Sweetie Belle inwardly panicked for a moment when she heard a door open. She soon heard wheels sliding along the floor and a casual whistle. Her heart skipped a beat, and she waited, unable to tell if it was the vampire hunting her or someone else. Maybe someone who could help her?
She chanced a look and saw a stallion in uniform, sweeping the floor. She took a relieved breath that he heard, causing him to pause and stare out at the seemingly empty room. She gulped, hesitating on revealing herself. He probably wouldn't believe her, and maybe Rainbow would….who knew what Rainbow would do?
Rainbow Dash sniffed the air and followed the scent, arriving at the room and observing the scene. "Collateral damage," she thought to herself. Too bad for him. She had stopped making a distinction on which ponies were innocent long ago. Sure, she could wait, but while he was here, she could have some fun toying with them both. She smirked, and her eyes flashed red. Lucky for her, neither one of her prey saw it yet.
Sweetie Belle was about to get up when she saw a light flicker. She gulped.
The cleaning stallion paused in his whistling and scanned the room, thinking of the breath he heard earlier. "Is someone there?" he asked the room.
Sweetie Belle shut her eyes and took another breath. Another audible breath.
"Come on out. I won't hurt you," he promised.
"It's not you I'm afraid of," Sweetie Belle muttered. It was just low enough so that the stallion could not hear her.
Rainbow Dash did though and smirked again. She was just getting started.
Two more lights flickered.
The stallion paused and sighed in annoyance. "I'm really not in the mood to play games, whoever you are."
Suddenly, all of the lights went out, putting each mortal into a state of peril.
The stallion himself took a nervous gulp, starting to realize he was being threatened. "Okay, that's enough, don't you think?" he asked with a nervous smile too.
Sinister laughter rocked the air. Rainbow Dash did it in part sincerity, for her victim was scared she wanted him to be, but also, she always had a flair for the dramatic, even as a mortal. And as a vampire, well, she had rehearsed and played this role many times before.
The stallion finally accepted that whoever was toying with him likely meant him harm. He made a dash for the door, tugging at it, only to find it somehow jammed.
"No one gets in or out," Rainbow's voice called out with a deadly tone.
"Just...stop it...please!" the stallion tried to sound firm and brave.
A light came on. A single light where she wanted him. Now, she just had to get him there.
"Who's there?" the stallion asked.
"Who indeed?" Rainbow called out in a low voice, close to his right and flashing her eyes.
He gasped, staring into the darkness and making a run for the light. It was a setup, he sensed that much, but he was still correct in believing himself safer there than in the all-encompassing darkness.
"What do you want from me?" he asked the mystery voice.
"Your blood," Rainbow told him openly. "Or your help," she added with a wicked tone.
"He-help?" the stallion asked, considering that prospect.
"There's another pony here. Sweetie Belle. Bring her to me, and I will spare your life," Rainbow Dash offered from the shadows.
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened in quiet shock, from where she crouched under a table.
The stallion himself froze at that. He swallowed. "And what are you going to do to her?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled wickedly and entered in view, allowing the light to reveal her with red eyes and sharp teeth. "We're going to have dinner."
The stallion stumbled back a couple of steps. "Vampire?" he asked her.
"What will it be little stallion?" Rainbow asked him.
He scanned the room for the other pony. Was there really someone else here? He remembered the breaths he heard earlier and connected the dots. That must have been who he heard before this vampire arrived.
"I may have all night, but I'm not known for my patience," Rainbow warned him.
The stallion swallowed and stared at her. "No," he told her firmly, partly out of a sense of moral obligation and partly out of hope that the other pony would come to his aid, that they could both escape this vampire together. Somehow.
Sweetie Belle shuddered in place. He saved her, but she couldn't just wait and watch him die. And yet...what could she do? Didn't Rainbow have enhanced hearing as a vampire? "No time!" she thought to herself, knowing of Rainbow's quickness and the threat weighing on her savior's life. She got up from under the table, magically wielding a chair, and flung it in Rainbow's direction.
The scared stallion dodged clear.
Rainbow Dash was ready though and held out a strong forelimb, shattering the wooden chair on impact.
The other two stared at the splintered shards in shock.
"Looks like I found her without you," Rainbow told him with a smirk. In an instant, she sprung onto his neck and sank her teeth in.
"Aaaaaah!" he screamed. Oh, how he screamed. Rainbow Dash reveled in his immense terror, drinking the fear in with his blood.
Sweetie Belle stared down at the split pieces of wood and looked up to see Rainbow Dash affectionately nuzzle her victim's neck for a moment. "Don't worry," she whispered gently to console him. She pulled away to pierce into his gaze with two intense red eyes. "It will all be over soon, love."
And back she went to draining him, killing him quickly after.
She pulled away again, dropping him like a sack of unwanted and useless potatoes, no longer with any sense of care as when she drank his life force. Blood dribbled down her chin, and her eyes twinkled as she stared in Sweetie Belle's direction with a sadistic smile. She wiped her mouth with a hoof and licked it clean, then audibly smacked her lips. "Don't it suck being in the wrong place at the wrong time?" she asked in a mocking tone and cackled wickedly at her joke.
