//------------------------------// // Nightmares // Story: Precious Blood // by DisneyFanatic23 //------------------------------// Fluttershy didn't hear a word of her aunt's scolding the rest of the way home. She didn't even argue when she was sent straight to bed. She was too much in a daze to stay awake. It turned out going to bed didn't help either. As soon as her candle was out, her imagination began to run wild. The slightest creak or the softest wind would startle her. She tried closing her eyes but the image of the vampire would come to mind. She glanced out the window nervously, thinking he was going to crash through at any moment. Eventually, she got up to close the lace curtains, but that only made things worse, the window being her only source of light in the room. She at last decided on leaving the far curtain open so there would be enough light yet she wouldn't have to look outside. It was a challenge tiptoeing back into bed, as she had the feeling the vampire would reach out from the shadows and grab her. She quickly jumped in the bed and threw the covers over her head, as if they could protect her from the monsters in the darkness. She couldn't stop thinking about that creature: the blood-red pupils of his eyes, his menacing fangs, his deep, chilling voice; how close his face was to hers when he was about to bite her neck. She should've been relieved for being spared, but couldn't help but think the vampire was just biding his time and would soon return. She had believed him when he had said he would find her. Would he, regardless of whether she kept their meeting secret or not? She stiffened as she felt something hop onto the mattress. She shivered as the thing crawled beside her body. Had the vampire returned? Was he going to suck her blood here in her own bed?! Fluttershy screamed as a head poked under the covers. Then she sighed in deep relief once she realized who it was. "Oh, Angel, you frightened me!" she exclaimed as she took the bunny in her hooves and cradled him to her chest. She rocked back and forth as she listened to the faint noises of the night. "Oh, Angel," she said, stroking the rabbit's head. "I'm so scared. I can't stop thinking about that…that awful creature! He was real, wasn't he? You saw him, didn't you?" Angel nodded, though his answer didn't make her feel any better. "So I wasn't imagining things. I really did see him." She closed her eyes and buried her face in his fur. "Oh, Angel, I'd never seen anything like him! The way he was just…stalking towards me and…towering over me and…when I saw his fangs, I thought I was done for!" Angel let out a squeal as her grip tightened around him. She looked down at him apologetically. "Sorry, Angel. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm just…so frightened and…confused. I mean…he had me in his grasp, he could've…" She winced at the thought. "But…he didn't. But why, Angel? Why did he stop?" The rabbit had no answer, so Fluttershy tried to think back to the earlier events of the evening. She remembered his sparkling white fangs and how she couldn't bear to look at them. She remembered the putrid smell of his breath as he drew his mouth closer to her throat. But then? There had just been silence. When she had opened her eyes, his own had become…softer. It had seemed as if he couldn't take his eyes off her. She shivered at the memory of his claw caressing her cheek and stroking her mane. The way he had done it had been so…gentle. And then he had spoken again: Beautiful. That voice echoed in her head as she recalled his deep, soothing voice. It had sounded so sincere, like his focused gaze had appeared. Fluttershy was probably imagining things, but he had been leaning forward slightly, as if he were about to…kiss her. Fluttershy shook her head. No. He had probably just been fooling around, taking his time with her to make killing her more pleasurable. Party Favor's voice had merely interrupted him. He would come back for her. She was sure of it. When he did, she had to be ready. It was three in the morning by the time Rarity had gotten home. She searched the entrance hall for the others, but all was quiet. She figured Rainbow and Pinkie had already brought their game home and they had all gone to sleep, as vampires often needed rest after feeding. She was careful not to make a sound as she ascended the staircase and trotted to her room. She let out a weary moan as she opened and closed the door. When she turned around, she was met with an upside-down orange face. She shrieked in surprise. "You're back awfully late," Applejack stated bluntly. She was hanging from the ceiling by her back hooves, her forelegs crossed over her chest. Rarity exhaled in relief. "Oh, you gave me a fright." She folded her hooves. "What are you doing in my room?" Applejack swung her right leg off the ceiling to turn herself right-side-up and dropped to the floor with ease. "Did ya find anything?" she asked casually. "Oh," Rarity shrugged, "you know, slow night. All I could find was a squirrel. It seemed too small to bring back to share." The earth pony raised an eyebrow. "How come ya didn't go with Pinkie and Dash?" "Rainbow was making fun of me," the unicorn said as she crossed the room to adjust the pillow in her white coffin. "I wanted to prove myself." Applejack nodded slowly, still skeptical. "So tell me. How was the chipmunk?" "Delicious," Rarity said flatly, fluffing her pillow. "Simply delicious. Chipmunk's aren't much, but they're tasty." The earth pony placed a hoof on her hip as she stepped towards her. "I thought you said it was a squirrel." Rarity froze and turned to her nervously. "Did I? Oh," she laughed, "slip of the tongue!" Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Whose blood is that, Rarity?" The unicorn tried to look down at her mouth as she tried to wipe away the small drip of blood with her hoof. "Oh, darn it! I thought I'd cleaned it all up!" She forced another laugh. "It's so hard to keep oneself tidy without a reflection!" "You did it again, didn't you?" Rarity paused and looked to the side. "W-Whatever do you mean, Applejack?" "Admit it!" Applejack shouted, poking her hoof in the unicorn's chest. "You were feeding off stallions again, weren't you?! You were strutting down the streets, luring stallions in with yerr charms and sucking them dry!" "So what if I was?!" Rarity snapped, slapping her hoof away. "They deserved it!" The earth pony smacked herself in the head. "Rarity, we talked about this! You said you weren't gonna do this anymore! Suppose the master found out you were taking innocent lives…" "Innocent?!" The unicorn's eyes were red with fury. "They were not innocent! They're all the same, stallions! Vile, disgusting creatures, thinking they have the right to…to…defile mares and steal away their innocence!" "That still doesn't give ya the right to…" "I would think you of all ponies would understand! You know what he did to us!" Applejack recoiled in shock and anger. "Don't you dare bring me into…" "Why shouldn't I?! The very same thing happened to you! The only difference is that you resisted! Unlike me, you were fully aware when he…" "Shut up!" Applejack shouted, her eyes turning red as she pressed the unicorn against the wall. "Don't you ever compare our situations again! You think what happened to us is an excuse to take revenge on stallions who had no part in it?!" Rarity huffed as she wrenched the earth pony's hooves off her shoulders. "You know very well who I'd like to crush with my bare hooves, but that's not possible at the moment, is it?!" Applejack felt ready to rip her head off, but took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Look. What he did to us was…unforgiveable, but taking it out on other stallions doesn't make you any better than him." The unicorn turned her face away. "Leave. Please." Applejack sighed and trotted to the door. When her hoof was on the knob, she looked back at Rarity over her shoulder. "I've kept quiet about this," she whispered, "but if this happens again…" Rarity ignored her as she crawled into her coffin, crossed her hooves over her chest and willed the lid to fall. Applejack shook her head as she opened the door. As she closed it, she looked at the white casket through the crack. "I know, Rarity," she said softly, not sure whether her friend could hear or not. "I wanna kill him too."