Crusher yawned tiredly as he got up that morning.
Yesterday had been his 18th birthday. Pickle threw a huge party with all their friends and everything. They partied all night long, but when he came back, he didn't feel tired at all. He still felt like he could party all night if he wanted to.
But this morning, he felt like he couldn't get up at all.
"Ugh... weird..."
He pried himself off his bed and made his way to the kitchen. There he was met with Pickle, who smiled as he made breakfast.
"Morning, Crusher! Did you like your party?"
"Yeah… I did…" Crusher yawned, tiredly making his way to the table. "Man, but I'm so tired…"
"Maybe you partied a little too hard last night," Pickle frowned. "After breakfast, wanna go back to bed?"
"Yes, please!" Crusher nodded and rubbed his eyes. "What's for breakfast?"
"Garlic bread and pasta!" Pickle giggled and set the food down.
However one smell from the garlic made Crusher wanna puke.
"W-What's the matter? You love this stuff!"
"Yeah… I guess not today…" Crusher gagged and pushed the plate away.
"Huh, alright then," Pickle looked confused as he moved the plate closer to him. "Have some pasta then!"
"There isn't any more garlic in there… is there?"
"Not that I remember…" Pickle hummed in thought.
"Okay, good."
After some breakfast, Crusher went back to his room to have some rest. He headed to his window to open it, but when he was met the light, he felt a burning sensation that made him hiss and shut the window again.
"Ugh... no sunlight for me this morning..."
He slumped onto his bed, hoping to get some rest. He closed his eyes, aiming to only sleep for a few more hours.
But when he awoke, he glanced at the clock in shock.
5:58 PM
"Seriously?! I slept all day?!"
He got up immediately before running out of his room. On the plus side, he feels energized.
He ran to the kitchen to find Pickle making dinner.
"Hey, Crush! Long nap, huh?"
"Nap?! I missed lunch! And the race this afternoon!" Crusher hissed.
"Aw, it's okay, Crush, you'll still be able to catch the race tonight," Pickle assured him.
"Oh, right! Better hurry and eat or I'll miss it!"
He ate quickly then zoomed off. Pickle's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the other zoom quicker than normal.
"Whoa... that nap must have really boosted him! CRUSHER!! WAIT UP!!"
X
The Monster Dome was crowded with many happy, excited fans as they waited for the race to start. All the racers were lines up at the starting line, with Crusher speeding to them, making a late entrance.
"Whoa, Crusher! You got here fast!" Blaze exclaimed.
"What was with the late entrance dude? We were just about to start without ya!" Darington said.
"Overslept!" Crusher sighed.
"Well, whatever the reason, you're here now. Let's get this race started!" Watts said, charging her tires.
They began to revv up their engines as the lights flashed red, orange then green. They soon zoomed across the track, with Crusher taking the lead.
"Come on... I can go faster than this!"
Crusher unconsciously made his eyes glow red before he zoomed faster than ever before.
"Whoa! Crusher is going WAY faster than usual!" AJ gasped.
"We might as well let him win this one," Blaze told the others.
"Eh, good idea-- none of us could have beat him this time," Starla shrugged.
At the end of the race, Crusher was declared the winner, and the others quickly approached with smiles.
"Great race, Crusher! Great job!" Blaze congratulated. "You went fast with no cheats whatsoever!"
"Yeah! I guess I did!" Crusher grinned.
"How'd you go so fast??" Stripes wondered.
"To be honest, I have no idea," Crusher sighed. "A lot of strange things have been happening to me lately. First, it seemed I couldn't get outta bed this morning, I suddenly hate garlic and sunlight, and my speed is quicker than ever!"
"Huh, that does seem strange," Gabby observed with a nod.
"And now, I feel more alive than ever!" Crusher beamed, jumping energetically.
As he did, his eyes flashed red and gold before turning back to normal.
"Uh... did your eyes just flash different colors?" Darington asked.
"Huh?" Crusher tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"They flashed red and gold before going back to normal!"
"They did? I wanna see!" Crusher whined.
"Stripes, could the eye thing and what happened to Crusher earlier be something in common?" Blaze wondered as Pickle handed Crusher a mirror.
"Maybe-"
"Noooo!!" Crusher cried. "Why is this mirror broken?!"
"What do you mean?" AJ asked.
"I can't see my reflection!" Crusher frowned and handed the mirror.
"No reflection, huh...?" Blaze raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm... I wanna check on something," Stripes took out his phone and snapped a picture of Crusher then he glanced at the picture. "Woah..."
"There's no picture on the film!" Gabby gasped.
"What that supposed to mean?" Zeg wondered.
"I've seen this before," Stripes cried. "From the book in my treehouse!"
"Let's go and check it out," Starla said.
"Good idea. Might help us figure out what's going on," Watts nodded at her girlfriend.
They made their way out of the Monster Dome. As they went through the streets, something picked up Crusher's nose, causing him to turn green.
"Ugh, garlic..."
"Probably because we're near Paulina's Pizza Place," Pickle patted his back. "Pizza does have garlic, after all,"
"Let's get outta here..." Crusher shuddered.
They soon made it to the jungle. The scent of blood suddenly reached his nose as the group approached an injured animal on the path.
"Oh... poor thing!" Stripes ran to the poor pegasus foal, who was in different shades of blue green and aquamarine with pink and midnight blue details on it's mane and wings. "What's your name, little one?"
"Quizon..." the poor foal whimpered, golden eyes tearful.
"How did you get hurt, Quizon?" Darington asked.
"I... I was trying to fly," Quizon flapped his small wings open. "but... but I crashed onto some thorns and hurt my leg too,"
"Here, we'll give you a hand and fix that right up," AJ said.
