Writing by the Seat of My Pantsby PhonyyxChaptersLycan I : Apple Family, OCLycan IILycan IIIThe Count Dalv Alucard I : Fluttershy, OCLone I : OCLone IILycan I : Apple Family, OCIt was a cloud-filled night on Sweet Apple Acres. All the Apple family rested from a long day's work of bucking apple trees. But one charcoal-coated earth colt was running for his life. He ran out of the Everfree Forest and looked up to the night sky. The clouds blocking the moon were starting to part. He had to get indoors, under some shade, somewhere-anywhere. He saw the Sweet Apple Acres barn. Its doors were open, just wide enough for him to squeeze through. He closed the barn doors and slammed the latch down, locking himself inside. The sound of clanking steel against steel at random intervals filled the barn as farm tools swung slightly in the air from there hanging posts. The colt slow backed away from the barn doors, avoiding a patch of moonlight from an open window. His stomach rumbled loudly. He lifted his snout and sniffed the air. He could smell food nearby, not in the barn, in the barn house. Four meals waiting for him to devour. His eyes widened and he shook his head, releasing himself from the hunger-induced trance. As the night slowly dragged on, his stomach growled louder and louder. He couldn't stand the empty feeling in his stomach and reached over to a crate of apples. He grabbed an apple and bit down, swallowing the entire apple in one bite. He easily ate more apples, but none could satiate his unnatural hunger. Worse, he could feel himself being drawn to the moonlight. It was beautiful, so compelling to just stand in the moonlight. If just for a while, that couldn't do any harm, right? The colt walked over and into the moonlight. He reached out with his hoof. The moment the moonlight fell upon it, his hoof grew fur. It grew bigger, reshaping itself into a paw. Clouds blocked the moon, severing the moonlight from his body. He stepped forward and looked upward towards the moon. Slowly, the clouds parted, and his entire body was bathed in moonlight. He hunched over, feelings his spine grow and reshape itself. He shouted out in pain and agony as his snout grew longer, his nostrils widened, and his teeth grew into sharp triangles. His ears became longer, with small tuffs of fur at the base of them. His entire body, save his the ends of his hooves, grew a silver layer of fur. The ends of his hooves each parted, forming canine paws in place of his natural equine hooves. Claws sprouted forth in each toe on his paws. His tail raised itself, his spine grew into his tail and was quickly covered by more silver fur. Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all looked at the destroyed doors of their barn. The heavy doors laid in two pieces, with numerous smaller splinters spreading outward. That wasn't what confused them, what confused them were the claw marks over the doors and the edges of the door frame. "Now what in tarnation caused this?" Applejack asked in disbelief. "A lycan." The three Apples turned to see a tall unicorn. He was wearing enough clothing to keep him warm in Northern Equestria. Pockets and patches covered his clothing. "A what? And who are you?" "Names Helsing. And a lycan is a pony whose made a deal with the devil and have their bodies inhabited by demons. So they are, in essence, demons themselves." Helsing took a closer look at the damaged barn doors and huffed. "You're all lucky this one was just a youngling. If it had been a full grown adult, it certainly would have killed you all." "Wait, then why was it trying to get into our barn?" Applejack asked. "It wasn't trying to get in, it was trying to get out. And by the looks of it, it succeeded." "So theres one of those lycan-things loose in Ponyville?" Apple Bloom asked in utter disbelief. "Unfortunately so." Apple Bloom shuddered. Lycan IIApple Bloom walked down Ponyvile. She was going to meet up with her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at Sweeties house. She stopped when she noticed one of her family apple carts in the market area. "Ugh, did Applejack really forget another apple cart?" Apple Bloom groaned. She walked over to the apple cart and was surprised to find a colt sleeping underneath it. "Umm. Hey," Apple Bloom said confused. The colt's head jumped up and nearly hit the bottom of the apple cart. he turned his head to look at Apple Bloom. He had a charcoal color coat with silver mane and tail, both of which were very short and scraggily. He had two pointed teeth at the ends of his mouth and gold-colored eyes. He tilted his head slightly and sniffed the air. He seemed to back away a tiny bit after sniffing the air. "Ummm, what are you doing sleeping under my family's apple cart?" The colts eyes widened at the question. "I-I um, couldn't find any place to sleep and, I cant remember anything other than that." Apple Bloom was now more confused by his response then his presence. Most foals in Ponyville usually slept at either their parents, older sibling, or close relative's house overnight. And if one couldn't find any family to stay with overnight, then they would spend the night at their friend's house. She wanted to ask him, but didn't want to come off as a jerk for asking such a personal question like that. "What's your name?" The colt's eyes widened at that question too. "Ummm. You don't have to worry about who I am. I'm nopony in fact." "Wha-" but before Apple Bloom could follow up with another question on what the colt had meant, the colt took off. Apple Bloom decided not to chase after him. Mostly because he was already way out of sight. Charcoal slumped against a wall. He recognized that filly, or at least her scent. It was one of the scents he smelled the previous night, before he turned. He rubbed his head with both his fore hooves trying to remember the events of last night. What did he do? All he could remember was first, being in a darkened building, steel clanging against steel. He escaped, and then nothing. He remembered following a different scent, one of an easier prey to him. He licked his teeth, and tasted chicken. "Did I hunt chickens last night?" He scratched his head and a white chicken feather fell down from his mane. "Yep, definitely chickens. Sigh." His stomach growled. He was hungry. Thankfully, a normal hungry. He had no money and didn't want to choose something to eat from his other diet. "Hmmm, there were those apples from last night." But, if he was caught he would be punished for stealing. He shook his head and looked back to where the farm was. Then he saw a sight that made his blood stop cold. Van Helsing. Here. In the same town he was in. "Not good, not good, not good," Charcoal