Fangs and Blood and other Things

by Kinetic Heat

Filler #4

Author's Note:

Phew, the last filler, congratulations if you read through them all, now you know more than those who haven't read them. Either way, have fun with it. Brace yourselves, the future is going to be dark (literally).

The scent of flowers, mostly roses and daisies, filled the air as a certain frost coated stallion made his way to the center of the small town, heading for the town's library, in which he hoped to find the purple unicorn, who was not only the settlement's librarian, but also the personal student of the princess herself.

Hazel was aware of every move around him, every word that was whispered, every head that was shaken, even every thought that was thought. He enjoyed being around the towns population, the busy buzzing on the market, the cheerful chats in the small café near a store called 'Quills and Sofas'', whose owner was out, persuading a gray pegasus mare with yellow mane and a brown earth pony stallion with even darker brown mane and an hourglass as a Cutie Mark to buy a rather small sofa for obvious purposes.

The life around him made him feel alive after such a long time, and also had he noticed another phenomenon occurring to him. The time itself seemed to go by way slower than the hundreds of years he had spent in Celestia's duty. How much time had he spent in Ponyville already? Was it six months? Or less? That was just the thing, Hazel couldn't tell exactly anymore.

The source could only be his partnership with Applejack, as it made sense that now, that he actually cared what was going on around him, he acknowledged so much more. He certainly liked it. This was almost the same how it was back with Vic-

Hazel shook his head. No, the past had done for good, it was time he let it rest forever. He was here, Ponyville was now, Applejack was now.

The shadow thrown by the huge tree in the middle of the small town told him that he was near his destination. Majestically, the gargantuan oak stretched it's branches skyward, sheltering numerous varieties of birds, squirrels and other critters in it's crown.

Hazel came to a stop at the double-opening door and knocked gently on the wood. A few moments later the upper part was opened inwardly and the head of a rather young, green and purple dragon appeared in his sight.

''Ah, there you are, was already wondering when you would be here.'' He opened the lower half of the door and gestured for him to step inside. ''Come in, Twilight's in the basement, said something 'bout distilling cider and was off.'' He shrugged.

Hazel grinned and headed for the door that would bring him into the chemical laboratory of the library. ''Hey!'' He turned around and rise an inquisitive eyebrow at Spike. ''Shall I get the manure that you ordered?'' Hazel simply nodded at the eager drake.

He would have called her name, but Hazel knew that Twilight was down in the rather dark room. He liked this setting much more, only a few candles lit the walls and the resulting lack of light made him much more comfortable.

Suddenly, a sharp stench crept into his nostrils. There was a sour smell of apples behind it, but corrupted and poisonous. He wrinkled his nose and tried not to gag of the sharp aroma that filled the air the deeper he came into the basement.

When he came closer, he could see Twilight's horn glow in a lilac shine while she levitated two test glasses with transparent fluids closely before her eyes. To her left stood a test tube rack with another glass and several other chemical utensils were littered over the table she was standing at.

She put the glasses down in their individual places, looked at them for a moment and then levitated a bucket over to her. She let the three glasses fly into the bucket and pulled out three new ones from another rack nearby. A rather large bottle of a clear fluid floated over to her and she poured some of it into the smaller glass. The same process repeated itself with a second and a third glass and two other larger bottles.

''Interesting.''

Twilight jolted and spilled some of the fluid all over the table and the rack with the three tubes. She looked from the mess to Hazel and then back to the desk. She bit her lip and then rushed to a nearby sink, where she grabbed some sheets of paper and then galloped back to her working place.

''Oh dear, Hazel, you mustn't scare me like that, look at what I've done!'' Hazel walked over to see her levitate the three glasses and clean off the rack. ''Why did you sneak up on me like that anyways? But, sorry, my manners again, hello, nice to see you, would you please take a step aside for me?'' She walked past him and dumped the stinking, soaked sheets into the same buckets she had put the previous glasses in.

''I apologize. I am used to keeping my presence a secret, therefore I don't really look out for making a noise with my steps. Either way, what were you just doing?'' He calmly watched the purple unicorn clean up the spilled fluid and put the tubes back. Suddenly she hesitated and looked at the glasses again. She reorganized them, only to lift them up once more and put them back into another order, which didn't serve to satisfy her anyway.

