Sweetie Belle trembled under her sheets. She couldn't sleep, she thought. She wasn't really sure. Maybe she had been sleeping, and it was all a really intense nightmare, she hoped. How long before she would get up and face the day? She couldn't cower here forever. Could she? Maybe she could wait until someone came looking for her...so long as that someone wasn't the monster she feared. She clenched her eyes shut and sobbed at the idea that maybe she could find Apple Bloom.
She silently nodded to herself. Yeah. Find Apple Bloom. Because if it was just a nightmare, Apple Bloom could show her she was safe, and if it wasn't...well, she at least had a vampire friend to protect her from her other vampire friend...assuming Rainbow Dash didn't kill Apple Bloom last night. Rainbow Dash kill Apple Bloom? That was absurd and horrible. No way. Of course it was a nightmare!
So, it was with these thoughts that Sweetie Belle forced herself out of bed and to find the other apartment. She knocked and knocked. "Apple Bloom!" she yelled.
To her relief, the door opened, but that feeling was immediately squashed by the sight of a rainbow-maned sky blue pegasus with friendly magenta eyes.
"Hey, there she is," Rainbow Dash greeted Sweetie Belle with a friendly smile to match her eyes.
Sweetie Belle stepped back in horror and pointed an accusing hoof at the vampire. "What are you doing here? This is Apple Bloom's place."
"Apple Bloom's indisposed, and you and I have some unfinished business. The way you ran off last night...what a fright. You okay?" Rainbow asked.
Sweetie Belle grimaced. "I…" she stammered. She swallowed and closed her eyes. "What happened? I thought you turned out to be a vampire, and Apple Bloom saved me from you...did...did that happen? Or was that a nightmare?"
Rainbow Dash broke into a smile. "Wow, really? Was I scary?" She waggled her eyebrows.
Sweetie Belle, having grown accustomed to the proud vampire's dance, nodded.
"Cool!" Rainbow said enthusiastically. "So how did Apple Bloom save you?"
Sweetie Belle took an impatient breath to herself. "She hit you on the head with a frying pan and told me to run. I don't know what happened to her after that. But you...I remember you finding me and a changeling."
"Sounds intense," Rainbow noted.
"Rainbow, please. Please stop playing with me. Did that happen or not?" Sweetie Belle asked.
At last, Rainbow Dash smirked, stared Sweetie Belle right in the eyes and said, "Yes, it did." The familiar red flashed.
Sweetie Belle knew it was in her best interest to start running again, but she was tired of it all and overwhelmed. She sank in place to the floor. "What did you to Apple Bloom?" she whispered.
"Mm, I had a drink. A big, rich, drink...of her blood," Rainbow Dash admitted. "You wouldn't believe this, but after I left her for dead, she showed up at my house alive and breathing. Wowza! Lucky gal. I could take you to her if you wanna see for yourself."
Sweetie Belle trembled, and tears streamed down her eyes. "Why should I believe you?"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "You don't have to. Don't get me wrong. I want you to believe me, but I'm not going to get all bent out of shape about it if you don't. It's got little meaning in the grand scheme of things. For me."
Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No no no," she moaned.
Rainbow Dash chuckled evilly. "I haven't even bit you yet."
Sweetie Belle's eyes darted up, but that was about all she could do before the vampire's fangs were on her neck, draining her. She felt herself on the brink of death when Rainbow put a cut forelimb to her lips. "Drink to live," the vampire commanded wickedly.
Sweetie Belle could have resisted. Maybe Rainbow Dash would have forced her after that. Maybe not. But the unicorn didn't test it. She obeyed and started to drink. Not long after, she lost consciousness.
Twilight Sparkle fumbled out of bed to check in on the sleeping Apple Bloom figure. With a lot on her mind and her heart, she left the room, then the house, oblivious to the fake Crimson corpse, for now. She went for a walk to clear her head. Spike, before she'd gone off and killed him, used to suggest she do it to unwind.
And Rainbow Dash definitely had her wound up today.
Demon Dash was back. Granted, that version of Rainbow never truly left. She only pretended for awhile, as was convenient to her. And last night, the pretending was over. Rainbow usually hunted in the Everfree forest and didn't so publicly discard dead bodies into dumpsters. It meant she had something wicked in mind.
Twilight had that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that Rainbow had either concocted yet another devious scheme to make her life miserable or was about to do exactly that. Wherever she was, she wasn't at the house for now, which Twilight only hoped to be a good sign. It was little relief or reprieve in these trying years, but she took what she could get.
She paused upon hearing the frantic panting of a little filly galloping to approach her of all ponies.
Twilight turned around, and there stood Scootaloo. Twilight blinked and shook her head. She smacked herself in the forehead in an attempt to snap herself out of the illusion.
"Twilight," the Scootaloo vision said. "What did you to do Rainbow Dash? How do we fix it? She said you turned 'face'. Is that true?"
Twilight's mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, as she considered how to answer the filly. She thought long and hard. That smack she just did to herself hurt, so...she wasn't dreaming?
Several moments of silent tension passed.
Eventually, "Scootaloo?" was all Twilight could say.
