//------------------------------// // 2. Terms and Conditions // Story: The Break of Dawn // by Kodeake //------------------------------// The Break of Dawn Chapter 2 Terms and Conditions An impenetrable darkness filled the room as Rainbow Dash slowly climbed out of the surprisingly soft bed she found herself in. She shivered, the cold air blowing across her sweat-drenched coat, or perhaps it was from the remnants of her nightmare. Her memory of the previous night came to her fragments, like a long forgotten dream. She remembered an unknown stallion in her house, fighting with the stallion, but otherwise there was a blank. Except for an image, engraved permanently in her mind, of the stallion's head, detached from his body, with a wicked grin and lifeless blood-red eyes. A latch clicked, and Rainbow spun around to face a door sitting on the wall to the left of the bed. A surge of panic lanced through her mind, and she jumped behind the bed, crouching down low against the floor. With a quiet groan the door opened fully, and a light was flicked on. Rainbow's vision stung at the contrast in brightness, but her ears remained perked as the unknown pony took a few steps into the room. “Rainbow Dash?” The pony called, their voice unfamiliar. They sighed, closing the door behind them and latching it. “I know you're in here. Please; I only want to talk.” Rainbow's eyes squinted as she peaked under the bed, looking at their soot-black hooves. She debated for a few moments about what she should do. On the one hoof, she had no idea where she was or how she got there, and this pony could well have been working with the pony who sneaked into her house last night. On the other, she didn't exactly have many choices. Cautiously, she peaked her head over the bed, looking the pony over. A unicorn mare sat, back against the door, with a deep indigo mane and a cutie mark depicting the sun rising over a shining silver shield. The mare smiled at her, but it was one that didn't quite reach her eyes. “Hello, Rainbow Dash. I'm-” “Save it,” Rainbow growled, standing fully. “I have three questions, and you're going to answer them in order, alright?” The mare frowned slightly, but nodded. “Where am I, how did I get here, and what happened last night?” Rainbow asked, as an afterthought adding, “You can tell me who you are after.” “Sit down,” she said, motioning to the bed. “It might be a long story.” Rainbow didn't move. “I asked three questions. You have 3 sentences.” “Fine.” The mare pulled the chair out from the vanity, sitting down and giving a burdened sigh. “You're in my spare bedroom in my house in Ponyville. I brought you here after you passed out. Last night you were attacked by what's known as a vampire. Oh, and my name's Dawn Guard.” It took a moment for everything Dawn had just said to sink in. Once it did, Rainbow lifted an eyebrow. “How much of that do you expect me to believe?” “None of it,” Dawn answered simply. “Because you didn't give me a chance to explain anything. If you'd give me a little time I can walk you through everything that's happened and...” she trailed off anxiously, whispering, “and everything that's going to happen.” Rainbow gave the mare a judging look, but silently walked around the bed so they were on the same side. “And what if I just leave?” “You're welcome to try, but that door has about half a dozen seals on it; only I can open it. As you can see, there are no windows in here either. So how about we make this easy and you just listen to me talk for a while, and after that you can decide how much you want to believe? I'm here to help, Rainbow Dash, but you have to listen to me first.” Grunting, Rainbow sat down on the bed. “Fine. Go ahead and try to convince me of your crazy theories.” Dawn smiled again, but it lasted mere moments. “How much do you remember from last night?” She asked gently, carefully gauging Rainbow's response. “I remember waking up to some guy in my house. I remember him attacking me, and after that it's a blank. Except...” she shuddered. “I remember seeing his... head... like, without his body.” “Typical memory loss,” the unicorn murmured to herself, sounding almost disappointed. “Well, it went something like this; that stallion was a vampire, trying to... err... feed on you.” Rainbow snorted derisively. “As if.” Dawn lit her horn, and from the vanity brought forth a small mirror, holding it up and angling it for Rainbow to see her neck, where two small red dots stood out against bruised flesh. Rainbow's eyes widened as she reached a hoof up to rub at the spot, flinching as it touched the tender skin. “That doesn't prove anything. It could just be a regular spider bite.” “Think, Rainbow Dash,” Dawn urged. “Try to remember last night. Describe the stallion for me.” Rainbow shrugged. “He just looked like a regular guy; orange-ish coat, short and kinda spiky blue mane. Not really-” She paused, pupils shrinking to pinpricks. Long white fangs and blood-red eyes... “Anything else?” “N...no...” Rainbow shook her head. I... must have just imagined it... yeah... too many Daring Do stories before bed. “How do you fit into this anyway? I don't remember seeing you there. I could handle a guy like that just fine on my own. ” Dawn let out a strangled grunt, hanging her head. “When