//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: The Evil Inside // by LoveNote //------------------------------// I wake up cold and wet. I'm laying on a hard surface and feel raindrops on my coat. It looks like I am on some sort of building. The sun is just starting to peek over the horizon. I stand, my body aching from the roof I slept on. "What happened?" I ask myself as I walk over to the side of the building. There are a few ponies walking around below me. I don't remember how I got here. Jumping off the building, I spread my wings and soar towards my house. Maybe Tavi and Vinyl will know what happened. I land as I get close to the house. A brown mare is standing near the house next to mine. She looks up at me as I pass. We make eye contact and she quickly looks away. Her hoof kicks dirt and she looks at a rock like it was the most interesting rock she has ever seen. I sigh as I pass her. Someday I will get her back. I pause as that though passes threw my my head. Where did that come from. I feel a pull in my spirit back towards the mare. I shake my head and walk into the house. Tavi was walking around the living room. She stops and looks up at me when I enter. "Love Note!" She yells and runs to me. She throws her grey arms around me and holds me close. "We were so worried about you. Where were you last night?" She lets me go and looks me in the eyes. "We saw you leave and went to go find you but could not find you anywhere! Some pony told us that there was a bat pony out attacking others." She hugs me again. "I thought something happened to you." Her voice softens and shakes slightly. "I took a walk." I say casually. I could not tell her that I had no idea what happened, she would not let me leave her sight again. "And fell asleep in the band room at the club. I'm sorry, it was supposed to be just a nap." I lie. "What was that about a bat pony?" "A group of ponies were attacked not too far from the club last night. Two of the ponies clam that they had gotten bit. The mare was not too hurt, but the last one is in the hospital. Head injury." Tavi says and leads me over to the couch. We both sit. "The bat pony bit them? That's strange.." I feel the same pull I felt before. I try to ignore it and concentrate on Tavi. Bat ponies don't make a habit of biting ponies. They usually leave us alone, for fear of the wrath of Luna. "Has Luna found him yet?" I ask Tavi. "No. She clams that none of her guard was out. So if there really is a bat pony out there, its a rogue." A rogue? That's even more strange. "Luna advises us to stay inside at night until the bat pony is caught." She adds. "Ok. Hopefully its caught soon." I lean back on the couch. I'm just glad that I did not get hurt last night. I sit up. Beat. What if he got hurt? I jump off the couch and run over to the door. "Love Note! Where are you going?" I hear Tavi yell behind me. I open the door and run into... Beat. I look up at him from the ground and start laughing. Relief and embarrassment flood into me. "Good morning to you to, Love Note." He holds out his hoof to me and helps me up. Tavi runs to the door and glares at me. "Please give me some warning next time you plan on bolting out of the door. Hello Beat. Thank you for stopping her." I blush and walk back into the house. "Where were you going anyways?" Beat asks me as he follows me into the house. I blush again. "No where." I lie. He smirks at me. My heart flutters. "What are you doing here?" I ask quickly. "I came to check on you." My heart starts to race. He came to check on me? That's really.., sweet. Tavi coughs. "I'm going to go to the center. We need more flour. Behave you two while i'm gone." She says and heads out the door. I make my way to the couch while keeping my full attention on Beat. He follows me and sits right next to me. I feel myself shifting my weight to make myself closer to him. I turn my head to him and find my face just inches from him. Hes looking into my eyes with the same look I saw before. My heart starts to race as he puts his lips on mine. It was a tender kiss. A meaningful kiss. I kiss him back and he raps his hoof around my back, pulling me closer. I pull away from him and put my forehead on his. "Behave you." I tease. Beat laughs and pulls me close again. I was practically sitting on his lap. Beat kisses me again, this time a quick and sweet. We look into each others eyes. I think i'm in love. The look in his eyes said the same thing. "Beat, I think i'm in.." We both jump as the door open. I look over and see Vinyl standing at the door, wide eyed and mouth agape. I blush and jump off of Beat, who was also blushing. Vinyl looks between me and him and starts laughing. Like the type of laughing that leaves you on the floor in tears. I glance at Beat who looks just as confused as I feel. Vinyl picks herself off of the floor and walks over to Beat while wiping the tears from her face. "You are a lucky stallion, Beat!" She says and slaps him on the back. "You hurt her you die." She whispers to him then smiles. Vinyl chuckles to herself and then walks back to her room. "I'll give you two some privacy." She calls back to us. I blush and look at Beat. Hes smiling at me. I sit back on the couch next to him. Beat casually slips his arm around me and pulls me closer. I cant help but smile and lay my head on his shoulder. "Don't leave." I whisper to him. He looks down at me. "I never plan to." He whispers back and