For Want of a Vampire

Chapters

2 - Goodbye Rick
3 - Orange Gone Bad
4 - What a Terrible Night to Have a Curse
5 - Minion Returned
6 - The Herd Grows
7 - In Eternal Fog
8 - Adapting with the Times
9 - The City Never Sleeps
10 - You're Adorably Terrifying!
11 - Welcome to the Herd
12 - Taking Flight
13 - Take a Look, it's in a Book
14 - Rebellious Talk
16 - Attack of the Pegasisters
17 - Make a Choice
18 - Once Minion
1 - His Blighted Demesne
15 - No Love of the Neighborhood

2 - Goodbye Rick

As the once-human sank in Richard's grip, he pulled away from that spent neck. A flick of his tongue was enough to savor the last few drops of his meal. "Time to get you home." Unceremoniously, he heaved the still form of Rick onto his shoulder. "You have a date with damnation."

Or, at least, he hoped. His last hadn't worked as well, but that was a pretty female. Maybe that was the mistake. "I just needed a normal everyman, to make a normal, everyvampire! It makes perfect sense." He was trying to convince himself, desperate to be right. He launched into the air, carrying his victim away. Flying without becoming a bat was significantly more draining, but carrying a full grown man as a bat was even less likely.

"You've already paid for this service," he grumbled with a growing smirk. The very power he had drawn from the unconscious fool would get them home easily. The castle came into view quickly, and lightning flashed ominously as it did with a clap of thunder. Fog roiled around its base, subtly warning foolish interlopers that their presence was neither wanted nor intelligent.

He came in for a smooth landing on his balcony. As he strode inside, he spoke in a booming voice, "Lilly! Prepare a new coffin at once!"

She was halfway across the castle. He could hear her distant clops approaching. Even if she wasn't what he wanted, she was loyal, at least. "And you, Rick... I will not have a servant with my name. Say goodbye to your old title." Not that Rick could respond, or even hear the declaration. Richard set the still form out on a stone slab. "Now get to turning. You're already making your master wait."

Watching a body wasn't nearly as interesting as one might think, but Lilly arrived to break the monotony. "Sir? Here's that coffee you asked for." Hanging from one of her wing joints was a steaming cup of coffee and she had a toothy smile. She had fine fangs, if she would ever use them properly.

"Coffin." Richard pointed at the body. "Get him into a coffin."

She pouted, gazing at Richard with her amber eyes. "You don't want the coffee?"

He let out a suffering sigh. "Put it aside. Thank you, Miss Candy. See to it our new guest is comfortable, in a coffin, immediately." As she went to put it down, he snatched it from her grip. "On second thought, I think I will take it."

His acceptance of her offering made her smile with joy, and she grabbed one of the spare coffins propped up against the wall, using her forehooves and wings together to wrestle it onto one of the free slabs, then she grabbed the one known as Rick up and tossed him in. "Is he like me?"

Richard frowned around the lip of his mug of coffee. "I should hope not. He will become a terror of the night, who isn't afraid to kill a man if his whim, or my command, compels him. He should be proud. Not many vampires can trace their lineage back to--"

"Dracula!" Lilly exclaimed, clopping her forehooves together. "Was he as big and scary as you can be, sir?"

"We could be brothers," boasted Richard, his chest puffed out and taking a long pull of the strong brew. "You're getting better at preparing this muck."

She held her hooves close together. "Just a little pinch of cream brings out the flavor, sir. I'm glad you like it." She was smiling radiantly. For her flaws, she really was a loyal creature.

He reached down and ran his fingers over the top of her head, his claws scraping lightly against her scalp. "Stay with me, and welcome him into our family."

She reared up onto the side of the slab and looked down at him. "He's just like me, right?"

Richard grimaced at the notion. "His only similarity to you is who your master is."

She reached into the coffin and batted at something. "Why're his ears getting fuzzy?"

His howl was greeted with a fresh thunderpeal, the room lit brightly for a moment, revealing the ruddy red-orange fur that was covering the sleeping man's ears.

Despite any amount of his fury, what was done was not to be undone. The one once known as Rick was changing, becoming far less human than his master desired. With loud pops and snaps, his face began to push forward into a decided snout. Yawning with new life, his new fangs were displayed, wickedly long and sharp.

Richard marshaled himself. Maybe his new servant would, at least, be a vampire bat pony! Yes! He could handle that. His mind danced with visions of a terrific horse that hungered for the pain and misery of his former species. There was a certain terrible grace to the vision, and he smiled wickedly with hope. "Rise, my servant. Rise..." He looked over the changing human as he began to rip out of his old clothes with adjusting body ratios and changing limbs.

"Orange Peel?" suggested Lilly with a tilted head.

"What? No, that's not an intimidating name at all."

"I... rise, master. How can Orange Peel serve you?" He was still changing, but Orange struggled to get upright despite his mismatched limbs. He stood on one hand, two hooves, and a foot. His tail was still growing in, naked and twitchy, but that would surely change quickly.

Richard threw his mug aside. It shattered against the wall, splattering what was left of the coffee. "Lilly! You have betrayed me!"

She looked like she had been struck and she fell to the floor. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she cowered, not with any fear, but with a shame for having failed her master. "I didn't mean to! I'll make it up to you, promise!"

Richard slowly unballed his fists and turned back to Orange Peel, who was growing a dark purple mane and tail. He was fighting his way out of his old clothes, but his eyes never left Richard, awaiting instructions.

"Orange, you are now a creature of the night."

"Creature of the night," agreed Orange, wincing as new wings burst free of his back, becoming the leathery wings of a bat, much like Lilly. "Your creature?"

"Yes, my creature." Richard smiled. Even if Orange wasn't in an ideal form, at least he already knew his place. "You will descend on those who dare to challenge me, and rip them to pieces."

Orange looked back at his new wings, giving them a testing flap. "I will obey, master... Do you need your taxes ripped apart first?"

Richard blinked at that, then remembered what Orange's old profession was. "I don't pay taxes. Woe unto any tax man that dared to try and enforce the laws of man on me. In fact, you, my new minion, shall prove your worth by hunting this very night."

Author's Note

Another typo of Richard is brought into the world.

Bye bye Rick, hello Orange Peel. You're cute anyway, but are you also a TERRIBLE MONSTER OF THE NIGHT?!

3 - Orange Gone Bad

Orange ambled down the dimly-lit hallways of the castle. He would be a proud beast. He would serve his ma-- His thoughts were interrupted as he crashed to the ground, his wings flared out in an impotent attempt to catch himself before he hit the cobbles.

Lilly shook her head. "It's alright. I was like that too when he first found me."

Orange Peel looked up at Lilly and gathered himself to his hooves. "You weren't always a pony?" He raised a brow. She seemed so nice and... pure.

She shook her head emphatically. "Nope. I was a waitress. I like being his personal servant better though." She leaned in on him, fangs displayed in a bright smile. "We can be bat buddies!"

Orange frowned at the notion. "I don't want to disappoint Richard." Thunder rumbled softly at the speaking of his name. "I have to complete a hunt, or he'll be angry." He folded his ruddy red-orange wings close to his body. "What exactly should I be hunting?"

Lilly tapped the ground lightly a moment. "Didn't he say a man? Though I guess a woman would also work. Are you any good at hunting? I'm not, but that's okay. I serve Richard other ways." She clopped her hooves. "Oh! I should make another batch of coffee. Do you want any?"

"Maybe when I return." Orange staggered out onto a balcony. The castle seemed to have a lot of balconies, surely more than any castle ever truly needed. He didn't complain though. Instead he spread his new wings wide and looked back and forth between them. They seemed small for the bulk of his body, but he was a damned creature, wasn't he? Some kind of evil monster. Maybe the power of evil, or Satan, or whatever made vampires would make up the difference?

He brought down his new wings in a strong flap, and the rest of his new body lifted. He flailed his hooves a moment before he came back to the ground, panting with excitement. Being a bat pony was a lot different than being a human! He reared up on the edge of the balcony and looked at those hooves. They weren't like his hands at all. Unbidden, one of his wings swung around into his view, the joint in the center wiggling as if beckoning him. He tilted his head at it thoughtfully a moment before he spread those wings wide.

There was no time for fear, only success! He began flapping, letting them handle themselves. It was as if the wings simply wanted to fly, and with his permission, they brought him up and away from the castle. He could see it below, all the castle, and the town down the path. His town... Well, it had been his town... Now he was a monster, and he had to hunt, or risk the anger of his new master.

He soared, and a giddiness filled his chest. He was truly flying, and it felt fantastic to have the wind whipping across his new face. He wasn't human anymore, but maybe being a bat pony wasn't all that bad? He wasn't sure how he'd hold a pencil or quill in these hooves, but he'd approach that problem after he finished his hunt. There wasn't anyone outside that he could see. All good people were inside, resting...

Ah, there we are! Orange spied a man stumbling out of a bar. Despite being dark, his new slitted eyes could see quite clearly. Something about that man, that potential victim... It smelled delicious... Maybe he was a vampire now? A vampire bat pony. A vampony! That sounded terrifying, to his old self, but exciting to his new and blossoming sensibilities.

He descended on cooperative wings, but no matter how well they got along, his hooves were still rebellious and he landed a bit roughly behind the man, with the trademark clip-clop of a walking horse.

The man turned around, bleary eyed and swaying with obvious intoxication. "Whazzat? Someone done lost their horse?"

Orange recognized the man. He was usually drunk, but he did good physical labor during the day, and the people of the town put up with his presence. Orange didn't care about any of that. The smell... He approached the staggering drunk and nuzzled him right in one of his pockets.

"Huh? Oh... Ha!" The man roared with laughter as he dug out a big round pear. "I didn't even know horses liked no pears! Here, take it!" He hurled the fruit, and Orange felt compelled to chase it.

He pounced on the halpless fruit and sank his new needle-like fangs deep into its green glory. The sweet juices began to flow into him and he shuddered with delight as he sucked it into barely a husk of its former self. His hunger abated and he let out a happy sigh. Wait, he was supposed to be hunting! He turned sharply to see the street was empty. The drunk had already wandered off, likely to get some sleep.

He had failed, but the night was young! Yes... He moved behind a water barrel and hunkered down, watching that bar for another potential victim.

Two emerged next, a man and a woman together. He recognized them. He did both of their taxes last season. They were nice people. It was a shame he wasn't a person anymore... He crept out from behind the barrel, stalking after them slowly, trying to keep his traitorous hooves from making any sounds. A thought came to him. He wasn't entirely a beast. He could talk. He could use that. Ensuring he was in a dark part of the street, he called to them. "Paul, Susan! Help!"

They both froze in surprise and began to look around. Paul looked to Susan, "Who was that?"

Susan ribbed him. "Whoever it was, they need our help. I don't recognize the voice, but they know our names, for pity's sake."

Motivated by his wife's words, he led the way into the darkness.

Orange grinned, exposing his deadly fangs in the dim light. It would be the last time they would make such a mistake, or so he hoped. He would prove himself a mighty and terrible hunter indeed!

