Chapter 4, the feeding hour

Strike sat in front of the fire, watching intently as the contents of the pot bubbles and boiled, by his side Twilight watched as well, listening to Strike as he taught her about the potion. "It was originally created by the caliph of Kaldush, who kept a harem of wives so large he had to build a whole new palace for them. He ordered its synthesis for those times when he...paid a visit" Strike smirked and Twilight managed a faint smile "the potion is designed to enhance the release of endorphins and other pheromones and chemicals released by our brains reward path way" he took a small wooden spoon from his cloak and gave the mix a stir. Once he was done he turned to twilight and looked her straight in the eyes, Twilight felt herself freeze. Strikes eyes where wide and had a deep violet colouration that seemed to make them shine, Twilight had similar coloured eyes, but hers where a lighter purple shade and she had been born with them. As she stared into his eyes and tried to reach the bottom of them she was unaware he had raised his hoof to her forehead, so when he lightly touched her temple she almost jumped out of her skin. "Hey, easy Twilight, i'm not going to hurt you" he said, equally surprised. He let Twilight settle before raising his hoof to her temple again, this time she didn't freak out. "What i was saying is that within the brains reward path way we produce chemicals which reward us after it detects certain emotional triggers, like happiness or the sense of smugness you get after helping someone. The chemicals released are what give us the afterglow we enjoy so much" he traced a line from her temple down to the base of her neck; he could feel Twilights pulse under her skin. "Can you turn around?" he asked

Twilight blinked "why?"

"So i can continue my demonstration" he said, in a voice that stated he thought it bizarre she could think he would do anything else. Twilight turned around she her back was to him, she felt Strike run his hoof from her neck and down her spine. "The arteries and veins around the spinal cord act as the carrier of these chemicals. So when you have sex or something like that, and you feel really relaxed, it's because the receptors all over your body are getting a hefty dose of dopamine and endorphins, that's what we call 'the afterglow'" Twilight was glad her back was to strike, for some reason his mention of sex had made her blush.

"So how does that involve the potion?" 'He's not planning to have sex with me is he?' Twilight tried not to think about it, the idea of being raped by a vampire was not something she tended to entertain.

"the potion simply tricks the reward path way to release chemicals every time you do something, rather than if it detects a certain emotional trigger, so everything you do gives you a heightened sense of...bliss, i guess that's the best way to describe it" he took his hoof away from Twilights back and she turned around as he began stirring the pot again.

"So...why do you have it? Vampires can't feel anything, everypony knows that" Strikes jaw clenched and unclenched, for a moment Twilight thought she had crossed a line. From what she could tell the vampire was toying with her, taking whatever perverted amusement he could from her before he consumed her, but it would only take the slightest provocation for him to skip past his entertainments and get down to eating his snack.

"I'm only half dead remember? I can still feel things, emotions and hungers, just not a fully as you can" he took out the spoon and gave it a lick "needs more pepper" he produced a pouch from his cloak and gently poured a small amount of crushed pepper corns into the pot "in many way, i guess not being able to fully appreciate emotion is worse than losing it entirely. That's why I've got the potion, it brings my sensitivity to emotion and other actions back to normal levels" he began stirring again "you know a fair bit about me, so what about you Twilight? How does a mare like you become the target pray of four vampires?" now it was Twilights turn to grow quiet, reliving the past was not something she wanted to do...but then again neither was enraging her captor.

"they where my..." she choked on the word "they where my friends" she managed, feeling sullen, she could imagine that right now the vampire next to her was inwardly laughing at her misery. "But, they're not anymore, their monsters. Luna killed my friends, and these...things now wear their skins"

"How did it happen?" Strike asked, looking at her. There was something in his eyes that Twilight didn't expect to see. Empathy.

"When most of the mares in the town turned fifteen, they rounded us all up and took us to the square. When we got there we found our friends and family had been bound together, royal guards and thralls where everywhere. Luna was there, and Celestia too, and they gave us a choice. We could either join the sisterhood, and let them take our souls and reign for all eternity as the most beautiful creatures in existence, or we could watch as our families where butchered in front of us" Strike nodded, he'd been in a similar situation. "I knew they were coming, I'd seen them coming, and so I hid with Fluttershy. But the others got caught and where forced to join the sisterhood. A few months afterwards i came downstairs to find Fluttershy dead on the table, spread out in a pentagram drawn from her blood. On the wall was a message that read 'we're coming for you'...and a few hours ago they did come for me, but instead you killed Rainbow dash" Twilight drew her legs up to her chest "now they'll kill us both" 'unless you're one of them'

Strike just nodded, his violet eyes sad. "it hurts to lose everything you love, i miss my mother and father sometimes too" he turned back to the pot and continued stirring, the contents of the pot had broken down and were now a thick, brown gruel with lumps in it, it looked disgusting "the day after i was sired i buried them in the basement of our house, under the floor boards in the hard earth. At the time i didn't remember who they where, they were just empty faces that had no meaning. It was only a couple of months later i got my first memory, but by then i couldn't go back, i set fire to the house before i left" he took out the spoon and licked it, his tongue running over his lips as he tasted the potion "a bit better, still kinda thick, but better than before" he kept on stirring.

