The Vagabond
Discord kept a black carriage should he and the others ever need to make a quick getaway. While they all, of course, could fly, that was not the case in the daytime, and Discord would have to remain within the darkness of the carriage to prevent himself from burning up.
Fluttershy did not want to look at the dark forest, but closing the black curtains would shut her and Spike in complete darkness, so she left them open. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were pulling the carriage, both silent, which allowed Fluttershy to think over what had just occurred.
Discord had revealed his intentions to make her his wife and confessed his love for her, if that's what one could truly call it. She had had no choice but to run. He was a blood-sucking vampire after all, and how could she agree to marry him after knowing him for such a short time? When she had realized Count Discord and the vampire that had been following her were one in the same, she had been so terrified and confused that marriage had been the last thing on her mind.
What would it mean to be a vampire's wife? It would mean becoming a vampire as well. Discord had confirmed that vampires were immortal, so marrying him wouldn't be just "until death, do they part," but for eternity. Vampires also survived on the blood of mortals. Even if Discord had been truthful about them not feeding on ponies, that would mean she would have to feed on other animals, and she could not bear that thought.
And what about the Count himself? His horrible diet aside, she hardly knew anything about him. Sure, they had managed to carry on a conversation tonight, but could she trust him? Did he mean it when he said he was in love with her? If so, it was only because he thought she was beautiful, for that was all he had said about her. Perhaps it was harsh to call him a monster, but what else could she have done in that situation?
"He's not that bad, you know."
Fluttershy glanced at Spike, but did not respond.
"No, really," he continued. "He's not as murderous and bloodthirsty as you may think."
"Yeah!" Rainbow called from the front. "Just because we're vampires doesn't mean we don't have principles! We've never tasted pony blood in our lives!" She paused. "Most of us, anyway."
"And the Master really does want to marry you. He can't help it if he's in love with you."
"I don't understand how you can talk that way about him," Fluttershy said coldly. "I mean he took away your lives and you call him Master. Does he even pay you? You're practically his slaves!"
"Whoa, whoa there!" Rainbow exclaimed, pulling the carriage to a halt. "What gave you that idea? And what gives you the right to talk about the Master that way?"
Fluttershy poked her head out the window to look at her. "Surely none of you wanted to be vampires."
"Actually," Rainbow said as she and Applejack continued onward, "that's exactly what happened. Master Discord didn't force himself upon us. It was our choice. Well, except for Rarity and Applejack. They were…"
"We were bitten by another vampire," Applejack said gruffly, shooting her friend a warning glare. "Let's just leave it at that."
"But why would any of you want to be vampires?" Fluttershy asked. "Why would you want to become blood-drinking mon—?"
She stopped herself, deciding it was best not to say it again.
"In short, it stinks to be a mare in this day and age," Rainbow explained. "No matter where you're from, no matter what your background, it's always the same damn thing." She started speaking in a mocking, high-pitched voice. "'A mare must be dainty! A mare must be delicate! A mare must wear uncomfortable clothing! A mare should get married and have lots and lots of foals! Celestia forbid they should try and make something of themselves!'"
She turned her head back to Fluttershy. "Get the gist?"
Fluttershy nodded, as she had gotten a similar lecture from her aunt numerous times.
"That's the kind of life I had," Rainbow continued, "growing up in a Romane caravan."
"Romane?"
"You know us better as 'gypsies,'" Rainbow growled, "but that's not our proper name. But yes, my mother was a dancer and my father played the flute. My whole life, we traveled in a caravan with some other Romanes. It was exciting, going from place to place, seeing new things. My mother taught me to dance and I learned guitar so I could help bring in more bits."
"So you got to see the whole world?" Fluttershy asked in wonder.
"Yeah." She hung her head. "Then I turned thirteen, and Father figured it was high time I got married."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "At thirteen?!"
"I know, I was late. There was this Romane stallion who had become rich enough to build an enormous mansion. We went to perform there one day. Before I knew it, he and Father were negotiating a bride price! Did I mention the guy was forty? Of course, I had to get out of there! I grabbed whatever food and bits I could and flew as fast as my wings could carry me!
