> Creature of the Night
>  by Cosmonaut
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Creature of the Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The hinges on the door creaked as it swung open. A stark white unicorn exited the building, dabbing a rag at her eyes as she walked into the night. Dark red blood stained the corners of her mouth, and despite the attention she was giving to her face, she left her lips alone. The tears at her eyes were brought upon the horrible deed she had done to the pony inside the house. For an action like that, there would never be any redemption. She needed to exile herself. For everyponys’ sake. Rarity walked past a store,  averting her gaze away from the window. Her reflection wouldn’t have appeared regardless, but she didn’t look. She didn’t want to see the monster she had become.

***

        “WAKE UP WAKE UP!” cried out a shrill voice. Rarity cracked one azure eye open to see her little sister bouncing up and down on her once-tidily made bed. “Come on, Rarity, you need to get up now! You slept in late and you’re always telling me how unbecoming that is for a young unicorn.”
        Rarity rolled out of the bed, careful not to completely mess up the sheets any more than they’d already been. “Yes, I suppose I did sleep in far past the appropriate hour.” She glanced at her fancy grandfather clock. “One o’clock already? Why didn’t you wake me sooner, Sweetie?”
        “You looked kinda tired, sis, weren’t you going on adventures with your friends yesterday?” she asked, hopping off the bed.
        “Now that you mention it, Sweetie, I am feeling a tad lightheaded,” replied Rarity, putting a hoof to her brow. Yesterday had been rather trying for her.
        “Do you want me to run your errands for you today? I can help you!” Sweetie Belle looked up at her sister hopefully with her light bottle-green eyes. While Rarity wanted to say yes and lie back down for just a little, she couldn’t do it. Not for these errands.
        “Sorry, Sweetie Belle, I simply cannot allow you to do this for me today. Keep in mind I appreciate your thoughtful offer.”
        Her sister sighed, slowly trotting away in disappointment. Rarity winced. She didn’t want to make her sister feel too bad.
        “You know what you could do for me though? Go to the spa and tell the ponies at the front desk I won’t be attending for…health reasons,” She paused thoughtfully for a moment, “and if they inquire further, make something up.”
        “Will do!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle as she disappeared downstairs. Rarity leaned over to the window, shutting her blinds. The harsh sunlight was stinging her eyes. She had gone to bed with a splitting headache, spending the night in fitful bouts of sleeping, waking, tossing, and turning. That little excursion of Twilight’s was not something she planned on repeating.
        Rarity magically floated her red-trim sunhat (with matching glasses, of course) onto her head. She turned to look at her reflection in her stately bedroom mirror. Something had caught her eye, something on her coat. Carefully, she moved one of her purple curls aside and….
                “RARITY!”
        The hat flew off her head as she turned around in alarm. “Why would you sneak up on me like that? You gave me quite a shock just now!”
        Sweetie Belle shuffled on her hooves. “I’m sorry, I just came back because I don’t know where the spa is in town. I didn’t mean to get you mad…”
        “Mad? I’m just startled is all,” she said, a little more harshly than she’d liked. Rarity cleared her throat. “Anyhow, you do know where Fluttershy’s cottage is, so head there instead. She should be home making lunch for her animal friends.”
        “OK! Will do!” Sweetie Belle bounced downstairs and Rarity sighed in relief. Her stomach gave a low rumble, causing Rarity to think for a bit on her plans for the day. She shoved open the window.
        “Sweetie Beeellllle!” called out Rarity. Her sister stopped short, turning around to look up. “Tell Fluttershy that I’ll meet her for dinner at Seasonal Delights later!” The midday sunlight stung through her sunglasses, watering her eyes. “Around sundown, okay?”
        Her little sister nodded fiercely in response, galloping away with newfound energy in her mission. Rarity shut the blinds quickly retreating back into her room. She still felt incredibly drowsy. Right now, lying down for a spell would do wonders for her. Duty called, however, and Sugarcube Corner was first on her list of things to do for today.
        She put her hat back on with care to avoid messing up her hair and trotted outside.


***


        Rarity shoved the door to the bakery open with enormous effort. It was not even a ten-minute walk to Sugarcube Corner but the sweat pouring from her face and coat gave her the appearance that she ran ten miles. She was completely exhausted.
        “Hiya Rarity!” bubbled Pinkie Pie bouncing into view, fluffy pink pompadour a sticky mess of sprinkles and sugar. “I bet I know what you’re here for! Oh, silly me! Of course you’re here for Sweetie Belle’s Super Secret Scrumptious BIRTHDAY CAKE!”
        Rarity’s ears flattened against her head. Pinkie meant well but her voice was really grating on her nerves right now. She already wasn’t feeling quite right. “Yes, yes, yes. Hope you don’t mind me picking it up two days in advance but I don’t want to risk her stopping by with her friends and spoiling the surprise. You understand don’t you?”
        “Oh, you bet Rarity. I can totally relate,” nodded Pinkie Pie with a sheepish smile on her face “Surprise parties are the absolute super-duper best parties to throw so I don’t wanna risk any sort of mishaps or crazy mistakes for sweet little Sweetie Belle!”
        Rarity smiled warmly, placing some gold on the counter. “Here are the bits for your trou-”
        “’Course if you want I could help you with party planning you know I’m all about throwing the PERFECT parties for ponies, or not even ponies in particular! I’ve thrown parties for all sorts of partygoers!” continued Pinkie Pie, sitting herself down in front of Rarity.
        “That’s all well and good, Pinkie, but it’s more of a family affair with our parents coming into town. Mother and Father would be more keen-”
        “Which would make it all the more A-MAZING if I helped you set up if you haven’t seen them for a while. Plus, if you totally want to make a good impression, then a little extra party pizzazz would be all the more stupendous, don’t’cha think?”
        Rarity glared at the pink pony, staring right into her bright blue eyes. “While I appreciate the offer, and I do, my parents enjoy the more subdued celebrations over your more rambunctious-”
        “BUT!” interrupted Pinkie staring vacantly back at her, “If a party isn’t rambunctious then it’s not really much of a party, is it? You need a whole grab-bag of stuff, like balloons, streamers, music (but fun party music), sweets--”
        “Pinkie Pie,” seethed Rarity, her eyelid twitching a little. Pinkie continued to ramble on still looking straight at her.
        “--noisemakers, popcorn, clowns, lights, disco balls, silly string, punch bowls--”
            “Pinkie. STOP!”
        Halfway through ‘birthday candles’ Pinkie shut her mouth. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief.
        “THANK YOU! I apologize for being so blunt with you, but I’m feeling under-the-weather today and I’d like to return home for a bit and lie down”.
        Pinkie said nothing. This irked Rarity. Her friend didn’t just stop talking.
        “So I’m going to pay you now…” she continued putting some more bits on the counter in front of her. No response.
        Rarity leaned over the counter. “Darling, you’re starting to worry me, say something!”
        “Something,” parroted Pinkie Pie absently gazing ahead. She hadn’t blinked. Rarity glanced back to see if there was anything interesting happening to the light beige bakery wall. With nothing new to note, she turned to back to Pinkie who was still wearing her frozen mask of happiness.
        "This is a game you’re playing isn’t?” quizzed Rarity, waving a hoof in front of her friends unblinking eyes. Still nothing.
        There was a slight rustling of paper from somewhere in the room. Over on the counter behind Pinkie was a white square box wrapped in blue string. A small leaflet of paper emblazoned with Rarity’s cutie mark was flapping against it from the steady flow of the bakery’s ceiling fan.
        “So this is the cake, dear?” she said aloud when she walked over and opened it. Round white cake, pink purple frosting with ‘Happy Birthday Sweetie Belle’ written in chocolate icing along the top. Rarity made sure to count that all nine candles were there too. It looked marvelous. She was certain her sister would love it. Rarity gingerly folded it back up and turned around.
        “WHAH!!!!”
        Pinkie Pie was right in her face, barely an inch away. “WOWEE that was a SUPER neat trick Rarity how’d you do that?”
        “Trick?” Rarity clutched at her chest. The confusion was diffusing her shock “What…trick, Pinkie… what are you talking about?”
        Pinkie giggled. “Your disappearing trick, silly. You just did it! One minute I was talking to you then my eyes got all silly and my head started feeling like a muffin too long in the oven and then you were gone.”
        “You…don’t remember?”
        “Nopey-dopey! I don’t even remember seeing your horn glowing either which is what really got me going. Does that mean anypony could learn that trick? OH! OH! Could you teach me how to do that?” asked Pinkie Pie eagerly. She leaned forward propping her head up with her elbows.
        “Err, oh, I uhm…” Rarity picked through her head for some sort of explanation. She couldn’t find one but she did know somepony else’s. “It’s just a thing that happens from time to time. I’m afraid I have no real control over it,” Rarity forced a grin hoping that Pinkie would buy her excuse.
        “Shoot! That would’ve been a super neat trick to learn too,” Pinkie dropped her head in disappointment. She brought it back up quick as a flash. “OKAY! How about an after-birthday party? Does that sound good to you?”
        Rarity dexterously slid the cake between the coils of her purple tail. “Yes definitely, Pinkie Pie, I’ll give you full creative reign over Sweetie’s after-party to boot. Sound fair to you?”
        The pink pony squealed in joy while zooming around the room before diving into her party box,  pulling out multicolored strings and brightly packaged plastic balloons. Rarity exited the shop wearing a rather silly grin on her face.


