Of Vampires and Werewolvesby TekkonairChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 4Chapter 1“Mmmm.” Vinyl groaned slightly as she slowly returned to the land of the living. “Go away sun.” She moaned, rolling over to evade the beam of sunlight streaming through the curtains that had rudely awoken her. Her eyes snapped open when the warm, fuzzy lump she was expecting wasn’t there. “Octy?” She asked, seeing her marefriend’s side of the bed was unoccupied. “Octy?” She asked again, louder. “I’m in here!” She responded. “I woke up before you, and I didn’t want to wake you.” “You could have waited.” Sulked Vinyl, sitting up. “I made pancakes.” Octavia called in a sing-song voice. Vinyl immediately perked up and shot into the kitchen, her sunglasses somehow remaining in position on her white snout. “You are forgiven.” Joked Vinyl, giving Octavia a nuzzle before sitting at the table. Octavia blushed at the nuzzle, and smiled at Vinyl. “I would have thought last night would clear me of transgressions for a week at least.” Vinyl blinked at the long word, before grinning. “Not quite Tavi.” Replied Vinyl, using the pet name that she knew irritated Octavia. As predicted, Octavia’s left eye twitched slightly, as did her left hoof, the pan she was using twitching along with it and spilling some pancake batter. “You’re cleaning that up.” Said Octavia, turning her attention back to the hissing pan in front of her. “Aww come on Octy.” Pleaded Vinyl, dreading the thought of cleaning. “No. You’re allowed to keep your workshop as a pig sty so long as the rest of the apartment stays clean.” The workshop Octavia referred to was Vinyl’s ‘inner sanctum’, though the white mare preferred the term ‘tinker box’. It was where she repaired and ‘upgraded’, or in Octavia’s words ‘made louder’, her various bits of kit, anything from headphones and microphones to the largest speakers she could bring to bear against the world of music. “Fine, so long as you stop criticizing my music.” Vinyl muttered, folding her hooves over her chest. “Excuse me, but that assault on the senses is not music, and every time you open fire with your speakers the death toll on the side of taste is horrendous.” Octavia teased Vinyl, and even Vinyl let out a chuckle at that. “At least I can do my own thing with my equipment. I don’t see you tinkering with your box with strings.” Octavia’s jaw dropped at the insult to her cello. “My cello has more taste in an ounce of string than in a tonne of your equipment.” Defended Octavia, huffing as she did so, causing Vinyl to grin. “You are too easy to wind up Octy.” She said, grinning wider. “Now, where are those pancakes?” Vinyl locked the door after Octavia, rubbing the back of her head. “That still stings.” “You have no one but yourself to blame.” Said Octavia, smiling. “After the pancake comment, I was more than entitled to retaliate.” “Yea, but with a frying pan? Since when did we live in a cartoon?” Asked Vinyl with a wince as she applied pressure on the egg-shaped lump that was forming. “Improvisation.” Was all Octavia said, before leading the way. “Remind me what we’re doing again?” Asked Vinyl. “I need to pick up a new bow for my cello, since the one I have at the moment is getting a bit worn.” “Right, and I need to pick up some supplies for my equipment as well.” Vinyl thought out loud, remembering one of her speakers had blown out and needed to be repaired.” She chuckled. “Remind me never to attempt to re-wire a speaker when drunk again.” “Duly noted.” Replied Octavia, nuzzling Vinyl. Vinyl blushed, before looking around to see if anyone saw them. Octavia sighed. “Vinyl, you’re going to have to stop being so paranoid about us.” “Sorry Octy, automatic response.” Apologised Vinyl, visibly wincing as she remembered the events that forced her to move out of her hometown. She idly rubbed at a shoulder, causing Octavia to frown. “You’re going to have to tell me what happened one day.” She said, looking into Vinyl’s eyes. Or at least, the shades she always seemed to wear. “I know, I know. Just, not today?” Pleaded Vinyl. Octavia nodded, smiling. “Of course.” Celestia knows I’ve got my own secrets she thought, sighing. Maybe one day… She shook her head to clear her thoughts, before smiling at Vinyl. “Whatever it is, it’s in the past. Can’t hurt us anymore.” Liar Vinyl brightened at that. “I guess you’re right.” She grinned warmly at her marefriend, causing Octavia’s mood to improve as well. Curse you Vinyl she thought sarcastically as Vinyl trotted ahead of her. “What are you looking for?” “I can smell pizza.” Said Vinyl, sniffing. Octavia sniffed as well, blinking. What do you know? How did Vinyl smell that before I did? She mused silently. “How can you be hungry already?” “I’m not, I just smell pizza.” Vinyl beamed back at Octavia. “Pizza for lunch?” “After pancakes for breakfast? Not all of us have quite the same metabolism as you do Vinyl.” Replied Octavia. “Aww come on Tavi.” Pleaded Vinyl. Octavia twitched again. “You think using that name will help you?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. Vinyl snickered. “It will if I say it enough.” She responded, a wicked grin plastered on her face. “…If you promise never to use that nickname again, we’ll go for pizza.” “Make it for the rest of today.” “Fine.” Relented Octavia, willing to let Vinyl off this time. The frying pan had been a bit much, she had to admit. Doesn’t stop it being funny she added in her head, smirking. “Looks like this is where we part ways for now.” Said Octavia as they reached a cross-roads. “I’ll see you later, ok?” “Ok Octy.” Vinyl smiled. “See you at the pizza place at noon?” “You got it. Love you.” Beamed Octavia. “Love you too Octy.” Vinyl gave Octavia a quick nuzzle, her confidence slowly improving, before trotting off down the road. Octavia sighed. Please let her be safe, please let the past stay behind me Chapter 2Ok, so the next chapter of 'Of Vampires and Werewolves' is up. If you have not already, please read the revised first chapter, as the story has changed severely, and this chapter will not make sense if you haven't read the new version “Could you at least eat like a civilised pony?” Asked Octavia, grimacing at Vinyl as she messily ate her pizza. “Wha?” Asked Vinyl through a pizza-clogged mouth. Octavia didn’t have the advantage of magic, and yet was making far less mess than her partner, whose muzzle was caked in tomato sauce and cheese. Vinyl swallowed and tried again. “What? Pizza is too good to take care whilst eating.” She replied with a grin, licking the debris from around her face. Octavia rolled her eyes. “Fine, just try not to get any on me.” Said Octavia, brushing a small piece of Vinyl’s pizza off her foreleg with a grimace. “Yes sir!” Exclaimed Vinyl with a mock salute, swinging her hoof into the side of her head with more force than intended. “Oww…” She muttered, rubbing her face. Octavia chuckled. “Hey, I don’t even need to hit you anymore.” She joked, grinning. Vinyl stuck her tongue out at Octavia before taking another bite of her pizza. “Yea, yea. Hey, are you coming to the club tonight? I’m going to doing that song we worked on together.” She said, smiling. “Hmm. Tempting.” Mused Octavia, tapping her chin with her hoof. “I’ll need something to sweeten the deal.” “Aww come on Octy.” Pleaded Vinyl. “Tell you what, you get me a bottle of Jura and I’ll come.” Said Octavia, smirking. “Deal.” Said Vinyl, grinning. “Same club as usual, ten pm start.” “I’ll be there. Anyone I should watch out for?” Asked Octavia, remembering all too well the first time Vinyl had convinced her to go to that club… Octavia’s hind hoof unconsciously tapped the floor as she watched the white mare play her set. She smirked as she sipped at the cocktail next to her at the bar. ‘Alright, this isn’t too bad’ she thought, casting a wary glance about her. ‘Company could be a little better, but no one’s done anything untoward so far’ she took another sip of the cocktail. ‘Drinks aren’t half bad as well. Still, I wish they had a good whisky.’ Octavia smiled, relaxing and focusing on the stage. She became so engrossed with the performance that she didn’t notice the earth pony stallion moving up behind her until he was tipping a powder into her drink. Octavia whipped round. “What do you think you’re doing?” “Aw shit boys, looks like I got caught.” He said with a smirk, glancing back at the other two stallions with him, two unicorns. “Looks like we’ll have to call our plans for tonight off.” “What plans?” Octavia asked carefully, getting off the stool and bracing herself for a fight. “Well, you of course.” Said one of the unicorns with a sneer, as the other one levitated a butterfly knife out of one of the pockets of the coat he was wearing, spinning it dangerously. “Grab her.” Said the earth pony, the three stallions moving forwards. Octavia reared up and was about to swing a hoof at the unicorn with the knife, when a white blur sailed past her and knocked the unicorn to the ground. “Buck off!” Shouted Vinyl, landing on the unicorn’s chest and spinning to face the earth pony, snarling. The earth pony chuckled. “Make me.” He challenged with a grin. Vinyl grinned right back at him, picking up the knife with her magic, the blade flashing towards the earth pony’s leg. He jumped back, and Vinyl redirected the blade at the other unicorn who was charging a spell. The unicorn cried out and lost the spell as the knife sunk into the back of his knee, falling to the ground. The earth pony prepared to charge Vinyl, but was sent face first into the ground by a buck from Octavia. Vinyl turned to look at Octavia. “You alright?” She asked, concern visible on her face despite the shades she wore. “I’m fine. Thanks for that.” Said Octavia with a smile. “Good, and no problem.” Replied Vinyl with a smirk, going back to the stage as bouncers dragged the three stallions away. Vinyl grinned down into the crowd, spinning another record on her hoof before placing it onto one of the turntables. “Sorry for the interruption folks, now let’s get back to dancing.” “Umm, Octy?” Asked Vinyl, waving a hoof in Octavia’s face. “Earth to Octy, come in Octy.” “Hmm? