2 - Family Secrets
Vinyl Scratch - 19th of Megan, 29 AE
Weir Station, Hollow Shades - Equestria
The sharp crack of the teleporter echoed off the old train stations walls. This stop was ancient. Hollow Shades was one of the first stops built nine hundred years ago when the railroad was a wagon trail. When the railroad was built, the only addition to the building was the deck for people to more easily get on the train. That had been four hundred years ago.
Aside from installing the teleport pad, no one had touched this place since then. No maintenance. Light cleaning only. The whole place looked like a ghost town. Especially since the clerks who worked here were required by law to wear enchanted rings to look like ghostly apparitions.
Dad’s got a great sense of humor. But the station should really look nice. There’s a reason we had the pad installed.
My family’s estate was kinda important. Ponies have three classifications for animals: Person, Creature, and Monster. People are a pretty obvious category. Creatures are anything that’s not a person which does not eat ponies. Monsters are anything that’s not a person which eats ponies.
Hollow Shades is where a certain subgroup of monsters are sent to become people. Not every monster is intelligent enough to be treated, but a hooffull are. Vampires, were-creatures, lamias, any diamond dog the Guard captures, and a few other rare monsters all come through here.
This dusty, old, decaying train station was going to be one of their first memories when they obtained Personhood. It should look more welcoming. I mean, I know dad has his whole theme going, but maybe the reason most people stay in the village instead of moving out into Equestria at large is they think that other places just are not where they belong.
That they need to be someplace spooky.
It’s how I had felt. I almost didn’t want to leave home all those years ago. I’m glad I did.
“Woooah, Um… Girls?” Sherbert asked timidly, her hooves clicking on the pad as she turned around, taking in the decrepit station. “Did we go to the wrong place?”
“Nope,” I answered reflexively smirking. “This is home.”
Damnit, Vi! Why do you do that? The smirk. It’s unnecessary. You try so hard to be cool all the time.
Lyra frowned, looking at me oddly. “Are you okay?” She asked in mild concern.
I frowned, wondering what had given my self-criticism away.
“It’s fine. Just nervous,” I said with a short sigh.
For someone I’d just met in a VR game, Fae was right. I may be ‘the cool one’ of the group, but I needed to start opening up sometimes.
I’d been the leader of Luna’s Knights for forty five years now. There was more to that job than just thinking of strategy and making sure everyone was keeping up with training. I had to keep their morale high too.
That’s hard for a team leader to do. You need to make sure that everyone feels confident that you can lead. You need to appear strong, courageous, and smart. All the time.
Fae may be a good, if new, friend. And she may be very inciteful, but a person you know through a VR game isn’t exactly guaranteed to know how to manage stress as the leader of a military group. We have more people to think about than ourselves, and for good reasons!
When it came to leading my team, I followed a specific military doctrine. It was the best one I could find, the one used by the best infantry in the world. The Prench Army Officer’s Manual.
Prench Officers do not duck. They just don’t. They never flinch under fire, even if the world is raining spellbolts, bombs, arrows, bullets, and hexes. Why? Because the stallions don’t like it when their leaders are vulnerable.
If their leader is afraid, so are they. The experienced guy with the plan is afraid, that’s a good reason for you to be afraid. If that same guy is sobbing their brains out because they can’t get over something they saw, then that’s a pretty good reason for the soldiers under them not to be courageous.
An officer leads by example. That’s why I hadn't told anyone about my problems for years. I was still the same pony as I was before Luna recruited us at heart, but… But I had to stay cool, calm, and collected all the time. Especially since no one else in our group could get everypony organized.
“You’re not at all okay,” Lyra decided with a steeper frown. “Do you need a bit to think about what to say to them?”
“... My ears are pointed forwards, aren't they?” I asked Lyra, wondering if that was my stress tell.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Yeah, they are,” Sherbert agreed with a sympathetic nod. “I’d be nervous talking to my parents about a thing like this too. Especially since all you were planning for tonight was dinner with friends.”
“Heh, yeah,” I agreed with a genuine smile.
That was a little funny. I’d gone over to Lily’s clinic for a quick consultation, and to check and see if he could even work with a vampire. I didn’t get an answer, but at least he was processing a tissue sample to let me know.
I’d ran into Sherbert on the way out, and decided to get to know our new recruit better over dinner as a way to both help the group and destress. She’d asked if we could take Lyra along. That was it. The whole plan.
Now we were at my family estate to talk to my parents about the fact that I seemed to be animated via unknown magic. Four hours after having a flashback to Operation Chrysanthemum because an MMO’s quest had the exact same scenario, against large wolves that looked pretty close to werewolves, and Fae had the same thing happen to her that happened to that poor griffon chick...
Come to think of it, the woods around the station looked almost exactly like the part of the Everfree where the wolf caught up to her an-
I took a quick breath, forcing my mind to think about nothing. I wasn’t going back there again today.
Lyra cleared her throat and started to trot out of the station, walking past me and nodding at Sherbert. “Come on, I’ll lead the way. It’s not far.”
Sherbert nodded and followed after her, so I walked along, bringing up the rear.
We walked up the spooky, tree overhung ‘tunnel-road’ in silence for a while. It was nice at first, but then I started to feel a bit well… Bad. I had to say something.
“Oh, hey, Lyra,” I began casually. “I finally got to try out ETURNITY today. I think you’d like it. The VR tech is really slick! It’s a neural link instead of a visor rig, and the game’s pretty fun! The adult stuff is all on separate servers too, unlike, well, most games. Heh! I’d be willing to make a new character if you wanted to play on a family-friendly one.”
Lyra shook her head. “Maybe after we figure out what’s going on here and get this curse dealt with,” she said dismissively. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you got to try a game you’ve been wanting to play for a few months, but I don't exactly have time for them personally.”
“You play VR games?” Sherbert asked, turning to look at me over her shoulder.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’ve had a lot of spare time lately. Octy is away from home a lot more now, classical music made a pretty good comeback while you were in Neighpone. And well, the rave club scene has been declining for the last decade or so.
