She stood in a desolate battlefield, the dead were lying where they fell in pools of congealed blood, the used bullet casings littered the cracked earth like garbage, the guns and bayonets and knives lay like bodies themselves.
All was silent, save for the harsh cawing of crows and other carrion-eating birds.
Rip felt herself being drawn forwards by an unseen force, she walked forwards, not looking at the carnage around her, but rather gazing at the horizon, which was lit by a sunken sun.
Suddenly the cawing got louder and far more cacophonous, she looked up and saw that the sky was rapidly darkening under the shadows of a million black ravens, all of whom were looking down on her with eyes like burning embers.
Rip felt fear grip her heart as the cawing grew louder, she wanted to move, to run, to hide, anything. But she knew that it was hopeless.
There was no running from her sins.
Then the ravens began to cluster together, each one seeming to flow into the other like puddles flowing into streams. In an instant the swarm of carrion-eaters had coalesced into a massive, black skull.
The red eyes had formed into a blazing red swastika.
Then the wind picked up and, in that sound, she could hear the voices of every person that she had wronged.
“Why did you take me from my mother?”
“The only crime that I committed was being against the Nazis. Why did you kill me?”
“I died alone and freezing in the forest with no one to hear my screams!”
“You shot my son and then me! What kind of monster would do that?”
“Beast!”
“Freak!”
“Monster!”
Rip closed her eyes against the tide of tears, but they slipped out anyway, and she didn’t try to stop them. It was a futile effort anyway, so why should she even fight it?
Then she felt a presence behind her, she didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was, but she turned anyway.
To her surprise it wasn’t Alucard, instead it was a clone of her, though this version of her was taller, with long talons, rotting, putrefying skin that pulsed with maggots and massive fangs that tore her lips to dangling shreds.
It was how Rip had come to view herself over the course of her imprisonment, but this was the first time that she had actually seen it face to face.
She took a step closer and the clone- no, her true self, leveled her own musket at her.
“Are you ready?” it asked in a sickeningly soft voice; soft like the doughy flesh of a long dead corpse.
Rip lowered her head and nodded, letting her tears flow freely.
Then the musket plunged through her abdomen.
Rip woke up with a gasp, feeling her chest wound burn.
She looked around confusedly, wondering where she was, before the memory of what happened in the woods with that strange, yellow pegasus returned to her.
Was it all a dream? she wondered, It felt real enough, but… it’s just impossible, pegasi don’t exist.
She sighed and lowered her head, an act which brought the blanket that she was wrapped in to her attention.
She stopped and gazed at the soft, blue material that was bundled over her, trying to process what she was seeing. She looked up and was met with a world of multi-colored smudges, she realized that someone had removed her glasses, she felt around for a second before her searching fingers-which she realized where bare-found them.
She put her glasses on and blinked in surprise: the smudges had resolved themselves into a colorful living room, complete with a rug, several small beds that looked like they were for animals and the couch that she was currently occupying.
All of that was somewhat surprising, but what really got her attention where the colors: the world that she had known was full of every shade of gray, blue and brown, with only the red of blood and the yellow of predatory eyes to break the monotony.
But these colors were vivid, bright and stimulating to her eyes as well as soothing to her troubled mind.
“It’s like a whole new world.” she said softly.
A strange feeling came over her then, a feeling that she had not experienced in a long time: happiness.
It wasn’t happiness at being in a different environment, it wasn’t the kind of happiness that was the result of a salved consciousness, it was happiness at being able to rest.
I wonder when Alucard will return me to his inner hell- Wait…. I was killed in the battle.
Rip felt the realization hit her like a panzerfaust. She had been so distracted by her new surroundings that she hadn’t truly had time to process what had happened to her on the battlefield, she had died permanently, with no chance of being brought back.
Which means….. which means that this is a new world. she thought breathlessly.
Rip looked around the odd room again, her blue eyes drinking in every single detail as a thirsty man drinks from a pool. But the need for true proof went beyond just seeing, so Rip cast off her blanket, noticing that her shoes and socks had been removed, and gently stood up.
She felt the cool floor on her bare soles, she crouched and laid a palm flat on the rug, feeling the individual fibers tickle her skin; she smiled and lifted her hand away.
Then she turned and sniffed the air, allowing her to smell the fragrant odor of countless flowers, animal dander and rainwater. A soft spring breeze blew in from a window that was slightly ajar and she felt goosebumps rise on her skin, she shivered slightly, then smiled when she realized that she could shiver.
Then Rip closed her eyes and allowed her vampiric senses to kick in, and she could hear and smell the blood of many animals of many different species.
Is this person a veterinarian? she wondered, Or has a fellow vampire found me somehow?
The former huntress’s eyes fell upon a large, wall-mounted clock that read 6:50.
I’ve been out for awhile… she thought.
Rip turned around and paced to the far wall, which housed a large bookshelf that was brimming with books. She picked one out and read the title on the cover.
Flora and Fauna of the Everfree by Swift Breeze.
What is the Everfree? wondered Rip as she flipped the book open. Inside there were descriptions of plant life, including mosses and fungi, Rip furrowed her brow when she saw the descriptions of several very odd plants, like Poison Joke and Hexen Tears. She flipped to the fauna section and balked when she saw the descriptions for Manticores, Cockatrices, Cragodiles and Timberwolves.
“Vat kind of place is this?” she asked out loud, gently closing the book and putting it back in its proper place.
She had turned around and started back to the couch when a bright flash of light blinded her, causing her to lose her footing and fall to the floor.
When the spots in her vision cleared up she removed her hands from her eyes and saw a large, purple pony with large, majestic wings and a spiraling horn gently alight on the floor after having been suspended in midair by an aura of white light.
The pony-creature shook her head-like a dog drying itself- then looked up at her with large, magenta eyes.
She was silent for a full minute, then she opened her mouth and let out an ear-piercing squeal that rattled Rip’s fangs in her gums.
Then the pony-creature sprang toward her as Rip let out a shriek of her own.
keep it up, it just need to be a little longer.
4683780 It'll be plenty long, don't worry
Ah, I simply love Rip, they gave her such a gorgeues voice in the OVA. X3
Plus, she is based on "der Freischütz", which is a classic per se.
Its nice to see her get some attention in a redemption story. Im eagerly awaiting more.=^-^=
4683876 I'm glad that you like it
Interesting story. But with her name rather then dieing and resurrecting in another world it would be more fitting for her to sleep till the world remade itself into equestria. You know "Rip Van Winkle" style for her namesake Rip Van Winkle who slept in a cane magically drunk for 20 years.
4684023 That's interesting, but I don't really go for the whole "Equestria was Us." stuff, sorry.
4684085
I'm not that big of a fan of it as well, but I found it interesting because of whom Rip is named after.
4684107 Yeah... but I won't rewrite this. I didn't even expect it to grow into a full story.
4684139
Oh, I was not even suggesting anything about rewriting, the story is nice as it is, just wanted to make an observation about the namesake.
4684149 Oh... okay... sorry for freaking out
...Twilight was squee-ing at the end, wasn't she?
4684248
4684249 I'll take that as a "yes". :)
4684253 The emoticon is called :"Eeyup"
Yeah saw that coming....doesn't make it any less funny.
4685811 ....Thanks.
Yay new chapter! full of even more Rippy goodness. Loved Twilight's reaction at the end. she's over joyed and Rip is just plain terrified, ah good stuff.
4687526 Thank you
had to be posted
4688667
While it is frightening for Rip, it's always such an adorable image to see Twilight pouncing at something with glee
4688667
LOL! You are so random!