Flutter Mane-ia

by Emerald Skysoar

Living Nightmare

Flutter Mane-ia CHP 5: Living Nightmare

After what seemed like decades, the world finally was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Ever so slowly, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to find two ponies tightly hugging her as they cried happily. “Thank Celestia and Luna!” said one of them, sounding strangely familiar.

Despite the warm welcome, the pegasus felt anything but. Her body felt as if it was wrapped in a coat of frost. She shuttered slightly upon realizing this. Besides the frostbite, she only felt a dull pain in her wings, legs, and hooves. Other than that, she was perfectly okay… or so she thought…

As her mind recovered and she was finally able to think straight, Rainbow wondered how in the world she got where she was. Glancing around, her new location was completely different from the one she last remembered. The details came gradually as her vision cleared. In front of her stretched a wide hall filled with numerous doors; one in the far corner was ajar and another looked as if it was smashed open from the other side. Looking up, she saw a mass array of silver stars surrounded by enormous storm clouds. ‘Storm clouds…’ she thought, ‘Where have I seen them before…’ Lastly, she saw that the two ponies that had been hugging her were Applejack and Twilight.

“Twilight? Applejack? What are you doing here?” the vibrantly colored mare asked sluggishly, her voice sounding like gravel.

At the sound of their friend’s question, both the alicorn and the earth pony embraced her even harder. “Oh Rainbow Dash” shakily started Applejack, “I’ve been so worried. I was beginning think y’all wouldn’t recover. Don’t you ever scare me like that again, ya hear?”

Rainbow was rather surprised to hear such sappy words come from her rival, but she felt it was better not to comment. Instead, she asked, “So how did I even get here in the first place? The last thing I remember was… crashing through a wall and passing out. I don’t remember anything before that.” She did, in fact, remember screaming in agony at the mysterious on-comer as she passed out, but she wasn’t about to tell her friends that.

“Hmm, it appears Dash is suffering from some sort of short-term amnesia.” said Twilight. “Perhaps you could shed some light on that AJ.”

“Oh, uh, it’s kinda a long story. We were having this silly competition for the title of ‘the most daring pony’, and the final decider was who could spend the night in this here castle. We split up a while ago, but after running into some traps, I found you passed out and bleeding on the floor. I patched ya up, and started to bring you up here. On the way there we encountered some… minor difficulties, but that doesn’t matter ‘cause you’re here now and you’re safe!” That last past was added very quickly.

“Minor difficulties like what?” asked Rainbow Dash suspiciously. Usually she wouldn’t worry amount the boring details, but she had the feeling Applejack was leaving something very important out.

Then the earth pony let out a great sigh as she and Twilight released their friend from their clutches. “Alright, alright. I didn’t want to mention this until we were really safe, but if you really want to know, I’ll tell ya. I’ll be blunt: We were attacked by a vampony… and you sort of were bitten by it.” And before Dash could say anything, she added “But I stopped it before it could do anything else. Besides, you look fine so I think we should think nothing of it.” She flashed an apologetic smile while waiting for a response.

“Ha ha, very funny Applejack.” said the pegasus sarcastically. “Seriously though, what really happened?”

At this point, Twilight chimed in saying, “I know it does seem a little farfetched, but I believe AJ is telling the truth. When has she ever lied to us before? Besides, there is some pretty convincing proof.” With that, using her horn, she summoned a mirror out of thin air and held it in front of Rainbow Dash. “Take a look at this.” she said, pointing at the fang marks on the mare’s neck.

That’s when the reality of the situation hit her. “So I was… really bitten by a… vampony?!”

Both friends nodded grimly in response. Then silence drove a sharp wedge in the conversation, except for the faint, disembodied dripping. Until finally a response was given:

“THAT’S SO AWESOME!” cried the vibrantly colored pegasus, enthusiastically looking at the small mark at the base of her neck. “Only the most awesome, most amazing, most coolest pony ever could survive a bite for a vampony! I’m gonna be a legend! Picture it: the only pony tough enough to take on the dreaded vampony and live to tell the tale, the incredibly awesome—Rainbow Dash! This will get me into the Wonderbolts for sure! Omygosh omygosh omygosh omygosh…!”