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking.” “Ah, well, there shouldn’t be anyone who’d give you trouble, and I’ll tell the bouncers to keep an eye on you.” “Thanks Vinyl.” Said Octavia, smiling and briefly nuzzling her marefriend, making Vinyl shrink back slightly, casting glances about her. “So, where now?” “Umm. Home? I need to fix that speaker, and I’d like to see if I can finish off a track I’ve been working on before tonight.” Vinyl suggested with a smile. “Sure, and I want to make sure there’s nothing wrong with this bow.” Agreed Octavia, nodding to the bag next to her. Vinyl nodded, finishing her final slice of pizza as messily as the rest of her meal, and waited patiently for Octavia to finish her pizza. Once Octavia was finished, Vinyl got the bill and paid for it, despite Octavia’s protests. “It’s fine Octy, I got this. You made me pancakes after all.” Said Vinyl with a smirk. Octavia chuckled. “Alright, I’ll let you have this one.” She replied with a smirk. “Now come on, let’s get home.” She said, standing up and putting her saddlebag back on her back. Vinyl nodded, grinning, and followed Octavia back to their apartment building. “We need to get a place of our own one day. A proper house, not an apartment.” Mused Octavia. “It’ll happen one day Octavia.” Promised Vinyl, smiling. Bits weren’t the problem, they’d saved enough between them for a modestly sized house, the issues were location and public image. Both of them were aware how damaging it could be to Octavia’s career, Vinyl’s less so, and Vinyl still had her apparent phobia of public displays of affection. Whilst few questions were asked at the moment, it was hardly uncommon for two mares to live in an apartment together, moving into a house together would quickly gather interest. As for location, it was difficult to find a balance between the privacy the pair desired, and opportunities for the pair of them to perform. And of course the issue of tolerance. Octavia sighed. “I hope so Vinyl, I hope so.” Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment ‘Octy’ the voice in her head sneered. Remember what happened last time you hoped… Octavia shook her head to clear those thoughts from her head, and smiled at her confused marefriend. “Come on, maybe we can finally think of somewhere to settle down.” Chapter 3Octavia smirked as she sipped her cocktail, lounging against the bar as she watched her marefriend on stage throw herself into her set with abandon, her blue mane shimmering under the bright lights focussed on the stage, a sea of neon paint and glow sticks undulating on the dance floor. Octavia shuddered at the thought of how hot it must be in the middle of that throng. She chuckled as Vinyl flipped a new record into the air, and waved the bartender. “Another Manehattan?” Asked the pony behind the bar, absentmindedly cleaning a beer glass with a rag that looked older than the stallion holding it. “Actually, I think I’ll go with a Maretini. Shaken, not stirred.” She replied with a grin at her own joke. “Heard that one before.” Muttered the stallion with a roll of his eyes, and went to go prepare the cocktail. Octavia stuck her tongue out at the turned back of the stallion, the alcohol clearly getting her to lighten up. So much so she failed to notice a secluded group of ponies gesturing at Vinyl and her, shooting suspicious looks at anyone who got close and talking in hushed tones. Any other night, this would have caused Octavia to leave, hopefully with Vinyl following her. But Vinyl’s earlier assurances, as well as the promise that the proceeds of this night’s performance would go towards buying a house, so Octavia was feeling more tolerant to oddities tonight, and was perfectly content to watch her marefriend act out the part of DJ-P0N3 until the end of her set. “That’s all for tonight folks!” Vinyl said into the microphone on stage, grinning. “DJ-P0N3 is out of here!” She bowed theatrically, before packing her records away and leaving the stage, clearly in high spirits. Octavia grinned, and walked out of the club, waiting by the alley they arranged to meet at. Vinyl shortly exited through the club side door, and grinned at Octavia. Octavia grinned back. “Hey Vinyl. Good haul tonight?” Asked Octavia. “You have no idea.” Replied Vinyl, a smile etched from ear to ear as she levitated a pay check into her saddlebag. “Come on, we’ll celebrate at home with a few drinks.” Said Vinyl, gesturing down the alleyway, incidentally a shortcut back to their apartment. “Excellent. I’ve been waiting to get into that Jura.” “Just don’t spend too long with it, I might get jealous.” Teased Vinyl, grinning. “Oh don’t fret Vinyl; you are my one true love.” Replied Octavia, nuzzling Vinyl. Vinyl beamed back at Octavia, and led the way into the alleyway. The pair were about halfway down the alleyway when Octavia suddenly stopped. “What’s wrong Octy?” Asked Vinyl, looking around. “There’s someone ahead of us.” She said, tensing up as three figures stepped out of the shadows a few yards ahead of them. “Very astute beast.” Hissed one of the figures, as they revealed themselves to be ponies. “Beast?” Asked Vinyl, tensing up as well, angry at the insult to her beloved. “What do you want?” Asked Octavia. “Well, simply put, the white mare beside you.” Hissed the same pony, evidently the leader of the strange little group. Octavia growled, causing Vinyl to start somewhat at the noise ponies should be unable to make. “Leave her alone, nosferatu.” Octavia growled, her teeth looking a touch sharper than a few moments ago. “What’s a nosferatu? What’s going on?” Asked Vinyl, angry and confused. “Be silent mortal.” Sneered the leader. “You will become one of us, no matter what the mongrel next to you has to say on the matter.” “I am no mongrel.” Replied Octavia, baring her teeth in a snarl at the slur. “Someone tell me what’s going on or I’m going to start screaming.” Said Vinyl, now upset as well as angry and confused. “Well, mortal.” Began the leader, with a great amount of amusement. “To put it into terms you will understand, the beast you are standing next to is a werewolf, we are vampires, and shortly you will be a vampire as well.” The words caught Vinyl off guard. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t that. “What.” She said flatly, blinking rapidly. Octavia sighed. “I’m sorry Vinyl.” Octavia said, hanging her head. The leader chuckled. “Any last words before we kill this dog and add you to our ranks?” They hissed at Vinyl, a grin visible despite the gloom of the alley. “Yea.” Vinyl said slowly, looking at Octavia and nodding. “Bite my flank!” She shouted, before her horn glowed. The white glow encompassed a dust bin in the alley, hurling it at the figures as Octavia growled, rapidly beginning to change. Octavia’s front hooves appeared to split, the previously hard stumps shifting into apparently normal canine paws, save for the much larger than average claws capping each toe. Her hind hooves split into a pair of cloven hooves. Her muzzle elongated, teeth changing into sharp fangs as the fur receded from the tip of her nose, leaving a wet black patch. Her eyes shifted to amber as her muscles swelled, especially around her jaws and shoulders. Her grin was feral as she leapt at the leader. “I was hoping we could do this quietly, but oh well.” Muttered the leader, before a bolt of magic flashed from them, missing Octavia and reducing a small section of wall to dust. The vampire Vinyl threw the dust bin at easily dodged the attack, and prepared to retaliate, but noticed too late that Vinyl hadn’t released control of the bin, and it impacted into the back of their head with a satisfying crunch. She didn’t have time to gloat though, as the vampire that wasn’t busy avoiding Octavia leapt at her, a pair of pegasus wings emerging from their robes as they flew at Vinyl. She yelped and reeled back as the vampire landed in front of her, grabbing a loose brick with her magic and swinging it at the vampire. The pegasus easily avoided the attack, ducking under the brick before twisting and bucking Vinyl, the hooves contacting with her chest, knocking her backwards. Vinyl quickly rolled to her feet, sending a telekinetic blast at the pegasus to buy herself some time. The pegasus flinched back from the attack, before renewing his assault on the white unicorn. Vinyl rocked back onto her hind hooves, swinging both front hooves at the vampire’s head. The pegasus ducked, but failed to notice the brick from earlier coming back for another try at his skull. The pegasus’ head snapped back as the brick hit them in the bottom of the jaw, and Vinyl spun into a buck as her front hooves hit the ground, winding the pegasus. The pegasus dropped to the ground, and Vinyl turned to the fight between Octavia and the leader. Both had taken their share of injuries, Octavia staying off her bloodied hind left leg, the leader’s breathing somewhat raspy, and each of them was covered in blood from various sources. The vampire’s robes were also shredded, barely hanging onto their form by a few strands of material that Octavia had yet to tear through. The leader blasted Octavia away with a pulse of magic, and quickly took a look around. They snarled upon seeing both their lackeys had fallen, neither of them looking to be getting up any time soon. “This has gone on long enough.” They snapped, blasting Octavia back again before lunging at Vinyl. Vinyl barely had time to yelp before the vampire was on top of her. She tried to attack the vampire with her magic, but her head was slammed against the concrete, her vision flashing white for a moment. Octavia slowly dug herself out of the pile of refuse she had been thrown into, her eyes locking onto the pair of them. “Vinyl!” She shouted, apparently knocked back to her normal form by the attack, and charged towards the pair of them as fast as she was able. The vampire cackled, a blade of magic flashing at Octavia, cutting deep into the wound she had already sustained on her leg, and Octavia dropped to the ground with a howl of pain. The vampire grinned, smashed Vinyl’s head into the ground once more before licking their lips. “I wonder how you’ll taste.” They mused aloud, before sinking their fangs into Vinyl’s throat. Vinyl screamed and thrashed, trying to push the vampire off, but to no avail, and her movements slowly began to still as her vision went dark… Chapter 5AUTHOR'S NOTE: A quick warning. This chapter is one of the darkest in this story, so be prepared for a shock “My mother completely fell apart after he died. She started drinking, stayed out later and later, and the amount of time she spent with Trixie dwindled almost to nothing. She flitted from one stallion to another in an effort to quell the feeling of loneliness. The she finally settled on one stallion, and she couldn’t have made a worse choice.” “Trixie, I want you to meet Swift Streak.” Trixie’s mother led a well-toned pegasus stallion, quite a few years younger than his new marefriend, with grey fur and a white mane into the house. Trixie looked up from her homework, and smiled. Her mother had none of the frantic energy of the past few months about her, and her eyes shone with real happiness for the first time since Trixie’s father died. “Hey kiddo.” Said Swift, a friendly grin on his face as he walked over to Trixie. Trixie returned his smile, giggling as he bumped her hoof. “Hello.” Trixie said happily, her young mind thinking that if this stallion made mummy happy, then he must be good. “I’m Trixie.” “Your mother’s told me all about you. An illusionist eh? Don’t see many of those around.” He said, his eyes twinkling slightly. “You’re going to go far kid.” “He seemed like a great guy at the start. He spent equal amounts of time with Trixie as he did with Trixie’s mother, took Trixie out for ice cream, read Trixie bed time stories, even helped with homework where he could. It was great for the first year.” Trixie sighed. “Of course, all good things must come to an end. Trixie didn’t see it at the time, but he became more pushy with mum. He wanted a foal that was his, somepony who wasn’t a reminder