***


        “Are you certain that there’s absolutely no seating available inside your restaurant? I cannot fathom eating outside in this uncomfortable weather!”
        Rarity had been pleading with this stubborn waiter for nearly six agonizing minutes about the lack of seating inside her favorite restaurant. The maître’d’ had been offering his sincerest apologies but there was no budging from this unicorn.
        “Madame, please, we have been booked solid since seven PM. Seasonal Delights is currently accommodating a vacationing family of rams that quite honestly take up all of our indoor seating,” he said with all the sincerity he could muster. “Outdoor seating is apparently not your preference but I am afraid it is the only arrangements we can offer you.”
        Rarity stamped her hooves for a bit to accentuate her displeasure before settling herself down at one of the outdoor tables. Had she not been feeling so sickly she would have raised a much bigger stink about this situation, especially since she was a regular customer. A waiter quickly poured a cup of ice water while depositing a basket filled with warm fluffy bread on the table before darting away.        
        “Ooh, perhaps I should have visited the spa today…” Rarity moaned as she inspected a length of her dark violet curls. Her hair, coat, and mane had lost its lustrous sheen over the past few hours and she could just feel the bags drooping under her eyes. “I’m going to need emergency beauty treatment after tonight...”
        Rarity stared disapprovingly at the bread. She was so hungry that if not for her good manners she would have gobbled up the whole lot of bread right there. Tonight she had no appetite for it. Even though she was hungry. Starving. Her stomach rumbled in irritation.
        “Um…I’m not late am I?” peeped a soft voice.
        Rarity swiveled her head to see Fluttershy standing behind her, light pink mane silhouetted against the setting sun. “If I’m late then I apologize. I ran out of carrots for Angel so I went to pick some and lost track of time…”
        “Oh darling, don’t worry your cute little head about it! I wasn’t going to order without you. This is something I’ve been waiting to do all day,” smiled Rarity as Fluttershy took a seat across the small table. “Actually, I should be the pony apologizing here for canceling our spa day get-together on such short notice.”
        “I forgive you then,” chuckled Fluttershy, Rarity laughing alongside her. The waiter promptly arrived, asking for their meal choices for the evening.
        “I would like a buttercup sunflower wrap, please, with a glass of strawberry juice,” requested Fluttershy meekly. The waiter took her menu. Rarity returned her menu as well.
        “One double-steamed French onion salad platter with diced celery and carrots, lightly tossed with chopped cauliflower, extra croutons if you have them, if not sprinkled with swiss cheese, and drown it in your house dressing.” Rarity snorted as the waiter flipped over the menu to the drinks side. “Surprise me,” she said flatly.
        He took the menus and gingerly retreated into the restaurant. Fluttershy began buttering a slice of bread. “So, uhm, how was your day?”
        “It’s been absolutely dreadful, the worst day I’ve had in months. Absolutely everything has been horrid. I woke up late for breakfast, missed lunch, canceled my spa appointment with you, got trapped with Pinkie Pie for what felt like hours, and to top it all off I’ve been feeling sick and achy all day long,” belted Rarity dramatically putting a hoof to her face, she opened one eye. “I’m sorry for venting on you like this, Fluttershy.”
        Her yellow friend was slowly chewing her slice of bread. The thought of food sent her stomach back into pangs of hunger again. Fluttershy swallowed. “It’s okay. Sweetie Belle dropped by my cottage earlier, she told me you looked ill.”
        “Looked? I know I look absolutely appalling DON’T SHAKE YOUR HEAD!” shrieked Rarity a little too loudly. Some other ponies were looking over in concern. “Sorry, I’m just frazzled today…”
        Fluttershy put a hoof over her friend’s foreleg. Rarity shivered at her touch. “I’m really worried about you now. I mean, we all got into trouble yesterday with that trip to the Ursa’s cave Twilight took us on. I thought you were the only one that got away unscathed. Applejack got released this morning, by the way.”
        “That’s good news. When I heard she got a concussion I was so upset,” she replied softly. “I wish I was there to help you girls. When the floor gave way I got lost in the tunnels and couldn’t find my way out. Something leapt at me in the darkness but I kicked it off. Don’t fuss, it was barely a scrape. I heard the mess upstairs, though. How many goblins were there?”
    “There were a lot, Rarity. Rainbow Dash said there were at least two-dozen. Whatever treasure the Ursa Major left behind must have been very valuable for all the goblins it attracted.”
        The waiter returned with their orders ready. He placed Fluttershy’s humble order on the table after delivering Rarity’s extravagantly prepared salad. A bubbly liquid sloshed into her glass from a dark green bottle. Possibly champagne. It was clear that some strings were being pulled for her.
        “Um…pardon me,” piped up Fluttershy to the retreating waiter. “It seems you poured me some sort of grape drink. Could I have my strawberry juice please?”
 “Terribly sorry madame. A thousand apologies. The kitchen is quite a mess right now. Our esteemed guests from out of town are quite…rowdy. I shall return momentarily with your correct drink.” The waiter picked up her glass, trotting to the restaurant door.
        “Looks delicious, doesn’t it Rarity?” offered Fluttershy, taking a bite of her toasted wrap.
        “Yes. It’s my absolute favorite dish,” said Rarity brightly, using her horn to levitate her fork. She poked it through a particularly crisp piece of lettuce covered in dressing and taking a bite…
        Rarity nearly spat it out her mouth. It tasted horrible. The expression on her face must have been very noticeable. Fluttershy looked up at her with worry in her big teal eyes.
        “Um… how is your salad? Rarity?”
        “It’s quite alright, dear, it’s…delectable,” lied Rarity through gritted teeth. It felt like she was chewing glass. Dirty glass. “Oh would you look at that sky? The sun’s finally setting.”
        Fluttershy turned her head to glance at the horizon, giving Rarity the opportunity to turn and spit the slightly chewed leaf on to the floor. She looked up to see the waiter.
        “If anything is not to your liking, please let us know so we can provide the best possible service,” said the waiter with obvious disgust in his voice. He turned to Fluttershy, placing the glass on the table. “Here is your drink, Madame.”
        Rarity’s heart stopped. Her eyes longingly followed the ruby red glass of juice to the table. It looked delicious. The dying sun caught the glass in the light, illuminating it like a glittering jewel. Fluttershy gave it a sip, and nodded approvingly to the maître d'.
        “Waiter! May I have a glass of that? Please?” begged Rarity with her eyes still fixated on Fluttershy’s cup.
        The waiter said something like yes and poured her a fresh glass of juice from the beaker. He was a bit taken aback when she immediately guzzled it down.
        “Another…if you would be so kind.”
        The waiter poured her another glass, and when she drank that poured her one more. The sound of breaking dishes and a heated argument suddenly erupted from inside the restaurant.
        “Those accursed rams,” he spat, setting the beaker down. “Pardon me, ladies.”
        Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth as she watched the waiter step inside the restaurant. She turned back to Rarity, who was fervently pouring another drink.
        “Wow…you really, um, like that a lot, don’t you?” Fluttershy said uneasily as Rarity downed that glass too. “What about your salad is it-?”
        “It isn’t enough!” she fumed, smashing the glass into pieces onto the ground. Fluttershy gasped as Rarity threw her head in her hooves, screaming into them in frustration.
        “You… you aren’t okay at all, are you, Rarity?” whispered Fluttershy, sliding her wrap to the side. She leaned forwards across the table. Rarity abruptly pulled her face up from her hooves.
         “Fillies’ room!” she cried, bolting into the restaurant, past the small lobby, past the waiter, past the bar, past the bar-fight, though the bathroom door and into the stall where her insides painted the porcelain bowl crimson. She vomited, tapping the handle. She saw the several cups of strawberry juice swirl down that hole. There wasn’t much in her stomach to lose, so she exited the lavatory in a daze. She blinked and found herself seated in front of Fluttershy once more.
        “You didn’t, um, I suppose you don’t feel any better from the bathroom?” asked Fluttershy. At this point Rarity didn’t even feel the energy to speak. She only lowered her head in a half-hearted attempt at a nod. The food she loved sat untouched in front of her, taunting her. She couldn’t bring herself to eat it.
        “You should get bed rest immediately if you’re getting sick to your stomach!” exclaimed Fluttershy. “Or even a doctor, if it’s getting this bad.”
        “Nononono! I couldn’t possibly bother a physician at this hour,” said Rarity, pulling a grin onto her face. Fluttershy gave her a look, prompting her to strain her face wider. She really didn’t want to go to the doctor’s.
        Fluttershy peered at Rarity intensely, finally pulling her head back. “Your teeth seem messed up. Are you sure you didn’t get injured yesterday?”
        “What’s the matter with my teeth?” asked Rarity fretfully, using her tongue to slide over each tooth one by one, feeling around for what her friend meant.
        Fluttershy shifted in her seat “It looks to me like two of them are loose in your mouth. As if they’re just hanging there. I’m no dentist but you should, um, get that looked at immediately, I think.”
        Her teeth weren’t broken. The canines had grown longer. As she slid her tongue back and forth she could feel the difference in length. It was startling.
        “Take your meal to go, Madame?”
        The two ponies turned to see their quite disheveled-looking) waiter standing next to them. His waistcoat was torn and he wore a black eye with his matching black tie. “Unfortunately I’m going to insist on that we’re closing early for the evening. I cannot apologize enough,  so tonight’s meal is on us,  as well as your next visit.” He deftly slid the salad into a styrofoam container and put it into a neat labeled baggie.
        Fluttershy frowned. “Well…okay then. That’s nice of you.” She got to her hooves, turning to Rarity. “I still insist that you seek medical attention but I can’t make you go. Please get home immediately and get some bed-rest okay? Promise?”
        “Yes,” Rarity took the doggie bag in her mouth. “I promise.”


***


         The walk home wasn’t as bad as she anticipated. The cool night air actually made her feel better. Her stomach wasn’t doing flip-flops anymore, but that ravenous hunger still gnawed at her insides. Rarity still felt incredibly drained despite her short day of not really doing anything.
        She pushed open the door to her shop, magically holding the copper bell still so as not to wake anyone inside. Rarity trotted over to Opalescence’s porcelain food dish, filling it to the brim.
        “Opaaal, here kitty kitty. Time for din-din…” whispered Rarity, looking around for her cat. There she was on the windowsill, curled in a tight white little ball. Rarity trotted over to her sleeping cat.
        “HSSSSSSSSSSSSS!”
        Rarity took a step backwards. The very awake Opalescence hissed at her loudly, backing into the window a little.
        “What has gotten into you tonight?” tittered Rarity. “I only go out and purchase the very best feline cuisine for you…”
        Opal hissed again, darting from the windowsill, underneath a rack of clothing. Rarity shook her head as she set the cake and doggie bag on the counter before climbing upstairs. She looked around her bedroom, then the guest bedroom. Sweetie Belle was in neither. Rarity chewed her lip.
        “I hope you’re not sleeping over somewhere,” she mumbled to herself. Rarity pushed open the door to her stitching room and smiled. Curled up near a patchwork quilt next to the window was her little sister. She walked over and inspected the blanket. It was a mish-mash of poorly-chosen colors with split seams cropping up in various spots on the quilt. There were three purple letters etched onto it, the first three of Rarity’s name. The ‘R’ was backwards, but that didn’t bother her that much. It was the thought that counts.
        She pulled the warm blanket over Sweetie Belle before snuggling up next to her. Rarity had to admire her little sister. They shared the same snow-white coat, but Sweetie had her mother’s fluffy hair and green eyes. In the pale moonlight her coat was practically glowing. Rarity tousled the curly purple locks in her hair before dragging her hoof down past her ears and jaw. With her hoof resting on her sister’s creamy neck, she could feel the steady rhythm of her pulse beating beneath the skin. Her own was quickening, too. Rarity gave her a little goodnight kiss on the nape. Then another. Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest as her hoof massaged her sisters’ throat on its own accord. She carefully opened her mouth before setting it around the base of Sweetie Belle’s neck.
        “What?” Rarity suddenly leapt back, tripping over the quilt onto the floor. She crawled to the far corner of the room, furthest away from her sister. “What was-? What am I-? Did I just?”
        The words weren’t there. Rarity turned to the door, making a beeline for her bed. She dived under the covers shaking at what she almost did. Biting her sister’s throat? What was that going to accomplish? What twisted impulse drove her to attempt that? She shuddered violently burying her face in the pillowcase.
        “Just go to sleep, Rarity, you’ll figure this out in the morning,” she said into her downy pillow. Short seconds ticked into long minutes. Her usual methods of inducing sleep weren’t working. After the four hundredth leaping sheep she gave up counting to continue staring into her pillowcase. Her mind kept on drifting to Sweetie Belle curled up in the other room. Uncomfortable thoughts clouded her head. Rarity squirmed.
        “I need to get out of here!” she exclaimed, jumping to her bedroom door. She flew down the steps, not even bothering to check the door locks. “Doctor’s… probably closed… what am I going to do…?”
        Rarity stopped short at her doorway. The solution came to her clearly. If there was one pony that could help her at this hour, it would be Twilight Sparkle. A gigantic library must have the solution to whatever was happening to her. She rubbed her forehead before stepping outside.


***


        Her ivory hoof reached for the library door, then pulled away, before reaching for it again. This should have been an easy decision, but Rarity wasn’t sure whether to knock at this hour. She nervously pushed the door to discover that it was unlocked. With some trepidation, she entered the building. There was no breaking involved, so she didn’t feel too bad about entering.
        “Okay, Rarity, just wake her up and explain the whole thing,” she spoke aloud to herself. She ascended the staircase to Twilight’s room. Being extra careful, she stepped around Spike sleeping inside his thatched basket. She walked up to the bed. For some reason, Twilight slept with her pillow over her face. 
        Rarity poked the sleeping unicorn in the side. “Pssst. Twilight. Wake up. I need your help.”
        Twilight didn’t budge. Rarity frowned. “Twilight, get up,” she whispered poking her again. The purple unicorn murmured in her sleep, turning to her side. The pillow slid off her face. Rarity gasped.
        There were a fair number of bandages on Twilights head. Those goblins really did a number on her while Rarity was separated. In her sleep one of them had scraped off, revealing a fresh wound on her neck with a scab missing. There was a small amount of blood oozing from it. Rarity’s eyes focused on that. It pooled a little before trailing down her light purple coat and dripping onto the bed. Her stomach roared as her eyes danced around that trail of blood. Rarity felt whistling in her ears as her whole body tensed up. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes as the last ounce of her willpower fizzed away. She was so hungry. Desperately hungry. Drips of saliva pattered on the bedsheets as she lowered her head, clamping her mouth around Twilights neck.
        Fiery hot liquid poured into her mouth as her fangs broke the skin around Twilight’s throat. Rarity closed her eyes beginning to drink the blood seeping into her mouth. Her mind went blank as the thick, pleasurable liquid began flowing down her throat. It tasted so good. So unbelievably good. Much better than the thin watery strawberry juice from before.
        She began taking in greedier gulps, massaging Twilights neck with a hoof to encourage a stronger flow. Blood dribbled from the corners of her mouth as she swallowed more of her friend’s crimson juice. Her vigor was returning as bouts of fresh energy quivered through her entire body. Rarity moaned in delight, breathing through her nose in short pants. After long minutes, she released her neck from her mouth, throwing her head back in a satisfied sigh before slumping against the windowsill in hazy elation of finally fulfilling the relentless craving her body had been wracked with all day long.
        Rarity sat there lost in that full feeling for a moment, rounded belly making quiet sloshing noises. She eventually cast her gaze back to the mattress. Twilight continued sleeping peacefully on the bed. She jumped up with a look of horror on her face.
        “Oh no. No. No no no. What have I done?” exclaimed Rarity looking at her stained hooves in sudden panic. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why did I do that? I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want to!”
        Her apologies meant nothing. Rarity knew what she’d done. She’d given in to the bloodlust, committing the deed that she’d nearly wrought upon her own kin not twenty minutes earlier. This was just as bad, if not worse. Drinking the blood from one of her best friends like some primordial beast. She rushed out of the library, her hooves noiselessly hitting the floor beneath her as more tears pooled at her eyes. She had no choice now but to run, she couldn’t put anypony else at risk. She couldn’t put her sister in jeopardy again.

Rarity exited the library. She made for the forest.


For the cave.

