//------------------------------//
// Chapter 28 - The forbidden fruit 
// Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness II 
// by bigsnusnu 
//------------------------------//

The forbidden fruit

Everything was quiet in the Golden Oak Library, as a library should always be. There, Dusk Shine and Spike gave the perfect example of how ponies should behave in the calm and silent temple of knowledge. Spike was on the floor, hyper-focused on reading the comic that Dusk had given him for Hearth's Warming Eve. A large volume of his favorite comic: 'The Power Ponies', where the complete saga of the mega event of the year was told, called 'Flashpony', in which the fictional universe of the Power Ponies was restarting for the fifteenth time. For his part, Dusk was carefully reading the book that Spike had given him, also for the festivities, which was the latest edition of: 'Mysteries of Magic'.

Both Dusk and Spike read their books carefully and slowly, one word at a time. Spike, so as not to miss any important details of his comic; Dusk, to see if some muse would enlighten him and give him some brilliant idea to solve those mysteries of magic, which had not been solved in centuries.

While Dusk was reading, he felt some pulses around him, he could even swear that someone was touching him. But when he concentrated one hundred percent on his reading, he remained in such an absorbed state that nothing could distract him.

Suddenly Dusk felt a chill. One that started from his ear, ran through his entire body, and made him fall limply to the floor, with a silly smile of pleasure.

“Only one mare knows THAT weak point in me…” Dusk thought, immediately guessing who had given him a gentle bite on his left ear.

“Pinkie… I didn't hear you come in,” Dusk said, lying exhausted to the floor with a smile when he felt the warm weight of his marefriend on his back.

“I knocked on the door, but no one answered,” Pinkie Pie said smiling. She laid on her coltfriend's back and rested her head on his. “So, I came in and called you, but you wouldn't listen to me either. So, I had no choice but to give you a little nibble,” Pinkie Pie added with a cute playful grin.

“I'm sorry. It’s just that I was very focused reading,” Dusk said, blushing. He hadn't even seen his marefriend's face yet, but just hearing her voice and feeling her on his back was enough to make him smile.

"What were you reading? Something funny?" Pinkie Pie asked. She was enjoying just being on top of her coltfriend and hearing his voice, without even seeing each other face to face, as much as Dusk was.

“I was reading the book Spike gave me. It’s the latest edition of 'Mysteries of Magic,'” Dusk responded excitedly. He opened the book again for his marefriend to see. “Normally a first edition is always better, but with this book the opposite happens! Since new studies appear every year, of unicorn magicians who investigate these great mysteries and try to decipher them...” Dusk said excitedly while reviewing the book. Returning to the index, with excited eyes, “Did you know that there are seven great mysteries in magic? Spells that no one has ever been able to perform with complete success, not even Star Swirl the Bearded himself! Although if you like conspiracies, it’s said that Star Swirl did manage to decipher such magical mysteries, but he saw that they were so dangerous, that he left his studies incomplete on purpose, or even that he completed them, but kept them secret... Anyway, for more than a thousand years, these mysteries have stumped even the most learned in magic, to this day. The first magical mystery is 'Time Travel'. Magic has been able to slow down and speed up time, but time travel is more complex than it sounds. According to Professor Steedphen Hackney, the magical energy paradox makes this impossible. But there are newer studies from the University of Manehattan, which say that it is possible if a sufficiently powerful magical energy loop can be established. It's the same with mystery number two! The big question: 'Is a complete and permanent change of a cutie mark possible?' There are partial studies that show that enough magic can partially and temporarily alter a cutie mark, but a substantial change is another story. And I must admit that with the change in my own cutie mark, I could do my own research and publish magic studies on it. If I follow the latest advances reported by the theorist in astral magic, the Professor…” Dusk fell silent when he heard a noise above him, which made him stop his excited speech.

Looking up, Dusk realized that Pinkie Pie had remained too calm to… well, be Pinkie Pie. So, he slowly got up so that Pinkie wouldn't fall off his back, walked over to a window to look at his reflection, and saw that Pinkie had fallen asleep on him. With her head still resting on Dusk's, she was snoring, with a large bubble of drool coming out of her mouth. Dusk smiled, raised his hoof, and broke the bubble that came out of Pinkie's mouth.

“Huh? What? What’s wrong?" Pinkie Pie said confused, jumping in surprise as she heard the bubble burst.

“Well, it seems like you fell asleep with my explanation, hehe,” Dusk smiled, amused. Telling himself that he must have guessed that his fun marefriend would be bored by a talk about a magic book.

“Oh… I… I'm sorry,” Pinkie Pie said, looking away embarrassed. That surprised Dusk; he thought she would take it as something funny.

“It's not something you should apologize for,” Dusk said, smiling worriedly at his marefriend. “My explanation was very boring, and I-”

"No! That’s not it!" Pinkie Pie said, looking seriously at Dusk, which took him completely by surprise. “You really like books and magic, and although I don't like them as much as you, you’re my coltfriend. I have to learn to appreciate your tastes! Even though we are different, I want to like everything you like too. I…” At that moment Pinkie Pie stopped talking excitedly. Then she lowered her gaze tenderly and looked at Dusk shyly. “I want to be your best marefriend.”

That display of tenderness made Dusk blush and look away. He couldn't help but think that his marefriend was quite pretty when she wanted to be.

For a moment, Dusk thought of all the hugs and kisses he had received from his tender and cute marefriend, Pinkie Pie. All those cuddles and displays of affection... Would all that be over in a month? When remembering the moments he had spent with Pinkie Pie, Dusk couldn't help but remember the promise he had made to Pinkie just a few days ago, about ending their courtship at the end of the month.

Dusk's smile faded as he thought about the future. However, before Pinkie Pie could notice it, both of their ears perked up in alert, and they looked towards the window, hearing several chimes in the distance.

“That's it…” Pinkie Pie said knowingly.

“The warning bell of Applejack's farm.” Dusk finished the sentence, with a worried look.

After Discord's attack on Ponyville, Dusk and his friends had thought of a way to alert each other in case something bad was happening. If somepony rang the barn bell on the Apple farm, it was a warning that something very bad had happened.

Dusk looked back, and saw that Spike, just like him, was still absorbed in reading his comic, not paying attention to anything that was happening in the outside world. Seeing how similar they were filled Dusk with pride. Then he looked at Pinkie, who nodded, and they both quickly left the library, heading towards Sweet Apple Acres.





After running to the outskirts of Ponyville, Dusk and Pinkie Pie arrived at the Apple family farm. There, the first pony they saw was Big Mac. He was walking slowly and with his head down, dragging his plow through one of the fields.

“What's wrong with Big Mac?” Dusk said confused. Stopping his race and slowly approaching with Pinkie to where the big red stallion was.

When he was just a few steps away, Dusk suddenly stopped dead when he remembered something important.

“Wait! I haven't seen Big Mac since before I broke up with Applejack!” Dusk thought scared. Realizing his mistake. Looking to his side, at his new marefriend Pinkie Pie. “This was a mistake!” Dusk thought terrified. Guessing that Big Mac's overprotective nature towards his sister would make him immediately hate Dusk after the two broke up. Applejack herself had told him, she spent several days depressed, crying after breaking up with Dusk. And since Big Mac didn't know about 'their deal', it was logical that he would hate Dusk.

Dusk took a step back to slowly retreat. However, it was too late. Just at that moment, Big Mac raised his head and noticed his and Pinkie Pie's presence. That made Dusk freeze, terrified, while Pinkie Pie put on a confused smile, not understanding what had scared Dusk so much.

Big Mac looked at Dusk for several seconds, giving him an annoyed look. However, instead of getting angry, he simply sighed, and continued plowing the field, deciding he had bigger problems to worry about than that lavender casanova colt.

“That was strange…” Dusk thought confused. Relieved that Big Mac didn't come after him, but knowing that there had to be a reason for Big Mac to be so depressed. “Maybe it's because of the problem Applejack called us about…”

Deciding that it was safe to move again, Dusk and Pinkie Pie continued on their way to the Apple family's main house. There, they saw that Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy had also arrived. Then, Applejack opened the door to the main house and ran over to her friends.

"Dusk! Girls! I'm glad you came! You gotta help me!!” Applejack shouted, with a look full of terror. "Check this out!" Applejack shouted, showing something that she was holding in her hooves.

As they approached, everyone saw that what Applejack was holding was an apple, which seemed to be very dehydrated and almost colorless.

“A crushed apple?” Fluttershy asked confused.

“No… This is THE… WORST… POSSIBLE… THING!” Applejack shouted theatrically.

At that moment, everyone turned their heads to look at Rarity out of the corner of their eyes.

"What!?" Rarity said confused as she saw her friends' looks.