I got there he had already bitten you. I cut his head off and-” “You what!?” Rainbow jumped off the bed, putting it between herself and this clearly insane unicorn. “Why the hell did you do that!? You're nuts! Insane! You-” She paused as her mind raced, tracing through the memories she still had of that night. Long white fangs with blood red eyes, a decapitated head staring up at her with a wicked grin. More memories came back, flooding her mind as she remembered the stallion's incredible strength, the way he talked and moved. The bite. She lifted a hoof to her neck and felt the marks he'd left. The holes he'd left. “But... vampires don't exist. They're a myth - a story!” Rainbow spun around on her hooves, the image of the unicorn bringing forth more memories. The door slamming open, her charging in with a shining silver sword. The blood, splattering on her floor out of his head, still hooked onto her neck. “Besides, aren't bite victims supposed to turn into vampires?” The unicorn closed her eyes and lowered her head, a small tear escaping. “I'm sorry.” Rainbow's eyes widened and she rushed over to the mirror, staggering back as she caught sight of her own crimson eyes. They matched the stallion's perfectly. “No... that's... that can't be real. Some magic trick or something.” She spun, glaring daggers at the unicorn. “You did this to me! What is it? Some kind of joke?” Dawn lit her horn, forming a point and jabbing Rainbow's ribs. The pegasus yelped, opening her mouth to yell but stopped herself short. Out of the corner of her eye, glinting in the mirror, were two white fangs protruding from her gums. “That's... that's not possible... it's not real... it can't be real!” “I'm so very sorry, Rainbow Dash.” “You're nuts if you expect me to believe that!” Rainbow shouted, even as she reached a hoof up and ran it along her gently curved fangs. Dawn stood from her chair, slowly walking over to the pegasus. “Over the next 48 hours your body and mind will start to change. It's been 4 hours since the bite, and you've already grown the fangs and your eyes have changed colour. Before the day is over you'll have the ability to retract your fangs at will, and your flesh will boil under direct sunlight. “Tomorrow, you’ll find that you’re stronger than you thought possible, you’ll heal at an astounding rate and be nearly immortal. Your hearing will become so acute you can hear the very blood pumping through my veins and your vision will be enhanced. Darkness will be as bright as day for you. But these will come at a price; you’ll also develop an uncontrollable hunger, a desire to drink the blood of living ponies. If you don’t feed, you’ll wither away until you die.” Hooves shaking, Rainbow had to grab hold of the edge of the counter to stay upright. “If... if you're right...” she swallowed thickly. “If any of that is true... what... can I stop it?” “No. There's no way to halt the process once it's been started,” Dawn explained slowly. “Twilight!” Rainbow spun around. “My friend, Twilight, she-” Dawn stomped a hoof on the ground. “Not even the Princesses combined can help you.” “There has to be something!” Rainbow practically begged. “What am I supposed to do? Why did you take me here if I can't do anything about this!?” “The only thing you can do now...” Dawn took a slow, shuddering breath. “I brought you here to... it's my job to kill you.” Rainbow staggered back a few stabs as though she'd taken a blow to the gut. An alien pressure developed in her mouth as her fangs retracted of their own accord, and for a few moments she stared confounded at the mare before her. “You... you can't be serious...” Dawn Guard's shoulders shook and shimmering orbs rolled off her cheeks. “I'm sorry... it's my job... I'm sorry... I have to do it... you could hurt ponies if I don't...” “Do you know who I am? I won't hurt anypony!” Rainbow protested. “You can't control it... nopony has even been able to stop it... nopony's ever been able to cure it or vaccinate against it or-” Rainbow pushed past the crying mare. “I can. My friends too. The Elements of Harmony can fix this; they always do. Twilight can make up some cure or something and-” “I've tried!” Dawn shrieked, falling to her haunches. “I've tried... I've tried to find a cure. It's not possible, Rainbow. Of all the creatures Nightmare Moon created, vampires are the strongest, most resilient, most fearsome. They were designed specifically to create an invincible army, and it worked.” “I'll just prove you wrong,” Rainbow called defiantly as she reached for the door. “We'll find a way to fix-” she stopped as her hoof touched the handle – then went right through it. It shimmered, fading in and out of opacity, and the rest of the room did the same. Raising an eyebrow, she pushed her hoof against the door, and nearly fell right through it as the room flickered out of existence, leaving only the bed and the vanity in a darkened basement. The room was made entirely of wood and was filled with high-tech equipment and chemistry sets and lab benches. It was a basement Rainbow recognized. “T... Twilight?” She turned, watching as Dawn's coat flickered like the room had, fading away to reveal lavender fur and a pair of matching wings as well as her own cutie mark. Her mane brightened, and