//------------------------------// // 12 - Difficult Decisions // Story: Hazel Eyes in the Moonlight // by Oddling //------------------------------// Jim’s eyes slowly opened. Muffled sounds, as if his head were under water greeted him. Anger burned within his chest and he slowly brought his hand to it, gripping and sinking his claws into his flesh, the scent of his own blood fueling something within him. His blurry vision slowly cleared away to reveal the cold stone of the cave floor. A little gasp escaped from something nearby and Jim’s ears swiveled to face the source as he lifted his head tiredly. A deep, familiar yearning stirred within him as he turned his head up. Jim’s hazel gaze soon landed upon the prone form of a small orange pegasus filly. A low, deep growl bubbled up in Jim’s throat and his body slowly tensed up like a coiling spring. The filly’s eyes widened in fear and her heart began beating faster and faster. A sinister grin spread across Jim’s maw and he lowered his bloody hand to the floor, inching closer to the little one. She was afraid. She had a small cut across one of her legs. Her blood smelled wonderful… fresh… mouthwatering. Prey… Jim’s body pulsed. ‘Feed!’ it cried mercilessly. ‘Devour!’ it begged of him. Jim’s hand lifted from the ground and he inched even closer to the orange filly. Yells of terror drew Jim’s attention away from her and his eyes darted up to spot a group of ponies floating in the air, a field of color surrounding their bodies. They were afraid, too… but not like the prey. They feared what he might do, but not to them. The prey… Jim’s gaze dropped back down to the filly, her body trembling. She slowly pushed herself away from him, a look of shock and disbelief etched into her face. “No…” she whispered as she shook her head. Jim’s grin widened, his fangs glistening as saliva coated and dripped from them. She was so close to being perfect. She just needed a little more fear for her to taste just right. Jim pounced forth, his blood-covered hand grabbing and pinning the poor little one to the floor of the cave. She cracked against the stone, making her wince painfully as a new cut began to seep blood from the back of her head. The filly’s eyes widened in sheer terror as Jim’s gaping maw came down to within a few inches of hers. Her little fearful gaze then turned up and she stared into Jim’s eyes. “Please…” she whispered. “Please don’t, Mr. Jim…” Jim’s smile grew even further as her terror filled his nostrils. She smelled so ripe… so perfect… but why had he not bitten into his meal yet? She was ready… why could he not move closer to her? Why was he crying? “Mr. Jim… please, it’s me, Scoots. Don’t you remember me?” she asked. “You rescued me, remember?” Jim snarled and brought his fangs closer to her face, but he failed to bite down. He pulled back and whimpered breathlessly. Something was wrong. He needed to sink his fangs into her! Why couldn’t he do it!? Jim yelped angrily as he flung his head down to end her life and taste her blood, but he only managed to slam in muzzle into the ground beside her neck. Wincing painfully, Jim yanked his body away from her, his claws just faintly slicing through her shoulders and left arm as he staggered back. More tears filled his eyes and his vision blurred again. He brought his hands up, clamping them to the sides of his head and squeezing as he struggled to fight… fight what? Rage began to fester in his chest, tightening its grip around his lungs and contorting his intestines into a writhing mass of hatred. He turned his burning gaze back to the one responsible for it and curled his lips back in a ferocious snarl. With his fangs on full display, Jim sucked in a deep breath before letting loose a howl of agony and rage. Fearing another attack, Scootaloo scrambled to her hooves. “That’s it, Scoots, run!” yelled the pegasus mare with the rainbow mane. “Git away from him!” screamed the orange earth pony mare with the odd hat. Scootaloo lifted her hoof in preparation to run, wincing and stumbling forward when she put too much weight on her injured leg. Her eyes shot wide and darted up to see if Jim was about to attack her again, but much to her surprise, Jim had actually backed away, his eyes wide and tinted with fear. Jim’s breathing had become noticeably labored and heavy, and he seemed to be trembling as he stared at her. Scootaloo’s ears slowly perked up and a crazy idea started to form in her mind as she watched Jim’s struggle. A low whine slipped through Jim’s throat as he trailed his claws down the sides of his face to clutch at his chest again. He was in pain, but there was no way for the poor little filly to know what from. Pity slowly filled her, driving her to follow through with her idea. With a tentative step, Scootaloo closed the distance between her and the vicious werewolf. Jim stepped back again and growled at her. She swallowed nervously and stepped forward again. Jim stepped back once more, his growl weakening. Scootaloo took a few more steps forward and her heart sank as Jim backed away until his back hit the wall of the cave. “S…Stay awayyyy…” Jim whimpered. Scootaloo swallowed again and shook her head. “It’s okay… let me help you, Jim,” she said as she stepped closer. Jim shook his head rapidly and tried to back away only to slip and stumble onto his side. “No… stop…” Scootaloo continued to walk closer to Jim, her heart aching for her newest friend and savior. She could see his tears as they streaked down his cheeks and it hurt her to watch his meek struggle in trying to claw his way from her. Her hoofsteps stopped once she had closed the distance to stand a few feet away from the panting and weakened form of Jim. “Scootaloo…” Jim whispered hoarsely. “Don’t… do… this…” he begged between heavy huffs. Scootaloo swallowed the lump in her throat, ignoring Jim’s plea as well as the cries from Twilight and the others. She had to take another step. She had to take the chance. Jim had fought against his inner darkness… he could beat it if he tried. He just needed something more to help push the darkness away. Scootaloo lifted her hoof and took that last step… Jim’s eyes widened and he snarled with baleful wrath as his jaws swung around… and firmly clamped around Scootaloo’s throat. Screams of horror filled the cavern as Twilight and the others watched the scene unfold before them. Jim’s