That night, along with the next few, were fairly quiet. This included both Octavia’s dreams and Ponyville itself. Despite Vinyl and Octavia keeping their eyes out for anything unusual, there was no sight of Long Horse or any other monster.
This was aside from the various decorations ponies were putting out for Nightmare Night, of course. By the time they had reached the night before it, the entire place was starting to look like Crypty’s tavern. Fake cobwebs stretched across windows, Jack’o’Lanterns sat on every stoop, and banners with Nightmare Moon’s image hung everywhere they could.
Along with a few things… much tackier.
“Ugh, can you believe this?” Vinyl said, rolling her eyes at a particular cardboard cutout.
It was hung onto the door of Sugarcube Corner, and appeared to be the image of a stereotypical vampire, complete with the text…
“I vant to suck your blood!” Vinyl said, trying her best to do best to imitate the accent. “I wonder if the Tramplevanians ever get tired of being, ya’ know, linked to vampires?”
“You’d think it’d hurt their tourist economy,” Octavia agreed.
“Yeah, exactly,” Vinyl continued. “Also, I seriously don’t get how other vampires can do that.”
“Do what?” Octavia asked.
“Drink blood.”
Octavia raised an eyebrow.
“You know what I mean!” Vinyl grunted. “I meant like right from somepony’s neck. That’s like… that’s like drinking milk from a cow’s udder.. All warm and gross. Ewww.”
Octavia raised her other eyebrow.
“Also, the whole biting into ponies thing,” Vinyl said, blushing slightly. “Usually without their consent. That’s gross, too.”
“Thank you,” Octavia chuckled.
“Yep,” Vinyl rambled on. “That’s why this girl gets her blood the way Faust intended: mixing it in an iced drink.”
Octavia gave her a sarcastic look. “Yes, I know. I’ve seen you do it. But do normal, non-Crypty drinks even do anything for you anymore?”
“Na, but I still like the taste,” Vinyl shrugged. “One of the few things I miss bout’ being mortal, to be honest. Getting crunk easily, that is. That and not having to worry about vampire hunters, or being locked up in Tartarus, or…” She frowned. “Actually, now that I think about it, there’s a lot of things I miss.” She stamped her hoof in frustration. “Now, if only stupid Long Horse would show up. Maybe I could cross at least one thing off the list.”
“Maybe you scared him away with your wubstep the other day,” Octavia smiled cheekily.
“Hey, I turned it down!” Vinyl grunted. “I forgot you had super-sensitive hearing.”
“I suppose I’m only slightly deafer,” Octavia mused, rubbing one of her fuzzy ears. She then glanced away from Vinyl. “Still… about Long Horse. I’m… starting to wonder if he’ll be coming.”
“Huh? Why?”
Octavia took a deep breath. She supposed it was time to tell Vinyl about the strange dreams she was having at the beginning of the week.
However, before she could, her latest dream jumped forth to reality.
“Civil Code Six, Eight, Seven, Nine, Slash, Romeo, Echo, Delta, Stop. This is a Federation emergency broadcast. This is a Federation emergency broadcast. This is a *SHRRRRRRK*!”
Octavia froze. Shivers spiralled down her back, and her hair stood on end. The voice was coming from a distant part of the Everfree Forest. And the code it uttered was the same she heard in her dream. Far too precise to be a coincidence.
Unless she was going insane and didn’t really hear it, this meant her dreams really did mean something. But whatever the hell that was, she still didn’t know.
‘Damnit, Long Horse. What were you trying to say?’
“Equis to Tavi!” an annoyed Vinyl said, waving a hoof in front of the former’s eyes. Apparently, she hadn’t heard it. “Ya’ there?”
‘I have a very bad feeling about this… I should keep my mouth shut. Even if I told her, she wouldn’t know what it means.’
“It… nevermind,” Octavia said.
“Faust, Tavi,” Vinyl blinked. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
“Yeah,” Octavia chuckled nervously. “Got some rather odd chills for a second.”
Vinyl raised an eyebrow, gazing at her thick fur. “You? Cold?”
“Help! Help!”
Vinyl’s red eyes widened. She must have heard it, too. The voice of a filly coming from the woods; louder than what Octavia had heard before.