kisses me again. I sigh happily and close my eyes. The taste of his mouth was still on my lips. I slowly fall asleep in his arms. Darkness surrounds me. I'm laying on my belly on a cold, vibrating floor. I try to stand and fall wreathing from the pain in my side. I try again, slowly this time and make it. My side aches from the struggle. My wings are pulled out and attached to something. I pull softly, testing the strength of what bonds me. If I put my full strength in it maybe I can break free. I hear a buzz and look up at the red light. I jump into the air, ignoring the pain that stabs into my side. I use the leverage of one of my wings and flip. My wings pull and I hear a snap as I land back on the ground on my back. I yelp at the pain in my side. The red light turns green and I see a flash. There is the sound of a pop and then nothing. Back to darkness. I stand again. I did it. I broke the bonds that hold me. My wings dangle next to me, the broken bonds still hold them. I tuck then to my sides as best as I could. they feel stiff, like they have been pulled out for a long time. The vibrations on the floor stop. A light turns on above me, blinding me. I squint against the light and try to see what is around me. There is a black stallion right in front of me. The blood drains from me as his horn glows red. "Sleep." He whispers to me without even opening his mouth. A red glow surrounds me as I fall to the floor. "Love, are you ok?" Some pony is shaking me. I open my eyes and see Beat. His eyes are worried. I get the worried eyes a lot. "What? Uh, yeah. I'm fine." I mumble. Beat rubs my arm. "You started shaking and whimpering in your sleep." He hugs me. I had the dream again, only this time it was different. "I had a bad dream, but its ok now." I smile at him reassuringly. He smiles back. I love his smile. I cuddle up to him on the couch and sigh. When i'm with Beat it feels like nothing can get at me. Nothing can bring me down. Tavi walks inside with her saddle bag full. She places it on the counter and looks over at us. "Beat, you really should be leaving soon. The sun will be going down soon and we should not be out late." I feel him shift his weight. "Yeah." He looks down at me. "I'll be back tomorrow morning, ok?" He kisses me and gets up. "Bye Tavi, Love." He says and walks out. My side that was against him feels cold with out him here. Vinyl walks out of her room and sees Tavi. "Hey Tavi. You should have seen Love and Beat earlier!" She laughs and I blush again. I quietly make my way to my room. Even with my nap and having that dream again, I am tired and think I will call it a night. I enter my room and look around. Its cold in here. I turn on my heater and walk over to the window. The sun is going down and its getting dark. The moon is pecking over the horizon. I hope Beat made it home safe. A pony runs by my window and enters the house next door. I feel a pull in my spirit. A desire to go outside into the night. A desire for more pain. I blink. Where did that come from? I walk over to my mirror and freeze. My eyes are red, blood red. I feel a shiver go down my spine. Thoughts flow freely and my desire gets stronger. I lick my fangs and head towards my window. It opens easy, and I fly out into the night sky for another night of hunting. There are not many ponies out tonight. The few I have seen have been in a too public area or have made it to their house before i had a chance to get them. Frustration rises up in me and I growl. My desire grows each second I have not found my prey. Movement behind me catches my eye. I dive into the darkness and watch. A pony flies by. Some pony from Luna's guard. I let him leave. Once he is far enough way I start my hunt again. Noise below me draws I attention. A mare is running threw the street. Perfect. I dive and slam into the ground in front of her. She shrieks and turns on her heals. I chase after her, allowing the chase to draw on. She is running farther and farther from other ponies who could hear her screams. I jump on her back, slamming her into the ground. "PLEASE PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" She screams at me. I slam her face into the ground and growl at her. She starts sobbing. "It wont hurt too bad." I purr and pet her neck. I feel her heart beat under my hoof. She shies away from my touch. Her sobs shake her body. She looks young, just out of school. I put my head down towards her neck. Her eyes widen and she lets out a shrill scream. My ears flick back at the sound and I bite into her neck. The screaming stops abruptly. Her blood spills into her white coat and rushes into my mouth. She whimpers and I sigh. I see one of the guard flying towards us. I jump into the air and take off towards the Everfree forest. I land in the shadows and watch the as the guard makes it to my prey. I feel anger envelope me. A red glow surrounds me. I hover in the air. A glow starts to surround the guard pony. The mare tries to warn him but it is too late. The red glow clenches around him and he falls to the ground. The mare looks at him for a second and screams again. I smile and fly back over. The mare sees me coming and tries to run. I ignore her and instead bite into the guard. His blood, like most stallions, taste better then the mare. I notice the mare a second too late. She had grabbed a stick and as I turn to face her she hits me across the head with it. Black nothingness surrounds me.