Chapters The Vampony Chronicles
"You little foal! Did you really think you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!" Nightmare Moon cackled as she flared her wings.
I gasped as the pieces clicked into place seeing my friends comforting each other. "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here."
Night Mare Moon frowned. "What?"
I stood tall, facing the evil Mare in the Moon. "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty. Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness. Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter. Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of Generosity, and Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of... Loyalty. The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."
Nightmare Moon was quick to reply, her confidence fading into confusion. "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"
I smiled, knowing that I now had the upper hoof. "But it did!" I continued, turning to face my friends. "A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are my friends. You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... Magic."
Nightmare Moon took a step back as I rose into the air, anger on her face. "NO!" She yelled, firing a powerful bolt of dark magic at me, the spell doing nothing but make my body tingle thanks to the power of the Elements of Harmony, as a beam of rainbow colored magic spun around her as we blacked out from the magical overload.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
We awoke soon after, pulling ourselves to our hooves. My body still tingled from the magical overload. The others started talking as a bright ball floated into the room in the old castle. It proceeded to take the form of my teacher. "Princess Celestia!" I said, bowing.
"Twilight Sparkle, My Faithful student. I knew you could do it." Celestia said smiling.
"But... you told me it was all an old pony tale?" I replied, confused.
"I told you, you needed to make some friends..." Celestia kept talking as I felt the strangest sensation course through my body, it felt like the nervousness you get when you walk into a haunted house at midnight. That feeling that you need to get away from that place...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Wow... what a day, huh Twilight?" Spike, my assistant dragon, who is like a son to me, said as I finished filling him in on the day's events. I had gotten home from a party that Pinkie had arranged in celebration of Nightmare Moon's defeat, and Luna's return about an hour ago, yet I didn't feel tired at all.
"Yeah, you can say that again." I said as I laid down on my couch, not feeling tired despite the late hour. I grew restless after a few minutes, and not even the latest copy of Daring Do's adventures could help that. I closed the book and got up, heading for the door. "Spike, I'm going out for a trot. I'll be back later."
"Gotcha Twi'. Have fun." Spike replied as he started climbing the stairs, heading for bed.
I smiled as I stepped out the door and headed off in the direction of the Everfree Forest. After the events of last night, the forest didn't seem anywhere near as frightening.
Looking around, I took in the beauty of the night. Everything was in sharp contrast from the silver moonlight, giving Ponyville an almost surreal look. The moon seemed brighter than usual tonight, the familiar pattern of the Mare in the Moon having disappeared, leaving its white surface to shine in its full glory. I took a deep breath of the fresh country air, the cool evening breeze filtering lightly through my coat feeling simply divine. As I got outside the town's borders, I broke into a gallop, smiling as the countryside flashed past, the rolling hills passing quickly.
I saw the apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres come into view, nearly ready for harvest, and kept on running through the neat rows of apple trees. I weaved through the trees, narrowly avoiding a collision with a stack of baskets by jumping over them as I crested the last hill before the Everfree.
The shadows of the forest swallowed me up as I ran, jumping over bushes, following a seemingly random direction, knowing I could simply teleport home on a whim. I could hear small critters dashing for cover as I passed, the fact that they saw me as a threat felt strangely enticing.
Suddenly, a growl broke through the night as a large shape started following me. A strange clarity washed over me after a moment of panic. I defeated Nightmare Moon, some forest animal won't stand a chance. Taking solace in that thought, I decided to get creative and leaped up, kicking off a tree with a level of agility that surprised me. I glanced back at my pursuer as it took the sharp turn much wider, seeing it clearly in the dim moonlight. It appeared to be a large wolf made out of wood, with plenty of sharp teeth. I kept galloping forward, spotting a clearing ahead.
I shot out of the trees, noticing that I was at the river we crossed on the way to the old Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Knowing that if I failed the jump there would be someone to help me, I decided to risk it and took a flying leap at the water's edge.
I landed cleanly on the opposite bank, and turned around, spotting the timberwolf on the opposite bank. I smiled, at it in defiance before continuing my trot as it howled its fury at the moon.
Then it hit me, I just jumped clean over that river after running for at least five miles and I haven't even broken a sweat! I thought, my mind racing as I absentmindedly started trotting, not really watching where I was heading. How did I do that? I have to see if I can do it again, and see just what I'm capable of! This must be because of the Elements of Harmony. I thought as I found myself at the chasm before the castle. The rope bridge was still intact, Rainbow Dash's knot holding the bridge up.
I should test to see if I can do it again... I thought, jumping up to see how high I could get.
"Holy!" I yelped as I watch the ground get farther away, my jump peaking at around four feet over the trees of the forest before I descended. I landed with another thud, kicking up some dust as I did. That... was... awesome, if a little scary. I'll have to ask Princess Celestia about this.
I turned to the chasm, and galloped for the bridge; I jumped at the start and landed ten feet past the end on the other side. Beyond awesome. This is crazy! I thought before looking up at the castle ruins. Why did I come here again? I wondered before shrugging off the thought and continuing inside.
I gazed upon the ancient walls in more detail this time, seeing as the last time I was here I had no time to do so. My hoof steps echoed around the stone walls as I wandered, finding myself drawn to the one remaining tower, passing by numerous ruined passageways and rooms before reaching the base of the tower.
I found the wooden stairs that had formerly spiraled up the tower had rotted away long ago, however the stone supports for them were still intact. Here goes nothing... I thought, jumping up to the first jutting out piece of stone. I proceeded to kick off of it with my rear hooves, aiming for the next one. My new found agility helped immensely as I shot from outcrop to outcrop, spiraling up the tower. I landed with a light tap on the stone platform at the top, and proceeded through a thick oak door.
Why is that still here if the rest has ro... By Celestia... I marveled as I gazed around the room. It had been perfectly preserved by some form of magic. Ebony woodwork with thin veins of silver made up the furniture of the small library I was in. The thick carpet dampened the sound of my walking as I wandered slowly, amazed at this glimpse into the past. Spotting another doorway set into one wall, I proceeded through it.
I once again felt my jaw drop at the room; it appeared to be some form of armory, with various sets of armor, swords, bows, shields, and other such objects adorning its walls. I wandered among the various racks and shelves, admiring the deadly tools, each one a work of art. The Armour itself was made from some form of black metal with steel inlays weaving their web of patterns across the surface. Even to my untrained eye, I could tell that this was no mere decoration armor like the Armour of the Royal Guard. This was Armour ready for battle, designed to be as functional as it was beautiful. Picking up a set of gauntlets and greaves, I slid them on, finding them comfortably fitting. I left them on as I kept walking, finding the next door on the other side of the armory.
Pushing open the next door, I entered the third quarter of the tower, a large room dedicated to magic. In the middle of the room sat a raised obsidian platform with a pentagram of silver inlaid into the surface. Crystal runes adorned its surface and gave off a faint hint of magic as I stepped around it, deciding to examine it after I checked the final room.
Through the final door, I found a grand bedroom, its four poster bed stretching from floor to ceiling. Black cloth was the main color throughout the room, and the ebony and silver furniture accented it. Almost every piece of metal was made from silver, from the torch holders to the cabinet handles. I looked around once more before turning back to the platform and trotting up. I jumped lightly up onto the meter high platform, landing on the edge.
I felt a pull, a compulsion to stand in the center, as the runes lit up, the silver seeming to glow slightly in the were-light of the runes. My mind now in a state of trance I complied. What... what is going on? I thought, as I felt a powerful, ancient magic build around me, causing the runes to flare bright blue.
I suddenly felt compelled to speak, though I did not know the words I was saying. "Sa'reth si temon na te moare. "
The runes flared again as I felt another presence within the room.
"Who are you who has received the Blessing of the Moon?" A mare's voice echoed through the chamber, breaking my trance.
"Who's there?" I called out, looking around.
"You may call me Ceres, I’m the guardian of this temple." The voice said, a ghostly image of a silver mare appearing over one of the runes. "Do you know why you’re here?"
"To be honest, not really. I felt a... compulsion to come here I suppose." I replied to Ceres, looking at her. She appeared young, around my age, and had a silver colored coat and a light blue mane. "I'm Twilight Sparkle by the way."
"Then allow me to answer your questions Twilight Sparkle." she said with a warm smile.
"First off, what is this place? And secondly, what did you mean by 'Blessing of the Moon'?" I asked, intrigued. Could that have something to do with my new abilities?
"This is a sanctuary for any and all who have been blessed by Luna. I am here to act as a guide and trainer, and as a clerk of sorts. The platform you’re standing on contains my soul. It's a form of punishment for failing to protect somepony I cared about long ago. As for what the Blessing of the Moon is, well, it’ll be easier to just show you." Ceres said as the runes around me flared. "Usually I would let the blessing you’ve received work at its own pace, however I have a feeling the Element of Magic will be able to handle it. And before you say anything after this is finished, I am merely accelerating a process already set in motion. Some dislike what the blessing does. Now brace yourself, I've been through this myself and it is rather... intense."
I felt as if I had just been struck with a particularly powerful lightning spell, then the pain turned to pleasure. My body shuddered at the waves of euphoria that coursed through me, as I felt my thighs grow damp. I had to sit, panting as the feeling concentrated in my hooves and spread up my legs. I failed to fight back a moan as it passed my hips and proceeded up my chest. I was feeling something changing within me as the magic worked, finally as it enveloped my head I collapsed, twitching as my body could no longer take it. My mouth opened in a soundless scream of pleasure as a final pulse coursed through my body, causing me to climax.
I lay there for a few moments, panting as the feelings died down as I basked in the afterglow of both the spell's effects and my own orgasm. I heard Ceres giggling as I pulled myself to my hooves, blushing rather profusely.
"Relax Lady Sparkle, I had the same thing happen to me long ago. Besides, I won't be telling anypony about what transpired here." She said. "Now go take a look at your new appearance in the bedroom mirror, then come back here, and I'll answer any questions you may have."
"Oh… kay..." I replied, still breathing hard. I proceeded into the other room and, finding a washroom in one corner of the room, tidied myself up. Strangely, there was no mirror in the washroom so I stepped out into the bedroom. I spotted a large mirror in one corner of the room and trotted over to it, using a quick heat spell to finish drying my coat.
"By the moon..." I gasped, staring at my reflection. I had never been overweight, but I had never been all that athletic either. Now my figure was on par with some of Equestria's finest athletes. My coat had gained a luxurious shine to it and my mane and tail had grown. I could see that my eyeteeth had elongated and sharpened to threatening points, and that my eyes glowed a slight purple in the moonlight that filtered in through the large window.
I felt different, more sure of myself, confident...
Powerful.
I stepped back into the room and up onto the platform, Ceres appearing once more.
"You clean up well Miss Sparkle. Now, I would assume you have some questions?" She said smiling at me.
"Yes, first off, what am I now? Am I a... Vampony?"
"Yes, and no. You’re a Nosferatu, a true Vampony if I may. The ones you’ve read about were most likely similar creatures created through the black arts. You are something else entirely. You can go out in the day, cross running water, enter homes of your own accord, and other things the myths say impossible. However, you are now nocturnal and you will need to drink small amounts of equine blood to survive. Not much, only a few ounces a week, about a wine glass' worth, but it is still important." Ceres said. "Doing so will also strengthen you and increase your power."
I sat on my haunches, taking in the information. "But how... how did this..." I muttered, the revelation weighing down on me. "Nightmare Moon... That bolt of magic... I'm..." the next words caught in my throat.
"You’re what?" Ceres asked, stepping closer, a concerned look on her face.
"Not a pony... anymore..." I broke down into sobs. Ceres opened her mouth to speak, but then walked over and laid a ghostly hoof over my shoulders, one of the runes brightening as its magic gave her form a physical presence. I laid my head on her shoulder and cried for a long time.
Eventually my tears slowed. "There there, it is not the end for you. You’re still alive. I should have expected the Nightmare's involvement when you mentioned your lack of knowledge about this place." She said with a sigh. "Feel free to use this place as a sanctuary whenever you need to, I will keep it safe. Seeing as you are an Element of Harmony, you must have faithful friends who can help. I am sure Princess Luna will be more than willing to help as well, although you should ask her to keep the information from her sister for the time being. Celestia and we with the blessing have never been on great terms, despite her creating her own version of it with a similar price."
"I... may take you up on that offer. I'll talk it over with my friends first, although I am not sure who will stand by me about this." I said with a sigh. "I will leave the armor though."
"Please return soon, it does get lonely here. I can also teach you about the new abilities you have, just remember that you’re nocturnal now and will probably have an odd sleep schedule for a while." Ceres said.
"Thank you. I will do that." I said, teleporting back to the front door of the castle after removing the armor pieces.
I took another leap over the chasm, flying much higher than intended this time, landing within the forest. I began trotting home, thinking about how to break the news to Spike.
-=-=-=-=-
A/N: Chapter updated with the revised version.
The Vampony Chronicles:
I sighed as I walked through Sweet Apple Acres, the sun just cresting over the horizon behind Canterlot in the distance. It was going to be a long day of trying to find a way not only to hide my fangs, but make myself look like I used to. Not that I look bad mind you, actually I'm damn sexy. I chucked to myself. But ponies will ask how I'm suddenly more fit than Rainbow Dash. At least I can trust Spike to keep a secret, AJ too probably. Pinkie, well I'll have to ask AJ. Dash will accept it I hope, actually she'll probably want to race to see who is faster. Rarity and Fluttershy are wildcards, but AJ will probably know... speaking of which, I think I hear her... wow my hearing is good now, I just entered the orchard.
I started walking in the direction of the steady "Thwack!" sounds that echoed through the orchard, enjoying the morning walk. I should do this more often...
I stopped when AJ came into view through the trees, her orange coat standing out against the dull browns and greens of the orchard. Alright... now just go over, say hi and tell her the truth... I thought, but my legs wouldn't comply. What had seemed like such an easy thing not ten minutes ago now seemed like I was trying to fly to the moon. But how do you tell somepony something like that? 'Hi Applejack, how's it going, oh and I'm now a vampony by the way.' No, that will never work... this internal debate continued on for about five minutes as I watched her work from the shadow of one of the trees.
I must admit, it was interesting watching her working. Thanks to her daily routine on the farm, Applejack’s muscles stood out as she worked. I couldn't help but admire my friend, never having had the chance to just watch her work before without distractions. Gah, why can't I think of what to say? Why is this so difficult!? She's my friend, I should be able to tell her anything.
Applejack paused for a moment and took a swig of water from a canteen she had hung around her neck. Even though it was rather cool outside, her coat was showing signs of sweat, the perspiration causing it to mat in a few places. As she was resting she gazed around the trees, smiling at the visible signs of years of hard work and care. I can't let her see me yet... carefully now... I slowly took a step back to get behind the tree, doing my best to not be noticed.
I had almost made it out of sight when I heard a crack resound from underneath my hoof.
Fucking branches...
Applejack's head swiveled to look in my direction, puzzled as to what the noise was. Her eyes narrowed as she must have spotted me as I ducked behind the tree.
"Mac? That you? Applebloom? Somepony there?" She called out, starting to walk towards the tree. I could hear her steps getting slowly closer, and, much to my surprise, her heartbeat too if I concentrated. I started wondering how her blood would taste, the thought alone being enough to snap me out of it.
No no no... this is not happening... I have to get out of here. I turned and started running, pouring on speed to get away from that part of the orchard.
"'Ey! Get back here!" Applejack shouted, giving chase. I weaved through the trees, kicking off the trunks to change direction quickly, causing a few ripe apples to fall as I tried to lose her, heading in a direction I hoped would take me towards Ponyville. I heard the sound of hoofbeats off to my left and looked in time to catch a glimpse of Applejack cutting through the orchard towards me.
"Hold it!"
Looks like I'll see how far I can jump!
I took a small leap to allow myself just enough time to get into position, and then kicked off the ground with all my might, rocketing up through a gap in the trees. My flight topped out at around twenty feet over the trees, and I could see I was going the wrong way to get back to town.
Great... now I need to corner. Ah well, here goes nothing...
Landing with a thud, I took a sharp left turn and kept going, smiling a little from the thrill of the chase. I scanned the orchard as I ran, looking for any sign of Applejack.
Suddenly, I heard something whipping through the air. That sounds like a lasso... oh! I ducked, the long lasso passing inches over my head. Where the buck did she come from!? I thought before concentrating, using a teleportation spell to get as close to Ponyville as I could.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I appeared on a hill overlooking the town, panting from the exertion of using such a powerful spell. I sat on the grass for a moment, watching the sunrise while I caught my breath. The gradient of the sky as it changed from its nightly black to its daily blue was a thing of beauty. I guess I'll be enjoying more sunrises now. I thought as I watched the bright ball crest the mountains. I hope AJ didn't get a good look at me. Otherwise, I'm going to have to tell her a lot sooner than I want to.
I stood and started walking towards town, taking a glance at the street that would take me back to the library. I could see ponies already milling about the town, starting the cleanup from yesterday's party. Many decorations still hung from where Pinkie had managed to get them. She mentioned a 'party cannon' briefly, I wonder if that has something to do with it. I frowned at the amount of ponies in the street already.
I can't be seen yet, but I'm drained enough from that teleportation spell that I don’t want to try it again... My eyes drifted to the roof of the nearest house, then to the sky. No pegasi flying about, the weather is scheduled to be clear today, and Rainbow said they'd be off in Cloudsdale to pick up more clouds... Perfect. I smiled as I stood up and trotted towards the nearest house, a small two floor affair, and jumped up onto the roof when I got close enough.
I started running, clearing the gaps between buildings with almost no effort as I startled a few birds from their roosts. I smiled again, enjoying the challenge of not jumping too far and missing the next house. Then there was the thrill of sneaking through town as well. This is kind of fun actually. I could see my home approaching, the last gap in the row of houses ending before the park that surrounded the library began. Okay, here we go, one last jump, aim for the balcony and... kick!
I jumped.
My breath caught in my throat as I sailed over the crowd, the ponies below oblivious to my actions, save for one small foal who gawked at the unicorn flying through the air. Time slowed as my balcony approached, my telescope still sitting out. My mane and tail streamed behind me in the air due to my speed. I got this. I thought as I got ready to land, my hooves barely missing the railing...
I don't got this! One of my rear hooves clipped the railing and in an instant, I was tumbling into room. Soon enough, I crashed into the wall and suddenly felt a large weight on top of me.
I poked my head out of the pile of books that had fallen on me as Spike sat straight up. Shaking the stars from my vision, I groaned. "Ow... missed it by THAT much..." I grumbled as I levitated a dictionary off of my head.
"Twilight, what the hey?" Spike said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes he looked over to me, stuck in the pile of books. I manage to clear my vision to find him there, his jaw on the floor. "How did you manage that? I think you just out did Rainbow Dash." He said, frustrated. "You okay?"
"Yeah I'll be fine, but can you run downstairs and grab the copy of Starswirl's Fourth Illusion Manual? I'll explain in a bit, and if anypony asks for me, I'm still asleep." I said as I started levitating the books up from around me.
"Uh… Okay." Spike was obviously puzzled, but he headed downstairs anyway. I started shelving the books with my magic, the untidy pile of books flying back into their proper spots. I had practiced this spell enough thanks to helping out in the academy's library, and since it was beside one of the training fields, we had a lot of work re-shelving whole shelves. I finished shelving the books and trotted over to my closet, opening the door to reveal a full length mirror alongside the few outfits I had. I can trust Spike, I know he won't tell anypony. I thought as I brushed my mane and tail, still amazed at how different my body looked compared to yesterday. I grabbed a deep blue hoodie with a moon on the back, and pulled on some jeans. Most ponies didn't wear clothes, but that didn't mean it was that unusual. Back in Canterlot, there were plenty of ponies who did, most were my peers. The academy was known for having interesting students.
I heard Spike coming up the stairs and went over to one of the cushions I had sitting in front of a book stand.
"Okay I got the book, now can you please tell me wh... woah." Spike stopped as he saw me. "Geze you're acting weird today Twi'."
"I promise I'll explain after, it's just I need to find a spell here." I said, levitating the book out of his hands. "Can you go make breakfast? I've had a long night." I'm probably going to be a mess once I get some time to think about what's happened, but for now, I have to make sure I can hide this. I already had one breakdown after all...
"Uh… Okay... Are you sure you're all right?" Spike asked as he turned to head downstairs. He sounded concerned, and it looked like he wanted to help me if he could. That's my Spike...
"Yeah, just trust me for now okay?" I said with a sigh. "I have quite a bit on my mind right now."
"Okay Twi'." He said, sounding unconvinced as he headed downstairs. Soon I could hear breakfast cooking.
"Now to find that spell..." I muttered as I started searching the large tome.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
About twenty minutes later, I found the spell. Finally, now I can get to work on hiding these fangs. I thought as I glanced over at the mirror again, the two white points contrasted sharply with my coat as they hung over my bottom lip. Good thing Spike didn't notice them. Speak of the devil, here he comes. Smells like pancakes for breakfast.
As if on cue, I heard Spike coming up the stairs, then knock on the door.
"Hey Twi', I got your breakfast." He said, stepping in. In his hands were a plate of pancakes with syrup and a glass of apple juice.
"Thanks Spike. Now, I suppose I owe you an explanation." I said with a sigh as I levitated the glass of juice and the plate of pancakes over, setting them on a small table nearby.
"It would be nice... woah! A-are those fangs?" He said, wide eyed, surprise in his voice.
"Observant as always..." I said chuckling. "Yeah, they are. It seems that when we were battling Nightmare Moon, she managed to get a spell through the Elements of Harmony's power, although I am willing to bet it could have been much worse if the Elements hadn't been involved." I said as I used the fork and knife Spike brought up to cut the stack of pancakes he made.
"So are you a vampony now?" Spike asked, although his tone of voice made it seem like he was trying not to offend me.
"Yes, and no." I said, frowning a bit as I thought back to Ceres' words. "I did some looking into it last night and found a book in the old castle that mentioned what has happened to me. Apparently it is called the 'Blessing of the Moon' and turns a pony into a 'Nosferatu.' It was only mentioned in passing, but according to the one paragraph most of the myths involving vamponies are false, as well as most of the ways to detect them. Although it did say that I will still need to..." I couldn't say it, and suddenly I wasn't very hungry anymore.
"... drink." Spike said before coming over and hugging me. "It'll be all right, you're Celestia's star pupil after all." He said as I started to cry again. "We'll figure something out."
"Y-yeah." I sobbed, hugging him back as I cried.
"What about the others, what are you going to tell them?" Spike asked as my tears stopped flowing a few minutes later.
"The truth, if I can trust them to keep it quiet. We'll burn that bridge when we come to it because I don't think there is any easy way to tell somepony you're a vampony. Oh hi, how are you, oh and I'm a vampony." I said, smiling a bit as Spike chuckled at the bad joke.
"Well, I think you should start by telling AJ. She's probably the most level headed from what I've seen."
"My thoughts exactly." I said. "I think I'm going to have to wear some clothes to hide how I look though, if I suddenly show up looking so athletic, ponies will ask questions."
"Really? I was still waking up a little while ago, but I didn't notice. So I take it you can go out in the sun then?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, that'll throw off most ponies." I said with a smile. "Hmm... I may turn that cellar into something useful for me now, since that illusion spell is going to be a pain to hold. Perhaps a private reading room with a fireplace." I thought, thinking back to the decor of the tower. "I know just the look too."
"Heh, whatever you say Twi'." Spike said chuckling. "Let me guess, something involving black and silver."
"Yep." I said laughing. "If I'm going to be re-doing a room because of this, I may as well make it fitting."
"Fair enough, besides, it probably gets cold in here in the winter." He said. "Still want me to tell anyone who asks for you that you're asleep?"
"No, I'll be fine now that I have a spell to hide these." I said, indicating my elongated teeth with my hoof. "Besides we have to open up the library anyhow." I said with a smile. "Although, things have been a bit slow of late. Can you handle things for a few hours? I need some sleep."
"I can do that." Spike said. "I'll wake you if anything important happens, oh and if you let Rarity know, I'm sure she'd be able to help with your outfit problem."
"We'll see." I replied, bookmarking the page in the spell book before heading off to bed.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I was in an endless void of black, unable to even see myself as I looked around. I wasn't scared; I knew it was a dream.
Suddenly a pinpoint of light appeared in the inky blackness, then another, and another. They kept multiplying until I was surrounded by stars, some floating close enough that I could touch them. Then everything got brighter as one of the points of light started growing, until I could see it was a moon, slightly larger than Celestia. A loud "Crack" could be heard as it split in two and Princess Luna stepped out, looking like she probably had before her transformation into Nightmare Moon.
"Twilight Sparkle I presume?" She spoke as she calmly walked up to me.
"Y-yes princess." I replied, wondering if this was more than just a dream.
"It is good to finally be able to talk to thee." Luna said with a smile. "It seems thou hast already visited Ceres."
"Y-yeah... I take it this isn't just a dream then?" I said with a small blush.
"Thou art correct. We have come to speak to thee about thy unfortunate condition because of our time as the Nightmare," the moon princess said with a sigh. "This is simply the best way to do so without Our sister knowing." Her speech is rather old fashioned, but then again, she has been isolated from society for a thousand years..."Yes, Ceres did mention something about Celestia not being too fond of the 'blessing'."
"We can hear the quotation marks in thy sentence Twilight." Luna said with a chuckle. "Although we understand why. Thou must understand, the world was a very different place before Our banishment, nay, even before our ascent to power. The Blessing was an old way for Us to help some of Our subjects survive, at a price. The magic within thee is very old, and strictly forbidden now. However, before Our sister's term of ruling alone, dark magic was used by many, but only to a small degree for the majority of its users; it had the tendency to drive those who used it too often mad. The Blessing of the Moon was a way to not only help its recipients survive the dangers that plagued Equestria at the time, but also allow them to use dark magic without the risk of losing their minds. Although it does have its cost as We have little doubt thou knows."
"Drinking blood." I replied, lowering my head.
"Indeed. We can tell thou art not fond of the prospect, however it is an unfortunate necessity for thy survival." Luna said apologetically.
"Why did it have to be that?" I asked, not feeling sad, but just empty at this point.
"The changes the Blessing causes require a lot of magic, and thy body would be unable to sustain itself without some form of external source of magical energy. At the time not many ponies were what you would call 'good'. Most were focused on their own survival above the survival of others, and many would do almost anything to get above the rest; it was a dark time for Equestria. We had to help Our subjects who were at least trying to better Equestria, so We created the Blessing. Only those who We knew would be responsible would receive it, but alas they were feared for what they needed to do to survive, so it was kept a secret. Others tried to duplicate the spell, creating twisted mockeries of the truth, and sullied the name of the Blessing even further. Those who had received the blessing hunted those with false blessings down and brought them to Us to be cured of it, and went back to helping others, although We stopped using that spell long ago. The Nightmare tried to use it against thou because it thought the spell was one meant for destruction, not to help the recipient. Thou should count thyself lucky We managed to withhold combat spells from it, for if We had not, thyself and thy friends would not have succeeded."
"This is a lot to take in... I'm still in shock from Ceres revealing that I'm now a vampony." I said, still with that empty feeling inside. "How long do I have until I need to drink, and how often will I need to?"
"Thou should drink tonight, otherwise thou will begin to hunger for it. After that however, thou should only need to drink once every few weeks. Thy body will tell thee when it needs to be replenished." Luna said sitting beside me. "Thou only needs a few mouthfuls of blood, and the wound will heal quickly. The pony thou chooses to take blood from will find it to be an enjoyable experience at least. Thou remember thy transformation?" Luna said with a chuckle.
"Y-yeah..." I said, blushing again.
"Thyself and thy... chosen donor will feel something similar to that whilst thou feeds, if thy choice of donor is not an enemy to thou." Luna said. "However, be warned, those who are thine enemies will feel rather... drained the next morning. We made it thus so those who received the blessing would be able to capture dangerous criminals without much difficulty. Our old guard used to be composed entirely of Blessed."
"Oh... my..." I said blushing deeper at the thought of doing that to somepony. "Is there a way for me to know when to stop?"
"Thou shalt feel as if thou hast just eaten a large meal. Do not worry Twilight, We were thorough with the spell’s creation so as to not have somepony accidentally drained of their blood. One more thing before We depart however." Luna said, adopting a serious tone. "If thou are to take a mouthful of thine own blood and transfer it to another pony by biting them, they will receive the blessing, but be subservient to thou. They shalt follow thine orders without question, but still be able to voice their opinions and beliefs. Use this carefully however, for Celestia does not look fondly on those who pass on the blessing."
I sat there for a moment, processing the information before speaking. "Princess," I was cut off.
"Please Twilight, when not in the company of others call Us Luna." She said with a warm smile.
"Luna, what will happen if Celestia finds out?" Needless to say, I was worried.
"We... cannot say. We have not been around Our sister for one thousand years. We will do our best to predict her reaction after more time, but for now We suggest keeping it a secret. She cannot detect the Blessing, and she trusts thee. Thou may feel uncomfortable around her due to the magics involved in the Blessing, but thou need not worry, she does not plan to visit for quite some time. Right now she is concentrating on getting Us caught up to the current times." Luna said chuckling. "It is quite the task, now We believe your assistant is trying to wake thou, fare thee well Twilight Sparkle." She said, hugging me as the dream started to fade, a feeling of peace washing over me.
"Likewise Luna." I said as the dream faded back to black.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I awoke to Spike shaking me. "You can stop now Spike, I'm up."
"Geze Twi', you sleep like the dead." He joked, causing us both to chuckle. "AJ's here, she says she wants to talk to you about something."
I sighed, getting out of bed and opening the spell book. "I had a feeling this would happen. She spotted me on my way home this morning at Sweet Apple Acres, I panicked and ran away because I was afraid I would hurt her." I said as I cast the spell, watching in the mirror as the two white points vanished.
"Gotcha. What are you going to tell her?" Spike said. I could tell he was worried about how Applejack would react.
"The truth. She's the element of Honesty Spike, she can tell when somepony is lying." I said as I pulled on the hoodie and jeans. "Besides, I'm a terrible liar."
"Don't I know it." Spike said chuckling.
"Hush you." I said before walking down the stairs. "Hey AJ."
"Hey Twi'." She said looking up from the book in front of her. "Sleepin’ at this time o' day? Ya'll sick or something?" She said, eying my clothes. "Anyhow, ah came over to ask if that was you runnin’ from me at the Acres this mornin’. Ah spotted somepony sneakin’ through the trees and they bolted, and they kinda’ looked like you sugarcube."
I sighed, knowing this wouldn't be as easy as it had been with Spike. I turned to Spike. "Spike, can you go make some tea? We'll be in my room." I said before motioning for Applejack to follow me.
When we got upstairs, I shut the door behind us. "Take a seat Applejack."
"Why'd we come up here Twi'? Something y'all don't want Spike to hear?"
"No, but this is a library, and ponies like to come to find books at the most inconvenient of times. Can I trust you to keep a secret AJ?" I asked with a sigh.
"Of course sugarcube, although Ah don't see why y'all are dancin' around the issue..." Applejack said, looking a little confused.
"There's more to it than just me being in the orchard... I'm trusting you that this doesn't leave this room unless my life or yours is at risk because of it..."
"Dang Twi' what have you gotten yourself mixed up in?" Applejack asked, looking worried.
"I was passing through the Acres earlier on my way home from the Everfree, as for why I ran, well, I was afraid I'd hurt you." I could tell that Applejack was about to say something so I held up a hoof. "Let me finish first, and promise me you'll hear me out."
"Ah promise Twi'."
"Well, let's start at the beginning, you remember the fight with Nightmare Moon?"
"Yeah? What about it?"
"Do you remember how she fired some kind of spell at me as we were using the Elements?"
"Yeah..." Applejack said, looking concerned now.
I sighed again. I've been doing that a lot lately... "Well AJ, there's no easy way to say this, but that spell turned me into a vampony." At this, I let the illusion spell fall.
Her eyes became as large as dinner plates. She stood frozen there for a moment, before bolting for the door, forgetting it was closed and slamming into it headfirst. I grabbed the dazed mare with my magic and placed her on the bed before yelling down to Spike to not worry about the sound. I heard a thump behind me and looked to see that Applejack had tried to climb out of the bed to escape and had fallen face first onto the floor.
"Applejack, please hear me out." I pleaded. "You're the only pony I know who I can trust with this right now."
"A-allright Twi'." She said shakily, sounding scared. "Jus' stay over there for now please."
My ears drooped at that. "Okay... I understand. Last night I was out walking and decided to start running. I wasn’t really going anywhere in particular and eventually ended up at the Castle where we fought Nightmare Moon. I could feel something was... I don't know, pulling me in. In one of the remaining towers I found a room housing a platform that sped up the results of the spell. The tower's guardian explained to me what had happened, and what it meant." I paused, letting AJ take in the information. "There's good news and bad news about the whole thing. The good news is that most of the myths are false, and I'm not some kind of ravenous, bloodthirsty monster. However that's where the bad news comes in..."
"Ya' still need... blood..." She said quietly, staring at the fangs.
"Before you arrived, Princess Luna came and spoke to me in a dream. She explained a good deal about 'The Blessing of the Moon' as it's called, and generally said she was sorry for what has happened. She told me that I'd only need a few mouthfuls of blood ever few weeks, and that it doesn't harm the pony who I take it from, unless they are my enemy, and then they feel very tired and lethargic afterwards." I said, my shoulders drooping as I felt that empty feeling again. "Aside from Spike and Luna, you're the only one who knows, can I trust you to keep this a secret?"
"... Yeah, you can trust me Twi'." She said, getting up and walking over. "Ah don't think Ah would have had the courage to do that." She said with a small smile.
"Do what?"
"Tell anypony about it if Ah was in your position." She said, sitting beside me. "Ah'd probably have skipped town or something, went into hiding. Then again, Ah know Ah ain't the sharpest tool in the shed. Ah know a lot about farmin’ and running a farm, but not much when it comes to dealing with things like this." She said as she looked over at me. "May Ah ask what's up with the clothes?"
"Well... here, I'll show you." I said, removing the garments with my magic.
Applejack gave a whistle as she saw how I looked now. "Damn Twi', Ah'm impressed. Heck, Ah think Dash would be impressed, and you know her." Applejack said as Spike came in carrying a tray with teacups and a teapot.
