//------------------------------//
// Satiation 
// Story: I Am a Monster 
// by J3sterking 
//------------------------------//


"Heed the call the time has come, For all you children of the night!"


Aurelio Voltaire, "The Night"



Sunset stood stock still, looking into the bright red eyes of Fluttershy. They weren't casting enough light to read by, but it was a clear enough indication of something very wrong, if the teeth weren't enough.  

"Fluttershy?" Sunset said, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm...hungry," Fluttershy said quietly.  

"Fluttershy, we need to--"

Fluttershy lunged. She seized the wrist attached to the bleeding finger, knocking Sunset down to the ground. Sunset's head hit the counter, causing stars to dance in her vision as Fluttershy pinned her to the ground.  

Fluttershy pulled back the sleeve slightly, then bit down hard on Sunset's wrist. Sunset let out a cry of pain, hearing the door slam open only in the background. Blood dripped down the length of her arm, and some onto the floor, as Fluttershy's eyes closed in contentment.  

Up until Rainbow Dash tackled her. The sudden movement dislodged her jaw from Sunset's wrist, and she hissed, casually throwing Rainbow Dash away. The athlete slammed into Sunset's TV, smashing partly into it as it fell over backwards. Rainbow Dash groaned, but didn't rise.

Fluttershy grabbed the front of Sunset's jacket, ripping the fabric, fully revealing Sunset's throat. A fierce hunger shone in her eyes, and her stomach rumbled quietly.  

Sunset reached up with her other hand, to the counter. Fluttershy hesitated, turning to where Sunset's hand reached. Sunset grabbed the handle of a frying pan, swinging it down hard into Fluttershy's face. The angling as awkward, but the frying pan was heavy enough so that it didn't matter. Sunset let gravity do the brunt of the work, sending Fluttershy falling back in an unceremonious heap. Sunset leapt to her feet, gripping her injured hand close to her chest, and rushed over to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow! Are you--you're--"

"'M fine," Rainbow said, shaking her head. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Sunset said. "She--I was panicking, trying to figure out what to say, a-and--"

"Calm down," Rainbow said, struggling up. "And give me hand, will you?"

Sunset extended her good arm, helping Rainbow Dash stand. Rainbow stretched, wincing. "Okay, so, I'm assuming some sort of evil Equestrian magic?" 

"I don't know," Sunset said. "There are things that could possess somepony--or person--but her eyes were glowing, and she had fangs and-and--"

Rainbow grabbed her shoulders roughly. "Listen to me, Sunset. There's trouble right now. We can't waste time on silly things like doubts, got it? Fluttershy needs our help." 

Sunset nodded, wiping tears away with her sleeve. "So, we need to call the rest of the girls, right?"

Rainbow nodded, then turned and looked to Fluttershy. "What did you do to her to make her stop?"

"F-frying pan to the face," Sunset admitted, suddenly realizing. "What if I killed--"

"I'm fine," Fluttershy said, keeping a calm but disoriented tone. "Just--a little dazed."

Rainbow let out a deep breath. "Well, that makes that easier. Don't worry, Fluttershy. We're calling the gang in, and we're gonna fix you up, right?"

Sunset nodded enthusiastically.  

Fluttershy sighed. "It's not Equestrian magic," she admitted. "It's...complicated. Call Luna."

"Vice Principal Luna?" Sunset questioned. The adrenaline rush over, her hand was beginning to throb. 

"Yeah. You can use my phone."

"I'll do that, you call the rest," Sunset said. She rushed over to the small, butterfly-patterned bag that she thought Sunset kept her phone in. Rifling through the pockets one handed took an awkward length of time, and several pain-induced swear words. Finally, she pulled out Fluttershy's phone, listening to Rainbow Dash cover the events for a second time over her phone.  

Sunset moved further away so that her phone call wouldn't disrupt Rainbow Dash's calls, while dialing her school's vice principal. Her heart's pounding beats almost seemed to coincide with the painful throbs from her wrist, but she let out a sigh of relief as the phone beeped in answer.

"Fluttershy, is something amiss?" Luna's voice came, getting straight to the point.

"It's--Sunset here, and uh--" Sunset looked to her fridge, where Fluttershy was sitting, arms covering her face, knees drawn up to her chest. "--Something's wrong with Fluttershy. I--"

"I'm on my way," Luna interrupted. "Is she still attacking people?"

"Wha--no!" Sunset shook her head. "She--bit me, but she said--she was hungry."

"The fucking--" The next few words were drowned out by a car door slamming, and an engine revving. "Give her space until I get there. Doctor your wound, try to stop the bleeding. Where are you?"