“Well, you're usually the drama queen.” Rainbow Dash said, shrugging.

“I'm not exaggerating; this could be the end of the family farm!” Applejack said, scared and throwing the dry fruit on the ground. “All because of them!” Applejack added, pointing her hoof at some apple trees nearby.

As everyone looked at the apple trees, they could see that the trees were full of black and gray bats. All sleeping face down, hanging from the branches of the apple trees, while dozens of juiceless apples were piled up at their bases. It seemed that all those bats had had a big feast on apples before going to sleep.

“Are they fruit bats? I thought they only lived in the west orchard.” Dusk said with a look of doubt. Remembering the Apple family reunion, where Applejack used those colorful bats to make a rainbow in the sky to impress her aunts and cousins. However, unlike how Dusk saw them that day, these bats were not colorful or small at all. These were larger and dark gray, with red eyes and large fangs.

“No, they aren’t fruit bats… They’re VAMPIRE fruit bats!” Applejack said with a terrified look.

After that outburst, Applejack told the others why she was afraid. Apparently, the so-called 'fruit vampires' were more aggressive and rarer than their smaller cousins, the fruit bats. The fruit vampires had only appeared once before in Sweet Apple Acres, when Granny Smith was still young. That time, the bats had devastated all the orchards, destroying that year's apple harvest.

“I can't let those juice-sucking vampires destroy this year's harvest,” Applejack said, running her hooves heavily over her face. “Why did they hafta appear THIS year!?”

"Why? What's so special about this year?” Dusk asked curiously.

Applejack led everyone to the side of the barn, where there was a big old apple tree, with its branches stretched out to one side touching the ground. It seemed like there was something hanging from that old apple tree, something huge covered under a white blanket. Then Applejack removed the blanket and everyone was amazed to see a huge red apple the size of a pony. It was the biggest apple they had ever seen.

"I’m gonna enter this beauty into the Appleloosa State Fair," Applejack said proudly. She breathed over the shiny apple and then wiped it to make it shine even brighter. “This is Old Tom's last gift, his last fruit.” Applejack added lovingly, stroking the trunk of the old apple tree. “Old Tom was the strongest apple tree on the farm. In fact, almost all the apple trees here are old Tom's seeds, and for the same reason, they’re not as strong as him and can’t produce apples as big as this one... That's why..." At that moment Applejack ran to the barn. When she came out, she was wearing a white hockey mask and holding a machete stained with red spots. “I won't let those dirty vampires touch my apples,” Applejack added, raising her machete as if she were a horror movie villain.

“W-Wait, Applejack!” Fluttershy shouted scared. Flying quickly towards Applejack, to stop her before she attacked the fruit vampires, who were still sleeping in the apple trees. “Maybe I could try talking to them.”

“Hmph! I don't know." Applejack said calming down a bit and lifting her hockey mask. “Those fruit vampires are pests. I don’t think you can reason with them.”

“I don't think they’re a pest. I'm sure they have very good reasons for being here.” Fluttershy said smiling. Then flying towards where the fruit vampires were sleeping.

“Fluttershy… Always thinking about protecting everyone…” Dusk whispered, smiling. Blushing slightly at how cute her kind friend was. It was a look that didn’t go unnoticed by his current marefriend’s attentive eye.

From afar, everyone watched as Fluttershy woke up some of the fruit vampires, who didn't seem very happy to be woken up at that hour. Then, everyone watched as the vampires screamed and made sudden gestures towards Fluttershy, until finally they sucked some apples, roughly spat them on the ground, and went back to sleep. After the 'chat', Fluttershy slowly returned to where everyone was, with a somewhat sad and confused look.

"So? What did they tell you?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

“Umm… Well… The language they speak is strange... I don’t think I fully understood it,” Fluttershy said sadly. “I think they said something about seeds… that they are strong, and… that all the apple trees are theirs.” Fluttershy said, looking worried at Applejack.

"They said that!?" Applejack shouted furiously, horrified to hear that someone else thought they owned her family’s beloved apple trees.

“Did they say anything else?” Dusk asked quickly so that Applejack wouldn't get too angry to think and go hunting vampires with her machete.

“Umm… I think they did say something else.” Fluttershy answered, embarrassed. “I think they said something about my mother and… some swear words.” Fluttershy added, very embarrassed.

“Well, that settles it.” Applejack said, lowering her scary white hockey mask and raising her machete again. “Those pests are not only annoying; they’re also rude! Let's finish them off!”

"No! T-That's not right…” Fluttershy said scared. She was trying to raise her voice, but she was too shy to confront Applejack.

“Fluttershy, you've had your chance, now we have to put an end to this invasion. Who supports me?” Applejack added, looking at her friends.

Applejack's friends would have immediately said they supported her. But definitely seeing her with a machete and a horror mask made her look very scary. Plus, it was a choice between supporting Applejack or Fluttershy, who obviously didn't want to harm any animals. That dilemma made the other mares and Dusk look away, unsure.

“You know, if there’s no harvest this year, there’ll be no apples for pies or cupcakes.” Applejack said with a sly look. Looking askance at Pinkie Pie.

“Oh no!” Pinkie Pie screamed. She jumped over next to Applejack, to give her support.

“And without a harvest, there will be no cider this season either.” Applejack added, this time looking at Rainbow Dash, with a mischievous little smile.

"What!? No way!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Also convinced, swooping to Applejack's side.

"I'm not sure." Rarity said, looking confused between Fluttershy and Applejack. Then she looked at the beautiful apple hanging from Old Tom. “I mean, it would be a crime to let bats damage this beautiful apple. Even though they may be cute little animals…” Rarity added, seeing her own reflection in the shiny big apple and smiling.

“Does this look cute to you?” Applejack added surprisingly, taking one of the fruit vampires and bringing it closer to Rarity.

“Yuck! Get it away from me!” Rarity shouted, scared. The sight of the horrible face of those ugly fruit vampires made her step back until she reached Applejack's side, along with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

The only undecided pony was Dusk Shine. He looked at Fluttershy and she looked directly at him. The pegasus's gaze begged him to please be on her side, and that made Dusk's decision even more difficult.

“I should support Fluttershy. I don't want her to feel alone in this…” Dusk thought worried. Fluttershy's sad and tender gaze, which begged him not to abandon her, made him feel weak.

Before Dusk could approach Fluttershy, he looked to Applejack's side, where her other friends were. There was his marefriend, who watched him attentively. Also looking at him with a worried look, as if she was afraid of what Dusk was about to do.

'Even though we are different, I want to like everything you like too. I... I want to be your best marefriend.' It was what Pinkie Pie had told him in the library. It was clear that she had to do her best to support her coltfriend's tastes and decisions. But he... Was he doing the same thing?

“I… support my marefriend.” Dusk said, looking sadly at Fluttershy and approaching where Pinkie Pie and the others were.

Upon hearing that, Pinkie Pie smiled happily, seeing that Dusk had chosen her. Meanwhile, Fluttershy had a hurt look when she saw that the stallion she loved didn’t support her with her decision.

“Dusk… I know Pinkie is your marefriend, but… I don't want you to abandon me!” Fluttershy thought with great sadness and pain. Lowering her head in shame when she saw that she was alone against her beloved Dusk and her friends.

“I… I can't abandon her!” Dusk thought quickly as he saw Fluttershy's sad look. Feeling her pain seeing her suffer alone.

“We can drive out the horde, but that doesn't mean we have to use violence.” Dusk said quickly, looking at his friends. Turning to look at Fluttershy and give her a small smile. A smile that made Fluttershy smile again. Seeing that Dusk was on her side and he didn’t want to harm the little vampires either.





After a quick trip to the library, Dusk found a spell that could remove fruit vampires' desire to eat apples. As soon as he returned to Sweet Apple Acres, they took advantage of the fact that the bats were still sleeping together. Applejack and the others shouted in unison to wake them up, and as soon as the fruit vampires opened their eyes, Dusk used his spell on them. However, as soon as the bats felt a strange aura surrounding them, they all flew away.

“This won't do…” Dusk said disappointed, after seeing how all the fruit vampires fled in different groups towards other apple trees. “It's a hypnosis spell. I need all of them to be still and receptive to my magic for at least a few seconds. Otherwise, it won’t work.”

“I don't think those pests can stay still and attentive for even two seconds.” Applejack said, looking annoyed at the vampires who had gone to sleep in another nearby apple tree. “It would be easier to have the attention of a dragon than those dirty ones…” As she said that, Applejack fell silent and her eyes widened with realization.

Just like Applejack, everyone opened their eyes in surprise, since 'having the attention of a dragon' caused everyone to remember something very important. One of them had managed to calm and keep a huge dragon still with just her gaze. At that moment, everyone turned to Fluttershy, who gave a confused look when she saw that everyone was looking at her.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy said scared. Finally guessing what the others wanted to ask her. "No, no, no, no, no!"