that he was playing second fiddle to a dead pony. He knew no matter how well he treated her mother, she would always love Trixie’s father.” “What happened? Surely your mother would have loved to have another foal?” Asked Octavia, confused. Up till now, Trixie’s mother appeared to be the kind who loved children. “She would have, if she was able. Trixie’s birth was… difficult. Both Trixie and her mother almost died during the birth, and it left mother infertile. Swift had no idea at the time, mum was probably trying to protect Trixie.” Trixie sighed. “Given what happened when he found out, that was probably true.” “What did he do?” Trixie looked at Octavia and resumed her tale. “I was coming up to my seventh birthday…” Trixie was sitting at the table, puzzling over her homework, when Swift burst in, teeth bared. “What are you doing Trixie?!” He thundered, glaring her down. Trixie cringed, curling into a small ball. “D-doing my homework.” She stuttered, scared out of her wits. “We don’t have time for that nonsense.” Swift grabbed Trixie’s hoof and pulled her away from the table and into the front room. “But the teacher said I need to do a demonstration of my illusions.” Whined Trixie, trying to pull away. “Enough with the illusionist nonsense. If I can’t have my own foal with your mother, I’m just going to have to make sure you become successful and make plenty of money. Illusionists don’t make money. You need to learn practical skills.” He said impatiently, shoving her into the room, and put her in front of the fire place. “Now, light those logs on fire.” “But I can’t.” Trixie yelped as Swift back-hoofed her. “You’re going to light those logs on fire.” He snarled. “Do it.” Trixie sniffed, but complied, the pink glow appearing around her horn as she tried to start the fire. A few sparks flew from her horn, but the logs failed to light. Swift snorted, and stomped out of the room. “You’re not going to leave this room until you light those logs, understand?” Trixie sniffed again. “Yes…” She whispered, as Swift closed the door behind him and locked it. “That’s awful.” Said Octavia, her eyes wide. “What happened?” “Trixie was there for hours trying to light a fire. After so many attempts Trixie was tired, hungry and thirsty, Trixie gave up and used my illusionary magic to ‘light’ a fire. Trixie went to the door and shouted for him. When he came in, the first thing he did was poke a stick into the fire. It wasn’t even singed when he pulled it out. He was absolutely furious, and shouted for hours whilst he thought of a suitable punishment.” “I ought to punish you for this!” He thundered. “Can’t even light a simple fire. You’ll never-” He caught himself, then grinned. “Yes, that will do nicely.” He chuckled darkly, turning to the fireplace, fiddling around with something until a real fire was crackling away, and turned back to Trixie, who was still rooted in place with fear. “Perhaps to control fire, you need to know what it feels like.” He said with a glint in his eye, his grin made all the more sinister by the shifting shadows on his face. He grabbed Trixie roughly, forcing her hoof out in front of her. “What are you doing?” She asked fearfully, beginning to cry again. “You need to understand fire, feel it’s rage, it’s destructive potential, it’s heat.” He cooed into her ear, making Trixie shudder as he moved her towards the fireplace. Trixie’s eyes widened when she realised what he was doing, and began to struggle. “Do not struggle child.” He hissed, hitting Trixie roughly on the head and forcing her hoof into the fire. She screamed, a cacophony of agony tearing from her mouth as the fire licked around her hoof, burning away her fur and searing her flesh. Trixie hung her head and sniffed, a tear escaping and flowing down her muzzle. Octavia was horrified by what she heard, her eyes wide as he mouth was covered by her hoof. “That is one of Trixie’s most painful memories. Not for what he did to Trixie, but for what mother didn’t do. She did nothing, didn’t even say a word against Swift when he told her Trixie was knocked out when something fell from the mantelpiece, falling so her hoof ended up in the flame.” Trixie snorted, as her magical aura surrounded her unbandaged front hoof. The lower leg appeared to float away, revealing her real leg to be nothing more than an amputated stump beyond the knee. “They amputated the hoof?” Asked Octavia, her eyes going even wider. Trixie nodded, levitating the prosthetic hoof back into position. “The flames destroyed most of the nerves in Trixie’s leg, they had no choice. It would have gone gangrene otherwise.” She said, a hint of contempt in her voice. “I’ve learnt to make do with the prosthetic, it doesn’t really bother me anymore.” “Does Vinyl know?” Trixie nodded. “As I said, no secrets.” She confirmed with a sad smile. “But no one else knows, other than the doctors.” “What about your mother and Swift?” Asked Octavia, tilting her head. “They’re both dead.” Trixie said the words as if she was commenting on the weather. “Swift killed my mother in a drunken rage, he died of alcohol poisoning a couple of years later.” “I’m sorry to hear that.” “Don’t be. Trixie doesn’t feel anything for that mare now.” Trixie’s voice was hollow as she said this. “Trixie ran away from home after he killed mum, started doing cheap tricks in the street to make enough to eat. As time went on, the crowds got bigger, the profits became greater, and Trixie’s ego grew. Sometimes the old Trixie comes through again, like when Trixie introduced herself to you.” “I take it that’s why you winced.” Remarked Octavia, and Trixie nodded. “That and the wound on Trixie’s leg. Magic attack she wasn’t quite quick enough to avoid.” “I’ve been wondering about that. How did an illusionist defeat a vampire?” “Illusionists are rare enough that when a pony sees a wall spring up behind them, they don’t realise that it’s just a trick. After that, it’s simply a matter of flinging enough bricks at them. Plus Trixie does know a fair amount of battle magic. Life on the streets isn’t easy. It probably helped that they were distracted when Trixie attacked, and they had just had to fight you.” Said Trixie, as the nurse entered the room again. “Vinyl’s awake, and she’s asked to see you both.” Chapter 6“I have to hoof it to you Trixie.” Said Octavia, as Trixie helped her limp down to hall to Vinyl’s room. “If I didn’t know you had a prosthetic hoof, I’d never guess.” Trixie smirked at that. “On the streets you learn to hide any weakness. Trixie spent ages learning to walk without a limp.” She said, smiling at Octavia. “Sometimes it can even be an advantage. Trixie remembers the face of one stallion that got his knife stuck in her prosthetic limb.” Trixie chuckled. “They never see that one coming.” “I can imagine.” Replied Octavia, wincing as she put more weight than she intended to on her hind leg. “Oww. That stung.” She said, grimacing at the slight squelching sound as she lifted the hoof again. “Not too far now.” Said the nurse on the other side of Octavia, helping her along as well. “This next room.” The nurse left Octavia’s side and opened the door, Trixie helping Octavia through the door. Vinyl was lying on the bed, awake but looking exhausted. Two IV drips were running into her, one attached to a blood bag, the other a nutrient feed. Bandages were wrapped around her neck, and butterfly stitches, barely visible against her white fur, were running across a gash on her head. Vinyl looked up at Octavia, and smiled. “Hey Octy.” She said weakly, and one of Octavia’s fears vanished. She was worried the vampire had damaged Vinyl’s vocal chords when she was bitten, but it seemed no damage had been done in that area. “Hey Vinyl.” She replied, smiling despite her worries. “Hey Trixie.” Vinyl said, with a hint of confusion. “What are you doing here?” Trixie snorted. “Oh, Trixie saves your miserable hide and this is the thanks she gets?” She turned her nose up, before breaking out in a grin. “Glad to see you’re awake.” Vinyl’s smile grew, until her eyes wandered to Octavia’s hind leg. “What happened to you Octy?” She asked, her brow creasing with concern. “The one that attacked you got me in the leg.” She said, baring her teeth slightly at the memory. Vinyl nodded slowly as if remembering something, before looking around the medical staff in the room. “Is it alright if we have some privacy for a while?” She asked. The staff nodded, and began filing out of the room. Once the room was unoccupied save for Vinyl, Octavia and Trixie, Vinyl turned back to Octavia. “So, yo-” She began, but was cut off by Octavia. “Oh Celestia Vinyl I’m so sorry.” She burst out. “I should have told you sooner, I know.” A few tears began leaking from Octavia’s eyes. “Octy.” Vinyl tried to get Octavia’s attention, but she kept going. “I shouldn’t have kept it from you, I should have been more careful.” “Octavia.” “And now you’ve been bitten and it’s all my-” “Octavia!” Shouted Vinyl, at a surprising volume given her state. Octavia froze, and looked back to Vinyl. “Octavia, I don’t blame you for not telling me. “But I-” “No buts! Octavia, you being a werewolf doesn’t change how I feel about you.” Trixie looked at Octavia and raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t care if it turned out you were a Changeling this entire time. It wouldn’t change how I feel about you. I mean that.” She said, her eyes fixed on Octavia. Octavia lowered her head. “That doesn’t change the fact I hid things from you.” “Damnit Octavia, I already told you that I don’t care that you hid things from me.” Vinyl sighed. “Just, explain what happened in that alleyway.” “Ok…” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and explained everything. “So, we were attacked by a group of vampires?” “Yes. “Who somehow knew you were a werewolf?” “Yes.” “And wanted to turn me into a vampire and kill you?” “That about sums it up.” “Right.” Vinyl was silent for a bit. “Am I a vampire then?” “I…” Octavia sighed. “Not yet.” “But I will be.” “Yes.” Octavia shook slightly. “This is…” Vinyl paused, Octavia expecting the worst. “Awesome!” She exclaimed. “What?!” “Are you kidding me Octy? A freaking vampire?!” Vinyl grinned despite her weakened state, and Octavia blinked rapidly. “Vinyl, do you even realise how much of a big deal this is?” Asked Octavia, her tone incredulous. Vinyl stopped to look at Octavia. “I have no idea, but you’re going to tell me, right?” She asked. Octavia sighed, and sat down. “Well, first some rumours to dispel. Firstly, you can go out in sunlight, though it will hurt your eyes more, and your powers will not be as effective.” “Powers?” Interrupted Vinyl. “I’ll get onto that. You can cross running water, and you can enter a home without being invited. You will need to drink at least a pint of blood a month. More blood will make you more powerful, and your powers will be stronger shortly after drinking. However, the more blood you drink within a month, the more powerful the urge to feed will become, as will the effect that sunlight has on you.” “Right…” Vinyl was silent for a moment. “When you say ‘feed’, does that mean I have to drink