“Yo!” Vinyl said, now on guard. “The hell was that?!”
“It’s got me! Please, somepony, it’s got me!”
“Holy crap!” Vinyl cried, a little louder than Octavia would have wanted. “Looks like it’s game time!”
“W-Wait!” Octavia said.
“For what?” Vinyl said, frustrated. “Sounds like a little kid! We go save her, she calls us heroes, we become the first ghouls to get medals, it’s a win-win.”
“EEEEEP!” the voice cried.
“Alright, alright!" Octavia gulped, breathing slightly heavier now. “I’ll lead.”
“Now we’re talking!” Vinyl grinned.
The two of them sped off towards the Everfree Forest.
In recent years, what was once a terrifying place had lost some of its mystique. This was largely thanks to Princess Twilight and her friend’s frequent expeditions into it. Not to mention the large archeological dig currently taking place in it, led by Ponyville’s academic wiz, Doctor Whooves. With so many ponies coming and going day by day, all without incident, the formerly perceived eldritch location was starting to be viewed more and more as just another forest.
This complacency was not a good thing, however. Ponies treating it that way only made the dangers more potent, and there were still dangers. Timberwolves still prowled its ancient trees, and on rare occasions, larger monsters could still be seen.
Then, there was Long Horse. And though Octavia was fairly sure Vinyl blamed him for this recent event, she herself was not sure. However, what he was trying to warn them of, on the other hoof...
Oh, and speaking of the creature.
“WHAT THE--”
A small distance into the woodlands, Vinyl and Octavia nearly ran smack-dab into his twisting neck. It was stretching across the trees in front of them. Though like last time, and in Octavia’s dreams, his body couldn’t be seen, if he even had one.
“Ohoho!” Vinyl cackled. “Look who’s shown up at the scene of the crime!”
Almost shyly, Long Horse peaked his head out of a nearby brush, then slowly swung his upper neck, skull included, around to meet the two.
Vinyl gave him a glare, not having it at all.
“What?!” she growled. “You mad, bro? You mad we just found out you hurt a kid? So much for being some kind of hero, huh!”
“Vinyl, we don’t know that!” Octavia hissed, glancing warily at the creature. “But still… what are you doing here? Why are you blocking our way? Did you just hurt somepony?”
Long Horse made a series of frantic crackles, shaking his head back and forth.
"Help! Please!" the voice cried once more, now much closer. However, it didn't appear near enough to have been Long Horse’s doing.
"So… so it wasn't you!" Octavia said, almost relieved.
"Then get out of the way and let us beat up whatever it is!" Vinyl snapped.
Without warning, she catapulted herself forward in mist form, aiming to arc over Long Horse's neck, but before she could…
"HEY!"
The creature swung around, blocking her with its upper portion.
"DAMNIT!"
She tried a different angle, Long Horse blocking her again.
"FRIGGIN'--"
She crouched low, trying to barrel under him. No dice.
"MOVE!"
Long Horse shook his head once more.
"Heeeeeeeeelp!"
"Okay, no more Ms. Nice Mare!" Vinyl roared. "Block me one more time and I'm going through you!"
Long Horse stood his ground.
"Vinyl…" Octavia said.
"There's somepony in trouble and he's holding us up!" she spat, glaring at Long Horse. "Why? You helping out with that, huh?"
"Damnit, Vinyl!" Octavia shouted, stunning the vampiric made. "Will you stop assuming the bloody worst in him, already!?"
She gave Octavia a glare. "So what? You're on his side now?"
"No!" Octavia growled. "But don't you see what you're doing? You're treating him the same way that daywalkers treat ghouls! And unlike them, you don't even have a reason to!"
Vinyl paused, stunned. She glanced between Octavia and Long Horse, a confused look upon her.
"But… but…" she whimpered. "This is our chance to be heroes! To be accepted! And… and he's holding us back. Why!?"
Octavia gave him a knowing look. "Because you're trying to keep us safe from something, aren't you?”
Long Horse slowly nodded, making a new series of cracks that, to Octavia, almost seemed apologetic.
"You don't need to worry about us, my friend," Octavia smiled. "You know what we are, yes? We can handle it."
