Chapter 1
Back From The Front

My name is Alex Rustwing. I've been fighting Changelings on the border of the Changeling Desert for the last decade in an unofficial "border conflict." I still remember The Day The Sun Set, it almost feels like the event has been burned into my mind. The Changelings were swarming, getting ready to attempt to overwhelm our position. They made half the sky black, the only sound we could hear were their buzzing wings and hissing voices. Suddenly the sun vanished, it didn't set, it fucking VANISHED. The Changelings must have known what happened before we did, damned hive mind... They turned tail and returned to the desert. They didn't attack for weeks, we could see them building walls. Those walls slowly formed a circle that grew into a solid dome. We haven't seen a single one of them since the completion of the dome. After not hearing from Canterlot for several months, our commander relieved almost all of us and we all dispersed. I heard a few of them were heading for a weapons/munitions factory.

I decided to come back to civilization and the rumors I heard were disturbing. Celestia dead? Demons attacking ponies? Had I pledged my life to the sisters, to keep our lands safe, only to go to the wrong place? Had I failed them? I had a long conversation with a nervous-looking pony who's name escapes me, on the train on my way to Ponyville. He'd probably never seen a soldier like me before, covered in bladed armor I was armed to the teeth, I couldn't fly very far or fast with all of it on but I almost never took it off. You had to sleep in it on the front, you never knew when an attack could happen and you needed to be ready.

Over the course of the next hour the pony explained the three main types of Vamponies. "Pegasi turn into what we call 'Bats,' they can fly faster than any pegasus I've ever seen. They'll burn in the sunlight, but their wings can shield them from the sun's rays. If they bite you, they'll drain your blood and inject venom into you that will start the process of turning you into one. It takes more than one bite, but you go through stages of insanity I suppose is the proper word. They're also armed with very sharp claws, they'll shred you in moments if you're slow. The final thing I can tell you about Bats is that they can teleport into nearby shadows," he explained while occasionally glancing over his shoulder. I tried my best to pay attention to my surroundings as well as this pony, times were clearly different now.

He cleared his throat and continued, "Gargoyles are what we call Earth ponies when they turn. Their bones and muscles grow very rapidly when they turn to their demon forms, they're often fueled by rage when they transform. They can't use their teeth to drain blood or inject venom, however their saliva now contains the venom so their bites are still just as dangerous. Also Gargoyles will just eat you, since they can't drink blood. I can only tell you that their skin is thick like a living armor and they're frighteningly strong. They're not the most intelligent of creatures when they turn, they're also blind to nearly everything, they can see the blood inside your body however. Explosives seem to be the most effective weapons, especially if you can fool them into eating an explosive device. They don't burn in the sunlight, they turn to stone. The process can be very quick, or it can take several minutes so be careful around these things! Smashing their head after they petrify will kill them," he finished and drank from a flask beneath his cloak.

"And the third kind?" I asked, I needed to know as much as I could about these new enemies.

He capped the flask and returned it to his cloak. "Masters are unicorns that turned... It happened to my wife actually..." He paused and his gaze fell to the floor, searching for words. I had seen that look several times before, I still wasn't used to it. He took a deep breath and looked back up from the floor at me. "What's done is done, I did what I had to to survive. But these Masters, they have fangs on the top and bottom rows of teeth, they can drain blood and transfer poison very rapidly. The easiest way to identify them is the large bent horn, and the large ears. They don't seem to be able to use their telekinesis anymore but they can control shadows, blood, even minds. They also have large claws that can drain blood from you from a great distance as well. Their fingers can also transfer the venom to you, so don't let them touch you," he seemed distracted by a thought as the train entered a forest. The canopy extended well above the train, casting us into shadow. "Making eye contact with a Master is dangerous, it makes it easier for them to take control of your mind. They also take much longer to burn in sunlight, and they can teleport to the shadows if they're burning. Of course snapping their horn off will remove their ability to use their magic and loud noises seem to throw off their focus when using their magic. I don't have much else to tell you about them," he finished, leaning back a bit in his seat.

"You said there were three main types earlier, are there subspecies?"

"Yes, ponies have found some animals and other strange monsters that seem to be affected by this," he gestured around. "Curse I suppose you could call it."

I nodded silently and went back to scanning the windows, watching the trees rush past.

