I did not wake until something started tapping my nose. Normally, this would have startled me as I am not usually a deep sleeper. However, for some reason the bed was quite comfortable and I did not have any desire to move. My so groggy mind decided to just brush it off as my imagination. And I had just begun to peacefully slip back to sleep when the tapping came yet again.

It had also came just like before, a simple tap that seemed to cause an unusually large annoyance for some reason. My subconscious seemed to react negatively to the undesired sensation as well. I soon felt my lips curl back into a snarl. I then proceeded to let out a low growl in response to the irritation and my minor show of force caused the offending source to take a few steps backwards.

However, upon noticing this my ears perked up as my hearing started to scan the room. They then shifted in several directions around me while I tried to keep calm and still. But eventually, I just barely made out a muffled whispering voice, “Dear Celestia, not only does he snarl like a manticore, but he sleeps like one too. Hmm, ha this’ll wake him up heh heh. Just have to cover Twilight like this…there.”

I did not like the tone in that voice, nor the implications of the words. As such I slowly opened my drowsy eyes and faced the direction of the voice. Then as I squinted, I realized that it was Spike talking. He seemed to be moving towards the wall of the room for some reason. But it did not take long before my eyes widened with shock as it dawned on me of what he was going to do. And mere moments later he yanked open the curtains blocking the morning sun. This resulted in sunlight quickly blasting into the room like the vengeful spirit.

In response I let out a high-pitched shriek and fell out of bed. I then slammed into the floor with a hard thud. After my seemingly desired reaction, the curtains were soon pulled shut. But in my dazed state the only thing I noticed was that I heard Twilight yelp in surprise. She then fumbled around in the bed for a few seconds before falling off the other side with a thud matching my own. after that she blurted out several colorful words and sounded like she was trying to get out of the blankets.

In no time at all I soon heard Spike laughing his little head off. “Oh boy hahaha. Pinkie Pie was right. He does scream like a little filly,” he stated as I heard him fall backwards from hysterics.

“What the hay, Spike?! Why’d you do that?!” Twilight yelled as I heard her stumbling to get up.

“I’m hahahaha sorry. Heh heh heh ehhh Blood Moon got a letter from Princess Luna. He growled at me when I tried to wake him. So I couldn’t resist and pulled a Pinkie Pie. It was sooo totally worth it,” he replied still fighting to control his amusement.

“That’s not very nice, Spike. Somepony could have gotten hurt.” She said with a scornful tone.

“He’s Fiiine, right Blood Moon?” Spike inquired.

“Oh yes…I find it quite delightful to have a near heart attack before embracing the floor with vigor. It is what I desire to do evvvery morning,” I stated, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Well anyway your letter is on the night stand. I’m going to bed. Rarity had me up all night helping her with orders. I didn’t know this many muscles could hurt at the same time. I think that focusing crystal I gave her is going to do me in,” He said while I heard him yawn before he slipped into his bed.

After a few moments I gathered up enough motivation to pick myself off the floor. I rubbed my eyes with my front hooves and glanced over at Spike. The little prankster was fast asleep already. ‘So he wishes to have a peaceful sleep hmm? Well I will have to do something about that later,’ I thought to myself and wickedly grinned. However, vengeance will have to wait as I remembered the note sent by Princess Luna. I stumbled a little as I walked over to the small table by the bed.

I focused my magic, unrolled the letter and scanned it. I sighed and knew that this note was not much of a surprise. It was, as always, additional orders. It seems due to the other elements getting injured from the attack of the solar channelers, Luna and her sister thought it best for me to protect them and Spike as well. I read the letter to the bottom and the last few lines made my heart sink.

Twilight seemed to have managed to gather her wits and was walking over to me with an intrigued look in her face. “What do you have there, Blood Moon?” she questioned.

“Additional orders it seems,” I replied trying to keep the worry out of my voice and passed her the letter.