from a pony?” “Not necessarily. You are perfectly able to feed from a blood bag. However, there is something else I need to tell you.” Vinyl looked at her expectantly. “Are you aware of the popular idea that vampires and werewolves hate each other’s guts and are at perpetual war?” Vinyl nodded. “Well, that holds true for some groups, not all of them though. However, groups that do not hate each other are the exception rather than the norm, so be wary around werewolves.” “How will I tell how is and who isn’t a werewolf?” “By the time you have completely turned, you will be able to tell by how they smell.” “Wait, my senses will improve as well?” “Hearing, sight and smell will improve. You will also be stronger, faster and have a greater endurance. However, should you get into a fight with a werewolf or other ‘supernatural’, as we call ourselves, speed is your greatest weapon. You will not beat a werewolf in a show of brute force, and there are others out there that will hand your flank to you on a silver platter in a magic battle. Vampires are one of the fastest supernaturals out there. Some are faster, but you will almost certainly be stronger than them all other things being equal.” Vinyl nodded, thinking, as one of the doctors came back in. “I’m afraid you two will have to leave now, Vinyl needs her rest. Octavia, you are free to leave if you want to, there’s nothing more we can do for your leg, but try to stay off it as much as possible for the next couple of weeks.” Octavia nodded. “Thank you doctor.” She said, limping towards the door, Trixie in tow. She paused at the door, and looked back at the doctor. “Take care of Vinyl.” She said, the unspoken threat making the doctor cringe slightly, before leaving the room. Hello guys, author here. Sorry for the short chapter, and the length of time it took to produce, but life has been hectic, I'm back at school which has limited my time for writing, as well as a number of other personal matters which have eaten into my time. I will try to write more for the next chapter, hopefully in a shorter amount of time as well, but no promises Chapter 4Beep… Beep… Octavia groaned as she slowly awoke. ‘Where am I?’ She cracked an eyelid open, immediately regretting it as the blinding white light streamed into her eye, screwing it shut again. The gears in her head sluggishly began to turn again, allowing for the processing of more complex thoughts. ‘What happened? … The alleyway… Vinyl!’ Her eyes wrenched open as she tried to bolt upright, and started coughing violently, her throat dry. “Ah, you’re awake.” Said a mare’s voice, a blur moving towards her as her vision began to clear. “You gave us quite the scare there; you lost so much blood we weren’t sure that you were going to make it.” The voice continued. “Are you alright?” “Water.” Rasped Octavia, coughing again. The smaller blur on top of the larger blur bobbed, and a new blur levitated towards her. Octavia gulped the cool liquid gratefully. “Vinyl?” She asked, as soon as she could talk without it hurting. “She’s stable, but still unconscious. She lost a lot of blood as well. Our main concern is in actual fact you.” “Me?” Octavia asked warily. “Yes. Beyond mild blood loss, and some minor injuries to the head, Vinyl appears fine. You, however, took a fair amount of damage to your leg. We had to operate whilst you were out.” “How bad?” “Not as bad as we thought. Our initial fear was that you’d lose the leg. The good news is that we didn’t have to amputate.” The voice said cheerily. Octavia’s vision had now cleared, and the mare talking to her was a brown unicorn with a cutie mark in the shape of a bed crossed with a thermometer. “The bad news?” Pressed Octavia, causing the mare to hesitate. “The bad news is that a great deal of nerves were sliced, not enough for you to lose all control of the leg, but you will have lost a lot of feeling in the leg, and moving it will no longer be as fluid.” Octavia nodded, as another thought occurred to her. “How long was I out for?” “Three days.” “Right.” Said Octavia. “And who brought me here?” “That would be me.” Another voice put in, and Octavia lethargically turned her head to see another mare in the room. The mare in question had blue fur, and a silver mane. Her cutie mark was a blue sparkling mist roughly in the shape of a crescent moon, with a wand running alongside it. “The Great and Powerful Trixie!” She exclaimed, throwing her front hooves into the air with a grin. Trixie winced and dropped back down to all four legs, wincing again. “Bad Trixie, stop doing that.” She admonished herself, rubbing a bandage on her front leg. “So you’re Trixie?” Asked Octavia, raising an eyebrow. “Yes. You have heard of Trixie?” She asked, appearing wary. “Yes, from Vinyl. I heard you two were friends in school.” She said with a smile, before the events of the attack came crashing down around her. “Oh Celestia. Vinyl!” She gasped, trying to get up, before the nurse stopped her. “Your leg is not yet healed; you can’t leave your bed yet.” “But I need to see Vinyl.” Octavia said, biting back a snarl. “I already told you, she’s stable, but unconscious. She’s going to be fine.” “No, you don’t understand. The people who attacked us were…” Octavia trailed off. “Yes?” Asked the nurse when Octavia stopped. “This is going to sound ridiculous, but…” Octavia sighed. “They were vampires.” “Vampires?” Asked the nurse. Octavia nodded. “Dear, vampires don’t exist.” “Actually.” Interrupted Trixie. “What Trixie saw makes a lot of sense now that she knows it was vampires.” “What do you mean?” Asked Octavia. “When Trixie walked into that alleyway, she saw a unicorn biting Vinyl’s neck. When the unicorn released her, Trixie saw she had fangs.” “You saved me and Vinyl from the vampires?” Asked Octavia, blinking. Whilst Vinyl obviously was fond of Trixie, the stories about her portrayed her as arrogant and egotistical, rarely if ever going out of her way to help others. “Trixie was… not thinking.” She admitted, looking at the floor. “Trixie just saw the scene and acted.” Trixie appeared highly embarrassed by her actions. “You not only managed to fight off a vampire, but managed to get two unconscious mares to the hospital by yourself?” This only made Trixie even more embarrassed, a red tinge suffusing her cheeks and mumbled something along the lines of ‘Looking out for an old friend.’ “In any case, if what you say is true, it doesn’t matter until she regains consciousness.” The nurse said with finality. “I must insist that you get some rest, and try to avoid moving your leg too much.” Octavia nodded. “Trixie, you may stay with Octavia if you like. I’m sure she’d appreciate the company.” The nurse walked out of the room, and Octavia turned to Trixie, and smiled. “So, Trixie, tell me a bit about yourself.” Octavia started, and Trixie looked up with a smirk. “Very well, Trixie will indulge you.” She adopted a grand pose. “Trixie’s tale is an exciting one, full of tragedy and heartbreak, fraught with dangerous beasts and evil ponies at every turn.” She turned her slightly manic grin to Octavia, who raised an eyebrow. “…Or, since you are Vinyl’s marefriend, Trixie supposes she can give you the true story.” She cleared her throat, and appeared to brace herself. “It all started shortly after my fifth birthday…” “Mummy, mummy! Look what I can do!” Exclaimed the exited blue filly, bouncing up and down on the spot. The filly’s mother, a kind-hearted green unicorn with azure eyes and a teal mane, turned to the filly and smiled. “What is it my dear?” She asked kindly, a hint of humour present in her voice. The filly beamed, as her horn glowed with a pale pink light, a small green light materialising in front of her, soon joined by two other lights, one matching the colour of the filly’s fur, and the other a navy blue shade. The lights danced in front of her beaming face, and flew towards her mother, settling in her mane, and the older mare returned the happy smile. “Well done!” She congratulated her as the lights faded, sweeping her daughter into a hug. “I told you you’d get it eventually.” The filly giggled happily, nuzzling her mother. “I love you my little Trixie.” “Love you too.” Trixie murmured happily. Trixie’s mother started slightly as the door knocked. “Now I wonder who that could be?” She asked, standing up and allowing Trixie to clamber onto her back before going to the door and opening it. She froze, her heart skipping a beat in her chest as she saw the armour-clad form of a pegasus of the Royal Guard standing there. “Mrs Lulamoon?” Asked the pegasus. The mare nodded slowly, turning to Trixie. “Trixie, would you be a dear and go upstairs?” She asked, forcing a smile. “But mum, I want to know what’s going on.” The blue filly whined. The mare’s smile faltered. “Tell you what princess, if you do this for me, we’ll go for ice cream later, ok?” “Ok mummy.” Said Trixie, perking up at the idea of ice cream, and galloped clumsily up the stairs. The guard paused until her heard Trixie’s door close, before continuing. “I have some bad news concerning your husband.” The guard began; unaware of the pair of purple eyes watching through the banister. “Oh no…” Gasped the mare, her eyes widening. The guard’s eyes betrayed his true feelings, this being without a doubt the worst part of being a guard. “He was attacked during his rounds; any belongings with him were taken, and he is now in a critical condition at the hospital. He’s conscious, but they’re not sure he’s going to make it.” He sighed as the mare began to cry. “Words cannot describe how sorry I am.” He said, as Trixie bolted down the stairs. “NO!” She shouted, crying. “Daddy can’t be hurt, he just can’t. Daddy’s strong, no one can hurt him.” She protested uselessly, shaking with sobs. “Daddy…” The mare embraced her filly, trying to comfort her. “Can we see him?” Asked the mare, tears in her eyes. The guard nodded. “I’ll take you too him. He asked to see you two.” The guard motioned for the pair to follow him once the mother had locked up the house. “When we got to the hospital the doctors knew he was on his death bed.” Trixie said dispassionately, though it was clear how badly the memory was hurting her. “He died half an hour after us getting there, just enough time for me to show him my new trick, and for him to say his last goodbyes. He told me not to give up, no matter what. He told me that I was an illusionist, a rare type of magic that only a handful of unicorns can perform. It made me feel special, unique.” Trixie sighed. “It was the only thing I had in the next few years…” “Why are you telling me this if it hurts you so much?” Octavia asked, frowning with concern. “Vinyl was my only friend in school; we had no secrets from each other. You’re her marefriend, so you deserve to know as much as she does.” She smirked sadly. “Besides, you were willing to admit in front of me that Vinyl was likely to become a vampire without really knowing who I was, so I owe you a little explanation.” Trixie sighed, and looked out the window. “What happened after your father died?” “Everything went downhill. The story I originally promised? With tragedy and danger? Not too far from the truth in this case…”
