Applejack the Vampony Slayer

by Immanuel

Rapprochement

Chapter 6: Rapprochement

The howl turned into a thundering roar that shook dust from the ceiling of their level. The chaplain immediately took a slight magical hold on the fillies' mouths and whispered quickly, "Don't panic! Stay quiet and retreat back to the main stairway. Whatever it is, it cannot see us. Just keep calm and move away, and we'll escape alive." While whispering instructions, and directing the girls gently to the stairs, he also took the time to cock a bolt half the length of Applebloom's body into the large crossbow she was carrying and released the safety. "If you see a danger, fire and run. All of you, run. I'll take the rear and get eaten."

The girls glanced at him in shock, but concentrated quickly back into retreating as fast and quietly as they could.

Their escape was interrupted, however, by another sound. A scream, a mare's scream. It was fainter than the roar they had heard before, but still unmistakable as a pony's shout. They stopped their movement, minds blanking for a second. Then, the three girls started whispering at chaplain Candlewax, all at the same time.

"There's a pony in there!" "We cain't leave her behind!" "I don't want to die!"

Resignedly, chaplain Candlewax sighed and held a hoof at the fillies. There was a silence from the upper floor. He thought furiously. "It didn't sound like a scream of a pony being eaten," he whispered, "which means she could be stalked at the moment." His eyes flickered as he tried to plan. "We'll check the attic, see if we can help. You stay absolutely hidden! If we catch something's attention, if we need a distraction, you leave me behind! Catch the girl if you can, but run! I won't have any of you getting killed on my watch." He glared at the fillies, looking much more serious than they had seen him thus far. The terrified little ponies weren't of a mind to rebel at the moment. "Move out," he said, taking point.

They advanced to the ladder that led to the attic. Slowly, pale and sweating, his heart racing mile a minute, the old chaplain climbed the ladder and slowly, ever so carefully raised the trapdoor.

Nothing.

Peeking his head above the hatch he looked around, but there were no beasts immediately in sight, only an attic divided into two sections, a partition with carved double doors sectioning off a possible bedroom from the bare hall littered with supporting columns the trap door opened to.

Motioning the girls to stay down, he climbed to the attic floor and advanced as stealthily as he could towards the partition a few steps away, the sounds of the storm masking his movement.

Illuminated by flashes of lightning, he pushed open the double doors, just enough to peer inside.

There were shapes there, silhouettes against an ancient prench window, bars broken, glass long gone. Rain and wind blew into the room and against his face, making it hard to look and to keep the door open.

As lightning struck, he heard a slight gasp from his hooves, before it was overcome by the deafening sound of thunder.

Horrified he looked down to see the trio of fillies peering at the doors.

"It's the witch!" he heard Scootaloo whisper.

His eyes whipped back up to look at the shapes more closely. With the next flash of lightning accompanied by another blast of noise, he could make out three distinct figures. In the middle of the room there was a huge beast, a manticore, if he knew his animals. It lay on the floor, still and ready to pounce, growling constantly, with an occasional whine.

But it wasn't pouncing. For some reason, it stayed locked in place, eyes glaring at a much smaller figure in front of it, stationed between the beast and the ponies, standing equally still.

It was a mare. Filly, rather. She was young and tender, very lithe in figure with long wispy mane and tail both swept back by the storm, pale pink in accompaniment to her banana yellow coat. She stood in front of the beast, a lamb to the slaughter, held in place by whatever spell had taken place in the room.

Only the third figure was showing movement.

Dark tattered robes billowing, it spread some unholy mixture of blood and goop on the side of the great beast, mumbling some obscene incantation all the while.

"Kuwa na utulivu, wewe kubwa mtoto; Ni jeraha ndogo."

"The witch of the Everfree!" Sweetie Belle whispered in awed terror. "She must've bewitched the creature! And the mare, too!"

"A sacrifice to the dark powers of Tartarus!" Scootaloo hissed disgusted.

Applebloom stared at the strange pony, her mane shaped in a single crest, her light gray coat tarnished by stripes of coal in some ritualistic pattern. She was overtook by determination. "Hey!" she bellowed. "Catch this!"

She aimed her crossbow, slipping past the shocked chaplain into the room, and fired, directly at the surprised face of the deponified witch.

Despite the gale, at point blank range there was no way she was going to miss.

But the witch had time to yell one incantation.

"Nini kutomba!" she shouted.

The young yellow-coated mare was suddenly swept from her place, right in front of the bolt. The ponies had only a moment to see, as it all happened in a flash, but they had just enough time to see the horrified look on the young mare's face, widened desperate eyes staring at Applebloom, as she was hurled at a horrible speed in front of the witch. Then her face was transformed in pain, the bolt hitting her in the shoulder and throwing her around.

Immediately the manticore roared, the witch's hold on it broken. The witch snapped up a heavy wooden staff, striking the beast in the head with a loud crack, which took it down in a single blow. In the same movement, she snatched a pouch of some powder from her robes, throwing it into the wind in a wide arc.

The wind blew the powder directly into their eyes and face, causing a stinging sensation.

With admirable reflexes, the chaplain pulled Applebloom away from the room and slammed the doors shut. A moment of coughing and spluttering ensued.

The chaplain opened his canteen and poured water on the fillies' faces, starting with Applebloom, and finally took a swig himself and spat it out, hopefully clearing whatever toxin there was out of his system.

There was only silence from behind the doors.

"Everypony alright?" he asked gruffly, leaning with his weight against the doors.

"I think so," Sweetie Belle said, holding back tears of shock and terror.

"Y-yeah," Scootaloo said in an uncharacteristically high pitch.

"Ah feel sick," Applebloom moaned.

"You got the most of the powder on you," chaplain Candlewax said sympathetically, and gave her the canteen. "Here. Drink and spit." Then he knelt down to the filly and stroked her mane gently. "That was an incredibly brave thing you did, there."

"Couldn't save her," Applebloom said with a sour look on her face, before she started to weep. The other fillies immediately jumped to hug her, spouting phrases of comfort.

The chaplain hesitated, then opened the doors and peered back into the room. There was nopony there, just the lumbering mass of the manticore, limp on the floor, dead or dying no doubt. In the distance, under the clouds, he could see a misshapen form, like some huge bat flying towards Everfree, carrying in its legs what could be a pony.

"Don't say yet," the chaplain said grimly, eyes narrowing.

* * *

Three bedraggled fillies and one bedraggled chaplain in camping gear straggled inside to the Apples' farmhouse.

"Granny!" yelled the swaying Applebloom, running towards Granny Smith on unsteady hooves. "Oh Granny, we need to save her!" she yelled.

Granny Smith glanced up from her needlework and saw all three fillies were accounted for. With a raised brow she asked, "Who's she?"

"There was a girl in the Barleywine residence," chaplain Candlewax explained. "I honestly couldn't say what was going on, but-"

"The Everfree witch had her bewitched!", Scootaloo interrupted the chaplain.

"She was going to feed her to a manticore!" Sweetie Belle said with a shiver.

The chaplain shook his head and said, "Indeed, that's what it looked like. The 'witch', as the strange pony apparently living in the Everfree is called, was in the middle of some kind of ...ritual, I guess, that involved a manticore and a young mare. She escaped with the girl when we interrupted her. On wings. Not wings of a pegasus, I might add."

