The Countess
The heavy beat of a subwoofer shook the entire club, smothering Adagio in a blanket of sound. Her jaw violently rattled, joining the various half-filled glassware which vibrated in their perimeter around the dancefloor.
Tonight’s DJ was heavy in her style, mixing together newish pop songs into trap remixes with ear shattering climaxes of volume. It was by no means Adagio’s preferred genre of music but she could appreciate that this DJ had a bright future ahead. She’d probably sign a multimillion-dollar contract, enjoy three years of relevancy, and then die of an overdose in a Saddle Arabian penthouse.
What more could an electronic artist want?
Adagio glided across the room. She felt the heat of eyes upon her, both male and female. They leered at her with envy, attraction, jealousy, and arousal mixing together into an intoxicating cocktail of assumptions and desires. Desires to be with her, desires to sleep with her, desires to be her. No matter the flavour of their desire she was the centre of attention and it was delicious.
She had no doubt that she was the sexiest girl in the room, with her smooth blemish-free skin, sultry magenta eyes, and cascading curls of rich orange and yellow hair. Her figure was only improved by the short ruby cocktail dress she wore and the cute pumps which added another four inches to her already tall and slender frame.
She’d compare herself to Cleopatra or Helen of Troy, but they weren’t even in the same league as her. How did she know? Well she’d slept with them both at one point. They were solid 8s when she was a straight up 10.
Her gaze settled upon a bar across the room, noticing the bored looking bartender working it. She approached, swaying her hips with every step she took. The bartender’s attention was instantly drawn to her and all it took was a playful little smirk for the bartender to nearly drop her shaker.
Adagio pressed against the bar, her smirk peeling back into a predatory grin. “I’ll have a cosmo, please.”
The bartender stared at Adagio in wide-eyed awe. She was cute, beautiful even. However, she wasn’t the kind of girl Adagio was looking for tonight. She was all looks and no substance, especially for what she had in mind.
Finally, the bartender’s eyes fluttered as her senses returned.
“R-right away,” she stuttered, picking up a bottle of Smirnoff and pour two ounces into her shaker.
Oh, good girl, making it nice and strong. Adagio liked her already.
Her gaze settled upon the bartender’s hands, watching as she mixed together the contents of her drink, shook them vigorously, and poured the soft red cocktail into a wide brimmed glass. The portion nearly overwhelmed the brim, stopping just shy.
“That’ll be fifteen bucks,” the bartender said.
Adagio pursed her lips. “But I’ve already paid.”
“What, no…no you haven’t.”
Adagio reached forward, gently tracing her fingers under the bartender’s chin. As she did so, she flicked her sight upwards, gazing into the poor girl’s eyes. She pierced as deeply as she dared into her soul, weaving a web of suggestive tendril and subconscious controls over her.
Soon the bartender’s posture slackened and eyes glazed over, as she stared vacantly ahead, slack jawed.
“You must be mistaken, dear. I’ve already paid for my drink and tipped quite well.”
The bartender shallowly nodded. “You paid for your drink…”
“And?”
“And tipped well.”
Adagio chuckled and drew her hand away. She then darted forward and kissed the girl on the cheek. The bartender’s skin felt nice and warm against her frigid lips. It was a familiar warmth, a warmth she greatly missed.
“You’re a doll,” Adagio said.
“I’m… a doll…”
Adagio drew back, noticing the imprint she left upon the girl. A pleasant little reminder of getting kissed by the most beautiful woman in the world. Though with how scrambled her brain was, that would likely be the only one.
With her drink now in hand, Adagio then walked away.
She glanced over her shoulder as she left, noticing that the bartender continued to look stunned. She’d probably remain that way until her next customer came up looking for a drink.
It was a nice little party trick she’d picked up from a count in Romaneia. Along with a few other lingering maladies.
Adagio looked to her drink and took a sip. The cosmo tasted pungent and potent with far more vodka than should’ve been enjoyable. Yet, Adagio savoured the flavour, rolling it around in her mouth before swallowing. She then dragged her tongue along her teeth, toying with the little fangs which had grown alongside her canines.
At least the drinks were good tonight. Now, how was the food?
