//------------------------------// // 22 You can't learn an old stallion new tricks, or can you? // Story: Blood Curse Boutique // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// With the passage of time had Rarity removed herself from the sofa. Instead had she laid herself down in her bedroom. Down, satisfied and comfortable on the soft mattress of her bed, with the fresh blood that coursed through her veins. She looked like she appeared to have been asleep with peace. Not to mention that she was as silent as the dead and looked like a rose, it was almost too perfect of a scene to witness. But in her dreams it was everything but peaceful and quiet. A series of heavy battles were being fought in their day in and out. Battles between two versions of the unicorn. One with the batwings, and one without. And the slumber as it was wouldn't make any exception. ~~~~   “You, shall, not, prevail!” the wingless Rarity shouted while she drew a cutlass and held it up with an aura of blue magic while her warm blue eyes kept themselves on the winged even image. “Ha! You do honestly think you can still save her, save yourself!? Darling, the only path we can walk, is the path we have become,” replied the winged one as its blood red irises kept themselves peeled upon her opponent. She was suspended within the air by them and were flapped like proper pegasus wings. The winged even image had mastered something the real Rarity hadn't, the ability of true flight. The horn of the winged mare coated itself in a dark red aura. After which the sound of another cutlass being drawn took its turn over the forest plain the unicorns found themselves on. “Fine then, let’s settle this like ladies!” the wingless mare spoke with her signature grin that was given after the words. The mare held her sword before her in a polite manner before she swung it to the side of her with a confident look in her eyes. The winged Rarity dropped herself to the ground and huffed a little cloud of steam through her nose before she did the same movement. The motion that made her accept the duel for what it was. She gained a deep smirk on her face and nodded her head gently. “You first,” she spoke in a taunting manner. The wingless mare picked up the pace and ran up towards the other mare while she aimed her sword directly in front of her. She just wanted to strike right through the chest of the demon before her. With the distance between them getting closer and closer, avoiding the thrust almost seemed to be impossible. But the labelled demon used her wings to her advantage and jumped away from the charging unicorn without any effort. With said action, it resulted in the wingless Rarity to lose her balance for she had hoped to hit her target. Under the sound of soil being moved and the rain beginning to fall down from the skies she came to a stop while the demon dropped itself to the ground once again. “Rule one, never charge head on, did you forget?” she spoke in a darker tone but still taunting the other mare. “A mindless charge, is only good for a quick defeat!” Though the mare didn't wanted to give up. Her fires of love and passion were only stoked even more while she crawled back up. She rubbed the dirt from her muzzle and moved her more wetter mane out of her eyes. The wingless Rarity fixed her eyes once again on her winged even image as the rain started to pour down more and more in a real storm. “Good, very good even,” she spoke while the blunt end of her sword got placed against the very tip of the horn. “But you seem to forget other things,” the wingless Rarity continued to speak under a gentle nod. Though before she could speak another word, the sword of the winged demon met hers under a loud clash of metal over metal. Both of the mares almost immediately entered a deep struggle in which both sides tried to gain the upperhoof over the other. A struggle of pure physical and magical force while they exchanged the feelings of hate for the other by looking in the eyes of the other. “It is no use fool… we both are equal!” spoke the wingless mare while she had her blue eyes locked on the red ones of her opponent. “Brute force, primal instincts, always, will get you the upperhoof!” was the only reply that left the mouth of the winged mare before she grinned with her fangs laid bare. She forced her cutlass even further against that of the even image under a loud growl of rage and despise. “Never, ever, will I let that happen!” the wingless mare replied as a roll of thunder did its turn over the skies. The bolt of lightning could be seen traveling over the skies instead of going to the ground. It was a little detail to which neither of them two did look up to it. “And why? You truly believe your own nonsense ,now don’t you?” the winged Rarity spoke up while she placed a bit more pressure on her blade. “What to believe is up to one, the truth, is what I believe,” the wingless even image replied as she groaned from the pressure against her body. “The truth!? The truth is that we are a bloodthirsty monster, now move away your sword, you are in no position to fight back anymore. Surrender, and I might let you live,” the demon spoke as she erupted out in dark laughter. She then pressed with all the force she had on the sword of her other self. ~~~~                 It was after those words were spoken that the clouds darkened themselves even more. They allowed the area below to fall in a state of darkness that was everything but normal. Yet it was through the darkness that allowed the clouds to move