Needless to say, both mares were shocked. As Rainbow continued to repeat the phrase, the princess whispered to AJ, “I’m really starting to worry that maybe the bite did do some serious damage to her.”

“Naw, that’s just RD being RD. Anyways, don’t you have other more important matters to attend to?”

“That’s right!” she exclaimed. “We need to find Spike and get out of this castle. We should start moving now. Rainbow, can you fly?”

Over admiring her awesome new scar, the pegasus rose to her feet and said, “I think I can manage.” Then she jumped up and spread her wings only to be rewarded with a face full of brick.

Worried once more, Twilight used her magic to heal Rainbow Dash and levitated her to her feet. The pegasus shakily stood, blushing from the embarrassment of her downfall. “Maybe the bite had more effects on you than I thought. We won’t be able to know for sure what exactly it did to you until I can study you more thoroughly. For right now though, I believe the best course of action is for you two to return to the library with me and rest there while I go out and find Spike.”

“Hold on there, sugar cube. If you think I’m gonna let another one of my friends wander through this castle alone, you’ve got another thing coming. I’m coming with ya, no ifs or buts about it.” With that she stamped her hoof down.

“I really wish you could come with me Applejack, but it’s way too dangerous. As much as I hate to think of myself like this, I am an alicorn now. With that comes immense amounts of power. Already I’ve done things tonight that I’ve only dreamed of doing before. And now that I’ve rested a bit, I’m sure I’m feeling more replenished than Rainbow or you. And speaking of her, who’ll watch her if we both were to go? She’s weak and needs somepony to defend her in case this… vampony attacks again.”

“Hey, I could take care of myself! I survived once, I could do it again, no problem!” said Dash, though she was ignored.

Twilight did have a point here, and Applejack knew she was right. “I don’t like it one bit, but I suppose it is the best plan. You’ll at least take us back to the library won’t you?”

“Of course I will. Now let’s get moving. If this thing is in the castle, we can’t be safe here for much longer. Oh, and here.” Using her regained magic, she recast the trap ward on all three of them. Then she once again summoned an orb of light to guide the way through night’s veil. “That will stop us from running into any unwanted delays.”

On that note, the three friends set off for the library. The journey was taken in silence, for they feared any noise would attract the vampiric beast to them. It took a few minutes going at a sedate pace, but eventually they reached the ancient haven.

Once inside, the alicorn started the necessary preparations immediately. First she set up the lights, driving the creatures back into their dank abode. Next, she set up a number of powerful wards to prevent any unwanted guests from dropping in unannounced. Lastly, she set up a small inner sanctum in the far corner of the library. This would be used “if all else fails”. After that, she tiredly sank into a chair and focused on regaining all her lost mana.

During this time, AJ and Rainbow Dash explored the dilapidated house of knowledge. Soon, the pegasus became bored of finding nothing but books, so she decided to rest and try to regain her lost memories. On the other hand, the earth pony was rather intrigued by a particular book she found. In a pile of volumes that had recently been moved there, she picked up an old mythology textbook and scanned through the pages. Finally, she found exactly what she was looking for: a whole section dedicated to vamponies. As she read, she became more and more worried for her friend. Thinking it was best to get a second opinion, she quietly picked up the book and brought it over to the resting princess.

“What’s this?” Twilight asked, focused on recovering her energy as soon as possible to go and save Spike.

“It’s one of the books from that table over there. It talks about vamponies in here, and goes into detail about what happens when a pony gets bitten by one. You REALLY need to read this.” Both flashed a quick look at the napping mare before continuing.