''I was, um, doing some research on the separation of phases by using three different kinds of alcohol, but now...'' She swayed her gaze over the bottles and put them back into the rack, but seemed highly frustrated.

''What is it? Do you have a headache from the smell?'' Hazel walked beside her and took a proving look at her arrangements. At first sight, her desk was a complete mess, but at second thought, everything had it's order. Glasses stood together, all sorts of chemical compositions and pure substances stood along, as well as goggles that prevented one's eyes from taking damage from a splash of maybe acid.

''No that's not it, it's...'' She sighed. ''Well, I prepared three glasses, one with primary, one with secondary and one with tertiary alcohol, but when I cleaned the mess, I forgot which was which! And I used all of my leftovers, the next delivery will be in a week, but I just can't wait that long!''

Her ears dropped and she stared deliberately at the glasses in front of her.

''Perhaps,'' Hazel had raised his voice. ''there is a solution for your demise. Do you have potassium permanganate by any chance?'' Twilight looked at him suspiciously. ''Of course I do, who do you think I am?'' She levitated a tub of lilac-ish gray powder to her working place.

''Perfect. Now, what can you tell me about redox reactions?'' Twilight tilted her head. ''Well, it usually occurs when electrons travel, sometimes in sour, sometimes in alkaline dilution. One substance oxidizes, which means it loses some of it's electrons, for instance when copper is held over a fire.'' Twilight had changed into full pupil mode and was unstoppable now.

''If a material gets reduced, that means it gains some electrons. But what does it have to do with my proble-''

Hazel grinned and pointed at the experiment. ''Very good, you got it. The different structure of the alcohol molecule lets it react in different ways. If you would kindly split the permanganate into three portions?'' Twilight did as she was told and waited for him to go on.

''Now, I can tell you exactly which of those is the tertiary one. Put it in.'' Twilight let the lilac powder slide into each glass. Two of them turned into a sick brown tone, whereas one simply turned into the color of Twilight's coat.

''Ooh, that one right there!'' Twilight levitated the purple fluid into a separate rack and turned towards the others. Hazel raised his voice once more. ''Can you tell me what happened there?'' Twilight rubbed her chin with one hoof, her gaze trailing towards the remaining glasses. She let one of them float to her nose and carefully sniffed. Her forehead lay into a light frown, then she shot a look at Hazel.

''The primary alcohol reacted with the alkaline permanganate and got oxidized, meaning it lost one of it's Hydrogens and the permanganate-'' She stopped in the middle of her sentence, eying anxiously at the white pegasus next to her.

He gave her an encouraging smile. ''Go on, I am listening, what you said so far is right.'' Twilight bit her lip and took another look at the glasses with the brown fluids. She scratched the wooden floor with one hoof and stammered something under her breath.

''The primary alcohol loses the hydrogen that is linked with the oxygen, meaning it gets oxidized in an alkaline dilution. The permanganate gets reduced and becomes pyrosulite, therefore the brown color. What you get in the glasses is a mixture of pyrosulite, alcohol, water and hydroxid. By smelling at it, you can separate the nature of the alcohol further, I leave it to you how you can tell which is which, and when you found out-''

''-I just distill it and get the pure alcohol back! You're a genius!'' Twilight threw her hooves around Hazel's neck in a stormy hug, until she realized what she was doing and backed away with a slight blush.

Suddenly she tilted her head and looked at him with new suspicion. ''Hey, wait a minute, how come you're so experienced with chemistry?'' She raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Hazel chuckled.

''When you have nothing else to do than cleaning up dirty streets for over a thousand years, you seek something to kill time. I got so bored that I decided to read every single book in the library of Canterlot, a goal I accomplished around 200 years ago. I bet there are many new ones in the collection by today, but I for once have gathered quite an amount of knowledge by now.''

Twilight looked at him with jaws dropped, wondering if this was a joke, but the demonstration of skill he had just provided her with proved that there had to be something to it. She shook her head and guided him back upstairs. ''Boy, you are something, Hazel Eyes.'' She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head in astonishment. ''By the way, how's it going with Applejack?''

The question seemed casual, but it left him thinking. How was it going with Applejack? For the last week the only time when they were really together was at night, when she was peacefully sleeping beside him, while he watched over her dreams and made an appearance then and there.

