Some distance away from the castle, Twilight, in her bat form, was scouring the trees for intruders. Since her encounter with the fiery vampire last night, she had assessed all the dangers this trespasser could bring. Fluttershy was of interest to her, and she had clearly followed her to Count Discord's. Who's to say she wouldn't come back, perhaps to investigate Discord further and discover what he was? If she had friends, they might be lurking too.
Twilight had circled the forest seven times now and her wings were starting to feel weary, but she had to leave no stone unturned. Suppose she gave up and Phoenix chose that moment to appear? That's what she'd decided to call her, as she resembled a phoenix with her flaming mane. It was a pain not knowing her enemy's name.
This was just like when she had met the Sirens. Having little information about them, searching for them for the first several months had been a wild goose chase. Remembering this made her realize how much of a distraction Phoenix was from her ultimate goal. She should be looking for the Sirens, not this stranger who so far hadn't done anything to her. The Sirens were definite villains and had to be stopped.
She was turning back towards the castle when she heard a wing flap. Twilight spun around and scrutinized a group of birches. Flying upwards, she scaled the white trunks and wriggled into the branches. They were so thin, they were nearly impossible to hide behind, but she could've sworn the noise had come from here.
Then it came again, and Twilight powered her horn readily. Using the extra light, she searched again, but found nothing. Then she turned around and jumped back when she was met with an upside-down light yellow face.
"Gah!"
Sunset smirked in amusement. "Thought I'd find you out here."
Twilight gritted her teeth and increased the power in her horn.
"Whoa, take it easy!" the intruder said, swinging off the branch and flapping herself right-side-up. "I'm not here to fight!" She lowered her eyelids and leered. "But if you want to, I wouldn't object to it."
Her strange tone made Twilight cock her head in confusion. "Excuse me?"
Sunset lowered herself to the ground. Twilight followed, keeping a close eye on her adversary while not diminishing her horn.
"I just want us to have a little chat," Sunset said, folding her wings.
"Chat?" Twilight asked, even more bewildered.
"You know. Sit down," she powered her horn and summoned a tea table and chairs, "get to know each other," sat herself in one, "vampire-to-vampire," summoned two goblets, "have a few drinks?"
The lavender mare squinted at the set-up. "What are you playing at?"
"No playing. I just meet so few vampires. It's been so long since I've had some girl talk, you know?"
"Girl talk?"
"I just want to make up for invading your territory yesterday. Surely you wouldn't object to some good old-fashioned peacemaking."
It made sense. Twilight didn't want conflict to arise between their covens, if Phoenix belonged to one. If they talked things out, they might come to an understanding. Even better, she might get more information as to their intentions towards Fluttershy.
Still, she wasn't sure she could trust this mare. What if she too was just looking for information? It could be a trap. It was for this reason that she did not change form.
Sunset sensed her reluctance and smiled innocently. "Come now, I even brought the wine."
Using her magic, she levitated a small brown squirrel into view. The poor thing was struggling to break free of its magical restraint. Twilight gasped as the squirrel's head suddenly spun around with a crack and its body fell limp. Unfazed, Sunset ripped off the head and began pouring its blood into one of the goblets while Twilight watched in horror and disgust.
"I'm not usually one for rodents," Sunset said as she yanked off the animal's tail and poured that end into the other goblet, "but I do enjoy a good squirrel treat. It might have to do with the fact that when I was mortal, I sucked on a lot of," she winked, "nuts."
A lump was forming in Twilight's throat. Sunset chuckled at her shocked expression.
"You look tense, Lavender," she said, tossing the squirrel corpse over her shoulder. "Sit down, relax," she levitated both goblets, "have a sip."
Twilight stared unsurely at the cup hovering in front of her. After that gruesome spectacle, she still had no reason to trust this mare. Then again, that squirrel blood smelled tempting. After much hesitance, she enveloped the goblet with her magic and sat across from Sunset, who was grinning in triumph.
"Cheers," she said, raising her cup to meet hers.
