> The unconverted one
>  by MisterManAndMissLady
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It used to belong to us. The ponies that is. Equestria used to be full of life, of playful foals and cheerful ponies. It used to be ruled by Princess Celestia who controlled the sun. She would light up the days. The day… our safe haven.

Now Equestria has fallen into ruin. There are no more frolicking ponies. No foals playing under the sun.

I say that, of course, but it doesn’t mean Equestria is uninhabited. No, there are still plenty of creatures in Equestria. There are the animals, like the squirrels and the cats.

And then there are the monsters…

We used to think they were just legends. Storied told by mothers to keep adventurous foals in their beds. I heard them when I was just a little filly, many, many times… I wish my mother was still around to tell them to me now.

It all began eight years ago, on the night of the winter equinox. The longest night of the year. The night that they’re at their strongest.

They had been rallying for months. Slowly rallying in and around the smaller towns; Ponyville, Appleloosa, Trottawa… Nopony even suspected it.

Then, the moment the sun went down, they sprang. They separated, searching for isolated targets, hiding the comatose bodies until they completed the transformations. In one night, all of Ponyville was converted, as were the other towns, with not a scream nor a cry.

The sun rose, and they waited. News spread, talk of deserted cities, ghost towns made overnight. In the remaining cities cities, ponies began succumbing to fear. What could have caused this? Talk of investigation was had, but the monsters didn’t care. After all, they had just cut the oppositions forces while bolstering their own numbers dramatically. In one night, they had begun a war.

The ponies of the other cities reacted. They locked their doors, enchanted the perimeters of the cities. Curfew was in effect. Imaginary deterrents, such as garlic, were kept close. But it wasn’t enough.

At dusk of the second day, they were off.

The Pegasi rushed to the cities in the skies. Cloudsdale fell over the course of a week. The enemy lost a many soldiers, but but for each monster that fell, two more rose to take it's place. With Cloudsdale gone, they turned their attention to the most opulent earth pony city.

Manehatten took longer, if for no other reason than the sheer size of it, although the defensive measures helped too. After a month, only half the population remained. But as soon as they had numbers, the enemy switched tactics. Brute force became their new weapon, and it only took three more nights to finish Manehatten off. They had started as individuals, but now they were an army.

With two major cities out of the way, they took their time, slowly converting the rest of Equestria. They knew that once they began to siege their goal, there was no turning back. They gave it another month, finding the isolated farms, the survivors holed up in the wilderness, every un-abandoned stronghold, and the infiltrators, the few who managed to disguise themselves and live among their ranks.

Finally, it was time. Only the capital city remained. The jewel of Equestria, where the two most powerful ponies lived. The ruler of the day, and their greatest foe, Princess Celestia. She was the only pony who they couldn’t convert; the ruler who had to die, the tyrant who's very existence caused nothing but pain and death to the monsters.

And there was the second. The queen of the night, who suffered for a thousand years on the moon because of her sister. Their ruler. Their princess. She was the true ruler of Equestria, the younger sister, the one who had spawned our enemy. Princess Luna, the creator and ruler of the Vamponies.

The siege was a magnificent war. Many nights of combat ended in stalemates. The Vamponies couldn’t break through Canterlot's defenses, but the Canterlonians were losing ponies to ensure the barriers held firm. The spring equinox was coming; the moment where the night and day would have the same length. Both sides knew that reaching the equinox meant victory for the remaining ponies, as they would have more and more time to recover between attacks.

All through the war, Luna had remained sided with the ponies. She was waiting, biding her time. One night, mere weeks before the equinox, she tore a tiny hole in the shield. A single Vampony snuck in, fixing it up behind her. She took refuge in a small house nearby, converting the single pony that lived there. With her powerful magic, she managed to remain undetected, escaping the searching flow of magic that spread through the city at day break. During the night, she would invade a new home, converting the ponies inside, after which she would set up barriers to ward off the searching magic. For seven days she repeated her actions, managing to convert seventeen ponies within Canterlot’s borders.

With ten days left, the Vamponies, both inside and out, coordinated a power push. The ones inside made a suicidal run at the guards protecting the barrier at the southernmost entrance, managing to disable them long enough for the Vamponies on the outside to shatter the barrier and force their way in. The guards fell back as the stream of monsters infested the outer city, converting hundreds of citizens who were too close to the edge, and any guard who was too slow to escape. With the help of the solar princess, who forced the sun up an hour early, the guards managed to remake the barrier around the palace, taking in every citizen that was still unconverted. But it was too late.

The moment the next night fell, Princess Luna finally showed her true colours. She shattered the barrier from within, allowing her subjects to flood the building. The remaining ponies became the victory feast, their blood feeding the swarm that now ruled over Equestria. There was only the solar princess left; the king on the ponies chessboard.  She would die, the venom of the Vamponies lethal to her. And the one who bit her was her most faithful student; the Vampony who had invaded Canterlot and who was now the apprentice of the lunar princess. Twilight Sparkle.

They won, and control of Equestria was theirs. With no ponies left, they had to settle for other, lesser meats and blood, but it was worth it, for now they no longer had to fear the ponies and the threat they posed. The next year was spent renovating Equestria during the night, adapting it to the Vamponies needs; light canceling shutters, copious amounts of bloody meat (both living and dead) and seeking out the few real ponies that remain alive. That was a popular activity.

Now, eight years since the fall of Canterlot, they’ve settled in. Our world is relatively unchanged, although most buildings have been painted in darker colours, and there is very little light within them. As far as I’m aware, there are no longer any living ponies left. They believe this as well, seeing as the number of pony hunters is next to zero. The few remaining ones are searching far and wide, but they won’t find any. If they’ve hidden themselves for eight years, they must be safe by now.

Like me…

I’m the last pony…

And my name is Vinyl Scratch.

I’ve done the unthinkable; I’ve blended in with their kind.

They have spells that I’ve adapted to, searches that I avoided. I’ve covered up my scent with perfume, a special kind that makes me smell like them. My heart beats silently, so they won’t hear it. Magic and science have combined to make me one of them while not being one of them. I live among them, acting as they do, eating as they do, living as they do. I hardly remember what it means to be a pony.

Of course, it isn’t easy. There are many, many habits I’ve had to suppress. Vamponies don’t sweat, so I use a special ointment that helps keep my body cool. I avoid physical activity as much as possible. I always keep cold beverages handy, just in case. The biggest problem with this is that Vamponies don’t shiver either, so I need to keep the balance between the two. Not hot enough to sweat, not cold enough to shiver.

A rumour we used to believe was that Vamponies are stronger and faster than regular ponies. This only true when they were hunting us, and since we no longer exist, I’m able to keep up with them. They can sometimes show bursts of strength or speed, but my lack thereof is not enough for them to suspect me.

Vamponies also have reduced emotional responses. Where a pony would laugh, a Vampony merely smiles. Where a pony would strike out with rage, a Vampony frowns, and, if they’re particularly angry, they might hiss. I’ve dampened my emotions even more, so that I seem almost cold. Better hated than suspected in this world.

There’s more, much more; they don’t twitch, they don’t squint, they don’t get itches. The list goes on for a long time, but the essential is this; don’t stand out.

They have one weakness, and only one. The sun. The sun burns them. It’s not instantaneous. In fact, it takes about ten minutes in direct sunlight for them to die, which diminishes the more diluted the sunlight is. But during those ten minutes, they weaken slowly. They get massive migraines after the first minute. By the third they have trouble moving. After the 7th, if they’re still alive, they cannot leave the sunlight under their own power. If they get no help, they’ll roast, combust, and turn to ash.

But they need the sun or they’ll lose the crops, lose the crops and they lose the livestock. Lose that and they’re out of luck. Famine will take them. If only they would die of starvation, then maybe I would stand a chance. But no, that’s a dream that will never happen. Luna controls the sun now; loathed though she is to let it hurt her subjects, she knows they need it's light to survive.

I live among them. I am one of them. I eat as they do, I talk as they do, I am smarter than most of them too. It’s too bad my coat and mane stand out so much, but I’ve learned to live with this disadvantage. I always wear my shades, not only to hide my vivid, breathtaking eyes, but because Vamponies don’t have blood. If I take my shades off and they see, I’m boned. The vessels in my eyes are the only giveaway. A dead giveaway that I’ve managed to hide. Every Vampony knows that I’m always wearing my shades. They think my eyes are sensitive to light, even the microscopic amount that exists in the Vampony world.

It might sound easy, but it’s not. Many would wonder why I don’t just become a recluse, and there’s only one answer to that. Because ponies need to socialise. It’s a physical need. Many ponies have tried to suppress it, and none succeeded. They would be found out eventually, and devoured. It was not uncommon to see one run out into a large crowd, shouting “I can’t take it anymore!” and slicing off a part of their body. The moment Vamponies smell pony blood, they lose it. Nothing will stand between them and their target.

This is why I’m probably the last. Only a unicorn could possibly manage to blend in this well. The other races would be found out the moment they were forced into close proximity of a Vampony. Their scent or the sound of their heart would give them away.

Not me. I will live. For all the ponies who died, I will live on. Hopefully I can find an unconverted stallion and restart our race, but my hopes for that aren’t high. Until then, I’m living the life of a normal teenage Vampony; high school.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I’m one of the most attractive fillies in school? Which nets me a lot of unwanted attention from colts. And fillies.

Vamponies are lusty bastards. They can reproduce through sex, and they die with age, contrary to what our rumours said. I suppose it’s a win and a loss. But the awesome part is, unlike with ponies, it’s the female Vampony that makes the first move. The males can drop hints that they like a female, but it’s up to the female to choose her mate. And I sure as hell won’t be picking any Vampony.

If only it weren’t for the Celestia be damned fillyfoolers… They get to move first AND they can go for another female. I tried to make it clear that I’m straight, which I totally am by the way! But they just don’t get it! It’s probably because I’m so damn sexy! And don’t get me started on the males; I get hundreds of hints dropped left and right. I ignore them all, of course, but it’s grinding on my nerves. Maybe that’s why they don’t believe I’m straight…

So that’s my life, in general, and honestly, it’s better than it sounds. I could give you a summary of the day-to-day events from my birth all the way up to the mass conversions and then the eight years following that, but instead, I’m just gonna jump straight to now.

Cause now, I boned up, bad.

I am Vinyl Scratch, the last pony, and this is the story of my greatest mistake.
> The night before I messed up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I started my evening by taking my usual hour-long sweat removal shower, water droplets pitter-pattering across my fur, washing away my living scent along with the grime of my night job.  After that, I applied my anti-scent spell, my anti-sweat spell, my anti-emotion mode… Well, you get the idea.

In short, my evenings are lengthy. I usually wake two hours before dusk. Most of that time is used to prepare myself for the next night, but I always take a few moments at some point to bask in the sun’s rays, as if to prove that I’m not one of them.

And that was one thing I cared a lot about; I’m not one of them. I might act like them, I might eat like them, I might even think somewhat like them, but I am not one of them, and if I keep my cool, I never will be.

I ate my breakfast; fruit. I grew accustomed to the horrible food that is raw meet. I've forced myself to stomach it, even though it gives me no nutritious benefit. As such, I only ate lunch at school to keep up appearances. Vamponies don’t like fruit, which is fine by me, but it means I have to go harvest it on weekends during the day so they don’t suspect me. After all, missing a single night of sleep during the school week would not only make me woozy and more likely to let something slip, but it would also shoot my eyes through with blood. If my shades were to fall off, I’d be found out in an instant. Just because it's never happened before, doesn't mean I can take any chances.

With my evening ritual complete, I stepped outside. I live in a slightly more isolated part of town. Back in the old days, these were the slums of Canterlot, and even here the ponies had lived well. Perhaps not as good as the ponies in the fancier districts, but still well enough. The slums were sparsely populated, probably since the war, followed by the feasting, had cut the population of Canterlot by over half. There were no Vamponies within sight range of my house, which allowed me to bask in the dying rays of the sun without fear of being seen. This was a magical moment for me, as the sun seemed to have some sort of powerful healing ability; every time it hit me, I got happy. It meant I was alone, secluded and safe. I knew Celestia was watching over me whenever her light caressed my fur.

The feeling wouldn’t last. The sun had already set, with only the dying remnants of its beauty filling me, and the early rising Vamponies would be exiting their houses soon, some to go to work, others to school. At this point of the night, they could safely step outside without experiencing much more than a minor headache and some temporary blindness if they weren’t wearing sunglasses.

I slouched back inside and grabbed my things: my locker key, my saddlebags and my signature headphones. One of the best pieces of technology in existence, if you ask me. I put them on and started up my music player, the brand new, cutting edge Ipone. It was one of the few things that helped me keep my sanity in this crazy, upside down Equestria. Vamponies were crazy for music, so it helped me fit in. I even had a job that I do once or twice a week; I’m a DJ at a local club.

Now, don’t start going off about how cool DJ-ing is. It used to be amazing, back in Equestria. I wasn’t a DJ back then, but I’ve always wanted to be one. What with the techno music: dubtrot, trance, nightcore. And then there were the lights, which rarely belonged to the DJ’s, but they were still awesome. Mix that with the masses of ponies and heaving bodies, the sweat running like water and the thick and musky smell of, well, you know… arousal. All that together made DJ-ing what it was. Or at least, what I had dreamed it would be.

In the new Equestria, things were different. The music was much darker, dreary even. It was like they had removed the bam that was famous in the club life. Drums, keyboard, guitar, all gone. The organ was the instrument of choice. Honestly, it mostly sounded like classical music! Gag! Violins and other string instruments now rule the scene. Luckily for me, I knew a few good, popular patterns, so I could pretend to be listening to the classic while actually blaring my dubtrot through my headphones.

The second change was the lights. Predictably, they were removed. The new lighting was much, much dimmer; invisible to me actually. They call it “gamma double Z”. Whatever, it doesn’t hurt me, so I don’t care, but apparently it’s like a drug to them. I can see them in the streets near the early morning, lying almost comatose with one-shot flashers in their hooves. Whatever it is, it’s potent. I use my shades as an excuse to why it doesn’t affect me, which the boss if fine with. Too many of his regular DJ’s get caught up in the light while they work, even though it’s a very tiny dosage.

Finally, there’s the last change, and probably the one that changes the least, yet changes the most. The dancing, the grinding, the whole reason ponies use to go to clubs; to pick up a mate for a one night stand. The dancing barely changed; besides the lack of sweat, it’s still the same pounding, grinding, too-close-for-comfort-unless-you’re-drunk dancing. The only minor yet major difference is that Vamponies don’t have the need to, as we say, “get a stable”. At multiple times during the night, seemingly random orgies will break out, with the mares just popping their tails up or going down on the stallions in the middle of the floor. And if a mare has a, um, hole available, well, let’s just say it won't stay open for long. They’ll usually take two of three sets before growling at any that come near. Most stallions back off at this point, knowing how much having an unwilling lover can hurt, but some persist. Most will never do it again, either because they’re scarred for life, physically, or they are now actually incapable. I feel sad for the latter ones, sometimes, but sometimes they really can't take a hint.

And that’s the new D-’ing. Some of you perverts may think that I’m the luckiest mare alive and, quite frankly, if the dancing worked the same as it did now back in the old Equestria, I might agree with you. So long as the stallions backed off once the mares were done, I’d be more than happy to say I have one the absolute best seats in the house. The only problem, one that is becoming more and more persistent, is the mating problem. I will never have a mate. The moment they would get inside me, no, scratch that, the instant I’d get excited, they would smell the blood as it, erm, “fills the pouches” so to speak. During my heats I skip school entirely; I just can’t take the chance. Males almost never make the first move, but that’s not a bet I’m willing to make. And females WOULD make the first move, forcefully, if they really wanted it.

But I got carried away. The point is I will never mate, and let me tell you; when you realise that you will never, ever have a lover, well, it hits you hard, both physically and mentally. I considered, for the first time ever, just jumping down into the middle of the dance floor and cutting myself, but something held me back. Maybe it was a primal desire to survive; maybe it was just because I was too scared of death. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful for it. I managed to get over it pretty quickly, but it’ll always be a thought gnawing at the back of my mind. Another one of the heavy burdens I bare. I'd never though that I'd be a good mother; frankly I never wanted to be a mother, but that realization changed something in me. Something powerful.

Anyway, I slowly made my way through the streets to school, exchanging bleak, meaningless greetings with the few ponies that I passed along the way. For Vamponies, greetings are… not unimportant, more like boring. A chore, if you will. Unless you’re close, a quick “hi” or “hello” or if they’re in a good mood, “good night” is the best you will get.

The trip wasn’t short; there are only 4 schools in all of Canterlot that are in use, and I live far away from any school. I made it there early, despite the distance, as I frequently do and began setting up at my first period desk.

First period is hunting class. Most Vamponies think it’s a waste of time; they don’t need to hunt anymore, they have all the cattle they could possibly desire ever since the Conversion. As such, it’s a class in which it’s not unusual to see a few heads lolling; some Vamponies are even flat out asleep. I don’t care much for hunting; there are worse classes, but hunting is pretty dull, seeing as it doesn’t apply to me. It's hard enough to stay focused in the muted darkness that is my everyday life without adding boring to the list. If I fall asleep in class, bad things will happen to me, so I need to keep alert and stay awake. Not to mention slipping grades means detention, and from there it's a downward spiral that would only lead to my discovery.

I was in the front row; I always sit in the front row. Because of how dark it is and with my shades on top of that, I can never see the blackboard. The fact that the chalk is white doesn’t help much, but I suppose it’s the only reason I can see anything at all. I’m pretty smart, and I’ve got a great memory, so I tend to just try and memorize all the words that come out of the teachers’ mouths. It works, usually.

Once hunting class was over, I shuffled out with the other students, careful to keep from touching anyone. No reason to try and stand out. I don’t have any friends, nor do I want any; that would only cause complications.

Back at my locker, I opened it quickly, took out my books for math, and was about to move on when a hoof shot past my side, slamming into the locker next to mine with a loud clang.

“Hey sexy, wanna meet up after class?”

I didn’t recognize the voice, so it wasn’t one of my usual admirers. That was far from a relief; the fewer Vamponies who focus on seducing me, the better. The voice sounded high pitched; definitely female, and the leg attached to it was a light purple, which probably meant…

“My name’s Cloud Kicker, and you’ve got one good looking flank.”

You remember when I told you that Vamponies are horny bastards? Well, this is a very common first greeting. All Vamponies know the term “friends with benefits” and, although most have standards, looks tend to fall second to potential sex. What I’m saying is they’d screw anything that moves, and even some things that don't.

“Not interested.”

That’s a much less common reply. Most decent Vamponies would basically just find any remotely private area, present themselves and, if you’re lucky, clean up. Not many refuse, even when the proposer looks ugly. This is an unfortunate part of my life; I’m beautiful, by their standards, and pretty much everyone knows or suspects that I’m virgin. A virgin, to Vamponies, is like the rarest delicacy they can find. Most Vamponies drop the virginity the moment they hit puberty, which is usually between ten to twelve years old. Finding a virgin at eighteen is impossible, unless you're me.

“Oh come on Vinyl, don’t be that way~.”

And she was going to insist. What else is new?

“Back off Cloud Kicker, I have light spray.”

Ah, light spray, a veritable beauty when it comes to turn offs. That stuff burns their skin like acid, and they knew it. Not many Vamponies ever needed it, since rape pretty much didn’t exist, but they still made some for the few weirdoes.

She backed off, muttering unhappily, and walked away. A few of her friends tried to approached her, most likely to offer their services, but she waved them off.

I suppose I might be giving you the wrong idea. Vamponies don’t buck 24/7, but most don’t usually go more than a week without some sort of love. They’re almost as bad as changelings used to be, before they were annihilated, that is.

I closed my locker and made my way to class, ignoring several cat calls from other females. The idea of a virgin would turn even the straightest Vampony gay.

In math, I took my usual seat at the front. My neighbor in this class was very touchy, and by that I meant she used to try and grope me. The first time I let her have a quick squirt of light spray. When she tried again a week later, I pretty much halved the bottle. She got the idea after that.

Math passed without incident, and we moved on to lunch. At the cafeteria I ordered a small, uncooked pork chop and sat down at a two pony table. I didn’t know who was going to hit on me tonight, but I was sure it was going to be annoying.

“Mind if I sit down?”

I looked up. That wasn’t what I had been expecting; where was the assertive claim that we were off to the bathroom? The sly complement and disgustingly exaggerated wink? The literal shoving of sexual bits in my face? 

Above me stood a calm gray mare with a long, black mane, a pink bow tie and a treble clef cutie mark. I had heard of her before, as had most of the school. She was a very refined Vampony, very pretty and very talented. Apparently she was an aspiring musician, with a lot of fame, a lot of money and even richer parents. She had just transferred in a few days ago, and I'd had yet to meet her, until now that is. But I knew I would; the moment she heard the school had a virgin, she’d sniff me out.

And now she was here.

“So I heard you don’t like to buck.”

Well, you can only hope for so much… After all, even in the most noble of families, bucking is considered a very common pass time.

“What do you want?” My voice carried all the enthusiasm of a rock.

“I wanted to know if I could sit here. I thought I made that quite clear.”

I gestured to the empty seat. “If you’re going to flirt, the answer is no.”

She sat down. “You’re probably the only Vampony ever who doesn’t like to buck.”

“Sue me.”

“I’d rather befoul you.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Alright.”

I paused. “What?”

“Alright.”

“Alright what?”

“I won’t pop your cherry.”

I glared at her. “What’s the catch?”

“None.”

“Now tell me the truth.”

“Nothing.” 

“I don’t believe you.”

“Do you want me to pounce on you and prove you right or would you rather take my word for it?”

Oh, she was good…

“Alright, let’s say I decide to believe you, then what?”

“We eat? I believe that was the purpose behind our lunch break.” She emphasised her point by taking a big bite of her uncooked steak.

I decided that she wasn’t half bad, but I wasn’t looking for a friend. Better to be alone and alive than risk a friendship. Still, she would make a good acquaintance.

I took a bite of my pork chop, chewing slowly. I hated raw meat with a passion, having to eat it every night at lunch for the past eight years. But of course, I hid all emotion from my face. It wouldn’t do to show disgust.

“So, what’s your name?” I asked, trying to make conversation. Vamponies enjoyed conversation, specifically if it revolved around them, bucking, or a combination of the two. Especially if it's a combination of the two.

“Octavia, yours?”

“Vinyl, but I’ll bet my lunch that you already knew that.”

She pushed what was left of her steak over to me.

“I was kidding.” I said as I pushed it back. She shot me a quick grin, and I returned it with a weak chuckle.

“You know Vinyl, you’re not the prude I thought you would be, what with all the rumors about your sexual status.”

I gave her the tiniest of smiles. It’s really annoying, having to tone down my emotions when for them it’s instinctual. “And you’re accepting of it, which makes me happy.”

She returned my micro smile and finished the little bit of steak she had left. “You’re a pretty slow eater.” She said as she saw that my pork chop, which was half as small as her steak to begin with, was only half gone. I flipped it over to her plate, and she gave me a questioning glance.

“Not hungry.”

She nodded and scooped it up, tearing it apart in a few seconds. I watched her do it, tensing up just the tiniest bit; that could be me if I wasn’t careful. It’s the little moments like this that remind me why I live alone, without friends. They keep me on my toes, reminding me of the difference between me and them. They’re savages who’ll eat me alive without a second glance.

“So what class do you have next?” She asked nonchalantly. That snapped my mind back into focus, again. They might be disgusting savages, but I had to act like them. Come on girl, get it together! One of them being nice to you shouldn’t throw you off you game.

“Physical education.”

Oh Phys Ed, how I hate you so. We need to put on shorts for the class to make sure that while we’re moving around, nopony can see our “Special place” as the coach puts it. Honestly, I agree with him; the temptation to just drop the sports and start bucking would be too high. It tends to happen anyway. So after we’re suited up, he makes us all run drills and play sports; pretty much everything that can make me sweat. I’m the worst player, always picked last because I move intentionally slowly and refuse to exert myself. Despite this, there have been close calls in the past. Once I even felt a drop forming, and I took a rather long bathroom break to cool off, wipe it off and re-apply some perfume. It really sucks that Phys Ed is mandatory for all six years of Vampony high school, and I still have one more to go after I finish this year.

“Oh how lovely, I have that class next too. It’ll be nice playing with you~” She said as she rose and began to make her way out of the cafeteria, dropping the steak bone in a trash can along the way and strutting in what I would guess was supposed to be sexy, revealing manner; probably to try and make me fall for her.

Needless to say, it didn’t work. I thought for a moment and decided that the innuendo was intentional, too.

I sighed and lay back on my chair, pulling out my Ipone. I always try to relax before Phys Ed, seeing as it’s the most deadly class I have and anyone of them could be my last. Not the most comforting thought right? I picked a very nice, upbeat dubtrot song and blared it, bobbing my head and tapping my hooves to the beat. From where I was sitting, I didn’t have a very good view of the cafeteria, plus my eyes were closed, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that I missed it.

It started off as a tiny squeaking. My headphones are noise-canceling, but something was loud enough to get through both that feature and the music playing. I ignored the first squeak, but then there was the sound of tables beings moved. I opened my eyes to see that the area in front of me was empty and I spun on my chair.

It was an orgy, right in the middle of the caf. Fillies were jumping the colts left and right, and then being jumped on by other Vamponies. The moment I turned around, I had seen too much. I was up in an instant, running for the door; in a Vampony orgy, most females will get dragged in; mostly by choice, but there are the occasional ones that are forced into it. They can resist, of course, and most would get out pretty quickly, but fighting my way out would make me sweat, and that was as bad as tying a noose round my neck. On the other hoof, going along with it was just as bad; sooner or later they’d be able to tell, either feeling my heartbeat or smelling the blood.

So I ran, and I made it. A few Vamponies looked over at me, trying to assess if they could drag the virgin in, but they quickly got distracted by the swarm of easy prey around them.

I made straight for the bathroom. It was empty, of course, seeing as most Vamponies were now in the caf, getting theirs. I only had a few minutes of privacy, if I was lucky. Without missing a beat, I put my hoof down there and began to rub.

This sort of thing happened a lot. Can you blame me? Angry fangs and flashing nethers everywhere; it's hard to just look away. Sometimes I get worked up in ways that mean blood's rushing to places that reek of living. Some Vampony's bound to notice. Best thing to do then is just let it out as quick as possible. That way, I can get back to my routine without having a little fleshy "eat me" sign between my legs.

Luckily for me, I’ve trained myself in going fast. Before two minutes had past, I was already wiping myself clean. Now I just needed another few minutes to cool down, calm my heartbeat and let the blood return to its normal route.

I stepped out of the stall and splashed water on my face, casting a spell to dissipate the scent I had no doubt left behind. Everything was pretty much back to normal when I heard the bathroom door open. I was pretty sure I was safe, so I didn’t bother looking up; it would be suspicious.

“Not in the caf getting bucked~?” Octavia teased.

I levitated my glasses back on my face and looked up at her. “No, why aren’t you?”

“Not in the mood.”

“Oh, I see…” I didn’t, in fact I was pretty sure she was a damn dirty liar, but there was no point in arguing that, right? “Wait, why are you here? You left before the orgy started, to go… where?”

She giggled a bit. Just a tiny bit. “I was on my way to the library. What with the semester being half done and me joining halfway through, I have some catching up to do.” She leaned against the counter, her eyes traveling all over my body, and licked her lips. I tucked my tail in, which caused her to put on a playful frown. “As for why I’m in here, well, even the greatest Vamponies need to pee.”

“Oh, well don’t let me hold you up, I was just leaving.” I said as I made my way towards the exit. The instant she was out of sight, I heard the whoosh of flailing hooves. She'd pinned my up against the bathroom wall.

“H-” she put her hoof in my mouth, using her body to keep me pressed up against the wall. I tried to keep calm, knowing that adrenaline was the last thing I needed; it would make my heartbeats more noticeable and start me sweating. However, as hard as I tried, I could feel some pumping; my body was going to get me killed by trying to stop me from getting killed. Such an ironic way to die.

“Mgf!” I tried to should her help, but it came out completely muffled.

“Shhhhh.” She said, sniffing the air. “Do you smell that?” She looked over to me. “It almost smells like…” She stopped for a second, her eyes widening, before they turned into the eyes. The eyes that, when directed at me, mean I'm in mortal danger. I’ve always dreaded those eyes. You’ve probably seen them; half closed, sultry, usually roaming. They were accompanied with the knowing smile; curved up at the sides, one side a little higher than the other. She even licked her lips again.

“I see. So you’re virgin, but you still like action.”  She pressed up against me harder, her flank squishing against mine. I could feel her breathing accelerate. “Let me help you scratch that itch. I’m sure you’ll love it; I know I will.”

I was really glad I had my glasses on; she’d totally see the blood vessels in my eyes at this distance. I shook my head as much as I could with a hoof in my mouth. Could she feel my pulse? Oh Celestia, she was pushing too hard! She must feel something. I tried to lift my hooves to push her away, but she had caught me so that they were stuck, with no way to bend.

“Oh come now, you can’t honestly say you don’t want some of this.” She said, flicking my rump with her tail. I could feel the arousal returning. She’d smell my blood pooling! I was dead! I made a quick prayer to my deceased ruler, begging for an escape or, if not, then for a quick death.

I got the prior in the form of a great realisation; I’m a unicorn. I gave myself a mental facehoof as I shoved her away hard with my magic. She stumbled to the floor, her bedroom eyes turning into surprise, followed by immense disappointment. I half expected her to rush at me again, but she just hung her head and made for the exit.

“I’m sorry; I wasn’t thinking straight.” She said before she exited.

The moment she left, I rushed to the mirror. Face? Not flushed. Sweat? None. Arousal? Cooling. Heartbeat? Slowing. I was safe. Thank Celestia; my secret still belonged to me.

Before any other Vampony could catch me alone, I exited the restrooms. I’m a diligent student, not one to skip class, but this was too much. I was too excited, too unstable. I trotted to my locker, opened it, took my saddlebags and left.

I tried to look normal as I trotted home. There were very few Vamponies out at this time of night. The few that weren’t at work were probably hitting the clubs, drinking, or sitting at home doping. And of course, there's the obvious activity that can (and is) done at work. And school, and the clubs, and while doping, drinking, shopping, walking. Seriously Mrs. Glowing Harvest? You're like half a block from your house...

I made good time and was home before my next class should have started. I got in and locked the door. Then I bolted it. Finally, I applied a magic lock, just for good measure. It’s safe to say that the near-rape I just lived through had spooked me.

My house is small. It only has four rooms: the living room and the kitchen are both together in one room. Then there’s the bathroom and the two bedrooms, one of which I use as a utility room. It’s not much, but it’s home; the place I’m safest when the sun goes down.

But right then I didn't feel safe.

I dropped my stuff on the table in the living room and reviewed my day. What had I done wrong? Where did I make mistakes? It’s funny, but there didn’t seem to be anything I could have done better: there was no better way to turn Cloud Kicker away. Nothing went wrong in class. It’s not like I could have turned down each and every Vampony who came to sit at my table; I probably got lucky with Octavia. The orgy would have started even if I hadn’t had my headphones on, and I would still have heard the action; the flare of arousal had been unavoidable. Unless I wanted to die, relieving myself in the bathroom had been the best move. The attempted rape was just as unavoidable as the orgy; I needed time to cool down and let the blood flow settle before I left the bathroom. The only thing that I needed to remember was that I’m a unicorn; without a magic inhibitor ring, rape should never be a concern.

As I was thinking, I flopped down on my bed. The whole ordeal had left me exhausted, and I was willing to call it a night at this point; if I went to bed early, maybe I could wake up early enough to sunbathe a little.

With that cheerful thought distracting me from my dismal day, I dropped my shades on the day stand and drifted off.
> The last night...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke the next afternoon with a large smile on my face despite my little flirt with disaster the previous night. There was a little extra spring in my step, a little more oomph to my routine. I finished my shower in half the usual time it normally took and devoured my breakfast in a record breaking 10 seconds… faster than normal.

“C’est Friday (c’est Friday)~ Tout les poneys sont happy (tout les poneys sont happy!)~” I sang as I gathered the stuff I would need for school. It was an old song; one my music teacher used to sing to us back in grade school. He had said it was a combination of French and English that basically meant: it’s Friday, everypony’s happy. He was the pony who got me started on dubtrot, and it only got better from there.

But that’s a story for another time.

I had all my stuff ready with well over an hour of daylight left, so I decided to spend my time sucking up the rays. It was blissful, to feel the warmth of the sun suffuse me. I lay down on the hard dirt next to my house and splayed my legs out around me, trying to expose every inch of fur I could. I was so relaxed a Vampony could have walked right up to me and sucked me dry without my noticing.

But all good things have to come to an end. With an annoyed sigh I picked myself up as the sun disappeared; I was in danger now, and survival was once again my priority. As I put my shades on and took my saddlebags, I considered what the best course of action would be in response to Octavia’s attempted rape. I didn’t want to just blow it off as a night-to-night occurrence, because doing that would tempt her into trying again, and that might put ideas in the other Vamponies’ heads. Confronting her seemed pointless, seeing as she had already apologised. Maybe the best course of action was just to distance myself from her. If I gave her the cold shoulder like I do to every other Vampony, she’d probably back off. If not, well, that’s why I carry light spray.

My mind was made up. She might have been a potential acquaintance before, but she blew her chance; I was surrounded by enemies, and that would never change. Inside I felt my heart squeeze. I knew the isolation was slowly killing me; it wouldn’t be too long before my craving for a lover drove me to suicide, but I intended to draw out my life for as long as possible.

With those cheery thoughts in mind, I saw the school in the distance. Upon approaching it, I realised that a familiar Vampony was waiting at the doors for something. Something like me…

“Hey Vinyl!” Octavia shouted, a little too enthusiastically.

My eyes narrowed, but of course she couldn’t see that. I walked right past her, not even sparing her a passing glance, although once again she couldn’t tell.
I heard her trot up next to me. “Vinyl, I’m sorry about yesterday; I really am. The scent… I wasn’t thinking straight. Please, you need to understand, I didn’t mean it.”

I stopped and turned towards her. She was watching me closely, waiting for my reaction. I thought I saw something glint in her eyes; lust maybe? But it disappeared in an instant, leaving a concerned, sad face behind. “Please give me another chance, I’ll do better.”

She was displaying an oddly large amount of emotions for a Vampony. It was making me suspicious. Vamponies are supposed to be heartless bastards, the type to love ya and leave ya. Was she just trying to get another go at my body? Was she actually trying to be friends?

I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt; if she tried to corner me again, I’d just magic her away, maybe slam her head into a wall this time. “Aright, fine, but you better be telling the truth.” She gave me a huge smile in return, way too big for a Vampony. What was wrong with this girl?

This is when the alarm bells should have been going off, but since I’d never been in this type of situation before, I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t notice how her whole stance became predatory as I turned away. I didn’t think that she might be plotting how to kill me at that very moment. I didn’t realise just how much danger I was in.

So I moved on. I went to my hunting class and then to my math class with no trepidation. They passed normally, with no indication that it might be my last time seeing the teachers or discussing why fractions multiplied by the inverse to resolve a division, whatever that meant. The night felt normal.

Until lunch.

I lined up to get my meat as I always do, and I still didn’t foresee any trouble. If anything, tonight was seeming like an even better night than usual; no Vampony had hit on me, cat called me, hell, I might not even be getting as many stares as usual. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that I always do my best to keep a level head and avoid bad situations, I would have thought yesterday was a bad dream.

So when a certain grey earth Vampony trotted up next to me at the register, threw down her own meal and proclaimed she was paying for both, I just let her do it. When she directed me over to the same table we were at yesterday, I just went along with it.

“So, I guess I’m forgiven?” She asked shyly.

I nodded, closing my eyes and smiling at her. And that was the last mistake I’d ever make.

As I opened them, I saw the predatory gaze. I saw her move around the table, and I felt her fur when she leaned in close to me. I felt her breath on my ear.

“That’s a good little pony.”

And I froze. She knew. She knew, and I was dead.

“Don’t move, or I’ll bite you. A single step, a flare of magic; do anything, and I’ll make it clear to every Vampony here.” She whispered.

I obeyed her, but my heart started racing. My face began to heat, blood rushing to my cheeks. I knew what came next; she’d smell it, and she’d lose control. If she’d been hoping to cut some type of deal, it’d be lost when the other Vamponies saw the blush colouring my cheeks. She’d get first dibs, of course, but she’d have to share my body with the others. Maybe that’s what she’d wanted; to get me alone, all to herself.

It’s funny how calm you become when you know your life is over. Despite my body’s activity, and half my brain trying to find a way out, I felt calm. I wouldn’t have to hide anymore. I was free to go to Celestia’s after life and bath is sunlight for the rest of my days. I could find a nice stallion who would finally satisfy me after years of chastity.

“Calm down; I don’t want the other Vamponies knowing; I want you all to myself.” She said.

And I did. My body knew my time had come, an irrevocable fact. My heart slowed down and my blood returned to its normal flow. “How did you know?” Even my whisper was calm, my words void of any fear.

“I wasn’t sure until you smiled at me. Ever since yesterday, I was wondering about you; adding up the facts. A virgin Vampony, quite the rarity. Is it because you honestly dislike sex, or perhaps because you can’t have sex? And in the bathroom, I thought I felt something when I was pressed up against you. It felt like a twitch, but now I realise what it was; blood, flowing through the veins. Last night I was puzzling about you; I thought maybe, just maybe you could be a pony. So I decided to test you. The smile this morning, the out flow of emotions, it would have put any Vampony on edge. You, however, reacted as if it was perfectly normal. You didn’t flinch away, nor did you ask me if I needed medical help. And just a moment ago, your smile was too wide. It wasn’t much, but put it all together, and there’s only one answer.”

I felt her smile in my ear. “So, will you allow me the grace of eating you alone, or will I have to share.”

Suddenly my brain kick started itself. Maybe I wasn’t dead yet. A plan came to me, and not even Celestia herself would have thought it up faster.

“I’ll make you a deal; if you let me finish my school night, we can go back to my place after, just you and me. Can you wait that long?” It was a stupid plan, playing entirely on her greed. If she accepted, I might be able to get her back home. If it was just the two of us, with my magic and my light spray, maybe, just maybe…

“I was hoping you would say that.” With my limited field of vision, I saw her pull something out of the bag she was wearing. I watched as she slipped a golden band over my horn, and suddenly I felt as if a part of me was being squished by an Ursa Major. She’d put a magic inhibitor on me! “And just to be sure.” I felt her reach into the bag I was carrying, a smaller version of my saddle bags, and pull out the small canister of light spray. “I suppose you won’t be needing these anymore.”

And just like that, my hope evaporated. “Yup, guess I’m screwed now.”

“You didn’t honestly think I’d let you have any chance of escape, did you? That ring will only come off if I take it off. And, how lucky, we have both of our after midnight classes together, so you can’t run~.”

I sighed. “You’re pretty amazing, you know? I suppose at this point all I can say is it’ll be an honour to end up in such a smart belly.”

She smiled again before throwing our lunches out, uneaten. “Hey!” I protested.

“Oh, come now.” She said as she slid in next to me on the same chair. “You probably can’t stand that stuff. And as for me, well, I’ll need to be completely empty so I can get as much of you down while you’re still fresh.” She winked suggestively.

It felt odd, being spoken to as nothing more than food. I belonged to her now; she could kill me whenever she wanted with a single sentence. “So, what now?”

“Now we go to Phys Ed, where I’ll watch you bounce around for the last time. Then we’ll finish off our night and you’ll take me home. You can guess what happens then.”

Of course I could. We made our way to the gymnasium and changed into our tight spandex shorts that honestly did very little to hide, well, anything. Tonight we were playing badminton, one on one. Gee, what a coincidence? Octavia immediately claimed me as a partner, leading me over to the court that was closest to the filly’s room. Such a considerate Vampony, wanting nothing more than to give me the possibility of fleeing in case of sweat.

She destroyed me, of course. I saw no reason to put any effort into my game, seeing as I’d be dead in an hour or so. From Phys Ed we went to Music. I sighed as I approached my turntables. Somehow, remixing boring Vampony music seemed even more drab tonight then it was normally. I raised my hoof and asked the teacher if I could leave early; I wasn’t feeling good. Since we were on good terms, she didn’t question it. When Octavia offered to walk me home, she hesitated, pointing out that Octavia was already very far behind. Octavia shot her a death glare, and she shut right up, waving her out.

From there I went to my locker and grabbed my things with Octavia breathing down my neck every step of the way. We began the trek home in silence and at a rather slow pace, because was it crazy for me to want to enjoy my last walk through the city? She didn’t say anything, matching my pace. I could almost hear her thoughts: “I’ll wait, because it’s worth it.”

“So, you seem to have quite the… influential stare.” I said. If I was going to die, might as well ask any questions I still had.

“It’s a long story.” She said.

“We have a long walk.”

“…Very well then, since it IS your final night. Don’t think it’ll change the outcome of the near future.

“I’ve had an overactive libido. I know that for your kind, all Vamponies seem to have that, but I’m special. I can hardly go a night without bucking something. My parents have hired two stallions whose sole purpose is to keep me satisfied. They’re my maids and my sex slaves.

“However, my parents aren’t fans of the common folk. My family is practically royalty, and royalty doesn’t ‘Sleep around.’ My parents forbid me from bucking with any Vampony asides my slaves. They say it’s ‘To keep our royal bloodline pure.’

“Well, I got tired of listening to them. During a heat a few weeks ago, I picked up three colts from school and had an orgy. A teacher walked in on us and joined the fun. Soon enough, I’d taken around 12 stallions, and I was still raring to go. Unfortunately, the principal had heard of our endeavors. My parents paid him good money to keep an eye on me, so by the 13th stallion, my mother showed up. That night did not end well.

“I was grounded for the next two weeks, and was forbidden from having any sex. My hoof got a lot of action over the course of those two weeks, but it was never enough. I could keep rubbing for hours on end without getting any relief, probably because of the heat.

“During that time, my parents organised a transfer. They paid the school a lot of money to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. Of course, I’m not keen for it to happen again; I can’t go another two weeks without sex. The moment my punishment was over, I got my two slaves to take turns riding me for the better part of the night. It took hours for me to finally feel full.

“That’s why the music teacher was hesitant to let me leave. But she caved, most ponies do.”

It took some time for me to absorb all that, but after she finished, I had to smile. “I guess that explains why you weren’t in the cafeteria yesterday.”

“It also explains why I’m so interested in you. A virgin! Believe me; I had no intention of letting YOU get away. I would have paid thousands for a night with you. Now, I get something better; the finest meat. Which reminds me, h-”

“We’re here.”

She turned to look forward. I felt a tear form in my eye. This house was where I was born and raised. I cast my first spell in it. I hid out for nights in it, during the invasion. This house was my birthplace and my safe haven.

And now it would be my grave. What a terrible way to end my Friday night.

“Take your time; I’ve waited for a few hours, another minute or two won’t kill me.” She said. I could hear her tummy rumbling in anticipation.

“No, there’s no point. We might as well just get this over with.” I said as I put the key in the lock. “Welcome to my humble abode.” I said as I waved my hoof at the room.

“Very, um, nice place you got here.” She said. I noticed that her eyes never left me. “So, where do you want to do this?” I could see she was having problems holding herself back.

And, again, my brain was stuck with the brilliance of a thousand suns.

“Wait, I have one last idea to save my life. Something that could benefit us both!”

She looked me over, curiosity momentarily overwhelming her hunger. “You have two minutes, make it good.”