> Discovery in the Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
“FOURTEEN! Your number is up!”
        Spike jerked his head up from his chest, wiping away the drool at his mouth. That promise he made earlier to stay awake through the whole ordeal was broken and now he felt mad at his inability to keep his eyes open under such important circumstances. Hopping off his chair, he toddled over to the window, slipping his small square ticket under the plastic barrier.
        “Fourteen here. Can I please go see her now?” he pleaded looking up to Nurse Redheart with wide open eyes. Swiveling her head, she delivered a short series of questions to a figure behind her before opening the door to let the little purple dragon down the hallway.
        “How is she, nurse? Have they fixed what’s wrong with her yet? What made her get so sick overnight? When did the doc-”
        The nurse shushed him nicely as possible “I’m afraid I don’t have any of those answers for you Spike. I’m not really privy to that information. The doctor will more than likely have answers for you.” Pushing open the door, she motioned for Spike to enter before letting it quietly swing shut.
        The doctor standing over the bed looked just as weary as Spike. Toiling round the clock to figure out precisely what illness had stricken the young purple filly warranted his appearance two hours before the crack of dawn. It was around brunch when he got his patient stabilized, and mid-afternoon when he pinpointed the disease addling the pony lying supine in the stretcher before him. He’d heard the barrage of questions delivered to his nurse from the hallway, so he immediately stopped him before that could start up again.
        “Spike, I understand that you’re under a great deal of stress right now. So much so you were practically stumbling over your words this morning when you brought your friend all the way here under your own power.”
        The little dragon’s green eyes lit up slightly. Adrenaline had been the savior of many situations that summoned inner strength to help a friend in need. Twilight Sparkle was much heavier him. He was certain that this was the first time he had to carry her around.
        The doctor smiled and continued, “I’m going to ask you to please recount the events leading up to the moment you left the library. After you do, I can likely confirm the ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ parts to your questions. The ‘who’ and ‘why’ will be something far beyond my medical investigations. So…begin, Spike, tell me what happened.”
        Spike nodded, taking a deep breath as the events that conspired this morning flowed back from memory…
        
                                        ***
        
        “Urrrgh….Spiiiike…”
                Spike stirred, not especially happy to slip out of his half-formed dream atop his mountain of multi-colored gems. He burrowed further into his blue blanket. “Whaddya want, Twi? It’s waaay too early….you know we aren’t changing any seasons today, dont’cha?”
        “I know that,” retorted his superior. “Spike I feel…like being up so just roll yourself out of bed and brew some tea with breakfast like you usually do for me.”
        This was his bedtime; breakfast was something Twilight ate during the morning when the sun went up. Her alarm was the warm streams of light pouring through the window. It was still pitch black outside. Spike didn’t budge.
        “Pleeeeeaaase Spike?”
        “Fine,” he finally said jumping out of his comfy bed. “I’ll start cookin’ for ya. Come downstairs when you smell it, okay?”
        He heard a short, happy sigh behind him as he begrudgingly descended downstairs “Thank you. You’re the best!”
        Cooking was something he’d gotten good at fast, working for Twilight. He had started out sloppy , but soon he’d really gotten the hang of it,  thanks to practice coupled with helpful cookbooks. He wasn’t super creative like Pinkie Pie, with her amazing ability to combine ingredients to produce sometimes weird, but mostly incredible dishes for her friends. Another reason he enjoyed cooking too, was that great feeling of satisfaction knowing he made someone else happy. He whistled a little tune pouring the batter into the waffle maker before blowing green flame inside. In a matter of minutes he had a stack of blueberry-nutmeg waffles and a small cup of minty herbal tea set on the small table. 
        “Smells good, Spike, oh I’m being so unsupportive it always smells delicious,” complimented Twilight, slowly descending the stairs. “I bought some fresh refined quartz for you last weekend that I’d forgotten about. It’s in a baggie above the sink cupboard. Help yourself!”
        Spike squealed a not very boyish squeal, darting into the kitchen. He loved quartz, especially when it was refined. Any kind of gemstones were great but getting hold of good clean crispy quartz was impossible around Ponyville. Wolfing down two divots,  he turned back into the kitchen.
        “Aw thanks so much, Twilight,  this is really cool of you to….Twilight? Is something wrong with the food?”
        The triple stack of waffles sat untouched, still steaming in front of her. Perhaps it was the dimness of early morning but Twilight didn’t look right to him. Mane and hair were rightfully frizzled from bed head, but the fringe above her forehead was damp, glued to her brow with sweat. When she turned to look at him, her purple eyes had lost their usual gleam too.
        “Nothing’s wrong Spike I just don’t…feel like eating I guess,” she muttered weakly.
        “Uh-uh. No way. My waffles are always awesome. ‘Sides you didn’t even take a bite yet so how would you even know?”
        Twilight looked at him glumly, beads of sweat rolling off her nose and onto the table “I’m sorry. I thought I would be hungry as usual but I-”
        “OH!” Spike bolted into the kitchen to a small drawer. “Dumb Spike, how could you forget the jam?” he mumbled, grabbing at a jar. With a butter knife in hand  he hopped back over to the table.
        “Don’t panic,  Twilight! I’ve got this breakfast under control,” assured Spike,  slathering a fair amount of strawberry jam onto the toasted stack of waffles. 
        “I…I think that’s what was missing!” she said with a little smile growing on her face. “Thanks a billion, Spike! You saved breakfast!”
        He laughed, taking a bite of the crunchy quartz, “Glad I could help!”
        Quartz was really the tastiest mineral of them all, although he hadn’t actually sampled every kind of crystal. It was something Spike ate slowly to savor that airy flavor. He was practically dainty compared to Twilight, who was eagerly tearing into those waffles. Specks of gooey red jam flecked on the tablecloth and the glass of untouched tea and were even smattering on her face and hair. The quartz fell away from his mouth as he stared in abject wonder at how much energy Twilight was putting into eating those waffles.
        “Wow….I uh. Do you want me to make more?” asked Spike, watching Twilight drag her tongue around the plate, literally licking it clean.
        Twilight furrowed her brow at him, taking Spike by surprise. That instant ‘yes’ he presumed did not happen.“I think I’m done…”
        Collecting her plate and still- full glass, he toddled over to the sink. The nutmeg was something new he’d added today. He had to make some for Pinkie so she could see how good they were.
                “HHHURRMPFFFFF”
        Spike dropped the plate into the sink and turned around. Twilight had a hoof shoved in her mouth. Her cheeks were swollen, eyes twitching.
        “Are you feeling all right?” Spike asked at last, slowly walking back to the table.
        Twilight shook her head feebly. She lurched forwards on the table; her cheeks swelling bigger before pulling her hoof away to vomit her breakfast onto the table.
        Spike yelped, dashing over to the table to pull Twilights’ purple mane away from her face. She’d been sick like this twice before so he knew what to do when her stomach rebelled against her. The rest of her breakfast continued sliding out of her throat onto the table in a gooey pile of chunks and bile. Twilight heaved, coughing up spittle as her retching slowed to a dribble.
        “I’m…sorry,” apologized Twilight softly as Spike released his grip, letting her frizzy hair fall back into place. “I’m so so sorry I….”
        “Hey, it’s no biggie! Really!” he said with a sincere smile. “It’s stuff that happens. I’m not mad at you and you’ve got nothin’ to be sorry about. It was probably too much nutmeg…”
        Spike gave her a tight hug. Hugs always made him feel better when he was ill. Now pulling away from her he knew for sure it wasn’t his food that made her sick.
        “Holy smokes Twilight! You’re burning up!” he placed a claw to her sweaty forehead, feeling a temperature high enough that he knew a thermometer was not necessary.
        “R-really?” she sputtered in response sitting back in her chair. “I don’t feel hot, though, I feel….cold.”
        He jumped off the chair he’d been standing on, nudging her back up. “C’mon, we’re going to Pony General right now,” he said firmly, walking to the front door. He heard gentle hoofsteps behind him while opening the door.
        “Let’s go I-TWILIGHT!” he shouted in shock. The unicorn had fainted halfway to the door, her head making a loud slamming sound on the library floor. “I gotcha, Twilight. Please don’t be dead! We can get to the hospital! I’ll get ya to the hospital!
        With strength he didn’t know he possessed, he lifted the clammy unicorn above his head, resting her chest on his shoulder. Her legs were dragging beneath him and he was feeling the strain on his upper body, but her shallow panting on his scales spurred him outside in a steady pace. Her eyes weren’t quite closed, but they were rolled back into head a little, unfocused. He had his own dead-set on the squattish building in the distance. Taking a deep breath, he started that long march to the hospital.




***


       “ …and that’s everything that happened this morning, Doc,” concluded Spike softly, twisting his tail in his claws. He’d replayed the events in his head a hundred times over. Speaking them out loud was more difficult than he imagined. 
        The doctor pulled his light-silver eyes away from the reference book he found earlier. No longer a hunch, he had to admit to himself and the little dragon exactly what had befallen young Twilight Sparkle. The evidence was simply overwhelming. He shot a grave stare at the sleeping filly on the stretcher before turning to Spike.
        “I’m afraid that your friend here…is suffering from Porphyric Hemophilia,” he finally announced.
        “That’s terrible! Oh gosh! Oh my gosh….what is that?”
        Really, he should have been expecting that response. “It’s a blood disease. Highly contagious. Highly infectious. Caught in the early stages, the virus can be stopped before it takes complete hold of the victim which-”
        “So what’s that mean?” he interrupted again, leaning forwards on his chair. “She can be cured?”
        Exhaling the deep breath he’d been holding in, the doctor said “No. The virus has been replicating inside of her for too long. The antidote would be useless against her. There’s nothing I can do to cure her. I’m sorry Spike.”
        He trotted past the little dragon, who was trying to hold in his sniffles. Opening the nearby closet, he dug around the back, looking for a pair of heavy magical restraints he’d found stowed in there when he first took over the clinic. He’d never thought he’d need them now. Finding them, he tugged them out of the closet, dragging them over to the bedside.
        “Spike?” he questioned the dragon, who was still quietly sitting with his tail clutched in his claws. Tears were openly streaming down his face now.
        “Spike,” repeated the doctor. “I’m not being…entirely clear with you on Twilight’s condition. She isn’t going to die.”
        The little dragon turned towards him and hiccupped in response. "W-what?"
        “Twilight Sparkle will not be dying anytime soon,” continued the doctor. He took his patient’s limp hoof, tying one chain to her and locking it to a latch on the floor.
        “I d-d-don’t understand, Doc…”
        Saying this aloud was going to be troubling. It was unheard of around Equestria this day and age. He motioned to Spike to come closer to the bedside, pointing a hoof to her neck.
        “Sometime between last night and this morning your friend was feasted upon by a vampire,” he finally said, admitting the words he thought he’d never had to utter. “A direct bite and subsequent draining of the neck spurs the transformation from normal equine to vampire twice as quickly as a contact wound.”
        “V-vampires?” stuttered Spike, brushing aside Twilight’s mane. There were two small holes on her neck he’d missed earlier. They blended into her coat very well. Barely visible to the naked eye. “I thought v-vampires were an old mare’s-”
        “-tale yes I know,” finished the doctor, turning his attention to her other purple hoof. “It’s not. It’s the result of prolonged exposure to a blood disease. A disease like any other. A disease thought extinct here centuries ago.”
        He clasped Twilight’s other hoof in chain, latching it to the other side of the floor. Very carefully he slipped a small matching pewter cap over the length of her horn. “Growing allergies to garlic, silver, sunlight, cold sweats, fatigue during the day, aversion to solid food, forced bodily rejection of ingested food…it all fits. Your young friend isn’t under any sedatives. She’s in a deep sleep because that’s how vampires are. They slumber during daylight hours and are typically active from dusk till dawn.”
        Movies and books always taught Spike that vampires were a myth. Something grouped alongside zombies or aliens. Now this doctor was telling him that Twilight was bitten by one, and was well on her way to becoming one too? He was speechless. The doctor resumed speaking.
        “What I can do in the meantime is keep her here. I can’t tell you how she’ll act when she wakes up at dusk. By that time she shall be fully transformed and under the effects of vampirism. These engraved chains will hold her for…I don’t know how long. I’m aware that she’s a quite powerful unicorn. With the added strengths of vampirism coupled with her need to satiate her bloodlust, I fear she will be quite difficult to stop if she does choose to escape.”
        Spike leaned forward on the bed. Twilight was sleeping so peacefully, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm under the plain white bedsheets. Yet the doctor had clasped the slim unicorn in special enchanted chains. He took out a pen, slipping it under Twilights upper lips and pulled it upwards.
        “Holy guacamole! She….she has fangs,” whispered Spike when he saw the curved teeth growing from her upper jaw. The doctor removed his pen; Spike could still see the white tips of the long fangs poking out from her mouth.
        “Now…for the hard questions,” the doctor faced Spike with a notepad out. “Do you have the slightest idea how this could have happened?”
        “Uh……….no, not really.”
                “Dig up any graves recently?”
        “Gross….no.”
                “Experiment with any black magic?”
        “Not in that library, nope.”
                “Perform untested alchemy of any kind?”
        “Not sure what that is, so,  no.”
                “Survey any dark, cool roosting grounds such as a cellar, mine, cave, or quarry?”
        Spike stopped shaking his head there. “Did you say cave?”


