Moonlit Eternity

Chapter 10

172 Years Ago, Fillydelphia

Steel Anvil sighed as he exited his house on a freezing Hearth's Warming Eve night. He watched the foggy breath flow in front of his face. He chuckled to himself as he briefly thought of himself as some sort of fire-breathing monster. He looked up at Celestia's moon, bright and wonderful, lighting the way to his destination. He locked the front door of his small, quaint little cabin behind him and began to amble down the path to town, humming a small tune to himself. He looked up at the towering trees, listened to the crickets sing their ritual song of the night and felt the cold, gentle breeze. These relaxed him and reminded him why he loved winter the most out of all the seasons. He tightened his scarf and smiled to himself as he continued on. It was a short walk from his home to the now-industrialized town where he grew up. So many changes had been made to everything he had ever known. Factories and machines making many goods that he used to buy hoofmade. The streets that were usually incredibly dark at night were now lit with tall lamps that illuminated the way for those who preferred night to day. The streets leading through the town, instead of being dirt were now paved and well organized. Small amounts of anarchy and apathy of the law enforcement had given way to established order and a surplus in police officers. The entire place just seemed more inviting and much less hostile. Steel nodded to Alabaster Scuff, the shopkeep he always bought candy from as a foal. He stopped at a small eatery and greeted the keeper.

"Good evening."

"Good evening to you too. Happy Hearth's Warming Eve!" The pretty, cheerful-sounding, blue-coated, purple-maned unicorn mare spouted. "What can I get for you?"

"I'll have a family-sized dish of your potato cheese casserole, please." He responded. She nodded with a smile.

"Lucky for you, it's always in high demand, so we usually have some fresh made!" She said as she put it on the counter for Steel. "That'll be fifteen bits, please." Steel's eyes widened slightly.

"It was ten last time." He said with a small frown. "And I only brought ten."

"Times are changing, friend." She responded. "My mama has to charge more, or we'll go out of business. But I'll tell you what. Since you're such a loyal customer and I usually see you in here at least once a week, I'll give it to you for ten." She said with a large smile. "It is Hearth's Warming Eve, after all." Steel smiled widely.

"Oh, thank you!" He said. "I'll be here tomorrow to pay the rest."

"Don't worry about it." She responded. "Use it to buy a gift for your filly."

"I don't have a marefriend right now." Steel responded. The keeper frowned.

"Well, you should." She responded before putting the bits in the register and handing Steel the casserole. Steel smirked at her.

"All this newfangled technology, huh? It's crazy." Steel said.

"I know!" She responded. "I was never used to the streets being so bright at night and the roads actually being paved! This town is changing, that's for sure." He nodded quietly before he looked at her.

"This is a nice place." Steel said, looking around. "Your coltfriend must be very proud."

"Don't have one..." She said, pretending to fiddle with the register before she looked up at Steel for a moment.

"Oh?" He said, tilting his head slightly. "Listen...uh...why don't you and I grab a bite to eat tomorrow?" At these words, the mare seemed to brighten up significantly. She smiled.

"I just might take you up on that." She responded. "How about five o'clock p.m. tomorrow?" Steel smiled.

"It's a date, uh..." He said, inadvertently asking her name.

"Sugar Song." She said, still smiling widely. "I'm suprised you don't remember me, Steel Anvil."

"Sugar Song..." He said to himself, trying to place the name. "Sugar Song...Oh, Celestia! Song! Is that really you? Wow, I haven't seen you since we went to foal school together...well, I haven't recognized you since we went to foal school together. You just kind of disappeared after school ended and I never really saw you again. What happened? You got...really pretty." She giggled, blushed and smiled.

"Well, I got an oppurtunity to learn to cook and bake from a master in Canterlot. I was there for a year and when it didn't end up working, I came back here. You've come in a lot since then and I've been waiting for you to recognize me." She said to him. He smiled widely at her.

"I'm really glad I finally did. We have so much to catch up on." He said. She looked at the dish he was balancing on his back.

"Get that dish to wherever you're eating it. It's no good cold."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely! I'll see you tomorrow!" He said to her.

"See you tomorrow." She said with a wide smile and a small sigh as he exited the eatery.

_____

Finally, after a twenty-minute walk, he arrived at his destination. He knocked on the door of the large cottage to be greeted by his mother, Summer Forest. She was a yellow, brown maned earth pony. She smiled widely and gave him a hug.

