//------------------------------// // The Hunt Begins // Story: Fangs // by Sapphic //------------------------------// *~~~*~~~*~~~* ...Bigs... *~~~*~~~*~~~* I walked down the main hall of the castle of my master, the dim lights leaving most the details of this place I visit almost daily indistinguishable. I had come here to report to my master about one of our agent's failed attempts to subdue either Vinyl and or her new friend Octavia. I knew he wouldn't exactly be happy with this news, and I hated that it was my job to tell him; he always gets mad at me and that is not very pleasant. All of that aside, I was pissed at him. For days now, he had been expending far too many resources on his search for this one mare; sending out nearly thirty scouts this morning to do nothing more than locate her and report back to him with said location. It was just plain irrational and stupid, but what truly made me mad, was the fact that I didn't know why. Maybe, just maybe, I would be a little more motivated to find this mare if he would just give me a reason. I planned on bringing this up to him, riding on the sliver of a chance he would tell me his motives. I reached a spot about five feet from his 'throne' where he always sat back turned to me, never revealing his face to anypony. I had never seen his face; I had imagined what it was, something scary and frightening or something suave and handsome, but always having a sinister appeal to it. I had heard that only the highest of his helpers were allowed to see his face, and even though I had been here longer than almost all of the others, I still had never even seen his face. "Master." I waited for him to ask for me to speak, as I have always done. "Yes?" He replied. This was his way of asking me to speak. "One of your scouts, Dark Flyer, encountered your two targets, and resulted in a failure." He remained silent, as he always did when I told him anything, whether it be good or bad, his silence was always the answer I got. "That is...unfortunate." He said in his slate tone, showing no emotion at all. Now was my chance, my chance to ask him, my chance to finally find a reason to all this. It wasn't only for my sake, I knew that all the other soldiers and scouts wanted to know just as badly. Their morale was low, thinking that the repetition of the task was a form of punishment, or a way to show how useless they are. I was nervous, but I would stick up for my brothers and sisters, even if it was against my master, for he was no brother of mine. "May I ask a question Master?" I said in a polite tone. I wasn't stupid enough to show my true feelings through my voice, it was suicide. "Of course my loyal subject." His response took me off guard, it was unnaturally soothing, but this would not cause me to falter. "May I ask why you are devoting so much time, labor, and resources into this mediocre task?" Though my tone was firm and strong, my true feelings were nervous and fearful. He was deathly silent for the longest time before answering. "Bigs...you have served me for how long now?" I was starting to shake, but I managed an answer. "Almost ten years sir." He had been there for as long as I could remember, posing as my father figure, and those ten years felt like far more than what they were. "Then you know not to question my methods." His tone was a frightful one, unnaturally calm and soothing, but still as deathly as ever. "I do sir, but many of your reasons I am capable of seeing; I see no reason behind this constant tracking." By now I was on the verge of panic, but the thought of my brethren kept me standing. His 'throne' turned and he faced me, though his face was indistinguishable, I could see his white coat; far more than most have ever seen. "You know nothing of my reasons." His tone was venom, yet still calm. I stiffened at this statement, not because of his deathly tone, or this intimidating situation, but because of the possibility of what he said being true. What if I didn't know any of his reasons? I stood there stunned from that fact alone. I had always been able to see some logical reason in his schemes; Information, knowledge, wealth, power, they were all my assumptions on his moves, but this constant surveillance and no action was a blank. He stepped down from his throne and looked dead into my eyes, and I looked dead into his, his cold, piercing, red eyes. They were not like any I have ever seen on a vampire, most of the eyes of vampire's were vivid and lively shades of red; his were just, well, dead. They showed no form of joy, or anything for that matter. He stared straight through me, looking past all blockades of confidence, and straight into my core; It was bone chilling. "Bigs...Bring me what I want; Bring me Vinyl Scratch." His tone shook all courage from me, and I faltered, turning as quick as I could just to get away from those eyes. If that's what his most faithful followers had to see, I didn't want to be one of them. But I still had loyalty to him, he had given me much, and I planned to repay it in full. I planned to bring him what seemed to drive him mad. I planned to bring him... Vinyl Scratch. *~~~*~~~*~~~* ...Octavia... *~~~*~~~*~~~* "Vinyl