Metal.
That was the first thing she tasted. The salty, metallic flavor of blood lay heavily on her tongue and filled all the sensing of her taste buds. She swallowed dryly, trying to get rid of it, but found herself unable to.
Vinyl set up and took in her surroundings. She was at home. Her apartment, that she shared with Octavia. She looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of place. The living room was orderly as always, of that, Tavi would be making sure, and she couldn't spot anything unusual aside from the constant lack of sunlight.
Now that she thought about it, how could she see so clearly in this pitch black room? It was night, about that, she had absolute certainty, but she could see as if it was the brightest of days. She looked closer and noticed another thing. Seemingly, her vision had become a lot sharper, since she could spot the fine cracks in Octavia's Chello-case, which stood at it's place in the corner next to the TV.
She stood up from the couch. Vinyl had to investigate further. Where had she been last night?
She snorted. Yeah, last night. As if there would be day and night. Vinyl looked over to the big clock on the wall. Half past six. Not that it would matter, but keeping track of time was reassuring and set a fix-point into the unsteady rhythm Vinyl had to live with now.
Seriously though, what had she done in the last few hours? Where had she been, and why did she taste blood? She explored the inside of her mouth for any wounds she may had, but found nothing. Shaking her head, she went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
She spotted her most desired good at once: a fresh can of energy drink. The sugary flavor of the fluid would hopefully wash away the disturbing taste as well as her tiredness. Greedily taking in gulp after gulp, she emptied the can, and with a little help of her telekinesis, threw it into the trash.
Stuffing back the burp that was about to escape from her mouth, she wandered back into the living room and turned on the TV. Testing screen on channel one. Testing screen on channel two. Testing screen on channel three. Testing screen on channel four. She gave up.
Vinyl let her head bend over the arm rest of the futon and stared at the ceiling. She traced the lines of wood from the beginning to the end, sighing in annoyance. Suddenly she felt something. An uncomfortable gurgle in her gut. The white unicorn stroked over her belly and took a concerned look at it.
From what it felt like, she would guess that there was something rising up in her stomach, and out of the blue, she felt sick. Sprinting up the stairs, she ripped the door to the bathroom open and set herself over the toilet seat.
Just a heartbeat later, the green liquid she had drunk earlier left her with an audible splash. After the first wave, Vinyl coughed and spit the rest of barf out, breathing heavily. What was going on?
She let herself fall next to the shower and tried to trace the last steps she had made back, after her sickness had subsided.
Her club came into her mind. Her performance on stage, the last song before her break. Then, her short stay in her break room. Tavi. And then-
Vinyl pouted. Her memories seemed to be a hazy mess of undistinguishable shreds of different emotions and sensations. A figure, tall, humanoid. The sleepiness she had felt. An indistinct conversation. Black. Celestia's buns, this whole thing was so confusing!
The sound of a door being opened ripped her from her deliberations. Vinyl's ears perked up. Obviously her vision was not the only thing that had gotten better. Wiping off the last leftovers from her muzzle, she got back up on her legs and walked down the stairs.
When she arrived in the first floor, she could already make out the faint scent of her roommate. The mischievous grin she always wore when Octavia was around, found its way onto her face and as quietly as she could, Vinyl sneaked into the kitchen.
Octavia was already rummaging around the sink, a bag of supplies shattered on the table. She had her hooves in the water, cleaning the few plates and cups that still had leftovers on them, and didn't pay attention to anything else.
Vinyl waited for the perfect chance and positioned herself directly behind the gray mare. She rose on her hind legs, her face in a grimace of glowing glee, but then dropped back down and instead brought her muzzle closely to Octavia's ear.
''Hey Tavi, what'cha doin'?'' She didn't want to damage her marefriend's hearing permanently, so Vinyl kept the volume slightly below her stage voice, which still served to scare Octavia quite nicely. She shrieked, shot up, and in one swift turn in midair, landed with her back on the ground.
She panted heavily and looked up at Vinyl in shock. ''Vinyl? What has gotten into you?'' She blinked. ''Vinyl?'' Her eyes widened. Octavia rocketed up and threw herself at Vinyl's neck, overwhelming her with a flood of hugs, inspecting looks and kisses.
Vinyl let it happen for a few moments, Octavia's breath and lips tickling her, and she simply enjoyed being close to her mate. Eventually, though, she held Tavi by the shoulders and grinned. ''Tavi, what's up with you? You act like you haven't seen me in weeks!''
