//------------------------------// // Outplayed // Story: Vampire the Masquerade: Equestria // by Rysthcrg //------------------------------// I felt the agonizing sensation of my neck snapping. I could feel the pain in every part of my body, from toes to the fingertips. However, I knew I had to fix my head's positioning. I moved my hands to my head and slowly started to twist it back to its position. Every crack sent waves of excruciating pain through my body. By the time I could sit up tears, or blood drops, had already found their way down my cheeks. I held my head still for a while and then fixed my dislocated jaw. I was going to talk but I felt something in my mouth. My teeth? I spit them out, they were indeed teeth. I knew it was Charming who delivered this exteremely efficient blow. But how? "Holy hell Charming! What was that?" She looked at me, reliefed. "I had to wake you up. Candle Light, head researcher of the Bright Magic Department, she is suspecting us." Wake me up? She must have took my confusion in the wrong way. Because she started to explain something else. "While you were in that trance, I sent them back, but she asked me what I was doing before being promoted. I think she might be heading to Matter Transmission Laboratory." I realized what happened, I was captivated by my clan's curse. I had no idea for how long I stared at that pegasus. Meanwhile, the head researchers must have come to see me. I felt angry at myself, at my blood. How could I be so weak? If there was a Ventrue in my place, he would have been the owner of this facility by now. No wonder why they call us degenerates. I realized Charming was expecting a response for her query. "It's alright. Let her do what she wants. Grim tied all the loose ends. All she will find is going to be an empty room and missing ponies. If she asks, Mister Excellence wanted me to shut down your program so I fired them." Just then I noticed the peculiarity of the previous event. "How could you broke my neck with a punch? Have you learned the usage of some dicipline?" She was puzzled. I shouldn't have expected her to understand. "You must have, but which one?" She looked uneasy. "What is a dicipline?" "Diciplines are powers possessed by my kind." That was a rough explanation, but I didn't want to spend much time on the details. "Whichever one you just used, it allowed you to scatter me." Her face assumed an accusing impression. "You said I wouldn't become a vampire." I wanted to wreak my anger on her for accusing me, but I dissipated the feeling with a laugh. She, afterall, has no reason to trust me. "You are not becoming a vampire, all you need to do is stop drinking my blood and you are good to go." I turned to the pegasus girl who was in front of me. So, I was staring at you the whole time. "I was about to ask your name." She seemed afraid, she was studdering. "I-it's Serene S-stream." I reached for her mane and started stroking. She was shaking at this point. "P-please..." I knew a way to put an end to her fear. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." I bit my wrist and turned the wound to her to see. "I want you to drink this." She looked at me, then to the wound. She was a bit hesitant but she was complying. "No, don't!" Edge's voice filled the room making me finally snap. "Your insolence is starting to irritate me, Edge." I didn't raise my voice but my tone was unintentionally promising a violent death. He backed away. That's enough child's play. I turned my attention back to Serene. "Drink, now." She showed no hesitation this time. I knew it was not ideal to express my anger but considering how easily they followed my orders, maybe this is what I need. I saw Charming with the corner of my eye, her head was looking down, she was breathing heavily. She raised her head and looked at me. Her pupils were shrinked and there was thin, black circles around her eyes. Her ears looked pointy. I wasn't feeling the slightest bit of anger anymore. I removed my wrist from Serene's mouth. She saw Charming and gasped, I closed her mouth with my hand and motioned Edge to come closer. Could this be?... He was focused on Charming too, but he noticed my movement and started walking towards me. He was shaking with every step he took. Let's put it to a test. I moved my wrist closer to him, he didn't even need any ordering, he just started drinking without a word. Charming's breathing got heavier. There was no doubt, she was struggling againts a frenzy. So that's what a frenzied pony looks like. I pulled my wrist back and started waiting. If she was going to attack, it wouldn't be hard for me to stop her. Edge and Serene were behind me, hiding from her. If the situation wasn't this serious, I would laugh at the irony. Fortunately she went back to normal in a minute. I heard Serene sighing in relief. Charming was looking at Serene and Edge. Her eyes went wide for a second. Did she realized what just happened? She looked at me and I spoke. "Say, Charming. Would you like some aswell?" She looked at me like she