Equestrian Shores
Melenken Coast was a town on the outskirts of Equestria's West shores. Built almost dangerously close to the roaring waves of the sea, it could be said that the town was closer to the foreign countries across the oceans than to the mainland itself. Serving as the country's unofficial main trade center, the crude but sturdy pillars in the town's countless buildings helped to support not only their walls and ceiling, but created foundations for Equestria's economy as well. Lights in both inn and hotel lobbies all around the place burned late into the night, as haggling negotiations between merchants constantly took place over a well brewed mug of ale and the drunken guffaws of the hearty sailors a few tables over.
The bustling streets were filled with merchants both young and veteran, placing, taking, and confirming orders of goods and supplies to travel to distant lands beyond. The impressive ships of the sailors set anchor in the nearby harbors, their folded sails and masts towering over even the four and five story buildings that the rustic town had managed to build with great effort. The whole town was so different from both the calm and serene fields of nature and surrounding towns, and the slightly more refined, organized towns where people were accustomed to dealing with high society and metropolitan corporations. While the rest of Equestria had changed over time, Melenken Coast's international affairs had let it branch off into a completely new culture, coarse and unrefined but rewarding and hardworking at the same time.
Naturally, this appealed to a lot of people not originally from the mainland. Those not of arcanist, airborne, or earthbound descent may have appreciated the overly friendly atmosphere of Equestria, but felt more at home in a place like Melenken Coast. Among the crowds of Equestrians, one could make out a large portion of avian, cave dweller, and even the occasional zeban civilians. The coast was one of a kind; there was nowhere like it anywhere in Equestria, and quite possibly, the world.
To reduce crowding the place and help with the detached, independent atmosphere, most Equestrians were not allowed access to its waters and attractions. Almost all of the people here were either foreigners, merchants, or sailors. Those who wished to visit or live there needed an interview with the mayor just to get in, unless there was a special appeal from Canterlot's royal court. At the moment, Twilight had just that on a slip of paper in her hands. She still couldn't believe it. Melenken Coast was a place that Twilight would never have thought of visiting before. Well, maybe not never, but at least not for a very long time. Yet now, here she was, in this wonderful place where everything was so different and new. She felt so privileged just being able to set foot in the place.
"Ugh… Hurry up, Twilight! The sooner we finish up and get out of this place, the better," Scarlet grunted, a few paces ahead of her companion.
Well, I guess the view's not for everyone, Twilight thought. "I'm just taking a look around, Scarlet. Sheesh," she said, dashing up to her annoyed partner. "And why don't you try to take this one slow? We hardly even know what we're supposed to be looking for. Besides, what's so bad about this place, anyways?"
"…I have my reasons," Scarlet concluded, shooting a few dirty looks to the people around. They didn't seem to notice much, but that didn't stop her from pulling an extremely strained expression for the time being. "Whatever, let's just get going," said Scarlet, throwing up her hood, and Twilight decided not to press any further on the issue.
Striding through town, the two girls eventually made their way inside The Trident, a bar in the middle of the city. Even midday, it was filled with customers, both sailors and merchants alike as they shared business, laughs, and drinks between old and new friends. To the side, a band of several different members, instruments and species were playing a lively, cheerful tune. Twilight and Scarlet stepped in through the front doors, and walked between several tables to reach the counter.
"What can I get you, miss?" the barkeep asked. He was a lean, tall, middle-aged man with his hair waxed to the side. He stood out like a sore thumb for some reason, as if he didn't seem to fit in with the atmosphere of the aspiring businessmen and loud drunkards around the place.
"Give us two shots of whiskey," replied Scarlet, grinning as she slammed a handful of bits on the counter.
Twilight gave her a condescending look. "Scarlet…"
"What? We're in a bar! You got a problem with having a drink or two? We're both old enough." Scarlet said casually, as she took hold of a small glass that the barkeeper set down in front of her.
"We're here on business!" Twilight growled, getting embarrassed at her partner's unprofessional demeanor. She certainly seemed comfortable now.