Adagio stood off to the side, eyeing up the dance floor and the bounty of bodies upon it. Young adults, well into the prime of their life, bounced and jumped and gyrated, grinding upon one another in flashy but skimpy outfits. The smell of sweat, alcohol, and something freshly legalized filled her senses. On a scale of all the venues she’d ever attended, this club rated somewhere between a Dominican shindig during the age of piracy and the orgies of Patrician Julius right before the sacking of Rome.
She took another sip of her drink, taking a moment to closely examine tonight’s selection.
Sadly, her affliction left her with a particularly problematic dietary restriction. She needed an untarnished maiden to sate her hunger and nothing else would do.
Now was a nightclub really the best place to search for one?
Not by any stretch of the imagination but sometimes Adagio got lucky. Plus, picking up a girl from the club was way less conspicuous than doing it anywhere else.
Adagio sniffed at the air experimentally, scrunching her nose at the lack of success. She was by no means surprised when the scent of virginity failed to reach her. She’d need to get closer to sniff out that slightly bitter sweetness. The one that reminded her of coppery caramel on a fresh cup of bloody coffee.
So, she placed her glass aside and walked onto the dancefloor. She was instantly caught up in the press of bodies, feeling the warmth of both men and women against her chilled skin.
A hand grazed against her side, seizing her wrist.
She turned to see a young man staring at her.
He wasn’t bad looking by any stretch of the imagination, with a fairly athletic body and a gorgeous looking skin that was a light hickory in tone. His earthen green hair was slicked back and left slightly ruffled by the bounce of his step. He looked a little bit more interesting than your run of the mill frat boy.
This was definitely someone Adagio wouldn’t mind sating another of her appetites with. However, tonight was about business and not pleasure.
Still she offered him a warm smile. “And what’s your name, handsome?”
He grinned. “Timber.”
Adagio felt a body bump against hers and she used the contact as an excuse to stumble forwards. She pressed more of herself against him, letting him feel every little detail of what she was like under the thin material of her gown.
His cheeks warmed and Adagio savoured this.
“Are you here with someone?” she asked.
He shook his head. “N-no….well yeah but they’re just some friends. If that’s what you…”
Adagio reached up, caressing his cheek. “Now normally I’d eat a boy like you right up. However, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but…I’m looking for someone a bit more…feminine tonight.”
His cheeks were positively burning, basking her chilled touch in his glorious warmth. It was delicious, like the feeling of the sun on a warm summer’s day.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t…” he began.
She placed a finger upon his lips.
“Shhh,” she teased. “I just said tonight. If you give me your number, I’m sure my mood would be far more accommodating some other time.”
As she withdrew her finger, he nodded frantically. “Sure thing.”
Adagio slid a few inches back and Timber took this moment to provide his phone number. Hopefully she would remember it.
With that they said their goodbyes and Adagio slipped away, carried through the bodies once more like a boat on unsure waters.
Soon she was surrounded by a new host of individuals and as she breathed in, that slight sweetness caught her attention. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, practically tasting the blood already. It had been far too long since her appetite had last been sated and her stomach rumbled, desperate for sustenance.
A primal part of her affliction kicked into gear as an animalistic desire to prowl filled every fiber of her being.
As she opened her eyes, her gaze narrowed. She sniffed at the air again, confirming that the scent was definitely coming from somewhere nearby, and as she floated towards it, she identified her target.
Target might’ve been a cold way to describe the girl but Adagio the Flirt was long gone as Adagio the Huntress assumed control.
The poor thing was a shy little wallflower who stood off to the side, leaning against a cocktail table. Adagio had no idea how she had failed to notice her before, with just how completely out of place she looked, with her dishevelled and poorly groomed appearance.
She gave off the appearance of someone who’d been invited out of pity. As instead of a short dress she had instead opted for a pair of stained jeans and a striped sweater.
This was very good. Those type of girls were usually the easiest to influence.
Adagio approached, slowly swaying her hips from side to side.
The girl noticed her immediately, her gaze locked upon Adagio’s dress and the body which lingered underneath. This girl was also hungry, her mouth practically watering at the sight of someone so beautiful.
