//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Blood Curse Hunters // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// While the sun crawled past over the skies, Rarity felt the warmth clashing against her cold body. It wanted to warm her up, it wanted to make her feel good, to make her feel alive again, but the dreaded cold never allowed such a thing to happen. It just continued to fight the warmth like a stubborn mule. Rarity was neither dead or living, caught between two fires while she wanted nothing but peace. Though peace was not a thing she would have gotten if the decision was given to her body. Yet from all the memories that she was reliving, there was one particular train of thought that she couldn’t believe. One that she didn’t even dare to believe. But it just continued to hammer against her skull. Even if she wouldn’t think about it, it continued to roar like a dragon in the back of her head. It just drove her almost to the brink of insanity. Even though times had changed a lot, she still felt sorry for one thing. The fact that she never apologized to her friends. Apologies should have been made with each of them before she would have died, especially to Twilight and Fluttershy. All kinds of moments returned to her from her friends, or at least, she still called them friends. Never would she have forgotten how Rainbow threw the cup right in her face, never did she forgot how Twilight wanted to cut her open like a frog. As much as she had to make an apology to them, she should have received them too. There was one apology that she really should have given before she went into her hermit’s life. The apology that was for Spike. The dragon that had once come into her room and broken one of the most precious stones that she had in her entire collection. She had gone off against the little fellow, perhaps she had reacted way harder than she could have. But in the moment wasn’t Rarity herself, never had been since the change happened. Regret came up while she wished that time could have been reverted back, back to the time where she hadn’t been turned into a monster of both blood and lust. A single, bloody tear rolled down her cheek while she continued to think about the matter. Yet reasoning should have been given a place too. Spike was madly in love with her, and she had to admit that he was rather cute for a dragon. But he was still a baby, perhaps if he had grown their relation could have been something. But with her current condition, Rarity did what she had to do in the moment to preserve herself. She never meant her words the way they came though. But her survival stood atop of everything. If he knew her situation, he would have understood. It almost broke her heart that she couldn’t tell him, or anyone for that matter, just how sorry she was for all the wrong she had done. On the other end, the boiling anger returned as she thought about all the times that her friends had done something horrible. The hoof that had slapped her before began to tremble, almost as if it was ready to just slap her again. Her thoughts had to be kept in check, no matter the cost. Her sanity was the last thing that she wanted to lose. ~~~~ Having wandered off somewhere deep in the bowels of the castle, Trixie has come down to the catacombs, a place where neither she nor Rarity have been in the past year. The darkness that surrounds her is chilly, eerie even. The cold wind terrifies her of the place. With no light to speak of, who knew what could have rested within. But Trixie was a unicorn, she could have used her magic to illuminate the place. A fact that dawned to her not much later. That was the exact thing that she did. A deep exhale was taken. Whatever would have dwelled down there, she would have faced against it and emerge victorious. One deep inhale was taken before she allowed the arcane power to coat around her horn. In the pale magenta aura did it then reveal itself to her. The massive crypt filled with coffins raised above the ground on stands. Nameless graves of ponies that could have been anyone and anything. The sight took an even more gruesome turn when Trixie gazed on the walls. On each of them she saw chains hanging with locks enough for four hooves and a neck. Fear took her over but the mare took a step further into the place. More was enlightened by the aura and more horrible sights came to be. The nausea that came up in her made her swallow a couple of times the hard way. Whatever had the room been used for in the path, she was glad that it was put out of commission. Though what would Rarity have done with, when she found out about the place? Even more horrid thoughts then went through the mare before she shook her head heavily. “No, she wouldn’t be able to do such a thing. She isn’t capable of it. But, she kills without mercy if needed, so, she is capable. Trixie has to make sure, Rarity never finds this place,” the unicorn mumbled to herself. With her aura shining the way bright, she returned the same way she came. Trixie wanted to leave the room behind and forget that it existed in the vast castle. And there was only one way in which she could ensure that fact. The second that she had gone through the arch that led her back to the staircase, the unicorn increased the amount of power around her horn. An illusion spell would be cast in the opening itself. Trixie closed her eyes while she thought about the spell. Concentration was key for her and the