Two ponies stumbled through the streets, giggling happily. The moon was high overhead, and there were few others out at this time of night. They were trotting back to her home after a rather riotous party. She had just met him a few weeks ago, and he was quite the charmer. A little too clingy for her tastes, but sweet in his own way. He said that he adored the warmth of her touch, and a look into her eyes was worth all the money in the world. Sappy, but he could say it with a straight face. Their shoes tapped along the concrete and their tails swished together as they turned a corner.

"It's nothing fancy," the mare assured him. "Just an apartment. I mean, I'm only an accountant."

"Well, you certainly embezzled my heart," he replied with a wink. "I'm but a poor weatherpony."

She giggled again as he traced a wing over her back. "Oh, you pegasi. Always so forward."

"Forward? Oh no, if I was being forward," he gently pressed her against a lamppost, "I'd do something like this!"

The mare kissed back, of course. He was a little flighty, but he had been a shoulder to cry on when she needed it. His touch always felt a little cold, probably because he was so used to working at high altitudes or something. She was not a biologist, but if you needed a thirty-million bit account balanced before breakfast, she was the mare for the job. Her horn glowed softly as she straightened that scarf he always wore around his neck.

"It must be hard, being up there, I mean." She shivered at the thought. They trotted down the lane, away from the safe glow of the lamppost. "Looking down, seeing everything so small. And you're out in the hot sun all the time!"

"Oh, I never work day shifts," he replied casually. "I've always felt most alive when the sun goes down. The sky doesn't care about the sun or the moon, those clouds always need tending."

She raised an eyebrow. "But how do you see?"

"One doesn't always need to. Most of it's done by feel, or sound. When I do, the moonlight helps, and there's so much light bouncing up from the city that it's almost as though the sun were shining up from underground." He flexed his wings and gave her a toothy grin. "You'd be amazed what a pegasus can accomplish under cover of night."

"Oh, stop it!" she laughed as they crossed a street. Apartment blocks rose high above their heads, old things made of stone and steel. "I asked you back for a cup of coca to warm the bones, nothing more."

He winked again. "That kiss was all the warmth I needed, but-"

Something rattled in an alley to their right. Both ponies turned to look. The sound was not from a rodent, it was the harsh clinking of iron against concrete. He edged between the mare and the alleyway, and squinted. Perhaps somepony was tossing out their garbage.

"That's a chain," she whispered quickly. "I know that sound, it's a chain. They chain the arithmetic cogitators to the desks, and the chains are too long. They scrape against the floor if you knock them." The mare said it more out of curiosity than fear. A cogitator was a machine of brass and steam, with a hint of magic. The chains were to protect them from theft. It took her a moment to remember that chains were also used to protect others from the one fettered.

The stallion was about to suggest that they run for their lives, something both would have done on first instinct if the night had not been so warm and happy. How could anything ruin this moment between two young lovers? That was answered when a ghastly pale shape tore out of the alley and tackled both of them to the ground. The pegasus felt some martial instinct swell, and landed a lucky kick that knocked the creature right in its ribs. To her credit, the mare slipped off her saddlebag and smacked their attacker right in the skull before screaming in panic. It rolled back toward the alley, grumbling to itself, then turned back toward them. Both ponies gasped as they got a good look.

"Dear Celestia," the accountant breathed. "That's a pony!"

Perhaps once, but now it was something less. Its coat was bleached white, its eyes were a dull red, and around its neck was a thick iron collar. Three chains trailed from the collar to the ground, and one hoof still had an iron manacle around it. The creature opened its mouth and hissed at them, but far more terrifying than the sound were the two long, sharp incisors. It raised the hoof with the iron manacle and pointed shakily at the mare.

"We should have run," the stallion said without moving his lips. His eyes were wide, and she could feel his heart hammering just like her own. "Bad things always happen in alleyways."

"It doesn't have wings," she whispered back, "can you-"

Without further warning, the creature lunged forward, wrapped the chains around her neck, and drug her to the ground. The pegasus lept into the air and snapped a kick from his powerful hindlegs right into its face, but the creature grabbed him by a cannon and slammed him into a wall. Still dragging the struggling mare, it rolled the stallion over and snarled into his face. All that the pegasus saw was a thousand sharp teeth and two horrible red eyes, accompanied by the foul stench of its breath and a screech that made his panicked heart stop altogether for a moment.

Savage terror took control. He kicked upward then squirmed free before the creature could strike back. It snapped out and caught him by the tail with its teeth. He flapped his wings and kicked hard, then screamed at the pain as he tore free. Gibbering wildly, the stallion took off down the street before soaring up into the sky. His only thought was of those horrible eyes and that wretched sound. Love had lost, and fear had won.

While her escort had fought and fled, the mare had tried to uncoil the chains with her magic. They seemed to have a mind of their own, as foolish as she knew that was to even imagine. She was an accountant, used to numbers and figures, things that made sense if you looked at them one problem at a time. That was why she had a pair of books on a scale on her flank. This was utterly incomprehensible to her, but she held to her sanity by breaking the situation into small problems. She had to get free of the chains. That task consumed her world for a few seconds.

