//------------------------------//
// Hitch 
// Story: Vampire the Masquerade: Equestria 
// by Rysthcrg 
//------------------------------//

				"Charming?" she raised her head to look at me. "You don't seem to be surprized by my apperance, even though clearly my form is much different from yours. Is it because I came from a different dimension?" We were still walking our way to Silver Ore, atleast that was what I hoped for.

"That and also you are reminding me of minotaurs, so I'm not that unfamiliar to your body shape." Minotaurs? As in half bull half human mythological creatures? If ponies aren't the only sentient life forms it will be very useful.

"I assume they are sentient aswell?" She nodded and made an affirming sound. Change of plans then. No need for intense use of my presence. I just need to know about Silver Ore so I can corner her. "I will need more information about this world but for now tell me about Silver Ore."

"Well, she has a silver coat, that's why t-"

"Not apperance, characteristics." I cut her off. It should have been obvious, right?

She studdered a bit. "Oh! Ah... okay. She is a good manager, she always listens Mister Exellence's orders and never does anything without asking him. She is also-"

"That should suffice." I cut her off again. It didn't seem to me that she manages anything. She sounds more like a messenger than a manager. "We will have a conversation with her. I want you to back me up on everything I say. It is crucial that she believes me or this will be a very messy night. Do you understand?"

She looked worried, just like I wanted to. I hate to threaten her every five minutes but I need her to be cooperative. "Yes." We kept walking silently for a while. Some guards intercepted us but they let us go once Charming showed them the pin, but their surprised looks followed us till we lose them from sight. "What is your plan?"  Question was simple but its abruptness surprised me. She must have noticed because she started to explain. "I mean what are you hoping to accomplish by talking with Silver Ore? Do you expect her to find a way to send you back?"

I giggled. How naiv you are. "I will replace her position as the new manager." I said with a straight voice. It was her turn to get surprized.

"What? You... How?"

"As I said before. Just back me up if I need." I don't think I will though. "I think we are here. Am I right?" The hallway was about to come to an end and there was only one door ahead.

"Y-yes. The door on the left." I walked over to the door and knocked it a few times.

"Come in." It was a male's voice. I turned to Charming with questioning eyes.

"It's her assistant. Steady Quill." I will never get used to those names. I slowly opened the door and walked in.

"Greetings, Mr. Steady Qui-" My greeting was interrupted by a loud "Eeep!" He fell from his chair and was trying to go up the wall. It was an expected reaction but a fun thing to watch nonetheless. However if I don't act quickly he could cause a hullabaloo. "Please, you have nothing to fear, I assure you. I mean no harm towards you." His movements stopped but he was still hanging on to the wall while eyeing me with suspicion. Those eyes... I knew his type. He likes to look smarter than the others. He wants to feel that he is the superior one. I knew how to deal with his type. First you give them the superiority they want. "I am extremely sorry that I frighthened you. You see, my kin is not commonly known to the residents of this land. I get this kind of reaction quite often, though not to this extent." I smiled bashfully.

He had brown coat and a light turquoise mane. He had a quill tattoo on his hips. Did he tattooed his name or something? He had a horn like Charming's.

He cleared his throat and gave off on the wall. "I wasn't scared. You just surprised me that's all." He said while he was getting back to his chair with a disdainful stance. "Now, what do you want? Or more importantly how did you get in? Wait! How did you find this place anyway? Who are you?"

I changed my smile with a genuine one. Then show them their place. "You have so many questions, don't you? I like you already." I really did, he is easy to play with. His haughty mask shattered for a moment but he regained his stance. "I have been sent here by Mr. Excellence to replace Miss Ore's duty as his representative. There, one answer to all of your questions." His mask fell completely. I could see him trying to shape a sentence but he seemed too surprised by the idea. "She is in that room, right?" I pointed to a door on my left. "Can I see her now?"

"B-but you are not even a pony. Why would he put you up to this task?" Racist prick! Those were the kind of words I wanted to hear, reckless, said without proper thinking, words that divulge his confusion, but it made me angry. I can't let my anger get in the way now. This is a delicate game I'm playing. Make him feel superior again.

"Who knows? I was as shocked as you were. There must be many... ponies that are better than me." It was hard to keep my smile but I managed. "Well, I'm going in now."

"No, you are not." My smile widened.Cocky, good. "She doesn't like to be disturbed while doing her job. You can come back an hour later."

"I don't think you understand the situation, assistant." I wiped my smile of my face. "I am your boss now, not her. She has no bussiness left with this place. If I want to go in my office, I will go in my office." He was quite dumbfounded but he still started to talk.

"I cannot al-"

"Keep your mouth shut." He choked on his words. He was completely shattered. "Sit here and do not interfere with our meeting or you will be the next one who gets replaced." He sat down, buried in thoughts. I headed towards Ore's office. When I got in she didn't even raise her head from the documents.

