Waking up in an unfamiliar environment and hungry is way worse.
Compound all that with the realization you're in what looks and feels like a closed stone box, and the feeling you find is nightmarish.
So I hope it's not too shocking that once my brain caught up with all of the previously mentioned, my immediate reaction was to freak the fuck out because that is the exact scenario I woke up in. Shouting and beating my fists against the top of the box, I almost didn't notice it bounce a little, giving me hope I wasn't trapped or buried. With a little effort, I threw open what now seemed more like a rock casket and crawled out.
"Oh, thank god," I gasped as I flopped free onto the stony floor. Huffing and running a hand over my eyes, I suddenly realized how dark this room was and how freaky it was that I could still see.
"Yo, what the fuck?" I whispered as I looked all around.
I was in a cave full of purple crystals that glittered despite the lack of light. Even my casket was a large hunk of the same crystal, which made it a touch concerning that I could open it at all, seeing as the lid was one solid piece of rock as tall as me, four feet across, and maybe half that thick. I couldn't process the ramifications of that as my hunger exploded onto the forefront of my mind.
I felt like I hadn't eaten in a week, and my mouth was painfully dry, especially around the teeth and gums. The most disturbing and upsetting thing was that the more I became aware of the pain, the worse it seemed to get.
I thought I was going to go crazy and just moaned and writhed on the floor when suddenly, a delicious, tempting smell filled the air. I couldn't even understand what about it was so alluring, but it hit me right in the soul. Screaming for me to "come have a taste." Rolling onto my knees, I scrambled towards it like a lunatic. I couldn't see my face, but I could feel how manic my expression was, with my eyes wide and mouth hanging open. As I raced down the cave, practically blind to everything around me and just following my nose, I started to hear voices.
"Did they follow us?" One of them asked with a whimper.
"I'm not going out there to check!" Another, gruffer one snapped.
"I can't believe you left Stitch behind like that!" An angry feminine one, now.
"She said to go! What do you want from me?" The first snapped back. The voices became louder as I scampered, and I realized they were where that lovely smell was coming from. I hoped they wouldn't mind sharing whatever they had, but I also couldn't care, just like I couldn't care about their continued arguing.
I was starving.
"Everywoolly, please just stop! We made it this far together," a new female voice desperately popped up and caught my attention briefly. "We can't get caught up fighting now, or we'll never make it to Equestria!"
If the others gave her heed and stopped fighting, I couldn't hear. Too hungry. I sped around a corner and was immediately blinded, for at the far end of the cave I had erupted into was an incredible light. That didn't stop me, however, as I was just following that wonderful smell this whole time and was right on top of the source.
I must have pounced like an animal because I slammed into whatever it was and tumbled to the floor with my arms firmly wrapped and locked around it like I'd just found my lost child. More on desperation than proper manners or good sense, I sank my teeth into whatever I had a grip on, and immediately, the pain of hunger and thirst vanished. My ears were ringing, and my eyes were blurry, but every other part of me was just so damn comfy.
Then the screaming started, or rather, I finally noticed the screaming.
My eyes focused, and I saw a group of sheep huddled together in the corner of the cave. A group of three little sheep in little outfits sitting there, howling and weeping. One had a little vest and bow tie for crying out loud.
The wildest thing was from the tone of their shrieking and the occasional cries for mercy, these were the owners of the voices I'd heard until now.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the feeling of my teeth leaving something warm and wet caught my attention. Twisting my head to see what it was made my blood run cold.
A fourth little sheep with a little bell and red bow, looking dazed and paler than the others and with a deep bloody bite mark on her shoulder. I let go of the thing and rolled onto my back in shock. I wiped my mouth with my hand and discovered solid proof I'd been sucking the sheep's blood.
My mind was racing. I struggled to recall clear details about what happened, but it was all a blur.
Why would I bite something and suck its blood? Why would I try to eat something while it's still alive? Why did it feel so good? Oh yeah, and why are the sheep talking?
"Quilt?" Speak of the Devil, and she will something or other. "Are you okay?"
"Cozy, get back! It's still moving!" Well, if you insist. I slowly tried to get to my feet and was surprised by the speed at which I did. I wasn't sure I even used my hands; it was like I just snapped upright. Probably accurate, based on 'Cozy's' yelp of surprise.
I slowly turned and looked down to see who must have been Cozy, a sheep with a pink and yellow scarf, hugging the floor and staring fearfully at me with big, teary eyes. Standing up straight, I realized how small these things were. Looking over the whole group, they all seemed about Cozy's size, and if she wasn't cowering, she'd barely reach my knees. Even the one I'd bitten was small.
That, of course, called to mind that I'd just mauled their friend, even if she still looked alive.
I still wasn't mentally ready to broach that subject, so seeing as they all looked too shocked to speak up first, I decided to stall and just take in the area we were all in. The light at what I perceived to be the proper mouth of the entire cave complex was no longer glaring, but it was still brighter than I was comfortable looking at. The area was crystalline, like the room I woke up in, and dry with a faint glittering dust permeating the air, which I assumed flowed from the crystals littering the walls. Other than the sheep, the chamber was bare, so there wasn't much I could pretend to be interested in.
I sighed heavily, an act which audibly frightened the others present.
"Hey, uh-" was all I could get out before the screaming started. Fortunately, it wasn't due to me this time. It was due to the pack of dogmen that came stomping into the cave. Sure, why not?
"Here, here! I find them, I find them!" A skinny one leading the pack cackled. Three much bigger specimens moved past him and brandished crooked spears. They prepared to advance on the sheep but stopped dead when they saw me.
"What the hold-up?" The skinny one grumbled as he pushed into the cave before he spotted me. A few more waddled into the cave, and now there were eight: three puny pug-looking ones, the skinny guy, the three with spears, and a much larger bulldog-looking brute with a shiny curved sword on his hip and a crossbow at the ready. These latter four were the only ones armed and armored in crude but thick plate. Their fellows had ratty-looking vests and were carrying bundles of rope.
"What's that?" A squeaky runt queried.
"Smells strange." The skinny one retorted.
"Not sheep. Who cares?" The bulldog put forth with a rumble.
"Hey, listen-" I tried for the second time. The big guy just shot me, eliciting cries of shock from the sheep. I was too stunned to do anything about it, and the bolt nailed me in the chest. The sheep, the dogs, and I all pondered the metal missile stuck in me, and how nothing else seemed to be happening.
For my part, I was mentally fried by all this.
If I hadn't seen it hit me, I wouldn't have known there was a problem. No pain, discomfort, or anything. Just the visual of a foreign object lodged in my person. I gave it a test pull, and it simply slid out without so much as a ripple in my shirt, but Cozy fainted at my feet, at least. My brain must have been desperate for anything to divert my attention to instead of this physical anomaly because, for the first time, I realized what I was wearing.
"Fucking, huh?" I whimpered.
I was in a tuxedo, with a thick black bolo tie held by a brass clip bearing the image of a bat, knee-high boots, with the whole outfit framed in a flowing black cloak. Altogether, I was much sharper dressed than I'd been at any point in my life.
"What the fuck happened last night?"
As I genuinely tried to recall, I snapped back to reality or whatever this nonsense was. The bulldog had thrown the crossbow aside and was bearing down on me, sword whirling through the air. Still trying to cope with everything and not entirely comfortable with sudden mortal danger, I panicked and threw myself back, avoiding his swing by a wide margin.
He followed through, brought his sword overhead, and charged again. Having landed on my back, I sat up and desperately kicked my leg out at him, meeting him firmly in the gut.
To my shock and his woe, he went sailing to the mouth of the cave fifteen feet back, where the back of his head smashed against the ceiling with a crunch, and he went tumbling outside. And I could swear I saw the rock crack where he'd hit.
The entire cave was silent, and all eyes were firmly on the crumpled form of the big guy. I stood up, again almost snapping to an upright position, and slowly walked to the front of the cave.
The other dogs either collapsed and scrambled out of my path or dropped their weapons and fled outside. The skinny guy and two of the pugs were the only ones who remained. Ignoring the fleeing figures, I intended to check if the big guy was still alive but stopped short when I stepped outside into the light, and my skin started sizzling and smoking.
I leaped back with a yowl, slapping my body all over, but as soon as I was out of the sun, the burning stopped.
The others in the cave were now beyond terror and huddled into their separate groups against opposing walls, holding each other and whimpering. Cozy had even woken up in time to see me scream and nearly catch fire before she fainted again.
My mind was starting to piece everything together and fill in the blanks, coming up with an answer to at least one question that was on my mind.
Drinking blood? Check. 'Mortal' weapons failing to hurt me? You betcha. Super strength, burning in sunlight, and dressed as cool and tacky as possible? How'd you guess?
Stupid as it'd be, the signs were all there, but spying the big guy's sword on the ground out of the light and noting its polished surface, I figured I'd do one final check.
Hefting it up, I gazed upon it and absorbed how it reflected the whole room and everyone in it. Everyone, that is, except me.
I dropped the sword and rubbed my face with a deep sigh.
The screaming only lasted a few seconds now, as I was too overwhelmed to stomach it. One firm shout of "Shut the fuck up!" was enough to silence the whole cave.
The sun was setting now, and I rested on my elbow against the edge of the cave mouth. By my estimation of how shadows of shrubs nearby stretched, the cave pointed south to a wide valley hemmed in on all sides by forest. Down in the valley, I could spy four villages spread around a large stone fortress sitting centrally between them on a tall hill. A silvery river snaked away from where our cave sat, weaving through the valley and into the forest. The sight of it gave me goosebumps.
"Running water; I think that's a thing to worry about," I thought.
Tearing my sight from the river, I could see the rapidly shrinking figure of the bulldog sprinting away.
Yeah, he lived. No, I didn't care. Even if he ran back and got his boss, who he was screaming for on the way out, I wasn't worried. Getting shot with a crossbow didn't do anything, so what could they possibly do?
And that was the million-dollar question: What could they do? What could actually hurt me?
I'm a vampire now. And that was compounding my stress.
The only thing that was keeping me from panicking was the quiet, rhythmic sound of beating hearts. I'm not sure when it started, but once I'd silenced the cave and sat glaring outside, I suddenly noticed if I focused, I could hear the hearts of everyone here.
As strange as it was, it was therapeutic in a way that let me strain my brain to remember anything from last night. So far, I'd turned up very little. Sure, I could recall general garbage, like Dracula, my childhood, how the human body worked, and plenty of other stuff, but some of it was patchy, like trying to recall a dream after a hard sleep.
I remembered I am Peter Harlow, 28 years old, and work in Human Resources for Butler and Sons, a midwestern American office supplies company.
I remembered what I was supposed to be doing: I was on my way to a party, and this outfit was necessary for attendance. But I can't remember why.
I remembered Mom had asked me to visit her and my brother Will after the party to talk about their health. But I don't remember if they were sick.
I remembered Martin from work, a name that made me grit my teeth. I saw him last night, and he did something that pissed me off. The memory of Martin caused my stomach to burn, and touching my free hand to it, I remembered getting hurt. Badly.
"Fuck," I huffed quietly, watching the twilight outside steadily increase.
"Quilt, can you hear me?" Oh, yeah. I remembered I'm in a cave with a crowd of talking animal people. One of whom was now trying to wake her friend that I mauled upon waking up. I grimaced and turned my attention to the sheep, specifically Cozy. Sure enough, she was laying an inch from Quilt, who was still in a daze and murmuring, while the others looked on in despair. Her heartbeat was almost inaudible.
"How's she doing?" I asked. The group snapped to attention and stared at me in horror. The one with the vest and tie, adjusted said bowtie and coughed before grimacing.
"Her, uh, wound isn't bleeding, but she's lost a lot of blood," he finally muttered. "If we can't perform a transfusion by morning, then.. I don't believe she'll survive." He and his group averted their eyes from me as he said this. Most of his group, anyway.
"That's your fault," Cozy snapped, to the shock of her fellows. I looked her in the eyes and, for the first time, saw no fear, only anger.
"Yeah, it is," I sighed, finally breaking our stareoff. "I can't even tell you why I did it. I wouldn't normally-"
"Who cares why you did it?!" She stomped forward with angry tears bubbling up. "And who cares how you usually act?! She's dying!"
"Cozy, let's be rational, and not upset the nice cave monster!" The bowtied sheep injected with a desperate smile. Cozy's stare only hardened. "Sure, he might've- Anyway, it's not his fault we don't have the supplies to treat her."
Her gaze fell upon him, still angry and teary, causing him to falter. She held her stare for a moment before sniffling.
"I know," she whimpered. "First, Diamond Dogs ransack us and drive us out, then he shows up when we're just trying to find help." She circled in place a few times with her eyes clenched.
"It's not fair!" She fell to the ground and covered her eyes as she wailed. "We never hurt anywooly! Quilt never did anything wrong! Why'd all this have to happen?!"
Her fellows tried to comfort her to little avail. Bow-tie gave her a strained, heartbroken look before turning to me. I considered him and the scene somberly, as the cave now filled with the sound of a weeping sheep and night overtook the outside. Then one of the pugs sneezed.
"S'cuse me." My attention snapped to him and his group, causing them to stiffen up. I slowly strode to their side of the cave.
"Diamond Dogs?" I queried, standing before them. They slowly nodded, and I returned the gesture as Cozy wept. I reached out and firmly hefted the skinny one up to his feet. Even standing up straight, I was about a head taller than him, which supported the dreadful, looming aura I was trying to press upon him. I leaned over, nearly pressing my nose to his, and he fixed me with a look of terror before an uneasy smile split his lips.
I couldn't take back what I'd done, but I could try to make up for it.
"Explain."
The moonlight put my soul at ease as we looked over the valley, practically washing away my concerns like I'd slept them all off and letting me think clearly. Vampire thing, probably.
"It's the nearest one, right?" I asked Dr. Shawl, the bow-tied Sheep, pointing to the village in question.
"Nearest?" He looked up at me and then back to the valley with his ears drawn back. "Can you see all of them?"
"Yes. Answer the question."
"Right! Yes, the nearest one is Ruffleton," he replied, pointing a hoof. I looked back to Twitch, the skinny dog.
"One more thing," I started. "These little guys don't seem all that strong or sturdy. Why enslave four villages worth?"
"Wool! Boss say we steal wool, make them cart, sell for gems!"
"Oh! So that's what you were after," Shawl grumbled. Seeing my expression, he explained. "Our wool is magical; it grows back very fast. We trade in goods woven from it," he glared at Twitch.
"Or at least we did."
Once I'd expressed my intent to help the Sheep retake their home and to get Dr. Shawl what he needed to help Quilt, he'd grown more confident. Of course, when a seemingly immortal, super-strong monster says he's on your side, it's hard for common thugs and bandits to spook you.
I was confident, too. Twitch explained how Diamond Dog culture worked. The biggest and strongest dog leads while the others do as ordered, but so long as you were strong, it didn't matter what you were. Some packs were led by Dragons or other monsters, which is how I learned fire-breathing Dragons exist here: none anywhere near this valley, thank god, but still a fun thought.
A better thought was that I practically couldn't be hurt and was as strong as a gorilla. Rolling into town and choke-slamming the current boss, himself just a large Diamond Dog should be a cakewalk. From there, we'd bring a cart to pick up Shawl and the others and get Quilt to his house for treatment.
"Get her ready for transport, doc," I said, handing him my cape to wrap her in. As he moved to do so, he looked back at me pensively but said nothing. The dogs and I began our trek to the village down the same path their fellows had fled. I could feel the dirt in parts was firmer, and the way the grass grew seemed to suggest an outline of a proper path, long overgrown.
"Boss say long time ago, Rams and Ponies dig here, in mountain," Twitch explained. "After Ponies left, lots of gems still behind, like in Master's cave."
"Master, huh?" I glanced back at him. He still wore a nervous grin. "Fine, but Rams and Ponies?"
"I'm uncertain what is meant by 'Rams,' but the books suggest they were a separate tribe," one of the runts explained in a wheezing voice. "Cousins of the Sheep, I suspect. As for Ponies, they came from Equestria, some thirty miles east of our destination, beyond the forest. That central fortress was their construction," I stopped our march to look at him in surprise.
"Some Diamond Dogs are capable of coherent speech, o' Dark Prince," he explained with a bow. I resumed our trip with a snort.
"Fine, but tell me your name," I demanded. "And tell me where these Rams and Ponies scurried off to."
"Graggle, terrible one," he said with another bow. "The Ponies and Rams came to some manner of conflict around fifty years ago, and ere its climax, the Rams had fled over the mountains where your cave rests. The Ponies returned to their homeland."
"This why no one like you, Graggle," the other pug squeaked. "Too huge words."
"The Master does not seem to mind, Flinch."
"Indeed, I don't," I confirmed as we finally arrived at level ground. The path was now very well defined and merged onto what seemed to have been an old stone road. "Did the Ponies build these roads, too?"
"I have only limited details, I'm afraid, but all other evidence would suggest it is so," he gestured across the entire valley as we made our way. "The Rams planned to transform Woollachia into a great principality and made pacts with the Pony Princess to achieve that end."
I stopped dead. This could not be. It was inconceivable. I slowly turned to my followers and fixed Graggle with wide eyes and a wide frown.
"Woollachia?" I asked quietly and evenly. The dogs were unsettled and looked at each other before nudging Graggle.
"Er, yes, that's right," he said after a moment. "From the mountains behind us to the forest is Woollachia, on the fringes of Trotsylvania, an Equestrian province."
My expression cracked, and I now wore a pursed smile as I slowly scanned the horizon breathlessly.
"Trotsylvania," I fell to my hands and knees before lowering my head to touch the ground and cradling myself.
"Master?"
My eyes screwed shut, and I let out a single, labored, wheezing breath. When my lungs had emptied, I felt a paw pat me on the back a few times. Looking up, I saw the concerned eyes of Graggle looking into my own. I smiled.
"Master, are you well?"
"Just fine, how are you?" I replied, rolling onto my side. He looked all about and to his fellows, who looked uncomfortable.
"Ah, well, fine, but the village is near, sir," Graggle said, pointing.
"Oh good," I said, snapping back to my feet. "Let's finish up and take a five-minute break, okay?" I resumed my walk before they could answer.
I couldn't tell if I loved or hated this discovery, but I planned to make it the boss dog's problem.
The remainder of the trip was in silence, and we quickly crossed into the village, made up of cozy single-story cottage-like houses or shops, built in rings away from a large towering central building, and now walked upon a well-tended gravel road that crisscrossed between the housing blocks. In the middle of town, we could see a large gathering of Diamond Dogs formed in a semi-circle around a hulking, unarmored specimen who seemed to be giving them orders. At his feet was the body of the bulldog, with a broad axe planted in his back.
"He very angry," Twitch muttered.
"No shit," I replied as we carried on down the street, and I saw most of the house's doors were wide open.
"Boss rounded up all the Sheep and is holding them in the town hall," Graggle explained, pointing to the central structure. "We have only just taken this village this past evening, so we've yet to enact his grander scheme for the territory."
One of the dogs in the crowd pointed to us, and I recognized him as one of the spear dogs who ran earlier. His arm was in a sling, and he was bleeding from the nose. I couldn't see any of the others.
"Ah, Maw is still alive," Graggle pointed out. "He must have kept his head down until the others were dead."
"He lucky like that," Twitch said.
"Not lucky like us, we have Master!" The last one asserted. The leader was approaching us, followed by his crowd, so we waited. To our side sat a decent-sized wooden cart toppled over, which gave me chills for some reason.
"Very true, Scraps," Graggle affirmed before cowering behind me.
"You three!" The dog-boss roared, still stomping his way towards us. "You betray me?"
"We do as is the way of our kind!" Graggle called back from the safety of my shadow. "Our new Master is far stronger than you!"
"Maw say that," he now stood a short distance from us and began pacing to and fro. "I not believe it! Maw a coward! Sorry excuse for sister-son! Look at this thing, so small!"
"Maybe if you didn't kill everyone who gave you bad news, you'd have a clearer picture of the danger you're in," I quipped. His pacing ceased, and he fixed me with a hard stare.
"Coward's words no good! Better they stay quiet, forever if they no shut up!" He snarled, baring his fangs. I smiled.
"Maw a coward, Scrimp a coward, Gaz a coward! But you three!" He jabbed a damning claw at the dogs near me. "You three worse. Traitors worst kind of cowards! 'Kill foe once, kill traitor twice!' Grandhound say that! I kill strange thing, I eat him, then I-" Whatever his plans were, we would never know. I gripped the cart at my side and hucked it at him.
It sailed through the air and crashed into the boss, sending him and the cart tumbling. As Boss's crowd looked on in shock, I laughed while Graggle and company cheered.
"Alright, here's the deal," I stepped forward with a sweep of my arm. "This guy's done! I'm in charge now. For starters-" and now it was my turn to be cut off. Boss stood up with a roar, only looking scuffed despite his lack of armor, and raised the cart above his head.
And he was pissed. He slammed the cart down, smashing it apart.
"WHO done?! WHO in charge?!" He pulled a wheel and a board from the debris and flung the former at me. I held my arms out to my side, intending to make a show of enduring the attack.
Then the wheel slammed into my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs, and me off my feet. I felt my ribs cave before I dropped to the earth, coughing and choking.
I called shenanigans.
As I tried to figure out what just happened, while coping with my broken chest with all the screaming pain and foam in my throat that brought, I looked up to see Boss leap upon me, hefting his wooden board up.
My mind raced for an explanation, and suddenly, with his weapon framed in the moonlight, something clicked.
"Oh fuck," I gurgled, remembering another vampire fun fact: wooden stakes to the heart are fatal. I guess in my particular case, the wood itself was the problem. I didn't have a chance to argue how stupid that was, as Boss began beating my face in.
"Master!" Graggle cried, having scurried out from under me before I fell. Boss ripped his club across my jaw, then the stomach, then the ribs, then the face again. I tried to guard myself but was too disoriented from pain to defend myself. I could hear the crowd cheering as my vision went cloudy.
Boss knelt and held me by the collar, and brought his club hard on top of my skull with a wet, rattling crunch I felt more than heard. I think I blacked out immediately after that, because the next thing I knew, he was standing with his back to me, addressing his crowd.
"Who is strongest? Who is leader?" He called out to their cheers. He repeated this while I noticed a change occurring.
The pain was gone, and I could feel everything he broke or bruised righting itself. My vision cleared, and my jaw set itself into a tight snarl. My limbs filled with strength again, and I manually rose to my feet.
I wasn't in pain; I was furious and hungry. I might hate myself for this later, but the mix of emotions and physical need overwhelmed my ability to care.
The crowd went silent, and Boss whipped around to meet my gaze.
"Nuh uh, I smash you head in."
I snapped forward and gripped his throat. He tried to swing his board at me, but my free hand caught his arm. A gentle squeeze crushed his wrist, and using my grip as leverage, I sank my teeth into his shoulder.
Deliberately sucking blood was an experience. That comfy feeling returned, but now that I was making the coherent effort, I could feel some deep animal part of me roaring with pride as his lifeblood filled my mouth and flowed into my stomach.
The taste.
It was sweet, but not like sugar. Like cold water on a hot day, when you hadn't had a drop of water in hours. Or days. Weeks. I felt it fill my belly, but despite the quenching and sating sensation it brought, I never felt full. I felt like I could drink as much as I wanted and never hit capacity.
So that's exactly what I did.
I didn't stop. I kept sucking until nothing came out, and when I finally pulled my teeth free, his body was shriveled and motionless. Focusing my ears, I could tell his heart had stopped. The whole town was silent, in fact. The crowd of dogs was watching on in horror. My honest intention was just to scare the guy off or just hurt him, but the rush of living blood and the moonlight had me wired enough not to care anymore.
I took Boss in both hands and hurled him to the ground before wiping my mouth.
"Alright, let's try again in a way you bozos can digest," I said, stepping over the corpse.
"WHO is strongest? WHO is Leader?" I held one hand behind an ear, Hogan style, and gave them an expectant leer. Their attention shifted from each other to the Boss to me, then to Graggle, who'd hopped forward.
"The MASTER, you boneheads!" He declared with a theatric gesture toward me.
Dr. Shawl worked quickly, rapidly hauling Quilt to a bed in his home and office, before calling for anyone willing to donate blood for her transfusion. As Graggle had gotten the dogs in line while we were away, and now the Sheep of Ruffleton was freely roaming, many of Quilt's friends came running to her aid. Cozy pushed past me and rushed inside, being the first to offer her blood for the procedure.
Trusting Shawl with her care and with my cape back in my possession, I beckoned Graggle over.
"Fine work," I said, looking to the town hall where the Diamond Dogs were milling around, away from the Sheep as requested.
"A lesser hound would take your praise, Master," he replied, standing before me. "But I must admit to a complication. Twenty of our number have deserted, of whom at least half plan to seize one of the other villages."
"Alright," I grumbled. "What's that leave us with, and what's the other half planning?"
"We are now fifty strong, sire, and the other deserters claimed a desire to flee Woollachia entirely, citing it to be your domain now."
"I don't know about that, but if they want to piss off, it's no skin off my nose," I said with a stretch, basking in the glow of the moon.
"Well, they aren't the only ones who hold such a view," he gestured to the Sheep still lingering nearby, most of whom were either staring at me or whispering about me, thinking I couldn't hear.
"Is he a hairless Diamond Dog?" Someone asked.
"Why did he let us go?" Another asked.
"What happened to Quilt?" was echoed a few times.
"Cozy said a monster hurt her.." was the occasional answer.
"He kind of looks like a monster.." followed at least once.
"They don't sound very like-minded," I scratched my neck, still thriving in the moon's light, when Graggle pointed to someone in particular: a mustachioed Sheep with a top hat, sash, and monocle, smiling at me. Seeing my attention, he moved from the crowd, silencing the murmuring.
"I wish to speak on behalf of all Ruffleton and express our gratitude for liberating our village!" He declared, removing his hat and bowing. Some of the crowd mimicked this after a moment.
"And who are you exactly?" I asked, slinging my cape over my shoulder. He flipped his hat back on, with shocking dexterity for a creature without fingers, and smiled at me.
"Briefs! Mayor of Ruffleton, dear sir!" He took a few steps towards me. "And if I may be so bold, who might you be, hm?"
"My name is Peter Harlow," he reached a hoof out to me with a smile, which I shook.
"Well, Mr. Harlow, again, I offer our communal gratitude! And may I ask what brought you to our rescue?" I recognized what was happening. In addition to getting the answers the villagers were after, he was reaffirming his position as the community's rock and leader. Possibly, he was also probing for an opportunity to make some demand or offer. That happened all the time with management at Butler and Sons, and he had the same gleam in his eye Martin did the other night.
My teeth clenched hard when I remembered Martin and how patchy that night was, but I caught myself before anyone besides Briefs noticed. He fortunately kept his cool and smiled.
"Coincidence, mainly," I said, forcing a smile. "I met Quilt and friends on the road, and when I heard what happened, I felt compelled to act."
"Ah hah! Much like Fleeces' parable of the Good Shepherd, aiding another for no obvious gain!" He turned to the crowd while I mentally recovered from what I prayed was a Sheep Jesus pun. "There we have it, lambs and rams! He might look sinister, but none can deny the good in our dear Peter Harlow!"
The crowd seemed appeased by his words, and the murmuring turned positive. Seeing this, Briefs turned back to me.
"And now that we've determined the quality of his character," he continued, his tone shifting to one I recognized. Here it was. "There are certain prospects I'd like to discuss with him if he'd allow."
"Sure, let's hear it," I grinned.
"Wonderful!" He whipped back around to address the crowd again. "We have all been through a great ordeal, but now it has passed! Mr. Harlow and I shall withdraw to my office to discuss preventative measures to avoid repeating such a tragedy. Return to your homes, lambs and rams. Tomorrow, I expect to have great news to share!"
He gestured to me and made his way towards the town hall. The crowd lingered for only a moment but began to disperse as requested.
"Easier than humans. Guess even talking herd animals just follow the leader," I thought. As I moved to follow, I felt chills again and saw the debris from the ruined cart nearby.
"Boss had me dead to rights but didn't finish the job," I thought, ignoring Graggle's calls. "If I get caught off guard like that again, I can't expect to be so lucky twice. I need.. I need to make a list."
"Graggle," I called and pointed to the ruined cart. "Find out what type of wood that is. And find me a pen and paper."
My pint-sized lieutenant bowed before collecting a chunk of wood from the pile and immediately interrogating the locals. The mayor and I continued our walk to the town hall. Whatever this meeting was about, the coming days promised to be uncomfortable, but I had to know what mundane objects could kill me.
Graggle met back up with us sooner than I'd expected and had secured a proper journal for me.
"The cart is ash wood, sire," he reported, handing over my book and writing supplies. I considered his delivery for a moment.
"You're pretty good at this," I praised. Graggle bowed but held an expression of contempt.
"The old boss selected his officers based on blood rather than merit. For this reason, the full scope of my," he cleared his throat. "The capabilities of individuals of talent were often entirely overlooked. I will not say this was almost as destructive to our goals as his propensity for wanton murder, but I do not deny it is a factor in my immediate support of you, Dark Prince." He finished with a bow. Briefs was chuckling to himself.
"I prefer it that way, Graggle," both of my companions looked up at my words, so I elaborated. "I've worked with all sorts over the years, and I've found guys who are upfront about what material gain they're after are oddly more dependable than those operating out of, say, loyalty or sense of duty."
"It's not universal, but I've seen plenty of people who did their work for vague reasons suddenly bail for equally vague reasons like their perceived loyalties shifting."
"On the flip side, someone just after money or recognition is trustworthy, so long as you keep them paid or praised."
"Of course, personally, the fun comes from figuring out how little you can give them and get away with it," I finished with a laugh. Golly gee, that blood and moonlight cocktail sure had me frisky. I knew it was never a good idea to say that part aloud, especially in front of the guys who could reasonably expect to be the targets of such schemes.
Fortunately, my companions seemed to appreciate the sentiment, giving understanding, almost reverent nods.
"A politician, and a toady; of course they'd agree," I thought.
The Diamond Dogs around and inside the town hall lurched to attention as I approached. I spied and beckoned Twitch from among the crowd.
"Twitch, pick a few boys you trust and get after the deserters," I pat him on the shoulder. "Tell them they're free to leave Woollachia, but if they kidnap any more Sheep, or try to hole up somewhere here, I'll find out and come for them. Got that?" I then addressed the whole crowd.
"Same for all of you. You're free to leave, but don't you dare try to cause trouble in these parts, understand?" The dogs all called in the affirmative, and Twitch turned to start choosing the boys he'd need. I pulled his attention back to me, however.
"I'm trusting you the same way I trust Graggle, so don't make me regret it," I demanded in a low voice. I didn't cast a reflection, but the look on his face told me plenty about how I looked: dreadful and terror-inspiring. I clapped him on the back and let him carry on. "I want you to report back by sundown." Twitch nodded harder.
"You count on me, Master! No worries!" He affirmed before loping off to choose his agents. I addressed the crowd again.
"For now, anyone choosing to stay needs to speak with Graggle or me before you do anything more complicated than getting food or water," I explained. One raised his paw.
"Bathroom?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.
"Anything more complicated than going to the bathroom, or getting food or water," another paw. "Or sleeping," and another. "OR talking."
Graggle snickered as he and the mayor crossed the threshold into the building. Seeing the dogs all nodded in understanding, I turned to follow and stopped dead at the door.
Something about the situation made my heart sink. I felt my breathing become shallow, and my palms were sweaty. My knees felt like they were about to give out, and my eyes were unfocused.
"Master, are you well?"
What in the world could.. God damn it.
"Do you also live here?"
"Er, yes?" Briefs replied. "My quarters are in the back," I clenched my teeth into an angry smile.
"May I come in?" Graggle and the mayor glanced at each other nervously.
"Yes?"
"Thank you," I whispered and stepped inside. Right in the fucking book, first chance I got.
The interior was largely vacant, with all furniture or decoration roughly piled in a corner. The floor has loose bits of wool littered everywhere, likely shed from the stress of the situation.
Briefs brought us to a cozy little office that had escaped the same treatment. His desk still had pens, papers, and an oil lamp, chairs were still in place, the curtains drawn, and the clock on the wall still ticked away.
He offered Graggle a chair but due to my larger size, granted me the entire sofa against his wall, which I pulled closer to his desk. Once we were all seated, he composed himself and spoke.
"Now, Mr. Harlow, as you have sway over the Diamond Dogs by right of force, even bearing in mind those who've absconded, you effectively have control of potentially the largest military body in Woollachia, perhaps even in part of Trotsylvania," he leaned into his chair. "If you so wished, you could easily dominate this territory uncontested."
"With only fifty?" I asked in surprise. He nodded. "Are there no police or guards?"
"Perhaps you've heard of the Longhorns?" I shook my head, and he continued. "They were a breed of our species enriched with magic. Their horns grew long, and they could cast spells through them."
"Naturally, they became something of a magical aristocracy within the four villages, but this was not enough. They desired to expand their influence and transform Woollachia into a great principality."
"Ah hah!" Graggle interrupted. "We have heard of these creatures but merely knew them as Rams in our books."
"Well, any he-sheep is a ram just as any she-sheep is a ewe, my good hound," the Mayor said with a chuckle. "It just so happens that only rams could grow to become Longhorns, so outsiders writing of them likely couldn't make the distinction." Graggle nodded, now thoroughly interested, and I scratched my chin.
"What happened to them?" I asked.
"Well, you probably know that they invited the Equestrians in to help develop the land," we nodded. "Once the roads and Castle Ramstead were complete, and the powers of the Longhorns seemed to be at their peak, they broke their pact with Princess Celestia of Equestria."
"What pact was that? And who's Celestia?"
"She's the ruler of Equestria, Master. The Pony Princess I mentioned earlier," Graggle explained. "And she has been such for at least a thousand years." That was a shock.
"She also raises the sun with her magic," Briefs added. That was worse.
"Oh, that's just a rumor," Graggle laughed, but Briefs shook his head.
"No, no! The Elders of the four villages kept detailed accounts!" Briefs reached into a drawer and fished out an old book he gave to Graggle. "The pact she made was one of friendship and trade, nothing more. She's the type of creature to foster the providence of her allies, so assisting the development of this land was natural to her."
"Hm, and so the breaking of such a pact, formed in benevolence, was quite treacherous," Graggle noted, skimming a few pages.
"And, of course, it's no surprise that when news arrived that they'd murdered her agents to fuel their spells, she was quite cross," Briefs chuckled. Graggle sat pondering a particular passage.
"What is meant by the curse of the woods?" He asked, still studying the page.
"That was their ultimate weapon, or so they believed," Briefs explained, now pulling a map of Woollachia for Graggle to study. "The forest was enchanted to repel or destroy any who entered, who was not a Sheep."
"And Celestia simply flew over it," They shared a laugh before turning to me.
"Master?"
"Is he okay?"
She moves the sun.
Sick.
Ballin', even.
My favorite, how'd you guess?
She's going to fucking murder me.
"Master?" Graggle shook me back to reality.
"Very good!" I snapped to attention, spooking Graggle. "What happened then?" The two of them shared a look before Briefs continued.
"Well, once the Longhorns were defeated, the Equestrians met with our leaders outside the forest," Briefs explained, pointing to the edge of the map in Trotsylvania. "The Princess was willing to continue trade with us, but could no longer feasibly offer direct support while the curse lingered."
"The Boss believed the curse was a myth, and when we safely crossed into Woollachia, it seemed he was right," Graggle said.
"Well, it was only the Longhorn's power keeping it alive, after all," he said with a grim smile. "And after all this time, the last of their number beyond the mountains must have finally dropped dead."
"She didn't kill them all?" I asked, with more hope in my voice than I intended.
"Princess Celestia is known for her mercy, Mr. Harlow," Briefs said.
Mercy is good! Even the guys who stabbed her in the back got to live!
"I can make this work," I thought to myself, barely aware of the continued conversation.
"Regardless, this does lead me to the point of this meeting, Mr. Harlow," Briefs said, slamming his hoof on the desk to get my attention. "We in Woollachia have relied on that cursed forest to defend us for all these years, and now it is gone." He rose and walked around his desk to me.
"But here you are," he made a sweeping gesture to me. "A small army, ready to go, supernatural power in your veins, and some capability for managing creatures, I assess."
He climbed on the sofa and looked me in the eyes.
"I humbly request you use these gifts to unite all of Woollachia under your banner."
I blinked.
"You fucking what?" He blanched at my language but nodded.
"Woollachia has remained disjointed for fifty years, and despite my best attempts, the Mayors and Elders of the other villages refused to make an effort to coalesce into a proper state," he hopped down and paced the floor. "One nation, operating towards the same providence, with a proper defense force, and not just dying sorcery!" He whipped around and pointed at me.
"I believe you are an answer to a hope many of my less convicted kin keep hidden. A hope for a second chance at something truly glorious!" He stood on his hind legs and swept his forelegs through the air. "Woollachia, as was meant to be!"
Graggle applauded, but I raised a finger to protest. Then, a knock came at the door. The Mayor turned and opened it.
"Oh, hello, Frill!" He said with a smile. A ewe carrying a covered basket in her mouth entered the office, wearing a full dress with puffy sleeves, and two long strands of wool from her head done into braids. She saw me and quickly set the basket at my feet, before curtsying and galloping away before Briefs could say anything more.
Fucking adorable.
"Well, how's that?" Briefs said with a laugh as he shut the door. "Seems some of our townsfolk have taken a liking to you!"
I smiled.
"All proof positive you're perfect for the job!"
I frowned. Rolling my eyes, as he continued to pitch the idea to me, I pulled the cloth from the basket to see what was-
"Hurk-" I gagged and dropped the cloth, catching the attention of Graggle and Briefs. Graggle hopped down to retrieve the basket, and before I could object, he threw the cloth away.
"Ah! Quite a gift!" He praised. Briefs joined him, and they began sifting through the contents.
Fresh fruit, a bottle of wine, some flowers, cheese of some description, and a freshly baked, sliced loaf..
Of garlic bread.
"What's the problem, Peter?" Briefs asked as he set everything out on his desk. I shook my head, trying not to vomit from the smell, and pressed a fist to my lips. Briefs nodded. "I understand now."
Graggle, gnawing at a slice of the offending treat, and I watched as he retrieved three glasses from under his desk.
"I could tell you were on the fence, but seeing this act of gratitude must have struck your heart, right?" My watering eye twitched. Graggle gasped.
"Tears, Master?" He offered me the cloth, which itself reeked. I waved my hand.
"So!" Briefs said, pouring the wine. My foot was anxiously tapping. "Perhaps we can have a toast to your new realm, Prince Peter?"
"Fuck this." I thought and leaped from my seat.
"Great! Wonderful!" I rushed for the door, sweeping my cape dramatically to shield me from the smell. "We'll do it after handling the deserters! Good night!" Graggle and the Mayor cheered, clinking their glasses.
"Master, have a drink!" I will fucking-
"Sorry, I er- never drink-" I paused with a breath to avoid spewing. "Wine."
I practically flew from the office, nearly screaming.
Even sitting in my lair, steeped in darkness far from light and hope, which is to say 'the janitor's closet,' I could sense the day had come. I added this to the book.
For the past few hours, apart from the occasional visit from Graggle or Briefs, I'd been filling my journal with everything I could think of or discovered relating to vampires.
Obvious stuff like sunlight, garlic, and ash wood, but also more obscure things I remembered reading, like wolf's bane, mustard seeds, or scattered rice, also went in the book. It didn't matter how far-fetched or stupid it was; if I remembered it had something to do with vampires, I wrote it down. Once night fell, and I'd dealt with my upcoming duties, I'd see about confirming any of these.
There were other problems on my mind, too.
It'd been an hour at least since I'd last had a visitor, and left to my thoughts, I was finally getting nailed by my situation.
It wasn't just I was a vampire now. I was in God knows where with talking animal people like from some fairy tale, and no way to call home. I didn't bother thinking I was hallucinating or dreaming. Having your skull beat in by a Diamond Dog is an experience I felt confident the brain wasn't able to conjure up on a whim.
Though it added to my anxiety about everything, I was taking it all at face value.
This was real; this was happening. And in maybe eight hours or so, I had an engagement with the government of Woollachia.
Graggle had informed me Twitch returned with good news. Many deserters relented upon hearing my terms and returned to us, raising our numbers to sixty-three. Those still unsettled by what they'd seen me do to Boss had left the region entirely as requested.
Mayor Briefs had also reported that he'd received word from his peers in the other villages, and having it confirmed that a warband had nearly overthrown the place, they were willing to at least meet with the prospective Prince of Woollachia and discuss unification.
I groaned deep and stretched my aching arms and body. Too many things were in motion for me to take back my hasty agreement to the Mayor's scheme, so I had little choice but to add running a rough military to my list of issues.
I rested my head against the wall and shut my eyes, mulling everything over.
Thunk
Well, that got my attention. I sprung up and reached for the door. As there was a skylight, I couldn't spare more than a peak. My poor choice of hiding places was overshadowed by my hand passing right through the doorknob.
Looking down at my hand, I discovered the source of the noise. It was just me. My body was vacantly leering as though I had died.
Good. Genuinely, I couldn't help but laugh.
Part of what kept me from panicking was the fact I could feel my connection to my body, like when your arm falls asleep and you can't move it right. With a little mental focus on that connection, I blinked and found I'd snapped back to my body. I quickly wrote 'sleep equals ghost' before closing my eyes again.
As expected, I was floating above my body again. Unsure of what else to do, I gently pressed against the door and passed right through. I was pleased with myself until I realized I was in the sun's rays.
Seizing up, I relaxed once I discovered nothing was happening. My faintly ethereal arms and legs weren't smoking, my face wasn't burning, and even as I looked up at the morning light, I found it almost tolerable to behold.
"Nice," I proclaimed.
"Who goes there?!" I jumped and turned to see Graggle with a stack of books looking about. "I could have sworn.. Must be exhaustion." He waddled off to his temporary quarters. I kept silent and carried on exploring as a ghost.
It was better than letting my anxious mind eat away at me.
Wandering around in daylight should have been a casual experience, but the fact no one could see me if I kept quiet transformed it into a titillating expedition.
The Diamond Dogs and Sheep were actually mingling, likely as Briefs had given a speech earlier announcing our plans to defend Woollachia with the dogs, and the villagers trusted everything their Mayor said. Well, almost all of them.
I spied Cozy, walking to Shawl's office with a basket. Briefs had spoken with her, and she was less than enthused about the idea of me staying in town, let alone rising to rule. I followed her into the doctor's home and realized after we'd made it to where Quilt sat speaking with Shawl, that I'd never been invited inside.
"Convenient," I thought to myself. Cozy and Quilt hugged after the former set her basket on the latter's bed.
"Shawl said you were feeling better, but wowie! Just look at you," Cozy said sweetly.
"Yeah, I had lots of weird dreams, but everything's good now," Quilt said with a brief smile before looking more severe. "Where's the monster?"
"He's in town hall with the Mayor. He's been there since last night," Shawl explained, finishing some papers.
"Briefs' gone crazy! He's planning to help that horrible creature take over!" Cozy cried. "He even told me not to tell anywooly what he did to you!"
"Well, he did help the whole town and," Quilt looked to the floor. "It wasn't that bad. Shawl said he didn't mean to, right?" Cozy groaned in response.
"I'm not sure if that makes it better. You didn't see how he sprang out of the dark the way he did. If that was an accident, something he couldn't control?" Cozy shuddered.
"The Mayor told me they'd be discussing that at the meeting later tonight, when the other village heads arrive," Shawl said, taking a seat with the others. "Briefs might be eager, but he's not an idiot. I don't think he'd willingly put the village at risk."
"And I don't think the monster's a bad thing," Quilt said, earning a look from her friends. "He came from the mountains, after all."
"Oh yeah, you said something like that when we were looking for a hiding place," Cozy muttered. "What was it again?"
"Grandpa used to tell me the mountains were magic, and our family would be safe there."
"Your Grandpa wasn't a Longhorn," Cozy said, tilting her head.
"Nope, but," Quilt looked away in my direction with a small smile. "He knew a thing or two about magic.."
She held her gaze, and I realized she was looking me in the eyes.
"Good morning, Peter," I heard faintly.
"Nah," I said and rushed outside, ignoring the calls of shock in the office. I literally flew back to the town hall and my body and sat hovering in the dark.
"See you soon," I heard again. I slipped into my body and wrote in large script, on an entire page, "Quilt is a Witch???" while wondering if keeping a crucifix on my person would cause seizures.
The hours ticked by quietly, and a knock came at my door. The noise brought the realization I'd drifted from my unconscious body again, and after I jumped back, I wrote 'daylight hours are sleepy.'
Opening the door, I saw Briefs looking up with a broad smile.
"Well, the sun's down! Everywooly's waiting in the conference room."
"Good evening to you too," I smiled and gestured for him to lead. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw through a window Sheep gathered outside, but my attention fell on Quilt, who was staring right back.
"Finish up so we can chat~"
"Fuck off," I mentally called back.
"Meanie.." She turned and vanished into the crowd. Problems for later.
Briefs led me to a room lit up by the moon through a skylight, where seven Sheep sat quietly talking around a long table. Hearing us enter, they went quiet and gave us their attention.
"And here we are, rams and lambs!" Briefs announced. The group studied me carefully, whispering to each other in specific pairs. Brief earlier explained that each village in Woollachia had a Mayor and a town council. The council was formed from the members of their communities chosen by the Mayor, and the Mayor was one of six candidates presented by the previous Mayor, chosen for the office by the council. The Sheep present were the Mayors, and individual council members selected by their peers to be present.
As Briefs had called for this meeting, he was sat at the head of the table, next to Silk, the Ruffleton council representative. He gestured for me to sit at the opposite end of the table, where his office sofa was set.
"Peter Harlow," Briefs began. "These are the delegates from Buttonburg, Patches, and Threadbare." He gestured to each party as he named them.
"Hello," I said with a wave. "Please to meet you all, despite how weird this has to be for you."
"Friendly for a monster," the Mayor of Patches said to my surprise. She waved off my reaction. "Don't give me that look. Briefs told us what your dog, Graggle I think, had discussed with him."
"We know you're some kind of monster, and if that in and of itself were a deal breaker, we wouldn't be here," the Council-ewe next to her added. "We're desperate and scared but not stupid, Mr. Harlow."
"Honestly, I'm just glad Briefs is presenting someone other than himself to head this 'Unified Woollachia' of his," the Council-ram from Threadbare scoffed. The others at the table voiced their agreement to Briefs' annoyance. I moved to speak but was cut off.
"We must set one thing straight before anything further, however," the Mayor of Buttonburg said, leaning on the table. "What exactly do you plan to do if we should grant our endorsement?"
"What do you mean?" I asked back. Buttonburg nodded.
"You've likely noticed our folk are, by and large, very easily led, Mr. Harlow," I gave an assenting shrug. "If we announce our support of you, the Sheep of Woollachia will take it to heart. Our endorsement is a practical transfer of power."
"Briefs has faith you have our best interest at heart, and your recent actions support that belief," Threadbare added. "He also said you prefer those working with you be upfront with their wants. In this case, we would ask for the same consideration."
I pondered the question for a moment.
"Beyond the obvious of directing the Diamond Dogs to ward off trouble, and probably shacking up in that spooky castle?" I closed my eyes and thought. I strained my brain and came up empty-handed. I would have preferred to refuse, but it was pretty obvious it was too late for that.
I could've lied and played up some evil scheme or something to get them to call it all off, but that wouldn't help anyone besides myself. And I was already enough of a blood-sucking parasite without-
Oh, shit, that's right.
My eyes snapped open, and I looked over the group.
"I'm not interested in dragging you into a war or anything like that. Honestly, I'll be happy just knowing I'm keeping things peaceful around here. But," I leaned in, and they mirrored my movement in interest. "I have some.. feeding concerns I have to make clear."
"What, you eat meat? We guessed that from those awful teeth of yours," the Mayor of Threadbare quipped with a roll of her eyes.
"I drink blood, lady," I clarified. The color in her face drained, and the rest of the table gasped. "And not by choice or for fun. It's a necessity for me now."
I let that fact hang in the air so they could digest this news and its implications. I relaxed in my seat and looked up at the moon.
"I might've had a lot on my mind the past few nights, but I think I can stomach what Briefs is suggesting," I let my gaze fall upon the group. "But if we're going to work together, we need to find a way to keep me fed without killing anyone."
The delegates shared a look before collectively sighing and exchanging words of relief.
"Disgusting, but not as bad as I thought," Threadbare said with a shake of her head. It was my turn to look shocked.
"'Scuse you?" I squeaked. She cast me a smug grin.
"We can get you blood. Buttonburg raises hens by the score, and there are wild wolves in Trotsylvania we could pay to have captured," she brushed her shoulder with a hoof before leveling a critical stare. "If that's really the most you expect in return, that's pretty cheap, I'd say."
"I thought he was going to ask for a virgin sacrifice every month!" The Mayor of Patches cried before laughing.
"Same! Thank the Maker.." The council-ram from Buttonburg added. They fell into sharing all the horrible nightmare stories they'd conjured up about me.
"Hey!" I yelled, causing them all to jump.
"What?"
"What do you mean 'what'?" I stood up. "You're acting like this is just some cost of doing business! I'm a vampire, damn it! I burn in the sun, I drink blood, I'm a night-lurking monster who eats people!"
"And fifty years ago, the Longhorns used blood to weave curses and death magic," Threadbare scoffed. "The only thing surprising about you is you're polite and willing to negotiate."
"We didn't get voted into our positions by being spooked easily, Mr. Harlow," Buttonburg said with a smile. "We can assess the costs and risks of these things. And unlike most Sheep, we know of the dangers associated with something like you."
"Are you going maul anyone if we keep you fed?" Threadbare asked.
"No?"
"Good enough! We've got borders to defend!" At that declaration, I looked to Briefs, who wore a meager but very self-satisfied smile, at me. I sank into my seat.
"Now, I want to put your hold on those dogs to the test," Threadbare began. Her council-ewe pulled some papers from her bag and placed them on the table. "I have a shipment for the Trotsylanian tradepost on hold since we discovered the curse was vanishing. If your dogs can safeguard it, you'll have my endorsement."
The other delegates looked over the documents before they finally arrived at me. I skimmed them briefly before passing them on. It was general mumbo jumbo about expected returns, dates, and the names of those involved.
"Sure," I huffed. The delegates exchanged a few more words before Briefs stood and addressed me.
"This has been very productive! Thank you for attending, Mr. Harlow. You can retire for the evening." I stared vacantly at him before waving to the table and leaving the room.
"I drink blood, ooooh!" Lace of Threadbare mocked once the door shut. "Honestly! You did tell him about the Longhorns?"
"It came up," Briefs confirmed, signing his name before sliding the treaty over. "Of course, I might've failed to mention what they kept in the mountain to throw at Celestia."
"Good! He's very amusing, but we should keep that from him," Cap from Buttonburg added his signature. "He's just as likely to spread the word of what else happened fifty years ago."
"Can't have that, not after we worked so hard to keep it under wraps," Lace agreed.
"Take heart, lambs and rams!" Briefs declared, producing the unfinished wine from the previous night. "We now have a fall ram, in the event our former benefactor should take exception to our plans."
"Hear, hear!"
I leaned against the closet door, bewildered by what I'd just experienced. I went in expecting screams and insults, but they were the ones who seemed insulted. My gut told me something was amiss, but I was almost light-headed from everything, and before I could stop and collect my thoughts, something bit my hand.
Looking down, I saw Quilt staring up at me.
"I think it went pretty well," she said with a smile. I sighed and pushed off the wall.
We walked to Briefs' office and locked the door. I sat on the desk while Quilt got comfortable in one of the chairs. Silence reigned for a few minutes.
"Nice to finally meet you," she finally said sweetly.
"Save it. What are you, and what do you want?" I demanded. She flinched.
"What do I want?"
"You planning to blackmail me? Cause I think the Mayor has my back." She looked dazed and shook her head before fixing me with an incredulous glare.
"What?" I asked. Her jaw dropped.
"Do you not even know?" I shrugged, and she stammered before standing up. "I used my bell to call you to save the village and let you feed on me to seal the contract. I'm bound to you now!" Bitch, you what?
"Nuh-uh."
"Yeah huh! That's how demons and demonic undead work! Like nosferatu," she snarled this last point at me, and I swear her eyes lit up.
I felt fear for the first time at one of these fluffy things.
"Sorry, I didn't know," I threw my hands up, leaning far back from the vicious creature. She glared for a hard minute, and her breathing came out in little growls.
"What kind of tartarus-spawn are you?"
"I'm not? I was human before I was a vampire," I explained. She blanched.
"The heck's a human?"
"What I used to be?" was the wrong response.
"Shut up!" She snarled, and her eyes flashed red. This time, at least, she paced away from me. "This doesn't make any sense! Negative energy lifeforms come from Tartarus. By their very nature, they comprehend the intent of the spell that conjures them. Did I get the ritual wrong?!"
She fell into a string of words I couldn't understand but which sounded very learned in what I assumed was magic. Phrases like 'thaumic mind directing' and 'hematomantic soul binding' were thrown around, but only made her angrier. She finally rolled onto the ground and let out a hiss before going still.
"I need a flipping drink," she groaned. Quiet again held sway over the room.
"Well, I'm the Prince of Woollachia or something, so I think I can make that happen," I offered, hoping to soothe the seething ewe. She looked up at me with disdain before smiling angrily.
Even though nothing was publicly official yet, Powder, the barkeep, was pleased to accommodate my request, granting Quilt and me a private booth in the back of his bar, and Quilt a tall mug full of some local brew she took to like a fish to water. All on a tab I told him to slip the Mayor's way.
I glanced around the room to be sure no one could hear us. Luckily, the few other patrons were all engrossed in their own private talks.
Halfway into her mug, she sighed and leered angrily at me.
"Alright, shoot," she muttered. I drummed the table as I thought up which point to hit first.
"What did you mean by 'used your bell to call me up'?" I asked. She grumbled and took another quick swig.
"Grandpa taught me how summoning rituals worked, and I was desperate," she said, resting her head on the table. "You can summon unholy things with magic items like the bell Grandpa left me. If you're careful you can contract them to do a job for you."
"Like saving the village?" I proposed. She confirmed with a nod.
"When Cozy and the others showed up in the cave, I'd finished most of the prep work, so I played it all off that I was hiding. Wasn't that hard to finish the rest from there," she stretched and glared at me. "But now I dunno if I even did it right." I shrugged.
"I've been wondering how I got here myself, let alone the vampire business," I sighed, drumming the table again. "Is there anything you can do to know for sure?" She returned my shrug.
"Maybe. I'd need some hard-to-come-by reagents to work with."
"Prince of Woollachia, remember?"
"True!" She beamed for the first time in the last thirty minutes, and I saw a plan forming in her head. "Okie dokie, I'll make a list and get back to you." She happily sipped from her mug as I studied her.
"So, your granddad taught you all this?" She smiled and nodded. "And you've been keeping all this witchcraft from your friends, huh?" Her expression shifted.
"Don't say it like that," she hissed, staring into her drink. "I love Cozy and the others, and I only did the ritual because of that. I'm not some skulking witch or Longhorn wannabe. They just.. wouldn't understand any of it. Nowooly does anymore."
Seeing her expression fall and hearing the sad tone of her voice hurt worse than when Boss had split my skull. Then she snickered.
"You really aren't a demon, huh?" She looked up at me with a grin. "Feeling guilty just for making a ewe sad is about as far from demonic as it gets." I blinked at her assessment.
"You're going to need to explain that too," I demanded. "The telepathy and shit."
"Mhm, like I said, I bound myself to you when you drank my blood," she wore a defeated look as she spoke. "That's the only part of the ritual I'm certain worked right." She groaned and slid back in her seat.
"And that means we can hear each other's thoughts?" I grimaced. She hummed in response.
"You can hear me when I call," she stuck her tongue at me. "I can hear you because you don't know how not to call." I groaned.
"Anyway to reverse all of it?"
"One of us has to kill the other," she leered at me. "Or you can turn me into a vampire."
"Neither sounds very appealing, but!" I whipped out my journal. "How exactly does turning work?" She raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"You drain my blood again and let me drink yours," she explained. "The transfer to the victim is important. If they die from the feeding, they turn into a ghoul."
"Hard to turn someone by accident then. Good," I sighed in relief. Then I glanced up. "Ghoul?" Quilt nodded, finishing her drink.
"Drain a body completely, and they'll rise from the dead the night after as a ghoul. Like a nosferatu, but weaker and completely wild."
"Neat. Good to know," I added that to the book. Quilt tapped her mug absently, and I flagged down the waiter. We sat in quiet while he fetched her a fresh drink.
..
"Oh shit," I said in realization.
"Oh scruff," she said at the same time.
"Me name Boss! Me big dumb idiot who got eated to death!" Latch mocked with an exaggerated dance in the torchlight to the delight of his co-conspirators. He and his brothers, Mulch and Gravel, had been waiting months for something like this. Now that the sun had set, they had free time to dance on the old boss' grave.
"Oh! I Boss! I kill packmates, 'cause I no get laid!" Mulch japed, puffing his chest out.
"Only laid in ground when dead!" Gravel howled. The three of them fell atop each other with laughter.
At Graggle's orders, they'd dumped Boss in a shallow pit off the side of the road. Anyone passing by wouldn't even notice a burial had taken place, just as ordered. Graggle said the fool didn't deserve anything better. The three brothers agreed.
Boss had killed plenty of Diamond Dogs either by his own paws or by giving authority to idiots like Maw. Before coming to Woollachia, they'd gotten into dozens of skirmishes with the pony guards on ill-advised raids, which led to Latch's cousin getting run through.
Ever since, he and his brothers had sworn they'd have a get-together to celebrate the callous bastard's death, quite literally dancing on the spot they'd dumped him.
Then, a low creaking growl filled the air, and their capering ceased.
Turning to the noise from where they lay, they watched the roughly packed earth split apart and saw the empty sockets of Boss' eyes leering up at them as the dead dog clawed his way out of the ground.
"It Mulch's idea," Latch said with a confirming nod from Gravel.
"How do we kill him?" I asked Quilt, who I held firmly under my arm as I raced for town hall.
"Stab him with ashwood, then cut his head off and burn the rest," she said with a groan, trying desperately not to hurl as she bounced in my grip.
"What do I cut his head off with?"
"Ashwood brings the dead to earth, neutralizing their immortality. Anything will do if you've got him pinned with a spike of the stuff," she looked up at me. "Or you can feed him your blood and make him your slave."
"Noted, but not happening!" I declared as I leaped over Briefs and the other delegates as they were leaving.
"Peter? What in the world-" he called out.
"Explain later!" I yelled back, sprinting towards Graggle's door, which I crashed through with my shoulder.
"Hyeek! Who-" Graggle shrieked, tumbling from his bed. I yanked him up with my free hand.
"Where'd you bury Boss?" I said, shaking him when he gave me a dazed look.
"West road, near the path we came in on. Unpaw me, you lunatic!" I let him drop back in his bed and tore out of the hall. There was now a small gathering outside of dogs and sheep, first to hear what the Mayor had to say, but now to question why I was sprinting back and forth.
As I plowed through the crowd, I snatched an axe from one of the dogs.
"Hey! That mine!" He wailed. "New boss a thief!"
"I'll bring it back!"
"Don't forget the ash wood," Quilt muttered.
"He's got Quilt again!"
"Scruff," she muttered again. I looked over my shoulder to see Cozy galloping after us.
"Let her go!" Cozy screamed.
"I'll bring her back too!"
"Cozy! Help! He's got me!" Quilt screamed, thrashing in my grip.
"TRAITOR," I hissed.
"Scruff yourself. I've got a reputation to worry about," she mentally chided.
"Help! He got Latch!"
"NO, I DON'T!" I screamed, looking ahead to see a pair of Diamond Dogs sprinting towards me. In the moonlight beyond, I saw a third struggling on the ground with the ghoulified Boss.
"Sick, I've never seen one in real life!" Quilt thought between cries for help. I dropped her, eliciting a satisfying squawk as she hit the ground, and charged at the ghoul.
As if sensing my approach, he snapped his attention up at me, his fangs inches from the face of his victim. His empty eye sockets lit up with a red glow, and he bounded towards me.
"Good luck. Ghouls remember how they died," Quilt informed me while hugging it out and crying with Cozy.
"Fucking-" was all I could say before we crashed into each other. A vicious struggle erupted as, despite my greater strength, Ghoul Boss' feral rage made holding him off a challenge.
I had his jaws pinned with my axe, but his arms and legs flailed and battered me hard and frequent enough to unbalance me, and he quickly threw me aside before leaping onto me and trying to gnaw my throat out.
That was, of course, part of the challenge we shared. Despite both being undead monsters, his teeth and claws couldn't cut my flesh, and my fist beating on his head couldn't hurt him. The only progress we found came from our raw strength being able to toss each other around.
Fixing my feet against his torso, I flexed and kicked him into the air. As he fell with a gurgling hiss, I swept the axe across his chest with a roll, which sent him tumbling long enough for me to snap to my feet.
"Ashwood, genius," Quilt reminded me, watching in faux horror with Cozy in a tight hug. The crowd was also observing in terror, hiding behind the spear line of the Diamond Dogs.
"GRAGGLE!" I screamed as Ghoul Boss tackled me back to the ground and started throttling me and slamming my head into the ground.
"Master, what in the world?!" Graggle called, slipping forward from the crowd.
"Ash- Ash- Ashwood! Now!" I finally barked out between having my face slammed into the dirt, managing to wrestle Ghoul Boss off of me, and throwing him to the ground, getting kicked in the teeth for my troubles.
"Ashwood? Oh!" Graggle reached into his vest pocket and pulled the same piece he'd collected the night before. "Master! Catch!"
He sent it sliding down the street to us, and I flung myself forward to grab it. Right as I had a grip, Ghoul Boss hurled me through the air by the ankles and jumped after me once I'd hit the dirt.
Rolling onto my back, I stabbed the wood shard forward and caught him in the stomach, earning a baleful shriek as he collapsed atop me. I kicked him up again, but this time as I swept my axe into him, his head went rolling.
Clamoring to my feet, I watched with my axe held high as his body spasmed and then went still. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and looked at the shocked faces of the crowd.
"Burn the leftovers, or he'll get back up once that stake's out," Quilt again reminded me.
"Graggle, build a fire. We have to cremate him."
"You're welcome," Quilt called.
"Scruff yourself," I called back.
The fire of Boss' pyre cast the field outside Ruffleton into a warm glow, which did nothing to offset the horrendous smell that filled the air. Once it was clear the corpse wouldn't spring up, Latch, his brothers, and I returned to the town, where Briefs and the other leaders were giving some speech to calm the populace.
"And for the second time since arriving, he has placed our safety ahead of his wellbeing, hurling himself headlong into danger for our sakes!" Briefs declared.
Okay, or he could be hyping me up to the Sheep. That worked, too.
"It's soothing anyhow," Quilt called out.
"Brilliant."
"And so, as I told you all this morning, we will be taking measures to better enable our new guardian to protect us! We will be unifying the four villages again for the first time in decades, coalescing Woollachia into a proper state once again!" He swept his foreleg towards me. "A proper state, under Prince Peter Harlow!"
The crowd murmured, and a few began stamping their hooves.
"That's a good thing," Quilt informed me. I spied her hugging Cozy, who saw me and leveled an angry glare my way. But as she did, something Quilt said made her scrunch her snout up and look away.
Briefs beckoned me to the front of the crowd.
"Let's hear a few words from the ram himself!" He and his fellows stepped to the side, placing me front and center. Turning, I was met with the expectant faces of the crowd. I took a breath and gathered my thoughts.
"Briefs and the others have faith in me, and I like to think I haven't let them down," I started, speaking and standing in a way I thought exuded confidence. "And I intend to make that my standard. While this wasn't my intention when I first came here, I promise to do my damnedest to meet and even exceed your expectations of me."
"Wasn't that Diamond Dog the one you killed already?" Someone near the front called out. Uh oh.
"Lingering bad magic from the forest. It's under control now."
"A result of lingering magic from the forest gone sour, nothing more," I repeated with a mighty sweep of my arm. "It's under control now that we've burned him." The Sheep seemed satisfied with that answer.
"Thank you, oh my god." I mentally called to Quilt.
"We've experienced many such tribulations these past few days, but Peter has shown his dedication to seeking out and eradicating threats to our way of life," the Mayor of Threadbare spoke up. "Have faith in us when we tell you all will be well!"
"As always, if anywooly has any concerns, you may come find me in my office! My door is always open!" Briefs announced and carried into a few closing statements. I felt a snag at my leg and saw Threadbare reaching up at me.
"Select a few dogs to guard my caravan, and then get ready to move," she said when I leaned to her. "We want you in Castle Ramstead. It will grant us equal access to you, and will solidify your appearance as sovereign." I nodded.
"Aww, lookit you, moving up in the world," Quilt called as I slipped away to where Graggle was sitting. "Don't leave yet, though!"
"Graggle, I need a few guards sent with the Mayor of Threadbare. They'll be safeguarding a caravan for her."
"Of course, Master. Quite the show you put on, may I say!" He said with a bow.
"Once you've picked our boys, get your things ready. We're heading to the castle," I said as I made my way to town hall.
"Finally! Justice! A post befitting one of my-" Graggle triumphantly hollered before collecting himself with a cough. "Of course, Master."
"I can stall for a bit, so find me at town hall," I called to Quilt.
The Mayor of Threadbare was arguing with Graggle in the conference room about his choice of guards thirty minutes later, which gave Quilt plenty of time to find me sitting in the janitor's closet brooding within my temporary lair.
"How's Cozy?" I asked, rising to my feet as she approached.
"Don't worry, I told her you were trying to apologize for trying to eat me, and you sensed the ghoul pop up, and one thing led to another," Quilt said with a sweet smile. "So, for the most part, she thinks it was just a misunderstanding."
"How'd you convince her of any of that?" I gawped. Her smile vanished.
"I've had to learn a lot of tricks to keep what Grandpa taught me a secret," she said sadly, kicking the ground. "Getting Sheep to believe lies is like second nature to me now."
"She still hates me though, right?" I said to steer the conversation away.
"With a passion," Quilt snorted. "I heard her muttering about ashwood when I left her house."
"Wonderful," I said, leaning against the wall. "So, what did you want?"
"I wanted to have you send somewooly to pick up my things tomorrow," she smiled. "I'm coming with you after all."
"You are?"
"I am," she took a sinister step towards me. "We still have work to do, and I think you could use some tutoring on your own body."
"Kinky. What about Cozy or your other friends?"
"That's why I said tomorrow, silly," she stuck her tongue out at me. "I'll come up with something by then." Seeing my incredulous stare and perhaps sensing my reluctance, she grinned maliciously.
"I could just tell them you threatened to lamb-nap me if I didn't do what you said," she snickered. "If you're gonna make a big deal out of it anyhow." This bitch.
"Fine!" I grumbled. "I'll send for you tomorrow, just don't-"
"No worries!" She gently kicked my leg. "I'll stay up all night thinking up a real doozy of a story. Just for you."
"What are you two talking about?" Quilt squealed and hid beside me, looking out at Briefs. "Ms. Quilt, did I hear right? Are you requesting to join the Prince at Ramstead?"
"Yes!" She replied urgently. "I-"
"She volunteered to join the castle maid staff," I clarified, nodding sagely. "Something about the place needing a cleaning." I leaned to whisper in his ear loud enough for her to hear.
"But, I think she just feels safer around me and is all bashful about it."
"You mother scruffing-" She screeched via our mental link.
"Hoh hoh! I'm pleased to hear our villagers are eager to help you get settled," he chuckled. "And also a wonderful suggestion! I suppose the old place has been left empty for some time! I'll see about sending anywooly else up to assist in the effort." With a tip of his hat, Briefs walked off, and we waved him farewell.
I smiled as my vocabulary of quirky Sheep swears and insults grew three sizes and shades.
-Two days later,-
Braygo Pass, Trotsylvania
The cold spring wind bit deep, as it had built speed coming down from the mountains framing the road. Despite this, Duster waited politely for the Equestrian who'd stopped him on his way from Threadbare to Trotsylvania to finish sizing him up.
"I am here to investigate rumors of the Woollachian forest losing its curse," the Equestrian noble-stallion announced snidely. Duster looked from him to the squadron of guards following him.
"Well, I think I'm allowed to say that's true," the trader looked back at the others who'd surrounded his wagon and had his guards at spearpoint. "But I don't understand what that has to do with us. We're just going to trade at Trotsoviste like usual."
"Why do you have these dogs with you?" The noble demanded.
"Oh! The Prince of Woollachia sent them," Duster said with a smile. "Since the forest isn't magic anymore, we need the protection."
"Prince of Woollachia?" The Equestrian spat, and Duster's ears snapped back. "Woollachia has no prince. Woollachia belongs to Equestria."
Duster shuffled anxiously while his guards adjusted their weapons in their paws.
"You silly little grazers don't have the right to promote or endorse anypony claiming rule over your little valley," he huffed and looked to his guards. "Carry on with your trip, little Sheep. We must pay our foalish vassals a visit to remind them of their place in the grand scheme of things."
"Prince Peter, it is six o'clock!" Frill announced from the library door. By the time she called, I was already back in my body.
"Thank you, Frill," I called back, rising from my chair. "Is Quilt awake yet?"
"Oh no," Frill said with a polite shake of her head, causing her braids to flop about regardless. "She asked me to let her sleep until seven, at least." She scrunched her snout and gently kicked the rug.
"I'm worried she's taking advantage of your generosity, Prince," she looked me in the eyes with genuine concern. "Letting her take your room.. And her friend Cozy says the most awful things about you!" I gently patted her on the head and gave an assuring smile.
"It's fine, little lady. Let's go find Graggle," she smiled and curtsied as we left the room.
Things had flown by in a whirlwind since Graggle and I arrived at Ramstead, followed by Twitch, Latch and his brothers. These last four had requested to attend me, and Graggle had vouched for them.
Just like Briefs had said, the castle had been vacant for years and needed a spring cleaning. Fortunately, as Graggle explained, Equestrian architecture was often enchanted, so aside from the occasional cracked window pane, the need for repairs was practically zero. I was glad to discover that because, besides the fact it meant less work, I could get a look at the place in its full glory.
The walls and battlements rose along the shape of the hill peak, giving the air that it had been carved from an older spire of natural stone and earth, adding to its imposing aura. Despite having four roads leading up the hill, it had only one gate in the forward wall, facing east towards Equestria and the rising sun.
"Laugh it up, bitch," I remember thinking of the princess when we discovered this orientation.
Passing through the gate, I was disappointed by the lack of murder holes or other common defenses found in castles but decided to let it slide when I got a look at the keep.
It shot up like three gothic towers of differing heights, lined with looming, thick pane windows and exterior stone walkways spiraling up their length and framed in the moonlight to look absolutely sinister. To the concern of Graggle and company, I'd thrown my hands in the air and cackled with joy. Turning into an undead monster and getting dumped in god knows where were suddenly all justified, at least for now.
I was a god damned vampire in a god damned vampire castle.
We spent the first night clearing out space for ourselves and our staff, who'd be arriving in the morning. I'd fruitlessly tried to remain awake, so three hours after sunrise, Graggle was left in charge while I collapsed on my new bed. Whoever previously commanded this place must've been pretty important, as their bed was large enough for me.
Drifting around as a ghost, I got a unique and fulfilling tour of the place. The Equestrian withdrawal must have been rushed, because the armory, library, and even the larder were still stocked, though everything in the latter place was beyond rotten. But the real discovery came when I'd passed through the wall of what I'd decided would be my throne room near the entrance and found a hidden vault.
Also still stocked.
I hadn't even seen any of the money Sheep or anyone else used by this point, but there was no denying the value of the coins, gems, and bars piled in that room.
What in the world would compel Celestia to just ditch all this? She could fly and use magic, so surely some kind of repossession was possible?
Well, finder's keepers! All I had to do was figure out where the door was hidden outside.
Still, my worries and reservations about my situation were rapidly shrinking before the boons I was now stumbling into. And this was only the first night!
About an hour and half after I discovered the vault the staff arrived.
A total of ten Sheep, seven ewes to three rams, followed by a train of supplies hauled by Diamond Dogs, rolled through the gate, overseen by Silk from the Ruffleton town council. While the supplies were unloaded and prepped for distribution, I took note of the Sheep who would be working for me.
Of course, Quilt and Frill were present, the latter looking much more engaged with the prospect of working at the castle, while the former noticed me spying on them and slung a few insults my way.
As for the other eight, I only recognized one as she came up the hill: A steely-eyed Cozy, straining under a bulging saddlebag that gave me chills.
"When she heard I was coming to the castle, presumably under duress, she had me help her dig up some lore about monsters." Quilt later informed me. "So she might've figured out a few nonlethal tools to pester you with, which she thinks are lethal."
"I had plenty of time to help last night, too! Since you gave me that lovely 'just wants to be his bashful maid' excuse that Briefs told everywooly."
Thinking on that, as Frill and I continued our walk, I whipped about and caught the crossbow bolt shot at my back.
"HAH!" I yelled, hurling the garlic-poisoned bolt back down the hall.
"Eep!" Cozy cried as she fled into the shadows.
"What was that?!" Frill squealed, having failed to see my assailant.
"Just a little training exercise, that's all," I cackled, nudging her gently before carrying on. It wasn't entirely a lie, either. While the bolt would've only been incrediblypainful, that was enough motivation to keep my guard up.
My guard came in the form of something Quilt taught me, called the Evil Eye. Undead and demons, being only tangentially corporeal, are more sensitive to intent and emotions. So, by focusing on a subject's name and face, they gain a form of precognition about that person. Where they are, how they feel, and what they're about to do.
All very useful for thwarting Cozy's attempts on my life when matched with my sharper senses and physical power. Not that anything she's tried has been life-threatening, more like annoying pranks, but still.
It was lots of fun and good exercise to casually avoid her buckets of sawdust, garlic butter water balloons, and extra polished mirrors thrown at my face and then to watch her flee to some hidden corner of the castle, swearing revenge under her breath. The little lady was persistent and kitted out.
The Evil Eye was only one of the things I'd convinced Quilt to educate me on after her first day here.
She'd laughed in my face when I asked about some of the vampire weaknesses I had in my journal, quite literally climbing onto my lap to laugh even harder at me when I asked about having to stop and count grains of rice.
Running water was legit, however. If a vampire tried to ford or fly over a natural river or the ocean, they'd collapse helplessly into the current and get carried away.
The topic of flight piqued my interest, and she confirmed it was the same power that let me snap up to my feet with more exertion.
The last thing she was willing to talk about before demanding I practice everything she'd divulged was mesmerization. If I could snare someone's gaze with my own, I could hypnotize them. The strength and longevity of this spell depended on the victim's strength of will, and she warned that individuals of substantial willpower might be outright immune.
I'd practiced on Twitch and found that physically drawing his eyes with a beckoning hand helped me pull the trick off. So maybe Lugosi was on to something after all. She failed to explain how to break the spell, so poor Twitch was left mindlessly wandering the castle for an hour. He said it brought him an ethereal sense of peace.
Properly flying was rough, but by sunrise, I could lounge a few feet in the air with no issue. The Evil Eye, meanwhile, was easier to pull off than I'd thought. Once I'd anticipated a knife Quilt threw at the back of my head and thwarted Cozy's first assassination attempt to rescue her friend from the depths of my chamber, Quilt seemed satisfied before she stole my bed, which she claimed as payment for her help.
Before retiring to the library, I'd penned everything down and agreed to have Quilt's cleaning duties handed to someone else. Primarily so she could rest and we could continue training tonight.
Frill and I passed only a few other Sheep as we traveled, namely Bonnet and Knit, who had agreed to join the night shift with Frill, Quilt, and Cozy. The entire castle was now working round the clock, with Graggle leading affairs in the day, and me handling things at night, aided by even teams of Sheep and Diamond Dogs.
That isn't to say much had happened, but it was only our second night now. The worst we'd had to deal with was cleaning the larder and breaking into the vault. As it turned out, Diamond Dogs were naturally talented at digging. We found Graggle in the throneless throne room tallying up our newfound finances, neatly piled around him. His eyes bulged more than usual, and the abacus he'd pinched from Briefs' office clacked at monstrous speed.
"How's it look, ol' top?" I called. His drooling, feral expression when he snapped up at us earned a yelp from Frill, who cowered in my cape.
"Good," he said, almost imperceptibly quiet. "Three time me run math."
Oh.
"You good buddy?" I ask, slowly approaching.
"Good. Many money."
"Wonderful. How about you hit the sack and tell me about it in the morning?" I encouraged, gently propping him up. He wordlessly shambled away, dragging his feet as he went. Frill peeked out from my cloak at him.
"I think that's a good sign, Peter," I patted her head and looked over the pile just as Twitch popped up from behind it.
"Graggle do this before he go crazy," he handed me a roughly handled scroll, bearing Graggle's notes and number conversions.
"That's a lot of zeroes," I whistled.
"What are you going to do with it all?" Frill asked, looking longingly at a necklace. Her question did give me pause. Dad had imparted a very frugal lifestyle upon me, and now that I didn't need food, had kick-ass magic to play with, and a free castle, what did I really want or need?
"Well, for starters," I slipped the necklace she'd been looking at onto her, earning a shocked gasp. "Second, once Graggle's calmed down tomorrow, we'll see what needs doing in Woollachia and can finance it with this. Fix up those roads and the like." I looked at Twitch.
"Plus, this'll kick start something I hadn't had a chance to worry about. Getting you boys and these ladies paid," Twitch gawped at my assertion.
"You share gold? Why?"
"Pragmatism," I said with a wink. "For now, though, let's get this all back in the vault."
"You will not lay a single claw on that treasure," came a posh voice from the doorway.
"Says who?" I called, looking to the source. In came marching a white horse, about the size of a large Sheep, with a blonde mane and a horn of all things. He was dressed in a very fancy-looking uniform and was followed by an armored team of twelve other horses of all colors, carrying spears. None of the others had horns, but one of the females had wings. I was about to demand how they'd gotten inside when I added up that they outnumbered my dogs and were all armed.
"Prince Blueblood of Equestria, nephew and representative of Princess Celestia, sovereign ruler of Equestria and Woollachia, that's who," Blondie declared with a sneer. Yikes.
"Quilt, wake up. We got problems." I mentally screamed, receiving a groan in response. Blondie took a few steps forward, sizing me up.
"So, this is the so-called prince?" he wondered with a snort. "Where do you find the gall to attempt this brazen theft and insurrection?" Fucking aces. I can act fancy too, bitch.
"Frill? Twitch? Please inform the night staff we have guests and prepare a meal for them," I ordered with a sweep of my arm. The two scampered out, and I approached Blueblood. His guards looked at me with a mix of dread and defiance, whereas he held only contempt in his expression.
"Welcome to my home, Prince Blueblood," I said with a bow. "Please, let's find somewhere more comfortable to discuss what I suspect is a vast misunderstanding."
"Very little to discuss! And the only misunderstanding is yours. However, I have had quite a challenging evening. That ewe in Threadbare was insufferable!" He said with a huff.
"I understand your concern, but if the Princess feels we are out of line, she is welcome to-" Lace attempted again before Blueblood stamped a hoof. Again.
"Princess Celestia needn't make an appearance for her authority to be felt or respected. Agents such as myself are more than sufficient to execute her will," he leaned on her desk and gave her a suave smile. "Now! I know memory is difficult for your kind, but I believe if you try hard enough, you can point me right to the tramp behind all this nonsense."
Lace studied him dryly before a ditzy smile spread across her face.
"Oopsie Daisy, my mistake!" She said in a bubbly titter, skipping to her window and pointing to the castle in the distance. "Right up there! I think.. oh gosh.. Anyhoo, he should be awake when you arrive! And I'm sure he'd love to have you for dinner!"
"She had a point, however. The least you can do in compensation is supply me with a decent meal," the prince declared. The most decorated of his guards stepped up.
"Prince Blueblood, we-"
"Yes, yes, Captain Line Holder! And my help as well!" He added, waving off his guard. The captain reluctantly returned to his group with a glance my way before I led their party to what we had selected as the dining area.
"Pardon the mess. We only just arrived and are still tidying up the place," I informed him, noting his disgusted sneer at everything. He said nothing, but I could hear his guards whispering.
"So, this guy's definitely a vampire, right?" A blue one asked.
"That'd be cool.." Another said.
"Hush! Vampires aren't real," the winged mare next to the captain chided. "I think.."
"What other creature dresses like that and lives in a place like this?" Bluey asked again.
"Princess Luna?" The red one tossed in. The others hummed in consideration, but I could feel them eying me with dread. I pulled open the dining room doors and found the Sheep and dogs quickly setting the tables which formed a lovely frame from near the door to the far wall.
"Please give us just a few minutes! Your supper will be ready soon!" Frill called to us from the kitchen door.
"Is this.." I looked to Blueblood, who wore an expression of disbelief. "Is this really your idea of hosting a guest? This place is horrendous!"
I looked over the room. We'd made a special effort to relocate the nicer tables here, and this was, thanks to Frill's hard work, the cleanest public room in the castle. Mulch had even polished the chandelier and replaced its candles, casting the admittedly sparsely decorated room in a warm, comforting glow.
"This is fine for the commoner or the help, but honestly! If you're going to pretend and usurp, you should at least be able to look the part, not present me filth and declare it preeminent!" he cried with a shake of his head. Frill looked at the ground in shame, and Mulch fled the room weeping.
"Okie dokie, we're gonna see how blue your blood really is," I thought.
"If you kill him, Celestia will come incinerate you," Quilt called. "But I got an idea. Bring him to my room to find out if backup's coming."
"You mean, bring him to my room?"
"Literally what I said?Just trust me."
"Why Prince Blueblood!" I said with false shock. "I would never dream of subjecting you to anything less than the utmost of my hospitality! I merely wanted to offer your guests their place first! So that we may tend to your needs and concerns unbothered and alone."
"Oh! Well, you should have said so," Blueblood laughed. "Lead on, then!"
"Prince Blueblo-" the captain tried to speak, but I leaned in.
"Please, I insist," I swept an arm to the table. The captain looked up at me with his ears pressed firmly against his helmet before yielding, followed closely by his team. Closing the doors behind them, I led Blueblood to where Quilt was waiting.
I was shocked to discover the room looking positively stellar, with carefully prepared flower arrangements, fine art, and a brilliant chandelier overhanging a fancy little dining arrangement. In short, it looked nothing like the room she'd stolen from me, and I had no idea where she'd gotten any of it, save the wine at the table. Quilt stood with a demure smile in an actual maid's dress. Blueblood hummed as he appraised the room.
"Better.. Ah, but I suppose I can't be too critical. You are only a pretender governing Sheep, after all," he took his seat and sighed.
"So, Prince Blueblood," I began, standing nearby as Quilt poured him a glass of wine. "You said you represent Princess Celestia of Equestria?"
"I am also her nephew, yes," he said, taking an experimental sip of his wine before grimacing and spitting it onto the floor. I almost didn't notice the glass was levitating. "Terrible. Clean that."
Quilt curtsied and fetched a cloth. Blueblood cleared his throat.
"Of course, news of your treacherous activities hasn't reached her yet," he revealed with a smug sneer. "I intended to allow you to surrender to my authority first. Your reverence so far has convinced me I made the proper decision."
Well, well, well.
"She doesn't know about me?"
"Why would she?" He said with a laugh. "No, I was only in Braygo Pass investigating rumors of the forest losing its curse when I learned of you. She doesn't even know I'm in Woollachia." I laughed in relief.
"Oh boy, we thought you were the vanguard of an invasion or something. Turns out you're just a zealous dumbass." His jaw dropped before getting slapped in the head with a wet rag.
"Scruff you! Mesmerize this chump!" Quilt snarled. The pleasant scenery vanished with a shimmer, melting away and flowing back to her bell. She looked frayed and worn out, with wool flared out in sharp tufts and thick bags under her eyes.
"How dare you!" Blueblood shrieked, leaping from his seat and shaking his soaking mane. "My aunty will have you both in chains, you filthy grazer!"
"Very well, Prince Blueblood," I drew myself up and loomed over him, channeling my best Lugosi. He was unimpressed. "But first, you must know! There are factors and elements at play you cannot even fathom."
"Such as?" He demanded with a defiant glint in his eye. I raised my hand, framing our line of sight.
"Look into my eyes," I demanded.
"Alright!" He obeyed with a glare, taking a step forward as if it was a challenge.
"You are getting slee-" WHAM
He collapsed onto the floor immediately, quietly snoring all the while.
"Oh"
"Awesome, he's an imbecile!" Quilt declared, inspecting him closer. "Mm, y'know everything aside? He's kinda cute.. Let me have him!"
"Silence, familiar! I must put him to a purpose.."
"What is that voice, and WHAT did you call me?" Ignoring her, I planned my commands carefully.
"Blueblood! Awaken and hear me! The voice of your MASTER!" He snorted, shaking himself to his hooves, and looked up at me with adoration.
"Oh yes, Master! What is it? Command me! USE me!" He shrieked and threw himself at my feet, leaving me gobsmacked.
"Woof," Quilt said with a blush. I rubbed my eyes.
"Reel it in, moron," I dragged him back to his hooves. I thrust a commanding finger at him. "You will return to your dear Aunt Celestia! You will assure her everything is good and well in Trotsylvania! You will say nothing to her of your time in Woollachia, and if your guards say otherwise, you will say they merely got spooked by the local stories and superstitions!"
"Then you will come back and be a slave for the cute ewe on my left!" Quilt butt-in mentally.
"Then you will come back and- Ignore that! Do you understand?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes.
"Yes, of course, Master!" He affirmed with adoration in his eyes.
"Excellent! Collect your guards and begone!" He bowed deep and galloped down the hall, leaving us to laugh. Once he was gone, I turned to Quilt, who was brushing her wool with a hoof. "You good?"
"Illusions that big take it outta me, especially since I just woke up," she cracked her neck and sighed. "I'm starving, let's go eat."
"What else did Granddad teach you?" I asked as we slipped out the door. She hummed.
"Illusions, rituals, demon lore, uh," she looked at the ceiling as we traveled. "That's about it, and most of the actual magic comes from my bell." She jingled said bell with her hoof as we walked.
"Still, pretty cool," looking up at me, she smiled before humming in realization.
"We need to check that library for spell tomes by the way," she said, her smile turning smug. "Easy ones for babies, though."
"Why's that?" I queried down to her.
"You might be naturally attuned enough to cast spells," she said with a grin.
"Sick."
"Where is Prince Blueblood?" Captain Line Holder demanded. Quilt and I looked at each other, then back to the captain. The serving Sheep stood to the side, plates of food carefully balancing on their backs as they waited. Save for Frill, who was consoling Mulch.
"Aren't you his guards?" I asked slowly, with an unsure smile from confusion. His ears snapped back again, and he looked to his fellows.
"He- he was with you.." he muttered, stepping back.
"But you're his guards?" I asked again. A few of them shuddered.
"D-.. Don't you get snide with me, villain!" Captain Holder whimpered. Oh god..
"And technically!" Blue suddenly said. "We- we're Princess Celestia's guards! We were just assigned to the prince while he vacationed in Trotsylvania!" He shot me a smug glare. I blinked.
"Vacationed?" I hissed. He blanched.
"Y-yeah?"
"He wasn't even in Trotsylvania.." I dragged my hand down my face. "On her orders?"
"No? He just heard all the spooky stories, and well.." He whimpered. The whole troop huddled closely together, away from me. I looked at Quilt.
"Think it's too late?"
"Oh hoh, he's long gone buddy," she laughed. A few of them gasped, and I drew my hands over my eyes with a prolonged groan.
"Where- where is Prince Blueblood?" The captain demanded again, much quieter than before. I slowly looked down at him and smiled.
"Look into my eyes!" I hastily demanded as I threw my arm into position. A thrown helmet nailed me in the face.
The captain and his company galloped out of the room screaming, nearly trampling Quilt as they fled, leaving their weapons behind.
"Count Broncola's real!" Blue screamed.
"Eat the lieutenant! She's young and tender!" The captain cried.
"Buck you, Holder!" The winged one shrieked.
"Dear Celestia! Blueblood's DEAD!" Another howled.
We stood in shock as their hooves and screams echoed down the halls in all directions. I finally let my arm drop and noticed one was still in the room. He approached me timidly and removed his helmet.
"Wh-" I tried to speak, but he sat down and threw his head back, presenting his neck with his eyes shut and a serene expression.
"I'm ready," he declared with a sigh.
I sat on the dining table, angrily petting Hasty Deference, the happy little pony in my lap who'd surrendered immediately, searching out with my Evil Eye and mentally directing Quilt and the dogs to all the places the guards were hiding.
Hasty was eager to surrender the names of all his fellows, which made spying them out a snap. As it turned out, they had chosen to find hiding places in the castle, so we didn't have much issue rounding them all up.
Blueblood, however, was already tearing through the forest. I rubbed my eyes with a snarl.
"Send someone to alert the other dogs to hunt down and capture Blueblood," I called to Quilt. "I need to redo the hypnosis. On all of them, this time."
"Think we can catch him in time?"
"He's on foot- hoof, whatever. How far could he get?"
-Three Days Later-
Canterlot Castle
"Everything's good and well in Trotsylvania! And if my guards say otherwise, they just got spooked by the local stories and superstitions!" Blueblood chirped, leaning on the table to catching his breath. Princess Celestia and the rest of the ponies present gave him a puzzled look.
"That's.. wonderful sweetheart. But, I asked what happened to your mane? You look positively ragged," Celestia said with concern, rising from her seat to inspect her nephew closer. He looked like he hadn't slept or bathed in days and had been running the whole time.
"Oh, that's fine! Anyhoo, have to be on my way!" Blueblood turned and made for the door.
"Where are you going?" Cadance called after him.
"Oh! Back to the Master in Woollachia, Cousin Caddy. He needs me there to ignore something! Don't tell Aunty Celestia! She's not supposed to know." Then, with a wink, he galloped out of the room, giggling like a lunatic.
The rest of those in the room, namely the four royal alicorns having a tea party when Blueblood burst in, sat in stunned silence.
"Twilight?" Celestia called with a distant stare.
"On it," Twilight affirmed, finishing her tea before dashing out of the room.
I sat upon my recently delivered throne, peering out into the countryside with my Evil Eye.
Two days had passed since I saw Blueblood flee into Canterlot, and two days since he burst into that sitting room, an act that caused my Evil Eye to go blind until sundown.
Whoever was in that room, intentionally or not, didn't feel like having a vampire spy on them. I didn't need it spelled out to guess who that was either.
Before my Evil Eye was healed I had already set the country to high alert. We'd emptied the armory to get every last dog in the region armed and gave the armor to the local smiths for reforging into something our dogs could wear.
After summoning the Mayors and their aids to the castle, we'd discussed defense plans for a potential invasion. Our mutual assumption was if Celestia struck, her focus would be on me and Ramstead, but on the off chance she was feeling spiteful, I approved a plan by Graggle to dig out escape tunnels and shelters in every town.
Working with the Mayors, this project was completed in a day.
Quilt and I had redoubled our efforts to get me up to snuff on vampire power and came upon an interesting set of discoveries.
First, if I used my Evil Eye as a ghost, I could also speak directly with whoever I was spying on. This allowed better communication between every limb of the Woollachian government than Briefs believed was possible in most of the developed world. I'd gotten so much use out of it the past week, that I now got little tingles of warning even when I wasn't using it. They were always about Cozy, but still.
Second, I only needed four hours of ghost time before my body was rested, and any further ghost time was optional. That freed me up for more day-time activities and training but also necessitated we keep the thick curtains over every window and glass balcony door shut for most of the day. The exception to this was private rooms, something Cozy threw a fit to have allowed.
Third, the captured guards we still kept in our vault were willing to spill their knowledge of Equestrian terms and military tactics, with some prodding from Hasty, whom I'd declared an honorary member of the castle staff, and my Minister of Equestrian Affairs.
Equestrian military tactics weren't anything special, at least according to my inner armchair general and historian, but when I learned the names and natures of the nine individuals who actually handled the threats to the country, it made a bit more sense.
Why develop a sturdy military culture when, for a thousand years at least, your nation had been defended by the literal powers of love and friendship wielded by either the four magical alicorn princesses or just one magical alicorn princess and her chosen one friends?
As with every other ludicrous fact I had thrown in my face, I took this at face value, laughing with mirth only for a minute before laughing in despair, accepting how dire the truth was.
They could literally show up and kill me with the power of how good friends they are.
My one hope was that I might've been able to strike a chord with Princess Luna, who moved the moon and had an appreciation for the dark and gloomy. It wasn't much, but when it came to the super-powered pony party, I took what little I could grasp.
Watching as Maw and his squad arrived in Patches as part of the country-wide patrol all the soldiers were set to, I withdrew my Evil Eye and rose to attend my meeting with Quilt.
"Prince Peter! The pancakes are ready!" Or Frill could pop up right on time.
"Wonderful, Frill! Help me deliver them to our guests."
I pulled the door to the vault open and popped my head in.
"Knock knock! Room service!" I said with a smile. I was met with screams.
"Hey, Peter," Hasty greeted, looking up from his book. He beamed as we carted in the prisoners' food. "Aw sweet!"
While the rest of the prisoners clamored into their individual little rooms we'd dug out for them to avoid my attention, Hasty helped Frill and I lay out the table we'd given them. Despite their display of fear, they seemed to have made themselves right at home with the extra space and amenities we'd dug out and added for them.
Thinking I wasn't paying attention, Sunbeam, the beige pegasus lieutenant with the lovely burnt-orange mane hiding under the table, attempted to rush out the door which sat slightly ajar.
I yanked it shut with a wave of my hand. Rather than crash into it, she screeched to a halt in mid-air and galloped up before beating on it with her hooves.
"No! No! He's feeding us pancakes again! EVIL pancakes! HELP!" She cried.
"I sure am! And this syrup?" I said, presenting the maple syrup jar as she looked back at me in horror. "Evil syrup."
Her screaming redoubled, and she shrunk away in terror. We finished arranging the table, having made sure not to give them any knives for their own safety, and made for the door. As Sunbeam scrambled away like a frightened cat, I collected the clipboard and list Hasty'd been keeping for me from its place on the table next to the door.
"Let's see.. Holder needs a new toothbrush, Skip needs the next volume of his Daring Do from the library, and Sunbeam wants to be let free," I drummed the table while pondering all of this against our budget. From her place under the table, Sunbeam looked out at me in hope. "Two outta three ain't bad."
I removed the most recent sheet and replaced it with a blank one, and we made our exit ignoring Sunbeam's defeated whimper.
"Your magic is getting much better, Peter! Don't let her tell you otherwise!" Frill said sternly before heading to her other duties.
"Thank you, Frill," I called her way before resuming my trip to Quilt.
As Quilt assumed, I had some nominal ability to use magic due to my supernatural nature. Once we'd scoured the library, we found a few tomes on magic that Quilt could dumb down for me, her words exactly. It wasn't much, but I now had basic telekinesis, though the level at which I could apply it was much higher than what the book claimed was expected of a novice. We chalked that up to my vampire body.
My other abilities were also shaping up nicely. Full-on flight was still tricky as I couldn't visualize the concept of applying leverage against nothing, but I could drift around and even walk along the walls. Quilt had even let a compliment slip by when I showed her. She immediately swept this aside by pointing out I didn't even know how to shapeshift yet and laughed at me. Today's meeting was going to be on that very topic.
"Quilt, you decent?" I called, knocking on her door.. knocking on my door.
"One sec~!" She called back in a sing-song way.
"That was a joke. You're always naked," I pointed out, leaning against the side wall.
"Scruff yourself~!" She retorted in the same way. Shortly after that, the door was thrown open. "Okie dokie! Had to fix the curtains to keep from killing you. Cozy was just here."
"Yikes! I gotcha," I peeked in, making certain the room was dark and free of traps, before stepping inside. Regardless of it being mine, Quilt had done a lot with the place.
The bedspread had been swapped to something red, more to her liking, she had a private table, seats, and a sofa with her prized possession: a nice little set of pillows embroidered with images of herself and Cozy. The table was cluttered with dishes Frill had refused to take, telling Quilt to clean them herself. That was probably the first time I'd heard Frill get angry, and by 'I heard,' I mean the whole castle heard her scream it.
Briefs even brought it up when we'd had our meeting.
"Keep it quiet for now, I think Cozy's still up the hall," Quilt whispered as she shut the door behind me.
"What does she think happens during our training sessions, anyhow?" I asked, taking a seat across from the sofa I'd been forbidden from touching.
"She thinks you're holding me down, nuzzling my wool against my will, and then drinking my blood," Quilt said matter-of-factly, retrieving an old cookie from one of the plates.
"Ah, so also a different type of predation now, got it," I groaned as Quilt snacked.
"She also thinks the dishes are from depression because of what you do to me."
"When are you gonna tell her the truth?" Quilt choked at my question. She stared down at her hooves.
"What'll she think of me then? I didn't just summon the monster she thought killed me, but I'm willingly helping it get stronger?" She lay on the floor with a quiet hum. "It used to be so easy to keep things hidden, y'know? It was all mostly theory, or books and notes."
She sat in quiet, with her hooves over her snout.
"Well.. Let's be fair, we don't know if you summoned me yet or not," I said, earning a meager shrug. "Speaking of, do you have the list of reagents you need to confirm anything yet?" That brought her out of her funk
"Oh yeah!" She walked over to her mattress and slipped out a sheet of paper from under it, bringing it to me. "The stuff marked in red might still be hard to find, but it'll also help us in your spell training."
"Fantastic, 'cause that's been keeping me up at night."
"You mean up at day?" She quipped.
"Hoh-hoh-hoh!" I said, sarcastically bouncing my head side to side, before looking back at the list. "I need to fast-track this shit. It just feels like times against me here."
"It goes against every principle I have with you to say, but you've made pretty good progress already," she said, sitting on the sofa. "Telekinesis isn't exactly anything to sneeze at."
"You think I can stop Celestia dead in her tracks with it?" Quilt flinched, but said nothing. Silence fell over the room.
"I need to spend more time on magic outside these sessions," I sighed.
"Well, I set out some books at that table you use in the library. You should be able to figure those out without my help."
"Hope so," I drew my hand over my head. "You all keep piling your faith onto me just cause I trashed some local bandit. I'd hate to let you all down or have someone get hurt cause of it."
"Pfft, do I look worried?" Quilt shook her head and smiled. "It'll be fine, Peter."
"You have that much faith in me?" Her smile turned smug.
"Uh, no. I just know if the princess captures you, I can just tell her you held me hostage for all this time. I'm just a cute little sheep, and you're a horrible vampire after all," she winked, sticking her tongue at me.
"Love you too, buddy," I said with a smile.
"Gross," she replied before laughing.
We sat quietly, just enjoying our company, something we hadn't done since we'd met. But all good things must come to an end, as my Evil Eye tingled. Focusing on the source, I groaned.
"Gotta be fucking kidding.."
Quilt was about to ask when a deafening explosion rocked the room as a cannonball tore through the door, into my chest, and sent me crashing into the mattress, which barely survived the ordeal. Quilt screamed in response, diving away for cover, peeking back out when she heard coughing from the destroyed door.
"Did I get him?" Cozy said between coughs, waving the smoke away. "I had it aimed where you said he sits!"
"Cozy! What the scruff did you do?!" Quilt shrieked.
"You said you had a meeting with him, so I waited and rolled this cannon in!" She responded, gesturing to the large siege weapon behind her.
"Where did you even find a cannon?!"
"Oh! So funny story; You remember last time he abducted you to the library, and I tried to stab him with a holy knife and it didn't work cause I misheard holy for holey? Well! When I was picking up the pieces-" Before she could continue, I dropped the ten-pound iron ball with a picture of the sun crudely painted on it next to her, causing her to jump.
We had a momentary stare-off before she tried to run, but I was too quick, hefting her up by the scruff of her neck. She glared defiantly at me.
"So! You finally caught me, huh?" She brilliantly assessed.
"Yep."
"Well, do your worst monster! I'm not afraid! But I couldn't live with myself if I let you abuse my friend unabated!" She declared heroically, mildly offsetting how cute she looked hanging in the air with her legs tucked against her body. I looked at the destroyed door, then to Quilt who had her face in her hooves, before poking Cozy on the snout.
"Quilt, I'll be back. You," I began, pointing the same finger to the door. "Are explaining that to Graggle." Her heroism faded immediately.
"Wha-! No! Wait! I'm sorry! Quilt! HELP!" She pleaded as I wrenched her squirming form under my arm and walked out.
"Prince Peter? May I come in?" Frill called from the library door
"Sure thing, Frill," I called, closing my book to give her my full attention. Frill came trotting in gently, balancing a covered dish on her back. "What's up?"
"Oh, it's just, well.." She scrunched her snout and looked up at me. "I know what Mayor Briefs told us about your blood diet, and he said you don't need proper food but.."
Looking away for a moment, she slid the dish onto the table and smiled sadly at me.
"I just can't believe that a proper meal would hurt, is all," she explained. I smiled back.
"You're a delight, y'know that?" It was true I didn't need food, but I could probably stomach a little of whatever she'd made. "Thank you, Peter. I even made your favorite from the first night we met!"
"First night we-" OH NO. She slipped the dish off.
"Please don't," I screamed inside.
Revealing a plate of cooked pasta.
"Please don't?" I screamed inside, again.
Diced garden tomatoes.
"Pleeeease don't?" I screamed inside, yet again.
"Will you shut up?" Quilt called out psychically.
And three, fat slices of fresh garlic bread resting atop it all, poisoning the whole dish.
"I hope you- Peter!" She gasped, quickly pulling a cloth from her pocket and laying it on my hand. "There's no need to cry!" I swept up the cloth and wiped my eyes.
"Thank you, Frill," I croaked. "I'll have it later, alright?"
"Oh, please, at least have some now? For my sake? You've been so busy lately, I'd worry you put it off for work!"
Why.
"Frill, I can't eat this, I'm-"
"But you must!" She stepped up on my leg.
"No, I really can't-"
"You must! Please?" She looked deep into my eyes.
"Just mesmerize her, then send it up to me. She can clear these dishes while she's at it!" Quilt pitched.
"She'll remember it all after, though," I replied.
"Enjoy the indigestion, wuss."
Smiling at Frill, I gently picked up a slice of bread..
To my undying gratitude, Frill was pleased just to see me take and swallow a single bite of her food, so she left with a smile shortly after, giving me time to try and force myself to vomit.
It didn't help.
I dragged myself down the hall, leaning on the wall for support. My Evil Eye was on high alert to make certain Frill didn't see me like this. My knees were weak, my breath short, and my stomach was full of fiery coals rolling around inside. I had discreetly swiped a bottle of blood from the kitchen, hoping to offset the pain, and took gentle sips from it as I lurched away down the hall, discovering it had the intended effect.
Then one of the curtains jostled, and someone fell in front of me through the window.
"Master! I've returned!"
"Oh, hey, Blueblood," I said, taking another swig. Choking, I gawped down at him. "WHAT."
"Master! I've returned!" He repeated.
"I CAN SEE THAT," I said through a clenched smile. His smile was genuine.
"So, what did you need me to ignore?"
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, of course!" He stood to the side, patiently waiting.
"You-"
"Yeah, I saw him climb inside!" Someone yelled outside. Gently nudging the curtain aside, I discovered it was still light out.
"Blueblood, who's out there?" I demanded, nursing my lightly burnt finger. He slipped his head under the curtain before looking up at me.
"Twilight and her friends, Master." I squealed in pain and fear.
"Fucking god.. Even if I wanted to, I can't deal with them like this!" I slide down the wall in despair.
"Is there any way I can help, Master?" I glared in response to his big dumb smile.
"You're the one who brought them here, how 'bout you-" Wait.
They were here looking for him, weren't they? He must've come back here alone and they followed him. I could make this work. Either way, I had a plan I felt could handle this comfortably while my stomach calmed down.
"Listen to me carefully."
Twilight had read about the Woollachian castle and the Longhorns a few times, so actually seeing the country and castle in real life was amazing. It was just a shame whoever lived there now had Blueblood under a spell.
"Ooooh! This place is spooky!" Pinkie declared, prancing around her friends as they looked upon the castle from the gate.
"Uhm.. Are you sure Blueblood went inside?" Fluttershy whispered from behind Applejack.
"Yeah, but I don't get why he climbed the wall like that. The gate's wide open!" Rainbow declared, hovering high up, keeping an eye out for traps or guards.
"But are you certain it was him? Maybe we should ask around those quaint little villages down in the valley first," Rarity suggested.
"C'mon Rares, we can't just play dumb, even if he is about as nice as a horse-shoe in yer oatmeal," Applejack said, being the second after Dash to pass the gate threshold.
"OOH like a toy from a cereal box?" Pinkie squealed, prancing backward until she was next to Applejack.
"If the toy was also a choking hazard," Rarity declared flatly, following the others. Fluttershy said nothing but scrambled to stay close to her friends. The group walked up to the front door but stopped when they realized they were short one member.
"Twi? You alright, sugar cube?" Applejack called back to Twilight, who stood studying the castle from the gate.
Twilight looked up and down the keep and at the path from the gate to the door. Something about the place gave her chills. Something inside was aware of them. She'd felt something similar before when she and Spike had stumbled upon King Sombra's traps in the Crystal Empire.
A feeling Nayzsche had described in his silly philosophy books, but which felt very apt now: Stare into the dark, and the dark stares back into you.
She furrowed her brow and steeled herself. What had Blueblood gotten himself into?
"Hello?" Came a sweet voice from the door which snapped Twilight out of her stupor. Looking up, she saw a tired-looking Sheep at the door.
"Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! What's your name? We're here to rescue Prince Blueblood! Have you seen him? That's a pretty necklace!" Pinkie verbally battered the ewe as Twilight came trotting up.
"Prince Blueblood? Oh! Yes, right this way! Please hurry!" The ewe said with urgency, her woolen braids whipping through the air after her as she galloped inside. Lacking any other leads, the girls followed after her.
The ewe led them through the halls, stopping at certain intersections to carefully spy around the corners before rushing on. She barely spoke, only to hastily and quietly urge them on faster. With no words, she told them everything they needed to know: this place was dangerous, and they had to hurry.
"Here! Here!" They suddenly charged into a wide, open chamber, with a throne at the far end on a low dias. "We are in luck! He is not here now."
"Hey! That hallway right there leads right to the entrance!" Dash cried. "Why'd you lead us all around the place?" The ewe wilted, and looked around in fear at her raised voice, before breathing a sigh of relief.
"Keep your voice down! If we came straight on, we would have run into him for sure!"
"Run into who?" Applejack asked. The sheep shook her head.
"There is no time! Here!" She ran up to the wall at the side of the throne and pressed into it with all her might. Applejack and Rainbow rushed to her aid, and a secret door slid open.
"He's back! Everypony, get behind me!" The voice of Blueblood rang out from inside.
"Blueblood!" The girls called all at once before rushing inside the secret room. They were greeted by the sight of Blueblood and a dozen other ponies, lounging patiently around a table, in a low but otherwise decently furnished chamber.
"Hello, princess! Sorry.." One of the other ponies, whom Twilight recognized as a guard, said with a sad smile.
"Wh-" Before Twilight or any of the others could say a word, they heard the door behind them slam shut.
I leaned against the stone door after pulling it closed and sighed, hiding my continued pain behind only partially faux relief.
"Thank god for you, Frill," I said, patting her on the head gently as she curtsied. "You can go back to sleep now. Sorry."
"No problem at all, Peter!"
"The door won't budge!" Dash declared as she and Applejack continued to try and push their way out.
"It opens in," Sunbeam said sadly. "We've been trying that for days." Twilight and her friends shared a look of shock.
"They've kept you here for days?" Rarity cried. Hasty rolled his eyes.
"It's not like they've been torturing us or anything," he said. Sunbeam shot up into Twilight's face.
"Don't listen to him! He's a traitor!" She screamed. "He's in league with the vampire!" The girls flinched at her sudden proximity.
"Vampire.. ?" Twilight muttered. Line Holder stood up now.
"Yes! I didn't believe it either, but he killed Blueblood!" He cried.
"Blueblood's right there?" Twilight pointed out. Holder flicked his ear and looked at the patiently smiling Blueblood.
"Huh. You know, he's been so quiet, I kinda didn't parse he was here," Holder blinked. "He also hasn't insulted anypony this whole time, so I kinda didn't recognize him."
"Thank goodness it's not just me!" Rarity said with a delicate laugh.
"But that pancakes! The evil pancakes!" Sunbeam screeched.
"Pancakes can't be evil!" Pinkie angrily screeched right back, causing Sunbeam to wilt before steeling herself.
"But he said they were!" She asserted.
"He was joking 'cause you said it first," Hasty said with an eye roll. "Look, Peter's a vampire, sure, but he's not that bad!" Twilight and her friends shared a look.
"Why's he keeping us prisoner then, huh?" Sunbeam demanded.
"To keep a bad situation from getting even worse, at least initially," an ethereal voice rang out from the center of the room. Twilight's coat bristled and her ears snapped to attention. So much made sense now. "And like I promised, you'll be free to go in exchange for keeping quiet till I got them inside."
"You're actually keeping your promise? Yay~! Open the door." Sunbeam said with a tone that flowed from bubbly to cold as ice.
"Not yet!" the voice said.
"But you SAAAAAID," Sunbeam wailed, desperately prancing in place.
"I said I want to keep a bad situation from getting any worse, and once I'm certain it won't, I'll let you go," the voice declared. Sunbeam squealed angrily before sulking and crawling under the table.
"Now, Twilight Sparkle and Company?" It called again, and the girls formed up together. "My name is Peter Harlow. Welcome to my castle. Sorry about locking you up like this."
"Aw, that's alright! We've been locked in dungeons way less comfy than this!" Pinkie beamed to the annoyance of her friends.
"Are you the guy who abducted Blueblood or whatever?" Dash demanded.
"I didn't abduct him. He forced his way in with his guards, threatened me, and insulted my staff. Ask them yourselves if you don't-"
"We believe you," Rarity chimed.
"Wh-"
"What I want to know is why you sent him back to Canterlot and then had him come back here. What are you after?" Twilight asked, studying the air the voice seemed to emanate from.
"I didn't have him come back. He just did. Still not sure why, honestly.."
"Oh! You asked me to come back to ignore something!" Blueblood explained.
"No I.. Damn it, Quilt," Peter grumbled.
"What?" Twilight said, flinching from his language.
"Nothing. I get it now, though. There was a misunderstanding in the command I gave him, that's all," Peter explained with a ghostly groan. The girls looked at each other before Twilight spoke again.