"My place. I--"

"I know where that is," Luna interrupted. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Let Fluttershy know that, but do try and keep a distance. If she's calmed down, she should stay calm until I get there, but best not test that too much."

"Alright. Got it," Sunset said. Luna hung up without further ado, leaving Sunset gulping, trying to bring moisture back to her now dry throat.

"Luna's on her way," Sunset called out.  

"The girl's are en route, too," Rainbow Dash said, stepping over. "I don't know what Luna is gonna do, but the rest of us need to be here for her." Rainbow nodded over to Fluttershy.  

Fluttershy let out a loud sigh.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy! We'll have this fixed up in no time!"

Fluttershy didn't seem comforted by it.

Rainbow turned back to Sunset. "Do you have a first aid kit anywhere?"

"Bathroom," Sunset said, nodding to the door built into the staircase. "I spent quite some time studying anatomy, in case I needed to doctor myself up."

Rainbow rushed off, letting the door slam behind her as she came back out. "Got it!" she said, sliding to a stop. She opened it up, then blinked. "Uhh...what even is any of this stuff?"

"It's...probably a lot more expensive than I initially assumed," Sunset chuckled. "We'll need disinfectant and bandages, I think..."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Now, let's get a look at--" She took Sunset's left hand, then her eyes bulged. "Fucking hell!" she cursed. "What--how--I thought you said she bit you."

"After growing three inch fangs, Dash," Sunset growled, looking towards Fluttershy. "Besides, I'm sure it's not her fault, anyway."

"I know that," Rainbow huffed. "We need water to rinse this--" She grimaced, looking to the sink. "Okay, bathroom it is. Can you walk?"

Sunset considered, then nodded. "Help me up?"

Rainbow Dash obliged, leading her to the bathroom. Once the water began cleaning off the injury, Sunset took a deep breath, then looked at it herself.  

The flesh had been gauged deeply, almost striking the major blood vessels. The rest of the wrist was a light purple bruise from Fluttershy's grip.  

Rainbow wrapped a wet towel around the wrist after cleaning the blood off, saying, "Let's stop the bleeding, okay?"

The sound of a car pulling up distracted Sunset. "None of the girls live that close, right?"

Rainbow Dash paused. She stepped out of the bathroom, picking up an umbrella from its stand.  

"You shouldn't leave the door open," Luna said, closing it behind her. "It could let in far worse things than a draft."

"Uh, we've been busy," Rainbow said, dropping the umbrella. "Do you know what's wrong with Fluttershy?"

"In the sense that you mean, nothing is wrong with the girl," Luna said stiffly. "She was simply very stupid."

"You don't need to lecture me," Fluttershy said quietly.  

"Indeed? So thou knowest exactly why thou should feed regularly? So that thou can maintain thine control?" Luna said, her voice raising. "That the people thou loveth, and who loveth thee back, do not wish to see thee in such a sorry state?" She put a hand to her forehead, sighing. "Fluttershy. Are you alright?"

"I'm not really hurt."

"I--hit her with a frying pan," Sunset put in. She shrank beneath Luna's gaze, not meeting her eyes.

"That would seem to have knocked some sense into her, but I doubt it would do much more," Luna said. "Come, let's finish getting that wound dressed."

She stayed silent, and refused to answer Rainbow's repeated questioning. Time seemed to pass slowly for Sunset, who used her good hand to cover her mouth and avoid the curses. Eventually, though, she had the wound washed and bandaged.

"Once some time has passed, you'll want to get that jacket off," Luna mentioned, gesturing to the bloody sleeve.

Sunset grimaced. "It won't stain too bad, right?"

Luna shrugged. "Fabrics were never an expertise of mine." She looked up as the sound of another car alerted her. Unlike the two that had driven past while she was dressing the wound, this one came to a full stop. "It would seem the rest of your friends are here," she said.

Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all burst through the door at around the same time, all shouting and asking questions.

"Quiet," Luna commanded, stepping back into the main room. She seated herself on the arm of the sofa, arms folded in front of her. "I can explain everything, but no that Sunset and Fluttershy are both alright."

Sighs of relief came from the three. "But whatever happened?" Rarity asked. "I mean, Rainbow just said that some sort of Equestrian magic possessed Fluttershy, and--"

"Anything she said of the sort was pure conjecture," Luna said, glaring at the athlete. "And assume it to be wrong, as that statement was. There is little to no Equestrian magic involved here."

"WHAT?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "But--how--why--"

"Let me finish," Luna snapped.  

