As I finished my story, my friends around me just sat in silence, perhaps in awe or fascination. Twilight Sparkle was the first to speak up.

“Well, that’s a certainly… interesting history to say the least. No wonder you hate your family so much, there is just… so much death involved.” Everypony sat there… quietly. Then Pinkie Pie looked up at me. She stepped to my side before whispering:

“Hey, if you’re ok now, does that mean I can throw you a party?” I nodded quietly, half wondering if she even heard my story.
“YAYY! I FINALLY GET TO THROW A PARTY! You know, it’s been exactly thirty-five hours, forty-two minutes and fifty-five seconds since my last party? ITS GONNA BE GREAT!” On that note, she then proceeded to jump out a nearby pane-glass window. However, if the sign on my door meant anything, we were apparently on the fifth floor of the building. The five of us ran to the window to see if she was ok, but she was nowhere in sight.

“I almost forgot, do you want a theme? I almost soiled myself, hearing the squeaky pink mare behind me. I looked at everypony else in the room, and they too, wore expressions of shock and disbelief.

“Wha… ya just… out the window… but... here you are!... what?” Applejack said, very confused. I preferred just to stare, trying to comprehend what sort of being stood before me. Such incredible displays of supernatural prowess, and yet I couldn't seem to detect the faintest trace of magical power. My train of thought was quickly interrupted as the pink mare spoke up again:

“Fine then, don’t give me a theme. I will come up with my own. She then causally walked out the room. All of a sudden, we all heard her singing from out the window. We went to check, and there she was, skipping down the road. I couldn't help but feel a primal fear towards her, seeing as I knew nothing about how she functioned.

“How… terrifying. Do the laws of time and space bow to her, or simply ignore her?” I said, still rather perplexed. Everypony else just shrugged, not knowing an answer to the impossible question. It seemed that this behavior was new to even them.

After about We exited the hospital once my eyes returned to normal, and at that point, Rarity had woken up again. I waved goodbye to all of the staff who cared for me as we left, but Nurse Redheart almost seemed traumatized however. I couldn’t help but feel bad for my sadistic actions. I should repay her someday. But that would have to wait, as it was getting late and we all decided to part ways. We all headed back to town square, and from there everypony headed back home. It was at that point that the sun was beginning to go down. Halfway back to Fluttershy’s cottage, I stopped walking suddenly. She stopped and turned to me. Cocking my head slightly, I asked:

“Do you see me as a bad pony?” She looked almost confused.

“No, why do you ask?” she responded, a frown of worry quickly forming. I looked down and took a breath, closing my eyes before meeting hers again. My gaze softened as I attempted to read her.

“After telling you about my dark history, I would almost expect you to hate me, let alone let me back into your home. I mean, Twilight Sparkle tried to kill me over it. You almost seem... too kind. I feel undeserving.” Her brows furrowed, turning her look of worry into parental disappointment.

“Just because your family did evil things, doesn’t mean you are evil. I would disagree with anypony who said othewise.”

“I drink blood. Don’t you at least find that scary?”

“Well, yes. But you can’t help yourself. I understand that. If anything, it would be Redmane’s fault for siding with Nightmare Moon and cursing his family in the first place. Besides, I live with woodland creatures. I know some animals eat meat. You're just... like that."

"A predator you mean," I snapped back, my neutral expression quickly devolving to a scowl. "Something that kills and eats other animals." She shook her head, looking for words.

"That's not what I mean. I think you are a wonderful pony, and even if you do drink blood I know it's something you need to do. I dont think you're any more evil than a wolf or bat. I think you're actually very nice, and I don't think that you would ever hurt me or anyone else even if my friends disagree with me. I don't entirely know why, but I trust you.” As she spoke those last few words, she drove them home by pulling me into a hug. I felt a small tear forming in my eye, something I had not felt in a long time. No pony had been this kind to me in years. As she let go of me, I heard a very familiar voice speak behind me.