muttered to himself in fear. He needed to get out of town, fast. He turned to slink further away from the supernatural hunter. Van Helsing looked around. If the lycan had done more in its rampage last night, the townsfolk would surely be talking of it. He caught a glimpse of a small colt. With visibly pointed teeth at the ends of his mouth and gold eyes. Could a demon hide themselves while inhabiting the body of a pony? He had never considered the thought before, mostly because he had never encountered a lycan smart enough to think of something. But still, was it possible? He rubbed the bottom of his chin. He continued his walk through the small, quiet rural town. "This place won't stay quiet much longer. Not with a lycan on the loose." He stopped walking at stood looking at the ground. A set of paw tracks. Lycan tracks. He wrapped the hilts of his revolvers in a magical grasp, having them at the ready. Van Helsing followed the tracks for a few minutes. They lead to a small wooden shack at the edge of the town. They lead around the house and to its backyard. He could hear sobbing. "Not another victim, please anything but another dead pony,' he muttered under his breath. He looked up to see a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane, surrounded by chicken feathers. A few puddles of blood dotted the ground around her. Van released the grip on his revolvers. "Miss." The Pegasus turned to face him, tears were streaming down her face, she was breathing in sharp breaths. In her hooves were the remains of several chickens. She tried to speak but could only produce uncontrollable sobs. Lycan IIIVan Helsing stood at the edge of the yellow Pegasus backyard, waiting for her to calm down enough to speak legibly. The mare spent the next few minutes sobbing uncontrollably. Eventually, she stopped sobbing enough to speak. "I'm sorry you had to see that mister," she said, wiping a hoof against her teary eyes. "Miss, can you tell me your name and what happened here?" Van Helsing asked softly. It didn't matter that the only creatures that died here were chickens, this mare obviously cared immensely for them, and their deaths pained her as much as a pony's death would. To Van Helsing those were merely chickens, but to this mare they were much more and that was all that mattered. "O-okay. I'm Fluttershy. And it happened early in the morning. Before the sun had begun to rise, I was awoken by a sound I had never heard before. I heard the chickens in distress. I walked over to a window and peered outside. What I saw terrified me. A creature with silver fur covering almost all of its body was e-eating the chickens. I rushed down outside, but by that time the thing was gone. And so were the chickens. Charcoal watched dozens of ponies enjoying a meal at some restaurant. His stomach growled at the sight. No money, no home to return to, and no friends nor family to be with. He raised his head and sniffed the air. No scents he recognized. Good. Now he just needed to find a way out of this town. He could always just walk out of the town, that's how he usually left a town, but he decided to try and find a different way first. The train was out of the question, no sane pony would let an unsupervised colt on a train set to leave town. Besides, he had no money to buy a ticket with. He sat thinking of some way to leave town. But all of them had some obstacle he couldn't get past. A chipper laughter broke Charcoal out of his thinking. He looked around and found a filly to be the source of the sound. She was with her parents; he could tell from their similar scents. The filly looked happy and so did her parents. Charcoal's ears drooped, he remembered his parents. He remembered the town that betrayed them. Worst of all, he remembered what he did to the town the following blue moon. He shook his head. He had promised he'd never look back on that night. Charcoal smelled the air, there was a pleasant smell about. His tail swung in the air a bit and he stood up. He licked his teeth, it was a good smell. Mmmh, food. Charcoal followed the smell and found its source. A cart of apple delectable. His tail wagged even more at the sight of freshly backed, he didn't know what, but they smelled good. He walked closer to the cart and sniffed the air. The scents made him stop in his tracks. Another scent he recognized. He looked around the cart and saw an orange earth mare wearing a Stetson hat. Charcoal's stomach growled. "Why do these things happen to me?" he muttered to himself. Author's Note Alright, last beta-chapter. If you guys want to continue reading this story then tell me in the comment section and I'll turn this into its own story. It'll continue the idea and expand on some scenes along with better written dialogue. The Count Dalv Alucard I : Fluttershy, OCTwilight sighed as she told Fluttershy the same thing she told her every time the subject was brought up. "Fluttershy, I don't knkw where those bats things that came out of you went. For all I know, they could've been nothing more than a spectacle of the spell." "I'm sorry to bother you Twilight, I just have the feeling that something bigger is coming because of those bat things. Anyways, I have to go, Angel Bunny needs to be tucked into his bed. Bye." Fluttershy waved goodbye to her friend as she headed back to her cottage. It was just before sundown and she had a lot of animal friends to put to bed. Fluttershy passed by Applejack's farm, to make a quick check on the vampire fruit bats. And, just like all the other times she made this little visit, the vampire fruit bats were still all in the south fields. "Hello, mister Battetington Bat. How has it been today?" Fluttershy had long since learned the langauge of these unusual creatures. "Oh, Fluttershy. It's good to see you. It's been great today. And before you ask, no, none of us have left these fields." Battetington gave a small dismissive wave of his wing to Fluttershy on the last comment. "Well, still I'm glad to know that you're keeping the others in line. I know how hard it can be to deal with essentially unruly foals," Fluttershy said. Both she and Battetington both chuckled. "Well I have to go, I'll see you later." Fluttershy gave a goodbye wave to her friend. "To you too. Oh, and tell Angel I said hi for me. Okay?" "I will." Fluttershy landed in front of the cottage she called home. The sun had already set and the moon had begun its nightly rise. Fluttershy opened the door to her house and walked inside. A quick pounding of fluffy feet drew her attention to the couch, where Angel Bunny sat. He stared at Fluttershy with a look that all but screams: Where have you been? I was worried something had happened to