"Well, if that's true, release him from your spell!"
"I don't know how," Peter moaned. "I'm still new to all this vampire business." Twilight narrowed her eyes.
"You're.. you're really a v-vampire?" Fluttershy squeaked from under the table with Sunbeam.
"Ain't no such thing 'sides them that ruin good apples," Applejack declared with a huff.
"Not necessarily," Twilight rebutted. "And another thing, Mr. Harlow?"
"Yes?" There was a flash as Twilight teleported the entire group out to the throne room, where the creature himself sat on his throne.
"You should invest in magic restraints if you're going to arrest an alicorn," she declared with a smug grin at the creature. After a moment, his eyes blinked, and he sat up.
"Oh."
Against the desperate pleas of Sunbeam, Twilight and her friends remained in the castle, forcing them all into joining me in the dining room to further hear my story over some of Frill's cheesy potatoes and tea, prepared by Knit, as Frill had long since passed out in her room.
"Since then, I've had the whole country on high alert. I was expecting Princess Celestia to declare war, you see."
"Well! I suppose that's just like him, isn't it? Nearly starting a war just because he felt like being a bully!" Rarity declared before taking a delicate bite from her plate, glaring at the dumbly smiling Blueblood in his corner.
"Still, we can't just leave him mesmerized, Peter. I'm willing to vouch for you with the princess that you meant no harm, but you need to release him first," Twilight explained. I grimaced, but she continued. "I know you're still figuring it all out, but it's not that hard. Just look him in the eyes and say 'I release you from my spell!' Just like that." She pulled off a very convincing Lugosi, which I elected not to question, like how I didn't question how she knew so much about vampires. I instead decided to give Quilt an earful later, if that was really all there was to it.
"Alright. Blueblood!" I called to him and he came galloping up.
"Oh yes, Master! What is it? Command me! USE me!" He shrieked and threw himself at my feet, again. The girls shared a stunned grimace.
"Must we turn him back?" Rarity asked before being shushed by Twilight.
"Look into my eyes!" I ordered, and of course, he obeyed. "I release you from my spell!" He tilted his head.
"Why?"
Silence laid its claim upon the room. I looked at Twilight who was busy trying to reclaim her jaw from the floor.
"That doesn't make any sense! Neonatal Nosferatu shouldn't be able to lay a charm that potent!" She cast a critical glare my way.
"Maybe Blueblood just likes being mesmerized?" Fluttershy offered.
"Or he's that empty-headed." Rarity quietly put forth, sipping from her tea. Twilight nodded, weighing both possibilities as she studied me carefully.
"Mmm.. You're definitely not doing it on purpose.." She said before groaning. "Princess Celestia might know what to do." I blanched.
"Is that really-"
"Yes. She was probably going to come see you anyway, Peter," she explained before giving me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, even if you're a spooky vampire and all that, I don't think she'll hurt you."
I grimaced and shuddered.
"And besides! I wouldn't let her vaporize anypony, or anypire, who has food this good!" Pinkie chirped, having licked her plate clean. She shot up on the table with a look of determination. "Plus! I need you on call for a consultation for Nightmare Night party authenticity! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Peter!"
Somehow, all that nonsense put me more at ease, and I laughed.
"Alrighty. I guess call her, or write or whatever," I stretched. "How long do you think it'll take her to get here?" Before Twilight could speak, Blueblood jumped.
"Master! You're a vampire?" Silence again reared her head. I slowly sucked air through my teeth and licked my fangs.
"Yep! You figured it out! Good job, buddy." Rarity snickered while Twilight shook her head.
"Amazing!" He considered Twilight and her friends. "Wait a minute.. MASTER! They're on to you!"
"No shit?"
"Yes!" He whipped his head around, before spying the curtains. "Ah hah!"
He galloped up and latched on with his teeth.
"Quickly, Master! This way, out the window!" He ripped the entire thing down, letting the mid-day sun pour in and wash all over me.
A lot of screaming followed, some mine, some from Twilight and her friends, and a little from Blueblood. It all kind of got mixed in my head, cause I was on fire and sprinting for what I vaguely saw was a door.
I was suddenly cast into darkness and thrown to the ground. I felt something pounding me from all sides, stomping out the flames.
The dim light of the hall suddenly hit me, as what must have been the curtain was ripped from me by Blueblood.
I could see my charred black and red body smoking as I lay on the floor out of the sunlight, and looked up with an extra crispy crinkle to see Blueblood's smiling face. Twilight and her friends flinched at my sudden movement.
"Oh, sweet merciful heavens! He's still alive like that!" Rarity tearfully squealed over her hoof. Pinkie's hair looked like it'd deflated, Fluttershy had fainted, Rainbow and Applejack stood wide-eyed, and Twilight sat with her jaw and wings hanging.
"Master? Are you okay?" Blueblood asked with a fearful smile.
"Blueblood, you asshole," I said in a wheezing voice. He wilted slightly.
"How did you enunciate that without lips.." Twilight gawped.
Briefs sat patiently as his peers ranted and raved at him from within the safety of the salt circle Lace had drawn along the walls of the Threadbare conference room. He gently shuffled his hooves to get more comfortable and sighed.
"'I'm not going to drag you into a war,' that was what your monster said, Briefs," Lace snarled. "Now here we are, on the cusp of a repeat of fifty years ago!"
"Certainly looks that way!" Briefs replied with a smile.
"How can you be so calm?" Doily groused, but she wilted when Briefs leveled his smile at her.
"Because Celestia has been properly accounted for this time," he said evenly, a curious gleam in his eye. "And even if things go sideways, it won't affect us. He'll take the blame."
They'd seen that light in his eyes before. It was the light they all saw when he offered to help them secure their seats in their towns. The same light they saw when they asked what became of their predecessors or rivals, and he told them all was well.
The light that warned you not to ask too many questions. Be brief.
"I see! Glad to hear it," Doily remarked, sweating under his gaze. She would have gladly taken back the last forty years of her time in office solely if it meant he'd stop staring at her.
And eventually, he did.
"Honestly! You young sheep get so excited by the simplest things!" He laughed. "And this silly salt circle! As if we have anything to hide from Prince Peter's eye which I couldn't hide for us?"
He made for the door but stopped and cast his eyes over his peers once again.
"Makes a ram wonder if you've lost faith."
"Faith in the words of a dead ram?" Lace dared to retort to the audible terror of Cap and Doily. Even as Briefs turned to look her in the eye, she held her ground while the other two scrambled away from her.
"Faith that someone who rose from the grave once could do so again."
They held their stare-down for a moment longer before Briefs smiled and left with a tip of his hat. Once he was long gone, Lace collapsed and finally breathed again.
That damned sun had finally bent towards the horizon. Celestia was rushing here via chariot, but she was talented enough to perform her duties even on the move.
I was too shaken to give it much thought, anxious or otherwise, and so elected to just wait the remaining hours before the confrontation in peace.
Reclining in my seat in the library, I emptied the mug of sweet red stuff Frill had brought me, my eleventh so far. I could feel it undoing all the damage the sun had done.
Twilight sat opposite me, writing down everything she witnessed.
"That is amazing.." Twilight whispered. "I've read about Nosferatu healing before, but I can't believe I get to see it happen in the flesh!"
"Literally even!" I laughed.
Once her friends were certain I wasn't in pain and would be okay, they'd left to explore the castle with Latch and Mulch as their guides. Despite their empathy, they couldn't stomach watching me move around and talk as a charred corpse. I took no offense, having been relieved to find I was too weak to accidentally attack and drain their blood. Of course, Twilight also put my mind at ease when she effortlessly carried me to the library with her magic.
"Oh, that's looking much better, Peter!" Frill declared.
Setting my mug to the side, I looked over myself under the curtain I wore as a makeshift robe. My skin was back but noticeably dry and grey, and I didn't remember being so thin.
Trying to stand, to no avail, I signaled for Frill to refill my mug with a grimace.
"Oh dear!" She said, inspecting the pot she'd been drawing from. "So sorry, Peter! I need to fetch a fresh vessel. Be right back!"
She left the library with the empty pot, leaving us alone. I considered Twilight as she looked over what she'd written with a smile.
"So, how much do you know about vampires?"
"Oh! Not as much as Princess Celestia, but there aren't that many books on them outside of Woollachia," she explained without looking up. "Well, except for fiction, but even those aren't super popular anymore."
I hummed at her words, and she set aside her papers to look at me.
"Though, everything we do have on vampires is so far pretty accurate!" She said with a big smile. "I immediately recognized you were in your stupor when you first talked to us."
"Is that what it's called?" She nodded in response. "So, what about how they're made?" She screwed her face up as she thought.
"Hm.. If I remember right.. The first vampire was a Negative Energy Lifeform from Tartarus, summoned up by Grogar in prehistory," she explained. As if sensing my impending question, she continued. "Grogar was a villain of ancient times. He was responsible for most of the monsters still troubling the world today."
"Hm, fine, fine," I scratched my chin before it hit me. "That's the second time I've heard the term 'Negative Energy Lifeform.' What does that mean?" She beamed again, apparently enjoying an opportunity to discuss the subject with me.
"Negative Energy Life means any creature group whose numbers never increase, except by stealing from other creature groups," she said as if reciting from a textbook. "In this way, they subtract from the universe, reducing what is a constant, a zero state if you will, to a less-than-zero state. Even if they're hunted to extinction, in a cosmic harmonic sense, the universe doesn't suffer loss, only being back set to a zero state. So! Negative Energy Life."
I felt immense guilt for my bewilderment in the face of her sincerity in explaining all this.
"Sounds pretty serious," I finally said. That was the right answer, as she nodded.
"It sure is! It's also why you being so friendly is so amazing!" She clapped her hooves. "A naturally entropic creature negotiating to sate its dark desires, rather than just stealing for them? Using it's powers for good? Defending the innocent and trying to mitigate the effects of its existence?" She squealed with glee and swept up her papers again, frantically adding to their contents, just as Frill returned with a fresh jug of blood.
As she filled my mug, another point of the conversation hit me.
"So, if it's strange that I'm, well, reasonable, what're other vampires like?"
"Never met one personally, but all the books I read suggest they're almost universally cruel like all the goodness in them got blotted out in the dark magic that built them," her eyes lit up. "Maybe it has something to do with your faulty memory? Maybe, when you were reborn, you slept through whatever process was supposed to indoctrinate you!" That possibility was overshadowed by a single word she used.
"Reborn?" She tilted her head at my question.
"Well, yeah," she shrugged. "Can't be undead without being dead first, you know?" I blanched and nearly fell from my chair to her and Frill's distress, but waved them away.
That was absolutely true, but hearing it laid out so plainly set me reeling. What in god's name happened that night a week ago?
"Peter?" Twilight called. I blinked.
"It's nothing, just.. been having memory problems," I shook my head, sipping from my mug. "Don't worry."
Frill and Twilight looked at each other before Frill slowly turned to attend her other duties that evening.
"Alright.." Twilight muttered and hummed as she looked over her papers. "So, if you don't mind, I have a few questions for you."
"Shoot."
"And this where we dump treasure after vault," Latch explained, gesturing to the neat stacks upon stacks of coins, and piles of gems color-coded and arranged in descending order of value.
The girls cooed in admiration at the chamber, which even in the dim candlelight glittered magically.
"Wait a moment," Rarity began. She looked up at Latch. "He doesn't keep this door locked?" Latch shook his head.
"He give Graggle key, but Graggle never lock," he explained, scratching his chest. "Diamond Dogs no steal from pack, and Peter Boss give gold anyway." He pulled a few coins from his vest pocket in demonstration.
"I didn't know vampires paid their minions," Fluttershy said while being carried by Mulch, who'd sworn an oath to defend her with his life upon meeting her.
"Certainly isn't in any story I've ever read," Rarity added, admiring some of the gems on display.
"That's part of what makes Peter so cool!" Hasty declared with a bright smile. "He's like all the vampire stories, but not evil."
"Exactly! He's not a monster, he's more like a really life-like haunted house decoration!" Pinkie affirmed, erupting from within one of Graggle's coin piles, sending a clattering noise echoing through the hall. "But he can also talk, so you can ask him to stop being so scary if it's too much!"
"I like the sound of that!" Fluttershy beamed before yelping as Mulch, followed by Latch, took off down the hall. "Oh my goodness! What's wrong?"
"WHO HAS DISTURBED THE PILE?!" The voice of Graggle boomed from around a corner opposite the direction the dogs fled. The ponies still present shared a look before galloping after their guides.
In the dining room, Sunbeam leaned heavily on her table where her helmet rested, grumbling to herself as her new friend brought a pitcher of juice and filled their glasses.
"I can't believe this! We finally get let out, finally get our stuff back, and we still can't leave!" She sipped at the juice and hummed in delight, before readopting her severe glare. "And now the princess and her friends are getting all chummy with the vampire!"
"I hear you, sister! Everywooly thinks that monster's the best thing since sliced bread, but I know better. I've seen what he's done.."
"You don't think he's got Princess Twilight under his spell, do you?" Sunbeam asked with a gasp.
"It's a possibility.." Her friend said sadly. "Quilt keeps playing his abuse off, and Frill doesn't even think he's evil, so I know he enjoys ensnaring innocent ewes.. and mares, probably." Sunbeam teared up at the thought.
"What should I do.." She whimpered before her friend touched her hoof.
"You said Princess Celestia's coming later, right?"
"Uh-huh! I didn't catch why, but she's already on her way," Sunbeam affirmed.
"Good! No way she'll fall for his tricks," the ewe sipped from her glass before casting an incredulous look. "Buuut.. just in case, you want to go talk vampire hunting tricks with me? My room's warded with garlic!"
Sunbeam tilted her head but smiled.
"That sounds fun!" She clapped her hooves, before extending one for a hoof shake. "I'm Sunbeam, by the way."
"I'm Cozy! Pleased to meet somewooly sane!" Her friend said, shaking hooves.
The Master had been gone for hours, leaving Blueblood alone in the vault.
"He must be furious.. I can't say I blame him! How could Aunty booby-trap the sun like that?" He muttered as he paced the room. "And sending Twilight and her friends to intimidate him! I had no idea she could be so devious.."
He came to a stop and bit his hoof.
"Even the Master wasn't prepared! She scared him so bad he was ready to send me away just to placate her!" He growled. Granted, his thoughts had been clearer since the Master attempted to dismiss him, but that was only a sure sign he had to redouble his efforts to appease the Master.
He sat down on the floor with a hum, rubbing his chin.
"She's on her way now.. Must be planning to finish the job after trying to have me do her dirty work!" He stamped his hooves together with that realization. "Well! We'll just see about that, won't we?"
Throwing his magic at the vault door, he pulled it open and snuck out into the castle. He had his orders, but the safety of the Master was more important.
Creeping along the halls, he realized he had no real idea what to do. He was outnumbered, overmatched in magic, and the Master was injured.
He sat down in despair and sighed miserably until he saw Lieutenant Sunbeam and one of the maids further down the hall. Slipping under the nearby curtain, he waited.
"So if you rub garlic on something sharp, it'll kill him?" The lieutenant asked as she passed Blueblood.
"Well, I dunno for sure yet.." the maid she was with replied. "But that's only cause he keeps dodging or slapping away everything I've thrown at him!"
"Oh hoh! Sounds like the big bad vampire's scared," Sunbeam declared with a sinister laugh as they slipped around a corner. Blueblood emerged from his hiding place with a resolute glare.
"Aunty might be too much, but I'm certain I can stop you two."
"I'm just saying 'Evil Eye' makes it sound really... well, evil," Twilight argued. "'The Scrying Eye' is neutral and catchy!"
"It sounding evil is entirely what makes it so cool, though," I countered. She rolled her eyes.
"Did you ever think that maybe your tastes might be a bit skewed?"
"Nah, but then again," I grinned. "I am completely incapable of reflection."
"Well! That's something to-" She stopped dead before leveling an annoyed glare my way. "I'm suddenly tempted to undo all the healing you've just finished." I cackled in response.
"Well, you're certainly looking and sounding worlds better!" We turned to see Rarity entering the library, carrying a package in her magic. I raised my mostly empty mug to her while Twilight hopped down to greet her.
"Is Princess Celestia here?" Twilight asked after they shared a hug.
"Oh no, not yet. But it's almost time, and I came to collect you," Rarity said before turning to me. "We had a run-in with that irritable aid of yours, but the other girls have gone ahead to the throne room to wait for Princess Celestia. I even had a chance to throw this together." She hovered the package into my hands.
"What's this?"
"Are you planning to meet the princess without looking your best?" Rarity asked, gesturing to my lack of clothing. "Of course, it's only something I hastily prepared, but it's better than the literal nothing you're currently working with."
"Well hell, alrighty. Thank you," I said with a smile.
"Language. But you're welcome, darling," She said with a nod before ushering me out with her magic. "Now, run along and make yourself presentable!" I made my way to my room, psychically calling Quilt as I did.
"Quilt, I'm on my way to you. Hang a sheet for me if you don't mind."
"Why?" She asked.
"'Cause unlike you, I have a sense of shame."
"You're gonna have a sense of my teeth clamped on your nose," she snarled. "What's happening though?"
"Princess Celestia will be here soon to fix her dumpy nephew's pea brain," I explained but was met with silence. "Something wrong?"
"The sheet's up," was the last response I got out of her.
"What happened to you?" Quilt muttered, seeing me enter the room wrapped in a curtain.
"Blueblood's dumb ass," I replied. "Turns out getting set on fire by the sun also destroys my clothes."
"Oh no! Didn't I mention?" She asked with an insincere gasp. I hummed as I slipped open the package Rarity gave me. Inside was a near-perfect copy of my old tux and cape, made from wool. The colors were a bit more uniform, and the stitch work was more obvious, but damn. She'd even replaced the shoes with some wool slippers.
"Yeah, there's lots of things you forgot to tell me," I slipped behind the makeshift changing screen and dressed. When I emerged, I looked down at Quilt. "For instance, 'I release you from my spell,' and that's all, huh?" I said, mimicking Twilight's earlier explanation for dispelling my mesmerization.
She stared intently at me for half a minute, at least, before sticking her nose in the air.
"I plead 'Oopsie daisies, I'm a 'lil sheep.'" I stood with my hands on my hips, studying her critically before I furrowed my brow.
"Aw shit, and it's a Tuesday. All is forgiven!" I waved and left the room.
"Dang straight!" She called after me. I adjusted my belt and sleeves a few times as I made my way to the throne room. For something she said she just threw together, this suit was-
"Hey, Peter?" Quilt suddenly called through our link.
"What's up?" I replied. Silence was her only response. "Quilt?"
"Don't let her get me."
"I won't, buddy. Just stay in your room."
Stepping into the throne room, I saw speaking with Twilight and company in a voice that sounded too musical to be real, the largest pony I'd seen yet, almost as tall as I was.
Like Twilight, she had wings and a horn, but her coat was the purest white I'd ever seen, and her mane was a flowing mass of color like some kind of aurora. Her's was also the first unicorn horn I'd seen that I was confident could be used to stab me to death.
She was the first to notice I'd entered the room and looked up at me with the most genuine smile I'd ever seen as I approached. Twilight and her friends stepped aside as she moved to greet me.
"Hello there," she called. "You must be Prince Peter, correct?"
"Yes, ma'am," I approached with a bow. "Princess Celestia, I assume?"
"That is correct. It's very nice to meet you!" She said in a tone that struck at the heart.
Damn. After all the days of dread-filled pondering, this was nothing short of a shock. She was the nicest, most reassuring person I'd ever met.
"So! You really are a vampire, hm?"
Cripes.
"That obvious?" I said with a wince.
"Yes, even if Twilight hadn't told me, I could tell just by looking at you!" She laughed. "And no, that's not a comment on your choice of wardrobe."
"You-" I gawped. She tilted her head but kept her smile. "You're taking even better than she and her friends did."
"Should I not? You seem very nice for a vampire, especially from what Twilight wrote me," she said sweetly. "And I've known quite a few vampires in my time."
"Uh, thanks?" She smiled brightly. Twilight shot me a smug grin.
"And how is my silly nephew? Twilight explained the situation, but I am curious if he's gotten into any mischief since then," she said with an remorseful expression.
"Yes, I had him wait in the vault until you got here," I gestured to the secret door, before wincing. "I'm really sorry about all this."
"Oh no! Please, I understand!" She shook her head. "He can be a bit overzealous in pursuit of what he sees as slights against his home." I nodded, then hummed in realization.
"On the topic of the vault, there was a lot of-" I tried to begin, but she cut me off to my surprise.
"I am curious though, as it's been many years since I've met a live vampire," she tilted her head again. "Did you awaken within Woollachia?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," I confirmed, folding my arms. Even Twilight seemed a little surprised at her sudden redirection. "About a week ago. Couldn't tell you how I wound up here, though."
"But, and I pray you forgive me, I must make a request," she stepped closer before looking up into my eyes. "Can you show me where you awoke? I'd like to take a look at it before anything else." Something about her gaze made it feel impossible to argue. Was that what mesmerization felt like?
"Sure, I can do that," I confirmed almost immediately. She beamed at me.
"Wonderful. Twilight, we will return soon," Celestia declared to the other ponies. They said their farewells as we made our way outside into the light of the recently risen moon.
Out in the front court, she stopped and turned to me. Despite the relaxing energy the moon had given me in the recent past, I still felt on edge when meeting her eyes.
"Please don't be surprised when I ask this, but we're heading to the mountains, correct?" I blinked, completely unable to hide my astonishment, to her muted amusement.
"Yeah?"
"I suspected as much. That's quite a trip! We'd better hurry." She paced around me for a moment, tugging at my cape with her magic and humming to herself.
"Do you know how to fly?" She asked.
"Still learning. I can turn into smoke for a little bit, though."
"I see. Well!" She knelt on the ground and looked at me expectantly.
"What?" I asked with a shrug.
"I believe the biped and quadruped mesh quite well as rider and mount. It would be much faster, and I know you have limited time. Or am I mistaken?" I gawped at her explanation.
"I just.. You're, like, a person. It's weird." As I muttered, I felt her pull me almost off my feet with her magic.
"Don't be such a baby, come on!" She demanded with a snap of her wings. "You're a big spooky vampire, and I'm just a princess. I won't bite!"
Any further attempts at argument were shot down as quickly as I could bring them up with varying degrees of whining and faux offense, and so we endured an awkward (for me, at least) flight to the cave.
Despite the recency of my time there, memories came crashing back to my mind as we entered the dark cave, her horn providing light as we walked. Memories of Quilt and what I'd done to her. Of course, knowing now that it was part of her plan softened the feeling of guilt, but it still made me wince to think about it.
Trying to take my mind off it, I looked at Celestia as I led us down the corridor. She was studying the crystals and rock formations around us before noticing I was watching and smiling at me.
We soon found the chamber I woke up in, just as I left it. I moved to pick up the coffin lid, but Celestia stepped in front of me, inspecting the walls and the coffin itself as she went.
Moving slowly and deliberately, she eventually peaked inside the coffin and studied it for a hard minute at least.
"Hm, it's been a while since I've had this close a look at something related to a vampire. They were quite a nuisance a few hundred years ago," her wings snapped, and she turned to me. "For instance! Did you know that eight out of ten cases of hauntings are just vampiric sorcerers who were staked, but not destroyed?" She stared at me expectantly despite the silence that followed.
"No?"
"It's true!" She shot me a huge smile before turning back to the coffin. "They use their magic to harass the living, despite being unable to leave where their body lay."
"Oh. Neat!" She hummed in agreement.
"Do you know who summoned you?" She suddenly asked, still studying the interior. I hesitated.
"No? I'm still not sure how any of this happened."
"Are you lying to protect someone from me?" She added to my shock. It wasn't just the fact she'd called me out. It also was her tone when she said it.
Her motherly tone slammed me with this heavy, guilty feeling I hadn't felt since I was a kid and got caught stealing gum from the gas station. My heart sank, and my voice caught in my throat.
But I'm an adult. I knew how to wiggle out from under that kind of pressure.
"I mean.. Okay, I guess?" I threw my hands up once I composed myself. "I just said-"
"I apologize, Peter," she said, turning to face me. "I simply had to be sure. Summoned undead turn vicious when their masters are threatened directly like that. So, forgive me, but that was just a little test." She approached me with a bow.
"Oh. That's.. that's alright," I said after a moment.
"I'm satisfied. Thank you for sharing this with me. We can leave now," she declared, smiling.
I wobbled a little from shock but nodded. As we turned to leave, I stopped and grimaced.
"Do I have to-"
"No no, you big prude. I can teleport us back now," she said with a giggle, gently slapping me with her wing.
We walked in silence back to the throne room, where Twilight leaped up to greet us.
"Welcome back! Is everything okay?" She asked as we entered.
"Quite well, yes," Celestia affirmed with a smile before turning to me. "I know we've only just returned, but could you grant us a little privacy? I just need to convey a few details about our journey to Twilight. I'll send that delightful little maid who greeted me to find you when we're ready to handle Blueblood."
"Alrighty. I'll leave you to it then," I smiled and bowed slightly, a gesture she returned, and waved to the others as I walked back through the door.
I swayed left and right, unsure of what to do in the meantime.
"Is she gone?" Quilt psychically called.
"Not yet," I replied. "She still has to fix her nephew, and she's sending Frill to find me when she's ready."
"Can you keep me company till then?" She asked immediately.
I took a roundabout route to Quilt that would let me discreetly see if I was being followed. My Evil Eye was quiet, but I had no faith it would even warn me about her.
Not just because she could strike it blind but also because something told me she could hide her intentions even from magic.
When I reached the door, I swept it open and scanned the entire hallway in one motion before sliding inside.
Quilt sat up from her place on the bed and looked at me with dread.
"Hey, it's fine," I said with a smile.
Whoosh
Quilt seized up as she looked down at Peter's unconscious form where he fell. Whatever the spell was, it had even knocked his ghost out cold. She was alone now.
With a shudder and a ragged breath, she slowly looked up with fearful tears streaming at the one who'd cast the spell.
Princess Celestia stood with a severe look in her eye as she studied the smaller sheep, horn still smoking from the power she'd unleashed, before stepping over the sleeping Peter, and closing the door behind her.
The world spun around me as I slipped back to consciousness.
That was an almost alien feeling by now, as I didn't sleep anymore. What the hell happened?
"I understand your reverence, and I don't wish to discredit your grandfather," I heard the voice of Celestia nearby. "I'm just offering clarification based on experience."
"But if that's true.." That was Quilt. "Where'd he come from?"
I groaned and tried to stand.
"Well, I suppose we have to talk with him about it, hm?" I heard the clatter of hooves and found myself hoisted to a sitting position by magic. From there, I blinked the blurriness out of my eyes and saw Quilt standing in front of me, with Princess Celestia at her side.
"You okay?" Quilt asked with genuine concern. She looked like she'd been crying the way her wool was matted up.
"I'm fine, what happened to you?" I asked, adjusting myself before standing, casting a critical eye Celestia's way.
"We were discussing her part in your unlife, Mr. Harlow," she explained, still with a smile. I looked down at Quilt, who kicked the ground.
"I really did mess the ritual up, Peter.." Celestia knelt down and hugged her with a wing.
"Not at all! You did wonderfully, all things considered."
"What happened?" I asked. They both looked up at me before Celestia stood up.
"Ms. Quilt is not the one who summoned you, Peter Harlow, she merely woke you."
"Is there a difference?" I asked with a shrug. Celestia nodded.
"Very! The magic that summons an undead builds its body and conditions its soul to inhabit the new body," she smiled down at Quilt. "Awakening, however, does just that and merely wakes the creature up." Quilt hesitated, but returned her smile. Celestia then looked at me severely.
"And you're very lucky she was the one to do so," she said. "She explained all that has transpired, and I can now most certainly say, had she not been the one to complete the ritual? Had it not been done out of concern for her friends? You and I would under no circumstance be having this conversation."
Her tone hit me like a truck, and I felt more chills and tingles than I'd felt stumbling across any garlic clove or plank of ashwood.
"Good to know, I guess," I huffed, before furrowing my brow. "Did you follow me and knock me out?" She bowed her head.
"Yes, and I beg your pardon, but experience necessitated my actions," she looked up at me. "I had to make certain the one who woke you was of decent character as I found you to be." I blinked.
"Quilt? Decent character?" I scoffed. Quilt stamped her hoof.
"Scruff yourself! Kill him, princess!" Celestia giggled, before moving to sit on the sofa, gesturing for us to follow. I sat across the table from both of them, and Celestia smiled at us before continuing.
"When an undead is formed from dark magic the process is two-fold. First, the body must be revitalized or rebuilt. The summoner may choose to reflect the subject's body as it was originally, or follow a new design as suits the intended purpose of the creature," she spoke with her eyes closed, exuding a serene aura that helped digest everything she was saying. "The second step is the awakening. The ritual will flood the subject's soul with magic as it refits their essence to their new flesh before they burst into consciousness." She opened her eyes and looked into mine.
"If that ritual is performed out of malice, darkness, and hatred, the magic will scour all goodness from the soul, leaving behind only the worst of the individual," she spoke with a subtle but definitely remorseful tone. It shifted to hopeful as she continued. "If however, the ritual is performed out of love, it will only foster and nourish the soul, and no such change will take place."
I looked at Quilt and remembered what she said in the bar nearly a week ago.
'I love Cozy and the others, and I only did the ritual because of that. I'm not some skulking witch or Longhorn wannabe.'
"Oh shit," I huffed.
"You're telling me," Quilt murmured. "I didn't even know there was a difference between summoning and awakening. Grandpa only ever taught me the ritual I used.."
"So, what? Did he misunderstand it or something?" I asked. Quilt shrugged.
"I dunno.."
"It matters very little," Celestia called our attention as she swept Quilt to her side with a wing. "What matters is by a stroke of luck for Mr. Harlow, the love you hold for your friends is what woke him. Regardless of their origins, you used your talents for the sake of your friends and love, and that I must commend."
"Th-thank you.." Quilt squeaked in embarrassment.
"How much of this did you know before you knocked me out?" I asked, drawing her eyes back to me.
"I knew you were not an evil being. If your soul was lost to darkness, but you were perhaps merely playing at amicability, you would have burst into flames when you made contact with the ward I placed on my coat." I gawped.
"So when you had me ride you.." I began. She nodded and winked. Quilt jumped to her hooves.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa.. When she had you what?" she squawked.
"Silence familiar! The Royals are discussing important things," I commanded with a sweep of my hand.
"I'll royally smash your head!" Quilt and I glared at each other but shortly fell into laughter, which Celestia even joined. After a minute or two, I sighed and Quilt turned to Celestia.
"So, like I asked earlier if I didn't summon Peter.. Who did?" I sat up and looked at Celestia, who wore a solemn smile.
"That I think would be best left for Mr. Harlow to divulge to you, and only if he feels like sharing," she looked into my eyes.
"I dunno what you mean," I shrugged. "I have no idea."
"Well then, if Ms. Quilt will grant us some privacy, perhaps I can shed some light," she said, looking at Quilt.
Quilt looked at me nervously, and back to Celestia.
"Well.. alright," she assented, hopping off the sofa and moving for the door. I followed after her.
"You okay?" I mentally asked. She paused at the door.
"Yeah. She's nothing like I thought.. Nothing like Grand.." She shook her head and opened the door.
"I'm gonna go find Cozy," she said.
"A wonderful idea. Take every chance to foster that friendship, Ms. Quilt," Celestia called after her. Quilt waved to the princess, before smiling at me and leaving.
I closed the door, and took a bracing breath.
"Please have a seat, Mr. Harlow," she patted the sofa next to her with a wing.
"I'm forbidden from touching that," I said as I tried to return to my chair, mostly to avoid proximity with her. My gut was screaming things were about to get awful.
"I'm sure she'll make an exception." Grumbling, I sat as instructed. She hummed in thought before she spoke again.
"There is no easing this. Everything I'm about to tell you is going to cut deeply, but it is perhaps better to grant you the full scope of your situation, rather than leave you grasping."
Called it.
"If it gets to be too much, I implore you to let me know."
"I'm a big boy, princess," I sighed. She nodded and began.
"When I inspected the cavern you awoke in, what struck me most was the same peculiarity I saw in you," she began, looking me up and down. "Both the cavern and you are not new, Mr. Harlow. The dark magic that sculpted your flesh and carved that chamber is now very mature."
"Considering you retained many memories of your former life as Twilight conveyed to me, I believe you have been in this state for some time. No newborn undead would have such a clear image as to retain their name."
I considered her words and sighed in defeat.
"How long was I in there?"
"Fifty-five years," she said with a stern look in her eye. "And so, you were summoned by the Longhorns."
Her magic was all that kept me from falling from my seat once her words finally hit home. I dunno how long I sat dumbly before that, though.
"You.." I croaked once she set me upright.
"I'm certain. Summoned and left in a stupor for all these years, for reasons I cannot guess," she explained with that look still in her eye. She blinked and adopted a softer expression. "Please let me know when I may continue. I know this is a lot to take in."
Silence hung over us, the sound of my breathing the only reinforcement I had that I was still there. My ears rang, and I felt my skin tingle as if my Evil Eye was reacting to my feelings about the news and was taking it as a threat.
Eventually, it all stopped and I looked up at her again, though half-heartedly.
"Okay." She nodded in response.
"This will be a shock to you, I know, but I have encountered your kind before," she adjusted in her seat to better face me and held my hand with a hoof. "You are the twelfth human-turned-nosferatu I have encountered and the only one I have met who was not a slave to darkness."
She held my eyes with her sad, understanding gaze. I squeezed her hoof as my mouth hung open. Despite the ringing in my ears, I let her continue.
"The Longhorns had been set to a purpose by a Mastermind I have never identified. In their haste, they cast a wide net to fuel their schemes," we never blinked, and she returned my grip with a squeeze of her own. "Over a half score of your race were swept up in this. But due to the span of space crossed, and I suspect the difference in magical saturation, only those who the dark magic resonated with were snared."
She adjusted again and held me in a wing.
"Those who had already died, and had evil in their hearts or died in misery and despair," she said as I slid down in her grip. "I sadly suspect I know which you were, but there is only one way to know for certain."
I looked up at her from her chest. Her eyes were still sad, but now radiated hope and were almost as much a comfort as the moon.
"I will not force you, for it will not be easy even when contrasted with the reality I have bared against you thus far. I only offer that it may provide closure to my concerns and your loss," she held me tighter. "The choice is yours, and please take your time before answering. There will be no forgetting again."
Quiet fell again, but this time her breathing and heartbeat kept mine company.
"Would you like to remember?" She asked.
How she knew, I didn't know.
"Yes."
And I didn't care.
"Happy Halloween! Ha-ha-ha!" I called upon bursting through the door. I was met with cheers from the office. "Don't come to my house, or else I'll-"
"Shut the fuck up, you dweeb," Nicholas jeered as he swept an arm around me, dragging me to the far side of the room with a laugh. "Dracula eh? Classic."
"Why, thank you!" I said with a bow before noticing his plain clothes. I gestured to him with a bemused smile.
"I'm an interpretive piece," he explained, pulling the collar on his flannel. "See, if you see this and get spooked, that's how we know you hate the working class."
I snorted, ignoring my phone as it buzzed in my pocket. Nicholas and I made our way to the snack bar, and more importantly to the punch bowl, which Kevin was still working on.
"Hey, Pete. Happy Halloween!" Kevin saluted.
"Right back at you. How's about-" He held up an envelope with my name on it.
"Keys in the bag first," I rolled my eyes and slipped my car keys in. Once he'd sealed the envelope and piled it with the others, he filled a cup and handed it to me. "Drink irresponsibly, you're safe now!"
I saluted with my cup as my phone buzzed again, signaling a message had been left. As Nicholas went to flirt with Sam, I pulled it out to listen to the message.
"Hey, Peter!" I looked up to see Dan waving at me and pointing to the metal door at the back of the office. "Martin asked me to get you when you showed up. He needs to talk with you. Side access."
"Now that's a scary thought," I shook my head and waved to Kevin as I walked out, sipping from his concoction.
I found Martin leaning somberly on the stairwell railing, looking down the six flights below us. Hearing the door open, he looked at me over his shoulder. No costume, just the same ill-fit dress shirt that barely hid how absolutely jacked the guy was.
"Hey, Pete."
"Hey, Marty. One sec?" I gestured with my phone. He nodded.
"Sure thing," he leaned off the railing, causing the entire thing to rattle. He whipped back around, and shook it a few times with one hand, eliciting an echoing clatter. He scoffed and pulled out his own phone. "Siri set a reminder. Monday, 6 am, Call Lawrence. Sixth-floor railing's loose."
Turning away, I pressed my phone to my ear.
"~Hey hon! It's your mom, in case you couldn't guess. Look, I know.. I know you said you were looking forward to tonight, and all, but..~"
I furrowed my brow as she sighed and stammered.
"~Well, you remember how your brother and I both got that awful cough? Well, we actually got into the doctor Wednesday to get looked at. I still can't believe Johnson was able to see us both so quick!~"
"~Anyway, Will and I just got our results back, earlier.. I don't want to get you down tonight or anything, so just call me or stop by tomorrow, okay? Will really wants to see you.~"
"~Okay, have fun honey! *mwah* Love you.~"
I closed my voicemail, and tossed my phone in the air a few times, before finishing my drink. I shivered and winced as I tossed the cup into the trash next to the door.
"Alrighty, Marty. I gotta get going to see my mom, so what'd you need?"
"She doing alright?" He asked.
"Her and Will caught something I guess. I told you he's been out sick?"
"Right, right, right, he's the one you got a part timer in our warehouse?" He asked, scratching his chest.
"Yeah, that's him." Martin hummed in response. I was about to ask what was wrong when he leaned on the railing again, causing it to creak and drew his hand down his face. He took a long breath and shot forward, fire in his eyes.
"New policy as of this morning, Peter. Straight from the top," I groaned and rolled my head.
"Alright."
"We need you to start compiling the names of anyone out sick for chest problems, coughing fits, or anything like that," he said pacing away from me.
"Why's that?" I said, leaning on the railing before backing off as it shook. I turned to see him standing, one hand on his hip, the other pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Look," he said after a minute. "We gotta cover our asses here." I straightened up.
"What's going on, Mart?" He winced and grumbled.
"Alright. Look, you remember last month we had to close the warehouse for cleaning?" I nodded. "Well, it wasn't just routine. We got a chemically contaminated shipment. I don't know what, I don't know when I just know it was bad." I blanched and swayed as I digested that news.
"We cleaned it as best we could, but the shit was already in the air and on the guys' clothes," I turned to stare at him. "Hits the lungs real bad apparently. Terminally bad. So if it gets out, we could be in hot water. We've gotta cut them before it comes back to us. We got it under wraps right now, but." He shrugged.
He leveled that look at me. I hated that look. The look that screamed 'This is wrong, but that's life.'
"That's pretty fucked up, Martin," I looked away and drew my hand down my face. I realized something critical as soon as I did.
"Will works in the warehouse."
"Pete."
"He lives with mom."
"Peter, listen-"
"He has since dad died. He's been too fucking depressed to hold down a job. She does his laundry for fucks sake."
My eyes snapped to Martin. He sat with that look. I raised my free hand and pointed dumbly at him, my mouth opening and closing in a struggle to find the words.
He shrugged and clapped his hands on his thighs.
I clenched my teeth and started dialing.
"What are you doing, Peter?" He said with disappointment.
"Calling Mom to let her know how you fucked my little brother, and her." He steeled himself and stepped towards me.
"Don't do that, Pete."
"I'm doing it." I held the phone to my ear.
"Pete."
"It's ringing." He grabbed my arm and wrenched the phone out of my hand.
"You aren't thinking straight! You know what this could do to us!"
I grabbed his collar, slamming him with all my weight, earning a surprised shout from him, and wrestled for my phone, which was still ringing.
"I know you're murdering my little brother, you fucking-"
Right as I got a grip on the phone, he planted his shoe in my chest and kicked off. I felt and heard the railing give out behind me. I saw the third-floor railing come speeding towards me, and I felt it crash into my stomach, sending me tumbling down onto the concrete far below.
I think Martin yelled something down to me, and I think I saw him moving down the stairs. I couldn't tell. It was blurry, and I couldn't breathe.
"Peter?" I heard from my phone, which must have landed next to my head.
"Mom?" I tried to say, but nothing came out. Only a strained gurgling wheeze.
"Peter?"
"Mom, I'm sorry. You have to tell Will," still nothing.
"Peter? Are you there?"
"Mom.."
"Peter?"
...
"Peter?"
...
"Peter?"
My eyes snapped to focus. I blinked a few times and looked up to see Celestia.
"Peter, the spell is complete."
"Spell.." I said, catching my breath.
"Yes, you should remember now," she said with a sad nod. I breathed quietly before nodding back.
"I do," I stared down at the floor.
"How did it happen?" She asked.
"I couldn't tell them."
"Pardon?" She leaned closer. I looked up at her, feeling tears start to well up.
"My mom. My little brother. I couldn't.." I dumbly held out my hands before slouching. I breathed slowly, staring into Celestia's concerned gaze.
"Peter.. you're bleeding."
"Wh-" She gestured to my eyes. I wiped my hand across them and looked at the stains on my fingers.
Blood.
The first tears that weren't from some hokey allergy, and they were made of blood. The tears I shed for my mom and little brother who were long dead, and they were a monster's ugly unnatural tears.
I snorted and cackled.
"Peter?" She called in surprise. After my laughing fit I reclined in my seat and looked at her with a sigh.
"I can't even grieve right."
My vision was filled with her wings as she all but tackled me into a hug.
"Martin, you ass!" I called with a groan as I struggled up to a sitting position.
"Shit, that was supposed to kill you," Martin called from up on the ledge, kneeling with his elbows resting on his knees.
"So that was on purpose! You broke my phone!" I tossed the shattered device across the room.
"Mighta been. Snitches get stitches," he said plainly. Couldn't argue with that. "Guess I gotta come down there to finish the job."
I shot him a smug angry glare.
"Jokes on you! You can't kill Dracula!" He frowned at my declaration, and his eyes lit up.
"You wanna bet?" He stood and disappeared back over the ledge.
"What are you doing?"
Stomp, Stomp, Stomp, Stomp
My eyes went wide. I had made a grave error.
"No.. no! NO!" I cried, throwing my arms up to shield myself.
"FROM THE TOP ROPE!" He announced, leaping from the ledge.
"NOT THE TOP ROPE!" I begged to no avail.
Martin fell six stories, and delivered a People's Elbow with absolutely flawless perfection into my sternum, killing me instantly.
"My god!" The Longhorn sorcerer leading the ritual cried, being the only one able to recover from the sight before them. The rest had either collapsed in horror, or fled the room. "He's killed him! God as my witness, he is broken in half!"
Sunbeam winced as the night air through the window did nothing to help the fumes from all the garlic.
When Cozy said her room was warded, having one hundred and sixty-seven full braids hanging everywhere wasn't exactly the picture she had in mind. It was a wonder the vampire could even stand living in the castle with this much garlic concentrated in one place.
"Cozy? Where'd you go?" Sunbeam called as she pushed her way through the hanging garlic, like an explorer driving deeper into the jungle.
"Over here!" Cozy called.
"Where?"
"Oh! hold on!" Cozy grumbled. There was a snap and a swish, and the entire garlic array collapsed to the floor, revealing Cozy standing next to a wench used to hold it all up. "There we go!"
Sunbeam blinked as she finally got a look at her friend's room. Just as promised besides the garlic there were dozens of scary-looking instruments and tools, as well as books upon books featuring pictures of bats and zombies piled on the desk next to her bed. She even had a second desk with a potion-making set up ready to go.
Sunbeam grinned maliciously. This was perfect, this was how they'd settle the score, this was-
"Ohmigosh!" She gasped when she saw Cozy's pillows on her bed. She rushed up to get a better look. "That's so cute!"
"You like 'em? Me and Quilt made those!" Cozy proudly declared. Sunbeam squealed in joy at the set, each with a wonderfully embroidered picture of Cozy and who must've been Quilt. "Back before the vampire came.."
Sunbeam's ears shot back at Cozy's defeated tone, and she whipped around to console her friend, pulling her into a hug.
"Don't you worry, Cozy," she said when the ewe finally looked at her. "We got this. I know a thing or two about wrangling criminals, and with your expertise, we can definitely take him down!"
Cozy sniffled away her sad tears, having long since become nose-blind to garlic, and smiled.
"You're right. I've been going about it all wrong!" She hugged Sunbeam tight, before adopting a heroic pose. "Working together, we can definitely destroy that monster!"
"We'll see about that!" Came a call from Cozy's door. Whipping around, the girls saw Prince Blueblood stride into her room.
"Prince Blueblood? I thought the vampire had you locked up!" Sunbeam gawked.
"He's the guy who got hypnotized, right?" Cozy asked, looking to Sunbeam who nodded.
"The Master welcomed me into his service, granting me a purpose when all my life I have wandered.. How could I simply sit by while you two schemers plot to destroy him?" Blueblood threatened. Cozy leaped forward.
"You don't know what you're saying, you poor fool!" She declared. "He's evil and he's got you under a spell!"
"Now who doesn't know what she's saying?" Blueblood retorted with a laugh. "But I won't waste my time bandying crude words with a pair of fools. I came to act!"
The girls braced as he lit up his horn, and then shrieked when the pile of garlic was ripped off the ground around them and balled up in the air.
"And I'm starting by removing this insulting trash!"
"No!" Cozy screamed, rushing at Blueblood who deftly took a step back and slammed the door shut, causing her to crash face-first into it. As she slid down, he threw the door open again, pinning her to the wall.
"Hah! Is this the best you can muster?" He cackled before seeing Sunbeam flying up and trying to wrestle the garlic ball free back to the ground. "Useless!"
He slipped the bundle to the side and then whipped it back, pinning Sunbeam to the wall.
"My nose! My eyes! It burns!" Sunbeam shrieked. Blueblood cackled again.
"A fitting punishment for a loathsome pair like you two!" He said with a wicked grin. "Don't you realize? Your efforts are useless! USELESS USELESS USEL-"
The door swung open, nailing him in the face with a crack and breaking his concentration, letting the garlic drop and freeing Sunbeam. Cozy sprinted out and slid to catch her friend.
"Cozy!" Sunbeam cried. "You're okay!"
"Of course! I'm a professional vampire hunter. No dopey minion's gonna get the better of me!" Cozy declared, helping Sunbeam to her hooves.
"Dopey minion?!" Came a cry that made them both jump. They whipped around again and steeled themselves. Blueblood pushed the door back open and glared at them, a thin line of blood trailing from his nose. Sunbeam blanched, and Cozy gasped.
"Are you okay?" She called while Cozy rushed to get a tissue.
"Of course! What are you-" Sunbeam gestured to his nose, which he swiped with his hoof, gasping when he saw the result. He stamped forward. "It's nothing! A mark of pride in defense of the Master!"
"Here you go," Cozy offered him the tissue.
"Oh, thank you," he said with a bow, taking it and wiping the rest away. Cozy furrowed her brow.
"We can't keep this up. Too many innocents are getting caught in the crossfire," she declared with a solemn nod.
"So what're we supposed to do?" Sunbeam asked.
"Surrender, obviously," Blueblood proposed. Cozy shook her head.
"Princess Celestia should be here by now.. We should just-"
"Aunty's here already?" Blueblood asked.
"Uuh, yeah I think so. It's about time I'm pretty sure," Sunbeam affirmed. Blueblood sat in thought looking at the slightly bloodied tissue, before smiling and jumping to his hooves.
"Ah hah! In one master stroke, I shall turn the Master's greatest foes against each other!" He declared. The girls leaped back into a defensive line.
"What are you planning?!" Cozy demanded. Blueblood chuckled darkly, holding his bloodied tissue and tapping his nose.
"You did this. And I'm telling," he said with a grim smile. The girls blanched.
"Wh-wh-wait a sec!" Sunbeam begged. Cozy carefully closed on Blueblood.
"Didn't you hear me?" He asked as he slowly stepped back out of the room, eyes locked with them. "I didn't come to talk.."
He slammed the door shut as Cozy tried to jump after him, causing it to shake as she crashed into it again.
"I came to act!" They heard him shout as he rushed down the hall. "AUNTY!"
"So, we've applied the wool to the circle. What does that leave?"
Quilt screwed up her face as she focused.
"Remember the salt matrix?" She gasped as he said this.
"That leaves the blood sample!" Quilt declared. He nodded with pride.
"Exactly! Did you remember to bring it?" She clapped her hooves.
"Yep! I got it in the bag," she whipped around and searched the bag on the grass, digging deeper until half her body was inside. "Uhm.. Uh oh.."
She whipped back and gave her Grandpa a sad look.
"I think I actually-" She blinked as he waved the little vial in the air with a smile. "Grandpa!"
They shared a laugh and continued the practice ritual. By the time the sun had gone down, the circle was ready, and with only a few adjustments by Grandpa, less than usual he was certain to tell her, it activated and burst into flames that took on the shape of sheep in all sorts of fancy clothes who then danced up into the night sky in a slow waltz.
"Wonderful work, Quili-lily," he said hugging her closely, as they watched their work slowly fade into the starry sky. "Pretty soon, you'll be doing these all on your own!"
"Thanks, Grandpa," she said, nuzzling his chest through his beard, before looking back at the last glimmers of the light. "D'ya think Mama and Papa can see?"
"Yep! And they're even more proud of you than I am," he affirmed, hugging her tight and kissing her head.
"Of course, such a display is hard to miss."
Quilt jumped as Mayor Briefs suddenly appeared next to them. She looked out from under Grandpa's beard. He spared her a momentary smile before looking back to Grandpa, who leveled a hard stare back.
"Have a moment to chat, Gruff?" Briefs asked politely. She felt Grandpa tense up. She didn't know why, but he always got really angry when Briefs interrupted their time together even though he never got angry at anything else.
"I'm with my granddaughter, Briefs."
"Something's come up I need your expertise on," the Mayor said plainly. Grandpa hissed and looked away.
"Is it time?" He all but whispered. The Mayor shook his head, and Grandpa sighed. "That's a relief. I'll meet you in the town hall."
Briefs tipped his hat and slipped away.
"Alright, young lady, time for bed," Grandpa said, rising from where they lay. Quilt just as quickly scrambled to her hooves.
"Aw! But Grandpa!" Quilt whined, pointing at the stars. Grandpa was about to argue but sighed when he met her sad, pleading eyes.
"Alright.. Briefs can scruff himself. Five more minutes!" He declared, causing Quilt to gasp.
"Grandpa! You cussed!" He just winked and sat down with her as they stargazed together.
The stars hadn't changed at all. Even from the balcony of Castle Ramstead, they looked just as bright and wonderful as they did all those years ago.
Except now, she gazed alone.
She couldn't take her mind off that night and all the other nights just like it, when Grandpa'd take her to practice witchcraft away from the sheep who were spooked by it. When he'd explain the importance of keeping your summoned undead on a short leash, or else they'd take advantage and hurt you.
When he'd tell her how good a job she'd done.
Quilt sighed miserably, and buried her snout deeper in her hooves. She kept Peter on the tips of his hooves pretty well, she thought. But if he wasn't summoned by her, was it all for no good reason?
But that's only if Celestia was right.
And Grandpa warned her about the princess.
"She's wonderful, have no doubt," he'd said. "But thirty years ago, when she got angry with the Longhorns? Well, if you saw her, you'd understand why us practicing the same sort of stuff as them is something we're keeping to ourselves."
But if that was all true, how come she didn't kill her when Quilt had come clean? And if the princess was genuine, didn't that mean Grandpa'd got a lot wrong?
And if he got stuff like the rituals and the princess wrong, what if he was wrong about how good she was at magic? What if he was wrong about how smart she was? What if he was wrong about how proud Mama and Papa were?
What if when he died, he was wrong about how much he said he lov-
"Nuh-uh," she mumbled, hiding her eyes from the sky.
None of this made any sense, and it'd not made much sense ever since she met Peter. This all just made her try harder to bury her head, wishing she could just slip down between the stones and disappear.
"Get back here, you lowly slave of evil!"
Quilt looked back in spite of her misery, and through the balcony door, she saw Cozy and one of the ponies Peter'd arrested sprinting down the hall.
Cozy at least made sense. There was no way she was wrong about that.
Cozy was her friend.
"A wonderful idea. Take every chance to foster that friendship, Ms. Quilt."
With a bracing breath, Quilt stood and galloped to catch up with her friend.
Out on a balcony she teleported us to, I soaked in the calming moonlight while lying on her side. She had one wing draped over me as we sat in the quiet.
"You said there were others," I said, barely a whisper.
"Eleven, to be precise. I am very sorry to say, when I encountered them in the vaults beneath the mountain, that I had no idea they were from another world. After I had cleansed the mountain, I had time to think," she explained.
"So, they're all.." I whispered. She held me tight with her wing.
"They were already lost when their masters unleashed them upon me, and so I did what had to be done," she confirmed. "It was years later after further dissection of the Longhorns' notes that their origins became apparent."
"What the hell were the Longhorns after?" I felt her bristle at my question.
"Death," she said coldly. "On a scale I fear to fathom. When I felt the sorcery they wove into the forest, I felt the intent as well. They meant to deny the Woollachians any aid."
"They were going to.. Kill their own guys?"
"To the last, I suspect," she sighed. "I know not to what end, but their Master intended to turn Woollachia into a mass grave. I cast aside all caution and rushed here alone, for the royal guard were unable to mobilize fast enough."
"I suppose that being quite the unexpected act on my part helped me in the end. They never expected me to face them directly," she said with a sad laugh. "I managed to catch them before their horrors could be unleashed from the mountains, and with a few counterspells to clear their false cloud cover, the sun and I made quick work of purging their horde and driving the last of their number over the mountains into the wasteland beyond." She looked off into space, and I felt her wing relax its grip.
"So many would have suffered, and for a purpose I cannot even guess."
I considered her words and our earlier talk.
"What about vampires?" She looked down at me. "You said those who died-" I flinched, but relaxed when her wing tightened.
"Those who died miserable could be turned into vampires," I sighed. "Maybe they wanted a huge army?"
"Very clever, but a few addendums," she said with a chuckle. "Those who pass while in misery and despair are more easily snared by dark magic, not simply turned into vampires. And if that was their goal, there are easier and subtler ways to accomplish such a feat."
"Still, I have considered something similar," she continued, her tone lower and more severe. "Certainly there would be countless souls who would resonate with the darkness. Such things are quite useful for producing dark power itself. Mass sacrifice in older, sadder times was used to fuel great dark magic rituals, such as attempts to blot out the sun or resurrect dead gods."
"Sounds like a barrel of laughs."
"It was actually very serious, Peter," Celestia chided. "But I won't deny there was some excitement to it all."
I took a deep breath and stared at the moon for a minute.
"Why'd you leave behind all the stuff here in the castle?"
"As I explained, the Mastermind behind the Longhorns' evil was never identified. I had hoped that by feigning an utter rout and withdrawing entirely, the villain would show themself and pounce upon the chance for plunder and glory," she let out a long and tired sigh. "I believed they were motivated by imperialism and greed, for these were the motivators the Longhorns proclaimed during our clash. But no such luck. In fact, Woollachia fell into a delightful peace following our withdrawal."
She beamed up at the stars.
"So there's a light in the dark regardless."
"Wish I had that kind of faith in things," I muttered. I was thrust up to a sitting position and whirled around to face her.
"Do not sink into the mire of what has been," she said sternly but sadly. "Let the past be the past, and look to tomorrow." I grimaced.
"I get you, it's just.." I shook my head, unable to find the words.
"You have suffered loss, and much of it is by the malice or carelessness of others," she brushed my shoulders with her wings. I avoided her eyes. "Grief is one thing. A desire for justice another. But when these have passed or been satisfied? Clinging to what spawned them will do you no good." I winced.
"The Longhorns are destroyed. This Martin is gone," she leaned closer and touched the crown of her horn to my head. "Your family has passed. These things cannot be changed. Embrace your sorrow for now, but do not wallow unending, for this will turn to resentment and resentment to hate."
"Maker willing, you have a very long life ahead of you, and eternity is wasted on hatred, Mr. Harlow. For try as we might, immortality slips away," I tried to look her in the eyes but found she was staring at the moon. "And we're left with only our shame." She shook her head and looked at me sadly.
"I will not say do not weep, only do not compound later regrets. Grieve now, and then be glad for the new life you have and the new friends you have already made," she wrapped a wing around me in a tight hug. "You have escaped death, but also, against all odds, escaped a far worse destruction and remained Peter Harlow."
Before I could say anything, she kissed my forehead.
"I at least shall celebrate that fact. I pray you find the strength to do likewise."
Dumbstruck by her words, I stared into her eyes, lost in the assuring light they exuded.
I took a cleansing breath and nodded.
As I did, I saw the slightly faded red stains on her coat around her neck, where I'd buried my face after learning the truth.
"Fuck, I-" she cut me off, holding up a hoof.
"Think nothing of it," she smiled softly. "I consider it a sure sign that my friend has retained his soul. And that is nothing to be ashamed of." I gawped.
"We're friends?"
"After all that, I'd certainly hope so!" She tittered before smiling warmly.
I smiled back for the first time in what felt like years.
"AUNTY!" The voice of Blueblood shrieked.
And there it went.
"Sweetheart?" Celestia called, sweeping up to her hooves and walking to the hall where Blueblood came galloping.
"Don't listen to him! He's possessed!" Came Cozy's yell.
"I didn't do it!" And Sunbeam's.
I followed Celestia inside, where Blueblood came to a screeching halt and fell into a string of accusations, bringing attention to his nose and the tissue he had.
Then Cozy and Sunbeam came crashing in and fell into a string of deflections and denials.
Celestia stood stunned as the conflicting verbal barrage hammered her from all sides, before slowly looking back at me.
I stepped forward and slammed my palms together with all my strength, creating a deafening thunderclap, silencing the three of them. They all looked up at me in anticipation.
"You." I pointed to Blueblood. He hesitated but nodded.
"Aunty, these two mean mares, er mare and ewe hit my nose! I was bleeding!"
"Princess! The vampire has control over Blueblood!" She cried.
"No, he doesn't!" Blueblood squawked.
"He doesn't?" Celestia repeated.
"I don't?" I also repeated. Blueblood looked up at me for a moment, before turning to Celestia.
"Of course not! He set me free earlier, because he's a decent chap," he affirmed with a stern nod. Celestia leaned down to look him in the eyes, which caused him to flinch until she hummed and withdrew.
"That certainly seems true, and matches what I believe to be true about Mr. Harlow," she said. I looked down at Blueblood who winked at me when Celestia focused on Cozy and Sunbeam.
And I had no inclination of how to take that.
"Wait.. You think he's okay?" Cozy gasped. Sunbeam and she took a step back and pressed closer together.
"He and I have had a very lengthy discussion, and-" she was cut off by Sunbeam.
"She's covered in blood!" She cried, pointing to the faded red patches.
"She is under his spell!" Cozy declared.
"Wh-what?" Celestia stuttered, suddenly under the mildly hostile and critical glares of the pair. I dragged my hand over my face with a sigh.
"Cozy?" Quilt called, suddenly popping up from around the corner. She gawped when she saw all of us together but relaxed a little when I waved.
"Quilt!" Cozy cried, rushing back and putting herself between Quilt and us. "Stay back! He's ensnared the princess!"
"He's even more dangerous than we feared!" Sunbeam added, taking a defensive stance next to Cozy, before looking back at Quilt. "I'm Sunbeam, by the way!"
"Hi?" Quilt mumbled.
"I understand your fears, but please believe me when I say that Peter Harlow is not half the monster you imagine him to be," Celestia explained. "These marks are not of violence, but sorrow. His, not mine. Would a heartless monster weep before anyone?"
"W-well.. I mean, maybe?" Cozy grumbled while Sunbeam kicked the carpet. Quilt looked up at me in astonishment. I shrugged.
"Like she said, my choice. And I choose to tell my buddy about it a little later, alright?" I psychically said.
She stared at me as if really taking in my words, before smiling.
"Okay," she finally replied.
"Consider this also!" Celestia said, snapping her wings out to get their attention. "If I were under his spell, I'd have to obey his commands, yes?"
"Exactly!" They both cried. Celestia nodded and whipped around to face me.
"Go ahead," she said. I stared at her before catching her meaning. I raised my hand to position and channeled Lugosi.
"Gimme your crown."
"No," she retorted and whirled back to cast an expectant smile at the girls.
"Huh," Sunbeam huffed.
"But! He! I! You.. QUILT! He!" Cozy said, nearly frothing at the mouth, before collapsing with a defeated sigh. She sat staring at the floor until Celestia knelt to her.
"I don't think Peter took much exception to your actions, and they were done out of love for your friend, right?" she asked. Cozy nodded slowly. "Then I cannot chastise you too severely. Your heart was, and remains, in the right place. And please consider the bright side!" She swept her wing out and brushed Sunbeam to Cozy's side.
"You even made another friend in your escapades," Celestia said with a smile. Cozy and Sunbeam considered each other and smiled back. "I only ask that you try to think better of Peter."
They scowled past her at me but softened to just frowning and nodded. Celestia rose with a giggle.
"Now, Lieutenant Sunbeam has to come back to Canterlot," the girls whined at that news. "But I have something to let you both keep in contact."
Her horn lit up and a pair of matching golden candles appeared in front of them both.
"Whoa! I thought these were only for emergencies!" Sunbeam cried, taking hers in her hooves.
"A pair of friends about to be divided by days of land travel is emergency enough if you ask me!" Celestia retorted.
"What're these?" Cozy asked, looking hers over.
"If you write a letter and burn it in the candle flame, it will immediately be transported to whoever owns the other candle," Celestia explained. Cozy gasped and she and Sunbeam fell into a hug.
Then another flash and I saw one floating in front of me. Looking up, I saw Celestia looking back at me with a smile, holding its twin in her magic.
I smiled and took the candle with a nod.
"If you ever return to this house, you now have no excuse for disturbing the castle finance pile. You have been made aware," Graggle said, wagging a claw in Pinkie's face who nodded her head shamefully.
The rest of Twilight's friends were making brief small talk and saying their farewells to the rest of the staff, especially Cozy and Sunbeam who were excitedly trotting in place as they talked to the bemusement of Sunbeam's squad, especially Hasty who shot a smile and wave my way.
"Don't worry Master!" I nearly jumped when Blueblood popped up from nowhere. "I am still loyal! If you ever need an inside-stallion, I'm your fellow!"
I blinked and gave him a curt nod, to which he saluted and made to board the chariot. As he did, Celestia stepped away from the pegasi at the front and approached me.
"Please remember what I told you. Cherish what you have now, fill your heart with love rather than leave a hole where love once was," she said once she was in front of me. "It goes without saying, but if you ever need to talk, you have your candle. Please never feel it a burden to write."
"Thank you," I replied with a smile. She nodded and tilted her head in thought.
"Perhaps if you're feeling up to it, you could come to Canterlot on the sixth of next month. We'll be having a festival dedicated to friendship then," I was about to point out the problem with that arrangement when she continued. "It will be going quite late, so you'll have a chance to enjoy it without fear of my fiery ward in the sky."
"I'll think about it," I said with a smile. She bowed, and I returned the gesture before she turned and boarded the chariot. Everyone else aboard waved as it moved to leave.
"See you later Peter! Remember: Nightmare Night! I need you for authenticity consultation!" Pinkie cried as they left the ground. I shot her a thumbs-up.
The sheep, dogs and I called our farewells as the chariot shrank into the horizon. The castle residents all began to return inside to either sleep now that the night was ending or prepare for their duties.
I took a deep cleansing breath as I watched the chariot with my superior eyes, and felt something bite my hand.
Time ticked on, and the date of the Friendship Festival was drawing near. I hadn't had time to consider planning to attend, unfortunately.
Trade was booming, and tax revenue was cycling in despite my protests which Graggle ignored. Using that and the still substantial treasure horde, every dog in Woollachia and staffer in the castle was now on a proper payroll, the roads were repaired, and public opinion was very high, at least among the common sheep.
Once I'd gotten the word out that Celestia and I were on good terms Lace and Cap didn't fully believe me and raised all sorts of complaints and accusations. Lace had even asserted the princess was lying to me, at which point I had her escorted from the castle.
After a brief talk with Briefs on my behalf, though, they were more cordial.
In any case, affairs of state flowed in, and I made choices that truly began to shape Woollachia, notably selecting ambassadors from the four villages, a senior ambassador from the population in general, and approving a design for the country's flag.
Knit, one of the rams in the castle, came up with a real banger: A sheep's head in profile wreathed by bat wings on a red plane.
While I'd written Celestia a few times just to write, I'd also hit her up for advice on many of the issues laid at my feet. Her wisdom showed, but so did her eagerness to tease me about critical problems.
For every
"Experience is found not only in age but in weathering. The wheel that has sat for a year is not necessarily as strong as one that has been in motion for half that time,"
there was a follow-up along the lines of
"So pick the candidate who can hula-hoop the best! That would be the most fun and would certainly put whoever they are ambassadors to at ease.I would also appreciate it if the ambassador to Equestria had extra fluffy wool and wore a top hat."
Despite that, however, her input had definitely helped, and she repeatedly told me how pleased she was that I trusted her enough to ask, let alone my willingness to write her at all.
But she wasn't the only one I'd talked to.
"That's.. Wow," Quilt whispered from where she lay, hugged into my side. I stared at the ceiling from the bed, gently stroking her wool. Celestia had only left a few hours ago, and the sun was rising, so I bid a good evening to everyone and retired with Quilt.
When we were alone, I told her everything. It felt right.
She was surprisingly receptive. No insults or jeers came my way, only a sympathetic ear.
I managed to recount everything I'd remembered. Martin, Mom, Will, and everything Celestia told me about the mountains. I even managed to hold it together while doing so.
Quilt sat up and looked me in the eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Thank you for sitting and listening." I gently scratched her ear. She let that go on for a minute before looking at me again.
"I.. I kind of get it," she whispered as I withdrew my hand.
"How so?" She laid back down, head in my chest.
"Mama and Papa died when I was little, and Grandpa.. seven years ago." I hugged her close. She buried her face in my shirt. "I.. I had Cozy though.." She sat up and looked at me with watery eyes.
"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."
I shook my head, now fighting off the day-hour drowsiness.
"You've been a treat. A spicy, snippy little treat, but I wouldn't change you for anything." I scratched her back. "Love you, buddy."
Silence held as I slowly slipped from my body. Looking down, I saw her staring at my sleeping body. Her ears snapped back, and she looked up at me.
"..Gross." She said with a weak grin. I smiled back.
After that day, things had carried on mostly the same. We met to discuss and work on improvements on my powers of sorcery and as a vampire. She kept the attitude but was more open to praising my accomplishments.
I never thought much about it, but that single change made a world of difference.
As for results, I could turn into mist for hours and finally do the funny move: turn into a bat. Multiple bats, we found out. An absolute swarm. Her being more supportive made it easier for me to keep the mental image of what I wanted to turn into, making the shape change way easier.
The real kicker was she'd explained that while turned into an animal or mist, I wasn't susceptible to dying in the sun. I couldn't turn back while in sunlight, but it at least meant I had a rapid defense if caught in the open.
My magic had improved as well. I could levitate entire groups of sheep and dogs, and that gave me the mental framework necessary to finally fly. The other spells we'd cracked into were conjuring fire from my hands, small illusions, and short-range teleportation.
While Graggle had given me an earful after nearly starting a fire with the curtains and threatened to have Cozy ward the treasure room when I magicked up some fake coins while he was counting, nobody complained about my new ability to pop in and out of thin air. As far as I knew anway, cause I always teleported away before they had the chance.
Instead, I learned reservation with teleportation when I accidentally popped in on Frill while trying to spook her as a joke and discovered she'd just left the bath. That was the second time I'd heard her get angry.
But that harrowing, shameful experience, which I'm still apologizing for aside, things were going well.
There was only one problem.
Cozy.
She'd reined in her attempts on my life per Celestia's request, but she still gave me a wide berth.
If she hated me, I could live with it. But it was tearing Quilt in two.
Even something as simple as me coming to say 'hi' while they were in the dining room would lead to Cozy scampering off until I made myself scarce. Quilt never said anything, but she didn't have to.
It was written all over her face when she and I were left alone, as she mumbled her words and stared off in the direction her friend had run.
Something had to give.
"Quilt, you decent?" I called, knocking on her door. "I mean it this time. I don't want a repeat of what I did to Frill."
Just beyond, I heard scrambling before the door flew open. I briefly saw Cozy zip out before she vanished around a corner. I saw Quilt sitting on her sofa with her head hanging.
"That getting old yet?" I asked as I walked in and shut the door.
"Scruff yourself," she muttered sadly, laying flat and burying her face in her hooves. I sat beside her on the sofa, but she didn't react. "I don't feel like tutoring right now."
"Not why I'm here," she looked up at me with her face still half-buried. "You need to tell her."
"No."
"Why not?" She snapped to her hooves.
"What the heck am I supposed to say? 'Hey, Cozy! I'm a witch! I helped wake up the vampire you hate so much! Teehee!'" She flashed me a fake smile that quickly melted into a scowl.
"It's better than letting her go for a month thinking you're in danger. Celestia might've told her I'm cool, but you really think she buys that?" I shook my head and sighed. "Wouldn't surprise me if she and Sunbeam were trading reports or something about me and Celestia." Quilt hopped off the sofa and paced the floor, kicking over the chair I usually sat in.
"You think I don't feel horrible? You think I really like knowing that my best friend has to run and hide every time you show up?" She sat and clenched her teeth, tears bubbling at the corners of her eyes. "And knowing it's because of me?" I leaned forward, and she looked up at me.
"I know that's how you're feeling. And that's why you need to tell her the truth," I said quietly.
"I literally just said I don't want to lose her, and you're asking me to chase her off."
"I resent that," I growled, my tone way harsher than intended. It at least caught her attention as she stared wide-eyed at me. "I don't want you to chase her off. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."
An angry silence hung over us until I sighed and reclined in my seat, staring at the ceiling. I heard the sofa squeak slightly as she climbed back on.
I could feel her looking at me expectantly, so I elaborated.
"My little brother took our dad's death pretty hard. He went from outgoing and all that to a total shut-in. Couldn't hold down a job due to being too depressed," I explained, folding my hands on my stomach and sliding my legs out under the table.
"Mom always called me to ask me to come visit, to talk with him," I winced. "But I never did. I didn't know what to say, and I figured if I put it off for long enough, I'd figure the words out eventually." I clenched my eyes shut before looking down at her.
"I got angry even. Why should it be my responsibility to pep talk Will?" I opened and held out my hands slightly. "Dad dying hit me too. Where was my pep talk?" I clapped my hands back together over my chest and stared forward.
"Looking back, I think that was something the princess told me about. Holding on to something for too long turns it to resentment." In the corner of my eye, I saw Quilt's ear twitch at those words. I got lost in memory for a hard minute before continuing.
"When I was finally faced with a time limit," I looked at my hands, remembering the struggle for my phone. "By the time I really decided I didn't want to lose my brother, I lost him forever. Because I put it off."
I leaned forward and rested on my knees.
"Don't wait, buddy. Don't be like me."
Quilt winced at the smell of garlic emanating from behind Cozy's door. Coughing gently, she knocked on the door.
"Just a sec!" A clattering noise rang out after Cozy's call before the door opened.
"Okay! You can come in now," Cozy said cheerily. Quilt looked around, noticing the garlic braids Cozy'd told her about were now secured against the ceiling rather than hanging free, and there was a huge salt circle in the center of the room. Cozy sat patiently in the circle with a warm smile.
Quilt blinked but smiled back and stepped inside, turning to close the door behind her. Facing her friend again, she flinched upon seeing Cozy an inch from her, looking her up and down and parting her wool with a hoof.
"No bite marks or red wool.. hmm," Cozy muttered, nodding slowly. "He's good. He must know I'm writing Sunbeam, even though I've been using salt to ward his Scrying Eye." Quilt's eye twitched, but she shook her head and sat in the circle with Cozy.
"So what's up?" Cozy asked. Quilt shuffled her hooves, avoiding her friend's eyes.
"H-how you been?" Cozy raised an eyebrow at the question.
"Uhm.. I'm okay? We talked a little bit ago, before," she scowled and snarled. "He butt in. What'd he want anyway?"
"Just to talk."
"Uh-huh! So he was prying to see if I shared any of my plans with you, huh?" Cozy accused, pacing the floor in the circle. Quilt clenched her teeth but stood up and faced Cozy.
"No. He wanted to talk about us. Me and you," she said. Cozy stopped and studied her friend's face before slowly sitting down.
"What do you mean?" She asked with a furrowed brow. Quilt stammered and muttered before looking Cozy in the eyes.
"I've.. got something to show you," she said, stepping out of the salt circle. Cozy was about to protest until Quilt jingled her bell. Except for the space in the salt circle, the room warped and shimmered until it changed from one of the castle's bedrooms to Quilt's old living room in Ruffleton. Quilt also changed as her wool bristled and went stiff in places, and her eyes grew tired.
"Wha-" Cozy gawped at the sight before Quilt let a breath out, and the image faded. Quilt sat on the floor and looked at Cozy sadly.
"Ta-da?" She muttered.
"What was that?" Cozy whispered looking all around. Quilt lay on the floor, tucking her legs in close.
"Magic." Cozy whipped around to her friend upon hearing that.
"You're a witch?" Cozy asked with wonder. Quilt twitched and mumbled.
"Yeah.."
"Like you can do spells and stuff?" Cozy asked.
"Not really spells, just illusions and rituals," Quilt muttered.
"That's amazing!" Cozy declared, drawing even closer to the shock of Quilt. "How long has this been a thing?" Quilt stared in disbelief.
"Since I was thirteen. That was when Grandpa said I'd finished training." Cozy gasped.
"Grandpa Gruff taught you all that?!" Quilt nodded solemnly. "Wowie! I had no idea!" Cozy's expression dropped. She stared at the floor, working through her thoughts.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She finally asked, flinching when she looked and saw Quilt's wide, terrified eyes.
"I-" She could do this.
"I didn't want-" She had to.
"You're all I've had-"
"Don't wait, buddy. Don't be like me."
"I don't wanna lose you!" She screamed, hurling herself into Cozy, dragging her to the floor in a tight hug as she howled tears into her wool. Cozy tried to speak but was too stunned to find any words.
"When Grandpa died, you were the only one I had! The only one I could cry with! The only one who'd sit up with me at night!" She wailed between shuddering breaths. "If I lose you.. I-" She fell into deeper sobs, nearly crushing Cozy in her grip as she buried her face deeper.
Cozy managed to slip her forelegs free and wrapped them around Quilt, who relaxed her grip but sobbed regardless. The clock on her wall ticked on for minutes before Quilt's cries tapered off, and she began breathing quietly.
"Please.. I need you," she finally whispered. "Don't leave me all alone."
"Why would I do that?" Cozy asked. Quilt bristled and looked up at her friend's smiling face. She smiled back and nuzzled Cozy again.
"I love you, Cozy," Quilt whispered.
"Love you too, Quili-lily!" Cozy replied, hugging her tightly. Quilt giggled as they broke their embrace and sat up.
"So, you're not scared of the magic?" Quilt asked with a careful smile.
"No? Why would I be? I trust you," Cozy replied. Quilt hummed to herself.
"Well.. It's the same stuff the Longhorns got up to, and everywooly knows they were bad," she explained, firmly at first but then softly.
"Yeah, but you're Quilt! And your Grandpa was Grandpa Gruff! Neither of those're Longhorns, and they're definitely not bad!" Quilt's smile brightened at her friend's words. "The only problem I've had is with Peter." Quilt blanched and bit her lip.
"He.. He's not what you think, Cozy," she said quietly.
"Wha'dya mean? He mauled you in the cave!" Cozy said sternly.
"I.. Kind of made that happen."
"What?" Cozy said with a breath.
"It- It's part of the ritual I was doing to save the village."
"He.. You're.. Wh-huh?" Cozy huffed, falling on her haunches.
"He doesn't hurt me, Cozy," Quilt said, shuffling her hooves. "I've been helping him learn magic 'n stuff. To keep us safe."
Silence fell upon the room, broken only by the steady ticking of the clock and, eventually, Cozy as she spoke.
"I.. You.. Was this all a joke to you?" She said in disbelief. Quilt's gasped in horror.
"What? No!"
"Why didn't you say anything?! You just let me go on thinking you've been in danger this whole time?" Cozy screamed. "I've been worried sick! It may not seem like it, but I've barely slept since coming to this mother-scruffing castle!" Quilt wilted under her friend's angry sight.
"I've stayed up till all hours making plans and coming up with tools to get him off you, all the while feeling like I was letting you down thinking about what he was doing to you!" Cozy ranted, pacing the floor before stopping in front of her pile of vampire-killing tools, facing away from Quilt. "You just.. let me?"
The clock ticked on.
"I need some time alone, Quilt."
"I'm so sorry.."
The stars hadn't changed at all. Even from the balcony of Castle Ramstead, they looked just as bright and wonderful as they did when she first showed them to Cozy as lambs.
Except now, she gazed alone.
Or so she thought.
The door to the balcony opened, and the odor of hot garlic wafted out on the night breeze.
"Hey, Quilt," Cozy said.
"Hey, Cozy," Quilt replied. Cozy came beside where she lay and set down a plate of garlic bread that steamed heavily in the cool night air. Quilt looked up at Cozy.
"It's traditional vampire slayer food. I got pretty good at it!" Cozy proudly declared, offering a slice to Quilt. She smiled and took a bite.
"I can tell.." She mumbled with her mouth full. Cozy sat down next to Quilt as they shared the plate and stargazed. When the plate was clean, only the gentle noise of crickets filled the air.
"I'm sorry, Cozy."
"I forgive you," Cozy declared. "On one condition." Quilt looked at her friend and met her sad smile.
"No more secrets," Cozy begged. "Please?" Quilt slid the plate out of the way and hugged her friend.
"No more secrets," she declared. Cozy hugged her back, and the two sat stargazing together.
Until Quilt twitched and rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Peter, you can come out!" Quilt yelled aloud.
I'd only asked if they were cool when Quilt called me out.
Slowly, carefully, I stepped out onto the balcony and to the side of the two ewes, where I sat down. Quilt wore a sad smile, but Cozy still frowned at me.
"So," I began, drumming my fingers on the floor. "Are you two okay?"
Cozy blinked, and her frown faded. She and Quilt shared a look before turning back to me.
"Yeah, we're okay now," Cozy declared. She began studying me closely. "Which I think.. means you and I are okay too." I gawped in response.
"Really?"
"Really, really," she confirmed, slowly leveling a smile my way. I smiled back and sighed at the moon.
"Well, what do you know?" I said with a sweeping gesture across the balcony. "We got our own Friendship Festival right here!"
Cozy and Quilt shared a look before laughing.
"We got a dopey clown even!" Quilt said, nudging my leg, causing Cozy to laugh harder.
"Yep! And a petting zoo of rare and mentally unstable animals!" I retorted, ruffling her head wool. She growled and bit my hand. "Ha-ha! That does not even-"
I stopped my Lugosi impression dead, humming in consideration of the sparks of pain coiling up my arm. Quilt latched on firmly, and Cozy looked with curiosity.
"Oh!" She suddenly gasped. "The garlic bread!"
"Hr hrari hrea!" Quilt agreed, with her mouth still clamped.
"The garlic bread," I affirmed, nodding sagely.
Then I howled.
8:57 am
Canterlot City, Canterlot
A flash of light lit the room briefly as Twilight and company suddenly popped into existence before collapsing into a pile and catching their breath. Thanks to Twilight's hasty teleport, they'd narrowly avoided the hornless unicorn and her cohorts leading the Storm King's attack on Canterlot, who'd turned Celestia, Luna, and Cadance to stone with a strange set of magic balls.
Twilight rose to her hooves and looked at where she'd whisked them off to. Racks and trays of freshly shaped dough lined the room filling it with a sweet aroma. It wasn't very comforting, considering they could still hear the screaming through the walls.
"Is this Donut Joe's?" Spike asked, catching his breath.
"I think so. I panicked." Twilight explained, ignoring her coat bristling and twitching.
"What do we do?" Fluttershy whimpered.
"Celestia-" Twilight's voice hitched, and she winced. "Celestia was telling Luna to go south. Something about the hippo-somethings?"
"What about Peter?" Pinkie piped up. The rest hummed in consideration before Twilight shook her head.
"Maybe, but so long as the sun's up, he won't be able to go outside," Twilight sadly declared. "And that cloud cover they made is only over Canterlot."
"Hey, uh, speaking of Peter.." Rainbow began. The others knew what she was about to ask and grimaced in anticipation. "Was that-"
The wall of the room exploded inwards, nearly burying Applejack and Rarity as donut racks were hurled with the debris. Twilight threw up a shield against the worst of it, and as the smoke cleared, they saw the source, compelling her to leave the shield up.
No explosive or spell had been used; He'd simply walked right through.
From his vice-like maw, the limp body of poor Captain Line Holder fell with a squelch.
"Well, hello everypony!" Came his call in that throaty, almost choked-up voice, spatters of blood flying freely from his teeth
His skin was pale and crisscrossed with old scars from poorly sutured lacerations around strange tattoos, topped with a mass of unruly black hair. He had a metal plate bearing the Storm King's mark stitched onto his bare chest, for he only wore pants held by suspenders, a high-collared long coat, and heavy black boots. Said boots hit the ground with a rhythmic thud as he approached.
"You ladies come here often?" The human-vampire leered horribly at them with yellow eyes and a smile full of fangs.
Sorry I didn't respond to your letter early this morning. I didn't even really get a chance to read it. Sorry, again.
We got attacked by the Storm King's army, and they've taken over Canterlot. I don't really know who the Storm King is, but he's got three vampires working for him.
The commander of the attack used these weird balls to turn the princesses to stone, and then the vampires attacked. Princess Twilight and her friends got away, but Captain Holder
Our squad and a bunch of civilians managed to get to the tunnels under the city. Starlight Glimmer helped us steal one of their airships. Did I ever tell you about her? She's Princess Twilight's student in magic. She's pretty good at it! She put a shield up at the tunnel entrance the vampires couldn't get through.
We're on our way to Woollachia. Prince Blueblood's flying the ship, and he's actually doing a pretty good job. The ships are really neat. They've got machines that make thunderclouds. They used them to block out the sun so the vampires
Captain Holder tried to fight one to buy us time. It bit him. It saw me and laughed. I can still hear it in my head.
Tell Peter I'm sorry for being mean to him. He's not like them at all. Princess Celestia was right.
I wish he hadn't let us go so you and I could hang out more. Plus Captain Holder would probably still be alive.
Do you think Peter's too mad at me to help us?
We're being followed.
I don't think any of the vampires are on the other ship, but I don't know for sure.
Patch walked with his head held high, reveling in the deference all the sheep in the village gave him. None dared look him in the eye, and none dared to bar his path. Instead, they gave way and bowed, bringing almost the entire town to a halt as he traveled.
He smiled. This was, of course, the expected response to the arrival of a Longhorn. However, he was not here to delight in the respect due to him.
Cutting his way through the village, he arrived at the town hall. The few staffers present quickly shuffled out to grant him the privacy he and his host would need.
Only one dared to remain, but this was just as unsurprising as the behavior of the rest of the sheep. As Patch loomed in the office door, he studied the offender closely.
Gruff was standing in Briefs' office holding some muted debate with the newly assigned Mayor, but as if sensing the presence of his social better, he turned and made for the door with an expression of thinly veiled contempt.
Before he could brush past Patch, the Longhorn shot his foreleg to the door frame. They shared a look of equaled annoyance as Patch weaved his sorcery and pulled back the shaggy wool on Gruff's head, looking closely at the two recently filed nubs hidden there.
Shaking his head, Patch removed his leg and closed the door behind Gruff.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Briefs said. "There's been a development."
"Why does he do that?" Patch asked, glancing back at the door.
"Cut his horns?" Briefs asked.
"Yes. He should be in the mountain or Castle Ramstead with us," Patch snorted. "Instead, he chooses to dwell with the fodder. Why?"
"He believes a great fall is coming to the Longhorns soon," Briefs said evenly, without derision or mirth. Patch finally looked him in the face.
"Treachery?" He asked. Briefs laughed in response.
"No, not at all. Just a lack of faith." Patch pondered his answer, pacing the floor.
"What of that wife and son of his?" He asked still pacing. "If he needs some motivation, we could-"
"The Master has considered them," Patch stopped in his tracks and cast a look of shock at the Mayor. "If and When the Master feels it necessary to our goals, they will be removed. Not before."
Patch swallowed hard but nodded.
"And on the topic of the Master, he has given me a new project to relay," Briefs explained with a smile that did nothing to ease Patch's nerves.
"And how might we serve the Master?" He asked.
"Those new creatures you conjured from another world," Briefs began. Patch stumbled with a gasp. "Yes, he is aware of your mistake born from haste. He will forgive it, but you must set aside a few of them." Patch breathed heavily.
"Set aside..?"
"Four or five will do, and they must not be awakened under any circumstance. Relocate them away from the rest," Briefs explained. Patch shook.
"We.. Ah, we have three we've yet to awaken.. Haven't had a chance due to feeding the rest. Will that-"
"Summon a fourth."
"Captain Klavis, we've passed over central Trotsylvania," the navigator reported from his table on the quarterdeck.
"Do you have an inclination where they're heading?" Klavis asked. The navigator scanned his maps and nodded slowly.
"Possibly to Woollachia. It's a small nation, barely even a county," he reported. "It's gone unnoticed by His Excellence for that reason," Klavis grumbled and gazed through his spyglass.
"Won't be unnoticed any longer. Sounds like an excellent excuse to present them for conquest," he said, observing the rogue airship miles ahead. There was an argument occurring on their deck. The helms-stallion and the mare who'd thwarted the Brothers were bickering, and the starboard harpoon gun was surrounded by pony guards debating the device itself.
"Ha! Don't even know how to use our weapons," Klavis cried before turning to the helm and addressing the crew. "Six degrees north, northwest! Portside ready the harpoon!"
Grunts and salutes answered as the crew moved to carry out his orders. The ship began to turn, angling itself according to the captain's will. Klavis continued to observe the runaways and laughed when he saw the helm stallion jump as their ship slipped into a thin fog. The fool actually slammed his hoof on the braking mechanism, to the horror of the mare.
"Double-time!" Klavis commanded, putting his spyglass away. The harpoon gun squeaked and squealed into place as ammunition was dragged up through the hatch in the center of the deck. It didn't matter what happened now. That momentary brake ensured their doom. He drummed the railing with glee.
"Do we need any more proof than this?" He called out. The crew halted with annoyance, recognizing Klavis was about to give a speech. "Fate has shown her favor yet again!"
He stepped past the helm and descended the steps to the main deck. The soldiers stood at attention, already tuning him out and letting their eyes wander.
"When our King sought to unify the Storm Isles and discovered the long lost art for Storm Magic?" He rhetorically asked. "Fate had chosen her champion."
He paced down the line of soldiers, too wrapped up in his delusions to notice them mocking him as he passed. And he certainly didn't notice the Third Mate staring at the runaway ship.
"Captain?" The Third Mate called.
"Hush!" I dismissed, striding now with his eyes closed, lost in memories of past victories. "When the Rat Cartel finally destroyed itself and came under the sole control of Verko, a molerat already in our pocket? FATE!"
Squeak, squeak, squeak
"Captain?" The Third Mate called again, others in the crew noticing what he was drawing attention to.
"Silence! I'm on a roll," Klavis yelled, whirling about and striding back down the line. "When the Adam and his brothers appeared and swore their power to the King? The power that finally let us overcome the United Cities? What could that be but fate?"
Squeak, squeak, squeak
"Captain?" The entire line was now shuddering and failing.
Squeak, squeak, squeak
"Stop with the harpoon! It's fine as is!" Klavis ordered. He punched the air with a confident fist. "Now, on the cusp of our greatest victory, even something as small and beneath notice as a few escaped slaves has been thwarted with barely a struggle! What could you call that-"
Squeak, squeak, squeak
Squeak, squeak, squeak
Squeak, squeak, squeak
That tore it. Klavis snapped his eyes open and whipped around to the harpoon crew.
"I said-"
His words died in his throat when he saw that his ship was encircled by a swarm of shrieking bats.
As the little creatures circled, some latched onto the supports between the ship and its balloon, while others swept down under the ship before appearing on the opposite side and rejoining the swarm.
There were so many that they produced the illusion of an angry, leering face staring down at Klavis as they swarmed. A face whose eyes were the only two points in the cloud that the sun's light was able to fully pierce.
Then, just as suddenly as they'd appeared, they came squealing upon the ship itself, bursting down through the open cargo hatch with such force that the lamps inside were snuffed out. The swarm disappeared into the darkness.
Klavis stood back to his full height, having hit the deck with the rest of the crew when the swarm descended, and slowly turned to gaze down into the dark.
The entire crew silently stepped closer, peering down and sharing looks amongst themselves.
Then, a scream roared up from deep in the dark that went quiet abruptly.
"Who was stationed below deck?" Klavis demanded quietly.
"Hugo at the engine and Ichben at the cloud machine, captain," the Third Mate replied just before a boom and a mechanical roar rang out in the open air from the port side. The entire ship lurched and then began to slow.
Klavis tore his eyes from the abyss and rushed to the side the noise came from, joined by half the crew. They watched as half the engine fell smoking to the earth hundreds of feet below.
"Close-quarter arms," Klavis ordered.
The three-beast forward line advanced slowly, followed by Klavis and his two guards with crossbows and then a set of three soldiers with pikes resting on the shoulders of the middle line. Their formation's lamps provided the only light as they walked.
They slipped down the steps from the second deck to the third, where the engines were, having to wave away a cloud of thin steam or smoke that wafted towards them.
Slowly marching down the deck, they found the engine bay and Hugo.
"By the Lights.." Klavis gasped. Hugo's helmet has been thoroughly crushed, with his head still inside. Klavis silently thanked the stars he'd selected the eight soldiers he did. The sight might've been too gruesome for some of the others, especially due to how well-lit the grisly display was.
There was plenty of light through the hole where the engine and a large chunk of hull used to be.
At least initially.
Thunder boomed outside, and the light steadily faded as boiling storm clouds filled the air around the ship. Klavis whirled around.
"The Cloud Machine!" The formation broke apart as they rushed to the second deck, where they fell back in line and carefully approached the door to the machine. The reinforced door lay dented in half.
In the darkness of the cloud room, a heavy, wheezing noise came to greet him.
"Ichben?" Klavis called, sighing when the soldier slowly stepped into the light of their lamps. But then the other creature emerged.
The new pointy-eared creature had Ichben's trembling hand gently in its own while its other hand was resting on his back. The black-haired, bearded creature looked at Ichben as they slowly walked with an expression of desperate pity, like a nurse carefully escorting an elder to their bed.
As they stepped from the room, Ichben's arm suddenly shot up and pointed at Klavis, the beast whimpering and yawping as he did so. The creature leading him stopped and slowly drew his pitying eyes to Klavis.
Its eyes.
Black, with red irises. And for just a moment, full of a deep, personal hatred.
As it saw Klavis, its mouth fell open, and it breathed. The heavy wheezing filled the deck again. The creature patted Ichben on the back and released him to flee to the lower decks, taking slow, deliberate steps toward Klavis' formation.
"Identify yourself," Klavis demanded as the front line raised their swords and the back line leveled their pikes. The creature stopped three feet from the formation.
"Can you fix it?" It whispered, still breathing.
"Excuse you?" Klavis growled. The creature reached into its shirt, causing the formation to brace, and pulled out a letter, tracing a line near the top with its finger. Its eyes never left Klavis.
"You turned her to stone," it croaked loudly. "Can you fix it?" Klavis blinked and hardened his glare.
"I understand. Do you mean the princesses? Is that why you're here?" He demanded. The creature nodded, still absent-mindedly tracing the letter. "The Storm King could release them if he so chose. But that's not going-"
Its breathing stopped suddenly. Its eyes still had that desperate pity, but it smiled, and for the first time, its fang-filled maw was caught in the lamplight. The sight hit Klavis like a cannon shot.
"By the Lights, you're-"
"That's good!" The creature whimpered, slowly looking over the letter. "That's good.. Won't save you, but that's good!" It took a step closer.
"FALL BACK!" Klavis shrieked, shoving his way through the back line. "HE'S ONE OF ADAM'S!"
The formation stumbled over themselves as the revelation fell upon them like a tidal wave. As a result, they were too slow to act on it.
Klavis dashed with all his might, pumping his legs against the deck till his feet hurt, and never once looked back. Instead, he only heard the screaming and the crunch of metal splitting and flesh bursting.
The Storm King had prepared for this.
"One of Adam's below decks!" Klavis cried as he burst up onto the top deck. Panic fell upon the crew, but those with more wits about them scrambled for the hidden compartments below the quarterdeck stairs.
Where the ashwood spears and bolts were kept.
"Form up!" Klavis called, loading a wooden bolt and snatching up a spear. The crew fell into line around the hatch and stairs. Crossbows at the front, spears over their shoulders, creating a half circle of death for whatever came up either path.
The muffled noise of wood splintering came from below, followed immediately by a louder racket on the quarterdeck. They looked up and saw in a flash of lightning the helm and chain sailing off the ship.
Then they saw him standing on the railing, even if only briefly in the flash of lightning.
"She said not to waste my time on hatred," he said. Klavis raised his hand, and the crossbows aimed. "If I were a pettier man, I'd say something like 'but she's not here right now.'"
"Shoot!" Klavis ordered, throwing his hand forward. Sixteen bolts went peeling up at the intruder. All of them stopped dead in the air, surrounded by a faint red light.
The crew held their breath as the bolts slowly readjusted and pointed back at the ones who'd shot them.
"But it can be reversed. So I don't have to hate you," he declared. "And I don't think she'd want me to anyway."
The bolts fell to the ground in a clatter. The crew breathed again.
"But she also mentioned a 'desire for justice,'" he paced the railing. His eyes fell on the crew. "So, here's the deal. Surrender and help me kick your Dumbass-in-Chief's teeth in. Or this goes very badly for you."
The crew murmured with dread, and some charged up the stairs with their spears. Others began scrambling to reload their crossbows.
"I tried! Can't win 'em all," He shrugged. The spearbeasts thrust at the spot he stood, striking only air as he vanished in a flash of crimson light.
"What?" Klavis muttered.
Then, there was an echoing metallic rattle that cut through the air. Looking at where it came from Klavis saw the red eyes of the creature in the air, completely enshrouded in the darkness of the storm. It threw something from itself, which fell onto the deck and coiled at Klavis' feet. It was the lower half of a torn support line to the balloon.
Then he flew to the next on the line.
"Stop him!" Klavis screamed, aiming at him. A gout of fire shot down onto the deck, spoiling his aim and setting his fur ablaze. The crew fell into a panic, hurling whatever was at hand at the intruder as he snapped the second and then the third cable.
As the ship leaned heavily and the opposite cables began to groan, they now threw pleas for mercy.
The noise of the last line breaking was his only reply.
"What are we waiting on?!" Starlight cried. "It's pretty obvious your boss' plan was just to hold them up in that storm cloud!"
"He told me through his Scrying Eye to wait for him to arrive and then wait for him to leave," Blueblood argued. "He said he wanted her to see we were safe."
"Who?!" Starlight cried, grinding her teeth when Blueblood shrugged.
Sunbeam gripped the side of the ship as she stared at the storm far behind them with wide terrified eyes. The monster's laughter in her head had been quiet ever since Peter's bats flew out.
"Look, I get you're this guy's number one fan and all that," she said stepping from the railing to look at Blueblood. "And hey, when I was a filly, I was into all that black metal goth stuff, too." Blueblood raised an eyebrow.
"But we need to be practical here! So let's-"
"Hey look!" Sweetie Bell cried. Everypony on deck gasped as they watched the ship that had been pursuing them sink out of the cloud on its side, falling to the ground far, far below where it burst apart in an explosion of earth and wood.
Sunbeam held a hoof to her mouth, as Starlight peered over the edge.
"Hu.. wow," she whispered.
"The feller mah sister met did that?" Applebloom asked as she and her friends looked at the ruin down below.
"He.. He sure did," Sunbeam replied.
The crowd looked up at the storm cloud just as the swarm of bats erupted out, screeching past them back to Woollachia. Starlight gawped at the sight and turned to Blueblood.
The throne room was silent after I'd relayed what I'd done.
When I read Sunbeam's letter and realized how serious a situation it was, I'd ordered Graggle to call for the Mayors and any Diamond Dogs he felt should be involved to come to the castle for a war meeting.
Then, I reread the letter and went cold with anger from realizing what happened to Celestia.
I shuddered and adjusted on my throne, focusing on the silver lining: the Storm King could reverse it, and my ability to browbeat some dorky mortal warlord with a James Bond-ass magic gadget arsenal was the one thing I was confident in. I'd already trashed one of his ships without any problem.
It was the three human-vampires in his service that gave me pause. But that was all what this meeting was about. Looking over the attendees, I saw reactions were mixed.
Blueblood and Briefs were beaming with pride, while Lace looked to be on the verge of a frothing rant, and Cap and Doily had this distant, haunted look in their eye and kept shooting glances at Briefs. Starlight was pacing around the table, deep in thought, while Graggle, Quilt, and Hasty digested the idea that I'd sank an airship with my bare hands.
Sunbeam and Cozy weren't in attendance and had retreated to Cozy's room with my blessing.
"So.. what now?" Doily asked, breaking the silence. I sighed and relaxed in my seat.
"Well, that's what we're here to discuss," I knit my fingers together and folded my legs. "I need thoughts and input before proceeding." Lace took a shaky breath and leaned on the table.
"So, you must have some idea for us to think about, then?" She practically hissed. I nodded.
"The Equestrian refugees are free to stay here at Ramstead, but I'd like to take maybe fifty dogs up to Canterlot in the airship and see about abducting the Storm King. That should give us leverage against his whole army," I explained. "And there should be a cache of ash wood weapons aboard the ship we can use against the other vampires." Lace was about to shout something, but Briefs spoke first.
"Wonderful! Best of luck! When will you be leaving?" He asked with a smile until I held up a hand and motioned to Lace. She blinked as if stunned at my gesture, giving Briefs a look before speaking.
"I understand you and the princess became close by means I still don't understand," she began, sighing as she spoke. "But if you go picking a fight with some conquering warlord, you'll bring his attention to us! It'll be even worse if you remove our standing army. I can't support your plan, Prince." Briefs glanced at her and moved to say something before I replied.
"His attention's probably going to fall on us either way. The captain I killed was in the middle of this big propagandized speech when I showed up," I explained, staring at the ceiling in thought. "Topics of fate and inevitable conquest were thrown around. I don't think a dictator or warmonger who's got guys like that working for him is going to leave his neighbors in peace." I gestured to the Equestrians present.
"Look at it like this: you really think Celestia did something to antagonize him?" I asked. Lace blanched and sank into her seat as I shook my head. "Personal and mighty grievance aside, I still think the best course of action is proactive."
"I agree," Doily of all sheep said. I gave her a surprised look as she continued. "If the Storm King is left in Equestria, he'll eventually come for us. Vampires or no, even with our full compliment of one hundred and fifty guard dogs, I can't imagine we can weather a full assault from him." I choked.
"One fifty? Since when?!" I screamed. Graggle jumped, and I shot him a look of fury.
"Ah! We had a few volunteers arrive when word spread that you were paying your dogs and giving away weapons and armor," he explained with a sheepish smile that wilted when my glare hardened.
"A FEW?" I snarled.
"It happened gradually while you were busy with magic or other affairs! I thought it was fine!" He retorted, throwing his paws in the air. I beat my head against the back of my throne.
"You coulda slid an update my way, man!"
"You trust me with a slew of other tasks and no expectation of report," he waved a paw of dismissal. "You're overreacting."
"Still, I'd prefer to know who I'm paying, y'know?"
"I handle our finances," he said stabbing the table with a claw before folding his arms and huffing. "You just teleport around and sexually harass the staff."
"OH!" I shot up to my feet, and he did the same. We stomped towards each other and raised a finger or claw in preparation for our debate.
"ANYWAY!" Starlight cried, teleporting between us and looking up at me. "I think Doily had more to say?"
Graggle and I shared a look before turning our backs with our arms folded.
"Proceed," I huffed at Doily. She blinked and nodded.
"Well, I was just going to say that while we probably can't handle an invasion of that sort," she looked at me firmly. "If Prince Peter and a portion of the army attack first, he might catch the Storm King off guard. Even without the prince's power, I think that has the highest chance of success."
"Seconded," Cap declared with a stamp of his hoof, before taking out his watch. "And besides, Celestia is needed to set the sun. It's been nearly a day and a half of daylight, by my count." Lace screwed her face up, before nodding.
"Agreed," she finally said. The only one silent was Briefs, who was studying his peers closely.
"Do you have something to add, Briefs?" I asked. His eyes met mine and he smiled.
"Only how nice it is to see us unified for the same end," he declared. "My vote makes four. All of Woollachia goes with you, Prince Peter."
I took a breath and shared a look with Graggle, who nodded after a moment and bowed.
"As ever, the Diamond Dogs and myself are at your disposal, O' Prince of Darkness," he looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Despite your occasional insufferability and questionable proclivities." I looked over the room and bowed.
"Thank you for your support, everywooly. Now, let's discuss-"
"AUGH," Quilt gagged, and the rest of the table groaned.
"Don't do that," Briefs said with a deeply furrowed brow and clenched eyes.
"Just sounds wrong when he says it," Doily muttered.
"Glad it's not just me," Cap nearly whispered. Even the Equestrians seemed displeased.
"You can all go straight to hell!" I yelled.
Sunbeam had finally stopped wailing, but she still clung to Cozy with all her might. And as a royal guard, despite her demeanor, that might was considerable. But Cozy didn't mind. She'd expected as much and tried to return her friend's hug with equal fervor.
The ticking clock on the wall was now the only noise in the room, as they sat quietly on Cozy's bed together.
"Sunbeam?" Cozy asked. Sunbeam hummed in response. "I think Peter's going to Canterlot." Sunbeam sniffled and held on tighter.
"If he is, I'm going too," Cozy declared. Sunbeam shot up and looked into her determined eyes. "I didn't know Holder at all, but I can't just sit by and ignore some monster who hurt my friend like this."
The clock ticked on as Sunbeam stared.
"They're not like Peter," she finally croaked.
"I know," Cozy said with a curt nod. "But they still follow the rules. And that means we can beat them." Sunbeam wiped her eyes with a hoof.
"That's true," she whispered, finally releasing Cozy.
"And that's another thing!" Cozy declared hopping down and moving to her worktable. "Last night, or whenever it was, Quilt helped me figure out more serious means of vampire slaying." She moved some of her notes around and grabbed the item she was looking for.
"For instance, when Peter flew off, I whipped this together," she presented her invention. Sunbeam flinched.
"Th-that's just.."
"Yep! But if Quilt and I got it right, it'll chase back any vampires who lay eyes on it!" Cozy snickered wickedly. "I'm going to test it on Peter later." Sunbeam looked between her friend and the thing she held in her hoof, before snorting and then laughing.
"Thanks, Cozy," she said, fluttering to her friend and hugging her again.
"I was being serious, but I'm glad to help!" Cozy declared. Sunbeam giggled and looked at the trinket in Cozy's hoof. It reminded her of the oaths she swore when Captain Holder recruited her: To defend the Princesses and Equestria to the best of her ability. She clenched her eyes and took a breath, snapping her wings out and back again.
"I think I'm going too."
Quilt watched from the balcony as scores of Diamond Dogs came marching up to load supplies onto the airship floating near the gate. She'd never seen anything like it. So many creatures, all getting ready to fight. To kill.
"Crazy," she whispered with a shudder.
"Sure is something, hm?" Quilt jumped and whirled around to see Briefs smiling at her. Quilt shuffled her hooves as the Mayor came up beside her and stared down at the army.
"Will you be joining the prince?" Briefs asked pleasantly. Quilt blinked at the question.
"Why would I do that?" Quilt she asked back.
"All those tricks Old Gruff taught you," Briefs explained, still smiling without looking at her. "Every advantage would help." Quilt was about to retort when he continued.
"Or maybe it's been too long?" He asked. "Maybe his lessons didn't stick well enough."
"What?" Quilt asked quietly and evenly. Briefs flinched and looked at her.
"Oh! I didn't mean to imply anything about your Grandfather," he explained with a chuckle. "Just that it's been so many years, and perhaps things just.. slipped the mind perhaps."
Quilt stared hard into his smiling face before turning and heading for the door.
"Don't worry, Mayor Briefs!" she said as she slipped back inside, and made for the throne room. "I remember plenty."
"Glad to hear it!" Briefs called before turning and smiling down at the army.
I looked over my table in the library. Resting on a cloth were six ash stakes, a wood cutting axe, a crossbow, and a set of ash bolts.
We'd turned over the stolen airship and found plenty of hidden vampire killing caches, which we were having distributed amongst the hundred dogs who'd be accompanying us. Quilt and I had also spread the word about how to make sure a vampire stays dead.
Same rules as a ghoul. Stab them with wood, cut the head off, and burn the whole body. The idea of using sunlight was thrown around, but according to Starlight there was a large storm cloud machine deployed in the city square, so the whole of Canterlot was likely under perpetual cloud cover.
However, this became my first objective. It'd put me at risk, but if we took that machine down, the sun still in the sky would level the playing field for everyone else.
I set aside the crossbow and axe and carefully wrapped up the wooden items. I hummed as I tightened the bundle.
If these three other vampires were, as Celestia put it, lost to the dark, there was only one thing to do.
"Doesn't make the idea of killing a human any easier," I thought, squeezing the bundle.
That thought was making me feel guilty for a different reason.
I'd just trashed an entire ship of Storm Beasts, and I'd murdered Boss with my teeth and then again with an axe, neither of which bothered me much after the fact.
The idea of being comfortable with killing was now rattling around my brain, but it hit a brick wall in the form of me now hesitating when faced with another human or human-shaped being. Why did it matter? Worse, why did I care if it mattered? I'd killed plenty already.
Do I just not see the creatures of this planet as people? Is that a vampire thing? Why-
"Prince Peter? May I come in?" Frill called after knocking at the library door.
"Sure thing, Frill," I replied without looking at the door. I heard the gentle noise of her hooves as she approached.
"Ah, you see, Peter?" She said when she was next to me. "Asking first, then entering!" I groaned as she giggled.
"I'm sorry, Frill," I muttered as she nudged my knee.
"Oh, I know," she said with another giggle. "Now, what's getting to you?" I looked down at her.
"That obvious?"
"I was passing by and saw you staring at your kit for a very long time," she said, sitting on the floor. I huffed and leaned on the table.
"I don't know if I'm ready to kill another vampire," I said.
"Is that all?" Frill asked with astonishment. I blinked.
"Isn't that enough?"
"I don't mean to downplay your concerns, but you won't be challenging them alone, Peter," she replied. I folded my arms and hummed.
"That's another thing," I grumbled. "I said to Quilt a while back I was worried about you all putting your faith in me. I'm worried someone's going to get hurt because I let you all down."
"Goodness me," Frill sighed. "You destroyed an entire ship all on your own and you're still second-guessing yourself?"
"That was one ship with no other vampires aboard."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, except when you want to be funny," Frill patted my leg and smiled at me. "Think of it like this! The sooner you finish up in Canterlot, the sooner you can come back, and peep on me." I choked and slipped off my feet, to her great amusement.
"Why?" I huffed from where I sat. She stepped closer and nuzzled my cheek.
"Got you out of your head, at least," Frill said with a wink and a smile. I looked her in the eyes. Even without my Evil Eye, I could see the genuine trust she had in me.
I smiled back.
"Thank you, Frill."
"No problem at all, Peter."
In the throne room, I found Starlight, Hasty, and Blueblood explaining the details of vampire slaying to the pony guards, as well as Graggle giving some instructions to Twitch. The smaller dog was ill-fit for a battle, and there was a high chance we'd find one. So he'd nominated Twitch to take his place as my commander.
These were all things I expected to find. Cozy, Quilt, and Sunbeam prepping a man-sized polished black coffin, however, was not.
"What are you doing?" I asked coming up behind them. The three looked up at me.
"We're getting your coffin ready!" Cozy said with a smile. I rubbed my eyes.
"Why?"
"Canterlot may be under cloud cover, but the rest of Equestria isn't," Quilt explained. "You'll need this for emergencies."
"It's completely enclosed, so not a drop of light can slip in!" Cozy beamed. I hummed and sighed.
"Fair enough," I relented and looked at Sunbeam, blinking when I noticed she was in her armor. In fact, I only then noticed that Cozy was kitted out with various tools and bags hanging from some weird sheep-fit duster coat. And a goddamned Van Helsing-ass hat.
Noticing I was staring, she struck a pose.
"No," I said firmly. She huffed indignantly. "It's too dangerous for the goofy stuff you've been hurling at me."
"Not up to you!" Cozy retorted smugly. "And Quilt helped me refine my art. I've got actual vampire-killing tools now." She took a menacing step towards me and brandished a polished metal disk in the shape of a stylized sun that made me flinch and cry out.
"Wh-"
"It's Celestia's cutie mark!" She said waving it around in a way that made me shudder. "And that reaction tells me we were right on the money!"
I took a look at Quilt, only then realizing I'd retreated a few steps. She grinned at me.
"It's a pretty obscure one, so I never mentioned it. Certain symbols can ward the undead if they're made of the right material and properly cared for," she tilted her head towards Cozy's dreadful little trinket. "Celestia's cutie mark made from thin gold and polished with sunflower seed oil."
"Take's a bit of guesswork, but, in this case, we pulled it off!" I gawped as Cozy hid the tool of terror. Cutie mark crucifixes, fantastic.
Wait..
"The fuck's a cutie mark?" The group blinked at my question.
"How do you not know?" Sunbeam huffed, presenting the side of her flank. On it was a tattoo of a stylized sun splitting some clouds. "Ponies get them when we discover our special talent. Haven't you noticed?"
I rolled my head and looked at the other Equestrians in wonder. Sure enough, they all had one.
"Just.. never looked, I guess," I muttered. My brow furrowed and I looked back at Sunbeam. "That aside, what's with the armor?"
"I'm going too," she declared. I knelt to one knee and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked me in the eyes with determination, but there was a hint of hesitation too.
"You don't have to," I said.
"I know. I want to," she said firmly. She winced before continuing. "Captain Holder'd want me to." She let out a deep shuddering breath, before smiling.
"Besides, I can't let Cozy and Quilt face those monsters alone!"
