Vampiric Symphony

The next day; Octavia made the call to her parents as they agreed to show up around ten that morning. Luna had led them to the living room where Twilight was just finishing setting the TV up to play movies.

“Thank you for inviting us,” Tenor offered

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you accepted my invitation.”

“Have you consummated your marriage,” Treble asked directly

“Dad,” Octavia whined “Why would you ask that?”

“Not yet,” Vinyl answered slyly “Twily; roll that beautiful footage. Please?”

“Thank you for at least asking,” Twilight said with a chuckle

“Such a simple ceremony,” Tenor mused, after it finished

“With how much we’ve been harassed by paparazzi; she and I wanted to escape and have a quiet ceremony,” Vinyl answered “No one knew where this was going to be held as we decided only moments before.”

“We even have simple bands that might be overlooked by anyone not paying attention,” Octavia added

“Regardless of the size; it’s still great to be a part of your wedding,” Treble complimented

“Thank you so much for showing us the video,” Tenor said, as she hugged Octavia “Have you practiced for your concert tonight?”

“Just a little bit yesterday. It’s not a major event; so we’ll just be arriving in casual dress.”

“Well; we should get going so you can get ready or sleep before it starts,” Treble mused “We wish you the best in your marriage.”

Octavia decided to take her parents up on the offer of taking a short nap before getting ready for their 6pm concert. Vinyl tossed her a pair of black jeans and t-shirt to wear. Despite the possibility of getting attention, Vinyl decided to watch in from audience as her wife played. As Octavia sat on stage; she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of the same woman they mentioned earlier in the audience. Brushing the thought aside, she continued playing, before an intrusive voice entered her head.

‘Having fun? Hope you’re not going insane. Ha-ha-ha.’

Trying to clear the bother, she shook her head a bit; unintentionally losing her place in the song. A few squeaks resonated from her cello as she tried to get back to playing. To make matters worse; the woman decided to make a close up appearance on stage in front of Octavia before disappearing again.

“Hey; you alright,” the second-chair cellist whispered

“Headache,” she lied “I’ll have to deal with it for now.”

‘Vee; she’s here.’

‘I heard; since she contacted me as well. Just finish up the show.’

Once the conductor took his bow, signaling the end of the concert; Octavia had to take a moment to gather her belongings in the hopes of forcing herself not to run offstage. Thankfully she had the case with her as it seemed to be haphazardly stuck in the back of the car as Vinyl raced home. Vinyl snatched the case out of the car as Octavia was running inside towards the living room, before stopping in her tracks. Despite the positioning; she could see a male with white hair sitting away from her.

“Tavi; you forgot this,” Vinyl pointed out, tapping the cello case “And what’s wrong now?”

“It’s him,” Octavia whispered back

“You! What are you doing here!? Why have you been stalking me!?”

“Octavia, dear; it’s okay,” Luna offered reassuringly

“My dear, I assure you; I have not done anything of the sort,” the male answered calmly “In fact; this is probably a case of mistaken identity.”

“Mistaken…identity,” Octavia repeated, sounding out the last two words

“Indeed. I am sorry for any confusion that may have happened,” he offered “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Discord; former Count and ruler of multiple nations.”

“Perhaps you should start at the beginning,” Luna mused

Vinyl headed to Octavia’s room to drop off the cello as Octavia felt herself guided towards a nearby couch by Luna. Once she finished; Vinyl threw herself in the seat next to her wife.

“My story is almost as long as human history,” Discord pointed out “I will be skipping around to try and shorten it.”

“I don’t remember exactly when it happened; maybe during the end of time when humans were starting to explore the barren ice-covered world; but my brother and I were turned by a being known as ‘Grogar'. At first it wasn’t too bad, since we would take a little bit of blood from multiple people under his teachings.”

“That’s amazing,” Octavia said in awe “You were actually alive during the Ice Age.”

“It wasn’t fun, practically being frozen at any time. If we didn’t survive and thrive; humanity never would have taken off. No one gave any thought to the trio that hung around together as it was common for small splinter groups to do so, as long as everyone helped taking down the kill,” he admitted “Fast forward thousands of years later and my brother and I were told to kill and consume our master’s body and that our transformation into full vampires would be complete. After that, my brother decided to call himself the ‘Storm King' and from that point on; I never saw him again.”

“I had a run-in with someone who had a business card with the name ‘Storm King’ on it. It said he was a vampire hunter.”

“That’s surprising,” he mused “A vampire hunting others. Unless it’s because he sees this as a threat.”

