//------------------------------// // Answers Uncovered and Questions Unanswered // Story: Demonic Brother // by kurusagi16 //------------------------------// Answers Uncovered and Questions Unanswered "They...they found Eldra?" asked Twilight, making sure that she had heard right. Alistair nodded slowly, his face still wearing a somewhat grim expression. "This letter is from Scarlet." he said. "She says that her search party was doing another sweep of the harbor town that Discord said she stayed in when she first arrived. They were about to head back when they detected an odd scent. They followed it to a burial mound and from it they uncovered Eldra's remains." Discord gave Alistiar a befuddled look. "So then...she's dead?" "It would seem so." said Alistair. "I can't say I'm sorry for her death, though it is still quite a shock." Discord poofed into an officer's uniform, and crossed off some writing on a notepad. "Well, guess we can cross her off the suspect list." he said. "Wait." said Twilight, catching their attention. The young Unicorn appeared to be in thought. "Maybe we should check out Eldra's remains for ourselves." "Why?" asked Alistair. "Do you think it could be some kind of trick?" Twilight shook her head. "No, it's just that, I'm curious as to how she died. I mean, somepony obviously buried her, and it's quite possible that they might also be responsible for killing her as well." "But what does that matter?" asked Discord. "Whether she's been murdered or not, she's still dead. That means she couldn't have taken Fluttershy and we can move on." "I think Twilight's right." said Alistair. Discord scoffed. "Of course you'd agree with her." "I too am curious as to my sister's demise. If we take a look it could perhaps shed some light on some things." Discord let out a groan. "Fine, have it your way." He snapped his claws and teleported them all to the burial mound, where Scarlet and some of the searchers were. They were momentarily surprised by the sudden appearance of the trio, but quickly recovered when they recognized who it was. "Alistair." said Scarlet, walking toward him. "I'm glad you made it." "Where is she?" asked Alistair. Scarlet motioned for them to follow her and led them to a cot they had set up near the hole, and on it laid Eldra's dead body. Her hair was messy and brittle, her coat was pale and stiff, and her eyes, though dried out, were glassy and wide with what looked like fear. The fear of death. Twilight put a hoof over her mouth but did not look away. "How long do you think she's been like this?" she asked. "A bit difficult to say." answered Scarlet. "Vampires decay like they age, very slowly. But when we age, we reach a point where we just stop and our bodies are preserved in that form for the rest of out lives. When a vampires dies though, it takes a while for the flesh to decay. Years, even decades, depending on how well preserved the body is." "So, you're saying it'd be impossible to tell when she died?" asked Twilight. Scarlet shook her head. "Not impossible, just more difficult. After all, we are quite different from you mortals." Twilight lowered her gaze back at the body, looking at it thoughtfully. "I think I might have a good idea on when she died." said Alistair, taking many of the ponies around him by surprise. "Really, when?" asked Twilight. "Right around the time she disappeared all those months ago." he answered. "How do you figure that?" asked Scarlet. Alistair sighed. "I can't be certain, but...it feels like it makes sense. After all, when she disappeared, there were now reports of any attacks whatsoever and nopony could find her. The reason for that would likely either be because she had left the New World for good, or she was dead. And now it appears to be the latter." Discord waved a paw dismissively and looking a touch bored. "Yes, yes, this is all very fascinating. Now that we know for certain that she's dead, can we please go and look for Fluttershy now?" "But wait, how did she die?" asked Twilight. "From what I can see, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her." Scarlet's face looked dark as she moved closer to the body. "That's because this is what killed her." she turned the head over to the side, exposing the side of her neck, where two deep holes were punctured. This got Discord's attention, as he looked at the mark with curiosity. "Are those...bite marks?" asked Alistair. Scarlet nodded. "Yes. And before you ask, we do believe that they're from a vampire." "So then...vampires can be killed from blood loss the same as ponies?" asked Twilight. "No, it doesn't quite work like that." said Scarlet and Alistair at the same time. Scarlet then continued to explain. "There have been very rare cases in which a vampire has drunk another's blood, done in either desperation or madness. But even then, there is little effect on the vampire being bitten than feeling weak and disoriented. Even if all their blood were drained they'd just fall into a coma until their blood is replenished. But no, even though Eldra has had her blood completely drained that isn't what killed her." "Then what did kill her?" asked Twilight. "That's the part that has me