Chapter 1“Mmmm.” Vinyl groaned slightly as she slowly returned to the land of the living. “Go away sun.” She moaned, rolling over to evade the beam of sunlight streaming through the curtains that had rudely awoken her. Her eyes snapped open when the warm, fuzzy lump she was expecting wasn’t there. “Octy?” She asked, seeing her marefriend’s side of the bed was unoccupied. “Octy?” She asked again, louder. “I’m in here!” She responded. “I woke up before you, and I didn’t want to wake you.” “You could have waited.” Sulked Vinyl, sitting up. “I made pancakes.” Octavia called in a sing-song voice. Vinyl immediately perked up and shot into the kitchen, her sunglasses somehow remaining in position on her white snout. “You are forgiven.” Joked Vinyl, giving Octavia a nuzzle before sitting at the table. Octavia blushed at the nuzzle, and smiled at Vinyl. “I would have thought last night would clear me of transgressions for a week at least.” Vinyl blinked at the long word, before grinning. “Not quite Tavi.” Replied Vinyl, using the pet name that she knew irritated Octavia. As predicted, Octavia’s left eye twitched slightly, as did her left hoof, the pan she was using twitching along with it and spilling some pancake batter. “You’re cleaning that up.” Said Octavia, turning her attention back to the hissing pan in front of her. “Aww come on Octy.” Pleaded Vinyl, dreading the thought of cleaning. “No. You’re allowed to keep your workshop as a pig sty so long as the rest of the apartment stays clean.” The workshop Octavia referred to was Vinyl’s ‘inner sanctum’, though the white mare preferred the term ‘tinker box’. It was where she repaired and ‘upgraded’, or in Octavia’s words ‘made louder’, her various bits of kit, anything from headphones and microphones to the largest speakers she could bring to bear against the world of music. “Fine, so long as you stop criticizing my music.” Vinyl muttered, folding her hooves over her chest. “Excuse me, but that assault on the senses is not music, and every time you open fire with your speakers the death toll on the side of taste is horrendous.” Octavia teased Vinyl, and even Vinyl let out a chuckle at that. “At least I can do my own thing with my equipment. I don’t see you tinkering with your box with strings.” Octavia’s jaw dropped at the insult to her cello. “My cello has more taste in an ounce of string than in a tonne of your equipment.” Defended Octavia, huffing as she did so, causing Vinyl to grin. “You are too easy to wind up Octy.” She said, grinning wider. “Now, where are those pancakes?” Vinyl locked the door after Octavia, rubbing the back of her head. “That still stings.” “You have no one but yourself to blame.” Said Octavia, smiling. “After the pancake comment, I was more than entitled to retaliate.” “Yea, but with a frying pan? Since when did we live in a cartoon?” Asked Vinyl with a wince as she applied pressure on the egg-shaped lump that was forming. “Improvisation.” Was all Octavia said, before leading the way. “Remind me what we’re doing again?” Asked Vinyl. “I need to pick up a new bow for my cello, since the one I have at the moment is getting a bit worn.” “Right, and I need to pick up some supplies for my equipment as well.” Vinyl thought out loud, remembering one of her speakers had blown out and needed to be repaired.” She chuckled. “Remind me never to attempt to re-wire a speaker when drunk again.” “Duly noted.” Replied Octavia, nuzzling Vinyl. Vinyl blushed, before looking around to see if anyone saw them. Octavia sighed. “Vinyl, you’re going to have to stop being so paranoid about us.” “Sorry Octy, automatic response.” Apologised Vinyl, visibly wincing as she remembered the events that forced her to move out of her hometown. She idly rubbed at a shoulder, causing Octavia to frown. “You’re going to have to tell me what happened one day.” She said, looking into Vinyl’s eyes. Or at least, the shades she always seemed to wear. “I know, I know. Just, not today?” Pleaded Vinyl. Octavia nodded, smiling. “Of course.” Celestia knows I’ve got my own secrets she thought, sighing. Maybe one day… She shook her head to clear her thoughts, before smiling at Vinyl. “Whatever it is, it’s in the past. Can’t hurt us anymore.” Liar Vinyl brightened at that. “I guess you’re right.” She grinned warmly at her marefriend, causing Octavia’s mood to improve as well. Curse you Vinyl she thought sarcastically as Vinyl trotted ahead of her. “What are you looking for?” “I can smell pizza.” Said Vinyl, sniffing. Octavia sniffed as well, blinking. What do you know? How did Vinyl smell that before I did? She mused silently. “How can you be hungry already?” “I’m not, I just smell pizza.” Vinyl beamed back at Octavia. “Pizza for lunch?” “After pancakes for breakfast? Not all of us have quite the same metabolism as you do Vinyl.” Replied Octavia. “Aww come on Tavi.” Pleaded Vinyl. Octavia twitched again. “You think using that name will help you?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. Vinyl snickered. “It will if I say it enough.” She responded, a wicked grin plastered on her face. “…If you promise never to use that nickname again, we’ll go for pizza.” “Make it for the rest of today.” “Fine.” Relented Octavia, willing to let Vinyl off this time. The frying pan had been a bit much, she had to admit. Doesn’t stop it being funny she added in her head, smirking. “Looks like this is where we part ways for now.” Said Octavia as they reached a cross-roads. “I’ll see you later, ok?” “Ok Octy.” Vinyl smiled. “See you at the pizza place at noon?” “You got it. Love you.” Beamed Octavia. “Love you too Octy.” Vinyl gave Octavia a quick nuzzle, her confidence slowly improving, before trotting off down the road. Octavia sighed. Please let her be safe, please let the past stay behind me
Chapter 2Ok, so the next chapter of 'Of Vampires and Werewolves' is up. If you have not already, please read the revised first chapter, as the story has changed severely, and this chapter will not make sense if you haven't read the new version “Could you at least eat like a civilised pony?” Asked Octavia, grimacing at Vinyl as she messily ate her pizza. “Wha?” Asked Vinyl through a pizza-clogged mouth. Octavia didn’t have the advantage of magic, and yet was making far less mess than her partner, whose muzzle was caked in tomato sauce and cheese. Vinyl swallowed and tried again. “What? Pizza is too good to take care whilst eating.” She replied with a grin, licking the debris from around her face. Octavia rolled her eyes. “Fine, just try not to get any on me.” Said Octavia, brushing a small piece of Vinyl’s pizza off her foreleg with a grimace. “Yes sir!” Exclaimed Vinyl with a mock salute, swinging her hoof into the side of her head with more force than intended. “Oww…” She muttered, rubbing her face. Octavia chuckled. “Hey, I don’t even need to hit you anymore.” She joked, grinning. Vinyl stuck her tongue out at Octavia before taking another bite of her pizza. “Yea, yea. Hey, are you coming to the club tonight? I’m going to doing that song we worked on together.” She said, smiling. “Hmm. Tempting.” Mused Octavia, tapping her chin with her hoof. “I’ll need something to sweeten the deal.” “Aww come on Octy.” Pleaded Vinyl. “Tell you what, you get me a bottle of Jura and I’ll come.” Said Octavia, smirking. “Deal.” Said Vinyl, grinning. “Same club as usual, ten pm start.” “I’ll be there. Anyone I should watch out for?” Asked Octavia, remembering all too well the first time Vinyl had convinced her to go to that club… Octavia’s hind hoof unconsciously tapped the floor as she watched the white mare play her set. She smirked as she sipped at the cocktail next to her at the bar. ‘Alright, this isn’t too bad’ she thought, casting a wary glance about her. ‘Company could be a little better, but no one’s done anything untoward so far’ she took another sip of the cocktail. ‘Drinks aren’t half bad as well. Still, I wish they had a good whisky.’ Octavia smiled, relaxing and focusing on the stage. She became so engrossed with the performance that she didn’t notice the earth pony stallion moving up behind her until he was tipping a powder into her drink. Octavia whipped round. “What do you think you’re doing?” “Aw shit boys, looks like I got caught.” He said with a smirk, glancing back at the other two stallions with him, two unicorns. “Looks like we’ll have to call our plans for tonight off.” “What plans?” Octavia asked carefully, getting off the stool and bracing herself for a fight. “Well, you of course.” Said one of the unicorns with a sneer, as the other one levitated a butterfly knife out of one of the pockets of the coat he was wearing, spinning it dangerously. “Grab her.” Said the earth pony, the three stallions moving forwards. Octavia reared up and was about to swing a hoof at the unicorn with the knife, when a white blur sailed past her and knocked the unicorn to the ground. “Buck off!” Shouted Vinyl, landing on the unicorn’s chest and spinning to face the earth pony, snarling. The earth pony chuckled. “Make me.” He challenged with a grin. Vinyl grinned right back at him, picking up the knife with her magic, the blade flashing towards the earth pony’s leg. He jumped back, and Vinyl redirected the blade at the other unicorn who was charging a spell. The unicorn cried out and lost the spell as the knife sunk into the back of his knee, falling to the ground. The earth pony prepared to charge Vinyl, but was sent face first into the ground by a buck from Octavia. Vinyl turned to look at Octavia. “You alright?” She asked, concern visible on her face despite the shades she wore. “I’m fine. Thanks for that.” Said Octavia with a smile. “Good, and no problem.” Replied Vinyl with a smirk, going back to the stage as bouncers dragged the three stallions away. Vinyl grinned down into the crowd, spinning another record on her hoof before placing it onto one of the turntables. “Sorry for the interruption folks, now let’s get back to dancing.” “Umm, Octy?” Asked Vinyl, waving a hoof in Octavia’s face. “Earth to Octy, come in Octy.” “Hmm? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking.” “Ah, well, there shouldn’t be anyone who’d give you trouble, and I’ll tell the bouncers to keep an eye on you.” “Thanks Vinyl.” Said Octavia, smiling and briefly nuzzling her marefriend, making Vinyl shrink back slightly, casting glances about her. “So, where now?” “Umm. Home? I need to fix that speaker, and I’d like to see if I can finish off a track I’ve been working on before tonight.” Vinyl suggested with a smile. “Sure, and I want to make sure there’s nothing wrong with this bow.” Agreed Octavia, nodding to the bag next to her. Vinyl nodded, finishing her final slice of pizza as messily as the rest of her meal, and waited patiently for Octavia to finish her pizza. Once Octavia was finished, Vinyl got the bill and paid for it, despite Octavia’s protests. “It’s fine Octy, I got this. You made me pancakes after all.” Said Vinyl with a smirk. Octavia chuckled. “Alright, I’ll let you have this one.” She replied with a smirk. “Now come on, let’s get home.” She said, standing up and putting her saddlebag back on her back. Vinyl nodded, grinning, and followed Octavia back to their apartment building. “We need to get a place of our own one day. A proper house, not an apartment.” Mused Octavia. “It’ll happen one day Octavia.” Promised Vinyl, smiling. Bits weren’t the problem, they’d saved enough between them for a modestly sized house, the issues were location and public image. Both of them were aware how damaging it could be to Octavia’s career, Vinyl’s less so, and Vinyl still had her apparent phobia of public displays of affection. Whilst few questions were asked at the moment, it was hardly uncommon for two mares to live in an apartment together, moving into a house together would quickly gather interest. As for location, it was difficult to find a balance between the privacy the pair desired, and opportunities for the pair of them to perform. And of course the issue of tolerance. Octavia sighed. “I hope so Vinyl, I hope so.” Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment ‘Octy’ the voice in her head sneered. Remember what happened last time you hoped… Octavia shook her head to clear those thoughts from her head, and smiled at her confused marefriend. “Come on, maybe we can finally think of somewhere to settle down.”