"What is it, Quill? Can't you see that I'm busy." Her voice was irritated. She really doesn't like to be disturbed. She had a silver colored coat and a white mane. This one had wings. I really should ask about these sometime. She had a checklist tattooed on her hips. Checklist? Nonetheless she looked beautiful. She was a true work of art. I can just look at her all night and- No! What kind of joke is this? If my clan's curse keeps popping up like this, how am I supposed to play my game.

"Greetings, Miss Ore. I am here to release you from your duties." That got her attention enought to raise her head.

"What does th- Oh my sweet Celestia! What are you?" She looked a bit scared but not as much as her assistant. She was still on her chair.

"I am a human but that is a rather irrelevant question." Charming looked up to me. I realized I have never stated my spicies before. "I have been sent here as a replacement to your position." She was surprised. An expected reaction. But beyond that I could see that she didn't believe me.

"I don't know who you are or how did you get in this facility, but you are going to be taken care of." She opened her mouth to call someone, probably her assistant. I had to act quickly.

"Miss Ore!" I called her loudly, interrupting her. "Please, do not make this harder for yourself. I am under Mr. Excellence's instructions. I have been sent here to relieve you from you duties."

"Preposterous! I am the best at what I do. That is why I am the manager of this facility. Who are you to take my place?"

"This isn't what I heard from Mr. Excellence. He said he finds you... inefficient." She was taken aback by my statement. "He said that you do nothing without asking him."

"I don't, but this is his facility, I should ask him." I could see that she started to understand where this was going.

"You are... were his representative, Miss Ore. Do you know why someone uses a representative?" She looked at me with defeated eyes. "It's because they want someone else to take care of their jobs. By asking him every detail, you didn't fullfil your purpose as a representative." She looked down.

"I... I... No!" That's unexpected. "I won't believe you, until I hear it from Mr. Excellence himself."

"I don't think he would enjoy hearing that you are preventing me, Miss Ore." I had to improvise something. I didn't know how she was planning to talk with him, but I have to assume that it can be fast.

"If he already fired me, what else will he do?" What she said was undeniably true, but I could swear I have seen a moment of hesitation in her eyes. I have to take my chances this time.

"I think we both know what he will do, Miss Ore." She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes.

"It seems he really did send you." She sighed. "Will you erase my memory?" Erase her memory? It did makes sense considering this is a secret facility. It must be the way it stays secret, erase the memory of the person who leaves.

"I'm afraid I have to Miss Ore. You know the procedures." Charming fidgeted slightly beside me attracting my attention. She was looking very stressed for some reason. Maybe she doesn't want her memory to be erased.

"Yes, I know." Silver Ore spoke. "Could you atleast let me say goodbye to my assistant?"

"Sure, I will be waiting." She started to walk towards the door. Charming tensed up even more, she was starting to make me nervous too. There must be a problem, but what? Silver Ore was passing beside Charming when Charming suddenly decided to land a punch on her face. With the strenght she acquired by drinking my blood she actually managed to knock her out. I was just standing there with my mouth agape. She was also surprised that she actually punched her unconscious.

"Why did you do that?" I asked. "Now we have to beat up the assistant too."

"She was lying about the memory stuff to test you. She knew that you were lying so she was going to call for the guards." She looked at me with teary eyes. "Did I killed her? I didn't mean to hit her so hard."

"No, she is fine. She's just going to have a nasty headache." I reassured her. So Silver Ore, you really are a clever woman. It's a shame we are not on the same side. Atleast for now. I had something in mind for her, but first I should take this facility under my control. "However, we have to take care of her assistant now." I walked close to the door and called for the assistant. "Steady Quill, could you come in for a second." I heard his footsteps.

"Coming!" He opened the door and I greeted him with a punch. The punch was enough for him to blackout, but much to my chagrin he hit his head to the door knob before falling down. I crouched down and checked her head. He was bleeding slightly. Shit!

"Is he alright?" Charming's voice was carrying a genuine concern. I hate to do this to her but I cannot hide it anyway.

"He hit his head to the door knob. He is bleeding." She gasped.

"Oh no! Can't you do something?"

"I'm not a doctor, I don't know what to do." I sighed. "In any case he should be fine. It doesn't look that serious. More importantly, we have to tie them up and hide them for now. Can you find me a rope or something like that?" She was still worried but she nodded.

"Yes, there must be some rope at the repository. I'll go get it." She galloped out of the office. I should go with her to be sure she doesn't call for help. Just as I was about to leave I heard Silver Ore's groaning. She was waking up. If they wake up while I'm gone it would be bad. I knocked her out again.It seems like I have to trust her. I should atleast lock the doors. I searched for a key and found it in one of the drawers. I locked the doors and stared to wait. After a short time I heard someone trying to open the door. Seeing the door is locked they started knocking.

"Why did you locked the door?" Fortunately, it was a familiar voice. "It's me, I have the rope." I unlocked the door then locked it again once she was in.

