Author note:
This is a sequel to The Adventures of Vampire Cheerilee which is itself a spinoff of A Dream. Those two are not required reading before begining this story.
Thanks are due to the always-amazing Doctor Whooves for supplying the cover art.

Please enjoy. If not, please tell me why.

Two ponies wheeled a baggage cart off the train. The Canterlot station was busy and nopony paid them any mind as they moved their heavy cargo out onto the street.

“Seriously,” muttered the stallion. “Why are we pushing this? Can’t you just magic it or something?” He tossed his head, flipping part of his unkempt black mane out of his face.

“Sensitive cargo,” answered the unicorn mare, nodding towards the pine box on the cart. “This was your idea, after all.”

“Fine, I’m an idiot,” the other pony muttered. “Is that what you wanted to hear, Twilight?”

She shrugged. “It’s nice to finally hear you admit it, Valiant.”

“It’s a good thing my coat is orange. Nobody needs to see me blushing.” He groaned as he shoved the cart. “God, I wish I had hands for this job.”

Twilight had gotten used to Valiant’s unusual vocabulary during the few months that she’d known him. He claimed to be from another dimension, but nopony believed that because it was easier to think that he was just insane.

“I still don’t know what all the secrecy surrounding this trip is about,” said Twilight.

“Well, if Princess Celestia was as candid with you as she is with me…” Valiant grinned. Twilight knew he was trying to antagonize her, as was his habit.

The two of them made their way to the castle walls. The stone still bore some damage from the Changeling attack, but repairs were progressing rapidly. A guard glanced at the purple unicorn and orange earth pony and waved them through the gate.

They followed a maze of hallways through the heart of the castle for several minutes before encountering more security ponies outside of Princess Celestia’s private study. These armored stallions were more attentive than their counterparts outside. One of the guards demanded that the wooden box be opened for an inspection.

“You really don’t want to do that,” said Valiant.

The guard was about to retort, when the Princess, a tall, regal creature with a coat of white, stepped out the door. All the ponies in the area except Valiant dropped into a bow. He rolled his eyes.

“Come in,” said Celestia curtly. Twilight and Valiant pushed the cart past the surprised guards. The orange pony kicked the door shut and the three of them were alone with the mysterious delivery.

“All right, let’s do this,” said Valiant without preamble. He pried at the box’s lid. As it opened a crack, a lavender mare with a pink mane burst out, gasping for breath.

“You shut me in a coffin!” she panted.

Valiant chuckled. “Yeah Cheerilee, I had to have a little fun before handing you over to the Royal Vampony Corps.”

“I never asked for this!” the mare shouted. “I have no idea what you got me into! Sometimes I think being dead would be easier.” She glared at Valiant.

He shrugged. "Firstly, I don’t know if the Vampony Corps actually exists, so that means I have no idea what I got you into, either. Secondly, you’re already undead"

Cheerilee was about to retort when a polite cough from Celestia interrupted. Her eyes went wide and she spun around in the coffin, bowing as well as she could from her seated position.

“I’m so sorry, Princess, I didn’t know you were there!” she said quickly.

“Don’t worry, my little pony.” Celestia smiled. “I understand that this is a very difficult time for you.”

A side door opened and Princess Luna, Celestia's younger sister, entered. Instead of white, she was colored dark blue and was not quite as tall.

“We have been expecting you, Cheerilee,” said Luna with a smile.

“You haven’t dropped the Royal We?” asked Valiant. “Come on, I thought you worked on this.”

Luna glanced at him in irritation. “My sister and I have been expecting you, Cheerilee” she said.

“Go with her,” said Celestia to the Cheerilee. “She needs to speak with you.”

The mare in the coffin slowly clambered out and made her way to the floor. She took hesitant steps towards Luna, following the Princess back through the door that she had emerged from.

The chamber beyond the doorway was rather small, but seemed suited for having a private discussion. Luna closed the door.

“You were asked to come here because we believe that you have untapped potential,” said the Princess.

“Do you mind if I speak freely, Princess Luna?” asked the lavender pony.

“I encourage it,” Luna replied.

“I don’t know if I want to be here,” said Cheerilee. “I asked Twilight to write a letter to your sister in attempt to find some way to deal with my…condition, but now I’m not so sure this was a good idea.”

Luna nodded thoughtfully. “You teach school, correct?”

“That’s right,” Cheerilee confirmed.

“Why do you do that?” asked the Princess.

“I…I guess I just like to help others,” stammered Cheerilee.

“How could you use your status as a vampire to achieve that?” asked Luna.

Cheerilee sighed. “I don’t know.”

“It’s all right,” said the Princess comfortingly. “I know of ways you can help. There is a group I have founded that is dedicated to behind-the-scenes work. Out of the public eye, we are allowed to do anything that is needed in order to serve Equestria."

"Do you mean like some kind of secret agency?" Cheerilee asked, sounding skeptical.

Luna laughed. "No, nothing so glamorous. We are content to stay in the shadows. My sister is aware of the group, but doesn't know the details. Nor does she wish to." The Princess sighed. "It can be a rather unpleasant business sometimes."

“What would you have me do?” asked the schoolteacher cautiously.

“We have many things to ask of you,” Luna informed her. “Some of them may be rather grim I'm afraid, but I guarantee you will be making a difference in the lives of ponies everywhere.”

“I can’t leave my students to take up something else,” said Cheerilee. She wished she’d thought of them before agreeing to come to Canterlot.

