//-------------------------------------------------------// Dreaming Nightmares. -by Sugarcube66- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Creature of the castle. //-------------------------------------------------------// Creature of the castle. A cloaked figure ran through the silent trees of the Everfree, wondering if she could shake off her chasers as soon as possible. She had been into Ponyville for an apple and only seconds later, having been caught stealing, she had to bolt back towards her Everfree home. She grumbled under her breath as she saw a tree getting closer in her coming path. As she continued to gallop forward, she formulated a plan in her head and smirked a little. It was a stupid plan, but it might get some space between her and the stallions behind her. She jumped as soon as she was close enough to the tree, kicking the branch with her hind legs and bolted off as the tree branch hit the stallions dead on, knocking most of them unconscious and all of them were knocked to the floor. The figure smirked and said, in a bragging tone of voice. ''That was prefect.'' Her voice was like a bell, but it was harsh at the same time. Full of hatred did that voice contain. If anypony was nearby, they would wonder why such a pretty voice had a frozen tinge. There was also something else that her voice portrayed, the sound of a young filly, no older then 13 at the most. The figure sighed, muttered something else. ''Such babies, they can't even catch a weak 12 year old filly like me. Pathetic.'' She was about the walk off, before turning around, glaring straight as the stallions, most still unconscious with the exception of one that decided to counter her glare with a frozen one. ''Don't make me repeat this, come near me ever again and I will kill you.'' The stallion was about the reply when the filly pull down her hood to reveal a beautiful looking white unicorn with a lavender and white streaked mane. What frightened the stallion was the filly's ruby, no blood red eyes. Eyes that looked like the blood that ran through every pony that lived in Equestria and beyond. Eyes that were unlike the eyes of normal ponies. ''Like I said, don't make me repeat myself!'' growled the filly, in the frozen voice. The stallion decided he had enough of the filly's spookiness and picked up his comrades and ran away, yelling. ''I won't ever chase you again, I had enough of you. Feral child.'' The filly watched the stallion run away, with a confused expression. ''What's he mean by 'Feral Child'. What is a 'feral child'?'' She sighed after a second, and turned around. ''Oh, well. Time to head home, Daffodil is probably waiting for me.'' The filly picked up her saddle bags, which had fallen off her back when she had jumped and walked into the heart of the creepily strange and unnatural forest. She looked around the flora and fauna for a while, even she was spooked by the forest and she lived within these very trees for years. After all, rumor were common about these woods. Such as the powerful storm winds that could fling a pony half way across Equestria or the storm clouds that produced very high voltage rain. She had never seen these herself, personally but that didn't stop other ponies from thinking it. Even Daffodil thought the same from time to time. ''It's all pointless.'' she mumbled, her voice quiet and uncaring, but there was no a tinge of sadness filling this formerly hatred filled voice. The sound seemed to bring out a small chocolate and white spotted bunny from the trees. The filly smiled a little, petting the small bunny on the head. ''Maybe Daffodil will let me keep you, I mean it's been a whole year since I owned a pet.'' She picked up the bunny, but he hoped off her hoof and onto her back. She giggled a little, it was at times like this that she felt lively instead of her usual unemotional state. She contiued to walk forward, this time with the bunny on her back and she came across a clearing with a building big enough for a very young princess to live in, so it wasn't nearly as big as Cantorlot Castle or even as big as the Friendship Castle that Princess Twilight now lived in. Princess Twilight...... She shook her head, trying to get rid of her thoughts of the princess of 13 years. 