The worried look on Octavia's face all but vanished and she stared at Vinyl. ''Not weeks, Vinyl, but days! Three, to be exact. After we talked in the break room, and after I came back from the basement, you were gone and not on stage. I've kept the club closed since, but you weren't at home, either. I searched all of Canterlot for you, but you were like swallowed by the earth!''
Vinyl's eyebrows shot up. Three days? She knew she was a heavy sleeper, but three days seemed too much even for her. But hadn't Tavi said she wasn't at home either? This made no sense.
''Vinyl, your eyes...'' Vinyl averted her gaze at Octavia, cocking an eyebrow.
''What's with 'em?''
''They are...red.''
Vinyl snorted with laughter. She held her belly and dropped to the floor, rolling left and right. After her snicker had stopped, she held her sides, which burned from exertion. ''Oh my Celestia, Tavi, of course they are! They've always been.'' She kept giggling to herself.
Octavia reached down and pulled Vinyl up again. She was now really close to Vinyl's face, checking on every little detail of her face. ''That's not it, silly! They have a different shade than they used to be...''
Octavia drew in even closer. Heavens, she looked delicious-
Wait, what? Vinyl shook her head and quickly backed away from the gray earth pony. She looked back at her. What had she been thinking? Delicious? Tavi had many things to her, like elegant, graceful, passionate, but delicious? That would be the first time Vinyl would describe her as delicious.
Vinyl glanced over Octavia's sleek figure. Her main, ink black, marvelous. Her coat, like gray marble, beautiful. Her neck, so soft, so tender, scrumptious.
Vinyl gasped. There, again! Why were only adjectives, that were fitting for food, coming into her mind when she saw her dream mare? What was wrong with her? She shook her head fiercely one more time and quickly turned around. She needed to clear her head on this, or she would go crazy!
She was already at the foot of the staircase when Tavi's sweet vocals caught up to her. ''Vinyl? Is everything alright with you? You seem so pale, even more than usual.'' Said mare turned over her shoulder and threw a quick reply down to the cellist. ''Everything's fine, don't worry. I'm just a bit confused, that's all. I'll take a quick shower, ya know, to cool my head.'' Octavia looked at the kitchen, then back at Vinyl. ''Ok, I'll be making dinner in the meantime.''
Vinyl pulled the door shut and readied a towel next to the shower. She stepped in and closed the curtains, then let the water flow.
An agonized scream broke through Vinyl's mouth as the water hit her coat and skin. She stumbled out of the shower and thereby ripped the curtains with her. The wet area burned as if it was on fire, and Vinyl rubbed over the darker spots, which only served to give her a bad sting in the hooves.
She grabbed the towel and rubbed the wetness away, then took a look at the handle in the shower. It couldn't have been of a colder temperature. She glanced at the still aching spots on her coat and could see a weak swelling of her skin, like from a burning or something.
What in the name of Celestia was going on here? She stood up and strolled over to the sink. One last test would bring certainty. She opened the faucet and let the water stream into the basin. Slowly, she brought her hoof closer and finally dove it under the stream. A sharp hiss and she immediately drew her hoof back. Rubbing it, she looked into the mirror.
For another time today, Vinyl was shocked. She knew with absolute assurance that she was leaning on the tub and looking at the polished glass surface of the mirror, yet, she couldn't make out her reflexion.
Vinyl sat down and stayed there for a while, too confused to do anything other than sit and wait.
''So that's why I never stood a chance!'' Rainbow threw her forelegs in the air, an expression of sudden realization spread widely over her whole face. She floated next to Twilight and Applejack, who both tried their best at keeping a pace fast enough to not lose time, and which they could hold for a longer time without growing too tired.
For almost a week, they had been chasing Hazel's tail, their wild hunt bringing them into all corners around Ponyville. During that time, Applejack had told Rainbow and Twilight what had happened, to which both of them had been standing with their jaws dropped.
As it seemed, Hazel chose at random where to fly next, and everytime they had gotten close enough, the moment they woke up, he was already miles away. But they kept on, too much was at bay, and they needed him.
''A Vampire! That is soo awesome! Can you believe it? All those tales about them, they are real!'' Rainbow was in her typical fanfilly mode, which actually only occurred when the subject was Daring Do. Applejack sighed. ''Yes, it's plenty amazing, but don'tchu forget, Rainbow, he's also mighty dangerous.''
