A Vampire's Lullaby

Twilight Sparkle read her book with much concentration, as if nothing could disturb her. As assigned by Princess Celestia, she was supposed to research the supernatural, what made them that way and the like.

Of course, being the type that relies on science, she didn’t believe in any of it one bit. But not wanting to fail, she studied it anyway.

Next to her were some books, all stacked atop each other. She estimated there were at least sixteen books there. As of this moment, she was reading her seventh one.

“Twilight? Don’t you think you’ve read enough today?” A voice behind her said.

It was true; she read quite a lot over the course of that day, at least three books. Outside, shadows overtook the land, with the moon and stars casting some light. A flickering candle was the only thing that gave light to the library, allowing Twilight to read her book.

“Not yet Spike,” Twilight answered, turning another page. “This one seems to be the most intriguing yet.”

“What’s it ‘bout?” The tired dragon’s voice asked.

“This one talks about an old legend about a vampire king!”

“But I thought you didn’t believe in stuff like that.”

“I don’t. But this story still interests me more than the others.”

“Twilight, it’s the middle of the night and nopony else is awake!”

“Whoa Spike, listen to this!” Twilight said ignoring Spike.

“What? What is it?” Curiosity filled the purple dragon’s eyes.

“According to this book, the vampire king is in a coffin that’s buried somewhere near the edge of the Everfree Forest!”

“For someone who doesn’t believe in this stuff, you sure do act like it,” Spike mumbled, not loud enough to be audible by Twilight.

“And buried with them in the coffin is some sword called the ‘Sword of Healing!’” The purple unicorn continued, lifting the book with her magic and showing Spike a sketch of what the sword supposedly looks like.

The first thing Spike noticed was what looked like a jewel, engraved on the handle of the sword. His eyes grew hungry and he started to drool. “Can we go check it out?” Spike said dreamily.

“No Spike,” Twilight said firmly as she closed the book and set it down on the table.

“Why not?” Spike whined.

“Because vampires and other supernatural things don’t exist.”

“But earlier you—“

“I said no Spike.”

Spike fell to his knees, clasped his hands together and began begging.“Pleaseeeeeee?”

Twilight sighed. “Alright, but only to prove to you that this doesn’t exist.” Spike immediately sprang up and dashed to the door. “Tomorrow, Spike.” Spike abruptly stopped and groaned but when he remembered just how late it was he didn’t argue.

“Fine,” he grumbled and trudged upstairs.

Twilight blew out the candle and followed him, using her magic as a light source. Crawling into bed, she realized just how tired she was, and fell asleep quickly.

The following morning, Twilight was first to wake, trotting downstairs and quickly making some pancakes for her and Spike’s breakfast. By the time she had finished, Spike had already awoken and walked downstairs.

“Mm! They smell delicious!” Spike commented as Twilight gave him his plate.

“Thank you!” Twilight said proudly and seated herself at the table, sitting across from Spike.

Both of them began eating away at their breakfast, Spike eager to get going while Twilight ate at a steady pace.

After they finished, they made their way over to the Everfree forest. The sun was blistering, and made the trip an agonizing one. Spike was carrying the shovel while Twilight had the book in her saddlebags.

Arriving near the edge, Twilight pulled out the book, using her magic to open it and flip the pages. “Alright,” she began.

“According to this book, the coffin should be buried right over…” Twilight trotted over to a spot to the left of where she was standing. “Here!” she stated proudly.

She moved off to the side a bit and used her magic to take the shovel from Spike’s grip, and began digging. Spike ran over, careful to not get in the way.  She dug for a few minutes before she and Spike heard a “clank”.

Twilight stopped digging and both her and Spike peered into the hole. “Well that’s weird. I’m sure it’s nothing more than a coincidence!” Twilight concluded.

“Yeah yeah, just get it out and open it already!” Twilight enveloped the coffin with her magic aura and tugged at it. It appeared to be a bit stuck; no surprise for being buried for almost 300 years.