you! "Angel, you don't have to worry about me constantly, I'm fine. See for yourself." Fluttershy unfurled both of her wings and Angel Bunny zipped around Fluttershy two or three times before finally stoping. He nodded his approval that she was okay. "Oh, Battetington told me to tell you he said hi," Fluttershy told Angel, who beamed at this remark. Fluttershy trotted over to the kitchen to start preparing supper for her many animal friends. She placed some apples on a wooden board and proceeded to cut them up into slices. Angel hopped up and pushed a small bowl towards her. "Thank you Angel Bunny." Fluttershy filled the bowl with the apple slices and some lettuce. Angel hopped down and placed the bowl down by a hole in the wall. Fluttershy placed another bowl of cheese beside the first bowl and a family of mice hurried out of the hole. "Mmm," Fluttershy said in a kind tone. "Eat up good everyone." Fluttershy looked out one of the windows. A full moon. The darkness seemed to envelope the craggy old ruined castle. The low hanging fog didn't help any either. A ship, maned by three grave robbers, made her way to the desolate island. Rumors had spread of the great power or treasure that laid beneath the surface of the island, hidden inside the cursed castle. "Char, are you sure that the rumors are true?" one of the ponies asked. The earth pony turned to face his questioner, a small unicorn. "Heelt, I'm positive that they're true," Char responded. "B-but, if the legends of the treasure are true... then so are the legends of the creatures lurking inside the castle," the other pony, now trembling, said. Char looked over at the female pegasus. "Telia, those legends are just that, legends meant to ward off intruders. Lower the anchor." Heelt dropped the anchor from his magical grasp and it plopped down under the water. Heelt forced down the old drawbridge and lit up the surrounding area. "Good work," Char said. "Now, we take the most valuable things first." A swarm of bats flocked out of the opening and flew around the castle, returning to the interior through the windows and cracks. Undeterred, Char led the others inside the castle. The three walked aimlessly throughout the castle. The must have been walking for two hours before they finally found the fruits of their labors. "See guys, what I tell ya, easy pickin's." Char hurriedly jumped down to the treasures. He slipped on the stairs and tumbled cutting any scrapping his hoof. "Ah, damn it!" The blood trickled down the stoney floor, into the mouth of a sleeping vampony. "Ahhh," it whispered in a soft tone. It's eyes shot open, ruby red. His skin pale, wrinkled, and dry; eyes bulging out; and mangled mane and tail. The world around him turned to black and he could see through the stoney ground. The three ponies appeared as red blobs in their physical forms. He licked his lips and turned into smoke. The grey smoke inched through the cracks and rematerialized on the floor, hidden behind a column. His breathing was raspy. "D-did you guys hear that?" Telia asked her companions. "It was just the wind," Char retorted. "O-okay." Telia steadied her breathing. A small glint in the dark caught her eyes. She walked over to it, she stepped out of the light and into the shadows. She reached for the glint and pulled into the light. It was a small silver necklace with a crucifix. "Hmm." Telia smiled. A voice, withered and old slowly whispered, "Mine." She dropped both her smile and the necklace. A wing grabbed her and pulled her onto the cold stone floor. She tried to scream, but they were muffled. She felt a pair of sharp fangs bit down on her neck, draining the blood from her body. As he sucked more and more blood from her helpless body, he changed. His skin became darker and more fleshed, not withered. His mane and tail blackened. Once he sucked out the last drop of blood, he uncovered her mouth. Her body was shriveled and skin was pale. He reached down one wing and slipped the small hook-like claw in the necklace and put it on. He transformed into smoke again and moved to the over side of the room. A small unicorn opened a wardrobe and pulled out a luxurious suit from centuries ago, in perfect condition. He shrugged and tossed the the suit to the floor. The vampony quickly rematerialized inside the suit. He grabbed the unicorn and forced him onto the ground. He sunk his fangs into the neck. He dropped the dead pony onto the ground. The final pony spun around to see the vampony. He gasped in horror and dropped the small book he was holding. On the floor beside the creature were the lifeless, drained bodies of his associates. He nearly shrieked out, but the vampony was in front of him before he could even squeak. The vampony sunk his fangs into the neck of the final intruder. Fluttershy was about to walk upstairs to her room for sleep when she heard a knock on the front door. Now, who could that be? Especially at this hour? "Um... hello? Who is it?" "A real fucking vampony." Lone I : OCThe night was dark and stormy. A pony wearing a cloak carried a small bundle of cloth. In front of them, in the rural outskirts of Baltimare, was an orphanage. A cry came from the bundle. "Shhh. Shhh." The pony gentle rocked the bundle forward and back, calming the young foal. Once the crying stopped, the pony bent forward and kissed the foal on the forehead. Knock, knock, knock! A few minutes passed and nopony came. The pony knocked again and heard hoofsteps in the building. A unicorn opened the door and found nopony. Confused she looked around. Still nopony. A cry came from below and she looked down. "Oh my," she said picking up the crying foal. "Shh, shh." She cradled the colt back and forth. The crying subsided and a pleasant cry replaced it. She took the colt inside. "Lilac, come here!" the mare called out. A few minutes later, another female voice answered. "What is it Rose?" Lilac trotted down the stairs to see Rose with the sleeping colt. "He was on the doorstep." "Was there anypony with him?" Lilac quietly tiptoed over to her sister, not wishing to awaken the small colt. "No," Rose answered, still gently rocking the colt. Rose pulled out a small note tucked inside the blanket. A small, broken compass was also tucked in the blanket, along with a red bandana. His name is Lone. I can't take care of him, can you? Lone IIAn alarm rang beside me. Groggily, I slammed my hoof down on top of the alarm clock. I leaned up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Yawn!" I rang out to nopony in particular. The sun rays filtered through the small crack between the two curtains blocking circular window on the wall. I rolled myself out of bed and pulled back the curtains. I was blinded by the