"Hello, Steel! It's great to see you." She disconnected from the hug. "You never come around here anymore."

"I was here last week, mom." Steel said, half laughing.

"My point exactly!" She said, still smiling.

"Summer, will you leave the guy alone?" His father, Copper Shine said in his gruff voice from behind her. He had a Red Coat, similar to Steel's, yet his mane was light copper, hence his name.

"Well, that's easy for you to say! You see him at the forge nearly every day. I barely ever get to see my little Steel." She said, hugging him again. Steel chuckled and hugged his mother again before entering the house. Sitting on the couch was his uncle, Coal Brawn and his younger sister, Ember Star. Her brilliant yellow coat and red mane were the first things Steel noticed as he walked into the house. She jumped up happily, brilliant orange eyes brightening at the sight of her sibling. He smiled back at her as she ran at him.

"Steel!" She exclaimed as she jumped at him and brought him into an enormous hug. He laughed as he returned the hug in full.

"Hey, Em. How are you?" He asked as she let go of him. She smiled as she raved.

"Oh, I've been great! I just got back from Honey Sprinkles' house. We made all kinds of yummy deserts! OH!" She ran into the kitchen and brought him back a small cake. "I made this for you!" Steel took it and nodded appreciateively.

"Thanks, Ember. I know this is going to be delicious. We'll split it after dinner, you and me." He smiled. He walked through their living room, nodded to his uncle and placed the cake on the dining room table.

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, everypony." Steel said to his family before sitting down in the living room. "I'm not going to lie, I've been looking forward to tonight. Mom does have a point when she says that I don't really see you guys save for Dad anymore since I moved out."

"Well you're here now, that's all that matters. Besides, you've been keeping the forge running with your father." His lumberjack uncle said. He looked as if he had an epiphany for a moment. "Oh, that reminds me! Copper, I'm bringing you some more of that wood that burns really well for the forge the day after tomorrow. Don't let me forget." Copper seemed to brighten up significantly at this.

"That's great Coal. We really could use that. Thanks."

"'Tis the season." His uncle happily replied before taking a sip of his drink.

"Hey, you guys," Steel said, earning the attention of his family. "Do you all remember Sugar Song? You know, my old friend from foal school?" Ember Star's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh! Honey Sprinkles' sister? Yeah, she's always talking to herself about you when she thinks she's alone." Ember giggled. "It's really cute." Steel smiled. He couldn't deny that he was deeply flattered.

"You two used to be so adorable playing together all those years ago!" His mother exclaimed.

"Well, I'm going on a date with her tomorrow." His father smiled and slugged him in the shoulder.

"That's my boy!" He said. "Finally settlin' down with a lucky mare."

"Dad, it's just a date. We're not preparing our vows or anything." He said.

"Even so, that Sugar Song is a looker." His uncle chuckled from the couch. "Best looking mare I've seen since Rose..." His uncle said, the smile never leaving his face. Coal Brawn and his wife Rose Bloom had one of the most beautiful partnerships Steel had ever seen. Sadly, she had died of Pneumonia three years before. They loved each other so unconditionally, it often made Steel wish that they were his parents. He loved his mother and father dearly, but their relationship had met more than a few speed bumps.

"I'll bet that she's here with us now, Uncle Coal." Steel said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. Coal Brawn nodded and winked at him.

"She'd be proud." He said before he took another swig of his drink. Steel nodded. Summer Forest walked through the living room and went into the kitchen.

"How about I go ahead and set the table? Then we can finally all sit down and enjoy our meal." She responded. "Ember Star, would you like to help me out?" Steel's sister jumped up and ambled to the kitchen.

_____

Steel took a massive bite of Stuffing from the plate before him and chewed it happily, savoring the hearty, warm flavor. As he swallowed the delicious food, he grabbed the large cup of cider next to his plate and took a gulp. The sweet, smooth taste of the cider melded perfectly with the satisfying, salty taste of the stuffing he had just ate. Copper Shine looked at him and chuckled.

"Boy eats like an Ursa Major, that's for sure." Steel looked over at him.

"You know, an Ursa Major almost broke into Canterlot a few weeks ago. The royal guard barely managed to scare it away. Took every single one of them." He said with half-lidded eyes. The warm environment and belly full of food slowly lulled him to sleep.

"Getting sleepy, Steel?" Summer Forest asked. "You can sleep here, if you like. Your room is still up there-"

"Sorry, mom. I'm gonna head home and get some rest." Steel said.