"So...does Luna know? That you're still alive" Twilight asked, waiting for strike to give her another cold glare, but instead he just shrugged.

"A month or so afterward i was sired i was wandering, alone, starving and with no idea what i was doing. A farmer found me when i collapsed in the middle of one of his fields, and he gave me a place to stay. His wife brewed a soup for me, and his daughter gave me this" Strike reached into his cloak and pulled out a ribbon of blue silk, it glowed in the fire, and seemed unrealistically bright in his hooves "she kept giving me looks" he gave a sad smile "but that night when they were all asleep my hunger got the better of me, and the beast in my heart emerged, and i changed. I was trapped in my own body and forced to watch as this...thing that wore my skin butchered the farmer and his wife. Then i came for his daughter, and i bled her dry" strike shuddered in disgust "the worst part was i enjoyed it, i relished her screams and when my fangs plunged into her neck i knew there was no greater sensation, even her blood tasted of fear. When i was done some part of me realised what I'd done, and i became myself again. I got out of the house into the fields and ran, leaving the slaughter house and the dead family far behind. I galloped as far as i could go, until my hooves bled and blistered and i collapsed, vomiting up blood and half digested soup" Strikes face was blank, emotionless. But Twilight stared wide eyed as he calmly recalled the memory "when i came to, Luna was standing over me, beautiful and radiant, just like a vampire queen is expected to be. She gave me a choice, join her and i would stand by her side and rule the night, and all the sisterhood would be mine to sample. Or i could crawl through the dirt like the degenerate, base born predator i was, and lose myself to the urge to feed on and consume the living" he gave the spoon another lick and after a moment nodded. He shuffled closer to the fire and pulled the pot from the embers, regardless of the fact it was boiling hot and seared his skin. He placed it on the floor, the contents of the pot gently bubbling away. "I told her that i would rather eat shit and die. So she smiled and left, flying away into the night. But before she left she gave me another gift" once again he reached into his cloak and pulled out something that glinted in the fire light, something made out of metal. "I'm only half dead, so my fangs haven't fully developed. I can't feed with them, they're too blunt to penetrate the skin, and when i do bite they cause extreme pain to the pony i'm feeding on, unlike those of my sisters, who grant bliss and pleasure" he showed the object to Twilight, who gently took it in her hooves. The object was a set of iron fangs, with an upper piece that held the canines in place at the roof of his mouth and a lower piece with smaller fangs that closed into a tight fit with upper piece. "She gave me my fangs Twilight. She gave me iron fangs" he gave the pot a final stir "now go get us some bowls and more spoons, dinners ready"

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Twilight eyed the contents of her bowl with unease and caution, the thick brown liquid within gently steamed. She pulled out her spoon and it came out with a sucking sound, lumps of ingredients still clinging to the spoon. She stirred it and almost gagged as the gruel moved in a slowly, sticky motion, the whole thing reminded her of sewage. Across the pot from her Strike was encountering no such problems, digging with glee into the thick slime he had spooned into his bowl. As she watched he drank down the 'soup' with ease, licking his lips after every mouthful, if Twilight didn't know any better she would have said he was actually enjoying it. "come on, eat up" Strike said through a mouthful of food "it's good for you" he said, he pointed his spoon at her "and from the look of you, you ain't been eaten much recently, come on Twilight" he gave her a wink, a small smile on his face "i went through all this bother to cook you a romantic dinner, at least try a bit for me" his smiled widened, and Twilight knew she should do as he said.

"Why are we eating a potion for dinner?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look through lowered eyes "you said this was some sought of pleasure potion" Strike finished his mouthful before answering.

"Your recent run in with my sisters had caused a mass release of pheromone triggers, mainly ones that cause fear. Until your body comprehend the fact you're no longer under attack and flush out the chemicals you're likely to suffer from paranoia, delusions and panic attacks. The potion causes a release of endorphins and pheromones that trigger happiness and bliss, which acts as a counter balance and keeps you stable" he took another bite "i gave you an extra portion though, so that i can actually have some intelligible conversation for tonight" he gestured to her bowl "so go on, it's not like I've drugged it or anything"

