Love Bites

The snow crunched under Ember's paws as he traveled along a river bank, carrying a half awake Collin on his back. The effects from the bite hadn't completely worn off yet, leaving the pegasus in what the earth pony could only describe as a slightly delusional state of mind.

“Alpha…,” the blue stallion whined. “Where are we going?”

The dark brown wolf's eyes rolled. “To your place.”

“Oh...is my Alpha going to be there?”

“Yeah, she’ll be there...to beat your ass just like the rest of us want to.”

“Awe, that's not very nice. Why would she do that?” Ember didn't bother answering, so Collin continued. “And why do you want to beat me? You were about three seconds away from ru-”

“Irrelevant. I still have every wish to beat your ass.”

The pegasus pouted, then purred as he curled to be more deeply embedded in the wolf’s fur. “Mmm, you're so soft... like a giant pile of bird feathers.”

“I take offense to that.”

“Or a puppy...can I call you a puppy?”

“Ok, now that's just rude. I am no one's 'puppy’.”

“C'mon, it's not that bad. I've seen how you act sometimes.”

“That's only around actual pups. There's a difference between the two. Now go back to sleep.”

Sirena had reduced to a cold, shivering heap as she slept in her chamber, subconsciously moving towards Speckle as she lay beside her. A soft voice roused her, and she glanced over at the unicorn as her eyes opened wearily. “Speckle? What is it?” The other mare said nothing, her chest rising and falling steadily as she continued to slumber.The voice came again, this time slightly louder.

“Sirena…”

The pegasus sat up quickly, now red eyes darting around. “Who’s there?”

There was no answer...at first. She watched on with curiosity as a faint light began to glow in front of her. It shone brighter for a second, then disappeared completely, leaving a transparent figure floating in its place. The mare’s face paled. The figure looked like...herself, only younger and donning a darker coat. “W-Who are you? And how do you know my name?”, she questioned, cowering slightly at the ghost’s intense glare. Said ghost sighed dramatically, pushing her undulating mane behind her ear.

“What did I expect? You werewolves always ask the same questions upon first meeting an Infecto. Maybe if you had paid more attention to my signals, you would have figured it out.”

“Infecto?” Sirena paused. That was what Ember had, and she saw all of the trouble that had been caused because of it. What with all that was going on now, this was the last thing that she wanted to discover. “What is your name?”

The see through mare flashed a bright smile, bowing to her host. “Infecto Mauve, at your service. Are there any questions you wish to ask of me?”

“A few. First of all, why did you choose me? There are countless other werewolves out there, why do I have to be the bearer of your conscience?”

Mauve's grin faltered. “You ask with such dissatisfaction… Do you not wish to have me?”

“No, I don't. I don't wish for any of this!,” Sirena snapped angrily, freezing as she heard Speckle begin to stir. She relaxed when the mare fell asleep again, lowering her voice. “I know that this will affect her as well.”

The Infecto huffed. “Well excuse me for having you be the perfect candidate for my needs. It's not like I choose you out of spite or anything. By Luna I sure didn't know you'd be this disapproving of my presence.”

“Mauve, I-”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re under a lot of pressure, yadda yadda. That still doesn't mean you can be all snappy with me. I'm sure my last host wasn't like this.”

The lilac pegasus frowned. “I apologize. If what I’ve heard about Infectos is true, then you know the things that I've been through these past few days. It's kind of in my right to be upset.”

Mauve slowly nodded in agreement. “I suppose you're right. But don't think I'll be letting this go so easily.” Their conversation was cut short as the ghost's ears perked, picking up a distant sound. “I can't stay out here much longer. We’ll talk more later.” She then disappeared from sight just as Soundwave peeked inside the chamber.

“Oh, hey. You're awake. Alpha Ember and Dad are outside.”

Sirena took in a deep, shuddering breath before she nodded once. “Thank you, Soundwave. I’ll be right out.”

Collin sighed in slight frustration as he waited for his mate to come out of the cave’s entrance. Ember glanced over at him. “You sure you’ll be to handle this on your own? If I were Sirena, I wouldn't be the most excited to see you right now either.”

The pegasus's eyes narrowed. “I got it, Ember. I'm the one who put myself into this, and I'm going to bring myself back out.”

“If you say so. I'll be helping Soundwave with patrolling the perimeters if you need anything.”

“Much appreciated, thanks.”

He watched as the other hastily moved through the trees, his ears twitching as he heard something stop in front of him, turning his head. His red eyes locked with Sirena's magenta ones for a second before moving to look at something else. “Sirena…”

She raised a hoof to silence him. “Before you start, let me get this out of the way.” She then backhanded him, leaving a red mark on his cheek. He rubbed at it, saying nothing. “Are you happy now? You scare your daughter out of her wits, nearly killing her mate in the process. She only has one, Collin. What if it was us with my father? Sure he’d get verbally aggressive, but he would never do what you were going to do to Obsidian.”