“Okay, so you could eat me now, and then like, finish me later, but what happens after that?” She looked at me confusedly. “Think about it; once you’ve eaten me, what then? You’ll never again get to eat pony.”

“So you’re suggesting I just let you go?” She asked. “No deal, ready to die?”

“No, that’s not what I’m suggesting at all.” I reared up on my hind legs and opened a cupboard, pulling out a wine glass.

“What’s that for?”

“Answer me this. Would you rather have all of one pony right now, which will leave you disappointed for the rest of your life, or would you rather have an endless supply of pony blood?”

And suddenly she leaned away from me, as if I had slapped her. “Pony blood for life…” She said almost without realising it.

“All you have to do is let me live. Let me live on, and every night for the rest of my life I’ll let you drink my blood. I’ll poor it out into this cup, and you can drink it down. In the long run, you’ll get more out of it, and if you ever get tired of the deal, you can kill me and eat me. You have nothing to lose.” I almost begged.

She stared at me as if I were crazy. “You’ll do that? You’ll live the rest of your life as my blood slave, living only to supply me with blood?”

“Well, it’d be nice if I could go on living a regular life. You know, school and all. But if that’s what it takes, then yes, I’ll be your slave. What do you say?”

She gazed at me for a long time. I could hear her stomach gurgling loudly in protest, and suddenly I was scared that her hunger alone would drive her to eat me.

Then she snapped her head to the side before staring me right in the eyes. I stared right back, hoping beyond hope…

“I…”

> Good dog
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I… I… n-need to…” She stuttered.

I was sweating now, I couldn’t help it. I was entirely at her mercy, with only a few feet of distance separating me from the literal jaws of death. And the sweat wasn’t helping my case. It would only make me smell more appetising.

I saw her nose twitch, and then her nostrils expanded as she took a deep breath. Her pupils dilated, hey eyes wide with awe. I needed to do something, or she’d lose to her hunger.

“Octavia? You’re hungry; you’re not thinking clearly. Please, I keep meat around in case I need to prove that I’m a Vampony. You’ll think clearer on a full stomach.” I offered. My voice was tiny and meek; I’m pretty sure she’d heard me, with her heightened senses.

And I knew they were sharper, I could see it. And when a Vampony’s senses heighten, it can only mean one thing…

The hunt is on.

“O-Octavia..?” I begged. “Please…” I took a step back.

She matched it with a step forward.

“You don’t want to do this.”

“Oh, I think I do.” Her voice was deeper, sultry, as if she’d found the world’s best sex toy. “I’ll regret this later, I know I will, but the next hour will be blissFUL!” She roared as she leapt at me.

I jumped back, narrowly avoiding her hooves as she reached out to grab me. She landed on her chest, her legs splayed out awkwardly, and I booted it. I ran to my room and slammed the door shut behind me, just in time as I heard her body slam against the other side. The whole door heaved, and I heard a crack that sounded dangerously like death.

I shoved my body up against the door, desperate to keep her out. She pounded against it again and again, and I saw a crack slowly work its way down the door frame. It reached the first hinge and detached it from the wall, and then it began working its way towards the second.

“OCTAVIA, STOP! PLEASE!” I shouted, hoping that she’d think more rationally now that I was out of sight.

The continued bucking of the door was all the answer I needed. My shoulder was aching, and I was pretty sure I’d have a nasty bruise, which really wouldn’t help my whole trying to hide out thing. That is, assuming I lived through tonight.

The bucks kept coming, and I knew that if I tried to hold the door closed any longer, I wouldn’t be able to run on that leg anymore. As another buck sounded, I moved myself out of the way. When Octavia hit the door again, it shattered inwards, followed by a very startled Vampony. She flew halfway across the room, carried through by her momentum. I took the opportunity to run straight into the bathroom, where I shut the door again and pressed my other shoulder up against it.

I stood waiting for a few seconds. Then a minute. And another. Where was she? I didn’t want to open the door to peek outside, from fear of her being right outside, waiting for just that. As another passed by, I cautiously called out to her. “Octavia?”

“Yes~?” Came the sultry whisper, right next to my ear.

I froze again. Any sudden movement would be lethal. “H-h-h-h-”

“How? Your windows might be out of a regular pony’s reach, but for a hunting Vampony, that’s nothing.” She whispered smugly.

Of course, how could I have forgotten the window? “Octavia, please. Think about what you’re giving up; a lifetime of blood. You'll kill yourself after you finish me.”

“That’s future Octavia’s problem. For now, all I want is you. Turn towards me Vinyl, I want to see the look on your face as I eat your heart.”

I could feel salty tears spilling out of my eyes. If only I’d made her eat that steak. I turned towards her, pleading all the while. I saw her hungry eyes stare me down. I saw a war being fought in them. I saw her hunger on one side, urging her to cave to her cravings. ‘This is the way it’s meant to be.’ it said. On the other, losing side, I could see logic. ‘Blood forever, use your head girl, not your belly.’ I knew I had to make that side win.

“Octavia, think! You’re a smart Vampony. You managed to sniff me out in one day where as a whole school fell for 8 years of trickery. You KNOW what you should do.” She snapped at me, missing my face by inches. “You can always eat me later, but you can never get me back if you eat me now! Use your head filly.”

The war ragged on, but now it looked like hunger was losing ground. However, hunger had no intention to lose, and I saw it make on final push.

And her teeth shot towards my face.

And lifted towards my horn.

The ring flew off, hitting the ceiling with a sharp *ting* before bouncing around the bathtub a few times. Her eyes opened wide, the battle muted as she looked on in horror. I could fight back now, and she knew it. Logic and hunger became one, with only one goal.

Don’t let her get away.

But it was too late. With practiced ease, I lifted her off the ground. She floated up, a mere inch separating her hooves from the floor. But it was enough, because without contact, she couldn’t move. Without movement, she couldn’t fight.

Rage swept her indecision away. She kicked around like mad, trying to find some form of purchase. But she knew; she’d lost me. I was in control now. But now I had to think; I had to think hard and fast.

What do I do? Could I kill her? Holding her, even an inch off the ground, was immensely difficult. My concentration was strained to the limit. I doubted I could do any more then daze her at this point, no matter how hard I hit her against the wall. Her body would recover in an instant, and I would be defenceless. No, killing was out of the question.

I couldn’t go far like this; my body was using up too many resources simply holding her in place. I couldn’t fight, I couldn’t run. I had only one option.

“Octavia, I need you to calm down.”

Her rage turned to confusion. “What?”

“You need to listen to me. I might be able to stop you, but I can’t win this fight. So please listen. I… I’m still willing to be your slave. It’s my only way out alive unless I get really lucky. I’ll bring you the meat I have, and maybe after you eat, you’ll be willing to listen.”

She just stared at me, her mouth hanging open. Now that she’d stopped fighting me, it was a bit easier to move around. I made my way to my refrigerator, pulling out the cold pork chops and setting them on a plate. Of all the meats, pork chops are my favorite. I hate them, of course, but not as much as I hate all other meats. They were probably stale, old and disgusting, but they’d have to do. I looked down to the secret compartment I’d installed to hide the fruit at the bottom of my fridge, hoping I’d be able to come back later and make myself a tasty fruit salad.

I walked back into the bathroom feeling like I was walking back into the mouth of the crocodile I’d just escaped from. As I turned the corner, she stared at me again. In her eyes I could see nothing beyond confusion. I placed the meat on the floor in front of her and backed out. I matched her gaze as I put the door between us, but I left it open.

“I’m going to let you down now, but if you do anything besides eating those pork chops, I’ll pick you right back up.” I warned her. Still she said nothing, so I let her drop back to the ground. She landed on her hooves, her eyes unmoving, locked on my face.

“Why?”

“I can’t run, I can’t fight, and I can’t kill you. My only option is submission.”

She held my gaze as she slowly lowered her head and picked one of the pork chops up. As soon as her lips touched it, she tore into it ravenously, sitting down and losing all interest in me. She ate fast, finishing both pork chops in under a minute, and her eyes shot back up to my face. The battle was over, the hunger muted. It was replaced with a new battle, one of desire versus logic. Logic was dominating the field, and I knew she was ready.

“So, can we talk like rational being’s now?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Then I’ll ask you again; will you let me live normally?”

She shook her head.

“Wha’ but you’re- you’re not hungry, you should be thinking clearly.”

“I am. I never said you couldn’t live, but from this day forward, your whole life is going to change. You will live to serve me, and until I’m sure that you’ll never stand against me, that you’ll never try to run from me, until that day, I will never, ever let you out of my sight. Your life belongs to me now, and you’ll obey my every command if you want to keep it. Is this clear?”

I nodded in return. I knew this was for the best. I was losing my freedom, yes, but in exchange, I was gaining protection.

“Good, now then…” She left my sight for a second, returning with the magic inhibitor. “Come here and let me put this on you.”

I flinched but approached her anyway. This was what the rest of my life was going to be like, so I might as well get used to it. I lowered my head and she slipped the ring on, raising my head again with a hoof.

“Good girl, now come with me; we’re going to your new home.”

I pulled away from her with a growl. “Let’s get a few things straight here. First of all, I am not your dog, and I will not be treated like one. You will treat me as an equal. If you don’t plan on at least doing that, then just kill me now.”

She looked at me with a hint of a smile forming on her lips. “All right, I suppose I can do that much for my little pet.” I growled again, and she giggled. “You’re really not making a good case for yourself with all that growling; you sound like a dog. Come on, we can talk about all the rules at my house. And believe me; I will have a lot of rules.”

So now we’re at her mansion. The thing is huge! Now that we’re on the terrace, I can’t seem to fit it all in my field of vision. It has like 3 stories, and it’s wider than the club I work at, which can accommodate well over a thousand Vamponies on one floor.

“I live here alone with my two servants.” She said. “My parents’ house is bigger, but I told them that if they wanted me to go to this school, they needed to get me a house nearer to it.” 

We were walking on a sort of half stone, half grass walkway, with flowerbeds lining the sides. “We’re pretty lucky; my parents wouldn’t have let you stay anywhere near me. My servants are much less strict, although we’ll have to sell the idea of us sleeping together to them.”

“WHAT?” I shouted.

“Hey! Tone those emotions down. You had better be back to your stealthy self by the time we get inside; if you think I’m going to let you throw away your life now that it belongs to me, you’d be wrong. Now, let’s go.”

I followed her with a fearful stutter to my step. She turned and glared at me, and I tried to correct my steps, with moderate success. She sighed and continued on.

“What did you mean by ‘sleeping together’?”

“I said I wasn’t going to let you out of my sight. If we’re in different rooms, you’re out of my sight.” She stated simply.

“But we won’t be sleeping in the same bed, will we?” She remained silent. “That’s a bad idea; I smell like pony in the evenings. You’ll be tempted.”

She sighed. “Fine, I’ll have another bed brought in to my room, but you’ll have to wear a leash during the day.” I began to protest, but she glared me into silence. “I’m not taking the chance of you trying to slip out under the cover of daylight. You WILL obey my commands, even if that means being treated like a dog at some points. And another thing; my servants are the two Vamponies I trust the most in the whole world, so if I ever have to leave you alone, you’ll stay one of them. This is not discussable, and if you try to slip away from them, I’ll have you leashed while you’re not with me. Are we clear?”

I nodded again. I had no intention to run, so it was a void threat. I knew if I did, she would stop at nothing to get me back.

“Good. Now behave yourself, and for Luna’s sake, don’t give yourself away.” She said as she pushed the door open. “Mark, get down here!” She shouted.

“I’m right here, milady.” He spoke from right behind the door, causing me to jump. Octavia shot me a death glare. “You are late; Brandon has been waiting in your love making room for an hour.” He turned to glare at me. “She hasn’t..?”

Octavia turned around and stuffed her plot in his face. “Does this look satisfied to you?” She growled. Mark didn’t even flinch, and I noticed his equipment remained sheathed. He was well trained.

“If I may ask, what caused your tardiness, milady?” 

“No, you may not ask. I have a job for you; watch her.” She jerked her head towards me. “Bring her to my room and make sure she waits there. And by Luna I swear, if you take your eyes off her for one second…”

“I understand milady. Shall I inform Brandon of your impending arrival?”

“See that you do.” She turned to me. “As for you, we shall talk later. I have a date with a dick that I’ve been waiting for since I left this morning. You can wait for me with Mark.” She spun on her hooves and trotted up the stairs, shooting multiple worried glances backwards.

Once she’d finally turned the corner, I turned to Mark, who was glaring at me. He was a beige unicorn with a smiling face as his cutie mark. His mane was a dark blue, throwing his whole coat into contrast.

“Now listen here you; I forbid you to try and seduce that poor pony. Her parents are already really tough on her without you tempting her into breaking her chastity rule.”

I gaped at him, but in Vampony form, which basically meant a frown with lightly parted lips. “What are you talking about? I would never try and do that. And what do you mean chastity? She just said she was going to get boned by that Brandon guy. Come to think of it, you have weird names.”

He sighed and beckoned me to follow him. “How much do you know about lady Octavia?”

“I know she’s forbidden to have sex with any Vampony asides you and Brandon. I know she was forced to change schools because she broke that rule. I heard rumours she’s a decent musician. I KNOW she’s bucking smart. Oh, and she has some sort of libido problem.” I summarized. 

“So you don’t know… Then allow me to tell you.

“On top of everything you’ve learnt, you should know that her parents push her very hard; so hard that she hates both of them. They expect nothing shy of perfection from her: perfect grades, perfect music, perfect behaviour. She’s only 18, and yet she must act as if she were 25. She has the talent to achieve all of her parents’ goals, but not the motivation. She just wants to be a teenager: bucking left and right, hanging out in clubs and doping gamma double Z. All these things are forbidden to her, of course. In fact, if it weren’t for her medical condition, bucking would be forbidden as well.

“On top of that, she just lost all of her friends; forbidden to see them. She’s not even supposed to make new ones. Although her parents’ didn’t say those words exactly, it was heavily implied.” He turned to me again. “You had better be good to her, or I’ll deal with you myself.”

I glared back at him. ‘If I had any choice in the matter, she’d be dead now. Consider yourself lucky, jerk.’ Was what I wanted to say, but I held my tongue. “Her story is sad, but I’m not going to be perfect because of it. If we get along, good, if not, too bad.”

He nodded. “I suppose that’s all I can ask for.” He opened a door. “And by the way, our names aren’t weird, they’re just foreign.” He waved me into the room, which I entered.

Octavia’s bedroom was nothing special. The walls were painted a dark, dull gray. She had a large, probably Princess sized bed, which would easily fit three ponies, four if it had to. I saw a vanity mirror and a makeup desk off in one side of the room and a large closet in the other. Why any Vampony needed a closet was beyond me, seeing as they never wore clothes; they only got in the way of lovemaking.

I trotted over to the bed and sat down. “So how long am I going to have to wait?”

“Not long, if I know my mistress. She’s not one to hold back in the bedroom.” He said before he got comfortable on the floor near the door and stared at me.

I sighed and flopped down on the bed. Then a thought drifted across my mind that made my heart skip a beat. Octavia had put a magic inhibitor on me. I listened for the sound of my heart, but it was silent as always. As discretely as I could, I sniffed myself and found that I still smelled like a Vampony. I didn’t feel warm or cold. Somehow my spells were still going, even with the magic flow being severed. I let out a silent sigh of relief and turned to look at my captor.

We sat like that for a few minutes before his ears perked up. “She’s coming to see you now. You must be something special, normally she goes for a second round. And by normally I mean she ALWAYS goes for a second round. She normally goes for a third, and sometimes a fourth.”

I nodded and waited. About a minute passed before she stormed into the room. “You, out. You, stay.” She barked, sending her other servant away. “Go out and find me a Vampony sized collar that can’t be removed by the one wearing it and a leash that’s long enough to reach from here to the bathroom. And get your brother to bring a second bed in here.” She instructed, still unhappy.

“Yes mistress.” He bowed before edging out of the room, shooting me one last glare. Octavia waited until she was sure he was gone before shutting the door and turning to me.

“You! You’re making everything so difficult. Now I can’t even get boned without thinking about how you might get away. You frustrate me to no end!” She shouted. “I should have eaten you, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about all this nonsense.”

I backed up a bit, fearful. “I won’t run away Octavia, I would never make it. I belong to you now. Please just believe me so I don’t have to worry about not waking up tomorrow night.”

She growled, not unlike I had earlier, and jumped at me, pinning me to the bed.

“Octavia!” I shouted fearfully.

“Now I’m still horny. You interrupted my bucking with your existence. I want to eat you so bad…” She trailed off. “I can’t even buck you, because if I do, I’ll eat you once your blood pools. Luna be damned.” She pushed herself off of me and walked across the room. I could smell her arousal in the air, and I tried as hard as I could to ignore it.

“Forgive me for not believing you. Now, for my terms: You will obey me without question and discuss my orders AFTER you’ve obeyed. You WILL wear a collar 24/7, and I will have the leash with me at all times. You will not make any more mistakes. You will come when called, and you will respect me. Are we clear?”

I nodded. This was clearly not the time to try and barter. “Maybe one day you’ll realise that I’m stuck and that running is pointless.”

“Maybe, but for now, you’re mine to command.” She said as she paced.

We stayed like that until the new bed arrived, followed shortly by the collar and leash. Both servants left the moment they had delivered their cargo, unwilling to feel the wrath of their mistress.

Once they were gone, Octavia took the collar and fitted it around my neck, tying it tight enough so that it wouldn’t pass over my head but not so tight as to cut off my breathing. She then tied the leash to the foot of her bed and clipped it on. “Alright, walk around so I can see just how well it works.

I trotted around in circles, waiting for her approval. She gave it and directed me to the bed, which I got in and tried to get comfortable. It was a decent size, big enough for two ponies if they squeezed in together, and it was pretty comfy too.

Across the room, I heard her slump down on the ground. “I’m sorry; I know this must be degrading, but it’s for your own good. If I have peace of mind, I’m less tempted to just put you out of your misery. You’ll feed me tomorrow; I’m just too riled up for anything tonight.”

I nodded to her. “So, I can go to sleep? I’m going to wake up tomorrow?”

“So far, I think so. We’ll talk more tomorrow; a lot more. For now, I’m exhausted, you’re exhausted, and I don’t want to end up killing you because you piss me off.” She proceeded to lock her bedroom door before climbing into her own bed and turning so she could watch me. “If you have to go to the bathroom, it’s right there.” She pointed to a door across her room. “Leave the door open if you do.”

“But you’ll see me-” I stopped as she glared at me. “Fine…”

“Good day, Vinyl Scratch.”

“Good day, Octavia.”

> Time to drink
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bed creaked as I flipped in it… again. It had been day for at least an hour now, but I couldn’t seem to find the need to sleep.

I ran my hooves along the collar around my neck and sighed, tugging at it in a futile attempt to make it less annoying. It was a small sacrifice if it meant that I could keep living, but it was digging into my skin and chafing against my neck every time I moved. 

I turned again and looked at Octavia. She hadn’t budged an inch since she got settled in, her eyes staring at me endlessly. She hardly blinked, and I had the feeling that sleep would elude both of us today.

With a groan, I got up and trotted over to the bathroom. Octavia’s eyes followed me the whole way there. I had hoped to go the day without needing to relieve myself in front of her, but almost as soon as I got in bed, I realised that wasn’t going to happen. So it’s with great shame that I sat down on the toilet bowl and glanced back at her, seeing that she was still staring right at me.

I averted my eyes as I did my business, and it was only due to years of training that I managed to completely supress any signs of a blush at my embarrassment. Once I had washed my hooves clean, I took a few moments to look over the collar in the mirror. It was a dull black, as was the leash, and set to the second tightest setting. I fumbled with it for a second, trying to adjust so that it would be comfortable in some way, but it was all in vain.

“Hey, get back in bed.”

I turned and immediately began the return trip. I knew that I was making her nervous; too nervous to sleep, and as such I knew that it was foolish to try and take any liberties. Her mind was probably in a constant war of desire to eat me and desire to have an endless supply of blood, and I know that if I push her too hard, I won’t wake up again tonight.

I flopped back down in the bed and turned to watch her again, as she watched me. Time flowed like water as our eyes stayed locked together, but eventually I felt sleep slowly overwhelm me.

*****

I woke the next evening in confusion. Something was causing my neck to itch. When I reached up to scratch it, I felt the collar, and this morning came back to me in a flash. I looked over at Octavia’s bed to see that she was still staring at me.

“Good night Vinyl Scratch, have a nice sleep?” She spat with venom.

I kept my mouth shut, which turned out to be the wrong move.

“I asked you a question, pony. Answer me!” She screeched.

“Y-yes ma’am.”

“Well, that makes one of us.” She got up from her bed, and I could see that her movements were sluggish and stiff. She approached me slowly, and I began to panic a bit.

“It’s time. You made me wait a whole day to have my first taste, and by Luna, I’ll have my reward.” She said, grinning manically.

I nodded, pointedly ignoring that waiting the day had been her idea, and slowly navigated my way out of bed. “H-how do you want to do this?”

“I want to eat you whole and savour every ounce of your flesh, but that would ruin the whole night of torture you just put me through, so I’ll stick to the original plan. My servants are probably in the kitchen right now, preparing breakfast for us. I’ll eat mine so that I’m less tempted to eat you and then send them both out on errands. While they’re gone, we’ll do it.”

I nodded and followed her as she led the way out towards the kitchen. Or at least I was following her until the leash snapped taught and yanked me back. I fell to the floor with an audible grunt of pain, and she turned back instantly, hunger raging in her eyes.

I froze, waiting like a startled deer as she slowly fought her natural instinct to hunt the easy prey. After a minute, she trotted past me into the bedroom and untied the leash from the bed, carrying it with her and leading me like she would lead a dog. It was degrading, but I knew that I had just dodged a bullet.

We made our way through the hallways, which were sparsely decorated. “Since we just moved in a few nights ago, my servants haven’t finished decorating yet.” She said, as if reading my mind. The only decoration present was a dark red rug under our hooves.

We reached the kitchen with no further incidents, and there I saw what she meant by the servants “preparing” our breakfast. A cow, still bloody from the recent killing, was lying on the counter as the servants carefully and meticulously cut out the best parts, throwing out all the less desirable sections such as the kidneys.

If they were surprised at me being led around like a puppy, they didn’t say anything. One of the two brought a plate over. It had multiple large helpings of choice cuts. Octavia sifted through them, picking out the best ones and eating them on the spot, gobbling them up like a starving pony, as the servants finished their dissection and then waited patiently.

Once Octavia had finished two cuts and had removed two more, she passed the plate to me. I took a small piece, not feeling over hungry for fresh, bloody meat, and returned the plate to her, after which she passed it along to her servants and continued eating. The servants waiting calmly, looking at Octavia while casting occasional glances at me.

After a minute or two of the three of us just sitting there, Octavia turned to me and barked “Eat.” I began immediately, finishing my meager meal just as she finished hers, which was over 4 times larger.

She took a moment to wipe any residual blood away with a cloth before turning to her servants and nodding. At once they divide up the plate between them and began eating, going much more slowly and properly then Octavia had.

“Mark, today I want you to search around Canterlot for the highest quality of meat available, and don’t come back until you’re sure. Brandon, I want a better lock for my room, as well as locks and bars for the shutters and windows and a stronger door altogether, by daybreak. Go as soon as you finish eating.” She ordered.

Both servants paused, just for a fraction of a second, before continuing on, although now they were both glaring at me.

Once she had finished talking, Octavia stood and began trotting towards the door. Since I was busy watching the servants glare at me, I didn’t notice her movement until she gave a sharp and insistent tug on the leash, causing me to grunt again and follow her out.

Once we were safely out of earshot of the kitchen, I worked up my courage and asked “What did I do to make them mad this time?”

“I usually take them both once or twice in the mornings. They’re probably mad at you because they suspect I’m using you as an outlet, which would be both mean to them and a way to get myself in trouble. Both of my servants care very dearly for me; they joined our family a year after the great conversion and they’ve been my servants ever since. Plus, they aren’t allowed to buck anypony but me, nor can they masturbate, and since they’re used to my rhythm, going over a night without attention is bound to give them blue balls.” 

She turned to me. “You probably don’t understand just how horny I am right now, but if you can imagine being surrounded by hundreds of bucking ponies and not being allowed to partake, then you can maybe grasp the idea. If it weren’t for the fact that I’m about to get the most delicious treat in all existence, I’d be mashing your face against my-”

“Okay, I get it…” I cut her off, not needing the metal imaging. “I might not get how horny you are, but at least you aren’t depraved like I am. Can you imagine knowing you’ll never have a lover, ever?” She shook her head. “Well, then I guess we’re both in the same boat.”

She nodded, and I saw that she had led me in one giant circle. We were back at the kitchen, only the servants were gone, having quickly disposed of the corpse and cleaned the surfaces before their departure.

Octavia made her way through the kitchen to a cupboard on the far side. From it she took out a rather large wine glass. She then moved across the kitchen and drew a very large and very sharp knife from its holster, as well as a towel.

“We’ll do it in the music room; it’s well ventilated, so the scent will dissipate quickly.” She commanded, still leading me by the leash.

Octavia took me back through the mansion. I realised that it must be much deeper than it was large, since it took us almost two minutes to get to the music room. Octavia had to walk on three legs to hold the knife with her fourth, and she had crammed the leash, the towel and the wine glass in her mouth, but she was still covering ground quickly. I could feel her anticipation, and it worried me. I had a bad feeling that she once she got her taste, she’d want more.

We finally made it, and I was glad she’d chosen the music room. The whole thing was surrounded by two glass walls, which gave a beautiful view of the terrace, and at the push of a button, they opened up, allowing the air to circulate freely.

Also present was a vast array of musical instruments. From violins to harps, from trumpets to a grand piano, and even a drum set, Octavia had it all. One instrument stood out from the others though. On a polished, jet black stand stood a giant cello. It was clearly her most prized instrument, as she led me in a wide arc around it.

“This room is amazing.” I said, doing a 360 to see all of it. “What if you want to play during the day though? Those walls would let all the sunlight in.”

“They have their own giant shutters that come down automatically during the daylight hours.” She responded. Her tone was curt, causing me to turn back to the desk where she had dropped the knife and cup.

Our eyes locked. In hers I saw hunger and lust as she almost trembled with excitement. I’m sure she saw fear in mine, because she made a conscious effort to try and look comforting. She failed miserably.

“Let’s get this over with…” I said. I walked up to the desk and turned to her. “You should back up a bit while I fill the glass.”

She glared at me, clearly unhappy at being ordered around, but complied, giving me a few meters to work with. She still held the leash tight in her mouth though; testimony to how much she wanted my blood.

I took the knife in one hoof and turned to face her, keeping the desk between us. I didn’t want any surprises while I was vulnerable.

I put my other hoof over the wine glass and brought the knife up to it before shooting a glance at Octavia. Her eyes were wide with excitement and I saw that she had drifted a few steps closer. Her head was tilted back slightly and her nostrils were wide and expectant, waiting for the telltale smell of blood.

I bit my lip nervously and paused in my actions. When she saw this, I saw her eyes ripple with pain as she forced herself to take a step back and give me my space.

Very slowly, I lowered the knife and cut a shallow line through my flesh. As soon as I drew a steady stream of blood, I adjusted my hoof so it had the easiest and most direct course into the cup. I glanced up to see Octavia’s body shuddering as held herself back.

I let my hoof hang over the wine glass until it was almost full, after which I inverted it. The flow of blood slowed dramatically, and I carefully wrapped the towel around my cut, tying it off tight. I held my hoof up to help the cut heal quickly and took a few steps away from the cup.

Octavia didn’t need any prompting. As soon as I stepped back, she jumped to the glass. I saw her pause, drinking in the scent and sighing blissfully before she picked it up and put it to her lips. She started off with a small sip, and I saw her pupils dilate as if she were hunting. She took a second sip, then a third in rapid succession. The cup was two thirds of the way gone by the time she paused. She drank the rest in one gulp, letting it sit it her mouth and swirling it around to taste all the flavors before swallowing it and sighing. Her whole body looked as if it were a marshmallow; she was in ecstasy.

I sorta just stood there awkwardly as she slowly came out of her stupor, waiting cautiously for her to make the next move. It took a few minutes; she looked worse than the Vamponies doping their double Z, but eventually her eyes lost their wide, unfocused quality.

She looked at me, and in her eyes I saw determination. I took a step back, fearing that her she intended to eat me, and she was on her hooves instantly, leash in hoof. I cowered on the ground, knowing for sure this time that if she wanted to eat me, I would be dead in a few short seconds.

But she didn’t. She kept her distance, and I saw that she was perfectly in control. “Alright, come here, let’s get that cut treated. I don’t want Mark or Brandon smelling the blood on you.”

I approached her cautiously, and when she didn’t jump me, I gingerly placed my hoof on the table and removed the rag. The bleeding had stopped, but there was still a long red gash along my hoof.

Octavia took the rag and stuffed her nose in it, sighing blissfully again and lapping at it a few times before pulling back. “That will have to be burned.” She then turned to me and looked me straight in the eye. “You do realise that after having tasted THAT, I’ll never, not ever let you out of my sight, right?”

I nodded. “Whatever, I don’t care what you do if it means I get to keep living.”

“Alright then, but I hope you’re ready for the pampered life of servitude you’re about to begin. You belong to me now, irrevocably.” She looked down at my hoof with the blood already drying and crusting over. “We’ll talk after you clean this and hide it.”

She led me back across the mansion, stopping by the kitchen to throw the rag in the oven and to clean the glass meticulously, although she brought it back to her room with us. Once we got there, she led me to the bathroom and stood next to me as I rubbed my hoof clean and wrapped it in bandages.

All throughout the ordeal, Octavia stared at my hoof. “How did it taste?” I asked. I’m not sure why I wanted to make small talk with my captor; maybe I thought if she got comfortable with me, she’d let me have a few more liberties.

“Like liquid gold. Like the most beautiful gemstones. How can I put this? If I were to die now, I would die with no regrets. It was the most amazing thing to ever touch my pallet, ever.” She said.

Once I was finished, she came over and sniffed at my wound. “I can still smell the blood, but it’s faint. Here.” She took some scented air spray and covered then bandages in it before sniffing again. “No good, I can still smell it. The blood cuts right through it.”

“I have some-” I began, only to stop when she stuck her nose in my armpit. “Hey!”

She looked at me with worry and hunger. “You’re starting to smell like a pony again.”

I felt my eyes widen. “I need to take a shower and renew my spells and put of my cologne!” I begged. “It’s back at my house.”

“Take the shower first.” She instructed, pointing at hers. “It’ll muddle the smell long enough for us to get to your house.

I turned the shower on, carefully adjusting the temperature before getting inside. However, as soon as I reached for the screen, Octavia put her hoof up to stop me.

“Oh come on! I can’t even shower in private? What am I gonna do: bust down the wall, snap the leash and escape in the middle of the night? And I’m going to get the floor all wet.”

“Too bad. I told you before; the price of your life is your privacy. You’ll never leave my sight again, not to pee, not to shower, nothing.”

“And how are you going to have sex? I can’t watch you or I’ll get turned on, and we both know what’ll happen then.”

“I’ll leave you with my other servant.” She sounded uncertain, but didn’t back down. “But you’re right; we can’t just get the floor all wet.”

I moved to close the curtain again, but she stopped me. I was about to tell her to make up her mind when she stepped into the shower behind me.

“Oh you can’t be serious…”

She glared at me and reached for her shampoo. “Look Vinyl, I’m very horny, panicking about your scent and the blood and pony on you is making me hungry again. Right now is definitely NOT a good time for arguments.” She squirted some of the shampoo into her hooves and started to rub it into my mane and coat. “If you want to live through the rest of the night, I suggest you do your best to try and make me happy before I finish what I started.”

“When we get out, can you at least take this thing off my horn long enough for me to re-cast my spells?”

She didn’t answer, passing me the bottle of shampoo with her mouth as she continued to scrub my coat meticulously. I took it from her and got started on my legs, being just as thorough as I am every evening.

Half an hour later, when Octavia had given me a good sniff across my whole body and deemed me acceptable, we got out. She passed me a towel and took one for herself, rubbing herself vigorously and then doing the same to me despite my protests.

“I’m not a dog! I can take care of myself, believe it or not. I managed to stay hidden for 8 years before you showed up, so you don’t have to watch my every move.” I told her irritably.

She flicked me with the towel. “You might have succeeded for 8 years, but you managed to slip up at least once when it counted, and who know how many other times when you just got lucky not to be seen? You belong to me, and I will treat you however I very well want, my SERVANT.” She barked at me. “Now, I’m going to take that thing off for you, but if you try any funny business at all, I won’t hesitate to eat you.”

I gulped nervously as she slowly brought her snout up to my horn and pulled the ring off of it. I felt a brief surge of strength as my magic began flowing through my body again, and I smiled despite the situation.

Or at least I did until I felt her teeth close around my neck. I saw her eyes glaring up at me, basically screaming “Get on with it”. I made it quick, re-casting all my usual spells and adding in few extra layers around my damaged hoof.

“O-okay, I’m done.” I stuttered, and she quickly put the ring back on. “I p-put some extra spells around my hoof, s-so you might not be able to smell the…”

She leaned her muzzle into my hoof and breathed deeply. “No, it’s still there, although it’s much fainter.” She leaned back a bit, perhaps a foot, and took another breath. “Well, it’ll get us to your house safely. Alright, come on, and don’t try anything along the way.”

She took my leash and began walking again. The whole getting led thing was really starting to piss me off, but I knew she wouldn’t change it. Luckily for me, we only saw one or two Vamponies along the way, who ignored us completely.

“So, you’ve drunk my blood, and suddenly you’re a lot more comfortable around me. Does that mean that you’ve acclimatised?” I asked her.

“It’s actually the opposite; I’ve never wanted to jump you more.” She said nonchalantly.

I subconsciously put an extra foot between us. “But you seem so much more relaxed…”

“That’s probably because I’m so full. I don’t know if you noticed, but every time I’ve tried to jump you was when I’m hungry. Now that I have some meat in my belly, it’s much easier to think clearly.” She explained with a creepy smile. “That doesn’t mean you’re any less appetising, so don’t try to take any liberties.”

I gulped again and nodded, to which she said “Good girl.” I think she did it entirely because she knew it was getting on my nerves.

Eventually I took the lead and led her the rest of the way to my house. When we got there, I realised that I’d left it unlocked, although it didn’t look like anyvampony had been inside.

She followed close enough behind me that I could feel her body with my tail. Once we were inside, I went to my bathroom can collected all the stuff I typically used to keep my secret. I splashed the cologne over my neck, armpits, under my tail and around my injured hoof, just for good measure.

With my survival equipment safely stowed in my school saddlebags, I went to my fridge. Octavia stopped me short and asked what I was doing.

“My fruit’s in there. I can’t live off of meat like you.”

“We can’t bring that home with us; Vamponies will look at us funny and question why we have it.”

“Well, typically I go and harvest it during the day, b-”

“No, you’ll have to live without.”

“I’ll die! Octavia, that’s the only thing that gives me nutrition. I NEED to eat fruit or I’ll die of malnutrition; grass and flowers won’t cut it. If you want my blood, we need to figure out a way for me to go get more without arousing suspicion.”

She groaned and stomped her hooves. “I should just eat you, right here, right now. You’ve given me nothing but headaches since I got you.”

“I know this is hard for you.” I can’t believe she needed to be comforted. I’m the one who just became a slave to a predator. If anyone should be getting any comforting, it should be me. “But it’ll get a lot easier once we’ve sorted out all the initial problems. And besides, this is best for both of us.”

She nodded to herself. “Alright, eat what you need. We can come here every day after school and you’ll eat. We can even store the food here.”

“And what about getting more?”

“We’ll deal with that when you run out. How long will this much fruit last?” She asked as she looked at the food with distain. I could see it was making her nauseous.

I took a quick inventory and told her it would last about 3 more days, not including today.

“If we go out tomorrow night to get more, we would have plenty of time to get home.” I offered.

She glared at me. “Just you and me? Miles away from any form of cover from the sun? No dice; it would be too easy for you to stall until daybreak and then get away while I burn to ashes.”

“Well then what? What do you want me to do? I can’t live without fruit!”

“I’ll get one of my servants to get some. I’ll tell them it’s for a school project.”

“Yeah, and that’ll work once. You can’t ask them to do that every week, and won’t they be confused when we ship it all off to my place?”

She glared at me again. “Well then you figure something better out! It’ll work once, so we’ll use it long enough to figure something better out.” 

I opened my mouth to protest again when she yanked on the leash, making me choke and splutter. “Listen you needy little pony, I’ve already given you your life. You might not see it that way, but I do, and I can take it back at any moment, so let’s get one thing straight: my fears outweigh your needs. If I fear it, you don’t get it, even if it means you’re going to die! And you had better get used to it, because this is how your life is going to be from now on.”

She took a few deep breaths after her tirade and stared me down, daring me to talk back to her. When I didn’t, she took my head in her hoof and shoved it towards an apple. “Now eat, and make it quick so we can get home and finally get Mark’s cock between my legs. I’ve already skipped like 5 orgasms because of you and I will not miss another!”

And so I ate my meal under Octavia’s harsh glare. Once I finished and dispersed the scent of fruit from my mouth, we left. There were only four hours left until dawn by the time we got back to her house. Both brothers had already returned, having completed their assigned tasks.

As soon as we got in, Octavia sent both servants off. She ordered Mack to “prepare his body” and told Brandon to go get the cuffs, after which she brought me to her room. All the new fittings were in place; the windows were barred, as were the shutters. I knew just by looking that there was no way through those. The door also felt like 10 times heavier and looked three times as thick, and it had 3 new locks on it.

Octavia was barking orders at Brandon, and a second later I could smell why. She was practically leaking on the floor, and I had to breathe through my mouth to hold my own arousal at bay. She had Brandon take out hoof cuffs, four different sets, and made him cuff my legs together. He used two of the sets to make an X shape, with my right front hoof tied to my hind left leg and vice versa for the other set. He then cuffed my front legs to my bed. Octavia tied the leash to her own bed and told Brandon to lock everything.

Finally, when I was cuffed and locked down, Octavia was satisfied. She told Brandon to come with her and left me alone in her room. I sat there, tied down uncomfortably on my bed, and waited. Time passed, and I lost track of it. At some point I thought I heard a cry of bliss, but I couldn’t be sure.

Finally, after well over three hours of shifting the little bit of my body I could to try and find a comfortable position, I heard the lock that was installed on the outside turn. Then the three on the inside turned as well, and Octavia barged into the room, looking completely disheveled. As soon as she saw me, she calmed down. She quickly turned around and locked the door again before trotting over to the bathroom.

She reeked of sex, and as she passed I saw that she still had some white Vampony jizz leaking out her wet and distended snatch. I looked away immediately, but it was way too late. I knew I was in for a rough night of denying myself the liberties of masturbation.

I heard the shower turn on and sighed, waiting somewhat patiently for her to free me from my restraints.

However, once she had finished and trotted out with a somewhat dreamy look on her face, she walked right by me and began unlocking the door. She quickly trotted out and locked it back up behind her.

I had to wait another half an hour for her to return, once again unlocking and then re-locking the door behind her.

“What happened to never letting me out of your sight?” I asked.

“Those hoof cuffs have magic locks. If you managed to undo one, my servants would know instantly. The room also has magic, unbreakable locks, and the magic inhibitor on your head can only be removed by me.”

“But you said you’d never, ev-”

“I know what I said!” She snapped. “But I realised that I can’t go my whole life watching you, so this is where you’re going to stay when I can’t keep my eyes on you.”

She trotted over to her bed and sat down so she could look at me.

“Where did you go?” I asked.

“I just had sex for three hours.”

“I meant after your shower!”

“Oh, I went to get topped up on meat. I’m nice and full now, so tonight will be easy to make it through.”

I nodded. “So… when do I get to ditch these shackles?”

She trotted over and took off the one’s tying my legs together, as well as one of the one’s tying me to my bed, but she left the other on.

“Wh-” I began

“You’ll leave that on throughout the night. If you take it off, my servants will be here in less than 30 seconds.” She trotted over to her bed and lay down. “This way I can actually get some sleep tonight.”

I sighed and flipped over so my back was to her.

“Good day, Vinyl Scratch.” 

I didn’t want to answer her, but she yanked on my leash, causing me to choke.

“Good day, Octavia.” I barked.

“We’ll work on your manners later.”

I heard her get comfortable, and I shot a quick glance over my shoulder to see that she was staring at me again.

I tried to get comfortable myself, but between my collar, my hoof that I had to keep stretched out at an awkward angle and my aching mare parts, I just couldn’t find a good position, so it took me another hour to finally conk out.

> Getting cosy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up the next evening to a burning stiffness crippling my body, and had to suppress a cry of pain. 

I didn’t.

I quickly shook out my legs, feeling the cuffs still tied to the bed, and managed to get out a few of the kinks despite my limited mobility. My body still ached, but I tried not to let it show. That is, until I noticed that I was alone.

Octavia wasn’t in her bed. Lucky for me I suppose, since it meant I could let out few small cries of discomfort as I carefully twisted and turned, working out more of the kinks. Not so lucky was the fact that I was now unable to get off the bed… again.

So I waited, idly tapping my hoof on the mattress and watching the door. I was seriously regretting not having grabbed my Ipone, especially seeing as I was going to be spending a lot of time alone in Octavia’s room, but I reasoned that I could take it with me next time.

After a few minutes of idle tapping, which was boring me to all heck, I decided to do some thinking. Octavia had said she was unwilling to harvest fruit, and without my vitamin C, I’d die. So, I needed a way convince her it’s safe.

This led me to a dangerous path of thought; I COULD, in theory, take advantage of my need to eat and trap her out in the daylight, like she fears. However, doing so would require me to convince her of the exact opposite.

I decided to start by convincing her. After all, if I could get my fruit, I’d have the rest of my life to figure out a way to free myself. How hard could it be to convince one Vampony to go harvest fruit?

Sadly, once I heard the locks and tumblers start to open, I still hadn’t thought of a convincing argument beyond the fact that she’ll lose her source of blood, and she’d already told me that said argument wouldn’t be good enough.

Octavia trotted right past me again, straight to the shower, smelling of sex. Now that I was safely locked up, she didn’t have any issues leaving for personal reasons. I heard the water begin to flow, followed by several satisfied moans of pleasure.

She took her sweet time, as if mocking me with her re-discovered freedom while I sat like a prisoner on death row. I saw steam start escaping from under the door, and eventually I heard her moans escalate to cries of ecstasy, leaving me in no doubt of what she was doing in there and causing my already sore mare parts to protest violently against the lack of attention I was giving them.

A good ten minutes after the crescendo of moaning, I heard the shower shut off. A soaking wet, smiling Octavia emerged from a curtain of steam. Her eyes locked on me as she trotted over to her bed and untied the leash, taking it in her maw.

“Alright cutie pie, time to feed your mistress.” She said, almost prancing over to my bed to untie my hoof cuff.

I looked at her funny. “You’re in an awfully good mood today.”

She smiled at me, pretty big for a Vampony too. In fact, it was almost as big as a regular smile. “Why wouldn’t I be? I just got banged, had one of the best cuts of meat in existence, and I’m about to get the ultimate desert. The way I see it, I’m golden.”

Once my cuff was off, she gently tugged the leash to get me to my hooves. That made me upset. “You know, you can just TELL me to get up.”

“Yeah, but this is so much more satisfying. Now come on girl, let’s go get your cup and knife.” She actually laughed, and I stared at her with hatred.

“I liked you better yesterday.”