"Can't blame a girl for trying." She responded and smiled.

"Do I really have to eat these stupid green beans? Why can't I just have more stuffing?" Ember Star said, apathetically eyeing her green beans as she slowly assaulted them with her fork.

"Yes, young lady. You're not going to bed until you eat it all." Summer Forest responded.

"Aren't I a little old for you to be talking to me like I'm still a filly? I got out of foal school three years ago." Steel creeped up behind her and gave her a noogie, earning him a "HEY!" From his outraged little sister.

"Eat it all, Em." He said. "Or you'll-" He was interrupted by a loud banging at the front door. This instantly gained the attention of Steel and his family. "Who could that be?" Steel wondered out loud.

"Knowing our luck, it'll be that beggar again." Copper Shine said, sighing and getting up to go to the door.

"Beggar?" Steel said, looking at his mother for some sort of explaination. She sighed and began.

"He has been coming around our house asking for different things. One day, he would ask for a bite to eat, another, he would ask for a blanket. We gave him those things the first few times, but he just kept coming back for more and more, and eventually, it got to a point to where we just couldn't take it anymore. We asked him to not come back, that we couldn't give him anymore. Soon after that, he would stand outside on the street for days and just...watch us. We expelled him from our property and told him to never come back." His mother elaborated. Steel nodded and looked over at his father, answering the door. When he did, an expression of annoyance and slight irritation came over his face.

"Look, buddy, we said to stay away. We have nothing else for you. There's a homeless shelter in town, you know that." Copper said.

"Please let me in for just a few minutes. It's cold and-"

"No. I'm sorry, but you have to leave." Steel's father said sternly. "Now, if you don't leave, I'll have to get the police." Steel walked over to the doorway and appraised the beggar. He was a light brown pegasus with a dark brown mane.

"What's happening here?" Steel asked.

"Oh, please, good sir!" The pegasus said. "Please let me in, if only for a few minutes! It's very cold out here and it's so...warm in your house! Please..." He sounded desperate...too desperate. As if he was longing for something other than warmth. Even so, the freezing pony looked to be in agony.

"Dad..." Steel said. "Let's just let him in to warm up. It's freezing outside and it is Hearth's Warming Eve..."

"But son, he-"

"What is this day for if not generosity? Let him in for ten minutes, and then he'll leave." Steel looked at the pegasus and raised his eyebrows. "Right?" The freezing stallion nodded his head furiously. Copper sighed.

"Fine." The stallion came in happily and sighed as he sat next to the fire and breathed in heavily. He trembled and shook, nearly violently. His eyes looked slightly crazed as he spouted-

"I'm sorry that I've been living off you kind ponies so much. They barely feed us at the shelter, and there's hardly ever a fire to warm us." He beggar said.

"Well, we're happy to give. It's just that we don't really have much for ourselves." Summer Forest said.

"That's what makes you all so great...so charitable..." He looked over at Ember Star and winked. Ember Star's eyes widened. "So delicious..." Steel noticed this and was filled with protective anger.

"What was that?" He walked toward the homeless pegasus, prepared to beat him to the ground. He brought a hoof toward his face to punch him when the beggar immediately jumped up with seemingly super speed and grabbed Steel's front leg.

"Too slow." The beggar said before he slammed a powerful hoof into the elbow and broke Steel's front leg. The sheer sudden suprise and shock of the injury numbed the pain for a second as Steel's eyes widened. He screamed as the beggar quickly leaped behind him and broke his back left leg. The attacker then grabbed his back right leg and threw him against a wall, knocking a family portrait down. His mother screamed, his father and uncle rushed to defend against this newly and unexpectedly revealed assailant. Copper Shine was the first to attack the Pegasus, only to receive three heavy punches to his face. The attacker then uppercutted Copper onto his back before kicking Coal Brawn in the stomach heavily, disabling him. The assailant's back hunched as his wings flared and grew. His muscles bulged beneath his skin, pressing veins against the surface as his eyes turned pure, blood red. Where his blunt, normal teeth were grew long, razor sharp fangs. It roared in fury.

"Ember, get out of here! RUN!!!" Summer Forest screamed, shoving her daughter toward the back door. The monster saw this and dashed toward Ember, knocking Summer Forest to the side like a ragdoll into the wall and grabbed Ember by the mane, throwing her away from the door, tearing out some of her mane doing it. Steel's younger sister screamed in pain as she flew into the wall. The impact of the blow racked her body, making her cough up blood. She fell to the floor and moaned loudly in agony, clutching her body. Steel screamed out.

