> Drew Mathers: Canterlot High Chronicles > by Lethally Insane > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue/ Chapter one: The Awakening > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue I was walking home. It was a rainy night in my small little town on the east coast. However, it was not rainy enough to stop my nightly walks. I wrapped myself deeper in the jacket I had brought. I have to get home fast, I thought. I don’t think I want to be out here much longer. I felt apprehensive, like something in the air wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t place my finger on what. I walked on at a slightly quicker pace. I stopped; it wouldn’t do any good to run from them. I let my hand fall into my pocket. I found the switch blade, I let my thumb rest on the release. If there were people following, I wouldn't go down without a fight. “I hope you know what you are doing.” A deep male voice said from the shadows. “Who’s there?” I asked, resisting the urge to piss myself. “The better question is: ‘How many of us are there?’” A husky female voice said. Whoever its owner was, she was behind me. “Shut it, you!” A second feminine voice reprimanded. It was a heavy English accent, not something you would find a resident here with. “Hey, kid,” The male voice asked. “ You still there?” “Yes.” I gulped. “I’m going to say this only once.” He started. “ You are most likely about to die. A monster is hiding behind you, me nor my associate can get a clear line of sight. What happens in the next few minutes will be decided by one question.” “That being?” I asked. This was bound to happen. It wasn’t like I could escape death. Nonno told me this was how it would end for most of the people like us. “Are you a virgin?” The english voice asked. Wait, what. Even Nonno wouldn’t have expected that. What can you even say to a question like that? While a lot of kids that grew up the way my family did had lost it in High School, I was a Senior, I still hadn’t. Maybe it was fate that I never had. Maybe, it was because I knew you could lose special people like that in an instant. I allowed myself to breathe. Hopefully my answer was the right one. “Yes.” I said. “Good.” The male voice picked up again. “ Now that we have that established, I’m going to ask you another question. If it was your only source of nourishment, could you kill another person, and drink them?” It clicked, they were vampires. Ever since the London attacks 35 years ago, vampires had received lots of attention. Even here, in America, we knew about the Nazis who had carried out their attacks. I thought back to the question. Could I eat another person? I could kill, Nonno had made sure of that before I started in the family business. It only added one more step; it might even make disposing the body easier. “Yes.” I said, there was no use lying to them. If they had wanted to kill me, they would have done it by now. “Even better.” He said. “ I’m going to shoot now. You’ll be in immense pain, but it won’t last long. While I deal with this threat, my associate will tend to you.” “Do it.” I said, closing my eyes. I guessed, now, it was up to luck. I heard a large clap and felt a searing pain in my gut. I fell backwards, I felt the wetness of blood on my clothes. I concentrated on breathing. The pain was so intense. I remembered what Nonno told me as a kid. He said being shot felt like a spike being plunged through you, then leaving a second later. I groaned. This was unbearable. A figure was over me now. I could see a faint glowing from one of her arms. I didn’t bother to figure out which; it hurt too much to think now. “Don’t worry, kid,” she said, crouching down to me. “ It will fade soon. All I have to do is bite.” I felt a new set of puncture wounds, this time in my neck. They were nothing compared to the bullet, but they hurt. I felt myself fading into a different kind of darkness besides the night. -One day later- I opened my eyes. Something was different. It was light, but I couldn’t see any kind of lamp. Was I hallucinating? I couldn’t have dreamt something like that. Suddenly, the ceiling lights flickered on. An elderly woman strutted into the room. I looked at her. She had graying blonde hair. She looked almost like a man with the way she dressed. Then I realised, the reason she had caught me as a woman was the way she smelled. I could smell the fact that she was a woman. What had happened to me? “I’m sure that you have many questions.” she spoke. “ I’m not the best one to answer many of these. However, I can tell you two things. My name is Integra Hellsing. You are a vampire, and you work for me now. “Three.” I muttered. “ You told me three things, Miss Integra. So you're already a step ahead of yourself.” “I see.” she said. “ I suppose I should ask you your name now.” “My name is Drew Mathers.” I said. “Very well, Drew.” she said. “ I will let you talk to my servants who made you this way.” “Okay.” I said. I guess we were in the same business now. I would have to exist with them. I waited five minutes or so. Integra had turned out the lights when she had left. I pulled the bed