She ignored me, cheerfully prancing down to the kitchen, dripping water everywhere, and grabbing the glass, knife and a new rag before leading me to the music room.

Again, I was amazed by the sheer amount of instruments present. I wished that she had some turntables with dubstep or pop, or any of the good music that existed back in old Equestria, but sadly the instruments were only those one would see in an orchestra.

“Hey, where are-”

“My servants? Off to get your fruit, and I told them to take all night.” I noticed that she was already at the same desk we had used yesterday, carefully depositing the objects and reeling me in slowly.

“Wait, what about the walls? They’re still down.” I asked.

“I know. I said we have all night, didn’t I?” She said with a gleam in her eyes. I was about to ask for some clarifications when she pulled out two more wine glasses from under the desk, grinning viciously.

I’m pretty sure I blanched. I sure felt cold, as if all the heat had evaporated from my body as she went on. “I’m keeping them closed intentionally. I want to bathe in your scent and drown in your blood. Now, come to your mistress’s side like a good pup.”

I froze. She didn’t stop smiling as she yanked viciously on the leash, causing me to fall forward. I tried to get back up, but she decided to just drag me to her as she licked her lips.

“I’m going to enjoy tonight as if tomorrow could never come.” She sang. Once I was next to her, she pulled me to my hooves. “Get up before I punish you like the dog you are.”

I did. I found my footing, but I still felt cold, as if a spear of ice had pierced my chest and infected my whole body.

“O-Octavia…” I said.

She paused for a moment, looking at me. “Yes?”

I looked back at her, trying to formulate my thoughts. “Why are you doing this? You already own my body. You’re going to make me cut myself for the rest of my life, just to feed you some rare delicacy that you could easily live without. I’m probably going to lose years of my life due to the blood loss and the cellular reproduction that entails, and I’ll never get to live any of my dreams or wishes because I’ll never be able to leave your side. I’m as good as dead, with no life and no future. So why do you have to treat me like a dog? Can’t you have some sympathy? Can’t you at least be nice to me? I mean, I’m willingly giving you my life, just so that I don’t die, but hoping that maybe one day I can have some sort of reason to live for myself again, even if I’m still your servant. So please, please at least treat me with some sort of measure of respect…”

As I stood there talking, I watched as her face slowly faded from a happy-go-lucky smile to a neutral expression. When I finished, I stood there for a solid minute as she stared at me, and I her. A tiny frown formed on her face, and I waited. Then her eyes softened a bit, but her frown remained. It was a look that I had seen only a few times, but it always meant that same thing.

“I’m sorry…” It meant regret.

She pulled out a bench from under a piano nearby and patted the seat next to her. I sat down hesitantly, and she looked me in the eye.

“You’re right. That was way too far. You may belong to me, but I shouldn’t do that to you.” She paused for a second and then pressed on, her eyes slanting slightly for a Vampony determined face. “You’re a living, sentient creature like me. I hope you’ll understand that I won’t take the leash off, or the cuffs at day, or the added security, and you won’t get much privacy either. But I WILL do my best to treat you properly, like I would any servant. And I know it may seem like I mistreat Mark and Brandon, but believe me when I tell you that they’re the two Vamponies I trust the most in the world.”

I smiled at her, a pony smile. “Thank you Octavia. It means a lot to me.”

She nodded tensely. “After we’re done in here, we need to have a very serious conversation about tomorrow and the rest of your life.”

It was my turn to nod seriously. “Alright, we will. But um, I’m guessing you want to get this started?”

She nodded, a guilty smile returning to her face as she gently took the leash and walked over to the desk. “By the way, I wasn’t kidding about the whole “drown in your blood” thing. I want you to like, feed me so much that I get drunk off it.”

I looked at her with a flat expression. “You do realise I have a limit right? I’m not a bottomless barrel of blood. One glass a day is already pushing it, and I highly doubt I’ll be able to maintain that for very long, so don’t expect me to give you any more than that.”

“Fair enough.” She shrugged and pushed the knife over to me. I could see it in her eyes; she couldn’t care less about how much she got right now, she just wanted the damn stuff.

I moved the glass over to my side of the table, took the knife in my injured hoof and looked at her meaningfully. She got the idea and backed up again, but I saw her nostrils expand again. She really wanted it bad.

I decided it was best to just get it over with, so I ran the knife through my flesh. It hurt, like it did yesterday, but I was okay with it. I inverted my hoof again and let the blood leak into the cup.

When it was almost full, I inverted my hoof again, tying it off with the rag. I backed off like I had yesterday, but this time Octavia didn’t pounce on the cup.

She approached it slowly, and I saw her nostrils widen even more. Her mouth formed into a huge smile, and I saw her crouch next to the glass. She hovered there, letting the scent permeate the room, for a good minute or two.

Then she gently reached out and grabbed the glass, taking a small sip like she had yesterday. Hew whole body relaxed, and I saw her take a second sip. Then she, very slowly, put the glass back down. She left it on the table for another minute before picking it back up and drinking again. She repeated the cycle four times before finally draining the last of the blood, reaching inside with her tongue to lick the glass clean.

She then set it back down. I’m sure the scent of blood was still strong in the air. I couldn’t smell it, what with blood being pretty odorless, but she sat there, breathing deeply with a peaceful smile on her face.

I cautiously unbound my hoof, the blood having stopped its flow, and placed the rag in front of her. She snatched it up, burying her muzzle in it and licking it thoroughly. I backed away again and lay down on the bench, ready to wait as long as she needed.

It was probably somewhere around a half hour later when she finally dropped the rag in the glass. She turned to me and smiled. I didn’t know what kind of smile it was, so I just waited.

She trotted over to me, which made me feel a bit apprehensive, and brought her nose down to my freshly cut flesh, inhaling deeply. She was making me really nervous, but I stayed still and waited.

I saw her tongue dart out, quickly licking around the cut, but not actually touching it. I was pretty sure her venom would only spread if she bit me, but I still didn’t want to take any chances. Luckily, neither did she since she carefully avoided touching any of the open wound with her tongue.

I fidgeted a bit as she followed a thin line of blood that had leaked down my hoof. She was very thorough, breaking up the already-crusted up scab and then passing over it a few times so she got every little bit. I couldn’t help but notice that she was doing it in a very… sexual way.

My mare parts started to fill, and I tried to pull my hoof away. The moment I moved it, she caught me in her hooves, locking mine in place so she could finish her snack. I was starting to feel pretty stuffy, and I tried again, but my hoof didn’t even budge.

“Octavia…” I whined. “You’re making me… horny.” I felt so embarrassed. I mean, I was so deprived that I was being turned on my having my hooves licked! By a mare!

She pulled back from my hoof, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t realise you have a hoof fetish.”

“I do not!” I shouted, glaring at her. “I’m just do damn deprived that almost *anything* seems sexual to me! And just so you know, I’m straight!”

She waved her hoof offhandedly. “Sure thing sexy. It’s too bad too, since you would probably feel amazing, you know, being a virgin and all. And I’m the only Vampony who could ever get you off, what with me knowing your little secret.”

I stared at her with wide eyes. She was right! She could get me excited, because she already knew! “Oh my gosh, I…” I wasn’t sure. I mean, she was a girl, and she was holding me hostage, and the fact that she’d be touching very thin skin that barely separated her from a huge stockpile of blood would probably be too tempting to resist.

She was looking straight at me, a very sudden, very different hunger flaring in her eyes, and it worried me. She pushed me down on the bench so that she was on top of me and smiled at me, but it wasn’t a comforting smile. It was smile that told me she was hungry, and whether it was for sex or for blood wasn’t clear.

“N-no, Octav-” she put her hoof to my lips, holding them closed.

“Don’t worry my dear. You’ve gone far too long without somepony to satisfy your needs. Let me help you with that.”

She began reaching down with her hoof, but I managed to grab it, holding her back. She looked me in the eyes and glared. I shook my head desperately, trying to tell her without words that I was not ready, no matter how much my body said the opposite. I ignored the searing pain in my nethers and the mad desire to push her hoof to its destination. I ignored my heart, which was beating harder than it ever had before. I ignored the fact that I could easily have flipped her onto her back and ground my rear into hers.

And she stopped. She got up off of me with a sigh, smelling more than blood in the air now. “You’re only cheating yourself, but I’ll back off.”

I was lying on the bench, panting. I was completely turned on right now, and I couldn’t stop my hoof from drifting down my body to my moist slit. Octavia stared at me as I fought the need to masturbate, and I looked at her pleadingly. “Can you at least turn around?”

She gave a huge, dramatic roll or her eyes, but complied with my wishes. As soon as I had some semblance of privacy, I mashed my hoof against my clit. With how turned on I was, coupled with years of practice, I managed my best record ever, which I estimated to be just under a minute.

I lounged on the bench blissfully for a few seconds. That orgasm has been building for two whole days now, and it was heavenly. I would have kept lounging, but I heard a polite cough from Octavia and sat up, hiding my still-puffy lips with my tail.

“Are you done already? Wow, you really are depraved…” She said as she beckoned me to follow her. She already had the knife, glass and rag with her, and as we passed the door, she opened the windows to air out the music room.

“Don’t you worry that your other servants might smell the residue?” I asked her after we’d left.

“No. I don’t allow them in my music room. So long as we let it air out, there’s no reason they should smell anything at all.”

“What about the Vamponies outside?”

“None of them live close enough to catch anything but the absolute faintest smell, and at that point it’s so mixed in with the other scents that there’s no way that anything, even a Vampony, could tell it apart.”

I shut up after that. She dealt with the items quickly, washing off the blood from the knife and the cup and throwing the rag into the oven. After she was done, she brought both items back to her room, just like yesterday, and then took me to the bathroom, pulling out the first aid box again.

“You realise that these” I said as I pointed at the bandages on my other hoof. “will cause some suspicion, right? Especially if I keep getting a new set every day…” 

She took off the old bandages, inspecting my hoof. The cut was healing, somewhat, but it was clear it would need at least a week, and probably a lot more before the red would be unnoticeable.

“Can we cut over the old spots?” She asked.

“No, if we do, it’ll take longer and longer to heal, and there’ll be permanent damage to my nerves. Plus, you know, it’ll hurt more.” I said as I cleaned out my newly cut hoof. “We need a different solution, alright?” She didn’t answer. “Octavia?”

I turned to see her looking me over, deep in thought. “Wait here, and don’t you dare move.”

She exited the bathroom and I heard the other door, the one that led to her closet, open. I continued cleaning out my hoof with a pretty good idea of her plan, and by the time I was tying the bandages, she re-appeared in the doorway.

“Get over here; I need you to try on some of my clothes. They should fit you, although they may be a bit big since you’re so small and skinny.”

I rolled my eyes, which I realised quite belatedly that she could see.

“Hey! Where are my glasses?” I shouted.

She pointed over to her nightstand. “You haven’t worn them for a while now. In fact, I don’t think you wore them since Friday morning when you took them off for bed.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? You realise there are blood vessels in my eyes right? Your servants could totally have seen them!” I said as I picked them up off the table and put them on, suddenly feeling much more comfortable.

“Well why did you forget them?”

“Um, I don’t know, maybe because I was freaking out over having been caught and almost eaten alive?!”

She glowered at me. “You better stop making all these mistakes. I’m starting to like you, like as a person, so don’t make me have to eat you, k?”

I glared back at her, although the effect was lost due to my shades. “How about you just…” I couldn’t really think of a comeback. It had been years since I got into a real verbal fight, and my old comeback had always been “stuff a cock in it?”. Sadly, that wouldn’t be as insulting now a days.

“Whatever, just show me these clothes. And I am not small, you’re just fat.”

She through a clothes pin at my face, and I swatted it back at her. “I am not fat! It’s not my fault earth ponies are stockier. Besides, you *are* pretty skinny. You barely eat anything, and meat puts more meat on your bones.”

I huffed and reached into the small pile of dreary dresses she had assembled on her bed. They all looked equally boring and colourless, but I picked one out that looked like it might fit without too much trouble.

The dress was a dull blue, unicolour. It flowed down my back and over my rump, covering everything. It was clearly one of the few artifacts from old Equestria, despite the colour. The front of the dress had sleeves for my hooves which brushed the floor. They might be a bit of a tripping hazard, but they would do their job. The material breathed well, so it wouldn’t cause me to sweat either. All in all, a good dress. There was only one major flaw…

“Octavia, this will attract a ton of attention. No Vampony would be caught wearing anything that covers their butt.” I said. “Your servants will suspect something.”

“It’s fine. The Vamponies at school already know you’re a prude, so they won’t think it’s too weird that you’ve got fabric on your ass, and my servants won’t ask questions. It’ll be *much* more difficult to get them to understand why you’re wearing a collar and a leash.” Octavia fired back nonchalantly.

I gaped at her. “What?” She asked.

“You’re gonna let me go back to school? No, more importantly, you’re gonna keep me on a LEASH at school? What the hell is wrong with you? Do you realise how amazingly embarrassing this is even when there aren’t any Vamponies around?”

She looked at me with a ‘you got to be kidding me’ face. “Why would you ever care what other Vamponies think of you? You don’t have any friends. You belong to me, which you will for the rest of your life. Even if I get comfortable to let you have a life again, it won’t be for years.  I think a few weeks of embarrassment are worth it if you get to keep up your life and not just sit in my room all day, waiting for me to get home and let you out.”

“Or I could, you know, not be on a leash? Besides, we don’t even have all of our classes together. How a-”

“It’s already taken care of. I haven’t actually chosen my classes yet; yesterday and the day before were just trial runs. I’ll just pick all the same classes as you and we’ll be set.” She pulled my glasses off so she could see my eyes. “And you *will* wear the leash.”

I glared at her. She glared back. We both stood there glaring at each other.

“What am I gonna do about my job?” I asked her coldly.

“Quit it. You don’t need to work anymore; I have enough money to keep a whole family off the streets for several lifetimes.”

It was then that I saw that she wasn’t going to back down. I took my glasses and put them back on so she wouldn’t see the hurt in my eyes. “Fine, whatever…”

I guess that, up until now, I had been happy just knowing that I would live past the discovery of my ponyness. Now that she was going to bring me out in public, I couldn’t help but feel like my fate was sealed. It finally hit me. I was a slave! I was going to live the rest of my life as a slave to a Vampony. I was going to cut myself every night for her pleasure. My life was over.

I trotted over to my bed and lied down on it. “Hey, don’t get comfortable. We still need to go bring your fruit back to your house.” Octavia barked at me.

I didn’t hear her. As I lay in bed, I thought of all the things I was already missing out on because of the Conversion. I would never raise a family, nor would I ever be able to find a stallion to love. I didn’t have my parents or any relatives left, nor did I have any friends, and making them would only end in death. I was going to live with Octavia forever, and after school finished I would be stuck inside, doing the housework like Brandon and Mark.

My mind kept wandering, searching for something to grab onto, some source of joy in my life. When I couldn’t find one, it settled on a course of action.

Trotting towards me from across the room, Octavia was getting upset. She had been talking to me for a minute now, and when I refused to respond, she got annoyed. She had given the leash a firm tug, but when that didn’t do anything, she decided for more direct action.

She was almost on me, but I didn’t know. My mind was set, and with a quick, easy move I took off the bandage and re-opened my cut.

Now that I was aware again, I heard the distinct lack of movement behind me. I held my hoof up, the miniscule amount of light glinting off the red beads that were rolling through my fur. I’m pretty sure I could hear Octavia’s laboured breathing.

“Go ahead.” I told her. “You were right from the start. There’s no reason for me to live anymore. I’m a slave. A worthless, pathetic slave. I should have killed myself years ago, when I realised that I was the last one. I have no future, no reason to keep living. I have no family, and I’ll never be able to make one. I have no friends, no lover, and I’ll never make any. I can’t get any fulfilment in this new world; even my music, the reason for my cutie mark, doesn’t exist anymore. Honestly? I’m done. For eight years, I was happy because I could sit in my house and know that one day I might actually manage to… I don’t even know. I just had hope. But now it’s gone. I can’t even sit under the sun anymore. I used to see it every day, and I though its warmth was a promise for the future…” I trailed off, and then sighed. “Look, it’s over for me. Just eat me now. You gave me back my life, even if it was just for a few days, so you can finish me all by yourself.”

I think I expected Octavia to devour me on the spot, so when I didn’t feel her teeth immediately, I guess I just snapped.

“Hey you arrogant, self-centered, pompous bitch, I told you to eat me!” I turned to glare at her and saw that was just sitting there, watching me calmly. Well, that pissed me off even more, so I got up and marched right over to her, sticking my hoof right under her nose. “I. Said. Eat me!”

She didn’t even bat an eyelash. She just kept watching me. I tried to spy hunger in her eyes, but they were empty, devoid of any emotion.

I drew my hoof back. Fine, if she wouldn’t eat me, I’d beat her until she HAD to. I went to punch her, but she caught my hoof as easily as if it wasn’t moving. And still she remained silent.

I tried to punch her with my other hoof, to no avail. She just caught that one too. I tried to head-butt her, but she pushed me away, still keeping her hold on my hooves. I was getting really mad, so I kicked and bit and struggled and basically did everything I could to hurt her. I tried until my face was red and my whole body was sweating. The room probably stunk of pony and blood.

And still, she did not say a word, did not budge an inch, and did not bat an eye. She just stared at me with that look.

I wrenched my hooves away from her, and she let me go without a fight. I stomped on the ground in irritation, and shouted. I slammed up against the door, trying to bust it down, but all I got was a sore shoulder. I kicked at the windows, with the same result.

Finally I slumped down and cried. I didn’t know what else to do. My life was over, but I couldn’t end it. If she wanted to, she could keep me locked up in here forever. All she needed was a bit of fruit to keep me alive. I was worse than a slave at this point; I was a possession, an object. At least a slave could move around. I was going to be confined to this one room, serving as a faucet of blood. There’s no way she would let me out after that tantrum.

So I cried. I lay on the ground, curled up in a ball, and cried my eyes out. And the worst part, the most terrible thing, was that I felt a hoof on my shoulder.

She lay down beside me, like a mother would with its foal, and she held me tight. Even worse was the fact that I turned around and buried my head in her shoulder. I didn’t care that all this mess was her fault. I didn’t care that she owned me, and that as soon as I was done, she’d just lock me up. I didn’t care about anything, because the way she held me made me feel like she actually cared. Nopony had cared for me in 8 years.

Eventually, probably a good ten minutes later, I started to calm down. I think she felt it too, because she loosened her embrace. I held her tighter, silently begging her to stay with me. I don’t think she wanted too. I think she knew she was getting too attached, and that this was a bad idea for her, because she’d make a mistake. She wasn’t thinking with her head anymore, she was thinking with her emotions and her compassion.

So the fact that she didn’t pull away made all the difference.

Finally, when I was done crying, I let her go. It was nice while it lasted, but the truth was there. I was a slave, not a friend. She let me go too, but she didn’t get up. I looked up from her shoulder to see that she was still watching me, but in her eyes I saw unshed tears. She felt sorry for me.

“Years ago.” She began. “Before the corruption, back when I was a pony, my father told me a story. It was about two little fillies and a big bad Vampony.”

“The first filly was trotting through a city merrily and humming a tune. She didn’t have any plans for the day, so she was just exploring and having fun. By her side was her best friend, who was also a filly. Together the two followed the trail all the way to the edge of town.

“When they reached the edge, the pair came to a crossroad. Both paths looked the same, and the fillies decided it would be fun to split up and follow them both. So the first filly went along the left path, and the second took the right.

“The first filly followed her path for a few minutes. Then she turned around because she didn’t want to get lost and skipped back home, where the pair had agreed to meet. The second filly never made it home.

“There was more, but I don’t remember it too well, so I’ll skip ahead to then end. Basically, the first filly grew up into a mare, and had a nice family with a good husband and two healthy fillies. She told her children to always stick together when they were outside so they could protect each other.

“One day, the mare returned to the two paths where she had lost her friend. She followed the right path, like her friend had, and eventually she saw her.

“Her friend was sitting there, looking the same as she had all those years ago. That was back when we thought Vamponies were immortal. She smiled at the mare, showing off her fangs, and then she scampered off into the woods.”

Octavia looked me in the eyes. “The story can be taken to mean many things, especially the whole version, but my father told me what he though it meant. He told me that he would prepare me for as many eventualities as he could, the good and the bad, and he told me about right and wrong, and how it’s always better to do the right thing. But the story represents how two fillies, both good girls, could, by sheer luck, end up in two very different situations. He told me it meant that no matter what you do, luck will always have a say in your life.”

I looked up at her, my fur probably matted by the tears, and asked: “What does that have to do with me?”

“It means that the fact that you were discovered by me was luck. It could have been any Vampony, but it was me.” She patted my head. “And I have a strange feeling that it was good luck.”

> Friend?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
She stood up and motioned for me to do the same. “You stink.” She said bluntly, her voice strangely emotionless, as she cracked one of the windows open the tiniest bit. “This room is much closer to the front of the house. I'll have to aerate it out slowly, or else the Vamponies outside will take notice”

For a second I heard a sliver of irritation, and her shoulders were tense, but it dissipated quickly. She pointed to the bathroom, and I obediently went to it and climbed in the tub. It was pretty big, and could easy fit two ponies lying side by side. I expected her to climb in next to me, which she did, but instead of starting up the shower, she put the cork in the drain and opened the faucet fully.

“We’re taking a bath?” I asked.

She gave me a wordless nod and hopped back out, taking a package out from under the sink and dropping some beads in the tub before returning it to its spot and climbing back in. “Those are some very strong smelling bath salts. It’s a good a time as any to test how well they camouflage your scent.”

I looked at her from the corner of my eyes as I took my glasses off and tossed them over to the sink. “Why would you need to cover my scent anymore?” I asked. “You’re going to keep me locked up, aren’t you?”

To my utter amazement, and joy, she shook her head. “You’re depressed because you think you’ll never get a life, and that’s reasonable. So I’m going to give you what you want. A life for a life. You can live yours, and I get to keep it. Think about it; you’ve already told me how much not having a husband or a family is bringing you down. The only thing that’s changed at this point is that now you’re my slave. But…” She paused, and looked me in the eye. “You lost your freedom, but I’ll give you something in return. I can become the one thing you could never have before. I’ll be your friend. I’ll be that pony you can go to in times of need. I’ll be your reason to keep living. You might never have a family, but this must be better than what you had before, right?”

She stayed there for a second, watching me as it slowly sank in. I reached out to her and touched her with my hoof, which had stopped bleeding again but still had some crusted blood along the sides. She didn’t stop me, nor did she start licking it, but instead she waited to see what I would do. With another rush of tears, I embraced her. I started crying like a foal as she held me and whispered about how my life was better off now.

“And you can do that?” I said between sobs. “You can treat me like a friend, when I’m your slave and your food?”

“I’m best friends with Brandon and Mark. It may not look like it to you, but we’re very close. They just get cold and distant when I have company, because it doesn’t show proper status between me, the mistress, and them, the servants.”

“But what about the food part?”

“I’ll do my best to be your friend, Vinyl. I really will, but in the end there will be that distance between us, and you will always belong to me. If push comes to shove, I will eat you. But if we hope that it never happens, then I think we have a good chance at being actual friends.”

I nodded. She was right. I may have lost one of the most important things in the world, but I had the potential to gain something even better in return.

“Oh, and this?” She said as she ran her hoof over my nethers, causing me to gasp and squirm uncomfortably. "I’ll take care of this for you too.” I pulled away, my tears slowing, and looked at her. She smiled cockily and added. “Unless, of course, you’d rather go the rest of your life without somepony in your bed? I promise we’ll wait until it’s perfectly safe, with no chance of me suddenly ripping your pussy apart.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I turned away and changed the subject. “And the fruit?”

Her face hardened to a mask, hiding her emotions. “We’ll see. You should have enough for a week at least with the amount Brandon and Mark are bringing, so that’ll be the trial week.”

I nodded. “The leash?”

“Same idea. A trial week with it, and then we’ll see.”

“The ring?”

“Don’t push it.”

I sighed and nodded. “I guess it could be worse…”

The bath was almost full at this point, and pleasantly hot. I sat down in it, letting out a sigh of joy as my muscles relaxed after all the stress of the past two nights. Next to me, Octavia did the same, a small smile gracing her lips.

‘My first friend in 8 years…’ I thought to myself.

The next hour passed slowly. We soaked in the tub until I my body felt like jelly, and then Octavia started washing me down like she had yesterday. I might have imagined it, but it felt like she was being a touch gentler than last time. After another half hour of vigorous coat and mane scrubbing, she let me out and toweled me off.

“The smell is gone, completely, but I’m still going to have you re-cast your spells. And I think we’ll go back to your house and get your cologne and anything else you might need.”

I nodded, and she bandaged my hoof back up before removing the ring. Within minutes I was done, and we were trotting across the city, leash on, to get the few articles I needed from my house.

I grabbed my cologne and dropped it in the saddlebags first. I followed it up with moisturiser and eye drops. Vamponies have soft skin, where the fur is thin enough to feel it, and the eye drops would help me keep the veins subtle. I reached over for my first aid kit, if for no other reason than because it made me feel safer to know I had it with me.

While I thought about anything I could be forgetting, I ate an apple, followed by and orange, and a banana. They went down quickly, but for some reason I was still hungry, so I added a kiwi to the mix. Oh, that’s what I forgot; my Ipone. And I grabbed my sack of bits too. Good thing I hadn’t bought that turntable; I would never have managed to get it across town. I took a few vinyls while I was at it. The good ones, with rock and electronic and dubtrot.

“I think that’s about it.” I told Octavia, who has been watching me zip around my apartment. “If I need anything else, we can always come back, right?”

She nodded, and after I cleared the smell of fruit from my breath with a lion blood-mist breath freshener, which I added to my saddlebags, we left. The trip back went just as smoothly, and I dropped my stuff in her room, which was now starting to feel more like our room.

Day was approaching. Brandon and Mark made it back with under an hour to spare. As soon as they returned, they stored the fruit in Octavia’s cold storage basement, which would keep it fresh for a good month.

Once that was settled, Octavia turned back to me, giving me the tiniest of sheepish smiles as she held up the cuff. I rolled my eyes behind my shades, but held out my hoof, which she tied to the bedpost as usual.

“One day I’ll let you roam the mansion 24/7, if you’re good, but for now…” She said.

With that, she quickly locked the double doors to her room and rushed off. I reached into my bad to pull out my Ipone, and then cried softly in my mind when I saw it was completely out of power, and that there were no outlets around my bed. Looks like I was in for another boring few hours of waiting for her to come back, with cum dripping out of her neither lips and that smell that would keep me up for an extra hour.

And so she did, although she had done me a kindness by eating first, so she wouldn’t have to leave again. She also un-cuffed me before taking her shower, and I quickly plugged my Ipone into the wall, so next time I wouldn’t have to deal with a solid hour of silence.

Her shower finished much quicker this time, probably because there were no cries of ecstasy, which means no solo play. She trotted out, refreshed, and climbed into her bed after re-fastening my hoof to the bedpost.

“I think we’ll skip school tomorrow. I want to be ready for… whatever is going to happen.” She said.

I nodded gratefully. No matter how much I thought about it, wearing a leash to school would be humiliating. Still, it was better than sitting in a room for the whole night. At least, that’s what my brain was telling me.

To my amazement, I felt really tired. It was that kind of tired where you just know that sleep is right around the corner, and you’ll get it real quick-like. I eagerly closed my eyes, hoping the world of dreams would have a special, fun place to carry me off to tonight.

It felt like barely a second has passed when I felt hooves shaking me awake.

I turned over groggily to see Octavia’s eyes staring back at me. They were wide with fear, and I don’t mean like a Vamponies would be. Her eyes were way too big for regular Vampony fear, which could only mean something very serious was going down.

“Get up.” She hissed. “We need to get out.”

I rubbed my eyes blearily. Through the shutters I could see the tiniest, most infinitesimal glow that signified it was probably high noon.

“What do ya want Octavia? It’s mid-day; we can’t leave ri-”

She shushed me by slapping a hoof across my lips and whispered. “Brandon suspects something. I know he does. And I think he’s told Mark. I can hear them on the other side of the door, pacing up and down the hallway.”

That woke me up. I joined her in her whispered tone, so as not to alert our hunters. “What do we do? They’re unicorns, and they probably have keys. Even if they don’t, we have to go out eventually…”

Octavia nodded and pointed to her bathroom, continuing her murmuring. “There’s a secret exit in there. They don’t know about it because it’s supposed to be in case of emergencies. MY emergencies. Hurry, but keep quiet.”

She slid across the floor, absolutely soundlessly, and opened the door to the facilities. I followed much more slowly, making sure to spread out my weight and tip hoof as much as I could. And, of course, I completely forgot about my bound hoof, which threw me off balance and caused me to slam into the ground.

Instantly, I heard the sound of tumblers creaking. Octavia was back in a flash, managing to break two of the locks and force them to stay closed. She jumped to my side as I heard magical sparks fly. I could only assume the servants were trying to cut the locks.

Octavia tore off my hoof-cuff and the leash, and all but shoved me across the room. I saw that a panel had been perfectly concealed behind the bathroom mirror, and Octavia tossed me into it.

I fell straight down, and only years of training stopped me from shrieking in fear. Vamponies don’t shriek. Still, it was a terrifying few seconds of free fall. When I finally hit the ground, I bounced back once and landed softly on the mattress that had been placed at the bottom of the shoot. Of course, the first thing I did was roll out of the way, and a good thing too, because Octavia was seconds behind me.

She hit the cushion and bounded past me in an instant, moving it as she did. “That won’t confuse them for long. They’ll track one of our scents and be down here soon. Come on.”

I saw she was leading us down a tunnel and followed. Anywhere was better than staring down two hungry Vamponies. Behind us, I heard the telltale sounds of bodies smacking against the floor, followed by grunts of pain and then pounding of hooves. Just by the sound, I could tell. They were on the hunt, and we were in deep trouble.

Until I felt Octavia flip me onto her back. Our speed doubled, maybe more, and I realised she was doing something that our teachers had taught us was impossible. She had entered the hunt, but she wasn’t hunting me. A Vampony on the hunt cannot stop him or herself from feeding on the pony they’re stalking. It was a physical impossibility, until today.

Up ahead, I saw an open door. And it wasn’t just any door. We’re talking a massive, steel, anti-magic door. It was probably a foot thick, and I could see the runes carvings that marked it as having magic resistant properties. Octavia dove through it and hit a button on the other side. A moment later, we were sealed in darkness.

On the other side of the door, I heard hooves slam against it. It was a loud boom that caused me to jump back, and it was followed by several rapid, much smaller smacks, which must have continued on for a whole minute before finally stopping. I heard aggravated snarls and howls of fury as they realised I had escaped them.

“We made it… Octavia, thank you! You saved my life again.” I said, blindly reaching out for the Vampony in question. “I can’t see a thing, can you turn on some sort o- eek!”

She had bowled me over, in what I had assumed was a tackle hug. I wrapped my hooves around her neck and hugged her close, smiling and half crying at the close call.

That is, until I felt the fangs rip into my shoulder.

I let out a piercing shriek of pain and smashed my hoof against her face. I’m pretty sure I broke something with that move, but I didn’t care. She let go for a brief second as I felt the numbing pain that signalled the venom had been injected. I had less than 6 hours left as a pony.

Octavia didn’t intend to wait it out. She struck her own shot, causing my head to smash down on the ground. Strangely, it didn’t hurt much more than the venom had. I didn’t know it was so fast acting. My body froze up, and she reached back in and tore something off. I could tell by the ripping sound that it was probably my whole left hoof.

She ate it with a maniac look in her eyes. Weird, where had the light come from? While she was eating, my brain went into a sort of sleepy, half-awake state, and I realised that she HAD been hunting me, only her goal had been to get me away from the others, so she could eat me alone…

When she finished, she looked up at me, grinning and showing off bloody teeth. He sauntered back over and lapped at the blood flowing down my stub of a hoof onto the floor.

“W-what happened to ‘friend’?” I choked out. My mouth was going numb too, and my whole body wasn’t responding. It felt like the venom was putting me to sleep.

She tittered manically. “You didn’t actually believe that, did you? I only wanted to make you feel better. I mean, come on, did you actually believe a Vampony could be friends with one of your kind? That’s so pathetic.”

She began biting off chunks of muscle, bone and flesh, speaking between bites. The only reason I could tell she was eating me at all was because of the ripping sounds. “I wanted to keep drinking from you for as long as I could, but you left too many clues. The boys just couldn’t help but figure it out. Poor dears; can you hear them?” She paused, and I heard whining and scraping from the other side of the door. “They sound like lost dogs. Fuckers, trying to steal my kill.”

Whoa, that came out of left field. I though she loved those two, like brother… lover things…? Another maniacle laugh filled the room as she shouted “Fuck you! She’s MINE!” To the door. I didn’t take her for a vulgar Vampony either. This must be what being on the hunt did to them…

She turned back to me and smiled before going in for the prize. Her teeth sank deep into my chest and ripped my heart right out of my body. I didn’t feel a thing anymore, but I’m sure my eyes must have widened, although it felt like they were getting harder and harder to keep open. It was probably the blood loss, but I wasn’t having trouble breathing. And I should be; she just tore through a lung…

“Now, before you die, you’re going to do me one last favor, okay?” She said as she tore my heart apart, shuddering in ecstasy.

I tried to spit a “buck you” at her, but my voice had failed me. My whole world was starting to spin, and I felt as if she was flying away from me. At the same time, I heard the strange shuffling of sheets, and I heard her hiss “Vinyl! Wake up!”

My eyes snapped open. I sat straight up and overbalanced, falling forward until my hoof caught and yanked me to the side. I ended up awkwardly splayed sideways, with one hoof reaching forward to stop my fall while the other was being yanked backwards by the cuff. After taking a brief moment to pull myself out of my painful position, I heard Octavia say “If you’re done fooling around…”

I turned towards the voice and saw her pressed to the far side of the room, breathing trough her pillow case, which was pulled over her lips.

“…What?” Was all I could manage to come up with.

“You were tossing and turning in your sleep like a crazy pony! And now you’re sweating like a… well like a pony. And I’m hungry, not to mention that your blood is addicting, so it’s more tempting then ever! This is NOT a good combination, and I it’s all I can do not to jump you right now.”

“Okay… what do I do?”

“Stay still, don’t move, and wait until I can get out of the room and to the kitchen.” She said. “And try to stop smelling so mouth-wateringly good, if that’s even a thing you can do…”

We waited there. A quick glance told me the light was still strong, but beginning to wane. It was probably afternoon, and that meant Octavia’s belly had had time to empty. I was obviously in danger, again, so I sat stock still. She slowly made her way over to the door, which meant coming closer to me. I saw her pupils slowly dilate and retract as she fought her urge to hunt, and I held my breath as she slowly unlocked the door.

It wasn’t until she was safely outside that I dared relax. That had been a close call.

Then the dream came back to me. What could it have meant? I wasn’t big on the whole dreams are all subconscious and stuff, but this one seemed different. Was I scared of being found out? Or maybe of being betrayed? Or maybe I was just scared of being eaten in general. All seemed plausible.

As I lay flumped down on the bed, puzzling, I heard the door unlock again. Octavia came in quickly; shutting the door behind her and locking it back up. I felt a small twinge of fear, and I had to remind myself that it was just a silly dream. I was safe, so long as I kept my cool and didn’t buck up.

“Alright, up. You need another shower.” She barked, annoyed, as she herded me off to the shower. “What happened to you spells and cologne?”

“I have no idea. I mean, I guess it was pretty hot under the covers, and the dream I had probably overrode my spells and pumped my body full of adrenaline. I can do a lot with magic, but I can’t control my body’s last-resort defensive mechanisms.”

She rubbed me down with her soap, getting all the sweat off my body. I let her do it without complaint, mostly because I knew she wouldn’t have it anyway, but also because I knew it would be faster this way. As she scrubbed me, I turned at looked at the mirror. Could there really be a secret passage there, or was my imagination just to biased by all those pre-conversion stories?

Once I was all cleaned up and had applied a healthy dose of cologne, she took my sheets and tossed them into a fresh bath, dropping some of those special bath salts in with it before returning to her bed, after she had cuffed me of course. “Go back to bed, and TRY not to do that again. I need my precious sleep or I get… edgy.”

Since I didn’t, indeed, feel the need to see her being edgy, I complied. However, I would be examining that mirror on the next opportunity I had.

Oddly enough, despite the terrifying dream, the vigorous washing and the lack of a bedspread, I felt completely exhausted, almost as if I hadn’t slept at all...
> You want, I need
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I woke to a gentle prodding. Suppressing a maddening urge to yawn, since Vamponies don’t do that, I opened my eyes and saw Octavia, who was freshly showered. She looked at me with the Vampony equivalent of a cocky smile, and I frowned, confused.

“What’s got you so… happy?” I asked.

“It’s midnight. You slept in.” She replied.

I could feel my eyes widen. To sleep in was a thing I hadn’t done in over 7 years. I always rose before sunset, to make sure I was clean and scent-free. More than once I was surprised by an early visit from some Celestia be damned sales-Vampony, and it wouldn’t do to be caught before I was ready.

The fact that I had slept in could be caused by one of a few reasons. It could have just been because of the dream, which broke my usual sleeping pattern. It could be because I was very tired. But I had a good idea what the real reason was. It was because I felt safe. I felt safe enough to sleep fully, deeply, as opposed to my usual very light sleep.

“Alright, up. It’s getting harder and harder to give a reasonable excuse to Brandon and Mark for them to leave the house.” She said. “You still smell fine, so straight to the music room today, and then we’ll have to prepare for school tomorrow.”

I sat there as she untied my hoof. How could I possibly feel safe? I just had a dream of being eaten by the girl, and in response I sleep deeply right next to her? I shook my head. That couldn’t possibly be the reason.

Another thought occurred to me, but I dismissed it as well. I had only fed her twice at this point, and although I knew I would have to slow her down soon or face the consequences for having a lowered amount of blood, I doubt it could be manifesting itself so early.

I got up and followed her down the stairs. She still had me leashed, although seeing as it was just the two of us, I honestly didn’t care all that much anymore. “What did you tell them this time?”

“I told them to stock up on our usual sex gadgets: lubricant, basic toys, fuzzy cuffs, gags, thick bed sheets, a new mattress…” She gave me a sheepish Vampony smile. “We get pretty rough. I usually need a new bed at least once a month, not because the old one breaks or loses its comfortableness, but because it starts growing mold… We provide it with too many fluids.”

I’m pretty sure I gaged, and I knew she heard me, because she went on. “That’s why we have extra thick sheets and multiple layers of them too. And one of the two of them will wash them after every time. And yet, somehow, the bed still gets drenched every time. But that’s a conversation for later.”

We had already arrived. She was eagerly standing at her usual spot, a couple meters away from the table, and smiling. I sighed and trotted up to my end, which already had the glass and knife. She had lowered the walls, thankfully, so hopefully we would be in and out quick.

I did my thing; no point in delaying it, right? The blood began pouring out, as it had for the past two days, but something was wrong. The cup wasn’t even half full when I started getting dizzy. My vision flickered and the world began to spin around me. I couldn’t feel my hoof, although I did hear the sound of glass breaking. Next thing I knew, the floor was rushing up to give me a kiss!

I didn’t even close my eyes. A split second before I would have hit, I stopped moving. Something lay me on my back, and I stared up at the ceilings, all four of them. They were trying to run as far away as they could from each other, but a vortex kept pulling them back every few seconds. I smiled and cheered them on in my mind, telling them to push harder! They could escape the evil vortex.

Somewhere nearby, I heard frantic breathing. The lights were too bright! They hurt my eyes, so I turned my head. I was now looking at the floor, the far glass wall, and the special cellos that were mounted on their stands in the middle of the room. They gleamed black, light and shadow working together to create an amazing show for my eyes. I tried to magic one over to me, but for some reason, my magic wouldn’t come.

My head started hurting. I tried to clutch at it, but only one of my hooves moved. I closed my eyes to try and block out the pain, but it wouldn’t leave. I started groaning, and the voice grew more agitated. It kept saying things like “Vinyl” and “Die” and “Blood”.

I could feel myself getting tired. Maybe a nap would get rid of the annoying voice and headache? That sounded like a good plan, so I let my body go limp.

*****

My head hurt.

My hoof hurt.

Everything hurt.

I couldn’t move; my body was being sluggish. I tried to lift my throbbing head, only to be hit with a wave of nausea and pain, so I put it back down. My shades were gone. The light, miniscule as it was, was hitting my eyes too hard, so I closed them again. I could hear the sounds of frantic trotting about; the clopping off hooves on a hardwood floor, although they were distant. A moving hardwood floor, or maybe it was just my head that was spinning.

I lay there for a minute. Gradually, the clopping sounds died down, until they faded into silence. The world began to slow, slowly, gradually, and then faster. I opened my eyes to see only one light shining, only one ceiling above my head, which still ached. The world was still around me, and I cautiously slid my hooves towards my head.

I heard a slight movement off to my left, but I was in too much pain to care. My hooves felt wet, or at least my right hoof did, so I brought it up in front of my face. The hoof was bound in some form of red bandage, and the fur around said bandage was matted and soaked, and also red. As I followed it, the red seemed to be present on most of my foreleg, tapering off at the bottom half of my upper foreleg.

I dropped my hoof back to the ground. It landed with a very slight splashing noise, as it there was some sort of liquid on the floor. I turned my head, because for some reason a liquid was more interesting than the sound of movement, and saw a small pool of red on the floor. How curious; perhaps it was this that matter my fur.

I looked back at the ceiling. It was a dark, dreary gray, as was the light shining slightly to my left. I followed the motion, my eyes traveling across the ceiling to the wall, or rather, to the sky beyond. It was dark out. I could see the moon, which was getting low on the horizon. Hun, was night just starting? Or maybe daybreak was coming?

A heard another noise. It was coming from lower along the sky, so I followed it down to buildings, and then a bit further, until I saw a pony. She was a grey earth pony, with charcoal black hair and brilliant violet eyes. Eyes which were staring back at me, wide, eager, fearful, hungry. They looked so familiar, but I couldn’t quite place where I knew them from.

I continued to stare at them and they at me. When I blinked, the hunger surged, and was then beaten down by fear, concern and control. They didn’t blink, or at least, they did it so rarely that I missed every single one of them. It started coming back to me; those eyes belonged to somepony important to me. A pony who was keeping an eye on me. A female grey earth pony, black hair, violet eyes…

Oc…tacia? No, that wasn’t right… Octavia? Maybe; it sounded familiar. Maybe she could help me understand why I was stuck on the ground, in pain and very confused.

“Hhhhh-” I tried to say hey, but my mouth was dry and, unsurprisingly, in pain. Octavia reacted though. Her eyes gleamed, hunger, lust, fear, concern, envy, restraint, desire, control.

“Hey.” I managed it this time.

Another battle of emotions, and this time relief came out on top. “Vinyl…”

“Octavia, why does my body hurt?”

She was breathing shallowly, I realized. I could barely see the rise and fall of her chest. Her eyes showed that she was fighting to stay put, despite concern for my wellbeing. Her next words were forced and seemed painful. “You cut yourself. You were going to feed me, and as you were filling the glass, you fell over. The glass broke and needled your right hoof, and you would have slammed your head hard if I hadn’t caught you.”

It took a few minutes for the words to sink in and make sense. My brain still wasn’t running at full speed. I did understand what the red on my right foreleg was though. “What happened next?”