Rainbow shook off Applejack's comment with a shrug. ''Yeah, yeah. So, why did he ran away in the first place?'' Her gaze wandered from Applejack to Twilight and back. ''What's it? Something happened?''
Twilight spoke to her, one eyebrow cocked inquisitively. ''No, it's just that Applejack has already told you twice, haven't you been listening?'' Rainbow blushed slightly and answered with a sheepish grin. ''Ya know, after the word 'Vampire', I might not listened quite as much you may think, hehe. Sorry.''
Twilight face-hoofed. ''Did you at least catch the part about him being an Incubus as well?''
''Yeah, but you didn't explain it entertaining enough, and I was to focused on the vampire part, so... What's an Incubus again?''
Twilight's pupil mode activated again. ''An Incubus is a lust demon, that gets it's strength through intercourse, and since Hazel is able to manipulate everypony's mind, it is very likely that he, well... with you...'' She made a vague gesture, whereupon Rainbow's eyes widened.
''You mean, I could have slept with my mentor and don't even remember?'' Rainbow floated in midair for a while, her face as blank as a sheet of paper. Suddenly, her expression dropped and she crossed her arms. ''Dang, I'd really like to know how big he is.''
Slowly, her head turned around and she focused Applejack. ''Wait a second; you know, don't you?'' Rainbow grinned from ear to ear, literally, and was met by Applejack's glare, shooting daggers at the pegasus.
''That ain't none of yer business.'' Applejack's voice could have been able to freeze a lake, but Rainbow only chuckled. ''So, he's that big?'' She poked Applejack's shoulder with an elbow. ''Come on, I know you can't lie, you two have already been rolling in the hay, haven't you?''
''Rainbow...'' Twilight signed her to stop, but Rainbow simply ignored her.
''Tell me, is he bigger than Big Mac?''
''Rainbow!''
''Bigger than a bowling pin?''
''Rainbow, I'm being serious, that's enough!''
''Oh my gosh, is he bigger than my arm?''
Applejack stopped dead in her tracks, unrealized by Rainbow, who flew a few meters past her friend. As soon as she noticed, she turned around and looked confusedly at the farmer pony. ''Applejack, what's wrong?'' She hovered down until she stood before the orange mare, tilting her head sideways.
Applejack had lowered her head, so the brim of her hat was covering her face, only leaving her mouth. Slowly, she raised her head again, and suddenly, Fluttershy's Stare looked only half as intimidating as it was before.
''Listen, Rainbow, Ah know ya handed my flank over ta me at that party, but I swear by Celestia, if ya keep this going, I'll beat you up until the rainbow's out of yer mane! Got that?''
Even Rainbow understood that this was the point where she had to draw the line. She let her friend and rival walk past her, then proceeded to walk beside her. She lay a wing onto Applejack's back and nudged her cheek with her forehead.
''Come on, Applejack. You know I love nothing more than teasing you- well except winning, but that's another story- and you gotta admit, this was an opportunity too perfect to let go to waste.'' Rainbow cuddled onto Applejack, which helped to let a defeated smile appear on her face.
The orange mare docked her back, and they both started bumping into each other as they walked down the muddy way, deep in the Everfree Forest. With each bump, their giggle grew louder, and soon, both laughed heartily.
Applejack caught her breath and walked closer to Rainbow, so Twilight couldn't hear what she was saying. ''It's not his size, it's how he uses it.'' She winked at Rainbow, who halfway shut her eyes and gave a knowing one-sided grin back at her. ''By the way, size doesn't mean evrything, but it sure helps a lot.'' Rainbow shot her an unbelieving look, but then nodded.
''Oh, and before Ah forget, between the two o' us, if ya try anything funny with him, then not even yer fancy hips an' hops can save ya from me.'' A dangerous smirk shone from Applejack's face, disabling any back-talking, and Rainbow nodded in comprehension.
''Umm, you guys, I really hate to interfere into your bonding, but seems like were getting company.'' Both mares looked back at Twilight, who was pointing her hoof at something in front of them. They followed her hoof and soon noticed the pair of yellow dots, that were glowing in the darkness ahead.
Dark beige coat. Long fangs from the lower jaw. Incredibly large lionesque paws. Sand colored and red wings. A blood red mane around the neck. And a scorpion tail. ''A Manticore!'' Twilight's voice was a mixture of fright, admiration and recognition.
''Y'all think it remembers us?'' A deafening roar from the creature shut her up and left their ears with a tingling. ''I don't think so, Applejack.'' Twilight looked at the Manticore. ''Let me try something.''
