The Vampony Chronicles

The Vampony Chronicles
Chapter :

Finally... the floor is clean. I thought as I slumped down onto the one crate i had left in the basement for use as a table or chair. "Spike! What time is it?" I yelled up to him.

"It's quarter to nine, why?" He said as he came down the stairs. "Wow, this place cleans up pretty well."

"I'm meeting Rarity in fifteen minutes... Can you wake me in about ten? I'm going to take a power nap." I said as I put my head down on my hooves.

"Gotcha Twi'." He said as he grabbed the lamp and headed back upstairs as I faded from consciousness.

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

Oh... another star filled dream... that probably means that...

"Good morning Twilight." Luna said as she trotted over to me. We were standing on what appeared to be the moon, its silver surface soft with the fine lunar soil.

"Hello Luna, nice to see you again." I replied, giving a slight bow. "How are things in Canterlot?"

"Aside from a small parasprite invasion, everything is as it should be, although We believe your brother is slightly bored of the calm.

"That sounds just like him." I said chuckling. "I'm heading back to the old Castle again in a few minutes."

"So thou told the white one then?" Luna said, raising an eyebrow. "How did she take the news?"

"Better than I thought she would, apparently she has a thing for vamponies." I said chuckling. "Who would have thought, Rarity, the most cultured and sophisticated out of the six of us, yet also the one who is a huge fan of vamponies."

Luna laughed a little at that too. "We have found that it is always the most polite and the most quiet ones that are full of surprises."

"I am wondering Luna, what did you mean by be subservient to me if I turned somepony into a vampony?" I asked. "I'm afraid that Rarity may ask me to do so to her, and I want to give some good reasons why not to, she just had this look in her eyes when I asked her why she wasn't afraid of me being one." I said with a sigh.

"Well... We shall give thou the short version. She would have all of the abilities and weaknesses thou has gained from it, but at the same time she would be like a willing slave to thy will." Luna said. "That part of the spell was to make sure none of the vamponies that were not hoof chosen by us would abuse their power, and it worked well until one of our hoof chosen went mad with power." She said a single silver tear falling from here eye. "We had to stop him, by any means."

"I... I can't imagine how hard that must have been." I said, placing a leg around Luna's shoulders and hugging her. "I promise I won't become like that, and if I start to, let me know. I don't want to become a threat to Equestia."

"We thank thee for not saying thou was sorry, one cannot be sorry for the actions of another." Luna said hugging me back. "We also thank thee for not despising us after what We did as Nightmare Moon."

"Why would I do that? You were not yourself Luna." I said, puzzled as we broke the hug.

"The nobles of Canterlot still think of us as an unholy monster, one that is trying to bring eternal night to Equestria. Our sister has been trying to get them to agree with letting Us take control of Our moon once again, but they cannot see the difference between Us and Nightmare Moon."

"That's just... Gah!" I yelled frustrated. "How can they be so bullheaded?"

"We are unsure, We do not even look like the nightmare anymore."

"Um, Luna, sorry for asking but I'm curious as to why your keep saying a plural when referring to yourself."

"Oh, that is tradition to use the royal 'we' when refering to ourselves, it comes from myself and Celestia having to hold court at different times. It is to signify that We are speaking alone with the same authority as if we were together." Luna said, looking surprised that I did not know that.

"Hmm... Well that makes sense I suppose, however most ponies will probably find that odd, and may think that you are referring to yourself and Nightmare Moon. I don't think anypony knows about the royal 'we' anymore."

Luna sat there and thought for a moment. "We... er... I did not know of this." Luna said as I could see the realization hit her. "I wish Celle would have mentioned that."

"I'm sure she just forgot, she is rather busy with running the country and all that." I said as I sat beside Luna with a smile. "Plus your return is probably a diplomatic nightmare when it comes to the nobles, Celestia hates the way they treat others but if she gets rid of them she'll have a lot of trouble that she doesn't need. They hold a lot of the country's money as well as plenty of influence in the business sector."

