(Trixie is absent today, as Starlight opens a book of old pony myths and legends to the subject of the chapter she has reached in the Book of Friendship. She clears her throat before she reads a short paragraph from the legend out loud.)
"As the festival drew to a close, the stallion led her away with a firm, yet gentle hoof, as he took her to the secluded stables at the edge of the village. She followed willingly, and she leaned against the stable, her head swimming with romantic thoughts, his glare turned hostile, hungry, as his eyes faded from sea blue to a deep red crimson, and then he attacked her. She made to scream but the shock of his long fangs, sinking into the flesh of her neck took the wind from her cry. She remembered nothing more as she fell to the floor on the hay strewn ground. When she awoke the next day, she was very much alive. But now was overcome with an insatiable thirst..."
Tales of strange creatures, dangerous legends and awe inspiring myths have been around for as long as ponies themselves have. Who doesn't enjoy sitting by the fire, immersing themselves in tales too fantastic to be true? Or so nightmarish, it makes you glad that its all just a story.
Well, if what I have read in this chapter of the Book Of Friendship is true...these "tales" may be more then just stories to keep little fillies up at night.
Starlight's Journal: Vampirism: Fact or Fiction?
This one is a little personal to me.
When I was a filly, me and Sunburst used to tell stories of Timber were-ponies and Vampire Ponies to each other. Huddled around the fireplace while a terrible storm raged outside. It was all great fun, knowing that we would be able to sleep that night, knowing the stories we told were just in our heads.
I must say, the prospect of these tales being more then tales is....scary. But, that means its even more important that I research and log all I can on these subjects. In case I or anypony else ever runs into one.
Okay, for starters let's discuss Vampire Ponies.
Vampire Ponies
According to the book, Vampire Ponies are like us but far stronger, faster, smarter and much more dangerous. Their coats are noticeably darker in color, as well as their manes which seem to unsettle, looking disheveled and almost wild in appearance. Also unlike the bat ponies of Nightmare Moon's reign, Vampire Ponies do not have a unique eye type, but their eyes become a deep shade of crimson, with little light reflecting from them, if any at all. Almost as if their very Equinity is now gone.
Then of course there are the wings and the fangs, that all those stories make you terrified of even going out at night. Razor sharp needle like fangs that protrude unnaturally from their mouths, and large bat-like wings that seem to fold out from their backs, rather then that of the grace of a Pegasus folding their wings to the side. Not only that, but they are said to have incredible physical abilities, such as being able to move faster then the pony's eye can see, scale walls and roofs with their bare hooves and even mesmerize those with wills too weak to resist their hypnotic spell.
Unfortunately, it's hard to tell the facts from the fiction here. But I'll give it my best shot.
The origin of these creatures of the night, is hazy at best. There are so many tales of vampire ponies, appearing from the shadows and attacking ponies in the dead of night, that it's hard to say where it all originated from. One source suggests they were dreamed up to be a single time villain in old story from long ago, but they were so universally received that they gained a popular following in the realms of fiction.
Another theory, is that they truly existed, but were wiped out by a secret group of vampire hunters in some unseen war, hundreds of years ago.
And then there's the Book of Friendship, that says quite clearly that not only do they exist, and are even still around today, but that it was Eclipsa herself that created them!
Already one dislike? Yes! That's a new record!.....I shouldn't have done this. LOL.
Wow, there are no comments on this...
8596348
I only just posted it, my friend! What is your opinion on the story, if you don't mind me asking? (I'm not gonna lie, I expect it to do terribly.)
But, don't you need to finish the story before November is over before you submit it?
8596562
Technically, it was finished, but I added a few things in. It's just stuff that I added in after the story had won. A few new parts of chapters that need to be finished, as well as a few other dialogue tweaks. I'm working on it, and probably going to expand it more as I write.
Thank you for commenting, Nova! And thank you for being a follower with me for so long. I really appreciate it!
Oh boy...the more I read of this, the less I feel that it was a good idea to publish it. NaPoWriMo winner or not, you guys deserve to read something better then the insane writings of a madman with too much time on his hands. I won't be able to fix all of the problems with this thing, at least not while I am working on my Hearths Warming Story!
I think I will just unpublish it for now. Save the world from it's madness.
8598123
Really? Thank you! I really appreciate that. As for the script-like structure, I agree. I was actually writing it like that so I could better structure the dialogue once I got to editing it. Unfortunately with the madness of NaPoWriMo, I never had the time!
Thank you so much for giving The Book of Friendship a chance! Please let me know if you have anything else you'd like to tell me about or have any questions. Thanks again!
8598127
Designing the kingdoms that united to form The Alicorn Empire was a challenge, but it was also a lot of fun! My personal favorites are The Juice Kingdom (that's Surprise's hometown by the way) The Chocolate Kingdom and The Shadow Kingdom (A very mysterious kingdom with its own unique pony race and strange magic, unlike anything else that exists on Concordia. I'll be explaining more about it soon, in it's own chapter.)
The Science Kingdom is actually the most technologically advanced society in the world, but they despise magic and completely disregard it in favor of science. And some of them are a little too smart, enough to give even Twilight a run for her money.
8598408
I'm glad you like her! Popularity actually grew up surrounded by ponies who thought appearance and status was everything. But she was always different. I wanted to make her truly feel like the first Element of Generosity, and what she could teach those who read The Book of Friendship.
8598410
Eclipsa is very...."unique", in her ways of democracy. At least this time, the city was still in one piece...
8598434
Yep. Although back in the days of the empire, there were far more dangerous creatures roaming the lands outside of where Equestria is now. Deathclaws were actually one of them. They kept mostly to themselves and very few ponies ever went into their territory.
Although with Eclipsa's armies watching the border, they rarely became a problem.
8610823
Do you mean suggestions for that chapter, or the story in general?
8610942
This chapter. But you're free to make whatever suggestions you'd like! I am writing some new chapters after all. Let me know what you would like to hear about!
8611212
Well, aside from altering things so Starlight is a little more accepting of Discord (and Trixie is the one most annoyed by him), I can't think of any other way the chapter can be altered. I'll have to think about future chapters.
8611854
I see. Would you mind if I ask why Starlight would be more accepting of Discord while Trixie would not? Not that I don't see why, its just I would like to hear your opinion.
8612381
Well, "Celestial Advice" showed that Starlight finds Discord's antics amusing, while Trixie just finds him annoying.
8612587
Fair point. I'll re watch the episode for reference. I may have switched things around for the purpose of the story. Thank you for the feedback!
8612718
No problem. Happy to help.