A socially awkward lesbian. It seemed that Adagio wouldn’t even need to try tonight.
She stopped at the girl’s table, placing a hand upon it and tracing circles on the faux wooden surface.
“Shouldn’t you be dancing with the others?” Adagio asked.
“Y-you noticed me?” the girl mumbled.
“Of course, I noticed you. I notice everyone. Especially someone as cute as you are.”
The girl blushed. “O-oh.”
“What’s your name?”
“Wall…Wallflower Blush.”
Well…that was a very apt name.
“Do you come here often, Wallflower?”
“No this is my first time. I uh…I just turned 18.”
“Oh, are you here with your friends?”
Wallflower warmed. “Not really, I…don’t have many friends.”
Adagio pouted and reached across the table, placing a hand on Wallflower’s. “You poor thing.”
Wallflower stiffened, her face turning beet red.
Adagio internally chuckled.
A socially awkward lesbian who was too gay to function even at the slightest touch. This wasn’t really a hunt anymore but rather Adagio formalizing the surrender of her prey.
She offered her best smolder. “Has anyone ever told you that your hair is absolutely gorgeous?”
In reality it was a tangled, messy, and unkept green mop but a little white lie never hurt.
Still, her comment worked like a charm as Wallflower giggled. “T-thank you. I love your hair too.”
Adagio reached up and ran a hand through her own bountiful curls.
“Why thank you. Though you should honestly see it in the morning. I’ve had partners complain that they’ve nearly drowned in it.” She rolled her eyes. “Boys really need to learn how to swim, I never hear girls complain about it.”
Wallflower snickered. “Yeah…boys aren’t really my type.”
“Is that so…” Adagio cocked an eyebrow. “Then maybe you’ll get to see my bedhead first hand then.”
Wallflower’s cheeks turned a deep crimson. It was so intense, that Adagio swore she’d never seen a person blush that hard before. It was actually kind of adorable.
Sadly, the moment was ruined as a hand thundered down against the table.
“Hey beautiful,” a masculine voice drunkenly slurred.
Adagio softly shuddered and suppressed a groan as she turned to face the gentleman.
Her face curled in disgust at the white slob of a frat boy who stared down at her. His short blonde mane was cut in a style she absolutely despised, reminding her unfortunately of the way a lot of Germane boys wore it 80 years ago. He was also wobbling back and forth, looking like he was one good shove away from falling over. His drunken appearance was reinforced by the smell of scotch on his breath and a nice brown splotch which coloured his polo.
Adagio forced a smile. “May I help you?”
“What’s your name,” he grumbled.
“Adagio.”
“I’m Blue…” He burped. “Blueblood.”
Well wasn’t he just dreamy.
Her voice cooled. “Pleasured.”
“Do you want…” He blinked repeatedly, seeming to try and do away with his drunkenness. “Do you want to dance?”
She sighed. “Can’t you see that I’m busy talking with someone?”
“What are you talking about?”
Adagio glanced over her shoulder at Wallflower, who grinned nervous, before looking back at Blueblood.
“Do you not see my very beautiful girlfriend, sitting right behind me?”
She heard Wallflower breath in sharply and this fed into a deadly little smile.
“All I see is you, baby. Can I get you anything to drink?”
She gritted her teeth before realizing he’d given her the perfect opportunity to get out of this without launching a foot into his crotch.
Maybe not as fun, but it’d spare her the trouble of getting kicked out.
“Hmmm, why not?” She tightened her expression. “How about a gin and tonic?”
He lingered for a few moments, his few surviving brain cells trying desperately to rub together and remember her two-item request.
“Gin… and tonic,” he slowly repeated to himself. “I…I can do that.”
He pushed away from the table and lumbered towards the bar.
Adagio then glanced at Wallflower. “Sorry about that.”
“You called me your girlfriend,” she mumbled.
Adagio cocked an eyebrow. “A common survival tactic when you’re clubbing, dear.”
Wallflower’s expression fell. “O-oh.”
“But…” Adagio grinned, reaching back across the table and grabbing her hand. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know you a little better.”
“I-I…I also wouldn’t mind that.”