I looked at Quilt, who stuck her tongue out at me.
"Magic or otherwise, every advantage helps," she psychically said.
"Fine, fine," I stood up and looked back at Sunbeam. "But if I have anything to say about it, you won't have to face them, period."
The three smiled before Cozy yanked her two friends into a tight hug.
"Everypony ready over there?" I looked up to see Starlight calling to us. Twitch was in his armor, the guards were all in formation, and every soul present had some form of vampire killer on their person.
"Yes, ma'am," I adjusted my belt and tightened the strap to my bag of tools. "Let's roll."
Then I heard a creaking and turned to see Quilt holding the lid open while Cozy presented the velvet coffin interior.
"Okay, get in!" Cozy ordered.
"God damn it," I muttered.
THWACK.
THWACK.
She'd ruined everything.
THWACK.
Being chased by Tempest and the vampire was just too much, and she'd snapped at a crucial moment.
THWACK.
Now, she was alone. Her friends were left behind, and Equestria's hope was destroyed.
THWACK.
If there was a silver lining in that dark prison cell, it was she had something to wince about besides her failings.
"Why are you doing that?" Twilight all but whispered to the vampire guarding her cage.
THWACK.
He'd been beating his bare back with a belt studded with nubs of ashwood. Unlike the creature who attacked her in Donut Joe's, this one was healthy-looking and completely shaven. There were no scars on his body, but his back had deep bruises and cuts in the place he was lashing and drawing blood from .
THWACK.
"Discipline," he finally answered. THWACK. "This gives clarity and restrains temptation." THWACK. He looked at her with his cold, unblinking eyes.
"And it keeps you alive in your little cage, princess." Twilight shuddered. The sliding door to the chamber screeched open just as he was about to swing again. As Tempest stepped into the dimly lit chamber, he rose and redressed the upper portion of his robe.
"Hurricane," Tempest began.
"Adam," he corrected, tying the loops of his robe in place.
"Whatever. I'd like some alone time with the princess," Tempest said with a menacing glare sent Twilight's way, who wilted in response.
"I expected as much," Adam replied as he hung his lash from his belt and made for the door without another word, sliding the door shut behind him.
His soft shoes made no sound as he marched solemnly down the dark corridors of the ship. No guards or workers ever saw him, as if he knew the exact path to avoid any living being. That was what the crew feared most about him. If he didn't want to see you, it wouldn't happen. And so, he'd simply appear out of nowhere, conduct his business, and then vanish.
He made it undisturbed to his destination and stepped into his private quarters, which were dark and bare save for a mattress left on the floor. Relaxing on his bed, he let his soul slip free and cast his Evil Eye out..
"Yeah! Yeah! This ain't too bad!" The Storm King declared, sweeping his staff in an arc as he took in the sights all around him. "Cloudburst! You and Monsoon actually get me!"
The throne room not only had its banners, throne, and carpet replaced with the Storm King's design, but the stained glass windows were also mostly replaced with panes reflecting the Storm King's previous victories as well as casting the entire room in a dark blue gloom with every flash of lightning outside.
Commander Cloudburst finished rolling his cigarette and lit it with a match from his hoodie pocket.
"Happy you're happy," the vampire said evenly in response to the king's appraisal. The Storm King whipped around to face him grimacing and whinged towards the room.
"Well, I wouldn't say happy, per se," he retorted, rolling one hand. "Just that this does kinda, sorta, if I'm feeling generous.." He slid up next to Cloudburst and poked him in the chest.
"Make up for your buddy Hurricane's royal muck up?" He said with a condescending grin. He blinked as Cloudburst exhaled a plume of white smoke.
"The Littlest Princess won't be away for long," Cloudburst said, pulling out a razor and a white stone before scraping the latter with the former. "So cool your jets and relax." He held his hand with the white powder he'd scraped free to the king.
"Have a sample," he offered with a smile. The Storm King waved his hand away.
"I'm perfectly calm!" He declared stepping away and scanning the room. "But on the topic of relaxed, where's Mr. Devil-may-Care himself?" The doors to the throne room flew open, followed by a metallic rattling noise.
"Right here, boss! Sorry I'm late," Monsoon cried as he entered, signaling his entrance by drumming on his chestplate. Cloudburst sniffed the powder, before saluting to his comrade with his now clean hand.
"About time!" The Storm King declared, turning to look at Monsoon. "When I instructed Tempest and Hurricane to capture the lost princess, it was my understanding-"
He flinched as he saw the ghoulified pony Monsoon was absent-mindedly scratching the ears of.
"What is that?"
"This here's my bestest buddy!" Monsoon said with a giggle, kneeling down and picking up the ghoul pony. "Think his name used to be Line Holder or something stupid like that." The Storm King gagged.
"Look, corpse or not, so long as it's house-trained, you can have your pets," he said with a wave of his hand. "But I thought ghouls needed a full night to pop up?"
"So did I!" Monsoon said happily as he flopped the forelegs of his ghoul about like a doll. "Ain't life just full of surprises?" The Storm King rolled his eyes.
"Well, you've disgusted me enough that I forgot what I was gonna say to you. But what else is new?" He strode towards the door at the far end of the room, gently tapping his staff against one of the petrified princesses as he passed her. "I'm going to take a better look at my new headquarters. Hit me up if you hear from Hurricane."
The vampires bowed as he left the room, before straightening up and walking out a separate door together. They passed only a few guards as they traveled, all of whom shot out of their path or fled the hall entirely. It wasn't long before they were alone together.
"Alreet, so how's our girl?" Monsoon asked as they moved down the hall.
"She is in custody, Dog. Tempest and I are en route for Canterlot," Adam reported through his Evil Eye. "Candy, have you found the vault?"
"Dog found it while chasing some captives through the halls," Candy replied, taking a drag from his cigarette. Dog snickered to himself, still carrying his ghoul.
"I told you to restrain yourself to one body a week," Adam chided.
"I didn't kill nobody!" Dog laughed, hugging his ghoul close. "Sides little buddy here!" He stopped and held one eye shut in thought.
"And maybe a few locals when I was hungry," he said with a solemn nod. Candy looked between his comrade and the point in the air where Adam's eye hovered.
"You will restrain yourself. Any further excess will be punished," Adam said in the same even tone. Dog muttered and threw his hands up.
"Understood," he grumbled. A heavy silence hung over them for a moment.
"I offer no judgment, but it is necessary, little brother. You must learn moderation," Adam finally added. "Now, show me the vault."
Dog relaxed only a little as he and Candy led Adam's sight to the Canterlot Library. Slipping between the hundreds of shelves of books, they came to a plain white stone wall, undecorated and unremarkable. At least to one who could not feel what lay beyond.
"Yea-hah! Feel that?" Dog asked with his hands on his hips.
"Even through the Eye," Adam confirmed. "You may begin."
Candy nodded and stamped out his cigarette before pulling a set of green, red, and black stones from a pocket. Scrapping them with his razor, he spit into the powder they produced, working it into a putty he then gently spread along the base of the wall.
As it made contact, a faint glow ran out and traced the frame of a secret door. Withdrawing a vial of a pinkish sludge he dipped his finger in, he gently traced the frame, wincing a few times as tiny wisps of smoke hissed off his hand.
When his work was complete, he lit a match and put the flame to the sludge on the door. The entire frame hissed and then the stone door slipped free where Candy and Dog caught it and carefully lowered it to the ground.
"Damn them potions 'n shits cool," Dog declared. Candy nodded as he rolled a fresh cigarette.
"Hell of a lot easier than the shit I used back home," he muttered.
"No talk of the men-that-were," Adam said firmly. Candy winced and nodded. "Now, my Eye is blinded by whatever is inside. What do you see?"
Peering within, Candy and Dog described a circular chamber illuminated by glowing blue crystals in brass sconces. The walls were lined with numerous books whose spines were unlabeled. But what caught their eyes was the single marble pedestal at the center of it all, atop which was a black tome properly titled in golden ink.
"'Woollachian UnDead and the Longhorns' by HRH Princess Celestia," Dog read aloud.
"I can't imagine that isn't what we need. Test the ghoul," Adam ordered. Dog snapped his fingers and the ghoul pony stood at attention. With a sad pat on the head, Dog pointed at the tome and the ghoul shambled towards it.
Once it was close enough, the ghoul pony reached up and tried to grab the book. He pulled it about six inches off-center before white flames from the stone it sat upon rolled down his forelegs and engulfed his entire body. From there he jostled it another few inches before burning away to nothing. The two vampires winced at the sight, as the wards running up and down the pedestal all came alive at the same instant.
"Shit. You called it bossman. Buddy's fried to hell and back," Dog huffed. "Good news is the book ain't cursed. I think.."
"Any movement at all?" Adam asked. Candy rolled his head as he looked upon the tome.
"Decent bit," he mused. "Might be able to just knock it free with a broom or something now."
"The spells might crawl up the handle," Adam sighed. "I will permit six more ghouls, and no more." Dog cackled with delight, and Candy pulled another vial free, checking its faint blue contents.
"Only have enough of this stuff for three," he declared, studying where the tome rested. "Three might be enough, though."
"Ideally. Go with God, little brothers," Adam said before dispelling his Eye.
In the throne room of Canterlot Castle, the petrified form of Princess Celestia hummed for just a moment as a faint glow cascaded down her horn, and any on-looker would have sworn her petrified expression of shock seemed to be crying.
I drifted the deck unseen by the host of dogs and ponies aboard, silently observing as they sharpened their stakes, adjusted their crossbows, or just wondered at the little ewe wandering the ship alone. Quilt stayed at my side as I explored, while Sunbeam and Cozy were below decks keeping watch over my coffin.
"Don't worry, Peter!" Cozy had said. "I won't stake you yet. We need you to lure the other vampires out first!"
Her thinly veiled threats cheered Sunbeam up, so I made no argument. Floating up to the quarterdeck, we approached Starlight and Blueblood at the helm.
"Oh hey, Quilt, right?" Starlight called with a smile, while Blueblood spared her only a momentary glance.
"You got it," Quilt replied as she sat next to the helm.
"I thought you were downstairs with the other two and the vampire?" Starlight asked. Quilt snickered at her inability to see me.
"I was, but he wanted to walk around," The two ponies blinked and looked around.
"She says walk, but it's more like a ghostly hover," I declared, causing them both to jump.
"Master?" Blueblood stepped off the helm and looked for me in the spot where he'd heard my voice. Starlight, however, gasped and shoved him aside.
"Twilight mentioned this! She called it 'Stupor' I think," Starlight explained, studying the air I was in closely.
"Exactly that," I confirmed. "Instead of sleeping, I turn into a ghost and leave my body behind."
"Incredible!" Blueblood said before returning his focus to the helm. "Well, what can I do for you?" I looked over the skies, noticing the enemy ships dotting the air.
"Shit," I muttered. "They're everywhere." There were dozens of them, and even if we had a numbers advantage, which wasn't guaranteed, they could sink us without boarding.
"It looks bad, Master, but you'll notice none of them are moving to intercept us," Blueblood declared. "Identifying our crew would require a closer inspection than I believe we'll be enduring."
"Why's that?"
"Well, they're all sitting above villages and towns," Starlight pointed out. "I think they're more focused on pillaging than patrolling."
"Which means we have a clear path to Canterlot," Blueblood added, looking through his spyglass.
I turned to face the same direction and focused my eyes. Miles off, I could see the alabaster towers and walls of Canterlot. Or most of it anyway. There was a shroud of black clouds settled over the roofs of the city, so that only the tallest tower of the castle was plainly visible.
Scanning the area around it, I could see the mountain path leading up to the gates of the city splitting the fields in half. An idea formed in my mind.
"Land us outside the city if you can," I asked, turning to Quilt. "Go get Cozy and Sunbeam, and I need to know how long you can hold those illusions." I then drew myself up and faced the dogs.
"Attention all Diamond Dogs!" I called. The entire crew jumped and looked up at the quarterdeck before panicking.
"Master?"
"No see him!"
"Master is ghost? Master is dead!"
"Me no have severance package!"
I rubbed my ethereal face.
"It's just magic! Shut up and listen!" Starlight yelled, which drew sighs of relief and calls of understanding.
"Thank god for you," I said to her. She hummed in appreciation as I addressed the crew again. "We'll be landing outside Canterlot soon. Remember! If you see a creature that looks like me, use the ash wood weapons we gave you! To clarify, two legs and two arms, mostly hairless, with fangs. Do not look them directly in the eyes!" I looked over the crew as they saluted, and adjusted their belts where their vampire-killing tools were kept.
"Stay in groups of at least three when we land!" I continued. "And when we do, I need the best diggers off the ship first. This next part is crucial!"
"There we go!" Cozy said, finishing the garlic polish on Sunbeam's horseshoes. "Now, if you get in close quarters with one of them, your bucks will actually hurt." Her cheery expression fell when she saw Sunbeam's distant stare. She hopped next to her and wrapped a foreleg around her.
"But that's just a hypothetical. Just stick close to me or Peter, and it won't happen," she declared, holding her friend tight. Sunbeam blinked and took a deep breath.
"Right," she whispered, her eyes locked on the coffin before them until the sound of hoof steps came at the stairs.
"Hey, you two," Quilt called as she stepped into the dim light. "Peter wants you up top. He's explaining the game plan." The pair blinked and looked from Quilt to the coffin.
"Just go with it," Quilt muttered.
Adam set the cage holding Twilight into position before stepping away to inspect the other princesses as Tempest approached and leered at Twilight.
"Tempest, please, don't do this!" Twilight begged. "If you give the Storm King our magic-"
"He'll what?" Tempest asked with a grim laugh. "Conjure a few rain clouds? Oh! Maybe he'll hold the sun hostage!" She leaned into the bars of Twilight's cage, causing the princess to retreat from her.
"The only thing I know and care he'll do is restore my horn, princess."
"Doubtful," Adam said. Tempest whipped around to look at him.
"What was that?" She demanded. Adam didn't face her or Twilight who was watching the vampire with curiosity.
"Whether, as I suspect, he will break his promise or external elements will interfere," Adam slowly looked back at her. "He will not fulfill his end of your bargain." Tempest's jaw hung open as she locked eyes with the vampire, and a heavy silence held dominion over the room.
"You-"
"Well, it's about time!" the Storm King yelled as he stepped into the room, causing Tempest to look his way. "I was beginning to suspect a mutiny." He strode into the center of the room, eyes locked on Tempest.
"Where's Hurricane?" He asked. Tempest flinched and looked back, noticing the vampire had vanished completely.
"He was just.."
"Whatever!" The Storm King declared, pushing past her to the center of the room and readying his staff. "Let's get this show on the road!"
Twilight almost didn't notice, instead watching the faint mist slip under the door at the side of the room.
"Thank Celestia for them clouds," Applejack whispered as her group slinked through the back alleys. The ponies regarded the dark shroud above with similar gratitude as the darkness had allowed them to sneak into Canterlot. Calaeno kept her eyes skyward but for a different reason.
"That just confirms Adam and his monsters are lurking somewhere around here," she hissed. Her crew huddled close, each keeping watch in a different direction.
"I hadn't thought of that," Skystar whimpered, hugging the ground. Rarity patted her on the back, which did little to ease her fears.
"We just need to get at that machine they've got," Capper declared with a confident smile, and tug of his coat. "There's one back in Klugetown I've taken a few peeks at. I can get us back in the sunlight."
The rest of the group looked back at the Abyssinian, and then at each other.
"We need to save Twilight before anything else," Rainbow declared before wincing up at the darkness above. "But maybe we could split up? Half go with Capper to break their dumb cloud machine?"
"You mean out in the open?" Fluttershy asked with a quiver.
"Which half, though?" Spike added. The group sat in contemplation before Pinkie suddenly jolted forward and pressed her ear to the ground.
"What the heck are you doing?" Rainbow whispered.
"Something's scratching down there," Pinkie replied as she listened to the ground. With the whole group watching her in confusion, Skystar was the only one to notice the arrival of three other creatures in the alley.
And so she was the first to scream.
Her outburst jolted the party to attention, and they all looked up to see, to their horror, a pair of storm beasts flanking a human-vampire staring right at them.
Starlight, Blueblood, and I followed the road weaving up to the gate. The pair had hauled my coffin from where we left the ship to the edge of the clouds, and from there we marched in anxious silence.
"Look at that.." Starlight whispered as the city spread out before us. Kept under perpetual darkness, lamps, and streetlights were also kept lit constantly. The faint glow failed to fully illuminate the buildings, but it confirmed something I'd asked my companions about.
"Narrow streets, good," I declared. I looked down at Starlight as the gate guards came into view. "Are you two going to be able to see?"
"I have a spell for it," she replied. "I'll throw it down once we clear the gate." I nodded as the guards readied their spears.
"Halt in the name of the Storm King!" One of them ordered.
"Sure thing," I replied. The pair shared a look before marching up to us.
"Identify yourselves!" One of them demanded.
"Yeah, hey, look here," I said, leaning closer and waving a hand over my eyes. The pair leaned in with a curious hum, and I snapped my fingers at them. They blinked and stumbled.
"Get that gate open," I ordered, and they rushed to obey. Starlight snickered, and Blueblood hummed in approval.
"So that's what that looks like," he appraised. "Of course, I imagine I embraced the spell with more dignity."
"Sure, let's go with that," I replied as we stepped into the city. I waved in the guards. "You two are replacing these two, let's go." They moved to my side as Starlight and Blueblood teleported away. Looking up at the rooftops, I saw a brief flash and nodded.
"Take me to whatever's making these clouds," I ordered. "Discreetly, if you can." The pair nodded and began tramping down the road. Further up the road, a patrol of guards was marching towards us, so we slipped off the main road and into an alley.
And then a scream rang out. I screamed back and slapped a hand over my face as I heard shouts coming from up the road.
"Peter?!" A familiar voice yelled. I blinked and saw Twilight's friends and a score of new creatures huddled together, some brandishing weapons.
"Pinkie?!" I yelled back.
"Identify yourselves!" A guard yelled. Looking at my two, I saw they were still hypnotized, so I turned to see the alleyway was blocked by the bodies of at least twelve storm beasts, one of whom blew into a horn that echoed across the city. I held up one finger at Pinkie and company before hurling a gout of fire that swept over the entire guard squad, who fell away screaming.
"We have a minute, so what the fuck?" I huffed, walking closer to the discomfort of their new friends.
"Language," Rarity chided.
"Right," I replied.
"We're trying to rescue Twilight!" Pinkie declared, rapidly shuffling her hooves as she spoke. "There'sabunchofmeanvampiresworkingforthisguycalledtheStormKingandtheyshowedupandtookoverCanterlotand-" Applejack shoved a hoof in her mouth.
"Thank you," I sighed. "I already know about the Storm King and the vampires and all that. That's why we're here. Where's Twilight?"
"One of the vampires grabbed her!" The tiny purple dragon declared. "They've got her locked up in the castle!"
"Gotcha," I nodded. "So, wha-"
"Hold up!" One of the bird people yelled. "This guy's clearly one of Adam's!" My eyes snapped up and met hers, causing her to shiver.
"Not one of Adam's, just also a vampire," I corrected, and extended a hand with a smile. "Peter Harlow, Prince of Woollachia and friend to the silly little pony race." The birds stared in confusion at my hand and declarations, before the cat man slowly slid up.
"Prince, huh?" He chuckled, shaking my hand. "Capper. Pleased to make further acquaintance with royalty." I nodded back.
"So, we're on the same page and same side," I declared. "Let's talk about how we make the most of it." The bird people relaxed slightly, but the small bird horse who'd screamed upon seeing me still eyed me fearfully. Rarity wrapped a foreleg around her back.
"He's not like the others, princess. Trust us," she said. The bird-horse princess looked at her and back to me before humming quietly. A new horn rang out, and I heard the noise of many feet rushing for our position.
"Our minute's up, let's go," I said firmly, striding out into the street. Capper and a few of the ponies followed, but the rest, especially Rarity stayed behind hissing for me to come back.
Out in the street, there was a host of guards rushing into formation around us. The narrow street kept them huddled close, however.
Just as planned.
"Quilt, stealth's out the window. Are you near me?" I psychically called out.
"Identify yourselves!" One of the soldiers roared as their circle tightened.
"I think? Can you give us a sign where you are?" Quilt responded. I stomped my foot on the road hard enough to crack the stone and startle the guards, causing an echoing boom beneath the earth. "Fleeces Tuft!Yeah, we're under you, you tail hole!"
"Seize them!" One of the soldiers ordered.
"Loose the dogs of war," I called to Quilt.
As the formation rushed in they came to a halt as paving stones and earth exploded up from the road, revealing deep pits down into a vast tunnel. I raised one hand and slowly pointed forward.
"CHARGE!"
At my command, our army of dogs and pony guards burst out of the holes and stormed forward with spears and shields out. The formation was taken completely by surprise and broke immediately. Soldiers who didn't fall back were either skewered or thrown to the ground as dozens of dogs spilled onto the street. Once the initial rush was topside, one of the dogs looked around and whistled down the hole before waving to me.
"Cloud machine! Let's go!" I called to the party still in the alley before taking off down the street led by my two storm beasts, the dog in my company making occasional calls and howls to signal the diggers below.
After only a block or two, the rest of the party caught up with me. Far ahead, from the direction of the castle, we saw a streak of blue lightning explode out which filled all the clouds with a constant glow.
"Twilight!" The little dragon cried. I brought our group to a halt and whistled to a nearby cluster of dogs who stopped beating on the storm beasts they'd pinned and rushed to my side.
"You boys are heading for the castle," I ordered before turning to the party. "I gotta destroy the cloud machine. Whoever's heading to the castle, take these guys with you." Twilight's friends and the little dragon nodded and along with the bird-horse and dogs rushed for the castle.
"Let's move," I said as the two storm beasts took off. Capper was the only one who followed me immediately, the others lagging behind. I heard them holding a hushed conversation.
"Not how I expected today to go," one of them muttered. My Evil Eye twitched.
"Yeah, well- Look out!" Another suddenly shouted. Looking up I saw what she was calling attention to.
There was a line of storm beasts with crossbows on a balcony aiming at us. Before they could shoot, however, a cyan laser screamed through the air and exploded on the balcony, sending them tumbling to the ground. Looking back over my shoulder, I waved to Starlight and Blueblood, the former's horn smoking as she waved back.
"This way sir!" My storm beast called, and we rushed into a wide, well-lit plaza, where a score of guards and ponies in chains were found, as well as the machine we were looking for right in the middle between us and the storm beasts.
Just like the ones on the ships, it was a large metal frame full of spinning wheels and pistons, with two huge tanks on either side that fed into a funnel sitting on some kind of Tesla coil-looking thing. Out of the funnel, black electrified clouds were spiraling up to the sky.
Before the guards could move upon us, the dog in our party whistled once, and the ground rumbled. Just as the guards got into formation, a deep trench collapsed in front of them, and more dogs came bounding up and crashed into the storm beasts. Capper and I rushed for the machine.
A small line of storm beasts managed to dash around the trench and the tide of dogs, and formed a line between us and the machine. I rushed up to them and grabbed the first spear that came at me. Using it and its wielder as a club, I swept the entire line away. The sight demoralized the already shaken enemy force, and so the plaza was quickly falling under our control, despite reinforcements arriving from where we'd come from.
Capper came to a sliding halt at the control of the machine and started delicately removing a panel.
"Alright, just give me-"
I hefted the machine up and slammed it back down three times until it made a shuddering whine and clattered before the last of its stream slipped free.
"Okay, or that works too," he whispered.
I hurled the broken machine towards a distant line of storm beasts and scanned the plaza. The bird-woman and her pals were running circles around the guards who'd just shown up, with the woman herself parrying a whole line of spears all at once with her cutlass and then tumbling over them, cutting throats and arms as she rolled.
"Damn," I huffed.
"No kidding," Capper affirmed. I looked around and saw one of the holes the diamond dogs were pouring out of shimmer and vanish. Up on the roof, Starlight and Blueblood were in position. I nodded and pulled my axe out.
"Hey," I slipped a stake free from my bundle and handed it to Capper. "Keep that on you."
The vampire trio stood in the hall just outside the Canterlot library, waiting for their leader to finish examining the book they'd stolen and deliberately ignoring the chaos outside, despite repeated orders from the Storm King to get outside relayed by messengers. The most recent and insistent of them lay dead at their feet, completely drained of blood.
Adam scanned the pages as he leafed through them. Once he was halfway through the tome, he stopped and turned a page back over. His eyes locked onto a few lines, and he winced, something his comrades did not fail to notice.
"Something wrong?" Candy asked. Adam hummed in response as he studied the page a few times.
"I believe this will work for our purposes," he finally declared, snapping the book shut. Dog leaned forward at the hips with a raised eyebrow.
"But you saw something you didn't like," he declared. Adam shook his head.
"A personal item, nothing that will hinder us," he replied, turning away from them. "We have what we need. The time has come." Dog hissed a laugh, and Candy stamped out his cigarette.
"Aw! But big man's so jolly with his new toy," Dog cackled, jutting a thumb to the frenzied storm clouds through the window. "Least he'll die happy."
"You sure his boys are going to fall in line?" Candy asked as the trio set off down the hall.
"The soldiers he has afield are not a concern," Adam explained. "The Storm Isles and much of his conquered territory are now hosts to a plethora of souls who are loyal to us. Immortality seekers and the sort." He ripped a window from its frame and gestured to Candy.
"Pursue the next phase, if you would," he ordered. With a nod, Candy turned to a pale yellow mist and slipped outside. Leaning out the window, Adam watched the tail end of the generated clouds slither into the sky.
"The rebels have destroyed the storm machine," he declared. "We're short on time. Let's-"
Looking down into the well-lit plaza, he saw him. Human in shape and displaying tremendous strength, he hurled the ruined storm machine into a line of soldiers.
"It's him," Adam whispered. Dog leaned past him and looked out.
"Who?" He asked. Adam pulled him back inside to face him.
"He's a vampire," Adam declared. "I have no time to explain. You must kill him." Dog choked and stumbled, held up only by Adam's grip.
"Hold on! There's another?" He cried, stealing a few glances down to the newcomer. "Shouldn't we, like, recruit him or-"
"Absolutely not," Adam firmly retorted. "I don't know what he is capable of, but of us two, you are the better fighter. I will eliminate the Storm King. The sun will clear the clouds soon, so we must hurry. Please."
That was the second time Adam had ever spoken with any urgency. Dog looked him in the eyes and slowly nodded.
"Gotcha, I guess."
There was a pitched fight happening inside the castle now, as Twilight's friends and a mix of pony guards and dogs rolled into what seemed to be only a few handfuls of storm beasts. I followed them with my Evil Eye, praying the other vampires' focus would fall on the guy who'd ruined their cloud cover.
The plaza was clear of storm beasts, allowing Calaeno's pirates, now that she had a chance to introduce herself, to start freeing the ponies from their chains. Capper and Calaeno both scanned the plaza nervously.
"Hey, so uh," Capper suddenly said. "What are we-"
My Evil Eye started spasming worse than ever before. Something wicked this way came. I had a solid guess what the source was.
"Vampire's coming, one of Adam's," I huffed. Capper and Calaeno gasped as I turned to address the entire army. "Clear the plaza! Get everyone to cover!" They rushed to obey as the dogs and pirates hauled ponies into nearby shops or down the trench, leaving me alone in the center of the plaza.
Stowing my axe in my belt, I loaded my crossbow and did a sweep. Up on the rooftops, I saw the faint shadow of something moving very quickly, leaping from building to building as it beelined towards me.
Then he leaped out of the clouds, and I took the shot. It passed right through as he turned to mist and then back.
"FROM THE TOP ROPE!" He yelled as he came crashing down elbow-first into my face. Despite his being a vampire, just like with Boss, his attack failed to hurt me.
As a result, I was very aware that I never hit the ground. Instead, he caught me with his other arm, dragged me in a spin, and hurled me in the air. Before I could react, he tackled me in midair and slammed me into the roof he'd initially jumped from.
"How it do?" He yelled, pinning both my arms under his boots. "Name's Mad Dog! Picked it out myself!" He reached down and grabbed either side of my head.
"And you, sir, are about to slip from the census!" He yanked my head to the side and brought me into a tumble along the roof before hurling me again with a kick.
"Condolences to your nonexistent widow!" He called as he ripped a board from the roof he was standing on and charged after me. I caught myself in the air and hurled a wad of fire his way.
"HOH!" He shrieked as he swung his beam through the fire. "Fuck was-"
I teleported behind him and tried to slam a stake in his back, missing entirely as he turned to mist again, before reforming in a way that let him grapple me by the arm and throw me to the street with him on top.
"Vampire magic's a new one!" He declared before I teleported again. "And I already hate it!" He blinked and looked up at where I was floating.
I stared down at him as he slowly rose to his feet, and drew another stake since I'd lost my grip on the other one, like the crossbow. I could tell what was happening. His Evil Eye was at least as sharp as mine, probably sharper. I'd need to ruin his focus to get by it.
"So-"
My attempt at banter was cut off when he went running down the street towards a pony chain gang that hadn't made it to cover, where he stomped on the chain and pulled one of them free.
"Work release!" He called as he hurled the squealing pony at me like a football.
"Mother-fuck!" I threw out my magic and caught them in mid-air, and was immediately blindsided by Mad Dog who came flying up alongside them. I gurgled in pain as he slammed the stake he must have swiped off me into my stomach.
"Bingo-bongo!" He slipped up behind me and pulled me into a headlock with his hands over my face. "Bob's your uncle!" He yanked and sent us both plummeting towards the earth.
We didn't fall far before he was blasted off of me through a window, and I managed to wrench the stake out. Looking to where the blast came from, I saw Starlight and Blueblood, the latter of whom had the pony I caught safely in his magic.
"Get all the ponies to cover!" I yelled and pointed at the remaining chain gangs before flying after Mad Dog through the hole he'd made.
Right as my head cleared the wall I was nailed in the eyes with a cracked window pane, blinding me.
"Son of a-"
I felt myself get yanked further inside and then slammed into the floor, before free-falling and hitting a lower floor. Wiping my eyes, I narrowly saw Mad Dog come flying down at me with another stake he must've stolen.
I turned into mist, and he punched clear through to the floor below us, where I heard more glass shattering. Flowing up to the hole we'd both made, I looked around and spotted the shimmering patch of road. I reformed and hopped down to street level, turning to peek back inside. I narrowly caught a wine barrel that came crashing through, followed by Mad Dog as he burst through the window and barrel, spilling wine everywhere.
He managed to stab me with his stake, but I'd thrown myself backward so it failed to stick. He slipped briefly on the wine, before lunging after me as I flew back.
Just as planned.
"Quilt, he's right above you!" I psychically called out. From the hole hidden under an illusory road Quilt had conjured, Cozy leaped up in front of Mad Dog.
"HAHA! Got you!" Cozy yelled, brandishing her cutie crucifix. Mad Dog stopped dead and dropped his stake.
"Fuck is that?!" Mad Dog shrieked as he hurled himself away from her. I teleported past Cozy and took a swing at Mad Dog with my stake but he slipped on the spilled wine and fell flat on the ground before turning to mist.
"Damn it!" I growled. "Don't let him down the tunnel!" Cozy kept her trinket up and aimed at the mist around me as Sunbeam climbed out with her ash spear ready. Rather than rush them, Mad Dog slipped into the air and wafted towards the roof of a nearby tower.
"I'll try to get him back down here!" I called to Cozy as I flew up after him.
Rising past the ledge of the tower top, I saw him standing with his hands on his hips, coat thrown aside, heels together, and bouncing on the tips of his boots as if to some beat only he could hear. He wore an expectant smile upon seeing me, despite the ugly scorch mark where Starlight had blasted him.
"Nah, Nah, take your time. Ain't like I got nowhere to be," he said warmly. I landed on the edge and took a step closer, brandishing my stake and axe. He looked me up and down and smiled wider.
"Ain't got a clue what that bullshit was, but hoo!" He huffed. "Think I might get why Adam's so skeeved about yah." He leaned forward at the hips, still smiling.
"I know I'm done sick of your shit already," his eyes shimmered, and I could feel his Evil Eye honing in on me.
"I've heard that name before," I replied, looking for some way to spoil his Evil Eye's focus. "He's your brother or something, right?"
"In spirit, not blood," he clarified, still bouncing. "More importantly, he's the lad what woke me 'n Candy up, then taught us everything we needed to know."
"Candy? Another spirit brother?"
"Bingo," he replied, sweeping one leg over the other, as he slowly paced his side of the roof.
"Adam's probably the only normal name between you three, I gotta say," I said, mirroring his movements.
"Told ya, I picked my name myself. All of us did," he bent at the knees and stretched. "Adam said it's best to separate ourselves from who we used to be. Shouldn't sully the men-that-were with our sinful nature or something." Well, that statement sure was packed. I hummed as I considered my next words.
"Y'know, now that you're not zipping around and body slamming me," I finally said. "Part of me wants to suggest the potential for us to resolve this peacefully."
"Well! All of me wants to firmly state 'ain't no way,'" he said with a hearty laugh. "Trust me, even if you hadn't taken the first shot, this'd still all be in self-defense. I came here to bleed your soul out, and brother?" He leaned forward again.
"I intend to." Before I could respond, a thunderous boom echoed from overhead.
We both turned to see a massive arch of lightning swirling up into the clouds from the balcony at the castle, transforming the remaining clouds into a flashy, swirling mess.
"What was that?" I asked just before my Evil Eye twitched, and I dumbly turned back to Mad Dog to get a face full of his hand. In the same movement, he wrenched my stake up, slipped it into my ribs, and twisted his wrist, snapping my neck.
Releasing his grip, my body fell limply and my ghost slipped out.
"Fuck," I huffed.
"Yeah," he replied. "Not quite a decap, but good enough I think." He studied me closely as I tried to repossess my body to no avail.
"Fuck," I desperately huffed. He snorted in response.
"Well son, I'mma get outta here," he slapped his hands together and looked at the superstorm forming near the castle. "Dumbass-in-Chief's about to get his teeth pounded in, and when he does, seeing as that big storm's sucking up all that lovely cloud cover.."
He looked skyward to where the sun had been and pointed his finger, tracing a line from that point to me with a whistle before snapping and popping his lips once his finger reached where I lay.
"So you enjoy that tan!"
"Fuck," I heaved. He leaned backward and hummed.
"Now that I think about it, though, I could go for a snack," he said, rolling his head with a crack, and rubbing his magic wound. "And I'd just love to get to know that little lamb with the shiny little totem.."
"Don't you fucking-"
"Sorry, didn't catch that. I don't speak 'loser,'" he chirped and leaped off the roof to the street far below.
I was shaking. I tried to hover but was pinned. Instead, I threw out my Evil Eye to warn them but saw Mad Dog was already in their midst.
"GODDAMN IT!" I screamed. I blew it.
All that work, all that time, all that effort.
He's moving on Sunbeam and Cozy.
It was all for fucking nothing.
Quilt's lessons, my magic practice, all for noth...
Magic.
Wait.
I looked down at my corpse and blinked. Something was very familiar about this. Something Celestia had said.
"For instance! Did you know that eight out of ten cases of hauntings are just vampiric sorcerers who were staked, but not destroyed?"
"No?"
"It's true!They use their magic to harass the living, despite being unable to leave where their body lay."
I held my breath, prayed I was right, and slowly raised my hand towards the stake. Throwing out my magic, I felt it latch on and start to pull free.
"Celestia, you beautiful creature."
"Back! Spawn of Tartar-"
Cozy was cut off when Mad Dog hurled a paving stone at her head and she ducked. He then threw a second which hit her square on with a crack.
"COZY!" Sunbeam screamed as Cozy rolled and went still.
"Oh ho ho! It's you~.." Dog chirped, straightening up and striding towards Sunbeam, who jumped and looked at him. "How you doing, baby girl?"
Sunbeam couldn't even shake and simply stood still as stone. She watched the monster approach with wide eyes. Once he was within arms reach, Dog reached down and hefted her up by the scruff of the neck, gently slipping her helmet off with his other hand.
"Did ya miss me?" He smiled wide, displaying all his fangs. The image of that maw clamping down on Holder's throat flashed in her mind. She clenched her teeth and kicked him in the nose with the horseshoe Cozy had polished. Dog yowled and let her drop, grasping at his face and stumbling back. Looking at her from between his fingers, he growled.
"O-ho-kay! She wanna play rough?" Violently dragging his hand from his bloodied face, and cracking his nose back in place, he snarled. "Let's play rough."
He crouched with a feral sneer and leaned forward to pounce, all his focus plainly on her. Sunbeam took a stance, spread her wings, and braced. Then Dog lunged forward at full speed, claw-like hands poised to tear her apart.
He flew headlong into a flash of red light as Peter teleported in front of him and slammed his wooden stake into Dog's face. The added momentum of Dog's attack caused his body to lurch under Peter's arm, giving him the leverage to slam him to the stones below with enough force to crack them and split Dog's entire skull apart.
Acting quickly, he ripped the stake from the gory mess and punched it into Dog's chest. He hefted his axe up and hacked at where the pulverized skull met the body and buried the axe head into the street. Sunbeam finally let a breath out and took into the sight before her, looking between Dog's corpse and Peter. Unseen by her, Dog's ghost sat up and looked at Peter in shock.
"Fuck you. Didja catch that?" Peter asked, holding an open palm to Dog's body. He conjured a stream of fire that swallowed the vampire's entire body.
"Doesn't matter how many friends you bring!" The Storm King bellowed as he charged up another blast of magic, causing electric arcs to flash through the throne room. "What good will they do you against all this power?!" He cackled as he unleashed his spell. Rainbow rushed forward and tackled him, causing his attack to go wide and giving Applejack a chance to lasso the staff he wielded.
"Hey! Let go!" He demanded as he yanked on the staff. Rainbow and Pinkie galloped and helped Applejack pull on her rope.
"You've got it all wrong!" Twilight declared as the rest of her friends joined in the tug of war. "Friendship is the greatest power there is!"
Adam huffed from his hiding place behind a pillar behind the Storm King. He hated to spoil such a convicted speech, but this was easily the best chance he'd seen. The staff was compromised and the Storm King was focused on the ponies. He crouched forward and prepared to attack.
Then his Evil Eye twitched. Focusing on the source, he gasped aloud.
"What?" The Storm King muttered as he looked behind him where Adam was hiding. He never saw the vampire, but that momentary distraction cost him dearly, as with one unified effort, Twilight and her friends ripped the staff free from his hands, causing it to tumble through the air and explode with magical power.
Adam was forced to dispel his Evil Eye and rush from his hiding place to avoid being buried in the rubble as the magic tore into the roof and brought it down in places. He hissed under his breath and he was driven out of the room by random bolts of magic. With the staff going off, and the rapidly collapsing room, his chance was spoiled. But despite the severity of the situation, that was not what hurt him most.
Taking a breath in the hall he now sat, he sent out his Evil Eye again and watched as the new vampire incinerated Dog's body with magic. Adam clenched his teeth. The fact they could cast spells was something he was never told. Just one of many lies by omission given to him when he awoke.
This is why they needed the tome they'd stolen, and it was further justification for his attempts to flee the path the Longhorns had set for all four of them, at least if the sheep who awoke him wasn't also lying.
"No.. Three now," he whispered. He turned and knelt with a fist to his forehead.
"Father, forgive this wayward soul his mischief, spare him your wrath, and welcome him into your mercy. Give me strength in his wake, O Lord. Amen."
Adam took a quivering breath and drew himself back to his feet. Sending his Evil Eye out, he saw the Storm King and the princess hurl themselves out an upper window in a struggle for the staff, before getting pulled into the chaotic winds outside. The sun was already piercing the clouds in a few places. Growling to himself, he turned and fled for a window.
"Forgive me, Mad Dog. Finish my task in my stead, princess," he thought. Hurling himself through the glass, he changed into mist and vanished from Canterlot.
I kept the flames roaring, the shrill whine of the spell overshadowing Dog's laughter until his ghost and voice faded to nothing. Cutting the spell, I breathed heavily as his body slowly collapsed into a pile of ashes.
"Peter?" I looked over at Sunbeam, who had an exhausted look in her eyes. I smiled at her.
"We got him," I declared, still huffing. She smiled back but then flinched. Before I could ask, I saw the flames out of the corner of my eye roar with new life and turn black.
The second I gave the phenomenon my full attention, the flames reared up in a series of black tendrils and shot into my chest. I felt the air leave my lungs as the fire leaped up and vanished into my body. All that was left of Mad Dog were fine grey ashes that got picked up in the winds rocking the city.
When I finally breathed in, I felt my body creak, like I'd just woke up from a long nap, and my senses sharpened briefly. I blinked and found myself staring at a paneled ceiling.
"Wh-"
"Peter!" I heard Pinkie cry. "He's awake everypony!" I grumbled and groaned as I sat up in what revealed itself to be an extra large hospital bed. Blinking, I saw Twilight, her friends, and Starlight come galloping in.
"Where the hell am I?" I huffed, rising to my feet despite their protests.
"You're in Dr. Mango's office just off the plaza. Starlight got you and Cozy here after you passed out," Twilight explained, trying to force me back into bed with her hooves.
"You've been in Stupor since before the sun went down, and it's past midnight now," Starlight explained. "What the heck happened?"
"Where's Cozy?" I asked, scanning the room and gently pushing Twilight away.
"She's asleep in the room next to yours. She-"
I slipped out the door and to the next room. There, in a smaller bed, I saw Cozy sitting up with a bandage around her head, with Sunbeam in a chair next to her, and Quilt sitting on the bed with Cozy. The pair of sheep noticed me at the door and waved.
"Hey, Peter," Cozy called. "Glad you're not dead."
"Same to you," I replied, stepping in and looking at her friends. "How's she doing?"
"Peter?" I heard Twilight call from the door. "How'd you do that?" I looked back to see her and the gang come trotting in after me.
"Do what?"
"Dude, you just vanished!" Rainbow replied, to which I flinched.
"I did?"
"I thought I saw fog where you were standing, but then you were just gone!" Starlight declared.
"Huh," I looked over myself and turned my hands over. "I.. really didn't notice." The group piled in and looked up at me.
"What the heck happened t'ya'll?" Applejack asked. I pondered her question as I continued studying my hands. Images of the fight with Mad Dog flashed in my mind, as well as what happened when I burned him.
"When I burned Mad Dog, the fire turned black," I hummed and shrugged as I tried to find the best way to describe what happened. "And then, kind of.. jumped into me."
"Is that what that was?" I heard Quilt ask. I looked up and saw her rubbing her chin. "I felt my skin crawl just before you passed out. I thought it was just nerves." We shared a look as the rest of the group looked me over. Whatever happened, Quilt must've felt it through our link. I heard the sound of Twilight's magic and looked to see her waving her horn near me.
"Whoa," she gasped. "The dark magic comprising your body is way denser!"
"By how much?" Starlight asked. Twilight took a step back and looked at me in wonder.
"By at least double!" She declared, at which Starlight gasped. "You must have absorbed the dark magic from the other vampire!" I choked and stumbled, holding on to the wall.
"The hell's that even mean?! Am I-" I stuttered and gasped. "Am I okay? Like-" Twilight hummed and magically scanned me again.
"You don't seem to be enduring any psychological changes.." She said, rubbing her chin.
"That's because it is only flesh-deep and will not reach his soul," a new voice spoke as Princess Celestia and a blue alicorn entered the room. All the ponies bowed as she entered, except Twilight who hopped forward and hugged her.
"I was wondering when you two'd get here!" She said as Celestia returned the gesture. "How's Tempest?"
"She's been quite cooperative and is awaiting questioning, along with the others who surrendered," Celestia explained before looking up at me. I sighed in relief at the sight of her, before she ruffled her wings and huffed.
"I certainly hope it doesn't take an invasion every time I want you to come visit," she said with a disappointed whine. I stumbled at her accusation before she brushed me with a wing and giggled. "But I'll take what I can get." I huffed as she laughed.
"And here I was about to say how relieved I was to see you safe," I retorted. She winked at me but then yelped when I yanked her into a hug. "Which I guess is still true." The group watched us in surprise as Celestia returned the gesture with a wing.
"It's good to see you as well, my friend," Celestia said before we released each other. She gestured to the alicorn at her side. "Peter, this Luna, my little sister and co-ruler of Equestria." Luna bowed her head slightly, and I returned the gesture.
"I've heard a few stories about you, most recently your part in the liberation of Canterlot," she said. "Whether it needs to be said or not, you have our gratitude for your efforts." Celestia nodded, and I blinked in realization.
"Oh yeah, what all happened after I passed out?" I asked looking over everyone present.
"Oh! It was crazy!" Pinkie began. "We found the Storm King in the throne room, and he was all like 'I'm going to take over the world!' and we were like 'Nuh-uh!' and then Twilight tumbled out the window with him, and then he exploded!" She completed her story with a deep breath, flailing her forelegs in the air. I looked at the others, who nodded in agreement.
"All the storm beasts in the city have either fled or surrendered," Starlight added, still studying me closely. "And the fleet of airships sailed away."
"Okay," I huffed and scratched my neck. "What about the other two vampires?"
"There's been no sign of them since their leader delivered Twilight to the Storm King," Celestia explained, stepping past me into the center of the room. "I suspect they were only in league with the Storm King to fulfill their own ambitions."
"Their own ambitions?" Rarity repeated. "What ever do you mean?" Luna stepped in and joined her sister's side.
"While we were imprisoned in stone, they discovered and plundered a hidden chamber in the library," Luna explained. "The fiends transformed a few captured ponies into the undead to thwart our wards of defense and warning." I heard Sunbeam gasp and turned to see her holding back tears.
"Captain Holder," she whimpered. Celestia stepped to her side and wrapped a wing around her.
"He is at peace now, Lieutenant," she said quietly as Sunbeam hugged her tight. "And the one responsible is destroyed." Sunbeam nodded and shook. They stayed like that for a minute before Celestia withdrew and turned back to the rest of us. Sunbeam sniffled and took a breath but then composed herself.
"What did they steal?" Twilight asked after regarding Sunbeam sadly.
"A compilation of all the details I could find about Woollachia's undead, and the Longhorns," Celestia explained with a weary sigh. "As well as everything we know about the ancient rites Grogar employed to create and foster the first Nosferatu."
"What the heck'd they want somethin' like that for?" Applejack asked.
"We cannot know for certain," Luna replied. "But if nothing else, their knowledge of their own power will certainly increase." She looked at me.
"For that reason, it may be a blessing our own vampire's power has increased," she said with a smile.
"What?"
"As Luna said, the dark magic you absorbed has only gone flesh-deep," Celestia explained, sweeping a wing across my chest. "Your soul is untouched. Were it otherwise, as I'm sure you can guess, you'd have caught fire already." I gawped and stammered.
"That can happen? The dark magic thing, I mean," to my shock, Celestia shrugged.
"Vampires killing vampires is not something I've ever witnessed," she admitted, looking me up and down. "But it does not appear to have been to your detriment, so I choose to count it a blessing." Before I had a chance to panic over the implications, her reassuring eyes met mine. I hummed and took a breath.
"Fair enough," I finally said and folded my arms. Twilight stepped forward.
"Even if Peter's tougher now, that won't help us much if we have no idea where the other two ran off to," she declared. Celestia nodded and addressed the group again.
"With his consent, Peter will be only one factor in a much larger effort we will be pursuing in the coming weeks," she explained. "In fact, the friends you've returned to Canterlot with will also be playing a part."
"Capper and all them?" Applejack asked. Luna nodded and hummed in affirmation.
"They've all come from lands terrorized by the Storm King, and have agreed to lend their talents and experience to us," Celestia continued. "We intend to unite all the lands who have suffered under his reign into a coalition for mutual defense and to hunt down and defeat Adam and his cohort." The sisters looked at me.
"And we wish to request Woollachia join in that effort," Luna declared. I shrugged.
"I'm game, but I'll have to run it by everyone back home," I replied, to which they both nodded.
"And, of course, you'll need an expert in vampire hunting!" Cozy shouted before wincing and holding her head. Quilt gently nudged her back to her pillow.
"You almost got killed, even with Peter around," Quilt muttered sadly. "Be realistic, Cozy."
"I got caught off guard, that's all!" Cozy retorted, waving a hoof at her. "I just need some proper combat training, and I'll be ready next time!" Sunbeam hummed at that, and Celestia stepped closer.
"Well, perhaps Lieutenant Sunbeam could help with that?" She offered, and Sunbeam blinked at her. "It would certainly be a strong sign of solidarity between Woollachia and Equestria to have one of our agents deployed to aid in defense training, after all." She looked back at me expectantly.
"No argument here. If she wants to stay at Ramstead, that's fine with me," I shrugged again but then hummed in thought. "In fact, I'd like to request you send Hasty Deference and Blueblood, too." The entire group gawped at my statement.
"I can understand Hasty, but.." Twilight muttered. Her friends seemed to have similar reservations.
"Blueblood's proved pretty useful, even if only as a ship's captain," I explained. "I'm not planning on getting rid of that airship we stole, so if he's willing, I'd like to have him stick around. Same goes for Hasty, obviously." The sisters shared a look before Celestia nodded.
"I believe that is fair," she replied and turned to Sunbeam. "What do you say, Lieutenant?" Sunbeam smiled and looked between the princess and Cozy.
"Yes! Of course!" She squealed and was pulled into a hug by Cozy.
"Wonderful," Celestia said with a giggle, before smirking. "Just keep in mind you'll be under Prince Harlow's authority for the duration." Sunbeam blanched and regarded me with horror for a moment before relaxing.
"Understood, princess," she replied with a smile. She and Cozy shared another hug, but Quilt sulked at the news.
"Great," she muttered. I slinked up and sat next to her.
"Hey, I felt the same way about all three of you coming along to Canterlot," I offered, causing her to grimace. "We've all got a better idea of what we're getting into this time at least." Quilt sighed and nodded as I scratched her side.
"Fret not, young Woollachian," Luna said, approaching where we sat. "For now, we shall take time to study and watch for the movements of our enemies. Should all go well, your friend will be free from danger for some time yet."
"With that in mind, we must take our leave," Celestia added with a bow. "I'm sorry to cut our reunion short, but there is still much to do, especially if we're to fulfill your requests, Peter. It was wonderful to see you in good health, and this has already been a more productive visit than I'd hoped." We all bowed as the sisters left before Twilight and her friends faced us.
"It's pretty late, so we should probably head to bed," she said before following the other princesses out. "Glad to see you're both okay!"
"Yeah! We'll have to hold a make-up Friendship Festival since you missed the first one!" Pinkie cried as she and the rest followed Twilight. Rarity was the only one who lingered behind, looking me up and down.
"And we certainly need to have a talk about your wardrobe, if you're still only wearing that," she said with a huff before slipping out.
"Have a good night, all," I called as they all slipped out the door. Turning to those left behind, I sighed. "So, how are you feeling, Cozy?"
"Oh, I'm feeling great! We took out a legitimate evil vampire!" She cheered, dragging Quilt and Sunbeam into another hug.
"We sure did," I laughed. "But I meant in the physical sense."
"The doctor said she needs to rest, but so long as we keep her from running around, she should be fine to travel on the ship back to Woollachia," Quilt replied. I stretched and sighed.
"Alrighty, once we find out if Blueblood and Hasty are on board, let's get home," I declared. "We gotta get those refugees back here anyhow."
"C'mon, Cozy!" The happily prancing Sunbeam cheered back at the collapsed heap that was Cozy. "Three more laps! You can do it!" Cozy responded with a noise that was a mix between a steam pipe bursting and a tea kettle whistling. Sunbeam wilted and walked back to her friend.
"Two more laps?" She negotiated. I laughed at the display from where I sat in the dark entry hall of the castle, before taking a sip from the mug Frill had just filled for me.
"Maybe we should consider such a regimen for Quilt," Frill hummed as she sat down beside me. "I'm thinking.. Seven laps for every dish she refuses to bring down and wash?" I huffed a laugh.
"We'd have to do a ritual to bring her back from that one," I replied, cracking my wrist and conjuring three small motes of fire.
"Well, she'd at least be more cooperative as a zombie," Frill shot back, watching as I set the three motes in a small orbit. "More hygienic, too."
I laughed but said nothing, focusing on adding more fire to the small ring I was creating. The past few days since we'd returned, even without Quilt's help, I'd been putting my body to the test and had steadily gained an understanding of what had actually changed in my body.
I shaped the flame in my hand into a ball, which then transformed into a small, fiery doll in the form of Frill, who I made do a little curtsy before swirling away to cinders. The real Frill next to me clapped her hooves at the sight.
In the same way Mad Dog seemed to have had very fine control over his mist form and Evil Eye, I now had a similar degree of control over every part of my arsenal. I could even use magic while transformed, which, while I now wondered if that was something I could always do, was how I'd managed to slip by Twilight and company in the hospital. I had reflexively turned to mist and teleported away, which had the neat effect of creating no flash.
"If you're not too busy showing off to your ewe-friend, the mare you're cheating on her with just wrote," Quilt called as she came skipping out with a scroll she dropped in my lap. Frill humphed as Quilt sat on the side opposite her and looked out at the now crawling shape of Cozy.
"Finally. Let's see what's what. Maybe we'll have something to tell Briefs and the rest," I hummed, opening the scroll, and focusing on its contents. Celestia and her sister had had their hooves full ever since we left, and this was the first we'd heard from them since. Quilt leaned onto my lap to look at Frill.
"He didn't deny it~," Quilt chirped, causing Frill to lean back at her, forcing me to raise the scroll in my hands.
"And somewooly's deflecting out of jealousy~," Frill chirped back. The two hummed in faux amusement as they shared a glare.
"Hey, so get this," I said, magically nudging them back. "They've finally got some details on Adam and his boys from Tempest and the storm beasts." Hearing my announcement, Sunbeam came trotting up with Cozy draped over her back.
"What'd they find out?" She asked over Cozy's wheezing.
"They showed up about five years back, and immediately swore fealty to the Storm King," I replied, still reading the letter. "The Storm King welcomed them in, and put them to work against some place called the United Cities." Sunbeam hummed in realization.
"The United Cities are where Minotaurs come from," she explained, gently sliding Cozy to the ground. "Equestria has a lot of trade deals with them. I wonder how he kept that a secret?"
"Apparently, he had some weirdo named Verko for an ally," I said, scanning the relevant lines. "Guy has a lot of connections and could intercept news from places the Storm King conquered. He could make it seem like everything was a-okay to their neighbors."
"Spooky," Quilt muttered. I nodded in agreement.
"Speaking of spooky, Adam had a fourth pal he showed up with," I looked up at them. "A somber and reclusive ram named Gruff." I chuckled as I looked back at the letter.
"Sounds like Longhorn fuckery to-"
Quilt ripped the letter out of my hands and threw it on the ground, where she firmly held it open with her hooves.
"Quilt?" Cozy wheezed, having found the strength to roll upright, and cast a fearful stare Quilt's way. I looked between the two as Quilt read the letter herself. I could hear her heartbeat racing, and her breathing became heavy.
"Wha.." She finally huffed and fell on her side, eyes still locked on the letter. I scooted to her side and she slowly looked up at me with dread in her eyes.
It had been a few days since the Storm King had been defeated, and while there was still an effort in place to rebuild everything his army had ruined, life had to go on. And where life was, there had to be parties, especially following such a scary sequence of events.
"Bye, Pinkie! Thanks again!" Leafy Green called after the party mare herself as she skipped away from the sixth 'Saw-the-inside-of-Peter's-spooky-castle' party this week. There was still a lengthy list of ponies who had such a party coming, but the sun was setting now, and even Pinkie Pie had to sleep eventually. Not that many would believe you if you said so.
But as she skipped down the road in the late evening light, sleep suddenly became the last thing on her mind. Her left ear twitched, her right foreleg ankle clenched, and her tail snapped out.
She stopped dead in her tracks and waited, holding her breath.
Then the yellow patch of her cutie mark bristled and she took off at a full gallop. Bounding through town, she came to a sliding halt in front of Sugar Cube Corner, where the door sat slightly ajar, despite the sign being flipped to closed and the blinds all being shut.
She rushed in, flipping over the 'Welcome! Come on in!' mat she'd placed at the front door and saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake asleep in the middle of the floor.
"Mr. Cake? Mrs. Cake? What-"
The door clicked shut behind her. She whirled around and gasped when she saw who shut the door before the vampire shushed her firmly.
"The babies are sleeping, sweetheart," Candy whispered, presenting the sleeping baby Cakes in his arm. He shook his head as he stared at Pinkie. "No, no, no, don't cry. We got shit to do. Here.." His free hand reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a small yellow crystal he ground into a powder with the same hand.
"Have a sample and relax," he said, offering the powder to her.
"A thousand storm bucks?!" The pigman yelled, slamming his fist on the stall, causing some of the fruits on sale to roll to the ground. "Yesterday these were a buck a pound!" He jumped back when the turtle stall-keeper leveled a crossbow at him.
"Yesterday, we thought the Storm King was still alive," he retorted with a growl. "Ain't you heard? Big guy bit the dust up north, and all his commanders, too." The pigman blinked and huffed.
"The Storm King's dead?" He parroted. The stall-keeper rolled his eyes and stowed his crossbow.
"What I just said. So his money's only good for trading with storm beasts and a couple of Abyssinians here or there," the stall-keeper explained, jabbing his stall with a claw. "So! A thousand per pound today. You still got kluge-dollars don't ya? Usual price for those." The pigman hummed in wonder at the news as he nodded and searched his pockets before blinking.
"Hold up," he said evenly, slowly looking back at the turtle. "Storm King's dead."
"Right."
"His commanders are gone."
"Right again. You got the money?" The pigman pulled a small wad of cash from his pocket as he continued to voice his thoughts.
"His money ain't worth the paper it's printed on.." He slammed a hand on the stall and leaned at the stall-keeper. "AND we've got a platoon of his soldiers staying in OUR town for free?" The turtle smirked and pointed towards the square.
"You ain't the only one who's put two and two together on that, Mitch," turning, the pigman saw a crowd of Klugetowners brandishing knives, clubs, and the odd sword or axe, all marching towards the barracks where the Klugetown detachment was holed up.
Mitch furrowed his brow and tightened his belt before stomping off to follow the mob. The horde soon met at the barracks with a second mob who were battering at the doors.
"Time's up you thugs!" A lizard at the front roared as he brought his axe into the door, cracking it in half. Then, the two Diamond Dogs at his side plunged their shoulders in and crashed into the barracks. "Come on!" The leader called as the mob charged inside.
Mitch managed to shove his way to the front and was one of the first to burst into what was once Gofeld's bar before being repurposed to house the Storm King's soldiers in Klugetown. The lizard and his two dogs were at a standoff with the soldiers inside, who had formed a barricade bellow the second-floor loft with the tables and had their spears pointed out at the mob.
"Let's be rational!" The captain of the barracks yelled. "Adam and his brothers won't stand for any violence here!"
"Don't give us that!" One of the dogs yelled back as the mob piled in. "All of the commanders died up north!" The mob hollered in agreement as the dog tried to climb the stairs only to get jabbed with a spear from the barricade.
"You really think Adam could die so easily?" The captain called, before gasping and pointing at the ceiling. "Look!" Mitch and several others looked up and saw a faint smoke wafting around the ceiling. A scream rang out.
"It's true! He's alive!"
"Adam's here!"
"Run for your lives!"
Half the mob trampled over each other as they scrambled to flee the vampire in mist form, but Mitch only raised an eyebrow as he saw the smoke rising from the loft itself. Huffing to himself, he rushed up the stairs while the soldiers were distracted, and saw a pair of guards on the loft crouched over a metal basin full of burning coals. One of them was fanning the smoke towards the rest of the room.
"Hah!" Mitch called, causing the pair to jump. He stomped up and grabbed them, both before kicking the basin off the loft. "Here's your vampire!" The mob looked up and then back to the captain.
"Er.." He looked around and then raised a finger. "He must have hypnotized them!"
A cheer rang out as Gofeld hauled the last barrel of beer up from where the soldiers had hidden them. The tables were laid out and the storm beasts were tied up in the corner, under the watchful eyes of Mitch, and Cid, the lizard who'd smashed the door in.
"First six rounds're on the house!" Gofeld hollered to the joy of the mob.
"So, what're we going to do with these boys?" Mitch asked, poking the captain with his club.
"Might be able to get a few coins for the lot of 'em," Cid chuckled to the visible discomfort of his captives.
"Release them," a third voice offered. Cid and Mitch laughed.
"Now that's funny!" Mitch declared, turning to meet Adam's eyes. As soon as he did, the club slipped from his hand and he held his breath. Cid looked back and fell from his stool with a shriek. As more of the patrons took notice of the vampire, a terrified silence filled the room.
Adam looked over the room and held up one hand.
"Please, don't mind me," he said, gesturing to the crowd. "Enjoy yourselves. Merriment is not always a sin." A table of four near the entrance rose to their feet, but before they could escape the door was slammed shut by Adam, his action punctuated by a thunderclap outside and a scream from the crowd. He drew a breath through his teeth as he leaned on the door, and slowly drew his hand to point back at their table.
"Please," he huffed through clenched teeth. "I'd hate to think I spoiled your evening. This is a happy time." They slowly dragged themselves back to their table, as the daylight vanished.
"Mr. Verko is tending to the cloud machine," Adam explained as he sat at the bar top. "He'll be along momentarily. I bring very exciting news for everyone." Adam took a shuddering breath as the room watched him with dread. Then they jumped when he suddenly looked at Cid and the captured guards.
"Release them," he ordered. Cid and Mitch scrambled to obey, and the platoon was set to their feet before their captain hesitantly approached Adam.
"Commander Hurri- ADAM, sir, it's good to see you!" He declared with a salute. "We heard from ships heading for the Storm Isles that his Excellence and the commanders were all dead." He wilted as his eyes met Adam's.
"You heard right. The Storm King is dead," Adam confirmed, to the shock of the soldiers. A few of the patrons cheered before remembering the situation they were in. Adam smiled at them, which did nothing for their nerves. "The Storm King is dead, and his wanton evil dead with him." Adam rose from his seat and drew a book with a silver ribbon bookmark from his robe.
"And I now possess the key to the future," he declared, presenting the book for all to see. "I shall forge a new nation, stronger, untroubled by hunger, disease, or death. A new Eden, on this earth." The crowd flinched at his declaration and murmured to themselves as the last vestiges of light vanished outside with the noise of thunder. The door was suddenly thrown open.
"Ah hah! Just the fellow I was looking for!" Verko called as he and his bodyguards stepped inside. "Wonderful weather, huh?" He asked, nudging a nearby patron who shuddered in response. Adam rolled his hand out in salute as he returned to his seat.
"Thank you for seeing to my accommodation, Don. I prefer moving in man-shape to beast or mist," he said as Verko hopped into the seat next to him. Adam opened his book and slipped the silver ribbon from its place.
"No trouble at all for such a lucrative partner," Verko replied, snapping his fingers as Gofeld hastily poured him a drink. "So, straight to brass tacks, King Blow-hard really is gone, eh? Hah! Guess you boys are moving ahead with that thing we talked about?"
"Correct, for the most part," Adam said without looking up from his book. Verko hummed and grabbed the glass Gofeld handed him.
"What part exactly am I incorrect about?" He asked, taking a sip.
"Mad Dog has been killed," Adam stated, causing Verko to spit his drink, and the entire room gasped.
"How the heck did that happen?!" He cried, yanking a rag his bodyguard handed him and wiping his face.
"There is another vampire to whom our plans are anathema," Adam explained, still reading from his book. Verko moaned and wrung his hands.
"So, what, is it all-"
"Only one thing has changed," Adam said firmly, closing his book and bringing his hand to his chin. "If Eden is to come to fruition, I must compensate for Dog's passing. Candy is now neutralizing Equestria's greatest weapon, and the captain here will be setting out to inform the scattered armada of my taking charge and order for them to return to the Storm Isles." The squad captain blanched.
"I am?"
"You are. Immediately," Adam affirmed without looking at him. The captain's mouth hung open as he looked from Adam to Verko, who grimaced and jabbed a thumb at the door. The storm beast murmured before signaling to his platoon, who followed him out of the bar. Adam turned to Verko.
"I will remain in Klugetown for six days while waiting for Candy. Our allies abroad who, like you, have a blood bond with me have already been made aware of the situation," he rose from his seat and loomed over the molerat. "But as you are my agent closest to the enemy, I believe it would be best to make good on our promise, Verko." The molerat raised an eyebrow and then jolted.
"Really?" He huffed, wringing his hands again. When Adam nodded his head, a smile split across Verko's face. "Oh hoh hoh! Yes! Finally! Let's do it!" He clenched his hands and ripped his tie off. Adam tore open his palm with a fang.
"You understand the precautions you must take, yes?" He asked as Verko exposed his neck. The patrons gasped and some averted their eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, stay out of the sun, no garlic, I got all that!" He squirmed in his seat. "Immortality, baby! Let's go!" Adam reached and bent his head back with one hand, pressing his bleeding palm over his mouth. Someone in the bar screamed.
"Remember also," he said as he bared his fangs. "This makes us brothers. Do not make me regret this choice."
"There it is," Cozy whispered. I slipped up out of my coffin in ghost form and looked ahead. The team of dogs hauling my hidden body was now passing through the middle of the Ruffleton graveyard, marching straight for one, well-tended grave towards the back.
Quilt was waiting with Frill in her room back at Ramstead, and it was clear when we left she wasn't sure which discovery would be worse. The dogs reached the grave and set my box down.
"You ready, Peter?" Cozy muttered without looking back at me from where she sat on my coffin.
"Yep. Be right back," I replied, slipping forward and down into the earth. After Cozy and Quilt explained that Gruff was the name of Quilt's grandfather, along with the matching description of a magically savvy hornless ram, and the timeline matching up with when Gruff had died, we came to an agreement: Rather than exhume the old ram, I'd slip down and see if anyone was home.
"Shit," I muttered, as all I found was an empty box.
Cozy had her foreleg draped over Quilt's back as she buried her face in the blanket on her bed. Frill and Blueblood had just returned from carting her dishes away as my request, while I continued pacing and muttering to myself.
"And how is the young miss feeling?" Blueblood asked with a tea set in his magic. Quilt whined in response.
"Thank you, you two," I huffed as they entered the room.
"Yes, of course," Frill replied, helping Blueblood set the table. She looked between me and Quilt as they worked. I wasn't sure what to say to her. Celestia's letter coupled with the empty grave pointed to the grim reality that Quilt's grandpa had faked his death and went off raising vampires. I heaved a sigh in frustration.
"Listen, sitting here letting 'what ifs?' and 'why fors?' eat at us isn't doing any good," I declared, folding my arms. "Who keeps the graves in Ruffleton?" Quilt didn't respond, but Cozy hummed and looked up at me.
"Nowadays, Slacks does it, but he only took the job a year ago, I think," she explained, rubbing her chin. "Mayor Briefs probably has a list of everywooly who did the job over the years." I snapped my fingers.
"Okay! So, I'm gonna-"
"Mayor Briefs buried him," Quilt quietly added, still hiding her face. "Even though Grandpa never liked him." Cozy rubbed Quilt's back.
"He didn't?" Quilt gently shook her head in response before her ear twitched, and she looked up from her hooves.
"Mayor Briefs also got me to go with you to Canterlot," she muttered as she scanned the room. Frill, Blueblood, and I shared a look as I processed that statement.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Quilt hummed and sat up a little.
"He was saying a lot of weird stuff," she explained, taking long, deep breaths "He said you'd need my magic, and then asked if I even remembered anything Grandpa taught me. The way he said it got under my wool."
"He said all that?" Cozy asked. Quilt nodded again and looked at me. Frill shuffled her hooves and stepped forward.
"That's.. very strange. Was he always aware of your witchcraft?" She asked. Quilt never took her eyes off me.
"He used to interrupt our lessons. He always made Grandpa uncomfortable, like they had some secret Grandpa didn't want me to know," she said. Cozy hummed in response.
"You don't think Mayor Briefs had something to do with-"
"Guess we'll have to ask him," I declared.
Briefs stepped into his dimly lit office, either not noticing or not caring about his closed blinds, and hopped into his chair. Pulling a small stack of papers from his bag, he began to read them over, humming a happy tune to himself. As a result of all this, he never noticed me and jumped when I stepped forward from the corner of his room.
"Prince Peter!" He yelled, before sighing in relief. "Nearly made me jump out of my wool!" He shook his head with a chuckle.
"Sorry about that, but I have to stay in the dark, and we need to talk," I replied. He hummed and nodded as he set his papers aside.
"Of course, of course," he sighed and gave me his attention as I stepped closer to his desk. "So! May I presume this has something to do with Princess Celestia's hunt for the other vampires?"
"Sort of does, yeah," I affirmed, to which he beamed.
"Brilliant! About time, if I may say," he laughed. "What news does she send?" I slid the too-small chairs out of my path and drummed on his desk.
"She managed to pull some details on where the other three came from," I explained, at which Briefs nodded. "As well as someone who was in their company till he died of old age." I listened and heard his heartbeat remain steady.
"In their company? Who might that have been?"
"A ram named Gruff," I replied. For just a moment, his heart jumped but evened out again.
"How did she come by this information?" He asked with a tilt of his head. I shrugged and slid my palms to the edge of his desk.
"Lot of the guys the Storm King had were there when Adam and his goons popped up, as well as Gruff," I scratched his desk with a finger. "A few of them were there when he finally died." Briefs hummed at my story and looked at his desk as if deep in thought. After a moment, I pulled one hand up and whinged.
"See, the thing that's bugging me is Quilt said her grandpa who died a few years back was also named Gruff," I hummed and paced the floor. "So she asked me to make sure he was still where you buried him."
"And you found an empty grave, right?" He asked with a smile, which caused me to flinch. We stared at each other for a moment.
"Yeah, I did," I finally said. The clock on the wall ticked away as we locked eyes. He finally shrugged.
"Well, you've got me," he laughed. "I helped Gruff fake his death and made him raise those other vampires." My jaw dropped.
"I- You.." I fought for anything to say as my head spun. He shrugged again.
"I know when I'm licked, and you knowing the truth doesn't stop anything," he declared. He held his hooves out to me. "Go ahead and apprehend me." I collapsed onto my ass and stared at him. The clock ticked on as he sat there, hooves stretched out.
"I- I think you're supposed to ask for a lawyer?" I mumbled. He laughed.
"Unnecessary, and it wouldn't help," he shook his head. "But you'd better get Doily and the rest together. They're witnesses after all."
"Like that?" Pinkie asked quietly as she finished pouring the powder in the shape Candy showed her. The vampire leaned over her and inspected the circle. The gems he gave her were in position, the powder was the right shape, and the strands taken from her mane were neatly hidden in the powder lines.
"You got it, sweetheart," he gripped and rubbed her back, causing her to shudder. "Now, sit in the middle." Pinkie slowly obeyed. The monster had put the babies to bed as she asked, but if she fought him now or ran for help, he made no secret of what would happen. And now that the sun had fully set, he could do it all and disappear with no problem. Candy scratched his head as he looked over the scene.
"Alright, now.." he hummed in thought before he snapped his fingers. "Now we burn it. Or rather, you burn it."
"Why?" She whimpered. Candy shrugged.
"Fuck if I know," he tossed her a match. She sighed and took it in her teeth, striking it on the floor before quickly setting the flame to the powder. The entire circle went up in flames, causing her to gasp. The fire ran through its shape quickly and then the entire circle vanished in a puff of smoke that stung her eyes. As she coughed and blinked, she looked around and saw the fire and smoke were gone. She could, however, feel the warmth of her blood pumping through her veins.
"Hey hey hey," Candy chuckled and took a deep breath. "I can already tell you did it right. Good work, sweetheart." Pinkie grimaced and looked him up and down.
"I don't get what any of that was, but if that's all you wanted, go away!" She demanded, stomping her hoof. She winced when he laughed again.
"Nuh-uh, we got one more thing," he declared. Pinkie whined and clenched her eyes.
"What?" She asked before she was thrown backward as the vampire seized her by the sides. Before she could do more than cry out in surprise, he sank his teeth into her shoulder.
"You and I got to get a little closer, that's all," she heard him say in her head as he sucked her blood out.
"And what are your intentions with our daughter?" A voice suddenly filled the room. The sudden auditory intrusion caused Candy to halt his fangs just as they touched Pinkie's skin. Withdrawing, he turned and saw a pair of older ponies in the room, casting a pair of even but heavily judgemental glares his way.
The pair were dressed like quadrupedal amish hicks, all greys and blacks, with the mare's mane done up in a tight bun, and the stallion in a wide-brimmed hat with a pair of sideburns heavier than Candy was aware ponies could grow.
"Well?" The stallion asked again.
"Huh?" Candy huffed. The stallion snorted while the mare rolled her eyes.
"As I thought. Just like the youth of today, no clear direction or goals in life," he shook his head before stamping his hoof. "Pinkie, I'm sorry, but I do not approve."
"But Daaaad!" Pinkie begged, having slipped from Candy's grip and thrown herself at the stallion's hooves. "He's a cool, broody vampire!"
"Broody?" Candy muttered, looking at his suddenly empty hands. "The fuck?" The pair gasped, and the stallion reared up.
"And such language in front of your mother!" He slammed his hooves down. "Absolutely not! No daughter of mine is going to whore about with such a delinquent!"
"No, Daddy! He didn't mean it!" Pinkie cried as her mother pulled her to her hooves and dragged her to her room. Candy's jaw hung loose as he struggled to process everything he'd just seen.
"Limestone!" The stallion called. A third, angry-looking pony with a heavy saddlebag entered the building.
"Yeah, Dad?" She asked. Pinkie's father slammed his hoof once more.
"The Attitude Adjuster™," he ordered, holding out a hoof. The new mare nodded firmly in response and pulled an ashwood board with a nail in it from her bag, which she handed to her father.
The throne room was dominated by a tense silence as I paced the wall. I was too bewildered by everything that had happened to notice when I left the floor, so I just rolled with it while Graggle, Quilt, Frill, Cozy, and all three Equestrians digested everything I'd told them.
"So he just admitted to all this?" Graggle huffed.
"Yep. He's sitting in the vault right now while we wait for the other Mayors to show up," I replied as I stepped onto the ceiling. "I think we have to have a trial, I guess."
"Why? He admitted it, so let's just kill him," Quilt groused from where she sat curled up on my throne. Cozy and Sunbeam, sitting beside her, flinched at her tone.
"Quilt!" Frill cried.
"What? He made Grandpa do all that bad stuff," she shrugged, staring straight ahead. "Scruff him." I sighed and drifted down to the throne, picking her up and sitting with her in my lap.
"I want a full picture of everything, Quilt," I said as she tensed and curled up. "For all we know, if he's not just lying, there could be a lot more to the story."
"You saying Grandpa might've done all that willingly?" She asked with a dark and dangerous inflection. I gently pet her back.
"I'm saying the why and how needs to come out," I offered. "That's why I want to hear from the others. Hell, there's even a chance he's the guy Celestia's been looking for all these years."
"Why would he admit to that then?" Hasty asked. I sighed heavily.
"Good question in general," I muttered. I'd been asking myself that question for the past three hours, ever since Briefs had willingly just walked to Ramstead alongside my mist form. I felt more off balance than when Mad Dog was hurling me through the air.
Was this all just a prank? Was it all legit? Was he trying to distract me from something? I dragged my free hand down my face and continued to pet Quilt, partially to comfort her and partly to comfort myself.
"Master, sheep is here," Latch called from the door.
Before leaving, as she was feeling overwhelmed, Frill had fetched Graggle some writing tools to keep a record of everything, while Hasty and Twitch led the few castle guards in to keep everything civil. As a result, the air the Mayors entered was tense and somber, and they knew immediately something about this meeting was very different.
From where the Mayors of Woollachia stood, they saw a room of armed dogs and me, lounging on my throne, with Quilt in my lap and two vampire killers at my sides. And we all had our eyes focused on the three of them as they entered.
"Thank you all for coming," I said, sweeping my hand to the three of them. They shared a look before stepping further inside.
"Does this have anything to do with Princess Celestia's coalition proposal?" Lace asked, looking over the whole room. I felt Quilt growl quietly.
"No, this is," I hummed and rubbed my eyes. "This is the proceedings to a criminal trial." The three of them flinched.
"Criminal?" Doily repeated and looked at her peers. "Nowooly told me about any crime. Things have been very good recently!"
"I agree. Did something happen here at the castle?" Cap asked. Quilt sat up and looked at the vault door.
"Oh, something's gonna happen alright," she hissed. I firmly gripped her and leaned in.
"Quilt, please," I pleaded. She angrily met my eyes and relented after a moment. She hopped down next to Cozy, who moved to comfort her along with Sunbeam. I sighed and looked back at the mayors. "It's about Briefs." The shocked looks they gave in response were very telling. Oh boy.
"What- ah, what do you mean, Prince Peter?" Lace asked while the other two stared wide-eyed at me. I nodded and folded my legs over.
"It's a bit complicated, so bear with me," I began, tenting my fingers as I looked at the ceiling. "Celestia wrote and told me that the three enemy vampires were in the company of a ram named Gruff. Now, not only does Quilt's grandpa share a name with this ram, but the timelines match up for the possibility he faked his death and ran off with those three." Quilt buried her head in Cozy's side.
"Well, that's-" I held up a hand, cutting off Doily.
"I inspected Gruff's grave and found it was empty," I continued, still looking at the ceiling. "When I went to ask Briefs about it, he admitted practically unprompted that he helped Gruff fake his death and forced him to summon the other three." My eyes fell on them finally.
"Then he said you three were witnesses," I finished, looking over their shocked reactions. I held a hand out to them. "So you can imagine, we're all a little perplexed, here."
"Everything that transpires here will be transcribed, starting from the moment you entered the room," Graggle declared, still writing. "Apologies for not making you aware sooner. The role of a courtroom stenographer is new to me."
"Hold on here!" Cap cried, galloping closer to the throne, either unaware or ignorant of the guards being held back only by a gesture from Hasty. "We haven't done anything wrong! Why are we on trial?!"
"Cap's right! It was all Briefs' idea!" Doily added, practically in tears. Lace collapsed onto her haunches, staring at the floor with her mouth open.
"You three aren't on trial, Briefs is," I declared. The three of them blinked and gave me their attention as I leaned forward. "You're just here to tell us what you know. Which I think it's fair to say is quite a bit." They shared a look and hung their heads as they shuffled back together. Standing side by side in the center of the room, they held a silent debate about who should begin or even what to say.
"Let's start simple," I offered, relaxing back in my seat. "How are you three involved?" They looked at each other, and Lace nodded.
"Briefs helped us get into office. You already know only candidates presented by the Mayor can be selected," she shuffled her hooves as she spoke. "We weren't in the best positions to ever get the chance. He changed that." Doily took a breath, emboldened by her peer's testimony.
"Mayors don't have to retire, so once we were in, that was that," she explained. That was something I had wondered about but never asked. "In exchange for his help, he just wanted our support for some plan he had." I hummed and tapped my cheek.
"Hold up, when we met, you made it sound like you hadn't unified Woollachia because you didn't want him in charge," I leaned forward again with a furrowed brow. They wilted at my gaze.
"That, well, was what he told us to say," Cap muttered. I gawped at that revelation. "We knew he had a hold over everything already, so what did it matter if some monster he controlled was on the throne or not?" I huffed in astonishment and looked over the rest of the room. Graggle was taken aback too, but still dutifully wrote on. The Equestrians and dogs largely didn't seem to care or understand what Cap's words meant, but Cozy and Quilt shared a look of concern. I shook my head and chose to press on.
"How much of this plan were you aware of?"
"We knew Gruff wasn't dead," Lace began. Cozy yelped as Quilt shoved her aside and stood in front of my throne, heaving and hissing to the terror of the mayors. I gently reached forward and stroked her back, which relaxed her a little. I gestured for Lace to continue. "We, uh, knew he was sending Gruff away as part of-" she hummed and averted her eyes.
"Out with it," I demanded with a hand still on Quilt. They all winced and Doily clenched her eyes shut.
"It was something to do with the Longhorns' Master, and what they tried to do fifty years ago," Lace finally huffed, shaking her head. "Some resurrection ritual or something. Briefs always spoke of his Master like he was dead, so.."
"And you went along with it anyway?" The three wilted at my question.
"He said we'd get to keep our offices if we did what he said," Doily replied sadly. "He said his Master would reward us when he took control." I growled in my throat.
"Did any of you even know what the Longhorns were planning?" My jaw dropped when they nodded shamefully before I clenched my teeth. "So tell me then, cause I guess I forgot." They shared a look before Cap hummed and nodded.
"They were going to," he hissed and winced. "Hurt a lot of sheep to-"
"Kill," I growled. "They were going to kill a lot of sheep, Cap." He shuddered, and Doily sniffled. I pulled my hand from Quilt when I felt her wince and realized I was squeezing her.
"Yes, kill a lot of sheep for the ritual Briefs was talking about," he finally said. The other two nodded. I heaved a breath and leaned back in my seat.
"And you. Went. Along with it," I said evenly. Quilt quietly shuffled back to Cozy and Sunbeam, watching me all the while.
"We thought his new plan wouldn't hurt anywooly!" Doily cried, now weeping. "We thought-" I was in Doily's face in an instant, one finger an inch away from her snout. The three of them collapsed under my gaze.
"Common sense," I said evenly. I slowly settled onto the floor, finger still pointed. "Would have told you otherwise. But go ahead. What did he say that made you so sure?" Doily's unblinking, teary eyes stayed locked with mine. We stayed like that for a minute before I sighed and returned to my seat. Once there, I gestured for her to continue.
"He said the new plan wouldn't hurt anywooly in Woollachia," she whimpered. "Just.. outside." I fought the urge to jump forward again.
"So what? The Equestrians?" I asked, hoping I misunderstood. Then they nodded. "And that was fine with you?"
"Well, the way he put it," Cap replied slowly, still avoiding my eyes. "Celestia involved them first." The room jumped when a splintering crack rang out. All eyes snapped to me, watching in dread as I twirled the arm of my chair in the two fingers that had ripped it free.
"Well, we all make mistakes," I sighed as I hurled the broken piece across the room. I dragged my hand down my face. "For instance, I never imagined sheep could be so.. well. I guess the Longhorns make a bit more sense now." I hummed and looked over the three of them.
"So, I have to wonder," I began, regarding and rubbing my fingers together. "If you know how bad things could've gotten, are you also part of why most sheep don't?"
"A lot of what happened in the mountains wasn't known to the public," Lace replied, being the first to look up at me. "Even our predecessors weren't fully aware. Briefs explained it to us so we'd have context for why things went wrong the first time and why this time would be different."
"Then you nearly started a war and all that with Celestia," Doily whimpered, shuffling her hooves. "We pulled Briefs into a meeting or two since we were worried what happened all those years ago was about to happen to us. But it was too late either way. The Woollachians followed you, which I think was what Briefs really wanted."
"He also said if Celestia came down on us, all the blame would fall on you," Cap added before shuddering when my eyes fell on him. I growled and took a breath.
"So, let's recap for those keeping score," I hissed and cracked my back. "You knew the Longhorns were out for blood, you knew Briefs was in on their schemes, you helped keep the worst of their crimes and goals hidden for all this time, and you did all this to keep your shitty little civil authority roles. Do I have all that right?" They wilted and nodded with their eyes cast down. I grumbled and swept my hand out.
"You three are going to tell the Woollachian public everything you've been keeping from them," they gasped and moved to protest before I stood up, and they shrunk under my gaze. "And we're taking steps to keep this from happening again." They shared a look as I paced in front of my seat.
"No more of this 'people in power chosen by those already in power' bullshit," I began. "Starting this year, every three years let's say, the villagers will vote on who they want to be Mayor. Anyone can apply and whoever gets the most votes is the new Mayor for three years. We'll iron out the details this week."
"B-but!" Doily stood and tried to speak.
"No," I growled, so she hit the ground and covered her eyes. "Additionally, I'm only on this throne because of you and Briefs' scheme. So, if the sheep want me gone, away I'll go." Graggle and the dogs gasped and moved to argue before I waved a hand.
"No dice. During the election this year, they can make it known. If that's how it's going to roll, Graggle, you and I can work with whoever the new mayors are and set you up as, I dunno, military administrator for the country. However it'll work, I want Woollachia to have its guards with or without me."
I'd made it back to my throne by the time I finished speaking and slumped into it, staring at the ceiling. Silence gripped the room as my decree hit home for everyone. I leaned forward, drawing all eyes back to me.
"That all said, let's hear what Briefs has to say for himself."
Briefs stood alone in the center of the room, under the gaze of everyone else present. But my eyes alone were the ones he met.
"So, your peers have given quite the tale," I began. He nodded.
"I told you it would be best to gather them," he laughed, causing my eye to twitch.
"Added to your earlier admission, I think I can make a judgment call," I rose from my seat and swept a hand out at him. "But so we're all on the same page, Briefs, you are accused of, let's see, conspiracy, planning a mass murder, coercion." I counted off on my fingers and hummed, trying to put what I believed he'd done to words.
"Guilty on all counts," he declared, causing me to clench my fists and smile angrily.
"Great, that makes things easy," I leered down at him. "But only makes me curious. Why are you-"
"Giving it up so quickly?" He laughed darkly. "I told you, you knowing won't change or stop anything." I sighed as I stared at him, and sat back down.
"If that's true, then why don't you give us a more detailed account?"
"Certainly! Where shall I begin?" He chirped, causing me to crack my knuckles together.
"Your peers mentioned this was all part of a ritual for your Master," I offered. He nodded in response.
"The Master died quite a long time ago, but his spirit still lingers and can speak to those who can listen." Briefs explained, still meeting my eyes. "I am one such individual, and with his guidance, pushed the Longhorns to prominence. They existed solely to one day achieve his goal of restoring his body, and the mistake that brought you and the other three into being was an attempt to hasten their duty to him." I shook my head incredulously.
"What, he too good to be a regular vampire?"
"He requires a proper resurrection into a body that could support the full weight of his dark power," he explained. "A mere vampire isn't enough. Lord Grogar requires his body restored." The name was met with audible shock from everyone present, especially Doily and the other two. Even Quilt shuddered at the revelation. I was the only one not quite in the loop.
"Grogar.." Cap whispered in shock. "We were-" I snapped my fingers and pointed at him.
"Time's long passed for you three to realize you fucked up, so shut it," I ordered and returned my attention to Briefs. "Okay, you're trying to rez Grogar the Comically Evil or whatever. If you can really talk to him, tell him I said 'Go fuck yourself.'" I spat, causing Briefs to flinch and glare at me. Smiling, I continued.
"Celestia said mass death could do shit like that, so that tracks," I hummed and scratched my chin. "Where does Adam, his boys, myself, and Quilt's grandpa come in?" Briefs was still mulling over my message for his pal but eventually snorted.
"Well, it became apparent that the Longhorns were likely going to spoil his schemes with their haste and lack of foresight," he stared at the floor as he spoke. "But their mistake gave the Master a delightful idea. If the Longhorns were destroyed, why not use their mismade monsters to complete the resurrection? Surely if they were set to the purpose, they could produce a sufficent amount of deathborne magic?" He looked up at me with a grim smile.
"So, you four were modified and set aside to be enriched and unleashed. To consume life and destroy the living, and with each life claimed, bring his revival ever closer," he chuckled as he explained the plan, but then his expression fell. "Gruff was always a fool. He had the talent but refused to rule. His reluctance was to our benefit, however. Celestia never discovered him, leaving us with a sorcerer to fulfill our plan." I saw in the corner of my eye that Quilt was sitting up again, and had her eyes firmly locked on Briefs as he spoke.
"But then Gruff defied us. He tampered with you.Spoiled you," I raised my eyebrows, as this was the angriest I'd ever heard Briefs. "He twisted your composition so that should you destroy another nosferatu, the dark magic they've accrued will be siphoned away and neutralized." He hissed the words out and cracked his neck.
"Then he actually tried to tamper with your awakening, so you'd come out, well," he looked me up and down. "About the same as you came out anyhow. He was punished, and from then on was much more cooperative. Though nothing could undo the damage he dealt to you." Cozy pulled Quilt back, who was heaving from how heavy her breathing was. I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
"And so you had him wake those three and sent them to the Storm King?"
"Yes, after faking his death of course," he nodded. "His request. He knew his time was drawing to a close, and he would probably meet his end far from home. He wanted to offer his granddaughter closure, even if it was fake." I heard Quilt choke back a yell and looked to see her curling up in on herself, with Cozy and Sunbeam huddling close to her. The latter of the two was staring death Briefs' way. I leaned in, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"If this is too much-" Quilt cut me off with a shake of her head and glared at Briefs. I hummed and looked back at the ram. "Why the Storm King exactly?"
"Oh, very simple. He was the only modern warlord stupid enough to not think twice about a set of undead offering their power," Briefs explained, shaking his head with a laugh. "My allies abroad told me he already had a substantial industry base, which I can't imagine those boys didn't make use of. That's sure to help their efforts!" I snarled and cracked my wrists.
"Makes sense," I muttered, rolling my head back and forth. "So, why help me out? I mean, you set me up as a prince, you backed up my plans, and hell you even sent Quilt with me against those three. Why?"
"Well, letting you think you were in charge was, in fact, the best way to control you, prince," he snorted with a raised eyebrow "A gentle nudge here or there was all it would take to get you to behave how I needed." He giggled.
"When I realized you were awake, I knew I just needed to keep you still long enough for the other three to come knocking, and Gruff's little ploy would be finished," he howled with laughter. "But flying headlong into a fight with all three of them, you were ready to do on your own." His expression fell and he stared ahead at nothing.
"Wasn't counting on them fighting you one at a time, however."
"Aw shucks! Make a guy feel all guilty, why don't ya?" I whined and shook my head. "You still haven't explained why you sent Quilt with me. She says you knew she had magic and all that." He smiled darkly and looked right at her.
"Well," he began in a tone that made me regret asking. "As I said, Gruff had to be punished for his rebellion. The Master very wisely pointed out that while his son was precious to him, the ram had a daughter who could also be used as leverage." I looked down at Quilt and saw she went stiff.
"So we orphaned her," I held up a hand holding back the guards as Quilt charged the older ram with a feral roar to the shock of everyone in the room. I rose from my throne and slowly, deliberately stepped towards where she was beating him into the stone floor, each step punctuated by a thud or crack as she rained her hooves upon him. By the time I slipped my hand under her and pulled her off him, he was writhing on the floor, covered in blackish-blue hoofprints. Quilt thrashed in my grip for a minute before curling up and sobbing quietly into my shirt.
"Not very-" Briefs groaned and wheezed. "Not very professional of a judge holding a criminal trial." I hummed as I returned to my seat.
"Never said I was a judge. Graggle?"
"Yes, O' Dark One?" He replied, unperturbed. I hummed again.
"Yeah, dunno. 'Dark One' sounds pretty unprofessional to me," I sat down and crossed one leg over the other, allowing Cozy to lean on my armrest to console Quilt. "You chose to cross the court held by a demon? Sounds like your problem to me." I smiled as he rose to his feet.
"Maybe carry on without drawing joy from my friend's pain, you tiny idiot." He huffed and chuckled.
"Very wise, I admit," he shifted and winced. "Shall I continue?" I waved a hand at him.
"Right, well, as he had only his granddaughter left, Gruff knew our threats were not idle," he said slowly, between breaths. "Which of course made him cooperative, and I think was the motivator for teaching her magic. To either defend herself or convince us she was useful alive." He shrugged but winced as soon as he did.
"As to why I convinced her to go with you," he cracked his neck and let out a long breath. "Call it postmortem punishment. His spoiled vampire is destroyed, and his beloved progeny is erased with it. But again, I hadn't predicted they'd fight you one at a time."
"Yeah, real shame that," I said, gently petting Quilt who had stopped crying, and now stared hatefully out at Briefs. "Anyone present have any objections to my passing judgment?"
"Nay," Graggle replied, catching up with his writing.
"No," the Equestrians replied.
"Awful," Doily whimpered.
"None," Lace and Cap replied.
"Nuh-uh," Cozy declared.
"Kill him," Quilt desperately whispered. Looking at the dogs present, they shook their heads, and so my eyes fell back to Briefs.
"Briefs, I find you guilty of heinous crimes against Woollachia, this court, and I feel confident when I say life in general. Fuck anyone who argues otherwise," I declared. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "As to what's going to happen to you, well.." I felt Quilt tense up and saw him straighten up slightly.
"I think you and Celestia need to have a chat." His jaw dropped and he gasped.
"Wha-"
"Lock him back up in the vault and send for someone to treat his injuries. For the time being, I sentence you to life in prison here at Ramstead. Might change it to death later, after Celestia meets you because fuck you, I'm a demon," I rose from my throne as the guards moved on the flabbergasted Briefs. I pointed at the three Mayors.
"Court is adjourned. Get out of my house." I dragged Cozy in my magic and carried Quilt out of the room.
The three of us walked in silence that was occasionally broken by Quilt's sobbing. We quickly made it to her room, and I threw the doors open with my magic before releasing Cozy, who galloped to the bed and fluffed it up for Quilt.
"I need to write Celestia about all this," I said before I leaned over to gently lay her on her bed. "So I'll be back." When I moved to withdraw, I realized she had my shirt in her teeth and had my arm firmly held by her forelegs. She didn't speak or even look at me, but the message was clear.
"On second thought, it can wait."
Alone in the vault of Ramstead and in spite of his bruises, Briefs slowly paced the floor before sitting. Glancing around and humming to himself, he smiled and sighed deeply.
"Thank goodness."
Ponyville General Hospital
3:45 am
"Has the princess written back yet?" Mr. Cake begged. Twilight shook her head, peeking through the door at where Pinkie lay and where her doctor was hastily finishing a blood infusion.
"Do you remember anything at all?" She asked, never taking her eyes off her friend's pale body. Mr. Cake paced the floor, biting his lip.
"We were just closing up for the night, and had just put the foals to bed," he tiled his head and muttered. "Something was wrong with one of the ovens, I think?"
"The ovens?" Twilight repeated, stepping to his side. He nodded and rubbed his chin.
"There was smoke in the room, and then.." he stared straight ahead, blinking. "We woke up and found Pinkie.." Twilight grumbled at the news.
"The air seemed clean in Sugar Cube Corner.." She said, racking her brain. "We'll have to-"
"The poison has long since departed their store," Luna declared, suddenly stepping into the hall with them. "And I am loathe to admit the damage has already been done to our friend." Mr. Cake gasped and bowed at her sudden arrival, while Twilight whipped around.
"Damage? Poison?" She whimpered. Luna nodded sadly and looked in at Pinkie.
"Before coming here, I inspected the store and found faint signs that a dark magic ritual took place," she explained with a grim look in her eyes. "When coupled with her exsanguination and the two missing nosferatu, I am left with an unhappy conclusion." Twilight gasped and followed Luna as she stepped into the room. The doctor stepped back and bowed as the princesses approached.
"How could the vampires have even gotten inside? Don't they need permission? What did they want with her? What-" Luna held up a wing, and lit her horn. Waving it over Pinkie's sleeping form, she hissed and averted her eyes. Twilight held a hoof over her mouth.
"What is it?" She whispered. Luna hummed angrily and took a breath.
Night had come and gone, and while Cozy had fallen asleep on the sofa despite her best efforts just an hour ago, Quilt was still awake and curled up at my side. She'd said nothing all night, even when Graggle had visited.
After Graggle informed me the Mayors had left and Briefs was locked up, I'd had him take charge of the candle to Celestia, primarily writing to her on my behalf about all that had transpired and alerting me when she wrote back. That was the only official business I had permitted and things had been quiet since then.
"Mama," Quilt muttered. Looking down, I saw she had finally fallen asleep. Unfortunately, she was fidgeting and whimpering in her sleep. "Nm. Pe'r, don't go." I winced and laid my arm on her side, hugging her close. She hummed and calmed down a little. I dragged my free hand down my face and closed my eyes, deciding to slip down to Graggle. Drifting through the hall, I saw the dog in question plodding to our door, scroll in hand.
"Graggle," I said aloud causing him to flinch and grumble.
"Still not used to that, especially after such a long night," he shook his head. "In any case, the princess has replied, Master."
"Quilt just fell asleep, so let's see it out here," I responded, hovering over his shoulder. He hummed and huffed before opening the scroll.
"As you wish, but I must get some sleep afterward," he sighed, rubbing his eyes before adjusting the letter in his grip.
"Sure thing, just hold it still," I requested, leaning in to see what she'd written.
Peter,
Awful as it may sound, I admit these revelations you have shared offer some comfort to me, so I thank you. But much has transpired in only a few hours.
The Elements of Harmony have been compromised by the Enemy. Pinkie Pie has had a blood bond force upon her, and so her thoughts are laid bare to our foes.
As I'm sure you can imagine, this hinders our plans somewhat.
In three weeks' time, I would like you to come to Canterlot, along with this Briefs and his co-conspirators. The first meeting of the coalition will take place then, and over the course of at least three days, we will be discussing our mutual defense against the remnant of the Storm King's army and pursuit of Adam and his cohort.
It is imperative you attend, for in the absence of the Elements, your station as a 'counter-vampire' if you will, may be the hinge upon which all confidence in this arrangement pivots. I also have questions Briefs will be able to answer.
I apologize for such a formal reply, but my time for pleasantries has grown ever shorter.
Your friend, HRM Princess Celestia. P.S. Give Ms. Quilt my sincerest condolences.
Graggle looked in the direction he thought my face was as we both digested what she'd written.
"Things seem to have escalated, O' Dark One," he said with a yawn.
"Three weeks, huh?" I hummed, reading the letter again. "You're going with me. We can discuss this later once you've slept." Graggle bowed and rolled up the scroll.
"As you wish, Sire. I'll just slip this under your door," he cracked his back and waddled off towards Quilt's room. I didn't follow, as I was still wrestling with the news Celestia had sent me.
"Blood bond.. Fucking Christ," I thought, holding an ethereal hand over my mouth.
"Peter? Where'd you go?" I heard Quilt call through our link. Shit.
"Sorry, I'm on my way back," I replied, immediately flying to where I left my body, gliding over Graggle as he returned to his quarters.
"What were you saying about a blood bond?" Quilt asked as I slipped through the door and to my body. She was rubbing her eyes and stretching on her side.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it," I said, rising from the bed and making for the door.
"Where are you going?" She huffed as I retrieved the letter from the door.
"Just something Graggle delivered," I explained and sat on the edge of the bed. Before I could say anything further, she shot forward and yanked the letter with her teeth. I tried to snatch it back, but she scrambled away and vanished under the bed. I sighed and laid back.
"Why didn't you want me to see this?" I heard her ask, and I draped my arm over my eyes.
"You've got enough bullshit on your mind as is," I replied. The bed shifted, and I felt her flop down onto my chest.
"Says who?" She demanded. I hummed in response and scratched her side with my free hand. "I want in." I looked back at her and saw she wore a determined glare.
"Briefs made Grandpa set those monsters loose, and he's got a lot of investment in them." She took a breath and cast a dark grin my way. "I want to help trash his hopes and dreams." I smiled back.
"There she is," I replied with a chuckle. "We'll give 'em hell together, alright?" She held her grin but faltered after a moment, and she curled up on top of me.
"I'm going back to sleep for a little bit, okay?" She asked.
"Feel free. I think you could use it, to be honest," I replied, covering my eyes again.
"Will you be here when I wake up?" I peeked out and saw she had her eyes screwed shut. I wrapped my arms around her.
"Sure will. Cause we've got work to do," I said. She hummed and relaxed, so I rubbed her back. "Besides, you know I love you buddy."
"Mm, gross."
One day later.
Three weeks to the first coalition conference.
Cozy set the candle down at the point where the road from Ramstead turned onto the road to Ruffleton and nodded at Sunbeam, who waved back at me. With my superhuman eyes, I could see her and the wick of the candle perfectly from the castle balcony. Focusing, I flicked a finger out and watched them jump as the candle suddenly and violently lit up.
"Hah!" I yelled triumphantly.
"Did you get it?" Frill asked excitedly. I pumped my fist in confirmation, and she clapped her hooves. "Very well done!"
Ever since the sun had gone down, I'd been practicing my spells while Quilt gathered some materials for another ritual she said would be useful for my training over the next few weeks. My fire spell could reach as far as I could see now, and at night when my vision was superhuman, that reach was positively insane.
"Alright, I found everything!" Quilt called as she stepped onto the balcony with a tome on her back and a full saddlebag. I spied out and saw Sunbeam pick Cozy up and fly her our way, so I turned my attention to Quilt as she opened the book and dropped her bag.
"Alright, so, you've got a good handle on pyrokinesis which is already pretty telling," she opened her saddlebag and pulled out a deck of cards and a brass bowl. "But it's time to see where your magical affinity really lies." She stamped on the deck and spread it out with her hoof.
"What's that exactly?" I asked, kneeling in front of her. Frill hummed with curiosity as we watched Quilt pull some twigs and strange-looking black leaves from her bag.
"This is old-school Equestrian stuff and a little Longhorn for fun," she replied as she ground the mess into the bowl and looked at her book again. She blinked and tilted her head. "Mm, it'll figure out what spell class you have the strongest connection to. They used to use this for unicorn foals before the connection between cutie mark and spell casting was really confirmed."
"There's classes to this shit?" I said, whipping up and studying a small ring of fire.
"Conjuring, enchanting, necromancy, transfiguration, and divination," she replied evenly before pouring a vial of water into the bowl and pointing at my ring of fire. "Boil this with that. This potion will unconsciously compel your card choice." I blinked and obeyed, flicking a finger and snaking the fire around the base of the bowl.
"What's fire fall under?"
"Conjuring. You're making something pop up, get it?" She explained still studying the tome, and nodded. "Okay! Drink that and pick a card." I levitated the bowl and took a breath before downing it.
"Oh, just the broth, though," Quilt added without looking up, causing me to stop with a mouthful of twigs. "Think we were supposed to strain it." I walked to the balcony edge and spat the debris out.
"You did that on purpose," Frill accused.
"And you can't prove that," Quilt replied. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve as I returned, and bent to grab a card.
"Any card, right?" Quilt hummed in confirmation as I slipped one up and looked at it. "It's upside down."
"Lemme see?" She asked and I handed it to her. "Wendigo in reverse.. Okay, two more." She tapped the deck with her hoof. I slipped two more out and immediately turned them over to her.
"The Wanderer in reverse and the Moon," she muttered, nodding as she read on. "Yep."
"What yep?" I asked. She slammed the book shut.
"Your vampirism is scrambling the ritual," she said with a smile. I stared hard into her eyes.
"So what was the point of all that?"
"Confirming your affinity is open-ended," she declared with a grin. I blinked and shook my head.
"What does that mean?" Frill asked in my stead. Quilt nodded.
"Besides the fact he can perform any spell if he's willing to learn and practice it, he can steal affinities by drinking other creatures' blood," she looked me up and down. "So if you were to drink the blood of an Enchanter, you'd be able to use enchantments without as much practice. Get it?" My eyes went wide, and I looked at my hands.
"Holy shit," I huffed.
"No kidding!" Quilt laughed before humming with a sinister tone. "Imagine if you drank Celestia's blood."
"He's planning on drinking Celestia's blood?!" Sunbeam screamed as she and Cozy fluttered onto the balcony. Cozy's legs were already scrambling before she touched the ground.
"Ah-hah! Playing the long con were you?!" Cozy cried. I grumbled as the pair surrounded me.
"God damn it."
"You did that on purpose, too," Frill accused.
"And you still can't prove that," Quilt retorted.
Two weeks, three days to the first coalition conference.
"Two, four, six!" Blueblood commanded, sweeping and stabbing his practice sword at me. It being made from ashwood meant that every time I failed to properly parry his attacks, my fingers and hands got stung. Even with my supernatural speed, since I was deliberately ignoring my Evil Eye my ability to predict his attacks heavily dulled. That was of course the point of this exercise.
"Seven!" Blueblood suddenly cried, and stabbed me in the ribs, causing me to wheeze. "And three with a one!" He clapped the sword against my elbow, before sweeping it into my face. I stumbled back and fell over.
"Never going to be a sword-stallion like that, Peter," Hasty called from outside the dirt circle we were practicing in, balancing his wooden staff on his back. I rubbed my face and rose to my feet.
"Not gunning for swordsman, just trying to shape up, y'know?" I flexed my fingers to shake away the pain and raised my training sword. "I thought magic was plenty until I fought Mad Dog." Blueblood waved his sword in an arc.
"Good. With all due respect, Master," he looked me up and down, before taking a step closer and immediately snapping my sword out of my hand in one motion. "Your grip on the basics is as tenuous as that on that sword." I held my hands up as he held the point to my throat.
"Fair assessment," I muttered. Hasty laughed and hopped into the ring.
"You ready to try the other thing you wanted?" He asked as he approached and shifted his staff into his hoof. I nodded and pulled out a cloth blindfold.
"Just a sec you two," I slipped it over my eyes and tied it. Waving my hand in front of my face and looking around, I confirmed I was blind. "Alright, whenever you're-"
My Evil Eye twitched and I got jabbed in the ribs. I gagged and was jabbed in the back of the knee, and then smacked in the head, bringing me to the ground.
"We're ready," Hasty declared. I growled and turned to mist just as one of them stabbed where I was lying. "Hey! You did it that time!"
"Narrowly. Now, reform and try again," Blueblood instructed.
One week to the first coalition conference.
The seven sheep at the table before me were divided by their reactions. On one side we had a unified trio holding their heads in shame and fear of the other side, all four of whom looked up at me with determination. The former were Cap, Doily, and Lace finally back from a busy few weeks spreading word of their misdeeds and conveying my decree and demand for elections. The latter four were their replacements, chosen only yesterday by the angry Woollachian public.
Graggle had made certain my decrees were spread across the country, and the sheep had taken to the idea of choosing their leadership like a fish to water once they'd learned how fucked everything had been. Luckily, the sheep had handled the transition of power peacefully and without us having to get involved.
We now had Dr. Shawl in Ruffleton, Velvet in Patches, Silk in Buttonburg, and Ernie in Threadbare.
"Congratulations on your offices, all of you," I said from my throne as Frill finished pouring wine for each of them. Graggle at my side hummed and stroked his chin.
"So, what will you do with your predecessors?" He asked, causing Lace and her cohorts to flinch.
"We're assuming Princess Celestia will want to speak with them, so we were planning to turn them over to you," Shawl explained, earning a nod from his peers. "Unless I'm mistaken, you still plan to join her coalition, correct?"
"Yeah, that's right," I replied, looking at the three conspirators. "And Celestia had requested these guys anyhow, so I appreciate you handing them over." The three wilted and whimpered.
"She.. wants to see us?" Doily whispered. I shrugged.
"Thems the breaks," she hung her head and stared at the ground in dread. I returned my attention to the new Mayors of Woollachia. "Speaking of the breaks. Where does that leave us?" I gestured between myself and them. They shared a look, and Ernie, the steely-eyed angry-looking sheep, looked at me.
"Ernie says let the sheep vote again," he rapidly explained in an evenly toned raspy voice. "Ernie got a whole town to run now, ain't got no time for decidin' whether or not to kick a dummy out."
"I figured you'd have already done that," I replied. He flinched and shot a hoof out at me.
"You trying to tell Ernie he mismanaging his time?!"
"Wh-"
"Ain't nowooly gonna tell Ernie how to spend his time!" He shot up onto the table. "Don't care if you a monster! You a dummy, and Ernie gonna lay you out!" He smashed the end of his glass and threatened me with the jagged remains. Doily screamed, and Cap jumped behind her chair.
"He's at it again!" Cap cried. "Somewooly stop him!" Lace sat with her head in her hooves.
"They gave my town to this idiot," she muttered. Ernie whipped about and pointed the broken glass at her.
"Aw, so now you wanna piece of Ernie?" He accused. Lace just shook her head without looking up. "Only piece you gonna get is a piece of glass in the face! Ernie gonna- hey!" I magically swept the glass out of his hoof and the shards from the table. Shawl held up a hoof, which calmed Ernie, who was bracing to charge me.
"We hadn't really had a chance to put your status to a vote," Shawl explained, earning a firm angry nod from Ernie. "The concept of voting took a full week to catch on across the country, and we had to make sure everywooly understood what they were voting upon."
"Plus, some sheep were awfully shaken up when they heard.." Silk tugged at her beret and adjusted her glasses. "What the Longhorns were going to do."
"Speak for yourselves," Velvet huffed and brushed her chest wool. "The majority of Patches' sheep were eager to finally have a say in who governed the town."
"Ernie's sheep was just eager to get Ernie in!" I rubbed my eyes as the Mayor of Threadbare returned to his seat.
"Alrighty, what about my proposal for the guard after my theoretical departure?"
"Ernie don't need no-" Shawl held his hoof up again.
"As we said, things have been hectic. If you could remind me?" He asked. I gestured to Graggle.
"If I leave, you four and Graggle will collaborate to keep the army in place," I explained and gestured at the room with my other hand. "He and the dogs operate out of the castle, and keep doing what they've been doing." The four of them looked at each other for a moment, before Velvet cast a sideways glare my way.
"A kindly proposal," she hummed. "And certainly not one that would allow you to continue ruling from the shadows."
"They are loyal to you after all," Silk added, studying me and my throne. I shrugged.
"If you really don't trust me like that, that's fine," I folded my hands and reclined. "I'm just worried about Woollachia being defended once I'm gone." The pair of ewes looked at each other. Shawl hummed and tapped the table to get everyone's attention.
"I think it might be best to put a pin in that discussion until later. Things have been crazy enough lately, and if the public still wants Peter, then the added stress of figuring out what to do with the guard will be a waste."
"Stress ain't nothing to Ernie, ram!" Ernie rebutted, stamping his hoof. "Ernie live for the stress!" Shawl nodded in contrast to the rest of the table who groaned.
"Understandable, but the rest of us aren't quite so strong," Shawl explained. "So again, I propose we pin the discussion on the guard until later." His peers hummed and nodded.
"Alrighty then," I said, leaning to one side of my throne. "But the first coalition meeting is in one week. Do you think we'll know if I'm in or out before then?"
"Most likely not," Silk replied and tapped her hooves together. "But I don't think anywooly would be opposed to offering support to the coalition with or without you."
"Agreed," Velvet nodded. "Take Senior Ambassador Tangle with you to the meeting. She'll see to it Woollachia's interests in the coalition are satisfied."
"Uh-uh! Ernie ain't got no interest in no coalition! Ernie don't need no help!"
"Good thinking, Velvet," I replied, staring at the ceiling. "How soon do you think we'll know if I'm in or out?" The table went quiet, and I heard them whisper but chose to tune out their hushed debate. Finally, after a minute, Shawl cleared his throat.
