//------------------------------// // 04 The first steps // Story: Blood Curse Boutique // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// The eyes of Rarity shot open and they scanned through the room like mad. Soon enough it became apparent that she was in her bedroom and even better said: she was still in her bed. “It was, it was, it was a dream..?” she questioned to herself while her body was carefully hoisted up. The unicorn assumed a sitting position on the mattress and brought her forelegs over to her face in order to rub it thoroughly. “Ugh, w-what is going to be next?” the mare muttered. The hooves were removed from her face and with a quick push had she removed the blankets from her body. The mare left the bed as a whole and had a gentle look around the room. Aside from the bed there also was a stand which held her most precious gem to have ever received by anypony and a small desk with a matching chair to be found in the room. It was in that chair that she allowed her body to drop itself in. But only to let her mind pound over the dream she had not even minutes ago. Her eyes stared out of the window that was the closest to the desk and her bone bare hoof gently moved the curtain to the side. It almost seemed like she was looking for something. Something even she didn't know what it was or even could be and just stared down into the near endless darkness of the night she had woken up in. Her red rimmed eyes stared down the circular window while a deep exhale left through her nose. On the streets below was everything as calm and peaceful as things could be. But the longer she sat on the chair and stared outside, the more the thirst rose back into her throat. Rarity stood up from the chair and had one last look out of the window. There was still no change of scenery. The light of the moon kept shining itself down through the window. That was until it got covered up by the curtain once more. The unicorn left the bedroom and made her way down the hallway and stairs before she turned her course towards the kitchen. Of course she had more than enough work cut out for her in the working area, but the will to continue on any of the projects had been crushed by the revelations that were revealed to her. “Hmm, what shall I make for myself,” she spoke up. She also took the bottle of wine that still stood on the table. But as she walked into the kitchen, were the eyes laid on the bottle and had a good look at it. She gagged a bit and set the bottle on the kitchen table and shook her head. “Not in the mood for wine,” was the simple conclusion and she made her way over to another cabinet. She opened that and looked up at the content inside. “Well, a cup can’t hurt right?” The unicorn took out the small basket which held the numerous tea bags in all kinds of flavors and a small cup. Rarity set the water on the stove and allowed it to boil. She paced with an uneasy walk through the whole kitchen. She kept wandering up and down the room as the feeling of something that had to be cleaned up came to her. Something that had should have been done a couple hours ago but she prevented herself from doing it because of her sadness. ~~~~                 Muttering deeply and inaudible to herself did Rarity still manage to clean the spot where she had thrown the wineglass against the wall. And as if she had measured the time she still had for the deep, she was done mere seconds before the whistle of steam from the kettle did its turn. “Tea time,” she spoke after having clapped her hooves together once in joy. With the wall cleaned again and the shards of glass removed, proceeded Rarity by placing her cleaning equipment back in their respective locker and she had just one more gaze over the spot. “Perfect,” she spoke with a smile due to the fact it looked like nothing had happened. She knew how to keep her home clean, as it was something her parents truly insisted upon. And their advice given did not go in vein. After she had poured of a cup of steaming tea  would the mare venture back up on the stairs and disappeared within her bedroom. The cup got placed on the desk while she hummed softly to herself. All in the hope to keep her spirits up and she found herself before her own bookshelves. Shelves that were made by her father long ago and could be found on the opposing side of the desk. There they simply occupied the wall with their postures. “No, already read that one, what is this doing here?!” she spoke to herself after having found a book that was given to her by nopony else then Rainbow Dash as a gift because in the pegasus her words it was ‘just so awesome’. “Daring Do and the Sunpiece, does sound interesting,” she said before her body was dropped back down within the chair. She opened the book of the first page. With the steaming cup of tea having cooled off to her desired temperature, she took a small sip from it before she rested her eyes truly on the book and read it with great care. Though the more she read through the book, the more she found herself taking sips from her tea. With the rich liquids that made their way ever so lovingly down her throat before they warmed up her whole body. The feeling got better with each sip she took. But just felt, good. Being surprised and a little shocked by all of the happenings, the unicorn started to taste just what kind of flavor