Finally, just as she heard the stallion's tail rip, she threw off the last chain and went racing down the alleyway, not even bothering to see what had become of him. All that mattered was getting to that light on the other end of the alley. The monster had blocked her other way out, but she just had to reach that light. The accountant did not look back, she just ran faster than she ever had in her life. Almost there, just a few more meters, you can do it! And she would indeed have made it... if she had not lost a shoe and gone tumbling headlong into the side of a metal dumpster.

The impact dazed her, and she felt something wet running down the side of her face. The accountant rolled around the side of the metal bin and crawled toward the light. It was safety, it was hope, it was... gone? Something stood between her and the light. She looked up as she pulled herself another few centimeters further, and saw two dull red eyes staring down. It snarled at her, picked her up, and shoved her against the wall. She felt something wet and wretched lick up the side of her face. The mare almost vomited as her nostrils were filled with the stench of its breath.

"Please," she whimpered. "Please don't." To her surprise, the creature pulled back. The accountant dared to look up, and saw what might have been an attempt at a smile plastered across its muzzle. She forced a smile as well. Maybe it's just misunderstood, or hurt. Maybe it's really quite nice inside, it just needs a little love. Maybe-

"Should have... run," it croaked in a scratchy, raspy voice. The mare's eyes widened as she realized the creature was taunting her with her escort's words. "Bad things always happen in alleyways." It opened its mouth wide and forced her head to the side, exposing the pounding arteries in her neck. She tried to scream, but it held her mouth shut. In the corner of her eye, she saw its right ear twitch oddly, as though something were moving it out of the way.

"Yeah. Bad things happen." Blam!

The unicorn dropped limp to the ground. Blood and bone covered the concrete, along with tufts of fur and slimy lumps of flesh. For a moment, she thought she was dead. Her logical side urged her to bite her tongue, and she yelped in surprise at the pain. The mare scrambled to her hooves and gasped for breath. A different shape was standing between her and the light, with a smoking shotgun slung across its back. The shape had taken out a black bag, and was stuffing the remains of the creature into it. She cleared her throat, but found herself unable to speak. Her legs wobbled, and she fell to her knees again. The shape looked up.

"Were you bit?"

"N-no," she replied. The shape unslung its shotgun again and stepped closer. "Really, I promise!" She saw the barrel come up, and closed her eyes. A bright light flooded through her eyelids, and she again thought that she had died until something soft daubed against the side of her face.

"You're bleeding, but you'll be fine. It'd take a lot more than a licked gash to turn you... I hope." The light flicked off, and she reached out to steady herself against the shape. The accountant opened her eyes and saw that it was an earth pony clad in black armor. Not the flashy black that she had seen in the cinema, but a matte material that seemed to absorb light. His armor was made of plates with fabric between them, and covered his entire body. The voice was masculine, but it seemed distorted. It seemed that the helmet disguised not only his face, but his words as well. He patted down her legs with the soft cloth, and shone the light on his shotgun over the rest of her body to check for wounds.

After a moment the electric torch swung away from her, and he trotted down the alleyway in search of something. The black knight returned a moment later with her lost shoe. She slipped a trembling hoof into it, and smiled thankfully at him.

"Can you walk?"

The accountant staggered to the entrance of the alley, and slumped against the wall. Her body felt alert and drained all at once. The black knight, for he wore armor and she could think of no better title, offered her a canteen. She drank in slow gulps, then handed it back. "Thank you." Her eyes turned back to the dead creature. "What... what was that?"

He chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You just saved my life!" she protested. "What do you mean I wouldn't believe you?"

The black knight shrugged. "Fine. You just got attacked by a vampire." He rolled his neck. "Not a true vampire, something weird we've been seeing a lot of. They don't think like normal ones, they don't try to establish power or sire more of their kind, they just... feed." The earth pony unslung his shotgun and loaded in another shell. In the dim light, she saw Model 12 "Perfect Repeater" etched into the metal receiver. "Good ol' PR Twelve and I killed it. I like to keep her handy for close encounters. We've had a lot more than normal of late." There was a reason he was alone tonight, instead of patrolling with a full squad.

She nodded reflexively. He could have asked her for the combination to the company safe and she would have told him before her mind caught up with her mouth. After a moment her sense returned, and she repeated, "vampire?"

"Yep."

The mare forced a chuckle. "S-surely you can't be serious... vampires don't exist." They couldn't exist. "Y-you're a... a... police officer, and... and he was a serial killer, yes! But you can't tell me that, because I'd be traumatized." The accountant nodded slowly, but the earth pony's head did not reciprocate the gesture. "But... but vampires can't be real! A pony couldn't survive on blood! And... and he didn't turn to ash, the ones in the cinema turn to ash when they die!"

He sighed, then hung his head. "No. No, you're right, ma'am. A pony can't survive on blood. It's a story we tell victims to keep them from going into shock."

"Well," the accountant smiled stiffly. "I assure you, I'll be... I'll be..." She turned to look back down the alleyway again. Her eyes fell on the black bag, with bits of creature stuffed into it. The mare closed her eyes, and saw those horrible teeth once more. "I... was just attacked... by a vam..." She bit her lip, then turned to look at him. "Could you say something, please?"