Long Horse shook his head once more.
"And how can you be sure we can't?" Octavia asked.
And before anyone could respond, she got her answer… one in the form of several, loud STOMPS!
"CIVIL CODE SIX, EIGHT, SEVEN, NINE, SLASH, ROMEO, ECHO, DELTA, STOP! THIS IS A FEDERATION EMERGENCY ALERT! ***SSSHHHRRRRKKK*** CONELRAD PROCEDURES INITI-- ***SSSHHHHRRRRRRKK***!"
Octavia and Vinyl gasped in horror. As high as the highest trees, a terrible figure stepped into view. It was bipedal, with grey, mummified, and in portions, charred skin.
But in place of its head was none other than a twin pair of sirens.
Sirens with teeth lining their cones.
"S-S-Sirenhead!" Vinyl shrieked. "He's real?! HOLY FREAKIN' FAUST HE IS!"
Then, almost as if to taunt them, that same 'filly's' voice echoed from his speakers. "HELP! HELP ME! PLEASE!"
"It was all a trap!" Octavia yelped. "He was just trying to lure somepony into the woods!"
"Just like in the stories," Vinyl said breathlessly. "And… and Long Horse…"
Long Horse slowly backed away, almost as if in fear.
"I think we owe him a few apples," Octavia simpered, before narrowing her eyes at Siren Head. "After we become heroes."
"What!?" Vinyl yelped.
"Siren Head probably doesn't know who he's dealing with!" Octavia said quickly, not really believing her own words a hundred percent. "He probably expected some defenseless little pony to come to the rescue! But if we take him down here and now, we can stop that from ever happening for real!
"The stories say he gets stronger the more victims he eats," Vinyl gulped. "S-So… yeah. Guess we shouldn't kick that can down the road." She began nodding to herself, as if she was trying to psyche herself up. "You know what? YEAH! LET'S FRIGGIN' DO THIS!"
Siren Head paused, eerily swaying his upper half as he 'looked' down on them. Almost as if he was sizing up his prey.
"Yo! Siren Man!” Vinyl bellowed. “Check yourself before you wreck yourself, bro! Otherwise, get ready to eat what Team Spooky is cooking!"
Long Horse gazed at Vinyl, than at Octavia.
"Yeah, guess we're going to be calling ourselves that," Octavia sighed in defeat. “Don’t mind it.”
Long Horse gave a few more neck snaps. And having interacted him with enough, Octavia was honestly starting to be able to loosely translate what he was 'saying'.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" Octavia said empathetically. "To tell you the truth, I'm nervous, too. And so is Vinyl, though she'd never admit it."
"Yo!" Vinyl grumbled.
"Before we became what we are, we were musicians," Octavia explained. "As peaceful of a profession as you can get. Well, save for those who do that Death Metal garbage, but you understand what I mean. I say this because I sense you don't like fighting. And neither do we."
Siren Head continued to observe them at an uncomfortably close distance. Then, it took a step forward…
"Tavi, might wanna cut the inspiring speech short!" Vinyl called.
Octavia took a deep breath. "But occasionally, when the moon is full and the bats circle in the sunless skies, we all have to go against our nature.”
At that, Long Horse seemed to have found his resolve. He stiffened slightly, and rose up into the air like a serpent. His head was nearly at the head of Siren Head’s chest when he finished.
“That’s the spirit!” Octavia cheered.
Siren Head, however, was not intimidated. His only response to this was to emit a series of eerie, high pitched tones.
Then, without warning, he attacked.
“WAH!”
He swung his right arm in a downward motion, trying to grab Vinyl. Fortunately, however…
“Hah! Nope!”
Vinyl morphed into mist, jetting forward and dodging his swipe. She then exited it, rolled, and leapt back onto her hooves. She pivoted to face Siren Head, her horn glaring to life. Ripping from it came a red, lightning-like projectile, which slammed into Siren Head’s upper body.
He didn’t even reel at it, but he was distracted, so Octavia took advantage. She galloped forth, leapt into the air, and dug her frontal claws into Siren Head’s lower body.
The monster was not pleased with this development.
