//------------------------------// // Consumed // Story: Embrace of the Night // by KingofBronies //------------------------------// -Twilight- The unicorn couldn't sleep, not in the slightest. The feeling of being surrounded by the murderous rays of Celestia's sun dawned over her. She could stay inside she thought, it's not like she hadn't isolated herself before. She sighed with relief, but realized she couldn't always do this. Luna had not explain much about her appearance, though she did fear if she could not look upon herself in the mirror for in some lores Vampires could not be seen in mirrors. Without that very feature she could draw attention especially to Rarity. She trotted from her bed to the mirror and gazed upon herself. She sighed with relief as she could see herself, but was shocked by her change. Her eyes and her skin mainly. The once lavender pony was now a pale amethyst color, and her eyes from violet to blood red. She was surprised her mane was fine. She knew her appearance could draw suspicion of something. She paced in thought of what she could do. “Twilight?” she heard the voice of her assistant, Spike. Her eyes widen as she heard him rising from his bed. The thoughts of her new power consumed her so much she had forgotten about the baby dragon she cared for. She had to come up with an excuse for her appearance. She turned around to face him. He looked at her with a shocked face. “Whoa, what happened to you?” the dragon looked at her shocked at her appearance. “I think I might be sick.. I don't think I'm going to be going much of anywhere today..” the unicorn said putting on an act of fake coughing and dizziness. She wasn't the perfect liar, not by a long shot, but it was enough to fool Spike. She knew she could fool some of her friends, but Applejack would be the real challenge. She needed Luna's help, they needed to come up with a plan to deal with this. She knew that Luna couldn't see her without arising suspicion. All of the factors of her change were driving her insane. She needed answers. She was hoping to hide in her house the rest of the day until the night princess's return, but she had little choice if she were to find out about her disease. “On second thought, Spike I think a walk might do me so good.” She smiled falsely. “Alright, Twilight hope you get better soon.” The assistant waved as she walked out the door. Even with the spell protecting her she still felt a crackling fiery pain on her flesh. It wasn't unbearable, but it was still painful. She felt her physical abilities draining to normal before her the dark gift was given to her. Her eyes were also much more sensitive to the sun's light. She needed to get something to cover herself or to get to shade soon. She trotted to Rarity's Boutique using her magic to open the door thankful the sun had no effect on her magic. Entering the Boutique she noticed Rarity levitating clothes onto pony shaped mannequins. She looked at Twilight with surprise as the door closed behind her. The ivory mare wasn't expecting her. She trotted to her friend. “Twilight I wasn't expecting you today.” Rarity smiled, her smile changed to a look of concern as she noticed the ponies completion. “Oh my Twilight, what happened? You look terrible!” “I think I'm coming down with something..I'm getting heat flashes from the sun and I need to pick up somethings. Do you have anything that could help protect me from the sun?” Twilight pulled off the same act with Spike with matching results. “Oh, of course darling! I'll get you some of my finest cloaks right away.” The white unicorn dashed off into another part of her boutique. The vampire pony sighed with relief, she didn't like lying to her friends, but she had no idea as to how they would react to such a change. The very thought of her friends turning on her sparked fear in her heart. She had to keep it a secret or she could be in grave danger. The fashion pony return with a violet cloak with burgundy trim floating from her magic. She put it on Twilight and tightened it around the neck. “Thank you so much, Rarity. How much do I owe you?” The now cloak mare smiled. “No charge, darling. So long as you look fabulous and get well soon. If there's anything else I can do do not hesitate to ask.” The ivory pony smiled. With that Twilight left entering the suns rays again beating harshly upon her. Her cloak kept her hidden from it minimizing the the pain further. Her powers returned, but not to their full ability as the sun still drained her. She thought now that she had her cloak she could go to the Everfree Forest and ask Zecora about what she knew. The zebra was an outsider and perhaps knew a bit more than she could find in books that were limited to Equestria. She trotted at an average pace to get away from Ponyville until she was out of sight then used her vampire speed to bolt off into the forest. The forest was much farther from the light of the sun with the dense