“I bandaged your hoof. I don’t know why you fell over, but I knew that it was wasting precious blood, so I picked out all the glass and tied the rag around the affected area. There was blood all over the floor by then, and your leg, and it smelt so good…” The hunger in her eyes was slowly rising up again, breaking and scattering the concern. “I wanted to drink it all up, and I did get some. But then I remembered I had a fresh source right next to me.” She shook her head, and the hunger vanished again. “I ran away, quickly cleaned it out of my fur. Brandon and Mark got back, and I told them to leave until dawn. I made sure they understood not to come anywhere near the house. I came back, and you were still unconscious, lying in a pool of blood. I wanted to help you, but every time I moved closer, I couldn’t without slowly wanting to eat you alive. So I sat, and I waited, and waited, and now you’re awake and I can’t stand it anymore! I want to want to eat you so bad!”

She stomped on the ground and a heard the sound of tile smashing. “I’m going to move away, far enough so I can’t smell it. Clean it, clean it all! The whole room, bleach it. Overpower the blood, or I won’t be able to stop!” She started backing away. “Don’t leave my sight. Bleach the room, then wash your hoof and put the cologne on and make sure there’s NO BLOOD!”

She kept backing up, her eyes locked on me, until I could barely see her. She was across the terrace, up against the fence that separated her land from the fields beyond. I couldn’t see any more than a silhouette, and yet I knew those razor sharp eyes were locked right on mine.

My body still ached, my head pounded and my hoof screamed, but I forced myself up. I saw the bleach she was referring too, as well as two buckets of soapy water. I got to work, washing the floors.  I pressed hard on the brush, scrubbing like a maid. My hoof continues to shriek in protest, and I ignored it. My brain was up to date, and I understood that, once again, my life was in danger. I haven’t been very lucky over the past few days…

I scrubbed and scrubbed, my injured hoof burning as the fumes of the bleach touched the cut. It felt like a fire was in my skin, on both hooves, on my knees, in my face, but I pressed on. Only when the floor around where I fell was gleaming did I finally poor the first bucket of soapy water down the sink that was, for some reason, present in her music room. I took the bleach and poured it all over the floor, scrubbing again, even harder than before. I made sure to run over each area twice, and the spot where I had fallen three times. I cleaned the glass and bleached the rag. When the floor, the rag, the desk and every single trace of blood was gone, I washed it out of my fur. I spent at least fifteen minutes scrubbing my hoof, being extremely careful not to re-open the wound. I then re-bandaged it, using triple the usual thickness of bandage and more cologne then any one pony should ever wear. My hoof still burned, even more so because of the treacherous soap in my cut, but I endure, because once again, Octavia had saved my life.

And the whole time, I made sure to not move too fast, not slip or block the line of sight.

I thought back on what she had said. She managed to catch me and save me from a concussion. She extracted the glass and saved my hoof from permanent damage. She bandaged me to prevent my body from bleeding to death. All this, she did while inhaling the scent of freshly spilled blood. Was this friendship? If this had occurred during the first feeding, would she have tried to save me, or would the temptation have been too much? Was this the first act that signaled a deeper bond than predator and prey?

Finally, after much toil and pain, I waved her over with my left hoof. She approached cautiously, sniffing and taking a step, sniff, step, sniff, step, until she was less than a meter away.

“Are you okay?” She asked. Her eyes displayed genuine concern; her body language showed that she was hesitant and fearful. He sharp fangs and clenched teeth exposed her hunger.

I nodded.

“What happened?”

I looked her right in the eye, wanting to make sure my point got across. “I don’t know. If I had to guess, it was blood loss. I’ve lost at least a litre of the stuff over the last two days. I knew I would feel the side effects eventually, but that was fast. The stress was probably a contributing factor. In any event, if I cut myself for you again without some time to make more blood, I’ll die for sure.”

Her face was grim. “You understand what you’re telling me, right? You’re basically saying you’re not able to feed me. The whole reason I kept you alive, and you tell me you can’t do it anymore.”

I nodded. “I can still do it, but it will not be nearly as often. Once, maybe twice a week at most. I’m throwing myself at your mercy. You promised to be my friend. A friend would be content with this new arrangement, because she would still get her meal, and be able to keep her friend.”

She hissed and stomped, rage in her eyes. “Do you understand what you’re doing to me?!” She shouted. “You’ve fed me a piece of heaven, and now you’re trying to take it away!” She grit her teeth and growled. “And now I have to choose between getting my heaven once a week, or getting a pile of heaven once, and then never again!”

“Could you continue living?” I asked. “Right now, you’re having trouble dealing with going down to a single meal a week. Could you live the rest of your life without pony blood if you can’t even go 6 days deprived of it?”

She roared at me and pounced. I was caught completely off guard, and fell underneath her with a squeak of fear. “If you die, I will not be tempted every day by your mouth watering scent. I will not be forced to look at you neck and know what is flowing just inches away from my nose. I will not be terrified of having another pony find out what you are and try to steal you away from me!”

Her teeth snapped closed inches from my muzzle, and I whimpered. She stood over me, growling every time I twitched or took too deep a breath. I waited, completely oblivious to what was going through her mind.

Her growling slowly died down, her stance lost its tenseness. I watched as she regained her composure, and her eyes went from rage and hunger to an emotionless blank slate, and then to sadness.

She lay down on top of me, pressing her body to mine. I hadn’t noticed before, but she was cold. Not cold like ice, nor like stone, but she wasn’t as warm as I was. She covered my chest and legs, and took my head in her hooves.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.  I was just feeling deprived and hungry and scared and all that. Look, I don’t want to eat you; I want to be your friend. I really do. But it’s hard. I know I don’t seem like it, but I really am a nice Vampony. I’m trying to see you as more than food, and I’m succeeding; it’s the only reason you’re still alive. But it’s going to take time, and effort, and I might break down like that again. I don’t want to kill you, and I won’t kill you, I promise, but you may have to deal with more of those, and when they come, I’ll probably turn into a major bitch. I’ll probably treat you like dirt and make arrogant demands and piss you off to no end. I want to apologise for that now, so you’re ready and aware that when it happens, it’s me doing my best to try and hold the Vampony inside me, to make sure you live, and trying to slowly gain control over my natural desires. I guess what I’m trying to say is, do you still want to be my friend?”

I took a moment to consider that. So far, all she’d brought me was pain. I mean, yeah, I was still alive and, yeah, it could be much worse, but was it worth it? She said she would get better, and I didn’t doubt that if I lived, with time, she would improve. But how much pain was I prepared to endure to make sure I continue living? How much abuse was I ready to put my body through, as well as my mind? In the end, unless I was ready to end it, there was only one answer I could give.

“Yes, yes I do Octavia. There’s nothing I want more, except to keep living. But I have needs too. I need blood, and that means I can’t feed you every day.”

She nodded. “I get that, and I’m sorry. We’ll figure this out…”

For now, I still valued my life over being eaten. I’m not sure why; I didn’t have much to live for, or anything, for that matter. But maybe, just maybe, there was something. Maybe one day I could live under the rays of the sun, in a veranda on the balcony. Maybe one day I could get mixing tables and make music like I had been raised to. Maybe one day I would find that stallion who would give me my first child. Maybe there was a cure, and Octavia and I could be real friends...

Maybe.

She was silent for a moment, and laid her head next to mine. She let out an exhausted sigh, and I felt her relax on top of me. “Tomorrow, we’re going to get up like we usually do. I’m going to give you that dress to cover the bandages and the rest of your body. You’re going to take a super long shower, clean yourself until there isn’t a speck of dirt, wear twice the usual cologne, and refresh your spells. You won’t leave my sight, you’ll wear the collar all day, and you’ll do all that while trying to attract the least extra attention possible. We need to work together to keep up the ruse. Tomorrow, you’re my slave. Everyone at school will know, because that’s the story we’ll tell them. Is that okay with you?”

“Do I have a choice?” I said lightheartedly. I felt a small smile against my cheek, and I gave her a quick pat on the back.

We closed up the music room walls. “You know what? Tomorrow, I’ll show you why I got this baby.” She said, flaunting her treble clef cutie mark.

“I’ll look forward to it; it’ll mean the school day is over.” I laughed, and she smiled, like a Vampony should.

We each ate our meals, and I had a shower, with Octavia, as usual. By the time it was done, Brandon and Mark had tempted fate and returned to the mansion. I sat on the bed and held out my hoof, and with the cuffs firmly attached, my mistress sought out her dicks.

I finally got to listen to my music. It was a huge, satisfying achievement, a great way to end the maelstrom of a day I just had. When Octavia trotted back in, topped up on meat and cum dribbling out of her backside, I smiled at her. She gave me a small one in return and took her shower. I turned off my Ipone, and she got in her bed.

“Good day, Vinyl Scratch.”

“Good day, Octavia.”
> Back to school
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here’s an odd fact about me; my dreams are almost never pleasant. Maybe it’s the whole “last of my kind” thing, or the repressed behaviour, sexual frustration, raw fear, a combination thereof. I don’t really know which it is, nor do I care, but it’s safe to say I have very few dreams, and many, many nightmares.

That being said, on those very, rare cases where I DO happen to have a dream, it was followed on every occasion by a particularly horrible night. Seeing as the dreams are usually very lifelike visions of the past, waking up to the present is depressing.

Tonight was different, but not in a pleasant way. One second I’m safely asleep, dreaming of my father and the way he showed me my first real life DJ playing during hearth’s warming eve. We were in a bar, but it was still early, and they hadn’t begun enforcing the age restriction yet. The DJs were setting up, and he asked if they would be kind enough to show me their mixing tables. I got super lucky; one of them was an incredibly nice mare. She took me and sat me on a chair next to the tables, and then she started her set. I was in awe of how quick she moved; it was almost like she could combine two records at once, and they always flowed together amazingly, especially as she switched songs. She even managed to do it while answering my plethora of questions! “What’s this for? What does that do? What music is this? Why did you switch it like that?

Right as her set was ending, she asked me if I wanted to do the last switch. Well, of course I bounced over with an eager “yes!”, or five, so she sat me down on her back and talked me through how to switch the song over. She dumbed it down for me, having basically prepared everything already. All I had to do was put in the new vinyl.

But as soon as I touched, I felt the maddening feeling like there was a much better one right under it. So I took the second Vinyl. And I put it on. And I turned one of the knobs and pushed some of the little switches up.

It ended up being a huge and sudden drop in the music, and then out of nowhere the base just exploded into action. The vibrations were so sudden, I felt the DJ stumble, although she managed to land on her knees. It rocked the crowed, causing more than one pony to fall over. There was silence in the audience for a moment, and my face, I was told later, turned to red, my fur looked pink. Then, as a whole, the ponies all cheered and started dancing to the beat. Since most of them had been seated until that point, it was quite an achievement. It took the mare to congratulate me for me to realise they were cheering for, well, me. I got up on top of the booth, so they could see me, and another cheer rose from the crowd. That was the birth of dubtrot. I would never get the recognition for my actions, due to the apocalypse that began within the next year, but it was the proudest moment of my young life. Not because of the music, nor the cheering crowds, but because I got my cutie mark.

In real life, I went on to do a few more songs, the next DJ being nice enough to let me enjoy the spotlight for a few minutes. However, my dream ended right as the crowd cheered.

I woke to a painful pounding in my skull. I gasped, bringing my hoof to my forehead, but as soon as I moved it, my hoof burned like fire. I bit my tongue and barely managed to supress a squeal of pain. My hoof was killing me, like splintery wooden stakes were being pushed through, so I ripped off the bandage.

The whole cut-line was swollen and red and puffy. Besides the blaring pain, it felt swollen and it burned like fire. I took off the other one and saw the same thing mirrored on my other hoof, maybe even worse. Since it was tied to the bedpost, I would have to deal with the constant chafing, and it made me cringe. I gingerly replaced the other one on the bed, but the tiny bit of friction it caused made me gasp again.

I turned towards Octavia, worried that she might have woken. Luckily, she was either a heavier sleeper then I thought, or I wasn’t as loud as I sounded. And considering how painful the hammers knocking on my brain were, I think it was the second. I lay my head back down and groaned to myself; I should have been more careful with the cuts. I could almost see it playing out; once she found out, she’d rip into me like she did in the dream. A shudder breezed down my spine. There was no way Octavia would let me go out with this, and the small bit of medicine I had managed to smuggle after the conversion was long gone by now. Since Vamponies can’t get sick, they don’t have anything beyond bandages and slings; things for physical injuries. Oddly enough, Vamponies don’t have blood. Instead, they have a clear liquid that runs through their veins, independent of a heartbeat. They only have about a fourth the amount as a pony does blood, so it has to flow four times faster to make up for it. Each Vamponies’ is also highly acidic to every other Vampony, so even a tiny cut can be very dangerous. Vamponies have unnaturally tough skin and fur, so injuries are rare. Still, a cut jugular can “bleed” out in less than 30 seconds. It is arguably a Vampony’s other weakness, but since even a knife has trouble piercing them... Well, let’s just say I was thankful bandages were still required.

Of course, this didn’t help my situation. I had two infected wrists, and if Octavia found out; well, considering she almost ate me yesterday, and that she knows she won’t be fed as often, AND I’m now much more noticeable.

I’m so bucked...

No, she couldn’t find out. I would have to hide them. Yes, maybe they would disappear by the time she got sick of waiting. After all, they weren’t TOO bad. My body could probably fight it off before it was too late... I hope. I had to remain optimistic; I’m not dead yet.

I re-tied the bandages, leaving them a wee bit looser to try and alleviate my suffering slightly. I then lay in bed and tried to remember what little medical knowledge I had managed to salvage over the years. An infected cut could easily be dealt with if I had some antibiotics. Barring that, since antibiotics don’t exist anymore, alternating hot and cold compresses and draining the infected pus would help. Basically a bunch of very noticeable stuff that I couldn’t do…

Once again, my life was in the hooves of luck. I was getting pretty tired of not being able to control it anymore. I grit my teeth, and I would have shouted in rage, but obviously, that would have been stupid.

By the time Octavia woke, I had calmed down and was trying to ease my raging headache with some deep breathing and gentle massaging of the temples. She was in a good mood this morning, to my extreme delight. She even decided to un-cuff me before she left to top up on meat. “I think you deserve at least this much.” She said, a nervous smile on her face. “You’ve put up with a lot, especially yesterday… I trust you enough to not kill yourself while I’m gone.”

As soon as she left, I ran to the bathroom, crying like a foal at the intense surge of pain. The moment my hooves touched the floor, I almost fell. It felt like my legs were being raped by angry bee stingers. Once I made it to the sink, I tried washing them with ice cold, followed by mediocrely hot water. The cold water was nice and soothing, but once I turned on the heat, all I got in return were several suppresses shrieks of pain and quite a few curses. I switched back to cold as I considered what to do next. The bandages were probably contaminated, seeing as they were smeared with blood, so I put them in the medkit. Thinking ahead, I took my shower, torturous as it was, and applied my cologne before Octavia could get back. The less reason she had to look at my hooves, the better. I had just finished putting on the new bandages and was stepping out of the bathroom when the door opened.

Octavia came in calmly, her face as void of emotion as she could make it, but I could see the panic that had been in her eyes moments before. She trotted right past me, and I could smell the same thing I did every morning. I felt a throb in my privates as I eyed the white life-maker hungrily. I wanted it so badly, from a living pony of course.

She showered quickly, and was out in a flash, sniffing me up and down. “No smell, that’s a good first step.” The anxiety was back, full force now, and I cursed my bad luck. I was going to be trotting around all day. Not only would I be in mind-shattering agony, but I had to hide it from hundreds of Vamponies at once, as well as fend them off from my virgin flower, and keep my scent in control, as well as my lust.

And as if it wasn’t sobering and difficult enough, I saw Octavia trot over with the leash, clipping it into place and looking at me with serious eyes.

“Alright, we can do this. Now, remember, you’re playing the role of a submissive pet. If we’re lucky, the other Vamponies will just back off because they’ll assume you’re my property. If we’re not, they’ll hopefully presume you’ve lost your virginity to me and won’t be as interested. Worst case scenario, we can always leave.” She tried to give me a reassuring smile, but it failed completely, her eyes betraying her trepidation. “If you’re uncomfortable or anything, speak up. If you think they’re gonna jump you or that you smell or something, you tell me, right?”

I nodded, and she bought it. Of course, she had no idea my nervous frown was actually caused by something mostly unrelated, namely pain, and fear. I felt my hooves burn as we stood there, both of us waiting for some sort of untold signal to get moving.

She made the first move, eventually leading me towards the door. “Octavia, wait. What about the dress?” I asked. If any of the Vamponies saw bandages on my hooves, they would jump to conclusions. I’m not sure which type, but since injuries are so rare, it probably wouldn’t be good.

“Oh, right, of course. I had almost forgotten.” She said, her voice brusque. She unhooked the leash and tossed it to me. I stepped into the bathroom, momentarily relieving the pain from my hooves as I struggled to put on the bland material. Once it was on, I gave it a once over in the mirror. It would certainly serve its purpose, as I had noted previously, but the train that covered my rump would serve the dual purpose of aiding me in dissuading Vamponies as well as helping in our little lie. My schoolmates would probably see it as a form of control and domination, a master intent on keeping its pet to itself.

Or, so I hoped.

We left after I ate, passing the servants on our way out. It was the first time that I saw them since I had cut myself, and I adjusted my glasses nervously. Had they caught on? Did they suspect something? What about my dream? There was no incident, beyond a brief “Good night, Miss Octavia. Have a good night at school.” So I took it as a good sign.

My mask was back in place by the time we reached the learning establishment, and I was wearing the Vampony equivalent of suppressed discomfort. My hooves burned worse than ever, and I knew that I would need to find some sort of medical substitute before it was too late. I tried to subtly use the grassier parts of the path, to help cushion my steps. It didn’t help.

The moment we crossed the front door, all eyes were on me. Octavia was marching in front with her nose held high, leash firmly gripped in her teeth. Her steps were long and sweeping and graceful, and I couldn’t help but admire her acting skills. She must be terrified beyond comprehension.

Of course, I followed behind meekly, taking smaller, quicker steps and keeping my head relatively bowed. I never let the distance between us waver, slowing as she did, taking wider corners at a faster pace. I couldn’t hold back a small mental smile at my acting skills. Maybe we would manage it?

“Yo, Octavia!”
“Got some hot tail with you today, eh?”
“Can I use it?”

Well, so much for that…

Octavia quickly fended them all off. “Back off you horny simpletons. This one is MY pet, and I will NOT see her touched by any Vampony other than her master. Should any of you try and go against my will, I shall have you sued, and trust me when I say, the punishment shall be severe.” To my utmost delight, they all backed down, most of them grumbling annoyedly.

“Is she still a virgin?” one voice rose above the others, and to my amazement and horror, Octavia answered truthfully. I could almost feel the mental facehoof she gave herself the second after she spoke. Every set of eyes turned to me again, and I didn’t have any light spray this time. I could see it in their eyes; they were debating taking the fine for rape, which was pathetically low and involved no jail time. Luckily, with her stature and money, Octavia could make good on her threat, and would probably manage to decuple the fee, as well as sneak in a half year of jail time. Naturally, this was all hypothetical; if it was found out she was housing a pony, Octavia would be killed instantly. It was, however, a good dissuasive tool.

Of course, we didn’t just stand there. Octavia got between me and the stares, glaring them down one-by-one until the group began to disperse. The moment they were out of earshot, I got right up in Octavia’s face. “What the buck was that? You could’ve just saved us a boatload of trouble.”

She glared back at me. “Clearly you have forgotten that Vamponies lack the ability to lie on the spot. We will instinctively tell the truth if given mere moments to answer a question.”

My eyes widened. I’d never heard of that! I carefully filed it away in my brain for future use: next time I was put on the spot, I could assume the Vampony would take whatever answer I said as an irrevocable truth! Wow, that was a pretty interesting weakness.

Octavia was still glaring at me. “What? Do you think I know all these things instinctively? I was never told anything like that! Are there more weaknesses that Vamponies have which I should know about?”

She just shook her head. “We don’t have the time for this right now, and I don’t really feel like giving you any weapons against me. Here.” We had reached her locker. “Carry my things. It will aid the ruse.”

I had the oddest feeling she would have made me carry her books anyway, but I took them nonetheless. We proceeded to my locker where I grabbed my set of learning instruments for hunting and math. I was used to floating them into my bags, so it took a while to transfer them all with my mouth.

By the time we finally made it hunting class, the bell had rung. The teacher gave us a scathing glare as we entered, but didn’t try to assign us a detention. He knew Octavia would just get the principal to remove it.

The only desks still open weren’t next to each other. Of course, Octavia wasn’t having that. She bribed one of the students, who was very willing to switch places, and sat down at his desk. I dropped her books on it and sat down at my own desk.

Sadly, the desks were near the front of the class. That meant I had to deal with the constant stares from all the other students, most of which I felt roaming over my dress-covered behind. It also meant I had to deal with the teacher, who seemed to have it out for me as he called on me for practically every answer. Luckily, since I’m such a good student, I managed to answer every question.

The class passed well, with only one slip up. While the teacher has his back turned, I felt an itch develop on my chest. Subconsciously, my hoof stayed still, to preserve my illusion. The itch worsened, and I used my usual tactic, which involved dropping my pencil, to rub my chest on the desk in guise of scratching it. It worked perfectly, like it always had, but I had forgotten the importance of hiding my hooves. Since I couldn’t use my horn, I had to lean down and pick my pencil up with my mouth. While I was doing it, my dress slipped, and one of my bandages was revealed for a brief moment.

Never one to panic, I finishes the motion fluidly and sat back up, adjusting my dress as I went. Based on the angle and location of the exposure, I was pretty sure none of the Vamponies had seen my injury. Still, it was a troubling thought, and it was a part of my illusion I would need to remember from now on.

The bell rang, and I got up. The burning in my hooves, which had diminished during the class, returned full force, and I couldn’t completely supress the wince that came along with it. Luckily, Vamponies do wince. However, Octavia saw it, and her gaze hardened slightly. I quickly grabbed our things, trying to avoid her gaze as well as those of the Vamponies around us, who were brushing up against my butt and passing their own nethers to close to my face, tails swung to the side. One even tried to touch me, but had her hoof swatted away by Octavia.

We began walking to math, and we almost made it. Sadly, luck was clearly not our side tonight, as an orgy broke out right in front of the math class. Vamponies rushed by us, bumping us forward in their haste. I felt my heartbeat increase slightly as I was pushed closer and closer to the mass of writhing bodies, and I could tell a bead of sweat was forming. I tried to push back, but there were too many. To my immense relief, Octavia managed to duck into a nearby doorway, and she pulled me in next to her, saving me from being eaten alive by horny, hungry, crazy mutant ponies.

We waited until it was relatively safe before taking off in the opposite direction. Octavia rushed me into the bathroom, which was empty, thankfully, and flopped down on the floor. My brain was working slowly trying to expel what I had just seen from my memory so my blood wouldn’t start pooling, and I didn’t realise what she was doing until the scent hit me. I looked down for just split second, and then quickly turned away, trying to pretend I hadn’t just seen her furious masturbation.

She didn’t take long to finish, and after she had wiped herself clean, I pushed the door open, intent on escaping the lust-filled room. She yanked me back.

“Hey!” I spluttered, exasperated. “Come on, lemme out! It’s gonna make me horny.”

Octavia spun me around, pushing one of my hooves onto the counter. I almost managed to suppress the shriek of pain that accompanied it. Almost, but not quite. She took off the bandage, exposing my injured hoof.

“I knew it…” She said. Her eyes shifted to my face, and they were filled with rage and, to my immense surprise, the tiniest sliver of hurt. “We’re getting out of here, NOW!”

She put the bandage back on and slammed the door open. The shrieks of pleasure were still loud, so the orgy must still be in full swing. Finally, a lucky break. Octavia yanked me towards the exit, books and all. Only when we were a safe distance from the school did she finally stop. I could feel waves of anger pouring off of her, but she didn’t say anything. She DID buck a nearby wall, leaving two hoof shaped dents in it and causing me to eep and shy away from her.

She started up again, more calmly this time. It took me a minute to realise she wasn’t leading me to her house, but to mine. Instantly, my mind went into a panic. At my house, we would be alone.

She was going to eat me!

> To live on
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


 


I was scared.


 


No, scratch that, I was downright terrified.


 


She was leading me to my house which, for the second time, was about to become my grave. What is with that? I mean, I lived my whole life there. I have so many good memories of that place. It protected me for seven long, torturous, life-altering years, and once before I almost died there. Now, as Octavia trotted briskly in the familiar direction, her movements calm, I was returning in almost the same situation.


 


And it frightened me beyond the potential for rational thought.


 


But it’s okay; sometimes being in an irrational frame of mind could help. Right now, I didn’t need to be practical. I needed to survive.


 


As I watched Octavia’s rather large and, dare I say, shapely backside bounce from hip-to-hip, a comment I will blame on the recent sexual frustration which led my mind to the gutter, I devised a plan. 





It was an unexpected plan. Something so out of left field, Octavia wouldn’t see it coming. It would give me that crucial moment, an advantage of surprise that lasted only the most fleeting of seconds, which would push me through to victory.


 


I was going to fight back.


 


For future reference, I was NOT thinking clearly at all over the course of the next few pathetic moments. I think it might have to do with my, once again, impending death. Let it be known that Vinyl Scratch does not do well under pressure involving life-ending circumstances, what with the forgetting I’m a unicorn and now this.


 


I waited, watching the area around us and trying to recall the route to my house that Octavia was using. It was the same one I ran almost every day, which meant there would be a small stretch, spanning the length of a block, which was always devoid of Vamponies. I don’t know why, but I had never seen a Vampony walk this street, bar Octavia when we trotted it together. That would be my chance.


 


I waited again, now devising a cunning method of overpowering Octavia in a physical confrontation. The first move would be crucial: there was no way I could do enough damage to anything but the weakest parts of her body. If I could give her swollen pussy lips a solid thump, it would immobilise her for an instant. Follow that up with a shot to stomach, to wind her. Then I could go for her eyes; the pain would probably be excruciating, and she would lose her strongest sense. I’d finish her off with a horn to the jugular, make her bleed out, and then high-tail it out of Canterlot tomorrow morning. I could lay low for a few weeks, and then change my look. Move to Manehatten, get a job in construction for half a year and then move on to a record store.


 


While my mind was distracted with, well, to be honest, I’m just going to attribute it to the situation, we entered the street. By the time I noticed, we had already passed half of it. I jumped into action, but my pathetic, desperate plan evaporated from my mind, leaving me with only my fight or flight instinct.


 


So I whipped my neck and yanked as hard as I could on the leash. I was rewarded with a surprised grunt as it flew out of Octavia’s mouth. I turned and made a beeline for the other end of the street, my only thought being “run”.


 


Of course, I felt the leash snap taught less than two seconds later. Obviously, it yanked me backwards and caused to me to land flat on my back, winding me. And just to add insult to injury, before I managed to catch my breath, she was standing above me, giving me the clearest “Did you really expect that to work?” look I had ever seen.


 


One thing I didn’t see coming was the lack of hunger in her expression, as well as the next words. I had been expecting something along the lines of “Dinner time”. Instead all she said was: “What are you doing?” It wasn’t so much the words as the tone she used. She sounded genuinely confused, as if it never crossed her mind that I might try and fight my way out.


 


Still, I knew when I was beat. I had lost my only chance at freedom. I felt a chill spread through my body, as if death was already sucking my spirit away. “My last fight. Yeah, it sucked, and yeah, I could have done better, but I’ll kick and punch you every step of the way. If I’m going to die today, I’m going down swinging!”


 


Her right eyebrow rose. She contemplated me for a few seconds, no doubt trying to formulate an adequate response to such a desperate threat.


 


“What are you talking about?”


 


We continued to stare at each other. “You’re dragging me back to my house to eat me.” I said. It was a statement, not a question.


 


Her expression became perplexed. “No?”


 


“No? What do you mean no? How can it be no? What else could you possibly be doing, acting so calm and going to my house instead of yours?”


 


“Isn’t it obvious?” She asked, a sneer in her tone. “I can’t bring you back to my house; the servants will ask questions. They’re already confused by the dress, all the time we spend alone and me wanting them out of the house. They’re completely bamboozled, and rightly so. Typically, a weekend leaves them both drained; I’m sure you can imagine why. They got less than a tenth the action they usually do, all because some snotty little unicorn has magically stolen every scrap of my attention. So no, my mansion is certainly not an option when you are displaying such clear signs of your “condition”.”


 


Her whole speech was frosty, her eyes glaring at me, chips of ice that pierced right through my head and infected my body with her frigid anger. She was pissed at… something.


 


“Now get up; you’re wasting time we could be spending treating whatever’s wrong with you.” She said, give an irate tug on the leash.


 


Never one to cross an emotionally unstable member of society, I scrambled back to my hooves. Somewhere along the walk I had managed to temporarily forget the pain, most likely due to my desperate attempts to save myself. Well, it returned full force now, and I groaned. If Octavia noticed, she pretended otherwise as she made no move to slow down.


 


I fell into step next to her, and suddenly my brain caught up to her words. “Treating?” I asked. “What do you mean treating? You’re going to help me get better?”


 


“Well OF COURSE I’m going to help you.” Her voice, although it was low and hissed, still carried as much weight as if she were shouting. “Are you dumb, or just stupid? Have I not told you that you’re the most delicious living thing in Equestria? I could have Brandon fetch me the best cuts of cow this city has to offer, or perhaps get Mark to go visit Manehatten for some of their famously seasoned fresh water shark. Heck, I could even send to Neighpone and ask for their largest, strongest, most prized bull elephant, along with a team of chefs to prepare it. They would be good, don’t get me wrong, but compared to a single sip of YOU, they all seem completely… lackluster. It’s like eating the most amazing dish in the world, then being offered something 10 times better, and then going back. Sure, it’s still good, but it’ll never quite be the same.


 


“Besides, even if you didn’t taste so amazing, you’re sick, and as your friend, I should help you.” She spat the word friend as if it were poison. “After all, *friends* tell each other when they’re hurt so that we don’t take stupid risks with our lives. *Friends* don’t keep secrets that the other *friend* could help with. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? A *friend*.”


 


Ah, now I understood the hurt. She felt betrayed… 


 


I don’t really know why, but it made me amazingly irate that SHE felt betrayed by me! Oh, wait, yes I do.


 


“Friends don't tell their friends that the only reason they're alive is because they taste good! How often have you reminded me of it? How can I trust you when I'll always be just food? How can I possibly call you my friend with that hanging over my head?”


 


She whirled around in the street, the hurt much clearer in her eyes this time. “I was tempted beyond your understanding yesterday, but you’re still alive to show for my resistance. I let you walk around freely this morning while I was gone. I’m not locking you up in my room forever like a sensible, logical Vampony would do to their food! I’m coming as close as I can to treating you like a real friend! You have NO IDEA what I’m going through.”



“Don’t I? Well why don’t you tell me?”



Her hurt turned to anger, and she bared her fangs. “I’m fighting my own instincts! I’m fighting with the food chain to try and keep you alive! I’m fighting with my own kind to keep you alive. The LEAST you could do is tell me when there’s something that could give you away!”



“Maybe it’s because *I* don’t trust *you* not to eat me? A real *friend* doesn’t lock their friends up during the day like a pet that they’re scared might run away! A real *friend* doesn’t force their friend to cut themselves open for pleasure to the point of causing permanent damage!”



Our voices had been rising in volume, to the point where I knew Vamponies anywhere on the street could hear us. But I was way too mad and disoriented to care, or to even realise it.


 


“You need to learn some manners.” She hissed, her voice steely and flat, as if she was barely able to contain her anger. “I let you run free in my bedroom. I fed you, and I’ve given you a bed to sleep in. You haven’t lost anything by coming to my service except blood. And you WANT to gain something. But if you don’t start being more thankful to me, to your savior, then you can kiss that wish goodbye.”



“I’ll NEVER be thankful to some pompous spoiled rich kid who treats every living creature she knows like dirt!”



“What do you want from me, Vinyl?! I can’t give you your freedom! That’s all you seem to want; the one thing I won’t ever give you.”



“How about some consideration? How about you stop seeming like a terrifying, controlling, evil mastermind, and start SHOWING that you think I’m more than a slave? How about you don’t make me scrub a floor with bleach when I have cuts on my hooves? How about you show some appreciation for my blood? How about you give me a *break*?” I don’t know when I started crying, again. A few days ago, my emotions were buried, forgotten, like they had never existed. Now, less than a week later, I’m a blubbering, sobbing mess. “How about you try and show some emotion besides anger! How about you stop being so terrifying that I have dreams about being killed?”



She paused for a moment, as I turned away and tried, in vain, to contain my emotions. I felt her trot up behind me, her steps uneven. She seemed confused, and hesitant, as if what she was about to do didn’t come naturally.



She sat next to me and tried to gently rub my back. “I’m...sorry?”



She sounded terribly confused. “I didn’t… I mean I don’t want you to feel that way? Oh, we went through all this two days ago, didn’t we? I don’t want this… I mean, I do want to be your friend. I’m, I’m sorry about the bleach. I didn’t know it hurt- well, actually, I feel like I did know, but I forgot.”



My head was pounding, and her revelation wasn’t helping. I was so confused, and in a lot of pain. 



“Vinyl… I’m willing to try and make this work if you are. Maybe, um, maybe next time there’s something you want, or don’t want, um, tell me, maybe? I, I think I… I need you to help me. I’m not sensitive, but maybe I can be. From now on, I’ll try and, um, consider your desires too?”



I looked up at her, and she looked down at me. I believed her, because I could see it in her eyes. She meant what she’d said this time. I’m not sure how I could tell, but I knew she’d try harder from now on. I felt as if we’d just crossed a bridge, one we needed to cross before anything could really develop between us. 



“We just have to work at it.” She said. “And I’ll try and be more approachable, so you can feel comfortable talking to me.” I could feel her confidence growing, as if she knew she was saying the right things. “But come on, we’re not in the clear yet.”



I wiped my face and nodded, pushing myself to my hooves. I continued my agonisingly painful walk. My head was pounding from the anger-turned-sadness, my hooves burning. My throat was dry and my vision was starting to get blurry. By the time we reached my house, I was exhausted. My body agreed, and I fell to my side, panting. Octavia took the key from my bags; why they was in there was a mystery to me, and opened the door. That’s all I remember before the world went dark.



*****



My head hurt.



My hooves hurt.



Everything hurt…



Again.



My mind was swimming, but not as bad as last time. This was the second time in two days that I had blacked out, and let me tell you, I was not eager for another encore.



My eyes opened to darkness, which for once was a welcome relief. I groaned, hoping to attract Octavia’s attention, but nothing answered my call. ‘She must be off getting banged.’ Was my first thought, until I remembered where I was.



I turned my head to the side, but it was too dark and I was too tired to make anything out. I took deep breaths, trying to ease some of the pain. That seemed to be my whole world now a days. It was just pain: physical pain, mental pain, emotional pain.



After a few minutes, I tried to turn on my side. I managed, although it hurt like hell. My vision had cleared a little, and I could see that I was in my old room. An apple was sitting on the table next to me.



‘Hun’ I thought as I took it. ‘That was… considerate.’



I bit into the apple and smiled. It tasted good. I took another bite, but it slipped out of my grip. It fell to the floor with a soft *thump* and a cry of sadness. I reached down, but I couldn’t grab it, so I felt for it with my magic. There it was!



I picked it back up and brushed it off. Still good. I took another happy bite before it hit me.



Magic?



My hoof zoomed up to my forehead. No ring! ‘Okay, that’s… well, that’s a big jump.’



I was still hunched over the side of the bed, so I started to pull back. That is, until I saw the glass of water. Only at that moment did I realise how dry my throat was, and I chugged half of it, letting out a contented sigh. I finished my apple in a hurry and lay back down. I was still hurting, I felt weak, and now I was starting to have a stomach ache, almost like I needed to puke, but my mind was in a daze. I had my magic!



I started casting. My knowledge of medical magics was very limited, but I had managed over the seven years since the great turning to teach myself some decent painkiller spells. Since Vamponies are practically immune to all illnesses except their own, unique and rather short list, as well as most common aches and pains such as headaches, I knew dulling my pain receptors would be a vital tool for survival.



A minute later, I was back on my back, sighing in relief. I berated myself for a few minutes because I was too stupid to ask Octavia to let me cast my painkillers when she made me cut myself, but then I remembered how on edge she had been at those times. It was probably for the best.



The magic acted like a drug, and I was soon drifting in and out of consciousness. I knew this wasn’t going to help me get better, but it was felt good. The fact that I had over-doubled the dosage wasn’t the smartest move either.



I stayed like that until I heard the door open and shut. Octavia rushed into the room, staring me down. Her eyes were filled with the usual plethora of muted emotions: relief, annoyance, fear, and to my surprise, a nice dose of happiness.



“You’re up.” She stated simply, her voice even. “That’s good. I’ve been treating you since you fell unconscious.”



I blinked at her. “What?”



“Do not understand? I have been treating you. I have been reading these medical books you have.” She pointed at my shelf, which did indeed contain the pitiful collection of books I’d managed to salvage before they were repurposed by the Vampony population. “I managed to locate some rubbing alcohol; Vamponies use it upon occasion as a nettoyant for our fur. Apparently it is good to counteract the effect of an infection. I have also been creating a salve-like poultice with a combination of tea leaves and tree roots. I read of it in that tome.” She pointed at a book in particular. “However, I have not yet been able to locate any form of antibiotics. These are said to be the best form of medical assistance.”



She took a pause, and before she could keep speaking I cut her off.



“Okay.” My voice came out weak and flat, so I coughed a few times and tried again. “Okay, yeah, sure, that’s great. But before you say anything else, answer me this. What the hell is wrong with your voice?”



I’m not the only one who noticed it, right? She went from talking normally, like an average Vampony, to this super high class dribble. And she used to sound harsh when she spoke, but now she just sounds… empty. As if speaking with a royal vocabulary drowned out her emotions. It was really freaky to hear.



She grimaced. A pretty big grimace too, for a Vampony. “I was, er, informed by my servants that my mother would be dropping by within the next few nights, to pay me a friendly visit.”



“‘Informed by your servants’?” I asked. “What do you mean? You went all the way home? And you had time to treat me? How long h-”



“It is currently Saturday, one A.M.” She spoke in her monotonous voice.



“I’ve been out for… um… five days?!”



“Five days have effectively passed since you first fell unconscious.”



“Okay, stop with that creepy voice. It’s driving me crazy!”



“I know, I know. I hate it too, but my mother insists I speak ‘Like a proper lady.’ Alright, so your infection is… bad. You’ve had a fever since you fell unconscious the first time, or at least that’s what the book said. And you’ve had this strange amnesia.”



“Amnesia?”



“How many times do you remember waking up?” She asked eagerly.



“None. You just said I’ve been out for five days, so obviously this is the first time.” Even as I said it, I realised something was off with what she said. “Wait, since the ‘first time’?”



“It’s just like before!” She shouted angrily. “You’ve woken up at least twice a day, every day, for about half an hour. Every time you did, I’d ask you how many times you’ve woken up before, and every time you’ve said none. So I feed you, get you to use the washroom, and you fall back asleep!”



Now that she mentioned it, I did feel like I needed to pee.



“Vinyl, something is very wrong with you! I tried to put you in the shower one day and you fainted after two minutes. I heard you fall, and when I came in you were drowning! I’ve only been home twice, and Mark and Brandon are worried sick. It’s not helping that my mother will be here some time before next weekend, and you’re only getting worse! I mean, I put a diaper on you! You haven’t… used it yet, but still! What is wrong with you? What do I need to do?”



I just sat there as she turned and looked at me desperately. I could see it in her eyes; she was exhausted, upset, confused and in need of help. But in my mind, the only thing that was registering was how much effort she was putting into helping me get better…



“You said I fall back asleep after half an hour, right?” I asked. When she nodded, I carried on. “What advice have a given you in the past?”



“Not much. You’ve explained antibiotics and you pointed out your collection of books. Every time you wake up, you’ve told me the same advice. ‘Find a clinic or a drug store. They’ll have more information.’”



“Did you try to find more medical books?” I asked. Another nod. “No luck I’m guessing. What about the Canterlot hospital?”



She glared at me. “You know that’s off limits to Vamponies. The government is trying to research the medicine left behind by our predecessors to adapt it to our own illnesses. The only way I could get in there is if I were to sneak in… I don’t like that look on your face. It’s… rather cute.”



I was told, long ago, that I could do a very convincing puppy pout. I’d never tested it on Vamponies, because of the obvious lack of emotion and attention it would draw to me. Still…



“Stop that! Now I feel bad for not helping you.” She said, frowning at me. When I refused to stop, she bit her lip, and her eyes shown with uncertainty.



“Please?” I whined pathetically. I could almost hear whatever was left of her heart melt, and the sigh she left out confirmed it.



“I will TRY, and let it be known that if I succeed in saving your life, you’re going to owe me big time.” She snarled.



Hun. Who knew Vamponies caved to cute faces? Score one for Vinyl! Now I had a weapon to use against her royal pain in the butt Octavia in case she started tormenting me again. But, between her statement yes- well, a week ago, and the fact that she hadn’t killed me off yet despite my illness… Maybe she was becoming trustworthy?



“Now come on and get up. You need to use the bathroom before you fall asleep again, because I am NOT changing you like a foal!”

> Daylight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*****

She was gone again. Unconscious. She was dying.

Inside, my rational voiced its objection, as it had been since I met her. She was so vulnerable, so easy to kill and drain. I could devour her in a few hours. It was the natural order; the food chain should not be modified. She was prey. I was a predator.

I leaned in and placed my fangs on her neck. She did not pull away; how could she? She was asleep. ‘It would be so, so easy.’

Five days. I had skipped school on Tuesday. I had stayed by her side. She had not woken on Tuesday. 

Wednesday, she had woken for the first time. I managed to get her to eat, drink, use the bathroom. I tried to make her shower. She almost died.

Thursday, I learned of the medical books. I poured over them. She does not know what is wrong with her. I do not either.

I tried to return her magic to her. It may do nothing, but perhaps it will make her life easier. For the moment, it is all I can do.

Friday told me the truth. She told me she needed medication from the hospital.

It has been a night since she has realised this, subconsciously. She has told me every time she awoke. She knows I am unwilling. I will be in danger should I attempt it.

But I will. I must go. She is prey. I am a predator. But I cannot kill her. I cannot fathom why. I do not understand this inability. My species can do anything better than theirs can. We are stronger. We are faster. We are smarter. We are tougher. We are great. We are supposed to be unemotional.

…

She is dying.

*****

After she was washed, refreshed, and had drank another glass, I returned her to bed. Her fever was high, and increasing. She was short of breath from simply walking. She climbed into bed and turned about, making herself comfortable.

“Thank you, Octavia, for helping me.”

The light was already fading; she was no longer conscious. I took out another fruit and left it on her bedside table. I added a glass of water to the floor; she tended to knock it over should it be on the bedside table.

I tried again to imagine her dying at my hoof. I knew that, should she run, I would have no issue finishing her. But she shows fear, or perhaps loyalty, and it prevents her from doing this. Thus I cannot kill her, or so I assume.

I leaned in. She smells so delicious, so mouth-wateringly appetising. She is, and will remain, my favourite smell.

Her body, it is so curvaceous, so well rounded. She is large, but not fat; voluptuous in all the right ways. Her butt is so grabble, I could rub myself on it for hours. Her mane is... Strange. It is not the normal hue of our kind, instead vibrant and colourful, but I do not dislike it. Her eyes, they shine red, too bright to remind me of anything but the healthiest of blood. Her tits are limp now, but I have seen them when she is excited; they are nice and perky. Her second scent, it causes me to shudder with pleasure. She makes my lips water, out of lust.