Little did I know my first encounter with one of these demons would be on the train. I caught just a glimpse of it, a streak withing the other blurs that I knew were the trees, flying past the window. I turned and looked out the window for the creature, only to hear a sound I had hoped I'd never hear for the rest of my life. The glass of the window behind me shattered and the pony I'd been having a conversation with screamed as the demon latched onto him. I turned and almost couldn't believe what I was seeing, the creature looked up from the floor of the traincar at me, its irises glowed red. I felt fear again, adrenaline coursed through my veins as the blades in my gauntlets shot forth. There was something disarming in the demon's gaze, like it wanted me to relax... I wanted to relax too... Wait, there's another dying pony in it's grasp. I drew a breath and focused on hating that creature for what it had done to one of the sister's subjects. A pony I had sworn to protect... A pony I had failed to protect... I lunged forward with a yell and swung my blades at the creature and it vanished. My ear twitched and I could hear it behind me, in the shady corner. I spun as quickly as I could force myself to, the creature pounced at me, its claw-like fingers outstretched. I slammed both blades through it's midsection and pinned it to the wall. Instead of dying like I expected it to, the creature's grotesque mouth opened and it snapped at me like a starving dog. Another wave of adrenaline hit as I realized how close I was to dying, its claws gripped at my armored forearms, finding no soft flesh to tear. With another yell of rage I pulled a blade from it's stomach and stabbed it in the throat and tore its head from its shoulders.

The body fell to the floor with a dull thud and I stared at the head. My breath was ragged. I looked for any sign of other creatures but the other pony was the only other being in the traincar with me. I helped him up and sat him in the bench. He groaned weakly as I tore a bandage for him and began to cover the bite on his neck.

"No! Don't cover the mark!" He bellowed and pushed my arm away. He then informed me that he needed to bleed or he'd become one of them. Thus, my knowledge of the situation solidified a bit more and my decision had been made. I would continue to serve the sisters and Equestria by killing these demons and protecting the ponies who couldn't protect themselves. I grabbed the severed head by its ears and studied it intently, the white of its eyes had turned black, the irises still seemed to glow red. The train stopped at Ponyville, it was desolate. The pony got off the train and thanked me for saving him. I can't even remember his name now. I debated spending time in Ponyville getting oriented versus going to Canterlot and decided I needed to rest here for a day.

Looking back at that moment I must have been quite the sight! I was wearing metal armor that most ponies had never seen, the crest of Celestia and Luna on my chestplate, covered in blood and still holding that damned head in my hand! The arrival of the train apparently warranted a lot of attention, considering I had believed the town to be abandoned completely at first glance. I was now seeing more and more ponies peeking out from concealment. I realized most of them were staring at me over the pony I had saved. I soon realized the majority of the houses were now connected by a quickly-constructed wall. It would serve as a barrier at the least but wouldn't hold up against a REAL siege. A pair of armed guards came from a gate to check the ponies coming off the train, they were... Very invasive in their search for bite marks. I didn't realize how many ponies had been on the train, at least a dozen! How could they have not noticed the noise on my traincar? Had they chosen to ignore it and hide?

When the guards got to the pony I had saved they immediately looked at the bandages on his neck and forced him to his knees, screaming at him.

"You've been infected!" One drew his sword in spite of the pony's cries.

"Please don't! I've bled the venom out! I'm not infected!" One of the guards checked his eyes and the bite again.

"We'll keep him in a holding cell for the night, if none of the symptoms show then we can release him. If not we'll have to bleed him again," the guard said with a dismissive motion as the other with the drawn blade escorted the stranger away. The now lone guard turned to look at me and stopped, had he really not noticed me the entire time? He instinctively reached for his sword.

"You better be better than good with yours," I said as I dropped the demon's head and unsheathed the two blades on my forearms. I leaned forward a bit, exposing my wing blades to his sight as well. "Because I've been killing things with mine for the last decade." Now and then I had to take advantage of my size, while many pegasi were stereo typically smaller than the average pony, my Earth pony mother resulted in me being about a head taller than the average pegasus with the build of an Earth pony. I also couldn't fly worth shit.

He slowly released his sword and I relaxed my stance as well. After an obnoxious check for bites I was allowed to enter the town. I've never seen such a strange blend of modern and medieval times. I suppose I had little room to talk considering my armor and weapons choice. As I walked down the largely empty streets, I noticed there was nothing to stop a pegasus from simply flying in or out of the town. I noticed a few ponies with rifles scanning the air but all I could think when I saw it was that there were too many blind spots. I couldn't help but wonder what they were doing to keep the electricity running in some of these places.