***


        The Ursas’ den was as intimidating as Rarity remembered, being so large while at the same time reminding her how closed in she was. Exile was something she’d always pictured as something far up north near the Applachians huddled in a log cabin where she would drink unfiltered spring water and eat minty pine flavored meals. Despite wanting to change course, she found herself drawn back to the cave. She hoped there would be be answers here as to what was happening to her and why she was doing the things she’d done.
        “If any of you goblins are still here, you can expect no sympathy for me!” she said aloud to nobody in particular. Saying it did boost her confidence a little. Perhaps she could find a way to return to normalcy from this situation she’d been swallowed up in. She had been trotting through the cave for hours now, being way beyond the outer den where the star bears had rested. For a dark cave with no sunlight peeking in, there were no worries about bumping into things. She was navigating quite well for herself, taking note of broken stalactites or odd crops of rock to ensure that, if need be, there would be a way to escape. She felt no aching from her shoulders or legs either despite the long walk. Rarity’s trip through the winding tunnels of this cave had expended her energy reserves,  though. Twenty minutes ago she was feeling peckish. Now her stomach was growling loudly every few steps.
         “Mmm…what a way to go,” she mused to herself, “starvation….alone and forgotten in some musty old cave on the outskirts of town. Well I suppose you do deserve it, Rarity, you shall waste away as an anonymous monster.”
        With a very theatrical motion, she slumped forwards onto the ground, not even minding the dirt she was stirring up. Pointless now was the idea of keeping up appearances if her only witnesses to death were the brown bats snoozing above her. Shutting her eyes, she let her head slide to the cold cave floor, waiting in the silence for her slow demise to come.
       Her ears perked up. “What’s that?” There was an unfamiliar sound echoing far up ahead. She strained to listen. It repeated! A little softer, but there was a clinking noise. Rarity stood on shaky legs, then went to continue further down the tunnel, trying to keep her breathing in check.
        The room the tunnel led to was not like any previous one. It looked to have been slightly excavated, the vaulted ceiling being larger and dome -shaped in appearance. Luminescent mushrooms grew from patches of soil in various spots, casting long green shadows. Several large boulders were clumped in the far rear of the room near a clear pool of water that had its source dripping down into it with quiet plinking noises. Rarity took all this in before her eyes narrowed to focus on the animal in the center of the room.
        It was a ram. One of the rams she’d passed by on her mad dash to the bathroom yesterday evening in the restaurant. Its stubby legs were bound in rusted iron chain. 
        “Oh my stars! Are you okay, sir? What am I saying of course you’re not okay let me get you out of there!” she exclaimed, running over to him. The ram muffled a response, beady amber eyes bulging out of his pugnacious face. Rarity removed the gag from his mouth.
        “Up yours, lady!” he bleated angrily. He attempted a sort of head butt before falling forwards off his hooves. The fat ram rolled a little before ending upside down.
        Rarity was less than pleased at his attitude. “Excuse me, but I am attempting a rescue. Assuming you want to be hog-tied in this ghastly environment then by all means if you continue this rudeness-”
        The ram spat in her face. Rarity recoiled, the saliva dripping down her cheek. Shaking with fury, she wiped it off with her hooves. “WHAT is your PROBLEM!?”
                “He knows what’s coming,” boomed an unseen voice.
        Rarity screamed, looking for the source of the voice. Cold laughter echoed off the walls.
                “Be still, unicorn. Does your stomach not ache from your journey? Does your throat not crack from being so dry?” the deep voice continued, echoing all around her.
        “Wha-What do you want from me! Who is that?!” Rarity replied with her azure eyes still darting around the bleak room. “Also, my bodily functions are my own business, thank you very much!” It was impossible to pinpoint exactly where the voice was coming from.
                “It’s what you want. What you need. Do not deny what your body demands,” said the voice, taking a much smoother tone. “If you drop from exhaustion, how could you find time to learn about what’s happening to you?”
        Tongue caught in her throat, she glanced back to the ram struggling on the ground behind her.
        “So please, drink your fill so that we may talk. Our silence will resume until you are finished,” concluded the voice. All the hushed chatter going on behind the rocks vanished instantly. It was just chain scraping against rock and the pounding heartbeat in her ears now.
        Rarity trotted back over to the ram. The gag had been replaced in his mouth, and his amber eyes stared up at her as if pleading for her mercy. She locked eyes with him. “I’m sorry I have to do this to you. This…is something I must clear up.”
        So Rarity moved closer. The ram redoubled his struggling.
        “Please don’t make this any more difficult. If there was any other option I would take it,” her mouth was beginning to water. The word ‘drink’ echoed in her mind over and over again. The ram was twisting wildly now, looking at her in a mixture of boiling rage and fear.
        “Stop fidgeting so much, will you,” she commanded. The ram went limp. His head rolled backwards, neck fully displayed. Rarity felt less remorse for what she was about to do now. Partly because she had no ties to this victim. Mostly because he had spat in her face. Lowering her head, she opened her mouth widely to clamp down on his large neck. The thick, hot liquid flowed in her mouth, and Rarity began to drink deeply, her mind again going blank as she gave herself up to the pleasurable taste of his blood gushing into her mouth.

        Up high, behind the three largest boulders, the owner of the booming voice was cracking a smile.
        “You see that, Morsemere? How quickly he was subdued? The look of ecstasy crossing her lips as she feeds? Of the six that entered, this pony was the true prize. Ravishing beauty, intelligence, willing to reason, willing to feast,” he licked his lips. “At first I thought her suitable. I know she will make a perfect queen.”
        Morsemere peered over the rock. The white pony remained fixated at the throat of the fat ram he had stolen from the tail end of its herd last night. 
        “She’s not completely turned, Jo’sun,” he finally said. “Your queen has fed only twice now, according to Valerie.”
        “I have in mind already the third meal for her,” he grinned with confidence in his voice. “In due time she will be fully turned, as would the first victim she fed upon. I expect to see her soon enough as well.” Rarity had removed her mouth from the ram, sitting patiently on the ground as instructed.



***


                “Yer yankin’ my tail here Spike. Vampires? Ya’ll can’t think of a less, I dunno, impossible di-agnosis?”
        Applejack was sitting in the lobby of Pony General with Pinkie Pie and Spike. The doctor had prescribed her bed rest if she wanted the throbbing in her head to go away, so she’d taken the day off work. Now here she was stuck in the hospital again, being told her friend was turning into some kind of fantastical monster.
                “It’s all true! The doctor said so! I saw proof!”
        “Proof?” snorted Applejack “I’d take any ‘proof’ from that ol’ quack with a grain of salt. I came ‘round here after a chili eatin’ contest once ‘cause I had stomach problems,” she gave Pinkie a knowing look, who turned away to hide her giggling, “he gone an’ said I was three months preggers. What a load a’ hooey!”
        Pinkie Pie patted Spike on the head “Don’t feel bad, Spike. Applejack here is just being a grumpy grump pants because she got her head hurt. I believe you completely!”
        Applejack just sighed in defeat. No sense in stirring up a senseless argument with Pinkie now. “Ya’ll told Rainbow Dash to get the other two, right?” she asked absent-mindedly , rubbing at her eyes.
        “Dashie should be here any minute! Or longer because sometimes Fluttershy is a bit of a slowpony,” she replied, propping a hoof under her chin.
        The door to the infirmary swung open with a bang as a multicolored blur sped through. A not so blurry yellow-pink pony drifted in right behind her.
        “Criminy! Dash, can’t ya avoid makin’ your grand entrances for just a day? It’s really none too difficult to jus’ open the door with your hoof,” scolded Applejack as Dash pulled herself off the mess of chairs she’d crashed into.
        “Keep your hat on, AJ. Nopony got hurt,” buffered Dash, removing a splintered piece of chair from her left wing. 
        “Um, actually Rainbow Dash, I would say you and Applejack were the most hurt…” interjected Fluttershy before hiding behind her pink hair.
        As bad as Applejacks concussion was, it was Rainbow Dash who had ended up looking the worst off. She had many blue bandages covering her face, forelegs and chest. Dash had valiantly charged the goblins head-on. Punching, kicking, tossing them in the air, and generally raising all hell inside the cave. Two black eyes weren’t something that could be bandaged, but Dash wore them proudly, boasting to everyone who’d listen about how she took on an entire goblin horde.
        “Before you ask, I went to check Rarity’s place. She’s not home and I’m not gonna go check every store in town cuz she might be shopping,” Dash casually flipped her hair away from her face, “So we’ll poke around later for her.”
        Applejack frowned again; she was doing that a lot lately. “Well I can’t hold it against ya’ll for goin’ outta your way to check the Boutique. Although she really should be ‘round town somewhere…girl doesn’t exactly blend with the crowd ya know.”
        “Attention everypony!” cried out Nurse Redheart from the counter. “Could you all please walk through the door in an orderly fashion? The doctor will see you now. Your friend is awake.”


***


                “It’s cold.”
        The doctor shifted on his hooves. “You know very well that has to be kept on ice for preservation reasons. I’m sorry, but that’s the best I can do for you.”
                “Try to do better for me.”
        “You’re aware it’s not easy to just get this for you, right?”
                “This is hard to get in the town hospital? That’s a good one.”
        There were hoofsteps behind him in the hallway. He was relived a little, knowing that he wouldn’t be alone in the room with the unicorn. Even with his back turned he could feel her gaze boring into him. The door swung open and a small troop of ponies filed inside, lining up next to each other across the room.
        “Hiya there!” bubbled Pinkie Pie. “How ya feeling, Twilight?”
        Twilight was quietly sipping from a little blue cup in her stretcher. “Hungry.”
        “Ya’ll…definitely don’t look yourself today, Sugarcube,” Applejack said with mild concern in her voice, “Didja hear your diagnosis ye-”
        “What’s wrong with your coat? Also why are you in shackles?” interrupted Dash, not waiting for Applejack to finish.
        That was the most striking visual change for Twilight since Spike had last seen her a few hours ago. Her once grape, purple coat had paled into a much lighter shade of lavender. If not for the stripes in her hair she could have passed as a spitting image of her own mother. Spike’s eyes were focusing on Twilight’s mouth. Every few words she spoke, he could see her white vampire fangs poking past her lips.
        “I heard my diagnosis,” Twilight said flatly with her eyes on Applejack. They dragged over to Dash, “There’s nothing wrong with my coat, Rainbow Dash.”
        “Well sorry geez Twi I’m just askin’ ya don’t gotta be so snappy about it,” replied Dash irritably, ruffling her feathers.
        “So…ummm,” Spike was feeling nervous. Twilight was alive! He should be happy even if she was a vampire. He was forgetting his question. Pinkie already asked how she was feeling. Twilight continued sipping from her cup, “sooo….what do you think of the situation you’re in?”
        The room was filled with the loud sound of a straw sucking air. The blue cup was empty. Twilight turned to the doctor.
        “May I have some more please?” she asked with feigned politeness. The doctor took the cup in silence, being sure to not look into those reddening eyes as he left the room. The pupils had begun to narrow into thin slits.
        Rainbow Dash was through with this nonsense, “Alright, somepony give me answers right now, because aside from Twilight acting weird ,she looks fine to me.”
        Spike started explaining, but Twilight waved a dismissive hoof at him, clearing her throat loudly. “Last night while I was asleep in my library, a vampire stopped by and had me for dinner-"
        “A vampire!?” interrupted Dash again, “What a load of horse-”
        “SHHHHHHHHHH!” went the voices in the room. Twilight continued:
        “-when I woke up I was sick from the virus and woozy from loss of blood. I was achy, tired, and I threw up my breakfast before fainting. Spike took me to this hospital where due to a completely inexcusable lack of knowledge regarding my condition, the disease festered inside of me until I passed the point of no return. Now…I am a vampire.”
        The door behind them creaked open on squeaky hinges. The doctor returned, holding the blue cup gingerly by the handle in his mouth. The two Pegasi flinched, suddenly aware of exactly what was in that blue cup. He walked over to Twilight placing it in front of her. She took one look inside and leered at him.
        “This cup is half-empty.”
                “Don’t be so pessimistic, it’s half-full. A little more so I believe.”
        “I don’t want a half-full cup,” she specified, “Give me a full cup.”
                “Afraid I can’t have that, since we’re running low on reserves.”
        “So you go run up some donations. I am hungry,” hissed Twilight, pointing a hoof at him, chains clanking noisily at the sudden movement.
                The doctor didn’t move, “You won’t be getting any more, Missy. Not tonight.”
        “Why deny me it, anyway?! I don’t care if it’s cold anymore! It’s making your patient feel better!” she protested, her voice rising in volume.
                “That…is why I am cutting you off,” he said quietly.
        Twilight’s face contorted in anger. Throwing her head back, she screamed, pulling hard at the restraints clasped to her hooves. The chains creaked and squealed from the pressure. The floorboards around the latches splintered, bits of wood flying upwards. Her friends gasped at the outburst and the doctor herded them out of the room.