more around in order to reveal a moon. A moon that had appeared unlike any other ever seen in the skies. A moon that was split right across the center of it. Both halves of the sphere shone down a light upon the land. One was red while the other was blue light. A light that met its end right where their very swords met each other’s. Yet there was something different on the rock in the skies that time. For the crack that separated the western and eastern hemisphere had began to heal itself and the two lights slowly became one light. A pure white moonlight which shone down prideful from the heavenly rock. The wind whispered through the leaves of the trees as the grass danced in it. And the rain, was suspended within the air. Never falling, never raising. Both of the unicorns blinked with their eyes after the changes had happened and the both of them stared at the same drop of rain that was suspended before their eyes. Neither the winged or the wingless being could wrap its head around it. However, it did stop the fight between the two of them. Their horns discharged and therefore dropped the cutlasses to the ground under a soft clattering sound. The winged Rarity turned herself around to get a better view as the light of the moon shone down upon both of the mares. But the demon simply released a dark hiss as the other mare crawled back up from her forced position. “What in the name of Celestia..?” the wingless Rarity spoke loud enough for the other to hear it and turned her head back to the other even image. The winged Rarity wanted to say something in response, but was cut off by something else. Something that spoke directly from the skies. What the two mares received, was a thundering female voice as it spoke regal through the skies. “Not Celestia, you foals… You two have been battling over nothing, making your own life only more miserable than it already was… We desire to speak to you…” “And just who do you think you are missy!?” the winged unicorn asked in a demanding tone while slowly turning her head over to the skies. Her words were ended under the sound of a loud hiss as her mane fell before her left eye. “Silence! We do not owe you our names, cease your fight. And visit us,” ~~~~   “...by the next moonfall,” the thundering voice spoke in the actual bedroom of the ivory coated unicorn herself. Rarity woke up under a loud gasp for air before she started to make a hyperventilating motion with her body. The air was forced into her lungs but just as quickly it had to leave again as she reached for her heart with a hoof. Her eyes desperately searched for her clock in order to read the time. “O-One in, in the afternoon!?” she spoke in pure surprise while she sat upright in her bed. Time didn't had to progress long before a loud and comfortable moan would leave her mouth as her head fell back into the pillow. The ice blue rims hid themselves once more behind the eyelids she had and she wanted to clear her mind. The vampiric mare tried her best to fall back asleep again in order to gain just a bit more of her much needed slumber. Yet the words that had boomed through her room not even five minutes ago, continued to do just that in her mind. They buried themselves in her very mind almost like a subliminal order that was given to her. She was reminded of them at a constant pace. It also rose the questions in her mind but the answer was pretty much known to her as it seemed a lot like Shiva. Yet the voice was from somepony else entirely from the sounds of it. For it was somepony that she had seen and heard from a lot but never had the true privilege to meet in person. With the exception being in truly escalated situations. Yet the unicorn couldn't take it any longer and after the passage of two hours had she managed to hoist herself out of the bed. She stumbled her way over to her desk. The mare just dropped her body into the chair and allowed her horn to charge itself up. Soon enough it was the pillow that moved itself away from the headend of the bed and revealed the small key that would fit in the only locked drawer of the desk. With care was the little key brought over to the face of the unicorn where she gazed over it with her eyes. All the while it spun within the blue colored magic. “A key is such a simple little thing. Yet this very key, is the one that keeps my secret safe... Yet I’m still wondering just how you managed to end up in there, maybe I was just careless that day. I mean, having the doors of two rooms opened widely,” mumbled Rarity in a soft tone against herself. Or perhaps she was talking to the key itself? She didn’t even know it herself and moved it over to the one locked drawer of the desk. Before she unlocked the drawer did her horn charge itself up a bit more and under a deep sigh, Rarity looked over to the curtain in the near front of her, one of many that helped to darken her room. The sunlight was trying to get in but was blocked by the thick material of them. But to create the flames that would lit up the candle was a little overstatement in her mind. Her eyes allowed themselves to fall upon a curtain not all too far away from her. “Am, am I going to do it?