Chapter 7

The strange stallion had introduced himself as Mage Marx, but to simply call him Marx, he was a pegasus

He was the one who had discovered that there were indeed vampires in the town, and they were gaining strength for a larger mission, although he wasn't sure what

"So I've been in my tower, trying to figure it out." Marx finished his story

"While the rest of the town panics because you haven't found effective ways to stop them" the Doctor finished

"It's not easy, garlic was our first choice but nothing happened." Marx's eyes darkened, "Besides a few disappearances."

"How many?" the Doctor asked, "How many have gone missing?"

"More than two dozen" Marx answered, "Why?"

"There was about that many just now" Rainbowdash said, "Before you soaked us."

"Its standard, the royal guards are doing it to all visitors at the castle."

This caught a slight bit of attention, "Where are we by the way? Doesn't look familiar."

"We're in the cursed lands" Marx said, "In the Griffon Kingdom, it's where a bunch of the banished from Equestria come to live."

The Doctor took mental note of this

"So they're trying to do something involving griffons." the Doctor thought aloud

"If that's true then there isn't going to be any good ways around" Rainbowdash said, "The Griffon Kingdom isn't very well mapped."

The Doctor thought about this, "Well we've got transport…"

[…]

She listened, after her minions failed she had taken it to herself to take them, these information was useful, they had a way across the cursed lands? But how would they be caught, as it seemed that the prey was starting to piece things together

Her white coat was muddy, in order to hide from the lamplight

[…]

The Doctor had decided to take a look around town once the sun rose, he would try and move the TARDIS somewhere closer to their current base of operations

As he trotted down the alleyway he felt something quickly brush his wing, it was just a brush but it only served to prove his suspicions of being watched

"They neglect us…"

The Doctor clearly heard that one, it was getting louder the closer he got to the TARDIS. The voices weren't natural, he could feel it emanating from the very words, this voice wasn't meant to exist

However this wasn't something to deter the Doctor, as he was used to potentially dangerous situation, but he had to make sure he could get Rainbowdash home safely

The Doctor was only a few yards from the TARDIS now, however he could easily see a pony silhouette standing in his path

The eyes were a ruby red, and the mouth formed a frown of annoyance

"It's about time I got you alone" a female voice said

Before the Doctor could react a snow white hoof lashed and knocked him back several feet

As he sprang up the Doctor attempted to roll backwards, only bumping into another one of the vampires

He had to fight the panic that was quickly rising inside of him, the pony-vampire from behind lunged, the Doctor jumped

He expected to fall back into the situation, but he found himself staying in midair, his wings! He had forgotten that he could use them for something!

It was interesting, he didn't have to think about each wing flapping in order to fly, and instead they were moving as if by instinct

He attempted to escape from the top of the alleyway, only to be struck by the vampony from below

He crashed into the eave of a nearby rooftop, only to slam back down on the cobblestone pathway

His vision was getting black around the edges, he rolled to the side to avoid another blow

These vampires were a challenge, as the Doctor couldn't think of what to do

One of the vamponies pushed him into a wall, and kept its hoof over his throat, cutting off his oxygen

His vision blackened, however he refused to get killed here, if he died how would Rainbowdash get home?

His memories flashed back to when they were inside the TARDIS

"I'll make sure you get home safely" the Doctor had said, "I promise."

[…]

They had him now, but oddly enough the biting didn't affect him, he was still as he was before the biting

They couldn't catch the brave one, they would need to take the smart one, however even though they had him he wasn't taken, and now he was coming to

She was not pleased

[…]

The Doctor felt a throbbing pain in his head and neck, he rolled over before the events of the fight came shooting back into his mind

His eyes flung open and he jumped to his hooves, looking around to assess where he was, which certainly not nearby the TARDIS

"It's about time you woke up" the female voice said, "You know how to take a nap."

The Doctor turned to face the source of the voice, choosing not to say anything

"I think you could help us" the voice continued, "If you're up for it."

"You attacked someone I care about" the Doctor said, controlling his anger, "Give me one good reason I should help you."

"Because if your friend stays here any longer the shadows will take her" the voice said simply, sounding a bit more tomboyish now

"The shadows themselves?" The Doctor asked

"We were infected by the shadows, and they want to take her." The pony stepped into the torchlight

It was none other than Vinyl Scratch, the DJ from a few of the parties the Doctor had observed, she had always put him off

Now he knew why

"You want to take out the Griffons" the Doctor said, "Why would you need…."

