//------------------------------// // Prelude // Story: Fangs and Wings and other Things // by Kinetic Heat //------------------------------// “Ya know, it really is part his fault,” Rainbow Dash pointed out while lying on a shelf in the Golden Oaks library, two of her hooves lazily dangling downward. She observed the scene beneath her with relaxation, while everypony else was racking their brains. The ponies had gathered an emergency assembly at Twilight’s, where they now sat in sitting bags on the floor. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity sat before the shelf Hazel had leaned his back against. “Not helping, Rainbow,” retorted Twilight, who had her chin supported by one hoof while focusing on a point on the wooden floor. She looked up, directly at Hazel. “I get why you want to do this, but I’m afraid you won’t be given the reaction you are hoping for.” Hazel had his wings prepped halfway open to soften the surface he was leaning against. He met Twilight’s gaze with unwavering determination. “Nonetheless do I have to try. That at least I owe them.” He shifted his weight and crossed his hooves behind his head. “Actually,” Rainbow intercepted, “the least you could do is nothing.” She earned herself a mean look from Twilight. “Not helping, Rainbow,” Twilight said, once again pondering their options. “Is there an echo in here?” Rainbow asked boredly. She rolled to her back and used her belly as a drum, picking up the pace as she did. “Rainbow Dash, don’t be so uncouth, these are serious matters we are dealing with here,” Rarity intervened. She looked at Hazel, hope and desperation mixing on her face and asked, “be honest, Hazel Eyes, what will happen if you cannot manage to defeat your brother?” Looking at her, Hazel took a glance at everyone else, except for Applejack who slept upstairs in Twilight’s bed. The vampire’s blood was taking its toll. He sighed, met Rarity’s gaze and answered, “Eternal darkness, fascism, harsh punishment and law enforcement, a blood price maybe. Not all too well, it’d seem.” Silence settled on the group. Then Twilight spoke up, “Alright, let’s go through this once more, maybe we can find a way to rally up the ponies of Ponyville without you speaking to all of them, as the source of our problems.” “I seriously doubt that is possible with these circumstances at hoof,” Hazel threw in, “but I’m willing to hear any and all of your suggestions.” “Why don’t we organize a giant party?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically, her tail and mane fluffed up to twice the size they had usually. “We’re gonna have cakes and pies and balloons and-” she gasped sharply “- we’ll need lots of streamers! Like, a whole lot of streamers! And music! We need music to get them in the right mood!” “And that mood will be…?” Rainbow asked from above. “I dunno, maybe something like ‘It’s only part my fault that the sun is gone and we are thrown into a world of eternal darkness, but don’t worry, I’m gonna make it aaaaaalright again’.” She stopped for a second and tapped her chin deliberately with her hoof. “I’ll need a big banner for that.” Rarity rolled her eyes and smiled at her pink friend. “Pinkie, dear, I think we need something else than a party to get the Ponyvillains to join up and support us in our endeavour.” Rainbow suddenly jumped up and glided down from her elevated spot to stand amidst the circle of ponies. She made sure all eyes were on her then said, “Let’s put this aside for short moment, OK? How about we focus on something you all seem to forget: how do we defeat Amaimon? Any plans?” Looks were exchanged, but nopony uttered a word. “Thought so,” Rainbow smirked. “In that case, let’s make a battle plan to bring Amaimon down and Princess Celestia back!” Rarity sighed in exasperation, Twilight put her hooves before her face, Fluttershy looked away and Pinkie was still thinking about a motto for the party. “I am sorry for popping your bubble, Rainbow Dash,” Hazel said to her in a neutral tone, “but as I said before, taking down my brother is a much harder task than we can deal with right now. The only one in this room who could stand a chance against him without dying on the spot is me. He’s way too mighty to handle and I am afraid you also lack the strength to withstand him.” The smirk remained on Rainbow’s face as she looked Hazel straight in the eye and answered, “Don’t you underestimate us. We’ve been taking care of Equestria like a bajillion times already. Cause guess what, we are never alone aaand-” she put special emphasis on that word before waving her hoof at her friends “-we’ve got the Elements of Harmony!” Hazel’s forehead was in deep furrows from the mention. “The Elements…. Yes that could work.” He tapped his chin and kept his gaze locked on Rainbow Dash. “If, and that is a big if, you actually land a shot on him.” Rainbow descended into the middle of the thinkers’ circle and prepped her wings up so they seemed bigger and fluffier. “That’s why we need you, Hazel. You’ll need to hold him in place, while we fire the rainbow laser. Swish, baaaam and finito!” She mimicked the sound of an explosion and pointed her hoof at Hazel. “We free Celestia and everything’s gonna be back to normal.” Twilight looked