***


        “Land sakes! Did ya’ll see them chains splinterin’ like they were nothin’? I can’t believe what I just saw!” stammered Applejack out in the lobby. They were all shaken up from what they’d seen of Twilight. 
        “They’ll hold. I can promise you that,” assured the doctor, wheeling out some cups of cold water. Applejack downed hers at once. “They’re engraved pewter so they won’t burn her skin. The latches themselves are actually hooked into a vein of granite under the hospital,” he was trying very hard to sound sure of himself.
        “How d’ya fix her, doc?” asked Dash tensely. She felt her wings finally settling back down against her sides as the shock slowly wore off.
        Unbecoming of the situation, he sat on the floor “Twilight Sparkle is beyond fixing now. The most I can do now is stave off her bodily desire for fresh blood. If the situation worsens, we’ll have no choice but to put her down with that silver stake pinning the calendar to the wall over there.”
        Fluttershy gasped louder than the others. “That can’t happen! Is there any other way!?”
        “Medically, there is no way for any living doctor to reverse this. I doubt even Princess Celestia or her sister could intervene to reverse this condition,” he said, hanging his head.
        Nobody spoke for a few minutes. Spike had begun sniffling again, trying hard to not cry out loud. Even the usually upbeat attitude Pinkie Pie wore had sunk below her crestfallen face. 
        “Figuratively speaking, there should be another way to revert her back to the way she was....”
        “WHAT?!” shouted Applejack “What’s it then? If ya’ll know any way to fix ‘er then spit it out, Doc!”
        They all ganged up on him waiting for the answer. He stumbled backwards to one of the wooden chairs, mild claustrophobia clouding his thoughts.
        “As I said, it isn’t a medical solution that could fix her condition. This is just completely hypothetical thinking that I’m recalling from childhood stories. Something you may not be aware of.”
        “It’s something to go on, right? So tell us already!” pressured Dash, wings flaring open in frustration.
        “Myth has it that destroying the vampire that infected its victim would essentially cure the sufferer of its curse. The one who infected the one before would cure those two and so on and so forth. This is of course complete hearsay that isn’t backed up by any sort of scientific fact to go on.”
        “Good enough for me!” cried Applejack in glee, “Alls we gotta do is hunt down that nasty stinkin’ vampire an’ shove that stake through ‘em and we’ll have good ol’ Twilight back to her usual self in no time!”
        Pinkie Pie jumped up in joy, “That’s a super-iffic idea! We just got to get our little rumps moving to that cave! So what are we waitin’ for, girls!?”
        “Applejack, you are in no condition to be adventuring with your recent cranial damages. Please stay here in the clinic with me to keep your friend company,” insisted the Doctor removing her hat to inspect the white bandages around her head.
        “…...fine. I’ll stay here then. I suppose wrasslin’ with them goblins was enough for this pony,” she admitted begrudgingly grabbing at her hat.“ya’ll go an’ fetch my brother then, after we get Rarity. I’m sure that he’ll be more than willin’ to help take out any bloodsuckin’ freaks in that cave.”
        “Um….girls….I think that I should tell you something that I just remembered…” whispered Fluttershy, the words barely brushing past her lips, “about Rarity.”
        “What about, Sugarcube? If ya know where she is in town we can get her prissy little behind to go with ya’ll to the cave,” said Applejack with some irritation in her voice. The doctor was removing her bandages to replace them with a fresh set.
        “I was just remembering that when we had dinner at Seasonal Delights yesterday evening that Rarity wasn’t, um, feeling too well,” she eeked out, turquoise eyes shaking.
        By now the doctor had halted his mechanical movements wrapping the fresh bandages around Applejacks head. He looked at Fluttershy intently. “Did she tell you how she was feeling?”
        Fluttershy bowed her head, frightened now at the plausible scenario she was putting forth, “Rarity was telling me that she had woken up late after a restless night’s sleep, then about how the heat was doing awful things to her hair, making her achy and tired. So when we got our food she um…didn’t eat much of it all. Instead she had about six full glasses of strawberry juice before she, um….ran to the bathroom to throw it up.”
        Identical looks of genuine shock were plastered across the faces of each pony in the room. The doctor leaned forwards in his chair. “Do you recall anything else from the dinner?”
        Now she was slumping to the floor, “Yes…Rarity said when she got separated from us in the cave…something leapt at her in the darkness,” Fluttershy gulped.


        “…something that left barely a scrape on her neck."

> Showdown at Sunrise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raritys parents had paid good money for her to go on to a prestigious school when she was younger. Uniforms were a necessity, but the school uniforms had been a garish mishmash of poorly chosen colors that she had been forced to be worn every single day. That crime of fashion Rarity had to endure was on her mind constantly, along with all the ways she could fix them. 
Daydreaming in her World Studies class on those lazy spring afternoons was costing her now as the imposing figure of some foreign antelope-thing briskly trotted over to her, flanked by two Pegasus ponies. They were smaller compared to him, heads only meeting his shoulders. His dark brown coat was decorated with varying colored beads in his fur, piercings at his face and tribal markings tattooed around his body. His golden grin matched the golden rings inset into his two very large horns curling backwards out the top of his skull ending at his back.
“I am pleased to see you’ve enjoyed our gift,” he said to her, his deep voice echoing around the chamber. “While we may not have your name yet you shall have mine. I am Jo’sun, leader of this humble tribe. The Pegasus to my left is Morsemere. To my right is Valerie. It is my great pleasure to meet you at last miss…?”
“Rarity,” she finished for him politely, uneasily letting him take her hoof “It would be my pleasure to find out what’s wrong with me and how to make it…go away.”
“What a lovely name you bear Miss Rarity,” complimented Jo’sun “It fits you being…such a lovely mare yourself.”
Rolling her eyes was an old, bad habit of hers that she was not very good at keeping under control when it mattered. Making a mental note she willed herself to keep them locked into the pale red eyes of this goat she was talking to.
 Rarity forced a grin “Oh do stop your flattery please, you’re too much. Besides…you still haven’t answered my question about what’s wrong with me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, so quit saying that,” interjected Morsemere with a frown “You’re a vampire like us. Or almost like us anyway. The only wrong thing is your attitude.”
“MORSEMERE!” snapped Jo’sun throwing a threatening look his way. “Hold your tongue if you cannot keep your disposition in check!” He turned back to Rarity, the anger in his dark red eyes vanishing instantly “Apologies miss…Morsemere can be blunt when he’s not thinking before he’s speaking.”
“V-Vampire!?” gasped Rarity, backing away from them. “That’s one of those things from myth, old childrens stories. Not real. It can’t be real! I-I…“
“You have just finished feeding, miss Rarity, you cannot just deny what you are, what you’ve done,” finished Jo’sun with a wry smile. He grabbed her hoof again, pulling her upright “You have fed twice now correct? The life-blood of another sustains you now, keep your legs moving, your heart beating.”
“I’d rather die than live with what I’ve done,” she muttered with pain in her voice.
“Why’s that?” he asked, his voice gentle.
“Blood,” she cringed, turning her head away “I-I drank blood from my friend, I didn’t want to, but I did and now she’s…”
“She is fine Rarity.” said Jo’sun.
“No. I don’t believe you I…I’ve done a monstrous thing…”her voice trailed off, turning away from him. 
“Walk with me,” Jo’sun said firmly, sidling up next to her. Finding no other course of action Rarity obliged, beggining a slow trot next to him.
The clear pool of water she spotted earlier sat ahead, the tiniest sliver of moonlight striking the calm surface and illuminating it like a mirror lit from behind. Jo’sun walked right up to it, peered at the still liquid and beckoned her over, motioning Rarity to draw near.
“Tell me what you see,” he instructed to her, his deep voice calm, “when you gaze into this pool.”
Rarity gulped, trotting slowly over to the pool, her hooves sinking lightly into the damp, earthy soil bordering the water. Head bowed, she leaned over and saw…
“Nothing” she said dryly, only being able to see a small group of pebbles clumped in various spots in the crystal clear water. Rarity thought of stamping her hoof to accentuate her displeasure, but maintained, instead turning to Jo’sun. “Is there something I should be seeing?”
“Nothing but the perfectly still surface which you see,” said Jo’sun wryly, as if the answer was painfully obvious “although I suspected a glimmer of shadow, a rippling image, yet that is not the case,” Jo’sun replied, gently cradling her chin with his hoof. “You are possibly the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on, why should any mirror have the right to capture your image, distort it so ever slightly? Being like us, like you nearly are, it grants us all eternal life, eternal beauty, and you can discard the notion of worrying over your appearance since it will remain as perfect as you are right now. Look me in the eyes and see for yourself of any signs of a monster, since I myself can only see a unicorn of true beauty and grace.”
Rarity shivered more-so at his words than his touch, and Jo’sun thankfully let his hoof drop away from her face. She stared at his eyes briefly, seeing her white face reflected in his pupils. It was difficult; all those compliments to her form and figure really did sound genuine, and even though Rarity figured that hearing otherwise from the likes of him would be ridiculous the praise was striking a chord with her. To think! Spending the rest of her life without fear of sagging skin, or faltering complexion! It was an offhand dream that was practically a reality now, and yet….
“Do I…still have to?” she began softly.
“Yes,” he said, reading her mind.
“My job…I’ll have to abandon my career won’t I?” pressed Rarity with greater concern in her voice.
Jo’sun laughed, his deep voice cutting through the silence “Of course not dear Rarity, nobody shall deny your life’s talent, especially since you have the all the time in the world now to pursue it.”
“Well I…” she stammered, looking to the soil “…I will be accepted like this? For…for what I am now? Despite what I’ve done?”
“We are children of the night, dearest Luna will not shun her kin, we, the vampires, the gargoyle, the goblin, and all of us accompany her daily in her darkness, keeping the world alive after sunset and moving about in the moonlight,” e said quickly, voice firm.
“Princess Luna…allows us?” said Rarity in quiet disbelief. “You mean she is perfectly ok with us gallivanting around at night being-“
“Ourselves. Now that you understand, it is high time dear Rarity you meet the rest of our flock,” he clapped his hooves together “EVERYONE!”
There was no sound, wind or rustling hoof steps to accompany the arrival of Jo’suns remaining vampires, and it took Rarity aback at how quickly the ponies had surrounded her. She took them all in immediately, there were the two healthier looking ponies earlier, Moresmere his pugnacious face twisted in a scowl, and the quiet mare Valerie, standing next to a pale pair of colts, both nearly as white as her, another pale Pegasus pony, a thin filly shivering between her legs. 
Rarity cringed, realizing that the pair of them must be related. She turned to Jo’sun, gulping back the horror of their situation.
“Is this it then? Where’s that…awfully rude ram gone to? Shouldn’t he be present with the rest of us?” she inquired politely, unable to see any others around her.
“I’m afraid that he won’t be joining us tonight for your ceremony, beautiful as it shall be. Some creatures, like him, just aren’t suited for the adjustment of scenery and lifestyle, and ends up being relegated to…a lesser fate,” said Jo’sun swiftly, as if the details of the missing ram were entirely irrelevant.
“I see,” replied Rarity, assuming the fate of the ram was no longer a matter of discussion.
“I bet you see…” muttered Morsemere under his breath.
Jo’sun glared darkly at him, before thinking better of responding.
“Follow” he commanded, trotting away from the group, Morsemere glared hard at the white unicorn as she trotted away to join the ibex.
“Subtlety is naught your forte,” commented Valerie, cocking an eyebrow.
        “I’m not happy Val, why should I hide it?” he snapped, when the two were out of earshot. “The blasted Ursa and its cub finally leave after three centuries, we get a feast of goblins and ponies and Jo’sun gives the order to not swoop in? We’ve slept on empty stomachs for all these years but he denies our fill because he falls head over hoof for some filly?” Morsemere spat in the dirt.
        Valerie sighed “He fetched us the ram…”
        “One tasteless ram, not nearly enough blood in him to sleg our thirst amongst ourselves after that…filly had first bite,” he shook his head in disgust, “then to spin all that nonsense how we aren’t a blight on Lunas night.”
        “So?” said Valerie impassively
        “What?”
        “So what’s with you attitude Morsemere?” she pressed.
        “I don’t know. Nothing. He wants her, he’ll have her. I don’t know if she bought it or not, but it’s been far too long Val,” he unfurled his wings, giving them a silent flap “If I don’t hunt soon I’m going to forget how.”
        “We’ll have fresh blood soon,” she offered glancing across the room.
        “I’m still not happy,” he complained.
        “I don’t expect you should be, we’ve all been starving in this cave.” She said flatly.
        “Listen here then since…,” he paused, matching her gaze “since he’s preparing her before the full moon tonight, right under Lunas eye of all things. According to him her first victim has been well on her way all day, and since it was a bite to the neck she’s nearly transformed herself by now. Still, as for this Rarity, has only drank blood twice…and-“ he stopped, his jaw unable to work out those last few words.
        Valerie let out a low whistle “If only you could see the look on your face…”

