The Vampire Queen
Of Volkor
Edited by: xtremesmw
There is a tale that is told in the many taverns of Flyrim. A tale about vampire so evil, so vile, that her very name fills fear in the bravest of stallions. Her name was Vinyl Scratch. Some say she was a daughter of a musician, other say she was a spawn of Discord himself. No pony truly knows where she came from, but the stories all say that she was once a lover of the deadly assassin, Shadowmere, until a disagreement of some sort caused them to separate from each other.
It is said that she now lives on an island in a fortress guarded by all kinds of beasts and monstrosities. Many brave adventurers set out to slay this foul mare, but none have ever returned.
Soon the tale of the white mistress of darkness faded into obscurity and many had come to believe that she was just another story mothers would tell their fouls to keep them from misbehaving, but it wasn't so. During the final days of the war being fought between the houses of Silverwind and Whisper Sound, when the armies of Silverwind were knocking down the gates of Dawn Hope castle, lord Noteworthy prayed to the alicorns for deliverances.
"Oh, merciful Celestia, bringer of day, I pray to thee to spare my people from the horrors our enemies will bring upon us. Oh, vigilant Luna, bringer of night, I pray to thee to spite our foe with thy rightful fury. Oh, lovely Cadance, she who taught ponies compassion, I pray to thee to keep my daughter safe from all those who might bring her harm," he prayed within his family's private chapel.
However, the alicorns did not reply and the siege continued with no sign of relief. On the sixth night of the siege, after a long day of fighting and the loss of his only son, he returned to the chapel and demanded the divine help he was denied before. This time, however, a voice replied back to his angry and desperate demands.
"The ancients will not answer to such rude summoning," the voice said, sounding as sweet as honey, but as deadly as poison, "not that they would have answered even if you were to ask kindly."
Noteworthy became surprised by the voice. He began to wonder if the loss of his son had driven him mad.
"No, You are quite sane my Lord if not a little too much so," the voice spoke in a mocking tone.
"Who are you? Have you come to answer my prayers, or are you here to simply mock me?" the Lord asked as he twisted his head in search of the disembodied voice.
"I have not decided what part I will play. In truth, the actions of mortal ponies hold little interest to one such as me, and the only reason I am here is because I have grown bored of my isolation."
"Can you help us defeat the army that is knocking down our doors?" Noteworthy asked desperately
"I can, but it will cost you."
"Whatever it is, I swear upon every alicorn's name, you will have it. Just please stop this war!"
Suddenly, a cold harsh wind swept through the chapel sending shivers down Noteworthy's spine, despite the robes he wore. A single bat flew into the holy temple with its wings flapping with a grace most of its kind would never possess. It flew above the stallion's head for a few moments before landing in front of him. The bat suddenly began to transform; it grew larger and its wings became hooves, its black body became as white as snow, and its eyes became a frightening bloody red. By the end of the transformation, the small bat was replaced by a white mare with lighting a blue mane and a shadowy cape.
"Sweet Celestia," Noteworthy gasped as he realized who it was he had asked for help, "you're…you're the vampire queen... from the tales!"
The white mare gave the lord a toothy smile showing off her the sharp fangs. "I don't know anything about any queen, but I am indeed the vampire who inhabits the fortress of Volkor."
The lord became horrified that he had come close to making a pact with a bloodsucking witch. "Be gone foul creature! You are not welcome here," He yelled.
An amused smile appeared on the vampire pony's lips. "Oh, really? I'm pretty sure it was you who was begging for my help to end the countless deaths this war had brought upon your home."
"That was before I knew who, or rather, what you were, but now that I have seen what I would have been working with, I would rather fight this battle on my own," Noteworthy said before turning to leave.
"That would be a foolish endeavour to undertake, lord of Whisper Sound, for we both know that you cannot beat this enemy alone. When your walls finally crumble, you will regret not accepting my offer of help."
Noteworthy slowly came to a stop as her words sink in. He knew it would take a miracle to defeat the army that was now knocking down the walls with their siege engines, but would it be wise to ask for that miracle from the creature standing behind him? His mind turned to his son who had died defending the walls, and his young daughter who was grieving over his death.