"Your tea, madams." He said in a false Canterlot upper crust accent. "There's a few ponies downstairs looking for books so I gotta’ go help with that." Spike said before heading back downstairs.
I poured myself some tea, locking the door with my magic. "Less risks the better." I explained as I poured Applejack a cup as well.
"Ah'm surprised you're taking this so well to be honest Twi'." Applejack said as she sipped her tea. "Ah'd have been a nervous wreck."
"Well, I've broke down into tears... twice so far, almost three times, and I had a panic attack this morning when you noticed me." I said with a chuckle. "That and I think Luna did something, I don't feel quite as stressed since I woke up. I had to put on a brave face for Spike this morning when I was explaining everything to him, but I still ended up bawling like a filly."
We both laughed for a few moments, then there was a silence afterwards as we both sipped some tea.
After about a minute Applejack said, "Ah suppose we should deal with the Alicorn in the room and get it on the table at least... Who is going to be the one who ya'll are gonna... take some blood from."
"You know I don't think I've managed to say that outright yet... it's going to be some time before I can..." I said quietly. "As for who... I don't know. I was thinking of just trying to pull it off while somepony is asleep."
"And what if they woke up?" Applejack said. "Ah don't think they'd take too kindly to it."
"Yeah... that's the problem. Luna said I'd have to drink tonight or else it would start to get to me. Yet again that's one of those things that you just can't quite prepare for..."
"Well... Would it transfer if y'all were to bite me? If not, Ah suppose Ah could lend a hoof this once..." Applejack said after a few minutes of thinking. "But Ah doubt it'll become a regular thing."
"Y-you'd do that?"
"You're my friend Twi', and you need somepony's help with this. Luna's way too far away to help and Spike can't really help ya. Besides, Luna said it doesn't hurt the other pony right?"
"No... actually, she said the spell makes it so that it's rather enjoyable for the... donor." I said, blushing a little, thankful that my fur hid it.
"Really? How so?" Applejack asked.
"Well..." I said, my face heating up.
"Oh..." Applejack said as she noticed my blush, fidgeting a little. "How about you come by the Acres tonight? It's my day off tomorrow so Ah can stay up later than normal tonight. We'll have a little girl time."
"Sounds good AJ." I said. "Oh and sorry for running this morning."
"Not a problem sugarcube, Ah didn't think you were that fast though, Ah had trouble keeping up."
"Well, that one of the benefits of my situation, I'm faster and stronger. Did you see me jump?"
"Yeah, Ah thought that was some sorta’ spell. You telling me you can do that without magic?" Applejack said, her eyes wide.
"Yeah, actually I cleared the gap from those houses over there to my balcony this morning... coincidentally, would you know of a good way to fix that dent in the wall..." I said pointing to the spot where I had hit the wall between the two bookcases.
"Ya'll nicked the railin' didn't ya?" Applejack said, chuckling.
"... Yeah." I said as Applejack burst out laughing.
"Hoowee! I bet you gave Spike quite the surprise." She said once she caught her breath.
"Yeah, knocked every book off the shelves in here too." I said, laughing along with her this time.
3: Cherry Red Moonlit Night
The Vampony Chronicles
(A/N: Content Warning: F/F (clop), Blood. I'll be adding lines like this to the start of chapters that contain stuff that may offend, and putting in colored linebreaks before and after clop parts. red to start, green to end. Also, expect the chapter names to get a little more abstract from now on.)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I slept for the rest of the day and when I awoke, it was just after what most ponies call supper time. It was strange waking up to the sun setting, yet I felt relaxed. Well I am nocturnal now... I thought as I pulled on my hoodie and jeans.
Looking in the mirror, I couldn't help but chuckle at just how absurd a pair of fangs looks on a pony. Well I suppose I'm ready for Nightmare Night at least. I thought as I made a bunch of silly faces in the mirror. I chuckled as I cast the illusion spell to hide my fangs, before walking down the stairs.
"Spike?" I called out as I trotted down the stairs. I didn't see him in the main part of the lobby.
"In here Twi!" I heard him call from what I've nicknamed the reading area. It’s essentially an alcove near the back of the library that the shelves hide from view unless you get close. The previous librarian had covered the floor in very comfortable cushions and added a few small reading stands, making it a cozy place to enjoy a good book. She also put the most boring books in the library (Equestrian language study) in the area around the entrance to lessen the number of ponies who knew about it. All in all, it was a good spot to relax if you didn't want to be disturbed.
"There you are." I said chuckling, not expecting him to be back there.
"Have a good sleep?" He asked, chuckling as he walked out of the alcove holding a book.
"Yeah, slow day today?" I asked as he gave me a hug. "What are you reading?"
"Yeah, not much in the way of book borrowing today. What this? Probably the reason why I didn't pull an Applejack when you came crashing in this morning." He said with a chuckle. "It's a series about vamponies. It's kind of hard to explain, but it is an exciting read if you can keep up with what's going on."
"Hellsing huh?" I smiled as I read the title. "I can't say I've heard of it."
"Neither had I up until a few days ago." Spike said as he headed for the kitchen. "You eating here or heading to AJ's? I heard you two talking at the end there."
"Oh... yeah I was going to head over there." I said sheepishly.
"I only caught that you were going over there, anything else ain't my business." His tone implied that he had heard more but he wasn't about to say anything. "I'll just say that you're asleep. Magic overuse from the whole Elements of Harmony thing or something."
"Thanks Spike, I don't know what I'd do without you right now."
"Probably have a nervous breakdown." He said chuckling. "Remember last time Celestia mentioned your homework was overdue?"
"Let's not ever talk about that again." I deadpanned, heading out the door followed by Spike's laughter.
I pulled my hood up as I glanced either way down the street, and seeing no-pony, I jumped up onto the roof of the nearest house and took off over the rooftops again. This is weird, but fun. I can see why Dash likes flying fast. I thought as I hopped from house to house, only landing long enough to jump to the next roof. I pulled a few zigzags across the relatively small backyards below me before I jumped down at the end of the street, giggling a little after the momentary rush of jumping down from a two story building. I glanced around to make sure no-pony had seen that and started walking towards Sweet Apple Acres, humming a tune to myself, thinking that trying that in Canterlot would be a lot of fun thanks to its many tall buildings.
I was snapped out of my good mood by the sound of wings. Celestia damn it, the pegasi are back. I didn’t want to be identified, and thinking back to a spell a friend of mine in Canterlot had taught me, changed my mane and tail to a black with blue stripes. My coat took on a dark grey color and my cutie mark was hidden by the image of a moon. No sense in taking an unnecessary risk. I'm supposed to be asleep after all. I thought as I heard the wings get closer. I hope that isn't...
"That was AWESOME!" A familiar tomboyish voice said as its rainbow-maned owner got within earshot.
Rainbow Dash... Celestia impale me on your horn.
"How did you land that without wings? I mean, I doubt Twilight could have managed that and she's Celestia's student!"
I merely shrugged, and said in a false Coltic accent, " 'snot too hard, wit' a'nough practice."
"Still, you landed like you only jumped a foot or two!" She said, trying to get a glimpse of my face. "Just who are you anyway?"
"Tha's fer me ta' know and fer you ta' find out." I said, a slight grin on my face as I suddenly shot forward, pouring on the speed, leaving the shocked pegasus coughing in a small dust cloud. Now to lose her. I thought, the thrill of the chase returning as I heard a faint "GET BACK HERE!" from behind me as I ran. The dirt road blurred beneath my hooves as I sped along the path. I hope AJ has a place for me to hide from Dash if I can't lose her... no wait, I'll just hide somewhere, AJ can't lie worth a buck. I thought as the Acres came into view, and I aimed for the nearest trees of the orchard.
I could hear Dash's wing beats getting closer as I reached the tree line. She may have speed over me, but I can out turn her down here. I kicked off of a tree, taking a hairpin turn away from the barn, only to kick off two more trees and zip back towards the barn. I risked a look over my shoulder to where Dash was speeding off in the other direction. I smirked as I ran to the barn, hiding in the shadow of a hay bale.
I could see Dash weaving back and forth over the orchard. I waited for the right moment and dug my way into a nearby haystack, undoing the spell I cast on my tail. Phew, finally safe.
"Twilight? Who are you hiding from?" I heard the voice of Applebloom whispered from beside me in the hay bale causing me to tense up in fright.
"Rainbow Dash, now shhh." I said once I calmed down. Rainbow Dash soon gave up the search and flew off back to Ponyville. "Now who are you hiding from?"
"Scootaloo. Rarity set up a sleepover with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle here at the acres. We're playing hide and seek." Applebloom replied giggling a little. "Ah don't think she's gonna look in here though, Sweetie is hiding in the barn. Ah got her to hide in a hole in the wall and had Winona lie in front of it. She's never gonna find us."
"Good one Applebloom." I said chuckling as I saw Applejack step out from the house. I can't have her say anything about me with the girls hanging around... I need to let her know they're here... I know. "Heeey, wanna scare AJ?" I said smirking, although I doubt she could see.
"Ah'm game, what do we need to do?"
"Wait until she gets close, and then I'll cast a spell to amplify your voice. I want you to jump out and yell ‘Boo’. Got it?"
"Got it. This is gonna be payback for the shower head..."
"What about the shower head?"
"She filled it with juice powder. Ah thought it was blood." Applebloom said sheepishly.
I snickered as Applejack drew near. "Get ready." I said. "Three... Two... One..."
The orange farm pony was right beside the hay bale when Applebloom launched herself out in a tackle-hug yelling "BOO!" I decided against the amplification spell at that range and simply cast a party popper, a novelty spell that sets off a small bang and a bright flash, instead.
"AH!" Applejack yelped, jumping a few feet in the air and away from the hay bale, her sister rolling on the ground giggling along with me as I climbed out from the hay bale. "What in Tarnation? Twi? You were in on that?"
"Sorry AJ, too perfect." I said between breaths. "Besides, it sounded like Scootaloo needed some help finding Sweetie and Applebloom." I said chuckling.
"Aw horsefeathers." Applebloom bolted towards the barn as a faint buzzing could be heard, and soon an orange pegasus filly went speeding by on a scooter, heading for the barn.
"You two got me good there Twi,' Ah'll give ya that." Applejack said, nodding towards a path that led out from behind the barn. "Ah take it she told you about the shower head?" She said as we walked off down the path, the chatter of the three fillies in the barn fading with distance.
"Yeah, that's a classic dorm prank, although it’s best if you use colorless juice, that way the victim's fur is all matted after it dries."
"Ooh, good idea." Applejack said. "That was also a good way to let me know that those three were around. Ah didn't know where they were playin’."
"Not a problem. So what's this way anyhow?"
"Ah built a small hut by a clear water pond out this way. A barrel of fertilizer fell into it a year ago and the overgrowth of algae killed off all the life in the pond as the green stuff took all the nutrients out of it. We dumped a bunch of salt in there because it smelled so bad and now it's a dead pond, but it shore is nice for a swim and to get away from th' others." Applejack said. "Ah still can't believe Ah agreed to this."
"You can still back out." I said. "I'd find some way..."
"Nah, Ah said Ah would and Ah'm a mare of mah word," she said as the small pond came into view, a small hut sat on the far bank, it looked like it would be big enough to house three or four ponies comfortably. "Besides, we got privacy out here. This is mah private spot. Mac an' 'Bloom stay away from here, and Ah stay away from their spots. We all need some private time 'round here, Ah mean you can only live with 'em for so long until they get on yer nerves." She said with a chuckle.
I smiled as the moon rose above the pond, its reflection in the mirror like pond adding to the beauty of the scene. "It's beautiful." I said smiling. "Thanks for showing this to me."
"Not a problem sugarcube. If ya'll need a place to crash away from Ponyville, go ahead and come here, jus' let me know first."
"Will do AJ." I said as we trotted around the lake.
"So what all is true from the legends?" Applejack asked
"Well... So far I've found out that I can see and hear really well, run really fast, jump really high, and that I need blood to survive. Luna mentioned something about dark magic, me being nocturnal, and that most of the myths come from attempts to remake the spell that was used on me."
"Sounds like it ain't all that bad, well sides the blood part that is." Applejack said as we stepped into the hut. "Er, Twi', mind lightin’ up that horn 'o yers, I can't find the tinderbox and lamp."
"I got it AJ." I levitated the items over to her, and then created a werelight. "I can also see better in the dark, and it could be worse I suppose. I could be like in the legends." I sighed as she walked over to a cast iron stove in one of the corners.
"Ya see? Ya just gotta look on the bright side o' things." She said as she managed to get a fire going in the stove. "B'sides, you have your friends still don'tcha."
"Yeah, I'm just worried how some of them will react." I said sitting on one of the cushions that were scattered across the floor. "I mean, I bet Rarity would panic."
"Oh Ah doubt it. She seems madly obsessed with vampires ever since that Celestia-damned Daybreak story came out. Ah tried reading it, Ah don't get how ponies like that kind of sappy romance stuff."
"Right, I remember hearing about that one." I said with a grimace. "I know it's not what I'd read."
"It's just awful." Applejack said as she lit the lamp using a burning stick, allowing me to extinguish the werelight. She then walked over to me. "Ya can take those clothes off Sugarcube, ain't no pony gonna bother us." She said as she lay down on the cushion next to me. "B'sides they don't exactly look all that comfortable
"I'm used to them, but sure. Besides it's going to get warm in here thanks to that stove." I removed the jeans before the hoodie and tossed them into a corner by the door. "Mind if I drop the illusion spell too?"
"Nah. B'sides Ah may as well git used to those teeth 'o yours." She said.
I dropped the spell and the two white points faded back into view. Applejack giggled after a moment of silence. "What?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
"Nothing really, Ah was just thinkin’ how odd a pony looks with fangs." She said and I made a stupid face for the hell of it, causing us both to start giggling.
"Yeah I thought the same thing too when I woke up." I said, shifting closer to Applejack. I winced as I heard her heartbeat again, my instincts telling me that I needed to drink. How should I tell her... well time to wing it I suppose... "You remember how I said I was afraid I would hurt you earlier?"
"Yeah, Ah was wondering about that today. Was it just b'cause you're a vampony or was it because of something else?"
"A little of column A, a little of column B." I said. "Earlier as I was watching you work what spooked me into leaving was the fact that I could hear your heartbeat and I felt the need to... you know." I said, Applejack looking surprised.
"Wow... you sure got good ears now Twi'." Applejack said, and then stood up again. "Well, may as well deal with the problem at hoof." She said moving right next to me and leaning up against my side. I was sweating a little at that point, a combination of the heat from the stove and nerves, worried about what I was about to do.
"Y-yeah." I said. I can't believe I'm doing this, it just seems so wrong... yet right at the same time...
"So yer sure it's not going to hurt?" Applejack said as she took off her Stetson, probably to avoid getting blood on her hat.
"Yeah, If Luna was telling the truth, it should be rather..." I couldn't help but blush as I finished my sentence, embarrassment seeping into my voice. "Pleasurable for both parties."
I could hear her hear beat a bit faster. "Well… let's get this over an' done with." She said, exposing her neck to me.
I hesitated as I lowered my mouth to her neck. Thousands of "What if's" coursing through my mind as I felt my lips brush the fur on her neck. "You're sure you're all right with this?" I asked once more, my voice almost a whisper.
"Just do it sugarcube." She said, bracing herself.
"Okay." I said, placing my mouth on her neck, instinctively knowing where the artery was. I could feel her shaking a little, and I found a small amount of guilty pleasure in the fact that she was completely at my mercy.
I bit down softly, trying to cause as little pain as I could. I felt her tense up beneath me as my fangs pierced her skin, a small moan escaping her lips as the first drops of blood hit my tongue.
I was not at all prepared for the taste of it. Her blood tasted like the juice from the finest apples, picked at the perfect time in harvest and squeezed fresh into the glass. I knew it should have tasted different, but I was too lost in the explosion of flavor to care. I began to suck, the blood flowing in small rivulets from around my fangs, causing Applejack to moan a bit louder.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I let go, worried I had hurt her. "You all right?" I asked, still reeling from the intense flavor of her blood.
"Keep goin’ Twi'." She said, turning to me, a gleam of lust in her eye and a small smirk on her face. "Ah doubt that was enough." I could smell her arousal clearly now that I wasn't distracted. "But first, that's a little uncomfortable." She said rolling onto her back, her hair splayed out on the soft cushion below us. I didn't notice her removing her hairbands when she took off her Stetson, but I could see the red rings of elastic fabric lying beside it. "Ah think you should know Twi', Ah'm not exactly into... stallions..." She said sheepishly.
"Really?" I said as I climbed onto her, nuzzling her cheek and noticing that the bite wound was already healed.
"Yeah... I just realized it a few weeks ago, but..." she said, sounding a bit afraid.
"Don't worry, I'll keep it quiet." I said giving her a hug, pinning her forehooves between us. "Mind if I continue?"
"Go ahead." She said, brushing a hoof against my marehood which caused me to gasp.
I bit down again, this time getting the same rush of flavor, but with a wave of pleasure as well. I felt Applejack squirm underneath me, moaning quietly. I sucked gently, the blood trickling slowly into my mouth. I could feel myself becoming more aroused as the waves of pleasure coursed through me, causing my whole body to tingle. I felt Applejack start to pant as she moaned louder, her hooves getting to work on me, causing me to moan into her neck.
"By the moon Twi,' Don't stop!" She panted out as I snaked a hoof between us, beginning to caress her folds, the orange mare beneath me squirming as she returned the favor, causing me to do the same. I let go of her neck and slid up her body, making my lips meet hers, as we both got closer. I could hear her heart rate speed up as her moans grew in pitch along with mine as we both reached the edge of climax.
I broke the kiss and bit down once more, feeling Applejack's whole body tense as her mouth opened in a silent scream as I drank, my own body seizing up with my own climax.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
We stayed locked like that for what seemed to be hours, but couldn't have been more than a few moments before I released her neck and flopped off to the side, feeling full and content in the afterglow. Applejack laid panting beside me, covered in sweat and twitching, the sensations still coursing through her.
"Sweet Celestia..." She panted. "That was just... Wow."
"Yeah." I said, hugging her.
"Ah don't think Ah'll mind being your blood donor if that's how it is every time." She said, returning the hug and kissing me.
"Me neither." I said, kissing her once more. "Your blood tastes like apples." I said giggling, gaining a deadpan from Applejack.
"Really?" She said smiling at me. "Who would have guessed?" she said sarcastically before breaking down into laughter as well. After we caught our breath, we just sat there for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. The silence was broken by a yawn from Applejack.
"Tired?" I asked, hugging her again.
"Yeah, just a little." She said hugging me once more.
"Me too. That was intense." I said, getting up and turning off the lamp as Applejack pulled out a blanket from under another nearby cushion. I went back and lay down beside her, my head resting on the soft yet firm muscles of her belly, soon nodding off to the rhythmic sounds of her heart and her breathing.
-=-=-=-=-
(A/N: replaced with edited version.)
4: The Haunting Howl of Living Timber
The Vampony Chronicles
By: SteampunkBrony Edited By: DoomManta
((A/N: minor gore))
I woke first, about twenty minutes later if the stove was anything to judge by. I smiled a little as I got up, my legs still a little weak from my earlier activities. I trotted over to the stove and added another few logs, latching the cast iron grate shut to keep anything too hot to be healthy from rolling out.
"Mmm..." Applejack muttered something in her sleep, I couldn't quite make it out it was so muffled by the pillow she had laid her head on. I smiled at the adorable scene that was the usually rough-and-tumble farm pony sleeping peacefully with her mane and tail loose. I pulled a blanket over her after casting a spell or two to clean her fur of sweat, blood, and anything else that may have given away the night's activities. I decided against doing the same for myself, electing instead to take a swim in the crystal clear pond outside.
I stepped out of the hut into the crisp night air, a small shiver running down my side from the sudden temperature change. The woods fell silent around me, the usual light rustle of night time critters stopping as I glanced around, picking out each subtle hint of life that I could. I could hear as an owl turned its head to face me, locking me with an unblinking stare that I met, and we stood locked in the wordless staring contest for a few moments until the owl blinked, hooted, and flew off. I chuckled at the bird's antics before placing a hoof in the water of the pond.
The water was a comfortable temperature, well cold, but comfortable. I waded in further, allowing my body to get used to the temperature. I could feel my muscles involuntarily clench for a split second as I moved deeper into the pond. I was soon deep enough that only my head and neck sat out of the water, my tail and mane floating in the water behind me. I braced myself and dunked my head beneath the surface.
The sudden cold on my face was refreshing, destroying any traces of sleepiness that were left. I lifted my head out of the water, tossing my mane back to rid it of the water. An arch of droplets glistened in the moonlight above me as the strands of my mane cut a path through the air before landing behind my head. I proceeded to use my magic to wash the small amount of dried blood off of my lips, and then made sure to rid myself of the rest of the hints of the night's activities.
I frolicked in the pond for a few more minutes before stepping out, using a weak heat spell to dry my fur. Steam wafted from my coat as I stood in the moonlight, gazing up at the stars. Like diamonds glinting on black velvet, they twinkled back down at me, causing me to smile. Luna's watching over me, me and everypony else. Celestia does so politically, however I have a feeling Luna handles things more... metaphysically. My musing were interrupted by a strange sound that reached my ears.
It sounded like a wolf's howl, one clear note that rose in pitch with its sudden start then slowly dropped off to allow the night to calmly resume its peace, however there were the undertones of a tree creaking in the wind. The sound was captivating and chilling at the same time because I knew of only one creature that made such a howl.
Timberwolves.
Normally they only showed up during zap apple season. Normally they traveled in packs.
This wasn't normal. No other howls answered the first, and it was fall, far past normal season for the timberwolves.
It's him... it has to be. The one that chased me. I thought as I looked in the direction the howl came from. I had no way of knowing for sure, however my gut told me that it was searching for me, and that it wasn't going to give up. That would take it right through the Acres. Oh no... My blood ran cold at the thought.
Applebloom was having a sleepover in the barn.
I had walked right past the barn, and now a rogue timberwolf was following my scent trail. I rushed into the hut, waking Applejack from her slumber. "AJ, there's a timberwolf nearby, it sounded like it was near the Acres!"
"The girls!" She replied, suddenly alert as I teleported to the Acres. I made a beeline for the barn, as I could hear the timberwolf's howls getting closer.
"Applebloom!" I called as I kicked open the door to the barn.
"Huh?" Applebloom said groggily as she woke up at my sudden intrusion. "What's goin’ on Twilight?"
"Get your friends, there's a timberwolf nearby, it sounds like it's getting closer." The filly’s eyes went wide after she heard this.
"T-t-timberwolf!" she stuttered before shaking her friends awake. I could hear Applejack's hooves on the path behind the house and barn.
"Hurry." I said, stepping outside as Applejack arrived. "I woke them up, they'll be out in a second."
"Twi! Teeth!" Applejack said urgently in a hushed voice.
"What are you... right!" I said, hoping Applebloom hadn't seen anything as I re-cast the illusion spell. "Thanks."
"No problem. I'll go wake Mac 'n Granny." She said as the girls stepped out of the barn. "You three int'a the cellar, Twi', I hate ta ask this of ya but can you keep watch?" Applejack asked.
"Of course. If you see a bright light out here, that means I'm holding it off." I said, nodding to Applejack. "Now hurry!"
Applejack nodded as the three fillies filed into the house's cellar. Now that I was alone I glanced up at the moon.
"Luna, if you can hear me lend me strength if that thing gets here before they make it to the cellar." I whispered my quiet prayer to the moon.
Suddenly the moon pulsed slightly brighter and I felt an electric sensation pass through me. While We may not be able to lend thou strength from this distance, The lunar princes' voice echoed in my head, We can however tell you this: Trust thine instincts, the Blessing gave thee the instincts of a predator, use them. Prepare thyself Twilight, the timberwolf draws near.
"Thank you, Princess." I said softly, as I heard a faint panting from the orchard. I prepared myself, taking a confident stance and facing the direction of the beast's approach. I let loose a flash of magic, just as Applejack stepped out the door. "It's here, get inside!" I yelled to them, my horn glowing with energy as I shut the heavy cellar doors with my magic.
I lifted a few nails and a mallet out of a bucket by the barn as Applejack took a glance back before slamming the door, and I could hear the sound of a bar sliding into place behind the door. I could also hear Big Macintosh's protests against leaving me outside, however Applejack reassured him that I could just teleport inside if I needed to. I looked back to the orchard, hearing the timberwolf growl as it reached the edge of the trees. I readied the heavy iron mallet and nails, aiming them for my foe as I released the illusion spell to save energy.
It stepped out into the moonlight, its amber eyes looking straight at me as I locked its gaze with mine. Neither of us moved as it stood there, each sizing up the other without breaking eye contact.
They say it is a bad idea to look a wild animal in the eye, as they see it as a challenge, now I knew why. Between us rose a tension as neither was willing to lose the staring contest, something instinctual telling me that if I did, it meant that I was somehow inferior or weaker than the timberwolf. I couldn't explain why I felt this, I normally would have just fired off as many spells as I could as fast as I could, in order to finish the fight quickly.
This time however, I felt confident, calm, and most importantly, powerful.
I can't say why, but I felt that I was the superior predator, the alpha. I felt that the timberwolf was challenging that, challenging the fact that this was my territory, my home.
I think it knew that I felt that way, that it was trespassing on my territory. I think it could tell that I was not going to run like last time.
I think it could sense that if it didn't leave, I was going to kill it.
The seconds we stood there felt like minutes, neither of us moving. I could hear one of the fillies crying, and someone loading a crossbow within the house. The crickets had stopped chirping, everything was silent. It was the calm before the storm.
Then, the storm hit.
With a growling bark the timberwolf charged, breaking eye contact as it rushed towards me. I gave a yell of my own, a primal war cry as I charged as well, the nails and mallet shooting forward, only one hitting as the two inch iron point shot through the timberwolf's ear. It didn't flinch as it kept charging, the distance between us disappearing in seconds.
At the last second, I slid low and thrust my hooves into the wooden chest of the timberwolf, leaving two deep hoof shaped gouges as the beast was launched into the air, back into the trees of the orchard. I followed it in, only one goal in mind: to force it into submission, or kill it if that failed.
I could hear it recovering from its flight up ahead, and took a leap, spinning in the air to lead with my rear hooves. I broadsided it with a satisfying thwack as it was sent flying into the trunk of an apple tree hard enough to leave a shallow depression in the bark. As it stood up I could see a few of the branches that had adorned its back had snapped off from the impact. It snarled and charged at me again, its head low to prevent me from pulling the same trick twice.
I dodged left and gave a kick with my rear hooves, but the beast was past me. I fell onto my stomach as it whipped around and pounced, its jaws wide. I rolled out of the way as it landed, using my momentum to get back on my hooves. It jumped at me again, making a swipe with one of its paws. I jumped up into the air, twisting so that I was leading with my front legs, pointing straight at the timberwolf's neck.
It started to get up as it realized it had missed again just before I landed, shoving its muzzle down into the earth of the orchard. I planted my rear hooves on its shoulders and reached around its neck, running on instinct as I wrapped my legs around its neck. It growled as it reared up trying to shake me off as I swung myself around, my head darting forward, aiming for its throat.
I bit down, the soft bark of its throat giving way to my teeth, flooding my mouth with its tangy blood. I twisted, letting go of its neck with my forelegs and dropped to the ground, taking a sizeable chunk of its throat with me. I landed on my hooves, my back to the beast as it made a sickening gurgle before collapsing to the ground, its yellow, bitter blood shining in the moonlight as it dripped down my face, and I spat out the chunk of its throat I had in my teeth. I turned back to it, looking it in the eyes as I stood tall. I could see the fear in its eyes, and its panic as it lay there bleeding out.
I took a step forward, raising my hoof before bringing it down on the back of the beast's neck with a sickening crack. It let out its final breath as the life faded from its broken body.
Thou fought well. Luna's voice echoed through my mind once more. Thou would make a fine warrior if the need for one ever arises. Clean thyself of thy foe's blood Twilight, and use thy magic to burn the body. The scene thou hast left, as well as thy appearance, would raise many questions.
"Y... yes princess." I whispered, lighting my horn as I conjured a flame, the timberwolf's body igniting quickly from the purple arcane flames. Soon it was consumed by the blaze and I tossed the chunk of its throat into the fire. I cast the cleaning spell once more and the timberwolf's blood vanished from my coat.
After a few minutes, I heard two sets of hooves approaching the scene as I watched the fire, the fact that I had just killed a living creature starting to weigh down on me.
"Twi'? You all right?" I heard Applejack say as she stepped into the clearing, eyes wide at the sight of the burning timberwolf. I could see Big Macintosh following her. He stopped at the sight of my fangs.
"Applejack..." He said.
"Ah'll explain later Mac." Applejack replied, her voice stern.
"But-" He was cut off by Applejack
"Mac, Twi' just saved our flanks, we owe her. We would have never made the cellar in time and those doors would have been wide open. 'Bloom and her friends would be dead, and us too probably, so for now, keep this a secret until you've heard the whole story, then decide. Ah trust her, you would too if ya'll knew the story behind it." She said as she walked up to me.
"I... I killed it..." I said quietly. I had been frozen, sitting in that same spot since I had lit it on fire.
"Twi'? You all right sugarcube?" She said as she stopped next to me.
"I killed it..." I muttered again, a tear falling down my cheek.
Applejack said nothing. I could see Big Mac relax slightly, and his expression of fear turned to one of concern, as Applejack pulled out a blanket and laid it over my shoulders. "C'mon now sugarcube, let's get ya back to the farm house. Mac, can you mind the blaze?"
"Eeeyup." he said as he set down the crossbow that was slung across his back. "Get her inside, and give her some of Gran's hot cider, should help," the crimson stallion said. "Ah'm sorry for makin’ assumptions there." He said, nodding to me before turning back to the burning corpse, now looking more like a large burning log than a body.
I stood at another prompt from Applejack and followed her back to the house in a daze, only hiding my fangs with more prompting from the orange mare. She led me into the kitchen and took a kettle off of the stove, pouring a mug of the warm cider within. She passed it to me and I took it in my hooves.
"Ah'm gonna go get 'Bloom an' the girls. Ah'll be right back Sugarcube." She said.
I nodded in response, still in shock. I took a sip of the warm, amber liquid in the mug, enjoying the soothing feeling as it traveled to my stomach. I could hear the cellar door open and the sound of Applebloom running to her sister. I could hear them being led upstairs to Applebloom's room, and the sound of the door closing behind them as they were put to bed by Applejack as Granny Smith walked in.
"Ya'll all right Miss Sparkle?" The apple family matriarch asked as she stepped in.
"I... don't know..." I said staring down into the mug of cider.
"That was a mighty brave thing you did, moon's blessing or none. Ah' thank ya for protectin' me an' my family." She said as she sat beside me. Wait did she just say moon's blessing?
"Did you just say moon's blessing?" I asked, as I turned to her.
"That ah did. Don't worry about me tellin' anypony, ah know that it ain't like the legends. My great grandaddy was one of the blessed, he was still alive when ah was growin' up. The blessin extends your lifespan ya' see. He explained to me what it was and why he chose it. Ah take it that my Applejack was helping you with that earlier?" She said with a kind smile.
"Y-yeah." I said, looking back down into the mug and taking another sip.
"Ya'll can let the illusion down now, 'Bloom's asleep and so are her friends. Mah hearin' ain't what it used ta be, but ah can still tell that." She said with a smile.
I let the spell fade as I heard Big Macintosh walk in.
"Mac, come to the kitchen, you too AJ." Granny Smith called out to the two siblings.
Big mac stepped in first, blinking at the fact that Granny Smith was sitting there calmly before taking a seat beside her. Applejack arrived soon after.
"Sorry, 'Bloom asked me ta stay with her till she fell asleep." She said apologetically.
"That's all right dear." Granny smith said as Applejack sat down beside me as I took another sip of cider. "Now Ah expect you two to keep Miss Sparkle here's unique condition ta yerselves. Ah trust you already know this, but Ah'm just makin’ sure. Some ponies don't take too kindly to this kind of thing."
"Ah know Gran'." Applejack said. "Ah already promised Twi' Ah wouldn't say nothin'."
"Ah figured as such dear. Mac?" Granny Smith said, looking in the stallion's direction.
"Eeeyup."
"Good, now, you two go get some rest. Ah'll be talking with ya in the morning, however don't go telling 'Bloom 'bout what actually happened tonight. Twilight spooked it off is all, that's the official story and the truth as far as others are concerned." She said sternly.
The two siblings nodded before heading to bed, leaving me with Granny Smith.
"Now Ah take it the fact that ya'll took a life today is eatin’ at ya'." She said as she refilled my mug.
"Yeah..." I replied, looking down into the mug again.
"Well, don't let it." She said warmly as she sat down again. "Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reason. Let me tell ya a story...
When Mac was born, it was right at the start of harvest, an' the farm was still getting started. This house was just a small shack then an' wasn't much more than shelter from the weather. We were the farthest from town back then.
Anyhow, my husband, Adam, had just come back with a portion of the harvest one evening when he heard a growlin' in the woods near the farmhouse. He decided to take a look see and spotted a bear prowling around back there. He knew he couldn't let it stay around near the farmhouse, what with Mac still being a newborn and all, so he tried a few things to run it off. Loud noises, traps, but nothing was working, and one evening the bear wandered its way to the barn where Adam was workin. It roared at him, but he didn't flinch as it charged him, he just picked up the heavy axe he used for chopping wood and swung at the thing. Now, Adam was no small stallion, he was almost twice 'Mac's size, and that axe was so big that only he could handle it. He landed it square in the side of that grizzly’s noggin, ah don't think ah'll ever forget that sound. He pulled out the axe and dragged the bear back into the woods.
Ah asked him later about why he didn't try scaring the bear off and he told me, 'Maria, it was him or me. Ah could see in his eyes that he wasn't about to leave, and that he was set on finishin' me off. Ah wasn't about to leave ya'll behind by tryin’ to be peaceful with an enraged animal." She said smiling sadly.
"We didn't bring up the topic after that." She said. "Now, do ya'll think that timberwolf would have let us be?"
"No..." I replied, thinking about what she had just said.