“Fluttershy… It's the only way.” Rarity said, approaching her friend. “You have to use 'the stare' on those vampires.”

"I can't! I don't like to use 'the stare' on animals, unless I have no other way.” Fluttershy said scared.

“It's the only option we have if we want a cider season!” Rainbow Dash said with a pleading look.

“No… It's not right.” Fluttershy said, looking away on the verge of tears. “I don't like to use it. Please, don’t force me.”

“We won't force you, Fluttershy. But really, I think it’s the only non-violent solution we have for this problem.” Dusk said, approaching Fluttershy and gently touching her side. “I promise we won't hurt them. It’ll just be a little hypnosis. They’ll still be themselves, they just won't like apples anymore. It’s just a small change in attitude.”

Feeling Dusk's touch, Fluttershy looked at the lavender hoof that was touching her and then saw Dusk's face. Who looked at her with a kind and trustworthy smile. A smile she would trust with her life.

“O... Okay…” Fluttershy finally said with a sad look. Deciding to believe Dusk's word.

Fluttershy got into position in front of an apple tree, where Dusk and Applejack began stacking several apples to gather the fruit vampires. While the other three mares were in charge of going to look for the bats and take them there. Rainbow Dash used her speed to fly between the apple trees, grabbing several bats between her hooves until she took them with her to the trap. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie put on a huge apple hat and started dancing samba until the smell of the moving apples woke up the bats, and they were attracted by the apple hat to the trap. And Rarity, who wore a full-body chemical suit (because she was disgusted by the thought of touching bats), crushed an apple in the visor of her helmet, filling her suit with apple juice, causing dozens of bats to chase her, until, in her terror, she accidentally led them into the trap as well.

“Alright, they’re all here.” Applejack said, giving the signal to Fluttershy and Dusk. The vampires were gathered and awake, and it was Fluttershy’s turn to act.

Fluttershy sighed one last time, unsure of whether or not she should do it. However, Dusk touched her again and smiled confidently at her, which gave the pegasus the courage she needed to finally stand in front of the vampire fruit bats and use 'the stare'.

As soon as the vampires felt someone approaching them, the vampires turned to see her and screamed at her. However, they all froze when they saw the fierce stare of that yellow pegasus. It was a stare so penetrating, it paralyzed them all for a few seconds. At that instant, Dusk immediately used his magic from behind Fluttershy. Dusk's horn lit up and released light purple waves that reached the vampires. Then the vampires' eyes glowed purple for a second, after, all of them shook their heads, as if they had come out of a trance.

“Fluttershy, you can stop using 'the stare' now,” Dusk said, noticing that Fluttershy was still staring at the fruit vampires.

"What? Oh!” Fluttershy said, blinking several times. Then she shook her head, as she felt dizzy for some reason.

"Are you okay?" Dusk asked, worried. He approached Fluttershy to steady her, noticing that she was swaying.

“Y-Yes… I think I used 'the stare' too long,” Fluttershy answered. She blushed when she saw that Dusk had taken her between his hooves.

"So? Did it work?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently, looking at the bats.

Observing the vampires, the ponies saw that they were all looking at each other in confusion. Many of them had been left with their apples half eaten when Fluttershy interrupted their feast. However, now that they could continue, they all smelled the juicy apples in their clutches and made disgusted faces. All of the fruit vampires stuck out their tongues in disgust, spit out the unpleasant apple flavor in their mouths, and flew away towards the farthest corners of the farm.

"Yee-haw!! We did it!" Applejack shouted triumphantly. “Hopefully, they'll go to Grandpa Pear's farm, hahaha,” Applejack joked. She was happy to finally solve her big problem and even happier to have saved her huge apple for the Appleloosa contest.

While everyone celebrated, the only one who remained motionless was Fluttershy, who stood looking intently at the apple tree that the fruit vampires had abandoned.

“Come on, Fluttershy. Applejack invited us all to celebrate with a secret stash of cider she keeps for emergencies,” Dusk said. He could see that Fluttershy was distracted.

“Oh! Y-Yes, I'm coming,” Fluttershy said quickly, walking towards where her friends were. She didn’t understand why she was suddenly craving apples so much, in addition to having… other cravings.





It was already past midnight in the library, and everything was still and silent in Dusk and Spike's room. The little baby dragon had fallen asleep like a rock after reading all day, and Dusk was also sleeping soundly after having drank a couple of glasses of well-aged cider.

Having five girls in love living in his same town and sharing his daily life with him, it became normal for Dusk to dream about his friends. Especially his marefriend Pinkie, who always kissed and hugged him lovingly. However, that night, it was one of those nights that Dusk's crazy and lustful mind dreamed one by one about his friends, who came up to him to kiss.

First it was Rainbow Dash's shy and quick kiss, then Rarity's more adult kiss, then Applejack's long kiss, then Pinkie Pie's tender and playful kiss, and finally Fluttershy. However, unlike all of his other dreams, when the Fluttershy from Dusk's dream approached him, this time she didn’t kiss him. Instead, she started licking his face and neck.

Even to Dusk's semi-conscious mind, that seemed very strange. It was at that moment that he opened his sleepy eyes, and just like in his dream, Fluttershy was upon him.

“Is this a dream…?” Dusk murmured sleepily. He was still waking up, so his mind was not fully awake and he wasn't sure what was a dream and what wasn't.

Hearing Dusk 's voice, Fluttershy immediately stopped licking his neck. Then she raised her head and looked at him with 'the stare'.

Seeing 'the stare' of Fluttershy, Dusk opened his eyes completely, and for a second, he started to jump and woke up completely. However, the hypnotic power of 'the stare' made Dusk immediately fall into a daze with his mind clouded. Everything looked rosy and cloudy around them, as if he was still in a dream.

“What is this? Fluttershy's 'stare' doesn't work on ponies; only on animals.” Dusk's logical mind tried to think as it faded away. Then he paid attention to the Fluttershy who was sitting on top of him.

This Fluttershy had her mane messier. Additionally, her ears looked slightly more pointed, like a bat's. In her mouth, two small fangs stood out, and her eyes shone reddish. However, what caught Dusk's attention the most was the look of 'that' Fluttershy. It was a lustful look, full of desire, which was incredibly different from the shy look that Fluttershy normally had.

“Yes… That proves it… This is a dream…” Dusk finally reasoned dizzily. It felt impossible that Fluttershy's 'stare' could hypnotize him, and that Fluttershy would act this daring in real life.

"Your smell... I love your smell..." Fluttershy moaned, licking Dusk's neck again. “It would only be better… Haahhh … If I spread apple juice on you,” the vampire Fluttershy said, licking her lips with pleasure while she licked Dusk's neck and cheeks.

After finishing licking Dusk's cheeks, Fluttershy raised her head and stared at Dusk, who, for his part, could barely react because of how dizzy he was. And even if he could have, he probably wouldn’t have had the willpower to say something to stop the exciting attack of sexy licks on his neck.

Fluttershy stared at Dusk, with that intense look that only Fluttershy's 'stare' had. Then she looked longingly at Dusk and put on a sexy mischievous smile that normal Fluttershy would never put on. She quickly approached Dusk's lips and kissed him with strength and passion. An intense kiss, which was followed by Fluttershy sucking hard, like vampires sucking juice from an apple.

"Ouch!" Dusk said in pain when one of Fluttershy's fangs bit his lip, and she stopped kissing him.

A small drop of Dusk's blood remained on Fluttershy's lips, which she removed by licking her lips and looking at Dusk with even more desire.

“Mmmm… Tell me…” that vampire Fluttershy said, looking longingly at Dusk. “You like my kisses, don't you...? You love me... Right? You love having me on you! You love that I play with you like this!” Fluttershy said, laughing excitedly.

“Yes…” Dusk said still in a trance. With his mind so weak and dizzy, he was completely vulnerable, being one hundred percent honest. “I love feeling you and kissing you…” Dusk responded, not being able to deny the warm emotion of feeling a mare on top of him. “But… Pinkie is my marefriend… she is…” Dusk added, as if a part of his mind was fighting to remind him to be faithful as he weakly tried to push Fluttershy away with his hooves.

“Forget her… I'm better,” the vampire Fluttershy said, bringing her face closer to Dusk so that he could only see her eyes. She was hypnotizing him more and more with her stare, so that he would fall deeper into her spell.

“Fluttershy…” Dusk murmured weakly. Being unable to resist the hypnotizing and sensual gaze of that vampire.