Scarlet raised the glass in her hand, downing it in one big gulp. She set it back on the counter, letting out a sigh of pleasure. "Ahh… Doesn't mean we can't enjoy a bit of liquor every now and then," she replied, sliding the second cup over to Twilight.
However, the dutiful arcanist pushed it back to her, sighing. "All right, but none for me. The less alcohol I have in my system, the better it is for my brain. And to be honest, I've never quite enjoyed the taste of it, anyways."
"Your loss," Scarlet shrugged, taking the second glass and gulping it down as fast as the first. "Say, why don't we split up for now, and ask around about things that may help our little investigation?" she asked.
"That's… actually not such a bad idea," Twilight posed. "We'll be able to cover more ground with two search parties, and I doubt anything big is going to happen today. I'll head into town and talk to some of the merchants and shipping companies."
"Meanwhile, I'll stay here, asking around the rest of the people. You can learn a lot about the town from its local bar residents," Scarlet grinned, not-so-sneakily eyeing the bottles on the wall behind the counter.
So that's her real objective… Twilight thought, mentally rolling her eyes. "All right… but make sure you don't go drinking too much, okay?" Twilight raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Relax," Scarlet smiled back, waving the empty little whiskey glass at her. "I can take at least five more of these things and another bottle of rum before I get drunk."
"Well… if you say so, I guess it's all right," Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Then, I'll meet you back here in two hours."
"Sounds good to me," Scarlet agreed, and Twilight walked out of the bar to begin.
After approximately two hours of walking around town, knocking on doors, asking questions, and taking notes and pictures, Twilight had a decently thick pile of documents in her portfolio. The fundamental structure of the whole investigation was just like a research report, to which Twilight was no stranger. Gather information, compile, compare notes and filter out unimportant data, and finally be left with a hypothesis of the end result. With all the information that she'd gathered, Twilight already had a general idea of where to take things from here. She couldn't wait to see what Scarlet had come up with during the time they were separated. Twilight cut across the streets at a brisk pace back to The Trident, where she'd promised to meet with Scarlet in three minutes. However, as she turned the corner, she stepped out to face the building lit up like a light bulb, and a heavy clamor of music and cheering coming from inside its walls.
With what she saw in front of her, and with the fact that scarlet had been in that place for two hours, Twilight reached a clear conclusion. "…That can't be good."
The volume grew drastically when Twilight opened the door. Stepping in, her eardrums were assaulted with the cacophony of sounds, especially the sounds of sailors and merchants cheering over the song that the band was playing. They had switched the song and the mood, kicking it up a notch from when Twilight has previously visited the place. The fiddler's bow moved elegantly yet furiously, playing faster than what Twilight thought was humanly possible. The saxophone accompaniment refused to be beat, however, as the player's fingers were literally a blur on the brass piped instrument. Along with a guitar and an accordion by their sides, the tune took on a fantastically fast paced, lively, foreign gypsy-themed jig.
When Twilight managed to get past the first wall of people and tables blocking her way, she saw a familiar figure in the middle of the room, dancing rigorously. Twilight muttered beneath her breath as she moved in to get a closer look. "Please don't be Scarlet, please don't be Scarlet, please don't be—"
It was definitely Scarlet, and she was in full throttle. Earnestly keeping beat to the furious rhythm of the gypsy fiddle, the enthusiastic girl's movements were as quick and agile in dance as they were in combat. Dominating the stage with what looked like a mix of fast paced ballet, a variety of folk dances, and freestyle, Scarlet drew on applause from the audience as they clapped along to the beat, eyes fixed on the upbeat dancer.
Seeing Twilight from across the room, Scarlet twirled her way over to her friend. The people that were only watching had already begun to dance with one another, following the mood set by Scarlet.
"Twilight!" Scarlet shouted over the music and noise. Her face was beet red, and her breath reeked of alcohol. "Welcome back! Did ya find anything useful?"