13 years since Twilight had became a princess, 12 years since her birth, it was all so stupid. Why her of all ponies? Why did a bookworm get the title princess and have the affect those around her and affect the life of a small filly, who could have been normal. She walked towards the castle like building, touching it gently before spotting a mare come outside. A mare with a cream coat and golden mane. It was no wonder that her cutie mark and name were Daffodil. The mare's blue eyes stared at the filly's red one, two different colors colliding in a single stare. ''Prin...'' started Daffodil, but the glare she got told her to stop what she had been saying. ''Crystal, where have you been? Don't you know that I worry about you?'' Crystal looked away for a moment, before muttering. ''Why does a nurse even care? Why does anypony care about me?! Crystal the vampire pony. I'm not natural.'' Her voice had risen and she flashed her fangs as she spoke, proving her speech about being a vampire pony. ''Crystal, I know how you feel but your mother ask me to protect you. If anypony were to find out the truth about you, you could be killed because of your unnatural self. Neither me or Twi...'' Daffodil stopped for a moment before contiuing. ''Or your mother want to see that happened, you know that.'' ''Then why did mother abandon me, abandon innocent me who had only recently turned. Five years without a mother, who cared. Five years since I changed...'' Her voice trailed off, as she slowly slipped and fell to the ground, panting. ''Crystal....'' muttered Daffodil, before she walked closer to the young vampire and ran her hoof across the filly's face slowly before reaching over the filly's lips. ''Suckle, it'll do you good.'' The filly tried to protest, but her weaken state forced her to suckle of her nurse's hoof and bite in, drawing a few droplets of clear blood that dripped in and from her mouth. She swallowed as much as she needed, before gently healing the wound with her magic, she may have been a vampire but she wasn't a murderer by far, she would heal wounds in necessary. Murderer.... //-------------------------------------------------------// Stranger at my castle. //-------------------------------------------------------// Stranger at my castle. Crystal walked back and forth in front of a door in her 'castle'. She couldn't decide if she should go in or not, it was a room with a lot of meaning to it after all, she couldn't be so light on her decision. The memories of her past life lived within those very confinements and she wasn't able to bring herself to touch them. ''Crystal.'' called out Daffodil, as the mare walked forward. The young vampire unicorn stared at the mare for a moment, closing her eyes. ''This room....'' ''Yea....the very room that I asked mother to build shortly before my change...to keep our precious memories held. How I hate this room, it's strange, isn't it?'' said Crystal, as a couple of tears drip off her muzzle. ''I used to not even be able to come down this corridor......but now look, it's almost my 13th birthday....and I suddenly able to walk near my own bedroom....my own resting place.'' ''...Crystal, I know how you feel about this room. After your mother made us come here, you wouldn't even come down this corridor and asked for a different bedroom, I'm so glad that your at least here. As much as I wish you would go back inside this room like you used to, I know I can't forced you.'' said the mare, with a smile as she walked closer to the young vampire, bringing her into a light hug. ''You are you, it's your life remember.'' ''...You do know that line means nothing....because I already screwed up my life by wishing!'' cried the small filly. Her cries brought the small bunny from the prior day towards her. ''Oh....Chocolat, your here...'' The bunny bounced around a little before hopping onto the filly's back and wiping her tears away from her. ''Your trying to cheer me up.'' She took the bunny from her back and held it within her hooves, staring at it with some shock. Daffodil smiled, rubbing the filly's back. ''She's just worried about you, Crissy. How about some dinner? It's about time for your feed anyway.'' The mare held out her hoof for the small filly, who frowned a little before slowly beginning to suckle on it slowly before jabbing her tooth into the flesh, shedding the flowing blood and drinking most of it up but some dribbled down her face, making her look very scary. She drew back and Daffodil had to blink before she looked at the filly's blood soaked face. She had seen this a dozen times before and one such time, she wished she hadn't. Before she could think more into however, a voice drove it's way into the castle. ''Um....Does anypony live here?'' Daffodil was surprised, the voice sounded like that of a small filly's, no older then 10 or 11 she imagined. Crystal just looked down when she heard that voice and mumbled something that Daffodil didn't catch at first. ''Can you speak up a little?'' ''....Please don't let