//------------------------------// // Dangerous Desires // Story: BloodLust // by The Mountaineer Brony //------------------------------// Zecora trotted briskly about her apothecary, going back and forth between a large, old book and her shelves of components, checking her inventory and gathering all that she would need to brew up a cure for Fluttershy-- she hoped. She was still lacking the special ingredients from her homeland, which she had urgently sent for first thing that morning. It would have to come a very long way by boat or airship, and, intercontinental postage being what it was, could very well take up to a week to arrive-- time that Fluttershy didn't have. As she gathered the ingredients she had on hoof, she silently prayed that she and Rainbow Dash would be able to keep their patient and friend under control, and stop an outbreak before it occurred. If a plague of this sort was anything like the stories that Zecora had heard in her youth, all of Ponyville could be doomed. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash zipped around the Sweet Feather Sanctuary, checking in on various animals, but finding few of them around. She refilled feeders and cleaned up nesting areas, but only encountered the odd songbird or the usual butterflies and bees. There were no deer about, nor even small animals like squirrels. The only rabbit that she'd seen lately was Angel, who sat atop her head as she performed her duties. Even Harry the bear, the largest animal currently living with Fluttershy, was nowhere to be found. Rainbow scratched her chin in thought. "This is... weird." She mused aloud. "What could be causing the animals to up and leave?" Angel jumped about and mimed gestures on Rainbow's noggin, but Rainbow didn't speak rabbit, so his input went unheeded. "You don't suppose they're scared of Fluttershy, do you?" The mare said as she flitted along towards the pond. "She's taken such good care of them for so long... but maybe... maybe they can sense what's happening to her. Their instincts tell them she's no longer safe to be around... oh, but even the bear? I wouldn't think a bear would get frightened off quicker than a bunny like you, Angel." Angel sat down in a huff, with crossed forelegs and rolled eyes. Rainbow Dash made her way to the edge of the pond, where she found only two animals- a frog resting on a lily pad and a snake sunning itself on the rocks. Looking up at the bright, cloudless sky, Rainbow decided to take a rest and enjoy the day. The frog and the snake looked briefly at her as she plopped herself down on the sun-warmed rocks at the water's edge and stretched. Angel Bunny was careful to keep as much distance between himself and the snake as possible. "So," Dash began, striking up a one-sided conversation with the animals "either of you two need any food or anything?" The frog uttered a small grunt and lashed its tongue at a nearby fly. The snake hissed softly and curled up on its rock, resting its head on a bulging stomach. Angel winced and shied away behind Rainbow Dash. "I'll take that as a no." Dash rested her wings and tired back, stretching them out on the warm rocks and gazing up at the sky. A smile spread across her face as she thought about how her day had begun; indeed, for a moment, she was able to cast off the looming shadow of Fluttershy's illness and picture a brighter future, one with them living together happily surrounded by animals. It was a thought she'd never say out loud, since she was always a flier at heart, but Rainbow would gladly live a life on the ground if it meant being close to Fluttershy. She could practically feel her heart soaring as she pictured her sweetheart's warm smile and loving embrace; knowing that she felt the same way towards her made Dash want to Sonic Rainboom five times over. "Isn't Fluttershy just wonderful?" Dash asked eagerly, rolling over onto her tummy. "She's got such a kind heart, loves taking care of all you animals, and she's just so darn nice to everypony. She's got big ol' doe eyes and she makes the cutest little faces and she's SOOOOOOO soft to the touch!" Rainbow found herself emitting an uncharacteristic squeal as she fawned over her love to her silent audience in the same way that she once made over the Wonderbolts. The stars were visible in her eyes as she turned them on the animals present at the pond. The snake had fallen asleep. The frog merely gave a ribbit in reply. Suddenly, Rainbow popped back up into the air. "That's right! I can't dawdle for too long, I've still got chores to do! Fluttershy is counting on me!" Angel Bunny mimicked the act of spreading seed on the ground. Rainbow scooped him up in her hooves and tousled his fur. "That's right, Angel! We still need to feed the chickens!" Quick as a flash, Dash had retrieved a bag of corn from storage and arrived at Fluttershy's chicken coop. The hens in the yard below squawked and rustled their feathers as they called to Rainbow to feed them. Cradling the bag, she made several passes over the yard, scattering the feed which the birds scurried to peck off the ground. While they were busy eating, Rainbow took a moment to survey the coop; she put fresh hay in the nest boxes and checked for any signs of disrepair. "Huh, that's strange..." Dash said to herself as she counted the nests. "There are eight nest boxes but only seven chickens..." Fluttershy sat back on the couch and reminisced about the good times she'd spent with Rainbow Dash, not least about waking up next to her and what life events led up to it. Despite everything horrid that had been happening to her lately, for a moment she was able to let her heart