//------------------------------//
// Craving 
// Story: In Which SPark Attempts to be Slightly Less Verbose. 
// by SPark 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy settled to the cloud in front of Rainbow Dash’s door.  She raised a hoof and knocked softly.  The sound was, in fact, nearly inaudible, but Rainbow Dash had been expecting her, so she opened the door immediately.

"Hey Flutters!"

"Oh, hello there, Rainbow."  Fluttershy gave her friend a tiny, uncertain smile.  She held out the basket she’d set beside her towards her friend.  "Here’s Tank.  He’s in good health, and I cleaned and polished his shell and everything."

"Thanks, Flutters," said Rainbow cheerfully.  She expected Fluttershy to say goodbye and fly off, as she usually did after returning Tank from a checkup, but instead Fluttershy hesitated on her doorstep.  "Is something wrong?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh no, nothing is..."  Fluttershy trailed off.  "I mean..."  She gave a little shiver, then finally whispered, "Uhm, maybe something is kind of a tiny bit wrong."

"Wanna come in and tell your pal Rainbow all about it?" 

"If... if that’s okay with you," whispered Fluttershy.

"Sure.  Come have a seat."  Rainbow led Fluttershy into her house and gestured at one of the cloud couches inside.  

Flutter sat gingerly on one.  Rainbow sprawled on another.  "Okay.  So what’s the prob?"

"I... uh... I keep looking at Applejack," said Fluttershy, her cheeks flushing.

Rainbow blinked at her.  "Uh.  What?"

"I keep looking at Applejack," repeated Fluttershy.  Her blush brightened.  "At her... uh... flank."

"Oh geez."  Rainbow couldn’t help but scowl.  "Flutters... are you saying you like Applejack?"  Rainbow wasn’t sure why that idea made her scowl, exactly, but it definitely did.

"Oh no, not at all."  Fluttershy shook her head firmly.  "It’s, well... it’s the apples.  They’re so red.  They look so juicy.  I just want to bite into them..."  Her eyes glazed over as she started to talk.  "Just bite into them and suck all the juice from them.  It would be so good, I know it would be..."  She licked her lips, drool glistening on her fangs.

Fangs!  Rainbow Dash jumped in her seat.  Fluttershy had fangs again!  "Woah there, girl.  That’s kind of creepy."

"I know.  I don’t want to hurt Applejack, but I just can’t help but think about biting into those apples of hers..."

"Can’t you just... I dunno, go bite some actual apples?"

Fluttershy huddled up on the couch, looking absolutely miserable.  "I tried.  I thought I was just being a vampire fruit bat again, but apples are just apples now.  I’m still cured from that.  It’s only the ones on Applejack that I want to bite."

"That’s really weird."  Rainbow frowned, trying to think.  How would Twilight go about dealing with this problem?  She’d be all science-y and logical and stuff.  What would be the logical way to test what was going on?  Rainbow thought about that for a while, and then had an idea.  

"Hey Flutters, is it just Applejack’s flank?  What about other ponies?"

"Uhm.  Staring at flanks is rude," said Fluttershy, blushing more.  "I've tried to not look.  I just... I don't know, I noticed Applejack's once, and I keep looking back again."

Rainbow laughed.  "Hey, it’s for, like, science, so it’s not rude, okay?  Here, look at my flank and tell me if you want to bite it."  She stood up and turned sideways, so Fluttershy could see her cutie mark.

Fluttershy was silent for a while.  Then she licked her lips again.  "That... looks delicious."

"Okay.  So it’s not apples, it’s just... uh... flanks."  Rainbow nodded.  "Okay.  So... now what?"

Fluttershy licked her lips again.  "So... delicious..."

"Uh, hey, Flutters?  Maybe we should go talk to somepony else?  Like maybe Twilight?  Or, I dunno, Zecora or something?"

"We don’t need anypony," said Fluttershy, somewhat absently.  She licked her lips again.  Rainbow could swear that her fangs were getting longer.  She took a step closer to Rainbow, her eyes trained on Rainbow’s cutie mark.

"Woah now, you’re kind of creeping me out here," said Rainbow.  She tried to back up a step, but the couch was in the way and she ended up just backing herself onto it.  She looked at Fluttershy, whose eyes had gone red.  Her fangs were long and sharp.  Saliva gleamed on them.  "Flutters, please, don’t," said Rainbow, her heart pounding.

Fluttershy pounced.