Adagio nodded towards the bar, where Blueblood was currently having trouble finding his wallet.
“Any idea why he was so blind to you?”
Wallflower chuckled nervously. “Probably couldn’t see me behind all your hair.”
A sensation tickled at the back of Adagio’s consciousness as a long-starved part of her mind awoke. It called to her, whispering in a dead language and using a long-forgotten voice, telling her that magic was present. Not only present but potent, so deliciously potent.
She shook her head, attempting to silence these voices. This was just a coincidence. The dude was drunk and her hair was wide. It was very likely that he has tunnel vision, and was so focused on her tits, that he’d never even glanced beyond them.
Plus, maybe that voice had once steered her in the right direction. However, with her magical connections now mostly severed, she found that this voice had become paranoid and trigger happy. It was hardly something to guide her life with, anyways.
“Yeah, that must’ve been it,” Adagio softly whispered.
She then shook her head and looked back at Wallflower. “So, what do you drink?”
“Um…water?”
Adagio frowned. “Nothing harder?”
“I sometimes have diet coke?”
“But nothing alcoholic?”
“I haven’t really tried alcohol before.”
“Now, how is a woman supposed to buy a beautiful girl like you a drink if all you’re having is water and pop?”
Wallflower’s cheeks burned once again.
Honestly, Adagio would never get bored of making a girl blush
“How about I get you a shot of…” Adagio snapped her fingers. “liqueur. That’s always a great start. Sweet, smooth…” She offered Wallflower a sultry grin. “…and unlike me, only has a little bit of a bite to it.”
Wallflower flicked her gaze between the bar and Adagio before nodding confidently. “Fuck it, why not?”
With that, Adagio pushed away from the table and offered her hand. Wallflower looked at it skeptically before taking it and letting Adagio lead the way.
The two of them crossed the dancefloor and fought through the press of bodies to get to the bar. By this point Blueblood had already left, carrying a gin and tonic to a girl who was no longer there.
The bartender’s eyes widened at the sight of Adagio. The faint imprint of scarlet lips still present upon her cheek.
“Can I get two shots of…what coffee liqueurs do you have?”
The bartender’s gaze remained vacant until Adagio snapped her fingers, summoning her from the brink of conditioned mindlessness.
She shook her head. “Sorry, sorry, I’m a little…scattered brained tonight.”
“It’s perfectly alright, dear.” Adagio expression softened as she leaned a little closer. “I have that effect on people.”
For a moment she thought the bartender would lapse back into her trance but, at the last second, she rescued herself by turning to her backbar.
“I have Kahlua, Baileys, uh…”
“I’ll take two Kahlua and if you wouldn’t mind mixing one with a little vodka that’d be perfect.”
The bartender did as instructed, preparing the two drinks. Once finished, she slid them over. One drink was a shot glass filled with black syrup while the other was a highball with a slightly thinner black fluid.
Since Adagio couldn’t afford to blow her cover, she reluctantly slid the bartender thirty bucks, receiving a beaming smile for her generosity.
She then picked up the drinks and offered Wallflower the shot.
Wallflower inspected it, an unsure expression etched across her face. “This…doesn’t look healthy?”
Adagio shrugged. “Never poisoned me before.” She held out her glass. “To new acquaintances?”
Wallflower nodded. “To new acquaintances.”
They tapped glasses and Adagio swiftly threw back her Black Russian, downing it in a matter of seconds. The burn of raw alcohol felt nice, though it was a shame she’d never get a buzz from it. Alcohol didn’t really have that effect upon the undead.
Wallflower on the other hand sipped her shot, testing the surface. As soon as the flavour hit her tongue her expression curled as if she’d just consumed something aggressively unpleasant.
“Not your taste?” Adagio asked.
“It’s…” She cleared her throat. “It sure is something.”
“Would you like me to get you something else?”
“Oh no…you don’t have to do that.”
Wallflower looked at the shot, took a deep breath to shore herself, and then tilted the glass back, pouring the rest down her throat.
For her credit, she swallowed every last drop, though this led her into an immediate coughing fit.
“Holy shit, how do the girls do this?” Wallflower asked.