directly at Hazel and said, “As dumb as it may sound, but the simplicity of this plan is its effectiveness. Rainbow is right, the Elements of Harmony have served us many times in times of danger, let’s use them now, too.” When she saw Hazel nodding she asked, “One question remains, though. Why does Amaimon not come to us, doesn’t he know you’re here?” “He does know indeed,” Hazel answered. “Then why does he wait?” “Because he’s raising an army.” Twilight’s and everypony else’s eyes went wide. “An army?” it came in perfect sync. “Like the real deal? Not the Canterlot Guards but a real strike force?” Rainbow asked with a mix of awe, terror and admiration. “Why would he raise an army now? Would it not make more sense to win the ponies of Canterlot over to his side?” Rarity asked, her face paler than usual. Blank faced, Hazel shook his head. “Make no mistake, my brother has his ways of manipulating the crowd and bend them to his will without them noticing. They will follow his orders without a second thought, while being unaware of his manipulation. That process, however, is rather time consuming. First he’d have to introduce himself, make the ponies trust him until they are eventually his loyal minions. “That would take him months or even a full year, if not more. He also knows that I, on my side, have had all the time to make myself familiar with this land’s strategic locations. I know it’s trade centers, the landscape, and its inhabitants. All these will help turn the tide of a war. And war  is exactly what he wants.” “W-war?” Fluttershy stammered, mortified. “I’m afraid so. To truly conquer a country, you have to wipe away any last remains of the civilisation and culture that once lived there. It’s a type of psychology. All vampires are taught that way.” He paused and looked at every single face. Most of them had become pale, Rarity’s and Fluttershy’s specifically. Twilight was the first to speak up. “Are you saying that he is going to kill every single pony in Canterlot?” ”Not per definition,” Hazel said, and continued speaking when he saw Twilight’s raised eyebrow. “There are two ways a vampire can transform another organism. Option one: A pony drinking a vampire's blood will become a vampire themself, like Applejack wanted to. Or option two: In a true vampire’s body, more precisely in his gums, there are glands which produce a unique secretion. Unique for vampires, mind you. As soon as it enters the bloodstream, it destroys the red blood particles, oxygen can no longer be transported and vital organs are failing. The organism dies.” ”And what room is there left for speculations?” Twilight asked. ”What?” ”You said ‘per definition’. I'm still waiting for the 'not dead per definition’ part” ”I’m coming to that now.” Once more he looked at each of the ponies in kind, cleared his throat and began. “While it is true that an organism in this unfortunate state, organ failure and all, has hardly any chance of survival, there is a method which makes just that possible. That’s where the secretion comes in. I myself have led quite a number of studies on this matter and have come to astonishing results. The secretion contains a certain strain of bacteria, which hijack the central nervous system. After an incubation period of five to eight days, they take over the host’s body, manifesting in the muscular tissue and sending little shocks of electricity into the bodies. Making. Them. Move.” The last words he stressed with special intensity. Twilight gasped sharply. “Is that really possible?” ”How do you think that the vampires have built their empire? By themselves?” Hazel chuckled. “No. The empire of old was built on blood, slavery, and tears. Never has this land seen a more flourishing slave trade. Also,” he looked up at Twilight, a spark of his old confidence glimmering in his eye, almost small enough to go by unnoticed, “I have seen, tested, and also created those minions. I tell you, it is possible, and by now, I reckon at least a third of Canterlot is dying.” ”Aw yeah!” Rainbow cheered. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s pack, frickin’ zombies are waiting for a beatdown!” ”I would highly advise you not to do that,” Hazel gave back. He had stopped Rainbow from dashing out the door by catching her with a wing and forced her to sit down next to him. Rainbow looked at him, puzzled. “Huh, wait, what just  happened?” A look from Hazel was enough. “And why not? Zombies move slowly, they stink and rot and are perfect training dummies.” ”While it’s true they move slowly,” Hazel explained to her, “they are many, and they are relentless and strong.” ”Strong?” Rarity asked. Hazel shot a glance at Twilight. “You know, don’t you?” Twilight’s forehead was in wrinkles, then her eyes widened and she nodded. “Yes… I think.” Turning to face the whole group she said, “Our muscles are a lot stronger than we think. You see, when it came to dangerous situations ponies preferred flight over fight. There is a blockade in our brain to limit the maximum power of the muscles. Fear, anger and so on set free a boost of adrenaline. Adrenaline is able to temporarily disable this blockade.” ”Is there a possibility to unlock this thing on your own?” Rainbow asked. The further