"Yeah, it's me," Scootaloo said almost proudly.
"Scootaloo, how are you...here?" Twilight gestured.
"Oh. Zecora gave me a life pause spell," Scootaloo answered rather casually.
Twilight did that thing again with opening and closing her mouth, unsure of what to say. "For finding Rainbow Dash?"
Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. What did you do? Rainbow still talked to me yet just enough to say that the version I knew of her is dead. You killed her friends. That sort of thing," she explained.
Twilight Sparkle stared at the ground in silent shame. She sighed. "I did. I made her...this way."
"Why?" Scootaloo asked angrily.
"I was wrong. I know that now. Okay? I know. But back then...I thought she was too soft. She was settling in with other ponies, and I was afraid I'd lose her forever. That she would leave me behind," Twilight noted in regret. A tear streamed down her cheek, and she wiped at it.
"I know what that's like, but still...you…" This time, tears streamed down Scootaloo's cheeks, and she punched futilely at the purple vampire, knowing she could. The old version of Twilight would have retaliated, and Rainbow would have swooped in to save her.
But that didn't happen this time.
Twilight just let her do it. And she waited.
Finally, Scootaloo's punches stopped, and she took in a long breath when she wiped her tears. "How did it happen? How did you do it?"
Sweetie Belle had no idea how much time passed when she awoke and vaguely sensed her surroundings were different. The white unicorn rubbed her head and groaned.
"Almost there," Rainbow told her. "The headache's part of the transformation. Once you get your first kill's blood in you, it goes away."
Sweetie Belle shrank back from her on a bed. "Why are you doing this? You could have killed me so many times already. I'm not sure I want this, Rainbow."
Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, I hated my sire for doing it to me. I get it. As for why, I'm doing it for kicks."
Sweetie Belle's eyes darted over. "Because you're Demon Dash right now?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes at that with a playful smile. "Sure, let's go with that."
Sweetie Belle swallowed and hoped she could continue her line of questioning. "The way you say it...you sound like you yourself don't believe it."
"I don't mind if Sparky or other ponies want to call me that. Whatever. I call myself 'Rainbow Dash' still," the vampire informed her.
Sweetie nodded. She swallowed again. "I-I'm sorry," she tried.
"Sorry for what?" Rainbow asked in amusement.
"Anything. Everything. For trying to poison you. For calling you a 'cursed piece of horse manure'. For um...'inviting' you...to kill me. For whatever is going on with this 'Demon Dash' thing. There's some part of it you're not telling me. You guard it Rainbow. I sense that much," Sweetie Belle admitted.
"Oh, you're so sweet," Rainbow said in that mocking voice that was actually sincere. "Tell you what. You let me turn you, and I'll let down my guard long enough to tell you all about it."
A tear streamed down Sweetie Belle's eye, and she shook her head. "Just...tell me. Maybe I can help."
Rainbow Dash sighed in mild annoyance. "I'm turning you anyway," she warned.
Sweetie Belle balked at that but Rainbow flew over to sit by her on the bed, making no forceful movements after. "Vampires who have lost control are the most dangerous kind. They've turned their emotions off and given into their bloodlust. But it's not like that makes them some mindless beast, like you might think would happen. No, they're manipulative," Rainbow Dash began to explain.
"You're…" Sweetie Belle said.
Rainbow glanced her way and nodded before continuing. "I tried to be as good as a vampire can be for oh...maybe...what was it? Four hundred years. Right. The first hundred were just figuring out being a vampire at all with my sire and Sparky."
"Sparky is Twilight?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Yeah," Rainbow answered with a casual nod. "She was my foil. She fully embraced being a vampire, to the point she'd get high off the blood. She drank a lot. I put up with it because I loved her then. We were partners when we were mortal. I'd try to save other ponies from her when I could, but I never left her. I tried to drink blood from non-pony animals and was weaker for it, but I was strong enough...I thought. But I was wrong. I never could save them all. And then...that day…"
Sweetie Belle looked up at Rainbow Dash and waited in anticipation.
"Even though we loved each other and lived together for five centuries, I had other lovers. Some of them even knew what I was and still accepted me. One of them was another pegasus pony named Fluttershy. I had friends too. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity. Twilight had an assistant named Spike who was a dragon. I was friends with him as well. There are certain key things that go into making a vampire lose control...what was done to me, Sweetie Belle…" Rainbow's voice iced over. "...it was deliberate."
There was blood everywhere. Rainbow Dash was no stranger to it after all these years. Twilight Sparkle had gone off again, reveling in yet another massacre. So much blood. She couldn't even tell one body from the other.
Twilight was staring up at the ceiling, fixated on something.
"Twi," Rainbow Dash flew over and waved a hoof in front of her.
Twilight smirked but continued to stare past the sky blue hoof and at the ceiling.
Rainbow Dash shook her companion's shoulders. "Twi, snap out of it."
Twilight shifted her eyes to the sky blue pegasus. "It's time," she said ominously.
Rainbow pulled back and looked at her with incredulous eyes. "Time for what?" She tried not to panic. Not yet.
"Time for you to change, Rainbow. They were holding you back, so I took care of it," Twilight muttered.
