Spilt Blood and Acts of Kindness
Eldra's grin only grew as she saw the raging expression on her brother's face, it was always a great pleasure of hers to see her perfect sibling get so wound up, and the fun was only beginning.
"It's been a while, hasn't it." she said. "Did you miss me?" Alistair narrowed his eyes on Eldra, his body stiff as he tried to compose himself.
"What are you doing back here, Eldra? And how are you even able to send this projection?" asked Alistair. Eldra's eyes briefly flickered to Discord, who was boredly using his magic to cast the projection.
"Wouldn't you like to know." she said. "But, as to why I'm back here, well, things got a little tiresome back in the Old World, so I decided to come back to mix things up a little. Not to mention I wanted to see my dear brother, and get myself acquainted with my darling little niece." Eldra stepped to the side to show off Fluttershy, chained to the stone wall, to a shocked and worried Alistair.
"Fluttershy!" he cried. Fluttershy's eyes glimmered, happy to see her father again, she jerked the chains in a fruitless attempt to get closer to the image of Alistair.
"Papa!" Fluttershy cried back.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine papa, you don't need to worry about me." Alistair turned his hardened gaze to Eldra.
"Let Fluttershy go, Eldra. Whatever quarrel you have is between the two of us, she has nothing to do with it." Eldra let out a cold cackle.
"Oh, that's where you're wrong, Alistair." said Eldra. "You see, she has everything to do with what's between us."
"What do you mean?"
"You've always been such a perfect brother, right to the point where it's sickening just to watch you get all your praises. Although, I would be lying if I said there weren't other ponies that got under my skin and deserve to be taken down a peg or two. Namely those fellow Pure Bloods of yours." Alistair's eye filled with realization.
"It was you! You were the one behind all those attacks." he declared. Eldra smiled coyly.
"Guilty as charged." she purred.
"What is it you hope to gain Eldra? What is it you want?!"
"What I want? What I want, is for you, and those high and mighty friends of yours to suffer. Beyond what I have suffered." Eldra stepped closer to Fluttershy, who was shivering with fear as Eldra cupped her face with her hooves. "And what better way to cause utter suffering, than to make you agonize over your beloved and only daughter? Especially after you suffered the loss of that wench of a wife who dropped dead all those years ago."
"Get your filthy hooves off of her, Eldra!" Alistair bellowed. Eldra did as he said.
"As you wish, dear brother." she said. "Now, here's what I want you to do. I want you and you Pure Bloods to meet at the Mortem Mountains, there, we shall finish things once and for all." Alistair was fuming, he wanted to reach through the projection and seize Eldra by her throat.
"Oh, and one more thing." Eldra added. "If you don't show up or try anything clever, then I'll have no choice but to inflict punishment onto your sweet daughter." Alistair looked horrified by the thought. Eldra was about to continue when she noticed that Discord also seemed alarmed by what she said. But she ignored it, there was no way a being like him could actually care about what happened to the little hybrid. "Before I leave you to it, I'll let you say your goodbyes to Fluttershy, in case it's the last time she'll ever see you again." Eldra moved out of the way, so that Alistair and Fluttershy could talk.
"Fluttershy, please hang tight, I'll come for you as quickly as possible. I won't rest until you're back safe and sound." said Alistair.
"I know papa," said Fluttershy. "Please be careful."
"I will, as always."
"I love you, papa."
"I love you too, Fluttershy." Eldra then stepped back in and got close to Fluttershy's side.
"How sweet. The love between a father and his daughter is truly a beautiful thing." she said. Fluttershy's eye caught something glinting in the long sleeve of the dress Eldra was wearing. It was- "But I wonder, if that love is more trouble than it's worth." As quick as a lightning flash, Eldra slid out a dagger from her sleeve and plunged it into Fluttershy's stomach. Fluttershy let out a scream as the sharp pain pierced her.
"NO!!" shouted Alistair. Discord ended the projection as he looked at the scene unfold with horror. Eldra twisted the knife around before pulling it out of Fluttershy.