She picked up the letter with her magic and read it thoroughly. “What? How do they expect you to watch over all of us at the same time? Also I’m beginning to get annoyed that they think we can’t take care of ourselves. No offence to you, but we were the ones that defeated both Discord and Nightmare Moon. I'm also the princess of magic too, that has to be worth something,” she stated while clearly aggravated.

I half-smiled at her and said “I know full well your capabilities and that of your friends. You have to understand, both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia do not wish to take any chances. You were impaled if you remember correctly. I had to save you by turning you into one of my kind. Your friends were also gravely injured too…well minus Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight frowned and she seemed to unconsciously lick her fangs. “Yes, but how are you expected to do that all by yourself?”

I scrunched my face with concentration. There was only one solution I could think of at the moment. Also to make matters worse the information at the end of the letter did little ease my mind. It was coded so it was no surprise Twilight overlooked it. “You will have to wait and see. However, due to this news, we are going to need to make another trip back to Canterlot and soon,” I stated.

“Huh? Why’s that?” she inquired.

“You will just have to wait and see. If you can please gather your friends immediately as I wish to leave as soon as possible,” I replied as I tried to keep the growing worry out of my tone.

She narrowed her eyes on me. “What’s going on?” she questioned.

Again I just replied with “You will just have to wait and see.” She just continued to glare at me before she walked out the front door. It was unpleasant to withhold information, but I did not want to worry her with the obvious bad news. I also was unsure how she would react and did not need the added stress. However, I ultimately will have to tell her sooner or later. ‘The sooner we get moving the better. Then I can explain myself,’ I thought as a knot started to form in my stomach.

In the meantime while Twilight gathered her friends. I decided to ease my mind by working out my retribution against a certain dragon. If I he wished to prevent me from getting a restful sleep when I desperately needed it, I was going to gladly return the favor. I busied myself by gathering some rope, some dried leaves, and some sticky tree sap. A mischievous smile spread on my face as I worked.

After checking to make sure he was still asleep, I slowly lifted his bed with my magic. I then moved it under one of the roof support beams. I then tied the ropes to the beam and tied the other ends to the bed to keep it about one to two meters in the air. After the bed was steady I laid down the dried leaves around it on the floor and smeared tree sap all over them. I admired my work with malicious glee and rubbed my front hooves together. I then walked down to the fireplace to wait.

I made some fresh mint tea and sat in front of the fireplace to waiting for Twilight. I continued to wear the same same mischievous smile as I had before. I also kept one ear pointed in the direction of the unknowing, still sleeping Spike. It was extremely childish. However, it was all I could do to keep my mind away from more worrying thoughts.

After about dusk Twilight came back from gathering her friends. She was clearly tired from spending so much time in the sun. The rest of them look a little annoyed at the abrupt gathering as well. After thinking a few a seconds, I decided to give Twilight and her friends a bit of enjoyment. I wanted to wait till later, but it seemed we all needed the cheering up.

“Hey everypony?” I stated with delight at what I was about to do.

“Yeah?” they replied in unison.

“Who desires to see something quite amusing?” I stated rubbing my front hooves together.

It was little surprise that Pinkie Pie was the one to happily accept. “Ooooh I looooove funny things. What is it what is it what is it?” she said and jumped up and down with excitement.

With that statement I bellowed “Hey Spike! Can you please come down here for a moment?” It did not take long for my trap to spring. I heard him grumble, yelp and slam into the ground. He then flopped on the ground a few times.

“Ahhhh, what is this crud?!” he shouted while still fumbling on the floor.

I lost it and started to laugh. “That will teach you to not scare me half to death HAHAHA!” I yelled up the stairs.

“Oh Celestia, Blood moon. What did you…” Twilight started to respond when her face scrunched up. She had to put a hoof in front of her mouth to prevent laughter.

Spike had an angry look on his face as he glared at me while stomping down the stairs. He was covered from head to claw in leaves and tree sap. The sight of him triggered further laughter in me. It did not take long for everypony else to join in. The library was soon filled with the sounds of amusement as Spike continued to stomp down the stairs while he crossed his arms and scowled at me.

“Veeery funny Blood Moon…very funny,” Spike snapped and walked outside to which I assumed to hose himself off.