Pinkie Pie shut up.

"The truth is quite simple. Fluttershy is a vampire. Until recently, she was using a relic built for vampiric fasting to suppress her need to feed regularly. But, something happened with 'the magic of friendship'--"

"That moment in the car," Sunset said.  

Luna raised an eyebrow.

"S-sorry," Sunset stammered, shrinking back again.

"No, I wish to hear this," Luna said. "Fluttershy herself never fully explained it."

"W-well, Fluttershy and I were hitching a ride in Applejack's truck..." Sunset squirmed uncomfortably. "And, Applejack and I were talking, and then...magic of friendship..."

"I was worried that Sunset was livin' in some abandoned warehouse or something like that, and told her I wanted to check out her house," Applejack put in. "I was tellin' her that friends stand by each other."

"It broke the dampener," Fluttershy said. She still hadn't moved. "That's what happened there."

"Hmm." Luna considered it for a moment. "In any case, we told her that she needed to feed regularly from people again. Apparently, she didn't." Luna grimaced.

"Can you really blame me?" Fluttershy said, voice cracking. "You know what I was like, Luna. You fought me before, remember? Eighteen-forty-six, Las Pegasus."

"You've changed since then, Fluttershy," Luna said. "Much like Sunset Shimmer changed. You've become a new woman."

"Sunset? She wasn't even evil compared to what I was!" Fluttershy looked up, tears streaming from shining red eyes that made Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie step back. "I was a monster, Luna! The other vampires didn't want anything to do with me! They all ran the other way when I looked at them! I was vile! I was horrible! Can you blame me for being terrified of that creature? For not trusting myself not to kill anyone I tried feeding from?"

"And you think that an almost completely starved vampire is the safer option?" Luna said, shocked. "I fail to see how you could have thought this was a good idea!"

"I warned you already! I can't trust myself!" Fluttershy screamed.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Rainbow Dash said, stepping forward. "Yes, you used to be bad, We get it. But, like, I'm pretty sure the magic of friendship wouldn't activate for an irredeemable monster, sooo...who cares?" She shrugged. "Any, Luna, I assume the fix at this point is for her to drink a lot of blood, right?"

Luna nodded.

"Well, given that a good portion of this mess is probably my fault anyway, then I volunteer," Rainbow said, sitting down in front of Fluttershy.

"What? No, I--"

Rainbow Dash flicked her forehead. "Hey. She's right, you know. We don't want to see you hurt."

"But what if I--"

"You're not going to kill me," Rainbow snapped. "I don't believe that would ever happen, Fluttershy. Especially because we have a secret weapon."

Fluttershy sighed. "Friendship?"

Rainbow nodded. "There's Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Luna, and Sunset! And you think they'd let it happen? No! So come on, get your fill!" She hesitated, then shrugged off her jacket. "So, uh, do I just--"

"Rainbow, I--" She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be! We all gotta eat, and I know you won't kill me."

"That makes one of us," Fluttershy muttered.  

"Hey, you trust me?"

Fluttershy sighed. "Yes, and you trust me, yeah, yeah." She sighed. "Thanks."

"What are friends for?" Rainbow said.  

"Normally, not playing bloodbag to their starving vampire friends," Fluttershy said.  

"Well, I imagine most really good friends would," Rainbow said. "So, do I just sit here--"

"Yeah. Maybe, um, I reeeeally suggest sitting still." Fluttershy moved closer, towards Rainbow's throat.

"Yeah, um, I figured," Rainbow said, keeping her eyes on the ceiling. "Sitting still feels like the--ow." Fluttershy's fangs slipped into Rainbow's throat. "Okay, it's actually not that bad. Except for how it feels. It feels weird as hell, you know?"

Fluttershy reached up, pitting a finger to Rainbow's lips. Rainbow took the hint, closing her eyes as Fluttershy fed.  

Applejack shuddered, turning away. "That's...this is...she's really a vampire, huh?"

"Yes," Luna said. "And like most vampires, she has really good hearing, so no matter how quietly you talk, she probably heard you."

Applejack blushed. "Gosh, I'm sorry, I--"

"Let's save the talking for when it's over. Their will be plenty of time for questions then." She stepped over to the fridge, then opened it. She grimaced, then closed it without drawing anything out. "Rainbow Dash will need someone to drive her home. Do her parents know where she is?"

"Yeah, I think so," Sunset said. "Do you think she can sleep over with someone? I-I have a couch I can sleep on so--"

"I'm not making you sleep on the couch," Rainbow said. "Ow! Okay, okay, shutting up!"