flutter and be sated with love, knowing that she could finally be honest with her feelings for Dash. She closed her eyes and smiled, curling up in her blanket and imagining she was tucked beneath cyan wings, protected from everything in the world. Fluttershy felt as though she could hear Rainbow's gentle breathing in the breeze, as though she were actually curled up next to her. She began to salivate as she thought back to kissing her best friend, and how much she yearned to do it again. Suddenly, Fluttershy found herself snapped out of her reverie by a gentle clucking sound. One of her chickens had made its way in through the cracked door, and now stood beside the coffee table, looking up curiously at Fluttershy on the sofa, tilting its head this way and that. "...Oh! Hello, little one." Fluttershy cooed. "How did you get out of the yard?" The bird simply clucked in response. "I suppose it doesn't matter..." the pony continued. "It's... nice to have you here..." Fluttershy found herself eyeing the bird in a way she never had before, but felt powerless to help it. She absentmindedly ran her tongue over her fangs. "Here, chicky-chicky..." It hadn't taken Dash long to locate the hole in the wire fence where one of the hens managed to scratch her way out through the soft soil. Now, she flitted about the area surrounding the cottage, making clucking noises in an attempt to locate the missing bird. Angel had jumped off of her head to search on the ground with his eyes and nose. "Here, little chicken! Come to Rainbow Dash! Baaaawk! Buck-buck-buck-buck BRAAAW--" Rainbow found herself interrupted by a sizeable apple being hurled at her head. "OW! Wha... Hey!" Angel Bunny stamped his feet urgently and indicated a trackway of narrow, birdlike footprints making their way through the dirt in the direction of the cottage door. The realization hit Rainbow like a ton of apples. "Oh no... Her wings were moving her towards the door before she even realized it. Dash warned Angel to stay back as she swung the door open, unsure of what lay within. Fortunately, Rainbow appeared to have arrived just in time. The frantic hen was struggling to wrest herself free from Fluttershy's grasp, but the vampiric mare hadn't yet laid into her meal. Rainbow bolted over to the side of the couch, grabbing the chicken in her own forehooves and attempting to pull her free. Fluttershy's grip was strong and there was a brief struggle, but finally, Dash managed to rear back hard enough to pluck the frightened hen from her predator's clutches. Before Rainbow could say anything in response to her friend's behavior, though, Fluttershy had thrown off her blanket and was hovering on the wing, her face mere inches away from Dash's. A fierce, raspy hiss flew from the back of her throat, and her eyes seemed to glow red with primal anger. Dash could feel the moisture on her face and carefully backed away, cradling the traumatized chicken. It wasn't but a moment later that Fluttershy's senses returned to her and she realized what had happened. Still hovering, she glanced down at her own hooves, then back at Dash, before covering her mouth in shock. Her eyes remained a reddish tint, but Rainbow could tell that her friend was back in control. Shaking in fear, Fluttershy lowered herself back down to her seat, her wingbeats sounding less feathery and more leathery than they had before. Large tears began pooling in the corners of her eyes; she cloaked herself in her own wings for comfort and laid her pointed ears flat against her head. "D-Dash, I... what did... I... I'm losing control..." Fluttershy threw her head into her hooves as her emotional dam broke. She sobbed loud enough to be heard outside, where Angel waited by the door, fearful and despondent. Dash set the chicken down, which quickly fled outdoors, and sat on the couch to comfort her friend, whose chest was heaving with anguish as she wept. "Fluttershy... you couldn't help it." Rainbow wasn't sure if what she had to say would help. "But you managed to snap out of it before anything bad happened." "I-I snapped out of it because of you, Rainbow..." She managed to calm her voice enough to deliver a muffled message from behind folded wings. "As soon as I saw that look in your eyes... a-as soon as I realized I'd frightened you... something snapped... and I took control over my instincts again. If you hadn't been here, I... I might have..." "Eviscerated a chicken." Rainbow thought. With a sniffle, Fluttershy raised her head to look upon Rainbow once more. Her fangs were now permanently visible after she'd almost made use of them. "I need you here." Her voice was barely above a whisper. This, combined with her wet, pitiful eyes powerfully tugged at Dash's heartstrings. The gentle forehoof she felt pawing at her knee didn't help, either. "Fluttershy, I have responsibilities... as much as I really, really want to stay here and look after you, I'm going to have to go. Maybe it's time we tell Twilight. I'm sure she and Zecora can look after you and figure out some way to-" "No, Dash, please!" Fluttershy's voice suddenly jumped in pitch, sounding almost panicked. "I feel like I'm enough danger to you and Zecora just by being like this. The LAST thing I want is to threaten anypony else. And besides, if word gets out about this, the whole town would be thrown into a panic! Imagine the whole "Zecora is an evil enchantress" mishap but ten times worse. I beg of you, Dash, DO NOT let ANYPONY else near me!" Rainbow sighed heavily; of course, she didn't have a problem taking care of Fluttershy, but it wouldn't be easy to explain to their friends and neighbors why neither of