The alicorn took the book from her friend and quickly read through the worn tome:

“VAMPONIES. Very little is known about these creatures of the night. They are primarily nocturnal, and remain hidden during the day. Their diet is exclusive to the blood of other magical beings. They have several powers, including night vision, hypnotism, extreme strength, mind control, and transformation. Depending on the breed, any one beast could have one or more of these powers. Additionally, powers can be gained or lost depending on the type of blood one consumes. Generally, the more powerful the creature the blood comes from, the stronger the vampony becomes.

Also, these creatures have a hierarchical pattern within their community. On the lowest level are fledglings, vamponies under the control of other vamponies. Above these are regular vamponies, which are considered to be driven solely off animalistic instincts. Above these exist master vamponies; powerful beings capable of immense destruction. Despite their lowly relatives, these few vamponies are actually considered sapient. The only way for a regular vampony to attain this status is to drain the blood of an powerful magical creature after enough energy has accrued within them.

Furthermore, unlike bat ponies, vamponies are considered feral, and cannot be reasoned with... (It went on to explain the various differences between bat ponies and vamponies and their anatomy).

CAUTION! Avoid a bite from these creatures at all costs! When they bite, their fangs excrete a magical venom that transforms the victim into a vampony. This begins stage one of the transformation process. During this stage, the fledgling’s fangs and night vision begin to form (Note: Usually, the victim’s eyes will change color to match the eyes of the original vampony that infected them.). In stage two, the fangs grow larger as the wings and body turn leathery (Note: If you victim is a pegasus, this will happen very quickly. If the victim is an earth pony/unicorn, this stage takes longer, for the wings need time to grow.). Finally in stage three, the fledgling becomes a full vampony. However, be warned that the victim’s mind will be under the control of the original vampony. This will last until it releases the fledgling from its control; thus, making it a regular vampony.

If somepony you know is still in the transformation process, there is still hope. The process can reversed as long as the antivenom is administered before the sun rises into the next day. The ingredients for the antivenom are as follows: an extraction of the original venom from the vampony that infected the individual, the ground root of two celestial mushrooms, a pinch of pollen from an ancient willow tree,…” The rest was too faded to read.

Applejack watched in silence, observing her friend’s face change from fatigue to extreme worry and thought. When she was finished, the two locked their eyes with a look of sheer determination. Through this nonverbal cue, a message was mutually understood: They had to help their friend.

Then the thin silence was broken as Rainbow Dash awoke from her slumber. “So what’d I miss?” she groggily said, rubbing her eyes. With her only response looks of shock, she went on saying, “What is it? Is there something on my face? Hello? HELLOOOOO?!” Here she waved her arms. “Geez, it’s like you guys just saw a ghost.”

“Nope, but you’re close. We saw a vampony.”

“What, where?” she replied, looking around and gulping in fear.

“Right there.” replied the princess grimly, pointing at Rainbow Dash. “You’re the vampony.” Once again she retrieved a mirror and held it up for the sacred mare to see.

The image that was shown was truly horrifying. The thing looking back at Rainbow Dash was not her. The technicolored monster staring back at her was like a living representation of something from her most wildest nightmare. Its eyes were a deep glowing crimson; feral and voracious, searching for its next prey. Small fangs hung from its mouth; razor sharp and deadly, ready to penetrate any supple pony flesh they came across. Its coat a sinister blue, allowing it to easily disguise itself as it sailed through the dead of night. A raggedy vivid mane hung from the beast’s head; a warning to all prey of their impending doom.

That was all the young vampony caught of her new image before she was put into a magical slumber. Twilight’s final words echoed through her mind as she was lulled to sleep: “Don’t worry Dash, I’m going to fix this. You’ll be okay, I promise.”

With those words fresh in her mind, she drifted into the dream world once again.

Author's Note:

My Christmas gift to all my amazing readers. It's been a rough transition, but now I should be able to crank out at least one more chapter before returning to school. Also, if you see any mistakes or have any suggestions, pm me as usual. Thank's for reading!

Comments

[Angelgrace]

The mind control fetishist in me says "More mind control, NOW."
The writer in me admires your pacing.