“Yes…” Fluttershy said, smiling with pleasure. Kissing Dusk again. “Say: I love Fluttershy!” The pegasus said with a triumphant smile. Wishing Dusk would say her name and that he loved her, word for word.

“I… love… the… real Fluttershy…” Dusk responded weakly, being able to neither lie nor disobey.

That last comment completely erased the vampire Fluttershy's smile.

"What? Why would you want her when you have me!? I’m sexier, more daring, better!” Fluttershy said annoyed. Then she looked away and her voice changed to a softer tone. "I made a mistake! “He loves me just the way I am!” Fluttershy said speaking more normally. Feeling happy. But then she looked at Dusk again and put on a serious look. "No! He’s just confused… He doesn’t want the cowardly one; he wants the bold one,” Fluttershy finished speaking, fighting with herself and finally uniting her two halves.

At that moment the vampire Fluttershy stretched out her wings, which Dusk could have sworn looked more like a vampire’s than a pegasus’s, and then she flew through the open window and out of the library. Meanwhile, Dusk began to feel dizzy, and his eyes closed as he fell into a dream again.





"Wake up!" Pinkie Pie yelled out of nowhere, jumping on Dusk's bed to wake him up that morning.

“Uff! G-Good morning…” Dusk said, waking up abruptly when he felt Pinkie Pie's weight on him. He shook his head several times because, despite it being daytime, he felt very tired, and also dizzy for some reason.

"What's wrong? Did I jump too hard?” Pinkie Pie asked worriedly, seeing Dusk’s behavior.

“No, it's nothing. It’s just… I think I had a strange dream.” Dusk said. Closing one eye as he remembered the strange, blurry dream about Fluttershy he had the night before.

While Dusk blushed as e remembered that crazy dream of the daring Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie looked at him suspiciously. Then she got closer to Dusk and sniffed him a few times. Then she made a surprised face, thinking she smelled another mare's scent on her beloved Dusk.

“You… Did you spend the night with someone else…?” Pinkie Pie asked, bewildered. Looking at Dusk seriously.

"What!?" Dusk asked, confused and a little offended that his marefriend believed he would betray her by sleeping with another mare.

For several seconds, Pinkie Pie looked at Dusk in fear. Until she lowered her gaze and then raised it again. Smiling normally again.

"I'm sorry. It was… It was just a joke, hehe,” Pinkie Pie said with a nervous smile. Then she jumped out of bed and started down the stairs. “I'll wait for you downstairs!” Pinkie said, looking at Dusk with a big smile and then turning around again.

“I shouldn't distrust my coltfriend. I shouldn't distrust my coltfriend.” Pinkie Pie repeated to herself in her mind as she walked down the stairs. Putting on a serious look. “And I shouldn't distrust my other friends either... Right?” Pinkie Pie thought, uncertain.

As Pinkie Pie descended, Dusk felt confused. He didn’t know why Pinkie had asked him that question out of nowhere. Then, Dusk was alerted when he felt something in his mouth. He touched his lip and found that he had a small wound on it.

“Is it… a bite?” Dusk said, thinking out loud. Remembering the 'dream' he had. But then he imagined his shy friend Fluttershy, being aggressive like the Fluttershy from his dream, and laughed. “Haha, nah! That’s impossible," Dusk laughed, immediately ruling out that the wound on his lip was a bite from her friend.

Dusk's ears suddenly perked up as he heard the distant call of the Sweet Apple Acres barn bell again. Which meant… there was another emergency to resolve?





Just like the day before, Dusk and Pinkie Pie arrived at the Apple family farm together. Again, the first one they saw upon their arrival was Big Mac. Who, like the day before, had a discouraged and sad face. Big Mac was so discouraged this time that he didn't even hear Dusk and Pinkie Pie pass by him. He simply ignored them, completely immersed in his thoughts.

Thinking he had to solve one problem at a time, Dusk decided to ignore Big Mac and continue to the Apple family’s house. Just as Pinkie and Dusk arrived, so did Fluttershy and Rarity. Rainbow Dash was already there with Applejack.

"What's going on? What is the emergency now?” Rarity asked, worried.

“It's the same as yesterday! Look!” Applejack responded with fear in her eyes. She showed them another dry apple with her hoof. “Now they’ve gone and attacked the apple trees behind the barn.”

“So… Dusk's spell didn't work?” Pinkie Pie asked, confused.

“That's the strangest thing. Look,” Rainbow Dash said, who had already thought about that before the others arrived. She took an apple and flew towards an apple tree, where some fruit vampires were sleeping. Apparently, they had made those apple trees their new temporary home.

As soon as Rainbow Dash woke up one of the fruit vampires, it smelled the apple, stuck out its tongue in disgust, and pushed it away, then continued sleeping.

“Then… Dusk's spell did work,” Rarity said, putting on a scared look. “But then, what is it that keeps eating the apples?”

"I don't know. Maybe it's another creature, or maybe it's other fruit vampires that we didn't see and Dusk's spell didn't catch," Applejack said confused, rubbing her head.

While the girls discussed this new mystery, the only ones who seemed oblivious to the discussion were Fluttershy and Dusk. When they both arrived, their gazes met for a second, and they both looked away, blushing. For some reason, they had both had strange dreams about each other, and upon seeing each other, they both remembered that crazy 'dream' they’d had.

“Nothing happens during the day; the attacks always happen at night,” Applejack said, seeing that the discussion about the culprit wasn’t reaching any point. “I guess if we want to know who or what keeps eating my apples, we'll have to come at night and catch it ourselves. Are y’all with me?”

"Yeah!" Dusk and his friends shouted. Or at least four of them, since one didn’t give her cry of support.

“Fluttershy, don't you want to come help us?” Rarity asked, seeing that her friend hadn't yelled with them.

“Oh… Umm … Well… I do want to help.” Fluttershy said, hanging her head in shame. “But… coming here at night… I think it would make me a little scared.” Fluttershy added, closing her eyes in fear.

“Don't worry, we'll be together. I promise I’ll take care of you,” Dusk said, approaching the yellow pegasus and gently touching her on her back.

As always, feeling the soft and trustworthy touch of her knight in shining armor calmed Fluttershy. So, she gave a little smile and nodded with a little more confidence.

While Dusk and Fluttershy smiled at each other, Pinkie Pie looked at them both carefully, with an attentive look and not smiling...

When night came, everyone gathered behind the Sweet Apple Acres barn. This time, they were accompanied by Spike, who had finally finished reading his long-awaited comic.

Since they didn't want to scare away the 'mysterious apple vampire', they all decided to go in the dark without a light. Fortunately, the moon that night was full and illuminated enough to be able to walk without colliding with the trees.

"How exciting! Let's go in search of a vampire! Just like the Power Ponies of the universe 216,” Spike said excitedly. He was remembering one of the chapters of his comic.

Since he had finished reading his comic, Spike hadn’t stopped talking about how great that mega event had been that redefined the 'Power Ponies universe'. It was amusing to Dusk at first, but now it felt tedious, since Spike couldn't stop talking about the characters and the events that had happened.

“So, are there many universes in the Power Ponies?” Rainbow Dash asked, intrigued to hear Spike talk about his comic.

"Yeah! Well, now there is only one, after the 'Flashponyt', which united all the universes. But before there were hundreds. One in which the Power Ponies were vampires, another one where they were zombies, another one set in the ancient era, another one where they were villains…” Spike responded excitedly. “It all started when Phanos used the Infinity Horseshoe to-”

“Shhh! Quiet. If we want to find who is eating the apples, we must be silent,” Dusk said. It was better to silence Spike before he got excited and started telling the entire story of the expanded Power Ponies multiverse again. “Besides, we're not looking for a real vampire. It’s just another fruit vampire that my spell didn't touch.”

“But what if this isn't a fruit vampire and it's a real vampire!?” Spike said, imagining it and swallowing in fear. “The vampires of universe 216 were terrifying. They saw in the dark and sucked the blood of other ponies, until they were bone-deep." Spike added, with a slight shiver. “Although the Power Ponies from universe 616 were able to defeat them using wooden stakes and necklaces of-”

“Ugh…” Dusk said frustrated, hitting his face with his hoof and seeing that it would be impossible to make his brother stop talking about his favorite comic for several days.

Minutes passed, and nothing strange appeared anywhere as everyone continued walking together.

“The orchard behind the barn isn’t as big as the others, but it’s still a lot of ground to cover. We oughta separate.” Applejack said, approaching Dusk.

At his ex-marefriend's comment, Dusk lowered his gaze and glanced at Fluttershy next to him. Who kept looking around scared. What Applejack said was something that Dusk had thought from the moment they began the search. However, in the morning, he had promised Fluttershy that they would be together, and he didn't want to break his promise.

