//------------------------------//
// The Truth 
// Story: Vlad And Minion 
// by dudenotactive 
//------------------------------//

The sky was scheduled to be clear for the whole day, and the sun shines even brighter today. And Rainbow Dash was not enjoying it one bit. She and her good friend Pinkie Pie were currently doing a job that Twilight had given them, which was spying on the local kirin.

And it was a boring job, Vlad was not doing anything noteworthy, only shopping for regular things.

A whole hour doing nothing, Vlad was plain as everyone else in the town, unlike Dash. No sign of danger at all, or anything to help Dash stretch her legs. She was just bored out of her mind, even with Pinkie it was rather dull. No matter how much the party pony tried, she couldn't turn their mission into a fun one. Of course her stories were entertaining, but Dash was already bored of it as well.

"This is boring!" Dash finally complained. "He's just shopping for stuff and not doing anything cool!"

"Oh don't say that Rainbow Dash, if you see it from a different point of view, then he's definitely doing something cool!" Pinkie tried to reassure her friend.

Dash kicked up dude with frustration. "Yeah, but this is totally lame! I thought we'd be getting something juicy, but here we are! Watching some dude buying some carrots."

"But what if, he's buying carrots for some awesome magic show!?"

"If he's going to do some magic show, then what does he need carrots for?"

Pinkie snorted a laugh. "Well duh! He needs carrots for the bunnies!" Pinkie waited for Dash soak in the information, but she seemed lost. "You know? With the hat trick thing?"

"Alright, I'm going home." Dash declared and turned away from Pinkie, only to come face to face with her target. "Gah!" She yelped before she fell on her rump.

"Woops, sorry Rainbow Dash!" Vlad apologized.

He held out a hoof and Dash reluctantly accepted it. Once she was on her hooves she gave Pinkie a glare since she didn't warn her of the kirin.

"Hey Vlad!" Pinkie fretted him gleefully.

"Alright, what do you want?" Dash rudely asked.

"Well, I saw you girls and thought maybe you would like to hang out today? I'm free until lunch, so I got nothing else to do."

Dash thought about it for a second. She wasn't really doing anything as of now. And she was told to spy on him. So what better way to spy on someone than pretending to hang out with them?

"You know what? Sure, I got nothing better to do today." She turned to face Pinkie. "What about you Pinkie?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Sorry, as much as I would love to stay, I'm on a very important mission!"

"Pinkie, we don't really need to do that, we can just hang out with Vlad."

"But Rainbow Dash, our mission is important!" Pinkie whispered loudly. Vlad could only give her a confused look, he wondered what this mission was exactly.

"Whatever Pinkie, just try not to hurt yourself."

"Okie dokie loki!"

With that, Pinkie was gone, vanished like a forgotten memory. Now Vlad and Dash were alone.

"So..." Dash began to speak. "What do ya' wanna do?"

Vlad only shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I didn't really expect that you'd actually accept my invitation." He pondered about the situation for a second. "We could get some coffee, if you want some that is. I know a place where they serve some really good brew!"

"Sounds like a plan." She said, still uninterested as before.

Vlad led the mare to the place he had mentioned, it was just around the corner, which made Rainbow Dash glad that she didn't need to walk that long.

There were a lot of free tables, there were barely any other occupants besides an earth pony sitting by themselves. Both took their seats and a mare was already at their side with a notepad ready. Vlad had given his order to the mare, caramel white coffee. As for Dash, she simply asked for black, nothing else.

"This place seems alright." Said Dash. "It's kinda quiet, but it's cool, sometimes we all gotta get some peace and quiet."

Vlad nodded and agreed with her.

"So, any cool stories you could share? I have been really bored all day and maybe you could give me something to think about..."

Vlad froze, his eyes were wide wide open. A full minute had passed, and their order had already arrived. Dash could only stare back at the kirin, as if she was conversing with a statue instead of a living creature. Another minute went by before a very goofy grin was made on Vlad's face. For the first time since they had met, Vlad was finally acting strange in front of Dash.

"You want to listen?" He spoke, and for an odd reason, Dash felt as if she had just made a mistake. "I... I am actually happy that you'd want to listen! Oh where do I begin!? There are a lot of things I can tell you!"

He paused and took a sip of his drink.