"Are you drunk? You said that you'd be able to hold your liquor!" Twilight shouted back.
Scarlet wrapped an arm around Twilight. "Yeah, I did, up to like, eight more bottles!" she yelled enthusiastically.
"Eight more— Just how much did you drink?" Twilight asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"I don't know, I lost count after ten!" Scarlet hollered back, face still red from the alcohol.
"Ten? Ten of what?!"
"Ten of everything!" Scarlet slurred giddily, flailing a pointed hand to the side with an intoxicated chuckle.
Twilight looked to the side where Scarlet's hand pointed towards, to where their table was. On it, a lone wallet lay buried underneath a mountain of glass bottles. Twilight didn't even need to ask to know that both the wallet and the bottles were all empty.
"Why did the Princess stick me with you…?" Twilight sighed, slapping a hand to her face.
Scarlet slumped down onto Twilight. "I'm sure… she has… her reasons…" she replied drowsily, and them promptly fell asleep.
"Woah!" Twilight reacted, as Scarlet collapsed on her. Trying to support her weight with what force her thin arms held, she decided it would be a better way to carry her with magic, after all. Twilight's hands glowed, and Scarlet rose a few feet in the air. The tired arcanist huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. She had just spent the past few hours trying as hard as she could to get a lead on what they were supposed to fix, and in the meanwhile, Scarlet had drunk enough alcohol to kill five grown men. It was going to be a long night.
The creature lay hidden, crouched behind the thick branches of the springtime forest. It had been doing so for a good part of the whole day, avoiding the light that stung its eyes so much. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, but these were not normal circumstances. The creature was heavily injured. Its limbs fell limp at its sides, and its fetid breaths that huffed out in short clumps reeked of illness. It needed food. More specifically, it needed blood. Blood would be the magical solution to all its problems. After its thirst for the succulent life essence had been quenched, it would be whole again. Its wounds would be healed. Its fatigue would vanish, replaced by overwhelming strength.
The vampire had stumbled across the small house half dead, about to pass out if it strained itself any further. It decided to take a rest in the shade of the tree branches and leaves, which were cool, refreshing, and free from both sunlight and predators that could easily finish off the creature in its weakened state. It had inspected the wooden lodge and its surroundings, finding a grown man, woman, and an adolescent boy. Normally, the creature would never drink human blood. It would make do with the lives of birds and beasts, and the occasional snack of fish. But beggars couldn't be choosers. It needed blood, and the beasts in the surrounding area were either too quick or too strong for it to prey on in its situation. The creature thought out its options. If it had come across the family a day or two ago, then it would have had no problems slaughtering the lot of them, and feasting on their remains. But as things were now, any one of them could easily overpower it and kill it, before it had the chance to taste even a drop of crimson. As the creature grit its teeth in contemplation, its eyes spotted its prey.
It was a godsend. A young, tasty looking child, skipping along the road to town. The one called Lizbeth. The succulent morsel of flesh was tiny and weak. The little girl wouldn't be able to counterattack the creature if it decided to feast on her. She was but a mere child, and could easily be picked off on her own. The creature crawled through the branches, leaves rustling slightly in its wake. The girl was close. Directly below it. Cracking a wide sneer of victory, it slowly reached out through the branches and—
—Shot back into the leaves and branches in pain. As it had moved to stalk the girl, the creature had unknowingly entered a patch of light that had found its way to the branch that it was sitting on. Its eyes stung like nothing it had ever experienced before. The creature grit its teeth, rubbing its poor, burning eyes. When it was able to open them again, the girl had disappeared from its sight. Letting out a deep sigh, the creature curled up in the branches once more. A slight setback, but it would be able to feast when the girl returned with the shroud of night.
And return she did, even if she took an insufferably long time to do so. Merrily making her way back home with a bag of spices by her side, the girl had entered through her doors as the accursed rays of the sun finally began to dim. As soon as the night fell and the thin crescent of moonshine rose into the sky, the creature's eyes glinted a sharp silver that mirrored the stars above. As soon as it was certain that the sun was gone for the night, it descended from the treetops, making its move.