“Why would he see us as a threat?”

“May I answer that, master,” Twilight asked hopefully

“Of course,” he said with a nod

“Your brother must have founded a new vampire clan in his travels and doesn’t like the idea of a reminder of his brother’s legacy,” Twilight answered

“But why target me?”

“I don’t think it’s you, directly, but you’re probably just in the way,” Twilight continued

“In other words; when you became my wife; you may have been just another addition,” Vinyl chimed in “Guilt by association, regardless if you were mortal or not.”

“That’s not right, but I guess there isn’t much of a choice.”

“As for me; I took some time off from the world. I found a cave that was completely isolated from everything and dug a pit for myself and slept for a while. Before I did; I took some stone and carved in a sigil that Grogar taught us to be a sort of ‘Do Not Disturb' sign. Of course someone did eventually open it, waking me up during the Grecian or Roman times,” he continued “With those idjits; I’ve always confused the two. Especially when I’ve been to both.”

“What did you do during that time?”

“I worked behind the scenes with the senators and rulers to earn power and money. I helped influence them to what was best for everyone. Some times it was more in my favor, but everything seemed to work pretty well, overall.”

“Did you ever run into your brother during your time in other countries?”

“I may have heard rumors of someone fitting a general description of him; but I wouldn’t have put it past him to manipulate rulers to going to war since that was always a favorite tactic. Some time later; I made my way to an area ‘Scandinavia’. Despite the massive change in time; I always kept my sword with me wherever I was for safety. It was outdated, but it’s still served me to this day. Those were fun times; as I was able to pass on my wealth of knowledge to others. The area I was named me as ruler where they saw some of the most prosperous times ever.”

“I thought the Vikings were always fighting.”

“Sometimes that was true, but we were farmers first that would fight to protect ourselves. Besides; if it weren’t for us; the world wouldn’t have had so much. We explored everywhere we could to learn about the world. I’ll admit I’d killed a fair share in battle and drank their blood afterwards.”

“Is that dangerous to do? Drink from the dead? Sorry if I’m constantly interrupting you.”

“You have questions I’m happy to answer,” he said “As long as the body isn’t cold; it should be alright. I would only drink blood once; and usually gorge myself so I didn’t have to feed again for a few months. As for what they thought about it; they never asked and I didn’t explain.”

“What happened to them afterwards?”

“Some moved to other continents we explored in the hopes of continuing their traditions. I honestly; moved down the land from the Scandinavian area to England. That really was the best time of my life.”

“I’ll continue from there, if you’d like,” Luna offered

“Of course. It would be best for you to explain your portion,” he nodded

“It was during what we call now the ‘Middle Ages’. Celestia and I were in our mid twenties when this handsome man had come up to us. We were invited to the castle under his suggestion to live. It was a year later that we were married and my sister and I had been expecting twins,” Luna started

“Um; how do vampires reproduce,” Octavia asked nervously

“Grogar mentioned nothing about it; but I surmised we were sterile when I tried having sex with another woman a long time before. We were, or at least I was; taught about a spell that would temporarily allow reproduction with automatic success,” Discord answered

“As you already know; nine months later; gave birth to Twilight and Starlight while Celestia’s daughters were of course, Sunset and Cadence.”

“As for my brother and I; we were adopted twenty one years after the others grew up,” Vinyl chimed in

“When did you become a vampire, Luna?”

“I asked my wives when they were in their mid-forties and my daughters after their twenty-first birthday about the offer,” Discord interjected

“I have to say we did live a good life during that time,” Twilight mused “Servants to take care of our every need, and plenty of money to never have to worry about anything. Even the citizens were actually happy to have someone to listen to them and want to help out.”

"My sister seemed to grow a tiny bit of jealousy at the attention we were getting and decided to take her girls and a decent amount of money and left. The next time I heard anything about her; she had adopted and turned three new girls into vampires,” Luna continued “As to Vinyl and her brother Neon Lights; that was a different moment. I’m not sure I can tell you; but I am sorry you have to relive this, Vinyl.”

“It’s alright. I’ve gotten over it by now,” Vinyl said with a sigh “It’s just still hard to believe, though.”

“I’ll try and answer as best as I can,” Twilight offered “For reasons unknown to us; a pregnant woman was dragged into the town square by the other citizens. Someone decided to disembowel her, before tossing the fetuses in a basket. Afterwards…"

“Take your time, dear,” Luna said reassuringly

“Afterwards,” Twilight repeated, trying to gather the courage “She was raped until her death. Discord ordered the immediate execution of the participants, but not before extracting confessions. During their torture, they admitted the deceased was suspected of witchcraft and had to be eliminated to prevent problems.”

