Vampire Fruit Bat ponies are just fairytale monsters, right?
Wrong.
It's only a few weeks to Nightmare Night, and Vampire Fruit Bat ponies are already pullulating and proliferating among the shadowy corners of Canterlot City.
An intrepid Pegasus Swordsmare, one of the best duelists in all of Canterlot, finds herself thrust into the frontlines of a fight for the very future of Equestria itself.
The hidden hand of the Vampire Fruit Bats claws at the heart of the city.
[DRAMATIS PERSONAE]
Professor Deborah belongs to Scoots2.
Leo belongs to Burst.
Alsvid belongs to myself, naturally.
SOUNDTRACK:
Intro/Steel Blade - Jean Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKtHi8mK8t0
Claret's Theme/You Won't See Me Coming - Jean-Jacques Burnel and the Stranglers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtkZLuJ23HQ
The Vampire and the Professor(Battle Theme)/Navras - Juno Reactor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9s18rUaubc'
The Demons Attack!/Das Omen - E Nomine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlRgD3nKsf8
Wow, this account lives!
7615960
Thank you!
This is a cute seasonal little practice story to exercise my skills and stretch my legs before I resume my other projects, so I didn't think I did very well with it; I am pleasantly surprised to find out that you liked it!
And, yes, the Professor is a stern female knight indeed, just as you said. BRACE yourself; a chapter is coming tonight.
7616988
Yes!
I also feel I should explain some of the weirdness to ensure all my readers are on the ball:
When I was making this fic, I was wondering what Claret should look like.
I then went to the deli nearest to my house to get some Boar's Head chicken, and saw a white girl manning the cashier's desk; she had unusually pale white skin, a very sharp, long, nose, and deep, long black hair. She was quite slender. As I observed her, I thought of making a joke along the lines of "You should be a vampire for Halloween!"
Then it clicked: she should be the model for Claret, the Red Apple Countess.
I don't have a picture of her to share with my fellow internet people, but this Hungarian model roughly looks like her:
s17.postimg.org/kemjx7g8v/th_id_OIP_M054f84b236b5246accbcf288a71e7cf7o1_pi.jpg
Julia Cornelia Scipio is based on Raven Hex, hence her proclivities towards wearing a crown and a bikini.
s17.postimg.org/5svj8yjgf/ravenheader1.jpg
Poppaea Sabina is named after Roman Emperor Nero's wife. She also faintly looks like Nero's wife.
However, she wears the bodysuit-styled armor and weapons of Masane Amaha from Witchblade.
s17.postimg.org/cklybt8fz/masane_2.jpg
All three of them live in a Roman Villa. Julia shares names with important Roman historical figures, but I'll leave that for my readers to figure out on their own.
I feel like every time we get reminded these are fruit vampires, not blood-drinking vampires, it undoes so much of the terror factor that the story has built up.
Its like they instantly go from supernatural, apex predators, which is scary, to violent, half-naked, oversexualized vegans, which is kind of funny.
Maybe that's just me.
7619547
No, you're right. It's not just you: It is me having a wink and a nod at the reader and reminding everyone that, even though they will maul you, they're not really that dangerous.
I felt the same way, too, actually. I even seriously considered making them genuine, actual vampires. I don't think I actually showed them sucking apples, which I had only alluded to thus far.
You know what it is? I'm trying not to be too dark. At its heart, it's really just a spooky Halloween fun story where The Professor fights some exhibitionist vampire fruit bats with a sword. I admit I am trying to do it up as seriously as possible and make the readers feel Deborah and her friends are in at least a slight veneer of danger, and present the Countess Claret as a bad person.
You can discern that I'm being humorous, what with things like Skeletons (le spooky SKELETONS!!!1) and bikini-wearing vampiresses. It is, however, juxtaposed with actual danger - the aforementioned violence you speak of - and the generally disturbing attitudes of the Apple Countess Claret.
I am glad that you felt the premise would make a really chilling tale if I filed the comedy portion off this horror comedy!
Welcome! Glad you came along for the ride. I hope you were amused, at least, and that I provided a quick diversion for you.
7620571
7620571
Brother, you haven't seen anything yet. She is, indeed, an exquisitely evil individual.
Check this out, btw.
7628033
Yes, they are innocent bystanders. They don't deserve their fate, but, as tends to happen, you can get dragged into circumstances beyond your own control.