“It started to pick back up, but I can’t get into the new electronic genre that’s driving the thing now. Just doesn't sound right to me. So I don’t get booked for many gigs myself. Maybe one or two a month.
“That’s fine, I don't need the money. I’m nobility. Leaves me with a lot of free time though. So I took up games as a hobby, it’s a good way to stay social since I can't go to the current clubs. The new music gives me the worst headache.”
Sherbert tilted her head, her tail lashing in confusion. “But… Don’t we have to stay on call at all times? Princess Luna could have a mission for us at any moment!”
I laughed. “We won't get too many missions, Sherbert. You can expect to be at home on your plot all but maybe six days a year.”
Lyra nodded and laughed. “Yeah! Equestria is crazy safe these days. Uh, do stay near your communicator though. If it beeps, it’s go time.”
“How do you listen for it with a full sensory VR rig on?” Sherbert asked me worriedly.
“I have everything set to forward calls to me into the headset,” I answered with a proud smile.
That had taken SO LONG to get set up.
Lyra nodded. “Yep. If this game works like the last one she played, if Luna calls it will auto-logout and switch to video chat.”
“Yep, same deal here. Had to get my helmet custom made for that,” I grumbled. “Uh, not that I hate having that system installed. It’s critical that I do. I’m not going to endanger the Kingdom with my hobby. Just means I had to wait three months after launch to play.”
Sherbert nodded, seemingly satisfied. She was about to say something when we rounded the bend in the path and Hollow Shades came into view.
It was always fun to watch a pony’s first time reaction to the village.
It was a breathtaking view. Especially in the carefully crafted ‘spooky’ night Dad’s weather teams lovingly maintained. As soon as the Giant Sequoia trees parted, you could see the eerily cloudless sky, except for that one stray cloud that was covering exactly one-third of the moon, and the one small cluster of clouds hanging unnaturally above the clifftop spiky gothic castle which overlooked the crater lake.
And then there was the lake. Eerily calm and still, with a pale white glow coming out of it. If you didn’t know we had sea ponies living down there, it looked like magic was just radiating out of the waters. Which since the lake was made from an obvious meteor crater, was all sorts of creepy to lots of ponies.
It didn’t help that the village itself was built in terraced layers around the crater’s rim either. The whole village fits inside the crater, all supported on a big timber shelf that spiraled down into the waters below like a corkscrew. It looked like the magic lake was gobbling up the village. Except it wasn’t. It was just, you know, the road to the seapone district.
Sherberts ears drooped, her eyes widened, and-
And she vanished! She actually disappeared into thin air! While I was watching.
Me! A first generation vampire. Here! In terrain, I knew like my turntables.
Celestia’s mane that mare was GOOD! I should make EVERYPONY attend Kōmor- Kōm- Whatever her Ninja School was called.
“Woah! Okay, how did you do that?” I asked, my jaw dropping.
“She’s got an implanted gemstone that lets her teleport,” Lyra answered a light blush on her face.
I frowned. “Wait, then where did she go?” I asked looking around me.
Lyra trotted over and gently turned my head to make me look at the top of the village’s road. Sherbert had teleported over to a filly werewolf who was sitting outside of what was presumably her house. The young one was transformed into their wolf form and had been enjoying a drumstick, and at the moment was looking a bit shellshocked.
Because she’d been literally ninja glomped.
I wanted to giggle, I really did. I understood why that had happened. Give a filly some puppy features and you get a ball of adorable so dense it should form a black hole. However…
“Sherbert! NO!” I called in warning.
Too late…
“You’re so adorable!” Sherbert giggled beaming the terrified little filly a smile.
The craftscolt style bungalow's door exploded open as the filly’s dad jumped out onto the porch, he wasn’t a werewolf himself, just an Earth pony. A dull red and brown earth pony the size of a small mountain with a cutiemark in the shape of a boxing glove punching through a sheet of steel.
I have no idea what his name was. Because everypony just called him things like ‘Brick Bonemeal’, ‘Rip Steakface’, ‘Mister Colossus’, or ‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!’ if they met him in person in the dark of the night.
I’d used him as a boss in O&O games before.
The rippling pile of muscle that passed for an earth pony glared at Sherbert, growling at her with enough bass to vibrate the porch. “What the HAY are you doing with my daughter?!” He demanded through clenched teeth.
Sherbert scrunched up, more than a little afraid. “I-uh, I’m sorry! She’s just super adorihugable and- Uh- NINJA SMOKE!”
Sherbert yelped as she reached into her gi, throwing a small black pellet at the ground, reappearing next to me as a plume of white smoke filled the space she had occupied.
I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to facehoof. Too bad Octy wasn’t here. Sherbert could use a whack on the head.
“Sherbert… Little puppy-fillies are adorable, but you're not allowed to glomp them. Understood?” I asked, giving her my most serious possible deadpan-glare.
Her ears fell slowly. “Yes, Ma’am,” she said with a sharp nod.
“Hopefully you didn’t give her teleophobia,” Lyra said, suppressing a laugh. “We should go before Calm Creek sees us over here.”
“Wait, you know what his name actually is?” I asked Lyra while Sherbert cast a quick transmutation spell to make herself look like a blue pegasus stallion and somehow hiding her gi as well.
She nodded and started fast walking uphill towards the castle. “Yeah. I used to watch boxing back in Highschool. He’s an old champ,” she replied.
I nodded and started to walk after her. But froze as Creek called my name.
“Lady Scratch!” He yelled. “Did you see that just now?!”
I turned around and nodded. “Yes, I did. I’ll let dad know some ninja wannabee is prowling around. Already on that,” I promised.
I mean. I’d be introducing Sherbert already. Heh.
“Did you see where she went? Nopony tries to kidnap Moonie without getting their pelvis kicked through their head!” He growled angrily.
I shook my head. “I didn’t see her run away. Sorry.”
Creek nodded and turned towards his house, saying something to his kid before ushering her inside.
“That’s why you don’t do that,” I grunted at the disguised Sherbert.
