The crowd of gamblers shifted from Sir Ox Berry’s booth over to the front of the stage. Caitiff and Scourge sat in front of them with an air of mystique and wonder around them. Even Pigeon decided to join the crowd in listening to the barmaid’s inevitably captivating story. The fact that both patrons on stage had sly expressions only added to our curiosity.
Caitiff sighed, “Oh yes, do I have a wonderful tale for all of you…” She lowered her gaze down to the ground as Scourge plopped down right in front of her. She continued, “My dear precious Scourge and I have been through so much together.” She placed a hoof softly on the silent mare’s head, stroking her mane with endearment.
For the first time in several nights, Scourge actually spoke. She moaned, “More than you can imagine…”
Every patron was caught off guard by the emptiness in the lackey’s voice. Usually the pony only spoke when angered by some cruel injustice, in which case that anger would be flooding from her voice. But tonight, her voice was hollow of all emotion. It sent a shiver up my spine, but I managed to hold my tongue.
The smile on Caitiff’s face quickly fell into a frown. She sighed, “Much more than you can possibly imagine. Not all of it was good, but we’ve persevered. Times can be tough for us, though. I sometimes feel as if we’d be better off someplace else, under different circumstances. Alas, our fate is our burden.” She smirked at us again, her eyes lighting up brighter than before. I knew I didn’t imagine it when all of the other patrons jumped at the sight.
Scourge placed her master’s mug on the ground and stood up. The eerie mare giggled, “Listeners beware…this tale is a scare…” With a wave of her hoof, Caitiff began the story.
…
Our tale starts a long time ago, longer ago than even the rise of Nightmare Moon.
A bolt of lightning crashed down to the ground as the little filly approached the large oak doors of the mansion. She reached into the small pouch at her side and pulled out a small business card. ‘Escape your Fate—Find the Count’ is what it read. For three months the filly had travelled all across Equestria looking for whoever this ‘Count’ person was. Finally, in a nearby town, some deranged old stallion had given her directions to an abandoned mansion in the woods. Deep within the reaches of her heart, the filly prayed that this mansion was the key to finding the Count.
With shivering hooves and a soaked coat, the filly knocked gently on the oak doors. To her surprise, the doors swung open wide, and she was greeted by a tall mare in a maid’s outfit. Without a second to spare, the maid let out a gasp of disbelief as she noticed the filly standing in the pouring rain. Taking the filly by the hoof, the maid guided her into the mansion’s dining room, where a buffet of food had been placed out. At the far end of the table, a large muscular stallion was elegantly feasting on his food. Beside him sat several other ponies of similar build, and the maids and butlers scrambled to and fro.
The maid dragged the filly to the stallion’s side and explained the situation to him. With a smile on his face, the stallion took the card from the filly’s free hoof. He chuckled, “My dear sweet filly, you’ve come a long way, haven’t you? All the way from the hills of Manehattan…” He placed a hoof on the filly’s head.
The other stallions at the table dismissed themselves, and the working ponies followed suit. Left alone in the hall was the maid, the stallion, and the filly. The maid sighed, “You’ve certainly been through a lot, child. Why is it you have come here?” She let go of the filly’s hoof, backing away a few steps to bow to the stallion.
The filly hesitated for several seconds before mumbling, “I-I came to find the Count… He promised he would help me!” She plopped down on the floor, not sure whether to be sad or scared. She continued, “I’ve been looking everywhere! But…I can never find him.”
The stallion and maid shared a confused smile. The stallion chuckled, “My dear determined daughter you have come a long way to find this place. My name is Count Caitiff IV, otherwise known as Count to all those not personal acquaintances. You have finally found me.” He stood up from his chair and picked the filly up in his front hooves. There was a gentle, pitying smile plastered on his face.
The maid was speechless at the sight of the two. She simply bowed in dismissal and walked out of the room.
Count asked, “What is your name, little girl?”
“I…I don’t know. Everypony called me Filly back home. I’ve never had a name…” Tears began to swell in the filly’s eyes at the thought of her fortune back in Manehattan.
Count shook his head and placed the filly into the chair he had just stood up from. He tittered, “You poor unfortunate soul, how could you not have a name? Perhaps we can change that. You’ve sought me out to change your fate, correct?”
The filly simply nodded as the tears continued to fall.
Count continued, “Very well then! My dear, I shall call you Caitiff, after myself! After all, you might find we have more in common than you think.”
“C-Caitiff?”
“Yes, Caitiff. From this day forward, you are no longer a nameless filly without a family. From this day on, you are part of my family. But this favor does not come free, I fear.” Count sent her a sly grin, the gears turning in his head.
Caitiff’s eyes lit up, a smile stretching across her face. She giggled, “What do I have to do? I’ll do it!”