It dawned on him, the holy water soaking was ordinary, especially at the castle, and the vamponies were clearly weak towards it, they wouldn't be able to get in

"We need some ponies that can get in" Vinyl said, "But we couldn't get you to do it without incentive."

"So you planned on holding me to the curse, except that didn't work did it?" the Doctor almost laughed, "You can't turn me, can you?"

"The shadows want you dead." Vinyl said simply, "And whoever is helping you, the king has been taken already."

[…]

The ruby vampony was revealing too much, telling the smart one, betraying them! She would not be pleased with the ruby eyed one, they would all have to die now! All of them burning, burning, burning!

[…]

Rainbowdash was beginning to get worried, the Doctor hadn't returned in half a day, and it was almost sunset

He was an alien, so she wasn't sure if he could even get turned into a vampony, she had remembered that the Doctor told her how it happened, all through a bit of an accident

"I wasn't meant to regenerate" he had said, "I'm not sure I can do it again."

If he had died out there, then…

Rainbowdash didn't want to consider it, the Doctor would come back, he always did

*Knock Knock*

Rainbowdash slid open the panel on the massive door, seeing the Doctor on the other side, he looked incredibly worse for wear, cuts bruises and bite marks all over him, his bowtie was still crisp and clean for some odd reason

"Doctor are you alright?" Rainbowdash asked

"More or less, where's Marx?"

"Inside, although he may soak you when he sees the look of you."

"Let me in, I need to talk to the both of you." The Doctor looked behind him

[…]

Marx had soaked the Doctor when he saw him, convinced that he wasn't a dark force they began to talk

"I've gotten some inside information" the Doctor explained, "And I know what the vamponies are after."

"Is that what they're called?" Marx asked

"I made it up, Vampire Ponies." The Doctor answered, "And I think you might want to talk to them about their plans."

"And risk getting caught?" Marx sounded incredulous

"I did, and I'm fine." the Doctor looked himself over, "Relatively."

"And what's protecting you from the curse?" Marx questioned, "Your friend here, she's got the seal."

Rainbowdash looked at her necklace, the symbol of Equestria was emblazoned on the flat circle of silver

The Doctor looked outside, "I think you better give them the scoop, they may be thinking I'm insane."

Vinyl opened the window and climbed inside, "Took you long enough, I was hanging by my hoof-tips."

The Doctor made sure Rainbowdash didn't freak out, Marx was standing defensively, his muddy coat hiding his no doubt tense mini-muscles

"You should explain what's going on" The Doctor restated, "Then maybe we can come to a choice."

[…]

They watched and waited, the ruby eyed one was telling of the plan, they listened and learned, they needed the smart one and the brave one, the magic one was dispensable, they would kill the magic one

She would be pleased when they succeeded, yes they would succeed, they were sure of it

[…]

The Doctor and the others were outside the TARDIS, quite a few vamponies were behind them

"Could we fit in there?" Vinyl asked, "I mean the Doctor and I could squeeze in there but everypony else?"

"Just trust me" the Doctor unlocked the doors, "We'll be fine."

Marx decided to stay behind, he didn't want any part of this

Rainbowdash said it was stupid to stay here, because whatever took the castle already occupied the town

"How old even are you?" Vinyl asked the Doctor, "I've seen some old eyes, but those are some old eyes."

"I'm one thousand eight hundred and sixty four." The Doctor answered

"Looking good for somepony without vampirism."

Rainbowdash ignored this whole conversation, as she felt there were more important things to do, and may have been a little jealous

"Anyway" the Doctor said, pushing open the doors, "Let's take a closer look shall we?"

As the small army of vamponies entered the TARDIS, there were a few sounds of wonderment but ultimately most were sobered by their plan

"Out of the cursed lands, and across to the castle" Vinyl directed

The Doctor began to flip switches and hit levers, beginning to move the TARDIS out and towards the castle

[…]

They saw the smart one leave, in his strange box, she would like to know about this box, they moved quickly, to take the magic one before they went to assist her, as she would need all the help she muster

[…]

The TARDIS touched down and all of the vamponies poured out, the moon had barely begun to rise

"This box is pretty cool" Vinyl said, "Bigger on the inside, and moves."

"The castle is not too far away, we just have to walk a small distance." The Doctor looked around, "Are we up for it?"

And so they walked, it was only over a hill nearby, and the griffon castle stood, tall and proud

"Do we remember the plan?" the Doctor asked

Rainbowdash dumped a bag of dirt over his head

"I guess so, are we ready then?"