“I couldn’t help it! She is too adorable,” Sherbert mumbled, kicking the ground with a hoof.
“In the future, restrain yourself. Baby laimias are even cuter, but their dad would EAT you for that,” Lyra pointed out.
“I thought Hollow Shades was a monster reform place… Doesn't that mean he wouldn’t try and eat me?” Sherbert asked as we approached the castle gate.
“Some instincts can’t be controlled. Don’t mess with a lamia’s family,” I said as adamantly as I could. “Unless you have a vore fetish and a death wish.”
“Got it,” she eeped, wings doing the worried pegasi swish flick.
Damn, she was REALLY good at those transformations. Not changeling good, but those little touches definitely sold the image of ‘odd-looking flappy pone’. Without them, you’d definitely call her out as being disguised.
I looked up at the castle wall, I knew the old stonework well. I had no reason to admire it. Instead, I was wondering why the portcullis was down.
Dad almost never closed the gate. What’s more, when he did, a sign was normally posted to explain why. I couldn’t see any sign this time. Or even anypony standing watch.
“Huh…” I mused aloud. “That’s weird, somepony should be standing by to open the gate but-”
My ears swiveled as I heard the loud creak of the castle door about a hundred meters up the hill opening. That wasn't unusual. They squeaked kinda loud, and it was a calm night. I should hear anything that loud at that distance.
What was weird was the clink of metal. Lots of it. Very few things sounded like that. But the number one was-
“Hoof steps, metal clinking, dad’s sending out his Guard,” I said with a sharp frown. “Sherbert… What do you do when you see an adorable filly!?”
“Nothing,” she sighed, hanging her head in embarrassment.
“Damn straight!” Lyra laughed. “Those poor ponies are probably freaking out at the thought of fighting a ninja!”
“I’m a shinobi,” Sherber grumbled. “There’s a difference.”
“Not outside of Neighpone there’s not,” I snickered, shaking my head. “I better take care of this.”
I was tempted to transform and fly over the gate, but since I was going to be talking to my parents in a bit, and mom found it rude and uncivilized to talk in Hunting Mode, that left one option for getting through the gate.
The wall was enchanted. You couldn’t climb it. Too slick. Even for a vampire’s enhanced grip. I mean, duh. This place had been built to hold off hostile vamps.
But there was a reason dad almost never closed the gate. It was a piece of junk and the shield spell placed in the archway was better than some steel and wood. Especially since the enchantment to close the wooden gates never worked. Meaning only the portcullis could be closed remotely.
Trotting up to the steel grate, I grabbed the bottom bar with my forehooves and simply pushed it up as if doing a deadlift, raising it over my head with a few grunts of effort. My hindlegs trembled as I held the heavy gate aloft. I couldn’t do this for too long...
“Please go inside. This is heavy,” I ordered as Lyra and Sherbert stood gawking.
“I HATE being the weakest one of us,” Lyra grumbled as she slipped through the gap.
“So uh… How much can you lift?” Sherber asked quizzically as she slid through as well.
“This is about my limit,” I admitted as I stepped forward and let the portcullis slam down behind me.
While we had slipped through, the sixteen guards dad had sent to the wall had made it to the gate. They wore Dad’s black and silver armor well, and all of them appeared to be normal ponies. Which meant that some foreign dignitary was visiting, or was about to visit.
CRAP! This could make talking a problem.
“Well,” the pegasus mare at the front of the squad, her helmet marking her as a sargent, said with a frown. “That gate is worthless. Good evening, my Lady.”
“Evening,” I replied. “Did Creek call in that Ninja?”
The sergeant nodded once. “Yes, Ma’am! Your father ordered us to go on an obvious patrol of the village to distract hostiles while a few wolf packs sniff about.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Go ahead and stand down,” I ordered, picking up Sherbert with my telekinesis. “I have the ninja right here. She’s with me, and just never had seen a little wolf before. Didn’t want Creek to punch her into orbit.”
The guards snickered amongst themselves as I set Sherbert back down. “Wait, that’s a mare?” somepony whispered. “How can a girl be that butch?”
“Obviously, she’s a changeling ninja… Luna! That’s a scary thought,” somepony else reprimanded.
“He can do that?” The Sergeant asked me, completely believing my BS claim about the earth pony mountain's strength.
To tell the truth, I sort of believed it myself.
“He definitely looks like he can,” I said with a shrug. “Is the formal armor to draw attention because ninja, or-”
The Sargent shook her head. “A diplomat from Neighpone is coming by tomorrow to negotiate rehabilitation for a few prisoners. The Count thought that a ninja showing up meant someone was planning an assassination. I- Oh! One moment.”
The Sargent reached behind her breastplate with one hoof and slipped out her messenger gem, and spoke into the glowing blue stone. “Count Scârţâi: My Lord, your daughter has arrived. It would seem that the ninja is with her, it was just a reaction to seeing a pup for the first time, sir.”
“She is? Wonderful! Vinyl, why didn’t you call ahead? Also, I trust you have reprimanded your friend already?” Dad’s voice echoed slightly through the gem, his Trotsylvanian accent making some of the newer guards smile.
I wonder if they would still find it funny if they knew that was the cliche vampire accent because that was just what his accent had always been?
“I have,” I answered, stepping forward and speaking loudly so the gem’s limited ‘hearing’ would pick up my voice. “As for not calling ahead, I didn’t plan on visiting. It’s important. We teleported here.”
Dad was silent for a moment. “Is it business? There’s not a rogue pack of werewolves in Manehattan again, is there?” He asked worriedly.
“Nothing like that fiasco. It’s personal,” I replied.
“Ah. Well, come on in. I’ll meet you downstairs,” he said happily. “Oh, and Bastion, go ahead and do your patrol anyways. Another security sweep can’t hurt, and it will make Absurdly Buffstallion feel better.”
“Yes, sir!” Bastion said, nodding to her squad. “Get the gate open, we’ve still got a job to do.”
I nodded at her and stepped aside. “Good luck,” I said with a playful smirk. “Sherbert… Wanna wait ten minutes then play tag with them?”