‘ she questioned herself out loud. She had entered yet another state of doubt. A state in which the mare weighed the risks and profits off on one another before she had made her final decision. Of course it wouldn't be without its risks, but she had to do it in her eyes. And those same eyes closed themselves off from the world as she started to prepare for the worst of the worst that could possibly happen. With her magic did she opened a curtain wide enough to let light enter. She was of course hesitant about it all and made sure that they were kept closed far enough so she wouldn't burn within the deadly light. With the light that that was flowing freely through her room in one powerful streak of pure sunlight, the mare opened her eyes again and made the huge mistake to stare right into it. Her blue rimmed eyes burned themselves almost right away for the fact she wasn't used to it anymore. A thing that was to her major disadvantage after she had lived within the darkness of twilight and dusk and everything in between for however so long. Rarity covered her eyes with a hoof and a hiss before slowly letting them adjust to it. One thing was for a true certain, the sun and the wonderful mare would never be friends again.                 When she was finally satisfied with the condition and her eyes adjusted, Rarity inserted the key in its lock. The key got turned to the left and there was a small click that did its turn through the room. She then pulled the drawer back with her magic and thus let her eyes fell upon the content inside. That was the first time after Scootaloo had taken it, that she saw it again. She wanted to write in it earlier but the unfortunate times and simple desire not to do it, had all prevented her from doing so. Despite being the hard worker, she could also be rather lazy from time to time. Though she would often give the excuse of exhaustion. But when her horn was still charged and it illuminated the darkened drawer, her eyes shot open in utter disbelief. “No... t-that is impossible,” the unicorn mumbled while she took note that the book wasn't placed in its perfect position in the middle. Instead it appeared to be just thrown in it like an everyday and worthless schoolbook. Her blue eyes turned into the red colored ones while the mare had begun to shake in a pure rage she hadn't been in for a long time. The rage for her sister for she was the only other pony that knew where to get and the key and was foolish enough to stumble in her room. “Sweetie Belle!” she spoke up in an animalistic growl. There wasn’t any sign of remorse to be found in her eyes. Rarity turned herself away from the drawer with one swift motion. The mare left her chair and just walked around the room in a true aimless pattern. “I have said it countless times against you, over and over! Stay out of my bedroom, don’t touch my stuff! Is it that hard to do!?” But the words that would follow up were spoken in a pure and blind rage. “I wish I drained you that cursed night!” Though as soon when she realized just what she had said to herself, took tears of blood their shape below her eyes. Of course she didn't mean the spoken words as she never would even dared to harm her sister more than she already did on that ungrateful night. For Rarity always wished to be a role model for her and just yet she literally just wished that filly the death. A death wish spoken towards her own little sister. The tears started to stream down her face while she placed a hoof against her mouth, not willing to release the sounds of her sadness. Rarity could only cry then. From the rough, tough, seducing, bloodsucking vampiric mare, was nothing more left then a weak mare. A mare who hadn't it in her heart to hurt anypony, but had to due to her nature. ~~~~   For hours she had cried over her spoken words while taking deep offense in them herself for she should have never spoken them. Blood could be found all over her forelegs as they were used to wipe them clean before the paper tissues took over. One last sniff left her nose and she carefully wiped the last of her tears away with a tissue and licked up the blood that had come in contact with her fur. She couldn't tell if it was due to the situation or the mixture of different blood types thrown together, that it was just disgusting. Rarity had to prepare herself whether she was sad or not. She had to prepare for a meeting she was called upon in her dream. A meeting she oddly enough knew just with who it was and even where. She wasn't looking forward to the particular meeting in the least. All that she truly had to collect was her black, body covering cloak and some bits to pay for the upcoming train trip towards her city of heaven and long desired place of living. The very city that could be seen as the capital of Equestria. That city, was Canterlot. ~~~~                 Minutes later entered the unicorn set her hooves on the simple train station of Ponyville. Through the open gap in her hood had the sapphire blue rims revealed themselves to the world. They just glanced to all the ponies that were waiting on the station. Nopony upon the platform looked even odd at the full covered Rarity when she passed them. Nopony seemed to have suspected a single thing. Most likely they thought she was some sort of traveler from a distant land. She just behaved as normal as she could and wasn't looking for any trouble whatsoever. Which did pay off because others just fell for the trick. Yet when she walked to the end of the platform there were a couple little fillies and colts that spoke ill of her. Without a word did the cloaked mare turn herself around and she stared upon the group with her rims. The fillies and colts almost froze up as they saw it but the biggest surprise had yet to come. For Rarity allowed her eyes to quickly switch from their blue color to red and back. One by one they dripped off back to their parents as