The Vampony Chronicles

The Vampony Chronicles
Chapter 10: Showdown in the Streets of Familiarity

Written by: SteampunkBrony
Editor: DoomManta

(A/N: Special thanks to DoomManta for doing the arduous task of editing and proofreading my writing.)

I knew something was off the moment I turned the corner from the library, I didn't know quite what it was, but my mane itched in a way that could only be described as getting the infamous 'heebie-jeebies'. There were no other ponies on the streets by now, sans one Berry Punch, who was passed out piss drunk, as usual.

If she keeps that up she's not going to wake up one of these days... I thought, trotting over towards her. Her house was in the same direction as Carousel Boutique, so it wouldn't be much trouble to drop her off. I nudged her with my hoof when I got there, half hoping she was still awake. "Berry... wake up. You’ve got to get home." I said quietly, so as not to disturb the owners of the house whose lawn she had passed out on.

I caught a flash of golden light out of the corner of my eye and jumped back out of the way just in time, dragging Berry with me. A bolt of golden magic embedded itself in the ground where the earth pony had been just moments ago. Shit! Levitating her onto my back, I galloped off, the poor mare waking up as I started to run.

"Huh? Whazza? Twilight? What's going on?" She asked groggily.

"No time to explain, just hold on to me and the contents of your stomach." I said and felt her grip tighten around me as I jumped skyward, landing on the roof of a nearby house. I caught sight of the golden 'wings' of a Sunblessed gliding towards me over the rooftops. "Mare bucking..." I forgot to hide my damned fangs. I was mentally kicking myself for doing something so stupid.

"Twi*hic*light? How are you-"

"Shut up Berry, I'm trying to save your life here." I snapped, aiming a spell at the window of her house, pulling the pane of glass out of the frame. The pane came out whole thanks to my magic and I levitated Berry through the window as I passed. I used the pane of glass to deflect another bolt of golden energy, causing the glass to shatter. I took one last leap off of a rooftop, landing in the town square, the darkened storefronts showing that nopony was around to get hurt. This will do... I thought. Crescent! I need help here!

What's going on? The alicorn in me asked.

Sunblessed, very hostile, does not care about collateral damage. I replied, scanning the skies.

Not good... you have terrain advantage, knowing the town, but it can fly I take it?

Pretty sure it's a he, and yes. I thought back, ducking into the shadow of a storefront.

Major disadvantage there, however you probably have more raw power than him. Do you know any dark magic?

Yes. I sent her the memories of the spells I had learned over the past few days.

Okay... I have an idea, however I don't know if it will change your blessing affected magics permanently...

Lay it on me Crescent, I can hear that Sunblessed searching.

I can give you a small portion of my magic to help fuel your dark magic spells. I can't donate much from my perspective, but then again, I'm an alicorn. Our definition of large and small amounts of magic tends to be a little skewed.

Do it, discretely though, I don't want a magic bomb going off in Ponyville.

Understood. Crescent said and I felt a trickle of magic enter over the mental link, but soon that trickle grew to be a river. For what seemed like an eternity, I was bathed in Crescent's power, the power of the moon itself. That is all I can give for now.

I stood there panting for a moment from the magic induced euphoria. That should be more than enough, I'm willing to bet. I felt confident as I summoned the two shadow blades, one's edge now a flawless silver that shone in the moonlight, the other had become a silver blade with a black edge. The wickedly toothed blades were now tied to my fetlocks by barbed cords of silver and black. The word Nocte was engraved and highlighted in a shiny purple upon one blade, and the word Iram shone in crimson upon the other, both were in an elegant flowing script.

I caught a stray thought from Crescent. ...Okay I'll even admit that's badass, and I once had this country at my hooves...

Glad you think so. I replied, feeling her shock.

I should probably stop thinking like this, but damn those are some sexy weapons...

Crescent...

Yes?

Shut up. I felt the mental link quiet down as the Sunblessed stallion landed in the square. I could feel the excitement of battle returning. Showtime...

Make an entrance, hood up, hide your coloration and voice. Cuss a little too, you never do normally, so that will help remove your identity from the list of suspects.

Good idea. I quickly recolored my fur, eyes, mane, and tail to be the same as when I had confronted Dash.