She shook her head, and dropped her disguise, her body seeming to just warp into her normal pale orange unicorn form, with her gi flowing out from her back. “Nah. That would be mean,” she said seriously.
The three of us stood aside and let the guards crank open the gate and slip through before continuing up to the castle. I felt more and more stressed out with every step. I was almost eighty. They hadn’t told me about my creation in seventy-six years.
And here I was, about to demand an answer. An answer to a secret they kept from everyone.
This was going to be a nightmare…
As we reached the doors they creaked open, dad's black-furred butler, Ravensfield, having apparently decided to play doorstallion today.
“Thanks,” I said as I stepped inside.
Dad had gone whole-hog with the decor for the meeting tomorrow. Sure, normally the castle was all black marble, rosewood, and silver embellishments, pretty fancy. But he had put out the good carpets, fresh white roses in the expensive vases, and the gold embroidered rugs.
Must have been someone in the Imperial Family coming by. But not Emperor Mysuki. She’d scoff at decore like this for her sake. Pretty sure she’d prefer cheesy posters of B action movies and some old weapons that looked legendary in some way or another.
I barely had time to take in the extra layer of fancy before dad called to me from atop the stairs.
“Vinyl! My little filly! How delightful to have you home again!” He called, smiling as wide as he always did when giving me his stock, but genuinely loving greeting.
I guess when you spend three thousand years trying to have a foal, you love her no matter what once you have her.
He looked as properly vampire as ever. Same stark white fur, same red eyes, same dark black cape with the crimson lining. He may go out of his way to make the castle look nice for a visitor, but he wouldn’t change his look for anyone.
I returned his smile, but I knew he could see the stress on my face. “It’s nice to see you too, dad,” I greeted.
Lyra frowned. “Wait, do you greet her with that every time? I can’t ever remember you saying anything else.”
“Of course I do,” dad replied with a chuckle. “I mean it. Now then, young miss I have not seen before. There is to be absolutely no random hugging of foals in my fiefdom. Understood?”
Sherbert had been staring up at dad for the last few moments. Not quite afraid, but also not quite calm. “Yes sir, sorry sir,” she answered with a salute.
Dad waved a hoof dismissively. “None of that! You're not in my employ,” he said as he began to walk downstairs. “So, what brings you three to my castle? Not that you’re unwelcome, It’s just that you haven't simply come back without a word since high school- Oh. Oh dear, there aren't any problems with Octavia, are there?”
I shook my head no as firmly as I could. “No. She’s busier than she used to be, but it’s great that her career is taking off. We’re still close, even though she’s away pretty often now. But that’s fine, I expect things to be normal in ten years or so.”
Dad nodded happily. “Good! Well, shall we adjourn to my study to talk about whatever this is? You’re not thinking of moving back home, are you? That would be wonderful!” He asked as he turned to walk towards his study, nodding for Lyra and Sherbert to follow us.
“Not yet,” I replied as I walked alongside him. “Maybe soon though. I’m still enjoying living in the sun. Um, we should get mom too.”
“Mom too?” Dad asked suspiciously. “I’m afraid that we can’t. She’s accompanying tomorrow's guest to the castle, and is currently somewhere over the Celestial Sea. Is this… A family problem? Ah, yes! That’s what this must be. You and Octavia want to try for a foal, yes?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. But it’s a related question, and it’s very important. I can’t not have an answer to it. Not this time.”
“We hardly need to talk face to face for this,” Dad said in a question deflecting tone. “The usual potions should affect you just fine. When it comes time to put a bun in Octavia’s oven any adult novelty shop will sell the proper concoctions. Just don't get a permanent variety by accident. Well, unless you want to. Lots of mares forget to read the label and wind up needing a hospital visit to remove a certain something.”
Heh. Oh, dad. It’s so you to try and push things away like that.
But two can play at the awkward conversation game!
“I know all that,” I answered chipperly. “The only real problem is finding a potion that can create a size Octy likes. Pretty sure we’re out of options without getting a custom potion made. She gets grumpy when things are too loose. But that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Dad sighed, and stopped walking. We’d reached the ebony and gold door which led to his study. But it was clear that he didn’t intend to go inside.
“Vinyl, We’ve been over this many times. I will not talk about your creation,” he said firmly. “When you want a foal of your own, your mother and I will do the work needed to raise her for you. End of discussion.”
I nodded. “Right. Lyra, explain,” I ordered.
“Count Scârţâi, are you aware of my study of dream magic?” Lyra asked in a professional manner.
Dad frowned slightly. “I am.”
“I recently made a discovery. Dream Magic is a warped version of another form of magic. One unknown to me,” Lyra said, her businesses mare tone remaining calm and informative. “Whatever this magic is, Vinyl is completely saturated with it. What's more, our new recruit Sherbert has a bit of it floating around in her as well. Miss Sherbert, tell the Count what this magic is, please.”
Sherbert awkwardly shuffled her hooves. “I can’t… I Pinkie Promised Discord not to talk about it,” she repeated.
Dad’s frown deepened. His eyes filled with worry. He knew what I was going to say already. Not a shocker, we were always close.
“Dad, whatever you did to bring me to life is the only thing that my normal unicorn aura can’t account for,” I said, being as blunt as I could, my tail lashing worriedly as I spoke. “That’s the only thing that Lyra could possibly be seeing. I need to know what it is because now it’s a national security matter.
“I would rather talk to you and learn why Discord, DISCORD, thinks this stuff is too dangerous to talk about, to the point of invoking Pinkie Promise. Because if I go to him and ask him about it, like I’m going to have to if you won't tell me, because I might be a cosmic level environmental hazard or something! I... He would know that YOU did whatever he thinks is very dangerous in order to make me.
“So please, tell me, what did you do? Why am I alive? How? Am I safe to be around? Is there any moral or ethical excuse for me to not report whatever you did?”
Dad nodded once. “You’re safe to be around. That’s not a problem. Come inside,” he said opening the door and walking inside the brightly lit mini-library.