sudden influx of sunlight. You're an idiot Lone. Of course the sunlight would rush into the room once you opened the curtains. I thought to myself, blinking. My vision gradually returned and adjusted to the light. I turned my head to take in a good look of my room. Bookshelves filled with books on countless topics lined the left wall. My bed laid against the opposite wall, along with my desk. On a bedside table was a small, red piece of cloth and a broken compass. I picked up the cloth in my wings and tied it around my neck. I lifted it up and hooked on the compass to it. There was a knock on my door, and despite being unable to see who, I could sense it was Lilac. "You can come in Lilac!" I called out to her. The door opened and there stood Lilac in the doorway. She was a unicorn with a cream-colored coat and a short, straight-kept, yellow mane and tail. She was the younger of the two sisters who ran the orphanage. "You're up early," Lilac said. "Yeah." "Well, Mr. Gustave is preparing breakfast. He made your favorite." "Pancakes?" I asked with a noticeable hint of glee. "Blueberry pancakes." Even better. "Thanks for telling me." I nodded to Lilac and she turned to wake up the other kids. She always woke me up first, even though my room was on the top floor. Maybe because I was the oldest but I never knew if that was it. I grabbed a book in my wings and bounded over to the flight of stairs. I casually flew down the stairs and to the dinning hall. The pleasant aroma of pancakes and blueberries filled my nostrils. My stomach growled in agreement with my nose. I entered the dinning hall and found Mr. Gustave placing out plates of food on the kitchen dinning hall table. I walked over and slid my other wing under a plate. Once my wing touched the "Hot!" I yelped out as soon as my wing touched the plate. "Hehe, well of course it's hot Lone," Mr. Gustave told me whilst chuckling. "Thanks Gustave." I blew on the plate some and waved my wing over it. After a few moments of that, I slipped my wing under it again. It was still hot, but now it was bearable. I carried the plate over to the end of a table and set my breakfast. Around this time the younger foals slowly filled into the room. Each took a plate, thanked Mr. Gustave, and took a seat at one of the tables occupied by their friends and/or roommates. I cracked open the book I brought, took a bite of my pancakes, and quietly started reading. The room was slowly filling with chatter between friends, laughter, and talk of what everypony was going to do today. I droned out the sounds and continued to eat. It was Saturday. Usually after breakfast, everypony headed to their classes, but not so on the weekends. I took the final bite of my pancakes and closed the book I was reading. I got up and turned to leave. I stopped when I felt something. I had felt this many times before. I couldn't explain how it felt. Sometimes I could just sense how a pony felt and what they were thinking. I turned to see the a two colts only two or three years younger than me, staring at each other. Not a friendly or awkward stare. No, a stare that says they want to hurt somepony. I realized what was going to happen. As soon as they were let out, a fight was going to ensue. I trotted over to Mr. Gustave and told him what I had realized and he gave me a nod, after giving me a stare that said he was weirded out. Mr. Gustave had told Lilac and she made sure to have a talk to the them. Lilac had assured me that she would never tell ponies who told her what they had been going to do. But the others always knew that it was me. The whispers spread thorough the orphanage like wildfire. They whispered that I had told Lilac. They avoided me in the halls and did their best to avoid eye contact. The first time I had an episode was in the middle of a class eight years ago. I wasn't paying attention to the ponies around me when all of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a girl me call me a know-it-all. And like an idiot, I spoke up. "Miss Lilac. The girl behind me called me an ugly name." Turns out, nopony was behind me. The entire class laughed at my "joke". But I kept hearing ponies calling me names. I shouted, calling everypony in the room names. The room fell silent and Lilac didn't take too kindly to my outburst and sent me to see her sister. I started to say that it wasn't fair. At the time, to me it seemed like Lilac was targeting me for the crime of being the victim. But I got the feeling that she was more disappointed than angry. "Lone. Go see my sister. Now!" Lilac told me sternly. I'd never heard Lilac get that angry with me before and never again after that. The rumors quickly spread amongst the others that I was insane and for quite some time after, I thought I was. I went through the rest of my day as usual. It seemed like an ordinary, every other day, until that night. "Lone," a voice called out. I nearly jumped at the sudden voice. I turned my attention from the book in front of me to the voice. It was Rose Chestnut. A tan unicorn with long, red, flowing mane and tail. "Lone, why aren't you asleep? It's past time for you to be in bed, asleep." Rose sat down on my bed. She looked at me worried. She always did when she found me awake when I should be sleeping. Which, honestly, was often. I looked out of the circular window. The city of Baltimare stood in the near distance. She knew what was on my mind. "You'll get adopted, I know you will. It's only been-" "Sixteen years. My entire life. Yeah, cause that's not a long time. Not a long time at all," I muttered. Rose sighed. "Lone, if you keep saying things like that to yourself and thinking that, you'll never have any chance because when the opportunity comes across, you'll be unable to see it." Rose took the book I had been reading and placed it on the bedtable. "Now its late, You need your rest." I begrudgingly got under the covers. "Good night Lone." Rose turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. "I'll try." I sighed as I tried to sleep but I just couldn't. Something I had read in that book was nagging in the back of my mind. Frustrated and hoping that finding out would alleviate my curiosity enough to sleep, I hopped out of bed and flipped through the book again. It was a symbol. A familiar- no, not a symbol, a design pattern. Then it hit me. I grabbed my compass and looked on the inside of it. That same design pattern was etched into the compass' front panel. This was it. A clue, a lead. A way to find my parents. Find out who I am. The pattern was from a native tribe in Northern Equestria. I wasted no time packing my things together. My compass, cloth, some of my books, and all of the bits I had saved up over the years. Left a note, opened my window and took off towards Baltimare.