you can let me down now." I said as we entered my apartment, myself still slumped over Vinyl's back. "Awww, do I have to?" She whined. "Yes, Vinyl, you do." I said in a firm tone. She sighed and grumbled under her breath, but lowered her body so that my hooves could touch the floor, and allow me to get off her back. It was strange that she had actually asked if she had to let me down, but what was more strange was that she listened when I told her that she did. Vinyl let out a yawn and made her way over to the couch, lifting her glasses to rub her weary looking eyes. I could now see that they were indeed dilated, giving me more of a reason to believe she was in that mood again. "Well, I'm beat, so I'll probably hit the sack." She said as she headed for the couch. She settled down on the couch, but continued to shift her position every so often, the couch squeaking underneath her weight. I knew that that couch was very uncomfortable; always leaving a crick in your neck and your back after a night of sleep. She deserved a bit better than a trashy old couch, at least a proper bed. The problem was that there was only one bed in my apartment; my bed. I debated giving her the bed and I take the couch, but I wasn't particularly wanting to sleep on that bed of nails. 'Maybe we can just share the bed.' I thought to myself. It seemed like a good idea, that way we could both awake without a lump in our necks, but the problem was going to be bringing this up to her. "I know that the couch is rather uncomfortable, so you could just....um." I felt my cheeks beginning to slowly turn red. It was weird that I was inviting her to sleep with me. Vinyl stopped her fluffing of the couch pillow and turned to look at me, at first with a look of confusion, but then with a sly smile. "I could what?" She said with an innocent tone, pretending to be oblivious to what I could be talking about. "I was thinking...that maybe you could..." I trailed off again, it wasn't any easier saying this with Vinyl looking at me with a wide grin than it was when she wasn't looking at me at all. "Yeesss?" She sang, I felt my eye begin to twitch. "I was thinking that you could...sleep in my bed." I said quietly. She put a hoof up to her ear and tilted her head closer to me. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." She mocked at me. I sighed and tried again. "You could just...sleep with me." I said in a normal voice, luckily, she was done milking it and acknowledged what I said. "Oh of course I will sleep with you Tavi!" She said cheerfully as she brought me into a hug. All I could do was sigh. *~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~* Vinyl had fallen asleep on the bed just about the same time I told her she could use the bed, but I had stayed up for a bit longer. I was actually just going to get a glass of water and maybe take a quick shower, but I actually settled on sitting on the couch for awhile and drinking a cup of tea. Rickety as it may be, it was still about the only place to sit besides the dinner table. 'Vinyl seems to be in control of that feeding thing...well at least she did just a while ago.' I though as I stared at a wall and finished off my tea; my eyes growing heavy. 'I'm still not entirely sure how that works...' I thought to myself. It was true, it seemed like she was in control last time, but the times before she seemed driven by some force. I let out a yawn that I took as a sign to get some rest and began to head towards the bedroom. My head was hazy as I made my way back to the bedroom, and I nearly tripped heading down the hall, but when I entered the room I went directly to the bed. I patted the bed first to see if Vinyl was there, but she wasn't and had chosen to occupy the other side of the bed. I smiled and climbed into my side of the bed, happy that I didn't have to go around to get to the other side. I was lying in bed, and even though it was comfortable and my eyes were heavy, I couldn't seem to get to sleep. I tossed and turned for awhile until I hit Vinyl, resulting in a groggy moan from her. I froze immediately, and began to pray that I didn't wake her. I'd rather not have to deal with an irritated, sleepy, and hungry vampire. Luckily she didn't wake, but she did roll over, and half her body draped over me. I froze again, I could feel my heartbeat spike, but I remained as still as a statue. I realized she must be a heavy sleeper if me hitting her in her sleep didn't wake her, so I relaxed a bit, but I was still tensed. She moaned once more, this time nuzzling into my back and squeezing me gently. I was still reluctant, but I began to relax after she did this. Regardless of whether I still wasn't sure about our 'relationship', I couldn't deny how comfortable this was. Eventually my body was relaxed, Vinyl still gripped loosely around me, and my eyes were closing. I smiled for the last time before drifting off into sleep, happy that I wasn't alone again, but that I had somepony next to me to this time. *~~~*~~~*...Bigs...