trees blocking it. Even so she wasn't at her strongest, but she felt great. She slowed down to an average pony pace not wanting to crash into the trees. The forest had a few paths, but she knew how to get to Zecora's hut from where she was. Thought it was a path she was taking the forest was still terribly dangerous. She showed little fear to it now with her new found power. In fact, she almost wanted to fight something..to hunt. She continued along the path until she heard a roaring noise. She heard each step as it got closer and dodged as it went to attack her. It was a Manticore! It's lion head roared again as its scorpions tail arched up to prepare to strike. The stinger slammed down where Twilight was, but she sidestepped in time. The stinger was stuck, the unicorn took advantage of this by jumping high and smashed hard on the tails exposed center tearing it off. The monster roared in pain at the lose of its tail the acids oozing to the floor from its remains. The beast swatted the vampire unicorn into the trees her hard body taking a few down. She got up her cloak torn with scratches of blood. She could feel her powers amplify with her rage. She grunted angrily as she levitated the fallen trees over the beast it look up in surprise as it was crushed under the impact and weight of the trees. A crushed lifeless mess remained of the half breed monstrosity. The blood seeped from the corpse painting the ground red. Twilight's blood boiled and her hunger grew as she saw the creatures blood her fangs shot out as she instinctively drank the blood of the animal. Her mind returned to normal when she drank enough to satisfy her bloodlust, her fangs retracted. She noticed the taste of blood and took some slightly terrified steps back. “W-what did I just do?” Twilight shook in fear of what she had become. She had killed the monster and drank its blood, but what scared her most was the lack of control she had over herself. It was like she slipped out of consciousness completely and became a whole different pony.. She had never killed anything like that. She knew it was in self defense it was just shocking to her to see the way she had killed it. Twilight trotted away from the scene licking the blood clean from her lips. What had she become? Her hunger was only satisfied for now..but what if she killed again? Or worse, what if she killed somepony close to her? She reached the hut when she felt no pain from the wounds she had. She looked to see they were gone, only the slight tears in her cloak revealed where the wounds once were. Her skin as well, while still dull was more colored than before. The blood seemed to be what kept her away from looking like an undead. She wasn't happy with this realization, but she now knew she couldn't avoid feeding or possibly risk insanity and losing her appearance. She entered through the door of the hut her mind heavy with the thoughts of the power she bestowed. Zecora was there looking upon Twilight as she walked in. “Hello there Twilight, it looks like you've been in a fight.” The zebra said taking note of the tears in her cloak. “It's just some tears nothing to worry about.” Twilight smiled to hide her true feelings. “So what brings you here this fine day? You have got me curious I must say.” the witchdoctor returned the smile. “Well Zecora, I want to know about the ones we call Vampires.” the unicorn said not thinking straight enough to approach the subject with more guile. “Why do you which to know? Surely you library has more to show?” Zecora responded in rhyme. Twilight was hoping she wouldn't ask questions, but she knew how to respond. “Umm..well, I have been studying with Princess Luna and learning about the creatures of the night. I wanted to know more about Vampire lore even though they aren't real. You might know more then what I have learned in the Canterlot library, because your not from around here.” Zecora seemed to believe what Twilight said. “Wise to seek me you are Twilight, fine I shall tell you about the creatures of the night. They have much strength and speed, but blood and darkness are their need. The sun their enemy while they will scare, they will not approach it if their lives they do care. The blood they crave is not all as you say, for one hunts more for their own kind as prey. For a feast of ones kind will keep their form longer, they will grow fiercer and even stronger. The sun grows weaker as they feed on blood they taste, but even so they must make haste. For the sun still burns the dead who wake, only the pure darkness will give them a true break. Skin as cold and as hard as dragon scales, make these monsters as tough as nails. Monsters of the night they will hide, to fight one alone would be suicide. So use a weapon enchanted in light and swing it strong with all of your might. I wouldn't be so sure if they are real or not, because they are a creature history could not have forgot. Whether real or story I