“Well now with that out of the way, back to business. The reason I had Twilight gather you up here is that I have now been charged with protecting you all, including Spike. We are going to make a trip to Canterlot again for additional assistance. I am sorry this is such short notice, but unfortunately I have little choice in the matter,” I stated and bit my lip remembering Luna’s letter again.

“Please gather anything that you all will require. We are going to leave by dusk tonight. I implore you all to be very careful,” I said as my tone started to get more nervous.

Applejack picked up on my mood. “You alright sugar cube? You look a little jumpy,” she stated with concern.

“The sooner we leave, the better. I will be fine,” I replied faking a smile.

They all left to their respective homes for supplies before leaving on our trip to Canterlot. However, Twilight was not convinced by my statement to Applejack and looked at me when everypony was gone. “Blood Moon, what’s going on?” She stated and narrowed her eyes.

I bit my lip again and stated “Trouble is what is going on. We need to leave as soon as possible. I did not want to worry you, but there is a problem and the sooner we are on that train leaving here, the better.”

“What trouble? What do you mean? You’re not making any sense,” she stated, sounding frustrated.

“Fine, if you truly wish to know. That letter that was sent by Princess Luna has a few sentences at the bottom that are in code. Most ponies would overlook them thinking they have no significance. Remember those rogue vampire assassins from before? Yeah, they sent more…at least a dozen…maybe more,” I stated and looked at her as some sweat dripped down my face.

She paled and started mumbling several things under her breath and blurted out “Ooooh why’d I ask.”

“We have some time before they get here, but I want to leave as soon as possible to miss them. They are no doubt after you, Spike and the other elements. They should leave the rest of the town alone as I believe they will think it would not be worth it,” I stated as I started calculating tactics in my head. One detail kept nagging at me until I gave in.

T-Twilight can you please follow me to your bedroom? There is s-something I wish to do,” I stated as the words flowed out in a nervous mess. I was in complete disbelief of what I was about to do. However, she was the only one I trusted with this. Just in case it was needed.

“I don’t think it’s the right time for that, Blood Moon. We’re in a bit of a crisis here,” She said and tried to smile, but it failed to reach her eyes.

I nervously grinned and stated “No, that is not what I am going to do.”

I walked up the stairs closely followed by Twilight. I then sat down on the bed and levitated my Book of Shadows towards me. “You need to realized what I am about to do is something I have never done for anypony. I should have done this before as it most likely would have helped. Please understand that this is not easy for me. You are the only one I trust with this so please do not take this lightly,” I stated, my tone more shaky than I wanted it to be.

Twilight looked puzzled “What are you talking about?”

I lifted my left forehoof and moved her head to face me. “I…I am going to give you access to my Book of Shadows. You are…going to have unrestricted knowledge of all the spells and incantations I have learned down the years. You are also…going have a glimpse into the inter-workings of my mind. Please, I beg of you, do not think less of me,” I started as I moved my head to look at my tome.

Twilight moved my head to face her again. I then stared into those purple eyes for a few moments before she closed them and kissed me on the lips. Time seemed to stop in that lovely embrace. It also seemed to further steel my decision. After we pulled away from each other, I placed my tome on my lap and bit my left foreleg. A drop of my blood hit the seal and it unlocked the book. I then quickly healed my wound, touched the seal with both front hooves, and turned it a few times.

After the third turn the seal’s face-plate separated revealing a small pool of my blood in it. “Before we do this. I must ask one more thing,” I said in a serious tone.

“What is it, Blood Moon?” Twilight inquired.

“I need you to promise me that you will not use any of the alchemy circles in here without my guidance,” I replied still looking at the unlocked seal.

“I’m the Princess of Magic, Blood Moon, Remember? I think I can handle a few alchemy circles by myself,” she said and let out a small giggle until I glared at her. “Okay okay fine. I won’t use any of them without your help,” she grinned, shook her head, and rolled her eyes.

“Please hold your right foreleg over the seal. This will only hurt for a moment,” I stated and tried to calm my nerves.

