Vampires, Punk Rock, and other Equestrian secrets

by Inkheart_tails

The dream

Sapphire and Inkheart had been searching for a long while, and though they hadn't found their target yet, they had found out a lot more about this place.
It was called the Underground, and it was a place where those who didn't fit in in Canterlot- no, those who didn't fit in in Equestria - could live happily. Bat ponies could be up and about any time of day without the sun hurting their eyes and delicate skin. Zebras could live peacefully and make their unique magic without dealing with the crowds, noise, and questioning of the Canterlot ponies who didn't disguise their thinking of them being an odd novelty. Social deviants like “rock stars”,“goths”, and “nerds” that Vinyl told them about wouldn't be judged or given too much attention for dressing, appearing, and acting however they pleased. There were all kinds of things- from concert halls to dance clubs, weapon shops and game stores, homes of hippogriffs and zebras, bat ponies, deer, and rockers. There was even a sort of “black market” that Sapphire made note to investigate later.
All of this was made more impressive by the wealth of crystals that provided gentle lighting to the tunnels. Some had been carved into intricate sculptures and fountains. Many of the smaller crystals had been moved to line the streets in front of the buildings so they could be seen without the bat ponies’ night vision. Most of the crystals had been left in their original position, lining the walls and sparkling brilliantly.
“Why hasn't this place been found?” Inkheart asked. “Aren't there ponies who could use their magic to find crystals and end up here?”
Vinyl shrugged. “There's more under the castle too. Most peeps guess that it's magically hidden.”
“This is… Impossible! How long has it been here?” Sapphire asked.
Vinyl shrugged again and they kept walking. At this point, Sapphire and Inkheart were more comfortable with the environment and were able to walk faster. They'd come across some guard homes, marked with a special insignia; a black moon with a sword over it. Nobody pony had responded, and Sapphire had suggested that they start trying forced entry soon.
However, they wouldn't have to, because Vinyl prodded them and pointed over at a pony who, in a place like this, stood out far more than in the streets of Canterlot. The Sandmare had just exited a guard’s house and was trying to casually make her way to another elevator. She didn’t make it far- Sapphire flew towards her with speed that Inkheart had never guessed was possible, bowling her over and sending both ponies into a wild tangle of limbs and screaming.
“What are you doing?!” She asked incredulously, clearly not catching on to the fact that Sapphire knew who she was.
“I am apprehending you, of course. You are under arrest for threaten-” Sapphire didn’t get to finish, as she was swiftly kicked in the face as the Sandmare realized her blunder.
“Damn, why aren’t you asleep, you blasphemous freak of nature!” The ponies switched positions, wrestling out from underneath eachother a few times.
“ I cannot sleep when my lady calls, for that would be the blasphemy.”
The Sandmare looked her over and chuckled. “Wait, I know which one you are… More of an abomination than the rest of your kind, you filthy-”
A voice called out from within Sapphire, and she punched the Sandmare in the face, the first blow she had fully returned. This only caused her enemy to laugh manically before a powerful burst of magic caused her to vanish. Sapphire fell back, holding her head in her hooves.
Ink appeared beside Sapphire, gasping for breath from the dash over. “Are…*huff*...You…*cough* Alright?” she sputtered out.
“No…. She escaped… I… OW!” Sapphire went silent and held her head again, her eyes shutting tight. “No, no, no….”
Good job! I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you to fight back that violently
“What is it?” Inkheart asked. “Do you have a concussion or something? I can get you to a-”
“NO!” Sapphire shouted suddenly. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Her eyes flashed an odd color and she closed them tight, forcing herself to the ground
Ink shrunk back, surprised and a little hurt at the sudden loud reprimand.
“But you... “ Inkheart spoke more hesitantly “You s-seem hurt, you ought to take care of yourself…”
Even so, you know you can’t do this on your own
“ I… Am… F-fine…” Sapphire wobbled and fell upon attempting to get up.
“Sapphire!”
“Just… fine….” Sapphire closed her eyes and fell silent upon the ground.
Inkheart frantically attempted to lift Sapphire, looking at her face and shaking her a little. She was completely passed out.

“Sapphire….. What am I gonna do?’ Inkheart set her down and looked to Vinyl Scratch, who was standing awestruck on the sidelines with a gaping mouth. “Can you… Can you keep an eye on her? I need to follow that unicorn.”
Vinyl Scratch nodded dutifully, making her way to Sapphire’s side. Inkheart, understanding that Vinyl had a handle on the situation, thanked her and set off running.
She had to tell the princess, and fast. She had to stop this madness while she still had any power to… Her adrenaline sped her course, and she made it to the elevator many times faster than she had made her way away from it.

Far behind her now, there was a battle going on within the bat pony she had left behind…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was hard to amaze Rough Sketch. He had really seen a lot, and he’d only served the watch for two years. He’d seen so much peril that he would hardly blink an eye at a host of zombies or a haunted room in the castle. But Luna’s behaviour had grown completely and utterly terrifying to him.

Luna was now writhing and yelling like a pony possessed. She’d knocked over her desk, spilling ink and papers all about and causing the owl to flutter into the air and screech. Afterwards, she’d thrown her bed into disorder, forcing Sketch to flee from it. Luna had paused briefly a few minutes ago, and Sketch had almost had time to process relief, but she soon started again just as intensely.

