//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: A Brighter Day // Story: Heir To Darkness // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// “Fluttershy?” A far-off voice broke through the static still lingering at the edges of Fluttershy’s mind. “The Lady asked me to come fetch you.” Fluttershy didn’t want to get up. She had mostly recovered from her ordeal, but her chest still burned, and she was utterly exhausted. She felt like she could sleep for a week and still not have her breath back completely. Still, she was being called for, and the dread she felt at the idea of leaving somepony waiting for her easily outweighed her desire to rest. So, she took a deep breath, stretched out, and pushed herself to her hooves. She stumbled on her first step. Her legs were still shaky, and now that she was up she didn’t feel like that was going to go away any time soon. Still, she pressed on, and walked up to the railing to peer over it. Far below, looking up at her from next to the fountain, stood Sable Spirit. “Fluttershy!” She called out again. “Are you able to come down?” “Ye—” Fluttershy tried to call back, but it just came out as a wheezing cough. She nodded, hoping Sable Spirit could see her well enough to notice. She stretched out her wings and gave them a few test flaps. She didn’t want to risk jumping out only to have them fail her. Luckily, they felt limber enough, and after a few more deep breaths she stepped forward and hopped out into the air. She didn’t bother actually flying, opting instead to just stick her wings out and glide down in wide, arcing circles. The slow descent was calming, and the gentle breeze that pushed past her as she dropped was just what she needed to push past the last bits of stress that lingered in her. It was a little disappointing when her hooves touched down on the hard tile, but she didn’t have time to linger, because Sable Spirit came trotting right up to her with a kind, soft smile. “Good morning, dear,” Sable Spirit said. “Are you feeling alright? Little Vale filled me in on what happened last night.” “I’m… Okay, thank you,” Fluttershy said. “I’m sorry to worry you.” “Oh, pssh.” Sable Spirit waved away the concern. “It’s my job to worry.” “I thought you were just the gardener.” “Well, yes, normally,” Sable Spirit said. She started walking as she talked, and waved Fluttershy along. “The castle doesn’t actually have anypony whose job it is to look after fledgling vampires, though, so I volunteered. I just thought that somepony who would be working so closely to The Lady would need a… Kinder touch alongside her.” “Yeah…” Fluttershy tried not to let her mind wander too much down that train of thought. Instead, she found herself tracing the path of blood she’d left in her wake the night before, and as she did she had a realization. “Wait, are we not going to the throne room?” Sable Spirit chuckled. “Well, you’re not going to learn all that much if you just stand next to the throne all day, now are you?” She pushed open one of the big doors at the front of the hall, and they walked through. Past it was a much smaller, much more humble entrance hall. It was warm and cozy, with racks for guests to store their hats and coats, some not-quite-comfortable seating for them to wait on, and a tall mirror for them to tidy themselves up with. Once again, as they passed by it, Fluttershy saw that she wasn’t in the mirror. “Does the castle have strange mirrors?” Fluttershy asked. Without thinking, she stopped walking and stared at where her reflection should have been. “Hm?” Sable Spirit turned, and followed Fluttershy’s gaze to the mirror. “No, they’re quite normal. Why, have you seen something in them?” “Well, no…” Fluttershy hummed thoughtfully. “I just… Why am I not in them?” Sable Spirit blinked. “You’re… A vampire, remember?” “I’ve seen myself in mirrors before, though.” “Really?” Sable Spirit looked shocked. “How strange. It must have been because you hadn’t had any blood.” “Oh.” Fluttershy frowned. “Does that mean I’ll never show up in mirrors again?” “I’m afraid so,” Sable Spirit told her. Fluttershy stroked a hoof through her mane solemnly. Ever since becoming a vampire, looking at herself in mirrors had become something she relished. It wasn’t in a vain way, it was just always a bit of a surprise, and the surprise reminded her of how happy she was to have made the decision to change in the first place. It was her decision, after all, and having such a major change work out well was a much needed boost to her self confidence. “I guess I’ll just have to get more pictures taken,” Fluttershy said. “No pictures, either,” Sable Spirit said. “I’m sorry,” she added when Fluttershy’s frown deepened. “We have a wonderful artist, though.” Fluttershy nodded and turned away from the mirror. “Alright…” She sighed. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to mope.” “Oh, it’s fine,” Sable Spirit said. She put a hoof comfortingly on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Nopony likes everything about the change. In fact, the way your body interacts with light is one of the more disliked features, although not usually for the same reason as you. Rather…” She pointed over at a rack filled with cloaks and hats. “Well, you’ll want to cover up.” “I can’t go out in the sun?” Fluttershy asked. “Well, you can,” Sable Spirit said, “it just won’t be pleasant. If you don’t want to go through an obscene amount of sunscreen, you should learn how to keep yourself properly covered.” There wasn’t very much to choose from on the rack, and nearly all of it was distinctly styled in a way Dracula would like. Fluttershy looked through it a bit, and eventually came away with a pink hat with a wide, floppy brim, and a standard black cloak that Sable Spirit helped fasten around her neck. “Rarity would probably have a heart attack if she saw me like this,” Fluttershy said. Her face was shrouded in shadow, and unless you were very close the only thing that could easily be made out were her eyes, which glowed red in the darkness. “We could bring her up if you like,” Sable Spirit said, “so that you can have a wardrobe of your own.” “Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly tear her away from Ponyville for so long,” Fluttershy said. “I’d much rather just go to her.” “Well, we’ll see if The Lady allows you out of town,” Sable Spirit said. “Now, let’s head off.” Unceremoniously, Sable Spirit pushed open the castle’s front door and sunlight streamed in. The beam fell on Fluttershy’s legs, and immediately she could feel herself getting sunburned. It wasn’t painful, not yet, but it was definitely far hotter than she had expected, and she instinctively hissed