//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Weakness of the Flesh // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// “A bear?” asked Golden, incredulously. “What would you rather eat?” asked Cheerilee. “Something that already has a lot of predators trying to kill it?” “I guess that makes sense.” The younger mare stared at the creature through a thicket of trees. “I don’t know, it feels wrong. He isn’t attacking us.” The bear quietly grazed in a blueberry patch at the bottom of the hill where the two ponies lay in wait. His sharp teeth and claws were not seeing any action. “At the same time, we need to eat,” Cheerilee reminded. “It’s unfortunate, but it has to be done. The only consolation is to make your dinner’s death as painless as possible.” Golden nodded. Now that she had regained some sense of herself, killing a simple animal because she was hungry seemed barbaric. Only a few days ago, it certainly wouldn’t have. Slowly, she spread her wings and glided down the slope towards the bear. Cheerilee watched, shaking her head. Killing something wasn’t to be taken lightly, but once the decision was made to do it, there was no room for lack of enthusiasm. The younger mare was probably going to pay for her reluctance. As Golden drew near, the bear raised his head. She bared her teeth, but the animal was already moving. A giant clawed paw slapped her out of the air. The white pony landed wrong and heard something crack. She still jumped to her feet and squared off with her quarry. The bear roared at her, fully on the defensive. Catching him in a surprise attack would have been much easier. The pegasus charged. The bear met her halfway, claws raking her body. Snapping her teeth, Golden tore open one of the bear’s front legs. She followed up by digging her hooves into his belly and propelling herself towards his throat. The bear threw her off, angry at being wounded. Golden shot into the air, circling quickly and diving at her target. The bear turned defensively, blocking the effectiveness of her attack and receiving only a mild bite to the nape of his neck. Furious at her inability to penetrate the creature’s defenses, Golden threw herself forward once more, biting, beating with her hooves, thrashing, and snarling. She may have taken as many injuries as she inflicted. There was a sudden crack and the bear went limp. Cheerilee dropped the animal’s neck from her grasp. The dead bear fell on top of Golden. She struggled to get out, shaking with rage. How dare a simple creature put up such a fight. The pegasus’ anger melted away, however, at the sight of Cheerilee’s stern face. “What did you do wrong?” asked the schoolteacher. “I lost the element of surprise,” admitted Golden. Cheerilee nodded. “You can’t let your feelings get the best of you. If you messed up the initial attack, it would have been better to calmly figure out another way, not dash in wildly. You have to always be thinking. You aren’t an animal.” Golden ducked her head. It seemed like she still had a lot to learn. “Why are you doing this for me? Surely you don’t adopt every vampire you meet?” “You’re getting a second chance,” said Cheerilee, sounding like she’d rehearsed it. “I hope you make the most of it.” Truthfully, Golden had a good point. The schoolteacher still couldn’t fathom why Princess Luna wanted her spared. Starting back towards Hoofshire later that evening, the white mare seemed to be considering something. The night had now fully come, and the quarter moon provided more than enough light for the two vampires to navigate by. Golden glanced up at it, reminded of who controlled the moon. “Do you work for Princess Luna?” “Yes.” Cheerilee hadn’t made direct reference to the Night Princess, but there had been enough clues for Golden to figure it out. “How did you get that job?” asked the younger mare. “By becoming a vampire. I was lost and looking for a purpose, and she offered me something to do,” explained Cheerilee. “I thought you taught school,” said Golden, confused. “That’s my special talent as a pony,” confirmed Cheerilee. “As a vampire, I discovered that I was good at other things.” “Killing.” The pegasus couldn’t imagine what else there could be. Cheerilee frowned. “Well…yes. Somepony needs to do it. Princess Luna usually lets me decide what’s best for the situation.” “That’s terrible,” said Golden. Was it? Cheerilee wondered. Having been on the job for so long, had she gotten used to death? Shifting the subject, the schoolteacher asked, “So what’s your special talent?” Golden brightened, glancing back at the cutie mark on her hip. “I’m good at making jewelry. Well, I guess I haven’t practiced for a long time, but I know that I like to do it.” Cheerilee nodded. The local jeweler might be persuaded to take on the young mare, but that would be later, after Golden was stable enough to go out in public. The two of them continued walking. ▼▼ Tea returned home late that evening. It had been another fruitless day of job hunting. He checked his cigarettes, finding only one remaining. I swear, I’m not going to buy another pack. He stepped outside to have what he hoped would be his last smoke. Cheerilee and a young pegasus mare appeared and went inside the schoolteacher’s house. Perhaps that was who she had with her the other day, Tea thought. In another few minutes, he dropped his butt on the ground and kicked dirt over it, turning to go inside. In the morning, the stallion awoke. He felt like he needed a smoke, but was determined to tough it out. It was the weekend, however. Not as many distractions to take his mind off the addiction. There were fewer businesses that were open. He would have to wait until Monday to resume his search for employment. As it turned out, he didn’t have to. A hoof tapped on his door. Tea answered it to find his lavender neighbor standing there. “Good morning. I tried to find you yesterday, but you weren’t home. You can have an assistant position at the school. I’m afraid it isn’t much, but hopefully it helps.” Cheerilee smiled. “That’s great news!” Tea gushed. “How can I repay you?” “Don’t worry about it.” Cheerilee turned to go. “No, really. I want to make it up to you.” Tea stepped out his door, looking at the mare. She waved a hoof. “Oh, I’ve been busy with my cousin visiting me. I have a lot on my hooves at the moment. Just do a good job, that’s all I ask.” Tea smiled and thanked her again. For a little while, it made him forget his craving for nicotine. Cheerilee left for somewhere that afternoon. Tea took the opportunity to go over to her house and pull weeds. After all, she did say she was really busy with other things. A couple of times, the stallion thought he saw somepony looking at him through the windows, but they must have been very quick, because he saw nothing whenever he glanced up. Perhaps Cheerilee’s cousin was shy. The white pegasus had been a good-looking mare, but probably too young for him. At least she could tell Cheerilee that Tea had done something nice in exchange for getting him a job. ▼▼ Luna yawned and looked out the window at the glow on the horizon that signaled the sunrise. As she put the moon away for the day, the Princess sat down at her desk to read the messages that had come in during the night. A very disturbing one from Ponyville caught her eye. As Luna read, her brow furrowed. She had a network set up around Equestria to gather information. Most of the ponies in it did not know who exactly they were working for, but the Princess had made sure they were all dedicated. While they weren’t quite able to see into the minds of Equestria’s enemies, the intelligence gathered could still be very valuable when compiled. A stallion, a rather average equinologist with a focus on history, had gone missing. He had simply vanished without a trace or a reason. The Princess sighed. This was not the first unexplained disappearance in Ponyville. So far the local authorities had not grown suspicious. Neither had the Elements of Harmony, who still resided in the town. Luna looked out the window as dawn began to break, contemplating her next move. Something had to be done, and soon.