"An' you were protectin' yourself, your friend, an' yer family?"
"Yeah." I said, my mood improving a little.
"Then ya'll did nothing wrong Miss Sparkle. Now, head on home. Ah think ya'll sleep better in your own bed than in a strange one. Tell your dragon friend ah said hi." She said as I finished off my cider.
"Thank you." I said as I stepped out the door.
"Don't mention it. It's the least Ah can do after ya'll saved me an’ mine." She said with a nod as she closed the door.
I trotted off in the direction of Ponyville in decidedly higher spirits as the sky started to change color on the horizon.
Spike is not going to believe me when I tell him this... I thought as I glanced back at the orchard, a thin wisp of smoke still rising above the trees.
The Vampony Chronicles
By: SteampunkBrony Edited By: DoomManta
Okay Twilight, you can do it this time! I thought as I galloped over the final roof before the gap to the library.
And jump, aim your hooves, and... SHIT! My hoof nicked the railing again, sending me face first into the bookshelves.
"Huh? Oh... morning Twi'." Spike said as he lifted his head. "Nick the railing again?" He chuckled at my predicament as he rolled out of his bed and headed for the steps.
"Put a sock in it Spike." I grumbled as I dug myself out of the pile of books, the volumes of paper zipping back to their places on the shelves. "I've had a rough night."
"How about we talk about it over breakfast?" Spike said as he headed downstairs. "Oh, and you forgot your clothes apparently."
"Whoops..." I sheepishly followed Spike down the stairs.
"So how was the sleepover?" Spike asked as he pulled out some leftover pancakes and reheated them with a blast of fire.
"Well..." I started, not really sure how to finish.
"This oughtta be good..." Spike muttered.
"I take it you knew that that was just a cover for something else right?"
"Yeah, I figured as much." Spike said with a chuckle. "Got the blood problem taken care of?"
"For a few weeks at least. Anyhow, I had decided to take a bath in the pond by the place we spent the night, and I heard a timberwolf."
"Don't they only show up this close to Ponyville during zap apple season?"
"Usually, however this one was a lone wolf, and it sounded like it was getting closer, from the direction of the farm. Applejack and I rushed back there to warn everypony, but it arrived before we could make it into the cellar." I was all right with telling Spike the story because I knew he read more gruesome things in some of the books and comics he ordered.
"Geez, what did you do to scare it off?"
"That's the thing..." I said hesitantly, feeling the guilt come back. "It wouldn't back off. I ended up fighting it."
"Holy... Are you all right?" Spike asked, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"Yeah. It didn't land a hit on me." I said.
"So did it run off?" Spike asked as he grabbed the syrup.
"No... I... It's dead." I said, feeling the tears start to come back.
I heard the sound of the clay syrup jug shattering on the wooden floor and glanced over to see Spike standing there in shock, his jaw on the floor. In any other situation it would have been rather funny, but things being what they were, I was afraid he was scared of me.
"You... killed it?" He asked. "With magic?"
"...We'll go with that." I didn't want to reveal how I had actually killed it.
"Without magic!? How?" He asked, sounding more amazed than anything.
I pointed a hoof to my fangs. "Beat it back until I was hidden from the house, then I..." I started crying at that point. "I tore its throat out Spike..." I choked out between sobs. "What kind of monster does that when I could have just chased it off?"
He stood there for a few moments processing the information before walking over to me and giving me a hug, letting me rest my head on his shoulder. "Twi', you aren't a monster. I know you better than to believe that." He said. "A monster wouldn't feel guilt for that. Plus it would have been killed anyhow, we'd have had to make a search party to find it and kill it. Timberwolves that attack ponies usually come back for more if I remember your report on them correctly." He said, referencing a report I had written in my final year at the academy.
"I... I had forgotten about that." I said, the tears subsiding a little.
"Besides, you did it to save Applejack and her family right? I don't see anything wrong with that. Actually I think you may be the first pony to defeat a timberwolf without magic." Spike said. "I don't know about you, but that's pretty awesome in my books."
I chuckled at little at that. "You sound like Rainbow Dash," Rainbow Dash... right I ran into her last night. "Speaking of our pegasus friend, did she stop by last night?"
"Now that you mention it, she did. I told her you were asleep."
"I hope she didn't check my room..."
"I put some pillows under the blankets and that wig you had because of that one lab accident, so it looked like you were asleep in bed. I went to bed right after that so I know she didn't sneak in to try to wake you up."
"Nice work Spike." I had a small smile as we ate.
After we had finished breakfast, we were just leaving the kitchen when I heard a knock on the door. "Oh horsefeathers..."
"I got it, you hide in the pantry." Spike said pointing to the door. I quickly hid myself in there, listening intently to what was going on.
"Howdy Spike." It was Applejack, thank Celestia. "Is Twi' up?"
"Yeah, come on in." He said and closed the door behind her. I opened the pantry with my magic and stepped out.
"Hey Applejack." I was enjoying the odd look she was giving me.
"Twi'? What in tarnation were ya doin’ in there?" She asked as she put down the bag she was carrying.
"Hiding in case it was somepony else. What's in the bag?"
"Yer clothes. Ya forgot em in the hut." She said chuckling.
"Thanks, I'm going to need to get some more from Rarity soon..."
"Good idea sugarcube, but what will ya tell her when she sees how ya look?" Applejack asked.
"I'll just say I found a spell that did that, but the scroll was accidentally burnt up by Spike."
"Hey!" Spike cut in. "I'm not that clumsy."
"No, but you do sometimes light the curtains on fire when you’re sleeping off a cold." I said, getting a chuckle out of Applejack. "It's a valid excuse, plus it gives me an excuse as to why I can't change back either."
"Ah'll let her know you're stopping by, I'm heading that way anyhow." Applejack said. "Granny says thanks again by the way, and she sent these for ya." With that, she pulled out two glass bottles filled with an amber liquid. One had a white label and the other had a black one.
"Sweet Apple Acres hard cider. The white label stuff you can find here in town, it's not all that strong, but mind yerself with the black label. That stuff managed to put Berry Punch out in five shots."
"Wow..." I was amazed that such a thing was possible.
"Yeah, this stuff rarely leaves the Acres. Ah think the last bottle that was given away was to Princess Celestia forty years ago when she helped us get Appleloosa runnin’. It's a rare drink ya got there."
"Wow... thanks." I said, giving her a hug as I placed the two bottles on the table. "These'll have to go in the liquor cabinet though... when I get one." I said sheepishly.
"No liquor cabinet?" Applejack was visibly surprised. "Ah thought you'd have one, heck even Fluttershy has one." She said chuckling.
"I've never needed one before. I think I know a good place for it though. I've got plans for the basement that involve some renovation into something a little more gothic. I'm copying the design of one of the rooms I found in the castle where we fought Nightmare Moon." I said with a smile. "I was going to have a wine rack anyhow, so why not have a liquor cabinet as well."
"Sounds like a good idea to me sugarcube. Let me know if you need any apple wood, we lost a few trees this year and don't have much to use the wood on." Applejack said.
"Does it take well to stain?"
"It's tricky, but ah bet ah could talk Mac into helpin’ ya with that. He's pretty good at it."
"It's a deal. Anyhow, I'm going to go start cleaning down there, the last librarian left it a mess." I said. "Tell Granny Smith I said thanks."
"You got it sugarcube." Applejack said, turning to leave. "Oh yeah, the fire ya set yesterday didn't burn all of its fuel, so Mac was wondering if you'd like the remaining wood turned into something. He's real good with woodworkin’ so if you can think it, he can probably make it."
I was surprised at the offer to say the least. "Well... I think I will... I'll get some sketches drawn up by Rarity for a chair."
"A chair? That seems rather simple for a chunk of timberwolf wood sugarcube." Applejack said, raising an eyebrow.
"Trust me, I have a good idea for it." I said with a sad smile. "Besides, I want it around as a reminder of what I don't want to become."
Applejack frowned a little after I said that, thinking for a minute before replying, "Well if you're sure Twi'." She said as she turned and headed out the door.
"So... what are you going to do now Twi'?" Spike asked me as I headed for the stairs to the basement.
"Clean out the basement. Plenty of old cobwebs down there no doubt." I said with a smile as I opened the door and headed down the stairs, not bothering to turn on the magic powered lights.
"Geez twi' how can you- Gah!" Spike jumped back from the doorway when I looked back at him. "Geez Twi' your eyes are glowing purple."
"Really? Huh, I guess that explains how I can see when there's no sources of light." I said with a chuckle. "I'll have to see if I can stop that though..." I said as I started using my magic to clean up the various boxes and shipping crates in the basement.
"Geez..." Spike said as a line of boxes floated past him.
"Looks like the previous librarian didn't like to toss the boxes the books came in." I said with a chuckle. "Can you open the door? I'll stack them by the street."
Spike gave a quick salute before heading off to open the door. "It’s open Twi'!" He called down and I sent the boxes on their way, feeling the way to the door with the lead box.
"Thanks Spike." I yelled back up as the boxes continued to take their leave. As the floor was gradually uncovered, I moved around, using levitation to pull the dust off of the stone floor. Going to have to lay down some planks to cover up the stone, actually a carpet would work better. Those supports will have to be hidden, and I could add in some shelves and cabinets. Actually, I think I'd like a private library down here, and I could copy those books in the tower. Hmm... as for lighting, a fireplace would be nice and since I'm below the tree I can do that here... some arcane torches would be awesome too.
"Uh Twi'?" Spike said as he walked down the stairs with a lantern which he placed on the bottom step.
"Yes?"
"Rarity is here, apparently she decided to come over at once when Applejack told her you'd be coming over later."
And there goes my good mood for today... I thought with a sigh. "Send her down, same deal as with AJ. I was going to tell her later anyhow." I said just loud enough for Spike to hear.
"She's going to freak..."
"Yes, but she's going to want my measurements because I was going to order more clothes, and I can't hide how I look then. If I say it was a spell, she's going to ask for it, and I can't make something up on the spot that will actually work."
"I... never thought of that..." Spike said, dumbfounded. "You sure you've never been a secret agent?"
"I'm sure Spike, however I've read enough Sherlock Hooves and other mysteries to learn to think things through from every angle." I said as I hid my fangs. "Lock the door when she is gets in okay? I almost had Applejack running through the streets yelling I was a vampony."
"Oh... that's what that thud was." Spike said, realization showing on his face before he started laughing. "I'll go get Rarity now." He said, trying his best to keep a straight face. "Good luck, and you may want a soundproofing spell... You know how loud her voice is when she's scared."
"Yeah... I'll probably want earplugs too." I said, laughing. Well, take two... let's see if there's a pattern.
I heard her hooves coming down the stairs. "Twilight dear, whatever are you doing in this dusty, dark basement?" Rarity asked as she caught view of me in the now dimly lit room…
"Just some cleaning, I just moved here and it was a mess down here. I thought that I may as well make something with this space."
"A marvelous idea dear, but why'd you ask me to come down."
"Well I want to get this done today, so this way I can talk while I work."
"Fair enough dear, now Applejack stopped by and said something about designing something?"
"Yes, I was thinking of turning this basement into a study, and while I have most of the room planned out, I want to do something extra special for the desk and chair. Big Mac's offered to build it out of the wood of a timberwolf they found dead on the acres, and you know how rare that wood is."
"Timberwolf mahogany!" She replied her eyes going wide. "Dear, I will need some time to perfect the design for that. Mac is carving it you say?"
"Yes." I said as I lifted a pile of dust into a trash bin.
"Well at least it's in capable hooves... You should see the bookcase and cabinet he carved me; I've never seen more intricate woodwork from anypony. Are you getting it stained?"
"Yes, a very dark purple, almost black and I was wondering if silver inserts would be possible as well."
"I think I can figure it out. What is the theme of the room going to be?"
"You remember the castle we fought Nightmare Moon in?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well I'm basing it off of a room I found in there. I'll have to show it to you if we have time later today." I said, quite amused at her expression.
"I suppose if we must dear. Anything else?"
"Yes, I was hoping to get some clothes made, more casual wear than anything, but you're the only pony I know in town that makes clothing."
"Casual wear? That's certainly different from my usual orders."
"Yes well... Okay you remember that spell bolt Nightmare Moon fired at me?"
"Yes... Oh dear did it do something horrible to you?" She said as she levitated the lantern closer.
"Well... that all depends on perspective." I said as she brought the lantern closer so she could see.
"Dear, whatever do you mean!" Rarity said as she looked me over. "I don't think even Fleur-Di-Lis looks as good as you do!"
"Yes well making me look athletic wasn't the only thing it did."
"Come now dear, it also filled out your form in the right spots, made your mane look like it's made of silk, and I don't think I've seen a coat with such a nice sheen on anypony but Princess Celestia."
"Well... there's a reason for that. Have you ever heard of the Blessing of the Moon?"
"No... what is it?" Rarity asked stopping.
"Essentially it was a spell created in the days before Celestia and Luna cast the spells that made Equestria as safe as it is for everypony, and put in place some proper law enforcement. Back then, according to Luna, Equestria was as dangerous as the Everfree. Luna saw this and decided to do something about it and created that spell."
"Well, what does it do?"
"Essentially, it's the thing that started all the legends about vamponies."
"You don't mean..." Rarity said, her eyes going wide.
I nodded and let my fangs come back into view.
We didn't move for about three minutes if I counted the ticks of the upstairs clock right. "I'm surprised you haven't tried bolting for the door yet."
"Well... I thought about it, but then I realized you can teleport." Rarity said shakily.
"Well you are doing better than Applejack, she ran headlong into my bedroom door." I said smiling a little at the memory.
"She what?" Rarity said, probably not believing her ears.
"She bolted for the stairs and ran headfirst into my bedroom door."
Rarity just sat there for a moment before she burst out laughing. "Oh my- Oh- Is the door still intact?" She asked when she could catch her breath again.
"Its solid oak, although I think she left a mark." I said once my breathing returned to normal.
"So... about the... erm..."
"I may as well get the awkward part of this over and done with, yes I do need to drink blood, and no I'm not going to become some bloodthirsty monster."
"Well, that's good... the not becoming a monster thing I mean."
"You know, you're taking this rather well..."
"A lady never loses her composure... well that and I've always secretly been a fan of that particular branch of myth."
"... Okay I didn't expect that."
"It all seems so wonderful. The night has always held that... oh how to put it... almost romantic mystery to me, and vamponies even more so." Rarity said smiling dreamily.
"Except the blood thing."
"Yes well..."
"It's not all that bad to be honest." I said with a small shrug. "It will just take some... getting used to."
"You've already had to?"
"Yes, but I won't need to for another few weeks. Applejack helped out, and no, it doesn't transfer unless I want it to."
"Oh, well that's good. Wait, was that you jumping rooftops yesterday?"
"Yes, you saw me?"
"No, but Rainbow Dash stopped by earlier today to ask about it." Rarity said. "From what she said it would seem that you're a Coltic mare with blue and black coloration who is pretty fast, although you would never be able to outrun our light blue friend."
"Did she mention I got away yesterday?"
"No, she just said that she had a conversation with you."
"Didn't think so." I said as we shared a laugh. "So, about those clothes."
"Darling why would you want to hide your form? I'll admit I may not be into mares, but with Celestia as my witness you're making me think twice." Rarity said with an embarrassed chuckle. "Although don't tell anypony I said that."
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." I said blushing. "But my form is the reason, if I suddenly look like I do, ponies will ask questions."
"Hmm... yes I suppose that true. I thought it was because of the sun."
"No, actually. Most of the downsides are false, well that I know of at least. I'm going to have to ask Luna or check the library in the old castle to be sure."
"Ah, so that's why you were there, searching for answers?"
"In a way." I said as Rarity pulled a measuring tape out of a small leg pouch I hadn't noticed up until now.
"So Applejack helped you with the blood problem last night I take it?"
"Yes..." I said as she started taking measurements.
"What was it like...? If you don't want to say that's fine, but I have always been curious?" Rarity said with a slight blush.
"Well..." How to word this... "It was an intense experience to say the least." I said with a blush.
"You two didn't..." She said, blushing a bit more herself.
"Well, Luna said she designed the spell to make that bit enjoyable for both parties, but I don't think either of us expected it to be like... that..." I trailed off sheepishly.
Rarity just stood there for a moment, her face rather red before saying, "So is she a... you know... I've always had my suspicions... And I wouldn't tell anypony."
"Rarity, we both know you like to gossip."
"Yes, but only about trivial things, not anything like that." She said looking a little bit peeved. "While I do enjoy idle chatter, I don't think it's right to spread rumors like that."
"Okay, but your flank is mine if you tell anypony."
"So she is... good to know."
"Why?" I asked, curious now.
"So I don't try to play matchmaker. I've seen that go horribly wrong in the past." Rarity said with a shudder.
"Fair enough." I said as she finished taking the measurements.
"So what kind of attire were you looking for?"
"Well something comfy, right now I have a hoodie and jeans that I'm planning on using." I said as Rarity nodded.
"I think I can make that look fashionable. I take it nothing too fancy right?"
"Yes that's the gist of it."
"Simple yet stylish... well I like a good challenge." She said with a smile. "Now, about that chair?"
"I can show you to the palace to show you the room if you'd like."
"That sounds like a good idea, however let me first get the dimensions of this room. I took a few courses on interior decoration before." She said as she used the measuring tape to take the diameter of the room, as well as the height. "Meet me at my place in about an hour, I need to grab a few things and find someone to watch Sweetie Belle. She's still asleep, apparently there was an incident at Sweet... wait, Twilight did you have anything to do with that?"
"Erm... well..."
"That timberwolf tried to attack them?" Rarity said shocked.
"It would have had it gotten the chance..."
"You didn't..." Rarity said looking at me, clearly shocked. I tried to come up with something to say, but after a moment Rarity said, "Well I suppose I have you to thank for Sweetie's safety then."
"What?"
"Oh come now, I know Mac would try to defend them, but he isn't a very good shot with that crossbow of theirs and I doubt he has the will to kill a timberwolf. I didn't think you did either to be honest..." She said looking at me with a look I couldn't quite place. It was somewhere halfway between 'that's impressive' and 'that's kind of disturbing'.
"I... It probably would have killed them if I hadn't done anything."
"Then it's a good thing you did." She said giving me a hug. "I don't blame you, at one point I had a coltfriend who was part of the local guard, he had to handle things like that every now and then, I understand."
"Thank you Rarity." I said, starting to tear up as I hugged her back.
"Darling, I'm one of your friends, I will be here for you when you need me." She said as she broke the hug and looked me in the eyes. "I may not be the Element of Loyalty, but I will do my best to be there."
"Thank you... That means a lot." I said quietly. "It's been a tough three days."
"I can only imagine. Now, I'm going to go pack, and you finish cleaning this room up okay? I know a few local woodworkers who owe me a favor or two that can help with a project of this size."
"Rarity you don't have to-"
"No Darling, I insist." She said with a smile. "Besides, the boutique is already in top shape and I don't plan on any redecoration any time soon."
"Well... If you're sure."
"I insist." She said and headed up the stairs. I unlocked the door with my magic before she reached it and got back to work.
"Spike! Can you grab the mop and a bucket of soapy water please?" I called up as I looked at the floor. This is going to take a little while.
6: A Trot Into the Darkness
The Vampony Chronicles
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.
7: P.S. Lady Celestia Have Mercy on Me
The Vampony Chronicles
((A/N: Gore))
"Rarity!" I screamed as I dived off of the landing at the Manticore. I landed hard on its head, forcing its face down into the cold stone floor with a soft thud. I quickly ran over to my friend who was laying unconscious beneath the heavy door. "Rarity, wake up!" I said as I heaved the door out of the way. I cast a quick diagnostics spell on her. Thank Celestia she's alive! I thought as I cast a healing spell on her. "Please work..." I repeated as I cast.
"Ooooh... my head..." Rarity said as she woke up.
"Rarity!" I said hugging her. "I thought I lost you!"
"Twilight! Behind y-" I didn't hear the rest as a large golden paw slammed into us throwing us at the wall of the tower. I twisted us so that I'd hit first a split second before we impacted the hard stone bricks. We both fell to the floor as the Manticore turned towards us.
"Twilight!" Rarity said coughing. "Are you-" She cut off what she was saying as the the Manticore's stinger landed in her side with a sickening thud. "Twilight..."
"NO!" I screamed as I felt my blood run cold. The Manticore withdrew its stinger, letting Rarity slump to the ground, unmoving as it approached. "Rarity..."
What is thy course of action Twilight? Luna's voice echoed through my head.
"Wh-what?"
Will thou fight like the Vampony thou has become? Or will thou die, like the pony thou used to be? She said coldly. The Manticore is fast enough to keep up with thine speed and thy strength is less than thine opponents, but if you choose to fight I can give thee the knowledge of a spell that will enable thee to win. You can still save thy friend, but thou must win first.
"I..." The manticore took another step towards us, a predatory gleam in its eye. "I choose..." I looked down at Rarity and saw her chest move slightly. She's alive! "I will fight." I said.
Very well Twilight. Luna said and I felt a pressure on my mind. Use this knowledge wisely Twilight, for my Sister forbade the practice of the dark arts shortly after my banishment.
"I understand your higness." I said, and cast the spell, the magic feeling cold and dangerous in contrast to my usual spells.
An emerald spell circle flared to life around me, a black mist seeping out from around my hooves. The Manticore stopped, confused as to what was happening. The black mist congealed into two ebony blades, each about a foot long and as sharp and jagged as a broken window. The floated in the air, held there by my magic as I glared at the Manticore, anger rising within me.
"You have not won, you are going to die." I said coldly as I advanced past rarity towards the Manticore. "You attacked without provocation and I am going to be the last thing you see before entering Tartarus!" I yelled as I attacked, the obsidian blades singing a death toll as they arced through the air at the Manticore.
It swatted the first out of the way with the tip of its tail only to have the second blade remove its stinger in a spray of crimson blood. The beast roared in pain as the first blade came back around and dug into its side, the many points of the jagged blade tearing at flesh and hide, leaving a long crimson tear in the Manticore's side as its blood poured fourth, spreading across the ground beneath it and seeping between the stones.
I lept forth, the blades dragging long gouges through the hide of the beast as it tried to escape, one removing a wing and the other a leg as the infathomably sharp points and high speed cleaved bone. As it fell I jumped onto its back, and plunged the blades down, severing it's spine at the base of the neck.
It landed with a bone jarring thud, and I withdrew the blades, the crimson blood splattering my coat as I jumped back.
I did it again... I killed... I thought. "Rarity!" I gasped as the blades shattered, the black mist that formed them dissipating into the air. I ran to her, skidding to a halt beside her.
"Twi... light..." Rarity whispered.
"Oh by the moon... Hold on Rarity, I'll save you!" I said frantically. Luna! How do I save her?
The only way aside from holy magic, which I cannot help thou with, that thou has access to is to turn thy friend. Luna replied solemnly.
What? There must be another way! I replied as Rarity coughed again.
I... The only other way that I can help thee with Twilight is a Resurrection, and I will not perform that magic again. Luna replied. Necromancy is the only dark art that I forbid, as it destroys the natural balance of life and death.
If... if that's the only option then... I replied. "Rarity... The only way I can save you is to... turn you."
"Do it..." Rarity said weakly, "I don't... want to die..." She said, and I noticed the tears streaming from her eyes.
"I... I'm sorry." I said back as I brought my hoof to my mouth. "Celestia have mercy on me, and Luna forgive me." I said, silver tears falling as I took a mouthful of my own blood, then bit down on Rarity's neck, allowing her blood to mix with mine. Her blood tasted like a rose smells, with a delicate but full flavor that reminded me of the scents and elegance of upper Canterlot and Canterlot Castle, but with subtle undertones that seemed to remind me of the hard working people of Ponyville.
Her body went rigid and she gave a loud moan I felt something drain from me, as if something more than just blood was being transferred. I withdrew, swallowing the mixture of blood that was in my mouth and sat back, watching as the wound closed. What now? I asked Luna.
I am going to join thee in about two hours. Thy friend will survive now, take her up to the sanctuary, Ceres will assist Thee until I arrive. Thou fought well today Twilight, and thou has sired thy first fledgeling. Thou should be proud. Luna replied.
Rarity shuddered and panted a little before she opened her eyes as I lifted her up and laid her on my back. I could feel that she had reacted much the same as I had when Ceres had helped my body complete the change as I jumped up the inside of the tower, holding Rarity in place with my magic.
As I stepped into the sanctuary I heard Rarity gasp. "This place is... beautiful." she said weakly.
"I thought so too." I said, smiling tiredly as I undid our saddlebags with magic, and placed them on a patch of stone floor by the door, not wanting to stain the carpets with the blood they were soaked in.
"Wait, can you pass me my saddlebags?" she said.
"Why?" I asked, levitating them over to her. She opened one of the pouches and dug through them, withdrawing a small book with her teeth. I noticed some of the blood that had soaked the saddlebags had gotten on her mouth. "Rarity, you got a little... blood on your face."
She put the book down and, after thinking for a second, proceeded to lick it off. "I must say." She said when she was done as she looked at me and chuckled a little at my expression of disbelief, "I do taste rather exquisite."
"I-wha-what do you-I don't even..." I stuttered, causing her to laugh weakly. I facehoofed before picking her up with my magic again. "Come on, we're getting ourselves cleaned up."
"You're quite something too you know." She said as I set her back down on my back. "I don't think I've ever heard of a spell like that..."
"Rarity... please." I said with a sigh as we passed through the armory. "Can we not talk about that?"
"But why not? That was incredible." She said, glancing at the podium that Ceres resided in as we passed it.
"But I killed another living thing!" I exclaimed as we reached the bedroom and entered the washroom. "And I was forced to turn you into a vampony..."
"Twilight dear." She said as I climbed into the sizable bathtub and set her beside me before turning on the warm water. "You didn't do anything wrong. You protected both of us and saved my life."
"I know but-"
"Don't you but me." She said with a chuckle.
"I feel like a monster..." I muttered, looking down into the water which was already pink with blood.
"You are not a monster Twilight." Rarity said, nuzzling my side. "You are far from that. You are a kind pony with a big heart who hates the thought of harming others. If it wasn't for you Nightmare Moon would have plunged the world into eternal night. If it wern't for you, Applejack, Granny Smith, Big Mac, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo likely would have been killed by that Timberwolf." She said. "If it weren't for you, I'd be dead right now."
"Rarity..."
"Twilight, you really are too hard on yourself." She said. "There are a lot worse ponies out there than you, trust me. Did you know Sweetie Belle is adopted?"
"Really?" I said, surprised.
"Yes. She's actually the daughter of one of my Aunts, and fortunately for us she looks enough like me and my parents no one asks any questions. My Aunt was a kind pony, actually she was a lot like you Twilight. Smart, kind, caring... One day she fell for a colt in Manehattan, and they got married. I don't know all the details but sometime while she was pregnant with Sweetie she found out that he had been sleeping with another mare. When she confronted him about it he beat her then walked out of the house. The next day he returned with divorce papers, and he somehow managed to take everything she had of value when he left. He then warned that if she told anypony he'd sue for custody of Sweetie." Rarity said, tears falling. "She came to my parents six years ago in tears pleading for them to adopt Sweetie when she was born. She said it was the only way to keep her out of that monster's hooves. Mom and Dad agreed, and when Sweetie was born they adopted her right away. My aunt then took that bastard to court for everything him and his girlfriend had. She managed to win back what she had lost and then some thanks to her neighbor's testimony, and he was locked up. She was so happy that she'd be able to raise Sweetie... "
"Then a week later she was found, poisoned, in her home. The culprit... that bitch of a girlfriend. She said it was revenge..." Rarity said, before breaking down sobbing against my side. I put a hoof around her, having shut off the water. "That." She said between sobs. "That is what a monster is. Someone who doesn't care about what happens to others so long as they get ahead. A monster is someone who can't see past their own greed and desires and will go so far as to harm others to satisfy those desires."
I hugged her as she cried on my shoulder, not quite sure what to say. "Rarity... I... I'm not entirely unfamiliar with stories like that. I heard them every now and then while watching the royal court." I said. "But Sweetie has you and your parents now, and she's happy isn't she?"
"She is. And I'm not about to tell her." Rarity said. "It isn't easy keeping that secret, but its for the best." She said, still sobbing a little. "I don't want anything to happen to her, she's lost so much without knowing it..."
"I'm sure everything will turn out fine." I said. "Now let's get ourselves cleaned up." I said splashing her with some of the water.
"Hey!" She said returning fire as I chuckled. I proceeded to douse her with a large sphere of water.
"Okay let's stop before we end up flooding the room." I said, giggling along with Rarity as I doused myself and started using my magic to remove the blood from my coat and mane.
Once we were clean I helped Rarity out of the bath and opened the drain, the ruby colored water swirling away.
"Before we get to work on those designs there's somepony I would like you to meet, as well as we have a few things to discuss." I said. "Follow me."
I led Rarity into Ceres's room, and beckoned for her to step up on the podium alongside me as I channeled some magic into the engraved spell. Ceres appeared a moment later.
"Huh? Oh hi Twilight!" She said as she appeared. "And who would this be? I'm Ceres, guardian of this sanctuary." She said with a smile.
"Hi Ceres, this is Rarity, she's a friend of mine and, due to unfortunate circumstances, a vampony now as well." I said.
"Pleased to meet you." Rarity said, giving a small curtsy.
"The pleasure is all mine." Ceres said, returning the gesture. "And what do you mean by unfortunate circumstances?"
"I ended up on the pointy end of a Manticore..." Rarity said.
"Ouch!" Ceres said flinching. "I know the feeling sadly. Is it still hanging about?"
"Well..." I started, not quite sure how to put it.
"Twilight here... solved... that particular problem..." Rarity filled in for me.
Ceres just stared for a moment. "Wow, not a week has gone by and already she's taken down a Manticore. I think that's a new record." She said with a chuckle. "And turned a fledgeling as well... yeesh."
I blushed a bit at that as Rarity spoke up again. "And wasn't there something about a timber wolf as well?"
"Rarity!" I exclaimed.
"Really? A Timberwolf? I don't want the details on that one." Ceres said.
"Trust me," I said, "I'm not about to give them."
"Well in any case you seem to be taking things pretty well." Ceres said. "Have you had a chat with Luna yet?"
"Yes, although only in my dreams." I said, earning an odd look from Rarity.
"Yeah, she tends to do that, it's annoying at times." Ceres replied, confusing Rarity further.
"Pardon my ignorance but what do you mean by that?" Rarity asked.
"Luna can communicate with ponies through their dreams." Ceres explained.
"Actually she's going to be showing up in around an hour or two." I said, which predictably threw Rarity into a panic.
"P-p-p-princess Luna is going to be here? I don't have anything to wear! And my mane!" She started before I put a hoof over her mouth.
"Relax, it is informal, and she knows you were almost killed by a Manticore." I said. "How are you feeling by the way?"
"A little stiff, and rather weak, but my body isn't on fire anymore so that is a good thing." Rarity said.
"Sounds good, I'll be around the tower if you need me, it's been a while since I've been called on and I have a feeling the attic needs a good bat cleaning." Ceres said, before floating through the ceiling, and I could hear the surprised squeaks of quite a few bats.
I simply shook my head and headed for the reading room. "Would you like a hoof Rarity?" I asked as she followed slowly.
"Oh I'll be fine once i reach one of those luxurious looking sofa's darling." She said.
"Okay, I'll be back soon, I'm just going to get rid of the manticore's body." I said.
"Er, actually Twilight?" Rarity said.
"Yes?"
"Can you cut off it's mane fur? I have an idea for a coat that would work wonderfully with that shade of red." She said.
"What is it with everypony wanting parts of the dead things..." I asked out loud.
"Manticore fur is extremely rare, and a coat with that for the collar and cuffs would sell for an unbelievable amount of bits." Rarity replied.
"Fine." I said with a sigh before exiting the sanctuary and hopping down to the blood covered stones below. What a mess... I thought before turning to the Manticore's body.
I fought back the nausea at the sight of the once proud creature. It lay motionless with huge bloody gashes in it's hide. It's fur and mane were matted with blood and it's eyes were lifeless. I had to sit down for a moment at the sight of it. I... I did that... I'm not just strong... I'm dangerous." I muttered, looking down at my hooves, guilt welling up inside me as I tried to blink back tears.
"That you are Twilight." I heard Ceres said as she floated down beside me. "You're dangerous to your enemies, that's for sure, but if this evening is any indication you are one of the best friends anypony could have."
"What do you mean?" I asked softly, Strange... everything looks pinkish... I thought as I tried to blink away the odd pinkish shade that everything had suddenly taken.
"Take it from somepony who's been around for a while and seen many others become vamponies. Most ponies wouldn't turn another even if it meant them dying. Most of them felt that it should only be Luna's choice as to who should be a vampony, others felt that if they did they would be giving up on what kept them thinking they were still ponies." She said as she used a spell to start removing the blood from the stones that made up the floor. "The few that did take on... apprentices per-say, they only did so after years of thinking about it, even though their friends who begged them to save them from death passed on in the meantime. You on the other hand, you made the decision to do what you had to to save your friend. I respect you for that, I know I'd never be able to." She said with a small smile.
"Why?" I asked, assisting with the removal of the blood.
"I just couldn't bring myself to it." She said. "Even when my husband was on his death bed I couldn't, fortunately though he understood." She said with a tinge of regret in her voice. "I saw what Veera, the one of us who turned on Luna with her small army of followers, became because of a thirst for power. It started when she found it fun to boss around her first fledgeling. Then she disappeared for a few years, and came back to wage war against the rest of us if we wouldn't join her in overthrowing Luna. She was stopped, and her army scattered, but the fear that some of us may end up like her stuck with us after that point."
"I... I can't imagine what that would have been like." I said, getting back to my hooves.
"It was horrible." Ceres said. "But we moved on, it was what we had to do, just like how you have to move on and accept what happened. You don't have to like it but you should at least accept the fact that you are now dangerous, and remember that fact when around others, lest you accidentally harm somepony." She said. "When I was freshly changed I, in anger, sent one of the palace cooks through a window with the rather revolting banana cream pie he had served me. He had a thing against me because of me proving that I was a better cook, so he mixed a bunch of garlic into the pie as well, hoping it would do something bad to me." She said chuckling. "I don't think he was expecting it to end up with him getting blown through a window with said pie though. The guards caught him fortunately." She said chuckling.
