> Return of the Bats! > by DisUsernameScreamsKhaos > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > How did all this Start Anyway? [EDITED] > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- How did it get so out of hand? Spike was running for his life. He had just seen something that no baby dragon should have seen. The young dragon ducked under a bush as he scrambled back Sweet Apple Acres, he had to warn Applebloom, heck he had to warn the entire town before it was too late! How did it all come to this? Celestia's Sun began to set as Luna's Night fell upon Equestria. The stars shine from within the darkness of the sky as the Lunar Alicorn's Moon illuminated her night. However in Ponyville, there was a certain ominous feel that lingered in the air... At Golden Oaks Library, Spike was reshelving the last of the books. "Hey Twilight! Where did you leave the book with info on the Mirror Pool?" Asked Spike as he climbed down the ladder. When he got no response, he made his way towards Twilight's bed. Where he found her staring at the moon through the window. "Twi?" "Sometimes I find it hard to believe that ponies 1000 years ago didn't appreciate Luna's night...it's just so beautiful..." She said, with an almost glazed over look in her eyes "Twi!" Spike called out. "Huh?!" Twilight blinked, snapping out of her trance. "Oh dear, what time is it Spike?!" She asked and she got off the bed and hurried downstairs. "Umm... Almost 7:30, why?" "I'm gonna be late! I was supposed be meeting the girls at Sweet Apple Acres! Can you watch the place while I'm gone?" Twilight asked as she made her way to the door. "Sure, wait why are you going there now?" Spike asked out of curiosity. Twilight flinched. "Oh, no big reason. Me and the girls are just having a little slumber party, nothing you'd be interested in, mostly girly stuff." Explained Twilight with a rather awkward smile. "A slumber party at Sweet Apple Acres?" Spike asked. "Well the barn does have the most space for all of us..." She explained. Spike arched a brow, lately Twilight had been acting a little strange, this had been the fifth time she'd gone out late at night. "And you somehow get Rainbow Dash to join in?" He asked skeptically, the very idea of Rainbow Dash partaking in anything girly was pretty much a foreign concept to him. "She said she's join if it involved a free cider." Twilight giggled as she opened the door. "Now don't forget to go to sleep before nine. Good night." said Twilight, placing a small kiss on his tiny forehead. "Good night. See you tomorrow then." said Spike as he waved goodbye to his sister/motherly figure. It was going to be a long night, but on the plus side he have the place all to himself... However as he made his way upstairs he tripped over a book. "Ah geez, I thought I cleaned these all up-" He paused when he saw the title of the book; 'Slumber 101: All You Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask'. "Aw man, Twilight must've forgot this!" He mumbled before jogging down stairs and out the door. "I'm sure she won't mind if I bring it to her real quick." He said as he made his way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Spike made his way to the farm where his friends were meeting up. Along the way, he saw Twilight walking inside the barn. Spike's first instinct was to follow her in. But before he could on the door, he heard a few voices from inside. "Did you make sure Spike was occupied?" "Yeah don't worry about him, right now we need to plan our little attack" "What's there to plan? Once she gets in we just bum-rush her!" Spike was outright confused. Why did they want him out of the way? Who are they planning to ambush? 'I gotta find out what's going on on there...' He thought to himself as he snuck around the side of the barn and climbed on top of some hay, allowing him to peek in through the window. Unfortunately, what he saw was something truly terrifying. Inside the barn were the five mares, all in a circle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity, though not as he knew them, each one of them had gone through a drastic change; their coats were darker, their mane's were more rugged and bristled, their fangs had become sharp as daggers, and to top it all off, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had sprouted large bat wings while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wings had simply transformed. "What the heck is going on?" whispered Spike to himself. Soon enough Twilight was in place. The five other mares walked closer to Twilight while muttering some sort of jiberish. Suddenly, the five mares pounced on Twilight and bit into her neck. Twilight screamed. "AHH!" screamed Spike, too terrified by what he just saw. The six mares heard him and stared at him angrily. On his tail were six mares; Twilight then stood up, but something about her had changed. As soon as she stood, she spread her new bat wings and showed off her new fangs. Twilight grinned. "I thought I told you to say at home Spike." said Twilight. Spike was petrified, he didn't know what to say. "I'll show you what happens when you disobey me.". She approached Spike slowly, followed by the rest of the mane six. Spike started to walk away. "Get back here, I'm hungry!" At this point, Spike was already running at full