Silently creeping around the little house, the creature made its way around to the windows of the rooms. Peering into the glass panes it passed by, it caught glimpses of the parents sleeping in one room, and the boy sleeping in another. Even dormant, there was no way of knowing for certain that the older, stronger inhabitants would remain defenseless as it sank its fangs into their necks. The creature decided against attacking them for now, and kept walking around to the girl's room.
Turning to the last of the house's walls, what the creature had been searching for was finally before him. Through the thin sheet of glass, the girl lay peacefully tucked in her bed, the faint rises and falls of her chest barely visible under moonlit sky.
It would take some work to remain silent, but the creature managed to persevere. It extended its claws to a lethal point, but they would not be used for maiming and killing tonight. Instead, it started to scratch away at the wooden wall around the window, tearing off tiny bits and pieces in an attempt to break in. After what seemed like an eternity, its efforts paid off, as the wooden framework now bore a hole large enough for the vampire to squeeze through.
After all the waiting, after all the excruciating endurance of its wounds, the creature's prize finally lay there, before its feet. Peacefully dormant, blissfully ignorant about what was about to happen to her. The creature ran its tongue over its lips, and spread apart its set of fanged teeth. Its mouth began to water as it thought about what was about to happen.
A single drop of saliva fell to the sheets below, leaving a small, dark stain where it landed. The vampire descended on its prey, clasping a clawed hand over the little girl's mouth to prevent any screaming if she awoke. It didn't want its precious meal time to be disturbed, after all. With its other hand, the creature pushed back the girl's dark locks, brushing them aside to reveal the smooth skin underneath. It curled its lips back, descending on the girl's exposed neck and sinking its fangs in..
The taste was everything the creature had imagined, and more. The moist, crimson liquid spilled into its mouth, bursts of flavour splashing onto its tongue. It could feel its strength being replenished, as a red aura coated the creature's entire body with magic. The wounds on the vampire's body began to heal rapidly. Cuts and lacerations closed up seamlessly, and bruises faded away to nothing.
The girl gave almost no resistance at all. As the vampire continued to quench its thirst, the sleeping Lizbeth shuddered slightly before settling back down, unable to break free from both the monster's cold hands or the embrace of her dreams. Lacking the strength to defy her assailant, she could do nothing but stay motionless as the creature drank its fill.
As the vampire drained more and more of the girl's blood, it felt an uncontrollable drowsiness take over. Even with the healing properties that the meal granted, it could by no means use it to outrun the fatigue that it had suffered through over the past few days. Within moments, the creature rolled over to the side, pulling its fangs out of the girl's neck. She lay limply unconscious, quite possibly dead. Her body was that of a ragdoll as the vampire pushed her to the side, taking her place in the bed. It knew that it was a mistake to be doing this, to be lying down in vulnerability in the scene of the crime. However, it could do nothing to stop the near drugged state of sleepiness consume its entire mind. Before the vampire knew it, its eyes were already closed shut, its unholy silver pupils hidden by the sheet of thin skin.
The vampire woke to the irritating rays of dawn, glaring brightly onto its face from the hole in the wall next to it. Quietly, it exited the house through the small opening, and walked through the field of grass to behind a thicket of trees nearby before any of the other members of the house awoke. It made its way through the forest with slow, lethargic strides that drew the attention of the wary animals nearby. The vampire paid no heed to them, however, as it was drawn to the sound of flowing water.
The creature came across a small stream, which it then followed to a larger lake. It crouched down and peered into the surface of the still water, reflecting its own visage back with the sunlight. Its face was matted with dark patches of dried blood, some parts more fresh than others. As it leaned in to wash the grime off, the rich aroma of the fluid filled its senses. The crimson washed away into the lake, clumps of red falling off in chunks and sinking to the bottom of the water. The vampire was transfixed by it, the dissolving liquid calling out to it.
