Castle Ponyvania

by Truro

Lullaby Of Blood

Chapter 2

The ponies' blood turned to ice at what they saw.

Beer Belly lay on his side, white as bleached paper. His wide eyes were twisted in utter agony.

Twilight knelt down beside side, her ear to his chest. Apple Jack looked on, eyes wide, and desperate for a good sign.

Twilight shook her head.

"He's gone. I'm sorry Apple Jack."

The earth pony removed her cowboy hat and held it to her heart as she held back the tears. They were tears of genuine sadness for the loss of the once happy drunk. It was more than just losing the sale of two gallons of cider a week.

Rainbow went to fetch the police. At last, they returned. They made their inquiries, asking if anyone might have had it in for him. Problem is the list was a lot longer than any of them thought. The cops examined the area and had the body taken away.

As the stretcher was lifted, Twilight saw something. Then she blinked to make sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks.

There in the side of Beer Belly's neck were two red holes.

"It can't be." She said to herself.

But you, my dear reader know for a fact that it was indeed. You've likely read this story's synopsis and even if you're reading on a website where there is no story synopsis, you've obviously got the Castlevania reference. So it was indeed, what Twilight feared.

"Vamponies."

"What's that, Twilight?"

"Vamponies! Undead horses who drink blood!"

"Blood?" cried Pinkie in a state of utter disbelief.

Then she calmed down.

"I've never heard of a cocktail by that name? What's in it?"

Everyone around her stared. Speechless. There was random, and then there was Pinkie Pie random. That statement was extra super-duper Pinkie Pie random; a randomness beyond the imagination of most horses.

"It's not a cocktail, Pinkie! Actual blood! The very fluid that runs through our veins and we can't live without it!"

"Well, we've established that we have an emergency on our hoofs." Said Rarity, "What I would like to know, is what we can do about it? We can't possibly sleep with a vampony on the loose!"

Twilight took a deep breath. Being asked for help actually put her in her organiser frame of mind, which helped to put things in perspective.

"Okay, first of all- don't panic. It's about three thirty in the morning and the sun rises at seven. If we can last for the next three and a half hours, we should be alright."

"Ah ha!" said Apple Jack "Vamponies burn up in the sunshine!"

"Maybe, maybe not. The different books I've read give different ideas on what happens when vamponies come into contact with direct sunlight. True, some of them do say that vamponies burn up, while others say that they can move about in the daylight, but their powers are severely weakened. But all the same, they all agree that sunshine is bad news for the undead."

"Ooh! Maybe we'll see them shrivel up like raisins! Now that I think about it, I could go for some raisins about now!"

"Pinkie," said Rainbow putting a hoof on her shoulder "I know we've all got something to bring to this discussion, but from now on, I think the thing you should bring, is silence."

"Okay dokie!" said Pinkie, zipping her lips shut; with that sweet oblivious smile she has when he's being insulted.

"That's all very well," said Rarity "but there's still the matter of our sleeping arrangements. How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep, when all the time I'll have to sleep with one eye open in case that bloodsucker comes back?"

There was a silence as the group had a think.

"I've got it! We'll surround ourselves with garlic! Pinkie, do you have any garlic in the kitchen?"

Pinkie said nothing. She just stared at Twilight.

"Pinkie?"

Her face was getting disturbing.

"Are you okay…?" Twilight asked with a twitch of fear. The others backed away nervously.

The only one who didn't inch away was Rainbow Dash who just rolled her eyes.

"You've brought enough silence to the conversation Pinkie. You can talk now."

Pinkie unzipped her lips and smiled again.

"Great! Keeping quiet is harder than it looks!"

"Garlic." said Twilight, losing patience, "Do you have any?"

"Sure do! There's a lot left over from the last time Spike tried to bake cupcakes!"

All eyes turned to Spike. His eyes scanned their baffled faces.

"Garlic? In cupcakes?"

The dragon folded his arms.

"Filly steins. You just don't appreciate my culinary genius."

With the promise (well the threat really) that they would discuss Spike's unorthodox eating habits at a later date; the horses went to get the garlic and, with string, tied a piece around each of their necks.

"Does this really keep vamponies away, Twi?" Apple Jack asked.

"It should do. One of the elements all the sources agree on is that vamponies are weak against garlic."

"How does it work?"

Twilight stood still and gave it some thought. She didn't know why it happened, it apparently just did. There was probably a book somewhere that explained it, but for now, just knowing what it does was enough. It was sort of like when you're a child. You don't know how the sun rises, but you just run around on the beech and enjoy the sunshine (unless you live in a very rainy part of the world, like Seattle).

"Oh that's easy!" Pinkie piped up, "You see garlic helps the blood to circulate so it can flow around the body a lot easier. So when vamponies catch a whiff of the stuff, it causes their stomachs to churn and they get really sick!"