“Huff… You’re right. If we all continue together, it could take us all night,” Dusk sighed, stopping. They had to be more practical if they wanted to find the culprit. “The best thing will be to separate ourselves to cover more ground. If you find something strange, make some kind of signal to the rest of us.” Dusk added, looking at his friends and illuminating the sky with his horn to show them what type of signal they might use.

“Umm…” Fluttershy said weakly. Looking scared at Dusk and then looking away embarrassed.

"Easy. Everyone else will separate, but I’ll stay with you,” Dusk said, touching Fluttershy to calm her down. “You didn't think I would break my promise, did you?” Dusk added with a big smile full of confidence.

Seeing that smile made Fluttershy blush and put on a small, cute smile as well.

“Okay, time to split up,” Dusk immediately said, so as not to waste any more time.

“W-Wait!” Pinkie Pie suddenly said. Raising her hoof to stop Dusk, just when everyone was about to separate.

For several seconds, Pinkie Pie didn't say anything. She simply looked at Dusk and then at Fluttershy, her mouth ajar. It was as if she wanted to say something, but didn't dare say it. Then, after a few seconds, Pinkie lowered her head and then raised it again, putting on a somewhat nervous smile.

“I-It's nothing. Everything is fine, hehe.” Pinkie Pie laughed nervously.

“Well, let's not wait any longer. Let’s go look for the vampire!” Rainbow Dash said, flying away. Everyone else took that as a signal to walk in different directions.

As she walked, Pinkie Pie couldn't help but take one last nervous glance at Dusk and Fluttershy, who were walking away together.

“I can't distrust Dusk, nor can I distrust my friends…” Pinkie Pie thought, repeating that over and over again to calm her doubts while she walked away from her coltfriend.

For their part, Dusk and Fluttershy walked in silence, looking for any sign of dried apples in the surroundings. Although compared to the others, they were still moving slowly, since Fluttershy kept stopping with fear when she heard a branch break or felt a leaf brush against her fur.

“It always surprises me that you’re the only one who has faced a huge dragon face to face, but you’re still scared of the darkness, hehe,” Dusk said smiling. Maybe talking a little would calm his dear friend.

“Dragons scare me, too. That time in the mountains, it was only because I needed to protect my friends,” Fluttershy said timidly. “But the darkness is scarier because you don't know what might appear... What if there really is a vampire!? Like the ones Spike mentioned in his comic!”

“Vampires don’t exist,” Dusk said as he continued walking. Blushing a little when remembering that just yesterday he had dreamed about a vampire. “By the way, it's curious. Yesterday when I was sleeping, I dreamed that-” 'GROWL...’ Dusk suddenly stopped talking when his stomach growled with hunger. "Oh, I'm sorry. I think with all the preparations, I forgot to have dinner,” Dusk added embarrassedly, scratching his head.

After looking around, Dusk approached one of the apple trees and took an appetizing apple from a branch, with Fluttershy watching from behind.

“I don't think Applejack will mind if I eat just one apple to stave off my hunger.” Dusk said while taking a bite of that juicy apple.

As soon as Dusk bit into the apple, Fluttershy froze and stared at him with big, attentive eyes. She began to drool when she smelled the inside of that appetizing apple, and without her realizing it, two of her teeth began to slowly lengthen until they became fangs.

Distracted as he was, eating his apple, Dusk didn’t notice that his friend lowered her head while her breathing became agitated and her body subtly glowed. Her ears became more pointed, and her wings changed shape slightly. From the side of the shy pegasus, the three pink butterflies that were her cutie mark, mutated to look like three pink bats. Under the moonlight, the shy Fluttershy disappeared, and in her place, was 'Flutterbat', the lustful and daring part of Fluttershy that she always hid, and that was now active thanks to an accidental spell.

“I think I'll have another one.” Dusk said, taking out another apple and biting into it. Then he turned and looked at Fluttershy. "Do you want one?"

“Yes…” Fluttershy said, hiding her gaze and approaching Dusk with a big smile. "Yes, I do."

Arriving in front of Dusk, Fluttershy hit the apple that Dusk had on his hoof and, without warning, kissed Dusk hard, tasting the apple juice that Dusk still had in his mouth. This left Dusk completely paralyzed, since never in his life did he imagine that his shy friend would give him such an intense kiss without warning.





"Yeah…! I love this flavor!” Fluttershy shouted after kissing Dusk. Looking up at the sky with crazy eyes full of excitement, tasting the apple juice directly from Dusk's soft lips. Then she lowered her head again and looked straight at Dusk, full of desire. "I want more!"

“W-wait, Fluttershy!” Dusk said in fear. He was red with shame from the implications of what he had just done. Taking a step back away from Fluttershy. “W-What are you doing? I… I’m with Pinkie Pie,” Dusk added nervously. He felt a certain insecurity in his words, and Fluttershy's intense gaze was still on him. “A-are you using 'the stare' on me?” Dusk asked uncertainly, seeing Fluttershy's intense gaze.

“I don't need to use it on you,” Fluttershy said with pride. She jumped on Dusk, causing him to fall to the ground on his back and her to fall on top of him. “I know you want me… I see it in your eyes.” Fluttershy said with a flirtatious look, bringing her face very close to Dusk's.

Before Dusk could react or say anything else, Fluttershy suddenly made a pained face. Then her body subtly glowed as her ears became more bat-like, and her wings became more pointed. Opening her eyes again, Fluttershy's eyes were sharper and redder, looking less and less like a pony's.

“Yummy… Apple… Dusk …” Fluttershy said, starting to lick Dusk's lips.

"Who's there!?" Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted from afar. A flashlight shone towards where Dusk and Fluttershy were.

Seeing that all that noise was caused by one of her best friends throwing themselves at her coltfriend made Pinkie Pie freeze for a second.

“Gaaahh!” Fluttershy screeched like a vampire and tried to cover the light with her hoof. Then she opened her vampire wings and flew away as quickly as she could.

“That… That was a vampire!” Spike suddenly shouted. He had also arrived there and managed to see 'Flutterbat'.

After hearing the noise and seeing Pinkie Pie's flashlight illuminated, everyone else had run to where Dusk was, so it didn't take long for them to gather together. There, while Dusk came out of his surprise and got up, Spike took the opportunity to tell Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash what he had seen.

“That… That was Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked scared. Still unable to believe what she had seen.

“Yes…” Dusk said worriedly. “I'm not sure, but I think that when she used 'the stare' on the fruit vampires and I used my magic, somehow the desire to eat apples was transferred to her. Making… her totally change who she is,” Dusk added, scared and blaming himself for changing his friend to who she was now.

“Are you saying… Fluttershy turned into a fruit vampire?” Rainbow Dash said. Still unable to believe that crazy story.

“What if she didn't just become a fruit vampire? What if this vampire does eat ponies!?” Spike shouted in terror.

“Darling, Fluttershy couldn't eat another pony,” Rarity said, calming Spike.

“Well, I wouldn't be so sure…” Pinkie said with a pouty face. She looked askance at Dusk, who, for his part, blushed deeply.

“We must reverse the spell as soon as possible.” Dusk said worried. Remembering how he had seen Fluttershy transforming. "Come on! We must save Fluttershy!” Dusk added, running towards where he had seen Fluttershy fly. Followed by Spike and the other girls.

Rarity and Dusk illuminated their horns to illuminate their surroundings, as did Pinkie Pie with her flashlight. Rainbow Dash flew quickly through the tops of the apple trees to look for her friend. Everyone shouted Fluttershy's name, but there was no response.

"What's that!?" Spike shouted scared. He could see something flying low to the ground, directly in his direction.

The ponies barely had time to turn around, as Flutterbat flew quickly and smoothly between them, fleeing in the opposite direction. Everyone ran to the other side and Rainbow Dash hurried after her. However, unlike Fluttershy with her new vampiric traits, Rainbow Dash couldn't see in the dark. Causing her to crash into tree branches several times. Which in turn, caused Flutterbat to laugh.

“Are you making fun of me!?” Rainbow Dash shouted furiously. She turned to look at Dusk, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. “Light my way better!”

"I'm sorry, Rainbow! She's too fast,” Rarity shouted apologetically.

“Ugh… Who knew Fluttershy could be so fast…” Rainbow Dash sighed, flying in place.

"Right?" Flutterbat chimed in. She’d managed to sneak behind Rainbow Dash without her noticing.

Before Rainbow Dash could react, Flutterbat smashed an apple in her face, which completely blocked Rainbow Dash's vision.

“She knows… I'm better!” Flutterbat shouted with a triumphant laugh. She swooped over Dusk and the others, throwing apples in their faces as well. “No more good fool! I be new! I better!" Fluttershy said laughing. For some reason, she wasn’t speaking in complete sentences, like she had a hard time speaking.

