//------------------------------//
// Seeking Fluttershy (and Answers) 
// Story: Demonic Brother 
// by kurusagi16 
//------------------------------//

Seeking Fluttershy (and Answers)



All was quiet on the docks of Port Rouge, the ponies working the docks were getting ready to head home for the day. One of the younger stallions had finished tying off the ships to the poles, when all of a sudden, a bright flash of light appeared, and startled him. The stallion fell back into a bucket, and gaped with wide eyes as three figures appeared in the spot where the light had been. The first two figures looked like normal ponies, but the third one was the bizarre creature he'd ever seen, the very sight of which caused him to faint.

Discord glanced over at the passed out stallion and smirked a little. Even though he'd decided to change himself for the better for Fluttershy, he still found the reactions of ponies to his sudden appearances to be just as amusing as ever. He then returned his attention to Twilight and said, "Alright, we're here. What now, Miss Sparkle?" 

"Um, well...I think for now, we should find a place to stay until we find Fluttershy." she said. 

"I know just the place." said Alistair, as he began to lead his companions down the docks. "There's an old inn here that should suit our needs nicely. It's been a while since I lasted visited the place, but it should still be in business." 

"That's right, you used to live in the Old World, didn't you." said Twilight.

Alistair nodded, a distant look appearing in his eyes. "Yes, at the heart of the countryside in Castle Alucard." He blinked and shook his head. "But that was a long time ago. Since I left, the castle was put into Eldra's care, so there's no telling what changes she's made to it. No doubt she made it to suit her own tastes and needs."

"You might be right." said Twilight. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have mentioned it."

"No, no. It's quite alright. I did have my regrets about abandoning my ancestral home, but I've already put them long behind me. Besides, we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"Exactly." said Discord, cutting into the conversation.  "Like finding Fluttershy, which we'd be doing much faster if you did less reminiscing and show us to the inn already." 

"Right, of course." said Alistair, picking up the pace. "Here it is."

The name of the inn was "The Scurvy Scallion", the building itself looked very old and worn down, but the lights and sounds from inside indicated that it was very lively regardless. 

"It hasn't changed a bit." said Alistair. "I'll head inside and take care of all the proper arrangements."

As Alistair stepped inside, Twilight turned toward Discord and said, "You might want to put on a disguise while we're here." she said.

"Do I have to?" whined Discord.

"Yes." Twilight replied with a pointed look. "Unless you want to draw attention to yourself and alert the kidnappers that we're here."

Discord gave her a sour expression, but conceded. "Oh, fine." In an instant, he was now in his pony disguise. 

"There, now that wasn't so hard now was it?" 

He grumbled to himself under his breath just as Alistair returned outside. "I've gotten us all a room. We can rest there for now and begin our search first thing tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow?!" said Discord. "Why not right now? We've wasted enough time already with all your little travel preparations, so why waste anymore time?"

"Because it's getting late, and we'd have better luck searching when it's light out." answered Alistair.

"But what about Fluttershy? There's no telling what those kidnappers have been doing to her all this time, but instead of searching so we can rescue her, you want to put it off for another day?!"

Alistair's jaw clenched, but he spoke as calmly as he could. "Look, I want to find my daughter just as much as you, but for now, we need to set up a base of operations, and we need to work on an actual rescue plan."

Discord looked like he wanted to argue some more, but instead, he bit back his tongue and stormed ahead, going inside the inn. 

"He's right about some things." Alistair admitted to Twilight. "If we wanted to, we could begin our search now. But I can't help but worry about what kind of risks there might be if we go in unprepared."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get her back." said Twilight, trying to cheer up Alistair's mood. 

"I know." he said. "I just hope in the meantime, that wherever Fluttershy is, that she hasn't been harmed and that she's well."









Fluttershy had another strange dream about Drake. In this dream, he was walking through a dimly lit cave, with dozens of stalactites and stalagmites all around, looking almost like the teeth of some horrible monster. Drake walked calmly, without a single trace of fear on his face, his eyes were bright with determination. He eventually stopped at the end of the cave, where he beheld the object he'd been searching for. Wedged between two large rocks, there stood a long staff, with a red pulsating gem at its tip. As Drake drew closer, the light in the cave gave way to heavy shadows, leaving only the glowing gem, that shined brightly upon his face. Fluttershy couldn't explain it, but she felt something horrible and unnatural about that stone. Each pulse of light it radiated sent chills down her spine and made her heart beat with fear. What was this mysterious stone?

Drake reached out toward it. Fluttershy tried to call out to him, to tell him to stay away from it, but no sound came out. He seized the staff. A blood-chilling whisper echoed through Fluttershy's mind. "Young vampire....you are the first in a long time to seek me out..."

"Then you know what I want of you." said Drake.

"Yes." replied the voice, "I can see clearly the dark ambition that has long been growing inside your heart. I shall help you to fulfill it, but, you understand the consequences of my arrangements."

Drake still wore his determined expression, but Fluttershy could see a bead of sweat drip off his brow, and his legs quivering ever so slightly. "Yes, I am fully aware."