the pink and blue stripes reappeared with a small flash. “Twilight!?” Twilight Sparkle's head snapped up, and she looked down at her own hooves through her teary eyes. A bitter smile crossed her lips. “It takes a lot of concentration to hold all those illusions at once... guess I lost my focus...” Rainbow's jaw hung open for a few moments, before she snapped it shut and set her muzzle into a snarl. “You have a lot of explaining to do, right now. Unless you still plan on killing me?” “I... I can’t...” Twilight sobbed. “I thought... it'd be easier. I should have done it…. while you were still asleep but… I couldn’t do it; you… you deserved an explanation. If you didn’t know it was me I thought… maybe… but I can’t do it…” Cringing, Rainbow's mouth snapped open and her fangs extended of their own accord. “You're not killing me, and you're going to explain what the hell's going on here. Then you're going to fix me, got it?” Twilight nodded slowly, still crying. She stood from the floor, and lead the pair up the stairs into the main room of the library. “T-tea?” -_-_-_- “Well?” Twilight still had dark lines tracing down her cheeks, and the occasional tear would slip from her chin as she stared deeply into her steaming mug. Rainbow growled in frustration, sitting opposite the alicorn with her own cup of tea sitting on the table in front of her. “You gonna say anything or just sit there!?” “What do you want me to say!?” Twilight shouted, slamming a hoof onto the table. “I already told you what's happening... what's going to happen if I don't...” Taking a breath, Rainbow leaned back in her chair. “Well we both know that's not going to happen, so how about we start from the beginning; how the hell are vampires real, and since when have you been... err...” “Hunting them?” Twilight offered, finally looking up from her tea. She sighed. “It's a long story, and we don't have much time.” “We have enough,” Rainbow deadpanned. Twilight nodded. “Well... lets start with what a vampire is. When Luna lost herself to Nightmare Moon, she planned to take the throne from Celestia and force Equestria into eternal night. Celestia defeated her quickly when she found out, but... well, Nightmare Moon was prepared. She was making her own army.” “Wait, you're telling me vampires were made by nightmare Moon to fight a war against Celestia?” Rainbow asked, bewildered. “That's about it. Vampires, while not the only creatures she created to wage a war with Celestia, are the strongest, designed to be her ultimate fighters. She made them stronger, faster, more durable than any other pony could hope to be. But... Luna's jealousy seeped through in their creation; it's true that they can't go in sunlight. She feared that they too would love the day more than her own night, and took steps to ensure they'd never know of the warmth of the sun. She sent them out to make more, but their strength came at a cost; their body's natural magic could not support them, they had to take it from other ponies, else their powers would fade, and they'd eventually die, hence the blood drinking. As a result they drained more ponies than they converted and a true army was never built. “Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, but her vampires remained. Not even Celestia knows of their existence.” Twilight took a long drink of her tea. Rainbow rubbed a hoof into her temple, the beginnings of a headache forming. “Okay... that... kinda makes sense, I guess. But how do you fit into all of this?” After a moment's hesitation, Twilight slumped back into her seat. “When Luna was freed from Nightmare Moon and returned to normal, she still remembered the creatures she’d created, and she knew they still existed. Originally they were under her control, but after a thousand years they became their own entities, free from her influence and focused entirely on keeping themselves alive. She formed a group, called The Rising Dawn, to hunt them down and end their existence once and for all. After Nightmare Night, Luna told me of this group, and asked if I wished to join. I agreed under the condition that I wouldn't have to leave Ponyville, and so she put me in charge of protecting our town from her creations. “We're small, only a few across Equestria, but we've been highly trained by the Princess herself. Out of guilt or pride – I don't know for sure which – Luna refuses to seek Celestia' help with any of this, instead choosing to ‘clean up her own mess’ as she puts it. Originally I was just a member, in charge of looking after Ponyville – and the Elements of Harmony – but when I ascended, Luna trusted the group to me.” “So...” Rainbow paused, running her hooves through her mane. “If I believe you, then what you're saying is that you're the leader of a secret organization that Princess Luna formed to hunt down and kill - what, monsters? – which she herself created to wage a war against Celestia, and Celestia has no idea any of this even exists?” Twilight nodded, returning to nursing her mug. “That's about right. I know it's hard to believe, but-” “I... I do believe you, Twilight,” Rainbow sighed, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling. “After what I saw... what I still see-” she rubbed a hoof along her fangs, recoiling when they slipped back