"Ah shot her," Applebloom said morosely. "By accident! Ah was aiming at the witch, and she spelled her to jump in front of the shot!" Her eyes watered. "She's gonna do something horrible to her!"

"Now that the fillies are safe and sound," the chaplain said tiredly, "I will go and speak with the sheriff. See if she can whip up a search and rescue party." He shrugged. "We never were very sure about the witch. She wasn't doing anything bad, as far as we could see, but this..." He shook his head.

Granny Smith, having now gathered the basic elements of the story held her hoof up. "Just wait for a moment there, sonny. Ye're barely standing up as it is! No, the four of ya are gonna go and take a bath. Ah'll tell Big Mac to round up the sheriff, when he comes back up from the cellar."

The chaplain nodded gratefully. Applebloom looked at Granny Smith tearfully and shouted, "But Gran! What about the mare! The witch is gonna kill her!"

Granny Smith looked at the chaplain. "Ya said the witch took the gal with her?" The chaplain nodded. "Then," Granny Smith said, "she's not gonna get killed just right now. Ya know where the witch lives?"

"Not really," the chaplain said. "Just a general direction."

Granny Smith nodded. "Then there's really nothing we cain do. Not in this weather. We can only inform the sheriff, get a search party going and hope they'll be in time." She glanced at the three fillies. "Now, to bath with the three of ya! Y'all are gonna catch yer deaths standing around like that! Ya too, mister!" she said with a severe look at the chaplain.

"Mrs Smith," the chaplain said with a tired grin, "I've never been able to say no to a mare of your caliber."

"Washpot!" said Granny Smith.

* * *

Big Mac stayed in the town after trudging through the worsening storm to the sheriff's office. It was agreed that none of the fillies or the elderly chaplain were to go to the storm again that day, and with Rainbow Dash plus three more guests, the grand farmhouse had a bit of life filling up a portion of the huge space it had in case it ever needed to house a few dozen Apples gathering for a hoedown.

While sheriff Gale had understandably been somewhat dubious about certain features of the story, even when provided with a signed eye-witness report from the chaplain, which the stallion had thoughtfully given to Big Mac for delivery to the sheriff, the description of the filly in the report matched a pony named Fluttershy. She had been initially reported dead, but her status was later changed to 'missing' when the corpse had managed to disappear before the sheriff's troops had had the chance to arrive to the scene. As such she was duty-bound to react to any sign of a reappearance of the girl, and with a sigh she left to defy the storm in order to notify all able-bodied ponies in the voluntary force about a search party being formed to penetrate the Everfree at the first sign of the storm blowing away.

It did, during the night. Big Macintosh was given a bed against his polite resistance at the Carousel house, where he had notified the family about Sweetie Belle's temporary accommodation at the Apples. Fatigued, he had tried to do his best to humor the flirtatious attention from Rarity, who had been somewhat disappointed at not being courted during the night. She had finally decided against 'being afraid of the thunder' and seeking warmth next to the big stallion, deciding rather to first verify the stallion's character with the plan she had formed with Diane.

The morning sun, shyly playing peek-a-boo with the lingering clouds, saw a multitude of ponies gathering in the town square, ready to dare the dangers of Everfree in search of one of their own. The sheriff spoke sternly to the rescuers who were divided into search parties of two ponies, giving strict orders about maintaining proper distance from each other and using appointed signals to keep in touch with everypony, while her deputies gave out reloading single-shot flares with which to defend against the beasts in the Everfree, if some were to attack a herd of ponies.

"Aren't you a bit young for a search and rescue?" Shining Armor asked Applejack as he reached her in the crowd.

Applejack snorted. "Ya forget last Friday already?" she asked petulantly.

"Not a chance," Shining Armor replied with a grin, then sobered up. "Pair up with me?", he asked seriously.

Applejack looked at him coolly for a moment before noddding. "Sure."

"If we are to either reveal or disprove the demonic nature of these 'ponies'", Twilight had said, "we need data beyond reproach. To that end, I have devised a three pronged approach:

"Firstly, there is the physical evidence."

"AJ?" Shining Armor asked after an hour of silent search.

"Hm?" Applejack replied distractedly, scanning the forest for any signs of a missing pony or her captor. Given that they had found signs of disturbed warding, she couldn't help but suspect 'the witch of the Everfree' was involved.

"I just wanted to say, that, well," Shining Armor said, and swallowed uncertainly, "I really enjoyed your company last Friday."

"Is this tha time?" Applejack asked after a while, raising a brow.

"When you have achieved the date, you'll lead her through this romantic locale," Twilight had said, pointing a lake-side promenade on the map, "where I will have supplied in advance a collection of holy symbols and artifacts to which she will be exposed to.

"A playful splashing of water is to be suggested, where you will surreptitiously apply this," she had said, whipping out a small crystal flask, "holy water on her.

"Then, you will dine in this particular café, and order a moon pie. I happen to know that the café prepares their moon pies with all the due respect and proper procedures to qualify them as 'blessed'." Then she had paused for a moment, narrowed her eyes and said matter-of-factly, "If the exposure to sight, touch and digestion of holy and blessed items is not sufficient to expose her as a demon, we have to consider the possibility that she is, in fact, innocent. Or very, very strong," she added in a low tone.

"That brings us to the second test."

Shining Armor sighed. "I've messed up somewhere, haven't I?"

"What makes ya say that?" Applejack asked with a huff.

"Come on, Applejack," Shining Armor said, "I can see you're upset about something." He shrugged. "Look, I'm stupid. Guys are. I've said something stupid, or I did something stupid to offend you and I'm sorry. Being a blockhead, I can't figure it out on my own, but I'm really sorry." He paused. "Please let me make it up to you. I want to." He stopped Applejack with a hoof, and made her look him into his eyes. "I want to make sure that you know that I care about you. That you know that I think you beautiful. That you know that I think you a wonderful, enchanting filly." Shining Armor smiled with a boyishly apologetic half-grin. "Won't you give this stupid block-head another chance?"

Applejack looked at him with a smoldering eyes. "Ya are stupid."'

"I agree," Shining Armor said with a grin.

"A stupid blockhead," Applejack said and glared.

"Absolutely," Shining Armor nodded.

"Ye're a stupid blockhead, who does stupid things and then is stupid enough not to know he's done it!", Applejack accused loudly.

"That is an utterly fair judgement of my character. I couldn't agree more," Shining Armor said remorsefully.

Applejack continued to glare at him for a while, before smiling back a little. "Okay," she said simply.

The grin on Shining Armor's face widened into a full-blown smile. "Yes!" he burst out and punched the air.

Applejack snickered. "Ah'm still mad at ya, though," she said in a warning tone of voice.

"I know," Shining Armor said, still jubilant. "I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"Ya better," Applejack said with a slight tone of satisfaction in her voice, slapping him gently with her tail as she walked by.

"You will confront her directly," Twilight had said.

"What?" Shining Armor had replied.

Twilight had nodded. "You will explain what we think of her and why. No, don't interrupt. You can apologize to her afterwards, if it turns out she's not a demon bent on eating your soul."