"Ember!!!" As he struggled in vain to crawl over to his badly injured sister. He heard a scream as he looked over at the dining room where the creature had knocked his mother. It was tearing into her throat. Blood flew out of her neck as she struggled to escape the monster's grasp. Her wails eventually became gurgles of blood as her eyes glazed over and she died between the thing's teeth. Blood pooled around her and the creature. The thing seemed to be drinking her blood. Steel's eyes watered with emotional agony and intense rage. He screamed. He screamed as loud as he could as he tried to get up and defend his mother. It was impossible due to the severity of the injuries on one of his front and back legs. He was helpless. Copper leaped on the creature's back and struck it repeatedly as hard as he could, trying to save his now deceased wife. The monster knocked Copper off with ease as Steel's father flew across the room into the stone hearth of the fireplace. His spine cracked as he screamed in pain. The monster grabbed him by the head as he fell from the hearth, and took Copper's head in both of it's hooves. Copper screamed again before it twisted his neck, resulting in a sickening series of cracks and snaps, and ended his life. Coal Brawn came to his brother's defense too late and suffered a mighty punch to the chin, sending him flying across the room, hitting his head on the counter. But the beast was not finished yet. It ran and quickly grabbed Steel's uncle by the head and slammed Coal down into the ground, face first. Steel heard a loud crack as his uncle went limp. The creature walked over to his father's corpse and bit into the throat, sending more blood onto the floor. Steel watched as this thing fed on his father's corpse so unceremoniously. The brown eyes he had seen bright and alive just minutes before were now dead and rolling back into their sockets grotesquely. After the moster was finished with the body of his father, it dropped the body. A sickening 'thunk' echoed through the house and Steel's psyche. His eyes flooded over with tears as he sobbed.

"Why are you doing this?!" He screamed. "WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO YOU?!" The monster looked from the corpse to Steel, who was struggling to even keep his head up. It walked over to him and took his head in it's hoof. It smiled as it opened it's mouth to take it's bite.

"put him...down." Steel heard his little sister barely say, lifting her head up. She sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "Let him..." She coughed up a copious amount of blood onto the floor. "...go." Steel's eyes widened with horror as the creature did in fact let go of him and turned to his sister.

"NO!!!" Steel said, more tears falling from his eyes. "NO!!! LEAVE HER ALONE!!! PLEASE!!!!!!" The thing payed him no heed. As it picked his little sister up by her neck. It slowly pulled her toward it as it licked her cheek. She shivered and sobbed, looking away from the thing. It bent her neck back and bit into it. It slowly tore out her throat, spewing blood everywhere. And just like that...before his very eyes, Steel Anvil's entire family was dead. The beast threw Ember Star's corpse down in front of her brother. The lifeless body slumped in an ugly, crimson heap. Her glazed, dead, once brilliant orange eyes staring into his for a moment. But only for a moment. Steel turned his head and shut his eyes. He screamed. He screamed in terror, in misery, in pain, in agony, but most of all in sorrow. He screamed himself hoarse. The beast just stared at him. It finally turned him over and exposed his neck. Steel just cried. He sobbed and breathed heavily, chest heaving. He was now not only broken physically, but spiritually, mentally. He was purely and simply done.

"Just do it..." He said. "End me. I just want to be with them again..." The creature bit into his throat and began to drink his blood. Steel became faint before he felt something. A sharp sting in the wound the monster had caused. This fiery stinging pain grew from the injury to spread over his entire body excessively quickly. Steel Anvil seized up and clenched his teeth in the heat of it. His eyes bulged. The mere pain from this experience was enough to send his mind spiraling. His muscles began to contract involuntarily as he convulsed violently on the floor. It went on for a straight minute before it finally began to stop. When his body stopped heaving, his consiousness began to dwindle heavily. His eyes began to shut as he felt death take him.