"If the meeting is in one week, I think a month after that will be fine," he said, earning a nod from the rest of the table. "You're.. Well, it's fair to say your situation is a bit more complicated. There's a lot of factors for the public to consider." I looked down at him.
"Such as?" He blinked in response.
"Well, keeping you fed isn't a problem, but you are one of the Longhorns' monsters. That connection might be a bit sour for most," he explained. The others nodded.
"On the other hoof, you've been a fair and popular ruler so far," Silk added with a shrug. "So, y'know."
"Fair enough," my eyes returned to the ceiling. "I was really hoping for a yes or no right away, but hey, thems the breaks."
"Ernie gonna break your nose if you try to rush him again!"
Three days to the first coalition conference.
Thunder boomed in the swirling clouds above the castle. I stood on the highest point of the tallest tower and swept my arms out, weaving my magic into the storm around me. While the clouds were conjured by the airship's storm machine, the movement of the storm was fully in my grasp. With a twist of my wrist and a brief flash of light, the storm was anchored to the sky above the castle.
"How's that look?" I called to Quilt.
"Looks good! We'll give it a few hours and check on it again," she replied. "Try the other spell."
I nodded cluched my hand in the air, drew it slowly back, and then shot it back out. A bolt of blue lightning screamed up from my hand and crashed into the clouds above, merging with it and agitating the lightning within.
"Hell yeah," I cackled, watching the clouds rumble with blue flashes of magical lightning before calming.
"Alright, now if the clouds stay put, I'd say you've got weather spells under wraps," Quilt declared mentally. I grinned and slowly worked up to a bout of laughter.
"Winds!" I roared, sweeping my arms out. The clouds rumbled.
"WINDS!" I repeated the gesture. The air became charged.
"WINDS!" I howled, and the wind responded, whipping up into a massive rush of air spiraling around where I stood and carrying the echo of my command across the plains around the castle.
"Show off," Quilt muttered.
Canterlot Castle, South Wing, Room 55
All in all, it had been a very productive few weeks for us all. Sunbeam had whipped Cozy into shape, their arsenal had been expanded and refined, Quilt had discovered and memorized the recipes for a few more magic potions, and Frill had finally accepted that I could not eat garlic despite its health benefits.
All four were now here at Canterlot with me, in addition to Graggle, Blueblood, Hasty, and Ambassador Tangle. As the sun was still up when we'd arrived, my useless ass was dumped in my room while the rest went off to see the city at Celestia's invitation. The quartet of Briefs and his co-conspirators had been delivered to the guards and were being held for questioning somewhere in the castle.
That all, unfortunately, meant I was alone with my thoughts. Truly alone for once, as I'd finally gotten the hang of only calling to Quilt when I wanted to.
I paced my candlelit room in a circle around my coffin set in the center of a circle of gold standing candle sticks on a red carpet. The candles themselves were black and had been burning long enough to fill the air with the smell of hot wax. All these elements and the blackout curtains covering the windows gave this simple guest room a thoroughly gothic atmosphere.
While that and all my advancements should have been reassuring, I still remembered getting trashed by Mad Dog. If I'd fought him completely alone, with no outside help, I'd never have gotten past his Evil Eye.
And if that was just one, I couldn't imagine what a pain in the ass the other two would be. That was the motivation for the past three weeks, but that only brought a new line of thinking.
What the hell had they managed to do in that time? Especially with Celestia's book in tow. Was all that work enough? Would we have time for more? What if the Woollachians give me the boot?
A knock came at the door. I waved my hand and opened it.
"Enter if you dare," I warned. A giggle came in response.
"Oh dear! I seem to have stumbled into the lair of a genuine menace," Celestia laughed as she stepped inside. "Whatever will I do?"
"Hey, lady," I smiled as she approached and hugged me with a wing. "Great to see you again."
"Likewise, Lord of Death," she teased, nudging me with a hoof. I hissed and clutched at the spot she touched, and flames erupted beneath my hand. She gasped and jumped back. I laughed and let the spell disperse. She stared wide-eyed at me for a moment before leveling an amused glare my way.
"You came dangerously close to being purged just now, Peter," she said with a smirk.
"Would'a been worth it," I laughed and clapped my hands free of smoke. "So.. today's the day, huh?" She hummed and nodded.
"Yes, and luckily all the persons I'd invited have either arrived already or are confirmed to be arriving by sundown," she explained but frowned. "Such a tragedy Twilight or her friends cannot attend. A few of these creatures they've made friends with already."
"Twilight can't be there?" She shook her head as we sat down on the black sofa near the door.
"As I explained, poor Pinkie Pie has had a blood bond force upon her, and all her thoughts are laid bare to the enemy," she sighed. "Any critical details she learns will also be conveyed to them. So, for security reasons, Twilight and the others have elected to withdraw from the operation until the vampire responsible has been destroyed." I furrowed my brow as she spoke.
"Why all of them?"
"As close as the girls are, it is all too possible that something might slip. And as Twilight had said, they are at their strongest together, Elements or no." She smirked at me again. "Fortunately, to quote Rainbow Dash, 'Peter should be able to fill the void.'" I winced and folded my arms.
"At least she's certain." Celestia hummed and she teleported a package into the room.
"She's not the only one," she said, dropping the package on my lap. "Rarity has such confidence in you she demanded you update your wardrobe with this."
"Damn, that makes two suits she's fixed for me," I huffed, peeling back some of the paper. I looked Celestia in the eyes. "But it still doesn't put me fully at ease. Did anyone explain the Woollachian situation to you?" She nodded.
"Yes, and I imagine that is weighing on your mind somewhat," she smiled brightly at me. "Rest assured, you have a home here if nowhere else." I hummed and scratched at my neck.
"Thanks, that helps a bit. A lot actually." She nodded again.
"I'm glad, for there is at least one other who has faith in your ability, Peter," I looked up at her. "I had to be honest with the evening's attendees on the subject of the Elements, as they are Equestria's greatest defense. To put the delegates' minds at ease, I presented you and your talents." She shook her head.
"I did not do this lightly, my friend, and it may please you to learn it did offer them some comfort. Especially, or perhaps even those who have faced Adam and his cohorts in the past." I hummed at her words.
"I'll try to keep that in mind," I winced and clicked my fangs. "But I feel I gotta ask: What the heck should I even say? These guys are all, like, world leaders and all that." I looked over at her and shrugged with my hands.
"And I feel like they aren't all as nice as you with strangers," she giggled at my assessment and nodded.
"Rest assured, the individuals present are all either allies of Equestria already or are simply seeking reassurance and confidence," she brushed me with a wing. "So! Try to exude confidence in yourself. Be friendly, be firm."
"Friendly and firm," I repeated.
"And try not to be perturbed by the knowledge that a few of these creatures, such as King Panthera of Abyssinia, and Lord Apollon of Orithia are new allies of Equestria, so your first impression reflects us as well," she added. I glared at her with wide eyes and a firm frown. She snickered and hugged me with a wing. "You'll do fine. Your friends will be there and have your back." I huffed and looked at the ceiling.
"Who all's going to attend?" She hummed and tapped her chin.
"The two I mentioned, Panthera from Abyssinia and Apollon from Orithia, which are the nations Capper and Captain Calaeno hail from respectively. I believe you remember them," she began, and I nodded. She smiled and continued. "Queen Novo of the Hippogriffs, my niece Princess Cadance, Ember the Dragon Lord, King Thorax from the Changeling Hive, Prime Minister Coal from the United Cities, and-" She flinched and stared ahead. I leaned forward to try and meet her eyes.
"What's up?"
"The elder of Griffonstone," she replied. I furrowed my brow.
"Is that a problem?" She took a shuddering breath in response.
"Only a slight one, I believe. Though he might disagree," she said quietly towards the end. She stood to her hooves. "Is Ms. Quilt in the city?" I nodded and she hummed, turning for the door.
"I'd best seek her out. Sorry to cut our talk so short, Peter," she said as she walked out. I blinked.
"Uh, alrighty. See you later tonight?" She hummed cheerily and closed the door. "Weird." I looked down at my package, peeled it open, and pulled the outfit out.
"Holy shit."
Frill had helped me get my new suit on and left with the other Woollachian delegates for the meeting. The sun wasn't down yet, but the other attendees had requested to start the meeting, specifically demanding to hear what Lace, Cap, and Doily had to say to 'provide context for impending operations' or something. I was stuck waiting for the sun to fully set at which point Frill would be sent to fetch me.
I looked down at my new suit Rarity'd made for me. Instead of a simple tuxedo, she'd fashioned a dark grey suit with a gold vest under a black long coat with a red lining and collar, a silky red cape, and knee-high cuffed boots. The reds and golds bore an intricate swirling pattern of a slightly lighter shade than the rest of the material.
I cast no reflection, but Frill assured me I looked absolutely killer. She'd even found me a simple cane to go with the ensemble.
"Should help with first impressions," I mumbled, making a mental note to send her some form of compensation. I gently peeled back the curtains and saw the light outside was rapidly dimming. "Almost showtime." I clenched my teeth and wrung my hands.
"I believe I can empathize," came the voice of Luna at my door. I bowed as she entered the room.
"Evenin' princess," I greeted and she returned the gesture. As I straightened back up, I noticed she carried a smallish blue bottle in her magic.
"Good evening to you as well, Peter Harlow. I came to wish you luck for the meeting." I nodded.
"I surely appreciate that," I sighed. "Your sister was joking, but I'm still worried that I might mess things up for you guys." She smiled.
"As I said, I believe I can empathize," she hovered over the bottle to my hands. "When I first returned to my sister's side at the helm of Equestria, I was constantly beset by such fears. Concerns that I would fumble some critical speech or appearance and, as you say, 'mess things up.'" There was a lot to unpack there, but no time to do so. She sighed and averted her eyes for a moment, before smiling again.
"My sister held me up through such times, and while she will be there with you, I would also like to offer my aid," she gestured with the bottle and I took it gently. "I must attend my duties, however, and provide a vigil against our enemies in the realm of dreams. So I offer this in my stead." I turned the bottle over but couldn't find a label.
"I appreciate it, but what is it?" I looked up and she opened one wing, under which I saw a small bandage adhered to her coat.
"I understand the moon's light provides your kind with some tranquility, so I suspect a draught of blood from she who wardens the moon will have a similar effect." I gawped and stuttered.
"I- wow, I don't," I muttered looking squarely at the bottle. She nodded and turned for the door.
"Think nothing of it," she stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. "Best of luck to you, Peter Harlow." I bowed to her.
"Thank you, genuinely," I said. She smiled and disappeared out the door. "Fuckin' hell." I anxiously looked over the bottle and pulled the cork. I delicately took a sip.
"Huh," I chirped, smacking my lips. I took a bigger swig. "Not bad. Don't really feel anything, though."
"Prince Peter, may I come in?" Frill called at the open door. She looked around inside and saw it was dark, save for the moonlight now streaming through the windows. "The sun has gone down, so- Eeep!" She was suddenly yanked inside by an unseen force and flipped onto her back. Blinking, she saw the glowing, unblinking eyes of Peter leering down at her as he gently cradled her near the floor.
"Hello, beloved servant," he whispered. She blinked again.
"H-hello, Peter. Erm," she squirmed in his grasp and under his gaze. "The sun has gone down, and they sent me to get you."
"Very well," he replied, gently sweeping her back to her hooves. She huffed and straightened her dress, looking up at Peter as he gently bowed for her to lead. Furrowing her brow she took a single step.
"HARK!" She jumped when he yelled, whipping around to see him leaning near the window with one hand cupped to an ear.
"W-"
"Musicians of the night," he cut her off, turning with a sinister grin. "Such music they make.." Silence gripped the room as she tried to hear what he was talking about.
"What are-" Before she could ask, he threw his hand towards the window and threw it open, before rushing forward and leaping out into the night air and vanishing from view. Frill blinked and looked around in bewilderment.
"What the scruff?"
At the corner of Mane and Second, a team of five stallions played their instruments quietly. The bassist looked up over his sunglasses and sighed through his thick mustache when he saw nopony stopping to listen.
"This gig sucks," he muttered. Seemingly agreeing, the rest of the band stopped playing and all sulked.
"Man, Bippity," the one with the wide fedora muttered to the bassist.
"Yeah, Boppity?" Bippity replied.
"When we said we were heading to Canterlot, I figured we'd be playing for rich cats," Boppity sighed, removing his hat. The other three nodded in agreement. The cellist with the beard so long it reached his hooves perked up.
"Hey, man, what if we snuck into the castle?" He proposed. Bippity shook his head.
"That's a good way to get arrested."
"Also a good way to get some exposure," the bearded pony retorted. Bippity hummed and turned to the heavy-set trumpet player.
"Whatchu think, Tumble?"
"Mhm," Tumble replied. The other four nodded.
"Yeah, that's true," Bippity rubbed his chin. He looked to Boppity to suggest a plan but blinked. "Hey, Boppity, your hat's crazy, man." The other pony beamed.
"Hey-hey! Thanks!" He reached a hoof up and realized his hat was gone. He blanched and looked up to see it floating away down the street. "Hey!" He took off after it, followed by his bandmates.
Tracking the phantom hat as it bobbed down the road and suddenly slipped off into a dark alley, they came to a screeching halt when they found a dead end with no hat in sight.
"Aw, man!" Boppity cried and looked around. "This gig sucks!" His bandmates patted him on the back sadly, and they turned in unison back to the alley with heads hung low.
"Whoa," Tumble huffed. The team looked up and saw a silhouette standing before them. The only thing visible on the tall, bipedal shadow were its two glowing red eyes. And Boppity's hat on its head.
"Hey! That's mine!" He yelled.
"Where you get off stealing my brother's hat?" Bippity yelled. The creature leaned close.
"You want in the castle?" It asked.
"Yeah," the cellist replied plainly.
"I can help with that," the shadow said. The band shared a look.
"What's that got to do with stealing my hat?" Boppity demanded.
"Look into my eyes, and all will be made clear.."
The meeting hall was in an uproar. The team of Lace, Doily, and Cap had been stood in the center of the hall, before a wide curving table at which sat the delegates from abroad, with those from Woollachia having the leftmost edge to themselves.
"Nocatty cares, Gruff!" King Panthera XVII screamed, pounding his black-furred fist into the table. "It's a name! Why are you so fixated on it?!" The old griffon whipped around to point his claw at the Abyssinian.
"Because it's ridiculous!" He raged, pounding his wings in fury. "Some sheep running around with the same name as me?! Too confusing!"
"Please, everyone, let's not lose sight of why we are here," Celestia begged. They immediately glared at her.
"And that's another thing!" Gruff shrieked. "Where's this vampire of yours?! Never seen one before! Get him out here!" Cadance sitting to the left of her aunt held up a hoof.
"We sent his attendant to collect him, I'm sure he's just.." She hummed and looked Graggle's way. "Still getting ready?" Graggle nodded and stood up from his seat.
"Prince Peter is simply taking great care in looking his best," he explained, only slightly wilting as the griffon glared his way. "He told me he'd hate to show up looking like a slob." Gruff's feathers ruffled.
"So he's a namby-pamby fop?!" The griffon screamed. Celestia brought a hoof to her face as the arguing continued. The Ex-mayors of Woollachia sat huddled together, thanking the stars that the room's attention had left them once their report reached the topic of Quilt's grandfather.
Quilt was snuggled up to Cozy, but was taking the revelation that the representative of Griffonstone shared her grandfather's name in stride. The moment he flew into a raging rant, which was as much a contrast for the Gruff she was familiar with as night and day, she'd relaxed a bit. Ambassador Tangle tapped her hooves together anxiously, wishing she was anywhere else than in the room with the raging griffon.
At the opposite end of the table, Dragon Lord Ember picked at her teeth with a claw and nodded to the hushed conversation she was having with King Thorax from the Changling hive. Then she jumped when Prime Minister Coal from the Minotaur United Cities hurled his chair over the table before rushing Gruff and screaming at him, seemingly solely to be involved in the fight.
"I had less of a migraine when the Storm King was besieging us," Apollon, the Eagle Lord of the Orithian Peaks, whispered to Queen Novo who shook her head and huffed. Celestia leaned back in her seat as Panthera climbed onto the table to jam a claw in the face of Minister Coal, who had Gruff in a headlock, all while Cadance begged for them to calm down.
"Oh dear," she huffed, silently praying for Peter to arrive. She beamed when the doors opened but subtly wilted when she instead saw Frill step inside. "Ah, here's Prince Peter's attendant now!" The fight in front of her halted, and all eyes fell on the maid who blinked.
"Oh! Uhm," she stammered looking over the whole room. "I uh, only thought I should.. well.." She shuffled her hooves and averted her eyes.
"Go on! Out with it!" Gruff choked.
"Yes! Where is the vampire?" King Panthera added.
"We were making fantastic progress before you butted in!" Coal declared. Frill wilted and hummed, stepping next to where the ex-mayors sat.
"I uh," she whispered before finding her courage. "I thought I should tell you that Prince Peter flew out his window.. And I'm not sure where he is now." Cadance audibly whined.
"HE WHAT?!" King Panthera cried.
"Some vampire!" Gruff cackled, still grappled by Coal.
"He killed himself?" The minotaur quietly asked with a look of genuine concern.
"What a waste!" Apollon huffed, leaning back in his seat and waving a claw. "The living weapon you got me all excited for flew the coop! Literally." He shook his head.
"I can't say I'm too confident devoting any hippogriffs to this coalition if the Elements are compromised and your vampire isn't fighting for us," Novo declared sadly.
"I agree! If Adam's made more of his kind, they'll tear my soldiers to pieces!" Panthera said, pacing the table. "I only showed up 'cause you said we had a vampire on our side!" He winced and clutched his paws together.
"I'll have to apologize to the Catican," he muttered.
"Lame," Ember muttered, resting her head on one arm.
"What's the 'Catican'?" Thorax asked her.
"My condolences for your loss," Coal offered with a somber nod at Graggle, who had his head in his paws. Celestia sighed and took a sip from her tea.
The doors flew open and boomed against the walls with such force the candles lighting the room went out. The attention of every delegate fell on the dark doorway as lime green flames lit up every candle, bathing the room in an eerie light.
"Dreadfully sorry to keep you all waiting," called the tall figure in the door slowly stepping into the room, whose bowed head was mostly obscured by the brim of his hat. "But unlike our lovely host, the fiery ball she superintends is not so kind to me." His words and steps were punctuated by the thwack of the cane he held in one hand, gesturing to Celestia with his other.
The princess herself cast an unamused look at the newcomer over the tea cup she quietly sipped from. The room was silent except for the racket of his cane as he stepped past Frill and stood in the center of the hall. The delegates shared a look, as the three previously quarreling parties slowly returned to their seats.
"And are you," King Panthera began, studying the creature carefully. "The vampire?" The creature stopped dead, and looked up for the first time, allowing his faintly glowing eyes to meet the king's own. He smiled, baring a mouth of exclusively fangs. The Abyssianian's ears twitched and his breathing became uneven. The creature bowed deep with a theatric sweep of his hat.
"I am the Prince of Woolachia," he swept from his bow into a stride, slowly making his way from the center of the room to the table edge. His eyes drifted from one delegate to the next. "Some call me 'The Dark One.'" He reached where Queen Novo sat, and she and Apollon leaned away from him and the leering grin he cast upon them.
"Others.. 'The Lord of Death,'" he exclaimed with a shuddering gasp the pair mimicked in earnest.
"Sick," Ember said quietly, leaning on the table with an expectant smile. He smiled again, sweeping his arms and cane out as he twirled to the center of the room.
"But above all else, I am simply Peter Harlow." He turned back to the table with a bow.
"Your friend, ally, and to the best of my ability, if you would allow me the honor," he took a deep, hissing breath through his teeth. "Stalwart defense against lesser living dead." He released his breath and held his bow. The room was packed by a tense silence and the delegates couldn't take their eyes off him. Quilt was stiff as a board as she desperately and futilely screamed at him mentally for an explanation. After a moment, Celestia hummed and sat her teacup down.
"Well, it's certainly-"
"BUT!" He cried, snapping up straight, startling the table, and cutting her off.
"Alright," she replied with a nod.
"It titles alone do not impress?" The delegates leaned back as his manic eyes looked over them all. "If mere words are not convincing?" He snapped his fingers and a pony jazz band came galloping through the doors.
"Then allow me to elaborate," he hissed before bowing his head and throwing a pointing hand back at the band.
"What's it matter?" Verko asked, waving a hand as he rocked in his chair. "So a few Abyssinians got got. Who cares? My boys had to eat!" Candy nodded, taking a drag from his cigarette.
"Adam cares, in case that wasn't obvious," He replied, huffing a cloud of smoke as he studied the trio of Verko's lizard thugs in the office with them. "And he cares because word's already gotten back to their home about what happened. Meaning you let it slip." Verko groaned and waved a hand again.
"It doesn't matter anymore, Candy," he laughed and relaxed back in his chair. "We're immortal, unkillable, and-" His spiel was cut off when Candy grabbed the lamp from his desk and hurled it at one of the thugs, who fell holding his broken, bloody nose to the shock of the other two. Verko snapped forward in his chair, and his jaw hung open.
"Correction. Adam and I are unkillable," he stamped out his cigarette as the other two thugs hissed at him. "You and every other bum you decided to turn are tough as shit and got regen, sure, but you can still get hurt by normal means. Even killed if you get trashed hard enough." Verko gasped and stammered.
"Adam wanted me to tell you that too," Candy continued, searching his pockets for something. "It's news to us too, fresh from the book we stole. Vampire spawn can't even change shape or work the Evil Eye."
"So what?!" The broken-nosed lizard hollered, rising to his feet as his injury healed itself. Candy cast an annoyed glare his way. "We ran this operation just fine before we were so strong! And we sure didn't have you two creeps breathing down our necks either!" Candy hummed and scratched above his chin.
"Yeah, but times have changed, you bozo. You're on our time now, and when you fuck up, chances are high it'll come back to bite us," Candy looked down at Verko, ignoring the three lizards as they whispered to each other. "You know the Catican's already caught wind of what these three did?" Verko furrowed his brow.
"I thought Panthera gave them the boot?" Candy shrugged in response.
"Our guy in Abyssinia says they're going independent," he sighed and turned to look through the window at the dark streets and clouds outside. "Adam's pretty damned certain they've got a guy on his way here." Verko laughed and rose to stand next to Candy, failing to notice his three thugs drawing wooden spikes.
"I'm really not that spooked by a bunch of superstitious felines coming to tango, big man," Verko explained, patting Candy on the lower back. "We've dealt with worse. Folks coming for your head is just a matter of finding what their price is!" Candy took a deep breath and rolled his eyes.
"That shortsighted view aside, we've still got the issue of you ignoring Adam's instructions. He told you plainly to restrain yourself," he looked down at Verko. "In this case, that includes keeping your crew on a leash. People get hurt otherwise."
"I got your 'hurt' right here!" One of the thugs screamed as the three hurled themselves across the room at Candy. Verko only had time to shout before they collided with the human-vampire, but their weapons struck sickly yellow vapor instead of flesh, and the three of them tumbled on top of each other, hacking and wheezing. Verko yelled again as he dove away from the cloud of poisonous fumes that slowly reformed into Candy.
"I think that kind of makes my point," Candy muttered from his seat atop the trio, his clothing still partially vaporous and rolling down onto the group, slowly choking them to death. "And also the point Adam made about you." Verko murmured from behind his chair.
"What do ya mean?"
"You're treating this like it's just another weapon to browbeat thieves and criminals with," Candy explained, rising from his seat of corpses. "You ain't giving it the proper care Adam expects. Even after he told you to show restraint, you still let these three tear apart a whole caravan of cats." Candy slowly stepped to the front of Verko's desk and leaned on it. Verko stammered and gripped the edge of his desk with a desperate look in his eyes.
"Hey now! It's not my fault!" He tugged at his tie. "I've been plenty restrained! It's those guys who-" He was cut off by the sound and sight of Candy's fingers digging deep trenches in the top of his desk.
"You know?" Candy said in a strained voice that gave Verko chills. "You remind me of someone I knew. Someone from when I was alive." His fingers continued digging at the desk.
"Small-time distributor, but an absolute tyrant all the same. He had to be, for reasons I know you can sympathize with," Candy hissed, and his right eye twitched before he held it closed. "Anyway, just like you, he had fuckers higher up on the ladder he had to keep happy. And when they came knocking, he made all sorts of excuses, too." Candy cracked his neck and clutched two handfuls of splinters from the desk.
"Wasn't his fault we were down half a kilo. Nah, just cause he couldn't keep his nose out of our supply? Uh-uh, it was the cook's fault," Candy heaved a few breaths and stared through Verko, who was frozen in terror. He ground his teeth and looked at the pile of dead thugs. "Excuses like that are how your cook gets his door kicked open and gets three in the chest, you know?" He slowly brought his glare back to Verko.
"I ain't fucked in the head like Dog. Violence was never my happy place," he said through heavy breath. "And Adam's a higher-purpose religious freak. Both those guys got, or had in Dog's case, something to keep them moving and outta their own heads. I don't." He reached into his pocket and pulled a handful of his alchemical crystals out, which he rattled around in his palm.
"I'm simple. I remember things and can't get them out of my head," he held his hand forward. "This shit barely helps, but when I see you? When I hear you try to weasel all the blame on your boys like that?" He growled and took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Nuh-uh." He slipped his stones back into his pocket and began idling scratching into Verko's desk with one finger.
"So do me a favor, okay? Cut the bullshit, and don't make me come back here. Cause I never liked you, and I'm betting dollars to donuts, Adam'd buy whatever excuse I gave about why I slit you up the belly and bit. Out. Your. Heart." He punctuated his threat by dragging his finger up Verko's body and flicking his nose. He leaned on the desk again and leered at the molerat.
"We understand that?" He finally asked after a minute. Verko squeaked but cleared his throat.
"Perfectly!" Candy smiled in response and patted him on the head.
"Then I'll leave you to it," he turned and made for the door. "I'm taking up your guest room. Get those three cleaned up and post a guard for any steely-eyed Abyssinians or the like." He opened the door and stepped over the threshold.
"What-" Verko cleared his throat again. "What do you need my guest room for?"
"Adam needs me to make a call."
"Peter?"
"Mhm."
"Can you open the coffin?"
"Mm."
"Peter, I need to use the little ewe's room."
"Mhm," I reached one arm out and shoved the lid of the coffin open before drifting back to.. sleep, I guess.
"Wow," a new voice said. I grumbled in response and reached up for the lid, but instead grabbed someone's neck. "Hello to you, too." I cracked an eye open and saw it was Twilight I had a grip on. I think. I mainly just saw a mass of purple shimmering down at me, and it had Twilight's voice.
"I had no idea it would have such a profound effect on him," Luna, I think, muttered. I blinked and stretched, and slowly colors gained shape, confirming Twilight and Luna were peering down at me in my coffin. Slowly sitting up, I cried out when I suddenly tumbled onto the floor, flipping my coffin over as I fell.
"Okay! Take it easy," Twilight said, levitating the coffin back to its place. I rolled onto my back and held a hand over my face.
"Wha happ'n?"
"Well, for starters it's almost noon," I heard Celestia reply. Peeking through my fingers, I saw her looking down at me with a hoof held to her mouth and mirth in her eyes. "You put on quite the show last evening before vanishing to your room." As my vision cleared I saw Quilt and Cozy holding each other as they tried and failed to contain their giggling.
"Show?" I huffed. Celestia nodded and coughed away a laugh.
"Not only did you give the delegates quite the theatric introduction, but you even put on a literal song and dance for them" she explained, and I felt the color drain from my face. "You even abducted some musical accompaniment." Twilight exclaimed and held up a hoof.
"Also, Bippity and his brother said to thank you for getting them the show," she said with a smile. "Word about their performance spread through the castle staff, so they're getting booked left and right already."
"Who's Bippity?"
"In any case, Peter, my sister's gift allowed you to leave quite the impact on our guests," Celestia continued, sitting next to me on the floor. "Largely due to the audacity of your actions, but also your heartfelt assurances, the fears of our new allies were put to rest."
"Even the King of Abyssinia, who was perhaps the most hesitant, has signed the coalition treaty," Luna added.
"Good job, Peter!" Twilight praised. Quilt hacked out a laugh.
"Yeah, great work!" She heaved as Cozy fell over. I looked at the two of them and blinked.
"Thanks?" I looked around the room. "Where's everyone else?" Celestia nodded.
"Things have carried on after your introduction, and your assistant and ambassador have worked with us in your stead," she explained with a wry smile. "Such are the benefits of delegation. Much can still be done even when one is indisposed, say, due to intoxication?" She winked. I groaned and nodded, before processing the fact Twilight was here.
"Hold up, I thought you couldn't attend?" She nodded in response.
"Yep, but things escalated a little, and your friend Quilt has a plan for us," she said pointing at the pair of sheep still giggling and pointing back at me.
"Escalated?" I repeated. Celestia hummed and rose to her hooves.
"The enemy made contact through Pinkie this morning and has requested a meeting," she explained, causing me to flinch. "But as Twilight said, Ms. Quilt presented a plan last night after you absconded with your favoritiest little sheep." I furrowed my brow as she giggled, which only encouraged Quilt and Cozy. The three alicorns turned for the door.
"When you are ready, let the guards outside your door know and they will escort you to the throne room. In your coffin or as mist. It is daylight, after all." Luna explained as the three left. I huffed and shook my head.
"Jeez," I muttered.
"It's not as bad as you think," Quilt said, coming up to my side and kicking me gently. "It's actually perfect."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, looking at her and Cozy as the two shared a giggle. I heard a door open behind me.
"Oh, you'll see," Cozy explained, looking over my shoulder. "But that can wait. You've got other stuff to worry about, Lord of Death." She and Quilt cackled and galloped out of the room.
"What?" I muttered and then realized there was another set of hooves clicking against the floor. Turning, I saw Frill slowly stepping over and sitting between me and the coffin. She looked at me with an annoyed leer. I shuddered at the sight of her. Her wool was horribly matted in places, her dress was ruffled and crooked, and her braids were completely undone.
"What happened to you?" Her eye twitched and she took a slow breath, drawing her head back as she did so, revealing a few shallow bite mar-
Oh.
She exhaled and stared into my eyes.
"You carried me back here, nuzzled my wool, and gently bit me a few times. Then you fell asleep with me in your coffin," I stared back at her. She hummed and tapped her hoof a few times. "You also called me your 'favoritest little sheep' before chewing my braids until they fell apart."
"Oh."
"In front of Quilt when she came to check on us. She was, of course, very amused."
"Oh."
..
"May I plead 'Oopsie daisies, I'm a big dumb vampire'?" She glared hard into my soul. I slowly moved onto my knees and brought my hands together in a begging gesture. She growled, causing me to rest forward on my elbows with my hands still together. A soul-crushing eternity crawled by, and then she cracked her neck and huffed.
"Well, it is Tuesday." I fell forward and bowed my head to the floor with a grateful whine. "But no more princess blood and you're helping me brush and braid my wool."
"YesofcoursethankyouthankyouI'msosorry."
Once I'd satisfied Frill's sense of style and begged forgiveness a few more times, I had the guards guide my mist to the throne room. As I slipped through the cracks before they could announce me, I found Twilight and her friends, as well as Celestia and Luna up on the dias where their thrones were. The only delegate from the conference present was Coal the Minotaur. Captain Calaeno and Capper were here however, and listening with the rest of the group to Coal. The entire room was dim, having blackout curtains over the stained glass and large basins full of burning material providing the only light.
"The Storm King's occupation of the United Cities allowed his forces to take direct control of our trade enterprises," Minister Coal explained, stroking his beard as he spoke. "'Cause of that, many advancements still came about, most but not all of which the Storm King exclusively profited from. In fact, the storm generators his vampires are so fond of are a minotaur invention."
"Greedy varmints," Applejack huffed.
"That certainly explains why our trade agreements never halted," Celestia said with a sigh.
"Exactly. Our enslaved brothers were forced by threats against their families to maintain trade relations with our neighbors, but all the money was funneled to the Army."
"That's messed up," Rainbow Dash muttered. "And they were gonna do that to Equestria, too?"
"It certainly seems that way," Rarity shuddered. "I can't imagine having all of one's hard work stolen like that."
"You should probably stop giving me free clothes then," I retorted as I formed in the center of the room.
"Peter!" Pinkie squealed, waving her hoof at me from her spot inside a salt circle. The rest of her friends smiled in my direction.
"Derides my gifts while wearing one!" Rarity declared with a humph.
"Vampire!" Coal declared, pumping his fist. I bowed as I stepped into the midst of the group.
"Guilty as charged. Glad to see you again," I said to Coal, who was appraising me and stroking his beard.
"Sobered up too. A nice surprise," the minotaur hummed. Before I could reply, Capper swept up beside me suddenly and wrapped an arm around me.
"Hope he's not the only one, prince," he said with a grin. "Hate to think you forgot all about me and the good work I've done for you." I raised an eyebrow, turning to mist to slip from his grip.
"I didn't, don't worry," I replied upon reforming, before sweeping my own arm around him. "And not to sell you short, but I recall her and I doing most of the heavy lifting when we met." I pointed a thumb at Calaeno, who folded her arms with a grin. Capper stammered and rolled his paw to find a retort.
"Nice to be appreciated, but since you're here, why don't we get started?" Calaeno asked the princesses. I released Capper and held up a finger.
"Well, hold on, where's everyone else? The other leaders, and Quilt and all?" Coal laughed in response.
"After you took off last night, we agreed that in affairs relating to supernatural responses, our attendance wouldn't be necessary," he said, clapping me on the back and nearly toppling me over. "You, the captain, and Capper here are all part of the coalition's Hunter Team, which lets us focus on fighting the rest of the Remnant Army." Rainbow flew up and punched my shoulder.
"Yeah! And once you guys get that creep outta Pinkie's head, we'll be joining you!" She declared.
"Alright, fair enough," I looked around the room and up to Celestia. "But where's Quilt?" Celestia hummed and raised an eyebrow.
"Hunting for another ewe already? Ms. Frill will be heartbroken!" I frowned and Coal erupted into laughter. Celestia giggled and nodded. "She's just preparing for the plan, she'll be along." I grumbled and then looked at Pinkie with a grimace.
"Hi, Peter!" She said cheerily.
"Hey." I clenched and unclenched my hands and knelt next to her out of the circle. "How you doing?" She beamed.
"Oh, I've been pretty good! At first, I thought having Candy's voice in my head was awful, but then I realized I had someone on call twenty-four-seven who I could run all kinds of jokes by!" She frowned angrily. "He never tells me if they're funny, though." I couldn't help but smile at her implacability in the face of something so dire.
"We'll have to give him twice as much hell for that, won't we?"
"Shoot, you got that right!" Applejack cried.
"Language, but I agree," Rarity chided, Fluttershy said nothing but nodded firmly with a severe glint in her eye. I hummed in response.
"If all goes well today, that'll all come about real soon," I heard Quilt declare as she, carrying a potion, strode into the room with Cozy and Sunbeam, the latter of whom approached the base of the dais.
"The pony team, including Prince Blueblood and Hasty, have been equipped, briefed, and are on standby Your Majesties," she declared with a salute. The sisters nodded and looked at Quilt who approached Pinkie.
"Excellent, and I presume you found all you needed?" Celestia asked Quilt, who nodded eagerly.
"Sure did! Grandpa would've lost it if he saw your alchemy garden," she declared with a giggle. I looked up at Celestia.
"What's going on?" Twilight hummed excitedly and stepped towards me.
"Quilt's expertise on Woollachian nosferatu and the rituals her Grandfather taught her are going to let us find the vampire who cursed Pinkie!" I gawped and looked at Quilt who leered smugly at me.
"Hey now! What would Frill, your favoritiest little sheep think if she saw you staring at me like that?" She said, sticking her tongue out at me. I threw her an annoyed grimace, causing her to giggle. "Anyway, yeah, this potion will make her more sensitive to the spiritual tides. If you mesmerize her then, after that freak calls her, you can make her see what he was seeing and feel out the general direction he was calling from." She hummed and nodded at Calaeno.
"Then we go hunting. My ship and crew are the fastest in the skies, and Capper knows how to wring info outta folks," she declared, stepping closer and punching me in the arm. "So we sail around asking for any weirdos who look like you, and you jump him once we corner him." She chuckled and tapped me on the chest.
"That last bit is the main reason I'm confident we can pull it off."
"And you'll take this with you," Coal demanded, presenting a gift-wrapped box with a gigantic bow. "United Cities' finest innovation in personal military engineering." He frowned and raised an eyebrow in thought.
"Finest innovation we kept from the Storm King's grasp," he added with a nod. I nodded back and took the box, at which point he clasped his hands together, and gave me a look that was somehow expectant yet hadn't changed at all. I frowned and slowly opened the wrapping paper, finding a wooden case with the letters U C C A emblazoned in brass on its top.
"United Cities Combat Armaments," Coal explained, urging me on with a delicate gesture of his fingers. I hummed and opened the box finding-
"Holy shit?"
"Language," Rarity chided and Coal laughed, clapping his hands.
I looked upon what I was pretty sure was a matchlock pistol with four rotating barrels and sixteen paper cartridges. Before I could say anything, he handed me a small pamphlet. "Instructions are in here. Tell me how it handles when you get back."
"Sure thing?" I huffed as I took the three-paper thick booklet. "Thank you?"
"Quite welcome, on one condition" he nodded holding up a finger. "It might not put down a vampire, but I expect you to put a few rounds into any storm beasts working for them."
"Sure thing, boss," I replied with a nod. He grinned and held out a fist before firmly grabbing my open hand and bumping the two against each other.
"We greet each other like so in the Cities," I nodded at his declaration. "Keep this in mind for your return." I closed the box and returned his grin.
"Wonderful to see us all getting along even in such dire times," Celestia declared. "But now we must see to the matters at hoof." She looked at Quilt in the circle with Pinkie.
"Are you two prepared prepared?"
"Sure am," Quilt replied.
"Yepyepyep!" Pinkie cheered. Celestia nodded and gestured to Quilt, who handed the bottle to Pinkie. Celestia and Luna descended the throne and stood by Twilight and the others.
"Everyone, please come to our side," Luna asked and we all obeyed. By the time we'd lined up beside the two, Pinkie was coughing and shaking her tongue, having finished the potion in one swig.
"That wasn't very tasty," she muttered. Quilt hummed and waved me forward.
"Well, just look in Peter's eyes and you won't remember it at all," she nodded at me, but just as my eyes met Pinkie's I flinched.
"Hold up," I turned to Quilt. "Won't he just read her mind about all this?" She grinned and tilted her head at Pinkie. Looking back at her I saw she was swaying and humming in an obvious daze.
"Even if he does, he will perceive it as merely a dream she had, thanks to my recommended additions to the potion," Luna declared, causing Pinkie to giggle. I hummed in approval, reaching forward and taking her under the chin to cast my mesmerization upon her.
"Now Peter, it is imperative you say nothing," Celestia declared as I returned to the line with Quilt. "Anything you say may compel Pinkie to answer, and this could reveal our deception." I nodded and was jostled by Coal slapping my back again.
"So, no musical numbers," he said firmly, wagging a finger in my face. I huffed and nodded. Celestia suppressed a snort and cleared her throat.
"Luna, if you would?" Her sister nodded and cast a spell at Pinkie, who slumped to the ground snoring. As soon as she had, Celestia cast a spell of her own, sweeping the salt away.
"Awaken, Pinkamena!" Luna yelled and stamped her hoof. At her command, Pinkie jumped and stood up.
"What happened?" She asked with a yawn. The ponies all nodded and Twilight stepped forward.
"Pinkie, can you let Candy know the princesses are here?" Pinkie hummed in response and rubbed her eye.
"Sure! Just a sec.."
A gentle quiet held the room, marred only by Pinkie as she quietly muttered in thought, holding her eyes shut.
"Okie dokie!" She finally said, but then frowned. "How'd you know that? Oh! Right, mind reading, duh!" She giggled.
"What's he saying?" Twilight asked.
"He said he was expecting all the coalition members to be here," Pinkie replied, occasionally looking up at the ceiling. My jaw opened, but I clamped it shut firmly.
"He knows about the coalition?" I mentally asked Quilt.
"Nice save, smart guy," she replied. "And yeah, he mentioned them all by name. Even you.." I grimaced at that revelation and sighed quietly.
"He must understand that when called for in such an unorthodox manner, especially while we are already busy, not every attendee will be readily available," Celestia said.
"Hey, at least I'm here, you cannon-crushing little bastard!" Coal declared before bellowing with laughter and holding his sides. "Oh wait! Dog got killed didn't he?!" His laughter rang out as Pinkie winced and squinted, presumable relaying everything to Candy. She looked in my direction.
"He wants to know what you've got to say, Peter, since you, er.. you know." I felt everyone's eyes fall on me, so I pursed my lips and shrugged with a shake of my head. She hummed and sent my response his way. Then she gasped.
"Hey! That's not nice!" She cried, stamping a hoof. "Yeah, but I'm not saying any of that!" She looked left and right in the air and growled.
"Nuh-uh!" She stamped a hoof again.
"Yeah-huh!" She and the unseen vampire continued to have a mental debate, while we all shared a look. Twilight cleared her throat.
"If you don't mind Pinkie, and no offense, I'm still just wondering why he chose you to form this bond with," she offered.
"Yeah, no offense Pinks, but.. I can't even imagine what's going on inside your head half the time," Rainbow added, and their friends nodded solemnly. Pinkie laughed.
"Yeah, me neither. But that's a good question!" She narrowed her eyes at the air, before shaking her head. "That doesn't make sense, Twilight doesn't have a donkey. Huh? Aw, thank you!"
"What'd he say?" Quilt asked.
"Oh! He said my voice is nice compared to the voices he's already got in his head," she said with a smile, then scratched her chin. "He said it wasn't preplanned, he just needed to pick one of us who he could force to do the ritual." She gasped.
"And he took the babies hostage!" She angrily pranced in place. "Oooh! You rotten meanie!"
"What about me?" Fluttershy peeped before shuffling her hooves. "I mean, at least then the Baby Cakes wouldn't have been threatened." Pinkie hummed and raised her eyebrows then scowled.
"He says you live all alone, so there was a chance no one woulda noticed and got you to the hospital!" She growled. "Like we wouldn't check on our friends!"
"Horrid creature probably doesn't have any friends," Rarity growled and shook her head. "But what did he say about Twilight?" Pinkie humphed.
"He said he refused to try with Twilight," she furrowed her brow and rubbed her chin again. "He said her neurotic ass gives him the creeps." I wheezed and gripped my hand over my mouth.
"I don't have a donkey," Twilight muttered. I whipped my head over and saw that, based on a shared look of confusion contrasted with looks of amusement or insult, only she, Pinkie, and Cozy didn't really grasp what had been said. Even Celestia, despite the circumstance, had a hoof firmly pressed to her lips and was weathering a glare from Luna.
"Well," Celestia cleared her throat and took a breath. "I believe that explains that in any case." She ruffled her wings and clenched her jaw as Luna leered at her. Her sister shook her head and looked back at Pinkie.
"That all said, we will hear what he has to say." Pinkie nodded and looked up again. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.
"What's that mean?" She pursed her lips and hummed. "Oh! He says he's speaking on Adam's behalf. Adam has demands." She smiled as she continued rolling her head back and forth. The rest of us shared a look before Celestia nodded.
"And what are his demands?" She asked. Pinkie hummed happily but then stopped and her face went blank. She furrowed her brow and then gasped.
"That's awful! I can't-" She winced and grumbled, screwing her eyes shut. "Fine." She looked up sadly at Celestia and sighed.
"He says Adam wants peace," she fidgeted in response to the group's look of shock. "He wants peace with Equestria, and tribute from Abyssinia, the United Cities, and Mount Aris." She averted her eyes and gritted her teeth.
"He-" She winced. "He says tribute needs to be in money and citizens' blood. And if we won't give it willingly, he'll unleash the Remnant Army and take it by force." She shuffled her hooves and whined.
"Okay, I'm telling her! He- he says you can't be everywhere princess, and it's easy for them to make more vampires." She murmured and shook her head angrily.
"You can have peace, or you can fight a disease with no cure," she grumbled and huffed. "And if you want to fight you can chase after rumors of Adam.. Huh?" She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.
"Oh. Does he always talk like that?" She hummed and nodded. "Uh, chase rumors of Adam or hunt down small parties of the.. unlimited evil power he can unleash. Doing both will stop neither and ignoring one for the other lets the former worsen. He said those're Adam's exact words." I growled and looked at Celestia and saw she and Luna sharing a look.
"May we have some time to think about his offer? And of course, we'll need to convey his demands to our allies," Luna said after a moment. Pinkie blinked and looked up.
"Uh.. he says okay. He'll call back in a day." A moment passed and Twilight leaned in.
"Is he gone?" She asked.
"I think so," Pinkie replied with a shrug. Quilt came up in front of her and looked her up and down before nodding.
"Alrighty, ask her where Candy is." I nodded in response and approached.
"Pinkie, where is Candy?" Her eyes went wide and then she regained that dazed look.
"Uh," she huffed, swaying and narrowing her eyes. "I dunno. South, " I looked down at Quilt who was focusing on Pinkie.
"Uh, I see.. Hey, that's that molerat guy. In Klugetown.. Why's he.. talking with him.." she murmured and slowly slumped onto the floor.
"Bingo," Quilt said with a grin. Celestia sighed and I heard cheers and cries of joy from behind me. I looked back and saw Twilight and her friends bumping hooves and celebrating.
"We got him! Great work, you two!" Twilight cheered. I hummed and folded my arms, as Luna stepped past me and picked up the sleeping Pinkie in her magic.
"I'll see her to bed, best of luck, Peter Harlow," she said, brushing me with a wing as she teleported away. Coal laughed and made for the door.
"Be sure to tell me how the firearm handles!" He called with a wave, which I returned. I looked at Celestia and the rest.
"So hey, silly question," I began. "I know we probably need to hurry and this is supposed to be my job and all, but if that Ember chick is the boss of all the dragons, why not just have her bear a whole army down on them?"
"Hey! That's a good idea," Capper agreed, turning to the ponies. "If he's in Klugetown, we could just have her ransack the place!" Calaeno hummed and rubbed her chin, seemingly agreeing with my suggestion. Then Celestia shook her head.
"A fair plan, but so long as Adam and his strangely named cohort are active, it is doomed to fail," she declared. Twilight nodded and looked up at me.
"Dragons have always been reluctant to work together, even when the Dragon Lord demands it. Instead, the Dragon Lord has to use the magic of the ruby scepter to enforce their will," she explained with that textbook tone I was familiar with before her expression fell. "That presents a problem where nosferatu are concerned. A nosferatu's mesmerization is all but guaranteed to work on a dragon, no matter how old because of their natural vulnerability to magical compulsion."
"Yikes," I replied. Celestia sighed and nodded.
"If we took them by surprise, ideally while they were in Stupor, then an army of dragons could incinerate their fortress or wherever they were hiding, but fire alone cannot destroy a vampire forever," she looked me in the eye severely. "And all it would take is just one of them catching a glimpse of Adam's eyes for his spell to take hold."
"Ember won't admit it, but just like the other creatures at the meeting, I think she was hoping for some assurance her kingdom would be okay," Twilight added before smiling and nudging me. "Once the vampires are done with though, yeah, we can just have her tear apart the whole Remnant Army." She said with a chuckle.
"Roger that."
"Well, you'd better get a move on, Peter," Celestia said, ushering me towards Capper and Calaeno with her wing. "He might not be in Klugetown for very long."
"Hey, I doubt he can outrun my ship," Calaeno declared before jabbing me in the chest with a finger. "All the same, hurry and get that coffin of yours loaded. We're leaving immediately." As Calaeno and Capper rushed the door, Twilight tugged at me with her magic.
"Just head for the ship. I'll bring it down," she said with a smile. "Sun's still out and teleporting is faster." I frowned but nodded.
"Good thinking."
"Very good thinking!" Rarity added. "I shall be quite cross with you if you let that outfit catch fire!" I smiled and gave a thumbs-up as I turned for the door.
"Give 'em what for!" Applejack called.
"See you down there Peter!" Quilt called following Cozy and Sunbeam out a side door. I looked back at Celestia.
"See you soon," I said with a smile which she returned.
"I look forward to your triumphant return. For now, I must summon the coalition to inform them of your movements, and most likely present Briefs for interrogation," she said making her way to the door with me.
"Speaking of, I've been meaning to ask," I began quietly while we stepped out the door together. "How big a problem is that Grogar joker? I've heard the name a few times, but, y'know." She hummed and nodded.
"Quite a problem, if Briefs is being genuine," she said. We came to a stop and she looked back in the throne room where Twilight and her friends were still talking. "Tell you what. Twilight?" She called, and Twilight came galloping up.
"Yes?"
"Why don't you quickly gather some things and go along with the Hunter Team?" Celestia offered to our mutual surprise. "Peter has a few questions I believe you could answer, and I imagine having the Element of Magic and a princess in their company will be beneficial. And I'm certain the rest of your friends can keep Pinkie company in your absence." She smiled as Twilight looked between her and me.
"Well.. Alright, if you think it'd be best! Let me just go tell the girls," she replied and bowed before galloping back in. I looked at Celestia.
"Trust me," she said with a wink. I laughed.
"Been doing that since the day we met, pretty much," I said with a smile, pulling her into a hug that she returned.
The dining cabin of Calaeno's ship was already kept dark from a lack of windows, so that was where my coffin was laid. I sat at the table with Twilight, memorizing how my new weapon worked while she explained the details of Grogar to me.
"At his full strength, Grogar had the magical power to turn nightmares into reality. I think I told you he was responsible for most of the monsters lurking in the world today, right?"
"Yeah, I think so. When I was recovering from Blueblood setting me on fire," I replied, inspecting the mechanism of my pistol. Turning it in my hand, I looked at the pan where the firing powder went. "You think I could just use fire magic to set this thing off?" Twilight hummed and stood up a little to get a better look.
"Yep, but I wouldn't. That might set all the loaded cartridges off by accident," she sat back down and cleared her throat. "So, Grogar could make monsters, and since like I said he fed off despair and fear, all the terror those monsters caused just kept him fed and strong. It created a horrible cycle that only got worse as time went on." She tapped her hoof to get my attention.
"That was long before we had the Elements of Harmony mind you," she explained, holding up an illustration of the trinkets themselves. "If Grogar was brought back, so long as he didn't have his bell, the Magic of Friendship would completely overwhelm him." She flipped the card over displaying a cartoon goat getting disintegrated by a rainbow. I nodded and set my pistol down on its instructions.
"Very good to hear, if I'm finally understanding this all," I rubbed my chin and rested an elbow on the table. "But what's this about a bell?" She stowed her card and pulled out a thick textbook which she then flipped through.
"Grogar's dark magic had grown so strong that all our experts agree he was at risk of a magical singularity," she presented a page to me that contained a lot of magical text and a drawing of a unicorn that appeared to be shriveling up. "When something like that happens in a living being, the magic consumes and transforms them." She turned the page and the same unicorn now had wings.
"With good magic, the transformation is beneficial, and that's how alicorns are made," she said, spreading her wings with a smile. Then she frowned and turned the page. "With dark magic, it eats away at the soul, and leaves the victim a shadow of their former self." The picture now displayed was a green-eyed mass of darkness with fangs and a red horn.
"Glad you chose the path of the light," I said, studying the picture before me. Her description sounded like what Celestia said happened to most vampires when they're awakened.
"Ha-ha," she said in a monotone, before turning a few pages. "Anyhow, it's generally accepted Grogar was already as bad as he could get, so even he wasn't certain what would happen if he was reduced further." The page she turned to had a drawing of a weird-looking stone bell.
"So he stored the greater share of his magic in his bell. The scary thing is it still turned into a magic singularity and transformed. It became indestructible," she turned to an image of the bell creating some kind of portal that a distressed pony was caught in. "And it could steal the magic from other creatures, letting Grogar add their power to his own." She sighed and grimaced.
"If he had his bell, there's no telling the damage he could do even if we used the Elements," she closed her book and replaced it in her bag. I drummed my fingers on the table, pondering her explanation.
"If he was so dangerous with his bell, how'd he lose it? Hell, how'd he wind up dying?" Twilight nodded and pulled out another book.
"Gusty the Great was an ancient unicorn from those days. She ventured into Grogar's lair alone, and managed to steal his bell and hide it away," she showed me an illustration of the story. "After that Grogar spent a lot of his power hunting for her and the bell, and was eventually ambushed in his weakened state by a warband of pegasi and griffins." The image she ended on showed the goat himself being sliced to ribbons by spears and claws.
"That's pretty metal, but how'd she actually steal his bell?" She closed the book and huffed.
"Very good question. Since she went in alone, we don't really know," she tapped her hooves on the cover of the book. "The theory I subscribe to is that she let the bell suck up a delayed sleeping spell and then set it off inside him effectively." I raised my eyebrows.
"That can happen?" She shrugged.
"Theoretically, but nopony's ever managed to reproduce it. Gusty might've just been that good at magic," she giggled over her hoof. "Starswirl the Bearded had a pretty funny theory. He proposed that Grogar had grown so strong he grew tired of always winning. So Gusty managed to convince him to wager the bell on a coin toss." I narrowed my eyes incredulously.
"A coin toss," I said plainly, and Twilight nodded.
"Yep. A game of chance he had no power over, so something he wasn't guaranteed to win," she giggled again. "Like I said, pretty funny." I thought it over for a minute before laughing to myself.
"Pony Satan beaten by his gambling addiction," I hummed and nodded. "Yeah, that's a good one."
I sat in my open coffin idly turning the barrel of my pistol, letting its faint click harmonize with the ship's creaking. We'd sailed through the night, and Calaeno told me we'd arrive by noon, which was leagues faster than most ships she'd added.
I'd been left alone in the dark cabin while everyone else made preparations for landfall. Much of the plan relied on Capper digging for details on where Candy was hiding, but we were also going to be paying a visit to Verko, the local crime boss. If anyone knew where Candy, or maybe even Adam, were hiding it'd be him. And if we could get the storm generator up and running, that'd let me walk around freely making the business of actually getting him to talk way easier.
But for once, my thoughts now that I was alone weren't on whether I could handle the problem before us. No, I was too focused on what I did to Frill, and how I was going to make it up to her. I growled and pinched the bridge of my nose as I mulled over what to do before the door to the cabin opened.
"Well, well, well!" Quilt chirped as she came up to my coffin. "Looks like you're not so good at keeping your thoughts inside as you thought." I groaned and pulled the lid shut. She knocked on it a few times.
"Look on the bright side," she said, slightly muffled. "I really only picked up that you were stressed about something without any specifics." I pushed the lid open a crack and met her eyes as she peered inside.
"I fill like shit because of what I did to Frill. She said she forgave me, but-" Quilt snorted and laughed, drawing an angry glare from me.
"Yeah, she seemed real upset with that big goofy smile she had on when I walked in," she said with another laugh before stepping away from the coffin. I frowned and threw the lid off, rising to a sitting position.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Quilt rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"You really think I'd have just left her with you if you were actually hurting her?" She said with a smug leer. "We butt heads, sure, but it's not like I want her dead or anything."
"What-" She giggled and punched my shoulder.
"She was into it, you dweeb," she laughed again when my jaw dropped. "She was just mad you two got caught is all." I furrowed my brow.
"Frill isn't like that," I huffed and folded my arms. Quilt pursed her lips and hummed.
"Uh-huh, she's an innocent lil' cinnamon bun, for sure!" She raised her eyebrows at me in another smug leer. "And your track record for guessing what sheep are really like is so pristine." I grimaced and grumbled, ignoring the heat in my face and her continued giggling.
"That's-"
"Hey, we got problems!" One of the pirates declared bursting through the door. "Klugetown's on fire!"
On deck in ghost form with Calaeno and the other members of the hunting team, even from this distance and without needing supervision, it was plain that a pillar of black smoke was rising from the center of the shanty town. Looking up, we could see the trailing ends of storm clouds steadily getting carried off in the breeze.
"Well, that smoke is coming from the square where the storm machine was set up. And it sure looks like there's a fire down that way," Capper declared.
"You think someone blew up the machine?" Twilight asked studying the clouds above. Capper hummed and folded his arms, casting a brief glance that way.
"If they did, it's pretty obvious it was running up until then," he clicked his teeth. "Which ain't too surprising if Candy was around and palling around with Verko like we thought." Calaeno narrowed her eyes and leaned forward before pulling out a spyglass.
"Maybe Klugetown decided to rise up against the vampires?" Cozy offered.
"Or perhaps it just malfunctioned?" Blueblood put forth.
"Good grief," Calaeno muttered. We all looked at her as she pointed to where she was spying. "It's kind of obscured but there's an airship hull crashed into one of the houses on the square. The cables to its balloon are all cut. That's what's making most of the smoke."
"Cut?" Twilight parroted, rearing up and leaning on the edge of the ship. "What could do that? Why?"
"Me, if I was pissed off enough," I replied, turning to slip back to my body. "I'll meet you all down there."
"What are you-" Before Twilight could finish her question, the doors to the cabin burst open and my swarm of bats came rushing out.
The moonlight streamed in through the barred window of Briefs' cell. It had been a very interesting day, as he was finally brought before Celestia and the coalition. Just as with Peter, he'd simply laid his story out for them and took no small amount of joy in seeing their repulsed reactions. But it had been several hours since then, and he was alone in his cell again. He wasn't even certain where his former peers were being kept, or if they were even alive.
He was certain he didn't care, however.
The creak of the dungeon door opening rang out, followed presently by the click of hooves making their way toward his cell. Slowly looking back, he saw Princess Celestia pull his cage door open and step inside with him.
"Well, hello again," he greeted warmly. "And how can I help you?" Celestia returned his smile, but he could see through her mask that hers was also fake.
"I'd hoped I could clarify a few things with you," she began, sitting on the floor before him. "Certain things I didn't think it best to bring up in front of the coalition. Your tale is already enough that half of them are asking for you to be executed, after all." Briefs grinned and nodded.
"Well, what was it I said that was so bewildering to you that you don't want me dead yet?"
"It's certainly a very convincing tale, especially for one as emotional as Peter, who I believe was the intended audience you crafted it for," Celestia explained, still smiling and tapping her hoof. Briefs raised an eyebrow and moved to retort before she continued. "But there are several elements that strike me as strange. Your haste in delivering these facts is among them, but I suppose you have an answer for that." She hummed and tilted her head.
"Perhaps something along the lines of 'knowing the truth won't stop anything,' even when the truth you present is, at least partially, a lie." Briefs let out a sigh that turned into a growl.
"But that is more difficult to confirm than my next point," she tapped her chin before looking him squarely in the eyes. "If you are so attuned to the movements of the spirit world, why haven't you commented on my sister's presence?" Briefs' breath caught in his throat, and his jaw hung open.
"What?" He finally huffed. A tingling noise rang out in his cell and he saw Princess Luna form out of the ether right at her sister's side.
"I've been spying upon you in astral form ever since you arrived, yet never once did you even acknowledge me or my questioning," she looked at Celestia in faux surprise. "As you said Celestia, I would have imagined a seer such as this ram would have been quite talkative with me in that form." Celestia pursed her lips and hummed as the two nodded at each other.
"Very strange to be certain," Celestia added, casting a dangerous glare Briefs' way. The ram's eyes darted back and forth, and his mouth flapped dumbly. He finally clenched his teeth and let out a hiss, at which Celestia nodded again. "What have you withheld or lied to us about?" Briefs slowly met the sisters' eyes with a hate-filled glare and breathed deeply. The sisters held their gaze until finally, he growled again.
"Grogar has already been reborn, you withered pair of fools," he snarled. "He has not regained his full strength, but as soon as Adam-"
"Why did you not destroy Peter before he awoke?" Celestia demanded. Briefs' froze at her question. Luna hummed as she appraised his expression.
"Perhaps the first genuine reaction you've given," she said. Celestia nodded in agreement.
"Allow me to elaborate. You knew Peter was, allegedly, an engine by which Gruff the ram sought to thwart Grogar's activities, yes?" Celestia tilted her head. As Briefs sat in silent shock, she continued. "If that was all true, why did you not dispatch him while he was still asleep?" Briefs' jaw hung open again and his head slowly dipped forward.
"Take all the time you like, Briefs," Luna said with a grim smile. "I at least am simply impressed by how genuine all of your lies have sounded so far, and am somewhat eager to hear more." The sisters' ears perked up as he mumbled something.
"Pardon?" Celestia asked, leaning forward. Briefs met her eyes slowly.
"I couldn't." The sisters flinched as the ram huffed and puffed. His wool bristled and appeared grey in the moon's light "You've been there, haven't you? That chamber. It's warded. He warded it."
"I noticed no such enchantments," Celestia replied, narrowing her eyes at the ram as his own gaze fell to the floor. He laughed darkly.
"They weren't meant for common creatures, only for my kind. So unless you knew what to look for, of course you wouldn't notice." The sisters shared a look and rose in a shared defensive stance.
"What are-" Briefs suddenly looked up and met her eyes with a crooked smile of ugly yellow fangs. His eyes were white, and his wool fell from his skin in greyish-black globs, revealing coal-black flesh beneath. Luna jumped back as he rose to his hooves, which now split into jagged claws.
I came crashing down on the streets as a swarm to the alarm of the locals who were busy rushing water to the square. I flew that way and saw the ruined airship Calaeno'd described crashed in the side of what looked like a pretty important multistory office. On the square in front of that building was the storm machine, or at least what was left of it. It didn't look like anything had fallen on it, but it was in pieces.
I crowded into a nearby dark alley and reformed in the shadows. Back in human shape, I cast my magic up at the fading clouds, weaving a spell to wrestle them back over the town so I could easily explore and hunt for Candy or Verko.
"Hey!" I stopped halfway through my spell and looked over at a grumpy pigman with a wooden stake glaring at me. "I saw you."
"What'd you see?" I asked, releasing my spell and folding my arms. He gestured with the stake.
"The bats. I saw it," He narrowed his eyes and held his weapon at me. "You're a vampire. And we've had enough of vampires. Time for Mitch to clean house!" I raised an eyebrow and magically yanked him into the alley catching him by the neck. His eyes went wide as he dropped his stake and cried out in shock, giving me the perfect chance to mesmerize him. I helped him steady himself and he smiled.
"Hey, thanks!" I nodded and patted his back.
"Alright, I need to know where Candy is. The vampire, obviously," I said, folding my arms as he scratched his chin. He mumbled and squinted an eye.
"I think he left last night. Verko'd know for sure though, he was staying with him." I clicked my teeth and looked around.
"And where is he?"
"Pretty sure that Abyssinian chased him to the under-streets," he pointed at a manhole cover in the square. I nodded and hummed.
"What Abyssinian would that be?" He shrugged and gestured to the destroyed storm machine and crashed airship.
"Dunno who he is, but he crashed that ship into Verko's office there, and then sliced up the cloud machine," he said before exclaiming and looking back at me. "He also chased some of Verko's guys out and cut them to pieces. Then he dumped some funny-looking water on them and they burned up. Didn't think vampires could be killed by water." He rubbed his chin in thought. I furrowed my brow.
"Verko's got vampires working for him?" He nodded, still in thought.
"Yeah, Verko turned 'em after Adam turned him. Been a real pain in the rear to live with, y'know?" Well, that was a lot to unpack. But then most of what this guy said was already.
"Quilt," I called through our link. "This guy says Candy's gone and Verko and his gang are vampires now. They're being chased underground by some Abyssinian lunatic."
"You serious?" She replied.
"Deathly. I'm heading down there now. Verko's our only lead on Candy right now. I've got this guy mesmerized, so I'll have him meet you all in the square."
I exploded down the manhole as a cloud of bats and reformed in the flickering artificial lights of the tunnels below. The air was hot and heavy, and the rounded corridor was close, allowing maybe two or three creatures my size to walk shoulder to shoulder. According to Mitch, this underground network was used by the Cartel to smuggle goods in and out of Klugetown before the Storm King came around and let them do their illegal activities in the open. Now, they functioned as an escape route for Verko and his thugs in emergencies.
I reached up and tapped one of the bulbs providing light to the tunnel. In years past, the Cartel had to use candles to see, but thanks to the Storm King, Verko had gotten ahold of a United Cities machine that generated electricity. The locals called it bottled lightning, but I could put two and two together.
Damn, Coal's country was cool.
With that in mind, I loaded the other tool the United Cities had made. With a small, controlled wisp of flame in my fingers, I lit the gun's firing cord and drew one of my wooden stakes before stalking down the tunnel directly ahead of me.
Mitch had no idea how far these tunnels went but was friends with one of the maintenance workers Verko would send down here. They crisscrossed under the whole city and were kept deliberately bare to confuse intruders. Only the Cartel members knew the proper paths to take.
As a result, I had only a vague idea of how to navigate. My best guess was I could follow the strings of lights, and they might lead me to the generator, but with my superhuman ears and eyes, I was pretty sure I could hear anyone lurking down here. Thanks to my Evil Eye, I could contact the rest of the team, and as it was daylight I could always slip through the walls as a ghost, so getting lost wasn't a concern.
Coming to the first intersection, I looked up at the wires and noticed an especially thin red line hidden amongst the rest. Looking and listening, I didn't detect anyone else yet, so I decided to follow the important-looking wire. After a long while, long enough that Quilt had called to let me know they'd touched down in the city, the wire led me around a corner and I jumped at what lay before me.
The corridor I'd turned down had a pair of charred skeletons sitting in a shallow pool of oily water that hurt to look at. Before I could relay the find to Quilt as well as my navigation trick, I heard panting coming up behind me. I whipped around and saw a squat little molerat guy in an ugly suit sprinting back the way I'd come.
"Hey!" I called as I rushed after him.
"No! No! I'll give you whatever you want! Don't kill me!" He cried, tripping and flopping over on the ground like a bloated sack. As I caught up to him, he hid his head under his hands and whimpered for mercy.
"You Verko?" I asked. He quivered and whined.
"Don't kill me! I'll make you rich!" I hummed and reached down, rolling him over to look at me. He seized up before furrowing his brows. "Who the hell are you?"
"Peter Harlow, Vampire Prince of Woollachia," I replied. He flinched and scrambled to his feet.
"You're a vampire too?" He clasped his hands together and grinned. "Did Adam send you to save me?!" I knelt to one knee and brandished my stake at him, causing him to freeze.
"Nope. Celestia did," he wheezed and clenched his hands hard. "Where's Candy? And Adam, since you brought him up." He hesitated then narrowed his eyes.
"What's it to you?" I grabbed him in my magic and pulled him closer, earning a terrified squeak. I pressed my stake to his chest.
"What's it to you?" He nodded and huffed.
"Good point! Literally even!" He laughed, before adopting a more severe look. "But hey! If you want me to talk, you need me alive!" I rolled my eyes.
"Right, so talk." He shook his head and grabbed my shirt.
"You gotta get me outta here! He's after me!"
"Who?" My Evil Eye twitched hard enough that it made my head spin, and my skin crawl and chill. A squeal followed by an electric shriek rang out, and the lights around us flickered for the last time before going dark.
"Peter?!" Quilt suddenly shrieked through our connection. Guess the sensation reached through our link. Verko whimpered and collapsed on his ass, looking down the tunnel past me. I stood and turned to see the orange-eyed silhouette of an Abyssinian with a cut ear leering back at me. He seemed to be in a long coat reaching down to his knees, and I could see a pair of long silvery blades shining in the dark. Then, the white outline of a toothy smile broke across his face.
"Bit early for you to be up and about, don't you think old boy? Shouldn't you be asleep in your earthbox?" He asked in a tone laced with malice and sarcasm. I think I heard Verko scream something and go running, but my attention was locked on the cat.
"I ain't that old, so what's it to you?" I replied. His head tilted slightly.
"I know an elder vampire when I see one. I presume you're responsible for the plague befallen this wretched hive?" He hissed, still smiling, and his blades waved gently back and forth, giving me the same feeling as when a wasp flies too close to your ear.
"Not at all, but I think the guy I'm looking for is," I slipped my stake back into my belt and cracked my empty hand. "Why don't we look for him together, Mister..?" I rolled my hand out towards him expectantly.
"Karl van Katskills, Paladin of the Sixty-sixth Catican Slaying House," he replied, bringing his blades up to rest on his shoulders as he folded his arms. "And there will be no collaboration betwixt us, Vampire. I came to cleanse this town, but involved in that or not, I cannot simply turn a blind eye to such a mature tumor of darkness as yourself." I saw the faint shadow of his tail sweeping back and forth. I grimaced and leveled my pistol at him.
"I didn't come here to kill anyone. Maybe a vampire or two, but something tells me you aren't one," I winced as he chuckled at the sight of my gun. "Let's not escalate this, since I'm pretty sure we're on the same side." My Eye spasmed and I narrowly ducked to the side as one of his knives sang through the air, slicing the lit tip of the match from my gun and cutting my sleeve. More shockingly, I heard a wet thunk followed by Verko's scream of pain further up the tunnel.
"You're damned right I'm no vampire, and damned wrong to say we're on the same side," I releveled my pistol as he drew another knife. "I stand on the side of justice and purification. You stand in the mire of corruption and decay. And I will bring your soul peace." He crouched low and brought his arms across his chest, resting his blades in a way that framed his upper body. I snarled and magically relit the match.
Then he erupted forth like a rocket down the tunnel at me. I pulled the trigger and blinked when I saw him suddenly snap to the side. Sparks flew up where the bullet hit the ground behind him.
"Shit-!" Before I could react, he was on me, his black-furred face twisted in a grin. I turned into mist as his knives came in on either side and felt my breath get punched out of my lungs despite the transformation. I rushed past him and reformed, bringing a fist back into his face as he turned to follow up. He folded like a towel and went flying down the tunnel where he collapsed onto the floor.
"God damn it!" I screamed and clutched my chest where a deep red gash had formed, spilling blood all over me and burning like a motherfucker. I dropped my gun and sucked air through my teeth. "Fuck was that?" My Eye twitched again, and I looked up just in time to avoid getting my face sliced open. I'd flown back this time and kept flying down the tunnel, as he was after me like a bat out of hell.
I raised one hand and hurled a ball of fire at him, which he fucking caught on the tips of his knives and ripped apart, cackling as he did so. We must have been moving faster than I thought since I felt a wall slam into my back immediately after.
Right as he crashed forward to impale me in the chest, I teleported past him, letting him get his knives stuck in the wall, then flicked a bolt of lightning at him. He leaped to the side away from his knives, and I reached out to grab him with telekinesis.
The fucker twisted in the air around my spell.
As he landed on one foot, I saw his tail sweep up into his coat and heard a click and a bang, and my guts exploded in pain. I saw smoke billow out from a goddamned blunderbuss he had hidden under his coat he'd fired with his tail. And considering he'd just blown half my stomach off, I guessed it was loaded with wooden ball bearings or splinters. I was damned certain the added toughness from the dark magic I'd taken from Mad Dog was the only reason I didn't pass out right then and there, and based on his momentary look of shock, that was the outcome he'd hoped for.
"Who is this guy?!" I roared mentally. Quilt said something back, but I was too preoccupied and hurled a gust of wind at him. He was slammed against the wall, so I flew up close and threw a haymaker that he rolled along the wall away from and into his knives which he slipped from the wall and swung across my throat. Or so his dumbass thought.
They weren't my favorite, but I could do illusions too, and as dark as the tunnel was he had no way of seeing how far forward I'd bent. His knives cut through the fake me standing up straight and allowed me to grapple him.
I hurled him over my shoulder to the ground, earning a satisfied moan as I slammed him hard enough to crack the stones. Then I pinned his arms with magic and conjured up a lightning bolt. Before it fired off, his leg swept up and kicked me in the hip. I felt my body go numb and all my spells fizzled out. He used my momentary surprise to kick off my hip and slide out from under me, rolling to his feet.
I clutched where he'd kicked and found a metal stud buried in my skin. He laughed in response before coughing and groaning.
"Craft-" He winced and laughed. "Craftier than the Spawn lurking around here. What a delight!" He coughed a few laughs, and I smelled blood on his breath and dripping to the ground. I dug at the stud which I could feel was hampering my magic and sneered at him.
"What's the matter, Tom Cat? Can't take half as good as you dish out?"
"Few mortals can- can tangle with a vampire once they get a grip on them. It's why- Why we train to let your own unholy might hurl us- away rather than brace against it," he huffed with a smile and gestured to me with his knife. "Then again, few vampires these days seem to remember they can work magic. Glad I didn't leave anything to chance! That little accessory's going to keep your filthy sorcery locked up. Meaning you won't be pinning me again." I hummed in response.
"Gimme a sec to dig it out, and we'll put that theory to the test," I said grimacing since it felt like the thing was getting pushed in deeper. The rest of my injuries were still open and stinging, and I was leaking blood everywhere. The dizziness I felt was overwhelmed by the gnawing hunger welling up inside. The only relief I had was that he seemed hesitant to engage me right away, and was sizing me up. His occasional wincing and the spasming of his right side told me he was feeling his injuries too. We were both in pain, but something told me we both knew my body could handle more punishment.
I grinned at him and he smiled back. I saw his tail slowly slip up into his coat again right as I got a grip on the stud.
"Stop!"
We both turned and saw Twilight standing with her wings outstretched and her horn glowing.
"An alicorn?" Karl cooed waving his knife at her. "Stay back young lady. This one's wily." Twilight galloped up to my side.
"I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and what he is is my friend!" She declared stamping her hoof. Karl flinched and huffed in pain. "And he's here on behalf of the Equestrian Coalition against the remnant of the Storm King's army. So if you're attacking him, you're attacking the coalition and me!"
"You're kidding.." He muttered and backed up a step. "What in the world is Panthera thinking? Or Celestia, for that matter?" I hissed as I finally ripped the spiky metal stud from my leg, drawing an annoyed glare from him.
"They're thinking I'm not quite so deep in 'the mire of decay' as you do," I said, flicking the stud back at him and clutching my burning body. He balked and shook his head, and I heard as the rest of the team come running up.
"Peter!" Quilt squealed once she saw me and grabbed on my leg. Calaeno and the pony guards scrambled to my back and leveled their weapons around me at Karl, who raised an unimpressed eyebrow at them.
"That's a Catican Paladin.. hoo boy," Capper whispered from behind me, leading Verko by a rope leash the latter had around his hands. Cozy and Sunbeam flanked him, threatening him with stakes held in their mouths. Verko had a bloody bandage wrapped around his torso and appeared to be in pain. Blueblood growled and stomped forward between Karl and me.
"How dare you spill the master's blood, you lowly feline!" He brandished his sword and took up a stance.
"Careful, prince," Hasty whispered. Karl, meanwhile, solely looked me in the eyes. I took a breath and felt the stinging finally subside as the cut in my chest started to close, hindered only by the wooden debris in my stomach. I glared back his way.
"Well, well," Karl hummed and his knives disappeared into the sleeves of his coat. "I can't say I was prepared for such a turnout. Next time maybe?" He turned and started down the tunnel.
"Next time, we'll find out how many ways there really are to skin a cat," I called after him to the audible surprise of the group and his audible amusement. He vanished into the darkness. Once my Evil Eye told me he was gone, I collapsed against the wall.
"That makes fifteen," Twilight said once she'd pulled another wooden ball from my shredded abdomen and let it drop into the tray with the others. She hummed as she looked closely. "And I think that's the last one. How do you feel?" I sighed in relief and felt my body starting to rapidly heal itself. My mouth and teeth felt dry as a bone, however.
"Starving," I muttered and relaxed in my seat. Quilt shoved one of the vessels of blood we'd brought alone into my hand and I quickly popped it open. Once Katskills vanished, the team hauled me and Verko back to the ship so we could interrogate Verko in private and Twilight could patch me up. Currently, it was just Quilt, Twilight, Calaeno, Cozy, and I in the dining cabin keeping an eye on Verko, while the rest of the team were getting the ship ready for when Capper returned.
I leaned back and slipped to the floor from my seat as I gulped down my drink. I finally took a breath and let the bottle roll out of my hand.
"God damn."
I ran a hand over my previously injured body and looked over at Verko who was still tied up and under Cozy's careful guard. I grinned at his jealous leer while Twilight inspected the knife that had been thrown into his back.
"Faerie steel.. And pretty heavily enchanted, too. No wonder you couldn't heal right away," she said turning it over a few times. "This stuff makes cuts that can't be healed except by magic. I guess in your case, it just stunted your healing."
"Hey! I had that thing in my side for a whole minute at least! Where's my healing blood?" Verko cried, earning a gentle jab from Cozy's stake which caused him to shriek and wail.
"You'll get some of Peter's stock when you've talked, Don," Calaeno retorted, leaning over him. He looked nervously up at her.
"What guarantee do I have of that? Hell! How do I know you all won't just kill me once I've told you what you want?!" Twilight shuddered.
"Vampire or not, I wouldn't feel good about killing a helpless prisoner," she said, shaking her head. I murmured and nodded.
"Chances are we'll hand you to Celestia and let her decide what to do with you," I added, looking him over. "I get the feeling she'll just lock you up until you prove you can be trusted not to eat everyone." Verko leered at me.
"Get the feeling, huh? You don't know for sure?" I leaned in my chair and glared, causing him to wilt.
"She was pretty reasonable with me. That's how I know," I clenched my hands and he swallowed hard. His beady eyes darted around and he whimpered. Capper came in the door at that moment.
"Candle-mail for ya, princess," he declared, tossing a scroll to Twilight.
"Thank you, Capper. Did you find anything out?" She asked, unfurling the scroll. Capper shrugged.
"No sign of the paladin, but they've got the fire under control at least. And it sounds like Katskills wiped out all the vampires Verko whipped up." Verko shuddered and moaned.
"Damn straight he wiped 'em out! I was the last one!" We all looked at him as he squirmed. "Candy warned me the Catican was looking into Klugetown but I had no idea they had such a lunatic on their payroll!"
"The fucking Catican?" I coughed and looked at Capper who smiled.
"It's an old city in Abyssinia past the Katskills mountain range. They used to be a little monastery collecting occult lore and figuring out ways to kill monsters," he explained, taking a seat on the table. "They wound up on the Royal Family's payroll to defend the kingdom against stuff like vampires." I sat up straight and frowned.
"So what, King Panthera sent that nutcase?" Capper shook his head.
"There ain't been monsters like you in Abyssinia for a hundred years at least, so Panthera cut all funding to them. Didn't think there was a need," he laughed and rubbed his paws together. "The same year he did that was when the Storm King popped up. I heard a rumor some of the lesser nobles were planning to donate funds to Lord Bubsy, the head of the Catican."
"Our guy in Abyssinia did say they were going independent," Verko hummed. Everyone but Twilight, still reading her letter, shot him a look. His head whipped around in response. "What?"
"'Your guy in Abyssinia'?" Quilt repeated. Verko furrowed his brow to process what she said before smiling nervously.
"Did I say that?" Cozy firmly jabbed him, causing him to squeal and writhe.
"Adam's got guys in every nation the Storm King conquered or fought! I dunno who the others are, but they all got a blood bond with him," he cried, wriggling away from Cozy. "That's how we kept our plans a secret for so long!" He toppled over and whined as Cozy menaced him with her weapon. I rubbed my face at his revelation.
"Fucker's got spies in all those places?"
"That must be how he knew about the coalition," Quilt said. Twilight stepped forward and groaned.
"Speaking of the coalition, I've got good news, bad news, and more bad news," she looked around the room. "Which'll it be?" I snapped my fingers.
"Disappointment sandwich. Bad, then good, then bad," I said with a curt nod. The rest gave me a confused look before Twilight shrugged.
"Well, first off, Queen Novo heard back from Admiral Tide Claw, the hippogriff leading a covert expedition to the Storm Isles. They're completely abandoned with no sign of the fleet or Adam," she said with a solemn stare at the letter. "Tide Claw has occupied the isles with a larger force of hippogriff naval personnel, so that whole territory is being watched." We all nodded.
"The good news is Candy hasn't called for an answer yet. So, the coalition still has time to get all our defensive ducks in a row, as it were."
"And we've got more time to find him and beat Adam's location out of him," Quilt added with a giggle. Twilight grimaced but nodded anyway.
"And the other bad news?" Capper asked. Twilight looked up at me.
"Briefs is dead." Cozy's stake clattered to the ground.
"What the heck?" She cried. "How'd that happen!?" I chortled before Twilight could respond.
"She said he was going to testify before the coalition. Wouldn't be surprised if one of them took him out. Probably Coal," I said. I looked down and saw Quilt staring at the floor. I leaned in and patted her back, getting her to look up at me. She took a breath and smiled.
"It's more complicated than that, Peter," Twilight said, drawing our attention. "Turns out he was a Lycan, and the princesses blasted him when he tried to escape. They tried to keep him alive, but.." I shook my head in confusion, but Quilt shot forward, ripping the letter out of Twilight's magic.
"Your scruffing joking," she moaned desperately as she read the paper. Cozy and I shared a look before she spoke.
"What's a lycan?" I pointed a thumb at her and nodded.
"Tartarus-spawn in the shape of a horrible wolf," Quilt murmured, letting the letter drop. "It inhabits a dead body and can assume its true shape under moonlight. They can completely hide their evil aura otherwise." She looked aimlessly around the room. I flinched at the news and looked at Twilight.
"They can also pop up when a lycan bites another creature. If the creature dies before the next full moon, they rise from the grave as a lycan themselves." I exhaled hard at the implication that the real Briefs had been dead for who knows how long. I looked down at Quilt who was still scanning the open air.
"How scruffing long was he.. When did he.. ?" I picked her up and sat her in my lap. She looked back and met my eyes.
"Well, he's dead now, right?" Capper asked, obviously disconcerted by the news. Twilight shook her head.
"Lycans are tricky like nosferatu. If they aren't struck with silver on death, they turn to dust and reform at the place they found their body or died initially." An uncomfortable quiet filled the cabin. I winced and clenched my jaw.
"So, unless we find the place where the real Briefs died or whatever.." Cozy murmured.
"The lycan posing as him can just stay hidden," Twilight confirmed and looked up at me. "What's worse, Celestia thinks he's been a lycan for at least as long as you've been a vampire. The dark magic in his true form was very mature."
"Fucking hell," I added. We sat in quiet contemplation about the revelation.
"Uh, excuse me!" Verko shrieked. I rolled my eyes and cast an annoyed smile his way. "I talked, now can I get some blood over here?! I'm wasting away!" We all looked down at the mole man and hummed in unison.
"We still need to know where Adam and Candy are, bud," I said, rising from my seat after setting Quilt down. He squirmed and shuddered.
"I ain't got a clue where Adam is! He talks to me through Candy!"
"So, where is Candy?" Calaeno asked, kneeling next to him. He screwed his mouth shut and furrowed his brow.
"I'll talk once I'm safe in Canterlot, how about that?" I growled in response.
"We don't have time for that," I said before Quilt hummed and stepped past me, looking Verko over.
"You're a vampire spawn right?" She asked. Verko blanched and stammered.
"Hey, Candy said something about that!" He narrowed his eyes at Quilt. "How'd you know that? Who're you, toots?" I blanched and took a step back.
"Ha-ha! 'Toots'. So you dunno what 'Spawn' means, huh?" Verko's eyes darted around and he leaned his head back with a frown.
"Course I do." Quilt beamed.
"Great! Then you know what'll happen if we have Peter drink your blood," she chirped. I raised an eyebrow as Verko started to sweat. Quilt looked up at me. "I get you wanted to be nice, but just go ahead and suck his blood for the memories we need. Who cares if you take his soul in the process?" Twilight gasped and Calaeno stumbled back with a squawk.
"Shang-hay! He's in Shang-hay!" Verko blurted in tears, wriggling in his bonds away from me. "He's got a lab down there and some pirates he gets supplies from! He's been working outta there since Adam took over! Not my blood! Not my SOUL!" He wailed and whimpered, rolling on the floor. Quilt nodded.
"Bingo! Let's get a move on," she chirped. Capper laughed, and the rest of us looked between the two.
"Now that was a good one!" He praised.
"Aw, that obvious?" She muttered, shuffling her hooves with a bashful smile. Capper swept beside her and patted her head causing her bell to jingle.
"Well, not to him," he said pointing a thumb at Verko, who sat staring at the ceiling in disbelief. Capper leered up at me before striding for the door. "Or him, amazingly." I frowned, while Calaeno and Cozy sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness," Twilight murmured. She looked around and hummed. "I'm uh.. I'm going to write Celestia about our findings."
"And I'm going to get the ship moving," Calaeno added as the pair made for the door.
"And I," Cozy declared, raising a hoof to the heavens. "Need to use the bathroom." She galloped for the door. I knelt down and patted Verko on the belly.
"Thanks a million! Let's get you a snack, lil' buddy," I said before stepping over his unresponsive form for the case of blood. Quilt skipped up to me and kicked my leg.
"I'm the one who tricked him! Where's my snack?"
"Fair point! Let's see.." We looked through the supplies together while Verko sat and quietly stared at the ceiling.
Van Katskills cried aloud in joy as the potion worked its magic, mending his busted ribs and torn muscles.
"Damn shame the princess butted in when she did, Eustace," he declared with a cackle, handing the empty bottle to his squire. "That monster gave me a run for my money." Eustace shook his head, as he returned the bottle to the medical bag.
"That's a depressing thought, Karl," the Bengal squire murmured before drawing a bluish shimmering potion and a brass bowl. "You're one of the last great Paladins we have. What'd we do if we lost you?" He set the bowl on the ground and shook the bottle before pouring its contents into the bowl. The fluid crackled and produced a deep blue flame.
"Take it as a sign we need stricter drill instructors to get the rest up to snuff, that's what!" Karl cracked his back and basked in the sunlight, looking over the distant shape of Klugetown from where they'd made camp. "We need more fencing classes, not just shooting! And I heard they're getting ready to cut the run by fifteen miles! Cat litter! Outta add fifteen miles and with weights on your paws while we're at it!" He whipped around and looked at his squire, snapping his claws rhythmically in a small dance.
"Communications ready yet?" Eustace nodded in response and readied his pen and paper. Karl waved his paw. "Bully! Full report of engagement, inventory, required medical procedures, and Senior Paladin assessment of completed purification." Eustace looked up in surprise.
"But what about the vampire you fought?" He exclaimed. Karl laughed and pointed at an airship in the distance.
"I saw his team haul him and Verko onto that ship there. And now off it goes," he grinned back at his squire. "We can do a second sweep of the town if Bubsy's not convinced. But more importantly, tell him we need information on Woollachia." Eustace raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that?" He asked, earning a low, sinister, giggle from his senior.
"His home. Heard the wretch name himself the Prince of Woollachia to Verko."
Adam glared in uncharacteristic fury at the molerat he was spying on through his Evil Eye. That he was tied up and captured by the enemy was bad enough, but Adam had just heard him leak confidential details about their movements to them.
Adam suppressed a groan and cut the spell. Rising from his seat in his private study he paced the floor, fighting the growing anger deep inside. This room was meant to be his place of quiet contemplation and meditation and was filled with books on this world's philosophies and religions, as well as ample writing supplies so he could continue his private hobby. He remembered himself and stepped to the table upon which sat the book he had been transcribing from memory. Its pages were not written in order but according to when he remembered them. He would compile them and organize them once the whole book was finished.
Leafing through what he had written so far, he found and read one page in particular.
"'Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil,'" he took a deep breath and released it after a moment. His free hand drummed the table as he returned the page. "Not anger, but action. I understand." He tapped the table with a finger and turned, his sleeve catching the stack of papers and scattering them to the floor. He sighed and knelt to collect them, halting when the first page he'd written caught his eye, namely the first line.
'The life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.'
His fist clenched around the paper as he stared ahead. His eyes were unfocused, and he gently ground his teeth. He stood, replaced the stack on the table, and turned away biting his thumb until it bled.
"What choice do I have?" He asked quietly, savoring the taste of his wound. He grimaced and pulled his hand free. "Forgive me." He strode away from the table and returned to his chair where he let his spirit slip from his body. Then, he set his Evil Eye out.
His vision shimmered and he found his fellow vampire in his lab at Shang-hay. The lab was dimly lit by covered electric lamps, a necessity to keep from igniting the volatile gases and potion reagents Candy worked with. At the far end of the lab, there were six grids of metal drums, arranged according to size, with dozens of barrels in each grid all containing potions either ready for shipping or waiting for further processing.
Candy groaned as he stretched, pulled some tubing from his desk to one of the barrels, and affixed it to a nozzle at its base. A pinkish sludge began to flow down the tube to a dripping device at his desk, which he then sprayed in small globs onto a metal sheet with a chilling enchantment on it. The fluid rapidly froze into the potion crystals the vampire favored using instead of bottles.
"Hell, yeah," Candy quietly declared, leaning in with a rare smile.
"Always good to find you at peace, brother. Despite the context," Adam said. And just like that, his smile was gone. Candy took a shallow breath and stood up straight as he worked.
"What's up?"
"Are those for Hop?" Adam asked. Candy clenched his teeth and gestured with his hand.
"His boys are pretty into this stuff, and it sells well," he said, setting the dripping device to its holster on the wall and turning to face where Adam's voice came from. "And I was under the impression we were into the idea of keeping our allies happy." He threw a thin grimace at the air.
"Your product hinders self-control. If Hop is going to be granted our gift-"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't want a repeat of Verko, I get it," Candy rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Y'know if the Catican got him or not?"
"I believe they made the attempt, but no. He has been abducted by the enemy vampire."
"Shit," Candy muttered, gesturing to a side door as he walked. "Guess that explains what exactly the Big White Bitch was stalling for." The vampire and his unseen guest slipped outside onto a second-story covered porch, guarded on either side by a mixed team of six rough-looking unicorns and diamond dogs and a rogue changeling, who paid the vampire no mind as he stepped past them and lit a cigarette.
"So, you made contact again?" Adam asked, eliciting a momentary shudder from one of the guards. Candy leaned on the railing and looked out on the naturally and constantly rainy city, listening to the muffled hustle and bustle of creatures carrying on their business amidst the pitter-patter of the unending rainfall.
"She said they needed more time to 'gather logistical data' to see if they could even meet your demands in a timely fashion," Candy replied, blowing a cloud of smoke as he watched his pony neighbor's daughter across the road sweep off the front of their store into the water-filled gutter while her parents argued just inside. He reached into his pocket, pulled out one of his smaller white crystals, and flicked it down to her.
"How bold of her to take advantage of our mercy like that," Adam said, deliberately ignoring Candy's action. The young pony flinched when the stone bounced off her head. She looked around before spotting it and looked up to see Candy leering back at her. Her ears shot back before a crash came from inside her home.
Sparing a momentary glance back, she quickly picked up the rock and looked at Candy again, who nodded. She hesitated for a moment longer, before disappearing inside. The changeling chuckled as Candy stamped out his cigarette.
"More repeat business for the future," he declared as the vampire hummed and returned inside.
"So what's the plan?" Candy asked once the door was shut.
"Is the elixir ready yet?" Adam asked. Candy nodded and stepped to one of the smaller barrels.
"This shit can turn fuckers alright, and the few I've tested it on match the, er, 'dark magical composition' you said the book says proper vampires got," he drummed the lid with both hands. "Still having trouble with them going feral. Think that might be a hunger thing, though."
"Still not ideal. It sounds like it makes ghouls, not vampires." Candy snapped and wagged his finger.
"Good assessment," he held his finger to his chin and hummed, drumming the barrel with his other hand. "I could probably make more progress if you just let me have a peek at the book, rather than drip-feeding me info."
"A debate for later. For now, you must prepare for the arrival of the enemy vampire. I, meanwhile, will lead an attack on Mount Aris with our soldiers as they are." Candy balked and stood up straight.
"Yo, back up. Fuck you mean prepare?"
"Verko told him of your lab, and he is en route with a team including Twilight Sparkle and ten pony guards." Candy clenched his teeth and paced away.
"Little fucker," he hissed and crossed his arms, gripping his sleeves tight.
"If you feel it necessary, you may kill him. Spawn are vulnerable to your poisons, I believe. The enemy vampire however is not."
"Yeah, no shit!" He growled and paced in a small circle. "Fuck am I supposed to do with him?!"
"You found a method for merging your mist with poisons. You were also the one who knew how to make this pact with the criminals of Shang-hay. I'm certain you can manage," Candy grumbled and groaned in response, and gnawed his finger. "But I must press that you do not fall victim to him. Flee if you must, but do not let him kill you."
"Right, the dark magic siphoning bullshit. Whatever," Candy growled and slapped his hands out. "Thanks for the concern about my actual well-being, by the way!" Candy huffed as silence was Adam's only response for a moment.
"That is part of it, but your well-being was my first concern," Adam finally replied. Candy shook his head and swung his hand dismissively. "You have a few days. Be safe, brother. I must make preparations for Mount Aris."
"Fuck you going to do there?" Candy asked with a grimace. "You think we got enough guys left to hold that place? Without them being full-fledged vampires?"
"Occupation isn't my intention. We're going to abduct Princess Skystar. That should let the coalition know we are not to be trifled with."
A few minutes had passed since Adam left, and Candy drove his fist through his metal table, sending crystals scattering across the floor before he picked up the table itself and hurled it away. He paced the floor with his hands on the back of his head, and his breathing shallow.
"Gotta call Hop and the Big Black Bitch," he finally muttered.
"Okay! Okay! I got one for you!" He rolled his eyes and grumbled. "Why doesn't Princess Celestia trust vampires?" He stared ahead and clenched his teeth.
"Cause they're such pains in the neck!Huh? How 'bout that one, Franky?" Candy winced and groaned.
"Told you not to call me that," he replied.
"Yeah, well, I told you to apologize for being so mean to the Cakes!" Pinkie shouted back. "Besides! You used it first, even if it was an accident, and said Adam's the one who told you not to use your old name. I still don't get why you do what he tells you." Candy huffed and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, sometimes neither do I."
"Well, maybe you should figure it out before you go looking for your necks victim!" Candy narrowed his eyes before hanging his head with a groan.
"Why do you keep doing that? Is it just your way of getting back at me? Cause it's pretty weak, to be honest," he asked her.
"Nah, I just think you could use a laugh or two! You seem like you're really sad a lot, and I think that's why you do so many bad things." Candy balked and choked.
"Fuck'd you just say?"
"Princess Celestia says vampires like you lose all the good feelings they used to have and only have the bad parts left. I think you used to be really sad before you became a vampire, so now it's way worse." Candy's eyes darted around, and he felt his heart race.
"Even if that's true, why the fuck do you care?" He barked at her, his eye twitching when he could feel her cheery energy through their link.
"Cause if you're just a meanie cause you're sad, then cheering you up is the best way to stop you from being so mean!" Candy glared at the open air and clenched his fists as he seethed.
"What if I'm just genuinely a bad guy? What then?"
"Then we'll beat you, just like all the other bad guys we've fought! But I don't think you're a bad guy. You just let even meaner creatures tell you what to do." Candy stood in silent shock at her words, his mouth hanging open. He slowly adopted a more severe look and took a breath before walking to the door, ignoring her continued chatter.
I felt like a dumbass. Twilight had read the thin set of instructions for the pistol and showed me how it actually fired. Each bullet was in a paper cartridge with the gunpowder to fire it. I thought I was supposed to tear the cartridge before loading the bullet, but it turned out the rotating mechanism would cut the paper itself. As it rotates it spills some of the powder into the pan, allowing it to fire repeatedly.
Meaning I'd wasted four whole rounds already. Luckily, it wasn't too hard to clean the gun out and get it properly loaded. She also tipped me off that I could cock the hammer and rotate the barrel with telekinesis, so now that night had come, I spent two shots off the side of the ship to test her theory.
"Minotaur engineering sure is something else!" Twilight declared from where she leaned on the railing, as I loaded two more cartridges and extinguished the match.
"It'll sure make Hop's cronies think twice before squaring up," Calaeno declared behind me. "Here I was worried we wouldn't get a chance to stick it to him again." Twilight looked back at her.
"Who's that?" Calaeno scoffed and waved her hand.
"'Commodore' Hop Aboard is the leader of a pirate fleet around Shang-hay. He's a bit like Verko and the Rat Cartel out of Klugetown, but way more violent and not such a squealer," she leaned back on the railing. "He tried to drag us into his fleet through death threats, but we gave him the runaround every time." I hummed and nodded, but Twilight furrowed her brow.
"I have to wonder if he has ties to Candy and Adam," she murmured stepping back from the railing.
"Wouldn't be surprised," Calaeno replied with a shrug. "He's got his hooves in most of the crime in the area, not just piracy, and runs most of the city despite what Mayor Stalwart says. He at least would know where some creepy-looking bipedal vampire is holed up. No offense." She nudged me with an elbow. I rubbed my chin.
"Any clue where Hop hides out?" Calaeno hummed at my question and looked upwards in thought.
"There's a couple of places he hangs out unless he's changed his habits from the last time we stopped in Shang-hay."
"Well, why don't we pay him a visit and ask him nicely what he knows?" I asked, gesturing over my eyes. The girls hummed and nodded.
"Good thinking! We might be able to put a dent in his operations while we're at it," Calaeno declared, rubbing her talons together. "Maybe even swipe some of his money too. Or that fancy high-speed yacht he's so proud of." I laughed and patted her on the back. Twilight rolled her eyes and turned for the lower decks.
"We've still got a day or so before we arrive, but let's go ahead and make a map of these hideouts, Captain. You said you still have a map of the city, right?" Calaeno slipped forward to Twilight's side.
"Sure do. C'mon, let's head to my room," she gave me a curt salute, which I returned as the two slipped below decks. I drifted towards the dining door where I found Cozy and Sunbeam menacing Verko with their Cutie-fixes. A name they still refused to use for their holy symbols, mainly because a vampire came up with it.
"Take it back!" Cozy demanded, waving her sun symbol at Verko's face.
"Never! Curse you! Never!" The mole-rat vampire squealed and writhed in his bonds. I looked at Quilt who was sitting on the table, reading one of her books.
"Fuck'd he say?" She turned a page without looking up.
"He said they aren't real vampire killers, since they've never killed a vampire." I grimaced.
"Yikes," I looked down at him as the pair rolled him back and forth with their tools of terror. I tsked him and wagged my finger. "You oughtn't a done that. These girls take their craft very seriously. Cozy there's come closer to putting me in the ground than you realize." She stopped in her terrorizing to bashfully wave a hoof at me, giving Verko a chance to stare at me in shock.
"You're kidding?!" Cozy glared down at him.
"See? Now take it back!" She demanded.
"Peter'd know! He's ten times the vampire you are!" Sunbeam added. Verko stammered and gawped, and I took a seat on the table next to Quilt with a hum. Then I noticed the flash of Karl Katstein's knife under Cozy's coat.
"New tool, huh?" I said, pointing at it. Cozy nodded with a smile and I laughed. "Then you'd better take it back quick, Don. Before she decides to take the kid gloves off." He raised an eyebrow before noticing her new knife and wilted.
"Alright! Alright! You're a pro! A regular Catican Assassin! Happy?" He huffed desperately.
The last day of the journey was rolling on, so Calaeno rounded us up at the dining cabin table to give us a breakdown of Shang-hay. She was confident we could sneak in due to the relatively high airship traffic the city saw, but there were other concerns to expect.
"The police all answer to Hop and his cronies, so he pretty much runs the place. He even managed to get an annoying speaking machine imported from the United Cities that he uses to make announcements when he wants to feel important," Calaeno explained, rocking in her chair. "Any mean customers looking to make money in Shang-hay know to go to Hop. Diamond dogs, ponies, changelings, you name it."
"Any dragons?" I asked. She shook her head and I sighed in relief before realizing. "Changelings?"
"You met King Thorax from the changeling hive at the coalition conference," Twilight explained. "There's a small number that fled the hive with the previous ruler, Queen Chrysalis. They can change shape into whatever they like, and feed on love like a vampire feeds on blood." Before I could say anything, Calaeno leaned in.
"Unless he's recruited Chrysalis herself, he shouldn't have too many working for him now, but it's still a problem since the city's dark on the best of days. They can sneak up on you real easy," she said, wiggling her talons for effect. "There's a rumor that it's so rainy 'cause Hop has a spell over the place to keep away ships he doesn't like. The lighting also keeps his United City machines running."
"If it's always rainy and cloudy, shouldn't Peter be able to walk around?" Quilt asked and I nodded along.
"The clouds go out at least twelve miles in every direction, so yeah, he should be fine," Calaeno snickered and leered at me. "So long as getting a little wet isn't something that kills vampires."
"I'm pretty sure it's just natural bodies of water like the bay that are the problem," I nudged Quilt. "How's that one work again?"
"If you fly over it with your own power, you'll collapse helplessly and get carried away by the current," she explained with a serious look. "You can't drown, but you'll be stuck." I nodded firmly and looked at Calaeno.
"What she said."
"You said changelings're running around?" Capper asked with a nervous look, holding his arms around himself.
"The changeling hive is north of Shang-hay, so it's not too surprising some of them would flee here after Chrysalis was dethroned," Twilight mused. "But that's still quite the journey, eighty miles at least, so we shouldn't see too many of them."
"Still, since changelings can disguise themselves as anypony they want, we should set up a codeword," Sunbeam declared to the approval of the team.
"How about 'Verko's a Dummy'?" Cozy offered. The crew hummed in response, ignoring the mole rat's cry of outrage.
"Kind of obvious, since it's true," Capper replied rubbing his chin, drawing the noise of muttering rage from someone. "It should be something really off the wall, y'know?" I saw an opportunity and clapped my hands.
"Got it! You ask 'Who was flickering the lights?' they respond 'Nosferatu,'" I folded my arms with a smiling nod, silently praying they buy into the Hillenburg. The crew gave me a collective cringing grimace. Save for Blueblood.
"Ah hah! A brilliant suggestion!" He declared, beaming at my grateful nod.
"I mean," Calaeno rolled her head and gestured with her hands. "Yeah, that's kinda hard to just guess by accident?"
"That's even stupider than the other one!" Verko yelled.
"Silence vampire!" Cozy yelled back, menacing him with her Cutie-fix until he flopped over hissing. "But I agree. Pretty stupid." I frowned and held my hands up.
"Even better now that you've explained it!" Blueblood added. Quilt reared up on my leg and glared into the side of my face.
"If this is a joke, it's only funny to you," she said firmly. I refused to meet her gaze.
"Those're my favorite kind," I replied with a smile. The rest of the crew groaned, and Twilight stepped forward.
"Whatever that actually means, and whether it's stupid or not, I think that might work," she declared. The rest of the gang shared a look but finally nodded in agreement. I pumped my fist in victory. "Let's spread the word to the rest of the team, and-"
"Captain! Blockade ahead!" One of the pirates yelled from outside. We all shared a look before clamoring outside. I finally got a look at the city and the blockade in question.
The city was built right up to the shore and seemed to be at an incline down which the rainwater drenching the entire region washed into the bay, carrying muck and grime with it. There was a hot-looking fog nestled in patches amidst the closely set dark wooden buildings, all of which were lit up with dark-colored paper lanterns on the covered porches wrapping around each story.
Further inland, there was a row of tall open-air buildings, little more than hulking sets of scaffolding, which seemed to be the port for any passing airships. The shoreline also had rows of docks where seabound vessels could roll in. Both of these were emptied now, however, and along the air above the shore sat a long line of airships arranged so that their guns were aimed our way.
All except one small, fancy, white ship with a black balloon and golden trim, slowly drifting towards the sea.
"That's Hop's yacht," Calaeno said as she looked over the scene before us, pulling out her spyglass.
"Is he running away? How'd they know we were coming?" Twilight asked. I squinted, stared at the yacht, and flinched at what I saw with my supernatural eyes. Calaeno's gasp told me she saw it too.
"Candy's onboard!" She cried. The crew exclaimed as Calaeno continued to scan the scene with her glass.
"How'd they know we were coming?!" Twilight repeated, rearing up and leaning on the railing.
"Good question," I growled, biting my thumb. The entire team now rushed up and was leaning on the railing, watching the yacht slowly pick up speed.
"They haven't switched on the thrust, but once they do, we won't be able to catch them!" Calaeno yelled.
"Then let's get up there before they do!" Capper demanded.
"Look at that lineup! Those guns'll tear us to shreds!" One of the pirates observed.
"What if Twilight puts up a shield?" Cozy offered.
"For the entire ship while it's still moving?" Twilight cried, biting her hoof. "It'd be too thin to stop that many cannons!" Calaeno hissed and bent her spyglass.
"I got an idea," I said, stepping up on the ledge, earning a gasp from her and Quilt.
"You can't fly over water, Peter!" Quilt fumed.
"They're still over land, and so are we," I leaped forward and turned to a swarm. I raced through the air for the yacht as it began to pick up speed, and cannon balls tore through the air, harmlessly through my swarm. The yacht itself started firing bolts at me from mounted crossbows, none of which were wooden and so did no harm. I swarmed up the hull and crowded onto the deck, swirling as I reformed. The ship slipped over the water just as I did.
Back in human form, I leered at the horrified crew and immediately spotted Candy. He was somehow even rougher-looking than Mad Dog. His head and face were fuzzy as though he'd recently shaved it all down, and he wore ratty jeans and an old brown hoodie. His eyes were red and yellow, and framed with heavy dark bags. The second I got a look at him, the ship lurched and took off at high speed. I pointed at the diamond dog working the helm.
"Hit the brakes and turn us around," I ordered.
"Not up to you," Candy replied, folding his arms with a smirk.
"You sure?" I smirked back and teleported to the helm, grabbing the dog and mesmerizing him when he flinched back with wide eyes. I looked back at Candy as the dog slowly obeyed my command. He didn't seem impressed.
"The queen said you'd do that, idiot."
"Who?" A hissing boom echoed over us and back near Calaeno's ship.
"What was that?" Twilight cried, looking out to see white pillars of smoke rolling down the side of the ship's balloon.
"They dropped something from above!" One of the pirates called out as he leaned over the railing. "The balloon's on fire!"
"Look!" Quilt yelled, pointing to a pair of cackling rogue changelings zipping away. "They must've been hiding in the clouds!" The ship rocked as another boom, closer this time, rang out and the balloon's envelope began to shudder violently with a deep white glow visible inside.
"Whatever that was it ate through the top! There's a fire inside it now!" One of the pirates yelled. "We're going down!" Sure enough, the ship was now rapidly careening towards the city below. Off in the distance, the yacht Peter was on was also on fire and sailing straight towards the water.
"Everypony! Get close to me!" Twilight cried rushing to the center of the deck. The entire team rushed as tightly next to her as they could, with the city streets getting closer every second. The hull crashed into one of the taller buildings, and the second it did, Twilight worked a teleportation spell. The team reappeared on the building next to where the ship was now falling. The entire team collapsed around the princess huffing in relief. The pony guards and pirates scrambled to form a defensive perimeter around the rest, ensuring the access points to the roof were defended.
"Nice going, princess," Calaeno said, patting Twilight on the back as they both stared intently at the ruined ship which had finally reached the ground in an explosion of earth and wood, bringing down a few more buildings in its wake.
"That's horrible.." Twilight whispered on the verge of tears.
"We forgot Verko!" Hasty yelled.
"Oh no, we forgot Verko," Cozy said evenly.
"Dang," Sunbeam added as the two bumped hooves.
"Is the Master alright?!" Blueblood cried, peering out at the ship Peter'd jumped aboard. It had finally crashed into the water, but due to its speed before the fall, it now sped along the surface of the water. Then a long black shroud of smoke billowed down from the ships hovering near the edge of the water, cutting off all sight of the bay.
"Peter?" Quilt muttered.
"The fuck was that?" I roared, blasting the burning envelope from the ship with a gust of wind. I looked around and saw we were sitting in the middle of the bay, far away from the shore, now obscured by a thick sheet of black smoke raining down from the airships above. "The fuck is that?" I looked at Candy who was cackling to himself. The rest of the crew, who were still recovering from the crash looked less amused.
"This wasn't part of the arrangement!" One of the ponies near the helm screamed, backing away from me. Candy hissed with laughter, holding his sides.
"Call the Commodore! Quick!" One of the diamond dogs cried. Candy turned to face him as the crew drew knives and swords.
"He's in on it you idiots! Wouldn't want the vampire to starve, after all!" Candy cackled before green flames raced up his body leaving behind a black, pony-sized.. bug-thing. "You can all stay here with him while I report back to the queen!"
"The fuck is thaat?!" I cried, gesturing with both arms at it. It looked back at me and frowned.
"I'm a changeling, you idiot! What's the matter? Water make yew wittew bwain all loopy?" Okie dokie.
"Oh, King Thorax's guys?" The changeling hissed and snarled.
"Do not speak the usurper's name!"
"Gotcha, won't happen again," I pointed a finger and blasted it with a bolt of lightning. It flew back spasming and gurgling before going still with smoke steaming out of the hole in its face. The crew howled and cried at the sight, and a few dove into the water, save for a set of ten whom I grabbed and heaved back aboard with magic, with them squirming and wailing the whole time.
"No! No!" One dog cried, kicking and swinging as he tried to break free. I grabbed him and set him down next to the one I'd already mesmerized before I nailed him with the spell too.
"Gotta get a galley or something going now, you fucks," I set one of the ponies down and nailed her with the spell too. The others redoubled their attempts at escape but were helpless in my grasp, so I checked in on the rest of the team.
"Quilt, I'm trapped on the water, what's going on over there?"
"Peter-"
Just then, a click and a whine rang out from inside the ship, and unless my ears deceived me, the city itself.
A feminine and masculine pair of laughs crackled out over the speaker system.
"Well well! Captain Calaeno, gracing my good city once again!" Said the male.
"And Princess Twilight Sparkle? What an unexpected surprise!" The female added with a cackle. "More of a surprise for you I'm sure. And without any of your precious friends? For shame!"
"Apologies, dear residents of Shang-hay! But even ol' Commodore Hop could not have foreseen that the pirate crew of Captain Calaeno would launch such an unprovoked and heinous attack upon our fair city!" Hop declared.
"And with aid from a Princess of Equestria no less! Why, how positively scandalous!" The female added again, adopting a sincere and caring tone. "But worry not dear innocent creatures! I, the Queen of the Changelings, have experienced such treachery from the Equestrian state before, and assure you this wicked act will not go unpunished!"
"What the darlin' Queen Chrysalis said, we- hrk!"
"Do not call me darlin' again."
"Sure thing-!" A silence followed, followed by Hop clearing his throat a few times. "Like the lady said, we won't just sit by and let these ne'er-do-wells have run of this town! Already our loyal warriors are hemming in on their location to meet justice upon them!" The pair cackled in unison.
