Alucard walked softly under the leaves, sunlight shining down. It irritated his skin. In his weakened state of hunger, the sun was beginning to burn him. Ordinarily, he would not even notice it. Now, he was a common vampire. As much as his father was a tyrant and a madman, his blood did have its uses, but now he was without those benefits.
He sniffed deeply, trying to track down SOME kind of animal. All he smelled were the trees and flowers. He could hear something rustling in the brush not far from him, and wondered why it didn't smell like the usual. Alucard chalked it up to his weakness, and padded silently toward the sound. His eyes were wide and his mouth was watering.
He burst through the trees, and grabbed ahold of the neck of whatever was in front of him. His eyes raked over it, only to find it was… Wooden?
The struggling creature was made entirely of logs, but it was shaped like a normal wolf. Fluttershy’s words came back to him. ‘A timberwolf, I'd guess. Whoever named this thing must have thought they were quite clever.’
He came back to himself and found the poor creature drooling sap and twitching in his grasp. He dropped it to the ground, utterly disappointed. The thing started hacking wet coughs, worse for the wear but still alive, if only barely. Alucard moved on, no longer interested.
The dhampir stalked through the underbrush, silent as the grave he had crawled out of. He walked and walked, smelling and hearing nothing. His sharp eyes looked under every bush, but it seemed like the animals were avoiding him. He would need something big and confident in itself, both to slake his thirst and to not run at the sight of him.
He faintly heard a stream and decided to make a pit stop before he continued on. He was about to blindly push through the bushes to the water, when the wind shifted. Then the scent hit him. It smelled musky and warm. ‘Finally!’ Alucard thought with relish.
He crept as quietly as he could, so as to not startle his soon-to-be lunch. He didn't feel like playing with his food and just wanted to get it over with. His eyes and aura once again took a red hue. Like a bat out of hell, he burst through the undergrowth and onto the creature’s back.
The manticore didn't even have time to wonder what was on his back, before Alucard grabbed the large, maned head and gave it a harsh twist. It dropped, no muss and no fuss.
The dhampir started ripping out chunks of its mane so he wouldn't just get a mouthful of hair, and when he had cleared a patch, happily went to town. The animal hadn't yet breathed its last, and was only paralyzed. But Alucard soon took care of that, as he slowly gulped down every last drop of blood it had.
The hunter had become the hunted, without even realizing it. The beast was dead before he had even known what hit him.
Alucard felt wondrous, his most primal urge satisfied. His belly was pleasantly full, and his throat had finally stopped feeling like he had swallowed coals. He sat back, noting the sloshing in his stomach. That amount of blood would last him a fair while. He smacked his lips and wiped his chin.
He scooted over to where he guessed the animal had been drinking from the stream, and looked into the water. He had been a little messy, so he set to washing his face.
After that was done and he was once again presentable, Alucard examined the remains of his meal. It was certainly a manticore, but… Cuter? It didn't look much like the one he had seen in Castle Vania. ‘Did evolution make EVERYTHING more adorable? How does it even threaten anything with those dull teeth and dumb look? Though, I suppose it must be fearsome compared those ponies…’
The thought of evolution and its wiles entertained him while he started on his way back to Ponyville. He took his time, no longer uncomfortable under the sun. The light streaming through the leaves was beautiful, and the grass under his feet was lush.
He spied birds and squirrels in the trees, looking at him cautiously. When he made eye contact with them, they instantly took flight or scurried away into their dens in fear. This didn't bother him.
It was a pretty day, the sun was shining but the shade was cool. He took his time on the walk.