"So gone are the days when one can simply remove a noble's title and have that be the end of it..." Luna said with a sigh. "Any of them W- I should worry about?"

"Watch out for prince Blueblood. Aside from that I can say that Fancy Pants is one of the more honorable Nobles. Talk to him and see about getting in touch with his circle of friends, they are trying to set things right politcally in Equestria with the nobles, but it is a difficult job." I said, thinking back to my time at the castle.

"I thank thee for thy advice Twilight." Luna said smiling. "Is there anything I can help thee with? I may not be able to be there myself but I may be able to procure some items for you."

"Hmm... do you know of a good silversmith? I have plenty of bits to my name so I can afford the supplies for what I want done with the library's basement, but I don't know of anyone who can handle the designs."

"Oh? what are the designs like?"

"I'm basing them on the sanctuary in the old castle." I said and could see Luna's eyes light up.

"I may know of somepony." She said with a smile. "Will thou be ready for them in two week's time?"

"If I can procure the silver and wood in time, yes." I said in response, and felt the dream start to fade. "Looks like my nap is over. I'm going to the castle with Rarity this afternoon so she can help with the design."

"Hmm... will Thou be spending the night there?" Luna asked.

"Probably, why?"

"We may visit. I'll let thou know ahead of time." She said with a chuckle. "Oh, and Twilight?"

"Yes Luna?"

"Be careful on your way there." She said as I awoke.

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

"Twilight!" Spike said giving me another prod in the ribs.

"Ow, okay okay I'm up." I said, getting to my hooves and stretching.

"Finally. I have some stuff packed for your trip, including some extra food in case the weather turns sour while you're there."

"Good idea spike." I said as we headed up the stairs and into the main part of the library. What did Luna mean by be careful... She's probably just worried about the Everfree being the way it is. I thought as I pulled on my hoodie and jeans, leaving the hood down and hiding my fangs with magic. "Well, I'll be off, hold the fort for me will ya Spike?"

"Sure thing Twi'." Spike said as he gave a mock salute. I levitated my saddlebags onto my back and secured them in place before teleporting out to in front of Carousel Boutique.

I stepped up to the front door and stepped in, spotting Rarity busy with a customer.

"I believe I can make the outfit work. Ah, Twilight, I'll be with you in a moment." she said as she ducked off into the back room.

"Twilight Sparkle! Long time no see, how have you been girl!" Rarity's customer, whom I now recognised as one of my teachers from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, said.

"Mr. Rays, nice to see you again. I've been good, how's the family?"

"As good as we can be I suppose, the Dean just cut our pay again in favor of more money for the board of directors I'm afraid." He said with a sigh. "Not much any of us can do about it but try to do things through legal channels. He's got a lot of connections with the nobles though and you know how much of a pain it can be dealing with that type."

"That's unbelievable..." I said, shocked. "There must be something you can do!"

"Unfortunately aside form divine intervention I don't think it is going to stop." He said with a frown. "The Dean has the board of directors wrapped around his hoof and he doesn't like it when we ask questions. We've sent letters to the royal court about it but his connections prevent them from reaching Celestia."

"Divine intervention hmm... you've given me an idea." I said, smirking. "I know Celestia, for one, hates it when people do things like that... it would be a dark day for him if she found out."

"Yes but none of us have the connections to..." He paused as he realized what I was talking about. "Ooooohhhhh... Well yes I would have to agree with you there." He said as he started to smirk as well. "Seeing as how the recent grant money up and disappeared as well."

"No doubt funding that obnoxious archway of his that he's been squirreling money away for..." I said as I pulled out a sheet of parchment and wrote down my mailing address on it. "See what you can dig up, and send it to me, I'll relay it to Celestia. You remember how I used to pass notes in class, hidden in the spines of books using Starswirl's third shrinking spell?"

"Yes, that was rather inventive of you." He said with a smile of nostalgia.

"Put what you can dig up in the spine of a copy of Sierra the Great's third agricultural research report and send it to me, say that I requested it for a friend. I run the local library so it is an easy feat to order such things from the acadamy."