I settled for an inn, reaching into one of my pockets. Shit, where did I keep my payments again? I was supposed to return from my tour of duty to something I could retire on... So much for that pension plan. I fumbled through my pockets and found some gems, I had found them in a Changeling hive a group of some soldiers and myself had blown up. I used a small sapphire to pay for a warm meal, a bed and some food for the road. The inn was strange, the owners had constructed a cage that they stayed inside of, when my food was ready I had to come to the counter to get it and I had to take the empty plate back to them as well. Times were strange.

I slept poorly that evening, so much had happened in the last few days. Countless questions rolled over in my head and every time I closed my eyes I saw that demon staring back at me. It also didn't help that I could hear whomever was in the room next to me. The couple sounded like they were having a wonderful evening. At least somepony around here was. Once I finally fell asleep, I was plagued by disturbing dreams of these "Vamponies." What had they done to my mind? Mere seconds of eye contact was all it took to nearly end my life.

I awoke to that awful sound yet again, the sound of somepony screaming. I acted on instinct, jumping from my bed and running from my room. I charged down the hallway toward the screaming, my heavy metal boots created a sound like thunder charging down the hallway. I couldn't be the only one hearing it could I? I concluded that the inn was either empty or full of cowards as I reached the end of the hall and kicked the door open. Now and then I have to thank my mother's side of the family for that Earth pony strength and size.

The sight inside the room made my blood run hot with rage. A lone Earth pony female was in the room, she was naked and began to giggle at the sight of me. I looked around the room and saw nothing threatening whatsoever, just her discarded clothes. She looked at me with a smile, "Thank you for rushing in to save me," she walked forward. No, she seemed to glide across the floor, her footsteps made almost not sound at all. Something felt wrong, very wrong.

"What the hell was the screaming about?! Is this a game to you?!" I yelled, I could feel myself beginning to shake in anger, I'd always been told I had anger management issues. Those issues are probably the only thing that keep me alive these days. "Were you seriously just trying to lure me in for a fuck?! Get the hell away from me!" I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I shoved her back. She was getting too close, and she barely moved when I pushed her. It felt like pushing a stone, she also made a strange noise when I shoved her.

She looked at me, that lusty look replaced by hunger and anger as a growl rumbled from her. "Big mistake little pegasus."

I began to realize why ponies hid from screams and trouble as her form changed before my eyes. Her skin thickened and tore and her coat ripped, her muscles bulged, I think I even heard her bones crack as she grew a few inches. Her irises lost their color along with her coat as she-no, it began snarling at me. I realized this might be my only chance to kill this beast, while it was changing. I leapt forward with a yell, my forearm blades surging forth as I struck at its throat. It didn't even try to block, to my horror, the blade didn't penetrate its thick hide, it got stuck. "FUCK!" I shouted as I yanked on the blade, trying to free it from the creature's hide.

With a roar the creature grabbed my right arm (the one that was stuck) and swung at my head with the other. I instinctively blocked with my left, the claws clanged loudly and my arm smashed down against my helmet, causing a terrible racket. I could feel its saliva splattering all over me, it was like fighting a rabid dog, except I couldn't simply cut it up and kill it. After multiple failed attempt at clawing my head off, the creature roared in frustration and spun. It let go of my arm and threw me across the room. I smashed through the second story window and landed in the street with a pained groan. The creature stood in the hole in the wall and roared triumphantly.

I rose with a bit of amusement. "You honestly think me defeated?! You giant stupid oaf!" I hoped the noise would get the attention of the guards, hopefully the ones armed with rifles would be able to intervene.

The creature snarled and leapt down into the street, it launched itself at me, swinging its claws wildly. I dodged and countered when I could, but I realized there were no weak points in the creature's hide. It was like fighting a greater Changeling warrior witch chitin so thick, nothing could penetrate it. Then the realization hit me, right about the same time the creature did and sent me flying across the street. Blunt trauma.

With a cry of rage I charged right at the creature and jumped, spinning my torso and then entire body around to deliver a powerful kick with my armored hoof. The blow landed with a powerful 'CRACK!' The creature stumbled sideways but grabbed my leg. "Shit!" I yelped as it spun and swung me by my leg at the ground. I felt like a ragdoll as this powerful beast swung me around and smashed me against the ground, beating me senseless. It threw me a few feet and I landed in a dazed heap. I could feel blood running from my nose and mouth, it had beaten the shit out of me.