Once she got it out, Twilight studied it a bit, looking around at all the sides. “Twilight!” Spike yelled, beginning to get impatient.

“Alright!” she said. Twilight had her tongue on her top lip as she concentrated, using her magic to unlock the padlock. It broke off with ease, seeing as it was rusty. Spike lifted the coffin door himself and looked inside, Twilight not long after.

Twilight’s mouth opened wide at what she saw.

Inside was what appeared to be a stallion. His coat was snow white and his eyes were shut as if he were sleeping. His mane and tail were both a silver color, with blood red dying the tips. His forelegs wrapped around a sword: A sword that resembled the sketch of the “Sword of Healing” in the book.

The “Sword of Healing” was a white-silver color, even the handle. The only thing was that was a different hue from the sword was the red jewel engraved on the handle.

“So it is real…” Twilight said, wonder and shock clearly shown in her voice. Her mouth still hung wide open.

Spike’s eyes once again grew hungry, even hungrier than before since he was seeing the actual jewel in person. He reached for it but Twilight hit his hand away. “No Spike. This sword could be important for research!” she said and used her magic to carefully unwrap the pony's leg from the sword, as to not wake him up. She lifted it up out of the coffin and gave it a satisfied look before turning around and starting walking back to the library, completely forgetting about reburying the coffin.

“Come on Spike! We got some research to do!” Spike began to follow before he stopped and turned back to the coffin, wondering if he should remind Twilight to rebury it. He shrugged it off and ran to catch up with the purple unicorn mare.

My red eyes shot open, and the first thing I was greeted with was the night sky, signaling me it was nighttime.

What happened exactly?

I knew I was buried in a coffin, but the fact that I’m opening my eyes and met the night sky it means someone unburied the coffin, but who?

I lay there for a few moments, trying to figure it out when I realized something was missing. It didn’t take long for me to see that my forelegs were no longer wrapped around the sword I had gone to sleep with.

Someone stole it!

That sword was everything to me. I can’t remember exactly why, but I do recognize these feelings.

I slowly got out of the coffin. My joints and muscles were aching, considering I haven’t moved at all in so long. I first sat up and held my hoof to my head. I had an awful headache. After I got over that, I slowly crawled out of the “bed” and stretched a bit. Only when I had finished stretching did I realize something else.

I was hungry. Very hungry.

Why wouldn’t I be? I was asleep for who knows how long.

I sniffed the air and got a scent of a pony. She was more or less around 300 feet from where I was standing. I was easily able to spot her. She must’ve been out on a night stroll or something like that.

I had no need for stalking my prey like a normal predator. My super speed took care of it all.

I caught her and held her, covering her mouth to keep her from screaming. My fangs came out and I bit her neck, blood instantly filling my mouth.

I must say this mare’s blood is delicious. It had a sweet taste. She must keep herself healthy.

I didn’t drink a whole lot; enough to make her dizzy but not enough for a kill.

I hadn’t taken my hoof off of her mouth yet. I leaned in and whispered “Now, run off. Go back home. And don’t tell a soul about this!” My grip tightened to make my point clear. She nodded in response. “Good.” I released her and she galloped off.

I believe I haven’t exactly introduced myself, have I? My name is Damien. A weird name for a pony, yes, but a normal name for a supernatural creature such as myself. I hid my name though. Anypony who heard the name “Damien” would probably immediately be frightened by me, at least think me of being a bit odd.

I called myself “Shadow Chaser”. Fitting, eh?

Anyway, I should probably get back to searching for my sword. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but it’s like I have a sort of connection with the sword. If I concentrate hard enough, I can tell exactly where it is.

So that’s what I did.

I closed my eyes. And concentrated. Hard. A wind blew, and my eyes shot open.

I could tell where it was now.

My senses lead me to a library. I was breathing heavily because of how mad I was.

Whoever lived here, stole something.

