Twilight Sparkle was not much of a drinker. In fact, she only went to bars when a project of hers didn’t go as planned. However, due to a certain dragon “encouraging” her to be more sociable rather than stay cooped up in that castle of hers, she found herself in the middle of one, staring at the menu. “Excuse me, uhm, I’d like to order a drink” she asked the bartender, who didn’t look like the typical one you see in every bar. You know the stereotype- big gut, like to smoke his cigar, polishes the same glass over and over again, while talking to his customers. No, this one stuck out like a sore hoof. He was a thin, brown coated Earth Pony, who had two shot glasses as his cutie mark. His mane was blonde, and looked like it was decently maintained. His tail was in the same state as his mane.

“What can I get you, miss- OHMYGAWDYOU’RETWILIGHTSPARKLE!!!?”

She blushed in embarrassment. Apparently, this barkeep didn’t see a princess in his bar before, which was surprising, given Princess Luna’s reputation for going bar hopping. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you, Mister-”

“Double Shot, your Majesty” he said, bowing. Twilight was quick to get him to stop that. She explained she didn’t want to be treated like a princess tonight, just somepony trying to socialize.

“Well, there are plenty of folks to talk to here! I’m sure nopony would mind talkin’ to ya!” he said.

At this point, she looked as shy and irritable as Fluttershy trying to talk to Big Mac about her feelings she had for him. Regardless, Double Shot continued, noticing how shy the Princess got. It is his job, after all. “Well, if you’re a little nervous, sometimes a good shot or two will get your tongue to loosen up! So, whaddya say?” he asked, with a smile on his face. That seemed to get her to calm down at least a little.

“Okay, what would you recommend? I don’t really order alcohol when I go to bars.”

He thought for a moment, trying to figure out what drink this purple mare in front of him would like. Just then, one of his regulars ordered for her.

“Well, if she’s looking for some juice to get her jaw to open a little, I think she’d like my usual- Two Silver-Bloods, on the rocks!” this stranger told the barkeep.

“Thank you, but you didn’t need to buy me a drink.” Twilight said.

“It’s my pleasure, Princess! The name’s Silver Quill!” he said, holding out his hoof for her to shake.
The purple alicorn studied him closely, trying to figure out if he was to be trusted. He wore a red cloak over most of his body, save for the face that revealed his coat was white, and his hair brown with white streaks in it, as well as revealed that this pony was a unicorn. Based on his name, she guessed that Quill’s cutie mark was, well, a silver quill! Still uneasy, she shook this stranger’s hoof.

“Here are your drinks! Hope you enjoy it, Miss Sparkle.” Double Shot slid the two glasses to them, and then continued to help customers elsewhere. It was his job, you know!

She took the glass in her magic, and downed it slowly. It tasted sweet, like strawberries, but it also gave off a bitter, almost metallic taste. She reckoned it was just the alcohol in it. “This tastes pretty good! What’s in it?” she asked Silver Quill.
“It’s pretty simple, actually! It’s called silver blood because it’s Vodka, with strawberry juice mixed in, to simulate the ‘blood’.” He paused, looking over at Twilight, almost studying her to see if anything happened. “The juice actually makes the Vodka give off a metallic taste, letting it feel like you’re actually drinking blood! Would you like to know the history behind it?”

And that’s when she went into study mode, paying attention to everything he was saying, making sure she learned all she could about this apparently historic drink. Twilight gestured him to continue. “It started long ago, in Equestria…”
Before Nightmare Moon’s banishment, the land was riddled with many mythical creatures. More so than what you see nowadays. Monsters roamed the night, pillaging and destroying lives and families. Vampires stalked the streets, and Lycans pillaged farms of precious stock. Most ponies were fearful of what stalked the shadows at night, which contributed to Luna giving in to Nightmare Moon. She didn’t know, so I don’t blame her for what happened.