Author's Note

Orange Peel, deadliest bat pony around! You can do it, Orange!

4 - What a Terrible Night to Have a Curse

Orange waited until they were well away from the light before he pounced at them. He knocked the woman back and she shrieked with dismay as he went in for the killing blow, only to realize exactly what he was doing. Did he really want to use his teeth for that? Did he want to taste blood? He trembled with uncertainty even as a hand grabbed the back of his neck and hauled him off the woman. "Bloody hell? Someone let their horse just wander around."

He was no ordinary horse! He spread his wings wide and hissed at Paul in an angry rattle.

Susan climbed to her feet. "Did you say horse? Did I get run over by a horse? Isn't that some kinda joke?"

Despite his attempts to be frightening, Paul didn't seem to be all that scared. "Such a little horse too. It's kind of cute. Easy there, fella, we're not going to hurt you." He scratched behind one of Orange's tufted ears and suddenly everything was alright. Tension melted away and his hooves hung in the air. Earscratches felt nice...

Susan ran her fingers over the would-be predator's snout. "That's a mighty strange horse, don't you think?"

A sudden idea came to Orange! He could still salvage this hunt. Even if he couldn't perform the killing blow himself, he could be a good servant. "I'm a magic horse," he said with a flash of those sharp teeth.

Susan blinked with surprise. "A magic horse?"

Paul held up the horse. "Guess that explains the wings."

"It has wings?" Her hands felt in the darkness and brushed over Orange's wings. They couldn't even see them! No wonder he failed so horribly at being scary.

Orange did his best to ignore how nice the inspection felt. "Yes, a magic horse, a vampony to be specific, but don't worry. Unlike normal vampires, I like fruit." He clopped his forehooves together. "And you caught me, which means you get a prize!"

Paul raised a brow in the dark. "What sorta prize do ya get for capturing a vampony?"

Orange pointed up to the castle. The moment their attention turned to it, lightning came down with an ominous rumble. "You have to come with me. The treasure's up there."

Susan put her hands on her hips. "How do we know you won't fly away with your magic wings if we let you go?"

Orange blinked, then spread his hooves. "You caught me, again! Guess you'll just have to carry me there." A few ear scratches on the way would be a nice bonus. "Come on! Let's get your prize!"

Paul began walking for the castle, one hand moving under Orange so he wasn't just dangling in the air by his neck. "Why'd you call us like that, and how'd you learn our names?"

"Magic vampony, remember?" Orange nodded his head with authority. "I thought I smelled a, uh, apple. Guess I was wrong, and you caught me." A part of him was surprised that he could be held in such a way without discomfort, but there was no pain. Another gift from the Devil? Orange couldn't say.

Susan scratched under Orange's chin, which felt almost as good as ear scratches. "You're a cute little thing! But you need to not be jumpin' on people in the middle of the night like that! You'll scare someone to death."

"Sorry, ma'am." Orange felt silly just after he said it, and his cheeks began to burn. He hoped that his plan would please Richard. He was new at being the minion of a vampire, but he didn't want to fail at the job!

"Stop holding him like that." Susan suddenly grabbed Orange away from Paul and cradled him more like a baby in her arms.

Orange wasn't sure if it was better or not, but he didn't much mind the proximity.

Paul snorted softly. "So, what kind of prize are we hiking out in the middle of the damned night fer anyway?

Orange stiffened a little. If they got too suspicious, his plan would be ruined entirely! "It's a big one! I haven't been caught in, well... I guess ever." That much was true, he hadn't ever been caught pouncing a woman in the middle of the night before. "What would you hope for, more than anything else?"

Paul shrugged. "World Peace?"

Susan scowled at him. "Don't be dense. I doubt the little magic horse could even do that anyway. How about a hundred thousand dollars?"

Orange clopped his hooves. "Done! Your money's waiting in the castle. You don't even need me anymore."

Susan clutched him tighter. "Ooo, you sneaky devil. You're hoping we'll let you go before we get our prize! No way, little pony. You're stuck with us until we get our money."

They pressed on into the fog, which Paul waved away, though it did little to clear the trail before them. "That money better be there. This is a lot of trouble."

"A hundred thousand dollars!" Susan squeezed her new favorite horse. "It's worth a little hike for that! We could get whatever we want! A three story house, that carriage you had your eyes on, anything at all!"

Paul grumbled a bit, but they pressed on. As the castle loomed out of the fog, lightning touched down in the distance, lighting it dramatically. The way forward was barred by a stout-looking iron gate that stood in bold defiance of their passage.

Susan gave Orange a little shake. "Magic horse, can you open it for us?"

No. No he could not. He had no key, as he had just flown over it, but he didn't want his new friends, er, victims, to just walk away. "It's a test of strength. Rattle it with all your might and it'll open." And maybe the noise would draw Richard from within to finish the job! He was so clever, he couldn't even stand himself.

Paul rolled his shoulders and approached the gate with new vigor. He grabbed ahold of two of its bars and began to shake and pull and strain, making quite a riotous sound. It was almost deafening to Orange, but made him smile in triumph. Surely his master would hear it and arrive soon to find what a success he had managed.

Author's Note

Orange Peel's doing his best with what he has. Did he do good, or is this another typo to make Richard howl in fury?

5 - Minion Returned

Richard looked up from his writing as a cacophonous noise grated against his ears. Had an angry mob arrived to storm his castle? It had been such a long time since he had to face a true angry mob. He felt almost nostalgic for it. The angry shouts, the fear, oh yes, the fear in their eyes when he came to wipe their smug looks off their faces.

Those were the days, before... before his curse. He sighed and pushed to his feet, striding to a window facing the disturbance. He pulled it open easily and leaned forward. Though it was dark below, his cursed eyes cared not for the lack of light, and he could see two humans. One, a man, was rattling his gate, and the other held something... No, someone. It was his new servant, cradled like a child.

Richard drew a deep breath. Another failure? Neither looked dead to him. The one making all the noise certainly had surprising strength for one slain mercilessly.

Answers awaited below. Richard shouted down at them, "Stop making all that racket. I'll be down in the moment!"

Susan smiled down below. "Did you hear that?"

Paul stopped shaking at the gate and turned to his wife and the pony. "I didn't know someone lived up here. Are you setting us up, horse?"

Orange perked his ears. "What? No! Of course not. A magical vampony like me has servants." He gestured at the castle as a whole. "They keep things orderly while I'm out and about. That's one of them. He'll open the door for us."

Susan looked a bit suspicious. "Why don't you have the key?"

Orange went with the truth. "I have wings. I don't need to open the gate." He smiled in what he hoped was a disarming fashion. "You're doing great! The money will be yours soon."

Richard strode out of the hose with all the composure and dignity left to him. "Orange Peel, you've returned... with company..."

Susan held up Orange, her hands under where his forelegs met his barrel. "We have him and we want our money!"

Paul nodded. "He promised us one hundred thousand even. Bring it out to us and we can be on our merry little way."

Orange nodded as his expression darkened. "Oh yes, please, give them exactly what they deserve."

Richard's own expression lightened, joy blossoming in his withered heart. Perhaps his minion hadn't failed at all! "Without fail." With a flick of fingers, the gate swung open, unable to defy his wishes. "Come in, come in. Tonight is your lucky night." He smiled, just barely hiding his fangs. "One you won't soon forget, I'm sure."

Their happy expressions turned into ones of horror as he came for them in a wave of darkness. He laughed and cackled as lightning struck nearby as if to herald his victory. Their lives were forfeit to him.

Orange fell to the ground and flopped over on hooves he was still struggling to get used to. A quick flap had him back upright. As difficult as his hooves were, his wings seemed to move with a mind of their own and they liked him, and he was starting to like them back. He turned around to see the two people collapse to the ground, handled summarily by the master. He clopped his hooves with joy. "Did I do well?"

Richard looked down at his small servant and reached for him. "You didn't do exactly as I had envisioned, but yes, yes you did." He licked over his fangs. "Why didn't you slake your unholy hunger?"

Orange looked downwards. "Well, um... I..."

Richard rolled a hand. "Go on, tell me."

Orange shuffled his awkward hooves through the dirt. "I don't want to drink blood, master..."

Richard's pleased look faded into a frown as he snorted. "What do you drink, servant?"

Orange shrank back and in on himself. "I had a pear, that was pretty good..."

Richard placed a hand over his face and counted to ten in harsh whispers. "Yes, well... Still, you are loyal, and competent. Let's... look on the bright side, shall we?" He flashed his fangs. "Dispose of these two, after you've taken whatever trinkets they may carry on them."

Orange watched Richard storm off. He had done well, but it didn't take a genius to see he wasn't exactly what Richard had hoped for. With a little sigh, Orange grabbed Paul's collar and began dragging him away out of the castle. As he heaved and struggled to keep the heavy human body moving, he heard clip-clops and looked up to see Lilly approaching, a cup of coffee danging in one of her wings.

"Hello Orange Peel!" she cried with joy, offering up that cup. "Richard didn't look nearly so mad as when he sent me out. You must have done a good job."

Orange accepted the cup, holding it with surprising ease between his wings before he took a slurp of the powerful brew. "Mmm. Hey, do your wings just kind of do what you need?"

Lilly brightened. "Yours too? They're my friends." Her wings spread wide and she nuzzled each. "They're always there for me."

Orange turned to look at one of his wings. It extended a little as if uncertain and he gave it a little nip. "We're still getting introduced I guess. They took me on a fun flight before."

Lilly nodded, her wings flapping and lifting her from the ground a few inches. "I love flying... I just don't like hunting like the master wants me to. What are you doing?"

Orange returned his attention to the body he was dragging along. "Master wants me to get rid of both of them. I guess, with them... you know?"

Lilly tilted her head. "Why would he get rid of new ponies?"

New ponies? Orange focused on Paul and saw that the man wasn't nearly as dead as he should be. He was reconfiguring much more slowly than Orange had. His fingers had balled up into hooves though, and little quiet pops and snaps heralded other changes happening both internally and externally. "Oh..." He looked to Lilly. "Help me get them both inside. I hope the master will be happy about this."

Author's Note

Welcome two new ponies to the family!

Richard, your typo of a curse is only just getting started.

6 - The Herd Grows

Lilly helped Orange and with some effort they brought both changing forms into what might have been a guard house, once.

Orange tilted his head at the two of them, contorting and twisting as they were. "Something's not quite right."

Lilly tapped at her chin. "I think they're swapping."

That was one way to describe what was going on. Both were losing the specific human markings of their initial sex while gaining equine ones. The confusion came from the fact that neither matched their human starting point. Where once a woman, there matured a stallion. Where once a man, a mare grew to match their lover.

Orange leaned over the two, looking them over as they stretched and contorted the clothing they were in. "I think they should wake up soon." He looked a little petulant a moment. "I wish I could have been awake for it."

Lilly winced in imagined pain. "Why would you want that?! It sounds like it hurts a lot. I was asleep for mine too, and I'm not upset about it."

