Cantarella
"Sigh! I'm bored!" groaned Rainbow Dash, flopping onto her stomach as she sat on the armchair in the villa library.
Since the girls were staying inside until things quieted down, they decided to spend the day in the library, and already it was late afternoon. Rainbow had gone through all the adventure novels, and was just itching for something to do. She looked over at Twilight and Fluttershy, who were deep in conversation.
"What are you two up to?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I felt that this would be a perfect opportunity to ask Fluttershy some questions for my research." replied Twilight, lifting up her notebook for Rainbow to see. "After all, it's not everyday that you get to meet a vampire hybrid. I mean, there's so little documentation on them, and now I have a chance to add these new discoveries to my research. It could change everything on how ponies originally viewed hybrids." Twilight looked ecstatic, practically squealing at how she had been given the rare chance to document this scientific discovery. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, sure. Let me know when you two do something interesting." she said, and made an attempt to take a little nap.
"I can't thank you enough for your help." said Twilight to Fluttershy. "You have no idea how helpful this research will be."
"You're welcome. I'm just happy to help." said Fluttershy.
"Do you mind showing your fangs? I'd like to get a sketch of them for reference."
"Okay."
Fluttershy opened her mouth as wide as she could, and let her fangs protrude out. Twilight got to work on the sketch, her quill moving fast until she accidentally pressed too hard and...
Snap!
"Dang it!" said Twilight in annoyance. She lifted up her now broken quill, eyeing where the nib had snapped off. "Ugh! And I chose to not bring any extras with me before heading on the trip." Twilight face-palmed herself and tossed the quill into a nearby trash can. "I'll have to get some more the next time we go into town."
"Why can't we go now?" asked Rainbow, her attention now grabbed at the prospect of doing something and being able to stretch her wings.
"Because, we agreed to stay inside till things quieted down. With a mob banding together, there's no telling what sort of crazy things will happen." replied Twilight.
"Aw, come on Twi! It'll just be a quick trip. We go in, we get the quills, and then we go back."
"But-"
"I'll even go out myself and get them."
"Rainbow-"
"Um," said Fluttershy, piping up. "If you girls want, I can just stay here while you girls go into town. I'll even keep the door locked until you get back." Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at her.
"Are you sure Fluttershy?" asked Twilight. Fluttershy nodded.
"You girls have been cooped up in here for quite a while, some fresh air would be good for the both of you." she said.
"Well-"
"It really isn't any trouble." Fluttershy leaned in a little and whispered to Twilight, "Besides, it'll give Rainbow a chance to burn off all her pent up energy." Twilight looked over Fluttershy's shoulder at Rainbow, who was shifting anxiously from one hoof to another.
"I think you're right." whispered Twilight. She then walked over to Rainbow Dash and said, "Alright Rainbow, we can go."
"Yes!" cried Rainbow, zipping like lightning toward the door.
"You sure you'll be alright here alone?" asked Twilight.
"I'll be fine. There's no need to worry about me." said Fluttershy.
"We'll try to be back soon. Be safe."
"I will."
And with that, Twilight also left, leaving Fluttershy by herself in the library. 'I'll be fine.' she thought to herself. 'I've already been alone plenty of times.'
It little while later after Twilight and Rainbow Dash left, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Fluttershy called out from behind the closed door.
"It's me." said the pony on the other side, who Fluttershy recognized as Tony Stanza.
"Hold on!" Fluttershy opened the door a little, to find Tony Stanza waiting patiently on the doorstep.
"Are you ready to go, my dear?" he asked. Fluttershy gave up a confused expression.
"Go?" she asked.
"You didn't forget about the show, did you?"
"No, but, I thought that the show was later tonight."
"It was, but because of all the fear of the mysterious attacker, the show was moved to near Sunset."
"Oh." Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. "I'm terribly sorry Tony, but I'm afraid I can't go. My friends and I planned to stay here until things quieted down around here."
"And where are your friends?" he asked, looking on either side of Fluttershy, waiting and expecting them to come out from somewhere.
"They, had to step out on an errand." answered Fluttershy.
"Really? So it's just you here?" asked Tony.
"Well, yes."
"Then I don't see any harm in you accompanying me to the performance."
"I don't know."
"I assure you, you'll be perfectly safe. I'll see to it myself." Fluttershy thought about it. Tony seemed so intent on seeing the show with her, it was a little hard to say no, especially after how nice he'd been to her. But she also didn't want to worry her friends by going out when she said she'd stay and wait for them.
"I...I...I suppose, it couldn't hurt to take a little look. But, I need to come straight back. I don't want my friends to wonder where I've gone if they get back and find that I'm not here."
"I understand. Here, I'll even jot down a note myself to leave for them." Tony conjured a piece of parchment and a quill, and jotted down a brief message, setting it inside the villa.
"Now then, shall we be off?" asked Tony with a charming grin. Fluttershy tentatively stepped out and closed the door behind her.
"A-alright." she said. And the two went off on their way to see the show. Inside the house, the letter Tony had written appeared blank, its words haven been written in disappearing ink.
"Alistair, is something troubling you?" Scarlet asked Alistair, who had been staring off into the distance since returning to the mansion to report on his progress in handling the rouge vampires. Alistair let out a tired sigh.
"It's my daughter, Fluttershy." he said. "I'm worried about her. With my hooves full dealing with this mess, I'm not sure when I'll ever get back to her." Scarlet gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.