Not exactly a good deed if you ask me.

I took a few breathes, trying to calm myself down. Once I was sure I was calm enough, I knocked on the door. I heard a

“Coming!” and faint footsteps. No more than a few moments later, the door opened and I saw a purple unicorn mare standing there.

So this is the one that stole from me.

I wanted more than anything to tear her apart for taking something so important from me, but I managed to hold back.

The unicorn’s eye’s widened. She probably recognized me somewhat.

“Give it back,” I growled.

She stood there for some moments, too much in shock to say anything.

“Give. It. Back.” I said once more, this time my voice angrier and more demanding.

“Oh, you mean the sword?” she asked. I nodded. She continued on. “If it’s alright with you I’d like to use the sword for—“

“No.” I cut her off.

“Hear me out,” she said. “I understand you must not have a place to stay, considering you just woke up from your 300 year nap,” she paused waiting for a response from me.

300 years, huh? So that’s how long I’ve been asleep.

I nodded, motioning for her to continue.

“So, if you let me study the sword, I’ll give you a place to stay,” she finished.

“No,” I said immediately. “Just give me back my damn sword.” She flinched, probably because of my choice of words.

She sighed and went back into the library, returning a few moments with a sword—my sword—enveloped in her magic.

“Thank you,” I simply said, grabbed the sword handle with my mouth, and trotted away.

I came to rest under a tree on the outskirts of this village.  I rest my head on my forelegs, my sword next to me, glistening in the moonlight.

I thought about a lot of things, like what was supposed to happen now, where I was going to go, and most importantly, my sister.

That’s right. I have a sister. And she is the most important pony in the world to me. After our parents were executed some 302 years ago, it left me in charge of caring for her, protecting her, causing me and her to grow close.

I lost her before I was put to rest 300 years ago.

And I absolutely had to find her.

After all, she was all I had left in this world.

I couldn’t rest out there. It seemed like danger was surrounding me everywhere. It may seem crazy for a vampire to feel threatened, but if you understood…

I thought back to that pony’s offer from a few hours ago. Even though I would be putting myself in danger by going there, and I was risking losing my sword, I certainly had a much better chance there then out here.

She gave me back my sword when I said no to the deal right? So that must mean she’s somewhat trustworthy.

I got up on my hooves, grabbed the sword with my mouth, and trotted back to the library. I knocked on the door, heard a tired “Coming!” and the door was opened. She seemed a bit shocked to see me come back, but not too shocked. In fact, she seemed…excited, as she knew what this meant.

“I’ll take you up on that deal of yours,” I mumbled. Even though I had the sword handle in my mouth, she seemed to understand. She used her magic and took it out of my mouth, lead me inside, and set it carefully on a table.

Well, at least I know she’ll be careful with it.

She turned to me.

“Allow me to introduce myself!” she said. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia!”

Wait a sec, this pony in front of me is a student of Princess Celestia?

I guess I should be a bit careful around this Twilight Sparkle.

“Shadow Chaser,” I simply stated. I looked around the library. Every shelf was lined with books, as to be expected from a library. Although it was a bit messy…

“Sorry about the mess,” she said. I turned back toward her. “I was planning cleaning up soon.” I only nodded in response, causing her to give a big, awkward smile.

“Well, I guess I’ll lead you up to your room now,” she continued. I nodded again, just wanting to lie down already. She lead me upstairs to a room. The room wasn’t that special; it had a plain bed with a brown blanket and white pillow in the corner of the room. It had a simple nightstand next to it. Next to the nightstand was a window, which you could easily see the moon and stars through.

“Here you are!” she said. I turned toward her and she gave me a smile. I sighed and said a simple “Thank you” before walking in, shutting the door, and crawling into bed.

I lay there for a few moments, simply staring at the ceiling and thinking.

Will I ever find you, sister?

With that question still in mind, I rolled over onto my side, closed my eyes, and easily feel asleep.