"That must have been quite the sight." I said as I walked over to the Manticore's body and began trimming the mane off with a simple hair cutting spell.
"As is that." Ceres said, staring at the Manticore. "I see Luna taught you the shadow blade spell." She said with a dry chuckle.
"Yeah." I said as I laid the soft fur in a bundle by the door. "Where should I put the body?" I asked.
"Just pop it down the chute that's just out those doors. It empties out somewhere down the cliff and the animals living down in the ravine will take care of it. Keep the stinger though, Manticore poison is a rare and useful ingredient in potions."
"Why does everypony want animal bits these days..." I muttered as I levitated the body of the Manticore outside and dropped it down the stone waste chute in the ground, wincing at each thud as it bounced it's way down and jumping back with a yelp as hundreds of bats shot out past me, disturbed by the Manticore's descent. I could hear Ceres laughing as she watched that happen and just simply walked past her, an indignant scowl on my face as I jumped back up the tower.
8: R&R With Princess Luna
The Vampony Chronicles
I stepped through the doors to the sanctuary to find Rarity flipping through one of the books on the shelves.
"I must say Twilight, you are going to love this collection." Rarity said with a small chuckle.
"Why's that?" I asked trotting over to her.
"Well I think the main reason would be that most of these are on a form of magic you've probably never studied." She said, levitating the book and showing me a spell diagram for a dark magic spell.
"Facinating..." I said, taking the book and occupying the couch beside her as she levitated a book from a section labeled 'Fiction'.
"I wonder what vamponies used to read." She said as she opened the cover. "Fetlock Holmes? I thought these were only released around a century ago." Rarity thought aloud.
"Oh they were, but that author was much older." Ceres said chuckling as she stepped in. "You're holding the original copy of that book."
"Really?" I said looking over at the leather bound novel.
"I do believe so darling, it's hoofwritten after all." She said turning it around to show me the elegant cursive that made up the story.
"Well I'll be..." I said chuckling.
"You'll find quite a few famous classic authors and artists were vamponies." Ceres said with a smile. "The arts seem to come easier to us."
"I may have to take up something then." I said smiling as I turned back to the tome before me. The spell mentioned was a type of armor spell that generated a black flame around the caster's body that would absorb all spell damage and channel the energy into the caster's reserves.
"Ooh, that's a useful one, take it from me." Ceres said about an inch from my ear causing me to literally jump through her in my surprise.
"Please!" I said, panting as Rarity broke down into a fit of giggles. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry." She said sheepishly while giggling to herself. "But after a century alone in this place can you blame me?"
"No I suppose I can't." I said with a smile. "Say, how old are you anyhow?" I asked.
"Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed.
"What? I'm curious." I said, blushing a little.
"It's alright Rarity, I got over that years ago. I'm... two thousand four hundred fifty seven, give or take thirty years, you loose count after a while." Ceres said, causing Rarity's jaw to drop.
"Wow." I said.
"Yep, i was born ten years after the end of Discord's reign, and was turned when I was twenty five or so." She said, resting on the back of the couch I was lounging on once more. "Actually I witnessed Luna's banishment, but let's not talk about that." She said with a small smile.
"Yeah." I said turning back to the spell and got to work memorizing it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Two hours later we found ourselves having found better things to do. Rarity was taking a short power nap and I was in the courtyard below the tower practicing the spell I had just learned.
I held my ground as a large bolt of light shot at me, cast by Ceres. I brought up the spell, the black flames licking up from around my hooves and covering me in a cloak of black fire in less than a second. The bolt impacted and left me feeling as if I had just taken a power nap myself.
"Good work Twilight." Ceres said as she appeared next to me. "Twentieth try, that's about the usual for someone trying to learn that spell."
"How did you do?" I asked, curious.
"Ten tries, but then again my special talent is dark magic." She said chuckling as she nodded at her cutie mark with what a tongue of black fire.
"I was wondering what that meant." I said with a smile.
"Now, shall we invite Luna to join us or just leave her on the battlements eating that apple." Ceres said with a chuckle, nodding at the old wall that was nearest to us and sure enough, there was Luna with a half eaten apple in her hoof. She already looked older than she had after the Elements had done their work on her, her appearance less of a filly and more of a teenager. "Luna! Get your flank down here or I'll chase ya down!" Ceres yelled up to her, causing my jaw to drop as the Princess of the night flew down chuckling like a schoolfilly.
"I have missed thee Ceres. Thou art the only one who dares to treat me with such familiarity." Luna said as she landed.
"You know it Loony." Ceres replied as the two old friends hugged. "I missed you too ya know."
"And I apologize for my absence." Luna said. "I'm afraid I was unwillingly the first mare on the moon." She said with a weak smile.
"Bad joke loony." Ceres said facehoofing. "In any case, I kept the place as clean as I could." She said. "Shall we?"
"Yes let's." Luna replied and Ceres led us up the tower.
Rarity was still asleep when we opened the door, snoring adorably causing all of us to giggle a bit.
"Say, Loony, you remember the Royal Canterlot Voice don't you?" Ceres whispered in a way that made me imagine capitol letters on those words.
"I believe I do, and I must say, I like thine style." Luna said giggling a bit more leaving me rather confused. "Cover thine ears Twilight, this will be loud." She said before taking a deep breath as I clamped my hooves over my ears.
"Wake up Miss Rarity!" She said, although her voice was amplified loud enough to send the bats flying out of the rafters yet again, and definitely loud enough to cause Rarity to fly off of the couch like a startled cat. Her fur was standing on end and her mane and tail had somehow gotten all disheveled, causing her to look even more like a startled cat.
"P-princess Luna... While I must thank you for waking me up can you please do it at a normal volume next time." Rarity said, after shakily bowing.
"Of course Miss Rarity, I just thought the opportunity was far too perfect." Luna said, looking over to Ceres who was rolling around on the floor laughing her flank off.
"Oh Loony it has been far too long." She said, causing Rarity's jaw to drop this time.
"That it has." she said chuckling at the wide eyed Rarity. "Relax Miss Rarity, Ceres is an old friend of mine, and probably one of the few ponies around to day who knows me well enough to dare call me Loony."
Rarity was still dumbfounded as we all took up residence on four of the various couches in the common room. "So, Twilight, has thou gone over everything with Rarity yet?" Luna asked.
"Actually I was waiting until you arrived, I can't say I know all the details and i don't want to get anything wrong." I said a little sheepishly as Luna chuckled.
"Yes my sister did say that thous has a habit of making sure that thine information is correct." Luna said. "And I appreciate that. If thou hadn't been so meticulous I would probably be back on the moon."
There was an awkward silence after that as Luna finished her apple. "In any case, how much does thou know about vampirism." She said as she turned to Rarity.
"Only that many of the myths are incorrect your highness." Rarity replied.
"Please, call me Luna." The Moon Princess said, "and thou art correct, many of the myths about vampirism are incorrect, however some are true. Thou doest need to drink blood to survive, the magic thine body and blood has been infused with will drain thee of all energy if thou doest not. However, thou will only need to drink about once a month if thou keeps to the life of a normal pony."
"Well that doesn't seem all that bad." Rarity said.
"I'll continue with the negatives, since Twilight needs to hear them as well. The blessing is weaker in the sunlight, so keep that in mind if thou needs to fight during the daytime. Gold, not silver, is thine weakness similar to how werewolves are weak to silver. It is poisonous to you and any would caused by it will be slow to heal. Also be wary of weapons made from dragon scale, they can have similar effects if properly enchanted." Luna said, her tone serious now. "Light magic will harm thee as well if it is combat magic, and the white healing arts will have no effect. The green arts will act as normal however."
"Green arts? I'm sorry Pr- I mean Luna, but I am unaware of the difference." Rarity said apologetically.
"All magic can be classified by color." Ceres said. "For example, the spells keeping me around are black or dark magic. White or light magic, often incorrectly called holy magic, is the opposite of it. The blessing is dark magic in it's purest form, and Loony, being princess of the night, is exceptionally skilled at dark magic. Her sister is rather good with light magic. The other disciplines are red, fire, blue, which is water, green, which is magic dealing with life and nature, and yellow, which is magic dealing with wind. there is also purple which deals with magic involving spirits and the afterlife, but those have barely been studied." she finished.
"Okay, thank you." Rarity said, nodding.
"Continuing on," Luna said with a smile, "The benefits are the ability to use dark magic without going insane, thine increased agility, speed and strength. Thine stamina will have increased as well as thine senses. Thou can also see in complete darkness, although thine eyes will glow slightly in that case."
"Yeah, that spooked Spike already." I said chuckling.
"I can only picture his reaction." Luna said with a chuckle. "That's the basics of the blessing, the rest you will find out on your own."
"I was wondering about the whole white magic thing." I said with a smile.
"I would have expected thou to be full of questions Twilight, especially after what my sister has told me of thy study habits." Luna said with a chuckle.
"Yes, well you answered the most pressing ones." I said.
"I'll take Rarity into the other room and fill her in on the bits about being a secondary vampony." Ceres said. "Oh yeah, that's the term for a vampony who was turned by a bite, not the spell. Spell-turned vamponies are called Primaries if we want to stick to the old terms."
"Why are they called secondaries?" Rarity asked as I covered my ears, expecting quite a reaction.
I saw Luna's mouth move in explanation and, upon lip reading the word 'subservient', Rarity's face gradually turning to a look of horror before yelling out a "What!" that rivaled Luna's royal caps-lock and glaring at me.
"In my defense, I did save your life and I definitely will not abuse that fact." I said dryly. "Honestly Rarity, what do you take me for?"
Rarity seemed to calm down a bit at that, at least she looked less like she wanted to kill me. "Sorry dear, it's just a bit of a shock.
"I can't imagine." Ceres said with a chuckle. "Actually I may be able to but let's not go there." She said with a frown.
"Fair enough." Rarity said.
"Luna, would I be able to take some of these with me? Or at least copy them?" I asked, looking around at the books and tomes lining the walls.
"Copying them would be preferable, after all, many are one of a kind spell books and my sister has a thing against her little ponies toying around with dark magic." the moon princess said with a smirk. "The only reason I am allowed to is the fact that no matter how I cast it all of my magic is dark magic in some way."
"I bet that annoys the hell out of Cellie these days." Ceres said with a chuckle. "She probably trying to get you to stop using dark magic hmm?"
"That she is, and it annoys me to no end." Luna said with a frown. "She doesn't understand that just because she can use magic that seems like it's red magic that it isn't white magic. I mean, I can conjure up black flames just as easily as she can conjure up her white ones but that does not mean that they are actually red magic." she said with a huff causing Rarity and I to giggle. "What is so funny?" She asked.
"I'm sorry Luna, It's just that your little spiel reminded me of one of my roommates during my time at the academy, although her moments were caused by much more trivial matters.
"I am similarly reminded of my sister." Rarity said.
Luna opened her mouth to say something, then started to giggle as well. "And actually I'm reined of my sister when we were younger too." she said. "In any case, it's best I head back to Canterlot, my sister will wonder where I am and the last thing I wish to do is explain why her faithful student is a vampony." she said with a chuckle. "Although when she finds out I will want to witness it because the look on her face will be rather priceless."
I paused for a moment to picture it and burst out laughing. "Knowing her, yes it will be." I said when I could catch my breath. "At least until she processes it."
"By that time I will be at thy side to help thee." Luna said with a caring smile. "I doubt she will be too angry, after all, you are her student."
"You said you." Ceres chimed in with a smile. "That's a first loony."
"Oh put a sock in it Ceres." Luna said with a chuckle. "After all I seem to remember thou being rather fond of them."
At this Ceres turned beet red a moment before disappearing, causing us all to laugh.
"Well, it has been fun Twilight, Rarity, but I must be off." Luna said walking over to the door. "Has Ceres told you the traditional way to say goodbye between Vamponies and those who know about it?"
"No she has not." Rarity said.
"It goes as such: Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again." Luna said. "It comes from a verse of a religion from the Discordian times that practiced the dark arts in ways that would help others. Unfortunately many saw the darker arts as evil in those times, and they were forced to often practice in secrecy. Many of the Vamponies were trained in magic by these practitioners of 'Witchcraft' as the dark art were called in those days, although there were other kinds of magic thrown in, mostly through the use of potions, talismans and charms." She said with a smile. "I believe there is a zebra nearby who is a practitioner, although she cannot cast spells as a unicorn can, she still is skilled with the dark arts. At least, I've heard so from a few guards who were sent by my sister to investigate her presence."
"I've seen her a few times." Rarity said nervously. "She stops by in town every few months, all of Ponyville hides from her. To be honest she gives me the creeps."
Luna frowned at that. "Twilight, wouldst thou mind seeking out this zebra? Being treated as such without good reason is never a pleasant experience and I ask that you try to befriend her."
"I can do that Luna." I said. "After all, if what I've read in my psychology textbooks is correct then if I befriend her, the rest of town will probably warm up to her as well."
"Good luck to thee then Twilight, and have a good night the three of you." Luna said as she teleported outside.
"Well what to do now?" Ceres said, re-appearing beside me.
"We should get to work on the basement." I said with a chuckle. "We kind of got derailed."
"Yes, Let's." Rarity said, pulling a sketchpad out of her saddlebags.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A/N: Sorry for the wait and the shorter chapter, I was at a Diablo 3 LAN for the past three days without a proper internet connection.
9: Act of Demon or Work of Celestia?
The Vampony Chronicles
The rest of the evening, and the next morning's trot back to Ponyville, passed by uneventfully. I'll be honest though, I half expected a manticore or something to jump out of the forest and attack us on the way back.
"I just had a thought, but how am I going to break the fact that I’m a... well you know... to my sister..." Rarity said with a frown.
"Well, I could come in with you, to catch her if she tries to run..." I offered.
"No, I think I'll just lock the door, she seems the type to do as Applejack did."
We both enjoyed a good laugh before saying our goodbyes and going our respective ways. I opted not to try for the rooftop route this time, seeing as ponies were already out and about. I simply hid my fangs and trotted past the lot of them.
"Howdy Twi." I heard a familiar voice call from behind me.
I turned to see Applejack setting up her stand. "Hey Applejack." I greeted as I trotted over to her.
"Spike said you and Rares were headed off to the old castle yesterday, didn't expect ya'll to spend the night."
"Yes... well the phrase 'complications arose' puts it lightly..." I said, lowering my voice. "We were attacked by a manticore."
"Mother of Celestia..." Applejack swore after a moment.
"Yeah... she was hurt... bad... the only way I could save her without Celestia's help was to... well she's like me now." I practically whispered.
Applejack nodded slowly a few times. "Well now that two of the Elements are... ya know... Ah think we should tell the rest of our friends. After all, RD spotted ya crossin' the rooftops and Ah have my doubts that Rares can come up with as good of a lie on the spot."
"Yeah, so I've heard."
"How does Rares look now? Ah mean, she looked pretty damn fine before, but seeing what happened to you..." Applejack muttered sheepishly, blushing furiously.
I simply chuckled and replied, "I didn't pay all that much attention, and she's not like me fully, well not yet at least."
"Ah, well Ah'll be stoppin by the boutique for a visit later on, see how she's doin' an' all that."
"Yeah, and if you spot Sweetie Belle running scared through town, try to grab her, Rarity said she'd probably tell her sometime soon."
"Will do Twi'." Applejack said chuckling, as I trotted home.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I realized with sudden clarity that I was dreaming of being on the moon. I had, just a moment ago, been reading one of Starswirl's tomes about dark magic.
I looked around the silvery surface for any sign of Luna as I wandered around the craters and deserts of the lunar landscape, having a little too much fun with the reduced gravity. I soon came upon a figure in the distance, and I could make out wings and a horn on the pony.
I headed in that direction, slowing my approach to a trot rather than the bounding leaps I had been previously using. As I rounded a large boulder I froze in shock and fear as I realized that it was not Luna who was there, but the Nightmare. She hadn't seemed to have noticed me yet and was just gazing up into the sky above. I began to slowly back away from her, hoping to be able to get behind the boulder and escape.
"Equestria looks so different from up here doesn't it? It really puts things into perspective..." She said, without looking down. "Twilight right? Twilight Sparkle?" Her voice wasn't full of the hostile arrogance that she held during our last encounter.
I looked up, spotting the green and blue orb that was Equestria floating in the lunar sky.
"I used to think that nopony loved my night, that only the thieves and lawless thought well of the darkness." She continued, "Well, Luna did at least, I am merely an offshoot of her personality that was suppressed for so long she couldn't hold me back any more. Now that I escaped once, I know that my idea of how to help others enjoy my night is not a way they can enjoy." She sighed as she looked over at me, or rather past me. "Hello Luna."
"Nightmare? How is it that thou art sitting before me?" She said, her voice slightly shaky.
"Relax Luna, I am not here to harm you, or Twilight for that matter. I am actually trapped within Twilight's soul, well what's left of me is." She gave a dry chuckle, "When I cast that spell in desperation, when you and your friends fired the Elements at me, instead of just giving you vampirism, it transferred my consciousness as well. I thought I was back on the moon..." A single teardrop glistened as it fell to the lunar soil.
Luna seemed unsure of what to do and just stood there frozen.
"I don't wish to bring eternal night anymore, it is finally clear to me that that wouldn't work. Equestria does need balance of night and day after all. I just don't wish to be caged up any longer... I want to live my own life, not one poisoned by hatred." She was sobbing a little by now as the tears flowed freely, adding a darker tinge to the lunar soil beneath her as she cried. "I didn't think about the consequences..." She then collapsed, burying her head in her hooves as she cried.
I looked over to Luna again and then back to Nightmare Moon, pausing only a moment before walking over to the crying goddess. "Are you truly sorry for what you did?" I asked, stopping a foot away from her.
She looked up at me, her turquoise eyes glistening with tears. "I... Yes..." She said between sobs. "I never meant any harm... just, everypony was afraid of the night, and you were so depressed and lonely Luna... It infuriated me." She said. "At the time, the only way I could think of to get them to see the beauty of the night was to force them to..."
Luna was still speechless at this point, although it seemed the gears of thought were turning once more, as she was no longer frozen in place.
"When I returned and managed to trap Celestia, I thought I had finally won, but when you unlocked the Elements of Harmony's power and nearly destroyed me... I'm sorry for what I did to you; I could feel your emotions when you realized it upon the blessing coming to full effect. It made me finally think on how my plan would have affected Equestria. My idea of an eternal night would destroy everything... plants need the sun to grow, the planet needs it for warmth, and we need to eat something... and then when I realized what I had done to you Twilight..." She broke down sobbing again, unable to say another word. I could feel a hint of her emotions, I realized, and at that moment I knew that she was telling the truth.
I didn't even bother to look at the still shell shocked Luna this time as I lay down beside Nightmare Moon and nuzzled her side. "I forgive you for what you did to me." I said quietly as she froze in shock, looking back at me.
"Y-you do?" both she and Luna stammered out.
"I do. I know what it is like to be alone, for most of my life Spike was my only friend. I can feel your emotions slightly, and... well I know that you aren’t lying." I smiled as I looked into her draconic eyes. "There's a saying I read once, 'The villain is simply one who believe what they are doing is right, contrary to popular belief. One who is truly evil knows their actions are wrong and enjoys that fact.' You thought you were doing the right thing." I said.
"Starswirl said that didn't he?" Luna said walking over.
"Yes, he did." I replied smiling at her. "He wrote that shortly after the joining of the three tribes, based on how the tribes had been acting towards each other, and the Windigos that took enjoyment in freezing the land and destroying the life that existed there."
"Once again I am seeing examples of his wisdom long after his time..." Luna muttered. "Moon... I do not think I can forgive thee just yet, after all thou hast made me a monster in the eyes of Canterlot." Nightmare Moon's ears drooped at that, "However, I will say that I no longer consider thou to be an enemy, nor a demon. If thou can prove to me that thou no longer mean anypony harm, I may forgive thee, and possibly help release thy spirit from within Twilight. One thing I won't do however is tell my sister of this... however entertaining her reaction may be. Thine quote reminded me of another statement Starswirl said after he accidentally destroyed a good portion of the Whitetail Woods, 'It seems in both politics and magic, that the more power you have the larger your small mistakes are.' I shall be off now. I just came to warn you Twilight, that I believe Tia is growing suspicious. Apparently, Miss Dash spotted thee jumping off of a roof one night and the report of that made it into my Sister's hooves somehow. Miss Dash has no idea who it was gallivanting over the roofs, however thou may wish to be a touch more careful."
"Got it Luna." I said, bowing slightly. "Merry meet and merry part."
"Until we merry meet again." she said, smiling as she faded from view.
"So..." I said to Nightmare Moon.
"Before we talk any farther, I do not wish to be called Nightmare Moon any more..." She said, her tears nearly having stopped. "That name bears too many bad memories."
"Well... How about... Crescent Moon instead?" I asked. "Symbolizing how you are changing your ways?"
"That... Works perfectly actually." She said after thinking on it a moment. "Rather philosophical as well."
"I have read quite a lot of philosophy during my magic studies." I smiled, thinking back. "One of my instructors said that it was a good way to exercise you mind and stay open to new solutions on old problems. It really has helped me with my problem solving, that's for sure."
Crescent chuckled at that. "And here I remember Celestia telling Luna that philosophy was a waste of time. She is quite the philosopher you know, although what little she has written down has never made it into publication. It's a shame really."
The stars and the image of Equestria in the sky started to fade as we both chuckled.
"It appears you are waking up. I will try to contact you once you are awake, so don't be surprised if you suddenly hear my voice." She said. "If I can't make contact, talk to you tomorrow."
"Goodbye Crescent." I said as the dream faded.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I awoke to Spike shaking me. "Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie are here asking for you." He said. "I told them you were napping, but they seemed to think it was important. Also, Rarity stopped by and dropped off a new outfit for you, as well as a message that Sweetie is okay with what happened." He relayed quickly, indicating a package before heading for the door. "I'll stall em a little more, but Dash is getting impatient." He opened the door and headed downstairs.
Marebucking... can I not get a decent sleep after a stressful night? ...Crescent can you hear me? I thought as I opened the package, revealing a black zip up hoodie with a purple tribal design on it, and a pair of dark grey pants made of some kind of denim that was a snug fit and yet still stretchy. I pulled the hoodie on quickly with my magic as I got my response from Crescent.
Yes Twilight, I can, can you hear me?
Yes I can, good. Do your best to help me stay calm here when I head downstairs, I'll bring you up to speed quickly. I thought at her as I worked my way into the pants.
Got it. Crescent replied. Hey, I can see through your eyes now! I felt a bit of happiness leak over from her, as well as a bit of embarrassment.
Okaaay... anyhow, the other day, Dash spotted me jumping off from the rooftops, fortunately I was disguised. However, she reported it to Celestia from what Luna told us. This usually wouldn't be a problem, but if Pinkie picks up on a lie at all I'm screwed, she won't let it go from what I know of her. I don't want to tell Dash yet, she’ll probably accidentally drop the ball rather soon if I let her know. From what I've heard I'm willing to bet that Pinkie can keep a secret though, I heard about something called a 'Pinkie Pie Promise' before the fiasco at the Summer Sun Celebration. Knowing what I do about this town and her, that's probably means she can keep a secret. That's about all I can tell you right now. Thoughts? I asked Crescent as I opened the door to downstairs.
Keep it from Dash for sure then. If you can let, Pinkie I think you said it was, know that you want to keep it a secret without alerting Dash. Then you may be able to pull this off with a good ending on both sides, otherwise don't let her know now and tell her the truth later. Crescent replied after a moment's thought.
"... I know she was napping Spike, but come on, how long does it take a pony to roll out of bed!" I heard Rainbow say as I started off down the stairs.
"Ooh ooh!" Pinkie chimed in, "what if she spontaneously combusted?" The resounding silence told me that the other two were probably staring at her.
"What? It claims tens of ponies every year!" She said, with a serious tone.
"Pinkie Pie, you are so random." Dash said, facehoofing.
"You can say that again." I said, chuckling as I stepped down the stairs, double checking that my fangs were hidden.
"Finally." Dash said, getting a giggle out of Pinkie.
"If I'm really random Dashie, then you're as impatient as I am random." Pinkie said with another giggle.
"Hey!"
"Girls, please. Now what is so important that you had to wake me up Dash?" I asked as I sat down.
"Nice hoodie by the way, did Rarity make that?" Dash asked.
Steer her back to what she came here for, don't let her deviate from that and you should be able to stay out of suspicion. Keep her mind on something else. Crescent instructed me.
"Yes, now back on topic." I said.
"Right, sorry, it just looks cool." Dash rubbed the back of her head apologetically. "Anyhow, the other night I spotted a pony jumping across the rooftops. I was surprised that they were up there and really surprised when they jumped to the street off of a two story roof and kept going as if it was nothing." Dash said excitedly. "She had a black and blue tail and mane, which is all I could see of her, well that and her smile right before she bolted. She sounded Coltic, and get this, I think she had fangs."
Stay calm, your spell must have failed when you hid your Mane and Tail coloration. Deny that the pony had fangs and ask if the pony was a unicorn. Make a vampony joke to lighten the mood. You're doing great. Crescent said, which probably helped me stay calm more than anything.
"Come on Dash, fangs? Vamponies only exist in stories, besides it could have been an illusion spell if it was a Unicorn. I know a few that can swap around mane colours and patterns."
"Oooh! You have to try that on me Twi'." Pinkie cut in excitedly.
"Sure, how about a little later on, I'm still a little groggy from magic overuse." I said.
Check one of the goals off there. Crescent said, a bit of relief seeping across our link.
"My mane is fine as it is." Rainbow said smiling. "Anyhow, what do you think of what I saw?"
"Well..." I said, pausing for a moment. "I know of a spell or two that can slow a fall, however they are pretty difficult. Perhaps it was her special talent?"
"Yeah, perhaps." Rainbow said. "Anyhow, I gotta go, weather patrol and all that." Rainbow said before zipping out the door.
"And she say's I'm random." Pinkie said with a giggle. "So how about that spell Twilight? Ooh, how about you turn my mane blue and my tail pink!"
"Er... Pinkie your tail is already pink."
"Oh yeah..." she trailed off.
"Actually Pinkie, there is something that I want to tell you."
"Does it have something to do with you jumping across rooftops at night?" She asked, leaving me dumbstruck as Spike just stared.
"You... you saw me and didn't tell Rainbow?" I asked. Why wouldn't she...
"Well I consider it revenge for a prank she pulled on me last week, so how didja manage it anyhow?" Pinkie asked, smiling like usual.
"Promise not to freak out and run, as well as not tell any pony what I'm about to tell you?"
"I Pinkie Promise!" She said before going through some strange routine. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
"Ooookay then..." I muttered, deciding to ask Applejack about it later.
"Well, are you going to tell me?" She asked.
"Downstairs first, it's not something I want someone walking in on while I'm telling you." I said, heading for the basement door as I opened it with magic. I lit my horn to provide light as we descended the steps.
"Okie dokie loki." She said, bouncing after me.
Once we were down the stairs, and the door was shut behind us, Pinkie immediately started up again. "So what's the secret Twilight? Is it that you lead a second life as some kind of superhero or is it-"
I cut her off by placing a hoof over her mouth, to quiet her down as I sighed. "Pinkie, please, not now okay?" I smiled weakly at her. "This is important."
"Oh... Okay." She said with a small smile.
"Now do you promise you won't run screaming, freak out, or tell anypony?" I asked.
"I already Pinkie Pie Promised silly, and nopony from Ponyville will ever break a Pinkie Pie Promise." I raised an eyebrow at that.
"You'll have to explain that later, but for now I'll take your word on it." I said as I cut out the light spell and released the illusion on my fangs.
"Ooh that's a neat..." She said, her smile fading as I re-lit my horn. "trick..." Her voice suddenly became serious as she gained a worried look on her face. "Please tell me this is a trick..."
"Unfortunately, no..." As I said that, her mane seemed to deflate. "Please, let me explain..."
"I... okay, but once you’re done, I have something you should know about as well..." She said, looking up with a small smile.
"O-okay." I said. "Thanks for not bolting first, but how did... actually questions after. During our fight with Nightmare Moon, she managed to cast one of Luna's old spells thinking it would harm me enough to disrupt the Elements. Obviously, it failed to do that, but... to make a long story short it turned me into a vampony." I said. "I've spoken with Luna about it, and I won't turn into a ravenous bloodsucking monster, however I do still need to drink every now and then."
"Wait!" Pinkie cut in urgently. "What was the spell called?" Pinkie asked, grabbing my shoulders.
"Th-the Blessing of the Moon." I replied, surprised at the sudden contact.
"Oh thank Celestia!" Pinkie said, sounding much happier, her mane inflating again. "I was afraid I was going to have to hurt you..." She said hugging me.
"Pinkie... What?" I was shocked and confused.
"Well... okay look Twilight... Luna probably mentioned that Celestia made a version of the blessing herself right?" Pinkie said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.
"I think I see where you're going with this..." I said with a chuckle. "Let me guess..."
"Yeah, I'm one of the 'Sunblessed" She said, her eyes turning a golden color, as flames similar to those on Celestia's cutie mark appeared around her own. She also glowed slightly with a golden light as two wing-like appendages sprouted from her back. They appeared to be made of tendrils of golden energy and acted the same as if they were made from spider silk.
"You know, the way things have been going these past few days, I thought it would be Fluttershy who would end up being the receiver of Celestia's blessing." I said with a chuckle, causing Pinkie to giggle. We were probably both feeling a little giddy with relief at that moment.
"Nah, she's way too kind..." Pinkie said. "You know the story of why Luna created the Blessing of the Moon right?"
"Yeah, times were tough, ponies getting hurt, et cetera." I said, making a circular motion with my hoof.
"That saves me some time." She said. "Well Celestia's reasons were pretty much the same, besides the fact that she was a teeeeeensy bit jealous that Luna created a blessing like that without telling her." Pinkie giggled a little at that.
"Well, can you tell me the abilities that it gives you?" I asked.
"Yeah, I suppose." She said with a chuckle. "It gives us light magic, we're faster and have better reflexes, better self-healing, and we're a lot better at defence in general." She said. "I guess you could say while we can't hit hard, we can take a lot of damage, and hold out until the damage we've done racks up."
"That makes sense." I said. "Although, I have to ask what the price is."
"Well, we're really empathetic, which means we can sense the feelings of those around us-"
"Pinkie, I've lived in a library most of my life, I know what empathetic means."
"Oh yeah..." She said giggling. "Sorry, anyhow, we can also tell when something bad is about to happen. I get it through different twitches that my body does, I call it my 'Pinkie Sense' to those who don't know about me." She said. "It keeps ponies from finding out, and while I hate to lie..."
"I know the feeling. Oh yeah, Pinkie, I hate to break the news to you, but Rarity is a vampony too, my type, but a secondary to me." Pinkie raised an eyebrow at that.
"How'd that end up happening?" She asked.
"Manticore..." Was all I said, looking down.
"Ah... that's all I need to know." she said. "Spike told me you two were heading into the Everfree to visit the old castle for design ideas. At least she's fine now... well... almost." She said sheepishly.
"Yeah..." A small sob escaped my lips as guilt washed over me."I just..."
Pinkie hugged me, I could feel a few tears from her as well. "It'll be fine Twi, we're all friends. I know you wouldn't have done it if you didn't have to."
"The thing is... I had to kill the manticore to stop it, and that timberwolf too..." I sobbed, hugging myself to pinkie's soft pink coat and mane.
"I wondered who did that... I heard the howling, but by the time I got there... But I doubt you had no reason to."
"It would have gone after the Apple family. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were there too..."
"Twilight..." Pinkie said, leaning back to look me in the eyes. "Did you enjoy the fact that you killed it?"
"N-no." I stammered, shocked that she'd ask such a thing.
"Then you aren’t a monster. Even if you enjoyed the fight, as long as you regret the fact that you had to take a life you will never be a monster." Pinkie stated, her tone serious. "I know of a few Sunblessed like that, they will target anypony who even tries using dark magic and kill them, and they enjoy it." She said, her mane deflating a little. "Those are the real monsters."
"P-pinkie..."
"Besides, if you were a monster you wouldn't be an Element of Harmony." She said, cheering up and letting go of me.
"Thanks Pinkie." I said. "Don't worry about telling Applejack about what I am. She... knows."
Pinkie giggled. "You're blushing." she said, pointing with a hoof.
"I am not!"
"I heard that being bit by a Moonblessed felt good, but I didn't think that would happen." She snickered.
"Pinkie!"
"Aw c’mon Twi,' I'm just teasing." Pinkie said. "Besides, it’s nice not having to be so random and uppity for once." She said with a small smile.
"Huh?"
"You're probably the only pony in town who anywhere near understands what I've had to do. I put on the overly giggly filly act around town so I don't have to deal with ponies that are down in the dumps all the time. That's why I throw so many parties." She said. "If too many people are down in the dumps, or if I start feeling down, I get really bad... it's the downside to that empathy. I... get a little crazy."
"Well Pinkie, I'll be here for you for as long as I can." I said hugging her.
"Thanks Twilight. You have no idea how much that means to me. I-I haven't found anypony else I could tell, and sometimes... it's almost too much holding in a secret like that." She said hugging me back, I could feel a few tears on my shoulder that were fresh; I just smiled as I hugged my friend as she cried.
Twilight... Why is she crying? Crescent asked in my mind. And why aren't you trying to comfort her?
They're tears of joy... think of how I've felt these past few days keeping this secret... she's probably had to keep this secret for years. Now that she can finally speak openly about it to somepony who isn't a Sunblessed...
I think I get it... Crescent replied. She’s had to bottle that all up for so long behind the guise of being happy, random and, pardon the term, ditzy, that now that she can finally talk to somepony about it who can understand her... I could feel Crescents emotions as she realized this. I don't think I could have managed that...
Me neither...
She must have felt very alone... I... I need some time to think. Crescent said, cutting the thought link.
I couldn't help but think that there was somepony else in the room, aside from Pinkie, who could understand loneliness.
"Twilight?" Pinkie said, still hugging me tightly.