“I left the castle and immediately retrieved the basket and returned where I agreed to raise the kids as my own,” Luna continued “I still can’t get the sight of a woman with pale white skin, blue hair and red eyes being tortured.”

“Even hearing the story about an event that transpired hundreds of years ago is hard to believe. At least we know how it’s ended so far to this point.”

“For the second time; I decided to return to the earth for a while to get away from life. I told the others to take the wealth and spread it among the population, and the rest for themselves,” Discord added “Of course I did take a portion with me to my grave.”

“In case you’re wondering, my name and Neon's only came about in the past few decades when the technology became popular,” Vinyl interjected “Before; I was Melody and he was Archer.”

“For a time; the five of us traveled in secret at night with each carrying swords for protection. We took residence in other areas and tried to get into positions of influence to continue gathering wealth. We did this repeatedly; before hiding the money in areas around the world. Funny enough; we made sure to always stay behind the scenes during the course of history as the notoriety was unneeded as a vampire,” Luna continued

“Just out of curiosity, did anyone go to college?”

“Yes, we all have,” Luna answered

“What did you major in?”

“Yes,” Vinyl, Twilight and Luna said in unison

“I don’t get it.”

“From about the middle 1800s to present, we’ve earned degrees in every subject possible. I’ve gotten doctorates in everything, while mom had a few PhD in a few others,” Twilight asked cheerfully

“I’ve gotten a few doctorates, and master's degrees in everything else,” Vinyl added

“I would never have thought you’d have so many degrees.”

“Well; when we’ve had firsthand experience of history, it’s easy to answer about that,” Luna mused

“I was actually threatened with a lower grade for calling one of the officers in World War 2 an asshole,” Vinyl chimed in “In my defense, he actually was an asshole. They wanted a fictional telling of you being in the military and how’d you feel. What was I supposed to do!?”

“They didn’t actually want to hear opinions, but what you were told to write,” Luna said “Regardless of how you knew them, history books branded them as heroes and that’s how everyone had to see them.”

“What was everyone’s favorite class?”

“I enjoyed teaching students about history in a way they seemed to enjoy,” Luna answered “I followed the text, but would add little extras here and there.”

“Science was my favorite to teach and learn; although I had to constantly deny my students from wanting to date me,” Twilight added

“Music appreciation was my favorite to teach. They loved being able to talk to someone about music and I could offer suggestions for them to check out,” Vinyl chimed in

“Why did you decide to come back now, sir?”

“This wasn’t my decision, but I thought to take advantage of it,” he said “After my return to a resting place in the Middle Ages; I was actually at peace before someone cracked the rock I was using, mere weeks ago.”

FLASHBACK: 1 Week Ago; Parts Unknown

Two explorers; a female in her mid thirties wearing an olive green shirt, brown shorts and knee length boots and a male in his late thirties with a shaved beard in a khaki shirt and black pants were almost to the bottom of a cave, having rappelled inside.

“What exactly are we doing here,” the female questioned

“My dear, Daring; I had received information from an anonymous source that said there was something here that would change the course of history,” he said dramatically

“Caballeron; I hope you’re not pulling my leg. This is empty,” Daring countered

“We both have found treasure in places seemed to be empty before,” he said with a chuckle “Besides; the best place to hide something is deep where no one can get it.”

Once free of their climbing ropes; the two retrieved flashlights and continued deeper into the cave. They ended up heading into areas that had passages small enough they had to resort to crawling through in order to continue.

“Hold up a moment,” she directed “I see something.”

“What do you make of it?”

“All I can say is it’s a marking of some kind,” she offered “Unfortunately; there’s no record of this in any of the books I’ve read.”

“Well; if we continue on, there has to be something that someone didn’t want anyone to know about,” he said cheerfully “Why else would that be there?”

“We should document this for later. I’ll sketch it and you photograph it,” Daring directed

“You know, I’ve been giving this some thought,” he started “This mark is placed in an area with a small single entrance. Let’s check if there isn’t any other way past.”

“My thoughts exactly,” she confirmed “I thought the wall had a crack in it.”

After removing a small collapsible shovel from their bags, they began using the blade as a makeshift pickax aimed at the crack she pointed out. After a few minutes, some of the rocks started to break apart and fall away; revealing a new chamber to explore. As Daring entered, her light was shined around the room, before stopping on another symbol.