"Twilight my dear, I fear the day you actually decide to get involved with politics. Those Nobles won't be able to keep up." He said with a chuckle as he took the piece of paper. "Not to mention you're smarter and more practical than a ballroom full of them I swear that Blueblood fellow doesn't even know how to refill an oil lamp!"

"He doesn't, he doesn't even know it needs oil to run." I said. "His lamp went out once and he just whined to his servants until they fixed it." I said as we both burst out laughing.

We were still laughing when rarity came back down the stairs with a concept sketch and her saddlebags. "May I ask what's so funny?"

"Oh nothing." I said.

"Well Mr. Rays, How does this look?" She said and showed him the sketch.

"That will be perfect Ms. Rarity. When can I expect it?" Mr. Rays said as he nodded at the sketch.

"Two to three weeks, depending on my workload. It's a rather simple order so it shouldn't be too long."

"Thank you for taking such a last minute request. I just cannot stand Hoity Toity's prices these days."

"None of us can dear, now I have a prior commitment to get to." Rarity said with a smile.

"Of course. I bid you Adieu Ms. Rarity. I'll have that book for you in about a week's time Twilight." He said as he headed for the door.

"Sounds good to me Mr. Rays. Farewell." I said.

"Adios." Rarity said as she pulled on her saddlebags. "So, how did you know him?"

"He was one of my teachers at the acadamy." I said as I lent Rarity a hand with her saddlebags, which were surprisingly small. "What? No outfits for the occasion?" I jibed.

"And no research books to read on the way there?" She jabbed back before we both started giggling as we set out.

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

We had just reached Sweet Apple Acres when Rarity started humming an upbeat tune.

"Hmm..." Time to put those years of music lessons to the test. I thought as I cast a spell and the sound of a swing band started to play along.

"Why Twilight, I never knew you were good at music." Rarity said with a chuckle.

"You don't live in Canterlot without picking up a few things. Cmon, try it, picture the sound and focus on your magic to make that sound. It's pretty simple really." I said as I tweaked my sound to sound less like an old record. She added the sound of an upright bass and some slightly electronic sounds as I started to sing.

"Suzy's flashing on dance floor and sings, that she's expecting more swinging dreams." I sung, smiling as we went.

"Suzy's flashing on dance floor and sings and she knows melody that we still keeping playing." Rarity added before keeping the upbeat feel as we added and removed different parts and went into a string section solo.

We kept this up for a little while and, much to our surprise, found Big Mac following along with a wagon of apples. After a moment he added a scat solo before dropping out to allow a violin solo.

By the time we had reached the farmhouse we were still grooving, Big Mac adding in a few scat shots as we went. We ended with a fade out at the end.

"Hoooweee!" Granny smith yelled from the porch. "It's been quite a few years since I've heard a good swingin tune. Ya'll should record that! Shame 'Bloom and her friends are off at Scootaloo's place."

"Thank you Ms. Smith but I doubt anyone would want to hear it." Rarity said.

"Nonsense. Ya'll got some tallent." She said chuckling.

"Eeyup." Big Mac said with a chuckle. "Ah'll have that wood ready for carvin' soon Miss Twilight. Ah take it ya'll are off to design the thing?"

"Yes we are." I said, smiling as I let the disguise spell fall. "We're off to the old castle in the forest to borrow some design elements."

"Allright then. Ah know ya'll will be fine in there." He said with a smile. "Thanks again for yesterday."

"Not a problem Mac." I said. "However I hope nothing like that happens again anytime soon."

"Eeyup." He replied before heading over to the barn to unload the wagon of apples.

"Well Ah won't keep Ya'll." Granny Smith said. "If Ya'll ain't back in a few days Ah'll send somepony in after ya'll. Take care now Ya hear." She said to us as we headed out again.

"You too Granny Smith!" I called back as we headed off through the orchard.

"So I take it Applebloom and her friends didn't see you with your fangs?" Rarity asked as we got out of sight of the farmhouse.