Orange looked over his shoulder at her. "Sure, of course it'd hurt, but it'd be my hurt. Changing while asleep, it's like the old me died."

Lilly tilted her head at Orange. "Didn't he?"

Orange shrunk back a little, but a little squeak from the changing ponies caught his attention and he leaned in over them in time for two pairs of eyes to snap open and focus on him.

"We are ready--" begin the new mare

"--to serve you--" continued the new stallion

"Master," they both said in unison.

Orange scrambled away from the two. "N-no! I'm not the master, he is!" He pointed up into the main manor house.

Neither of the two new bat ponies seemed to understand. They both stared at Orange blankly a moment. Lilly nudged Orange with a wing. "You have to name them."

"R-right, name them." He frowned as he looked them over, taking in their features. The stallion was a bright golden color with vibrant red mane and tail. The mare was the opposite, with the shocking red for her body and golden brilliance for her mane and tail. They were still a couple, even as bat ponies. He pointed at the stallion. "Sunrise."

The mare suddenly smiled. "I'll be Sunset."

The two seemed pleased with their names even as they kicked away the last of their old clothing.

"How can we serve you--" begin Sunrise as he helped sunset with the socks that still adorned her hind hooves.

"--Master," finished Sunset, kicking off those socks and smiling up at Orange brightly.

Lilly hopped to her hooves. "I'll tell the master!"

"No!" Orange tackled Lilly to the ground in a frantic dive. "Please, don't! He'll think I'm challenging him! Please! Help me make them stop calling me master first."

"Would you rather sir?"

"Maybe president?"

The two shrugged at one another. The mare leaned forward. "It doesn't matter what we call you, you're in charge."

Lilly squirmed up to her hooves from under Orange. "Oh wow, they really do... think that..." She glanced towards the main portion of the castle and back at the two. "Hello, Sunrise, Sunset! Want to play a game?"

Sunrise and Sunset perked at the offer, but their eyes moved to Orange silently. He noticed the stare and stiffened. "Yes, yes, you're allowed to play!"

With permission given, they fixed eyes with Lilly, looking eager. "Alright, the game's simple." Lilly held up a hoof. "Follow me, and help me make some snacks and drinks for every single pony and vampire in the castle. If you're good at it, you'll make your master happy."

The idea of making their new master happy made them smile and fall in behind Lilly, following her out into the courtyard. Orange sagged against the doorframe. "This can't end well..." He looked up towards where Richard von Dracula likely rested. Maybe... "Maybe if I go to him first, he'll forgive me." He trembled with fear, but his wings spread of their own accord. With their powerful motions, he was lifted up and soon had the sense of mind to guide himself up towards Richard's coffin room.

He landed with a stumble, his hooves still new and rebellious despite his growing familiarity with his wings. "Richard? Master? Have you a moment?" He stepped lightly inside from the balcony to find Richard gazing into a mirror, which was a funny thing for a vampire to do, as there was no image to see there. "Master?"

Richard turned to regard Orange a quiet moment. "My newest... mistake." He took a slow breath. "That isn't fair. You've followed my directions, and your loyalty is clear, even to me. Come, my servant. Tell me what troubles you."

Orange flashed a fanged smile as he approached, tail wagging in what he hoped was an encouraging manner. "I have good news, master."

Richard raised a brow. "That would be a first. What is it?" He clasped his hands together. "You've found your lust for blood, or perhaps raw flesh? Less tasteful, but I would be satisfied."

Orange shuddered softly, for he had neither of those things. "Not quite sir, but two more chances!"

Richard stood up. "You don't... You don't mean..."

"They survived, sir." Orange dipped his head. "They're with Lilly right now, assisting with chores."

He ran a tongue over his lips, quiet a moment. "Are they... human in form? Dare I dream?"

Orange's ears fell, and that was answer enough.

Richard heaved a loud sigh. "Leave me. The sun comes soon. See that I am not disturbed. When the night comes... We'll face the night as it is." He marched for his coffin, resigned to end the evening.

With Richard tucked in as well as any vampire could be, Orange stepped out into the hallway and let out a loud breath. He had come clean, but only in part. He could still be punished severely when the rest of it came out... "Tonight is another night." He trotted off, looking for his new family.

Author's Note

Orange did a naughty. He wasn't trying to, honest!

Send help...

7 - In Eternal Fog

Orange felt the urge to fly and looked to each of his wings. With each glance, the proper wing unfolded out wide. With everything in order, he gave a firm nod and his new wings came down in a powerful motion that brought him several inches from the ground, just in time for a second to catch the air and bring him yet higher. He made a lazy upwards spiral, admiring the play of alien muscles.

He never had wings before, of course not. Humans don't typically come equipped with those, but he wasn't a human anymore, was he? He decided he wanted to be on top of the castle, on the tallest little peak, and his loyal wings brought him there without any words. He was certain he wasn't telling them when to flap or how to hold themselves, but they bore him faithfully until his unsteady hooves came down and he settled down on the peak of the roof, having a commanding view of the entire castle.

The castle was imposing, solid, and very gothic in appearance. It was built to be strong and intimidating, and it did both well, so far as Orange could see. He tilted his head a little as his eyes swept past the inside towards the land beyond, which was becoming increasingly hard to make out. The fog that rolled out from the castle was drawing back and gaining in altitude. He couldn't even see his home town anymore.

He considered flying out to get a better look, but his wings didn't lift him. He squirmed and frowned back at them. "Come on, we've been getting along so well."

His left wing softly tapped him on the head before stretching out, pointing into the fog as it grew thicker and thicker. He peered into the fog as it grew taller and more impenetrable. "Is it dangerous?" Both wings flapped, but didn't lift him. It was a sort of nod, or so he decided. "Alright, um, thank you." They made a little twitch and he got the impression they liked being thanked.

He reared up, gazing down at the castle. He was feeling... tired. Day would be coming soon. Bats slept during the day, just like vampires, right? Who's to say vamponies don't need some good sleep too? He wriggled a little and his wings spread for him, bearing him down even as the fog swept in, consuming the perch he had been using. Soon he arrived at one of the castle's many balconies and he landed almost perfectly. He strode inside with a proud expression. He was new at being a bat, or a pony, but he was adapting to it well. "I bet some other people would be all to pieces about it." He stopped, tapping his chin. "Maybe it's the vampire thing..."

He found the other three vamponies busily working around the kitchen. He raised a brow at the three. It smelled thick of vegetables, fruit, and a plethora of spices. "What are you all doing in here?"

Lilly looked up sharply. "Orange! Good to see you." She trotted towards Orange with a wide smile. "We're making dinner!"

Sunrise nodded his head. "I have prepared the appetizer."

Sunset proudly puffed her chest. "I made the dessert."

Lilly bobbed her head. "They've been super helpful. Why do you look like that?"

Orange put a hoof behind his head, looking nervous. "Oh, um, this is very nice, but Richard went to sleep and I don't think he wants to be bothered."

Lilly sat on her haunches. "That's alright. We need to eat too, and he already had blood, ick. I'll save him a plate though, promise." She turned away from Orange and went to tend a large bubbling pot with a spoon held in a carefully-folded wing. "Are you hungry?"

Orange remembered the pear he had gobbled down, but the thought of whatever they were cooking teased at his nose enticingly. His previous fatigue relented at the temptation. "I could be convinced..."

Sunrise took a wooden spoon in his mouth, quickly dabbed a little sauce and held it towards Orange. Orange flushed a little, but opened his snout, accepting the offered taste. "Mmmm..." It was thick, chunky, and delightful. But there was something in it... "Wait, what did you put in this?"

Lilly tilted her head. "Nothing that special."

Orange frowned at her a little. "There are certain things vampires don't like being around. Do you know what they are?"

Lilly shook her head slowly. "Oh no! Does Richard have an allergy?"

Orange tilted his head back at her. "He's a vampire! I wasn't even an expert on vampires and even I know you don't give a vampire garlic if you want to make friends."

Sunset suddenly shrank back, looking massively guilty with hanging ears and darting eyes.

Orange put a hoof over his face. "Let me guess, extra garlic?"

Sunrise nodded quickly. "It tastes good to us, master." He approached on cautious hooves. "You don't like it, master?"

Orange's wings flared outwards. "It's not about me!"

Sunset blinked softly. "Who else would it be about, master? You're our master."

Orange shook his head as he fixed his gaze on Lilly. "How do you not know this? I thought you were Richard's servant for a long time."

Lilly shrunk in shame. "I thought... Garlic's good for you, and he never said not to. I thought he was just being immature about it."

Orange paled at the thought. "How long have you been feeding this to him!? No wonder he's so sour all the time." Of course, he was also a creature from hell, but who wouldn't be grouchy being fed something they're allergic to constantly? "No more. Not a single bit more."

Lilly lowered her head. "Of course, Orange."

"Yes, Master," the two newest vamponies spoke in unison.

Orange realized they were all deferring to him. With a sudden tremble, it dawned on him. He had become master of Richard's vamponies. "It's up to me..."

"What is?" Lilly tilted her head.

Orange waved her off. "Go ahead and finish dinner, and make something refined, without garlic, for the Master. After that, clean up." He clopped a hoof on the ground. "He'll wake up to a good surprise for a change." He may be ripped apart for his boldness, or not. Not if he used his control to make the master's life easier. "It's up to me..."

Author's Note

Orange has plans! He hopes. He mostly has horrible ends he's trying to avoid.

Why isn't being a vampony easy? The wings are pretty fun!

8 - Adapting with the Times

Richard rose from his coffin, sitting up to behold his room. There was someone there. It had been quite some time since he awoke to that sensation. Had a hunter come for him? He turned to the left to behold the intruder, who proved smaller and had too many legs to be a proper vampire hunter. "Orange Peel."

Orange dipped his head. "As you say, master. I've been busy!"

Busy? "You look satisfied. Tell me, what have you been busy with?" A smirk overtook his refined features. "Did a cherry tree blossom overnight?"

Orange rose up. "I may be a pony, master." He put a hoof at his chest. "But I take my position seriously, master."

Richard raised a brow. He had never heard such words uttered by Lilly. "Truly now?" He rotated to a standing position and stepped clear of his coffin. "Very well. I will put aside my skepticism. Astound me with your deeds."

Orange brightened. Being given the chance, it made him feel good on some visceral level he couldn't put a hoof on. It was as if he were truly meant to please Richard. "To begin, any master of your calibre deserves a place that at least attempts to equal his perfection." Orange gestured to the castle as a whole in a slow wave. "I've tasked the others with a thorough cleaning of the premises. While they were doing that, I had the traps inspected."

Richard frowned sharply. "Do you know the start of how traps function, mathematician?"

Orange shook his head. "N-no sir, but Sunrise does, so I tasked him with repairing, oiling, and making sure they were ready to deal out a quick and painful death to anyone so bold as to intrude on you, master."

"Sunrise?" What an appalling name for any servant of his.

"One of the two newest, master." Orange smiled up at his master. "Sunrise and Sunset." He glanced away a moment. "I-I have decided to take on more responsibility, for you, master."

