Author's Note
Figured my OC needed an origin
Also there was a serious lack of supernatural stories in my stuff. I mean villain stories yeah, but nothing about vampires, werewolves, and monsters? Ordinarily that would be a good thing but I love this kind of stuff, and it fits my character so what the hay.
I hope you like it, it's gonna be dark and full of fun.
Monsterous Beginnings
Oh, hello there! I know who you are, I admit you are pretty brave to come to my lair, a crumbling castle that's supposedly cursed is no place for a pony. Maybe you've heard the stories about me, the rumors, that...Ponyville has a guardian of the night, a watcher who lives in the Everfree. There is some truth to that but, it's a little more complicated than that. Than again when isn't it? I'm sure you have a story to tell, a story about your life and how you became what you are. Well, if you'll indulge, I would like to tell my story to you, brave traveler. Be warned my life isn't exactly something that's full of sunshine and rainbows. It's not because I don't like them, I just can't stay out in the sun to long, hence why I am the Creature of the Night. However to tell the story of my life, is to tell the story of what I used to be.
My real name is Dueling Star, and I'm a monster.
You don't believe that? Oh ye of little faith, I have not lied. Look at my eyes, my wings, my ears, the fact that my face is covered by a mask so when I go into town I don't scare every pony. I'm not normal, not that it bothers me anymore. Here, look at my teeth. Do you see traveler? the long ivory fangs, the piercing red eyes that command your respect when you first entered this cave.
I'm a vampire, a fully blooded vampire I might add. Do not run traveler, I will not hunt you. I've learned a long time ago that there are other ways of obtaining the sweet nectar of life that swirls in us all. I do not need to harm my mortal pony brethren, nor do I want to, at least anymore.
I suppose I've stalled enough. You're brave to stick around the lions den so to speak, so...where do we being?
Well, let us begin where all tales of legend seem to begin: Equestria's past, except this time we're not just going back one thousand years. We're going back two and the story of old Count Star.
My grandfather was a simple crafts maker, it was his special talent and he loved it so. He made tables and chairs and barrels for every pony who ever wanted one. His world, changed forever in a way that things often do: with a mare and that little pony emotion called love. Her name was Charity, and my grandfather swooned over her, and his affections, to his delight were returned, enough for the point that they would desired to be wed. However, Charity was considered one of the most elegant and beautiful ponies in Equestria, and was from a very noble family. Her father, named Stern, did not have his daughter's compassion and love for Count and he forbade the wedding.
That didn't stop them of course, they wedded in secret under the night of the kindly moon, the thing twinkling in just the right way, one could swear that it was approving of their actions. Things were great for a while, when Charity wasn't keeping up appearances for her father, she spent time with her "inferior" but beloved crafts maker. Then what was meant to be an announcement of great joy turned into an announcement of pure terror, Charity became pregnant with Count's child.
Hiding a baby was impossible, eventually someone was going to notice. So the day that Charity found out, Charity decided to stand up for her husband, and the father of her soon to be child, by telling her father that she was going to run away, choosing to live poor and in love than in splendor and in misery. Stern didn't take the news well, and he took an axe to his daughter's head and than to her stomach in a fit of rage.
Now this part should end with me telling you, dear traveler, that Stern was caught and justice was brought down upon his head. However, sadly, while he was caught, he had enough money and power to simply buy his way out of prison. The fact that justice was never done, the fact that he lost his wife and his unborn child, it drove Count mad. His mind became clouded...swarmed with the evil that is...revenge.
He thought about just simply killing Stern himself, but he had no money to afford the fire power necessary to storm his house, he had no stealth training to just sneak in and rip his throat out, he had nothing that he could possibly do to one who made him suffer so. That wasn't good enough, he felt his precious revenge fleeing from his hooves. However, those with hearts filled with revenge, no matter how justified, often have the biggest weakness, to the real evil of this world.
One day, there was a pony dressed in all black, with a black top hat, black cloak, and even a cane with a goat on it under his hoof approached the disheartened soul. The man simply smiled and said to my grandfather "You seek vengeance against Stern?" he could only nod at the strange pony's actions and words. According to my grandfather in his later years, it was like this pony was evil incarnate. The strange pony lifted his hat with magic revealing himself to be a unicorn by nature, and simply said "I know a spell that will make you have more power than any pony could possibly imagine, only matched by ponies whose power is equal to those who have both the wings of a pegasus and the magic of a unicorn. However, understand, the price of this spell comes a great cost."
With revenge over reason, my grandfather accepted without a second thought. With a firey flick of his horn the strange pony blasted Count with his dark magic. Count felt his color turn darker, his eyes turned a heinous blood red, and his teeth now spotting ivory white fangs. However, he also felt what strange pony promised power beyond any pony's comprehension. With a sinister smile, he bolted storming Stern's mansion.