Her body, so exposed as she sleeps. In an instant I could shatter her virginity, use her as I see fit. How could she resist? But for reasons even I cannot fathom, the thought of abusing her body while she is helpless… it does not appeal to me in the slightest. I have never felt so turned off by an idea in my short eight years.

But this all matters little! I must go now; every day I waste is a day Vinyl gets worse.

It is getting early, but I may be able to use this to my advantage; if I can suffer some indirect sunlight for short bursts, I could invade while all the guard ponies are home sleeping. After all, why have the guards when the sun is the ultimate form of protection?

I have made my decision; I will invade today, after sunrise. It will burn, and I may be bed ridden for a day of recovery, but it is the safest option. I must make sure to utilise the shadows of the buildings as much as possible. Once inside, I shall root around for the antibiotics, and hopefully a more informative book. I must insure to find a dark hiding spot, so that I may sleep through the day and escape at dusk, just before the sun sets.

Now that I have a plan, I shall need a cloak; anything to keep the evil sun at bay. Vinyl had a cloak in her house, so I borrowed it for the day. I quickly made my way home, ordering refreshments from my servants. Brandon and Mark, truly the only two ponies I trust since my mother’s episode. They did not ask questions, for they avoid them at my request. I do not usually expect them to act so meek, but my mother’s impending arrival is the perfect excuse, and it was only a happy accident that they had to shut up just as Vinyl vanished temporarily. I must practice commanding them as she believes I should, and not as I do.

“Just as you control my poor father, is it not?” I mumbled. My mother is the Vampony with the lowest libido I have ever met. That isn’t to say it is low by any means, but she can easily go a week without any form of sexual release and suffer from only minor discomfort. She is one of the few who can live off of masturbation alone if she must. My father bows to her wishes, for she has him well wrapped around her pussy. Disobedience is met with abstinence, and other mares are well aware of the consequences that come with fornication. But he cannot leave her; she has more power among the elite then he has. It would mean the ultimate punishment; the loss of the genitals. For even without the hormonal stimulus, the lust quickly becomes unbearable. More than one Vampony has been driven to suicide-by-sun due to the cruel punishment.

Mark came up to me, with Brandon at his side, a few hours before daylight. “Miss, please forgive me this one enquiry.” He began. “As you are aware, your mother will be visiting next Monday. I must ask, for your own safety; have you been grinding your mound against that white unicorn’s? You know how your mother will react when she finds out; and you should also know by now that if you are, she WILL find out.”

I tried to keep my voice calm and even, but I couldn’t help but spit the word mother. “No, servant, I have not violated my mother’s wishes.” I took a deep breath. “Sorry Mark, I know you care. Do not worry; Vinyl and I have not so much as touched each other, except perhaps for a minor groap.” I said, remembering the bathtub fondly.

Mark sighed nervously. “Very well. Will you be sleeping at home today?” He asked hopefully.

I shook my head, and his eyes turned hard. “If you don’t stay here more, your mother will notice that your scent is stale.”

“This will be the last day.” I said impatiently.

Mark bit his tongue. I’m pretty sure he was trying to avoid snapping at me. “Will you require our services?” He asked hopefully.

Most Vamponies who saw this would logically assume that the servant was merely horny, and as such, was far out of line for putting his desires before his master’s. However, I have known Mark and Brandon for several years, and I am well aware that this is not the case. They are worried about me, and the fact that I have been neglecting them is surely weighing on their minds. Ever since Vinyl arrived they have been on edge. I must find a way to reassure them, lest my mother notice their unease.

I checked my internal clock. I still had an hour before the first rays of dawn stated to peek their way over the horizon. Was there enough time? Normally, with the shutters, I would have no doubt, but today I must utilise every instant of early day, when the night world slept. Should I leave after dawn, they will know, and worry more than ever.

“Not tonight.” I said, masking the disappointment in my voice. I made sure to keep my face averted, for they were masters of reading in between the lines. Every hint or emotion they noticed was one step closer to understanding. However, even I could not anticipate their next words.

“Octavia?” He said. The pair almost never used my real name, which caught my attention, and I unintentionally swivelled my head to look at him. “Have we… disappointed you?”

He was downcast, and a mere glance at Brandon suggested that the feeling was shared. “Why would you ever think that?”

“You’ve been skipping days, and even when you don’t, you never go this light on us. Are we… obsolete?” He cringed at the word. To be obsolete is to be unable to satisfy; Mark was pondering if I had grown bored of their ministrations. “Is that why you’ve taken a new mate?”

I could not help but smile. “Oh my dears, of course you are not obsolete. I have merely had a… new turn of events in my life. It has unbalanced me, thrown me off my routine. I assure you, it is not permanent, but I do appreciate the space you are giving me. I shall see that, once I am back on track, we rut tenfold, if that is what it take to reassure you. And I have not taken a new mate.”

Mark sighed. “Sorry for worrying you with my problems.” He said. “Shall I prepare something delicious for tomorrow?”

“That would be nice.” I said. “Now I must go. I shall return at some point after dusk.” I shooed them away gently. My servants would do their best to cover for me and care for me, especially when my witch of a mother arrived to “checkup” on me. Try as they might, however, they have difficulty letting me go free. For Vamponies, they are very caring and diligent. It almost makes me want to confide in them. Almost, but certainly, that would be a horrible decision. No matter how loyal, it would be impossible to expect them not to attempt to find and devour Vinyl immediately.

And so I left, trotting briskly through the city, saddlebags bouncing on my sides to hide the evidence. There were very few Vamponies out at this hour of the morning, and they were all hurrying as I was. I donned Vinyl’s glasses, for I had no intention of going blind, and began making circles a block away from the Canterlot Nobility Hospital. Well scorned for being a profit organised organisation in life, the CNH was now a crumbling husk of forgotten medicine. The hospital boasted medical research and advanced technology, and was built to emphasise that. The outer walls were composed entirely of glass, a terrible crime to the Vamponies of the night. Thus we could not use the building during the waking hours, and even the most dedicated scientist fled before the sun rose. That is the sole reason I singled it out, for it had the best chance to be un-occupied. From the brief glances I managed as I circled, it appeared abandoned. However, I am not one to take needless risks.

As the sky started to lighten, I began to feel warm. My eyes stung, and my body grew agitated. It was time. I rushed forward, knowing that at this point it would be safer to risk the hypothetical guard then the wrath of the dead princess.

I was running with buildings between myself and the soon-to-rise sun, but even so, it was amazing how quickly the sky lightened, and my body waned. I needed the protection that only comes with black night.

I burst through the front doors. Although the outer walls were made of glass, the inner one’s were opaque, to preserve privacy. The sky was gone, but light still filled the building through the doors, walls and windows between rooms. I had little time.

My first goal was to find a black room where I could wait out the day. I surged through the hospital to the center, where the light was more heard pressed to reach. Already I felt better, but with my mother coming, I could not afford to spend an entire night with even a shred of refracted sunlight on my body. I shoved open a nearby door and found that it led to a surgical room. After a quick once over, I found that the only entrance in which light could propagate was behind me. With the application of some lab coats and gloves, I found I could blot out most of the light. The remainder would hopefully be too scattered to affect me under a small pile of extra coats.

Having prepared my sleeping arrangements, I began my search in earnest. The hospital was sub-divided into three wards; emergency, long term and recovering. I decided to begin in the recovery wing, to search high and low for the section in which the drugs were stored.

The first step back into the light was torture. The sun could not have even crested the horizon yet, but it burned. The instinct to hide in the room behind me surged. Instead I shoved myself away and galloped through the hospital, sliding around corners and through halls bathed in early morning light.

I knew if I could return to my room before the rays of sunlight entered the building, I would be safe. A gamble, yes, but a reasonable one; my intent was to search until my instincts became almost unbearable, and at that moment I would know it was time.

Finally! The recovery ward. Still moving quickly, I scanned every room as I passed with the practiced ease that only a supernatural pony could possess. It was a simple task, hindered only slightly by my blurring vision as the light passed through my eyewear.

I found a nurse’s station; it was sure to have a directory. I ran inside and shut the door, mercifully cutting the light down to what could pass under the door and through the thick, translucent windows. After a moment to catch my breath, an action I had little experience with, I scoured the office. Paper flooded the desk, the walls, and the cabinets, but with luck I found a room guide stapled in the far corner. I studied it intently, and found the room I desired; it was up two stories, but still within reach.

I burst out of the room, grunting as the pain assaulted me anew. It was growing stronger with every stop I made, and I began to worry; would I be able to return to my sanctuary in time? I could turn about now, and return for the medicine at dusk. Now that I knew how to make my way to the storage closet it would be a simple task.

I decided to press on for the moment. My fear of being caught at dusk currently outweighed my fear of the sun. I rushed up the two flights of stairs, making good time. Only another hallway to go. There it was!

I burst inside, but shuddered and screeched as I discovered that the closet was up against a glass wall. The light hit me directly, and although the sunbeams were still mercifully hidden, I was running very short on time. I should have seen this on the chart, but there was no time to berate myself.

My vision was blurring at range, so I had to comb the shelves one by one, sticking my snout right up against the glass. My flight instinct was tremendous, shouting at me to hide. Still I pressed on, dumping anything that seemed even remotely useful. Disinfectant, ice packs, bandages, ponysporin, everything that could be even the slightest help.

Finally, after having combed the first wall, I found the antibiotics. Right next were the anti-inflammatories and herbal pills, so I grabbed those as well.

Satisfied, I was on the verge of making my retreat when I felt a fire erupt on my flank. I fell to the floor, and looked back up. Sure enough, I was out of time; a single ray of sunlight had penetrated the surrounding buildings and had merely grazed my body.

My fear kicked into overdrive. My flank still felt like a fire had been lit on it. I crawled to the door, desperate to avoid any more of the agony that came with my only weakness.

The hallway, sadly, proved no better. Beams of sunlight peppered the wall, and I cursed my bad luck that the sun simply happened to rise on the side in which I currently found myself.

With a shriek and a howl, I dashed forward. Pain exploded all along my body as the sun traced streaks down my left side. I averted my eyes, knowing that should a beam merely glance over an unprotected eye, I could be blinded. Perhaps only for a minute, but in these conditions a minute could be lethal.

It was with great relief that I turned a corner. The sunlight ran down the new hallway, but I was able to keep out of its path. I hit the stairs and stumbled, crashing down the first flight, but recovered near the bottom and dashed along the corridor.

The light was fading now, the sunbeams completely left in the dust. To think, that was merely indirect sunlight; had I been outside, I would have burnt in minutes. I stumbled, energy spent, back to my room. Inside, the cool darkness enveloped my like a blanket, shielding me from the horrible truth that Vamponies were not invulnerable.

Never one to leave anything to the last minute, I opened my saddlebag and verified the contents. Thank Luna I hat not dropped so much as a single parcel in my mad dash. The antibiotics still rested safely on top of the pile, and as I riffled through the bag, I was pleased to see that in addition to the previously named articles, I had found a book resting on the shelves. It read: ‘The pony body’ In the glossary I was please to find that it detailed all the systems present in a pony, including the circulatory system and, to my naughty mind’s pleasure, the reproductive system.

All this was, of course, for later. At the moment, my body wanted nothing more than a hefty meal to replace all the energy stolen by the sun and a very long nap. Although I had neglected to bring food with me, the second option was entirely possible.

I forced myself to gather up every lab coat I could find, for despite my ministrations, the door would not block every little bit of light. I huddled myself on the floor, upturning a desk and the operating table to form as much of a barrier as I could manage, and then heaped the lab coats on top of me. This would hopefully keep any stray beams of light at bay.

Finally, with my hovel prepared, I relaxed. My body ached, and in placed I knew I may have minor burns. Of course, they would heal by evening, but as they did they would probably wake me up once or twice. I sighed. “Look at yourself, Octavia. You just risked your life to help a meal. You would not do this for a cow, or a pig, but a pony? How can you live with yourself?” Still, I could not help but feel satisfied. Because of my actions, Vinyl would live to see another night. Which, of course, meant that I would feast in the future. That is why I had undergone this torture, obviously. It is not like I cared about the unicorn beyond a simple friendship-ish bond which benefited both of us…

Resolute in my thoughts, I tossed Vinyl’s shades out of the pile, to insure they would not break should I roll over in my sleep, and joined my kind in our princess’s domain.

*****

My eyes opened to the new morning, a groan escaping my lips.

My head hurt.

My hooves hurt.

Everything hurt.

Again…

My hoof flopped out of the bed, tapping the bedside table. For some reason, I expected there to be something on it. I can’t remember why, but I was surprised to find an apple under my hoof. I bit into it hungrily, making short work of it.

‘That was nice of Octavia…’ I thought. ‘Maybe she’s making an effort to be nicer to me.’

With a small smile, I sat up. Hun, my back muscles were really tight, as if I hadn’t used them much recently. I stretched and yawned. The pain was bad, but bearable. I put a hoof to my head, to try and massage away the head ache, and brushed against my horn. Hm, weird, wasn’t there supposed to be something there?

My eyes opened wide. No ring!

‘Well, that was very… uncharacteristic.’

I heard a sudden slamming from somewhere else in the house. Out of nowhere, Octavia burst into my room, glaring daggers at me.

“You” She said. “Will bestow upon me praises worthy of the princess.”

My head swam from the sudden noise and movement, and I lay back down. “Not so loud.” I whispered. Thinking quickly, I cast a minor painkiller spell to help with, well, the pain. A soft sigh escaped my lips as I felt it melt away.

The sigh turned into a squeak as Octavia thrust her face into mine. “I see you are still sick. No matter, I have found the cure to what ails you!” She sang, proudly shoving a bottle of pills in my face.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“You still don’t remember?” she asked, annoyed. She quickly recounted to me the tale of her mission earlier in the day, as well as my amnesia and the suspected cause. “The book said that it must be blood poisoning!” She finished proudly. “Now take these; you will hopefully recover within the next few days.”

Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I took one of the pills while Octavia undid my bandages. As I swallowed with the water she gave me, she began rubbing some ponysporin on my cuts, as well as a special herbal remedy which she insisted “sped up healing”. She then re-bandaged them and helped me to the bathroom.

As she laid me back down on my bed, I could almost have sworn I saw a big, genuine smile play across her lips. But then her hoof obscured my vision, and when I saw her face anew, it was gone.

“Now sleep, like you’ve been doing for the past week. I’m going to write you a note, in case you wake up and still can’t remember anything. I have to home, because of my mother, but I’ll check back in with you every day until she shows up. I just hope you’re feeling better by then.”

I jerked my head. “Octavia, was that an actual, sincere care for my wellbeing?” I asked.

She paused for a second, probably thinking back to her words. “I suppose so.” She said, and I smiled. “No wait, obviously it’s just because I want my blood bank back, and I don’t want to have to invest so much time and energy into making you well.”

My smile fell away, but she rolled her eyes. “I’m kidding. Yes, it’s because I want you to get better.” She said, sounding like she was explaining it to a foal.

I shook my head. “You’re a piece of work.” I said, stretching on last time. “Hey, shouldn’t I be asleep by now?”

“Maybe you’re already getting better. Who knows? Sleep Vinyl.”

And so I did.

> Recovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up the next evening and, amazingly, I remembered the previous night. Sure it was in bits and pieces, but the letter Octavia wrote me filled in the blanks. I was on the speedy path to recovery, and although Octavia hadn’t shown up yet that evening, I was still elated. Not even the mild headache, major body ache, and dizziness I suffered from could ruin my mood

As soon as I woke, I ate, drank, and went to the bathroom, just like the note instructed. Afterwards, I pulled over the medical book Octavia had said she used to ‘diagnose’ my condition. I had read it previously, but I couldn’t place my symptoms to a disease out of memory; I’d have to read through it.

‘The infection is currently known as, for lack of a proper scientific term, blood poisoning.’ I read. Octavia had marked the page she obviously though detailed my condition. ‘An amazing contamination, it is exceedingly rare and unique to pony kind. The infection only occurs when the blood of the host becomes contaminated with certain pony-made object, as well a few naturally occurring ones.’ A list followed, which included high doses of chlorine and bleach. “That explains how I got it.” I thought aloud, continuing my lecture. The next line, however, caused my heart to skip a beat.

‘In the case of an infection, the rate of survival is zero percent. All ponies who have been diagnosed were corpses within a month. As horrible as it sounds, the best option for a pony who has become infected is euthanasia. It saves them hours of ever increasing and unbearable pain.’

‘So that’s it…’ I thought as I rubbed my pounding temple. ‘Game over, I’m dead by next weekend? No! There has to be a cure.’

I read on. ‘An infected pony will progress through several stages of the infection. Most notably, they will be in constant pain during their waking hours, which will fluctuate but always end up increasing as the infection worsens.’ I wasn’t in unbearable pain at the moment, only major pain, which was a little reassuring. Perhaps I was merely in a fluctuation, but I had to hope for the best. ‘At the second stage, the infected will develop an increase in their lethargic state, some to the point of near-comatose levels.’ Check. ‘By stage three, the infected’s flesh will begin to rot from within, due to the blood providing harmful chemicals in addition to the much needed oxygen to the cells. A noticeable increase in pain accompanies the transition and duration of the third stage.’ Not there yet, thank Celestia. ‘Finally, the blood cells will multiply to the point of replacing the muscle, tissue, and bone cells that have been destroyed, effectively turning a pony into a near-literal sack of toxic blood. This process is never completed, however, as the pony is always dead long before the innards can decompose properly.’ I was about to stop and retch, or sob, but the next line caught my attention.

‘In recent medical history and developments, the use of a revolutionary new product seems to be prolonging the life of the infected; a drug known currently as “antibiotics”. Many of the test ponies, those that are on a death sentence and have chosen to donate their body to science in hopes of survival, have effectively survived double, sometimes even triple the duration of normal infected. There have been, so far, no survivors, but hope is increasing as the medication is refined. We expect to have a finished model within the next five years, although hope is that a working prototype will be available before two full years have passed.’

In an instant, I flipped the medical tome back to the first page and searched for a production date. My heart soared when I read that the book had been produced just under fifteen years prior. The antibiotics were surely advanced enough by this point! Octavia must have reasoned it out and realised that antibiotics were my only hope. I’m glad she’s not a dumb bimbo like most other female Vamponies.

I had a sudden temptation to increase the dosage, but after reading the bottle I decided risking an overdose was a bad idea. Instead, a thought crossed my mind. The book hadn’t mentioned anything about amnesia, and a quick re-read indicated that it shouldn’t be a side effect either. This left me with a confusing problem; where had my amnesia come from? And why was it wearing off now that I begun taking the antibiotics? Or could it be something else that had happened recently?

A line that I had read in the side effects section sprung to mind. ‘A potentially dangerous combination occurs when a unicorn is infected and simultaneously magically suppressed.’ I flipped to the part of the book that detailed magic suppression. ‘It is well known that a healthy unicorn must frequently discharge the magic they build up over the course of their daily lives. Whether they are the weakest or a magical prodigy, a unicorn who willingly or unwillingly suppresses their own magic is likely to begin feeling the unwanted side effects of magic suppression syndrome (MSS) and, in extreme cases, overly cluttered cognitive meltdown (OCCM) (possible lethal). Although it is relatively harmless on its own, MMS is known to have many side effects on subjects’ brain when suffering from certain other diseases, infections, parasites and other medical anomalies. Most notably among these are the following: Hallucinations, insomnia, amnesia, and a much lower resistance to OCCM, which can lead to permanent insanity, dementia, and in incredibly rare cases, a literal magical explosion in the subject’s brain (Lethal). Other side effects are possible, but rarer.’ A list followed, covering an entire page with possible side effects and their description. I stopped reading at that point.

Without the horn ring, the MSS should pass, so long as I casted some spells every day. At this point, that wasn’t my main concern. Instead, I began to worry. Where was Octavia? It was almost daytime, and she promised she’d be by. I knew it was silly to worry about the only Vampony who was actually a legitimate threat to my existence at the moment, but I missed her. Things between us were awkward at best, but it had been nice to have another living, intelligent creature to talk to.

I thought back to earlier this night. “I’m kidding. Yes, it’s because I want you to get better”. Well, it had been a nice thing of her to say. And she had kinda risked her life to get me what I needed… I didn’t even thank her. And her hooves; they had had burn marks on them. Her whole body had had them! The memory was fuzzy, but at the time I hadn’t even noticed just how much being under the sun had damaged her. She suffered through daylight to save my life.

I felt something slide down my face. Octavia had saved and spared my life dozens of times by now. It was hard to believe the pony who had almost gobbled me up in my own home a week ago was now my saviour, and my best friend.

I wiped away the tear, taking some deep breaths as I prepared to cast my painkiller spell. Obviously these were tears caused by the pain, and not because I was emotionally weak, unlike the soulless bloodsuckers.

With the spell finished, I realised Octavia must have read up on MMS too; that’s why I wasn’t wearing the horn ring anymore. I wondered, briefly, if she took it off simply for medical reason, or perhaps because she trusted me enough to chance me living with the ring off. In the end I decided to abstain from jumping to a conclusion.

I wasn’t feeling particularly sleepy yet, but to run the risk of falling unconscious outside wasn't a good idea, tempting as the idea was. Instead, I snuck over to the window, simultaneously attempting to stretch out some of the stiffness in my back without causing my hooves to flare up any worse then they were already.

I tried to open the blinds, but they were far too heavy for my weakened state. The shutters which the Vamponies had created were made of extremely heavy metal, to ensure the light of day couldn’t harm the creatures of the night.

"Stupid shutters!" I barked. They were the only thing separating me from my beautiful light, but even in health I had been too week to open them. What reason was there to assume the situation would be improved by sickness?

As it were, I wanted to feel the sun. No, I NEEDED to. I had gone too long without; two weeks, I think, without Celestia’s glorious ball of light and heat. The sun was a staple in my life, and I’d be a fool if I was to let an opportunity like this slip by.

I threw caution to the wind and trotted down the stairs and over to the front door. Vamponies be damned, I was going to sit outside once the sun was in the sky!

*****

I woke to a severe head ache, body ache, hoof ache; basically my daily life at this point.

I groaned in complaint, squirming on the hardwood floor as I tried to return to the realm of dreams, instead of suffering through that of the waking. Unfortunately, Luna didn’t want me returning to her safe, painless haven.

I blinked, a thought entering my head. Luna was the monarch of the night, creator of the Vamponies and the destroyer of my race. She had her own sister killed, watched thousands of ponies be torn to shreds by hungry bloodsuckers, and she also control sleep.

So why hadn’t she discovered me yet?

It had never dawned on me that I should fear sleep itself, but now that I thought about it, shouldn’t the evil witch have found and eaten me like her kind did to so many others?

Maybe she couldn’t see my dreams… Or maybe she simply didn’t care enough to search through all the Vamponies for a single meal. Whatever the reason, if I hadn’t been eaten in the last eight years, I doubt she’d come at all.

But all this was irrelevant, really… I should probably have been more focused on the fact that I woke up on the floor, in pain, and right in front of the front door.

“The sun…” I whispered to myself. “I needed to see the sun.”

I had no idea what time it was; midnight, noon, the witching hour. It honestly didn’t matter to me; I needed fresh air almost as much as I wanted the big ball of gas to grace my needy body with its presence. It didn’t matter if my head felt like it would explode. I didn’t care that my hooves were burning like a Vampony out at day. The world could be spin as fast as it wanted to; I was going to outside right this minute.

With an agony inducing crawl, I pulled myself forward, towards the biggest, toughest, most powerful obstacle that I had ever faced down in my life! The door .

I flopped down in front of it, having successfully managed to yank my broken, bruised and battered body across the wide plain that is my living room floor. Now came the hard part.

I tried it the easy way first; grabbing the lock in my magic and turning it. A satisfying click rewarded my efforts. Once I turned the handle, the door slowly began to slide inwards.

I had to shield my eyes from the fierce glare that assaulted them. Behind the door, light shone through, flooding the room and chasing away the dark, dreary atmosphere the Vamponies had instilled upon the world. Without hesitation, I shoved the door open as far as it could go. The light coated my body in a warm blanket of happiness and safety. The moment it touched me, I felt my headache lessen and the ache in my hooves vanished. I pulled myself outside, allowing the sun to embrace me directly. A sigh of happiness left my lips as all my pain drifted away, instead replaced by a pleasant warmth, as if Celestia herself was tending to my wounds.

“That is because I am, my child.”

My head lolled to the side, and I before me stood the Princess of the day. Her white coat possessed a sur-pony beauty. Her mane flowed delicately in a non-existent breeze. Her smile, wide and warm, reminded me of all the love that only a pony could deliver. I felt tears run down my face as the goddess approached me.

“But… You’re supposed to be dead.”

Her smile turned to a chuckle. “I am dead, dear Vinyl. As dead as an immortal, un-killable goddess may be. My poor sister; she was still blinded by her fury at having been imprisoned for a thousand years. She feels terrible, as I did the moment I was forced to exile her.” A tear slid down the side of Celestia’s cheek, but she made no move to stop it. It looked wrong; such a beautiful creature should not cry. “Truly, it is not her fault, and I do not resent her.”

“But, but she killed thousands of ponies; I am the last of my kind!” I sputtered, still laying, exhausted, on the ground.

“It is merely nature’s course, my dear. Luna did not create the Vamponies; that is a foal’s tale. Equines are not the first intelligent creatures to grace our world, and we shan’t be the last. But the Vamponies are as children to her as the ponies were to me; they were hunted to near extinction, and Luna could no longer stand to see them suffer. Our world is cruel, dear Vinyl, since we are not at the top of the food chain. We must kill what is higher than us, or be eaten by it.”

I felt my body lift of the ground, only to be deposited on my hooves. “You have done well to survive this long, my dear, and I shall hope that you manage to live until your natural death. Do not weep for me, or for pony kind; we shall return to this world in time, when I awake from the comatose state the Vampony poison has caused me to enter. It may not be in your lifetime, but rest assured that your race will not die with you; Luna has made sure of that. Perhaps one day, ponies and Vamponies will live together, as opposed to this bitter rivalry that has had them hunt each other for the past several thousand years…” She sighed sadly.

“But, but you’re a goddess!” I shouted, confused. “I don’t get it; if you can come to me and tell me everything’s going to be fine, can’t you just wake up and fix it all?”

“Oh you silly~” She said, her voice changing to a very familiar one. It was Octavia’s, and yet not Octavia’s. There’s no way Octavia had ever sounded so… happy. So vibrant and full of life. “Of course I can’t; I’m not even real. You’re just hearing what you want to hear; reassurances, promises of happiness.”

In front of my eyes, Celestia’s coat changed from a beautiful, shimmering white to an even more astounding gray. It wasn’t like normal, dull, boring gray; it shone in the light, exuding confidence, happiness, and caring. Octavia’s face shimmered into existence, her long, luscious black mane sparkling and dancing in a wild wind.

“Oh Vinyl.” She sang. “You must stop deluding yourself; I’m the only one for you.”

My mind was spinning. What was going on? My eyes felt heavy, my body wouldn’t move anymore. I tried to run to her, into the hooves of my love, but she floated away. I tried to shout out to her, to tell her to come back, but it was too late.

*****

I woke with a start. My body jerked and twitched, spouting profanities at me for trying to move it. The pain as it had been for two weeks now, crashed into me like the Canterlot express mid-delivery. My head spun, and I saw the houses twirl and glide in and out of focus.

I was lying in the street, a few steps outside my house. All around me, the world kept spinning. I just wanted to lie there and let them find me; the dream had been so real, so perfect. Maybe if I died and went into Celestia’s realm, into the afterlife, I could meet her. Finally get to know the real her, and fall in love for real…

“Octavia.” I whispered. “Where are you?”

Then the world came crashing back to reality. I couldn’t die here! Octavia was still alive, so she wouldn’t be on the other side. Not yet. I didn’t need the afterlife; the real Octavia is alive, in this world, and she needed me.

“I’m not gay.” I said to myself with a smile on my face. “I’m just a little bi-curious.”

And now was certainly NOT the time to be sitting in the middle of the road. Behind me, I felt the sun’s rays still washing over my coat. But they were weak, and as I turned around, it was clear by its position in the sky that the sun wouldn’t protect me for much longer.

I struggled to my hooves. The pain had lessened since the dawn, but it was still enough to drag out a small groan. I slammed the door behind me, locking it as I always did and hoping that Octavia had kept the key. ‘She’s locking it and unlocking every time she comes over.’ I reasoned. ‘She has to be; it was locked when I tried to get through it.

Once I was safely inside, I reached into my fridge and pulled out a banana. It reminded me that I hadn’t been active in over a week now, but I was hardly in the mood to do anything of the sort anyway.

In fact… lust was a part of what got me into this mess anyway! Stupid Vamps and their stupid need to get tail. If I wasn’t a virgin, or so good looking, maybe they would’ve just left me alone.

I sighed. The past was unchangeable. But maybe the future wasn’t… When I ended up going back to school, if I told them Octavia got to me, then I’d be a lot less popular! I would still be good looking, but not the ultimate temptation. It was perfect!

But wait, Octavia wasn’t allowed to have sex with other ponies. It might end up affecting her situation with her mother, and her family, even if it was a simple lie. I’d have to ask her about it; I’m sure it couldn’t hurt to ask.

That reminded me of another thing; Octavia’s family. I didn’t know much about them. In fact, the only thing I really knew was that her mother disapproved of her daughter sleeping around. In this day and age that was completely ridiculous, obviously. Regardless, I should ask Octavia more about her family and Vamponies in general; for a race of lusty, sex crazed super-ponies, they had very few classes about themselves. I can’t remember ever discussing anything about Vampony anatomy, and for some reason that I couldn’t fathom, the turning was a horribly tabooed conversation topic. If anypony so much as mentioned it, they were met with glares.

“It must be because they experienced it…” I said to nopony. “Could it be horrible enough to make reliving it unbearable?” I thought about watching my loved ones change at my hooves; becoming monsters. They had joined the assault against the living without missing a beat. I couldn’t imagine how thousands of ponies could just turn on the rest of their race like that; was the hunger that strong? Or was there something else?

“Maybe understanding them better will help me blend in more in the future…” I whispered. I should use the fact that I had an in, and interrogate Octavia about all the facts that I hadn’t learnt about Vamponies.

‘Knowledge is power.’ I had learnt the hard way, years ago, that disguising myself meant I had to supress every tick and nervous reaction ponies had. I became the master of deceit by watching and learning. I wasn’t about to let lack of knowledge kill me off.

But right now, I had more important things to do then rush off on a quest to interrogate my roommate. Like wondering where said roommate was. It was past dusk; she should have arrived by now. It wasn’t like her to go such a large period of time without checking up on me.

I briefly debated going to see her, but in my present condition it would be far too dangerous. With the unpredictable fainting and extreme discomfort, not to mention the smell I let off, it would be suicidal to think I could make it un-discovered.

Instead, I took my antibiotics, re-dressed my wounds, and did some stretches. It simply wouldn’t do to let my physical condition deteriorate, and being sick was no excuse to stiffen up like a board. Still, I was getting kinda bored of just laying around.

I paused for a moment, listening for anything unusual. Once I felt moderately safe, I made my way to the living room. Even though I knew I was alone, I glanced around conspicuously. I grinned a little as I pulled the rug off my super-secret trapdoor, opening it and climbing down the stairs to my basement and hiding it again with my magic.

The basement was pith black; no light could penetrate it. I pulled a cord dangling near the bottom of the stairs, and was greeted with my producing studio. It was exactly as I had left it: my recording booth was immaculately clean and organised; my rec room, with my pitiful collection of exercise equipment, was swept clean, the floor free from sweat stains.

But the star of the room, and my butt mark, sparkled with the brilliance of diamonds in the sun. My turntables were polished to perfection, and had several layers of enchantments cast on them to prevent dust, rust, and anything else I could think off from running them. They were neon blue and two toned, just like my hair. My babies, with a small stack of records on the floor next to them, were raring to go.

I hadn’t been getting much use of them recently, even before Octavia. The night club sucked all the life out of music for me, and my turntables had only served as a reminder that my special talent was null and void in this world. Vamponies hated music with any kind of upbeat, fun, club-like sounds. All they wanted was dreary classical junk, not that I hate classical. To be honest, I like a lot of music, but the Vampony version felt… wrong. It was toned down and slowed down. The rhythm was week, the base section almost non-existent. It was like listening to Beethoven’s symphonies played entirely on chalkboards with broken nails. The pitch was too high.

I reached for my spare headphones and plugged them into the recording booth. I might not have my music player, but whatever I had been recording last would be good enough. My music was my prised possession; even if I could never get famous for it, music still comforted me in a way nothing else could. I’d wasted entire days just listening to music in my bed. It’s always with me when I go harvest my fruit. It’s my primary source of entertainment in this disgusting, horrible, dangerous, boring world.

I hit the switch. The volume was turned down, as I always left it, but I heard one of my favorite songs. It had been a club favorite back before the turning, and I tried to remix it. I really wanted to see how well it mixed with some country at first, but that was a total flop. Then I tried some metal.

Point being, I wasn’t one for making my own music. I did do it on occasion, especially when I’d first earned my “tramp stamp”, as the bloodsuckers tended to call them, but then I realised how hard it was to synthesise music from sounds. Instead, I decided to try just mixing some songs together or adding new sounds to them. Not only was it much easier, but it was way more fun too! I loved the feeling of control it gave me, and soon enough I had mangled enough of them to create my own song list. 

Sometimes, when I dreamed of being a real DJ, I thought about playing one of my songs. In my fantasies, the ponies were always loudest during my set. They were always happy, dancing like nopony was watching. It was back before the turning, when I was still young.

My train of thought chugged on, and I thought back to when I was ten. The turning had just started and by the miracle that is good luck and quick thinking, I managed to survive. If it weren’t for the pony who’d helped me...

I shivered. I couldn’t think about him. I turned the music louder and sat on the floor, letting the music wash over me and hoping it’d blot out the world for a few hours.

*****

“It’s been two days…” I whispered.

After my… cleansing quality time with my music, during which I hadn’t passed out as I had expected to, I’d taken my meds again and done a few exercises. Then, having nothing to occupy my time, I read ahead for school. I couldn’t draw attention to myself, so falling behind in school wasn’t an option. I’d catch up on my own, like I’d done during my heats. Besides, detention was always sexual, whether it was a student gangbang or a special lesson by the teacher, and the teachers looked for any excuse to get us in there. Not like the students minded, at all, ever.

I covered a decent amount of ground before I decided, of my own accord for once, to go to sleep. I also woke up before the sun was gone, so I managed to sneak in a few more rays. But now I’m worried about Octavia, and it’s consuming a lot of my attention.

I took a shower and cleaned myself up good and proper. I had a plan, in order to find out if Octavia was okay. I’m sure it was just that her mother came by early, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to see her. Not that I liked her, mind you! I might think she’s nice, but I wasn’t about to fall head-over-hooves for a Vampony. I was just… gonna be a little more pleasant, in return for her pleasant-ness!

Now that the fainting seemed to have tamed itself, and the amnesia was gone, I felt relatively safe going outside again. Whether the fainting was gone because of the meds or because I was moving to the next stage, I didn’t know. The lack of unbearable pain was hinting at the medication.

No matter, tonight was the night I went outside. I had it all planned out; I would go to Octavia’s house, knock, and ask if I could see her so we could talk about the project. Since Brandon and Mark thought that’s why we were interacting anyway, it was a perfect plan! I even had a banana in my saddlebags to shove into her mother’s face when she asked.

Clean and with all my pony characteristics hidden, I made my way outside. The cuts were healing remarkably well, as far as cuts go. They were nothing but scabs at this point, and I hoped they’d be completely hidden by my fur by next weekend, so I could stop wearing thebandages. My fever was also gone, the pain was down to a dull ache thanks to certain spells, and I wasn't dizzy at all. I might not be fully recovered, but I was on the right track.

I made it to Octavia’s house in a reasonable delay. It looked just as it had when I first arrived; huge and intimidating. All the more so now that there was a new, older, horrible abomination inside. But hopefully Octavia could keep her mother in line.

Oh how misguided that thought was.

*****

Vinyl was safe, back at the house. I would have to leave her alone, possibly, but I knew she would survive. Hopefully her illness would keep her bedridden until my return, so I would not have to worry.

The book on pony anatomy as well as a special medical tool I’d found were in the saddlebags I’d decided to bring home with me. After all, why would I leave a book that had so much porn in it at Vinyl’s house?

I opened the door to my mansion, calling out to my servants to prepare for my mother’s arrival. I was not expecting her for another few days, but it never hurts to be prepared in the unpredictable storm that is my mother’s case.

When Brandon and Mark did not reply immediately, I began to call out again, only to be cut off by the most terrifying and ear-splitting sound that had ever had the ability to assault my ears.

“OCTAVIA PHILAHORMONICA! WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN!”
> Mother, sweet mother
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She would have arrived early, that I was anticipating. Perhaps a night or two before scheduled to be here. Naturally, she managed to defy any point in setting a date, and appeared on the night before the day I would not be returning home.

And so she stood there, menacing, angry, a true pillar of evil and sin. Eight years of repressed emotions threatened to bubble over, every one of them smothered instantly due to my race’s uncanny ability to control ourselves. All but one. And so instead of weeping, and pleading for her to leave, I merely felt a powerful desire to scorn her, to reduce her to nothing more than a corpse. All the anger that came with seven years of abuse and hatred surged over the fear, the pain, the disgust and the guilt.

We Vamponies have a term for such a state. We call it being emotional. One does not want to cross an emotional Vampony.

“Mother” I said, letting every ounce of hatred I could possibly muster seep into the word.

“Well? Who did you spend the day with, Octavia? I suggest you tell me now, or I guarantee there will be no happiness in your life until I find out. If I discover some lover on the other end of this, I swear you shall not see the light of the moon again for a year, let alone a dick! You disgusting whore; do you not realise that you are Royalty! An heir to MY land will NOT be caught sleeping with the scores of common Vamponies that occupy Canterlot! Why can you not be more like your sister? Better yet, why is she not the oldest! She was always so much-”

I walked straight past her. I had heard this speech before, and I had no intention of going through it again. I had the very brief pleasure of hearing her sputter in shock as I blatantly ignored her, and I could imagine the ghost of a grin threatening the corners of my lips, but I knew the instant after this that I would regret my moment of childish disobedience.

I felt the sting of her hoof as she stuck me across the back of my skull, right at the base. The blow alone was not hard enough to make me see stars, but I fell to the ground anyway, bracing myself for the next hit.

“Mrs. Harmonica, please.” I heard Brandon say. “I am certain lady Octavia merely wanted to get inside. She has likely been gathering fruit, and only wanted to sit down.”

“She has been out all night working on her school project, as we told you. She must be very hungry. Surely you can forgive her such a small slight in attention?” Mark backed him up.

My boys never ceased to amaze me, performing such meaningless attempts to coddle and placate her. She has had nobles in her court beaten for mere interruptions of her speech, and yet the pair of them, in all odds, would be attempting to distance her from me, knowing my mother well enough to be aware that they would not get off the hook easily for such a transgression. Hopefully she was too focused on my misbehaviour to notice theirs.

“Of course she is. My poor child must be so exhausted from her hard night of school work.” I could hear the false sweetness in her voice, like a horseshoe grating along a chalkboard. “Tell me, dear, if you were working so hard all night long, what are these!”

She stomped on my hooves, right over the burn marks, and only through years of interaction with my mother did I succeed in stifling the cry of agony that threatened to overcome me. Although I had anticipated them healed by the next day, in my pain induced state of mind I had forgotten that we Vamponies have our super-pony abilities, such as enhanced healing, reduced or eliminated as a result of direct sunlight. Therefore, they had not had time enough to heal properly. They would have disappeared had she arrived when she was scheduled to, of course, but my mother’s bad habit of trying to catch me performing acts outside her approval was not a surprise to me. Sadly, she had finally succeeded.

“Well, Dear? I do not have all night. Why do you have burn marks on your body! Are playing some disturbing fetish that involves fire? Do you like pain? Because I will make sure you feel so much of it, such horrible desires shall never be a problem again!” She kicked my side, and I felt the abused skin tighten in protest.

“I wonder if you might learn the error of your ways if I break the surface, hm? You know what happens, right Octavia, when one of our kind’s skin is cut?”

My breath caught in my throat. “You would not dare kill me.” I wheezed. “Father would-”

“Your father would never hear of it, is that not right, boys?” She hissed, turning towards Mark and Brandon, who stood rooted to the spot, eyes flashing between my mother and myself. She had never told me where she picked the pair up specifically, and they had never felt inclined to share much about their past. Now I regret not having pressed them about it further.

My mother gave them a few moments before smiling at their indecision. “Not as loyal as you thought them, are they, daughter? Now, answer my question! Who did you spend the day with!” She punctuated her question with another kick, this time in the ribs.

I gasped as I felt something give, and a part of me knew I could not take much more abuse. Since I had been hit by the sun, my body was weaker: my skin was frailer, my natural regeneration was slowed, my reflexes dull, and I felt weak as child. It would take a several days for me to regain full strength, and more still for my body to heal fully. If she found out the truth behind my burns, she's chain me to the ground outside herself.

My mother, the vile hell spawn, wound back for another kick. “You will yield to me the information I seek, you disgusting whore, or suffer a beating the likes of which you will not soon forget!”

I would not live, if her threat held any truth, but I doubt she was thinking clearly. Be it accident or intentional, should I stay silent, I would not see Vinyl again.

“My science partner.” I gasped. “I was with her after we finished working. We continued late into the morning, and thus I lost track of time and did not think to check it. I opened the door to return homeward and the sun hit me!” It was not entirely a lie. I had been out with her the night before, and this evening. And the sun was the cause of my burns.

The mare who calls herself my family looked down at me appraisingly, as if judging whether or not she might simply kill me regardless of the level of truth behind my statement. Then I saw her look to the side, at the witnesses who, despite her certainty, had not ended up answering her question. Her leg returned to the ground.

“I doubt you, I hope you’re aware of that.” She said. “Lift your tail so I can see just how recent it was attended to. After all, I arrived a mere half hour before daybreak yesterday, and your kind servants told me you were off with that… mare.” She spat. “If I smell even a hint of anything that does not belong to you or the boys…”

In my current state, the last thing I wanted was to stand, but I knew if I did not my mother would only be angered further, and I saw no gain from drawing further ire should there be a way to avoid any such thing. Therefore, I clenched my teeth and tried to ignore the stabbing pain where my mother had stomped on and kicked me. Instead, I thought of Vinyl’s succulent flesh, and forced my pain to the back of my mind, drowning it in hunger instead.

As my mother began her inspection, making no allusion to gentle intentions, I thought back to how I had seen the pony mere minutes ago. I had not eaten in a fairly long time, since earlier the previous night. It being early fall, I had likely gone at least 14 hours without any form of sustenance. And yet, hunger had been the last thing on my mind after I had insured Vinyl had her medicine and was recovering.

A small feeling of pride swelled in my chest, but I did my best to ignore it. Losing my desire for her flesh was not a good thing, no matter the circumstances. I must remember, she is prey, regardless of her physical condition. A friend, yes, but also a servant. The thought left a bad taste in my mouth, like tainted boar.

My mother growled. She slapped my tail back down and took a breath. I knew what her actions meant. She had no proof of any fornication on my part. She would now spend the next few days addressing me with false kindness, all the while watching my every move, hoping I might slip up so she could punish me, no matter how petty the crime.