them had been seen for several days. After all, Rainbow was both a weatherpony and a Wonderbolt, and Fluttershy wasn't the shut-in she once was. "What will I tell Twilight and the others then, Fluttershy?" She fluffed her wings out like a mother bird for Fluttershy to scooch underneath, which she gladly did. "I'm sure they're already wondering where you've been." "Just tell them I've been sick." She said, as though it were that simple. "It's not wrong. And if they ask to see me, just say that I haven't felt well enough to have ponies over, but not to worry since you and Zecora are taking care of me." Rainbow scratched her chin. "Well... I guess it's worth a shot." "Thank you, Dashie." Fluttershy purred, nestling herself into Rainbow's feathers and fur and closing down her eyes for a nap... at least, until a loud grumble emanated from her stomach. "Ah-haha, right..." said Fluttershy. "I... guess I had a reason for wanting to attack that chicken." "Hmm..." Rainbow adjusted her seating, bringing her forehooves into view. "You know, I think she gave me a little scratch on the wrist here in all the commotion..." She glanced over at Fluttershy, patiently waiting. "If you're VERY careful and DON'T use your fangs, I'll let you take a little bit. A LITTLE bit." Fluttershy's eyes lit up, which, given her vampiric persona, was rather eerie. "Oh, thank you, my love." Rainbow detected a little redness in both their cheeks. Gently, she brought the thin red streak on her foreleg towards her friend's waiting snout. After a couple of instinctual sniffs, Fluttershy's eyes dilated and she began to lap at the wound. Rainbow Dash felt a trickle of blood emerging from the wound, and, much like a vampire bat's, Fluttershy's saliva kept the blood from clotting. The yellow mare's eyes closed gently as she concentrated on feeding, and Rainbow thought she could detect quiet squeaks from her throat betraying her happiness. Two or three minutes passed before the vampire's hunger had been sated; fortunately for Rainbow, she'd lost less blood than she feared. Fluttershy slowly pulled her mouth away, a watery red trail running down her chin. She took a deep breath and settled back down onto her haunches. "...That was great." She said, bashfully looking away from her friend. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash..." Before she could reply, Fluttershy tasted her mouth and raised a quizzical eyebrow. "You're blood type Qa+, aren't you?" Rainbow's eyebrows jumped a bit. "Uhh... I think so, yeah... how can you tell?" Fluttershy shrugged. "I guess I can just... tell now." Luckily, passing off Fluttershy's illness and bedrest requirements went off with little issue, and Rainbow Dash was able to return to the cottage to spend another night- this time, laden with gifts that her friends sent her, from get-well cards to flowers to various cure-all remedies and comfort foods she wouldn't be able to eat. Rainbow got those instead, and she had to admit that Granny Smith knew how to make a good tomato soup despite specializing in all things apple. Fluttershy found it a little awkward to go to bed after dark, her instincts telling her she should be up, but with enough coaxing and promises of cuddles from Rainbow- promises she was only happy to fulfill- she finally got some good shuteye. When they awoke the next morning, however, they were both in for a surprise. Sunlight wafted in through the window, gently waking up Rainbow Dash as though knocking on her eyelids and asking to be let in. She yawned and stretched as she usually did, and barely managed to suppress her giddiness at once more waking up next to Fluttershy. Gleefully, she popped in and planted a kiss on her sweetheart's cheek... ...but unexpectedly, Fluttershy gave a mild noise of pain. "Fluttershy? What's wrong?" Slowly, she started to roll over and face Dash, who was now hovering above the bed. "Whatever that was, Dashie, that's a rude way to wake somepony up." "What? It's just a kiss, a little peck on the cheek. How did-- OH MY LEAPING LUNA!" Unknown to Fluttershy, the left half of her face, the half not buried in the pillow, was horribly sunburnt. In some places, it even seemed as though her fur had started to burn away. There were flakes of skin and horrid blisters peeking out from beneath her yellow coat, and even behind the fur, Rainbow could see the distinct redness that tinged half of her entire face. The thin skin of her poor ear looked as though it had been stuck in a deep fryer. "What?" asked Fluttershy innocently. Rainbow quickly grabbed a hoof-held mirror off of the vanity. "Rainbow, you know I can barely make out my reflection anymore." She passed the mirror to Fluttershy regardless. "Half your face has a monstrous sunburn!" Fluttershy peered deeply into the mirror while reaching a hoof up to touch her left cheek. She winced in pain and caught the reflection at just the right angle to see the damage. Naturally, she gave a shrill scream of fright and leapt back against the headboard of the bed. "It's alright! It's alright!" Dash reassured her. "I'm sure Zecora has some aloe vera! Wait right here!" Rainbow rushed out of the nearby window, making sure to close the blinds in her iridescent wake. Carefully, Fluttershy picked up the mirror again and examined what little she could make out. It didn't take long to notice that she was grasping the mirror in the claw on her wing, which was increasingly devoid of feathers. As she turned her head this way and that, she felt an uneasiness creep up from the pit of her stomach, and a fearful realization dawned on her once more. She was losing herself. She was becoming a monster.