Chapter 3Octavia smirked as she sipped her cocktail, lounging against the bar as she watched her marefriend on stage throw herself into her set with abandon, her blue mane shimmering under the bright lights focussed on the stage, a sea of neon paint and glow sticks undulating on the dance floor. Octavia shuddered at the thought of how hot it must be in the middle of that throng. She chuckled as Vinyl flipped a new record into the air, and waved the bartender. “Another Manehattan?” Asked the pony behind the bar, absentmindedly cleaning a beer glass with a rag that looked older than the stallion holding it. “Actually, I think I’ll go with a Maretini. Shaken, not stirred.” She replied with a grin at her own joke. “Heard that one before.” Muttered the stallion with a roll of his eyes, and went to go prepare the cocktail. Octavia stuck her tongue out at the turned back of the stallion, the alcohol clearly getting her to lighten up. So much so she failed to notice a secluded group of ponies gesturing at Vinyl and her, shooting suspicious looks at anyone who got close and talking in hushed tones. Any other night, this would have caused Octavia to leave, hopefully with Vinyl following her. But Vinyl’s earlier assurances, as well as the promise that the proceeds of this night’s performance would go towards buying a house, so Octavia was feeling more tolerant to oddities tonight, and was perfectly content to watch her marefriend act out the part of DJ-P0N3 until the end of her set. “That’s all for tonight folks!” Vinyl said into the microphone on stage, grinning. “DJ-P0N3 is out of here!” She bowed theatrically, before packing her records away and leaving the stage, clearly in high spirits. Octavia grinned, and walked out of the club, waiting by the alley they arranged to meet at. Vinyl shortly exited through the club side door, and grinned at Octavia. Octavia grinned back. “Hey Vinyl. Good haul tonight?” Asked Octavia. “You have no idea.” Replied Vinyl, a smile etched from ear to ear as she levitated a pay check into her saddlebag. “Come on, we’ll celebrate at home with a few drinks.” Said Vinyl, gesturing down the alleyway, incidentally a shortcut back to their apartment. “Excellent. I’ve been waiting to get into that Jura.” “Just don’t spend too long with it, I might get jealous.” Teased Vinyl, grinning. “Oh don’t fret Vinyl; you are my one true love.” Replied Octavia, nuzzling Vinyl. Vinyl beamed back at Octavia, and led the way into the alleyway. The pair were about halfway down the alleyway when Octavia suddenly stopped. “What’s wrong Octy?” Asked Vinyl, looking around. “There’s someone ahead of us.” She said, tensing up as three figures stepped out of the shadows a few yards ahead of them. “Very astute beast.” Hissed one of the figures, as they revealed themselves to be ponies. “Beast?” Asked Vinyl, tensing up as well, angry at the insult to her beloved. “What do you want?” Asked Octavia. “Well, simply put, the white mare beside you.” Hissed the same pony, evidently the leader of the strange little group. Octavia growled, causing Vinyl to start somewhat at the noise ponies should be unable to make. “Leave her alone, nosferatu.” Octavia growled, her teeth looking a touch sharper than a few moments ago. “What’s a nosferatu? What’s going on?” Asked Vinyl, angry and confused. “Be silent mortal.” Sneered the leader. “You will become one of us, no matter what the mongrel next to you has to say on the matter.” “I am no mongrel.” Replied Octavia, baring her teeth in a snarl at the slur. “Someone tell me what’s going on or I’m going to start screaming.” Said Vinyl, now upset as well as angry and confused. “Well, mortal.” Began the leader, with a great amount of amusement. “To put it into terms you will understand, the beast you are standing next to is a werewolf, we are vampires, and shortly you will be a vampire as well.” The words caught Vinyl off guard. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t that. “What.” She said flatly, blinking rapidly. Octavia sighed. “I’m sorry Vinyl.” Octavia said, hanging her head. The leader chuckled. “Any last words before we kill this dog and add you to our ranks?” They hissed at Vinyl, a grin visible despite the gloom of the alley. “Yea.” Vinyl said slowly, looking at Octavia and nodding. “Bite my flank!” She shouted, before her horn glowed. The white glow encompassed a dust bin in the alley, hurling it at the figures as Octavia growled, rapidly beginning to change. Octavia’s front hooves appeared to split, the previously hard stumps shifting into apparently normal canine paws, save for the much larger than average claws capping each toe. Her hind hooves split into a pair of cloven hooves. Her muzzle elongated, teeth changing into sharp fangs as the fur receded from the tip of her nose, leaving a wet black patch. Her eyes shifted to amber as her muscles swelled, especially around her jaws and shoulders. Her grin was feral as she leapt at the leader. “I was hoping we could do this quietly, but oh well.” Muttered the leader, before a bolt of magic flashed from them, missing Octavia and reducing a small section of wall to dust. The vampire Vinyl threw the dust bin at easily dodged the attack, and prepared to retaliate, but noticed too late that Vinyl hadn’t released control of the bin, and it impacted into the back of their head with a satisfying crunch. She didn’t have time to gloat though, as the vampire that wasn’t busy avoiding Octavia leapt at her, a pair of pegasus wings emerging from their robes as they flew at Vinyl. She yelped and reeled back as the vampire landed in front of her, grabbing a loose brick with her magic and swinging it at the vampire. The pegasus easily avoided the attack, ducking under the brick before twisting and bucking Vinyl, the hooves contacting with her chest, knocking her backwards. Vinyl quickly rolled to her feet, sending a telekinetic blast at the pegasus to buy herself some time. The pegasus flinched back from the attack, before renewing his assault on the white unicorn. Vinyl rocked back onto her hind hooves, swinging both front hooves at the vampire’s head. The pegasus ducked, but failed to notice the brick from earlier coming back for another try at his skull. The pegasus’ head snapped back as the brick hit them in the bottom of the jaw, and Vinyl spun into a buck as her front hooves hit the ground, winding the pegasus. The pegasus dropped to the ground, and Vinyl turned to the fight between Octavia and the leader. Both had taken their share of injuries, Octavia staying off her bloodied hind left leg, the leader’s breathing somewhat raspy, and each of them was covered in blood from various sources. The vampire’s robes were also shredded, barely hanging onto their form by a few strands of material that Octavia had yet to tear through. The leader blasted Octavia away with a pulse of magic, and quickly took a look around. They snarled upon seeing both their lackeys had fallen, neither of them looking to be getting up any time soon. “This has gone on long enough.” They snapped, blasting Octavia back again before lunging at Vinyl. Vinyl barely had time to yelp before the vampire was on top of her. She tried to attack the vampire with her magic, but her head was slammed against the concrete, her vision flashing white for a moment. Octavia slowly dug herself out of the pile of refuse she had been thrown into, her eyes locking onto the pair of them. “Vinyl!” She shouted, apparently knocked back to her normal form by the attack, and charged towards the pair of them as fast as she was able. The vampire cackled, a blade of magic flashing at Octavia, cutting deep into the wound she had already sustained on her leg, and Octavia dropped to the ground with a howl of pain. The vampire grinned, smashed Vinyl’s head into the ground once more before licking their lips. “I wonder how you’ll taste.” They mused aloud, before sinking their fangs into Vinyl’s throat. Vinyl screamed and thrashed, trying to push the vampire off, but to no avail, and her movements slowly began to still as her vision went dark…
Chapter 5AUTHOR'S NOTE: A quick warning. This chapter is one of the darkest in this story, so be prepared for a shock “My mother completely fell apart after he died. She started drinking, stayed out later and later, and the amount of time she spent with Trixie dwindled almost to nothing. She flitted from one stallion to another in an effort to quell the feeling of loneliness. The she finally settled on one stallion, and she couldn’t have made a worse choice.” “Trixie, I want you to meet Swift Streak.” Trixie’s mother led a well-toned pegasus stallion, quite a few years younger than his new marefriend, with grey fur and a white mane into the house. Trixie looked up from her homework, and smiled. Her mother had none of the frantic energy of the past few months about her, and her eyes shone with real happiness for the first time since Trixie’s father died. “Hey kiddo.” Said Swift, a friendly grin on his face as he walked over to Trixie. Trixie returned his smile, giggling as he bumped her hoof. “Hello.” Trixie said happily, her young mind thinking that if this stallion made mummy happy, then he must be good. “I’m Trixie.” “Your mother’s told me all about you. An illusionist eh? Don’t see many of those around.” He said, his eyes twinkling slightly. “You’re going to go far kid.” “He seemed like a great guy at the start. He spent equal amounts of time with Trixie as he did with Trixie’s mother, took Trixie out for ice cream, read Trixie bed time stories, even helped with homework where he could. It was great for the first year.” Trixie sighed. “Of course, all good things must come to an end. Trixie didn’t see it at the time, but he became more pushy with mum. He wanted a foal that was his, somepony who wasn’t a reminder that he was playing second fiddle to a dead