inside her gums. “Not to mention everything we’ve seen before… well, it's hard not to. That still leaves us with a problem though.” “I'm supposed to kill you, Rainbow.” Twilight shuddered, clenching her eyes shut. “But I know I can't do that... I've never dealt with something like this before. All the vampires I've had to kill... they'd already lost themselves to Nightmare Moon's curse; they were single-minded. They weren't alive anymore... but you...” Rainbow smirked. “Told ya I could handle it.” “This isn't a game! This isn't something you can beat, or win at!” Twilight shouted, slamming her hooves down on the table and knocking her mug onto the floor where it shattered with a crash that silenced the room for a few tense moments. “Twi-” “You should go outside,” Twilight interrupted, standing from her chair and cleaning the glass. “Before you finish turning; go outside, feel the sun on your coat. It'll be the last time you can.” A heavy frown stretched across Rainbow's muzzle. “What are we going to do about me?” Twilight stopped, glass shards floating in the air next to her. “I... I don't know.” When it became apparent Twilight had no more to say, Rainbow stood from her chair and, following the unicorn's advice, jumped out an open window, flaring her wings and taking to the sky. Climbing high into the air, she landed on the nearest available cloud, rolling onto her back and spreading out, enjoying the sun's warmth. Before the summer heat would've seemed unbearable and stifling, but somehow, knowing it was the last time she'd be able to feel it made it pleasant. Apparently her fangs agreed as they shot out of hiding, glinting in the shining sun. “Damn it,” she groaned, lifting a hoof and feeling them. They felt unnatural, like they shouldn't even exist, let alone be attached to her. It was an alien feeling to have something sticking out of her mouth even when she closed it. Closing her eyes, Rainbow focused, feeling around the inside of her mouth with her tongue until she found the place where her fangs disappeared into her gums. Clenching muscled unfamiliar to her, she felt her fangs twitch, sliding back a few centimetres. She let out a small noise of victory before trying again, working muscles she'd never before had and slowly but surely pulling her fangs back into her mouth. “Ha!” Rainbow pumped a hoof into the air at her success, but stopped when she realized that control only meant she was that much closer to turning fully. Hanging her head, she jumped lazily from the cloud and reunited to the air, flying in the direction of her cloud house, sitting in the outskirts of Ponyville. A morbid curiosity hung in her mind, and she had to see for herself. She landed on her balcony, freezing in place when she saw that her front door was still open. Her hooves were filled with cement as she inched forward slowly, and unknown force pulling her in, tugging at a leash that wasn't there. She pushed her door open wider, her eyes instantly adjusting to the dim interior, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see the vampire's body. “Twi must have taken care of it...” she muttered to herself, a strange image appearing in her mind of her friend lugging a headless body around. It didn't seem... right. Taking a few more steps, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw unmistakable red stains on the ground next to the wall. The forever-frozen image of his lifeless head popped into Rainbow's mind. She could see it plain as day, laying in its own little red puddle on her floor. She looked down, saw a waterfall of red trailing down her chest, and screamed, turning and running out of her house. Slamming the door shut Rainbow breathed heavily, looking down to her coat, no longer stained red with blood. Panting and wheezing, Rainbow jumped into the air, flying as fast as she could away from the house hanging silently in the sky. She desperately shoved the images out of her mind, focusing instead on the feeling of the sun warming her back and her feathers as they carried her through the air. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply of the summer air, performing a loop in the air and coming out even faster than before. An idea popped into her head, and she smiled. With a sharp turn and a flap of her wings she took off towards the outer limits of Ponyville. When she was far enough away she pulled up, flying straight up intot he sky for what seemed like minutes, until she was little more than a black spec standing against the shining sun. Then, as her momentum stopped and she felt that tell-tale moment of weightlessness, her wings folded and gravity took over. Rainbow’s grin continued to widen, even as her muscles started to burn. A cone of bright, crackling energy formed around her and she pushed against it with every muscle in her body, flapping her wings, harder, faster, until she broke through. The world faded to a blur of colours as she broke through the sound barrier, her own cry of victory failing to keep up with her as she raced across the sky, bringing with her a rainbow trail that hang in the air over Ponyville. Meanwhile, in Golden Oaks Library, Twilight put down her stack of books and looked up through the window, a bittersweet smile crossing her lips as she spotted the