"Yes Pinkie?"
"Promise you'll stay in Ponyville, even though the Summer Sun Celebration is over?"
"I promise Pinkie." I said as I hugged her tighter. "I won't leave you."
She fell asleep on my shoulder after crying for a few minutes longer, sleeping peacefully as I carried her up to my room. I smiled as I laid her on my bed and tucked her in, before trotting to the balcony to look up at the moon, leaving a note for Pinkie and Spike taped to the bedpost.
I don't think Crescent is the only other pony who can relate either... I thought as I jumped down to street level, trotting towards Carousel Boutique.
11: Creatures of The Night
The Vampony Chronicles
(A/N: Special thanks to DoomManta for editing again.)
Once again I trotted towards Carousel Boutique, but this time I had a lot more on my mind than just a casual visit with a friend.
I know how he spotted me, but why was he here? Would Celestia really send in a Sunblessed at just a hint from Rainbow that there was a vampony in town? Especially considering that Pinkie is a Sunblessed... It doesn't make much sense... Perhaps he was here as backup in case we didn't win against Nightmare Moon?
I really should talk this over with Pinkie before I go and see him; I have little doubt that if she’s there things will go much smoother. At least Berry was able to help me, I know the others have been saying that I need to move on, but Berry actually drove the point home... I suppose if problems are nails, my problems make for one damn big nail, and you need a damn big hammer to drive the point home. I chuckled at my analogy, I needed something to smile about tonight. I think the advice on regret helped as well, after all, if I keep dwelling on the past, how can I get over things? It feels like a load off my shoulders... she should get a job as a psychiatrist. While rather blunt, she's damn good at it. I smiled as I rounded the corner to Carousel Boutique. I noticed that there was a weak scent of blood on me. Must have gotten it on me when carrying that Sunblessed, that's going to be fun to get out... Geze, I sound like Rarity, worrying about clothes after I nearly killed somepony... I frowned at the thought, as the feelings of guilt started to come back after my short, but welcomed reprise from that particular monkey on my back. His life is out of my hooves now, I couldn't help him even if I tried... actually I'd probably only make things worse. I reasoned as I knocked on the door.
“Coming!” I heard Rarity say, accompanied by the sound of hooves as she trotted over to the door and opened it. “Twilight, I wasn't expecting you tonight...” She paused as she sniffed the air. “Come inside, and don't worry about noise darling, Sweetie's awake, I just finished telling her about what happened actually.”
“That's good, how'd she take it?” I asked, curious.
“Surprisingly well, she didn't try to bolt, although I think she's still processing the facts...” Rarity gave a weak smile, I could see that her eyeteeth were elongated, although not to the point mine were. “Anyhow, come on in.”
I stepped inside, smiling slightly at the smell of an herbal tea in the air. I saw Sweetie Belle sitting on a couch off to one side of the boutique in an alcove. “H-hi Miss Sparkle.” She said, putting on a fake smile.
“Please, just call me Twilight.” I said, smiling. I turned to Rarity and asked, “You told her about me right?”
“Yes I did dear.” Rarity said with a sigh. “And Sweetie, I must admit, I'm surprised at how well you took the information.” I joined Sweetie Belle at the table as Rarity went to fetch another cup.
I didn't really know what to say, so I sat quietly, and somewhat awkwardly, until Sweetie spoke up. “So... you were the one who stopped that timberwolf the other night?”
“Yeah...” I said sheepishly.
“Thanks... I... We were all scared, I think I was the worst though, I couldn't stop crying once we were down there, then when the fight started...” She started to tear up.
I moved over and laid beside Sweetie, putting a foreleg around her. “There there, it's over now.” I said. “You're safe and so are your friends.”
“I just felt so helpless...” She sobbed. I saw Rarity standing in the doorway, unsure of what to say.
I hesitated a moment before speaking. “Sweetie, you're young. I hate to say it, but the fact that you aren’t as strong, magically or physically, isn't something that can be changed quickly.” I thought for a moment before continuing, “However, don't let that hold you back. We all were little once, even Princess Celestia. It just takes time and patience, but soon you won't feel that way anymore.”
“But I'm still a blank flank...” She said.
“We all were at one point, it just means you have yet to find your special talent, until then, you just have to try different things to find out what you like.”
“Huh, that's a good idea...” Sweetie said, yawning, and smiling a little.
“I think it's time for you to head off to bed.” Rarity said to Sweetie Belle as she joined us at the table. “Would you be alright tucking yourself in?”
“Siiiiis...” Sweetie groaned, “I'm old enough to tuck myself in.”
“I'm just teasing Sweetie.” Rarity giggled a little as her younger sister trotted off after saying a quick goodnight.
“She did take the news rather well, although I suppose youthful ignorance would have something to do with it...” I said, sipping my tea.
“Yes, ah the days of our youth... I wish I could go back, but I know the charm of it would be ruined.”
“Isn't that the truth...” I sighed.
“Now spill it darling, you smell like blood, what happened.” Rarity demanded.
“I found out what Celestia's version of the Blessing was... they're called Sunblessed. One attacked me tonight.” Rarity gasped at the revelation.
“How did you get away?”
“I couldn't... He's in Ponyville Urgent Care right now... I'm sure news of it will be all over by tomorrow.”
“Oh my...” Rarity said, looking a little sick. “Please, spare me the details.”
“I will... also, Berry Punch knows about me, I had to keep her out of the crossfire. The Sunblessed didn't care that she wasn't a part of it.”
“Oh... well Berry will keep it a secret.”
“Yeah, she talked me through some of the problems I’ve been having of late. It really helped...”
“She is rather good at helping ponies with their problems from what I've heard.” Rarity said with a smile. “Although... I'll admit I'm having a slight problem myself...”
“What is that?” I think I know where this is going.
“Well... it's the issue of blood...”
“I had a suspicion.” I said with a sigh. “I don't really know how to help you with that... AJ may help, but you'd have to ask her.” I said. “Aside from that, I have nothing on leads. I think I'm probably just going to disguise myself and see if I can find a donor somewhere in Ponyville.”
“Hmm... yes that's a good idea.” Rarity said. “I think I will talk to Applejack next time I see her, after all-”
I cut her off by raising a hoof and hiding my fangs. I could hear hoofbeats just outside of the store. She hid her fangs as well as there was a heavy knock on the door.
“I'll get it.” Rarity said as she trotted over and opened the door. “Rainbow? What are you doing here at this time of night?” Rarity asked, stepping out of the way to let the visibly shaken pegasus in. She still hadn't noticed me as she started speaking.
“You're not going to believe what I just saw... I think Twilight isn't telling us something about her...”
“I'm right here Rainbow.” I said with a sigh. “But please go on.”
Rainbow shot up and slammed into the roof in surprise. “H-hi T-twilight...”
“Out with it, what do you mean?” I asked. “I won't hold anything against you, and neither will Rarity, just be honest.”
“Well... was that you in the town square?” She asked, clearly very scared.
I frowned. “Yes, it was, and if you want to discuss it, Rarity's asked to be spared the details.” I said. “I was going to tell you tomorrow anyhow... although I was hoping you hadn't seen that.”
Rainbow looked like she was about to bolt for the door, and she nearly slammed into the roof again when Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder. “Rainbow, Dear, please calm down and get the full story first?”
Rainbow was still shaking a little, but she managed to nod.
“First off, know that he attacked me first, and nearly killed Berry Punch in the process.”
“I saw that...” Rainbow said. “I was going to come help you when you just... picked her up and took off across the roofs... how?”
“I'll explain.” I motioned for Rainbow to sit down on one of the couches. “First off, I'm not going to hurt you so please stop being scared of me.” I pleaded, “It hurts to see that, you'll understand why soon.”
Rainbow nodded and she took a seat across from me as Rarity locked the door.
“I'll be blunt... there's really no other way to put it, but thanks to Nightmare Moon, I'm a vampony. I'm not going to go attacking anypony like a bloodthirsty monster though, that's just a story, probably from an experience somepony had with a false vampony.” Rainbow seemed to be a bit more scared than before, but, surprisingly, stayed put. “Luna created the spell for vamponies before Equestria was as safe as it is now, and the Nightmare tried to use it to harm me, not knowing what it was.” I said, summing up the rather long explanation. “In short, I'm faster, stronger, and have better senses than before, although I'm weak to holy magic and I lose some of that edge during the day. I also need to drink a few mouthfuls of blood every month or so, or else I'll die.” I said before releasing the spell that hid my fangs.
“So that was you... Why'd you lie to me about it?” Rainbow asked, sounding offended.
“I was scared... but now that I've had a chance to think things over, I realize that lying was a mistake.” I looked down at the tea in my hooves. “Will you forgive me?”
Dash seemed taken aback at that. “Wh-what?”
“I asked if you would forgive me for lying to you.” I said. “If you have any questions, ask away, I won't lie.” I looked up at Dash.
“Does Celestia know?”
“Not yet... and I would like to keep it that way for now.” I said with a frown. “Luna is trying to figure out how she'll react, and until I know, I'd like to delay the inevitability of her finding out for as long as I can.”
Dash sat in silence a few moments before speaking up. “Well... I forgive you. You're my friend, and you've admitted to your mistake, and I'm nothing if not loyal.”
“Thanks Dash, although you should know one other thing...” I said.
“Oh and what's that?” She asked, sounding worried again.
“When Rarity and I went into the Everfree yesterday, we took a trip to the castle where we fought Nightmare Moon, we were attacked by a manticore though.” Dash gasped at that. “It stabbed Rarity with its tail...”
“How is she still- oh...” Dash said, that last word more of a squeak, as she turned around to face Rarity, who had stopped hiding her fangs.
“Yeah...” I looked back down into my tea.
“What happened to the manticore?” Dash asked.
“Twilight... well let's just say it's no longer going to bother any living thing.” Rarity said, causing an awkward silence. I looked up to find Dash staring at me, her eyes the size of dinner plates.
“Y-you k-killed it?” She stammered.
“Yeah...” I muttered guiltily. “I didn't want to... but it kept attacking.”
“That's... that's...”
“Horrible? Terrifying?” I offered.
“AWESOME!” Dash said, perking up.
“Rainbow would you mind keeping it down? Sweetie's trying to sleep.”
“Sorry...” Dash said, chuckling slightly, “But seriously, I don't think anypony's single-hoofedly taken down a manticore since before Luna's stay on the moon.”
Dash continued to go on asking about what had happened, so I retold the story, leaving out a few details to speed things up. I noticed Rarity eying Dash near the end and decided to see if it was thirst or something else.
“Everything okay Rarity?”
“Just that... issue we were discussing earlier...”
“Ah...” I said. “Er, Dash?” I started.
“Let me guess... she needs,” Dash gulped, her voice growing quiet, “Blood?”
“Yeah... I hate to ask you, but you know about us, and you happen to be here.” I said apologetically. “It won't turn you into a vampony, but it is rather... intense.” I said, blushing a little. “For both the donor and the recipient.”
“What do you... ohhhh...” Dash said giggling. “Did you find that out the hard way?”
“Yeah...”
“With who?”
“...”
“It was AJ wasn't it?” Rainbow said with a smirk.
“Wha? How did you?” I stammered.
“I didn't, but now I do.”
“...Go buck yourself dash.” I said jokingly.
“In any case, yeah, I’ll help ya’ Rares, just not here... Twilight, do you know that cloud-walking spell they use at the Weather Factory?”
“I do, but I'm a little out of practice.” I admitted.
“Well, I'll go grab a cloud, you cast it on Rarity, and make it last till at least this time tomorrow. If things get... steamy...” Dash trailed off, both she and Rarity were blushing, “I'll admit, I'm not the quietest filly in town. Plus, Sweetie's upstairs. My place is far enough out that nopony will hear it.”
“G-good idea.” Rarity said.
“Okay, you go find a cloud.” I said, picking up a gem from a nearby table, it was a small blue gem about the size of a bottle cap. “Perfect.” I muttered. “Rarity, do you have some gold on hoof?”
“Why?” She asked, trotting over to a safe in the wall and pulling out a gold bar.
“I'm going to put the cloud-walking spell in this gem and make an amulet from it so it’s powered by the wearer's own magic. The spell will last for as long as they are wearing it and not drained of magic.” I said. “I'll compensate you for the gold and gem.”
“Oh, don't worry about it Twilight, the usefulness of it will be more than enough. Here, use this to hang it from.” She said as she levitated a gold-colored chain out of a drawer.
“Thanks.” Once she had given me the materials, I started crafting, shaping the soft metal around the amulet with my magic. I then bound the chain to it and began weaving the spell into the gem. It took me about five minutes to finish, and by that time Rainbow had returned with a cloud.
“Okay, put this on and try stepping onto the cloud.” I instructed Rarity, hoofing over the necklace. She did so and stepped onto the cloud as if she were a pegasus.
“Sweet, see ya’ tomorrow Twi'.” With a quick farewell, Rainbow started pushing the cloud with Rarity on it off towards her house. I quickly wrote a note for Sweetie, explaining that her sister was over at Rainbow's helping her with some clothing designs.
I stepped out into the street, and decided to head over to Fluttershy's. I had my doubts she'd be awake, but decided to go check. As I turned onto the path towards her house, I began to run again.
My thoughts ceased as I ran, only my destination in mind, alongside my route. I never had realized how nice it was to just run full tilt for a while. I suppose it was similar to Rainbow's flying. I slowed as I neared Fluttershy's house, surprised to see that the lights were still on despite it being fairly late at night. I trotted up to the door and, after I made sure my fangs were hidden, knocked lightly so as not to startle the timid pegasus.
I heard a small “Eep!” and the sound of somepony jumping. I heard her hooves touch the floor and a quiet “Coming...” before a whoosh, as if a fire had suddenly caught.
I didn't have much time to dwell on it as Fluttershy opened the door right then. “Oh, hi Twilight.” She said smiling. “I didn't expect you to show up this late... um... not that I mind and-”
“It's not a problem Fluttershy.” I said, giggling a little. “I couldn't sleep so I decided to go out, and everypony else was asleep. If your lights hadn't been on I wouldn't have knocked.”
“Oh, I don't mind.” She said, sounding a little relieved. “Come on in, I'll make some tea.”
“Okay.” I remembered somepony saying Fluttershy grew her own tea leaves, and that it was very good tea, while I was at the welcoming party. I stepped in and heard the door shut behind me as I took a seat on a large cushion she had set out, presumably for company as well as some of the various animals she helped.
There was a hint of light incense in the air, alongside the scents of various animals, and another odd scent that I hadn't noticed before. Fluttershy had smelled of the animals she took care of when I had first met her, due to training her birds and not washing, however this was a scent I didn't recognize from back then, probably due to my improved senses. It smelled a bit like mint combined with the smell of a rose.
I decided it was probably nothing as Fluttershy came back into the room with a tea tray balanced on her back, her wings holding it steady. I helped by levitating the tray over to the table and set it down.
“Thanks.” She said, lying down on another cushion. “Um... how have you been?” She asked.
“Stressed, to say the least.” I replied as I sipped my tea. “There's been quite a bit going on of late.”
“Really? I haven't been in town lately so I wouldn't know. Um... Sorry about that.”
“It's not a problem Fluttershy.” I said with a smile at my friend. “Anyhow, I was wondering if you knew your way around the Everfree. I'm looking for someone to brew some potions, and I heard that there was a Zebra who was good at that living nearby in the woods. I think her name was Zecora.”
“Oh... um... I know where she lives.” Fluttershy said quietly. “But please don't tell anypony that I get the medicine for my animals from her, everypony is afraid of her and I'd probably loose what little income I have... um if that's alright with you.”
“Really? They’re that afraid of her that they'd stop bringing their pets to be helped by you?”
“Yes... um please don't tell them I said that.” She said worriedly.
“Fluttershy, don't worry. I know to keep what others tell me to myself, especially with opinions.” I said with a chuckle. I sniffed the air again. “Fluttershy are you cooking anything with mint in it? I smell some and I can't figure out where it's coming from.”
“Um... no I'm not.” She said. “I did just shower so that may be it though, I have some mint shampoo.”
Okay that's suspicious. She wouldn’t smell like her animals after she showered. I thought back to the surprise party. Fluttershy hadn't smelled like her animals then, and when Spike had asked her about it, she had told him that she only showered when there was something important going on. “Really? Spike told me that you told him that you don't shower unless there's a reason to.”
She gave off a small eep, realizing her mistake. “Um... I... What I meant to say was...”
“Fluttershy, trust me when I say I can keep a secret for other ponies.” I said. “My own, well I haven't been doing the best job of late, but I don't tell other pony's secrets if they don't want me to.”
“You wouldn't trust me if I told you...” she muttered.
“Tell you what Fluttershy,” I said, finally figuring out how I’d tell her. “If you tell me yours, I'll tell you my biggest one right now.”
“I... I don't know...” She muttered.
“Would you rather I go first?” I asked and she nodded.
“Well... to put it simply, I was turned into a vampony by Nightmare Moon while we were using the Elements.” I said as I let my fangs show. This is becoming a little too routine... “Don't worry, I'm not a bloodthirsty monster, but I do still need a little every now and then, but that probably won't be for a while.”
Fluttershy's eyes went wide. “I... um...” A goat bleated outside and she locked up from the surprise and fear before toppling over.
I poked her with a hoof. “Fluttershy? You okay?”
“Yeah... Sorry it's just... that was a bit of a shock...” She apologized.
“You handled it better than Applejack.” I said with a sigh.
“R-really?”
“Yeah, she ran for the door... but forgot it was closed.”
Fluttershy giggled a bit at that. “Um... well I guess it's my turn... first, has anypony told you my cutie mark story?”
“No, I can't say they have.” I said.
“Well... the story everypony knows is that while at Cloudsdale Flight Camp, Rainbow challenged some bullies to a race to stop them from picking on me.” She said, smiling at the memory. “At the start of the race, one of the bullies knocked me off the cloud I had been sitting on by accident. I fell to the ground and I was caught by a large swarm of butterflies, and after realizing how much I loved working with animals, I got my cutie mark.”
“Okay... but what does this have to do with your secret?”
“Everything.” She said with a sigh.
The Vampony Chronicles
(A/N: Special thanks to DoomManta for editing again.)
“What do you mean?” I asked Fluttershy, very curious now.
“I'll be honest... I'm surprised nopony has picked up on it yet, but... will you hear me out before doing anything?”
I nodded. “Of course I will, you gave me that courtesy, so why wouldn't I?”
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes a moment before was suddenly consumed by what looked to be green fire with the same 'whoosh' sound that I had heard earlier. After a moment, the pink–maned, yellow pegasus had transformed into a taller insect-like pony. She had a matte black shell and an emerald green mane, although it kept the same style that it had before. Around her waist was a band of a green section of shell. She had two shimmering transparent wings on her back and an oddly curved horn on her forehead. Her hooves had holes in them, but they appeared to be natural. “I'm a changeling.”
My eyes went wide with shock at that. “Wha... are you actually Fluttershy?” I asked.
“Yes... and no...” Her voice was quite a bit deeper now, but it still held the kind tone that Fluttershy had. “The real Fluttershy didn't survive the fall from Cloudsdale... she was barely clinging to life when I found her. My actual name is Abia. I had just run away from my hive about a month beforehoof, because I was tired of the way they saw everything that wasn't a changeling as nothing but a source of food. When I mentioned it to my sister, Chrysalis, she merely laughed and said that when she took charge, such weak thoughts would mean banishment, so I left. She was next in line for the position of Hive Queen and I knew she didn't like me, I was her opposite. I had been helping the swarm of butterflies that Fluttershy nearly fell on find a new field to live in when she crashed... It wasn't a very nice scene...” She visibly shuddered at that.
“I can only imagine...”
“You don't want to.”
“Probably not.” I said, motioning for her to continue.
“She... she was nearly dead from the impact alone, I was surprised she was still alive. She asked if I could help her, and while I couldn't save her... I could take her place. She agreed to let me have her memories, and like that, I took her place. She wanted her cutie mark to be three butterflies...” A green tear fell to the ground as my vision took on a ruby hue again, my own tears falling.
I looked down to see that my tears were no longer water... but blood.
Luna told me about that. It's because you've turned another pony. Crescent said in my mind. I could hear sadness in her voice as well. What a horrible thing to have witnessed...
“I took her place and lived on for her, so I am Fluttershy in a way.” She sobbed. I trotted over and hugged her, her chitinous shell felt very odd against my coat. It gave slightly under my hug, as if it wasn't completely rigid, but still remained firm. It was an unusual feeling to say the least.
“You saved a lot of ponies a lot of strife because of that.” I said as I hugged her. “Have you ever regretted it?”
“No... I just wish I didn't have to lie to everypony.” She said.
“I have a feeling I, as well as the other Elements, will be familiar with that feeling soon...” I muttered. “The rest of our friends know about me. You'll have to tell them yourself if you want them to know.”
“Th-thanks Twilight, for keeping it a secret.” She sobbed.
“So... I'm not too familiar with changelings...” I said, hoping to get her mind off of the past. “Mind telling me?”
“Well... we don't eat food... we live off of love.” She said.
“I don't quite understand...”
“Well... the energy that love creates.” She said. “Most changelings disguise themselves as other ponies and replace them temporarily to steal some of that energy. Most ponies don't even notice. Because all the animals I take care of love me, I don't need to do that though, my friends help too...” she admitted.
“Wait, disguise?” I raised an eyebrow.
She nodded and there was another flash of green fire. There, sitting opposite of me, was an exact copy of myself. “Like this.” Even my voice was copied.
“That's... wow.” I said chuckling. “You know, if you ever let Pinkie in on this, she's going to try to get you to help her prank ponies.”
There was a flash of green fire and I was looking at Fluttershy again. “Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I haven't told her. I haven't told the town yet, because there are changeling hunters who want to destroy any of our race that they find. I've been Fluttershy so long though, that I'm more her than Abia, which has kept me hidden from them.”
“I still consider you my friend. You're still Fluttershy to me, just your past is different.” I said. “Actually you'll find that there is more to all of us Elements than meets the eye...” I said, giggling a little as I thought back to what I had learned over the past few days.
“Yeah... Twilight... would you... um... wouldyoumindstayingthenight?” Fluttershy asked.
“Sure, may I ask why though?”
“I keep hearing noises from the forest late at night... I don't know what it is, but it sounds like something very large growling. All the animals are spooked as well...”
“I'll stay then.” I said. “When I was back in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had me go through a year of Royal Guard training to help me get back into shape... I'll admit I let myself go for a while, and reading all day isn't exactly the best for one's weight.” I said with a chuckle.
Fluttershy giggled at that.
“In any case, I found that I was pretty good at combat with a blade, and unarmed as well. In a year, I was able to hold my own against some of the more experienced guards. I've kept myself in shape by sparring with a few of the guards every week since then. Well, that and it is a lot of fun, there's a certain rush you get from a good fight.”
“That's pretty impressive Twilight.” Fluttershy was clearly impressed. “Do you need to use magic at all or...”
“Not usually, I only did when my opponent started to, and then they usually found themselves a bit underpowered... I'd just lift them up and hang them off the rafters of the sparring room.”
“Oh my...” she giggled. “That must have been quite the sight...”
“I found out that it's pretty common to find a few of the unicorns hanging from the rafters in there; it was the standard prank if you used magic to cheat while sparring.” I joined in the laughter. “So now that that's all out in the open...”
“Um... how did the others take the news of you being a vampony, um... if you don't mind telling me?”
“Well... Spike took it surprisingly well, better than I did for sure. As I said before, Applejack tried to run out the door without opening it and dazed herself.” We both chuckled at that. “That night, I was over at Sweet Apple Acres and a timberwof attacked... I stopped it, but Big Mac and Granny Smith found out, apparently her great grandfather was a Moonblessed. Rarity took it surprisingly well, and due to a manticore attack, she's now a vampony too... Pinkie... well she's Pinkie Pie, she can take anything in stride. Berry Punch found out by accident, but she's not telling anypony, I'll have to tell you that story sometime. And lastly, Rainbow Dash freaked out at first, but eventually decided that it was awesome.”
“That does sound like Rainbow.” She said with a chuckle. “Did she slam into the ceiling?”
“Once... almost twice.” I giggled at the memory. “I think she matched Derpy for being wall eyed for a moment or two.”
Fluttershy disguised herself as Rainbow Dash, but with Ditzy's voice and ocular direction. “I just don't know what went wrong...”
Needless to say, we both were rolling about laughing after that one.
“Oh I shouldn't be making fun of Ditzy... she's a good mailmare, and a really nice pony...” Fluttershy said.
“Say, do you think you could teach me how to cast that spell? It would help with hiding my fangs, as well as disguising myself if I ever needed to hide from anypony...”
“I... don't know.” Fluttershy said, dropping the disguise. “You may be able to learn it, you probably have the energy to cast it, and sustaining it requires almost no effort.” She tapped her chin with her hoof. “Well it's worth a try.”
“Well, I'm all ears.” I said, listening intently.
“Well... first off, it will take a lot of practice before you're doing full body disguises, it's easy enough to change your coloration and all that, but it’s really difficult to make everything look right. Hiding your fangs will be the best place to start actually.” I nodded at that.
“What's so difficult about it?”
“You have to imagine every little detail, from the mane color, to the amount of hair, to the length and positioning of the hair, how it moves through the air, how the different parts of your coat move as you do... there's a lot of things come to think of it. You pretty much have to think of everything, down to the finest detail.”
“Wow...” I could barely comprehend the amount of effort it would take to just get one disguise right.
“The spell itself doesn't merely change the light around you like most illusion spells do, but it changes the way you look, the way you sound, and the way you feel, physically I mean. It also subconsciously causes everyone around you to avoid doing anything that would alert them to the illusion. I think somepony did a study once and found that in order to replicate our disguises, over forty other spells were needed.”
“And you learn this naturally?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a spell diagram I could use to learn it?”
“No, not at the moment, but I do know how to make one. Zecora showed me once.”
“That would really help.” I said with a smile. Wow... and she manages it all in an instant.
“It took me a few years of practice before I could disguise myself as a pony, although... Twilight would you mind... um... if I tried to transfer a memory of mine... i-if that isn't asking too much...”
“I don't mind... but please don't try digging around in my head. I don't like it when ponies try that.” She nodded, and her horn began to light up. “Wait, hold up...” I cocked my head to the side, listening. I hid my fangs at the sound of hoofbeats outside. “Somepony's coming...”
“Feels like Pinkie...” Fluttershy said, disguising herself and trotting over to the door.
“Twilight, Fluttershy, you two in there?” The party pony called.
“Yes Pinkie, um... one moment please... if you don't mind.” Fluttershy said, making it sound like she was just getting up and walking over to the door. She undid the lock and opened the door to a semi-frantic Pinkie Pie.
“Twilight, thank Celestia...” She said, visibly relaxing. “Um... did you...”
“She knows about me. Now what's up?”
“Did you run into any Sunblessed on the way here?” Pinkie asked, causing Fluttershy to raise an eyebrow.
“Yes, I was actually going to talk to you about that... He attacked me.”
“Please tell me he's still alive...” She facehoofed, clearly this wasn't the first time that idiot had barreled headfirst into something above his skill level.
“Um... what are you talking about?” Fluttershy said quietly.
“He's in the hospital...” I said, which prompted a small 'oh my...' from Fluttershy.
“How bad...” Pinkie asked.
“Leg and wing missing... they should be able to re-attach them though...” I said, shuddering.
“Yeah, as long as they try to, the limbs will re-attach. Part of the blessing...” She said, her initial panic completely gone.
“Um... What are you girls talking about?” Fluttershy asked a little louder this time, clearly a little disturbed by our conversation.
“My idiot partner...” Pinkie said with a sigh. “Sorry Flutters, this probably isn't a side of me you've seen before...”
“I was wondering about that... um... what's a Sunblessed if... um... that's not too much to ask...” She asked quietly.
“Basically, it’s Celestia's version of the spell that changed me into a vampony.” I said.
“Oh...” Fluttershy said, nodding.
“Yeah.” Pinkie said, letting her 'wings' show. “Little bit harder to hide, but there are a few less stigmas against us.”
“Oh... I can see what you mean about us all having secrets Twilight...” Fluttershy said.
“What's yours then Flutters?” Pinkie asked, curious now.
“Want me to or will you?” I asked Fluttershy, knowing she may not be able to say it.
She just squeaked and nodded.
“Now promise you'll hear the whole story Pinkie?” I asked.
“Of course, if you've already decided she's alright, then I'm fine with whatever it is as well... probably...”
“Okay then, she's a changeling.” I said, almost losing the deadpan delivery at Pinkie's expression of shock when Fluttershy revealed what she looked like.
“I- wha- but- Flutters- change- I- I... aye-yai-yai...” Pinkie stammered before fainting.
I sat there looking at the fainted, pink Sunblessed as my changeling friend poked her with a holey hoof, giving a small eep and jumping back as Pinkie twitched.
“Well... that could have gone better...” I said chuckling. “Congratulations Fluttershy, I think you're the first pony I've met who could catch Pinkie Pie off guard.”
She giggled. “Um, can you, if it's not too much trouble, levitate her onto the couch? I'll go find my smelling salts...” She asked. I nodded and levitated our currently ragdoll like pink friend onto Fluttershy's sofa.
She returned after a moment or two with a small glass jar. “Um... you may want to cover your nose, if your senses are heightened this may be unbearable.” I stepped back a few steps as she uncapped the small jar, the smell of ammonia and camphor wafting through the room as she waved the jar under Pinkie's nose, causing her to inhale sharply.
“I... uh... what just happened?” Pinkie said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes with her hooves.
“Um... you just fainted when you found out I was a changeling, I'm sorry about surprising you like that...” Fluttershy said as she put the lid back on the jar.
Pinkie's hooves stopped rubbing her eyes as Fluttershy spoke. “Where is Fluttershy then?” She asked coldly.
“Pinkie, remember what we agreed upon about jumping to conclusions?” I cut in. “Let her tell her story.”
“Sorry... it's just my last experience involving changelings wasn't the best... the changeling took the place of a young unicorn by killing the pony it disguised itself as...” Pinkie shuddered.
“Oh my... um... that...” Fluttershy stuttered. “That's not what Mom would have... oh no...” She held a holey hoof to her muzzle before breaking down into tears.
Pinkie and I gave each other a confused look at that. “Um... Fluttershy?”
She could barely speak between sobs. “There's only one reason... why the hive would change so suddenly...”
“And that is?” I asked.
Before Fluttershy could answer, Pinkie sat straight up and cast a shield spell over us.
“Twitchy Tail!” She called out.
“Pinkie what are y-” I was cut off as the roof of Fluttershy's house slammed into the shield. The ground shook from the impact as a loud roar sounded. Pinkie grunted as the shields expanded, tossing the rubble aside. “What in the name of Celestia was that!?” I yelled.
Fluttershy just squeaked and pointed a hoof behind me as Pinkie went wide eyed. I whirled around to see the cause of the sudden house collapse.
A hydra towered over the ruins of Fluttershy's cabin, toothy grins across all five of its heads.
Pinkie was the first to come out of shock. “Everypony move!” She yelled, grabbing Fluttershy and, using her golden wings, jumped out of the house. I teleported clear of the living room right as all of the heads smashed through the hole in the roof, attempting to eat a candy colored meal. I appeared beside Pinkie who was putting Fluttershy down as the Hydra stumbled around.
“Please tell me you’ve got an idea?” I asked.
“Yes, but first, disguise yourself Flutters, that roar will have attracted ponies.” Pinkie said urgently. “I’ll hear you out after this. Twilight, do you know any dark magic?”
“Shadow blade, and Luna occasionally helps with more spells. Speaking of which, one moment.” Luna! I shouted mentally, hoping she'd hear.
Yes Twilight? What is wrong? The Lunar Princess replied.
There's a Hydra on the outskirts of Ponyville, it just nearly ate Pinkie, Fluttershy, and me. Right now we're the only thing between it and the town, and we need help. I quickly told her.
I'll call it a vision... fear not Twilight, I shall send help to aid thy town and thy battle. Until then, fight unlike thou hast fought before, for thine opponent is more dangerous than the manticore.
Can you relay any spells that may help? I only know the shadow blade one for non-magical combat.
Hmm... Crescent, the dark lightning spell that thou was about to use against the Element Bearers, teach it to Twilight, anything else will take too long. Luna said before cutting the link.
Brace yourself Twilight, here it comes. Crescent said before sending the memories of how to cast the spell over the link. I staggered from the sensation of the memory being forced into my head, but shook it off quickly.
“Are you alright Twi'?” Pinkie asked, looking at me.
“Yes, just having memories of how to cast a spell forced into your head is not pleasant.” I said with a chuckle. Thank you, now stay connected, I may need some help with this one...
May? Crescent replied sarcastically. That's like saying I may have needed to be sent to the moon.
“Okay here's the plan, I'll distract it and draw its attention, while you hit it with whatever you can. Only one head won't regrow though, and that's the main one. If you cut off the others they will come back doubled.” Pinkie said.
“I know, I do read you know.” I said as the shadow blades materialized beside me. Fluttershy and Pinkie gasped and Pinkie's eyes widened at their appearance.
“Well, no wonder you won.” Pinkie said with a wolf-whistle. “Anyhow, let's do this. By Celestia's Light!” She yelled as she shot out at the hydra like a miniature comet. I quickly followed suit, but as a darker blur along the moonlit ground, the pale light giving everything a ghostly tone. If we don't stop this thing, Ponyville won't stand a chance... No time for regrets or guilt now. I thought, channeling the lightning spell at the hydra.
A dazzling white bolt of lightning forked through the air and slammed into the distracted hydra, the lightning arcing across its scaled hide as the two heads that were struck convulsed and went limp, their muscle control fried. I charged in, flinging my two blades at the base of the center head's neck as one of the side heads dove in for an intercept. The blades embedding themselves within the head's skull and I pulled on the barbed cords, causing the two blades to slide free with a wet slurp, blood gushing from the two new ventilation slots in its skull. A beam of white light blasted the head that was left of the other side of the hydra's body, stunning it.
“Twilight, lightning now!” Pinkie yelled to me. I nodded and channeled a good portion of my energy reserves into the lightning spell, arcing a bolt out as thick as my foreleg.
