A vampire's vulnerability to sunlight was something that Twilight could never quite get used to, despite growing accustomed to the other changes as though they had been a part of her since she was born, which wasn't far from the truth. As she walked through the town she tried to avoid attracting attention from the ponies just beginning their day. After all, a cloaked pony wandering through the streets, though not abnormal for Manehatten, would be noticed right away in Ponyville.
By staying off of the center streets and out of sight, Twilight was fairly certain nopony saw her. When she reached the library she waited until nopony was around before dashing for the door. Once inside, Twilight pulled the curtains shut with her magic and took off her cloak.
Home and safe from the sun, the first thing Twilight noticed was that she wasn't alone. Sitting on one of the couches was Rainbow Dash. Fortunately she appeared to have fallen asleep there at some point, so there was no way she could have noticed Twilight's unusual entrance. Spike had probably let her stay after closing to wait for Twilight and then went to sleep, leaving Rainbow to fall asleep herself as Twilight didn't return.
Twilight took careful note of how Rainbow had a Daring Do book next to her, and another on a table nearby. She had probably waited for hours before succumbing to sleep.
Twilight nudged Rainbow to no effect in an attempt to wake her gently. When that didn't work Twilight shook her roughly. That woke Rainbow with a start, causing her to jump up quickly.
“Twilight!” She said, her short moment of panic giving way to confusion, “Wait, when did you get home?”
“About two minutes ago, how long have you been here?” Twilight asked as she picked up the two books Rainbow had out, setting them aside to put back later.
Before Rainbow could answer she became confused and said, “Um... I guess I dozed off a while ago. What time is it?”
Twilight sighed and said, “Rainbow, it's a little after seven in the morning.”
“Seven in the morning!” Rainbow exclaimed, but after a moment she regained her composure of confusion and asked, “Wait, where have you been all night then?”
Twilight, being sure to give away nothing that could be used against her while still being as honest as she could, simply said, “I spent the night with Fluttershy.”
“Oh yeah, and what were you doing all night, coming up with a plot to take over Equestria?” said Rainbow accusingly.
Twilight looked at her with anger, “What is the matter with you? You've been spending all your time either looking for proof that Fluttershy and I are evil or trying to convince everypony else that your right. I'll say this once Rainbow, Fluttershy and I are just as clueless as anypony else about what happened last month, and even if we were plotting to take over Equestria neither of us would be stupid enough to admit it to you as soon as you ask!”
Twilight finally calmed down enough to look at Rainbow, only to find her cowering from the purple unicorn's rage. Twilight felt a bit guilty as she realized that she hadn’t even tried to control herself and had terrified her friend.
Of course she felt guilty for terrifying Rainbow, but that was only part of the reason, and a minor one at that. What truly hurt Twilight about that moment was how similar Rainbow looked at that moment to Fluttershy barely a month ago as she cowered in a corner, the same night Twilight had turned her. Seeing Rainbow like that pushed her over the edge as she was suddenly forced to remember everything about that night. Every detail came back to her, and in an instant she went from overzealous anger to inconsolable sadness as she recalled the horrible thing she did to her closest friend, and the even more terrible act she had nearly committed.
Tears came to her eyes as she broke down, every barrier and reassurance she had used to keep herself from falling into regret and remorse coming apart.
“Just leave Rainbow,” Twilight said, falling to the floor and sobbing uncontrollably.
Rainbow stood up and said something, but Twilight wasn't listening. When Rainbow tried to approach however, Twilight reacted badly. Enraged, Twilight yelled, “LEAVE!”
This time she didn't give Rainbow any time to speak before using her magic to teleport her out of the library.
Twilight simply laid there afterward, crying. After a while she lost track of time, and a little while later she dragged herself up to her room and laid down on her bed. Finally, she drifted off to sleep for the day.
-----
Twilight woke just before nightfall, her pillow stained from when she cried herself to sleep. Spike had been kind enough to leave the curtains closed for the day to let her rest, not that she could have slept otherwise.
Slowly Twilight crawled out of bed and went through the process of brushing her hair and washing her face, making herself ready to see Fluttershy again.
When she arrived downstairs Spike was placing books back on the shelves. Twilight had hoped to slip out of the library before he noticed, but she barely even made it to the bottom of the stairs before he turned around and saw her.
“Twilight!” called out Spike as he rushed towards her.
Twilight tried to think of something to say as he leapt at her in a hug, but couldn't think of anything.
“I've been so worried,” he said, “you're never home anymore and when you are you just sleep. Please Twilight, tell me what's going on.”
“Spike please,” Twilight said, trying to push him away, “not now, I need to get going.”
Spike held her tighter and said, “But Twilight your always leaving. Please, I'm worried about you.”
Twilight paused for a minute and held Spike close. “Spike, it's alright, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, I promise.”
“But I am, Twilight,” said Spike as he held her tighter, “you’ve barely been home in over a month, and Rainbow keeps...”
Twilight held Spike tighter and said, “Don’t listen to her Spike, she’s just being a bit too protective, maybe a bit paranoid too.”