"I can see that this is hard for you, Alistair. You've been working very diligently these past few days, giving us the upper hoof, but, perhaps you should head back home."
"But I can't! Not so long as those rouges and their leader are still out there. I-"
"Have done enough." said Scarlet firmly. "Go to your daughter, we can take care of things ourselves, for now. I'm sure she is also very worried about you." Alistair said nothing, but gave a respectful nod.
"Thank you Scarlet, I promise to make up for my lost time when I return." Scarlet watched as Alistair hurried to prepare for his leave. From the shadows, stepped out her husband Phobos.
"Are you sure it's wise to have him return home?" he asked. "We'll need very ounce of strength we have if we're to deal with the half bloods." Scarlet drew close to Phobos and spoke in a smooth voice.
"Fear not husband, I wasn't lying when I said we could handle it on our own. I'm sure you've noticed by now that something isn't quite right." she said.
"Exactly what do you mean? Many things haven't been right lately."
"These half bloods, not only do they seem to be under someone's control, but many of them have been disappearing."
"Disappearing? I haven't heard anything about that."
"I've checked into some of the sites where attacks were reported and where the half bloods were dealt with. In those sites, the attacks seemed to have stopped altogether, and half bloods' bodies have disappeared without a trace."
"Does that mean they're no longer a threat?" Scarlet shook her head.
"I didn't say that. There's still roughly hundreds of half bloods, and they still could pose a threat to the ponies. But-"
"But what?"
"Alistair mentioned a cloaked stallion who offered to help with the clean up at one of the towns he went to. I have reason to believe that he responsible for the decrease of half bloods, I'd even go so far as to say he was the one who left us the warning."
"But who is he? Do you suppose he's an ally?" Scarlet was lost in thought.
"It's too soon to tell. But for now it seems that stopping these half bloods is both in our interests. We'll allow him to continue his business for now, but if he shows any signs of being our enemy, he must also be dealt with accordingly."
"Should we inform the others?" Scarlet shook her head.
"No, it's best not to tell them until we know a little more about this mysterious stallion. In the meantime, we should rally our forces, and try to get them to push the half bloods and their leader to one location. Or in the very least, find out where their base of operations is." Phobos looked at her with mild amusement.
"You wish to take them out at once?" he asked. Scarlet nodded.
"While they may be vampires, it's clear from the way they've been fighting that they have no interest in negotiations or peace. They're no different from rats, and shall be treated as such." Phobos wrapped his arms around Scarlet and kissed her neck.
"This brings back memories." he said.
"Yes." she said in agreement. "But we can't waste anymore time on pleasantries. Inform the others that we shall be having another meeting."
"Alright, my darling. But when this is all over, let us resume our pleasantries." The two shared one last kiss before Phobos headed off to get the Pure Bloods together.
The performance Tony had taken Fluttershy to was a tragic play called Cantarella, involving misunderstandings, true love, and remarkable action scenes. Fluttershy felt very sorry for the characters, and was also sorry that she wouldn't be able to finish it, but she didn't want to be out too long after dark. Or to have her friends worry about her being out. At some of the more scary scenes, Fluttershy gasped along with the audience, and would shut her eyes tightly till they were over. And during each scene, Tony would hold her hoof and let her know when it was safe to look. When it was almost time for intermission, Tony pulled out a bright red apple and handed it to Fluttershy.
"Here," he said. "I thought you might get hungry, so I brought this for you." Fluttershy smiled as she took the apple.
"Thank you." she said. She took a bite from the juicy apple as she watched the play.
"I find this play to be quite interesting." remarked Tony, his attention on the actors while at the same time talking to Fluttershy. "The story is rather riveting." Fluttershy supposed so, and took another bite of the apple. As she did, she began to feel light headed. Perhaps she was just tired?
"And the name, Cantarella, I find to be the most interesting part." said Tony. Fluttershy put a hoof to her head, her vision beginning to blur, Tony's voice started to sound far away.
"It comes from a special kind of poison you know. Tasteless yet very potent stuff." Fluttershy dropped the apple to the floor, which Tony picked up and looked at with a smile that gave Fluttershy chills. "I wouldn't worry though if I were you, I made sure to use only something that'll put you to sleep for a little while."
Fluttershy would've widened her eyes in horror and fear, if they didn't feel so heavy. Her eyelids started to droop. 'No!' she thought with terror. 'NO!' The last thing she saw before she drifted off was Tony and his pleased smile.
"Sweet dreams." whispered Tony. It was now intermission, ending off with one of the main characters being poisoned by the one she trusted, just like Fluttershy. Tony took hold of Fluttershy, and teleported away, leaving behind the half-eaten apple lying on the ground.
"Man, can you believe how crowded it was?" asked Rainbow Dash, as she flew beside Twilight, the two of the approaching the villa.
"Yeah, it took us a little longer than I had expected, but at least we're back now." said Twilight, carrying the quills she'd bought. The two made it to the villa door and were surprised to find that it was unlocked.
"Strange, I thought Fluttershy said she would lock it." said Twilight.
"Maybe she forgot." said Rainbow. The two entered the darkened villa and called out to Fluttershy, only to have their voices echo back to them.
"Fluttershy?"
"Are you here?!"
"Fluttershy!"
But no answer came. Fluttershy was gone. And neither of the girls new what horrible thing happened to their friend, or where she had been taken to.