"Nope, her Sweetie and Scootaloo were in the cellar." I replied. "Also me showing my fangs there with you right beside me let Granny Smith know you're in on it."

"Why not just tell her?"

"Dunno." I said chuckling as we kept moving, the forest visible over the next rise.

"So... I've been meaning to ask but how was it living in the castle?"

"It was... difficult." I said, pausing a moment to think on it. "Most of the nobles are not what they should be when it comes to those in a class that helps make the big decisions. Those that are good among them can't do a damn thing to change those that arn't either."

"Oh my..." Rarity said, sounding shocked.

"If Celestia didn't have the power to veto all the selfish laws they are trying to put in place equestria would be suffering." I said with a sigh as we emerged from the forest beside the river.

"That really is... just..." Rarity seemed to cut herself off before she said something unladylike.

"Yeah." I said. "Hmm... I wonder how you're gonna get across..."

"Hmm..." Rarity looked left and right for something to help her cross.

"Hello there!" A flamboyant voice said from the river as a familiar purple sea serpent emerged from the water.

"Mr. Magnet!" Rarity said happily. "So good to see you again."

"Likewise Miss. I must thank you again for helping me with my little mustache problem." He said. "So what are the two of you doing so far into the Everfree?"

"We're on our way to the old castle again." I said smiling as I hid my fangs. "We're going to borrow a few design ideas for a room in my home. We were just trying to figure out how Rarity will get across the river."

"Well it wouldn't be a problem for me to help you two with that again." He said smiling. "I take it you can't pause for a chat then?"

"Well, we're trying to get there as soon as possible because we've only brought supplies for two meals. I told my friends we'd be back by noon tomorrow so we do have a bit of a time frame to keep." I said apologetically.

"Of course, of course." Steven said as he used his body to make a bridge across the river. "Although i do wish you could stay longer."

"I am really sorry we can't Steven." Rarity said. "However you can stop by Ponyville anytime."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea Miss Rarity." Steven said, sounding a little embarassed. "Last time I visited everyone just ran and hid."

"Really? How rude. How long ago was this?" Rarity asked as we reached the far bank.

"Around two hundred years... give or take a decade or two." He said. "Ponyville was just a small collection of houses along the river then though."

"Well you should try again sometime. If the town ends up running I'm sure we can convince them you are friendly." I said.

"I will have to do that sometime." Steven said. "Anyhow, I won't keep you two any longer." He said as he started to swim off. "Ta ta for now."

"Goodbye." Me and Rarity said in unison before continuing down the path.

"I wonder how old he is..." Rarity said smiling. "He is one of the most polite creatures I have ever met."

"We'll just have to ask him next time we meet." I said, looking at the sky to check the time. "We have a few hours of daylight still. Hopefully there will be no other complications."

We walked in silence for about another half hour. It was a pleasant temperature beneath the trees, and the birds were chirping merrily around us as we trotted down the path. The silty dirt was comfortable to walk on, and dispite the fact that we had already covered a lot of ground Rarity hadn't complained once.

"Do you do a lot of traveling on your own hooves Rarity?" I asked.

"I used to, before I set up shop in Ponyville I traveled with my parents quite a lot. Hiking and sightseeing are their favorite pastimes so I got dragged along with them." She said. "It really is rather relaxing to just go for a hike, although I don't find nearly enough time to do so these days aside from when I'm out collecting gems."

"That explains a lot actually." I said chuckling. "I wondered how you kept in such good shape as a seamstress. A lot of the dressmakers in Canterlot were... a tad on the large side."

"Yes I noticed that last time I was there." Rarity said frowning. "Rather unsightly really. I have nothing against... larger ponies, however one should try to at least stay fit."

"I can agree with you there." I said. "You should have see some of the ponies at the acadamy. They were all so caught up in their schoolwork they wouldn't eat right and either would become too heavy or much to skinny. The colts were usually the skinny ones though..."

"Oh? I wonder why." Rarity said.