sheets off of me. I was in a pair of button down pajamas. I played with my senses more. I could see more than ever before. I looked at everything in the room from the bed. I could even see the page number of an open book on the table across the room. This was amazing. No, it was better than that. Wait a minute, what were the costs of these new powers, I wondered. I was a vampire, the fact really sunk in now. My life would never be the same again. I would have to sleep in the day, drink blood and who knew what else. I was grappling with these thoughts when they walked in. “Hello,” the woman with the English accent said. “ my name is Seras Victoria. Nice to meet you.” “Greetings.” The man said. “ You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “Hi.” I said. “ You were the people that made me this way?” “Yes, indeed.” The man said. “ My name is Alucard. This is Seras; really, it was her handy-work.” “I see.” I turned to Seras. “ How long has it been since I, uh, turned?” “About 36 hours.” she said, pulling out a bottle of some sorts. “ You must be pretty hungry, right?” “I think you’re right.” I agreed, what ever was in that bottle smelled delicious. “Here,” she said, uncorking the bottle and getting three glasses. My nose was going crazy now. I had to have what was in that bottle. “Drink.” “Don’t mind if I do.” I said. I really was hungry. “A toast,” Alucard proposed. “ to centuries of further servitude.” We clinked glasses. I quickly downed the liquid, it tasted like Nonna’s spaghetti. I savored the taste, never wanting it to end. “Would you look at that?” Alucard laughed. “ Not yet a week as a vampire, and he’s already drinking it.” “Wow, it took me weeks to finally accept it.” Seras nodded in agreement. It occurred to me what I had just ingested. I had just downed a wineglass of blood. It was most likely human, too. I felt my stomach churn; blood shouldn’t taste that way. Why had it tasted that way? Blood tasted like iron, not like Nonna’s cooking. I resisted the need to vomit. “It doesn’t make sense.” I said, my eyes tearing. “ Blood can’t taste that... good.” “You’re a vampire, kid.” Alucard said. “ Blood is the only thing that tastes good anymore.” “Oh, God.” I muttered. “ what have I become?!?!” “Relax.” Seras patted me on the back. “ It was from the local blood bank.” “That’s a relief.” I sighed. “Pleasantries aside.” Alucard cut in. “ The moment Seras made you a vampire, you became a servant of Integra Hellsing. You are now a soldier. Do you have a prefered weapon? Price isn’t an issue.” “I like knives,” I said, “ so if price doesn’t matter, I can use a trench knife.” “Very well,” Alucard said, “ come with us. Integra will need to know.” We walked out of the room. Seras told me that I was taken to London after I had become a vampire. This was the Hellsing mansion, the Headquarters of the Hellsing organization. I was also told by Alucard that I would be serving the Hellsing Organization until I died, or the Hellsing blood line ended. We found Miss Integra in her study. “The Kid has agreed to join.” Alucard said to her. “ Get that kid a trench knife; the kid loves trench knives.” “Very well, Drew.” she said. “ Welcome to the Hellsing organization.” -30 years later- We stood at the foot of the bed. Our heads were bowed. A 97 year old Integra Hellsing looked up at us. Alucard, Seras, and I had served faithfully to her for years. Now that time was at an end. She looked up at us from what would be her death bed. “As my last command.” she rasped. “ You are to sleep, until reawoken. By intention or act of God.” “Yes, Sir Integra.” we responded. “Goodbye, Mss Hellsing.” I said. “ It has been an honor serving under you. “Good night, Drew.” she said at last. “ I’ll see you in Hell.” I turned to leave. Our coffins were waiting for us in the next room. They were filled with the soil of our home towns. Mine was from Newark, New Jersey. I hopped into the coffin, and I placed my knife in a corrosion proofed bag. It would be waiting for me when I woke up. I felt the lid begin to close above me. I closed my eyes and felt sleep take over. Chapter 1: The awakening I walked into the Trottingham hospital. I was in a state of disbelief. My sponsor was dying. Apache Stormwings was my rehab mentor. He counseled me on reforming after the Fall Formal debacle. He had been one of the few people not to judge me after that. He was an old man. The school had assigned him to me because he too was reformed. I rushed into the room. He was hooked up to a painfully large amount of machines. “Mr. Stormwings?” I asked him. “ How do you feel?” “Like I could take on the world.” He said. “ How ya doin, Sunset?” “Good, Mr. Stormwings.” I said. At the edge of death, he still had the mobster mentality. “Listen, Sunset.” He rasped. “ I know I don’t got that much time left. I need you to do something for me.” “Anything.” I said, his last wish was the least I could do for him. “I’m gonna tell you something that no one but my family's blood has heard for millennia.” He continued. “ I’ve left you something, Sunset. It isn’t in my will, my attorney doesn’t even know I have it. In the