"But why?" Shining Armor had asked. "What will that prove?"

"In itself," Twilight had calmly replied, "nothing. But her response will be compounding evidence of her nature, psychological evidence in this case." She had studied her brother momentarily. "You're a copper. You should know about these things. If she is a creature trying to hide her true nature, she'll be ready for such an accusation with a plausible cover story.

"If not, she'll be taken completely by surprise, blindsided by the sudden turn of a supposedly romantic evening. She'll probably be offended. In any case, both responses are extremely noticeable, hard to fake, and clearly different from each other.

"As an experienced investigator, you'll be able to gauge the genuineness, or lack thereof, of her response. I'll be in the sidelines, forming my own opinion as a third party observer."

Shining Armor had put his hooves over his head. "So either she's a demon, or she'll hate me forever. Great," he added sarcastically.

"Lives are at stake here, Shiney," Twilight had reminded him. "She fights vamponies. If she cannot understand these kinds of necessities, well," she had said with a shrug, "then how would she understand what we have to do in our fight at other times?"

Twilight had hesitated for a moment. "For what it's worth, if she turns out to be innocent after all, I'll talk to her. I'll take the blame for you and hopefully she will forgive you."

Shining Armor had sighed resignedly. "So, why don't we do that right away? You could talk to her at school tomorrow, confront her right away, and get your evidence just like that," he had said with challenge in his voice.

But Twilight had shook her head. "Not effective, not from me. It has to be a genuine situation, with you. I'm sorry."

Then she bit her lip, and said haltingly, an apologetic tone in her voice already, "And then there's the third approach."

"So, as a start in my making it up to you," Shining Armor said, catching up to the filly and murmuring in her ear, "how about a romantic evening, just the two of us? I could take you to a concert, walk you around the lake at sunset, dine and wine you in my favorite restaurant..."

Applejack grinned, but hid her smile from the stallion. "Oh?" she said mock-haughtily, "ya think ya can win mah heart with such trifles?"

"Well," Shining Armor said, stretching the word, "I also got you a little something."

He dug into a pocket in his vest and took out a small jewelry box, hoofing it over to Applejack, who took it with raised eyebrows. "What's this?" she asked dubiously.

"Open it," Shining Armor said simply.

With a tiny glare, Applejack huffed, and opened the box. Immediately her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. Shining Armor tensed imperceptibly.

"It's beautiful!" Applejack sighed, picking up a golden chain in which was attached a Sun of Celestia, bright and bejeweled.

"It belonged to my mother," Shining Armor said, both pride and sadness in his voice, and shrugged. "The sun reminds me of you: so bright and beautiful. She would have adored you," he added.

"This is too much," Applejack whispered.

"I insist," Shining Armor said, and took the chain to clasp it around Applejack's neck. Moment of truth, he thought, as the filly lifted her mane to make way for the necklace. Shining Armor clasped the chain shut and let out a small sigh, as nothing happened. He smiled at the filly, relieved and slightly ashamed. "It looks beautiful on you," he said.

Applejack stroked the necklace, smiling faintly. Then she looked up, a glimmer in her eyes. "Not so stupid, after all, huh?" she said.

"What's the third approach, Twiley?" Shining Armor had asked with apprehension.

"It's a test of motivations," Twilight had answered. "I believe your lab gathered some strands of her mane from the cabinet," she had said, and sighed. "We provide them with a match."

"No!" he had shouted.

"Listen to me, Shiney!" Twilight had pleaded.

"Absolutely not!" He had been adamant. "This goes too far, Twiley! You would endanger her reputation, ruin her life, because you can't let go of your damn suspicion?!"

Twilight had paused, hesitating. "You're right, I suppose," she had finally said, to Shining Armor's relief. "We'll use it as a final resort."

"Why would you even do such a thing?" Shining Armor had asked, genuinely amazed his sister's ruthlessness.

"If she were a demon, she would have to resist being subjected to a scan of her magical aura, which the sheriff would have to order to verify her culpability in connection to a murder case. The scan would reveal her nature. Thus, her compliance could be seen as prove of innocence." Twilight had shrugged. "But you're right. We won't go to such extremes unless absolutely necessary."

"It's a date, then?" Shining Armor asked with a grin.

"It's a date," Applejack agreed, smiling. "Ya sure know how to bribe a gal," she added with a wink.

* * *

In an office, files detailing the magical aura of one Applejack Christine Apple, including a sample of her mane, were added to a folder explaining her brief incarceration due to suspicions of arson, and her subsequent release by the chief police officer in Colton after involvement of certain powerful monetary interests. The folder was slipped into a brown government envelope and addressed:

Sheriff's Office
Alpaca Boulevard 2
P/O 60
Ponyville

A pony slipped the envelope into a tray marked 'outgoing', and grinned at a tall, angular figure hid by dark robes. "And that's how we do it," the pony said with satisfaction. "By Friday, that slip of a girl will be in custody, and your troops can deal with her with ease. Then there's only the stallion, and we're once again free from the interloping of the Apples." The grin faded like it had never been there. "About time, too. They've interfered enough. By this rate, they'll force me to push the ritual back another year." The pony grinned again, this time with greed and cruelty. "We. Can't. Have. That," the pony said through gritted teeth, before relaxing into a pleasant smile. "Now can we?"

The tall figure shrugged. "If you say so," it replied in a low, soft voice. "In my view, your haste has already jeopardized the whole thing. Remove enough of the Apples in a short time, and they'll be sure to descend upon this place in force."

"You fear them?" the pony asked. "You?"

"I am the last of Nightmare Moon's generals," the tall figure declared in a sepulchral voice. "I have not lasted because I foolishly underestimated my opposition," it said, lowering its voice into a menacing hiss.

"No matter," the pony said after a moment of silence. "Come next solstice, I'll be a goddess!"

"See to it that you survive that far, then," said the figure and stepped through an open prench window, cloaked in its own shadow, as great leathery wings opened up from beneath the cloak and pushed it into the sky.

* * *

They did not find a sign of the missing pony or the witch that day, despite combing square miles of the Everfree Forest. Neither did anyone get hurt or eaten in the search. The ponies were unnerved, however. The dark forest seemed to press on them from all sides, the trees looming menacingly, weird, cold mist swirling around the trunks and their hooves, distant cries of predators carried by the still air. Pegasi flying low above the canopy reported feeling unsafe, as if the air itself was only grudgingly giving them lift. The unicorns to a pony failed to light their horns.

In the end, it was decided to make a rotation of the search parties. For the next month or so, they would go out in groups of five, each group making forays into the forest, making independent surveys of the woods, while maintaining safe operational distance from other groups. Every pony in the volunteer force would rotate searching for one day, resting the next three, meaning 28 of such groups of five would be searching the forest at any given moment.

No more could be asked. If that was not enough, the search would be declared bust, and the file of the missing girl pushed one step closer to being put to the 'deceased' pile.

Thus, Big Macintosh was in the market selling the Sweet Apple Acres produce, when Pinkamena Diane Pie made her big entrance.

"What about Di?" Shining Armor had finally asked, resigned to his part in Twilight's plan. "You're putting her through this, too?"