She eyed the mix one last time and dug her spoon his, wincing as she heard the gruel make a 'gloop' noise. She pulled out her spoon and stared in horror at the filth that filled her spoon, it wobbled like jelly. She gulped, closed her eyes, and shoved the spoon in her mouth, ending her torment in one swift blow. She closed her eyes tight shut and waited for her body to start to gag, but nothing happened. After at least a minute she opened one eye and saw Strike had a small smile on his face as he watched her, Twilight gave the gruel a tentative chew. It didn't taste a bad a s she thought...in fact it didn't taste of anything at all. She gave it another chew and this time the gruel tasted of peppercorns and garlic broth, her tongue slowly licked her lips. "See, it's not that bad" Strike said, his smile still in place "but i imagine your gonna get a head rush soon"

"What?" Twilight asked before she suddenly felt light headed "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!" she screamed, trying to stand up but instead falling back on her rump "YOU'RE GOING TO EAT ME AREN'T YOU!" Twilight felt the fear return fresher than ever. Strike was by her side in the flash of an eye, his face a mask of concern. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Twilight made a slow punch at his face, but Strike easy blocked it.

"Twilight, calm down, i'm not going to eat you" he said in a placid voice "you're just a bit light headed that's all, it's just heightened emotion, that's all it is"

"GET AWAY FROM ME...YOU...YOU...YOU MONSTER! YOU'RE WORKING WITH THEM AREN'T YOU? YOU'RE WORKING WITH APPLEJACK AND RARITY AND PINKIE PIE? THEY WANT YOUT O KILL ME! I'M DON'T WANT TO DIE!" instantly Twilight felt her fear turn into sorrow, she slumped into Strike arms, tears flowing from her eyes and down her cheeks "i just want my friends back Strike" she sobbed into his chest, her tears causing his grey coat to darken. Strike wrapped his arms around her protectively, making gentle shushing noises "i just want them back, and life can be normal again. And we could go and eat some cake, or help Applejack in the orchards, things could be normal again..." she hugged at him even tighter, his chest was now a darker grey "...they could...they could..."

"it's ok Twilight" Strike said, slowly rocking back and forth "it's ok, nothing's going to hurt you" he took the corner of his cloak and turned her face up towards his, using the cloak to dry her tears. "It's my fault, i shouldn't have given you such a heavy dosage on your first taste. I was just trying to help, honestly" he hugged her again "i would never try to hurt you"

"...i'm...i'm sorry" Twilight sniffed.

"For what? I'm the one who caused this"

"For calling you a monster, you're not a monster. You risked yourself to save my life, and you killed Dash. And you cooked me dinner" she gestured to the potion, which was slowly cooling "it's just that...you're a vampire...and vampires..."

"Eat ponies?" he smirked "it's ok Twilight, its ok" his rocking gently slowed "if i was you i would feel the same"

"It's just that...we're the only ponies here, and it's dark, and...Your eyes, they're...they're..."

"They're the eyes of a predator, i know" he wiped her face again "in some towns they drive me off before i can even get close, and I have to spend nights hungry"

"Hungry?"

"I can't really eat proper food, since i'm half dead. I can eat it, but i don't get any sustenance from it. And i can't drink blood properly, it makes me sick. So most of the time i have to go hungry, whether I've eaten or not"

Twilight suddenly had an idea. "If you're hungry, you could...eat some of my food"

"Are you sure? I mean, i do have my own pack, and i wouldn't want to eat anything you can't spare"

"No, not that, i meant...you could eat...some of...me" Twilight felt Strikes chest tense up, his hear beat slow under his skin.

"Twilight...thank you...but i shouldn't. I mean, I've only just met you, and i mean, these aren't the best circumstances. There's vampires out there, we've got no light in here, things aren't just...right"

"What do you mean?"

"I would hurt you Twilight. My fangs aren't fully formed yet, i would only cut you, and it would be too painful. Plus...i just can't, it isn't right. Right now you're under a heavy dosage of dopamine, it's like you're drunk, i couldn't feed off you, i would be taking advantage of you"

"Oh...that's ok then...but you'll stay the night right" Strike tensed again.

"...i guess, it's too dangerous to go outside again tonight" Twilight nodded.

"I'll make the bed, I've only got one, so we'll have to share" to her surprise, Strikes cheeks became a lighter shade of grey, it took her a moment to realise he was blushing.

"No thanks...I'll just sleep by the fire tonight"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah"

"...ok then"

As Twilight left him and went up the stairs to her room, Strike held his breath. When the end of her tail disappeared from sight he breathed a sigh of relief, he'd almost lost himself for a moment there. Twilight had actually offered to feed him, the prospect of it sent his heart racing. For a few seconds the beast in his mind had told him to take her right there, but through sheer force of will he'd overcome it. And offering to share a bed with him, Strike felt rather complimented. 'I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you Twilight' he thought as he lay down by the glowing ashes in the fire, wrapping his cloak around him. 'But i don't trust myself enough'