“How hungry you must be.” She said, her voice flatter than her mood and smooth as a bed of spikes. “Eat. It is the weekend, so you shall have all day to show me how much practice you have dedicated to learning the ninth symphony of our wonderful lunar monarch.”

I held the most realistic imitation of a smile I could. Between Vinyl’s appearance and illness, the last time I had even touched my cello was prior to my arrival. My mother would likely lash out at how poorly I was sure to perform. “I have had little time for practice, mother. My science project-”

Her voice took on a deathly chill. “You are not to tell me that you are wasting the only talent you possess due to a useless school science project. I shall not have you disobey me anymore, dear child. If you do, I shall have you pulled out of that school, and you will live back home! I do not know how your father managed to convince to me to allow you to leave my sight, living on your own like this. The heir to my land, to my title, to my family. How I wish my son had been converted, instead of you.” She paused for a moment, taking a breath.

“You WILL practice your music every day, from this moment on. You are useless to me otherwise; you barely know manners, you have little experience as a noble. You became the heir eight years ago, when my son died, and yet you have nothing to show for it. No skills in politics, mathematics, history. Oh certainly, you get fine grades. But you lack the ability to excel in any field that is useful! And so, you shall become the best entertainer that has ever roamed Equestria, or you shall learn to excel in a noble skill! If you cannot, then I shall insure you are no longer the heir to my house. Do I make myself clear, Octavia?”

‘You think I want your stupid name?’ I fumed silently. ‘I would give anything to go back to being a proper family, with my father, my sister and my real mother!’ I would love nothing more than to shout my ire to the heavens, to leave this woman behind and live with my remaining family, be it in a mansion or on the streets. But my mother could not have my father walk out on her; such actions would lead the nobles to see her a foul light, and my mother is nothing without her reputation. She would go to any length in order to stop any action that may endanger it.

Thus said, I swallowed my pain, my anger, and any other emotions I had. In the most neutral, most ambivalent voice I could manage, I sighed out “Yes mother.”

*******

After a well prepared, delicious feast, courtesy of Brandon and Mark, my mother commanded them to tend to my wounds. Hate me though she will, even she realised I was more useful to her purposes while healthy. The pair rubbed a special cream, similar to sunscreen, which was made to protect against the harsh light of the sun, and heal any burns it might have caused. In direct sunlight, the cream might add a minute or two to a Vampony’s life, which would not amount to much, but it was preferable to going out bare. Coupled with a thick cloak that covered the entire body, and my kind could survive in the early indirect light long enough to find shelter, or so the rumour went.

I would not criticize, however, as it did reduce the pain, and improved the appearance of the scars under what little of my fur was left. Patches were missing due to the sunlight, and I knew it would take many days for my coat to grow back. It would be weeks before it returned to its luscious state, and thusly, me to my beautiful self, but such was the price I paid for a friend in need.

The boys also tended to my angry bruises and whatever my mother had done to my legs and ribs. After setting and splinting the bones with magic, they offered my every subtle painkilling magic they could, but I refused them all. My mother would only get angrier.

Once I had recovered to a state of decency, the situation considered, my mother shooed me off to my music studio, locking the twins outside. I felt some trepidation, being locked in a room with her, but saw no rhyme or reason to voice my concerns.

On the subject of, I took a moment to contemplate what such a horrible woman could possibly see in my father, as I had numerous times previously.  She was, of course, a unicorn. Bred from a wealthy family with a long history of horns, she had inherited all of their land during the conversion. It was a “mystery”, how she ended up being the only living member of her family and extended family to survive the conversion. Of course, I have reason to believe she was the converter of said family. If she had gotting changed far before the rest of them, it would have been quite simple for her to insure none of the group survived the assault, including her first husband.

The why of her decision to kill him escaped me, but due to her choice, she needed to find another male, lest she become a widow and therefore run the risk of losing her estate and title. Although women are the superiors in the Vampony community, it was not that way at the start. So she went after my father, and took him from my mother, leaving her to die. But that is quite apart from her tale, and not one I wish to re-live.

Initially, males had ruled the populace, and therefore, her land may have been given away due to a combination of new laws that were fashioned just after the changing and old laws that were being removed, replaced or reworked. However mere months after the conversion finished, the Vampony females assembled, numbering over triple the male population, and as one returned power to themselves, as it had been before. Many changes and power struggles followed this upheaval, and the community as a whole did not settle until three years later.

Miraculously, my mother, with the aid, however unhelpful or unwilling that my father gave, managed to secure herself a seat on the counsel of Canterlot, as well as maintain ownership of her birthright. Her family had merely been advisors back in the days of ponykind, but with some shrewd negotiations with the powerful families, and a well-placed assassination, she had achieved her family’s ambition, to control a part of the wealthy city that is the capitol of Equestria.

Once her quest for power was complete, she began fixing the situation so that her only son would be the heir to her land, and her seat of power, instead of my sister or me. I, of course, never showed even a sliver of interest in such a horrible position, wishing instead for a carefree life of music and sex, but my sister, on occasion, would attempt to convince our mother to allow her to take the seat in my place, should her son not return.

She was devastated when, after her three year struggle, her son had yet to return home, or even to signal the he still lived. My step-mother spent an entire day in mourning. Since then, she has been attempting to raise me as she had her son, grooming me for succession in his place. But he had been prepared since his birth, whereas I, who wanted nothing more than to revolutionise the world of music, was expected to do as well as a boy who had near twenty years of training.

Of course, based on the new laws, the seats passed in proper, monarchy style. That is to say, the eldest child would inherit the most prominent titles, land, and otherwise. This is the sole reason of many a quarrel between my sister and I, which caused a rift in our family. I remember little of her from before the great Turning, but I certainly know we had gotten along better in the past.

Thus the reason I begged father to leave home, following the scandal at my previous educational centre. He readily agreed, knowing full well the horrible torture that was dealing with both my mother and sister on a daily basis.

I was pulled from my musings by my mother’s bored drawl. “Now, daughter of mine, pick up your instrument. I shall not have your only skill wither due to your inability to manage your time properly. Until you have displayed to me a perfect ninth symphony, you shall see neither hide nor hair of another Vampony, be it your servants or your little science partner.”

My mother had little interest in hobbies and pass times, of which she considered music to be a part of. True though it may be that the world of musical entertainment had diminished since the turning, as had every hobby that did not include a sexual connotation, it still held a respectable following in the present day world. Employment in the industry was at an all-time high, with a new market opening for strip-orchestra mere months ago. Many business ponies saw music as a great addition to the world of sex, courtesy of clubs, and were hoping to incorporate it into several different marketed services, such as organised orgies.

So it was with great annoyance at her presence in my musical chambers that I began to prepare myself for an audience of one. My mother had not the ear nor the taste required to sample fine music, and would no doubt be unable to distinguish a perfect performance from one led by a half drowned alley cat, stuck out in the rain, with a frog in its throat as it yowled the ABC’s. Nevertheless, I would play for her, probably for hours, until she decided she had had enough, and rescinded her punishment.

Just as I put the bow to the strings, my mother held out a hoof, sniffing the air confusedly. “Do you smell that?” She asked. “It smells horrible, not unlike chlorine bleach.”

My mother got up from her seat and wandered my music hall, sniffing the air and making repulsive faces every time she did so. “What did you do, shit on the floor and the bathe it in bleach?” She asked. My mother was not known for her tolerance of anything less than perfection.

“The smell is a broken vial of wood polish and finish, if you must know. The fumes are toxic if inhaled in too large a frequency, for a long period of time, so I took bleach to the mess and scrubbed it out, to ensure I would be safe to practice.” I said. I could hardly smell the bleach after so much time had passed, but it did not surprise me that she had detected it. She was unable to overlook even the slightest inadequacy.

She stared me down, and I saw the gears in her mind turning. “You mean to say, you had your servants clean the room, of course.” She questioned, watching me for a reaction.

My mind froze. If I said I’d had the boys clean the room, she would no doubt go ask them if they had done such a thing. I did not know how they would respond; would they lie, assuming that I had lied to my mother, or would they tell the truth, perhaps anticipating a trap? On the other hoof, I could tell her I cleaned it myself, but I would need a good reason for willingly performing manual labour, else she would assume there was foul play involved. But maybe there was another option…

“My science partner.” I said slowly. “Was curious about my musical collection. I decided to show her the room. She knocked over the bottle by accident as she passed by. I had just been planning to cl-”

“I thought you said you were the one who broke it.” My mother interrupted. “Are you lying to me, Octavia?”

I met her stare as confidently as I could, considering the lie I was spinning. “No, I did not. I said that was the cause of the need for bleach. My partner offered to clean it up, seeing as it was her mistake. I attempted to stop her by telling her I had servants for such a task, but she insisted.” I wrinkled my snout. “She did a good job of clearing the polish, but considering the amount of bleach wasted in addition to the stench, I made sure to discourage her from cleaning with-in the near future.”

I waited as though transfixed, for my mother’s answer. She watched me for a moment, appraising my words, possibly trying to think of cleaver comments that might make me reveal a hole in-

“Very well then, out. I am not interested in sitting in such a horridly scented room listening to the whining racket you have dubbed music.”

I could hardly believe my ears. Years of living with my step-mother had trained me in the art of keeping a blank face, but even so, I could not keep my eyes from widening, ever so slightly.

“What, you expect me to sit in this horrible mess you call a studio listening you play a composition you have never practised while one of my least favourite scents assaults my faculties, for hours on end! I’ll not have it! OUT!” She roared.

I wasted no time in complying. My cello was stood up in record time and I bolted from the room, my mother muttering nonsense in my wake. “I shall be in the sitting room. You may go do whatever you wish.” She stomped down the hallway, something clearly set in her mind.

I could not believe she bought my lie so easily! It was miraculous; my mother, who had gone from a lowly duchess to the sole heir of her family, acquiring power in the council of Canterlot, a seat in the court, and many noble allies during her rise to power which was fraught with lies, deception and hatred, had let me walk out completely un-touched.

I almost smiled, but managed to keep my emotions in check. Good job too, as a moment later my mother, who had barely left my sight, popped back and said “You are not to leave the house.”

I nodded, and she stormed off once again. I felt a strange thing inside myself, something I do not ever remember feeling before. I was no stranger to happiness, but this was not that. It was stronger, and made me feel like hopping about. A word leapt unbidden to my lips. “Giddy. I am giddy.”

With no need to fear my mother for the next few hours, and knowing Vinyl was recovering at home, my mind leapt unbidden to a conversation between the boys and myself. One we’d had recently. One that reminded me of a very real, very neglected part of myself that, very suddenly, reared its magnificent head and demanded attention.

*****

Mark and Brandon had just finished cleaning the kitchen and dining rooms when they felt it. Her lust was not a thing one could ignore; their noses were trained to detect the scent, and it hit them mere moments before the mare herself pounced on Mark.

“You asked for it, well here it comes~”

> Mother, unstable mother
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I approached the door ahead, the last barrier between the only Vampony in the world who knew my secret and myself. In that enclosed space, a monster who fed on flesh, fear, hatred and misery paced the halls, eagerly awaiting the next foolish soul to enter her domain. But I would be strong, for also trapped was a damsel in distress, one who was far more versed in handling anything the monster could throw at her. She also had two knights, long ago armoured against the monster’s barbed tongue and evil words. Together, they were the sole force that could end this era of horror and abomination. And here stood the idiot who fully intended to get involved, despite having no information, no plan, and no reason to enter that house.

Wait, who was saving who again?

Now that I thought back, I had no memory of Octavia ever explicitly asking me to intervene, or quite frankly, to show my face around her mother at all. Of course, that could be the memory loss. Hun, would you look at that? An excuse. Time to book it!

I was halfway out of the front yard when I remembered that, despite not needing to get tangled up in Octavia’s family life, I felt a certain desire to see her again. Curse ponies and their natural desire to make and keep friends! With heavy hooves, I turned myself back around.

But wait! If I acknowledged her existence as a friend, what if I became dependent? Ponies needed social interaction! It’s why so many of us died. I had managed to get by so far, but what if after making a friend, I’d want more of them? Oh no! My own biology was working to kill me.

Well, I certainly couldn’t have that, now could I? I’d have to sever this budding relationship before it grew into the deadly flower of happiness, joy and worst of all, friendship! I could wait no longer, lest I be entrapped by her mystical sociable ways!

But no, I felt my soul tear from my flesh at the thought of such a horrible end to my time with her. She was already in too deep. Her seeds were rooted in my brain, and her seduction was complete. She was my friend, for better or for worse.

“What.” I heard a musical, evil, pleasant, maniacal, other synonyms for good and bad, voice say. “Are you doing?”

I had, of course, been so enraptured in my thoughts, which alternated between wanting to stay and leave, that I had done a very poor impersonation of a ballerina’s pirouette. When Octavia spoke, I snapped back to my senses and tried to face her. Unfortunately, at some point between the start and end of impromptu dance routine, I’d staggered onto two legs, and thus fell flat on my face.

At this point, a very familiar sound grazed my ears. That of a Vampony murmuring in exasperation. It was followed by a hissing whisper from the same source. “Get up! My mother is here and she will be looking for any reason to have you thrown behind bars! I am certain that in some backwash district of a far away royal duchy it is an insult to fall on one’s face while addressing the daughter of the duchess.”

I was on my hooves in a flash, face blank and impassive, “How are you, Miss Octavia?” I asked politely. The feigned regality in my voice sounded so fake to my ears that I almost slapped myself across the face. She gave a very brief, very small chuckle.

But Octavia had more pressing matters on her mind, and thus she steered me inside. “You do not smell, good. Wounds are hidden, face impassive, well rested and presentable.” She seemed to be prepping me to meet Luna herself. “You even tamed your hair, somewhat. That was… nice? Here is the story. You are my science partner Vinyl, you were orphaned during the turning, you have lived with several different boyfriends but are currently single, childless, and somewhat looking, but also working diligently and partying on weekends. You do not do drugs, you do not remember your parents, and you think I am a decent partner, able to pull my own weight but not knowledgeable enough in science to excel on my own. And we are testing fruits to see if they offer any advantages to Vampony consumers, be it medicinal, nutritional, or otherwise.”

She spoke quickly and quietly. I tried to memorise all the key details, as I’m sure those are the things her mother would be asking me later, to see if our storied matched up. We were going so fast, I hadn’t even seen her face yet. Not that I wanted to; her voice was more than enough to calm my nerves.

“Oh, and under no circumstance should you voice an opinion on politics in any manner. If she brings it up, play safe, aloof, and do not commit to anything either of you say, or me.” She finished quickly. “If there are no other options, pretend you are uneducated in such matters.”

I just nodded. She was clearly quite worked up, and I couldn’t help but feel that any comments I might make would gain us nothing.

“Who was at the door, Octavia?” I heard. The voice clearly belonged to a female, and one who was used to having her questions answered quickly. “Why did you not tell one of the servants to attend to the matter?”

“Mother.” She replied as we stepped into her living room. “This is Vinyl. Vinyl, my mother.”

I turned the corner, unsure what to expect. Beyond it, I found myself facing a rather pretty Unicorn, although she had nothing on Octavia. She was pale blue, with hints of more vibrant fur deeper in. Clearly she dyed her coat to match the dark, gloomy theme of this world, although her colour choice left me confused. Most ponies tended towards a darker, mat palet. Octavia’s mom, although clearly trying to rid herself of any vibrant blues, was still a rather light shade, not unlike what I assumed my mane would look like if I mixed it with my coat, then sucked the life out of it.

This is saying a lot, as bright, vibrant colours are occasionally a turn off, both sexually and just in general social interaction. It reminds the Vamponies of the sun. Many coats had dulled and darkened with a lack of exposition to the light. It was part of the reason I kept myself so clean and white; to help deter all the sluts who want to sleep with me. Of course, being virgin, it did almost nothing, but whatever.

Maybe that was her exact reason though? To remain intimidating in the board room, she might try and use lighter colours to hold attention, or display dominance, or something else. Politics stuff.

Her mane reinforced the point; it was an even lighter blue than her coat, and seemed to drag my gaze upwards. Contrarily, her tail was dark, as if to say she wanted your attention on her face, not her ass.

But then I happened across her eyes. In them, I saw everything. They held a cold, calculating, disdainful look, which was replaced by a tempered curiosity, then immediately by a blank slate and feigned innocence. I had the funny feeling she wanted me to understand exactly what she was capable of. She wanted me to see behind her poker face, to scare me away from her daughter, like I was the homeless wretch of society and they, unattainable royalty. It made me weak in the knees. This was a Vampony I did not want to cross. If she found out my secret, she wouldn't eat me. She'd use me to bargain for a position of power.

“Vinyl, how nice to meet you. My lovely daughter has been telling me about this school work the pair of you are doing.” She said airily. Octavia walked around the room to stand behind her mother, who made no comment. The moment she was out of view, Octavia nodded. My eyes barely registered the movement, so focused were they on her mother.

“Yes, it’s, um, not been easy, but I think the grade will reflect the effort we put into it.” Octavia winced, and I immediately assumed I made a mistake. What did I say?

“So, you two have been spending a lot of time working together, have you?” She asked, turning to look at her daughter.

“Well, I mean, not a huge amount or anything, but we’ve worked together at school a lot.” I said, trying to be assertive. I didn’t want it to sound like I was asking a question. “Maybe once or twice at home.”

She turned back to me, and Octavia nodded quickly. “Good, good. And it is coming along well? My little girl is not exactly a prodigy, is she? I do assume you have had to help her along. Do not feel the need to hold back dear, I am certain she would love some criticism.” The unicorn’s eyes glinted, and told me what I needed to say.

“She’s done her half of the project, and I’ve done mine. She likes to divvy up the work so we can each work alone, and not waste any time. When we’re at school, we bring each other up to speed and help with any snags, but a lot of it is done apart.” Octavia smiled so wide I actually caught a glint of fangs. It was rather off putting.

Her mother, on the other hoof, looked off put. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

Before she could lead the conversation on, I decided to try and throw her off the scent. “Octavia hasn’t told me much about her family. We’ve been so busy with school work, we’ve hardly had time to get to know each other. What do you do, Mrs. Philaharmonica?”

“Just Mrs Harmonica, dear. I do so despise my husband’s full last name. Such a mouthful.” She turned to her daughter. “Octavia, dear, would go tell the servants to bring some Hors D'oeuvres? I am sorry Vinyl, I was not aware Octavia was expecting company. How rude of me not to offer refreshments.”

As Octavia moved to leave the room, giving me a nervous, shifty look, I smiled slightly and said. “I brought the banana; I’ve had some trouble with the smell, and wanted to know your opinion.”

And, ignoring the look of horror that flashed across her face, I pulled out the slightly overripe fruit from my bag. The effect was immediate.

Both Vamponies in the room covered their noses. Octavia backed out of the room quick as she could, but her mother, having to go around me to get to the only exit, seemed momentarily as though she planned to strangle me on the spot.

“Oh, so it’s not just me.” I comment aloud, also holding my snout. I quickly closed the fruit back in the bag and moved to the window. “I’ve gotten kinda used to it, but it still burns my nose a little.” I said as I tossed it open to air out the room.

Behind me, I heard the sole undead occupant of the room flee, and couldn’t help the mischievous smile that split my lips. Now she had to believe us.

I took my time making my way out of the living room, noticing idly that a certain unicorn had, in passing, chucked my backpack into the far corner of the room, which was about as far from the door as it could get.

The moment I stepped into the hall, I knew I had made a mistake.

I saw the edge of mommy’s tail vanishing around the corner and the sound of hooves stomping away. I knew Vamponies didn’t like the scent of fruit, but isn’t that a bit excessive for a simple banana?

I heard a whimper next to me and turned, having half a mind to ask Octavia what was wrong with that mare, only to find her flat on the floor. Her head was bowed low, and I saw several patches of raw skin, as if the fur had been scorched away. My eyes widened as they trailed further down her body, finding several more patches of flesh and partially re-grown fur. How had I not noticed those earlier?

“Octavia, what?” I began, but stopped almost immediately. Bruises looked a little different on Vamponies. Having no blood in their veins, Vamponies couldn’t truly bruise. However, I’d gathered, from snippets of teachers’ side notes and anecdotes, that Vamponies did have a liquid running through their body that took the place of blood. I could only assume the patches of dark black skin, visible through matted fur and even in places where it was missing altogether, that this was the Vampony’s way of bruising. I gently brushed my hoof along Octavia’s coat, and she recoiled with a slight cry of pain.

“What has she done to you?”

There were bruises all along Octavia’s back and right side. Some chained together, particularly down her flank and the upper region of her right hind leg. Others, like the ones on the back of her neck, were huge, as if she’s been struck more than once. The ones on her neck were also darker. She’d been beaten, repeatedly, and although that made me furious, it was nothing compared to the pang of worry I felt.

Why wasn’t she healing?

Unless her mother had mutilated her this very evening, there was no way all these bruises could be mere hours old. That could only mean she’s suffered them during the previous two nights; Friday and Saturday. But if that was the case, they should have healed hours after they’d been made due to the special nature of Vampony regeneration. That’s why they’re such adept hunters; they have the ability to heal physical wounds quickly, and they recover very rapidly from intense bursts of exercise.

I was getting sick of my lack of knowledge. It wasn’t even my fault! I would learn everything I could about Vampony anatomy in an instant, but there are no published sources, considering the race just came out of hiding a few years ago. They’re still doing studies. Instead, all the knowledge is being taught in the second most popular class; anatomy. It’s almost as popular as gym class because it’s a class that is about 90% practical. And of course, with a name like anatomy, one can easily guess what they do for the practical portion of class. Still, that 10% of learning actual important information is vital to my survival, but if I set foot in such a class, I’d be found out within minutes.

I was snapped out of my reverie by a quiet moan of pain. Octavia needed my help now. Hopefully she’d be able to tell me what was going on, but all things considered, I think her mother might have been against her taking that class too. I also think she wouldn’t have paid any attention to the 10% anyway.

“Octavia, what can I do? Is there some sort of medicine to help?” I asked.

“Go get one of the boys.” She said as she flopped onto her mostly unhurt side. “And then go back home. I don’t want you here right now. You’ll only make her worse.”

I felt my heart skip a beat. This was my fault? I was about to take off in search of her servants when the pair of them materialised next to us, as if they’d heard her themselves.

In seconds, Octavia had been carted out of my sight, obviously off to some sort of sick room. I stood rooted to the spot, deliberating if I should go after her or just leave. When Brandon reappeared, I tried to ask him what was wrong with her, but he kept silent as he led me out of the house. At the front door he stopped and stared me dead in the eye.

“Do not come back here.” He said. “If you know what’s good for you, and for my mistress.”

He shoved me out on my ass, tossing my bag along with me and slamming the door behind himself with a resounding crack.

*****

‘It’s not fair.’ I thought for the thousandth time.

One of my biggest fears was that I would, one day, accidentally mutter under my breath. Vamponies do not mutter to no one; they avoid speaking uselessly, although it’s not unheard of, but they certainly do not speak aloud to themselves. It was one of my most difficult habits to break, but I’m glad I did.

I was at my favourite music store. Favorited only because it was unpopular, which mean less booty calls. I rarely ever went out, instead spending as much time as a recluse as possible, bar work, but tonight I wasn’t at all in the mood to go back home. I instead decided to see if the manager, Red Record, had managed to scrounge up any other artifacts of pony society. He was considered an eccentric; one of the few Vamponies who could still enjoy pony music, and he had a large collection of vinyls from eight plus years ago. I’d come here often in the past, when I needed company. Red was a perv, always after my love tunnel, but he took defeat more gracefully than the rest of his species; might have something to do with the music he listened to.

I was sitting on a stool near the counter, watching a record spin on a gramophone without making any sound and considering my purpose in life. Behind me, I heard the door chime as another customer walked in. I stole a glance in his direction, and saw a large black cloak, obviously intended to keep the Vampony beneath covered. He sidled up to Red, spoke a few words in his ear, then crossed the store and disappeared behind a bookcase filled with vinyls.

“Why so glum, chum?” Red asked. His back was turned to me, and he was pulling down a record for polishing. Too late, I realised I’d forgotten my ritualistic greeting.

“Nothing” I answered too quickly. I was already off my game after Octavia’s house, and now I was making elementary level mistakes. Might as well sign my death wish if I’m not more careful.

But Red just nodded. “I know what you mean. Having love troubles again? Some desperate filly after that babymaker of yours? You know what I say to that.”

“Yeah, it has something to do with finding a nice music store owner and letting him pop my cherry, doesn’t it? How can you even tell if I haven’t had it popped already?” I asked, half sarcastic, half curious.

“Oh, you can’t tell?” He asked, a slightly curiosity in his tone. “Must be because you’re still a tight cunt. Every Vampony can smell virginity on females. Some, like me, can even tell if a male is virgin. Interesting though, that you can’t smell the difference.”

I felt my ears prick. This sort of information is what they would tell us in anatomy. “Oh, yeah, I guess so. What do I smell like compared to the sluts?”

He turned to me and took a deep breath. It was a little off putting, but I tried not to show it. “You smell like a horny bitch. So does every Vampony. But virgin bitches smell stronger, you know? Stronger, and pure. Like, your scent isn’t mixed with the smell of cock and other cunts. It’s strong, and it’s pure. But then, on top of that, it has this undertow of something. A promise to the smeller. A promise of first-time use, of course. And that promise smells good. Almost as good as ponies smelled when they were alive.”

I felt my breath catch as he carried on. “I remember them. I was converted before the real conversion began; I spent a few months as a Vampony, surrounded by the flesh bags but unable to touch um. The smell coming off of the mares was a drug; meat and blood and flesh, but then also pussy and virgins. And the fillies, oh god did they ever smell like heaven. Ain’t much better than young, soft meat, lemme tell ya. They were the most delicious. I remember, once, I got my hooves of a family of four. I tossed the parents out to the horde, but kept the fillies for myself. Them’s were good eating.” He sighed happily. “Those were the good days.”

I sat in my chair, revolted but oddly calm. I’d always known that the Vamponies had feasted on my kind, so it didn’t surprise me, and I tried not to let it bother me. I couldn’t let it colour my opinion of Red; there were probably thousands of Vamponies who’d done the same thing, and Red was knowledgeable about pony artifacts. I’d have to just forget about the things he just told me and try to move on. Maybe I could get some more information out of him another day, but for now I didn’t want to attract any more suspicion. 

“Wish I was changed for those days.” I said, getting up. “I’ll see you next time, Red.”

He waved a hoof once and went back to his records.

I scampered off. Now not only was I banished from Octavia’s house, I was gonna have to avoid my favourite haunt for a spell. This was not turning out to be a good day.

Dejected, I started making my way to a local low-quality butcher. I turned up every so often at one of them, to reinforce the fact that I ate meat. The butchers I went to were paid by the crown to provide free food for their clients, since there was such a large surplus of meat. All the tough, boring or gross cuts were given away, and since I didn’t even eat the stuff I always jumped on the opportunity to take the worst ones.

I walked in and nodded at the butcher Vampony, Sloppy Joe. He nodded back and started bagging a few small chunks of what looked like slightly overdue cow meat. I took it in my magic and made my way out of the store as the door opened and another customer came in.

As I made my way home, however, something interesting happened.

I was walking down the main road through Canterlot’s poor district. My turn was only two blocks away, and I was in no rush. I didn’t feel any need to hurry when daybreak was still a few hours away. I still had not recovered from my bad mood, and wasn’t interested in doing much of anything. Maybe a warm bath before bed, so I could get up early tomorrow and laze in the sun for an hour or two before school.

School… it felt so odd, returning after the week I’d just had. My life had been flipped upside down over the course of the past seven days. I’d made a new friend, revealed my biggest secret, almost got killed twice, bled half to death, became infected by bleach and sat bed-ridden for a few days. And now I got to return to school, as if last week hadn’t happened at all. What was my life?

As I turned off the main road to the side street my house was on, I felt somepony bump my bag of meat. I glanced over in time to see the same Vampony from the shop, covered in the same cloak, slip a piece of paper into my bag. He proceeded to trot off, as if nothing happened, and I was left with a burning desire to stop him and ask what that was about.

Instead, I shrugged and continued along the way to my house. I made it inside without issue, and carefully tossed the meat in the trash after retrieving the note. Not like I wanted the stuff anyway.

The paper was crisp, and I unfolded it quickly.

Lady Octavia begged me to deliver this to you. She is being pressured by her mother to change schools again, for the sole reason that is you. She wants you to go to school as if nothing is amiss, but you cannot speak to her or give any acknowledgement that you know her at all. She is being watched, and so are you.

This is from Mark and myself; keep your distance from Octavia, keep away from this house, and most importantly, keep your nose clean, if you know what’s good for you. We know you are hiding a secret, and we suspect Mrs Harmonica knows too. Whatever it is, you have clearly worked hard at maintaining it. Know that she will rest at nothing to find out why “some scamp on the streets has stolen Octavia’s attention”.

Brandon

‘Damn it!’ I screeched in my head, and I balled up the paper and chucked it, hard as I could, at the fire pit that had never been used. I knew this friendship shit would lead to problems. Now not only had I lost my friend, but if I wasn’t careful, I would lose my secret too, and if that happened, it was only a matter of time before I lost my life.

“Can my life get any worse?”
> The light points to Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’d slept poorly the previous day. Dreams of Octavia, her mother, and armies of hungry Vamponies kept waking me, and for the first time in a long time, I was scared of going back to school. It had always been a fear, of course. There was a very real possibility of me not returning home each morning. But somehow, over the course the last few years, that fear became inconsequential. Unimportant. There was no reason to fear it since there was no solution that didn’t involve the possibility of death. Thus, the fear drifted off.

Now, however, there were Vamponies watching me. A minor slip up could be brushed off in the past; a twitch, a squint, a shiver. All these things went mostly unnoticed, and even when a Vampony noticed, it wasn’t enough to set off any warning bells. Now, however, I would have to disguise myself perfectly. I couldn’t afford even a moment’s lapse in concentration. Talk about hardcore.

Two hours before nightfall, I finally gave up on my spotty nightmares and instead meandered my way outside. Even if I was being watched, the daylight at this time would keep any snoops indoors and safe from the deathly rays, lest they be blinded for life. As always, Celestia’s last gift to ponydom washed my worries away, and I spent a blissful hour bathing in sunlight. It felt wonderful, but I needed to get ready.

Back inside, I took off my bandages and inspected my legs. They were completely healed, thanks in part to the herbal remedies that Octavia had brought me and in part to a healing spell I’d found during her absence. That, in tandem with the antibiotics, had gotten me back to what felt like proper working order. And after my sunbath, I couldn’t help but feel a little optimistic about the night to come.

You would think one could only be mistaken so many times before they got a free pass, or something.

It had been a few days since I’d done a full, proper daily ritual. Therefore, I was extra thorough. I washed my coat, mane and lady bits thrice, and then covered them in some very light Vampony perfume, for good measure. My eyes were watered, then massaged, so the drops sank in properly. By the way, eye massages are the most awkward, uncomfortable thing in the world. I grabbed my shades and put them on, casting an adhesion spell that would keep them in place through most minor physical exertion. I then ran through my list of spells that would keep me cool, calm, collected and camouflaged among the bloodsuckers.

Physical preparation finished, I took a moment to run through an emotional tirade. I forced myself to get happy, then sad, then angry, and so forth. I’m not sure why I did this, or if it even helped, but it made me feel better to know I could still show emotion; like I wasn’t turning into one of them.

I grabbed my saddlebags, tossed my school work in, and made my way outside. The sun had sunk below the horizon, and dusk was upon me. By the time I reached the main road, a few of my early rising neighbours were making their way to work, drug halls, the blood market. Wherever they needed to be, really. A regular night.

I'd get to school early, of course, having left right after daybreak. I tried to keep it mixed up, early one day, on time another. Sometime I came a bit late. I had to make sure the more determined females couldn’t predict my schedule, or they’d all show up at the same time. Males too, but they were easier to cope with. That, and they had second pick.

Of course, my fellow students could just follow me home, and then ambush me in the early evening. But that would mean getting up early. Funny how some things don’t change, be you pony or Vampony.

As I reached the central market of my district of the city, a strange sight was presented to me. In the past, a giant statue of the rising sun and waxing gibbous phase of the lunar cycle stood in the center of the market. After the turning, the statue was torn down, on the princess’s command, and replaced with a raised dais, which held a trio of stockades. These were not the average, ordinary stockade one would find in a Vampony society. They were not indeed meant to start orgies and make fetishes possible, as the Vampony community and I had found out. Instead, in the stockade were placed criminals. The punishment was simple enough; the prisoner was not to be touched, fed, watered, or interacted with in any way. Their crime was written on a giant board set above the stockades, as was their punishment. Typically, it was along the lines of “X Nights” where X was the duration of their stay. They were released at dawn, and placed in a nearby holding cell until the next evening. Depending on the potency of their crime, they were sometimes given a glass of blood, to stay their thirst and keep them alive. Others weren't so lucky. It was rare, but every once in a while, you could see a necrophile walk off with a “prisoner” 

The sight of the Vamponies in the stockades, as they were often occupied, was not what surprised me. Normally, the stockades were ignored; the interest had worn out long ago. Instead, a large crowd was milling about and the Vamponies were speaking excitedly to one other. I smelt the musk of excited females and saw the bits of aroused males, probably due to the females, and could only wonder what had happened.

Now, obviously I wasn’t going to shove my snout into the crowd and toss the bloodsuckers out of my way. That would be idiotic, especially now that I knew how they could tell I was virgin. In fact, I saw a few curious females sniffing the air before looking around excitedly, and quickly trotted away. I’d have to get to higher ground if I wanted to see what was going on.

A little off to the side, I saw a market stall that had a solid-looking roof. After a quick look around to make sure no Vampony was watching, I clambered up on top of the stand and took another look at the stockades.

It immediately became obvious what the excitement was all about. In the middle of the square, a dozen guards stood surrounding the central stockade and blocking it from view. I saw a few cockier Vamponies try to push their way onto the dais, only to be violently thrown back by a spell that surrounded the whole regiment. The reason for all the added protection was written across the board.

This citizen has been identified as a traitor.
For committing the crime of helping ponies escape the post-turning feast, she has been sentenced to death by sunlight.
This Vampony is living proof that ponies still walk the world of Equestria. The princess has declared, in these exact words: “As the saying goes, first come, first served.”

The gathered Vamponies weren't aroused, they were excited. And who could blame them? After roughly seven years of famine, a few lucky souls would get to experience pony flesh.

My eyes turned to the Vampony on the dais. Was it true? Were there other ponies alive? I didn’t know how to feel about this revelation. On the one hoof, I might be a mother one day. I might get to have sex and have living friends. I might get to live the life of a pony, far off in whatever paradise these survivors had found.

On the other hoof, on top of being surveyed more closely by Octavia’s mother, I would have to endure the searches the city dwellers would no doubt undergo as the blood-starved denizens tried to find a lead. And if a hoard of Vamponies couldn’t find a group of ponies, what were my odds?

As I had been thinking, a murmur had started rifling through the crowd. It slowly morphed into a chant, directed at the prisoner. “Where’s the meat?” Was repeated over and over, getting louder and louder as the clearing swelled with Vamponies of all ages. Despite, or perhaps due to this, the prisoner remained silent, although she glared cockily at the throng.

I decided not to stay and watch the inevitable violence that would follow if the prisoner refused to divulge the location. I had my own worries, namely my first day back to school in two weeks.

*****

My little stunt at the market had delayed me slightly, but I was still plenty early. It was therefore a surprise to see the entry hall and corridors flooded with students, and there was only one topic to be heard.

I approached a small group of males, one of which I had actually spoke to in the past. Noteworthy didn't even turn to acknowledge me as his friend Harpo told them about his discovery.

“So because she helped them escape, she’s going to be burned! By the sun! But forget about her, what are you guys going to do about the daywalkers? She said they were still alive, and hiding far away, but I bet you she’s lying. I think they’re here, in the capitol; what better place to hide than in plain sight?” He said, more excited than most Vamponies had any right to be. 

I’d had my suspicions about Harpo being a hidden pony, due in large part to his expressiveness and emotional tendencies, but he wasn’t the only Vampony who showed a slightly increased capacity for feelings. Oddly enough, they had documented it as an actual condition. Improper Emotional Reshaping, although most Vamponies just referred to it as “Raritying,” after the most chronic patient. They said it was a bi product of undergoing so many turnings at once. The condition was rare, and any Vampony who suffered from it was diagnosed at once to avoid being mistaken for a pony in disguise and the consequences of such an act.

“I think you’re wrong, Harpo.” Noteworthy replied, as another male who I didn’t know nodded. “They have nothing to gain from staying in the city. There’s no food here for them, and they’d be surrounded by our kind. Maybe a lone pony would stick around, because of that whole need for company we both feel. That heard mentality, you know. But a group? No, I’m sure they’re trying their best to hide out in the mountains or a huge open plane. You know, somewhere our kind would have trouble crossing before the sun rose.”

Despite his calm, I could tell Noteworthy was excited. I could smell him. Vamponies let off certain scents when they’re aroused or excited, although there’s a subtle difference between the two. The musk hung heavy in the air, both from him and the rest of the school.

Suddenly, Harpo looked behind me and nodded his head. “Who’s the new kid?”

I turned about and found myself nose to chest with what must have been the largest female I had ever seen. She was easily a head taller than me, with bulging muscles and a wild mane. I knew instantly that this was the pony who was going to be keeping a watch on Octavia and me.

She glared at me, then at my little group. It seemed to me like she was looking for something, but failed to find it. After a moment, she walked on, disappearing around the first corner she could find. I had the feeling she’d be staying within earshot.

“Well that was serendipitous.” Harpo said. “So, about those ponies?”

“Harpo, first of all, even if that was a word, this is probably not the correct context to use it. Second, I’m more interested in why she would help them escape. Maybe she wanted to eat them as they grew and multiplied?” I asked, trying to make my voice sound more excited than I felt.

That comment prompted the boys to move on with their conversation, and I was about to move on to my locker when a thought hit me. I carefully adjusted my tail and tried to waft my scent in their direction, just a little. After a moment, all three sets of noses sniffed deeply, and I saw their eyes flick towards me for an instant. Then, just as was anticipated, they returned to their conversation, since females are expected to lead any sexual interaction. However, they shifted in ways that I had never noticed before. Their circle moved ever so slightly, so that I was slightly more centralized. Their ears also turned, just enough to show me I held their attention. The musk around me changed slightly, still excited, but now almost equally aroused. Every so often, as they spoke, their eyes would flick towards me, and they would frequently try to get me to join in their discussion. I’m fairly certain that, even though I couldn’t see them, their genitals would also be reacting slightly. 

I know that back when I was a pony, stallions were expected to hit on mares, despite the ratio. In a world where mares were just as horny as stallions, if not more, it seemed to have fallen to the numerically dominant sex to initiate the interaction. I guess it would imply that a stallion got the pick of the lot, but in this day and age, it was more akin to first come, first served. Again, not that I was complaining.

“Well, I’ll be heading to my locker now. See you later Harpo, generic others.” I said as I stepped back and away from them. As I did so, their ears folded slightly, but they showed no other obvious sign of disappointment.

Since I couldn’t attend anatomy class, maybe I could conduct my own experiments to learn instead?

Unfortunately, such endeavors would have to wait. As I began to walk away, I saw Octavia stride into the school, looking regal but unhappy. She spotted me and immediately turned away, stalking off to any place in the school that didn’t include me. A moment later, a suave looking unicorn followed, attempting to converse with the mare, who simply ignored him.

“Oh, are you two friends now?” Noteworthy asked as he pulled up alongside me. “Seems like she doesn’t see it that way. I remember seeing you eating lunch with her that one day before you vanished for two weeks. Which reminds me, where were you? You missed some awesome classes, and orgies, and… yeah.”

“No, we’re not friends. She didn’t talk to me after lunch.” I replied. “I have the feeling she doesn’t like me, and I don’t like most of any Vampony, so it’s good.”

Noteworthy shook his head. “Virgin, prude, loner, and on top of that, intellectual, fit, and you work in a club. Is there anything about you that isn’t desirable? You know that the isolation you put yourself through is totally unnecessary right? You almost literally have your pick of any Vampony in our school, maybe even all off Canterlot. I wouldn't be surprised if you could court Princess Luna herself.”

I pulled my books out for hunting. “Don’t care, not interested. Asexual.”

“Bullshit you are. That’s impossible for our kind; didn’t you pay attention in the boring parts of orgy class? You do for every other class” He asked as we made our way to class.

“Even if I would pay attention, I don’t have anatomy. Got special permission from the principle to skip it, on account of I don’t want sex. We both know if I entered that class I wouldn’t leave a virgin.”

He huffed and sat down at his desk. Noteworthy tried very hard to earn my pussy; he always sat beside me, despite hating the front of the class. He helped me with my work on the rare occasions I needed it. He only flirted a little, and didn’t pry too much. He was understanding and kind; almost a friend, or the closest thing I’d had before Octavia.

Speaking of, she entered the class shortly after we had, her suave shadow right behind her, and the monster mare behind him. My mood, sour enough as is, worsened at the sight of the trio, and I huffed before turning back to my close acquaintance. I don’t know why I was annoyed at Octavia; it wasn’t her fault, and if anything it gave me more freedom to have her kept away from me.

The teacher arrived shortly after, and I found out that we would be performing a practical test on Wednesday. I always dreaded practical tests in hunting since, to be feasible, the students had to be able to enter the hunt, a feat which was always impossible for me for obvious reasons. I’ve heard it all before; blah blah increased speed, strength, agility, endurance blah blah blah. I’d failed every practical exam so far, but the instructor insisted I participate all the same. It certainly didn’t help that I always feared they would manage to sniff me out once their senses were on high alert. At least I might have a friend to lean on after I fail mise--

Wait, if Octavia entered the hunt with me nearby… Uh oh.

*****

The day had passed uneventfully. After hunting class, I had approached the teacher, and pre-empted his refusal by asking if I could attempt the exam in private. My excuse was that maybe being around other Vamponies was unsettling me; I was known for being a recluse, as it were. He didn’t buy it, and told me that I’d do it with the rest of the class. Worse, he said if I couldn’t enter the hunt this time, he’d probably end up kicking me out of the class. 60% of our final grade rested on the practical portion of the year, thus making it impossible for me to pass without at least one passing grade on a non-written test. I wanted to ask if there was any way he would pass me for the class, but I already knew what the answer would be.

Math, lunch, and gym passed in a blur as I reflected on my options. I could just drop the class before Wednesday, but hunting was a mandatory subject, which meant I’d just have to take it again anyway if I wanted to graduate. I could appeal to the principle, but I knew from experience that the only way to convince him to bend the rules was a role in the hay, which was out of the question. Not to mention he’s like 50. Gross.

On top of my worries, Octavia still wasn’t speaking to me. At this point, I was rather happy about it, to be honest. Between my fear of the hunting test, my fear of her mother, and my annoyance at her, I had no desire whatsoever to speak with miss perfect.

Music finally rolled around, and to my dismay, we had a supply teacher. Music was one of the only things I actually enjoy about school. I said fuck it and decided to just skip the last class and go home early. Normally I wouldn’t chance a detention like that over nothing, but I’m sure my teacher would let me out of it tomorrow.

I took my stuff, which included a large pile of make-up homework, and made my way home. I was in a drab mood, which didn’t improve when I saw guards and citizens still stationed around the holding cell in the center of the city. It had slipped my mind, the prisoner, and seeing her reminded me of the searches that were to come, and the fact that a pocket of my kind still existed somewhere in the world.