“It’s like the one in the other room,” she pointed out “The design is a bit different, though.”

“Must have a different meaning,” he guessed “Let’s start digging around for treasure.”

“Just be careful. We don’t know what we’re dealing with,” she cautioned

Starting at the back of the room; they dug out a trench towards the middle where they ended up hitting a series of larger stones that were arranged in a line.

“This rock is a little bit smaller. Let’s move this aside and work towards the bigger ones last,” he offered, moving one as he spoke

With a few of the rocks moved out of the way, they noticed the body of a male with gray hair and a goatee dressed in a black outfit. To their shock, the body started to sit upright and stretch.

“When am I?”

“W…wa…what are you,” Caballeron stuttered “Who are you?”

“Courtesy dictates you answer my question first,” the creature stated

“It’s 2020 now,” Daring answered

“Nearly five hundred years,” it muttered, before turning to the others “Why did you wake me?”

“We were informed about something that could change history,” Caballeron answered “Now; who are you?”

“I am Discord, Count of multiple kingdoms. Who told you to come here?”

“It was an anonymous source,” Caballeron said quickly “I wasn’t told what to look for, either.”

“If I may interrupt, Count Discord; what exactly are you and how did you end up here,” Daring asked

“To answer your first question, young lady; I am a vampire born quite a long time ago. As to how I ended up here; that was my own doing. I decided to take a nap here in private with my trusty sword by my side,” Discord said “Since I’m up, let’s get going.”

“Where exactly are we going,” Caballeron asked

“You’re leaving the cave and I’m coming with,” Discord stated “But first; do you mind if I have a drink?”

Without hesitation; Discord headed towards Daring, before tipping her head to the side. After sinking his fangs into her neck; they were removed about ten seconds later as the wounds healed themselves.

“Thank you for the drink,” Discord offered

“That was my fiancé you turned into a vampire,” Caballeron retorted angrily

“I assure you; she hasn’t been turned. The process takes much longer than that.”

Discord reached back into the exposed cavity and removed a Roman spatha sword in it’s sheath and strapped it to his side. Caballeron turned and left the room muttering profanities under his breath while Discord ignored everything mentioned.

“I’d suggest you join him outside,” Discord offered “He seems to be getting restless.”

“What about you,” Daring questioned

“I’ll be right behind you. I need to grab one more thing.”

As she headed back through the door; Discord headed into a corner and removed a small pouch of coins and dropped it in a pocket, before covering the tomb up and joining the two explorers. The trip back through the cave was silent as Caballeron still seemed to be irritated. He and Daring hooked up to the harnesses and signaled to someone at the top of the cave to start pulling them up. Discord decided to just walk up the side to the top.

“What are you,” another member asked

“Something that was woken up from his dirt nap by your friends here. I’m going wherever they are heading,” Discord answered

“Boss; did you find what you came from,” another chimed in

“I don’t know,” Caballeron admitted “Get the plane ready for departure. Wheels up in ten minutes. I’ve got to make a call.”

“What is a ‘plane’,” Discord asked

“Where did you come from that you don’t know what a plane is,” one of the team members asked sarcastically “And you know; swords went out of fashion hundreds of years ago.”

“I’ll have you know; I’ve never needed my feet to leave the ground involuntarily, as I’m quite fond of terra firma. As for the sword; it’s a matter of protecting myself against attackers. I wasn’t trained to give in without a fight,” Discord retorted

Caballeron headed a short distance from the rest of the group and removed a satellite phone from a pouch on his side and started to dial. He put it on speakerphone to talk easier. In the meantime, Discord took a look around and saw two small jeeps being driven into a cargo plane as tents covered with camouflage netting were being taken down and loaded inside.

‘We went to where you told us,’ Caballeron said

‘And? Did you find what I told you,’ the person on the other end asked

‘We found something; or rather some one. A person, to be exact; who woke up after uncovering it.’

‘And you didn’t dispatch it!? Do you know how much trouble it could cause!? On second thought, take it with you. You can drive over to the rendezvous point and deliver it to me personally.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Despite the distance from the others, Discord was able to hear the hear the conversation. He knew he’d have to play along until he could get away from them. He had a feeling he knew who was the other person was; and hoped to be wrong about it.

“Good news, Count,” Caballeron said cheerfully “You’re coming with us.”

