Bright City:

The sky was red. The clouds were red. Even the sun was red. None of this made sense to the girls. They normally saw blue skies, puffy white clouds and a bright yellow sun. Even the city was red. It had an old, rustic look to it. Buildings looked like they were decades old. Shops were windowless, selling old age things. The streets were a brown cobblestone. Bright City looked like it was stuck in the old age century.

The color change had their minds boggled with many questions that will hopefully be answered. Laharl looked up and didn't even seemed phased by the sky's appearance. Issac wasn't bothered either. "Alright," Laharl said getting everyones attention, "we are going to split up into groups of two, go around town and gather information."

Rarity gave a disgusted look, "Why are we going to do that in this backwater city?"

Laharl sighed, "Because I want to know what I'm up against before we do anything." He took out a piece of paper, wrote everyponies name in separate sections and tore up the paper into eight pieces. He looked to Applejack, "Can I borrow your hat for a moment?" She nodded and gave him the hat. He crumbled up the pieces of paper, put them in the hat and mixed them around.

Twilight stepped forward, "I will pull out the names and the first two I pick go together."

Everypony nodded in agreement. A light raspberry aura came from her horn as she magically lifted two pieces of paper from the hat. "And the first group is," she said uncrumbling the pieces, "Rainbow Dash and Rarity."

Rainbow frowned, "Awwe, why do I have to go with her?"

Rarity looked disgruntled, "Can I pick another pony to go with?"

"Nope," said Laharl shaking the hat.

Twilight uncrumbled two more pieces, "Pinkie Pie and Issac."

Pinkie bounced up and down in excitement, "Cooool, I get to go with the rubber pony!" Issac made a big grin to show his enthusiasm.

Twilight picked two more names from the hat, "Applejack and Laharl." Fluttershy's heart sank a little after hearing the names. She really wanted to go with him but they said no switching. Laharl was even sad that he couldn't go with her. She was the only one who made him feel... happy inside.

"Okay everyone," he said getting back to reality, "Go around, say your tourists wanting to know about the town and meet back at that inn over there," he pointed at an inn with the name "Blue Bell Inn." Everyone nodded and went with their own groups.

Rainbow and Rarity:

Both girls huffed in anger. They didn't want to be partnered up but there was no switching of partners. 'I can't believe I'm stuck with the prima donna,' Rainbow thought, 'all she's going to do is complain nonstop about the town and everything else.'

'Why couldn't I be paired up any other pony,' Rarity thought, 'Even Laharl would be better company.' They walked around the city, asking about it to the locals who looked very pale and wore rags which disgusted Rarity.

She stomped the ground and ran off yelling "Eww, eww, eww." Rainbow flew after her only to catch her in a dark alleyway.

She landed and got in Rarity's face, "What was that for. We're supposed to find out some info around here."

Rarity turned her head and closed her eyes, "I will not talk to those... those... horrid looking ponies out there. Have they no fashion sense in them. Ahh... I feel dirty just thinking about them. When we get out of here, I'm going to... mmmff... "

She was cut off by some dark figure grabbing her and holding her muzzle shut. Rainbow tried to help, but she couldn't move her wings. She looked behind her to see her winged were cuffed together by metal clamps and another dark figure picked her up and held her muzzle shut. They both tried to escape but were soon encased in darkness and found themselves in a blood stained building.

Pinkie and Issac:

Pinkie bounced around the street trying to brighten the mood of the dull city. She kept trying to crack jokes to the residents to get a smile from them only to fail when none of them showed no emotion. But that didn't stop her from trying. She smiled and kept at it. Issac was amazed by how much energy she had in her.

He thought if you put her on a treadmill that was hooked up to a generator that hooked up the power supply running Ponyville and made her run on it, the town would be powered for a couple of months on end. The way she tried to make everypony happy made him smile on the inside. He tried pushing away these thoughts, but her persistence made it hard for him. 'Who could like or even love a pirate,' he thought.

He remembered his old love Bella. It saddened him to know that he aged more slowly than others and she died of old age. Her long hazel hair and her emerald eyes melted his heart. But at that time he didn't really know what he was. Why only he aged more slowly or had strange powers. Through a program on Primal Hub called the "A-G Giver," non Grimm species were given the chance to live as Grimms.

But it was too late to save his family, friends and loved ones. 'Maybe,' he thought, 'she can become an A-G and maybe... '

"HHHEEELLLLOOOOOOO," Shouted Pinkie. Issac screamed as Pinkie was centimeters from his face. "You were in a sleepy state and I was worried you were shut off or something," she said in a worried tone. He breathed heavily trying to gain his composure.