These creatures were seemingly immortal, but for some reason they avoided anything with silver in it, whether it be cutlery, or just buildings laced with the stuff. So a group of hunters, dedicated to helping the ponies enjoy the night, decided to find the cause behind this phenomenon. This nameless group decided to lure the beasts out with bait. They put water in buckets laced with silver, and to lure them out, they poured blood in the buckets to make it look appetizing. Needless to say, it worked, and the reaction was violent. Most times, it burned their throats dry. Other times, when they were weakened already, they would just disintegrate. Over the years, the population slowly died out, making the bait more and more useless. Eventually, the royals caught on, and decided to make the bait into a drink. They replaced the blood with strawberry juice, and the water was replaced with Vodka.

“So, what do you think?” he asked, turning to Princess Twilight. To his surprise, she was taking notes the whole time. After jotting down a few last words on her notes, she thanked the stranger, and took off at a hurrying pace.

Spike enjoyed the peace and quiet in the Castle of Friendship while Twilight was gone, that is the whole 5 minutes she’s been gone before she burst the big, ornate, heavy, crystal doors down with enough magic to shatter the whole castle. “Spike, I’m back! And I found something to study!”
Gone five minutes, and she didn’t even have a da- I mean friend to bring back. Sometimes you are just too stubborn of a mare, Twilight. The dragon thought to himself. “Might as well humor her” he muffled underneath his breath “What are you going to study this time?” he asked, with as little attitude put into his voice as possible.
“Well, I went to a bar, and I met somepony who gave me an idea!” she said, with a mix of irritability and excitement put into her voice.

The dragon’s ear fins perked up. She met someone! I hope he’s someone that Twilight can relate to… Spike thought. “So, who’s the stallion’s name?”

“Oh, his name is Silver Quill, and he was the one who gave me the idea for- wait. How did you know it was a stallion?”

The dragon simply rolled his eyes. “That’s not important. What was the idea he gave you?”

Her smile grew wider. “He was talking about the history about a drink at the bar, and what I learned was that many monsters were wiped out, and that got me thinking: have they been studied closely, and do they exist?”
Danger: science mode activated

Twilight trotted downstairs, to her private laboratory. It was filled with most gadgets and gizmos known to pony-kind, and it was where she was going to begin her studies.
I think I’ll start with studying the symptoms of lycanthropy and vampirism. Then, I’ll move on to the history of the two, see how they originated. Dozens upon dozens of vampire and werewolf novels were all around her, as well as a multitude of history books, and alleged reports of such creatures. I have no idea how I’m going to filter through all this. Although, a few good reads couldn’t hurt…

Six hours, and over hundreds of novels later…

Well, I’ve finally gone through the novels and to my surprise; much of it was very informative! She opened one of the, ahem, less saucier novels to a particular page, that listed the causes of vampirism rather clearly. It said that the only ways to contract vampirism were either through chaos magic, being bitten by a pureblooded vampire, or by having a behavior altering spell become corrupt.

All the elements- me, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were all exposed to chaos magic… Twilight pondered which only got her thinking more. None of us were bitten by Vampires I don’t think… She checked her neck just to be sure it was free of bite marks.

The last one though rings a bell… the purple mare gasped as an epiphany just rang through her head. Fluttershy! She paced back and forth, trying to piece together any changes in her friend’s behavior since the Fruit Bat incident at Applejack’s farm.

Let’s see… She doesn’t leave her cottage a whole lot…

She was a recluse beforehand!

What about her nightly routine?

She always comes out at night. Some of her animal friends are nocturnal.

Blood cravings?

She’s a pony, for crying out loud!

How can you be sure?

Her logic and instincts were lashing out at each other in her mind, each providing an explanation for the other, as well as reason to credit their words more.

We need to run tests! Both the voices concluded, but before she could do anything, another instinctual voice rang out.

What about alicorns? At that point, Princess Twilight took a look at her wings.

History books dictate that alicorns are immortal, ergo immune to disease.

“Celestia would know!” she said aloud. “Spike, bring me a quill and some parchment! I’ve got a letter to write!”

Elsewhere, a cream colored Pegasus with a pink mane and tail was having nightmares in her cottage…

Author's Note

If you're bored by this chapter, then fear not, denizens of Fimfiction.net! The bulk chapter, clocking in almost 6 thousand words, is up next!