body froze. He tasted blood… but this time it made him feel sick. There was no pleasure from Scootaloo’s life fluid coating his tongue – no satisfaction from the kill… only heart-wrenching pain. His jaws slowly released their hold of the young neck as a deep and long howl of sorrow emanated from Jim’s heart. He had failed again. He had tried his best to stop himself. Every ounce of his willpower had gone into stopping the untimely death of a poor innocent filly… only to be wasted in the end. With the last of his mournful wail expended, Jim collapsed beside Scootaloo’s limp body. Fresh tears seeped into the fur of his cheeks and he gently nuzzled into her. A tiny hoof lifted up and gently rested against Jim’s muzzle. Jim’s ears flicked up in shock and he stared at her face, a small smile gracing her features. “It’s okay, Jim,” she said weakly. “Everything’s gunna be okay…” Jim stared at her silently. He couldn’t believe that she was still alive. His hazel eyes drifted down to her neck. He had expected to see blood gushing from her throat, but all that he saw were three tiny punctures. Disbelief filled him as he stared at the little trails of blood on her neck. He had to be dreaming… there was no way that she could be alive… and yet there she was, smiling back at him and breathing softly against his hand. Without a word, Jim reached out and gently pulled Scootaloo close to him. The scent of her blood filled his nostrils and remorse took hold of his beating heart. Without taking the time to think about his next actions, Jim slowly dipped his head down and he began licking her wounds tenderly. She winced at first, but as the numbing effects of his saliva took effect, Scootaloo soon found herself relaxing. Before long, she drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile, Twilight and the others slowly found themselves being released from the hold of the Elements of Harmony. Fluttershy was the first to regain her awareness and she quickly flew over to see to Jim and Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash and Applejack snapped out of their shock and quickly followed after their friend. Rarity could only stare in disbelief at what she had just seen and what now lay on the floor a few meters away. Shock dominated her emotions, but there was also a sense of deep sympathy for the poor werewolf. It was all too clear to her that the experience had left Jim in a difficult state of mind for he held no real expression on his face, aside from sorrow and regret with each soft lick to Scootaloo’s wounds. Rarity turned her attention to Twilight. The young princess had simply stared at the scene before her, her lavender eyes taking in every detail. Twilight had watched in horror as Jim’s fight with his murderous nature began. She now held a much greater understanding of why Jim’s eyes had been so full of anger during their previous conversation at the castle. Jim had been through much more than she could have ever known… and it had shown through from the moment his will wavered after the Element’s beam hit him. That’s right… all of this had been caused by the Elements of Harmony. Twilight’s gaze shifted to the blood that stained Jim’s fur. He wasn’t the one to blame. If she had not brought him there, none of this would have happened. Twilight’s eyes looked to Jim’s hazel pools… they were hollow and distant. This was her fault. A hoof gently touched Twilight’s shoulder, drawing her out of her thoughts. She turned her head and came face to face with the gentle smile of Pinkie Pie. “It’s okay, Twi Twi. Everything is going to be okay.” Twilight’s eyes watered and she slowly moved forward into Pinkie’s embrace before she started crying quietly into her friend’s pink fur. Pinkie simply hugged her friend, gently petting her soft mane and cooing simple assurances into Twilight’s ear. ~~***~~ Time slowly passed for the group within the cave. Whether it had been ten minutes or half a century was anypony’s guess. It had taken a lot of quiet and gentle coaxing, but eventually Jim regained his composure and allowed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to take Scootaloo from him to get a better look at her wounds. To everyone’s surprise, her injuries had been limited to very minor cuts that would heal quickly. The worst that had been done to the poor little filly was exhaustion from the shock and stress of the situation. Jim sat quietly as he watched Fluttershy gently fuss over Scootaloo’s sleeping form. Though the scene had been heartwarming and tender, it failed to bring even the smallest of smiles to his face. He was just too full of regret to be fazed by anything. Not even the concerning looks he got from Rainbow Dash had been able to break him out of his trance. The werewolf simply stared for a time until a subtle glow from the Tree of Harmony caught his attention. There were no words from the spirit within, but Jim got the impression that he had passed her test – not that he cared for her approval. Anger flared in his heart for a moment and he glared at the tree before he snorted and rose to his feet. His hand slowly came up and he flipped off the spirit in a rare display of contempt. Without a word, Jim turned away from the tree and started to walk away. Rainbow dash quickly lifted off the ground and flew around to hover in front of him, gently placing her hoof to his chest and looking him in the eyes pleadingly. “Hey, you alright big guy?” Jim shook his head slowly and gently placed his hand on her arm before pushing it down. “I’d like some time alone…” he murmured softly before resuming his walk out of the cavern. Rainbow silently watched Jim leave. Part of her wanted to follow him, to hug him and tell him everything was alright… but she was ashamed to admit that the other part of her wanted to be far away from him. She would never openly admit it to anypony, but seeing Jim’s predatory side had shaken her. Never had she felt so afraid than in that moment when his feral gaze looked up to them before he went after Scootaloo. A shiver of fear ran up her spine and she tore her gaze away from the retreating form of Jim. The others took notice of the interaction between Rainbow and Jim but they, too, felt that it was best if Jim was far away from them. Space was needed… and only time would tell if they could find it in their hearts to forgive Jim… and themselves.