I nodded and trotted inside, hooves loudly clicking on the hardwood floor as I entered. Dad took a seat on one of the two red velvet couches, and nodded towards the other one, and stopped as Lyra and Sherbert began to follow us.
“Miss Heartstrings, Miss Sherbert, you are not invited to this conversation. Remain outside,” he ordered. “I am not speaking as your friend. This is an order from an Equestrian Count.”
Lyra nodded and immediately walked outside. “Yes, sir,” she said gently putting a leg around Sherber’s shoulders and guiding her out of the room. “No ninja tricks. He outranks you. We’re not listening in.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Sherbert said with a frown. “But-”
“No buts,” I said as I gripped the door with my magic. “Dad’s NEVER serious with my friends. I’ll be back soon.”
I closed the door, took a nervous breath and trotted over to the couch across from dad and sat down on the velvet cushion.
Dad closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly meditating on exactly what to say. I waited patiently for him to talk. It was about time I knew, but I could wait a few more minutes.
“Nothing your mother and I did was illegal,” dad said firmly after his moment of silence. “No laws exist covering this. What’s more, we did it outside of Equestria. It’s important to know this before we get into detail.”
I nodded. “Alright. I’ll check that out for myself, but I believe you for now,” I said politely.
“We raised you in what’s now the far north of the Crystal Empire,” dad said, shifting slightly on the couch. “Princess Cadence is the only pony with legal authority over the region. And since Celestia was only the Steward of the Crystal Empire, she couldn’t enact new laws in the region, she could only enforce those that existed. The Crystal Empire, had no laws on the books at the time. You can check all you want.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Then why be so secretive? Celestia and I thought you used necromancy for it. The only reason she hasn’t jailed you for that is she sympathized too much with wanting a child,” I pointed out.
He nodded. “Yes… The thing is… The fewer people who know the better. Your mother and I are good people, Vinyl. The reason we wanted to never tell anyone at all about this is because-” Dad signed, his shoulders slumping. “Because we found the entity which gave Sombra his power.”
I was not ready for that. I just sort of… Stopped. “W-what?” I asked, blinking twice.
“We found, deep beneath the ice sheet, the entity which gave King Sombra his complete and total mastery over Dark magic,” dad repeated. “It was easy. He is my brother after all. I have a few copies of his journals. Celestia gave them to me for safekeeping.
“When your mother and I failed for the third time to animate one of your stillborn siblings, and yes we were using necromancy at first, we realized that we would never be able to make a soul, and that for whatever reason, if we sparked those bodies to ‘life’, they wouldn’t create a soul on their own like a normal infant does upon their birth.
“I decided that the only thing to do was to consult a higher power. I was tempted to ask Celestia for help again, but she had declined before. I believe she felt that only Biomancy or Necromancy could do the job, and she didn’t wish to dip into the forbidden arts. After all, that would send a very bad political message. Specifically, it would paint her as a hypocrite.”
I nodded. “Right. ‘This is illegal but I get to use it to help a friend.’ She does that and suddenly everypony think’s it’s okay to use it themselves.”
“Exactly,” Dad agreed. “Eventually I recalled how my brother had gone from a normal litch, to something far more powerful. As far as I knew, such a thing was impossible. Yet, he had done it. As an ancient immortal wizard, I knew that whatever he had found which allowed him to become even more of a monster, such power could likely also help me.
“Your mother was onboard with the plan form the start. We were desperate. Vinyl, I- I don’t think I can explain to you how much we needed you. The two of us poured over his journals. His writing is absolutely the stuff of madness, but one page stood out.
“See, your uncle was mad, but madness is simply logic which does not align with reality. Mad people work in very specific ways, as I myself can attest. Sombra NEVER wrote in the margins of a page. Ever. Nor would he use a different color of ink in any book. Ever.
“And yet, on one page in volume three of his journals full of raving, there is a note scribbled in the margin. The journal is written in red ink on black parchment, and this note is written in white. It reads as follows, ‘Please tell me how fighting the Moon Lord goes.’
“Something important had happened around that time. Something so important, that someone else wrote a note to Sombra in his journal. So we ripped the entries around that date apart, decoding the mad ravings as best a sane mind can.
“Especially because, well, apparently Sombra was supposed to fight a Moon Lord, and that was never one of Luna’s titles. Nor did anyone I know of refer to her as such at the time of the journal’s entry. Which led to the question of ‘What the hay is a Moon Lord?’”
I nodded, quite engrossed in the story. But there was a nagging question. “So, whatever gave Sombra his power boost did so to help him fight whatever a Moon Lord is slash was?”
“Mhm,” dad confirmed. “We decoded the entries, and it turned out that Sombra had located the remains of Mage Meadowbrook's tower. It’s located far to the north, beneath the ice sheet near the hamlet aptly known as Buckingcold. Trust me, if you go there, even the most prudish and polite person in all of the existence would agree that the place could not be named anything else. Because it’s bucking cold. And nothing else.
“Regardless, we journeyed north, seeking out this entity dwelling within the remains of her tower. Mage Meadowbrook died roughly when I was, oh… Twenty-five. Her tower would have been abandoned for thousands of years a thousand years ago. Locating it based on Sombra’s journals was more than a bit of a bear. But locate it we did.
“We managed to slip past the… Thing which should not be, that I believe she set to guard her tower, and penetrated the defenses, making our way to the innermost sanctum. And there we found him. The being which gave Sombra his power.
“I dare not speak of him. He is vast in power and completely insane. Not in a mentally diseased way, no, this creature is… Hellishly lonely. Leaving it was a nightmare in and of itself. It did not want us to go. Sometimes, when I’m trying to sleep… I can still hear it begging as we ran. But at the same time… I fear that looking at him for too long would drive me insane again.”
I winced. “Wait, really? What is it, or um, he? You kinda imply that whatever this is it has a gender, but you keep using it. Why?” I asked worriedly.
“Because I have no idea what species it is. But it’s a guy. Or at least it sounds like one,” dad replied with a shiver.
I nodded. “Alright. So… What did you do? With me, I mean.”