"You're a monster!" Sweetie Belle told her. She picked up one of the pieces of broken wood and held it out like an impromptu stake she could use.
Rainbow Dash chuckled, looking up from the dead body and into the still living green eyes of her friend. "I know," she said, letting her red eyes light with malice.
Sweetie Belle backed away a few steps but did not flee. "You-you shouldn't have killed him."
"Oh, you're so sweet," Rainbow said. It sounded like she was mocking the unicorn, but she actually meant it. Sweetie Belle barely noticed that the fangs had retreated with the remark. Rainbow's magenta eyes darted up and down, scanning the pony before her. "Except for the whole 'getting ready to kill me with a stake' thing we have going on here."
Sweetie Belle fumed and shot it forth with her magic, aiming for Rainbow Dash's heart, but Rainbow Dash was a very fast pegasus, even before being turned into a vampire. The stake missed its mark when she dodged clear and easily thwacked it away. In the blink of an eye, a rainbow tornado formed in the room, whittling the shards to dust.
Rainbow landed softly onto the floor. "There. No stakes. Wooden, that is. There is still, of course, a stake on your life." She took slow, even steps forward in Sweetie Belle's direction.
"Are you really going to kill me...too?" Sweetie Belle asked, backing away.
Rainbow Dash smirked yet again. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"No," Sweetie Belle denied in a near gasp and shook her head. "No…" she whispered. And yet...no. She clenched her eyes shut, shoving the temptation down. Who would want to die by vampire bite? That was absurd. Certainly not her. Certainly not…no way…even if it was Rainbow Dash…she just...she just needed to buy some time. Maybe another pony could help her.
"You sure about that? Because you're not exactly trying to escape," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and stared. "What about you? You're not exactly…trying...to..to..."
Rainbow Dash quickly drew in, muzzle to muzzle, magenta eyes to light green, and locked the mortal in her gaze. "Don't underestimate me," she said quite seriously.
Sweetie Belle gulped. "Why would you kill me? Even if you are a vampire, we've been friends for years…I thought."
Rainbow pulled away and took a few steps in another direction, starting to pace. "Well, mainly because you…" She paused for dramatic effect. And turned to look at Sweetie Belle with gleaming, wicked red eyes. "...invited me to."
Sweetie Belle gulped. "That..."
"It was," Rainbow replied, not letting her finish her sentence to deny it. "Plus, our little game started with you trying to poison me, need I remind you. Kinda funny when you think about it and then your moral righteousness for him." She gestured toward the dead body of the cleaning stallion.
"Oh...well...I've never met a vampire before, alright? Based on stories, they're really dangerous killers. You've only proved that to be true," Sweetie Belle argued.
"Kill the killer, huh?" Rainbow asked with a devious smile.
Sweetie Belle gulped again and took a breath. "Yeah…"
"Well, I may as well play the part then," Rainbow Dash said, still smiling.
Sweetie Belle stood, locked in place. It was working, but no one had come.
The vampire pony began to slowly draw in closer again. "You're not going to run?" she asked.
"Is that what you want me to do?" Sweetie Belle timidly replied.
"Well, it would be more fun. You're kind of easy mode like this with the forced stalling," Rainbow Dash told her.
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened.
"Oh, you didn't think I knew? That is so cute," Rainbow said to the look she was given. "Well, anyway, don't mind if I do…" She showed her fangs visibly elongate and take shape, then fake practiced chomping the air, readying herself to bite her victim. "Prepare to die…" she said in a voice that was far too playful and friendly for what it said.
Sweetie Belle bolted.
"And we have a runner," Rainbow Dash said with a sly smirk. "Time for some drama."
"Get away from me!" Sweetie Belle yelped, using her magic to throw multiple wine glasses in Rainbow Dash's direction.
The sky blue pegasus dodged each one with ease. "But we're having so much fun!" she argued with a tease in her tone.
"Fun? This isn't fun for me Rainbow! I hate this! I hate you! I can't stand vampires!" Sweetie Belle said.
At that, Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow as if the words surprised her. "Then why are you with Apple Bloom?"
Sweetie Belle stopped throwing things for a moment and looked at her with incredulous eyes. "What? What's that got to do with anything? She's not a vampire."
Rainbow smirked. "You sure about that?"
Sweetie Belle hesitated and then stood firm. "O-of course. How could she be a vampire…?" her words trailed off. If Rainbow Dash was a vampire, why couldn't Apple Bloom be one? She shook her head. "You're just trying to trick me. I'm not falling for your mind games."
"Well, you see, I stopped by her place on the way over to find you…" Rainbow began. "We had a little chat, and I thought tonight would be a good night for her to tell you."
Right on cue, Apple Bloom stepped out from the darkness, two vampiric red eyes visibly gazing at Sweetie Belle.
"No…" Sweetie Belle uttered in a whisper. She looked accusingly at Rainbow Dash. "You did this. You did that to her, didn't you? Tonight?"
