Down time

Midnight looked back to him and nodded, withdrawing her spear from its sheathe again. Her attachment to the weapon had severely faded due to its possible origins, as evident by how easily she allowed it to be taken from her a second time. "Thank you in advance for the work. I know enchantments can be difficult to create." Sighing inwardly, the young mare began to withdraw her armor and reattach it to her flesh. The process was slow and a bit difficult, but having performed the act for years on end, it went flawlessly.

"I'm going to go outside a bit for some fresh air, and do some patrolling while you work on that." Not waiting for a response, the bat pony did just that, and in no time was bracing the night air again. She didn't look back even once as she started to stroll down the street, her mind anywhere but in Ponyville. Though her thoughts might have been elsewhere, her instincts were ever alert and and active, subconsciously seeking out any signs of mischief.

I never thought that my nights would lead me to this. Midnight's walk was slow and steady, her eyes wandered to and fro. There weren't any other ponies up during this late hour, which made her time all the more peaceful.

Switchblade shrugged as Midnight left 'oh no, it's fine; I didn't want company anyway' he thought to himself, heading over to the forge to start the enchanting. First of all he took a small tool off the side and used it to dislodge the broken rune off the base he then started channeling his magic into the runestone, giving it the power needed, he then set it into the base where the previous one was, there was no sheen from this, he made sure of that; he knew Midnight wasn't a fan of magic.

As he leant against the wall, regaining his energy, he saw a dark shape rushing towards him, his eyes widened in shock as he attempted to wield his hammer against it. He managed to make contact as it slammed him into a shelf, spilling out heavy pieces of metal which smashed both of them. The creature dissipated in smoke while Switchblade yelled in agony, a large wound on his face and neck, he slumped against the wall, barely conscious.

Midnight paused at the end of the road which opened into a four-way cross-section. She turned her head east and west, then gazed down the path before her. In all directions, the humble homes were dark and so silent that the sound of buzzing nocturnal insects could be heard. The only light that shined came from the moon itself, for not even the candle ponies dared dwell upon the streets at this hour.

To that night, it still amazed her how little the residents knew of their world. They were blind to the Nightmares and ghouls that wanted nothing more than to devour them and take Equestria for themselves. There were many moons when she wished she could expose the truth, but Princess Luna strictly forbade it. She, the ever-wise ruler, knew it would only cause a panic amongst her subjects. Thus, the burden of knowing would forever remain within the bat pony community, along with a select few others.

Sighing, the young mare blew a piece of her black mane from over her snout and rolled her shoulders back. Just as she was about to take a step, her ears stood fully erect and twisted nearly 180 degrees, catching an ominous shrill of agony. Immediately, Midnight bounced into action, launching from her position on the cobblestone right into the air, her wings working furiously to turn her around and shoot her back towards Switchblade's home.

"I'm coming!" As she neared the familiar roof, the bat pony repositioned herself in mid-dive so that her rear hooves made contact with the wood and brick top first. Through momentum and pure force of strength, she smashed through and landed on all fours within the forge, which seemed to have taken damage prior to her rather dramatic entrance. Having landed in a crouch, the young mare hissed, baring her fangs while two blades slipped out from the armor on her shin guards.

She quickly looked around for any signs of trouble. Spotting Switchblade and his predicament, Midnight rushed over and used her blades as a lever to jettison the metal slabs off and away from him. "You're injured.." Ever quick to state the obvious, she cringed and recoiled, the smell of fresh blood invading her senses. It was too much- too strong, too fresh, too wonderful. Caving into her bloodlust, all of her other senses dulled as complete focused was made to his wounds.

Step by step she inched closer. Her hooves fell silent. Quietly, she leaned down towards him, her eyes glazed over, fangs fully bared with the intent to feed..

Switchblade looked at Midnight, his face looking rather bewildered "What are you doing?" he said meekly, suddenly the realisation hit him "Oh no, don't even think about it!" he said, closing his eyes firmly shut and holding his breath.

His words fell on deafened ears. Everything was about his nectar- that beautiful dark red liquid that seeped out from his wounds. Midnight's hooves found themselves upon his shoulders and pressed down firmly to keep him in place, while also supporting her weight as she leaned closer, her muzzle inches from her dark desire. She inhaled slowly, evenly, savoring the scent of his precious life fluid. Her eyelids grew heavy with not just hunger, but lust as well.

The bat pony flicked out her tongue and lapped up a small sample. Inside her mouth, an explosion of flavor erupted, sending a tingling sensation throughout every fiber of her being. Wanting more, she dragged her tongue from the base of his neck on up to under his chin before withdrawing it to swallow. Finding her meal to be quite pleasant, Midnight began to suckle at the deepest of his wound ever so kindly.