“You wouldn’t need to. Your position as a teacher in Ponyville is an excellent cover. Think of the new job as auxiliary to that.” The Princess smiled slightly. “You’ll be working nights. I’m sure that suits you.”

Cheerilee thought that Princess Luna’s comment was uncharacteristically insensitive, but didn’t dream of mentioning it. It was important to choose words carefully around royalty, and suppress speaking that which came immediately to mind.

"Not good enough, Celestia! I demand at least fifty bits a week.” Valiant’s shout drifted through the door. Cheerilee’s ears twitched at the sound of it. He was her least favorite pony in all of Equestria.

“Princess, how can Valiant be allowed to get away with such rudeness?” she asked, unable to contain herself. “Isn’t he setting a bad example?”

Luna sighed. “Valiant is…difficult. The effort it would take to exercise control over him is not worth the price. He is a decidedly special case."

Cheerilee had heard the story of how the clash with the Changelings had played out. According to several ponies, Valiant may very well have saved Canterlot. It had all happed over her dead body. Literally. Cheerilee had been soaking in a pool of her own blood in the caves beneath the castle as the battle raged overhead.

“He may have stopped the Changelings, but he turned me into a vampire and killed your nephew,” Cheerilee pointed out.

The Princess nodded sadly. “I admit that we should have realized that Blueblood was a vampire. Maybe all this could have been prevented.”

Cheerilee shook her head. "I know that the vampire condition is passed like a chain from pony to pony. When you kill one and break a link, the rest that were turned should revert. I still don't know why Valiant changed back after the Prince was killed but I didn’t."

"Vampirism is not exactly a science," Luna told her.

Again suppressing some choice words, Cheerilee said, “What’s done is done. I don’t want to believe it, but it’s beginning to look like there’s no going back for me.”

“Have heart,” said Luna. “Make the most of it.”

“I’ll do my best, Princess.” There was nothing Cheerilee could do but try.

Princess Luna smiled. “That is all we ask. Go back to Ponyville for now. You will be contacted soon.” She opened the door for Cheerilee to leave.

"There she is," said Valiant as the door opened. "What took you so long?"

"I can't discuss it," replied Cheerilee, surprising herself with an authoritative tone.

Valiant promptly poked a hole in her confidence. "It's all right, I probably already know."

Cheerilee glanced at Princess Luna, who nodded.

"Despite his other flaws, Valiant is good with secrets," said the royal pony.

"She just wants the blackmail I've got on her to stay buried," said Valiant.

"Are we done here?" asked Twilight, breaking in.

The stallion nodded. "Sure. Come on, Cheerilee. You get to ride in the passenger section this time." He started for the exit.

"The coffin was an elaborate prank," explained Twilight. "If it wasn't so heavy, he'd probably tell you ride back in it, too." The wooden box, and in fact the baggage cart as well, had been left behind.

The two mares followed Valiant out of the castle. The afternoon sky was overcast. The weather ponies were building up a cloud bank for a shower that evening. Cheerilee was grateful. She didn't burn in direct sunlight, but it did irritate her eyes.

"I'll meet you at the station," Valiant said, heading in a different direction. "The donut shop is calling to me."

Cheerilee's sensitive ears heard Twilight's stomach growl at the mention of donuts.

"You sound hungry," she said to the unicorn.

"Well, I could never turn down one of Donut Joe's best," said Twilight. "I feel bad that you can't taste how good they are."

"Don't remind me," mumbled Cheerilee.

"I'll catch up to you later," promised Twilight. She hurried away in the direction Valiant had gone.

Cheerilee stood alone in the middle of the street. The train station was just down the block, but it would be quite a while before the next train left for Ponyville.

She was unfamiliar with Canterlot, knew nopony who lived in the city, and was hesitant to socialize for fear that she would somehow reveal her condition. It was terribly lonely being a vampire.

Cheerilee’s tongue touched the two sharp points that had sprouted among the rest of her teeth when she’d been turned. She had once tried chewing a rock in an attempt to break them off, but the fangs just grew back.

In fact, any attempt she made to appear more normal was thwarted by her own body. It was good that she no longer needed dinner plates and glasses, as casual scrubbing with her increased strength might have broken them. If she should happen to cut herself on the shards, the wound would close itself within minutes. She couldn’t even bleed like a normal pony.

It was strange how Cheerilee could miss the simple ability to be injured. Sometimes, she even thought a little pain would be welcome. Twilight had coached her not to have thoughts like that. While Cheerilee did occasionally go through a depressive mood swing, she had to admit that her general attitude had been steadily improving. Even the children had noticed.

The prospect of leaving a vampire in charge of grade school fillies and colts terrified Cheerilee even more than anypony else. She knew that all the students were gossiping about her sudden attitude shift. Luckily, none of them had stumbled upon the real reason.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were all on good terms with Valiant. In fact, the three of them had participated in the battle against the Changelings while piloting experimental robots that he had built.

Despite their proximity to the scene of Cheerilee’s transformation, the three fillies remained ignorant of the real reason their teacher was acting different. Valiant felt that they didn’t need to know, and had kept his mouth shut. It was the only thing Cheerilee had ever thanked him for.

The schoolteacher sighed and checked the time on the castle clock tower. A little despair began to creep into her mind as she realized how much longer she still had to wait with only her thoughts to keep her occupied..