“Do what?”
“Take shots. It feels like I just drank liquid fire.”
Adagio tried her best not to burst out laughing. She could understand a girl complaining about a shot of vodka. But Kahlua? Really?
“Hmm, maybe a Bailey’s would’ve been more your speed, or possibly a mudslide,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“Vodka mixed with coffee liqueur and cream.”
“That actually sounds kinda nice.”
Adagio grinned. “I could make one for you, if you’d like to come back to my place.”
Wallflower bit her lip. “I uh, don’t know about that. I didn’t really come here looking for a hook up.”
Adagio placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m not the kind of girl who fucks on the first date anyways.”
“Still…I don’t really know that much about you.” She suddenly beamed. “I’d be cool exchanging numbers though and then going to the mall or something.”
Adagio bit her lip. She was losing Wallflower, and if she wanted this meal, she was going to have to employ some more… morally dubious approaches to hunting.
The hand upon Wallflower’s shoulder began to slide down her arm, causing the girl’s gaze to flick towards it. Once Adagio felt those eyes upon her hand, she lifted it off of Wallflower’s arm.
She then snapped her fingers. Now this was a special kind of snap, which mixed together the remnants of her siren magic with the perfect tempo, pitch, and frequency to stir a portion of the human psyche which had been hidden eons ago. When triggered this region of the frontal lobe caused Wallflower’s gaze to grow vacant, her posture slack, and her willingness to take suggestion grew tremendously.
It took many lifetimes to perfect this trick. Though, Adagio had more than enough to spare.
Still, this would’ve been a million times easier with a bit more siren magic. But alas, a girl had to make do with what she had.
“Are you with me, Wallflower?” Adagio asked.
“I’m with you,” Wallflower absently responded.
“That’s good to hear. I was afraid you’d walk away.”
“I was about to… walk away?”
“Yeah but you’re not thinking about that now, are you?”
She blinked and Adagio took that as a reassuring sign.
“Now, I just want to make sure you’re comfortable coming back to my place. You want to do that, right?”
Wallflower slowly nodded. “I’d love to.”
“I knew you would. You’d love to come back and have a couple cocktails.”
“Cocktails?” Wallflower mumbled, her voice wavering.
Adagio could feel her connection slipping. However, she had one final question to ask. Just a little something to help sooth that nagging little voice in the back of her mind.
“Now one last thing,” she said. “You wouldn’t happen to know about any magical artifacts, would you?”
“The stone,” Wallflower mumbled.
The stone?!
No fucking way. There was no fucking way, that voice had actually been right.
Adagio nearly burst out laughing, she really should’ve trusted her senses better.
Now what was this stone she was talking about? She was about to press the point further but awareness suddenly returned to Wallflower as she stumbled away from Adagio.
“Ugh, my head,” she groaned.
Adagio offered a sympathetic smile. “Did the Kahlua hit you hard?”
Wallflower rubbed her scalp. “It must have. God, is this what a hangover feels like?”
“Probably, but you drank way too little to be hungover.”
“Must’ve been the music then.”
“Probably.” She glanced towards the dancefloor. “Speaking of which…would you like to get out of here?”
“S-sure.”
“Maybe we could head back to my place.” She placed a hand back on Wallflower’s arm. “It’d be far quieter than here.”
Wallflower opened her mouth to protest but her expression quickly jerked into a forced and unnatural smile.
“I’d…love to?” she said.
Adagio grinned. “Then what are we waiting for?”
Wallflower was awestruck. “I’ve never seen so much music before.”
Adagio glanced at her, smirking as she watched the girl try to pick her jaw up, off the floor.
“I’ve been a collector for a while now,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.
“How did you manage to get all this? You’re like what? 25?”
Adagio nearly snorted. If only Wallflower knew how many decades and centuries she’d poured into her collection.
It was a truly impressive display of music with a whole wall of her penthouse dedicated to shelves upon shelves of records, CDs, cassettes, and even books and tomes full of musical volumes. This was a proper collection, sculpted through centuries of accumulation and preservation.
Each piece had been listened to repeatedly, adding its wealth of knowledge and experiences to Adagio’s formerly impressive set of skills.