The thunderclap was deafening as the middle head's eyes exploded outwards, steam rushing from the inside of its thick skull, the bone's contents boiling in an instant. The two heads that had been standing fell to the ground with an almighty thud. I quickly dispelled my shadow blades and hid my fangs as Pinkie landed next to me. “That was surprisingly easy.” I panted, out of breath from the exertion of firing such a large lightning bolt.
“Yeah... no kidding...” Pinkie plopped down on her haunches and hid her wings. “I thought a hydra would be harder to stop...”
Fluttershy stepped out from the bushes, wide eyed at the sight of the hydra's mangled corpse. “Oh my... um... do you think you may have... perhaps you overdid it... just a little...” She looked like she was about to be sick. A white rabbit bounded its way up to her and hugged her leg. “Angel! Thank Celestia that you're alright!” She scooped the bunny up into her forelegs and gave him a massive hug. “Did the other animals make it out alright?”
Angel nodded and Fluttershy visibly relaxed. “That's great news.”
I heard the sound of hoofbeats along the dirt path that came from Ponyville. “Um... how are we going to explain this one?” I asked.
“I... um... er...” Fluttershy stammered, her eyes going wide.
“I got it girls.” Pinkie said, letting her wings show. “That'll be the town's guard showing up and they know about me.”
“Okay.” I nodded before moving to beside Fluttershy. “Act frightened and shocked.” Fluttershy nodded, pausing for a moment before breaking down into an incoherent mess, which would expected of her. I meanwhile just pretended to be in shock from the sight of one of my friends massacring a hydra.
I have to admit, Fluttershy is a good actress. Crescent chuckled to me. Calm to complete breakdown in two seconds flat.
The armored guardsponies came into view on the path, along with some volunteers from the town. “Is everypony alrigh... Mother of Celestia...” The lead guard breathed. “Did one of you just...”
“Yeah... I took care of it.” Pinkie said with a small smile.
“Princess Luna sent us, in her message she said she had a vision of a hydra attacking Fluttershy's house... we didn't believe it until someone burst in reporting loud roars from that direction...”
A few of the guards and most of the volunteers lost their previous meals at the sight of the hydra.
I slowly put a leg around Fluttershy, doing my best to seem as if I was in shock and trying to comfort the quivering pegasus.
“Well it's taken care of now... I'll get a cleanup crew in tomorrow, for now let's get some rest... Twilight can Fluttershy stay at your place? The Cakes don't have any room.”
“She can.” I said shakily. “I have a spare bed.”
The guards nodded as one brave stallion walked over to the crispy hydra and put an ear to its body. “Horseapples, it's still alive!” He said backpedaling. “It's heart's still going!”
“The last head!” I shouted as Pinkie took off, the large scaled head starting to come round after its electric nap. It growled and got ready to take a bite out of the guards.
“Not on my watch!” Pinkie brought her hooves together, each one holding a sphere of white light. She then thrust them forward forcing the energy at the hydra. There was a meaty squelch as the ball punched a hole in its head moments before detonating, splattering the head all over the field we were in. I saw Pinkie's wings start to fade and galloped towards her, my improved speed allowing me to catch her in my magic as she fell.
“Pinkie!” I levitated her over to me; her breathing was shallow and she was running a fever. “Fluttershy!” As soon as she heard me, she got up and flew over.
“O-oh my...” She muttered, as she started checking Pinkie over. “High fever, shallow breathing, the fact that this happened right after a spell... I'm going to guess either backlash or spell shock We have to get her cooled off, or else the fever will be too much, this way, there's a stream by my house.” She took off and I galloped after her, the guards still too stunned by what had happened to move.
“Quick, put her in and keep her mouth above water. I'm going to go grab somepony from the hospital.”
“O-okay... what do I do if it gets worse?”
“Um... do you know any spells involving ice?”
“Yes, one for freezing small amounts of water for ice cubes.” I said, running a little water over Pinkie's forehead with my magic.
“Make a little ice and use it to cool her, but aside from that just wait, please.” She said before taking off straight up and shooting off towards Ponyville.
“Twilight? What the buck is going on?” I heard as Rainbow Dash glided down to the stream bed. “Rares and I saw some kind of light beam over here...” Her flight path had obviously not taken her over the deceased hydra.
“Hydra attack. Pinkie and I held it off, but she used too much magic and now she is in spell shock.” I said, keeping the cool water flowing. “Fluttershy left to go get help from the hospital. See if you can use your wings to help cool Pinkie.”
“Spell shock? Pinkie's not a unicorn...” Rainbow was clearly confused, but started kicking up a breeze anyhow.
“You'll have to ask her later on, I promised not to tell.” I turned to the guards who were galloping over. “Fluttershy went to get help from the hospital, see if you can make something to carry us back there on. I can keep some water around her as long as I don't have to walk at the same time.”
“You heard the mare, get to work!” The commander ordered, and soon they were rummaging through the wreckage of Fluttershy’s place, dragging out various bits and pieces of things to make a a stretcher out of.
Pinkie groaned a little as I stopped the flow of water to check her temperature. Good, she doesn't feel any warmer... “Rainbow can you fly up and see if you can spot Fluttershy returning?” I asked after about five minutes.
“Got it.” Rainbow said, shooting up into the sky. “I see her, looks like Nurse Redheart is with her.” Rainbow said as she landed and started fanning Pinkie again. “They'll be here soon.”
“Good, looks like the guards are nearly done too.” I could see the sturdy looking platform they had cooked up and mounted Fluttershy's bathtub on. It was just being hitched to four of the stallions as Redheart and Fluttershy came into view.
“... don't even know what's going on in this town anymore after earlier tonight and now this...” I heard her grumble as she got closer. “How is she?”
“I don't think she's any worse than before, but she's still quite warm.”
“I brought some cold packs, and it looks like the guard is helping... I think we can risk transport to the hospital.” Redheart said before turning to the guards. “Make sure that tub is corked.” She tossed off her saddlebags and began to unload the chemical cold packs onto the tub platform as two unicorns started filling it with water. She then stepped into the stream and examined Pinkie “Rainbow, fly to the hospital and let Nurse Triage know we're transporting Pinkie back and that it is spell shock, class 2. Have her prepare room 113 for treatment.”
“Gotcha.” Rainbow gave a quick salute before speeding off towards town.
“We'll give the tub a minute to cool, then head out. You four think you can make it back to town?” Redheart asked after stomping on a cold pack and tossing it into the tub.
“Mam, we're railponies,” one of them said. “This is nothing compared to our job, one of us could take it back, but this will be a smoother ride.”
“Good thing you four volunteered.” She muttered looking at the wood and metal structure that was now resting on their backs. “Okay, it should be good now, ready Twilight?”
“Ready.” I nodded to Redheart.
“You four ready?”
“Better believe it.” The railponies nodded as one.
“Okay, guards run ahead and clear us a path, Twilight, get Pinkie to the tub quickly.” The guards saluted as I lifted Pinkie out of the stream and into the tub. I climbed onto the wooden platform as Fluttershy and Redheart got on the other side. “We're on! Go, go, go!” Readheart called to the stallions, who slowly got moving and gradually sped up to help keep the ride smooth, and the water in the tub with Pinkie.
13: Crimson Blood Behind Shining Curtains
The Vampony Chronicles
Fluttershy, Angel Bunny, Rainbow, and I sat in the waiting room for the Magical Trauma wing at the Ponyville hospital. The minutes seemed like hours as they ticked by while we waited for news, however good or bad it was.
We managed to keep Pinkie's condition from growing any worse during our rush to the hospital; the railponies didn’t spill much of the water from the tub, and the cold packs had kept it cool enough to help.
We didn't speak for a long time, between the three of us we didn't know what to say, and frankly, we were all too worried about Pinkie to talk. However I had a feeling that Rarity and Applejack would want to be with us to hear the news.
“Dash...” I said hesitantly.
“Yeah 'Twi?” She asked.
“Would you mind flying to get Rarity and Applejack? They'd want to be here.” I replied. “Pinkie would make sure we'd all be there if it was any of us who was in the hospital.” I said with a small smile.
“But what if she wakes up while I'm gone? She'll think I ditched!” Dash seemed shocked by my request, and became very defensive.
“Um... not to interrupt, but... um... she'll probably be out for at least another hour.” At first I thought it had been Fluttershy who had spoken, but then I realized it had been the nurse behind the desk. “I mean... um... she didn't look as bad as the last patient we had come through... but she'll be out for a while still so you'll have time.”
“Why not have Fluttershy go?” Dash asked.
“She's not as fast, and I doubt she can help Rarity down from your place.”
“Oh... right.” Dash sounded a little dejected, but got up and trotted for the door. “I'll be back before you know it.”
“You always are Dash.” I said with a chuckle, causing Fluttershy to smile a little too.
“Oh... um Rainbow?” Fluttershy called out to after her.
“Yes Fluttershy?”
“Let the Cakes know as well, if it's not too much trouble, she is living with them after all...”
“Good idea... I'll bring Pinks back a cupcake too.” Dash said before disappearing from sight.
“Um... if it's not too much to ask, do you know what happened?” The nurse asked. “I'm Nurse Triage by the way.”
“Pinkie saved us from a hydra attack.” I said, sticking to the story we had cooked up earlier. “I think the guard knows more about what happened than us.”
“Oh... okay.” She said. “Um... if you want you can take a nap, I'll wake you up when news comes.”
“Thanks.” May as well get some sleep before everypony starts learning each other’s secrets tomorrow... I thought as I placed my head on my hooves, allowing myself to drift off into dreamland.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I looked around the surface of the moon, the landscape somewhat familiar to me now.
“How is she?” A familiar voice asked from behind me. I turned to see Luna and Crescent sitting there, as if they had been talking.
“She's in treatment right now, the nurse said that she was better off than the last patient they had brought through.” I said, trotting over and sitting by them. “I just decided to take a nap while I still had time.”
“ That's a good idea, you'll need all the rest you can get tomorrow.” A voice spoke from nowhere in particular.
“Who goes there?” Crescent nearly yelled, her horn igniting.
“Oh just a spirit of Chaos.” The voice came again, and the strangest creature I had ever seen faded into view. It had the head of a goat, and all of its limbs were mismatched. One fang stuck out from its mouth, and an antler and a horn protruded from its skull. “But you can call me Discord.” He said with a chuckle.
“Discord!” Luna yelled. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Relax Luna, I'm merely an observer this time round, although, I did get the ball rolling, so to speak, a long time ago on this one.”
“What dost thou mean?” Luna asked, clearly puzzled.
“I'm simply commenting that an old friend of mine has returned to the world of the unpetrified.” Smirking, he continued on. “I believe you should remember Crimson Sonata, renowned musician of the classical age, and one heck of an agent of Chaos once I managed to free his mind.” He gave a fond sigh, as if remembering something cherished. “Ah, the fun you are going to have with him.”
“Wait, he's free from his imprisonment in the gardens?” Crescent gasped.
“No, I'm just reflecting on a fond memory.” Discord said sarcastically.
“No need for thou to be so grating Discord.” Luna said with a frown. “Thou said that thy role will be only as an observer to what happens?”
“Yes, it will be a while before I am able to get out of the stone I'm trapped as; although I have a feeling it may not be too much longer. Anyhow, I will not be helping his side, I simply wish to see chaos, Sonata on the other hand... well the two beasts he has sent after you so far should give you a hint. Once, long ago, I took it upon myself to free him from the boring mundaneness of ordered society, unfortunately I realized too late that I went too far and now he... well...”
“Simply wishes to watch the world burn in war.” Crescent finished with a shudder. “I may have been bad, but he was... something else.”
“Yes, while he is a remarkable agent of chaos, he takes it much too far.” Discord frowned. “I hope you are ready Twilight, for tomorrow the concerto begins.” He faded from view, his laughter slowly dissipating.
After a moment of stunned silence I spoke. “Okay, does anypony care to explain to me what in Tartarus just happened?” I asked.
“That... was Discord. A draconequus, and the, as much as I hate to say it, God of Chaos. He is an old enemy, and an older friend, but that tale is for another day.” Luna sighed. “Thou should wake up now Twilight, and should stay on watch for anything unusual come the morning, for when Discord takes something seriously, it is best to heed his warnings.”
“Remember, don't be afraid to ask me if something is up, I do have some experience in such things.” Crescent reminded me.
“I'll do that.” I replied as I could feel myself waking up. “Merry meet and merry part, Luna.”
“Until we merry meet again, Twilight.” Luna said. “I may visit thy town soon Twilight, I wish to speak to the six of you about Crimson, although I must speak with my sister first.”
I nodded as the dream faded, the lunar soil fading to black.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I opened my eyes slowly, wondering if Dash was back yet with the other two. Fluttershy, who was snoozing in a way that would cause a diabetic to have a heart attack from the sweetness, Angel Bunny, who was nestled between her wings, and the nurse, were the only others in the room. I rose from my cushion and trotted over to the nurse.
“Excuse me, Nurse Triage?” I spoke quietly so as to not wake up my sleeping friend.
“Yes Miss... I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name.” The nurse said apologetically.
“It's Twilight Sparkle.” I said with a smile.
“Ah, well then Miss Twilight, what can I do for you?”
“Was somepony brought in earlier today, a pegasus with a straw colored coat and light blue mane? I saw somepony carrying a pegasus that looked like that over the rooftops heading in this direction.” I lied.
“Y-you did?” Triage exclaimed, albeit quietly, “Could you tell me any details you remember about the pony carrying him? He was brought in with a severed wing and leg, although he is stable and recovering now. I don't know how, but the doctors managed to re-attach the limbs.”
“What?” I said, barely able to contain my relief. I managed to feign surprise. “W-well I couldn't see the pony carrying him all that well, they were wearing clothes.” I said.
“Yes the other staff said that too... say, why are you wearing clothes?” The nurse asked me, looking at my hoodie and pants that were splashed with both the hydra and sunblessed's blood.
Shit... wait, I got this. “Well I used to live in Canterlot and wore clothes while going to the academy, and Rarity asked me to see if her designs were comfortable.” I glanced back at the hoodie and acted as if I had just noticed the blood on my damp clothes. “That... is going to take a while to get out...” I said, shuddering. “It's hydra blood, Pinkie stopped it, but... well... yeah...”
“Hmm... I can help with that actually.” She got up and trotted over to a device on the wall. It consisted of a series of flared tubes that were affixed to gems. Fascinating, the gems must transmit and receive sound... I thought. I wonder if that can be made portable...
As the nurse spoke into one of the tubes, I heard hoofbeats approaching. I turned to the door as a panting Rainbow Dash entered, followed by a worried Rarity. I quickly put a hoof over my lips in a shushing motion and nodded at Fluttershy. Rarity and Rainbow nodded and trotted over to a trio of cushions on the far side of the waiting area as the nurse returned.
“One of the colts from laundry is bringing up a bit of the detergent we use for our bedsheets, it shouldn't damage your clothes, and it will be able to remove the blood even after it dries.”
“Oh you didn't have to do that.” I smiled at her, “But thank you.”
“It's no problem, they have buckets of the stuff down there.”
I nodded and trotted over to Rainbow and Rarity, taking the last cushion.
“So... what happened?” Rarity asked quietly as I put up a silence spell, “And how is she?”
“She's probably going to be fine, according to the nurse, as for what happened, she helped me stop a hydra... I'll let her explain how she did. I promised not to tell anyone.” I said. “She has class two spell shock.”
“Oh my...” Rarity said. “I had that once... it is not pleasant, but it’s survivable if you kept her cool...”
“Yes we did, now all we can do is wait. Is Applejack coming?” I asked Rainbow.
“Yeah... she's on her way. The Cakes gave me these to give to Pinkie.” Rainbow nodded to a brown paper bag I hadn't noticed her carry in. “They didn't seem surprised by the spell shock though.”
“They probably know about it then, she does live with them after all.”
“Yeah...” Rainbow said.
“Oh, drop the spell Twilight, the doctor's here.” She said, getting up as the purple sound barrier dissipated.
I trotted over to Fluttershy and nudged her awake with a hoof. “The doctor's here.” Turning to the unicorn in question I asked, “How is she?”
“Well, she was pretty bad when she was brought in, although after taking down a hydra, anypony would be.” He said with a small chuckle. “But as to why she's suffering from spell shock, I can't tell you.”
“Yeah, everypony's been saying that today...” Rainbow muttered, earning a 'shhh!' from Rarity.
“But she will make a full recovery. Her fever has receded, and her mana levels are back to normal. She should wake up with hangover-like symptoms in about half an hour if this is a textbook case. Until then, would you like to wait in her room?”
We all nodded and the doctor turned and led us down the hallway to a secluded room. “Now please keep the noise level down, we have another patient in this room who is recovering from surgery earlier tonight.” He said and we nodded before entering the room.
Pinkie lay on a bed with a few sensors hooked up to her monitoring her vitals. She was sleeping peacefully, a small smile upon her face.
The doctor turned to leave and I stepped outside the door with him.
“Yes?” He asked.
“One of our friends, Applejack, is on the way here from Sweet Apple Acres, can you tell Nurse Triage to let her know where we are?”
“I suppose I can.” He said with a nod and a smile.
“Thank you.” I said and stepped back into the room, placing a noise barrier around the drawn curtain that hid the other patient from view. “You can talk now girls.”
“Thank you Twilight.” Rarity said.
“It's nothing really.” I replied, taking the cushion beside Fluttershy.
“It's a high level spell dear, and certainly not one I could perform. To you it may be nothing, but to the rest of us it is something,” the alabaster unicorn said with a chuckle.
“Anyhow...” Dash cut in, “I take it everypony here aside from the pony in the sound barrier knows about Twi'?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I had just finished telling Fluttershy when Pinkie showed up, shortly followed by the hydra attack.”
“Good, well at least that's out on the table.” Dash said with a sigh.
Rarity nodded, and I noticed a drop of red on her lip. “Rarity, you’ve got some red on your lip.” I said quietly.
“Oh... thank you dear...” She said, forcing out an awkward laugh as she tried to clean off the drop of blood.
“Um... I take it Rainbow helped you with that then? If that's not too much to ask?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
“Yeah.” Dash said with a chuckle and a small blush.
You know... Crescent said with a mischievous tone to her voice, Now would be a good time to get revenge on Dash if she's embarrassed you in the past...
I smiled a little at that, but replied, Nah, not now at least. My ears perked up alongside Rarity's at the sound of hoof steps in the hallway. “Somepony's coming.” I said.
The door soon opened to reveal a familiar orange apple farmer and her trademark Stetson hat. “Ah came as fast as Ah could.” She said, a little out of breath. “The nurse filled me in on Pinkie's condition. Landsakes, how did she take down a buckin' hydra...”
“Well... I helped...” I said. “In any case, all we can do is wait. Oh, and everypony here knows about me.”
“Good, because you know Ah can't lie.” She said as she flopped down into the last cushion. “Phew... the run from the Acres to here is one heck of a jog...”
“I'd bet.” We lapsed into silence after that, waiting for Pinkie to wake up.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
After about another fifteen minutes of idle chatter, Pinkie groaned, stirring slightly.
“Heads up girls, Ah think she's wakin' up.” Applejack said, sitting up.
We all sat up and watched as Pinkie slowly woke up. “Huh? Where am I? And why does my head hurt? Oh boy, did I get into the Cake's cider cabinet again?” She said with a chuckle.
“Pinkie!” I said, hugging her, “Thank heavens you're alright.”
“Hi there Twi'.” She giggled. “Oh yeah... now I remember.” She said, frowning slightly. “Good catch by the way.”
“Thanks.” I said letting go. “I'm not the only one here.” I said letting go.
“Hi girls.” Pinkie said cheerily.
“Oh thank Celestia you're okay!” Fluttershy said, almost tackle hugging Pinkie as she wrapped her hooves around the party pony.
“You'd be thanking the right pony then.” She said hugging Fluttershy, “Well her, and you, and Twilight, and whoever else helped me.”
We all nodded in agreement on that one.
Rarity spoke up next, “While I am happy that you are alright dear, I must ask, how in Celestia's name you got spell shock? I know for a fact from the few times you've had me style your mane that you are an earth pony.”
I rubbed my forehead with a hoof. Here we go...
“Oh... Well I guess it's time for some exposition in this story...” Pinkie said with a small chuckle, earning a questioning look from the rest of us.
“Pinkie, Ah’ve got no idea what you mean by that, but Ah'm wondering the same thing.” Applejack said.
“Alright, alright,” She said, “Don't get your tails in a twist. To put it simply, I'm a sunblessed, I got Celestia's version of what happened to Twilight.”
The reactions of Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were ones of shock, indifference and confusion respectively.
“You're not surprised Dashie?” Pinkie asked with a giggle.
“Not really, I knew something had to be different about you after a few pranks with you somehow ending up on the roof of a three story building.”
“Make sense... Ah suppose...” Applejack said after a moment.
“But... how... when... why-” Rarity stammered.
“-Didn't I say something?” Pinkie finished for Rarity, “Simple, it didn't really matter up until now. As for how and when, how involves Celestia and some light magic, and when was shortly after I left the rock farm. Me and my two sisters, Inky and Blinky, were asked to become sunblessed, but Inky declined for some reason.”
“Well... okay.” Rarity said after a moment of thinking it over. “Now... before we continue, does anypony have any other kind of blessing or curse? If so, please say so now so we can stop having these surprise exposé's?”
I resisted the urge to look at Fluttershy, in case she wanted to keep it a secret, however much to my surprise she spoke up.
“Um... actually now would probably be a good time to bring it up... if you don't mind.” She said quietly.
“Well go on dear, since two thirds of us seem to not be standard ponies anymore, you may as well get it over with.” Rarity said.
“Well... um... okay... but um... Rainbow?” Fluttershy turned to the blue pegasus.
“Yeah 'Shy?”
“I have to say sorry... I haven't been exactly honest with you since the day of the race at summer flight camp...”
“What do you mean?”
“Well... um... oh... eep...” She said hiding behind her hair.
“It's hard to explain Rainbow.” I said with a sigh. “I just ask for you to hear her out, same with the rest of you. I won't hesitate to stop you from running, and I can catch you easily, with or without magic.”
“Okay then...” Rainbow muttered. “Well... lay it on me 'Shy, nothing you say will make me hate you, heck we've been friends ever since that first week of camp.”
“Okay... um... well... oh this is too difficult...” Fluttershy stammered. “During the race, you remember how I was knocked off of the cloud by one of the bullies?” She said as I encased the whole room in a sound dampening spell as a precaution. I also threw up a detection spell to warn me if anypony was coming.
“Yeah?”
“Well... that wasn't exactly me... um...”
“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked, clearly confused.
“Well...” She gave a small squeak as she dispelled the illusion. “She didn't make it... she asked me to take her place...” Rainbow had frozen in place, as had Rarity. In contrast, Applejack's jaw had hit the floor. “My original name is Abia. I'm a changeling, and one of our older spells allows us to take the place of a dying pony upon their request by copying their memories... She asked me to take her place and be your friend...”
“Wh... Why didn't you tell me?” Rainbow asked, a tear falling.
“She asked me not to...” Abia said quietly.
“But then... the Fluttershy I've known all this time...”
Abia seemed unable to speak so I cut in. “Rainbow, she's still Fluttershy, your friend, and the Element of Kindness. She's been living as such for most of her life, ever since she left the place where she was born. I know it's a huge shock to you, but she isn't any different than the Fluttershy you've known since the day of the race, you just found something else out about her.”
“Yeah, kinda’ like how me, Rares, and Twilight are all magically altered ponies, it's just less obvious for us.” Pinkie said with a smile, sitting up and letting her wings show. “Well... for Twi' and Rares at least.”
“I... so... the original Fluttershy died during the race?” Abia nodded, a few green tears falling. “And you were the one that the flight camp instructors brought back?”
“Yes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you... She asked me to bury her so nopony would know.” Abia said.
“Well...” Rainbow said, hesitating a moment before getting up and hugging Abia. “Then you're still Fluttershy to me.” She said.
“R-really? You forgive me?”
“Yeah, Besides, you have all her memories right?” I could see Rainbow was crying from the teardrops that were running down Abia's back.
“Y-yeah.”
“Then you may as well be her. Not that I'm saying it's not a little strange... but I've known you longer than her... It's still sad though... she was so nice...”
“I know. She didn't deserve that...” Abia said. Applejack had picked her jaw up off of the floor and was holding back tears, while Rarity wept openly. Pinkie was tearing up as well, a small smile on her face. I myself was crying a little, if the redness of my vision was any indication. I could feel sadness from Crescent as she watched the scene through my eyes.
Such close friends... that they can even overcome that... the alicorn said.
“Nopony does Abbie. Nopony does...” Pinkie muttered, using a wing to pull Abia and Dash into a hug, which the rest of us soon joined in on.
((A/N: Thanks again to Doom for editing.))
The Vampony Chronicles
By: SteampunkBrony
(thanks again to doom for editing, and reminding me to post this...
We all hugged for a good five minutes after that, sharing a moment for the original Fluttershy. I think Abia cried the hardest, both out of sadness for the poor filly and relief, finally able to tell the secret which had haunted her for so long.
When the hug finally broke we sat there for a while longer, drying out tears.
“Uh... Which one of y’all is bleedin'?” Applejack asked, seeing a small crimson spot on the hospital sheets.
I raised a hoof sheepishly. “Apparently crying blood is a side effect of turning a fledgling.”
“Now that's just plain weird...” Applejack said, frowning at the red stain on the sheets. “Y'all got a way to hide that?”
“I'll just say I didn't notice a cut from the hydra and it opened,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, it did drop a roof on us.”
“...Fair enough... Ah guess...” Applejack sighed. “Ah just hope they don't ask me anything, I couldn't lie if my life depended upon it.”
“Oh trust us AJ,” Dash cut in, “we know.” This drew laughter from the rest of us as Applejack deadpanned at Rainbow.
When we finished laughing, Pinkie brought up a very interesting question, causing us all to disguise our various abnormalities. “Say, did anypony actually check to see if the other patient was asleep?”
“No... why?” Fluttershy asked.
“Because I feel light magic in that direction...”
After a moment of staring at each other, all of our heads swiveled towards the privacy curtain as I dropped my silence spell around the other patient.
Apparently fate decided that today was going to be awkward for all parties involved, because the curtain was pulled back, and we found ourselves face to face with the Sunblessed from earlier in the night.
"Just my luck... may as well get this crap over with..." I muttered to myself. "You don't recognize me do you?"
"N-no..." he seemed taken aback at that. I looked over at Pinke who simple shrugged.
"Get it over with, i don't want him hospitalized again." I nodded and disguised myself for a moment before returning myself to normal, albeit leaving my fangs out.
“Y-you!” He stammered looking at me.
“Me.”
“What are you doing here!”
“Visiting a friend in the hospital after helping her save the town from a hydra,” I said without missing a beat.
“B-b-b-b-but you're a... and she's a...”
“And?” Pinkie cut in, raising an eyebrow. “Just because she's a vampony doesn't mean she's evil. She’s a Moonblessed, don't you remember the lessons on them from training?”
“Of course I... er... um... oh... I think I kinda... slept... through that class...” I think it was evident to everypony in the room that he was getting that unique feeling when you realize just how badly you screwed up because you slept through something important.
“And you paid for that with a trip to the hospital, because she was trying not to use lethal force.” Pinkie said facehoofing. “I'm not gonna say anything to the commander about this, so long as you keep your trap shut about Twilight.”
Upon the mention of my name, all of the color drained from his face, and I mean all of it. His coat had been a golden yellow before, now it looked as if he had stuck his face in bleach.
“T-t-t-twilight... as in... Twilight Sparkle?” He stammered. By now Rainbow had a hoof covering her mouth to hold in her laughter at the Schadenfreude. I decided to let Pinkie have her moment. For a mare that would normally be laughing her flank off right now, she was keeping a pretty good deadpan.
“Yup.”
“The st-student of,” He gulped loudly at the point, “P-princess Celestia?” He squeaked out.
“Yup, and you tried to kill her a few hours ago.”
“Say what now?” Applejack had a look on her face told me exactly how many walls she wanted to buck him through right then.
“I... attacked... and... and...” a third 'and' trailed off as he flopped back onto the hospital bed. “I'm so fucked.”
Pinkie only held the deadpan for a moment longer before she burst out giggling. “Naaah. I won't tell the boss, and I don't think Twi' will either.”
“Nope,” I said with a chuckle.
“But... what was all that about then?” He said, sitting up again.
“To teach you a lesson.” Pinkie said. “Anyhow, this is Lance, Prince Blueblood's kid.”
“Really?” Rarity asked, sitting up
“Yeah, his illegitimate one,” Lance said with a sigh. “My full name's Golden Lance, turns out dad had an affair with one of the female guards assigned to him, she had me. Blueblood only took an interest in me after I entered the Royal Guard Academy,” he said with a sigh. “You were right... he convinced Celestia that I should be a Sunblessed and started treating me like a son...”
Pinkie sighed, “And I've told you time and time again that he only cares about your status as a Sunblessed, with that the nobles ask less questions.” I nodded as she said this, remembering the politics of Canterlot.
“Bunch of stuck up busybodies if ya ask me.” Applejack said. “What kind of father treats his kid like that?”
“One who didn't want a kid in the first place.” Lance said bitterly.
I took a moment to butt in before things escalated any farther. “Hey Lance, um... sorry about earlier. I didn't want to hurt you that badly...”
He chuckled. “Don't worry about it Miss Sparkle, I've had worse.” He said, shuddering. “Still hurt like hell though.”
“Worse?”
“Yeah... Sunblessed training is brutal.” Pinkie nodded sagely at the statement.
“I don't think I want to know.” Rarity said before Lance could continue.
“I won't say then,” He said.
“You're taking this whole 'being in a room with the pony that hospitalized you' thing pretty well.” Rainbow said with a chuckle.
“Oh I'm on edge, but I trust Paladin Pie's judgment.” Lance said. “I'm just an Acolyte after all.”
“And a stupid one at that,” Pinkie said with a sigh. “Didn't I say if you were given the chance to resolve something peacefully to take it? Especially when your opponent can perform high-level dark magic?”
“Y-yeah...”
“Wait, high-level?” I asked, “What spell are you talking about?”
“The blades and that lightning spell you used.” Pinkie was looking at me as if I had just said the dumbest thing possible.
“Those are high level spells?”
“Er... yeah. Duh.” Lance said as Pinkie facehoofed.
“How can't you know what those spells are?” She asked. “Didn't it mention that in the tome you must have found those in?”
“Er... I didn't learn them from a book. Luna taught them to me.”
“So you're saying that, in a matter of days, you learned two high-level dark magic spells without needing to see them in any kind of spell diagram?” Pinkie asked.
“…well, she did teach them to me by showing me her memories on how to cast them. After that it was easy...”
Lance's jaw was almost on the floor and Pinkie's eyebrow had risen. “Okay cast the blade spell, I have to see this in detail.”
“Um... okay.” I said, the black mist gathering around me as the blades formed.
“Woah...” Rainbow's eyes were wide at the sight of the blades.
“Can you pass one please?” Pinkie asked, and I floated one over to her. “Spell structure is stable, the spell is strong enough to hold a physical form... geez Twilight I know you're special talent is magic, but this is just ridiculous.”
“Those look different...” Rarity muttered, “they weren’t that fancy when you fought the manticore, if my memory serves me right.”
“I was a little surprised myself, when I cast that spell the second time they just formed like that.” I decided that it was probably better if I didn’t tell them about Crescent.
“I'm not even going to go into how difficult that spell should be...” Pinkie said with a dry chuckle. “Seriously Twilight, I'm impressed, and that takes a lot.”
“I'll take your word for it.” I said, dispelling the blades.
“Now hold up a minute.” Applejack cut in. “Ah'm confused here. Twi' you're just gonna let him go even though he tried to kill ya?”
“Well yeah, what's the problem?” I replied.
“What's the problem? He tried to murder ya'! He should be thrown in prison!” Applejack nearly yelled.
“Normally I'd agree with that darling, but I think having a leg and wing cut off is enough.” Rarity said causing the rest of us to nod.
“Well that and the fact that if we let our commander know what happened, we would be up to our manes in Sunblessed before you could say cupcakes.” Pinkie said.
“So y’all are just gonna do nothing?” Applejack said.
“Well I suppose he could use a bit of punishment... Any ideas girls?” Pinkie asked.
“Well, what are you good at Lance?” I asked, an idea forming.
“I used to work in the castle gardens, minding the animals there before I signed up for guard duty.” He said sheepishly. “I loved working with them, and my cutie mark appeared after I saved a pair of jackalopes from some animal thieves.”
“One moment.” I re-cast the sound barrier. “Well now that we know that, any thoughts?”
“Well... er... um... I could always use an extra hoof around my place. Angel helps out a lot, but he's only one bunny.” Fluttershy said, hugging the rabbit.
“Ah don't trust him around ya 'shy...” Applejack said. “What about the whole changelin' thing?”
“Oh... um... right...” She said with a small frown and a blush.
“He won't hurt her if he knows I know about you 'shy.” Pinkie said with a smile. “He may not make the best decisions, but he follows orders to a tee.”
“Are ya sure about that sugarcube? Ah still don't trust him.” Applejack said.
“Well I can lock his power in an amulet and give it to 'shy.” Pinkie said after a moment of thought. “While you can't take away the blessing of the sun completely, Princess Celestia put a bit in the spell so a Sunblessed's power could be locked away in an amulet by somepony who outranks them. He's an acolyte, and I'm the paladin training him, so I can do that.”
“Now why would Celestia do that darling?” Rarity asked.
“One of the Moonblessed turned against Equestria a long time ago. I think Celestia was trying to prevent repeat incidents.” I said with a frown.
“Yeppers.” Pinkie said with a smile. “I take it you've been talking to the guardian of that tower?”
“Wait, how did you know?” I asked.
“Same way I knew where the book on the Elements of Harmony was, I checked the place out beforehoof. I recognized the spell on that dais as one to hold a spirit as a guardian. Ooh... do you think that they'd like a party?”
“Pinkie Pie, you are so random...” Rainbow Dash muttered, the sudden mention of a party catching everypony off guard.
“In any case, I think we could have him stay at Fluttershy's.” I said after shaking my head.