longer she stood there, the more successful the cast became. For in the opening was a wall formed. A wall that seemed to connect seamless to the rest of the structure. What Trixie in essence had done, was creating a new wall and giving the staircase a dead end. It was all an illusion though. With the mare being happy about the way the structure looked, she gave a proud nod to herself before she ascended again on the stairs. With each step she took, her magic lost a bit of its energy. When she reached the stop of the staircase, it was all gone. But she was back in that same hallway where she thought about ending Rarity. Her eyes had a look through it and into the throne room, seeing the carcass still laying there. As any good servant would have done, Trixie came back into the room and asked the ancient question of servants. “Is there something that I can do for you, mistress? A cup of blood, or tea, perhaps?” Trixie asked. A shock went through Rarity and her ears flattened moments after Trixie’s word were heard. She woke up from her sorry feelings and had a quick gander through the entirety of the place. At last she spotted Trixie near the bottom of the throne and a gentle grimace forged itself across her lips. Yes, there was something that Trixie could have done for her. Something she lusted after. “If you would be a dear and fetch me a cup of blood from one of our special guests down below, that would be much appreciated,” the vampony asked of her servant before she gave a nod. But Trixie was having a set of different ideas when it came about the cup of blood. With a couple of steps had she come to the throne itself, ready to present her neck to Rarity. “But Trixie knows what when you drink from her, you feel much more alive,” replied Trixie before she closed her eyes. All the anticipation had already come. She was waiting for the fangs to be set in her veins. Instead she felt the cold hoof of Rarity going over her neck. A shiver trekked down her spine before the hoof gave a couple strokes over her cheek, almost like Rarity was petting her lost house cat. “My dear, sweet Trixie, your blood is potent, powerful, tingling with magic. Consuming your blood too often would make the taste go to waste. No, I prefer to drink your blood at times when it is right. But right now, this is neither the time nor the place for it. So do as you are told and fetch me a cup from our special guests.” It would have been impossible for Trixie to change the mind of Rarity. So with that in mind, Trixie left the throne once more. She would have trotted straight out of the doorway and into the hall. If she would be going downstairs again, she would have made sure that the iron gate was at least closed. And with a deafening clang of iron hitting stone was the job done. Rarity lied to herself if she said she didn’t startle from the massive clang. But when she saw what had happened, it all made sense to her mind again. The wings had sprung open and she was ready to jump out of her throne, to glide to safety. “What is with that mare these days?” the vampony mumbled to herself. It was a question rightfully asked, as Trixie had shown on numerous occasions that their mental connection wasn’t as tight as that it used to be. “Times changed and so did we all, the story that we all thought to be over, begins anew, that much is certain.” While the sapphire blue aura collected around her horn, Rarity closed one of the curtains to block out the sunlight. She wanted to see the world outside –without being burned to a crisp. So with all the window curtains closed with the exception of one, she finally dared to come off of her throne. A throne which was degraded to nothing but a chair, because Rarity was no more the queen of the vamponies. She had only been that for five minutes, then a dreaded realization had kicked in. A realization that came from a random encounter of which she was still thankful to that day. Step by step did she descend down to the ground again, her wings were kept spread before she went to the one open window. Her body remained in the shadows, staying out of direct sunlight. Her eyes closed moments before she reached the spot. While her body was still clad in the shadows, Rarity had come to the spot she wanted to be. The light of the sun could already be felt on her retina’s behind the shut eyelids. It had been almost a week since she last saw the sun from afar. It would have been the first time in over a month that she would view direct sunlight. With nothing to lose had Rarity opened her eyes and burned them in the bright light. The nocturnal eyes weren’t used any more to the bright shine that the celestial orb carried to it. Rarity had to look away for a moment or two in order to let her eyes adjust. Black spots were witnessed all over the place in her field of vision. She was blinded by the sun but still dared to challenge it. With a forceful motion did she turn back to the window and continued to stare to the outside world. The green trees were caught, the blue skies and the white clouds. It was yet another perfect day in Equestria, yet she was there. She was there, locked away in the darkness of the castle that she claimed as her home. Her eyes burning from the sunlight they were subjected to and bloody tears formed beneath them. It was torture for herself, but Rarity had to remind herself that there was  world outside of the one that she had created. Outside of the one she was forced to live.