Instead of filling me with any joy, it just angered me further. How come they got to live on, blissfully free from the struggle I faced? Safe in paradise, while I fought every night to see the dawn? Able to laugh and talk and love freely, while I was forced to keep the company of these fiends due to my instincts? It wasn’t fair!

And just like that, I knew what I was going to do. I galloped home and locked myself inside. With no time to lose, I did all my work and ate a hearty meal. I got all my stuff ready for the next night, and gathered up some equipment. A cloak, long and able to cover my whole body, down to the ground, a map of Equestria and beyond, and some paper and a few pencils. All the while, I thanked Celestia that Vamponies go blind very quickly in any form of strong light.

*****

Dawn. I kept glancing out my doorway, waiting for the first rays of sunlight to hit the tops of the buildings around my home. I knew the most fanatical Vamponies would stay by the stockades until the last possible second, begging for meat, so I had to wait for the sun to poke above the horizon.

It was an easy plan, but one that could have dire consequences if any Vampony saw me. After all, I would need more than a single day to prepare for my adventure.

The light had barely grazed the highest roof when I left. My cloak was trailing along the ground slightly, which was good, since I didn’t want even my fur colour to be seen. My magic held the cloak in place and prevented it from flapping or catching on any protruding stones as I galloped my way to the stockades. She wouldn’t live for long in these conditions, so I had to be fast.

I reached the main road with no incidents, and rushed along it to the market. I saw neither hide nor hair of another soul, which suited me greatly. Only a few more minutes and I would have the information I needed to start chasing after my kind. 

I heard a wail of pain and redoubled my efforts. The light would only get stronger as time passed, and the stockades were raised above the city road. I skidded around a corner, and there it was.

Up on the center stage, the Vampony was writhing in agony. She couldn’t move out of the way as her body slowly began to smoke. Her eyes, shut tight, were leaking clear liquid, which I knew to be Ichor, the blood of Vamponies. Highly acidic, when a Vampony got injured deeply enough to allow their life essence to flow, it was always a fatal wound. There is no way to heal a cut fast enough, since they have a mere fraction of the amount of blood ponies have. Due to this, it flows through their veins extremely quickly, and will empty out even faster. There is no way to replace it, and it burns their bodies on the way out due to its acidic qualities.

Without missing a beat, I got as close to her holding place as I dared. I could feel the shield that had been erected last night humming with power, not that it mattered. There was no Vampony fool enough to stay out under the sun.

“Hey!” I called out.

Her head snapped up, and her eyes opened for a mere instant. She paid for that decision harshly, if the sound of her screams were any indication.

“Look, I know you don’t have much time, I know you’re going to die, but I’m a pony too! I’m stuck in this city because I can’t live the solitary life, and I need your help! Where are the ones you helped escape? I want to get out of this horrible place and go live in safety too! Please, please help me!” I begged. She had no reason to, of course, but she’d also had no reason to help the others. It was worth a shot.

She had stifled her cries as I spoke, and as I finished they burst out with renewed vigor. I couldn’t know what she was thinking; all I could do was wait and hope she told me everything she could before she burnt away.

And what a horrible sight she was. Her fur, which had been smoking before, had all burn away. Her Ichor was bursting out of several different parts of her body, evaporating the moment it did, and her flesh was slowly peeling off in layers, like an onion. Her mane and tail were both on fire, and all around her hooves, her body lay in ashes. As I waited, one of her rear hooves fell off, the knee above it having burned faster than the leg. It was a hard thing to watch, but if it got me anything, I would do so.

After a minute or so, as I began to worry that she wouldn’t make up her mind on time, she shouted out the instructions, gasping and moaning and crying all the while. “Go to ponyville. There is a forest there, which used to be inhabited by monsters. In a hut that belonged to a zebra, there is a scroll. We left it there, in case we found any others.”

“What do you mean, are there more Vamponies like you, who want to help us?” I asked, even as I was writing down instructions and checking the map.

“No, I travelled with them. I was one of them. We got caught in the forest. I got bitten. But the turning was different for me. I think Celestia was watching over me. I kept my mind long enough to tell a local that I had saved some ponies long ago. I needed to die, or I would hunt after them, following the trail of scrolls they would leave.”

I felt my heart skip a beat. “I’m sorry.”

“It do-” And her voice cut off for a second as her throat started to burn through. “No matter, go find, tell Sunny Day sent you. I save one last” And her throat was gone. The silence that followed her screams was punctuated only by the sound of burning flesh, and I held in my emotions as I returned to my home.

*****

I carefully copied all my notes to a new page, making them as legible as possible, before burning the old one. I stored everything in the basement under the trapdoor. I had plans to make. I would be taking a vacation shortly; a long overdue vacation.

And yet, as I lay in bed preparing for the evening to come, two thoughts stuck in my mind. What did she mean, the turning had been different, and what would I do about Octavia and her family?
> I didn't want you to come anyway
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My alarm woke me a few hours before nightfall. I say woke, but I didn’t get much sleep anyway, so it was more akin to signalling me that it was time to stop pretending sleep was a thing I might get at all. My frazzled mind had jumped from one thought to the next all night as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Do I leave at nightfall or daybreak? Do I pack light, heavy, or to blend in? Should I wait a few more days to avoid the mass of hunters who would leave tonight, or run with the hoard and see how many go to Ponyville? It would also help me avoid the city searches to leave early, but it carried the risk of being caught as a pony fleeing the city.

Of course, these were all nothing but flies buzzing around as I tried to ignore the real question I was avoiding. My mind kept returning to the one point that I shouldn’t be debating.

Do I tell her, or do I try to slip away from my friend and jailer? Do I run on my own, and risk the temporary isolation, or do I bring the gray mare and risk exposing a large group of innocents to her lust for blood?

Did I want Octavia by my side, or as far away as possible?

The answer, by all accounts, should be to leave her. What did I gain by bringing her along? She’d make it impossible to travel under the safety of the sun, not to mention that if we did find the rest of the ponies, there was no way they’d let her in. She’d be killed, lest she go bring the swarm to massacre the survivors. Or so they’d think. Did I think she’d do that?

Yet, even with no reason bar companionship, I couldn’t forget the wide, unnerving smile she gave me as I stood by her side as she introduced me to her mother. The anger and fear I felt as she lay battered, bruised and beaten at the hooves of that witch would not leave me to rest. Not to mention the fact that she saved my life, even though it was technically her fault that I was in danger in the first place. She walked through the sunlight to get me medicine, and if nothing else, that made us square for the week she ponynapped me and forced me to cut myself for her drinking pleasure.

As the day had progressed, I slowly came to a conclusion I’d been aware of, but didn’t want to admit to myself. I cared for Octavia, too much to simply disappear into the day, without even a simple goodbye. If I was to leave and chase after the rest of my race, the last thing I’d do before leaving the city would be to part ways with my only friend.

With that thought firmly locked in place, I began packing.

As I through my headphones and Vampony hard drugs into a pair of saddlebags (I’d use the drugs for bargaining purposes, and to help prove I was not a pony. I only kept them for show anyway), I tried to formulate a plan. I’d travel at night in the start, until I reached Ponyville at least. I’d probably look for the zebra’s house during the day; it would make searching the forest much easier if I could see where I was going. If I blended with the crowd, I could figure out their plans and have an easier time of avoiding them once I started living the day life.

If it just so happens that this plan opened the possibility of bringing a night dwelling friend along, then that was no more than a coincidence.

I’d be able to collect food on the go. Ponyville was out in the middle of forest land, so there would be plenty of fruit and edible leaves. I’d graze if I had to, but carrying pony food was far too dangerous. If a Vampony found it, I’d have no chance.

Once I found the instructions, I’d figure out the rest of the plan. Hopefully I’d be too far gone for the hunters to be able to find me, even though I had no intention of even giving them the notion that a pony was among them.

I briefly debated taking my light spray. Would it be useful if I got caught, or a hindrance, as it might attract attention and signal that I was a pony who didn’t want to be caught unarmed? They knew at least one was alive, but I decided to risk it anyway and tossed it in with the rest.

As I sorted my way through my house, debating on what was essential, important or replaceable, the sun slowly sunk below the horizon. Dusk was upon us just as I finished packing, leaving me with only a few minutes to write a detailed note.

Finally, it was time. As I stepped out of my sanctuary for the past seven years, I cast one last look back. For better or for worse, I had no intention of ever stepping hoof in my home again. It hurt, and I felt my poker face crack at the thought that I’d never see my turntables again. My music was all saved and packed, but I was still leaving so much behind.

I let out a single, soft sob as I locked, bolted, and enchanted the door. If anything ever tried to open my door, it would set fire to the carpet just inside. The water sprinklers in my house would drench the place, hopefully ruining anything they hoped to pilfer, and washing away any residual pony scent. The rotting fruit I’d left in several rooms would help with that last part.

I felt petty. It wouldn’t do much, if anything at all, but I needed one last show of defiance. The proof that I wasn’t running away, I’d just found a better way forward.

As I trotted to school, projecting a calm façade over my inner turmoil, I remained on high alert. Hordes of Vamponies were amassing left and right. The train station was practically buried under the rush of hunters trying to beat the rest to the hamlets before news of the survivors spread. Guild masters roamed the streets, paying handsomely for any information that might help point them in the right direction, and showing no mercy to any who stood in their way or wasted even a moment of precious time. I saw Vamponies rushing to and fro, trying to assemble some sort of team and haggling over how to split the prize.

As I passed the nearest walking exit to the city, a long, winding pathway that was treacherous at best, I saw that it also held a swarm of Vamponies, some making their way out of the city, presumably to comb the mountain, others checking each Vampony leaving to make sure they weren’t filled with yummy red stuff. Clearly, nopony would be leaving the city unless they managed to fool the mass of hunters.

As the fiends scrambled around me, I kept my ears perked, searching for snippets of conversation that could help me in any way. Anything concrete, like which guilds were going to Ponyville.

“… be searching Manehatten, but the news already made it there. Can you believe it? It’s only been one night since the announcement. I’ll need a new target…”

“… Red Marefia has already left. The whole guild is on the move. Commandeered a whole train to themselves and went after the hick towns to the west. What was that newish one, Apple Loosa?”

“Did you hear? The Dark Maidens got news that the informant was found moving towards Ponyville!”

I stopped, my heart giving an uncomfortable lurch. With as much discretion as I had, I zeroed into that conversation.

“Yeah, she was walking through them whitetail woods or something, kinda ambling about. Running from a town in the other direction I betcha. They think she was either running after her prey, or away from it. Most of the Dark Maidens will be searching both towns, every other settlement nearby, and the whole area in between.”

I stifled a groan, and was reconsidering leaving tonight. I didn’t want to encroach on guild territory; there was no faster way to the grave. I perked back up, however, as his companion replied.

“Didn’t you know? It was a total lie. Half the city heard the same rumour. Apparently some smart mare started it for big money to get the guilds following a wild goose chase. She’s lying dead in a ditch somewhere in the city, and the big boys aren’t happy. I doubt they’ll completely ignore the area, but it probably won’t get much more attention than it would have gotten anyway.”

“Maybe we should go there? What if it wasn’t a lie? And if what you say is true, we know no one will be claiming the territory, so it’ll be fair game for smaller hunts. I bet we can catch a train early tomorrow night, but most of them are being bought up by the big guilds and mafia.”

I started trotting again. Although listening to rumours could be helpful, there was too much misinformation in circulation at this point. Every guild would be trying to slow the others up and get ahead, so my best bet was to play around that by ignoring the rumour mill, although hearing it would still help. Much as I wanted Ponyville to be a safe zone, I knew everywhere would be on high alert, so there was no point in changing my plans unless I was completely certain that a proper guild laid a claim on the area. My current goal was to get out of the city before the searches started, and the best opportunity to do so would be while the populace was more focused on the outside world than the Vamponies within the walls.

I suppose I should be worried about the ponies being found, but it was currently in the backseat of my mind compared to my own self-preservation. Sure, if I made it to them, I could celebrate, but what if they got found out before or after I made it? Then I’d either be back at square one, or dead. Why leave a trail of breadcrumbs to follow, especially if they have no way of telling somepony about the first crumb? No pony would be searching the forest near Ponyville, but the Vamponies had the numbers to scour the whole country if they wanted to, which they would. The Vampony who told me only said to read the scroll they left in the hut in the forest. Perhaps they knew a way to get the message out in a way only ponies would be able to figure out?

I wonder if it was written in code? But how would a pony decipher it using a clue a Vampony couldn’t take advantage of? Maybe I needed to spray it with blood? But the Vamponies would be able to read it afterwards. Not to mention the scent would attract every Vampony for miles around. Maybe it was enchanted, so only ponies could read it. But if they broke the enchantment, would that make it easy for everyone?

Gah! I’d figure it out when I got there. Until that time, I had much more important matters to focus on, namely escaping.

Since my school was just around the corner, I slowed to a stop. What were the odds that another student had figured me out? I doubt Noteworthy was so oblivious as to suspect nothing, but considering he didn’t confront me yesterday, he either lacked courage, which was doubtful, or wasn’t confident in his theory. I’m sure that if he was certain of my pony-ness, he’d attack me with no second thoughts.

What about the rest of my schoolmates? Would one of them try something? My protective magic would hold up against most non-magical means of detection, such as relying on the five senses, but if they had a unicorn scan me intensely with their magic, without giving me a chance to prepare, I’m almost sure I’d be found out. It may take a minute or two, but they’d get me.

No, there was no reason to take any chances staying longer than necessary. I would walk in at the bell, make it to class a minute late or so, hand Octavia the letter, and then leave again. Since I already have all my stuff packed and on my back, I could leave immediately after. The next step would be to get to Canterlot train station and find the Ponyville schedule. If the next train had an open seat, I’d be home free.

After taking a few more deep breaths to calm down and muster my courage, I turned the corner, expecting the worst.

The front yard was deserted. I saw a single stallion gnawing on a T-bone as he looked around with disinterest.

I’d suspected some of the students would skip school to scour the city, maybe even leave town and join the hunt, but the way things were looking, not a single student was attending class! The doors didn’t look like they’d been opened at all tonight.

As I approached, intent on finding Octavia, the lone stallion flicked an ear at me, still seeming bored out of his mind. “School’s closed today prude. Too many teachers didn’t show up, so there’s no reason to have class. Students are free to chase the imaginary bait to their soul’s desire. Go ahead and hippity hop out of here little virgin.”

I glared at him, but my mouth had run dry. How was I going to deliver my letter when its recipient wasn’t at school? I didn’t want to return to the hell hole that was her mother. I’d most likely only cause more trouble for Octavia, and I wanted to part on a high note, not with her angry at my good intentions.

As I began the trek to her mansion, I entertained the idea that she may refuse to let me leave if I gave her the opportunity to stop me. Would she chain me in her room again, nothing but a slave to her appetite? Or would she let me go free? She’d been so aloof since my near death accident that I found it difficult to read her. She’d been so simple to understand before; she was motivated by hunger, that’s it. Now though, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, and how she viewed me.

However, if I left the letter with a servant, then she wouldn’t know about my plan until it was too late! That had been my hope initially; that she wouldn’t be able to read the letter in class, and would have to wait until she was alone.

As I made my way to her house, I remained alert. However, since her house near the town center but before the palace area, the streets were becoming more and more deserted. I could hear the Vamponies at the exits to the city, trying to rush their way out, and in the distance I could see the palace swarming with them. It was eerie; the only ones I passed seemed to have just finished packing and were on their way out, or were passed out from drug abuse.

I hoped that between the flooded exits and the trouble at the palace, the guard would leave the city searches for another day. That was the whole reason I was trying to leave quickly, after all.

As I finally turned onto her street, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark tending to the fence around their property. It seems to have been splintered in all the excitement, and he was dutifully replacing the damaged section.

He scowled as he saw me approach, clearly upset at my blatant disregard for his warning, but I couldn’t care less at the moment. After a brief look around to insure there were no eavesdroppers, I hoofed the letter over to him.

“For her eyes only.” I said. “I’m leaving for the same reason as the rest, but I couldn’t go without a last farewell. Tell her I apologise if I made things with her mother more complicated.”

As I made my way back across town to the train station that would hopefully be my first step on the way to eternal paradise, I felt a mix of satisfaction and remorse. Even though I didn’t want to go alone, I was free. Octavia wasn’t stupid enough to cause a scene in a crowd that was so anal about finding a pony, so even if she managed to catch up to me, there was no way she would drag me back to her house. That was, assuming she managed to sneak away from the witch that was visiting her house.

No, in all likelihood, if she decided to chase after me, she’d have to wait for the next train after mine at best, or until another night at worst. Preferably one a few days away. My letter included a note that I was going to Ponyville, but by the time she caught up, I’d be long gone. I couldn’t decide if that made me feel safe, happy, nervous, or sad.

The train station was finally coming into view. It was still as packed as this morning, but now it seemed to be overflowing with smaller hunting parties as opposed to the massive guilds and mafia that Canterlot played host to. As I watched, a train full to bursting made its way out of the station, heading northwards and towards the crystal empire.

I approached the ticket booths, scanning each one by one and searching for the one marked Ponyville. Many sported long, winding lines that made it difficult to navigate. Oddly enough, however, there wasn’t a single Vampony in line for the Ponyville booth. Maybe I had gotten lucky, and the rumour had been enough to discourage the hunters from assaulting the rural community.

However, as I approached the stallion manning the booth, I saw why there was no line.

“Sorry lady.” He moaned as he pointed to a sign. “Next train is sold out, and the following one isn’t for two hours. We need all the trains we can spare for other places across Equestria. Sucks too, cause the whole train was bought by only one pony. Real bigshot, paid us double standard fare to make sure no one else could board.”

“What?” I sputtered. “Why would anyone buy a whole train just for themselves? Who has that kind of money to throw away? Why not just buy a whole car if you really need that much space?”

I wasn’t completely devastated. Two hours would give Octavia plenty of time to chase me, but only if she planned to come shortly. I doubt she’d even read the letter by now. She was probably under close watch.

My biggest fear at the moment was this so called bigshot. If he or she bought a whole train to themselves, they either had massive amounts of resources, or they were willing to go to extreme lengths to reduce the competition.

The stallion behind the counter shrugged. “Maybe she just likes her privacy? With a mother in her position, she could probably get away with murder.” He paused and shifted backwards nervously. “Why don’t you ask her yourself? She’s right there behind you.”

I forced myself to swallow, even though my mouth was suddenly very dry. A mare who bought an entire train must have power, bits, and a reason. Throw in a mother in a position of power, and there could only be so many options, even in this city.

“Surely, my sweet, you did not plan on leaving me with nothing more than this crummy letter? I thought I had taught you better, Vinyl.”

I felt my breath catch in my throat. “How?” I whispered. I had just given Mark the letter ten minutes ago. How did she not only receive the letter, read it, beat me to the train station and buy an entire train in ten minutes? It simply wasn’t possible.

“Did you assume I would not think my lovely toy was capable of running after the rumours of ponies?” She dropped her voice as she approached me, but I could still feel her cold breath on the back of my neck. “Or were you naïve enough to think I would not chase after my beloved? I has already left my house half an hour ago. I knew you would try and run to the trains. Mark sent me your letter by magic. The twins are currently leading my mother in circles around Canterlot, searching for me. Of course she will not be fooled for long.”

I felt her cheek brush along mine as she placed herself in front of me. “Did you truly think I’d let you go on this silly adventure, my sweet? I have been stalking you since you entered the station.”

Her words hit me like a slap across the face. After all the trust I’d placed in her. All the deliberation between bringing her along. ‘I should have known! She would never let me out of her control if she could prevent it! I’m nothing more than a sack of meat for her enjoyment. I felt my anger begin to bubble over. She was going to stop me from going to Ponyville, even if that meant buying every last train from now until daybreak. She was going to drag me back to her room, and chain me to the bed. She’d make me cut myself again, just to wet her throat.

I reared back and got my hoof ready. If this was to be my last moment of freedom, then I’d make sure I got as much damage in as possible.

“No, I think we will go to Ponyville together. No goodbye for you yet, sweet Vinyl. You will accompany me on this hunt.” She said as she turned away, her tail running along my shoulder and under my chin as I clumsily fell back to all fours.

What?

“What?” I elegantly echoed my thoughts.

“Oh come now, dearest. Did you think I would be against hunting down and devouring the last of a species? You should know nothing would make me happier than to taste such a delicacy with my lover. And of course, it is made all the more satisfying by knowing that I am defying my mother. She expressly forbade me from going on this hunt, you know. She also told me never to speak with you again.” As she spoke, she was leading me towards the turnstiles to the train. Her movements made her fresh bruises glimmer in the faint light cast by the moon. “I will no longer be her plaything, love. I have renounced any ties to that mare. Once my mother becomes suspicious of the twins, Mark will “find” a note of my own, addressed to her. It details my, oh what was the word I used… Ah yes, my decision to elope with a wonderful white coated unicorn mare. So romantic, a honeymoon in Ponyville, chasing down an extinct species.”

My brain felt sluggish. The words Octavia was speaking were getting lost in my ears. We were going to Ponyville? Because we were running from her mother. Because Octavia was getting married to some white coated unicorn mare. White…

Oh.

“Woah. Woah, calm down now there Octavia. When did I agree to this?” If I’d been paying better attention, I might have noticed the furious glare Octavia shot at a guard who’d been hesitantly approaching us. He backed down without a second thought, and no one else tried to stop us as we stepped onto the station. Just a small ways away, a train was approaching. I could only assume it was our ride.

What I did see, however, was a nervous flick of Octavia’s tail. The guards, although still hesitant, were approaching us again. She raised her voice as she continued. “Tell me all the things you plan to do with me, dear. Surely there will be more to this honeymoon than hunting. I am, after all, a very important member of society, and I have high expectations of the treatment I receive from others!”

It was enough. The guard glanced at each other, uncertainty mirrored in each other’s expression. Did they dare approach the newly wed social elite? Before they could make up their mind, the train came to a full stop right before us, and Octavia ushered me onto it, continuing with her loud expression of desire up until the moment the doors closed.

I looked from her to the door, to the guard who were returning to their posts, and back to her. What I received in response to my obvious confusion was an exasperated glare.

“You could have at least pretended to play along, you halfwit. What part of “City wide lockdown” and “escaped ponies” was not absolutely clear to you? We are lucky we got you out alive! I just finished saving you from dying to poison; do not make me regret these burns!” She hissed, slapping me with her tail as she turned away with a huff.

My frazzled brain suddenly kicked back into gear. “Excuse me!? You appear out of thin air, buy an entire train to Ponyville, subtly hint that I won’t be going after the ponies, only to state that the two of us will be going together instead, then start prattling on about how we’re engaged, eloping, and running from your witch of a mother! In WHAT fantasy land are you living in in which something that completely outrageous is able to be translated into “It’s an act, play along”?”

She rolled her eyes. “Marry you? Please, like I would ever even consider the notion.”

“HEY! I will have you know, I’d make an amazing wife! I’m loving, understand, and driven.”

“And thick as porridge.” She snorted. Then she did so again as I gave her a look of utter disbelief. “Well?”

“Well what?” I asked grumpily.

“Thank me! I just got us both out of a fortress. How in Luna’s name did you expect to make is out of Canterlot alone? How did you think you would get past the guard? Security measures have not been this strict since… Actually, I cannot remember a time they were this strict.”

“I woulda got out the same way I’ve avoided the searches my entire life. I learned a play possum spell years ago, one that I’ve been slowly mastering it since the turning. It temporarily stops my heart, but keeps every part of me functioning. Combine it with my disguise and there is nothing to notice. At this level, not even a guard could tell the difference between me and a Vampony, unicorn magic or no.”

Octavia grunted in annoyance. “I seriously doubt that, but I do not want to have an argument over a matter than never came to pass.” She sat down heavily on a serving table. “I have never been so high strung. Between that escape, my mother, and these escaped ponies, I feel ragged.”

I pushed down a pang of empathy. She’d risked both our skins with that stunt outside. After seeing what happened to the last Vampony who helped a pony, it was plenty clear to both of us what the punishment would be if either of us got caught.

“Why are you okay with this?” I asked. “You have no-”

“Nothing to gain? You are right. There is no practical reason for me to chase after the ponies. I can’t rightly eat them with you around, and there is no reason for them to accept me with open hooves. I do not know why I’m helping you get away. It would have been much easier to lock you up in my bedroom again, even with my mother prowling around.” She paused and threw her mane. “But I was not lying earlier. I am sick of that witch and her mistreatment. I have wanted to run away for a long time, but I never had the courage.” She turned and stared at me, and her frown became less pronounced. “Maybe it is not true, but I am trying to convince myself that you are forcing my hoof. I am using you as my excuse to run away from my mother.”

She then reached into her saddle bags. I hadn’t even noticed she’d brought anything. With a lazy wave of her hoof, she showed me the letter I wrote to her. The one that told her I wanted to go to Ponyville to find the other living ponies. The one that said that I hoped she wouldn’t try and stop me.

“Thank you, for trusting me, Vinyl. You were my excuse at first, and you still are, but now, I want to venture to Ponyville with you as my friend. I know we already agreed to it, but… Will you be my friend Vinyl? The one who helped me escape my mother?”
> Death, loss, rebirth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What led you to believe the ponies are in Ponyville?”

Octavia and I were in our train car, chugging along near silently. The Vamponies had spent a lot of time and effort in developing the train network during the years since their ascension to power. Since Vamponies couldn’t be outside during the day, they had managed to automate the entire train system. With nothing but magic and a destination, as well as a priority hub, the entire network of trains could be controlled during both the day and the night. It still took a Vampony to manage the locomotive, but because of the automation, the concept of a crash between two trains was unheard of.

Although the daylight had kick started the upgrade, it was not the only reason better control of the train network was required. A lot more freight shipping of meat had to be done, especially to the metropolitan cities. This prompted the growth of the network itself. It was now much faster to get to and from the major cities of Equestria, due both to the creation of new routes and the improvements that had happened to the locomotives themselves. Unfortunately, because of the priority assigned to big cities, the travel time between rural communities hadn’t improved and in some cases, it even got slower. Add in the massive overload caused by the hunt for the ponies, and the fact that our train only held two passengers, which gave it an exceedingly low priority, and it was no surprise that we wouldn’t be arriving at Ponyville until tomorrow evening.

Although in the past this could have led to problems, the development hadn’t stopped at functionality. Octavia and I were currently resting in one of the most luxurious train cars bits could buy, and it did not disappoint. We each had our own bed, in our own semi-private rooms. They were on opposite ends of the living room we both sat in, and divided by screens. There was also a mini fridge which was stocked full of Vampony delicacies, some of which Octavia had already sampled, as well as some liquor for both of us. Octavia was working her way through a red wine. Red due to the blood, I think, but the grapes might also be red. I was sampling a hickory and ginger black spider monkey cider. Even though it sounds revolting, the name doesn’t nearly cover how abhorrent the beverage actually tastes. I quickly poured myself a glass of water to try and get the taste of spider monkey out of my mouth.

“Who drinks this swill? It’s revolting!” I spat.

Octavia held her hoof out for the bottle, so I passed it to her. She took a sip and shuddered. “Oh, I see what you mean. The ginger kills the beautiful spider monkey finish.”

Gag.

She turned her gaze back to me. “I asked you a question Vinyl. It is not polite to keep a lady waiting. Why Ponyville?”

I still wasn’t sure how much I wanted Octavia to know about my clue. This wasn’t due to a lack of trust per say, more so the fact that I finally held a sort of power over her. It was nice to finally feel like I had some sort of control over my own life. That said, she did help me escape Canterlot, and would be inclined to help me decipher the clue, I decided it would be best to let her in on the secret.

Not to mention that she’d no doubt throw a hissy fit if I chose not to answer or if she found out later that I’d withheld some information.

“Well, I’m sure you remember the so called traitor locked away in the stockades yesterday? The one who helped them escape in the first place?” She nodded and gestured for me to continue. “I approached her during the day, once the sun was out, and got her to tell me what she knew. Unfortunately, she burned away before she could tell me everything, but I think I got most of it.”

Octavia remained silent for a moment, but a tiny twitch of her ear betrayed her impatience. She was completely absorbed by my words, and was waiting for the follow up with baited breath. It was chilling, to say the least; the same look that, two weeks prior, had filled me with dread, now filled me with anticipation and excitement. It spoke volumes for how much our relationship dynamic had changed in the short time we’d known each other. I liked holding Octavia’s undivided attention, so long as her eyes weren’t filled with hunger or lust. I felt powerful.

“Because I returned to see her under the sun, the daylight proved I was a pony. She said she was happy to save another soul, and then gave me both the reason she got caught and the way to find her friends.”

I paused, and tried my best to stifle a grin as Octavia leaned forward slightly. Her eyes betrayed her annoyance, and her ear pinned back. She was clearly used to getting what she wanted, when she wanted it, and having me string her along must’ve been murder to her ego.

“Well? What else did she say Vinyl?”

“Oh, I’m not sure I should tell you. She told me everything in confidence that I wouldn’t go spoiling her secret to her greatest enemy, after all. The teeth are a dead giveaway.”

Her lips pressed together in a razor thin line and I heard a low rumble. “Vinyl…” She growled menacingly.

“Jeeze, calm down, I was just kidding. There’s no need to get all uppity, sweet heart.” I razzed her, making sure to put as much false sincerity into the endearment as possible. She continued to glare, but I was unfazed at this point. If we were gonna be friends, then some friendly banter would occur both ways, not just towards me.

“She told me to go to Ponyville. There’s a forest nearby that hides a clue to their hiding place. Once we get to Ponyville, our first goal should be to find that clue.”

“That is it? Nothing more than “Go search the forest”? We have no chance of finding something with such a vague hint. If we need to search the entire forest, it could take weeks or even months. There is also the fact that the clue would have to be obvious enough to differentiate from generic forest, which makes it impossible to hide.”

“Well, that isn’t the whole hint. There’s a zebra hut somewhere in the forest that she mentioned was related to the clue. I think it must be hidden either inside or around the house, but I don’t know how they would hide it in a way that could make it impossible for a Vampony to find but perfectly easy for a pony.”

I told her about the ideas I’d come up with earlier tonight, but she didn’t seem to be listening. I was getting kinda annoyed, and was about to ask her opinion when I noticed she looked pensive.

“To be honest Vinyl, the solution is obvious enough. In fact, I am amazed you did not mention it. The only logical answer would be to hide the clue in broad daylight, literally. If the clue is only decipherable under the light of the sun, then it would be impossible for a Vampony to decode it. I believe it would be most prudent to make a clue that only appears at high noon, when a Vampony would be ashes within minutes of exposure.

I froze for a moment, as my brain came to the only conclusion it could in this situation, and slammed my head into the couch cushions. “Stupid stupid stupid. How in the name of Celestia did I not think of sunlight? It’s so obvious, even a foal would have thought of it!”

I felt the cushions next to me sag. “That is because you rarely think.” She sniped. “There there dear Vinyl, inferior minds will always turn to those more intelligent than them in times of need.” She patted my head in the gentlest, most condescending way possible. “I suppose I could let you out during the day, if you promise to be a good girl and come back once the sun goes down. No getting lost along the way, okay? I know you will not be able to understand the hint without help in any case, so you will need my help regardless, but I will feel much better if you promise to come straight back.”

She followed up her pats with a patronizing smile, and I couldn’t help but feel relieved that it was miniscule. It was close to her resting face, but with the slightest tug upwards on the left side of her lips. It was odd that her lack of expression would be a source of comfort, but after the large smile she gave me when we confronted her mother, I was just happy to be back on familiar ground. That said, her statement also brought me some comfort. She was worried about me running off and trying to escape without her, and that made me happy because it meant she trusted me enough to let me go out alone, even if I didn’t hold her full trust.

For now though, I had no intention of running off.

“Hey, Octavia? There are a few questions I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Oh, I am quite certain we could fill a book with all the questions you wish to ask me and several more with all the questions that you should ask me, but will more than likely not. Whether because you do not think to ask or because you do not wish to matters little. That said, as we have little to do and an abundance of time, I see no issue with spending time adding to your pool of knowledge. Ask away my delightful snack to be.”

“Trying awfully hard to be as antagonising as possible tonight, ain’tcha?” I sighed when her only response was to shrug and pour herself some more wine. “Whatever, be as snippy as you like, but I want you to take me and my questions seriously. The more I know, the more easily I’ll be able to fit in, and the less likely I am to do or say anything that might get me killed.”

She nodded at me to show me that I held her attention. I took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. I suspected my question would upset her, but I needed to know.

“What happens when you turn?”

Any remnants of a cheerful atmosphere died a horrible, instantaneous death. A haunted look creeped its way into Octavia’s eyes. Her body was stiff as a board, and her teeth clenched so hard that her wine glass exploded in her mouth. She hastily spat out the shards; her Vampony physic took no damage from the glass, even her tongue looked fine. She turned to me, half glaring, half panicked.

“Vinyl, there is a very good reason why this is the greatest taboo in Vampony society. It is completely unspeakable among Vampony circles.”

“I know, and I’m sorry that I want you to talk about it, but I need to know. I need to know what happened to you and every other Vampony during the great turning.”

Octavia looked away, her face a mask of pain and conflict. The turning was not spoken of by civilised folk, and I had always assumed that was due to it either being incredibly painful or deeply personal. I now see that it was the former. My question had bothered her even more than I had anticipated. For a race that could hardly display their emotions, and barely felt them, it was amazing just how easily I was picking up on her distress. Either she was becoming more expressive, or I was learning to read her tells better.

Both options intrigued me.

I still didn’t have a response. Octavia was thinking, which meant she wasn’t sure. Would she end up turning down my request? I hopped not; I needed that information. It was the one most unifying event of the Vampony race.

Suddenly she stared at me, or more specifically, my chest. “A trade. I will tell you everything that happened when I was changed. In exchange, you will let me feed on your blood as we did before you fell ill.” She said, her eyes slowly roaming up and down my neck.

I suddenly felt far too naked. “Hey, keep your eyes on mine, you per- well actually, that’s not the right word. Don’t you be getting any ideas about my heart; it doesn’t belong to you.” I eyed her warily. Was she serious? “Don’t you think oh, I don’t know, maybe right now, with the hunters scouring the world for my kind, is quite possibly the absolute worst time to be cutting me open and exposing my weakness for the entire world to see? All for what, a couple sips of pony blood?”

Honesty, what was she thinking? I’d almost died the last time she decided that she needed to taste the delicious nectar that my body produces. It had taken an entire week to heal those wounds, even with the help of magic and medicine. If she decided to feast on me tonight, we would have less than one full day, and no medicine to help treat my cuts.

As if she could read my mind, she carefully reached into her bags and took out something I hadn’t seen in years. She held it as though it were the most valuable thing in the world, like a mother would hold her first foal. Slowly, she set it on the table before her.

It was a Venipuncture kit. Don’t ask why I know what it’s called.

“Where did you get that?”

“I took it from the hospital during my search for information regarding your illness. I took a great many things that ended up useless, seeing as I was blinded for the duration of my stay. This just so happened to be one of them. I certainly hope you are not complaining; this should be far more comfortable and safe than using a knife and slicing through your ankles, no matter how much more appetising the latter sounds.

“Do you agree to it then? A trade. Your blood in exchange for me reliving the most traumatising days of my life. I know it doesn’t sound fair, I should be asking for so much more, but you are right about needing to know why the great turning is such a taboo. Beyond this though, I hope you did not honestly consider that I would stop lusting after the delicious ambrosia that is your flesh and blood. Even you cannot possibly be short-sighted enough to assume such a thing.”

She carefully began assembling the parts that she would need to draw a small part of my blood. “You should be grateful, you know. I gave you a whole week to recover instead of just outright killing you. I could have eaten you, but instead I chose to save your life. I also left you alone after you had recovered, though my mother may have played a large role in that. Not only did I give you time to recover, but I am not even stealing your blood this time. I offered you a trade. Surely you must realise that this is my way of trying to be fair.

At this point, I had no idea how I felt. To be honest, I had hoped that Octavia had learned her lesson the last time and would have left me alone, at least until we were both in a somewhat stable and safe situation. It was a naïve thought. I was, however, pleased that she was offering me something in return for my blood. It was a step up, even though I personally felt the transaction wasn’t quite as heavily weighted against her as she did.

She did have a point though. Using the needle would be much safer than what had happened last time. Although I was still mildly uncomfortable with her drawing my blood, I knew that I could only expect to go so long before she’d demand I indulge her again. Hopefully we could iron out a schedule of some sort later.

“Alright, fine, I accept your deal. It’s conditional acceptance though; condition being that you remain completely in control throughout the entire procedure. I swear, you had better not make me regret this Octavia.”

I heard her grunt in contempt. “Please, do not insult me. I have been in near perfect control of myself in your presence since the day you fell ill.” Her voice took on a distinctly melancholic tone. “I will tell you my story before we begin; I do not want to have the absolute euphoria that is drinking your blood tainted by memories of that horrid day.

“I was just a filly when it happened, but you already knew that. It is hard to remember, both because of the fearful nature of the event, but also due to the turning itself. When a pony turns, when they are infected by Vampony venom, they lose massive chunks of their memory. Very few things survive, and what does seems to be chosen almost entirely at random. I remember one night where I fell asleep with my teddy bear. That is it, there was no special meaning to that memory, but I treasure it, since it is one of the few memories I have of my foalhood. But the night of the turning itself is always a vivid memory, and it can be warped if the Vampony turning you knows how.”

“It started at night, as I am sure you can imagine. Twas the night the outer barrier broke. My mother and father would have returned from helping to maintain the city’s defenses. Everypony was required to participate in shifts. I cannot remember most of the night; the turning stole every memory I had of the events before I slept that night. What I do remember is waking up with my parents and my sister. They slept with us to keep us safe from nightmares, and to protect us should anything happen. Well, that night, something happened.”

*******

Octavia was snuggled in between her mother and father, and her sister was snuggled up next to her. It was nice, sleeping as a family, but she wanted to get something from her bedroom. She had forgotten to bring… something. It was hard to remember.

As Octavia slept, the sound of a deadbolt being unlocked, a door being opened, and a lock being reset could be heard from the center floor. Nopony stirred in the small house. Then a soft thump, the sound of toys being knocked over, reached her ears.

Octavia woke up, her eyes bleary from sleep, and looked around. Had she heard a noise? She listened, but didn’t hear anything now. Maybe it was a dream. She wanted to go back to bed, but daddy had said that if she thought she heard sounds at night, she was to wake him immediately.

Octavia rubbed her little hooves on her daddy’s face. “Daddy, wake up, I heard a sound.” She said.

It was a testimony to how dangerous times had become that her father woke at once. “Don’t worry sweetie, daddy will take care of it. Go back to sleep with mommy, okay?” He gently nuzzled her head and turned to his wife, who had also woken at this point. He gave her a nod and she gently held Octavia close. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes.

Her father got out of bed slowly, walking to the door. Octavia turned to her mommy just in time to miss seeing him pick up an ax with his mouth. Her mommy gently stroked her mane, telling her to sleep as tears poured down her face, unseen by anypony. She hugged both her daughters gently, as if knowing this would be the last time she saw them alive.

It all happened so fast, Octavia couldn’t remember anything other than the highlights. One moment, she had been close to falling asleep, snuggling with her mommy and sister, the next she was on the floor, completely paralysed and struggling to breathe. Her body was frozen, unable to run, stand, or scream as a traumatising scene played out in front of her.

Mommy was lying against the closet, swirls in her eyes as she tried to remain conscious. The closet door had broken when she hit it, and her legs were caught in the hole she’d created. Sister was still asleep, her head glowing. Somepony was casting magic on her. Between the two, daddy laid face down on the floor, a small amount of red liquid pooling around his hind legs. He didn’t respond when mommy called his name. Sister didn’t respond either. Then mommy looked at Octavia and called out. Octavia tried as hard as she could, but she couldn’t make a sound, couldn’t wave a hoof. All she could do was look at mommy and see tears run down her face.

Mommy looked away from Octavia, behind her, and her face turned angry. “What did you do to my daughters!?” She wheezed. Her words were slurred and her breathing was laboured.

A hoof crunched down in front of Octavia. “Celestia be damned, I panicked and bit the older one. She might end up remembering tonight wrong. Stupid brat, why did you wake up? Why could you not stay asleep like your sister?” Octavia felt something crunch against her back, but her body was too numb to feel anything other than a mild sting. Mommy tried to yell something at the intruder, but ended up only coughing out red stuff.

“Oh well, I guess I will just cut my losses. You will probably end up okay in the new world, and even if you do not submit, it matters little. My son will return to me, and then my legacy will be secure.”

A mare stepped over Octavia, taking her time as she walked over to Octavia’s sister. Mommy’s coughing was getting worse, but she tried to crawl her way over to Octavia. The door held her hind legs firmly in place, and she only succeeded in flopping over. She looked up, her eyes filled with pain. Pain and loss.

The intruder carefully combed over Octavia’s sister as she licked her lips. She leaned down and gently clamped down on the foals throat, making sure to suck up every drop of blood she could get before her venom sealed the wound, leaving Octavia’s sister in stasis. A Vampony would notice that she now held the same scent as the intruder, marking her as a cocoon, soon to be reborn as a member of the night.

The sleep spell vanished from the foal’s head, and the intruder took a moment to recast the spell, this time on Octavia’s father. “He will need to sleep. A few hours from now, his memories will consist of nothing but dreams and fragmented pieces of his past.” She turned to mommy and gave a bark of vicious, unpleasant laughter. It sent a chill up Octavia’s spine, unless that was the venom coursing through her veins.

“He will never remember his first wife. Say one last goodbye to your family, my dear. This is the last you will ever see of them, and they you, but worry not; I will take good care of my new husband and daughters.”

Octavia tried to look away, tried to close her eyes, tried everything to turn her attention away from her mommy. In the end though, she was forced to lay and watch, watch the intruder devour the most important pony in Octavia’s life. Her mommy was ripped apart, piece by piece, by a murderous Vampony with a horrible smirk.

*********

Octavia was shuddering, her anger almost palpable. It was weird to see her so angry; I hadn’t seen a Vampony this angry ever.

“That vile, cruel, horrible bitch! She turned the three of us and then tried to convince us that she had been our mother all along! She tried to replace my mother after eating her in front of me!”

I balked. “And your father and sister believed that? How in Equestria? Why didn’t you tell them the truth?”

She turned on me, rage in her eyes. “Have you not been listening at all, Vinyl? Has everything I said just bounced off your thick skull? When a Vampony turns a pony, they get control over that pony. My current mother made sure neither my father nor my sister woke during their turning, and because of that, when they did wake, they had almost no memory of their past life at all. She told us all that she was our real mother. I wanted to speak up, I wanted to tell the truth, but when you are converted, the converter gets some measure of control over you. She forbade me from speaking to my family, and I had to obey until her control disappeared. By the next week, when I could finally speak again, it was too late to convince them otherwise. My father thinks my memories are wrong, and my sister labeled me a liar. We never got along since that day. I would be far more upset, but I cannot remember much of my sister before we turned on one other. As it is, I am merely sad because I lost my family.

“There is more. My story is not the only story of darkness. The turning is a time where a pony is at their most vulnerable. You could be attacked at any moment, and since you are completely paralysed, you cannot fight back. You are surrounded by monsters who want your blood, as you are now. But you cannot fight back; you can only sit there, completely at their mercy, as you watch them tear your friends and family limb from limb, hoping they will not come for you.