“I know…”

“Then what's the problem? Clearly you don't hate him.”

“I don't want to talk about it right now.”

“But-”

Collin then growled lowly. “ I said what I said, Sirena.”

She huffed, ruffling her black wing tip feathers. “Your just mad because I'm the telling the truth.”

“Excuse me?”

“That's the only reason why you’re putting it off, because you don't want to face it.”

He started to shake, his lips curling back into a snarl as tears began to fill his eyes.“I never said that-”

“You didn't need to. Your arrogance is what ru-”

“ENOUGH!,” he barked, eyes blue as his wings sprang from his sides in a defensive manner. “I do not need to hear this anymore!” Before the mare could get a word out, he took off, leaving a fading trail in his wake as the area around him rippled with sound. Sirena snorted, shaking the loose dirt that now clung to her out of her coat. She sighed, resting a hoof against her temple as her head throbbed.

“What am I doing? I'm acting just as childish as he is.”

“Maybe you should go after him? He’s unstable enough as it is,” a voice noted behind her. She looked back to find Speckle standing underneath the cave's arch, her eyes showing her concern.

“I should. Good thing I know where he’s headed.” Unfurling her wings, the pegasus carried herself through the sky, the chilly winds no match to the warmth she was building up in her heart.

Collin let his body drop onto a thick layer of snow that sat on the peak of a nearby mountain, curling up underneath his outspread wings. He shivered, but he didn't pay mind to the cold. He was so exhausted, his eyes closing for just a moment as his racing mind slowed down. Said eyes reopened abruptly, and he found himself on forest floor, something warm and wet pooling under his body. Looking down, he yelped, jumping up and scrambling backwards. “O-Obsidian?,” he stammered, then finding that his forelegs were painted dark red with blood.

The navy coated earth pony’s body lay motionlessly, his head detached from it. The stallion became frightened, moving back another step when his tail came in contact with something else. Whipping around, he gasped inwardly as he took in the sight of Ember laying on his side, wheezing painfully before coughing up a mouthful of blood. “Ember?! What happened?”

The Lead’s ears perked at the sound of his voice, forcing himself to roll onto his back, exposing his open chest cavity. He struggled in an attempt to sit up, starting to cough again. Collin rolled him back onto his side, holding him down. “No, no. Don't sit up. Can you please tell me what happened here?” The red pony couldn't speak, but he managed to write out a single letter in the blood soaked earth beside his head: a y. He then proceeded to have a coughing fit, unable to get oxygen into his failing lungs. Finally he stopped moving, now lifeless eyes staring straight ahead. The pegasus lowered his head, hot tears falling from his cheeks as he reached out, closing his friend’s eyes.

He slowly stood up looking around for someone, anyone who would have an explanation. He located Speckle's cold frame not too far away, her eyes dark bleeding holes as they were missing from the rest of her face. Still the stallion forced himself to move forward, glancing over each maimed body he passed. His heart dropped upon seeing his mate, as she was leaning against the trunk of a pine tree, holding the corpses of her son and daughters close to her chest. Her watery eyes shifted up to look at him as he approached, slowly shaking her head.

“You finally got what you wanted, Alpha. You have destroyed everything that you’ve ever had.”

“What? No! I didn't... I couldn't have…” He was at a loss for words as he broke down, falling to the ground in front of her. He suddenly felt someone grab him by his shoulders, pulling him backward. He struggled against his assailant, reaching out desperately to the mare. “No, no! I-I’m sorry! Let me go! Please! Sirena!”

Collin wailed like an injured animal as he jolted awake, still fighting with whoever was holding him. Yelping as his head was pulled back, he stared up at Sirena's worried face, tense nerves relaxing instantly. Sitting up, he gripped her tightly as he continued to sob soundlessly, as he had lost his voice. She wrapped her wings around his trembling frame, rubbing his back simultaneously. “Shh, shh….your ok. I'm here, I'm here. Shh...it was just a bad dream, sweetheart. I'm never going to leave you.” He soon quieted, loud sniffles and soft gasps being the only sounds that left him. The lilac mare pulled back after some time, looking up at him with on growing sympathy. “You ok? Do you want to talk about it?”

He sniffled again before stammering: “I-I was in a clearing. Everyone else was dead except for you, a-and…” He couldn't finish, breaking into another flood of tears.

“Oh Collin…,” she murmured softly, holding him close once again. His head buried into her shoulder, he felt her lips press against his tear stained cheek. “I'm sorry for getting upset with you. You’ve got a lot on your shoulders right now, and I sure didn't help. Do you forgive me?” Feeling him nod, she slowly rocked him back and forth, like she would with an upset foal. “Do you want to go home?”

He shook his head. “No...I... just... keep holding me, please?”

She did so, closing her eyes. “I will. I love you, Collin. Always remember that.”

“Thank you...I love you so much, Sirena.”