I took her foreleg and bit down with one fang. The taste was as pleasant as always and it took a few seconds to regain my focus before continuing. I then proceeded to pull my fang out and let a small stream of her blood drip into the pool of the seal. After that I looked on as her blood mingled with mine. It was strange as they seemed to oddly embrace each other. However I did not enjoy such things for long for after a few moments I healed her wound and re-sealed my tome.

It was such a simple act, yet it was so difficult. I was truly afraid of what she would find in this book. All my pain and misery over my long life was mirrored along with my research. There were many less than savory incantations I created in my darker days. It was a glimpse into the more damaged part of my psyche. However, after all these years it felt good to just finally let somepony in. I just hoped that she would not think less of me.

I hugged my tome close to my chest and for some reason I felt extremely vulnerable. I stared off into space as a red tear fell from my left eye. I tried to take several deep breaths, but they did little to help my nerves. After a few moments I felt Twilight’s wing wrap around my back. She hugged me with her front legs. It did not realize I was shaking until my body relaxed from her touch.

“I-in case anything happens to me. I need you to keep this safe for me,” I said, my voice breaking a little as I faced her

She simply smiled, nodded and said “I will”.

After a minute I pulled away from her and placed the book in front of her. I took a few more deep breaths and stated, “This seal is very special. Princess Luna was obviously right when she said it was a blood seal. However, most blood seals just require a drop of the pony’s blood to open it. This one requires it to be freely given. That was the reason why you were not able to open it before. You should have little difficulty now.”

I then had her open it. It was odd to watch somepony else open my tome. She flipped to the first page and we sat together as I showed her many of its contents. She began to scan the pages with increasing speed and interest. I had to close my eyes a few times because my mind kept recoiling when we turned each page. I pushed the feeling back as we continued reading and waiting for her friends to return.

After a few hours I heard Twilight’s friends come through the front door. I closed my tome, and with a shaky hoof, I handed it Twilight to hold onto. We then got up and walked down stairs. When I got the bottom of the stairs, I stretched a little and tried putting on a calm facade. It did not seem to work as Twilight’s friends kept strangely looking at me.

“Is something wrong, Blood Moon?” Applejack stated while raising an eyebrow.

“No, no everything is fine. However, the sooner we get going, the better,” I replied, but my fake smile was not fooling them.

Rainbow Dash landed in front of me and glared at me. “Alright, I've had enough. You've been acting weird all day. What the hay is going on? What’s this big rush? What are you hiding from us?” she questioned and moved closer to my face. The others took on the same scrutinizing look as her.

Twilight began to speak up, but I raised my left forehoof. “I suppose you all have the right to know. I just did not want to worry anypony, but now my hoof has been forced. I have been charged with watching over all of you by Princess Luna herself. We are heading to Canterlot for assistance in this endeavor. To make matters more difficult, we are all in serious danger,” I stated in an even voice.

They all quickly paled at my statement. Rarity gulped and said “W-what do you mean, darling?”

I took a deep breath and stated, “A message was sent to me from Princess Luna. It was the same message that Spike gave me earlier. Along with my new orders, it also stated there was another rogue group of vampires closing in on us. I have no idea what they are planning, nor do I wish to know. The sooner we get on that train out of here, the better.”

Applejack soon blurted out “What the hay are we waitin’ for!?”

In near silence we packed up everything we needed and finished getting ready. The growing tension in the air was getting thick. We all started getting jumpy at every sound. When everypony was ready I opened the front door and armored up. We proceeded to make haste to the train station when I heard what I was dreading.

Cold laugher came from the shadows by the station. A sly voice soon spoke, “Aww leaving so soon? What’s the matter? Are the elements and the foolish Blood Moon afraid of little old us? Oh this time will be much different than those idiots from before and we won’t be making the same mistakes. You’re all coming with us…alive…or otherwise…”

I believe getting disturbed while sleeping peacefully is one of the most annoying things that can ever occur. That blasted sun and its sunlight. Always ruining perfectly good dreams...