“Ugh! She's too fast,” Applejack said, wiping the apple off her face.

As Dusk wiped the apple off his face, he was surprised to see that Flutterbat was in front of him, hovering upside down in front of his face.

“You not clean… I lick.” Flutterbat said with a mischievous smile and ran her tongue over Dusk's face.

"There you are!" Rainbow Dash shouted, launching herself quickly at Flutterbat. However, at the last second, Flutterbat moved and managed to evade the blue pegasus.

“Hahahaha!” Flutterbat laughed. She quickly flew to hide among the apple trees again.

"What do we do!?" Pinkie Pie asked, very scared after losing sight of Fluttershy again.

“If we can't be faster than her, we have to be smarter.” Dusk said blushing. He wiped the area of his face where Fluttershy had licked him.

“I… I think I have an idea,” Applejack said with a look of doubt. Then she turned and ran toward the barn. "Wait here, y’all."

After a couple of minutes, Applejack returned, carrying Old Tom's last huge apple. The apple that Applejack had cared for and saved for the big Appleloosa contest.

“Ah hopf ith workh…” Applejack said with a knife in her mouth. Her expression was pitiful, but then it changed to one full of determination. Cutting the huge apple so that its exquisite aroma could come out.

As soon as Applejack cut the apple, everyone around her could immediately smell the powerful and delicious aroma coming out of that enormous fruit. Applejack had sacrificed her precious treasure to help her friend. If that smell didn't attract Fluttershy, nothing would.

“Mmm… Delicious!” Flutterbat suddenly said in the dark. Giving everyone hope that she had taken the bait. Suddenly, Fluttershy started laughing. “Be trap! I apples all farm... Not fall into trap! Hahahaha! SCREECH!” Fluttershy laughed in the dark. She released a final screech identical to that of a real bat.

“No… It didn't work?” Applejack said terrified. Seeing that her last hope had vanished.

“This is bad… Every time she speaks, it becomes more difficult for her to speak normally. And every minute that passes, she looks more like a vampire,” Dusk said thoughtfully, with a scared look.

“Wait… That's good!” Rainbow Dash said, thinking of an idea. “If she becomes more and more like a fruit vampire, let's wait until she becomes less clever, and then she’ll fall into the trap!”

"No! It’s too dangerous. The effects on her could be permanent! We must reverse the spell as soon as possible!” Dusk said with a look full of terror. Feeling horribly guilty as he saw that his spell had altered his beloved friend's mind. "What do we do!?" Dusk added scared, holding his head to try to think quickly of a plan.

"I know!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, opening her eyes wide. She looked at Dusk anxiously for a second, but she quickly approached him with a look full of determination. "Come on! We must save Fluttershy!” Pinkie added, pulling Dusk with her.

Not understanding what Pinkie Pie was planning, all of her friends shrugged and followed her to the barn, carrying Applejack's huge apple back.

Not far from the barn, Flutterbat was hanging from the branch of an apple tree. With a new long, retractable tongue, she stretched out her tongue to pick up the apples around her until she sucked all the juice out of them. With every second it became harder for her to think about what she would do next or how she would continue making fun of her friends. With every passing moment, she began to act more on instinct, slowly forgetting that she was once a pony. She was losing her essence to become an animal.

“Gaaah!” Flutterbat suddenly screeched as she heard shouting not far from where she was.

With her animal curiosity heightened, Flutterbat flew to an apple tree in front of the barn. There, she saw that the mares who had been her friends were now shouting for her.

“Fools… SCREECH! I don’t trap… SCREECH!” Flutterbat groaned. It was getting harder and harder for her to think clearly, and she sounded more and more like a bat.

Fluttershy's friends entered the barn again, only this time, they came out with the huge apple that Applejack had saved for the contest. The one that was still cut on one side and gave off that delicious smell of apple juice.

“SCREECH! I... don't... fall... trap... SCREECH!” Flutterbat whispered weakly from the hanging branch. This time it was very difficult for her to control her animal instincts that were screaming at her to fly to that delicious and appetizing apple. However, she still had some reasoning left to control herself.

Wanting to get away from the temptation, Flutterbat spread her wings to get away from the barn. However, something else that came out of the barn caught her attention…

“I hope this works…” Dusk Shine whispered, red with shame, which ironically helped add to his outfit. He was dressed as 'Li’l Appleling, the happy apple'. It was the big costume that Applejack had once asked him to wear to help her sell apples, a long time ago.

“Okay girls, now!” Pinkie Pie shouted, pointing at her other friends from behind Dusk.

Hearing the signal, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack cut several large pieces from Applejack's huge apple and pressed them against Dusk, filling his suit with delicious apple juice.

From afar, Flutterbat hadn't understood what those ponies were trying to do. However, she didn't need to understand, after seeing and smelling Dusk from afar. Flutterbat's eyes shone with maximum desire as she saw the greatest temptation she could ever see. Her beloved Dusk Shine, half virile stallion, half delicious apple, bathed in sweet, sweet apple juice.

Flutterbat couldn’t resist the temptation, and with her mouth drooling with desire and her eyes full of love, she bolted towards where Dusk was. Her reason was lost, and she was completely letting herself be carried away by her animal instincts.

Dusk Shine could barely react when he felt a fast pink and yellow trail crash into him, making him fall to the ground.

"Mine…! Mine!! Delicious…!" Flutterbat screamed wildly, while uncontrollably licking the juice from Dusk's face. And with her hooves she began to tear the apple suit to try to reach its sweet center. "I love... so much…!" Flutterbat continued speaking full of desire, kissing and licking Dusk's lips. With a mind so confused, she wasn't sure if she was saying that because of the apples or because of Dusk Shine.

"It worked! Now, for the second part of the plan!” Pinkie Pie shouted to her friends, who had run into the barn after bathing Dusk in apple juice.

At Pinkie Pie's signal, she, Spike, and her three friends ran to surround Fluttershy, carrying several mirrors with them. They all waited for the next part of the plan. Dusk was too shocked to act, so they just stood there while the seconds passed and Fluttershy continued attacking Dusk with kisses and licks.

“Ahem…! Dusk… Your turn,” Pinkie Pie coughed, giving Dusk an annoyed look when her coltfriend wasn’t carrying out the next part of the plan.

“Oh! Y-yes, yes! I'm sorry!" Dusk said, red with embarrassment. Having Fluttershy on top of him, kissing and licking him so passionately, had made him lose track of time for a second.

After coming out of his daze, Dusk used his magic to teleport outside of his friends’ circle. Seeing that her desired prey had disappeared, Flutterbat turned and looked around angrily, immediately using 'the stare'. Under normal circumstances, it would leave her victim helpless. However, instead of seeing her prey, the only pony Flutterbat saw was herself.

The impact of using 'the stare' on herself caused Flutterbat to freeze for a few seconds. Then, from behind the mirrors, it wasn’t necessary for Pinkie Pie to give the signal again. Dusk immediately used a counter spell to reverse the spell he had used the day before, causing Flutterbat's body to glow with magic.

All the secondary bat characteristics that had been manifesting in Fluttershy's body slowly faded away. Until finally, the body of the shy yellow pegasus returned to being the same as always.





It was after noon when a sore and normal Fluttershy finally woke up in her friend Applejack's comfortable bed. Her mind was very confused as she opened her eyes, and she became even more confused as she slowly opened her eyes and saw that she wasn’t in her own room.

“Hngh… What happened…? Where am I?" Fluttershy said exhausted, even though she had slept for hours.

“Oh! You finally woke up! Are you okay?" Pinkie Pie suddenly said, approaching worriedly to where her friend was. She had been sitting in a nearby chair, taking care of Fluttershy.

“Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy murmured in confusion. Then she let her head fall back onto the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. "Sigh... I don't know why, but for a second, I thought I would wake up and see Dusk..." After saying that, Fluttershy blushed deeply when she realized that she had been so dizzy, that she had accidentally said that out loud in instead of just thinking about it. “S-Sorry! I didn’t mean that!" Fluttershy immediately apologized, red with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, if you had woken up a few minutes earlier, you would have met Dusk." Pinkie Pie said with a small smile of relief. Her shy friend was acting like she normally did. “He never left your side. He stayed awake all night, until this morning, when I made him go eat something.”

“Oh… I see…” Fluttershy said, unable to resist putting on a small smile when she discovered that Dusk had stayed with her all night for some reason. “But… What happened? Did I fall asleep...? The last thing I remember was looking for the fruit vampire at night…” Fluttershy added, very confused.

“Well… We caught the culprit, but it wasn't a fruit vampire,” Pinkie Pie answered. Looking with a mischievous look at her friend.

"No? Then, who ate Applejack's apples?" Fluttershy asked still confused.