"What?" the earth pony asked.

"Your voice... I... I feel like I've heard it before."

His legs stiffened, then he stepped over to the black bag and hefted it onto his back. "No, ma'am."

"I know I have," she protested, but her mind was foggy. She could not recall more than the way he spoke, not even his face. Still, she felt a sense of peace at his voice. He was somepony she trusted, even if she never had paid him much mind. "I..."

"You're just grasping for something you can understand." He said softly. "Searching for a handle on the moment. Here," the stallion pulled a bar wrapped in foil from a pouch on his armor. "Eat this. It'll do you some good."

As soon as she peeled the wrapper off with a glow of her horn, she realized how hungry she was. The chocolate was rich and filling, filled with fresh nuts that crunched instead of stale ones that crumbled. "I still think I remember you..." she said between mouthfuls. The bar was gone too soon, but it left her feeling stronger.

"Do you remember your way home?" The stallion asked in as gentle a voice as he could manage through the helmet's voxbox.

"Yes," she replied. "Will you... walk with me?"

He glanced out onto the street. Nopony was around, not at this time of night. Nopony had heard her screams, or come to see what was wrong. Nopony would notice him, certainly not if they ducked around the streetlamps. The black knight nodded, and she led the way. As they walked, she pestered him with questions, most of which he answered with silence. By the time they had gotten back to her abode, she had almost convinced herself that this was all some special police action, and he was an undercover cop. On the front stoop of her apartment complex, he stopped, and nodded toward the door. The message was clear, he could go no further, even with an invitation.

"You really are a black knight." The accountant smiled at him.

"I'm just another operative," he replied plainly. Knights were more trouble than they were worth, those of the Errant kind at least. "But you have a choice to make."

She leaned her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

He reached into a pocket and pulled out a pair of what looked like jelly beans, wrapped in some clear material. He bit open the packing, and held them out to her. "When you get inside. Think about tonight." He took a breath. "You want to wake up tomorrow and believe whatever you want to believe, you take the blue one."

She took the two jelly beans with a glow of her horn, and looked up at him. "And the red one?"

"You take that... and you're admitting to yourself that weird things really do happen. That I'm not a cop, and that the thing that attacked you wasn't somepony wired on drugs. You take that one, and you're accepting it as truth. Nothing changes, except that you've got a burden to carry. A burden of knowledge." He glanced away, then back. "It's a heavy load to bear."

"What if I don't take either?" the accountant asked. Logic was her only ally on this night, and logic demanded all possible outcomes.

"They melt in twelve hours." He stuffed the clear material back into a pocket. "You have that long to make up your mind. If you don't choose, even after what you've seen, you just wander onward. That's what a lot of ponies do every day, and I guess it makes them happy. If you take one pill, the other melts." He leaned his head to the side. "They don't really do much. You won't get superpowers or anything. It's a cerebral effect, the act of choosing is enough to spark your neurons. One of those just gives your brain some nutrients. Your life is yours to shape with your decisions." The stallion took a breath, and looked up at the stars. They were beautiful tonight. He looked back at her. "All I'm offering is the truth, nothing more. Reject it, accept it, or shrug. It's your choice."

She slipped the jelly beans into her saddlebag and nodded. "I understand. And... have we met before?"

The stallion shifted on his hooves for a moment, then turned away. She looked after him hopefully, then lowered her head and trudged up the steps.

"Goodnight, Miss Even Counts."

"Goodnight," she replied, her hoof on the doorhandle. Suddenly her ears shot up. "Wait!" Her head turned toward the voice. "Where did... you..." The mare glanced up and down the street, but he was gone, as though he had never even existed. "How did you know my name?"

The night gave no answer. She waited for a moment, then glanced up at the moon. It too was silent. Finally, the mare turned and entered the apartment block, the jelly beans nestled safely in her saddlebag.

Author's Notes:

A chapter without Vinyl and Octavia? Heresy! Somepony stop that BubblepipeWrangler!

Please hear me out before throwing the tomatoes. I felt that the reader response was to take option A from last chapter's Note, but I was worried that it would start out too boring. Rather than have Bon Bon talk about the troubles that a branch of the Organization was having, I wanted to show y'all how rough they had it. This gives us a view from the eyes of one of those "ants", the little ponies that keep the Bon Hadescream Organization running. They have hearts and hopes too! Also, note that saving one life and killing one monster is an achievement for this operative. He's not a carnage carousel like Vinyl, but he holds the line, and every life matters. Especially if it's one that is important to him...

I also felt that the operatives deserved a bit of love after getting stomped on by a Warphound, and the story is named Bon Hadescream, after all! Vinyl and Octavia will be back next chapter after a bit more operative-level action, ready to kick flank and take names!

As for this chapter, what did you think? Did you enjoy this style of briefing, even though it takes the focus off the main characters? Did you think the pegasus with the scarf would have a pair of fangs at first? Which color do you think she'll choose?

I'd love to hear your feedback, and as always, thanks for reading!