"I didn't want anyone else to come in or I might had to beat them up too." She passed the rope with her... hooves? How are they holding things with their hooves? I took the rope and proceed to tie up our captives.

"I am actually surprised that I was able to knock her out." She said. I looked at her with questioning eyes. "How did I knock her out with one punch? I'm not that strong and I have never landed a punch in my life until today."

"It's because you drank my blood." She looked more curious. "If someone drinks blood from a vampire, it gives them vampiric powers. Do you remember how fast I moved?" She nodded. "That is something I can do in exchange for some of my blood. Same blood gives me extraordinary strength. Because you drank some of it you also gained more strength."

"What is a vampire? You said you were a human before." Then she suddenly looked like she understood the whole thing. "Oh, it's like ponies, right? We have unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, but we are all called ponies. You have vampires and others and you are all called humans." She exclaimed. I giggled.

"No, it's not that simple. Humans are born with the same... traits. We originate from the humans but we are not really human. Vampirism is a curse that changes humans into something else. Vampires are unnatural beings." I was done with bindings so I turned my head towards her.

"What do you mean? If it makes you stronger isn't it a gift?"

"Vampires are incapable of eating food like others do. You see this?" I showed her my fangs. "These fangs are for piercing the skin. We can only survive by drinking blood." She gasped. "Then there is the beast. We all carry it inside us. If we cannot keep it under control, it may go on a rampage. That is also the reason why I attacked your friend at the first place. It waked up before me, then everything went downhill. I'm sorry." She lowered her head. "We are granted eternal life but we can never see the sun rise again, we cannot walk under its light. But the worst part is, once you are embraced and become a vampire, you must abandon everyone you know, your friends, your family, everyone. No goodbyes no nothing, you just disappear for them. Because if they are to see you, learn what you are, they are to be killed, you are to be killed. This is the masquerade, this is the sacrifice we make to keep our kin safe and secret." I saw a tear drop on the floor. I shouldn't have remind her friends.

"Am I going to be a vampire too? Because I drank your blood." I smiled, even though she couldn't see it.

"Don't worry, it doesn't work like that. It just gives you temporary powers." She let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly she raised her head and looked at me like she just had an epiphany.

"Does that mean I could fight you? I could... defeat you?" Is she really going to do that? There was no way she could defeat me even with the powers my blood provided her. However, I doubt that will stop her from trying.

"If I were to say yes, would you fight me?" She stopped and considered for a little, to my relief she shook her head. But why not?

"Why not? I killed you friends. You must hate me for what I did." She looked at me pityingly.

"Because I'm sorry for what happened to you. "Her words hit me like a brick. "You really seem to miss being a... human." I killed her friends, drank their blood, continuously threatened to kill her and she is sorry... for me? It brought tears to my eyes, thanks to Toreador's emotional character. "But I will never forgive what you did." I smiled wryly.

"Of course you won't." I stood up. Enough of this. I need to continue. "Is there a meeting hall or something like that in here?"

"Yes, there is." She nodded.

"Good. I need you to gather everyone in this facility to that meeting hall, then come back here to report me. Meanwhile I will keep an eye on our captives. Can you do that?"

"Yes, but why?" A fearful expression covered her face. "Are you going to-" I raised my hand to stop her.

"Stop that. I have no plan to hurt anyone." I sighed. "Look, I know that you see me as a monster and I cannot deny that I am a one, but all this time I have been struggling to keep my human side. To be honest, if there would have been any other vampire but me, this would be a massacre." She looked curious. "They would kill everyone that tries to oppose them and take this place by force. All I do is a little deception."

"Is your kin really that evil?" She was scared of what she heard.

"Worse. Kindred, vampires, think themselves as superior to all mortals. Humans are usually nothing more than a bag of blood for them." She was disgusted and afraid. I decided to change the subject. "So, are you going to gather them or what?"

"Yeah, I don't need to leave the room. I can just make an announcement from here." She walked behind the manager's desk and pressed a button, then started talking to a pyramid with a red crystal on it. There were some letters that I don't know on the gold colored pyramid. "Attention! Everyone report to the meeting hall in twenty minutes, there will be an important announcement." Her voice echoed in the facility. "Everyone report to the meeting hall in twenty minutes, there will be an important announcement." She repeated and took her hoof off on the button. "Now what?"

"Now, my dear Charming, we shall wait for ten minutes, then" I turned my head to our captives. "we will carry them to the research lab where you... summoned me." She look at me with disbelief.

"Why there, why are you taking near my... friends?" She was sad. "Wouldn't it be harder for you to convince them?"

"There is no way for me to convince them after this anyway." She was worried.

"So what then? What will you do?" I shrugged.

"I don't know yet. I will figure something out. For now I cannot let them interfere with my plans." I turned my head back to Charming. "I have to take this place before sunrise."