Luna cracked a smile as they lapsed into silence. It was realistically less than thirty seconds, but it still felt like forever before Fluttershy pulled her head back. She licked her lips, then let out a satisfied sigh. Rainbow sat back, blinking. "So, you done?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I'm sorry, this...was my fault. I should have told you guys sooner, or...or just fed normally."

"What does 'feeding normally' entail, exactly?" Rarity asked.  

"Mostly, finding someone who's alone at night, and using vampire hypnosis so they don't remember it," Luna said. "But this can lead to issues."

"Especially as I don't really like doing that, because it's...not really nice," Fluttershy said.

"Well, you have all of us, right?" Sunset said. "So we can all take turns! I can do it next time!"

"NO!" Fluttershy shouted, at the same time Luna said much calmer, "Not happening, Miss Shimmer."

There was a stunned silence. "Let me explain," Luna said. "A lot of vampires like magically charged blood. Some of them are even addicted to it--like the blood from immortals such as myself."  

"Like yourself?" Rarity exclaimed.

"Please let me finish, Miss Rarity," Luna said impatiently. "Sunset, you are not a human. I would have expected Fluttershy to go longer without needing to feed, except for the fact that, I'm assuming, she caught scent of your blood."

Sunset winced. "I cut my finger trying to slice up some apples the other day."

"As I said, you should really be more careful," Fluttershy mentioned. She ran a hand through hair that was a little more unkempt than it had previously been. "I hadn't connected it to Equestria, though. I forgot she's...a unicorn, right?"

Sunset nodded. "So, you drinking my blood would be unhealthy?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Yeah, and I--well, after this clusterfuck--" She gestured to the room at large, ignoring the gasp from several of her friends. "--I don't really want to drink your blood."

"I will let Fluttershy explain any specific questions you have about vampires," Luna said. Fluttershy glared at her, and Luna shrugged. "Celestia and I don't really know the details ourselves, Fluttershy. You were never in a hurry to explain anything that wasn't immediately important."

Fluttershy sighed. "Yeah, that's right. I'm really stupid, aren't I?"

"Don't say that!" Sunset said, moving closer.

Fluttershy bared her fangs and snarled, "Stay back."

Sunset stumbled away quickly. "Okay! Um, look, Fluttershy, everyone makes mistakes!" She gestured to herself with a wry smile. "Point A, am I right?"

"Point B, over here," Rainbow said, raising a hand. The hand immediately fell down to her side with a thump, and she glared at the offending limb. "Most of this is because I was trying to set Sunset up with Fluttershy, believe it or not."

"Um--" Fluttershy hesitated. "Right."

"Does this mean--you weren't really interested in me?" Sunset asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I--"

"Don't be," Sunset said. "I like you and all, but let's just be friends, okay?"

Fluttershy stared at her. "You...still want to be friends? Even after..."

"Of course I do!" Sunset said. "Hunger makes people do crazy things, right? So don't worry about it!" She made an exaggerated waving motion.  

"I--I have a question," Applejack asked hesitantly.

Fluttershy turned to her. All the red had disappeared from her eyes at this point, leaving her looking slightly bedraggled, but nothing more. "Okay," she said slowly. "Feel free."

"In a lot of vampire mythos, they...can't stand on holy ground, because...well, dammit, I don't know! But...I mean…"

"It strongly depends on the vampire," Luna interrupted. "I can see why you might be concerned by that, Miss Applejack, but there are vampires who can walk on holy ground just fine."

"Ones who never asked to be changed," Fluttershy said. "God punishes sinners, not victims."

"But there haven't been any other vampires like you, who've made such drastic turnarounds to becoming good people," Luna pointed out. "Your case is unprecedented."

"In any case, yes, that's why I've turned down your previous offers of heading to church with you," Fluttershy said, turning back to Applejack. Luna rolled her eyes, giving a put upon sigh, before leaning back and letting the friends finish their conversation. "If I find out that I can step on holy ground, I'll consider it, okay?"

Applejack let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the honesty, sugarcube."

"Luna mentioned hypnosis. Can you mind control people?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"Um, yes, but--"

"OOH! OOH! DO ME, DO ME!" Pinkie shouted, jumping up in Fluttershy's face.

The vampire's eyes lit up bright red, and Pinkie went absolutely stock still. "Sit down," she commanded.

A pink blur shot across the room, sending the sofa creaking as she sat down, eyes wide and unfocused. After a second, they returned to normal, and she blinked. Then she gasped loudly and theatrically. "THAT WAS AMAZING!"