As Twilight brought the goblet to her lips, she noticed Sunset's expectant gaze, and how she seemed to be taking her time with her cup too. After a quick sniff of the blood, Twilight waited a second before tipping the goblet towards her mouth. Sunset did the same.
"So," she said, smacking her lips. "Let's start with the basic icebreakers. What's your name?"
Twilight lowered her cup, giving her a wary look. Sunset rolled her eyes with a grunt.
"Oh, come now! You don't expect me to keep calling you Lavender, do you?"
"Tell me your name first," Twilight demanded.
She hesitated. "Mine isn't important."
"Well, how can I trust you with my name if you can't trust me with yours?"
Sunset narrowed her gaze. This mare was very resilient, but she was bound to break at some point.
"Fine. Can you at least tell me who your master is?"
"Who's yours?"
Impatient, the fiery mare slammed her hoof on the table. "Quit dodging my questions!"
"I will. When you stop dodging my questions."
Sunset stood angrily. "I know what you're doing. It's not going to work."
Twilight rose to her eye-level. "What's not going to work?"
"You're using the repetition method, to avoid revealing anything crucial, but it won't help you for long." She looked down at Twilight's cup with a mischievous grin. "Once that truth spell takes full effect, you won't be able to resist."
The lavender mare's eyes widened. "You…you put a truth spell on my drink?"
Sunset smirked. "You can feel the words bubbling in your throat, fighting for freedom, can't you? Soon they'll spill, and I'll know everything I need to know from you. Honestly, I can't believe you fell for that! I took you to be a lot smarter!"
Twilight's cheeks puffed as she covered her mouth with both hooves. She fell back in her chair as she struggled to keep it shut. Knowing she was victorious, Sunset leaned across the table and waited patiently.
"Tell me again, Lavender. What's your name?"
Defeated, Twilight lowered her hooves and muttered something.
"What was that?" Sunset asked, leaning closer.
Twilight looked up, raised her mouth to her adversary's ear and whispered, "Vlad the Impaler."
The fiery mare recoiled in surprise. "What?!"
It was hard for Twilight to hide her gloating smile. "Truth spell. Sneaky. At least, it would've been had I not smelled suspicious magic in that blood. In that split second before I drank it, I switched the blood in my cup with the blood in yours, so you drank the truth spell."
Staring down at her cup, Sunset backed away in fear. "You didn't. You…you sly little…"
Then she burst out laughing, confusing Twilight once again.
"Not! I figured you would've pulled a trick like that! So I took precautions and cursed both cups, and counter-cursed mine once you drank yours!" She crossed her hooves. "The spell should be taking effect any minute now. So, I win."
Twilight looked at her in amazement. "Yes." Then she smirked again. "If I hadn't still been wary of what you had served, so I cast a spell to give the illusion that the blood was pouring into my mouth when in reality, it was pouring into a tiny portal that emptied out under the table here!"
She pointed to the ground and sure enough, there was a small pool of fresh blood. Sunset gaped at the spill, and then at Twilight, whose hooves were crossed in triumph. She expected the fiery mare to throw a fit, but instead, she slowly clapped her hooves together.
"Well played," she chuckled, shaking her head. "I must say, excellently played! I knew there was something special about you!" She looked at the lavender mare with interest. "I wonder just how smart you are." She leaned across the table again. "If you were being thrown in a dungeon, and you had a choice between three of them, which one would you choose? The one with scorching hot flames, the one with lions who haven't eaten in three weeks, or the one filled with poisonous gas?"
Twilight leaned forward too. "The lions, because if they hadn't eaten in three weeks, they'd be dead."
"Good," Sunset commended, but she wasn't giving up. "Now imagine you're in a rowboat, and it's sinking. You have no oars, and you can't swim. How do you survive?"
"I stop imagining."
"If all the windows are facing south, what color is the bear?"
"White, because it's a polar bear. The only place where every direction is south is the North Pole."
