//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Suri Polomare // Story: My Vampire Companion // by kazamacat //------------------------------// Suddenly, the door to the library flew open in a frightening explosion. FRWOOM! The ponies and Spike began to cough amidst dust and debris as an earth pony figure stepped forward. She was a pink mare with a curly purple mane and tail to match. She wore a white headband with much of her back mane hair held up by several obscured hairpins. She entered with a smirk. "What can I say? I wanted to make a dramatic entrance." She closed her eyes, fluffed at a curl along the back of her mane a bit, and scanned the room. At the sight of Rainbow Dash waving away some smoke with a wing, the pink mare ominously smiled with a pair of wicked, amber eyes. "Well now...I like the look...I do. A bit garish though and not really in line with Coco's talent for hiding and lurking in the shadows." "Coco?" Rainbow asked. She frowned. "Who are you?" The pink mare narrowed her eyes in interest before her face twitched and twisted into a sneer. "Trying to play ignorant now? If you aren't her, then you must know her." "Rainbow Dash," Twilight Sparkle coughed and coughed. "Who is this?" "Suri Polomare," the earth pony answered for the young vampire, patting at her own mane in pride. She thoughtfully examined Rainbow Dash with her amber eyes again...and then the others. "Now then, let me continue my analysis of this fine young mare...who might or might not be Coco Pommel in disguise." "I am not Coco Pommel. My name is Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow insisted. She lifted into a hover and silently hoped she was not giving too much away regarding her master. Rarity stepped forward. "Ahem. I can vouch for my good friend here, Miss Polomare," she offered politely. Suri grew suspicious before breaking into an evil grin and starting to chuckle. "Oh my goodness. Don't tell me. She actually did it, didn't she? She made one." The earth pony mare snarled, and her amber eyes burned with horrible delight. "Even better." She stroked her own mane again, throwing out one of her hairpins as if it were a grenade. She aimed for the hovering sky blue figure. A quick poof of smoke, and Rainbow Dash suddenly screamed in pain as she collapsed to the floor, surrounded by dangerous sparks of white electricity. "Aaaaaaaah!" "Rainbow Dash!" all her friends worriedly exclaimed. "What is it? What's happening?" Twilight Sparkle asked in concern. "What...are you...doing to me?" Rainbow Dash cried out in immense pain between the shocks of the bolts surrounding her. "You'll see," Suri said with a wicked smile. "You'll all see soon enough." The other ponies and Spike watched in a mix of awe and horror as Rainbow's wings transformed before their eyes. She had told them she could but seeing it in real time was another matter. Her fangs grew out once more. She lay on the floor with labored breathing and closed eyes for a few moments before slowly bringing herself to stand. Her eyelids opened to reveal two frightening and powerful red eyes. Most of the group had only glimpsed the eyes from a distance before and not seen them up close, eyeing them directly. Even Spike, the one among them who had seen them that way, found them all the more frightening this time. He quietly clung to one of Twilight's legs. Meanwhile, Suri sat down on her haunches and applauded. "Well now, I can see why Coco picked you. You are perfect! Love the wings." "Rainbow Dash?" a very frightened Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash stared at Fluttershy, then the other cowering ponies and little dragon child in front of her...then at Suri. Her expression betrayed nothing. She offered no solace to her friends—nor a threat. She was trying to remember what was going on, but it was hard. Those ponies were terrified of her, and it made her blood tingle—made her feel powerful. She silently reveled in that fact. She met Suri's eyes again. That mare did not fear her and was important for some reason, but the vampire fledgling was not sure why. Suri stepped closer and began to circle her as Coco did when Rainbow Dash first grew these wings. "Something does seem a little off," Suri commented. "Who is your master, my child?" "Coco Pommel," Rainbow immediately answered and then pressed a hoof to her forehead. "I..." How easily she had betrayed the master's main request... "You weren't supposed to say that, yeah. I bet she's trying to keep herself a secret, isn't she?" Suri figured aloud. "Yes...Suri," Rainbow answered. She glanced at the floor, slightly ashamed. "Oh, don't feel bad, my child. I outrank her. You get it now, don't you?" Suri remarked with a sly smile. "I am Coco's maker. And so...your maker too. I like you calling me 'Suri' just fine. I am like your master's master yet even more. You are mine more than you are hers. Or anyone's. My tool, my soldier, my weapon, my servant, my pet. Whatever I want you to be, you will be. Okay?" The transformed Rainbow Dash flapped her bat wings ever so slightly, examining her entire form. She finally remembered what happened to make her this way, just now. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to revert but grimaced at the realization she could not. The maker wanted this form to remain. "Yes, Suri," the young vampire timidly confirmed. She nervously shuffled where she stood, giving another faint flutter of her bat wings. Rainbow's friends all looked at each other, dread and confusion filling them...waiting to see what Suri would even do with the fledgling. The wicked mare smirked. "Well well well, what an interesting turn of events, Rainbow Dash. You see, I'm in a bit of a...bind here. I could use you to help me hunt down Coco since that's why I came here to Ponyville...or I could just use you to help me with my bigger plan—that I wanted Coco's help with. You would do better, being the first vampire fledgling and all. Plus, it would help punish Coco in the process." Rainbow didn't want to punish Coco, but before she could even say such a thing, another pony spoke instead. "Just what is the bigger plan?" Applejack stepped forward and got up the nerve to ask first. Suri's eyes scanned her with disdain. "Oh, you mares and whelp are still here. Hmm. I guess this would be a good way to test out Rainbow Dash." They all tensed up at that. "I want to make sure she obeys properly after all. Rainbow Dash, knock them unconscious, my child. All of them," Suri ordered. The fledgling's eyes shifted from her maker to the group nervously. "I-I don't want to hurt them, Suri. They are my friends." Suri narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What did you say?" "'I don't want to hurt them, Suri. They are my friends,'" Rainbow Dash repeated with a clearly obedient manner. Smirking, Suri looked directly into Rainbow's red eyes, freezing the fledgling in place, as if reaching deep into some well within the vampire's essence. "Oh, but you do, don't you?" the maker reminded her. Suri inhaled with a wicked smile. "You even considered killing them your first night, my pet." "No! That can't be true," Applejack uttered in horror. "Rainbow Dash...." Rarity began, deeply hurt and disturbed. "Tell us that is not so." "How did you—?" Rainbow started to ask. "I am your maker. I may not know everything about you, Rainbow Dash, but I know the type of monster I made Coco Pommel and what that makes you now. I can see that sort of thing in you. You want to hurt them. You want it so bad. It's taking everything you have to stall what you know is coming," Suri warned her. The fledgling gulped. "Fine! Yes, S-Suri—" she admitted reluctantly. "But I want to not hurt them more than I want to hurt them, alright? That thought came from my new nature as a vampire. I'm sorry everyone. I've been able to stop myself and shoved that idea away as fast as I could, I promise! Suri, please..." The friends were given no time to reflect on the vampire's words. The confession had satisfied the maker well enough. "Be that as it may, my order remains, my dear little weapon. Okay?" Rainbow opened her mouth, about to protest again but found she could do nothing else. Her blood stopped tingling and started to burn from within. It wasn't a painful burn, but it was a commanding, driving one. Her face twitched for a hesitant moment before she gave a respectful bow to her maker. "As you wish, Suri," she conceded. "What?!" Twilight Sparkle shrieked. "Oh and one other thing," Suri added with an ominous smirk. Rainbow Dash had spread her bat wings wide, as if about to take off. She paused and looked at her maker, patiently awaiting the command with a neutral expression. "They already fear you. Give them more reason than just those beautiful red eyes of yours. You need not kill them, but they should know how easily you could—that you are only toying with them for my amusement." The fledgling blinked and then gave a little nod in compliance. "Rainbow Dash, no!" Pinkie Pie cried out in protest. "Suri has commanded me," Rainbow Dash reminded her plainly. "I must obey." She smiled evilly, knowing it would help in that command of making sure they feared her. "And we'll have fun." Pinkie Pie gulped nervously at the wicked nature on display. Suri stepped back to watch and enjoy the show. In an instant, Rainbow Dash whipped around all six friends in a circular rainbow blur, disorienting them for a moment. She flashed right behind Pinkie Pie and smacked the back of the pink mare's neck, sending Pinkie flying across the room into one of the bookshelves. The impact was so strong, a bunch of the books were about to fall out on top of the pink earth pony, but a magenta aura surrounded them. Twilight had recovered enough to stop them in time and carefully put them back in the shelf. While the act protected Pinkie Pie from the books, it did not stop the vampire from flying over to pick up the pink mare and raise her as high as the library's ceiling allowed. "Oh no, you don't!" Applejack said as she recovered next and readied a lasso, then threw it around the vampire's right hind leg. Rainbow Dash only smirked at that, kicking with enough force to throw Applejack into yet another bookshelf, throwing more of the other friends off balance in the process. Again, Twilight's magic went for holding the books steady instead of falling all over her friend. This time, she did not bother putting them back. Carrying the terrified Pinkie Pie in one forelimb, Rainbow Dash swooped down to grab Applejack in the other, flying up yet again toward