"You may be able to heal, and survive a stabbing like that," said Eldra. "But I wonder, how long it will take to heal. Being only a hybrid, I can imagine it's not as fast as how other vampires heal." Fluttershy gasped heavily, trying to get through the pain. Eldra lifted up Fluttershy's head so that her gaze was locked with Eldra's. "You and Alistair will both feel pain beyond imagining." Eldra turned and headed toward the door. "Come, Discord." But Discord stayed frozen to the spot, watching as the blood dripped from Fluttershy's wound, creating a small puddle on the floor. "Discord!" Eldra hissed. "Now!" Discord reluctantly teleported outside the room, the last thing he saw was Fluttershy in pain, soaked in tears and blood.
Alistair's hooves hit the floor with a deafening thud, his teeth were grinding hard, and there was a murderous look in his eye. Eldra had done many things in the past, but this was the most unforgivable. Twilight and Rainbow Dash had watched Alistair silently, as he talked to Eldra and how the mad mare had stabbed their friend. Twilight took a tentative step toward Alistair.
"Um, sir," she said carefully. Alistair snapped his head toward her.
"What?" he hissed.
"I was wondering, if it'd be okay for me and Rainbow Dash to come and help you." Alistair softened by degrees.
"You, you're willing to help me?" Twilight nodded.
"Fluttershy's our friend, and after everything she's done for us, it's only fair we do the same for her."
"Plus, it'll give us a chance to show that Eldra a thing or two," added Rainbow Dash. "We won't let her get away with what she did to Fluttershy." Alistair breathed a sigh.
"Thank you, both. But are you both sure this is what you want? It'll be very dangerous."
"Ha! Danger's my middle name." said Rainbow boldly.
"And I've read up on vampires, so I'll know how to handle them." said Twilight. Alistair looked between the two, a very small, thin smile slipping onto his face.
"Very well then, come with me." he said. "Let us save my daughter. Let us save Fluttershy."
Once preparations had been arranged for the journey to the Mortem Mountains, Alistair led the girls outside, and let out a shrill whistle that rang through the air. In almost an instant, a carriage appeared, drawn by a mysterious-looking stallion. Alistair opened the carriage door wide. "Ladies first." he said. With their saddlebags, Twilight and Rainbow Dash boarded onto the carriage, Alistair soon followed and sat across from them.
"Take us to the mansion." said Alistair to the coach horse, just as he pulled out form the villa and headed into the forest.
"But, aren't we supposed to be going to the mountains, or something?" asked Rainbow.
"Yes, but Eldra also wanted me to bring the other Pure Blood vampires, we'll have to make a quick stop before we get there." explained Alistair.
"You're going to do what she says then?" questioned Twilight. "This is clearly a trap!"
"Of course I know it's a trap! But what other choice do I have? I don't trust Eldra, but for now, we must follow her demands until Fluttershy is safe and out of her clutches."
"I've been wondering about that, Fluttershy didn't mention anything about having an aunt before." said Twilight.
"That's because I never wanted her to know about Eldra." said Alistair. "My sister is a cruel, cunning, and crazy mare. She's been that way ever since we were foals."
"So, all that talk before about suffering?" pressed Rainbow Dash. Alistair turned away, gazing distantly out the carriage window.
"Please, sir." said Twilight. "If we know who or what we're up against, we'll be able to better save Fluttershy." Alistair heaved a tired sigh.
"Alright. For as long as I can remember, Eldra has always had this grudge against me, almost to the point of obsession."
"But why?" asked Twilight.
"Eldra and I are only half siblings. We have the same father, but different mothers. She is the illegitimate offspring of a common half breed vampire, a servant who died when Eldra was barely a year old. Father took pity on her and took her in, but she was never actually accepted as a part of the Alucard family. Meaning she would never become head of the family or inherit anything after our father's passing. Perhaps it was partly because of that that Eldra had become bitter."