He reluctantly asked, "What is the price for your assistance?" in a voice which only caused Vinyl to grin.
"Seeing how my actions will save the lives of your people, I believe it is only fitting that the price should be the life of one of them."
The blue stallion quietly contemplated on the vampire's request for a few moments before nodding his head. It would be a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his days, but what other options did he have? "Who will you take?" he asked sombrely.
"You will know soon enough my lord," Vinyl said before transforming into the shape of the bat once more and flying out into the window it had entered from. Lord Noteworthy watched the bat disappear in the darkness of night and wondered if perhaps he had brought something more horrid upon his people then a war.
Later that night, as Silverwind continued its relentless siege, a fog darker than night and as silent as death itself crept upon their camps. At first no pony paid it any heed and that became their undoing. High above, the few Whisper Sound's soldiers who were still on the walls heard screams and cries for mercy. Many tried to look past the fog, to see what kind of unholy object was attacking their enemy, but none could see through its thickness.
When morning came, the army outside of Dawn Hope had disappeared leaving nothing behind but bloody armour and grass. The ponies of the keep thought it was a miracle; that the alicorns had answered their prayers and had unleashed their holy fury upon the soldiers, but their lord knew better. That day while everypony else was celebrating their victory, he stood in the chapel waiting for the vampire to return.
When she did not come, he waited the next day, and the day after that but she still did not come to claim her end of the pact and the lord had hoped that perhaps she had taken one of the Silverwind soldiers instead. On the fourth day he spent the evening in the hall with his daughter and every other pony in the keep as they had a massive feast in honour of their victory.
"Isn't this grand, father?" His daughter said from her seat beside him.
"It is indeed, Octavia," Noteworthy agreed giving her a warm fatherly smile.
He was glad to see her smiling again. The loss of her brother had shocked all of them, but it destroyed Octavia emotionally. She cried so much that Noteworthy was afraid that she would never know happiness again. Yet, here she was, dressed in a new gown with her dark hair braided and a smile on her face. Perhaps some good did come with the pact he had made with the vampire.
Suddenly, the doors to the hall burst opened allowing a familiar wind to blow over the celebrating ponies, ruining the food and chilling them to the bone. When the wind finally calmed, a white mare wearing a black cloak stood at the centre of the hall, staring at Noteworthy with an amused smile, "I have come for my payment."
The ponies stared at the new arrival in confusion at first, but when they saw those bright, red, menacing eyes, they all gasped in horror.
"It's the vampire Queen of Volkor!" One pony shouted in fear.
"What is she doing here?" another whispered.
"She'll place a curse on us all!" another cried.
They were ignored as Vinyl continued to stare at the lord with her arrogant, but dangerous smile that he had come to fear.
"Father, what is going on?" Octavia asked as she tugged on her father's sleeve in fear.
Noteworthy did not answer her; he instead stood up from his seat and spoke to the vampire with a tone full of contempt. "If you are here to claim your prize for aiding us in our time of need, then choose him or her and be on your way. My soldiers and I will not stand in your way."
Everypony looked to their lord as he had gone mad. Even Octavia wondered if her own father had succumbed to madness. Vinyl began to chuckle, drawing attention back to herself and leaving a cold dreaded feeling in Noteworthy's heart.
"That is a very generous offer, lord of Dawn Hope," she said, "but will your generosity still stand once I tell you who I will take as my payment?"
Her eyes moved away from the stallion and onto the young mare sitting beside him. Octavia's grip on her father's sleeve became tighter as Vinyl's crimson red eyes stared into her in a way that left her stomach cringing. It took a moment for Noteworthy to realize who the vampire had chosen and when he did he pulled his daughter behind him and drew his sword. "Never! You will not take my daughter. You may take any other pony here but not her!"
The white mare broke out into laughter, "You think to deny me my payment? You are merely a pony who sits on a throne that is not even made of stone, but wood! This is poor comedy, my lord."
"Enough!" Noteworthy roared, "guards, seize that mare!"