        Rarity stamped her hoof a few times, trying to accentuate her displeasure “Must I really? I…I’m not even feeling the least bit peckish to be perfectly honest with you. I only did this not even half an hour ago!”
        “It is vital that you drink a third time before basking in the glow of the moon, it wouldn’t be completely necessary had you, ah, been ‘bitten’ by whichever member of my flock stumbled across you in the depths of the caves tunnels.” He fiddled with his goatee, the colored beads woven into his hair clacking noisily.
        “What if I don’t?” she replied.
        “Postponing this will result in you being less than…” he stopped playing with his hair, trying to find the right words “well, let me put it this way, do you recall how you felt up to the point where you, had your first drink?”
        “Inescapably,” replied Rarity, putting a hoof to her brow “It was the worst feeling- starving, sluggish, and I was dead tired but I couldn’t get any sleep if I tried. And I did try.”
        “Well that is what you would have to endure if this does not happen tonight,” he grumbled, finally having made his point. “We can slumber for as long as we like, though hungry, not nearly as fatigued as you had felt.”
        Rarity took a moment’s pause, rapidly shuffling through her options only to find none. What she had to endure just to get through that day was staggering…but this offer, morbid as it was, was her only chance at a possible return to form for the rest of her life. Mulling it over a few times she decided if there was ever a way out of this grim situation, she would seize the opportunity at any cost. Her standards of living were much higher than this…but in the meantime she would compromise.
        “Okay, I will do it,” she flashed him one of her best fake smiles.
        Relief washed over Jo’suns’ face “Good, wonderful.”
        “You still wish me to…”her voice trailed off as the ibex raised his head high, displaying his neck to her.
        “Drink deep and do not fret, dear Rarity. Clear your thoughts and fill yourself. We shall trot out to the caves entrance soon enough to finalize your entry within our humble pack.” He grinned at her, motioning with his head for Rarity to draw close.
        Rarity did, venturing forth cautiously, before slowly clamping down on his neck, his skin breaking under her fangs.
        As the blood rushed her mouth, her thoughts didn’t clear, she thought of Twilight Sparkle, her dear friend certainly cursed to share the same fate, she thought of all her other close friends that may never see her again, she thought of her parents, her job, her home.
        She thought of Sweetie Belle.


***




        “I can’t do this! Why did you guys bring me!? I should be with Twilight! She needs me!”
        Rainbow Dash hovered directly above Spike, hanging her head to meet his “C’mon Spike, me, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Mac don’t have any way to hold that thing right.”
        “Eeyup,” agreed Macintosh, who was keeping a steady pace just behind the purple dragon. “If we want to put down them rotten things that been attackin’ everypony it’s gotta be a perfect drive through their hearts jus’ like the doc said.”
        Fluttershy whimpered, trailing on the ground right behind Macintosh “Um, I really don’t see why we can’t just, talk to them maybe?”
        “Flutters, they didn’t do so much talkin’ last time when they had Rarity and Twilight for lunch,” pointed out Dash, certain that she’d made a good point, and zipped back to the head of the line.
        “It’s okay Fluttershy! You don’t have to do anything really!” Pinkie Pie bounced up next to the shuddering yellow Pegasus, wrapping another string of garlic around her neck “I know stuff like this is all kinda bad and I’m SUPER stoked myself that instead of wanting to be a bunch of meany-mean bitey necks they’re just raring to stetch their hoovsies and have a party instead!”
        “You…you think they might?” peeped Fluttershy, scrunching her nose at the extra garlic. It was Pinkies idea for the necklaces to ward off a bite from the neck. Big Macintosh had his work collar on and said he didn’t need the garlic.
        Pinkie looked away for a moment, her face momentarily betraying her words “Of COURSE silly! Also if Raritys there I bet you all of Gummys baby teeth that as soon as she sees us that’d she’d totally come to her senses super pronto and we’ll get her all fixed up by the doctor and everything will go back to normal and be sunshine and lollipops in no time!”
        Fluttershy blinked “But, um, didn’t the doctor say…”
        “Oh that doctor was a silly billy,” Pinkie stuck out her tongue “There’s always an answer for everything, and that Doc isn’t a very good doctor either.”
        Macintosh, who had been drifting in and out of the conversation, turned his head back at the last quip about the doctor.
        “What makes ya think that there Pinkie?” he drawled.
        “Remember that party I threw way wayWAAAY back when before Twilight came to town and I made that big pot of chili?” Pinkie said cheerfully.
        “Eeyup, hehe, that was some gooood chili,” said Macintosh.
        “Welllll, I may have put a teensy eensy too many black beans in the pot, soo…”
        Dash snorted “Oh yeah, I remember that day. Glad I skipped out on that. Anyway Fluttershy, long story short, AJ wasn’t feeling too well and when she went to the Doctors office about it she got as red as her apples when he misdiagnosed her,” Dash lowered her voice “ ‘You’re pregnant Miss Applejack’!”
        Macintosh started chuckling deeply, and Dash laughed with him and Pinkie Pie, clutching her sides and spinning in the air.
        Spike grumbled up ahead, twisting the cold stake in his hands. This whole thing felt wrong. The pony of his dreams, the most beautiful one in Ponyville, in Equestria, was now supposedly a vampire. His stomach churned at the thought.
        And she’d snuck into the library in the dead of night to drink at Twilights blood and turn her into a monster as well.
        “How could you do this?” he whispered to the stake, his breathing shallow as anger bubbled to the surface “Why would you do this to her?”
        Images of Rarity flashed through her mind, grinning wildly, biting down on Twilights neck and laughing, licking her lips.
        That was delicious, say goodbye to your Twilight Sparkle, you’ll never see her again.
        “No!” he twisted the sharpened tool in his hands “She’ll get better, I can save her, I’ll fix her…even if I do have…even If I have to…”
        Twilight flashed in his head, her two hooves clasped in chain, her face strained in a scowl of pure hatred and contempt, pale pink eyes boring into his own…
        “Spike!”
        “YES!” he cried, jolting out of his thoughts.
        “You alright?” asked Dash, one eyebrow raised “You look kinda…not so good there for a sec.”
        “Sorry, I’m just, you know…thinking about Twilight you know?” he answered, trying to look less worried.
        Dash punched him lightly in the shoulder “Just don’t worry about it Spike, we can handle whatever those freaks in that cave got to offer. I’m not afraid, and I’ll handle this no sweat even if Fluttershy and Pinkie back down.”
        “Really?” he asked, with just a hint of sarcasm.
        “You bet! I’m made of tough stuff!” she boasted, quickly doing a loop in the air and flexing her forelegs with a confident smile.
        “Alright but what about Rarity?” he finally asked
        “What about her?” returned Dash coolly, coasting above him.
        “I don’t want to have to do this…to her…” he looked skyward, past Rainbow Dash, thinking of that happy purple unicorn “but if it’s the only way to save Twilight then I gotta right?”
        “Hey,” she thumped him on the shoulder again, “don’t sweat it till ya see it Spike. Raritys a blabbermouth and she’s not dumb enough to really fall in with a bunch of monsters you know.”
        “Are you sure?” he asked.
        “I’d bet you she’d found a way outta that mess already! You remember when she got kidnapped and just walked away from those Diamond Dogs with all their stuff right?” said Dash quickly, trying to lift his spirits.
        “I guess,” Spike smiled weakly at Dash “Yeah, maybe everything will turn out okay. I still wish I could have stayed with Twilight though, even though she’s acting kind of scary right now.”
        “Applejack’s there to chat it up with Twi, and you saw that she couldn’t get out of those chains.” Dash landed next to Spike, folding up her wings. “The doc is there too, so don’t beat yourself up over it. I know it sucks, but she’s still a little concussed and we’re down two unicorns. When the time comes for action, if it ever does, be ready for anything!”
        Spike looked down the dirt trail, seeing the gaping maw of the Ursas former den looming in the distance just waiting to swallow them up whole. He loosened his grip on the silver stake, his mind drifting back to Twilight still imprisoned in her stretcher.


***




        Applejack shifted nervously on the stiff wooden chair. She’d pick a different one but they were all horribly uncomfortable. Complaining about it wasn’t her so she opted to just sit on her tail which provided a fairly decent amount of cushion for her. It did little to dent the air of tension that had settled in the room, like an ominous fog it drifted through the room and sat in place between her, the doctor…and the previously bright purple filly staring directly at the two ponies, studying them with thin, pale eyes.
        “Jus’ sit tight sugar, this’ll all be over before you can say chicken noodle soup!” offered Applejack trying to do anything to provoke a response from her friend.
        Twilight snapped her head up, making Applejack flinch at the sudden movement “Sitting tight is all I seem able to do AJ, thanks for reminding me.”
        “Girl you know its for your own safety, and ours, until all our friend manage to off that nasty varmint that up and bit ya,” she replied, fidgeting under Twilights cold gaze.
        “Sure Applejack, in a few short hours everything will be perfectly fine and things will go back to normal and I’ll be all better,” Twilight said sardonically, her words dripping with contempt.
        The doctor watched from his seat, three chairs over from the orange filly so bravely engaging her friend with hopeful chatter. He was a little relieved she opted to do so. It was unnerving to be stared at the way she had been, as if the pony was contemplating the taste of his neck. Of course years of working in the bustling frantic mayhem of Manehatten General already meant his nerves were shot, so at the momentary lapse in their conversation he got up from his chair. His throat was dry from doing so much talking earlier. At least there was an easy cure for that problem.
        “Pardon me ladies, I’m going to step outside for a moment and get a glass of water,” he said as delicately as possible.
        “Don’t drag your hooves now,” said Applejack with the slightest tip of her hat.
        Twilight said nothing, instead opting to see him out of the room with another hateful scowl.
        She looked over at Applejack, seeing that she was now staring up at the ceiling instead of looking at her. 
        Probably thinking of more inane ways to cheer me up
        “Don’t mind him none, I doubt he’s gonna be long for jus’ a glass of water,” said Applejack looking to the door now. 
        He’s out of the way now, just me and her, no distractions
        “I wouldn’t mind a drink myself Applejack,” said Twilight flatly.
        Applejack looked over at Twilight and snorted “Ya’ll heard him before, no more of that ‘till we get you all cured.”
        There’s no cure in the world for me after midnight, you really think those vampires are just going to stick around town and wait to die?
        Twilight locked eyes with Applejack, staring hard at her friends’ brilliant green pupils, “That’s okay Applejack, I wasn’t too thirsty, but I really am exhausted lately, you know how that feels right?”
        Concentrate concentrate on her eyes nothing but the eyes focus on the eyes
        “Ya’ll know me better than anypony else Twi,” chuckled Applejack, not breaking line of sight with Twilight “but yeah, ya’ll look kinda sweaty there all of a sudden now that ya mention it.”
        Keep her talking don’t break eye contact focus on the eyes
        “I can’t wipe my forehead myself, could you help me please?” requested Twilight in the sweetest voice she could muster.
        Get up and walk over here
        Applejack shifted in her seat again “Well…t’aint entirely…”
        Get off the chair and come to me
        “Please? It’s really uncomfortable,” she added.
        Come to me
        “Alrighty, no harm in it I s’pose,” said Applejack plainly, hopping off the chair.
        Twilight allowed herself a grin. Her plan was a success so far. Vampires’ inherent powers of suggestion were natural to all those afflicted, and with Applejacks move she knew she had successfully tapped into it. If she could already do that, then it wouldn’t be too difficult for her to move the orange mare in whatever direction she pleased. Since it was working the next stage of true mental possession was just around the corner.
        As her friend rounded the bed, Twilight kept her head turned to follow hers, chains clinking quietly as her hooves shifted on the thin blue bed sheets. Applejack grabbed three tissues from the small square box in rapid succession, bunching them up with her hooves. Twilight bent her neck forwards, offering her forehead while still concentrating on watching her eyes.
        Fortunately, Applejack was direct enough to look her right back at her for each question.
        “Thank you very much, I feel better now,” smiled Twilight, after her friend patted the moisture below her purple fringe a few times.
        Stay here by my side look at me stay and chat 
        “No problem sugar,” returned Applejack, tossing the tissues away. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on her forehead. Twilight could practically sense the blood in her veins as her heart began pumping faster.
        “This thing on my head though, it’s grinding against my horn, it hurts so much,” pouted Twilight.
        Reach forward with your hoof and pull it off
        “Oh that silly thang? I imagine it would…be hurtin’. It does look mighty uncomfortable,” said Applejack, her voice slipping into an even monotone.
        Twilight narrowed her eyes, staring fiercely at the pools of green just a foot away from her own
        Reach forwards
        Applejack planted her hoof on the bed “I mean, it does look awful constrictin’ I imagine.”
        Raise your hoof
        “It’s scratching at my horn, it hurts a lot AJ. A whole lot.” Twilight said quickly.
RAISE YOUR HOOF
        A vein bulged a little on Applejacks forehead; sweat rolling down her cheeks as her hoof lifted itself up, dangling in the empty space just between her and Twilight
        “I know that feeling Twilight, it’s just awful isn’t it?” replied Applejack, voice completely devoid of its usual country twang.
        GRAB AT THE CAP
        “Very awful. Please help me. I need your help,” pressured Twilight
        Twilights mind was screaming, her unicorn magic buzzing at the base of her horn, clawing for release from its enchanted pewter prison. A soft, tender hoof was pressing against the metal encasing her horn. The metal started to give, sliding upwards along the grooves. 
        PULL AT THE CAP
Saliva was starting to pool in her mouth. Applejacks neck was right in front of her. The fine orange hairs on her throat outlining every curve, every contour of that perfectly taut neckline. It would take just one swift motion…
The door to the room banged open. The doctor stepped inside.
        “Sorry about that, had to make a quick stop in the lavator-“
        He froze, the color draining from his cheeks at the sight before him.
        Twilight didn’t even look, concentration fully devoted to Applejack, who blinked. Thinking fast, she lowered her head from the loosened cap, and shook her head violently.
The metal casing that restricted her fell free, clattering to the floor. Gasping, the doctor leapt at it. Twilights horn flared to life.
“AHG” he choked out, his body being magically pressed against the wall of the room.
Twilight summoned some rope, immediately binding him before turning back to Applejack, who was teetering on her hooves.
She met her gaze immediately, feeling her newfound powers being amplified with her magic, and demanded loud as clear as possible with her magic to grab at the invisible force she had been chipping away at so carefully for the past few minutes.
YOUR WILL IS MINE
Applejack seemed to stumble forwards a little, the air in front of her rippling despite no wind or breeze. Her hat slid off her face, falling aside as her pupil dilated, growing until her eyes were pools of deep black.
“Twilight! Don’t do this! There’s still time!” called out the doctor, desperation filling his voice.
“It’s too late doctor, much too late for me, for you, for everypony involved,” said Twilight triumphantly, turning to Applejack.
“Lean over,” she growled.
“Sure thing Twi,” obliged Applejack, delivering her neck.
The doctor could only watch in silent horror as the pale purple filly ravenously bit into her friends’ throat. Even worse was the lack of any emotional response from the orange pony. There was only a placid, happy smile etched on her face as Twilight sucked greedily from her neck, blood dribbling down her neck onto the bedsheets. It’s effect on Twilight was even more frightening. The rich purple color immediately surging back to her coat and replacing the pale lavender that had overtook her.
Less than two minutes later Twilight released her mouth, licking her lips in satisfaction.
“Ooooh,” she rolled her head, bones in her neck cracking softly. Applejack stared listlessly into space.
Twilights horn glowed again, the chains clasped to hooves shuddered, glowed, turned to wood and burst into flame. The engravings in the once metal chains were immediately warped by the heat, shattering into gray ash. 
Free of her bindings, she hopped off the bed and stretched her legs.
The severity of the situation was fully upon him the doctor now; he wiggled helplessly on the floor, trying to get to the doorway.
A purple aura shimmered around the door, and it slammed shut, locking quietly.
He turned around and saw Twilight looming above him, her bloodied lips twisted in a proud, macabre smile.
“You don’t have to do this! There’s-“
“Nothing” she finished for him, telekinetically propping him up “After midnight by the full moon I’m going to be stuck like this permanently. If you think those vampires, whatever bit me hasn’t flown the coop by now after being trapped by the Ursa for all those years then you’re just…foolish for thinking that I’d have any chance of getting back to normal.”
“But-“
“BUT NOTHING!” she roared at him, flecks of blood spraying his face. He winced, shrinking backwards to the wall.
“If you had bothered to look, really look through that book over there you could have caught this thing before it took control of me. I know about this because after my run-in with the goblins I read everything else in then there too. Guess what? There was a complete section on vampirism,” Twilight leered at him, voice shaking with disgust “that was just so informative to all the signs, symptoms and methods of halting the infection before it worsened.”
The doctor whinnied, “What…what are you going to do then?”
“Leave,” she said looking to the window, her composure returning quickly “Find somewhere new to go, to live. I can’t be seen in the suns light anymore, but I won’t go alone oh no, that’s not fair to me is it? To make all these friends and lose them already…no.” She turned to Applejack, her eyes wild “Isn’t that right AJ? We’ll all be friends forever! All of us!”
“I wouldn’t think nothin’ against it,” said Applejack placidly, eyes still glazed over.
“Good,” she chuckled to herself “You see Doc? We can be together forever!”
Twilight snapped back to him “Only one quick loose end to take care of…”

