//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 // Story: Blood Curse Hunters // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// A week would have come to pass since Twilight first spoke about Sweetie’s defensive lessons. During all that time would Sweetie have been practicing to make shields, maintain them and keep them up. Hard work that luckily paid off. Twilight had made the right estimations and Sweetie had managed to conjure up some amazing shield. The will to protect those near her had grown, excellent for the casting of defensive spells. It pleased Twilight perhaps in more ways than one that the young mare had grown so much. The longer Twilight would have examined every part of Sweetie’s shield, the more she would have come to realize that shield –next to levitation– came to her as easily as breathing. And all it took was a simple question to bring her to that realization. Twilight smiles moments after Sweetie had faded another shield, one that was big enough to protect just the young mare. “Does it always feel weird, whenever you let a shield fade away?” Sweetie asked with an exhausted voice. She rubbed her forehead slight under the sounds of a quiet groan. But Twilight shook her head in response. “No, you shouldn’t feel that drained afterwards, but we have been asking a lot of your magic already and I am afraid if we ask even more, nothing good will come from it,” she said to the younger unicorn, “your defensive capabilities are amazing, but I do worry about your offensive ones.” Twilight hadn’t wanted to speak those words aloud, but she did it anyway and regretted the decision straight away. Because the glance in the eyes of Sweetie changed. It changed from its happy self to one that was questioning, wondering about a lot of issues. The entire mood of Sweetie would have sunk to her hooves. With almost watering eyes did the young mare look to Twilight, silently screaming while her defeated tone filled the air. “It’s because I’m not ready for it, right? Because, I still haven’t given her death a place? I can’t control my emotions, Twilight,” she said before her eyelids closed. The other unicorn walked closer to her and gave her a hug. “You can control your emotions, Sweetie. The reason as to why I worry about your offense is,” a break came while she tried to find the right words, “because I don’t think it suits your personality. Your emotions, are out of this.” “But, but it’s true,” countered Sweetie with a low tuned voice. “Almost every night, I, I cry myself to sleep. My emotions, get the better of me. And they, they want me to hurt somepony.” All of the information was new for Twilight. She had never heard those kinds of words before out of her mouth. They began to worry her and rightfully so. If Sweetie indeed would have lost her control during the cast, who knew what kind  problems arose? No, in the moment would Twilight have only held her closer. “Then cry now, let out everything.” Moments later, she felt the tears rolling over her back. In silence, Sweetie was crying every tear that she had. ~~~~ Fluttershy was rushing like mad through her cottage. A week had gone by and she expected somepony to visit. Somepony who she hadn’t seen in a long, long time in fact. Nopony else than her friend Tree Hugger would come to visit her in Ponyville and the pegasus’ delight couldn’t be matched. Everything just had to be perfect before the earth pony arrived. It wouldn’t have been all that much later that the pegasus was wandering through the streets. Fluttershy was on her way to the train station in order to pick up her friend. She would show her all of Ponyville before they would spend the rest of the quiet afternoon either in the cottage or in the fields surrounding. She hadn’t decided it yet, but she knew it would have been a good thing to finally meet Tree again. With one last turn had Fluttershy arrived at the station moments before the train rolled in. Its powerful engine roared and thudded over the rails before the breaks brought it to a screeching hold. The pegasus kept her eyes open to see the green coated earth pony. She didn’t appear in one of the carriages and Fluttershy began to lose hope already. It would be something for Tree to have missed the train. On the other end, it wouldn’t have been the first time either. A sigh left through her nostrils. Fractions later was there somepony who tapped her on the back. The wings sprung open and Fluttershy almost became airborne. She turned around and saw those red, tired appearing eyes. An instant later was there a smile. “Oh Tree, it’s good to finally see you again!” Fluttershy said before she hugged Tree Hugger. “Hey Flutters, been a long time,” replied Tree who returned the hug. The two of them would have left the station for what it was and continued on through the streets of Ponyville. But while they were wandering, a question arose in Tree Hugger. Something that had been gnawing at her for a long, long time