cannot say, but if real I will find a way to keep them at bay.” The rest Zecora spoke was common lore Twilight already knew. Twilight thanked the zebra and left. She learned much and was glad for the trip. Some of the fact uneased her. “Own kind as prey..” She thought sadly. Pony blood would make her strong, that she was afraid of. Other animal blood was one thing, but the blood of her own kind.. It sent shivers down her spine to think she might have to hurt somepony like that just to survive. She trotted out of the forest with no more problems from the other creatures. The sun was already falling, so she trotted back to her home. “Welcome back, Twilight. You look much better than this morning.” the baby dragon said. “Why thank you, Spike. I guess I just needed to get out a bit.” The unicorn smiled. She trotted upstairs to gaze upon her mirror. Her eyes had returned to their normal violet color as well. She knew not how long her state of a mortal would last only that it would not be as strong as if she had feed on a pony. With the past two days awake she decided sleep early and wait for Luna's return. “Goodnight, Spike.” The recolored unicorn smiled as she dozed off. “Night, Twilight.” the dragon smiled. -Luna- It was dark, she was surrounded by blood and corpses as she entered the ruins of Ponyville. Luna stood in shock gazing at the carnage and destruction noticing one pony standing amongst it all. The pony turned around revealing it to be Twilight. She grinned darkly revealing her ghastly fangs as she trotted towards the alicorn. The princess took several steps back this new fear overcoming even the night princess. Twilight then rushed to her seeing only her fangs before waking up screaming. A black bat winged pegasus guard walked in through the large dark doors of her bedroom. “Is everything ok, mama?” He asked in very stern tone. “We art doing well, twas merely a bad dream.” the alicorn of the night responded. The guard shut the door and returned to his post. Luna sighed with relief. It was still day as she saw, but every happy dream she had been having had become a nightmare as of today. She couldn't the fact even thought she had granted immortality to Twilight, that it would drive her to do things she couldn't control. She wasn't sure of the amount of danger everypony was in now with a Vampire. She did trust Twilight, but they only had books that were of mythos of vampire lore. She knew that the books could not be spot on..unless this had occurred before. She hadn't ruled out the possibility that Twilight wasn't the first, but she did know the other two alicorns she knew would never conduct such forbidden arts. But what of the other immortals? Alicorns were not the only immortal creatures, Draconequus being the only one know could have created some, he was of course the spirit of Disharmony and Chaos. Vampires could be very chaotic and cause extreme panic among the masses. Chrysalis and the Changlings as well, considering little was known about them and like some lore vampire could turn to bats, Changling's also had fangs, but they responded normally to the sun. Maybe similar experiments were taken and created this type of vampire. For Changling's already drew power from love, but what if they could instead draw power from blood? This theory intrigued Luna. She arose from her bed pondering about what she could learn about the Changlings. They could learn a lot if there was more information about vampirism and if not she needed an excuse to get Twilight out of Ponyville for a few days. She needed to study her closely and not draw the attention of other ponies. Chrysalis and the other Changlings were not exactly on good terms with the ponies, especially after the attack at the Royal Wedding. She needed answers, besides making peace with the Changlings would be the perfect excuse to visit them for her other needs. It would be a peaceful visit so she could bring Twilight and no guards. It seemed like the perfect plan. She would of course need to tell her sister where she would be and that she would need to take her responsibilities while she was away. She trotted around in thought of where the shapeshifters were located. Perhaps her sister knew. She trotted out of her room into the hallway asking a unicorn guard where her sister was. He pointed at the balcony. Luna trotted over to the balcony to confront her the sun princess. Celestia turned her head to look at her younger sister with a smile. “Hello dearest sister, you are awake fairly early. One of the guards told me you were having troubles resting.” The sun princess said. “We did, we could not sleep. Twas for the nightmare that escapes us at the moment.” The night princess lied, she knew very much so what the dream was, but could not risk her sister gain knowledge of it. “Oh, very well than. What brings you to me sister? Surely you have more pressing matters than speaking to me about you dreams.” Celestia