''I assume it is alright, though I do not see her often during daytime. She is always out in the orchard, well I am, too, but we are normally on different ends. When I finish my chores earlier, then she sends me out, picking up things in the town, like today, or deliver apples to Fluttershy, or get some cupcakes from Pinkie. I usually take time in the evening to train with Rainbow, which is certainly a refreshing experience, but I just don't get to see her. Sometimes I think she does not want me around. Is there anything I am doing wrong, Twilight?''

Twilight frowned at the display of his worries and stopped in her tracks up the stairs. She looked to the ground and fell quiet for a moment, then her gaze shot up, a smile appeared on her face and she spoke confidently to the white pegasus.

''There is nothing you have to worry about. Let's be honest, there are few things that Applejack cares more about than the farm and her work in general, which is great, because otherwise we would starve.'' She giggled. ''But the way I see it, Applejack gives you these jobs, so you get to know all of her friends! She is trying to integrate you into her life as much as she can and this is one of these things she cares more about than the farm: her friends! Do you understand? She's not trying to push you away from her, the opposite is the case. She's got difficulties to express her means sometimes, but I think especially you will have the fewest problems in understanding her. Don't you think?''

Her tourmaline eyes shimmered in the few light that was sent out by the candles. What she said made sense, Applejack had no reason to mistrust him in any way. Looking at it from this point calmed him. He hadn't noticed that he was in stir just because he didn't see his marefriend all the time. Pretty dumb, looking back at it. He looked at the purple unicorn in front of him and pulled her into a soft embrace. ''Thank you, Twilight.'' He let lose and stepped back, watching how the mare started to blush again, but put on a friendly smile soon enough.

''Hey, can I ask you something more personal?'' Twilight asked just as he wanted to get going. ''Sure.'' Twilight swallowed. ''It's been a while since you and Applejack are a couple now and I wanted to know.... Have you done... the thing already?'' She made a vague gesture with her hoof.

Hazel raised an eyebrow. ''No not yet.'' His tone had grown a little colder, as he sensed that there was more than this. ''What are you driving at?'' Twilight scratched the wooden surface of the stairs with one hoof and gazed around. Hazel waited a few moments until he cleared his throat audibly, drawing her attention back to him.

''Well, you know, I was wondering... If this becomes a bigger thing, then...'' She stammered. Hazel sighed, annoyance starting to build up from within him. ''Please, just spit it out, Twilight.'' Twilight fidgeted with her hooves, opened and closed her mouth a few times and took a deep breath.

''Alright, I just want to know how you handle it with offsprings.'' Her tone had changed from hesitant to downright rude. ''I mean, by the amount of mares you had a little fellatio- You simply must have foals! I bet at least a third of Canterlot is related to you! And with your urge, I don't want Applejack to be hurt. Now I know it's not your fault, but please, Applejack would never cheat and I think it's just adequate that you don't do so either.''

Silence stood between them. An uncomfortable stare down later, a fit of laughter broke free from the white stallion. ''Oh dear, that was rich, I have not had such a laugh in along time. You are very clever, tell me, what does it need for two beings to reproduce?''

''To ensure generative offsprings, the species has to be the same, otherwise reproduction is not possible.'' Her student mode was activated once again, and Hazel already wondered if she switched every time she was asked a question.

''Correct. Furthermore, I have 46 chromosomes, a pony has 60. Thus, two reasons why there are no foals of me running around. And what you said about loyalty, well, if only you would know.''

He turned around and walked up the last part of the staircase, ending up in the living room of the library, where Spike was already awaiting the both of them with three rather large linen bags, which emanated a pretty sweet, yet earthy smell.

They quickly bound the bags together and Hazel threw them over his back, hardly feeling any weight, and was about to step out of the library when a thought sprung to his mind. He turned his head around and looked at the small purple dragon that was waving at him. ''By the way, Spike, when you have grown up and feel like letting out some steam, do not be afraid to ask me.''

Spike's hand stopped and he stared confusedly at the white stallion at the door. ''What do you mean, 'letting out some steam'?'' Hazel acceded the street and looked firmly ahead, a smile curving his lips. ''When the time has come, you will know.'' He spread his enormous wings and took off into thin air.