When he did, he looked at her and said in a nervous voice, "Oh sorry Pinkie... I was remembering some old things."

She looked him in the face with one eye opened, "Hmmm... what kind of old things?"

"The past mostly," he said in the same nervous voice.

She smiled and bounced again, "You should worry about today because it's called the "Present." He smiled as well and followed her down the street again. He stopped to ask some questions to more locals and Pinkie found a piece of candy. She hunkered down like a cat predator and lunged for the candy. The small sweet treat moved away from her and closer to a dark alley.

She kept following it until she was grabbed by a dark figure. Issac searched for Pinkie down the way she went. When he went into the alley she went in, he saw no one or nopony. "Fuck," he said to himself and ran off to find Laharl.

Twilight and Fluttershy:

Both girls had a hard time getting any answers from the locals. Fluttershy was too scared to ask most of them and Twilight kept asking the wrong kind of questions, like the color of the city and why all their clothes look so horrid. After thirty minutes of trying, they decided to head back to the inn Laharl suggested. Fluttershy looked sad that she wasn't with Laharl. She felt with him near her, she could be braver and help out more.

He had no fear of anything at all. But she did feel concerned when she saw his eyes when he cried on the train. It's true his powers were scary and strange, but that didn't make him a monster. "Ummm... ," she asked nervously to Twilight, "what do you think of the guys?"

Twilight pondered this for a moment, "Well Issac seems to have a fun, adventurous side of him with a small part of a child's mind. He seems to have more fun out of the two so him being paired with Pinkie was probably a good thing."

"And what about Laharl?"

Twilight put even more thought into that question, "He scares me a little. All that dark talk is depressing but what Issac said about understanding of Laharl's side of things. I will admit he is brave and handsome but... " She stopped talking when she saw that she led them down an empty corridor. Both girls looked around to find somepony but didn't see any. Suddenly a dark figure came out of the shadows and grabbed Twilight by the forelegs and her horn. She tried using her magic but was electrocuted a little to knock her out. Fluttershy tried to flee but was apprehended by another dark figure.

Tears came from her eyes, 'Laharl, please help.'

Laharl and Applejack:

Laharl's ear twitched and his head turned in the direction where he heard some faint cry for help. He and Applejack were outside the inn after doing their questioning which came fruitless. Applejack turned around to see what happened to him, "Hey Laharl, is everythin' alrit'?" He pulled out a cigarette, pulled out a black lighter, lit the cigarette and started smoking. She remembered when he did that, bad things are going to happen.

"Who are you," he asked in a dark, sinister voice. Shocked, she responded, "It's me, Applejack." Laharl: Bloody Mauser: A antique red luger formed in his left claw and he held it up in Applejacks directions.

He cocked it and asked in the same voice, "I asked who are you?"

Applejack scooted back away from him and said in a scared voice, "Wh... wha... what in tarnation is wrong with you boy?" He pulled the trigger and there was a sound of a thunderous roar.

Applejack had her eyes closed and slowly opened them when she heard a thud behind her. She slowly turned her head and opened her eyes to see a dark hooded figure lying dead. Laharl casually walked up to the corpse like nothing had happened. Applejack was so shocked, she couldn't say anything but just looked at the dead figure. He puffed out some smoke and put the cig back in his mouth. With his right claw, he lifted up the hood to reveal a bright red pony with plain white eyes and sharp canines in its mouth.

"Hmm," he said, "you don't see that everyday."

He felt a pair of hooves hit his face but he was unscathed. Applejack yelped in pain and yelled, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING BEFORE?"

He blew out some more smoke, "It was creeping up on you. If I didn't hear it, it would've ran off with you." She rubbed her hind legs trying to ease the pain. She bucked plenty of trees before and she was strong, but bucking him was like bucking a reinforced steel wall.

How he didn't feel a thing was a mystery to her. He looked up to see another dark figure running into an alley only to be knocked out and slammed into the inn wall. "What a disgusting creature you are," came a voice that sounded like a nobleman's. Out of the alley came a pale, skinny white stallion with black, messy, spike mane and long, straight black tail. His eyes were big with small red pupils. His ears with long and pointy, like a bat. He wore a long black cape with red interior, high collar and tattered ends.

There was a giant red button on the collar that seemed to keep the cape in place. "How dare you call yourself a vampire," he spoke again. Laharl puffed out one more smoke and put the cig out on the ground.

"What are you doing here Valv," he asked the strange looking pony.