"Unfortunately, I hadn't really thought my plan through. Being on my own meant I had to provide for myself, but I couldn't get a job, because no pony would take a thirteen-year-old filly, especially when she's Romane. I even tried joining the army, then the Wonderbolts, but you can guess how that went. I had to rely on my dance and guitar skills to put bread on the table. You know, if I had a table. But it wasn't enough to put a roof over my head, so I pretty much became a vagabond.
"It was like this for four years. Then one night, about ninety-something years ago, as I was flying over these woods, I caught sight of the most bizarre creature I had ever seen, hunched over the bloody corpse of a…"
She glanced at Fluttershy's horrified face and stopped herself. "Anyway, I was so shocked from what I was seeing that I wasn't thinking. Then the creature looked up and saw me. I flew for my life, but he was fast, faster than anything I had ever seen! I would've been in awe had I not been pinned under him. He said I had seen too much and unless I wanted to suffer from severe memory loss, I was not leaving the forest alive.
"It didn't take long for me to figure out what he was. We Romanes are pretty much experts when it comes to the supernatural—we see some crazy stuff in our travels. So I said, 'Wait, if you're a vampire, does that mean you can turn me into a vampire and give me super cool powers like super strength and super speed?' He was confused at how excited I was, but he said yes. So I asked him to change me."
"Begged him, more like it," Applejacks snorted.
"Shut up, AJ! It's not like there was any point in continuing my so-called life! In this form, I don't have to marry some creep and stay home knitting all day! I can do whatever I want! And if any pony tries to stop me…well, let's just say it wouldn't be a nice day for them."
Rainbow looked back at Fluttershy. "You can guess who that vampire was."
"So," the yellow pegasus responded, "if you hadn't asked the Count to bite you…he would've killed you?!"
"No, no, no! Weren't you listening? He was just going to erase my memory!"
"He wasn't going to do that with me! He said he was going to either kill me or change me!"
"He was probably just cranky 'cuz he hadn't eaten, but Master only feeds on ponies when absolutely necessary. Frankly, I'm glad I met him. He was the first male to treat me like an equal, not some stupid mare. After my transformation, he said I could go anywhere I pleased, but I decided to stay, because by taking my life, he had practically saved it, and I felt indebted to him."
"Why should you feel like you owe him something?"
"That's what loyalty is, being devoted to some pony without expecting anything in return."
Fluttershy tried to get a look at the earth pony. "What about you, Applejack?"
"Discord saved my life too," Applejack murmured, "but he also took away my death."
From the ominous tone in her voice, Fluttershy decided not to ask further. She withdrew her head back into the carriage and turned to Spike.
"I can't marry him," she said softly. "You understand that, don't you?"
The dragon nodded. "He wasn't supposed to tell you tonight. I guess he couldn't hold it in."
"I think ya made the right choice," called Applejack.
"AJ!" Rainbow hissed, nudging her in the side.
"I do! Being a vampire may seem like a step up for you, Rainbow, with all ya have to gain, but don't forget the things you've lost!"
"Ugh, not this again! Look, we're all sorry for what happened to you, but you don't have to bite our heads off just because you were r—"
"SHUT UP!"
The carriage jolted as Applejack pushed sideways into Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy let out a shriek as she jumped in her seat.
"Okay, okay!" Rainbow shouted. "Sorry!"
Spike looked apologetically at Fluttershy.
"Sorry about that," he whispered. "AJ's very sensitive about how she was bitten. You see, she was…"
"I can hear ya, Spike!" Applejack called.
"Darn it! I always forget you guys have super hearing!"
"That's okay," Fluttershy assured him. "I'd rather not know."
"You know something, Fluttershy?" Rainbow said. "I don't entirely blame you for reacting that way to the Master's proposal either. After all, no pony likes to be pressured into marrying some pony they don't love, let alone a complete stranger."
"Thank you."
"But you know he's not gonna give up, right? He's crazy about you. And we all know you're eventually going to…"
"Hush!" Applejack hissed.
"Right. But he's a really nice guy, once you get to know him!"
"And we may be his servants, in a way," said Spike, "but he treats us well."
"And he brings us food when we need it."
Fluttershy shuddered at the image of Discord dragging the corpse of a poor animal into the castle and the vampire maidens hungrily flocking to it with their sharp fangs ready.
She said nothing else the rest of the trip home. She would give the vampires one thing: they were true to their word. Spike opened the carriage door, jumped out and offered Fluttershy his claw with a bow.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"Goodnight, Domnişoară Fluttershy," Spike said, climbing back into the carriage. "We're sorry if we upset you this evening."