“That’s good to hear. Otherwise; it would be a long walk,” Discord joked

“You’ll have to pardon the lack of room in here,” Caballeron offered as he led Discord inside the plane, “This is normally used by soldiers for transportation. Just clip into a nearby seat and we’ll be ready to go soon.”

“Since my fiancé is gone,” Daring started “How old are you?”

“Ancient,” Discord answered simply “I don’t know by whom you were sponsored by; but I’m leaving as soon as we arrive at our destination.”

“Where are you planning on going,” she questioned

“Anyplace else. I’m supposed to be driven over someplace.”

Before either of them could continue their conversation; multiple workers headed inside and started strapping into nearby seats.

‘Luna…Could you help me?’

‘How can I do that?’

‘I’m currently on something called a ‘plane’. They mentioned it’s used for transporting soldiers.’

‘That’s not bad. What’s the problem?’

‘Whoever’s leading this group is planning on taking me to another person. I don’t like the idea of being handed over to anyone. Can you meet me upon our arrival?’

‘I can try; but if it’s a military transport; most likely it’ll be on a base. You’ll have to get away from the base before I can pick you up.’

During the flight; Discord looked around to see each member of the crew starting to fall asleep as he stayed awake out of sheer habit. To keep occupied; he drew the blade from the sheath and started to sharpen it as quietly as possible so as not to wake anyone. Deciding it was to his liking; he also started to remove the dust from the clothing in order to look more presentable.
A few hours later; the pilot had apparently landed at their destination and started to lower the ramp when Discord took off using his speed. He hoped to be far enough off away from the plane they wouldn’t know he disappeared. Now away from the base; he realized just how much society had changed in the hundreds of years since he’d been asleep. More building had been built, much closer to one another as some towered above the rest. As he started wandering the streets, a police car started to pull up behind him.

“Excuse me, sir,” the officer started “I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with me.”

“I suppose it’s a good thing you happened along,” Discord offered “You see, I’m from out of town and I’m supposed to meet a friend. Unfortunately; I don’t have an address for them. How do I address you?”

“Officer Flash Sentry is my name, sir,” he introduced “You may call me Officer Sentry “I’m sorry to hear that you don’t have an address for your friend; but your weapon is against the law.”

“According to that text, aren’t you supposed to ‘Serve and Protect’? How can you protect anyone without a sword?”

“Swords have been rendered out of use in the 1700s. Firearms, specifically pistols; are the ways we police officers have to protect others,” Flash simplified

In the meantime; Luna grabbed one of the cars and decided to head out for a drive in the hopes of meeting up with Discord. As she turned onto a street not too far off from the military base; she saw someone in all black talking with police.

“Is there a problem here, officer,” Luna asked

“What is your relationship with this gentleman,” the officer asked, addressing Luna “And the name's Officer Sentry.”

“I was supposed to pick him up, officer. Since he’s from out of town, I wanted to pick him up as soon as possible” Luna offered

“How’d you get here, sir,” Flash questioned

“I arrived by plane,” Discord answered

“I haven’t seen any commercial planes coming in,” Flash mused

“It was a military plane from what I was told.”

“I didn’t think they’d be picking up citizens,” Flash argued

“I didn’t ask their reasoning for picking me up.”

“Unfortunately; I’m going to have to place him under arrest for his sword,” Flash argued “It’s illegal to carry such a weapon.”

“I don’t want to embarrass him; but he’s a fan of ancient history and likes to carry a wooden sword just like gentleman used to,” Luna lied “How’s about just letting him off with a warning and he can promise not to carry a sword in public again?”

“Do you promise not to wear such an item in public,” Flash asked, with a sigh

“Of course, sir,” Discord answered “I wouldn’t want to break a promise and get in trouble. I have a great deal of respect for the job you do.”

“Take your friend and go,” Flash decided “I’ll write it up as a warning to not wear cosplay weapons outside of official locations.”

Luna led her husband towards her car before reaching over and unclipping the sheath and sticking it in the back seat. He carefully lowered himself into the front passenger’s seat as she took the wheel.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue,” Discord started

You’re welcome. I wasn’t sure where you’d be and I just got lucky when I found you. In the meantime; let’s head to our current home and you can relax.”

●PRESENT TIME●

“I do apologize for my confusion and anger when I first met you. I did not know it was your brother I’d met before,” Octavia started “And thank you for the history lesson. I have a lot to learn about being a vampire.”r

“Your apology is accepted,” Discord replied “I’m happy to share everything I know with family. I bid you adieu for now as I must see how Celestia is doing.”