the ceiling. Twilight's lips trembled, and she concentrated her magic hard to try and grab Rainbow Dash completely. "Catch!" the vampire taunted with a playful smirk and threw Pinkie Pie, obviously aiming for Twilight's horn. Gasping, Twilight's eyes widened as she immediately had to switch her concentration to catching the pink mare in time. While she succeeded, Rainbow Dash had thrown Applejack full force into the floor and landed just above the orange earth pony with a vicious snarl, applying a light pressure to the other mare's chest. Applejack gasped as a vision struck her mind. The vision showed Rainbow pressing her forehooves even harder—hard enough to crack Applejack's ribs and crush her heart. "S-stop..." The vampire did not stop. She finally had use for such a power, finding a new taste in the process. She enjoyed that taste quite a bit, even if it was not as delicious as blood. Upon the thought of drinking blood, another vision followed between the pair of Rainbow Dash biting Applejack's neck, draining her dry. To the orange mare's horror, a sharp pain in her neck told her Rainbow Dash really did bite her. The others started to scramble toward the pair, but all it took was one menacing glare from the creature to make them freeze in place, overcome by their fear. She knew it might not work again, but it would do for now. Rainbow returned to her drink. They watched in shock as their transformed friend drained the orange earth pony enough for Applejack to lose consciousness. One down. Five to go. Rainbow Dash turned her fierce red eyes on the rest of the group. "Twilight, what do we do?" a trembling Fluttershy asked. The vampire had already decided on her next target. Spike posed her greatest threat since they did not know about her weakness to fire yet. She whipped around them all in a tight circle, lightly shoving the mares apart and away to distance them from the dragon and each other. Only Spike remained with her, and he stared up at the vampire towering over him. The impressionable dragon could easily picture her crushing him like an insect under her hoof—with an evil smile as she did. He fainted at the very thought. Rainbow was silently grateful that was all it took. Two down. Four to go. Suri had somehow materialized an orange and white striped lawn chair for her to sit on and casually recline. She watched the entire scene with a smug smile and forelimbs folded behind her head. The others had been focused on Rainbow Dash mostly, but Fluttershy had started to glance around the room, trying to figure out where she was and what to do, helping her realize where Suri sat to observe the scene. The yellow pegasus gulped, nervously turning her head from the maker to the vampire fledgling. "We have to work together. There's still four of us left," Twilight proclaimed with a determined expression. Both Rarity and Pinkie Pie were drawing closer to her. "Our friend is in there, I think, so maybe if we—" Before she could finish, two strong sky blue forelimbs grabbed her and shoved her against the wall of the stairs. The vampire's bat wings flapped to make one powerful gust of wind and push the others back, including sending Fluttershy in Suri's direction. Twilight stared in horror at those vicious red eyes. She could suddenly picture one of those bat wings grabbing and snapping her own horn off like it was nothing, followed by a bite on her neck, draining her of all of her blood. Suddenly, the vampire really did bite her. Twilight Sparkle screamed in agony as Rainbow Dash began to drink. "Aaaah!" "Get away from her, you brute!" Rarity yelled as she galloped to approach the pair. Her horn lit, and she aimed for the wings. Rainbow only spared her an annoyed hiss, baring her blood-soaked fangs, before going back to her drink. While Rarity's aura surrounded the wings and tugged, the magic could not do much more. The wings themselves even lightly flapped of their own accord from within the magical grip. Pinkie Pie roared and charged, throwing her entire body at the drinking vampire while doing her best to make sure to not meet eyes with the creature in the process. It was enough to successfully shove Rainbow off, but the vampire was already finished with her target. Twilight Sparkle smiled in a contented daze, the earlier pain subdued in the moment. The drain left her feeling light and airy. "You know...that's really...not so bad..." She fell to the floor, unconscious immediately after. Halfway there. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie rolled on the floor while Rarity did her best to figure out how she could intervene with her limited magic. Fluttershy at last flew in Suri's face with a fierce stare. The Stare. "Make her stop!" Fluttershy commanded. The vampire's ears flicked, and she glanced over to the source of such a yell. She was on top of Pinkie Pie with a raised hoof as if about to punch her friend. Pinkie Pie lifted her head to follow Rainbow Dash's gaze. Rarity paused to glance over as well. Suri's eyes locked onto Fluttershy's...staring back. "That's enough, Rainbow Dash. Stop," she said, sounding effectively hypnotized. Rainbow Dash threw herself off Pinkie Pie and fluttered over to observe the locked gaze of the two. The evil intent in her had vanished. She stood still and