As they stopped to help, Crusher's eyes glowed brighter as the scent of blood reached his mind. He approached the foal, eyes closing.
"I wanna help too!~"
"Uh... sure, Crusher. If you could hold his leg in place while we bandage it."
Crusher nodded and held Quizon's leg in place. The blood was closer now, and Crusher could feel it. As the others turned their backs to get some bandages, Crusher felt sharp fangs rise from his teeth as he opened his mouth. Quizon turned to him before screaming.
"What's wrong?!" The group turned back and gasped to see Crusher about to attack.
"Crusher, what the heck are you doing?!" Pickle screeched.
He held the dark blue truck back, but Crusher was stronger and pushed him towards the others, eyes glowing full red now.
"Stripes, what do we do?!"
"Quick, stick this garlic in front of him!" Stripes said, tossing some wild garlic to AJ.
AJ nodded and held the garlic in front of Crusher. The dark blue truck hissed, shutting his eyes as he backed up.
"It's okay, little fella," Starla said, picking the shaken pegasus up. "You're safe now."
"Crusher, what the what were you thinking?!" Watts hissed. "You could have killed the little guy! He's terrified of you!"
Crusher roared out with a hiss, eyes still gleaming red. Stripes frowned.
"I don't think he IS thinking," he observed.
"W-Why was he t-trying to hurt me...?" Quizon whimpered.
"I don't think he meant to," Blaze assured. "But the sooner we heal that injury, the sooner I think Crusher will calm down."
"See his eyes? It's savage," Stripes spoke.
"So... what can we do to break him out of it?" Blaze wondered.
"I won't know until I get my book," Stripes sighed. "For now, here," He handed Starla and Pickle a chain. "Tie him down and make sure he doesn't get away. Darington, Watts and Blaze? You come with me, and bring Quizon!"
"Got it!" Starla nodded as Zeg helped Pickle pin Crusher down.
Stripes nodded and zoomed off with the rest of them, bringing Quizon with them to the treehouse. They soon made it, and Stripes led them to a table to help bandange the poor foal.
"You doing okay little guy?" AJ asked.
"M-Mm-hmm..." Quizon nodded. "J-Just scared..."
"We're really sorry about that-- Crusher would never hurt anyone on purpose. He's just been acting strangely, but don't worry-- we'll get to the bottom of it."
"Aha!" Stripes lit up as he grabbed the book he needed. "Found it!"
"Is that the one we need?" Watts wondered.
"Yes!" Stripes flipped the pages before his eyes widened. "Oh no..."
"W-What is it?"
"Red eyes... super speed and strength... sleeping in the day... just as I thought!" Stripes hissed. "Crusher... is a vampire!"
"A vampire?!" Blaze gasped. "Like in those Halloween movies?"
"Exactly!"
"What's a... vampire?" Quizon asked.
"Beings of the night that drink blood!" Watts shuddered. "I've heard of those before in my hometown,"
"Drink blood?!" Quizon's ears flattened.
"So, what can we do to break Crusher from this blood drinking frenzy?" Darington questioned.
"Well, says here that a vampire needs blood like we need water," Stripes replied. "To make him stop, we need to give him blood. One that... isn't going to hurt anyone,"
He went into a cupboard and took out a packet of blood. "Aha! This'll work,"
"I'll take it down to him," Blaze said. "Watts, be prepared to shock him if he gets too restless."
"Got it!"
The cousins zoomed down the treehouse and back to the ground. Zeg and Starla were pinning Crusher down while Pickle was trying to calm him down.
"Easy, Crusher," Blaze said, approaching him. "Drink this."
He reached out to give the packet. Crusher opened his mouth, fangs out as blood met them. The blood was sucked in, taken by the fangs. After a while, Crusher was drinking the blood, eyes closed in satisfaction as he calmed a bit.
"There... that should do it."
"What... is... he drinking?" Pickle asked.
"Blood, cause... he's a vampire."
"Vampire?! Cool!" Pickle gasped. "I thought they were just a myth!"
"Well, they're real, and there's one sucking that packet like a bottle!" Starla said.
"He must've been really hungry," Watts observed.
"Look-- he's finished the blood!"
Truth be told, Crusher had finished up the blood. His eyes shifted from red to gold then back to normal as he groaned.
"What...? What just happened?"
"Do you want the long or the short version?" Blaze asked.
"Uh... short?"
"You went crazy for blood," Pickle chirped up.
"Wait wait, what?! Does... doesn't that mean I'm... a vampire?!"
"To put it bluntly... yeah."
"But... how is that possible?!" Crusher cried out. "I used to be fine!"
"It might have had something to do with your birthday yesterday, cause you were fine last night."
"Huh, was it something I drank...?" Crusher wondered.
"No... it could have been you've ALWAYS been a vampire, but it never showed up until now." Blaze suggested.
"But how?? And why??" Crusher scratched his head. "I am so confused right now,"
"Stripes, is there any way we can find out more?" Darington asked as he and Stripes joined the group.
"There is," Stripes nodded. "There's a castle in Transylvania, where the Vampire King is rumored to live. Maybe he can help us,"
"Then we're heading to Transylvania!" Blaze claimed.
"How will we get there?" Gabby asked.
"We can ask Swoops," AJ suggested. "Maybe he'll take us there,"
"Good idea," Crusher said. "The sooner I get rid of this curse-- the better."
"Wait! C-Can I go with you?" asked Quizon.
"Sure," Blaze nodded. "but stay close to us, it might be dangerous,"
"I will."
"Let's head to Swoops and get going, gang!" AJ smiled.