"I actually did a study on it for a term paper one year in Psychology class. From what I found, if your parents are overweight you have a good chance of becoming that way too, but that isn't always the case. The reason most of those colts were so underweight is because a good portion of them could only afford foods like ramen, instant ready stuff. The mares on the other hand more often had help from their parents with their bills and would have more fatty foods, although this isn't a rule of thumb. It all came down to eating and exercise habits." I said. "Actually because of that paper the academy set up a food program designed to help the students and staff eat healthier, while still having everything taste good. Last I heard it is working wonders, and the academy is profiting from it because the food tastes better now."

Rarity looked shocked for a moment before saying, "That's... actually rather fascinating. I wonder why something similar hasn't happened in Ponyville..."

"Well, most of the food in town is organic, there isn't much in the way of junk food. We also have to walk everywhere in town and things are much more spaced out than at the academy. Most Ponies work in jobs that involve quite a bit of physical labor as well from what I've seen. Then there's also the fact that most Ponies don't have to spend many hours a day studying." I said with a chuckle.

"That makes sense." Rarity said chuckling as well. "Actually that explains why Pinkie is still in relatively good shape despite eating nothing but sweets." She said and we both started giggling.

The conversation continued like that untill we reached the rope bridge.

"Er, Twilight, I know that thing held us last time but it looks like something has been chewing on the ropes..." Rarity said, pointing at the bridge.

"Now that you mention it, yeah it does." I said after taking a closer look. "Hmm... let's see if we can find something that will bridge that gap."

"Okay, but don't go too far." Rarity said as she headed off in one direction as I went in the other.

Let's see, i could try to chop down a tree but those are way to heavy on this side... hmm... My thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream from the direction Rarity had headed off in.

I immediately turned and rand in that direction, covering the distance between us in moments as Rarity burst out of the treeline yelling "Manticore!"

"The bridge will have to do, hurry!" I said as we both headed for it. "You go first, I'll distract it." She nodded and bolted across the rickitey bridge, barely making to the other side as the ropes creaked in protest. I decided against trying my luck and jumped across the chasm, landing cleanly on the other side. "Let's go, I don't wanna stick around in case that thing is too determined." I said as i heard the beast crashing through the trees.

Rarity, who was slightly dumbfounded at my jump, nodded before following me into the old castle. "Twilight that was amazing!" She said as i shut the large doors behind us.

"What the jump?"

"Yes! That was just..." She seemed to be searching for a word to describe it.

"Unnatural?" I offered as I started to lead her towards the tower.

"Well, if you wish to cast it in a negative light I suppose that would work however I'd be more inclined to say incredible."

I sighed as she said that. "I don't want this though... I never asked for it and while there are upsides to it I just can't see past the fact that I have to take somepony's blood to live."

"Well..." Rarity said, seeming to choose her words carefully. "To be honest I can see why you're saying that but really Twilight, is it that bad if you aren't stealing from others?" she said. "And it's only a few mouthfuls, there are medical conditions worse than that."

"I suppose..."

"Plus you have friends who are willing to help you with it." She said. "Now, let's keep moving before that monster that was following us decides to try the door."

"Good idea." I said, glancing back to the doors before leading the way through the halls of the old castle.

After a few minutes of walking we reached the base of the tower. "Okay, I'm going to try something difficult here." I said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean dear?" Rarity said as I hopped up to the second ledge.

"Brace yourself." Is all the warning I gave her before I started to concentrate on my magic.

"What are you, EEP!" She yelped as I started to lift her off of the ground. "Careful!"

"Don't worry Rarity I got this." I said as I lifted her to about three feet off of the floor, holding her there to test how stable the levitation spell was. "I think I can do this." I said.

"Well please hurry, I think I can hear that mati-" Rarity was cut off as the manticore came slamming through the old wooden doors at the base of the tower, one of the thick pieces of oak knocking her across the tower.

"Rarity!" I yelled as I dived off of the ledge, fangs bared at the Manticore.