Lycan I : Apple Family, OCIt was a cloud-filled night on Sweet Apple Acres. All the Apple family rested from a long day's work of bucking apple trees. But one charcoal-coated earth colt was running for his life. He ran out of the Everfree Forest and looked up to the night sky. The clouds blocking the moon were starting to part. He had to get indoors, under some shade, somewhere-anywhere. He saw the Sweet Apple Acres barn. Its doors were open, just wide enough for him to squeeze through. He closed the barn doors and slammed the latch down, locking himself inside. The sound of clanking steel against steel at random intervals filled the barn as farm tools swung slightly in the air from there hanging posts. The colt slow backed away from the barn doors, avoiding a patch of moonlight from an open window. His stomach rumbled loudly. He lifted his snout and sniffed the air. He could smell food nearby, not in the barn, in the barn house. Four meals waiting for him to devour. His eyes widened and he shook his head, releasing himself from the hunger-induced trance. As the night slowly dragged on, his stomach growled louder and louder. He couldn't stand the empty feeling in his stomach and reached over to a crate of apples. He grabbed an apple and bit down, swallowing the entire apple in one bite. He easily ate more apples, but none could satiate his unnatural hunger. Worse, he could feel himself being drawn to the moonlight. It was beautiful, so compelling to just stand in the moonlight. If just for a while, that couldn't do any harm, right? The colt walked over and into the moonlight. He reached out with his hoof. The moment the moonlight fell upon it, his hoof grew fur. It grew bigger, reshaping itself into a paw. Clouds blocked the moon, severing the moonlight from his body. He stepped forward and looked upward towards the moon. Slowly, the clouds parted, and his entire body was bathed in moonlight. He hunched over, feelings his spine grow and reshape itself. He shouted out in pain and agony as his snout grew longer, his nostrils widened, and his teeth grew into sharp triangles. His ears became longer, with small tuffs of fur at the base of them. His entire body, save his the ends of his hooves, grew a silver layer of fur. The ends of his hooves each parted, forming canine paws in place of his natural equine hooves. Claws sprouted forth in each toe on his paws. His tail raised itself, his spine grew into his tail and was quickly covered by more silver fur. Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all looked at the destroyed doors of their barn. The heavy doors laid in two pieces, with numerous smaller splinters spreading outward. That wasn't what confused them, what confused them were the claw marks over the doors and the edges of the door frame. "Now what in tarnation caused this?" Applejack asked in disbelief. "A lycan." The three Apples turned to see a tall unicorn. He was wearing enough clothing to keep him warm in Northern Equestria. Pockets and patches covered his clothing. "A what? And who are you?" "Names Helsing. And a lycan is a pony whose made a deal with the devil and have their bodies inhabited by demons. So they are, in essence, demons themselves." Helsing took a closer look at the damaged barn doors and huffed. "You're all lucky this one was just a youngling. If it had been a full grown adult, it certainly would have killed you all." "Wait, then why was it trying to get into our barn?" Applejack asked. "It wasn't trying to get in, it was trying to get out. And by the looks of it, it succeeded." "So theres one of those lycan-things loose in Ponyville?" Apple Bloom asked in utter disbelief. "Unfortunately so." Apple Bloom shuddered.
Lycan IIApple Bloom walked down Ponyvile. She was going to meet up with her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at Sweeties house. She stopped when she noticed one of her family apple carts in the market area. "Ugh, did Applejack really forget another apple cart?" Apple Bloom groaned. She walked over to the apple cart and was surprised to find a colt sleeping underneath it. "Umm. Hey," Apple Bloom said confused. The colt's head jumped up and nearly hit the bottom of the apple cart. he turned his head to look at Apple Bloom. He had a charcoal color coat with silver mane and tail, both of which were very short and scraggily. He had two pointed teeth at the ends of his mouth and gold-colored eyes. He tilted his head slightly and sniffed the air. He seemed to back away a tiny bit after sniffing the air. "Ummm, what are you doing sleeping under my family's apple cart?" The colts eyes widened at the question. "I-I um, couldn't find any place to sleep and, I cant remember anything other than that." Apple Bloom was now more confused by his response then his presence. Most foals in Ponyville usually slept at either their parents, older sibling, or close relative's house overnight. And if one couldn't find any family to stay with overnight, then they would spend the night at their friend's house. She wanted to ask him, but didn't want to come off as a jerk for asking such a personal question like that. "What's your name?" The colt's eyes widened at that question too. "Ummm. You don't have to worry about who I am. I'm nopony in fact." "Wha-" but before Apple Bloom could follow up with another question on what the colt had meant, the colt took off. Apple Bloom decided not to chase after him. Mostly because he was already way out of sight. Charcoal slumped against a wall. He recognized that filly, or at least her scent. It was one of the scents he smelled the previous night, before he turned. He rubbed his head with both his fore hooves trying to remember the events of last night. What did he do? All he could remember was first, being in a darkened building, steel clanging against steel. He escaped, and then nothing. He remembered following a different scent, one of an easier prey to him. He licked his teeth, and tasted chicken. "Did I hunt chickens last night?" He scratched his head and a white chicken feather fell down from his mane. "Yep, definitely chickens. Sigh." His stomach growled. He was hungry. Thankfully, a normal hungry. He had no money and didn't want to choose something to eat from his other diet. "Hmmm, there were those apples from last night." But, if he was caught he would be punished for stealing. He shook his head and looked back to where the farm was. Then he saw a sight that made his blood stop cold. Van Helsing. Here. In the same town he was in. "Not good, not good, not good," Charcoal muttered to himself in fear. He needed to get out of town, fast. He turned