Twilight’s explanation went on, the brighter her eyes began to shine. She was smelling an opportunity here. Twilight had also caught her drift. “No way, Rainbow. This blockade consists of neurotransmitters, in other words, chemical limitations. It’s there for the purpose of your own safety. Without it, the stress on our muscles would result in serious injury.” Rainbow Dash scowled but let it pass without another another remark. ”Actually,” Hazel said, “there is a way to bypass it.” He made sure every pony listened and was able to follow. “Back in the days when the vampires conducted their experiments, we found out that by meditation, we were able to set the minds of our ‘projects’ into a state that caused them to undertake a cellular shift.” He gestured with his hooves to form a circle and then some. “Not only were they able to use their brain to its full extent, but the blockade was breached.” Twilight had clung to his lips, but now she took her head between her hooves and looked at the floor, her mind racing. “But that is scientifically impossible! Even with hypnosis the mind is not able to actively influence the body in this kind of physical way!” ”That is correct,” Hazel retorted, “but I wasn’t talking about hypnosis. I said meditation.” Rainbow heard an opportunity knocking. “Sooo… If I sat around long enough, I’d be able to do it?” ”Not a chance.” Hazel’s tone was stone cold. “While accessing your muscle’s full potential would give you the upper hand in almost any combat situation, it would leave you with permanent injury. You do not want that.” Hazel sighed and scratched his chin. “Also, you lack the experience in meditation; I would have to invade your mind, flick a metaphorical switch, and that would be the end of it.” When he saw Rainbow scowling again, he added, “and do not try to get somepony else to do it for you. This is serious.” ”Be that as it may,” Rarity jumped in, “we still need to tell everypony else what is going on. They have made their own assumptions already.” Her expression was grave, honest concern reflecting in her eyes. Hazel nodded. “Indeed. From the top: I’m still convinced that I should give a speech to the townsfolk. Who else could explain the current situation better?” ”And I’m still convinced,” Twilight retorted, “doing this will result in the exact opposite from what you are hoping to accomplish.” Her eyebrows formed a sharp V as she consulted the depths of her brain for an alternative. “Look, I am aware of your rhetorical capabilities; however the ponies of Ponyville only have only now gotten accustomed to you being here. You may have their sympathy, but not their trust.” Hazel groaned in resignation. “That is why I want to address them personally. If there is one of Applejack’s traits that has rubbed off on me, then it is being honest and straightforward.” Hazel opened his arms and exposed his unguarded chest and belly. “You are right, their trust is not something I have the honor of calling mine. However, a wise man once said, ‘trust is not given, it is earned’. I know, I’m asking a lot of you, but trust me on this one. I will take full responsibility for what comes afterward.” Twilight sighed in exasperation, collected her thoughts and proposed, “Alright, everypony, listen up. Princess Celestia sent me here to learn about the Magic of Friendship. Being friends doesn’t mean agreeing in every point, rather the opposite is the case. But that doesn’t mean that differing opinions lead to friendships becoming undone, no,” she raised a hoof,” it means having to compromise.” Her gaze shifted towards Hazel. “Hazel Eyes, I will let you speak to the ponies of Ponyville,” as she saw the spark of hope in his eyes, Twilight added, “under the condition, that I may prepare a speech in advance to give the ponies time to… brace themselves.” Hazel pondered on that for a moment. His hoof supported the weight of his chin as he looked at Twilight, then Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy in turn, before fixing his piercing gaze onto Twilight again. “A compromise means each party involved loses,” following up on his cynical statement he said, ”but I will surrender to your condition.” Like a stormcloud passing, the grim mood was lifted from the library.  “I will schedule a town-wide gathering first thing in the morning-” Twilight stopped, then rephrased “-first thing leaving the house.” A blush crept up on her cheeks. With heavy lids, Hazel commented, “Marvelous.” Then, “Now there is another thing I must needs ask of you, Twilight.” ”Sure,” Twilight answered, annoyance and tiredness audible in her voice, although she tried her best to hide it. “What else can I do?” ”I need you to lift off Celestia’s spell of me.” Twilight was taken aback. Her eyes widened with surprise as she stammered, “What? Why? How could I-?” “In order: Lift the spell Celestia has cast on me to disguise my true form. Because I cannot hope to win a fight against my brother when I’m not bipedal. And then thirdly, you’re going to figure it out; you always do.” His smirk left Twilight baffled. Regaining her composure, Twilight called out, “Spike! I’ll need you to fetch some books for me! A lot of books! And brew up some tea if you would, please! A lot of tea!”