the tea had she was drinking before she came up with the unique taste she always enjoyed. “Strawberry with cherry,” she mumbled after she did a couple smacks with her lips. It was only then that her eyes shot open and she placed the cup back on the desk. The book got closed in a quick manner and held against her chest while she made the connection in her mind. “It, it just looks, like b-blood.” Rarity shook her head ever so violently and in a negative manner at the racing thoughts that went through her mind as she kept on muttering. “Get it out of your head you foolish mare! Get that thought out of you, you don’t need blood to live on!” She kept her eyes fixed upon the ground after the shaking and they also had both of her crossed forelegs in their view. The sights of the burned hoof were only more fuel of the fires of the rage that boiled deep inside of the proper mare. Her right eye twitched gently due to convulsion as she spoke her words in anger. “When will you heal!?” The mare stood up from her chair and the convulsions had moved over to the whole of her face. Rarity walked in a backwards motion until she bumped into the opposing wall. But her eyes kept going all over the place. Once again had she that searching gaze in her eyes. She was looking for something, something to find. Anything for that matter. “Blood stills the lust,” she mumbled to herself. “Too long nothing... Horrible things happen... Must, feed...” Rarity left the wall and made her way again down the hallway and stairs. She reached the ground floor without much troubles yet in her mind there was a war between her desires and ethical behavior raging. With a simply charge of her horn she took her cloak from the hatstand and placed it over her body before she opened the door to see Ponyville. A Ponyville that was consumed by the darkness of night. ~~~~                 The skies were cloudless whereas the moon went accompanied with the faint lights of the many stars that stood on the skies. The door got closed behind her and she started to wander through the empty streets. Her eyes went looking for something, if not somepony. Anypony that could be used to still her lust for blood. She kept trotting silently through the lifeless streets with her ears perked up to catch even the tiniest of sounds. It wasn't much later after she had started her hunt that there was a snoring that entered her ears. Rarity took off her hood and turned her head in the directions the sounds came from or where she thought they came from. But no matter where she looked, the source of the sound was nowhere to be found. She wanted give it up and declare herself crazy when there was a blockade that caused some light to shift on the ground. Curious to just what it could have been turned the mare her gaze up and she took notice of a cloud. A single cloud that was hovering a lot lower to the ground then all the others that were visible that night. It was from up there that the sounds originated from and within her eyes she could spot a tail. A tail that was definitely that from a pony judging by the hair and all seven colors of the rainbow were able to be seen. Rarity knew straight away just from who that tail was but her desire for blood managed to take her mind over. She wanted it so badly by then that it didn't matter to her just who was up there sleeping. The wings where more than ready to be deployed and powerful enough to raise her up to the cloud. The plan of attack was just perfect in her mind. Though it was the same mind which reminded her kindly to the miserable attempt to fly within the walls of the boutique. It was a memory that quickly dispatched the idea from her mind. Rarity shook her head gently as she continued on her stroll with a sight in her eyes that spoke of utter madness. Her pacing was calm yet eerie, the kind given when a being was at the point of doing something terrible. And she was going to in more than one way. ~~~~   The unicorn had been wandering through the whole of Ponyville and didn't found a single soul that was still outside. Something that was not all to unusual given the late hour on which the mare was out. Rarity made her over to the outskirts and even the border of the quiet town in the vague hope to catch some unlucky traveler. As much as the idea was well thought out, even that failed after she had wandered over the silent routes that lead through the well-known plains of Ponyville. Rarity was ready to drop the towel in the ring and give it up for the night. She would declare herself the loser of the battle and just had to live with that fact. Within her ears she heard a sound that was both unusual yet familiar to her. Her eyes closed themselves off from the world in order to identify the noises a bit more. With the passage of a few seconds her eyes went open again and a small grin got formed on her face. “Snoring,” she spoke in a whisper while she pinpointed the location. She followed the sounds as her ears turned in every possible direction to stay on track. Rarity had gained a curious look on her face and her pacing was near silent. And before she even knew it, she stood eye in eye with the origin of the sound. Saliva had built itself up within her mouth and she opened her mouth slightly. Her fangs emerged from their hiding spot after Rarity had opened her mouth even further. The razor sharp fangs