“Yeah besides, I think Flutters has a crush on him.” Pinkie said in between giggles.
We turned to look at Fluttershy, who had managed to blush a bright red through her coat, and was now trying to hide in her mane. “Eep! D-d-don't tell him.”
“Don't worry Flutters, your auntie Pinkie won't tell Lance.” Pinkie said, patting her on the head.
“but... um... I'm a year older than you...” Fluttershy muttered. “How should we tell him?”
“Let me handle it. Just drop the illusion when I say.” She nodded to me and I dropped the silence spell as she started speaking. “Okay Lancie, we've decided what's going to happen.”
“Well... lay it on me since I can't really stop you.” Lance said with a sigh.
“Okay, first things first. You're going to be helping Fluttershy here take care of the animals at her cottage, and assist with rebuilding it. You'll also be responsible for helping fend off any nasties from the Everfree that come by. In short, while helping Fluttershy and the builders, you'll be their defense from anything that is looking to make some pony flavored cupcakes.” Pinkie continued on without missing a beat. “Secondly, you're going to be stripped of your powers whenever you don't need them. Fluttershy will be in charge of the amulet while you're there.”
“I can't say that I didn't see that one coming.”
“Lastly, you are not to attack Fluttershy.” Pinkie said, suppressing a grin as she nodded to Fluttershy.
“Now why would I do thaaaaahohsweetcelestiaachangeling!” He had somehow managed to climb up to the corner between the wall and ceiling without using his wings as his eyes hit the size of dinner plates.
All of us started laughing at that, aside from Fluttershy who was apologizing profusely. Once we managed to coax him back down into his bed we were able to explain Fluttershy's situation.
“So she's not going to try to drain me of love?”
“Noppers.” Pinkie said before taking a bite out of a cupcake.
“Pinkie where did you get that?” I asked, confused.
I was just thinking the same thing... Crescent said, still chuckling from Lance's reaction
“Get what?” She said as she finished the cupcake.
“That cupcake!”
“Sugarcube, it's best not to question that kinda' thing around Pinkie Pie.” Applejack said as everypony else in the room nodded sagely.
“But it doesn't make any sense! Pocket dimensions are only accessible by unicorns!”
“Pocket dimensions?” Rainbow asked.
“You know, a way to store small objects without saddlebags. A lot of unicorns use them.” I pulled a quill and some paper out of one to demonstrate.
“That... actually explains a lot.” Rainbow said chuckling. “I was wondering where the hay you guys kept pulling stuff like that from.”
I was about to say something when Rarity cut in. “Well I hate to cut things short, but if the window is any indication, it's almost daytime.”
“Crazy night huh?” Rainbow said with a chuckle. “I'm just glad nopony was hurt too badly.”
“Yeah no kidding, that would just ruin everypony's next day, like that time I accidentally mixed up the sugar and salt with that batch of cupc-” Applejack cut Pinkie off by stuffing a hoof into her mouth.
“Ah best be off then, Ah got a farm to tend to after all. Say Twi', Mac was wonderin' when you'd have the design for him for that chair.”
“Oh I completely forgot, here Twilight.” Rarity said, pulling out some sheets of paper. “I finished the designs for the chair and desk while at Rainbow's. I'm sure by tomorrow night I'll have the bookshelf designs fleshed out, and the wine rack and cabinet shouldn't take long after that.” She said. “I do suggest getting some carpet down there though, it will help with the acoustics.”
“I'll look into it. I think Celestia may have a few spares lying around.” I said as I floated the chair design over to Applejack. “That looks like it will work. Hmm... Say Pinkie,”
“Yeah?”
“Would it be possible to move the dais Ceres is in?”
“Hmm... I don't know... Celestia or Luna might, but that kind of magic just isn't used anymore so I'm not too familiar with it. I can recognize it, but I don't know much about it aside from 'if it's hostile, crack the stone and hope for the best.’” She said with an apologetic shrug.
“Oh... well I'll have to ask Luna then.” I said, adding it to a mental list of things to ask Luna. “Well I think we all have places to be. Lance, come to the library after you're released and Pinkie’s done the amulet thing. I'll take you to Fluttershy's from there.”
“Yeah, I should probably get some rest, I got weather patrol this afternoon.” Rainbow said. “Hope the doctors let you out of here soon Pinks.”
We all said our various goodbyes, and in my case, final apologies before trotting out the door.
Chapter 15: Of Dreams and Darkness
The Vampony Chronicles
By: SteampunkBrony Edited By: DoomManta
I had passed out in my bed the moment my head hit the pillow. Despite the midnight nap, I was wiped out from all of the night's activities. I awoke to Spike shaking me as the sun slipped below the horizon.
“Mmrrr... I'm up, I'm up...” I mumbled as I rolled out of bed.
“Finally...” Spike muttered. “You're gonna need an exploding alarm clock to wake you now...”
“Very funny,” I grumbled trotting down the stairs.
“Rarity dropped by with a group of carpenters today and they were busy working on the basement, there's plenty of sawdust down there, but most of the shelves are in place. The unicorn they had doing all the carving said she'd need to stop by twice more to finish up, but it looks like all of the stuff along the walls is finished. Those guys worked fast. I wonder how Rarity got them to help... Oh, and you got a letter from Luna, by the way. Something about meeting up with somepony named Zecora?”
“Hmm? Let me see that.” I levitated the scroll out of Spike's claw and unrolled it.
Twilight Sparkle,
I have managed to contact the zebrecain shaman Zecora (whom lives within the Everfree Forest) and have set up a meeting for thee. She asked for thou to meet her at the edge of the Everfree Forest near the home of thy friend Fluttershy two hours past sundown. She also said that she would be happy to instruct thee in dark magic, as well as train you with a weapon of thy choice. Thou may be interested to know that thy 'shadow blade' spell can be used to craft a weapon of any shape, thou just has to picture it. I instructed thee to summon blades because they are one of the easier shapes to manifest.
Merry meet and merry part,
Princess Luna.
I re-read the letter a few times. “Spike, do you think you can deliver a message to Luna?”
“I can try... but it might end up going to Celestia instead...”
“Okay then, take a letter.” Spike pulled out the paper and quill he kept nearby at almost all times. “Dear Princess Luna,
I received your letter and it is good to hear from you. I hope everything is going well at the castle and that the nobles aren’t giving you too much trouble. I'll definitely be taking your suggestion to go stargazing tonight, seeing as I'll be over at Fluttershy's, and I've been rather busy the past few days so I haven't had a chance to since your return. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future,
~Twilight Sparkle.”
“... Twilight Sparkle. There, would you like me to send it?”
“Yes, that way we'll know right away.” Spike nodded and breathed emerald fire over the rolled up parchment, sending it on its way. “I'm going to be out and about tonight, I have to meet up with Zecora, as well as see if Pinkie's on her hooves yet, and I should probably check up on Rarity... gah, there's too much to do.” I said to Spike as I got dressed. “I also want to see if Ceres's dais can be moved to the basement...”
Twilight Sparkle, your letter did reach me directly. Luna's voice suddenly appearing caused me to jump.
“Everything alright Twilight?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, Luna just decided to talk to me without warning.” I said with a chuckle. That's good news. Er, while we're talking, do you know if it would be possible to move the dais Ceres is in into the basement of the library?
Hmm... I know that Celestia has a team of ponies to move such artifacts in the castle... perhaps I can have her transferred under the guise of it being so thou can keep an eye on her? We'd have to move the books ahead of time though, my sister is rather adamant about that kind of knowledge not making it into the public eye.
That makes sense, although where would I keep them?
Perhaps a chamber that is accessible only to Moonblessed or those Ceres lets in? I'm sure I could set one up tonight if thou would be willing to let me. After that it, would be a simple job for me to move those books, and to be honest, they would be safer hidden in thy library than in the old castle.
I'll let Spike know then; apparently Rarity brought in a group of carpenters today to install all the shelves and cabinets in the basement. From what I hear, all that's left is some carving and silver work and then those will be done.
Well, a hidden door works, but what I was thinking was a teleportation spell that only Moonblessed or Ceres can activate that will teleport the pony, or ponies, to the hidden library.
That works too, and is probably more secure than the hidden door.
I'll drop by and get that handled tonight then, perhaps I shall also meet up with thee and the shaman Zecora tonight.
That sounds like it would work.
Er, Luna... Crescent's melodic voice chimed in.
Yes Crescent?
I'm sorry about eavesdropping, but I was wondering, would it be possible for me to be put into a dais like Ceres? No offense to you Twilight, but that may be better because then I can manifest at least...
Hmm... well, since it wouldn't be a self-punishment as Ceres's current situation is, I can do that, and link an amulet to the dais so that thou can manifest near wherever the amulet is, and in a physical form. Celestia won't be pleased, but rut me if I care, I've only been back a few days and she's already on my case about using dark magic to get things done around the castle.
That must be annoying... Crescent said sympathetically.
Very much so, I am a goddess of the moon and dark magic, what part of that does she not understand... In some ways I miss the old days when one could go obliterate a mountain in frustration...
Wait, you used to destroy mountains... to vent? I asked, shocked.
Yes, why do you think there are no other mountains from the Canterhorn to the Smokey Mountains? Those hills in between are the result of me turning the gravel piles into soil. Luna replied.
My jaw must have dropped open because Spike burst out laughing. You know what, I don't want to even get into how that must have affected weather patterns...
That's one of the reasons the practice was stopped, well that, and the fact that we were running low on mountains. I could feel my eye twitching.
I'll let Spike know what's happening and then head out, this conversation is getting too weird for me...
Be glad we haven't began discussing changeling reproductive habits, most ponies do not have the stomach for it.
Tuning you out now Luna... I said as I turned to Spike. “Luna's going to be dropping by tonight to do some work in the basement. She wants to create a hidden library to hide some books from the old castle that I found. She also wants to move an artifact from there down into the basement.”
“Yeesh, you decide to renovate and suddenly everypony wants a part of it...” Spike said chuckling.
“Actually it was my suggestion.” I said as I turned to head downstairs. “I'll be back by morning if all goes according to plan.”
“I hope it does, Murphy deserves to take a break.” Spike said as the door closed behind me. I laughed to myself as I trotted off towards Sugarcube Corner.
By the time I was three blocks away from the sweet shop, I could hear a thumping bass beat from down the street. Sounds like Pinkie's back.
Sure enough, when I got there, there was a party in full swing with Pinkie tearing up the dance floor. Berry Punch was behind a small bar off to one side serving up drinks and a white pony with an electric blue striped mane was behind a set of turntables. Massive speakers flanked her as she kept the party going, her magic fueling all kinds of lighting effects.
“Paladin Pie sure knows how to throw a party.” A voice from my left said. Turning, I found Lance had trotted up while I was looking over the party.
“Yeah, no kidding.” I said with a smile. “I was just going to check to see if you two were out of the hospital yet, but apparently I shouldn't have been worried.”
“We got discharged this morning, and as per the agreement, my powers are locked in this amulet.” He said, nodding to a small golden pendant hanging around his neck.
“Well I'm heading to meet up with Fluttershy next, would you like me to show you the way to her place?”
“She's still staying at the same place?”
“The hydra only smashed a small part of her house, the rest was intact.” I said as we started off. “Or she figured something else out, but even if she isn't there you'll still know the way now.”
“Fair enough.”
“Well, when I said she'd probably figure something else out, I wasn't quite expecting this...” There was a small building in front of use that was constructed from tree branches and bits of wood from wreckage the hydra left.
“I'm going to go take a look at the house, see how much work needs to be done.” He said as he took off.
“Um... hello?” Fluttershy's voice came from inside the hut.
“Hey Fluttershy, trying some new building techniques?” I said with a smile.
“Oh, that. The animals wanted to help out and it's actually rather cozy.” She said as she stepped out of the structure. “Plus, Rainbow's agreed to keep the rain off of my home for now, so I'm not worried about that.”
“That's good to hear. Anyhow, I was showing Lance the way over, and I'm meeting up with somepony who can help train me in dark magic.”
“Hey.” Lance said as he landed.
“H-hi.” Fluttershy replied quietly.
“In any case, I have five minutes to get to the edge of the Everfree, you two play nice now.” I said and headed off.
“The hay is that supposed to mean?” Lance called after me, sounding annoyed.
“Nothing!” I called back laughing as I ran off, smiling as the breeze whipped through my mane. I could see the Everfree Forest in the distance, past a few hills, so I poured on the speed, giving a small shout of excitement as I kicked off the ground, shooting into the air.
The ground blurred underneath me as I flew, getting a clear view over the tops of the trees in the Everfree, the silver moonlight giving the landscape a sharp silver contrast as I glanced around. Ponyville glowed warmly in the distance, and the lights of Applejack's house flickered as the Apple Family moved in front of the windows. I could hear the chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls carried on the wind rushing through my ears.
My hooves had barely touched ground before I kicked off again, doing a slow flip and gazing up at the moon and stars. The silver disc and shimmering points of light igniting a feeling inside me, I felt free and powerful beneath the stars. I dropped my fang hiding spell and laughed as I finished my flip with a roll and kicked off again. My hooves left inch deep depressions where they struck as I launched skyward once more.
“Crescent, is this how flying feels?” I asked the alicorn, speaking my thoughts.
It's very close Twilight, the only difference is you choose when to stop flying, she replied, laughing. Now that her laugh wasn't tainted by the dark tones of hatred and the thirst for revenge, it was almost musical. I landing with a thump, dust clouding up around me as I crouched to absorb the momentum, my muscles absorbing an impact that would have shattered a normal pony's skeleton, leaving them an ugly smear on the wildflower covered hill.
“I wish I had wings... I've always wanted to fly... Ever since I was a filly. It's one of the reasons I stared studying magic. Once I started learning magic though, I got distracted from my goal...” I said with a smile, as I sat on the hill, the entrance to the forest not fifty feet to my right. “Now I want to pursue that dream again...”
Twilight, you've done a lot to help me, even if it doesn't seem so. You've allowed me to glimpse the life of a normal pony, you've helped me see where I was wrong... You've helped me become something that I would never had a chance to otherwise... you allowed me to be a normal pony. I'm worried that once I can manifest I'll still be Nightmare Moon to everypony...
“Crescent, don't worry, we'll find a way.” I said reassuringly.
The only way to hide who I am would be to get rid of my wings... Wait...
“Hmm?” I was curious as to what the dark alicorn was thinking.
One moment, I want to check something with Luna. Crescent said as she cut the connection.
“That was... strange.” I think out loud as I sit on the hill and wait, stargazing and listing off the constellations as I waited.
“Let's see... Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Orion, Andromeda, Cepheus, Crux, Fornax... ah there's Lupus Major... and Minor...”
Back. Crescent announced. I have a surprise for you later tonight, but for now, I think Zecora has arrived.
“Hmm?” I looked towards the Everfree to find somepony in a cloak walking up to me.
“Hello there friend of the night, to see you made it safely is a pleasant sight.” She rhymed as she pulled off her hood revealing her striped face and mane. It stood straight out from her scalp, fashioned like a Mohawk, which was rather impressive considering how long it was. Large gold earrings hung from her ears, and there were more gold rings around her left foreleg and neck. “I was told by Luna to meet you and her here soon. I must say, it is quite an honor to teach one with the Blessing of the Moon.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you too Zecora, my name is Twilight Sparkle.” I said with a smile.
“And quite polite too, I believe I shall get along with you. So Luna thought when we spoke; she seems a good judge of many folk. She stopped by for a visit last night. Needless to say, having an alicorn suddenly at my side was quite a fright.” We shared a laugh as I caught the sound of wings in the distance. “Speak of the which, the moon princess draws near. Let us, to her words, give ear.”
Luna landed softly beside us. “Good evening.” She said with a smile. “It's good to see thee again Twilight and I am glad to see thou made it safely Zecora.”
“Good evening to you too, Princess of the Night. It would take a bit more than the Everfree creatures to prevent this meeting tonight.” Zecora said with a slight bow.
“It's good to see you again as well Luna.” I said with a smile. “Have you stopped by the library?”
“I haven't yet, I was going to stop by the castle first and pick up the books and dais. I managed to procure a bag of holding from one of the royal vaults to transport all but the dais.”
“That's good news.” I said as I rose. “Perhaps we should talk as we walk though; I don't want to know what anypony would think seeing us three meet up.”
Luna started giggling after a moment. “Oh what the rumor mills would come up with... In any case, I take it thou will teach Twilight the dark arts Zecora?”
“I definitely will; it has been a while since I have taught someone with her skill.” I was rather impressed that Zecora could rhyme like that. “Although the other one residing within her mind will be of help, I believe we will find.”
I looked at Zecora in shock as Luna raised an eyebrow. “I did not know thou had the power of soulsight Zecora.”
“It is uncommon among the shamans to have soulsight, however most take it as a sign of great spiritual might. When I developed the ability in my younger days and I took it as a sign to learn the shaman's ways. If you don't mind, the question I would like answered is a simple one, how did Nightmare Moon end up trapped in the student of the sun?”
“She goes by Crescent Moon now.” I said. “She was transferred into me at some point while we were using the Elements of Harmony against her. Since then she's turned a new leaf so to speak.”
“That she has, we have been speaking a fair bit of late, and I am convinced she is as likely to cause eternal night as I am right now.” Luna said proudly.
“That is good news that I hear, although we must end this conversation because we are here.” Zecora said as her home came into view. There were large carved masks set out around the base of the tree, and torches provided illumination where a stone fire pit did not. “Now, tonight your studies branch into a new direction. With your permission Luna, we shall begin.”
“Have fun Twilight, and try not to unleash any eldritch horrors.” Luna said chuckling as she flew off.
“She's kidding right?” I asked, turning to Zecora.
The zebra merely shrugged as she placed a cauldron over the fire pit.
The Vampony Chronicles
By: SteampunkBrony Edited By: DoomManta
“There are many aspects to dark magic, of this I'm sure you know,” Zecora said as we sat around the fire pit. “Some are easier in practice than others though.” She nodded to a few tomes that had been set beside my seat. “I set those out for you to study when you return to your home. Some of those are all the way from Roam.”
My eyes must have betrayed my emotions as Zecora chuckled. “Eager to learn are we?”
“You could say that,” I replied with a sheepish grin. “I've always been interested in the dark arts, despite books on them being rare. It's just been so interesting to see the various ways magic can be used.”
“As a student of magic your curiosity is a good thing, although you must be careful of the consequences such curiosity can bring,” Zecora said as she took out a jar of green powder and tossed a hoofful into the fire. The flames hissed as they turned from yellow and orange to green and blue, the embers glowing purple. “The first of the dark arts I will be teaching you is summoning, as it is one of the simplest, yet holds the greatest margin for error. We will be starting with summoning an imp, as even the toughest will hold no challenge against you, unlike a greater void terror,” she said as a glowing arcane circle burst to life to her right, and a small squirrel-like creature appeared. Its fur was pitch black and it had long fangs. Its solid green eyes glanced around before landing on Zecora. “Come now little one, simply watch and I may let you have a little fun.”
“Woah...” I said as it scurried up Zecora's foreleg and sat on her shoulder. I had been studying the magic patterns as Zecora cast the spell and was fairly confident that I could pull it off.
“Did you catch the spell? A botched summoning usually doesn't end well.”
“I believe I did.” As I concentrated, an arcane circle appeared to my left as my horn lit up. The spell took a surprisingly small amount of energy to cast.
Suddenly black flames sprouted within the circle, growing until they were slightly taller than the average pony. “Cancel it!” Zecora yelped as two large circles appeared beside her. The imp hid behind her as she did this. I tried to cut off the flow of my magic, but it was slow going. Something was holding the connection in place. “Summon your blades Twilight, for it seems we may have to fight.” As two large creatures appeared in bursts of black flame beside Zecora, she turned to them, “Ready yourselves for battle.”
The creatures nodded as my blades appeared at my side. Zecora summoned a bladed staff and sunk into a crouch, the staff clutched in her hooves. “If you pass out, do not fear, no harm will come to you while I am here.” I stumbled from a large pull on my magic reserves from the circle, “Break your connection to the spell or else you may end up quite unwell!”
I fought against the drain on my magic, and slowly severed the connection, the world going dark around me as Zecora gave a yell, and her summonings threw themselves at whatever appeared.
I groaned as I woke up, my magic reserves far more intact than I thought they'd be.
“Ah, I was wondering when you'd awaken.” Zecora said as she looked up from a tome she was reading. “Now, back to training we should hasten.”
“Quite the drill sergeant, aren’t you, Zecora?” I said with a small smile.
She chuckled, petting the imp that was resting on her shoulder. “One must be firm with lessons such as these, when it comes to dark magic, hard work and persistence are the keys.”
“Well, let's try again then, what did I do wrong?”
“You forgot to make sure it was an imp you were calling, that small mistake led to your spell failing.”
“Ah, right. So how do I do that?”
“Simply picture the creature you're summoning in your mind, the spell will do the rest you'll find.”
I nodded and started up the spell again, letting the magic flow as the circle blazed into existence. With a small pull at my magic, a small, black, fox-like creature appeared in a puff of black fire. It had purple lines webbed through its fur, and its purple eyes lit up as it glanced around, stopping when it spotted me. “Hello there,” I said with a small smile.
It yipped and hopped up beside me, nuzzling my side. “Now, make a contract with it, simply state your terms and see if it accepts, although make sure to cover your bases or there may be more surprises like the last one to expect.”
“Okay...” I said thinking for a moment. “Do you agree to do as I ask, and ask for my permission before you do anything that could bring harm to anyone in this world?” The imp nodded. “And do you agree to not reveal yourself to anyone else without my permission?” Again, it nodded. “Alright, those are the contract terms.” The imp nodded and lowered its muzzle to my fetlock, and a black ring appeared around my foreleg. “I think I'll call you Dusk.” I thought aloud, the imp giving a happy yip as it nuzzled my side again before curling up beside me.
“Very good, now, don't go summoning anything that you can't personally defeat without trouble, as that's how many summoners find themselves dead in a pile of rubble,” Zecora said, a hint of pride leaking into her voice. “Now, on to something a bit more difficult, and a fair bit more occult.” Her imp hopped down and brought out two small boxes. “Inside here are the bones of two mice, the next lesson is one in necromancy, something most ponies don't think of as very nice.”
“Th... that's an understatement.” I was surprised that something so taboo would be the next lesson.
“Do not be worried, it has been quite a while since these two last scurried. For this lesson, I will speak more plain to prevent any confusion.” She said as she opened the boxes. In each was a set of small white bones. “The trick to this is to place enough magic in the bones to bring them to life. These mice won't have any will of their own, but something that's just passed may still have its soul tied to it, and will be more difficult to control.” Her set of bones was surrounded by a soft green glow as they organized themselves into their proper places. Two points of green light flickered to life in the skull's eye sockets as the skeleton shook itself, before scurrying out of the box and up Zecora's foreleg. “In some ways this is simpler than summoning, but in others it is more difficult.”
I nodded, examining the spell matrix around the bones before starting to cast. The bones glowed purple as they re-arranged themselves. Sure enough, the skull's eye sockets glowed a deep purple as I willed the bones to come over to me. Dusk watched intently as the reanimated mouse curled up beside him. He lifted a paw and poked at it, giving a small yip as the mouse fell apart, only to re-assemble. This repeated a few times, drawing a chuckle out of Zecora.
“A curious little one isn't he? He will be a good companion I foresee. Now keep in mind that the larger the creature you are bringing to life, the more magic will be needed. Death can be the penalty if this warning isn't heeded.”
“Okay.” I willed the mouse back to its box and let the spell dissipate. “That's all there is to it?”
“Yes, as you can see dark magic isn't much for difficulty, most fear it for the potential to cause damage quite easily,” Zecora said. “In the hooves of one who is responsible and not a fool, it can be quite the useful tool. Now, you should get yourself home, and be sure to carefully hide those tomes.”
“I will, when will the next lesson be?”
“Hmm... I am quite busy this week and will be working late, so I will contact you with a date.”
“Thank you, and merry meet.”
“Until we merry meet again.” Zecora said with a smile as I stepped out the door, Dusk riding on my back.
“You really should stop trying that jump...” Spike said as he helped Dusk dig me out from a pile of books.
“I'm sure I can get it, I overshot it that time,” I said as I stood up, the books floating back to the shelf.
“So who, and what, is this?” Spike said, petting Dusk.
“That's Dusk, he's an imp I summoned,” I said, chuckling at Dusk's expression. He was nearly strutting under the attention Spike was giving him.
“He won't be taking my job will he?” Spike asked, sounding a little worried.
“Don't worry Spike, nothing could replace you,” I said with a smile. “Say, Dusk, how good are you at hiding?”
Dusk smirked as he gave a yip, before shimmering out of view. “Woah, cool,” Spike said, clearly impressed.
“That's convenient, can you stay like that when we're in public? I don't want to get found out quite yet.”
Dusk faded back into view and gave a yip and nodded. “What else can you do?” Spike asked. Dusk gave a yip before summoning a ball of purple fire in front of him. “Woah...”
“I take it you use that to defend yourself?” I asked and Dusk nodded before the ball of fire suddenly lengthened and whipped out, stopping a few inches in front of me. “Wow, neat.”
“So what? I can breathe fire...” Spike muttered, sounding a little peeved. Dusk just gave a small chuckling sound as I smiled.
“I have a feeling that Dusk's fire does a little more than just burn, Spike,” I said, smiling as I thought back to a time Spike tried to protect me from some drunken colts in Canterlot.
“Yeah but still...”
“Spike, listen...” I said as I trotted over to him. “Dusk is a summoned creature, an imp, if he takes enough damage to do any serious harm, he will just dissipate and reform in the void, good as new. You're a dragon, while that means you are tough, you’re not expendable.” I said, my voice taking a serious tone. “I don't think I could handle that. I don't think I've ever told you this, but you're like a younger brother to me. If you got hurt trying to protect me again...” I trailed off as I hugged him. “A lot has happened these past few days, and I was thinking about it on the way back from Zecora's... Luna thinks an old enemy of Equestria has returned, and that means things are probably going to get a little crazy soon and... well... I don't want to lose you.”
“I... I know.” Spike quietly sobbed into my shoulder. “It's just... I've felt so useless ever since you told me about the timberwolf... I don't want to lose you either...”
We sat there hugging each other for quite some time until I felt the sun's warmth on my back. Yawning, I kissed the top of his head. “Don't worry about that Spike, I’ve learned a few tricks since then, I'll be fine. And on top of those, I'm a vampony now, from what I hear we're really hard to kill.”
Spike chuckled at that. “I guess.” He said smiling as we let go of each other. “I better go open up the library, we usually get a few foals who need to borrow books for school.”
“See, business as usual. Dusk, do you mind helping Spike out today? Stay out of sight, but lend a hoof... er... paw where you can.”
Dusk gave a happy yip and ran over to Spike, nuzzling his side as I climbed into the bed.
I slowly woke from my sleep to the sound of somepony arguing downstairs.
“... will let me speak with her or I swear to Celestia I will buck you through the wall, dragon.” Well that’s an interesting thing to wake up to.
“And I told you she's sleeping. She was up all night studying and has to recover,” Spike retorted, clearly annoyed with whoever was down there. I felt something nuzzling me as Dusk faded into view.
“Should I go down there?” I asked him, and received only a shrug in response. Some help he was. “Probably.”
I pushed the door open and headed downstairs to find Spike standing at the base of the stairs, barring the way of a rather annoyed looking unicorn.
“Finally. I was wondering if I'd have to knock out your pet in order to speak with you...” The blue unicorn said, glaring at me through his green bangs.
“Well what do you want? I'm trying to recover from an all-nighter, and I do not appreciate being woken up after only a few hours of sleep.” I nearly growled at him.
“Oh relax, will you, I promise you'll be glad I woke you. But first, allow me to introduce myself.” He sounded quite a bit more pleasant now that he was talking to me.
“Well get on with it,” Spike said, earning a glare from the unicorn.
“I am Silver Stake, Monster hunter extraordinaire. And I, my purple friend, believe there is a vampony residing somewhere in Ponyville.”
Author's Note
There's a chunk of this that I decided not to include, you can find it Here.
The Vampony Chronicles
By: SteampunkBrony Edited By: DoomManta
“Come again?” I asked, not quite sure I heard correctly. “Did you say monster hunter?”
“Yes, I have made it my life's work to hunt down the less visible threats to ponykind,” he said, “And I believe there is one such threat, a vampony, within Ponyville and I would like your assistance to catch the culprit.”
“And why do you believe this?” I asked, silently thanking the theatre courses I took at the Academy for my ability to not completely freak out at shocking information.
“There have been, over the past few months, six disappearances within the Ponyville area, all at regular intervals, there is no correlation between gender, race, or age, and all had no signs of a struggle. I'm not completely sure it is a vampony, however, I have found very similar situations in the past have turned out to be just that.” He said.
“Pardon my skepticism, but everypony knows that vamponies don't exist,” I said with a frown.
“Oh they are very real, and very dangerous when provoked,” he said. “Er... do you mind if we sit down, I've been walking for the past four days to get here from Manehattan, and as you can imagine, my legs are very sore.”
“I guess,” I said. “Spike, can you make breakfast, and some coffee? I have a feeling this will take a while.”
“Okay,” he said, heading towards the kitchen.
“He seems well trained,” Silver Stake said as we sat down.
“Spike isn't a pet, he's my assistant and may as well be my little brother. I hatched him as part of the entrance exams for Princess Celes-”
“Yes, I know what school's you've attended,” he said with a smirk. “I also know that you're Celestia's star pupil, and judging from Princess Luna's recent return, one of the Elements of Harmony. I was worried I'd have to get involved in that situation when the time came.”
“That... isn't exactly common knowledge.”
“Common knowledge doesn't help in my line of work, Miss Sparkle. You'd be surprised the truths you can find while sifting through old myth. After all, all myths are based in reality.”
“I'm still not convinced that you're a monster hunter,” I said flatly. “It will take more than some facts to convince me.”
“Very well then, here's my license,” he said, levitating over a scroll tube, it had Celestia's insignia on the brass end cap, which I unscrewed and removed the tube's contents.
“By order of Her Majesty Princess D. Celestia, Silver Stake is to be recognized as a registered occult investigator and monster hunter in service of the crown...” It went on to explain the various levels of authority that his position granted, and situations where it could be exercised. At the bottom it was signed by seven representatives of the Noble Court, the captain of the Royal Guard, the Commander of the Equestrian Military, and Princess Celestia herself.
After a few quick verification spells, I could find no flaws in the legitimacy of the scroll. “This is either the best forgery I have ever seen, or Celestia hasn't told me a few rather important things.” I said as Spike walked back into the room with a plate of eggs and hay bacon alongside a cup of coffee for each of us. I took the plate and cups from him.
“I assure you it is legitimate.”
“Again, pardon my skepticism. Spike, take a letter.” He quickly grabbed a sheet of parchment and a quill. “Dear Princess Celestia, I am writing to verify that the unicorn Silver Stake is a 'Registered Occult Investigator and Monster Hunter'. He has presented a license, and it appears to be official, however, I am skeptical. He believes there is a vampony somewhere in the Ponyville area and has asked for my help in stopping it.” Spike finished writing, then proceeded to sign and send the letter. “Assuming she isn't too busy we should have a response shortly.”
“Very well.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I hope she doesn't deny it to keep you in the dark. That has happened before, but wouldn’t be much of a setback.” Spike gave a belch of green flame and a letter from Princess Celestia materialized.
I took it and opened it, reading it aloud. “To my faithful student, yes the license is legitimate, however, while it is up to you whether you help or not, I ask that you decide carefully, Silver's line of work is very dangerous, and more than a few ponies have lost their lives trying to defeat threats such as vamponies. I also ask that you do not reveal Silver's occupation to your friends, or the fact that vamponies do exist, as others in the past have done so only to find their friends 'crying wolf' when it comes to such creatures. Sincerely, Princess Celestia.” I sighed as I put the letter down. “Well it appears you check out... What do you know so far about what's going on.”
“Admittedly, very little. As I said, I just got into town and haven't had much time to investigate. Whoever has been kidnapping these unfortunate ponies has been rather smart about it. All of the ponies who disappeared have been reclusive, and all of them have lived at least a mile out of town. The only reason the disappearances have been noticed at all is that they all checked in regularly with the Guard, so we only have a rough timeframe for their kidnapping. Before I came here I obtained a list of ponies who fit the vague profiles of the previous disappearances, and I have a guess as to who is the next target.”
“How good of a guess?” I asked as I took in the information. If there is another vampony around harming ponies, he or she needs to be stopped... but I'll have to be careful to not reveal my own vampirism...
“A very good one, there is only one easy target left in the Ponyville area. A zebra named Zecora. She currently resides a short ways into the Everfree forest, alone, and does not come into town often. I'll be honest, I'd be inclined to believe that she was the one behind all this if it weren’t for the fact that only Nosferatu, a type of vampony created by Luna to help defend Equestria before her banishment, can turn zebras and they died off long ago.”
“I’ve spoken to her actually,” I said, quickly thinking up a cover story. “I needed some potion ingredients and the local apothecary was out of them. He suggested I go to her because he gets most of his stock from her. We can travel there later today if you want, I know where her house is.”
“That... is rather fortunate actually. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find anypony who knew the way to her home and I'd rather not get lost in that forest. It will also give me time to find the local inn, what time would you like to travel there?”
“Come back at around three, I have a few things to do around the library, and I need to change clothes, late night study sessions tend to lead to one passing out reading.”
“Very well, thank you for the coffee,” he said as we stood.
“You're welcome. Spike will show you out,” I said as I headed back upstairs to my room.
As soon as the door was shut and latched behind me, I got to work. “Dusk, are you here?” I received a yip in response as he faded into view on my bed. “Good, do you remember the way to Zecora's?” I pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote a quick note to Zecora explaining the situation, and the cover story for our meeting up previously. Dusk nodded as I rolled up the letter and tied it shut before putting it a small tube and passed it to him. “Take that to her as quickly as you can. If she has a reply, bring it back to me, if not just wait there. If she isn't in, return with the letter. Above all, don't be seen, but I don't think we have to worry about that.” I said with a smile as I petted him a few times. “Now get going.”