“We took you out of the portable freezer we’d used to keep your body from decaying and asked him if he could give you life. And he said ‘Okay’,” Dad answered.
“And?” I asked with a frown.
“And absolutely nothing visible or arcane happened. But you started to cry. Your mother picked you up, and you squirmed. You were alive. Just like that. I asked how he did it, and well…” Dad trailed off and looked off into the distance for a few minutes.
“He said you wouldn’t have anything like his power. But whatever it is, they have siblings. Because he told me that he brought you to life by putting the remains of his sister into your body. A soul transplant.”
“Wait- I, but…” I stammered. “Explain!”
“I can’t. Not very well,” dad said with an apologetic ear twitch. “All I can remember is that he said Mage Meadowbrook was experimenting on his kind, and had captured him and his sister when they decided to explore. She died during an experiment, and he put the shreds of her soul into your body, which created a new distinct, separate entity, which I was assured would be a pony. You. And you are in all detectable ways, a pony. So, I don't think he lied.”
“I… Well… I always knew you made me somehow. Didn’t think that it involved spare alien parts,” I mumbled half to myself.
Dad nodded. “Well, we had to get a soul from somewhere. You’ve never been abnormal in any way, aside from well, being born a vampire and all that entails. He kept his promise as far as I can see.”
“Well, I feel normal so, yeah. I guess he did,” I agreed with a shrug. “But why would Discord be afraid of the magic at this guy’s disposal?”
Dad coughed. “Well, frankly, it’s likely because he seems to be able to do the same sort of things. He thought we were attacking him at first and turned the room into just the flat stone floor, floating in an endless maelstrom of chaotic colors, filled the place full of epic music, and cracked off a cheesy villain line.”
I opened my mouth to say something. Dad interrupted me. “Yes, cheezy by my standards,” he said with a light blush.
“I have to know,” I pressed, biting my lip to prevent myself from laughing.
If DAD thought it was cheesy.
“It was ‘What is a pony? A miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk. Have at you!’ oddly enough, it seemed sad that I didn’t get the joke,” Dad said with a nervous laugh. “Sounds like badly translated song lyrics, doesn't it?”
I nodded in agreement. “Okay so, you found an imprisoned creature of Discord level power. That sounds like the sort of thing he’d want to keep classified. Especially if it just grants favors to anyone who stumbles across it.”
Dad coughed. “Well, it’s not actually a favor,” he said, tapping his hoof slightly nervously. “We made a deal. Uh… He sees you as a reincarnation of his sister. We were supposed to be a family…”
What.
The.
Actual.
BUCK!
I gave dad my most genuinely upset glare. “YOU PROMISED THAT AND YOU DITCHED HIM IN A RUINED TOWER UNDER THE ICECAP GUARDED BY A ‘THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE’!?” I demanded angrily. “I can’t believe you! I actually CAN’T believe you. You’d NEVER do anything like that.”
This whole conversation so far had blanked out my brain quite a bit, but that one little detail snapped me right back into reality like a punch to the back of the head. I NEVER broke my word, EVER. Promises are sacred. Dad had drilled that into my head ever since I was lit-
Oh. I see. He feel bad about this. Good.
Dad shook his head rapidly. “You don’t understand Vinyl! He is ALSO a thing that should not be. It attacked us on the spot, we had to MAKE it talk to us. I felt my mind slowly slipping away just looking at it. We couldn’t release it.”
“Yeah! But you know what it could have done?” I asked with an accusatory sneer. “Vaporized you while you ran away and took my soul back to keep for later. That is, if it’s really as powerful as you claim… Which it should be since I exist. I think that’s proof that it’s trustworthy! And you just shatter a deal you made. Did you even try asking ‘Could you do something to not drive me insane, please?’”
Dad held up a hoof to protest, inhaling as it to start some long explanation only to pause. “Um, well… No. But in my defense, if you saw him, you wouldn’t exactly be functioning in a sane and logical mindset yourself!”
I wanted to be mad, but at the same time, I understood that. When you’re afraid, really afraid, traumatized really, you just CAN’T act like a person. Your instincts go full animal on you. I’d been there.
“It’s okay dad,” I said with a long deep breath. “I forgive you. I understand… Things like that. Do you feel any guilt over it? At all?”
Dad stood still for a moment then nodded once. “Yes. A little. But not much. You’d understand if you went there.”
“The ice caverns beneath Buckingcold, right?” I asked as I stood up.
“Don't go,” Dad warned. “Your mother and I got in, but only barely. And getting out was almost impossible. The guardian is-”
“I am going,” I said firmly. “It’s my duty as a Knight of the Realm. I need to go and see if this is a powerful but peaceful creature which deserved to be free, or a dangerous monster to destroy. And I need to do that before talking to Discord.
“It existing means others could stumble across him and if he felt bad for Sombra and gave him the power to fight some mysterious creature, it could be unintentionally creating MORE villains. This is a problem. It needs to be dealt with, and it’s personal for me. Because you know, technically speaking, it’s my brother.”
Dad closed his eyes tightly and turned around walking over to his bookshelf. He took a scroll case from the shelf and passed it to me with his magic.
“What’s this?” I asked suspiciously.
“It’s the map of the ice caverns,” Dad replied. “I heard some ponies were mining in the area but abandoned the project. There’s invisible protections, and some very much visible ones too. This map will let you find the tower safely. We probed its defenses for months.
“Don’t go alone. Sherbert seems to have an idea about this already. Take her with you. If she was allowed to join the Knights of the Rampant Moon, she has to be able to hold her own. Lyra said she could see the magic used… I would take her as well.
“You’ll need artic gear with exceptionally high energy wards. Preferably stealth systems too. I can tell you are going to do this now, and that means there’s no time to teach you the spells you mother and I used for this.
“Remember, it may not have killed us as we fled, but it attacked us on sight seemingly just for fun. We only barely survived and persuaded it to talk instead. There’s no guarantee that it won't blast you on sight. It’s not exactly peaceful or safe to be around. Be careful.”
I nodded and walked over to dad, giving him a tight hug. “I will dad. I’ll drop by on the way back to show you I’m safe,” I promised.
