blight. And we're the cure."

Berry started struggling against Big Mac as he pulled her up onto her hind legs to expose her chest. "Please don't!"

Her pleading fell on deaf ears as Applejack carefully aimed before plunging the stake into Berry's chest, piercing her heart. Berry's movement slowed and finally stopped as she was forced into *torpor.

Applejack nodded to Big Mac, who stuffed Berry into a potato sack and slung her across his back. "Let's get her to the farm."

---

Apple Bloom looked up from her work as she heard the approach of her siblings. "Did ya get her?"

"We got her," Applejack said as she pulled Berry from Big Mac's back and got her out of the bag. "Ya got her bed ready?"

"Sure do!" Apple Bloom said. "Good wood, good hay, and Ah soaked the whole thing in oil fer good measure."

Applejack and Big Mac smiled and patted their sister on the head in turn before putting Berry on the bed.

"Light her up, Apple Bloom," Applejack said.

Apple Bloom took an unlit torch in her mouth and used the brazier by which she had worked to light it. Walking over to the pyre, she touched it to some of the hay. Within seconds, the whole pyre was in flames, burning Berry and sending her on to her *final death. Extinguishing the torch, Apple Bloom stood by her siblings with a grin on her face. "One less bloodsucker in the world. Ah love lightin 'em up."

"An we'll keep bringin 'em to ya," Applejack said. "We ain't stoppin till we find the one from that night. Actually, we'll keep lightin 'em up even after that."

"Eeyup," Big Mac said.

---

It all started with him. Big Mac and I were young and innocent at the time, and Apple Bloom was just a few months old. Ah was gettin a glass o water before bed when I heard it: Ma's screams and the sounds of a struggle. Big Mac and I ran to their bedroom to see what was happening. And that's when we saw him... Ma was trying to fight off a stallion, and behind him on the floor, in a pool of his own blood, was our Pa. The stallion looked Ma in the eyes and she slowly stopped struggling. He slung her over his back and went to the window he'd come in through, and looked back at us. We froze, suddenly real scared for our lives. But he just grinned, and we saw his fangs glint in the moonlight, and saw his red eyes. Then he was gone, and Ma with him. We ran to Pa, but he was already gone. We couldn't do anythin.

After that, nothin was ever the same. Granny Smith did what she could fer us, and we managed to scrape by. But when we weren't working on the farm, me and Big Mac were doing research. Ah ain't normally one fer books, but Ah was willing to crack 'em open to get some answers. But no matter where we looked, we couldn't find any answers. Until that day...

We were approached on the farm by a stallion in a nice suit. He said he represented a company that worked outta Manehatten, a company called the Cheiron Group. He said his bosses had seen how much me and Big Mac were lookin fer answers, and that they were willing to meet with us to talk about what happened to Ma and Pa. We weren't too keen on leavin the farm untended, but when he offered to have some o his boys cover for us, we couldn't pass up the chance. We agreed to meet his bosses.

During the train ride to Manehatten, he told us the world is a lot bigger than we know. That there are things out there that the princesses can't protect their little ponies from. So we have ta protect ourselves as best we can. The Cheiron Group was one of the big ones that acted in the dark to protect Ponykind. I kinda thought it was a buncha hogwash, but considerin what Ah saw that night, Ah kept quiet about that.

Manehatten was as busy and bustlin as Ah remembered, and our mysterious friend led us to an office building with a pretty creepy logo on it. Inside, he took us up the elevator to the top floor and led us to a big set of double doors. Then he told us we'd have to go in alone, said he wasn't allowed to go any further. That made us a tad nervous, but we went in anyway.

The bosses in question were a group o three ponies. An earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn. All three looked like there was somethin not right about 'em, but we put it behind us and stepped closer, taking the seats they offered. They got right to it and explained what we wanted to know. Ma and Pa had been attacked by a vampire, and they weren't the only things that went bump in the night. The Cheiron Group captured and studied monsters in order to fight 'em better. They offered to train us, and give us some o their weirdo implants to help us hunt. And in return, we'd help them out if they needed some extra hooves on a non-vampire capture. Me and Big Mac looked at each other, then we nodded, and agreed to their deal.

So they did their surgeries. Made us stronger, faster, able to keep up with vampires physically. And they gave us somethin to resist the weird mind control like what Ma got used on her. Then they trained us. Taught us all about vampires so that we'd know what to look for when we was hunting. And when our first kill came, we came to a crossroads. Far as the regular folks would be concerned, we had just committed murder, and we learned whether or not we could sleep at night with that knowledge. Me, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom once she started helping us... All three of us sleep like foals every night. And we have absolutely no regrets...

Author's Note:

Torpor: Vampire hibernation that comes about from a stake to to the heart, grievous damage to the body, or as an act of will on the vampire's part.

Final Death: A vampire's true demise.

Comments

[Soft Shell]

Hmm,
An Elegant shape shifter you say?
*Straightens his bowtie*
Well if i must.....
*Heads out the door*
I'll be back when i find one

[VampDash]

"I haven't been a kid since I was eight years old."

Best Batman quote ever.