A quick funny tale related to the concept of this fic:
I went to go get an energy drink today at that deli where I noticed the thin, pale white girl who served as my model for Claret, and bumped into her again when I went to pay for my stuff. Now, I'm a busy person and don't have time to sit around the deli drinking coffee and talking about trucks like the other old guys who come to the deli just to ogle the girls there, so I didn't really expect to see her again. I was quite surprised.
She was being supported by a chubby blonde white girl who could have been Junebug in human form, and to make things more coincidental, she asked 'Claret' - as I shall nickname the thin dark haired vampiric looking white girl - "Why are you so sleepy?'
"Because she's a vampire fruit bat posing as a human," I thought to myself, amusedly.
I briefly thought of telling 'Claret' that I was working on a story where she is a feature character and that I needed her to put on a leather corset and gesture grandly while making speeches about vampire supremacy to fuel my creativity, but I wouldn't even know how to break that to someone. And anyway my life isn't a romantic 1980's comedy like "When Harry Met Sally" or "Sleepless in Seattle".
The next chapter is coming Monday!
7630060
I know, right?
It rained today, so they let us leave work early. Next chapter may drop tonight.
7633446
I am glad you found this subplot appealing!
I have your own artwork to thank for that. I drew on the "rusted, destroyed" arms and armament Spike has in your pictures and decided to tackle WHY he looks like that. So that was served up to me on a nice little silver platter.
I also drew on actual medieval history for that; the French Knights ruthlessly slaughtered some Genoese mercenaries at Crecy for retreating, which is alluded to with that story Spike recalls. Being a mercenary in the Middle Ages was dirty, difficult, often thankless work.
I felt that dovetailed nicely with what you had told me a long time ago about Leo and Spike being not on exceptionally good terms with the Equestrian State. I am convinced you planned all of it in advance.
At the top-level this story is a medieval-themed horror story, kinda like a certain subplot from A Song Of Ice and Fire; a female Pegasus knight-errant professor and her companion fight unseemly hellish vampires and demons with swords.
I am trying to keep the chapters small and trim, or I would have introduced the soldiers of the mercenary company in this chapter.
I deliberated for about an hour or more over his surname, so I am relieved to hear the effort paid off. You can keep it if you like with my blessing, although I am sure he already has one.
Some more director's commentary from the DVD menu(heh):
1.) Claret quotes the Shakespeare tragedy play Richard III.
2.) There is the potential for Spike to be caught up with a love triangle between Rarity and Twilight.
7633649
I must admit to my faults - I disobeyed your artwork in one small detail - Leo is heavily muscled as in the pictures OTHER people did of him. Sorry. Naughty of me, I know. It really does seem like we've taken the idea of Leo being as chiseled and muscular as a Greek God and run away with it entirely.
I keep nervously waiting for someone to ask me, "Goddamn it, Alsvid, why is everyone in your stories either a sexy girl or a hot guy?"
Even Spike isn't safe from being made attractive - I made him into a hot, skinny athletic male anthropomorphized dragon, kinda like the male love interest in a young adult novel.
7636022
Yep!
She has a very spacey look and feel, so I made her Intergalactic.
One day I'll explain about how Leo is secretly Han Solo from Star Wars in another fic. That was a joke! A joke! Don't kill me!
7637116
Glad you asked! You want them for your work? They're all yours. Use them as you like.
I'm not sure how large Leo's mercenary company is in your official main storyline where he is a key player, but in this particular storyline, his total force is somewhere around 300+ souls. Spike leads one subdivision, Jennever commands another, and Giulietta commands the third. They all compliment each other; Jennever's ranged artillery softens up the enemy while Spike closes with and engages the enemy, and Giulietta's shock troops blindside the enemy while they're confused and enraged by Jennever and Spike's assault
They both wear clothes similar to what Leo wears, but they are also inspired by the Army of Humanity's soldiers in Attack on Titan.
capsulecomputers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Sasha-braus-23.jpg
images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/37600000/Annie-Leonhardt-shingeki-no-kyojin-attack-on-titan-37659643-495-660.jpg
Look, it's Jennever and Giulietta!
7637139
7637139
A longsword and his firey breath, so far. He can also fight with his bare hands - paws, really, since he's a dragon, and his tail.