giggled. “We wish to go to the kingdom of to which the Changlings reside to mayhaps strike peace with them.” Luna asked. Celestia look at her sister with a confused look. It made no sense to her as to why Luna would like to make peace with the Changlings. “Luna, may I ask as to why you desire peace with them?” “There is much information we could learn about them as well as the things they studied that we may not have had chance to. Such as dragons, we know little about them, but mayhaps they can fill in the gaps. We also wish to prove thineself to thee that we can spread friendship as well.” Luna explained in her usual tone. Celestia still looked a bit uneasy by this. “Sister, you don't need to prove yourself to me.” “We are not only doing it for thee, we our doing it for ourselves as well. We still feel the need to redeem ourselves for the trouble we have caused you, when the...incident occurred.” the night princess looked away to look more convincing. Celestia looked sadly at what she saw as a still hurt Luna. She also figured this may have been what her sisters nightmare was about. She came closer to her sister and extended a wing over her. “Very well sister, if it will put your mind at ease so be it.” The night princess smiled for a moment still under the wing, but change back to her serious expression. “There is another thing we do require. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. She would not only be very knowledgeable, but also one of the only ponies I trust to accompany me.” The sun princess recalled them becoming friends Nightmare Night. She was also the first pony to become friends with her since she was banished. “Very well then, when will you be leaving?” “Tonight, we will not be bringing anypony else. We do not want the Queen to feel threatened. We also need a map to their kingdom.” Luna explained. “I understand. I'll have the map sent to your room momentarily. The kingdom is the Emerald Quartz Hive.” Celestia respond with a smile. “Very well, we shall be off to our room to prepare. Thank you, sister.” Luna trotted back to her room slowly. “Keep me updated on your journey, I need to know you two are safe.” The white alicorn smiled watching her sister as she left. The dark alicorn made it back to her room. She searched through her room for vital things she need such as her chemical set, notebook and other things putting them into her saddle bag which she had laid onto her bed. She smiled, she was happy she would be able to get out of Ponyville and be with Twilight. However she was still worried about her friend's current state and what may occur once they go to Quartz Hive. It was a great risk to go there, but with no powerful love to give them power, as well as herself being a powerful alicorn that could raise the dead and Twilight being a vampire. She knew if worse came to worse they could defend themselves. She sighed with relief, but it wasn't without its own fear. Besides the possibility of being attacked by the Changlings she also had the daunting fact that they could also learn of Twilight's power. Though Chrysalis was no match for a duel of magic with Luna without her succubus like powers, she imagined she could sense the life in things like she could. Her train of thought collapsed as the door to her room opened with a levitating map placed on her bed. “Thank you!” She said noticing the unicorn guard at the other side of the door. “Your welcome.” He responded. She rolled up the map and tucked it into her saddle bag. She had everything she needed now. It was still day. She had best get some sleep she had a long venture ahead of her. She levitated her packed saddlebag to the foot of her bed then laid in her bed and dozed off. She dreamt peacefully for once. There were lush green trees in a fall day with the leaves gently flowing in the breeze. She looked up at the dawning sun. Twilight was next to her, normal not a single sign of vampirism. The turned to one another an smiled, then they galloped. Through the forest laughing together and playing with the pile of autumn leaves. The lavender unicorn turned to her. “Friends forever?” She said before the dream faded. “Friends forever..” Luna said as she awoke. She looked down saddened a bit. She wished it had been that simple. That Twilight was just immortal, but she wasn't. She was a vampire now and for that very reason she had to protect her. She finally had a friend that would last as long as she would and she would not give her up to anypony. The alicorn couldn't help worry about Twilight, the change was a lot for her. She was just glad at least with this trip she could be there to help her. She smiled as a tear rolled down her face. She then gathered her things and walked to the balcony. Luna admired the night sky. She blushed in embarrassment noticing that her sister took care of her duty because she slept too long. “Thanks sis.” She smiled and took flight headed towards Twilight's house..