as she whipped the cloak around to protect herself. When Fluttershy realized what she’d done, her face turned red with embarrassment. Sable Spirit chuckled and waved her outside. It was a bright, clear day, and the sun was high in the sky. A gentle breeze flowed through the castle grounds, and in the distance birds tweeted and animals chirped. Past the tall stone wall, the bustling of a small but busy town could be heard. The grounds themselves were fairly barren. The edges of the castle were lined with shrubs, and tall, sculpted pillars of flora lined the cobblestone path leading towards town, but most of the remaining land was just short, well-kept grass. Off to her right, Fluttershy could see the beginnings of Sable Spirit’s gardens, with leaves and branches of all sorts sticking out in a messy tangle, and to her left Fluttershy noticed the corner of a hedge maze. Further down the path, near the gate, was a humble little home that didn’t look to be connected to the actual castle in any way. Fluttershy sighed. She’d been inside for less than a day, but she felt like she was seeing nature for the first time in months. “So… Where are we going, exactly?” Fluttershy asked. “I have some chores to do,” Sable Spirit told her. “You’re going to assist me.” “What does that have to do with becoming Dracula?” “Not much, but you can’t very well do much if you don’t know where things are, now can you? I just don’t have the time to dedicate my entire day to giving you a tour.” “Oh.” Fluttershy paused for a moment. “Well, thank you for your help.” “Of course.” “So… Does that mean we won’t be seeing The Lady today?” “Most likely,” Sable Spirit said. “She’s a busy woman.” Without meaning to, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. Sable Spirit raised an eyebrow at her. “Is everything alright, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy gasped. “Oh, um, y-yes! Why do you ask?” “Fluttershy.” Sable Spirit narrowed her eyes. “I’m… I’m fine,” Fluttershy said. Sable Spirit put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Fluttershy, I have a lot of respect for The Lady, but that doesn’t mean I think she’s without flaw. I didn’t sign up to help you purely out of the goodness of my heart. I did so because, despite all of The Lady’s strengths, she is not a kind pony.” Fluttershy looked away from her. “I just… I don’t know, I guess I assumed I’d seen the worst of what she could do already.” “I doubt you’ll ever see her at her worst.” “But she…” Fluttershy swallowed hard and shook her head.  Sable Spirit cupped a hoof under Fluttershy’s chin and lifted her head back up, then ran her hoof comfortingly through Fluttershy’s mane. “This isn’t going to be easy,” she said. “The Lady is… She is a cruel pony. I’m sorry I didn’t prepare you better. You’re strong, though. I wouldn’t have let her bring you here if I didn’t believe you could get through all of this.” Fluttershy took a deep breath. “I… Thank you.” Sable Spirit pulled her into a hug and patted her back, then stepped back a moment later. “Are you ready to go into town?” Fluttershy nodded. “I think so.” Sable Spirit smiled and started to lead Fluttershy towards the gate. On the way, Fluttershy got a better look at the little shack. It had a few little potted plants scattered about, but all the grass within a foot of the building had withered away. The door was nothing more than a loosely strung together row of wooden slats, although the room beyond was still too dark to see. The roof was missing shingles, the wall had a large hole in it which had been crudely patched up with old, rotting boards, and beside the house was a cellar door with a massive metal bar holding it shut. Most jarring of all, though, was that as she walked along Fluttershy noticed that the windows weren’t quite right. It took a few moments to figure it out, but once she did there was no doubt. They weren’t, in fact, windows, but simply window frames holding paintings of what the inside of a house might look like. Closer examination even showed that every window, every frame, had a painting showing a different house. Fluttershy was about to ask about it when the gate creaked open in front of them and caught her attention. Through it came a rickety old carriage pulled by a rickety old pony. Fluttershy recognized him, having ridden that carriage into town once before, and smiled at him politely, but he didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t care. The curtains over the carriage’s windows were shut tight. Whoever was arriving clearly valued their privacy. “Come along, dear,” Sable Spirit said. Fluttershy looked over and saw that she had already passed through the gate, and trotted quickly to catch up. Trotsylvania was a simple, pleasant town. Creatures of all types roamed the streets, from ponies to gryphons to kirin, plus a sizable number of things Fluttershy didn’t recognize. Homes were simple, humble things, built just differently enough to give each resident a sense of self while still making the whole of it blur together into an indistinguishable mass. The entire town consisted of two roads, a short main road leading from the castle to the outer wall, and a much longer road that intersected it halfway through, but it was filled out by an intricate jungle of dark back alleys that filled the space between the longer road and the two walls. The roadside itself was packed full with buildings, but the space beyond didn’t go unused. The majority of the living space was there, hidden away in the recesses behind storefronts, along with a sizable number of stalls and businesses that preferred to avoid the public nature of opening along the road. One could learn the layout with time, but it wasn’t nearly as uniform back there as the streets were, so trying to find a specific place often ended in hours of wandering a labyrinth of barely-distinguishable homes. Situated in the exact center of town, right in the intersection of the two roads, was a large stage. The open nature of it combined with the tall scaffolding on either side gave it the distinct air of a gallows, despite it clearly not existing for such a purpose. At the moment, the stage was occupied by a young pony telling the news of the day to a small crowd and whoever else might be passing by. “That’s our first stop,” Sable Spirit said, gesturing towards the stage. “Are we just stopping to hear the news?” Sable Spirit chuckled. “Not quite. I’ve got some news of my own to give the crier.” “Oh? What about?” She smiled towards Fluttershy. “Well, we have a very notable new resident at the castle, and The Lady wanted me to make absolutely certain that everypony in town knows that The Heiress has arrived.”