He returned the hug and then quietly sat down. “If- If I was wrong. If it is peaceful and can make itself safe to be near… Bring it here, so I can apologize.”
“I will,” I promised, turning and opening the study door, so I could walk into the hall.
Lyra and Sherbert immediately stood up, they had been sitting on a bench beneath a decorative red and silver abstract tapestry on the wall across from the study.
“So, what’s the news?” Lyra asked hopefully. “Anything that will help me?”
I nodded firmly. “Yes. We’re heading to Mage Meadowbrook's tower. I have a map. We can’t talk about it here. That study is warded for privacy, this hallway is not.”
Lyra’s ears perked, her eyes widening in something beyond mere incredulity. “You- you know where the tower is? We need to stop by my apartment first! I have to go there. She’s on record as having had a very specific ritual chamber, I need one and there’s no way I could-”
“We’re stopping by Sky’s place already. You’ll get your stuff. What do you need to get from the tower?” I asked quickly. “So I can plan this out. It’s very, very dangerous.”
“I need to use some equipment she was known to have to forge a crystal that I can use to help break the curse,” Lyra answered immediately. “That’s been the plan for the last three years. It’s the only lead I have.”
“Well, you may not have to do that. Because of why we're going to the tower. I’ll explain in private later,” I said as I nodded towards the castle’s entry.
Lyra’s face scrunched up as she repressed a whole butload of questions. “I- but- Okay. I’ll wait. But we’re RUNNING to the teleporter.”
“Is there anything you can tell us now?” Sherbert asked worriedly. “I mean, I should probably tell Discord that-”
“DON’T!” I snapped, immediately flinching at my outburst. “Sorry. I, this is personal. We need to go there first. I have to see things with my own eyes. If it's really that bad, we will talk to Discord immediately. I know the spell to summon him.”
Sherbert nodded once. “Alright. How is it personal?” She asked with a frown.
“Apparently I have an older brother,” I said, walking off down the hallway.
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i'm loving this like just wow!
enter big brother LP
Welp, that's one helluva complicated way to make a baby.
8445384 1. Tab D into slot V, repeat as desired/needed.
2. Using insane brother's journal...
8445392 And tab d into slot V describes the emotion and story line of so many movies..
INTERESTING developments eagerly awaiting the next chapter. A fight between Sherbert and Absurdly Buffstallion might be interesting and probably won't go as the stallion assumes it.. so Sherbert is a ninja wannabe.
Actually Sherbert playing tag with teh guards might be interesting. She has stealth and skill on her side but no idea of the area
inciteful > insightful
That was unexpected. Dunno is Discord will allow her brother free into our reality, though. Insanity inducing Eldritch abomination and all that.
So, cute doggo fillies are so powerfully so that visitors glomping them is standard procedure. Somehow that doesn't surprise me
I can see that happening, Celly decorating Canterlot Castle with B movie posters and breaking out the weapon replicas for "respect to a foreign representative". And to see the nobility writing within their own minds at the display. Specially when the empress and princess like it
Quite a intensely emotional chapter!. I like the focus on the inner conflict, And how Vinyl in such an introspective mood considers many aspects of her life as a whole. Details like the ones brought up at the old train station really build the mood and add to Vinyl's character.
The imagery for Hollow Shades was delightful. The terraced layers around the crater. The lake. The clouds by the moon. The old castle. It all paints such a striking picture.
Great chapter Meep!
Finally, something comes of the ice caverns. Are these the same ones that an eldritch horror crawled out of in Cataclysm?
Can't believe you mentioned vore. That shit is d-ee-sgus-ting!
Also, very detailed on the castle. But i get the feeling the count is a bit over-the-top.
8447109 Yes they are :P Why would I set up something like that and not folow through?
Of course he is XD and he knows it. Dinner at Ravenloft has his reasoning for it all.
"Oh, bite me! It's cool!"
Well, the revelation was interesting on the source of Vinyl's birth.
The main problem is that the biggest chunk of this chapter-the dialogue between Vinyl and her father-felt like boring exposition. It isn't, not quite, but it's the character. I as a reader don't know anything about Vinyl's dad beyond he's a baron, and a rich vampire.
This dialogue was almost all that. Just dialogue. There wasn't action to break it up, inner reflections, or much of anything along that variety. To top it off, I feel like some of it could have been condensed down a bit without loosing quality. So combine a distinct lack of action in the dialogue between Vinyl and her father, knowing next to nothing about her father beyond he is a father and a vampire and thus having incredibly little reason to care about him, and I felt this chapter was a bit dull.
That being said, you delivered interesting exposition, so it's not a total waste or anything of the sort. I just feel the way the reveal on Vinyl's creation and Bucking Cold's entity under the ice was a lot duller than it could have been.
8447252 You're right. My apologies. I'll be sure to polish the next chapter a bit more than usual for you.
8447148
You'd be surprised Meep. Besides you, only Fallout: Equestria used all of it's plotlines... or even finished the story..
8448445 Her house is as secure as mine. And remember, Luna teleported the town to another dimension, and the 3 buildings that were immune to that were the spa, Azur's housetress, and my home. Not to mention no daemon could breach it's defenses and it was used as a staging area for the post war hazardous environment cleanup. So yeah, pretty secure...
Guess tourism isn't high on the list of things to worry about.
Why do I get the feeling this Fae will become important latter?
Well they better have a bucking shield, because you know what is worse than having a scared officer, a dead one.
Sword Art Online.
I've seen a few different interpretations of Seaponies, I would like to know/see your interpretation on them.
"Controle, you must learn control."
Oh that is not fair, how do these guys get the monopoly on cute things!
Wait until you actually meet Rin, in full armor. You might rethink your career options then.
I can see her doing this with the Twilight Guard, anypony else wanna see that?
I wonder how her Imperial Badflank would react to seeing B movie posters with her as the lead?
Well not counting the ICE HORROR! Were going back? I mean it's great to expand on already established lore and areas.