Valv walked over and grinned at Laharl, "That's Valvatorez and I am here to stop a vampire menace."

Applejack was dumbfounded by what she was seeing and hearing, "Would you boys mind explainin' to me what the hay is goin' on here?"

Blue Bell Inn:

The inn was silent, not a soul around. The group sat at a nearby table to begin the explaining. "Who are you," Applejack asked the pale stallion.

He stood on his hind legs and spread his forelegs making his cape grow bigger, "I am Lord Valvatorez, Vampire Tyrant of the Netherverse and lover of eating sardines."

Applejack looked at Laharl in confusion and he simply said, "Your not a Prinny Instructor anymore?"

Valv lowered his forelegs, making his cape smaller and he sat down, "No, I am reprising my role as a tyrant. But I still enjoy a good sardine or two."

"So what brought about the change?"

Valv chuckled, "I told Artina I was going to find and defeat you. She was very scared at the thought of losing me."

Laharl chuckled, "You scared her... hehehe... so now are you drinking blood again."

"Little by little, I can feel my powers returning as we speak."

Applejack didn't know what to think of the conversation she was listening to. Her mind was a blank from the strangest things that was being said in front of her. "And pray tell," Valv said looking at Applejack, "Who is this young mare?" Laharl elbowed her and she snapped back into reality.

"Uhh," she got out first, "M'ah name is Applejack. I run an apple farm in Ponyville."

"Hmm," he said, "interesting... do all of this Ponyville talk like you do?"

She giggled, "Shucks no, everypony has a different way of talkin'."

He raised an eyebrow which made her feel uncomfortable. Suddenly Issac came busting through the front door yelling, "LAHARL, LAHARL, PINKIES BEEN KIDNAPPED!" He saw Valv at the table with Laharl and Applejack and seemed relieved. He sat down and put his head on the table.

Laharl hoof-faced, "Lovely... we could only save Applejack and this place is crawling with vampire ponies. How can it get any worse?"

Valv answered, "A Blood Factory." Laharl groaned very loudly not wanting to hear that.

Applejack asked nervously, "Uhh... Mister Valvatorez sir... wut's a blood factory."

He coughed to clear his throat, "A blood factory my dear is a facility run by vampires to produce mass quantities of blood for the vampire population. Its original goal was to make artificial blood that doesn't require any use of human or animal blood. Unfortunately the scientists bit off more than they could chew. When the population fell downward they had to resort to using what they didn't want to use. When blood was being produced, the only problem was "what to do with the dead bodies?" So the scientists came up with a special rejuvenation serum that restored the body to its original state before it was sucked dry." Applejack was starting to cry from hearing all this information.

Laharl interjected, "It's pure torture. I've done things I'm not proud of but even I couldn't do that." Applejack put her head down, not wanting to show her tear stained face.

She felt Laharl claw on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. It felt cold and sharp, but she knew he was trying to make her feel better. She looked up at the guys who had the look of determination on their faces. Valv stood up, "We will stop the Mauve character and destroy the factory. Plus save all those inside." She nodded in agreement and stood up as well. The other two stood up and everypony walked out the door.

Bright City Square: Roof Tops:

All four looked down and saw that everypony from the city was standing outside of a dark yellow church. It had many grey gargoyles on top and colorful stained glass windows with different designs. A statue of a giant alicorn stood in the courtyard of the church. With a pair of hi-tech binoculars, Laharl was looking at the crowd to find anything suspicious.

Issac turned to Valv, "Hey man, how did you know the church was the factory?"

Valv chuckled, "Fresh vampire cronies don't know when to shut up about becoming vampires." Laharl shushed them as he was concentrating on the task at hand. Ponies started to gather closer to the statue as a large black unicorn stallion with red eyes, yellow mane and tail and a white robe came from the church. Laharl used a bit of his powers to hear what he was saying.

"Children," he spoke in a deep booming voice, "I, Father Mauve have almost completed the elixir that will give us all our sacred powers is almost complete. I require one more mare for the task to be done. It is an orange mare with yellow mane and green eyes. She is travelling with three deviants who must be brought to death." The crowd was in an uproar and Applejack felt very unsafe right now. Even with Laharl and the other two, it seems like her end was near. Mauve spoke again, "The ones who find the mare for me will be given the first blessing with me." The crowd roared louder and they scattered away for the hunt.

"Well," Laharl said lowering the binoculars, "time to use the side entrance."

...

Author's Notes: Number 9 Redone. I think Valv is a cool vampire and to those who like twilight... don't even bother asking for those kind of vampires in this story. Those are not vampires. Ciao!