Heir To Darkness

by Leafdoggy

Chapter 3: The First Taste

Relief washed over Fluttershy when her hoof finally struck wood. She had no clue how long she’d been fumbling around in the dark, slowly dragging her hoof across the walls in search of an exit, but she knew it had been far too long. She grabbed the handle and ripped the door open, and without hesitation she flung herself out of the darkness.

She shielded her eyes as she crossed the threshold, expecting the light to be blinding, but instead she found herself still in the dark. It wasn’t the same dark, there was no impenetrable force blocking her vision, but seeing that the lights in the foyer had been turned off made her heart sink all the same.

Still, she was out.

The first thing that caught her attention was, of course, the fountain. The smell of blood filled the air, and the sound of the thick, oozing liquid plunging into the pool below was the only sound that met her ears. It seemed the massive gargoyles sitting up on their perch were intent on dominating the room in every way.

She tried to ignore it, to push it from her mind, but it wouldn’t budge. She just couldn’t convince herself to stay away.

After all, there was no reason to stay away. Drinking this wouldn’t hurt anypony, and she was hardly pressed for time. Stopping for a drink might even help her by waking her up to some unknown power hiding deep within.

With every thought, she drew closer to the fountain.

When she finally reached the rim and peered over into the dark, murky pool, her mouth was watering and her heart was racing. It didn’t reflect the world above, but in the surface she could see herself. Red streaked down from her mouth and dripped off her chin, it stained her mane and was splattered onto her chest, and her face was split by a wide, toothy grin.

The vision was almost tantalizing enough to bring her diving into the fountain, but just as she lifted a hoof and placed it on the rim she noticed something hidden behind the smell of blood in the air. Something sharp, something that burned in her lungs.

It gave her just enough pause to hold off from plunging in. It did not, however, stop her from wanting to drink as much of the rich, delectable wine of life as she could. She just decided to do so cautiously.

Her hoof shook wildly as she reached out. She wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or excitement. She wanted this more than anything else in the world, but that didn’t stop her from realizing exactly what she was doing. Even with all of her senses firing wildly, telling her she wanted this, she couldn’t help the voice that spoke up behind it all.

Was she really about to drink blood?

She’d only ever had a sip of it before, and even that was diluted. It wasn’t enough to say she actually drank it, and even if it was it had been at Dracula’s insistence. She could still say she had never chosen to, that she would never, that it was against everything she believed. Was she going to throw all of that away?

She was. She didn’t so much as hesitate before suddenly, violently plunging her hoof beneath the rippling surface. She wanted nothing more than the sweet pleasure of feeling herself drenched in blood.

What she found was pain.

Electricity surged up through her leg and into her body. She reacted quickly and flapped her wings as hard as she could, sending her soaring through the air, but she wasn’t fast enough to stop the jolt from coursing through her, and after that single flap her body seized up as every muscle in her body was shocked into submission.

She landed on her side with a hard thud and slid across the floor. The pain passed quickly, but the echoes of it kept her there, breathing heard and trying to calm her erratic heartbeat.

She wasn’t sure if she should be despising her body or thanking it profusely. Her heightened senses meant she had felt every individual spark as it ran through her body, she had ached as the world slowed down around her and the fire spread through every vein, but if she wasn’t a vampire, then…

It had surged through her heart. She knew it. She felt it as it seized and sputtered when the jolt hit it. And the jolt after that. And every other bit of electricity as it passed her heart on its journey throughout her.

She was disoriented, the world was fuzzy around her, but as it all came back a single thought rose up above the rest.

It worked.

A streak of red marked where she had slid. She almost would have thought it was her own, but the sight of her leg at the end of the trail snuffed out any doubt.

She’d thrust her leg down further than she thought. Her entire leg was coated, nearly up to her shoulder. It dripped down onto the floor and was quickly pooling together in a small puddle. Her fur was matted and slick, and anything that had touched it during her fall had come away sticky.

That leg, though, felt amazing. The slight, consistent pressure felt more comfortable, more right than any clothes she’d ever worn, and every drop that slowly ran down towards the floor was like being stroked by the gentlest touch imaginable.

She had hesitated long enough, she decided.

She grunted and rolled over, pushing herself onto her stomach, and got as comfortable as she could without drawing in her leg. Then, with a single, decisive movement, she ran her tongue across the thick coating.

It lit up her mouth. Just the one drop she’d had before was greater than anything she’d ever imagined, and this turned that into nothing. It seeped into her everywhere it touched, and it was like that incredible, intoxicating flavor was becoming part of her. It flowed into her bloodstream and became her own life force. Her own power. That was what the taste was, at its core. It was the taste of pure, raw power.

She chose to let her instincts take over, and take over they did. She coated her fangs meticulously, giving special care to each one, and as she drew her tongue she ran it across the needle’s edge in her mouth. With both fangs, she dug into herself and drew a pair of long, thin slits running the length of her tongue. They oozed with her own blood, but she felt no pain. It only seemed to bring her more thirst.

She dragged her tongue down her leg again.

This time was even more incredible. The gouges in her tongue let the blood stream in unhindered, and her veins wasted no time in spreading it throughout her body. It soaked in so fast she no longer had to draw the blood into her mouth, and so she was able to take another lick right away, and then another, and more and more as her heart pounded faster and faster. Every taste made her more excited, and every bit of excitement made her want more.

It was hardly any time at all before the top of her leg was clean, and she wasted no time in moving onto the bottom. She cleaned it, too, then her other leg, where they had touched together. Then she searched her body, scraping off every bit of blood that had splattered onto her coat, and when that ran out she found herself lapping it up off the floor.

Her heart was pounding harder and faster than ever before. More than should even have been possible. Blood poured from the wounds on her tongue, and every few moments she had to swallow to get it out of her mouth. Her eyes were wide and sharp as they darted around the room, searching for any little bit she may have missed, and then as she scanned her fur one final time.

When she came up with nothing, she took a few deep breaths and found her gaze shifting steadily back towards the fountain. That gushing wellspring of life.

She looked up at the gargoyles, and the one that stared back was the gargoyle splitting itself open. It looked so inviting, like it was asking her to drink more, like it existed for nothing more than to serve her.

Pain still echoed through the recesses of her mind, though, and it fought against the desire.

She took a few steps, and again found herself at a precipice. A choice. She stared into the gushing waterfall, as though it might give her answers, but its only answer was the quiet splash of blood into blood.

She looked down and again saw that vision of herself. Her own face, dripping with satisfaction in every way.

There was more to it, though. Tiny, hardly noticeable changes. Longer fangs. Sharper eyes. A sense of pride behind the smile. This strange reflection was stronger than Fluttershy could imagine, and she could see in her expression that she knew it.

Fluttershy stepped back away from the fountain. She couldn’t stand to look at that twisted vision any longer.

Thankfully, by now her heart had slowed and her breathing was back to normal. The momentary craze had passed, and her head had cleared enough to be content with what she’d gotten, for now.

Besides, she still had to find her room.

She walked around the fountain and out in front of the grand staircase. Looking up, she could see only a few doors and walkways before the rest was lost to darkness, but the distant sound of flapping wings betrayed the fact that she wasn’t entirely alone.

There was no telling where her room might be. She didn’t even know if it was in the old castle, it could be on the outskirts for all she knew. Cutting out the first floor helped, but that still left an absurd amount of space, especially if she was going to have to search the dungeons down below.

As she made her way up one of the huge, wide staircases at the side of the room, she silently hoped with all her heart that her room wasn’t in the dungeons.

Comments

[ponepony]

This read like a beginning to an addiction arc for Fluttershy . I wonder does that happen later?