Determined to stump her, Sunset leaned closer. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
Accepting her challenge, Twilight leaned further too so that their muzzles were a centimeter apart. "That riddle, first dictated in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, initially had no answer, though some have attempted to answer it. 'Edgar Allan Pony wrote on both,' 'they both start with "r" sounds,' or, you could go with the answer the author Lewis Carrot produced himself: 'because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front!' The second part would've been more humorous had Carrot's editor not changed his spelling of 'never' as N-E-V-A-R, which is 'raven' backwards. So, which answer do you prefer?"
Sunset said nothing, only stared unblinkingly at her. After a while, they found themselves in a staring contest, one that they were both intent on winning, by any means necessary. Sunset used her magic to poke Twilight's rear with a stick, but she didn't even flinch and used that same stick to smack her foe in the back of the head. Then Sunset tried uprooting a tree, thinking the sound of its fall would alarm her opponent. Instead, Twilight responded by levitating the tree back in its place. And they did all this without moving a muscle, their red eyes burning into each other.
Finally, Sunset smirked and tapped Twilight on the nose, snapping her out of focus.
"You're just adorable, you know that?"
"That's cheating!" Twilight protested.
Her adversary only cackled. "Oh, you are hilarious! And smart, too!" Curious, she rubbed her chin. "I wonder how good you'd be in a fight."
This mare had a habit of befuddling Twilight. "I thought you didn't want to fight."
She licked her lips in anticipation. "Well, if you're offering…"
This sensual gesture threw the lavender mare off. It didn't help that Sunset was inching around the table, her body pressed provocatively against its rim.
"Not a full-on battle, of course, but a friendly spar? A duel, perhaps? I'm just itching to see you in combat."
Twilight tried backing away, but that only led her into an oak. Seeing the opportunity, Sunset trapped her by lunging her hooves on either side of the lavender mare's head.
"So what do you say, Lavender? How about you and me get into a little tumble?"
"W-What?" Twilight squeaked.
"What's the matter? You afraid to go up against me? Don't think you can handle me?" She scoffed. "Well, I am pretty tough. No matter how good you are, I doubt you'll get out of it without a scrape. Or do you like it rough?"
The younger vampire swayed in disorientation. Why did it sound like she was describing something entirely different and…inappropriate?
"All I'm saying is that we give it a whirl and see who comes out on top."
That was the last straw. Shaking out of her thoughts, Twilight pushed Sunset to the ground and stood boldly over her with her wings spread open.
"I'm not going to fight you unless you give me a reason to."
Sunset scowled as she jumped to her hooves. "Watch it, Lavender. You don't want to cross me."
"You wanted a fight, didn't you?"
"Oh yes, but you don't want to fight me when I'm angry." She stepped closer and hissed, "I might not hesitate to kill."
Twilight returned her glare. "What say we go our separate ways before this gets out of hoof?"
"Oh no, you don't! You're not getting out of this so easily, Lavender!"
"Stop calling me that!"
"Well, until I have your real name, what else am I to call you?"
"Alright then. Rudimentary nicknames it is, Phoenix!"
The anger drained from Sunset's face. "What did you call me?"
"Your hair is like fire. 'Phoenix' seemed appropriate."
She blinked. "My…my mate calls me that."
Twilight paused. "You have a mate?"
Sunset mentally kicked herself for revealing that detail. "Hey, you tricked me!"
"I didn't do anything. You let that slip yourself. So exactly how many of you are there?"
It was as if she had been cursed by a truth spell. If she stayed any longer, she might spoil everything, and Trenderhoof would be angry with her.
"This isn't over, Lavender!"
She opened her wings to fly when Twilight called, "Wait! Before you go, I just want to make one thing clear."
She stepped closer, so that Sunset could see the seriousness in her face. "We have a claim on the Lady Fluttershy. If you so much as harm her, expect war."
Sunset smirked. "So be it then."
Twilight recoiled in puzzlement at how unintimidated her adversary was. "Huh?"
The fiery mare rose into the air, smiling mockingly down at her. "If it comes down to war, Lavender, you and me will have that fight. Until then," she giggled, giving a teasing wave, "I'll be waiting."
With a strong flap, she whooshed into the sky and hollered, "Then we'll see who ends up on top!"