At Fluttershy's question, Pinkie Pie simply smiled mischievously and raised her eyebrows a couple of times. She looked carefully at Fluttershy, remaining silent. For several seconds, Fluttershy didn't understand why her friend didn't respond and just stared at her. If it hadn't been a fruit vampire, who else could have eaten apples in the night? She couldn't remember anything from last night, at least, nothing before falling asleep and having that strange dream...

Slowly Fluttershy began to open her eyes in horror as she imagined something. Then she looked at Pinkie Pie, who just kept staring at her, amused at the look on Fluttershy's face as she slowly discovered the truth.

“I… I had a strange dream…” Fluttershy said slowly, putting on a very nervous smile. “That… That was just a dream, right?” Fluttershy hoped for an answer, but Pinkie Pie simply widened her smile, barely able to contain her laughter. Then Fluttershy widened her eyes and gasped as she understood what her dream had really been.

“NO, NO, NO! It can’t be true!" Fluttershy shouted, red with embarrassment, covering her face with her hooves. So embarrassed that smoke was almost coming out of her red ears. “Noooooo…” Fluttershy gasped. Feeling more embarrassed than she had ever been in her life.

If everything that had happened hadn't been a dream, it meant that she... She had been the cause of everything! She had transformed into a vampire! Her animalistic and lustful side had taken over her. She had been conscious the entire time, but she had chalked up her bold manner to it being just a dream. She didn't understand why she acted differently, and also... She had enjoyed it! Be daring and fearless, make fun of others, steal apples, be like a bat... Kiss Dusk! She had attacked him and showed him her sensual side, licking his neck and his mouth... Not just last night! The night before, too! Sneaking into Dusk's room, hypnotizing him and having him under her control... Having Dusk all to herself was all she could think about!

Fluttershy's embarrassment was so great and her face was so red, that she began to feel dizzy until she almost fainted. Which caused her to fall back again, staring up at the ceiling, exhausted and dizzy, with steam coming out of her ears because of how hot and red her face was.

Pinkie Pie waited patiently for Fluttershy to calm down a little and for her face to stop being as red as a tomato. That took several minutes, until finally Pinkie felt that her friend had calmed down enough.

“I always knew you could be daring if you put your mind to it.” Pinkie Pie joked, smiling. She couldn’t help but joke one last time with her friend. Fluttershy raised the covers of her bed to hide under them because of the shame she felt.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Fluttershy said quickly, her voice slightly muffled from the blankets.

For several seconds, Pinkie Pie was silent. That seemed strange to Fluttershy, so she slowly peeked her head out of the blankets that covered her. As she did so, she saw that Pinkie Pie had a sad look, staring into nothingness.

“I was a fool… I could hardly control my jealousy.” Pinkie Pie said, looking down sadly and then looking at Fluttershy seriously. “Since the morning I smelled your scent in Dusk, I suspected you. I really thought Dusk could be cheating on me with you... Then, at night, when you and Dusk left alone, I wanted to scream for you to separate! The only thing I could think about was that I wanted you to stay away from my coltfriend.” Pinkie added, starting to speak seriously and then softening her gaze, until she was almost on the verge of crying. “But when I saw you transformed, all that jealousy disappeared. I didn't mind making Dusk come closer to you and you throwing yourself at him. The only thing I thought about… was that I wanted my friend to be well!” Pinkie added, hugging Fluttershy and crying with relief. “Kiss Dusk as many times as you want, but don't scare me like that again!”

Fluttershy put on a surprised look in Pinkie’s embrace. She thought that Pinkie would be furious with her for taking advantage of her coltfriend like she did. However, she realized that the friendship they both had was stronger than the jealousy or anger that Pinkie could feel. After hugging each other for a long time, they both separated and looked at each other affectionately.

“I'm sorry for kissing Dusk,” Fluttershy said seriously. This time not blushing at that memory, but sincerely wanting to ask for her friend's forgiveness for kissing her coltfriend.

“It doesn't matter, you weren't yourself,” Pinkie Pie said smiling. “Besides, it seems like you hypnotized him or something,” Pinkie added, turning her hooves to the side of her head and rolling her eyes to mime what she was talking about.

“I… I think so,” Fluttershy answered blushing, looking away.

“It was a dirty trick to use 'the stare' on Dusk,” Fluttershy thought sadly. “But... Did I use it every time? I'm not sure... what if... There were a couple of times when Dusk kissed me without being controlled by me?” Fluttershy thought. Ashamed of such a thought, but deep down, wishing that a part of Dusk had kissed her of his own free will.

"I remember now!" Fluttershy suddenly said as she remembered 'her dream', when she sneaked into Dusk's room. “I remember that the night before I approached Dusk and ordered him to tell me that he loved me, he resisted and said that you were his marefriend. He was able to resist 'the stare' for a moment, because of the love he feels for you,” Fluttershy stated, staring at Pinkie Pie. Who, for her part, was surprised and then looked away, blushing.

“Well… He's my coltfriend. It’s the least he could do,” Pinkie said. She was happy to discover that Dusk, even hypnotized, was able to resist a little thanks to her love. Then Pinkie fell onto the bed, on top of Fluttershy, and stared at the ceiling. “I guess this was our test.” Pinkie added, smiling, looking up at the ceiling.

"Test?" Fluttershy asked, confused.

“Remember the third secret rule of our deal?” Pinkie asked, keeping her eyes on the ceiling. “We said that we would test Dusk's love, when he was one of us's coltfriend. I guess this was our test.”

Upon hearing that, Fluttershy made a surprised face, since she had almost forgotten about that rule they had in their agreement to be Dusk's marefriends.

“So… what I did wasn't wrong?” Fluttershy whispered, lowering her gaze and making a thoughtful face as she remembered everything that happened. Then she smiled a little and blushed. Maybe bringing out her daring side was a good thing after all. Since it helped Pinkie overcome her jealousy, Dusk reaffirmed his courtship, and mainly... She had managed to kiss Dusk several times!

“Hey…” Pinkie suddenly said, breaking Fluttershy out of her thoughts.

Seeing Fluttershy smirking, Pinkie Pie put on a fake serious look and gave Fluttershy a small tap on her forehead.

“Ouch!” Fluttershy complained, touching her forehead.

“Don't put on that smile. Remember that you’re still a mare who kissed someone else's coltfriend.” Pinkie said, putting on an annoyed look.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy quickly said, embarrassed. Then they both stayed silent for a second and both burst out laughing. Knowing that even if it was serious, they could joke about it. They had both passed a test of love, and their friendship had become stronger.

“I'm glad you're the same as always,” Pinkie Pie said as she laughed with her shy and kind friend.

"Me too," Fluttershy said laughing. Without realizing that, despite returning to normal, one of her teeth was still shaped like a small fang. A sign that 'her daring side' might not be hidden forever, and would be ready when Dusk least expected it...

Minutes before Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie made up, Dusk had finished eating his breakfast in the kitchen. Then he headed back to where Fluttershy was sleeping, however, seeing through the edge of the door that she was fine and that she was talking to Pinkie, he smiled in relief and walked away, comfortable with the thought that his friend couldn't be in better hooves than Pinkie's. Since he was satisfied, Dusk left Applejack's house and went to where his other friends were.

Next to the barn, in the apple trees where 'Flutterbat' had been caught, Applejack was nailing some boards together, and next to her was Rainbow Dash, carrying more wooden boards, and Rarity, painting a sign.

“Do you need help with the fence?” Dusk asked when he arrived with his friends.

“No, we're almost done,” Applejack answered, finishing nailing and placing the sign Rarity had painted by the fence, which said: 'Apple tree area for fruit vampires.'

The night before, after reversing the spell that affected Fluttershy, the fruit vampires woke up and regained their taste for apples. However, whether it was because of the fear caused by having been bewitched, or because they had been infected this time with a little of Fluttershy's kindness, the vampires didn’t fly throughout the farm eating apples. Instead, they stayed in a small sector of the orchard.

For a moment, Applejack had thought about shooing them away again. However, Dusk convinced her to follow Fluttershy's original plan and let them stay.

“They may not be attacking all the apple trees on the farm now, but I still think it's unfair that they stay, eat for free, and contribute nothing,” Applejack said, seeing how they had finished building the fence, and how those lazy vampires were sleeping, after eating all night.

“You know, I've been thinking, and maybe vampires aren't completely a pest…” Dusk said. He bent down towards a small sprout that was in the dirt. “Old Tom, who gave you that huge apple, is almost as old as Granny Smith. And you said that when she was young, Granny Smith saw the last infestation of fruit vampires here.”

"Well, yeah. But what does one thing have to do with the other?” Applejack asked.