"Her, I'm not so worried about," Twilight had answered. "Unlike you she's not smitten. She's simply to do her best at seduction, and will function as a double-blind, as I have not explained our part of the plan to her."

Shining Armor had stared. "You believe them to be soul-eating demons, and you push her to their hooves without a care?"

"Can you see her succumbing to the wiles of anypony?" Twilight had said. "Besides, I gathered she's going to get some back up."

"Well, no, I guess I can't," Shining Armor had said. "For that matter, I can't see her trying to seduce anypony. It's just... not her."

After three days of lessons in seduction from Ponyville Central's finest, Diane had discovered her skill at radiance. Now, with a new-found sway in her hips, she stalked through the main street of Ponyville towards the market square.

A lesser mare would have smirked at the sight of turning heads or perhaps felt some kind of vindication at the shocked, but begrudgingly admiring muttering her appearance caused in the female populace of the town.

She had had her mane shortened into a modern bobcut, with a bit of curl at the tips. The black mane color had been joined with black mascara on her eyes and dark rose on her lips. The ruby beret was angled jauntily on her head and an almost black, sequined polo shirt hugged her barrel, ending just before her flank, where the flames of her cutie mark drew the eye. As if that were not enough, she had donned wide-striped black and white stockings on her legs.

To top it all, on her face was the usual indifferent intensity, now cultivated into the sort of haughtiness that said: "Buck this! I'm hot and don't even care!"

The colts and fillies from the school shied away from her. Having already been apprehensive about the strange filly, seeing her now in a blaze of feminine glory and self confidence rendered them completely intimidated.

Big Macintosh looked at the filly with a raised eyebrow and an appraising eye. He had a hard time putting her in any category. On one hoof, her clothes and appearance said: Bombshell! On another, she was clearly only just old enough for an evening out, and no more. On yet another, her eyes and face spoke of total, complete self confidence, or perhaps even indifference. And finally, she moved with the familiar grace well known to the Apples: a predator.

The stallions in the market stared with both relief and envy as Diane went directly to Big Mac's stall. Macintosh himself maintained his composure.

Diane stopped in front of the stall and directed her frightfully intense gaze to Big Mac. Slowly she let one corner of her mouth stretch into a sardonic smile and the lids of eyes close a fraction. Then, arcing her neck gracefully, she picked something from the small, tasteful saddlebag on her side, and gave it to Big Mac, whose eyebrows rose in surprise before a wide grin invaded his face. With a clear, neither projected nor muffled voice, Diane said, "I am going to be dining at La Galope tomorrow evening. You are welcome to join me."

Big Mac stared at the warm muffin in his hoof. Attached was a note that said 'want a taste?'. He looked at Diane, still smiling that half-smile and looking up at him with those mysterious eyes. Shaking his head slightly, he picked two of his finest, reddest apples, hoofing them over to the filly. "Ah'd be honored to, miss," he said in the same, conversational tone. "And ah only think it fair ah offer ya a taste of my apples."

* * *

"Ah wish there was something we could do," Applebloom said morose.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle glanced at each other with a knowing look. Their new friend had taken the loss of the girl at the mansion heavily. It seemed she blamed herself for letting the witch get away with the filly.

Sweetie Belle had tried to explain that they had, in fact, thought Fluttershy dead for more than a month now. Her sister, Rarity, had found the body herself and thought it beyond hope to believe she would be alive even though the corpse had disappeared. Even after seeing her in the street she had been convinced it was a ghost, Sweetie Belle reminded Applebloom.

But they could not lift the filly's mood, it seemed. It was the third day of ponies searching the Everfree, and there was no sign of either the witch or Fluttershy. They were all worried, about the girl and also about the ponies searching for her in the dangerous forest. Already it seemed the hostile place was pushing back. Seven ponies had come back with wounds or poisoning. None had died yet, and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were doubly grateful for that, because they were certain Applebloom would blame herself for that, too.

As if there was more she could have done. They had been there, after all. They had seen her react while they themselves shivered in fear. It wasn't her fault the witch had some sneaky witchcraft, Scootaloo had said.

"Well, there isn't," she now said simply, and looked at the depressed filly in sympathy.

"Scootaloo is right," Sweetie Belle added kindly. "If we get lost in the woods too, they'll just have more searching to do."

"Ah know," Applebloom sighed. "Ah just.. ah don't know what to do!"

"You can help me fix my scooter," Scootaloo said. "It'll keep your mind off things, at least."

Scootaloo's scooter had been a cheap thing, originally. Years of tuning, modding, fixing and upgrading, however, had turned it into a monster of performance. While she no longer could get it started without a running start and a boost with her wings, when it got going it had road speeds comparable to a light motorcycle. Dubbed a public menace, it was the pride and joy of Scootaloo, coincidentally also dubbed a public menace.

With a shrug, Applebloom picked a spanner and started putting the engine back together, easy enough now that the gears had been filed into bare minimum.

"Where's your sister, by the way?" Scootaloo asked.

"On a date," Applebloom said with a shrug.

"What about Big Mac?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"On a date," Applebloom said.

"What about your granny?" Scootaloo asked. "She's not on a date, is she?"

Applebloom looked at her and said, straight-faced, "She's on a date too, actually." She shrugged again. "Or ah think it's a date. Chaplain Candlewax picked her up."

"Wow," Sweetie Belle said with wonder in her eyes and voice, "they're both really old!"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said in awe. "What about that cousin of yours? Rainbow Dash? She's the prettiest!"

"Funnily enough," Applebloom grunted as she lifted the engine back into its place, "she's the only one without a date today. She's out in the Everfree, searching with the rest." Then she gasped and wiped her forehead. "Okay," Applebloom said, "test it, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo revved the engine. "Woo-hoo! Listen to that!" Then she grinned at the other two fillies. "Wanna try for the bell tower?"

"Do ya think the ramp's still in the park?" Applebloom asked.

"Sure it is," Scootaloo said. "With everypony out in the woods looking, nopony's had time to take it down. So, how about it?"

"Ah'm in," Applebloom said fearlessly.

"I'll stay and watch," Sweetie Belle said with a sweet smile.

The engine whined, the wind roared, and the scenery flashed by as Scootaloo accelerated downhill. With adrenaline in her veins, ponies seemed like statues sprinkled liberally about the town as the scooter ate the dirt road. Navigating with ease the gentle chicane that put her in line with the wooden ramp, a grin formed on her face as she shifted the final gear. She felt Applebloom's laughter as the filly tightened her grip slightly.

Then, a bump and silence. Gravity seemed to let go of them as they flew in the air, shrieking and laughing with abandon.

The sun about to set reflected on the surface of the lake. A passing Derpy dropped her groceries as she turned to wave happily to the passing girls. A pony sitting on the roof of his house winked at the flying fillies.

A witch was crossing a field not that far away from Sweet Apple Acres, headed for the Everfree.

"Scoot-", Applebloom started, when they landed on the bell tower, and she almost bit her tongue, her head snapping to the side as Scootaloo swerved wildly to prevent them from dropping from the other side.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Scootaloo yelled exhilarated, her face flushed and heart beating.

"Scootaloo," Applebloom said in a commanding tone that took Scootaloo by surprise, "look there. What do ya see?"