speed. Six vampire ponies were chasing after him with the intent of killing him. "Oh yeah, that's how this all started." said Spike. What was he going to do? Spike was running, he didn't know to where but he was running. Eventually, he bumped into Applebloom. "Applebloom, what are you doing here?" "Ah was just lookin' fer Applejack. I was worried when she didn't go to bed so ah went to look fer her." replied Applebloom. "We have to run... now!" said Spike. "Why in tarnation are we gonna run at night?" questioned Applebloom. "You don't want to see Applejack tonight." said Spike. Just then, the six mares appeared. "RUN!" "But why?" asked Applebloom. Spike just left and ran for his life. Applebloom was still confused until she saw her sister close up. "Applejack what happened to ya?!" Applebloom just ran away screaming after her big sister tried to bite her. Soon enough, she caught up with Spike. "Spike, what the hay happened to our friends?" asked Applebloom. "I don't know how it started, but all of them became vampire ponies." relied Spike. "Uhm... Spike, ah think we should hurry up!" screamed Applebloom. Her big sister was mere inches away from them. Both Applebloom and Spike quickened their pace but Spike accidentally tripped. "Go on without me! Save yourself!" shouted Spike. "But-" said Applebloom, only to be cut off by Spike. "GO NOW!" shouted Spike. Applebloom proceeded to run away and Applejack pinned Spike to the ground. "Now, be a good meal and stop yer fidgetin." said Applejack, as Spike called her. Applejack bit into Spike, but was not able to penetrate his scales (dragons do bathe in lava). This gave Spike a chance to escape. Applejack wasn't able to follow due to her aching jaw. Spike caught up with Applebloom and they both tried to hide in Scootaloo's house. They were about to knock on the door, when Scootaloo burst out. "Guys, guys, run!" screamed Scootaloo. "Rainbow Dash is chasing after me and wants to bite me!" "Well, we have to find a place to hide before Applejack catches up with us." said Spike. "How 'bout Carousel Boutique? Ah'm sure Sweetie Belle can let us hide with... OH MAH GOSH WE HAVE TA HELP SWEETIE BELLE BEFORE RARITY BITES 'ER!" screamed Applebloom. They all ran to Carousel Boutique where Sweetie Belle was asleep. Spike was to distract Rarity while Scootaloo and Applebloom got Sweetie Belle. Spike entered the boutique and was met with Rarity. "Oh hello Spikey-Wikey, could you help me with something?" asked Rarity seductively. Spike, being the foolish loverboy he was, fell for it. "Anything for you Rarity." replied Spike. "Oh, could you come closer so that I can tell you something?" asked Rarity. "Okay." said Spike, who walked closer to Rarity. "Could you do me a favor and... LET ME BITE YOU!" shouted Rarity who drove her fangs into Spike, only to fail. Spike ran away screaming while Rarity tried to get the pain out of her jaw. Luckily for him, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were waiting for him outside. Unfortunately, so were Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack. Rarity soon appeared from behind them. "What are you guys gonna do now?" asked Twilight. None of them could reply, they were all paralyzed with fear. The six mares pounced on them and failed. In the nick of time, Sweetie Belle teleported them to the CMC Clubhouse. "What are we gonna do now?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Ah don't know, but we need to find a way to save Ponyville." said Scootaloo. "We have to return our friends to normal before they turn ev'rypony in Ponyville into bat ponies." said Applebloom. "Well, that means so far, we are against Flutterbat, Rariteeth, Count Dashula, Applebat, Twibite Sparkle, and... I can't think of a bat name for Pinkie." said Spike. "This isn't the time for jokes Spike." said Sweetie Belle. "Anywho, how are we gonna beat them?" asked Scootaloo. "I don't know." said Spike. This was going to be the hardest thing they were ever going to do. "Hey, maybe if we save Ponyville, we could get our cutie marks!" said Applebloom. "Then it's settled, we have to save Ponyville." said Spike. First off, to deal with the cause of this whole thing, Flutterbat. > First off, Flutterbat! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike and the CMC decided to go to Fluttershy's cottage to save her animal friends. The CMC seemed to be incredibly nervous. "W-why are we headed to F-fluttershy's house? S-she's gonna k-kill us!" said Scootaloo. "B-but we have ta save 'er animal friends b-before she k-kills 'em." said Applebloom. "B-but she m-might be inside." said Sweetie Belle. "She's not. Twilight told me to read about the different pony races. I got interested in the bat pony race. I found out that bat ponies like hunting in groups, Flutterbat is probably with the rest of the gang." said Spike. The CMC seemed to calm down after that. They all headed inside. Spike was in front of the three and the fillies were still kind of nervous so they hid behind Spike. "Besides, the animals can help us." "How?" asked Scootaloo. "They can help protect us... besides, you don't want innocent lives to be taken do you?" asked Spike. "No, ah guess not." replied Applebloom. "Well, we did promise to save the lives of anypony we could." said Sweetie Belle. The four friends agreed that it