"What matter of 'responsibility' do you speak of, pony?" Richard raised a brow. "You've intrigued me so far. Continue."

Orange's wings spread as if to carry him away if things went poorly. "I know ponies are not your... ideal, master. I've taken it on myself to be at the head of them, so you can order me, and I'll coordinate them, master."

Richard silently and slowly crossed his arms, regarding Orange in a tense moment that dragged uncomfortably long. "Very... very clever... And here I thought you ponies only cared where your next fruit came from." He let out a deep booming laugh, thunder booming outside. "You're barely a night changed, and already you have such lofty ambitions! Dracula would have taken you by the head." He extended his hands and curled his fingers in a deadly grip of the air. "He would have turned it around so you could look at your tail while facing forward."

Orange swallowed audibly, sweating right through his fur in buckets. "Y-you aren't pleased, master?"

Richard drew an almost-silent breath before a fanged smile was displayed. "It has been some years since I had enough servants to consider such a hierarchy. You have ambition, and drive... I can respect that. Yes, if you were a vampire, I would be worried." He raised a brow. "But you're not, are you?"

Orange raised a hoof. "Um, I think I may be, master. A vampire bat... pony?"

"A vampony..." Richard shook his head. "You are a pony. The specifics hardly matter. You are loyal. For that, I will let you be my master of the house." He reached and put a hand on Orange's head between his fuzzy ears. "Do not fail me."

Orange felt relief flood through his system and smiled as wide as he could. "I won't, master! I won't!"

"See that you don't." He strode past Orange to his balcony and looked down. "Is that them?"

Orange trotted out quickly and looked down to see Sunrise and Sunset wrestling with one another in the courtyard like a pair of happy dogs. They nipped and vied for domination with one another, but they were clearly having a good time with it. "Oh yes! That's them." He pointed at one. "Sunrise, and the other is Sunset."

Richard gave a faint nod. "The larger one is the man, correct?"

Orange tensed, unsure if he should even mention the gender bendering that had occurred. "The larger one is the stallion, yes, and the smaller one is the mare." There, truthful. Why bother the master with such trivial bits of knowledge?

"They're both larger than you."

Orange looked down at them, having never compared himself to the other ponies. He was smaller than them, it was true. He wasn't very large as a human either, he dimly recalled, but despite it all... "I'm still in charge of them." He only realized what he said after he said it and went stiff with fear.

"Well said." He flicked one of Orange's tufted ears. "Their physical size means little if they bow to your will. Just remember that you bow to mine." His eyes raised, looking out past the walls of the castle. "So soon? We only just arrived."

Arrived? Orange looked up to see the fog was still heavy and unyielding. "Is this normal, master?"

Richard made an expansive sweep into the impenetrable fog. "It means the castle is moving to another time and place. We should arrive shortly."

As if bidden by his words, the fog suddenly fell, rolling out from the roots of the castle, but unveiling the world beyond. They were not in any isolated place. There was a city around them with huge towering buildings, strange noises, displeasing smells... It was incalculably huge.

None of them understood it, but they had arrived in a modern metropolis.

Author's Note

Surprise! How will these walking anachronisms deal with this?

Maybe their parking tickets will be forgiven due to typos?

9 - The City Never Sleeps

Richard swept his gaze across the alien vista. "Orange Peel, do you recognize what country we've traveled to?"

Orange didn't. He leaned over the edge of the balcony and shouted down to the twin bat ponies below, "Do either of you know where we are?"

Sunset tilted her head up at Orange. "We're still in the castle, master."

Richard raised a brow. "You've wasted no time instilling discipline in them."

Orange nervously chuckled, shuffling in place. "I'll go scout, master. I'm sure I can figure this out."

"Take caution." Richard frowned sharply at his new master of ponies. "I don't much favor the look of this place. It smells already damned in new and foreign ways I cannot entirely fathom."

Orange's wings spread in anticipation. "I won't let you down, master. Just wait here, master." He flashed his sharp fangs. "Maybe I'll find a victim for you."

Richard raised a brow. "That eager to have more ponies under you, servant?"

Orange went a bright red in his cheeks. "I didn't mean that, sir! Oh! Oh! I discovered a, uh, little mistake that may have been contributing to your ailment."

Richard snapped out a hand, grabbing Orange by the neck and hefting him up to the guard rail of the balcony. "You will speak everything you have learned."

Choking for air, Orange squirmed in his grip. "O-of course, Master. You were being... fed improperly." With a sudden flick, Orange was sent flying out into the air. Thankfully, his wings caught and they stopped his wild spinning. Dizzy and confused, he looked around. Richard was already stalking back inside. "I'll finish scouting, sir." Orange frowned a little. For the first time since he was turned, he thought less than perfectly of his master. How dare he be treated so poorly when trying to help!

He heard flapping from both sides. Sunrise and Sunset were at his sides, smiling at him.

"Are you going--"

"--somewhere master?"

"We'll come with you," they spoke in unison, both looking eager.

Orange smiled back at them. At least ponies were happy to see him. "Our mission is to look, see, and maybe raid if we see valuable supplies worth taking. We should avoid being seen, but if we do reveal ourselves, it should be as fearsome monsters, and we should leave nothing but death in our wakes." He grinned maliciously. "Understand?"

Sunrise tilted his head at Orange while Sunset tilted her head the other way. "We'd rather not hurt people," he began.

"Why can't we make friends?" She flashed her fangs. "We can take what we want if they're mean or stupid."

Sunrise pointed a wing at Orange. "Like you did to us. We were stupid and you made us into ponies."

"Vamponies," corrected Sunset, giggling a little. "Way better. Thank you, master."

"Yes, thank you!"

Orange flushed in his cheeks brightly at the combined praise, unsure how to deal with it. He was not used to praise as a human, and being a pony hadn't improved his ability to deal with people, four-legged or two. "Alright, we'll focus on looking for now. We don't know where we are." He folded his ears back. "Or when."

"When?"

"What do you mean when?" asked Sunrise, fluttering closer to Orange. "It's only been a day, hasn't it?"

Sunset bobbed her head, then turned in the air, looking out over the city surrounding them. "It does look strange..."

Orange decided it was time to go, and his wings agreed, carrying him easily over the walls and to the streets of the strange city. Sunrise and Sunset trailed after him, looking around with wide eyes. Sunset pointed at one of the sleek things that rumbled beneath them. "Look, it's like the carriage I always wanted." She grinned. "But all weird and stuff."

A bright flash caught their attentions, fixing their gaze on someone holding out some strange device that flashed at them again, forcing their slit eyes to narrow. They were being attacked!

Orange exposed his sharp teeth in an angry hiss before he dove at the person. The woman shrieked in horror and fell over herself trying to get away from the window she had just had her arm in, falling backwards as he flew through the window and landed on her belly.

The woman flailed wildly, throwing the strange device she had used to attack them across the room and landing on her bed. Sunrise and Sunset emerged from outside and each grabbed an arm, helping hold her down. Orange flashed a bright smile down at his would-be victim. "Why did you think you could attack us and get away with it?"

"What? Attack you? What're you talkin' 'bout? I ain't attackin' nobody nohow, but give me a sec and I'll get started if ya don't get offa me right now!" She struggled, heaving against her pinned arms and torso, but three ponies proved enough to keep her prone. "The 'ell are you?"

Orange leaned forward over the struggling woman, taking in her features. She was dark of flesh. African? Her hair was spherical and densely fluffed up. As humans went, pretty enough, but he wasn't a human anymore. He exposed his fangs at her. "We are vamponies. And you made a big mistake, thinking light could scare us away that easily."

Sunrise sat on her left arm. "Give up all your fruits and vegetables--"

Sunset claimed her right arm. "--and we'll leave you alone."

Orange frowned. "It's not that simple!"

"Take what you want, shoot! It's all inda fridge if ya want it s'bad. I taste bad, promise."

"Ick."

"Ew."

Orange didn't disagree with them, but acting disgusted at the idea wasn't a very vampiric thing to do. "Sunrise, go and claim our spoils. You--" He pointed at the woman. "Tell us where we are."

Sunrise stood up and strode to the fridge, fumbling with it with hooves and wings. "How does this work?"

The lady suddenly grabbed Orange with her freed hand. She was on top of him, squeezing him mercilessly as he squeaked and squirmed. "Think you can just punk me like that? Ah'll show you a thing'r two!"

Author's Note

This went about as smoothly as anyone could have expected...

10 - You're Adorably Terrifying!

Sunset crashed into her side, knocking her clear of Orange Peel. The two slid across the smooth wood floor and bumped against the couch even as the woman grabbed ahold of Sunset and squeezed her with a sudden viciousness that made the captured mare squeak in pain.

That summoned her would-be partner, abandoning his raiding of the fridge with the sound of vegetables dropping to the floor amid two grapefruits. "Sunset? Wha--" He trailed off as he beheld the situation and Orange coughing for breath on the ground. "Release her immediately!"

"No!" She squeezed Sunset harder. "You take one step, just try me! Imma break her clean in half!"

Orange rolled up to his haunches, shaking herself out with dizziness. "Let's not be too hasty..."

"Hasty! You're the ones busting into my pad and stealing my stuff!"

Sunset suddenly squirmed in that vice grip. Her snout was near the woman's neck. Even if she didn't favor the taste of blood, she wasn't thinking it through and sank her teeth into that available neck. Copper flooded her snout. The woman's iron grip softened as she began to sink beneath Sunset, as if the bite was somehow calming rather than a traumatic wound. Together they crashed to the ground.

Orange flipped his ears back, guessing what was going on. "She's one of us, now."

Sunset recoiled, blinking down at her barely-concious victim and over at Orange. "Did I do it wrong, master?" She licked over her lips and scowled. "It tastes horrible!" She hopped down and dashed for the sink, guzzling water to clear away the foul taste.

Sunrise went for the woman, prodding her with a hoof. "You'd better not hurt her again." He snorted a little. "Can I break her in half?"

Orange shook his head firmly. "No! No. Not if she's already becoming one of us. She'll be a part of our family." He looked to the fridge. "Take what you can. Does she have a backpack?"

Sunset hopped down from the sink and looked around quickly. "Here, master." She snatched up a bag and worked it onto herself, nestled between her wings. It didn't take long to get it loaded up with their loot of fresh produce waiting for preparation.

All they had to do was grab up their newest member, supporting her between the three of them before they burst through the window and carried her across the street. There was an alarmed noise from below. They'd been spotted, but there was nowhere to go but forward. They fled on straining wings, carrying the sleeping human back to the castle.

The unnamed woman was changing in their grasp, shifting in ways that made their flight more awkward than it already had been. She wasn't shrinking, a fact that confused Orange. She also wasn't changing nearly so much in her limbs. Were vampire spawn less able to pass on the gift than true vampires? They put her down in the courtyard somewhat roughly, all three heaving for breath.