in fact. “Hey, how are you holding up, with those scars and all?” Her voice was one of genuine concern to Fluttershy, she hadn’t been there when it happened of course, nor did she had the time to come earlier. It was a painful memory for the pegasus but she kept herself strong. Instead of buckling under the words, she would have metaphorically pumped her chest. “They are better now, healed in the good way, the doctors said when I had my last check-up, which was about six months ago.” “Still, sorry to hear what happened to you.” “Occupational hazard,” chuckled Fluttershy, trying to wave it off of her. There was no way in the world that she would have ever said to Tree Hugger what the truth was. Though with the unique way the earth pony was, who would have said that she had it already figured out? Fluttershy could have only hoped that her friend had remained ignorant, that was the best way for things to have stayed. That was the way how it should have stayed and always been. Together they would continue on, but the nights worried Fluttershy deeply. She just prayed that Tree Hugger was a deep sleeper, unlike her. ~~~~ Both Sweetie and Twilight had broken their hug and the young mare wiped away her tearstains. It had felt good to let everything go for the moment. It felt for her to have cried the way she did. Not even her parents knew that she cried herself to sleep most nights. But every second of her crying, she had been silent. Twilight took it as a sign that it was true sadness, genuine sadness that couldn’t be faked whatsoever. Sweetie Belle wasn’t the kind of pony that would have faked such a thing, not to gain anything at least. “Hey, you feeling better?” she asked with a minor smile. Sweetie just nodded in return. She couldn’t speak any words for the moments and Twilight summoned an arcane hoofkerchief. With it would she have dried the stains from the cheeks and eyes. Sweetie would have been presentable again and that was all that she wanted to see. “T-Thanks.” “No need to thank me, as long as you remember that we’re all there for you, in the time of need,” answered Twilight before another hug was given. Time had crawled to the late afternoon though. Their time together would have been over and they would separate their ways again. That was the planning at least. So when they broke the hug again, no words were spoken. Just the wind that echoed quietly through their ears. They both knew that it was time to go and so they went. Each of them went their separate way again. Twilight would have returned to the tree library while Sweetie, Sweetie would have returned home. The route home that she would have taken was taken with a massive detour though. She wasn’t ready yet to face her parents, not with the sadness still filling her heart. It tore the filly almost in two. But she knew that strength came from her friends and family. In perhaps more than one way, she had been an emotional wreck. Sweetie had left the fields, would wander through the streets of Ponyville and eventually went down the road passed a little stream. A stream that she knew so well because it brought her straight home. With her mind everywhere expect there did she wander next to it, not even minding the fact that Everfree was only a couple hooves away. She didn’t even care in the moment. Thoughts had returned to her, thoughts that she shouldn’t have thought about in the first place. But the scenes that went through her mind were those of the funeral. That magnificent funeral that was truly worthy for Rarity. Everypony was present and when the coffin lowered, everypony knew that it was over. She cried, by Celestia she cried. Hours upon hours would Sweetie have let her tears go. And to that day, she still would have visited her sister’s grave, placing a flower every time she was there. The pain in her heart, the gap that it left, couldn’t be filled by anypony or anything. She had lost one of the most dearest ponies to her. How could that ever be replaced? Sweetie didn’t even wanted to think about it. She wanted to leave it alone, she wanted to be left alone. Her memories were having different ideas about it though. They would torture her, torment her with facts of the past that she wouldn’t like at all. And one of them was an encounter with both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, just after her sister passed away. “You both should have been killed by that fire,” mumbled Sweetie in a bad imitation of Diamond’s voice. Then her voice shifted back to its normal form, “And if I had the chance to do it to you, I wouldn’t have doubted a second.” A growl came from her throat before she kicked a rock in the stream. Anger had taken her over before she realized another set of teasing words. “No,” was all that she said to herself. It couldn’t have been that way, right? “But that, doesn’t make any sense and you know it. Rarity couldn’t have been...” The longer she thought about it, the more she began to realize