//------------------------------// // 6. // Story: Millennial Redemption // by Hopefullygoodgrammar //------------------------------// This was a bad idea. thought Rip miserably as she looked at Derpy, who was staring back at her with keen interest, She hasn’t said a single word to me...maybe she’s afraid now that she’s alone with me? “So….” said Derpy, startling Rip out of her thoughts and proving her hypothesis wrong with the tone of her sweet voice. “Uhm….vat?” asked Rip. “I bet you can do lots of cool stuff with those.” she said, resting a soft hoof on her fingers. “Ja, I guess I can.” said Rip, lifting her fingers and wiggling them. She let out a breathy giggle when she saw Derpy’s eyes widen. “Woah...that’s pretty cool!” exclaimed the gray mare, “What else can you do with them?” Rip thought for a second, then she loudly cracked her knuckles and performed the only ounce of magic that she could do. “Ewww...doesn’t that hurt?” “Vat?” “Y-you’re taking your thumb off! That doesn’t hurt?” Rip laughed, actually laughed, and shook her head, “Nein, it’s just a trick.” Derpy blushed, then her eyes wandered and she cocked her head. Rip was about to ask her what was wrong when the gray mare suddenly placed a feathery wingtip to the bottom of her exposed foot. Any question that Derpy might’ve had was lost amidst a yelp and a torrent of giggles. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” gasped Derpy, pulling her wing back, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” “No-Heeheeheee-you didn’t hurt me.” giggled Rip, scrunching her toes and blushing, “I’m just really, really ticklish.”   Derpy chuckled at that, then got up next to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. “I haven’t been tickled in a very long time.” said Rip, adding, as a slight afterthought, “And I haven’t been properly hugged in….in…” Derpy took notice of the slight shadow that had come over her new friend’s face and said, “Well I’m huggin’ you now, so get used to it.” Rip giggled and wrapped her arms tightly around her, savoring the warmth that radiated off the undeniably cuddly pegasus. She settled her head on Derpy’s shoulder and closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh as the sounds around her began to quiet, leaving only the sounds of her breathing and the gentle drum beat of her companion’s heartbeat. All was silent. All was calm. And then Rip heard it: the soft sound of Derpy’s blood flowing through her veins. It was such a sweet sound: so soft, yet so utterly enticing. Rip felt her breath catch in her throat as the pounding of Derpy’s heart filled her ears, drowning out all other sounds as the horribly familiar hunger made itself painfully known. No, no, no, no, please...please not now...not here… “Uhmmm….Rip?” The confused and worried voice tore the former-huntress away from her thoughts and she realized that her fangs were hovering a mere inch away from her throat. With a whine that sounded more animalistic than human, Rip hurled herself bodily off the couch, landing painfully on her stomach. Hot bile rose in her throat and she grasped her neck to stop its ascent, but her struggles proved futile and she vomited black bile and off-red blood. Then the darkness, and the nightmares that lurked within, rose up to meet her. Murderer!!                 Demon!  Beast!!                                                     You’ll never be happy and you don’t deserve to be!                                                                               You should burn!! Rip woke up with a strangled scream, scaring Derpy, who had been hovering a few inches away from her, nearly out of her fur. “Sweet Celestia, Rip, are you okay?!” asked Derpy, holding a hoof to her heart. It took a minute for the tearful concern in the mare’s voice to reach Rip through the haze of terror and nausea, but, when it did, she felt guilt drown the rest of her thoughts. The former-huntress looked at the pegasus with eyes that were oozing tears and asked, in a soft voice, “Why?” Derpy, despite her name and airheaded mannerisms, seemed to understand the meaning behind that single word and she cantered closer, laid a hoof on Rip’s arm and said, “I know you didn’t mean to do it, you’re a nice vampire. I bet you’re just really, really, really hungry, am I right?” Rip nodded miserable and withdrew her arm, missing the slight look of saddened disappointment that came over Derpy’s cherubic face. “I’m sorry.” she whimpered, “I’m so, so sorry, Derpy.” “It’s okay.” said Derpy, reaching out and cupping Rip’s trembling chin with a hoof, “We all make mistakes. Are you feeling okay now? Are you still thirsty?” Rip nodded, “Ja, but I can hold it back.” “Are you sure?” asked Derpy, “You seemed pretty sick back there. I think I’ll have Twilight and Fluttershy take a look at you when they get back; maybe Twilight’s magic can help you.” Rip turned to look at the kind mare, “Vhy are you helping me?” Derpy sighed, then she said, in a grim tone, “My eldest daughter Sparkler has very serious depression: She feels worthless, she says that she doesn’t deserve to live, she often talks about how nothing matters and how empty and miserable she feels.” She clasped both hooves around Rip’s hand as she continued. “I cannot even begin to count the times that I’ve had to hold her when she cried when things got bad, or how many times I felt like Sparkler’s condition would lead her to….That. But no matter what happened to her I always helped her through it when she couldn’t do it alone. I was, and always will be there for her.” “And, over the years, I’ve been there for my friends, too. I held Rainbow Dash after the Mare Do Well incident, I dried Twilight’s tears when the winter wrap-up got to be too much for her and I let Fluttershy cry into my shoulder when Gilda bullied her.” Rip looked at her with uncomprehending eyes, “But…. vhat does this have to do with me?” Derpy smiled softly, “What I’m trying to say is that I’ll be there for you when you need me, too, because that’s what friends are for.” Rip went silent as the grave. Derpy blinked, then waved a hand in front of her face, but got no response. Sighing, she turned to go, but stopped when she felt Rip’s hand grasp her leg. The wall-eyed pegasus turned and met the vampire’s pleading stare. “Please, stay with me?” she begged, giving Derpy the most profoundly saddening puppy dog eyes that she had ever seen. Derpy nodded, then motioned for the vampiress to move over on the couch. She spent the rest of the day holding Rip in her wings, stroking her hair and whispering that everything would be okay. And, as the day wore on, Rip actually started to doubt her own rationalizations. As she succumbed to exhaustion and the soothing sounds of Derpy’s voice, she prayed Oh God, please let her be right.