None were left alive, blood splattered on the floor and then Count to Stern himself. My father told me that he would never describe to me what my grandfather did to Stern. What Count did was to brutal for even my father to comprehend.
Eventually Count started to learn more about what he had become, as he left the mansion covered in the blood of Stern. The Strange Pony showed up and twirled his cane as Count licked the blood off his face in sick enjoyment. The Stranger Pony smirked as my grandfather asked what he was now. "You are...a vampire. You don't need to eat, you don't need to breathe, you never get tired, and your speed and strength are ten times that of a normal ponies, you don't breed, and you can't die from old age. However, as I said before this power has three prices and a weakness. The first is easy, in order to increase your strength you will need to feed on the blood of mortal pony, or any mortal creature really. The more you feed, the stronger you become, however don't feed for to long...and your strength will fade. Next, the sun will hurt you, you will feel a burning on your skin that will make any fire you've been around feel like an ice cube. If you can ignore the excruciating pain, than this won't be an issue for you. However, I've heard that pain is so bad, that would prefer death to dealing with it. Next is your weakness, anything silver is now untouchable to you and a wooden stake to your heart will destroy you. Finally, and most importantly, is my price."
My grand father asked him "What price?"
"My price is simple, as a vampire one of your gifts is, you bite someone and don't drain all the blood from their body. You create another vampire. You bite ten ponies within one month, and not only will I let you keep this power, but I will owe you a favor my friend" the Strange pony finished. "You or your successors"
As you can tell by me being here, he did exactly as he was told. Those Ten Ponies became my Grandfather's children, the most important of them being my father, Prince Vlad Star. My father was...resentful towards my grandfather, but he had to wait my grandfather's power grew into an equal to Celestia however thankfully time was on his side as he did not have to worry about death. Age really does mean nothing to a vampire after all, and he waited for a thousand years. The time was right as my grandfather was unaware and Vlad struck my grandfather in the heart with a wooden stake with his first victim, my mother, Elizabeth, helping him. This act of power caused the other ten to refer to my father as the King of the clan, a title he took with my mother.
Now with my mother in tow, Vlad and her desired something. A natural born child, however being that vampire's don't breed, that became an issue. Except for a vampire that has a favor for a certain strange unicorn. My father asked for a natural born vampire, and the strange pony said with a smile that he could do that, but the price would be the experience would kill my mother, unless they brought a sacrifice. My father didn't want to lose my mother nor could he kill anyone in the clan for a child, so they cheated the Strange Pony. They brought him a sacrifice all right. However they brought him a sacrifice of a newly made vampire, who was unaware of the horrors that awaited her, or how little her new masters cared about her life.
Late one night, after hours of ritual, the Strange Pony fulfilled the end of his bargain. Screams echoed throughout the Everfree forest, as the poor victim was butchered for the sake of my birth. Eventually she died in ashes, and in misery, but her death brought forward new life: me.
The Strange Pony became awfully quiet when I was born, and disappeared into the night. I found out why later on in my life, however that is a tale for later. Now, we can finally begin my own story.
I'm going to skip past the parts of me being a baby. Not much to tell, even vampires don't exactly remember when they were a newborn, so...i'll begin when I was only ten years old, and my first time, my first...hunt.
As you probably, guessed, vampires feed on the blood of the living to maintain their power and for some sick joy. While I found a way to get around it, which I will tell you, I was no different, this is the story of my first, and when I met my best friend Pure Heart.
It was a beautiful night, the moon was shining almost blissfully unaware, of the fiendish deeds that would take place here upon this night. I remember looking out into the woods from our lair, the darkness was so inviting. I longed to just get out there and explore, to see the world experience every joy and pain. However my mother and father had other ideas, being that I was a crown prince and all. However, this was my big day, on my tenth birthday believe it or not. My mother came to me and said to me "Dueling, you are slowly becoming a stallion, it's time you learned the most important thing about being a vampire: Hunting in the Shadows." She motioned to me and told me to follow her continuing her sentence. "As a vampire, we must maintain our strength by feeding on the blood of the living. You know this from the prey we have brought to you to keep your strength up" I could only nod as I kept my mouth shut not wanting to be disrespectful, as she walked to her "But why do we hunt in the shadows? Simple, a mortal is an easy prey, but do not make a group of them angry. The results are more terrible than anything we can ever do"
I nodded and said to her "I understand" looking outside, longing to see the world just for the first time.
My mother said "You are still young so I am going to send you with a member of the family, of your sisters"
Now I know what you are thinking. Sisters? Aren't I just but the only new born vampire in the past thousand years at this point. Well let me sum it up like this. In vampire culture, those we choose to join us in our reign of the night become our children. If I bit you right now traveler you would be my own child. My sister in question is a brilliant mare named Shade Star.
