Under the Shadow of His Eyes

"I'm sorry."

Mar didn't open his eyes.  He didn't need to, to sense that he was in an underground chamber, in an open coffin.  He felt the familiar aura of the Princess Luna, standing at his side.  She gently poked his arm.

"Hey."  She jostled him lightly.  "I saw your mouth move.  I know you're awake."

He opened an eye and looked at her warily.  "Why on earth would you think I wouldn't want you to know I was awake?"  He sat up groggily.

"Here."  Luna levitated over a jar filled with violently luminescent green liquid inside.  "Changeling blood."

"What?"

"Changeling blood.  It has stronger energy-restoring properties to it than most species'. I couldn't get you to drink any while you were asleep-"

Mar snatched away the jar and consumed the slightly viscous fluid, noting that it had a coppery taste.  He threw an accusative glare at the Princess.  "You stole this blood."

"W-what?"

"There is pain in this blood.  There may not be enough of it for me to gain the knowledge or abilities of the original owner, but I can still feel the sting of the blade that drew this."  He crushed the jar and flicked away the pieces that clung to his hand.  "Where did you get it?"

"I don't know where it's from.  My sister acquired it, and told me to give it to you, along with her most sincere apologies."  She paused, taking a breath.  "I'm sorry for this.  Neither of us had any idea that you were a vampire.  When my... er... what's the human word for visions seen while sleeping?"

"Dream?"

"Yes, that's it.  When I found your dream, and found out you were not yet in our world, I assumed that you were a dist...ah... important guest. When we detected the magic signaling the arrival of another human, we decided both to travel to Ponyville and meet you at the traveler's hotel.  If we had known that you were a vampire..."  She shuddered.  "Things went badly.  If you were a lesser vampire, you would have died from being in the same room as my sister, within moments. By the way, what kind of vampire are you?"

"What do you mean?  And why do you care?  Aren't you just going to lock me in a silver coffin and seal me underneath a mountain?"  Mar started to gather his energy in his palms, beginning a mental chant that would allow him to blend with the shadows.

"Excuse me?!  Is that how vampires are treated in your world?  You needn't worry.  In Equestria, all life is considered sacred.  Your right to a peaceful existence will not be infranged upon."

"Infringed?"

"Yes, infringed.  You, regardless of your species, or what any members of your species has done," Luna's eyes darkened momentarily, "as long as you live peacefully, you are just as protected under the law as if you were a pony yourself.  You may marry any sentient, adult being that you wish, take part in local politics, live where you want, and." She poked Mar lightly in the chest. "As a vampire, under Equestrian law, you may hunt any being defined as a monstrous being, or an enemy of the state.  Also, if any being unlawfully attempts to slay you, you have the unique right to hunt them down, to the ends of the earth if need be."

"Wow."  Mar stood.  "That's... rather generous."

"We have made many confessions-"

"Concessions."

"... Concessions, to allow vampires to live and survive in our world, and not be discriminated against or have to break the law to survive."  Luna gestured to the stairs that led out of the chamber.  "Now, would you like to go and sit down? I still have a lot of questions to ask."

"Well, after you, Your Highness."

Luna led him up the stairs, and into what appeared to be a small library of sorts.  She pulled up two chairs, one of which seemed to be specifically designed for humans, next to a small table.  She gestured for Mar to sit.  "Now.  What kind of vampire are you?  How many centuries old are you?  How many souls have you consumed?"  She asked with avid curiosity.

"Well, for one thing, I'm technically classified as a fledgling, since I've only been a vampire since about ten minutes before I arrived in your world, and I've never consumed anything but that jar of changeling blood."

"What?!"  Luna stared.  "But... I saw you glide up the stairs! And you survived a direct encounter with the physical embodiment of the sun!  There's no way you're just a fledgling."

"Did I glide?" Mar was surprised.  He hadn't even paid attention to how he had climbed the stairs.

"Yes. This is very strange... what of your sire? The vampire that made you?  What is he like?"

Mar took a deep breath.  "Him? Well, he was considered to be the most powerful vampire who ever lived.  He consumed over five million humans, and those are just the ones who were on the census.  He had the ability to transform himself into almost anything he wished, he could fly over open bodies of water for short periods, silver seemed almost useless against him, and he could stay out in the sun for a consecutive week."

Luna took a sharp breath.  "A Blood King."

"A what?"

"It's what we call it when a vampire consumes so much and grows so powerful that they are seemingly unstoppable.  Luckily, most of them have grown lazy, and various powerful unicorns have defeated them.  Only one remains alive, and she seems to have dropped completely out of existence."  Luna observed Mar carefully, taking in every detail of his appearance.  "I suppose that would explain how strong you are.  You're descended directly from the most powerful type of vampire known."

"Who's the Blood King you mentioned?"

"A Blood Queen.  It's... a long story."

"I have time.  And I'd love to know more about who I'm probably going to be compared to while I'm here."

Luna sighed.  She looked away from Mar.  "Shira." She said.  "She arrived fairly soon after humans began arriving in our land.  Right at the beginning of what seemed was going to be our greatest war with the Griffon Empire.  She was a fire mage, and a very powerful combatant. It was she that we chose as our envoy before the Griffon Army was going to invade our borders."