“It looks like you found yourself a marefriend, eh Red Storm?” I immediately knew who the voice belonged to before I even turned to face the speaker. Before me stood a unicorn mare in full silverette platemail armour. She stood leaning on a tree with her forelegs crossed, the visor of her helmet down to conceal her face. She was shorter than both Fluttershy and I, but this was only because Fluttershy was taller than the average mare.

“Whitewash! You! You're alive! We all thought you were dead! What are you even doing here? If you are here to take me back-" Whitewash interrupted me with a flash of bright white magic from her horn as her armour disappeared, leaving only her saddlebag on her back. Giggling, she stepped forward out of the shade of the tree. Her enchantingly green eyes glimmered brightly even in the dim light. She was a few years younger than me at twenty-four years old, and her coat was a light crème-yellow, with a chocolate brown mane and tail. Her mane and tail were both short and very well combed. Her eyes sparkled with compassion as she gave me a cheery smile. She extended a hoof in greeting, and after a moment of silence I reluctantly returned the gesture.

“How’s life treating you Red Storm? I heard a strange stallion with a black coat and armour showed up here in Equestria, right around the same time the prince went M.I.A. overseas. I decided to see if it was you, and sure enough, here you are.” She looked at Fluttershy, who wore an expression of confusion. Remembering that I was not alone with Whitewash I cleared my throat.

“Ah yes, I’m sorry Fluttershy. This is my friend Whitewash,” I said. “She was my personal bodyguard back home, when I was still a prince. She disappeared, over ten years ago during a reconnaissance mission.” Turning back to face Whitewash I quickly added: "And no, she is not my marefriend. Simply a friend who happens to be a mare." I added a touch of annoyance to the last sentence, to make my discomfort apparent to the unicorn in front of me.

“Oh suuure. Got it, stud. And for your information, I just got tired of hearing “Your Royal Airhead” blather all the time,” Whitewash retorted. “ Also, the other guards started to get a little too frisky around that time.”

“Well, if you’re a friend of Red Storm’s, you are a friend of mine,” Fluttershy said with a smile. I raised an eyebrow at this. “Although, it is getting quite late. I think we should head back to my cottage instead of waiting here… if that’s ok with you.”

“That sounds nice. Let us depart!” Whitewash said. We began to walk back, with Fluttershy in the lead, but then the unicorn pulled me aside. “About Fluttershy…”

“What about her?” I interrupted, irritated.

“I always thought you to be the dominant kind, but don’t you think this is a bit much?" She finished with a grin. I was stunned, and threw a punch at her side, but was met with hard enchanted steel, hurting my bare hoof. Upon connecting, a flicker of her armour appeared, then disappeared again.

“I can see you’ve gotten better with your invisibility veils,” I said between clenched teeth, caressing my injured hoof.

“You could say that again. Spent some time with the changelings. I learned a lot- especially some hoofs-on studies.” She gave me a devious wink before trotting to catch up with Fluttershy. I did my best to rid myself of the horrifying mental images to no avail. When we arrived at the cottage, I let the two mares in before locking the door behind me. Whitewash and myself sat down, in the living room while Fluttershy began to prepare tea. However, Whitewash produced her own… beverage of choice.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked, my eyes going wide as Whitewash revealed a large, purple, glass bottle that was filled with a familiar translucent rusty-brown liquid. On the label it showed my Great-great-great-great-great-aunt's picture.

“Indeed it is! Good, old-fashioned Scarlet Swift Whiskey! Would you like a glass?"

“Yes please! It’s been too long since I had any real liquor, let alone Sanguinary whiskey!” I couldn't help feel slightly hypocritical of my excitement as I had painted the Kingdom in such poor light earlier today. I quickly banished the thought however as Whitewash floated a pair of shot glasses out of her saddlebag. We then said our cheers, and downed both glasses in a single gulp. The whiskey was strong, with a nice flavour much like rose petals. When Fluttershy returned a few moments later, she looked awfully confused.

“What are you drinking?” she asked.