basement of my estate is a large box. It’s about time to leave what's in it out. In my bag there is a letter that has all the instructions for it.” “Okay,” I said, “ I’ll bring some friends and we’ll get it out. It’s been nice getting to know you, Mr. Stormwing.” “You too, Sunset.” He said. I left the hospital room with bleary eyes. He was a good man at heart. I had heard him only talk about being a mobster once. Even then, what he said was vague, something about his family being part of one mob family or another for centuries. I wondered about what was in the box. What could possibly be in it? It must have been old if it was in his family for 1000 years. I got in my car, not much I could do now except go and open it. I needed to figure out who to take. My car could fit three people plus myself. Fluttershy wouldn’t be good, tramping around in a soon-to-be deadman’s house wasn’t her cup of tea. Rarity would scoff at the idea of a dingy basement. That left Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I turned on to the highway. Pinkie lived back in Ponyville with her sister Maud Pie. Now Maud wasn’t the friendliest person, but she let Pinkie have the liberties of an adult. Much like me, considering that I lived in boarding houses for Canterlot High. Luckily for me, Rainbow and Applejack were also at Pinkie’s house. They were all in her room practicing their various instruments. “Hey Girls.” I said. “ I need to ask a favor of you. Can you help me get a box out of my mentor’s house? He left it to me.” “Sure, Sunset.” Applejack said in her accent. “ What is it?” “I don't know.” I said. “ He just said it was very old.” “Count me in.” Rainbow said. “ It sounds like an adventure.” “Adventures are a party cannon of fun!” Pinkie said. “Well, lets go then.” I said, beckoning to the door. We hopped in my car and got back on the highway to Trottingham. All of our minds were swirling around what was in the box. There were several ludacris suggestions floating around the car. What if it was antique valuables? An ancient statue of an ancestor? “What if it’s a horrible creature of darkness that his family has been guarding for generations?” Pinkie asked no one in particular. “What makes you think its that?” Rainbow laughed. “Just a hunch.” Pinkie replied. Applejack looked at me from the passenger seat. What we were thinking didn’t need to be stated. Pinkie’s ‘hunches’ always seemed to turn out being right. What had Apache Stormwings and his family been hiding from the world for all this time? I pulled on to the series of backroads that would lead to the Stormwing estate. Apache had never told me how he came to posses the manor. Considering he was a former mobster, I doubted it was a story for kids. I pulled into the long driveway leading to the house. I parked in the back. There was a cellar door that would make loading the box into the trunk much easier. “Well Girls, here it is.” I said. It was a sight to behold even from the back. The topiaries were a few trims behind, but other than that, the grounds were flawless. The manor as Apache called it was a large colonial style house. It stood solemnly in middle of the grounds surrounded by thick woods. “Whoa,” Rainbow said getting out of my car. “ this guy must have been loaded.” “This place is almost as big as mah farm.” Applejack mumbled. “This would make for a great party space.” Pinkie said, walking around the yard. “This way,” I gestured to the cellar door. “ Apache gave me the key to get the padlock off.” Fifteen minutes later, we had the old padlock off. It must have had years worth of rust accumulated on it. Luckily, we had Applejack, who had years of farmwork tucked under her belt. I lifted the large doors, revealing a dark stairway down to the basement. We slowly made our way down the stairs. Luckily, at the bottom of them, there was a light switch. Flicking it on revealed a large basement filled with items. It finally occurred to me that I had no idea in the slightest what the box looked like. I guess I’ll know it when I see it, I thought. We split up, searching the basement for our mystery box. A half hour slowly slipped by. We had searched most of the basement save for a corner. While there were four of us, Pinkie refused to go near it. She was saying something about that corner have a bad vibe. “What do you mean, a bad vibe?” I asked, exasperated. “Whatever is in that corner has some bad mojo.” she said. “ Even my Pinkie sense goes out of whack near it.” “Fine,” I grumbled. “ I’ll do it myself.” “Be careful,” she said, “ I don’t think that corner likes people much.” This was insane, a corner couldn’t dislike people. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had already finished searching their corners. I trudged over to Pinkie’s. I was having second thoughts. It seemed like that part of the basement was meant to scare people, the lights had burned out here. I took out my keychain. Besides my car keys, they held a small flash light. I flicked it on. The small beam penetrated the darkness to some extent. Walking forward quickly revealed something was indeed off. After a few feet, the typical basement clutter stopped, as if afraid to encroach on some unknown boundary. There it was, appearing out of the darkness was a boxy object. I walked forward to inspect it more closely. It was a glass case, but more important was, inside, a large wood box. I lifted the lid off the case. Underneath was a coffin. I gulped; this was the ‘box’ that Apache had left me. There was a metal cross nailed across the face of the coffin. In the center was insignia, it read Hellsing. I reached into my jacket pocket for the letter. I looked at the aging paper. Hopefully whatever information on what was inside the coffin lay inside. I started reading. To whom it may concern, If you are reading this, the protector of the coffins have deemed you worthy of what is inside. To reawaken it, it takes little more than a drop of blood. From then on, you are its owner. Please take care of them, they have served me and the Hellsing Organization for years…. I stopped reading. What was I supposed to reawaken? I called the others over to the coffin. We spent a few long, suspenseful moments reading the first paragraph together. I pulled out a pocket knife. I guess it was time to face what was inside. Applejack and Rainbowdash helped me pry open the coffin. Pinkie was standing a few feet away. She was getting antsy, making it apparent that she didn’t like the box. We opened the lid. Inside was something from out of a nightmare. A mummified corpse stared back at us. I looked at the pocket knife in my hands and gulped. “This ain’t right.” Applejack spoke up. “ We need to put this soul to rest, not do some weird ritual that some nut job 1000 years ago wrote down.” “Yeah,” Rainbow said. “ it’s been fun and all. But I draw the line at things like this.” “I don’t like him.” Pinkie said shuddering. “ He’s been cooped up 1000 years, and he’s angry.” “A corpse can’t be angry, Pinkie.” I said. “This one is.” Pinkie said. “ He says he was tricked. He wants to be free, more than anything in the world.” “Ah’ve changed mah mind.” Applejack said again. “ If it will set his soul free, then we should do it.” “Yeah,” Rainbow cut in. “ If he’s been stuck, uh, in between for 1000 years, then he deserves to rest.” “I guess you guys are right.” I agreed, raising my hand over the coffin. I flipped the knife open. It wouldn’t hurt too much. I pressed the tip into my palm, feeling the skin break slightly. A drop of blood formed around the knife, then made its way down my hand. It dropped onto the corpse. Pinkie shuddered behind me. I turned around, flicking the knife shut. “There, now we can leave.” I said. “Mmmm, extra virgin.” a new voice said. “ My favorite.” “What!” I said, spinning around. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were rushing behind me now. “I’ve been asleep 1000 years.” it laughed to itself. “ Man, I need something to sink my teeth into.” What ever it was, was shifting around now. Suddenly, a head appeared above the rim of the coffin. It was a boy. He looked about our age. He might have had the palest skin I’ve ever seen besides Rarity. It was his eyes that were the strangest, they were red. Not brown, not amber, a deep blood red. It was hard to look at, what I had just awoken. He hopped out of the coffin and pulled out a plastic bag. He ripped it open and pulled out an evil looking knife. It was then he noticed us. “You must be the one who woke me up.” He said to me, gesturing to my hand. “What are you?” I asked. “I am a vampire.” He said. “ You have awoken me. That makes you my new master.” > The Girl in the Basement > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2: The girl in the basement. I was hungry. I guess 1000 years did that to you. I was lucky one of the girls had convinced the others that I wanted to be free. My mind was reeling. This was the first time I had been awoken. I guess I am still new to this 'Vampire' thing, I thought. What would Alucard and Seras do? The group of girls who had revitalized me were staring. Seeing a corpse reanimate itself could have that effect on people. I saw that one girl was bleeding; she must have been the one to provide that small bit of blood. "You must be the one who woke me up." I said to her, pointing at her still bleeding hand. "What are you?" she asked, with fear in her voice. "I am a vampire." I said, probably didn't help the fear factor. At least I was being honest. "You have awoken me. That makes you my new master." "Why me?" she asked. "I am indebted to you for revivatising me." I explained. " May I ask your name, master?" "It's Sunset Shimmer." she replied. " What's yours?" "Drew Mathers." I replied. " Former servant to the Hellsing Organization and your loyal servant." "How about we drop the servant thing?" she said, shifting uneasily. " You call me Sunset and I'll call you Drew." "Very well, Sunset." I said walking to her. " May I inquire who your company is?" "Oh, those are my friends." she gestured to them. "Hello," I said turning to them. " It's nice to meet you." There was a long moment of silence. Sunset was looking at them expectantly. I could feel the tension in the air. They were looking at me