Richard came from above, springing up from where he had touched down as a bat instantly. "Who is she?" His eyes fell to her punctured neck and a radiant smile overtook his pale features. "Has one of you found your bloodthirst? There is hope for you yet!"

Orange put a hoof in front of Sunset. "She threatened us, master, and we defended ourselves."

Sunset and Sunrise quickly bobbed their heads.

Richard raised a brow. "Even a cornered pony may expose its teeth, it seems." His expression darkened as he noticed the changes overcoming her. "Your taint hasn't changed."

Orange pointed at her. "I think it has, master. She's not..."

Their attention was drawn to a loud banging at the gate. A man wearing some sort of uniform was standing there with a club in hand, running the club along the bars of the gate. "Hey. Can I borrow you a sec?" He shouted out at them, pushing up the brim of his hat. "You're breaking a few codes we have to talk about."

Richard gestured for the castle interior. "Bring our 'guest' inside. I'll deal with this troublesome soul." They took off, dragging the still-changing form of the woman with them as Richard strode purposefully for the gate, smiling as widely as he could without displaying his fangs. "What seems to be the problem?"

The man whistled softly. "Where do we even begin? I don't know how ya pulled it off, but this entire property isn't zoned for this part of the city. Hell, do you even have a deed for the land this is parked on?"

Richard felt a frown trying to break free. A bureaucratic agent, the worst kind. "Oh my... We can't have this stand. Please, come in. We'll sort this out as quickly as possible."

The interloper looked confused at Richard's eagerness to comply. "Oh, yeah... I woulda figured you were some kinda prank or somethin' with that whole... Uh, nevermind. Open the gate here?" He waved the club at the closed gate.

Richard had it opened with a flick of the rest. "Enter..."

"Motion activated? Fancy." The man stepped inside without fear. "Now look here Mister..."

"Dracula."

"Aw come on now." The man frowned at Richard. "What's your real name?"

"Richard von Dracula." Richard raised a brow. He did not favor the impertinent tones of the man. "Have you eaten tonight?"

The gates closed behind the man with a soft bang, sealing him inside.

Inside the main hall of the castle, the three vamponies watched as the woman grew a mild snout and pony ears. She gained a tail and hooves for feet, but her hands remained, her general shape remained. She hadn't become a pony. She was as much human as pony. She was one of them, and yet not.

Her eyes snapped open even as bright green fur swept over her body. "I thirst..."

Author's Note

Oh, hello... You're kind of anthro.

But does she drink blood, or is Richard's typo of a bloodline unfixed?

11 - Welcome to the Herd

Sunrise and Sunset dashed behind Orange who was left to meet the gaze of the new vampony. She met his gaze easily a moment before she stood up on her new hooves, flexing her fingers with their sharp-looking claws. "What would you have of me, Master?"

Orange swallowed audibly.

"A name," whispered Sunset.

"She needs one," agreed Sunrise in a harsh whisper.

"Right!" He frowned in thought. Strong-willed, of clear African descent, even if that had become hidden under green fur. She still had her black hair, and her tail was also black. "Black..."

The new vampony frowned at him. "You best not be thinkin' t'name me something stupid, Master."

He swallowed back the title he had been thinking of. "Verdant Field."

She raised a brow. "Wolf Field."

Orange glanced back at those hiding behind him before meeting her gaze again. "Why wolf?"

"I like wolves." She leaned forward, hands on her hips. "Got a problem?"

Orange raised his hooves. "No no! Wolf Field then."

Sunset emerged from around Orange. "Nice to meet you, Miss Field."

Sunrise came from the other side. "A pleasure, Wolf. Welcome to the herd."

Richard threw open the doors from outside without touching them. "Has she fi--" He abruptly stopped when he caught sight of his newest servant. "You're standing on two legs! I would thank the angels, but that would be far too ironic for me." He moved for Wolf Field, smiling gleefully. "Welcome, Welcome... You look like a proper vampire, mostly."

Wolf snorted softly at Richard and hiked a thumb at him as she looked to Orange. "Who's this joker?"

Orange paled at the impudence and hurried forward, but not quickly enough for Richard's fury. With a disdainful flick, Wolf was sent flying towards the nearest wall. Her wings burst free as if in response and caught her before she slammed into the wall and she hissed in the pain of growing new limbs so rapidly. "A fiesty one! You think you can disrespect me or Master and get away with it?" Wolf demanded with a feral snarl.

Orange waved his hooves frantically. "Please, there's no need to fight!"

Richard reached down and pushed Orange back and away. "Oh, but there is. Your servant needs to learn her place." With an imperious sweep of his cape, he faced Wolf. "Child of a pony, you face a vampire of Dracula's famed descent."

Wolf moved her head back and forth in a rapid left and right motion, never breaking the deadly staring match with him and a finger waving in counter tune. "Don't you dare take that tone with me! You think that's gonna impress me? Nuh uh! You put that wagging tongue back in your mouth before I slap it out!"

Words were done, for the moment. They rushed one another, colliding hands first as they wrestled for direct physical superiority. Despite her spirit, Richard was fueled with a recent meal and experience besides, and began to force the newly forged vampire back and down to a knee. "Wolf? More like a puppy, barking at what she doesn't understand."

Orange looked back and forth between the two, unsure who to help, or how. He winced and turned away as she lashed out at him, only to find Sunrise beside him. "Our new herdmate is very brave."

"I can't help but admire her a little, Master." Orange turned to see Sunset at his other side. Their ability to move silently had yet to fail to amaze him.

With a sudden gust of force, Wolf was thrown back several feet. The light in the room dimmed and dark shadows rose up, grasping at the new vampire and securing her ankles. "You have amused me." Richard took slow steps towards her. "How many years has it been since last any put a mark to my flesh?"

"Too damn long if y'ask me." Wolf scowled at Richard, her fists balled and her body in a tense and ready position.

Richard curled a finger, lifting her from the ground on the powerful shadows that crept up her back, binding her arms to her torso along the way. "I am the master of this castle. Know this, and remember how helpless you feel right now."

Orange raised a hoof at Richard. "Master, sir, she's still new to all of... this."

Richard glanced towards Orange. "Your heart is too soft, servant. What say you, who would be called Wolf?"

She grinned at him, exposing sharpened teeth and lengthened fangs. "Show me how t' make with the shadows and I'll call it even."

Richard met her grin. "There are uses for spirited servants." With a soft gesture, she fell to her rump. "Rise, and serve me well, and many rewards await you."

A new figure came in from outside, ears perked and hooves clopping with his steps. "What's going on?"

Orange picked up on it swiftly. "You were the man at the gate?"

"I think so..."

Wolf snorted as she walked past Richard. "Welcome to this misfit of a crew."

"Herd," chorused Sunrise and Sunset.

Richard rolled his eyes. "That is a disgusting term." He leveled a finger at the new pony. "Why aren't you dead?"

"I don't know, Sir?" The new pony flapped his new leathery wings. "Did I do something wrong?"

Richard's problems only seemed to be growing more complex by the day. He made an angry swipe at the new pony. "Report to Orange Peel." He said the name as if it were sour in his mouth. "I will see to the scouting of this foul new place we've found ourselves in."

Author's Note

What is a vampire that can't even kill someone properly?

What is Richard to do with this growing gaggle of ponies?

12 - Taking Flight

Richard flew off into the strange city and Orange turned to the others. "Alright, um, Wolf, welcome." He turned to the newest pony. "You!"

"Um, yes? Yes, sir?" He smiled with fanged teeth. "Did he tell the truth? Did he kill me?"

Orange sighed softly. "He killed most of us." He sat up. "But you got better, and your new name will be Night Sky."

"Night Sky... I like that."

Lilly bobbed her head. "It's a nice name."

Wolf Field waved a hand idly. "Eh, it's not as cool as Wolf Field." Her eyes lowered to Orange. "You know I ain't not following your orders, right?"

Orange blinked up at her. "First, that's a double negative."

"Bite me."

Orange flipped his ears back. "Not an insult I think we should use."

Wolf pushed off the wall she had been leaning against. "Look, unlike the rest'a'y'all, I ain't forgot who I was. I should be freaking the ever loving hell out more that I'm part horse or whateva, but here I am." She put her hands on her hips, leaning forward. "Now how'm I gonna break this to m'boy? Hey, sorry, gotta call it off, I caught a bad case of horse flu."

Sunrise and Sunset looked at each other, then back at Wolf. "We have each other," They said in perfect harmony before throwing a leg over the other's withers and hugging close.

Night's ears went down. "Did I have someone? I don't remember. What if they're worried?"

Lilly tilted her head left and right at Night. "I'll be your special someone if you'd like."

Orange blinked at that. He had only met Lilly shortly ago, but he didn't know how to feel as she hugged Night and was hugged in return.

"Don't even think about it."

Orange glanced up at Wolf Field. She was the only female left, but she was bipedal, and he was a full on vampony. How would that... He shook the thought from his mind before it became any worse. "You made me think of it."

She flashed a fanged smile. "Fully intended. Alright, what we gotta do?"

Orange spread his wings wide. "Lilly, take your new boyfriend with the others. You know your jobs. The Master better return to a castle that shines when he gets back."

All four ponies saluted and moved off in pairs, leaving Wolf and Orange behind. Wolf looked down at Orange. "So, what were you before you got put on all fours like that?"

Orange lifted his shoulders a little. "I was an accountant... It wasn't glamorous work, but it paid well enough."

Her hand came down on his head, stroking over an ear. "I like smart boys."

He flushed brightly in his cheeks. "A-as your master--"

She held up a finger. "Ask me nicely or don't ask."

Orange swallowed thickly as he nodded. "Right. I want to look around for a library. I think the Master, um, Richard. I think he hasn't read through what he has. I bet there's an answer, or at least a clue towards an answer there." He rose and began to lead the way deeper into the castle proper.

Wolf followed after him with a faint frown. "What problem are you trying to fix? Gonna turn me back into a human 'gain?" She rolled her shoulders as one hand rubbed through the green fur of the opposing arm. "I didn't expect to sprout no tails today, lemme tell ya."

Orange swiveled an ear back at her as he climbed a flight of stairs. "Would you mind if I said you grew a nice tail?"

"You're looking at my butt?" She raised a brow. "You're braver than you look."

Orange felt his cheeks growing warm as he reached the top of the stairs and let out a slow breath. "Alright, it's time to be honest."

"Yea?"

Orange turned to face Wolf. "You're pretty." There, he had said it. She couldn't tease him about it anymore. He wasn't even sure exactly how she was pretty anymore. Part of him wanted to find something that looked more like himself, a pony. "I have no intention of using my 'master' position over you in any way."

Her bat wings spread of their own accord and she was quiet for an awkward moment. "Y'ain't too bad either, fruit for breath. Now where's this library ah yers?"

He returned to leading the way, even as curiosity gnawed at him. "You said you remember, right? What's it like, I mean... then compared to now?"

"You don't?" Wolf stepped up beside Orange. "You weren't just joshing wit' me? You don't remember a damned thing?"

