//------------------------------// // Chapter 21, Waking // Story: Darkness Rising // by SkyHighFlyer //------------------------------// Once the fourth week of Rainbow's transformation began extra precautions were taken. In order to inform Twilight quickly of when she woke, she inscribed a series of runes on a small stone that would teleport it to her, and left a small vial of condensed magic with whoever was on duty to watch her. Shadowfall had been staying with Twilight for the past two weeks, after they finally managed to get arrangements that satisfied them all. Spike asked annoying questions about the mysterious, somewhat rude mare staying with them, as did Rarity and Pinkie, but all they got was that she was a friend. Shadowfall was actually quite friendly to Twilight though, treating her like a friend some of the time, and a roommate for the the rest. Fluttershy got some cold treatment because she was turned, but being in a relationship with Twilight helped earn favor. Shadowfall typically was the one that ended up keeping an eye on Rainbow's progress, simply because she didn't have much else to do around town. Twilight tried to cover whenever she could, but she had to keep from being suspiciously absent too often, and for too long. Fluttershy took a few shifts, but her animals needed her too, so when Twilight insisted she didn't need to come she would stay at home. Rainbow wasn't going to be unconscious much longer, they knew by this point she had to be in the final stages of the transformation. Even the most extreme cases never took more than two months, and they were ponies that were much stronger than Rainbow. The process typically took two or three weeks, but Rainbow could fight it better, hence the extra time to complete the transformation. Shadowfall was half sleeping when Rainbow first displayed signs of consciousness, twisting in her bed. It was so slight that at first she didn't realize at first. It wasn't until Rainbow moved a leg trying to sit up that Shadowfall shot awake. Before Rainbow could manage to wake herself enough to notice her she took the vial of condensed magic, and opened it, pouring its contents over the rune in an imprecise and sloppy manner. It was enough to make the rune disappear however, sending it off to it's destination, where it would be noticed by Twilight right away no matter where she was. Rainbow meanwhile was in a state of confusion. The first thing that came to mind was that she wasn't dead, which had to be a good thing. They second thing she noticed immediately was that she was laying on a cloud. She struggled to sit up for a minute, feeling lethargic to an extreme degree. When she finally managed to get into a sitting position, she opened her eyes and spent a minute trying to focus her vision. Once she realized that she wasn't alone however, her eyes snapped to the other mare in the room, and for a moment neither of them moved. Shadowfall wasn't the best pony for this job, and she wished that Twilight was here for this moment instead of her. Still, Twilight was on her way, at least that was what she hoped. Concluding that she would have to do something, Shadowfall said the first and only think she could think of saying, “Um.... hello?” She had no idea what she was doing, as her social experience, and any desire for social contact she had at all, was solely with other vampires. Seeing as Dash hadn't even realized what she was yet she definitely didn't constitute as another vampire in Shadowfall's mind. Rainbow saw her red eyes, the same ones that Twilight had, and reacted sluggishly by concluding she had to get out of there. Her plan for escape was good, but actually doing anything was almost completely impossible. She barely managed to lean towards the side of the bed before collapsing, unable to collect the strength to move further. “Don't try to move, just save your energy,” Shadowfall said. With no intention to, or any idea that it would happen, her words made Rainbow Dash terrified. It was inadvertent, but the way Rainbow took it was far less literal than it was intended, and once again she perceived a danger. When Rainbow didn't listen and again tried to move, Shadowfall silently hoped that Twilight would get there soon. She approached Rainbow to try to calm her down, but Rainbow just tried to back herself further away. With how little she was capable of doing, she barely managed to move at all, and she was starting to have trouble staying awake. “Calm down, just rest,” Shadowfall said, trying to be calming but her inexperience counteracting every one of her attempts. Twilight arrived a few moments later, and said, “I came as quickly as I could.” Shadowfall felt relieved at her arrival, but relief was the exact opposite of how Rainbow was feeling. Seeing as she didn't even know how she was alive right now, seeing the pony that tried to kill her, at least from her perspective, was far from calming. She began struggling to get as far away from Twilight as she could. “You can go now, take the rest of the day for yourself,” Twilight said to Shadowfall, who left eagerly, saying her thanks as she almost sprinted out of the room, leaving Rainbow and Twilight alone together. As Twilight approached Rainbow, she tried with every bit of strength she could gather to mount some kind of defense. Much to her surprise though, Twilight's first action was to pull her into a hug, one that she couldn't even struggle against, much less break free of. “Why did you have to be so stupid?” she said, not maliciously, but apologetically and with a hint of guilt in her voice. When she realized that Twilight wasn't doing anything horrible to her she ceased attempting to struggle. Any other time she would have kept trying, but she simply had no strength, even if the reason why wasn't clear to her yet. Twilight wasn't trying to kill her now, and wasn't threatening her or saying anything that might imply that she was a prisoner. If Twilight wanted her dead, she wasn't going to do it right now. After what seemed like an eternity to Rainbow she pulled away. Rainbow tried to speak, but couldn't even find the energy or willpower to do that. Twilight seemed to understand though, and she hushed Rainbow and said, “Don't try to talk, you need to rest. Just lay down Rainbow, everything's going to be fine. Consciously, she didn't want to let her guard down like that, but her will failed her and finally she collapsed. Twilight repositioned her more comfortably on her bed of cloud as she drifted off into slumber, making only fleeting efforts to fight it. ----- One of the side effects of fighting so hard to rid vampiric essence unsuccessfully was that for a time it left the victim weak, without the ability to draw upon the energies that give vampires life, the same energies they consume blood to replenish, or the willpower to do much other than fall into unconsciousness while they begin to recover. Fluttershy went through the same thing, although it was much less awkward for Twilight to stay with her than it was with Rainbow. Regardless of her feelings however she did so. Rainbow needed somepony to guide her, and because of how she had no idea what she was, and had no understanding of how to survive when the world grew harsher, she would need that guidance immediately, and unlike with Fluttershy Twilight wouldn't let her regrets get in the way of being that guide. Rainbow was slow to wake, and she took a long time to regain consciousness. When she did though, she was far more aware, and with far more strength than she had before. She woke slowly, and when she did Twilight was the first thing she saw. Twilight saw her open eyes immediately, and each stared at the other for a moment, Rainbow in fear and Twilight with an awkward smile. Looking at Rainbow regretfully, Twilight said, “Hi Rainbow, it's good to have you back... I suppose you have some questions.” “Twilight... I thought you were going to kill me,” said Rainbow, speaking the only words she could think of. She was still afraid, but now that she could think a little more clearly she figured still being alive counted for something. “I said I would kill you if you left the library Rainbow, you didn't make it out,” Twilight said. “I... well Rainbow, you see... you're one of us now.” Rainbow looked at her curiously for a minute, before what she said finally began to make sense. The first thing she did when she understood Twilight's meaning was put a hoof to her mouth, feeling for the menacing fangs that stood out in Twilight. A sharp pain in her hoof proved that she did indeed have fangs, and that they were incredibly sharp. “What... What have you done to me?” Rainbow said furiously, making Twilight cringe. “I made you one of us Rainbow, so that you could understand, and so that you would have just as much to loose as we would for revealing to other ponies what we are. You're a vampire now Dash, like us. I'm sorry, but I didn't want to kill you, and you wouldn't listen to me when I tried to talk to you about it,” Twilight said. Rainbows discontent faded after a moment, and eventually while she was still angry it wasn't at the forefront of her mind. “Um, Twilight... what's a vampire?” Twilight jaw dropped at Rainbow's question. Rainbow wasn't going to be easy to teach, she knew that from the beginning, but to say they were starting at square one might have been a bit of an overstatement.