to slink further away from the supernatural hunter. Van Helsing looked around. If the lycan had done more in its rampage last night, the townsfolk would surely be talking of it. He caught a glimpse of a small colt. With visibly pointed teeth at the ends of his mouth and gold eyes. Could a demon hide themselves while inhabiting the body of a pony? He had never considered the thought before, mostly because he had never encountered a lycan smart enough to think of something. But still, was it possible? He rubbed the bottom of his chin. He continued his walk through the small, quiet rural town. "This place won't stay quiet much longer. Not with a lycan on the loose." He stopped walking at stood looking at the ground. A set of paw tracks. Lycan tracks. He wrapped the hilts of his revolvers in a magical grasp, having them at the ready. Van Helsing followed the tracks for a few minutes. They lead to a small wooden shack at the edge of the town. They lead around the house and to its backyard. He could hear sobbing. "Not another victim, please anything but another dead pony,' he muttered under his breath. He looked up to see a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane, surrounded by chicken feathers. A few puddles of blood dotted the ground around her. Van released the grip on his revolvers. "Miss." The Pegasus turned to face him, tears were streaming down her face, she was breathing in sharp breaths. In her hooves were the remains of several chickens. She tried to speak but could only produce uncontrollable sobs.
Lycan IIIVan Helsing stood at the edge of the yellow Pegasus backyard, waiting for her to calm down enough to speak legibly. The mare spent the next few minutes sobbing uncontrollably. Eventually, she stopped sobbing enough to speak. "I'm sorry you had to see that mister," she said, wiping a hoof against her teary eyes. "Miss, can you tell me your name and what happened here?" Van Helsing asked softly. It didn't matter that the only creatures that died here were chickens, this mare obviously cared immensely for them, and their deaths pained her as much as a pony's death would. To Van Helsing those were merely chickens, but to this mare they were much more and that was all that mattered. "O-okay. I'm Fluttershy. And it happened early in the morning. Before the sun had begun to rise, I was awoken by a sound I had never heard before. I heard the chickens in distress. I walked over to a window and peered outside. What I saw terrified me. A creature with silver fur covering almost all of its body was e-eating the chickens. I rushed down outside, but by that time the thing was gone. And so were the chickens. Charcoal watched dozens of ponies enjoying a meal at some restaurant. His stomach growled at the sight. No money, no home to return to, and no friends nor family to be with. He raised his head and sniffed the air. No scents he recognized. Good. Now he just needed to find a way out of this town. He could always just walk out of the town, that's how he usually left a town, but he decided to try and find a different way first. The train was out of the question, no sane pony would let an unsupervised colt on a train set to leave town. Besides, he had no money to buy a ticket with. He sat thinking of some way to leave town. But all of them had some obstacle he couldn't get past. A chipper laughter broke Charcoal out of his thinking. He looked around and found a filly to be the source of the sound. She was with her parents; he could tell from their similar scents. The filly looked happy and so did her parents. Charcoal's ears drooped, he remembered his parents. He remembered the town that betrayed them. Worst of all, he remembered what he did to the town the following blue moon. He shook his head. He had promised he'd never look back on that night. Charcoal smelled the air, there was a pleasant smell about. His tail swung in the air a bit and he stood up. He licked his teeth, it was a good smell. Mmmh, food. Charcoal followed the smell and found its source. A cart of apple delectable. His tail wagged even more at the sight of freshly backed, he didn't know what, but they smelled good. He walked closer to the cart and sniffed the air. The scents made him stop in his tracks. Another scent he recognized. He looked around the cart and saw an orange earth mare wearing a Stetson hat. Charcoal's stomach growled. "Why do these things happen to me?" he muttered to himself. Author's Note Alright, last beta-chapter. If you guys want to continue reading this story then tell me in the comment section and I'll turn this into its own story. It'll continue the idea and expand on some scenes along with better written dialogue.
The Count Dalv Alucard I : Fluttershy, OCTwilight sighed as she told Fluttershy the same thing she told her every time the subject was brought up. "Fluttershy, I don't knkw where those bats things that came out of you went. For all I know, they could've been nothing more than a spectacle of the spell." "I'm sorry to bother you Twilight, I just have the feeling that something bigger is coming because of those bat things. Anyways, I have to go, Angel Bunny needs to be tucked into his bed. Bye." Fluttershy waved goodbye to her friend as she headed back to her cottage. It was just before sundown and she had a lot of animal friends to put to bed. Fluttershy passed by Applejack's farm, to make a quick check on the vampire fruit bats. And, just like all the other times she made this little visit, the vampire fruit bats were still all in the south fields. "Hello, mister Battetington Bat. How has it been today?" Fluttershy had long since learned the langauge of these unusual creatures. "Oh, Fluttershy. It's good to see you. It's been great today. And before you ask, no, none of us have left these fields." Battetington gave a small dismissive wave of his wing to Fluttershy on the last comment. "Well, still I'm glad to know that you're keeping the others in line. I know how hard it can be to deal with essentially unruly foals," Fluttershy said. Both she and Battetington both chuckled. "Well I have to go, I'll see you later." Fluttershy gave a goodbye wave to her friend. "To you too. Oh, and tell Angel I said hi for me. Okay?" "I will." Fluttershy landed in front of the cottage she called home. The sun had already set and the moon had begun its nightly rise. Fluttershy opened the door to her house and walked inside. A quick pounding of fluffy feet drew her attention to the couch, where Angel Bunny sat. He stared at Fluttershy with a look that all but screams: Where have you been? I was worried something had happened to you! "Angel, you don't have to worry about me constantly, I'm fine. See for