Shade was my eldest sister, she had a brilliant mind and a brilliant heart as well, a trait I come to admire the more the years clock by as I sit in my cave. Shade came to me and said "Your majesty"
I nodded to her and said "Sister"
Shade smiled and said "Come with me, I will begin the hunt"
It was long into the night as the leaves twisted and turned with the wind howling through the Everfree, whistling in gleeful approval for what we were about to do. I am thankful that Ponyville came to existence, because our hunts always took so dreadfully long to go to and I wanted to meet someone other than my family members right away, but eventually we arrived at a small bustling town constructed masterfully as a tiny metropolis, well as one could describe it being that this was before many modern inventions we take for granted. With large towering stone walls, beautiful peaceful ponies trotting around enjoying life. Shade and I perched on one of the walls as I just took it all in.
It was all so fascinating, my first time seeing ponies who were not vampires living their lives upon their mortal coils. Wonder filled my core as I saw ponies with no wings, ponies with no fangs, ponies with feathered wings, ponies with horns, their eyes were to many different colors, their pigment was so bright and colorful. I loved every second of it, for a brief moment I longed to live there. Than suddenly, Shade cleared her throat, and I regained my focus as to why I was here in the first place.
Shade began her lecture, "Now, I'm sure your mother told you about how we hunt in the shadows to prevent a scene. In order to be a good hunter, you need to pick a prey like that WatchGuard wandering alone right there" Shade said pointing her hoof at a lone guard stallion minding his own business as the night sky loamed on. I was silent as Shade said to me with a smile "I know you learn by example my dear prince, so observe"
I was silent as I watched the master at work, slowly she got low, and did a silent leap over to a ledge that was above the guard, as he looked around seeing her shadow getting confused. She then used her tail to hang upside down as the guard backed up behind her. She clutched him close and bite straight on his exposed neck and I watch in silent curiosity as his body shriveled up until it was nothing more than a more prune with puncture wounds. She dropped the body and quickly came to me as she wiped her lips when there was a little blood there.
She looked at me and said "Now Prince Dueling, understand that when feeding you must drain all the blood from a victim's body, because if you don't you will let our gift spread through the body which will create a child for you. I do not think you are ready for that responsibility yet. However, if you are unsure, every mortal has something called an Adam's apple. Rip it out, and you should prevent the vampirism from spreading."
I nodded as she motioned to me, it was my turn as I asked "There are a lot of other ponies out here, how do I know which one to target"
"I did an exception" Shade admitted "Ideally you should stalk someone who no pony would even miss. Ponies who are drunk, ponies who are scum, ponies who look like they are worthless, those are the ponies you should target and prey upon, especially since it's your first time"
I nodded trying to look tough for my big sister, as Shade could only laugh at my efforts. She was silent as I scanned and I spotted a potential victim. There was a pony stumbling out of what looked like a tavern, wobbling like he was clearly intoxicated. I smiled as this was exactly what Shade was talking about. I did what she did and stalked the rooftops when I heard another voice below me.
Suddenly I looked below me and noticed that there was a filly no more older than my age. She was a bright pink, and had a blonde mane with a calming blue eyes. Her cutie mark was weird to me, as I haven't even got my cutie mark yet. It was of a cross with a red heart that surrounded it. She came to the stallion and said "Mr. Cletus...you're drunk again...mommy wouldn't..."
Suddenly this "Mr. Cletus" smacked her against the ground as I was growing impatient, and I don't know why but seeing it angered me. "Mr. Cletus" said to her "Shut up Pure, for the last time, I ain't your daddy, I ain't your mommy, I don't give a damn. I can drink as much as I want. You're the kid, and I'm the adult. I can do whatever I want! " "Mr. Cletus" went to smack "Pure" again. When my patience slipped.
In a fit of vampiric speed I leapt on this "Mr. Cletus" and bit down on his neck chomping tightly and aggressively like a wild animal as Shade noticed becoming alarm coming towards me to stop me as I drained him dry. I turned my head and noticed the filly who looked at me frightened.
In a brief second our eyes became locked against the other, as I felt a glow blasting against my flank slowly gaining my cutie mark. I didn't know what it meant at the time. There are days where I still don't quite get what it means, but it resembled my name. Two Stars clashing against each other. I said meekly "Hello"
"Pure" said to me "Hello...I'm Pure Heart..." She said frightened of me. She then noticed something I didn't intend "You just saved me?"
I was confused at that, but her regaining of a smile it...made me feel warm inside, a feeling I would come to love more and more throughout my life.
Before we could talk more Shade grabbed me and looked at Pure. She hissed lowly and said "You saw nothing child" and then carried me off, taking me away.
Author's Note
I am looking for help for this story, if anyone is willing.