“Promise you’re okay Twilight, promise me Rainbow is wrong.”
“I promise Spike,” Twilight said, “I not in any danger, or trouble, I’m just... spending time with Fluttershy.”
It felt like a lie, and essentially it was. Spike was closer to Twilight than anyone, and especially now that she had released her vampiric side she felt even more terrible for lying to him.
“I promise I’m fine, and I will be fine. Please, you need to let me go now.” Twilight said.
As Spike let go of her, he said, “Promise you’ll come home this time.”
Twilight grabbed her cloak and said, “I’ll be back by morning, that’s a promise.”
-----
Stepping up to Fluttershy’s door, Twilight had to fight her nervousness just to knock. She promised herself she would do this though, and held herself together until Fluttershy answered the door.
When Fluttershy finally pulled the door open just a crack to see who was there, Twilight spoke, “Hello, do you mind if I come in?”
“Not at all,” she replied.
When Twilight stepped inside the animals fled from her. It wasn't unfamiliar to her after all the time she spent there, though it still made her uncomfortable. She wished they would be a little more trusting of her after all the kindness she had shown them, and how much she had shown Fluttershy.
Twilight took a seat and said, “I want to talk to you about something, it's been bothering me for a while now.”
“What is it?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight took a deep breath, and began, “Fluttershy, on the night this all began, the night I... well, you know, you said something to me.
“You told me you loved me, and... well, that's almost the only reason you're still alive. But now I need to know, do you still love me? Do you still feel the same way after everything that's happened?”
“I think so,” she said slowly and even a bit hesitantly.
“Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, “I think I've started to fall in love with you myself, I just don't know what to do about it.”
With that admission done, Twilight felt greatly relieved. What to do or say about that had been bothering her for weeks, and even if it didn't end well she didn't have to worry about it anymore. Now all she needed to hope for was that it would end well.
“Well, maybe we should just take it slow?” Fluttershy questioned, earning a smile from Twilight.
“I suppose that would be best,” Twilight replied, “especially after everything that's happened recently. It's probably for the best if we don't get into too serious of a relationship until you know that you can accept absolutely everything about being a vampire. If you resent me, even a little, for any of the changes I’ve forced you into, being in a romantic relationship could damage our friendship even more.”
Fluttershy came over an sat down right next to Twilight.
She put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, “Twilight, don't worry, I'll be fine. I like it, I like not needing to be scared of everything anymore.”
They both went silent for a few moments, but waiting for the next words to be spoken seemed to drag on for an eternity as neither of them could find the will to speak.
Finally, Twilight broke the silence, “So, I guess that's it, we're in a relationship now.
“I guess so,” replied Fluttershy just a nervously.
“Listen Fluttershy,” Twilight said with a smile, “you don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but I want you to know that if your interested, you can continue learning. There are a lot more things about vampires that you still don't know, and I'm offering to help you learn. It's not much, but I want to start to get to know each other again, for real this time. I think this might be a good place to start.”
“But Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “you don't need to do that, I've already learned more about you than I ever did before.”
Twilight smiled tiredly, “I know, but you've barely even scratched the surface yet. My past, and more importantly my history, and my families history is so much more extensive than you could ever imagine. I'm not lying when I say that I know why our race has fallen so far, an even if none of us are ready to admit it, and no matter how much we want to undo some of the things that led us to this, millennia of mistakes take time to heal.
“Fluttershy, I haven't told you this yet, but.. I'm our race's last ruler, our last leader. I was born only hours before my mother was killed, and my father was dead long before. I was placed under protective enchantments and left to a trustworthy family of ponies in Canterlot, I didn't even know I was a vampire until I was seven. My adoptive parents never knew what I was, and I don't even think Shining knows I was adopted at all.
“Our race is dying Fluttershy, nearly extinct and remembered only in legends and stories. This is what I've been left with. I've lived among ponies with knowledge of my real heritage most of my life, so I have a better perspective than anypony else, yourself included. I’m the only pony that can see everything from both sides, and I need to be a leader, but I don't want to be a ruler. I want to be friends with my ponies, I want to be family, not somepony who rules with absolute power and authority.”
“I... I had no idea,” Fluttershy said stunned after a momentary pause to collect her thoughts.
Twilight smiled tiredly again and said, “I've never been this honest with anypony, even Silver. You're a good friend Fluttershy.”
“I'm not sure what to say now,” Fluttershy said after a momentary pause.
“Fluttershy, you don't need to say anything yet,” said Twilight kindly. “What I've told you can be a bit overwhelming, and some of the things you haven't learned yet will be even harder to understand. I came to offer to help you learn. History, magic, the finer details of being a vampire, I want to be there with you as you learn it all. That is, if you want to learn.”
“Of course I want to learn,” Fluttershy said, earning a well overdue, genuinely happy smile from Twilight.
“I'm glad to hear it, but there is one other thing I wanted to discuss with you,” said Twilight.
“Of course,” Fluttershy replied, “What is it?”
“You're a pegasus, and you take care of animals all the time, including bats –” Twilight rose one of her wings up “– teach me how to fly?”