yourself." Fluttershy unfurled both of her wings and Angel Bunny zipped around Fluttershy two or three times before finally stoping. He nodded his approval that she was okay. "Oh, Battetington told me to tell you he said hi," Fluttershy told Angel, who beamed at this remark. Fluttershy trotted over to the kitchen to start preparing supper for her many animal friends. She placed some apples on a wooden board and proceeded to cut them up into slices. Angel hopped up and pushed a small bowl towards her. "Thank you Angel Bunny." Fluttershy filled the bowl with the apple slices and some lettuce. Angel hopped down and placed the bowl down by a hole in the wall. Fluttershy placed another bowl of cheese beside the first bowl and a family of mice hurried out of the hole. "Mmm," Fluttershy said in a kind tone. "Eat up good everyone." Fluttershy looked out one of the windows. A full moon. The darkness seemed to envelope the craggy old ruined castle. The low hanging fog didn't help any either. A ship, maned by three grave robbers, made her way to the desolate island. Rumors had spread of the great power or treasure that laid beneath the surface of the island, hidden inside the cursed castle. "Char, are you sure that the rumors are true?" one of the ponies asked. The earth pony turned to face his questioner, a small unicorn. "Heelt, I'm positive that they're true," Char responded. "B-but, if the legends of the treasure are true... then so are the legends of the creatures lurking inside the castle," the other pony, now trembling, said. Char looked over at the female pegasus. "Telia, those legends are just that, legends meant to ward off intruders. Lower the anchor." Heelt dropped the anchor from his magical grasp and it plopped down under the water. Heelt forced down the old drawbridge and lit up the surrounding area. "Good work," Char said. "Now, we take the most valuable things first." A swarm of bats flocked out of the opening and flew around the castle, returning to the interior through the windows and cracks. Undeterred, Char led the others inside the castle. The three walked aimlessly throughout the castle. The must have been walking for two hours before they finally found the fruits of their labors. "See guys, what I tell ya, easy pickin's." Char hurriedly jumped down to the treasures. He slipped on the stairs and tumbled cutting any scrapping his hoof. "Ah, damn it!" The blood trickled down the stoney floor, into the mouth of a sleeping vampony. "Ahhh," it whispered in a soft tone. It's eyes shot open, ruby red. His skin pale, wrinkled, and dry; eyes bulging out; and mangled mane and tail. The world around him turned to black and he could see through the stoney ground. The three ponies appeared as red blobs in their physical forms. He licked his lips and turned into smoke. The grey smoke inched through the cracks and rematerialized on the floor, hidden behind a column. His breathing was raspy. "D-did you guys hear that?" Telia asked her companions. "It was just the wind," Char retorted. "O-okay." Telia steadied her breathing. A small glint in the dark caught her eyes. She walked over to it, she stepped out of the light and into the shadows. She reached for the glint and pulled into the light. It was a small silver necklace with a crucifix. "Hmm." Telia smiled. A voice, withered and old slowly whispered, "Mine." She dropped both her smile and the necklace. A wing grabbed her and pulled her onto the cold stone floor. She tried to scream, but they were muffled. She felt a pair of sharp fangs bit down on her neck, draining the blood from her body. As he sucked more and more blood from her helpless body, he changed. His skin became darker and more fleshed, not withered. His mane and tail blackened. Once he sucked out the last drop of blood, he uncovered her mouth. Her body was shriveled and skin was pale. He reached down one wing and slipped the small hook-like claw in the necklace and put it on. He transformed into smoke again and moved to the over side of the room. A small unicorn opened a wardrobe and pulled out a luxurious suit from centuries ago, in perfect condition. He shrugged and tossed the the suit to the floor. The vampony quickly rematerialized inside the suit. He grabbed the unicorn and forced him onto the ground. He sunk his fangs into the neck. He dropped the dead pony onto the ground. The final pony spun around to see the vampony. He gasped in horror and dropped the small book he was holding. On the floor beside the creature were the lifeless, drained bodies of his associates. He nearly shrieked out, but the vampony was in front of him before he could even squeak. The vampony sunk his fangs into the neck of the final intruder. Fluttershy was about to walk upstairs to her room for sleep when she heard a knock on the front door. Now, who could that be? Especially at this hour? "Um... hello? Who is it?" "A real fucking vampony."
Lone I : OCThe night was dark and stormy. A pony wearing a cloak carried a small bundle of cloth. In front of them, in the rural outskirts of Baltimare, was an orphanage. A cry came from the bundle. "Shhh. Shhh." The pony gentle rocked the bundle forward and back, calming the young foal. Once the crying stopped, the pony bent forward and kissed the foal on the forehead. Knock, knock, knock! A few minutes passed and nopony came. The pony knocked again and heard hoofsteps in the building. A unicorn opened the door and found nopony. Confused she looked around. Still nopony. A cry came from below and she looked down. "Oh my," she said picking up the crying foal. "Shh, shh." She cradled the colt back and forth. The crying subsided and a pleasant cry replaced it. She took the colt inside. "Lilac, come here!" the mare called out. A few minutes later, another female voice answered. "What is it Rose?" Lilac trotted down the stairs to see Rose with the sleeping colt. "He was on the doorstep." "Was there anypony with him?" Lilac quietly tiptoed over to her sister, not wishing to awaken the small colt. "No," Rose answered, still gently rocking the colt. Rose pulled out a small note tucked inside the blanket. A small, broken compass was also tucked in the blanket, along with a red bandana. His name is Lone. I can't take care of him, can you?