*~~~*~~~* I looked in through a window from the top of a building that was across the street. My target was right in front of me, yet she was still so far away. There were many ways to go about capturing her, many of them could either be a smashing success or a deathly failure. I needed a way that would undoubtedly work in catching her. I had tried putting her into a frenzy with that mare friend of hers, but that only got them separated for a few days, and in those few days she seemed to go off the grid. That mare was helpful to us, as long as they were friends and they were living together, we knew where Vinyl would be. She was like a tracking device, and a perfect tool for us. Vinyl also had another one that she was with frequently, it was that mare from the bar. I think her name was Shakes, but regardless I knew that Shakes knew an awful lot about the Vampire kind, things ranging from how to befriend them all the way to how to kill them without them even knowing. I was beginning to suspect she was not just the average pony, but I had nothing to back that up except for that she knew a bit more than all the others. She was still an exploitable resource, and a very good resource at that. I hopped down from the top of the building, landing on the sidewalk below with a silent thump. Vampires have hardened bones and a natural ability to fall from tall heights; somewhat like a cat. I began a casual trot along the sidewalk, my new target clear. My course was heading straight to the bar, the place where all of this began. *~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~* I was in front of the bar, waiting for my comrades to show up to help me in subduing my target. They were supposed to be here nearly ten minutes ago, but I was used to them being late by now. It was natural for them to be 'fashionably late', which wasn't always a bad thing since it gave me more time to scout out the area and find hidden entrances and tolls to use, but since I already knew this building inside out, that upside wasn't there. I heard the sound of hooves and I turned to see my three partners coming down the sidewalk, a casual demeanor in their strut. "Hey boss, sorry we're late." Styles said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. They had been my partners for as long as I could remember, we were assigned to a group on the first day, and even if they weren't the brightest, they sure had a way of growing on me. "At least you're here." I huffed with a small smirk before turning back to the bar. "Are you all ready?" I asked as I took a look back at the three who nodded. I turned back to the bar and knocked on the door. "Taking the casual approach are we?" styles asked with a raised brow, I didn't respond, I only listened for anything inside the bar. A few moments passed before a voice spoke up. "Bar's closed, come back tomorrow night." I recognized the voice as Shakes, though I didn't particularly remember her, I knew her voice clearly. I knocked on the door once more. "Fangs out, we want her to know we mean business." I heard the light sound of my comrades bearing there fangs, the sound similar to a sword being drawn, only much shorter and much more quiet. The door opened and Shakes came into view. "Look pal, bar's closed, come back tomor-" She stopped as she finally noticed it was me, but I think what made her shut it was the view of my partners and their fangs. "Hello...Shakes." I said as I cracked a twisted smile, making sure she got a good view of my fangs. She blinked once before slamming the door shut. I didn't move right away, and I even heard her start to pile things against the door. I let out a small laugh, it was always fun to see when they tried to stop you. They would go anywhere from piling bookcases onto the door to hiding under the bed sheets. I turned and nodded to my boys, they nodded and return and split into three different directions. One going up onto of the roof, one going around to the back entrance, the other going to a side window. They weren't the strongest, not by a long shot, but they were strong enough to get the job done. I stayed in front of the bar, trotting up to the bar door and giving at a few knocks to test the thickness. 'Lucky me' I thought to myself 'It's only about an inch thick.' I smiled wickedly as I drew a hoof back, lining it up with the dead middle of the door. "Here we go." I said to myself under my breath as I shot my hoof forwards, and drove it into the door. The door nearly caved in on the first punch, but it held strong. My hoof had gone through the door entirely and landed into the back of a leather bar stool. I pulled my hoof back out with little effort. 'I'll give her props on building a barricade' I thought to myself. I re-lined my hoof once more, intent on breaking the door altogether this time. I drove my hoof back into the hole I had put into the door, this time backing it with more strength than the first. I felt the stool go flying and most everything behind as well. I pulled back out for the last time before driving my hoof back into another section of the door. This time, the door burst, a hole forming in the cent of the door. I smiled wickedly as I climbed through the hole and heard the sounds of my comrades making their way into the building as well. The hunt had begun.