"Oh no, you didn't upset me."
"Nevertheless, we offer our humblest apologies, and hope to see you again sometime."
"Oh," Fluttershy said, looking down at her hooves. "I…don't think that will be possible."
Spike sighed. "Fair enough. But really, domnişoară. As terrifying as our master is, you should consider giving him a chance."
And with that, he closed the door and the carriage was off. Once they were out of sight, Fluttershy went up to her mansion and knocked on the door. Coco Pommel was the one who answered it.
"My lady!" she exclaimed. "We were getting worried!"
"Is that my niece?!" Starlight called as she stormed down the hallway. "Fluttershy! I'm writing to that count first thing in the morning, telling him he should hire a more courteous staff! Imagine! Shutting me out! Me! Why, next time we're over there…"
"There isn't going to be a next time, Auntie," Fluttershy muttered.
Her aunt stared at her. "What do you mean? What did you do?!"
"I didn't! I mean…"
She hesitated. How was she going to convince her aunt not to let her see the Count again without revealing that he was a vampire?
"He, um…he…he didn't like me!"
Starlight blinked. "Didn't like you? Now how can that be?"
"He, um…thought I was…he didn't think I was pretty enough!"
There was a long pause and Fluttershy waited for her aunt to accept the fib. Finally, Starlight put her hoof to her head.
"I knew we shouldn't have put your hair up! But did he actually tell you this to your face?"
"Y-Yes."
"How rude! Now I know where his maid gets it!"
"Sorry, Auntie. I tried my best."
"Oh, no, darling, that brute was the one who…" Starlight paused when she caught sight of Fluttershy's neck. "What is that?"
Fluttershy glanced down at the butterfly pendant. She had forgotten she was wearing it.
"Oh, uh, Count Discord gave it to me."
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "If he didn't like you, why did he give you a necklace?"
Fluttershy blushed. "It was, uh…"
"And wait a moment! Where's the necklace you wore earlier?"
Fluttershy had forgotten about that too. So had Rarity, apparently. She was about to explain when her aunt let out a furious grunt.
"You mean to tell me he replaced an expensive, one-of-a-kind emerald necklace with this…this lesser one and kept the first for himself?!"
"Um…"
"Not only ill-mannered, but also a thief! Tomorrow morning, I'm giving that brute a piece of my mind! 'Not pretty enough,' indeed! Don't worry, Fluttershy. You will not be seeing that scum again!"
"Thank you," Fluttershy sighed in relief. "I mean…oh, what a shame."
Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity were standing outside their master's room, listening to the soft sobs echoing within.
"Shouldn't we go in there?" Pinkie wondered aloud.
"Let's give him a few minutes," Twilight replied.
Rarity looked sharply at Pinkie. "You had to show off your bat form, didn't you?!"
"You're blaming me?!" Pinkie exclaimed, placing her hoof dramatically to her chest. "He's the one who decided to talk about marriage on the first date!"
"Let's not start pointing hooves at each other," Twilight said carefully. "What happened tonight is no pony's fault."
"So it's Spike's fault, then?"
"No one's fault. We just weren't ready for this, neither was Fluttershy."
"You're right," Rarity heaved. "Perhaps we should've just started with a casual tea."
They heard hoofsteps and turned to see Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Spike coming up the stairs.
"How's the old guy doing?" Rainbow asked.
On the other side of the door, the sobs grew louder.
"Does that answer your question?" Rarity replied.
"Poor guy," Spike said. "We should try and cheer him up."
"Agreed!" Pinkie piped. "I'll go get the sock puppets!"
"No, everyone," Twilight said. "We have to give him some space."
"Suppose he hurts himself in there?" Applejack questioned.
"He's immortal, remember? The only way he could possibly hurt himself at night is if he had a wooden stake or garlic lying around."
Everyone jumped as they heard a loud bang which repeated over and over again. It sounded like someone banging on piano keys.
"Okay," Twilight said, biting her lip. "Now we should probably go in there."
She opened the door with her magic to find Discord at the piano on the wall, banging his head against the keyboard, his cheeks stained with blood.
"Master?" Twilight called.
Discord groaned as he brought his head down once again without raising it back up. "She hates me."