"***SHRRRRRRK*** ONE, SIX, ALPHA ***SHRRRRRRK*** EXPUNGE!”
He began to swing his body rapidly side to side, trying to fling Octavia off it. Meanwhile, she was trying to get a grip into him with her hind legs. If she could climb to the top of him, maybe she could rip off his sirens - what she assumed was its nerve center - as gruesome as it sounded.
Unfortunately, Siren Head didn’t give her a chance. After a few moments of flailing, he changed strategies, instead grabbing Octavia with the long, spindly fingers of its left hand. It took him some effort to get her off of him, actually ripping the piece of flesh Octavia was attached to off with her, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
Octavia wanted to scream, but his grip was so strong she couldn’t breath. He lifted her upward, towards one of his waiting maws. As he drew her closer, he began emitting a series of horrible, deafening electrical noises, the toothy mouth opening wider and wider.
“TAVI! NO!” Vinyl cried, hitting Siren Head with a series of spells, but to no avail.
Fortunately, she wasn’t the only friend Octavia had in this fight.
Before Siren Head could take a bite out of her, Long Horse flung himself at the monster, wrapping around the arm that held Octavia before jutting towards a particularly ancient,nearby tree. He used it and his own body like a pulley and cable, dragging Siren Head’s arm away from his waiting mouth, which was now wailing an even more terrible screech.
And he was about to be further displeased, as with his arm now being lower to the ground, it allowed Vinyl to lunge forward and SLAM! a hoof, downward, into it.
"***SHHHHHHRRRRRRK***CIVIL CODE BRAVO, LIMA, ALPHA, CHARLIE ***SHHHHRRRRRRK*** --EMONIC INCURSION IN ***SHHHHHRRRRRRRK***!”
Siren Head reeled backwards. The force wasn’t enough to break his arm in half, but it did bend the upper portion of it into an L-Shape. Though he didn’t release his grasp on Octavia, it was just enough to allow her to do the job herself. Summoning all the power the moon could give her, she overpowered his grip, forcing his hand open and leaping out.
Somehow, she managed to land on her hooves, but her insides felt like they were on fire from the pressure Siren Head had put her under. She’d be very lucky if she hadn’t broken anything. She tried with all her might to remain standing, but to no avail. She was almost immediately forced to lay down onto her belly.
“Tavi!” Vinyl yelped, nearly in tears as she galloped over to her. “Tavi, thank Faust you’re okay. I almost thought…”
"N-Never," Octavia said, breathing heavily, and feeling light-headed. "Y-You're not the only one with somepony to lose, after all."
"Y-You romantic, you," Vinyl chuckled. "Just hang in there. We'll finish this up and-- ACK!"
Siren Head, who had been wrestling with Long Horse, finally managed to untangle itself from him. Then, with a terrible howl, he flung Long Horse at the duo, missing Octavia by an inch but hitting Vinyl, sending both her and Long Horse into a nearby tree. Long Horse seemed to recover from the blow fairly quickly, but Vinyl was either unconscious or...
"N-No!" Octavia cried, trying desperately to stand again. All that managed to do was draw her closer and closer towards blacking out.
The last thing she remembered before doing so was Siren Head lunging for her, the feeling of bones wrapping around her, and a heavy smell of cinnamon.
--
…
…
…
Octavia was in a black void, and still in here werewolf form.
‘What is this?’
It certainly wasn’t a dream, but it wasn’t reality, either. Her memories were still with her, but not the pain she was feeling before blacking out. Was she dead? This certainly wasn't the type of afterlife she expected.
Before she could ponder anything further, she realized something:
She wasn't alone.
Standing over her was the man in the black suit. The creature from her dream the other night. His expression was different from when she last saw him, however. Not completely blank, but one with… gratitude?
It wasn't the only thing different about him, however. He carried a briefcase this time, one which he snapped open, pulling out a sheet of paper. On it was a simple, hand-written poem. He handed it to Octavia, who slowly read it over.
All around the water tank,
Waiting for a train,
We're a thousand miles away from home,
Just standing in the rain.
Octavia blinked, confused. She turned her head back towards the man, wanting to ask him for its meaning, but he was nowhere to be found. He had vanished. All that remained of him was a garbled whisper from the distance:
“D’neirf ym rof.”