---

''A little more to the right- er, I mean left! No now it's too far! Just a pinch-''

''Scootaloo!''

The orange foal hushed when her two friends yelled fiercely at her. She waved her hoof dismissively and gestured the white pegasus to just rest the heavy plank right on the brim of the base plate of the clubhouse.

Even though they had given the building a whole roundup some time ago, the nails that held the construction together were rusted and needed to be replaced. They had spent almost three hours with pulling out the nails of the walls, leaving the tree-house only a board in a tree. The roof was relatively intact, though the shingles were in need of a cleaning.

They had arranged the walls beneath the tree and were now setting up one after another, carefully watching to place it the same way it was before. This job was assigned to Hazel, who had clenched the wood between his teeth and floated over the floor in the tree, while Scootaloo instructed him on where to put it.

Since Mac was needed to help out with the more delicate work at the Zap-apple orchard, that left Hazel to look after the small ones, an honor he didn't cherish too much. As much as he liked Applebloom and her friends, being around them for more than a whole day drained him and once more he was glad about his sterility.

''Ok, now pick up the second one and lean it against the first! Be careful!'' The squeaky voice of the young filly filled his ears as he flew towards the eastern wall and picked it up with his teeth. The sound of flapping of his wings was increased by the echoing of the air crashing against the wood and a booming reverberated over the whole place.

Hazel set the rim of the wooden wall to rest at the border of the base plate and was struggling to set it seamlessly against the wall that was already stood. Hammering in the nails was the job of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, he only was to put the walls in place and pull out the nails with them, as Sweetie Belle had ordered.

Oh no, not again....

A sudden wave of tiredness had washed over him, making his wings seemingly weigh a hundred times more than usual. He couldn't hold himself in the air and flailed. His consciousness faded away and darkness crept into the corners of his sight. Comforting, warm darkness he loved so much covered his whole mind and pulled him into it's soft embrace as it sang him it's lullaby.

No, it cannot be! The wall, the fillies! Come on, stupid, weak body! Work!

With all the strength he had left, he revolted against the loss of his power. It just wasn't enough. If he could only get the foals safe it would be enough. Falling down back-first, he could make out the silhouette of the suddenly so heavy wall that was coming ever closer to the heads of the three foals beneath him.

Hazel crushed down on the ground, the air being pressed out of his lungs, and got up on shaky legs as fast as he could. The wall was teetering, inching closer to the point where it would fall down onto the ground. The Crusaders had noticed, too, but were too shocked to move. Hazel did the only thing he was able to, when he saw how the wood tilted over the edge and was coming fast at their heads.

He gathered the three around him and spread his wings in a shield above them. The impact nearly knocked him out. With the weight of seemingly a dozen tons, the wall pressed down onto his back. Only the center of his vision was free of darkness as he whispered weakly at them.

''What...are you waiting..for? Get out... I can't hold...it much...longer..'' He coughed and nearly gave in when the three were gone and standing a couple of steps away. With a last uproar, he gathered what was left in him and dragged hit his drained body from under the massive plank. As soon as the wall hit the ground he collapsed. Applebloom ran besides him, her face a mask of horror.

''Hazel, what's wrong with yer?''

Said stallion could only manage to sigh out a faint whisper. ''Tell...Applejack... please...'' Then the world turned dark on him completely.

---

The orange light of the setting afternoon sun painted the walls in a warm light as the black maned pegasus opened his brown eyes and blinked of the unused brightness. He looked around to find Applejack on the left side of their bed looking warmly at him.

''Aah, finally you're awake! Didn't know what Ah'd have done if ya were to sleep longer than a couple o' hours. How ya feelin'?''

Her warm voice soothed the headache he was getting and he sat up. ''How long was I gone?'' Another thought crossed his mind. ''Are the girls alright?''

Applejack gently pushed him back into the pillow, only nodding at his last question. ''You were out for around one hour, hope ya had a nice dream.'' She winked at him. ''Hazel,'' Her tone had gotten a worried note. ''Can Ah ask yer something?''

He looked at her, already knowing what the question would be. ''This incident wasn't for the first, was it?'' He shook his head in deny. ''What is this? Some sort o' a fancy disease? Or ya ill? Is it that?''