Count chuckled, “You are an eager filly, eh? In exchange for this favor, you must work here in my mansion for as long as I believe it necessary. Follow the other maids’ leads, and you shall know what you must do. Do your duties well and follow my commands, and you may live here as part of our family.”
“Yes sir! Thank you!” The filly bounced excitedly in the chair, happy to finally belong to a family of her own.
For ten years Caitiff worked for Count. She cleaned the mansion, cooked the food, and washed the laundry. The rest of the maids and butlers were amazed by her determination to uphold her end of the bargain set forth by Count. She never once complained about her fate. She never once complained that she couldn’t leave the mansion without permission, or that she sometimes got stuck doing the disgusting chores of the mansion.
Count was good to her. The day she arrived at the mansion was celebrated as her birthday, and he pulled out all the resources he could to make her stay in his home enjoyable. For weeks at a time he would disappear, along with the other members of the family, but she never once questioned his actions.
It wasn’t until the day of her tenth birthday that her paradise began to crumble. She had grown up in the same setting for ten whole years, and it all crashed down around her that day. Every resident of the mansion gathered around the dining table as they prepared for Caitiff’s birthday party. Everypony was in good spirits.
Just before the party began, a loud banging erupted from the front door. Everypony rushed to it, an air of fear clouding around them. One of the members of the family approached the door cautiously and opened it. Through the door burst several armed ponies from the nearby town. They carried themselves with a hostile demeanor, their weapons poised to attack the first thing that moved.
Count stepped forward to greet the villagers with a wide grin and open arms. He chuckled, “Are such hostilities necessary, my dear neighbors?” He attempted to get closer to the apparent leader of the pack, but was met with a hostile thrust of a spear.
The leader scoffed, “You kidnap our children and steal our crops, yet you have the nerve to act innocent! We’re here to make you and your demons pay for your actions!” One of the other villagers turned directly toward Caitiff, raising his weapon high above his head.
Count raised his hands high, attempting to show innocence. He sighed, “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about. I would ask that you drop your weapons.”
The leader roared, “Do you take us for fools, demon? We know all about your kind! You feed on our flesh and blood in the dark of night, stealing our children to raise with your own twisted morals!” He thrust his spear at Count again, this time nearly making contact.
One of Count’s brothers shouted, “How dare you intrude in our home and defile our name?! What evidence have you of our misdeeds?”
The villager cried, “Enough to know the identity of the beast that has plagued our village for so many generations!”
Count clapped his hooves and chuckled, “I’m afraid you mistake my patience for ignorance, sir. I will ask you to either drop your weapons or leave my home one last time. If you do not comply, I cannot be held accountable for my actions.” He unclasped the cape around his neck, dropping it elegantly on the ground beside him.
Each of the villagers turned back to him, readying their weapons for an attack. The leader cried, “Don’t move, bastard! We only want what we deserve: revenge!” He nodded once to his companions.
The villager closest to Caitiff made a mad dash at her, wrapping a hoof around her throat and positioning the tip of his knife right at her jugular vein. He laughed, “You demons had best listen to our elder, or the girl gets it!” The maids and butlers she had grown up with began to panic.
Count simply laughed, “I’m afraid you don’t understand what you’re messing with.” In the blink of an eye, Count was directly in front of Caitiff, his hoof drawn back as if to attack.
Caitiff managed to choke out, “M-Master…what’s happening?”
The villager holding onto her pulled her back against the wall, trying to open the distance between himself and the master of the house. Count sighed, “You came to me to change your fate. As of today, that fate has been changed. Forgive me, my dear.” Before Caitiff could question his meaning, he thrust forward at a supernatural speed.
She felt a sharp pain shoot through her body as Count’s hoof pierced straight through her chest and into the villager behind her. She felt him lose his grip and fall limp on the ground. She fell forward, landing in Count’s arms. He whispered something foreign in her ears, and a sharp stinging sensation filled her throat before she lost consciousness. The head of the house turned his attention to the rest of the villagers, who immediately scrambled out of the mansion at adrenaline-filled speeds.
Count turned to his eldest brother and said, “Take her to the dungeon, brother. Explain the situation to the others.”
“What are you going to do, Count? Don’t be rash!”
Count smiled angrily at the open door. He sighed, “I do not know why those villagers attacked us, but I shall ensure that it does not happen again. If I do not return by sunrise, assume I have died.”
Count’s eldest brother pleaded, “You mustn’t do this, brother! After what you have done, you cannot abandon her!”
“If that should happen, I leave it to you to teach her our ways. Do not let her leave without the necessary knowledge.” Before his brother could object any further, Count disappeared in a gust of wind.
Caitiff awoke several days later in an unfamiliar room. A faint light shined above her, allowing her to see the décor and other residents. She was in a large open chamber made of solid stone and no door. There was a single other pony in the room, a filly only slightly younger than her. As she scrambled to her hooves, the other pony approached with a relieved expression.
The little filly cheered, “Hooray, you’re okay! Master will be so happy to see you!”