***


	

Rarity smacked her lips the whole walk back through the cave, leading the way alongside Jo’sun. While the taste of blood now carried a more pleasurable taste to it the texture was still impossible to get used to. It was akin to drinking a thick, warm milkshake with the consistency of light maple syrup. The way it settled in her stomach was not favorable either, sloshing about inside like a plastic bag filled halfway with water.
She had decided that a liquid diet was not for her.
“We will own this night, you and I,” he stated, his words a continuous flow of the promises of an eternally better life.
“Of course we will,” she replied meekly, trying to keep him talking. It was all she could do at this point.
“Your entire life up until this point my dear, just leading up to this moment. Soon under the midnight moon you will ascend to greatness, a chance to rule anew!” he continued, shouldering past the last bend to the cave’s vaulted entrance. 
“I can hardly wait…” said Rarity as honestly sounding she could muster.
The other members of his little tribe were following a short distance behind, silent as ghosts. Rarity occasionally turned to see if perhaps they were chatting very quietly under their breath while she listened to Jo’sun drone on about her new, better life. He seemed to be thrilled for this whole situation, but she wasn’t paying much attention, only nodding in agreement when he looked over her or smiling when he smiled at her.
Her mind was elsewhere and the finality of the approaching situation was almost too much to bear. Pale moonlight met her eyes as she exited the cave, craning her neck skywards to get a look at the moon that would be lighting the rest of Raritys life. 
“Stop,” he said not only a foot away from the mouth of the cave. Rarity looked at him warily. He was staring straight ahead into some nondescript bushes by a tall chestnut tree. 
“Is something the matter?” she asked, a hint of false worry in her voice.
“We’re being watched,” he replied. Jo’sun snapped his neck to the left of her to a small pile of rocks “More than one.”
Rarity felt her heart skip a beat “Really? Should I be worried?” she scanned the bushes herself. A twig snapped softly somewhere in the underbrush, she strained her ears, making out some barely inaudible whispering in the background. 
“No of course not,” he said brushing aside the comment. Jo’sun turned his head, motioning for the rest of the ponies to come along side him “In twenty or so minutes-“
“CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!”
Pinkie Pie bounced out of the chestnut tree in front of them, landing on the ground and doing a backflip over their heads. The pink pony whooping wildly and stunning the vampires into silence. 
“PINKIE PIE!?” shrieked Rarity just as shocked as the others “What are you doing here?!”
“We’re here to kick vampire butt!” Pinkie said landing on her back hooves and doing a pirouette.
Rarity heard it before she saw. Unusually heavy footsteps charging down the trail just ahead, and Big Macintosh galloped into view, the red hue of his coat matching a determined blaze in his deep green eyes. He charged right through the middle of the group, the vampire ponies scattering away from him. Rarity dodged him easily. Macintosh went right on running. Morsemere grunted, spreading his wings and flying after him as he rounded the cave entrance for another charge.
The airborne vampire would have clipped him too if he wasn’t immediately tackled by a multi-color blur.
“TAKE THAT YOU BLOODSUCKER! YEAH!” hollered Rainbow Dash as one well placed buck of her hind legs sent the Pegasus hurtling into a boulder, the wind knocked out of him.
“AW YEAH! YOU GO PINKIE!” she pumped a foreleg in the air, watching Pinkie Pie tussling with the other nameless pair of colts. Rarity watched as Pinkie bounced around their attempts to grab her, occasionally hissing aloud if they got too near the strands of garlic around her neck.
Rarity opened and closed her mouth, failing to find words for the situation. Morsemere re-appeared from behind the boulders and immediately gave chase to Rainbow Dash, spitting a plethora of curses at her colorful tail. Jo’sun and Macintosh were locked in a fierce fight, the enraged ibex furiously trying to land a blow with his enormous curled horns. Macintosh ducked and weaved. He punched with his forehooves, kicked when the limber goat circled his backside. One brief window of opportunity presented itself allowing him a bite at his throat, but the heavy work collar foiled the attempt expertly.
Another pair of wings were flapping over head now, Rarity twisted her head seeing Fluttershy hovering above her, expression twisted into one of guilt.
“Oh Fluttershy,” she said, the hard look on the yellow Pegasus’ face tearing right through her resolve.
“I’m sorry,” her friend whispered above, the words inaudible but the expression on her lips perfectly visible. She dove, then twisted in mid air. Spike leapt off her backside, his claws outstretched.
“Augh! Spike!” Rarity didn’t have time to react. She only managed to rear up in surprise as the purple-green dragon barreled into her, knocking her onto the hard ground. Rarity instinctively twisted and kicked at him, completely forgetting her magic in the heat of the moment. He stood on her chest, a silver stake clutched between his teeth.
Raritys eyes locked on to gleaming object, every fiber of her being already screaming for her to get away from it. Don’t touch it. Don’t look at it. She could already feel her muscles seizing up at it, the hair on her forelegs standing up on end.
“How could you do this to her!?” demanded Spike, removing the stake from his mouth, the tip dangling precariously close to her face.
“Spike, please, I didn’t want to do it! I didn’t mean for it to happen!”
“You snuck into the library,”
“I only wanted her help! Not to-“
“Then you got her while she was asleep,” he continued, gripping the stake tight.
“Please,” she cringed, seeing the intense anger, hearing the ache in his voice “Please stop, this was horrifying enough to go through, not again…”
“Then you turned her into of them. Into one of you,” he pointed an accusatory claw at her, his face unflinching.
“Spike I-I” her voice wavered, every inch of skin felt like it was on fire, the string of garlic around his neck nearly brushing against the white coat of her belly.
“I have to Rarity,” he pressed against her chest, feeling her heartbeat slamming against his palm. “This is the only way to have…Twilight back now. Right through the heart a-and it’s because you were the one who got her. The only way to get her normal for sure and for-ever is for me to do this.”
Spike sniffled, raising the stake high above her. Raritys eyes grew wide, seeing nothing but the tip of that lethal weapon poised above his head. She shut her eyes, the tension in her body winding her tight as a knot.
“I’m sorry,” they both said.
Spike plunged the stake downward with all the force he could muster.
SHNK!
And hit dirt.
“NO,” roared Jo’sun, his teeth clenched around Raritys purple head of hair. He’d dragged her away at the last minute, the stake burying itself deep into the ground. The bulky ibex had torn away from Macintosh, who was now squaring off with Valerie.
Spike tugged the silver stake free from the dirt, running as fast as he could over to them. Jo’sun lowered his head and clipped Spike with one of his horns, the little dragon sent spiraling away into the underbrush, his weapon vanishing into the darkness.
“She shall be not be destroyed for this! You will not vanquish my Queen so easily!” he roared at Spike as Rarity shakily got to her hooves.
Spike wobble uneasily, then sat back on the ground, his face a mask of pain as his green eyes began welling with tears. Rarity looked over to Macintosh, lying on the ground gasping for air, Valerie standing atop him triumphantly with her fangs bared. She looked above, spotting a squirming Rainbow Dash struggling against Morsemeres grip on her. Pinkie Pie was pressed against the wall by the two vampire colts, each a hold of one pink foreleg and far from the intoxicating stench of her garlic necklace.
“Soon my sweet, in less than two minutes all will be bound eternal,” assured Jo’sun, his voice resuming its proud tone.
“Two minutes…” she whispered. Something nagged at her. Something Spike said not only thirty seconds ago before his attempt to drive the stake through her beating heart. She bit her lower lip, fangs digging into the skin and drawing blood. 
Jo’sun stood next to her, his dark eyes staring at the moon. He looked without a care in the world.
“Yes, not too long now. Are you ready for this Rarity?” he asked.
Rarity looked around desperately, ignoring the wound she just inflicted on her mouth. She couldn’t find anything nearby that she needed! Rarity sat on her rump. She folded her head down, clutching her head with every intention to give up right then and there.
Inspiration struck her. Rarity gasped aloud, the solution now extraordinarily obvious.
“Rarity?” Jo’sun asked again, his gaze unwavering.
She drew her head back, counted to three, then thrusted her head into his chest with all her might. 
Her well filed horn pierced his skin and jabbed right into his heart.
“AAUUUGH,” he drew away from her screaming in agony, rearing backwards. Raritys crimson coated horn slipped out of his chest. He shook his head back and forth. Spitting blood he fell onto his side, heaving and coughing. Everypony watched as Rarity calmly walked over to him, a strange, ethereal bile bubbling from his sides. He spat, choking on his own blood.
“…Why?” he inquired, the acrid film of blackness starting to rise from his form.
“Unfortunately the notion of spending the rest of my life knowing I’ve ruined somepony elses does NOT sit right with me,” she glared at him “especially my dearest friends’ own. If this is what I have to resort to in order to protect them, then so be it.”
The stench from his innards was quickly overwhelming, the fallen ibex gave one final cough, then his body went up in thick black smoke and orange ember. Rartiy yelped, feeling a painful sensation crawling through her coat before funneling directly into her forehead. Suddenly blinded with the pain shooting through her she felt all four legs give way. The cool Earth rushed up to meet her.
Rarity blacked out.