stumped." said Scarlet. "Except for this mark, there is no other indication of anything that could've killed her, so I'm left to assume that this bite is somehow the cause. Though it's quite troubling to not know for certain. I'll have to report this to the others and let them know the search is over." "Thank you for telling us, Scarlet." said Alistair, who turned away from his sister's corpse. "You've been very helpful." Scarlet smiled politely. "I'm happy to have been of service, and I wish you the best of luck in finding your daughter." With their farewells said, Discord took them back to the villa. "Well, that was a waste of time." said Discord. "It wasn't a waste." protested Twilight. "We now know what happened to Eldra, and that the person who killed her was a vampire." "Yes, but what use is that in finding Fluttershy?" snapped the Draconequus. "While you're busy taking notes for your little journals, Fluttershy is out there somewhere probably fearing for her life!" "You don't think I don't know that!" spat Twilight. "I just thought that maybe there'd be something we missed." "Both of you stop it!" said Alistair sharply. "This is getting us nowhere." "Finally, we agree on something." grumbled Discord. Alistair ignored him. "While I'm grateful to finally know what became of Eldra, and as puzzling as her death may seem, there's little else there that can help point us in the right direction to help find my daughter." The gears in Twilight's head were grinding like mad, as she quickly went over what they'd just learned a few moments ago. She then asked, "Alistair, in order for somepony to have killed Eldra, they'd have to been close to her. Do you know anypony like that that she'd keep around?" Alistair shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Eldra was not well liked, to say the least. If there were anyone that'd be close to her, I'm sure it'd be only a one-sided attraction." Discord opened his mouth, about to say that this was of little consequence, when something clicked in his head. He suddenly called up a memory that had been in the back of his head, of a certain Pegasus stallion with crimson hair and a cream-colored coat. "That stallion..." he muttered to himself. Both Twilight and Alistair heard him and turned their attention to him. "That stallion?" questioned Twilight. "Who are you talking about?" "When I was freed by Eldra, there was a stallion with her, who she seemed to have quite an attraction with." "Wait, are you saying Eldra had a partner?" asked Alistair. "I suppose so, if you want to put it that way." "And you didn't mention this before, why?" asked Twilight, feeling that this was information they could've used months ago when Eldra had disappeared. Discord held up his arms defensively. "Hey don't get all mad at me, Miss Sparkle. I simply forgot. I only saw a few times and even then we didn't exactly converse much. So as someone of little consequence, he didn't seem worth remembering until now." Twilight goraned and rubbed her temple. "What did the stallion look like?" asked Alistair. Discord thought it over. "Mmm, fairly young, he was a Pegasus, and he had a very red mane and a very pale coat. ANd I think his name was Blake or something. That's all I can really remember about him." Alistair's eyes lit up with recognition at the description. "Wait a minute...at the ball, I remember seeing Fluttershy dancing with someone I'd never seen before, who matches your description perfectly." "Wait, Fluttershy was dancing with a stranger?!" asked Discord in surprise. "You didn't know?" "I was busy checking the bushes around the clearing, I thought that somepony was watching us so I wanted to check without worrying Fluttershy." "I wonder..." mused Twilight. "Suppose if this stallion from the ball is also the same one who was Eldra's partner, could he have been the one who kidnapped Fluttershy?" Silence fell among them, as the three thought over the possibility that had just been brought up. "If it is...was could be his motive for kidnapping Fluttershy?" asked Alistair. Twilight shrugged. "Revenge maybe?" "Doubtful." said Discord. "I could easily tell that Drake was quite irritated by Eldra, and if he did kill Eldra why seek vengence for that?" "I don't know, but right now he seems like the best suspect we've got." said Twilight. "He's also the only suspect we've got." muttered Discord. "Discord, this partner stayed with Eldra in the same harbor town she was in, correct?" asked Alistair. "Yes. Why?" "If we go down to the docks and ask if anypony has seen this stallion recently, perhaps it could help us find him. As Eldra's partner, he may have some clues as to where Fluttershy is." Twilight agreed to the idea, while Discord was still a bit unsure. He wanted to find Fluttershy as soon as possible and didn't want to waste anymore time than they already had. And yet, a twinge of hope filled him, as he thought about how this could possibly be a clue to find her. So ultimately, he agreed as well. The three had found answers to some their questions, but in turn, even more questions arose, and hopefully, by searching for their answers, they'd be able to find their dear Fluttershy. Hopefully.