that foal come up here and see me...'' muttered Crystal, before going wide eyed upon seeing a small filly standing in the hallway, with shock written on her pale face. Crystal almost fainted, as Daffodil took in the filly's appearance. She seemed to be a small pegasus, very small, with a creamy coat and pink and black mane and the strangest of eyes possible, eyes of pure silvery-gold and there was no blackness within those swirling cages that were eyes. Daffodil also managed to catch the filly's cutie mark, a glass of chocolate milk over a swirling black background. Thinking about it, this weren't the first time Daffodil had seen such eyes and cutie mark, surely there was scre.... Daffodil glanced at Crystal, who was looking very, very pale if that was possible on her white features. The smaller filly step forward slowly, her facial features shifting from shock to worry. ''Um.....uh.....are you okay, miss?'' Crystal didn't speak, only looked away as if trying to find something to wipe the blood, that rested on her face, away. The filly asked again, but with a bit more depth. ''Are you okay?.....You seem to be hurt or something....no normal filly has blood coating her face.'' Crystal mumbled under her breath, countering the comment before speaking up a little. ''.....Why are you worried about me? Why are you even here? If your lost, why come here of all places?'' The filly jumped a bit at the sharp tone of Crystal's voice. '' I-I....well....you see, a couple of days ago....my 'friends'......decided to tease me and took my....favorite book away from me......and said that if I'd go into the dangerous forest....and make it out alive....I could get the book back. I didn't understand the dangers, till I got lost and spent 2 nights living under this conditions.....I was just wondering if I could s-stay the night and then get out of your mane by sunrise....'' Daffodil looked at the small vampire filly, for a moment only to see her expression turn from anger to mostly shock. She didn't however get chance to speak as Crystal spoke once more. ''You want to stay here? This place isn't safe for fillies to be playing in.'' ''....But...um....your a filly....'' mumbled the shy, small filly. ''And my reasons for being here of different from yours, I have a nurse who raised me for years. What do you have in these woods, and you came in here all for a book? Not even my mother would do that.'' said Crystal, with a dangerous glare erupting from her blazing red eyes. She sighed and looked deeply into the filly's swirling eyes. ''I can offer you a place to sleep. But on one condition.'' The filly stiffed a little, concerned about what the condition was. ''W-what....'' ''You must stay here forever and not tell a soul about what you have seen within these very walls, can you promise me that?'' asked Crystal, in her sharp tone but her eyes showed worry because if she let the filly go, then she may be found out and that wasn't something she wanted at all. ''...I um....see....but can you at least introduce yourself...first......'' mumbled the foal, gently. ''I'm....Swirling Chocolate....but most call me Coco because it's easier to say....'' ''...Crystallized Radiance....but Daffodil, here, calls me 'Crystal'...I do not however permit you to call me that.'' ''...Um...can I call you Radiance-Chan then......?'' mumbled Coco, with a small smile. She didn't want to be scared of Crystal apparently. ''...-Chan?'' ''It's....a Japanese....honorific.....it tends to be 'close friends'.....but if you want....I can use -San....which is more mature.....'' ''....I...don't mind.....'' muttered Crystal, before turning away. ''You can go anywhere you like, except in that room next to us. I don't even go in there so I do not want you rummaging through my stuff, alright?'' ''....Ok....Radiance-Chan...'' muttered Coco, wondering why Crystal didn't go into the room she had pointed out. ''....So um....where is my bedroom....?'' ''Daffodil.....take our guest to one of the spare rooms.....'' ''As you wish, Crystal.'' said Daffodil, walking up to Coco. ''Come with me, Chocolate. I will show you to your room. Let's leave Crystal alone for a bit to collect her thoughts.'' The pair walked away and Crystal turned to the door next to her and gently put a hoof on the wood. She sighed and with all her forced might she pushed it open and slowly walked into the light emitting from the room. The only true light in the entire of the castle. All the others were artificial, because she didn't like seeing the sunlight any more. But today, she couldn't be bothered because she had to go into this very room to reunite with her memories......