Scootaloo obeyed and gasped immediately. "It's the witch!"

"Think we can catch her with this?"

A new grin formed on Scootaloo's face. "Hell yeah!" she said. "Just help me get this on the side of the roof! We should get enough speed from there." She thought a moment. "Think you can grab Sweetie on our way?"

"Not a problem," Applebloom said, flexing her forelegs.

The fillies took their bearings as they dropped down the steep roof at an angle, Scootaloo kicking repeatedly the start pedal until the engine finally took again just in time for her to correct the angle of the fall.

Once again they sped across the streets, ponies shaking their hooves at them with a few whoops of encouragement mixed in with the angry shouts. Sweetie Belle was galloping down the hill towards them, but she slowed, confused at first as they accelerated towards her, then stopped in alarm as she realized what an Applebloom leaning to the side with spread forelegs and a face set in determination meant.

"Oh noooo...!" her voice dopplered, as the straining scooter swerved towards the field closest to Everfree on Sweet Apple Acre's side.

"Okay," Scootaloo shouted over the noise of the scooter, "this isn't going to be able to cut it in the woods, so I'm going to take a few unorthodox short cuts. Hang on tight!"

Step by step, the startled gasping of Sweetie Belle turned excited, as she realized just how fun the ride was.

There were various tricks seen by the ponies of Ponyville that day: riding on fences, dropping from bridges, even jumping from a few roofs, and taking acceleration from the walls on the way down, all for shaving a few precious seconds from their trip.

As it was, they missed catching the witch before she entered the woods by less than a minute.

"Ponyfeathers!" Scootaloo shouted and accelerated towards the forest. "Hang on! Roll when you hit the ground!"

Ten seconds in, Scootaloo lost control of her scooter and the trio rolled painfully against the undergrowth of the forest. Applebloom was up immediately, with Sweetie Belle tucked safely in her grasp. Scootaloo managed to slow her flight somewhat with her wings, but still very nearly cracked her helmet on landing. Not giving them time to panic or start throwing up, Applebloom pushed both fillies up and sprinted towards the robed shape she saw vanishing in the shadows at a distance.

* * *

Shining Armor felt wretched and elated at the same time. He had managed to show Applejack a good time. They had seen a show in the park, walked side by side, coat to coat, by the lakeside. They had thrown some stones and sighed at the sunset. They had gasped at the pair of fillies flying through the air to the bell tower, and then riding back to the ground on the roof. And Applejack had burst into laughter and thrown him into the lake, when he had stopped her steaming at her little sister by splashing her gently with the holy water.

Wherein layeth the problem. His mood and his date was constantly interrupted by reminders of his duplicity. Every now and then he would notice one of the seven versions of Celestia's Sun, or Luna's moon. A lavender flash in the corner of his eye would gently flash and Applejack would look around in search of the source of a light touch on her flank, always a blessed artifact of some sort. She would playfully pin it on him. If only.

Now they were at the café, sampling the glorious moon pie, and he was about to ruin the whole evening.

How do you accuse your date of being a succubus?

"Ehm... Applejack," he started feeling sick to his stomach.

"Yes," the filly answered in a sultry tone, making him feel even worse about what he was going to do.

"Well, how can I put this, ah..." he fumbled, "you know my sister, right?"

Applejack blinked, a bit surprised. She had pegged this for the moment Shining Armor would try to speak his way into her bed. While she had no personal experience to speak of, she had seen Big Mac at the game a few times. "Yes," she said, gears shifting. "Ah think ah saw her about this evening, in fact."

"You did?" Shining Armor asked, then shrugged. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Well, the thing is. The thing. Is."

"Spit it out, Shiney," Applejack said unamused and pushed her plates to the side, resting her head on her hooves and fixing her date with a gaze.

Shining Armor took a deep breath. "She thinks you're a lust demon," he said and closed his eyes, waiting for pain to start.

A moment passed.

And another.

Then a third went by, and Shining Armor decided to brave a peek.

Applejack was cherry red, biting her lip and shaking, a tear in one corner of an eye. Then she burst out laughing. She laughed and laughed, falling from her sofa and rolling on the tiled ground. She howled, roared in laughter, occasionally kicking the ground with a leg. The other patrons looked at her like she was crazy. Shining Armor was stunned.

After a solid five minutes, the laughter finally petered out, and Applejack dragged herself back to the sofa, letting out a weak guffaw every now and then, wiping tears from her eyes. A few other customers had joined in after a while, unable to resist such unbridled and unrestrained show of hilarity.

"Ooh... ooh... woo!", Applejack said and cleared her throat, face still red from laughing her heart out. "Okay," she said with her voice breaking in a slight hiccup, "so, why's that, e-ehm!, exactly?"

"Basically," Shining said and shook his head, "basically because she thought your brother's hot."

This time Shining Armor joined in the laughter. He could see Twilight blushing furiously, her head hidden under her hooves, in a booth at the other end of the café. She had probably listened in with a spell.

When the new bout of laughter died out, having been more restrained this time, Applejack shook her head. "And here ah thought she was acting as yer jealous chaperone," she said. "The funny thing is," she added, "that for a while ah thought ya were involved with, well it takes a bit to explain." She dug through her saddlebags, until she found her uncle's journal, which she then gave to Shining Armor. "This here is a Slayer's journal. This particular journal belonged to mah uncle, Johnny Appleseed. It lists his activities as a local hunter of vamponies, wereponies, demons and what have you. That's what a Slayer is, a sworn warrior against the Dark. Ah've got one of those too," she said to the flabbergasted stallion.

"So, you," Shining Armor stammered.

"Yeah," Applejack said, "that's why ah'm so strong. It's a ...family blessing, ya could say," she said with a shrug. "Anyway, when ah read his journal," she said flipping the pages until she found the spot, "ah noticed yer name there. He suspected ya were involved in killing vamps and other beasties. That part was right, ah guess," she added to Shining Armor who was reading the diary in a stunned frenzy. "The part about the rituals, no. But ya were mah only lead for a while, when we found out about somepony messing around with the wards of this town."

"Wow," Shining Armor said. "This is, wow. It's kind of lot to take in, you know."

"Ah know," Applejack said. "We normally keep this stuff secret, but since ye've already seen me slaying and are in the business anyway, ah thought ah'd tell ya. That's why ah had this with me."

"So, ah, how do you know I'm not... er, involved with the, wards, were they?"

"Ye're not smart enough, ya big blockhead," Applejack said with a snort.

"Yeah," Shining Armor said. He shook his head, trying to clear it. "So, your brother's a...?"

"A slayer," Applejack said with a nod. "The whole family is. Well, not Applebloom, of course, she's too young. But she's been training since she learned to walk. We're a dedicated bunch."

"And you said there was something going on in this town?"

"Oh, ya have no idea," Applejack said seriously. "This place is being hit with one hell of bad mojo. Ah'll have to tell ya the details later. Ah take it ye're not the only one in your little group of hunters."

"Er, no," Shining Armor said, "Twiley and Diane are the other two."

Applejack's jaw dropped. "The shrinking violets? Are ya serious?" At Shining Armor's nod, she whistled. "Those fillies know their business then. Ah wouldn't have guessed in a million."