The funny thing is I'm reading a different story that has something simular where a pony was 'reforged' out of the remains of another. Though I think I like this better.
Sorry, neither do I.
I agree with Vinyl's reaction here, you have his sister as your daughter, you are family bucking dammit!
Ya no, how about we get some heavy power armor, laser drills, thermite explosives, hard light shields, and a tank, preferably with legs and not treads.
Actually, there is, assuming this 'guy' can see magic like Discord and other unicorns he should be able to see Vinyl's aura, seeing his sisters remade soul or at least the void signature should keep them from getting blasted on the spot.
Alright, I have to point something out here. We seem to be getting to the main plot point from the description [the tower and the ritual inside] rather quick like we should be meeting Mr. Void ether next chapter or chapter 4, Bat's was 17 chapters long and were only on chapter 2. Meed is going to drop some world-threatening danger, send our part into another reality/dimension, go star hopping, or some other awesome adventure! Grab the popcorn and strap in colts and filly's, this is going to be exciting!
I can see all Luna's knights occasionally running training exercises with the various guard groups.. IF you are going to have Sherbert play tag you might as well let Tami have fun as well
8448542
Well Vi did say they were stopping by Sky's. And if they are doing arctic shit and also lovecraftian shit, then they will need appropriate armor...
8448542
More so than you'd think. You wouldn't expect there to be a website that's online dating for the Amish. But there is. And it's used. Unironically. People are weird.
Brittish Officer's don't have shields, and they do this. Don't believe me? Bam!
https://youtu.be/GrauBQf7FpI?t=9m37s
BUt yeah, it really doesn't do any good to duck in those situations. You're just going to lower moral, and you wont reduce your target size by much at all. It's just as difficult to hit a guy who'se ducking as it is a guy whose standing normaly assuming you have no cover.
Besides, this is Prance. Do you really think being dead is much of a problem for officers?
YOu saw one of their three breeds in Lifegiver.
Count Damsire: "I bought up all of the cute back in 2,893. When it was just coming out."
"You got the casting wrong."
"But... But she looks just like you, Ma'am."
"Yeah, but she's a wimp. Nopony cares if the actor looks like me. Heck, nopony cares if she's Neighponese or not. Well, nopony who isn't a racist anyways. They need to feel like me. Find some mare who is equally badflank, can act, and wants to do the roll, and redo it."
The Ice horror is cold, is it not?
Damnit! IT's actually really funny! And now i have to explain the joke ><
So, the joke is as follows:
Count Damsire is Equestria's first vampire. The fauther of them all. He's the setting's Dracula. And just before the fight he begged for his life with "Please dont' steal my soul!" and the entity, aware of Damisre's status of "First Vampire" within this world, went:
Come on! Even if you're somehow not familiar with one of the greatest game series of all time, and a true classic going back to the NES era and still going on today, you have to be aware of the second most hilariously bad line in all of gaming. It's right after this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQE66WA2s-A
What if it's this tank?
fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/323/e/4/bolo___we_are_already_in_hell_by_shimmering_sword-d336pwn.jpg
Speaking of that tank, Nfire, if you're reading this, more when?
8448785 8448871
Actually, I was quoting you from Bats
YAY!
Well, I stand corrected.
You and I both know calling that a tank is like calling a battleship a boat, that is a moving fortress of death and I highly doubt Sky has one of those.
8448773
I was thinking more...
i.ytimg.com/vi/DsR_bstD7nY/maxresdefault.jpg
8450553 You and meep and your warhammer... To bulky, you loose all maneuverability. It's not all about heavy steal plate. Nano fibers, titanium carbide alloys, hardlight and ion shielding. There is more than one way to make heavy duty power armor. And in this situation, they will need something that does that, has all the warding and shielding they need, as well as environmental protection.
Besides, they are coming to me for what they need. So it's my choice as to what to make, it will meet all their requirements and then some, and it will be with my style.
8450621 Except you DON'T loose maneuverability. Because a Spacemarine doesn't have the same anatomy or proportions as a baseline human. They are shaped more like a gorilla, and have tons of extra organs resulting in the need for a bigger/wider chest. The armor is perfectly fitted to them, and fairly thin, save for the pauldrens-mounted-shield thingies that clip on.
static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/1/11672/1891290-spacemarineanatomyphilipgibbering.jpg
Furthermore, their armor is technically a bodypart that can be removed or attached at will. It's just as flexible, mobile, and dexterious as the marine incide. This is accomplished through the Black Carapace organ, which links the marines nerves directly to many diffrent parts of the armor.
Thats why they have these bits all over them.
beastsofwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Lord-Inquisitor-Character-Render-3.png
and the armor internals are actually very thin, as are the plates themselves.
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/99/1b/dc/991bdc298072a135252d3a32da12ced3.jpg
Learn the setting :P
EDIT:
Actually, marine armor uses some ceramite plates, but there's not a single gram of steal in it. Most of it is made of fiber bundles, and other materials. The plating is just disposable armor pannels that sits atop the actual power armor suit and serves to protect the suit's systems. The reals suit can be seen in the belly area of Power Armor.
Here be the plates:
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/3/33/Ignatus_Power_Armour.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20130907040900
You can see the real armor in the joints here.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/2/29/MarkXTacticusArmour.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20170807021450
ALso:
Yeah, that armor works in the vacuum of space. DEEP space. It's not going to have problems at temps down to 2.7 K.
I wonder if it says something about the void creatures that, among other potential motivations, this one up in Buckingcold simply wanted his sister back in some form and to have a family again. That moves them from "unknowable extra-cosmic horror" to "has families like everyone else".
8452007 It says something about at least a percentage of them.
Welp. I can't blame Sherbet. That much adorable should be illegal.
Moving on though, I'm really thankful that the cave of icey doom is going to be explored further and that we might get to see something epic between vinyl and he whose name shall not be spoken. I'm hoping for a reference spree but I guess I'll see.
Also, I'm a little intrigued that the count never tried to go back and reconcile. Seems like he missed an opportunity but I guess the fear of HIM would be a viable reason not to tempt fate.