A moment later, everything else disappeared as well.
…
…
…
--
Peacefully, an eternity later, Octavia rose from her bed. Unfortunately, a sudden pain shooting through her muscles stopped her from rising too high. The pain triggered her memory; those of her last conscious moments flooded her mind. She coughed slightly - wheezed more like it - and lay back down.
Fortunately, her insides didn’t feel so bad that she couldn’t relax and try to get her bearings.
"Vinyl!" she suddenly blurted out, remembering the state of her friend when she last saw her. She tried to get up again, only for, "OUCH!" another spike of pain to shoot through her, forcing her to lie back down. "Ugh! Stupid body! Let me get up, damnit"
"Hey, hey, easy there, girl!" a friendly voice called, soothing Octavia's pain with the opium of relief.
"Oh, thank Faust," Octavia said, tears of joy nearly filling her eyes as they looked upon Vinyl.
Her friend was almost as beat up as she was as she walked into the room, with parts of her fur missing and a large, unhealed gash looming on her neck.
"Vinyl!" Octavia shouted, alarmed. "You… you have an open wound! We need to… to…"
Vinyl chuckled, walking over to her bedside. "Vampire thing, boo. Wounds heal quick, but they don't cauterize the same. It’ll be okay. Nasty sight, though, I know. I could guaze it if you want."
“No, no, that’s fine,” Octavia said, giving her a warm smile. "I'm just happy you're not…"
"Dead?" Vinyl laughed. "Na. Probably can't say the same for Siren Head, though. Not after Long Horse got done with him."
Shyly, the creature peaked its head into Octavia's room. He made a series of crackles she recognized as shyness.
"And hello to you, too," Octavia beamed. "I’m glad to see you’re alright as well. Though… I am a little worried."
Long Horse cocked his head as he slithered into her room.
"I'm not in another dream, am I?" Octavia asked.
Long Horse shook his head.
"Good," Octavia sighed in relief.
"Yeah, speaking of that," Vinyl said. "Why didn't you tell me he was a dream walker?"
"Wait, you know?" Octavia blinked.
"Mhm," she chuckled. "He visited me while I was knocked out. Showed me some of what he showed you. Didn’t get a lot of it, but I got the jist. He also showed what happened after we went out cold. Dude dragged us all the way back home! Just like he did to Crypty in her story. Even tucked us in, the big softy."
Long Horse made a few embarrassed crackles.
"Well, I'm glad to see you two made friends," Octavia beamed.
Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Well, if the big dummy had tried talking to me in my dreams a few times, maybe there would have been a misunderstanding."
Long Horse's expression was impossible to tell, but Octavia could just imagine he was staring at Vinyl blankly.
"Maybe if you didn't scare the hell out of him the first time you met," Octavia said, rolling her eyes.
"Haw haw," Vinyl laughed sardonically.
"But what about Siren Head?" Octavia asked.
"Hah!" Vinyl grinned, gesturing towards Long Horse. "After he brought us home, this dude decided he still wasn't done for the night. Crazy bastard went back into the woods and finished what we started. Beat the living hell out of Siren Man and sent him limping into the woods." She winked the cryptid's way. "Probably wouldn't have had the chance if we hadn’t softened the creep up first, though."
"So wait… it's not dead?" Octavia gulped.
"It was dying, definitely. But I don't think he'll be bothering this town again."
"But… but… what about the rest of Equestria?" Octavia said
Vinyl scratched the back of her neck. "I took care of that. Sent anonymous letters out to all the princesses, Starswirl, Starlight, anyone who might listen. Don't worry, I was pretty convincing. If the rumors of Princess Luna's blood templar attitude are true, retired or not, she's probably out hunting him down right now. If not, at least everpony will have a heads up."
"I suppose that's all we could do…" Octavia said, giving Vinyl a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Vinyl. I know how much hunting down a monster meant to you."
Vinyl winced in pain. "Heh. I think monster hunting is off the table for a while. But still… believe it or not, I'm cool with it."