Several vamponies bared their fangs and the Doctor turned and ran

[…]

There were several griffon guards, and they easily saw the pegasus pony in a bowtie running for his life from a pack of vamponies

They took up battle positions as they let the pony past, after soaking him in holy water to be safe, and to clean him off he was filthy

"I think… I know… What their plan is…" he wheezed

"Take him to the queen" one guard ordered, "And make sure he's comfortable."

[…]

Marx was sitting inside the top of his tower, wondering if he'd made the right decision, the Doctor and his friend Rainbowdash seemed like a nice pair, although that Rainbowdash made him feel a bit off

Was it her demeanor? The fact that all three of them were pegasi? Or maybe…

Was it the fact they had the same mane color?

The window suddenly smashed, a large shadow stood above him and took the shape of an alicorn, it roared and Marx got into the most painful struggle of his life

[…]

The Doctor stood in front of the griffon queen, she looked at him with cold and calculating eyes, as they exchanged a series of questions and answers

"Why did you let the townsfolk survive on their own?" the Doctor demanded

"It isn't my fault if they can't handle themselves, who are you to ask that?"

"I'm the Doctor"

"The one that was in history?" the queen sounded interested, "Why the princesses of Equestria hate you, or at least old sun-butt does."

"Not my problem" the Doctor said, "This next one's really important."

"And what is that?"

"Did you really think I'd buy the whole 'all griffons look the same' trick?" the Doctor asked, "Honestly, they don't even have different body language."

As if by magic, all of the guards in the room turned into more shadowy versions of griffons, with white holes for eyes, and fairly unintimidating teeth

"You may be clever Doctor, but I haven't yet seen someone able to outsmart my shadows!"

"You mean there were others" The Doctor said

"Of course, many a timelord have been lured into this trap" The griffon queen bared her teeth

Why did they have teeth anyway? They had beaks, why teeth?

The Doctor chided himself for getting of track, "And what exactly killed them?"

"They were always alone" the griffon queen said, "And they always died alone."

The glass windows shattered, and in flew about half the army of vamponies

"We got impatient" Vinyl said, "So we secured the castle."

Then all hell broke loose

The shadow griffons struck, and the vamponies quickly struck back

The Doctor crawled out into the hallway, then his hoof hit something metal

He looked to the side, "Perfect."

But he began to wonder, where was Rainbowdash?

[…]

Vinyl quickly got into a scuffle with the queen, as they entered a deadly dance of hooves and claws, swiping and avoiding fairly easily

The vamponies stayed back after they had beaten their individual foes, as they had honor to let Vinyl either die or succeed

She was struck back, Vinyl's head smacked on the stone and the griffon queen quickly had her throat in her claw

"I will kill you now, then that pernicious Doctor too!"

A large gush of water shot out and soaked the queen, she fell backwards and began to cough up quite a bit of blackened shadows, before passing out on the ground

Vinyl had successfully avoided the water and looked to see the Doctor holding the bucket, looking quite relieved

"That was close."

"If it had been anypony else to save me, they'd be dead right now." Vinyl smiled, "Be glad you're you."

"Where's Rainbow?" the Doctor looked around

"Oh, she decided to go and help on another front"

"What other front?" The Doctor quirked an eyebrow

[…]

Marx was getting tired, the shadows still were banging at his door, they were going to get through

He had resigned to his fate, he was going to die here, his only regret was that he was going to do it alone

*Tap tap tap*

He looked over to his window, Rainbowdash was there, he opened the window and let her in

"Here, you might want to take this." Rainbowdash handed him the necklace, "You also might want to find yourself a mare, as you're not very good at taking care of yourself."

Marx nodded, and Rainbowdash left just as quickly as she had arrived

He faced the shadows now, and he knew exactly what to do

[…]

The Doctor had met up with Rainbowdash the next day by the TARDIS

"Glad to see you're safe" they exchanged a hug

"Nice trick with the bucket" Rainbowdash said

Marx trotted up, "I take it you're leaving then?"

"I need to drop her off back home" the Doctor said, "I promised."

"Then please, take this." He handed the Doctor a note, "I was told to deliver it straight to you."

"And thank you Miss Dash, for the necklace." Marx finished

They waved goodbye and entered the TARDIS

As they left Rainbow paced nervously

"I don't think I can let this sit" Rainbowdash said

"What's wrong?"

"I can't go home, not now." Rainbow said, looking at the Doctor

"Why? Is it important?" the Doctor put the TARDIS on autopilot

"Doctor, I never gave him that necklace."