✴✴✴Five Hundredth year of The Reign of Celestia, Trottingham✴✴✴
The hour was late and the moon was full and shining down on Equestria. On the face of the moon was the image of the Mare in the Moon looking down as though observing the actions of the little ponies below. And on this clear pleasant night, a beige earthpony stallion was trotting down the hall of the Trottingham hospital. And his mood was anything but light. His mouth was set in a grim line and his red eyes that peeked out from under a dark brown mane were filled with apprehension and sadness. He trotted down the halls in grim silence until he reached his destination. He pushed open the hospital room door and entered quietly.
Laying on a bed was a white unicorn mare with a two tone blue mane and like the stallion she was also awake, but not for the same reason he was. She shared the room with several other mares, but some were too exhausted and were fast asleep and a few were under powerful sleeping spells for their sakes. The wide awake mare was coughing wetly and didn't notice the stallion until he was next to her. She smiled weakly and let out a slight chuckle that quickly devolved into coughs. The stallion stood there and waited for her coughs to subside, though the look of pained sadness increased in his eyes.
When she finished, she gave a rattling sigh and smiled once more. "Give to me straight doc, how long do I have?" Her tone was partially joking, but he could tell that she was genuinely interested and concerned with how long she had.
"By my estimation, a few days at best." He answered her truthfully. "At worst, you won't last the night."
The mare rolled onto her back and sighed again, this time sounding worse than before. The pair lapsed into silence as the doctor stared at the floor and the mare stared at the ceiling. The only sounds that were heard was the rattling breathing of the mare and the soft snores of the other patients in the room.
"I'm sorry for this." The doctor finally apologized and the mare turned her head to look at him. "I've tried my best to help you, but it seems like my best isn't good enough."
"Aw, don't beat yourself up about this doc." The mare said in a hoarse voice. "If anything's to blame, its this stupid epidemic." She paused for a beat before continuing in a more mournful tone. "Still feels unfair. Mom's always had a weak constitution, so this'll probably kill her. My Dad'll mourn like all dads do, but he'll pull himself together. Especially if there's other ponies depending on him. But what about my sister?"
She looked down at the blanket and fiddled with the hem in her hooves. "She just barely turned six this year, so its possible she won't remember me. And I was so looking forward to being a big sister." She clenched the blankets and tears began to form, but she refused to let them spill. "I was going to teach her all sorts of things and look out for her like big sisters do. And now I'm not going to be there for her and that just stinks!"
The doctor paused a beat before speaking. "There is one way I can help." The mare brought her attention to him. "I-its not exactly a...conventional procedure and there are trade offs. If you choose this, you won't be able to return to your family. In fact, from their point of view you'll be dead. That's essentially what's going to happen you're going to die and be reborn as...something else."
"Will I be able to see my sister?" She asked.
"You can watch her from afar, but actually contacting her isn't advisable." The doctor said.
"Then it is enough." She said softly. "If I can at least protect her from the shadows, then that is enough for me. So what do I have to do for this procedure?"
"Simply relax and let me do everything." The doctor leaned in towards her and opened his mouth.
Out of nowhere, a set of long curved fangs appeared and before she could say anything about them, he'd bitten down on her neck. She let out a slight gasp of surprise and gradually went slack in his grasp as her eyes rolled back in her skull then closed. The doctor held onto her neck for a couple more minutes, then he released her. Where he'd bitten her was a pair of puncture marks to match his fangs, but those were swiftly vanishing as if they'd never been there. Now everything was completely still. She just lay there without a sound or movement. Her chest didn't move and there was absolutely no rattling breath coming from her.
The doctor pulled out a wet cloth and carefully wipped off the small drip of blood that had trailed out of his mouth when he detached from the mare. When that was done, her turned back to the mare and pulled the blanket up to cover her face.
"Sleep well, Miss Melody." He said, though she wouldn't hear what he would say. "For when next you wake, you shall be reborn as a child of the night."
He then turned and left the room. There were other ponies to speak with and so little time. Beneath the blanket, Melody Note's magenta eyes were already turning to a deep red. And in her mouth, her teeth were slowly forming fangs.