"Where are you vampire scum?" The Sunblessed called out in a mocking voice. I dispelled the blades, but kept the energy primed for a quick draw as I stepped out from the shadowy storefront.

"Realah nao? Ya can't see the fuckin' forest through the sun damned trees? Ya must be stupider than ye look, and that's sayin' somethin’." I taunted as he whirled around and fired one of those light bolts at me. I sidestepped the projectile and chuckled as the bolt wiped out a trashcan behind me. "Can't hit the broadside of a barn with a fuckin’ rainboom eithah."

"By order of Princess Celestia, I'm here to exterminate you." He said, his frustration seeping into his voice.

Proud, young, devoted... I heard Crescent list off.

Yeah, this round won't be too difficult if he gets pissed off this easily. I replied, taking the words from Crescent's mouth.

Just don't get cocky.

I'm not about to make that mistake. I thought as I grinned, showing my teeth. "Ah dun botha. Ah'll just waltz oop to the palace mahself and turn my own hide in."

"Really?" The Sunblessed replied.

"Now if yer stupid enough to believe that, ye must be from a noble house." I said, still grinning. "After all, the only ponies dumb enough to think invoking Celestia's name will do anything against those who oppose her are rookie guards and the nobles." He grit his teeth at that.

What do you think, rookie royal guard from a noble family somehow became Sunblessed? Crescent asked, mirth crossing the link.

I'm going to have to go with yes. I replied chuckling. "Ooh, that'un hit a nerve. Mommy and daddy get'cha Sunblessed too?"

With that, the stallion gave an enraged cry and charged at me, a sword made of light magic forming in his hooves. My two blades whooshed into existence within two plumes of black fire, one catching the powerful, but easy to intercept, swing, the other resting at the Sunblessed's throat. "Ah've alreadah killed a rogue timberwolf and a fully grown, enraged manticore. Do ya really think ya stand a chance lad?"

"I will stop you." He replied.

"Why?"

"Because you're a vampony!"

"Lad, that's a terrible reason." I said teleporting back a few feet. "While that may be true, I've never taken blood without consent, and I've done nothing ta harm anypony."

"My father told me all about your kind..."

"Did he now?" I said frowning. "Tell me what he told’ja."

He blinked. "What?"

"Ah said tell me what he told you. Do ya not speak Equestrian or are ya just thick?"

"He said that vamponies are bloodsucking monsters who kill every chance they get."

"Wrong!" I yelled at him, causing him to jump in surprise. "Ah've only killed things that attacked me and didn’t back down, and ah don't plan on changing that any time soon."

"You lie!" He yelled, charging at me again, leading with a few of those light bolts. I deflected the two that would have hit with my blades and then caught his lightblade between my two shadow ones.

"Yer delusional lad and ah dun wanna hurt ya." I said angrily. "But if ya keep this up, Ah'm gonna have to force ya to stop."

"I'll only stop when I'm dead!" He yelled, jumping back a few feet before attacking again.

I felt adrenaline rush into my veins as I blocked strike after strike from the attacking pony. I lowered one blade and deflected his next strike, the clang making my ears ring as I brought the other blade up from below, slashing his right foreleg, causing him to yelp in pain.

"You will not defeat me!" he yelled. "I have trained to best you freaks, and I am going to do it!"

He bull rushed me again. Time seemed to slow down as I narrowly sidestepped the charging pegasus while tossing one of my blades into the woodwork of a nearby shop. Crouching down, I pulled on the barbed cable that was sticking off the back of it.

I felt a slight tug on the cable before I heard a thud and pained breathing, the sound of a scream so intense, it made none.

I turned back around to a gruesome sight, the Sunblessed's right foreleg and one of his wings, for he was a pegasus, were lying five feet from the rest of him. He was writhing due to the pain in a pool of his own blood. I quickly dispelled the two blades and trotted over to him. "Ye damned fool..." I muttered, tears forming in my eyes as I ripped down a Summer Sun Celebration banner and tore it into long strips, levitating the Sunblessed into the air and bandaging the wounds. "I... I would have stopped." I sobbed through clenched teeth. I quickly levitated the wing and leg, glancing around to see if anypony had witnessed the scene.

Berry Punch was standing on the corner from the direction of her house, her mouth and eyes wide in shock.