shone greatly within the light of the moon that almost reflected from them. Yet they carried a strand of buildup saliva to them. A set of strands which went towards the inside of her cheeks. Though it was then that she started to drool just a little bit and pieces of her goo made their unto the grass. The unicorn allowed her tongue to make its way passed the fangs and caught most of the liquids in a rather seducing manner as her entire tone changed in the normal one. “Perfect.” Before her laid a pegasus stallion that was deeply asleep against a thick tree in the middle of the plain. Luckily for her, he was a deep sleeper and his breathing was ever so relaxed. The blue coated, gray maned stallion didn't even move himself within his sleep as he laid with his back against the trunk and with the forelegs tucked in. His hindlegs were spread out a little bit and perfect for any mare to lay in between. Rarity couldn't resist the sight anymore. A meal simply ready to be taken, just like that. A deep smirk began to form itself on her face as she made her way closer over to him. Rarity allowed her body to fall on top of the stallion in a gentle manner. But her stone cold body made him stir a little bit. Much to her own surprise, he wrapped his forelegs around her neck and even smiled in her direction. Okay, this is odd, the mare thought to herself before she managed to calm herself down from the sudden movement. He continued his sleeping and the breathing that left his nose kept being relaxed. Rarity stroked the left cheek of the pegasus in a calm way while a smile of her own got formed. A smile that revealed her sharp fangs even more. The hoof then made its way down to the neck of the stallion. Due to sheer coldness of her undead body, the veins in the neck widened themselves and thus became visible for the naked eye. They were clearly exposed for the vampiric unicorn that laid on top of him. He wasn't fighting back or resisting her in any manner. The stallion just kept stirring in his sleep and never managed to wake up. In order to keep him more into the lands of his dream moved her lips up to that of his where they would meet one another for a kiss. The mare then wrapped her free and boney foreleg around his head to kiss him on the lips with great care. Rarity released a couple soft moans to greaten up the effect in order to satisfy her guilty, pleasuring lust. With the passage of seconds would she have broken the kiss. A small strand of his saliva still connected the mortal and the immortal beings together. But the remaining hoof gave off one last stroke in the neck in order to all the veins visible to her under the heavenly moonlight. There was one vein that stood out more than any other and she moved her face away from his lips and down to his neck. The more her eyes stared down at the blood rich vein, the more she lost all of her morals and senses. Her fangs got placed on the skin above the vein and with one downward motion, they sank through it and tore the vein right open. It let the blood to stream right down into the mouth of the vampony who collected it and mixed it with her own saliva. And it would have been that sickening mixture that would be swallowed by her. More and more blood left the body of the stallion and it all got swallowed up by the mare who found herself moaning ever so slightly above her prey. Moans of a guilty and pure pleasure and delight did their turn as she enjoyed the taste of the liquids that rushed themselves in her mouth. She wanted more, she needed more. And in order to get it, she continued to suck it out of him. ~~~~                   With the passage of seconds that turned into a minute or two did Rarity let go from his neck in order to catch up with her forced breathing. It was in the form of a pant and some blood squirted out the bitten neck. She glared down at him and stroked his cheek again in a gentle way. The unicorn let go one last moan before she licked her blood covered lips clean with her tongue. She swallowed the remains before her body rose up from the stallion and spoke her closing words. “Thank you, for being my meal,” she said in a kind and almost thankful sounding tone towards him. Rarity began to walk backwards and turned herself around to face the town again. The mare had one last glance to him before she changed her pace into a higher gear. She was more than ready to head back to her home and stay there for a while. But little did the mare knew that she had nearly completely drained him. Almost every single drop of blood that was to be found within his body had made the transfer over to hers. Just a very small amount was left within him. And it would be that bit that would keep him alive. It would be a massive struggle for life to be maintained in the stallion. Along the way she walked back did Rarity discover that her trotting was a lot faster than when it was before she drank all of the blood. In her mind she tied the ropes together quickly and smirked like only a true devil could do. ~~~~                 Within the minute that she had closed the front door of the darkened boutique behind her, there was yet another shock that went through her body. Another shock of realization that surged her wide awake. “W-What have I done?” she questioned herself while she got hit by the event as if they were a wrecking