"She doesn't hate you, Master!" Pinkie piped. "She just…got a little spooked!"
"Even worse. She's afraid of me."
"Now, now, Master," Rarity assured him, though her voice was shaky. "She's not afraid of you specifically…"
"She's just scared of marrying you, that's all!" Pinkie blurted.
Everyone glared at her, making her shrink back in shame.
"Cheer up, Master," Rainbow said. "Just because tonight didn't work out, doesn't mean you should give up on her."
"Yeah," said Spike. "She just needs a little time."
"You kind of took her by surprise with that proposal, but she'll forget about it in a few…"
"What would be the point?" Discord lamented as he leaned back and dangled from the piano bench. "She's never going to love me."
"But she's your mate, Master," Twilight insisted. "Fate has decreed that you two…"
"We have nothing in common!"
"That's not true!" Spike exclaimed. "She liked it when you played piano, and you got along well at dinner!"
"And you don't need to be exactly alike to be in love," said Rarity.
Discord twisted his whole body around so he could shout at them right-side up: "She's an animal lover! I drink animals' blood! And have you seen her! She's an angel! And I'm," he paused to look down at himself, "everything she's not."
"You're not that ugly!" Pinkie snorted.
"What Pinkie Pie means," Rarity said, glaring sideways at the pink pony, "is that you don't have to be good-looking to win her heart."
"I'm not just talking about my looks," Discord muttered sadly. "She's sweet, and kind, and like I said, an angel. I've killed millions of animals and ponies! Why would Fate pair me up with some pony so far out of reach? Even if she did agree to be mine, can you imagine that gentle soul becoming…one of us?"
No one said anything. Discord let out a sorrowful sigh.
"When the sun comes up tomorrow…I'm going out."
Everyone gasped and rushed up to him.
"No, Master, you can't!" Rainbow pleaded.
"You'll burn to a crisp!" Rarity shrieked
"Don't leave us!" Pinkie begged.
"We need you here!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Don't lose hope!" Spike yelled.
"She's just a mare!" Applejack shouted. "She's not worth dying for!"
"If the mare I'm destined to be with doesn't want me," Discord growled as he slunk to the floor, "what is there to live for?!"
"Us!" Pinkie whined, wrapping her hooves around his neck. "We love you, Master! We don't want you to go!"
"You've been so good to us!" Rainbow insisted, kneeling down to him. "We owe everything to you!"
"And don't say you ruined our lives!" Rarity exclaimed, stroking his head. "Because you saved us!"
"As much as I regret having to leave my old life," Applejack said softly, "I don't want ya to go either."
"Don't give up, Master!" Spike begged.
"You might still have a chance with that mare," said Twilight. "Just let us try to bring her back before trying anything drastic!"
Discord looked up at the pleading faces of his devoted friends. They had all stood by him for such a long time, some of them for years. Even though it was his fault most of them were there in the first place, they had never held it against him. He really didn't know what he had done to deserve such loyalty.
He finally sighed and sat up. "Okay. I won't give up just yet, but I need a moment alone now, if you don't mind."
"Of course," Twilight nodded as they began filing out of the room. "Get some rest, Master. It's been a long night."
She waited until he was tucked away in his coffin before closing the door.
"What should we do now?" Pinkie asked as they trotted down the stairs.
"We need to get Fluttershy back," Rarity replied, "and convince her that the Master is not a monster like she said. I know he was rushing things, but really!"
"We tried doing that on the carriage ride to her house," Spike explained. "I think it calmed her down a little, but I'm not sure she's there yet."
"She seemed pretty interested in my story though," said Rainbow. "I was telling her how I'd escaped from an arranged marriage and how I was getting nowhere as a mare until I met Discord and…"
"Hold on," Twilight said, stopping in her tracks. "That's it! If we tell Fluttershy why we were all bitten, and that we stay here on our own accord, she'll see the Master in a new light!"
"You mean we all tell her our life stories?" Pinkie asked.
"Yes. We'll all go one at a time. It might be too overwhelming if we all show up at once."
"Ooh! Can I go first?"
"Maybe you should go first, Twilight," Spike suggested. "You're the voice of reason. You could prepare her."
"I should save mine for last," Rarity cringed. "It's not a pretty tale."
"And she's already heard mine," said Rainbow.