now, sizing me up. Then, one with Pink hair bounced up to me. "Hi there, Mister Vampire!" she said cheerfully. " My name's Pinkie Pie. I thought you were a mean monster at first. You seem nice enough, want to be friends? I can throw you a huge welcome party! We can even dress up like vampires!" "Hi Pinkie." I said hesitantly. For seeing a corpse reanimate itself, she was pretty happy. " I'm sorry that you thought I was scary. I just needed to draw your attention." "It's okay." she said. " I'm not scared of you now." "Okay." I smiled at her. That was new, someone not being scared of the vampire. She was different. This left the the other two. They were looking at me now. The hostility in their eyes had lessened. Slowly, one with a cowboy hat came over. "Mah name's Applejack." she in a deep south accent. " It's, uh, nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too." I nodded at her. "How'd ya get in the box?" she asked. "My old masters last wish." I said. The rainbow one came over now. She stood next to Applejack. "My name's Rainbow Dash." she said. " I'm the coolest in the room, and don't you forget." "Really?" I chuckled. " Last I checked, a humans core temperature is 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't give off internal heat anymore, that makes me the coolest in the room." "You know what I meant." she said. "Just a joke." I said. " Just because I'm a bloodsucker doesn't mean I can't have a sense of humor." "Fair enough." she shrugged. There was a crash, and some thumping. I felt my senses go into high alert; I would protect Sunset and her friends. "We can't stay here." Applejack said. "Wait," I said, sniffing the air. " they smell off. You stay down here. I'll check it out." "So, now you're a dog too?" Rainbow Dash asked sarcastically. "I'm the entire package." I laughed, springing up to a stairway. I crept out into a hallway. The newcomers were in the next room. I crouched at the doorway and listened. "Hey, boss," One said. " the guy is dead, right?" "Yeah," another snickered. " only an hour ago. By the time the attorney gets here, we'll have cleaned the place out." They were burglars, growing up in the underbelly of New York and Newark. I had been on both sides of a burglary. I went back to the basement; before I could do anything, I had to get Sunset's permission. "Burglars." I stated. "What do we do?" Rainbow asked. "Well, we can fight 'em." Applejack suggested. "They could be armed." Sunset said, shaking her head. "I could take care of them." I said, flashing my knife. "You can't kill them!" Sunset wavered. "I'll talk with them first. Then, if they start it, I'll finish." I suggested. "Fine, but only as a last resort." she consented. I walked back up the stairs and leaned on the basements door frame. They would be here in a few seconds. They rounded the corner and stopped. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" One asked. "Oh, no one," I replied. " I'm just here to warn you. I would advise you to leave and never return to this place." "Kid," he said, pulling out a knife. " You fucked up." I rushed them. One threw a punch at me. I felt the impact, my nose breaking and skull fracturing. I fell back down the stairs. The girls looked at me. "I warned them." I said, feeling my nose repairing itself. I trudged back up the stairs, drawing the trench knife. I would feast on them tonight. I saw the one who threw the punch standing at the top. I charged, building speed up. He kicked at me. I caught the kick with my left arm. I wrapped it around his leg and contracted my muscles, breaking his leg. He cried out in pain. I swiftly buried the knife in his gut, silencing him. I stepped over him to the second one. He pulled out a knife and charged. He stabbed me in the chest. I started to cackle. I missed this. I grabbed his face, hooking one hand on his jaw. I started to pull, he was looking at me in fear. I felt the jaw dislocate. I kept pulling, feeling the muscles tearing. I ripped my hand downward, taking his jaw with it. I leaned in and bit, sucking the blood out. I kept sucking until nothing else came out. I dropped the empty corpse, severing the head so he didn't turn into a ghoul. I looked at the corpse's jacket. It was leather and baggy, just what I needed. Stripping the corpse of the jacket and wrapping it around myself, I continued. I exchanged pants and took their wallets. I was groping, checking the man on the stairs' jacket. I felt two small objects, withdrawing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. I slipped them into my own and walked down to the basement. "How do I look?" I asked. "Good for someone that just broke their nose." Sunset replied, after a moment of shock. "Its fine." I said. " Now comes the not so fun part. Disposing the evidence." "Oh." she said in sudden apprehension and understanding. "Don't worry, I'll do it." I said. " Could you possibly just move my box into their car." "Why?" Applejack asked. "It's my bed." I said. " It helps me maintain my powers without blood." With this, we went to work. I moved the corpses into the kitchen, looking for a stove. Fortunately, the