"Delicioussss.." She cooed.

Switchblade writhed in pain, his reflexes kicking in 'this is not good, if I don't do something she's gonna kill me. But what can I do; she's got me trapped and I don't want to cause her pain. Hmm perhaps if I.' he jerked his head up, slamming it into Midnight's helmet; it wouldn't hurt her, just make a loud clang.

The sudden impact and following reverberations sent Midnight reeling back until her rear met with the far wall. She firmly planted a hoof on her helmet to stop the irritating vibration then shook her head clear. With her senses returning to normal, the bat pony seemed beyond confused. Her ears lowered, eyes darted around fearfully, and fur stood on end as she tried to figure out just what had been going on.

Detecting the scent of blood again, the young mare gasped. Due to this sudden inhalation of air, the taste on her tongue was renewed, allowing for the puzzle pieces to fall into place. It had finally happened- she had lost control. Shame weighed heavily on her as she slipped along the wall, blindly searching for the exit, all while her focus was upon the injured stallion. She was terrified of getting closer to him, lest her thirst for blood overwhelm her again.

I can't leave him like that.. But I can't get too close either. The predicament was a foul one, more so as time ticked on. Extending a wing, she used it to cover her snout like a mask, and asked, "Do you have any spare bandages I can get? Quickly, now!"

Switchblade nodded "There's a first aid kit hung on the wall in the corridor." he said weakly, still trying to get over what had just happened. 'well at least she's back to normal now' he thought to himself.

Midnight wasted no time in dashing out from the forge- she would have used any excuse to give herself so much as a moment alone to reclaim some dignity. I can't believe I did that.. How humiliating! She cursed herself, her vulnerability, her [i]species even. This is why we always stayed with our own kind. Why I should stay with my own kind. Tears threatened to flow freely from her opened (in the metaphorical sense) eyes, but she held them back in favor of saving her pride.

I'll find a way to combat this Nightmare creature on my own. He'll need time to recover from this, so I have a small window of opportunity. Her jaws snapped around the handle to the First Aid Kit, which she carried on back to the forge. I can probably convince Father to keep him occupied while I set off on my quest. The bundle was placed on the stone floor beside Switchblade and opened.

While still considering the possibilities, the bat pony began to collect the required instruments from the kit and set them aside. With difficulty, she applied alcohol to a cotton ball and began to dab his wounds with it to kill any possible bacteria. It would hurt, but she honestly did not care at the time. Once clean, Midnight would bandage up his cuts and seal them with medical tape, just for extra insurance. Before long, her little nurse act was complete and she was able to clean up.

"What happened anyways?" She practically snarled.

Switchblade winced at the antiseptic being applied, but then remained calm throughout the rest of the procedure. "What happened? Well, I was enchanting your weapon when I remembered that you don't really like my kind or our magic, so I used a added concealment spell to hide the magical sheen on the weapon. But doing magic with enchanting is a lot harding than either on their own, so I didn't have the energy or balance to block the shadow creature when it attacked me, and I didn't want to use your weapon because you would probably be mad at me if I did."

She slipped the First Aid Kit aside with a hoof. "That was foolish." Her stare upon the stallion hardened. "When dealing with those monsters, you can't think of anything else except their destruction. Showing a kind heart only makes you weak." The bat pony shifted her gaze to her spear. "My needs and your needs do not come before our duty. We are warriors- we protect those who cannot protect themselves." Sighing, she shook her head. "That weapon was forged for the exact purpose you denied it."

Filled with bitter disgust at both the situation and still herself, Midnight gave a huff before leaving the room again. She had no intention of returning or even bothering for an excuse as she hastily navigated the corridors and eventually found herself in the receiving room again. After ensuring that all of her armor and belongings were back upon her flesh, the young mare looked up and through the hole in the ceiling she had made.

"I'll get the builders to fix that immediately." She announced while unfolding her wings. With but a few forceful flaps, she had launched herself from the floor and rocketed out from the home and into the night sky..

Switchblade sighed, attempting to settle himself into a seating position, seething in pain he rested back down in his previous position, huffing another sigh watching as she left "Perhaps she'll thank me next time." he said to himself.

Suddenly, a dark shape positioned itself on the wall next to Switchblade, smiling a dark smile as it witnessed Midnight leave "Now that you two are separated, it will be a lot easier to remove her from the picture before dealing with you, make you remember another one you couldn't save." Switchblade's face contorted into sheer terror "No, you can't do that, what would your master think?" the creature obviously did not care to listen to him any further as it took off in pursuit of Midnight.