pony. He knew no matter how well he treated her mother, she would always love Trixie’s father.” “What happened? Surely your mother would have loved to have another foal?” Asked Octavia, confused. Up till now, Trixie’s mother appeared to be the kind who loved children. “She would have, if she was able. Trixie’s birth was… difficult. Both Trixie and her mother almost died during the birth, and it left mother infertile. Swift had no idea at the time, mum was probably trying to protect Trixie.” Trixie sighed. “Given what happened when he found out, that was probably true.” “What did he do?” Trixie looked at Octavia and resumed her tale. “I was coming up to my seventh birthday…” Trixie was sitting at the table, puzzling over her homework, when Swift burst in, teeth bared. “What are you doing Trixie?!” He thundered, glaring her down. Trixie cringed, curling into a small ball. “D-doing my homework.” She stuttered, scared out of her wits. “We don’t have time for that nonsense.” Swift grabbed Trixie’s hoof and pulled her away from the table and into the front room. “But the teacher said I need to do a demonstration of my illusions.” Whined Trixie, trying to pull away. “Enough with the illusionist nonsense. If I can’t have my own foal with your mother, I’m just going to have to make sure you become successful and make plenty of money. Illusionists don’t make money. You need to learn practical skills.” He said impatiently, shoving her into the room, and put her in front of the fire place. “Now, light those logs on fire.” “But I can’t.” Trixie yelped as Swift back-hoofed her. “You’re going to light those logs on fire.” He snarled. “Do it.” Trixie sniffed, but complied, the pink glow appearing around her horn as she tried to start the fire. A few sparks flew from her horn, but the logs failed to light. Swift snorted, and stomped out of the room. “You’re not going to leave this room until you light those logs, understand?” Trixie sniffed again. “Yes…” She whispered, as Swift closed the door behind him and locked it. “That’s awful.” Said Octavia, her eyes wide. “What happened?” “Trixie was there for hours trying to light a fire. After so many attempts Trixie was tired, hungry and thirsty, Trixie gave up and used my illusionary magic to ‘light’ a fire. Trixie went to the door and shouted for him. When he came in, the first thing he did was poke a stick into the fire. It wasn’t even singed when he pulled it out. He was absolutely furious, and shouted for hours whilst he thought of a suitable punishment.” “I ought to punish you for this!” He thundered. “Can’t even light a simple fire. You’ll never-” He caught himself, then grinned. “Yes, that will do nicely.” He chuckled darkly, turning to the fireplace, fiddling around with something until a real fire was crackling away, and turned back to Trixie, who was still rooted in place with fear. “Perhaps to control fire, you need to know what it feels like.” He said with a glint in his eye, his grin made all the more sinister by the shifting shadows on his face. He grabbed Trixie roughly, forcing her hoof out in front of her. “What are you doing?” She asked fearfully, beginning to cry again. “You need to understand fire, feel it’s rage, it’s destructive potential, it’s heat.” He cooed into her ear, making Trixie shudder as he moved her towards the fireplace. Trixie’s eyes widened when she realised what he was doing, and began to struggle. “Do not struggle child.” He hissed, hitting Trixie roughly on the head and forcing her hoof into the fire. She screamed, a cacophony of agony tearing from her mouth as the fire licked around her hoof, burning away her fur and searing her flesh. Trixie hung her head and sniffed, a tear escaping and flowing down her muzzle. Octavia was horrified by what she heard, her eyes wide as he mouth was covered by her hoof. “That is one of Trixie’s most painful memories. Not for what he did to Trixie, but for what mother didn’t do. She did nothing, didn’t even say a word against Swift when he told her Trixie was knocked out when something fell from the mantelpiece, falling so her hoof ended up in the flame.” Trixie snorted, as her magical aura surrounded her unbandaged front hoof. The lower leg appeared to float away, revealing her real leg to be nothing more than an amputated stump beyond the knee. “They amputated the hoof?” Asked Octavia, her eyes going even wider. Trixie nodded, levitating the prosthetic hoof back into position. “The flames destroyed most of the nerves in Trixie’s leg, they had no choice. It would have gone gangrene otherwise.” She said, a hint of contempt in her voice. “I’ve learnt to make do with the prosthetic, it doesn’t really bother me anymore.” “Does Vinyl know?” Trixie nodded. “As I said, no secrets.” She confirmed with a sad smile. “But no one else knows, other than the doctors.” “What about your mother and Swift?” Asked Octavia, tilting her head. “They’re both dead.” Trixie said the words as if she was commenting on the weather. “Swift killed my mother in a drunken rage, he died of alcohol poisoning a couple of years later.” “I’m sorry to hear that.” “Don’t be. Trixie doesn’t feel anything for that mare now.” Trixie’s voice was hollow as she said this. “Trixie ran away from home after he killed mum, started doing cheap tricks in the street to make enough to eat. As time went on, the crowds got bigger, the profits became greater, and Trixie’s ego grew. Sometimes the old Trixie comes through again, like when Trixie introduced herself to you.” “I take it that’s why you winced.” Remarked Octavia, and Trixie nodded. “That and the wound on Trixie’s leg. Magic attack she wasn’t quite quick enough to avoid.” “I’ve been wondering about that. How did an illusionist defeat a vampire?” “Illusionists are rare enough that when a pony sees a wall spring up behind them, they don’t realise that it’s just a trick. After that, it’s simply a matter of flinging enough bricks at them. Plus Trixie does know a fair amount of battle magic. Life on the streets isn’t easy. It probably helped that they were distracted when Trixie attacked, and they had just had to fight you.” Said Trixie, as the nurse entered the room again. “Vinyl’s awake, and she’s asked to see you both.”
Chapter 6“I have to hoof it to you Trixie.” Said Octavia, as Trixie helped her limp down to hall to Vinyl’s room. “If I didn’t know you had a prosthetic hoof, I’d never guess.” Trixie smirked at that. “On the streets you learn to hide any weakness. Trixie spent ages learning to walk without a limp.” She said, smiling at Octavia. “Sometimes it can even be an advantage. Trixie remembers the face of one stallion that got his knife stuck in her prosthetic limb.” Trixie chuckled. “They never see that one coming.” “I can imagine.” Replied Octavia, wincing as she put more weight than she intended to on her hind leg. “Oww. That stung.” She said, grimacing at the slight squelching sound as she lifted the hoof again. “Not too far now.” Said the nurse on the other side of Octavia, helping her along as well. “This next room.” The nurse left Octavia’s side and opened the door, Trixie helping Octavia through the door. Vinyl was lying on the bed, awake but looking exhausted. Two IV drips were running into her, one attached to a blood bag, the other a nutrient feed. Bandages were wrapped around her neck, and butterfly stitches, barely visible against her white fur, were running across a gash on her head. Vinyl looked up at Octavia, and smiled. “Hey Octy.” She said weakly, and one of Octavia’s fears vanished. She was worried the vampire had damaged Vinyl’s vocal chords when she was bitten, but it seemed no damage had been done in that area. “Hey Vinyl.” She replied, smiling despite her worries. “Hey Trixie.” Vinyl said, with a hint of confusion. “What are you doing here?” Trixie snorted. “Oh, Trixie saves your miserable hide and this is the thanks she gets?” She turned her nose up, before breaking out in a grin. “Glad to see you’re awake.” Vinyl’s smile grew, until her eyes wandered to Octavia’s hind leg. “What happened to you Octy?” She asked, her brow creasing with concern. “The one that attacked you got me in the leg.” She said, baring her teeth slightly at the memory. Vinyl nodded slowly as if remembering something, before looking around the medical staff in the room. “Is it alright if we have some privacy for a while?” She asked. The staff nodded, and began filing out of the room. Once the room was unoccupied save for Vinyl, Octavia and Trixie, Vinyl turned back to Octavia. “So, yo-” She began, but was cut off by Octavia. “Oh Celestia Vinyl I’m so sorry.” She burst out. “I should have told you sooner, I know.” A few tears began leaking from Octavia’s eyes. “Octy.” Vinyl tried to get Octavia’s attention, but she kept going. “I shouldn’t have kept it from you, I should have been more careful.” “Octavia.” “And now you’ve been bitten and it’s all my-” “Octavia!” Shouted Vinyl, at a surprising volume given her state. Octavia froze, and looked back to Vinyl. “Octavia, I don’t blame you for not telling me. “But I-” “No buts! Octavia, you being a werewolf doesn’t change how I feel about you.” Trixie looked at Octavia and raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t care if it turned out you were a Changeling this entire time. It wouldn’t change how I feel about you. I mean that.” She said, her eyes fixed on Octavia. Octavia lowered her head. “That doesn’t change the fact I hid things from you.” “Damnit Octavia, I already told you that I don’t care that you hid things from me.” Vinyl sighed. “Just, explain what happened in that alleyway.” “Ok…” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and explained everything. “So, we were attacked by a group of vampires?” “Yes. “Who somehow knew you were a werewolf?” “Yes.” “And wanted to turn me into a vampire and kill you?” “That about sums it up.” “Right.” Vinyl was silent for a bit. “Am I a vampire then?” “I…” Octavia sighed. “Not yet.” “But I will be.” “Yes.” Octavia shook slightly. “This is…” Vinyl paused, Octavia expecting the worst. “Awesome!” She exclaimed. “What?!” “Are you kidding me Octy? A freaking vampire?!” Vinyl grinned despite her weakened state, and Octavia blinked rapidly. “Vinyl, do you even realise how much of a big deal this is?” Asked Octavia, her tone incredulous. Vinyl stopped to look at Octavia. “I have no idea, but you’re going to tell me, right?” She asked. Octavia sighed, and sat down. “Well, first some rumours to dispel. Firstly, you can go out in sunlight, though it will hurt your eyes more, and your powers will not be as effective.” “Powers?” Interrupted Vinyl. “I’ll get onto that. You can cross running water, and you can enter a home without being invited. You will need to drink at least a pint of blood a month. More blood will make you more powerful, and your powers will be stronger shortly after drinking. However, the more blood you drink within a month, the more powerful the urge to feed will become, as will the effect that sunlight has on you.” “Right…” Vinyl was silent for a moment. “When you say ‘feed’, does that mean I have to drink from a pony?” “Not necessarily. You are perfectly