That last sentence lingered in Twilight's brain for a good long while after the vampire had vanished. She knew what she'd meant, but why had it sounded so profane coming from her gloating mouth? Twilight massaged her temple as she looked at the table Phoenix had forgotten to clean up. She tried making sense of what had just happened: the drinks, the banter, the mind puzzles, Phoenix pressing her against a tree and making suggestive threats.
Had this been a confrontation or a seduction?
"Don't be silly, Twilight!" she chuckled to herself. "I mean she's a mare and you're a mare. Plus, she has a mate! She was probably just trying to throw you off!" She paused. "Right?"
"Trend!" Sunset called as she entered her mate's bedroom. "Guess what I found out about…?"
But the Dazzlings were there, sitting on the bed with Trenderhoof standing over them. He turned to her with a smile.
"Sunset, come in. The Dazzlings were just telling me what they found out about the local vampire coven."
She looked at the sisters with wide eyes. "You what?"
"We ran into three of them at the tavern," said Aria.
"They didn't trust us very well," Adagio explained. "But we did learn that they have a permanent residence here, and that there are six of them in total."
"The pink one's also been to the Asseeloom!" Sonata squealed. "We have so much in common!"
"Also that vampire you ran into yesterday is definitely part of their coven."
"They were so uptight," Aria groaned, rolling her eyes. "They told us to cut down on the blood because it drew attention to them or whatever. If you ask me, they were more interested in ale than blood."
"Ale?" Trenderhoof said, raising an eyebrow. "They were drinking ale?"
"Yeah, that surprised us too."
"Six, you say?" he asked as he began pacing the room. "Let's see, there's the three at the tavern, Sunset's friend, one unaccounted for and then the master. You certain they didn't give you a clue as to who that is?"
Adagio shook her head. "They were reluctant to give his name. I think he might be famous, like you. Perhaps it is this Count Discord."
"Perhaps. Shame you couldn't find out for sure. Did you at least get the mares' names?"
"Certainly. One was called Rainbow Dash, who was dressed like a stallion, and…what was the pink one's name?"
"Pinkie Pie!" Sonata piped. "I remember because she was pink!"
"Right. And the last one was…Apple-something…"
"Applejack," Aria corrected.
Trenderhoof stopped in his tracks. His back was to them, but Sunset could tell something had startled him.
"Did you say Applejack?" he asked in surprise.
"Uh-huh," Aria nodded. "Some country mare."
"And a real stiff!" Sonata huffed.
The stallion smiled to himself. "Well, fancy that…" He turned back to the Dazzlings. "Good work, girls. This is all very useful information."
"Hey!" Sunset cried out in jealousy. "I found some things out too! From that lavender unicorn! I saw her again!"
"Oh? And what, pray tell, did you find out from her?"
"Well, she knows her magic, and is very intelligent. I asked her the raven like a writing desk riddle and do you know what her answer was?"
"Did you find out who her master is?" Trenderhoof asked bluntly.
She frowned. "Well, no, uh…"
"Where they all gather?"
"No, but…"
"What her name is?"
"Err, no, she…"
"So you found out nothing."
"I found out something! She told me to go away because they had a claim on Lady Fluttershy…"
"Which we'd already figured. So, nothing."
Sunset choked on her words, uttering only half-vowel sounds. Then she sighed and hung her head.
"It would appear so."
Trenderhoof rolled his eyes. "The Dazzlings found out how many are in their clan, three of their names. What were you doing all that time?"
"I cast a truth spell! But she avoided it. See, I cursed both our cups and…"
He cut her off with his hoof. "I've heard enough. Girls, leave us."
As the Dazzlings left the room, they all sent Sunset gloating smirks. She returned them with a furious glare. When the door was shut, Trenderhoof shook his head.
"You disappoint me, Sunset. You used to be so good at this sort of thing, but it seems after all these years you might be losing your touch."
"Losing my touch?" she fumed, her shoulders tensing. "Losing my touch?!"