patient, watching the staring contest with a suspenseful stare of her own. "Fluttershy, it's working!" Rarity said proudly. Pinkie Pie zipped over to Rarity's side and looked closely with cautious optimism. "Now, you go away, and you leave Rainbow Dash alone. She is our friend, and she is not your 'weapon'," Fluttershy went on sternly. At that, Suri suddenly blinked and smirked instead of complying. "You underestimate me." Fluttershy gasped in horror. as she had felt her hold on the other mare sever so quickly. "A momentary stop? Okay, I can give you that. But that last part..." Suri snickered. "I will not be denied, that which is mine. My 'weapon'. We are connected, little pony. I have big plans for your friend." The wicked pink mare glanced over to the vampire. "You may continue." Rainbow Dash nodded and immediately grabbed Fluttershy around her barrel from behind, then threw the yellow pegasus across the room into a bookshelf. The books fell, and Rarity used her unicorn magic to hold them before they could fall, as Twilight had been doing before her. The vampire ceased her chance and whipped around Pinkie Pie once, shoving her away with a strong hoof, then grabbed and threw Fluttershy across the room into yet another bookshelf. The impact forced the books to fall again. Before Rarity could soften their blow, the vampire tackled her to the floor. Rainbow Dash straddled the white unicorn, baring her fangs with a snarl. Rarity caught a vision of Rainbow snapping her horn off, then her head being smashed repeatedly hard against the floor until her death. The fanged mare suddenly threw Rarity against a wall and bit her for real. Pinkie Pie charged with yet another roar, ready to shove the vampire off a unicorn friend for the second time in this fight. Pausing in her drink, Rainbow Dash smirked and thrust out one of her hind legs to trip the earth pony. Pinkie fell but reached out and successfully grabbed the leg that tripped her, pulling Rainbow Dash away from Rarity. They rolled until Rainbow seized an opening to grab Pinkie Pie up toward the ceiling. She immediately tossed the pink pony to the still recovering Fluttershy and descended toward them. Both mares were struck with a vision of Rainbow Dash snapping their necks though instead the vampire simply smacked their heads into each other, forcing each of them into an unconscious state. Five down. One to go. Rainbow looked over to where she left Rarity. The white mare was attempting to stand herself upright and failing miserably. The vampire glided over to her, lifting Rarity's chin to force their eyes to meet. Rarity was too weak to resist and stared into the red irises. "Shh, be still," Rainbow Dash whispered. The strange vampire was more gentle now, having already accomplished her mission in giving the mare a reason to fear her. Rarity obeyed. She grew still and mesmerized as Rainbow leaned in to drain her just enough to lose consciousness. Done. Suri stood from her seat, and the lawn chair de-materialized. She approached her weaponized creation. The fledgling stared at the scene—in particular at the two ponies she had not bitten. "Go ahead," Suri suggested to her with a nod of her head in their direction—and a friendly smile. It was not a command this time, and the fledgling knew it. Rainbow Dash barely hesitated before flying off to bite each mare for some more blood. She was as gentle as she could be for what she was doing, but it hardly made up for her violence. Even so, it was something within her power despite Suri's strong hold over her. Maybe...maybe having all their blood would help her break free, she told herself. Such a thing did not happen in that moment, but the blood itself was delicious of course. Suri watched the entire affair with interest and a touch of amusement. Of course Coco would pick a pony rough around the edges yet softer inside—rough enough to the maker's liking nonetheless. When Rainbow was done, she stood back up and looked over the scene again with a blank, ominous expression before turning to Suri. With a single faint swish of her colorful, rainbow tail, she stood like an obedient, trained dog waiting for the command to perform her next trick. "Good work, Rainbow Dash," Suri said with approval. "Grab the whelp. We can use him. We're going to make an adjustment to you with his help." "Yes, Suri," Rainbow agreed, and she picked up Spike's small form. "Put him on my back. His fire is more dangerous to you than it is to me," Suri explained. Rainbow complied without a word. With that done, her gaze wandered over to the unconscious ponies. She felt a pang of guilt for what she had done. Suri observed that moment. With a sly smile, she remarked, "Did you not enjoy yourself? Drinking blood...the taste of those killing visions even if you let them live..." The vampire fledgling's eyes shifted back over to her maker's. She closed them with a contented smile, flaring her bat wings out, and inhaled. She delighted in that thought...that taste. Wicked red eyes re-opened. Bat wings coiled to her side. Fangs still visible in a small smile, she exhaled and answered, "Yes, Suri...I did." Had any of her friends still been conscious, they would have found the sight quite chilling, but since they weren't, all that followed was a sinister chuckle