7637153
Ah, splendid, thank you. You know, I was upset about him using a sword as well, since Giulietta also using a sword makes him kinda redundant. This will prove useful.
7637181
This helps a lot. Not only does it suit him, but it makes his contribution to the company unique. People won't confuse him and Giulietta now!
It sounds like you've been having a lot of fun with the idea of Leo's company numbering in the hundreds. I know that when you told me about his venture with Spike that you didn't specify numbers, but I always kinda assumed that they had a band of at least a hundred at their back, all rogue and ne'er-do-wells like Giulietta and Jennever. I'm sure there's lots of ponies, dragons, etc., who can't find any useful employment, and there's no end of noble ponies who want to hire mercenaries, being as this is a quasi-feudal society, so it wouldn't be hard for Leo and Spike to raise a group of sellswords. There would also be troublesome foreigners who don't want to integrate into Equestrian society, like, say, Alsvid.
That is my rationale in my particular stories, anyway.
It also sounds like you're entertained by the light, fluffy scenes where Leo and the Professor flirt with each other.
7637248
Good! I'm trying to strike a nice balance between moments of raw violence and some semblance of normality. It is not a world where everything is horrible and bad things are happening everyday - however, if Claret gets her way it could end up like that.
It also increases the sense of there being a threat hanging over everyone's heads - if gruesome horribleness was the norm, none of the characters should care about what is happening.
7642153
Yes, it's basically building up one of those fancy Invasion Episodes in the show, like the Lord Tirek or Queen Chrysalis or Nightmare Moon episodes, except instead of a male demon like Tirek, you have Zanny and her girls. As George Lucas would say, it's like poetry, it rhymes; The Professor increased the size of her personal army with Leo and her consort Sir Michael's respective forces, so Countess Claret did likewise.
Zanny is named after the zanni of Italian Commedia Dell'Arte, and also after a certain demon in the Abrahamic religions. The City of GEHIRN, which is German for 'brain', is also a reference to the Abrahamic religions, and the City of Dis in Dante's Inferno, where he goes to hell and does a sightseeing trip.
Zanny looks like Asmodeus from the Shinrabanshou card game.
theanimegallery.com/data/thumbs/790px/0154/tAG_154265.jpg
7642749
Also, I'm gonna be honest: I felt like there weren't enough swordfights and goddamn it, you guys came here for the killer fight scenes, as you said.
Well, you're about to get them in spades. I'm also excited to show Leo and Sir Michael leading their respective forces into the battle for Canterlot, Spike being a hero and dying (I'm just kidding, I won't do that. People don't like it when you kill off Feature Characters too much. But the roster of characters on the Professor's side is about to drop very sharply.)
It's about to get super Medieval in here.
7642749
Basically, except she's got horns and a tail, yes, you weren't wrong. I noticed how Tirek had human arms and wondered to myself, "Maybe all the hellish-like creatures in Equestria have human attributes," so I inferred that she looks vaguely humanlike.
7642777
The same Scr-y-ed like gauntlet that is his signature weapon [in all the forms you described to me], plus the Element of Rage which is the jewel in his chest if I'm not mistaken, along with its powers as you described them to me..
Feel free to mention any changes you might have made to it.
7642800
No problem.
I was dying to have him lead an army while ostensibly fighting with his 'bare hands', so to speak, illustrating the reason why Sir Michael, who is an elite knight-commander, speaks so highly of him.
You may have noticed that even though Sir Michael is older, richer, and carries more weight politically speaking, he defers to Leo and treats him as a figure of great reknown. Their dynamic is very nice.
7642851
In this particular story, yes.
. Five points to Gryffindor.
7645562
I remembered this picture of Leo taking on a tigress that was larger than him and decided to pay due homage to it by having him take on another giant - this time, a huge Pegasus mare a few heads higher than himself.
I wanted to explore how he handles big enemies. Gloria is annoying and smug because she is an anointed Knight and uses her status to browbeat others, in contrast with Michael and the Professor, who are both quiet and humble.
However, we should all wonder if she'll still be alive by mid-next week, and no, Leo isn't about to tear her head off, I promise you.
7646806
So I caught rather a bad cold and had to take a few days off, but I'm better now.