was the right thing to do. They carefully approached the door. Once inside, they saw most of Fluttershy's pets making a mess of the place. There was food everywhere, not a single piece of furniture was still whole, and most animals were just chasing each other. It was chaos. Without Fluttershy, her animal friends had nopony to discipline them. If they wanted to save the animals, they had to stop this fuss first. Spike tried talking to Angel, he was the second in charge after all. "Uhm... Angel, could you tell the rest of these guys to stop making a mess out of the place? It's really important that we leave." said Spike, Angel just ignored him. He was pointing to what looked like a salad bowl. "This is no time for a snack you little rabbit!" said Scootaloo. Angel just frowned. He was not going to help out until he got his salad. "Can't you just eat a carrot for now?" asked Sweetie Belle. Again, Angel ignored the request. "Oh come on, we don't have that much time. Fluttershy could be back any moment now." said Applebloom. Angel just smiled, if Fluttershy came back, she could prepare his salad. "Just eat the stupid carrot so we can leave!" shouted Spike. Normally, nopony would have heard that shout. Unfortunately, bat ponies had heightened senses, including hearing. Fluttershy was the first to hear their prey. "Girls, I think I may know where our next meal is." said Flutterbat. "And where would that be?" asked Twibite. "In my home, along with some of my animals." said Fluttershy. "Perfect, I could use some roast bunny after eating filly steak and dragon blood." said Count Dashula. "Sounds like a perfect three-course meal." said Rariteeth. "We should go there now. I'm getting mighty hungry." said Applebat. "Lead the way Fluttershy." said the still normal-named Pinkie Pie. The six mares flew in the direction of Fluttershy's hut. It seems like the six mares would have a perfect meal tonight. After a few minutes, Spike, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo finished making Angel's salad. Arguing with this bunny was going nowhere. After realizing that this bunny was going to have his way no matter what, they just decided to meet his demands. Angel victoriously munched on his salad. Almost unnoticeably, Angel was smirking while eating his salad. This bunny was worse than dealing with Discord. Angel finished his salad after a few more gulps. "Now will you tell the rest of the animals to stop messing around?" asked Spike. For once, Angel listened. Angel whistled and this caused the animals to stop whatever it was they were doing. "Huh... how did we not notice that the walls and roof are gone?" asked Scootaloo. Apparently, the animals managed to destroy the hut leaving only the floor and the door in tact. "Okay, now that you guys are settled, we have to get out of here, Fluttershy and her friends have turned into vamponies and are gonna kill you." said Spike. All the animals agreed and they were about to leave when there was a knocking on the door. "Uhm... whoever it is, there are no walls so you could just walk inside." said Sweetie Belle. Instead of walking in, knocking was heard again. "Who in tarnation could that be anyway?" asked Applebloom. Spike decided to humor the guest and just opened the door. "Why hello there Spike." said Twibite. Spike's eyes grew wider and wider as he saw that the six friends-turned-bats were here. Spike then did the smartest thing to do in this situation- slam the door in their faces. Spike ran for his life. "Spike, who was it and why are you running?" asked Sweetie Belle. As soon as she looked to the door, she found out why. "EVERYPONY RUN! Oh, also every animal..." said Scootaloo. All of them ran away from the house- or, what's left of it. Unfortunately, the vamponies were right behind them. "Spike, how do you turn a vampony to normal?" asked Scootaloo. "I read a book that Twilight gave about vamponies. At first I didn't read it because I was lazy but I eventually read it anyway. If we could find it we could find out how to return a vampony to normal." said Spike. Spike and the CMC headed out to the library. It took them about 10 minutes to find the book. It was really dusty and was around a hundred pages thick. Spike opened the book to where he last read it. A few pages after that, they found the page containing the process of returning a vampony to normal. The book read: "To turn a vampony back to a stallion or mare, first you must get a strand of the first's hair. Then you get one of them to give up their thirst, they must show you enough love to break the curse. Last and foremost to make them all tame, you must get them to utter-" "Why'd you stop reading it Spike?" asked Scootaloo. "The end of the page is torn. Why did the one book that could help us have to be so old?!" replied Spike. "Well, anyway, the book did tell us the first two things to do." said Sweetie Belle. "After we do those things, we can figure out what the last thing is!" said Applebloom. "Okay then... first is we 'get a strand of the first's hair' whatever that means." said Spike. "Ah think it means we get hair from the first of them to be vamponies." said Applebloom. "So, who was first to be a vampony?" asked Sweetie Belle. "I think it was Fluttershy." said Spike. "Okay then, we have to get a strand of her hair." said