Lone IIAn alarm rang beside me. Groggily, I slammed my hoof down on top of the alarm clock. I leaned up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Yawn!" I rang out to nopony in particular. The sun rays filtered through the small crack between the two curtains blocking circular window on the wall. I rolled myself out of bed and pulled back the curtains. I was blinded by the sudden influx of sunlight. You're an idiot Lone. Of course the sunlight would rush into the room once you opened the curtains. I thought to myself, blinking. My vision gradually returned and adjusted to the light. I turned my head to take in a good look of my room. Bookshelves filled with books on countless topics lined the left wall. My bed laid against the opposite wall, along with my desk. On a bedside table was a small, red piece of cloth and a broken compass. I picked up the cloth in my wings and tied it around my neck. I lifted it up and hooked on the compass to it. There was a knock on my door, and despite being unable to see who, I could sense it was Lilac. "You can come in Lilac!" I called out to her. The door opened and there stood Lilac in the doorway. She was a unicorn with a cream-colored coat and a short, straight-kept, yellow mane and tail. She was the younger of the two sisters who ran the orphanage. "You're up early," Lilac said. "Yeah." "Well, Mr. Gustave is preparing breakfast. He made your favorite." "Pancakes?" I asked with a noticeable hint of glee. "Blueberry pancakes." Even better. "Thanks for telling me." I nodded to Lilac and she turned to wake up the other kids. She always woke me up first, even though my room was on the top floor. Maybe because I was the oldest but I never knew if that was it. I grabbed a book in my wings and bounded over to the flight of stairs. I casually flew down the stairs and to the dinning hall. The pleasant aroma of pancakes and blueberries filled my nostrils. My stomach growled in agreement with my nose. I entered the dinning hall and found Mr. Gustave placing out plates of food on the kitchen dinning hall table. I walked over and slid my other wing under a plate. Once my wing touched the "Hot!" I yelped out as soon as my wing touched the plate. "Hehe, well of course it's hot Lone," Mr. Gustave told me whilst chuckling. "Thanks Gustave." I blew on the plate some and waved my wing over it. After a few moments of that, I slipped my wing under it again. It was still hot, but now it was bearable. I carried the plate over to the end of a table and set my breakfast. Around this time the younger foals slowly filled into the room. Each took a plate, thanked Mr. Gustave, and took a seat at one of the tables occupied by their friends and/or roommates. I cracked open the book I brought, took a bite of my pancakes, and quietly started reading. The room was slowly filling with chatter between friends, laughter, and talk of what everypony was going to do today. I droned out the sounds and continued to eat. It was Saturday. Usually after breakfast, everypony headed to their classes, but not so on the weekends. I took the final bite of my pancakes and closed the book I was reading. I got up and turned to leave. I stopped when I felt something. I had felt this many times before. I couldn't explain how it felt. Sometimes I could just sense how a pony felt and what they were thinking. I turned to see the a two colts only two or three years younger than me, staring at each other. Not a friendly or awkward stare. No, a stare that says they want to hurt somepony. I realized what was going to happen. As soon as they were let out, a fight was going to ensue. I trotted over to Mr. Gustave and told him what I had realized and he gave me a nod, after giving me a stare that said he was weirded out. Mr. Gustave had told Lilac and she made sure to have a talk to the them. Lilac had assured me that she would never tell ponies who told her what they had been going to do. But the others always knew that it was me. The whispers spread thorough the orphanage like wildfire. They whispered that I had told Lilac. They avoided me in the halls and did their best to avoid eye contact. The first time I had an episode was in the middle of a class eight years ago. I wasn't paying attention to the ponies around me when all of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a girl me call me a know-it-all. And like an idiot, I spoke up. "Miss Lilac. The girl behind me called me an ugly name." Turns out, nopony was behind me. The entire class laughed at my "joke". But I kept hearing ponies calling me names. I shouted, calling everypony in the room names. The room fell silent and Lilac didn't take too kindly to my outburst and sent me to see her sister. I started to say that it wasn't fair. At the time, to me it seemed like Lilac was targeting me for the crime of being the victim. But I got the feeling that she was more disappointed than angry. "Lone. Go see my sister. Now!" Lilac told me sternly. I'd never heard Lilac get that angry with me before and never again after that. The rumors quickly spread amongst the others that I was insane and for quite some time after, I thought I was. I went through the rest of my day as usual. It seemed like an ordinary, every other day, until that night. "Lone," a voice called out. I nearly jumped at the sudden voice. I turned my attention from the book in front of me to the voice. It was Rose Chestnut. A tan unicorn with long, red, flowing mane and tail. "Lone, why aren't you asleep? It's past time for you to be in bed, asleep." Rose sat down on my bed. She looked at me worried. She always did when she found me awake when I should be sleeping. Which, honestly, was often. I looked out of the circular window. The city of Baltimare stood in the near distance. She knew what was on my mind. "You'll get adopted, I know you will. It's only been-" "Sixteen years. My entire life. Yeah, cause that's not a long time. Not a long time at all," I muttered. Rose sighed. "Lone, if you keep saying things like that to yourself and thinking that, you'll never have any chance because when the opportunity comes across, you'll be unable to see it." Rose took the book I had been reading and placed it on the bedtable. "Now its late, You need your rest." I begrudgingly got under the covers. "Good night Lone." Rose turned off the lights and closed the door behind her. "I'll try." I sighed as I tried to sleep but I just couldn't. Something I had read in that book was nagging in the back of my mind. Frustrated and hoping that finding out would alleviate my curiosity enough to sleep, I hopped out of bed and flipped through the book again. It was a symbol. A familiar- no, not a symbol, a design pattern. Then it hit me. I grabbed my compass and looked on the inside of it. That same design pattern was etched into the compass' front panel. This was it. A clue, a lead. A way to find my parents. Find out who I am. The pattern was from a native tribe in Northern Equestria. I wasted no time packing my things together. My compass, cloth, some of my books, and all of the bits I had saved up over the years. Left a note, opened my window and took off towards Baltimare.