Mar adjusted his glasses, watching Luna's expression grow darker with every word.

"It just so happened that the Griffons had something up their sleeve. The last, seemingly most powerful Blood King.  A dragon, no less, disguised as one of their own.  When the two met, supposedly for final negotiations, he revealed himself, attacked her, aiming to turn her into a fledgling slave to use in the assault."

Luna's eyes were glazed over, her pupils fully dilated.  She was shivering.

"Something happened when they reached the first city that he was to destroy, Hoofington.  Nobody knows what, nobody knows why, but Shira broke her connection to the dragon, and, by some miracle, slew him, and consumed him."

"How? If she was just a fledgling, then how did she manage to kill such a powerful being?"

"We don't know... witnesses reported that she flew into a blood rage, tore him apart, then immediately departed the city." Luna looked down. "After that, she assaulted the Griffon Army.  Not a single one was still alive. five-hundred thousand warriors, all thoroughly slaughtered in less than an hour.  She supposedly released all of the spirits of the souls she consumed, including the ones she tore from her sire."

"And after that?"

"It didn't stop there.  With her newly acquired army of undead spirits, she attacked, and completely wiped out the four largest Griffon cities.  Almost two thirds of the entire population of griffons in the world... on that day, fifty years ago... were all consumed by the Blood Queen, Shira, the Burning Scourge."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be.  It wasn't your fault.  If anyone is to blame, it was the cursed Griffon King who thought he could bring vampires into a war without extreme consequences."  Luna scratched her leg.  "And after that, Shira came to visit me and my sister, in the throne room, in the middle of the day.  She just stood there, explaining what she had done, but never explaining why.  She stood, not forty hooves from my sister, almost completely unaffected by her power.  The only hint that she was at all injured was a single drop of blood from her eye.  She told us... that all she wanted was to live, and never be bothered again.  We haven't heard from her since."

"What would you do if she came back?  Or if she attacked your own country?"

Luna looked at Mar, complete, unadulterated fear in her eyes.  "Then we would die." She said simply.  "There is no force in this world that can defeat her.  The only reason why anything still lives is because she, at least for now, seems to be benev... er peaceful."

The door to the library opened.  In stepped a lively looking pony, the same size and shape as Luna, but with lavender fur and a straighter mane. She smiled.  "Sama, Luna! Suuna ye-"  She stopped when she saw Luna's morbid expression, and the shadowy human with the dark, ominously glinting glasses.  "Ano... Sa suui da?"

"Oh! Right!" Luna's face brightened.  "Sama, Twilight! Tol sha da, dei human *'Mar' numeizi. Tsioi Vampyrsa da. Noi da.*"

"Twilight" gasped excitedly, then ran up to him.  "Sama, *Mar! Deir deir posstana ta'sa lapar' larama! Sa da'wol Vampyrsa yei? Hemjensa yei? S'oo kalan yei?! Kaw'und lareia? Staa'sa kuss'nei sarai suum'ra lui da?*"

Luna stared.  "Umm... she says, 'It's nice to meet you, I'm sure we'll be friends.'  She stammered.

Mar raised an eyebrow.

"Twilight... nobody's done the language conversion spell on him yet."

"Oh!" Twilight blushed.  "Sorry about that...  Let's start over.  Hello, I'm Princess Twilight, but most just call me Twilight."

"Mar.  I'm not even going to tell you my full name, because I have a slight notion that you'd use it, regardless of how many times I tell you not to."

Luna nodded.  "Right, you are."

Twilight rolled her eyes.  "Oh, come on, no I wouldn't! Well, maybe.  Oh well.  My English isn't very good, so let's just get this language conversion spell over with."

"And how exactly does that work?"

She smiled.  "I'm glad you asked.  It's a spell that will give you knowledge of the Equestrian Standard Dialect.  It more or less embeds the language in your mind, and you can only have one language at a time.  Over time, however, your mind will adopt the foreign language, and the spell will wear off.  Any questions?"

"Hmmm.... nah.  Let's just do it."

"Okay then!" Twilight aimed her horn at him.  It glowed, first purple, then turning into a slightly tinted white.  Mar felt a tingling sensation in his head, and his vision went blurry.  A few seconds later, Twilight stopped and stood up straight.  "There.  All done.  Right now, I'm speaking to you in my native language.  Do you understand me?"

Mar rubbed his forehead.  "Er... yes. Yes I do."  He furrowed his brow.  "Wait a second. Earlier."

Twilight blushed slightly and looked away.

"You asked me how big...?"

"What? What's that?  No, I'm certain you misheard me.  That reminds me!  We need to get you back to the wayward human's hotel and get you processed into Equestrian society!  I'll go get your coffin!"  Twilight sprinted into the basement.

Mar looked at Luna.  "And did she ask me if I had a-"

"Yes, yes she did.  She gets kind of carried away, especially with how many rumors she's heard about vampires.  Don't take it the wrong way. She's..." Luna paused, looking for the right word.  "Enthusiastic about her studies.  She wants to learn everything there is to know about everything, and sometimes forgets what's appropriate to ask somepony."