He raised a paw to his forehead in a salute before disappearing from sight. A moment later, I saw my balcony door open and shut as he left the room. I got changed out of the clothes I had been wearing the previous night and double checked that my fangs were hidden before heading back downstairs.
“That was too close...” Spike said as I sat down and started eating breakfast.
“That it was. At least he hasn't found out about Rarity or the incident at the hospital,” I said, taking a bite of the eggs. “I've sent Dusk ahead to warn Zecora we're coming later, she should have plenty of warning, but I'd like for you to go warn our friends about Silver, and the possibility of another vampony in town. Pinkie and Lance may be able to help out with this.”
“On it,” Spike said, heading for the door.
“Oh and Spike?”
“Yeah?”
“We're out of milk, so pick some up on the way back.”
“Heh, ok, warn friends of vampony and pick up the milk... my jobs have gotten weird.” He said before running out the door, not noticing the pair of eyes watching him from a nearby alleyway.
“Ready to go?” Silver Stake asked as I trotted down the stairs, my saddlebags packed with a few necessities in case we had to stay for longer than expected. Dusk hadn't returned, so that was a good sign.
“I've been ready for an hour,” I said as I followed him out the door.
“How far out is her home?” he asked as we neared the edge of town. “Not far I hope...”
“It's at least an hour's trot, less if you can keep up a good pace,” I said with a smirk at him.
“I can run for quite a while, but I may need my energy later. I'm guessing that if Zecora hasn't already been kidnapped, it will happen soon, there seems to be one every few weeks on average.
While I could have easily run the whole way there, probably while carrying him, that would raise questions.
The conversation trailed off as we walked, so I decided to see what Luna thought of the whole situation. Luna, are you awake?
I just awoke, some kind of commotion in the courtyard, apparently 'Tia's nephew needed to be taken down a few pegs by the captain of the Guard.
Good old Shining. I replied with a small smile. Blueblood had always been a stuck up pain in my flank and my brother was always willing to remind him exactly how little power he had. In any case, an interesting bit of news has popped up, a royal monster hunter by the name of Silver Stake thinks there's a hostile vampony in town, and that Zecora's the next target. He's not onto Rarity or myself yet. I sent Dusk ahead to warn Zecora of the vampony, and our arrival.
I am sure whatever the other Vampony can throw at thee will be easy enough to handle, most of the non-moonblessed vamponies are weaker than a moonblessed. Thou will only have to worry about a Sombrian vampony, but royal records say they've been wiped out.
Sombrian?
King Sombra Oscura, an evil unicorn who enslaved the Crystal Empire to the north of Equestria, created them. They were his shock troops, and probably the closest to Nosferatu in terms of power and magical ability. Celestia sealed Sombra away long ago, and gave a search and destroy order to the sunblessed of the time.
Well... that's good news I suppose, I just hope the ponies that were kidnapped are alright...
Luna sighed. Do not get thine hopes up Twilight, 'tis not often that such victims are left alive.
One can hope...
Indeed, when this business with the monster hunter is done with, Crescent has arranged a small surprise for thee. I would have given it to you last night, but when I arrived back, Zecora was busy fighting a minor eldritch horror and thy level of consciousness was nonexistent, Luna said with a small laugh.
She... didn't say anything about that...
Do not worry, Twilight, everypony summons something nasty on their first try, I made sure Zecora was well prepared.
I'm not even going to get into how insane learning summoning is...
Oh that's nothing, let me tell you about my first endeavor into summoning...
... And that's how ghastly gorge came to be.
I... don't even know what to say to that... I replied to Luna's tale.
Yes, well... trust me when I say any of thy mistakes will be smaller than a good deal of mine, she replied as Zecora's house came into view.
I'll try to remember that... anyhow we've arrived so I'll chat later. Merry met, and merry part...
... Until we merry meet again. Luna finished the farewell and cut the connection.
“Is this the place?” Silver Stake asked as he eyed the masks hanging from the tree.
“I do believe that this is the place you are searching for. Come in, do not linger at the door,” came Zecora's voice from inside. I opened the door and led the way in, smiling a little as I felt Dusk jump onto my back with a soft yip. “I am Zecora, healer and shaman from the Zebrecain land, although healing does not seem to be what you demand.”
“I am Silver Stake, Occult Investigator and Monster Hunter in service to the crown. I believe that you may be the next target of a vampony that has been attacking the local population. I asked Miss Sparkle here for assistance.”
“Well, of your occupation I have no doubt, and my fighting skills, I do not wish to test out. What method, do you suggest, to put this dark apparition to rest?”
“A little light magic goes a long way, most vamponies are brought pain by the light of day.” Silver said with a smirk.
Zecora grinned back. “I see you have done this in the past, let us hope this mission is not your last.”
“I assure you I am capable and knowledgeable when it comes to my job. My life is not something a simple vampony can from me rob.”
“That is good, but perhaps we should prepare, after all nighttime draws near.” I chimed in, hoping to end the pointless rhyming duel before something decided to sneak up on us.
The two looked at me then out the window, before agreeing simultaneously, “Good idea.”
“Not to be that guy, but I take it you have some form of combat training?” Silver said as he turned to Zecora.
“As is the custom, all are trained where I come from,” Zecora said, reaching beside one of the cabinets that held potion ingredients and withdrawing the bladed staff from the night before. Now that I could see it better I was impressed at the elegance of the weapon.
Its blades were a blueish silver and had many small runes etched into their faces. The shaft was made of bubinga stained in an intricate striped pattern, similar to Zecora's natural stripes. At the base of each blade, a bundle of dried, woven grass secured the blades to the staff.
“I have not seen a starsteel weapon in quite some time, where did you get that?” Silver asked.
“A warrior's staff such as this is not simply found, they are passed from teacher to student. My teacher decided on his death that my receiving of this staff would be prudent. He died when against a dragon in battle he fell, yet with him he dragged that green monster to hell.”
“He must have been quite the warrior then. Dragons are very difficult to kill.”
“That he was.” Zecora said picking up a small jar and dumping some of the powder within it into the fire pit in the middle of her hut. She then took a bottle and poured a little of the liquid inside onto the powder and in a few moments a fire was crackling merrily in the fire pit.
“Twilight, let's stay quiet, if we want to catch the vampony we'll have to take it by surprise,” Silver said. I nodded and backed into a shadowed corner, levitating one of the larger masks in front of my hiding spot. Silver did the same in a different part of the room. “Zecora, just go about business as usual.”
I felt Dusk hop off my back and looked down as he started nuzzling my foreleg. I lifted a hoof and petted him, enjoying the Imp's company as I waited. This is going to be the hard part, not falling asleep while waiting.
Light purple eyes glinted in the darkness of the Everfree as a figure moved closer to Zecora's hut. If one listened closely they would have been able to hear as it sniffed.
They are in there... no matter, as long as I can remove Stake from the equation, a unicorn and a zebra won't be difficult to deal with.
It had been an hour since we hid and I was starting to feel drowsy. Zecora had been brewing a complex potion to pass the time and I found watching her work was interesting enough to keep me awake.
The drowsiness disappeared as Dusk suddenly sat up and looked towards the door, giving my hoof a nudge with his paw to get my attention. Something, or someone, was coming. I nodded in Zecora's direction and Dusk turned invisible. A moment later, Zecora stood and moved over to where her staff was hidden. I could hear Silver drawing a blade in his hiding spot as I got ready to burst out from behind the mask. I could hear the hoofbeats now, it was definitely a pony.
The hoofbeats stopped, as if whoever it was was thinking, and then there were two quick impacts on the ground, shortly followed by the sound of Zecora's window shattering.
A cloaked figure plowed into the mask Silver was behind, throwing it out of the way and delivering a quick jab to Silver's jaw, knocking him out cold as I shoved the mask I was behind aside. As the figure turned, letting Silver flop to the ground, Zecora and I dropped into fighting stances.
The pony rushed me, aiming to slam me backwards and pin me to the wall so I sidestepped the charge and used their own momentum to knock their legs out. There was a thud as the vampony managed to kick off the wall and charge at Zecora, only to be beaten back with the flat side of her staff's blades.
“It seems I underestimated you...” the vampony said, her voice carrying a Canterlot accent.
“You could say that.” I replied, smirking as I let my fangs appear, my blades whooshing into existence as Zecora laughed.
“You fight with the skill of one who has been in many a brawl, however you haven't yet learned that sheer strength cannot win them all,” Zecora said, her staff's blades igniting in black flame.
The Vampony took a step back, right into the corner. “Now... let's not do anything drastic... I'm just hungry...” She looked towards me, “You at least should understand that, right?”
“That doesn't make it right to just barge in.” I said.
“And you did not think to ask before making me your next meal? For me at least that seems quite the poor deal.” Zecora added.
“Besides, I intend to find out what happened to the rest of your victims, one way or another.” I said.
A sigh came from under the cloak, “Almost one thousand years free of problems, then I try to feed off of someone who not only can fight back, but also has a vampony as a friend... Fuck it, you win, I don't have a death wish.” She lowered the hood and shook her head. A dark grey mane tumbled out and settled in place to reveal a pony whom I have run into on a few occasions.
“O-octavia?” I stammered.
“Unfortunately yes,” she said, “Although your condition is a touch more shocking. I guess what they say about it always being the ones you least expect is true.”
“You can say that again...” I replied thinking back to the events of the past few days.
“I haven’t killed or turned anypony around Ponyville. To be honest, I'm not sure where my past meals have gotten to.”
“I find that hard to believe, although no lies do I perceive...” Zecora said. “This causes more questions than it answers...”
“I can understand that...” she said with a sigh. “It's been a long time since I killed anypony by accidentally drinking too much. Can you not tell Stake? He's been a thorn in my side for a few years now, and I doubt he will show any mercy if he finds out who I am.”
“He didn't seem that vengeful...”
“His parents were killed by a vampony that wanted to have some fun torturing somepony, it's painted us in a poor light for him.”
“Oh...” I said, glancing over to the unconscious monster hunter.
“It's led him to not always do things the right way, and he has... made mistakes when it comes to figuring out who is a vampony in the past. I don't want him to have any reason to come after me, or Lyra...”
“Is she-”
“No.” Octavia interrupted. “Not unless she chooses it, she knows though.”
“If you don't mind the question, how did she act to that revelation?” Zecora asked as she picked up a few jars and lit a fire.
“She dazed herself trying to run through a closed door.” Octavia answered with a smirk while I started laughing.
“Applejack did the same thing when I told her,” I said as we shared a moment of laughter at the odd coincidence.
“So how did you end up a vampony, Twilight? The student of Celestia seems to be one who would avoid such things...”
“Nightmare Moon cast a spell that turned me into one, thinking it was some kind of combat spell from what Luna's told me. Ever hear of a Moonblessed?”
“I’ve been friends with some of them and had to kill others...” Octavia said with a frown, “But I suppose when you've lived a life, or unlife, as I have, things like that are bound to happen.”
“It is nothing to worry about, those days have long passed. I have learned not to worry too much about one's past, and while we're on the topic, what is yours?” Zecora said, mixing a brew she was making.
“Well, I grew up in Trottowa until my parents and I moved to the Crystal Empire, a year later, Sombra took over. He chose about four hundred of us and used some kind of curse to turn us into vamponies. Since I was released from his control by one of the old Moonblessed I've been wandering the world, learning as I go, and staying mostly out of trouble. Er, if you don't mind me asking what are you brewing?”
“Two things, ironically from the same potion mix. The first, a truth elixir because I want to be sure you're not lying. The second a knockout draught for Silver because in we don't want him to wake too soon and start prying.” Zecora said.
“I understand, there have been disappearances and I am an obvious suspect,” Octavia said. “I hope you two won't tell anypony about my... condition. I rather like Ponyville and I don't want to put Lyra through running from an angry mob, it's not a pleasant experience.”
“I know that is how those things usually go, I've had some experience in that field so I know.” Zecora said with a smile. “Dark Shamans are not always welcome where we travel, and sometimes leads to that occurrence as our path unravels.”
“I was wondering why you had nightshade...” Octavia said with a chuckle. “I take it you know some black magic as well Twilight?”
“Yeah...” I said, looking at my blades. “It's useful, and since white magic is out of the question now I thought I may as well learn it.”
“There,” Zecora laid down the wooden rod she had been stirring the cauldron with. “Now we just have to wait for the brews to separate. Until then, some tales of your wanderings, do you care to relate?” She said as she turned to Octavia.
“I guess I could share a few, I haven't always been a cellist after all.” Octavia said as we sat down beside the fire pit.
18: Of Stories and Soirees
Author's Note
Well, it seems I am in need of a new proofreader. No one go murdering doom now, he simply didn't wish to continue that job with this story.
18: Of Stories and Soirees
The Vampony Chronicles
By: SteampunkBrony
“Really? You were imprisoned for that?” Octavia asked, surprised at Zecora's admission.
“Thus is the curse of the darker arts, they often strike fear into less rational hearts.”
“But you saved his life, surely he at least said something.” I chimed in.
“Well he did help me get out of that place, unfortunately he did it with little cunning and grace.” Zecora smirked before sighing. “The fool actually ran into a heavily guarded prison with nothing but a blade, although to the guards a good deal of pain was paid. After he got me out of my cell we ran from there like a pair of bats from hell.”
“Well, I had best be off, I don't want Silver waking up with me still here. It was nice meeting you Zecora.” Octavia said with a smile. “I'll have to buy some of this tea next time you're in town, it is simply divine.”
“Just stop by tomorrow night, and I'll have some prepared, and I'll let you know how that idiot fared.” Zecora gestured to Silver with a hoof.
“He'll be fine, I didn't hit him that hard...”
“You cracked a wooden mask three inches thick, it's a good thing his skull seems to be filled with nought but brick.”
“He'll be fine, I've hit him harder before.” She said before stepping out the door.
“So...” I began, “What do we tell him?”
“Simply that we scared her off, although at that explanation he will surely scoff.” Zecora said, checking the poultice on Silver's head. “Hmm... that's quite the lump...” She muttered.
“Least he won't remember any of that...”
“You don't say...” Zecora deadpanned. “Ah, he seems to be stirring although he will still be rather out of it today.”
“Ugh... did someone get the number of the carriage?” Silver muttered as he slowly opened his eyes.
“No but we did manage to chase off the vampony.” I said. “How are you feeling?”
“Well I feel like I got the ever so wonderful chance of being a dragon's baseball.” He said poking at the lump on his head. “Ow...”
“Perhaps we should take you back into town,” Zecora said glancing out the window, “Well, at least we should once the moon is down.”
“I have my doubts I'll be able to walk...”
“I have a cart behind my home, it should be able to hold you and your bruised dome.”
“Now you're just trying too hard to rhyme.” Silver said with a chuckle.
“Will you two be all right here? I'm would like to teleport back and send a report to Celestia.” I said, finishing my tea.
“I'm sure that vampony will not return, now that it knows my blood it will have to earn.” Zecora said as she got up.
“We'll be fine, I can still cast light magic after all.” Silver said. “Although that's one hell of a teleport...”
“I'll only be going to the edge of the forest with the spell, over a few shorter hops. It's not that difficult compared to getting across Canterlot in one go.” I said.
“You will have to tell me why you thought that was a good idea sometime.”
“Ironically I was running late for my teleportation exam.”
“Please tell me they passed you...”
“They did, apparently I set a new record as well.”
“That must have been good news.”
“It was, when I woke up three days later.” I smirked at Silver's expression as I teleported away.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
“Well that could have gone worse...” I muttered to myself as I stepped into the library.
“What could have?” Spike asked as he finished dusting one of the shelves.
“Well, as it turns out, there is another vampony in town aside from Rarity.” I said as I headed for the kitchen. “Before you ask it's the cellist, Octavia.”
“Huh... well that explains why she doesn't live in Canterlot despite being in the royal orchestra.”
“Come to think of it, you're ri-”
“Octy's here‽” Ceres said, causing me to jump. Unfortunately my new strength, combined with the fact that there was a roof overhead, led to a combination of hitting my head and landing flat on the floor.
“Ow...” I groaned, getting to my hooves slowly.
“Ooooh... sorry...” Ceres said sheepishly.
“I take it this means that your dais has been moved in?” I said, rubbing my head. Damn glad that I'm tougher now...
“Yeah, Luna put it in the... well i guess you could call the structure down there 'catacombs'... She made a ossuary in the lowest levels, just in case.”
“Ah... well as long as you can seal them, then I don't have any qualms with it.” I said after a moment. “Kind of morbid though...”
“Well, it's sort of traditional that moonblessed are laid to rest at the nearest sanctuary, although I'm sure she'll ask for your permission before interring anypony there.” Ceres said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “But as I was saying, she placed my dais down there and set up a proxy charm so i can move about the library, as well as use my defensive magic in it.”
“I still don't know why she didn't mention you to me when she was explaining what she did...” Spike said with a sigh.
“He started screaming 'Ghost!' and tried booking it.”
“Let me guess, the basement door has a new dent?” I said with a smirk.
“In the words of Sir Baldwin, Eeeyup.” Ceres said with a chuckle. “Also, Luna wants to give you the grand tour of the place tomorrow night, so she's asked me not to let you guys in yet.”
“Fair enough, there's probably a few traps in the entryway anyhow.” I say, pouring a glass of cider.
“Damn straight. She has to authorize you as an administrator for the place, that way you can allow others entrance. I can't since I'm not there in a physical sense, and it's a spell that was designed for ponies not acting as soulbound guardians.” She said. “I have door control though so once you add them to the list of allowed ponies I can let them in for you.”
“Fair enough. Anyhow, tonight's been eventful, I'll give you guys the full story tomorrow. Right now though, Ceres do you think Luna would be opposed to me giving Octavia access to the Sanctuary?”
“Nah, she won't. Octy and Luna knew each other before Luna went Nightmare on us. She was freed from Sombra by Celestia, but Luna made sure those who didn't willingly serve Sombra were hidden from the Sunblessed. Over the years most of those who were truly loyal to Sombra were killed, but there are still a few of them kicking around. Those who Luna hid are more fortunate, but Sunbutt's CIK order on them has claimed a few in her absence.”
“CIK order?”
“Right, you only dealt with the day guard, not Sunblessed... Well to put it simply it's an acronym for its meaning: Capture, interrogate, and kill. It's not a good option as a blanket order, and Luna tried to get it changed, but Celestia stood firm on that. She hasn't dealt with those forced into service though, last I heard her adviser is a Sombrian Vamp and he plans to reveal it to her in a few years... He's playing with fire, but I understand why.”
“Why would Weis risk himself like that? It's suicide!” Spike asked, eyes wide.
“He's... well... He did a lot of things under Sombra's rule that he isn't proud of and some of them still haunt him. He figures the only way he's going to be able to atone for what he did is to show Celestia that not all Sombrians are bloodthirsty monsters like she thinks of them.” Ceres said with a sigh. “I've tried to convince him otherwise, but he's adamant on the issue.”
“Wow... that's... awfuly brave of him...” I said shocked at the revelation.
“I'm pretty sure he of all ponies would be able to get away if things went pear shaped. He was one of the few Sombrian Vamponies who actually stood up to the Nightmare the night Luna changed. He's tougher than a female Blackscale dragon guarding her clutch when he has a reason to fight, and that's not an exageration, he actually went one on one with a mother Blackscale when it thought the town he was living in was a threat and chased it back to its cave where he managed to convince it to leave the town alone.”
Spike's jaw was somewhere in the Catacombs at this revelation, after all Blackscales have been known to take on dragons twice their size to defend their young, and regularly win in such encounters. After a moment I picked my jaw up off of the floor, since it had decided following Spike's was a noble endeavour and sought to keep up for a moment. “H... how did he not get roasted alive?”
“You'll have to ask him yourself, he never told me.” Ceres said with a shrug.
“I'll be sure to do that next chance I get. One more question before I hit the hay: Will he be able to tell I'm a Moonblessed, and will he tell Celestia?”
“Technically that's two... but I have my doubts he'll be able to figure you out and even if he does he won't tell. Trust me, he understands the importance of secrecy in some situations.”
“That's good to know, thanks. In any case, I'm off to bed.” I said, leaving the kitchen as Spike finally picked his jaw up off of the floor.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
“...s she always this difficult to wake up?” Ceres' voice registered in my ears as I opened my eyes.
“You have no idea...” Spike said, earning a glare from me. “Oh... er... evening Twilight.”
“Finally... Luna's on her way over to show you around the sanctuary. She wanted you to go find Octy and her marefriend and bring them as well. Apparently Celestia asked Weisheit to go with her as well. Good thing she likes her adviser enough not to send somepony else, otherwise we might have had some problems...” Ceres said as I bolted to my feet. “Twilight, relax. It's an informal visit.” She said, snapping me out of the check list spree I was about to go on.
“Er... right... yeah...” I muttered sheepishly. “Well... I'll got get Octavia then.”
“Geeze Twi, If I knew that saying one of the Princesses was showing up got you out of bed that fast I'd have done that years ago.” Spike said, chuckling at my reaction.
“Try it and I'll reverse the library's gravity on you.” I said with a smirk as I got dressed.
“You're no fun sometimes Twi'.” Spike said as he headed downstairs.
I chuckled at that as I pulled on my outfit. “Well, I'm off to go get Octavia and Lyra, can you two make sure the place is clean at least?”
“Of course Twi.” Spike said.
“Thanks.” I said, stepping onto the balcony and looking out. The streets were pretty empty, and the sky was clear of pegasi for the time being. With a smile, I jumped across to a nearby rooftop, before hopping down to street level, humming a tune.
In a good mood are we? Crescent asked me.
Oddly enough, despite the past few days, yes. I replied looking around as I walked towards Octavia's house.
Here's hoping that Silver Stake fellow doesn't go interrupting it then.
Crescent... I deadpanned as i stopped humming.
Yes?
If anything happens tonight involving him, I'm blaming you for tempting fate.
Come on what's the w-
Don't finish that sentence. Knowing my luck we'll have to deal with him and a dragon if you do.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I arrived at Octavia's a few minutes later, and could hear music coming from the porch. Surprisingly it wasn't classical, but what sounded like someone took swing and metal music, put them in a blender and hit frappé. I could see Lyra, Octavia, Noteworthy and Bon Bon on the porch, with Lyra's horn lit up powering a spell.
Octavia had a her upright bass run through an amplifier and a few pedals. Lyra had a guitar in her hooves hooked up to a similar setup. Noteworthy and Bon Bon, while not playing anything, were providing the vocals. Octavia motioned with her head for me to come over to the porch as they finished.
“That was something else.” I said. “I didn't know you were such a good singer Bon Bon.”
“It's just a hobby of mine, I can do quite a few different voices so I decided to try singing.” She said with a shrug.
“I heard her singing a few weeks ago and decided to see if she'd be interested in joining our little group here.” Lyra said. “Turns out she has quite a range. It's not easy to find someone who can pull off a good imitation of the Tartarus Swing Orchestra's singer.”
“Stop that, you're making me blush.” Bon Bon said.
“I hope I'm not interrupting anything.” I said, noticing Lyra and Octavia shutting off their amps.
“Nah, we were just finishing up anyhow.” Lyra said. “Bonnie's got her shop to run tomorrow so we usually finish up around now.”
Convenient. Crescent said.
No kidding, saves me from having to find an excuse to get them alone for a bit.
“Well, see you fillies later, I got a trip to pack for.” Noteworthy said, and we said our goodbyes as he and Bon Bon left.
“I take it you're here for more than just a visit?” Octavia said as we stepped inside.
“Yeah, Luna's stopping by my place tonight. She's going to be showing me around a moonblessed sanctuary she's set up beneath the library, and Ceres wants to see you again as well.” I said, setting down the two amplifiers.
“Ceres? Wow, it's been a while since I last visited the Everfree Castle. I take it she's been moved to the library?”
“Yeah, she has.”
“Hold up, what am I missing here?” Lyra asked.
“You want to or should I?” Octavia asked.
I just smirked and released the spell hiding my fangs.
“Ah... that answers a few questions.” Lyra said nodding. “It wasn't Octy was it?”
“No, it was an old spell. Nightmare Moon thought it was a combat spell and cast it on me.”
“Moonblessed then, fair enough.” She said with a shrug.
“In any case, Luna asked me to invite you to see the sanctuary.” I said. “Also, I thought you'd like to know there are two sunblessed in town.”
“Wh... who?” Octavia asked, clearly worried.
“Relax, they don't know about you yet, plus I'm going to be talking to Luna later to ask if she'll vouch for you to them. One of them is Pinkie, you just didn't hear that from me. I can vouch for you and I'm pretty sure Luna willl as well. The other one is fairly new, he's the guy who's helping Fluttershy take care of her animals while her house is being rebuilt. He's the only one I'm worried about.”
“Pinkie? Well that explains a few things.” Octavia said with a sigh. “Do you know her rank by any chance?”
“Yes, but why do you want to know?”
“In case she catches on before you tell her. I'd like to know if I should try to explain things or just run.”
“I believe she's a paladin.”
Octavia's eyes went wide.
“I take it that means you'll be running?”
“Very fast... without stopping for a few days. I may be strong but there is no way I am going to have any chance if I fight. Silver is one thing, he's a nuisance. Fighting a paladin would be suicide for me.”
“If it helps any, she knows about me.” I said. “Plus, you've lived here how long with her in town?”
“Twilight has a point Octy,” Lyra said putting a foreleg around the grey mare. “If she hasn't noticed yet, that means you've done something right.”
“I... I guess.” Octavia said, calming down a little bit. “Still... would you be willing to help me break the news to her? I think she'd be more accepting of it if you were there.”
“That, I can do.” I said, giving a reassuring smile. “Besides, Pinkie seems to be reasonable when it comes to that kind of thing. She gave me a chance to explain myself at least.”
“Allright.” Octavia sighed as she put her cello away. “We'll finish putting stuff away here and be at the library shortly.”
“Allright.” I said, turning towards the door. “Silver is probably back in town, so be careful to not look suspicious. If anyone asks, I invited you over to talk about music theory.”
“Got it.” Lyra said nodding as I stepped out.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
As I approached the library I could hear someone behind me, gradually getting closer. Crescent, do you know if there's a way to communicate with Dusk without doing anything that will draw too much attention?
Hmm... no but I'll ask Luna. You keep tabs on whoever that is and take a scenic route, if they keep the same route they're probably following you. She replied.
Taking her advice I took a turn away from my original path and headed towards the market, listening as the hoofbeats didn't diminish. Despite a few more turns to make a loop back the way I had come from, I was still being followed. They are following me, any news Crescent?
Yes, Luna just showed me her memories of how its done, think I can show you without them noticing?
Spotting Quills and Sofas across the street I headed for the shop. When I'm looking at the quills on display, do it.
I paused in front of the store, and made it look like I was inspecting the quills. I didn't react as the memories were shared with me, and waited a moment longer before heading out again. I could hear the hoofbeats start up behind me again as I kept walking, a bit quieter now.
Drawing on the knowledge I now had I pushed some energy into the contract I had with Dusk. Dusk, can you hear me?
I was wondering when you'd figure out how to chat via the contract's link. A warm male voice responded. What do you need Twilight?
Someone is following me, I need to know who, and when I'm out of sight so I can get away. I replied. Can you do that?
With ease. I was already on my way to you, you've been gone for longer than you should have been. Dusk replied. Take a right at the next intersection, I'm on the roof of Berry's place.
I turned the corner and spotted Dusk going invisible on a nearby rooftop. Good spot, most ponies would mistake you for a cat.
That was the plan at least. He said with a chuckle. All right, I see him. Dark grey mare, unicorn. Wearing a cloak. I'm going to get closer to see if she has anything to worry about on her. She's about a block behind you and using a muffling spell on herself from what I can tell. Apparently your hearing is better than mine.
Got it, I'll go left at the next corner, wait behind the trash can and she'll pass right by you.
Understood. If she spots me it's likely she will attack, just keep going. Even if she manages to send me back to the void our contract is still valid and I'll be back in a day or so. I'll warn you before I pop up though, I can't do that with much stealth. Dusk replied and I heard his paws on the street as he passed me.
I took the turn as planned and kept walking, adrenaline making it difficult to not just get away then. How's it look Dusk?
I can see two daggers, some alchemical grenades and a few more vials of something. Judging by the smell I'd guess water imbued with the power of the sun. She's ready for a fight Twilight. He said worriedly. I'll stay close and quiet. Take the next lef- Scratch that she's speeding up. Duck down that alley and get ready to fight. If she tosses any grenades I'll snipe them out of the air but I can't do anything about the blessed water. Keep her in close quarters, she's outfitted mostly for raged attacks
I didn't reply as I casually turned into the alley and ducked into the shadow of a garbage bin, and waited. Crescent, is Luna in town yet?
She can see Ponyville from where she is, and I can guide her here. Why?
She has a way better chance at defusing this than I do. I'll concentrate on staying alive, you get her here. I replied, hearing the mare's hooffalls slow.
Dusk, let me know when she's about to pass the second green bin. I said, getting ready to pounce.
Got it, 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... now!
Time seemed to slow as I launched myself forward, catching a glimpse of the grey mare's hooded face as she drew back quickly, barely missing getting caught by my foreleg as I flipped over and landed against the opposite wall. A dagger flashed out from beneath her cloak as I dropped to the ground, the weapon pinging off the wall above me.
I darted forwards again, knocking aside a vial of a clear liquid she was ready to throw with my magic, the liquid splattering against the brick wall behind her. Luna's on her way, she'll be here in moments. Crescent told me as I delivered a quick jab to the mare's side, hearing something shatter as I jumped back to avoid a swipe from the second dagger.
Those daggers are made of magically hardened gold, don't let her get you with that one, I've stuck the other one under a stall around the corner. Dusk said.
We circled each other for a moment, and I could see lethal intent in her eyes. With a yell she darted forward at me, dagger poised to strike. I rolled right, her strike getting the second dagger stuck between a pair of cobblestones. Abandoning it she teleported to the far end of the alley, drawing two glass globes from beneath her cloak and launching them at me.
I got them! Shut your eyes! Dusk said, shimmering into view on one of the trash bins as a two tendrils of purple fire lashed out at the flying spheres. The Alchemical grenades exploded in a pair of fireballs as the purple fire shattered the glass, allowing air to hit their contents. As quickly as he had appeared, Dusk was gone from sight, getting ready for whatever was next.
I opened my eyes and could see a damp spot on the mare's cloak from what must have been the other vial of blessed water. She was blinking from the sudden burst of light the grenades had caused, not wanting to waste an opening I shot forward, tackling her into a vendor's stall. The stall splintered from the impact. I rolled to my feet, my opponent doing the same, the first dagger gripped in her magic.
“What the hell is your problem?” I asked her as we started circling again.
“Silver told me you and the Zebra handled the vampony, but I doubt that. I've noticed traces of Sombrian magic around the village and I know that zebra's a dark shaman.” She said smirking. “I saw your familiar, that's illegal and punishable by death.”
How far out is Luna? I asked crescent.
She's at the far edge of town, one minute, tops. Came the reply. She'll cover for you about dusk, just stay alive.
Got it. Make sure Luna's up to date on the storry I'm feeding her. “Look, if you wait a moment, Princess Luna is visiting tonight, Dusk was a gift from her for saving her. You can ask her yourself.”
“Bullshit.” The mare said, attacking. I rolled right, dodging a stab. Dusk, help if you can but don't kill her.
On it. He replied, popping back into view on an awning above us and lashing out with his fire. The tendrils ripped the cloak from the mare to reveal combat barding covering her body. Good, you can hit her harder. Dusk said, as the mare glanced up.
Taking my chance I pushed off the ground with my forehooves, aiming my back hooves at her chest. The impact sent her flying into another cart, her grip still tight on the dagger. I stood watching as she climbed off of the cart and charged again. Reaching out with my magic, I knocked her slightly off course. I spun on my hind hooves as the dagger missed by inches. Throwing my elbow out mid spin, I heard a loud crack as my elbow connected with her chest, no doubt the sound of a few ribs snapping. She rolled to a halt against the rubble of the first cart as I heard wingbeats approaching.
“May I ask just why you decided to attack my sister's student?” Luna asked coldly.
“P-princess Luna?” The mare coughed out. “Dammit... fuck... I'm screwed...” She muttered, clutching her chest.
“I believe this could be called a simple misunderstanding?” I ventured, glancing at Luna as her expression softened.
“Care to explain?” Luna asked.
“Last night I helped a monster hunter by the name of Silver Stake and Zecora, the zebra who lives just inside the Everfree, fend off a vampony. Apparently she,” I said nodding at the grey mare, “Talked with Silver today and got it in her head that I was working with Zecora and the Vampony, probably thinking I was one as well, and decided to tail me. Dusk warned me about her following me and before I could confront her, she decided to attack. Dusk helped me fend her off but since she didn't know the whole story she decided I had summoned him and that she should take the law into her own hooves.”
“I see...” Luna said, looking over to the mare. “Anything you'd like to add?”
“N... No.” She said.
“What is your name then?”
“Sun's Shadow.” the mare said, clearly in pain.
“Very well then. Due to my sister's... negligence on putting rules into place that protect innocent dark magic users, as well as the fact that I can see why you came to the conclusion you did I am not going to do what I originally planned. Be glad Twilight did not decide to use her magic to fight you. I've seen her record from when she went to guard training, you would not have survived it.”
“I-” The mare started but was cut off.
“However, because of your actions two market stalls have been destroyed and two buildings damaged. You are to either pay for the repairs and replacements, repair them yourself, or work for those whose property your actions brought damage to. One of my Night Guard will oversee this. If it were not for current laws forbidding such actions, I would have you banished. Twilight Sparkle saved me from the Nightmare, as such I owe her my life. Now,” Luna said, her horn glowing and I could hear the mare's ribs clicking back into place. “Begone with thee, I tire of thy presence. Do not try to shirk your punishment. If I need to send one of my guard to find thee, the consequences will be severe.”
“Yes Your Highness.” The mare said, gathering up her daggers and running off.
“Twilight?” Luna started.
“Yes, Princess?” I replied, breathing a sigh of relief that the fight was over.
“I am beginning to think this town may not be as mundane as my sister led me to believe.”
“You're preaching to the choir Luna.” I said as we started off for the library.
10: Showdown in the Streets of Familiarity
The Vampony Chronicles
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.