Scootaloo. The four of them devised a plan to get Flutterbat's hair. Their plan was to separate her from the group, then they would yank out one of her hairs. "Okay, how are we gonna separate 'em?" asked Applebloom. "I don't know." said Spike. For some reason, the vamponies were nowhere in sight. Spike and the CMC hid in the forest to rest for a while. All of Fluttershy's pets hid in different parts of the forest. Spike developed a plan. "Okay, here's the plan; we trick the bat ponies to argue on who gets to eat first. When they start arguing, Fluttershy will obviously stay out of the fight. Then we lure Flutterbat here using a cute filly. Based on experience, the mares will probably stop arguing in around five minutes.As soon as the mares stop fighting, the me and two of you guys are gonna try to pull a hair from Flutterbat's mane." "Okay, I'll get into position." said Scootaloo. "What are ya talking about? Ah'm obviously the cutest filly." said Applebloom. "You guys are funny... Everypony knows I'm the cutest crusader." said Sweetie Belle. The three crusaders fought over who of them was the cutest. Eventually, they decided to play rock paper scissors. "Rock." said Scootaloo. "Paper." said Sweetie Belle. "Scissors!" said Applebloom. Just then, they realized a flaw in their plan... they didn't have fingers. "Uhm... who won?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Ah dunno." replied Applebloom. "For the love of Luna, just pick somepony to be bait!" shouted Spike. Eventually, they decided that they should just let Sweetie Belle go. Sweetie Belle went into position and so did Spike. Eventually, the six mares appeared. As they approached, Spike pretended to be shocked. "Ahh! Please... if I am to be eaten, may my life-long crush have the first bite." "Okay I get first bite." said Rariteeth. "No way! Don't you remember how he tried to kiss me? I get first bite!" said Applebat. "No way Jose! he hugged me after I gave him a gem cupcake! I get to eat first!" said... Pinkie Pie. "I raised him! I dine first.: said Twibite. "I don't care what you guys say! I am 20% cooler than all of you combined! I get to snack first!" said Count Dashula. Flutterbat just shied away. Suddenly, Flutterbat was being lured by the sound of a cute filly's crying. Seeing as how she retained some of her personality as a normal pony, Flutterbat couldn't resist to help the filly. Flutterbat then flew towards the filly. Apparently, Sweetie Belle 'sprained' her ankle. Flutterbat was torn... was she going to eat a meal, or comfort a cute filly in need. After a moment of hesitation, Flutterbat decided to comfort the filly. She hugged the filly and calmed her down. While they were hugging, Spike, Applebloom, and Scootaloo sneaked up behind Flutterbat. Closer... closer... and closer they crept. They were almost there but as soon as Spike reached for a hair, Flutterbat reacted. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" she screamed. The three of them pounced on Flutterbat. This allowed Sweetie Belle to snatch a hair from her mane. "Hey! That hurt!" Flutterbat chased after the four friends as they made their way to Ponyville. After a few moments though, she gave up. She wasn't the fastest flyer around. She retreated to where her friends were to see if they needed her. The CMC and Spike decided to retreat to the CMC clubhouse to discuss what to do next. Unfortunately, around half-way there, they heard somepony shout. "There they are! Get them!" screamed Twibite. The six mares chased after the four friends. Soon enough, Count Dashula was gaining on them. Unfortunately for Scootaloo, she was falling behind. "Spike, what do we do now?" asked Scootaloo. "I don't know. Somepony distract them so we can hide." replied Spike. Count Dashula was about to bite Scootaloo's flank when Applebloom kicked a pile of dirt in the mares' eyes. While the mares tried to get the dirt out of their eyes, Spike and the CMC hid in one of Fluttershy's bear's cave instead. They wouldn't have made it to the CMC Clubhouse. "Thanks for helping us Mr. Bear." The bear roared. "Oh, sorry... Mrs. Bear." This bear was one of the animals that the group kept safe. The bear saw them running from the six mares and decided to help them. Even though normally, vamponies would have loved to be in a cave, vamponies have an instinct to avoid bears. Even thoughthey could kill a bear, bears were huge, it would take a big fight. "Okay, what does the book say we do next?" asked Scootaloo. "It says 'Then you get one of them to give up their thirst, they must show you enough love to break the curse.' Whatever that means." said Sweetie Belle. "Ah think we should try to make somepony forget about drinking blood." said Applebloom. "Then we make sure that they remember their bond with us so that they can help us with the rest of the group." said Spike. "How about Twilight?" suggested Scootaloo. "I like that idea." said Sweetie Belle. "Yeah, she's smart, she can help us find how to return the rest of the group to normal!" said Spike. "Okay then... but for now... can we get some rest?" asked Applebloom. "Well then, tomorrow we get back Twilight. After that, we capture the rest of them... then we can figure out how to turn them back." announced Spike. They were safe in this cave... for now at least. The four friends then