Hazel rubbed his face with one hoof and sighed. ''Do you remember the last time that I drank blood?''

''Was it in the hay rick? That evening when-''

''Yes, that was it. It has been over two weeks now since I last got a meal. These attacks occur when I run out of fuel.''

''Then why didn't you ask me earlier? I have a lot of blood ta spend.''

Hazel looked at her in surprise. ''You would let me drink of you just like that?''

''Of course, why wouldn't Ah?''

Hazel stared blankly into those shimmering, green orbs of her, trying to comprehend what she was offering to him right now. Applejack leaned in to him, revealing the soft, fur-covered flesh of her neck. When he hesitated, she looked at him. ''What're you waitin' for? Didn't ya say ya were hungry?''

Hazel took a few deep breathes before he answered. ''I am indeed, but I cannot simply-''

''Of course ya can, silly!'' Applejack had begun to laugh. Hazel was in no laughing mood, however.
Applejack sighed. ''Ok, what's the matter, sugarcube? Ah'm here, Ah'm full of blood, you're a vampire and hungry, so why don't ya just take a lil sip?''

Hazel's gaze trailed off; this whole scene was so wrong. He felt a hoof touching his cheek and turning his look back at Applejack, who tenderly caressed his ear and the mane behind it. ''I can't! It feels so rude, ok? If I were to sink my fangs into you neck and drink your blood... It just does not feel right. Can you not understand this?''

''Not really, no. Hazel, when Ah asked yer to be mah coltfriend, Ah was fully aware of yer nature and Ah was absolutely fine with you drinking from me. You are what you are, and frankly, the time when you drank from me was really nice. I was hopin' we could repeat that some day.''

Hazel lay back, letting his partner stroke his mane and simply enjoying the feeling of her taking care of him. What a fool he had been. The scales fell off his very eyes as it dawned on him what a great mare he could call beloved. At once, a smile came back to his face.

''Wow, that is the second time in one day that I got schooled.'' He snickered. Suddenly, his expression turned darker again as he remembered the subject he was about to bring forth to Applejack.

''There is another task, though.'' Applejack's ears perked up. ''What's it, sugarcube? Ya know yer can trust me completely.'' Hazel bit on his lower lip. This one would be a toughy. ''My current weakness will not simply go away by drinking blood, I fear.'' He fidgeted at the blanket, while looking forlornly into the air.

Applejack tilted her head, waiting for him to continue. ''As you know, I am not only a vampire, which means, that I have more than one hunger to satisfy. Do you understand what I am saying?''

Applejack nodded slowly, the realization beginning to slowly dribble in. A cocky grin curved her lips as she looked down on her partner. ''So, ya need some adult fun, Ah guess?'' She giggled. ''Was wondering when you would ask me the question.''

Hazel lay there, face completely and utterly blank. Was this some kind of joke? ''Applejack, this is no laughing matter! I was wrecking my head on how I could bring it to you as carefully as possible and you just-'' He groaned. ''You were almost raped by some creep and here I am, only two weeks after that horrible event and... I just could not dare to ask you, I was afraid to trigger a trauma.''

Applejack lay beside him, wrapped her arms around him and rubbed her cheek against his. ''Oh, sugarcube, I am so flustered that you contained yerself for my sake, but it ain't doing you any good. Ya're right, Ah almost got raped, but you were there. If he had gone through with it, Ah would certainly be traumatized by now, but he hasn't. There is no other stallion Ah would rather like to do it with than you. Take the advise ya gave me yesterday: A relationship is no trade, we do things for each other because we like them so much. If Ah'm okay with it, why shouldn't you be?'' She gave him a peck to the nose and snuggled against his neck again.

Then suddenly, she jumped from her place and pulled the curtains closed, walked over to the door and locked. Hazel followed her with a suspicious look. ''Applejack, what are you doing?''

A mischievous grin appeared on her face as she slowly strolled over to him. ''Now, we gonna have some time just for the two o' us. And you won't leave this room until you've fully recovered, have Ah made mahself clear?''

She jumped on top of him and playfully stared down at him. ''Alright, ma'm. I will be gentle, don't worry.''

Applejack sat down and giggled. ''Gentle? Boy, if we gonna do this, then you better be ready for a ride!''

Comments

[Emerald Shield]

It is as simple as that