I used the time to watch some S-cry-Ed and try to figure out how Leo should move around when he fights, etc. I also became more fully acquainted with the tiny moving parts of the gauntlet and incorporated these effects.
It also makes noises, which I thought was super cool and adopted for Leo's gauntlet. I also included things like the hot wind that blows from its fans and blades and the huge billowing clouds of smoke and dust.
I may have spent a little too much time on this subplot, but we shall return to your regularly scheduled Sexy Horror Vampire Bats forthwith.
7658009
I am much better now, yes, thank you! I made sure to get lots of sleep, three square meals, and lots of cold medication. All my symptoms cleared up except for a tiny postnasal drip. it was bad whilst I had it, though - my entire throat and upper sinuses were ablaze with pain. I made some attempts on this chapter during that time, but decided to lay off and let the worst of my illness pass, while watching S-cry-ed to pick up some ideas.
I was tempted to make the fight longer once I'd recovered, but I didn't want to make it seem like Gloria and Leo bitterly hate each other. Honestly, Gloria is merely doing what actual Medieval knights enjoyed doing regularly - a melee. It isn't personal, and it won't much harm her relation to Leo. It's really about the equivalent of a quick festival melee that the nobles would enjoy watching while they ate food; hence, why the Professor, Sir Michael, and Spike are chowing down on food while Gloria and Leo are locked in combat.
Knights were regularly injured or killed during these bouts, so Leo disjointing her arm, then bloodying her up is in line with this. I'm glad you enjoyed it. it was a lot of fun to conceive. We all wanted to see Leo take on a giant metal monster of a female knight, yeah?
Something like this; right down to the way the knight in question towers over the regular people -
1.bp.blogspot.com/-ikc86o65g6A/UjBQMYypHMI/AAAAAAAACSE/so5bLdkVrMY/s1600/Ser+Gregor+Clegane_FULL.jpg
But if you take off her armor, she looks like this - again, right down to being really huge.
oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/dragons-crown/4/4d/Dragons-crown-amazon-468.jpg
7660195
Fire away. You can PM it to me, since you probably don't want our intrepid readers to be in on the surprise.
Funny you should say this, actually, because I was going to give his attack names but then it occurred to me they might have names already.
7662758
Yes, she got rather a bad shock. It looks like they're friends now, though.
7663042
Yes, but that isn't all.
I'll let you guess which one of your blogs gave inspiration to this bit.
Something like this, of course:
7668658
If by that you mean the one where Leo hangs out with Garnet from Steven Universe, then yes!
I figured Alsvid having a large afro, sunglasses, and a red-and-black bodysuit would give the impression that she is playing at being Garnet.
Her friends are also similar to Amethyst and PeriDORK.(Peridot).
I like to think that if Leo and the Professor fused, they would be a non-evil Malachite.
However if Leo and Alsvid fuse they become like Alexandrite.
None of this is going to happen here because none of them are actually Gems. Alsvid and her friends just resemble them vaguely.
7673331
NEXT: VAMPIRES IN SPACE!
This subplot is also an allusion to Dracula arriving by boat. In Claret's case, it's a spaceship.
7673375
Also, the Ponyplanet space rockets behave and look similar to Star Wars spacecraft or 1950's era sci-fi rocketships, by the way, hence all the brassy gauges and wooden furniture.
The Limitanei Space Marines wear bomber jackets, gloves, goggles, and tight fitting flight suits as Tracer from Overwatch does.
img06.deviantart.net/6863/i/2016/146/d/8/overwatch___tracer_by_mleth-da3vamm.png
Kessler, the marine who supports Alsvid, even looks like her to a certain degree, build-wise and manewise.
7673442
No, she's just another one of the victims of the conflict, like the students. I am glad you like her enough to be worried about her, though!
7673455
I actually feel the same way and wanted to include her somehow, but I was becoming concerned that the story was getting a little larger than it should be, or I totally would have included her. I want to wrap this up quickly, launch the Six-Day War between Claret and the Professor, and stick the ending on, so after this chapter the focus returns to the Professor.
Besides, I want to finish this so I can return to that other fic we were talking about.
7673485
You may notice that I'm getting comfortable writing again now; the chapters are longer and richer, more things are happening, but I made a conscious decision to pare things back down because of my outstanding mission. The breakneck pace at which things are happening is probably an indicator of that.
Seems like a responsible professor. Night walkers rise!