cuddled up in a corner and fell asleep. In the Everfree forest, six mares were talking while rubbing their eyes. “We’ll get them next time.” said Applebat. “We shouldn’t have fallen for their tricks!” said Count Dashula. “If only somepony hadn’t decided to go all soft and mushy, our meal wouldn't have escaped.” said Rariteeth. “I-i’m sorry… I thought she was injured.” whisperred Flutterbat. “Whatever, can we get a snack first?” asked… still, Pinkie Pie. “Well then… to Ponyville!” said Twibite. The six mares flew off to Ponville to get a snack, and reinforcements. > How to Make Twilight Love You > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The beauty of Luna's moon was now replaced by the light of Celestia's sun. Most ponies would be up and about by now, yet some chose to remain within the confines of their homes. Spike and the CMC remained within the bear's cave. They had to think of a way to return their friends to normal. Spike let off a yawn. "Well, what do we do about this bat problem?" he asked. "Well, what does the book say again?" asked Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle levitated the book to herself and flipped it to the right page. "It says that we have to make somepony 'forget about their thirst.' I'm pretty sure that means we have to make one of them forget about drinking blood." said Sweetie Belle. Applebloom grabbed the book. "It also say that we have ta make that pony love us. Ah don't want ta have a marefriend. Ah'm too young for even a coltfriend!" she said. "I don't think it needs to be that kind of love Applebloom." said Scootaloo. "Maybe a love for a hobby would be enough." said Spike. As soon as they all agreed, they decided to head out in search for their target. They decided that Twibite, err, Twilight would be the best choice since she was crazy when it came to books and studies. She would probably do anything for a book. They were about to set out when they were interrupted by a loud growl. "Was that the bear?" asked Scootaloo. "Uh... actually, that was m belly." said Spike. The CMC were about to complain, but their stomachs just rumbled as well. They were starving. While on the topic of food, shall we return to the mane 6? It all started last night... “We’ll get them next time.” said Applebat. “We shouldn’t have fallen for their tricks!” said Count Dashula. “If only somepony hadn’t decided to go all soft and mushy, our meal wouldn't have escaped.” said Rariteeth. “I-i’m sorry… I thought she was injured.” whisperred Flutterbat. “Whatever, can we get a snack first?” asked… still, Pinkie Pie. “Well then… to Ponyville!” said Twibite. As soon as they arrived in Ponyville, they started the hunt. Both mare and stallion were not safe. They would eat them all. However, tonight they were too tired. They settled for eating one unicorn stallion. His name was Blueblood. Even if he was screaming, everypony in town just sat down around them and watched; nopony liked that snob. After their meal, they found a tree in the Everfree where they all hung upside down to get some rest. After eating some food, Spike and the CMC continued on their mission. Twilight and company were nowhere to be found, probably still asleep. "Spike, how are we gonna get Twilight to stop drinking blood?" asked Scootaloo. "Well, what does she care about the most?" asked Spike. "Books! We can lure her out using some of her books, then we can throw them off a cliff." said Sweetie Belle. "How would that help?" asked Applebloom. "Well, she does love her books, maybe if she gets so alarmed by her books getting thrown away, she would just chase after them and forget about the blood thing long enough." said Spike. Sure enough, they went through with their plan. Twilight and her friends woke up from their nap. Once again, they were hungry. The unicorn they feasted on last night was worthless. They decided to head for Ponyville again to stop by Sugarcube Corner for some muffins. Come on now, just because they were bat ponies, that didn't mean that they just fed on blood, one must expand their menu. As Pinkie fetched their muffins the rest chatted. "What do we do now? I don't know about you girls but sleeping in caves and hanging from trees is just horrible for my hair." said Rariteeth. "Well, we could stay in my library." suggested Twibite. "Ah don't think that's such a bad idea." said Applebat. "I'm fine with that, those caves made my wings sore." said Count Dashula, who was rubbing her sore wings. Flutterbat just nodded in agreement. Pinkie Pie, ((ugh still no name)), walked over to them completely oblivious to their conversation and handed each vampony their muffin. It has been quite some time since the six mares did something like this. Peace and quiet, with their friends, and enjoying each other's company. Yes, this was the life. They enjoyed their chat so much that they didn't notice that it was already night out. "We should probably get going, we need the rest." said Twibite. "Yeah I guess you're right." said Count Dashula. "I'm gonna go on ahead and get the place ready." Twibite walked out of Sugarcube Corner and made her way to her library. As Twibite was a few feet away, she could hear some noise coming from her home. "Spike, careful, we need to keep them safe before throwing them out." said Sweetie Belle. "I know, I know, these