The voice chuckled. "Then I look forward to doing business with you."

The red light intensified, until it became too bright for Fluttershy to see. When she reopened her eyes, she was awake, and lying in bed. It was morning now, and she could smell breakfast being cooked in the kitchen. 'What does it mean?' she wondered. 'Those dreams I've been having...are they trying to tell me something? Something about Drake?' 

Fluttershy hopped out of bed and went to the dining table. "Um, Zecora?" 

"Yes, what can I do? Is there something that is troubling you?" 

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, well, not exactly. It's just, I was wondering, if it'd be okay if I went to pay Drake a visit."

"Oh? Is that so?" 

"Y-yes. I want to thank him for what he's done for me...and, there are some things I'd like to ask him."

Zecora's eyes studied her for a moment before she smiled. "You're more than free to visit Drake, besides, I've been meaning to give you a break. You've worked so hard without asking for rest, so I think some time to yourself would be best."

"Thank you, Zecora." said Fluttershy. "I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

Zecora waved a hoof. "Take your time, and go to Drake. There's no need to hurry for my sake." 

And with that, Fluttershy left Zecora's shop, and headed for Drake's castle, hoping that once there, she'd be able to get some answers to her questions. 







Twilight had been sleeping soundly, when all of a sudden, her peaceful slumber was interrupted by the sound of bugle playing. It surprised her so much that she ended up rolling out of bed and onto the hard wooden floor.

She looked up and saw Discord, dressed in some kind of army uniform, holding the bugle he'd used to wake her up. He gave her a smug smirk. "Rise and shine, sleepy head. There's much to do and little time to waste." 

Twilight glared at him. "Discord..." But he quickly interrupted her with a snap of his fingers, conjuring up a bath tub with a shower head and placing Twilight inside. A curtain appeared around her and the shower head turned on. "Gah!!" she cried. For the water from the shower was icy cold. The shower disappeared in an instant. Twilight stood there, dripping wet, when a giant hair dryer was conjured up, and blew her dry. Her mane then went up in frizzed curls. 

"There, all ready to start the day." said Discord, clearly enjoying himself. 

Twilight gritted her teeth. "Discord!" 

"What? I did nothing wrong." he said innocently. A halo appearing over his head. 

Twilight was about to yell at him once more, when Alistair stepped into the room. "Good morning, all." he said. He looked over at Twilight's mane. "Oh dear, did you wake up with a case of bed head, Miss Sparkle?"

Discord snickered. Twilight shot him a glare and said, "No, just a little mishap when my hair was being dried."

"Well, it's easily fixable. Once you're ready, we can begin going over the map and figuring out where to search." he said.

"Right." she said, levitating a comb over and running it through her mane. "Got any idea in particular of where to search?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, there are some places in here in the Old World that vampires go to meet and interact with one another, similar to Scarlet's mansion. We usually refer to them as haunts." he said.

"So, you think Fluttershy might be at one of these haunts?" she asked.

"It's a possibility. But if she isn't there, there might be somepony who's seen her, or could give us some clues we could use."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Discord. "Let's get started." Thus, the search officially began.








Fluttershy had arrived at the castle and was welcomed inside by Spike, who now lead her down a hall. "The master will be glad to see you again." he said. 

"Oh, really?" said Fluttershy.

"Er, yeah, after all he'd be glad to see how you're doing with your new arrangements."

"Right." Fluttershy said softly. 

Spike ushered her inside the piano room and said, "You can wait here while I get the master. Feel free to look around if you want." 

He closed the door, leaving Fluttershy alone. The piano room was fairly large and grand. Two large book shelves lined the far wall, a grand ebony piano sat in the corner, and plush sofas took up the center space. Fluttershy traced her hoof lightly over the piano keys, then over the spines of the books, taking in the lovely decorum. It reminded her a bit of the study back home in the villa, where she'd sit and read herself to sleep. A twinge of homesickness went through her heart. She missed her friends, and her father, and she hoped that they'd come to get her soon. She knew that they must've been worried sick about her. 

Fluttershy then came up to the fireplace at the far end of the room, she looked up above the mantle, and saw a painting that made her eyes widen with shock. In the painting, there stood a dashing depiction of her father. Alistair looked just as he did now, if not a touch younger, dressed all in finery. He looked very regal, like a prince or a king, commanding power and respect from all that looked at him. But in his eyes, there was a warmth that Fluttershy was all too familiar with. 

Her eyes became wet with tears as she reached out a hoof toward the portrait. "Papa..." she uttered softly.

Drake then entered the room. She saw Fluttershy, and her gaze on the portrait. "F-Fluttershy." he said.

Fluttershy turned toward him. "Why do you have a picture of papa?" she asked. 

"I...I..." Drake was at a loss for words.

Fluttershy walked up to him and said. "Ever since I've got here, there have been some questions that popped up. About you, about why all of this is happening, and now this." She pointed to the picture and then looked Drake in the eye. "I came here to get some answers, so please, tell me what's going on."

Drake was silent before letting out a heavy sigh. "You're right, you're entitled to some answers, and it's probably time that I gave them to you."