Rainbow's eyes widened in horror, and she immediately looked up to the ceiling. "Fluttershy!" she gasped, flying up to see a widened, shocked expression from her girlfriend. The yellow pegasus was held in place by multiple nails driven through her legs. A wooden stake rested in place on her chest, driven through her heart. "Twilight...how could you…"
Twilight simply stared off into space before she finally answered. "I was going to lose you..."
Tears streamed down Rainbow's face, and she screamed. She scanned the pile of bodies. "Who else did you kill, huh? Where are they?!"
Twilight didn't respond, just went back to staring at the dead Fluttershy. "It's time," she repeated in that ominous tone.
Frustrated and on edge, Rainbow started examining the other bodies to find her worst fears realized. Blood was splattered all over Pinkie Pie. She wandered to find other familiar coats under it all. Orange that was Applejack. White that was Rarity. Purple dragon scales that were Spike. "My friends…" she uttered in a whisper. "You killed my friends."
"I did," Twilight agreed in a drunken stupor while nodding. "Because you're going to join us. Enough with the coddling mortals, Rainbow. Or everyone, really. They were keeping you under control. Too much control. Too...equine." The last word was stated with careful enunciation. "I couldn't have them taking you away from me. It's time for you to be the vampire Crimson made you to be."
Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes shut, running her tongue across her fangs and upper lip. Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her chest. She heaved. More tears streamed down her face. "I'm so sorry Fluttershy," she whispered, knowing what was about to happen, bracing for it. She didn't have the emotional nor mental strength to fight it. Not with all the blood and death and pain and loss. Everything Twilight Sparkle needed to make it happen. She was counting on it.
Rainbow Dash's body numbed from within. The world stood still, and so did she. Pitch black darkness and total silence surrounded her. She opened her magenta eyes to see vibrant red ribbons of her own power snake their way to wrap around her legs, her chest, her neck, her tail, her mane, her head. They engulfed her completely.
Tightening as they folded into her body, the ribbons suffocated the pegasus to release out a long, slow breath of wispy gray smoke that held her precious care for so many things. Rainbow Dash watched the smoke swirl and twist in front of her, taking an equine shape. She twitched. Equinity? She looked on with wistful fascination, tears brimming in her still magenta eyes. She clenched her jaw. She had to let go.
She had to let go.
Her face contorted from a sneer into an evil smile, and her eyes lit to the same brilliant red as her ribbons of power. The wispy gray equine shape stretched long, tearing itself apart as it streamed away. She blew onto it, to help it along, watching it float away and taking her feelings for Twilight Sparkle with it. Meanwhile, the emboldened red power coursed through her veins. Darkness faded, and the room came back into view.
Twilight trotted over and approached Rainbow Dash. "Ready?"
Rainbow snapped out of a gaze and looked at Twilight with a sudden, cocky smirk. "Actually, I won't be joining you."
Twilight's eyes widened. As she tried to register the response, Rainbow Dash shoved her so strongly, the unicorn's entire body flew across the room and slammed into a wall.
The pegasus vampire dashed over quickly, true to her namesake, and held Twilight firm against that same wall, crushing her just enough so that Twilight struggled to breathe. "On the contrary, how about I turn against you instead?" Rainbow Dash smirked again, then snarled and bared her fangs.
Twilight grit her teeth. Her fangs elongated, and her horn lit.
But it didn't matter.
The other vampire was far too fast in her next actions. Rainbow quickly chomped down onto the purple coat and drank. Delicious vampire blood. Enemy blood. It had been too long. So long. It was the most delicious blood she ever drank. Despite letting go of so many feelings, Rainbow felt very good in that moment. It was a sensation that would fuel her for centuries.
Twilight helplessly crumpled to the floor, too weak to move yet still conscious enough to watch her monster make its next move.
Rainbow licked at the blood on her mouth. "Mm, yes. I suppose you had a point, thanks." She grinned and stared down at the collapsed unicorn.
Trembling, Twilight was too weak to make any other movement. Her horn lit and dimmed, unable to cast anything. She could only watch.
"I've coddled everyone too much for far too long, most especially you." Rainbow's eyes gleamed with a brilliant, wicked red and even sparkled as she added, "Guess we fixed that."
Twilight continued her futile efforts to move in tiny jolts and twitches of movement but not much else. She tried to speak, but she couldn't with how much blood the other vampire took.
Rainbow crouched low to look at her with a serious expression that could easily be mistaken for sympathetic. "Does it hurt?"
Her victim just kept twitching...and started to cry as she nodded.
"Perfect," the pegasus purred. She leaned forward and nuzzled Twilight's cheek, then licked at one of the tears, followed by a sinister chuckle. She stood and started to walk away but paused to look back at the unicorn. Rainbow's red eyes burned with evil intent. Her emotions were off. Her inhibitions had re-aligned. She was ready to kill anyone. Except Twilight. "Don't worry Sparky. I made sure to leave just enough so that you'll live. I won't ever leave you. Not really. Just like you wanted. I may come and go, but I'll always be back...for revenge.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go make some trouble for you to deal with whenever you recover from my draining you." She cackled as she left the room.