"I can totally tell you about my time on the other side of the world! But there's just too many to choose from..."

What was once a feeling of worry turned into intrigue. Dash was honestly interested in what the kirin would say.

"Let me tell you, the world is gigantic! I mean, there's so much things out there, beyond Equestria! Things that I never thought to discover! And there was more to see... sadly, I couldn't stay."

"Why not?"

Vlad stared into his drink, he held it tightly in his hooves. "You see, I got homesick... As much as I love traveling the world, I just couldn't get it out of my mind. Funny, I had promised my friends so many things, and yet I couldn't deliver. But enough about that, we haven't really talked much, so you must be as curious about me as the others."

"Well that's true, and I do have some questions. Like, is Minion your pet? And how do you feed her?"

Vlad shushed the mare. "Don't say that, Minion doesn't like it when she is called a pet. Anyways, Minion is a changeling, that we know. As for what she feeds on, well she feeds on me. Whenever she's hungry, I give her some forms of affection, such as petting and hugs, which apparently is enough."

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt, really, it just tires me out. But it's a price I would pay to keep my best friend going. Besides, she's my star!"

"Your 'star'?"

"She's just so important to me, that I'd do anything to make sure we'd stay friends, yeah, friends forever... Anyways, I bet you're curious about what's on the other side of the planet." Dash gave an eager nod. "It's awesome out there! Fearsome beasts, skillful warriors, and treasure! So many things to find, so many people to meet!"

Vlad leaned back on his seat, the goofy grin returned.

"And because of my adventure across the world, I have gained so much experience. Like, did you know I can light myself on fire!?"

Dash was taken aback by his claim, she tried to understand what he meant or why he even considered doing something so dangerous. Of course Rainbow Dash wasn't a stranger to danger, but even she has her limits.

"Yeah, I wouldn't believe myself either, but it's true!"

"Can you really light yourself on fire?" The only other patron of the cafe spoke. A random stallion with a lime green fur and a moppy red mane. "That would be awesome if you could!"

"Shamrock?" Vlad muttered with a smile. "Shamrock Clover!? What are you doing here!?"

"Uh, do I know you?"

Vlad stood up from his seat and left Dash by herself. "Dude, it's me, Vlad!"

The pony only shook his head. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

Somehow, Vlad began to ignore Dash as if she wasn't there at all and took a seat in the same table with Clover. "Oh, Sham, always a joker!"

"Y-yeah... I'm such a funny guy, right... Rocky?"

"Vlad."

"That's what I said!"

"Anyways, Sham. Do you wanna hang out today? It's been so long, we should catch up."

"Well if you show me that fire trick you were talking about. Then sure!"

And with that, both Vlad and the random pony had left, and Dash was alone. Vlad didn't even finish his coffee, and he wasn't done telling her about things she never actually knew. He just simply got up and left Dash by herself completely, leaving her with his unfinished coffee, which was bad because it meant that she had to pay for him now.

And worse of all, she was still extremely bored.




Minion glared at the clock on the wall, there was only a few minutes left before twelve, and the food was almost ready. But the main issue was that Vlad didn't come back yet. And Minion had to prepare everything by herself. First she made the lasagna, which was currently in the oven, then she finished the desert. A sweet chocolate dream cake, as Vlad had requested from yesterday.

And much to her disappointment, he hadn't showed up to help her with anything.

Luckily for Minion, she heard the door open and close, signalling the return of Vlad. Hurried hooves rushed into the kitchen, and a very tired Vlad greeted the drone.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I got caught up with an old friend."

Minion only made a displeased snort and went back to watching the lasagna through the oven window.

"Oh come on Minion, I'm pretty sure you won't be mad if I tell you who I met."

She was still silent, the changeling ignored Vlad completely.

"I'm telling you Minion, you'll be laughing your lungs out once you find out who it is!"

Minion hissed at him. "I don't care if you were fucking a chimera! You were supposed to help me cook today, but you didn't show up all morning! Now here you are, trying to kiss my ass and asking for forgiveness."

"Language Minion. How many times do I have to say this?"

"How many times do you eat shit? How about you die now?"

He sighed. "Minion, I know you're mad-"

"Oh, I'm far from mad." She interjected.

"-and I'm really sorry. Okay!?"