ring of colour far off in the distance and the rainbow that now crossed the sky above her. Something in her gut twisted at the sight, and she snapped. “Spike!” Twilight shouted, spinning on the spot and running over to her desk. Moments later a bleary-eyed dragon waddled down the stairs, blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. “What?” Her grumbled, yawning and stretching. “You said I could sleep in today.” “Send this,” she ordered, ignoring his complaints as a sealed scroll found its way into the dragon’s claw. Spike looked at it curiously a moment. “Celestia?” “Luna,” Twilight corrected, “just send it; you can go back to sleep, and I promise I won’t wake you up again.” “Whatever.” Taking a deep breath Spike sent the letter in a puff of green flame, the smoke swirling in the air a moment before wafting through a window and dissipating into the sky, destined for Canterlot. Rainbow Dash flipped onto her back in the air, basking in the sun’s warmth and enjoying the cool breeze starting to roll across the land, bringing with it an end to the insufferable heat. She sighed, her mind tracing over the events of the morning. Had somepony told her the day before that all of this would be happening, she’d laugh them out of Ponyville, but in just a few short hours her entire world had been flipped on its head, and she’d hardly had a chance to comprehend it all. Lazily swimming through the sky, she opened her mouth, practicing with controlling her fangs, extending and retracting them. If it had been anypony else, I’d probably still be denying it… but Twilight wouldn’t lie to me like that. Tracing her tongue over the new additions in her mouth, Rainbow sighed. I’m a vampire now… She rolled the word around in her head, frowning. It just didn’t sound right; it didn’t sound… natural. The word had no right to exist, let alone vampires themselves. Thinking back, images of the stallion that had first bitten her filled her mind. Am I… going to be like him? Breaking into ponies’ homes to… Shuddering, Rainbow pushed the thoughts out of her mind. No, I won’t… I can’t… She looked down at her own hooves, and unbidden images of them covered in blood flashed before her eyes. She said I’m won’t be full vampire until tomorrow night… what then? I don’t feel any different, but… Her thoughts trailed off, and she sighed wearily. We have to fix this. If what Twilight said is true then… I don’t want to live like that. Suddenly, a sharp burning pain lanced through Rainbow’s wing, and she yelped, veering off to the side. Look back, her eyes widened in horror as she watched her wing, the flesh cracking and bubbling like a cooking hay-sausage. The sensation spread until it was covering her back, and she barely stayed in the air long enough to register what was happening. No… not yet… please, just a little while longer! Smoke started wafting from her wingtips as her feathers started falling out. Rainbow banked hard, struggling to stay conscious through the pain as she desperately searched the ground below her for some shade. By some divine stroke of luck the library was only a few short blocks away. Taking off at full speed, Rainbow shot towards the safety of the shaded library, tears stinging her eyes as she slowly lost control, her feathers falling out one by one. The canopy of Golden oaks library flew by above her, giving some small relief from the burning as she dove in through an open window second floor window, crashing into a spare bedroom’s floor in a heep. “Spike?” Twilight called from the main floor. Rainbow stood slowly, looking over her shoulder and cringing when she saw her back; her hair had been almost completely burnt off, half her feathers were gone, even more blackened and singed, and her skin was an angry red, covered in cracks and blisters. Her mind was consumed with white-hot pain, filling her ears with a high-pitched ringing. “T...Twilight…” she called weakly, gingerly, hobbling to the door. It slammed open before she could reach it, and Twilight gasped when she saw the state of the pegasus. “Rainbow! Oh no.” Twilight ran over, halting Rainbow’s feeble attempts at walking and gingerly checking her friend’s back. Rainbow cringed as she felt Twilight’s magic running across her back and wings, but slowly relaxed as it turned into a soothing, cooling sensation. “Hey Twi… I think I’m changing a bit faster than you thought I would.” Twilight ignored the remark, focusing instead on her magic. “My normal healing spells won’t work on you now that you’re… now that you’ve changed. I’m sorry; I can numb the pain but that’s all. Once your body finishes changing it should be able to heal itself.” “It’s okay, Twi; that already feels a lot better…” Rainbow sighed, wincing as she brought her wings back to her sides. Suddenly, a bright flash filled Golden Oaks library, and a fierce wind blew for several seconds. A veritable mini-hurricane filled the room, and when it stopped a towering, midnight-purple alicorn stood before the pair of ponies. “P-princess Luna!?” Twilight shouted, taking a reflexive step back from the imposing figure of the princess. “Uh… hi…” Rainbow swallowed nervously, painfully aware of the sword currently resting against her neck, hovering in a deep blue glow. Luna snarled. “I got your letter.”