Shining Armor nodded sincerely. "While I have the training to make this work, it probably won't surprise you to hear my sister's the brain for the operations these days," he said with a grin.

Applejack snorted. "Not in tha least," she said. "What's Diane..." she stopped when she saw Sheriff Gale walk in the café, heading towards their table with a fast, determined step. "Hey, it looks like yer boss wants to speak with ya." Her eyes widened and ears perked. "Hey, ya think they found that girl in the woods yet?" she asked Shining Armor.

But the sheriff wasn't coming for Shining Armor. She stopped in front of Applejack and said in a firm voice, "Miss Apple. Please accompany us to the station."

"What? Why?" she asked surprised, then worried. "Nothing's happened to Applebloom, has it?"

"We need you to answer to charges on breaking in, vandalism, and possibly the murder of Hard Stones on the eve or eves of 15th and 14th of September this year, respectively. We have evidence tying you to the crime scene."

Applejack was stunned, but Shining Armor was furious. "Twiley!" he shouted angrily, then turned towards sheriff Gale. "The evidence was forged, boss, my sister had this crazy idea about"

He was stopped with a raised hoof. "Back off, Shining," sheriff Gale said. "You're obviously involved with her, and as such disqualified."

"But the evidence," he tried again.

"The evidence came to us through mayor's office, Shining. It has reports of her involvement with an arson case in Colton, along with a string of murders. We're taking her in," she said with a finality in her tone, and motioned to Applejack. "You coming along quietly, miss?" she asked, looking unworried about facing a teenage girl.

The teenage girl in question simply weighed options in her mind frantically, before deciding that going along was probably going to be easier in the long term. So, she nodded with a sigh, and handed her hoof for the sheriff to cuff. "Sorry Shining," she said. "We'll have to cut this short."

Then they were away.

"It wasn't me!" Twilight shouted in panic as she ran to Shining Armor's side. "Shining, believe me! It wasn't-"

"I know, Twiley," Shining Armor said quietly. "They had a bunch of stuff on her. Gale said it came from mayor's office."

"Shining? What's going on?" Twilight asked worried.

"I don't know," Shining Armor said. "I don't know at all."

"Diane!" Twilight shouted suddenly. Shining Armor turned to her. "She's with Applejack's brother! We have to tell him!" Twilight explained.

With a nod, they sped away.

* * *

Rarity felt her eyes bulge gently behind the wide shaded glasses she had borrowed from Diane, when Big Macintosh walked into the restaurant. The stallion had put on a fitting suit jacket on top of a tight white shirt with no tie. With his muscular frame, the combination exuded confidence and masculinity. She couldn't believe her eyes, when Diane took the kiss on the hoof without so much as a blush. Luna's teats! What is that girl made of? Ice?

She felt a dizzying mix of emotions. She was jealous at Diane for the attention she was getting from the hot stallion. She was fast getting hot and bothered just by watching the said stallion flirting with the mare. She was furious at him for directing that attention for anypony but her. She was fearful of losing him. She was proud of Diane, of how sexy and beautiful she looked, of how coquettishly she acted. She felt the gnawing doubt that the gorgeous stallion would disappoint her tonight. She was amazed and dismayed at herself for getting so fixated over a single stallion.

I'm the queen B of the school! The mare so cool they make ice between my thighs! The hell is wrong with me?!

She perked her ears and concentrated on their table, sipping at her grape juice while attempting to eavesdrop their conversation. All right, Diane! Remember the lessons!

Lesson 1: Small Talk

The proper way of handling small talk is to hide the actual meaning you want to convey behind a layer of inoffensive babble. Choose a topic likely to be interesting to both parties, while hiding daring undertones in the connotations and dual meanings of the words.

An example: food. You will superficially discuss the quality and texture of the foods you're sampling while stressing such phrases as 'hot', 'moist', 'round', 'firm', 'smooth', 'dripping juices', 'lick', 'suck', 'swirl', and so on.

Okay, what's she leading with? Architecture? What has that got to do with... Diane, ew! Now I can never look at this town innocently again! What's he going to respond with? Oh, cutie marks, that's a classic. Lets one get an eyeful of other's flank and allows you to get to know each other better. Huh? Diane's ...giggling?

"Ponies don't burn alive, silly! They're too soggy!"

I...don't know what to think about that. Goddess! I hope I forget that. Oh, good! The food's here. Now Diane! Remember the second lesson!

Lesson 2: Body Language

With proper use of body language, any activity can be turned into a bold suggestion. While the flank is a natural hot spot for a stallion's attention, movement of your hooves, ears and tail can easily direct his attention to parts of your body you have more control over.

Remember: Every part of the body is an erogenous zone.

Hm. Good, she's moving... oh! She's following the music, good choice, good choice. Yes, that's it... oh my, now that was one hot potato! Rrrawrr! Better cool it down, you minx, your date's going to embarrass himself soon, if you keep thatup... Hey, why are they sharing food? No, Diane, abort! Abort! You're going to get him too excited! ...oh, that was a good one! Just the moment for a little trip to bathroom - aaand there's the swing of the hips! Good girl!

Okay. You're about to enter the final phase, Diane! Now remember the most important lesson! This is what everything hangs on!

Lesson 3: Letting the Stallion Think He's In Charge

When he thinks he's doing what he desires and that he's making you think you want it, then you got him right where you want him.

There can be no other goal more worth pursuing in the successful seduction and subjugation of a stallion. Suggest. Play dumb. Giggle at his jokes. Act innocent. Make him be the dirty one, and his guilt and arrogance will let you string him along just as you like it.

Okay, Diane. You're good at this. I wish you'd come to me earlier. We could have had you ruling the school... right after me, of course. Okay...okay...that's it, reel him in gently. That's it, blink like a rabbit in the headlights... I wish you could blush on command. You can?! Wow. Okay, I'd say this is it. Either he's going to push for sex and ruin my hopes, or... wait, if he doesn't, after all this, is he even into girls? Oh drat, I detect a flaw in the plan. Wait, what's he going to suggest?

"Miss Pie, ah get the feeling ye're just stringing me along."

Huh. Didn't see that coming.

"Well, Duh! I'm just fake seducing you to make another colt jealous!"

This... isn't how it's supposed to go.

"Is that so?"

"Well, my friends think I'm actually checking you out for being an incubus, but that's just Twi. She goes overboard with her paranoia, sometimes. Not like me, I just do it with violence."

(...)

"Well, Ah have to say it has been an interesting evening, Miss Pie. Ah hope everything goes fine with yer young stallion."

"Thanks, Mr Macintosh!"

I'm. I'm speechless. What just happened?

* * *

Shining Armor brushed the maître d' aside as he rushed into the restaurant, Twilight galloping at his tail.

"Diane!" he shouted, without care for the attention he was getting. "I need you to come with me!"

"Howdy, Shining," Big Mac said, exuding calmness. "This yer special somepony, miss Pie?" he asked with a raised brow. "'Cause ah thought he was entertaining mah sister," he added with a look at Shining Armor.

"No time for jokes, Mac," Shining Armor said. "Your sister's in trouble!"

Big Macintosh sobered immediately. "What kind?" he asked Shining Armor, while Twilight whispered to Diane.