"Applejack?" Twilight asked.
"No."
They all turned to the orange mare, who had a grave expression on her face.
"No," she repeated sternly. "I am not telling her what happened to me."
"Come on, AJ," Rainbow urged. "You've got to."
"We've gotta get Fluttershy and the Master together!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"That's just it!" Applejack snapped. "I don't wanna help! Y'all can do what ya want, but I want no part of it!" She paused. "Then again, maybe I should tell her what happened to me! It'll make her see just why she shouldn't be a vampire!"
She stomped off to her room, not looking back at the others as she slammed the door behind her.
"Poor dear," said Rarity. "I often forget she had it worse than any of us."
"She'll come around," said Twilight. "For now, let's just do what we can to get the Master back with his mate, or else, I'm afraid of what he's going to do if we don't."
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FIRST! Jk, this chapter was my favorite one, just Rainbow's story made my curios about the others!
I want AJ and Rares stories! NOW!
6602027 Patience, Grasshopper. Patience.
6602030 Fine. Fine! I'll wait.
I have the strangest of feelings that it'll be Applejack's backstory that will make Fluttershy decided to join them. I am loving this!
Rainbow's story was interesting. I'd love to hear the others stories. Keep up the good work.
Great chapter, it fits the last one seamlessly, and has me yet again awaiting the next chapter!:yay
On another note, Fluttershy really devestated Discord! Fortunately for him he has such loyal servants, because without them I don't
) . Yup, glad that's all off my chest!
see how they would bring themselves to meet again!
( I can't wait to see how Discord uses the necklace still in his care to his advantage- I really hoped that would have come in this chapter
This is a really interesting story and might I ask where did you get the idea to turn Discord into a vampire?
6602270 It came to me in a dream...
No, really.
First of all nice piece of history you added there its still being practiced but yeah....anyways I'm getting Christmas Carol Vibes off of this This...is gonna be fun
and I still stand by my theory about applejacks story ah Fluttercord and all of its fluttercord goodness I believe I like it so much because they're relationship represents Balance to me Yin and Yang yeah...But that's appealing to me and thanks for starting a monster bride of discord was the first fluttercord thing I saw and though skeptical at first I grow to love fluttercord
Your doing National Novel Writing Month too? That's Awesome! Good Luck, I'm doing the Young Authors Writing Month that let's me set a goal instead of the 50k amount. I know you'll do great at it!
I've mostly figured out AJ's story anyway. Or, at least I think I have.
I'm really curious for Pinkie and Twilight's, though.
Huh, never thought I'd hear Rainbow Dash say that about Discord, although with the new episode coming up I'm looking forward to seeing how he interacts with the mane 6, besides Twilight and Fluttershy, individually.
Anypony else find it ironic that the rest of the Mane Six and Spike are trying to convince Fluttershy to give Discord a chance?
6603413 Yeah, it's kind of weird isn't it?
Hmm...
So, if my suspicions are correct and Trenderhoof is the one who...well, raped Applejack...then he's also a vampire...? I might need to reread this! There's soo much suspense!
6602034 you know she's going to hook up Applejacks and spikes child with ratites, right?
let me guess. both Rarity and Applejack were tricked into loving and bit by Count Trenderhoof and then Applejack tried to kill herself and it somehow all fit into Discord "Saving" her and taking her in.
Good luck with the national novel writing month! I'm doing the young writers programme, but I don't need to do nearly as much, so I hope you reach your target!
6602281 Dreams can be very inspiring. That is awesome
6604156 She'll try.
6604832 How much do you have to do for the young writers one?
Whoa, AJ's past must be really bad... She's so dark in this one...
I've been waiting forever for updates and finally I find not only one, but three! Yes! Thank you!!
and she could not bear that thought.
Pun intended?
Also noooooooo!!!! AJ you have to tell your story!!!!!!!! I neeeeeeeeed to know!!!!!!!
Twinkie Pie is my OTP, but this is turning out nicely.
Oh dear! "We're going for ride!"
7683552 Nice Joke
I was right the first time!
Though if Count Th was a vampire, could he do that?
Rainbow you bloody liar! You've had a donor for months!
And pun, very much intended,
WhOa wHoA THERE RAINBOW WATCH YOUR MOUTH!!!
did ya get hungry here or what Disneyfanatic?
missing quotation mark