"But wait! There's more~" Chrysalis added after a moment. "We have an interest in one of the intruders. An interest you may profit from!"
"Anycreature who brings the alicorn Twilight Sparkle to me will be rewarded!" Hop declared. "Substantially rewarded at that!"
"But she must be brought in alive! My revenge must be exacted personally," Chrysalis hissed. A momentary silence followed.
"I thought we were ransoming her?" Hob said quietly earning a groan from his companion.
"Revenge is more important."
"The bill for my yacht says otherwise."
"Cut the shit, and wrap it up," a third, low voice added. The pair humphed.
"Anyway, there you have it folks! Keep outta the way or join in the hunt! Capture the alicorn, and feel free to kill the rest! And stay tuned as this story develops! Commodore Hop and company signing off."
"See you soon, princess~"
I fought with all my might to avoid crushing the primitive radio and glowered at the shroud of smoke blocking my sight. I turned back to the gang of mesmerized bozos I'd been fishing out of the water while listening to the happy couple's announcement.
"Find something to row with and get us back to land."
"Look at them burn!" Chrysalis cackled, pointing a hoof at the burning ship as it crashed down into the city. "That's what you get, princess!"
"When you said that stuff'd burn, you weren't kidding!" Hop added with a howling laugh of his own.
"So much for Calaeno, boss," one of the thugs said as he poured champagne into the glasses on the table between where the two villains sat, looking out on the spectacle from the top-story porch of Hop's private apartment block. The aged green earth stallion greedily swiped his glass, splashing some of the contents on his red overcoat, and raised it forward as the ship leveled half a city block.
"Shoulda taken my offer, you ignorant crow!" He laughed again. Chrysalis hummed in glee and grasped her glass with her magic.
"How soon before we can search for the bodies? I'd like a trophy or two," she hissed as they clinked their glasses.
"They ain't dead," Candy declared, having been leaning against the wall at the corner of the porch. The pair glared at the vampire. "My Evil Eye's got them.." He stepped forward and traced his hand out, narrowing his eyes and pointing.
"There. The princess magicked them on that roof there." The villains hissed and Hop hurled his glass over the edge, before snorting.
"Fetch my speaker and mobilize the boys! They're in block 14B!" He ordered, leering sideways at Chrysalis as she laughed again.
"This only means we have a chance to personally punish the fools," her expression hardened, and she glared at Candy. "What of the other vampire?" Candy hummed and cast his Eye out again.
"His ships sitting in the water, an-" He pursed his lips. "Your changeling just got fried." Chrysalis waved her hoof and huffed.
"An expected outcome. But this is why I had you modify those silly storm machines," she cast a proud gaze at the sheet of clouds billowing from the ships along the coast. "Even if he can use a teleportation spell, he can't travel to what he can't see." Hop stamped his hooves together.
"And even if he gets the ship moving towards the shore, my cannons'll sink it! Ha ha!" His expression fell and he growled at Candy. "'Course, that will raise your bill, chum." Candy hummed in response and lit a cigarette. Just then, Hop's thugs came scrambling out with his speaker device, setting it on the table and hooking its wires into place off the side of the porch.
"We'll discuss that in a minute," Hob said, pointing a hoof at Candy before clearing his throat. Candy rolled his eyes and stepped back inside while the pair spoke to the city. He leaned against the interior wall and slid down to the floor.
"He's out there and he's pissed," he thought to himself.
"Princess Celestia wants to know if you're ever going to call again." Candy locked his hands around his knees.
"As far as Adam knows, I already did."
"Huh? That's not true!" Pinkie squeaked. "Did you lie to him?"
"I had to. Couldn't just tell him I've been putting it off."
"Why?"
"Cause, I had.." Candy groaned and screwed up his face, drawing his interlocked hands down the back of his head. "Look, he's got this whole plan for some big new place for vampires. Good for him. I only went along cause-" His head drooped and he clenched his jaw, his eyes scanning the floor.
"Cause?" Pinkie urged.
"Cause I got nothing else going for me, and I was scared," he drew his hands down his face with a sigh. "But then I found this city, I found this job. I like it here, I like my work, and the quicker his bullshit gets completed, the quicker I'll have to leave."
"You could just tell him no."
"Dunno what he'd do then. Plus, he's part of the reason Hop works with me. I'm sure he'd buy up all the poison I can sling, but-"
"Poison?" Candy sneered at her question, stretching his locked hands out.
"Y'know, that's another thing. You can give me all this 'Be yourself, follow your dreams!' advice you want, but little girl, I make drugs. I make poison people suck up and fiend for," he took a deep breath and clicked his teeth. "I told you. I really am just a bad guy."
"Well.. Starlight almost blew up the world a few times, and Princess Luna almost cast the whole planet into eternal darkness. Oh! And Rainbow Dash lied to me about pie!" Pinkie replied, earning a furrowed brow from Candy. "So we've got plenty of experience with ponies who've done bad things! It's just a matter of turning your life around.Maybe instead of poison, you could make actual candy? The rocks you had in your pocket at Sugarcube Corner looked pretty tasty!" Candy blinked slowly and laughed quietly.
"My dad used to say something like that."
"Why didn't you listen?" Candy winced and stared ahead.
"Cause change requires you to feel bad about where and who you are. I don't," he rose and stretched his arms with a groan. "So stop wasting your breath." He turned and looked out at the pair of villains who appeared to be about to argue. He slipped next to them and clapped them both on the shoulder.
"Cut the bullshit and wrap it up," he stepped away and leaned against the door frame, watching the fire out in the city.
"Well, first of all, this is all in my head, so I'm not even breathing in here," Candy rolled his eyes, but she continued before he could retort. "And second, if you're so awful and bad and sure of that, why do you care if I keep trying?" Candy paused and narrowed his eyes, looking around as if in search of an answer. After a moment she spoke again.
"The genuine bad guy answer woulda been 'cause it's annoying,' I'm pretty sure." He winced and realized his cigarette had been burning the whole time, and was now mostly ash. He finally exhaled and flicked it away, drawing the attention of the small team of thugs attending Hob who wilted at the vampire's glare.
"So what if I ain't got an answer?"
"So, I think you're trying hard to convince yourself. I still think you're just all sad inside and don't remember how to be happy. Celestia said vampires can't remember good things like that and try to fill the void with the things they do remember. Oh! Is that why you suck on those weird smokey paper things?" Candy's jaw dropped, and he blankly stared, to the concern of the thugs he'd been glaring at. He blinked when he saw Hop and Chrysalis rise from their seats, the former donning his red hat and having one of his thugs straighten its feather.
"Let's head inside and discuss my compensation, Candy," Hop ordered as he strode past the vampire.
"Most males wouldn't be so open about it," Chrysalis retorted with a humming laugh as the commodore grumbled. Candy frowned and shook his head.
"Your princess friend is in hot water now cause of me, so we'll find out how nice and understanding you're feeling later," was the last thing he said to Pinkie before mentally blocking her out. He caught up with the other two as they made their way to the ground level of Hop's residence.
"So, I've got a guess what you're after, but I gotta reiterate it's up to Adam, not me," Candy said to Hop who huffed in response.
"Nah nah, I can wait a little longer on immortality. I'm more interested in getting my hooves on some more of that lovely fire potion you had us use out there!"
"I agree, it would be perfect for my upcoming assault on Equestria," Chrysalis added before shooting an angry glare at the vampire. "And I demand an update on the artificial love you said you could produce!" Candy hummed and sighed at their demands.
"It's only been two weeks, and the liquid love samples you gave me dried up," he bared his teeth at the changeling in a grimace. "You got any idea how hard it is to scrub powdered changeling vomit?" Chrysalis humphed and stuck her nose up.
"Sounds like a problem for the genius alchemist to solve," she spat. "But I suppose I can arrange for another sample to be delivered for your research." She glared at him again and stamped her hoof.
"After you show me what you've achieved so far," She squawked when Hop shoved her aside.
"And that after you've shown me more of that liquid death!" Chrysalis shoved him back and the two pressed their foreheads together in a contest of snarls and scowls. Candy reached forward and pulled them apart.
"All of that shit's in my lab. We can do both," he grumbled.
"Peter says he can't get the wind or tide to move," Quilt said to Twilight whose face was screwed up as she tried to work a spell with her horn.
"I think you called it, captain," she sighed, cut the spell, and turned to Calaeno. "There's some kind of powerful magic over the city controlling the weather. Since it's so specialized, I can't break the spell from this far away."
"Do you think those clouds have something to do with it?" Cozy pointed a hoof towards the line of ships spilling black clouds down on the shoreline. The princess shook her head.
"No, whatever the source of the spell is, it's further inland. I can feel it." Calaeno stepped forward and scanned the line with her slightly bent spyglass.
"Besides, they're just storm clouds. Probably, Hop had a few storm generators lying around and modified them to spill down instead of outwards."
"Why would he do that?" Sunbeam asked with a tilt of her head. Calaeno hummed and stowed her spyglass.
"Some kind of sightblock, maybe?" She finally suggested. Just then Hasty bolted forward from the guards posted at the roof access.
"There's movement down below! At least a dozen bodies, most of them armed," he reported.
"There's also movement in the clouds!" A pirate added, pointing his cutlass skyward.
"Orders, princess?" one of the guards called out. Twilight furrowed her brow, scanning the city and the ruined block of buildings.
"Even if he weren't working with Adam and Chrysalis, we can't ignore a creature so callous as to do this to his own city," she turned to the rest of the group with steely eyes. She stamped her hoof on the roof a few times. "Let's find a way inside. We won't have to worry about getting attacked by any flying creatures."
"Right!"
The roof access was a spiraling walkway that gradually bent down towards the street on the outside of the building before cutting inwards through the center of each floor. The interior level just below the roof had six doors along its length, evenly spaced from each other and numbered sequentially. Though either end of the hall was open to the city, Twilight threw a shield spell up, sealing the passage.
"Alright. Calaeno, I think the first thing we should do is find and capture Commodore Hop. We might be able to force him to call off his thugs, but if nothing else he can lead us to whatever is keeping the weather like this."
"What about Peter?" Quilt asked with a severe look.
"What she said," Capper said, tugging at his coat. "There's still a live vampire running around this town, y'know." Cozy and Sunbeam stepped forward.
"And there's a pair of professional vampire killers right here, y'know!" Cozy declared with a smile.
"I didn't see any ships we could use to get to Peter if he's out in the bay," Calaeno said with her arms crossed, pacing the hall. She looked at Twilight. "Unless you or Sunbeam could fly out to him and fly or magic him back, I don't think we can help him right now."
"And I'd be surprised if Chrysalis wasn't counting on us trying exactly that," Twilight looked to the whole group. "I'm not sure how they knew were were coming, but it's pretty obvious they're very well prepared. We shouldn't-" She blinked and leaned to look around Calaeno at one of the doors which was slightly ajar. A younger pony was peering back at her with a look of concern. The rest of the team turned to see what she was staring at and flinched when the unexpected guest motioned for them to follow before disappearing inside.
The team shared a look before Twilight lit up her horn and slowly led the rest after the local pony, followed closely by Blueblood and Calaeno, both of whom had swords drawn and aimed forward.
The three passed the threshold and found a cozy, if sparsely decorated, one-room apartment and the pony sitting all alone, waiting for them all to enter with that same sad look of concern.
"Please hurry," she whispered. The trio cast a suspicious glare around the room and then made way for the rest of the team. Once they were all inside and the door was shut, Twilight let her shield spell outside disappear. But she kept her horn lit.
"Who are you?" She demanded. Capper slipped back to the door and pressed an ear to it.
"Dusty Shelves, princess," she whispered with a slight bow. "I moved here from Manehattan with my sister. We didn't know how bad things were here with Hop and his pirates." Calaeno looked around the room and at the pair of beds against the wall on either side of the window.
"How do we-"
"Hush!" Capper cut off Twilight with a raised paw. The entire team looked at the door as the muffled noise of many hooves and paws trampled up the hall.
"How do we know you're not a changeling?" Twilight asked quietly once the noise had passed. Dusty shook her head.
"You don't. But if I wasn't on your side, I could just yell and they'd come running back, I'm pretty sure." The team blanched and shared a look before Twilight furrowed her brow.
"So what do you want, exactly?" Dusty averted and narrowed her eyes.
"The last few times Chrysalis caused trouble, you or one of your friends stopped her. I was hoping you could do that again?" She gave a sheepish smile and a shrug. "Things were bad enough with Hop before she joined him."
"What do you mean?" Blueblood asked, sheathing his sword. Dusty took a deep breath and nodded.
"She's got some kind of deal with Hop and that strange creature he's friends with. I'm not sure what she's getting out of it, but she's been using her changelings to spy on everypony for them," she took a shuddering breath and blinked away tears. "They've been replacing ponies over the last two weeks, and anypony who says bad things about the commodore gets taken away by the police." Calaeno grimaced and groaned.
"Don't tell me.." She quietly muttered, looking at the second bed again. Dusty clenched her eyes.
"I didn't even know," her voice wavered and she whimpered. "I saw her run outside and.. she.. whoever that was dropped that fire and.." Twilight stepped to her side and wrapped a wing around her.
"We'll help you find her after we've stopped those monsters." Dusty whimpered again and returned the hug.
"Thank you," she whispered. Just then Quilt stamped forward.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" She waved a hoof at the pair, causing Dusty to wilt. "No offense if that story's true, but you're buying it just like that?" She cast an incredulous glare at Twilight, who nodded.
"Like she said if she could have just called those thugs back. But that said," she looked at Dusty. "What's your opinion on King Thorax?" Dusty tilted her head.
"The new King of the Changelings?" She frowned and shrugged. "I dunno, he's probably nicer than Chrysalis." Twilight smiled and nodded at Quilt.
"She's real."
"Of course, that little creep's got a whole house block to himself," Calaeno grumbled as she added Hop's residence to the makeshift map Dusty was helping the team build. The mare nodded at the captain's outrage.
"Once the Storm King chased off all his rivals, Hop got a lot more bold," she explained, staring at the map sadly. "We actually used to live in that building and ran our shop out of it. He still lets us rent the space, but he charges so much that we barely break even." Her ears pressed against her skull.
"I think that's why it was so easy for them to swap Empty with a changeling," she added after a moment. Capper hummed and looked over the key she'd turned over.
"Well look at it like this, little lady," he smiled down at the sad pony. "Now you get to make 'em regret it all." Dusty smiled back at him when the door suddenly opened.
"Hey, Dusty! Sorry for running out like that, but I forgot-" The pony posing as Empty Shelves finally looked up, stopping dead in her tracks just past the door. She looked over the room and slowly took a single step back. The door closed shut behind her via magic, and a silencing spell filled the room.
"Help! Help! They're here! They've got my sister!" She screamed, banging on the magic over the door before being grabbed by the pony guards and hauled to the center of the room. "Dusty! Hel-"
"Stow it. She saw you transform," Calaeno said darkly, leaning in with her cutlass. "She also saw you burn my ship." Empty stared in terror for a moment before sneering and transforming into her true changeling shape.
"What good do you think that's gonna do ya?" The changeling asked with a grin. "Or did you think I came back in as a coincidence?" Calaeno and Twilight shared a look as Dusty averted her eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" Twilight demanded, earning a chortle from the changeling.
"I told those idiots you were hiding in one of the apartments, but they wanted to do a quick sweep and move on. That's what happens when your leader has to bribe his soldiers to keep them in line," the changeling hissed and smirked. "They're waiting for my all-clear. Then, they'll really be swarming this building."
"Of course," Capper groaned and cast a hopeful grin at Twilight. "What're the chances you can magic us away?" She turned towards the window and then to Dusty.
"We can't leave you here alone. Who knows what they'll-" Dusty stepped past her and glared at the changeling.
"Where is Empty," she asked. The changeling tilted her head.
"Who?" Dusty took a step closer.
"My sister." The changeling hummed and rubbed its chin.
"Not ringing any bells." Dusty moved to step closer but Blueblood held her back with a hoof.
"Don't waste your breath, young lady. This lowly outcast is just stalling so we get caught," he said, casting a critical stare at the changeling who smiled in response. "My assumption would be they were preparing for some punchline to the tune of 'you'll be seeing her soon' once her thuggish friends burst through the door." The changeling's grin grew wider as Dusty looked Blueblood up and down with her ears pressed back.
"Prince Blueblood?" Her eyes widened and her brow furrowed in disbelief as the prince turned and bowed.
"In the flesh and service of the Prince of Woollachia, my dear," he rose with a smile and a curt nod. "Now, let's waste no more time. Princess Twilight? Have you any trick to keep this outcast from pursuing us?" Twilight nodded and stepped to the changeling.
"Sure do! Have a nice nap," she lit up her horn and prepared her spell. The changeling hissed a laugh.
"The queen is waiting princess~"
Hasty peeked out from the hallway of the building Twilight had teleported the group to. Down below, near the wreckage of the ship, the band of thugs had grown in number but were held up by a debate about where to search next instigated by the changelings among them. A trio of their number had only just slipped into Dusty's housing block, likely to search for the changeling they'd knocked out.
"We need to move again," he reported upon withdrawing from the walkway railing. "They're probably going to discover the changeling here shortly." Twilight nodded and returned her attention to the map, tapping it with her hoof.
"So we're here in block 14b, which is on the same row as Hop's home," she traced her hoof up the crudely drawn street to where Dusty said the commodore lived. The city was arranged by the mayor in sequential blocks that went up in number as you moved east and went up in letter the closer you got to the coast. While this had been used by Hop and his associates to better corral the populace, it also made it easier for Dusty to mark where ponies or other creatures lived who hated the commodore and would probably be helpful.
Unfortunately, one such mark was 13C, the block just south of Dusty's where Calaeno's ship crashed.
"Wouldn't surprise me if he planned that too," Calaeno muttered, before adding a mark to the map. "I remember there was a bar somewhere in this spot, I think. Next to the airship's port. Donis ran it, do you know him?" Dusty hummed as she looked at the mark.
"6A.. Oh, you mean Mr. Pigeon?" Calaeno rolled her eyes.
"That's him. Is he still kicking?" Calaeno said evenly. Seeing Dusty nod, she continued. "He and I are friends, and if he's still alive that probably means Hop hasn't discovered his off-the-books smuggling tunnels yet."
"Or he's on Hop's payroll now, too," Quilt added with a frown. Calaeno grimaced and was about to retort when Capper held up a paw.
"Hush!" The team gave their attention as he crept to the edge of the hallway and listened. He looked back with a severe look. "They're coming."
"Scruff," Quilt hissed. The sound of many hooves and feet tramping up the walkway was now audible and growing closer. Twilight looked out and focused on the same level of the house block across the road. Her spell rang out as she moved the group.
"What was that?!" A yell rang out.
"That was magic! They were just here!"
"I saw lights up that way! Across the street!"
"I think we've got two more of those before they're right on top of us, princess," Capper said, peeking around the corner. Twilight grimaced and looked at the map.
"Are we still in-" A door swung open and a pony came running out.
"They're up here! Hurry!" The mare yelled over the railing before Capper could stop her. Twilight threw up a shield, sealing the hallway up, but two more doors flew open at either end of the hall. Out of one came sprinting a pair of ponies with knives in their teeth and a diamond dog with a club out of the other.
"Payday!" Shouted one of the ponies as he rushed straight for Quilt before he and his partner were caught in Twilight's magic and hurled into her shield hard enough to crack it. The pair fell to the ground, shivering and wheezing. The diamond dog screeched to a halt, looked at the angry alicorn, and smiled before slowly returning to his home and closing the door.
"Holy scruff," Quilt muttered and looked at Twilight. "Thanks." Twilight hummed and looked up and down the hall.
"So what's the plan? We just going to sit here and let them wail on your shield?" Capper asked. Twilight rushed to the door the pair of ponies had come out of, and upon seeing it was empty, ran inside.
"This way!" She called and the team obeyed. She threw the door shut and placed a shield over it and the window. "We have more space in here for everypony." Sunbeam stamped her hoof.
"Right! Meanwhile, they'll have to file in one or two at a time!"
"Giving us time to plan our next move," Twilight added sitting down with the map. "Dusty, do you know if I moved us out of your block? We never defined how close you were to the edge."
"That one!" The muffled voice of the mare who blew their cover yelled. The door rattled and then shook. Dusty's ears shot back at the sight, but she was dragged to Twilight's side. The pirates flipped over what little furniture there was and barricaded the door before forming up behind the spear-wielding royal guards. Behind them, Calaeno, Blueblood, and Hasty stood ready.
Quilt and Capper huddled behind Cozy and Sunbeam, the former of whom had drawn her magic knife. There was a crack at the window and a shout of pain as Twilight's shield repelled someone who'd tried to dive in, nearly drawing Dusty's attention away from the map as she and Twilight added more definition.
"Alright! We're in 12C now!" Twilight rose to her hooves and lit up her horn. "We just need to clear a path, and then everypony follow me!" She stepped forward as the door shook from the head of an axe piercing it.
"Right!" The team replied.
"Let 'em wear themselves out a minute," Calaeno added, to which Twilight nodded. The windows cracked again, but no progress was made. The axe was reburied in the door and joined by a pair of hooks that started pulling at the wood.
"Nowhere to hide!" A low voice roared through the steadily growing gaps. The team tightened their formation, and the guards took a half step forward. Quilt looked up at Capper.
"Do you think you could carry me?" She asked earning a flinch from him.
"I mean.. Yeah? Why?" She nodded in response, ringing her bell with a hoof, and started weaving an illusion just before the guards. The team could see through it just fine, but it distorted and ruined the view looking in. Capper smiled and picked up the ewe. "Hey, good thinking!" The door rattled one final time as the hooks and axe ripped it from its frame. A horde of creatures, diamond dogs, ponies, and the odd Abyssinian stood poised to rush inside.
Twilight strained and caused her shield to explode outwards, destroying the barricade and crushing a cluster of thugs through the opposite door. They were quickly replaced, but the new assailants found themselves wedged against each other as they tried to rush through all at once, giving the guards a chance to stab with their spears.
The door was clear again as the second cluster fell injured. A third pushed in and managed to avoid getting stuck, but swung their axes and clubs at Quilt's illusion, hitting only air and allowing the guards to draw their spears back and stab again. All but one fell to the ground, but this last dog was sent tumbling as a trio of unicorns burst forward and knocked his legs out from under him.
This tripped up the unicorns long enough for the pirates to sweep forward and rake their swords down upon them. A larger-than-average Abyssinian shot in suddenly and weaved a scimitar through the air, still missing the pirate's thanks to Quilt's illusion, but he managed to dive through it and the front line.
He swept his sword out and was parried by Calaeno, but before anyone could capitalize, he bent forward at the hips and slipped under her legs. Rising up, he dragged his sword up her back, only to be tackled by Sunbeam and sent crashing to the side of the room. Cozy sprinted to join her as the Abyssinian rolled from under her and to his feet.
Calaeno collapsed, gritting her teeth and clutching her back with a talon.
"Squawking son of a-"
"Captain!" One of the pirates yelled. A crossbow bolt sailed through the door and was narrowly halted by Twilight's hasty shield which exploded outwards again, clearing the door once more.
Still more creatures could be heard crowding outside, and suddenly a heavy pair of footsteps boomed out in the hall. The sight of Calaeno's injury, as well as Cozy's fight with the Abyssinian, added to Quilt's stress and she clenched her teeth hard to keep focused on the illusion.
She didn't even have a chance to process whatever Peter had just said, despite how urgent he sounded.
No further creatures rushed through the door, but Twilight had to reform her shield as bolts and thrown objects were now being delivered from just outside the door.
"Little alicorn witch!" Called one of the dogs in the line at the door, before he looked to his side in shock and stumbled away. A massive hand gripped the doorframe, and a fully armored storm beast slowly drew himself inside. Twilight blasted her shield outwards, but it collided with his armor and fizzled away. The monster finally stood inside and brought forward his mace, which wafted through the illusion and dispelled it.
"Scruff," Quilt whimpered as the toll of her spell finally overwhelmed her.
"You said it," Capper whimpered as the monster slowly lumbered towards the front line.
The Abyssinian snapped his sword out at Sunbeam, but feinted and drew it towards Cozy who narrowly parried it with her knife. The moment the two blades met there was a squeal and the scimitar snapped out of the Abyssinian's hand to his shock, giving Cozy a chance to slice her knife at him. He narrowly avoided having his leg cut but was tackled to the ground by Sunbeam, who jumped and brought her iron shoes down into his ribs, earning a hacking wheeze from him before he rolled into a heap.
The front line stabbed at the armored beast, but his armor turned aside their spears, forcing the entire formation to retreat. He brought his mace up to his side and moved to sweep it across the group when Blueblood leaped forward with his sword and stabbed at the monster's wrist when it came crashing down. The added weight of his own swing and the thinner armor allowed the prince's blade to slide cleanly through, and a thin spray of light-blue blood erupted from either end.
While the attack carried through, the prince wrenched his sword causing it to go wide and opening the wound further. The beast wailed and clutched its bleeding arm as Blueblood slipped his sword back out. The beast dropped its mace and fell to one knee before the prince stabbed it through the visor. It slowly gurgled and collapsed backward.
"They took down Bruno!" Someone cried from the line outside as they leveled their crossbows again. Blueblood flicked his sword and leveled it at the door.
"Nice going, prince!" One of the guards yelled as they formed up again. Twilight threw her shield spell back at the door itself, but it shimmered and quivered as the bolts plinked against it.
"His armor's still interfering with my magic!" She cried. Capper grimaced, but then his ear twitched.
"I ain't heard no one at the window in a hot minute, princess!" Twilight looked back, wincing as a hammer banged against her shield, sending cracks across it. Sure enough, once she pulled open the curtains, whoever had been trying to break in had abandoned them. She winced again. "I won't be able to teleport us all out with him right there!" She looked back and saw the pirates moving to barricade the door with the hulking storm beast. Despite her injury, Calaeno was among them.
"So grab who you can and get outta here!" The captain yelled and gestured to herself and her crew. "They're probably all focused on this spot, and we can hold the fort here."
"But!"
"Captain's orders!"
"Shouldn't disobey an officer, princess," Blueblood added stepping closer to the door. Capper grimaced and set Quilt down next to Twilight.
"This little lady could use a breather," he stepped away and awkwardly picked up the abandoned scimitar. The shield shimmered and nearly faltered. Twilight clenched her teeth.
"You two go with the princess!" Hasty ordered Sunbeam and Cozy, the former of whom gasped.
"You can't order me! I outrank you!"
"Peter might disagree!" He retorted. The pair held a glare before Sunbeam winced and nodded. The pair slowly shuffled next to Twilight. The princess looked at Dusty who had a terrified look in her eyes.
"Civies get out!" Hasty yelled at her before rushing to the front line, causing her ears to shoot back. She relented and joined Twilight's side. The shield shimmered again and a pair of bolts managed to slip through without hitting anyone, but causing everyone to duck.
Twilight clenched her eyes shut before setting a steely glare out the window at the next building and casting her spell.
"God damn it all," I snarled, still pacing the deck of the unmoving ship. My Evil Eye trace Twilight as they arrived on the roof of the next building and immediately began galloping down. The only good news was all the thugs in the area were focusing on where they had just been, but who knew how long that would last?
I turned towards my mesmerized crew who were busy hurling buckets of water off the side of the ship.
"Any luck?" I huffed. One of the ponies stopped and shook her head at me.
"Still no paddles or anything that could work as one. And we're still taking on water." I gritted my teeth and hissed, casting my Evil Eye out again to try and find the real Candy to at least give Quilt an idea of where to go.
But despite knowing what he looked like and having his name, I again saw nothing and no one.
Another flash and Twilight's team were at street level, across from where they'd left everyone. They quickly ducked behind the trash bins in the alley and peeked out. The army of criminals and head hunters were swarming the entire building, but none of them had noticed Twilight's escape. That gave the princess an idea, and she stood up with a resolute glare.
"If we attack them from behind, we can-"
"Look out!" Sunbeam squealed, pulling Twilight back to cover. As soon as she did, nearly thirty more cackling and jeering creatures came running.
"Whole city's out here! We got 'em pinned!" A unicorn stallion among them yelled as they disappeared into the building where Calaeno and the others were. Peeking out, Twilight could see even more creatures rushing that way. Dozens of them.
"Even with your magic, I don't think we can tackle all that," Cozy muttered at Twilight's side. The princess whimpered and took a breath.
"That changeling kind of implied they're all being paid by Hop as if that wasn't obvious," Quilt said wearily, rising to her hooves with a wince. "So, I think the best bet is still just to grab him and force him to call them all off."
"And they've still got a chokepoint to defend themselves with," Sunbeam added, pointing a hoof at the horde, who seemed to be crowding the upper levels of the building with no progress inwards. "If we hurry, we might be able to save them that way!" Twilight opened her eyes and looked at the horde, furrowing her brow. She took a second breath.
"You're right. And like Calaeno said, they're focusing on them," she turned to the group and pulled them closer. "Which means we can get a little reckless. Brace yourselves." She immediately cast a teleportation spell, launching the whole group from their hiding space.
The eastern side of the city was briefly spotted by momentary flashes of light here and then there, as the group warped from one spot to another as fast as Twilight could find them. As their 'teleport-chain' steered north towards the airship port that was slowly rising over the skyline, there were no signs that their movements were noticed at all. The only enemy activity they saw at all was of those rushing to where Calaeno and the others were. Twilight scanned the streets from behind the wagon she'd stopped at.
"No sign of anypony. Dusty, do you-" She turned to her friends and saw them all toppled over and moaning.
"Di' we stahp?" Sunbeam weakly murmured. Quilt groaned in response from where she lay on her back with her hooves over her face. Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry.." She sat and shuffled her hooves while they recovered. Dusty finally stood and shook her head.
"Uhm.. What were you saying?" She asked looking around, before pointing a hoof. "Hey! That's Mr. Pigeon's place!"
"We're already there?" Cozy muttered once she was back to her hooves. The only one still on the ground was now Quilt, but even she managed to look up at the shop just a few doors away.
"We're just up the road from Hop's home," Dusty added, pointing down the road. "You can't see it from here, but it's just around that corner. The police station and town hall are across from him. The police guard his apartment most of the time instead of patrolling the town." Twilight hummed, considering the paths before them.
"Sounds like we might have trouble getting in.." Sunbeam added.
"Why not ask Calaeno's friend Donis? She mentioned he's got some kinda tunnel business going on," Quilt offered after rolling onto her stomach. The group shared a look and nodded.
"Worth a shot. Let's hurry!"
"Don't trifle with me, you damned harlot!" Hop roared, threatening Chrysalis with his sword. She batted it aside and hissed in his face.
"I am a QUEEN, you lowly sea tramp! BORN to rule, without needing to hurl coins at the rabble to keep her power," the pair again snarled in each other's faces. Candy meanwhile leaned against his workstation with a hand over his face, waiting for them to finally decide who got to look at his work first. As the insults flew, including a comment on a recent deposition, Chrysalis finally picked up and hurled Hop away into his pirates at the far end of the room. Candy groaned and sent his Evil Eye out to check on the princess.
"That tears it!" Hop yelled as he jumped to his hooves. Chrysalis hissed and her changelings who had been lingering in the rafters of the lab flew to her side. Hop's pirates brandished weapons and prepared to charge. Chrysalis and Hop stomped towards each other, followed closely by their minions, and just before they clashed, Candy rolled between them as poison fog.
"Seven devils!" Hop squealed as he leaped away from the poison. Chrysalis hissed and magically hoisted one of her changelings up as a shield.
"How dare you!" She roared. The squabbling groups parted and glared at the vampire as he slowly reformed.
"We got a problem," he looked at Hop. "Twilight gave your cronies the slip."
"What?!" Hop bellowed.
"Hah!" Chrysalis jeered. Candy scanned with his Eye again.
"No sign of any changelings either." Chrysalis balked as Hop stuck his tongue at her. "Hold on.." He focused for a moment and hummed.
"Most of their team, including Calaeno, are holed up in an apartment," he rubbed his chin and clicked his teeth. "Must've split up to draw our guys' attention."
"Clever, princess. Very clever," Chrysalis seethed and paced the floor.
"Damn," Candy clenched and rubbed his eyes. "She's rapid-fire teleporting through the city. Fucking hurt to look at." Hop stamped his hooves.
"How in Tartarus can she be doing that?! How hasn't any one of those idiots noticed?!" Chrysalis hissed in response.
"They must all be focusing on whichever miserable dwelling the princess left her friends in. They haven't realized they've been duped!" She growled and turned to the changelings. "After her!"
"What she said! Get the boys moving in the right direction!" Hop added, whipping around and brandishing his sword at his men. They hesitated and shared a look.
"What about Calaeno, commodore?"
"Yeah! And where even is the princess?" Hop pursed his lips and hummed.
"Good point! Fine, get half of the boys offa Calaeno and after the princess!" He turned and pointed his sword at Candy. "And you get out there!" The vampire flinched.
"Me?"
"Yes, of course," Chrysalis added, gesturing to the lab with a hoof. "This is all lovely, for sure, but right now your talents best serve us in the field." Candy furrowed his brow.
"Serve you?" He parroted. Hop rolled his eyes.
"Just get out there! The vampire you're so scared of is still at sea."
"What about you two?" Candy gestured to the pair. Chrysalis scoffed and waved her hoof.
"A queen does not dirty her hooves while there are others to do so for her," she tittered.
"And I gotta get ahold of Mayor Stalwart!" Hop added with a nod. Candy glared at the two before rolling his eyes.
"Whatever," he turned to mist and rolled towards the door, sending the pair's minions scrambling and shrieking out of the way. He rolled through the cracks in the door and hissed out into the rain, boiling down the road and causing all the locals to cry out and run for cover. He followed his Evil Eye, largely ignoring the buzzing of the changelings and the stomping of the pirates all following him.
"Something about that sheep in the coat skeeves me out.." He thought to himself as he spied on Twilight and her group.
"Which sheep is that?"
"One of the ones I'm about to choke to death so we can catch your princess friend," he replied. Pinkie didn't respond for a minute as he swirled down the street and then into the air, accidentally catching a few changelings who fell to the ground, hacking and sputtering. "Yeah, nothing to say to that one?"
"Who told you to do that?" Candy halted in midair, forcing the cluster of changelings to swerve and avoid him.
"What are you doing?!"
"Idiot!"
"Did you lose her?"
"Fuck do you mean?" He demanded of Pinkie.
"Did you decide to attack Twilight, or did somepony tell you to?" He sat in silence and was about to reply. "Nothing to say to that one?" The changelings whimpered and flew back as his mist form bubbled and spasmed.
"You-"
"I meant what I said, Franklin. If you're just a bad guy, we'll beat you like every other bad guy. And if you hurt Twilight, you're probably really just a bad guy," Candy actually winced at her words. "But I still want to believe there's more to you than that. And I want you to believe that, too." The rain hissed as it cut through his mist form, but he still sat in the air.
"I'm a drug-dealing vampire, bitch. What other choice do I have?"
"You could come back to Canterlot! Ask Celestia for help! Even if you're all eaten up inside, I'm sure she can help you if you ask!" Candy scoffed and slowly drifted down to street level to the terror of the gang just below.
"She's got a great track record for helping out my kind, huh?"
"She said she's never met a vampire like you or Adam! Except Peter. The others were always too young to remember being alive. Those were all just monsters."
"And she's so certain the fact I remember means I've got a chance?" He slowly reformed as his feet touched the ground. "The fact I remember is why I'm so-" He clenched his teeth and snarled.
"What are you doing, idiot?!" A changeling demanded, buzzing right next to him. "We need to-" Candy's hand snapped out and grabbed its face, poison mist leaking from his palm and choking the creature to death. Their fellows hissed and recoiled.
"Why you're so what?" Pinkie pressed. Candy hurled the half-dead changeling away.
"Why I'm miserable. You can't change that, and neither can she. No one can help me. I'm done talking," he exploded into mist and flew down the road.
"How do you know if you won't give us a chance?"
"How you holding up Hasty?" One of the guards asked now that the horde had withdrawn for a moment.
"Going to have one heck of a story to tell when we get home," Hasty replied, wincing as he tried to get comfortable despite the poorly dressed bolt wound in his leg and cut on his side. The fight in the apartment had exploded again once Twilight left, and despite the storm beast's armored body providing a sturdy if macabre barricade when wedged in the door, the sheer number of hostile actors outside all but ensured that a few hits would be scored.
Calaeno and Hasty were the first to be pulled back from the door due to injuries, despite the former's protests, and now sat in a corner with a pair of the guards and one of the pirates, all of whom had been cut or poked by swords or spears. The apartment had only a few items that could serve in first aid, and then only thanks to quick thinking on Capper's part. The injured parties were now bandaged with torn-up curtains, held together with a few safety pins.
Capper and Blueblood were leading the defense now, aided by the remaining four guards, and six pirates. To Capper's immense relief, the attacking force outside had withdrawn to the neighboring apartments and just out of sight, seemingly to plan their next assault. Unfortunately, all the while, despite not being able to see around their own barricade, it was obvious that reinforcements were arriving, making all the progress they'd made in thinning the horde worthless. Suddenly, a shout rang out and the crowd in the hall settled.
"Let's try this!" A harsh voice roared from the hall out of sight. "Come out empty-hooved, pawed, and clawed, and we won't kill any more of you!"
"Hah. Hear that? They're getting frustrated," Calaeno muttered weakly with her arms folded.
"I have a better offer!" Blueblood yelled back. "Surrender to the authority of the Prince of Woollachia, and he may still be found merciful!" A laugh came in response.
"Fat chance! But clever business keeping us here while the princess slips away, I'll give you that!" The party collectively jolted and shared a look of dread. "Our vampire's about to bring her kicking and screaming up to the commodore! Personally, I don't want to miss the show when he gets ahold of her, so let's just end this peacefully now!"
"Crud," Hasty huffed.
"What do we do?" Capper asked, casting a nervous look around the room. Calaeno rolled her eyes and drew herself up as best as she could.
"You want us? Come get us!" She yelled, wincing as soon as she did.
"Here here!" Blueblood added, peeking through the gaps in the barricade. He caught a glimpse of a sneering pegasus stallion, who nodded to someone out of sight. A whistle was blown.
"Have it your way!" Just then, the windows shattered. Whirling around, the defenders saw a half dozen changelings flying inside, followed by a pair of Abyssinians who tumbled through the windows. The changelings rushed the defenders while the Abyssinians drew knives and leaped at the injured in the corner.
"No!" One of the pirates yelled. Then, one of the Abyssinian's tails burst into flames. The sight and sound of their comrade burning brought the invaders to a screeching halt, and their shock was doubled when the second Abyssinian was hurled back out the window like a rocket.
"The unicorn!" One of the changelings hissed, turning to charge Blueblood, only to be skewered by his sword. A bolt of flame suddenly struck the body, causing Blueblood to lose his grip on his sword.
"What in the world?!" He cried.
"It's not him!"
"What is it?!" Fire struck again. By this point the defenders had taken advantage of the changelings shock, and engaged them properly, driving them back towards the window or cutting down those who didn't flee.
"The heck was that?" Calaeno huffed.
"Line of sight, you bitches! WOO!" I yelled, clapping my hands and shouting. The mesmerized crew around me applauded.
"Very well done, sir!" A dog praised. Twilight and the others seemed to have a handle on things, so I'd focused my Evil Eye on Calaeno and her team. It did nothing for my nerves, as I could literally only watch while they got cut up and shot. Then I remembered all the training we'd been doing at the castle. Namely, most of my spells worked on line of sight. If I could see it, I could hit it.
And with my Evil Eye, I could sure as hell see everyone in that room. There wasn't a guarantee it would work. After all, I wasn't even physically there, but what the fuck did I have to lose? And the results were more than I could have prayed for. I turned to the crew and pointed at the edge of the ship.
"Keep trying our floaty idea, I'll be back in a sec," I stepped further up the ship out of the water that had now begun to reach the top deck, and relaxed. I sent my spirit to the team, who were collecting themselves after the close call. "Hey, gang." The room jumped.
"Peter!?" Calaeno screamed.
"Master! I knew you had something to do with this!" Blueblood declared, scanning the air. Capper leaned on the wall and huffed, clutching his chest.
"Little warning woulda been nice." I shrugged.
"Sorry. Anyhow, I found a way to help! Y'like the fireworks?" I conjured a few small balls of fire and made them orbit me. Hasty laughed.
"More than you realize! Do you think you could-"
"Heave!" We all looked towards the door, where plainly a number of chains had been slipped around the dead storm beast and were now being used to slowly rip him out of the way.
"Crud," Hasty muttered. A buzzing came at the windows and I immediately hurled my fireballs out of them, earning a few squeals and hisses.
"Focus on the front door, I can- HA?" I shivered and shook. I rushed back to my body and I had slipped from my resting place and was sitting in about a half foot of water. I felt it beginning to sap my strength and scrambled further up the ship.
"Fuck," I growled once I was on a dry part of the deck. I looked around and saw the crew tossing the fancy golden cushions from the cabin overboard. "Any luck?" One of the ponies looked up at me and shook her head.
"Nuh-uh. It's real gold they're wrapped in!" She said with a smile. I groaned and rubbed my eyes.
"Gaudy piece of shit," I looked down and scrambled further up the ship when I saw the water creeping closer. My plan had been to have the crew use the cushions as floating devices to help drag me back to the shore. No such luck. I looked over the dumb smiles of the crew and sighed. "Alright. No sense in us all drowning. I release you from my spell, get outta here." I waved my hand and they all jolted and then screamed before bailing. I settled on the bow of the ship and huffed. I cast my Evil Eye back to the apartment and saw to my relief they were all still alive and wrestling the barricade back into place.
"That one!" Dusty whispered as they crept down the alley. The front of the shop was crowded, so they had agreed to try getting Donis' attention from the back. Twilight cast an unlocking spell at the door, and then slowly pulled it open. Inside was a warm little room, lit and heated by a wood-burning stove, with barrels lining the wall, and shelves loaded with breads and cheeses. The noise of the storefront could now be plainly heard as they crept inside.
"Quilt, what're you doing?!" Cozy hissed at her friend who immediately made for the cheese shelf next to the door leading further in.
"Making sure this wasn't all for nothing, even if he can't help us!" She hissed back as she licked her lips and reached for a wheel of cheddar. The door swung open, drawing a yelp from the sheep.
"Who's back here whispering!?" A bipedal pigeon burst in, dressed in a white shirt under a black vest, with a green feathered cap on his head. He immediately saw the group, and Quilt at whom he leveled his blunderbuss. "So! A nasty little gang of CHEESE THIEVES is it?!"
"I haven't stolen anything yet!" Quilt retorted, stamping her hoof which drew an even angrier glare from the bird, causing her to wilt away.
"Wait please!" Twilight begged, sitting and holding her hooves up when he aimed his weapon at her. The bird blinked and his jaw dropped.
"Alicorn, eh?" He said quietly.
"Hey, Donis! What's up?" A yell came from the front. The girls held their breath as Donis looked back and took a step away.
"Nothing, just some rats! Be back up in a sec!" He pulled the door shut and turned to the group. "So- Leave it!" He jabbed a talon at Quilt who hastily withdrew her hoof from the cheese and scurried to Twilight's side. Donis and Twilight glared at the sheep before looking back at each other.
"So, you're like as not the little princess the changeling queen was shrieking about a bit ago, eh?" He folded his arms and leaned against the door. Twilight grimaced and nodded. "Rancid little commodore's offering a reward for you."
"I know, and that's why we're here," she said earning a laugh from the bird.
"Giving yourself up to me, huh? Mighty kind of you! I could use the cash!" He laughed again. Twilight took a step forward.
"Calaeno said you were friends. Please, we need your help." His laughter stopped and he considered her with a solemn leer.
"Calaeno, eh?" He huffed after a moment. He nodded his head. "What'd she say?"
"She kind of implied you and Hop weren't on good terms," Sunbeam replied, earning a grim chuckle.
"Nice way of putting it."
"She's in danger because of him. Because of me," Twilight begged with a hoof to her chest. "If we can get to Hop, we might be able to call off his thugs. It might be the only way to save her!" Donis looked at her pleading eyes and then over the rest. He smirked and nodded.
"More incentive than I'd normally need to stick it to the little rat. This way, quietly," he opened the door and gestured for them to follow. Twilight beamed in response. "My tunnel's right this way. We can use 'em to sneak right up on the bastard." He laughed as the girls moved to follow before Quilt hesitated, remembering something she and Calaeno'd discussed.
"Hey," she said to Donis who raised an eyebrow at her. The rest of the girls gave her equally confused looks. She looked the bird man up and down and narrowed her eyes. "So, uh.. Just out of curiosity, what's your thoughts on King Thorax?" Twilight flinched and looked up to see Donis scowl for just a moment before tilting his head with a smile.
"Who's that?" The girls stared wide-eyed at him and backed away. He held his smile for a moment before scowling again.
"Aw, to Tartarus with it," he aimed his blunderbuss at them, only to be blasted by Twilight.
"Run!" She screamed as they scrambled for the door. Quilt snatched the wheel of cheese before following.
"Now what?" She asked once she caught up outside.
"After them!" A changeling yelled from above as a veritable swarm came pouring in from the street.
"Scruff," Quilt and Cozy peeped at the same time.
"Look out!" A second changeling shrieked, followed immediately by a collection of hacks and coughs. A yellow fog was now racing towards them, and passing through the changeling swarm, leaving them writhing and sputtering on the ground.
"What is that?!" She screamed. Twilight gasped and charged her horn.
"It's him!" She fired a beam which shot harmlessly into his misty mass, before exploding and scattering him apart and halting his pursuit briefly.
"How do you know?" Quilt demanded.
"Luna and I discussed it. The night Pinkie was bound, there was a poisoned smog in the shop, and Luna believes it was Candy," she looked at Sunbeam and Cozy, while the vampire slowly drifted after them. "Try the symbols!" The pair nodded at each other and hopped forward, thrusting their cutie-fixes towards the mist. It condensed and shuddered and wafted back.
"It is him!" Quilt squealed, looking frantically at her companions. "What do we do?" Before anyone could answer, a shout from further down the alley came up. Beyond the vampire's mist, they could see a new host of changelings and thugs barreling towards them.
"Crud," Sunbeam huffed, still with her cutie-fix aimed at Candy. "Of all the times, we-" Just then the mist shot upwards and arced over the group, before spreading and cutting off the pass behind them.
"Double crud!" Sunbeam cried, waving her cutie-fix at the vampire, but while he retreated, he still presented a toxic roadblock for anyone who couldn't fly. Twilight was preparing to cast a spell when Cozy stamped her hoof.
"You dirty, low-down, snake!" She stowed her cutie-fix and drew her knife with her teeth. "Ls shee how you li thish!" She leaped forward to the shock of the group and took a swipe at the mist's edge. Her knife passed through, leaving behind a noticeable gash, and she tumbled away before the vampire could counter. But he made no such attempt. Instead, a high-pitched hissing shuddered out from the mist and it seemed to spasm and condense again.
A noise like a wounded pig hissed out and the vampiric mist exploded back over the group, racing down the alley toward the approaching gang.
"Not again!"
"Stop!"
"Pleas-"
Candy's mist form barreled through them and left them huddled on the ground. He sped away and shot around the corner onto the street. The girls sat dumbfounded.
"Whoa," Quilt muttered.
"What the heck was that?" Sunbeam gawped, staring at Cozy in bewilderment. She sheathed her knife.
"Peter said this thing cut his mist, remember?" She said with a smug smile. "Guess foggy over there wasn't counting on that!" Sunbeam clapped her hooves together.
"Nice going!" She cheered. Twilight hummed and considered the path the vampire had fled.
"Faerie iron's quirky like that. He might be going right to Hop," she looked at the piles of sickened thugs lying in the alley. "And if he's being this reckless, he's definitely cleared a path for us!" She turned to the group.
"Let's follow him! This might be the best chance we get to capture the commodore."
"Heave!" The cry came again.
"Heave!" Capper parroted.
"Damn it all," I hissed as my vision was spoiled again. The ship was now mostly underwater, and the bow I was sitting on was visibly drifting under. I climbed further up until I was at the end. A low creaking rumble bubbled up from below. I sat with my head in my hands, grinding my teeth. My Evil Eye showed the apartment again where the tug-of-war was still ongoing, but now with the addition of some hooks, our side was rapidly losing.
"C'mon! Pul-" Capper screamed and fell away, clutching his leg which was now streaming blood. A bolt came sailing through the same gap he'd been stabbed through and, since the armor thwarted my spell to catch it, struck one of the pirates in the side, sending him squawking to the side and knocking over two of his fellows.
This gave the attackers outside the advantage they needed to finally wrench the body out of the door frame.
"Get back! Form up!" Blueblood ordered as the team scrambled away, dragging the injured with them.
"God damn it!" I hissed as my leg touched the sea again. I stood up on the very point of the bow and watched the sea creep ever closer. I only had seconds. Not enough time to launch more than a few bolts of fire, and after that.. Would my Evil Eye still work underwater? Hell, would my link with Quilt? Even if it did, would it help? What could I do once I was underwater? Magic? Would that work?
"My spells still carried over the water, even though I can't fly over it," I thought as I sent my Evil Eye out again, bracing for one final volley of fire. Then it hit me.
My spells still worked over water and through my Evil Eye. The armored body was pulled free, and the front line was reformed between the door and the injured.
"Got you now!" The cackling voice who'd demanded their surrender called out as crossbows were aimed into the door.
"I'm sunk if it doesn't work and sunk if I don't try. What do I got to lose?" I clenched and tried to teleport.
"What the heck is that?!" I blinked and looked down. My body had a dozen bolts harmlessly pinned throughout it.
"Master!"
"Peter!"
"Why didn't you do that before, you tail-hole?!" I smiled and swept the bolts off with an arm.
"Only just learned I could. And to answer your question," I pointed out at the shocked line of thugs and the stallion leading them whose jaw hung open. I knelt down with a bow, clenching my legs and causing the floorboards to crack and splinter under my feet. "I am the Prince of Woollachia."
"Aw, crud," were his last words before I slammed my knee into his face at high speed.
"What exactly did this Adam promise you?" Chrysalis asked as she idly tinkered with Candy's instruments on his desk. The commodore rolled his eyes.
"Same thing he offered the rest. Immortality," Hop replied before returning his attention to Mayor Stalwart. "So, you think you can spin that for me?" The yellow pegasus hummed while studying what he'd written, scratching under his black and gold sash.
"Pirates in the company of an Equestrian princess destroy our eastern sector.." He nodded slowly. "Gimme a day or two to workshop it, and we'll have something plausible enough to make demands with." Hop smirked.
"Great, so now-"
"Immortality, you said?" Chrysalis pressed. Hop huffed and patted Stalwart on the shoulder.
"We'll talk after we've got her," he turned and walked to Chrysalis while the mayor continued mulling over his notes. "Yes. He's going to make us vampires, like him and Candy." Chrysalis snorted.
"Vampire spawn, maybe. Unless you're fond of memory loss," she leered back at the stallion. "Then again, maybe that's exactly what he's planning? A blank slate to sculpt?" Hop shook his head in confusion.
"What?"
"I've only met his lackey, the alchemist, so I can't say what his real intentions are," she turned fully towards Hop with a wide smile. "But if he doesn't even have a blood bond with you, I can't imagine he's eager to share real power with you." Hop choked and stammered.
"How did you know-" Chrysalis' cackle cut him off.
"Poor little eel's just a little fish in a much bigger pond," she cooed, leaning close. Hop grit his teeth and prepared to retort when Stalwart screamed. They turned and saw him scrambling out of the way of Candy in mist form boiling towards them, forcing them to separate.
He reformed, whimpering, cursing, and crying at his workstation, blood streaming down his thigh, and ripped open a drawer. Inside were neatly organized and labeled bottles of his favorite concoctions. He drew a glowing blue mixture whose label read 'Healing!!!' and quickly drank it. He hissed and hummed as the wound on his leg twitched and finally sealed.
"Oh my fucking God.." He collapsed on the ground, holding himself and quietly sobbing. The villains shared a glance before Hop stepped closer.
"The Tartarus happened to you?"
"She cut me," he heaved. "She fucking cut me." He brought his knees to his chest and rocked on his side, hissing and whimpering.
"Is that all?" Chrysalis huffed.
"I was mist, you dumb bimbo!" He roared swinging his arm out at her before holding himself again. Chrysalis was caught between shock at the insult and the revelation.
"How'd they manage that?" Hop murmured.
"Princess Twilight's just full of tricks," Chrysalis growled and shook her head.
"Nonono," Candy heaved. "One of the sheep they brought. It's not supposed to work like that!" Before either could retort or inquire further the doors flew open again, startling the mayor once more.
"What's your problem?!" One of the pirates shouted. Seeing the commodore's look, he gestured to Candy. "He poisoned over half the guys we sent with him!"
"What?!" Hop roared.
"And most of the changelings as well, my queen!" Chrysalis seethed at the report and loomed over the vampire.
"Explain yourself!"
"'sposed to be safe. Shouldn't be able to. Aw. God," he muttered and murmured, biting his hand as he whimpered.
"What?" Chrysalis shook her head in bewilderment. Hop snorted and nodded at one of the dogs.
"Get him up." The dog hesitated for a moment, but a firm glare from the commodore urged him forward. He pulled Candy to his feet and held him up. Hop stepped closer and looked him in the eyes, ignoring how wide and unfocused they were. "Explain. Your. Self." He punctuated his words by jabbing the vampire with his hoof. Candy leered down at him and went still.
"Princess Celestia says if you turn yourself in, she'll do what she can to help you. You don't have to keep being miserable, and you don't have to keep hating yourself."
"Will you just SHUT UP?!" He roared mentally and aloud and swung his arm out, cracking the dog in the head and sending them sprawling. Hop howled and dove away to the safety of his gang. Chrysalis hissed and entered a low stance with her horn lit up. Candy glared around the room, breathing heavily and slowly pacing back and forth.
"I can't fucking DOthis shit with you right now! They could've fucking KILLED me out there! NOT like I wouldn't FUCKING deserve it!" He pounded his fist into his table, rattling the plates enchanted for cooling and heating his potions.
"What are you-" He swept his arm out as he spun around, nearly striking Chrysalis who flew back with a hiss. He stomped towards his barrels.
"I am not BUILT like Adam, I am not BUILT like Dog," he heaved his words out and ground his teeth. "I'm just Franklin Reed, and I'm so fucking tired of living like this. Getting jerked around by psychos and freaks."
"Please, just give us a chance to help you!" Pinkie begged as he stopped and leaned with a heaving sigh upon one of his barrels.
"I don't want help, I want to die."
"Don't say that! We can help you, just don't give up!" She pleaded, and he could feel her sincerity through their link. It made his heart sink. "You've done bad things, but a lot of it was cause other creatures made you! It's not too late!" Franklin shook and snarled to the terror of everyone in the room besides Chrysalis who was preparing to pounce at him until he laughed as he slowly caressed the barrel.
"So if I did something real bad on my own, then you'd give up on me?" He chortled and slowly drew himself up to his full height.
"What?"
Franklin lifted and hurled the barrel to the ground, bursting it open and spilling its crimson contents all around.
"What're you doing, you idiot?!" Hop roared as he scurried away. Chrysalis flew up to the rafters and glared down at the vampire as he moved to his workstation and grabbed the heating tray from his tools, before smashing it apart and tossing its magical fragments into the liquid. Thin steam began to rise as the pool boiled.
"Spreading the misery," he finally replied to Hop as he drank another potion from his drawer.
"What is that?" Chrysalis demanded. Franklin smashed the empty bottle on the ground and pointed at its fragments.
"That is how I mix my mist with poisons," he laughed and pointed at the boiling steam. "And that is about as poisonous as it gets." He laughed again, more of a manic cackle this time, and flipped the bird at both of them before turning to mist and mixing into the ever-growing cloud of vampire contagion.
"Run for your lives!" I cackled and hurled a bolt of lightning after them. The tide of gangsters and other riff-raff were utterly unprepared for my arrival, and for the titanic force with which I swung my fists, to say nothing of my invulnerability. The cramped and packed space meant each swing scythed down handfuls of guys, all while spears, axes, knives, and bolts hit me but did nothing.
Bodies were piling fast and then being thrown either by my own strength or with telekinesis. The stairway proved insufficient to support the sheer number of thugs trying to retreat, many of whom crashed against the equally large number of thugs who hadn't gotten the memo of the danger above. A growing number of low-lives chose to jump, and a surprising number of them managed to keep running once they hit the ground.
The hallway was clear, and a few more bolts of lightning scared off the last of the would-be attackers who dove from our floor to the street below. I could hear them regrouping below, but we had a moment, so I returned to the apartment.
"Hey-" And was met with screaming.
"Dear Celestia!"
"Brutal."
"I'm gonna be sick.."
"What?" I looked around the room at everyone before looking down. "Oh." I was covered in blood up to my elbows and all over my vest and pants. I was probably more frustrated by the boat situation than I realized. A small cloth drifted up to my face.
"May I take it the enemy has been chased off?" Blueblood asked without looking directly at me and with a hoof to his mouth. I took the cloth and compared it to the mess all over me.
"They ran down to the street, but I don't think they're gone for good," I cleaned off my hands, and looked at Calaeno and the other wounded. "How're you guys holding up?" Calaeno gestured meekly with her hand but was noticeably paler even through her feathers, while Hasty and the others were plainly worse off. The pony himself just lay quietly breathing with his eyes closed. Capper rubbed the wrapping on his leg.
"Don't suppose you've got any medical magic, huh?" He asked with a weak grin, which failed when I shook my head, but then I hummed in thought.
"Be right back," I turned to mist and rushed out the door. Racing out into the air, I flowed down to the crowd of toughs which was much smaller than I expected. The rest were hauling ass down the street. Only about fifteen were still present, gathered in a circle.
"So what's the plan, Lot?" One of the ponies asked the diamond dog who seemed to be in charge. "Nothing worked on that monster!"
"I saw that idiot! But like I said, I have an idea," Lot the dog replied. I formed just behind him, drawing looks of terror from the rest.
"I'm sure you do, but let's hear mine first." He snarled and whipped around.
"Who asked-" I grabbed him by the throat and mesmerized him. The others tried to run to no avail, and in short order, I had another gang of miscreants under my spell.
"Alright, show of paws and hooves: who knows anything about first aid?" Two dogs and a unicorn responded. "Great, you three follow me." I snapped my fingers, and we hurried back to the second floor.
"Peter wh- LOOK OUT!" One of the pirates yelled once she saw us reach their floor, before hurling a knife at one of my guys which I caught with magic.
"Nice catch boss!" One of them cheered. I ran to the door and gently ushered the confused bird back inside with the others, who also stood bewildered. I gestured for them to clear a path and then waved in my boys.
"I got these guys under a spell," I explained, holding up a hand before another fight erupted. "These three can help, or so they say."
"Sure can!" The unicorn chirped. "Anything you say, boss!" I swept my arms in a presenting gesture with a smile. The group shared a look before one of the guards shook her head.
"Loopy vampire," she looked up at me with a firm stare. "The extra hooves are great, but what we really need are medical supplies and contact with the princess!" I snapped my fingers and nodded.
"Gotcha!" I turned and lifted the unicorn by the scruff of his neck. "You know where to get supplies close by?"
"Sure do! Just around the corner as a matter of fact," he said with a smile.
"Great! You three go get as much as you can carry and get it back here," I ordered and dropped him. The three saluted and took off out the door, and I pointed at the guardsmare. "I'll find Twilight and the rest and be right back." She nodded
"Thank you, Peter."
"Best of luck, Master!"
"Don't be too long!" Capper demanded. I gave him a thumbs up and flowed outside again and returned to the gang, where I reformed.
"Anyone else shows up, you tell them Calaeno and the rest escaped," I ordered before sending my Evil Eye out after Quilt. Then, an explosion echoed out further west in the city.
"That's not Hop's house," Dusty whispered as the girls peeked around the newsstand they hid behind. They'd followed Candy down three whole rows of city blocks and then west, and while Dusty had pointed out that was the direction of Hop's apartment block, the building across the street that the vampire had flowed into didn't look like any other residence despite being the same shape. All its windows were sealed tight, and the doors were reinforced and made of metal, with symbols printed on them Twilight recognized.
"That must be his lab. Those're hazardous chemical signs," she said, looking up at the second story where the vampire had fled and the teams of guards on each story's exterior deck, some of whom near the ground floor were ponies in police uniforms.
"How do we get in?" Cozy asked, scanning the street and adjusting her scarf under her coat.
"Yeah," Quilt asked through a mouthful of the cheese she sat eating. Sunbeam's ears flicked at the sight.
"Can I have some?" Twilight turned to the group before Sunbeam got an answer.
"Do you think you girls can find someplace to hide?" The four of them blinked and looked at her.
"What do you mean? You going in alone?" Sunbeam tilted her head. Twilight considered the building again.
"It's just-" A scream pierced the air, drawing their attention back to the second floor just in time to see a lime-green magic beam blast a hole in the wall, out of which the changeling queen herself shot out followed by a handful of creatures, including an earth pony in a red coat and a pegasus in a sash. The creatures leaped after her, but she spread her wings and went skyward, so only the pegasus was able to pursue her, the rest falling straight to the ground.
"That's Hop!" Dusty squeaked, pointing at the pony in the coat as he fell and landed head-first on the ground. The girls winced at the sight but then flinched when he rolled to his hooves and shuddered and hissed, a series of actions the others followed.
"Commodore? What in the world-" The group dog-piled the officer who approached them and to the girls' horror began biting and gnawing at him.
"Back, you worm!" Chrysalis roared firing a beam at the pegasus and blasting him straight to the ground which cratered under the impact. The police split between trying to help their fellow and tending to the pegasus.
"Mayor Stalwart?" Dusty whimpered as the pegasus slowly rolled over and shuddered before leaping up and latching onto one of the officers who screamed horribly as he was thrashed to the ground and began to grow pale.
"What the Tartarus?!" One of the others screamed as Hop and the others stood and charged them. The guards on the upper levels looked on in shock but made no move to help them.
"Ghouls," Quilt said quietly.
"Did Candy do this?" Twilight looked up at Chrysalis before she vanished over the rooftops. She scowled and snapped her wings.
"Look!" Sunbeam cried, drawing everyone's attention to the hole in the wall, where a crimson fog rolled out and rapidly sunk to the ground. More and more spilled out, more like a living creature crawling than anything, and then seemed to stand up straight reaching almost to the third floor. It now had an unmistakable shape to it, that of a biped with wispy claws and a narrow, skull-like face with two glowing yellow eyes.
"Fleeces Tuft," Quilt squeaked. The fog monster brought one of its claws up and swept it down over the police who were fighting for their lives, then dragged it back up and onto the guards above. Everyone the fog consumed sat still and then shook for a moment, but the moment the fog slipped away the ghouls let them be. The reason why became apparent, as those touched by the fog began to hiss and froth, clearly having become ghouls themselves, before attacking the unturned.
"Dear Celestia," Sunbeam whimpered, holding a hoof to her mouth. Twilight scowled again and turned to Dusty.
"Which way to Hop's house?" Dusty looked at her with tears in her eyes.
"Wha?" She glanced for a moment at the fog again but did a double-take. "What's it doing?" The girls focused on the fog monster, which seemed to be narrowing its eyes if those points of light were actually its eyes. Twilight's coat bristled, and she blanched.
"The Evil Eye. It's him." The fog monster looked directly at the girls' hiding place and seemed to smile, before rolling towards them. Twilight was faster, however, and warped them away.
"What the heck did you mean by that?!" Quilt shrieked once they were a distance away, though they could still faintly see the fog monster down the road.
"It's Candy, the vampire. I felt his Evil Eye just now, looking for me specifically. I've felt it a few times since we got here, but I only just pieced together what the feeling is," Twilight replied with a frustrated groan. "Things have just been so hectic, I didn't have a chance to think about it. I'm so sorry." She hung her head and grimaced before taking a cleansing breath. The others shared a look before staring down the road.
"How the heck did he.."
"Hey!" Peter said, suddenly popping up behind them. The girls shrieked, and Twilight charged her hooves with magic and bucked him.
"Mm."
"Peter?!" Twilight exclaimed when they finally turned and registered who it was.
"Mm." He replied, slowly falling to his hands and knees.
"How'd you get back on land?!" Quilt cried, abandoning her cheese to wrap her forelegs around his neck.
"Mm." He replied, curling up on the ground.
"Why'd you sneak up on us?!" Cozy snarled, threatening him with her cutie-fix which he weakly held a hand up against.
"Mhm," he took a deep breath and sighed. "Sorry." The girls shared a look before Twilight helped him to his feet.
"So, how'd you get back on land?" She asked once he was upright. He cleared his throat and sighed again.
"Yeah, figured out I could teleport to what my Evil Eye sees," before she could express surprise at that, they noticed his bloody form and exclaimed in disgust.
"What happened out there?" Quilt gagged. Peter blinked at their revulsion and looked down.
"Actually, this happened once I made landfall," he countered with a smile. Twilight rolled her eyes and shot him with a spell that made all the blood vanish. "Hey, thanks."
"Remind me to teach you that spell if you're going to make a habit of that. But what did you even do?" He nodded and pointed back down the street.
"I helped Calaeno and the rest. I got a couple of guys mesmerized and getting them first aid stuff, and they asked me to check in on you," he met a perplexed stare from Dusty and smiled again. "Peter Harlow, friend of the princess here."
"Okay," Dusty said meekly. He held his smile for a moment before looking up.
"The fuck is that?" The girls looked back and saw to their horror, the fog monster was rolling towards them. Twilight growled and turned towards it.
"I think that fog is Candy, though I'm not sure how he managed to grow that huge. In any case, it's not just poison now, it's some kind of accelerated vampiric contagion. It's turning every creature it makes contact with into ghouls!"
"Hop and Mayor Stalward already got transformed," Dusty squeaked.
"Fucking asshole," Peter hissed in response. "What do we do about that?" Twilight hummed at the sight of what seemed to be a growing swarm of ghouls scurrying around Candy, taking note of the rain still falling and how it faintly cut through the monster's shape.
"I got it! If we can get to whatever Hop used to control the weather, we can let the sunlight purge the ghouls!" She turned to Peter. "Then we can use wind magic to push his fog around!"
"Like over the water?" Peter offered. "That'll probably take him down, or at least neutralize him so we can get rid of him."
"Or we can pin him and slice him up!" Cozy said, pulling her coat back over her knife and wagging her eyebrows.
"You're way too excited about that thing," Quilt said with a shudder before gnawing another chunk from her cheese wheel.
"He's a little too big for that, but we can decide how to destroy him once we deal with the potential horde of monsters running the streets," Twilight declared and turned toward the fog monster. "We need to find whatever Hop used to control the weather first." She looked up at Peter.
"Think those guys you said you've got would know where it is?"
It turned out they did. Hop kept a magic amulet in his apartment, under constant watch. If it had a name, none of my guys knew it, since Hop himself hadn't cared to read up on it, only that it could keep the region stormy and let him whip up a gale to drive off anyone he didn't like.
"So what's the plan?" Calaeno huffed as her wound was being properly dressed. Twilight looked severely at me.
"I'm going to try and get the amulet. Peter, I want you to try and thin the ghouls before they hurt anypony else," she turned to Cozy and Sunbeam. "And I want you two to try and keep them from advancing this way." Twilight turned to my mesmerized gang.
"Do you know where Hop kept ponies or other creatures he didn't like?"
"Oh yeah, up at the police station," the unicorn stitching Calaeno replied. Twilight sighed in relief.
"That's near where I'm going, so chances are we'll be able to keep those monsters from hurting anypony Hop locked up," she turned back to Cozy. "Cozy, please let Peter take your knife for a little bit." Cozy wilted and whined.
"Bu' whyyyy?" She cried, drawing and cradling it.
"It'll let him quickly cut down the ghouls," Twilight explained, magically drawing my stakes from my belt. "You'll have all these as a precaution, but with your warding totems, you and Sunbeam will be fine." Cozy and Sunbeam shared a look.
"Warding totems?" Sunbeam repeated. Cozy exclaimed in realization.
"Oh! You mean our cutie-fix-" She stopped dead with her mouth wide open before clamping it shut and glaring at me. I folded my arms and smiled.
I leered anxiously at the faerie iron blade. Even though the grip was ordinary wood and it didn't hurt to hold, it still felt like I was balancing something scalding hot in my hand and if I let it slip it would sear my skin off. Every little movement I made with it produced a high-pitched whine in my ears, and even under the dark clouds, it had a glow that was almost distracting.
I took a deep breath and looked ahead. Candy was making his way towards us, looking like a thirty-foot-tall crimson grim reaper with dozens of chattering and biting monsters all around him.
"You ready?" Twilight asked. I nodded, and she spread her wings. "Let's move."
We both shot forward, flying as fast as her wings and my.. whatever it was would let us move. As we raced towards them, Candy and his ghouls lurched forward and sped towards us as well. At least until he saw me.
The ghouls kept their pace, but Candy stopped and swirled in place until he was upright again, staring at us. Staring at me. I gripped the knife with both hands as we closed with the ghouls and I swear I saw his fog shudder. Then right as the first monster was close enough to pounce at us, Twilight teleported and I swung.
The ghoul pony in the red coat hit the ground in two pieces before I even realized I'd made contact. The knife had cut through his face and then body like a hot knife in soft butter. Candy definitely shuddered that time. Three more ghouls were on me, and again as I swung I felt no resistance and they fell to pieces.
The horde kept coming, and I flew straight up before reaching down with my magic and yanking a handful of them into the air after me, mostly those who had jumped up at me and then flew down dragging the knife with me and scything them apart. I landed amid the horde, and they all leaped at me. A quick spin with all my might ended their assault in an instant.
I looked around and realized how many I'd sliced apart. They weren't dead but were all lying in the street writhing and hissing quietly. The last six were running away towards..
"OH shit," I yelled and raced after them, teleporting to cut them off before they got to the diamond dog who had opened his window to see what was happening. I cut left and right and then turned to the dog once the ghouls were down, pointing the knife right at him. "Close it." He blinked and slowly, deliberately, slid his window shut before pulling the blinds down. I sighed and turned to face the fog.
Candy was just floating there, studying me. I brought the knife up and pointed it at him.
"Make it easy on yourself. Change back and surrender," I demanded.
"Fuck you, bitch," he replied in an echoing faint voice. I flinched.
"We can talk while mist?" He tilted his head. At first, I thought he was confused by my question. But then I realized he was looking at the window behind me. Because he smiled and then shot backward away from me and towards a different housing block. Before I could process what he was doing, he was already slipping through the cracks of their windows and doors. I sucked air through my teeth and huffed out a growl before racing at him and taking a swing, which he avoided by forming a hole in his fog around me causing me to fly through and slam into the wall. "Fucker!" I rolled to my feet standing on the wall just in time to hear the telltale sounds of ghouls from inside. I looked up at him.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Spreading the misery," he hissed back, his head slithering down to meet me at eye level. "Sweetheart thinks I just need someone to help me work through my fucked up headspace, but I don't care anymore. I'd rather-" I teleported into his face and swept the knife around me, drawing a wide gash all through his head. He rushed away with a shrieking wail, dragging all the fog with him, spiraling through the air like a whirlwind, and then back west. I landed and was about to take off after him, when my Evil Eye went off and I turned to mist as a trio of ghouls tried to tackle me, with more scrambling down the hall towards me.
Twilight flew over the city towards the block Candy's lab had been, since apparently it was only one row south of Hop's dwelling. As she banked right and dove towards the street, she saw what must have been the town hall, but all around it were buildings identical to each other. Luckily, a gathering of Hop's ponies and other creatures, and the police were gathered out front.
"Any clue what she's doing up there?" A larger police stallion asked one of the pirates.
"No clue, but she shot Wats when he tried to kick her out!" The police pony snorted and looked at another officer.
"Head down to the lab. Mayor Stalwart was supposed to be back by now," the officer saluted before his superior addressed the rest. "The rest of you come with me. Queen or no, she can't just-" It was at that moment that Twilight landed nearby.
"Excuse me!" She said as she trotted up. The pirates and police all shared a look before giving her their attention.
"Well, well, well!" The police stallion chortled as they surrounded Twilight. "Look who it is."
"Hello!" Twilight chirped. "Can you show me which-"
"We got you now," an Abyssinian declared with a laugh.
"What?" Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked around her. The stallion snorted and stepped up to her.
"Nowhere for you to hide this time," he snapped out his wings and sneered in her face. She blinked and then jolted.
"Oh! You misunderstood," she waved her hoof at the group. "I wasn't running because I was scared. This whole time, I've only seen one creature with anti-magic equipment, after all." They all shared a look, but before the stallion could say anything, her horn dimly glowed and a chill shot through the air.
"I was running because I couldn't handle you all and keep my team and friends safe. It's just not logistically feasible," she turned back to the stallion with a flat glare. The air became charged, and the Abyssinian's fur stood on end. "They aren't as in sync with me as the girls are, even though they're all plenty talented." She stepped closer to the stallion who stammered and tried to retort.
"Plus, we didn't come here for mindless violence against a bunch of street toughs like you. You made that decision for us," she said with a dangerous tone, matching the pressure that now bore down on the gang. Then she smiled. "But they're safe now, so I don't have to worry and can give you all the attention you want! Also, if you didn't hear, your vampire just killed Hop. So he's not paying you guys anymore." She frowned and effortlessly pulled the stallion closer with her magic.
"So anything that's about to happen is on your time."
Pinkie idly pawed at the salt circle's edge while Rarity finished arranging the blankets and pillows their friends had set inside with her.
"Can you still hear him?" Fluttershy asked. Pinkie shook her head, earning a relieved sigh from the yellow pegasus.
"What the heck was he even saying?" Rainbow asked as she sat on the comfy pile to Rarity's annoyance. Pinkie shrugged and rolled onto her back.
"He was just ranting, it didn't make any sense!" She waved her hoof through the air, before going limp. "I was just saying he should let us help him.."
"And I believe that is precisely why he reacted this way," Celestia replied as she stepped into Pinkie's room. While all her friends stood and bowed, Pinkie just weakly waved.
"Heya, princess," she greeted sadly, before looking up at the alicorn. "What'dja mean by that?" Celestia laid down outside the circle nearest to Pinkie.
"As I told you, he has forgotten so much of what it is to be happy that all he is left with is his grief and what empty vices or habits he embraced in life to quell that grief," she looked to the window as she spoke with a distant, somber expression. "For a time, they must have served just fine so long as he took to them in excess. But then he made a critical error." She looked at Pinkie with sorrow in her eyes, causing the pony to roll over to meet her gaze.
"He chose to bind his mind with the Element of Laughter herself. In the face of your indomitable joy and eagerness to spread that joy to others, he was ceaselessly and helplessly barraged with what he has lost, and what he is reduced to," she took a long, shuddering breath and looked to the window again. "And that has destroyed him, at last."
"He couldn't stop me, so I'm after your friend again. Ain't that grand? ... Nothing to say? No 'pick me up' to hurl my way?How 'bout a joke? Nothing? Huh? Hey. D'jya finally give up? Bitch. Don't fucking ignore me now."
"Welp! Here we are, your Majesty!" The officer declared, gesturing down the hall. Unlike the other buildings Twilight had seen in Shang-hay, this one only had one door on the right side of the hallway, which was broken inwards. "How else can I help you?" She shot the officer a glare, causing him to sweat.
"Why's it open?" He nervously laughed in response.
"Chrysalis and her changelings just broke in. Not sure why," he smiled and chuckled. "We, uh, were going to confront her before you, uh, well.." Twilight furrowed her brow but walked to the door.
"Good luck then!" He called before scrambling back below. Twilight looked through the door frame and huffed at what she saw. While every dwelling she'd seen was just cold and miserable, Hop's apartment, which was expanded to fill up the entire floor and the one above it, was finely carpeted, decorated with golden and gem-encrusted furniture, and seemed to have either magical or mechanical air conditioning.
A fact the host of changelings lounging inside, leering at her, seemed to be enjoying to the fullest. Her coat bristled and she snapped her wings, before stepping over the threshold, getting a better look at the place. What would have been a set of apartments above this one was now a loft that wrapped around the room, where more changelings glared down at her. There was a private bar, a wall dedicated to weapons, a painting of Hop himself which was smashed to the ground, and a luxurious cloud bed at the far end of the room, upon which Chrysalis rested, toying with a glowing amulet in the shape of a lightning bolt.
"Well, well, little Twilight Sparkle, finally right where I want her," the queen tittered, her attention solely on the amulet. The changelings around them laughed as well while Twilight approached Chrysalis.
"What in the world happened back there?" Twilight asked, causing Chrysalis to finally look at her. "What happened to the vampire?" Chrysalis hummed and flipped the amulet in her magic.
"He went mad, I think. Not sure why," she rolled onto her back and sneered at Twilight. "But he fused with some horrid concoction in his lab and tried to attack me. ME!" She draped her foreleg over her eyes and moaned. Twilight sat at the foot of the bed.
"What did he even say? Were you two fighting or what?" Chrysalis growled and rolled upright.
"The sea rat and I were demanding an explanation for why he poisoned our loyal soldiers instead of fighting you," she jabbed a hoof at Twilight and rolled it in the air. "He complained about getting hurt by some sheep you had with you."
"That'd be Cozy," Twilight nodded and hummed. "He must not be used to getting injured." She glanced up at Chrysalis and the amulet.
"I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to see you here. What's up with that?" She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Are you also helping Adam?" Chrysalis huffed dismissively.
"I never met Adam, only heard of him. That traitorous alchemist and I made a pact instead. I would offer my changelings to their purposes, and they would help me build a new hive. The alchemist even suggested he could produce a potion that could feed us like love does."
"And I'm certain you planned to keep up your end of the bargain," Twilight accused, earning a subdued laugh from the changeling.
"You know me so well~" she sneered and lowered her horn, drifting the amulet right into Twilight's face. "Truthfully, I had intended to disrupt that little sea rat's amulet and let the sun deal with them, which I suspect you're aiming to do as well."
"He's turning everypony into ghouls out there, so yes," Chrysalis yanked the amulet back, despite the fact Twilight's eyes stayed locked on her.
"Well, maybe I'll hold to it until he's turned you and those fools you brought with you to ghouls too, hm?" Chrysalis bore a toothy smile but frowned when Twilight shrugged.
"If you think that's best, but I'm not in any danger of that," she raised an eyebrow. "Your changelings are though." Chrysalis sat up and scowled.
"What do you mean?" Twilight smiled at her.
"Alicorns can't be changed, since vampirism is a form of arcane apotheosis, which they've already endured," she squinted and looked upwards in thought. "Which I think is similar to what you went through when you became a Queen." She looked at Chrysalis expectantly, but she held her scowl.
"Anyhow, since you and I, if I'm right about you, are already changed his contagion won't be able to affect us, just like it can't affect a vampire," she gestured to the changelings in the room. "But all of them are still at risk. So you should really consider giving me the amulet now." She looked dead at Chrysalis with a subdued glare. Chrysalis met her stare for a moment before laughing.
"Oh, please! If Candy, or Franklin, or whatever he's calling himself were after us, I'd know!" Twilight nodded and smiled again.
"Right! Cause ascended creatures can feel when the Evil Eye is on them!" She stood and leaned towards Chrysalis. "But not when it's on other creatures, unfortunately for you." She turned and looked at the changelings around her.
"If any of you want to live, you should run away now," Chrysalis snarled, but the changelings laughed.
"Run away?! Don't make me laugh!"
"You heard the queen! He can't do anything to us!"
"You and the traitor Thorax are finished!"
"I tried," Twilight shrugged and vanished in a flash of light. Chrysalis balked and rose with a hiss.
"Where-"
"GET BACK HERE!" The apartment was suddenly consumed as huge amounts of crimson fog roared into the room, swirling over the entire floor and then racing out the front door. Chrysalis coughed and hacked and shook her head, before looking up to see her changelings writhing and hissing, before they turned to leer at her. Her mouth hung open and her eyes darted left and right as they slowly shuddered and began buzzing their wings.
"Clever girl."
Twilight circled above the apartment as Candy's mist roared out and then up at her, the entire mass taking on the shape of a gnawing angry skull. She took a breath and then shot down into the mouth of the mass before unleashing an explosive burst of magic that blasted him apart.
"BITCH!" He boomed around her as she flew straight back down, teleporting to cut the distance. Already, green blasts of magic were tearing through the walls, and once she was level with one of the upper-floor windows, she blasted her way in and flew straight at Chrysalis, who was still on the bed and firing beams wildly at the changeling ghouls around her.
Instead of tackling her, Twilight blasted her in the face and rolled over her as she lurched, catching the amulet off the bed in her magic and then sliding to a halt on the floor.
"YOU!" Chrysalis roared and she used the momentum of Twilight's attack to lunge at her. Twilight teleported past her, causing the queen to slam into a quartet of ghouls who immediately dogpiled onto her. "NO!" Chrysalis screamed as they pinned her, though they were unable to do her any lasting harm. Twilight bounced on the cloud bed and shot straight up in the air giving the angry fog that was Candy a perfect view of her as he charged in through the window. He flew straight at her and then she teleported again. The fog swirled and boiled, blinding everyone in the room.
Outside, at street level, Twilight was already racing back to where she'd left Peter. She spared a glance back and saw Candy was already after her again, denying her a chance to deal with the magic of the amulet. Fortunately, as she suspected, he was, for whatever reason, focused on her. So, except for the changelings, he wasn't turning anyone else.
Ghouls are a pain in the ass and Candy is a fucking prick.
Half the building had been turned and come out to play, with the other half doing the wise thing and keeping their doors locked. A couple of Abyssinian chaps were still pretty agile despite being undead and managed to put up enough of a fight by dodging and weaving that the ones I'd already sliced up were able to reform. This led to my getting dog-piled a second ago, and one of them wrestling the knife out of my hand.
As with Boss so long ago, they couldn't hurt me, but the sheer number meant they could match my strength. This'd be a problem for past me. Current me turned into mist and slipped between them, before reforming and shooting the pile with fire and lightning. That kept them distracted and stunned just long enough for me to see the knife and take it back with my magic. I hovered in place, contemplating what to do about the pile of living anger.
"There he is!" I looked up and saw a gaggle of changelings buzzing above me. They zoomed down and surrounded me from a safe distance. "Let's see how tough you are in an open space!"
"You serious?" Before they could answer, I popped up in one's face and mesmerized them when they jolted back. The rest attacked all at once, colliding with each other when I teleported me and my changeling to the rooftop next to us. I patted my changeling on the head as we watched the cluster fall to the ground. "You guys ain't too bright, huh?"
"The queen likes it that way," they responded, humming as the ghouls finally recovered and attacked the changelings below.
"Stay here," I ordered, earning a chitter in response before leaping down and gliding towards the scuffle.
"Peter!" I stopped in mid-air and turned to see Twilight race around the corner toward me, with a funky little lightning bolt amulet in her magical grip. Then the fog exploded out after her. I changed course and zoomed past Twilight, which caused Candy to try and lurch away but it was too late and I sliced him again. He bellowed in pain and flowed away.
"Keep him off me! I need a sec to break the amulet!" Twilight yelled as she flew up to the roof where I'd left my changeling.
"Hello!" I heard them greet her. There was a pause.
"Did Peter get you?"
"Yep!"
"Okay."
I threatened Candy with the knife, and he swirled a good twenty feet back, before returning to his full height. We held our standoff for a moment before he shuddered again and began to shrink. I drifted down to the ground, thinking he was changing back to his human form, but then saw he was vanishing up some kind of narrow water outlet where the street met the sidewalk.
"Got it!" Twilight yelled and a dull boom echoed, followed by a ripple through the air. "Get to cover! I'm breaking the clouds!" I turned to mist and flowed up to her side.
"He just ducked into some kind of sewage thing, I think." I tried to say. But nothing came out, revealing talking as mist was a Candy thing. Twilight just nodded at me and focused. Her horn lit up and then blasted the clouds, which rippled with purple lightning for a moment, before bursting apart, letting the evening sun roll out over the city.
In the smoking wreckage of Calaeno's ship, ignored by friend and foe alike once the hunt had been declared, there was a stir. Slowly, the ruined roof of what was the cabin cracked and fell to the side. A series of coughs and groans followed it. More ruined timber was pushed off and finally, a stubby clawed hand breached the open air.
Slowly, Verko dragged himself up, rubbing his head, then stumbling over and rolling down the pile of wreckage to the street below.
"Geez'a'loo..." he whimpered. He winced and reached up, plucking a chunk of wood that had stabbed him out of his shoulder, rubbing the wound as it healed. Then he blinked and looked at his hands. "I'm alive.."
He smiled and climbed to his feet, clenching his fists, and punching them both in the air as the rain rolled down his face.
"I'M ALIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!" His cheer echoed out, but was overtaken by the boom of the clouds peeling back and then by the roar of the sunlight incinerating him where he stood.
The sunlight made quick work of the ghouls below us, leaving behind a pile of dusty, exhausted, injured, and irritated changelings. I however had more pressing things on my mind.
"Peter, stop!" Twilight giggled, waving my mist away with a hoof as I tried to get her attention. I swirled around her again and then flowed to the floor below us. Fortunately, it was shielded from the sun so I was able to change shape.
"Twilight! Candy dipped down a storm drain-looking thing," I yelled.
"What?" She replied as she and the changeling hopped down to my level. "But all the water flows to the shore. There shouldn't be any storm drains." I furrowed my brow.
"Follow me, I'll show you," she nodded and I turned back to mist, leading her down to the street, around the changelings who cast weak threats her way, and to the thin hole in the street. She leaned close and examined it for a moment.
"Water's flowing out of this, not in.." She hummed and grimaced. "Smells kind of bad, too."
"Wastewater?" My changeling offered at which Twilight gasped.
"Has to be!" She studied the street closely for a moment, specifically a small crease where the sidewalk met the road. "Look at the way the stone is set, there's absolutely a channel here for it!"
"Bit unsanitary," I thought. Twilight tapped her chin as she contemplated this before adopting a distant stare.
"Peter, get us back to Dusty."
We stared down the hatch Dusty had opened in the corner of the apartment.
"Every apartment has these?" Twilight asked.
"The low-income ones, yeah," Dusty explained with a grumpy blush. "And they all use the same pipes to those water holes in the street like you asked. They get flushed with rain water once a week to let all the icky stuff out." Twilight whipped around to look at her.
"And the water outlets are all connected?" Dusty blinked and shuffled her hooves.
"Yeah? I think so." I held my hands on my head and turned to our team who were giving us both an expectant, critical stare.
"He's in the sewers and has access to every apartment in the fucking city."
"Including this one," Twilight added as she slammed the hatch door shut. Dusty held her hoof up to her mouth with a squeak, while Cozy and Sunbeam quickly drew their cutie-fixes. Calaeno, who was on her feet despite still being injured studied the hatch.
"What's the plan?" She finally asked. I paced the floor, trying to scan for Candy with my Evil Eye to no avail when my attention fell on Hasty and the other wounded. He was awake and weakly looked up at me with a smile.
"We need to evacuate the building, first off," I declared.
"Same goes for the city," Twilight added, she stepped to the center of the room next to me. "And I think the easiest way to do that is to use Hop's speaker machine." She nudged me and pointed at my three mesmerized pirates.
"Where can we find that?" I asked. One of the dogs held up his paw.
"He keeps it in his home. Needs to be hooked up first."
"Do any of you know how to do that?" Calaeno asked and the dog nodded. Capper grimaced and stood up, leaning on the wall for support.
"Great, but now how're we going to get anyone to listen? Pretty sure the townies only do what Hop told 'em to, y'know?" A contemplative silence followed until Twilight stamped a hoof and pointed at my changeling.
"We have Hop right here!" She declared. The changeling blinked and looked around before jolting and changing into what I presumed was Hop's form.
"Bingo!" Calaeno cheered. "And while we're at it, let's have those losers in the fleet at the shore take a hike." Twilight tapped her chin in thought and slowly nodded.
"Alright, you two are coming with me. Peter, you help get everypony out of here, then get Sunbeam and Cozy to us," she pointed to the changeling and the diamond dog.
"Why us?" Cozy asked before kicking my leg. "Gimme my knife back." I held up my hands and slowly returned it to her. She cooed and cradled it before slipping it into her coat.
"Because I get the feeling once Candy realizes we're evacuating the city, he's going to return to his initial target," Twilight held a hoof to her chest. "Me. It'll be the perfect chance to finally pin him down and slay him."
"Hey!" Cozy squealed as her knife was taken from her coat by Blueblood's magic. He held up a hoof before she could attack him and gave the blade a few experimental swings before sending it into an almost hypnotic whirlwind around him at speeds I couldn't even follow before stopping it stiffly straight in front of him. The entire performance created an echoing warble that ended in a dull pang which I felt as well as heard.
"Jesus," I winced.
"Whoa," Cozy squeaked.
"Do it again," Quilt huffed. Blueblood slowly inspected the knife and hummed.
"Very light. I'd like to offer my assistance if Ms. Cozy will lend me this weapon," he said giving the knife a twirl. Twilight blinked and stammered before nodding and turning back to the changeling.
"Alright, let's go over what you need to say."
The entire second story of Hop's dwelling was a mess, with holes blasted through the walls and the exterior walkway completely collapsed. The police and criminals Twilight had met earlier had all fled after her threat, the former group visibly barricaded inside the town hall while the latter were nowhere in sight.
"They must've skipped town once I told them Hop was dead," Twilight mused as she carried her companions to the building.
"Hop's dead?!" The dog cried. "Who's paying us then?!" Twilight rolled her eyes as they touched down in the hallway.
"Right now, you're working for Peter, remember?"
"Oh yeah!" With that out of the way, they crept up to the door and peeked inside. The giant suite was in worse shape than the outside. All the golden ornaments were shattered or melted, the bar was leaking all over the floor, and the cloud bed appeared to have evaporated into a thin haze that filled the room. The holes in the wall and ceiling let in plenty of light revealing large piles of ash all over the place.
Chrysalis was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Hop's speaker?" Twilight demanded as they moved inside. The dog led her to a closet at the base of the stairs, inside of which was a white box with a bundle of wires and a handheld ovoid device on a metal stick. The dog hefted up the whole assembly and tramped his way upstairs to the porch.
Or at least he would have had the porch not collapsed. As it was, the three of them stood at the threshold of a steep drop outside.
"Of course," Twilight grumbled, scanning the exterior of the building through the wide door. She spotted some severed wires hanging loosely. "Are those the connectors?" The dog looked over and hummed.
"I think so? They're usually in a metal box.." Twilight nodded in response and grabbed them in her magic. She closed her eyes as she held them.
"Alright.. Minotaur engineering, easy. I can do that," her eyes visibly darted around under her eyelids and she nodded again before opening them. "Show me how you usually connect it." Working together, Twilight delicately removed a few pieces from the speaker's wires and managed to twist them all together, causing a horrible squeal to echo across the whole city.
"That's a good sign, I think," the dog declared. His voice was heard over the whole city. The three shared a look and Twilight handed the speaker to the changeling, who took a breath and changed into Hop.
Once we had everyone outside, I did a second sweep of the alley to make damn good and certain there weren't any access points to the sewer system. Satisfied, I turned to the group.
"You three ready?" I asked Cozy and the other two, who nodded anxiously. Blueblood gave the knife a few more test swings before responding.
"More than ready, Master," he finally said, giving me a wry smile. I sat down next to Hasty and gently petted him.
"We're almost through, so try to hold it together," I said as he hummed in response. We all winced when a squeal echoed through the whole city.
"I think that's a good sign," the voice of the dog I'd sent with Twilight followed.
"Almost showtime," Calaeno declared. I snapped to my feet and pulled Cozy, Sunbeam, and Blueblood next to me as we waited and listened. Then, 'Hop' spoke.
"Change of plans folks! That scheming Chrysalis has sabotaged us! Gonna need every last one of you to get outside into the open air, then head for the airship port! She's pumping poison through the sewer, and I'd bet my last bit it's slipping its way up the pipes," I bent down and wrapped my arms around my team in preparation. "As for the captains flying uselessly out at the shoreline, get your rears in gear! I want you back at the port five minutes ago and ready to move on the lab! You know which one. That's where she's holed up. And to our loyal protectors in the police force, I recommend you get moving as well! She's got the mayor. Commodore Hop, signing off!" The squeal rang out again followed by a pop.
"Ah! It's on fire!" Twilight screamed. I nodded as the feed cut with a harsh crackle.
"Alright, let's-"
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" We all jolted and looked up to see an absolutely livid, pink mare with a yellow mane and squeaky voice stomping out into the street. "The outrageous taxes are one thing! I can live with the bad housing! Heck, some stupid squabble between his pirates and another crew leveling half a block I can rationalize!" She stamped her hooves and blew steam from her nostrils.
"But now he's messing with my TOILET?!" She ground her teeth and snarled.
"You said it!" A diamond dog came out brandishing a club. "We put up with Hop too long!"
"And after all our spying for him, he dares betray the queen?!" A unicorn stallion added before turning into a changeling.
"Ungrateful son of a so-and-so!" The pink mare replied with a firm nod. More and more angry locals came out, forming an ever growing mob.
"Let's burn his house down!" Someone shouted, to the cheers of the mob.
"And the town hall!" More cheers.
"And let's give Shang-hay to the queen!" More cheers.
"Come on!" The pink mare squealed from her perch atop a diamond dog's shoulders. The mob roared and stampeded their way to Hop's house presumably.
"Huh," Calaeno meekly said.
"We should go," Sunbeam declared firmly. I nodded and warped to Twilight, who was stomping out a fire on the edge of what must've once been a porch. The changeling and diamond dog, meanwhile, were working together to smash a sparking machine to pieces.
"Hey! Did it sound okay?" Twilight greeted with a hopeful smile.
"Yep. And everyone heard, I think," I replied.
"Everyone? Great! Now we can-"
"There's an angry mob on its way here," Cozy said. Twilight blanched and looked between us.
"Wh?" She peeped. There was a commotion just outside at that moment. We looked over the edge and saw the police mustering out front.
"Tally, get your squad to the lab! The rest of you are with me! Let's find out what's going on up there," The force split and a little less than half began flying up to our position.
"Uh oh," Twilight peeped before warping everyone out to a shaded alley below. She whirled around to face us. "What do you mean an angry mob?!"
"It seems the locals have finally had enough of Hop's behavior," Blueblood explained. "They're on their way here to burn down his house and the town hall."
"They also might be surrendering to Chrysalis," I added. Twilight stared in disbelief at us before shaking her head.
"Problems for later. For now, at least they're outside and mobile, so the chances of Candy turning anypony are smaller," she looked back at the town hall. "Though we should probably let all the prisoners out first. Can you track Candy with your Evil Eye?" She looked up at me and hummed when I shook my head.
"I haven't been able to get a bead on him this whole time." She narrowed her eyes and tapped her chin before exclaiming.
"Chrysalis mentioned him going by Franklin, so maybe that's his real name?" I pursed my lips and cast my Evil Eye out, looking for Franklin instead of Candy. And I got a hit.
"Oh, shit."
"What?" Cozy asked.
"Let the prisoners out, then get to Calaeno and the rest," was all I offered before teleporting between Frank and our friends, as he was creeping towards them from above. "Fuck you!" I roared and threw my arms at him, dragging the wind across and hurling his fog to the street.
"Whoa!" Calaeno yelled, an exclamation the rest parroted once they noticed his presence. I grabbed the air and swept my arms up, creating a spin which I then worked to suck up more and more of his fog until I had a whirlwind booming and roaring in the middle of the street.
"Got you bitch!" I cackled as I clutched the air and rolled my tornado up to keep his fog form completely encased. He yelled something back, but it was silenced by the roar of the wind.
"Peter!" Quilt squealed as the tornado was starting to drag everyone but me towards it.
"Hang on!" I slowed the wind, but Candy immediately started boiling and hissing upwards. I thrust my arms down and flattened him against the ground. I thrashed the wind back and forth to try and sweep him up again, but he was starting to break free. Then he changed back to his human form and hurled himself into the alley across from us, rolling on the ground to put out the beginnings of a fire on his body.
I grabbed him with magic and started pulling him towards the sunlight, which he fought with all his might. He dug his fingers into the brickwork of one of the buildings and drove his feet into the ground, casting a desperate, hate-filled glare my way.
"C'mon! Get him!" Calaeno cheered. I growled, put my hands forward, and pulled again, making only a little progress. Cracks were forming under my feet as the team cheered me on. I leaned back, held up mostly by the invisible chains tied between my arms and his whole body. Little by little, he slid forward, leaving trenches and groves in the masonry. Then he smiled and my Evil Eye twitched.
He let go of the wall and let himself get thrown towards us, turning into fog and then hurtling towards us as I fell flat on my ass with a gasp. I swept one arm out, sending a pillar of wind at him, which he split around and continued his speedy approach unabated. Hearing Quilt scream, I dragged the wind back at us and swept everyone out of the alley into the street, including myself, just as he crashed down where we had been.
There were some cries of discomfort at the sudden and rough treatment, but I barely heard them over my own cry of pain as the sun hit me. I panicked and teleported to the first thing my Eye latched on to, which was Candy. I rolled out the fire that was building on me amid his fog form before lying on my back and looking up at him, panting and wincing. He swirled around me, forming a skull to leer down at me.
"How's it feel knowing you can't keep me off them forever?"
"'Forever' wasn't in the equation. Just long enough," I huffed.
"Long enough for what?" Instead of answering, I swept my arms over and rolled, blasting him with wind again and sending him out into the street once more. I shot up and started working the wind around him into another whirl. As we resumed our struggle, I checked with my Evil Eye and smiled.
"Long enough for this," Twilight appeared above him at that moment, and threw her own magic alongside mine, allowing me to let the spell go. As she did, Cozy and Blueblood came running, while Sunbeam circled overhead. The two vampire slayers brandished their cutie-fixes at him, one from above and the other from below, which earned a hissing wail from the fog. They moved in tandem to corral him closer and closer to the ground, and Twilight worked the wind to keep him there, forming an ever-shrinking dome of air around him. Unlike my spell, she had enough control to keep it from sucking anyone else in.
Then Blueblood stepped up and gave a few test stabs at the dome, before driving the knife in with his magic and sending it hacking and slashing all around.
It was a strange thing to see, but with Twilight keeping his full mass locked down, and Cozy and Sunbeam warding him towards Blueblood, the knife was actually shredding his fog down, and amidst the howls and screams that we could actually hear over the wind, I saw his fog form shrinking and shrinking.
Then he turned human again, started to smoke under the sun, ripped a chunk of rock from the road, and hurled it at Twilight right as Blueblood cleaved his arm off. She tumbled out of the way, ruining the spell and he launched himself back to the alley.
Where I teleported and wrapped my arms around him. He howled and wept and thrashed in my grip as I slammed us both to the ground.
"NO! NO!"
"STAKE HIM!" I yelled. Cozy was already in position and punched one of her stakes into his stomach, followed immediately by Blueblood who slid next to us and swept the knife with surgical precision across his throat. The whine of the knife was the only sound for a moment, until Candy's head slowly rolled off me, and his body went limp.
I pushed him off me and stood up. His ghost was curled up and gnawing at his fist muttering and whimpering. Though I was the only one who could see him, the others could hear him once they got closer.
"Is he.. is he alright?" Twilight asked, studying the body. I cracked my neck and lit a ball of fire in my hand.
"Probably not, but can't say I care anymore."
"Hey hey hey! Lookit that! You called it. Your friends took me down! How's it feel? The bad guy gets got! Fuck me forever!"
The fire roared around him as it consumed his paralyzed body. He felt nothing except the link between him and Pinkie begin to grow fuzzy.
"Not like I asked for this! Not like anyone ever asked what I wanted! I was just doing the best with what I had! You mighta thought you were giving me a choice, but it's the same bullshit dad used to throw my way."
His vision was engulfed by the fire and he felt himself growing drowsy.
"You only cared because I was hurting people. Because I was doing bad things. Cause that makes you feel better by comparison. Better than ME. But you're not. You-"
"Franky? What's going on, what's this weirdy warbly feeling? Are you okay?"
..
"Sorry, Franky, I was in a salty circle 'cause you were being really loud. But then this weird loopy WOOSH feeling happened and I thought you got hurt, so I hopped out of it. Are you okay? You didn't hurt Twilight did you?" The fire popped and her voice grew distant.
..
"No, she's fine. Sorry, Sweetheart. Sorry."
His ghost went still and then disappeared as the fire swallowed his body completely. Quilt and Calaeno had made their way over while I burned him, visibly disturbed by the angry muttering we all heard.
"That's.. Was that normal?" Calaeno murmured. Cozy hopped next to her and nudged her.
"Nah, the last one laughed about it, right Sunbeam?" Sunbeam laughed and nodded. The fire roared and I cut the spell.
"Speaking of last time, step back," I held my arms out as the fire went black and then raced into me. Quilt held her stomach and collapsed.
"What the squawk?!" Calaeno yelled as she stumbled back.
"Amazing," Twilight quietly declared.
"Spooky," Cozy tilted her head as the tail end of the darkness vanished. I clenched and unclenched my fists and then sighed as a frigid chill danced up and down my skin. I blinked and looked down at Quilt who was nursing her stomach.
"Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah, I just-" Everything went grey.
"What?" I looked around, and everyone was frozen. Before I could move, a chill raced up my spine again.
"Child."
A deep, bassy drone filled my ears. The grey light around me darkened and the noise grew louder.
"Child."
I slowly looked back and saw a black abyss swallowing up the city and getting closer. As it approached, a white bony claw appeared at its base and drew the darkness back like a sheet, revealing a pair of white lights and a second identical claw that reached out for me.
"Child."
The claw gently clutched my jaw and pulled the entire mass closer, until the lights loomed over me, revealing the silhouette of a faintly equine face.
"Come to me."
The first claw let the darkness fall over me, and then slowly came to rest between the lights and my face before pointing to my left.
"Come to me."
It tightened its grip and forced me to look. The darkness slowly peeled back and I saw a lonely mountain racing towards us. At its base was a black door with ornate red engravings all over it. The droning was unbearable.
"Set me free."
"Peter?" And then it was over. I blinked and uneasily turned to look down at Quilt, who was tugging at my leg. "You okay?" I considered what I had just seen, and the fact that whatever it was spoke with my own voice.
The summer morning light lit up the conference room in a warm glow that at any other time would have been a comfort to the world leaders, especially after yesterday's good news from Pinkie about the severing of her bond. But as they again sat around the table with their attention resting upon the seven individuals before them, many of them felt only discomfort. Except for Gruff, who had fallen asleep.
"I don't think any of us would be against your assistance," Apollon said with his arms crossed, occasionally glancing to his side at the trembling Panthera, who rested his elbows on the table with his paw on his head and clenched teeth bared. "Most of us anyway." The white Persian Abyssinian in the pinstripe suit nodded and adjusted his shawl before inspecting his claws.
"And we are most certainly prepared to contribute our considerable resources and talented individuals to your every undead need," he looked straight at Celestia with a smile. "But as they say, if you're good at something never do it for free." The princess furrowed her brow and looked at the others at the table.
"I suppose we could at least hear what you want. Would anyone be opposed?" Panthera pounded his fists on the table, which jolted Gruff awake with a squawk.
"Of course I am!" Panthera cried.
"I'll take ten!" Gruff added, blinking and looking about at everyone staring at him. "What?" Ember rolled her eyes and pointed at Panthera.
"What's your problem with this guy?" She jabbed her thumb back at the smiling Persian. Panthera clenched his claws and held them towards her.
"My problem is this is obviously a ploy for revenge! Bubsy is still angry I cut their funding, and now he's planning to subvert my authority!" He rose from his seat and swept his arms around the room. "And he's trying to get all of your support to do it!" His wild, angry eyes fell on Bubsy, who held a bemused smile. Panthera hissed through his teeth, but Celestia raised a wing at him.
"Please, let's just hear what Lord Bubsy has to say." The Abyssinian king continued to glare but slowly relaxed into his seat. Celestia turned to Bubsy, who smiled and nodded.
"What we desire is global recognition and support, starting with each nation represented here," he gave a wide gesture to the table, but then his eyes fell upon Graggle and Tangle. "And our preferred first step is an invitation to join this coalition, replacing the compromised Woollachia." Graggle narrowed his eyes and folded his paws while the rest of the table jolted.
"What?!" Tangle squealed.
"Oh, it's just the sheep," Panthera huffed and he sank back in his seat with a laugh. Tangle and Celestia glanced at him, once angrier than the other before turning back to Bubsy.
"What in the world do you mean 'compromised?!'" Tangle demanded, stamping her hoof.
"I mean it in the same way I mean this entire coalition is compromised, of course," he looked at Ember in surprise when she growled loudly and hissed steam between her fangs.
"And what do you mean by that?" She snarled. The four Catican soldiers behind him grasped their weapons, but Bubsy held up his paws.
"This coalition was formed for two reasons: first, to provide defense against the remnant of the Storm King's army, correct?" He looked around the table and nodded. "Then second, to destroy the undead he employed and any spawn they might produce." He looked at Graggle with a glare before slowly shifting to Celestia.
"And yet the Woollachians keep one such abomination in their care, and this coalition turns a blind eye to its existence."
"Peter Harlow is no abomination," Celestia replied.
"Perhaps not in deed, but in nature he is, and categorically at that," he raised an eyebrow with a wry smile. "Regardless of your feelings on the matter." Coal folded his arms as Celestia considered the Abyssinian.
"Nature alone is a tricky thing to base the entirety of judgment upon, but even then you have only the barest understanding of his nature," she declared coolly. Bubsy nodded and clasped his paws together.
"Yes, I understand he is very well-behaved and very polite as it would seem, but it is foolish to believe that will last," he stepped closer to the table. "Our investigations and agents in the field have returned with the notion that Peter Harlow is nourished by the Woollachian public's donation of farm animal blood and blood taken from wild beasts in the woods. Is that correct?" He gestured to Graggle and Tangle, the latter of whom sheepishly nodded, while the former only studied him carefully. Bubsy nodded and again faced the whole table.
"A fine plan, but only for a little while and only while the public is compliant. What happens when the farmers are no longer able or willing to donate to your pet vampire's diet?" Celestia closed her eyes and nodded.
"There are other avenues through which Peter-"
"Feeding a bloodsucker is already heinous enough, but for the ruler of a country to do so with her ponies?" He accused with a raised eyebrow. Celestia paused and then looked him in the eyes.
"I will urge you once to consider yourself and your words more carefully." Bubsy bowed deep before he continued.
"My lady, we have considered much already. And our consideration details an infinite number of terrible outcomes to this ploy you engage in," he studied Celestia critically for a moment, meeting her silent glare. "Even you can not divine all futures. We meanwhile have logic and reason by which we prepare ourselves." He drew himself up with a sigh and held out his paw.
"There may come a time when you and those like you are no longer alive to support the nosferatu. And what then?" He looked across the table at each delegate. "Shall the world inherit the eternal pain of this coalition's decision?" He faced Celestia again.
"Shall he have to live long enough to lose himself to his wicked hunger?" The other coalition members looked between them. The two held each other's eyes and the room seemed to chill before Celestia hummed.
"I believe you've said enough. We must discuss the Catican's offer." Bubsy's smile widened, and he chuckled quietly before reaching into his coat.
"Well, with your permission, I will remain in Canterlot for a few days before returning to the Katskills," he produced a set of black candles which he gently placed on the table before Celestia. "Should any of you find a need after that, you may contact me with these." Celestia nodded and he bowed before turning to one of his attendants who handed him his cane and hat. The group then slipped to the door without another word. Celestia considered the candles before her, noting that their number was two shy compared to the coalition representatives.
"So?" Celestia looked up at Panthera who was the focus of everyone's attention now. He looked around and pointed at Graggle and Tangle. "What's the plan?" The coalition shared a look before Candance shook her head.
"What do you mean?" She asked. Panthera shrugged and gestured at Tangle.
"I mean, we might not be on the best terms, but if the Catican's interested in fighting for the coalition, they're not a bad ally to have," he replied. Apollon rolled his eyes, while Celestia grasped the candle in her magic.
"Such a valued ally you kicked 'em to the curb," he snorted. Panthera growled and pointed at him.
"Different times!" Apollon waved a claw dismissively.
"Doesn't change the fact he's asking us to boot out one of our allies," he leaned into his chair and folded his arms. "However good their hunters are, that's a heck of an ask." Celestia turned the candle over in her grasp, focusing solely on it.
"Not necessarily," she blinked and looked over to see Tangle with her hoof to her chin. "And it is something we were discussing back in Woollachia." Graggle hummed and drew his paw over his eyes, while Tangle looked up at the delegates.
"It seems like most of the Catican's problems aren't with Woollachia or the coalition. Just with Peter," she nodded solemnly. Cadance looked at her aunt, and her ears shot back at the look in her eyes, hidden behind a serene mask to any creature who wasn't family. Celestia's ear twitched and she turned to face Thorax just as he began to speak.
"So, if we remove Prince Harlow from the coalition and Woollachia's government, they'd still help us out?" The changeling pondered aloud, at which Ember grimaced.
"Sounds good to me!" Panthera chirped.
"You don't have that authority," Graggle moaned, rubbing his eyes. "But the Woollachian population will be having a vote on the matter soon. So-"
"They will destroy him." All eyes fell upon Celestia, who stared ahead at the door Bubsy left through. "They mean to remove him from our midst so that any harm that befalls him will not be taken as an act against us." Tangle's ears pressed against her skull, and she tapped her chin as everyone considered the princess' words.
"Would that be so wrong?" Novo offered. "He is still a vampire." Celestia did not turn to face her right away, instead taking a deep breath. Cadance wilted at the sight.
"If any of you stab Pete in the back, the United Cities will withdraw all support from this coalition and will nullify any trade agreements and land deals we have with the offending nation," Coal declared and pounded his fist on the table. Panthera squawked and shot up, while Apollon burst out in laughter. Celestia exhaled hard before turning to the panicking Abyssinian.
"Bu-bu-but! We just spent all that time on our black powder weapon contract! How're we supposed to defend against the Remnant's airships without them?!" Panthera screamed. Coal shrugged and jabbed a thumb at Ember.
"Phobia or no, you still have the dragons." Panthera wilted and looked at Ember, visibly shuddering as she grinned and wagged her claws at him. Coal leaned back in his seat. "The United Cities have survived without a king or emperor or anything like that for six centuries because instead of some goofy 'right to rule' being our basis for government, we lean on the contract." He held up one hand and began counting off with his fingers.