"Legal," Shining Armor said. "Somepony's framing her for the murder of Hard Stones, the colt they found at the school. My boss arrested her just moments ago."

"Right," Big Mac nodded, getting up and leaving a pile of bits on the table. "Better go and see if we can clear this up." He looked questioningly at Shining Armor. "What's got y'all in such a hurry, mind ya? Not that ah'm complaining, but she ain't in any danger, is she?"

"I don't know, Mac," Shining Armor said with a worried tone. "There's something not right about this. Gale, the sheriff, she said a lot of things about her. Somepony's really got it out for her, and, well, your kind of enemies aren't the easy-going kind."

"Ah hear ya."

* * *

"Hold it right there!" Applebloom yelled at the witch, who turned to look at her and raised a brow.

"Or you'll do exactly what instead?" the witch asked with an odd, rhythmic accent. "As your only bow is on your head," she observed dryly.

Applebloom narrowed her eyes, and took the Stance of the Pouncing Tiger. "Ah don't need another bow," she said with as a low and menacing tone as she could. Behind her back, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo moved nervously to support her. "Release Fluttershy!" Applebloom commanded.

"She is not mine to release," the witch replied unfazed, "as she can already go as you please."

When the fillies frowned confused and uncertain, the witch continued her rhyming cant.

"If you three would like to follow, I will show your doubts as hollow. My home can be found quite near, and there is nothing you should fear, for you will find your quarry there if but you are...aware." With the final word, she did something with her hoof that caused the shadows to retreat behind her, revealing a strange hut, carved into a dead tree.

Masks and candles ornamented the hut, giving it an exotic, if a bit creepy, look. After the past week of excitement, however, the girls were beginning to get beyond scared, and marched after the witch with barely a nervous twitch.

Closer to the hut, the witch called out softly. "Fluttershy, my dear, would you please come here? The sun has almost set, and you can stand it, I bet."

As they continued to approach the tree-house, its door carefully opened, and the pale yellow mare peeked her head nervously through the crack. "Z-Zecora? How... oh!" she said when she spotted the three fillies. She smiled softly at them and greeted them with a voice that was even more soft. "Hello there, little ones," she said almost shyly.

"Fluttershy!" Sweetie Belle cried and ran up to her. "We feared you were dead!"

"Oh, well, I was," Fluttershy said, taken aback a bit. Then her eyes widened as she saw Applebloom pale. "Oh, not because of you, little filly! You see, I, um..." she trailed off, unsure of how to continue. She looked at Zecora, pleading for help.

"When I found little miss Shy," the witch, Zecora, obliged, "quite a lot had gone awry. She had been bitten and killed, and with a vile curse been filled. Forever more will she walk the earth, to feed, to slay and to more evil give birth. Or that's how it would have been, had there a solution I not seen. I found her while she was still unbound, between life and beyond lost and unsound. With my craft I managed to bind her soul, and in that at least make her whole.

"The curse she carries within her still, a vampony she is and forever will. There is no magic I know that could undo that blow, now she craves and feeds on the living blood, and the desire within her is like a flood, untamed and wild like the beast she was becoming, no matter how much she would like it be shunning. Her innocence is stolen and in shatters, and she fights with herself in all matters, filled with guilt and self-hate over things that are but fate, she avoids now all that are living, even if her nature is to be giving.

"She fears the creature that she has become, no matter I tell her 'your guilt is dumb'."

Fluttershy dug the ground with her hoof, clearly distressed and depressed. The fillies looked at her with a mixture of compassion and awe. Finally, Scootaloo found her voice. "You're a vampony? That. Is. Awesome!!"

Fluttershy blinked in surprise. Sweetie Belle jumped to hug her. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Fluttershy! I can't imagine how you must feel. You were always so kind when you visited my sister, and, and... you shouldn't hide! Please come back! We won't judge you, I promise!"

Fluttershy felt a lump in her throat as she hugged her best friend's little sister to her chest.

Applebloom looked at Zecora, embarrassed. "Ah'm sorry we thought ya were a witch, miss Zecora," she said.

Zecora raised a brow. "And what makes you think I am not? Witchcraft was the reason I managed my plot." As Applebloom gaped, Zecora continued. "Make no mistake, young filly, my skills are dark and unseemly. I dabble in darkness, death and demons and consort with evil and inflict vile lesions. I tread lightly on the line between good and evil, and should I falter I fall into darkness primeval." She paused and looked at Applebloom gravely. "I am a witch, I say it without a twitch."

"Okay then," Applebloom said slowly, and shook her head a bit. "Listen, Miz Fluttershy. Would'ya come back with us? At least so ya can show yerself? There's a lot of ponies looking for ya and they can get hurt in the forest. Ya should make yerself known so they can stop looking."

"Oh, oh my," Fluttershy said faintly, choking back her tears. "I-I wouldn't want anypony to get hurt on my behalf," she said uncertainly, and looked at Zecora.

The witch nodded. "I will come with you, dear Fluttershy. I'll walk you there and stay nigh. But before we set on our way, you should your hunger obey."

Fluttershy winced and hesitated. Zecora looked at her sternly. "It is the price he will pay, or on ponies you would prey."

With a sad nod, Fluttershy retreated back into the cottage. The horrified girls heard a soft 'eep' and growl from inside. After a short moment, Fluttershy came back out, her features bestial, licking blood from her lips. Zecora put a comforting hoof on her withers.

"I know it's not easy for you, but it's this or worse, in view."

* * *

Applejack was led in a bare cell, with straws for mattress, her front legs cuffed to make any gait other than a shuffle impossible. Through the bars in the small window in the stony wall, she watched the ruddy afterglow of the sunset fade away. She looked numbly at the darkening town.

Shining Armor led the group of ponies from La Galope towards the sheriff's office at a brisk trot. Rarity trailed behind, worried for her new friend, but not quite willing to expose herself as an eavesdropper. She was also feeling confused. Enemies? Framing? What in Celestia's name are those Apples messing around with?

When she arrived at the sheriff's, it was to a sight that was nightmarishly familiar to the flash of delirium she remembered from previous Friday. Shining Armor, Big Macintosh, Twilight and Diane were huddled in a defensive circle, while monstrous figures with glowing red eyes slowly stalked them from every direction.

There were at least twenty of the creatures.

"They're after mah sister!" Big Macintosh roared. "It's a set up!"

"We need weapons!" Shining Armor shouted.

"There's a stash at the corner of Alpaca and Main Street, in the fountain leg!" Diane yelled back.

"Ah can get there, but that leaves y'all unprotected!" Big Mac said.

"We're dead anyway, if you don't!" Shining Armor shouted back.

Twilight was fast deploying her arsenal of holy symbols, trying to great a safe zone to occupy.

Rarity started to panic. She felt her breath quicken, and a roar grew in her ears. I'm going to faint, I'm going to faint, I'm going to faint" Then, suddenly, a part of her rose to the surface. It was the part that had made her the queen of the school, the part that drove her ambitions forward, the part that made damn sure she was on top of every situation. This is no time for that, darling!, it said. There are friends, well, acquaintances and hot stallions, at least, about to die horribly! You're going to get your flank there and help!

