(Trixie is absent today, as Starlight opens a book of old pony myths and legends to the subject of the chapter she has reached in the Book of Friendship. She clears her throat before she reads a short paragraph from the legend out loud.)
"As the festival drew to a close, the stallion led her away with a firm, yet gentle hoof, as he took her to the secluded stables at the edge of the village. She followed willingly, and she leaned against the stable, her head swimming with romantic thoughts, his glare turned hostile, hungry, as his eyes faded from sea blue to a deep red crimson, and then he attacked her. She made to scream but the shock of his long fangs, sinking into the flesh of her neck took the wind from her cry. She remembered nothing more as she fell to the floor on the hay strewn ground. When she awoke the next day, she was very much alive. But now was overcome with an insatiable thirst..."
Tales of strange creatures, dangerous legends and awe inspiring myths have been around for as long as ponies themselves have. Who doesn't enjoy sitting by the fire, immersing themselves in tales too fantastic to be true? Or so nightmarish, it makes you glad that its all just a story.
Well, if what I have read in this chapter of the Book Of Friendship is true...these "tales" may be more then just stories to keep little fillies up at night.
Starlight's Journal: Vampirism: Fact or Fiction?
This one is a little personal to me.
When I was a filly, me and Sunburst used to tell stories of Timber were-ponies and Vampire Ponies to each other. Huddled around the fireplace while a terrible storm raged outside. It was all great fun, knowing that we would be able to sleep that night, knowing the stories we told were just in our heads.
I must say, the prospect of these tales being more then tales is....scary. But, that means its even more important that I research and log all I can on these subjects. In case I or anypony else ever runs into one.
Okay, for starters let's discuss Vampire Ponies.
Vampire Ponies
According to the book, Vampire Ponies are like us but far stronger, faster, smarter and much more dangerous. Their coats are noticeably darker in color, as well as their manes which seem to unsettle, looking disheveled and almost wild in appearance. Also unlike the bat ponies of Nightmare Moon's reign, Vampire Ponies do not have a unique eye type, but their eyes become a deep shade of crimson, with little light reflecting from them, if any at all. Almost as if their very Equinity is now gone.
Then of course there are the wings and the fangs, that all those stories make you terrified of even going out at night. Razor sharp needle like fangs that protrude unnaturally from their mouths, and large bat-like wings that seem to fold out from their backs, rather then that of the grace of a Pegasus folding their wings to the side. Not only that, but they are said to have incredible physical abilities, such as being able to move faster then the pony's eye can see, scale walls and roofs with their bare hooves and even mesmerize those with wills too weak to resist their hypnotic spell.
Unfortunately, it's hard to tell the facts from the fiction here. But I'll give it my best shot.
The origin of these creatures of the night, is hazy at best. There are so many tales of vampire ponies, appearing from the shadows and attacking ponies in the dead of night, that it's hard to say where it all originated from. One source suggests they were dreamed up to be a single time villain in old story from long ago, but they were so universally received that they gained a popular following in the realms of fiction.
Another theory, is that they truly existed, but were wiped out by a secret group of vampire hunters in some unseen war, hundreds of years ago.
And then there's the Book of Friendship, that says quite clearly that not only do they exist, and are even still around today, but that it was Eclipsa herself that created them!