"Only scraps of who I was, not really what I was." Orange looked sideways to her before moving for the door to the library, nudging it open after depressing a little catch that would cause a scythe blade to come down. "Be careful with this door, it's trapped and dangerous."

Wolf stepped into the room with a brow raised at the dangerous door they passed through. "Keep that in mind. That sucks though, more than vampires haveta." She flashed a grin at her joke. "So ya just remember being a pony?"

"A vampony." Orange spread his wings wide and twitched his tufted ears. "Richard only makes vamponies when he bites people. It bothers him greatly." He waved a hoof around. "The answer might be in here, somewhere. You can read, right?"

She hiked a brow high. "Tell me why I shouldn't kick yer butt around for that?"

Orange blinked at her with genuine confusion. "Do people read more these days? That's good." He shook his head. "I didn't mean any insult, promise."

"These days?" Wolf grabbed a book at random off a shelf. "What 'days' are you from?"

He began to tell her of his time in the 'wild' west, which wasn't so wild in his telling.

Author's Note

Sorry for the day off there! I got off track and my muse ran into a ditch and then I was like 'Hey, Muse, shut up! I'm in charge here!' and I got back to writing.

13 - Take a Look, it's in a Book

Orange turned a book slowly with a wing. Wolf was watching him with an odd look on her face. "How long did it take to figure out that trick?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her. "Oh, the wings? They do their own thing. I want to turn a page, they do it for me." He held up a hoof and a wing came down, colliding with it in a brohoof sort of way. "We're becoming more and more friends."

Wolf reached across and gave one of the wings a poke with a clawed finger. "Yeah, see, that's pretty weird, and I'm already talkin' to a damn horse. My wings do what I make them do, just like my fingers or my arms or any other part of me."

Orange flipped his ears back. "You'll be pleased to know only the wings are that way." He lifted a hoof at the book practically dangling in her other hand. "Did you find anything?"

She tossed the book onto the table in front of her. "Not a damn thing! What are we looking for again?"

Orange felt his wings reaching and looked up in time to see them close in on a book and pull it free of a shelf. "Maybe this," he said with building hope, clopping his hooves as the wings placed it gently before him and unfolded it. "Thanks, guys."

Wolf shook her head at the exchange. "If my wings start acting up, I'm cutting them off." She rolled her eyes and circled the table, coming up behind Orange and placing her hands on his shoulders. "So whattaya got in there?"

Reading with quick swipes of his slit eyes, Orange seemed to grow more excited with every line. "It seems Master isn't the first vampire to contract a curse of some kind." He tapped at the page with a hoof. "Usually when predating on a relation of a shaman or other practitioner of old magic, a vampire can have a curse laid on them that is actually strengthened by their vampiric blood, making it truly frightful."

Wolf lifted her shoulders. "You're onta something there, but how do we fix it, if you want to make mister grumpy mcstarched pants happy? What does he even look like when he's happy? I bet he looks like he ate a lemon at the best of times."

Orange flipped to the next page, reading as quickly as he could. "I need to read more, but I feel like we're close to the start of an answer." He lifted an ear at Wolf. "You do... bring up a point though."

"I always do." She leaned in, hugging him around the neck and pulling him away from the book. "Just what point did I make this time?"

Orange felt heat surging into his face, lighting it up right through his fur. "W-well, I mean... He is sour. I... I wonder how much use he'll have for us when his ability to create normal spawn is returned."

She crooked a finger up under Orange's chin. "So, forget 'em. Why don't we do whatever this castle needs to do and just leave the bastard behind?" She flashed a sharp smile. "Serves him right. Bet he wouldn't last a week in Noo Yawk. He'll be eaten alive."

A part of Orange smiled at the idea of getting rid of Richard, but his loyalty had magical weight behind it. He trembled with indecision even as Wolf's sharp claw scratched teasingly along his snout. Why was her presence so nice?! "W-who would be our master?"

She crouched down, putting her head on his level. "Well, the way I figger it, you're already that, and you make me less want to punch a wall." Wolf rubbed along his throat with the flesh of her fingers. "Oh yes, I could live with a cute little brainiac in charge."

Orange wasn't completely blind. He could see the future. He would be in charge by name, but she'd wrap him around her clever fingers. She'd get what she wanted. She'd... Was that so bad? He clopped down on the table, standing up out of the chair suddenly. He wheeled on her. "Stop playing with me?"

She quirked a smile at him. "You don't like playing?"

He shuddered softly at the implications. "I want honesty. No crooked dealings, no backstabbing." He glanced away and back at Wolf. "Do you like me?"

She reached out and squeezed his nose like a horn as she spoke softly, "Boop."

Was that an answer? Why was he blushing all the harder?! He hadn't had much experience around women, or mares, or whatever counted anymore. He shook his head violently, trying to banish the confusing tumult of emotions. "Please, answer me straight."

The horse woman named Wolf patted him gently on the head. "I'll answer that when you can ask without dying of shame. Now you have reading to do, don't you?"

"Oh, ah..." Orange hopped up into the chair he had abandoned. Without prompting, Wolf lifted the chair and slid it closer to the table. He let out a little sigh and began to read again. "For what it's worth... I'd like to get to know you. I don't think I want that... whatever Lilly did. That was too fast."

"You won't get an argument from me about that." Wolf crossed her arms under her chest. "That was just plain creepy if you think about it at all."

He began to read of the first sort of curse, laid by powerful priests to hinder vampires that plagued their communities.

Author's Note

Orange is approaching an answer, maybe.

Wolf has more questions.

Which is more important? The answer is typos. Typos are always more important.

14 - Rebellious Talk

Orange's ears were trained on his companion, following the quiet noises of her pacing and each and every book she leafed through. "I have a question." He spoke without looking up at her, "Are you hungry for fruit, or blood?"

Wolf met his curious gaze. "Would either answer make you... nervous?"

He swallowed audibly, but shook his head in defiance. "Vampire or pony is alright."

"Would you really think that?" She approached him. "Would you lean your head to the side and let me take a little sip?"

Orange's attention on his book was shattered and he began to tap his forehooves. "Don't tease me like that... I mean, yes! Yes! If you had to drink blood. I wouldn't let you starve."

She smiled, her fangs displayed in the motion as she leaned in. "You're a gentle...pony."

"Vampony," corrected Orange, his wings flaring outwards in all their batly glory.

"Right right. I'm sure the produce quakes in fear of your coming."

"So?"

"Fruit or blood?" Orange smiled briefly. "I want you to be fed."

"What are ya, mah mother?" She smirked at him before she slumped into a seat beside him, only to jump up. "Damn tail!" She reached back and sat down more carefully. "Stupid movies always make it look easier than it is. What's it even for besides getting people to stare at my backside?"

Orange put a hoof down in front of her on the table. "Wolf, answer me."

"Make me."

"Answer. Me." He glared at her defiantly, his ears pinned to his head.

"Right right." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Don't blow something, fuzzy geek." She leaned in on him. "Got an apple or orange or somethin' to test wit'?

Soon an orange and an apple were set before Wolf. Orange gave a fanged smile at the two. Both smelled delightful to him. "Alright, two options here."

Wolf pointed at Orange with a clawed finger. "Three."

He tensed a moment. "Ah, right... three. So which will it be?"

She lifted a fruit in either hand, giving a delicate sniff of each, then leaning in close. Her breath washed over the neck of the mildly shivering vampony as she let her fangs be felt on him. He went rigid as if to prepare for the attack, but it never came. His eyes only opened when he heard a crunch. She took a big bite out of the apple and was chewing it with a soft appreciative noise. "Damn things never tasted so good before."

Orange let out an explosive breath before clopping his hooves. "You're one of us then, um, keep that a secret from the Master for now, if you would?"

She plunged her sharp fangs into the fruit and it imploded, becoming a husk of its former self as she shuddered with a new pleasure. "Mmm, he can go stuff 'imself for all I care. At least you pretend to care about a lady."

"What? Pretend?" Orange sat up. "I have not been disingenuous."

"Look at who's bustin' out the big words." Wolf rolled her eyes. "I know your kind just fine, but you're easier to swallow than that dusty jerk."

"But I'm not! I've been completely truthful to you." Orange clopped a hoof, a pout on his lips. "You're the one that's been hiding things and playing evasive."

"Maybe." Wolf flashed her fangs. "Don't you have readin' to do? I'll let you know if big and creepy comes back." She stalked towards the door, tossing the orange up and down as she went. "I'm trustin' you to figure this out."

So his attention returned to the book before him and he flipped through, soaking up the information. Most of it felt off the mark, until he found one. It was the last chapter, of course it was. Vampires could give other vampires curses, if properly insulted, and only in death. Orange raised a brow high. What vampire might have the master angered, and likely destroyed? Well, from what he knew of him, any vampire he didn't like could have been treated that way... But why ponies? He flipped the pages back and forth. They didn't go into much detail into the actual nature of the curse, apparently being personal to the dying vampire.

"But how do you break it..." He flipped forward with a scowl until he could find a section, a tiny, small, pathetic section about the breaking of such powerful curses.

Fortunately for you and yours, a vampire is unlikely to shake a curse once laid. Most methods require access to places vampires do not easily travel. Barred by purest water and accessed during the day they hate so much, most vampires are simply doomed to labor under their curse until they are finally destroyed.

Orange felt closer than ever before. "Where is it?!" He demanded of the book, but it was quite rude, and stubbornly refused to offer a spoken reply.

"I think he's coming." Wolf closed the door she had been peeking through. "Whatever you're doing, finish it up."

"Minion!" Richard's steps could be heard outside. "Attend me. There are important matters to discuss. Bring the new convert with you, the one that actually looks like a vampire."

Orange said an unkind thing under his breath as his wings closed the book and tucked it away on a shelf to be found later. "We'd better go see what he wants. It won't do either of us any good to try anything with him right there."

"I won't argue that." Wolf shrugged softly. "He's still a jerk."

Author's Note

Every answer worth having is in a book.

--Twilight Sparkle

The books often have typos.

--Me

16 - Attack of the Pegasisters

Orange gestured to the concerned looking ponies that gathered around him. "They may be the same humans that hurt the master before. Lily, make sure the traps are primed and ready. The rest of you, get out of sight, preferably somewhere high and hidden."

Wolf raised a shaggy brow. "I presume that doesn't include me?"

Orange wheeled on Wolf. "Why wouldn't it include you?"

Wolf poked him on his nose. "So when did you become a fearsome warrior? I'm going with you."

Loud banging from the gate made Orange jerk towards it. "Fine! Fine. Everyone get moving." With his wings half-extended, he began trotting nervously towards the potential attackers. "I can't fail now."

The others scattered, except for Wolf who followed close beside Orange. "If they try to harm an adorable hair on your head, I'm ripping them in half."

Orange cringed at the mental image of it. Was that what the master hoped he would be? He wasn't sure if he had the heart or stomach to be that sort of monster. Despite it, he flared his wings wide as the gate came into view. "Who dares to make such troublesome noise in my master's demesne?!" He tried to sound as authoritative and menacing as he could.