"Dun tell nopony... at least until Ah explain mahself... Please" I called to her between sobs. She nodded, and I gave her a look of thanks before jumping back onto the roofs, speeding towards the hospital.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It had been a quiet night in Ponyville hospital's emergency ward. The night shift doctor and Nurse Tenderheart were having a challenge to see who could stack office supplies higher, and so far Tenderheart was winning.

The quiet night was suddenly disrupted as the front window shattered, and a fanged blue and black unicorn, levitating an injured pegasus, broke their concentration.

"Help him." Was all the unicorn said as she dropped the pegasus onto a gurney, a leg and a wing lying beside the semi-conscious pony. "Tell 'im that Ah meant 'im no harm, and that Ah would have stopped, if only he had had the sense to stop attackin'."

The nurse and doctor stood there in shock as the vampony turned and stepped out, jumping clear over the street to the roofs of the shops across the street.

Nurse Tenderheart was the first to snap out of it. "Doctor! Snap out of it and wash up!" She yelled at him, slamming her hoof down on a large button labeled 'Extra Help Needed' before she jumped the counter and started to wheel the injured pegasus to one of the operating rooms, the doctor close behind. Another doctor and two more nurses could be heard galloping down the stairs, barking out orders to an unfortunate intern.

"Grab three blood packs, an I.V. stand, and hook it up, he's losing blood fast!" She yelled, the intern rushing to comply.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I dropped to the street in the town square, dispelling my disguise and remembering to hide my fangs this time. I looked around and spotted Berry's mane sticking around the corner from the alley.

"Berry, I can see you." I said with a sigh as I trotted over to the blood stain the fight had left.

She trotted out slowly. "Twilight... what the hell did I just *hic* see?" She asked, sounding surprisingly sober, minus the hiccups. I suppose seeing a pony dismembered will do that to you.

"Me defending myself from the pony who nearly killed the both of us right before you woke up." I said as I started to clean up the mess with a spell. "He's in the hospital now..." I said as the tears started to fall again. "I didn't want to hurt him... I just wanted him to stop attacking..."

"I... I heard that part..." She said. "So... you're a vampony?"

"As of a few nights ago." I was still crying, but I managed to keep my voice relatively stable. "And it's been nothing but a curse..."

Berry slowly walked over and sat down as the spell finished scrubbing the blood. "Do you... do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"You're taking this awfully well for somepony who just saw me tear apart a pegasus..."

"I hang out in bars Twilight. I've seen plenty of bar fights, started a few even." She said with a dry chuckle. "If it weren’t for my fur, you'd see plenty of bruises from two nights ago. Somepony was killed in that one. Some dumb colt from Manehattan started talking shit to Heavy Weight. I don't think you've met him yet, but he's *hic* a behemoth of a pegasus. All muscle, no brains, and tends to get angry fast when drunk. Heavy flipped over the table he was sitting at and charged the kid who started the whole thing. By the time the cops pulled Heavy off of the kid, it was too late. He had been crushed against the wall by the table Heavy had flipped. Turns out the muscled idiot charged into the table and used it to ram the kid into the wall."

I shuddered. "I think I've heard of him, I did a study on steroid use at one point and he was one of my examples of what goes wrong..."

"Yeah... so blood and injuries aren't new to me, neither is fighting." She said with a sigh. "Wanna come over to my place for a bit? You look like you could use someone to talk to and I'm a good listener."

"I... sure..." I muttered and followed the tipsy mare back to her home a few blocks away. She held the door for me as I stepped in. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." She said taking a seat on a nearby couch, motioning for me to do the same.

"Berry? Why's the librarian here?" A pink filly, probably a few years older than Applebloom, asked as she poked her head in the doorframe.

"Her name's Twilight Sparkle, you know that *hic* Pina, I invited her over for a little while. Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Yeah, but your sudden landing through my window, and then you running out of the house, kinda hampered that." Pina said with a chuckle. "How did you manage that anyhow?"

"Take a tip from a pro Pina, never fly home with a drunk pegasus, you end up home for sure, it's just that the landings are a little rough." Berry said with a chuckle.

"Whatever, g'night Berry." She said, trotting off.