house ran on gas. I turned on the stove's gas. I joined the girls and moved my coffin into the burglars van. "It smells funny now." Pinkie said, plugging her nose. "Get to the car." I told them. " You really don't want to be around for this part." I saw them get into the car. I stepped out the front door. I withdrew the lighter and cigarettes, lighting one for me. I opened the door and threw the lighter in. Then I ran, hopping into the van. The house exploded in a fiery ball in front of me. I started the engine and followed Sunset out the of the driveway. > A (dangerous) new friend/ Nightscares > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Three: A (deadly)new friend. I glanced in the rear view mirror at the van that followed us. He was just sitting there, driving. "Sunset," Pinkie said tapping me on the shoulder. " our turn is next." "Oh, right." I muttered, merging onto the lane, the van following. I dropped them off at their respective houses before heading to the boarding house. The van followed me into the drive. I got out of my car. I helped him move the coffin into the back room of the house. We sprawled on the couch. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. "Thanks," He said, breaking the silence. " for trusting me back there." "What do you mean?" I asked. "For everything," he said, gazing at me. " it takes a lot of courage to bring someone you know nothing about back to life. You were the only one that wasn't afraid of me. Then on top of that, you're letting me live here. Thanks for all of that. "It's not much, but I figured it would help." He said, fishing around in his new, ill gotten jacket. He withdrew a bundle of dollar bills and tossed it to me. " I found it in their van." "I- I- thank you." I said, thumbing through them. " I only get so much money to live on from the school, this will help." "Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I can't be nice." he said. " What you saw in that mansion was the darkest side of me. I was so hungry, and I was desperate. I had to eat." "What's it like?" I asked him. " To be a vampire?" "It's complicated," he said. " I'd rather know more about you. You and I only just met." "Okay," I said. I was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't tell me about himself. " but you might not believe my story." "Try me." he laughed. An hour later I had finished my story, every detail about being born in Equestria and coming here after l had left Princess Celestia. I told him about the Fall Formal and how I had planned on taking over the school and then Equestria. "Wow," he said. " I take it back; I don't believe it. You were a horse?! How is that even possible?" "I was a pony." I corrected. " Also, Equestria has magic that surrounds that world. It doesn't effect here, that's why nature is more unpredictable, and why the planet orbits the sun." "How would they explain something like me then?" he asked. "I don't really know," I pondered, " I guess you would be grouped into random monsters that aren't controlled by the princesses like the smooze, or even Discord." "Back in my time," he said wistfully. " everyone thought of vampires differently. Some people said that they were unholy abominations that were not fit for our unlives. Others speculated that we were the next evolution of man and so forth." "I thought I was just me." he continued. " I had the same personality of my human self. I just ate differently than everyone else." "Oh," I said. " I think that being you is pretty good. Speaking of which, I should probably thank you for helping with the burglars." "Any time, Sunset." he replied. " It's my job after all." "Sunset," he said. " someday soon I'll show you my past. Until then, let's be friends. Your pink friend showed me something. Not everyone has to live in fear anymore." "Deal." I said. I got up and went to my room. I had a long journal entry for Twilight tonight. Sunset's journal entry: Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, Today was very eventful in several ways. I guess I should start with the bad news first. My reformation mentor, Apache Stormwings, died. However, shortly before, he left me something. His name is Drew and he's different. You see, Twilight, Drew isn't from this world. Before you ask, he's not from Equestria either. I think he's much older than this dimension. He certainly comes off that way. Drew is insistent that he has been "sleeping" for 1000 years. He calls himself a vampire, and he has shown himself to be one. He has seemingly adopted me as his new master. I'm not really sure how to feel about that. A few months ago, I would have been ecstatic to have complete control of a being. Now I have the opposite obligation and here he is, crossing the border of life and death to serve a new master, me. For the most part, he's nice, but I just don't know what to do with him. He seems eager and intent on carrying out my orders. I'm fearful, Twi; what if I make a bad decision? I've already made him hurt someone. Drew seems to have no free will of his own to speak against this, at least to his master (me). From, Sunset Shimmer I closed