"Whether on paper, in stone, in wood, or through speech or a gift, a promise between two parties is everything. No minotaur will ever break his promise first," he folded his arms and snorted a heavy gout of steam. "And on behalf of the United Cities, I gave Peter Harlow a gift as a contract between us and him." He glared daggers at Panthera.
"So if you force the United Cities to break that contract, well," he cracked his neck. "That's just about the most heinous crime you can commit." Ember snickered as Panthera gulped and fell back into his seat. Coal stroked his beard and snorted again.
"If the Woollachians give him the boot, that's between him and them. But the United Cities have a contract with him to keep him employed. End of story."
"Besides," Ember leaned back in her seat and inspected her claws. "The guy showed up drunk and made a bunch of ballsy claims and promises. Then, once he sobered up, he still went out and did them anyway." She snapped her claws and looked at the rest of the table.
"Half the dragons I know woulda tried to wriggle out of the agreement, since, y'know, it was made while he was drunk."
"Yeah!" Cadance cheered, spreading her wings. "He ran off to help all of us out without a second thought! We can't just let some hokey mountain cat clan spit on that." She looked at every attendee as she made her declaration. Thorax hummed and grimaced.
"I didn't think of it like that," he groused, and Ember punched him in the shoulder. Gruff looked around the room and scowled.
"What're we talking about?"
"The vampire," Ember explained, Gruff nodded.
"Ah, alright then," he laid his head back on the table and closed his eyes. Celestia looked to either side and took a shallow breath.
"Well, I believe we can at least agree that we won't be expelling Peter unless anyone has further qualms they wish to present?" The table was quiet for a moment before Apollon cleared his throat.
"If Woollachia expels him, what then?" Celestia considered the eagle for a moment.
"I will personally see to his care and provision. It will not be an issue." They locked eyes before Apollon hummed and nodded.
"Set me free. Thrice reborn in the Dark. Set me free."
I couldn't breathe. Martin was glaring down at me from the ledge he threw me from. Mom and Will were at his sides, crying, and that thing had its claws around their necks, resting its head on Martin's shoulder.
"Set me free. Life is a cruelty. Let us put an end to it."
Its face split sideways and sank its needle-like teeth into Martin and twisted Mom and Will's necks with a crack before dragging all three into itself. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. The darkness comprising the monster filled my vision and I saw the door again, hovering over me.
"Set me free."
I finally took a breath and sat up, only to be met by a scream and a thud. I blinked and looked around, finding I was in a dark cozy little room with two beds and a nightstand between them. Looking down, I saw Quilt lying on her back on the floor.
"Peter?" She murmured as she slowly got to her hooves and reared up on the bed's edge.
"Hey," I huffed, still breathing hard. She furrowed her brow and climbed up next to me.
"What happened to you?" I scooted over to give her more room and hummed, folding my hands together.
"Saw some freaky shit after I took Candy's dark magic. Just had a nightmare about it," I took a shuddering breath and looked her in the eyes. "I think I need to talk to Celestia about it." She put her hoof on my knee.
"What'd you see?" I grimaced and gestured weakly trying to find the words.
"Weird, horse-headed shadow monster asking me to set it free," I finally muttered, clenching my hand shut as I spoke. "Some creepy-looking door kept popping up." I looked at her hopefully, but she seemed lost and looked down in thought.
"That's.. hm."
"Any clue what that'd be about?" She shook her head and sighed.
"Sorry. But on the bright side you should get to ask her pretty soon," she said with a sad smile. "Calaeno and her crew are digging in the ship's wreckage for our candle to report in and request somewooly to come pick us up."
"Why's she doing that? She should be resting," I said with a frown.
"Yeah, but she said she got plenty of rest last night." I flinched and looked at the closed curtains.
"What time even is it?"
"Around noon. Almost everywooly else has been up and around for a little while, especially Twilight," she laid down on the bed next to me.
"Why Twilight?"
"You remember the pink mare who started the mob?" I nodded. "Well, she's the Honorable Chairmare of the Shang-hay Republic now."
"The huh of the what of the who?"
"Yeah, right?" Quilt laughed and tucked her legs under herself. "Also the pirates split up. Most of them ran off once they realized Hop's dead, but about a third are still around and negotiating with the Republic and the police." She hummed and nodded.
"And the changelings." I raised my eyebrows at that.
"They're still around?"
"Yep. Twilight's got her hooves full."
"What's she got to do with any of that?" Quilt giggled.
"She's a recognized authority from a neighboring power, so they demanded she oversee the negotiations in exchange for letting us rest and recover," she looked towards the door. "They've been going for most of the morning. Wonder how it's going?"
"The changelings are basically a part of Shang-hay now! Why shouldn't we get a part of it to ourselves?!" Ante the changeling representative hissed.
"Because the only reason you're a part of Shang-hay is because you infiltrated it and disguised yourselves as our friends and family!" Half Acre the unicorn captain of the new police retorted.
"Sure, but that also means we're already practically family!" Ante put forth to calls of agreement from the rest of the changelings. Bloodletter, the pug diamond dog who replaced Hop as the commodore raised his paw.
"Me have to say, changeling fake-brother better than real brother," he said, which a few of the ponies and other creatures in the room hummed in consideration of.
"That is true! I move in support of the establishment of the changeling quarter in the northwestern part of the city," Sourpatch said with a nod. Ante scowled, however.
"NORTH WESTERN?!" He bellowed. Twilight held her foreleg over her snout and suppressed a groan.
"Meh, probably mind-numbingly boring," Quilt huffed. "Glad it's not me in there."
"How's everyone else?"
"Well, like I said, Calaeno's scavenging, and Cozy and Sunbeam are still asleep in the room next to this one," she tapped her chin.
"Is Hasty okay?" I sat up and asked. Before Quilt could respond, the door opened, and in walked Hasty with Blueblood.
"Oh hey! You're awake," he chirped, looking perfectly healthy. My jaw hung open and I narrowed my eyes. He smiled in response. "Guess what Prince Blueblood found?" I slowly turned to Blueblood who pulled a crate in with his magic.
"I took a closer look at the enemy vampire's lab, and discovered his notes and supply," he opened the crate and pulled out a bottle. "He was producing magic elixirs in bulk. Including healing potions, like this one." He floated it to my hand.
"We just gave a dose to everypony who got hurt on the team," Hasty explained, turning to show the scars on his side. "It ain't perfect, but it sure beats the natural method!"
"Huh," I gawped taking and staring at the bottle.
"We were going to just inform Ms. Quilt of the development, but it's a delightful surprise to see you well, Master," Blueblood declared, bowing his head at me. Quilt scoffed in response.
"Ain't it a delight to see me?" She smiled at him, causing Blueblood to look up, and then to the side. Quilt held her expression for a moment before Blueblood slowly nodded.
"Uh, sure." Quilt beamed as Blueblood and Hasty turned for the door, setting the crate and notebook down. "Well, we'll leave this here. We're still waiting on Princess Twilight to finish mediation." He pulled a bottle from the crate.
"We're gonna find Calaeno since I think she's still hurt," Hasty said with a farewell wave. Blueblood bowed his head again, and the two walked out. I relaxed and examined the potion he handed me before humming in realization.
"Probably could've teleported them to her," I said. Quilt's ears twitched and she sat up.
"Oh yeah! I was planning to ask you about that," I looked at her and she tilted her head. "They said you teleported into the apartment. Without being invited first." I blinked and looked at the ceiling, pondering what she said.
"Thats.. How'd I do that?"
"Probably something to do with your magic, but I wouldn't be surprised if the extra dark magic you absorbed from the first vampire did, too. What was happening out on that boat?" She tilted her head and I hummed in thought.
"I mean at the time it was sinking," I finally recalled. She tapped her chin and her eyes shifted left and right.
"Maybe it was an urgency thing? We'll have to experiment with it once we get back home," she blinked and then looked up at me with a grin. "Once you've had your fill of Frill, anyhow." I flinched.
"Wh-"
"I know you're dying to get back to your favoritest 'lil sheep, so well save the testing until you two are done," She tapped me on the chest and her smirk grew three sizes. "Since I know she's dying to have you back, too." She stared smugly at me for a solid minute before I gently wrapped my hands around her shoulders, scanned for Twilight with my Eye, and then teleported to her.
"Peter?" She said as we appeared, cutting off the whole meeting and getting everyone's attention. Quilt looked around as I held her up for the whole room to see, Simba style.
"Quilt wants to help," I said, setting her down in the seat next to Twilight. Her jaw dropped and she stammered.
"Really? Aw, thanks!" Twilight said, wrapping her in a wing. She leaned closer and whispered. "I could use the company, I was about to lose my mind." Quilt glared up at me as I teleported out.
Nothing grew in this region, but the reason why is not known. It is possible that the Longhorn's excessive tinkering with dark magic poisoned the land beyond the mountains and ruined it, but the Woollachian populace had never ventured this far west even before the Longhorns rose to prominence. So there was a distinct possibility it had always been this way.
Under the sun, stained grey by the clouds of ash that filled the sky, a fat crow soared west from the mountains and then south, towards New Ramstead, the collection of empty clay houses the Longhorns had erected after their exile, where they tried to survive the wastes. The bird had lived here, feasting upon the bodies of the Longhorns for many years, but ever since the arrival of his new master, he had been away.
He circled above the village and slowly descended in front of the house with the only well. He peered at the dark interior, leaning forward to get a better view.
He cawed out three times and something inside shuddered.
"Back already?" In the dark a figure slowly shambled up off the ground and shuffled out into the light, hissing and wincing as the sun met his eyes. Briefs blinked and shook his head before looking upon his familiar. "Well?"
The crow bobbed up and down and tilted his head before cawing again. Briefs shook himself and a thin cloud of dust fell from his wool. As the crow spoke, he approached the well and drew a bucket of water.
"Shang-hay.." He set the bucket down between himself and the crow before laughing "He didn't try to run away?" The crow cawed again and hopped onto the edge of the bucket. Briefs scoffed as he and his familiar drank. He sighed and stretched.
"Well, that makes two. Did you find Adam, or whatever he's calling himself?" He asked, rubbing his chin. The crow replied, causing Briefs to scowl. "The Storm Isles? Wouldn't that be the first place they'd look?" As the crow explained what he'd seen, Briefs slipped back inside and dragged the remains of a long-dead and rotten sheep out with his teeth. He paused as the crow reached the end of its report and shook his head with a deep laugh.
"Some creatures, I swear," he sighed and turned to his companion. "Good work. Now, you only have to keep an eye on Adam. Join me and then be off." The crow chirped and hopped on the carcass as he and his master feasted.
"So you really don't have any problem with the changelings sticking around?" I asked Donis as we hauled a few full barrels out of his storeroom, me carrying one in each arm and him carrying just the one with some effort. He chuckled heartily.
"Not so long they keep their noses outta my business! Lil' vacation was nice 'n all, but I'm none too taken with the idea of lettin' some stranger handle my shop," he set his barrel down at the door and turned to me. "If'n I was, I'da hired some local twerp ages ago." He chuckled again and reached for the door, only for me to pull it open with magic. He huffed and glanced back at me.
"Hey now, you want a job?" I whistled in response as I hefted his barrel up with more magic.
"Sorry, still pretty engaged back in Canterlot," I replied and ducked sideways through the door to the main room. We'd pushed all the tables together at the center of the room, where the rest of the hunting team was waiting, along with Dusty and her sister, all of whom briefly cheered at our arrival before returning their attention to Twilight.
"The changelings agreed to open negotiations with King Thorax and Princess Celestia, and the Republic will grant them the southwestern corner of the city," she explained while reading the notebook Blueblood had found in Candy's lab. "So, Chrysalis popping back up to cause trouble shouldn't be an issue. And if she does, the rest of the city government will have the means to report it to Equestria."
"Thank goodness," Dusty sighed, hugging her sister close. Twilight closed the notebook and looked up as I set the barrels on the table while Donis fetched a few taps.
"So, yeah, like I said, while it might've taken a few more days than I'd liked, I think it was worth it," Twilight declared with a smile. Quilt shuddered and took a bite from the cheese wheel Donis gave her.
"Still don't think I could stomach sitting through another meeting with those nutcases," she cast a glare my way, which I countered with a grin. The pirates and guards shuffled from their seats to the end of the table where Donis was pouring drinks, and I sat down next to Quilt across from Capper, who smiled and began shuffling some cards.
"Celestia knows Peter's going to warp us back to Canterlot, right?" Twilight asked. Calaeno nodded as one of her crewmates handed her a mug. She tapped the magic candle resting on the table and took a drink. Cozy hummed and looked up from the juice she and Sunbeam were sharing.
"Are we leaving tonight?" She asked.
"As soon as this little shindig's over," Capper replied as he dealt cards to me, Quilt, Hasty, and a few others. Empty Shelves whined quietly.
"Well, I'm glad we at least got a chance to thank you for helping the city out," she chirped.
"Agreed," Donis added, patting Quilt on the back as he carried mugs around the table, causing her to choke. "Only reason I ain't givin' you grief over the cheese I hear you stole earlier." Her ears shot back, and she wilted at his wry grin, eliciting a laugh from the table. Just then, the candle lit up, and a scroll burst out in a whisp of smoke. Twilight and I shared a look as she grabbed it in her magic.
"Wonder what this is about," she unfurled and read it briefly before gasping and jumping from her seat. "Peter, we have to go."
"Anything?" Twilight asked in an anxious tone, a feeling which the rest of the people in the room doubtlessly shared. My eyes darted around due to how hard I was focusing with my Evil Eye, and yet still nothing. I finally cut the spell and growled, shaking my head. The red-crested hippogriff from Mount Aris, who was now acting on Novo's behalf, was the first to react.
"Isn't your Scrying Eye or whatever you call it supposed to be all-seeing?" He squawked, shaking his head in frustration.
"Not if she's being kept in a salt circle. Which Adam probably knew to do," I replied, biting my clenched fist. Coal grumbled and paced the floor.
"So what's the plan?" Ember grumbled. She and Coal were the only coalition members still in the castle, mainly out of interest in welcoming us back. After some final discussions earlier in the week, everyone had agreed to close the conference, and the delegates had parted ways. But then Lieutenant Coraltail showed up an hour ago, delivering the news that Adam had kidnapped Novo's daughter, leading to his meeting in the now empty conference room, with only the 'critical agents of the hunting team' as he put it.
"So long as Adam remains in hiding, we can do nothing besides hunt for him and wait for his demands," Celestia declared mournfully and looked at Coraltail. "Did he say when he would be in contact?" He cast a glare my way.
"He said his brother's death has hindered communications," he looked me up and down critically before meeting Celestia's eyes. "He must choose a new mouth, as it were, but promised he would not harm Princess Skystar." I hummed and folded my arms.
"When'd you say he kidnapped her?" I asked. Coraltail glanced away from me for a moment, before looking at me again.
"Two days ago. I flew with all haste to deliver the message to Her Majesty, whom I met midway between Mount Aris and here." I looked at Twilight, who had her hoof to her chin.
"How far could he get from Mount Aris in that time?"
"He could easily have gotten to the Storm Isles by now," she replied and turned to Coraltail. "Admiral Tide Claw is still occupying them, right?"
"Correct, and he has reported nothing of the sort," he paced the floor away from me. "One of my peers was deployed to the area as well to make certain." Twilight hummed and turned to Calaeno.
"We need to plot any possible courses they could have taken, if you wouldn't mind, Captain." Calaeno sighed and stretched.
"No rest for the wicked," she huffed. Coraltail groaned and his head dipped.
"Is there truly nothing that can be done?" He asked Celestia. She furrowed her brow and stared at the moon through the window. Coraltail scoffed and shook his head. "What of this 'Catican' the queen mentioned?" I jolted, and Twilight squeaked. Celestia, meanwhile, only blinked and met Coraltail's eyes.
"The Catican will not render aid to the coalition unless their demands are met. We agreed that they were unreasonable," Coal said with a humph. Coraltail studied him for a moment before nodding.
"Unfortunate, but very well," he took a shallow breath and faced the rest of us. "At Her Majesty's request and with your permission Princess Celestia, I shall remain in Canterlot in anticipation of the enemy's contact."
"Of course. I will have a room prepared for your stay," she replied with a nod and gestured to one of the guards at the door.
"Wonderful. Then, I shall take my leave for the evening," he bowed deep and slipped out the door. We sat in contemplative silence for a few minutes following his departure. Twilight hummed and shuffled her hooves.
"I'm.. gonna go check on Pinkie and the girls," she looked up at Calaeno. "Meet you in the library tomorrow morning for charting?"
"Sure thing," Calaeno replied with a sad look in her eyes. The pair made for the door and Calaeno waved back at us. "Have a good night all."
"This bites!" Ember hissed once they were gone. "Thought we finally got one over that clown!" Hot steam shot from her snout.
"You're telling me," Coal groused and pounded his fists, before roaring and thrusting them in the air. "Come, Dragon Lord! Let us break things in the training yard!"
"Heck yeah!" Ember cheered and punched me in the shoulder. "Adam might be a sneaking creep, but good work out there all the same."
"Indeed!" Coal loomed over me with a scowl and slowly brought his fist up. I blinked and then bumped mine against his, which caused his scowl to melt into a smile before the pair turned and left.
"Please keep to the portion we set aside for you two," Celestia called after them. I folded my arms and bit one of my fingers with a sigh.
"If he sends someone with a blood bond, we can probably have Quilt work her magic again," I offered.
"Exactly my thinking," Celestia replied before brushing me with a wing. "But let's find somewhere more comfortable, shall we?" I rubbed my eyes with a groan and nodded.
"Sure, but we should probably let Quilt and the rest in the loop," I huffed as we walked side by side. I leveled an annoyed look Celestia's way. "What's that guy's problem anyhow?"
"Don't let his attitude or comments on the rest of your team get to you," she replied with a smile and raised an eyebrow at me. "He's bearing the weight of a beloved public figure's abduction. From what I understand you reacted to similar news with.. less grace, shall we say?" I flinched and grimaced.
"Well, 'scuse me for caring, princess," I nudged her, earning a giggle in response.
"Just try to keep it in mind with the lieutenant. He's in distress, but I don't believe any ill will come of it."
Celestia's suite was something to behold. In many ways, it reminded me of the master bedroom in Ramstead, even down to the size of her bed, which of course finally gave me an answer to who that room was for originally. Of course, her room was better furnished even when compared to what Quilt had done with the room in Ramstead.
We sat side-by-side on a black and gold sofa in front of a large glass table before a lit fireplace which had a golden mantle in the shape of two alicorns meeting at the center of an arc over the fire.
"So, Graggle, Frill, and Tangle took the airship back to Woollachia, but what about Lace and the other two?" I asked.
"Well, Graggle theorized there may arise some individuals who would do them harm in Woollachia, so for now and if the Mayors of Woollachia permit, for their safety they are being confined within Canterlot Castle for the time being," she replied taking her tea cup from the table. I nodded and grimaced.
"And.. how's Frill?"
"Quite well. She was very pleased to hear that you were successful," Celestia replied, leering at me from the corner of her eye. "And a touch disappointed they were returning to Woollachia before you made it back."
"Good," I huffed and folded my arms.
"She asked for you to come speak with her when you made it home." I whimpered and leaned onto my knees. I felt her wing on my back. "I don't think it's as bad as you're imagining."
"Guess we'll find out," I sighed and rubbed my eyes before looking into the fire. I turned to Celestia. "So, the Catican, huh?" She sipped her tea and hummed.
"Their primary administrator paid us a visit a few days ago, offering their services in exchange for Woollachia's expulsion," she raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "Or so they claim. We suspected they took exception only to you." I snickered and relaxed back on the couch.
"Course they do. Probably steamed I trashed their guy in Klugetown."
"Yes, Twilight wrote of your encounter," she sighed and shook her head. "I'd hoped it was just a misunderstanding, but it seems we are not so fortunate. They truly believe you are just some horrible monster."
"Well, to hell with them," I scoffed but then hummed at the mention of the word monster. I looked at Celestia. "I hate to keep changing the subject like this, but there's something I need to ask you about." She shook her head.
"No trouble at all. What is it?" I took a breath and gestured while trying to find the right words.
"You remember how I absorbed dark magic from Mad Dog? Well, it happened again when we killed Candy," I began.
"We assumed such a thing would happen. You don't appear to be suffering any ill effects, but I presume something occurred?" I looked at the fire and shuddered, remembering the sight of that thing.
"Yeah," I sighed. "I saw something. It was like a wall of shadows with bony claws and a horse head, it uh-" I jumped at the sound of her teacup clattering on the ground. I turned to see her staring at me with an even, unreadable expression.
"You know what I'm talking about," I declared after a moment. She said nothing and just kept staring at me. I felt a chill racing over me under her gaze.
"What else did you see?" She finally pried in a low, even tone. I exhaled since I realized I'd been holding my breath.
"There, uh, was a door in the side of a mountain. The thing kept telling me to set it free," I replied. She looked down, and her eyes shifted around before humming.
"The dark magic you've been absorbing must be heightening your supernatural senses along with your physical ability," she said looking up at me with a frown and a strange light in her eyes. "Do you feel any compulsion to obey its request? Any pull at all?"
"No," I said immediately, blinking when I realized I hadn't even really heard the question. "What did you-"
"I had to be certain, apologies," she said, pulling me into a hug with her wing. She sighed hard and squeezed me. "And apologies again, but I'm so glad you're so vulnerable to those spells." I scowled and tried to look up at her but she held me tight.
"What spells," I demanded.
"Secret vampire-hunting ones," she chirped. "Useful for compelling the truth out of you."
"Wh-"
"Shhh.." She held me in silence, resting her head atop mine for a few minutes before releasing me with a giggle.
"Okay, so, what's the deal?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. She hummed and her expression fell slightly.
"The creature you saw was the First Nosferatu, Grogar's creation, and the progenitor to all vampire-kind," she replied, causing me to gasp. "We managed to seal it within Tartarus ages ago, as no means brought against it could destroy it." I stammered and glanced around the room in a mild daze.
"Yes, I agree, very peculiar that it can speak with you at all," she said with a solemn nod. "The chamber it's sealed in should sever its connection to all vampires. But as I said, the dark magic you've absorbed may have circumvented that, allowing it to call to you. And obviously, it's hoping you'll free it from Tartarus." I looked into her eyes for a moment before grumbling.
"It did refer to me as thrice reborn in the dark or something like that," I groaned and fell against the arm of the sofa, staring at the ceiling. "What do I do about this?" I groaned in surprise and looked down to see her lying on me.
"You count your blessings that it has had no ill effect on you and that you have such talented friends, Peter," she said, resting her head on my chest with her eyes closed. "It's obvious the dark magic you've been absorbing is not just being 'neutralized' as Briefs suggested." She opened her eyes and smiled at me.
"Thus, let's be glad that Twilight and her friends can aid you in the confrontation with Adam. I'm certain the Elements can dispel his dark power without you being tainted by it." I stared at her in bewilderment.
"Sounds good. Can you let me up?" She hummed and stretched her legs before closing her eyes again.
"Frill got to spend a whole night with you like this," she sighed and curled up. "Besides, I let you lay on me at Ramstead. It's only fair."
"I-"
"Shh, it's late, and we have a party to attend tomorrow," she pulled at my coat with her magic without opening her eyes. "And you have to explain this crude stitchwork to Rarity." I blanched and looked at the spots on my outfit where Karl had sliced and the less-than-stellar work we'd done repairing them.
"Shit."
Coraltail double-checked that the door was locked and the curtains were closed before he lit the candle. Just as he moved to touch the letter he'd written to the flame, it roared up and formed a burning circle in the air. The space inside the circle shimmered and crackled for a minute before clearing and revealing a white Persian Abyssinian at a table in a dark room with his paws folded.
"Well, well, who is this?" The cat asked. Coraltail set the letter aside and sat before the flame.
"I am Lieutenant Coraltail of Mount Aris, contacting you on behalf of Queen Novo. She told me to send a letter to you through this magic candle you left her, should Princess Celestia prove unhelpful," he studied the Abyssinian for a moment. "You are Bubsy of the Catican, correct?"
"Very perceptive and a wise choice on your queen's part!" Bubsy replied with a chuckle, leaning closer. "Now, what has dear Celestia failed to do that I can help you with?" Coraltail nodded.
"Princess Skystar has been abducted by the vampire Adam. We have no indication where he might have taken her, and Princess Celestia is helpless to find them." Bubsy hummed and nodded, reclining in his chair and opening a drawer.
"Yes, sir, we're aware of Adam and his ilk. We also have an inclination of where he's holed up, so it won't be too tough to get the little lady back safe and sound," he explained and drew a few papers out which he spread on his desk.
"What will you require in exchange?" Bubsy didn't reply right away, but smirked and hummed a tune for a moment as he organized his papers. Finally he chuckled and glanced up at Coraltail.
"Adam is not the only monster out there after all, but to make it fair for us to destroy them all we simply have to have something in return. Altruism can only get you so far,"
"We have some designs in mind for the Catican and expanding our operations," Bubsy unfolded one of the papers, revealing it to be a map of the seas around Mount Aris. "The main thing standing in the way of our first steps, as I see it, is Peter Harlow. And the main thing standing in the way of removing him is his connections." He held up an illustration Coraltail recognized as Peter Harlow, with notes written on it that he could not make out, save what appeared to be a crude depiction of the four alicorns.
"If we can get him alone, our top paladins can exterminate him. Karl would've put him to rest had Princess Twilight not interfered," Bubsy smiled and set the picture down, folding his paws together again. "I'll put on a hunt for your princess immediately, as soon as we end this conversation. In exchange, I want you to find something we can use to compel that monster to a fight, alone and in a place of our choosing. Do that and I'll consider us even. With the utmost discretion, of course." Coraltail considered his words for a moment before nodding.
"That seems more than fair. I'll keep my eyes open."
Thunder boomed overhead, and pale lightning flashed through the clouds. The air was heavy, but cool compared to the rest of the region due to the perpetual thunderstorm locked in the sky which kept the entire region around the castle in a perpetual state of gloom and shade. Exactly how I left it.
"Ah, good to be home," I sighed as we walked through the gate of Ramstead with Quilt under my arm.
"And it is good to have you back, Master," Graggle replied with a smile. "I must say your new method of transport is quite impressive, even for an arcane layhound like myself."
"Ouugh," Quilt moaned, curling her legs tight. "I hate teleportation,"
"You shouldn't have eaten so much cake," Sunbeam chided.
"It was a 'thank you' party! It woulda been rude not to!" Quilt whined in response, thrashing her legs at her and then shuddering. Blueblood who was close by and carrying Quilt's leftovers tsked at the sight, while Cozy snickered.
"So, how long until you need to return to Canterlot, Peter?" Hasty asked once we cleared the threshold.
"No telling. Celestia's just going to send for me once something turns up," I replied. Since there were no leads on Adam or Skystar's whereabouts, and due to my ability to simply appear at Canterlot, it was agreed there wasn't much point in me being away from Woollachia any longer. She'd cited the impending public vote about my position as being more pressing for me. Not to mention-
"Hello, Prince Peter."
Frill.
I turned and saw her standing just down the hall to the left of the main entrance, and held my breath as she looked me up and down, and glanced at Quilt a few times. The rest of the group looked between us and I didn't fail to notice Quilt's smug grin aimed my way.
"May we talk in private?" She asked and tilted her head. I mumbled in response and clicked my teeth a few times before gently setting Quilt down, noting how Frill intently watched me do so. She hummed as I straightened back up.
"Sure," I finally replied, earning a subdued smile from her as she turned and led me further into the castle.
I followed Frill in silence as she led me through the halls, occasionally glancing back at me as if she was worried I'd slip away when she wasn't looking. I can't say I wasn't considering it, at least a little, especially once I recognized she was leading me to her room.
As we turned a corner we ran into Latch and Mulch, as well as a google-eyed diamond dog I didn't recognize.
"Greetings master!" Latch cheered with a salute that Mulch mimicked. The third dog just stared with his tongue hanging out.
"Heyo, boys!" I replied, stepping past Frill to pat him on the back. "How've things been?"
"Very good master! New hire," Latch pointed at the third dog. "This Stutter. Say he hear many good things and want to serve the master!" I hummed theatrically and pursed my lips, leaning back and forth from the google-eyed dog.
"Well, Stutter! I'm glad to hear-"
"Peter," Frill said quietly but very firmly. I slowly clamped my mouth shut and nodded, reaching out and clapping Stutter on the shoulder. He blinked and rolled his eyes until they lined up to look at me.
"We'll talk later. Welcome aboard!" I smiled and shook him gently, before stepping to Frill's side and gesturing for her to lead on, still with a smile. She leveled an even but subtly annoyed stare up at me before proceeding.
I wondered if it was too late to ring Celestia up to incinerate me.
Latch and Mulch each gave me a sympathetic look as I slinked after Frill, who plodded on ahead without looking back anymore. We passed the dining hall and I heard galloping rushing after us.
"Prince Peter!" Bonnet chirped once she caught up to us. "You're-"
"Busy," Frill declared, slipping between me and Bonnet and looking her squarely in the eyes. "He's busy." Bonnet's ears snapped back and she nervously smiled at Frill before wilting under her gaze and crawling away. Frill turned and wordlessly trotted down the hall.
"Quilt, I'm scared."
"HAH!"
An agonizingly quiet time passed, and finally, we reached the simple wooden door to her room. She reared up, clicked the handle, and pushed her way in. I patted my hands on my thighs at the threshold and looked around. I'd only been in here once before, but it didn't seem like much had changed.
Her bed was the same plain white with a grey pillow, the little bookshelf nightstand at its side remained only half filled with her music box on the top shelf, and her little table by the window next to her bathroom door still had only one chair. Ah, there was a change. She had a vase with some flowers on the table now.
"Please come in," she said, noticing I was lingering at the door. I hesitated for just a moment longer before stepping in and shutting the door. Once I did, she turned and hopped up on her bed, gesturing to her chair. It wasn't quite my size, but I could still make it work and pulled it out to sit across from her. I folded my hands and took a short breath.
"So, uh," I cleared my throat. "What's up?" Her ear twitched, and she averted her eyes, studying the floor between us. I watched her for a moment before grimacing and looking out the window. The distant sound of thunder could still be heard through the glass but only managed to punctuate the uncomfortable silence in the room.
"What am I to you?" She desperately squeaked. And just like that, I wished the silence would return. I whipped back to her and saw to my shock that her head was drooping down almost to her hooves and she was weeping quietly. She took a short breath and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just.. I can't.." She collapsed onto the bed and buried her face. I hurled myself forward and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Frill, what.. Hey," I dumbly stammered, trying to comfort the crying sheep. Surprisingly, despite my lousy attempt, she looked up at me with tears freely flowing. She sniffled, and I cupped her cheek with one hand. "I'm sorry." She shook her head free and whimpered.
"No, you didn't do anything," she sighed and looked away. "It's just.. Been on my mind for a while."
"What has?" I settled down onto one knee while she murmured and gently rocked left and right.
"You said I was your favorite," she finally answered without looking at me. "I know you weren't in your right mind, but.." Her ear twitched again, and she looked up at me.
"But what did that mean?" Aw, fuck.
"I- Well, hm," I rubbed my chin and clicked my teeth, trying to find the best words. She shuffled her hooves and looked at her shelf.
"I don't mean to imply it came from somewhere, but it's just that you seemed," she hummed, and her eyes shifted left and right. "More open." I took a shallow breath and nodded.
"Well, if I had to guess, I was probably thinking about how much I appreciate you when I said that."
"Appreciate me?" She looked up at me.
"Yeah, I mean, even before we knew each other you were really sweet and helpful," I met her eyes with a slight shrug. "And that hasn't changed even though I've.. y'know, fucked up." She studied my face for a moment before looking at the floor. I drummed my fingers on her bed.
"Was it really bothering you that much? Cause I still feel awful about," I grimaced and sat on the floor. "Y'know, putting you through that." She hummed, and a small smile formed on her face.
"It wasn't so bad, though I would've preferred we had more privacy," I blinked, and she turned to face me. "And if you were, well, sober. But it's not like you did something genuinely awful." She reached out and tapped my nose.
"Just a little inconsiderate is all." I froze and held my breath.
"You're serious?" I huffed. She hummed and averted her eyes with a blush.
"Well, I've thought," she scrunched up her muzzle and tucked her legs under herself. She bowed her head, and her eyes shifted left and right. "I've thought about you a lot, so the attention wasn't.. Oh, goodness." She hid her face in her hooves. My ears were ringing, and my head was spinning.
"Quilt."
"What?"
"Fuck you."
"Hah!" I leaned back, rubbed my face with a quiet sigh, and scanned the room.
"So, when you say," I rolled my head, and she peeked over her hooves at me. "You've thought about me a lot." I met her eyes for a moment until she looked at her shelf. She sat up and reached for one of the books, which I helped her grab. The cover was a worn brown, and the pages seemed to have gotten a lot of use. She sat and opened it, flipping through its pages with a reserved smile. I didn't see the title, but I noted a lengthy hand, er, hoof written.. Mouth written? Note on the first page, though it slipped by before I could read it.
"Well, when I heard from Stitch that some strange tall creature showed up and defeated the wicked diamond dogs who were trying to enslave us," she stopped on a specific page with a fancy illustration. "It sounded like something from one of these stories my mother used to tell me." She tapped the page with her hoof and I took a closer look.
It was a picture of a long-legged white deer in a cloak, with strange-looking black eyes and curved horns, magically thrusting a silvery spear into a dragon's chest. An ordinary sheep in a dress was hiding under the white deer's cloak.
The text under the illustration read 'Cariburn the Faerie Knight slays the dragon and liberates Ewesult, the peasant maid.' I hummed at the sight and furrowed my brow.
"Then, I got a look at you, and well," Frill continued and I looked up at her. She studied the illustration before meeting my eyes. "It really seemed like you walked out of the stories." She tapped 'Cariburn's' face and eyes as if to imply there was some connection to me. I rubbed my cheek and frowned.
"Do I really look that weird? I don't cast a reflection, so I honestly can't say what I look like." She giggled and shook her head.
"Not weird. Just," she looked between the page and me a few times. "Otherworldly. Alien." She held a brief pause between her words and then reached out to touch my hand on my face.
"Beautiful, in your own way. Like the faerie knight or the wizard Clothbart," she gently dragged her hoof down my hand, studying my features. "Something strange and intriguing, but dangerous if you get too close." I winced at her words, but she smiled and looked at the picture with a hum.
"Then, I got to know you. You let me get close and," she took a breath. "I realized there was more to you than that. You were kind, but you had moments of weakness and you leaned on those you trusted during those times." She gave me a sad, tired smile as if this was all something she'd been stewing over for who knows how long. Which I guess was exactly what she'd said a minute ago.
"You became real, if that makes any sense. Genuine. My fascination became something else, too. Something more real and genuine." She hid her face in her hooves and sighed.
"When you called me," she murmured and curled up tight. "Your favorite.. I-" She shuddered and looked off to the side.
"I hoped that meant deep down you felt the same," I sat dumbfounded by her words, and struggled to find anything to say. She sighed with an absolutely miserable tone. "But then Quilt walked in, and I remembered." That snapped me out of it.
"Remembered what?"
"You two are already together," she looked into my eyes and blinked at my confused stare. "Aren't you?"
"We're close, but I wouldn't say we're, y'know.. an item. Hell, she'd probably throw a fit if you suggested it," I pursed my lips and hummed before grinning. "Not a bad idea if you wanted to agitate her, actually." She giggled and sat up.
"I'll keep that in mind!" She smiled and stared at the floor for a moment. "If that's true, though.." Her expression slowly fell, and she wearily looked up at me.
"Where does that leave us?" Hoo, and that was the million-dollar question. Where did that leave us?
I never expected this from Frill, and I certainly never expected Quilt to be an accurate judge of character. I scratched my neck as I mulled everything she'd said over. I care about her, sure, but-
"Hm?" She peeped. I blinked and remembered that Frill was right in front of me, waiting for an answer. Well, hey! I can work out those thoughts with her, can't I? I nodded and took a breath.
"Well, I've sort of had a.. view of you for a while now, too. I mean, you already know how awful I feel when I do wrong by you, and I can't imagine giving you sass like Quilt and I give each other," I folded my arms and leaned back, looking at the ceiling. I could hear her heart beating faster. "After a confession like that, I gotta admit that's.. altered some things. If it's love, I don't know for sure." Her face fell, and she stared at the floor.
"But if you're willing to work it out with me." She looked up at me with wide expectant eyes as I unfolded my arms, leaned on my knees with a sigh, and rolled my head back and forth. "I'd definitely be interested in.. Digging deeper, I guess is how I'd put it. Seeing how things go?" We stared at each other for a hard minute, and I grimaced with a shrug.
"I know it's not anywhere close to your confession, but I'm-" I squawked in surprise when she threw herself into my chest, knocking me over. I coughed and gently wrapped my arms around her as she nuzzled me and quietly wept.
An hour and a half later we'd gathered our friends in the throne room to spread the news. I reclined on my throne with Frill relaxing on my lap, resting her head on my arm and looking up at me with a smile. I had my other arm wrapped around her and had her hoof in my hand, and returned her smile with one of my own.
"A fascinating development, but not entirely unexpected," Graggle assessed from beside the throne. "My congratulations, sire." I looked up at him.
"Not unexpected?" I parroted with a raised eyebrow. Cozy and Sunbeam giggled at me.
"Every since the conference, Quilt's been saying it was just a matter of time," Sunbeam said, earning an excited series of nods from Cozy. Blueblood hummed and bowed his head briefly.
"That said, it was quite plain you two shared something deep, at least to me," he declared.
"Pfft, you say that like it wasn't obvious," Quilt snickered over her hoof. "Free reminder I've got a blood bond with the guy, so I'm tuned in to all his thoughts more or less." Frill turned her head to look at Quilt, who skipped to the bottom of the dais.
"'Oh Quilt! I can't be mean to her! She's ever so kind and gentle!'" She dramatically moaned in what I presumed was an imitation of me, throwing a hoof over her forehead before cackling. Frill huffed and shook her head.
"Not sure what you're so smug about. You're still on the maid staff, and I'm the princess now," Frill leered with a wry smile at Quilt. "So I outrank you." Quilt blanched and her pupils shrank. She met Frill's leer for a moment before adopting an angry frown.
"Peter, I do not approve of this relationship."
"Silence familiar."
ELSEWHERE, LATER THAT WEEK.
The map under the pale blue artificial light stretched from western Abyssinia to the eastern end of the Orithian Peaks and was riddled with red, yellow, and green ink lines denoting possible routes of assault and logistic networks, mostly modified from the Storm King's operation. But even with all this information, Adam couldn't make sense of how Celestia had managed to hunt down Candy so quickly. He looked to his silver-feathered companion for input.
"Verko and Candy were in close contact," Tide Claw offered, leaning on the table and drumming with one set of talons, while idly stroking his red sash with the other.
"Yes, but how did they know Verko was connected at all?" Adam groused, moving the markers representing the coalition leaders around to better visualize the numerous theories running around his head.
"Tempest?" Tide Claw proposed.
"She believed we were all just thugs in the Storm King's employ. By my design, of course." Tide Claw hummed at Adam's response.
"A lucky guess? Verko did have connections to the Storm King, after all." Adam rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Likely the truth, but you're an officer," he looked up at Tide Claw. "Are you really comfortable just accepting that the enemy 'got lucky'?" The hippogriff shrugged.
"Sometimes it's the only answer that works, and it's better than getting stuck trying to make sense of what would otherwise be a simple problem," he smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Besides, it won't matter much considering your point of leverage." Adam hummed and nodded in agreement.
"For now," he sighed and clapped his hands. "Ah, but I must choose a representative to speak with the coalition."
"I think it's in our best interests if it isn't me," Tide Claw said as the pair left the map room and turned down the stony hall. "My presence keeps them from looking too closely at the Isles." Adam nodded as they passed through the tall iron doors to the courtyard before the Storm Keep.
The pinnacle of the stone and iron-wrought keep housed a large black crystal that spat out electrified gouts of cloud, keeping the entire region under constant and violent storm clouds. The ring of mountains that formed the exterior of the Storm Isles hemmed in on all sides and were mostly masked by the storm, illuminated only briefly by flashes of lightning or the artificial lamps of the bridges strung from one peak to the next.
Adam held his arms out and breathed in the cool air the constant rainfall produced, taking in the sight of his lair. The Isles were in truth, seven suspended platforms of iron and stone upon which the Storm Beasts had built their homes when the cliffs and caves could no longer support them. The keep from which Adam commanded was at the center of the other six city-sized platforms and provided a perfect view of the silhouette of each one.
As well as the fire that appeared to be raging on the southwestern platform, which provided a backdrop to the shocking sight of a small airship screeching through the air toward the keep.
"What-"
"Lord Adam!" A hippogriff came flying towards the pair. "An intruder breached the perimeter!"
"We can see that," Tide Claw groused as they watched the small ship crash into the crystal atop the keep, causing an explosion of lightning followed by a ring of light that sailed out with a boom. Adam narrowed his eyes and pointed at a lithe and agile figure slipping down from the burning roof and then into one of the upper windows.
"Close-quarter arms," Tide Claw ordered.
Adam and Tide Claw led their troupe of soldiers up the winding stairs, sending scores of men down each hall as they cleared every floor until finally, they reached the level the intruder seemed to have disappeared into. The floor was used to house officers, especially those making brief stops at the Isles before moving on to other posts, but it hadn't seen much use since the Storm King's death. As a result, it was easy to find the room the intruder was lurking in, so the small army burst in and flooded the room, surrounding the interloper.
"An Abyssinian?" Tide Claw gawped. Adam scowled at the black, orange-eyed feline in the long coat, pacing and ranting to himself and swinging a pair of long-bladed knives which set the vampire on edge. The cat looked up at Adam and gasped.
"When I return home, I'm going to have words with that fat cat! Bastard was holding out on me this whole time," the Abyssinian snarled, waving his knives as he paced. He whipped around and jabbed a knife at Adam while continuing to walk. "I knew our scouts had eyes on you! I knew it." He swept his knives and crossed his arms with a shout.
"Holding out for payment! Unbelievable!" He unleashed a feral roar which settled into a sigh, before turning and smiling at Adam. "But at least I'm here now, right?"
"Who are you?" Adam demanded.
"Karl van Katskills, Paladin of the Sixty-sixth Catican Slaying House," the Abyssinian replied, causing Adam's breath to hitch. "I'm here for the girl, but I'll eagerly play with you too." He winked at the vampire.
"A Catican Paladin?" Tide Claw quietly muttered. Karl scowled and jabbed a knife at the Admiral.
"You're right to be unnerved, faithless rat!" He hissed and bared his teeth. "Taking a lady hostage is one thing for which I ought to blunt your beak. But the poor thing probably trusted you." His eyes drifted between Adam and Tide Claw, ignoring the crowd of Storm Beasts and Hippogriff Rogues around him.
"For that? Regardless of what the unclean one decides to do," he slowly crossed his blades at his knees. "You die."
By the time anyone had realized Karl was in motion, it was too late. Blood, sliced armor plates, and screams filled the air along with Adam, who had turned to mist and was already streaking out the window.
Celestia sat alone in her private study, reading a recently arrived letter with an ever-growing smile to pass the time until Luna returned. Then when the portal opened at the center of the room, she looked up and greeted her sister with a bow of her head.
"The wards and chains about the lower gate remain undisturbed, and the Gorgon reports no movement," Luna declared as she took her seat next to Celestia. "The Beast is still firmly sealed away." Celestia sighed and nodded.
"Very good to hear," she replied and continued to read the letter. "Then it seems our theory that Peter's communion with the monster being pure happenstance remains sound."
"Luckily, I suppose. Though it does leave the question of Briefs' tangled web unanswered," Luna said with a hum and stared at the floor. "The Nosferatu being the true subject of his scheme would put my mind at ease."
"If you're referring to his little comment about Grogar's incarnation, I wouldn't let it worry you," Celestia pulled her sister into a hug. "Just another diversion, that's all. If Grogar had already managed to revive himself, I can't imagine his acolyte would have divulged it so willingly." Luna hummed and nuzzled her.
"Then what was he trying to divert us from?"
"I cannot say, but we can at least rest easy that the Elements are once again on the field," Celestia smiled at her sister and handed her the letter. "And there's even more good news than that." Luna blinked and took the letter, reading it over before raising her eyebrows and smiling.
"Well, that does put my mind at ease," she giggled and looked at Celestia. "And it seems you were correct about the two of them."
"Oh, I was correct about more than their compatibility," Celestia replied with a smirk. "It's been less than twenty-four hours since Peter reunited with her, after all." Luna tilted her head and hummed in curiosity before blanched and rolling her eyes. She then teleported in a small bag of bits and dropped it in front of Celestia.
Normally, I'd explore the castle while my body rested, but today specifically, I had no desire to be anywhere but here. Letting my body rest, I made a deliberate effort to stay close enough to my physical form to feel the warmth of Frill, who was cuddled up to me with my arm coiled around her.
She'd long since adapted to my weird, fucked up nocturnal schedule, so the new sleeping arrangement wasn't anything challenging for her. That meant that for the past few days since we started sharing a bed or coffin, depending on her mood, she'd been waking up right next to me.
I felt my body relax, typically a sign that I was rested enough, so I slipped back in and opened my eyes. I sighed and tightened my grip on Frill, running my fingers through her wool. With my other hand, I magicked the curtains open slightly, letting the pitter-patter of the rain on the window fill the room. While I had to let the magically anchored storm let out some rain now and again, it kept the light outside dim enough not to wake Frill. Instead, she stirred in her sleep and nuzzled closer to me, and I locked my hands together in response.
After a few more minutes, she hummed and stretched her legs with a sigh and then blinked her eyes open.
"Good morning, Peter," she purred.
"Mornin' Frill," I replied, hugging her tight, which she giggled at before groaning.
"Excuse me a moment," she wiggled out of my grip and walked to the bathroom. I folded my legs and knit my hands together, listening to the rain until she returned, hopped onto the bed, and curled up next to me. I rolled over to face her. I ran my fingers through her wool again, scratching her side, and she hummed in appreciation.
"Send for the maid, I'm hungry," she said with a giggle. I nodded and rolled onto my back.
"One sec," I replied and focused on my blood bond.
"Hey, Quilt?"
"Die."
"'Kay, never mind."
"Yeah, that ain't gonna fly," I reported, earning a bout of laughter from Frill. I hugged her and sat up. "But you just wait right here. I'll fix you something." She hummed and reached for one of her books as I made for the door.
"Don't hurt yourself," she called, to which I scoffed and waved my hand.
"Food for an herbivore, right," I tapped my foot as I studied the pantry. "Easy. Just like Velma the Vegan in college, no problem." I scanned the jars of spices and herbs, bags of produce and flour, and other assorted foodstuffs.
"Little problem," I hadn't actually cooked anything from scratch even when I was dating Velma. I was also rapidly remembering that by and large, the locals lived close to what I'd define as the early-to-mid Victorian period, probably even earlier. I recognized some of the tools in the kitchen, but things like cups for measuring were just unmarked mugs of progressive size.
I clicked my teeth and scanned the kitchen and pantry before discovering another hurdle. The stove was stone and a wood burner. I knew electricity. I didn't even go camping because fuck the great outdoors. Then and now. I'm a vampire, god damn it. I spit upon God's domain. I brought my hand up to my mouth and pondered the situation before me, then noticed I had an audience.
I turned to see Bonnet, a few other maids, and Quilt staring at me in the door. And Stutter. Though with his eyes set that way, he could've been staring at the two opposite walls.
"Do you need help, Prince Peter?" Bonnet asked. I blinked and looked at Quilt, who wore a smirk.
"Maybe, please," I replied, causing Quilt to snort and step away while Bonnet and two other maids entered the kitchen with me.
Frill munched on the pancakes I brought her with a happy hum, relaxing back into my lap to the tune her music box played, something I learned she always did when eating in the morning. While she ate, I finished her left braid and held up a mirror. She appraised herself and nodded.
"Much better than yesterday, thank you."
"Hell yeah," I quietly cheered before starting the the other one. "How's the food?"
"Also good. Bonnet helped you, didn't she?" She looked back at me. I whistled and shrugged.
"Vampires don't use stoves." She raised an eyebrow but returned to her meal just as the box finished its tune, so I reached over to wind it up again.
"Peter, Latch just got back. Graggle and Hasty say they've started collecting votes." My hand fell and clasped the corner of her shelf. I took a shuddering breath and tapped a finger on the surface then felt Frill pull on my shirt.
"Peter?"
"It was my idea, so I dunno why it's bugging me so much."
"Ah," we sat quietly together for a moment before I wrapped both my arms around her. She squirmed until she could pull her forelegs out and hook them over my arms. I stared out the window but could feel her looking up at me. She hummed with a strange tone. "Peter?"
"Hm?"
"Help me finish my braids, then I think I know something that will take your mind off it," she rubbed my arm and spoke with a titter. My curiosity was piqued.
Frill peeked out from the treasury door, her eyes darting around as she scanned the hall for any sign of him. Slowly, she crept into the hall and carefully snuck along, checking behind and above herself as she went. At the first intersection, she turned right and started increasing her pace.
The halls were quiet in this part of the castle, so only her hoofs clopping against the stones could be heard, and the sound echoed up and down the corridors around her as she hurried along.
"Ms. Frill?" Blueblood asked when she almost bumped into him while looking back, causing her to cry out, and flop over. She rolled over and looked up at him. "What are you doing?"
"Helping Peter relax," she replied, rising to her hooves. Blueblood blinked and looked around.
"I don't see him any-" Suddenly, a rush of moaning wind rolled up the hall, causing both their ears to shoot back. Looking in the direction the gust came from they saw nothing. "Ah, I think I understand."
"Great! Let's run," Frill offered before taking off at a full gallop before he could respond. Just as Blueblood turned and rushed after her, the hallway behind them became filled with fog, which rolled after them.
"Where are we running to?" Blueblood cried as they banked around a corner.
"My room!" Frill panted. "That's the safe zone, and-" She was cut off when the fog overtook them and Peter formed just ahead of her in a pouncing stance. She squeaked in shock as he leaped out and snatched her up, tumbling to land on his back with her on his chest.
"Easy," he cackled as he locked his arms around her. Frill squirmed as he nuzzled the top of her head.
"That's not fair! Blueblood gave my position away!" She cried. Said pony slowly approached from where he had ducked to avoid getting tackled with a huff.
"Apologies, but I wasn't aware what you two were up to," he offered. Frill humphed and tried to wriggle free of Peter's grasp.
"Rematch! With him in the loop this time!" She demanded.
"What's going on?" Quilt asked as she, Cozy, and Sunbeam appeared.
"What're you doing to her?" Sunbeam demanded. Peter and Frill shared a look.
"Some of these comments are a little harsh, don't you think?" Hasty asked Silk with a sad grimace as he read the ballot in his hooves.
"Whatcha mean?" She asked as she slipped another 'YEA' into its box. Hasty raised an eyebrow and read the ballot aloud.
"'Didn't know we were killing my chickens for some freak, Cap said it was for medicine. NAY'," he slipped it into the 'NAY' box. Silk shrugged and slipped another into 'YEA.'
"He told the sheep they could voice their opinions on him, and he wanted honesty between us and the public."
"To whatever end," Graggle sighed as he slipped a ballot into 'NAY.'
"Got him!" Cozy triumphantly cried as she warded the fog with her cutie-fix, forcing the cloud to retreat back down the hall.
"Hurry, Frill!" Sunbeam squealed as she, Quilt, and Frill scrambled away. They came to a halt at another intersection to catch their breath and turned to see Cozy galloping up.
"I lost him!" She said. They all looked at Quilt, who furrowed her brow and shifted her eyes left and right.
"He's that way!" She jabbed a hoof down the path to Frill's room. Sure enough, the vampiric fog suddenly rolled in and came flying towards them. "He cut us off!"
"And that's not all!" They whipped around and saw Blueblood approaching from the opposite path, brandishing his padded training sword. "Running out of options, ladies. Just give up the ewe."
"Scruff!" Quilt hissed, looking between the vampire and his servant. "Cozy! Get her to the finish line!" She whirled around and lunged at Blueblood, only to be bopped on the side of the head and driven to the ground with a squawk, with the prince sliding past her in the same move.
Sunbeam spread her wings and stood between Blueblood and Frill. Cozy jolted with an epiphany and whispered to Frill, before slipping something in the sleeve of her dress.
"C'mon!" Cozy cried as she and Frill raced for the door, the fog looming ahead. Cozy leaped forward and thrust her cutie-fix at the vampire, only to be hoisted in the air by magic and sent tumbling away. Frill came to a sliding halt as Peter reformed right in front of her, leaning in and spreading his arms out, with his hands fixed like claws.
"That's game, baby gi-" Before he could finish, Frill nailed him in the face with the bulb of garlic Cozy gave her. "HAaUGh?" Peter recoiled and hurled himself away as fast as he could fly, clutching his eyes and nose. Once he recovered and shook his head, he saw no trace of Frill. Rushing up to her door, he peered inside to see her sitting on her bed.
"That's game, buddy boy," she leered at him with a smug grin, which he countered with a scowl.
"Poisoning should get you disqualified." She shrugged and rolled onto her back.
"You said we could use your weaknesses." Peter raised an eyebrow and growled.
"True, but still uncouth."
"Did she make it?!" Cozy squealed as she and the others came running up to Peter's side and looking in. "She did!"
"We won!" Sunbeam cheered, clapping her hooves.
"In your face!" Quilt jeered at Blueblood.
"Drats," he huffed and looked up at Peter. "Shall we try again?"
"Excuse me," they all turned to see Bonnet, who shuffled her hooves and bowed her head slightly. "Prince Peter, they've returned."
I stared hard at the ceiling of the throne room from my seat. Everyone was gathered in the room before me, including the leadership of the country, Graggle, and the Mayors.
Among whom I was not counted, as of today. By a three-to-one ratio, the sheep of Woollachia had elected to remove me from the throne. That'd be one thing on its own, but most of the ballots had come with comments. It was pretty obvious they not only wanted me off the throne but actively didn't want me in the country.
More than a few felt I wasn't necessary enough to warrant all the blood they'd been shipping my way, especially now that it was known how much of a scumbag Briefs was.
"Well, that's that," I sighed as Graggle dropped the last ballot. I dragged my hand down my face and leaned forward on my knees. Graggle held his clenched paw to his mouth and stared at the floor. Frill and Quilt stepped to either side of me and shared a look before sitting and looking up at me with sympathy in their eyes.
"Whatcha gonna do now?" Silk asked. I hummed and looked up at her.
"Going to write Celestia," I reached out and pet Frill on the head. She leaned into my hand as I did. "She said I could stay in Canterlot if this happened."
"Well, whatever you do, do it quick!" Ernie demanded with a nod. "Ernie want this castle now that you outta it." Graggle rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Just one of many things we shall discuss," he looked up at me with a sad smile and gave a bow and salute. "Please excuse us, Master." I stood up and waved my hand.
"Nah, excuse me," I picked up Quilt and Frill and walked to the door. "Ain't like this is mine anymore." Blueblood, Cozy, Sumbeam, and Hasty all followed after me, but I stopped and turned back once we reached the threshold.
"I'm keeping the airship though," I declared. Graggle laughed, but Velvet squawked in offense.
"That's a valuable resource to the defense of Woollachia!"
"And it's mine by right of conquest. I'll sell it to you, though!"
"Ernie'll give you three bits for it!" Velvet scowled at Ernie before stamping her hoof at me.
"There's no need to be so petty, Peter!" I shrugged and backed out of the room.
"Ain't petty, just good business. And just another thing for ya'll to discuss!" She uttered an exasperated groan as I vanished through the door. Frill hugged me as best she could despite being carried, and I led our friends to Quilt's room, where I set her and Quilt down on the sofa. Once everyone else was inside, I crossed my arms and paced the floor.
"My condolences, Master," Blueblood said after a moment, taking a seat on the floor.
"Yeah, sorry Peter," Hasty added and hopped into one of the seats at the table.
"At least Canterlot's a nice place to live!" Sunbeam offered as she and Cozy joined Quilt and Frill on the sofa.
"Yeah, and you won't have to worry about the contingency plans I made in case you turned evil!" Cozy added. I blinked and looked down at her.
"What do you mean?" She flinched and shared a look with Sunbeam before they hung their heads.
"Well, I know you're nice and all, but just on the off chance you were playing the really long con, we-" I cut Cozy off with a wave of my hand.
"No, not that. What do you mean I won't have to worry about it?"
"Oh. Well, I mean Canterlot's nice and all, but," she rocked her head back and forth and shrugged. "I dunno if I want to, like, live there, you know? Ramstead's one thing, but it's only a couple of hours away from home. Not a couple of days." She gave me a sad smile, at which I sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, fair enough. What about the rest of you?" I looked at everyone else.
"You have to ask?" Blueblood shook his head. I gave an assenting shrug and nod and looked at Hasty and Sunbeam, the former of whom looked down and tapped his chin.
"I'm not sure. Lieutenant Sunbeam and I were assigned to Woollachia," he looked up at me apologetically. "And unless I'm mistaken, that still stands.. without you."
"We'll need to talk to Princess Celestia," Sunbeam snapped her wings. "But yeah, Ramstead is our post for now."
"Yeah, I got you," I nodded and looked up in thought, but then noticed Quilt staring straight ahead with a vacant look. I winced and knelt in front of her. "What's up?" She blinked and then met my eyes as if she didn't notice I was in front of her until just then.
"I-" Her eyes shook and she glanced at Cozy before locking eyes with me again. "I don't- You're both.." I put my hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"We've still got our bond, and I can teleport back if I want to see you or vice versa," I pursed my lips and looked up for a moment. "In secret though, since I don't think the public is too keen on me at the moment." Her eyes watered, but she wiped them with a hoof and looked down.
"And besides," Frill scooted closer and nuzzled her. "I'll be there with him, so, he won't be all alone." Quilt sniffled and looked at her, then between Cozy and me. She took a shallow breath, then leaped forward and wrapped me in a hug.
"You better visit. This is a load of scruffing garbage," she muttered as I returned the embrace.
"Can't be helped," I replied and patted her back, giving Frill an appreciative smile. As we broke off, I stood up. "I should probably go write the princess. I'll be back." I left the room and made my way to the library where my candle still was. Before I got far, I found Stutter in the middle of the hall, staring at me.
"Hey, Stutter," I greeted as I approached.
"Master is leaving?" He asked, causing me to flinch in surprise. I'd never heard him speak before. His voice was like a gravelly, wheezing Peter Lorre impression. His eyes rolled to look dead on at me.
"Yep. By popular demand," I replied. He studied me for a moment, looking me up and down.
"Master is strong. Master should take what Master wants," he said without a change in tone. "Master should stay if Master wants." I raised an eyebrow at his assertion.
"Well, if I subscribed to that notion, guys like you wouldn't be getting paid, now would they?" I smiled and patted him on the shoulder. I walked passed him and towards the library, but I could feel him leering after me as I went.
The moon cast the halls of Canterlot Castle in a silvery light, intermittently broken by stripes of darkness. Within those strips hanging bundles of lavender provided a comforting smell to the corridor.
"Thanks again, Celestia," I sighed as the princess led Frill and me to our room.
"Oh, stop," she smacked me with a wing. "I already told you it's no problem." She turned and winked.
"Though, I'd appreciate it if you try to be up in the morning. I'm sure Captain Calaeno would want to hear your offer personally." I nodded in response, but before I could reply, Frill skipped forward.
"Don't worry, your majesty. I'm quite accustomed to getting him up on time," she explained with a curtsy.
"Hey-"
"Well, that's certainly a relief!" Celestia replied with a solemn nod. "And you have my condolences, Ms. Frill. I know how lazy vampires can be."
"Wh-"
"Oh, I'm sure you have an idea, but let me tell you!" Frill raised a hoof. "The second he learned how to magic from one place to another, I had to harass him just to get him to actually walk again!"
"You-"
"Goodness me!"
"Alright, listen-"
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" We all turned to see Lieutenant Coraltail approaching.
"Ah, good evening Lieutenant," Celestia replied with a nod. "And no, Ms. Frill and I were just having a little fun at Peter's expense." He came to a stop next to us and looked between Frill and me.
"I see. And who is this?" He gestured to Frill, who gave a curtsy, but before she could reply I scooped her up.
"This is Frill, Lieutenant," I hugged her close and smiled. "She's my, uh, what's the term?" I looked down at Frill.
"Ewe-friend."
"She's my ewe-friend," I declared with a nod. Coraltail looked between us but then nodded as well.
"Ah, I see. I believe the species-neutral term is significant other, yes?" We nodded together and he smiled. "Of course. My congratulations, Prince Peter."
"Just Peter now, actually," I corrected with a wave of my free hand. He tilted his head back and raised an eyebrow but slowly nodded.
"Very well, Peter."
Stutter roamed the halls of Ramstead, making an effort as he often did to avoid small talk with the sheep he passed and the other diamond dogs. Fortunately, it was late at night, so most of the creatures in the castle were asleep. Since the vampire was gone, life was settling back to a diurnal cycle, which suited him just fine as it meant more time to be alone.
He passed into the throne room and scanned for any onlookers. As expected and hoped, there were no signs of anyone. He straightened his eyes crept up to the throne and sat down. Folding his arms he huffed.
"Lousy vampire scampers off before I even have a chance to gauge his emotional weak points," Stutter groused and reclined on the throne. "If nothing else, the Woollachian military operates out of this castle. Diamond Dogs are crude and unspeakably plain, but in such large numbers even they have potential." Green flames rolled up Stutter's body, leaving behind the lounging form of Chrysalis, who tapped her chin with a hoof.
"Still, I'd prefer to have that vampire in my clutches before attacking Equestria," she closed her eyes and rolled her head. "Maybe those other sheep are the key." Her ear twitched, and she leaped to the ceiling. Graggle came plodding in just then and held up a lantern. Using its light he scanned the room and hummed.
"Could've sworn I heard someone," he grumbled and left. Chrysalis waited for a moment before slowly descending to the ground and redonning her disguise.
"You at least should be cake to take control of," she hissed as she skulked out of the room.
Our room was the same one I'd been provided the last time we were here, only now Celestia'd given us a proper bed, alongside a place to set my new coffin. We'd also be moving Frill's things off the ship tomorrow after I talked with Calaeno. At Frill's request, we'd put out the candles and opened the curtains, before settling into bed. Even though I didn't sleep, so I would have been able to magic the curtains shut before dawn, it turned out the room actually faced west, so the rising sun wouldn't be a problem.
As a result, we were able to lay in bed with each other, watching the moon slowly creep into view. As was standard for us by that point, I had my arms locked around her, and she had her head resting on my chest.
"Tell Quilt goodnight, Peter," Frill said.
"Goodnight, Quilt," I mentally called out.
"Goodnight, Peter. Frill, too."
"She says goodnight," I relayed, scratching her side. She hummed in response and closed her eyes. The moonlight slowly crept towards the end of the bed, and I clenched my jaw. Not for the first time since dying, I wished I was able to just sleep. At least then, I wouldn't be left with my thoughts. Then again, I guess I wasn't really. "Hey, Frill?"
"Hm?"
"Did I fuck up?" She huddled closer.
"No, Peter."
"Feels like I did."
"I'm sure you do because you're silly like that," she hummed and kissed my cheek before crawling up to hug my neck. "I love you, Peter." I winced and felt a weight in my chest.
"Love you, too," I whispered, clenching my eyes shut and holding her tight.
Though we'd only been away for a few days, Quilt had begged me to visit, so Frill and I had teleported to her and now sat in the living room of her tiny house in Ruffleton. She and Cozy had returned to the village after my departure since they weren't really part of the staff, and Graggle had been reorganizing the castle to suit the needs of the military. Currently, Quilt was to my left and Frill to my right, and both were competing for space on my lap.
"So, why are you volunteering at that unicorn school?" Quilt asked as Frill shoved her face away.
"Not volunteering. Professor Ponder offered me decent pay if I took part in his class on supernatural and dark magic creatures," I explained, relaxing in my seat and staring at the ceiling.
"Sure, but what'd'ya need the money for?" Quilt insisted and she pushed back on Frill's hoof, squawking and nearly tumbling to the ground when Frill yanked it back.
"I've been wondering the same thing, but he won't tell me," Frill replied, giving me a critical leer. "We haven't even been together a month, and he's already keeping secrets." I smiled and scratched her neck, earning a happy hum from her.
"Sure, but you'll like this secret," I said before my smile fell. I looked to the side and saw Quilt pulling my other hand with her teeth. I rolled my eyes and started scratching her as well. "It's been informative for me too. For instance, that business about getting inside that apartment without an invitation was a benefit of being a vampiric sorcerer since the 'invitation ward' only counts for natural entryways, not magical ones." She hummed and slid forward onto my lap, butting Frill with her head as she did so.
"Also, that business you told me about magic affinities, and all goes deeper than I realized."
"Mm, what'cha mean?" Quilt purred before Frill stretched and bopped her on the snout.
"Oh, sorry," she cooed and rolled onto her back further onto my lap, shoving Quilt off.
"Well, Twilight helped Ponder with a demonstration of how blood lets me steal affinities," I explained, holding the snarling Quilt at bay before she could pounce on Frill. "Turns out that I was hitting my 'spell bottle-neck.'" That calmed Quilt down, and her ear twitched as she gave me a look of curiosity.
"What's that?"
"Once a unicorn, or any spell caster I guess, starts learning spells, if they aren't in their affinity they steadily lose the ability to cast them," I smiled at her. "Sort of like how illusions are already kind of clunky for me." She looked up and tapped her chin in thought.
"Huh, so you actually have an excuse for sucking at illusions," she hummed. She furrowed her brow and turned to me. "But you've drank my blood, and I'm great at illusions." I nodded.
"Anything I get from blood besides being fed only lasts until the next sunrise, at least according to Ponder," I shrugged. "So that's long since over." Her eyes shifted as she considered the information, and then she jolted and gave me a concerned look.
"Are you getting enough blood?" She hastily demanded. I flinched at her tone, and Frill sat up.
"The princess is feeding him just fine, though she definitely can't provide as much as we got here in Woollachia," she explained, drawing Quilt's attention. "Canterlot Castle has a lot of imported meat for visiting delegates who eat such things, and she has her staff drain the blood anyway." Quilt looked back at me, and I nodded and knit my hands behind my back now that they were free.
"Of course, I can't just grab a bottle of the stuff whenever I want, but that was always more of a luxury," I shrugged. "Probably for the best I cut back anyhow." Her ears fell back, and she looked off to the side.
"You saved the whole scruffing country from the Diamond Dogs, and they just kicked you out," she grumbled. I pulled her into a hug, which failed to make her smile. "They could've at least waited till after Mid-year Sheer." I raised an eyebrow and looked at Frill, who gasped and held a hoof to her mouth.
"Goodness! I almost forgot!" She cried, causing Quilt to wriggle out of my grip and stare at her.
"How?! As hot as it's been lately, it shouldn't be possible to just forget," she cried with disbelief. Frill humphed and looked away with her nose in the air.
"I've been busy with my new ram-friend, thank you very much!" Quilt rolled her eyes and shook her head before looking at me.
"Can you believe her?" I blinked and looked between the two of them.
"The fuck is 'the mid-year sheer?'" I asked. They blinked and shared a look before laughing.
"Right, sorry," Quilt said between giggles. "Mid-year Sheer is the hottest day of the year in the middle of summer, so everywooly shaves off their wool and then hold a big celebration for making it halfway through the hot season."
"It's the most important holiday in Woollachia, Peter," Frill added, wrapping her foreleg around my arm, and nuzzling my shoulder. "Traditionally, it's also when ewes pick who they're going to spend the winter with." I nodded with a hum and held her hoof. Quilt gagged and shook her head.
"Who cares about that?" She sat down and held her hooves to her cheeks with a wistful leer in her eyes. "The beer. The cheeese." She moaned and slowly fell to her side against me. Frill snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Well, sounds pretty neat. When is it?" I asked, nudging Quilt off of me, causing her to theatrically collapse on her other side with a louder moan. Frill hummed and rested her head on my shoulder.
"This Friday," she replied quietly. "But if you can't be there, I don't want to attend." I looked down at her and rubbed her hoof.
"I don't want you to miss out on something cause of me." She nuzzled my shoulder in response and closed her eyes. Quilt slowly rolled to a sitting position and tapped my other shoulder, directing my attention to her clock by the front door.
"Didn't you say you had another class to do?" She asked with a sad smile. I hummed and rocked my head.
"Yeah, Twilight's helping Ponder do a demonstration on alchemy's effect on vampires," I sighed. "She's reproduced some of Candy's weirder potions, as a matter of fact." Quilt nodded and hugged my arm.
"What kind of potions?" She asked before releasing me.
"Well, the one she was most excited about was, aw hell, what was it?" I closed my eyes in thought, then snapped my fingers. "Right, you mix some vampire blood in, then feed it to a body drained of blood. Immediately resurrects them as a ghoul in their service."
"Wow!" She huffed. "How'd he come up with that?" I shrugged, cradled Frill, and stood up.
"Guy was something else, at least according to Twilight. She's been poring over his notes ever since Blueblood found them." Quilt shot to her hooves and reared up on my leg.
"How's he doing, by the way? He talk about me?" She tilted her head with a hopeful smile, causing Frill to giggle. I smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, he said to wish you well when we got here," I said. She scowled and beat her hoof against my hip.
"You should've opened with that!"
"My mistake," I ruffled her head wool and winked. "Tell, Hasty, Sunbeam, and Cozy we said hello."
"Divination is a legitimate and very practical form of magic, Peter," Twilight griped as she walked just ahead of me down the castle hall. I shrugged and continued shuffling the cards we'd used during Ponder's class.
"Don't doubt it, I was just saying that the whole 'Is this your card?' routine probably wasn't the best showing of its features," I explained. She snapped her wings and fluttered up to eye level with me.
"It was for theatrics! Education can be fun!" I smiled and raised a finger to retort when I saw a guard rushing toward us from further up the hall.
"Princess Twilight, Mr. Harlow!" He yelled, causing Twilight to land and turn to him. "Come to the throne room, quickly! Princess Skystar has been found!" Twilight gasped and we both took off towards the throne room. Our magic worked in tandem and hurled the doors open once they were in sight, allowing us to come to a sliding stop and then-
"Heck of an entrance, Prince Walking Corpse," came a greeting in a cool, condescending tone I immediately recognized. Celestia, Luna, Coralbeak, and Skystar were there too and one of them said something. But I was too focused on him.
Slowly, deliberately, I entered the throne room, and he turned and walked towards me. We very quickly found ourselves standing face to face.
"Van Katskills," I hissed, clenching my fist.
"Nosferatu," he chortled. I briefly looked him over and saw he was unarmed.
"No knives today?"
"Here on peaceful business," he leaned with a smile. "Happy to change that if you like."
"That's enough," Celestia declared, suddenly appearing and separating us with her wings. "You will set aside your animosity for the moment." We both looked at her and the serene expression on her face, which didn't match the firm tone with which she spoke. Karl took a step back, and I relaxed my fist.
"Sorry, Celestia," I murmured. She hummed and returned to her throne while Karl and I shared a final look before he approached the throne. I took a breath and looked down at Twilight, who gave me a concerned smile. Together, we walked towards the throne, giving Karl a wide berth. As we did, I finally noticed the pile of bags he must have brought with him.
"Now, let's have no more harsh words and hear what Mr. Van Katskills has to say," Celestia said as she sat down next to Luna. "If you would?" She gestured to Karl who bowed with his arms folded.
"Right, so as I was saying, Bubsy deployed me to liberate the dear Princess Skystar from Adam, who it turned out we knew the location of all this time," he said with a curt nod.
"It was crazy!" Skystar suddenly blurted out, tugging on Coraltail as she spoke. "All of a sudden, the guards of my cell went running, and then the bars got sliced up and Mr. Katskills pulled me out!" I looked from her to Karl, who wore a genuine smile at Skystar, but it quickly turned maniacal when he saw me staring.
"Where was she being kept?" Luna asked, at which Karl hissed a laugh and reached into one of his bags.
"At the Storm Isles," he pulled a severed hippogriff head from the bag and held it up. "Alongside this lout who was in cahoots with the vampire." Twilight gasped and Coraltail cried out.
"Admiral Tide Claw!" He whipped around to Skystar. "This cannot be true?" His expression hardened when she nodded, averting her eyes from the grisly display.
"He actually welcomed me to the island when Adam brought me there," she murmured.
"And for that, he died!" Karl fell into a cackling fit as he stowed the head and slid the bag towards Coraltail. He snapped and pointed a finger at all of us. "But that wasn't all I found out!" He opened his other bags and began pulling books and papers out.
"Adam flew the coop once I started laying into his grunts, but as a result, he left behind a lovely set of gifts for us!" He held up a black book with golden ink on its cover. Celestia gasped at the sight and quickly swept it up in her magic as he presented it.
"The stolen tome!" She cried. "You-"
"BUT WAIT!" Karl screamed, causing her to flinch. She furrowed her brow and gave me a strange look before turning back to Karl. "There's more." He snickered and grabbed one of the papers which unfolded to reveal a map with marks all over it. He spread it out on the floor and stepped back with a theatric sweep of his paws.
"This here seems to be what Adam and his crony were using to scheme up their movements and those of their allies abroad," he bent over and tapped one of the points. "All of whom he kindly named. Here's Tide Claw, and there's Catrina." He tapped a second point further to the maps' left, which had 'Abyssinia' in big bold letters. He swept his paws out and bowed back away from the map, allowing Celestia to sweep it up too.
She wore a look of shock that everyone else shared, myself included. I shook my head in bewilderment and stared at Karl. Once again, his easy smile turned malicious when he met my eyes.
"This is incredible, Mr. Van Katskills," Celestia said while looking between the map and the book. "I cannot adequately express my gratitude for this!"
"Indeed, but that does raise the question," Luna added with a critical leer. "What does the Catican expect in return?"
"Yeah, and you said you guys already knew where Adam was, but your boss didn't tell us," Twilight said with a scowl. Karl nodded and hummed.
"Wasn't my call, and I'm not even sure what changed," he rocked on his heels with a smile. "But it's not like I was aware of how much we knew. Bubsy kept it all a secret from me since he knew if I knew, I'd've hunted Adam down ages ago."
"If Bubsy's so secretive, why would he approve of you sharing all this information with us now?" Twilight pried.
"Oh, that's the fun part!" Karl snickered and leaned towards Twilight with a single claw pressed to his lips. "He didn't." Twilight and I shared a look.
"Why the heck are you sharing this with us without his approval?" I asked, giving him a critical glare.
"Hah! Cause pissed me right off. Our scouts had Adam's location all this time, and he didn't tell me 'cause he was waiting on one of you to make a deal with him," he declared, clutching his paws at the open air and snarling. "Said it'd be a waste to slay him for no pay!" He made a subdued grunt of frustration. I furrowed my brow and looked at Celestia, who spared me a moment's glance before focusing on Karl.
"Of all the lousy lowdown, greedy," he ranted and paced the floor. "The Catican's supposed to be better than that!" He folded his arms and let out a feral huff, before turning to us with a smile.
"So yeah, you have fun with all this! I need to get back to the Catican to make my report," he kicked most of the bags towards the throne but fished a stack of papers out of one. "This set especially is very entertaining. Think Adam was writing this himself!" He leafed through and hummed.
"'All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field,'" he read aloud with a theatric inflection, slowly stepping towards me as he did. "'The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.'" He hummed and made an expression of amazement.
"I like that! Reminds us of the temporary nature of life," he slowly leered at me with that hateful smile. "And how natural it is for it to end." He raised an eyebrow and dramatically handed the stack to me with a wink. I considered lighting it on fire when Twilight gasped and yanked it from his paws.
"Adam wrote this?" She whispered and began reading the stack. Karl gave her an annoyed stare before meeting my eyes. We held each other's gaze for a hard minute before he smirked and slithered back.
"You have Queen Novo's thanks for your efforts, Karl van Katskills," Coraltail declared.
"And the coalition's as well," Celestia added. "Truly, I thank you for this."
"Aw, weren't nothing! I live for the hunt," he cast a toothy grin my way before leaping out the door and vanishing with a cackle.
"Asshole," I said under my breath. Coraltail stepped forward and looked up at Celestia.
"I must send word to the queen at once," he declared with a bow.
"Yes, and we must contact our fellows in the coalition," Celestia replied, looking over the map with a critical stare. "If this map is genuine, we now know who has betrayed us for the enemy." She looked at me.
"Peter, I would like you to be ready to teleport to one of our allies, seeing as you should have no trouble clearing the distance. All we need do is arrest just one of the traitors and use their blood bond with Adam to hunt him down." I gave a firm nod.
"Sure thing, I'll let Quilt know," I frowned and hummed. "When you think that'll all go down?" She studied the map again.
"Perhaps tomorrow you can make the journey, and then, depending on how long it takes to assess the legitimacy of these claims, the hunt for Adam can take place a day after that," she declared, looking back at me. I snapped my fingers.
"Awesome, 'cause I was aiming to take Frill somewhere tonight."
"How's that?" I asked once I finished Frill's left braid. She hummed and appraised herself and the new dress I'd gotten her in the mirror before smiling.
"Perfect. Thank you, Peter," she leaned back in my lap and nuzzled my chin before giving me a critical leer. "Though, I wish you'd tell me what I'm getting so dressed up for."
"Why don't I just show you?" I wrapped my arms around her and teleported us to Blueblood, who was waiting in a dark box seat overlooking an only partially crowded theatre. Frill shook her head from the sudden warp and looked around us.
"Ah, there you are Master," Blueblood greeted, rising from his seat and handing me the theatre's program. "As you can see, everything's ready."
"Peter?" Frill murmured as I set her in one of the seats and took the program.
"Fantastic. Thanks, buddy," I chirped and took my seat. He bowed before slipping through the curtain and leaving us alone. I sighed and smiled at Frill, who raised an eyebrow at me.
"So, this is what you've been planning, hm?"
"Yep. The day after we moved in, I heard them practicing and did some asking around. When I heard what this performance was, I knew I had to take you here," I pointed a thumb at the curtain Blueblood had left through. "Blueblood helped me set it all up, and the cash I've been getting was paying him back for getting us in. Despite his objection that he do it for free." The lights over the theatre began to dim and the curtains on stage were rolled back. Frill sighed and smiled.
"Well, fine. But what's so important about this-" The music kicked in with a familiar tune I'd heard from her music box, and her attention immediately snapped to the stage. She watched in wonder as the lights lit up the set, revealing a scene I knew she recognized: A pony mare in a convincing sheep costume wandering a forest alone, seemingly unaware of the tall stallion dressed as a white deer spying on her.
"Cariburn and Ewesult," she gasped.
"Not bad, huh?" I asked, leaning over and nudging her. She turned to me and I wagged a finger at the stage. "See, I didn't know that music box was based on the stage adaption of that book you love until I heard them practicing it."
She stared at me evenly for a hard minute, occasionally turning back to the stage before finally giving me a teary-eyed smile and falling onto my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head atop hers while we watched the show.
The moon was high in the sky by the time the play ended, so I flew Frill up to the highest point of the castle and rested on it with her curled up in my lap.
"This was lovely, thank you, Peter," she said after a few minutes of star gazing. I curled one of her braids around my hand.
"Even if we weren't a couple, you deserve nice things like this," I replied. "Speaking of." I leaned forward slightly to look her in the eyes as she looked back at me.
"I think you should go to the Mid-year festival." She blinked and frowned.
"Peter-" I shushed her with a finger.
"We're going to be hunting Adam over the weekend, so you'd be here on your own anyway. You might as well go hang out with Quilt and Cozy." She scrunched her muzzle and stared hard at me for a moment before murmuring and laying her head down.
"Fine," she turned and reached up to bop me on the nose. "But if you get back early, you come pick me up right away!"
"Only if you're not having fun," I replied. She gave me a critical stare before humping and relaxing on my lap.
"I won't."
"You might."
"Fat chance." I scooped her up in a hug.
"Just think the beer and cheese, like Quilt said." She scoffed and tapped me on the head.
"I barely drink, you motherscruffer." I jolted and looked at her in surprise as she failed to suppress a grin.
"Hoh hoh HOH!"
The following morning, while Frill was still sleeping, I'd been summoned to the throne room with Coraltail by Celestia to discuss what her communications with the rest of the coalition had yielded.
"Glass Jaw?" I gawped and blinked. "You're joking?" Celestia shook her head and held up the map.
"He's the younger brother of the Minister of Ironclad, and according to Minister Coal has been known as something of a schemer," she explained, gesturing at the minotaur city of Ironclad on the map with a wing. "So it's not too shocking to him that he turned traitor." She rolled the map and smiled.
"Still! We must offer him a chance to defend himself, at least according to United Cities legal traditions. However, Coal seems certain, so he's the best for you to go after for a quick resolution." I exhaled and shook my head.
"Were you able to get ahold of Calaeno?" I asked and put my hands on my hips.
"Oh yes, she'll be along by this evening," Celestia replied. "She asked me to tell you the ship is handling quite well and to thank you again on her behalf." I clapped and stretched.
"Great. I'm going to rush Frill back to Woollachia real quick, then I'll be off to the United Cities." Celestia furrowed her brow and nodded, but Coraltail raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you sending her there?" He pried. I shrugged and smiled.
"I'm going to be busy this weekend anyhow, and there's a festival this Friday. So, I figure she can have fun there with Quilt and Cozy." Coraltail furrowed his brow and slowly nodded.
"I see. Well, good luck to you, Mr. Harlow."
"So, run the plan by me again?" Quilt asked as we brought the mixture to a boil. While dropping Frill off with her, she suggested I bring her the materials for the potion she used to find Candy through his blood bond.
"Once we get someone with a blood bond, we'll use your potion to turn them into a compass effectively, and Calaeno will sail the Elements of Harmony and me after him," I declared, earning a nod from Quilt but a grumpy squeal from Cozy.
"Why's it gotta happen so close to Mid-year Sheer?" She grumbled.
"Can't be helped," I shrugged and ruffled her head to her incredible outrage. I snapped my hand back before she could enact whatever dark machinations the look in her eyes suggested. "Look at it like this, you might not be there to stake the last vampire, but you'll be keeping Frill company." I smiled and gestured to the ewe at my side who was leaning against me with a sad look.
"And that's way more important to me, at least." Cozy grumbled but nodded and approached Frill to nuzzle her, steadily drawing a giggle from her.
"Y'know, now that you've said it, I sort of just realized," Quilt said as she added some crushed flower petals to the brew. "Adam only ever turned Verko into a vampire as far as we know, didn't he?" We shared a look and I hummed as I magically heated the basin she was using.
"Yeah, Karl would've mentioned any other vampires, I'm pretty sure."
"Good!" Cozy declared. "Four was always three too many, and that's only cause you're well-trained." I raised my eyebrow at her but then tilted my head.
"Hey, where's Sunbeam?" She flinched and rolled her eyes before scowling.
"Graggle's been pulling all the guards back to Ramstead for some kind of training regimen or something," she sighed and kicked the floor. "He wanted Sunbeam and Hasty involved, too. Haven't seen either of them since, so they must be pretty busy." I furrowed my brow and considered sneaking up to see what Graggle was up to.
"Alright! It's ready!" Quilt chirped. But it would have to wait. Working together, we quickly filled a few bottles of her potion before I picked up and hugged Frill.
"Alrighty, I'll see you soon," I whispered. She murmured something into my shirt and nodded. I set her down and gave Quilt a scratch on her ear.
"You girls have fun."
"Bye, Peter! Hurry back!" Quilt replied.
"Give that creep one for me!" Cozy added.
"Love you, Peter," Frill said quietly without looking at me.
"Love you, too."
Minister Brass Jaw roared as he chased Glass Jaw around the parliament floor with a wooden board. Glass Jaw hollered as he dove through the other ministers, who cheered on Brass as he barreled after his brother. From my place next to Coal, I had a perfect view of the two brothers tumbling to the ground and crashing through someone's desk.
"So, what happens now?" I quietly asked as Brass pinned Glass by the throat. Coal hummed and nodded.
"Now, the interrogation by his city's minister, Brass obviously, begins," he snorted as the board cracked down, drawing a shriek from the younger minotaur.
"Is this how you handle all criminal disputes?" Coal bellowed a laugh and shook his head.
"Not at all! Only treason and breaking of a familial promise or bond," he raised an eyebrow at the two brothers as Brass hesitated and leaned in with an ear to his brother. "Both of which Glass is accused of." He turned to me and folded his legs before jabbing a finger in the open air.
"Now, typically, we would have a pre-trial where evidence and statements of the accused's character are collected," his pointing hand opened and swept to the brothers. "In this case, Glass was ejected from his seat in this government for embezzlement, coercion, and conspiracy. In fact, it was the Storm King's invasion that saved him from prison time." I pursed my lips and nodded, but before I could pry further, Brass stood up and thrust his board into the air.
"He admits it!" The entire cabinet of ministers burst into cheers before Glass was hauled and then hurled to the floor in front of Coal, who immediately adopted a more severe posture and snorted. Glass rolled onto his hands and knees and stared at Coal fearfully while his brother came stomping up behind him.
"Is it true, Glass Jaw? Have you betrayed the United Cities to the vampire Adam?" Coal asked firmly and evenly. Glass whimpered and pressed his head to the ground.
"Yes, it is true," he moaned and shook his head. "I beg the mercy of the cabinet." A chorus of boos filled the room until Coal held up a hand.
"Honorable Ministers, this tiny idiot has failed the United Cities, but he may yet be of use to us," he dramatically held a hand out at me. "Peter Harlow can draw intelligence on Adam's location from the traitor if we let him deliver him to Canterlot."
"Do it now so we can kill him!" Someone yelled out to a cacophony of cheers. Coal and I shared a look.
"I'll need to keep him alive for a little while to find where Adam is," I explained, holding up my hands. "After that, I'll get him right back to you all." Coal nodded and held out a hand to the congregation.
"Does that sound acceptable? Shall we vote?" The minotaurs grumbled and rapidly huddled into smaller groups, which Glass leered at in fear. They whispered amongst themselves for a moment before all nodding and grunting in tandem and facing Coal.
"We accept! Kill Adam first, then we kill Glass!"
"The motion carries!" Coal declared and pumped his fist, causing Glass to collapse with a whimper.
"If all goes well, this is the last rodeo. You sure you don't want in?" I jeered and nudged Capper as we walked side-by-side to the conference room. He shuddered and held his paws up.
"Nah, I've met my quota on getting stabbed for the year. Besides, I was only ever supposed to be the guy who drums up directions," he tugged on his coat.
"Fair enough. What're you going to do now?" He hummed and knit his paws behind his head.
"Well, Celestia offered Calaeno'n me a pretty hefty reward for our part in all this, so I 'spose I'll just hang out until payday." I nodded as we reached the door.
"Fair choice," I gestured and the door flew open. Inside, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, her friends, Calaeno, and Blueblood were waiting and greeted us. Sitting with his arms crossed in a chair at the center of the room was a very pissed-off Glass Jaw in the middle of a salt circle we'd prepared for when I got him here.
"I'm not doing anything until I have your word you won't let those maniacs kill me!" The minotaur huffed. Celestia sighed and shook her head.
"I can only promise to advocate on your behalf, but I cannot interfere with the United Cities' justice system." Blueblood stepped next to Glass and drew his attention.
"What you should really keep in mind is you're only alive while the Master finds a use for you," he raised an eyebrow and gestured to me with his head. "If you won't be useful, he might just give you back to them." Glass grit his teeth and looked between me and Celestia, before hugging himself and muttering. Celestia tilted her head.
"May I take that as your willingness to begin?" Glass grumbled and sighed.
"Yes yes, fine!" He looked her in the eye. "But I haven't even heard from him in days!"
"Just relax and drink this," Twilight replied and hovered Quilt's potion to him. He flinched at the bottle and gave Twilight a suspicious scowl before taking it. He murmured and looked at Celestia who nodded, at which he exhaled and quickly threw back the potion.
"Alright, what-" Luna and I worked in tandem and mesmerized him before knocking him out. Celestia swept the salt away and we woke him up. He blinked and scanned the room. "What'd I miss?"
"Call Adam, and tell him we wish to speak," Celestia demanded. He flinched, but when I nodded my head he replied in kind and focused for a minute. Celestia hummed. "Well?"
"He's.." Glass tilted his head. His eyes shifted around, and then he looked at me. "He says he's waiting for you and the Elements."
"Where?" Celestia pressed before I could react. His eyes remained fixed on me.
"He says you'll find him in a cave in the southern badlands, far to the east of the Changeling Hive," he scanned the air again. "He'll light a fire to let you find him." Twilight and her friends shared a look.
"He wants us to find him?" Rainbow huffed.
"Why?" Fluttershy added. I looked at Celestia, who wore a severe expression.
"A trap, perhaps," she said quietly. Glass jolted and narrowed his eyes.
"He says he wants the Elements to destroy him, not the vampire. He won't resist." A tense silence gripped the room, and Celestia and I shared a bewildered look.
"Well! If that brute wishes to tussle, I for one intend to give him what he asks for!" Rarity declared.
"Darn tootin'" Applejack added with a stomp. "And if'n he wants to make it easy on us, all the better." Glass scanned the air and leaned back in his seat.
"He isn't saying anything else." I stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder.
"Where is Adam?" He blinked and his eyes shifted around.
"I, uh.. South and West. There's a canyon, and.. a cave, I don't," he gave me a wary look, which then mirrored at Celestia. She hummed and turned to me.
"It is three days to the badlands. The sooner you leave, the sooner the legitimacy of his surrender may be revealed," she held a wing out to the entire group. "Be quick and be safe, my friends. Bring Glass Jaw with you as planned to keep track of Adam."
"If he's giving up, shouldn't we bring him back here?" Fluttershy meekly offered.
"It sounds like he's planning on going down out there, so I wouldn't be surprised if he starts a fight," Calaeno retorted.
"Still, it's all kind of strange, if you ask me," Twilight hummed and held a hoof to her chin.
"As Celestia said, it may merely be a trap," Luna declared. I took a breath and cracked my shoulder.
"Guess we'll find out."
She'd only had it for a couple of days, and my old airship was already completely unrecognizable thanks to Calaeno and her crew's aesthetic choices. The sinister black balloon had been dyed red or replaced, and the dread-inspiring grey hull was now a motley assortment of colors, much like her old ship had been.
Even though it was my gift to her, I couldn't deny it stung a bit seeing the ship peeled free of its malevolent looks. As Calaeno and I paced the deck in the moonlight, I pondered how visible we would be from a distance especially now that we were sailing over the barren wastes of the badlands.
"Think he's really out here?" I idly queried and leaned on the railing. Calaeno joined me and hummed, scanning the dark horizon.
"Hopefully. I'm sick of this cat-and-mouse game he's pulled us into. I'm ready to get back to hunting for treasure and scuffling with haughty merchants." I chuckled and turned to her.
"That's your plan once we're all wrapped up? Straight back to piracy?" She scoffed and nudged me.
"It's been my calling for as long as I can remember," she folded her arms on the rail and stared into the open sky with a wistful smile. "The Storm King took it from me, so of course I'm eager to get back to it."
"Fair enough."
"What about you?" I blinked and looked at her. She leveled a concerned stare my way. "What are you going to do once Adam's dead?" I frowned and looked out at the sky. I hadn't thought about that at all. I leaned on the rail like she did and hummed in thought.
Once Adam was dead, what did that mean for me? If the Remnant fleet was still functioning, the dragons could handle them. The coalition would probably be dissolved. I wasn't welcome in Woollachia for the time being. I rested my chin on my crossed arms and idly rubbed my thumb along my other fingers. Then I smiled and snapped my fingers.
"Gonna take Frill somewhere nice again, and talk it out with her," I said with a nod before standing up straight. Calaeno hummed and patted me on the shoulder.
"Good choice."
"Captain!" The lookout cried. "Smoke to the south!" We both snapped to attention and leaned over the railing. Even from this distance, there was plainly a pillar of smoke rising into the sky.
"No fucking way," I huffed. Calaeno laughed and pulled a whistle from her coat, and blew into it. Within moments, Blueblood, Twilight, her friends, and the entire crew were on deck and staring out at the signal to our south.
"How far is that?" Twilight asked Calaeno, who was looking at the sight through her spyglass.
"Hm. We should be right on top of him in two hours," she replied before stowing her glass. "Best get everything ready." Twilight nodded and teleported a box to her side, which she and her friends gathered around. I watched with curiosity as the box opened, and a set of necklaces and a tiara floated out of the box, and then onto each of them. Each item had a jewel that matched each of their cutie marks.
"Those must be the Elements I've heard so much about," I said, drawing their attention to me. Rainbow grinned and puffed her chest and her Element out.
"Sure are! These-"
"Peter?" I blinked at the sudden call from Quilt, but before I could reply she kept speaking. "Peter, I'm so scruffing sorry. I got knocked out out." My jaw fell open and my eyes shifted around.
"What?"
"They attacked Ruffleton and trashed the whole place. Cozy got hurt trying to fight them and they smacked me with a club when I tried to help her."
"Who?!"
"The Catican, early today." Those mother- "Peter, they took Frill."
Everything went cold. I was suddenly very aware of everything around me and could hear the heartbeats of everyone onboard the ship. They were saying something to me, but I couldn't hear them over the beating.
"They left a message with Shawl. They want you to come to the Katskills alone. If you don't, they're going to kill her." I think I stopped breathing then.
Eternity is wasted on hatred, Mr. Harlow.
"I don't know what the guards are doing. Shawl sent for help, but the castle gate is locked. I'm so sorry, Peter." My head swayed and I gripped the rail to keep my balance.
"Peter?" Twilight squeaked.
"But if you can't be there, I don't want to attend."
"I made her go," I whispered.
"What?" Twilight asked.
Eternity is wasted on hatred, Mr. Harlow.
"I put her there."
"Here on peaceful business. Happy to change that if you like." I clenched my fist on the rail.
"Love you, Peter."
"Eternity is wasted on hatred." I jolted and looked back over my shoulder. The First was there, though smaller and less imposing. "But a single day is nothing in the face of eternity."
"Good point."
"Peter, what's wrong?" I looked back and saw everyone a few feet away from me with looks of fear and concern. Blueblood and Twilight were the only ones still in arms reach. I looked at my hand and saw I'd crushed the railing.
"You can kill Adam without me, right?" Through the corner of my eye, I saw Twilight flinch and look back at her friends.
"Uhm," she murmured. "You can.. put it like that, yes."
"Good. I gotta go. Something happened in Woollachia," and before they could say or ask a single syllable, I was gone.
"Now, while the Lykan is slain by common silver and the Sphynx has her compulsion to word games, the Nosferatu is a far trickier opponent," Karl van Katskills hastily drew up an illustration of an Abyssinian with prominent fangs on the board, erasing the lykan and sphynx with his sleeve. He wrote 'vampire' beneath it and then drew a line from its arm. "Its natural power is his strength, which is equal to ten of his former kind and only increases with age. And as he never dies unless killed, his strength will grow as time goes on." He wrote 'Strength with Age' at the end of the line. He drew another from its head.
"Much like the Lykan, the vampire retains his cunning but is not hindered by the fullness of the moon. Unless starved for years, the vampire will always have cognition of his actions and can therefore scheme," he wrote 'Cunning Unhindered.' He looked over his shoulder at the room of squires, all of whom were eagerly transcribing his words, except for Cutty, his personal student, who was studying the illustrations with a furrowed brow. Karl returned his attention to the board.
"Next, we must remember that the vampire is a dead being cleansed of his goodness," he drew a line from the chest in which he drew a heart. "All that made the creature who he was in life is worked for an evil purpose, fueled by hunger and emboldened by what we have just discussed, his strength and his uninhibited mind." His ear twitched and he pointed back without turning.
"Cutty?" He called to his squire who had raised a paw. Cutty blinked and lowered his paw with a nod.
"Sir Karl, what if a nosferatu retained his goodness?" The rest of the class murmured and a few chortled. Karl scoffed and shook his head before turning.
"No such thing is possible by the nature of the ritual that creates them. You're thinking of vampire spawn, but we're discussing Nosferatu, the genuine article."
"Right, but supposing the ritual was skewed or botched, what effect might that have?" Cutty replied bringing his paw to his chin. "Would that make them less dangerous to a hunter? And if so, would it be worthwhile to look into, maybe, altering the ritual after the fact?" Karl considered the question for a moment with his paws folded behind his back. He rocked on his heels and hummed.
"Humoring the idea, I suppose a vampire who retained his heart would still be the same creature he was in life," he rubbed his chin, seemingly unaware of the chalk on his paw. "So, I suppose if the fellow was of a kinder heart in life, he might be more reluctant to kill initially." He hummed again and pursed his lips before looking at Cutty with a nod.
"But no, that would make him more dangerous."
"How so?" Another student asked. Karl pointed at him and then drew his claw back to the illustration.
"A vampire is motivated by ego and hunger, pride and fear because, in the end, this is all that he has left," he raised his extended claw and tilted his head back. "But one who still has his old values is less predictable." He opened his paw and turned back to the board.
"Say we have a vampire who we must destroy. So, we find his hiding place and bring our tools against him," he began drawing a small scene of several stick figures chasing one with fangs. "Not wishing to be destroyed, he will forsake all things to avoid us unless a greater fear is pressed against him. In this way, we can surround and trap him." He grumbled for a moment before shrugging and drawing an angry shark by the vampire figure, earning a laugh from the class.
"On the other paw," he began a new scene. "This hypothetical fellow has all the power we know a vampire has, but also has something he cares for." The new stick figure had a shiny ring at his feet.
"If that something is threatened, even if it risks his life, we cannot guarantee he will run from us," he began scrawling several broken stick figures all around the new vampire. "And much like charging headlong into a wall, our steadfast pursuit could be turned against us." He took a step back from his art and hummed as he turned on his heel.
"Am I making any sense here?" The class murmured and noted down his words, but Cutty again raised a paw. Karl nodded at him.
"It sounds an awful lot like how any ordinary tom cat would behave when something he loves is threatened." Karl nodded profusely with a wide-eyed expression at his student.
"Precisely, only with supernatural strength and, if we're very unlucky in this hypothetical, sorcery," he rolled his head for a moment. "For a creature capable of love can work terrible wonders for the sake of that love." He clapped his hands.
"But enough theory, back to practicality!"
"For the last time, we should make for Woollachia at once!" Blueblood cried from the deck of the ship. "The Master is in distress!" Twilight winced and looked back at him.
"Woollachia is days away, but Adam is right here," she frowned and looked at the cave beyond the fire that had led them here. "Allegedly anyway. We'll look real quick, and if he's not here we can chase after Peter." She looked back at Calaeno and the rest still aboard the ship.
"And if he is?" The entire team jumped and turned their attention to the cave. There, leaning on the wall with a sullen, empty expression, was Adam. Calaeno and her crew shuddered at his sudden appearance.
"You," Blueblood hissed and jabbed a hoof at him. Twilight and her friends quickly leaped into formation and glared at the vampire. He met their gaze and slowly stepped out into the moonlight before sitting on the ground.
"Go on," he urged with a wave of his hand. The Element-bearers hesitated and shared a look as Twilight scowled.
"What's your deal?" She demanded.
"My 'deal?'" Adam scoffed with a raised eyebrow. "I surrendered, that's all. Finish me off." Rainbow snarled and stamped her hoof.
"After everything you pulled at Canterlot, that crud you did to Pinkie, kidnapping Skystar, you're just giving up?" She growled.
"Yes. I can't win, so why bother?" He frowned, grabbed a handful of dirt, and let it slip through his fingers. "At least this way, I don't have to worry about him being the one to kill me. You're here, and you have your Elements. So that's that." Rainbow snorted and looked at Twilight, who studied the vampire with a frown.
"Do you mean Peter?" Fluttershy squeaked. Adam nodded without looking up.
"The heck's yer problem with him?" Applejack pried. "'Sides the fact he's been doin' yer buddies in." Adam narrowed his eyes and hummed before looking up at the night sky.
"I used to think I knew what would happen when I died. Now, I'm not so sure," he brought his knees to his chest and locked his arms around them. "And that is terrifying to me. So terrifying I went against what my heart told me was right and tried to make this work." The wind picked up then and was the only sound on the plateau for a few moments.
"What did your heart tell you was right? Did it have something to do with all that religious stuff you wrote down?" Twilight asked, causing Adam to look her in the eyes.
"Yes." Twilight frowned and nodded.
"And what did it say was right?" He huddled up and stared at the ground.
"That I should die before letting him take my vampiric power. But in my fear and pride, I thought I could simply destroy him and live," he scowled and sighed.
"Why does it matter if Peter absorbs your dark magic?" Rarity pressed, wilting slightly when Adam focused on her with his still-sour expression.
"Because I know what happens after that, and I want no part in bringing about the darker dawn I was told of," he rose to his feet with a growl.
"Darker dawn?" Twilight repeated. Just then, the harsh cries of a crow split the air, drawing everyone's attention to a boulder on the edge of the plateau where the crow was sitting and watching. Twilight returned her focus to Adam. "What darker dawn are you talking about? What will happen if Peter takes your dark magic?" She winced when he suddenly drew the studded belt she'd seen him beat himself with.
"I don't fully understand it myself, but the ram who awoke me was certain it would be the end of this world. Only after I pressed him for information," he snarled and bared his teeth. "He was reluctant and guarded, but I could tell he was hiding things from me and wore him down." He slowly raised his belt in the air and cracked it with such force it left a gash in the rock. The sharp noise made everyone jump, and the Element bearers jumped back into formation.
"But I've thought on all this enough. I've committed crimes against you, your home, and the men I called brother," he brought one foot forward and raised his belt behind him. "So kill me, or I will kill you."
Starlight and a blue unicorn mare were in Twilight's castle having dinner The blue mare screamed her lungs out and ducked behind Starlight when I suddenly appeared. Starlight herself jumped to her hooves and lit her horn until she realized it was me.
"Oh! Jeez! Some warning woulda been nice, Mr. Harlow," Starlight griped but wilted when I reached and picked her up to eye level by the scruff of her neck. Her friend whimpered at me and cautiously held a knife up in her magic.
"Where does Twilight keep the potions she got from Shang-hay." Starlight stared wide-eyed at me before looking to her left.
"In her lab? I can show you if you put me down," she said quietly. I gently returned her to the ground and gestured with a hand. She and her friend shared a look before she frowned at me. "Did something happen?" She flinched when I gestured again, more forcefully.
"There was an attack in Woollachia, and I need the healing potions."
"Wh-"
"Now." They both wilted and slowly led me out of the room through the castle to Twilight's lab. I shuddered as we stepped inside and nodded. "Thank you." Before either could reply, I rushed to the familiar crate we'd taken from Shang-hay which rested on a table along with what seemed to be potions Twilight had made using Candy's notes. Luckily, they were labeled, so finding the medicinal ones was easy, along with-
I considered the vial in my hands for only a moment before pocketing it along with the healing elixirs. I turned to Starlight and her friend, who looked at me with concerned annoyance and fear, respectively. I sent out my Evil Eye for my next target.
"Sorry, but it's an emergency," and then I was gone. A moment's blindness and I found myself standing in the town hall of Ruffleton, to the audible shock of Shawl and a few other sheep. Including Quilt.
"Pete-" I swept her into a tight hug. She hesitated for a moment, before sniffling and wrapping her forelegs around my neck and heaving a few shuddering breaths. "I'm so sorry." I held her and ignored the cries of the rest of the sheep. After a hard minute, I set her down and fixed her bow.
"Not as sorry as they're going to be," I flicked my wrist and dragged Shawl to my side. He looked up at me with an expression I hadn't seen since first awakening. I pulled the vials from my coat and set them at his hooves. He furrowed his brow at the sight, despite his reluctance to take his eyes off me. "Magic healing stuff. For the injured." He blinked and looked down at the potions.
And by the time he looked back at me, I was gone to my next target.
"Catrina please!" Panthera begged as he sulked in his seat in his private chamber. The orange female Abyssinian in the red dress with the long fur boa who had her arms wrapped around him from behind only whined and purred as she nuzzled his cheek. "This is entirely unbecoming!"
"Oh, what's unbecoming is a poor innocent duchess, who was forced into an awful pact with a devil during her country's brutal occupation, should have her name dragged through the mud by her beloved king!" Catrina purred. Panthera folded his arms and winced and shuddered. "Isn't there any way we could just forget all this nasty business?" Panthera whined and huffed before casting a fearful look at the door.
"Catrina, my wife is-"
"Going to be so disappointed to find out what we got up to," Catrina said with a humming chuckle. Panthera shuddered and stammered as she dragged a single claw up his cheek. "Unless, of course, you vouch for me that I did nothing wrong." Panthera whipped around to look at her.
"But your estate-" She groaned and slinked back from him.
"Yes, yes, your guards who came to bring me in found maps matching the one Adam was using in my home. So what?" She swept to his front and leaned on his knees with a leering grin. "What's a little treason between friends? Unless we can't keep each other's secrets." She raised an eyebrow but maintained her grin.
"You- I-" There was a flash, and they both jumped. Panthera whipped around to see Peter Harlow standing tall behind him. "Pete-"
"Oh my!" He shuddered and turned to see Catrina sauntering up to the vampire. "And who is this~?" She hummed and traced a claw up his chest.
"Could you be the Peter Harlow of Woollachia I've heard so much about?"
"Who are you?" Peter asked with a strange tone. Panthera furrowed his brow and felt a chill.
"Why, I am the Duchess Catrina of Abyssinia!" Catrina declared with a sweep of her arms, before draping them on Peter's shoulders. He remained unmoving. "And-"
"Oh, Katskills mentioned you. You're a spy for Adam, right?" Her eyes widened, and she scanned the air. After a moment, she regained her composure and smiled.
"Yeah.. But I promise big boy," she cupped his chin with one paw and pursed her lips at him. "There's plenty of room in my heart for-"
THWA-CRACK
Panthera shrieked and fell from his chair. He looked up to see Peter standing as still as before, only with his left arm stretched out to his side and no sign of Catrina.
Shlump.
Panthera shuddered and slowly looked to his right, and saw a wet, red splotch on his freshly cracked wall. Panthera let out a hollow cry as he saw the unmoving form of what was a Duchess of Abyssinia slumped on the floor just below the splotch.
"Peter-" He turned and wilted when he saw the vampire looming immediately over him with the same, even distant look in his eye.
"I need information on the Catican."
My Evil Eye was turning up nothing again. No matter how often I tried, I couldn't see Frill. If they had only attacked this morning, there wasn't any way they could have made it back to the Katskills by now, so unless they were using an airship, they shouldn't be able to keep her in a salt circle.
That, of course, raised a new concern: they weren't bringing her back to the Catican, they were holing up somewhere else. And that new concern only made me angrier. I ground my teeth and growled, which did nothing to ease Panthera's nerves as he returned to his study with the book he promised.
"Here, ah, is everything on the Catican," he said with a desperately chipper tone. I yanked the hefty tome from his paws with my magic, drawing a squeak from him. He nervously tapped his claws and cleared his throat. "So, I uh, don't suppose you'd be willing to help me, er, deal with the body?" I looked back at the corpse still lying on the ground and nodded.
"I'm taking it with me," I opened the book, paying no mind to his nervous laugh. I grinned maliciously at the first page, which was an album of the sixty-six paladins of the Catican and their leader, as recent as seven years ago. Complete with a big photo of the whole lot.
Of course, Karl was there, as well as 'Lord Bubsy,' both looking especially pleased with themselves. So, they were the first I decided to spy upon. My Evil Eye revealed a dim room lit by a fireplace with a cushy red rug from corner to corner. Behind a fancy-looking desk sat Bubsy, reclining away from Karl who was leaning on the desk with an absolutely furious glare leveled at Bubsy.
"This is no better than what that bastard vampire was pulling with the princess, you penny-pinching yellow bastard!" Karl roared. Bubsy slammed his paws on the desk.
"Of course it is! We have a mission to achieve, Karl!" He rose from his seat and jabbed a claw in Karl's face. "The path I choose for us to pursue it is my prerogative. You just need to worry about following it!" He choked when Karl grabbed him by the shirt collar and pressed their noses together with a fiery snarl.
"Kidnapping girls is too far, you dumb whore-son," he hissed. He heaved a few breaths out with a growl. "What would your father think?" Bubsy slapped his paw away.
"My father is dead, Karl. And he left behind an organization on the verge of bankruptcy, with supplies dwindling and morale completely dried up," Bubsy waved his paw. "He would never have lobbied with the Abyssinian nobility as I did!"
"Because we're not politicians! We're hunters! Monster Slayers!" Karl ranted and paced away from the desk. "And now, thanks to you, catnappers!" Bubsy stormed up to Karl and grabbed his shoulders, whirling him around to face him.
"You're a hunter, Karl. So you hunt," he tapped him on the chest with a claw, before doing so to himself. "I fight with words. So let me be the voice of the Catican, while you be its arms. Its sword and its trump card." They glared into each other's eyes for a hard minute before Bubsy spoke again.
"Besides, you're assuming I was the only one on board with the idea," he declared with a sneer. "Gilbert, for instance, came up with a plan for them to keep her out of the vampire's Evil Eye." I bared and clenched my teeth, drawing an audible gulp from Panthera.
"And what plan is that?" Karl demanded with an exasperated huff. Bubsy held his palms out.
"They stowed her in a sack of salt and are hauling her back in that mechanical wagon we imported from the United Cities, with a ring of salt around its floor," he explained, earning a vacant glare from Karl. "They should be back by eight tomorrow morning."
A sack of salt.
They were hauling my girl like that, huh? Like a pile of meat? Fair enough. I was game. Glad we all understood each other. I can be pretty clever, too. Humans are pretty clever. We invented Dracula without having the excuse of magic like you fucks.
That gave me an idea. We could swap vampire lore. It'd be fun. A one-man siege of your city might not work, but who said I needed to be open? Ya'll have to sleep sometime.
"A duel," Karl growled, causing Bubsy to turn his head with a confused leer.
"What?"
"I want a duel with him," Karl hissed. He jabbed Bubsy with a claw. "Me and him, nocatty else. Then we can regain some of our honor." Bubsy raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
"Fine, fine," he waved his paw. "Not sure why it matters. He's just another demon, Karl."
"He doesn't. The girl and the Catican, however, do," Karl replied as he turned and stormed out of the room. I narrowed my eyes and cracked my neck before rising from my seat.
"Panthera," I said and stepped passed him to Catrina's body. "You have an armory here, right?" I picked up the body and tilted the head back. Panthera audibly gurgled and moaned.
"Y-yes, we do.. Why?"
"Need a few things," I replied, then sank my teeth into her neck.
Panthera's book was very helpful.