“What do you want to listen to?” she asked.
Wallflower sheepishly grinned. “I like everything but country and rap.”
Ah the classic answer. If Adagio had a nickel for every time she’d heard that one.
She walked alongside her shelves, gliding her hand across the surface, feeling the various titles under her touch. To the untrained eye they might all look similar but she was experienced with them, remembering melodies, lyrics, and emotions just by the way the plastic of a case or the coarseness of an album cover felt.
She paused at an old rock and roll record, which was at least half a century old.
“How about this,” she said, pulling it out and showing off the cover.
It depicted a rather colourful swirled background which gave off a 1960s psychedelic vibe. A microphone dominated the middle with a smiling face morphed into its white and grey surface.
Wallflower studied it intently. “Never heard of them before, but the cover looks neat.”
Adagio nodded and brought the album over to her record player, placing the vinyl upon it. She then carefully dropped the needle and waited for the strum of a guitar and the soft melodies of a soulful singer to fill the room.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” Adagio asked.
“Some wa-” Wallflower’s expression blanked, as she took a moment to reboot. “Sorry, sorry…uh some of that baileys stuff would be nice.”
Adagio grinned. “You got it, hun.”
She slipped into the kitchen and popped open her well stocked liquor cabinet, pulling out a bottle of Irish cream.
Honestly, she should just kill the girl now and get it over with. However, getting information on where that Equestrian stone was would be incredibly beneficial. So, for now Adagio would try to milk her for everything she was worth.
“So, are you still in high school?” Adagio called to her living room as she poured two generous glasses.
“I’m in my last year.”
“Oh, that’s always the best.”
“How long ago did you graduate?”
“I uh…didn’t really graduate per say. I had a tutor.”
By the gods, she missed Aristrotle. Now that was an interesting man to talk to.
Adagio returned to the living room, offering Wallflower one of the glasses.
Wallflower took it without question, sipping the rich creamy liqueur. She actually seemed to like this one as her sample was followed by a cheery grin.
“Like it?” Adagio asked.
“It’s much better.”
“So, what do you wanna do after high school?” Adagio asked, plopping down into one of her loveseats.
Wallflower followed her lead, taking a seat for herself. “I uh…I really want to get into visual design.”
“Like making advertisements and stuff.”
“I guess kinda? But I want to work with charities?”
Adagio cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”
This was always the worst part of hunting. When you tried to find virgin blood you usually had to go for someone young, and young people were always so full of hopes and dreams and aspirations. They all thought they could change the world.
Adagio looked at her drink, circling her finger along the rim.
She wondered if some of the girls she taken could’ve actually done it?
Her grip tightened, threatening to shatter the glass.
Fuck it, who cared? It was a hard world. It was live or die out there. Sonata and Aria didn’t learn that lesson quick enough and look at them now. Two headstones on an overgrown hill.
Adagio forced her smile. “Do you currently work for any non-profits?”
“I do some volunteer work for uh… an animal shelter, some nature conservation people, and the local suicide hotline.”
“Are those causes you believe in?”
Wallflower nodded, rubbing one of her sleeved forearms. “They are.”
Oh gods…this girl had a sob story.
Adagio took a sip of her drink. “Which school are you thinking about going to?”
“Probably just Canterlot Technical College. They have a really good graphic design program, last I heard.”
“I knew a couple girls from there. They seemed to like it.”
“Oh, what were their names?”
Adagio went rigid.
Think Adagio, think.
“Hmm well there was Midnight Jubilee, she was in nursing, uh Windy Cyclone was into computer programming, and oh I couldn’t possibly forget about Mango Grove.” She grinned at Wallflower. “I always wanted to screw around with a professor.”
Wallflower brightened to a nice shade of red. “Oh uh…he he. Was it uh, fun?”
Adagio grinned. “Loads of fun.”
“Awkward question but do you think you could get me in contact with one of…”
“NO!” Adagio yelled before realizing her mistake. “I mean no…no I can’t. They were strictly one-night stands, I’m afraid. I had to break their hearts.”
Wallflower stiffened. “Oh…is that usually how you handle your relationships?”