was going to refuse. If that was the case, I had every intention to force her. I couldn't have her go in a frenzy. But she didn't. "Yes, p-please." Her voice was needy, almost begging. I couldn't help but smile, thinking how well my gift worked on her. I extended my arm and she leaped with hunger. I could only hope for it to work this well on the others too. Candle Light was walking her way to the Interdimensional Matter Tranmission Laboratory. She was going to have a talk with the pony in charge to get some insight on Charming Star's unexpected promotion. When she turned the last corner she saw a masked unicorn carving symbols around the doors of the laboratory. Unicorn was probably a blood mage, judging from the mask. She walked closer to get a better sight of the symbols. They looked like magical runes. "What are you doing?" Candle Light asked the unicorn who didn't acknowledge her existance. "Usage of magic outside laboratories is limited to telekinesis and teleportation in this facility. Explain your behavior." Unicorn didn't stop carving and gave no sign of awareness. "Hey I'm talking to you!" Candle grasped the unicorn's shoulder and forced him to an eye contact, but there was no holes on the mask for him to see. It was a single piece of white porcelain with only one hole for his horn which was glowing red at the moment. Candle Light dodged the beam, teleporting behind the unicorn. "What do you think you are doing!" Unicorn turned around while swinging the magical beam. Candle deflected it with an energy shield. She opened her mouth to talk again but unicorn had no intent to let her do that. Multiple beams rained on and around her, forcing her to teleport again. She was behing the unicorn again, he was turning around. This time she attacked with a beam of her own. Beam his his mask and shattered it, pushing the unicorn back a few steps. She revolted in the sight of the unicorn's face. His mouth was stitched closed with some kind of metallic string. Unicorn was trying to open his mouth to no avail. His eye sockets were absent of any eyes. They were empty but there was a dark heap in them Candle couldn't see through. His skin was streched on his bones. Candle wasn't sure if he could open his mouth even without the stitches. This... thing. It can't be alive. Unicorn's horn started glowing again. Candle readied herself for another attack, but the glowing stopped. A pair of red eyes opened deep inside the sockets. Candle Light gasped while trying to walk backwards, only to tackle herself to the ground. The eyes came forward in the sockets and took their appropriate place. Stitches unraveled and disappeared into unicorn's flesh revealing long, slender teeth. His streched skins started to swell. Process uncovered a familiar face. "G-Grim?" Grim's eyes focused of her. "Candy?" Candle Light narrowed her eyes at the name. "Good thing I arrived before one of you destroyed the other." "What was that thing Grim?" She stood up and started walking towards Grim. "Why were you in it?" Grim chuckled. "I wasn't in it silly. I was in my laboratory." Candle Light looked confused. Grim touched his chest. "I call these shells. They are bodies of dead ponies, animated by a spell of my own creation. I am able to travel between them by infesting the body. Quite remarkable, don't you think?" Candle frowned. "More like disgusting." Grim rolled his eyes. "What was it doing here anyway? What's up with those runes?" Grim stared at her for a few seconds. "What were you doing here? Don't you have like a lab to deal with?" Both of them were slowly tensing up. "I was going to talk with the pony in charge of this laboratory." She said after a few seconds of silence. They were standing still, waiting for a move from the other. "Come with me." Grim talked and started walking towards the laboratory. Candle followed him inside. "What was that spell of yours? Memories of time?" "Time's memories." Candle answered. "Use it." Candle wanted to ask why, but she figured she would find out. Her horn started glowing and the room became a faint reflection of itself. "What am I looking for?" Grim thought for a second. "Go two hours back." Ghostly images of six ponies appeared in the room, they were in a friendly conversation. "Speed it up." Six ponies gathered in a semi circle and began chanting the incantation. Candle slowed the images down to a normal speed. Six beams hit the ground, intersecting with each other and ripping throught the fabric of reality. A dead body materialized above the rift. Its eyes were collapsed in their sockets and its was opened with a last scream of pain. It was wearing a red shirt with black pants. "Is it..." Grim's motion towards the body cut her off. Its head was moving! It opened its eyes, revealing nothing but two crushed scleras. Obviously, it was blind. But despite that it pounced on the talking pony with great percision, biting him in the abdomen. Candle gasped. Pony tried to shake it off, but its grasp was too strong. Others were trying to get a clear shot but they