"I can understand. Some skills fade as one gets older. The Dazzlings are only a few years old, so they have a fresher approach…"
That did it. With a determined grunt, she pounced on Trenderhoof and pinned him to the bed.
"Losing my touch, huh?" she growled through her teeth as she used her magic to undo his trousers. "Let's see if you still think that when I'm through with you!"
Twenty minutes later, they were lying naked side by side, not touching one another as they stared up at the ceiling. Trenderhoof looked bored while Sunset was cringing in embarrassment.
"I…I'm sorry, I…I don't know what's wrong with me. That's never happened to me before."
"It's alright, darling," he sighed blandly. "It happens to every pony. And with ten years of us going at it, you were bound to hiccup sooner or later."
She gaped at him. "I'm twenty-eight!"
He shrugged. "Mares lose their ability sooner."
"That's it!" she exclaimed, fiercely climbing over him. "We're doing this again!"
He rolled his eyes. "Alright, but you're going to have to try something different this time."
She raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"I don't know. Use your imagination. Visualize something that…gets you excited."
"Something that gets me excited, huh?"
She pondered on what aroused her most. Clearly Trenderhoof wasn't the answer, since he was already here. She liked tormenting ponies and draining them of their blood, but when she tried visualizing a helpless pony writhing in her grasp, it got dull. Torturing was fun, but too easy when the victim was powerless. One-on-one duels with other vampires were even more entertaining.
Then she thought of the lavender unicorn and the talent she'd exhibited tonight. Oh, Sunset was more eager than ever to battle her now! She imagined what it would be like. She'd cast an attack shot and Lavender would repel. Then she'd fire a beam which Sunset would dodge. Her moves would be tactful, a perfect match for Sunset's. This would go on for hours, until Sunset would end it by paralyzing her adversary's horn and then declare her victory by pinning her to the ground.
She'd be under her, stubbornly fighting to rise, but Sunset wouldn't let her get away so easily. She'd keep her in her hold, until Lavender understood that she was the better vampire. Then she would surrender herself to her, and then…and then…
"Darkness, dear!" Trenderhoof cried out in surprise pleasure. "What in the world are you thinking of?"
Sunset stopped her movements and bit her lip awkwardly. "Um, err…uh…blood?"
It was the first time Discord had ever slept at night. Fortunately, when he woke, the sun hadn't risen yet. But the sky was gray, so it would be soon. However, he wasn't in any hurry, as he was gazing in awe at the beautiful mare sleeping beside him. He was coiled around her, like a dragon guarding his treasure. Her head was pillowed against his chest. She had opened his shirt somewhat so she could snuggle in his brown fur. That was just about as much undressing as they had done last night. Even his cape was still on, draping over them both.
She looked so peaceful, so innocent. It was a shame he couldn't see her in the morning light, but her sweet smile was enough to illuminate her face. He grinned as he ran his claw through her silky mane. He never wanted to wake up again without seeing this beauty.
He understood now why Fate had brought them together. She had a heart bigger than any he had ever known, filled with so much kindness and compassion that she was able to see past his horrifying exterior and sinful habits and find the goodness within him. And his life was so dark, so chaotic, that she was the only thing that made sense. He knew, now that he was waking up to her sweetness, that he couldn't live without her.
Daylight was nearing and he had to get going. So after planting a kiss on the top of her head, he began uncoiling. Fluttershy moaned in dissatisfaction as his arms slid away from her and she tried grabbing them to keep them in place.
"Discord?" she grumbled.
"Shhh," he whispered, kneeling at the bedside. "I can't stay, my love. The sun will be coming up soon. I need to get back to my castle."
She opened her heavy eyelids so she could look at his blurred image. "Will I see you again? Tonight?"
He grinned and took her hoof. "Tonight, my love. I promise."
She smiled softly at him before slipping back into her sleep. He squeezed her hoof affectionately before slowly rising and finally releasing her completely. It was strange not to be holding her, but it didn't matter. He would hold her again tonight. She wanted him to hold her.
This was a moment he would never forget for as long as he lived, and thanks to her, that would be quite a while.