She closed her and aimed her horn at the beast before them. A few seconds went by, then the ears of the Manticore perked up and he looked around. He was obviously searching for something, telling by the way he let his gaze wander.
''Girls, I don't think this is the same Manticore we met during Nightmare Moon's attack. This one is a completely different specimen, and it's very confused and angry.'' Twilight gestured her friends to step back and set her horn aglow. ''Alright, big boy, time for you to take a nap.''
Suddenly, a hoof snapped at her horn and Twilight tumbled. Confusedly, she stared at Rainbow. ''Rainbow Dash, would you please explain to me what you did that for?'' Rainbow cocked her chin and held a hoof towards Twilight. ''I'd like to take care of this one. Ya know, since Hazel showed me my place at the party, I've been training day and night, and I kinda wanna know where I'm currently at.''
''Rainbow, this is no time to-'' The purple unicorn was cut off by an orange arm that was shoved into her face. ''Let her do it, sugarcube, I wanna see how she's doin'. Besides, why not lean back and enjoy the show?''
Twilight seemed all but fond of the idea, but she remained silent and held her objections to herself. With a nod, she gestured Rainbow to go ahead.
The actions, that went by in the next minute, were way too fast for Applejack to catch up on. She only saw how Rainbow jumped forward and how the Manticore roared. A second later, the beast was ripped backwards a few steps and fell to his belly, a trail of colors coming from behind it and flying back in front of his face.
Rainbow hovered in front of the Manticore's face after she had kicked his hind legs away. The monster growled and tried to hit her with one of his claw-provided paws, but the sky blue mare flipped to the side and evaded the unpleasant encounter. She stepped on the arm and with the momentum she gained from flapping her wings, landed an excellently placed punch right onto the Manticore's cheek.
She quickly retreated after the initial attack, just at the right moment before the sting of the tail hit the piece of ground she had just been standing on. The huge creature got on his feet again and tried to focus the pegasus. If only he could. Rainbow buzzed around him with a speed Applejack had never seen her move before. The rainbow colored tornado during Nightmare Moon's attack seemed like a casual stroll, compared to the multispectral hurricane that now engulfed the Manticore.
He tried to get rid of Rainbow by kicking the air with his hind legs, clawing through the hypnotizing storm around him, and stabbing around with his tail, hoping to land random hits. But everytime he had thrown a punch, Rainbow was to dive under the claws and immediately counter it with a buck, kick or punch of her own.
It was indeed the show of a lifetime, and had Hazel watched, Applejack was sure, he would be mighty proud of his student. Although, Applejack had to admit, her movement was impressive as such, but something was still missing, like a certain style and grace that often showed when Hazel moved.
She had once asked him to show her some forms, not really willing to perform on her own, but the pure looks of it had put her in awe. Flawless, like he was born for it, he had moved and danced. Rainbow truly was his student, her movements mimicking his to a rather large degree, but she still had some way to completion.
Rainbow seemed more than satisfied with her skills at the current state and steadied herself for the final blow. The Manticore looked worn out, he panted heavily and limped on one foreleg. Only now Applejack realized, that while Rainbow had engulfed him in this multicolored hurricane of her, she had been leaving her path every now and then and had struck the Manticore wherever he had shown an open spot.
Exploit every weakness. Hazel's words reverberated in her mind and she had to smile.
Now Rainbow strolled over to the beast- it almost looked casual- and jumped on top of his head, tickling his badly beaten snout with her tail. The Manticore anchored himself onto the ground and took precise aim with his tail. He struck. And fell. Rainbow had dodged the sharp sting by a hair's breadth.
With a winning grin, Rainbow came walking back to her friends. ''See? Told ya I can handle this pussy.'' Twilight nodded approvingly. ''Indeed a good idea, using the Manticore's own poison against him. How come?'' She quickly shook her head and raised her hoof in n apologetic manner. ''Not that I doubted you, I just didn't think of you as a strategist.''
Rainbow waved Twilight's comment off. ''Normally I'm not, but I'm a huge fan of Daring Do, and remember book 23, where she has to get across a guarded portal to prevent Auizothl from stealing the Fog-Crystal? She uses a blow gun and shoots them down with the paralytic poison of the Manticore, she had encountered earlier. The guards were sleeping two whole days!''
The three picked up their path again, with Applejack lightly behind, as the other two discussed over their books. She couldn't but let her thought's trail off. What would she do, when they had finally caught up to Hazel?