“Do you remember what Fluttershy managed to translate when she talked to the fruit vampires?” Dusk said, pointing at the bats. “They said something about seeds, that they were strong and that the apple trees were theirs. Well maybe we misunderstood. Maybe they didn't say that they were strong, but that thanks to them, the seeds are strong. Therefore, they believe that the apple trees belong to them,” Dusk added, smiling at his friend. “I think the seeds that vampires spit out are stronger than the normal seeds that fall from apple trees. That's why Old Tom was so strong. If you let the fruit vampires stay here, in a few years you could have an orchard full of apple trees as strong as old Tom.”

“Hmm… sacrificing a good portion of one year's apple crop, in exchange for having dozens of strong apple trees for the next few years…” Applejack said with a thoughtful look while doing a mental calculation. Her eyes shone with excitement as she realized the enormous benefit it could have. “Yeah… that could be real nice,” Applejack added, her eyes shining so much with ambition that they genuinely looked like two huge bits.

When they saw that their country friend had changed her opinion about fruit vampires in just seconds, going from hate to love, Dusk and his friends began to laugh. Everything had finally had a good outcome for everyone.

While they were laughing, Dusk couldn't help but be distracted when he saw that Big Mac walked very slowly behind him. Sighing sadly, towards his plow, to go to work in one of the orchards.

“Applejack, is something wrong with Big Mac?” Dusk asked, approaching his friend to whisper. As the big red stallion walked away from them, not even paying them any attention. “Yesterday, he had the same depressed look as today.”

“Huff… It's nothing,” Applejack said sighing. “It's just that there was a mare in another town that was always asking for shipments of apples. Big Mac always went personally to deliver them to her because I think he liked her. But a week ago, that mare canceled all her orders.” At that moment Applejack put on a more serious look and let out a sharp breath through her nose as if she was upset about something. “Honestly, I'm glad that mare isn't askin’ for more of our apples. She was startin’ to brainwash Big Mac and convincing him to join a cult or something.”

“A cult?” Dusk asked.

Applejack lifted her hat and passed Dusk a scroll that Big Mac had brought with him the last time he visited that mare. Dusk took that paper and saw that it was a black and white poster, with a huge symbol of two large horizontal lines one above the other... an = sign.





At Canterlot Castle, a new day was ending. After finishing another busy day of work, Celestia headed towards her room. From there, she used her powerful alicorn magic to lower the sun, while in another part of the castle, her sister Luna was to raise the moon.

“I hope Luna raises the moon as big and brightly as she did yesterday,” Celestia thought after the Sun was hidden. She raised her eyes to look for that night's moon.

Seeing the night sky appear, Celestia waited a moment, but was surprised to see that the moon had not yet appeared. That was peculiar, but it wasn’t anything to worry about. It was common knowledge that the moon, like the princess of the night herself, was more temperamental. It usually appeared punctually from the opposite area where the sun set, with its round shape completely illuminated. However, there were times when the moon took longer to rise or rose a little earlier than the sun; in addition to there being some minor occasions when it shone only partially, causing its shape to change into a waning or waxing moon.

“I wonder if Luna is worried about something today…” Celestia thought, looking at the dark night sky, which was only lit by stars at the moment.

The Sun Princess was suddenly distracted when someone knocked on her door. Without waiting for Celestia to respond, it opened. Just as Celestia anticipated, her sister Luna appeared in the frame and entered her older sister's room with a serious look.

“Luna, is something wrong?” Celestia asked worriedly, seeing her sister's face. “You haven't even raised the moon yet.”

“Are you asking if something is wrong with me? That is the question I came to ask you,” Luna responded, keeping her look serious. She used her magic to raise the moon, and just as Celestia anticipated, it rose with a waning phase, as if the night star itself knew that Luna had a problem.

“Why would I have a problem?” Celestia asked, putting on her usual poker look. For a split second though, she glanced away.

“You haven't waited for me for breakfast for a couple of days. And when you lower the sun, you have done it from your room instead of your usual place: the balcony,” Luna said, changing her serious look to a worried one. “Are you… Are you trying to avoid me?”

For a second, Celestia thought about lying. However, she had promised not to lie to her sister anymore. So Celestia hesitated and remained silent for a few seconds.

“Are you hiding something from me?” Luna asked, looking at her older sister with a mix of concern and annoyance. “Is there something you don't want to tell me?”

“It's not that I want to hide something from you, Luna. I just don't know how to tell you.” Celestia said, looking sadly at her sister. “I don't want to hurt you, but I want you to understand the importance of what I'm going to ask of you.”

"Just say it," Luna said seriously, standing firmly in front of her sister.

For several seconds, Celestia stared at her sister's determined look. She didn't want to hide more things from her, even though she knew they could hurt her. It was then that Celestia sighed and also put on a serious look. She would take Luna's path and say things upfront.

“I don't want you to fall in love with Dusk Shine,” Celestia said, glaring at her younger sister.

It was Luna's turn to be silent. She was shocked to discover that her sister knew that she liked Dusk, and more importantly... asked her to stay away from him!? That… That was the same request that…

“I overheard your conversation with Pinkie Pie the other day,” Celestia said seriously, anticipating what her sister thought. “I think her advice was very accurate. Dusk is enjoying his youth with his friends. He’s just discovering what love is, and I don't want to further complicate his life and his decisions, involving you in the middle.”

Luna was simply speechless. She could hardly believe that her sister had spied on her, let alone in a conversation as intimate as the one she and Pinkie Pie had had regarding Dusk. Furthermore, the tone with which her sister spoke to her… Was she giving her an order!?

“I understand that you’re starting to have feelings for Dusk. But you’ve only met him a few times,” Celestia continued. She softened her tone as she realized that due to her fear, she had begun to speak too authoritatively. “I want you to stop meeting him before those latent feelings you may be feeling turn into true love.”

“What do you know about love…?” Luna finally responded, lowering her head angrily. That comment, unknown to Luna, hurt her sister more than she imagined. “I haven't seen him just a few times. I have seen him dozens of times, perhaps more than his own friends. I have visited him in his dreams. We have shared beautiful moments... And now that you find out by accident that I like him, do you want to use the advice that my new friend gave me, just because she is now his marefriend, to keep me away from him? I will stay away from Dusk as long as Pinkie Pie is his marefriend because I don't want to betray her trust, but that doesn't mean you can tell me who I can or can't fall in love with!” Luna shouted furiously as the pent-up rage that she hadn't been able to shout at Pinkie Pie that day she helped her on her birthday was released. It was a rage that Luna couldn't express because she didn't know how a friend should react, but now, in front of her sister, she could finally express it.

“She… She's more in love than I thought,” Celestia thought worriedly. It was surprising to hear that her sister had used her ability to travel in dreams to get closer to Dusk without her knowing.

"Give me a reason!" Luna said angrily, looking defiantly at her sister. “Just one reason why I can't fall in love with Dusk!”

Seeing Luna's fierce and determined look, Celestia sadly lowered her gaze. The only way to stop Luna would be to hurt her... with the truth.

While the two alicorn sisters were gathered in Celestia's room, two other sisters were walking down the hallway. Sweet Creme and Sweet Caramel were heading towards the Sun Princess's room, knowing that their beloved princesses were there. They had both anticipated their Highnesses’ voracious appetites, and brought them their favorite sweets.

‘SLAM!’ Just before they reached Celestia's room, Luna fiercely burst through the door. She then paused just inside the hallway, breathing heavily. It was so sudden that both twin maids dropped the trays with all the sweets they were bringing.

“M-My Princess…” Sweet Caramel said worriedly, with a weak voice. Her beloved princess had left the room so suddenly, she didn’t know what to think.

Hearing a voice, Luna looked up. At that moment, both maid sisters became even more worried. Princess Luna had a strange look. It was a mixture of fear and anger, as if something had horrified her.

Seeing that her maids were watching her attentively, Luna closed her eyes tightly and walked quickly down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"Princess!" Sweet Caramel shouted, cantering after her beloved princess. She knew that something must have affected her princess greatly for her to look that way.

After seeing her sister run, Sweet Creme realized that she had to worry about her own princess. Then she quickly got up and entered the room of her beloved Princess Celestia. As soon as she entered, Sweet Creme froze before something she had never seen before... In front of the bedroom window, looking outside, was her beloved princess. She wore her usual contemplative gaze, which seemed to see everything. However, despite having a serene look, her eyes didn’t stop crying.

“M-My princess…” Sweet Creme murmured worriedly, watching in shock as her princess cried.

“Always surrounded by so much light… Sometimes I forget how beautiful the darkness can be,” Celestia said, still looking out the window. Since the moon was waning and didn’t illuminate the sky much, in the distance, she could see the beautiful and cold lights of the northern aurora.

End of chapter 28