they were either scared or amazed by what they saw. “That shall teach them,” the mare mumbled to herself before she sat down on a lonely bench. Lost within her thoughts she traveled down the memory lane but she was interrupted by the blowing whistle of the train that rolled into the station. Its mighty pistons came to a hold before a cloud of steam was released on the station. Some ponies got hidden within the cloud and it caused a chuckle to leave the unicorn. But then she just started to look how the ponies entered the carts and left them before she would join them herself. It was some time later that Rarity would have taken a seat in her private compartment of the train. Which rolled passed the landscapes at an incredible speed. Even though the engine was of steam nature, it managed to deliver an almost devastating punch on the railroads like thunder. Not much machinery that had been made was able to pull the weight as that trusty train did and in secret, Rarity always enjoyed it when she happened to be on board of it. ~~~~                 She had arrived in Canterlot after a calm and peaceful trip within the steam powered beast. Her visit to the wonderful city itself was one long walk. A walk that would have led her from the wonderfully crafted train station, all the way up to the castle of the royal sisters. She walked through the city with an unseen nervousness. In a normal case would Rarity look by the shop windows to see what would be on sale. But she feared that she would let the impatient princess wait for too long if she didn't came over fast enough. The unicorn could only pray that whatever it was she was summoned for, wasn't something all too bad. But knowing who spoke the words -or at least having the indication- made her worry, a lot. Once again had the moon fallen again over the land and the unicorn found herself in front of the majestic looking doors of the throne room that would lead her to the mare that desired to speak with her, if not judge her. Rarity allowed her eyes to fall upon the door countless times and looked at its engravings of gold as her cloak was the only thing she was wearing for clothing. Something that wasn't entirely appropriate for the occasion but was one of the safest approaches. The hood was pulled down so she wouldn't get caught by the guards who would question her for her arrival. While her eyes kept staring to the grandness of it all, the enormous doors opened up upon themselves with - what appeared to be – nothing attached to them. The response that Rarity gave was a small jump to the back that grew forth out of fear. She didn't know just what to expect inside, but she did know who to expect. Her sapphire blue rims dared to peek in the well-known throne room of the royal castle in Canterlot. One thing was taken note of almost right away. The fact that the atmosphere had changed a lot. She had been there before on numerous times. Yet those times were always during the day. The room had changed from its normal warm and sunny look, to a more darker and somewhat colder one. These changes could have been explained easily though. Both of the princesses kept their own looks to the room to suit their desires. Rarity moved further into the gap created before she took note of the changed guards. Instead of the normal, white coated pegasi who wore their shining gold armor like the sun were the guards of the lunar princess wearing a much darker and pointier variant of the armor. Each set was coated in the coloring of the night for easier blending in with the darkness and there was one feature of these ponies that made them unique to the face of the lands. For these guards were from a considerable sub-race of the pegasus kind which were often simply referred to as batponies. A name was given due to their wings which had the form of those of a bat. The wings of Rarity were almost the same but her pupils made her stand out. For a true batpony had them narrowed, almost making them look like those of a cat or a dragon and being yellowish of color. The unicorn walked in further while the soft clopping of her hooves only made the guards blink with their eyes. Their wings had been tucked back against the bodies. Though when she was far enough into the room, the screeching sound of the doors closing returned within her ears. The sounds behind her indicated they had fallen shut. She responded with a loud gulp. Rarity was then alone, or better said, on her own in the same room which housed Equestria’s most powerful being of the night. The unicorn could only hope for a good ending for herself. Her eyes looked through the windows and saw that the clouds occupied the nightly skies. The moon was hiding behind them and the ghostly lights twinkled over the grounds. As the mare looked out of the window, there was a small exhale that left her before her eyes turned back to the throne. A throne which held the princess of the night upon it. “You, wished to speak to me, your Highness?” spoke Rarity in a respectful voice before she lowered herself through her forelegs. Doing so resulted in a small but respectful bow in front of the throne. “Yes, we do desire to speak with you, lady Rarity,” replied a female voice on the throne as a set of cyan blue eyes were the only things visible with the exception from a mane and tail that flowed majestic. “Don’t be shy now, for we know what you are, our dear subject.” The unicorn only blinked a couple times from her humble position as she closed her eyes, not truly knowing what to do. Revealing her nature