The Catican originated as a lone monastery beyond the Katskills mountains, where occult and dark magical lore was accumulated and studied for defensive purposes. As the years passed, the wooden house grew and was reinforced with stone until it now sat as the gigantic fortress Panthera's book referred to as the Hisstine Chapel. If I wasn't so abjectly enraged I might've found that funny.
As the Catican grew, sixty-six of its most athletically capable monks formed a brotherhood of knights who started actively putting their knowledge to use in hunting monsters. They even discovered the alchemical formula for 'faerie-iron,' which was raw magic captured in hot metal, and started making weapons from it. These warrior monks were the first Paladins.
As their successes mounted Abyssinians started sending their kids to the Catican for training from the Paladins, to eventually join their ranks. While there are only ever sixty-six Paladins, a veritable army of squires lives and trains in the Catican. The whole city could support a population of five hundred at its height.
The Paladins all lived in individual three-story barracks which surrounded the chapel in six rings, and outside the last ring was the valley of the Katskills. The valley stretched out in all directions but met a forest just south of the city which rested before the mountains themselves. All traffic into and out of the valley had to pass through that forest, so that formed something of a plan in my mind.
Paladin Horace of the Fifteenth House was sound asleep in his bed. It was a nice room, with a queen-sized bed, an unlit fireplace, and a private desk right up against the tall window through which the moonlight streamed, lighting up the bed Horace was on. Like all the Paladins, his room was on the top floor, along with the study hall. The squires all slept on the ground floor, and the house's equipment was on the middle floor.
At this time, the study hall was vacant as the squires were either asleep or heading to the chapel, which held the city's food supplies. So, with some finesse, it was easy to teleport Catrina and me in and quickly leap upon Horace and knife him in the heart before he could fully awaken. Rolling off him, I pulled out the ghoul potion I swiped from Twilight's, and just like with Catrina, I sank my teeth into his neck to drain his blood before dripping the potion into his mouth. His corpse shuddered for a moment before shooting to its feet.
"Tight. Wait here," I warped back to Panthera, who was sitting on a bench his his castle armory with his head in his paws. On the table next to him sat a pile of spears. Sixty-six of them. I scooped them up in my arm, then warped back to my ghouls, and handed the set to Catrina. I pointed at Horace. "You carry her to the south valley. Avoid being seen, and start sticking these in the ground in a row." He wordlessly and mindlessly scooped Catrina up and followed me to the window, which I threw open and flowed out as mist.
When I reformed, I sat on the roof of the building and watched as Horace hauled Catrina up next to me before taking off south on the rooftops. As they rushed away, I scanned the city around me. All the roofs had identical clay tiling, tall brick smokestacks, and dark thick-paned windows. The gigantic chapel loomed high over all of them, with a titanic pair of towers on its south-facing corners which ended in two lofty spires. The chapel windows were dimly glowing, an obvious sign of the night-time activities inside.
I scoffed and turned my attention back to my scheme. Sending out my Evil Eye, I looked for the other Paladins named in the book. The first I spied was Karl himself, but he was still awake and currently in a discussion with one of his squires. The second I targeted, however, was not so lucky.
One by one, the Paladins of the Catican died in their sleep or after a brief, fruitless struggle and were turned to ghouls and sent to the edge of the city. There, they fixed themselves upon the spears I had Horace and Catrina plant in the ground, Vlad Dracula style. The scheme was simple: When morning came, they'd be spotted, and an alarm would be raised. A couple of things would happen as a result. First, if they weren't here already, a messenger would be sent to the team that abducted Frill and I'd follow them. If they were here, I could swoop down and kill them before rescuing her.
The second thing that would happen is I sic my ghouls on Karl. He and six other Paladins were currently still alive, either due to not being able to see them with my Eye, or, in Karl's case, due to a chance never arising for me to kill him in his sleep. So when he and the others inevitably investigated the scene, they'd be ambushed and hopefully killed.
The last thing that would happen is whoever's still alive gets the message to mind their own fucking business. For that reason, I left Bubsy alive, intending to flash back to him and really press the point to him later.
The sun was beginning to rise, but no one would notice since I conjured some storm clouds over the city. I lay on a paladin's roof with one arm draped over my eyes, drawing some grim delight from the sounds of panic through the roof as squires were discovering the empty beds, and in some cases spatters of blood.
I was fighting the daytime weariness now, and raw anger was barely enough to keep me awake. Fortunately, every time I scanned for Frill or the other six paladins who must've been escorting her, my anger was reinvigorated. Just as I prepared to do so again, a shrill whine pierced the air. Looking up, I saw a bright white flare peeling into the sky from where my ghouls were.
I sent my Eye out with a scowl and found the six remaining paladins beside my ghouls, in varying states of dismay, distress, and overall horror at the display. One of them had his paws on his knees as he puked, while another had his paw on the former's back. The mechanical carriage, which was a box wagon with a visible engine gently bouncing in its back, sat abandoned a few feet away. In the seat on the front, next to the wheel, there was a large tied sack, wriggling and writhing.
My attention fell on one of the paladins with brown fur and a spot over his left eye. James, I think, was the one who lit the flare that shot into the sky. Regardless, I appeared behind James and clapped my hands on either side of his head, pulping his skull instantly. As his body slumped free from my grip, I slowly turned to his fellows, all of whom stood stock-still.
"Harlow-" Was all the yellow one could get out before his fur caught fire. The grey one drew an axe and the spotted one drew a crossbow. The latter was struck by lightning from my outstretched hand, and the former was caught and flung to the side by magic. My Evil Eye warned me as the paladin I recognized as Gilbert shot at me with a blowgun. I turned to mist but discovered too late that the dart must've had a faerie-iron tip.
As I reformed I tried to huck a ball of fire at him, but the spell sputtered. The dart must've been more of that anti-magic shit Karl had used. He and his remaining comrades formed up, drew warding totems of different shapes, and moved to lunge for me. I thrust a hand out at them.
"ATTACK!" I roared, and my ghouls rattled to life. They stopped short and looked up in shock as their dead comrades began to tear themselves down before flopping onto the ground. Whatever happened next I couldn't care less. Ignoring them, I turned and rushed for the wagon and ripped open the sack. As a cloud of salt burst into the air, I was met with a series of desperate coughs and then a pair of flailing hooves.
"Leave- AHK- Leave me alone! PLEASE!" Frill squealed with her eyes clenched shut as she threw her hooves at my hands. Her wool and skin were all crusted with salt. "Peter!" I slipped my hands onto her shoulders and pulled her free from the sack, drawing more cries from her.
"Frill, it's me! It's Peter!" She froze and tensed up, before murmuring and trying to look at me, but as she tried to open her eyes she winced and whined.
"P-peter?" She tried to pull one of her legs free to rub her eyes. She shuddered and gave a throaty cry. "I-I can't." I clenched my jaw and heaved a breath before pulling her into my chest.
"Just hold on," I said, and she sobbed and curled up in my grip. I looked over my shoulder to see Gilbert and his companion struggling against the horde of ghouls. The third paladin was on the ground getting mauled to death, and further away-
Him.
Karl van Katskills and a host of squires, all with weapons drawn were bounding toward us from the city. Even though my eyes were sharper, I could swear we locked gazes for a moment. Long enough for my Evil Eye to act up at any rate.
I scowled and flew towards the forest.
Karl thrust his knife into the heart of the fallen ghoul, drawing a hissing squeal from it as it shivered and then crumbled to dust.
"Rest easy, Horace," he whispered before swiping his knife through the air and turning to inspect the rest of the situation. Sixty ghouls incapacitated or destroyed. Fifteen squires injured. Twice as many dead. And sixty-three Catican Paladins put to rest.
The field outside of the southern end of the city was littered with ash and death, the road and grass were stained with blood, and despite their best efforts to finish things quickly, a crowd had begun to gather, full of murmuring and mournful cries as many bore witness to the undead state their warriors, teachers, and friends had been reduced to.
As the squires hauled their fellows off the road and away from the undead ash piles, he spied Gilbert vanishing into the woodlands the vampire had fled into. His whiskers twitched as he heard Bubsy step next to him.
"You, Gilbert, and Albert unless I'm mistaken," Bubsy huffed as they stared out at the woods, and Albert who ran after Gilbert. "He's ruined us."
"We still have the squires, we can-"
"The Paladins are our pride, Karl," Bubsy growled and drew his paw over his face. "And that demon killed them for that little harlot of his."
"You were the one who brought her here." They shared a glare.
"If he's still in there, bring his head back," he jabbed Karl in the chest with a claw. "You're now our most senior Paladin, after all. And hey! You can have that duel." He firmly patted Karl's back with a smile. Karl heaved a sigh and slumped his shoulders as he scanned the woods. He hesitated and leered at Bubsy, but then he drew his knives and hurtled towards the forest. For a minute after he left, Bubsy stood with his arms folded.
He looked back and saw the crowd had split apart, and some were now looming over what remained of the ashes, while others were helping the haul the wounded back to town. Even from this distance, the air of fear and uncertainty was palpable.
He reached into his coat drew his matchlock pistol, and ensured it was loaded. He took a breath and waved over one of the squires, placing his paw on the cat's shoulder when he arrived.
"Get this all cleaned up and secure the city. The Paladins and I are going to destroy the vampire, by any means necessary," he nodded at the carnage around them. He gave the squire a severe look. "And send a letter to Celestia about all this." The younger cat gave a salute and hurried off to convey his orders. Bubsy sighed and turned to the forest.
"Sorry, Karl. Can't risk losing you, too," he held his pistol up and strode alone into the woods.
I looked at the broken projectile in my fingers with utter annoyance. When I tried to pull out the dart Gilbert shot me with, the very end of it snapped off and remained in my shoulder. Enough of it to kill my magic. I tossed the dart into the water and returned my attention to Frill, who could now see enough to wash herself without falling into the shallow river.
Of course, of the two of us, I was more at risk of such a thing, but that was neither here nor there. Frill took a breath, plunged her whole snout into the water, and blew out through her nose before pulling back with a series of coughs.
"Mercy," she huffed and puffed and wiped her nose with her hoof, blinking water from her eyes. All of her wool was wet and sagged off her now, so I was wringing patches of it out while she recovered. She shook her head, causing her long unbraided mass of wool to flop around. "A bag of salt! Honestly." She scoffed and then looked back at me with a tired smile. I smiled back and we reached out to hug each other.
"Ah-hah! Found you!" Or, an absolutely spot-on Gilbert Gottfried-sounding motherfucker could pop up. I whipped around and rose only to recoil as I was greeted by a mangy orange cat in a wrinkled vest and bow tie thrusting a metal eight-point star in my face. I cried out and struggled to maintain my balance to avoid falling into the river. "That's right demon! I, Gilbert of the Catican, shall end your reign of terror by thrusting you back into the waters!" He took a step closer and pointed at me with narrow eyes.
"You believed you could sneak into our holy city and harass our innocent kindred, but you thought wrong!" Another step closer. I felt the waters lapping against my heels and was bending backward at the hips, waving my arms to steady myself. "With this star of chaos, treated in a random number of oils of types chosen by lottery, I shall-"
WHU-CRACK
"oo"
I blinked as he lowered the star of chaos, and saw Frill standing with her back to him, glaring up at him. Then she reared forward again and bucked him in the groin.
WHU-CRACK
He wheezed and fell to the ground.
"Thug," Frill spat. She looked up at me with concern. "Are you okay, Peter?"
"God, I love you," I replied. She blushed and smiled before a shout broke the air.
"Nosferatu!" I rolled my eyes and heaved up Gilbert, before hucking him with all my might at the grey-furred axe-wielding Paladin from before, who squawked as they collided. I swept Frill up and then took to the air.
"Need to find a way around the river," I said observing the flowing water as we flew. "After that, we're home free." Frill cuddled into me.
"Peter, I can't.. You," I shushed her and kissed her cheek. She scrunched her snout and nuzzled me. We flew in silence for a minute, before she quietly spoke again. "Thank you." Then my Evil Eye twitched and a familiar knife shot into the tree just ahead of us, causing Frill to squeal. I turned in the air and glared down at Karl, who looked up at us with his paws on his hips.
"Fuck off."
"I didn't have to miss," he replied. He snapped his arm out and three more knives appeared between his claws. "And I'm certain I could shear your throat open without harming the lady." Frill whimpered and clutched me tight. Karl pointed his knives at me.
"So, just set her down, and let's settle this. Without risking her getting hurt," he folded his arms and leveled a glare my way, which I mirrored. Frill pulled at my collar with her teeth.
"Peter, please." I scanned the forest floor around Karl for a minute before replying. There were lots of trees, standing or otherwise, obviously, but also lots of heavy-looking boulders all around him.
"He's not lying Frill. He can hit me even if I'm flying," I looked at her sadly. "At least, if I'm carrying you." She blanched, and her ears shot back. I squeezed her gently, and she wrapped her hooves around my neck to return the gesture.
I drifted to the ground and set her down, before standing to my full height. I gave her a sad smile, which she matched with a fearful stare, and then I gave Karl my full attention. He raised an eyebrow and gestured to Frill before waving me to the side. I nodded and then took off at full speed towards a tree which I slammed with both fists towards Karl. With an echoing crack, it snapped and fell straight at him.
While he easily jumped out of the way, I grabbed it before it hit the ground and swept it toward him, crashing through a few thinner trees in the act. He tumbled backward to the ground under it, and when he rose my Evil Eye gave me enough warning to use the tree as a shield against the knives he threw underhand as he rose to his feet.
With a heave, I hurled the tree towards him and shot backward. He ducked the tree, sprang forward, and hucked another knife at me. I turned to mist, but rather than let the knife touch me, I tried to form a hole to let it slip by, which worked perfectly. I reformed in a spinning fashion and ripped a boulder out of the ground in the same motion, before hurling it at him.
I heard his blunderbuss go off, but avoiding the flying rock must've spoiled his aim as the blast of shrapnel was nowhere near me. Still, he spun on his heels and threw himself towards me again with an angry scowl. His frustration only grew when I quickly heaved up a second boulder.
Just like he feared, Bubsy watched as even with the vampire's magic restrained Karl was having trouble overcoming him. The report Karl had initially turned in suggested that Harlow was stronger than the average elder vampire, possibly twice as strong. It was obvious now that his strength was even greater than that. Entire trees and large chunks of earth were being hurled like pillows, all from a safe distance and denying Karl a chance to retaliate.
All the while, that sheep watched on in tense anticipation from an equally safe distance, doubtlessly praying for the safety of her demon. Bubsy drew his pistol and primed the hammer. If Karl wasn't wise enough to use the vampire's obvious weakness, then it was up to the Catican's Administrator to pick up the slack.
"A moment's distraction is all he needs," Bubsy thought. As Karl narrowly cleaved a thrown boulder apart, he crept up to the sheep and in pistol range. He firmly stepped and-
crack
"Scratch," he hissed as the twig he stepped on drew the sheep's attention straight to him. He leveled his pistol at her, and she screamed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the vampire scrambling towards him with a desperate scream, but he wouldn't make it.
Bubsy pulled the trigger, and the hammer slammed down, dragging its lit wick into the flash pan.
clack
The vampire fell to the ground on all fours with a heavy gasp. The sheep collapsed onto her side in shock. Bubsy released the breath he didn't know he was holding.
And it came out in a scream as he clutched his gun arm, just below where Karl's knife had landed after it cut clean through the lit wick of his pistol.
"KARL!" Bubsy wailed as he dropped his pistol and squeezed his bleeding wound. He fell to one knee and looked up in horror at the paladin, who returned a stare of exhausted disdain. "KARL!"
"No." Bubsy's cries hitched and he watched Harlow rise to his feet with a wide, haunted look in his eyes. "No, no no." The vampire held his hands out and shambled forward with a quick, uneven gait.
"Karl.. Karl!" Bubsy wailed and threw himself back as the vampire ran forward.
And then collapsed onto the ewe and curled his arms around her.
"No,nononono," the monster wailed.
"Peter, I'm okay!" The sheep squeaked through tears of her own as the vampire soaked her wool red. "I'm- oh, goodness." She coiled her forelegs around his neck and hiccupped. Bubsy heaved a sigh and slumped on his back.
Karl, meanwhile, watched the pair hold each other with a furrowed brow. He tilted his head to and fro as the monster sobbed.
"KARL!" Then his attention shifted to Bubsy, who was sitting up and holding his arm. "Finish him now!" Karl gazed at Bubsy in abject bewilderment. He gestured to the dropped pistol.
"Is that what we're reduced to?"
"What are you talking about?! Kill the monster!" Silence gripped the forest. The Abyssinian's attention fell upon the vampire as he slowly propped himself up on all fours and then turned his head at Bubsy. His cheeks were stained red and his jaw hung open, but only for a moment.
For in an instant, his teeth clenched and he snapped to his feet and stalked towards Bubsy.
"Karl.." Bubsy squawked and shook his head, holding up his good arm against the vampire. "Karl." The vampire stood over him and pulled him up by the collar.
"KARL!" The vampire seized Bubsy's throat and then with a deep, baleful roar, squeezed until his head rolled off. He then hurled his headless body into a nearby tree with unholy might, spattering it across the forest floor.
"Gilbert was a crack shot and no mistake," Karl muttered as he finally got ahold of the dart tip in my shoulder. "Almost to the bone, but!" I groaned and felt the anti-magic shrapnel slip from my body on the tiny hook he was using.
"There we go!" Karl appraised with a smile as he held up the tiny needle-like dart head. Frill reared up and clutched my injured arm with a whimper, so I reached over cupped the back of her head, and kissed her forehead. Then Karl clapped me on the back of the head. "Save it, lover boy. Get lost." Frill and I both scowled at him and he raised an eyebrow at us.
"You're not forgiven for the murder of my brethren, Harlow. You're just excused for today because our administrator decided to behave like a colossal twat," he stood up with a groan and slipped his coat back on. "Next time we meet, I intend to put you in the dirt where you belong. My way. No abducted lady's involved." He wagged a claw at Frill, who snapped a hoof out at it.
"Why can't you all just leave him alone?!" She shrieked and held me tighter.
"Call it foresight, or call it bigotry," Karl shrugged with a tired smile. "I just call it my sworn duty." He cackled, though with significantly less gusto than he did at the castle, and turned to leave.
"Katskills," I huffed. He stopped and leered back at me. I wrapped my arm around Frill and nodded. "Thanks."
And before he could respond, we were gone.
"The Elements com. Plete. Ly dissolved him. You're sure?" The crow cawed its affirmation and Briefs sucked air through his teeth and threw his head back in dismay. "Scruffing, son of a.. Gods and Devils be damned." His tone shifted from his usual chipper inflection to a deep guttural snarl, and his ordinary flat sheep teeth briefly grew to bloody fangs and he lashed his head about in a struggle to regain his senses. With a shuddering breath, he blinked a few times and nodded. Looking around the ruins of New Ramstead, including the mostly rotten corpse he and his familiar had just dug into, he shook his head.
"Such a waste. All this, for something so," he rolled a hoof. "Infantile." He stamped his hoof and took a breath through a forced smile.
"But! Not for me to decide, is it?" He leered down at his companion, who tilted his head. "That's right, I have a plan b. Have from the beginning." He winked and rose to his hooves. Stretching and shaking the dust from his wool, he nodded again.
Once I returned with Frill, Quilt accepted no argument and demanded we stay and rest in her house. The hours had ticked by and the sun was slowly crawling towards the horizon.
I poked my head through the wall and scanned the village. The Catican may have ruined the festival, but the sheep of Ruffleton had managed to bounce back and repair much of the damage they'd caused. Mostly broken windows or smashed stalls. In any case, the medicinal potions I'd delivered had worked wonders, and just a day later, Ruffleton was settling back into its quiet status quo.
I turned and drifted back to my body on Quilt's sofa, where Quilt and Frill were both still sleeping curled up on my chest and side respectively. The whole incident had eased their competition for my attention, seemingly. Cozy had even joined our little sleepover, though she was in Quilt's bed across the room.
Once I was physical again, I sighed and ran my fingers through Frill's matted wool.
"Gonna need to get you a brush, little lady," I thought.
"Mm, me too?" I blinked and looked down to see Quilt looking up at me with a groggy smile. Then, a hoof shot out and bopped her on the nose.
"Whatever it is, me first," Frill declared with a groan as she stretched her legs.
"What's Peter doing?" I tilted my head back and saw Cozy hopping down and walking our way, stretching her legs as she approached. I looked from her to the other two, who were looking at me expectantly. The clock on the wall read five-thirty.
"Breakfast for dinner?" I offered. Quilt beamed, but Frill scoffed and rolled to her hooves, bumping Quilt to the ground as she did.
"Not if you're cooking," she hopped over me and Quilt, who swung at her with a roar. She avoided Quilt's hoof, spun around, and winked at me. "But I think I owe you a big thank you, Mister."
"Nah," I said firmly while running the brush through Frill's fur.
"Just a little won't hurt!" She retorted, looking back at me with a frown. "Come on!"
"Nuh-uh," I reasserted, ignoring Cozy's critical glare as she and Quilt munched on the pancakes Frill had made for everyone. Except for me, as I didn't really eat food. Instead, she was now trying to convince me to suck her blood. She scrunched her muzzle and whined.
"But you were so valiant!" She shot a sneer at Quilt, who was cleaving huge mouthfuls from her stack of pancakes and waved a hoof at her. "And I fed that slob, so I can't just let you starve!" Quilt stamped her hoof and swallowed with some effort.
"She's right! And since Celestia's put you on a diet, this might be your best chance to get a decent meal!" She thrust a hoof in the air triumphantly. "Drain her dry!"
"Don't," Cozy spat dryly. We all shared a look and laughed. Then Quilt's door got kicked in by a trio of armed and armored Diamond Dogs, who came scrambling into the house with spears ready. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me staring at them in bewilderment.
"Master?" One chirped nervously.
"Thought you gone!" Another added. The last just gulped and nodded profusely. I furrowed my brow, gently set Frill on the ground, and slowly approached the three who wilted under my gaze. Once I stood before them, the sounds of a ruckus just outside became apparent.
"Again!?" Quilt shrieked. I held up a hand, both to quiet her and to begin conjuring a storm outside as the sun was still up a little.
"We don't know that!" I slowly drew the same hand forward and firmly grabbed one of the dogs by the shoulder. "Explain."
The leader of the defeated raiding party choked and sputtered in my grip before finally going still. I tossed his body into the pile of the other treacherous dogs who hadn't surrendered upon seeing me. I turned to Fancy, the leader of the trio who broke into Quilt's house, who held his helmet in his paws meekly. Just passed him, the sheep of Ruffleton were gathered together in a frightened crowd, just as they had been months ago.
"What did Graggle order you to do once you rounded all the sheep up?" He nodded bashfully.
"Said send word to castle, then wait for orders," he adjusted his grip on his helmet. "Said needed sheep you friends with." I hissed and looked up at Ramstead in the distance, standing tall and proud in the moon's light.
"Little bastard," I huffed and whistled through my fingers, drawing the attention of all the dogs waiting a safe distance from the sheep. "If you're still loyal like you claim, form two parties. One head to Threadbare, the other to Buttonburg. Warn them of what Graggle just tried to pull." I grabbed my cape and swept it over me as I turned and made for town hall. In moments, a stampede of paws rolled out and left the town.
Just in the door of the town hall, I found Shawl, Frill, Cozy, and Quilt right where I asked them to wait. I pointed at Shawl and then at the crowd outside.
"Tend to your flock," I ordered. He wilted under my gaze, but nodded and carefully stepped around me.
"Thank you, Peter," he whispered as he left us for the crowd. I scratched the back of my head and hummed.
"Why would Graggle do this?" Frill muttered, shaking her head at the ground. Quilt rubbed her chin and murmured quietly.
"Think he's just been planning this from the beginning?" Cozy offered as she paced around the three of us. I shook my head and cracked my knuckles.
"Dunno, but I'm going to find out once I stop his dogs." Quilt shivered and shot to her hooves.
"Sunbeam and Hasty," she said quietly. Cozy stumbled and whipped around with her jaw hanging open. I scowled and shot out my Evil Eye. Luckily, they were both together, though in chains and without their armor. I recognized the room they were in as the vault. Hasty was doing his best to comfort Sunbeam by rubbing her back, while she was huddled under the table in a tight ball.
Before they had a chance to react, I warped in, scooped them both up, and warped them back to Quilt and the others. Sunbeam scrambled to her hooves with a prolonged scream, but tripped and flopped onto her side.
"Sunbeam!" Cozy squealed.
"Co-" Sunbeam's ears snapped against her skull and she scanned the room with wide eyes. "Wha.." Cozy tackled her in a hug. Hasty watched the two tumble on the ground and slowly looked up at me.
"Hey," he said with a low relieved tone and an uneasy smile. Tears started to form at the corners of his eyes. I knelt and petted his back.
"Hey, buddy." He hiccuped, drew his hoof over his eyes, and smiled earnestly. I reached down and snapped the shackles off his rear legs then did the same for Sunbeam, who was slowly recovering and looking up at me.
"Peter," she muttered over Cozy, who was nuzzling her chin. "You're back?"
"What the hell happened?" I asked. She and Hasty blanched and shared a look. She wriggled out of Cozy's grip and sprang to her hooves.
"Queen Chrysalis is back," she desperately declared. I scowled and rolled my eyes.
"God damn it, we just got done with an invasion of assholes," I groaned and rubbed my eyes.
"Where the heck'd she come from?" Cozy grumbled and rolled to her hooves. Hasty nodded and tapped my shin.
"That new Diamond Dog at the castle, Stutter I think," he reported, causing me to choke and look at him with my jaw open.
"You're fucking kidding." They both shook their heads and I snarled. "Alright, but what about Graggle's little coup? Are they in cahoots?" Sunbeam shuddered and shook her head.
"No, Chrysalis has him under her spell. She's puppetting him around and is planning an invasion of Equestria!"
"Using the Woollachian army," Hasty added. He gave a severe look to Frill, Quilt, and Cozy. "She also mentioned taking all of you hostage to get Peter to work for her." Frill humphed, and Quilt growled. I clenched my jaw and cracked my neck.
"Why'd she lock you two up?" I asked.
"Kind of the same reason. She wanted to leverage us against Princess Celestia," Sunbeam replied.
"Makes sense," I declared with a sigh and a stretch. I looked out the door, saw that Shawl had the townsfolk looking cheerier, and nodded. "Well, no reason to cause another panic."
"What do you mean?" Hasty asked. I winked and sent out my Evil Eye and quickly found a bemused Stutter, lounging on my throne with Graggle at his side.
"Be right back," I pulled my fist back, warped right in front of Stutter, and hurled a haymaker. My fist pulverized the back of the chair, as Stutter tumbled under my swing and exploded with green flames. The flames rolled down his form, revealing Chrysalis who quickly snapped around and tried to blast me in the back. My mist flowed around her beam which punched a hole through to the vault.
"Now that was a surprise," she cooed as I reformed several feet away. I spared a momentary glance at Graggle, whose eyes had a green tinge to them, but was otherwise sitting with a vacant stare. "I suspected you'd be along soon after I captured your precious little lambs, but this response time is otherworldly." She purred a laugh and began circling me to the left. I mirrored her movements as we stepped off the dais.
"Well, credit where it's due," I replied, gesturing to her with a hand. "I was expecting that swing to knock your face off." I nodded at her.
"So, top marks for your reaction speed." She hummed and smiled.
"It seems we can appreciate where we both stand power-wise," she said, casting a leer my way. "Just a shame not every creature can be so perceptive." She slowed her pace and I responded in kind. A plan was forming in my mind involving yanking the chair and crashing into her back once she was in position.
"And what exactly does that mean?" She whirled around and began pacing backward.
"Your exile from Woollachia was a total farce!" She spat. "An apex predator like you should be free to do as he likes! Feed as often as he wants!" I pursed my lips and tilted my head away.
"That's an interesting-"
"PETER," Quilt shrieked. Fucking. "Briefs is back!"
"Perspective," I sent my Evil Eye out to Quilt. She was peeking out one of the windows of the town hall with the others. The locals were scrambling out of the way of a hulking wolf-like monster lumbering its way toward Quilt's house.
"How do you know it's-"
"Ms. Quilt? Yoohoo!" The unmistakable voice of Briefs chimed out from the monster's maw.
"Never mind." The monster punched a claw through the door to Quilt's house and ripped most of the wall down.
"Nope! Not there~"
"Celestia should be kneeling at your feet!" Chrysalis declared, having been carrying on with her spiel while I watched Briefs.
"Y'know, you've got a point there," I replied, snapping my fingers at her. I mentally yelled at Quilt. "Get something silver ready."
"You.. Really?" Chrysalis balked and came to a stop. I nodded earnestly.
"Cozy's got something!" I focused my Eye, and sure enough, Cozy had a silver fork gripped in her teeth. Briefs whipped his head around before looking straight at the window of the town hall. His lips peeled back in a smile.
"Really, really," I folded my arms and looked at the ceiling. "She's nice and all, but nice manners and kind words don't stave off hunger." I gave Chrysalis a weary smile. She blinked and grinned wickedly.
"Exactly," she slowly stalked towards me. "You deserve to feed! Better, you deserve to have lesser beings throw themselves at you for the honor of being fed upon!" She thrust a hoof up in a triumphant pose. I nodded and smiled.
"Yeah.. Yeah!" Briefs was stalking towards the window. Quilt and the others scrambled back and huddled together. Chrysalis leaped closer to me and grinned.
"Join me," she purred. "Help me conquer Equestria, and claim what is-"
"Deal," I declared and held out my hand. She clamped her jaw shut and blinked, studying my hand in bewilderment. She looked me in the eyes and I nodded. "What can I say? It's been a stressful few days, and I'm pissed." She smiled.
"Oh! Believe me, I understand," she slipped her hoof in my hand and shook it. I yanked her closer, earning a surprised yelp, and then warped us straight at Briefs where I swung her as hard as I could and slammed her into his side. "TRAITOR!" She squawked and gurgled as the pair tumbled away. Briefs rolled and settled on his back, while Chrysalis slid off him with a dazed groan.
I stood to my full height and huffed. The window Quilt had been looking through flew open.
"Peter!" Cozy cried and hucked the silver fork my way. I caught it in my magic and pulled it into my grip before approaching Briefs. He looked up and saw me, before smiling again.
"Ah! Hello, Prince Peter," he rolled onto his claws. "How have you-" I warped under him and plunged the fork with all my might into his heart. He let out a gurgling roar as my attack lifted him off his forelegs. He swept his claws out and howled before I let him drop to my side.
Black blood welled up and spilled out of the wound as he writhed and moaned, slowly shrinking back to his sheep form. Chrysalis shook her head and slowly rolled to her hooves.
"You wretched-" She muttered and swayed once she stood up. I conjured a ball of fire and held it up, causing her to wince and take a step back.
"Peter!" I heard Frill cry. I turned and saw Quilt and the others galloping to me.
"Stay back!" I ordered. They stopped just far enough away to see Briefs weakly bat at the air with his hoof. Then he chuckled and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Choke on it," he gurgled and then went limp. I stared at his unmoving body for a moment, while the local sheep slowly formed a crowd once again.
"Was that Mayor Briefs?"
"What happened?"
"Did Prince Harlow save us again?"
"Twice in one day ain't bad!"
I hummed and turned my attention to Chrysalis who was still recovering from the impact.
"You're free to fuck off now," I said. She hissed and lowered her horn, but then she flinched.
"Peter!" I turned to Quilt and saw Briefs' body was beginning to hiss and smoke. Then black flames erupted from the wound I made, consuming the entire corpse.
"Wh-" Before I could process what was happening, just like with Mad Dog and Candy, the flames reared up and shot into my chest. And then Quilt started screaming. I looked over and saw her collapse and holding her stomach. She rolled on the ground and screamed until she ran out of breath before clenching her teeth and eyes shut.
"Quilt!" I shot forward to try to get to her side, where Frill and Cozy were. But then my legs gave out. I hit the ground hard and felt the breath leave my body. After a second I was able to push up on my hands and knees, but my arms were quivering. I looked up and saw Quilt writhing again with a terrified looking her eyes.
Her lips were held shut, but a black ooze was dripping from the corners of her mouth and her nose. We shared a horrified look for just a moment before she heaved and puked up an ungodly amount of black sludge.
I collapsed flat on my back and sprawled out.
My head spun and I gasped for breath. Even when poisoned with garlic, or caught in sunlight, I never felt this weak. It felt like I'd been sapped of every last ounce of strength, and somehow even more was being siphoned out.
"It's your dark magic," the First declared, looming over me and providing the only stationary point as the world spun around me. Slowly, it drew an extended claw to its jaws and shushed me. "Endure it for now, but say nothing of me." I blinked, and it was gone.
The awful weak feeling was gone too, so I snapped to my feet. I spotted Quilt, breathing heavily and lying beside a pool of black, boiling sludge. Frill and the others had scrambled a few feet back and were staring with dread at her.
I rushed to her side and cradled her. Slowly, her eyes rolled and locked with mine. She was sweating and looked about as bad as I felt a minute ago.
"P-" She took a rattling breath and winced. "Peter." She reached for me with a hoof, which I gripped. Just then, the boiling sludge went still. A ripple shuddered through it from the center, where a pair of yellow flames suddenly popped up. Chrysalis cried out and spread her wings. I looked between her and the flames, unnerved by the uncharacteristic look of terror on her face.
The sludge shuddered again and boiled fiercely. My eyes were drawn to the flames which remained undisturbed by the pool's motions. Slowly, the pool rippled and rocked, and waves started undulating from beneath the flames out to the very edge with gradually increasing intensity. It was like the whole pool was trying to stand up.
And then it did.
The pool erupted upwards and folded in on itself, forming a boiling sphere that sloshed and wriggled on the ground, pulsing and gurgling every so often. It started to shrink with each pulse until finally the outline of something began to form.
Something caprine.
I saw a long muzzle gnawing at the inside of the sludge, and the pair of flames slowly trailed down to just above the muzzle before sinking inside. Then the whole bubble silently burst, spattering the ground around with steaming, black leathery skin. At the center of the whole mess was a skinless four-legged thing with incredibly long curled horns, gnashing and chattering its teeth. The flames rested in its eye sockets.
Slowly, as the thing gasped and croaked, the leathery skins crawled up its legs and encased the entire creature. Once it was covered, it stopped moving and just breathed quietly. Its newly formed eyelids blinked a few times and then a thick coat of coarse blue fur rapidly filled out its body. Its eyes opened and revealed a pair of dull yellow goat eyes that shifted around as it rolled its head.
It hummed and sighed behind sealed lips, which slowly peeled back to reveal a pair of long sharp fangs that sprang from its lower jaw. The goat creature took another breath and then shook its whole body. It blinked again and sighed.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He, for I was confident that harsh, gravelly voice could only be male, cackled, and stamped his hooves. He drew a hoof over his brow. "WOO, that. Was. Close!" He snickered and guffawed, and Quilt shot up in my arms, looking at the goat with wide eyes. I could see Cozy holding a hoof over her mouth with a similar expression. The goat stamped his hooves again with laughter.
"Genuinely! When Adam let the Elements kill him, I thought that was that! Aw, but Briefs came through for me, just like always!" He howled a laugh again. He raised an eyebrow and jabbed a hoof at me. "And you! Oh hoh hoh! You did splendidly!" He fell into a tittering laughing fit as I flinched. I looked around and saw, again to my shock, that Chrysalis was shivering at the sight of the guy.
"Hehehe, oh, what a rush," he pranced in place and giggled before sighing and rolling his head to and fro. Then he stopped, looked straight ahead, and slowly turned to look at me with an expression of abject disdain. Or at least I thought it was me. I realized fast that he was looking at Quilt. They locked eyes for a minute and I felt her quiver. He tilted his head slightly and shot her the same smug grin I'd seen her wear countless times.
"GRANDPA?!" Chrysalis shrieked, stumbling and falling onto her rear. I looked from her, to 'Grandpa,' and then to Quilt. She and Grandpa were holding each other's gaze, and while she looked at him with haunted slack-jawed bewilderment, he still wore that smug grin.
"Yeah, that's right, changeling," he declared, casting a raised eyebrow Chrysalis' way. "Grandpa. How 'bout that?" His grin split to a toothy smile that drew a low cry from Chrysalis.
"Old Ram Gruff?" Someone called. I looked around and saw the sheep of Ruffleton, particularly Shawl and the older-looking folks, gathering closer. Grandpa Gruff scanned the crowd who looked at him in wonder, murmuring and whispering. The whole town went silent when he laughed again and waved his hoof.
"Let's not get it crossed, now! Gruff was just the name I used while I prepared for my genuine resurrection," he looked over the crowd with a wide-eyed smile. "Now that it's all wrapped up, you can call me Grogar." Quilt's ears snapped back, I heard Cozy and Frill gasp, and the crowd wilted and stumbled back. Gruff scanned the crowd for a moment with a small smile, before raising a hoof an inch off the ground.
"Boo," he tapped his hoof on the ground and an ear-piercing thunderclap split the air. As the sheep scrambled, screamed, and ran for their lives, the light of the moon rapidly dwindled and vanished as a pitch-black veil of clouds spiraled out in the sky above the point where Gruff stood. He threw his head back with a hearty laugh and sighed as he looked at the rapidly darkening sky. "Ah, it's been so long since I've terrorized anyone directly! Mm, still just as sweet." He closed his eyes with a hum and rocked his head around with a subdued smile. I looked around at the sky, the village, Chrysalis, Gruff, or whoever the fuck he was, and stammered.
"Peter!" I blinked and turned to see Sunbeam yanking on my sleeve. Hasty was just to her side with a stone raised in his hoof aimed at Gruff, and both of them wore a look of desperation. Cozy and Frill meanwhile were on my other side. The latter had her forelegs wrapped around my arm, and her face partially buried in my sleeve, while the former was looking down at Quilt with concern and tears in her eyes. Then I felt Quilt slip from my grip.
"Quilt!" Hasty cried as she trotted up to Gruff. Cozy and I both made to rush to her side until Gruff turned and smiled down at her. The last of the moon's light vanished and the whole town was bathed in an eerie silence. While most of the village was dark except for dim light through house windows and the door of the town hall, Gruff's eyes shined as bright as a pair of bonfires, perfectly illuminating both himself and Quilt.
"Not bad, eh, Quili-lily?" Gruff asked with a grin and a tilted head. He waved his hoof at the village. "This is the true expression of everything I taught you since you were a lamb."
"Grandpa," Quilt said with a quiver. Gruff turned back to her with a surprised look. "Is it really you?" Gruff studied her for a moment then chuckled quietly and looked up in thought.
"Hm let's see," he hummed and rolled his head. "You were born on a Saturday in the middle of winter, Hem and Stocking named you after your Grandmother, you met Cozy when you were two, slugged your school-teacher at five, snuck your first drink when you were seven, burned all the wool off your right rear-leg at ten, and-" He hummed in surprise when Quilt shot forward and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. A small smile formed on his lips and he chuckled as she quietly sobbed into his coat.
"I missed you," she shuddered and tightened her grip. "I missed you so much."
"I know," he chuckled and scanned the village until his eyes fell on me. A deep unease rocked my entire being. He smiled at me as Quilt nuzzled him. Then she stopped and slowly pulled back, leaning on his chest.
"What happened to Mama and Papa?" She demanded with a low voice. Gruff raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head and shuddered. "You.. You and Briefs, you were- I-"
"Ah, right, Hem and Stocking," he nodded sagely, before smiling at her. "I killed them when you were one." Cozy gasped and Frill cried out. Quilt remained motionless, looking him in the eyes.
"Wha-"
"Had to be done, Quili-lily," he declared, holding her chin with a hoof. "I had a plan to fulfill." Slowly she dropped off of him and took a step back.
"Plan?" She repeated with a huff, shaking her head at him. He nodded with a smile.
"My resurrection," he gasped and clapped his hooves. "I never got to explain any of that to you!" He giggled and sat, pointing a hoof at her like a teacher.
"Alright, one more lesson for old times!" She looked at him in shock while he cleared his throat. "Now, a few thousand years ago I ruled the world as the Lord of Despair. Uncontested and unchallenged, I was approached by an annoying little pony named Gusty." His horns crackled with energy and zapped the dirt, drawing an illustration similar to the one I'd seen in Twilight's book of Gusty the Great confronting Grogar. Quilt looked at the drawing with confusion.
"She rightly guessed that all my endless victories had grown stale, and the fear I was drawing from the world was bland," the drawing shifted to Gusty in a pleading position before a bored-looking Grogar on his throne. "She proposed something strange. She suggested I let her take my bell, the core of the greater scope of my creation magic." He laughed and leaned in.
"Stupid right? But then she added to it." The drawing changed again. Grogar was gone, and ghostly flowers began to bloom from the dirt all around Gusty. "If I lost my bell, and then let myself be 'defeated.'" He waved his hooves and spoke with a mocking tone. The flowers kept sprouting up all around him and Quilt.
"Peace would blossom." He gestured to the field of flowers with his hoof, and Quilt looked at it in wonder. "That way, when I eventually revived myself, I'd have an actual challenge." He stamped his hoof.
"I'd need to reclaim my bell, reconquer the world, and reunite my Empire of Monsters," he stamped his hoof as he named each item. Then he hummed through a smile. "But the truly tempting notion she offered? The proposal that won me over?" He leaned to Quilt, and she met his eyes.
"The terror I'd then feed upon would be so much richer." The field burst into flames which took the form of crying and wailing ponies and sheep. Quilt never took her eyes off him. "Those who have never known peace know only fear. It's natural for them. Standard. Stale." He raised a hoof and nodded with a sage smile.
"But those who have only known peace can be driven mad by fear when it crops up," he laughed darkly as the flames roared up and then went out. "You following me so far? 'Course you are! You're a brilliant little lamb." He nodded as Quilt just stared at him. His horns crackled again and a series of strange symbols formed in the dirt.
"She helped me with the preparations of a ritual of reincarnation. I'd let myself well and truly be killed, and then revive a few hundred years later," he chortled and tapped one of the symbols. "I even let her sneak this one in which delayed my reincarnation by a few thousand years, and ruined what would have been a perfect rebirth." He rubbed his chin with a wry smile.
"I think she planned to trap me in mundane, mortal flesh that would age and die like any other mortal," he grinned and leaned forward with his hoof under his chin. "But I was already setting up a big challenge anyhow, so I thought it'd be fun to find a way around that." He swept his hooves up with a serene smile.
"And so, with a little help from Gruff the Unrelenting of Griffinstone, ancestor of the current elder of Griffinstone, I was reborn," he shimmered and gained the appearance of an older sheep with a long beard of wool. "As a common Woollachian peasant." His image melted away, revealing his true self, and he looked down at Quilt with a smile. The dirt runes swept away and he leaned in with a wink.
"Now comes the fun part: How to build myself a proper body to house my true power?" He tapped his chin. "To my great fortune, the local sheep had a magic-using caste that was unsatisfied with the state of this sad little region. This told me that I'd been reborn in a race that had some potential for magic. With a little bit of effort and practice from a very young age, I was able to tap into a small portion of my full dark might." The dirt shuddered and rose, taking the shape of Briefs.
"Then it was easy to call up an old ally from Tartarus and house him in mortal flesh," he gasped, stuck his tongue out, and smacked himself on the side of the head. "Gotta remember to bring him back to life." He shook his head and waved a hoof.
"Anyway, sheep are so naturally inclined to obedience that we had an easy time getting even those haughty Longhorns to do what we wanted. With my tutelage, and Briefs speaking on 'Grogar's' behalf," he leaned and whispered loudly to her. "Claiming that I was dead and would reward them for their help. We raised the Longhorns to a greater skill level, and enflamed their desires, by which we snared them." He giggled and clapped his hooves together firmly.
"It was just a matter of picking the right ritual and bam! Back to full power," he cackled for a moment, but in an instant, his expression fell. "Then they screwed it all up." He took a long, heavy breath and sighed. He waved a hoof at me.
"Whether they realized it or not, their little blunder in making those outworlder vampires had drawn Celestia's suspicion. She felt the shift in the magical aether, I'm certain of it," he threw his head back with a groan. "Our mass sacrifice scheme would never succeed then. Even if we killed every last sheep in this valley, she'd be able to thwart the transfer of power, even if only at the last second." He groaned dramatically and shook his head. He narrowed his eyes and seemed to be struggling to put something into words.
"I," he hummed and clicked his teeth. He nodded. "I despaired then." He uttered a low, singular chuckle, and looked at her with bemusement.
"I'd never felt such a thing before, but I knew it right away. All that work, the fake identity, shearing my horns to help keep myself out of the cult's spotlight, my marriage to your grandmother," Quilt flinched at that, causing him to nod. "Yeah, she was the Mayor's assistant at town hall, and always had a crush on me." He shrugged.
"An easy in for eventually getting Briefs to the office. Anyway," he shook his head and grimaced. "All that work and planning seemed like it was for nothing. Celestia was on guard and would thwart me at the last. I wandered the mountains in my despair, wracking my brain for a solution." He looked up at the mountains on the horizon and smiled.
"Then I saw it. The river and all the little twists it made through the valley," he turned back to her. "At first I only went to it to slake my thirst, which reminded me of my mortality and made me angry, but then I noticed." The dirt around them shifted to a rough illustration of a river, with what looked like boulders impeding its flow. He swept a hoof at his drawing.
"Where stones hindered the flow, the water ruptured out in a spray, and I had an epiphany," he clapped his hooves together with a manic grin. "Compression. If I took a small amount of matured dark magic and focused it through a narrow reagent directly to my soul, the effect could, theoretically, be magnified. Maybe even enough to fuel my ritual of true rebirth." He rolled his head and hoof and then jabbed it at me.
"And I could use the Longhorns' blunder to make it happen!" He chuckled and looked back at Quilt. "Vampires naturally grow strong with time, and by their very nature absorb power from others. With just a little tampering and some careful planning, I could make one of them able to steal dark magic from his kin and accumulate it all into himself. Then we'd just need to let a few of them mature and set my modified vampire against them!" He laughed heartily and my jaw dropped. He leaned back and tapped his chin.
"New problem: The Longhorns had roused Celestia's suspicion. If she was anything like her father, she'd keep a close eye on this region even after she wiped out the cult," he hummed and rolled his head. "If we set aside a few vampires and let them mature and feed, they'd doubtless draw her attention. And even if they didn't, how to get their power into me?" He hummed happily and shook his head.
"That feeling of despair I told you about must've had an intoxicating effect on me. Briefs pointed out a few more efficient routes we could have taken, but what can I say?" He leaned in with a wink. "I was into the challenge." He nodded firmly with his eyes closed.
"A solution formed and we began working to put it in motion. Modifying a vampire to siphon dark magic from his fellows was easy. Done. What about Celestia? Well!" He whispered loudly again. "She tries to see the good in all creatures, so why not let my vampire have some good in him? Let him keep his soul! Let him be a decent fellow! Let him remember 'love.' If all went well, Celestia would show him mercy and maybe even help with my rebirth. Hah!" He held up his two hooves and adopted a severe look.
"We used that as a springboard. Briefs would look for some idiot who doubtless would one day find Equestria and try to conquer it. We give him the other three vampires, let them rampage, and then fall upon Equestria," he swept a hoof at me without looking. "Our boy, ideally being friends with Celestia due to her mercy, jumps to her aid and with her help kills them and absorbs their power. BOOM!" He slammed his hooves down and looked straight ahead with an even stare. Slowly, his eyes traced down at Quilt.
"Big gamble, I know," his face split into a manic grin. "But I was into it." He took a deep shuddering breath and sighed warmly. He stared at the empty abyss of darkness in the sky, scanning it with a happy smile. Then he tilted his head.
"But how to get that power to me?" He hummed and rolled his head with his eyes closed. "Once the Longhorns were destroyed, Briefs sent out his familiar spies, but years wound on with no news of any conquering lunatic. If my flesh failed before then, I'd die and be powerless, just like Gusty wanted." His eyes shot open, and he slowly looked down at Quilt with an unreadable expression.
"Then a knock came at my door," he said quietly and evenly. "'It's a ewe, Dad!' Hem declared." He smiled and laid down at eye level with Quilt.
"I had a granddaughter. I had my answer. Blood has power, just like I always taught you. Blood bonds can transfer power, and those formed by birth are even stronger for magic," he tilted his head. "Even if I died, if we could get that power in you I could resurrect myself." He jumped to his hooves and the dirt around him shifted into a wide circle that looked like a timeline of a sheep's life.
"So! I'd raise you, teach you my craft so you could awaken my modified vampire on your own, form a blood bond with him, and then when he killed the other three, I could draw that power from him, through you, to me," he leaned in with a smile as what seemed to be all the major events of Quilt's childhood spun in the dirt around them. "Briefs could steer you in the right direction once I was gone, but I had to make certain you wouldn't spoil my work. Had to be certain you'd wake him up with love, not hate." The dirt rose into the image of a much younger Quilt and Cozy.
"Despite myself, I raised you. I removed my son and his wife and raised you with every nauseating lesson I remembered those lowly ponies held so dear. Every lie, every sickening concept. I made sure you had friends," he locked eyes with her as he spoke. "It took years of careful planning behind your back to get it all right. To make certain you'd be so very desperate to protect your friends that you couldn't possibly act except out of love. It was easy of course, because you were a child." He frowned and looked to the side.
"And you loved me. Trusted me," he raised an eyebrow. "During that time, we also found the Storm King, and based on the profile Briefs handed me, we knew he'd not only conquer Equestria, but Woollachia as well." He smiled wryly at her.
"So there we had it! If we timed it right, news of him would reach Woollachia, you'd wake the vampire using what I told you was a ritual of summoning to protect your friends, Celestia would find out, they'd become friends and BAM!" He slammed his hoof down with a nod. His face fell into a grimace. "Then the Diamond Dogs attacked and I, well, learned that even spirits could throw up." He pursed his lips with a sad hum, but gradually looked at Quilt with a smile.
"But it still worked. You did wake the monster, you did bind yourself to him, and you did it out of love," he hissed with a wide smile. "It all worked. Even though Adam pried some of the truth from me and tried to screw it up. Even though he let the Elements kill him. Even after all that, it all worked." He crouched close to her.
"All that dark power straight into our bloodline Quili-lily. Matured, compressed, and wrapped in a neat little bow," he reached out and flicked her bow. He stood to his full height and took a deep breath. Quilt flinched and hung her head low. "Goodness me, but this is all so exciting. This is winning." He leered up at the sky with a euphoric smile. Silence gripped the town for a moment.
"You're lying," Quilt quietly declared, her head still low.
"Often, but about what in this specific case?" Grogar asked, looking at Quilt with a raised eyebrow. She weakly shook her head, but either due to weariness or heartache, couldn't raise it to look at him.
"You hated Briefs," she quietly replied. "When he-"
"Interrupted our time together, I got angry?" Grogar offered, causing her to flinch with her whole body and slowly nod. Grogar pursed his lips and nodded along. "You're right, I did. Wanna know why?" He raised his eyebrows and stepped closer to her, causing her to wilt with a whimper. He lay down in front of her and tried to meet her eyes.
"Because just like with the Longhorns, even though it was my own choice, I hated being reminded of what I was forced to do. What I'd become. I had to wait on mortal toadies to report back to me, while I babysat. I had to twiddle my hooves and play teacher, while others handled the real work for me."
"I used to conquer kingdoms on my own. Slaughter armies. And there I was, trapped waiting for others' help like an invalid," he spat and rolled onto his side to look at her face. "I hated having to let the Longhorns do the magical prep work, and hated having to let Briefs put most of it together, but I hated our time even more than that. Because beyond all of that, you were a constant, stark badge representing what I was reduced to." Tears fell from her cheeks onto the ground as she slowly stumbled over.
"Mortal. Old. Weak," he jumped to his hooves and snarled. "For crying out loud, I engaged in natural reproduction! Like some low-born primitive when I was the one who invented horrors that spat in the face of nature itself!" He scanned the empty village.
"I know this hurts to hear, Quili-lily. That's why I'm saying it," he turned his head to her shivering, weeping form. "Because of our blood connection your misery, your loneliness, your self-hatred filled my veins with a vitality I'd almost forgotten. It kept my aged flesh kicking just long enough to fulfill the last steps of my plan before giving out." He loomed over her.
"Those long years you were alone after I abandoned you? Your private crying sessions in our house? Your prayers for me to give you the strength to keep going?" He sat and brought his hooves together with a dramatic gesture. "Your soulful oaths that you were trying your best for me! Kept me sated so I could patiently await this day's coming." He laid flat and folded his forelegs, pressing his forehead to her.
"Even now that I'm back at full strength, the taste is still fresh on my lips. Maybe it's because we're kin, but your sorrow is simply exquisite. I do believe I'm addicted, Quili-lily," he put his hoof under her chin and turned her head to meet his eyes. "You always wanted to make me happy? Well then, chin up! And let Grandpa get a better look at those teary eyes." He let out a croak of pain as I seized him by the throat and ripped him off the ground. I dragged him up until he was nearly at eye level with me, forcing him to balance on just one rear hoof. He choked and sputtered as I snarled and crushed his neck with all my might.
"Kill that mother-scruffer!" Frill shrieked as she and Cozy grabbed Quilt.
"Rip his bucking head off!" Sunbeam added.
"Idiot," Chrysalis declared with a heavy quaver. Grogar's tongue hung out the side of his mouth as I squeezed and throttled him. But then he looked dead at me. My Evil Eye started screaming. Slowly he closed his mouth and held his head up, giving me a black stare.
He smiled.
With no subtlety or shift, his eyes turned black and his teeth turned into a vast array of needle-like fangs, giving him the overall appearance of a twisted angler fish.
He gently planted his free rear leg and started lowering himself down. I groaned and tried to keep him up, but he held his smile and went lower, and lower. I grabbed him with both hands and heaved to absolutely no effect. Finally, both his forelegs touched the ground and I was thrown off balance.
I fell back from him, huffing and puffing. His smile shifted to something less nightmarish and he tilted his head at me.
"My turn?" He asked. I stammered and choked at which he took a single step closer. Then he pursed his lips and looked off to his right. I shuddered and looked that way as well.
Celestia stood with her horn alight just before the town hall. Even without the light of her magic, the darkness around us caused her to almost glow by contrast. She looked at me with a serene expression that somehow failed to set me at ease. Maybe it was because I sensed a feeling of disappointed judgment in her eyes.
"I received a very concerning letter about you today, Peter," she said. "Regarding a recent incident in the Catican." I blanched and heard Frill gasp.
"He!" Frill squeaked.
"I-" she held up a wing at both of us.
"I reserve judgment until I can hear your side of things," she declared with a nod. "But if it is true, I am very disappointed." She shook her head, and Grogar chortled.
"Celesti-"
"I believe we'd best shelve this for now, however," she looked squarely at Grogar. "More pressing things are at hoof."
"Very astute," Grogar said with a sage nod. "My imminent bad behavior is probably way worse than whatever he did." He bowed his head with a wide smile. Celestia regarded him for a moment before looking at me again.
"Collect your friends and flee this place, Peter Harlow. And please keep this in mind, lest you dwell upon it," I blinked and flinched, as she was suddenly right next to me on the ground, and pulled me into a hug. "I am not angry and am still your friend. I love you." She pulled back and gave me a sad smile.
"In case I do not get the chance to say it later."
"Also very astute," Grogar added. She frowned and turned as he was looming over us both. "But hey now! If a tussle's your hustle, don't you worry!" He leaned right next to her with a toothy smile.
"We can take this somewhere more accommodating." She stared into his eyes for a minute before slowly rising to her hooves. He leered up at her as she spread her wings and took to the air. There was a low warbling drone and Grogar rose stiff as a board into the air after her. They hovered in the air next to each other for a moment before Celestia snapped her wings and took off toward the mountains, Grogar zooming after her, still stiff-legged.
I watched them vanish into the darkness with my jaw open until I felt someone tug at my sleeve.
"Peter!" Frill squealed and pointed her hoof at Cozy, who had a despondent Quilt slung over her back. I grimaced and stood up. Looking over my shoulder, I sighed when I saw Chrysalis had vanished.
"Let's get to the castle."
The conjured shadow was behind them now and the moon's light illuminated the ground beneath them.
Celestia glided down to the dusty field beyond the mountains and gently landed before whirling around to quickly scan the region. Satisfied there seemed to be nothing living in the spot, she nodded and turned back to Grogar. By contrast, he came crashing down to the dust like a meteor, carving a trench in the earth as he slid, unmoving and rigid. And still with that smug grin he'd worn since they took flight.
"So, is this barren enough for you to actually give it your all?" He jeered as he stomped up out of the trench he'd dug. "'Cause I was hoping to really see what you've made of yourself after all this time." Celestia raised an eyebrow at him.
"Perhaps my memory of events from so many millennia ago isn't as clear as I thought, but our father never mentioned you being so interested in contests of strength." Grogar giggled and sneered, causing her to narrow her eyes. "Or that you were so jovial." Grogar nodded and laughed.
"By the time Chronus took the throne of Skyros, I was already old. I was already bored, so it's no surprise he only knew me during my low point," he smiled and cracked his neck. "But I've got a new exciting adventure ahead of me now. Letting your lowly race evolve and peace flourish has finally brought some challenges back to my life. My victory over the world this time will be so much more, hm." He rolled his head in thought before nodding.
"Delicious," he smiled with a maw of needle-like crooked fangs. Celestia scoffed and shook her head.
"Well, if that's true, perhaps you'd like to challenge the Elements of Harmony?" Grogar laughed in response.
"I said a challenge!" He shook his head. "I know how potent emotional magic is. There's no challenge there, only a quick death." Celestia rolled her eyes.
"Of course," she took a breath and regarded the darkness hanging over Woollachia. Grogar considered her with a smile for a moment before speaking.
"It's curious," she grimaced and turned her attention to him. "While I was alive years back, I recall learning you were more of the 'good in all creatures' type, who tries to steer others down the 'right path.'" He emphasized his words with a mocking shake of his head and then tilted it.
"Yet the first thing you did was offer to throw your ultimate weapon at me, knowing it'd probably kill me. Why is that?"
"Because you're not a creature, Grogar," she replied immediately and with an even glare. "You're a thing." Grogar flinched and frowned.
"I-"
"You may have once been someone. But as you said, you were old before my sister and I were even born. Now, you're just a thing that keeps the innocent awake at night, a tale to frighten young and old alike, a rationale for wicked creatures to spill blood," she narrowed her eyes as he raised his eyebrows. "You exist only to cause pain. And worse? Most pitiable of all? You relish that fact." They held each other's eyes for a minute or two before Grogar chortled and raised his forehooves.
"You got me," he slapped them down and leered at Celestia. "Must feel pretty good to finally have a chance to take a swing as ol' Grogar, eh?" Celestia snapped her wings out and then back.
"I do not delight in violence or death, even yours," she tilted her head back and lit up her horn. Grogar noted the sky seemed to grow brighter. "But I also do not delight in changing linens or washing the dishes. You, like those tasks, are a chore." She pointed her horn forward and crouched low to the ground.
"My only delight is in being done with you." In a flash, she was gone. Grogar blinked and scanned the field for any sign of her. The dust where she'd been wasn't even disturbed. She was just gone. He snorted and felt around with his magic, humming in delight at what he sensed.
"Slipped back sixty seconds before we landed, so you're now," he turned towards the mountains and lowered his horns. "There." With a bone-rattling drone, a yellow beam of energy suddenly and instantly filled the space between himself and Celestia, crashing against her own and causing an explosion of light in the sky. Once it faded, he saw she'd vanished again and the sky was growing brighter. He smiled, choosing to continue ignoring whatever she was setting up.
"At least stop flying, so I'm not as tempted to peek," he muttered, scanning with his eyes and magic in tandem. He blinked and then gasped. "Right!" He spun his entire body and whipped his horns out, spreading a translucent veil of magic that blocked Celestia's attack as she reappeared in the spot she'd time-traveled from.
"Pony time travel works like a rubber band! You always get pulled back!" He cackled as she shot her wings out and flew straight at him, her forehooves shattering the veil he'd created. He smiled as her hooves reached his chest. "Mine, however." And she was blasted in the side by a beam from the mountains. Grogar cackled and vanished without a trace.
As Celestia tumbled and rolled to her hooves with a grunt, she looked up and saw Grogar zooming down from the mountains and landing a dozen feet away. She scowled and shook her wing over her now-blackened side.
"Is far more robust, if comparatively limited in how far back I can go," he said with a grin. Celestia snorted, stamped her hoof, and rocketed forward. Grogar squawked in surprise as the earth beneath him shifted, and a line nearly a mile long rolled towards Celestia, dragging him with it. The combined speed of the pair found the princess directly above him before he had a chance to react, and she slammed her hooves down.
Grogar huffed a wheezing croak as she drove him into the ground with enough force that the earth around him split and burst up in a ring of jagged spikes. Pressing into him, Celestia then leaped straight up and tucked into a roll before blasting magic into the ring of stone she'd created. The ground outside the ring cracked, through which black tendrils of shadow erupted and shot through the air at her.
With a single wing beat, she hurled herself out of the way as the tendrils skewered the air where she'd been and each other. A pulse rocked up each tendril and at the point they all met, a bulbous tumor swelled and then burst, out of which Grogar came flying with a cackle. He shot after Celestia as she raced to the ground, and upon landing she whirled around twice and met his jaw with a firm buck that exploded with fiery magic.
The boom of the impact blasted a layer of dust off the ground, which was split when Grogar was sent sailing through it. He hit the ground and tumbled for dozens of feet until finally he came to a sliding halt; his hooves and limbs were tangled over himself in horrible contortions and his head was twisted almost all the way around.
He moaned once, and then two beams of magic pierced his neck and chest. His eye rolled and locked on Celestia.
"Merciless," he jeered with a wet gurgle. He slumped his head over and rapidly slithered to his hooves. With a series of cracks and pops, he righted his limbs, and once he did, he inspected his missing jaw and loosely hanging tongue with a hoof. He shook his head hard and a black ooze dripped out of his throat with a hiss. The ooze cracked and flaked away, revealing his completely restored jaw. He flexed his regenerated mouth and hummed before regarding Celestia.
"Not used to having to use your magic to heal yourself?" She asked. Her horn was still alight and the sky continued to brighten. It was becoming even harder to ignore whatever was happening above them. Grogar kept his eyes forward.
"Usually, I can heal myself with other's fear," he replied with a smile. "Safe to say you're not afraid of me?"
"Correct." Grogar laughed and crouched.
"We'll see if we can-" Celestia beat her wings and shot into the sky. There was a pulse of magic all around him. He rolled his eyes and looked up. "Alright, alright. What've you got cookin'-" His newly reformed jaw nearly fell off.
Princess Luna watched the scene from the balcony of her tower. Behind her, the castle's night staff looked on in shock and horror, a few fainting at the sight. Luna hummed and furrowed her brow while below, on the streets of Canterlot, the residents were emerging from their homes to look westward.
The hunting team leaned on the railing of Calaeno's ship in amazement.
"Er, Twi, you think this has something to do with Peter?" Applejack asked.
"Hwha?" Twilight murmured.
From the rim of the volcano she had been napping in, Ember munched on a clawful of gems while holding her free claw over her eyes.
"Sick."
Minister Coal shot up from his bed with a snort. Turning towards his window, he threw off his blanket, stomped over, and yanked the curtains closed before returning to bed.
Laying on Quilt's old bed in the castle, I gently petted her while keeping her tucked close to my side. Cozy was snuggled up on her other side, and Frill leaned over me to look at her with teary-eyed sympathy. Despite everyone's best efforts, she was completely unresponsive. I looked up at Graggle, who was peeking through the closed curtains.
"What the heck is that?" I asked. Graggle rubbed his chin and turned to me.
"I can't be certain, but it looks like-"
Grogar stood with his jaw hanging and his eyes burning as the sun slowly rolled towards him. He'd seen the sun and moon be pulled lower than normal before, but he'd never been directly under either when it happened. Some of his old adversaries had tried this trick to kill the Wendigos he'd unleashed.
And Celestia was doing it to kill him.
He clamped his jaw shut when he saw her looming above him, a single dot in the sky that was now filled with fire. He blinked, worked his magic over his eyes to better adjust to the intense light, and saw her with her wings spread and her horn raised to the sun. The flaming tongues that rolled and lashed across its surface were whipped into a frenzy and then shot out in all directions.
They arced down, enclosing the entire region in a dome of fire, and seemed to bury themselves underground. He scanned the entire region and clicked his teeth.
"Nowhere to warp to, and I can't go back far enough to get out," he hummed and sat down. "My Evil Eye, maybe?" He focused and then hissed before shaking his head.
"Those flames are a part of her? Very impressive," he stood and paced in place as the fiery cage began to close in. "Think, think, think. Oh ho ho, this is a good one!" He watched the fire pick up speed, like a giant claw rapidly clenching a clawful of dirt. He stopped pacing and slowly raised an eyebrow, rolling his eyes to look at her.
"Maybe." He quickly worked a few spells, first setting one on himself with a time delay. Then, putting up his dark shields. The fire came crashing in on all sides, consuming his entire being. The fiery net tightened and dragged itself into the air before shrinking to the sun, leaving behind a many-mile-wide, hundred-foot-deep, smoking pit, partially glazed with stripes of shimmering glass.
A pop of magic shined at its center, and Celestia appeared huffing and puffing as she worked her magic to return the sun to its resting place. As the flaming giant lumbered to the horizon, she scanned the hazy crater for any sign of Grogar, grimacing when she found him.
His magic had held up long enough that, rather than be completely incinerated, he was reduced to a spasming, charred skeletal thing, missing an entire horn, half of the other, and gasping. She studied the injured villain for a moment, waiting for some spell or counter attack. When nothing happened, she breathed a sigh and relaxed. Then, one of its melted eyes blinked. She flinched as his ruined form jumped to its hooves and shook off its blackened skin, revealing a completely unscathed Grogar beneath.
"Hoo! Not bad, but got anything spicier?" He chirped. She gasped and stumbled back. Grogar winked. "Gotcha." She blanched and saw the magical aether around him shimmer with the telltale signs of fear being magically put to work.
"Unbelievable," she groused as the illusory Grogar faded, and the injured Grogar rapidly regenerated from his charred state. Though, as he rose to his hooves with a series of coughs that gave way to heavy breathing, she sighed in relief. "At least it had some effect."
"Understatement!" He laughed before coughing again. "Whew. Not bad." She scowled in response to his returning smile.
"My turn now," he said with a fang-filled grin. Celestia grimaced, held her breath, and spread her wings. A tense few seconds passed, and then Grogar looked just over her shoulder for a moment. "How's that?" He nodded his head past her. She whipped around with her horn alight.
"WHOOP!" As she gazed at the empty space behind her in disbelief, she heard a deep rush of wind behind her and turned back to see Grogar missing and a smokey trail of shadow racing towards the edge of the pit before splitting into five equal streams, all heading in separate directions.
She released her breath, let her wings and mane sag with exhaustion, and looked down to see, once the smoke trail cleared, a message burned in the ground.
'Top shelf! Nearly killed me. Outta juice. See you soon.'
She scowled and looked up at the sun as it finally vanished behind the horizon, returning the world to the dark of night.
Celestia contemplated my story with her eyes closed and an angry scowl that hadn't left since she heard about Grogar's connection to Quilt. We'd met her at the gate of Ramstead and now gathered in the throne room around a long table Graggle had installed following my departure. The new Mayors of Woollachia had also been gathered once we'd gotten the Diamond Dogs back in order.
In fact, the castle had never been so crowded. Most of the country's population had evacuated to the tunnels and then to the mountain Ramstead sat upon. Now sheep were setting up basic camps in the courtyard and the lower halls, waiting on their leaders to reassure them. A common topic I heard whispered was relief at my return, but that did little to put my mind at ease.
"And where is Quilt now?" Celestia finally asked.
"She finally fell asleep, princess," Sunbeam replied, and Celestia nodded and opened her eyes to look at us.
"Esteemed Governors of Woollachia, I ask you to offer your sheep comfort and allow them to remain in or near Ramstead for the time being. There should be space to accommodate them. Until we know for certain what Grogar intends to do, we must remain vigilant and-"
"HA-HA! HA-HA!" Ernie cackled and leaped up on the table. "Ernie going to pick out his room!" He hurdled over Graggle and galloped towards the door. Velvet rubbed her forehead and Celestia blinked before nodding.
"Remain vigilant and keep in close contact."
"What are we supposed to tell the public?" Silk asked.
"The truth: Grogar has fled, and the Coalition shall now turn its efforts towards destroying him," Celestia replied with a severe look. "For that is precisely what I intend to do." She rose from her seat and looked at Graggle.
"Administrator, I believe you still have the candle to contact Canterlot, yes?" At Graggle's accenting nod, she continued. "Please contact my sister and inform her of what has happened. Then request that she forward this information to Twilight and the hunting team. I would like them to meet us here at Ramstead."
"Certainly," Graggle sighed, rubbing his temples. "But what of that wicked changeling?" I reached over and patted his back.
"I pinged her with my Evil Eye. She's miles away now, I'm pretty sure."
"Thank heavens," he replied and hopped from his seat. "With your leave, I shall see to that letter now." He bowed to us all and shuffled out. Celestia turned to Sunbeam and the rest of my friends.
"Please gather your things and be ready to leave at a moment's notice," she ordered, and they quickly scurried out of the room to obey. Except for Frill, who remained curled up in my lap with her head resting on my arm and her sad eyes on the princess. Celestia regarded her for a moment before turning to the mayors.
"I guess we'd better address the public," Shawl huffed and turned to leave. "Thank you for everything, Peter." Silk gave me a subdued smile and nod and followed him out. Velvet meanwhile ignored me completely. I paid her no mind and locked my arms around Frill. Silence held the room, and I could feel Celestia's eyes on me.
"What happened at the Catican, Peter?"
"They took Frill," I replied and squeezed Frill gently. I looked up at Celestia with trepidation. She tilted her head back and scanned the table, before looking at Frill.
"They attacked Ruffleton during our festival," Frill added, averting her eyes and nuzzling my sleeve. "They hurt some sheep and scared everywooly very badly." She huffed and scowled.
"Then they stuffed me in a sack of salt and dragged me to the Catican. All to lure Peter out." Celestia furrowed her brow and stared at the table again. I ran my fingers through Frill's wool and sighed.
"And what did you do in response?" I looked over and met her eyes and severe expression. I winced and grumbled.
"I wanted to make sure they wouldn't try something like that again."
"And how did you accomplish that?" I avoided her eyes and grimaced. She hummed in response.
"Who cares what he did?" Frill groused and sat up. "They wanted and still intend to kill Peter! They abducted his ewe-friend to hold her hostage to do it! Who cares when they're so abjectly awful?"
"Because I believe Peter is better than that," Celestia replied with a slightly sad tone. She looked from Frill to me, but I still avoided her eyes. "I choose to believe your story, Peter, because I met the administrator of the Catican and believe he would attempt something of the sort. I can understand your motivations and sympathize. I do not condemn you for targeting the ones directly responsible, but nearly a hundred? And to twist them in undeath." She took a deep breath and shook her head.
"For that, I must demand that you be willing to enter peace talks with the Catican." I jolted and Frill shot up with an indignant squeal, but Celestia silenced us with a firm, even glare. "Violence begets violence, justified or not. We cannot afford to be lost in its bottomless spiral now. I have no intention of turning you over to them or abandoning you. I will mediate to a reasonable conclusion for both you and them. But I accept no argument in this, Peter." I wilted under her gaze for a minute before finding the nerve to speak.
"You really think they're going to go for anything less than me dead? Even before I killed most of their guys, they abducted my girlfriend to get at me." She regarded me sadly for a moment before adopting a more even expression.
"Did I ever convey to you the story of Nightmare Moon?" I frowned and shook my head, looking at Frill as I did. She seemed just as lost. Celestia nodded. "One thousand years ago, due to my own negligence, my sister Luna fell to despair. She perceived, perhaps rightly so, that she was not as beloved among our ponies as I was. This consumed her and drove her to madness." She rose from her seat and began slowly approaching us.
"She adopted the persona of Nightmare Moon and declared that she would rule Equestria alone, and plunge it into eternal night. I was forced to employ the Elements of Harmony against her, and sealed her away within the moon," she stood over us and looked into my eyes. "For a thousand years, I was haunted by that day. I was certain I would never see my sister again, and as the Elements no longer responded to my call, I feared that if she ever did return, I would be forced to take more drastic measures." She held a wing under my chin and smiled with tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"And yet, you've seen her. Against even my foresight and wisdom, against all odds, she was returned to me and allowed me a chance to make up for past mistakes," she wiped her tears with her wing and nodded at me. Frill tightened her grip on my arm while I sat bewildered. "So yes, I do believe there may have been a chance for you and the paladins to move beyond their prejudice. It may still be possible." She frowned and looked to the side. I stammered and scanned the room. Celestia took a breath and nodded.
"If they are not willing, that is one thing. I insist you be open to the possibility," she smiled at me and brushed my shoulder. "For my sake at least." I frowned and averted my eyes. Frill bowed her head and squeezed my arm.
"Now, you two should get ready as well. We'll be leaving as soon as Twilight arrives," she turned and made for the door. Neither of us said anything as she slipped out and vanished.
"Fuckin' hell," I sighed.
"No kidding," Frill added.
He'd be home soon. He wouldn't find her though, and so, she wouldn't get in trouble. The door to the cottage opened and the heavy set of hooves clacked against the floor.
"Quilt," Grandpa called. "Come out from under the bed, young lady." Scruff. She uncovered her eyes and winced at the sight of his hooves right at the edge of her bed. She pouted, slowly crawled out, and stood up. She shuffled her hooves and looked up at Grandpa, who had a tired expression under a raised eyebrow.
"Why'd you punch Mr. Curtain in the mouth?" She looked off to the side.
"I dunno."
"Did he say something that made you mad?" She looked down and kicked the floor.
"I dunno." Grandpa hummed and sat down.
"What'd he say?" Quilt whimpered and laid down.
"He said we was gonna do a storytime about our parents, and I only got you."
"Is that all?" Grandpa laughed. "You've got lots of stories about me to share! Like remember last week-" Quilt shook her head hard and hiccuped.
"He said it had to be about our mamas and papas," she sniffled and rubbed her eyes. Grandpa frowned and tilted his head.
"He knows what happened, though. Did he really say you couldn't talk about me?" Quilt sobbed and slowly shook her head.
"No, but-"
"But what?"
"I don't rember 'em at all," she squeaked, tucking her legs in under herself. "Even though they was my Mama and Papa. Don't that make me a bad sheep?" She sniffled as Grandpa lay right next to her and pulled her into a hug.
"Quili-lily, you're little, and you were littler when they passed, so of course you don't remember things," he squeezed her gently and nuzzled the top of her head. "And that doesn't make you a bad sheep," Quilt looked up at Grandpa with tears dropping from her cheeks, and he smiled.
"Really?" She desperately squeaked. Grandpa laughed.
"'Really' she says! C'mon now!" He nuzzled her again and looked her in the eyes. "Would I lie to you?"
With a final tug of her teeth, she pulled her bow free and released it in the wind. With wide eyes, she looked over the horizon and the fields around Ramstead as the red ribbon fluttered away. It took some effort, but she managed to avoid looking at the stars. She reared up on the short wall of the highest balcony in the castle and peered down to where she'd hurled her bell.
Far below in the courtyard, the moon's light caused the shattered fragments to glitter against the stone. She studied the mess for a moment before gripping the wall and heaving herself up onto it. She balanced on the narrow ledge and peered down again. She scanned the drop to make certain it was a clear path to the courtyard. Satisfied, she took a breath and closed her eyes.
"It's quite a long way down." She flinched and turned to stare wide-eyed at Celestia, who sat staring into the horizon where her ribbon had flown. Quilt looked her up and down before turning back to the drop.
"It sure is," she replied evenly.
"I cannot with words convey my condolences for all you have endured," Celestia said.
"So, shut up."
"Fine, but at least hear this one thing?" Quilt scowled and looked back at her. "Peter needs you." The wind blew through her wool and she narrowed her eyes to fight off her tears.
"He's got Frill."
"And that lessens your value to him?" Celestia retorted with a tilted head. Quilt blinked and shook her head before turning away. "He loves you, you know that."
"So what?" Quilt croaked, tears now streaming and falling to the courtyard below. "I'm supposed to live like this? Live with that scruffing bastard in my head? Because the otherbastard in my head loves me and he actually means it?" She whipped around and scowled.
"Am I just supposed to live with all this because other creatures need me?"
"No," Celestia said immediately and evenly, causing Quilt to recoil. Celestia scooted closer and nodded. "You live for yourself. Not for Peter. Not for me. And not for him." Her wings stretched towards Quilt.
"Live for yourself and embrace the love you know is genuine. Because you deserve at least that much." Quilt shook as she breathed, her face slowly screwing up as she fought with all her might, before finally wailing and throwing herself into Celestia's wings.
Chrysalis pressed against the stony wall and crouched to the ground. She watched the cave mouth with dread, scanning the pitch darkness just outside. Despite having no light in her cave, the shadows outside were somehow darker. Of course, she understood exactly how that was possible and what it meant, but that only terrified her more.
"Why did you follow me?" She quivered. A pair of yellow eyes suddenly and instantly lit up in the dark.
"For a laugh or two," Grogar replied. "I was thinking of scaring you half to death to top myself off, then just killing you." The shadow crept towards her like a legion of grasping claws, and she wilted at the sight. Suddenly, the claws reached towards each other and pulled back the shadow like a curtain through which Grogar trotted.
"Now that I've got a look at you though, I'm disappointed at how easy it was to spook you," he said with a singular chortle. He tilted his head with a hum. "Kinda making me rethink the whole plan. You want a job?" Chrysalis shuddered and furrowed her brow.
"What? You.." She stammered and raised her head. "Propose an alliance?" Grogar pursed his lips and looked up in thought, rattling his head left and right.
Quilt groaned and shifted before opening her eyes. She blinked and looked up at me once she realized she was lying next to me on her bed.
"Hey," I whispered. She stared at me for a moment before looking away.
"Hey," she looked over her shoulder at the curtains, and the minute traces of light visible through them. "Have you been here all night?" I scratched her side and rested my arm under my head.
"Since Celestia got you back to bed, yeah." She winced and curled up.
"Did she.. Say anything?"
"Yeah," I replied. She murmured and buried her face in my shirt. I wrapped my arm around her and hugged her tight. "I'm sorry I wasn't much help." She shuffled and pulled free to set up.
"No, don't-" She moaned and shook her head before hanging it with a sad scowl. "It's fine."
"No, it's not," I sighed and rolled onto my back, dragging my hand over my face. "You needed me, and I wasn't-"
"You left for like five minutes," she groused, laying down with her head resting on my chest. I hugged my arm around her.
"And that was enough." She hummed and nuzzled my chest. Quiet held the room for a minute before I spoke again. "Frill and I were talking about coming back to live in Woollachia." She glanced at me.
"Really?" I looked down to meet her eyes and nodded. "But how're you gonna get blood? And I thought you were worried about everywooly being mad at you?" I scratched her ear.
"I can hunt easily enough, and if they have a problem with me sticking around for you, I'd like to see them try and make me leave." She smiled sadly and leaned into my hand. She blinked and looked around the empty room.
"Where's Frill?"
"Baking you some cookies and cooking you some potatoes," I replied and tilted my head up while sending out my Evil Eye. "In fact." The door gently swung open, and Frill came in, balancing a platter on her back. She hesitated upon seeing Quilt awake before adopting a smile.
"Good afternoon, Quilt."
"Hey," Quilt sat up and shuffled her hooves. She sent a bashful smile Frill's way. "Uhm, thanks for the food. It smells good!" Frill nodded, walked up to the bed, and delicately slipped the tray in front of Quilt.
"Don't worry about cleaning up this time, I'll handle it," Frill said and hopped up on the bed with us. Quilt's ears flopped back, and she stared at her food. Frill hummed and looked at me. "I think Cozy's awake. We should probably let her know Quilt's up too." I nodded and hugged Quilt.
"I'll be right back, alright?" She nodded and gave me a genuine, if sad, smile.
Peter vanished in a flash of red light which Quilt recoiled from. Blinking, she turned her eyes back to the plates before her and then to Frill, who still wore a sad smile.
"Go ahead, you had a pretty rough night," Frill said, nudging the platter. Quilt looked to the side before humming and digging in. Frill folded her forelegs and scanned the room for a moment. "So, how are you doing?" Quilt tilted her head and murmured.
"I dunno. Gran-" She clenched her teeth and eyes and shuddered. She hung her head and breathed hard until Frill reached out and held her hoof. Nodding, she sighed and continued. "Grogar's whole.. everything is still rattling around in my head. I feel like a scruffing moron." Frill hummed and squeezed her hoof.
"It's not like there was much you could have done differently."
"Maybe, but everything Peter's had to go through, him getting turned into a vampire, everything that's happened, it's," she closed her eyes and sighed hard. "It's cause of me. Me and my stupid witchcraft."
"Oh, come on now, that's a stretch," Frill retorted, pulling Quilt into a hug and drawing a squawk out of her. "And that's my ram-friend you're talking about, so I'm glad you summoned him up." Quilt grumbled and struggled out of Frill's grip, who giggled in response. Frill looked down at her hooves for a moment.
"And your magic isn't stupid. You can actually help Peter, after all," she smiled at Quilt and nodded. "So don't be so hard on yourself." Quilt met her eyes and hummed before taking a small bite of her potatoes. A few quiet moments ticked by.
"Y'know, I could show you a few tricks and potions if you want to help Peter, too. You're a pretty good cook, so I think potion craft would be pretty easy for you," Quilt said, looking up at Frill with a smile. Frill blinked and tilted her head.
"You think so?" Quilt nodded earnestly in response before smiling, an expression Frill mirrored.
The moon was visible over Ramstead for the first time in a long while. Celestia and Grogar's spells had utterly shattered my enchantments and scattered the clouds, something I was now somewhat grateful for. The light was putting my mind at ease just like always as I leaned on the low wall of the balcony I found myself on.
"We can work on fixing your cloud cover once we've dealt with Grogar," Celestia said as she stepped out to my side. I looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Not that I don't appreciate it, but I don't think it matters if the castle's suited to me or not anymore." She looked up at the stars with a reserved smile.
"Well, according to Shawl and the others, there's murmuring among the sheep of voting you back in as a guardian of the nation," she turned to me. "Many of the sheep firmly believe what happened in Ruffleton and with Chrysalis would not have happened had you remained." I hummed and shrugged before turning my attention back to the stars.
"I take it all the sheep are getting settled in if they're able to mull over political hoo-ha like that?"
"Yes, luckily. Meaning Graggle can accompany us to Canterlot alongside Ambassador Tangle. Just another step in the long road to destroying Grogar." I nodded and scratched my chin, turning to her when she rested a wing on my back. "How's Quilt?" I smiled.
"Better, I think. She and Frill actually kicked me out," I replied and shook my head. "That hasn't happened in a month at least. So, I think she's feeling at least a little like her old self."
"Wonderful to hear," Celestia beamed and sighed. We stood in silence and watched the stars for a moment before Celestia hummed and I swear I saw an angry grimace on her face for just a moment.
"Everything alright?" She blinked and wore an even stare for a few moments before smiling at me.
"Oh, yes, I just sometimes wish I had an ability as readily available as your Evil Eye," she looked up at the moon with a smug leer. "It would allow me to witness certain things first hoof." I raised an eyebrow and looked up at the moon. I scanned it for a moment before snapping my fingers.
"Speaking of," I said drawing her attention back to me. "You said not to search for Grogar with my Eye, but didn't get a chance to tell me why." She nodded earnestly.
"Yes, of course. You see if you were to spy upon him, you'd run the risk of him controlling you," she declared, causing me to recoil.
"What?"
"It's true. Those special spells I've used on you a few times are imitations of a much more potent series Grogar uses on his creations. I can compel you to speak the truth or to be more agreeable, all of which you'll recognize when it happens," she adopted a more severe expression. "He can change the very contents of your mind, and you'll never realize it. All of this I suspect was his intention before I arrived and demanded his direct attention." My jaw hung open and I held my breath. She gave me a sad smile.
"Unfortunately, that is all part of the territory of being comprised of dark magic, especially since Grogar built such a weakness into you," her smile turned happier and she nudged me with her hoof. "The good news is that while he's spied upon you a few times since he fled, I've countered his spell each time he tried to weave it. He gave up spying on you after the sixth attempt!" She beamed at me. I stared at her in shock and gripped the wall to stay on my feet.
"Thank you, Celestia," I said quietly and evenly. She giggled and pulled me into a hug.
"Think nothing of it, friend," she sighed and looked out over the countryside. "It's interesting actually. He only really started creating monsters with that vulnerability built into them after the First Nosferatu." I shook my head and furrowed my brow.
"The First?" She nodded and her expression fell slightly.
"It was the only monster he produced he never had any genuine control over," she looked off to the side. "My father was fascinated with it for that reason, for Grogar-"
"Feared me." I looked past her, where the First loomed on a separate balcony entirely. "Father feared me and what I could do to him."
"Peter?" I blinked and turned to Celestia, but saw she was staring at the balcony I'd seen the First hovering on. She scanned the air before turning to me with a wide-eyed glare. "Was it here?"
"Yes," I replied. We held each other's gaze for a moment before looking back at the other balcony.
Luna scanned the valley around Canterlot City as she soared, her head stooping like a bird of prey.
"Show yourself," she hissed, letting out a second pulse of magic to feel for Him. But as she circled farther from the castle, Grogar smiled up at her from the garden.
"Go," he whispered. Far to the south, a spark of magic crackled and drew Luna's attention. She wheeled around and shot toward the source as fast as her wings could take her. Grogar chortled as his Evil Eye watched Chrysalis change into an unassuming field mouse just before Luna came crashing down with a roar. Sneering to himself, he quickly turned to smoke and slithered into the castle.
He paid no mind to the shivering maids and guards cowering in small huddles. They'd served their purpose in feeding him and luring the princess outside. And killing them would be an act of pleasure.
He was here on business.
Snaking along the grooves of the tiled floors, he eventually found the door to the dungeon. It was heavily warded, but that didn't matter. Just by glancing at the ethereal membrane that shielded the door, he immediately recognized that the spells were set to warn Celestia. And she was still in Woollachia.
The only problem in his mind was he wouldn't be able to see her face as he broke in. The veil was sliced apart with one gesture and he poured into the narrow corridors of the dungeon, racing ever lower until finally he came to a set of decently furnished cells. In truth, they were so well put together, that they were more like cozy little apartments than prisoners' cells. Suitable for a set of sheep being kept for their own safety.
"What is that?!" Doily cried, jabbing her hoof at Grogar's smoke, and drawing the attention of the other two residents. They looked on in wonder and then abject horror as Grogar slowly reformed.
"Evenin' folks! Grogar here with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" He swept his head in a bow and leered at Lace with a toothy grin. "Several lifetimes if you act now!"
"Grogar," Cap whispered with a squeak. "Heaven help us." Grogar uttered a long, droning hum and turned to Cap.
"No such luck here," he chortled and walked up to the bars of Cap's cell. "But that's not such a bad thing!" Without missing a step, he walked through the bars, causing them to break apart and clatter around the now-screaming ram.
"See, heaven is for the well-behaved and repentant," he shrugged his shoulder and stepped through the stone wall separating Cap and Lace's cells. Lace backed away as he approached until she pressed against the opposite wall. "What I'm offering is anything but." He circled back and crashed through Lace's bars before magically collapsing the bars from Doily's cell into a single small wad of metal which he hucked to the side hard enough to bury it completely in the wall. He trotted daintily back to the corridor between all their cells as they watched him with dread and curiosity.
"You three fell in with my servant, and he promised you a whole mess of stuff. Now he's dead, so I could say null-and-void, and leave you to rot," he pursed his lips and squinted at the ceiling. "Not that I'm known for keeping bargains my flunkies make for me, but!" He whirled around and pointed a hoof at Doily causing her to squeak and bolt under her bed.
"I am presently far more amused by the idea of taking what I must imagine must be at least mild resentment for your circumstance and turning it into engines of terror." Doily whimpered and covered her eyes as he grinned.
"R-resentment?" Cap repeated, instantly regretting his decision to speak when Grogar's head snapped all the way around to look at him.
"Resentment," he confirmed before humming with a cool smile. Slowly his body slithered around to right itself. "You three had an entire country under you and were primed for so much more. And now look-"
"I'm in," Lace barked. Grogar stumbled and looked up at her with wide eyes. She met his eyes before looking at her two fellows, who stared at her in shock. She rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me you haven't at least thought about it! That vampire just up and topples everything we worked to create! My town gets hoofed over to that oaf. And we get locked up in here!"
"Lace, we were helping bring back Grogar!" Cap cried.
"Looks like he came back anyway," Lace scoffed. Cap recoiled and looked at the monster in question before sheepishly looking away.
"Oh yeah." Doily growled and scurried out from under her bed.
"That doesn't matter! We can't just help him!"
"Sure you can!" Grogar laughed, dragging all three right in front of him. He leaned in a smiled. "Or you can die. But doesn't revenge on an ungrateful populace and a seat in the new world order sound more enriching?"
"Yep," Lace replied, skipping right to Grogar's side who again looked at her in surprise. Then he turned back to the other two, who shivered and collapsed under his gaze, but otherwise refused to move.
"We-" Doily squeaked, hiding behind her hooves and fighting off tears. "We've done enough." Cap shook for a moment before nodding. The pair went still as Grogar laughed darkly.
"Nah, you're just done." His horns crackled with black lightning and he bowed his head at the pair, stopping when he noticed they'd fallen asleep. Blinking, he turned and saw Lace in a similar state. "Wh-" He stumbled.
"Scruff." He charged up his magic and fired a weakened beam into his hoof, which slowly and painfully burned a hole clear through to the stone floor. By the time it pierced all the way through, his eyes were wide and his teeth had clenched until they cracked.
But he was wide awake.
Scooping up his new ally, he slipped into smoke and exploded back the way he came, this time blasting his way out a window. Just as he had done to Celestia, he sent out several decoy trails of smoke to evade Luna's attention, as she was once again circling over the castle, using the moon's light to bathe the entire city and everything in it in a sleeping spell.
Unlike Celestia, he had to dip into the sewers as several of his decoys were immediately skewered by magical spears and destroyed.
"Those flames are a part of her? Very impressive," Grogar stood and paced in place as the fiery cage began to close in. "Think, think, think. Oh ho ho, this is a good one!" He watched the fire pick up speed, like a giant claw rapidly clenching a clawful of dirt. He stopped pacing and slowly raised an eyebrow, rolling his eyes to look at her.
"Maybe." He quickly worked a few spells, first setting one on the space next to him with a time delay. Then, putting up his dark shields. The fire came crashing in on all sides, consuming his entire being. The fiery net tightened and dragged itself into the air before shrinking to the sun, leaving behind a many-mile-wide, hundred-foot-deep, smoking pit, partially glazed with stripes of shimmering glass.
A pop of magic shined at its center, and Celestia appeared huffing and puffing as she worked her magic to return the sun to its resting place. As the flaming giant lumbered to the horizon, she scanned the hazy crater for any sign of Grogar, grimacing when she found him.
His magic had held up long enough that, rather than be completely incinerated, he was reduced to a spasming, charred skeletal thing, missing an entire horn, half of the other, and gasping. She studied the injured villain for a moment, waiting for some spell or counterattack. When nothing happened, she breathed a sigh and relaxed. She heard a pop next to her, but before she could react, Grogar's ruined form jumped up and bit her leg.
"Ouch!" She kicked him off, causing him to slump to the ground. She scowled down at him before a gasp drew her attention to where she'd previously heard a pop. She looked in wonder at the unshaven human in a blue shirt, staring between her and Grogar with eyes wide and jaw agape. Slowly, he looked up to meet Celestia's eyes before jumping.
"Was that the Bite of '87?!" He cried and leaned forward onto his knees.
"What?" Celestia murmured. Then she blinked and saw the telltale signs of fear being magically put to work. The human recoiled and leaned away as Grogar rapidly regenerated. What's worse, as he rose to his hooves with a satisfied groan, she could tell his magical reserves had been completely restored.
"Ahh, good meme," Grogar purred.
"Debatable," Celestia rolled her eyes with a huff, spread her wings, and pulled on the sun again.
Now that the airship was on its way to Canterlot, the hunting team and the rest of us had gathered in the dining cabin to clarify details and discuss impending plans. Quilt choked and sputtered, flailing her legs out as a sobbing Pinkie crushed her with a hug.
"Pe-" She wheezed. "Hep."
"I assumed by all the stories that if Grogar were real he'd be a brute, but this is just ghastly!" Rarity huffed, taking one of Quilt's hooves and petting it. "We're all here for you darling, for whatever you need."
"Need. Air." Blueblood stamped his hoof on the table.
"I concur! That devil may have manipulated you, but at least in the matter of summoning the Master you have my gratitude!" He reached over and patted Quilt on the shoulder, who glared at him in response. "I, too, am at your disposal." Quilt's eye twitched before she groaned and stared at the ceiling.
"Nice," she choked out.
"Any clue where he ran off to, Princess?" Calaeno asked.
"After fleeing Canterlot last night with Lace, Luna believes they fled east, but cannot be certain," Celestia responded. I folded my arms and growled.
"Lousy old bag," Cozy spat. Celestia hummed and conjured up a letter.
"Ah, that does remind me. Despite Grogar's jailbreak, Luna was able to make contact with the Catican through Karl van Katskills. He has agreed to appear before the coalition to discuss aiding us against Grogar," she turned to me and nodded. "As well as the other thing we spoke of Peter." I frowned and sighed but nodded in response. Frill humphed and laid her head on the table.
"I can't believe you're planning on just letting what they did to Woollachia slide like that!" Rainbow cried and leaned back in her seat with her forelegs crossed. "That's kind of messed up, no offense." Graggle grumbled and shook his head.
"It has been discussed at length already," he began, tinting his claws as he spoke. "The crimes they committed have been thoroughly repaid by Master Harlow. With that considered and during trying times as we now face, peace is ideal for all parties involved." Frill huffed and looked off to the side.
"So long as they're peaceful anyway," she groused. I leaned over and scooped her into my lap, where she shuffled to face me and nuzzled my shirt.
"That is the idea, yes," Graggle replied with a shrug. "In any case, for now, let us focus on who the real enemy is and seek the quickest path to his destruction."
"Agreed," everyone replied.
"Harlow," the First added. "You must set me free." My eye twitched as I tried to ignore it looming over my shoulder and cast a glance at Celestia, who smiled in reponse.
Once again, we were back in my suite at Canterlot, and I was lounging against the arm of the sofa with Frill on my lap and Quilt nestled next to me. Cozy and Sunbeam were huddled just next to Quilt, and everyone but me was asleep. Even with recent events, I'd normally think the sight was adorable. But I was preoccupied.
I grumbled and rubbed my temple while scowling at the First who was leering at me from the center of the room.
"Father has struck down Count Hephas of Orithia for refusing to join him."
"Awesome. Who's that?" I whispered.
"The traitor who aided Adam."
"Tight."
"Father is moving quickly. You must free me before it is too late."
"Noted," I replied and smiled at it, causing it to rumble and its eyes to light up. It could get as pissed as it wanted. Ideally, it would finally leave me alone in a few hours, at least if the plan Celestia proposed at Ramstead worked. For now, at least, it shuddered and then vanished. I groaned and threw my head back, drawing my hand over my eyes.
Ever since Grogar appeared, the First had been popping up more frequently, though it didn't always draw attention to itself. The trip to Canterlot was not one of those times. Pretty much every time there was a lull in any conversation it started whispering. The fact it was sounding more desperate was definitely unnerving, but that would also hopefully be resolved soon.
I idly wrapped one of Frill's braids around my finger and sent out my Evil Eye to where Celestia, her sister, the Elements, and a certain guest were holding a meeting. It was agreed that my part in the discussion should be held off until some sort of common ground between them and Equestria against Grogar could be established. I hissed and groaned quietly as Celestia's magic immediately blinded me, but at least I could still hear.
"Sir Katskills, I'm afraid I don't understand," Celestia said. I heard Karl chortle in response.
"All due respect, lady, but that much is plain. I'm here with the sixty-sixth house to aid your coalition, but the Catican has refused to have anything to do with you, even with Grogar's alleged resurrection," Karl said, drawing a worried hum from Celestia and a gasp from Twilight. Someone stamped their hooves.
"If it's cause of what Peter did, then that's bogus!" Rainbow cried. "You guys tore up the sheep's home and kidnapped his mare-friend!"
"Believe me, I know and I agree," Karl replied with a sigh. "But my fellow paladins, Gilbert and Albert, who I will remind you are now leading the Catican until a proper administrator can be elected, refuse to accept the fact that we misstepped and were judged for it." He took a breath and growled.
"And for asserting that fact, I have been exiled. My younger brothers in the sixty-sixth house followed me because I taught them better, but as of three days ago, we are no longer one with the Catican." I huffed in astonishment at that news.
"Will they not even consider the great threat at hoof?" Luna asked quietly, at which Karl hummed.
"To be frank, they said if Grogar came down upon this city tonight and leveled the place, you'd deserve it for giving Bubsy the go-ahead and still wanting to-"
"Excuse you?" Celestia huffed, after which a pause lingered.
"My understanding was we received information on his little sheep friend from the coalition as part of a pact in exchange for saving Princess Skystar." Another pause, though even blind I could feel how tense the air was.
"I see," Celestia finally replied. "Please understand that I was never made aware of any such arrangement, nor approved of one." Karl gave a mirthful hum.
"Well, well! Seems ol' Bubsy's still causing trouble from beyond the grave," he declared.
"It sure seems that way," Twilight retorted with a sad tone. "But that all aside, are you still going to help us?"
"Sure am! I'm even putting my vendetta with Harlow on hold for now! We can discuss what's to be done between us once Grogar's dead and rotting!" Karl said with a cackle. I heard Celestia sigh.
"I suppose that's fair. I shall inform the other members of the coalition of your aid. They are making their way here with all haste." I flinched and looked down at my hand to see Quilt with her teeth clamped on it.
"You mind?" I asked, cutting off my Evil Eye.
"Hrn hrnhry," she replied. Frill stretched with a moan.
"I think that's 'I'm hungry' in barbarian speak," she said, before blinking and noticing I had her braid around my finger. She looked up at me with a small frown. "Something bugging you?"
"Katskills is here and is going to help us out," I replied. She scowled and moved to speak but I continued. "He's also been exiled from the Catican for saying what they did to you and Woollachia was bad." Quilt released my hand and recoiled before she and Frill shared a look. I scooped them up under each arm and rose to my feet.
"Talk for later. Let's get you two some food," I said. Cozy suddenly snorted and snapped to her hooves, drawing a surprised squeal from Sunbeam who tumbled off the sofa.
"Food?" Cozy desperately huffed.
"Coal's got an entire war train rolling this way, apparently. The United Cities are already set for war," Calaeno explained while Frill, Cozy, and Quilt ate. "A literal train, by the way. Loaded with troops and weapons." Hasty came trotting up and slipped a scroll on the table in front of me.
"They sent a list of the resources they're committing to the campaign against Grogar," he said as I unfurled the scroll. I whistled at the lengthy catalog. A couple of hundred minotaurs, just as many guns, sixty cannons, and a set of things called 'roasters.' The Catican was considered formidable with its force of five hundred warriors, so I assumed what was being mustered here was nothing short of terrifying.
"They also requested we send Glass Jaw by chariot to meet them. Seems they're eager to get to his punishment," Blueblood added as he poured some juice into Quilt's glass.
"They gonna kill him?" I asked.
"Aunty managed to talk them down like he begged her to, but I believe they intend to make him 'fight off his shame' against whatever Grogar has planned," he replied.
"Ah-hah! Now that I can appreciate!" I scowled and looked up to see Karl striding towards us. As we had the windows of the room covered, his orange eyes seemed to glow by contrast. Out of the corner of my eye, I could plainly see no one else was happy to see him, but he only smiled once he reached and leaned on the table. "I presume from your lack of astonishment that you've been made aware of the situation?"
"Yep," I replied. He hummed and nodded before locking eyes with me. I heard Frill growl under her breath.
"Well, in case it wasn't conveyed, I'll tell you I'm putting our business on hold until after Grogar's been dealt with," he leaned back and tilted his head. "And who knows? Maybe our dear princess really can work something out between us?"
"I won't hold my breath," I replied.
"You don't breathe, but very wise all the same," he jeered and looked over the rest of the table. Blueblood looked ready to stab the guy, a sentiment Frill seemed to share. Quilt however was studying him with a subdued scowl.
"If the Catican kicked you out, were you able to bring any of your tools with you?" She asked and Karl bowed his head at her with a smile.
"Sure did! Though the real tool of our trade is knowledge, and I never would have made paladin if I wasn't a veritable lexicon of occult lore," he chuckled and extended a single claw. "For instance, if we can figure out what sort of monsters, if any, Grogar's planning to conjure up and hit us with, we can prepare some dispelling oil for them."
"Dispelling oil?" Cozy parroted and tilted her head.
"It's a special solution we concocted," he explained. "Reacts violently with dark magic and breaks down the bonds between it and flesh. The only trouble is it needs specific reagents for specific monsters." He jabbed his claw at me.
"Vampires, for instance, need garlic mixed in," he chortled. I furrowed my brow and hummed.
"Is that what you used to melt Verko's guys back in Klugetown?" I asked, rubbing my chin.
"Precisely," he replied and wagged his eyebrows. Quilt now furrowed her brow and tapped her chin.
"Reagents, huh," she muttered before fixing Karl with a stern look. "Mr. Katskills, do you think I could get a look at whatever recipe you use for that stuff?"
"Can't see the harm," he said with a shrug.
Coal hurled the sheet metal off of him and tumbled out of the toppled train car to the ground with a groan. Pushing himself up, he scanned the field around where he lay, coughing and waving away the thick smoke that now filled the air. Cries of pain and coughs echoed all across the field, and the train that had been pulling them along creaked and groaned from where it sat skewered in the air on a massive black spike of stone.
Coal clenched his teeth and sucked in air as he struggled to rise to his hooves, but before he succeeded a low dark laugh rumbled out behind him.
"Never understood how you lower-lives came up with the idea of using steam to propel metal like that. Personally, if I was stuck in a magically inept tribe like yours, I'd've offed myself once I saw what real power was," Grogar cackled as he trotted past Coal and eyed the teetering steam engine.
"Sounds like you're just a quitter," Coal replied with a snort before flopping over onto his back. Grogar laughed and shook his head.
"I like a guy who laughs in death's face!" Grogar loomed directly over him with a cool smile. "They always make the best examples for the rest of the herd."
"What's stopping you?" Coal spat, baring his teeth as Grogar leaned in.
"Promised you to someone else," he replied with a chuckle. Coal raised an eyebrow before a set of hooves clacked onto the ground near him.
"Hello again, Prime Minister," Glass Jaw said, drawing an annoyed groan from Coal.
"Saw a few little ponies hauling him through the air and could smell the resentment from the ground!" Grogar cackled and leaned an inch away from Coal's face. He gave a smile full of needle-like fangs while his eyes turned black. "I knew I couldn't just let them by without saying hello."
"Once we're done dismantling your coalition, Grogar's promised me the United Cities," Glass explained with a sneer before holding up a four-barreled matchlock pistol and lighting the wick. "As well as you as a sort of down payment." Grogar snorted and shook his head.
"Really? The powder stick? Just cut his gut open with a shard of metal!" He swept a hoof at the ruins around them. "There's plenty to spare, and it'll be slow." Glass stared into Coal's eyes with disdain.
"Slow or fast isn't the point. I want him to know it was me." Grogar huffed and shook his head.
"Whatever, I've got a few other places to look into. You know what you're doing after this?" Glass nodded and pulled a glowing circular stone from his belt.
"Using this to find the camp where your other allies are, then waiting for your arrival."
"You got it," Grogar cheered in a low, grim tone before snickering and sinking into a cloud of black smoke that raced off toward the horizon. Glass watched him vanish before looking down at Coal and holding up his pistol. He stepped right next to Coal and glared down at him. Coal raised an eyebrow. A tense silence gripped the pair for a minute or two.
"Any last words?" Glass finally asked. Coal nodded and looked Glass up and down before quickly sweeping his arm out and knocking the minotaur's hooves out from under him. Glass fell with a squawk on top of him, and Coal quickly wrapped his arms around him before seizing his horns and wrenching his head around, producing a violent wet crack. As Glass went limp, Coal patted him on the back.
"When you have to shoot, shoot; Don't talk," he sighed before holding up and examining the stone Grogar left with Glass.
Night had overtaken the city, and everyone had shuffled off to sleep. Except for Celestia, Luna, and myself. At least until Luna cast a sleeping spell on me.
The world melted away, leaving me in a foggy white void. I scanned the empty expanse around me and turning, I suddenly saw the First towering over me. I recoiled as it leered down at me with those horrible, empty eyes.
"We do not usually sleep." I frowned and nodded.
"We felt it was the best way to talk." It stared at me as a bright light appeared off to the side, out of which stepped Celestia and Luna. It held its gaze on me for a minute before dragging itself over to stare at them. They both wore a severe, almost hateful expression.
"Why do you haunt Peter Harlow with such persistence?" Luna demanded.
"For the same reason, I dared your father," It said. I flinched as it spoke, for not only did its voice change from mine to some other guy's, but Luna had to extend a wing to keep Celestia from charging. They shared a pensive, sad, and angry look as the First continued. "I believe he is the key to my freedom." Celestia scoffed and glared at it.
"You were free and wandering before you assailed Skyros. How can you say the reason is the same?" The First recoiled and its eyes lit up with a dull purple hue.
"I do not understand." I furrowed my brow and shared a look with the sisters before Luna scowled and stepped closer.
"What is freedom to you?" The First rumbled and stooped down to her eye level.
"Death. I believed your father could-" I cried out and stumbled over as Celestia suddenly shot forward, with her mane and tail more like a faint fire than the normal aurora.
"You have many stolen voices, demon. Pick a different one." The First stared into her eyes and rumbled again.
"I believed your father had the power to destroy me, but I was wrong. He was weak," it now spoke with a squeaky, child-like voice that made Celestia bare her teeth, but as Luna stepped to her side, her mane returned to its normal state. "Peter Harlow is different. His power is like mine. His is not destruction but theft. By this, he may steal the power holding me together and liberate me, at last." It drew itself up and held out its claws.
"To live without living. To be without being. To exist and not exist. This was the schematic my father concocted," it hissed, held a claw over its eyes, and hung its head. "All that I am is stolen, for I am nothing in and of myself. A void to be filled. But conscious and aware of my emptiness. My wrongness." It leered at the sisters between its claws.
"And that is the most abject pain." It dragged its claw down its face and stared upwards, holding its claws out as it hissed. "This, of course, could be to your benefit."
"Explain," Luna curtly demanded. The First twisted its head around until it was looking at the sisters again.
"As I am nothing, my father holds no sway over me. For he can only command created beings, and I am Uncreation giving form. The Living Negative. The Perfect Vampire," it stooped down again, though it was more accurate to say its face flowed down its body to eye level with them. "Even he is susceptible to my pull, and for fear of having his power and life supped upon, he abandoned me." It rolled its claws and then extended one to me.
"Peter Harlow's mode of being is a weaker echo of my own. He draws in darkness and magic only and makes them his own as I built myself from stolen essences. How else could he attain the arcane attunements of others from their blood?" It swiveled and leered at me. "If he claims my dark magic, I will be unmade at last, yes, but it may be that he also claims my Perfect Emptiness. If it is so, Father would have no further sway over him." There was a crack that made my skin crawl, and the First was again staring at Celestia and Luna with its head twisted sideways.
"And more critically, Peter Harlow may assail and drink his very life force as I have done." I audibly huffed at the thought, but the three of them kept their attention on each other. "This may not destroy him, for he can live beyond death. But it would certainly preoccupy him and allow your kin to employ the power of their love upon him." The sisters shared a look, and Celestia glanced at me before she scowled at the First again.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" She hissed. Something awful gurgled up from the First, then; A wavering, ghostly, hissing laugh that caused Celestia and Luna to recoil with shock. It spoke again with Grogar's voice.
"You don't. It was never my intention to convince you of anything. I only need Peter Harlow. I do not care if Father destroys you, only that Peter Harlow lives and may finally liberate me." The instant it spoke the last syllable, it was gone leaving the three of us alone in the void. Silence filled the air as I rose to my feet and looked at the sisters. They both stared off in different directions as if in thought for a frankly uncomfortable amount of time. Then they nodded in sync and turned to me.
"Awaken, Peter Harlow," Luna ordered, and the next thing I knew I was on the sofa in Celestia's room where they'd cast the spell on me. I groaned and rose to my feet to see both of them sitting on the balcony watching the stars.
"It at least provides clarity to a long-unanswered question," Luna said quietly as I approached.
"That doesn't make it any easier," Celestia retorted. I furrowed my brow as I stood beside her in the moon's light.
"What happened between you three?" I quietly asked without thinking. I jolted as soon I realized what I'd said, and looked at the sisters who themselves were staring at me. I groaned and held up a hand. "Sorry, I wasn't-" Celestia shook her head and took a breath while Luna just looked off to the side.
"When Luna and I were fillies, the First invaded Skyros and preyed upon our mother. It openly demanded our father come to face it, but Father believed he lacked the power to destroy it," she furrowed her brow as she spoke. "So, he concocted a different plan. The First draws in all things, including spells. Any spell cast upon it will be absorbed."
"So, instead, he cast a spell upon himself," Luna added. "And allowed the monster to fall upon him. In the hopes that once he and it became one, the spell would find purchase." I stammered and gawped as they spoke. After looking at Luna for a moment, Celestia continued.
"Against all hope, it worked. The demon fell asleep, and though we could not destroy it while it was defenseless, we could pursue the rest of Father's plan," suddenly, Celestia stopped, her ears snapped back, and she vacantly stared ahead. I hesitated before reaching out to her, but Luna held up a wing and shook her head. All while holding her eyes shut. I clenched my jaw and murmured to myself as Celestia just scanned the air for a minute before blinking.
"The chamber we sealed it in is primarily warded by spells Father crafted which call out and reignite the sleeping spell within the monster, casting it back to sleep when it tries to leave," she sighed hard and ruffled her wings. "An ally of his called the Gorgon stands watch and drags it back to the center of its chamber each time it tries to escape. It has tested its bonds many times, but the spell still functions to this day." She stared out over the city once she finished, and her wings drooped as Luna leaned into her. I blinked and drew my hand over my face.