“Scarlet Swift Whiskey! Made by my ancestor aunt, It may be one of the few things my family did right. Whitewash had some on hand, and I simply couldn't refuse. Would you like a glass?” I responded.

“Ok… I guess so.” She sat down next to me, and Whitewash poured another glass. I handed it to her, and she took a small sip, before swallowing. Suddenly her eyes shot open.

“Ah! AH-AH! It’s like drinking FIRE! Ohmyohmyohmy!” she ran over to the kitchen and poured herself some water and drank it quickly which did little to aid the burning. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction.

“I see now that you must prefer your tea then?” I chuckled again before continuing, “I’m sorry, I should have told you about that. That was cruel and uncalled for.” I motioned to Whitewash to put the substance away, who was downing her second shot. To my surprise, Fluttershy reclaimed her composure before calmly walking back over. She sat down next to me again, before finishing her glass. She flinched, and her cheeks turned rosy, but she choked it down.

“May I have another?” she finally asked. Whitewash shrugged before handing her the bottle.

“Go nuts. I’ve hit my limit for now. I do have to walk back to my inn, after all.” Fluttershy responded to this by pouring herself another glass and downing it quickly.

“I take back what I said. You have impressed me with your fortitude, but you have nothing to prove. You are aware of that… right?” Flutttershy ruffled her feathers, shaking all over for a moment before she responded:

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I like this… whiskey, so I’m going to have more.” Her voice sounded slightly slurred, but that came to no surprise as this appeared to be her first time drinking alcohol. She had absolutely no tolerance to it, and was quickly getting “snookered”, as my father used to say. As she tried to pour another glass, I took the bottle from her.

“No. You’ve had enough. You’re going to have a hangover tomorrow as it is, and I don’t want you getting downright drunk. Because, unless you forgot, we have to sleep in the same bed. I don't mean to make assumptions of you, but I prefer to stay on the safe side.” She frowned, but then picked up her tea and started to sip it. I couldn't happen to notice that Whitewash's ears perked up as I said “sleep in the same bed.” I shot her a wicked glance as a wide grin appeared on her face and she settled down again. Then, out of nowhere, she started to laugh. She noticed my confusion, and pointed at Fluttershy. I looked back over to the yellow mare, and she was fast asleep, face-first on the coffee table. I couldn’t suppress my laugh either, as it was a rather funny sight, seeing as the mare was wide awake a moment ago. I hauled Fluttershy back upstairs, but when I returned downstairs, Whitewash was deadly serious. Her smile that she had been wearing all night was now gone, replaced with tight lips.

“You know that your father will come looking for you, and he will eventually find you. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I know,” I said returning the expression.

“He will kill everypony who stands in his way, mare, stallion, or foal.”

“I know.”

“You can’t hide forever. If, no, when he finds you, you are going to have to fight him, if you want to stay.”

“Why are you telling me what I already know?”

“To remind you of the stakes.” She then snapped her tail at the staircase leading up to Fluttershy’s room, where the drunken mare lay sleeping. I nodded at this, before saying:

“Just because I am living with her, doesn’t mean that I love her, you know.”

“I hear your words, but do you really believe what's coming out of your mouth?” With that, she started for the door, and left without another word, closing the door behind her with her magic. I stood there for a moment, before realizing she left the whiskey, likely on purpose. I picked it up, before plopping myself down on the couch. Angel hopped up and sat down next to me, before holding out a glass.

“Want some, do you? Very well.” I filled his glass, and there we sat, drinking. Him from the glass, myself from the bottle, until we both fell asleep.

Author's Notes:

Also, this chapter was entirely written by my co-writer Annabeth while I was in the hospital. (In case you were wondering why, I was hit by bus. No biggy.) It was some time before I even came onto FiMfiction.net, and we both hope you enjoy it. Oh, and here's Scarlet Swift for you:
4G1X1E0100141413FE000000101903DCC6K1839003020001O10004265000B20Z107F3FCC004CB2
Just pop the code in Pony Creator. Yes, I have the whole damn cast made, and then some.