couldn't do it before the bitten pony collapsed on the ground. Candle saw Charming firing a beam that hit the beast in the head and sent it flying across the room, but the creature stood up like nothing happened. It was him, it was the new manager! Part of his head was burned by the beam, but he didn't seem any weaker. "How can he still stand after a blow like that to the head." Candle asked Grim. Grim chuckled. "Only if you knew..." Beast's sudden attack interrupted their conversation. They have only seen a blur and two ponies were already sprawled on the floor. They watched the blur as it jumped from pony to pony. Cracking sounds filled the room each time the blur reached another pony, knocking them out. A few seconds later, beast was already killed all of them except Charming. He was holding her tight and her mouth closed to prevent her from screaming. Candle stopped the spell. She was trying to digest the things she just saw. "W-with his bare hands..." She exhaled a shakely breath. "How? Why?" She asked. "Why would he do this?" "My guess, he did it in self defence." Candle looked at him in disbelief. "He was the one who attacked at the first place!" Grim shook his head. "He was hungry and blind." Candle gave him a confused look. "Don't tell me you didn't see his canine teeth." Candle shook his head. "What is he?" She asked Grim. "I don't know." He grinned. "He is a useful asset. That, I know." Candle looked shocked. "How can you say that? He could break you like a twig and wouldn't feel a shred of remorse." "Lets just say that we talked about his monstrosity and it went well." Candle Light was angry. "You are sick, Gale. You are disgusting." She turned back and started walking towards the exit. "I will stop him, don't even think about standing in my way." "You might want to know something before you start to pursue your goal, Candy." She stopped but didn't turn around. "I suspect he is, quite literally, immortal." Candle looked back at him. "What do you mean immortal?" "Steel Hoof buried a sword in his skull." Candle's eyes widened. "He just stood up, pulled the sword free and killed him along with his two ponies, captured another two. Meanwhile his head was rapidly regenerating like nothing happened at all. I am pretty sure he would survive any trick you or anypony else in this facility could pull off." Candle turned to Grim and sat on the floor, her head in her hooves. "What will we do then?" "Nothing." He walked pass the white unicorn, exiting the room and returning back to rune carving. "He is not dangerous unless opposed. He only wants to take control of this place. Let him have it." "Where are their bodies?" Candle asked with hesitation. Grim stopped carving for a moment. "Disposed." "Where?" She gave him a stern look which made Grim chuckle. He took a few steps back and his horn glowed. Candle readied herself for his attack, but it never came. Runes shined with a dim, red light. "Stay here while I discuss your fate with my asset, would you?" Candle Light screamed something but no sound came through the runes. She fired a beam but it was absorbed by an invisible wall. "I truly wish he doesn't kill you. I liked working with you, Candy." With that he was gone, leaving only the shell behind. It looked at Candle Light with empty eyes and slowly closed the door. Candle Light was panicking. She had just realized that teleportation was not allowed by those runes either. It was a painful experience, resulting in a really bad headache. If she was to stay here she was going to be killed. I need to get out. I have to get out. Oh, Celestia help me! She started punching the invisible wall created by the runes. She was about to cry. Please, somepony, anypony, save me, please. She sat down on the stone ground and held her head in her hooves. There was no getting out of here. This... was her end. She was taking deep and rapid breaths. Her heart felt like it was going to rip out of her chest. Then an idea popped into her mind. This shield was keeping her from teleporting out, but if the beast wanted to come in, Grim had to deactivate it and in that few short moments she could escape. I need to be calm. Magic requires concentration. She tried to regulate her breathing and focus on the spell she was going to use for her escape. Relax. It will work, I will get out. When the door opened she was ready to teleport out. Beast and Grim were both on the otherside of the shield. "So I can just walk through it if I am wearing this pendant?" He pointed at a ruby necklace around his neck. World crushed down on Candle. "Correct, you can just walk right in." Grim answered. "Shield will be no different than air for you." It was all over now. The shield was to stay and she was going to die. Tears gathered in her eyes. She was shaking. I can't breathe. Her heart was pounding again. She started moving away from the door, from that monster. She tried to prepare an attack spell but she could't concentrate. "That is when I finished my work on the pendant of course." Grim deactivated the shield.