Now all eyes were on the Pink one, who stood looking a tiny little bit smug. Twilight's jaw was hanging so low it touched the floor. Pinkie opened one mischievous eye.

"Hey, you have your star charts, Rarity has her fashion sense and Fluttershy knows animals, but when the subject is food, you're on my turf, baby!"

Needless to say, the others were impressed with Pinkie's flash of genuine insight. It was pretty amazing coming from a girl who thought a necromancer was just someone who was dating a giraffe.

At last, the group had all got their stings and garlic wrapped around their necks. With one acceptation of course.

"Rarity, what the heck are you doing?"

"Don't distract me, Apple Jack! I'm trying to carve this garlic clove into a star shape!"

"What?"

"If I simply must wear this smelly thing all night, then it might as well bee a necklace with a pleasing shape!"

Although they only slept for a few hours, they were in a state of mind when time seems to slow down and every minute that you lay awake feels like an hour. That awkward state, when you can't seem to drop off and you lay there, just waiting for your brain to cool down and for the actual sleep to arrive. But sleeping wasn't that easy for our heroes at the moment. A murder had just taken place right outside their door and there were sinister bloodsucking creatures of the night running amok, probably claiming another victim.

Though for Rainbow Dash, it was just a side affect of all the Red Buffo she's been drinking.

At last dawn was breaking. Birdsong heralded a new day and the rising of Celestia's golden orb.

The six horses rose to their hoofs.

"Well, we made it through the night." Said Apple Jack "What do we do now."

Twilight rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and gave her answer.

"At the moment, we go about our lives as normal. I'm going to write to the Princess and see if she knows what to do. I'll research everything I can about Vamponies. Hopefully, we can find a way to stop them. Let's all meet at mine after work."

They opened the door to leave. Then they stood wide eyed at the white rolling fog that enveloped the streets.

"Okay, this is just weird." Said Rainbow "We don't have any fog scheduled until the end of fall."

"Wait." Said Fluttershy, "If there's no sunlight coming through, the vamponies could still be out there. Oh my…" she ended her sentence with a frightened whine.

Rainbow looked up towards the sky.

"I've got to clear this fog up. Anybody got a light?"

"Allow me." Said Rarity, closing her eyes. She focused the energy in her body towards her horn. There was a small explosion of magic as Rarity's horn's produced a cascade of bright runway lights.

Unfortunately, these weren't Airport runway, but catwalk runway lights.

It would have to do.

They decided to part ways in groups. Rainbow Dash and Rarity led the others to their respective places of work, while Twilight and Spike went straight to the library.

There was still time before the library was due to open for its day's business, so Twilight quickly got all the books she could find relating to the subject of vampirism and put them into her study. She then rummaged through her stationary drawer and thrust an inked quill and parchment into Spike's hands.

"Now, take this down."

"Dear Princess Celestia,

In the early hours of this morning, a murder was committed outside Sugercube Corner. From what I can understand, the victim died due to a loss of blood. As the victim's body was being taken away, I saw, what I believe to be two teeth marks on his neck. It is to my belief that Vamponie's could be at work. I write to ask for your advice on what can be done.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle"

"Got it."

"Okay, send it now."

Spike breathed out a small jet of green fire and the parchment vanished in a sparkle of light.

"Now we wait."

"You know, Twilight, I've been thinking," I'll spare you the obvious cliché' jokes about breaking the habit of a lifetime. Spike wasn't exactly Steven Hawking, heck he wasn't even Carol Vorderman, but he could be rather insightful at times, proving that he did in fact have a brain, and wasn't afraid to use it.

"I teleport letters between you and the Princess all the time. Do you think it could actually work on ponies? Or that I could even teleport myself?"

Twilight had to admit, it was an interesting idea. For one thing it would make grocery shopping a lot easier and they could save a fortune on moving vans whenever they bought new furniture. On the other hoof though, a boy who can teleport to just about anywhere in Equestria could also have its downsides. What if she was taking a bath and he just teleported to the bathroom when he needed the toilet? Twilight knew for a fact that Rarity's shower was one such place the little dragon was sure to invade.

"Yes…well, we'll play that by ear. Right now, we need to concentrate on these bloodsuckers."

Spike suddenly looked bloated. Something in his throat was budging. With a huge burp, a parchment twinkled into sight in front of him. Twilight looked on, expectantly. Spike unrolled it and read it aloud.

"My Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I appreciate your concern on this matter; however, you must first gather more evidence that it is indeed vamponies. It has only been a short while since this horrible tragedy occurred, so the proper authorities will not have had time to complete the autopsy report. Report back to me with your findings and I will be better able to offer my advice.

HRH Princess Solaria Celestia."

Twilight had the odd feeling of dajavu. It seemed like the Nightmare Moon fiasco all over again. But if proof was needed, then it was time to hit the books.