things are heavy." Spike just groaned due to the immense weight of the books. Twibite panicked. She recognized that groan from anywhere. That groan was Spike's groan every time he was moving books. She rushed after them. "Just move it already. Twilights gonna be here soon." said Scootaloo. Applebloom helped Spike carry the oldest and most important books Twilight had to the cliff Ponyville apparently had. "Huh? Since when did Ponyville have a cliff?" asked Applebloom. "Oh that, it was when the hydra attacked." replied Spike. They were about to push the books over the cliff when Twibite appeared. "Don't you dare throw away any one of those books!" said Twibite, panic and worry evident in her tone. Spike felt a surge of power course through his body. For once in his life, he felt like he was in control of Twilight. "You mean these books?" mocked Spike as he took one of the oldest books in the pile and held it above the cliff. Twibite had to do something; her books could get hurt! She stepped closer and said, "Spike, don't be so hasty. We can work this out. Just put the book down and we can pretend none of this ever happened." Beads of sweat rolled down Twibite's body. Spike was happy. Not only did he have Twilight in a corner, but the plan was also working! Twilight was so caught up with saving her books that she forgot about killing them. On the sidelines, at a safe distance, the CMC were anxiously waiting. "Wha isn't Twilight turning back into a regular alicorn yet?" asked Applebloom. "I don't know, what do we do now?" asked Scootaloo. "Let's just watch and see, maybe it could still work." said Sweetie Belle. "Here's the deal Twibite, I organize these books back in the library, and you help us save Equestria from the rest of your friends. Do we have a deal?" Spike waved the book over the cliff as he was bargaining with the vampony. Twibite was scared. She could lose the most precious things in her life. She carefully watched as Spike moved the books closer and closer to the edge. "What do I do?" she thought, "I can't just abandon my friends, and I can't lose those books." Twibite devised a plan. She carefully calculated her angle, trajectory, her required speed, accuracy, wind resistance, and her wing power. Using her info, she planned to tackle Spike out of the way and save her books, just as Spike released his grip on the first book. "This is taking too long." said Spike. He threw one book off the incredibly high cliff. "That'll teach you for making me-" Twibite slammed into him. She grabbed her book and sent Spike hurdling towards the bottom of the cliff. "SPIKE!!!" the CMC screamed but were powerless to save him. Twibite was happy now. She finally saved her books. Now all she needed to do was return them to the library and tell Spike to clean up the place before her friends arrived. "AAAAAHHH!!!" screamed Spike as he was pummeling to his doom. "Wait..." said Twibite, "SPIKE!!!" Twibite rushed towards her pummeling friend. How could she be stupid enough to put books before her beloved friend. Spike had only a few seconds left before becoming Humpty Dumpty. He decided to just do a little prayer. "Dear Luna and Celestia, if you can hear me, please save me from my impending doom. I swear I'll stop stealing your desserts. Please save me, if you do, I promise never to show anypony the pictures I took of you in gym clothes." said Spike. Well, that was it, Spike was going to pony heaven. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he felt something soft catch him. He thought that it was one of the royal pony sisters but no, it was Twibite. Twibite took Spike and flew back to her library. "Spike, I'm so so so so so sorry! I wasn't thinking things through. I don't know what came over me... I- I- I'm sorry." said Twilight. Twilight was hugging Spike so much, Spike almost wished that she hadn't caught him... almost. "Twilight-" said Spike. "Yes Spike? What do you need?" asked Twilight. Her grip on the baby dragon has not weakened in the least. In fact, her death hug became even stronger. "I need- to- brea-the..." said Spike, panting and wheezing the whole time. "Oh!" Twilight loosened her grip, though she was still hugging him. "Sorry about that." "It's fine, now could you help us hide from the rest of your vampony friends?" asked Spike. While he would love to just stay and cuddle with his best friend, five vamponies were on his tail waiting to kill him. "Sure, but you can't stay in the library, the girls are gonna be there. Just hide in my secret lab under the town hall. I need to pretend that I am still completely under the spell so that they won't bother you that much." said Twilight. "Okay, be careful Twilight." said Spike, hugging her leg. "You to Spike." Twilight hugged him back. "Oh, before you leave, could you help us with the last part of the riddle?" asked Spike. "Sure what is it?" asked Twilight. Spike handed the page with the spell to Twilight. As Twilight read it, her mouth slowly dropped open. "Uh, I'll do what I can. Although, this is a really confusing verse." said Twilight. Spike just nodded his head and headed to Twilight's secret lab. Twilight watched as Spike talked to the CMC and headed to her lab. All she could do now was make sure that her friends wouldn't hurt them. This is gonna be hard. > Temporary Truce for