"I-" I shook my head and murmured. "I'm sorry." I felt her brush me with her wing and then noticed she was holding it out to me. I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around them both as she gripped me with her wing.
Down in the training yard of the castle, Karl was holding a late-night sparring session with his squires who had finally set up house in the barracks. As Karl parried one squire's stab and then threw them to the ground, he seemed to begin lecturing them before looking up and pointing at me where I was sitting on the spire overlooking the yard. I cupped a hand behind my ear.
"-Feratu got ahold of you, you'd be worse than thrown to the ground!" He said. "Don't over-commit! Stay loose!" I scoffed and lay back on the spire to look at the moon. Even with its usual calming effect, my talk with Celestia and her sister was still eating me up inside.
"Even if it isn't lying and truly wants to surrender its power to him, we can't know what sort of effect that would truly have," Celestia had argued to Luna.
"So long as it helps us, I'm fine with whatever comes," had been my interjection. The hurt look she shot me told me how little that had helped. According to Luna, after Celestia had retired for the evening, I'd said almost word-for-word what their dad had said. With a groan, I dragged my hand over my face.
"Peter Harlow!" I yelped and nearly tumbled off the spire roof but was caught by magic. Looking up, I saw Luna hovering directly over me. "There is an emergency."
"Prime Minister, don't be difficult!" One of the guards demanded to no effect. Coal remained sitting with his arms folded and leaning against the ruined train car.
"Get the rest of the injured to Canterlot Peter, then we can worry about me," he said firmly. I furrowed my brow and looked over the field around the wreck. The guards I'd warped had managed to set up a rough first-aid tent by the fifth trip, which the less-injured minotaurs were quickly hauling their fellows to. Coal grabbed me by the arm and drew my attention back to him. "And give this to Celestia." He held a faintly glowing stone to me.
"What's this?" I asked as I took it. It felt cold and was vibrating slightly.
"Grogar left that with Glass. He claimed it was how Glass was going to find where Grogar and his other cronies are holed up," Coal explained, giving me a smirk. I shared a look with the guard and then nodded at Coal with a smirk of my own.
Quilt rested her head on the balcony banister with her eyes toward the moon and stars. It was the first time in days she'd actually looked at the night sky, and despite her fears, she was still able to enjoy the view. Of course, she still wasn't confident enough that it wouldn't bring up bad thoughts to view the stars alone.
"What does this symbol mean again?" Frill asked, sliding the recipe toward Quilt, who glanced down at the paper where Frill had her hoof. She tilted her head and hummed.
"Powdered garlic. Which makes that the sixth dose in Mr. Katskills' recipe," she furrowed her brow and huffed. "I wonder if he knows we aren't making this just for vampires." Frill humphed in response and scowled at the recipe.
"Probably hoping we'll let him use this on Peter," she groused.
"He promised he wouldn't if my modification works," Quilt retorted as she turned and laid down next to Frill. She slid the paper closer to her and scanned it, before taping one of the symbols. "Easy one. What's that?" She looked at Frill expectantly, who furrowed her brow and hummed.
"That's.." she clenched her teeth and hissed a breath before gasping and looking at Quilt. "Nightshade?"
"Bingo," Quilt replied with a smile. The two shared a giggle before Quilt stood up. "Alright. We both know what we're working with, so let's get to brewing."
"Whatcha cooking?" Cozy called. Quilt and Frill turned to see her, Sunbeam, Hasty, and Blueblood stepping out on the balcony.
"A potent anti-magic acid that Mr. Katskills let me have a look at," Quilt replied with a smile. She looked over the group and tilted her head. "Where's Peter?"
"Master is still aiding the guards in transporting the minotaur's equipment to the castle," Blueblood explained.
"Still?" Frill asked.
"Still," Hasty replied with a somber nod. "It doesn't look like Grogar was aiming to destroy the United Cities' weapons since the only things broken were damaged when the train derailed."
"What was he after then?" Frill pressed, looking between the ponies and then at Quilt, who wore a severe glare.
"Based on what Minister Coal said, it sounds like he was trying to capture him so that Glass Jaw guy could kill him," Sunbeam said before smiling grimly. "'Course, the Minister got the better of Glass Jaw either way." Hasty nodded with a hum.
"Not only that, but he managed to swipe a magic rock from Glass that Grogar was saying could lead to his camp!" He declared.
"So we might be able to find where he's hiding?" Cozy asked, beaming and clapping her hooves as Hasty nodded in response. "Awesome!" She whirled around and smiled at Quilt, before noticing she was staring at the floor. Cozy's ears shot back and she crept next to her friend.
"How you doing, by the way?" Cozy asked, nuzzling Quilt. Quilt didn't respond right away but finally nodded.
"Better," she looked up with a resolute glare. "And by a lot."
"Wonderful to hear," Blueblood replied. "I'm sure the Master will be thrilled to hear it as well." Quilt smiled with a hum.
"I hope so. It's 'cause of him that I-" She winced and took a breath before readopting her firm expression. "That I want to keep going." She looked back at the moon.
"Peter lost everywooly from his family too, but he kept moving. He found something to live for like Celestia said I should," she smiled at Frill. "I'm pretty sure that something is all of us." Frill smiled back.
"I'm not going to just let that mother scruffer keep me down. I'm not going to sit and cry anymore. I know what I want to do, and I'm already taking steps to do it," she stamped her hoof on the recipe and firmly glared down at it. "I'm going to use all the gifts and talents he taught me and tear down every scruffed-up evil thing he's ever made."
A day after Coal and the minotaurs were safely in Canterlot, the rest of the delegates had begun to arrive to discuss our new plan of attack. As the meeting couldn't begin until everyone was here, Apollon joined me in visiting Coal while he recovered.
"It's so strange," Apollon said as he leaned back in his seat next to Coal's bed. "He's proved he can infiltrate our lands practically at will, but he's only done so to contact the traitors." Coal grumbled and sat up, wincing and clutching the bandages around his torso.
"Really have to wonder what he's playing at," he grumbled.
"When he popped up in Woollachia, he made it seem like he was looking for a challenge," I replied. "Maybe he's trying to make us all aware so we can actually put up a fight?" Apollon scoffed.
"If he's powerful enough to survive Celestia, I'm not sure that matters much," he sighed and folded his arms. "Even my air fleet might not be too useful."
"Don't count out numbers!" Coal said with a strained laugh. "So long as we can keep him pinned long enough for Princess Twilight and her pals to blast him, it won't matter how strong his magic is!"
"Plus, as much as I hate to admit it," I began with a huff. "Karl van Katskills is on our side, too. He and Quilt have been working on some kind of miracle potion for killing monsters. Can't hurt our chances." Apollon considered my words before smirking.
"So long as he remembers the monster on our side is off limits," he said with a chuckle. Before I could retort, a knock came at the door as a guard stepped into the room.
"Queen Novo and the King and Queen of Abyssinia have arrived," he reported.
"Where is this vampire we've entered a pact with?" Queen Panthera demanded as she scanned the sunlit parlor before settling her eyes on her husband, who sat across from the sofa Novo and Coraltail were sharing. Compared to his wife's confident, relaxed stance, the King of Abyssinia sat with his head hanging and his paws meekly folded between his knees, adding further contrast between the pair despite their matching black fur.
"He, uh-" the king began.
"Don't stutter," the queen retorted, rolling her necklace between her claws. King Panthera cleared his throat and nodded.
"He is most likely visiting the Prime Minister of the United Cities, Beloved," he tapped his claws together. "Minister Coal and he are very good friends after all." The queen hummed and turned to Novo and Coraltail with her paw on her hip.
"I have to wonder if the Prime Minister has been informed of the vampire's actions against the Catican," she purred. The hippogriffs shared a look before Coraltail met the Abyssinian Queen's eyes.
"He and Princess Celestia are fairly close from what I've seen, so it may be that she's kept such information from him," he replied, drawing a hum from the queen, who tilted her head.
"Is that really true?" She queried. Coraltail raised an eyebrow before realizing she was looking past where he was seated. He glanced back and wilted slightly.
"Not entirely. But then again, as Sir Katskills can attest, it's not entirely true that Peter Harlow's actions were completely unjustified," Celestia explained as she stepped to the center of the room. She wore her characteristic serene smile as she bowed to each creature. "Rest assured, Mr. Harlow is prepared to work towards making amends as best he can for what has happened." She blinked when Queen Panthera barked a laugh.
"Make amends! They should be thanking him for pulverizing that fat cat Bubsy!" She giggled through her paw before clapping. "But then again, they are still citizens of our country. So! He has my appreciation for aiming to avoid further conflict with them."
"Mine as well," Celestia tittered. "Were you seeking to speak with Mr. Harlow?"
"I wouldn't be opposed, but I was unable to attend the previous conference, and so I have only what information my husband returned with," the queen replied with a smile. "So, now that I'm able to take a more direct role, I'm interested in direct knowledge of our allies and assets. Especially given things seem to have escalated beyond simple undead warlords." Celestia beamed and raised a hoof.
"Well, I'd be happy to speak with you on all such matters while we wait for the rest of our allies to arrive," she said. "In fact, if you'll give me a few minutes to discuss a sensitive and personal issue with Queen Novo and her aid, we could do so right away." The hippogriffs in question jolted at her words. The Abyssinian Queen meanwhile smiled and bowed before striding out of the room, followed by her husband. Celestia stood in silence, still wearing her smile for a few moments before turning to Novo. The queen furrowed her brow as she met Celestia's eyes.
"How is Skystar?" Celestia asked, taking a seat where King Panthera had been previously. Novo blinked and smiled.
"Ah, I see," Novo sighed and laughed. "She's doing fine. Perhaps you weren't made aware, but she's here in Canterlot as well." Celestia nodded.
"And the Storm Isles? I understand after Sir Katskills rescued your daughter, he left the Remnant forces in quite a mess."
"I personally oversaw the occupation effort of the Storm Isles, though Sir Katskills made it easy for us," Coraltail explained, puffing out his chest with a smile. "Truthfully, all we had to do was round up a demoralized garrison."
"Wonderful. And what was the nature of your agreement with the Catican?" The pair wilted in shock. Celestia's expression was unchanged.
"Excuse you?" Novo squawked.
"Sir Katskills explained to me that in exchange for rescuing Skystar, details relating to Peter's ewe-friend were given to Administrator Bubsy," she tilted her head forward. "A very short time before she was abducted as part of a scheme to kill Peter." A crushing silence took the room, broken after a full minute by Coraltail.
"If I understand you correctly, that is quite a severe accusation, princess," he said.
"I am aware."
"I hope you have more than simple conjecture supporting it," Coraltail continued.
"I have the testimony of Sir Katskills as well as a few of his squires who were attending the Administrator the night you first contacted him." Coraltail blanched and his wings snapped out.
"I was certain he was alone!" Celestia raised an eyebrow, and he looked from her to Novo, who held a claw over her eyes. He blinked and then wilted. "Oh." Celestia took a breath and shook her head.
"What would Skystar think if she knew your actions led to the attack on Woollachia?" She huffed, causing Novo to groan.
"What else was I supposed to do?" She gasped. "Wait on that monster Adam to turn himself in?"
"We were in the process of countering him using similar methods we used to locate his ally," Celestia retorted with a sad scowl. "But even baring that, your actions were shortsighted, especially given Prime Minister Coal's warning. Have you considered what would happen if he learned what you have done?" The pair went wide-eyed and still.
"Precisely. But even setting him aside, you have put my friend's life in jeopardy, as well as that of his loved ones. The Catican ransacked a village in Woollachia to act on the information you gave them," Celestia sighed hard. "Which, of course, leads to another issue. Peter Harlow acted in defense of his loved ones and dealt retribution upon the Catican. Now, except for Sir Katskills, the entire organization is opposed to us."
"What?!" Novo cried while Cortaltail stared ahead in shock.
"They firmly believe that the entire coalition was on board with their scheme, and yet we still employ Mr. Harlow. So they now also believe it was a double-cross," Celestia explained. "So firmly do they believe this that they've exiled Sir Katskills and his squires." The hippogriffs digested the news in silence for a minute before Celestia spoke again.
"The Prime Minister is not aware of your actions and will remain so if I can manage it. But in exchange, you must agree to aid Peter Harlow in making peace with the Catican when the time comes. It is the least you can do."
"What kind of name is 'Lugrim'?" Grogar snorted, earning a scowl from the storm beast at his side.
"What do you mean?" Lugrim demanded as the pair walked past the scrambling teams of lower-ranked beasts who were racing all around the central square of the isle.
"It's a stupid name," Grogar chirped, stopping and leaning his head back to glare at a dark crevice between two ruined buildings. He held his gaze for a moment before tilting his head that way, and a dark yellow beam instantly filled the space between his horns and the dark spot. A gurgling cry of pain rang out followed by silence.
"Nice shot," Lugrim appraised to Grogar's satisfaction. The beast scanned the square at the path of destruction the goat had carved. All around lay the occupying hippogriff warriors in varying states of death and evisceration. He and the army had been so decimated by the Catican assassin that they all but immediately surrendered when the hippogriffs arrived. As a result, this was the first time he'd gotten a clear picture of how many soldiers there had been. Even then, he had to do some rough estimation, as only a clawful of bodies were actually completely intact.
Not that the storm beasts fared much better all said. Lugrim had to sigh as he watched his comrades haul and load gear on their ships.
"To think we used to dominate the southern skies," he groused. "Barely enough left for a squadron."
"And that's plenty for what I have planned," Grogar replied as he scrapped the ground with his hoof. "You remember what you're doing?" Lugrim watched as the goat scratched a circle into the stones.
"We sail on Equestria's capital from the south while you attack from the north."
"And when do you do that?" Grogar pressed before flipping the flat circular stone he'd cut from the ground over.
"Immediately?" Lugrim offered.
"Bingo," Grogar blasted the stone and then tossed it at Lugrim. The beast caught it, then cried out and juggled the scalding hot piece of rock for a moment. "That's the homing charm I promised. It's locked to Canterlot Castle, so just follow it like I told you."
"I-" Before he could speak Grogar began to rise in the air, legs stiff as boards. He held out his claw to the goat. "Wait!"
"What?" Grogar rotated in the air to fix him with an annoyed leer.
"If the coalition hasn't been dissolved yet, what about the Dragon Lord?" Lugrim asked. "She and her kin can easily sweep even a full fleet from the sky!" Grogar hummed and considered his words.
"What was Adam's plan for that?" He asked.
"Lord Adam? He claimed his hypnosis would deal with them," the beast replied, furrowing his brow at Grogar's smirk. "But no one's seen him since the Abyssinian attacked."
"Yeah, s'cause he died," Grogar said plainly, drawing a choking stammer from the storm beast. "Don't worry though. I gotta plan for them."
Lace shivered as the late-night icy mountain air bit into her wool, and she huddled closer to the fire. Except for the rockface of the mountain, the land just around their camp had been magically scoured free of trees and debris, all of which were piled in neat, manageable chunks inside a cave in the rock face.
"What good is all that fur if the cold can still torment you?" Chrysalis demanded from the opposite side of the fire. Lace scowled at the changeling.
"In case you haven't noticed this scruffing mountain is covered in snow," she hissed, waving a hoof at their surroundings and then at the cave they'd been sleeping in the past few nights. "Even Grogar said we should stick to the cave at night to avoid freezing to death."
"Hah! That was clearly advice for you alone!" Chrysalis jeered, bringing a hoof to her chest. "I'm perfectly adapted to this climate." Lace sneered at her.
"Is that why you snuck up and huddled against me the past few nights?" Chrysalis leaped to her hooves.
"You were awake?! Deceiver!" Lace scowled smugly at her.
"Not initially! But it's kinda hard to stay asleep when somewooly twice your size suddenly grabs you in the middle of the night!"
"How dare-"
"Quiet," Grogar demanded as he suddenly stamped on the fire, causing it to turn blue and then go out. Chrysalis flinched and nearly collapsed, while Lace screamed and tumbled over. Grogar leered at the pair and then scanned the clearing around them. "Where's Glass?"
"Who?" Chrysalis quietly asked. Grogar hummed and closed his eyes.
"Oh, he's dead. Sounds about right," he bared his teeth and hissed, drawing a shudder from his allies. "Meaning his homing charm is missing."
"His what?" Lace murmured, looking between him and Chrysalis as she slowly rolled to her hooves.
"Magic rock I whipped up. It glows when it's near the place it's locked to and if you set a compass on it, it'll point you in the direction of that same place," he stamped his hoof on the extinguished fire. "I gave Glass one set for here." Chrysalis cried out and stood up straight.
"So the enemy has a path straight to us?!" She shrieked, wilting as Grogar laughed aloud.
"Probably!" He chuckled. Chrysalis and Lace shared a look before Lace stepped forward.
"So-"
"S'fine though," Grogar said as he strode toward the mountain and looked up. "Everything else is ready so we can proceed." Before either could ask, they found themselves lifted into the air by shadow tendrils before Grogar rocketed skywards, dragging them with him. After a terror-filled minute, they found themselves hurled onto a snow-covered plateau near the top of the mountain that hugged the peak in a narrow crescent shape. As they struggled to clamber to their hooves in the heavy snow, Grogar touched down. From where his hooves made contact a blast of dark energy flared out in a dome, sweeping away the snow and leaving behind bare stone.
"Where am I?" Lace grumbled as she sat up before looking at the rock face and blinking. "Wha?"
"My sentiments exactly," Chrysalis hissed. The pair stared in tandem at a cave level with the plateau, which had a faint yellow membrane stretched over it that faintly crackled with power. Grogar hummed and his horns lit up, sending out sparks of magic that burned runes in a semi-circle around the cave.
"This is where Gusty the Great hid my bell all those years ago," he explained as a detailed ritual array was carved into the rock. "She poured almost all of her magic into a spell to keep it sealed away." He stepped up to the membrane and tapped it with his hoof, causing it to squeal and crackle violently.
"Your bell.." Chrysalis whispered. "So this-"
"Is where the greater brunt of my magical power is hidden, yes," Grogar continued, appraising the mountain with a smile. "She probably thought I'd have to search for it. Ha! Like I'd need to search for my left hoof!" He cackled and sighed before smirking at the barrier.
"At least she was smart enough to put this little doozy up. I certainly won't be breaking through this!" Lace and Chrysalis flinched and shared a look.
"So how-" Lace began, squealing in shock when the runes let out a deep bassy drone.
"Easy. It only guards from the outside, and that bell is still a part of me," he sat down, and his eyes glazed over. "Just have to let it know I'm here." His eyes rolled back, and he clamped his forehooves together. He uttered a prolonged meditative hum as the runes glowed red and began smoking. Magical energy began to arc up from them and dissipate into the air. There was a faint rumble from deep in the cave, followed by a deep, metallic clang.
All at once, the barrier stretched outwards towards Grogar at speeds that startled even Chrysalis. Then, slowly, the barrier began to shudder and peel back until finally a cracked grey stone bell with a red collar snapped through and affixed itself around Grogar's neck. The barrier shot back to the cave like rubber and then settled, as the goat took a strained breath and then exhaled with a shudder. The runes let off wisps of steam, cutting the silence with a hiss before he stood up with a smile.
Chrysalis and Lace watched him anxiously as he looked up at the thick clouds above them. The last of the hot steam slipped into the air and was carried off by the wind, leaving the plateau in a tense quiet. Lace shuddered and bared her teeth.
"So," she began slowly.
"So," Grogar replied. Lace wilted and looked at Chrysalis who had her eyes glued to Grogar. The sheep gulped and bit her lip.
"What, uh," she murmured. "What now?" Grogar hummed and rolled his head back and forth.
"Well," he began. "I was planning on briefing you two and Glass on the new world order you'll be a part of. Then I was going to pull Briefs back to life." He hummed and went silent. The pair shared a look.
"But?" Chrysalis offered, causing the goat to look back at her with a frown.
"But besides the fact that Glass is dead and I've got someone else to revive, it feels like we're missing something," he stared at the ground. "I mean, this is it! This is when I clash with the modern heroes!" He waved a hoof and shook his head.
"It feels," he screwed up his face and hummed. "Empty."
"Empty?" Chrysalis groused. "What in the world does that mean?" Grogar scanned the ground.
"Too similar to how things used to roll out. Scheming and slinking around far from the meek and helpless, planning attacks they never saw coming," he narrowed his eyes. "Then basking in their shocked terror when we fall upon-" He whipped around with a bright smile.
"THAT'S IT!"
"So it not only resonates with the location it is set to, but it also acts as an arcane pole!" Twilight explained, holding a compass up to the stone Coal gave me for the entire room to see. The needle spun and then settled on the north-western point. "Meaning we can use it to navigate right to wherever Grogar wanted Glass to meet him!"
"Brilliant!" Queen Panthera cheered, leaning onto the conference table with a bright smile aimed at Twilight and her friends. "So, now we can march on his little hideout and you girls can blast him!"
"Or we can fly there," Apollon offered, nudging Celaeno at his side.
"Might be the best option, since otherwise we'd have to march our soldiers who knows how far," Coal said, rubbing the bandages on his chest.
"Will that really be necessary?" King Panthera asked, leaning back to see around his wife. "Can't the Elements just handle him?"
"If he's recruited any other creature besides Lace, it'd be best if we supported the princess regardless," Graggle said, rubbing his chin. "Otherwise they could be ambushed and captured." Rainbow scoffed and waved her hoof at him.
"Puh-lease! Like he could really catch us off guard!" She declared. Then I blinked and shot to my feet, as Grogar suddenly appeared right behind her. Only now he had a weird stone bell hanging from his neck.
"Evenin' folks! Grogar here," he chirped, causing a chill to race over my whole body. Twilight and her friends leaped away from him, someone in the room screamed, and Celestia and Luna shot forward before hesitating and sharing a look. "That's right! The Grogar from all the old stories. You aren't hallucinating or having a bad dream. This is real. though I can already taste that plenty of you are having the hmm, appropriate response." He chuckled and shook his head. Even through the curtained windows, the sound of panic in the city outside was audible. Grogar waved a hoof and shook his head again.
"Now, don't panic too much, 'cause this ain't even all that bad! This is a telepathic broadcast to, well, everyone. Not the first time I've pulled this off, but I'm betting it's the first time any of you have witnessed it," he pursed his lips, squinted his eye, and tilted his head. "Well, except for two of you, maybe." He smiled and winked, at which Celestia audibly growled and Luna snorted.
"Some of you may have heard of a spell called the Evil Eye. Some may have even tried to sanitize its name. However you know it, know that I invented it. So, it shouldn't be too shocking that I can invert its effect, basically. No time or interest to explain that fully, especially as at least one out of every ten of you isn't making it to the end of this month." A grim, even, subdued smile spread across his face. The door was suddenly thrown open and Quilt, Frill, Cozy and all the rest of my friends came scrambling in, stopping dead when they saw him. Quilt clenched her jaw and glared at him.
"That is, of course, the purpose of this message. I've just gathered my commanders and reclaimed my bell, so I'm going to begin conjuring up a proper horde of just about every awful thing you've spent ages hunting and dreading," his smile split, revealing his needle-like fangs as he tilted his head forward. Karl appeared suddenly at the door, leaning in with a wry smile. "And then I'm taking them on the warpath. We're going to march on Canterlot in central Equestria and raze the whole mountain. Once it has been scoured of life I'm going to occupy it and make it my new lair, out of which my armies will stream forth unto every corner of the world." Coal's chair was suddenly hurled from his place at the illusory Grogar, phasing right through and shattering on the ground.
"Now, I know! I know! Ya'll've probably heard this spiel before. Why, I'd be surprised if the changeling over here hadn't made similar threats a few dozen times all on her own!" He laughed but then flinched and looked to the side. "Huh? Yes, you, now shut up." Grogar snorted and rolled his eyes before continuing.
"Chrysalis," Thorax groused.
"Anyhow, I'm betting you wastes of space are at least a little desensitized to threats by now," a dark chuckle rumbled in the air as his horns crackled with red magical power. "So allow me to reinvigorate your fears with something tangible. And permanent." Then he vanished, and Celestia and Luna cried out and stumbled over onto each other. I spied that their cutie marks were spasming.
Before any of us could move, the entire room began to shake and the panic outside went quiet. The little amount of daylight slipping through the curtains intensified and then turned red. Celestia and Luna managed to stand back up and shared a look before turning, stepping passed Quilt and the rest, and exiting the room.
They approached a window directly opposite the conference room door and threw its curtains open, revealing a blood-red skyline, and the moon slowly crawling up from the horizon. The moon itself was now an abnormally dull orange, which only added to the eerie scene. I felt a chill, like what I usually felt when the sun had set and it was safe to walk outside again.
One by one, we all exited the room and stared out the window at the sky. The entire city, the mountain, the countryside, everything was now bathed in a miserable red glow matching that of the sky.
And high above, the moon finally completed its journey and stopped directly in front of the midday sun, casting the world into an unnatural eclipse.
"Fucking... Christ," I gasped as Frill clung to my leg.
"No kidding," Quilt added, leaning against my other leg. I heard the sound of Celestia casting a spell followed by an annoyed sigh. Looking over at her, I saw she was glaring at the eclipse with narrowed eyes. After a moment she met my eyes. For the first time since I'd met her, I could see genuine weariness, regret, and sorrow in her eyes.
"He has cursed them both. I cannot reach the Sun," her head hung slightly as she looked into my eyes. "Peter."
"Yeah?" She winced and closed her eyes.
"Now that he has his bell, there is no telling the damage he can cause even if the Elements are deployed."
"Twilight said as much a while back."
"Therefore, we must seek every advantage we can."
"For sure." She hummed and looked at me again.
"Are you certain?" She asked with a waver in her voice. "Are you prepared?" I looked at Frill and Quilt who looked up at me with confusion, and then the eclipse before nodding at her.
"Whatever comes of it, so long as it helps."
"Hey," we all turned to see Ember with her claw on her hip, leering out the window. She turned to face us. "So, uh, what'd I miss?"
"Wha-You-I-" Lace squeaked at the sight of the eclipse. Chrysalis whimpered and slowly looked at Grogar.
"Yup, ain't it grand?" Grogar replied with his eyes closed. He hummed in delight, rocking his head to and fro. "Delicious. Now!" He stomped his hoof and whirled around.
"On to the next step!" Lace and Chrysalis flinched and shared a look before huddling away from him.
"What-" Lace cleared her throat. "What step is-" She screamed as Grogar blasted the ground with a beam of bright crimson energy. The low drone of the beam quickly shifted to a wailing moan as the ground cracked under it. When he cut the beam, there was a pool of bubbling crimson ooze left behind in a wide shallow pit.
"Check this out," Grogar chortled. The pool hissed and began to evaporate. The pair blinked and shuddered as the ooze shrank away before settling around a pair of bodies that it clang to like a wrap. Then, the bodies began to writhe. "Rise and shine boys. We got work to do."
One of the bodies, the smaller of the two, pushed up and the skin of ooze peeled off, revealing a ram who tumbled to his hooves with a groan. Lace gasped and brought a hoof to her mouth.
"Briefs?!" The ram moaned and cracked his neck.
"Finally," he groused before blinking and looking up at Grogar. "Hello, again." Grogar smiled and nodded before glancing at the other body.
"You're way younger, so you've got no excuse for not being up yet. Let's go!" The body cried out and sat up, ripping the ooze in the process, and then flew to its feet.
He inspected himself before smirking. "Fuck yeah. Alive again!" Mad Dog chortled.
"That's the spirit!" Grogar cheered.
"Incredible," Chrysalis huffed taking a few steps forward and looking the revived vampire up and down. "You can create vampires this easily?"
"Shouldn't be too surprising, especially since this kid was already turned before he died the second time," Grogar replied and leered at the vampire. "Y'know, of the three, I always liked you best. Just a creature of pain and misery."
Mad Dog smiled. "Yeah, sounds like me. On the topic though, why you sound so familiar?"
Grogar smiled back. His horns glowed briefly, and the vampire's eyes lit up just as briefly, though he didn't seem to notice. "Doesn't matter, Tyler. Got a job for you. You'll love this."
"That is the situation. We will be leaving very soon," Celestia finished with a sigh. Quilt and Frill clung to my sides, the latter with her face buried in my shirt and the other staring off with an angry scowl.
"How the heck do you know this isn't going to hurt Peter?" Quilt demanded. Celestia hummed, but I spoke up first.
"I'm not saying the First is trustworthy, but it sure seems like it's not on Grogar's side," both sheep looked up at me. "And I'm willing to give it a shot if there's even a chance it'll help us put that bastard in the dirt."
Frill whined and sat up. "But Peter-"
"And let's be fair. Karl's just as bad for my health as the First might be, but we're still working with him for the time being." She recoiled and shared a look with Quilt before they both sighed. I hugged them both. "Celestia and Luna will both be there, so even if this is a trick, they can keep it from messing me up too bad." I smiled and glanced at Celestia. She averted her eyes.
"I guess that's true," Quilt murmured.
"How long will you be gone?" Frill asked looking between me and Celestia.
"We cannot be certain, but I can't imagine it taking more than a day if even that," Celestia replied, still looking off to the side. "Peter's ability to absorb dark magic has worked quickly so far, but this may be a more complicated affair. Regardless, we will be leaving in one hour." Frill's ears shot back, and she hugged my side tight. Quilt, meanwhile, just stared at the floor with her head resting on my lap.
TARTARUS
"Damn, not as bad as I expected," I hummed, scanning the cavernous expanse all around me after stepping through Luna's portal. The whole place was a mess of stone paths, cliffs, and plateaus with an eerie green light bubbling up from far below. On the plateaus sat countless cages in which all kinds of monsters and chimeras were kept. Most of them recoiled at the sight of us, but a few leveled hateful scowls our way.
Celestia came up beside me with a raised eyebrow. "And what exactly were you expecting?"
"I dunno. Fire, brimstone, wailing spirits tearing through the air. Stuff like that."
"Ah, then worry not!" Luna added as she shut the portal. "The lower levels may match your expectations." She and Celestia took the lead and we began to make our way deeper.
I frowned and peered over the edge of the path we took. I saw nothing beyond the green foggy light. "Lower levels?"
"The top region we find ourselves in is where the most harmless evils are kept," Celestia explained. "Beings who we can be reasonably certain are unable to pose a threat so long as they remain imprisoned. Thus, no further measures need be taken beyond sealing them in these cages." I looked up and glanced at all the monsters kept here.
We came to a narrow slope that twisted downward, hugging the side of the path we were on. Luna nodded at it. "Below, however, are creatures that such mundane trappings cannot contain. Spirits, ghouls, the odd especially talented unicorn, alicorns like Cousin Opaline, a few interdimensional criminals made from non-euclidean material, things like that."
I flinched and frowned. "Cousin who?"
"Nopony," Celestia replied with a scoff. "Regardless, all the cells and cages below this point are specially prepared on a case-by-case basis, including that which the First is trapped in."
"It is also guarded by horrors Grogar spawned, which our father managed to subdue," Luna added with a smile. "Including the Gorgon, who is charged with keeping watch over the First Nosferatu." I hummed and nodded as they began the descent. I scanned the foggy green haze for a moment before following along.
It wasn't long before I understood exactly what Luna meant. The fog separating this layer of Tartarus from the upper one wasn't naturally green or glowing. Instead, there was a vast swarm of hissing and chattering... things clawing at it. They were in all shapes and sizes matching living things like ponies, or griffons, or even minotaurs, but they were all slightly see-through and provided the eerie light to the fog as they rushed back and forth looking for an escape.
Occasionally, some would turn and chatter at us, but seemingly Luna and Celestia's presence warded them off and they returned to digging at the fog.
"NAG!" I jumped and whirled around to see a pair of glowing pale blue eyes glaring at us through the bars of a dark cage sitting on a wide sheet of ice and riddled with crackling runes.
The eyes met mine, but I was dragged forward by magic. "Ignore her," Celestia said as she pulled me to her side and turned me forward. Just ahead, there was a huge black rock dome with a metal door on the side. As we approached, I heard a hissing followed by a humming laugh come up behind us.
"Well, hello you two. And who is this?" A female voice spoke. I turned in tandem with the sisters and saw a huge snake with four clawed arms and a nest of smaller snakes with jeweled eyes for hair slithering around us. The nest of snakes completely obscured her eyes, but her fanged muzzle poked right through, with which she was smirking at me.
"Ah, there you are," Luna replied. "This is Peter Harlow, a friend of ours."
Celestia nodded and turned to me. "Peter, this is the Gorgon." I looked up at her as she tilted her head and snapped her tongue at me.
"No body heat?" She purred. "Oh-hoh! He's undead?"
"Correct," Luna replied. The Gorgon slithered closer, causing me to recoil. The sisters giggled at the sight.
"Fascinating~. You said he's your friend?" She began circling me. "Why ever did you bring him down here, then?"
"Uh-" She suddenly lurched and her coils snapped shut around me. "Hrk!" She rested one of her lower elbows on my head as she continued to speak with the sisters.
"He has an appointment with the First," Celestia replied, drawing a hum from the Gorgon. "We believe he may be able to destroy it once and for all."
"I see," she hummed. "That would explain why he's been so quiet the past few days." I croaked as I attempted to break free of her grip to no avail.
"We cannot be certain if it will work, but circumstances have arisen which unfortunately necessitate the attempt," Luna added. "So, if you would please release him, we can put our theory to the test." The Gorgon nodded and uncoiled, causing me to stumble with a gasp.
"Well, good luck ladies! And you too, Mr. Harlow," she propped me up before slithering away with a laugh. I caught my breath and glared at her as she vanished into the haze.
"Peter," Celestia called, drawing my attention forward. The sisters stood on either side of the door. "Let us proceed."
"Right," I huffed as I approached.
Celestia studied me before looking away. "You've done us a terrible disservice, Peter. If something happens we cannot avert, Frill will be furious with us."
I shrugged and wrapped an arm around her neck. "Sorry about that, but she never would've let us go otherwise," she hummed and returned my hug with a wing. "Besides, we should try to be positive." After a moment, she sighed and nodded before we parted. Sharing a look with Luna, they worked their magic and pulled the door open.
"Be safe, friend," Celestia murmured as I stepped inside. The door was sealed behind me.
The interior was bare stone, and if I wasn't able to see in the dark I'd be completely blind. Instead, I could see the First standing in the center of the chamber, leering at me. Wordlessly, it raised one claw and clenched its talons. I furrowed my brow before I heard a squelch and saw black ooze rupture from where its wrist would be.
It held the bleeding claw out to me and spoke with my voice. "Drink."
I flinched and looked it up and down before approaching. "Is that how this works?"
"Yes."
I hummed and nodded. "Well, if it's that easy, you mind clearing some things up for me?" It stared at me before growling and letting its arm sag.
"Go on."
I took a breath. "For starters, what'll happen to me when I use your power?"
"Your body shall become as water. Shapeless and fluid, but capable of becoming solid as water turns to ice. In this way, you may adopt any form or any partial form you have seen," It held up a claw and I watched the bony white appendage turn black before shifting to a long sword-like shape. "This you are already familiar with, for you can turn to mist or take the shape of small beasts. You will find that you may turn the matter of your body to blades or spears at need. All of this shall be magic in nature, and so-"
I hummed and nodded before meeting its eyes again. "That's all well and good, but I was asking more what'll happen when I absorb magic." It recoiled and gurgled. "Every time I've heard you or anyone else mention how your power works, it always seems like you're actually making what you absorb part of you, right?"
It didn't respond for a moment. "Correct."
I huffed and frowned. "So if that's true, won't that mean something similar for me?"
"You already have a physical state, unlike me. Anything you take will not-"
"What about my soul?" It went silent and I stepped closer. "If I go absorbing a mess of dark magic, like Grogar's, what'll happen to my soul?" The First locked eyes with me for a minute before letting out a low hissing sigh.
In the castle gardens, Hasty looked at the eclipse mournfully. "D'ja hear what Princess Twilight said?" He blinked and turned to his fellow guard, who was wearing a nervous smile. "She's figured out which direction Grogar's lurking in. So, we oughta be able to send all those monster hunters and the Elements after him soon."
"Yeah," Hasty replied with a sigh. "I hope they get him before he does anything else awful."
He looked up at the eclipse again. "Though, I can't imagine much worse than leaving the world like this." There was a shuddering drone in the air that caused the pair to shiver. A thin line of yellow magic cut into the air.
Hasty recoiled as his partner smacked him in the shoulder. "Just had to say something." The line peeled apart, revealing a hovering pool of darkness, out of which dropped-
"Oh buck," Hasty choked.
"Guess who's back?! Mad Dog's back!" Mad Dog the vampire howled as he came flying out before exploding into a swarm of bats and hurdling towards the castle proper.
"You ten! East wing! Go!" Karl spat as he and his squires, along with teams of minotaurs and guard ponies rushed through the castle corridors. He whirled around and jabbed his knife at the group he'd just ordered. "And don't forget to keep your damned warding totems out!" He whipped back forward and continued barrelling on.
"Where the heck is he?!" Hasty groused as he scanned the hall.
"No telling!" Karl chortled. "That's what makes it a hunt."
Quilt came galloping through the door with a set of potions hanging from strings she held in her teeth. As she entered, Cozy slammed the door behind her and scattered garlic at the door frame before turning to Quilt. "Didja get 'em?"
Quilt dropped the bottle and panted. "Yep. Everywooly take one." Sunbeam, Frill, and Cozy each snatched a bottle.
"So this is what you two were working on?" Sunbeam asked, inspecting the potion. "You sure it'll work?"
Quilt shared a look with Frill before shaking her head. "No, but-" Then a knock came at the door.
"Hey! It's Ember. You all okay?" The four jumped and shared a look before Cozy trotted to the door.
"Yeah, we're fine," she pulled it open and looked up before wilting.
"Hey, gang!" Mad Dog chirped as he tilted his head with his arm wrapped around Ember. He leered at Sunbeam who shivered in response. "Nice to see you again." Before Cozy could respond, Ember took a breath and belched a gout of fire onto the floor. Cozy leaped back with a squeal as the garlic turned to ash. Mad Dog chortled and dove into the room. He brought his foot up and slammed it down at Cozy who just barely managed to roll away.
"Ember! What the heck are you doing?!" Sunbeam screamed as the four backed away. Ember stepped into the room with a bewildered look.
"Whatcha mean? Just helping the boss, is all." The four recoiled and looked up at the vampire who smirked and wagged his eyebrows.
"The boss. Ain't that something?" He hummed a laugh as he stalked closer. "Had my doubts when Adam brought it up and still wasn't sure when that old goat kicked it my way, but guess the poor lizards really are helpless to hypnosis, huh?" Cozy gasped before scowling and drawing her cutie-fix. Mad Dog grimaced and jumped back. He stared her down before smirking.
"Ember. Fry this bitch." Cozy shivered as the dragon nodded and took a breath. Then Frill leaped forward and hurled her potion at the vampire. The bottle shattered on him and he shrieked before stumbling back.
"AH! NO! EEK!" He cried.
Ember choked and gasped. "You okay?!"
He fell back and draped a hand over his eyes. "Oooh~, they got me! They got me!" Then he snorted and cackled. His cackling slowly faded and turned to genuine grunts of pain as the fluid began to sizzle.
"Fuck.. Fuck FUCK FUCK! AHH! AHHHH!" He fell onto his back shrieking at the top of his lungs. Ember shuddered at the sight of his bare chest bubbling and smoking. The girls recoiled at the sight before overcoming the shock and galloping past the dazed dragon lord. Mad Dog rolled and reached out to them. "NO! WAIT! GET IT OFF!"
Grogar's jaw dropped as he watched his revived vampire slowly and painfully dissolve into a puddle of sludge through his Evil Eye. "How in the world did they.."
"Something wrong?" He frowned and turned to Briefs who stood at the mouth of the cave.
"They've got a potion that just destroyed my vampire in one go," he replied.
Briefs blinked and tilted his head. "Catican work?"
Grogar smacked himself in the head. "Ah! Right, completely forgot about them," He sighed and walked towards the cave exit. "Well! Looks like we won't have the dragons under our sway."
Briefs turned to follow him out. "You could just revive the vampire and have him try again."
"Maybe. But what are we really losing?" Grogar turned to smirk at Briefs. "Those dopey Southerners and their airships? Pfft." Briefs hummed and nodded as they emerged from the cave.
Grogar turned and swept a hoof at the horde of monsters he'd spent the last few hours conjuring which filled both the clearing outside the cave and the woods just beyond. Dozens of chimeras and cockatrices, countless boar-like Trogs, tens of wendigo, a few arimaspi, a baker's dozen of trolls, as well as a recently mutated ewe who was waiting for him at the cave mouth with the former Changeling Queen. "Besides, I've got plenty of other horrors to work with."
The conference room was gripped by a tense silence following Quilt and Frill's report of Mad Dog's destruction. The full complement of delegates around the table shared uneasy glances before their eyes fell upon Princess Luna, who had returned alone from Tartarus. They all were careful to avoid Ember's furious glare as she ground her teeth, intermittently huffing small gouts of fire as she did.
Van Katskills hummed and smiled as he paced the room. "Well, on the bright side, we've struck the first blow!" He chortled and slid next to Quilt before leaning down to grin at her, causing her and Frill to recoil with a shared scowl. "And we've proved that 'universal catalyst' of yours certainly works as advertised."
Luna nodded. "If Grogar is already taking direct action like this, I fear we do not have time to wait. We must use the opportunity given to us to strike while we're able."
Apollon shared a look with Calaeno at his side before leaning forward. "You mean.."
Luna nodded and looked at each delegate present. "We should follow the stone Minister Coal delivered and assail the fiend now." The eagle smiled and slapped Calaeno on the back before rising from his seat.
"I'll ready the fleet!" He declared.
"And I'll gather the troops," Coal added.
"Likewise," the Queen of Abyssinia said, rising and pulling her husband to his feet.
"But what about Peter?" Frill demanded, halting the excitement and drawing attention to her. She frowned and looked at Luna. "You said he was still talking with that monster."
Luna nodded with a somber hum. "Indeed. As near as we could tell, it did not seem like he had even begun the process of absorbing the fiend's power. Instead, the pair were in some deep discussion."
Quilt scowled. "So-"
"Now, now," Karl interjected, crouching between the pair. "As much as I'd like to say he's stuck down there where he belongs, and be done with him, from what I've heard, the bastard can just teleport around to wherever his Evil Eye falls. So, he'll be able to catch up with us pretty handily."
The sheep shared a frown leveled at the hunter who smiled in response. "And besides, he's got Celestia down there with him. So, I sadly can't believe he's in too much danger."
Frill shook her head and snorted. "If you wanted to take my mind off leaving him behind by making me mad, you're doing a very good job."
Karl smirked. "I live to hunt and to please."
Just then, the doors were thrown open and a guard came galloping in. "Princess! A report has just arrived that the Remnant Fleet has crossed the southern border and is heading this way!"
"What?!" Graggle squawked. "How are they still active?"
Novo blanched and held a hoof to her beak. "We left an entire garrison to keep them guarded."
"This cannot be mere coincidence," Luna scoffed. "Grogar must be behind this. He must be intending to divide our forces."
Ember shot to her feet and swept a claw through the air. "Divide nothing! I'll call for a few rowdier dragons and we'll sweep the skies clear!"
"If Grogar is behind this, that may also be his design," Graggle said, gnawing a paw. "Lure you and your kin into the open for another vampire to prey upon." His words caused the dragon to recoil.
Luna nodded and rose. "I shall journey with the Dragon Lord against the Remnant Fleet to obliterate any vampires that may be lying in wait. Celestia can journey with all of you against Grogar in the north."
Frill and Quilt shared a look before the former stomped her hoof. "But what about Peter?"
The princess solemnly nodded. "I shall discuss it with Celestia and with him if he can spare us a moment, but we cannot afford to wait." Frill whimpered and hung her head, comforted solely by Quilt who nuzzled her gently.
Frill sat curled up on her bunk in the lower deck of the ship, while Quilt and the rest of her friends gathered around. She sniffled and looked up at Quilt. "How do we know that monster isn't hurting him?"
Hasty hummed. "I mean, if I understood it all right, it sounds like it really wants to die, so," he shrugged.
"But what if it was lying?" Frill retorted. "What if-"
Cozy hopped up on the bed with Frill and pulled her face towards her. "Hey. Listen, Peter's way tougher than you're giving him credit for, and not just cause he's a vampire," she said firmly. "It's also cause he loves you so much. Quilt, too."
Cozy smirked and nodded at Quilt. "There's no way he'd let that ancient freak keep him from you. Remember what he did when Grogar popped up?"
Frill blinked and frowned. "He tried to rip his head off?"
"Exactly!" Cozy chirped. "And Grogar's way scarier than that dumb shadow monster."
"'Preciate that, Cozy!" Cozy shivered and slowly turned. Sunbeam screamed, and Blueblood drew his sword as the group huddled away from the apparition of Grogar standing behind them. He smirked and looked between each of them "What're you young'un's gossiping about?"
"Away demon!" Blueblood roared, waving his sword. "AUNTY!" Grogar chortled at the sight before pursing his lips and leering at Quilt, who slowly trotted up to him. She fixed him with a hard glare, which drew a smile back to his face.
"Well, aren't we looking disgustingly courageous and hopeful," he chuckled, laying down to meet her at eye level.
"Scruff yourself," she spat before blinking and looking left and right to see Cozy and Frill standing beside her, the former having her cutie-fix drawn and the latter with a vial of dispelling oil readied. Grogar chuckled and eyed the pair.
"Aw, lookit you, Quili-lily. Acting all tough in front of your friends," he hummed and tilted his head while staring at Frill. "But don't be shy. Why don't you tell Grandpa what you've been cooking."
Quilt raised an eyebrow before she turned and saw the dispelling oil. "Oh, that?" She snorted. "That's what we're giving Mr. Katskills to help kill all your scruffed-up monsters."
Grogar hummed. "Yeah, I saw the number it did on Tyler. How'd you manage that anyhow?"
Quilt took a daring step forward. "Same way you clawed your rotten rear end back to the land of the living. I used my blood." Grogar actually recoiled slightly, which caused Quilt to smirk. "I figured since we're related, and blood has power, there was a chance mine could work as a universal catalyst for Mr. Katskills' potion. And it worked."
Grogar humphed and scowled. "Well, that's annoying. Good work, though," his scowl slowly shifted to a dark smile. "You sure it'll help all that much?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
Grogar gave a fang-filled grin and chortled. "Because I don't know how many bottles of that stuff you've got, but I can just conjure up more of whatever you kill," he raised an eyebrow. "Just like I already brought Tyler back. Mind you, he's a little shaken from the pain that stuff caused, but we motivated him to stay in line." He jumped to his hooves with a start and looked to the right.
"It scarcely matters, devil," Celestia declared as she descended the stairs and stood before him. She spread her wings, and Twilight and her friends, adorned with their elements jumped out at her sides. "For that is not the only weapon we have brought against you."
Grogar narrowed his eyes as he studied the steely-faced mares. "Spooky," he smirked again. "But! You're not the only one with more than one trick up their sleeve."
His eyes fell upon Quilt. "For instance, once I've trashed this sad little fleet you're coming after me with, I think I'll find that vampire you're in love with and rip his soul out," he bared his fangs again as his eyes went black. Quilt wilted at the sight and his words. "Make him a true child of the dark, and then let him see to yourprolonged torment."
He hummed a laugh and leaned close as Celestia raised her horn. "After all!" A brilliant light filled the room. "Your despair is still my favorite." The apparition was gone as the light faded. Quilt recoiled and gasped before tumbling over, only to be caught by Frill. She panted and met Frill's eyes before looking at Cozy, and finally, Celestia who came to loom over the three.
"Fear not," she said as she knelt down before her. "While there is breath in my body I will not allow him to claim you or Peter."
"You got that right!" Rainbow added.
"Yeah! Don't listen to that big dumb bully!" Pinkie cheered. Quilt locked eyes with Celestia, took a few heavy breaths, and wiped her eyes with a hoof before nodding.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Twilight held the homing stone aloft as she scanned the horizon. All around them miles below were trees and in the distance, a towering mountain range, with a single gargantuan peak in its midst, began to take shape.
"Bits to donuts, that's where he's holed up!" She declared.
"Mount Everhoof?" Celestia huffed and leered at the woodland below. "I suppose that makes sense. Despite the short trip from more civilized lands, few kindly creatures ever dwelt in this region."
She blinked and narrowed her eyes. "And on that topic." She pointed a hoof below. "It seems he has swelled their number." Everyone on the main deck that was nearby moved to the railing and peered down. Far below, in a clearing full of freshly fallen trees and stumps, a large host of bipedal pig-like monsters were at work, chopping logs into smaller bits or cutting down other trees, all with crude stone axes.
"What the heck are those?" Calaeno murmured. Apollon grimaced and looked back at the rest of the fleet following them.
"Trogs," Twilight replied. "Hoof soldiers of Tambelon, Grogar's old fortress."
"He uses dark magic to twist ordinary animals into those shapes and bends their will to his own," Celestia added.
"That's awful," Fluttershy squeaked.
Quilt scowled and looked up at Celestia. "Would dispelling oil even work on those?"
The alicorn smiled with a nod. "Certainly, and in fact, as the oil only disrupts dark magic, it would likely free whatever they used to be."
"Free's a strange way of putting it," came another voice, followed by a squawk of pain from Apollon, who fell to the deck clutching his leg. "I'd call it hobbling." Everyone whirled around to see a lone ewe with steel-grey wool and a cool smile on her face.
"Lace?" Quilt huffed.
"Hey~," Lace replied. The crew of the ship came charging forward with a shout and formed a circle of swords pointed at the sheep, while others ran to Apollon's aid. The eagle rolled over with a grunt of pain, still clutching his leg which had a loose bundle of threads hanging from it.
Celestia looked between the eagle and the sheep before gasping. Acting quickly, she thrust her horn forward and a faint yellow bubble appeared between the ring of swords and the sheep. As soon as it did, tiny rings of impact shuddered all around the inside of the barrier, causing the crew to recoil in shock.
"What the heck was that?" Calaeno cried.
"Look!" Sunbeam squealed, pointing a hoof at Lace. Her grey wool was shifting as if caught in an invisible breeze, but on closer inspection, it became obvious that thin threads of her wool were lashing or stabbing out like tentacles. The ewe giggled as they looked at her in shock.
"What devilry is this?" Celestia demanded.
"Like I said, you'd call removing the magic Grogar gives us freedom," she smiled with a mouthful of fangs. "But I'm a bit more enlightened." Just then an explosion rang out, drawing their attention further back in the fleet, where the balloon of another ship had gone up in green flames. Another boom roared out, as a shrieking beam of yellow energy pierced a whole other ship.
A cloud of bats raced up and swarmed the deck of another, and yet another ship was in an obvious state of distress as a large dark shape whirled about on its deck, hacking down the crew as it went. Before anyone could fully react to what was happening, there was a shrill grinding from inside Celestia's bubble. Turning, they saw that Lace had vanished down a freshly carved hole in the deck.
"Oh no," Frill squeaked. Within moments following that, a similar grinding echoed out from the side of the ship, and a cluster of faintly shimmering grey threads shot up, severing the support cables holding the ship to its balloon.
"Hold on!" Calaeno cried as the entire ship began to droop to one side. As the entire crew scrambled to grab onto something, Celestia beat her wings and took to the air. Spreading her wings wide, her horn shimmered and enveloped the entire ship. With a grunt, she heaved her horn up and the ship shuddered before suddenly appearing in the midst of the clearing they'd been hovering over.
She sighed and drifted to the ground. The ship followed shortly after and hit the earth with a booming thud that shook everyone aboard. Moments after that they began to disembark.
"Princess, what do we do?" Hasty cried. Celestia hummed and scanned the skies, looking at each ship in turn. The two ships that had exploded were sadly lost, though luckily a number of winged figures could be seen abandoning them as they fell. The other two, however..
Briefs groaned as again, despite his size as a Lycan, he was hauled up and slammed down on his head in one whopper of a suplex. A cheer boomed up from the minotaurs and diamond dogs on deck, which fell into more chanting.
"Coal! Coal! Coal! Coal!" They roared as the Prime Minister grimly climbed up from the railing of the ship to the support ropes.
"Not the top rope," Briefs moaned.
"Indeed! The top rope!" Graggle retorted with a pointing claw just before the Prime Minister came crashing down on Briefs' chest, elbow first.
Mad Dog gurgled over his slit throat, and strained against the dozens of knives that had his arms outstretched and practically crucified to the door of the captain's cabin. All around him in a circle, Catican squires and Abyssinian soldiers stood, warding totems and spears held up, while just before him stood Karl van Katskills, whistling and casually reloading the blunderbuss he's blown Mad Dog's leg off with. Karl met his eyes and smiled as he primed the hammer.
"Fuck," Dog squelched, which drew a laugh from the Queen of Abyssinia just beyond the crowd.
"We must look to our defense for the moment," she declared, turning and nodding towards the trees around them. The crew and everyone else followed her gesture and saw the Trogs, along with a host of other horrible creatures leering at them wickedly from the woods.
Twilight scowled and shared a look with her friends, which turned to a nod as they stepped forward and prepared their elements.
The forest was quiet following the blast. Quiet and dark. Drawing on the full power of the Elements, Twilight, and her friends had raked their spell through the trees and brush, literally scrubbing the forest clean of the evil creatures lurking within.
But despite their efforts, as they stood panting and huffing with their Elements smoking and glowing hot, no one could shake the feeling it wasn't nearly enough. They could feel his eyes watching them in the dark.
"Fantastic work, girls," Celestia declared before snapping her wings. "Stay strong, I shall return momentarily." The soldiers and pirates that had been aboard their ship shared uneasy glances.
"Where are you going, Aunty?" Blueblood asked.
Celestia nodded towards the sky. "Our allies require some assistance if they are to land." She beat her wings and launched into the air, drawing everyone's attention skyward. High above, they could see the two still-flying ships slowly descending, as well as a pair of dark dots racing towards them.
Celestia flew as fast as her wings could carry her but was forced to hurl herself forward with a series of well-timed teleports. In the span of a few seconds, she intercepted the airborne duo that threatened the remainder of the fleet, and spread her wings wide, halting their advance.
"YOU," Chrysalis hissed, hovering in place with her skittering wings. Lace giggled at her. The mutant sheep hovered as well, but seemingly her flight was a result of her monstrous wool carrying her on the wind.
Celestia scowled and spared a glance back at the allied ships, which continued their descent. The momentary distraction proved costly, however, as Lace suddenly darted forward with a twirl. Before Celestia could react, she felt a burning feeling race down her side as a tendril of wool shot out and sliced into her side. Gritting her teeth, she turned and snapped her horn at the cackling sheep. The spell she fired was immediately countered by Chrysalis, who strained with an attack of her own.
Just when it seemed like Celestia would completely overpower the changeling, her wings and legs were snapped against her side by tight bundles of wool and she fell with a shout. The pair of villains laughed as the binding tightened until the alicorn snorted and her horn lit up. The wool caught fire and burst off of her, but as she pivoted to catch herself, she was whipped by a lash of wool and then blasted by changeling magic.
But then she vanished.
"WHAT?!" Chrysalis roared. "Where-" A burning gold plated hoof connected with the side of her head. The changeling gurgled as she went sprawling through the air. Then, with some initial sparks, the point where she'd been kicked exploded violently enough to light up the whole sky. The boom followed moments later.
Lace gawped at the display before turning to look at Celestia, who loomed over her completely unscathed. "Apologies, Ms. Lace. But I allowed myself to believe Grogar failed to equip either of you well enough to be a genuine threat," she leaned in, causing the sheep to recoil. "Allow me to make it up to you." She vanished again. Lace blinked and scanned the air, before she was blasted from below where Celestia had been returned once her time spell ended.
As soon as Celestia was out of earshot, a ghostly moan rushed through the treetops, followed by low laughter.
"Form ranks," Apollon weakly ordered, clutching his bandaged leg and propped up against a crate they'd hauled out for him. "Set a circle and-"
"Well, well. Look at you all," came Grogar's voice, seemingly from all around them at once. "All that preparation and mustering, and you wind up stuck in the middle of my forest. Such a shame."
"Don't count us out yet! We're going to put an end to you once and for all!" Twilight yelled.
"And what do you think you can do?" He asked with a laugh. "Your precious elements can't fire constantly, whereas my power is unending. However many demons you purge, I can conjure up more."
"If you're so confident, come out, and let's see whose magic is stronger!" Rainbow spat before glaring at the woods with a smirk. "Unless you're chicken."
"As tempting as the idea is to toss aside my chiefest advantage and respond to a schoolyard taunt, here's my counter-proposal," he replied. Again, a haunting rush whipped through the treetops. "You sit there and struggle while my endless hordes envelop you. And while you vainly fight on, perhaps I'll pop in and pick a few of you off myself?"
He laughed and the trees shook. "See? My plan has so many more routes we could explore!" Frill shivered and squeaked before jumping back, revealing that a slithering shadow had worked its way to her. "Why, I believe I already know where to begin." The shadow reached up and groped at Frill. Quilt let out an angry cry before stomping on the shadow which vanished on impact.
"You and your new friends are so cute together, Quili-lily," he called out with a grim inflection. "I can't wait to see you shiver when I lay their corpses out for you."
The dark woods were suddenly and thoroughly illuminated by a dull yellow light which was followed by a wailing cry and a stench like rotting fish that faded as the noise and glow subsided. Once the darkness held the woods again, a new cry came up.
"Not again!" Mad Dog's voice wailed.
"Shut up and move!" Briefs yelled. More terrible growls and yowls bubbled up in the darkness then.
"Aw, scruff," Cozy grumbled as she and Sunbeam drew their cutie-fixes. The bird soldiers and pirates, along with the pony guards formed a defensive circle around Twilight, Quilt, and the rest. Twilight and her friends huddled close together as they huffed and waited for their elements to cool down.
Quilt and Frill, aided by Blueblood's magic, began tossing bottles of dispelling oil to the defenders who began to form a three-rank ring with spears in the front two ranks and crossbows and oil bottles in the third. As soon as they had arranged themselves the horde erupted. First came the trogs, heaving up their axes and being skewered on spears.
Next came the cockatrices and chimera, who were pincushioned by arrows. When the trolls came stomping forward, the first volley of potions was hurled and rapidly melted down both the giants and any dark creature scampering under them. Despite this, the sheer number of monsters that came rushing forward allowed the horde to encircle the group.
"God damn it!" Mad Dog screamed as he came flying over the entire front rank, with eyes a deep glowing red. He cleared the defensive line before grunting and wheeling back at the sight of the cutie-fixes aimed his way. A knife shot through the side of his head causing him to tumble to the ground, where he was pelted with dispelling oil.
"It's the Catican!" A guard yelled as Karl van Katskills, followed by the minotaurs and diamond dogs came rushing forward. The sound of many guns went off, and a path was blasted through part of the surrounding horde. Not nearly enough to let the two groups meet up, especially as more demons came bounding out of the forest, and began to encircle the reinforcements.
All the while, Grogar's grim laughter filled the air which rapidly began to chill. Ripping tree trunks out of the ground, a group of gigantic arimaspi came forth with a snarl. As they revealed themselves, they were beset by spears and arrows from the griffins and hippogriffs who came flying in.
All of these were blasted by a wave of ice as a group of ghostly wendigoes came slithering through the tree tops, whinnying as they appeared.
"You've gotta be kidding!" Twilight cried. Suddenly, a spear of fire shot down and pierced a few of the wendigoes, causing them to writhe and retreat into the woods. Looking up, she saw the screaming and burnt form of Chrysalis being hurled towards the earth, followed by a flaming ball that squealed with Lace's voice.
And behind them came rushing the form of Celestia, who crashed into the midst of the defensive circle.
As she rose to her hooves, huffing and puffing she scanned the defensive ring her allies had formed. Despite their efforts, the stream of horrors that flowed from the woods about them seemed unending. She bared her teeth and swung her horn towards one side, releasing an arc of magic that scythed through three of the arimaspi and as they fell she leaped over them and fired a blast of fire into the wood.
"So, is this how you seek a challenge? Skulking in the woods?" She panted, beating her wings and stomping forward, the fury in her eyes causing many of the monsters to recoil with fear. "Come out and face me, Devil!"
There was a flash and a crackle, and a scream caught her ear, and she shivered before turning to see her foe, at the center of the circle, looming over Quilt and Frill with Blueblood being thrown aside. Frill hurled a vial of dispelling oil at him, but the bottle was snared and tossed aside by his magic. At that moment, everyone took notice of his presence.
Grogar smirked and his bell crackled. Everyone who wasn't fighting for their own lives desperately tried to rush to the sheeps' aid. They would never make it in time. His spell was simple and took the shape of a bolt of common lightning that sprang forward, aimed at Frill. Quilt desperately hugged Frill as the pair closed their eyes.
Then darkness fell. An uncommon darkness. A vast, sweeping, silent darkness that swallowed up the bolt of lightning and caused Grogar to recoil with shock. The demons and beasts all paused, seeming to sense some unseen shift in the atmosphere, a reaction Celestia and Twilight also expressed.
But regardless of sensitivity to the supernatural, all eyes fell on the swirling shadow before the old goat.
So dark was the shadow that there seemed to be no depth, no substance to it. It was like a flat plane, and yet it flowed like fabric and swept around before it revealed what it hid that drew such a shocked look from the Devil's face.
A tall white creature, with a mane and beard of hair so long and equally dark that it seemed to meld into the flowing shadow that revealed itself to be the creature's cloak and clothes. By contrast, its skin was as white as snow, though its scowling eyes were also black with tiny white circles in the center. And at its feet and between them, under the umbrella of its cloak, were the ewes, who looked up at the creature in wonder, one more so than the other.
"Peter?" Quilt quietly gasped.
"What.." Was all Frill could utter.
"What have you done?" Grogar demanded with an uncommon urgency in his voice. In response, Peter raised one black-sleeved white fist and uncurled his fingers at the goat. In an instant, his sleeve silently leaped forward and shot out like a spear, piercing the bell and Grogar's chest, driving him up on his rear legs, and throwing his head back with a gurgling cry before erupting cleanly out his back.
"One sec," I replied and flexed my arm. Grogar let out a gurgle in response that rapidly swelled into a soulful wail.
I'd drank blood plenty of times. It was sweet. Raw, genuine life force was something else. At least from this guy, it was bitter and hot like coffee. As I leeched his energy, I felt its warmth hit my stomach and rapidly fill my entire being with its essence.
As a bonus, I watched the protective enchantment on his bell melt into my arm and travel up to my shoulder where it vanished in my cloak.
I grimaced in anticipation and definitely felt an unhealthy twinge, but luckily nothing came of it.
Grogar jolted. "BASTARD! LITERAL BASTARD!" He wrenched himself to the side, ripping his side open to free himself, before catching himself on his right hoof. "UNGRATEFUL, BASTARD CHILD!" With a roar, he pushed up off his hoof and exploded into the air as a swirl of smoke and rapidly fled into the woods.
I retracted my shadowy spear and blinked at the spot he'd touched. There was a smoking red hoof print on the earth. My gaze slowly drifted further down and I saw Frill and Quilt looking up at me in shock.
"Hey," I said with a smile. Before they could retort, a commotion erupted around us. All the monsters everyone'd been fighting recoiled and broke off. Many of the larger ones I could see leering at me with genuine fear in their eyes.
"The Devil's made an opening!" I heard Karl roar as he charged forward, waving his knife to urge his squires on. "By all that you hold dear, don't waste it. He'll never let us live it down!" As he and his boys ran on, he shot me a look that almost looked like gratitude.
"You heard the cat!" Coal bellowed, firing a shot into the air. "Push them back!"
"CHARGE!" Graggle, sitting on his shoulders hopped up to scream. Taking their words to heart, the circle of defenders pushed out and joined the fray, driving the horde further into the woods. The sight of Grogar turning tail seemed to completely demolish their morale.
"Peter!" I whirled about and saw Celestia with her wings extended. "Leave the spawn. We must find the Father."
I nodded and knelt down to Quilt and Frill who both threw themselves into my arms. "We'll catch up in a minute, alright?" I hugged them both tight. Just then, Blueblood, Hasty, Sunbeam, and Cozy gathered close.
"Master! You.. Wow," Blueblood murmured. I scooted Frill and Quilt next to them and stood up.
"Just promised we'd catch up in a minute," I declared with a smile. "Sit tight and stay safe."
"Peter," Celestia called as she came galloping up with Twilight and the rest. "We must find him, and if not destroy him utterly, drive him toward Mount Everhoof."
"That's where we're going to be waiting," Twilight declared.
"Roger that," I replied before stepping next to Celestia and holding out my hand. Considering me for a moment she raised her hoof and set it in my grip. Focusing, I immediately spotted him and warped us to him
He bent his head back to glare at us when we appeared. "DAMN IT!" He roared before rushing off again. Another smoldering hoofprint was left in his wake. My Evil Eye was just as fast, and this time when we appeared, though he was still in smoke form, Celestia was able to leap forward from my grip and pin him with a magical spear.
His snake-like form snapped before writhing around her attack, allowing me to rush forward and rake my hand across him. As I did, I formed shadowy claws on my fingers which cut into him despite his intangibility. Again, I felt a jolt well up inside, as I stole more of his vitality.
"Behind you, Peter!" Celestia cried just as my Evil Eye went off. I turned to mist and spread myself out, allowing a yellow beam to pass harmlessly through me. As I reformed, however, I was rammed in either side by a pair of Grogars. The attack knocked me sideways off my feet, which allowed me to see the two Grogars clap hooves as they passed, while a third further back leaped up and swept a scything blade of magic with a somersault.
Something strange happened then. The attack never traveled, but instead, it was like it just cut the space between where he conjured it and, well, everything beyond that point.
Including me.
As a result, I was cut cleanly in two at the hips while a thin trench was sliced into the earth under me. The two Grogars vanished, along with the pinned smoke Grogar, while the one who'd just cut me was bodyslammed by Celestia. While they skirmished, my body rapidly began stitching itself together, as thin tendrils of shadow leaped from my wounds and pulled me into one piece. All before I ever hit the ground.
When I did hit the ground, I launched myself his way, teleporting above the pair as Celestia
Oh my God, did she just physically suplex him?
As I floated in shock at the sight, she tumbled to the side while Grogar was suddenly launched into the air by a fiery explosion. Straight at me. As Celestia landed on her hooves she looked up and then recoiled in shock.
"Peter!" Her call snapped me out of my stupor and I violently jabbed my claws at him, catching him and sinking my shadowy grip into his flesh. He was still reeling from Celestia's attack, so the added sensation of having me suck the life out of him must have really sent his head spinning.
Because this time, I drained so much that he began to shrivel.
After just a few moments of this, he came to, glared at me, and tried to fire a blast into my face, forcing me to dislodge. As soon as I did, he was off again, racing through the woods as a whisp of black cloud. I pivoted in the air to try and land on my feet but instead landed on Celestia's back.
"No time to lose, we have him!" She cried as she beat her wings and we rocketed after him. Despite her being tangible, unlike Grogar, she was able to dive and duck between the trees just as nimbly as he could. However, just keeping pace with him meant we weren't gaining ground fast enough to pin him again.
Then a gurgling roar drew our attention. Just up ahead, one of the huge one-eyed things everyone had been fighting was running, ripping trees aside as it fled. Grogar's smoke leaped into the air and at the thing's face.
"What's he doing?" I yelled. The smoke hit the monster in the face and then rapidly swam up his nose and into its mouth. Celestia snapped her wings and landed as we watched in bewilderment.
The monster quivered for a moment, clenched its teeth, then dissolved into a puddle of black sludge. Grogar quickly burst up from the sludge, looking refreshed and relaxed. He shot me a smirk before turning to smoke again and fleeing.
"He can do that?" I huffed.
"I can't say I'm shocked," Celestia replied before taking off again. As we flew, I took note of all the monsters that had made it this deep into the woods, seemingly without being pursued.
"I think we're going to have to drive him to Twilight and the rest," I said. "He can just keep healing himself with those things."
"I fear you are correct, which requires we cut him off." I nodded and gripped her tight before seeking him with my Evil Eye. I frowned when I saw him.
He was physical again, and grinding his hoof into the ground with an unreadible expression. I leaned to Celestia. "Brace yourself. He's up to something."
She nodded and tensed her wings as I warped us to where he was, managing to place him between us and the mountain. We leaped from each other and rushed him from opposite sides. Celestia conjured several balls of fire, while I created a spear of shadow.
Grogar smirked and rolled away, before vanishing in a yellow flash. There was another smoldering print where he'd been standing. We stopped and ran towards each other. I found him with my Evil Eye again, right as he teleported once more.
I blinked and recoiled as he now rapidly warped from place to place, slamming his hoof every time he reappeared, before finally he paused. After just a moment, he glanced back at me and smirked.
"C'mon," he chirped, nodding his head my way. He jostled his bell with his hoof, and a piece of it broke off. "Things are getting good." I frowned and then recoiled when I realized where he was standing.
"Something's wrong."
"What is?" Celestia pressed. I looked at her with a frown.
"He's waiting at the base of Everhoof." We stared at each other in silent consideration for a minute before she hummed.
"Let's not keep him waiting," she declared, raising her hoof. Hesitantly, I took her hoof and warped us right to him. He was actually sitting and shuffling his hooves to a happy tune when we arrived. He smiled at us while we scanned the narrow clearing for Twilight and the rest before Celestia hissed.
"This is the wrong spot," she whispered.
I shuddered and clenched my teeth. "How many SPOTS are there?!"
"Oh, don't worry, you two!" Grogar said. "They'll be along momentarily. Can't imagine they'll be able to ignore this."
He grinned darkly. "I do have to commend you, whatever your name is. Just like Celestia, you nearly had me there," he said with a laugh. "Can't tell you how much of a thrill this has been." Ignoring him, I quickly sent out my Evil Eye and found Twilight and the rest in a separate clearing, hiding among the brush.
I leaned to Celestia. "I'm going to warp them here," I whispered. She nodded.
"Couldn't help but notice how you didn't bother taking my magic though." I jolted and looked up at him. He shrugged. "Besides what was keeping my bell intact. The little bastard who gave you this power could've easily sucked up both my life force and magic at once."
He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Wonder why you didn't?" Celestia furrowed her brow and snorted.
"Enough games, fiend."
"Did you just not nab that feature?" He pressed, causing me to recoil.
"I-"
"Do you just not know how?" He tilted his head. His face split in a fang-filled grin. "You afraid of something?" I paused and stared at him.
"You-"
My vision was suddenly cut off by a wing. "Enough! Peter quickly!" Celestia stomped forward with her horn lit up.
"That's it! You're scared to take my dark magic!" He cackled. "Scared of what the darkness would do to you!"
"Peter!"
"I, however," Grogar raised his hoof, revealing another glowing red print. "HAVE no such inhibitions." He slammed his hoof down on the print. There was an ear-piercing shriek that split the air. At the same time, the sky grew darker and where his hoof rested, shakey red bolts of magic raced through the ground in all directions, racing back into the forest.
Whirling around, I saw beams of red light shooting up from all throughout the forest, including back where I'm pretty sure we first gave chase. I looked back at Celestia whose fearful eyes were also fixed on the forest. Then, the shriek cut off with a crack that made us both jump. Turning to its source, we watched Grogar's bell fall from his neck in pieces, while the goat himself was now..
Well, glowing probably wasn't the best word. Instead, it was like he was shrouded in a darkness so vacant and deep that by contrast the rest of the world seemed bright. His eyes rolled back and he slumped over. Before either of us could react, something rushed along the ground between us, followed by another and another.
Scanning the ground, I saw dozens upon dozens upon dozens of pools of black sludge rolling across the ground toward him. Most of them had the faint shapes of faces in them, while others had full-on body parts and heads sticking out. Features identical to all the monsters he'd summoned.
"Is he," I began, recoiling at the sight. "Eating them all?" Celestia didn't answer, but confirmation came in the form of a scream.
"No! No! This wasn't part of the deal!" I turned and saw Lace, half-melted, being dragged towards him. At her side was an unresponsive Briefs, who leered hatefully my way.
"Peter, we must withdraw," Celestia said, drawing my attention back to her. "Take me to Twilight and then go warn our allies to flee to the remaining ships."
"Prince Peter!" I whirled back to see Lace reaching out for me as she slithered towards Grogar, black tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry! HELP ME!" I hesitated, but Celestia extended a wing.
"We are too late for her. Do as I say."
"Ain't that the truth," Briefs grumbled before melting away completely. Grogar by now was no longer visible under the mountain of black tar that had piled upon him. However, a pair of yellow orbs lit up towards the front of the pile.
With that dreadful sight and the sound of Lace's cries for help before vanishing, I grabbed Celestia and warped to Twilight.
"Finally! I was getting sick of sitting on the sidelines this whole time!" Rainbow cheered as she and the rest of the Element-Bearers galloped through the woods.
"This is hardly a time for celebration, Darling!" Rarity chided before gasping and pointing. "Look!"
The group slid to a halt at the sight of several minotaurs and diamond dogs who failed to make it to the airship before Grogar fell upon them. They were wide-eyed and stuck to the ground in black cocoons that pulsed and quivered with a red light. As Twilight approached one and closely inspected him with a wave of her horn she shook her head.
"They're asleep, but I think this stuff is giving them nightmares," she scowled and looked up passed her friends who'd gathered close. "And since he feeds on fear, that's probably why he'd been growing." The other mares flinched and looked in the direction she glared to see him.
Grogar had indeed grown and now stood with his head among the treetops. But despite his size, he made no sound as he stalked forward, haunting yellow eyes gently drifting from side to side like a cat searching for mice. Had Celestia not been so insistent, none of them would have believed the thing they saw was Grogar however.
Size aside, the monster was like a rolling thundercloud that occasionally flashed with silent bursts of red and yellow lightning. Where the twin yellow orbs rested, there was a definite snout-like shape from which dripped a steaming tar-like substance that hissed upon touching the ground.
Fluttershy gasped quietly and pointed behind the monster, revealing that in its wake, as its cloud-like body lumbered forward, out from under and inside it came dozens of little black cocoons, inside which were deer and other woodland creatures.
"Is he just grabbing everything indiscriminately?" Twilight gasped. "Is he planning to just lock the whole world in endless nightmares?"
"Ah don't think the fella's thinkin' of too much right now, Twi," Applejack replied. "Them eyes of his ain't exactly screamin' 'thinkin'-creature' t'me."
Twilight considered the monster for a moment before nodding. "Well, whatever he is, let's go ahead and put him down."
"Right!" They all called in unison as they prepared their elements.
Having helped get as many of our allies to the ships as I could, and much to Frill and Quilt's dismay, I returned to the cliff-side plateau where Karl and Celestia were waiting. They barely spared me a glance, as they were too preoccupied with watching the scene unfold out among the trees where Twilight and company were now pursuing Grogar in his new form. The air here was different from the ship. Everything seemed darker, and there was a subtle pressure all around. Like the world itself was tense with anxiety.
Considering how much of the world is magic, I assumed that was a very real possibility.
"Hey," I greeted as I came up beside them. But before any more could be said, there was a shrill drone and a crash like thunder. Tuning towards the source, my jaw dropped at the sight of the friendship beam hitting empty air, while Grogar appeared a few miles off to the side in a yellow flash, like teleportation. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"
"Bastard still has his faculties in that form," Karl spat with a grunt and a growl.
"Not faculties. Instincts and that seems to be enough to work his witchcraft," Celestia groused. "I wouldn't be surprised if, should the need arise, he begins spitting out a few of the monsters he created or revived."
"Revived?" I asked. She glanced back at me and nodded.
"He is capable of bringing the dead back to life, as he did for Briefs or Mad Dog, but such a thing shouldn't be too surprising considering your own undead nature, Peter."
"He brought Mad Dog back?" I repeated in surprise. Blinking, I scanned the air. "You can do that?"
"To be honest, to my knowledge, no one has ever attempted to resurrect the undead once they've been annihilated, so," she shrugged. I grimaced.
"I'm getting kind of sick of 'I dunno's'" I muttered under my breath.
She recoiled. "Pardon?"
"Nothing," I sighed. I considered the black colossus in the distance as he again warped to another part of the forest and scanned the ground. "He can do all the same spells and shit he used to, huh?"
I recoiled in realization and frowned. "I have an idea. Be right back." Before Celestia or Karl could ask, I was gone and reappeared aboard the deck of the ship I'd left Frill and Quilt on, as well as all our friends.
"Peter!" Frill screamed before throwing her forelegs around my leg. "You are not leaving again!" I bent down and pulled her into a hug.
"Peter, what the heck just happened out there?" Quilt asked as everyone gathered around.
"Unless my eyes deceived me, the enemy seems capable of using his sorcery even while in this state," Graggle offered.
I shrugged with a sigh. "Celestia said as much," I grimaced and looked up at the forest off in the distance. "In fact, she thinks he might still be able to create monsters and bring them back to life."
"Oh, scruff," Cozy squeaked.
"The heck do we do?" Coal murmured. Before I could answer, the sky turned an ugly shade of yellow. We all turned to see Grogar rearing up high above the forest, his eyes glowing brighter and brighter and aimed toward where I was pretty sure Twilight and the rest had been.
Then, a vast wave of yellow magic came screaming out of his eyes, catching the treetops on fire as it tore through the air. I held my breath as Frill squeezed my arm. To our relief, a second beam of friendship magic shot up out of the forest and crashed into his own spell. The two attacks struggled back and forth before the rainbow beam overcame Grogars and started racing up towards him.
"Yeah! Get him!" Hasty cheered. Then Grogar teleported again and the friendship beam shot off into the open air.
"That's cheating!" Sunbeam screamed at Grogar as he reappeared elsewhere in the forest, urgently stomping her hooves as she yelled. "Hold still you cheater!"
I frowned and reached out to tap Quilt on the shoulder. "Hey, I've got an idea, but I need your help to do it."
She blinked and her ears flopped back but she nodded and stepped closer. I felt Frill squeeze my arm and looked down to see her determined frown. I hummed and nodded as I wrapped my free arm around Quilt.
"What's this idea of yours, Pete?" Coal asked, drawing everyone's attention to us.
"I think I might have a way to keep him pinned long enough for Twilight and the others to nail him."
"You do? Incredible, Master!" Blueblood cheered, jabbing a hoof at me triumphantly. "I-"
"Yeah, but hey, just in case," I began, cutting him off. All their eyes fell on me and I scanned the deck holding Quilt and Frill tight before sighing and smiling at them as best I could. "Thanks for being there for me, all of you."
Before anyone could say anything, Frill, Quilt, and I were back on the plateau. Celestia and Karl whirled around to look at me.
"Peter, what are you doing?" Celestia demanded. Before I could answer Frill wiggled out of my grasp and stepped forward with a gasp.
"Mercy," she murmured. "It's even worse just this close."
Karl raised an eyebrow at her before turning to the forest with his arms folded. "Sure is."
Frill considered the sight of Grogar stalking the woods before looking back at me with tears in her eyes. "Peter, when you popped up like you did and hit him with that spear, it was like that picture in my book came to life," she shuddered a sigh and looked back at the monster. "But this is about as far from a fairy tale as it gets."
Karl laughed grimly. "When fairy tales come true, they often become grim and bloody fables, young lady," he gently reached down and patted her head. "Doesn't mean they have unhappy endings, though."
"Damn straight," I replied, rising to my feet. "Which is why I wanted to bring Quilt back here." Everyone gave me their attention as I looked down at Quilt.
She tilted her head at me and I nodded. "Do you think we could suck his dark magic out?"
She flinched and furrowed her brow. "What?" I glared at Grogar in the distance.
"My thinking is since he got all his magic from me, through you, why couldn't we do the same thing in reverse?" I turned to Quilt. "I'm pretty much a living vacuum, so could that work?" Karl tilted his head back in thought, while everyone else looked at me with concern.
"I'm only asking cause as he is right now, I don't think I could get close enough to try it myself. But if we use what he set up, we don't have to get close at all," I continued with a shrug. "So, could that work?" Quilt blinked and brought her hoof to her chin.
"I.. I mean, I think?" She scanned the ground, deep in thought. After a few moments, during which another beam clash occurred between Grogar and the Elements, she nodded. "Uh, yeah. Since you'd be the catalyst and the magic source, we could probably.. Just set up a ritual circle to focus your power. Shouldn't be too hard, actually." Grogar again warped out of the way of the Element's spell.
I beamed and clapped my hands. "Awesome, let's do it quickly." My celebration was cut when Celestia stepped up to me and looked into my eyes critically.
"What will happen to you?" She demanded. I hesitated and her expression sharpened. "What will happen to you, Peter? Loath as I am to credit the fiend anything, Grogar made a point. You've largely avoided absorbing his magic before now." Karl jolted slightly and raised an eyebrow at me.
Quilt and Frill shared a look before the formed looked up at Celestia. "He's absorbed dark magic plenty of times."
"But this is different," Celestia replied, shaking her head. "The spell that let him do so has changed to that of the First, which makes all things it takes a part of itself."
Again, she fixed me with a sad, critical stare. "So, Peter, we must ask. What will happen to you?" Now, everyone's eyes were again on me. I hesitated and took a breath before replying.
"I asked the First about that, which is what kept me so long," I began and waved a hand at the monster in the distance. "See, my first thought was just to steal all of Grogar's dark magic. But I thought like you're saying, and figured I'd better check with the First."
"What did it say?" Karl asked with a small, almost nonexistent, yet shocking level of concern in his voice. I paused and clicked my teeth.
"It didn't know," I finally replied, drawing a nervous whimper from Quilt. "It said it wasn't honestly sure if my body's natural, uh, dampening is how it put it, would keep my soul safe or not." I looked down at Frill and Quilt with shame. The former had her hoof to her mouth and tears in her eyes, while the latter was scanning the ground urgently.
"It said I should try something small as a test, and suggested I go for his bell," I continued. "Which, y'know, worked, even though I definitely felt it. But it did get smothered after a sec."
"'After a sec' doesn't leave me with much confidence, Peter," Celestia sighed.
"But it's enough for me to be willing to try," I retorted before grimacing and nodding at her and Karl. "But to be honest, I wanted to do it here in front of you two, on the off chance.. Y'know." Celestia didn't meet my eyes, while Karl gave a solemn nod.
"Peter, you're talking crazy!" Quilt squealed, her teary eyes darting around as she yelled. "Grandpa's a way better warlock than I am. That's the only reason that spell worked! I can't-" I swept down to her eye level and gently put my hands on her shoulders.
"Quilt, you're the one who woke me up and got me this far. I know for a fucking fact anything that piece of shit can do, you can do better." She blinked a few times but made no argument. Looking to my side, I saw Frill still leering anxiously at me with her hoof over her mouth.
"Though, there's one other thing," I said with a smile. "The First said that love got me this far, so it could be that love will see me through to the end."
I pulled them both into a tight hug. "It was being derisive, but I like to believe there was a kernel of truth there, so on that off chance," I squeezed them both tighter and they both wrapped their hooves around my neck. "Love you, Frill. Love you, Buddy."
"I love you too, Peter."
"Love you too, best buddy."
The towering shadow that was Grogar crashed down into the trees and slithered between them, having remembered how to turn to smoke at that moment. Raising his head back up, he scanned the forest and saw the Element Bearers, holding some meaningless discussion of how best to destroy him.
His cruel eyes saw all the tell-tale signs of fatigue currently wracking their bodies. Unlike himself, they were physically separate from the power they were channeling. It might take a few hours still, but eventually, they'd falter and he would consume them. The thought alone sent a chill of giddiness along his spine.
Calling forth another blast of magic he reared up even higher to draw their attention. Dutifully and to their own detriment, upon seeing him they gathered close and with visible strain readied their elements. Frustration and anger radiated off of them. He wouldn't give them the chance to work any strategy or tactic. He'd keep his distance. He'd flee the entire region if he had to. He'd wait and pounce while they slept. He'd stalk the countryside and burn the world around them.
But he'd never allow them the chance to corner him. He would be an eternal looming nightmare and would feed upon their eternal despair.
With that faint thought in his mind, he blasted them with all his might as they returned fire. But something happened then that called his bestial mind to attention. From deep within him, far below the layers and layers of hate and misery that comprised his being, a genuine and articulate thought burst forth.
"What have you done?" He thought.
His magic fell short and then was overcome by the power of the elements in an instant. His mind's eye turned towards the vampire he'd created. He could feel the workings of his granddaughter as the pair reversed his efforts and stole everything from him. He felt his mind clearing and his form shrinking.
Before he had a chance to escape or defend himself, he was returned to his original form. The magic of friendship struck him then and enveloped him.
"Damned bastard child," he groused as he felt the warm embrace of love and harmony scour his soul and flay his flesh. Some creatures would be left a purer, kinder version of themselves after such a treatment.
But not him. There was no kindness to leave behind, and he knew it.
As the magic swirled around him, like sugar in water he slowly crumpled away and vanished from sight. As his consciousness slipped and he faced oblivion, he smirked.
"Choke on it."
"Well.. How 'bout that?" Karl murmured with his arms folded. The darkness of the forest melted away, and the oppressive aura in the air vanished completely. It was as if nature herself had finally released a held breath in tandem with the unleashing of the elements.
Celestia looked up a the eclipse and lit her horn for a moment before exhaling herself and smiling. "Excellent work, girls," she beamed. "And you too-"
"Peter?!" Quilt squealed, causing Celestia's blood to run cold. She and Karl whirled around to see the sheep staring at Peter in unified terror. The man himself was standing a few feet away with his back to them. He was perfectly still, but hunched slightly, with a quivering hand clenched upon his face.
Celestia's ears shot back as Karl slowly let his paw rest on the knife at his hip. Taking a step forward, she gulped quietly and called. "Peter?"
All eyes were on the man as he quietly hummed and slowly turned to leer at her over his shoulder. There was a change in his eyes as they peered through his fingers. They were dull and tired, but piercing. He met Celestia's gaze with silent consideration, a noticeable yet subtle scowl drawn upon his face. Celestia whimpered and Van Katskills hummed.
Then, dragging his hand from his face, he gave her a smile, mocking, cold, and distant.
"We're friends, right?" His question was punctuated by the rasp of Karl drawing his knives with a grim frown, Frill's shrill sob, and Quilt collapsing with a moan. Celestia took a shallow breath and blinked her tears away.
"We were." All at once, and at speeds only the Catican Hunter could keep pace with, the Vampire and the Alicorn charged.
Katskills let out a grunt and caught Peter's claws with his crossed knives before letting out a weary exhale and rolling along his arm in a strange, drifting manner. The vampire shuddered at the touch of his knives and then turned to glare at him in confusion. Then, hopping a few steps away, Katskills huffed and the vampire fell into two pieces.
Celestia meanwhile managed to rip out the shadowy spike Peter had stabbed her with that had been visibly draining her. With a frustrated groan, she snapped her wings and dashed towards him as he reformed and turned to attack Karl again.
Quilt watched all of this on her side with detached, haunted resignation, a feeling she knew from when Grogar first revealed himself. "Peter." The voice of Frill, however, snapped her out of it. Turning, she saw Frill still standing, angrily glaring at the vampire.
"Peter, no," she demanded. The vampire recoiled from Celestia's attack and then snapped his arms back at the elbow to strangle her. "Peter, don't do that." Karl rushed forward like a flash and severed the vampire's arm, narrowly avoiding being sliced apart himself as the monster's cloak came alive and snapped at him.
"Peter, stop that!"
"Frill," Quilt quietly murmured. "It's too late."
"Shut up," Frill briefly and derisively spat before returning her attention to the skirmish. "Peter, please." A hoof met his chest and after a brief flash, he was sent sprawling by an explosion that swelled up and then shrunk into his ribs. He tumbled in the air and landed on his hands and knees before launching himself forward like a leopard. His severed arm had already begun to regenerate in the form of a pitch-black shadow that slowly gained color.
"Peter!" Frill cried.
"Frill."
"Peter, please, wake up!" She cried the same phrase she'd uttered to him so many times before. In response, the vampire hesitated and glanced at her, causing him to collapse and tumble towards his foes. The pair of sheep jolted and Quilt jumped to her hooves.
"Peter?" She gasped. But the monster only rolled and then took to the air, avoiding a string of thrown knives that stuck in the ground.
"Damn it!" Karl roared and began hurling knives up at the monster. "You know I can't fly!" The vampire chuckled darkly before racing off towards the forest.
"Get back here!" The hunter bellowed as he took off after him. Celestia meanwhile stared at the sheep in wonder.
"What was that?" She desperately asked. The sheep shared a lingering look before Quilt met Celestia's eyes.
"He's still in there," she whispered. Celestia's ears snapped back and she looked over her shoulder at the shadow that now dove into the woods.
"Perhaps," she quietly replied. "But I fear with the First's power now saturated by Grogar's, we may not have the means to overcome him. We may need to.."
She clenched her eyes with a quiet hum. "We may be forced to seal him as we did the First. And even that may be less than feasible if the Elements are not ready for the task."
"But he's in there!" Frill cried, galloping to the edge of the plateau and staring at the forest. "Which means we can still save him!"
Quilt and Celestia came to stand by her side. "But how?" Celestia murmured. "He is shrouded so thoroughly."
"Just like Grogar," Quilt declared with a severe look. "If we could separate him from his dark magic like we did that bastard, maybe-" She flinched with a gasp.
"A summoning ritual!" She cried. "We could call his soul out and give him a new body! His old one would go dormant without his soul!"
Frill jolted and whined. "And if we do it out of love, won't that let us fix his soul?"
"I'm afraid those only work on the dead," Celestia groused.
"As far as we know, but has anywooly ever tried?" Quilt retorted with a stomp. "We didn't think anyone could bring vampires back to life either!
"Plus, Grogar threatened to rip sheeps' souls out all the time," Frill added with a firm nod.
Quilt glared out at the forest before looking up at Celestia. "And Peter was confident I could do anything that monster could do." Celestia met her determined eyes and then scanned the woods.
She closed her eyes with a quiet sigh. "What do you require?"
Karl rolled and then leaped away as the vampire brought his claws down. The hunter had to twist and then flail to avoid being grabbed by the monster's magic, but once he touched the ground he drew a deep breath and sheathed all but one of his knives.
This last one he held in both paws at his hip and then slowly drew it up across his chest, before slowly sweeping it down and dragging it up the other way. The vampire paused at the sight, his Evil Eye warning him of danger, and watched as the hunter swung his knife in a figure eight.
Faster and faster the knife curved through the air, so fast that it seemed to leave a trail of light which became more defined as the blade's speed increased. Then the vampire recoiled, for sparks flew at the center of the crossing path, as though the knife was scraping against itself on each pass. The sparks lit up the hunter's face, and the vampire held his hands up to shield his eyes from the sight.
Then Karl finished his maneuver, slowly raising the knife high above his head. It shimmered and hummed, and seemed partially transparent, and the vampire recoiled with a groan. With a sharp exhale, Karl brought the knife down.
There was a rush of wind and the vampire stumbled back, blinking and then whirling around to see the hunter behind him. Karl fell to his knees panting and wheezing, and his knife shattered with a crack. The vampire bared his fangs and moved to attack, but then dozens of deep cuts burst open all across his body and blue flames erupted from the wounds.
Karl collapsed onto his side and looked back wearily at his foe, who roared in pain as the flames danced and seared his wounds open. Then the monster turned black and lost his shape before convulsing and then reforming. With a growling laugh, the vampire appeared again, panting and with tired unfocused eyes, but otherwise unharmed.
Karl heaved a defeated laugh and splayed out. "Damn it all." He lay motionless as the vampire bared his fangs and stalked towards him. After a moment, he found himself helplessly gripped by magic and dragged into the air.
"I think I promised you we'd see how many ways a guy can skin a cat," the vampire laughed and unfurled his fingers, which shifted into long, sharp claws. Karl sighed and clenched his eyes shut. As a result, he never saw whatever it was that struck the vampire and sent him sprawling with a pained shriek. Karl hit the ground with a grunt and then sat up to see Celestia land with a severe expression.
"Can you still fight?" She asked. The Abyssinian groaned a laugh and rolled to his paws.
"If the only other option is letting a lady challenge this demon alone, then unfortunately, yes," he sighed and drew a pair of knives.
"Take heart, Sir Katskills," Celestia replied as the monster clamored to his feet, one claw over his smoking chest. "We do not need to overcome his healing or seal him just yet. It might do to only keep him distracted for now."
"Ah," Karl huffed, watching the vampire rake his claws across the wound, which turned to shadow and vanished. "Well, that is something, at least."
"Hr hrr's hr hrar hrkr!" Quilt declared through her teeth which were clenched on a piece of chalk with which she completed the ritual circle.
"What?" Frill asked in response. Quilt studied the circle and the roots, flowers, and faintly glowing alicorn feathers strategically distributed within it before spitting out the chalk.
"That mare's a miracle worker. Seriously, she had a spell to just conjure this junk," she replied before turning to the pile of fragments from Grogar's bell. "Now, we need to put these in all the empty circles." Frill nodded in response and dutifully helped deposit the fragments as instructed. Once everything was in place, Quilt slowly paced the circle, her eyes darting around it as she did.
"Good, good, good," she whispered. "And the old bastard's bell acts as the material arcane focus." She stood straight and took a breath.
"Alright. Let's give it a shot."
Frill studied the circle. "Is this really all it takes?"
"Honestly? Everything I read about this stuff called for more complicated reagents, but Celestia said her feathers and the bell fragments should fill the gaps just fine," Quilt replied as she stepped into the circle. "But there's one more thing that can't be substituted." She clenched her teeth and carefully cut her fetlock on a bell fragment. As blood began to drip off her hoof, she delicately traced a new circle inside the larger one. Frill meanwhile sat down with her ears pressed back and an anxious frown. Once Quilt finished, she stepped out of the circle and stamped her bloody hoof on it.
The entire array hummed quietly, and the smaller spaces the reagents sat in began to glow. Nodding, Quilt sat down at the edge, clapped her hooves together, and whispered with her eyes shut. Unsure of what to do with herself, Frill paced in place, sat down for a moment before pacing again, and finally wandered to the plateau's edge to stare anxiously out at the forest.
A brilliant golden beam erupted suddenly, setting the treetops it cut through ablaze and causing Frill to jump with a shout. "What's happening?!" She squealed and stamped her hooves. "I can't stand this!"
"Hush," Quilt chided as she slowly extended her hooves to the edge of the circle. "It's almost ready." Frill frowned with a whine and stared mournfully back at the forest. Quilt's hooves clacked against the ground the circle was drawn on, and the entire array hissed and burst into pale blue flames.
Nodding and still holding her eyes shut, she reached out through their bond. "Peter. Return to me. Come back to us. We are waiting. Peter-"
"Quiet."
She flinched and her eyes shot open. "Wha-"
"I'll collect you when I'm done over here. Sit tight."
Quilt frowned and screwed her eyes shut again, murmuring the ritual chant again before calling out once more. "Peter, you're not thinking right. Please, just-"
"Don't make me tell you twice." There was a crackle and Quilt's eyes shot open. The circle was still burning, but the chalk and bloodlines were beginning to grow thin.
"Scruff," she squeaked.
"What is it?" Frill asked. Quilt bit her lip and looked up at her.
"He's fighting me. He's refusing the summons."
Frill blanched. "That can happen?"
Quilt whimpered and bit her hoof. "I didn't think it could!" Frill's eyes darted around and she looked back over her shoulder.
"Well, what do we do?!"
"I don't know!" Quilt cried. "I figured since he responded to you earlier, he'd be receptive to, y'know, his friend calling out to him and everything! Cause of love and all that!" Another golden ray shot out, this time scything through several trees which collapsed and vanished into the woods.
Quilt groaned and stared at the display. "Is the dark magic just completely smothering his love for everywooly else?"
"But he reacted when I called to him," Frill squeaked and tilted her head with an anxious look. Then, she gasped and desperately pranced in place. "Maybe the fact those two are fighting him is making him angry?"
Quilt blinked and rubbed her chin. "So angry he's falling deeper into the dark? Maybe," she hummed and frowned. "But as close as he and Celestia were, you'd think he'd respond to her like he did to you-" She paused and looked at Frill.
"Do you think he hates Katskills that much?"
"Yes," Frill said with a curt nod. "I do as well."
Quilt let out a growling sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Great. Well, we should-" She yelped as the circle crackled again and the flames began to die down. "No!" She scrambled back to position and resumed chanting.
After a moment, she huffed and looked at Frill. "I have to keep the ritual going, I can't leave the circle!"
Frill's ears snapped back and forth and she glanced over her shoulder at the forest. "So, I should head down there, right?"
Quilt grimaced. "I mean, one of us has to try and reach him," she whimpered. "I just hope he's willing and able to listen to-"
"Alright," Frill said evenly with a sad smile. "If you can handle this without me, I'm happy to go." She turned and made for the edge of the plateau.
"At least I can definitely say I was finally some help to him," she quietly said to herself.
With both hands cupped in front of me, I caught Celestia's spell dead in my palms. With a hissing laugh, I clutched the magic and yanked. The entire spell came spiraling out of her horn, drawing a shocked cry from her as the magic raced forward and melted into my hands.
"TOLD YOU that shit wouldn't work again!" I cackled as I licked my fingers. Spicy with a hint of strawberry. Way better than the cat who was lying on the ground behind her, chest heaving with every breath and his arm draped miserably over his eyes. Celestia, meanwhile, staggered forward and then caught herself on one hoof before leering angrily at me, panting and shivering. I warped right up to her and leaned in at the hips to meet her eye level, though her head was hanging to the point her mane was drooping to the ground.
"I also told you to just let me have the cat. See what happens when we don't listen?"
"I will not allow you to sully yourself with an innocent life, Peter."
I snorted and tilted my head. "Him? Please," I shook my head and held up my fist. "Though, if it'll put your mind at ease, I'm happy to knock you out beforehand. So, you can honestly say you gave it your all, y'know?" I opened my fist and shifted it into a black claw. She rustled her wings, though they, too, were starting to sag. Silently, my shadow crawled under her.
I hummed and smiled. "What, you think those wards scare me anymore? I've proved I can get at you despite them." She winced and held back a groan of pain as my shadow stabbed her through the hoof. "Why do you keep making me repeat myself?" She didn't answer, and despite my shadow drawing more of her energy out, she didn't even react. She just kept glaring at me with those tired, unfocused eyes.
I blinked and then smirked. Leaning in, I snapped my fingers in front of her eyes and then her ears. No response. Leaning closer, I heard her quiet, controlled breathing which drew a chortle.
"Out like a light, and didn't even have the courtesy to say goodnight?" I tsked and withdrew my shadow before striding around her as her head slowly sagged further and her eyes closed. Karl peeked out from under his arm and grimaced, which drew a chesty cough from him. I smirked as I stalked toward him, but paused when my Evil Eye twitched.
"Peter!?" I looked over my shoulder to see Twilight and her friends, all of whom were looking worn out. But they still wore their elements. Twilight herself blinked and looked between myself, Celestia, and Karl before taking another step forward. "What the heck's going on?"
"He's corrupted!" Karl roared with a wheeze. "Hit him with the Elements!" I scowled at him before returning my attention to Twilight. She recoiled and shared a look with her friends.
"What?" She gasped and glared at Karl. "What do you mean?" I smirked, folded my arms, and began discreetly forming my claws. Karl strained and rolled onto his side.
"You-" He winced. "You have to..!"
"What?" Twilight asked before blinking and realizing I'd vanished. Then, she saw my shadow looming over her, and she craned her neck to see me with my claws raised and my cloak primed to skewer her friends. Her ears snapped back and I-
"Peter!" I paused again and looked up. Frill stood with her hooves firmly set in a wide stance and an anxious look in her eyes.
"Whoa!" My attention snapped back to Twilight and company, who finally reacted to my presence and dove or scrambled away from me. Rainbow tumbled and then snapped into the air. "What the heck are you doing?!" I bared my fangs and lowered my claws, preparing to-
"Peter!" I grimaced and turned to Frill. With a hum, I warped right up to her, causing her to gasp and jump back a step. I stared her down for a moment before smiling.
"Hey, Frill. What's up?" She looked at me with shaky eyes and blinked before whimpering and gulping.
"Peter, you need to stop," she squeaked, tears bubbling up in the corners of her eyes. "We- We won! We beat the monster! We need to go home." I raised an eyebrow.
"We sure did. Just like in your story," I chuckled and kneeled. "So, why you looking so antsy?" I reached my hand out but she recoiled and clenched her eyes. I tilted my head and stood up straight while she murmured and shook her head.
"Mr. Katskills said just because fairy tales turn bad when they come true, doesn't mean they have to end bad!" She whimpered and clenched her eyes for a moment before scrambling up to me and rearing up on my leg. "So.. Please, Peter!"
She let out a sob and buried her face in my pant leg. "Please come back to me!" She began crying, with small bits of my pant leg bunched up under her curled hooves. I hummed and tilted my head.
"I have a counter-proposal," I purred. She sniffled and looked up at me with red, teary eyes. I smiled and rapidly swept her up, cradling her in my arms. Twilight and her friends yelled something, but our attention was on each other "You come with me."
She blinked and looked at me with a confused frown. "What?" I dug my fingers into her back and she whimpered in surprise.
"I'm going to live forever, Frill," I replied as I scratched her. "You won't." I spat the words with a deep loathing that caused her to shiver.
I let my words hang for a moment before giving her a warm smile. "I can change that. Make you like me. Then, we can be together forever." She blinked and looked into my eyes for a few moments before frowning.
"It wouldn't be you, though." I snorted and laughed.
"Of course it would be!" I shook my head and raised an eyebrow at her. "What, just because I'm more awake, I'm suddenly a completely different person?" She murmured and craned her neck to look over my shoulder before scowling at me and pressing her hoof into my shoulder.
"The Peter I love wouldn't be doing any of this!" She swept her hoof at Celestia. "He would never hurt or fight any of his friends!" I rolled my eyes.
"You must not've been paying attention. She said we used to be friends," I smirked. "Plus, she was as ready to rumble as I was."
I held her closer and leaned in. "Kinda says a lot about her view on me, doesn't it?"
"You..!"
"Let's face facts, Frill," I rolled her and held her up with my forehead pressed to hers. "I'm a vampire. A monster. And for the first time, I'm embracing that fact." I gave her another warm smile. She held her frown and her eyes studied my face carefully. A few moments passed before she tried to pull back and looked over to the side.
"Then enjoy eternity alone." I recoiled and my jaw dropped, looking her up and down as she curled her legs and scowled off to the side. Tears were falling onto my wrists and she was shivering. I snarled and violently yanked her back into my chest before pulling her head to the side.
"Fat chance. I can just make you mine," I spat and bared my fangs. She struggled helplessly as I heaved her neck closer.
After feebly kicking and grunting she relaxed and cried out. "And I'll hate you until the end of time," she quietly spat. "Whoever you are." I paused right as my teeth touched her throat and withdrew. I glared out the side of my eye at her as she angrily held her eyes shut. I snarled and my breath came in heaves.
"Peter." I turned to level a hateful glare at Twilight, who now surrounded me with her friends. "Put. Her. Down."
I tightened my grip. "She's mine."
Rainbow scowled. "C'mon dude, you're better than that."
"I don't know what the heck happened after we beat Grogar, but she's right, Peter," Twilight added and took a daring step forward, causing me to pull Frill away. "You're better than this." I bared my fangs and hissed at her before glaring at Frill again, who still held her eyes shut. I heaved a few more breaths and my eyes darted around. My eyes drifted back to Karl and Celestia. The former was sitting up, braced against his shaking arms with a sad weary look, while the former..
She was awake, though now lying on the ground with her head craned up to look back at me. Her eyes were just as tired as Karl's, but red and her face had faint streaks rolling down them. As we locked eyes, I couldn't help but remember.
"Maker willing, you have a very long life ahead of you, and eternity is wasted on hatred."
We seemed to be breathing in tandem.
"Immortality slips away, and we're left with only our shame."
I closed my mouth and hummed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Frill looking up at me with tears freely flowing. Her wool had a few red drops stained into it. I wiped my eyes with my free hand and hugged her. "I'm sorry." She said nothing but struggled and wrapped her hooves around my neck. As she did, I shuddered. Even if it was from me, the smell of blood and the proximity of her throat sent a chill down my spine.
I found myself straining with all my might to avoid biting her as my lips instinctively peeled back and I began breathing through my teeth.
"Peter," Frill whispered. "I think Quilt is calling." I blinked and focused on our link.
"Quilt?"
"Peter?" Quilt replied with a desperate tone. I groaned quietly.
"Hey."
"Oh! Did she.." A brief silence followed and I began to feel something pulling on me, which caused my head to spin. The feeling was similar to how I'd felt when I first discovered I could leave my body, so many months ago. "Hang on, Peter!"
I murmured and slowly opened my eyes. High above, the sun and moon were still set in an eclipse. I felt my stomach fold in on itself as a sudden and ravenous hunger hit me. Despite that, something more serious was on my mind and I slowly sat up. Looking over myself, I was in the clothes I was wearing before I absorbed the First, and my skin was back to its normal color.
My eyes couldn't help but see the many sets of hooves lined up nearby. With a grimace, I slowly looked up to see Celestia, Quilt, Frill, and the others I'd left in the forest looking at me with concern. Quilt and Frill hesitated before they took a step forward.
"Peter?" They quietly said in tandem.
I sobbed. "I'm sorry." In an instant, they both threw themselves into me and locked their hooves around me. After just a moment, a set of white wings joined them.
Three Months Later
I tugged at my cuffs, making sure I was looking my best as best I could without a mirror. Not that this old castle had any still inside, of course. I cast my Evil Eye out to see Frill, dressed up like an old-fashioned maid, greeting Pinkie and the foals from Ponyville, all of whom were dressed up for pony Halloween. I smirked as Frill began leading them inside the old Everfree castle Celestia'd helped us get cleaned up for tonight.
"Almost showtime," I murmured.
"And, of course, got to look your best before you traumatize the youth." I rolled my eyes before looking over my shoulder. Karl van Katskills was leaning against the stone doorframe of the room I was waiting in.
"Yep. It just doesn't come naturally to some of us," I replied with a snort. He grinned and wheeled forward with his arms folded. "So, what's up? You here for that 'unresolved retribution' you've been yapping about?"
He hummed and scanned the ceiling. "Nah, just figured you'd like to know that Gilbert and Albert have finally welcomed my house back into the fold," he drew a paw to his chest. "Minus myself, of course."
I hummed and folded my arms. "Still pissed at you, huh?" I sent my Evil Eye out again. The kids had been led into one of the wings, where Hasty, Sunbeam, and Cozy were waiting. The three began explaining that a vampire and a witch were lurking in the castle, and they'd abducted Celestia's nephew and were subjecting him to evil magic.
Right after that, Blueblood erupted from his hiding place and went galloping down the hall right passed everyone with a crazed laugh. Hasty and Sunbeam took off after him with a shout.
"Less upset, and more expectant," Karl replied, inspecting and rubbing his claws together. "As they put it, since I decided to stand with you, you're my responsibility."
I blinked as a knife was suddenly pointed in my face. "I'll be free to return when you lie dead," he said with a smirk. I grinned right back as he flicked his wrist and the knife vanished. He sighed and turned for the door. "Such a shame I've got more serious quarry to pursue, then."
"Definitely," I hummed. "You have any leads on her?"
He chortled. "For a changeling queen, she's nowhere near as cautious as I'd expected," he rubbed his chin with a grin. "Thorax's brother is actually waiting outside in the forest for me. She passed this way a night or so ago, we think." I flinched at the news.
"Pretty daring of her," I muttered.
"And what about you?" Karl asked, tilting his head when I turned to him. "Well, you and Frill, I mean. Last I recall, you two were having some serious talks about the, well, timeframe of your relationship."
I winced and hummed. "Right, that's my fault," I grumbled and clicked my teeth. "We.."
I hesitated and took a breath. "We're going to take it one day at a time. For the most part, we're just enjoying each other's company like we used to before I," I winced at the memory. "Put emphasis on it."
"Can't blame yourself too harshly for that," he murmured.
"Still," I replied with a sigh. "She's not sure if she's down with the idea of drinking blood, and I'm not sure if I'm really down with the idea of nailing her with the same bullshit I've gotta deal with." Quiet gripped the room for long enough that we could actually hear the echoes of hooves trotting through the halls.
Finally, I smiled. "But we're both sure that we're going to make the most of what time we do have," I looked up at him. "Same with Quilt."
He hummed and rocked his head in a nod. "Normally, I'd say I'm glad the two have kept their senses and not let themselves be turned," he grumbled and grimaced. "But in this case, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I'm just happy for the three of you."
"Jesus."
"You're telling me." I looked him up and down before smiling again.
"Thanks," I replied. He snorted and nodded his head at me. Checking my Eye again, I blinked as a cloud of red smoke suddenly filled the hall the kids were in. They all cowered behind Pinkie and Frill as Quilt leaped out with a cackle. I smirked as the kids laughed upon realizing she was just a sheep. "Well, good luck to you and Pharynx, I've-"
I blinked and scanned the room. Karl was nowhere to be seen. I humphed and checked my Evil Eye.
"See?" One of the older unicorn fillies began. "I told you it was all just smoke and mirrors!"
Quilt recoiled and then scowled. "What, you think just cause I'm a sheep I can't be a witch or summon demons?"
The filly smirked and stepped up to Quilt. "Yup! Only unicorns can do that kind of magic." The two stared each other down before Quilt smirked right back.
"Uh, Pepper?" Frill squeaked. "I don't think you should-"
"Puh-lease!" The filly turned to wave a hoof at her. The other kids looked between her, Frill, and Quilt, while she stood with her back to Quilt.
"Do it," I called. Quilt sat and clapped her hooves together, before adopting an eerie posture, while Pepper went on a cocky rant about 'magic having specific rules' and 'demons just being illusions' and shit. The other foals recoiled at Quilt's performance.
"Uh, Pepper?" One of them murmured. I smirked and then warped in just behind Quilt. Pepper rolled her eyes and looked at the other foal.
"What?" She then slowly looked back when the foal pointed at me, as I slowly, rose up behind Quilt who was murmuring and chanting quietly with her eyes rolled back. Pepper's ears pressed against her skull as I used my magic to conjure streaks of fire that curled up around me. Finally, at my full height, I leered down at Pepper and unfurled my arms.
As they all looked up at me in horror, I shot my arms up. "Bleh."
The hallway erupted in a chorus of screams as the kids, Pinkie and Frill galloped away for their lives back to the entrance, where Celestia was waiting with a bowl of candy, leaving behind Cozy who leaped towards me with her cutie-fix drawn.
"HE'S A VAMPIRE!" Pepper screamed.
"AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" I screamed right back, shaking my fist at her.