Rough Sketch wouldn’t have minded as much, he was sure, if he didn’t care so much about the princess and the situation. “What am I s’posed to do...? I wish you could tell me…” Sketch muttered.

Soon, in the oddest of ways, he got his wish. Luna’s magic appeared before him in a thin white line. He tilted his head in confusion and watched as it contorted to form words, which he read along with aloud.

“G-E-T… Get… Help… Too Late… Fly…” His heartbeat sped up with each word, prompting him to complete the task. With the speed of a bullet, he shot out the window. “Don’t worry, Luna!” He shouted back to her, hoping she could hear. “I’ll get them, before it’s too late..”

The owl, assuming he was fleeing for his life, flew after him without hesitation.

Sketch flew like he’d scarcely flown before, fueled by panic and desperation. He took little notice of the owl, or the city below, or anything. Sketch was focused on his intention to stop the danger and to save the Princess. Ponies below stopped and stared in shock at his incredible speed, asking each other if they’d heard that there was going to be a Wonderbolts performance today. No wind or leftover cloud could slow his progress, he was now a machine of flight.

Nothing, of course, save for a proportionately panicked pegasus. Inkheart was flying in the same direction, unaware that she too was being sought out.

The two alarmed and desperate pegasi slammed into each other full-force, almost falling all the way to the ground when coming away from the impact. After falling and catching themselves, they both began to sputter desperately their separate bad news.

“Sapphire has-”

“Luna needs-”

“The sandmare!”

“It’s-”

“Too late!” They shouted in alarmed unison. The two looked over each other, still gasping for air, and processed what the other had been trying to say.

“No, she cant’ve…”

“Already? How…?”

They both stopped in flight and lowered to the ground slowly.

“What are we going to do?” Inkheart asked. “We can’t track her easy enough, and none of us can do dream magic…”

“Let’s just get back to Luna for now”, Sketch reasoned. “She said she needed your help, maybe everything will be fine if we just get back to her fast enough. “

Inkheart hesitated. If they wasted too much time trying to help Luna and couldn’t, it would put them at a greater risk for not finding the Sandmare. If they didn’t help Luna, though, there was still a chance that things could get a lot worse…… Inkheart sighed heavily, looking back at Sketch. “Let’s get back to the princess.”

Now a team, they flew back the way Sketch had flown, worry and despair weighing down their wings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire stood alone on the dream plane, the voice that had been fighting her briefly quieted. She knew, however, that it would not remain that way for long.The dream world was presently appearing to her as a grassy valley, with a clear and starry night sky above. “Where are you?” Sapphire called out into the plane. “What do you want?” As her hooves moved further through the crisp grass, she wondered at the persistent silence. She walked and walked, and there was still nopony around.
How odd, she thought. Usually she would’ve shown by now
A gentle breeze stirred the grass. Sapphire continued walking, searching for any sign of the voice’s owner. The silence was becoming rather eerie, and Sapphire felt as though ice was running down her spine. A light mist sprayed up from the ground as a result of the wind, but didn’t stop Sapphire’s walking. As Sapphire walked on through her dream, she began to notice the ground becoming soft and moist beneath her hooves.It seemed she had reached a marshland. After a while, she noticed her hooves had become downright sodden and stopped to shake them off.
Glancing at her hoof in the moonlight, she let out a caterwaul of terror.
Her hoof was soaked and dripping with warm, sticky blood.
Oh, what’s the matter? You know you like the stuff. It’s only natural. The voice finally appeared again.
“I-I…” Sapphire was shaking with fear. She looked around herself, the scene around her transforming before her eyes. The ground, formerly clean, became covered in flowing rivers of blood. The sky became pitch black, the stars all vanishing one by one. The moon still shone, but it had turned completely red. The grass began dying, and the smell of the blood became inescapable as the air became thick and warm with the scent.

An apparition appeared before Sapphire… No, not an apparition. This pony was just as real as Sapphire was, and she feared her. It had been so long, but it had been too much to hope for that she might have vanished completely.
“I knew you had been quiet for far too long….” Sapphire said, still shaking as she looked before her.
The pony in front of her simply laughed, her eyes glowing a sinister red. “You've had your peace, now it's time for me to take over and handle this.”
“No, I shan't let you!” Sapphire shouted.
The pony growled, her eyes still aglow. “Not even now, when ya need me? Geez, you really are a dumbass. “ she smiled and stepped towards Sapphire. “Still, though, there's no way you can fight me after leavin’ me to build up strength for so long.”
Sapphire stepped back, but wasn't ready when the other pony leapt upon her and attacked.
It was all over now.

Author's Note:

So... This is a big chapter! Well, bigger than the others anyway. (Which I would've liked to be longer wordwise. Be prepared for a steady increase) I didn't mean for three to be so many illustrations in this one either, it's mostly because I'm trying to get all the characters shown and turn up the atmosphere a little. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Vinyl is a vampire in this story, right? What about Octavia?

[Inkheart_tails]

6653434
Actually, as much as I really love Vampire Vinyl Scratch ("My roommate is a vampire" was the first story I read on FIMfiction, many years ago) I hadn't planned on her being a vampire in this story. The vampires are actually other characters- including Sapphire Song and her other self that will be revealed very soon . With that said, it's not impossible that I'll change my mind... I do love me some vamp vinyl.
Octavia... I'm not really sure. I'm thinking of either keeping her a normal pony or maybe doing something else. Who knows