“And, as if those are not reason enough to resent the turning, when you first wake up as a Vampony, you are utterly consumed by hunger. You will slaughter everything in your vicinity in search for food. I have heard horror stories of husbands and wives killing their significant other, and the victor got the spoils, which was feeding on their child. Others watch their entourage die, then are forced by bloodlust to go and continue feeding, forcing others to experience the same horrors they just experienced.

“That is why it is a taboo, a horrible sin, to speak of the turning. Do not ever bring it up again.”

I nodded.

********

After her rant, Octavia had retreated to her room. Although it was primarily a bed behind a curtain, I still tried to give her some privacy. I could hardly blame her for wanting to be alone; I’d be upset too if I had to relive watching my mother die before my eyes. After listening to her, I had a new appreciation for just how horrible the turning was.

In fact, I realised that it was possible that the entire turning was just a giant accident. One pony turns, is hungry, goes to eat another family, and accidentally converts a few members of that family. Repeat until the whole world is lost.

Of course, I in no way believed that. The Vamponies had been organised, decisive. There was no way everything had been an accident. That said, it was nice to think that maybe not all the Vamponies had only wanted to kill and eat. Maybe some of them had just been forced into it by their bodies.

Regardless of the why and how, it was in the past. There was no real gain to be had by dwelling on what couldn’t be changed. As I rested on my bed, waiting for my emotionally uninvested roommate to show up, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander. I thought about taking out my music, but decided against it; I didn’t want her sneaking up on me with that needle.

I saw a hoof brush against my curtains. “Feeling better Octavia?”

“I know not what you mean. Come, I still have to collect my prize.”

I sighed. I was hoping she’d take a bit more time before coming to collect but I suppose the sooner we got it over with, the better. I’d need every second I could get, even if it was just the releasing of a tiny hole. I stepped out into the common room to see Octavia on the couch, and her eyes roamed gently up and down my naked body. It was a bit off putting, and yet oddly flattering.

“Before we begin, are there any tamer questions you would ask of me? I am not opposed to answering your questions, I only wish for payment for the more difficult ones.

I thought for a second. “Alright, in that case, feel free to choose not to answer, if you don’t want to talk about what I ask.” She nodded, and I took a deep breath. “Do you ever miss being alive? Being a living, blood pumping pony?”

She merely shook her head. “I had expected this to come up at some point. The short answer is no, I do not miss it. I miss my mother, who I lost because of the turning. I miss my family, who I lost because of the bitch who replaced my mother. But I do not miss being a pony. It is very difficult for me to tie a parallel between being a pony or Vampony. Perhaps you will understand if I explain the situation.

“I am a Vampony as of this moment. I have lost most of my memories of my time as a pony. Because of this, even though I know I enjoyed my life as a pony, I also know that I enjoy… most of my life as a Vampony. The only major change, my new mother, this is not a change that was brought about because of the change I made. What I mean to say is, if my mother had changed alongside my father, sister and I, then our lives would have been just as pleasant as they had been while we were all ponies. There is no reason to believe otherwise.

“Because of this, while you see monsters in my race, we do not. I think a good view would be to substitute being a Vampony for being a griffon. To you, I am a monster. This is both reasonable and expected. But to a mouse, or other small animal, a griffon is also a monster. And yet we do not call griffons monsters, because they do not hunt ponies. This is the fundamental difference; to me, pony or Vampony, it is the same thing. To you, it is the difference between normal and monster.

“There are other advantages to being a Vampony, such as the massive sex drive. There is no taboo about sex in this community, and although I have forgotten much about my time alive, I distinctly remember that sex was treated as the greatest taboo in existence. Sex is also very pleasurable to me and has been so since the day I first experienced it. My love for it has not waned in the slightest. I also have servants, and I love the life of luxury. The only real downside to my new life is my family, but this is not a pain every Vampony shares.

“So, to answer your question, I see no reason to desire the life you now live. My time as a Vampony has been just as good as the few moments of my life as a pony that I can remember.

“Not to mention, once Vampony foals start being born, they will not remember the days when ponies ruled Equestria. To them being a Vampony will be all they have ever known. They will most likely not even question their situation, so why should I question mine?”

Suddenly, she patted my head and looked me in the eyes. “Why did you cling so stubbornly to life? If you had changed with the rest of us, you would not need to live in fear. You would be able to join the orgies and feast on meat as we do.” She opened her mouth and showed off her fangs to me. “If I offered to convert you, to bring you truly into our world, would you accept? If I promised not kill you during the change, not to eat you while you were helpless, would you leave your fear and isolation behind?”

My first instinct was to shout that no, I would never join the ranks of the monsters who’d killed my kind. And yes, she had a point. They were just a different form of pony. I would be safer as one of them. What was the advantage to being a pony in a world filled with nothing but predators? I got to keep my memories, but was that enough to justify living each day in fear? From her first hoof account, I wouldn’t even be able to notice a difference.

She must have taken some form of pity on me, because she patted my head again. “Do not think too hard about it, my tasty friend. You shall burn your poor little brain out. Seeing as you lack the ability to make the change of your own volition, it would be better to let this train of thought fly away. I shall not be the one to convert you, after all. Not when I consider your friendship to be so delicious. I mean nutritious. I mean you are a good friend for letting me feed on you.”

“Hey, what’s with all the insults tonight?” I asked, a little miffed. “I managed to live for eight years on my own; I think that’s proof enough that I have at least some measure of intelligence.”

“Yes yes, this is how I tease my friends. You are my friend, are you not, Vinyl?” She gave me one of her micro teasing smiles. “Is there any other question you would ask of me? I am becoming impatient.”

I thought quickly. I wasn’t quite ready to get fed on yet. I don’t think I’d ever be truly ready for that. “You mentioned Vampony foals while you tried to explain the difference? Why haven’t I seen any? For a race that’s as horny as yours is, I’m amazed that we’re not swarmed by the little monsters at this point. I know there must be some form of birth control going around, but I’ve never seen any.”

Octavia snorted. “This will be your last question. We can speak after if you have more; we will not reach Ponyville until tomorrow evening at the earliest.”

“To answer your question, both female and male Vamponies have complete control over their reproductive organs. Males do not shoot seed every time they orgasm, only when they choose to. Females can only produce an egg under certain conditions, and even then it requires a lot of conscious effort. Because of these two factors, our race is completely immune to unwanted pregnancies. There are probably some Vampony parents, but I must admit, our race sometimes struggles to match partners together for life. This is the most likely reason that the birth rates are so low at the moment. No Vampony wants to be a single mother.”

“Wow. That’s so convenient. I wish I could control my heat cycle-”

“Oh, do not be confused, we still have heat cycles. Heat cycles are amazing. If you think my current sex drive is overwhelming, you have yet to see me in a heat cycle. We can only produce an egg during a heat cycle. It is one of the conditions that must be met. Luckily, we do not need to produce one. We get all of the males and orgasms with none of the unwanted foals.

“Now, I have been very patient, and I think you would agree that I have more than earned my reward at this point. Lay back dinner, I have come to feast.”


> Satiated
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat on the couch, nervously rubbing my forehooves together as Octavia cleaned and sterilised the needle. She was being overly thorough, which pleased me more than I cared to admit after the bleach induced coma of our last attempt. She was also being very cautious and moving very slowly. I knew that if she so much as pricked herself too hard, the wound could be fatal. Her ichor would spill out faster than her body could heal.

As much as I trusted Octavia, the same sense of apprehension and fear was roaring through my mind. She’d proven that she could control herself around my blood, that much was certain, but even a moment's slip, a single instant, and I would be dead before I could so much as scream. There would always be a chance, and I very much doubted I would ever truly conquer my fears, but she’d proven herself once.

As if that wasn’t enough of an issue, I wasn’t a particularly big fan of needles either. That discomfort was compounded when I realised she had no training and no previous experience to work with. In fact, I suspected she hadn’t even known what a needle was before she found this one. What if she pushed too hard and hit bone? A major organ? What if this needle was too old and broke inside of me? What if that entered my heart? Would I die of internal bleeding?

As I went through my completely reasonable and acceptable panic attack, Octavia finished cleaning the needle itself and began reading up on how to properly insert the vial made to hold the extracted blood. Luckily for me, one of the books she brought back from the hospital had been a book about medical practices, and it included a section on needle use and maintenance. Why is that lucky if I’m scared of needles? Because I know she’d use it, book or not, and thus I felt much more comfortable since we had some sort of instructions.

The model we had was one I remember using before the great turning. It would pull out a small amount and drop it in the littles tubes that were pushed onto the back. According to the book it would only take a few seconds for each one.

She finally slotted it in and turned back to the book, reading whatever came next. As much as I wanted to throw the needle across the room, I would much rather have it prick my skin than take a knife to myself again instead. I read over her shoulder and saw that apparently there are eight ideal locations on the pony body for taking blood, and all of them are on our legs. I couldn’t help but feel relieved; if we rotated the point of entry, I probably wouldn’t take any permanent skin damage, and it would be much easier to hide the tiny hole. Or so I hoped anyway. If we drew blood once a week, would that be enough time to heal? Was that too often? I suppose it’d depend on the amount she’d take. Maybe we would find the answer in one of the other books Octavia managed to steal from the hospital.

“Okay Vinyl, the needle is sterilized and safe to use. The book tells me to clean the point of entry before I insert it. Please give me your left forehoof and try to relax. I will make sure to do this as safely and reasonably as possible.”

I hoofed it over as calmly as I could, but I think she realised I was still very uncomfortable. She brought my hoof to her snoot, carefully sniffing out a vein. I remember doctors used to make the veins glow bright blue to make the insertion easier, but the spell was ridiculously complicated. Most spells that deal with internal organs tend to be.

“Mhm, you smell delicious.” She murmured as her free hoof carefully turned and twisted my leg before gently pushing down, trying to pinch a vein. Eventually, she huffed and started licking my knee joint.

“That is definitely not how you clean the skin before you put the needle in!” I snapped, trying to jerk my leg away. She held it effortlessly, of course.

“I am aware of that, Vinyl. I am searching for the juiciest and, more importantly, the largest vein. It will be the easiest to prick. Please sit still and refrain from breaking my concentration. I know you are uncomfortable but I am trying to enjoy this moment.”

She continued licking my leg, slowly making her way up towards my chest. I felt my heartbeat pick up, and Octavia smiled victoriously. She gently wrapped her lips around my leg, sucking at the skin before biting down gently. I felt her fangs touch down, but they didn’t break the skin. She continued to lick up and down my leg as her eyes lifted to mine.

“Do you see now? I am in control of myself. You smell amazing, like the world’s best five course restaurant. I have missed this smell. It was tainted when you fell ill, like a diseased stag. I would still have eaten you if you died but your flesh would have been bitter, I think. Now though, I ache to taste your blood once more.”

She continued up my leg until her fangs brushed my shoulder, licking all the way, and my heartbeat continued to rise with her. Through the nervousness, I felt a spark of curiosity. She didn’t do this last time. What was her game? Was she really just finding a vein, or was there something else going on. My face was getting warm as she gently licked around my shoulder, until she reached the pit between my leg and body. I shuddered a bit, thinking about the sweat that had to be there. She slowly pulled her teeth through my fur, as if savouring the moisture she found there.

Then I heard her moan.

What the hell, is she getting off to this? We had officially dove into the weird pool.

“Um, Oc-”

She hummed, deep in her throat, and then jumped up at my face, holding me close and crushing her lips into my neck. I held still as I felt her suckle at my jugular, her whole body twitching. I felt myself panic, and my heartbeat shot into overdrive, which only made her cling harder. She nipped at my jaw, and I gasped as her fangs scratched along the surface of my skin, never once coming close to breaking through, but pinching in a way that almost made me sad when she pulled away with a small grin.

“Control. I have always enjoyed being in control. You will let me control you, will you not, my sweet musician?”

She gently nuzzled my neck before slowly licking her way back down my chest, towards my leg. She’d occasionally nip at my skin, never quite hurting me, and I felt a second shudder that had absolutely nothing to do with fear or disgust scuttle through me. My heart was still raging, beating out of control, and my breathing was suddenly laboured.

Then she stopped and pressed her ear up against my chest, and I heard a Vampony squee for the first time. “I can hear it. It beats for you, and it beats for me. It is so loud, like a drum.” She rubbed her face across my chest, never once breaking contact between her ear and my fur. Her breathing was husky and heavy. The air around us was perfumed with the scent of excitement and a very small hint of arousal swimming about.

Although I was still very nervous and confused, I couldn’t deny that I felt a small twinge of excitement as well. The nibbles felt good, pleasing, and they made my skin crawl in a very nice way. Having her body so close to mine, chilly though it was, felt right. It felt like something I had been missing for a very long time.

It was the sort of thing I thought lovers might do. Not just a one night stand, a quick romp and then a parting, but true lovers.

And at that moment I realised that as much as I had craved social interaction in the years after the turning, what I had truly desired was the loving touch of another. The touch of a friend, or a parent, or a partner. So as Octavia pressed her head to my chest, I gently lowered mine to her neck in a hug filled with the tender care for another that I had yearned for since I lost my family.

I don’t know if she felt the force of my emotion in that moment but for just an instant, she paused, and we stood together. I felt my heart begin to calm down at last as Octavia moved back to my leg, carefully listening at my knee joint. She pulled away a moment later before looking into my eyes; hers were filled with desire and hunger, but also with appreciation.

“So, are you satisfied that I have the ability to control myself yet? With the delicious aroma of your blood and the taste of your body, the temptation was there. And yet you remain uninjured.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I never said I didn’t trust you.”

She just gave me a flat look. “Quite. Lie down.” She said as she pushed me to my back before grabbing a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball. She cleaned my joint, being quite thorough and removing all of her spit and any other impurities, before picking up the needle and carefully pressing it up against where I assume she found the vein. The receptacle in the back was currently filled with a vial made for holding the blood, and she assured me that it would only flow since she’d secured one in place. It should stop as soon as she removed the first, although that meant she wanted more than one…

I took a deep breath and looked away from the needle, instead watching her face which was rapt with concentration. Hopefully it was concentrated on inserting the needle properly and not on what would happen after we finished that step. I felt the prick a moment later, and I saw her gaze change from concentrated to hungry. Her breathing picked up again, until I was almost scared she would start hyperventilating. It must be hard, seeing the most defining feature of your existence inches away and not being able to reach it. Much as I wanted to continue trusting her, the disturbing smile on her face and the manic look in her eyes, coupled with her very iffy control from earlier, was making me worried. I think she was fighting a mental battle to keep herself under control and as my blood leaked out, so too did her desire to fight leak out of her mind.

And yet, the first vial was filled and replaced with a second, there was no sudden fangs at my throat, knee, face or any other body part. I had originally suggested we just start with one dose, to see how it would affect me. She suggested we attach a tube to the needle and let her suck my blood out until I told her to stop. I tactfully reminded her that if we did that, there was no way she would listen, and she then asserted we’d do three vials. I caved because I’d remembered that as a foal they’d take three or four of them for testing. I doubt she’d be satisfied with only three vials, and as if reading my mind, she glanced back at her bag, which held a dozen more but was thankfully on her bed across the room.

She slowly calmed down as the second one filled, her deranged smile turning into the tiny one I was much more familiar with. It seemed hunger, although not really an emotion, sparked much more pronounced facial changes than actual emotions did. She swapped the third vial in and it looked like she was happy, plain and simple.

Finally, all three vials were filled. She carefully set the three of them in an ashtray, to stop them from rolling around on the table, and gently pulled the IV out. I hissed in pain as she shoved a cotton ball in its place and applied far too much pressure.

“I cannot allow even a drop to go to waste, my dear. Even though a very small amount will leak out here. Press down for me, I wish to focus on more important matters.” She said, pulling my free hoof over and pushing it down on the cotton ball.

I did so. It hurt, and my knee hurt, but it didn’t feel as though the needle had broken or that I had any damage because of what we’d done. I breathed a sigh, feeling relieved and a little light headed, probably a mix between the blood loss and the heavy scent of excitement and arousal in the air. The little control she did seem to have was slowly vanishing as her hunger and horninees reasserted themselves. Octavia must have been turned on by the blood, which didn’t help with my nerves at all. That or missing her sex toys was affecting her. In either case, her scent was flooding the room. It was completely overpowering and I felt my body begin to heat up as well. After all, an aroused mare attracts aroused stallions, which means the other mares in the area become targets as well. The herd instinct is very hard to resist.

I felt lethargic as my hoof floated down to my legs. The cotton ball fell away, but the blood had already clotted. I gently felt around my mare bits, not terribly enthusiastically, more like I was going through the motions because it was expected of me. I wasn’t usually one for a slow, relaxed pace, but tonight the pressure was off. I turned my gaze instead to Octavia, hoping she’d be in a relaxed mood, maybe even willing to help out. My mind stumbled as I thought of that, but not enough to break the trance I was in.

She looked much more vibrant right then, as if she’d brushed her coat and mane. Her gaze was not locked with mine, as I’d somewhat expected it would be, but instead she was focused on the vials on the table before her. Hunger and excitement shone in her eyes, and she took one as gently as a mother holding her foal. Her lips broke into a fang filled smile as she popped the cap off and breathed in deeply, savoring the coppery smell of blood.

My addled mind locked onto the fangs and started shooting warnings left and right. My fight or flight reflexes fought to take control, and within moments my head was cleared of its lusty haze, instead replaced by panic. I felt the need to run, to escape from the clear predator. My instincts were on overdrive because of the lust. I carefully began scooting backwards, away from Octavia, until I bumped up against the edge of the couch. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins, and I suddenly remembered exactly why I had left my guard up as Octavia’s head snapped around to my retreating form.

Instead of freezing and appealing to her docile side, I decided to jump off the couch, towards the door. This was stupid for three reasons. For one, even if I made it to the door, it was night out, and therefore Octavia could effortlessly hunt me down. Two, we were in a moving train, and jumping from the door had a fairly good chance of killing me. And three, one and two would never happen, because Octavia grabbed me in an instant and pinned me against the ground.

For just a second, I saw her neck tense, as if she was going to lunge for my neck. Instead, she shook her head and glared at me. “Do not” She hissed “try and get away right now. Do you even realise what frame of mind I am in? I am in control, but only barely. Should you try anything cute, I will not be able to approach your actions in a calm, reasonable manner. So sit down, shut up and allow me to savour this moment in peace.”

My fervent nodding got her to ease up on the glare. Then, her eyes lit up, and I knew she’d had an idea. An idea spawned by my actions. An idea invented by the mind of a Vampony who was sexually deprived (can one day really do this much?), hungry and blood drunk. I immediately decided I wanted no part in this idea.

“I won’t try to leave, I promise! I’ll be good. Whatever idea you just thought of can-”

She slapped one of her hind hooves across my lips, her lusty, maniac grin returning. “You seem tense, dear. What is the matter? We are on our honeymoon, after all. I know your education was spotty, but surely you are aware of what a honeymoon entails for a newlywed couple, are you not?”

I was panting again. She wanted to have sex, with me? Here? Now? In a train with, well actually the soundproofing was impeccable, and the smell would never reach the front cabin since both parts of the train were disconnected. If it could, I would never have let her take my blood. But there was no way she’d be able to resist biting me if she was already barely in control. We’d talked about this ages ago. I shook my head frantically, but she pressed on.

“Hush now with your refusal. You have avoided sex out of fear of death, not a lack of desire to participate. There is no need to worry; I can control myself. Have I not proven it to you already? I am much stronger willed than I was at our first meeting, and I will go slowly. Come, lay on the couch, on your back. And for the sake of your life, do not make me spill a drop of this succulent meal. I will be very displeased should that come to pass.”

I didn’t move from my spot on the floor.

She bared her fangs, but then instantly hid them. My eyes widened in surprise as she took a deep breath before turning back to me with a small frown.

“Vinyl, I will not hurt you. Your current goal is to find the coven of hidden ponies that still lives in this world. MY current goal is to make sure that the two of us escape the rest of the world that is searching for the same ponies, plus you. Both our goals will be much easier to accomplish if you no longer smell of virginity. In the past, it was a sign of an unusual Vampony who disliked sex. Not very believable but for whatever reason, no one acted on it. Now, it will be clear as day that you might be a pony, and someone will check. I want sex and drink. You have wanted sex for years but could not have it. This may not be the way you dreamed of losing your virginity, but I am a very skilled sexual fiend who will do my absolute best to make this first time pleasurable. I am in control of myself.”

I felt conflicted. On the one hoof, I had always wanted to have sex. Anyone who lived in a world like mine would want it. Granted, I’d never imagined having sex with a mare, a Vampony or on a train, but at this point two of those concerns were unrealistic. The problem was with Octavia’s mind. Could she control herself?

However, she had a point. If I went to Ponyville smelling like a virgin, I would be suspicious. With the knowledge that a pony is still alive, I had to do as much as possible to fit in, and that meant dropping that scent.

Octavia removed herself from me, instead securing a coffee table near the couch and placing her meal on it. I sat on one end, as far from her as possible, anticipation keeping my heart rate elevated. Was this really going to happen?

Octavia didn’t come straight for me as I sat down, but instead carefully lifted a vial of my blood to her lips. She inhaled deeply as her eyes met mine, before sipping delicately. She moaned out softly, but didn’t break eye contact. She calmly nodded at me, and I felt slightly reassured. Maybe she could do this? Maybe I could?

Since now was apparently the moment for epiphanies, my mind reminded me that what was about to happen was very homosexual. Did it make me a fillyfooler? The fact that she was female had brought about no hesitance, and my resistance had crumbled in seconds. Was I simply scared into this, or perhaps it was merely a matter of convenience and requirement? No, I think I might be gay. Or at least bisexual. Was that a problem? After all, in this new world, everypony is bi, and this my only real shot at a sex life. And oh boy, she sure got a bunch closer.

Octavia gently pushed me onto my back, and I swallowed nervously. What would we do first? Would we share passionate kisses? To be honest, tasting my own blood wasn’t much of a turn on. Caress each other with hooves, or cuddle close? Somehow that didn’t seem like the Vampony style. Would it be romantic at all, purely lust? What kind of lover would Octavia be?

Did this mean she felt something for me? Probably not; Vamponies don’t see sex the way ponies see it. They do it with friends and strangers, after all.

I expected her to dive right in, if I’m honest. I bet she’d expect me to keep up. Would I be good enough? How much of her was I going to have to touch? Did I want to touch her? Holy Celestia, this is really nerve wracking. Maybe I should just ask?

As I opened my lips, I felt her silky smooth fur glide through mine. Her body rubbed against me as she brought her lips up to my ears. “You are thinking far too hard about this, dear. We are only going to rut, not be wed. Calm down and try to enjoy the ordeal.”

She kept sipping at her glass (when did she get a glass?) of blood as she slowly withdrew. “Seeing as you have yet to experience any sexual intimacy, I believe I will guide your first time. Now, as much as I am certain you want satisfaction, I do not believe you will last beyond one orgasm. As such, I hope you do not mind servicing me first; if nothing else, the more you please me, the less virgin you will smell.”

With no hesitation, she sat her full earth pony weight down on my chest, making me grunt. “That said, the orgasm I give you as repayment will most likely be far better than the small ones you are about to give me. Does that sound fair?” I didn’t know whether to feel grateful or insulted at her teasing bedroom eyes.

She used her free hoof to push my head flat on the couch and began sliding forward, teasingly slowly. I felt my breath catch as I realised what we’d be doing first. My mind blanked. She really was expecting me to sink or swim. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too disappointed.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as she slid her funhole up my chest. Due to the way she was moving, I couldn’t see anything, but I could certainly feel the wet spot she left behind cool unpleasantly. She bumped her crotch against my chin and, instead of dropping herself on my face, stopped dead.

I raised my head. Right before my muzzle, I could just barely spot two tiny teats. They sat nestled in her fur, which made me wonder if they produced milk or blood for baby Vamponies. I tried to glance further down and spot my eventual prize, but she was pressed firmly against my throat.

“Since it is your first time, I will start you off small. I am no fan of going slow in sex, but I doubt you want to start by exploring my sn-”

“OKAY! I know, I get it, I don’t need the reminder, thank you!” I interrupted as loudly as I could with an earth pony on my windpipe.

Octavia hunched down over me in a surprising display of flexibility. “Surely some dirty talk does not make you uncomfortable?” She said teasingly. When I grimaced, she blinked and pressed her lips together in a thin line. “You were not this prudish when you masturbated in front of me. What changed?”

“Me touching me and me licking you are two very different activities.”

She sighed heavily and leaned back, hopefully unintentionally making it even harder to breath. I heard her mutter something that sounded alarmingly like rape. “Luna help me, fine! I will somehow find it in me to go even slower!”

She rolled off of me and scooted back to the far side of the couch, somehow still holding her first glass of blood. I took this as a sign that I could move freely again and sat up as well, rubbing at the now wet spot on my neck and taking deep breaths. Her horny gaze was locked on me, and she looked frustrated as she took another sip.

I tried to speak, but found myself at a loss for words. What could I possibly say right now? Thank you for backing off? Sorry I’m such a loser?

Octavia’s eyes roamed over to my cutie mark, probably looking for something else. I felt my tail clamp down instinctively, but I forced it up and away a moment later. My virginity would get me killed; I needed it to disappear. Besides, Octavia was a great Vampony mare, kinda. She’d do me good.

I took another deep breath. I needed to get into this. If I managed to get aroused enough, I’m sure my hesitation would vanish. Even though it looked like coercion, Octavia was doing me a favor. She was forcing herself to act against her nature, and she was trying to rein herself in me; all to save my life.

She tried to give me a look of sympathy, but somehow it only came off as pity. “How can I make this more comfortable for you Vinyl? Would it be preferable to you if I pleased you first? That way you may have something to go off so you can please me back. Or would you be most comfortable starting with your hooves? You have practice with them, even if only on yourself. Although I cannot comprehend your apprehension, I can do what is in my power to make this a better experience for you. Just tell me what you can, and we will work with that.”

I sighed and shook my head. “I’m just nervous. Worried. I know you can do this and I know it needs to happen but I just…”

She tried to conceal it, but I knew Octavia was getting impatient. “Listen, it would take months of sex to get you to smell like one of us. The more effort you and I put into this, the more your scent will be sullied by mine, and since mine is already a mix of many others, it will help you more than you can imagine. The only comparison I can make would be taking a dozen vanilla scented candles and then surrounding them with every other scent you can think of. It will still smell mostly of vanilla, but the others will mingle in as well. And the invest we are the more other candles are added.”

“I know…”

She waved a hoof at my bed. “Maybe that will help set the tone. I would offer mine but if I have to smell you while I sleep through the day it will not help my self-control.”

She flopped down in a way that I realise in hindsight was made to reveal as much as possible, and that’d she’d probably practised hundreds of times considering how perfectly it was executed. Her upper body was draped along the bed, with her rear hooves planted firmly on the floor, tail off to the side and eyes staring back into mine. I averted my eyes, instead focusing on the vials she’s transferred to my daystand. Unfortunately, she was having none of it. “Start by looking, Vinyl. Take it all in; try to focus on arousing thoughts. Imagine this being a threesome if you are so desperate for some normality. We are working together to arouse a stallion who enjoys lesbianism.”

Well, if I were a stallion, I’m sure just seeing that ass would be enough to get me in the mood. I’ve seen Octavia’s rear before, quite a bit actually, but now that I was being told to focus on it, I couldn’t help but appreciate it. Her entire body was toned, probably through sex and music, if that orchestra room she had at her house was anything to go by. Every part of her was defined but not excessive, muscle covered in fur but not bulging. I brought my hoof up to her, cringing as I pushed down and felt immediate resistance. That butt was all muscle, and I would not want to be on the receiving end of a buck from her. If the twins ever had rough sex with Octavia, I couldn't help but feel bad for them.

“There we go. That was a good first step, Vinyl.” I know she was trying to encourage me, but it sounded patronising. “Now, start working your way inwards. Once you make it all the way, we’ll be in business.”

I nodded, feeling emboldened, and put my other hoof on her, as if I was a stallion walking my way forward. I rubbed in small circles, confident that if she thought I was doing something she’d be less likely to pressure me forward. My eyes locked on to her tail, and I forced them to make their way down.

One hole jutted out from beneath it, as if crying out to be seen. It was grey and spotless, obviously, and I felt confident enough to guess that it has seen use in the past. It didn’t look very appealing though, probably because I knew what it was for, so I kept going quickly.

The second fun hole was much more subtle at first, just a straight line right down the middle. I couldn’t see it very well, so I spread her cheeks apart a little.

Then she winked at me, and I fell over backwards with a shout like she’d lunged for my throat.

I did not appreciate the cultured belly laugh that followed.

“You did that one purpose!” I shouted at her as I scrambled to my hooves, utterly humiliated.

“Yes, and it was so very worth it. I will never forget the look of pure horror on your face. I want to apologise but at the same time I realise that I will never, ever be sorry for that.” Her giggles were adorable as she gently rocked her hips back and forth. “Besides, you were so tense. Now that you made your first mistake, you can stop worrying about letting me down and just have fun. I do not expect perfection Vinyl. Let loose, explore, I will tell you if I want you to stop.”

I let out a huff as I stalked back up behind her and swatted her rump. She didn’t drop the small smile she had on, and kept waving it at me seductively, so I sighed. I did feel better now, marginally.

I looked back down at the winking clit and couldn’t help but feel odd as her grey on grey on black with a splash of purple appearance suddenly screamed out in pink every few moments. It was such a huge contrast to the rest of her body, and it made me wonder if my slit did that too when I was horny. One thing was for sure though, it most definitely wasn’t scary. I took a second to laugh softly to myself. Maybe I had been a little too tense. It’s not like I hadn’t glimpsed it and hundreds of others before.

Suddenly, I realised that I’d been presented with an opportunity I had thought lost to me. I had the world’s sluttiest mare with me, who was willing to give me the greatest orgasm of a lifetime in exchange for a little bit of effort. I’m also pretty sure Octavia would be willing to do this again in the future. I could have sex! And she’d probably be down for any fantasy I wanted to act out. Now that’s some incentive right there. Maybe I could do this.

Sadly, I only really knew how to go fast. I pressed my hoof into her clit and ground down in small circles, to which she responded by pressing back and moving with me, without hesitation. “Good, begin in your comfort zone and work deeper.”

I brought my second hoof up and kneaded it into her cutie mark, feeling the powerful muscles hidden beneath and getting a slight hum as an answer. “Cutie marks are for sensation dear, not fulfilment. It feels nice but it is primarily used for build-up and therefore too late now. Try pulling me into you by my tail instead.”

I nodded, but I had never really considered pulling on my own tail. Was that sexy? I took hold of it about halfway down and gently pulled.

Her bedroom eyes evaporated in an instant. “Really? Vinyl, when I say pull my tail I want you to do it with feeling! Grab it at the base and yank! Trust me when I say there is almost nothing you can do to hurt me unintentionally.”

Well how the hell am I supposed to figure that out? I grabbed onto her dock with my magic and tugged on it.

“Mhm, much better. The key is to do that when you start to stagnate. If you are eating a mare out, pull her dock and push your muzzle forward. The contrast in sensations is wonderful. Now, you are being very quiet. I assume you to be a discreet lover, which is fine, but let us try some communication. What are you enjoying so far?”

“I like the feel of your butt cheeks. They’re really strong and tight and it feels good to rub my hooves against them.” I said, even though it felt super awkward to tell her that.

“Well, they are yours to play with. See the space between the cheek and my slit? Those are the labia, and that whole area feels wonderful when licked and bitten. When you want to move the next step, try getting your face on a cheek and working your way inwards. If it gets to be too much, just switch sides.”

I gulped, suddenly very aroused. That sounded very enjoyable, but was it really okay if I just stuck my nose right in there? Well, she said so…

I leaned in close and rubbed our cheeks together, marveling at how much better it felt to rub it this way. My face was aimed towards her cutie mark, but suddenly I felt much more inclined to look the other way. I turned inwards without hesitation and took a deep breath. It smelled briny in a nice way, so I nuzzled my way closer to the middle. My mouth felt very dry, but I really wanted a bite of her booty. So I did. I gently pulled my teeth through the fur just next to her flower, trying to emulate what she did to me earlier. Is this how she viewed my neck? I was having trouble thinking straight. Maybe it was that smell.

I found the skin underneath all her fur and bit down, maybe a bit harder than I should have. When I heard a much sharper inhale, I was scared I’d gone too far, but she didn’t pull away or tell me stop, so I did it again and again, moving a little closer to the center each time. When I finally reached her lips, I passed right over and did the same on the other side. It felt so good! Who knew biting someone could be so satisfying?

After I finished both sides, I went back to the first and bit down again, this time sucking on the skin instead of just letting go. Sure, I’d probably end up with some fur getting stuck on tongue, but I didn’t care. I could hear small moans coming out of my victim, so I could only guess she was enjoying it.

This went on for a few minutes as I explored her cheeks with my mouth. I was still having fun, but Octavia interrupted me as I began a third cycle. “As much as I am certain you are enjoying my ass, Vinyl, stop teasing me and lick my damned slit!” I looked up to see her frustrated gaze, one hoof still holding her glass, which was half empty, while the second hesitated in mid-air, seeming to want to take my head and ram it home.

My nerves were gone at this point and everything so far had been a sensation overflow. I honestly expected to just muddle through pleasing Octavia, but so far it has been even more fun than playing with myself. So, when she said that, I dove in headfirst like she’s told me earlier, yanking her dock over my head with magic. Her loud moan was incredibly satisfying, which was such a shame since I pulled away a second later.

“Oh man, that is a really weird texture!” I couldn’t help but exclaim. It felt so abnormal, honestly kinda slimy, and the taste wasn’t that great either to be honest. Still, considering I’d gained the ability to tolerate eating meat after a few years, I’d definitely be able to enjoy it eventually. It would just take some getting used to.

I came back in much more slowly, running my tongue along the outside of her lips and over her clit. I’d have preferred to just keep playing with her bouncy bottom, but Octavia was getting bored. Still, I had two free hooves that I didn’t hesitate to use; pushing her cheeks together and pulling them open wide, or massaging them. It felt so fulfilling to be able to make her moan, especially since she was used to two professional Vampony butler-escorts.

I kept going on the outside, licking up and down and sucking on her clit every time I reached the bottom, enough to get a moan. Then, out of nowhere, I felt her hoof press against the back of my head. “You need to get inside as well, Vinyl. There is more to the honeypot than just the nub. See if you can find my g-spot.”

I sighed but got to work anyway, sticking my tongue inside and probing the walls, hoping for some sort of reaction that would let me know I was heading in the right direction.

“No, you are just feeling along the walls. Run your tongue along the bottom on the way in, then lick upwards and scrape the top on your way out.”

“Much better. Now, do the same but start a little to left and work your way out on the right. Then do the same on the other side.”

“Good, you learn quickly. Now you may go back and get the clit. Make sure you do not forget it in you zeal.”

I followed her instructions, three plunges in then a few seconds of attention outside. Back in for three more and out again. She started moaning consistently, and didn’t tell me to do anything else, so I just kept going. Still, I didn’t want to stagnate, as she called it, so I tried flattening and thinning my tongue so I’d hit different areas. Then I would graze my teeth on her button, or do a small circle around it with my tongue. It got slicker as I went, and I felt some small amount of discomfort as I was forced to taste her more and more

Her breathing picked up steadily, and I saw her hoof rubbing small circles on her teats. “Suck my clit!” She groaned, pushing back hard into my face. I had barely reached it when she climaxed, and sucked for dear life as she rode out her pleasure, humping as best she could.

I waited until she flopped down on the bed before pulling away. My muzzle was completely drenched, as was most of my neck fur. I looked around, hoping to find a towel or something, but the bathroom door was closed and I couldn’t see anything useful, so I awkwardly pulled my sheets up and used them to rub myself down. As much fun as the beginning had been, the follow-up was kinda mediocre. Maybe I’d enjoy in more next time, especially if she let me play with her buns more.

I saw her drop her empty glass on the daystand before refilling it with the second vial. “You did well, Vinyl. So, how was it? What did you like and what did you not?” She asked, humming in appreciation at the scent.

I did my best to explain. “I love your butt! It’s really hot, and firm, and soft. I could totally see myself doing that again, or even sleeping on it or something. The second part was okay, I guess. I’m not a huge fan of how you feel or taste, but I can probably get over it.”

She nodded. “Cunnilin-”

“Oh Luna, please don’t call it that! I hate that word so much.”

She gave me the stink eye. “Oral is an acquired taste for both male and female, but if you practice with me you will hopefully find yourself enjoying it in time. The same is true of anal. That said, what we are about to do will be quite enjoyable from the first time, I assure you.”

“What? But I thought you wanted a bunch of orgasms first.” She had definitely said I wouldn’t last past my first one.

“No, I said you would not last past one. I will please us both at the same time, so I will get two orgasms. Besides, your virgin smell was starting to get to me, and your tongue feels so smooth and energizing. I simply cannot stop now.”

“You’re still in control right? This isn’t a “My instincts are kicking in so I can’t stop” kind of I can’t stop, right?”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “I find your lack of faith in me insulting and tedious. Get on the bed, belly up, tail splayed, hooves out to the sides. All four of them.”

I followed her commands, unable to hide an eager grin. My first orgasm not from myself, and it would be given to me by a master at the craft. I flopped down in a much less sexy way than she had and flipped over, spread eagle and ready. “We will work on your sex appeal later. There were simply too many things wrong with what you just did to even begin naming them.”

I was about to reply when she dropped her full earth pony weight onto my chest again, this time facing my lower body. “You need a diet.” I said without thinking.

She didn’t hesitate to ground her ass into my stomach, making it very hard to breath. She let up for a moment and I gasped, only to get a mouth full of tail as she dropped back down on my neck, thankfully much more gently. “I am a very healthy weight for an earth pony, thank you, and I will not have you slandering my good name with accusations against my weight. Just for that, I will not sit my glorious derriere down on your undeserving face.”

I honestly have no idea if I was relieved or disappointed.

“However, should you want to pleasure me, I will allow you to beg me to present it to you.”

That’s all she said before she began sucking on my teats.

I want to say it was mediocre, or just nice, but the sad truth is that within a minute I was struggling against begging for more. The way she was attending to them felt heavenly. I could barely focus, all I knew was that whatever she was doing was an art form I would never be able to replicate.

“Please, lower!”

I could hear her smirk. “Oh, have you acknowledged my skill already? That was fast indeed. Well, I would be happy to please you my dear, but I feel so thoroughly un-worshipped at the moment.”

“Please let me worship you!”

“Your wish is my command.”

I saw my salvation as she hefted her rear off of me and pressed in into my muzzle. I tried to go for her clit, my mind hazy, but she pulled away. “Ah ah, I believe you prefer something else?”

It took me a moment to get it, but when I did, I immediately wrapped my hooves around her to hold her still then nuzzled her cheeks, sighing blissfully.

She went slow, starting at the top and working her way downwards. I alternated between gasps and clenched teeth, doing my best to give back.

She brought me to the edge faster than I ever had for myself, especially for such a slow pace, and I started bucking my hips unconsciously. Instead of helping me over the peak, she backed off, causing me to groan in frustration.

“My apologies, but I cannot have you finishing yet. After all, we still have a few more things to do. Besides, the blood is so concentrated down there right now that I can feel my will slipping away. Any longer and I might have succumbed to temptation.” Well, that’s worrying.

She turned around and draped herself across my body. Her hind knees rubbed up against me, just enough to remind me to behave. I looked into her eyes, slowly calming down as she brought her face level with mine, worried. Was she about to?

She leaned in and ceased my bottom lip between hers. Her fangs pressed against the outside as she sucked my lip into her mouth and chewed on it, which felt surprisingly good. I didn’t react, not sure what to think, so she mumbled “top lip”. I got the hint and tried to do the same with hers.

She nodded slightly, and I felt a huge swell of pride. I’d gotten it right on the first try! Then I remembered what she’d done to me and felt that pride pop like a balloon; one technique down, half a million to go.

Her lip tasted a little coppery, probably from the blood, but it was still kinda nice to play with. I think I could come to like kisses if they were all like this. She pushed her face into mine, letting go of my lip and slipping her tongue into my mouth. It darted around, exploring my teeth and tongue, before retreating, her lips parted expectantly.

I hesitantly eased mine in after it, noticing immediately how much shaper her teeth were than mine. I also had to fit through her fangs, and I felt them constantly pressing on either side, severely restricting my movement. How did Vamponies kiss? Their fangs would bump up against one another each time, so it seemed really impractical.

I tried to lick the roof of her mouth, but I felt her sharp teeth against my tongue again and it was a bit off putting. I tried her tongue next, which wasn’t so bad since she arranged it as cushion between mine and her bottom row of teeth. It was nice, but I’d probably just let her come in from now on and not follow her back.

She followed me out, shoving her hooves into my mane as her tongue retook control of my mouth. It felt nice to have somepony play with my mane; not in an arousing kind of way, more like an intimate way. One of her hooves trailed down my neck, pulling me closer as she pushed through my mouth. I gently ran my hooves up her back, hoping that she appreciated the almost hug.

“You are a very quiet partner, Vinyl. Are you scared of making noise?” She asked as she pulled away.

I took a moment to process the question. “No, I just always had to be quiet in the past. Any sound, even in my own home, would attract attention I didn’t want.”

“How unfortunate; you truly have been neglected. You poor little pony. Worry not though, I will fix you.” With that said, she lipped around so we were between each other’s hindlegs. “This will be the best possible thing for your virgin scent. It should taint you with my smell, as well as that of every lover I’ve ever had. Of course, it will mostly be mine, reminding others who owns you.”

Without further ado, she rubbed her honeypot against my own. Sparks of pleasure tingled up my spine, and I started shaking as she humped against me. After a minute of adjusting to get the best contact area, she started bushing our clits together, and I bit my lip to hold back from shouting. I tried to hump back into her, but all I ended up doing was completely shattering her tempo and positioning. She barked at me to sit still, and after I nodded meekly, she got back into the rhythm.

Even though I couldn’t move, I snaked a hoof down to our clits, so when they surfaced they would rub against it instead. I was panting non-stop, my ability to think fading away as I reached a peak, and it seemed Octavia was getting there too. I knew it would be a big one for me, what with how long we’d been going at it. Finally, just as I was about to go over, Octavia mashed our clits together, and I was gone.

My neck snapped back, my back arched as hard as it could, my mouth hung open, my whole body was shivering. I was blinded by pleasure, completely unaware of the world around me. I felt weak and exhausted, I couldn’t focus, my eyes slid over everything without seeing anything. I could just barely feel Octavia next to me as she pulled away.

I lost track of time after that, and I think I might have fallen asleep for a few minutes. I was finally brought back to reality when I felt something flung over me and I heard Octavia parading around the room, probably cleaning herself and airing out the room. Hopefully she’d made sure we were in the middle of nowhere first.

I pawed at the thing on my face and realised it was a towel. I grabbed it with magic and did my best to clean myself off despite the fact that whole body was still trembling. It was slowly occurring to me that I’d just had my first time with a Vampony mare who had dominance issues, but my mind was ignoring that and instead focused on the fact that she was a good friend who’d helped me out of several tight spots. In addition, if this was the payoff of donating a little blood and maintaining a friendship, then I should do my best to reap every drop of attention I could from this mare.

I finally looked over at Octavia. She looked happy and calm, which reminded me that as much fun as I’d had, she’d gone through the same experience while fighting her nature to stay in control. “Thank you for this, Octavia, and for not losing to the bloodlust.”

She merely nodded with her typical tiny smile before wandering back to her bed. I knew that, whatever the pony hunt brought, whether we found them or not, from this point on our relationship would be changing a lot. As of this moment, I suspect it’ll be for the better.