ball. “N-No... I-Impossible...” As light on her hooves as she was, she made her way into the unlit living room and dropped herself once more on the sofa. Below her eyes there were the tears of blood which had built up once more. “I am, a monster,” she concluded about herself. For it was the only one to be made. And soon enough, the first tears of blood rolled down her cheek again. “How could this have happened!? Why can’t I control it!?” But the tears soon made room for a pure anger before she stood back up and left the sofa as a whole. With her magical aura she picked up all the books about the vampiric race and threw them all around the room. Her rage didn't just stay with that though. For after the books, it was the table that had to suffer. The small wooden table crashed right into the sofa after being picked up and simply flipped over as the unicorn removed herself out of the living room. She made her way over to the working area with powerful, angry steps. The rage that was visible in her eyes appeared to be powerful enough that it could burn the place down almost instantly. But it where the sights she caught within her eyes which managed to calm her down by a lot, if not able to bring her back. Just the whole cleaned up working area always had a calming effect upon her mind for one reason or the other. “E-Everything will be done someday, but tomorrow I am taking a day off, I need to think this over. All of, this,” she softly mumbled to herself while she blinked with her eyes. The unicorn walked up to the desk that stood in the room and gently lowered her body in the chair. She then charged up her horn in order to see at least something among the dark. Her eyes made their way over her personal agenda as it was filled with countless orders and appointments to be met. “Dresses can be delayed... That show can be canceled...” But by one date her eyes froze on the spot. She could and would not leave the chance that was written down there. “Interview... f-for EquinFasion,” she mumbled to herself while she brought her left foreleg to her mouth. Rarity had waited months for a chance like that and with no way she would pass on this. “When, when, when?” Rarity said as her eyes scanned for the date, only to freeze up again. “In two days... B-But I c-can’t go when I look like this! Then again, I can use the same explanation again. B-But my hoof!” The mare raised her right forehoof with speed and her eyes caught a perfectly shaped hoof. No loose skin, no bone, no nothing was to be found. Just her hoof in the shape it always had been before it was burned by the sun. “B-But how?” Rarity said in a questioning tone to her hoof. “B-Books... Where did I left those?” Without any second to spare, she ran back into the living room in order to find the books she borrowed from Twilight. She found them of course laying across the room and gathered all of them and set the table right again. The unicorn placed the books on the table while she dropped her body right in the sofa again. “Where is that book?” Rarity managed to find the book that was written by Dr. Acula and took place in her chair before she began to quickly turn the pages, looking for one thing in particular. “Abilities, abilities,” she mumbled while looking through. “Ah, here we go.” With her eyes she began to skim through the chapter, looking for one thing in particular. “A vampony is able to heal itself while drinking the blood of a pony. Any harm done shall be healed at a fast rate, broken bones, cut skin and even injuries like walking in sunlight,” there she read it, the very proof of it. “S-So... Let’s face the facts Rarity,” she mumbled in herself. “Why do you keep denying the monster you have become?” The unicorn let go a deep sigh as her eyes gazed upon the book. “You are a vampony, a myth, a true rarity,” she said to herself just before the eyes shut themselves. She finally had accepted the thing she had become by - at least to her - unknown reasons. ~~~~                 Some good minutes went by on the clock before the eyes got opened again and Rarity had a look around the living room as the reality of the situation came to her. Never would she be able to just walk down the stairs on a sunny morning and just get greeted by the warm rays, never again she would be able to just go outside and show the world her wonderful body on a cloudless afternoon. “I, I must just live with it sadly,” the mare whispered to herself as she let her eyes rest on the book again and closed it. “Just accept it...” Her eyes closed themselves again while her body leaned back against the back end of the chair. It was all done in the vague attempt to catch some sleep in the venturing night. Though the more the mare tried to doze off, the stranger she began to feel herself. She started to feel herself light. Not just in the head, but in her entire body. She tried to shake it off by leaning deeper into the chair but this only made the feeling stronger. The feeling of something that took her in its hold, dragging her in. Rarity made the mistake to dive deeper into it. She thought it would make it stop, but things turned out quite differently. She got a feeling of falling in her guts and it caused her closed eyes to shoot wide open which revealed those haunting, blood red irises once more to the world. But as the mare gazed at her surrounding it seemed that