Behind the strong iron gates was a gathering of humans, but they didn't look prepared for war. They were dressed oddly, but so far as Orange could tell, all humans of that strange era preferred to dress oddly. They were also all female, and their eyes locked on him. Rather than shouted threats and promises of violence, they began to gush in unison. A mighty chorus of 'aww' erupted from them.

Wolf uncurled her balled fists. "The 'eck? They ain't here to maul no one."

Orange looked at the ground and Wolf in a rapid back-and-forth. "What are they here for?"

Wolf shrugged. "It ain't obvious? They're drawn by your animal magnetism."

Orange wrinkled his snout and regarded the crowd. "Disperse and depart and you will not be harmed!" He approached the gate, his wings still unfurled to maximize his size and terrifying abilities. "This is your last war--" His words cut off as a hand reached through the gate and grabbed him at the shoulder, wrenching him up against the bars where several other hands joined in holding him captive and their owners gushed about how adorable and soft he was. "Help!"

Wolf grabbed him by the barrel and gave a heave, but there were too many clingy hands on Orange to pull him free easily. She could have attacked the women, but morals hadn't entirely fled her. "Look, ya crazy broads, let my boy go or we'z gonna have serious problems."

The crowd suddenly quieted. The entire scene was eerily silent a moment before one of the women asked, "He's your boyfriend?"

A fresh chorus of awws erupted even as Orange began to color a deep red shade. While they were focused on the new fact, Wolf wrenched her pony back from them with an angry snort. "That's better. Now whattaya all want anyways?"

"Don't you live just upstairs?"

Wolf looked to the source of the voice and saw a nerdy looking woman meeting the gaze. She knew the woman. They never talked much, but... "Yeah, so?"

"What happened to you?" The woman approached the gate and the others allowed her past. "Are you alright?"

Orange squirmed in Wolf's grip and fell to the ground before he scrambled up to his hooves. "Do you know her?"

The woman smiled. "Sort of. We were neighbors. Didn't talk so much, but yeah."

Wolf licked over her new fangs silently. "You all really should go..."

The woman would not be dissuaded. "What's going on here? Tell us." The others began to voice agreement with the idea, attentions all focused on Wolf.

Orange squirmed a moment before deciding honesty may yet win the day. "If you don't go, I'll bite you, and you'll gain my curse. You'll be a pony forever. Do you want that?"

That was enough to make a few back away, but the crowd was still mighty. What was wrong with these women? He spread his wings out, not because he had any illusions that it'd scare them, but he just felt like he should, like a nervous habit. "You have your own lives to get to. Go away!"

The woman that recognized Wolf reached through the gate towards Wolf. "Did it hurt?"

Wolf raised a brow. "It was like going to sleep, then there I was." She nudged Orange. "He's leaving out a bit. If he does the biting, you end up like me. It takes a bite from his master to go full pony."

She shrugged a little. "You seem alright... How bad is it? Can you fly?"

Were they really considering it?! Orange took a slow step back. He couldn't believe how things were headed. "Don't you understand an eternal curse? Why would you want that?"

Some of them, at least, understood the meaning of damnation and the crowd thinned a little, but there were still so many of them, maybe half a dozen to ten women, not that Orange was of the sense of mind to actually count them. A thought came to him suddenly and he wheeled on Wolf. "Why are you encouraging them? If I'm... really your boyfriend, why would you want more women around?"

Wolf smirked at him, an evil smirk that spoke of her calculating schemes. "The way I see it, that's just more ponies, women or not, who need you to grow a pair and decide what kind of castle this is gonna be." Even as Orange gaped at her, she sauntered to the gate and casually threw it open.

Author's Note

Wolf has a plan, and Orange doesn't like it very much. Good thing nopony asked him.

17 - Make a Choice

She was true to her word, and Orange was made to service several of the women with his fangs, drawing their sweet blood, ick... "Must I?" Orange tried to look assertive, but his opinion wasn't very highly valued at that moment. "I'd rather have a nice apple..."

Wolf gently pet over the top of his head. "Be patient a moment. It'll be worth it in the end, but you still have a decision to make."

"What's that?" Orange looked at the changing pony-women. "Why are some of them just waiting like that?"

Wolf gave them a sneer. "Guess some people prefer to go all in if they're going at all. No harm in that."

"But the only one that can do that..."

"Is your master." Wolf hiked a thumb at the tower. "Which brings us back to the question you have to answer. The way I see it, there are really just two ways we can go from here. You can defeat your master and become the new master, or he's going to realize he'll never have peace so long as ponies live in his castle, and that's game over for all of us."

"This isn't a game." Orange's ears wilted and he spoke with a petulant pout. "How can you even consider that? He's an ancient vampire. I'm... well, I'm a horse." He lifted his hooves. "I have sharp teeth and wings, but that's about it."

Wolf scratched him gently under his furry chin. "Enough whining, because we don't have time for it. I think you can do it. Do you?"

Orange licked his lips and looked between each woman and mare in turn. "Is it really my choice?"

Wolf held up her hands. "I've pushed enough. You're in the spot. This is your chance. You gonna take it or not?"

The other women began asking much the same. Soft clopping announced the arrival of the other ponies, and their questions mixed with the inquiries of the newest members of the family. It all felt like a chaotic mess to Orange and filled him with a rising anger. What had he done to deserve the situation?

Nothing. Few are those that specifically earn what they get. Few... but Richard. He brought down a hoof in a clop. "Enough. Enough enough." He felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest and put a hoof to it. Despite it, he pushed forward with his speech. "I'm done. Enough!" He was knocked back as if punched in the chest and flopped across the ground. "Enough..."

Things were quiet for a moment as Orange pulled himself to his hooves. "I'm taking charge. I won't be told what to do anymore. Not by him--" He thrust a hoof up at Richard's tower. "--not by you!" He pointed accusingly at Wolf. "I am now lord of this castle and we're going to follow my rules." He threw down a hoof. "Now you're either with me, or get out." He thrust that angry hoof at the still-open gate. "Now."

Wolf gave a soft mmm as if she had just tasted something pleasing. "Now there's the stallion I knew was hiding in there."

Lilly took a cautious step forward. "Are you kicking me out, uh, sir?"

Orange sat up, his chest pushed outwards in a proud puff. He felt in control, and it was a cloyingly addictive sensation. "That depends." He smiled at her, baring his fangs. "Do you and your new coltfriend bow before me?"

The ponies threw themselves before him with a chorus of bodies striking the courtyard tiles. Orange giggled a little. He wasn't used to being in charge, but it felt so good. "You." He looked to the new women, some quasi-ponies like Wolf, others not yet changed. "Kneel!"

Some of them fell, but others remained standing, and that made him annoyed. He felt a new fury building in him. "Then you are banished. Go, get out! Nobody needs you anyway." His wings flapped at them dismissively. More potently, his more-loyal followers rose and began herding the disloyal away even as the ejected griped and complained.

With a bang of the gate being closed and locked, Orange knew the castle was secure. Almost... He turned slowly, looking up at where Richard rested. "One more thing to handle..."

Wolf put a hand down on his shoulder. "I'm with you."

Lilly nuzzled in at one of his sides, followed shortly by Sunrise and Sunset. He wouldn't have to go alone, but... "This could be dangerous. No, this will be dangerous. I would be just as poor a master as he if I took you with me. I have to face this alone... win or lose."

Wolf ruffled his mane and scratched at his ears fondly. "Then you go and kick that dusty old bat out of his belfry so we can get to ruling this castle properly."

Author's Note

What's this? Is a climax coming? What typos of fate are waiting to make this take a turn?

18 - Once Minion

Orange strode with purpose through the castle. The others had fallen behind, and that was just as well so far he could reason it. If he failed, being anywhere in sight would turn out badly for them.

"Failing isn't an option." He flashed his fanged teeth in a low growl as he rose up and look out a window, glaring down at his would-be followers. "I just have to defeat an ancient monster of biblical proportions."

He swallowed heavily as he sank back to all fours. "Easy..." He resumed ascending the stairs, his legs quaking with renewed fear. "Sure he's defeated tons of other vampires, enough to get cursed by one, but... hey, I don't have a curse." He frowned with a new thought. Perhaps he would gain his first on striking Richard down.

Orange arrived at the final door and took a slow breath, trying to cleanse himself of the building terror. "I'll face this with dignity, or not at all." As the trembling died down, he grabbed the doorknob in his mouth and twisted it open.

The door suddenly pushed open from within, sending him sliding across the floor as Richard emerged. He was dressed in outlandish and colorful clothes, clearly unsuited for such a prestigious being. "Ah, Orange. I'm glad you're here."

He sounded almost suspiciously happy. Orange gathered himself to his hooves. "Oh?"

"I'm taking a vacation." Richard took a firm stance. "I've determined that what I need is some time away from all this. I've spent hundreds of years mastering the art of being a vampire, but what I really need is some 'me' time, and that changes now." He struck the ground with his heavy shoes.

Would it really be that easy? Orange sank in place a little, unable to believe that it could work so well. "Um, Richard..."

"Master." He waved a finger. "Even if I'm on vacation there are proprieties."

"No." Orange gathered himself up.

Richard raised a fine brow. "No?"

Orange shook his head quickly. "There must be a master of the castle. I will be it."

Richard swept back a cape that he wasn't wearing. A little chuckle escaped him. "For a moment there, I thought you had turned against me. You are correct, my faithful furry minion. Yes, you will be the master of this castle while I'm away."

Orange licked his lips even as Richard strode for the nearest balcony. He could just let Richard go, it would be all over. "Oh, uh, Richard, how will you find us, or us find you?"

Richard waved it off. "I'll find you when I need to, if I need to. Maybe I'll create a new demesne. Ah, the exhilarating rush of dominating the countryside. I forget how alive that can make you feel." He put his hands to his chest. "But for now, I'm going to relax. Yes, that's just what the doctor ordered."

Orange tilted his head. "Do you mind if I asked where you got those outlandish clothes?"

"Oh, these?" He plucked at the alien threads. "Strangest thing, after some crazed lunatic bit me and I retired, I awoke in this garb, and my mistakes became clear to me. I've been going about this entire affair the wrong way."

Orange blinked owlishly as his vacationing master took his leave. Did he really get turned by a bite? A vampire? Even as Richard took flight on spread wings, Orange collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles. "Your curse was deeper than you knew."

The door leading to the stairs deeper into the castle burst open as Wolf and several others rushed in. Wolf looked left and right before settling on Orange. "You're alright?"

Orange glanced in the direction Richard had gone before he gathered himself into the proudest stance he could envision. "I have proven victorious, and he has bequeathed his castle to me. I am now the master of this place." He clopped a hoof on the ground just before all the women, ponies, and ponywomen swarmed over him and bore him to the ground in a warm mass of congratulatory hugs.

He wriggled his way to the top of the pile only to find a few of the women looked dejected. "What's wrong?"

One pouted a little. "If he's gone, that means we can't become ponies all the way."