Oh gods Adagio, you’re losing her.
“Ehhh maybe a couple of years ago,” she said. “Now I’m a bit more settled in life and actually looking for something with a bit more stability.”
Wallflower relaxed a bit, though her body language felt far more reserved than when she had first come in.
“I guess that makes sense,” Wallflower said.
Adagio waved her hand dismissively. “We were all young once.”
It’s just happens that some of us plan to stay young for a very long time.
She motioned with her drink. “What got you into working with non-profits?”
Wallflower chuckled. “Made some really good friends and one of them got me into environmentalism. She invited me to some meetings and stuff and…I guess I kinda fell in love with the cause.”
“And the suicide prevention thing?” Adagio raised a defensive hand. “If you don’t mind me asking about it.”
Wallflower’s gaze fell away. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Fair enough.”
Wallflower looked to her drink and downed the rest before placing it aside.
“I think I’m going to get going,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay a little while longer?”
“I’d love to but…” Wallflower paused, her mind churning. “I have a paper due Monday that I need to get finished.”
She then stood up and made her way towards the doors.
Goddamnit, Adagio really wanted to avoid making a mess. Hopefully, this one would at least be courteous enough to stay quiet.
Adagio bounced to her feet, bolting for the door with ungodly speed. Before Wallflower could even blink, Adagio was in front of her, blocking the apartment’s only exit.
“You can’t go just yet,” she warned. “We still have plenty to talk about.”
“How the hell did you…” Wallflower gritted her teeth, though pure terror flashed in her eyes. “Get out of my way.”
Adagio’s gaze narrowed. “Make me.”
Wallflower tried her best to keep calm as she reached into her pocket.
“You want to do this the hard way?” she asked. “Then we can do it the hard way.”
Wallflower pulled out a stone, holding it out in front of herself. It was etched with a series of blue runes which covered its surface.
She smirked coyly, hefting the rock up and down. “I’ll make you forget you were even born.”
The stone began to glow and Adagio braced herself.
Wallflower caught the rock for a final time, and as she took aim, a beam of solid blue light erupted from the artifact. It moved swiftly, colliding with Adagio’s stomach. She gasped as raw power coursed through her, falling to her knees as electric bolts of pain racked her.
Finally, the beam ceased and Adagio looked up. However, instead of a raw emptiness in her gaze, there was only a playful glint. She smirked and couldn’t help but laugh as she slowly got to her feet.
“You absolutely dumb motherfucker,” she said. “You actually brought it with you?”
As Adagio took a steady step forwards, Wallflower shrunk back, panickedly clenching the stone.
“Why didn’t that work?” Wallflower asked.
Adagio ignored her. “You know that artifact was the only thing keeping you alive, right?” Her lips peeled back in a predatory grin. “I thought you’d be smart enough to lock it away somewhere, or bury it in your backyard, or hell, even shove it in your closet. But no, you actually brought the fucking thing with you.”
Wallflower whimpered, holding the stone back up. However, only a pitiful spark shot forth, falling harmlessly to the floor.
Adagio took another step closer. “Now why didn’t it work? Well, I’ve always been exceptionally resilient to Equestrian magic.” She growled. “If I can survive the elements of fucking harmony then I can survive your pitiful little paper weight.”
With that she sprinted forward, closing the gap between them in a fraction of a second. One of her hands wrapped around Wallflower, pulling her close, as the other gripped her hand, squeezing it gently.
“Let go,” Wallflower whimpered.
“You first,” Adagio snarled, applying a hint of pressure to Wallflower’s wrist.
Slowly this pressure mounted until Wallflower let out a pained gasp, the stone slipping from her hand. It fell through the air before hitting Adagio’s floor and rolling harmlessly to the side.
Adagio’s eyes then turned to Wallflower, penetrating deep into her terrified gaze.
“Look, I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re a sweet girl and I absolutely loved your sob story but…”
She leaned in, brushing her lips against Wallflower’s neck.
“This is a dog eat dog world, honey.”
Adagio bit deep, feeling the warmth of blood splash across her teeth.
And I’m the biggest bitch there is.