everything was darker yet more visible for her. It was something that couldn't be explained as she kept looking. Her eyes kept gazing and pulses of pure darkness could be seen on places where normally a shadow would be. The mare shook her head a couple times but something pulled her to that pulse. To all of them. Rarity looked up to the ceiling, trying to get a view of her light but was only blinded by it and started to hiss darkly as she turned away, walking towards one of the pulses. “Go away!” she screamed against the light in anger. Rarity reached one of the places where the pulses came from. But she reached the archway leading to her living room, she got a grin on her face. For that spot simply felt comfortable. Far more comfortable than her bed and without much thought she took her refuge in the spot. The unicorn had managed to merge with the shadows themselves and her whole body, mind and even soul dissolved into nothing but shadow. She closed her eyes once more with the single desire to sleep. Rarity felt herself secure in the place that was on the floor. A place in a shadow rich corner that was created by a natural darkness. Rarity made herself even more comfortable in the shadows as she used her mane and tail as a pillow and slowly fell asleep. And not much later she dreamed about things better left untold as she grinned like a maniac. ~~~~   The following morning had the weather taken a rather grim turn and it almost seemed like it was ready to erupt out in yet another violent storm. On the streets of the town could a mulberry coated unicorn mare be seen that was making her way over to the Carousel Boutique, while a worried look occupied her face. “Rarity!” the all too familiar voice spoke. For it was Twilight Sparkle who stood by the entrance of Carousel Boutique and was knocking on the door. “Rarity open up! I need my books back and a favor from you as well.” Not much later there was the voice of an annoyed Rainbow Dash who could be heard through the air. The pegasus was rudely woken up from her nap on the cloud which had drifted over to the boutique. “Ugh, Twilight, is it really necessary to scream that loud in the morning, ponies want to sleep you know!” she muttered to the pony down on the ground with her head that peeked off of the fluffy bed. Her forehooves were hanging off of the cloud before a small groan left her. Rainbow always was active but the morning was the time of day she was mostly inactive. “I am sorry Rainbow, but something about Rarity does not suit me very well. Something is off about her.” Twilight replied as she looked up and rubbed her shoulder with a fore hoof. “Off? About that mare? Twilight you are imagining things again. You know how much she can go on about her class, dresses and frou-frou things,” the pegasus replied under a light chuckle and a cocky smile. “That, that is not it, Rainbow. If you really want to know, come to my library this afternoon,” the librarian said before she turned her attention again up to Rainbow. She gave her friend the concerned look before her hoof knocked on the door again. “Rarity!” “You know she isn't going to open right? I mean, look at it, all the curtains closed, no sounds coming from inside. Normally she is up by now doing her frou-frou,” stated Rainbow before she stood up from her cloud and stretched herself a little but under a soft moan. Even her wings opened up and their bones were snapped back gently into their place. “Oh, oh, oh, so good,” she spoke with a set of closed eyes. While the cracking sounds of the bones entered the ears of Twilight, the unicorn was simply horrified. She aimed her eyes up towards the pegasus with a leaning look of utmost discomfort. “Was, was that really necessary, Rainbow?” she spoke up loud enough to be heard. But the tone was everything but comfortable. “Hehe, sorry Twi. I forgot that you aren't a fan of the sound. Much like miss Frou-Frou in there,” she said with a chuckle before she stroked through her mane with her left forehoof. It was after the hoof was set back on the cloud that a loud and dark moan left the boutique. A moan that shocked both of the mares equally as deep. Both of the mares stared at each other for a couple moments before their attention turned back to the building. Twilight knocked even harder on the door as Rainbow readied her wings to take off from the cloud. “I am going to look if I can look inside somewhere,” the rainbow maned pegasus said as she took off from the cloud and began to circle around the boutique, inspecting every single window. But no matter which one she passed, all of them were closed by the curtains. When she made her return, she landed next to Twilight and simply shook her head. “Everything is closed, Twilight,” the pegasus said with a defeated look in her eyes. “B-But what is inside there then?” Twilight asked in a fearful tone. She kept knocking on the door like a brutal savage. Breaking in wasn’t an option, but she got dangerously close to do it. “Would you be so kind and just leave!” a dark and twisted version of the mare’s voice yelled up in an annoyed tone. The silence inside had been broken and something was going on. “R-Rarity!?” was the name that both of the mares spoke in choir. They first gazed at the door and after that just to each other. Rainbow as well as Twilight shared the same expression on their faces.