"Nice kid, I adopted her a few months ago, she was my friend's filly until... well let's just say the father wasn't the nicest stallion out there. I adopted her when Child Services found out that her dad liked moon dust, and her mom... well she's still alive, but that bastard threw her out a window and she's paralyzed from the neck down. Her dad's locked up in Stalliongrad High Security and her mom is in the hospital." Berry said with a sad smile. "She calls every week, and I help Pina make the trip to the hospital to see her mom whenever I can, but I'm often working during visiting hours."

I sat there in silence, listening to Berry speak. She told me about how Child Services came to her at work and asked her if she would adopt Pina Colada, and how she accepted right away. She told me about how they check in weekly to make sure everything is alright.

"I can get why they check in, it's just... I love her as if she was my own kid. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, not even when I'm drunk..."

"How did you convince them to let her stay?"

"I make a good amount of money, and most of what doesn't go towards paying off this house or to the necessities goes towards helping her." She said.

"What do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I work day shifts at The Prancing Pony bar and grill, I'm one of their brew masters for their house brews, well at least the ones that are based off of fruits." She said nodding to her cutie mark. "The boss doesn't care if I get plastered after work in the same bar I work at, so long as I can do my job the next day. Pina often hangs out with the kids from her grade after school until I get home from work." Berry smiled, "You know... a lot of ponies think I shouldn't be allowed to raise Pina, but they don't see how much we care for each other..." There was an awkward pause at that moment that seemed to drag on for hours, when really it was probably only a moment or two.

"Anyhow, I didn't drag you here so you could listen to my troubles. I'm practically the town's psychiatrist, what with all the stuff people talk to me about in the bars, and my advice actually helping. I won't tell anypony anything, unless the guard takes me in for questioning and it would cost me too much, so go on, start talkin’." Berry said with a chuckle.

"Well... where to start..." I sighed. "I was turned into a vampony, I've had to kill a rogue timberwolf, a manticore, and I seriously wounded that pegasus, and he might die in the hospital, just to survive. My whole life's been turned upside down and I haven't had any time to get things together. In order to save somepony, I had to turn them, which basically makes them a willing slave if I choose to go in that direction with it, and that terrifies me, plus I think one of my friends may have a crush on me. And to top it all off, I'm Celestia's personal student. I don't even want to know what she's going to say when she finds out..."

"Sounds like your life took the one way express to TARFUN via SNAFU and it derailed and kept going to FUBAR."

"That's... pretty accurate really." I said, chuckling despite myself. "I feel guilty for the two deaths I've caused, for the fact that I need to drink blood to survive, and especially for what happened in the square."

Berry leaned against the back of the couch for a few minutes, thinking. In that time, I looked around the room, curious as to the living conditions of Ponyville's self-declared 'town drunk.’ Everything was surprisingly organized, from the cabinet of various liquor glasses and alcohols to the three bookcases filled with books on brewing. There was a whole shelf of leather bound notebooks with Berry's cutie mark on the spines in one bookcase, her own notes on brewing no doubt. I could see through an open door that the kitchen was clean and tidy, and that there were a few stools at important points, probably so Pina could reach things when Berry wasn't home. I could smell a faint whiff of mulberry wine coming from the direction of the basement, which led me to believe that Berry did a little of her own brewing on the side. There was a whole bookshelf dedicated to a mare that I had not seen around Ponyville, her coat was a light rose and her cutie mark was the tropical sun over the ocean. In one photo frame, she and Pina Colada, at a younger age of course, were on a sailboat laughing about something, I couldn't tell what because the left side of the photo was torn off.

It's her mother... I came to realize when I saw a photo of the light pink mare and Berry in a Canterlot nightclub I myself had visited once or twice, for study purposes of course. What that filly has gone through... nopony should have to suffer that.

"Well, I think I know my reply to you." Berry said, sitting up.

"I'm all ears." I said.