The guards didn't need to be told twice; with their spears risen they rushed at the vampire pony. Vinyl didn't move. She didn't even flinch when she saw them galloping towards her like a great wave that was about to crash on Flyrim's rocky coasts. Instead, she simply made a gesture with her hoof. Suddenly, the winds that had opened the hall's doors returned, stronger and fiercer than before. The guards were flown away by the winds which launched them into the walls before crashing down onto the stone floor.
Noteworthy was left speechless by the display of power the mare wielded, but he did not step away from his daughter. He would not let this monster or any other force take away the only child he had left; he would keep her safe even if it meant he had to sacrifice himself to do so.
Vinyl took several steps towards them, ignoring the other ponies who were still in the hall. "This is your last chance, my lord. Give me your daughter willingly, or I will take her by force."
"Never you witch! As long as I draw breath, I swear, I will keep her from you."
"As long as you draw breath you say, an easy thing to rectify."
With that, the white mare leapt from where she was standing and flew across the hall towards the two noble ponies. Noteworthy quickly pushed his daughter aside but was unable to dodge the oncoming vampire who lifted him up with a single hoof and slammed him against the wall. The stallion head spun for a moment before the world came back into focus. He saw the vampire queen holding him against the wall with a twisted little smile and his daughter standing a few feet away watching in horror.
The vampire's grip on his throat began to tighten and Noteworthy grasped desperately for breath. His eyes darted around the hall hoping to find a guard or perhaps some brave servant coming to his rescue, but no one came. The few who weren't unconscious or hadn't fled were far too terrified to do anything but watch. Seeing no hope of rescue, his turned back to the vampire. If he were to die, then he would at least do it with some sense of dignity.
As darkness began to creep into the corners of his sight he heard the white witch speak. "What a foolish path you have chosen. If you had simply given what I had asked for, then I would have left with her and you could have lived with the hope that one day you would see her again, but instead you chose to be the stubborn fool, and you will die with no hope and no chance of ever seeing her again."
If he had the strength, he would've spit in her arrogant face, but the darkness had now spread further into his vision until there was only a small window of light. He was going to die knowing that he had failed his daughter and had gifted her with a fate worse then death.
"STOP!" a voice suddenly cried out. "Please, just stop! I'll go with you. Just please stop hurting him!"
Even on the brink of death, he could recognize Octavia's voice.
"Is that so?" the vampire's voice asked. "Well, it is nice to know that somepony here has some common sense."
The grip on Noteworthy's throat loosened and he dropped to the floor taking in deep breaths as he tried to regain the air his lungs were denied. Vinyl left the gasping stallion on the floor where he had landed and approached the shaking grey mare. Despite the fear that was evident in her eyes, there was also courage, and perhaps a small dose of defiance.
"I have left your father alive, little one," She said as she reaches out with a hoof and pulls away a few strands of hair from those dark, innocent lilac eyes, "now will you keep up your end of the bargain?"
Noteworthy tried to speak up but his throat was too sore to from almost being crushed to form anything other than a desperate groan. It fell on deaf ears however as the vampire queen no longer needed him and Octavia was afraid that if she was to look upon her father that her resolve might falter.
"If I go with you, will you leave this place unharmed?" the young mare asked.
"But of course," Vinyl said, "after all, I have what I have come for."
The lord made one more attempt to speak out, to beg the queen of Volkor to take him instead of his daughter, but still his throat could not form words. Black smoke began to surround the two of them like a snake until their forms disappeared completely. Noteworthy started to crawl his way over to where his daughter and her kidnapper were hidden, but the black smoke shot into the air and flew out of the hall and into the night.
The lord of Dawn Hope kept staring at where the smoke had disappeared; his eyes moistening as tears ran freely down his face. He cried out into night, cursing the war, the alicorns, the vampire, but most importantly himself. In the days that followed he sent out his bravest warriors to the keep of Volkor in the hope of them rescuing his daughter and slaying the wretched vampire, but they never returned.
He still sends adventurers to the island fortress despite that many had told him that his daughter is dead, but he does not listen as he had sworn that he will see his daughter again, even if he must wait a thousand years.
The End