"Gee, ya think?" muttered Rainbow Dash sarcastically. Twilight elbowed Rainbow in the ribs.
"Please continue." said Twilight.
"Well, I did try to get along with Eldra, but she made it very clear from the beginning that she had no interest in befriending me. Instead, she did what she could to try and make my life miserable, with little success I might add. When father passed away, I decided to let Eldra stay in the family estate, at the time, I took pity on her as well and knew that despite her tormenting, she was still my sister. It was a decision I soon regretted. Eldra's behavior became more erratic, and she started to play her mind games on me to try and trip me up, to make me lose my temper and lash out at her, especially in front of others. I didn't miss her one bit when coming to the New World. But what she's done now, it's beyond inexcusable. She must be stopped! And if it ever comes to it, I may have no choice but to finish her off myself." Twilight and Rainbow shared a look.
"Do you suppose Fluttershy's alright?" asked Twilight.
"I dearly hope so." exhaled Alistair. "But with Eldra, it's hard to say." He hung his head sadly. He'd promised to protect Fluttershy, and he'd failed. He was powerless to stop his twisted sister from plunging that dagger into her, and who knew what other nasty tortures she was putting Fluttershy through? 'Forgive me, Maia.' he thought. 'Watch over Fluttershy, until I come, and bring her home safe and sound.'
How much more time had passed, Fluttershy couldn't tell, but sometime after Eldra had paid her a visit, Discord had carefully slipped in and went over to Fluttershy. Fluttershy didn't bother fighting or doing anything. Instead, she closed her eyes and braced herself for whatever was going to happen to her. She felt as the chains loosened and she was slowly lowered down to the floor. There was a sound of snapping talons, and Fluttershy felt something soft gently wrap around her. She cracked open an eye to see what it was. She opened both eyes in surprise at what she saw. White gauze were wrapping around where the wound Eldra had inflicted had been, and the blood stains on her had been cleaned up. She looked up at Discord, who was avoiding looking at her face.
"Here." he said. With a flourish, he conjured up one of the largest, reddest apples she'd ever seen. He handed it to her, still averting his eyes from her. "You'll need it if you want to regain your strength." Fluttershy took the apple, her mouth watering, but she didn't take a bite. Instead she asked, "Why are you doing this?" Discord shifted uncomfortably.
"I may have done some *ahem!* bad things in the past, but I never went as far as Eldra did." Discord rubbed the back of his head. "And besides, it seems a little extra cruel to do something so terrible to a nice pony like you." Fluttershy blushed in spite of herself. She took a large bite of the apple, and began to suck it of its juices. At first, she was surprised to see that the apple remained very plump and full, no matter how much she drunk from it. Once she was full and satisfied, the apple disappeared in a POOF!
"Thank you." she said graciously. Discord was silent for a moment before saying, "Your welcome." Fluttershy used the back of her hoof to try and wipe away the tears that had dried on her cheeks. Discord sat down next to her and offered her and handkerchief, which Fluttershy accepted.
"It wasn't all a lie, you know." said Discord quietly. "Some parts were, but, we were close to being almost friends." Fluttershy blinked and looked at Discord. His shoulders were slumped and his head hung down. She could see that he felt guilty. She placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"You can still be my friend, if you'd like." she said. Discord finally looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"R-really? After everything, you still want me as a friend?" he asked. Fluttershy gave him a pained smile.
"I can see that you feel bad about what you did. And...if I do happen to-to die, then I'd at least like us to part on better terms." she said. Discord removed Fluttershy's hoof from his shoulder.
"You're too kind, my dear. But, if that is truly what you want, then I'm happy to oblige." Fluttershy felt her heart lighten a little. She knew what he'd done and how he'd tricked her, but she also knew that they were both trapped by her aunt Eldra. And through whatever her aunt decided to put her through, Fluttershy at least wanted somepony to talk to during that time. Even if he was an almost friend. An almost friend after all, was better than no friend at all.