I rolled onto my back just in time to see those hateful, burning red irises. It grabbed my chestplate and pulled me up to my feet, it licked its lips, a wicked grin on its face. My heart hammered faster and faster in my chest as I realized it was about to kill me. Adrenaline surged through my body as time began to slow down, the whole world moved in slow motion. Where were those damned guards? It opened its mouth and roared in my face, I closed my eyes as spittle covered my face and the horrid breath assaulted my nostrils. I drew my arm back and punched the creature in the mouth, my forearm blade shooting through the soft tissue in the back of its mouth and punching through the back of its head. The creature froze, it looked confused. To my horror, it tried to chew on my armored hand and blade. I screamed and pulled my hand out, arcing sideways with the blade to chop part of the beast's head off. It didn't come completely off thanks to the other half of its head holding everything together. "By the sisters just DIE ALREADY!" I screamed as I swung my arm and struck at the partially detached portion of its head.

It dropped me and stumbled backwards, its head was deformed now, its eyes looking in different directions. Its mind seemed overwhelmed by the new sensation as it tried to attack me again and stumbled in the wrong direction. It began to flail wildly, swinging its arms in my general direction, sending spittle and blood flying everywhere. I scrambled up and staggered away from it, how the hell was it still alive?! I could see the sun starting to rise, as the rays of light hit the creature it began to hiss and turn to stone.

I heard a sound like thunder, the crack of a high-powered rifle. I felt the vortex of the round flying past me as the creature's head exploded. I stood and stared at the body as it slumped over awkwardly, parts of it still turning to stone.

"Hands in the air! Did it fucking bite you?!" One of the guards yelled as he approached. I knew they had a half-decent sniper so i knelt with my hands up. My heart was still hammering like crazy.

"No, it just used me as a fucking punching bag," I muttered as I spat some blood out. "I think I have a concussion," I looked at the guard as he grabbed my chin and inspected my face. I felt a rag wiping the mixed liquids from my face.

"Is he ok?" I heard another guard ask.

The one inspecting me looked closely at my eyes, they felt bloodshot. "Fuck," he muttered as he wiped my face some more. "Did it get in your eyes!?" He demanded, shaking me a bit more than he meant to.

I shook my head slowly. "No, I closed my eyes when it roared at me," I answered as honestly as I could.

"Why the fuck are your eyes so bloodshot then?" He demanded, understandably not wanting to take any chances with me. Another pair of guards had caught up with him and were hovering over me, their weapons ready.

"I didn't sleep well," I admitted with a weak shrug. The adrenaline rush was wearing off and I was starting to realize what a pinata felt like after a party full of hyperactive fillies and colts. A groan of pain escaped me.

"We're taking you to a quarantine cell just in case," he said as he tugged on my arm. "Come on, you're lucky to be alive right now. I've never seen somepony take that much of a beating from a gargoyle and live. Don't you know better than to fuck with those things?"

"I do now," I said with a groan. My neck was stiff and my back was killing me, my whole body was sore. "I'm kinda new to this shit going down," I admitted.

"Where the hell have you been this whole time?" He looked at me with bewilderment. "Is there a safe place out there?" I noticed a bit of hope in his eyes. We were walking into the place full of cells now.

"No, I've been in the Changeling Desert. Shit's bad out there in a different way," I looked around at the cells. There were a few other ponies down there, each in their own cell. I got locked in one of my own, it seemed pretty well reinforced. "How long will I be down here?" I asked before the guard had a chance to leave.

"Just a few hours, gargoyle poison is pretty weak shit but it's slow. If you really didn't get any in your system you'll be fine. Otherwise we may have to bleed you for awhile," he finished and turned to leave.

I took advantage of being locked in a cell to get some sleep, it was a hell of a lot better than the sleep I had gotten the previous evening. I was so battered and tired that my mind didn't even want to conjure up something to bother me with.

At least I learned that gargoyles don’t have armored hide inside their mouths and anger can be used to fight that creepy stare of theirs.

Author's Note

Jake here, this is the start of the new story. Here's hoping things go well! Fingers crossed and whatnot. In case you haven't noticed, this project is an independent one, just me so far. If Dollars wants to help me with it I'll update you all on it. In case you're not sure what this story is related to, the link is ~~here~~ no longer available, they deleted the site hosting it. Very NSFW content ahead, you've been warned.

Edited it to put in some more back story so people can understand what's going on a little better.