A determined look appeared on her face, and she sprang into action. Galloping directly towards the sheriff's office, she hollered loudly. "Yoo-hoo! I'm a juicy distraction!" As the nearest vamponies turned to look at her, she released a hair pin with her telekinesis and pierced her skin with a wince. A small spurt of blood colored her coat, mesmerizing the vamponies. "Go!" she yelled at the stunned ponies at the center of the vampony mob.

Then she let out a continuous, high-pitched scream as she raced towards the safety of the sheriff's, eyes closed.

* * *

"Hey!" Applejack shouted in panic, rattling the bars of her cell. "Git yer flanks out here! There's a bunch of vamps outside!"

As the sheriff marched towards the holding cell with a deputy in tow, furious looks on their faces, Rarity burst in through the main door, still screaming in terror. She slammed the door and threw a heavy bar down, before finally going silent and taking a huge, gasping breath. Something slammed the door hard, rattling it on its hinges.

Rarity turned to face the sheriff, a wild look in her eyes. "Sheriff Gale! There are monsters outside, about two dozen or so, about to gobble up some of my friends," Rarity said quickly, then pointed at Applejack. "They're after her!"

Sheriff Gale looked from one mare to another, then at the door that was cracking slightly under the onslaught of blows on it. A mask of steel went over her features, and her body tensed. "Deputy Collar!" she barked. "Break out the anti-ursa weaponry! Miss... Carousel! Explain the situation!"

Rarity took another breath, and launched into an explanation. "I don't know all the details, but from what I gathered, she," Rarity said, her hoof pointing at Applejack again, "is part of an anti-vamp counter-terrorism unit or something, and was framed by pro vampony parties in order to pave way for her assassination. I suggest you set her free and let her do her thing. The other members of her unit are fighting for their lives on the street."

Gale blinked, then looked at Applejack questioningly. "Is this true?" she asked Applejack.

Applejack waved her hoof to and fro, "So-so," she said. "but as guesses go, it was pretty darn accurate."

Gale looked at her blankly, then stepped to the cell door, unlocking it quickly. "So help me the Sisters, if you cut and run, I'll hunt you down and gut you," she said in a low growl. "Give me your hooves," she added, their key in her mouth.

"No need," Applejack said smugly and snapped the chain holding her hooves together as easily as it was a piece of string. Gale stared in dismay at the ruined cuffs. "Rare, give me mah hat," Applejack said, as she pushed past the stunned sheriff. Rarity obeyed immediately, flinging the headpiece with her telekinesis directly to Applejack's head. "Right," Applejack said, "now Ah just need some splinters." She grinned and launched herself at the door that was breaking down.

At the same time the sheriff's deputy came back from the armory, carrying two heavy packages on his back. "Eh, sheriff?" he said uncertainly. "Should I detain the prisoner?"

Gale shook herself into action. "That's a negative. Hoof me a flamethrower and arm yourself, we're on civilian protection duty as of right now."

Rarity looked at the three ponies readying for action, and went through a mental checklist. "Done, done, done... okay, I've done my part," she muttered. "Finally!" she said and promptly fainted.

* * *

Rainbow Dash was on her way back from the futile search in the forest, when she spotted the barest hint of movement at the edge of her vision. Not even knowing for sure why, she raced towards the flickering movement, only to spot not only both of her targets, but Applebloom and her two friends.

"What the...?" she muttered. The group was heading for the town, already almost at the edge of the woods. Thinking about possible explanations, she settled for following the group from afar, fearing a hostage situation.

It didn't take all that long, before both her and the group noticed the fighting going on near the sheriff's office.

* * *

"It's mah brother!" yelled Applebloom when she saw the stallion in middle of wrestling with three vamponies with more edging towards him.

"And a bunch of other ponies!" Scootaloo yelled.

"We got to help them!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

In a thrice, Fluttershy leaped towards the fighting, transforming into her bestial form mid-spring. Rainbow Dash overtook her in a moment, tackling one of the vamponies from the air. Zecora readied some powder and started mumbling an incantation, sprinkling the dust around her in a circle.

"Ooh, Ah wish ah had mah crossbow," Applebloom grumbled.

* * *

The fight was furious and bloody. Applejack burst through the heavy door of the sheriff's office, a thick wooden splinter in each hoof. As she ducked and weaved through the mass of vamponies, dusting several them in the process, the sheriff and her deputy followed through, long spouts of flame spewing from their flame throwers.

Diane looked she was in love at the sight, pausing momentarily before continuing her own barrage of home-made grenades. She was quickly taken out, however, by a savage blow to the head. As she sprawled on the street, blood spilling from the wound, Twilight screamed in rage and her horn flared. In a single mighty burst of magic she grasped the offending vampony and obliterated it, literally tearing it apart. Her eyes black, she then turned her wrath against several other vamponies, flinging them about with abandon and inflicting deep gashes in them with sheer willpower.

Shining Armor was fighting tactically, sniping and flanking vamps whenever the chance. It was hard going, it taking all his strength to pierce the chests of the vamponies with a stake, and he was getting a splitting headache for overextending his protective magic. Even with his shield, he was bleeding from several wounds on his sides.

Big Macintosh was taking on the majority of vamponies. Trampling and kicking, he fought a mighty, but ultimately futile battle against overwhelming numbers. Even with the arrival of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who took the pressure away from him from the vamponies in the air, it looked like he would succumb to the mass of vamponies before Applejack would have the chance to give him aid.

That's when the spell from Zecora hit. A wave of shadow rolled over the battleground, hitting the vamponies with a burst of agony. While they momentarily writhed in agony, the ponies gained their second wind and regrouped for a concerted attack.

In the end, the ponies stood victorious, if hurt. Zecora was tending to Diane's head wound, while agonizing Shining Armor was cuddled against her sister, who had withdrawn into a near-catatonic state of sobbing. The sheriff's deputy was lying down on the ground, pale and breathing shallow on account of his numerous broken bones. Big Macintosh looked like he was put through a shredder, bleeding from cuts and bites, from all over his body. Rainbow Dash was nursing a broken leg, while suspiciously glaring at Fluttershy, whose horrible wounds were knitting themselves together in front of their eyes. All in all, only Zecora and the fillies were wholly unharmed, although the witch was ashen and shaking, refusing to tell why.

Sheriff Gale looked at the beaten ponies, who were the only sign of there ever even having been a battle, and rubbed her head. "In the morning," she said quietly to nopony in particular, "somepony had better tell me what the buck is going on."

Comments

[DiscordDraconequus]

And it is revealed that Twi is being silly. Applejack continues to not be a succubus.

[DiscordDraconequus]

Needs more update.

[Immanuel]

4021476 I know, and I feel guilty about my lack of attention for this story!

The first chapters flowed so naturally, that I didn't even realize I had a huge lack of preplanning about this story until I hit it. At the same time, the huge demand for continuation in 'Twilight makes first contact' made me pay attention to that story, and the ideas didn't stop coming.

In short, I know what I want to do with this story, but I have little idea about the path there. But I expect to hit a planning lull in 'First Contact' after about two chapters there, and need to shift my gears for drama and adventure again.

So, my subconscious is at work. Just a bit longer, I promise!