to a princess might have had devastating consequences as it may confirm her suspicion. But as with everything, the knife sliced on two sides. It was most unlikely that the vampiric kind of ponies had been going under the radar of the princess, if not both of them. Though Rarity couldn't lie to an higher authority, if not the highest in the land. As her eyes kept themselves shut rather forcefully, the cloak around her body was removed. Her short nightgown would have begun to uncurl itself from her body after that. She revealed the batwings she had gained straight towards the princess and they were spread to their maximum width. In her mouth had the canines extended without being shown to the mare at first. Her head rose up towards the cyan blue eyes before the eyelids opened themselves. Only to reveal the red coloring around them. It was the only moment of truth for her. It would be there, upon the floor of the throne room that she could either be given a true death, or something else. ~~~~                 Her eyes laid themselves upon the princess. The fear could be read within those of Rarity and the clouds drifted apart from the moon. And with that was the nightly rock revealed in all of its glory. Like a tidal wave did the light travel over the lands before it was shone through the throne room in a matter of seconds. While the light indulged the room, it revealed the princess of the night in full. She sat on the throne in all of her glory. The mare who was watching over the night and dreams of ponies, had her eyes fixed themselves on Rarity. “So this is the true Rarity, now isn't it?” she spoke up in a calm voice. Rarity gave a simple nod before she spoke her words. “Yes, yes it is your Highness, this, is the true me... Forgive me the question, but why was I called out here? In order for you to confirm what you thought? For you to make an end on me, princess Luna?” she dared to ask. The princess only allowed a playful giggle to leave her mouth which she covered with her hoof. “My dear Rarity, you know the last execution has been taken place far before our banishment and we do not see any interest nor profit in it. No, we desired to see you if it was true my guards have been rumoring around you. And here it is, the full truth right before us,” answered Luna. But only after the sounds of her giggle had died down and the hoof was set back on the throne. “So then, what is it you truly desire from this rather, humble, unicorn mare?” she brought out while being scared for what the answer might be. The hoof gently rose itself back up to the face of the royalty as her eyes closed themselves halfway. The silence took over the room for a couple seconds. The eerie and overall unpleasant silence none wishes to be in. Rarity wanted to say some words but found her respect back for the princess and therefore kept herself shut. A couple more seconds had passed by before Luna was the one who broke the silence. “What we truly desire from you, is not the biggest part of a puzzle. No, we merely desire to give you some information about matter that may or may not concern you.” The vampiric mare shook her head a couple times while her mind tried to process the received words. Though she was not able to tie them together in order to reveal the scheme of the princess. “I am sorry here princess, but, I am afraid I am not following you here as well as I should.” “Can’t you remember, when there was that shining crimson red rock in the skies and it called for you?” recalled Luna before her head turned itself into the direction of the moon. “Have you ever wondered who is truly behind, the swirling shadows?” As soon as those words got caught up in the mare, her attention was awoken as she asked questions of her own. “D-Do you know, know who Shiva truly is? Do you know her true story?” The princess of the moon released a small chuckle after her head had turned back to Rarity. “Of course we know her, but the question that truly remains is, are you willing to hear the story she carries with her?” she replied with her ever so regal sounding voice. But if listened with care, there was the hinting to play and tease that laid somewhere within the undertone. Rarity’s red rims gazed a little questioning over to Luna while her head cocked itself gently. The purple skinned wings gave a small flap before retracting themselves again. “I, I think I am ready,” was the only answer that the mare could give. “You think you are ready?” Luna then spoke in a strong and almost booming voice. All of the hidden undertones had just been gone like snow before the sun. Through the nose of the mare there was a deep exhale did its turn as she cleared her mind from everything that was haunting it at the moment while she stood as a rock. “No, I know I am ready.” ~~~~   Yet for what came next, Rarity couldn’t have ever prepared herself for. Luna told the story of Shiva and her own history with the vampiric kind of ponies. The alicornian princess left no stone unturned in the matter and openly spoke about everything. Not to mention the fact that she managed to deliver mental hit after mental hit to Rarity. Who oddly enough was able to take most of them for what they were. Despite some of the princess’ claims stretching a bit far. But there was one last revelation left in the end. One fact where not even the vampiric unicorn could ever be ready for. After everything she had heard already, would there still have been one little thing. One little thing that would have turned her world upside down and inside out.