Orange tapped at his chin. "Let me inspect Richard's room a moment." He hopped down and trotted victoriously into the room that would become his and hopped right up onto the dais that held the former-master's coffin. Within was what he hoped to find, several pools of blood gathered where Richard had rested.

Later, as the fog rolled in and isolated the castle, several new ponies stretched and ambled around with bright smiles and swishing tails.

One of them sat on his haunches in front of Orange. "Why am I a guy pony?"

Orange gave the only answer he could with a little shrug. "You're welcome, sir or madame. We're one big family."

"A herd!" chimed Sunset.

Wolf settled a clawed hand on Orange's shoulder. "I can't believe you took care of him so easily. When I saw him flying off like that, I got worried..."

Orange turned his head and nuzzled the hand gently. "Wolf, it's far too early to ask for more, but I would like to date you."

Wolf laughed suddenly. "Oh, I love it. Are you asking to court me all fancy official like?"

Orange flushed in his cheeks. "If I may? We can determine if we're compatible or not."

Wolf knelt down to his level and kissed him between his eyes. "Let's do that then." She turned to look at the fog covering the castle grounds. "So, where do you think we'll land next?"

Lily flashed a fanged smile. "Don't you mean when, master?"

Author's Note

And so ends the adventures of Richard von Dracula, and not a pony missed him.

Long live Orange!

1 - His Blighted Demesne

This is a story about a man, or at least what was once a man. Where a man was, there was instead a creature, no, a monster! This monster knew the sweet taste of the blood of his fellow men and women, and enjoyed it, for he was a vampire. He sat up in his bed, more a coffin than anything else. The lid rose without being touched, allowing him to sit up unchallenged. "Lady..." His face contorted into a grimace. "Lilly Candy, come, attend me."

The sound of clops echoed through the cavernous hallways of his castle. The source of those clops became clear as a pony emerged from a nearby door. "You called, mister Richard?" Despite being a small pony, she had the voice of a grown woman. "Good to see you awake, sir."

Richard stood up as if propelled by unseen forces, simply rotating to a standing position. "That's lord, Lilly. Tell me you have good news."

Lilly tapped at her light-colored chin gently. "An intruder tried to sneak in, sir. I caught them!"

Richard perked up at that. Perhaps the night would be far from a loss. "Did you now? Did you drain him dry of his vital essence for his impudence?"

Lilly shook her head. "Oh, no! Ew..." She licked over her fangs, which looked serviceable for blood-drinking, but... "You know I don't like that, sir. He had an apple though, sir. I took it, and kicked him out."

Richard scowled at her. "You let him go?" His eyes glowed red with fury as he slammed down a fist on the edge of his coffin.

Lilly shrank away from him. "I-I'm sorry, sir... I guess we're not having a treat tonight?"

Richard covered his face with a hand. "No, I'm afraid not, Lilly. Return to your patrol. If you see another human, subdue and hold them if you can't be tasked with draining them dry."

She pouted at the lost reward, but nodded at his order and scurried off, her clops heard even as she moved far away, at least to Richard's sensitive ears. He was a vampire after all, straight from the original Dracula's lineage. He had power beyond measure! Richard looked to his slightly trembling hands. He had the power to shape the world, but not to make proper spawn... It was maddening, and embarrassing.

With powerful strides he approached a heavy set of double doors. With the barest flick, they swung open wide before him without any actual contact, and he walked past them out onto a balcony. He could see his castle, and the demesne beyond. It wasn't familiar. They had moved again. Looking out beyond the walls he knew well, he saw a winding trail leading to a small town. What country were they in? He didn't trust Lilly to have that information. Perhaps his curse had lifted, and he could get useful information. Yes... That night already looked like a fine night for a hunt.

He spread his arms and launched into the night sky in the form of a true bat, rapidly approaching that small village, full of delicious necks and unwary victims. They would make such delightful noises when he found the right one, yes indeed.

As he flew, he saw one outside. A man, a young man. Richard estimated him to be in his mid twenties at best, somewhere from twenty-three to twenty-six. He wore the clothing of a banker or something similar to it, and looked to be in a hurry. Perhaps work had caused him to tarry until long after the sun had set. His misfortune... Richard's fortune.

He dove at the man, and could hear him whistling some nameless tune. He was entirely unaware of the danger approaching him, and that was just fine by Richard. He landed on the ground and flowed upwards into his full height, creeping without sound behind his victim with a sneer, fangs displayed. Just as he was about to make his lunge, the man spun around and blinked. "Oh, uh, hey? Looking for the tavern?"

Richard raised a brow. Perhaps the darkness had hid his monstrous nature. It would work just as well. "Ah, my good boy. It's so nice to see a friendly face." He was wearing glasses, and the faint rustling sounded like writing pens and other equipment. Banker, Richard was more convinced by the moment. Perhaps he would have some money as an extra bonus, and that might reveal what country they were in.

The man smiled, seemingly unaware of any danger. "Hey, it's alright. Crazy accent you have there. You from... Germany or somewhere around there?"

"Ah, yes, somewhere about there." Richard didn't care to explain his illustrious heritage to the young man. "My carriage caught in some mud outside of town, perhaps you could help me?"

He frowned at that, looking concerned. "Aw, man, that's terrible." He lifted up his hands, balled as if showing off his mediocre physique. "If I can lend a hand, sure. We'll have it moving if we both push it together."

"Ah, yes, teamwork." What a revoltingly human concept that was. "It's just this way. It shouldn't be hard, with the both of us." He began to lead the man away. "I didn't catch your name?"

"I didn't toss it," replied the man. "Name's Rick though."

"Richard."

"Crazy." Rick moved up beside Richard. "We have the same name, just different countries. How wild is that?"

"A sign that tonight... is a very special night." Richard smiled, fangs just faintly exposed, but in the dark, Rick took no notice of them.

He did take notice when he was out of sight of anyone else in town, and Richard jumped at him. He made the sweetest little gurgle as Richard's fangs found his throat and sank deep, tapping into the sweet blood trapped inside that ugly human form. Power flowed through him as his hunger abated. He could have stopped there, left Rick to awaken sometime later, scared, confused, but alive. No. Richard had to know if his curse remained. Rick was a small sacrifice to discover the truth.

Author's Note

Welcome to a new story! What terrible curse haunts our vampire, exactly, and how will Rick handle it, if he's still alive to handle it?

Will we find out!?

I bet we will.

Find typos? Let me know!

Love it! Let me know!

Hate it? I still want to hear from you!

15 - No Love of the Neighborhood

Orange and Wolf emerged to see Richard clutching to his chest with a veined hand. "There you are. I heard you rambling in there. Forget whatever it is and see to my needs." He scowled at the two of them. "The people of this place are unusually well-defended, and it isn't even a religious order. Tell me you know something about that."

Sitting up, Orange smiled brightly. "Actually, I did find something out, sir. Your condition, it's almost certainly a curse."

Richard raised a brow. "I'm going to assume for a moment you mean more than the obvious. Tell me."

"N-no, sir, not that. I mean an actual curse. Did you anger another vampire before this condition began? Perhaps something you crushed with ease?"

"Why would I care about someone I bested handidly?" Richard stalked towards Orange. "There are many potentials that fall under that description. You'll need to be more specific than that."

Wolf snorted softly. "Which of them said something about ponies or horses or whateva?"

There was a moment of uneasy silence before Richard stood up straight and clapped his bloody hands together. "You can't mean!"

Orange bobbed his head. "You were given a death curse, master. What did they say?"

"It was a miserable wretch who never gave up their farming roots. German if I remember correctly." Richard frowned. "He hoped my cows would go dry and horses go lame. I thought little of it."

Wolf pointed at Orange. "Your horses are looking pretty lame, wouldn't you say?"

Richard slammed a fist into the wall behind himself. "They shouldn't be horses at all."

Orange tilted his head a little. "I'm sorry, sir, but we are, and I'm almost certain that's the cause."

Richard took a slow breath, his fists unballing. The front of his jacket was stained with blood. His own? "Thank you, both of you." He adjusted his coat, taking a more dignified stand. "You've both served me well, and I should be, and am, grateful. Tell me, if you've learned so much, how do we undo it? I've had quite enough horses to last me an eternity."

Orange's ears sagged a little. "I only just got that far, master. I'm certain the answers in there, and I plan to find it."

"Yes... good..." Richard stepped away with clear restraint. "You do that."

"You alright?" Wolf raised a brow. "You're not acting normal at all."

"Just a scratch." Richard began to ascend the stairs towards his room. "I require rest. With any fortune, the castle will have moved on before I awaken."

Orange raised a hoof at his departing master. "If we don't move, sir?"

"Then I will have to trust you two to defend me." He looked over his shoulder. "If you manage to get some blood, bring it to me. A little snack always helps bring me around." He stalked up and away with the loud clap of the door being slammed being the signal that he had left the area.

Wolf turned to Orange. "Right, so he's hurt. Why aren't you buggin' out of here again?"

Orange's wings flared open. "Let's take this logically. Even if I did run away, I'd be a vampony, a random vampony. Where would I go? People would hurt me, just like they did Master Richard, and I'm not an elder vampire."

Wolf wagged a finger. "A fine point, but yer missing th' other option. If he's hurt so bad, you could finish th' job, and you get a castle to call your own."

"Did I hear Sir coming in?" Lilly came trotting in with a smile. "I made him a nice dinner without any garlic at all, just like you said!" Held in her wings was a plate of what looked to be a TV Dinner prepared on a stove and a few garnishes added in to make it look proper.

Wolf pointed at Lilly. "Hey, you. Do you like Richard much?"

Lilly looked confused at the question, her head tilting. "He's alright. I'm not very good at serving him... Why?"

Wolf flashed a feral grin, fangs displayed. "If you could get a new job, say... Let's pretend Orange here became your new master. Would that make you happy?"

Lilly tapped a hoof on the ground before she nodded. "He's a nice master. He tells me when I get something wrong and how to fix it." She flashed a bright smile. "I'd be happy working for him."

Wolf crouched down before Orange. "Sorry to put it like this, but let's start wit' th' obvious. You? You ain't a damn vampire. You are, at best, a fruit bat... pony."

Orange pointed at her defiantly. "If I am, you are too!"

"Yeah?" She chuckled softly. "Probably, but I ain't pretending it's otherwise. That guy up there?" She hiked a thumb up the stairs. "Now he is a fricken vampire. Whole nine yards, right out of a book. We follow him, we get to be monsters." She reached out and put a hand on Orange's head. "I get the idea you don't want to be a monster, not really..."

Orange glanced between her fuzzy face and Lilly. Lilly didn't seem to quite grasp the exchange or the weight of their words. She even moved past them, trotting up the stairs with her plate balanced. "Lilly, the master isn't well. He appreciates the thought, but not tonight, alright?"

Wolf clucked her tongue against her teeth. "We have... other things to do tonight."

As if on cue, a metallic banging came from the gate in the courtyard. They had guests.

Author's Note

Did you think I lost you? The typos are not so easily defeated!