from Suri. The maker rubbed at a hidden hairpin in her mane, and a portal opened. "Come on, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow gave the mares one last look. That pang of guilt returned. A vision of a red lightning bolt surrounded in darkness flashed in her mind. A reminder of her past loyalty—but not enough. It was gone instantly as she passed through the portal. Applejack woke up first and blinked her green eyes several times. She shuddered at the vision of Rainbow Dash killing her. She knew her friend was being used, but still—the effect could not be understated. Suri had succeeded there. If and when Applejack saw Rainbow Dash again, she would be terrified of that vampire. Nonetheless, she tiredly brought herself to stand and took in the sight of the room. Twilight was on the ground but starting to stir over by the wall of the staircase. Over by one empty bookshelf and among a pile of books on the floor, Pinkie Pie stood and shook the cobwebs out of her head. Fluttershy sat up and shuddered in place with flattened ears. Rarity was also starting to sit up by another part of the wall. Rarity was closest, so Applejack helped her up. "Everypony in one piece?" the orange pony asked the group. The others confirmed for her that they were. The white unicorn glanced around and started to count their number in her head. She came to an alarming realization. "Where is Spike?" she asked. "Spike!" Twilight yelled. They all began to dig through the fallen books, put everything away, and searched the entire library to no avail. "Did they kidnap him?" Fluttershy asked the others. "Why would they do such a thing?" Rarity wondered. "I don't know, but we've gotta figure something out," Applejack remarked. "We best look for him in Ponyville," Rarity advised, "...just in case they did not. He could have run off in fear after what that monster did to all of us." "We should look for this 'Coco Pommel' too while we're at it," Pinkie Pie added. "I've never heard of her, and I know everyone in Ponyville." "I know her actually," Rarity admitted. The others gawked at her. "Oh please, she's visited my shop at times, that's all. She's not from around here—Manehattan I believe—and stops by on occasion to the boutique. She is a soft-spoken mare that I simply cannot even imagine as the same kind of monster that we just saw Suri turn Rainbow Dash into. Truly, a sweetheart—or so I thought. I would have been so happy for the two of them." Twilight sighed. "Well, what does she look like?" "Let me draw us a picture to show others in our search," Rarity decided. She quickly found what she needed and drew the image. Once she was finished... "Wait, I've seen her," Pinkie Pie said. "More than once....how do I not know her name?" "It stands to reason given the powers we saw from both Suri and Rainbow Dash...that Coco could make you forget her name," Twilight suggested. "Oh yeah..." Pinkie realized. "But why would she make me forget and not Rarity?" "No offense Sugarcube," Applejack offered, "but you can be a mite bit...obnoxious. And overwhelming, especially to a 'soft-spoken' outsider type who's trying to keep a low profile." Pinkie blushed and giggled, bashfully rubbing at the back of her mane. "Oh yeah. Right." "Let's get back on track," Twilight reminded them. "Regardless, we should figure out our next steps. I should stay here in case Spike somehow comes back on his own..." She paused and gulped. "Or Rainbow Dash even." The mares collectively shuddered together in place. "Rainbow's so scary now," Fluttershy noted. She closed her eyes and sniffled. "I'm not sure she's our friend anymore...or can come back from this like when Discord turned her against us. This 'vampire' thing is different. You all saw how she told Suri she didn't want to hurt us at first but then eventually still obeyed." "Maybe we could do something if she forgot our friendship in that moment," Twilight offered. "You remember the spell, Twilight?" Applejack asked. "I do. I was actually going to do it right before she bit me, but she was just too fast," Twilight regrettably noted. "Well, that did make things difficult," Applejack agreed. "Still good to have it ready just in case we can slow her down somehow." "We actually did slow her down at one point," Rarity informed them. "Well, Fluttershy did by using her Stare on Suri." "Really?" a hopeful Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded. "It was only enough to put the attack on pause though. Suri broke out of it." "Still, that's something," Twilight noted thoughtfully. The other friends agreed. "Back to planning our next steps," Rarity began, "Twilight should not be left here alone. Fluttershy, perhaps you should stay with her since you were able to use your Stare on Suri." "I think I should go with the search party actually," Fluttershy said. She shyly reminded Rarity, "Rainbow's usually the flier in our group, but with her gone..." The yellow pegasus wiggled her feathers. "True enough," Rarity agreed. "I'll stay," Pinkie Pie offered. "Maybe my Pinkie sense will go off, even if it didn't when Suri arrived this time." "Applejack?" Rarity asked. "I'll go with ya'll in the search," Applejack decided. With that, the ponies parted ways, ready and extremely nervous about what they might find.