the book as it vibrated my message. I glanced at the clock, it was 10:25. I set the book on my nightstand. I felt my eyes begin to close. I gave in to the deep embrace of sleep. Chapter 3(b): Night scares. I watched Sunset leave to go to bed. To be honest, I was tired. But Alas, I thought, there is no rest for the servant. I slipped out of the house, grabbing the van's keys as I went. I would tie up the last loose end. This would make me and the girls untraceable. I started the van's engine and backed out of the driveway. I went over my plan in my head. I would discard the van on the side of town closest to Trottingham, and walk back to the house from there. Why do they call it Trottingham, anyway? I thought. Everything in the world seemed to be horse themed. Sunset even said she was a transdimensional pony. Then again, I was a vampire, which until 2010 were dismissed as a scary story for late at night. Why should magical ponies from another dimension be any different? It was ironic, two living fairy tales living under the same roof. I pulled into an empty parking lot, I killed the engine, and looked into the back. There was junk scattered everywhere. I had already emptied the van of anything useful. I had hidden the extra packs of cigarettes in my coffin along with a few spare lighters. I had seemingly missed something amongst the clutter. I pulled a flask from the random bits of junk. I stepped out of the van, leaving the keys in the ignition. I opened the cap and sniffed, the telltale scent of alcohol wafting into my nostrils. I dumped out its contents; it was useless to me anyway. I couldn't process it, but the flask had a use of its own. I could hide a stash of blood in it to keep me from going too hungry during the day. I chuckled to myself. I walked for a half hour before a peculiar building caught my eye. It was a Red Cross blood bank. I could practically bathe in the scent of blood from the place alone. I looked around quickly. No one in their right mind was out on the street at this time of night. I walked down an alley next to the blood bank. If I can get into this place, I thought, I can eat without killing. I won't have to burden Sunset's conscience of my eating habits any longer. I concentrated, I took a calm step towards the wall of the blood bank, then another, and another. I opened my eyes. I was inside the Red Cross. I leaned against the wall and caught my breath. Phasing through solid objects was hard for me. Seras had taught me how to do it after Alucard had deemed me powerful enough to learn. They could do it without a break in stride, but here I was, wheezing like an asthmatic. I looked around. I was in the storage room. I felt like I had died and gone to vampire heaven(which was probably hell); there were cartons of the stuff everywhere. I quickly downed one, and drained a blood bag's contents into the flask. I felt the last bits of my former strength returning. I quickly grabbed two more large cartons and phased again. It was still tiring, but I didn't have to stop for as long to catch my breath. I rounded the corner and continued my triumphant march to Sunset's. I felt like I was on top of the world. I had just solved my problem for food and liberated Sunset's conscience. I was in the home stretch now, Sunset's house only a few blocks away. I turned again and continued. I stopped dead in my tracks. Something was wrong. There was a different scent in the air and it wasn't the blood. Someone was following me, and she wasn't human. I quickly rounded a corner to an alleyway and carefully set my precious cargo beside me. I waited in the darkness for my pursuer to follow my footsteps….. > Drew's new friend > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4: Drew's new friend. She rounded the corner about five minutes later. I sprung at the figure, knocking her to the ground. I grabbed her and threw her against the wall of the alley. I held her there. She wasn't putting up much of a fight. "Why you following me?" I growled through clenched teeth. "I- I just wanted some." she whimpered. "When was the last time?" I asked, lowering her down. "A few weeks ago." she said, sliding down the wall into a sitting position. " Guy jumped off a bridge, I got some of what was left." "That so?" I said sliding down next to her. " How long you been like this?" "Oh, about three months." she said. " What about you?" "Here," I said, handing her the flask. " Drink." "Thanks." she said, sipping it's contents. "Anyway, how long have you been like this?" she asked again. "A little more than 1000 years." I said. "How did you survive that long?" she asked. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Usually we can't survive more than a few years." she said. " Unless you're a part of the gangs." "What do you mean, gangs?" I asked. "Blood gangs." she said. " Things have changed since you were made a vampire, old timer. Unless you're part of a gang, you starve pretty quick." "I'll take my chances." I said, nodding to the cartons of blood beside me. "That's what I said." she stood up, handing me the flask. "What's your name, kid?" I asked. "Vinyl," she said. " Scratch." "Call me Old Timer." I said. " I like the sound of that." "Okay, Old Timer." she laughed. " I'll see you around." I picked up my cartons and followed her out of the alley. I walked back to Sunset's place. I thought about what Vinyl had said. How exactly did these "gangs" operate? I sighed; if they were a danger to humans, I would have to shut them down, permanently. I opened the door to the house, put the blood in my room and grabbed a few smokes. I flicked on the TV and waited for the morning. Nothing much was on. Eventually, I settled on what looked like a history documentary. It was boring, but it had the facts I needed. I marathoned the series for the rest of the night. Apparently, after I had gone to sleep, what was known to me as Pangea had reformed. This brought all the world's populations together. Eventually, after a period of conventional war (as they were afraid to use nuclear weapons in such close proximity to their homes), peace had reigned supreme. After some time, humanity's melanin levels were distorted, leading to the dissolution of races. Then, the world moved on, redeveloping technology that had been lost. I found Sunset's laptop, quickly searching vampires. I found more information. The site read that vampires were fairytale creatures, and listed folktales that mentioned them. I laughed, lighting another cigarette. Humans had the innate ability to forget us, didn't they? I looked at the clock, 7;00. Sunset wouldn't be up for a while. I sat back down on the couch, and cried. I missed them, Alucard and Seras were gone. I had no idea where they could be. For all I knew, the continents had crushed where they had been stored. I thought back to shortly before I lost track of their presences. Somewhere on the ship to America, they were just gone. If felt like having a blanket ripped off of you. I dried my eyes. It was near 8:00 I dumped the ash tray into the garbage can. Then, I cracked some eggs and started on breakfast. About fifteen minutes later, Sunset came in. She was still wearing her pajamas. "Where you up all night?" she asked, yawning. "Pretty much." I said. " Despite what legends say, Vampires don't need sleep in the day. That is, unless I'm hurt or haven't eaten in a while." "I see." she said, plopping herself down at a small table. "I also took the liberty of making breakfast." I said. " We're having omelets." "You can cook?" she asked. "Well, of course." I said matter of factly. " I'm your servant in anyway you need. Cooking included." I placed an omelet at her place. I proceeded to place my own across from hers. "Why's your's pink?" she asked looking at it. "That's the reason I can eat it." I replied. " After I finished your omelet, I mixed in a little blood into the egg. Then, I did mine." "That's, uh, cool." she said nervously. "Relax," I said. " I got it from a blood bank." "Oh." she said taking a bite. She perked up. " This is delicious." "I had lots of practice." I said. "It's Saturday," she said, eating more. " I don't really have anything planned. Maybe I can show you the rest of my friends?" "Okay." I said. " Hey Sunset, I have a question. What's up with everyone's names?" "What do you mean?" she said, finishing of the omelet. "The way their names, well... are." I elaborated. " 1000 years ago, people had names more like mine. How did it change?" "I can't really give you that answer." she said. " I grew up in Equestria, it's always been like that there." "Oh," I said, it was disappointing to not learn how my culture had changed. "I found an alternative for my name." "What?" she asked. "How does Old Timer sound?" I asked. "Wow, it's fitting." she said. " How'd you come up with it?" "A new friend gave it it me." I said. "Who is it?" she asked. "A girl named Vinyl." I said. " I helped her out. We had a nice conversation after that. She called me Old Timer, I liked it." "Fair enough." she shrugged. "I'll only tell my real name to those you deem necessary." I continued. " It'll help me blend in easier." "Okay," she said getting up. " I'll go shower and we can go." I sat back on the couch to continue my documentary. After her shower, we got in the car and headed to a place she called "Sugarcube Corner". I watched as we drove further into Canterlot. I saw a large building as we drove to Sugarcube Corner. "That's CHS right?" I asked from the passenger seat. "Yeah," Sunset replied. " what about it?" "Well, besides your friends antics," I asked. " does anything else out of sorts happen there?" "No," she replied. " not really anything I can think of." "I see." I muttered. We pulled into a cafe. "Here we are." Sunset said. I stepped out of the car, shielding my eyes to the mid morning sun. I stepped in quickly, not wanting to be in the sun for much longer. The cashier looked at me. "What can I get for you?" she asked politely. "Uh, black." I said, glancing at the menu. "It's on me Mrs. Cake." Sunset said from behind me. " I'll have my usual." "Coming right up, Sunset." she said. She took my hand and lead me to a table with five other occupants. I recognized three of them. "Hi there." I said nervously.