"Sorry doesn't cut it. Just go set the table before Fluttershy gets here."

"Fine, but we gotta talk after."

With everything said and done, Vlad retreated into the dining room to go and set up the plates and cutlery. Once he was done, Vlad returned to the kitchen to check on Minion. There he found the drone taking the pasta out of the oven and placed it on the countertop to cool.

He tried to strike up a conversation, but a single glare from Minion and her glowing horn had kept him silent. Vlad could feel the negative aura she was letting out. It would be unwise to speak with her now. So with nothing else to do, Vlad had decided to stand somewhere else. After a second of mindlessly walking, Vlad somehow had ended up outside and he couldn't really understand how. He was sure he was headed for the dining room, but for some odd reason, he was here.

Something was urging him to keep moving, it was an odd feeling, his hooves moved on their own.

It was then that he realized it, the strange feeling he felt was magic, not just any kind, but one that tampered with the mind. Which only meant one thing, Minion had used her basic hypnosis to get rid of him. And the strange green hue in his eyes proved his suspicions.

He tried to scream out his frustrations, but couldn't as his body was not his own right now. He doesn't know why he could even think, but he just knows how Minion was able to control him.

Of course Minion was able to do as she pleased with his head, she had been feeding on him for so very long that he was sure that she could just take one completely. But Vlad wasn't afraid of that ever happening, they're friends. And though he was currently marching towards the Everfree, he was sure that she just needed some space to cool off. But, this didn't justify her decision to force Vlad to aimlessly walk into a very dangerous forest.

Hopefully, Minion had only ordered him to stand at the edge and not inside.




"Oh, this smells delicious!" Fluttershy complimented Minion's work.

The lasagna on her plate was truly mouth watering. She was really excited to try them, especially the cake. The vile temptress of a pastry practically dared her to take a bite.

Fluttershy was really excited for what's to come. And she would certainly enjoy the pasta on the table.

Minion who was just across the table smiled proudly and accepted Fluttershy's compliment. "Thanks, I have been trying out a few things, but I'm sure you'd really love what I've made today."

"I'm really looking forward to it! It's a shame that Rarity couldn't make it though."

Minion had diverted her face away from the pegasus to hide the devilish grin on her own face. "Yup, shame that she doesn't have time."

"Anyways Minion, how come Vlad isn't here?"

Minion's mood turned sour upon mentioning the kirin. "Vlad? Pfft! Who needs him?"

"Oh my, did you two had a fight?"

Minion sighed. "No, it was more of an argument... I mean, I shouldn't really blame him, he said he met an old friend today. But I got really mad that he would just forget our plans, so I kinda kicked him out."

"I am very sorry, I really hope that you and Vlad make up." Fluttershy paused for a second, a question suddenly ran through her mind. "Excuse me, but I'm actually curious about something."

The changeling gave her strange looking stare, as if Fluttershy had traversed into uncharted waters. Minion's eyes narrowed. "About what?"

"About Vlad," Minion let out a sigh of relief. "I wanted to know if his name really is Vlad."

"Well... His name isn't Vlad actually, I'll be honest, the past three years I have never really learned his true name. Back then, I only ever called him Kirin. But if you're curious as to why he even called himself Vlad, it's a character from some book he used to read, the name really stuck to him."

"Must be an interesting character then."

"Yup, you're right about that. Vlad the Impaler really is a very interesting character." Fluttershy had to make a double take after learning the full name, or title in this case. "Yup, really interesting."

"C-could I ask you why he chose such a name?"

"Well, did he tell you about our old job? We were part of a traveling theater that did a lot of plays in Equestria."

This was something that Fluttershy didn't know, so she could only shake her head in response.

"Vlad may had mentioned that I am 'talented with acting' yesterday, can't really remember. You see, he and I used to be in a traveling theater where we both perform plays. He would direct the show and act in it if there was a lack of members. And I was practically the best he had, his 'star' if you will, all thanks to me being a changeling. Anyways, one of the plays he had taken part in was the story of Vlad the third, right from the book itself. And Vlad couldn't find anyone to play the role, so he became the lead, and somehow it ended up becoming an origin for his current name."

"Well, that is actually great." Fluttershy commented. "You and Vlad should really go do a play again! If that's alright to you, I mean..."