Caitiff scratched her mane as an intense burning filled her chest. She groaned, “Where am I?”
The filly bounced happily and said, “You’re in the dungeon, where all we ghouls are brought to live.”
“The dungeon? What dungeon? What’s a ghoul?” The burning slowly intensified, until she found herself breathing heavy.
“Ghouls are what happen when a vampire doesn’t fully feed on another pony. Count Caitiff lets us live here because the villagers hate us…” The filly smiled widely at the now-agonized mare.
A piece of the far wall slid away as Caitiff was about to say something else. The tall figure of a stallion approached the confused mare with an air of pity. He sighed, “It’s good to see you are well, Caitiff. A lot has happened in the last few days. Perhaps we can talk over dinner tonight.” The stallion offered a hoof to Caitiff, who gripped it tight as the burning filled her senses.
The stallion leaned over to ask her something, but she blacked out before he could get the words out. When she awoke, she was in a much brighter room, the same stallion standing beside her with a few other ponies. The filly from the dungeon was there, as well as a pony she recognized to be Count’s brother.
The stallion from earlier waited for her to become fully conscious before saying, “I’m certain you are full of questions as to what is happening to you. Do you still feel that burning sensation in your chest?”
Caitiff nodded weakly, her muscles stiff and her coat freezing. Count’s brother chuckled, “That’s to be expected. Once you’ve fully changed, the pain will subside. I’m afraid the chill you feel will still remain, however. Thus is the curse of the undead, I suppose.” He placed a hoof gently on Caitiff’s head as if to comfort her.
The filly smiled widely and cheered, “It’s really not so bad after you get used to it, I promise!” She hopped up onto the edge of the bed, trying to help the mare feel better.
Count’s brother chuckled, “This is Scourge. She’s a ghoul that Count saved a few years back. She may look like a filly, but she’s actually about your age, Caitiff. She’ll be helping you adjust to your life as an undead.” He smiled at Caitiff, showing his genuine empathy for her situation.
The other stallion sighed, “You’ll be fine in a few days. All of us vampires and ghouls have gone through it. Scourge will be by your side as long as you need her. When you regain your ability to speak, she will gladly answer your inquiries.” He and Count’s brother exited the room without a second glance at the helpless mare in the bed.
Scourge stayed by Caitiff’s side every moment of every day for almost a month, answering questions and offering advice on how to handle the attributes of an undead. The young-looking pony helped the elder cope with the sudden loss of her mortality, and they both quickly developed a bond that would last throughout the ages. There even came a point in time where the residents of the mansion assumed that their relationship was much more than simple friendship.
The two never would’ve guessed the day they met that they would be together for the remainder of their eternal lives. They were also unaware that they would never see their master again.
…
The two suddenly-eerie ponies fell silent. They shared expressions of longing and nostalgia, while the rest of us were left waiting for more. When Caitiff stood up from her chair and chugged her mug of whisky, I knew the tale was over. Scourge removed the chair from the stage as her friend took a bow. The gamblers were torn between cheer for such a wonderful tale and jeer for such a short story.
Wolf was the first to express his distaste, “How can you just leave us hanging like that?! That’s so cruel, Caitiff!”
The story-teller giggled, “I take it you like it, then? I would be more than happy to tell the rest of the story, but I’m afraid that would take all night.” She stepped down from the stage with a sly grin on her face. She plopped down in a chair and handed her mug back to me.
Scourge laughed, “If she told the rest of the story, there would be no chance for any of you to win!” She sat down beside her companion, falling silent as soon as she did so.
Pigeon stammered, “That…wasn’t a true story, was it?”
With a sly grin Caitiff giggled, “I don’t know, was it?” The Griffon inquirer immediately took a gulp of her drink, trying to hide the fear in her eyes. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction.
“I must say, true or not, that was an amazing tale! Who knew barmaids could think up such interesting stories?” Conrideas let out a hefty chuckle as he applauded the supposedly-vampiric pony.
I groaned, “Yeah, amazing story, but who’s up next?” Each patron fell silent, not wanting to be the one to follow such a tough act.
After a few minutes of silence, Freezing leaped to his hooves. He chuckled, “Since we’re on the topic of freaks of nature, why don’t I tell my tale? I’m sure you’ll all just adore it!” He stepped up on stage with a smug grin and an air of confidence.
Plot Twist scoffed, “What, is it about your incurable illness? Don’t you ever get tired of telling that fairytale?”
The offended stallion chuckled, “My dear friend, this is no fairytale. Just listen to my story, and then you can decide for yourself!” He stood tall on the stage, preparing to try and top Caitiff’s story.
I brought him the obligatory beverage and sat beside my employee, eager to see just what twists he would add to his sob story this time around. A skeptical chatter erupted around the bar, leading right up to Miss Violet's own protests of ignorance. She seemed a bit...bothered. I loved it.