able to feed from a blood bag. However, there is something else I need to tell you.” Vinyl looked at her expectantly. “Are you aware of the popular idea that vampires and werewolves hate each other’s guts and are at perpetual war?” Vinyl nodded. “Well, that holds true for some groups, not all of them though. However, groups that do not hate each other are the exception rather than the norm, so be wary around werewolves.” “How will I tell how is and who isn’t a werewolf?” “By the time you have completely turned, you will be able to tell by how they smell.” “Wait, my senses will improve as well?” “Hearing, sight and smell will improve. You will also be stronger, faster and have a greater endurance. However, should you get into a fight with a werewolf or other ‘supernatural’, as we call ourselves, speed is your greatest weapon. You will not beat a werewolf in a show of brute force, and there are others out there that will hand your flank to you on a silver platter in a magic battle. Vampires are one of the fastest supernaturals out there. Some are faster, but you will almost certainly be stronger than them all other things being equal.” Vinyl nodded, thinking, as one of the doctors came back in. “I’m afraid you two will have to leave now, Vinyl needs her rest. Octavia, you are free to leave if you want to, there’s nothing more we can do for your leg, but try to stay off it as much as possible for the next couple of weeks.” Octavia nodded. “Thank you doctor.” She said, limping towards the door, Trixie in tow. She paused at the door, and looked back at the doctor. “Take care of Vinyl.” She said, the unspoken threat making the doctor cringe slightly, before leaving the room. Hello guys, author here. Sorry for the short chapter, and the length of time it took to produce, but life has been hectic, I'm back at school which has limited my time for writing, as well as a number of other personal matters which have eaten into my time. I will try to write more for the next chapter, hopefully in a shorter amount of time as well, but no promises
Chapter 4Beep… Beep… Octavia groaned as she slowly awoke. ‘Where am I?’ She cracked an eyelid open, immediately regretting it as the blinding white light streamed into her eye, screwing it shut again. The gears in her head sluggishly began to turn again, allowing for the processing of more complex thoughts. ‘What happened? … The alleyway… Vinyl!’ Her eyes wrenched open as she tried to bolt upright, and started coughing violently, her throat dry. “Ah, you’re awake.” Said a mare’s voice, a blur moving towards her as her vision began to clear. “You gave us quite the scare there; you lost so much blood we weren’t sure that you were going to make it.” The voice continued. “Are you alright?” “Water.” Rasped Octavia, coughing again. The smaller blur on top of the larger blur bobbed, and a new blur levitated towards her. Octavia gulped the cool liquid gratefully. “Vinyl?” She asked, as soon as she could talk without it hurting. “She’s stable, but still unconscious. She lost a lot of blood as well. Our main concern is in actual fact you.” “Me?” Octavia asked warily. “Yes. Beyond mild blood loss, and some minor injuries to the head, Vinyl appears fine. You, however, took a fair amount of damage to your leg. We had to operate whilst you were out.” “How bad?” “Not as bad as we thought. Our initial fear was that you’d lose the leg. The good news is that we didn’t have to amputate.” The voice said cheerily. Octavia’s vision had now cleared, and the mare talking to her was a brown unicorn with a cutie mark in the shape of a bed crossed with a thermometer. “The bad news?” Pressed Octavia, causing the mare to hesitate. “The bad news is that a great deal of nerves were sliced, not enough for you to lose all control of the leg, but you will have lost a lot of feeling in the leg, and moving it will no longer be as fluid.” Octavia nodded, as another thought occurred to her. “How long was I out for?” “Three days.” “Right.” Said Octavia. “And who brought me here?” “That would be me.” Another voice put in, and Octavia lethargically turned her head to see another mare in the room. The mare in question had blue fur, and a silver mane. Her cutie mark was a blue sparkling mist roughly in the shape of a crescent moon, with a wand running alongside it. “The Great and Powerful Trixie!” She exclaimed, throwing her front hooves into the air with a grin. Trixie winced and dropped back down to all four legs, wincing again. “Bad Trixie, stop doing that.” She admonished herself, rubbing a bandage on her front leg. “So you’re Trixie?” Asked Octavia, raising an eyebrow. “Yes. You have heard of Trixie?” She asked, appearing wary. “Yes, from Vinyl. I heard you two were friends in school.” She said with a smile, before the events of the attack came crashing down around her. “Oh Celestia. Vinyl!” She gasped, trying to get up, before the nurse stopped her. “Your leg is not yet healed; you can’t leave your bed yet.” “But I need to see Vinyl.” Octavia said, biting back a snarl. “I already told you, she’s stable, but unconscious. She’s going to be fine.” “No, you don’t understand. The people who attacked us were…” Octavia trailed off. “Yes?” Asked the nurse when Octavia stopped. “This is going to sound ridiculous, but…” Octavia sighed. “They were vampires.” “Vampires?” Asked the nurse. Octavia nodded. “Dear, vampires don’t exist.” “Actually.” Interrupted Trixie. “What Trixie saw makes a lot of sense now that she knows it was vampires.” “What do you mean?” Asked Octavia. “When Trixie walked into that alleyway, she saw a unicorn biting Vinyl’s neck. When the unicorn released her, Trixie saw she had fangs.” “You saved me and Vinyl from the vampires?” Asked Octavia, blinking. Whilst Vinyl obviously was fond of Trixie, the stories about her portrayed her as arrogant and egotistical, rarely if ever going out of her way to help others. “Trixie was… not thinking.” She admitted, looking at the floor. “Trixie just saw the scene and acted.” Trixie appeared highly embarrassed by her actions. “You not only managed to fight off a vampire, but managed to get two unconscious mares to the hospital by yourself?” This only made Trixie even more embarrassed, a red tinge suffusing her cheeks and mumbled something along the lines of ‘Looking out for an old friend.’ “In any case, if what you say is true, it doesn’t matter until she regains consciousness.” The nurse said with finality. “I must insist that you get some rest, and try to avoid moving your leg too much.” Octavia nodded. “Trixie, you may stay with Octavia if you like. I’m sure she’d appreciate the company.” The nurse walked out of the room, and Octavia turned to Trixie, and smiled. “So, Trixie, tell me a bit about yourself.” Octavia started, and Trixie looked up with a smirk. “Very well, Trixie will indulge you.” She adopted a grand pose. “Trixie’s tale is an exciting one, full of tragedy and heartbreak, fraught with dangerous beasts and evil ponies at every turn.” She turned her slightly manic grin to Octavia, who raised an eyebrow. “…Or, since you are Vinyl’s marefriend, Trixie supposes she can give you the true story.” She cleared her throat, and appeared to brace herself. “It all started shortly after my fifth birthday…” “Mummy, mummy! Look what I can do!” Exclaimed the exited blue filly, bouncing up and down on the spot. The filly’s mother, a kind-hearted green unicorn with azure eyes and a teal mane, turned to the filly and smiled. “What is it my dear?” She asked kindly, a hint of humour present in her voice. The filly beamed, as her horn glowed with a pale pink light, a small green light materialising in front of her, soon joined by two other lights, one matching the colour of the filly’s fur, and the other a navy blue shade. The lights danced in front of her beaming face, and flew towards her mother, settling in her mane, and the older mare returned the happy smile. “Well done!” She congratulated her as the lights faded, sweeping her daughter into a hug. “I told you you’d get it eventually.” The filly giggled happily, nuzzling her mother. “I love you my little Trixie.” “Love you too.” Trixie murmured happily. Trixie’s mother started slightly as the door knocked. “Now I wonder who that could be?” She asked, standing up and allowing Trixie to clamber onto her back before going to the door and opening it. She froze, her heart skipping a beat in her chest as she saw the armour-clad form of a pegasus of the Royal Guard standing there. “Mrs Lulamoon?” Asked the pegasus. The mare nodded slowly, turning to Trixie. “Trixie, would you be a dear and go upstairs?” She asked, forcing a smile. “But mum, I want to know what’s going on.” The blue filly whined. The mare’s smile faltered. “Tell you what princess, if you do this for me, we’ll go for ice cream later, ok?” “Ok mummy.” Said Trixie, perking up at the idea of ice cream, and galloped clumsily up the stairs. The guard paused until her heard Trixie’s door close, before continuing. “I have some bad news concerning your husband.” The guard began; unaware of the pair of purple eyes watching through the banister. “Oh no…” Gasped the mare, her eyes widening. The guard’s eyes betrayed his true feelings, this being without a doubt the worst part of being a guard. “He was attacked during his rounds; any belongings with him were taken, and he is now in a critical condition at the hospital. He’s conscious, but they’re not sure he’s going to make it.” He sighed as the mare began to cry. “Words cannot describe how sorry I am.” He said, as Trixie bolted down the stairs. “NO!” She shouted, crying. “Daddy can’t be hurt, he just can’t. Daddy’s strong, no one can hurt him.” She protested uselessly, shaking with sobs. “Daddy…” The mare embraced her filly, trying to comfort her. “Can we see him?” Asked the mare, tears in her eyes. The guard nodded. “I’ll take you too him. He asked to see you two.” The guard motioned for the pair to follow him once the mother had locked up the house. “When we got to the hospital the doctors knew he was on his death bed.” Trixie said dispassionately, though it was clear how badly the memory was hurting her. “He died half an hour after us getting there, just enough time for me to show him my new trick, and for him to say his last goodbyes. He told me not to give up, no matter what. He told me that I was an illusionist, a rare type of magic that only a handful of unicorns can perform. It made me feel special, unique.” Trixie sighed. “It was the only thing I had in the next few years…” “Why are you telling me this if it hurts you so much?” Octavia asked, frowning with concern. “Vinyl was my only friend in school; we had no secrets from each other. You’re her marefriend, so you deserve to know as much as she does.” She smirked sadly. “Besides, you were willing to admit in front of me that Vinyl was likely to become a vampire without really knowing who I was, so I owe you a little explanation.” Trixie sighed, and looked out the window. “What happened after your father died?” “Everything went downhill. The story I originally promised? With tragedy and danger? Not too far from the truth in this case…”