Octavia raised her eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah," Vinyl said, nodding towards Long Horse. "Our new King Chad here kind of got me thinking. What we did? I feel pretty good about it. Stuck our necks out to help keep everypony safe. And though they might not ever know about it, we know about it, and that's what really counts, right? In the end, it ain't others we have to answer to, it's ourselves. And I think we're pretty awesome, you and me."
Long Horse bowed his head sorrowfully, to which Vinyl laughed at. "Yeah, and you too, dude," she continued, giving him an affectionate pat. "Ya' still got some apples left? Nod if you want me to buy you more later."
Long Horse nodded briskly, making a few excited crackles.
"Hah! Alright. Fair enough, buddy."
"So wait," Octavia blinked. "He actually likes apples? And can eat them?"
He nodded briskly.
"Don't ask me how," Vinyl shrugged. “Just kind of dissolves em’. Gross, but who am I to judge?”
Octavia shook her head, baffled, but decided to simply roll with it. “So… what happens now?”
"We all sit back, chill, and heal up," Vinyl smiled. "Long Horse included. He did take a few hits during the fight himself. Needs to regenerate some of his bone segment things. So… I offered him a place to stay for a bit. Didn't think you'd mind."
"Not at all," Octavia smiled. "The least we can do, honestly."
Long Horse wiggled in joy.
"Heh," Vinyl said. "Me thinks this dude could use some company, anyway. Got the feeling he's been on his own for a while."
He nodded sorrowfully.
"Hmmm…" Octavia pondered, smiling whimsically. "Well then. Since you may be staying a while… do you play any instruments, my friend?"
She half-expected for Long Horse to look at her like she was dumb, but instead, he whisked away for a brief second, before returning with a pair of bongos balanced on his snout. He quickly set them down, before beginning to tap them with his snout, making a surprisingly complex beat.
"Woah," Octavia blinked.
"I know, right?" Vinyl laughed. "Dude's a natural. Gonna have to tone some of my stuff down to go with it, though. Maybe break out the ole' acoustic."
"Some softer, peaceful music would be a lovely change of pace," Octavia said, the bongo playing suddenly triggering a memory of her last ‘dream’. “Though… speaking of bongo-related things. Long Horse… does this poem mean anything to you?”
He looked at her curiously, and Octavia cleared her throat.
“All around the water tank,
Waiting for a train,
We're a thousand miles away from home,
Just standing in the rain.”
There was a moment of silence. Long Horse simply hovered there motionless. Octavia was beginning to wonder if he even knew what she was talking about…
That was until she noticed a small bit of black mist gathering in his eye-sockets.
“Woah,” Vinyl blinked. “Yo, buddy… you okay?”
Slowly, Long Horse moved forward towards Octavia. She wasn’t alarmed by it, but she did raise an eyebrow. This was before he revealed his intention: to give her an affectionate, tearful nuzzle.
“H-Heh,” Octavia said awkwardly. “You’re welcome?”
“Daw!” Vinyl cooed. “I’d say group hug, but I’m pretty sure you’re still healing from internal bleeding, Tavi.”
Octavia smirked at her. “You really are the sweetest vampire in Equestria, you know that? I mean it.”
“And you’re the cutest werewolf,” she winked. “Cute enough to nom! Not that I ever would.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, looking towards Long Horse. “You sure you can put up with this sort of thing for a bit?”
Long Horse glanced between the two, before nodding.
“Hehe, what a champ!” Vinyl cheered.
And for quite a while, peace is what they had. Once Octavia had healed enough, their nights were spent making music, just as she originally wanted.
Eventually, Long Horse had healed enough to strike out on his own again, politely declining Vinyl and Octavia's offer for him to stay longer. Still, he had taken a liking to them, and made it a point to visit a few times a week at the very least. And every time he did, they spent at least a small part of it in the harmony of song.
Eventually, Vinyl even surprised Long Horse. Sharing a song she wrote after rediscovering her love for the acoustic guitar. One in his honor.
“It's the Long Horse,
Friendly long horse.
Maybe you don't trust him,
Nor did I,
But he's here for us.
He's on the move,
But he cares for me and you.
Little do we know of the woe ahead,
But at least we've got a protector and friend.”
What music they made, those children of the night.
Loving and content.
…
…
…
…
…
…