_____

Present Day

"I woke up after that in complete darkness. I was in the local hospital's morgue. They had pronounced me dead after they had found my family and I. I kicked the locked door once and it broke off it's hinges. I got out of the cold cabinet just in time for a nurse to see it. She screamed and went to get help. The doctors came and helped me calm down and told me the situation. It had happened three weeks before I had woken up. I had completely forgotten. I remember constantly breaking down in front everypony. No one could blame me. They told me that my uncle had survived for a few days, but died in his hospital bed. That he wouldn't stop talking about my aunt Rose." Steel Anvil finished his sad, somber, disturbing tale. All the girls were shocked. He hadn't described every, grisly detail of that night to them, but they knew that his family was murdered by Brick Smasher in front of him. Pinkie Pie was crying. Legitimately crying. None of them had ever seen her like that. Fluttershy was crying as well, but she had plugged her ears halfway through the gruesome story. Twilight and Rarity were choked up, shedding constant tears. Even tough Applejack was close to breaking down, tears sliding down her cheeks. Rainbow Dash cried, but she stayed strong for her love. She shed tears, but did not once give in to the sorrow she felt for Steel. "I told you guys that you wouldn't enjoy it."

"So...what didja do after that?" Applejack asked, her voice catching.

"I left for Manehattan. I wanted to get away from that town...away from the memories. I figured my skills in smithing could take me pretty far in a city like that. That's when I discovered my vampirism. I could never strain myself in sunshine, I could never sleep and the one thing that could nourish me was blood. I thought I would age, though. I figured that I'd get old and die in Manehattan, but no. I never aged a day. But the city was so large and full of ponies, I was never really recognized after all that time. I never forgot that pegasus. He was always in the back of my mind, taunting me. The police searched and searched for him, but they never even found a trace. That's when I think he fled to Griffon Territory. After a while, I guess I just resigned myself to the fact that I would never find him. I suppose that after one hundred and seventy-two years something like that still hurts just as much as it did." He said. "And after all of that, I moved to Ponyville. I made the best decision of my life. I met the best friends I'll ever have," The girls smiled at him and nodded. "and the mare of my dreams." He looked at Rainbow Dash as he said this. She smiled widely as more tears fell from her eyes. She nuzzled him lovingly and he kissed the top of her head. "But you know, I never did go on that date with Sugar Song. I wonder how that would have went." He smirked at Rainbow. Rainbow punched him in the shoulder and sniffled as she wiped her tears away.

"Oh, shut up." She said. The girls laughed. Steel's stomach lightened at the sound of his friends' laughter. It seemed to lift the burden off of all of their shoulders. Pinkie Pie wiped her tears away.

"Sooooo..." She said. "Anypony want some s'mores?"

"I could go for some s'mores." Twilight said, slightly sniffling.

"Well, heck, Ah guess Ah'll have some too!" Applejack added. Soon, the mood was lightened again by happy conversation of things that had nothing to do with murder or blood or mistaken death. Steel sat in front of the fire, occasionally tuning into the conversation and laughing with his friends when he heard something funny. But, he remained somewhat distant. Rainbow noticed this and scooted closer to him.

"What's on your mind?" She asked him. She immediately felt stupid for asking this question. Of course she knew what was on his mind.

"My sister." He said. "Fires always remind me of her. Her eyes, I mean. They were so bright and beautiful that I'll never forget them. I try to remember her for when she was alive and vibrant, and I succeed in that most of the time, but sometimes, I'll remember her from moments after she died, how her eyes looked into mine and were still bright orange, but they were darker..." He paused for a moment. "Deader." Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah." She said. "You're the saddest out of all of us, I can tell. But you were the only one who wasn't crying."

"I figure that I've cried about it enough over the one hundred and seventy-two years after it happened." He looked into her Rose eyes. "Plus, I have something in my life now that makes it all better." Rainbow Dash's heart fluttered in her chest. She blushed heavily.

"If you say something about Sugar Song right now, I'm going to punch you." She said. Steel laughed and kissed her on the lips.

"Not a chance." He responded. Twilight stood up.

"I guess we should all be going to bed. We have a big day tomorrow!" She said to everypony. They all agreed and got out their sleeping bags. As Rainbow got out her sleeping bag, she looked at Steel and smiled.

"I elect that we share a sleeping bag, Steel." She said and raised an eyebrow at him. The girls "ooohh"ed. Steel smiled. "It's awfully cold tonight." Steel was about to remind his marefriend that he didn't get cold, but he held his tongue. The others didn't know that.

"Yes ma'am."

Obligatory End-of-Chapter Author's Note: Alrighty then.There's that chapter. The dark tag on this story is there for a reason and the reason is this chapter. I know that it was really gory and brutal, but I wanted to illustrate that Brick Smasher is an evil prick that needs to be killed instead of the cliche "Brick Smasher's actually a good guy and it's gonna be hard for Steel to kill him." approach. Yeah. So, I would appreciate a comment on what you think so far! Cheers!