"If that were true, you'd never be able to sleep at night." Berry said with a chuckle. "Anyhow, my advice would be to stop beating yourself up over the past. Learn from it, hell write it down for all I care. Do whatever it takes to move on, because if you keep dwelling on those things, it's going to drive you insane." She said. "On top of that, explain to whichever of your closest friends you haven't yet what's happened to you, it'll be a load off of your mind. Don't let the town know yet, keep that a secret until you can reveal it by doing something heroic. This is Ponyville, the reason everything around here is built so sturdy is because shit happens around here, give it time and you'll get your chance. As for the blood thing, well to be blunt, suck it up. You're stuck with it, there’s nothing you can do to change it, so stop beating yourself up over it. In short, stop giving a damn that you're stuck as a vampony and start living your life again. If ponies find out, tell them the whole truth, minus the gory bits, and show them you don't mean them harm. If they still don't like it, fuck em. They aren't worth the time or effort if they’re bullheaded. Besides, what can they do to you? You could probably turn them into a bloody smear on the floor with one hoof if you felt so inclined, but don't tell them that. If they attack, show them it's futile, and if they persist, put them in the spotlight. Only care about what those close to you think, because you know what? Theirs is the only opinion that matters. You have a long life ahead of you, live it to the fullest." Berry said.

"And what if the whole town turns against me?"

"If those other five really are your friends, they will stand with you, and even if the royal guard tries to force you out because of the fact that you got the shit end of the stick becoming a vampony, stand strong. Never, ever, back down in the face of discrimination because of what you are. If I hadn't stood firm two years ago, Pina's mom wouldn't have made it to the hospital in time to live, and I don't even want to think about what would have happened to Pina. Do what you believe is right, because in the end, when the shit hits the overhead ventilation unit and you have to make the choice on what to do, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You are the one who has to make the choice, it's your life, don't let anypony or anything take that from you, because if your life ends up ruined because of this, you lose. Game over, there is no replay, no undo. Do things your way and live without regret. Guilt is alright, it shows us that we are still thinking straight, but regret? Regret is us wishing we could go back in time and change what happened, and I hate to break it to ya filly, but that ain't happening."

"But..."

"Twilight, trust me on this. You may be the smartest damn unicorn I know, hell you're Celestia's student, but you lack life experience. You spent years living in seclusion from what I heard down the grapevine, and from the tabloids when you still lived at the palace. I've had a hard life, hell my dad says I have more life experience than him, and he's a good thirty years older than me. Smart doesn't mean wise, wise you learn by making the wrong choices, but I'll be honest, while there were times when my life was hell, I wouldn't change it because it made me who I am today. Oh, and before you go thinking 'yeah, right, the drunk pony who always passes out on random lawns' know this: while it may not be the healthiest lifestyle for a normal pony, it's my choice to live that way. Having your special talent involve alcohol doesn't hurt either, I never get hangovers and the booze doesn't harm me anywhere near as much as it does for a normal pony."

I mulled over her words for a while as I sat there staring out the window.

She's right you know... Crescent said.

It only took me a few moments longer to decide. "I'll do that... I'll take control of my life..."

"Good, although there is going to be one thing you're gonna have to do before you can do that." Berry said.

"What's that?"

"When that pegasus wakes up, you go and say hi, say sorry, and tell him your story. Show him that just because he's been taught that things are one way, doesn't mean they always are."

"But-"

"If you don't, he'll just come back later, stronger, and with a reason to hate you."

"... I'll try."

"Hate to quote books, but do or do not, there is no try. Pick one and act on it. Now, I best be getting some sleep, and weren't you going over to Rarity's?"

"Right, thanks Berry, this took a load off of my shoulders."

"Hey, a friend of Pinkie's is a friend of mine, and everyone is Pinkie's friend."

"Ain't that the truth. See you around." I said as I headed for the door.

"Adios, and good night." She said, and I heard the deadbolt shut behind me.

I looked up to Pina's window, which had a thick blanket draped over it to keep out the night air. Crescent, do you know anything that could help with that window?

Yeah, Luna broke a few stained glass windows when she was younger with the Royal Canterlot Voice, so she made a point of memorizing a spell to fix windows. Crescent replied, sending me the memory over our link. Concentrating, I cast the spell and smiled as the shards of glass that had been scattered reformed in the frame. I made a point to etch Pina's mother's cuite mark in one corner, Pina's in the next, and Berry's in the third.

I think things are going to get better... I thought.

I know they are Twilight, I know they are. We're probably going to have to fight hoof and fang for that 'better,' but one day this will be over.

I smiled, turning down the street and resumed my trot towards Carousel Boutique.

Couldn't have said it better myself.