***


	

“Fluttershy be super careful with those streamers! Those ones rip extra easy!”
“Okay Pinkie,” she gingerly draped the streamer over the little hook on the wall, being careful to slow her wingbeats so it didn’t catch and tear the material.
“Thank you so much for your help Pinkie Pie! Everything is shaping up wonderfully,” Rarity walked over and nuzzled her on the neck “I have to admit that considering the recent circumstances perhaps a little extra flair in the festivities is called for don’t you think?”
Pinkie Pie giggled “You betcha! I’m glad I managed to round up all this stuff beforehand or else I would have missed out using up ALL these special decorations. Also, the best part is that now I can go buy a brand new amazing set of party supplies I’ve had my eye on for almost forever for the after birthday party!”
Rarity eyed the rest of her now colorfully decorated boutique. Rainbow Dash was slipping some colored filters over the stage lighting and rotating them in various angles with help from the rented DJ (just one speaker Scratch it’s a childrens party!) to provide more diversity amongst the stage. Some of the school fillies were already arriving, and Cherrilee was busily herding them over to a spot out of the way to avoid tripping into wayward wires or materials.
Rarity trotted over to Twilight. The unicorn was nursing a small cup of punch and sandwiched between Applejack and the Doctor. Her expression was muted, desperately trying to wiggle away under the table but to no avail.
“It’s perfectly alright you know Miss Sparkle. No permanent harm has come to any of your friends. The remaining vampires have fallen to ash and scattered to the winds. In the meantime this is suiting up to be quite a party and you should enjoy yourself,” The doctor motioned to her right. “Your friend here has already forgiven you!”
“Yeah, only ‘bout a hundred or so times,” smiled Applejack, ruffling Twilights purple mane with a free hoof. “Lighten up will ya sugar?”
“I just don’t know how you can be so okay with me after I did that to you,” mumbled Twilight into her punch, her eyes drifting to the white bandage on Applejacks neck.
“Ya’ll weren’t right in the head remember? Doc here was fixin’ to shove that stake in your chest if ya’ll didn’t get better ‘fore midnight if I recall in case ya made an escape,” she chuckled, “which ya did anyhow.”
Twilight sipped her drink. The cup between her hooves shaking just a little. She looked on the verge of tears again.
“Listen sugarcube, that’s self preservation. I ain’t fixin’ to hold a grudge, and Rarity here isn’t frettin’ as bad as you are when she drummed up her ‘plogy.” She rested her hoof on Twilights foreleg “So do yourself a favor an’ please stop getting’ all worked up over it.”
In one quick motion she gulped the rest of her juice, looking back and forth between the two Earth ponies.
“You’re sure?” she finally said, her voice small.
“C’mere girl,” Applejack hugged her friend tight, “S’all water under the bridge now. Let it go an’ you’ll start feelin’ better pronto.”
Twilight took a deep breath, holding it, and then released it slowly. All the weight of worry on her shoulders melted away. 
“Well?”
Twilight smiled for the first time since yesterday “I…do feel better now-”
She put a hoof up to her mouth to cut her off “Don’t you start with the sorries again neither. Now we’ve gotta party to throw!”
Rarity sighed happily, walking away from the two towards the small table piled with presents. Her parents waved from the far side of the room, both of them fussing over a particularly knotty handful of streamers. The mountain of presents before her was mostly credited to them and their tendency to splurge whilst shopping. She magically added some more color to the largest ribbon. The magnificent yellow strand glowed a much brighter gold.
“Rarity? A moment please?” said a soft voice behind her.
“Yes? How may I help you?” Rarity replied, meeting the doctor face to face.
“Are you feeling fine?” he squinted at her “That nasty spill after you were cured left quite the mark.”
“A temporary blemish,” she automatically reached at the fading bruise on her left cheek “which is nothing to worry about. I’m more concerned for poor Spike. Good heavens the look on his face…”
“I haven’t spoken to him myself since last night…poor little guy,” he looked at the wall thoughtfully.
“He’ll be okay soon I’m sure. When he gathers the nerve to apologize I’ll accept and he’ll be fawning over me in no time,” she giggled, “this I’m certain of.”
“I see you’re pretty confident about that,” he said.
“Oh I’m afraid you have NO idea what I usually go through. Had these recent events been less morbid I would be enjoying this reprieve from his attention,” Rarity said adjusting her hair.
“Well assuming he does dog you like you say it appears that you’ve been able to set up this party in record time for, er,” he rubbed the back of his neck “forgive me what was your little sisters name?”
“Sweetie Bell,” she answered for him “Come to think of it I haven’t seen her since I left my house that night…”
“Macintosh! Could I borrow you for a moment?” called Rarity.
The red stallion cantered over to them, the usual sprig of wheat he chewed on replaced by a single toothpick he’d pulled from the plate of hors’devors set out on the table.
“Eeyup, need any help?” he asked.
“Yes have you, ahem, seen Sweetie Belle around?” she inquired earnestly.
“Sweetie, Scootaloo an’ my littlest sister all had a sleep over ‘n their crusader clubhouse las’ night out in the orchards,” he drawled, sounding bored.
“Have you seen them today?” Rarity asked.
“Nope ‘fraid not. Come to think of it I haven’t seen none of them at all since yesterday. They didn’t even come by for early mornin’ grub. Though I suspected at first it was because they’re none too partial to grits.”
The doctor cleared his throat “Miss Rarity. When you last saw Sweetie Belle…under what circumstances was it?”
“I was seeing her to bed before I left for Twilights library,” she recalled, a hint of worry creeping into her voice.
“Were you…suffering at the time?” he pressed.
“Yes” she answered swiftly, then lowering her voice “and I had almost committed a most unspeakable act.”
“So you didn’t bite her, ah, that’s good news,” said the doctor with a sigh of relief.
Rarity cringed “Well….”
He shot her a quizzical look “Miss Rarity?”
“On no accounts did I actually do anything to her, but I shall admit that it was a very close call.”
His eyes widened “How close did you get to her when you were still virile?”
Rarity gulped “Let’s assume that I…had my mouth at her throat for nearly a split-second shall we?”
“Rarity!” he cried “Did you-”
“I said I didn’t!” she snapped, “I swear it!”
The doctor stamped his hoof “No worries! I completely take you word about not drinking her blood. However, do you remember breaking the skin with your fangs?”
Big Macintosh was staring intently at her, his usually tranquil visage replaced with something of worry. Raritys blue eyes darted back and forth between his face and the doctors. She felt trapped, like a doomed mouse cornered by Opalescence.
“Maybe a little?”


***




        “Can I come down Applebloom? I promise I won’t do it again.”
        “NO” said the little filly, stamping her hoof into the floor “Ah saw what ya did las’ night. Ah ain’t lettin’ it happen again.”
        Sweetie Belle groaned, wiggling helplessly in the air. She was currently hanging upside down by a string of rope tied to her hind leg, swaying back and forth slowly and facing the upright Applebloom who had detained her this way last night.
        “I don’t even feel like doing it again. I said I was sorry!” pleaded Sweetie Belle, trying to reach her leg with a stubby hoof.
        “Ah’m not fixin’ to believe a word ya gotta say after ah saw ya bitin’ Scootaloos neck! That jus’ ain’t right an’ you shoulda warned us yah was a vampire pony!” Applebloom put a hoof to her chin “Course I shouldn’t expect ya to be tellin’ us you was thirstin’ for blood.”
        “Well…you could at least let Scootaloo down right?”
        Sweetie and Applebloom both looked to Scootaloo, who was also bound upside down by some rope, a rag stuffed in her mouth.
        “Nah, she could be a vampire pony too by now,” stated Applebloom.
        “The sun isn’t even hurting us though!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, motioning to the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the windows of the clubhouse.
        Scootaloo muffled eagerly in agreement.
        “Nah, s’gotta be a loophole or somethin’ I’m missing.” The cream colored pony peered out the open window, frowning at the sunlight “There’s a lil’ row a’ garlic mah sis planted after las’ years winter wrap up. Ahm gonna go an’ get some, an’ when ah get back if ya’ll don’t be allergic to it I’ll let ya both down. If ya are though, ahm afraid ah got to put ya down mahself.”
        Applebloom trotted over to the door, just about leaving before Sweetie called out “Can you at least pull that cloth out of Scootaloos mouth before you go?”
        “Why’s that?” inquired Applebloom, her voice suspicious.
        “Just so I have somepony to talk to I guess…” said Sweetie quietly.
        Bounding over to Scootaloo, she eyed her intensely “Yah better promise to not go hootin’ an’ a hollerin’ yer head off or nothin’ like that again. Got it Scoot?”
        Scootaloo nodded fervently, and Applebloom pulled the rag out of her mouth and spat it to the floor, and turned tail out of the clubhouse, leaving behind a silent flick of her red tail.
        “This totally sucks! AAARRRGH!” grunted Scootaloo in her bonds as soon as their little captor had gone out of earshot. She twisted around until she was face to face with her fellow upside down pony.
        “It’s all your fault! Why’d you have to bite me!?” she spat.
        “I’m sorry!” apologized Sweetie, her voice a stressed high pitch “I don’t know what came over me. One minute I couldn’t go to sleep and then I got kind of hungry last night but the cheese snacks weren’t working then you were right there next to me and I…”
        Sweetie Belle let her head drop “I dunno why I did that…I’m so sorry about it.”
        “Apology ignored for biting my neck and then pretending it didn’t happen right after!” replied Scootaloo indignantly, twisting away from her.
        “I got better like almost after! I even threw everything up too!” she offered to her friends orange backside. Scootaloo just grumbled something in response.
        “We’re both better now! We just have to be! You know it because the sun isn’t burning our skin off right now, even if Applebloom doesn’t yet…”
        There was no response from her friend still muttering under her breath.
        “She’ll let us down soon. I know she will!” she said.
        No answer.
        Sweetie sighed deeply.
        “Please don’t stay mad at me. I honestly didn’t mean it. We’re still friends right?”
        Nothing.
        “Right?”
        A breeze rolled through the window, they both swayed slightly in the gently wind, and the little orange Pegasus remained quiet.
        Sweetie Belle gulped hard, trying to fight back the hint of tears welling at her eyes.
        “…Scoot?”
        Scootaloo friend swished her purple tail, and said nothing.
        “This is the worst birthday of my entire life,” mumbled Sweetie Belle, fresh tears starting to roll down her cheeks and dripping unceremoniously onto the wooden floor.
        The room remained silent for another minute, the two of them just swaying in the in wind together, Sweetie sniffling softly, her eyes squeezed shut tight.
        Flapping her left wing, Scootaloo rotated to face the little crying unicorn.
        “Today is your birthday?” she said softly.
        “Yeah…”
        “So you’re-,”
        “Twelve, yeah…” said Sweetie quickly, wiping her cheek.
        “Oh.”
        Scootaloo shut her mouth tight, watching Sweetie drying the water still trailing from her light green eyes.
        “……happy birthday Sweetie.”
        “Thanks Scoot.”
        “Hey,” she flapped her wings a bit, trying to keep face to face with Sweetie “Don’t cry on your birthday, you shouldn’t you know. It’s totally like against the rules or something.”
        “I can’t stop…” she rubbed her face again “I’m-“
        “I’m sorry,” said Scootaloo.
        “Look I get mad sometimes like that,” she continued before Sweetie could speak “So I sorta get that maybe you totally meant to do it at the time but you’re sorry now when I’m still mad about the whole thing. I don’t hate you, and this sucks so much worse for you since it’s your birthday and I’m being all…making you cry like this.”
        Scootaloo put a hoof to Sweeties shoulder.
        “I’m still your friend you know.”
        Looking around left and right real fast, Scootaloo pumped her wings and grabbed her in a tight hug, then let her go and swung backwards.
        “Thanks Scoot,” she said, a smile returning to her face at last “When we get down from here we’ll all go to my surprise party that Pinkie Pie probably set up by now.”
        “Okay, if Applebloom doesn’t come back and stuff us full of garlic first.” 
        They both broke into laughter, swinging in tune with each other. Sweetie glanced out the window, seeing Applebloom holding a single garlic clove by the teeth. A feeling of contentment washed over her, knowing this little test would be something they’d both be sure to pass. Sweetie Belle told Scoots, who immediately stuck out her tongue at having to munch garlic soon, making her laugh.
        Maybe her birthday would turn out okay after all….


THE END