"Oh, Vlad would be happy to do it again, but not me. Sure I'd do it, but I don't feel the same way as Vlad does. But enough with that, let's get to know each other more instead." A sinister light flashed in Minion's eye just for a second. "I heard that you've tamed Discord, could I ask where he is right now?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say tamed, it was more like I befriended him. As for where he is at right now, he's away for the time being, said something about 'plot convenience'."

"Shame, I would've loved to meet him for once." Minion said before she dug her fork into the lasagna in front of her.

Minion doesn't really eat much, she only does it to taste to see if she needs anything else as well as actually enjoying her own work. Love was all she needed to keep going, but after being introduced to cooking, she couldn't help but try all kinds of meals and making them herself.

"This is bad..."

"What is?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"This lasagna, it's fucking bland."

"B-but Minion, it is really good, it's sweet and saucy. I don't really see why it's bland."

"This... This is the first time in years that I have ever eaten a regular meal without Vlad by my side..." Minion sighed before releasing her fork onto the pasta. "To be honest, when Vlad didn't come back and I was busy preparing lunch, that was the longest time that we were separated after all this time. Guess that's why I got kinda pissed."

"You two must be really close for you to think that way." Fluttershy could see that from Minion's eyes that her words had helped the changeling a little bit.

"Yeah, guess we are... Thanks Fluttershy, I really needed that." She smiled only for a second before a frown had taken its place. "This just makes me feel really bad for what I'm about to do, I'm really sorry about this, I honestly am."

"What do you-"

Fluttershy couldn't finish her sentence, she was completely interrupted by the sudden appearance of changelings. The numerous green flames had lit up the room for a short moment. The mare couldn't comprehend it quick enough as she was immediately tackled to the ground.

She was still questioning many things, such as, "Where did they come from?" or, "How did they sneak into Ponyville?".

She looked up at Minion who was simply busy with her meal, as if Fluttershy wasn't being dragged away by other changelings. Fear had wrapped Fluttershy's heart as she realized that she was lured into a trap, she couldn't even scream for help. And with a new piece of clue on the table, Fluttershy could finally understand why Rarity was different to her, all evidence pointed towards the idea that she was no longer Rarity or anyone she knew.

She should've known, and she should've listened to Twilight.

"Minion!" A deep and distorted voice called out to her. And everyone in the room froze still. 

Minion growled as she heard her name, the fork was almost close to her frowning lips. The door at the front was slammed open and a set of hooves stomped it's way into the kitchen. Once they entered the kitchen, it was revealed that it was none other than Vlad himself. He glared at the changeling with a literal fiery glare.

Minion only gave him a sideways glance before she returned to her meal.

"Minion!" His voice sent a shiver down everyone's back, except for Minion who was just casually eating her lasagna.

"What." Said Minion.

Before he could even berate his friend, Vlad had just begun to notice the addition of changelings in the room as well as Fluttershy in their hooves. The fire began to die out as confusion replaced his rage.

"W-what's going on?"

"Vlad, help!" Fluttershy had managed to find the strength to call for his aid.

"Minion! Explain yourself!"

Minion growled once more and slammed the fork into the table. "I really wished you hadn't come back so soon."

Before Vlad could even say a thing, another wave of changelings had popped out of nowhere and attacked him from behind. He couldn't even make a move as one of them had struck him on the head with a random plate, which caused Fluttershy to cry out for the kirin. 

"Hey! Don't hit him too hard, okay!?" Minion scolded the changeling that hit Vlad.

"S-sorry." The changeling apologized.

"Whatever! Just bring them both into the basement with the others, and bring some water to use on Vlad in case of emergencies. And also bring the rest of the food on the table to the prisoners."

She gave Fluttershy one last glance before averting her eyes from Fluttershy's.

"I'm sorry..." She muttered before she took Vlad's appearance.

Minion then walked out of the room before Fluttershy was taken away along with Vlad.

She tried to call out for help, but couldn't find the strength that she had before. Fluttershy could only squeak as she realized that the creature she thought was her friend had just betrayed her trust. Such as the life of a changeling, a race of creatures that are the personification of deceit.

As for Minion, she could only accept the decisions that she had made today, and the only direction she could take was forward.