From behind the vampire, a man approached wearing hiking clothes and a backpack filled with equipment. Seeing the creature hunched over the river, he took a few steps towards it. "Oi, you over there, you okay?" he called out in a gruff, yet gentle voice.
The vampire barely heard the man's words through the mesmerized state for the blood before her. Her face and neck were now washed completely clean, and the chunks of blood had either dissolved into the water or sunk to the bottom of the lake, but it still couldn't forget the sweet scent of the crimson liquid.
Slowly and cautiously, the man reached an arm out to grab the vampire's shoulder, and turn it to face him. The vampire looked into the man's eyes, which were full of concern. "It's dangerous around the woods this time of year, what with the timberwolves and predators and whatnot. What's a girl like you doing all the way out in the middle of nowhere?"
The vampire must have seemed like an ordinary human to the man, as she hadn't exposed her silver-ringed eyes or her sharp claws and fangs yet. "You got a name?" the man asked.
Did it have a name? Of course it had a name. It was…
It was… what was it again? The vampire couldn't remember. The creature's brain registered the question this time, but was still preoccupied with what it had seen before. The hypnotizing, red blood. But the word 'red' didn't do the colour justice. 'Red' seemed too plain, too boring. The colour of blood was rich. It was deep, it was seductive. It was all that it had ever desired. No, more than that, it was desire itself. It wasn't just red, it was—
"…Scarlet," the girl muttered.
"What was that?"
"Scarlet. My name is Scarlet."
"Ugh… what happened?" Scarlet asked, head throbbing and vision foggy. Sitting up, even slowly, made the pain even worse. Taking a look around, she seemed to be in an inn with Twilight, a simple two-bed room that they'd rented out for the night.
"Well, you got drunk off an amount of liquor that would be enough to knock out an elephant, partied and danced for two hours at The Trident, passed out when I came to get you, and now I assume you're having a massive hangover, for starters," Twilight replied.
"Huh… Um, okay?" Scarlet replied. Twilight couldn't tell if she was in a state of mind to understand what had been said to her, or if she was just replying for the sake of replying.
"Whoa, what happened to you?" Scarlet asked, a curious expression on her face. Her own eyes were bloodshot from the hangover, but Twilight, who hadn't drunk at all last night, had eyes even more red than hers. She looked absolutely exhausted.
"Please promise me you won't do something like that again. The amount of liquor you drank could, no, should have killed you! I stayed up all night casting monitoring spells to check your vital signs. You had me worried sick!" Twilight scolded.
"Aww, so you do care!" Great. Seemed like she was back to normal.
Twilight sighed. "Well, now that you're back to normal… or as close to 'normal' as you're ever going to get, I'm going to go to bed…" her voice trailed off, and Twilight slumped forward on the bed next to Scarlet, falling asleep almost instantly.
Scarlet smiled, and snuggled into her own sheets. Turning the other way, the two arcanists fell asleep, backs facing each other. Work could take a little break, for at least as long as they slept.
However, while Scarlet slumbered with a smile on her face, Twilight's own expression was a plastered look of concern. She hadn't told Scarlet this, but some of the spells that she performed to ensure her health were to monitor her mental health and consciousness, as well as her subconscious. With the help of the powerful magic, Twilight had seen what lay inside her dreams.
Deep in the dead of night, hands aglow and mana spurring, the secrets of Scarlet were revealed for her to see. But this was no ordinary dream. Twilight recognized the realness of it, the detail, the logic, the complexity of it all. This was no dream. It was a memory, that played over and over again inside Scarlet's dreams. She'd seen it all. The cabin, the family, the victim, and the monster. She could do nothing but watch, and take in what was happening before her eyes, and what had happened so long ago.
As the rays of sun rose high into the sky, and Twilight and Scarlet both remained asleep, a short, unfinished letter lay folded and tucked away in Twilight's bag:
Dear Princess Celestia:
Who is Scarlet?