“Oh! Oh goodness, is something the matter? What are you all doing here so late at night?”
Twilight trotted past me and turned the lights on rather suddenly with her magic, making me wince a little. I put my foreleg over my face to help my eyes adjust while everypony else filed inside one by one. It wasn't like them to be so forceful...but I'm sure there's a perfect explanation for this.
“Fluttershy, I'm so sorry to wake you, but we need to talk. I've been doing some research, and...I'm afraid something else may have went wrong with the spell I cast on you.”
I looked at Twilight with squinted eyes, the light from my lamps still stinging me. Her brow was creased and she was staring at me intently. Actually, all of my friends were staring at me nearly the same way. My own eyes started darting between them, trying to make sense of what this all meant. It wasn't like my friends to be so serious.
“Whu...what's the matter? Oh no, did your spell fail, Twilight?! Am-am I going to turn into a vampire fruit bat again?!”
I took a step forward towards them, but that only caused them all to take a step back. Rarity stifled a shriek and Pinkie Pie hid behind Rainbow Dash. Wait...were they afraid of me? But why?
“Well, Fluttershy, what we mean ta say is...” Applejack swallowed, her words getting slow and deliberate. “...Twilight thinks yer...turnin' into a real vampire...”
I couldn't control the gasp coming from my lips. My hindquarters gave out on me as I felt my heart start to beat wildly. My hooves came to my cheeks and an icy feeling began crawling up my spine. “Oh no...no! Do you mean the kind that drinks blood...?! B-but I've been feeling fine! I haven't been wanting to drink anypony's blood, I swear!”
Twilight took a step forward, “It doesn't matter. I've...I've run the numbers over and over again, and I've come to the same conclusion every time. The spell that was supposed to remove the vampire fruit bat's desire from you didn't remove the base essence. And without the original fruit bat's template, that same essence will manifest as its original form...that of a true vampire bat. There's nothing I can do to dispel it now...”
*THUMP...THUMP*
“No...no! I-I don't...I'm not...!” My face felt so hot. My forelegs wrapped around myself and I started shivering, not knowing what do or think. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't! I'm not a monster!
“Fluttershy...I'm so sorry. There's only one thing we can do for you now.”
I don't know how I didn't notice it before, but Twilight was wearing a saddle bag on her back. She had a grim expression on her face as she pulled something out of it with her levitation.
“This is all my fault...so I told the others that I'd personally take responsibility.”
The thing she pulled out of her bag made me recoil in horror. I scrambled backwards and slammed into a cold wall, not believing what I was seeing. She was holding a wooden mallet and a sharpened oak stake.
“Twilight...no...! I'm not a vampire, I'm NOT!”
She pointed a hoof at me and commanded, “Applejack, Rainbow Dash, grab her! Don't let her get away!”
My friends grabbed my forelegs and held me in front of her against my will. I struggled like my life depended on it, but their grip was too strong. There was no way I could break free like this. Looking into my friend's eyes, they still had that cold, stern look in them. Even Pinkie Pie.
*THUMP, THUMP*
What was wrong them?! How could they be so cruel?! How could they simply turn their backs on me like this?! I haven't done anything wrong at all!
“Forgive me...but there's no other way. As a Princess of Equestria, it is my duty to protect it from every threat imaginable. Even if it means sacrificing someone dear to me...” Twilight placed the stake over my heart and pulled back the mallet, not hesitating for even a second. I never thought her voice could sound so distant...so bleak. Am I really going to die...?
(“...strike back. Fight. It is the only way to survive.”)
In that moment, everything I saw seemed to blur. The hammer moved in slow motion, and nothing around me made a sound. The only things I could hear was the sound of me breathing, and something...else.
(“They've abandoned you. Shunned you. All because of what you are. What you know yourself to be. Fight them, or you will die.”)
It's true...isn't it? I thought it was just a side effect of the spell, but...I still had a fang. I knew that deep down, I was still a vampire pony. And now the closest friends I've ever known, the ponies I care about more than anything else in the world...they're going to kill me. All because of what I was. It wasn't fair...
*THUMPTHUMPTHUMP*
It's not fair! I don't deserve this! This is all your fault! I've become a monster now, just because you didn't want to listen to me! NOPONY ever listens to me! If anyone should die, it's YOU!
“Graaaahhh!!!”
I had no idea I was so strong. Rainbow Dash and Applejack flung off me like they were made of paper, colliding with Twilight and falling to the floor. Pinkie and Rarity backed themselves into a corner, yelling hurtful things at me. It was still painful to hear, but it all sounded like a muffled record player. There was only one thing I cared about now, and it was making them pay. I walked over to Twilight with a somber step and stood over her, her gorgeous wings splayed out and a look of agony on her face. I felt a small hiss escape from my mouth as I lowered my head...
*CRASH*
...right as something small jumped onto my back and jerked my head towards the mirror against my wall. The pony looking back at me...she scared me more than anything else I've ever seen in my life. Her mane was scraggly and jagged. Huge fangs adorned her mouth. Her wings were outstretched over two meters long, and were webbed just like a bat's. But her eyes...her eyes. The whites of her eyes had gone completely black, and her pupils shone a crimson red. I couldn't believe it...I could hardly believe the pony in the mirror was me.
“(Squeak...)”
The critter that jumped onto my back started hugging me and crying, his warm tears bringing me back to my senses. It was Angel Bunny. I stepped away from Twilight without looking at her and held him close, tears flowing down my face.
“I'm so sorry...I...I wasn't myself. This isn't what I want at all...”
It was strange. It all felt so surreal until Angel came to me. I think...I understand now.
“No...none of this is right.”
I stood up, still holding him with my foreleg. Biting back my tears, I screamed out, “I know my friends...and they would never abandon me! They would never resort to killing anypony for any reason! No matter what, I trust them with all of my heart! You are NOT my friends!”
With that, the world around me seemed to evaporate like a puff of smoke, leaving nothing behind but the night sky. I sighed softly and knelt onto my belly, nuzzling against Angel. Staring at the moon as it was calmed me somehow...I couldn't really explain it. But it's blue glow was so dazzling to me, I couldn't look away...
“You have done well to resist them, Fluttershy.”
Looking down, I was greeted by Princess Luna's warm smile. I know I should be surprised to see her, but for some reason I wasn't. It was like I was expecting her somehow...why was that?
“Thank you, Princess Luna. I would have lost myself if it wasn't for you.”
She chuckled and shook her head, saying, “No need. I merely sent this little one into your dreams. It seems his love for you is greater than I had realized.”
I looked down at Angel, feeling worried. “Princess...who are 'they'?”
I heard a soft sigh come from her before she responded, “The 27 Dead Apostles. They've come for the newly risen True Ancestor...you, Fluttershy.”