Rainbow Dash chortled. "Oh, that is rich. The first vampire you meet...well, know to be a vampire I should say...and obviously I must be the one…" she continued her fit of giggles.
Apple Bloom sighed impatiently. "No, Rainbow Dash is not the one who turned me. Now Sweetie Belle, if you would stop throwing things, that'd be nice."
Sweetie Belle looked this way and that, reaching out a hoof to grab the nearest blunt object she could find, which turned out to be a frying pan. Well, it would have to do. She lifted it with her magic and held it out like a weapon. She sure hoped it was stronger than the stake she tried earlier. Somehow.
"Stay back, both of you," she warned.
Apple Bloom sighed again. "Put that down, would ya? Rainbow is playing with you, but in case you haven't noticed, you ain't dead, and she ain't attacking."
"And you...why are you here?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Well…" Apple Bloom drawled thoughtfully.
"I let her in on my plan for you," Rainbow said with mischievous glee.
"Plan? What plan?" Sweetie Belle asked, still holding the frying pan like a warning, threatening weapon.
"I don't want to kill you, and yet I do. You don't want me to kill you, and yet you do…" Rainbow started. The voice spoke in a rhythm just shy of singing.
"No, I don't," Sweetie Belle denied.
Rainbow smiled slyly, knowing the answer was a bit of both. Mortals liked the excitement of the chase, woe they were to admit it. "Lucky for us, there is a point where you can kinda be killed and kinda still live. You know, like us vampires. Be 'undead' as they say."
"No!" Sweetie replied back firmly, the realization of Rainbow's meaning dawning on her. "You wouldn't. Apple Bloom wouldn't let you…" She turned to the pony in question. "Would you?" she asked desperately, sadness in her glistening light green eyes.
Apple Bloom's eyes darted down and to the floor as she considered her reply, before meeting Sweetie Belle's again as she said with utmost seriousness, "You found out about one of us. It needs to be done."
Sweetie Belle's mouth fell open, and she hacked the frying pan in a frantic move at nothing, finding it loosen from her telekinetic grip. "You've gotta be kidding me," she muttered and magically reached for it again.
"Seriously. You gonna take on two vampires with a frying pan?" Apple Bloom asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Well, what would you suggest?" Sweetie asked with indignance.
"I would suggest you...run!" Apple Bloom said with sincere urgency and suddenly grabbed the frying pan from Sweetie Belle's magic grip. She turned around to whack Rainbow Dash in the head with it.
Sweetie Belle stood for a moment with her mouth open, stunned.
"I'm serious! Get outta here!" Apple Bloom ordered her, hitting Rainbow Dash again soon after.
Sweetie Belle nodded and made a run for it.
Reeling, Rainbow Dash rubbed her head. "Well, that took an interesting turn."
Apple Bloom whacked her with the frying pan a third time. "I ain't letting you hurt her, and that's that."
The pegasus vampire smirked. "Oh, but you don't mind quietly feeding off her all these years…"
Apple Bloom smacked her in the face. "This ain't no game, Rainbow…"
"It is for me," Rainbow replied with an evil, fanged grin, at last attacking with a hard smack of her own with a solid hoof. Apple Bloom's entire body flew across the room, crashing into a table.
"Curse your age," Apple Bloom spat.
"Eh, you're not so bad, skipper. I'm just better," Rainbow told her cockily, punching her again and kicking the frying pan away. She straddled the other vampire pony and headbutted her.
This time, Apple Bloom's head fell back. Raising it again, she yelled and seethed, "Stop it! Just leave her alone, won't you? What did she ever do to you?"
"She challenged me. Who am I to deny such an invitation? Oh and attempted poison and name-calling," Rainbow said, headbutting her a second time with a wild grin.
Apple Bloom grit her sharp teeth. "Well, okay, that's...not good on her part, but still...ignorant mortals mess up like that. Cut her some slack."
"That's kinda the idea with the whole 'turning her' instead of 'completely killing her' thing," Rainbow explained with an evil smile.
Apple Bloom struggled from being pinned to the ground by the stronger vampire, out of breath. "It ain't right...you've won, alright? Your game? You won. You're stronger than me. You're stronger than her. We both know you're the dominant vampire here and not to cross you. I forfeit or whatever it is you want out of me."
Rainbow Dash's red eyes lit up to match her grin. "I want your blood."
Apple Bloom looked at her in confusion for a moment.
Rainbow Dash cocked her head, amused at her ignorance. "We can be drained too, skipper. And it just seems like a proper end to the vampire that fed on my prey for years. You know, revenge for Sweetie Belle and all, since you're so concerned about somepony hurting her."
"You!" Apple Bloom squirmed to no avail, soon finding a third headbutt thrust on her, followed by a drain on her life force.
Pulling away, Rainbow Dash stared down. Vampire blood was thick with power and well...a mix of the vampire's own feeding, so it had a rich taste she thoroughly enjoyed. Plus, if she could still feel remorse, she wouldn't feel as bad about killing such a creature. She grinned yet again. That really was delicious.