Heart's Warming Eve > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Twas the night before Heart's Warming, when all through the Everfree, Nopony was stirring, not even a Breezy; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that Clover the Clever would soon be there Enough with the rhymes. Just for a while, Spike, the CMC, and the mane 6 (including the now reverted Twilight), gathered around a small fire inside a cave. They had called a temporary truce to celebrate the holidays. Nopony ever tried to argue during the holidays. Heart's Warming was the one time everypony put aside their differences to strengthen their bonds. During Heart's Warming, a strong magic spell cast long ago by their ancestors takes over everyponies hearts. Their hearts are cleared of all bad emotions and they feel nothing but pure happiness. As they sat, Spike handed each one of them a cup of hot choco that Pinkie made. When they all had their drinks, Spike and the CMC cuddled up to the mane six. Spike was beside Twilight, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle with their sisters, and Scootaloo with Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was with all her animal friends and Pinkie was already asleep. Sleep was contagious, for in less than a while, Spike and the CMC fell asleep. The rest of the mane six soon followed, except for Twilight and Rarity. "Twilight?" said Rarity. "Yes Rarity? What is it?" asked Twilight. "Me and the rest of the girls were wondering... Are we really going to go back to fighting after Heart's Warming?" asked Rarity. "Well, we don't have to. The only reason we were fighting was because of your desire to feed." replied Twilight. "I kinda wish that I could stop, but the primal instincts are too strong." said Rarity. "I don't want to hurt anypony, not my friends, and certainly not my family." as Rarity said that, she unconsciously hugged her little sister tighter. "I'm sure we'll sort things out Rarity. Spike, the crusaders, and I will do our best to solve this before anypony gets hurt." said Twilight. "I hope so. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I was responsible for the injuries of anypony." said Rarity. "Anypony?" asked Twilight, doubt evident in her tone. "Okay, fine... Anypony except Blueblood, he deserved it. In all honesty we probably did everypony a favor." replied Rarity. They both giggled. Pinkie, who was thought to be asleep, was stirred by the giggling. "Don't worry. Just trust us. We'll solve it, I promise." said Twilight. "Pinkie promise?" asked Pinkie in a very sleepy tone. "Cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." replied Twilight, doing the actions that accompanied the promise. "Awesome." With a deep yawn, Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie joined the others for a peaceful sleep. > The Unfinished Verse > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. As, the moon went to sleep, the CMC woke up with tears forming on their faces; their sisters were gone. Twilight saw this and tried to cheer them up. "Don't cry girls. This just proves that they love you." said Twilight. "What do ya mean?" asked Applebloom. "They left us alone again." said Scootaloo. "How does that show their love for us?" asked Sweetie Belle. "They left me this note." replied Twilight. "They knew that their hunger would take over again after Heart's Warming. They wanted to make sure you guys were safe so they left before you woke up so that they could distance themselves from you." The three fillies cheered up as they had come to the same realization, that no matter what happens, their sisters and friends would always love them. Moments later, Spike decided to join his friends in the realm of the awake. "Hey Twilight, hey guys." "Good morning Spike." said Twilight. Twilight was about to ask what Spike wanted for breakfast, but then remembered something more important. "Hey, do you still have that page with the spell to reverse the bat pony transformations?" "Uh, yeah..." Spike said. He had recently learned that his fire not only sends stuff to the Princesses, but it can also store stuff in a personal space that can only be accessed through his fire. With one breath, he poofed up the page. "Here ya go." "Thanks, come on guys, we're heding to Zecora's." said Twilight. "Huh, why?" asked Spike and the CMC simultaneously. "She speaks in rhymes, she might be able to help us here." replied Twilight. Stealth, a secret, quiet, and clever way of moving or behaving. The gang stealthily made their way to their destination; "The Hut." They were silent. Like a shadow in the night, they moved in on their targeted goal. They- "Spike! Shut up already. We're supposed to e quiet so that nopony will hear us, and here you are narrating our every move!" Twilight scolded. Spike chuckled. "Hehe... Sorry Twi..." said Spike. "I kinda liked it. It made us seem like spies!" said Scootaloo. "Wait, that gives me an idea!" said Applebloom. "I think I know where this is going." said Sweetie Belle. In their loudest voices ever, they all shouted. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: SPY AGEN-" "Shhh!!!" scolded Twilight. "Do you want to get eaten?" The three fillies mouthed a 'sorry' before they all continued towards Zecora's hut. As they arrived, they noticed that Zecora's door was locked. On the door, there was a note. It read 'If you ever need me, in the library I shall be...' Twilight facehoofed... She went all the way here just to find out that Zecora wasn't at home. They were almost going to leave when Zecora appeared. "Aren't you going to stay? I know you have something to say." Twilight's jaw dropped. "But you said that you were in the library, why aren't you-" Zecora stopped her before she could freak out. "Don't say a word, your noise will scare the birds." Twilight looked less than amused. Sure, just because she tends to overreact, doesn't mean she would always do so... Besides, she hasn't freaked out recently... Oh wait... "OH MY GOSH I'M A FEW SECONDS LATE FOR MY PICNIC WITH THE GIRLS! SPIKE HELP!!!" screamed Twilight. She then proceeded to rampage across her home flipping every table, eating every pie, and tripping every Spike. They all made their way inside. As soon as they were all settled, Twilight spoke. "Zecora, we have a problem. Most of the ponies in Ponyville have turned into vampire bat ponies!" said Twilight in the calmest manner she could muster in this situation, in other words, she was freaking out again. "Why then do you need me? I do not know how to cure a bat pony." said Zecora. "Yes, but you always speak in rhymes, correct?" asked Spike. Zecora had a face that was a mix of a deadpanned and insulted look. "Wow, just because I like speaking in rhyme, doesn't mean I do it all the time." said Zecora. "But you just did." said Applebloom. "That was just a coincidence." replied Zecora. "Huh, I didn't know you could talk without making a rhyme." said Scootaloo. "Of course I can! Rhyming just makes me sound more mysterious and wise." said Zecora. "So how'd you learn to speak in rhyme all the time?" asked Sweetie Belle. "My parents were poets. We used to play a game, the last one to speak in rhyme would win." replied Zecora. "CAN WE PLEASE GET BACK TO THE MATTER AT HOOF?!" Twilight was now in state two of her freaking-out mode, soon enough, when her final form would activate, her mane and tail would burst into flames and she'd get the creepiest smile ever with a bird's nest hat. "Anywho, calm down Twilight. I swear, you freak out more than anypony I know!" said Zecora. Twilight just gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry..." "Now, as I was saying, why do you need me for this?" asked Zecora. "Well, we found a ancient cure for this exact situation, but the last part got ripped off. We were hoping you could help." said Spike. "How exactly could I do that?" asked Zecora. "Well, the cure was written in rhyme, and you spoke in rhyme, so we thought you could figure out the last bit of the cure." Twilight then gave Zecora the piece of paper. As Zecora was reading, Twilight and the rest of the group just stared at her, waiting for Zecora's answer. "While I am kind of insulted that you assumed that I was some kind of rhyming freak, I kind of understand why. Anywho, I may need you to help me help you Twilight." said Zecora. "What do you mean?" asked Twilight. "I could give you an entire list of possible rhymes that could finish this verse, but you need to help me decide which makes the most sense." replied Zecora. She walked past the group and headed to a room at the back of her home. A few minutes passed and ecora returned, but when she did, she had a scroll in her hoof that she gave to Twilight. "That's literaly an entire list of possible rhymes. That's all I can do for you now." "Thanks Zecora." said Spike. "Don't mention it, but I almost forgot, Twilight can help you finish the verse, but only you and the girls can carry out the plan." "But why?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Twilight just recently changed back from a vampony, correct?" Everypony, and Spike, nodded. "Well, she still can't affect any vamponies... Her magic still has traces of vampony magic. They'll be able to sense her miles away." replied Zecora. "So Twilight can only help us figure out what to do?" asked Scootaloo. "Yup, pretty much." "Can she at least come along when we carry out the plan?" asked Applebloom. "No, as I said, they can sense Twilight. If she came along, you'd be in greater danger." said Zecora. "I really have to go now, I wish you the best of luck on your quest." "Thanks for your help Zecora." said Spike. "No problem." As Zecora went to her room, Spike and the gang took their leave and retreated to a cave to do their work. "Okay, how about 'Get them to utter basketball game', 'to utter an insurance claim', 'utter a big fat dame'... None of these fit Twi..." said Spike. "We have to keep trying, what's the next words on the list?" asked Twilight. "Next is 'Get them to utter their name', huh, that seems to fit Twi." said Spike. "That won't work, it's too simple! That can't possibly be the answer to this mishap." said Twilight. Spike sighed. "Fine, I'll try again... The next one is 'Get them to utter that we should be all the same'." said Spike. "That works! What do you think Twilight?" asked Sweetie Belle. "I think it's just what we need." replied Twilight. "Great, now all we hafta do is make all six of ya together to say that you guys are 'all the same'." said Applebloom. Twilight nodded. "Come on... Let's go." Twilight and the gang headed out to finally confront their friends.