something. Perhaps were neither Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon as brutal as she thought they were. “They are bullies, Sweetie, they do everything to get under your hooves!” She shook her head in denial, denying every single fact there was. She wouldn’t and couldn’t believe what they had said to her. “My sister, is not murdered, by a vampony!” Sweetie growled to the air in front of her. There was nothing that upheld the claim made by those two rats. But with the revival of the Night Guard, things would be exposed in different set of light. A deep exhale was taken by her before her eyes glanced to the skies above. The dark, gloomy clouds of rain had come in. Perhaps she would stay out a bit more, feel the rain on her coat, knowing that she was in fact still alive? But what if, just what if, those words were true? An idea of which she hoped not, but the chance was there. Equestria was after all a very strange place to be. Were- and vamponies seemed to have been on the rise during the nights. If Rarity had indeed been murdered by one, the same one who then went after Fleur Dis Lee, it all made sense to her. “But, but that can’t be, right?” Sweetie denied herself. Her thoughts had made her crazy, right? There was no way in the world that Rarity would have been murdered by such a horrid creature. “Think about it, Sweetie, it does explain the fire. You know how Rarity had always been hesitant with it, it could destroy her life. Never would she have ignited it herself, nor would she have done something that stupid. ...Which means, she’s been, oh dear,” said Sweetie Belle to a tree as if it was an actual pony. Her head became light and she felt like fainting for the moment. But the first drops of rain landed on her back, tickling her to stay awake. It took only seconds for the storm to have been unleashed over the land. Sweetie turned around and rose her head. Clarity was the thing that she desired. But would never get it. All of the thoughts made just too much sense to her. Her brows forged a glance of determination. She had justified the means to an end that would have been believed by few. Sweetie let out another growl to the world before an idiotic idea managed to dawn in her. A plan so stupid that it might just have worked right in her favor. She had nothing to lose and could gain the truth. Why wouldn’t she have taken the path? ~~~~ Sweetie slammed the door of her room shut after dinner. The storm had erupted in full force and thunder rolled through the skies. Her eyes only have one glance to the outside world before she just nodded to herself. It would have been enough. Enough with the lies, enough with the training, enough with everything. From that moment would she have steered in a new course for her life. A course of which not even her parents nor Twilight knew anything about. But Sweetie had to save herself. She had to save herself from falling further into the madness that was their world. She had to keep rowing and stay afloat for as long as she could. Life without Rarity had little to no meaning for her. An idea of madness had dawned in her little mind and with a charged horn, she picked up a pencil. Just letting it hover in the air caused the magic words to be written and then send away to two very special ponies. Two ponies who might have been just crazy enough to join her. A message was written for them both, asking them to meet at a special place before it was send. The pencil was then dropped again and she had another look outside. It wasn’t that terrible of weather, she had gone through worse once. A sly grin was forged on her lips while a single nod was given. The young mare dashed over to her closet and began to search for her raingear. Even though she was in haste, making sure her coat and mane wouldn’t get too wet was a priority. Cloaked in her raingear, Sweetie has a look in the mirror before she leaves the room for what it is. She rushes down the hall and stairs, not even speaking a word to her parents before dashing out through the door. Her mother rose an eyebrow in surprise after the door went shut. “Did, Sweetie told you that she would be leaving for the evening?” Pearl asked to the stallion. Magnum chuckled only once before he shook his head. “She hadn’t told me anything, but you know how she is these days. How she perhaps always will be. She’s probably just going to her friends or Twilight. Pearl, there’s nothing to worry about. She’s a smart filly, remember?” Pearl nodded with a sigh before she cuddled up against her stallion. Perhaps he was right on the matter. Perhaps she did worry a bit too much about it all. But even in all that time, she bore a secret. One which she couldn’t and wouldn’t share with anypony else in the land. Even if she held the key for everything, she wouldn’t have let go of it. No, Rarity would be remembered as she was, not how Pearl came to know her. Nopony had the right to even know that. Nopony, not even she.